When I first moved to Shanghai, I heard about this woman called the Avocado Lady. She has a popular shop at 274 Wulumuqi Lu that has reached almost mythical status. What differentiates her from the countless other fruit and vegetable stands that line the sidewalks? For starters, she has produce that foreigners actually want to […]
World Markets
Affordable Art on Shanghai’s Painter Street
We brought a few pieces of art with us to Shanghai in need of framing because I figured we could have it done here for a lot less than it would cost in the States. The trouble was that we didn’t know where in Shanghai to go. Then I heard about this place called Painter […]
Exploring Fuli Ancient Town, China
After our boat ride down the Li River from Yangshuo, we disembarked into a field full of water buffalo and carefully made our way across. The gentle giants looked curiously on as we marched past, peacefully chewing their cud. They seemed so docile that I wanted to pet one but our guide advised against it. […]
Aglow in Yangshuo, China
A friend is visiting from the States and I wanted to show her there was more to China than the towering skyscrapers and luxury hotels of Shanghai. She was open to seeing more of the country so I decided to take her to Yangshuo in Guangxi province, home of the famous karst formations. We set off on our […]
Tips for Visiting Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo
Tsukiji Market in Tokyo is the largest fish and seafood wholesale market in the world. The market processes around 700,000 metric tons of seafood each year, worth roughly US $5.5 billion dollars. Every morning at 3:00am, the prized tuna are unloaded and their value is estimated. At 5:30am, the tuna auctions gets underway. Only licensed […]