The next morning we hurried out our caterpillar friendly hostel and got our cab to the tiny Krabi airport, where I prepped the girls for what to expect when in China…
The flight was only an hour back up north to Bangkok where we had to fight for a fair taxi price to Kevin’s apartment. The driver couldn’t’ have been nicer but he still was trying to rip us off. Tracy was already getting good at putting her foot down and not letting locals take advantage of us for being foreigners ☺. I was quite proud of her.
We hung around Kevin’s place until he got off work. I began to teach Lizz Chinese (which she picked up very quickly! Before the end of the day she was fluently saying, ‘Bring me another beer.’ ‘I love you.’ ‘Long time no see.’ Etc. –although they weren’t always the most practical sayings she only learned them because she learned the most useful ones just after a few minutes. She practically learned what I have in my 8 months of being here!).
When Kev returned, he took us to face the chaotic city of Bangkok. We rode the Sky Train, ate street food, rode in a tuk-tuk, went to a market, went to a park where we saw people play volleyball but instead can only use their head and feet. At the park they also played the National anthem where everything must stop, people must freeze and Thailand ceases for several minutes. From there we…(Mom, I wouldn’t read this next part...) each rode home on a motorcycle taxi. Quite thrilling- I had never ridden one before. The driver somehow managed to talk on the phone, hold his ‘to-go’ dinner in one hand and drive with the other.
We quickly went back to Kev’s before we met Air, Kevin’s girlfriend, at Face Bar and then went out for the evening.
This trip was the first time being out of China in eight months and as a result I noticed more than I had anticipated. For one, Thailand is a great country-similar to China in some aspects and yet quite different in others. But more than anything, I noticed how I have changed from being in China and it wasn’t all something to be proud of. In China, manners don’t matter. I know it’s hard to really believe that but sincerely, after a while you adapt to their ways/customs. You have to- it sounds a little over the top, but it’s a means of survival. Several times throughout the trip I noticed how hardened I’ve become in comparison to the girls. I’m skeptical of every person I encounter and of every opportunity that presents itself. I don’t trust anyone. No one. I know there’s a hard drive to bargain in Asia and if you don’t keep up, you’re going to sink. I also take more notice of things- how to get around and back, how people respond to seeing foreigners, how to ignore people, how to not let people take you for an ordinary fool, etc. Although, Thai’s are so welcoming, always smiling and greeting you with a ‘Y’, they too tend to take advantage of foreigners and their innocence to the country. I will never understand how people can do this to others. It’s infuriating which only motivates me to be as much in the ‘know’ as possible.
Of course Kev was a great host who really led the way for us when we were in Bangkok. It was great to see what his life is like there and we all were so impressed with how fluent he is in Thai!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Koh Phi Phi to Ao Nang Thailand - Day 4
I was right. Early morning indeed but it wasn’t as difficult as the previous days. I was definitely getting used to this non-existent time change. And so for the first time ever, we had to wait for the breakfast dining hall to open at 7 AM. There was no complaining however- it wasn’t possible with our view from our balcony. Nevertheless, there was much to complain about in regards to us being sun-burned. It was a brutal night’s sleep for me- I felt more burned than I did earlier. I didn’t even realize I was burned on my back until I woke up in the middle of the night with the sensation that my skin was no longer flesh but rather leather, screaming out to not wrinkle or be touched. I was mostly burned on the front of my legs- which pretty much made it impossible to be comfortable the night.
We had until 3PM before we caught our ferry, to explore the what we already had of the tiny island, do some souvenir shopping, drink another fantastic fresh fruit smoothie as well as a Thai Iced Tea (so so good) and idly stare out into the turquoise waters.
Something we all began to get drilled into our heads over time was, “Hello, boat, boat?” Another was, “same same”. I don’t know what it is about Asian countries repeating the same words. It’s obviously used in their language but still… little things like that kept us laughing.
Tracy sat inside again while Lizz and I found a seat towards the aft of the boat since it was the driest place to sit outside. The scenery was gorgeous. Everywhere you looked beautiful limestone rocks jutted out of the water.
We docked at Ao Nang, where we’d stay for the night before catching our early morning flight back to Bangkok. We decided to stay cheap and found a hostel close to the main street. We quickly remembered why we liked our last hotel so much. This new place lacked a light in the bathroom, the side of the mattress was halfway off the bed frame, there were no windows, and fuzzy caterpillars in our bathroom. ☺ All in all it wasn’t bad thou.
Of course we had Thai food- we had to get as much authentic food as possible before we left. We ended the night at an Irish Pub we found where we reminisced about our college days together. Can’t believe it’s been so long since we all lived together and now Lizz is getting married in a few months! ☺
We had until 3PM before we caught our ferry, to explore the what we already had of the tiny island, do some souvenir shopping, drink another fantastic fresh fruit smoothie as well as a Thai Iced Tea (so so good) and idly stare out into the turquoise waters.
Something we all began to get drilled into our heads over time was, “Hello, boat, boat?” Another was, “same same”. I don’t know what it is about Asian countries repeating the same words. It’s obviously used in their language but still… little things like that kept us laughing.
Tracy sat inside again while Lizz and I found a seat towards the aft of the boat since it was the driest place to sit outside. The scenery was gorgeous. Everywhere you looked beautiful limestone rocks jutted out of the water.
We docked at Ao Nang, where we’d stay for the night before catching our early morning flight back to Bangkok. We decided to stay cheap and found a hostel close to the main street. We quickly remembered why we liked our last hotel so much. This new place lacked a light in the bathroom, the side of the mattress was halfway off the bed frame, there were no windows, and fuzzy caterpillars in our bathroom. ☺ All in all it wasn’t bad thou.
Of course we had Thai food- we had to get as much authentic food as possible before we left. We ended the night at an Irish Pub we found where we reminisced about our college days together. Can’t believe it’s been so long since we all lived together and now Lizz is getting married in a few months! ☺
Friday, October 2, 2009
Korea - Day 2
Day 2
We started day 2 with a bit of confusion, caused by alcohol, lack of sleep, and that our hostel room was in a basement with a window the size of a shoebox. Our sleep was also interupted at 4:45 am by someone's alarm going off. Mark woke up and announced to everyone that "someone's alarm is going off" (thanks for that Mark). After a minute and a couple more announcements by Mark he came to realize, that yes, it was his phone that was going off (thanks again Mark). We caught about several more hours of sleep in our cave and then we got ready and made our way a block from our hostel to grab a breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and woah they had bagels. I have not seen a bagel since leaving the US back in February. After we made our way to an old Korea palace and took part in the English tour. The tour was not very impressive as our tour guide was about an enthusiastic as a tree but the scenery was quite beautiful.
From the Palace we read in the tour book that there is an old prison that was constructed by the Japanese to house and torture the Koreans during one of the wars. We took the subway to the prison and walked around there for an hour or so. The area is well kept up and is quite a sombering experience, very similiar to the concentration camp that I went to while I was in Germany. We left the prison on got back on the subway to make our way to the Seoul Tower. The subway system in Seoul is crazy, I have never seen a more intimidating subway map in all of my travels. I think they have close to 12 lines that criss-cross around the city. Though, after a couple rides it starts to make sense and actually becomes quite intuitive. The US could really take some notes from how these international cities plan their subways and how useful and convenient they are.
Seoul Tower is a huge tower (similiar to the Seattle space needle) that is built on the tallest hill in the center of the city. It is quite the hike to the top but the views are amazing. Seoul has some of the most beautiful scenery of any city that I have seen. The city is built along a huge river which is sorrounded by mountains and hills in every direction. The city kinda weaves in and out of the hills. When we reached the top of the hill we got tickets and took the eleveator to the top of the tower. The view from the top was amazing and on each piece of glass they had the name of different cities around the world and how far those cities were from us in Seoul. The walk down from the hill was uneventful as we just watched the sunset and then hopped on teh subway back to our hostel. It was when we got back to the hostel that we realized that we had not really eaten all day aside from the bagel in the morning.
We explained to crazy, let me repeat crazy, Mr. See that we were starving and he led us up a couple of alleyways to a Korean BBQ restuarant. He asked us how much money we wanted to spend. One he received the amount he told the old women owner/waitress lady and the food became flying out if the kitchen. Before we knew it we had a complete table full of food. Mr See was nice engouh to teach us how in the world you actually eat/cook all the food that was put before us. You end up taking the cooked meat and making a sorta lettuce wrap with all the ingredients. It was an amazing meal and of course a good amount of Korean Beer was had by all.
We then went to a bar up the street that was having a kinda party for the people that were staying at some of the various hostels around the area. We ended up playing drinking games there for a few hours and drinking a bit of Korean beer and the Soju. We ended the night at the club district but skipped going into one of the clubs becuase it cost 20,000 Won just to enter. We wandered the streets and actually ran into a mobile Kebab store which of course we had to try as there are no real Kebabs in China. We ended the night around 3 am and made it back into the hostel. James, Mark and Kibuuka decided to stay out a bit later and I think that they stumbled back in around 5am after another around of fried chicken.
We started day 2 with a bit of confusion, caused by alcohol, lack of sleep, and that our hostel room was in a basement with a window the size of a shoebox. Our sleep was also interupted at 4:45 am by someone's alarm going off. Mark woke up and announced to everyone that "someone's alarm is going off" (thanks for that Mark). After a minute and a couple more announcements by Mark he came to realize, that yes, it was his phone that was going off (thanks again Mark). We caught about several more hours of sleep in our cave and then we got ready and made our way a block from our hostel to grab a breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and woah they had bagels. I have not seen a bagel since leaving the US back in February. After we made our way to an old Korea palace and took part in the English tour. The tour was not very impressive as our tour guide was about an enthusiastic as a tree but the scenery was quite beautiful.
From the Palace we read in the tour book that there is an old prison that was constructed by the Japanese to house and torture the Koreans during one of the wars. We took the subway to the prison and walked around there for an hour or so. The area is well kept up and is quite a sombering experience, very similiar to the concentration camp that I went to while I was in Germany. We left the prison on got back on the subway to make our way to the Seoul Tower. The subway system in Seoul is crazy, I have never seen a more intimidating subway map in all of my travels. I think they have close to 12 lines that criss-cross around the city. Though, after a couple rides it starts to make sense and actually becomes quite intuitive. The US could really take some notes from how these international cities plan their subways and how useful and convenient they are.
Seoul Tower is a huge tower (similiar to the Seattle space needle) that is built on the tallest hill in the center of the city. It is quite the hike to the top but the views are amazing. Seoul has some of the most beautiful scenery of any city that I have seen. The city is built along a huge river which is sorrounded by mountains and hills in every direction. The city kinda weaves in and out of the hills. When we reached the top of the hill we got tickets and took the eleveator to the top of the tower. The view from the top was amazing and on each piece of glass they had the name of different cities around the world and how far those cities were from us in Seoul. The walk down from the hill was uneventful as we just watched the sunset and then hopped on teh subway back to our hostel. It was when we got back to the hostel that we realized that we had not really eaten all day aside from the bagel in the morning.
We explained to crazy, let me repeat crazy, Mr. See that we were starving and he led us up a couple of alleyways to a Korean BBQ restuarant. He asked us how much money we wanted to spend. One he received the amount he told the old women owner/waitress lady and the food became flying out if the kitchen. Before we knew it we had a complete table full of food. Mr See was nice engouh to teach us how in the world you actually eat/cook all the food that was put before us. You end up taking the cooked meat and making a sorta lettuce wrap with all the ingredients. It was an amazing meal and of course a good amount of Korean Beer was had by all.
We then went to a bar up the street that was having a kinda party for the people that were staying at some of the various hostels around the area. We ended up playing drinking games there for a few hours and drinking a bit of Korean beer and the Soju. We ended the night at the club district but skipped going into one of the clubs becuase it cost 20,000 Won just to enter. We wandered the streets and actually ran into a mobile Kebab store which of course we had to try as there are no real Kebabs in China. We ended the night around 3 am and made it back into the hostel. James, Mark and Kibuuka decided to stay out a bit later and I think that they stumbled back in around 5am after another around of fried chicken.
