SHANGHAI - APRIL, 2014

This was my second trip to Shanghai, having previously spent several days in the city as part of the tour of China that Michael and me took in 2008. I stayed at the Radisson New World Hotel, which had a beautiful view over People's Park, and People's Square from my room's window.

Inside People's Square are located several government buildings, the Shanghai Opera building and the Shanghai Museum. Many people walk through the park and visit the Shanghai Museum [the round building]. Looking north from the park you could see my hotel [the tall building with the large "cap" on top, which is a restaurant that rotates 360 degrees every hour to afford great views of the entire city.]

A short 20 minute walk from my hotel down Nanjing Road [a pedestrian only shopping street] brought me to the Huangpu River, which served as the entrance from the China Sea for ships carrying goods to and from Europe when Shanghai was governed by the British, French and Americans as a concession in the middle part of the 19th century. On one side of the river lies the Bund which was the city's Wall Street during the colonial period. Many of the original building still stand in this area.

On the opposite side of the Huangpu River from the Bund lies Pudong. In the mid 20th century Pudong was the poorest area of Shanghai filled with slums and farmland. In the 1990's it was declared a Special Economic Zone, and is now home to the financial center of Shanghai, filled with skyscrapers and hotels, and now the most vibrant part of the city.

Just a few metro stops from my hotel was the Jing'An Temple [Temple of Tranquility] which is one of the city's most revered places for ancestor worship. Originally founded during the Three Kingdoms Period, its current structures date to the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the 1930's it was Shanghais wealthiest temple. The temple was closed during the Cultural Revolution but has reopened to become one of the best examples of an active Buddhist shrine in the city. It is a popular place to offer coins and pray for financial success.

On another day I traveled to the Yu Yuan Gardens and Bazaar. The old style buildings of the Yu Gardens bazaar are not really old, and the shops here peddle everything from tourist souvenirs to traditional medicines.

The Yu Yuan Gardens were my favorite spot in Shanghai. Located in the Old Town area of the city, and built during the Ming Dynasty, the gardens are now surrounded by modern skyscrapers, but retain their tranquility in the midst of the bustling city. The gardens are a very popular tourist spot and can become quite crowded during the day. I got there early in the morning, and as I wandered through the six walled areas of the gardens, I often had the place to myself. The most popular spot in the gardens is the Huxingting Teahouse, built in 1794 by cotton merchants, it only became a teahouse in the late 19th century. The teahouse is approached by a zig zag bridge which protects the structure, as evil spirits cannot turn corners.

The various areas of the garden contained pools, temples, carved walls, rockeries, and beautiful floral gardens. These are pictures taken throughout the garden.

At the end of my stay in Shanghai I returned to the airport on the Maglev [Magnetic Levitation] high speed train which reached a speed of 247 mph on the short, but fast, 8 minute trip from the city to the airport.

I enjoyed my trip to Shanghai, and I look forward to returning again in the future to see several sights that I did not have time to visit on this trip.

AGRA - MARCH, 2014

The third leg of my trip to India was a short two hour flight from New Delhi to Agra [which included a stop in Varanasi.] Agra has a population of 1.7 million people and is in the state of Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of 200 million people. Agra was congested and gritty, and not as metropolitan as Mumbai or New Delhi. Because the main tourist sights were spread out over a considerable distance, and no public transportation was easily available, I took a day tour organized by UP Tourism. This was a bus tour which had about 15 people on the tour; myself, a couple from Australia, and the rest from India. Although it was a busy day, it gave me the chance to see the main tourist sights, the countryside outside the main city of Agra, and to get the feel of India.

Our first stop was Fatehpur Sikri, which is a magnificent fortified ancient city about 26 miles from Agra. Fatehpur Sikri was the short-lived capital of the Mughal empire between 1571 and 1585. It was built by the Emperor Akbar, and includes a stunning mosque, which is still in use today; and three palaces for each of his favorite wives, one a Hindu, one a Muslim, and one a Christian. Built in an area that suffered from water shortages, it was abandoned shortly after the death of Akbar. The palace complex and mosque sit on top of a ridge that runs between the small villages of Fatehpur and Sikri.

The road between Agra and Fatehpur Sikri was a narrow two lane road filled with trucks, buses and carts traveling at breakneck speed with no regard for safety or traffic laws. The area that the road traversed was rural, and we passed through many villages. It gave me an insight into the difference between the highly crowded cities and the more pastoral countryside.

Our second stop on the tour was the Agra Fort, which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. The fort can be more accurately described as a walled city. Mentioned for the first time in 1080 AD, it was held by various parties over the centuries until Emperor Akbar made it his capital and had it rebuilt with red sandstone in 1558. During the reign of Akbar's grandson, Shah Jahan [who built the beautiful Taj Mahal for his wife Mumtaz Mahal] the buildings were improved. At the end of his life Shah Jahan was deposed by his son and imprisoned in the fort. It is rumored that Shah Jahan died in a tower with a marble balcony with a view of the Taj Mahal.

Our third and final stop on the tour was the Taj Mahal, which has been described as "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity," and is considered by many to be the most beautiful building in the world. It is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan as a memorial for his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child in 1631. In 1633 Mumtaz was interred in an underground tomb, on top of which the Taj Mahal would be built. The entire Taj Mahal complex was not completed until 1653. In 1658 Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and imprisoned in the Agra Fort until his death in 1666. His body was transported along the Yumana River and buried underneath the Taj alongside the tomb of his beloved wife.

We entered the Taj Mahal complex through the East Gate, and the beautiful sight of the Taj Mahal opened before our eyes.

The last photo that I took in India was this photo of the Taj Mahal at sunset.

I enjoyed my trip to India very much. India is certainly a country of contrasts; hot and dirty with incredible poverty, while at the same time having many of the world's most beautiful sights.