I'm at my apartment alone listening to music and relaxing. I feel a little bad sitting around the place so much when my roommates are off working, but once school starts I should be relatively busy, too. These past two days I've been able to wind down from all the hustle and bustle of touring and setting things up, and I've had a pretty good time doing it, too.
Yesterday I was going to go onto campus and talk to the scholarship lady about making sure everything is set with my scholarship money coming. I decided against it. Instead I stayed in most of the day, relaxed, and did my laundry. (Good news, though: I washed the stinky bag I bought and it doesn't smell horrible now!) At about six or seven, Amanda and John came home. John wanted to go to this one night market he heard about, so we all headed out as a group.
If you are my mother, don't read this next part.
I took a ride on John's moped to the market. At first I was scared, but eventually I got used to the dodging through traffic and other maneuvers John did. It didn't help that on the way we saw a moped accident. I don't think going on moped rides is really for me, I'll stick to MRT and walking first.
Okay, Mom, you can start reading again.
After we found our way to the night market we were all surprised by the size of it. The market, called Wufenpu, concentrates on selling clothes. It takes up three alleyways long and three alleyways wide. I didn't do much clothing shopping (mainly because my frame isn't very Asian), but Amanda bought a couple of T-shirts. John said that he'd probably come back some time in the future to see what he could get. After the market we went back to our apartment and, since John and Amanda had to work in the morning, we quieted down pretty quickly.
Today I had orientation at the Mandarin Training Center (MTC) at the National Taiwan Normal University (Shida). I went early so I could time my trip (about 40 minutes from leaving my apartment to the classroom floors of the building I'm in) and so I could talk to the scholarship lady. As it turns out, if I had gone Thursday my trip would've been rather fruitless; I can't turn in the paperwork I've gathered until Monday at the earliest. Fortunately, I did find out that they changed my school on the list, so I'd be able to get scholarship money.
The orientation was done in a lecture hall by one of the secretaries whose English is amazing. The 150-seat lecture hall was filled and many people were standing. We watched a video and went through a few slides of what we need to do and what's coming up (visa renewal, culture classes, etc.). Afterwards everyone filed out of the lecture hall to pick up their schedule and then buy their books. My class meets every day from 2:10 - 4:00 P.M. We start at the first lesson of the second book. I'm not completely sure, but this may mean that I placed at about a second- or third-year level. I looked at a few of the lessons and it doesn't seem very difficult - I've went over similar material before. The big question on whether or not the class is suitable for me will be judging how the pacing of the class is. If it's definitely below my level, I'm allowed to switch after three days. We'll see.
After that I grabbed a little boxed meal and caught the subway home. I stopped at the market to get supplies for making spaghetti tonight. Other than that, I've been pretty laid back. I think I might get started making dinner out of lack of anything better to do. They don't have ground beef at the RT Mart, so I'm trying to make do with sausage in making the spaghetti sauce. Let's see how that turns out.
Until next time, folks.
Friday, August 31, 2007
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
In my apartment
Quite a bit has changed since the last time I posted. My mom is on her way back to the US, I'm registered for classes, and I'm in my new apartment. That's quite a large change to occur in four days, no? Well, here's how it happened:
Sunday I started the day off apartment searching. I first got in touch with Amanda, the girl Monica told me to contact about a room. The apartment is on the twenty-sixth floor of a relatively new complex in the city of Xindian, which is south of Taipei but accessible by subway. I visited the place and was very impressed by the surroundings, the room, and the nearby stores. I told her that I'd probably take the apartment but there was one more place I had to check out that afternoon. I checked out the other place and it wasn't even close to as nice, so I called up Amanda and said I'd take it. My big apartment search was over and it wasn't even 2 o'clock.
That night my mom and I went to Longshan Temple. There was quite the hubbub there, and it turns out it was because it was the day before a Chinese festival honoring the dead. Many people had small fires where they burned "ghost money" that their relatives can spend in the afterlife. After the temple we went to Snake Alley, which lived up to its name by featuring all sorts of snakes. We didn't eat snake, however, even though it was offered there. We ate at a pretty high-class seafood restaurant which prepared some excellent shrimp, lobster, and clams. After spending a little time at Snake Alley we headed to the Shida night market, the market near the school I'm going to. We found a college-style bar there and had a couple of drinks. All in all, a good night.
The next day was my big class registration day. I went to my school (nicknamed Shida), filled out the paperwork, showed my passport, paid tuition, and took a proficiency test. After the test I went to get my scholarship paperwork. The scholarship lady tells me that I'm not on their list. She checks her paperwork and finds me on a list for a different school, National Taiwan University (not to be confused with my school, National Taiwan Normal University). She said that I'd have to sign up there. I was quite incredulous, so she told me to go to the American Institute (like an embassy) to work it out. I did, and they said that they couldn't help me, and that I should probably contact the people who gave me the scholarship. I sent them an e-mail and they said that there was a little mix-up and that they could fax them to fix it. That was a relief. My mom and I went to a bar not too far from the hotel called Saints and Sinners. We had some French fries and a few beers before heading back to the hotel.
Tuesday was a rather bittersweet day since it was the last day with my mom. After checking at the school to see if they received the fax from Chicago (they hadn't) and picking up the checklist to get the scholarship money, my mom and I went to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. While there we saw the changing of the guard and read about what Sun Yat-Sen did for China and Taiwan. From there we walked to Taipei 101 to eat lunch (at the same place we went last time - my mom really liked those noodles) and to look for souvenirs (which we couldn't find). We took a bus back to the hotel and began packing, since I told my future roommates I could move in Tuesday night.
After packing up and setting aside an overnight bag at the hotel, my mom and I decided to eat at a restaurant called Eight Immortals. At that restaurant, you order the seafood up front, go up to the upper-floor porch, and drink beers. We did just that and enjoyed a view over the nearby Da'an Park. At the restaurant I got a call from John, one of the roommates, saying that he was home and I could move in when I get the chance. We walked back to the apartment, got my stuff all ready, and took the subway to Xindian. Unpacking didn't take long, and we stopped at the nearby RT-Mart (think Wal-Mart but Chinese) to get some essentials, brought them back to the room, then headed back to Taipei. My mom and I shared a beer and after a while finally got some sleep.
The car to the airport for my mom left at 6:00 AM, and I was semi-conscious when she left, but I was glad I was there to send her off. It was a good time spending the past three weeks with her. It'll be hard going nine months without having direct contact with any of my family. I slept a little bit more, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to my new apartment.
After spending about fifteen minutes at my apartment alone and stopping at the RT Mart to grab some more stuff, one of my roommates comes in. Simone is from Australia and studies Chinese here, but not at the same university I do. Her friend Sarah is visiting too, so we all go for a walk to check out the nearby area. Afterwards we both get on the MRT (the name for the subway system), them to go eat, and me to accomplish the tasks on my scholarship checklist. I'm able to do everything - go to the police office and register as a foreign citizen, copy my important documents, buy a name stamp, and open a bank account at the post office - except for hand in everything at the scholarship office (the scholarship lady went home early). I went back to the apartment and soon after Amanda comes home from work. I chat with her for a bit and she says she needs to go to the RT Mart. I haven't done much food shopping (despite my repeated trips), so I join her. I get some veggies, some ramen, and some Diet Pepsi. Afterwards I try to set up the Internet to no avail. When John got home, I asked him for help, but that didn't work either. I try one last time and magically it works. How about that. I set up Skype and find out I'm able to call home for cheap (about 2 cents US per min), but after calling my dad I find there's a pretty bad delay on the line. Hey, if the price is right, no problem.
As I'm typing this while lying on my bed, I'm considering purchasing a desk and table for my room. That and stopping by the scholarship office are on my to-do list for tomorrow. Friday I have orientation, books to purchase, and I'm set to hang out with a guy I know from Madison that I ran into randomly on the street (Wayne Lin). Stay tuned!
Sunday I started the day off apartment searching. I first got in touch with Amanda, the girl Monica told me to contact about a room. The apartment is on the twenty-sixth floor of a relatively new complex in the city of Xindian, which is south of Taipei but accessible by subway. I visited the place and was very impressed by the surroundings, the room, and the nearby stores. I told her that I'd probably take the apartment but there was one more place I had to check out that afternoon. I checked out the other place and it wasn't even close to as nice, so I called up Amanda and said I'd take it. My big apartment search was over and it wasn't even 2 o'clock.
