Florida, April 2007

My friend, Dan from Shanghai and Taipei, sent these photos showing how cyber cafes operate in Shanghai.

Published rate per hour: US$3 for a single seat and US$4.50 for a double (tips are extra!)

PS: If you want something more challenging than sitting next to a 'pretty' at a Shanghai cyber cafe China offers this. Again, thanks to Dan for these photos.

Mt. Huashan is one of the five sacred mountains of China and was called Mt. Taihuashan in ancient times for its five main peaks shaped much like a flower. Hua was historically the location of several influential Taoist monasteries, and was known as a center for the practice of traditional Chinese martial arts. Situated in Huayin County, Mt. Huashan is some 120 kilometers (about 75 miles) east of Xian City in Shaanxi Province. This mountain is celebrated for its majestic breath-taking crags, steep paths, beautiful scenery and it is said to be the most precipitous mountain in the world.

Until recently there was only one way to reach the top of Mt. Huashan since ancient times. Most of the trail is very narrow and steep; some parts are almost vertical. Iron chains have been set up along the path, but courage and an adventurous spirit are still necessary if you decide to climb Mt. Huashan on foot. Recent developments have added two alternate ways of traveling to the summit. Now you can take the ropeway, or ride in a cable car to enjoy the unique scenery of Mt. Huashan.

Mt. Huashan has more than two hundred places of interest and fascinating scenic spots. Its five main peaks, the South Peak (Landing Wild Goose Peak), the West Peak (Lotus Flower Peak), the East Peak (Facing Sun Peak), the Middle Peak (Pure Girl Peak) and the North Peak (Yuntai Peak), each of them has its peculiar scene and moving legend.

Tuesday, April 3, 2007

Dear Alf and Watcharee,

Sorry it took so long, but I finally got all of the videos from Sunday uploaded to youtube.com. I was trying so hard yesterday from home and I could never get the videos to upload, but it turned out I have a serious firewall at home and I can't upload. I did it successfully from my office today. There are 5 videos:

I specifically used key words to draw people to the links by accident. I called the videos "Thai Idol in an American City" and called them part 1 to 5. It will be interesting to see if this will draw people and if the public will make comments. This was really a learning process with youtube.com. I originally made a continuous video around 12 minutes but then realized I had to keep it under 10 minutes per youtube guidelines. Then, the size of the video had to be under 100 megs and that limited me even more. I decided to split it up into 5 segments which in the end could gain some attention.

I have some other funny footage of Bill dancing and separately some of the other girls dancing which I may put together based on the reaction with these videos.

I wish the 2 of you safe travels and hope you enjoy your time in Thailand. Hopefully you are not racing back here soon!

Take care,

Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Cherry blossom time in Florida? These yellow things blossomed at exactly the same time that the ones in Washington, DC came out. Christy ... Bernie ...?

Anyway, the other house is getting a new roof...more than 16 months after Wilma came to town.

And, last night we had our final dinner at Cocos before we leave for Bangkok. Forty-eight hours from now we'll be on the road to the airport.

Thursday, April 5, 2007

Our old roof is going ... and in the process our chimney has doubled as a worker's bar for the removers.