Koh Lanta to Koh Phi Phi Thailand - Day 3
I think I actually was awake before the rooster today, but it didn’t stop him from crowing…
Breakfast was the same, in front of an empty beach, listening to the sound of waves gently rolling onto shore, being served breakfast by the same courteous, friendly Thai woman and so happy to be surrounded by great company.
We hurried to get our bags and wait for the taxi to take us to the pier so we could catch our 8 AM ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The taxi arrived almost a half hour late, making us worry we’d miss our chance to see the place where ‘The Beach’ was filmed. The ‘taxi’ was also not a typical designated taxi or driver but rather a truck where we sat in the bed of the truck with our luggage and the guy looked like a local friend of theirs who was doing them a favor by taking us. Nevertheless, it was thrilling as we drove across the island, slightly fearing we might fall out (the bed of the truck was almost as high as the rails/ bedside). It was the first time we’d seen the island really since when we arrived it was dark out and the following day we never went the opposite direction. We were surprised to see how desolate the island was. Not long after we were in the truck, we stopped to pick up more tourists and then more and then more until we were full- back packs were resting on everyone’s laps and people were holding onto the bags since there was nothing else to hold onto. Two of the people we picked up were from Spain which immediately caught my attention. Of course I tried to hold a conversation with them in Spanish but Chinese words kept slipping out and trying to think of easy Spanish words that I would normally not have to think twice about, took me too long to think of or rather lost their attention.
Tracy was fearing this boat ride since we first heard we’d need to take one- She and Lizz both get sea sick and Tracy especially didn’t fare too well when we went on a snorkeling trip in Costa Rica. She stayed put inside while Lizz and I sat up on the bow of the boat, trying to catch our stomachs as the boat dropped after each wave. I loved it ☺ Towards the end of the trip, Lizz got quiet and I knew the roughness of the sea was starting to affect her. However, not too long after the waters became calm as we were approaching the island and the wind was blocked by the islands steep cliffs. Suddenly we were surrounded by turquoise waters, and then aquamarine and then cyan. It was nothing short of striking to see the multitude of blue waters.
When we docked, we walked the short distance to our ‘nice’ hotel for the trip which was actually a narrow isthmus. It was here on this exclusive strait that the 2005 tsunami wrecked the most havoc. Although Thais claim the island looks the same, they also state it certainly doesn’t cost the same due to the demand of building sturdier hotels instead of ‘wash-away’ bungalows. Nevertheless, for the girls, who are on the US dollar, this island is still one of the cheapest paradises in the world.
Long tail boats lined the aqua shore as we walked the few yards of sand to our hotel. Upon seeing our view after we walked into our room, the only instinct we had was to drop our bags and immediately run to our balcony and take it what was before us. Throughout the whole time we were on Koh Phi Phi we never did get over our vivid seascape.
Eventually we left our balcony in order to explore the tiny island, try one the infamous fruit smoothies, and hire a ‘long tail’ boat to take us to Koh Phi Phi Leh- our island’s uninhabited sister, also where the movie, ‘The Beach’ was filmed with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Our island was very small- we meandered through the maze of paths that was surrounded with restaurants, souvenir shops, bars, hotels and more scuba diving shops than I’ve ever seen. We grabbed our smoothies, ate some street food and were in search of a good price for our day trip to the other island. In doing this, we had to bargain. Hard. We found a driver who offered us a good price for three hours and included snorkeling.
It was one of the best days yet in Asia. We rode to the other island, saw the Viking Cave (an area where bamboo scaffolding reaches the rood to collect nests that are built up on the cliffs-apparently these nests are really, really expensive). We also visited ‘Monkey Island’ where we were surrounded by wild monkeys on the narrow strip of the shore. Unfortunately, we were so disappointed to see baby monkey’s picking up people’s trash, such as coke cans and drinking from them. Then we went to a lagoon where there were only several other boats and just spent time trying to get the perfect ‘jump’ picture and swam around. Following the lagoon, the driver took us to an area that had great coral reefs where we snorkeled for a while. After, we made our way to Ao Maya, which was where the setting of Leo’s movie was held. It was overwhelming just how impressive such a place could be. We felt so lucky to have gone in the low season. In most of our pictures there wasn’t ever another person in our way or on the beach. It was like we had found this isolated beach ourselves. Boats aren’t allowed to enter the small bay so we had to do some extreme walking on rocks while the waves pushed us forward and climb over a little cliff to get there. It was a fantastic day- one in which I got very, very burned but c’est la vie. At least the Chinese appreciate my fair skin. Lizz, on the other hand was so afraid they would think she was ‘country folk’ since she’s naturally so dark ☺
We luckily had great timing when we decided to walk to dinner. Immediately after we entered, a mini monsoon began, which as a result, the employees pulled down their hurricane shutters and suddenly it felt like we were trapped in. The food in Thailand was exceptional. Lizz and I drank a Thai Tea almost every chance we could- It was a nice change from Green Tea all the time.
Another early night and I’m sure an early morning awaits…
Breakfast was the same, in front of an empty beach, listening to the sound of waves gently rolling onto shore, being served breakfast by the same courteous, friendly Thai woman and so happy to be surrounded by great company.
We hurried to get our bags and wait for the taxi to take us to the pier so we could catch our 8 AM ferry to Koh Phi Phi. The taxi arrived almost a half hour late, making us worry we’d miss our chance to see the place where ‘The Beach’ was filmed. The ‘taxi’ was also not a typical designated taxi or driver but rather a truck where we sat in the bed of the truck with our luggage and the guy looked like a local friend of theirs who was doing them a favor by taking us. Nevertheless, it was thrilling as we drove across the island, slightly fearing we might fall out (the bed of the truck was almost as high as the rails/ bedside). It was the first time we’d seen the island really since when we arrived it was dark out and the following day we never went the opposite direction. We were surprised to see how desolate the island was. Not long after we were in the truck, we stopped to pick up more tourists and then more and then more until we were full- back packs were resting on everyone’s laps and people were holding onto the bags since there was nothing else to hold onto. Two of the people we picked up were from Spain which immediately caught my attention. Of course I tried to hold a conversation with them in Spanish but Chinese words kept slipping out and trying to think of easy Spanish words that I would normally not have to think twice about, took me too long to think of or rather lost their attention.
Tracy was fearing this boat ride since we first heard we’d need to take one- She and Lizz both get sea sick and Tracy especially didn’t fare too well when we went on a snorkeling trip in Costa Rica. She stayed put inside while Lizz and I sat up on the bow of the boat, trying to catch our stomachs as the boat dropped after each wave. I loved it ☺ Towards the end of the trip, Lizz got quiet and I knew the roughness of the sea was starting to affect her. However, not too long after the waters became calm as we were approaching the island and the wind was blocked by the islands steep cliffs. Suddenly we were surrounded by turquoise waters, and then aquamarine and then cyan. It was nothing short of striking to see the multitude of blue waters.
When we docked, we walked the short distance to our ‘nice’ hotel for the trip which was actually a narrow isthmus. It was here on this exclusive strait that the 2005 tsunami wrecked the most havoc. Although Thais claim the island looks the same, they also state it certainly doesn’t cost the same due to the demand of building sturdier hotels instead of ‘wash-away’ bungalows. Nevertheless, for the girls, who are on the US dollar, this island is still one of the cheapest paradises in the world.
Long tail boats lined the aqua shore as we walked the few yards of sand to our hotel. Upon seeing our view after we walked into our room, the only instinct we had was to drop our bags and immediately run to our balcony and take it what was before us. Throughout the whole time we were on Koh Phi Phi we never did get over our vivid seascape.
Eventually we left our balcony in order to explore the tiny island, try one the infamous fruit smoothies, and hire a ‘long tail’ boat to take us to Koh Phi Phi Leh- our island’s uninhabited sister, also where the movie, ‘The Beach’ was filmed with Leonardo DiCaprio.
Our island was very small- we meandered through the maze of paths that was surrounded with restaurants, souvenir shops, bars, hotels and more scuba diving shops than I’ve ever seen. We grabbed our smoothies, ate some street food and were in search of a good price for our day trip to the other island. In doing this, we had to bargain. Hard. We found a driver who offered us a good price for three hours and included snorkeling.
It was one of the best days yet in Asia. We rode to the other island, saw the Viking Cave (an area where bamboo scaffolding reaches the rood to collect nests that are built up on the cliffs-apparently these nests are really, really expensive). We also visited ‘Monkey Island’ where we were surrounded by wild monkeys on the narrow strip of the shore. Unfortunately, we were so disappointed to see baby monkey’s picking up people’s trash, such as coke cans and drinking from them. Then we went to a lagoon where there were only several other boats and just spent time trying to get the perfect ‘jump’ picture and swam around. Following the lagoon, the driver took us to an area that had great coral reefs where we snorkeled for a while. After, we made our way to Ao Maya, which was where the setting of Leo’s movie was held. It was overwhelming just how impressive such a place could be. We felt so lucky to have gone in the low season. In most of our pictures there wasn’t ever another person in our way or on the beach. It was like we had found this isolated beach ourselves. Boats aren’t allowed to enter the small bay so we had to do some extreme walking on rocks while the waves pushed us forward and climb over a little cliff to get there. It was a fantastic day- one in which I got very, very burned but c’est la vie. At least the Chinese appreciate my fair skin. Lizz, on the other hand was so afraid they would think she was ‘country folk’ since she’s naturally so dark ☺
We luckily had great timing when we decided to walk to dinner. Immediately after we entered, a mini monsoon began, which as a result, the employees pulled down their hurricane shutters and suddenly it felt like we were trapped in. The food in Thailand was exceptional. Lizz and I drank a Thai Tea almost every chance we could- It was a nice change from Green Tea all the time.
Another early night and I’m sure an early morning awaits…
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Koh Lanta Thailand - Day 2
Of course the girls woke up at 4:30 AM. It was expected, I suppose ;) I however, was still very much on Asia’s time zone and couldn’t get out of bed at such a time. Even the rooster who crowed at 5 AM almost had me out of bed but I honestly couldn’t be bothered. Isn’t that why iPODs were invented? For such occasions, on a tiny island in Thailand?
I begrudgingly got out of bed at around 6 AM. The girls had already explored the entire hotel premises, walked the beach (which was only a 100 yards away from our bungalow), inquired about going to either Koh Rok or Koh Phi Phi and had a morning snack consisting of granola bars. Since we didn’t get dinner the night before, they were starving.
Breakfast, which was included with our hotel, was held under a large thatched roof directly in front of the beach. Since we were also the only ones there, we had service that doesn’t exist in China, with manners and all the etiquette that Westerns are used to. I already noticed that China had changed me, just from observing the girls. I felt a little out of my element.
During breakfast, the girls caught me up to speed about what to do on the island since it was still the off season. Boat trips to the island, Koh Rok wasn’t possible just yet due to the monsoon and windy season and Koh Phi Phi would have to be for the next day since we’d need to catch an early ferry. We were told we’d only have 2 hours on Koh Phi Phi after a 2 hour boat ride- so we opted to stay the next night on Koh Phi Phi and one more night at the Moonlight Bay Resort. Since we weren’t left with many other options, we went to the southern tip of the island to Ao Kantiang where our hotel unfortunately ripped us off with the taxi ride but at least we learned our lesson and I quickly realized Thailand is more similar to China than I previously thought.
The day was happily spent catching up, body surfing and the girls got Thai massages. We all got rocked and thrown many times by they waves-almost choking from laughing so hard together. I hadn't had that much fun body surfing since we all went together in Costa Rica. The water was very inviting and warm- it was nothing like cold California waters. We also noticed the hotel that the man from the shack was trying to push onto us was directly on the beach and looked quite nice- but we were still glad we didn’t listen to him. We had a great Thai lunch on the beach and drank our first Thai beer, which is actually the only beer I have come to enjoy.
After the sun began to go down we walked past the wild monkeys, down the beach to a nice resort, Pimalai, where we ate one of the most delicious dinners I’ve had yet in Asia. It was another early night back to the hotel where we all packed up, ready to leave early the next morning for Koh Phi Phi. Of course the girls were asleep before 10 PM. I really was wondering whether they’d ever catch on to Asia’s time!
