So two subway rides and a bus ride I arrive and meet up with Aimee and Christine. At the park that we meet up at there is a Stride’s gum campaign and we are greeted by a bunch of zebras. After taking a picture with the main one we see at least six more cars full of zebra mascots. That was pretty interesting.

t has been a while since I’ve been to a zoo. This China zoo was pretty disappointing by international standards. The animals aren’t really free roam and I was pretty surprised to see dogs being exhibited. This poodle looks so sad and why the hell would they dye its ears? Regardless the fish aquarium area was pretty interesting looking.

China has now surpassed the United States in automobile consumption and this year the Shanghai Auto Show is one of the largest in the world. Lucky for me my cousin works for Delphi an auto parts supplier and we were able to get press passes for the initial opening of the auto show. The first two days are reversed for press and should be a lot less crowded. This means that it will still be super crowded, however by Chinese standards it is much better than it could have been.

The exhibition had a lot less exotics and high end cars that I had hoped for but it was fun nonetheless. It was interesting checking out the brands coming out of China. A lot of these cars look very familiar such as a Geely GE that looks an awful lot like a Rolls Royce. Besides all the fakes I really enjoyed the event and especially liked the cross section of the Nissan GTR.

I landed in Shanghai during the night. The flights from Kathmandu to Lasa to Chengdu and finally to Pudong International Airport was long and tiresome. My cousin Xie Ying met me at the airport and we took a taxi back to his condo. I am actually staying at Ying’s new condo. It was just finished and he has yet to move in. Shanghai is split into two parts by the Huangpu River, a tributary of the Yangtze. The two parts are east of the Huangpu River, called PuDong, and west of the Huangpu River, called PuXi. I will be staying in PuDong.

Shanghai has a population of 17million and is thus the largest city in China and the largest city in the world. The last time I came to Shanghai in 2001 the area known as LuJiaZui was just one tower; The Oriental Pearl Tower, or as I like to call it the weird spaceship looking TV tower building. Everything else around that area was flat. Now that area is full of tall skyscrapers and modern looking building. I am surprised at how modern Shanghai is. The last few years this place has been in a building frenzy.

One of the first things I check out while in Shanghai is the Shanghai World Financial Center. It’s the giant bottle opener looking building. Originally the top of the building was to have a circular cutout, but once the plans were revealed to the public, the Chinese people complained that it resembled the Japanese flag and the anti-Japanese sentiment made the architect change plans and make it a trapezoidal cutout. And thus we have the current bottle cap opener looking building today.

The Shanghai World Financial Center is a tourist attraction. It sits at 492.0 meters or 1,614.2 feet tall. We were able to visit the 94th, 97th and 100th floor after purchasing tickets. The 97th is the observation deck and you see all around the LuJiaZui area. It is amazing how expansive this city. The Bund which is the area across the river is amazing at night and is completely lit up.

Pokhara was a brief break but my one month visa is just about up. We head back to Kathmandu via the tops of buses and enjoy the beautiful scenery from up top one last time. Kathmandu is noisy, smoggy and congested with traffic. It really feels like a terrible place to be after sending so much time in the pristine outdoors. We are only here for one night and decide to find the cheapest place possible. My first room turned out to be a roach motel and after switching we finally found a descent room. The next morning I catch a taxi over to the airport and say good bye to Nepal. Here is a pic of the Himalaya Mountains from the cabin window as I fly from Kathmandu to Lasa, China to Chengdu, China and finally to Shanghai, China.

The hangover from my 2066 New Year Celebration is incredible. I felt like I got shot but managed to get up before noon. I talked our group into renting Motorcycles and exploring the surroundings. Joe and I end up getting 180cc Pulsars which are actually the largest sportiest bikes we are able to rent. Christine and Nate opt for a scooter since neither can really ride a motorcycle with a clutch. Needless to say Joe and I quickly outpaced the scooter group and ended up doing most of the exploring on our own.

At the heart of Pokhara (touristy district) is the lake surrounded back shops, restaurants, cafes and drinking venues. The beauty of Pokhara lies in its surrounds; up the mountains and around the more village like surroundings. The only real way to check it out is on motorcycles or bicycles, but who wants to pedal after hiking for such a long time.

During the start the roads leading out of Pokhara twist and turn up mountains. They are extremely fun on sporty bikes. It is kind of dangerous too since Nepalese people often times than not, don’t stay within their lanes. Joe and I tear it on the twisties, and since Nate and Christine’s scooter can’t even make it up a hill we are free to do some faster paced riding. Man I miss my gixxer!

When we return we come to find that Christine had let Nate drive. Apparently he’s not very good at driving and ran into a ditch and laid the bike over. Luckily neither of them are injured and neither are put off by the idea of riding. The next day we have another go, this time I grab a Yamaha 150cc Cruiser as to avoid killing myself racing Joe on the twisties.

This time around we visit some of the more natural looking areas. Farmlands, hills and lakes are all available within a few minutes of Pokhara. There are nice rest stops on top of the hill overlooking the entire town and lake. It’s a beautiful view, too bad I didn’t bring my SLR camera. Our second day of exploring is cut short by rain and we all end up fast tracking it back to the hotel.

The weather is nice and warm. Tshirt and shorts suffice.  Our accommodations are as close to the ranks of a western hotel as I’ve seen since Dubai. It feels like paradise. After a morning of sleeping in I pull myself out of bed for a nice warm shower. I wonder around the touristy part of town and realize what a change it has been since coming down from the rustic mountains villages of the Annapurna Circuit. I visit coffee shops and gorge myself in western cuisine. I have discovered that the Italian restaurant around the corner has awesome clay oven baked thin crust pizza. Who would have thought I’d be able to get a good Italian pizza in Nepal!

In addition to the Italian restaurants there are other dining venues from all over the world. Due to the popularity of the Annapurna Circuit in the international community and the fact that trek ends in the town of Pokhara there is an abundant amount of western conveniences. They range from budget minded backpacker to high end dinning so there is quite a variety to choose from. It is only here that I would actually trust the meat dishes.

The town is decorated in bright red banners. Happy 2066! Huh? How long have I been gone? It appears that the Nepalese still celebrate New Years or “Navavarsha” during this time. Everyone is outdoors in groups and there’s quite the hustle bustle in Pokhara. That night we decide to visit a Nepalese night club to celebrate. Shots of Nepalese Whiskey and dancing to western music are a nice welcome from our regular nights of relaxing after a grueling day’s walk.