Seasonal Paradise

Ferry Crossing

Ferry Crossing
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Ping and Irena on our ferry crossing from PuXi to
PuDong.

Jinmao Tower Hotel Room On 76th Floor

Jinmao Tower Decadence

Jinmao Tower Decadence
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

If ever you're in Shanghai, treat yourself to a night at the Jinmao Tower
Hyatt Regency. It's the highest hotel in the world. Here we are on the 76th
floor. We'd planned on checking in and then hitting the clubs, but the view
was so incredible we just spent half an hour ogling out of the window, and
then decided to have dinner in the room. If ever a hotel room could offer a
life changing experience, this is it. Our favorite hotel in the world, so
far.

The Red Dress

The Red Dress
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

A hot day at the seamstress and a hot dress for Irena.

Shanghai Tailor

Shanghai Tailor
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

24 shirts, 3 three-piece suits, 5 pairs of trousers later. My tailor and
his wife were happy, and I was ecstatic. Custom shirts that would cost
$150+ in the USA are $12 each.

Shanghai Venice, Singing Boatman

As we meandered down the canals, our boatman sang a tune about how great his town is. 

Shanghai's Venice

Shanghai's Venice
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Shanghai has most everything one could want, including it's very own version of Venice.

Shanghai Silk Worms

Shanghai Silk Worms
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Here's how silk worms grow.

Humble Administrators Garden

Humble Administrators Garden
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

This weekend we took Sunday off, after a nutso week, and paid a visit to the 500 year old 'Humble Administrators Garden' in Suzhou, replete with zigzag bridges, lotus ponds and a pagoda.

Shanghai Electronics Mall

Shanghai Fish Brains

Whilst visiting the Shanghai zoo we came across this fish experimentation tank.  The fish have brains and lungs on the outside of their bodies.

Saturday Karaoke and Nightclub

Saturday Karaoke and Nightclub
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

We went karaoke singing on Saturday evening, followed by two nightclubs, followed by a hotpot dinner.  The Dragon Lady's brother invited us to karaoke.  We were expecting a karaoke bar but we got a private room for the five of us to sing our lungs out, and eat, and sing, and eat.  Partyzone in Shanghai was great.  Here we are at the nightclub after dancing on the stage and moshing with the locals.

Hunan Cuisine

Hunan Cuisine
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Last night The Dragon Lady (Ping) treated us to a Hunan dinner. Fish, spinach (kinda, sorta), and some crunchy awesome veggie dishes. Fantastic! Hunan cuisine is spicey, but not as spicey as Szechuan.

Shanghai Fedex

The Shanghai Fedex is a little antiquated. A fleet of cyclists pack items onto their bikes in white parcels. It's slow but effective.  See video.

Shanghai Nights

Shanghai Nights
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Here's a Shanghai evening photo from The Bund of the TV Tower and river. The smog in Shanghai is not as bad as Beijing, but it's worse than L.A. Some days it's quite clear. Most days it's the same as in this photo. There are some great places to eat on The Bund that overlook this very view. Our favorite is M on The Bund.

Shanghai Frogger

After leaving the tailoring center we played a little game of Shanghai frogger.  Click on the video for a sample of Shanghai traffic.

Shanghai Custom Tailoring Field Day

Shanghai Custom Tailoring Field Day
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

We saw Marc Lesnick off today. He picked up 15 shirts and 4 suits on his way to the airport. We stuck around and ordered 16 shirts, 2 three piece suits, an Asian dress and 4 ladies shirts.  All custom tailored, all for 3900 RMB all in. That's $500! If you're ever in Shanghai, the place to go is Shanghai ShiLio Pu Clothing Market. There were three floors and over 300 vendors.

Riddle Me Sushi

Riddle Me Sushi
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Last night Marc, The Dragon Lady (Ping) and Irena and I went to the Jinmao Tower for sushi. 56 floors up (out of 88) looking out over Shanghai. The conversation turned to riddling. "What's greater than God, worse than the Devil, poor people have it, rich people need it and if you eat it, it will kill you?" I'll tell you the answer tomorrow. The left tower is the Jinmao Tower, the world's 5th tallest building and the tallest in China at 1381ft. On the right is the new Shanghai World Trade Center being built complete with night welding lights. It will be China's tallest at 1614ft. Fyi, the tallest building in the world will be the Burj Dubai in 2009. It's scheduled for 2600ft and 160 floors and is over 129 floors in this recent picture. 

