11-02-08 Huang Shan, China

Out and about a small village near Huang Shan (yellow mountain). This town is famous for producing calligraphy equipment. The narrow alleys were used to shoot Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. It was a rainy day and Kathleen and I weren't in the best of moods. A considerable amount of fighting that was likely due to a serially perpetual string of overcast days. At the very least, when it rains, hot food just tastes better. Warmed the soul with some dumplings and the famous fermented river fish (yum!).

11-01-08 Shanghai, China

This was our last day in Shanghai, which for the post part beyond day 3 was a means for us to rest and hang our hat in a single place. I was missing the biznass so I made sure that wherever we stayed there was a place for me to have private meetings- so happened this corporate apartment in Shin Tian Di - aka HK Service Apartments fit the bill. It was sparse but it was well welcomed after much day-day "where will we sleep next" and "where the @#%#@% is the bathroom, now?"

10-30-08 Shanghai, China

Above are pictures of Tang Bao aka "Soup Dumpling" that we had in a restaurant within a mall near our place. What's interesting about this restaurant is that it is a place that Kathleen found on her own while I was out having meetings. I really love how she takes a militaristic process to new environments. For example, studying the map and making a point to circle home base to understand the environment. I.e. this place was two clicks north and one click west. Just kidding about that but you get the point. Even today as I write this (from our place in San Francisco now 5 months+ post this event) she probably knows the ins-and-outs of our neighborhood better than I do: she is my light in my room of darkness ;)

10-27-08 Shanghai, China

The best part about Shanghai are the people that you meet. As Eric says, everyone has one thing in common: they are in Shanghai. While cheesy at first, you really get the point when you are here. There is a a certain energy and openness of meeting new people here. 80%+ of the folks here are out of towners and are there for new experiences and meeting new people. Its quite amazing. Having one business meeting leads to a "you gotta meet this guy" who happens to be 20 minutes away who after you meet, calls two other people to set up meetings who then introduce you to three more people. "Quan shi" in Shanghai as they call it apparently follows the Fibonacci series and soon enough I'm back to back and learning all sorts of new things and making contacts that would facilitate all sorts of future business, let alone future friendships.

10-26-08 Shanghai, China

It's a small world. Apparently I met this guy half way around the world who knows this guy from home who knows this girl who knows that guy who is a friend of mine. This was one of those moments where a friend I had recently met told me I "HAD" to meet someone. That someone turned out to be the brother of the fiancee of one of Kathleen's friends (phew! might have needed some ellipses or comp sci delimiters there). I'm not really sure about what the picture of the bright colored dried items are- probably some shop nearby. The other pic is at a bar in the middle of a lagoon in the middle of Shanghai. Its like a bar in Central park- w/ urban jungle amidst.

10-25-08 Shanghai, China

One of those not-so-eventful days from a travel standpoint (and you as a reader would be interested in) with the exception of dinner: restaurant focusing exclusively on the serving and preparation of toro aka fatty tuna. Otoro to chutoro this place had it all. We started with toro apetizer which was a minced chutoro combined with scallions and zesty sauce followed by toro sashimi three ways followed by thicker slices of toro sashimi. It was finished with a non-toro shabu shabu of crab and thin vegetarian soup coupled with udon. This place, from a business standpoint, had it down right: focusing on a few items on the menu as to become an expert in one SKU of japanese food, while having high visibility into his demand pipeline and thereby minimizing spoilage cost. While genius at first, the restaurant also provides you with glossy materials where you see the owner in a suit at the head of some m&a war room table with other similarly pin-stripe embossed clearly-out-of-their-element-chinese-people acting as if they really gave a @#%#% about what this guy had to say. The dinner was a success, the self marketing is a fail. And you see a lot of this big ego on small success stuff in Shanghai.

10-23-08 Hangzhou, China

At first, I had thought this being my second time to Hangzhou that I would feign interest for Kathleen's sake. As it turns out, I rediscovered Hangzhou for another time- this time appreciating it for what it really is: an amazing well manicured holiday as prescribed by the communist government yet also thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated by its visiting temporal Chinese denizens. Here you were welcomed with warm weather, pleasant lake scenery and well gardened folliage. It was Walt Disney World but free for public consumption- almost engineered to an effect of guiding you down path X then Y and finally Z - where Z was a well choreographed sound and light show. Made me think a lot about how easy it is to manipulate the masses and how city / regional planning can have such a profound effect on ones' lives. In this case, however, it was a real-world example of how Mao's government really works. The leadership really knows and understands its people and have responded. Wow, think about that: government that works. Change is something we can all believe in.

10-22-08 Hangzhou, China

Today we decided to rent bikes and bike our way around the lake. It was a nice day, albeit with a murky tinge to the air, which is quite typical China. Hangzhou has changed so much since the last time I was there about 15 years ago, when most of these paths weren't paved and only a small selection of restaurants were available. Like all the other leisure cities, China has put a lot of investment in manicuring them well.

10-21-08 Hangzhou, China

(I'm going back to fill in holes from 2 years ago and I'm starting to forget. Doh.) I know this is Hangzhou and I do remember taking photos on the balcony of our hotel, the Shangri-lah. I was clearly playing with (over/under) exposure. Other than that, I remember that the night was warm and that you could hear the crickets as Kathleen and I sat under one of these willow-like trees and becoming quite lost in the quiet and dawn of the evening lake scene.

10-20-08 Hangzhou, China

10-18-08 Shanghai, China

Met with Justin's Aunt-Cousin (?). Not really sure how you assign specific familial relations to this one but really cool and spent a lot of time taking us around Shanghai and helping us appreciate it for what it really is: an amalgamation of old china with new and the rest of world. For all the capitalistic associations that the Shanghainese the lesser known is the artistic and intellectual element (hardly of the pseudointellectual variety either). Great day touring thanks to Justin's aunt who was a great sport in the game of making fun of JVB.

10-17-08 Shanghai, China

Oh Din Tai Fung, how I miss thee. Since I had been going to the same Din Tai Fung almost daily in Xin Tian Di, the management execute a smarted cross promotional maneuver and gave me some coupons for the new Din Tai Fung they opened across town. Well what do you know? After lunch at Jessie Restaurant (classic Shanghainese food), we headed across town and 3 hours later, low and beyond, I had a few coupons for a quick and cheap snack! I guess I do not remember much from this day. Oh yeah, we spent a lot of time shopping in the cheap tourist shopping district. We bought some fake designer stuff. Quite interesting, they pull you from a manicured tourist experience into the underbellies of the pu tong. In someone's living room there's a false wall and upon one tap a wall of fake Louis Vuitton and Gucci mastery for sale becomes alive.