I begrudgingly got out of bed at around 6 AM. The girls had already explored the entire hotel premises, walked the beach (which was only a 100 yards away from our bungalow), inquired about going to either Koh Rok or Koh Phi Phi and had a morning snack consisting of granola bars. Since we didn’t get dinner the night before, they were starving.
Breakfast, which was included with our hotel, was held under a large thatched roof directly in front of the beach. Since we were also the only ones there, we had service that doesn’t exist in China, with manners and all the etiquette that Westerns are used to. I already noticed that China had changed me, just from observing the girls. I felt a little out of my element.
During breakfast, the girls caught me up to speed about what to do on the island since it was still the off season. Boat trips to the island, Koh Rok wasn’t possible just yet due to the monsoon and windy season and Koh Phi Phi would have to be for the next day since we’d need to catch an early ferry. We were told we’d only have 2 hours on Koh Phi Phi after a 2 hour boat ride- so we opted to stay the next night on Koh Phi Phi and one more night at the Moonlight Bay Resort. Since we weren’t left with many other options, we went to the southern tip of the island to Ao Kantiang where our hotel unfortunately ripped us off with the taxi ride but at least we learned our lesson and I quickly realized Thailand is more similar to China than I previously thought.
The day was happily spent catching up, body surfing and the girls got Thai massages. We all got rocked and thrown many times by they waves-almost choking from laughing so hard together. I hadn't had that much fun body surfing since we all went together in Costa Rica. The water was very inviting and warm- it was nothing like cold California waters. We also noticed the hotel that the man from the shack was trying to push onto us was directly on the beach and looked quite nice- but we were still glad we didn’t listen to him. We had a great Thai lunch on the beach and drank our first Thai beer, which is actually the only beer I have come to enjoy.
After the sun began to go down we walked past the wild monkeys, down the beach to a nice resort, Pimalai, where we ate one of the most delicious dinners I’ve had yet in Asia. It was another early night back to the hotel where we all packed up, ready to leave early the next morning for Koh Phi Phi. Of course the girls were asleep before 10 PM. I really was wondering whether they’d ever catch on to Asia’s time!
South Korea - Day 1
Background Info:
I thought I would start this post with a little background information as it will make more of this story make sense. Seoul, South Korea is about a 2 hour flight from the city that I am living in in China (Hangzhou). So why might you ask did it take us about 13 hours to reach Seoul from Hangzhou. Due to the fact that we were travelling during the National Day holiday in China the price of any form of travel either gets very expensive or there are no tickets available as the entire countries population of 1.3 Billion people attempt to go home to see their families. The cheapest airfare that we could find took us from Shanghai to Beijing and from Beijing to Seoul. Alright onto Day 1
Day 1
Day 1 started with waking up at about 4:45am to ride my bike over to another guys apartment. From his apartment all 6 of us got on a city bus at around 5:20am. I was really expecting that the city bus would be empty and it would be an easy ride to the long distance bus station. But of course, this is China, and the the bus was absolutely packed (not a United States packed in which there are no open seats) but a China packed in which there isn't an inch of space and even the driver is uncomfortable due to the amount of people. It was about a 20 minute "cozy" ride to the other bus station in which we all transferred to the long distance bus that would take us to the Shanghai domestic airport. I don't recall much of that bus ride as I slept for close to the entire 2 hours. Once we arrived at the Shanghai airport at about 9am (our flight didn't take off until 1:15) we realized we probably could have got a "bit" of a later bus. We killed some time with a nice breakfast at McDonalds and then we spent about 3 hours hanging out in the terminal waiting for a flight.
Since it was October 1st China was having their 60th anniversary of the Communist Party which included a massive parade in Beijing. Every TV in the airport was broadcasting the parade. If the first picture that comes to your mind is of a nice parade like the Rose Parade in the US then you are mistaken. It was four hours of China showings its miliatary strengh with every kind of weapon, vehicle, plane, and soldier imaginable. We watched the parade for a few minutes but quickly grew bored of seeing the same tank over and over again on the screen.
Becuase of the parade all the airspace over Beijing was shutdown for several hours which of course delayed our flight for about 2 hours and we got to spend those 2 hours sitting on the plane instead of in the terminal for some reason....The flight to Beijing was uneventful but upon arrival into Beijing you immediately realize how huge the airport is, it is absolutely massive and it is designed to look like a dragon. By the time that we were ready to depart from Beijing it was already about 7:30 pm, so we had be travelling for about 14 hours and only made it about two and a half hours from Hangzhou....
We landed in Seoul and were immediately shocked by what we saw when we got off the plane. The airport was immaculate, it was so clean, I would have rather eaten dinner off the floor in the Seoul airport then in a good portion of the restaurants in China. People actually took their children into the bathroom to pee, not the usual Chinese way of having them pee on the floor in the airport. Who would have thought! From the airport we grabbed another bus to downtown Seoul, which is about an hour away. To recap the days travel: 3 buses, 2 airplanes, a bike, and on foot. Kinda a lot for only going a few hours across the ocean....
We made our way off the bus and eventually found our hostel which conviently had no sign. We were greeted by our eccentric, no... make that crazy hostel owner, Mr. See. He was all wound up and quickly took all of us to a bar at where he introducded to the Korean alcohol Soju. The Soju reminds me a bit of Saki, the strangest part of the bar experience in Korea has to be instead of serving you the typical peanuts they serve dried squid. At first no one was having any of it but as the Soju kept flowing and with that Korean beer too, the squid started to mysteriously dissapear. Leaving the bar we went wandering around the streets near our hostel in search of something to eat. For some reason that I do not know the Korea people love friend chicken, there are fried chicken shops on about every street corner. We found a good looking one that had outdoor tables and we sat down. Our waitress brought us a menu which conviently did not contain a signal word of English and if you have seen the Korean written language there is no way to even guess what the heck anything is.
We attempted asking her if she spoke any English, that was a big negative. So for some odd reason we asked her in Chinese if she speaks Chinese...and low and behold she responds and starts speaking in really good Chinese and we were able to get the menu translated to a level that we could sorta understand. Along with the chicken we got some huge glasses of Korea beer, these glasses would make the double gulp cups at 7-11 seem small.
At about 2 am we decided to call it a night as we had now been up close to 24hours. But we knew one thing, and that one thing was that we already loved Korea. From the few hours that we were there it was easy to tell that it was going to be a really really fun trip.
I thought I would start this post with a little background information as it will make more of this story make sense. Seoul, South Korea is about a 2 hour flight from the city that I am living in in China (Hangzhou). So why might you ask did it take us about 13 hours to reach Seoul from Hangzhou. Due to the fact that we were travelling during the National Day holiday in China the price of any form of travel either gets very expensive or there are no tickets available as the entire countries population of 1.3 Billion people attempt to go home to see their families. The cheapest airfare that we could find took us from Shanghai to Beijing and from Beijing to Seoul. Alright onto Day 1
Day 1
Day 1 started with waking up at about 4:45am to ride my bike over to another guys apartment. From his apartment all 6 of us got on a city bus at around 5:20am. I was really expecting that the city bus would be empty and it would be an easy ride to the long distance bus station. But of course, this is China, and the the bus was absolutely packed (not a United States packed in which there are no open seats) but a China packed in which there isn't an inch of space and even the driver is uncomfortable due to the amount of people. It was about a 20 minute "cozy" ride to the other bus station in which we all transferred to the long distance bus that would take us to the Shanghai domestic airport. I don't recall much of that bus ride as I slept for close to the entire 2 hours. Once we arrived at the Shanghai airport at about 9am (our flight didn't take off until 1:15) we realized we probably could have got a "bit" of a later bus. We killed some time with a nice breakfast at McDonalds and then we spent about 3 hours hanging out in the terminal waiting for a flight.
Since it was October 1st China was having their 60th anniversary of the Communist Party which included a massive parade in Beijing. Every TV in the airport was broadcasting the parade. If the first picture that comes to your mind is of a nice parade like the Rose Parade in the US then you are mistaken. It was four hours of China showings its miliatary strengh with every kind of weapon, vehicle, plane, and soldier imaginable. We watched the parade for a few minutes but quickly grew bored of seeing the same tank over and over again on the screen.
Becuase of the parade all the airspace over Beijing was shutdown for several hours which of course delayed our flight for about 2 hours and we got to spend those 2 hours sitting on the plane instead of in the terminal for some reason....The flight to Beijing was uneventful but upon arrival into Beijing you immediately realize how huge the airport is, it is absolutely massive and it is designed to look like a dragon. By the time that we were ready to depart from Beijing it was already about 7:30 pm, so we had be travelling for about 14 hours and only made it about two and a half hours from Hangzhou....
We landed in Seoul and were immediately shocked by what we saw when we got off the plane. The airport was immaculate, it was so clean, I would have rather eaten dinner off the floor in the Seoul airport then in a good portion of the restaurants in China. People actually took their children into the bathroom to pee, not the usual Chinese way of having them pee on the floor in the airport. Who would have thought! From the airport we grabbed another bus to downtown Seoul, which is about an hour away. To recap the days travel: 3 buses, 2 airplanes, a bike, and on foot. Kinda a lot for only going a few hours across the ocean....
We made our way off the bus and eventually found our hostel which conviently had no sign. We were greeted by our eccentric, no... make that crazy hostel owner, Mr. See. He was all wound up and quickly took all of us to a bar at where he introducded to the Korean alcohol Soju. The Soju reminds me a bit of Saki, the strangest part of the bar experience in Korea has to be instead of serving you the typical peanuts they serve dried squid. At first no one was having any of it but as the Soju kept flowing and with that Korean beer too, the squid started to mysteriously dissapear. Leaving the bar we went wandering around the streets near our hostel in search of something to eat. For some reason that I do not know the Korea people love friend chicken, there are fried chicken shops on about every street corner. We found a good looking one that had outdoor tables and we sat down. Our waitress brought us a menu which conviently did not contain a signal word of English and if you have seen the Korean written language there is no way to even guess what the heck anything is.
We attempted asking her if she spoke any English, that was a big negative. So for some odd reason we asked her in Chinese if she speaks Chinese...and low and behold she responds and starts speaking in really good Chinese and we were able to get the menu translated to a level that we could sorta understand. Along with the chicken we got some huge glasses of Korea beer, these glasses would make the double gulp cups at 7-11 seem small.
At about 2 am we decided to call it a night as we had now been up close to 24hours. But we knew one thing, and that one thing was that we already loved Korea. From the few hours that we were there it was easy to tell that it was going to be a really really fun trip.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Koh Lanta Thailand - Day 1 (Still)
We hurried back to the same airport we flew into not six hours before to buy our tickets to Krabi. Our final destination was Koh Lanta but it took all day to get there.
After we arrived in Krabi we had to take a bus to the ‘shuttle stop’ where we waited at a shack for the shuttle. Throughout the hour we were constantly trying to be swayed to stay at one of the employee’s (of the shack) friend’s hotel while we were searching/calling hotels to inquire their availability. He almost had us- right until we were told to pay him now and not the hotel. When we (obviously) said ‘no’, he began yelling at us and told us we were not smart, blah, blah, blah. We left the shack in silence as we got in the van beginning to wonder what we got ourselves into…
Our concern grew as we began to make continual stops throughout the two hour journey to Koh Lanta, an island that isn’t overcrowded with tourists and still holds astonishing beauty, or so we read. The first stop was to buy a water bottle (fair enough). The second stop was a newspaper (we couldn’t help but wonder- was he going to read while he was driving?). The third stop was on the side of the road where he met a man and was handed a small plastic bag after he gave the mysterious man some money. The fourth stop we really didn’t know where he went. The last stop was at his house, where his daughter was waiting outside. He dropped everything off: the newspaper, the dinner in the to-go bag, and the water bottle and gave his daughter a kiss on the top of her head. (We felt foolish as we had jumped to conclusions).
