A quick note just to say I made it... It was great to see beirut materialize out of the clouds as we decended in the airplane. I smiled feeling like I was coming home. Anyway now that I'm here I will have time to catch up on my travel writing. Its good to be here and i'm looking forward to the weeks i have here.
~NK
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Monday, July 11, 2005
India so far...
just a quick note since i really don't have time to write, ill fill this in a bit more later...
As far as my travels, they have been quite amazing, unique, and varied thus far and I couldn't be happier. I spent the entire day at the airport, with 15 min. or so dedicated to storing my luggage. I got through the da vinci code, and started hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. I'm also finished with Into the Wild by Keroack. Sundeep Ganesh and Deep's uncle picked me up from the airport and took me to deep's grandparents place in Bangalore. The next morning we toured the city several times and hung out. they spoke english and were in great health. He is a doctor (the inventor of The RED medicine) and she is a bit of a writer (although not occupationally). Sundeep and I then boarded a bus for Cargal that night and it arrived at 5:30am the next day. Greeted by his uncle and aunt we stayed in Cargal that day enjoying an amazing Jog Falls waterfall that decends almost 1000 feet before reaching the tropical pool below. This place is so different from the crowded city of Bangalore. It is a small town of less than a thousand and mainly employed by tourism to the falls, or the hydro-electric plants that are set up along the river and damns. Here we met many many people, friends etc and went to the hospital where deeps uncle works. The following morning we went to Kumta, but along the way we stopped at a huge temple on the Arabian Sea for Shiva. Then we went to the Bhat family temple, i say that because the head priest is a relative and it has been that way for many generations. They had a Puja or prayer for sundeep and took him to pray with the Ganeesh god in the back (which im assuming is a great privaledge). We had many offerings blessed and were ourselves blessed by the priest. when we left we were surprised to turn around and see the priest following us beconing us to have tea (Cha) with him at his house. We obliged, but i can only guess at what the other worshipers did when he left and the temple was without a priest. Next stop was another uncle, this time in the actual town of Kumta, the nearest to the village. There we met sundeeps other uncle who was the Range Forrest Officer for the area and played a big part in forrest conservation there. Finally that night just before dark we reached Mouror... sundeeps family's village. It was beautifully nestled in a river valley between 7 peaks and covered with coconut palms and beetlenut trees. Mangos grew on the upland slopes and the houses were midway down, just off the road. There were only 2 or 3 stores and scarecely 100 people strong. Electricity came, but was shotty. Water was plentiful during this rainy season and it rained hard and long, creating rushing rivers from nowhere, then as if to tease you the sun came out and tickled the rainwater with its rays.
As far as my travels, they have been quite amazing, unique, and varied thus far and I couldn't be happier. I spent the entire day at the airport, with 15 min. or so dedicated to storing my luggage. I got through the da vinci code, and started hitchhikers guide to the galaxy. I'm also finished with Into the Wild by Keroack. Sundeep Ganesh and Deep's uncle picked me up from the airport and took me to deep's grandparents place in Bangalore. The next morning we toured the city several times and hung out. they spoke english and were in great health. He is a doctor (the inventor of The RED medicine) and she is a bit of a writer (although not occupationally). Sundeep and I then boarded a bus for Cargal that night and it arrived at 5:30am the next day. Greeted by his uncle and aunt we stayed in Cargal that day enjoying an amazing Jog Falls waterfall that decends almost 1000 feet before reaching the tropical pool below. This place is so different from the crowded city of Bangalore. It is a small town of less than a thousand and mainly employed by tourism to the falls, or the hydro-electric plants that are set up along the river and damns. Here we met many many people, friends etc and went to the hospital where deeps uncle works. The following morning we went to Kumta, but along the way we stopped at a huge temple on the Arabian Sea for Shiva. Then we went to the Bhat family temple, i say that because the head priest is a relative and it has been that way for many generations. They had a Puja or prayer for sundeep and took him to pray with the Ganeesh god in the back (which im assuming is a great privaledge). We had many offerings blessed and were ourselves blessed by the priest. when we left we were surprised to turn around and see the priest following us beconing us to have tea (Cha) with him at his house. We obliged, but i can only guess at what the other worshipers did when he left and the temple was without a priest. Next stop was another uncle, this time in the actual town of Kumta, the nearest to the village. There we met sundeeps other uncle who was the Range Forrest Officer for the area and played a big part in forrest conservation there. Finally that night just before dark we reached Mouror... sundeeps family's village. It was beautifully nestled in a river valley between 7 peaks and covered with coconut palms and beetlenut trees. Mangos grew on the upland slopes and the houses were midway down, just off the road. There were only 2 or 3 stores and scarecely 100 people strong. Electricity came, but was shotty. Water was plentiful during this rainy season and it rained hard and long, creating rushing rivers from nowhere, then as if to tease you the sun came out and tickled the rainwater with its rays.