That night my mom and I went to Longshan Temple. There was quite the hubbub there, and it turns out it was because it was the day before a Chinese festival honoring the dead. Many people had small fires where they burned "ghost money" that their relatives can spend in the afterlife. After the temple we went to Snake Alley, which lived up to its name by featuring all sorts of snakes. We didn't eat snake, however, even though it was offered there. We ate at a pretty high-class seafood restaurant which prepared some excellent shrimp, lobster, and clams. After spending a little time at Snake Alley we headed to the Shida night market, the market near the school I'm going to. We found a college-style bar there and had a couple of drinks. All in all, a good night.
The next day was my big class registration day. I went to my school (nicknamed Shida), filled out the paperwork, showed my passport, paid tuition, and took a proficiency test. After the test I went to get my scholarship paperwork. The scholarship lady tells me that I'm not on their list. She checks her paperwork and finds me on a list for a different school, National Taiwan University (not to be confused with my school, National Taiwan Normal University). She said that I'd have to sign up there. I was quite incredulous, so she told me to go to the American Institute (like an embassy) to work it out. I did, and they said that they couldn't help me, and that I should probably contact the people who gave me the scholarship. I sent them an e-mail and they said that there was a little mix-up and that they could fax them to fix it. That was a relief. My mom and I went to a bar not too far from the hotel called Saints and Sinners. We had some French fries and a few beers before heading back to the hotel.
Tuesday was a rather bittersweet day since it was the last day with my mom. After checking at the school to see if they received the fax from Chicago (they hadn't) and picking up the checklist to get the scholarship money, my mom and I went to Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hall. While there we saw the changing of the guard and read about what Sun Yat-Sen did for China and Taiwan. From there we walked to Taipei 101 to eat lunch (at the same place we went last time - my mom really liked those noodles) and to look for souvenirs (which we couldn't find). We took a bus back to the hotel and began packing, since I told my future roommates I could move in Tuesday night.
After packing up and setting aside an overnight bag at the hotel, my mom and I decided to eat at a restaurant called Eight Immortals. At that restaurant, you order the seafood up front, go up to the upper-floor porch, and drink beers. We did just that and enjoyed a view over the nearby Da'an Park. At the restaurant I got a call from John, one of the roommates, saying that he was home and I could move in when I get the chance. We walked back to the apartment, got my stuff all ready, and took the subway to Xindian. Unpacking didn't take long, and we stopped at the nearby RT-Mart (think Wal-Mart but Chinese) to get some essentials, brought them back to the room, then headed back to Taipei. My mom and I shared a beer and after a while finally got some sleep.
The car to the airport for my mom left at 6:00 AM, and I was semi-conscious when she left, but I was glad I was there to send her off. It was a good time spending the past three weeks with her. It'll be hard going nine months without having direct contact with any of my family. I slept a little bit more, ate breakfast at the hotel, and headed to my new apartment.
After spending about fifteen minutes at my apartment alone and stopping at the RT Mart to grab some more stuff, one of my roommates comes in. Simone is from Australia and studies Chinese here, but not at the same university I do. Her friend Sarah is visiting too, so we all go for a walk to check out the nearby area. Afterwards we both get on the MRT (the name for the subway system), them to go eat, and me to accomplish the tasks on my scholarship checklist. I'm able to do everything - go to the police office and register as a foreign citizen, copy my important documents, buy a name stamp, and open a bank account at the post office - except for hand in everything at the scholarship office (the scholarship lady went home early). I went back to the apartment and soon after Amanda comes home from work. I chat with her for a bit and she says she needs to go to the RT Mart. I haven't done much food shopping (despite my repeated trips), so I join her. I get some veggies, some ramen, and some Diet Pepsi. Afterwards I try to set up the Internet to no avail. When John got home, I asked him for help, but that didn't work either. I try one last time and magically it works. How about that. I set up Skype and find out I'm able to call home for cheap (about 2 cents US per min), but after calling my dad I find there's a pretty bad delay on the line. Hey, if the price is right, no problem.
As I'm typing this while lying on my bed, I'm considering purchasing a desk and table for my room. That and stopping by the scholarship office are on my to-do list for tomorrow. Friday I have orientation, books to purchase, and I'm set to hang out with a guy I know from Madison that I ran into randomly on the street (Wayne Lin). Stay tuned!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
So, today, instead of doing apartment searching, I only got my cellphone set up. This afternoon I walked with my mom to the school I'm going to and through a rather nice park near our hotel. We met up with Monica and her boyfriend Steven at 1:30. First, we stopped at a transit station and I got a transit card. It's pretty cool; you can just wave it past scanners and it will automatically take money from your account.
Afterwards we hopped on the bus to Taipei 101 for lunch. For those who don't know, Taipei 101 is the tallest completed building in the world. (They're building one in Dubai which is taller but not yet finished.) My mom and I had some Hakka food (noodle dishes), which was delicious.
After lunch we left Taipei 101 and went to the subway to the cellphone store. I decided on a Sony Ericcson K510i. It's a nice phone; it has a camera and Bluetooth capability. I was thinking about getting one with music playing, but I realized how much more all the extra bells and whistles would cost and thought I'd be fine with the one I chose. Unfortunately, we need a SIM card so I can actually get a number, and the only place open on a Saturday was back at Taipei 101, and I needed my passport first. So, I headed off on the subway to my apartment, got my passport, went on the bus to Taipei 101, and got the SIM card. I couldn't call anyone until I put money on the card, but I had a phone to use. Joy!
Since we were there, we decided to go up on the observation deck. For those of you observant readers, you may have noticed that I had a camera on the phone. Well, here are some pictures!
Our first step was to get into the world's fastest elevator. This is a picture of it going down, but on going up it goes 1010 meters/min (about 37 mph).
Taipei, from 380 m up.
After the 89th floor observation deck we went outside to the 91st floor deck. Up here we watched the sunset.
Looking up from the outdoor observation deck.
Afterwards we ate dinner at an Italian restaurant inside the building. One five-course meal later and I decided that we should probably head back to the hotel. However, on the way out, I saw this:
Yes, that's a pair of Taiwanese people in leiderhosen. They were throwing a summer beer and music fest, so we stopped down and had a couple of beers. The music was pretty typical Chinese pop sung by a young woman, and the beer was some of the best I've had in weeks. After the music ended and while we were finishing our beers, another Chinese family began singing happy birthday for their daughter. My mom and I joined in, and they appreciated it, apparently. They gave us some cake and we took some pictures with them, which they may e-mail to us later.
Despite the fact that I hoped to get more done than finding a cellphone today, I had a great day. I have two things on the agenda that were bumped to tomorrow, however: finding an apartment and hanging out with Sebastian. The day after that I sign up for classes. Quite the load, but we'll see what I end up with.
Afterwards we hopped on the bus to Taipei 101 for lunch. For those who don't know, Taipei 101 is the tallest completed building in the world. (They're building one in Dubai which is taller but not yet finished.) My mom and I had some Hakka food (noodle dishes), which was delicious.
After lunch we left Taipei 101 and went to the subway to the cellphone store. I decided on a Sony Ericcson K510i. It's a nice phone; it has a camera and Bluetooth capability. I was thinking about getting one with music playing, but I realized how much more all the extra bells and whistles would cost and thought I'd be fine with the one I chose. Unfortunately, we need a SIM card so I can actually get a number, and the only place open on a Saturday was back at Taipei 101, and I needed my passport first. So, I headed off on the subway to my apartment, got my passport, went on the bus to Taipei 101, and got the SIM card. I couldn't call anyone until I put money on the card, but I had a phone to use. Joy!
Since we were there, we decided to go up on the observation deck. For those of you observant readers, you may have noticed that I had a camera on the phone. Well, here are some pictures!
Our first step was to get into the world's fastest elevator. This is a picture of it going down, but on going up it goes 1010 meters/min (about 37 mph).