We had to take two ferries to get to Koh Lanta. After, the van dropped everyone off at their hotel. We arrived at the Moonlight Hotel at 8PM and had to wake up the owner to let us into our bungalow. Since there were was only a month left to the off season (aka monsoon season), many hotel lobby’s, restaurants, shops, etc. close down entirely or close early. We were surprised to see how quiet it was but quickly realized we were the only ones staying there.
Our bungalow was very ‘Thai’ with thatched roofs and bamboo like walls. I loved it. We had a nice porch that sat just a few feet above what the girls called, ‘a swamp’. They quickly fell asleep at about 8:30 PM, again, thanks to jet lag when I too succumbed to sleep.
After we arrived in Krabi we had to take a bus to the ‘shuttle stop’ where we waited at a shack for the shuttle. Throughout the hour we were constantly trying to be swayed to stay at one of the employee’s (of the shack) friend’s hotel while we were searching/calling hotels to inquire their availability. He almost had us- right until we were told to pay him now and not the hotel. When we (obviously) said ‘no’, he began yelling at us and told us we were not smart, blah, blah, blah. We left the shack in silence as we got in the van beginning to wonder what we got ourselves into…
Our concern grew as we began to make continual stops throughout the two hour journey to Koh Lanta, an island that isn’t overcrowded with tourists and still holds astonishing beauty, or so we read. The first stop was to buy a water bottle (fair enough). The second stop was a newspaper (we couldn’t help but wonder- was he going to read while he was driving?). The third stop was on the side of the road where he met a man and was handed a small plastic bag after he gave the mysterious man some money. The fourth stop we really didn’t know where he went. The last stop was at his house, where his daughter was waiting outside. He dropped everything off: the newspaper, the dinner in the to-go bag, and the water bottle and gave his daughter a kiss on the top of her head. (We felt foolish as we had jumped to conclusions).
We had to take two ferries to get to Koh Lanta. After, the van dropped everyone off at their hotel. We arrived at the Moonlight Hotel at 8PM and had to wake up the owner to let us into our bungalow. Since there were was only a month left to the off season (aka monsoon season), many hotel lobby’s, restaurants, shops, etc. close down entirely or close early. We were surprised to see how quiet it was but quickly realized we were the only ones staying there.
Our bungalow was very ‘Thai’ with thatched roofs and bamboo like walls. I loved it. We had a nice porch that sat just a few feet above what the girls called, ‘a swamp’. They quickly fell asleep at about 8:30 PM, again, thanks to jet lag when I too succumbed to sleep.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Bangkok Thailand - Day 1
And so I write this post with just a tinge of sadness. I have just said goodbye to my best friends and arrived back in Hangzhou to finish out our teaching contract until February 2010.
I knew I was quite fortunate to have friends who jumped at the chance to come to China, not exactly a country that reaches the top of most people’s ‘must see’ places. Yet they were eager to make it their yearly vacation and continue our travels together. Lizz and I have traveled around Europe together and the three of us went to Costa Rica back in 2005.
I waited impatiently for September to arrive since they bought their tickets back in March. Finally, September 29th came and we all were on our way to meet in Bangkok, Thailand. Although we only had five days to see as much of the country as we could- we were also left to see China in a matter of five days. We wanted to go Bangkok because our good friend from college, Kevin has been teaching with Princeton Review there for the past two and a half years. After I landed at 1:30 AM, I was greeted by the three of them immediately. It was so great to see them after so long let alone really good friends who have known me for years and years and I them. Immediately I felt out of my comfort zone- It was the first time I’d been out of the country in 8 months. It was even more strange to realize that China was in fact my current ‘comfort zone’. Yet, I quickly saw many similarities: the speed taxi drivers are inclined to, the run down look of buildings and streets, the HUMIDITY, etc. Something I was very surprised to see was that 7-11s are more popular there than Starbucks are in the States. (I took advantage of them and got a chocolate milk almost every time I saw one- we don’t have either in China)
Kevin was kind enough to let us stay at his nice apartment for the night before going back to the airport in the morning to fly to Krabi. We weren’t able to get to bed until 4:30 AM and not an hour and half later the girls were wide eyed and ready for the day thanks to jet lag.
I knew I was quite fortunate to have friends who jumped at the chance to come to China, not exactly a country that reaches the top of most people’s ‘must see’ places. Yet they were eager to make it their yearly vacation and continue our travels together. Lizz and I have traveled around Europe together and the three of us went to Costa Rica back in 2005.
I waited impatiently for September to arrive since they bought their tickets back in March. Finally, September 29th came and we all were on our way to meet in Bangkok, Thailand. Although we only had five days to see as much of the country as we could- we were also left to see China in a matter of five days. We wanted to go Bangkok because our good friend from college, Kevin has been teaching with Princeton Review there for the past two and a half years. After I landed at 1:30 AM, I was greeted by the three of them immediately. It was so great to see them after so long let alone really good friends who have known me for years and years and I them. Immediately I felt out of my comfort zone- It was the first time I’d been out of the country in 8 months. It was even more strange to realize that China was in fact my current ‘comfort zone’. Yet, I quickly saw many similarities: the speed taxi drivers are inclined to, the run down look of buildings and streets, the HUMIDITY, etc. Something I was very surprised to see was that 7-11s are more popular there than Starbucks are in the States. (I took advantage of them and got a chocolate milk almost every time I saw one- we don’t have either in China)
Kevin was kind enough to let us stay at his nice apartment for the night before going back to the airport in the morning to fly to Krabi. We weren’t able to get to bed until 4:30 AM and not an hour and half later the girls were wide eyed and ready for the day thanks to jet lag.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Two Days Later
I wish I could say that I’ve gotten over my bike being stolen in a matter of two days but I haven’t. Afterall, it’s just a bike but it’s just infuriating. I still remember so clearly walking out of the restaurant, looking to the left where I had left my bike with two locks attached to a pole and turning to Chad anticipating that this funny joke he played on me would crack. I didn’t realize he had also had locked his bike to mine and the pole, meaning there were four locks ‘securing’ them. I quickly put two and two together once I saw his fierce reaction. I might as well just left them unlocked since these thieves have all the key blanks to locks in China. Live and learn, I guess.
Shocked, is an understatement. I just couldn’t believe it. I had the bike two days. Two days. There was nothing more I could have done to have prevented this. They had been right in front of the restaurant on a busy street. The worst part about it is that so many people witnessed them being carried over the bike rail into a van and did nothing. Nothing. I see situations like this often here and find myself in awe of people’s actions or lack there of. I have seen people literally hit by cars or taxis and bystanders pretty much kick up their heels and watch- they do NOTHING. NOTHING. Not one person will rush to their side. I just can’t understand it. Chad has thwarted four pick-pocketing incidents already. And in every case, he’s been the only one who’s taken action.
There’s also the issue of the ‘police’. This term is has a completely different connotation here than it does in the States. Their primary job here is to direct traffic and well, that’s it. They don’t carry weapons. None.
Chad had called the police directly after our realization and filed a report just so we had our bases covered. Knowing that there are 7 million people in this city and that stealing bikes here is true profession, we knew the odds weren’t good. What I just found out though is that the police actually know where the stolen bike market is and simply won’t raid it until they get enough complaints. This is what I’m talking about… Sometimes things just feel hopeless here.
Shocked, is an understatement. I just couldn’t believe it. I had the bike two days. Two days. There was nothing more I could have done to have prevented this. They had been right in front of the restaurant on a busy street. The worst part about it is that so many people witnessed them being carried over the bike rail into a van and did nothing. Nothing. I see situations like this often here and find myself in awe of people’s actions or lack there of. I have seen people literally hit by cars or taxis and bystanders pretty much kick up their heels and watch- they do NOTHING. NOTHING. Not one person will rush to their side. I just can’t understand it. Chad has thwarted four pick-pocketing incidents already. And in every case, he’s been the only one who’s taken action.
There’s also the issue of the ‘police’. This term is has a completely different connotation here than it does in the States. Their primary job here is to direct traffic and well, that’s it. They don’t carry weapons. None.
Chad had called the police directly after our realization and filed a report just so we had our bases covered. Knowing that there are 7 million people in this city and that stealing bikes here is true profession, we knew the odds weren’t good. What I just found out though is that the police actually know where the stolen bike market is and simply won’t raid it until they get enough complaints. This is what I’m talking about… Sometimes things just feel hopeless here.
Friday, September 11, 2009
'I Told You So'
I’m obviously really behind in keeping up with my promise about posting our trip in Tibet BUT something has inspired me to write…
Two days ago I made the big purchase to facilitate our life here. Chad already had one- he bought a ‘nice’ used bike off of a teacher who was leaving. After riding around on his a few times and realizing the convenience of it, I was very excited to buy our newest addition, my new bike. It’s beautiful-shiny, red and black, and everyday I wake up excited to ride it. I even dreamed of it the night I bought it. Sounds silly but really I kicked myself for not buying one earlier. I no longer have to pay for ‘Mr. Toad’s Wild’ taxi ride and I honestly LOVED riding around the city. I felt like I had gotten to know my way around in these last few days by riding my bike everywhere than I have in the last six months!
I also have managed to corral several other teachers to create our little own ‘EF half marathon team’ in which we ride our bikes to West Lake/ meet up with other teachers who want to train, run our distance and then ride back home. It’s amazing. We don’t have to cram onto the already sweaty buses, worry about our bags being sliced or robbed and can come and go as we please. I have felt healthier in these last few days and enjoy that my legs are sore. It’s a welcome sign to getting back into shape, something that has been long overdue and I’m already feeling so much better.
Today, on the ride over to dinner, to say goodbye to a great friend who’s contract has ended and is leaving for Australia for a year, I talked with another friend who has decided to go on a long bike ride with me Sunday morning to encourage her into running with us on Monday. The look of my bike and it’s efficient gears and effective brakes even swayed her into buying a new one… that is until mine and Chad’s was stolen one hour later off a pole with three locks on it…
Yes, it’s just a bike and yes, this is part of my experience in China but at the moment… I’m just so angry.
Two days ago I made the big purchase to facilitate our life here. Chad already had one- he bought a ‘nice’ used bike off of a teacher who was leaving. After riding around on his a few times and realizing the convenience of it, I was very excited to buy our newest addition, my new bike. It’s beautiful-shiny, red and black, and everyday I wake up excited to ride it. I even dreamed of it the night I bought it. Sounds silly but really I kicked myself for not buying one earlier. I no longer have to pay for ‘Mr. Toad’s Wild’ taxi ride and I honestly LOVED riding around the city. I felt like I had gotten to know my way around in these last few days by riding my bike everywhere than I have in the last six months!
I also have managed to corral several other teachers to create our little own ‘EF half marathon team’ in which we ride our bikes to West Lake/ meet up with other teachers who want to train, run our distance and then ride back home. It’s amazing. We don’t have to cram onto the already sweaty buses, worry about our bags being sliced or robbed and can come and go as we please. I have felt healthier in these last few days and enjoy that my legs are sore. It’s a welcome sign to getting back into shape, something that has been long overdue and I’m already feeling so much better.
Today, on the ride over to dinner, to say goodbye to a great friend who’s contract has ended and is leaving for Australia for a year, I talked with another friend who has decided to go on a long bike ride with me Sunday morning to encourage her into running with us on Monday. The look of my bike and it’s efficient gears and effective brakes even swayed her into buying a new one… that is until mine and Chad’s was stolen one hour later off a pole with three locks on it…
Yes, it’s just a bike and yes, this is part of my experience in China but at the moment… I’m just so angry.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Lhasa, Tibet: August 26, 2009 (Day 1)
Alas, we finally made it to Tibet, the highest city in the world- It was only our second try to get here. The first time we planned to come, I acquired a lung/ blood infection just two days prior to leaving and due to Tibet’s altitude, going with a mere cold isn’t even recommended due to the risk of developing pulmonary edema rather quickly. Luckily the tour company allowed us to delay the trip until after my busy season at work.