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Armani Bangkok Style
We began the day late, and started it off with the Menam Hotel's famous pastries from the lobby bakery. Clad in dread locks and braids we headed off to Wat Phra Kao and the Grand Palace only to be greeted by a closed doors. After a quick lunch at a Singha beer sponsored diner, we hopped in a Tuk Tuk and went to Voglee Fashion to be measured for "Armani" suits. After perusing the catalogs I chose a black tuxedo and a blue pin-stripped suit. Kate followed suit with a black skirt suit and a white pin-stripped suit. We were very excited. After we left the shop we again boarded a Tuk Tuk to go shopping at Koh San Road. The second we got there we realized the meaning of "rainy season." It started to pour as if we were being doused with buckets. Apparently this was a daily occurence because all of the shops simultaneously closed and everyone pulled out umbrellas that we did not have. Shopping was cancelled and we jumped into "Jimmy's Diner" for a bite to eat. Here we discovered the famous Thai fruit shakes. Afterwards, still drenched, we found some unique jewelry shops and Kate bought a couple of gifts. I got to practice my Arabic with the shopkeeper. Kate struck a good bargain as she always does. Afterwards, we hailed a taxi back to the Menam. Determined not to end the night on account of the bad weather we went for a night swim.
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Braids in Bangkok
We checked in to the Menam Riverside Hotel, exhausted from our early flight. Well the "PRICE DROP" agressively advertised on the internet, followed by "HOT DEAL" and "GREAT BARGAIN" we found were due to the fist and second floor lobbys undergoing wholesale renovation. We didn't mind though, and from our river view room on the 10th floor.
We relaxed for a while, showered and napped. Once rested we set out for a fun night on the town. First stop was the Democracy monument, not really to see it--a mediocre monument, really--but for the food. We ate at a great authentic thai place and were treated to a wonderful, albeit spicy, meal. Thai coconut chicken soup, pud thai, and fried rice came to our table in big platters. Which was great since our appetite was equally large. But quickly I found myself tearing up, gasping for air, and draining my Singha beer. The soup was not for the western tongue, well really not for the tongue at all... ouch! Kate laughed at me (she is a lot better at handling spicy foods than I) and took a big spoonful of the soup. It wasn't hot to her at all. Liking it, she kept eating, and by the third bite she was on her hands an knees. We learned a good lesson that day: Thai people hide miniature chilli peppers in their meals, and the real hot ones are actually green. After this revelation we fished out the lil' green suckers and ate the rest of our meal tear-free. For dessert Kate had the mango sticky rice with some of the ripest magoes I've had, and I, feeling like nothing could be as bad as the hidden peppers ordered the Bird's Nest Soup. (Its actually made from boiled bird's nests collected from around phi phi island and other andaman sea islands off the shore of Krabbi. The taste is generated from the saliva coated grasses that make up the nests, and when boiled they turn into fine hair-like delecacies. As an added bonus, the meal is supposed to be an aphrodisiac.) The truth was that is didn't taste bad, but not amazing either.... more amusing was that it was served in a hollowed out coconut. Althought his was a humorous dinner and all, the funniest moment was when I was going to pay for the meal. Kate had gone to the bathroom, the check came and I was reaching for my wallet, when unexpectedly and quite humorously, my zipper securing the wallet in my pocket stuck tight. I jerked and pulled, twisted and yanked, and tried everything I possibly could to get that damn zipper out, but I just couldnt. I stood up and continued my ridiculous unzippering dance, and the whole time the waitress was standing there unabashedly laughing at me. soon others in the restaraunt were finding humor in the situation. Quite frankly so was I, albeit I was quite embarassed. I even tried using their fork to pry it open. The zipper resisted, steadfast and defiant, eventually breaking two prongs off the fork! I finally excused myself to the restroom to find kate and dejectedly asked her to foot the bill. Later on it took a scissor to cut the fabric around the zipper and slide the whole thing off in order to liberate my wallet.
From there we went to Koh San Road and began walking up and down the road thick with street venders and merchants. We shopped always with a beer in our hand, enjoying the haggling and array of products. We ended up coming home with quite a bit of clothes. Then at the end of the night, we sat down at a hair styling booth. Kate got her whole head braided, with a pink stripe added to one braid in front, and I had my hair put into dreadlocks. Although the idea of having dreadlocks and extensions in my hair sounded like a great one, in actuality it was less than intelligent. First of all, the process of dreading the hair requires a sharp pin that they repeatedly dip in and out of the hair clumps 90% of the time hitting your scalp and causing a great deal of pain. Secondly the dreads are tightly woven pulling on your scalp well after they are finished, and finally it is nearly impossible to sleap with thick medusa-like hair extensions coming out of your head. (I finally had to take them out the following night.) At least Kate liked her braids, and they really look good on her.
We relaxed for a while, showered and napped. Once rested we set out for a fun night on the town. First stop was the Democracy monument, not really to see it--a mediocre monument, really--but for the food. We ate at a great authentic thai place and were treated to a wonderful, albeit spicy, meal. Thai coconut chicken soup, pud thai, and fried rice came to our table in big platters. Which was great since our appetite was equally large. But quickly I found myself tearing up, gasping for air, and draining my Singha beer. The soup was not for the western tongue, well really not for the tongue at all... ouch! Kate laughed at me (she is a lot better at handling spicy foods than I) and took a big spoonful of the soup. It wasn't hot to her at all. Liking it, she kept eating, and by the third bite she was on her hands an knees. We learned a good lesson that day: Thai people hide miniature chilli peppers in their meals, and the real hot ones are actually green. After this revelation we fished out the lil' green suckers and ate the rest of our meal tear-free. For dessert Kate had the mango sticky rice with some of the ripest magoes I've had, and I, feeling like nothing could be as bad as the hidden peppers ordered the Bird's Nest Soup. (Its actually made from boiled bird's nests collected from around phi phi island and other andaman sea islands off the shore of Krabbi. The taste is generated from the saliva coated grasses that make up the nests, and when boiled they turn into fine hair-like delecacies. As an added bonus, the meal is supposed to be an aphrodisiac.) The truth was that is didn't taste bad, but not amazing either.... more amusing was that it was served in a hollowed out coconut. Althought his was a humorous dinner and all, the funniest moment was when I was going to pay for the meal. Kate had gone to the bathroom, the check came and I was reaching for my wallet, when unexpectedly and quite humorously, my zipper securing the wallet in my pocket stuck tight. I jerked and pulled, twisted and yanked, and tried everything I possibly could to get that damn zipper out, but I just couldnt. I stood up and continued my ridiculous unzippering dance, and the whole time the waitress was standing there unabashedly laughing at me. soon others in the restaraunt were finding humor in the situation. Quite frankly so was I, albeit I was quite embarassed. I even tried using their fork to pry it open. The zipper resisted, steadfast and defiant, eventually breaking two prongs off the fork! I finally excused myself to the restroom to find kate and dejectedly asked her to foot the bill. Later on it took a scissor to cut the fabric around the zipper and slide the whole thing off in order to liberate my wallet.
