Today's news comes to you from the gray city of Shanghai. We arrived here on Tuesday night (about 10:30), and since then it's been hot and gray. Wednesday was quite hot, and we cooked while sitting outside for dinner in Xin Tian Di. Xin Tian Di is a couple of city blocks that is basically a collection of restaurants and cafes. Pretty much all of them western, along with the obligatory Starbucks and Coffee Bean. Nice enough, and we ate at a place called Luna. Fairly standard western (read American) style of food.
Then last night was at a German/Austrian restaurant. Again, pretty good for what it is. The restaurant really reminded me of South-east Asia, as it had the usual Filippino band singing covers of popular songs that targeted the age range of the bulk of the people eating there - Eagles, Abba, etc.
Wednesday and Thursday we did not get to see anything of the city, as we were here for a conference (4th annual Insurance Technology Summit). And then today Sonia and her colleague needed to do some work, so we spent most of the day in the Hilton's Executive Lounge (free wireless internet access). I managed to get to the gym this morning (as well as Wednesday evening), but the rest of the day has been spent gazing out the window on the gray skies.
Now we are sitting here eating the free canapes in lieu of dinner ("cutbacks"). Tomorrow we will hopefully get out and do something, although I am not sure what. Probably a massage somewhere along the lines...
FYI - Eggs Benedict at Altura was much better this last visit. Maybe they have changed cooks?
Oh, one last comment - I managed to win a digital camera at the conference. Pretty much the type of camera that mum wanted to buy (very slim, big screen on the back, etc). Samsung, 8.4 Megapixels, 2GB memory card, etc. Very nice and convenient.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Monday, September 08, 2008
Weather Update
Feels like I should be part of the weather bureau!
The rain has come and gone. And while coming back from the gym, I checked the forecast for the rest of the week. It is posted on a sign in the lobby, updated every day.
Just thought you might like to know that the forecast for tomorrow morning 6:00am is for 22 degrees Celsius. With a high for the day of 32. I guess at least it is lower than the 36 degrees that we have had from time to time. Much the same for the rest of the week - overnight lows of around 22 degrees, high of 32.
Oh boy.
NZ's rain and cold is looking pretty good right now. See you on the weekend.
Oh, watching Karate Kid. Blast from the past and all that. It is also very interesting having been living in Tokyo for a year now. Not all is as it is shown in the movies. In fact Morita-san is very atypical.
The rain has come and gone. And while coming back from the gym, I checked the forecast for the rest of the week. It is posted on a sign in the lobby, updated every day.
Just thought you might like to know that the forecast for tomorrow morning 6:00am is for 22 degrees Celsius. With a high for the day of 32. I guess at least it is lower than the 36 degrees that we have had from time to time. Much the same for the rest of the week - overnight lows of around 22 degrees, high of 32.
Oh boy.
NZ's rain and cold is looking pretty good right now. See you on the weekend.
Oh, watching Karate Kid. Blast from the past and all that. It is also very interesting having been living in Tokyo for a year now. Not all is as it is shown in the movies. In fact Morita-san is very atypical.
きょうはあついですね！
For today's Japanese lesson:
きょう = today
は = connector
あつい = hot
です = it/is
ね = aye/eh
In Romanji, you would pronounce something like: "Kyoo wa atsui desu ne?"
So what I am saying is: "It is hot today, eh?"
Well, you get the point. Today was back to being very hot - all day. It is supposed to rain tonight or tomorrow - hopefully that will cool things down again.
きょう = today
は = connector
あつい = hot
です = it/is
ね = aye/eh
In Romanji, you would pronounce something like: "Kyoo wa atsui desu ne?"
So what I am saying is: "It is hot today, eh?"
Well, you get the point. Today was back to being very hot - all day. It is supposed to rain tonight or tomorrow - hopefully that will cool things down again.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
きょう
(means today, as long as I have spelt it correctly)
Today is back to being sweltering in Tokyo. It's hot, humid, and there are clouds overhead. Thunder and lightening last night, with a bit of rain. Today's forecast is for more rain later on.
We went to Shibuya this afternoon, looking for presents. We managed to find a few different Japanese cookies and sweets, and it will be interesting to see what people think of them. I find some of them interesting, but an acquired taste. Japanese sweets tend to be less sweet than I prefer from having grown up in NZ. Sweets in NZ focus on sugary goodness, which is quite different. Anyway, we will see.
Sonia has gone off to Ginza now, looking for ゆかた (Yukata). These are the summer kimonos, lightweight cotton things that many people wear out - it's a very respectable way to dress here. Apparently they are very comfortable. However I am not sure that I will be joining in any time soon. There is a tendancy to see label gaijin dressing like that as "try-hards". Sonia doesn't have her mobile with her, so we will see if she manages to get to Ginza and back in one piece.