We flew into Xi’an (a city in the middle of China) for a layover and while we were on our connecting flight to Lhasa, we could already feel the affects from the altitude, thanks to the airline crew releasing some of the cabin pressure. After a quick nap, I awoke to notice my heart rate had definitely accelerated as well as my breathing but also that my arms and fingers were tingling. Once we landed, we immediately saw a vast difference from Tibet vs. China. The people, were alluring- dark skinned, intriguing eyes, prominent cheek bones, and such a colorful, ornate style of dress. Chad was mostly excited about seeing blue sky. I realized then, that we hadn’t seen blue sky in six months now. The brightness literally hurt our eyes. This adjustment actually took us a few days.
We quickly found our tour guide, a native Tibetan, named Lobsang and climbed into our 20 year old Land Cruiser to meet our driver, also a local, named Bimba. Going into this trip we knew a vast majority of our time would be spent in the car- but we were quite content with that since the scenery was astounding! We also were constantly entertained with spotting the millions of cattle, sheep, yaks, goats, pigs, dogs, horses that speckled the landscape, yards, and always the roads. It was a welcomed reminder of what Scotland was like- seeing more animals than people.
It took us about an hour to get from the airport to the old town where our hotel, The Cool Yak Hotel was. On our way, it was evident to see that there was a major Chinese influence in the areas outside the old town. But it didn’t take us long to both feel that this province needs to be it’s own country. Everything is different here and it was disappointing to see this wonderful province losing it’s culture, beliefs and traditions to political turmoil.
By the time we arrived to the hotel, it was approaching several hours since we landed (A crucial time that altitude sickness would either already be upon us or would soon be)… and when they tell you take it easy the first day, they literally mean, lie down the ENTIRE day- Unfortunately, for us, we had no other choice. We were both stuck with one of the worst headaches we’ve ever had. We were dizzy and also slightly nauseated but other than that it was like experiencing one of the worst hangovers in your life. Even dinner, brushing our teeth, putting on warmer clothes were completely out of the question for the night. There was no way we were going to move. And so we went to bed at 6:30PM…
We flew into Xi’an (a city in the middle of China) for a layover and while we were on our connecting flight to Lhasa, we could already feel the affects from the altitude, thanks to the airline crew releasing some of the cabin pressure. After a quick nap, I awoke to notice my heart rate had definitely accelerated as well as my breathing but also that my arms and fingers were tingling. Once we landed, we immediately saw a vast difference from Tibet vs. China. The people, were alluring- dark skinned, intriguing eyes, prominent cheek bones, and such a colorful, ornate style of dress. Chad was mostly excited about seeing blue sky. I realized then, that we hadn’t seen blue sky in six months now. The brightness literally hurt our eyes. This adjustment actually took us a few days.
We quickly found our tour guide, a native Tibetan, named Lobsang and climbed into our 20 year old Land Cruiser to meet our driver, also a local, named Bimba. Going into this trip we knew a vast majority of our time would be spent in the car- but we were quite content with that since the scenery was astounding! We also were constantly entertained with spotting the millions of cattle, sheep, yaks, goats, pigs, dogs, horses that speckled the landscape, yards, and always the roads. It was a welcomed reminder of what Scotland was like- seeing more animals than people.
It took us about an hour to get from the airport to the old town where our hotel, The Cool Yak Hotel was. On our way, it was evident to see that there was a major Chinese influence in the areas outside the old town. But it didn’t take us long to both feel that this province needs to be it’s own country. Everything is different here and it was disappointing to see this wonderful province losing it’s culture, beliefs and traditions to political turmoil.
By the time we arrived to the hotel, it was approaching several hours since we landed (A crucial time that altitude sickness would either already be upon us or would soon be)… and when they tell you take it easy the first day, they literally mean, lie down the ENTIRE day- Unfortunately, for us, we had no other choice. We were both stuck with one of the worst headaches we’ve ever had. We were dizzy and also slightly nauseated but other than that it was like experiencing one of the worst hangovers in your life. Even dinner, brushing our teeth, putting on warmer clothes were completely out of the question for the night. There was no way we were going to move. And so we went to bed at 6:30PM…
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Every 300 Years
Today we saw history in the making. And it just so happened we were in the best spot. In. The. World. It was a sight I know I never anticipated seeing- never really thought twice about but experiencing the world go dark- dark like it was midnight-dark, in a mere few minutes at 9:30 in the morning is something I know I will always remember from my year abroad in China. It was a spectacle and everyone was consumed by it. People flooded roof tops, streets, left work stopped driving and English teachers taught kids vocabulary such as moon, stars, sun, Earth and Eclipse.
Our morning began in a rush. Chad and I were in a race against time. We needed to get to my school (on the 12th floor) by 9:20 AM. Sunlight was already quickly becoming extinguished. Of course I immediately thought this would be the time we’d get stuck in the elevator but we made it out our building just as usual to see the many little old ladies sitting about in their make-shift chairs outside. There was something different however. Instead of their normal chatter amongst each other, they amicably passed around old x-ray photos that they could hold up against the blinding sun. Did they know a secret I didn’t know? Was this method of observation in fact safe? (I saw more in those photos of their medical history than I probably needed to). People were in fact, quite innovative to see this once in a lifetime glimpse at the Total Solar Eclipse. It goes without questioning, that if you look at the sun for even a few seconds, permanent damage or blindness is likely. Locals were so eager to see the entire process of the Eclipse that they resorted to using welding masks, pieces of broken glass, two pairs of sunglasses being worn, or even just a piece of paper to hold up against the blinding light.
We made it to my school in time and joined the many students and teachers out on our roof. Before we finished our sentences to each other, night fell and but morning had only begun. It was only 9:30. Looking up, all that was visible was a thin, striking, luminous ring of fire. It was a halo that also graciously dropped the sky-rocketing temperatures in Hangzhou. It was a moment that reminded me just how vast the Universe is, that there are still so many things left unknown and also more importantly, that there are so many things that we cannot control in this world.
Fireworks leapt from the ground and for those five and half minutes, awe was the only thing that filled the city.
Our morning began in a rush. Chad and I were in a race against time. We needed to get to my school (on the 12th floor) by 9:20 AM. Sunlight was already quickly becoming extinguished. Of course I immediately thought this would be the time we’d get stuck in the elevator but we made it out our building just as usual to see the many little old ladies sitting about in their make-shift chairs outside. There was something different however. Instead of their normal chatter amongst each other, they amicably passed around old x-ray photos that they could hold up against the blinding sun. Did they know a secret I didn’t know? Was this method of observation in fact safe? (I saw more in those photos of their medical history than I probably needed to). People were in fact, quite innovative to see this once in a lifetime glimpse at the Total Solar Eclipse. It goes without questioning, that if you look at the sun for even a few seconds, permanent damage or blindness is likely. Locals were so eager to see the entire process of the Eclipse that they resorted to using welding masks, pieces of broken glass, two pairs of sunglasses being worn, or even just a piece of paper to hold up against the blinding light.
We made it to my school in time and joined the many students and teachers out on our roof. Before we finished our sentences to each other, night fell and but morning had only begun. It was only 9:30. Looking up, all that was visible was a thin, striking, luminous ring of fire. It was a halo that also graciously dropped the sky-rocketing temperatures in Hangzhou. It was a moment that reminded me just how vast the Universe is, that there are still so many things left unknown and also more importantly, that there are so many things that we cannot control in this world.
Fireworks leapt from the ground and for those five and half minutes, awe was the only thing that filled the city.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Highs and Lows
I wrote this below about a month ago and continued to debate about posting it on our blog. I didn’t want to come off too negative or that we’re stuck in our own western ways but after today’s doctor’s visit… I thought some might enjoy hearing the vast differences we face daily while living here in China. It’s definitely not a luxurious European cruise, nor would I want it to be that for I honestly believe we’ll come out stronger at the of the year after experiencing such a contrasting culture:
There are no mediocre days when living in China. Chad and I both agree that days are weighted on an extreme scale: You have either an awful day that really makes you wonder what kind of country you’re in or the opposite, where you’re so proud you took this amazing, life-changing step to experience a developing country, such as China. Obviously, I continue to stay here because of days such as those: The thrill of knowing you’re learning a complex language and actually, ACTUALLY holding the smallest of small conversations with locals, of feeling confident enough to dodge the trail of oncoming cars while merely trying to cross the street, of knowing how to successfully get around the city, of knowing when you’re being ripped off and being able to speak their language- showing them, you’re no ordinary fool (but pretty close), of people’s ‘bent-over-backwards’ kindness and seeing the sincerity in their eyes, of walking out the classroom door knowing your students have learned something and had fun spending the hour (+) with you, or even hearing one of your 5 year-old students create a song after class and the only word in it is- Ashlee. I love these days… truly, love them.
Today, however, was no such day. Nothing terrible happened but I caught myself thinking, ok, I’m ready to go home now. This ride has been fun but it’s over now, yes?? I’m just waiting for the safety harness to release and I’ll be on my way… yea, in nine months. Oy ve.
Unlike the great days, there are days where you find more bug bites than freckles on your body.
Days where you really wish for a price tag meaning-that’s the price. Period.
Days where you wonder if you woke up to your next life and forgot that you were a celebrity due to the photos being taken without your knowledge or the incessant stares. You begin to forget your manners and just glare right back.
Days where you can’t understand why China doesn’t have seat belts in their taxis when they drive as if you’re in the midst of a high pursuit.
Days where you notice the communism everywhere and can’t believe the things that are simply swept under the carpet-either because money has come to save the day or whether it’s a matter of saving face.
Days where you just want anything made with quality- as opposed to ‘the cheaper, the better’ philosophy.
Days where you see cockroaches the size of iPods
Days where you miss the feeling of being able to casually open your cupboards and not have cockroaches literally lurch directly at you (There have been several sudden screams from both of us- yes, Chad does scream if he has a cockroach jumping towards him)
Days where you feel you have absolutely no idea how to do your job
Days where you realize you know just a snippet of the language and the path towards fluency is so. So. Long
Days where all you hear is noise. Honking, incessant honking. (After all, it’s a second language here)
Days where little old ladies shove themselves in front of you and with quiet anger stirring inside you, you either (A) tap them on the shoulder and point out the obvious (THAT THERE’S A LINE!) (B) use the minimal language you know and tell them (HEY! I WAS FIRST!) or (C) you do all of thee above while glaring.
Days where you crave for a meal that you know is ‘safe’ and not ridden with salmonella or days when you play Russian roulette just by filling the ice-tray- with tap water. Opps.
Of course there are the days, where you taste the filth in your throat from the air quality, when you don’t want to even run an errand so as to save you from 15 minutes of breathing 5% oxygen- where you would kill for a days worth of clean, quality air and how it’s taken for granted
And days where you miss your family so much that you wonder if all this is really worth it…
Like I said, I stay here because of the good days, the new perspective I’m adopting, and the challenge of it all but at this moment, I’m filled with reminders that give me a strong reaction.
There are no mediocre days when living in China. Chad and I both agree that days are weighted on an extreme scale: You have either an awful day that really makes you wonder what kind of country you’re in or the opposite, where you’re so proud you took this amazing, life-changing step to experience a developing country, such as China. Obviously, I continue to stay here because of days such as those: The thrill of knowing you’re learning a complex language and actually, ACTUALLY holding the smallest of small conversations with locals, of feeling confident enough to dodge the trail of oncoming cars while merely trying to cross the street, of knowing how to successfully get around the city, of knowing when you’re being ripped off and being able to speak their language- showing them, you’re no ordinary fool (but pretty close), of people’s ‘bent-over-backwards’ kindness and seeing the sincerity in their eyes, of walking out the classroom door knowing your students have learned something and had fun spending the hour (+) with you, or even hearing one of your 5 year-old students create a song after class and the only word in it is- Ashlee. I love these days… truly, love them.
Today, however, was no such day. Nothing terrible happened but I caught myself thinking, ok, I’m ready to go home now. This ride has been fun but it’s over now, yes?? I’m just waiting for the safety harness to release and I’ll be on my way… yea, in nine months. Oy ve.
Unlike the great days, there are days where you find more bug bites than freckles on your body.
Days where you really wish for a price tag meaning-that’s the price. Period.
Days where you wonder if you woke up to your next life and forgot that you were a celebrity due to the photos being taken without your knowledge or the incessant stares. You begin to forget your manners and just glare right back.
