Mellow week in Shanghai

Not a lot of unusual activity this week...

We all met the new President of Staples, China who is originally from Denmark and has been living in China for seven years. Seems like he is the right guy to help take this business to the next level so it will be a good environment for what I'm trying to accomplish during the next 5 months.

There are two Chinese holidays approaching and I hadn't finalized any plans so this was the week to take the next step. We have a holiday for three days in late September call the Mid- Autumn Festival. While we get three days off for this, we work two weekend days to make up for taking the two days off (as do all businesses in Shanghai.) Following that, we have a seven day National holiday from October 1st thru October 7th. Which is a five work day break for which we will work two weekend days to make up for some time lost.

For the first holiday, I have arranged a tour in Mongolia (Outer Mongolia to us old people). Several factors in the decision. First, I have to leave the country (and Staples pays my reasonable transportation) to "renew" my visa, like my recent trip to Hong Kong. Second, the choices were Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea or Osaka. For various reasons, these seemed like temples, palaces, shopping and repeat. I wanted a little more adventure. So, I'm taking a plane to Beijing, then a long train ride through the Chinese and Mongolian countryside to Ulan Bator, the capital city. This ride is on the Trans-Siberian railway that goes all the way to Moscow. No Visa for Mongolia is required for U.S. citizens. After arriving, I have arrange a tour of two large National Park areas with interesting wildlife, countryside, staying yurts or gers (Google them), visiting a nomad family, riding horse, etc. This should be a very blog worthy trip.

The second trip will be to Chengdu, China. This is a city of 9 million where I will board a bus and head to a town called Baoshan to start walking. I plan to walk to the top of a mountain called EmeiShan (Eyebrow Mountain). Think of me a non-running Forrest Gump, going vertical. The views above the clouds are supposed to be amazing. The mountain climb/hike is on mostly paved stairs that are well traveled. For those who can't make it to the top, there are two places to jump on a bus to the top. No reservations for the overnights, so I plan to stay in monasteries that are along the path on the mountain. I've read that the monasteries are not expensive and provide electric blankets too. There are several places where monkeys (actually macaques) pester the travelers, sound like great photo ops to me. If/when I get back down, there is also a Panda breeding center in Chengdu to visit before my return home.

So a slow week with a lot of planning and activities to think about. Monday I move to a new apartment nearer the city center where the noise level will be significantly reduced and the proximity to fun things will make life even more fun, especially for Susan when she arrives. (She did reach Washington State today on her cross country car trip.) The only negative is the doubling of my commute time but I can handle that since it's public transportation.