Taipei, from 380 m up.
After the 89th floor observation deck we went outside to the 91st floor deck. Up here we watched the sunset.
Looking up from the outdoor observation deck.
Afterwards we ate dinner at an Italian restaurant inside the building. One five-course meal later and I decided that we should probably head back to the hotel. However, on the way out, I saw this:
Yes, that's a pair of Taiwanese people in leiderhosen. They were throwing a summer beer and music fest, so we stopped down and had a couple of beers. The music was pretty typical Chinese pop sung by a young woman, and the beer was some of the best I've had in weeks. After the music ended and while we were finishing our beers, another Chinese family began singing happy birthday for their daughter. My mom and I joined in, and they appreciated it, apparently. They gave us some cake and we took some pictures with them, which they may e-mail to us later.
Despite the fact that I hoped to get more done than finding a cellphone today, I had a great day. I have two things on the agenda that were bumped to tomorrow, however: finding an apartment and hanging out with Sebastian. The day after that I sign up for classes. Quite the load, but we'll see what I end up with.
Friday, August 24, 2007
In Taiwan!
Well, I'm in Taipei now. I'm up in the Taipei Fullerton Hotel, which has been one of the nicer hotels we've been to on this trip (and we've booked it ourselves - go us!). I guess you'd like to hear about the rest of my stay in Hong Kong and what I've done so far in Taipei. Well, you're in luck.
On Wednesday night we explored Kowloon with John and Ilyana. We saw a laser light show put on by various buildings on the Hong Kong skyline and went to a night market, where we ate and I got a duffel bag for rather cheap. The duffel bag looks pretty cool, but smells rather bad. We're going to try to wash it and if that doesn't work, we're going to trash it.
On Thursday we took a tour to Lantau Island. On the tour we saw the world's longest suspension bridge (97 m longer than the Golden Gate!), a beach in Lantau, a fishing village in rather rough shape, and the world's largest bronze Buddha statue (where the building under it housed some fragments of the historical Buddha). Our tour guide on Lantau had fantastic English, but seemed rather depressed about the rough state of Tai O, the fishing village. Overall, it was a great tour.
That night we took the ferry to Hong Kong Island and took an escalator to SoHo, where we had a couple of drinks and ate Mexican food. We had an Indian woman serving two Americans Mexican food in Hong Kong. How's that for globalization? When we got back I contacted Tova, a girl who toured with me, and we went to a bar on Knutsford Terrace, where we had a few drinks and reminisced about the tour.
The next day we had a laid back morning, since our bus to the airport didn't leave until 10:30. We got a chance to see everyone on our tour and say goodbye to them, which was nice. We packed up, printed off some things for Taiwan, checked out, and hopped the bus to the airport. We were rather early for our flights (we went on separate planes) so we ate some pizza at the airport before going to my mom's gate (she left first). My flight left an hour and a half later so I sat at the gate watching DVDs until the plane was ready to leave. It was a rather large airplane, and I got an exit row seat. While that did afford me a lot of leg room, the seat was far too narrow for me and it wasn't the most comfortable flight. Luckily it was only an hour and a half flight. After landing and getting my bag, I met my mom in the airport, who had arranged a car to our hotel.
After settling in the hotel, I got in touch with Monica, a friend of mine in Taipei. We're meeting today to get accustomed to Taipei. After talking to her we went around to find a place to eat. We stopped at a dumpling restaurant where we had an arrangement of dumplings and pot-stickers. Oddly enough, the most interesting thing that we got there was our drink, 黑豆酱: it was sort of like soy milk, except made from black beans. With lack of anything better to do, we headed back to the hotel and turned in early.
We just ate breakfast and now we're getting set for the day. We're going to go walk to the campus area to see what it'll be like then we're going to meet with Monica. Other than that, we'll see what happens. Glomski out.
On Wednesday night we explored Kowloon with John and Ilyana. We saw a laser light show put on by various buildings on the Hong Kong skyline and went to a night market, where we ate and I got a duffel bag for rather cheap. The duffel bag looks pretty cool, but smells rather bad. We're going to try to wash it and if that doesn't work, we're going to trash it.
On Thursday we took a tour to Lantau Island. On the tour we saw the world's longest suspension bridge (97 m longer than the Golden Gate!), a beach in Lantau, a fishing village in rather rough shape, and the world's largest bronze Buddha statue (where the building under it housed some fragments of the historical Buddha). Our tour guide on Lantau had fantastic English, but seemed rather depressed about the rough state of Tai O, the fishing village. Overall, it was a great tour.
That night we took the ferry to Hong Kong Island and took an escalator to SoHo, where we had a couple of drinks and ate Mexican food. We had an Indian woman serving two Americans Mexican food in Hong Kong. How's that for globalization? When we got back I contacted Tova, a girl who toured with me, and we went to a bar on Knutsford Terrace, where we had a few drinks and reminisced about the tour.
The next day we had a laid back morning, since our bus to the airport didn't leave until 10:30. We got a chance to see everyone on our tour and say goodbye to them, which was nice. We packed up, printed off some things for Taiwan, checked out, and hopped the bus to the airport. We were rather early for our flights (we went on separate planes) so we ate some pizza at the airport before going to my mom's gate (she left first). My flight left an hour and a half later so I sat at the gate watching DVDs until the plane was ready to leave. It was a rather large airplane, and I got an exit row seat. While that did afford me a lot of leg room, the seat was far too narrow for me and it wasn't the most comfortable flight. Luckily it was only an hour and a half flight. After landing and getting my bag, I met my mom in the airport, who had arranged a car to our hotel.
After settling in the hotel, I got in touch with Monica, a friend of mine in Taipei. We're meeting today to get accustomed to Taipei. After talking to her we went around to find a place to eat. We stopped at a dumpling restaurant where we had an arrangement of dumplings and pot-stickers. Oddly enough, the most interesting thing that we got there was our drink, 黑豆酱: it was sort of like soy milk, except made from black beans. With lack of anything better to do, we headed back to the hotel and turned in early.
We just ate breakfast and now we're getting set for the day. We're going to go walk to the campus area to see what it'll be like then we're going to meet with Monica. Other than that, we'll see what happens. Glomski out.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Guilin, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong
Hey, everybody. I'm reporting from my hotel room in Hong Kong. Unlike China, this place charges for Internet access ($5 US an hour) but the connection is very fast. That being said, I have quite a bit of touring I have to update you on. Let's start in Guilin.
On Monday we took a cruise down the Li River. The first thing we noticed was how clear the water was. It had a visibility of about six feet, which, when compared to the Yangtze’s cappuccino-looking waters, was definitely a breath of fresh air. The scenery, civilization, and wildlife alongside the river were amazing. On the boat, we tried some Snake Wine. It is hard liquor with snakes preserved inside of it. Surprisingly, compared to the other Chinese liquors we’ve had, it was drinkable, although rather strong. It had a bit of a bite on the way down. We had a free lunch on the boat, where we sat with a couple from Chongqing. Thanks to my Chinese ability we were able to communicate with them a little bit and they were gracious enough to even buy a few extra dishes and let us try them.
When the boat stopped we trudged through a crowded market in Yangshuo to hop on the bus back towards Guilin. On the way back we stopped at a rice paddy for five minutes to see how rice is grown. After about an hour and a half we arrived at the Reed Flute Cave, which we were supposed to visit the day before but couldn’t because of our flight delay. The cave had many interesting stalactite and stalagmite formations, many named after various creatures, plants, or objects they resemble. Many of them had an assortment of fluorescent colors shined on them, which looked cool if not a little unnatural. We left the cave and rode over to a Pearl Market, which was informative about pearls of different qualities. The guide lady spent time in California, and it definitely showed.
Afterwards we arrived back at the hotel. We stopped at a bank and the mall before trying to find a restaurant. We did about a half hour of wandering before we finally decided on one place. The eggplant dish we ordered there was flavorful, spicy, and delicious. We then stopped at a supermarket on the way back, where the lady there got her daughter (who could speak a little more English) out of the shower to help my mother with buying some snacks for the plane the next day. Then we stopped at a bakery, where I got a whipped cream filled bun with pineapples and cherries on top. It was good. We then headed back to the hotel, had a few beers, and went to bed.
