Pictures!

this is the street i live on. i walk along this road for about 8 minutes to and from work every day.
this is almost the same shot, during the day. the scooters/motorcycles rule the road here.
the Bancaio train station. i catch the train here every day. it's a beautiful building.
any doubt that Lebron James is a superstar? this billboard is across from the train station...it's great to see a kid from home doing so well. Go Cavs!
this is inside the train station. if you look closely, you can see a fine example of asian style english...the sign says "wish you have a nice trip". we refer to this as "chinglish"...a fine meld of chinese and english...lol.

Pictures!

some shots of and from my new apartment.

this is the view from my apartment window. that is WenHua Rd., it's always busy.

my living area. just bought the laptop computer, it's great. got it for about half of what it would cost in the US.

the kitchen. not exactly the most expansive cooking area...it's great for me, don't need lots of space. I love this little place.

Day One in Banchiao

My first morning at my new place. So far, so good. This little apartment is perfect. The bed is a bit hard, but I think a visit to Ikea can solve that problem. I've been told they have mattress pads there. The apartment has a nice bathroom and an excellent wooden wardrobe. The place is just big enough to hold a bed, wardrobe, desk, frig, some kitchen counters and a sink. It's what you'd expect in Asia, considering the population density here...a big apartment is a waste of space.

The building itself is quite nice. The security is great. There is a door man at the entrance and you have to have an electronic key thingy to get the elevator to move...very secure.

I went out to get some breakfast this morning and discovered that there is an Overseas Dragon just a couple blocks from here!!! This just happens to be my favorite Chinese restaurant, they make the most incredible fried dumplings on Earth. In the US, they call them "pot stickers". They are yummy.

Back to work on Monday...I've had a nice break. Accomplished some things I needed to do. I found this place, bought a computer, and did some exploring around the city. Had a fun time, but now I'm broke!!...lol. Back to work to start rebuilding my savings.

I Found an Apartment!

Forget about it. Didn't do the apartment mentioned in the last post...found something better. I just got back from checking out a great little studio apartment in Banciao (an out-lying area of the city). I liked it so much, I gave Sher (the girl currently living there) a few thousand bucks to hold it for me, I'm moving in!

It's pretty small, but it's all mine. I just wasn't digging the idea of having roommates. It's on the top floor of a 9-story building, which means very little road noise. One of the best features is its down the road from the train station and VERY close to work. It's nestled nicely between the subway and train stations, very convenient. The apartment is furnished which means it has a bed, tv, wardrobe, desk, microwave and a bunch of other stuff I can't remember right now. There is a washer/dryer that the 5 or 6 apartments on the floor share...that's a good deal.

The rent is a somewhat more than the other place, but it's worth it to have my own place. Can't wait to get in the place and make it home!