I was actually home from work on time... and I forgot that LOST was on!
why me-e-e-e!But i've missed at least 3 weeks, and I sneaked a peek on the site and read about what happened last week... so I guess I'll just wait for the DVD. (sigh)
I can't believe it's been over a week since my trip. Since coming back (and going back to work), it seems like all of these projects just avalanched in. I'm glad we're getting more work - must mean my team and I are doing something right... but that also means working long hours, eating lunch at my desk, coming home late and STILL bringing work home to stay sane for the next day. It's 9:47pm and i'm 'procrastinating' from 'work' that i brought home to hopefully complete tonight. If i'm lucky.
I never did have a chance to blog about my trip. So here's are the cliff notes. My trip started in the middle of a Saturday night. By the time we arrived and jumped over the time difference, it was Monday.
We launched into Beijing and was introduced to our new 47 member family for the duration of our 10 day tour. I've been to Beijing before, so I was lucky enough to visit the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Temple of Heaven and Tiananmen Square for a second time. Then we flew to Shanghai, drove to Suzhou & Hangzhou, and returned to Shanghai. The last portion of our trip was in Hong Kong.
Suzhou's highlights were it's gorgeous landscapes, canals, and as the tour guide kept repeating, "It's pretty girls" I heard later that this stems from common hiring practices in the city - that for many jobs only women with a certain look (tall & thin) and college degrees were hired. We also traveled to a 'Silk Factory' here.
Hangzhou's highlights was it's amazing West Lake (a real life painting), it's award winning Green Tea farms, and - a craze of street peddlers armed with faux Louis Vuitton, Coach, Prada and Gucci purses.
Shanghai had an almost Vegas feel with all it's larger than life neon-lit buildings. It was surging with people, and cars and more people. And as much as i LOVE bargain shopping, it was in a shanghai outdoor shopping area, that i almost lost total interest! Why? Imagine stopping at a vendor's booth, looking at necklaces, and suddenly a stranger comes up to you with a flyer containing other necklaces, urging you to visit their booth. Okay, so you leave and decide to look at T-shirts. Boom, someone's at your side begging you to check out the tshirts at the other end of the aisle instead. Can you imagine? You could just feel the stress emitting from tourists trying to buy nice souvenirs without getting mauled.
But it was a lot of fun riding a Rickshaw bike through a Suzhou - and riding Subways is amazingly easy and fun. If only LA could have a subway, where you had a card in your wallet, it scans you in, you wait 2 minutes or less for a subway going forward or backwards towards your destination... and a few breezy moments and you're there!
Hong Kong is almost like my international home. My grandparents and many cousins and relatives are there. So, that portion of my vacation was great, but not sight-seeing filled. But that's okay, because HK is just fun to be at. It's always bustling and busy. Always delicious food at every corner and something fun to buy. And you can speak english, and it's cool. And for the youth of HK, it seems to be the hip thing to do... (speak in english).
Okay, some good procrastination has happened here. It's about 10:30 now and I better at least make an attempt to finish some work.
If it had TIVO, i wouldn't have missed Lost. Grr. Maybe it's time to take the plunge. Can you believe I don't even have cable? (As my TV buzzes because the rabbit ears need adjusting) Okay... back to work, back to work! :)
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