From there we went to Koh San Road and began walking up and down the road thick with street venders and merchants. We shopped always with a beer in our hand, enjoying the haggling and array of products. We ended up coming home with quite a bit of clothes. Then at the end of the night, we sat down at a hair styling booth. Kate got her whole head braided, with a pink stripe added to one braid in front, and I had my hair put into dreadlocks. Although the idea of having dreadlocks and extensions in my hair sounded like a great one, in actuality it was less than intelligent. First of all, the process of dreading the hair requires a sharp pin that they repeatedly dip in and out of the hair clumps 90% of the time hitting your scalp and causing a great deal of pain. Secondly the dreads are tightly woven pulling on your scalp well after they are finished, and finally it is nearly impossible to sleap with thick medusa-like hair extensions coming out of your head. (I finally had to take them out the following night.) At least Kate liked her braids, and they really look good on her.
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Summer Palace, UPS, and Sheldon Liu
This morning we were greeted by another private tour, this time in the literal sense of the word. Sheldon Liu, a family fried of the Checchi's, was in Beijing and sent us his car and driver to take us to the Summer Palace. It was incredibly generous of him, and what a relief not to take a taxi or public transportation, especially when our language barrier is so high.
The summer palace was lovely, the only problem was that neither of us were in the mood to be tourists and walk around the whle day in the heat. So we planned for 1.5 hours there and stuck to it. The two main attractions were the marble boat and great hall, of which neither were that exciting. The marble boat was pretty in its own right, but kind of pointless and odd sitting forever motionless on the water. The great hall was less than great. It was basically a 5 foot wide outdoor corridor open on all sides with wood railings and roof and painted. I guess it was long, but to be honest, I've seen better paintings and woodwork from street artists. The most impressive part of the palace was the landscaping, gardens, and lakes.
We hopped on a taxi and went home. I went to go ship our newly acquired Chinese tea and other goods home and took a taxi by myself to the UPS. The tourguide at the hostel gave me the address and when I got there I found myself at UPS headquarters, not the store. Time was of the essence, since we were to meet Sheldon for dinner at 5:30. Surrounded by workers in cubicles somebody finally directed me to a different office. I took another taxi there, only to find out that they don't do the packaging there, so the took my packages and sent them on a UPS truck to their packaging center. I followed in another UPS truck and found them packaging my stuff, but refusing to ship the Tea, citing that the Chinese government would not allow it. Looking at my watch I was already late, but since everything was packaged I asked them the price. They weighed it and told me it would be $170 USD!!! First of all I didn't have that much with me at the time, and secondly I was running too late to finish the shipment, so i grabbed the items and left without accomplishing a thing. Meanwhile kate had done laundry for the both of us and I threw on a new shirt and Sheldons Driver drove us to meet him. (Surprisingly the restaraunt was in the World Tower Hotel and Shopping complex, the same place the UPS headquarters were located!)
We sat down at a swanky restaraunt in our own private booth and were treated to some amazing Chinese food. We were accompanied by a man named Paul who was a friend of Sheldon and Sheldon's mother (who's only english was "hello". It was a wonderful dinner and great conversation. Everyone was so nice. The restaraunt's specialty was spicy fish soup, and it was delicious. In fact everything was great, and correspondingly everything was spicy. They made a bean curd tofu right in front of your eyes much in the same manner jello is made. And by the end of dinner I was not only full, but also on the verge of tears for the amount of hot peppers we ate.
The summer palace was lovely, the only problem was that neither of us were in the mood to be tourists and walk around the whle day in the heat. So we planned for 1.5 hours there and stuck to it. The two main attractions were the marble boat and great hall, of which neither were that exciting. The marble boat was pretty in its own right, but kind of pointless and odd sitting forever motionless on the water. The great hall was less than great. It was basically a 5 foot wide outdoor corridor open on all sides with wood railings and roof and painted. I guess it was long, but to be honest, I've seen better paintings and woodwork from street artists. The most impressive part of the palace was the landscaping, gardens, and lakes.
