Two weeks in China!

I've been training really hard since the February break at the beach in anticipation of two weeks off the bike, shooting in China April 17 - April 30. It was a pretty aggressive itinerary: Beijing (Great Wall and Tiananmen Square), Chengdu (Panda Breeding Center), Guilin (Li River and Yangshuo), Shanghai and Hong Kong. Katie and I lived in Hong Kong in the summer of 2005, but, other than her trips to Shenzhen we never made trips into China. China is an amazing place. Bejing is one huge construction project...getting ready for the Olympics in August. Shanghai is flurting with critical mass in regards to people, cars and buildings fighting for what little space is left in this grossly overcrowded city. The countryside in Guilin and the Li River are absolutely breath-taking. Hong Kong is...well, Hong Kong. After close to two weeks in China...it was oddly comforting to get there. A trip to my favorite restaurant at the Peak brought back plenty of memories. Katie and I would sit out on that patio on weekends, enjoying a cheeseburger, fries and the view. It was a long trip...made longer by the fact that I was unable to sleep! By the time I got home (26 hours of flying and layovers) I was thoroughly exhausted. I really missed Katie and was glad to be home.





Shanghai at sunset from above the Bund






Shanghai at sunrise








Li River cormorant fisherman












It was tough to get back on the bike. I still have a bit of respiratory congestion that I refer to as "Hong Kong-fuey". Chalk it up to my wimpy American immune system...unaccustomed to being surrounded by millions of people.