Days where you can’t understand why China doesn’t have seat belts in their taxis when they drive as if you’re in the midst of a high pursuit.
Days where you notice the communism everywhere and can’t believe the things that are simply swept under the carpet-either because money has come to save the day or whether it’s a matter of saving face.
Days where you just want anything made with quality- as opposed to ‘the cheaper, the better’ philosophy.
Days where you see cockroaches the size of iPods
Days where you miss the feeling of being able to casually open your cupboards and not have cockroaches literally lurch directly at you (There have been several sudden screams from both of us- yes, Chad does scream if he has a cockroach jumping towards him)
Days where you feel you have absolutely no idea how to do your job
Days where you realize you know just a snippet of the language and the path towards fluency is so. So. Long
Days where all you hear is noise. Honking, incessant honking. (After all, it’s a second language here)
Days where little old ladies shove themselves in front of you and with quiet anger stirring inside you, you either (A) tap them on the shoulder and point out the obvious (THAT THERE’S A LINE!) (B) use the minimal language you know and tell them (HEY! I WAS FIRST!) or (C) you do all of thee above while glaring.
Days where you crave for a meal that you know is ‘safe’ and not ridden with salmonella or days when you play Russian roulette just by filling the ice-tray- with tap water. Opps.
Of course there are the days, where you taste the filth in your throat from the air quality, when you don’t want to even run an errand so as to save you from 15 minutes of breathing 5% oxygen- where you would kill for a days worth of clean, quality air and how it’s taken for granted
And days where you miss your family so much that you wonder if all this is really worth it…
Like I said, I stay here because of the good days, the new perspective I’m adopting, and the challenge of it all but at this moment, I’m filled with reminders that give me a strong reaction.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Pandas! - Chengdu
One of the main reasons that we decided to go to Chengdu was to visit the Panda Research Institute. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be able to see such a large number of pandas in one area. We arranged a tour with the hostel that we were staying at. We woke up at about 6:30 and went to breakfast at the restaurant that was attached to the hostel. The restaurant had a nice western breakfast in which we were able to get eggs, bacon, sausage, and toast! At around 7:30 we were led by a worker of the hostel to the "van" that would be driving us to the reserve. When I say van I mean a vehicle that makes a mini cooper look quite large but it can somehow fit 7 people inside...
The ride was the usual Chinese style craziness with the driver being more concerned with honking his horn as much as possible and watching the road as little as possible. Once we exited the highway onto the surface streets it felt as though we entered into rural Mexico. The buildings looked as though they were taped together with whatever materials they had around and everything with filthy. We finally arrived at the reserve and we were the first car/van/micro-machine in the parking lot. To say I was excited would be understatement. Usually Ashlee is the one who one who walks ridiculously fast and I am always trying to catch up to her (as Adam can attest to from his experience walking around Spain), but not today. The guide led us through the front gate and to one of the first pens. We had arrived so early that they hadn't let the pandas out of the cages yet. We peered around and we were able to catch a glimpse of them sitting in their cages waiting to be released so that they could go eat. Needless to say the camera instantly came out and the picture taking began and it didn't stop for the next 3 hours or so.
The guide then ushered us to the next pen area but we were reluctant to leave where we were but he insisted. We made our way to the next pen and it was well worth it. We were rewarded with the sigh of several 6 month old pandas tromping all over the place. You couldn't help but smile and laugh as they were so so cute. They are also some of the clumsiest and most uncoordinated creatures that I have ever seen. The are constantly falling over, slipping off tree branches, and rolling around. We spent the next hour just watching these little pandas do what they do and of course taking a lot of pictures. We then took a quick walk over to take a look at the adult pandas. It is amazing how large the adult pandas get and its even more amazing how much they can eat. They munch through huge piles of bamboo like it is nothing.
While observing the adult pandas the guide came back an uttered some words in Chinese and indicated that we should follow him. We followed him back over to the youngster side of the area. It was now feeding time for the little guys which would turn out to be the highlight of the trip. Each panda had to be fed a bowl of some sort of breed made milky looking food/formula. The hilarious part was that the several staff members had to attempt to try and corral all of them, in which there were about 15. The pandas were dispersed all over the area with a good portion of them stuck up in the various trees. The little pandas seem smart enough to know how to climb up the trees but they don't have the ability to climb back down. So we spent the next 20 minutes watching the workers attempt to "rescue" these pandas from the high up limbs. It was non-stop comedy routine that I will never forget. There was one little one that managed to get himself way up in the tree and was just not having any luck getting down. They were banging the food dishes down and constantly yelling his name but to no avail. The one worker then took it upon herself to attempt to try and climb up tree after the panda. After a good 10 minutes or so and many close calls of the panda almost falling out of the tree he was rescued and put to eat his gruel.
After about three hours our guide indicated that is was no time for us to get going. We took a quick stop at the panda museum on the way out before boarding our little van for the "interesting" ride back into town. I took close to 300 pictures at the reserve and would gladly go back at anytime to see pandas.
Pictures of the Panda's will be added when China unblocks the site.... cross your fingers...
The ride was the usual Chinese style craziness with the driver being more concerned with honking his horn as much as possible and watching the road as little as possible. Once we exited the highway onto the surface streets it felt as though we entered into rural Mexico. The buildings looked as though they were taped together with whatever materials they had around and everything with filthy. We finally arrived at the reserve and we were the first car/van/micro-machine in the parking lot. To say I was excited would be understatement. Usually Ashlee is the one who one who walks ridiculously fast and I am always trying to catch up to her (as Adam can attest to from his experience walking around Spain), but not today. The guide led us through the front gate and to one of the first pens. We had arrived so early that they hadn't let the pandas out of the cages yet. We peered around and we were able to catch a glimpse of them sitting in their cages waiting to be released so that they could go eat. Needless to say the camera instantly came out and the picture taking began and it didn't stop for the next 3 hours or so.
The guide then ushered us to the next pen area but we were reluctant to leave where we were but he insisted. We made our way to the next pen and it was well worth it. We were rewarded with the sigh of several 6 month old pandas tromping all over the place. You couldn't help but smile and laugh as they were so so cute. They are also some of the clumsiest and most uncoordinated creatures that I have ever seen. The are constantly falling over, slipping off tree branches, and rolling around. We spent the next hour just watching these little pandas do what they do and of course taking a lot of pictures. We then took a quick walk over to take a look at the adult pandas. It is amazing how large the adult pandas get and its even more amazing how much they can eat. They munch through huge piles of bamboo like it is nothing.
While observing the adult pandas the guide came back an uttered some words in Chinese and indicated that we should follow him. We followed him back over to the youngster side of the area. It was now feeding time for the little guys which would turn out to be the highlight of the trip. Each panda had to be fed a bowl of some sort of breed made milky looking food/formula. The hilarious part was that the several staff members had to attempt to try and corral all of them, in which there were about 15. The pandas were dispersed all over the area with a good portion of them stuck up in the various trees. The little pandas seem smart enough to know how to climb up the trees but they don't have the ability to climb back down. So we spent the next 20 minutes watching the workers attempt to "rescue" these pandas from the high up limbs. It was non-stop comedy routine that I will never forget. There was one little one that managed to get himself way up in the tree and was just not having any luck getting down. They were banging the food dishes down and constantly yelling his name but to no avail. The one worker then took it upon herself to attempt to try and climb up tree after the panda. After a good 10 minutes or so and many close calls of the panda almost falling out of the tree he was rescued and put to eat his gruel.
After about three hours our guide indicated that is was no time for us to get going. We took a quick stop at the panda museum on the way out before boarding our little van for the "interesting" ride back into town. I took close to 300 pictures at the reserve and would gladly go back at anytime to see pandas.
Pictures of the Panda's will be added when China unblocks the site.... cross your fingers...
Monday, June 1, 2009
Email Blogging Test
Since China has kindly decided to block our blog I am testing a new way to post.
-Chad
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Quick Update
The lack of updates lately is due to the fact that China has blocked all blog sites. Anyways found a way to bypass the block, so we will try and get more updates going.
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Shanghai Auto Show
As you know Ashlee dragged me to the Shanghai Auto Show against my will. I mean why would I of all people want to go to one of the biggest Auto Shows in the world :-).....
I was expecting the show to be quite large but after attending the LA Auto Show for the past 8 years or so I didn't think that it was going to be any bigger. Boy was I wrong. The show made the LA Auto Show seem like a routine trip to a auto mall. The Shanghai show had every US manufacturer, every European manufacturer, every Asian manufacturer, and every exotic company.
Chris, Ashlee and I made our way to the Auto Show in a taxi, definitely the scariest taxi ride I have been on in my life. I thought the taxis in Hangzhou were crazy... The traffic to get to the Auto Show was crazy and the driver informed Chris that it was never like this and it was
being caused by the show. We finally made our way to the entrance of the show and purchased our tickets. The tickets cost 100RMB or about 15 dollars, about the same price as the LA Auto Show.
The first exhibition hall that we entered was for the Chinese manufacturers and it was seriously out of control. Every manufacturer had music blaring and workers yelling stuff into megaphones. It was like a giant competition to get people to your booth to see your cars. The place was also jammed packed with people, and the Chinese aren't know for being the most polite people when it comes to crowded situations... Needless to say we made our way out of that hall quite quickly.
When we entered the next hall it became apparent to me that the majority of the people at the Auto Show did not come to look at the cars...they were there to take picture of the various models that were posing in front of the cars... The Chinese also do not mess around with the little point and shoot digital cameras that us Americans love so much. Probably 80% of the people there are carrying around thousands of dollars in digital SLR's and equipment.
One of the first non-Chinese manufacturers that we encountered was Volkswagen. There are a crazy amount of VW's in China and the display at the show was quite impressive as well as depressing. They had on display many of the models that we can not get in the US. The Scirocco (in green below), the R36 Passat, and a car we used to have the Phaeton. Needless to say I probably told Ashlee more about these cars then she ever wanted to hear.
After walking through 5 or 6 halls we thought that we had seen most of the show. Mercedes had an amazing display that was actually multilevel in which you walked up this winding ramp that had their cars on display. Mini, as usual, had a very creative display and they were even nice enough to have a birthday sign for me!
We then looked at the guide for the show and realized that we had only completed walking through about half of the show. So Ashlee dragged Chris and I to see the rest of the show..wait...that might be the other way around... It was worth the extra few hours of walking as we made it to the hall that had most of the exotics cars. Every exotic brand was there in full force which makes you realize how much disposable income the Chinese are beginning to accumulate. In Hangzhou you usually see one exotic car a day if not several more. I have seen Audi R8s, Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Bentleys, Maybachs, and the list goes on.
All in all the Auto Show was a great experience and it made for an amazing birthday put together by Ashlee.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Chengdued
After a whirlwind weekend, I have excitingly found 15 minutes to spare so I can write about our experience in Chengdu. In China, May 1 is a National holiday as well-except most of the country gets five days off. We... get one. Enough said. But luckily, the day fell on a Friday, the first day after our 'weekend' (Wednesday/Thursday) so another couple and us decided to take advantage of the three days and make a trip out of it. The other couple has been in Hangzhou for over a year and half and had yet to go to Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province (where the terrible earthquake was last year). Anna, my closest friend in China, is from Cyprus and her boyfriend, Eddie is from Cuba. It was a delight to travel with them.(Side Note: the photo below is what we ate everyday as a snack-amazing Baozi!)
Once Chad heard the Panda Research Center was just outside of Chengdu (a city spanning a mere 4 miles and yet is the 4th largest city in China, population wise), it was all he could talk about. In fact, I probably learned more about Pandas just from listening to him research before we even left than when I got there. Unfortunately, he had to wait a whole day after
we arrived in the city because the best time to visit the Center is in the morning since the Pandas quickly fall asleep after eating at 9:30AM. Their stomachs need all day to digest the bamboo they eat. They are known to have the most sensitive digestive systems out of all mammals. Anyways, more about Xiangmaos (Pandas) later....
