Thailand’s Favorite Shopper is now China’s Favorite Shopper

Well, it has been an interesting couple of weeks. Right now I am back in China after a brief visit to LA to shoot some stuff for this show I have been working on since January 8th. I have been away from Aleksandra for so long that I decided to fly her out here to Beijing for a visit. It has always been her dream to go to China and now it has come true, thanks to me. Who’s the man????? She wasted no time and got right to the shopping. I came home from work the day she arrived and the minute I walked into my hotel room, she was sitting there with a large bag and said, “I bought all this cool stuff!!!!” She had just landed two hours earlier!!!! I am glad to know that nothing has changed in the couple of months I have been away. When she walks through the hotel lobby the Chinese women in the gift shop get these huge similes on their faces and bow to her….that’s right, they bow to her every time she walks through the lobby.

Yesterday I had the day off and we decided to go visit The Great Wall. I had high expectations, yet this trip exceeded them all. The Great Wall is REALLY amazing. I was blown away by the breathtaking vitas and really soaking in the history. Meanwhile Aleksandra was……Shopping!!!! Yes, that’s right. Even at the Great Wall of China shopping came to Aleksandra. She made friends with these two gypsy ladies that shadowed us the entire time hoping to sell us stuff that we don’t need at super inflated prices. Their strategy was flawless and Aleksandra dropped some serious greenbacks on tapestry, books, and of course a t-shirt that says, “I Climbed the Great Wall of China.” In my opinion she should have a t-shirt that says, “I SHOPPED the Great Wall of China” but I guess they didn’t have those because she certainly would have bought one, or two, or three!

I am Tired

Yeah, I haven't been updating lately because I have been working my butt off and I am absolutely beat. Fear not, I'll be posting something interesting soon. Time to go back to work :(

Back to “The Land of the not so Free”

I have just taken an intermission from packing for my second trip to China. This time I will be in Beijing, which I heard is even more polluted than where I was on my last trip. Yes! At least my company booked me on Continental airlines. You gotta love the Boeing 777 and if the SUPERBOWL XLII CHAMPION New York Giants fly Continental then it is certainly good enough for me. I am taking my last look at Wikipedia because it is one of the many things in the PRC this is censored. Speaking of censorship, you might find this interesting. Here is a short list of things I cannot photograph:

images of Mao Zedong
laundry
the Chinese flag
shirtless men

That’s no joke. I can’t shoot that stuff. As I perused wiki I found this interesting article on the 2008 Chinese winter storms.

2008 Chinese Winter Storms

It looks like I am in for a great trip! LOL!!! Fortunately, the Chinese people I have met so far have been super nice and all of the American folks on this project have been extremely supportive and great to work with so it will be a great time - censorship and all. My next report will be from Beijing. Please stay tuned!