We hopped on a taxi and went home. I went to go ship our newly acquired Chinese tea and other goods home and took a taxi by myself to the UPS. The tourguide at the hostel gave me the address and when I got there I found myself at UPS headquarters, not the store. Time was of the essence, since we were to meet Sheldon for dinner at 5:30. Surrounded by workers in cubicles somebody finally directed me to a different office. I took another taxi there, only to find out that they don't do the packaging there, so the took my packages and sent them on a UPS truck to their packaging center. I followed in another UPS truck and found them packaging my stuff, but refusing to ship the Tea, citing that the Chinese government would not allow it. Looking at my watch I was already late, but since everything was packaged I asked them the price. They weighed it and told me it would be $170 USD!!! First of all I didn't have that much with me at the time, and secondly I was running too late to finish the shipment, so i grabbed the items and left without accomplishing a thing. Meanwhile kate had done laundry for the both of us and I threw on a new shirt and Sheldons Driver drove us to meet him. (Surprisingly the restaraunt was in the World Tower Hotel and Shopping complex, the same place the UPS headquarters were located!)
We sat down at a swanky restaraunt in our own private booth and were treated to some amazing Chinese food. We were accompanied by a man named Paul who was a friend of Sheldon and Sheldon's mother (who's only english was "hello". It was a wonderful dinner and great conversation. Everyone was so nice. The restaraunt's specialty was spicy fish soup, and it was delicious. In fact everything was great, and correspondingly everything was spicy. They made a bean curd tofu right in front of your eyes much in the same manner jello is made. And by the end of dinner I was not only full, but also on the verge of tears for the amount of hot peppers we ate.
Monday, June 20, 2005
Great Wall and Great Opera
Today we got the royal tour of the Great Wall. We organized to have a private driver (well at least private after sharing it with an elder french couple but at least it wasn't in a big tour bus!). We went to the Mutianyu section of the great wall that is well preserved and absolutely amazing. Driving out of Beijing it was a relief to get away from the smog and up into the countryside. It was also fortunate because the day before it rained and this morning was clear with light sparce clouds spaced across the sky. The flat beijing made way to the sharp hills and high peaks on which the Great Wall perched.
We took the gondola up to the top and walked around for hours. We would walk along the wall admiring the views and masonry of the grand stucture. And as it would get hotter in the day, we spent more and more time in the cool watchtowers that were 100 meters or so apart from eachother. It was an amazing sight and we tried to take as many pictures as possible to capture it. There was even one watchtower high in the hills that I hiked to that had an unrestored original section, one in which instead of a pathway on top with neatly layed bricks there were trees and bushes overgrowing the walkway. It even had remnants of an all but forgotten watchtower that was slowly crumbling to its death by erosion.
When we returned from the Great Wall we ate dinner at the Hostel restaraunt next door and then went to see the famous Beijing Opera at an authentic opera house within walking distance. I must say that watching a Chinese Opera may be somthign I am only prepared to do once. Although they were beautifully and ornately dressed with their faces painted with great detail, the plot was incredibly hard to follow (even with a screen giving the subtitles in english). Moreover the voices of the women were so shrill and high pitched it was painful at times.
We took the gondola up to the top and walked around for hours. We would walk along the wall admiring the views and masonry of the grand stucture. And as it would get hotter in the day, we spent more and more time in the cool watchtowers that were 100 meters or so apart from eachother. It was an amazing sight and we tried to take as many pictures as possible to capture it. There was even one watchtower high in the hills that I hiked to that had an unrestored original section, one in which instead of a pathway on top with neatly layed bricks there were trees and bushes overgrowing the walkway. It even had remnants of an all but forgotten watchtower that was slowly crumbling to its death by erosion.
When we returned from the Great Wall we ate dinner at the Hostel restaraunt next door and then went to see the famous Beijing Opera at an authentic opera house within walking distance. I must say that watching a Chinese Opera may be somthign I am only prepared to do once. Although they were beautifully and ornately dressed with their faces painted with great detail, the plot was incredibly hard to follow (even with a screen giving the subtitles in english). Moreover the voices of the women were so shrill and high pitched it was painful at times.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Tiananmen and Family Li
Today we set out for Tiananmen square on foot and quickly realized that the smog-soaked city was not only poisoning the lungs of its dwellers and affording a landscaped blanket of non-photogenic haze, but it also doubled as an aggessive and effective oven. We were beading with sweat and had to take a seat in the middle of the square. It wasn't really that impressive... big i guess, but aside from the obolisk in the center, uninteresting. So we plowed on through to the forbidden city and imperial palace. There we were equally scortched by the heat and equally bored. Its probabally our fault for not loving it as much as others ovbously do by the way they talk about it, but we were just not into it. 80% of the buildings were covered in bamboo scaffolding because they were cleaning and renovating the place for the 2008 olympics, so it gave it a completely different feel. We walked through passing many gateways and actually really had a good time in the imperial garden.
Then we took a good sit and tried to plan our next move. We decided we we wouldn't do anything big so dinner sounded as good as anything. We headed for Family Li restaraunt via motorized ricshaw. I never thought kate would go for it, but she has been becoming more and more adventurous. We didn't exactly have an address, or really anything other than the name and a phone number, and the driver didn't speak a lick of english... so the result was us winding around the hutongs N.E. of the forbidden city for 30min lookign for the damn place.
When we finally made it we found ourselves in a family's courtyard... apperently the Li family. We were seated and had an amazing 35 course meal... well 33, but I like to count the different drinks as courses too. Afterwards we left, not knowing were we were and proceeded to get lost again, this time on our own accord. After wandering around a lake (i don't know how we got there) we stumbled upon an exercise arena which was a cross between a playground and physical therepy rehabilitation. Later we found ourselves in the middle of a group aerobics class with a floutist laying the beat down. Keep in mind this was 11:00 PM.