As soon as we got to Chengdu, I was already itching to go back to Hangzhou. It was in this city that I really felt so spoiled yet fortunate to be living where we are. I didn't even need to step outside the airport terminal to notice the difference in the air quality. I had heard how suffocating the pollution suffocating the pollution could be- and since being in Hangzhou, yes
I had noticed a difference-I wouldn't want to necessarily run a half marathon in it but it was fine- definitely bearable but in Chengdu.... I felt it put all it's weight on my lungs and I suddenly became aware of my voluntary breathing. Besides, the air quality, the city lacked anything special to it. It was industrious, the driving was terribly frightening, and... well, it was China. All expectations need to go out the window when visiting this country. It's better that way. More often than not, you find beauty in the small things- such as the solace in sharing a quiet moment with someone while they bow down to the Buddha before them. You find beauty in the non-verbal communication you share with someone.
(Note: the photo to the left is what our life is like here in China)
We realized very quickly however, that we actually needed about five days here. Chengdu has the reputation for being located in the center of everything one would want to see in this province. We needed more time to cruise down the Yangzee River and visit the Three Gorges- but we were more than happy to see what we did.
The second day in Chengdu was fantastic. We woke up at 6:30 and caught our mini 7 person
bus and prayed we'd make it alive to see the Pandas. (Again, this was his favorite part- I'll save this section for him) Needless to say, he was ready to get up at 6:30 again the next day and go see them. He even used his entire memory card on photographing these adorable animals.
After we again miraculously made it back to the city alive, we went back to our hostel and asked about how we could get to Le Shan to see Dafo aka the Great Buddha. Three busses, 3+ hours
later, we were face to face with one of the only remains that survived the Revolution in China. The Great Buddha, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is over 300 years old and stands at 230 feet. His feet are even 26 feet across, his ear droops 23 ft and his shoulders span 92 ft,
while his nose measures 18 ft- and yet my grandpa jokes HE has a big nose! Rest assure Grandpa!
For weeks we were plagued with the fact that we'd be visiting during a National Holiday, which meant going to these sites would be a gamble due to China's enormous population and after experiencing Shanghai, we knew what we might be in for.... To our utter astonishment, there must have been less than 100 people there! We didn't have to que or wait at all to descend down to see the Great Buddha from the ground.
Normally, the staircase down is jammed with people- but the day we went, we were able to take our time (and we needed to since Chad and Anna were clutching the railing the entire walk).
(Photo to the left: A photo opp to good to miss of Chad and Eddie capturing the Great B. from a different angle)
At 6 PM, after being there for
about an hour, we made our way back to congested Chengdu. We all were sad to leave the small city of Le Shan, where our breathing became involuntary once again. It also exuded the small town feel, where everyone plays cards or games outside their shops awaiting customers and watching their children twirl around on the uneven sidewalks.
There's something remarkable about a storm. With the rain comes clarity-and I mean that literally. That night, it rained and the next day we woke up and thought we were in a different city
We could breathe again and we could see past several blocks. The difference was everywhere. Our senses were able to pick up the spiciness that the provence is known for... and that cleared up our sinuses even more! Chengdu has the reputation for having the spiciest food in the world! Chilies are brushed and cooked over anything and everything-peanuts, bread vegetables, potatoes, the list continues...
The next day was our last in Chengdu-we mostly spent it walking around the pedestrian area-where they have provided the ancient Chinese culture and created Chinese buildings that were torn down several decades ago. It was a day of good conversation and always, a day of learning whether it was with Eddie opening up about Cuba, Anna telling us the antagonist stories between Cyprus and Turkey and of course China is always teaching us something...
(A Buddha necklace my grandma gave me from when she was in Asia. (Background Great B.)
Monday, April 27, 2009
Sheng ri kuai le Chad! (Happy Birthday!)
The great thing about being in China during your birthday is that it lasts about 3 days. Due to the time change, Chad was able to drag it out from April 20th (Pacific time) until the 24th, when actually his birthday is April 22nd.
Our weekend began with a bunch of our co-workers surprising Chad at Grandma's Kitchen, a popular restaurant which specializes in typical Hangzhou food- The amount of food you get for what you pay for is astonishingly cheap. After, we proceeded to Medusa, a bar owned by a Hungarian man.
With three hours of sleep, we begrudgingly caught a cab and hurried to catch our train to Shanghai for our first weekend away. Unfortunately, I think Chad has had better train rides :( The train was surprisingly so clean and even left on time! It was like being in Switzerland all over again! Using the few words I know in Chinese (Ni hao) and hand gestures, the Chinese man, I was sitting next to, happily moved over so Chad and I could sit with each other and sleep our way to Shanghai.
First thing you notice upon arrival... 'Wow, there's a lot of people here' I thought Hangzhou had a lot! But really- I was floored! I finally understood what everyone who has been to China kept telling me. In Hangzhou, yes, there's a lot of people- especially around the West Lake but it didn't even come close to the train station... or the streets.... or the metro.... or everywhere else in between. We eventually found the metro station- right across the way- just took awhile cause I couldn't see in front of everyone- it was that crowded!
Second thing you notice upon arrival: Wow! There's Ping Yin! (the Chinese's alphabet that has only recently been created- normally the Chinese all read Characters-they can't read the Ping yin)- Anyways, their Ping Yin is like reading English for us- it's a savior for when you don't know where you're going or where you are.
Third thing: After getting off the metro and you have no idea where you are- and after you use hand gestures and the few words you know in Chinese to ask where a certain street is, they reply to you in English. Again... wow. It was like we were back in the States. Well, not quite but close enough for us.
We stayed in a great, little B&B, called Quintet. Ultimately, we were sold on their pictures of
breakfast that was included. Yet regardless, it was a great place to stay for the week. The beds were so comfortable- unlike the hardwood mattress we're used to everywhere else in China. No complaints thou- it's good for you yet I know Chad would offer a different opinion though. Our room was quite tiny, we even had a hard time getting around with just the two of us but I loved it. It was quaint and the loft really made the room unique. We hurried out after checking in and dropping our things off all by the time of 10:30 AM- there was afterall an International Auto Show that was awaiting our arrival! We met Chris, Chad's good friend from high school who is living in Shanghai for the year, at our metro stop (we still hadn't gotten over how easy it was to get around with all this Pin Yin surrounding us!) Chris led the way to where we would eat lunch- we ate at a little hole in the wall, that specialized in Shanghai dumplings. These dumplings were like soup inside that needed to be slurped out and then finally, after your mouth is numb from burning it and cleaning up the new stain on the person's shirt who is sitting next to you, can you enjoy the actual dumpling- a pork infused piece of heaven. The only problem being that I now owe Chad a new shirt.
Chris recommended that we take a taxi to the Auto Show. However, he did not mention that we would be going on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Coming from Hangzhou, it was hard to believe the driving could be any more hairy- but in Shanghai, it's a whole other ball game- I'm afraid I might have bruised Chad's knee from all the squeezing. Getting in a cab there is like playing Russian Roulette. The lines on the street seem to be just for decoration and honking is like another language-every car communicating with each other for every reason. Cars are constantly coming within one or two inches from the car you may be riding in. It's an experience all within it's self- and one that no one can avoid partaking in when in China.
Chad says he will write about the Auto Show- let me just say, it was his 'Shangri-la'
Almost five hours later...haha... we found ourselves a very, lovely western restaurant. Like my
grandfather says, 'It must be good because no one's talking!" And it was! We were happily welcoming all the Westernness we could afford. The restaurant even put a sparkler on Chad's birthday dessert!
After dinner, Chris took us to a very unique lounge, called People 7, where there is, in fact, no door. Most people walk right by not even thinking it's anything but a wall... but once you walk up the stairs you are faced with 9 holes in a wall with light behind them. There's no door knob that allows you to enter but rather a secret combination one must figure out to open this apparent 'door'. Chris instructed us that we needed to put
our arms in two holes and hopefully one of the combinations will work. To our surprise, the wall to our right slid open and after taking one step forward did I finally notice that there was only a mirror behind the door. A floor to ceiling mirror! Chad and I continued to strike out until finally, the wall to our left slid open and behold, the bar! The bathrooms also required some thought. There must have been 7 doors... some had door knobs, some didn't but it didn't matter, the ones with the door knobs never opened from that way anyways. It was quite entertaining and a great way to end our first day in Shanghai.
The next day was the happiest we had been while eating breakfast since arriving in China. After licking our plates clean, we felt relived to know we had one more good breakfast ahead of us and we headed out to explore the city. Somehow though, we never even made it over to the Bund! We just walked and walked. We
went to a great hand painted Blue Nankeen cotton shop- walked to Xintiandi, a famous outdoor eating area that caters to many
Westerners. Chad and I also walked to Tikang, an area that resembles Venice with it's narrow alleys and cute boutique shops and tea restaurants.
For dinner, Chad and I met Chris at Cantina Agave- a mexican restaurant! Who'd a though?! And it was delicious! Following dinner, we all went to an old WWII nuclear bomb shelter, which is now an underground club featuring a jazz band and an international DJ.
Chad asked me if I wished we were living in Shanghai instead of Hangzhou and as I thought about his question, I realized that yes, if we lived in Shanghai, we wouldn't get as many stares, and we could enjoy food that we're used to, yet it is not 'China' as we know it. Although, life is occasionally frustrating and trying in Hangzhou being that there is NO English and western food is hard to come by, I feel it would not be rewarding if it was easy. In Hangzhou, we are forced to learn Chinese (my main goal), we are out of our comfort zone and in result, have to acclimate to a new life. All in all, I am thrilled we have decided to come.
Friday morning came too soon- we fought the crowds and made it onto the train- where we created a tentative travel plan for the rest of our time here so we can experience more of China and hopefully have great weekends like we just did, in Shanghai.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Congratulations! I wish I could be there!
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Unfortunately, the 6,000 miles that lie between us and California feel like 100,000 at the moment. It might as well be so far that any mode of transportation will make the journey home inaccessible. I feel this way because it is a very special day for my family, and I cannot be there to participate in this rare, most incredible celebration. Today, April 8 2009 marks the 70th, I repeat, 70th! wedding anniversary of my beloved grandparents. At 90 and 92-years old, it is still so evident that they are the loves of each other's lives. It is inspiring, motivating and I am so proud of everything they have accomplished-together.
I share day with everyone because if I was home, I would be giving a toast to them at dinner and since I am only a few miles from where they are right now-at dinner, writing on here is the next best thing- so everyone can hear.
A little background: The scene begins at Galalio High School in San Francisco where my grandmother was in the cafeteria buying cookies (of course :)- she had seen Ralph
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Borgeson before since he was in fact one of the star football players at the school but more importantly, she needed something from him. She was, in fact involved in a high pursuit with her friend to see who could get the most signatures in their yearbooks- Barbara, my grandmother, was missing Ralph's- and that was the first moment... Ironically enough, my grandfather already had a Barbara of his own on his arm- my grandmother now lovingly calls his ex-girlfriend a "foul ball". It must have been my grandmother's sense of humor that won Ralph over :)
Several years later in 1939, my grandmother married at 20. However, she did not shed tears of joy as she walked down the aisle arm in arm with her father- no but rather she was giggling out of control due to her father's knee's cracking as they made their way toward the alter. Again, my grandmother's personality paved the path for their future together.
Their lives have been anything but routine or dull. Being a pilot with the Flying Tigers and a colonel in the Air Force, they lived all around the world. From Alaska where my grandfather had to leave in a moment's notice after Pearl Harbor had been bombed to Asia where my grandmother was hardly recognizable when they finally docked after a week's + journey on a boat to meet my grandfather already living in Japan. She has never done well on boats and to this day refuses to go on them. However, shaking hands with JFK I'm sure made up for her bout with sea-sickness
After finally moving back to Marin County, and being stationed at Hamilton Air Field, my grandfather retired from the Air Force and became a Firefighter in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco. As if living around the world, fighting in the war and flying for the Flying Tigers wasn't exciting enough! I have been very fortunate in that my grandfather has shared many of his stories from his 'glory days' while being stationed at the firehouse. The contributions he has made and the lives he saved have also propelled me to follow his footsteps.
