Zai Jian!

Now that Muir and I are back stateside, I won't have any more blog posts to make, but I wanted to thank my friends and family for reading my posts and sending me comments and emails.  It's been fun sharing our adventure in China/Taiwan/India with everyone, but I'm happily looking forward to sharing memories with you again face-to-face and in real time!

Trip to Hong Kong

Hong Kong is great for two things:  shopping and eating.  But since Muir and I could not possibly carry any more stuff back with us, we opted to do more eating than shopping, plus a little sightseeing.  I also shouldn't forget to mention that although Cantonese is far more prevalent than Mandarin in Hong Kong, everyone totally speaks English!  If you're looking for a place to visit in China, but don't have any language chops, going to Hong Kong would be my top recommendation.  Of course, it won't be culturally similar to Beijing, but rates high in terms of tourist survivability.

Day 1

Muir and I stayed at an adorable boutique hotel on Hong Kong island called the Butterfly on Morrison.  The room itself was tiny, so I'm thankful that they upgraded us from a standard room to the deluxe room for free since we were travelling with two giant suit cases each.  The Butterfly also gets pluses for having soft beds, separate mini shampoo and conditioner bottles, and awesome foam pillows.  (I am a foam pillow fan.  Sorry feathers!)  My only gripe had to do with the air travel.  Even though we were flying internally on United (Beijing to San Francisco via Hong Kong), we were only allowed to check one bag each and had to pay extra luggage fees on both legs of our journey.  Not cool, United.  Not cool.  The flight to HK was also delayed about two hours due to heavy fog in Beijing, but we made it safely the same day.

Day 2

On our first full day of sight seeing, we met with Muir's old language partner from Cornell, Zheng Yan.  She and her husband had been living and working in HK for the past five years, and she was super pumped to see us (well, Muir) again.

We kicked things off by having dim sum for brunch/lunch at a fairly well known chain called the Lei Garden.  My favorite items were the barbeque pork dumplings and the shrimp dumplings.  Muir and Zheng Yan both liked the sweet egg yolk filled dessert dumplings the best.

Dim Sum to die for!

Zheng Yan and me

Muir, me, and Zheng Yan

After dim sum, we walked to a neighborhood on Hong Kong island called Causeway Bay, a popular shopping/hang out district.  The sidewalks in Hong Kong are very narrow, probably because the city is quite old and space is at a premium.  It reminded me of the small, crowded streets in Shanghai along the Bund.  Causeway Bay itself was full of hair salons, pet shops, and designer label stores.  The weather was warm, so we decided to cool down with mango drinks at another well known drink/dessert shop.

Fresh mango smoothies, with different jellies, aloe, and coconut options

It took all of 40 minutes to walk through all of Causeway Bay, so we then headed to Victoria Park.

Just now see that Muir took a lovely photo of a garbage bin in Victoria Park.
It was supposed to be of the little lake behind the bin...

Since it was a Sunday, Zheng Yan explained that the Phillapina/Malaysian hired help had the day off, and since the weather was so nice, the park was swarming with people sitting and socializing in every available corner.

Bustling Sunday afternoon in Causeway Bay

Victoria Park was also tiny, and since there weren't many places left to sit in the shade, we decided to take the Star Ferry across Hong Kong harbor and checkout the Kowloon side of Hong Kong.

Lovely green water

Fishing boat

Cruise ship in the background, another Star Ferry in the foreground

Once on the Kowloon side, we basically just walked along the waterfront, past the art museum and along the Avenue of Stars.

Bruce Lee

The Kowloon side seemed to have more offices than fun places to walk around or even eat, so we headed back to the Hong Kong side to take the tram to The Peak, the tallest point on Hong Kong island for the views.

Steep incline! 

View from the top of the Peak!

Once we arrived at The Peak, I was surprised to find two huge shopping malls!  Hong Kong is ridiculous.    Anyway, we serendipitously arrived at the observation desk just before sunset, and snagged some pretty good shots.

We had dinner at a Tsui Wah, another well known chain restaurant.  The food in Hong Kong, other than being hands down better than in northern China, has a definite island-y influence.  There were curries, delicate seafood dishes, milk tea that tasted just like a Thai iced tea, and Tsui Wah's famous toast with butter and condensed milk, which I think is also popular in Hawaii and other island-y nations.  