Then we took a good sit and tried to plan our next move. We decided we we wouldn't do anything big so dinner sounded as good as anything. We headed for Family Li restaraunt via motorized ricshaw. I never thought kate would go for it, but she has been becoming more and more adventurous. We didn't exactly have an address, or really anything other than the name and a phone number, and the driver didn't speak a lick of english... so the result was us winding around the hutongs N.E. of the forbidden city for 30min lookign for the damn place.
When we finally made it we found ourselves in a family's courtyard... apperently the Li family. We were seated and had an amazing 35 course meal... well 33, but I like to count the different drinks as courses too. Afterwards we left, not knowing were we were and proceeded to get lost again, this time on our own accord. After wandering around a lake (i don't know how we got there) we stumbled upon an exercise arena which was a cross between a playground and physical therepy rehabilitation. Later we found ourselves in the middle of a group aerobics class with a floutist laying the beat down. Keep in mind this was 11:00 PM.
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Hello Beijing
An early rise and off we went by 6:00 am. The flight was nice, serving such choice snacks as dried squid morsels. I saved some, so ask me for some if you are craving such delicacies late at night. Arriving in Beijing the first thing we noticed was the cloud of smog that engulfed the city. We took a cab and somehow navigated our way to our hotel, The Far East Youth Hostel. Which is actually a really nice hostel, more like a 3 star hotel. We really like it here and settled right into our room. The hostel is located south west of Tiananmen square in the heart of a hutong neighborhood (a hutong is a very close quarter living arrangement neighborhoods where each family has their own quad-shaped courtyard surrounded by rooms: kitchen, childrens' room, parents' room, grandparents' room, and guest room). These are very old neighborhoods and if you want to see how the chinese live, you need not look further than the hutongs. Our hotel is like an oasis within the hutong land.
Our first adventure in Beijing was the silk market just south of Tiananmen Square. There was quite a bit of silk, but most of it was traditional chinese patterns. After some shopping around Kate and I decided to make some silk clothes. I picked out a black and gold bamboo leaf pattern to make into pyjamma pants and kate chose a lovely pink and silver material from which to create a dress. (after haggling over price, I got them to trow in a headband and I was sold.
Then Kate and I headed to a famous duck restaraunt for some roasted peking duck. It was a delicious meal, and surprisingly the first time I had the meal. Afterwards we wandered around some more in the markets and found ourselves turned around and a bit lost. My savvy navagation skills turned sour, and apparently so have my barganing skills. Hmmm, maybe my bowstaff skills are on the move upward?
Our first adventure in Beijing was the silk market just south of Tiananmen Square. There was quite a bit of silk, but most of it was traditional chinese patterns. After some shopping around Kate and I decided to make some silk clothes. I picked out a black and gold bamboo leaf pattern to make into pyjamma pants and kate chose a lovely pink and silver material from which to create a dress. (after haggling over price, I got them to trow in a headband and I was sold.
Then Kate and I headed to a famous duck restaraunt for some roasted peking duck. It was a delicious meal, and surprisingly the first time I had the meal. Afterwards we wandered around some more in the markets and found ourselves turned around and a bit lost. My savvy navagation skills turned sour, and apparently so have my barganing skills. Hmmm, maybe my bowstaff skills are on the move upward?
Friday, June 17, 2005
Good Bye Shanghai
Our last day in Shanghai was great. We caught the train back... again it was a near miss with a bit of running. I really must admit we have done a great job communicating in every way possible other than Chinese with these people, but it seems like although we do get by, sometimes it is just barely.
Back in Shanghai we checked back into the YMCA... we had a reservation elsewhere but for simplicity sake we stayed where it's fun to stay. After wandering for about 45 min on Nanjing Donglu (blvd.) for a Dim Sum place we quieted our rumbling stomaches with some pretty good dim sum. This we called dinner #1 as it was a very late lunch. We walked down the Nanjing and window shopped as we went. Kate bought be some great Baleno polo shirts in pink, blue, and green (Baleno is a chinese brand with a really cool whale for an emblem).
We made it all the way to the Bund, which is a long riverside walk looking out to the financial district of Pudong with huge sky scrapers and the Pearl Orient TV Tower. On the walk back we had dinner #2 at Ramen Soup shop (its a Chinese chain).
We then hopped on the metro and made it to Circus world just in time for our 7:30 show. It was an amazing sight and we were captivated the whole time, ooohing and aaaweing uncontrollably with the feats of the chinese acrobats, tumblers, contortionists, and magicians. It was a great show with a finale of 7 motorcyclists entering a huge metal sphere and doing elaborate high-speed manouvers while nearly missing eachother. Hard to explain, most likely even harder to execute.
Back in Shanghai we checked back into the YMCA... we had a reservation elsewhere but for simplicity sake we stayed where it's fun to stay. After wandering for about 45 min on Nanjing Donglu (blvd.) for a Dim Sum place we quieted our rumbling stomaches with some pretty good dim sum. This we called dinner #1 as it was a very late lunch. We walked down the Nanjing and window shopped as we went. Kate bought be some great Baleno polo shirts in pink, blue, and green (Baleno is a chinese brand with a really cool whale for an emblem).