The next morning started with a wakeup call at 5:15. We packed up, had a quick breakfast, loaded on the bus, and headed to the airport. Our plane left on time and the flight was less than an hour. In Guangzhou we met our tour guide, Gloria, and headed outside. It was a little rainy out. We got on the bus and stopped at a park, an old Chinese academy turned into a museum, a place for lunch, a medicine market and a shopping street. The medicine market was interesting; they had things like live black flies, scorpions, turtles, and dried seahorses on sale.
When everyone was done shopping (at clothes stores; no one was buying live black flies) we headed to the train station. Due to the special status of Hong Kong our tour guides could not come with us on the train. This was doubly hard because we had to say goodbye to Sam, our escort for the entire trip in mainland China, and because some of the other people on our trip weren’t very comfortable riding on a train in China without the help of someone. We got to Kowloon (the mainland part of Hong Kong) all in one piece, went through customs, and met our tour guide, Maria. She's a very Type A personality and does everything according to a set order - which shows, since she's been a tour guide for 21 years. Thankfully, her experience also manifests in an ability to find good places to go near the hotel. After we settled in our room we headed to Knutsford Terrace, a Western restaurant street. We chose an Italian restaurant, where my mom had halibut and I had rigatoni. It was absolutely fabulous. Afterwards we had a couple of drinks and called it a night.
This morning we went on a tour of Hong Kong with our tour guide. She did a great job showing us the sights of Hong Kong (including Victoria Peak, Wan Chai, Aberdeen, Repulse Bay and Stanley) and giving us an idea of what Hong Kong is like (living conditions, differences between the rich and the poor, history, and all sorts of miscellaneous tidbits). When my mom and I got done with the tour, we went to a Dim Sum restaurant recommended by the tour guide. Thankfully we went there and not later because Dim Sum is apparently only a breakfast/lunch sort of thing. We had a wide array of dishes (including chicken feet and deep-fried squid) and hopefully didn't make too big of fools of ourselves.
That pretty much brings us up to right now. Tomorrow we have a free day, so we're using it to tour Lantau Island, where we'll see a fisherman's village and a Buddhist Temple. Then Friday, it's off to Taiwan. I'll probably update tomorrow evening or Saturday in Taiwan. Keep in touch!
On Monday we took a cruise down the Li River. The first thing we noticed was how clear the water was. It had a visibility of about six feet, which, when compared to the Yangtze’s cappuccino-looking waters, was definitely a breath of fresh air. The scenery, civilization, and wildlife alongside the river were amazing. On the boat, we tried some Snake Wine. It is hard liquor with snakes preserved inside of it. Surprisingly, compared to the other Chinese liquors we’ve had, it was drinkable, although rather strong. It had a bit of a bite on the way down. We had a free lunch on the boat, where we sat with a couple from Chongqing. Thanks to my Chinese ability we were able to communicate with them a little bit and they were gracious enough to even buy a few extra dishes and let us try them.
When the boat stopped we trudged through a crowded market in Yangshuo to hop on the bus back towards Guilin. On the way back we stopped at a rice paddy for five minutes to see how rice is grown. After about an hour and a half we arrived at the Reed Flute Cave, which we were supposed to visit the day before but couldn’t because of our flight delay. The cave had many interesting stalactite and stalagmite formations, many named after various creatures, plants, or objects they resemble. Many of them had an assortment of fluorescent colors shined on them, which looked cool if not a little unnatural. We left the cave and rode over to a Pearl Market, which was informative about pearls of different qualities. The guide lady spent time in California, and it definitely showed.
Afterwards we arrived back at the hotel. We stopped at a bank and the mall before trying to find a restaurant. We did about a half hour of wandering before we finally decided on one place. The eggplant dish we ordered there was flavorful, spicy, and delicious. We then stopped at a supermarket on the way back, where the lady there got her daughter (who could speak a little more English) out of the shower to help my mother with buying some snacks for the plane the next day. Then we stopped at a bakery, where I got a whipped cream filled bun with pineapples and cherries on top. It was good. We then headed back to the hotel, had a few beers, and went to bed.
The next morning started with a wakeup call at 5:15. We packed up, had a quick breakfast, loaded on the bus, and headed to the airport. Our plane left on time and the flight was less than an hour. In Guangzhou we met our tour guide, Gloria, and headed outside. It was a little rainy out. We got on the bus and stopped at a park, an old Chinese academy turned into a museum, a place for lunch, a medicine market and a shopping street. The medicine market was interesting; they had things like live black flies, scorpions, turtles, and dried seahorses on sale.
When everyone was done shopping (at clothes stores; no one was buying live black flies) we headed to the train station. Due to the special status of Hong Kong our tour guides could not come with us on the train. This was doubly hard because we had to say goodbye to Sam, our escort for the entire trip in mainland China, and because some of the other people on our trip weren’t very comfortable riding on a train in China without the help of someone. We got to Kowloon (the mainland part of Hong Kong) all in one piece, went through customs, and met our tour guide, Maria. She's a very Type A personality and does everything according to a set order - which shows, since she's been a tour guide for 21 years. Thankfully, her experience also manifests in an ability to find good places to go near the hotel. After we settled in our room we headed to Knutsford Terrace, a Western restaurant street. We chose an Italian restaurant, where my mom had halibut and I had rigatoni. It was absolutely fabulous. Afterwards we had a couple of drinks and called it a night.
This morning we went on a tour of Hong Kong with our tour guide. She did a great job showing us the sights of Hong Kong (including Victoria Peak, Wan Chai, Aberdeen, Repulse Bay and Stanley) and giving us an idea of what Hong Kong is like (living conditions, differences between the rich and the poor, history, and all sorts of miscellaneous tidbits). When my mom and I got done with the tour, we went to a Dim Sum restaurant recommended by the tour guide. Thankfully we went there and not later because Dim Sum is apparently only a breakfast/lunch sort of thing. We had a wide array of dishes (including chicken feet and deep-fried squid) and hopefully didn't make too big of fools of ourselves.
That pretty much brings us up to right now. Tomorrow we have a free day, so we're using it to tour Lantau Island, where we'll see a fisherman's village and a Buddhist Temple. Then Friday, it's off to Taiwan. I'll probably update tomorrow evening or Saturday in Taiwan. Keep in touch!
Sunday, August 19, 2007
A brief post about Xi'an and Guilin
This post is going to be a bit shorter than the last one, not because I think I'm rambling too much (which I probably am), but because I don't think the past two days were as supremely exciting as the days before it. Nonetheless, I'm still doing well.
Yesterday I ended up not feeling too good. (I think it was some of the food on Muslim Street). I bucked it up and went with the tour anyways. We started out going to the Terra Cotta Soldiers, which were amazing and grand on such a large scale. To think that more than a thousand years before anyone even knew about America and while Rome was just establishing itself, a society had the organization to build such a huge tomb. Saying this without pictures doesn't do it justice, so I'll wait until I can add them to fully describe it.
Afterwards we headed to the Xi'an City Wall. It would've been fun to bike around the City Wall (they were available and cheap), but we didn't have enough time and it was pretty warm out. Afterwards we went to the Muslim Market again, this time to stop at the Grand Mosque. I would've enjoyed it if I wasn't in great need of a chance to lie down and rest for a while. We took a look at it then headed back to the hotel. After a short break I felt quite a bit better. That night we had an 18 course dumpling meal and saw a Tang Dynasty variety show, which was an interesting and at times Vegas-like look at China 1200 years ago.
The next day I felt great. After breakfast we headed to the Wild Goose Pagoda, which I really enjoyed. It was dedicated to Xuanzang, a monk who during the Tang Dynasty went to India, recovering and translating many important Buddhist texts. I bought a little Happy Buddha necklace there. After that we went to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. It was interesting, but we saw a lot of similar stuff at the Yisheng museum. From there we headed to the airport, where we found our plane was delayed until 5:00. Thankfully the airplane company gave us a hotel room for the short time and some hush money (so we wouldn't complain).
We landed in Guilin at about 7:45. It's warm and humid here and a lot less busy than the other cities we've been to, which is a welcome change of pace. My mom and I had a couple of beers at the bar before calling it a night.
