I was hoping to use the verb “shanghai” in this post, because I got stuck on a plane and wound up in one of those crazy travel situations. Unfortunately, I looked up the word first. Research has the sad characteristic of poking holes in what we wish we could say: To shanghai: 1. To kidnap […]
Before I go home for a week’s vacation, my boss offered to drop me off for a day trip to see the Leshan Buddha. This particular Buddha is the world’s largest (carved of stone), a great carving straight into the side of a mountain. He sits at over 200 feet tall. Note: I find the […]
While writing my piece on Hangzhou, there was a third aside I deleted. The piece was growing very long, and I already ramble. I decided to put that rambling here – give it space to breathe and be a larger reflection. It has to do with the grandiose idea of civilization. In one of my […]
Perhaps I was born in the wrong time and as the wrong gender. Not to be an apologist, but if I wanted to be one the great explorers back in the day I don’t think I could have done so as a woman. That is part of the reason why, when anyone asks me if […]
I am normally impressed more by nature – with what the world comes by naturally. Urban settings don’t capture my attention as easily. Shanghai and Hangzhou might be the exceptions. Shanghai did not truly begin its modern expansion until the 1990s, so there was a lot of space available. Pudong, where the now famous financial […]
Gal's Got Moxie 