Far away from home

One of the farthest places I have ever visited was Shanghai. This was not a vacation, but a business trip. Luckily, I did spent a few extra days there and got a guided tour of some of the smaller villages outside of Shanghai. On the very long (17 hour) plane ride to Shanghai, we flew over Siberia. It was absolutely mesmerizing to see such a vast cold rugged landscape. It looks as if nothing could survive there.

While there, I stayed in Pudong. The tallest structure in this picture is actually a TV tower. It lights up beautifully at night.

Across the river from where I stayed was The Bund. We actually travelled via taxi through a tunnel that ran beneath the river to get from Pudong to The Bund. Taxi rides are quite treacherous there and I felt like I was putting my life on the line every time I stepped in one.

There are many boats that travel up and down the river, most of which are lit up at night. At 10:00 PM; however, all boat lights are shut off.

This is how The Bund looks at night when it is fully lit up. This is the view from my hotel in Pudong looking across the river.

The last weekend I was in Shanghai, my coworker and I decided to take a guided tour to a few of the villages outside of the city. This was a typical home in the more rural areas.

We lucked out while visiting Zhouzhua because there was a festival being held that weekend. There were many performances that would not have normally been there. This guy was one of the street dancers.

I believe the dragons in this performance were protecting the orb the guy was holding.

There were so many bridges in the water village. I lost count of how many we crossed during our tour.

After visiting the water village, our tour guide took us to another village where we had a boat waiting for us to take us on another leg of our tour. We were allowed to visit one of the markets not usually seen by tourists and got an up close view of how the rural community lived and worked. This picture is of one of the villagers doing her laundry along the edge of the river. This makes me appreciate my conveniences so much more.

Shanghai and the rural villages that surround it couldn't be more different. The city is a shining example of the latest in technology while the villages are like stepping back in time. Visiting a place like this reminds me of how lucky I am to live where I do and reap the benefits of a democratic society.