Tomorrow we do quite a bit of touring: a river cruise and a cave visit. From what I've heard of Guilin and what I've seen so far, it's going to be amazing.
Yesterday I ended up not feeling too good. (I think it was some of the food on Muslim Street). I bucked it up and went with the tour anyways. We started out going to the Terra Cotta Soldiers, which were amazing and grand on such a large scale. To think that more than a thousand years before anyone even knew about America and while Rome was just establishing itself, a society had the organization to build such a huge tomb. Saying this without pictures doesn't do it justice, so I'll wait until I can add them to fully describe it.
Afterwards we headed to the Xi'an City Wall. It would've been fun to bike around the City Wall (they were available and cheap), but we didn't have enough time and it was pretty warm out. Afterwards we went to the Muslim Market again, this time to stop at the Grand Mosque. I would've enjoyed it if I wasn't in great need of a chance to lie down and rest for a while. We took a look at it then headed back to the hotel. After a short break I felt quite a bit better. That night we had an 18 course dumpling meal and saw a Tang Dynasty variety show, which was an interesting and at times Vegas-like look at China 1200 years ago.
The next day I felt great. After breakfast we headed to the Wild Goose Pagoda, which I really enjoyed. It was dedicated to Xuanzang, a monk who during the Tang Dynasty went to India, recovering and translating many important Buddhist texts. I bought a little Happy Buddha necklace there. After that we went to the Shaanxi Provincial Museum. It was interesting, but we saw a lot of similar stuff at the Yisheng museum. From there we headed to the airport, where we found our plane was delayed until 5:00. Thankfully the airplane company gave us a hotel room for the short time and some hush money (so we wouldn't complain).
We landed in Guilin at about 7:45. It's warm and humid here and a lot less busy than the other cities we've been to, which is a welcome change of pace. My mom and I had a couple of beers at the bar before calling it a night.
Tomorrow we do quite a bit of touring: a river cruise and a cave visit. From what I've heard of Guilin and what I've seen so far, it's going to be amazing.
Friday, August 17, 2007
Fengdu to Chongqing to Xi'an
I'm back, and now with a rather steady Internet connection. I'm in our hotel in Xi'an. It's a pretty nice room, comparable to our room in Beijing, but we have a much better location and the building from the outside looks like a prison. That aside, I have some updating to do for you all!
Yesterday (Thursday, if the time zones are confusing) our cruise ship ended up in Fengdu, the Chinese "Ghost City". I was expecting something like an Old West ghost town, where everyone suddenly moved out, but it's actually a depiction of the Daoist view of Heaven and Hell. It was interesting to see the Chinese Emperor of Heaven and the Chinese Torture Chambers in the Daoist Hell.
Later that day, since we had some free time on the boat, I tried getting acupuncture, since I figured that I probably wouldn't get an opportunity at a decent price any other time. The ship's doctor put eight needles in my arms and legs. It pinched when they were put in, but other than that they only hurt if I moved my fingers or toes. He also put two electrodes under my belly button. I lied down for 25 minutes, when he took them out without a drop of blood. I felt an effect throughout the day and my interest was definitely piqued by the experience.
Later that night I had a couple of drinks and shared Asia stories with a guy named Andy on the cruise. He teaches in JET at a small city on a southern Japanese island. He had some interesting perspectives. I also offered some Bai Jiu (Chinese hard liquor) to my mom and Andy. Andy seemed to like it and my mom cringed and couldn't stand it. I share my mother's sentiment.
This morning we packed up, ate breakfast, and left the ship in Chongqing. Chongqing is one of the fastest growing cities in China due to its industry. We got off the boat a little earlier than expected, so we got an opportunity to see the main square in Chongqing and the local government hall, which I enjoyed greatly. We then hopped in a bus and headed to the airport, where at 11:00 we took an hour flight to Xi'an.
Initially, I thought there wasn't going to be much to Xi'an; I believed it was just going to be centered around tourism for the Terra Cotta Soldiers and the local sights but other than that not offer much. I was wrong. Xi'an has about nine million people and is the largest city in Northeast China. It's a very bustling city, and thanks to the location of our hotel (a ten minute walk from the center of town), we get to see most of the commotion.
After an hour drive to the city my mom and I got settled into our hotel room at about 2:15 (because they needed extra time to make sure our room was ready). Since we hadn't eaten lunch we were pretty hungry, so we went wandering about in search of food. After some arguing and meandering we wound up in a food court and got some local noodle dishes, which were darn good.
After eating we went to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. The Bell Tower was used to signal opening the gates in the morning and the Drum Tower was for closing the gates at night. In the Bell Tower we caught a Chinese music performance featuring a large set of bells in the building. I enjoyed it greatly, especially when they ended with "Auld Lang Syne". Also in the towers were small museums filled with old Chinese pottery in the Bell Tower and furniture in the Drum Tower, which we visited.
We headed back to the hotel afterwards to relax. When back I looked online for restaurants, an interesting dish popped up: Yang Rou Pao Mo. I copied down two names of restaurants that served it and found directions online to one of them. It was about a twenty minute walk away. After leaving the hotel, my mom asked a lot of questions about buildings we passed. As a result, I started looking at a lot of the buildings and noticed that one building had the same name as the restaurant I didn't find the directions for. I asked the clerk if they had the dish there and they did, so we went up. Although the service was questionable (we paid for our food before receiving any of it and we waited about fifteen minutes for any food to come out), the food was fantastic and we even made friends with a little seven-year-old at the restaurant.
After the restaurant we wanted to find the Muslim Quarter in town, since according to rumor it had some good sweets and some good shopping. I don't know how my mom did it, but she guided us right to where we needed to go. We visited a lot of shops, bought a few things, I impressed some Chinese teenagers with the fact that I knew Chinese words past "Hello" and "Thank you", and I tried a few of the treats offered there. After our long day we headed back to the hotel.
I don't know if tomorrow's going to be able to measure up to today, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. We're off to see the Terra-Cotta Soldiers and the Xi'an City Wall, followed up by a Chinese dumpling feast and a Tang Dynasty performance. Afterwards, I may dare to go to a club suggested to me by one of my friends from home. It should be good.
Yesterday (Thursday, if the time zones are confusing) our cruise ship ended up in Fengdu, the Chinese "Ghost City". I was expecting something like an Old West ghost town, where everyone suddenly moved out, but it's actually a depiction of the Daoist view of Heaven and Hell. It was interesting to see the Chinese Emperor of Heaven and the Chinese Torture Chambers in the Daoist Hell.
Later that day, since we had some free time on the boat, I tried getting acupuncture, since I figured that I probably wouldn't get an opportunity at a decent price any other time. The ship's doctor put eight needles in my arms and legs. It pinched when they were put in, but other than that they only hurt if I moved my fingers or toes. He also put two electrodes under my belly button. I lied down for 25 minutes, when he took them out without a drop of blood. I felt an effect throughout the day and my interest was definitely piqued by the experience.
Later that night I had a couple of drinks and shared Asia stories with a guy named Andy on the cruise. He teaches in JET at a small city on a southern Japanese island. He had some interesting perspectives. I also offered some Bai Jiu (Chinese hard liquor) to my mom and Andy. Andy seemed to like it and my mom cringed and couldn't stand it. I share my mother's sentiment.
This morning we packed up, ate breakfast, and left the ship in Chongqing. Chongqing is one of the fastest growing cities in China due to its industry. We got off the boat a little earlier than expected, so we got an opportunity to see the main square in Chongqing and the local government hall, which I enjoyed greatly. We then hopped in a bus and headed to the airport, where at 11:00 we took an hour flight to Xi'an.
Initially, I thought there wasn't going to be much to Xi'an; I believed it was just going to be centered around tourism for the Terra Cotta Soldiers and the local sights but other than that not offer much. I was wrong. Xi'an has about nine million people and is the largest city in Northeast China. It's a very bustling city, and thanks to the location of our hotel (a ten minute walk from the center of town), we get to see most of the commotion.
