You’re never too old to do Tai Chi

The 6th of June in China this year was Dragon Boat Festival and we went to Shanghai for the holiday. I say Dragon Boat Festival but before you get your hopes up I must tell you we didn’t see any boats, never-mind Dragon Boats nor did we partake in any cultural festivities of any kind. Like most public holidays around the world, in my opinion, most people don’t care why or what they are about just that they don’t have to go to work. That was the case for us anyway so with a 3 day weekend we headed to Shanghai to stay with a friend that I had worked with at EF but who has now moved on to an editorial position with the Shanghai Daily Newspaper. Their apartment is in a nice area just a 15 minute walk from West Nanjing Road metro station and on Friday night we were greeted with this view from their balcony.

6 second exposure of the Yan'an Elevated Road in Shanghai

It might not be environmentally friendly but I must admit that the neon lighting along the elevated roads and overpasses makes for a pretty scene. Just after arriving we took a walk to see the centre of this 4 level highway overpass which is a pillar clad in a metal fresco. There is also a circular elevated pedestrian walkway over the intersection where I took this panoramic image from.

The Yan'an & Chongqing Road Multilevel Interchange, Shanghai panorama

We woke on Saturday morning to drizzly rain so after a quick coffee and pastry down the road we headed for the Shanghai museum, something neither of us had done yet and given the inclement weather why not?  The museum is located in People’s Square and on our way there we chanced across

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The 2011 Chinese Formula 1 Grand Prix (with video)

and my first ever attendance of a Grand Prix after following it on TV for more than 10 years.

The layout of the Shanghai F1 Circuit Photo: carreracupasia.com

The Shanghai F1 Circuit was inspired by the Chinese character “上” (shang), the first character in the name Shanghai.

Last year I thought about going but didn’t get around to arranging leave early enough as then I had to work on weekends and had already put in leave for my attempt of the Great Wall Marathon. This year however, working a regular Monday to Friday week it was on; although getting tickets wasn’t all that easy.

I even went to the track 2 weeks before the race and was just given a phone number to call. I couldn’t buy tickets there but could reserve them over the phone and they would send them to me if I was in Shanghai, which I wouldn’t be 24 hours later. Eventually managed to get them via a local tourism website and not wanting to fight for a good spot on the grass went for next grade up in Grandstands B5-8 but you couldn’t choose your seat, it was just luck of the draw.

3D seating plan for the Shanghai F1 Grand Prix (Photo:smartshanghai.com)

Thankfully the Metro Line 10 was open for both days (which it wasn’t in 2010) so getting to and from the circuit was easy enough. The plan was to get out to the circuit for qualifying which we did and as we walked from the Metro station towards the circuit we could hear the whine of a F1 engine being revved and I started to get really excited. The queues weren’t to bad as we made our way into the track area and up to our seats which turned out to have a great view. We looked straight down the start/finish straight, could see the pit lane and the team garages, we were also high up enough to see most of the track and so could track cars as they sped around the rest of the circuit. Check it out…

The view of the Shanghai F1 Circuit from my grandstand seat

As I sat there, looking down on the track I couldn’t believe I was actually about to see a F1 car in person, witness a qualifying session live and hear the sounds so many commentators have referred to for myself. It was

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UPDATED My 100th Post – Night lights of Shanghai

Apologies to my subscribers. It would appear even after 100 blog posts one can still make mistakes and I realised, too late, that several of the links in this new post email notification didn’t work or opened up a new page asking you to enter a username and password. I’m sorry for this error on my part but I have fixed it now so you can read any of the Top 5 List posts that I mention below with a simple click. Enjoy.

Many thanks, Rory

This is my 100th blog post and I suddenly felt under pressure to make it memorable and special to celebrate the milestone. Or is the milestone of 100 enough and should I just continue on as I have been? This last weekend we went to Shanghai for the Chinese F1 Grand Prix and while I’m working on a post with a full account of that experience I thought I’d share what I believe is the magic of Shanghai; the lights at night.

The Shanghai World Financial Centre shadowing the Jin Mao Tower as the full moon rose

We emerged from the Metro station on a clear night to catch the full moon rising into the night sky behind the Shanghai World Financial Centre (SWFC), the tallest building in Shanghai, beautifully lit with a blue trim and shadowing the Jin Mao Tower in front to produce this amazing scene.

