Escaping the Jungle for the Forest

Shanghai is a great city, it is also a massive and heavily populated city.  Population based on Shanghai resident permits is approximately 22 million, but we've heard actual population estimates ranging from 28 million to 40 million.  And with little green-space, it is often referred to as the concrete jungle.  It is easy to go months without stepping foot on grass.  Though there are a number of small parks scattered throughout the city, you are not supposed to walk on the grass in most.  In fact, I only know of two parks where you're able to walk on the grass.  One is a 20 minute walk from our place and is completely under construction at the moment, the other is a 40 minute Metro ride across the city.  As someone who enjoys the outdoors and the solitude of a hike through nature, escaping the city is one of the more difficult things about living here for me.

Some time ago, it was with a fair bit of excitement that I had Anthony (our driver) take me an hours drive out to the Sheshan National Forest.  Sheshan is not so much a forest as it is a series of tree-covered hills all within about 20 minutes drive of each other with the occasional historic structure at or near a "peak".  Sheshan also contains the highest point in Shanghai at 97m above sea-level.  Downtown Shanghai averages 3m above sea-level.  Sheshan is where Shanghainese go to "climb a mountain".  I "climbed" the highest, Heaven Horse Mountain, and two others.  It takes about 15 minutes.

It was great to be amongst nature again.  I saw and heard birds that weren't for sale in a cage and I scared off some sort of wildlife along the way.  Didn't catch a glimpse of it, but I'm assuming it was a deer.  I don't think there are many other larger animals around these parts.  Despite the quick ascents, there were enough trails in the two sections of the forest I visited to kill the better part of a day.  Only unfortunate part, as you'll see below, is "the mist" is ever-present across all of Shanghai and far beyond it's boundaries.

West Sheshan Park:

View from the "peak"

I believe the Family Feud question was:
Things you don't expect to see in Shanghai?

The Church of Our Lady of Sheshan.  The biggest
church in Southeast Asia and a Catholic church.

Urinal just outside the church.  Anybody
else wondering why you need an outdoor
urinal with all those trees around?

Astronomical Observatory.  Think it goes without
saying that it's no longer in operation.

Never thought somebody actually looked through
a scope in one of these huge observatories.

Not sure what this is.  Seems like the top deck
was a sundial that time has deteriorated.

Bamboo forest

These were everywhere throughout the bamboo forest.
Didn't think a bamboo forest would be so susceptible
to fire, but I'm not going to knock one of the few
 safety precautions I've come across while here.

Just a bathroom

Tianmashan Park:

Entrance gate

Balance is an important concept to the Chinese

Uhhhhh ... okay?!?

Huzhu Pagoda.  Over 900 years old and tilted at
 an angle greater than the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

This may show the angle better/

Buddhist temple at one peak.

Not a good PMI day.

At the peak of Heaven Horse Mountain, 97m above
sea level.  I'll save you the close up of the horse.
It's made in an attempt to look real, but is missing
key facial components that gives you the creeps.

This is just a bathroom in the forest, but it's funny
because of the doors.  The Chinese seem to have
an aversion to removing the protective plastic that
 adorns aesthetically important, but transportationally
fragile items.  This drives some people crazy.  These
doors on perhaps the most remote bathroom in
Shanghai still have the protective plastic on them.

Pretty certain this is not the longest word, but at 23 letters,
it is the longest word I have ever seen actually used
without being prefaced by "the longest word is ...".

Unrelenting

When we moved here, we knew we'd face a summer heat wave.  Neither of us expected what's turned into a summer heat tsunami.  We are setting records and the heat is relentless day and night.  I've resorted to putting a Shamwow like towel in my pocket every time I step outdoors.  I've walked ten minutes to a shop only to be asked by the shopkeeper if I came in from a run.  I meet a friend down at the track for morning runs on occasion.  We moved it up to 6:00am in an attempt to beat the heat the other day.  After a 2.5 mile run down to the track and only 2 miles on the track, I drank an entire Camelbak (nearly half gallon) of water and two bottles of rehydrating drink only to return home so dehydrated and sapped of energy I drank three more bottles of water, took an hour nap and still wasn't right.  It is STUPID HOT!  It's showers per day = # of times outdoors + 1 hot.