We made it all the way to the Bund, which is a long riverside walk looking out to the financial district of Pudong with huge sky scrapers and the Pearl Orient TV Tower. On the walk back we had dinner #2 at Ramen Soup shop (its a Chinese chain).
We then hopped on the metro and made it to Circus world just in time for our 7:30 show. It was an amazing sight and we were captivated the whole time, ooohing and aaaweing uncontrollably with the feats of the chinese acrobats, tumblers, contortionists, and magicians. It was a great show with a finale of 7 motorcyclists entering a huge metal sphere and doing elaborate high-speed manouvers while nearly missing eachother. Hard to explain, most likely even harder to execute.
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Hangzhou and Xi Hu
After an early rise, some crowd darting techniques, and even a bit of running we managed to catch our train to Hangzhou. We sat near some delightful chinese that taught me a few things in chinese and how to write a bit (really not much, just bathroom--Tse Tsua, Water, Rice, Hello--Ni Hao, and a few others).
Reaching Hangzhou, Kate remarked it is a bit remniscent of going to Hawaii for an American. We decided to save time we wouldn't check into the hotel until we explored the city and kept our backpacks on all day. We began with a luch at La Luna... for what its worth the food was good (western food-- we had a club sandwich and spaghetti) but it was weird considering we were the only ones there and although there were 8 staff on duty everyone pretty much ignored us and pulled out their cell phones to play tetris on them. They also elaborately unwrapped a napkin onto my lap revealing a fork and gave Kate nothing at all. Plus people passing by took pictures of us.
Anyway, Kate and I made our way to the Lingyin Temple area in the hills above the West Lake (Xi Hu). Entering the park we encountered ancient buddhist stone carvings in the rocky walls the lined the river. There must have been hundreds and it seemed like you stumbled upon them every 50 feet or so. Kate and I made our way off the beaten tourist path up the hill and then decended back down right overhead the prized "Laughing Buddha." After soaking it all in we went to the temple and were greeted by sounds of chanting and the smell of insence. We sat mesmorized as people lit 50 or so insence sticks at a time and religiously bowed towards each direction of the temples. Looking inside the temple there were arround 100 monks walking in a large circle around a golden Sidharta. Later Kate and I wandered through a maze of a temple with 4 corridors lined on both sides with hundreds of lifesize bronze statues of monks that served in the temple over the ages. It was a glorious retreat.
We caught a taxi back and stopped at the Gu Shan island on the lake for dinner at Louwailou restaurant and ate the most delicious "beggars chicken" (clay covered chicken cooked in a fire) as well as West Lake Soup (a sea weed-like soup from Xi Hu).
Stuffed and statisfied we took a beautiful boat ride in the moon light back to our hostel. I wouldn't believe it until I saw it, but the Hangzhou hostel actually had a 50 ft. climbing wall inside it! The beds were pretty much rock hard, but we managed and aside from kate's huge mosquito bites, we slept like the hardness of our beds.
Reaching Hangzhou, Kate remarked it is a bit remniscent of going to Hawaii for an American. We decided to save time we wouldn't check into the hotel until we explored the city and kept our backpacks on all day. We began with a luch at La Luna... for what its worth the food was good (western food-- we had a club sandwich and spaghetti) but it was weird considering we were the only ones there and although there were 8 staff on duty everyone pretty much ignored us and pulled out their cell phones to play tetris on them. They also elaborately unwrapped a napkin onto my lap revealing a fork and gave Kate nothing at all. Plus people passing by took pictures of us.
Anyway, Kate and I made our way to the Lingyin Temple area in the hills above the West Lake (Xi Hu). Entering the park we encountered ancient buddhist stone carvings in the rocky walls the lined the river. There must have been hundreds and it seemed like you stumbled upon them every 50 feet or so. Kate and I made our way off the beaten tourist path up the hill and then decended back down right overhead the prized "Laughing Buddha." After soaking it all in we went to the temple and were greeted by sounds of chanting and the smell of insence. We sat mesmorized as people lit 50 or so insence sticks at a time and religiously bowed towards each direction of the temples. Looking inside the temple there were arround 100 monks walking in a large circle around a golden Sidharta. Later Kate and I wandered through a maze of a temple with 4 corridors lined on both sides with hundreds of lifesize bronze statues of monks that served in the temple over the ages. It was a glorious retreat.
We caught a taxi back and stopped at the Gu Shan island on the lake for dinner at Louwailou restaurant and ate the most delicious "beggars chicken" (clay covered chicken cooked in a fire) as well as West Lake Soup (a sea weed-like soup from Xi Hu).
Stuffed and statisfied we took a beautiful boat ride in the moon light back to our hostel. I wouldn't believe it until I saw it, but the Hangzhou hostel actually had a 50 ft. climbing wall inside it! The beds were pretty much rock hard, but we managed and aside from kate's huge mosquito bites, we slept like the hardness of our beds.
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
Dumpling Craze and High Fashion, Low Price
This morning our jet lag did catch up with us as we slept in until we couldn't bear missing out on the city for the day and got up. Our first stop was Yuyan Gardens and Bazaar. Our taxi dropped us off 1 block from the entrance, which was lucky because we walked into a jewlery store and oogled at the stones for a while, then went upstairs to the jade gallery. I bought kate a jade necklace which we spent a good amount of time finding just the right size and color.