A couple night shots:

The line to take the tram back down the hill was obscene, so after poking around, a woman who worked at The Peak's tourism booth gave us a hot tip about the bus station tucked away on the other side of the mall.  We made it down the mountain in what must have been record time.

Day 3

Zheng Yan had to work on Monday, so it was just the two of us who took the MTR (HK's subway system) to Lantau island and hopped a local bus to the Giant Buddha.  Apparently, there is also a terrifying suspended cable car you can ride up the mountain to the Giant Buddha, which, alas, was not operational when we went.

Low-lying fog rolling over a mountain top

Stairs!

A monk!

Looking down on Po Lin Monastery

Building in Po Lin Monastery

Apparently, a giant Buddha deserves giant incense

That was pretty much it for that day.  The bus from the end of the MTR to Ngong Ping and the Giant Buddha was 45 minutes one way, so we went back to the popular sushi boat restaurant near our hotel for an early dinner and stuffed ourselves with deliciously fresh sushi.  Sushi boat restaurants always seem iffy unless you can find a popular one where you know the plates go out of rotation quickly.  This place had boats that curled through the restaurant twice with probably 50 seats along its sides.  The first night that we went they were still seating guests at 9:45 just before the restaurant closed at 10.  It was totally worth it.  We had a few pieces of fatty tuna that melted in your mouth, and there were two even pricier grades that had sold out before we got the chance to try them!

Day 4

Airport and one long flight back to the US!  The Hong Kong airport is also just a front for a huge shopping mall.  I mean some stores are expected, but there were shops galore on the other side of customs and security, and then once we took a tram to the international terminal, we walked through another cluster of stores.  Many of them selling watches or jewellery.  That must be the thing to buy in Hong Kong.

Last Nights in Beijing

We were treated to dinner on Thursday night by Mrs. Zhao, the woman who owns the apartment where we've been living for the last seven months.  Our rental agent and local hero, Mr. Liu, was also invited.  The food was delicious, but the dinner a little awkward due to a seating tragedy.  (I sat next to Mrs. Zhao, who was a "soft talker" and used lots of words I don't know.)  Anyway, I remembered to get a picture before we left.  Here we are:

Tonight, six of Muir's colleagues (including the curent general manager of the Beijing office) treated us to dinner at CJW.  CJW is short for cigars, jazz, and wine and was quite a swanky place.  Unfortunately, I forgot to take a group photo at the restaurant and everyone parted ways after dinner.  :(  But basically, dinner with the big shots.

Off to Hong Kong tomorrow and then HOME on Tuesday!!

!!!!!

Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough

We are not slowing down.  With less than a week left in Beijing, we packed in as many socializing events and household chores as we could.

On Friday night, Muir's co-workers took us out to dinner at the Golden Jaguar buffet near the Olympic Green.  It was truly a monumental buffet.  There were seven different stations which featured multiple dishes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, "international cuisine," sushi and fish, desserts, and beverages.  The highlight for me was the self-serve beer tap.

On Saturday, we mailed back all of our accumulated books, including Muir's collection of Jin Yong's 33 kung fu novels!  We also paid our last gas bill, talked to our China Unicom rep about cancelling our cell phone contracts, and got a replacement SIM card tray for Muir's phone.  Saturday for dinner, we met my friend and fellow Cornell alumna Minerva for dinner at a vegan restaurant called The Veggie Table and then we went to hear Death Cab for Cutie play at a nearby karaoke club.  The show was great.  Death Cab played some of their old favorites as well as songs from their "new" album, Codes and Keys.  I was happy that I recognized 6-8 of the song, most from the Transatlanticism album which my Uncle Paul had given to me in 2005.  (Thanks, Uncle Paul!)

Sunday, we had our apartment cleaned, and the woman that has been cleaning it took our extra bedding, clothes, and household items that we didn't want to pack or ship back with us.  Today, I will hopefully sell our air purifier...

UPDATE:  Air purifier has been sold!  Yay!

The Other Other White Meat?