So today is record day number 35 of the temperature exceeding 35C (95F) and there is no end in sight.  We're forecasted to continue the streak as far out as CNN and The Weather Channel forecast.  Sounds bad enough, but this does not tell the whole story.  This record is reported to us by CNN Hong Kong which seems to be getting it's weather data from the China government. You see, I reckon of the 35 consecutive days over 35C, we've likely exceeded 40C (104F) the last 20+ consecutive days.  We're regularly hitting "feels like" 113F with the humidity according to The Weather Channel.  So you ask, what is the record for consecutive days over 40C and have we broken it?

When temperatures reach 38C in China, construction workers and the like are to cease work.  That seems like a lot of lost work you're thinking.  Well, not so much.  Funny thing here in China, we don't seem to recognize temperatures over 37C.  If you have a China weather app, 37C is the max temperature you'll see on it for any China city.  And all those publicly displayed thermometers that perhaps can't be as easily controlled, none of them work anymore.  So work continues as the magic bubble ensures our maximum temperature never exceeds 37C, but it sure feels way hotter.

Tuk Tuk a Trip to Phnom Penh

Several weeks ago, the Shanghai Tigers joined forces with our Beijing Bomber friends to the north to play as the China Reds.  We traveled together to Phnom Penh, the capital city of Cambodia, to take on the Cambodia Eagles.  Check footy trip to Cambodia off my list of things I never thought I'd do in my life.

I'll forego the stories of the shenanigans some might get into when 29 guys, many of them in their 20's and single, venture off to somewhat untamed lands for a weekend.  I'll just set the tone by noting 29 men boarded a flight in China with open cans of beer, and Cambodia immigration didn't bat an eye when one travel companion, having forgot his visa in a checked bag, handed the agent his passport noting "my visa is in my bag, I'll be right back" and proceeded right through immigration to the baggage claim.  Fun was had.

I didn't know much about Phnom Penh, or Cambodia for that matter, before going.  I don't know a whole lot more now.  The Cambodians were quite lovely and accommodating people.  They are predominately Buddhist with temples all over Phnom Penh.  There's seems to be a bit of a strange embrace of a horrendous not so distant past.  Pol Pot's regime slaughtered millions of it's people as recently as the mid-70's in what became known as killing fields.  There were advertisements around the city for shooting ranges at "the killing fields".  Reportedly you can shoot a cow with a bazooka for USD$200.  I saw the bazooka on an ad, I did not see reference to a cow being the target.  On a lighter note, Cambodia Lager is light enough to be consumed in large quantities, but is not a good beer.  I came away from Phnom Penh with an almost unhealthy fondness for the tuk tuk.  A tuk tuk is basically a four-seater buggy pulled behind a moped.  They are the taxis of Phnom Penh, they are ridiculously cheap, and they are an absolute joy to ride in. And for an Asian capital city, Phnom Penh seems quite underdeveloped with only two tall buildings, a number of very rudimentary housing, market, and business structures, and an entire side of a very large river and busy shipping corridor essentially barren.  A few older fellows who've traveled China for years said it reminds them of China's major cities 20 years ago.

As for the game, it was played at a Cambodian naval base where there was a random cow hanging off to the side of the field and the only ship I saw was the concrete guard house fashioned into one at the entrance.  The guard was rightfully uncertain of our bus pulling up to his naval base wearing our trip t-shirts with "The Red Army" emblazoned on the front.  It was a well contested game through three quarters.  We had clearly outplayed them, but couldn't kick goals only taking a one-point lead into the final quarter.  One forward literally could not hit the broad side of a barn.  A large barn sat behind one goal of which he had three wide open relatively short shots at.  He missed goal posts, behind posts, and barn on all three kicks.  We moved our former pro to the front line for the final quarter and he made the difference.  He took four marks on four well delivered balls and converted goals on all four.  Final score of Reds 8.8.56 to Eagles 4.4.28.

We all returned to China safely and without incident.  You won't be seeing a China Red on Locked Up Abroad.

The quaint hotel that was nice enough to take us in.
Accommodating and smart owners.  We did not have access to
that room with the balcony which is over the pool or the dune buggy.

This is a tuk tuk.  They are great.  You're about
to see the results of a 30-minute tour of the
the city from one.  This doesn't make for good
pictures and I don't know what anything is.

Tuk tuk driver's have this for tourists.  Bazookas
and RPGs, but no mention of a cow.

The Mekong River from a rooftop bar.  Odd there's
next to nothing on the far side in a capital city.

Naval base entrance.  There's the one ship we saw.

The footy field.  The goals and barn "Roo" couldn't hit at the far end.

China Red victory.

Not very tasty.