Although my grandpa no longer surprises my grandmother with pink convertible Cadillacs or do they need to write each other long letters across oceans that separate them, they show their love to each other everyday. From the moment my grandmother wakes up, she is handed coffee in bed that my grandpa has made by feeling his way around the coffee maker. Coffee in bed has been a ritual for them since before I was...every morning. After my grandmother gets up,
she prepares the fruit for breakfast, usually papaya and together, they lean over the small sink and eat- as if we don't have plates to spare :) Their day is completed together-without one, the other is lost- from figuring out how many Motrin pills fell out of the bottle, to getting the mail and reading it together, to watching Lawernce Welk, to sharing a milk shake and even to baking cookies for my grandfather-the thing that brought them together over 70 years ago.With two children, Phil who will retire soon and Heidee, who has just retired after 34 years of teaching, my grandparents also have three grand-children: Marnie, who lives in Oklahoma, Jessie, who lives in Sacramento and me, in China. Finally, they have three GREAT-grandchildren: Alexandria, who will graduate high school in Oklahoma this year, Hope who also lives in Oklahoma and has a few more years of high school, and Francessa, an aspiring model/actress who lives in Sacramento- my poor grandfather is surrounded by women!
Grandma and Grandpa, Congratulations!! I am so proud of you both and what
you have achieved! You have been my example all throughout my life and I am so very sorry I wasn't able to be there for you both on this special day but like always, you are in my thoughts. Cheers to you both!! (Chad says you need a glass of champagne for him!) Have a wonderful 70th anniversary! I love you and miss you both.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Pictures of the new apartment and the West Lake
Just a quick update with some pictures of the new apartment and the West Lake.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Quick Update
Things are still going quite well here in Hangzhou. We have completed three Mandarin lessons (9 hours) and are able to carry a basic conversation. Getting the accent right is easily the hardest and most frustrating part. The fact that you can say one word and just by the tone in which you say it, that word can have four different meanings.
Ashlee and I made it out to see the West Lake (Xi Hu) today, it is what the city is famous for and it only took me four weeks to go see it. The weather was really nice, probably in the mid 60's. The Chinese like to make it difficult for us American's and use Celsius :). It does, however, seem to be permanently hazy here, and I am unsure if it is haze or if it is pollution.
The area around the lake is definitely the high rent district. When I got off the bus I saw an Audi R8 and the first store that we walked by was a Bentley dealership. During the course of our walk we also discovered the Rolls Royce dealership as well as the soon opening Lamborghini dealership.
We ended the day at a Starbucks that overlooks the lake. The Starbucks here in China make the ones in the United States look quite junky. They are all very large and have a ton of couches and most of them all have a huge patio.
I have also added some pictures of the dirty apartment we lived in, the link to the pictures can be found at the end of the post about the apartment. I am sure you all have been curious to see the 5 star accommodation :)
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Feeling Quite Stupid
I had a 1.5 hour break from teaching today so I decided that I would take a walk around the area near the school and go look at a gym. On the way there I saw a Chinese man with two beautiful dogs: a black lab and a siberian husky. The man was giving the dogs all these commands in Chinese....
All I could think was woah these dogs know 100x more Chinese than I do which in turn made me feel quite stupid.
The good news is that we signed up for our Mandarin classes last night and will be starting them on Tuesday morning. We are going to be taking 6 hours of lessons a week so maybe after a few months I can understand more Chinese than the dogs.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
New Apartment!!
The past week has been quite hectic as there is quite a bit of stuff to do to get registered in China when you are planning on staying for a year. Between those activities, teaching, and looking for apartments we have not had much free time.
We looked at close to 20 apartments over the past week. The first ones that we looked at were mostly studios and boy is a studio in China quite small. We then looked at a few one bedrooms, some where much better than others. A lot of them are quite small, much smaller than my one bedroom that I had in San Francisco. Mei took us to look at an apartment that was on the 27th floor, as you know Ashlee does not like elevators and I am not the biggest fan of heights. The apartment ended up being quite amazing. It faces south and has a nice view of the mountains around the city. Another plus of the apartment was that it had a large kitchen, the furniture in the apartment was quite nice, and it had a large balcony.
We looked at a couple more apartments after seeing the 2th floor one, but none seemed to fit what we wanted for some reason or another. We had Mei and another local logistic person talk with the owner of the 27th floor apartment owner to negotiate the rent. We ended up getting a decent amount of the monthly rent which was nice.
Signing the lease ended up being quite the adventure thought. It took a total 6 people to get the paperwork done (Ashlee, me, Mei, two other ladies from the school, and the owner). It was the first time I have signed a contract in which the only word I could read was my name and Ashlee's name. The good news was that Ashlee and I would be able to move in the same day.
After signing the contract Ashlee and I headed back to our old apartment to make the first trip in moving stuff over to the new place. Quick side note: all the taxis in Hangzhou change shift between 4 and 6pm and the drivers will only take you if you are going in the direction in which they need to go in order to turn their car in. Needless to say Ashlee and I were standing in the street at 4:30....After showing about 5 or so cab drivers the address we were trying to go to and having them drive off we finally found one that would take us and our ridiculously heavy luggage to our new place. The one suitcase i had was so large the cab driver couldn't even close his trunk...
Also all the cabs in Hangzhou have like white sheets over the seats. The drivers are super paronoid that you may get a speck of dirt on these white sheets, although they have cigarette burns and are all turn. So when you are attempting to load bags in the car the drivers look as though they are going to jump over the front seat to make sure you don't mess up the cloth.
At least trip one from the old place was complete and after the struggle to get a cab we decided to wait until tomorrow to try around two. Round two went much smoother as we made it to the curb at about 3:30 and were easily able to get a taxi.
I will try and get some pictures of the two apartments posted online in the next few days as we are awaiting having the internet installed.
We looked at close to 20 apartments over the past week. The first ones that we looked at were mostly studios and boy is a studio in China quite small. We then looked at a few one bedrooms, some where much better than others. A lot of them are quite small, much smaller than my one bedroom that I had in San Francisco. Mei took us to look at an apartment that was on the 27th floor, as you know Ashlee does not like elevators and I am not the biggest fan of heights. The apartment ended up being quite amazing. It faces south and has a nice view of the mountains around the city. Another plus of the apartment was that it had a large kitchen, the furniture in the apartment was quite nice, and it had a large balcony.
We looked at a couple more apartments after seeing the 2th floor one, but none seemed to fit what we wanted for some reason or another. We had Mei and another local logistic person talk with the owner of the 27th floor apartment owner to negotiate the rent. We ended up getting a decent amount of the monthly rent which was nice.
Signing the lease ended up being quite the adventure thought. It took a total 6 people to get the paperwork done (Ashlee, me, Mei, two other ladies from the school, and the owner). It was the first time I have signed a contract in which the only word I could read was my name and Ashlee's name. The good news was that Ashlee and I would be able to move in the same day.
After signing the contract Ashlee and I headed back to our old apartment to make the first trip in moving stuff over to the new place. Quick side note: all the taxis in Hangzhou change shift between 4 and 6pm and the drivers will only take you if you are going in the direction in which they need to go in order to turn their car in. Needless to say Ashlee and I were standing in the street at 4:30....After showing about 5 or so cab drivers the address we were trying to go to and having them drive off we finally found one that would take us and our ridiculously heavy luggage to our new place. The one suitcase i had was so large the cab driver couldn't even close his trunk...
Also all the cabs in Hangzhou have like white sheets over the seats. The drivers are super paronoid that you may get a speck of dirt on these white sheets, although they have cigarette burns and are all turn. So when you are attempting to load bags in the car the drivers look as though they are going to jump over the front seat to make sure you don't mess up the cloth.
At least trip one from the old place was complete and after the struggle to get a cab we decided to wait until tomorrow to try around two. Round two went much smoother as we made it to the curb at about 3:30 and were easily able to get a taxi.
I will try and get some pictures of the two apartments posted online in the next few days as we are awaiting having the internet installed.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
New Apartment
Ashlee and I woke up this morning to meet Mei as she was going to help us move into our new apartment. For those of you that have been reading blog, you know that we have been living in the penthouse apartment with four other teachers from our school. This apartment is amazing and everything is brand new. Mei met us at the penthouse at ten am to help us cope with our excessive amount of baggage as I am sure you read about in the earlier posts. We of course needed two taxi’s to carry this large amount of baggage to our new place.
I took a cab by myself and the driver of course did not know exactly where the apartment was...which entailed the driver asking me to help clarify...which of course didn’t work as I don’t speak mandarin. After asking a few people on the street the driver was able to find the correct unit. I was always told not to judge a chinese property by the condition of the outside of the building. So as we pulled up to the building I kept my negative comments to myself. Ashlee and Mei arrived shortly after. We wrestled the the baggage into the building and each group took an elevator up to the 18th floor. For anyone that knows Ashlee, you know that if there is one thing she doesn't like, it would be elevators. We all survived the elevator ride and went to our apartment door. After unlocking the first door, which I think might have been taken out of a submarine (a huge steel door) we entered the apartment.
Our first glance into the apartment was not one of happiness but I guess you could say it was one of amazement. We were amazed at the DUMP that the school was saying was our apartment. The apartment enters into the living room which was composed of two leather couches, a coffee table that came with left over finger nail trimmers among other great gifts, and a rats nest/yard sale/cluster of cables which was the tv/dvd player/etc. The first thing we noticed was that out of the 10 or so light bulbs in the living room (the chinese love having tons of lights, each room tends to have like 6 light switches) only 2 of the bulbs worked. Welcome to the bat cave. We proceeded further into the apartment...the light situation was the same for the small dining room area and for the kitchen. We had a nice broken washing machine sitting in the corner, which we “were supposed to just ignore because it’s broken” and the new washing machine was put into the tiny bathroom. This presented its own unique problem as I cannot sit on the toilet as the washing machine takes up most of the bathroom.
The next rooms did not show any improvement. Both bedrooms contained old linens from the previous tenant (which we found out was not a model person). The kitchen was also quite a disappointment, the stove didn’t work and all the dishes were put back in the makeshift drawer but were not cleaned. The apartment on a whole was not clean at all. It looked as if it hadn’t been touched in months. Mei left Ashlee and I as she had to go to work. We didn’t even want to sit on anything as everything looked so dirty and disgusting. I called another student that used to live in the same building to see if this was “normal” for school provided housing. He assured us that, no, it was not normal for the apartment to be that dirty but the age of the apartment was nothing out of the norm. I the contacted the director of the schools for Hangzhou and I am sure she could hear the disappointment in my voice. She happened to be in the area and decided to come over and take a look at the apartment. She came in and made a few calls and told us that they would attempt to correct the problems. Two ladies from the school came over and began to check over the apartment. They started calling some maintenance people to come and check over some of the parts of the apartment. The attempted to fix the heater in the one bedroom but that was a lost cause. Heaters are quite necessary during this time of year in the city as it gets down to the low 30’s and the apartments in China have zero to no insulation.
Ashlee and I decided to get out of the apartment for a bit and went to the store with the director of the schools. We spent a bit of time shopping and staring at the weird things that were for sale in the store. (I will save that dicussion for a future blog post). We grabbed a bite to eat and headed back to the apartment, by this time it was starting to get dark. And this is were the fun began with the apartment. The CRITTERS started coming out of the woodwork, literally I am not talking about a few critters here and there I am talking about several bugs that appeared all over the walls and the floors. The bugs include cockroaches, some type of little black bug, among others. Nothing like the bugs making an appearance to welcome Ashlee and I to China. After crunching bugs for a few hours we decided to go to dinner with some friends. Upon our return to the apartment the bugs were waiting up for us to make sure that we made it home ok! We contacted Mei the next morning and she came over with some Chinese bug spray, which I can only imagine is the strongest and made of the worst chemicals in the world. I turned into the Orkin man for about 30 minutes and sprayed the heck out of the apartment. Only time would tell if the spray worked, as Ashlee and I anxiously awaited the next night to see if our friends would be joining us. And join us they did, plan B, Mei gave us some cockroach pellets to put out.
Ashlee and I had had enough of the bugs by this time and put in a request to find our own housing. The apartment search would start ASAP. But for the time being it was going to be us and the bugs.
To check out some pictures go to: Old Apartment
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