I met Muir for lunch today and tried these "donkey pockets" he's been raving about.  Turns out they're not bad, served in a delicious flaky, chewy bread pocket.  In my option, donkey is not as gamey as mutton, but the texture is definitely not the same as beef.  Well, maybe corned beef, but not as salty.  Definitely worth a try and not too difficult a stretch for the gustatorily timid.

Donkey meat served with green peppers on a flaky flat bread bun.

Play it again, Sam

The reason why I've been behind on posts recently is because Muir and I had a houseguest this past week.  My good friend Nicole came to stay with us, and we were showing her the best of Beijing.  Nicole and I went practically everywhere Muir and I have been in the last six months, plus a few new places.  This past week was basically a trip through "Beijing's greatest hits":

• Breakfasts at the Bridge Cafe
• Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square
• Wangfujing Da Jie
• Summer Palace
• Quan Ju De for Peking Duck
• 798 Art Zone
• Movie at San Li Tun and sushi dinner at Jazz Ya
• Train to climb the Great Wall at Ba Da Ling
• Lama Temple
• Wu Dao Ying hutong
• Hutong Pizza at Hou Hai
• Temple of Heaven
• dinner at Enoterra wine bar in San Li Tun
• Bird's Nest Stadium and Water Cube
• shopping at the Silk Market

The weather was unfortunately quite cold and windy, but I think a good time was had by all.  I'll just post a few photos from new places.

Tiananmen Square

Sadly, Chairman Mao's mausoleum was closed

I got a big kick out of these Cultural Revolution-style monuments

Summer Palace

This time I made sure we visited Suzhou street, modeled after
the city of Suzhou in SE China which is famous for its canals

Quan Ju De

A great place to learn how to carve a duck!

798 Art Zone

With galleries and cafes scattered among crumbling factories, it was somethings difficulty to distinguish the modern art galleries from the abandoned buildings.

Steps to avoid the low ceiling rafters

Outdoor sculpture garden

Closed gallery with a blue facade

Great Wall

This time we took the train.  It was convenient, comfortable, and cheap--about $1 USD each way.

Lama Temple

Statue of the Maitreya Buddha carved from one 18m piece of sandalwood.

Incense burners from the mid 1700s

Bird's Nest Stadium and Water Cube

(National Sports Stadium and National Aquatic Center)

Bird's Nest and broadcasting tower

Snow in the infield, man-made, I think.
There hasn't been any accumulation this winter.

Water Cube in front of an IBM building

Trip to the Temple of Heaven

Two weekends ago Muir and I visited the Temple of Heaven.  All of the hiking and adventuring around India must have inspired us to continue sight-seeing in Beijing.  The Temple of Heaven is not a temple, but a park where the emperor used to pray to heaven for bountiful harvests and make animal sacrifices.  There are a few well-known buildings inside, most notably the Temple for Praying for Good Harvests.  We started at the east gate of the park, walked west to the Temple for Praying for Good Harvests, further west through the rose garden (which was covered to protect the plants from winter frosts), south past the Hall of Abstinence, back east and south to the Echo Wall and the Circular Mound Altar, and then north to the east gate where we exited.

Retirees playing cards along the Long Corridor

Temple of Praying for Good Harvests

A classic Beijing sweet snack - caramelized hawthorn haws

Inside the round Echo Wall

Echo Wall

Circular Mound Altar

For me, the highlight of visiting the Temple of Heaven was running across an impromptu crowd of singers in the park.  I actually had no idea what they were singing, but in my mind they were patriotic songs of the Communist paradise that was never to be.  Red song books had been handed out while there were still supplies, but many of the park-goers, mostly older adults and retirees judging from their weathered faces, knew the songs by heart.  They were not shy about singing in public and belted out the well-worn tunes with the same force and conviction that one might use to hail a taxi in Times Square.  The melancholy refrains tugged at the heartstrings and soared over the crowd as if saying in one voice, 'We survived.  We survived the Great Leap Forward.  We are still here, and we are proud to be Chinese.'  The only comparison I can think of that comes close is the tradition of singing the National Anthem before baseball games, which is certainly patriotic, but not as heart-breaking.