Crank Fix

Crank Fix
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Irena had a shot at fixing the bicycle crank. What's wrong with this picture? :-)

After...

After...
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

The new Irena...with short hair.

Before...

Before...
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Irena's hair as at 11am Monday morning. She's having her haircut short at 2pm...

Bicycle Oops

Bicycle Oops
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Poor Irena. We were cycling out to our favorite coffee shop and work hangout and the crank fell off her bicycle. Perhaps it's an omen that we shouldn't be working on Memorial Day.

Chinese Massage

Chinese Massage
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

We've been working hard, and don't have the luxury of our ergonomic office chairs so we treated ourselves to a three hour massage on Saturday. 90 minutes of shoulder and foot massage followed by a 90 minute European massage. They applied just the right amount of pressure and found all our 'guitar string' tight spots in our backs. The cost ~400 RMB (~$60) each for three hours.

Create Creates The Rich Winner

Create Creates The Rich Winner
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

I'm constantly amazed at the English translations in Shangai advertisements. Case in point, this sign in our apartment elevator.  "Zhong Fang - CRED leans the  strength in Sanlin tectonic plates to create creates the rich winner."

The Glamor Bar (ii)

The Glamor Bar (ii)
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

We got the best mojito since the night we met in October 2005 on Marc's

balcony at his Upadkovy (cz: decadent)  party in Prague.

The Glamor Bar (i), The Bund, Shanghai

The Glamor Bar (i)
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Last night, we met up with our new friends Justin and Annabelle who run

FastLife.com, a classy high-end ($70 a ticket) speed dating service. They

will return to Shanghai for 6 months and set up speed dating services here.

View From Kathleens5 - Day 9 in Shanghai

View From Kathleens5
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Wednesday evening (5/23) a few friends met for dinner at the outdoor

restaurant, Kathleens5 on the 5th Floor of the Shanghai Art Museum.

This is the about one-third of the stunning panoramic view.

Jinmao Friday Night

Jinmao Friday Night
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Inside the bar at the top of the Jinmao tower after the end of the

conference.

World's 3rd Tallest Building, Jinmao Tower

World's 3rd Tallest Building, Jinmao Tower
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

The Jinmao tower in Shanghai is amazing. Here's the view from the top of 80+

floors, inside the 5 star Grand Hyatt that sits at the top, looking down to

the bar below.

Final Panel, With Beer - Day 4

Final Panel, With Beer
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Marc's final panels are often the highlight of his conferences. 90 minutes+

of panel Q&A, complete with beer.

Done Deal at Blue Frog

Done Deal at Blue Frog
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Shane from Userplane seals the deal with Alif.

East Meets West At The Blue Frog Party

East Meets West At The Blue Frog Party
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Two of the smartest guys at the conference. Dr Wuttke, CEO of Germany's

be2.com meets Dr Song Li, serial entrepreneur and CEO of 96333.com.

Conference Party at Blue Frog in Shanghai

Conference Party at Blue Frog in Shanghai
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Myself, Marc Lesnick (conference organizer), and Justin Parfitt (CEO of

fastlife.com).

Asian Internet 'Friends-Making' Conference - Day 3

Asian Internet Dating/Social Networking Conference
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

Attending the two day conference in Shanghai. 45 or so in attendance. Lots

of great sessions. It's a tough market and few are making significant money

yet. The government halved the already low maximum SMS billing fees to just

10RMB a month (7 RMB to a $) which hurt some of the major friends-making

players. Most Chinese have direct debit cards which can't be auto-rebilled.

Consequently, Baihe.com and 96333.com switched to high-end offline services

and annual billing.

Business Visit - Day 2

Business Visit
Originally uploaded by Mark C Brooks

My first business visit in Shanghai. Headed out to visit the CEO of World

Friends Networks so I can complete a review of white label dating services.