Wandering Through “Old Shanghai”

I have already written numerous times about the unique and beautiful city of Shanghai China. It is of course famous for its towering, and futuristic, skyline but there are also numerous older and historic neighborhoods such as the French Concession, "The Bund" and “Old Shanghai.” Lindsay and I experienced the latter during a mid-day stroll through the city. We were actually working our way from the French Concession to the shopping district of Yuyuan bazaar when we stumbled on the lovely alleyways and narrow streets of Old Shanghai. There were bustling small shops/markets mixed among cute old buildings with locals coming and going on bikes, motorcycles and foot. The numerous narrow alleyways that broke off from the main roads almost always had small tables for people to sit and clothes hung out to dry overhead. I have found that this area is actually quite hard to describe but luckily we were able to capture this by taking a quick picture (see below). We didn’t think the picture was anything that special but when we got home and looked at it closer we realized that it pretty much sums up Old Shanghai perfectly. You can see the old buildings with their wooden windows, the laundry hung across the alley, tables with locals, motorcycles, bikes and if you look closely you can even see a shop owner talking to a young neighborhood girl and to top it all off a picture of Mao displayed in the alleyway. Although Lindsay and I just briefly passed through Old Shanghai it was such a unique neighborhood that we will never forget it.

Moscow’s “Seven Sisters” Buildings

There are very few, if any, good things that came from the Soviet Union communist control of Russia. However, the "Seven Sisters" buildings in Moscow could be the one exception and they are simply spectacular. Most communist architecture is known for being boring, bland and square. However, the exception to this was Stalin’s attempt to show off the power and dominance of the Soviet Union by building some of the grandest and ornate skyscrapers in the world. It was a classic case of somebody using architecture as a method of communication and the message from Stalin was simple…these buildings will intimidate. It is difficult to explain the architectural elements of these buildings but they usually have some very distinct qualities. They are very big, very Gothic (spires, arches, etc) and very unique. There are seven of these buildings scattered around Moscow and they include Moscow State University, Hotel Moscow, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc. Lindsay and I (especially me) loved it every time we saw one. Almost every time you can get a view across the city you will see one or more of these buildings dominating the skyline. The city of Moscow is already beautiful but the presence of these old communist landmarks gives it a real uniqueness that is all its own. If you ever find yourself wandering through Moscow keep an eye out for Stalin’s “The Seven Sisters” buildings…they are hard to miss. :)

Night Market in Chiang Mai Thailand

I have said this before but one of the things Lindsay and I love the most about traveling is the “markets.” All over the world markets are part of everyday life and the sights, sounds and smells you experience while exploring them is nothing less than intoxicating. Lindsay and I have been lucky enough to explore numerous markets in many different parts of the world but one of the most unique is the famous night market in Chiang Mai Thailand. Lindsay and I were staying right in the heart of Chiang Mai and decided one night to simply stroll down to walk through the market. The market itself is loud, colorful and exciting but something about the nighttime makes it exceptionally exciting. We just wandered through looking at all the numerous shops selling almost anything you could imagine. We ended up getting one of our most beloved souvenirs in this market which was a small dark Buddha Statue (not the fat Buddha) which we have cherished for years (despite the fact that the head broke off when it fell off the shelf). There are hundreds of little shops selling the Buddha statues in Thailand but the ones being sold by this particular shop were very unique. Before we left the market we ended up climbing the nearby old city walls to get a birds-eye view of the action. To me this was the best part of the night as you could see all the chaos and colors of the market from a totally unique angle. Simply strolling through a market in some far off place is one of our favorite things to do when traveling and the night market in Chiang Mai is truly one of the most unique you will find anywhere.

The Best Taxi Driver Ever! “Hector” in Panama City, Panama

When traveling around the world it is almost impossible not to take a taxi. While Lindsay and I always love to take mass transit whenever possible we also don’t mind the convenience, and conversation, of a good taxi ride. Over the years as we have travelled we have had many memorable taxi drivers but none compare to our buddy “Hector” in Panama City, Panama. Hector is a short, thick man with a bushy mustache and a wonderful smile. I can’t remember exactly where in Panama City we first meet him but I just remember striking up a conversation and really enjoying talking with him (in his thick Hispanic accent). While traveling in Panama Lindsay and I had to take a couple of different domestic flights (on tiny planes) to get to the various islands we wanted to visit. Hector drove us to the small domestic airport in Panama City and as he was dropping us off he asked “when will you be flying back.” I quickly told him the date/time and he said “I will be waiting.” Lindsay and I both thanked him but thought there was no way he was going to be there when we flew back (about 4 days later). When we landed again in Panama City I had almost forgotten about Hector when I heard him calling for us as we stepped out of the airport. Lindsay and I just couldn’t believe that he had remembered to come and get us and we both just fell in love with the guy at that moment. Unfortunately we only had one more day in Panama but we arranged for him to come and get us from our hotel and take us to the international airport the next day. Sure enough Hector was waiting for us the next morning and took us to the airport. I took his business card in the hopes that we could get him more business so if you ever find yourself in need of a taxi in Panama City, Panama let us know! :) Again, over the years Lindsay and I have literally taken hundreds of taxi’s but none of them compare to the service we received from our friend Hector in Panama City, Panama.

