Earlier this year my family and I decided to visit relatives in Alabama -- in Fairhope. I bet many of you readers do not associate Alabama with beaches and beautiful ocean coastline scenery....! Well, as it turns out -- it is quite the coast.
But then pictures speak best for themselves. Here is a slideshow from Fairhope's ocrean views:
Well folks, you thought people are kidding when you heard (at least once in your stay or travel in China or Taiwan) that the most famous jade artwork in the world is the Jade Cabbage…. No, this is the case for sure — countless visitors to the Palace Museum in Taipei line up to see that piece of art. No photography allowed !!!! I borrowed an image from Wikipedia so I can show that revered piece of jade shaped as a head of Chinese cabbage… Taking a closer look while you are in the museum one can actually see also a grasshopper hiding in the green leafs… It is a quite amazing piece of work. The importance of the Jade Cabbage is also highlighted in a recent article of Beijing This Month magazine. So, the next time you have the opportunity to go to Taipei — visit the Palace Museum. This is becoming increasingly easy given the direct flights from the mainland to Taipei… Here are a few more photos from Taipei
The article is weird in some ways — it is trying to show the issues facing Beijing people as well as the Olympics, but it also big time misses on some facts: For example, the article claims that large (diesel) trucks are forbidden from entering the city before midnight… Yes, this might be true as a policy, but anyone who has driven along JinShunLu (from the 3rd loop road towards ShunYi or in the opposite direction) knows and has seen the endless procession of huge trucks spewing smoke….Yes, sometimes the police stops the trucks, but from what I understand that happens when these trucks are very dangerously overloaded (not just overloaded 
mind you)
I am not going to debate if the air quality has improved or not over the last several years…but I am very curious as to where New York Times gets their facts and how they verify their articles…
Having said that, the other aspects that the article shows are pointing some of the disconnects — eventhough the number of blue sky days has increased particulate matter is still way high. One clue — the trucks that keep coming into Beijing — not all the way to TianAnMen but even if they go only to the 3rd loop road the impact on the city air is done…
At any rate, take a look at the article and/or just look outside of your window (if you live in Beijing). The local government is pusing in the right direction — more green buildings, more effort on renewable energy (after all one of the fastest growing Solar Panel companies in the world is in China), and now is the time to further strengthen enforcement of good rules.
(By the way I just posted earlier today this same article on my other blog (Travel The World), but I will start writing on these topics (business, social aspects, technology in China) here on blogger.com)
Well, I am sure many of you are thinking about the next holiday — there are several coming very soon (this is a posting from my blog at Chinafinds.com):
New Year’s, Chinese (Lunar) New Year, Valentine’s Day…wedding anniversaries (there must be some between now and March for some of you)… Any of those holidays warrants a trip to a beautiful place like Phuket. My family (my wife, daughter, and I) spent a wonderful week there during the last Chinese New Year. It took me a while to write about it because we had many other things to write about plus Phuket is tough to write about — you simply have to go there to truly appreciate it.
Nevertheless, I decided to write a few lines and give you some ideas as to where to go and what makes sense to do:
Places to stay — we recommend the Holiday Inn Busakorn Wing at Patong Beach
Beaches to go to: Patong Beach, Nai Harn Beach — probably the most beautiful beach in Phuket
Places to eat: sounds strange but the Thai restaurant at the Holiday Inn in the Busakorn Wing is excellent!!! Try it - you will enjoy it.
Things to do: (1) Diving/snorkeling at Nai Harn Beach, rent a speed boat for the day and go to James Bond rock and then to other uninhabitted islands with pristine beached.
(2) Visit a rubber plantation and take an elephant ride. Interesting experience.