After an hour drive to the city my mom and I got settled into our hotel room at about 2:15 (because they needed extra time to make sure our room was ready). Since we hadn't eaten lunch we were pretty hungry, so we went wandering about in search of food. After some arguing and meandering we wound up in a food court and got some local noodle dishes, which were darn good.
After eating we went to the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. The Bell Tower was used to signal opening the gates in the morning and the Drum Tower was for closing the gates at night. In the Bell Tower we caught a Chinese music performance featuring a large set of bells in the building. I enjoyed it greatly, especially when they ended with "Auld Lang Syne". Also in the towers were small museums filled with old Chinese pottery in the Bell Tower and furniture in the Drum Tower, which we visited.
We headed back to the hotel afterwards to relax. When back I looked online for restaurants, an interesting dish popped up: Yang Rou Pao Mo. I copied down two names of restaurants that served it and found directions online to one of them. It was about a twenty minute walk away. After leaving the hotel, my mom asked a lot of questions about buildings we passed. As a result, I started looking at a lot of the buildings and noticed that one building had the same name as the restaurant I didn't find the directions for. I asked the clerk if they had the dish there and they did, so we went up. Although the service was questionable (we paid for our food before receiving any of it and we waited about fifteen minutes for any food to come out), the food was fantastic and we even made friends with a little seven-year-old at the restaurant.
After the restaurant we wanted to find the Muslim Quarter in town, since according to rumor it had some good sweets and some good shopping. I don't know how my mom did it, but she guided us right to where we needed to go. We visited a lot of shops, bought a few things, I impressed some Chinese teenagers with the fact that I knew Chinese words past "Hello" and "Thank you", and I tried a few of the treats offered there. After our long day we headed back to the hotel.
I don't know if tomorrow's going to be able to measure up to today, but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. We're off to see the Terra-Cotta Soldiers and the Xi'an City Wall, followed up by a Chinese dumpling feast and a Tang Dynasty performance. Afterwards, I may dare to go to a club suggested to me by one of my friends from home. It should be good.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Cruisin'
My mom and I are having a great time on the Yangtze River cruise. Good news is that we do have Internet access (although it's rather slow). Bad news is that my camera battery has stopped working. Thankfully, we brought a backup camera (my Dad's), but I can't take the pictures off of it. So, I'll need to figure out how to get the pictures off of it later (or, worst case, we'll have to wait until my mother gets back to America).
On Monday we had our last day in Beijing. My mom and I ended up going to Beihai Park in the morning. The cab drive was a lot longer than I thought it would be since we got stuck in rush hour traffic. However, when we got there, we found it was well worth it. The park was definitely not a typical tourist attraction; I think we saw about four other Westerners total. The chief attractions at the park are a large lake, the Round Temple (with a White Buddha statue inside), and an island in the lake with a large White Pagoda on top of it. Along with the scenery were numerous retired people practicing dancing and T'ai Chi. It was a great way to cap off our Beijing experience.
At noon we went to the airport, where we took a plane to Yichang. In Yichang we visited a museum, ate dinner, bought some things for the ship, and then boarded our boat. It's a four story tall boat and well furnished. The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, and runs through many of the more southern provinces. On our cruise, we are travelling upstream from Yichang to Chongqing. After getting settled and having a meeting with the cruise director, we turned in for the night.
Tuesday morning we woke up and practiced T'ai Chi with the ship doctor. After breakfast we left the boat at the Three Gorges Dam. For those who don't know, The Three Gorges Dam will be the largest dam in the world once it is completed next year. It will power 5% of China when it is completed and has displaced 1.3 million people. It was truly epic in scale. After that we entered the five stage ship lock, at which point I fell asleep. I had a rather relaxing evening, capped off with a Dynasty Fashion Show (different clothes for the different Chinese dynasties), at which point I fell asleep.
Today we started off a little earlier, because at 8:30 we went to the Lesser Three Gorges. We boarded a smaller boat to go on a tributary of the Yangtze, then broke off into smaller groups to go on an even smaller boat. We saw a lot of beautiful scenery and even a few monkeys on the shore. We took a leisurely ride back to the boat and boarded back on the cruise ship.
We have one more full day left on the cruise. On Friday morning we leave the boat and take a plane to Xi'an. The cruise has definitely been a welcome diversion from walking around all day in Beijing, but it will be nice to get back to more active tourism. I'll keep everyone updated pending on my Internet access. Later!
On Monday we had our last day in Beijing. My mom and I ended up going to Beihai Park in the morning. The cab drive was a lot longer than I thought it would be since we got stuck in rush hour traffic. However, when we got there, we found it was well worth it. The park was definitely not a typical tourist attraction; I think we saw about four other Westerners total. The chief attractions at the park are a large lake, the Round Temple (with a White Buddha statue inside), and an island in the lake with a large White Pagoda on top of it. Along with the scenery were numerous retired people practicing dancing and T'ai Chi. It was a great way to cap off our Beijing experience.
At noon we went to the airport, where we took a plane to Yichang. In Yichang we visited a museum, ate dinner, bought some things for the ship, and then boarded our boat. It's a four story tall boat and well furnished. The Yangtze River is the longest river in China, and runs through many of the more southern provinces. On our cruise, we are travelling upstream from Yichang to Chongqing. After getting settled and having a meeting with the cruise director, we turned in for the night.
Tuesday morning we woke up and practiced T'ai Chi with the ship doctor. After breakfast we left the boat at the Three Gorges Dam. For those who don't know, The Three Gorges Dam will be the largest dam in the world once it is completed next year. It will power 5% of China when it is completed and has displaced 1.3 million people. It was truly epic in scale. After that we entered the five stage ship lock, at which point I fell asleep. I had a rather relaxing evening, capped off with a Dynasty Fashion Show (different clothes for the different Chinese dynasties), at which point I fell asleep.
Today we started off a little earlier, because at 8:30 we went to the Lesser Three Gorges. We boarded a smaller boat to go on a tributary of the Yangtze, then broke off into smaller groups to go on an even smaller boat. We saw a lot of beautiful scenery and even a few monkeys on the shore. We took a leisurely ride back to the boat and boarded back on the cruise ship.
We have one more full day left on the cruise. On Friday morning we leave the boat and take a plane to Xi'an. The cruise has definitely been a welcome diversion from walking around all day in Beijing, but it will be nice to get back to more active tourism. I'll keep everyone updated pending on my Internet access. Later!
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Beijing, day 2: Great Wall
Another day full of adventuring and touring in Beijing. This time the highlight of our day of touring was the Great Wall of China. However, we also visited a jade factory, the Ming tombs, and a Beijing Duck restaurant. Again, here are some pictures.
Here is my mom at the jade factory trying on a jade bracelet. I sniffed "tourist trap" when I was told I was going there (I originally thought I'd been there before, but I hadn't), but I found the jade making process and the different jade objects that were made to be very interesting.
We ended up arriving at the Great Wall at about 1. The traffic was absolutely horrendous. We ended up getting out 2 km away from the beginning of the Great Wall (Badaling, for those of you who've been there before) and walking, and we made it there 30 minutes before the bus did. It was rather crowded at the wall. In this picture the two women and the man at the bottom (from left to right: Oren, Tova, and Mr. Rodriguez) were all in our tour group (except for myself, my mom and Mr. Rodriguez's wife Iliya, that's the entire group).
This large sign is a new addition to the area and can be seen from afar while driving up to the Badaling site or while walking up the wall. After my mom and I found ourselves off of the wall, I saw a sign that offered a more convenient way off the wall. While it didn't have the wide spanning views that were afforded on the wall, I got a close up picture at this sign for the Olympics. A fair trade, if you ask me, especially considering the deluge of people on the wall.
Next, the Ming tombs. I like the Ming tombs, but last time I went we got to go to a really interesting underground chamber with all sorts of cultural artifacts, which we didn't get to go to this time. Still, I had a good time. The young Chinese fellow in the yellow shirt and the backpack at the bottom is our tour guide, Sam.
Me, my mom, and Emperor Yongle. We make quite the group.