Pizza last night, from Pizza Salvatore - not bad, although on balance I think I prefer Pizza Hut. There is another pizza place that is supposed to be worth trying - Brendan's Pizzakaya. Californian pizza versus Italian. Both (of course) with a Japanese twist.
Today is back to being sweltering in Tokyo. It's hot, humid, and there are clouds overhead. Thunder and lightening last night, with a bit of rain. Today's forecast is for more rain later on.
We went to Shibuya this afternoon, looking for presents. We managed to find a few different Japanese cookies and sweets, and it will be interesting to see what people think of them. I find some of them interesting, but an acquired taste. Japanese sweets tend to be less sweet than I prefer from having grown up in NZ. Sweets in NZ focus on sugary goodness, which is quite different. Anyway, we will see.
Sonia has gone off to Ginza now, looking for ゆかた (Yukata). These are the summer kimonos, lightweight cotton things that many people wear out - it's a very respectable way to dress here. Apparently they are very comfortable. However I am not sure that I will be joining in any time soon. There is a tendancy to see label gaijin dressing like that as "try-hards". Sonia doesn't have her mobile with her, so we will see if she manages to get to Ginza and back in one piece.
Pizza last night, from Pizza Salvatore - not bad, although on balance I think I prefer Pizza Hut. There is another pizza place that is supposed to be worth trying - Brendan's Pizzakaya. Californian pizza versus Italian. Both (of course) with a Japanese twist.
Saturday, September 06, 2008
One week
To go before we get on the plane for NZ. This time next week we will be recovering from the long flight between Tokyo and Auckland.
Sonia will have a long week (or short depending on your viewpoint). She flies to Bangkok as normal on Monday afternoon. Then Thursday night (instead of Friday) she flies overnight back to Tokyo. Friday evening we fly to Auckland overnight. So she is only really working for 3 days this coming week. Although if you ask her, I am sure she will claim that she works from home for the other times. Yeah, right.
At the other end of the trip, we leave Auckland very early in the morning on Monday. Flying all day gets us back to Tokyo in early evening. Then Tuesday afternoon we fly to Shanghai. Returning to Tokyo on Sunday afternoon.
Think of the mileage points...
On Friday morning I went to the Chinese embassy to apply for my tourist visa. Arriving at 9:00am (when it opens), I was disappointed to see a long queue stretching down the road outside the building. However the queue disappeared within 5 minutes once they opened the doors.
Getting inside I worked out that the instructions on the website omitted one crucial piece of paper that you are required to provide - photocopies of your Japan Resident Alien card, and the front page of your passport. There are signs up on the walls (in Japanese of course) explaining how to photocopy correctly. I dutifully dug out some change and fed it into the copiers that are conveniently located for this purpose.
Then getting a ticket number, I waited for about 5 minutes before getting to the counter. Another 5 minutes while they checked the documentation (record of return air ticket, hotel booking, application form, and passport), and it was done. I now have a little receipt (for the passport) which I need to go back on Monday morning to (hopefully) swap for my passport with a visa. If there are any problems, I will have to figure out an alternative very quickly - probably rushing around in NZ to get it done there.
Sonia has not done hers yet, and is planning to apply while in Auckland.
Sonia will have a long week (or short depending on your viewpoint). She flies to Bangkok as normal on Monday afternoon. Then Thursday night (instead of Friday) she flies overnight back to Tokyo. Friday evening we fly to Auckland overnight. So she is only really working for 3 days this coming week. Although if you ask her, I am sure she will claim that she works from home for the other times. Yeah, right.
At the other end of the trip, we leave Auckland very early in the morning on Monday. Flying all day gets us back to Tokyo in early evening. Then Tuesday afternoon we fly to Shanghai. Returning to Tokyo on Sunday afternoon.
Think of the mileage points...
On Friday morning I went to the Chinese embassy to apply for my tourist visa. Arriving at 9:00am (when it opens), I was disappointed to see a long queue stretching down the road outside the building. However the queue disappeared within 5 minutes once they opened the doors.
Getting inside I worked out that the instructions on the website omitted one crucial piece of paper that you are required to provide - photocopies of your Japan Resident Alien card, and the front page of your passport. There are signs up on the walls (in Japanese of course) explaining how to photocopy correctly. I dutifully dug out some change and fed it into the copiers that are conveniently located for this purpose.
Then getting a ticket number, I waited for about 5 minutes before getting to the counter. Another 5 minutes while they checked the documentation (record of return air ticket, hotel booking, application form, and passport), and it was done. I now have a little receipt (for the passport) which I need to go back on Monday morning to (hopefully) swap for my passport with a visa. If there are any problems, I will have to figure out an alternative very quickly - probably rushing around in NZ to get it done there.
Sonia has not done hers yet, and is planning to apply while in Auckland.
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