Walking into the bazaar I got side tracked several times by stall after stall of interesting trinkets. Kate (and her stomach) kept us on track and we found the famous dumpling restaraunt, Nanxiang Mantoudian, located right on the little lake in Yuyan. We waited in a line for about 20 min before I saw chinese bypassing the line and walking upstairs. We followed suit and waited until four nice people offered us to sit with them. Our stomachs were eager for our Xia Longbao (crab meat dumpling) even though we didn't know what it was or how it would tast. Nonetheless, if it is called the most famous dumpling in Shanghai, and Shanghai is famous for dumpling... well it will be worth it. And it was. I can't tell you how great it tasted and how I am wanting one right now as I type this. The crab is caught 2 hours away in a freshwater lake called Xi Hua (West Lake) in the city of Hangzhou (more on that tomorrow) and shelled fresh in the restaraunt. The people we were sitting with also reffered us to a Japanese restaruant (which we tried that night... it was great!) and a shopping district in the French Concession that is fun.
After our meal we enjoyed the peaceful Yuyan gardens and wandered around the old style Chinese buildings, pagodas, and gazebos. Water and stone shaped the gardens and made them compartmentalized like a maze, not to mention very beautiful. On the way to catch a cab I decided I would buy a few choice silk ties and soon we were driving to the French Concession.
We arrived at Xiangyang market and the first thing we heard was, "hello, Rolex watch... hello... hello, Rolex watch." We heard that about 500 times more over the course of our shopping in the market. This market was littered with fake purses, ties, shoes, clothes, watches... you name it. It was actually really fun checking things out and we did buy a bit of fake fashion and felt fashionable doing so. Kate bought some Prada shoes... then bought me a pair to match, well at least the male version without the extreemly pointy toe that hers boastfully displayed. After a few hours we were exausted with the barganing and ran out gasping for fresh air on the main road.
From there we walked towards our hotel and made it to the Japanese restaraunt the people in the dumpling place recommended. It was great, possibly some of the best sushi I've had, and it was a perfect end to the night for us.
Walking into the bazaar I got side tracked several times by stall after stall of interesting trinkets. Kate (and her stomach) kept us on track and we found the famous dumpling restaraunt, Nanxiang Mantoudian, located right on the little lake in Yuyan. We waited in a line for about 20 min before I saw chinese bypassing the line and walking upstairs. We followed suit and waited until four nice people offered us to sit with them. Our stomachs were eager for our Xia Longbao (crab meat dumpling) even though we didn't know what it was or how it would tast. Nonetheless, if it is called the most famous dumpling in Shanghai, and Shanghai is famous for dumpling... well it will be worth it. And it was. I can't tell you how great it tasted and how I am wanting one right now as I type this. The crab is caught 2 hours away in a freshwater lake called Xi Hua (West Lake) in the city of Hangzhou (more on that tomorrow) and shelled fresh in the restaraunt. The people we were sitting with also reffered us to a Japanese restaruant (which we tried that night... it was great!) and a shopping district in the French Concession that is fun.
After our meal we enjoyed the peaceful Yuyan gardens and wandered around the old style Chinese buildings, pagodas, and gazebos. Water and stone shaped the gardens and made them compartmentalized like a maze, not to mention very beautiful. On the way to catch a cab I decided I would buy a few choice silk ties and soon we were driving to the French Concession.
We arrived at Xiangyang market and the first thing we heard was, "hello, Rolex watch... hello... hello, Rolex watch." We heard that about 500 times more over the course of our shopping in the market. This market was littered with fake purses, ties, shoes, clothes, watches... you name it. It was actually really fun checking things out and we did buy a bit of fake fashion and felt fashionable doing so. Kate bought some Prada shoes... then bought me a pair to match, well at least the male version without the extreemly pointy toe that hers boastfully displayed. After a few hours we were exausted with the barganing and ran out gasping for fresh air on the main road.
From there we walked towards our hotel and made it to the Japanese restaraunt the people in the dumpling place recommended. It was great, possibly some of the best sushi I've had, and it was a perfect end to the night for us.
Tuesday, June 14, 2005
Renmin (People's) Park
6/14/05
Our first full day in Shanghai we jumped out of bed at 6am and began our exploration. Our first stop was Renmin Park. Traveling by foot we stumbled upon a pearl milk tea shop and slurped down two tea concoctions as we made our way through the bustling of people at the park. Once there we made a b-line for the Shanghai Museum, and what a treat it was. With exhibits on Jade, ceramics, bronze sculptures, caligraphy, and traditional clothing to name a few, we were mesmorized for until our stomachs told us it was enough.
Wandering out of the museum and into the park we found a huge flock of white pidgeons that made an awesome sight when by some unknown impetus they all took flight at once and circled the somewhat awestruck somewhat afraid onlookers. Sitting down to lunch on the second floor of what can only be described as a mall (but not exactly) we ate at a seemingly elegant restaraunt and feared we were going to be paying dearly for choosing such a nice place. Then came the check with a total of 3.75 USD for our meal... not too bad huh?
We wandered through a maze of streets getting back to the hotel, passing the bird and flower market and antique market on the way. They sold just about every kind of turtle and fish you could want (as a pet im guessing / hoping). Of course Kate was the proud owner of my first purchase in Shanghai... a pink rose that made her blush the same color when I gave it to her. The antique market was, well, junky. Antique = old junk... thinking otherwise = dumb. But we wandered around the shops nonetheless and eventually found some hand painted scrolls we were happy with.