We finished off the day at a Peking Duck restaurant. I've been craving this dish since I left China the first time. The Duck at the place we went, despite the sauce being a little thicker than I'd normally prefer, was excellent. The other meals were magnificent as well, including "duck rolls" (think duck chimichangas), Kung Pao chicken, Pineapple Chicken, Koumo Jipianr (I hope you're reading this, Hooker), Eggplant, and French Fries (they brought out some special dishes for the vegetarians).
We have tomorrow morning at our leisure before leaving at 2. I'm thinking about going to Beihai Park, since they apparently have T'ai Chi demonstrators in the morning. I don't know if I'll be able to get up that early (6 AM), but it's a good target to have.
By the way, I don't know what my Internet availability will be over the next few days (I will be on a river cruise). I will try my best to make small posts when I have the chance.
See you later!
Here is my mom at the jade factory trying on a jade bracelet. I sniffed "tourist trap" when I was told I was going there (I originally thought I'd been there before, but I hadn't), but I found the jade making process and the different jade objects that were made to be very interesting.
We ended up arriving at the Great Wall at about 1. The traffic was absolutely horrendous. We ended up getting out 2 km away from the beginning of the Great Wall (Badaling, for those of you who've been there before) and walking, and we made it there 30 minutes before the bus did. It was rather crowded at the wall. In this picture the two women and the man at the bottom (from left to right: Oren, Tova, and Mr. Rodriguez) were all in our tour group (except for myself, my mom and Mr. Rodriguez's wife Iliya, that's the entire group).
This large sign is a new addition to the area and can be seen from afar while driving up to the Badaling site or while walking up the wall. After my mom and I found ourselves off of the wall, I saw a sign that offered a more convenient way off the wall. While it didn't have the wide spanning views that were afforded on the wall, I got a close up picture at this sign for the Olympics. A fair trade, if you ask me, especially considering the deluge of people on the wall.
Next, the Ming tombs. I like the Ming tombs, but last time I went we got to go to a really interesting underground chamber with all sorts of cultural artifacts, which we didn't get to go to this time. Still, I had a good time. The young Chinese fellow in the yellow shirt and the backpack at the bottom is our tour guide, Sam.
Me, my mom, and Emperor Yongle. We make quite the group.
We finished off the day at a Peking Duck restaurant. I've been craving this dish since I left China the first time. The Duck at the place we went, despite the sauce being a little thicker than I'd normally prefer, was excellent. The other meals were magnificent as well, including "duck rolls" (think duck chimichangas), Kung Pao chicken, Pineapple Chicken, Koumo Jipianr (I hope you're reading this, Hooker), Eggplant, and French Fries (they brought out some special dishes for the vegetarians).
We have tomorrow morning at our leisure before leaving at 2. I'm thinking about going to Beihai Park, since they apparently have T'ai Chi demonstrators in the morning. I don't know if I'll be able to get up that early (6 AM), but it's a good target to have.
By the way, I don't know what my Internet availability will be over the next few days (I will be on a river cruise). I will try my best to make small posts when I have the chance.
See you later!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Tour of Beijing!
Hi everyone. It is currently early morning here. I tried to do my post last night, but a cocktail of the Internet not working right away and myself being tired put a damper on those plans rather quickly.
However, yesterday is the subject of conversation right now. With our tour guide Sam and our Floridian partners Oren and Tova (the Floridians), my mom and I visited the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. Here, along with some photos, is our journey.
Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven (天坛). Created to serve as a place for the Emperor to make sacrifices to the God of Heaven (天), it currently serves as a park for retirees to exercise and practice hobbies. Due to my martial arts background I took a few pictures of people practicing different forms of T'ai Chi. Above is T'ai Chi Sword and below is normal T'ai Chi and T'ai Chi Ball (which I played briefly).
That is the actual Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor would do sacrifices. Also included are a picture of me and my mom.
That's my mother and me at Tiananmen Square. There were quite a few people there. A girl jumped over the rope near the Chinese flag and a security guard began walking toward her, but her mother grabbed her before he got there. We couldn't go in Mao's Mausoleum because they were apparently doing renovations. While there I also took a picture for American tourists, but then had to retake it when Mao wasn't in the picture.
This is from inside the Forbidden City (古宫). This is my second time in the Forbidden City, and last time I was there the part I took a picture of was under construction. There were a lot of people there.
Last time, that portion was not under construction. I guess they're still getting ready for the Olympics.
In the front of many Chinese buildings, they have two lions: a female one on the left with a lion cub under her foot and a male on the right with a ball under his foot. Heres a mother lion with another mom.
I remember taking a picture of a tree with a crotch last time, so I got one taken again.
Now onto the Summer Palace (颐和园). It was built as a gift to the mother of the third Qing Emperor. I visited here last time I went to China, but it was a cloudy day. This door was just getting the finishing touch-ups on a remodeling job.
That's up on top of a hill in the palace. I didn't go in there, but it looked pretty cool.
This wasn't the dragon boat we rode in, but it was the fanciest one. Before getting on the Dragon Boat Tova, Oren and I got separated from my mom and Sam. I waited for a while, thinking they'd come back and look. It ended up taking them a while to decide to go look for us. That was a little bothersome, but I was probably just reacting to the warmth and sun I had to deal with all day. Overall we had a good time.
After we got back to the hotel my mom and I decided to try to find a Hot Pot place to eat. I asked the front desk clerk for a place and he wrote down a name for me and gave me directions ("Just walk down ten minutes that way"). Of course, I couldn't find it and ended up hailing a cab. He didn't know where it was, either, but asked a bike carriage driver and we found the place. For those who don't know, Hot Pot consists of getting a boiling pot of water with various herbs and seasonings in it, along with a wide assortment of meats and vegetables to dip into the pot and cook yourself. I ordered some standard fare (ribeye slices, cherry tomatoes), some Chinese standards (lotus root, rice noodles), and some rather odd dishes (fish balls, ox spine). All in all we both liked it quite a bit (even the ox spine).
Since we knew where we were we ended up walking back to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at a Chinese supermarket. I had forgotten all my socks at home, so I bought a pair. I also bought some Xylitol gum (my favorite gum when I was in China two years ago), a few bottles of water, and an orange soda. I took a wrong turn in the store, and when we went into the "fresh meat" section my mom said her stomach was ill at ease. We found our way out, however, and headed back to the apartment, falling asleep soon afterwards.
Today we head off to the Great Wall of China. Besides that we will go to a jade factory (I think we went there last time - big tourist trap) and the Ming Tombs (definitely secondary to the Great Wall, but interesting nonetheless). Tomorrow we hop on a plane to Yichang to begin our river cruise.
Hoo boy, China's fun.
However, yesterday is the subject of conversation right now. With our tour guide Sam and our Floridian partners Oren and Tova (the Floridians), my mom and I visited the Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. Here, along with some photos, is our journey.
Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven (天坛). Created to serve as a place for the Emperor to make sacrifices to the God of Heaven (天), it currently serves as a park for retirees to exercise and practice hobbies. Due to my martial arts background I took a few pictures of people practicing different forms of T'ai Chi. Above is T'ai Chi Sword and below is normal T'ai Chi and T'ai Chi Ball (which I played briefly).
That is the actual Temple of Heaven, where the Emperor would do sacrifices. Also included are a picture of me and my mom.
That's my mother and me at Tiananmen Square. There were quite a few people there. A girl jumped over the rope near the Chinese flag and a security guard began walking toward her, but her mother grabbed her before he got there. We couldn't go in Mao's Mausoleum because they were apparently doing renovations. While there I also took a picture for American tourists, but then had to retake it when Mao wasn't in the picture.
This is from inside the Forbidden City (古宫). This is my second time in the Forbidden City, and last time I was there the part I took a picture of was under construction. There were a lot of people there.
Last time, that portion was not under construction. I guess they're still getting ready for the Olympics.
In the front of many Chinese buildings, they have two lions: a female one on the left with a lion cub under her foot and a male on the right with a ball under his foot. Heres a mother lion with another mom.
I remember taking a picture of a tree with a crotch last time, so I got one taken again.
Now onto the Summer Palace (颐和园). It was built as a gift to the mother of the third Qing Emperor. I visited here last time I went to China, but it was a cloudy day. This door was just getting the finishing touch-ups on a remodeling job.