Freedom Trail – Boston, USA

When I was a boy my dad took our entire family to New England and I vaguely remembered the time we spent in Boston. However, what I do remember I really loved and I was anxious to visit again with Lindsay. In 2009,thanks to a business trip, we got the chance. In school (Urban Design) we studied Boston numerous times for its narrow streets, old architecture and beautiful Urban Design so I was extremely excited to go back. On our first morning we woke up and were anxious to start exploring. We figured the best way to do this would be to take the famous “Freedom Trail” through the city. The Freedom Trail is a walking route through the city that passes most, if not all, of the famous historical sites around Boston. The city has done a magnificent job marking this path with red bricks to guide you along. It was a beautiful sunny day when we started our tour in Boston Commons (big park in the center of the city) and we were so excited to get started. The first stop was the beautiful State Capital building with its large gold dome. Right next to this is a beautiful statue/memorial to the civil war heroes of Robert Gould Shaw the the Massachusetts 54th infantry (first black infantry made famous by the movie Glory). I have always loved this movie and had always wanted to see this memorial so it was especially meaningful. Next we worked our way down into the financial/business district of Boston passing numerous historical makers, churches, etc. Our favorite spot however was the area around the "Old South Meeting House." This beautiful old church was surrounded by a leafy urban square, statues remembering the Irish immigrants to Boston, shops, etc. It truly was one of the most beautiful urban squares in all of America. Attached to each side of the church were cute little farmers market stands selling produce...it was overall such a cute scene. We then made our way to the beautiful, and historic, "Old State House" which is a very old historical building set amongst the towering skyscrapers of downtown Boston. We then kept walking until we were exploring the shops around Quincy Market before heading into one of our most favorite neighborhoods…Boston's North End. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city and is also known as “little Italy.” Just wandering through the narrow streets of this neighborhood was beautiful but we especially feel in love with the area around Paul Revere's home. The home itself has been beautifully restored and is fascinating but the little urban square immediately adjacent to it was the real highlight. The square itself was extremely old and was entirely made of large cobblestones. There were a few benches surrounding a small patch of colorful flowers and trees. To top it all off the square was surrounded on all sides by beautiful old buildings full of cafes, shops, etc. We loved this area so much that we just sat for about 30 minutes just taking it all in (and burning up our memory card). We then continued along the Freedom Trail to the Old North Church which is the famous spot where they hung the lanterns to signal the British coming (1 if by land, 2 if by sea). The church itself is gorgeous and the city has done a great job with a small surrounding park. Before leaving the old North End neighborhood we explored an old cemetery which was home to numerous American heroes. As we continued along the Freedom Path we crossed the bridge into Charlestown which is home to the famous Bunker Hill. As the path winds its way up to the hill you pass numerous cute little neighborhoods that are just simply beautiful. Bunker Hill itself is now a cool stone monument, with numerous sitting areas to sit, which offers beautiful views over to Boston. We ended our Freedom Trail walk here just sitting on a bench laughing, talking and taking in the amazing city all around us. As we walked back into Boston from Charlestown we walked again across the old steel bridge that connects the two. On this bridge we had 2 simple, but noteworthy, experiences. First, one of the few memories I had of Boston from when I was a kid was walking across an old bridge and watching the seagulls fly all around. It was such a short memory that I thought for sure we would never find that bridge. However, as we were walking across the old steel bridge that connects Charlestown and Boston I had a sudden flashback and realized this was the exact same bridge from my childhood memory. The second experience was a funny phone call we had with the kennel that was watching Sundance (our dog). As we were walking across the bridge we decided to call them just to check up on her. The lady who answered was in a hurry and just quickly said “Ahhh ya…Sundance is fine.” For some reason this cracked us up because she sounded like she had no idea which dog we were asking about. We started laughing so hard as we imagined her saying “Ahhh ya…Sunshine is fine, Ahhh ya…MoonDance is fine, Ahhhh ya…Sunriver is fine.” We literally were laughing so hard about this one dumb thing the whole time we walked across the bridge. To this day we still laugh about this whenever we think about our trip to Boston. Walking Boston’s Freedom Trail on that sunny summer day in 2009 is something we will never forget.

An Evening Stroll in Wadi Musa, Jordan

The area around Petra Jordan (home to the world famous buildings carved into stone cliffs) is spectacular. Although there are numerous places to explore while in Petra Lindsay and I, like most visitors, stuck to the incredible stone city. However, one evening we found ourselves with time to kill so we decided to take a leisurely stroll up to the village of Wadi Musa. This is one of those classic travel experiences that was so simple, and extremely uneventful, but for some reason has stuck with us as a cherished memory. Our small little hotel was located near the entrance to Petra but the village of Wadi Musa was located about a mile away up on the hill. We decided to simply go find a shop, get some snacks and head back to the hotel. Although we were planning on leaving Petra soon we had not yet arranged for how we were going to do this (not uncommon for adventurous travel). We needed to some how find a ride from Petra to the port city of Aquaba and were hoping to not have to take a taxi. Anyway, as we were walking we passed a man sitting out in front of his car rental shop. I can’t remember how the conversation started but essentially we ended up arranging for him to drive Lindsay and I from Petra to Aquaba the next morning. He was an incredibly nice guy and we loved chatting with him. The next morning we half expected him not to show up but sure enough he was there right on time to take us. The drive from Petra to Aquaba was beautiful but I don’t remember much of it as I slept (mouth wide open) in the back seat for almost the whole way. I just remember waking up at one point and hearing our driver tell the security guard at the checkpoint that we were Dutch (after which turning to me and Lindsay with a big smile and saying “they don’t know”). Anyway, back to our evening stroll up to the village of Wadi Musa. After meeting our friend we continued up the windy road and eventually made our way to the small village of Wadi Musa. There we found a classic Middle Eastern shop (complete with smiling owner) were we found some snacks. I remember vividly walking through this dusty little store while the owner just smiled at us and watched his little t.v. which was showing the king/queen of Jordan. As we were leaving the store the sun was just starting to set and the view over the desert was beautiful. We just wandered down the road to our hotel just laughing, talking and enjoying the beautiful sunset. Although it was such a simple thing this warm leisurely stroll to the village of Wadi Musa is something we will always remember.