Chinese Trip April 1999

I took some pictures when I was out in Shanghai, April 1999.

	View from hotel. This was on the 18th Floor. Notice how close the buildings are to one another, like Victorian slums.
	The TV tower in Shanghai. You can go up into the little bubbles, and get a good panoramic view over the concrete jungle that is Shanghai.
	A view from a typical street. Notice the washing hanging out on poles outside the flats.
	At about 7.00pm, streets still busy with shoppers. Departments stores are common, selling a variety of things.
	The view from the TV tower is quite fine, you can see 360 degrees around, and being careful not to drop the camera, you can take a piccy through the wire netting that restrains visitors.

Other trips

Before 1996 I had not left the country (Britain).  Suddenly I was despatched to Taiwan, for work. This trip took me to Hong Kong, and I did the sights, since we were there at the weekend.  I am pleased to have "done" the old Hong Kong airport - scary landing close to the rooftops, and landing out on a little strip in the sea.

I went back to Taiwan twice, the last trip being rather unpleasant, not because of the wonderful friendly people, but simply the pressure of finding a solution to an engineering problem.  It turned out to be a chip overheating - freezer spray solved the software problem!

Since that year, I've done other trips abroad for work - Philadelphia, and then the heady delights of Las Vegas - great fun!  My last trip for work was Shanghai, China, and that was another eye opener - maniacal taxi drivers, window cleaners hanging by a rope around their waists, the factory lift - the slowest in the world, and the most laid back happiest workforce I've ever seen. 

I've had the travel bug since those trips, although my budget won't stretch to exotic travel just yet.  I've been to Paris twice - and satisfied a life-time aim, to see Ravel's house in Montford L'Amaury - navigating the trains [first trip, I got my friend lost, heading out to Orleans, when supposed to be on a local metro].

I did take myself to Zurich this year [2001] with a friend, to meet up with an internet game-player friend.  I also took my mother to Bruges, and then took myself to see the Labeque sisters in Montpellier - quite exciting to arrange everything myself, finding hotel, tickets,  and maps on the internet.