That's up on top of a hill in the palace. I didn't go in there, but it looked pretty cool.
This wasn't the dragon boat we rode in, but it was the fanciest one. Before getting on the Dragon Boat Tova, Oren and I got separated from my mom and Sam. I waited for a while, thinking they'd come back and look. It ended up taking them a while to decide to go look for us. That was a little bothersome, but I was probably just reacting to the warmth and sun I had to deal with all day. Overall we had a good time.
After we got back to the hotel my mom and I decided to try to find a Hot Pot place to eat. I asked the front desk clerk for a place and he wrote down a name for me and gave me directions ("Just walk down ten minutes that way"). Of course, I couldn't find it and ended up hailing a cab. He didn't know where it was, either, but asked a bike carriage driver and we found the place. For those who don't know, Hot Pot consists of getting a boiling pot of water with various herbs and seasonings in it, along with a wide assortment of meats and vegetables to dip into the pot and cook yourself. I ordered some standard fare (ribeye slices, cherry tomatoes), some Chinese standards (lotus root, rice noodles), and some rather odd dishes (fish balls, ox spine). All in all we both liked it quite a bit (even the ox spine).
Since we knew where we were we ended up walking back to the hotel. On the way back we stopped at a Chinese supermarket. I had forgotten all my socks at home, so I bought a pair. I also bought some Xylitol gum (my favorite gum when I was in China two years ago), a few bottles of water, and an orange soda. I took a wrong turn in the store, and when we went into the "fresh meat" section my mom said her stomach was ill at ease. We found our way out, however, and headed back to the apartment, falling asleep soon afterwards.
Today we head off to the Great Wall of China. Besides that we will go to a jade factory (I think we went there last time - big tourist trap) and the Ming Tombs (definitely secondary to the Great Wall, but interesting nonetheless). Tomorrow we hop on a plane to Yichang to begin our river cruise.
Hoo boy, China's fun.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Arrival in Beijing
Well, I'm in China, safe and sound. The plane ride was relatively painless. It only turned out to be 12 hours (instead of the 16 I was expecting) and I got to sit next to an open seat, which made it much less of a problem when the guy in front of me wanted to put his seat back. However, I didn't get one of those nifty new 747s where each separate seat has its own TV on the seat in front of it. I managed, however.
We landed in Beijing and got through customs rather painlessly. After finding our luggage we met our tour guide, Sam. He's a pretty typical Chinese tour guide: in his mid 20's, speaks English well enough, cracks little jokes now and then. On the bus ride to the hotel, my mom and I got to meet some of the other tour members. We apparently had six people on our tour: a mother-daughter from Florida, an older mother-daughter from Virginia, and my mom and me. The mom from Florida was quick to express her disapproval of China. I think during the thirty-minute bus ride to the hotel she had four rants about how the location of our hotel was "unacceptable", demanding a place to stay downtown. She said was severely disappointed in the travel company's experience. Note, this is before we even pulled into the hotel.
That reminds me of something my Chinese professor, Zhang Laoshi, once told me. The Internet was down for the entire campus while we were in Tianjin. It was sweltering hot, and the power was not very reliable either. All the while, Zhang is grinning saying, "It's a Chinese Cultural Experience!"
This afternoon we took a walk around the hotel. We found an ATM and went out to eat. It was a pretty good restaurant; we ate fish and dumplings.
I'd keep chatting about the things I miss about China (people squatting instead of sitting down, the way old people hang out) and the things I don't miss (smoking, air pollution, the effect some food has on my system), but I'm really tired. I slept a little on the plane, but not enough. I'm hoping my jet lag won't be too bad tomorrow. As for tomorrow, we're visiting Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace, The Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace. I'll try to snap some photos while I'm there. Later.
We landed in Beijing and got through customs rather painlessly. After finding our luggage we met our tour guide, Sam. He's a pretty typical Chinese tour guide: in his mid 20's, speaks English well enough, cracks little jokes now and then. On the bus ride to the hotel, my mom and I got to meet some of the other tour members. We apparently had six people on our tour: a mother-daughter from Florida, an older mother-daughter from Virginia, and my mom and me. The mom from Florida was quick to express her disapproval of China. I think during the thirty-minute bus ride to the hotel she had four rants about how the location of our hotel was "unacceptable", demanding a place to stay downtown. She said was severely disappointed in the travel company's experience. Note, this is before we even pulled into the hotel.
That reminds me of something my Chinese professor, Zhang Laoshi, once told me. The Internet was down for the entire campus while we were in Tianjin. It was sweltering hot, and the power was not very reliable either. All the while, Zhang is grinning saying, "It's a Chinese Cultural Experience!"
This afternoon we took a walk around the hotel. We found an ATM and went out to eat. It was a pretty good restaurant; we ate fish and dumplings.
I'd keep chatting about the things I miss about China (people squatting instead of sitting down, the way old people hang out) and the things I don't miss (smoking, air pollution, the effect some food has on my system), but I'm really tired. I slept a little on the plane, but not enough. I'm hoping my jet lag won't be too bad tomorrow. As for tomorrow, we're visiting Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace, The Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace. I'll try to snap some photos while I'm there. Later.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
I'm horrible at preparing things
In thirty-six hours, I will be on a plane heading over the North Pole to Beijing, the capital of China, where I will tour for two weeks with my mother, after which I will head to Taipei, Taiwan, where I will need to find an apartment and register for classes before I stay there for nine months to study Chinese at the Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University.
The sum of my preparation so far is buying a new laptop (my old one was making horrible noises and I fear it would just be a matter of time before I fried the CPU), buying some snacks for the plane, arranging my visas, and checking on a few apartments in Taiwan that I could potentially live during the academic year. I still need to pack (not only my clothes for the trip but also other clothes to be sent later), install a few more things on my computer, see a few people, plan things in Taiwan while my mother is with me, and clean up my room before I leave on Thursday morning.
I assure you that I've had a great last few weeks in the USA. I've gotten to see many of my friends and relatives and spend quality time with them before heading overseas. In a few cases when I didn't think I'd see someone I'd see them at a random place, which worked well for me. I'd like to thank everyone again for their support and good wishes.
I think I'm going to set up a few more things on my computer since it's relatively quiet to do and it will deter me from messing around on my computer tomorrow (or that's the plan, at least). Later!
Ted
PS. Based on previous experiences in China, I think I will have trouble reading comments that you leave (thanks to the Great Firewall of China, all websites at blogspot.com are blocked). I believe I'll be able to read it in Taiwan, however. Feel free to e-mail me at ted (dot) glomski (at) gmail (dot) com (replace the (dot) and (at) with . and @ respectively) if you'd like to say something while I'm in China (August 9-24).
EDIT: I think I may have figured out how to check comments without having to visit my blog, so comment away. You can still e-mail me if you feel so inclined.
The sum of my preparation so far is buying a new laptop (my old one was making horrible noises and I fear it would just be a matter of time before I fried the CPU), buying some snacks for the plane, arranging my visas, and checking on a few apartments in Taiwan that I could potentially live during the academic year. I still need to pack (not only my clothes for the trip but also other clothes to be sent later), install a few more things on my computer, see a few people, plan things in Taiwan while my mother is with me, and clean up my room before I leave on Thursday morning.
I assure you that I've had a great last few weeks in the USA. I've gotten to see many of my friends and relatives and spend quality time with them before heading overseas. In a few cases when I didn't think I'd see someone I'd see them at a random place, which worked well for me. I'd like to thank everyone again for their support and good wishes.
I think I'm going to set up a few more things on my computer since it's relatively quiet to do and it will deter me from messing around on my computer tomorrow (or that's the plan, at least). Later!
Ted
PS. Based on previous experiences in China, I think I will have trouble reading comments that you leave (thanks to the Great Firewall of China, all websites at blogspot.com are blocked). I believe I'll be able to read it in Taiwan, however. Feel free to e-mail me at ted (dot) glomski (at) gmail (dot) com (replace the (dot) and (at) with . and @ respectively) if you'd like to say something while I'm in China (August 9-24).
EDIT: I think I may have figured out how to check comments without having to visit my blog, so comment away. You can still e-mail me if you feel so inclined.
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