After a sushi dinner and a coffee at Starbucks, luxuries we don’t have in Xiaoshan, we went for a walk on along the river where you can look across to The Bund. The buildings are all lit up at night making for a beautiful skyline with traditional buildings in amongst modern skyscrapers not to mention the endless stream of boats on the river with neon lights from aft to stern. It’s breathtaking and here is a panorama to give you a fuller sense of just what it’s like.

NB: Click the image to enlarge

Panorama of The Bund, Shanghai as viewed from the Pu Dong side of the river

While I work on my next post all about the F1 Grand Prix I thought you might like to check out some of my other blog posts that you may have missed over the last 18 months.

The top 5 posts based on number of views:

1. Day 2 – Getting wet at The Victoria Falls & walking with lions

2. My new toy – Canon 550D

3. Day 1 – Getting to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe

4. Suzhou, the “Venice of China” or is it?

5. Qatar airways pilot: “…we apologise for any inconvenience…”

The numbers above can be skewed by google searches with people wanting to find out info on my camera of choice so here is a list of the posts which prompted the most comments.

The top 5 posts based on number of comments:

1. Day 2 – Getting wet at The Victoria Falls & walking with lions

2. All geared up for winter; in the bedroom anyway…

3. In the classroom

4. Four weeks notice

5. Wedding Bells in China

The above were also skewed somewhat by being featured on the WordPress homepage as a result of their Freshly Pressed program that features blogs that they think others will be interested in so there was some overlap. So my final list is some of my favourite posts that I enjoyed writing.

The top 5 posts based on my own personal opinion (in no particular order):

- No one poaches a Polar Bear !

- Q: Where can you set off 400 firecrackers at a bus stop and not get arrested?

- Bittersweet ride to Hell

- Looking back at 2010

- Clowning around in the Navy

So, thank you and  I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog over the last year and a half. Don’t forget to comment if you have something to say or share a post with your friends.

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My newest toy: Canon 55-250mm lens

Three months ago I bought a Canon 550D with the 18-55mm kit lens, as you may have read about here, and haven’t regretted it since. However it wasn’t long before I wanted more. I wanted more options, more versatility and more zoom So the search for a second lens began. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m an amateur and newbie to photography, especially SLR photography but forums and reviews across the internet help out a lot these days and I embarked on an extensive research exercise. After months of looking at the options, reviews, test shots and user opinions I settled on this.

my new Canon EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 IS lens

I still don’t understand half of the technical jargon, so I’ll spare you those details, but here are the reasons I chose this as my next lens as well as some test shots to show you the difference it makes.

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Qatar airways pilot: “…we apologise for any inconvenience…”

I last wrote from the departure lounge in Shanghai and what a journey it has been since then hence the lack of posts but rest assured I’ll give you all the details in the next few posts.  Below is the interior of Terminal 2 at Shanghai PuDong airport which looks fairly grand but the shops and eateries leave a lot to be desired.  

Departure lounge at Shanghai PuDong Airport – Terminal 2

After a minor boarding gate change and last-minute de-icing of the wings we were onboard. Push-back was on time at 00:30am followed by a fairly lengthy taxi to runway 35L turning left hand out with a great view of 

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Looking back at 2010

Everyone does it, from Mtv to Skynews, The Sunday Times to The Tatler and I figure there must be something to it. If you’ve read all my lengthy blogs over the past year or you missed them, you’re in for a treat as I give you a snapshot review consisting entirely of pictures and captions. Enjoy!

January - I saw the Year in with friends watching fireworks on The Bund in Shanghai

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Not an Easter egg to be found

After a fantastic birthday week it was back to the grindstone and it wasn’t long before people were searching for the next thing to look forward to. With April around the corner we were all thinking Easter (which usually heralds a public holiday or two) is usually around this time although none of us knew when. You can’t really blame us though as the supermarkets weren’t adorned with the usual bunny rabbit displays and overstocked chocolate shelves, evidently Easter isn’t that big in China. In fact Easter might as well not exist in China there was not a chocolate egg, cheesy bunny rabbit display or sign of a Hot Cross bun anywhere. However, all hope was not lost

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