After a bit of a nap we made reservations at Yang's Kitchen and headed to the French Concession district for the traditional Shanghaiese meal. We ordered an eggplant and minced meat meal with fried rice and washed it down with Tiger beer. Walking back home kate found a beautiful necklace. One metro stop away and we were back home...
Our first full day in Shanghai we jumped out of bed at 6am and began our exploration. Our first stop was Renmin Park. Traveling by foot we stumbled upon a pearl milk tea shop and slurped down two tea concoctions as we made our way through the bustling of people at the park. Once there we made a b-line for the Shanghai Museum, and what a treat it was. With exhibits on Jade, ceramics, bronze sculptures, caligraphy, and traditional clothing to name a few, we were mesmorized for until our stomachs told us it was enough.
Wandering out of the museum and into the park we found a huge flock of white pidgeons that made an awesome sight when by some unknown impetus they all took flight at once and circled the somewhat awestruck somewhat afraid onlookers. Sitting down to lunch on the second floor of what can only be described as a mall (but not exactly) we ate at a seemingly elegant restaraunt and feared we were going to be paying dearly for choosing such a nice place. Then came the check with a total of 3.75 USD for our meal... not too bad huh?
We wandered through a maze of streets getting back to the hotel, passing the bird and flower market and antique market on the way. They sold just about every kind of turtle and fish you could want (as a pet im guessing / hoping). Of course Kate was the proud owner of my first purchase in Shanghai... a pink rose that made her blush the same color when I gave it to her. The antique market was, well, junky. Antique = old junk... thinking otherwise = dumb. But we wandered around the shops nonetheless and eventually found some hand painted scrolls we were happy with.
After a bit of a nap we made reservations at Yang's Kitchen and headed to the French Concession district for the traditional Shanghaiese meal. We ordered an eggplant and minced meat meal with fried rice and washed it down with Tiger beer. Walking back home kate found a beautiful necklace. One metro stop away and we were back home...
Monday, June 13, 2005
Shanghai At Last
Well I officially can't read a scrap of Chinese, and it seems that all the words on the computers, all the folders, all the buttons (everything) is written in chinese... meaning if I go to this webpage... one that I created in english... I cannot read anything other than the words I wrote... so understandibly, last time I was trying to publish something I wrote, I deleted a few entries thinking the delete button was the publish button. yikes. Wont make that mistake again.
Unable to recover the lost post I am going to try and recreate it:
The start of our trip began with the most plesant 14 hour plane flight you could ever ask for... I mean we literally had seats that automatically reclined into beds! Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Checchi. We were pampered in first class, given an arsenal of food, drinks, snacks, etc. and plenty of movies (Robots and Million Dollar baby were the two we settled on). With a short layover in Tokoyo and another 4 hours to Shanghai our first leg of travel was completed with ease.
At first glance Shanghai is an impressive city with skyscrapers littering the skyline like densely packed porcupine quills. Kate describes it as a fusion of New York and Paris dropped conveniently in the middle of China, giving it an oriental twist. There is more shopping in Shanghai that I've seen in LA and SF combined, and they have it all. If you can't find a particular brand, style, or item in Shanghai you didn't look hard enough, or it doesn't exist. In relation to the rest of China, Shanghai boasts the highest per capita income at just around the equivalent of $1,500 USD / year, and although a seemingly low amount, their comparative wealth shows in their buildings, architecturel, and parks, and permiates into other aspects of their lives (or at least the tourist areas).
We took a cab straght to our place, the YMCA hotel, and yes it is fun to stay at the YMCA. and slept the night away.
Unable to recover the lost post I am going to try and recreate it:
The start of our trip began with the most plesant 14 hour plane flight you could ever ask for... I mean we literally had seats that automatically reclined into beds! Thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Checchi. We were pampered in first class, given an arsenal of food, drinks, snacks, etc. and plenty of movies (Robots and Million Dollar baby were the two we settled on). With a short layover in Tokoyo and another 4 hours to Shanghai our first leg of travel was completed with ease.
At first glance Shanghai is an impressive city with skyscrapers littering the skyline like densely packed porcupine quills. Kate describes it as a fusion of New York and Paris dropped conveniently in the middle of China, giving it an oriental twist. There is more shopping in Shanghai that I've seen in LA and SF combined, and they have it all. If you can't find a particular brand, style, or item in Shanghai you didn't look hard enough, or it doesn't exist. In relation to the rest of China, Shanghai boasts the highest per capita income at just around the equivalent of $1,500 USD / year, and although a seemingly low amount, their comparative wealth shows in their buildings, architecturel, and parks, and permiates into other aspects of their lives (or at least the tourist areas).
We took a cab straght to our place, the YMCA hotel, and yes it is fun to stay at the YMCA. and slept the night away.
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Photos from 'Round The World
Just as promised I created a website to post photos from my trip... you can access the site at
photos.yahoo.com/kanaan2
Unfortunately I don't believe I will be able to upload photos as often as I can write, but I will try as to as often as possible.
Enjoy!
~NK
photos.yahoo.com/kanaan2
Unfortunately I don't believe I will be able to upload photos as often as I can write, but I will try as to as often as possible.
Enjoy!
~NK
Welcome
Welcome to my travels... Its about 12:30 in the morning... exactly 12 hours before the flight and I have yet to pack. Well, I better get to it, but I hope you enjoy following me on my trip. Don't be a stranger and feel free to email me throughout kanaan2@gmail.com. If you want to see the pictures from the trip i will post a page and upload to it along the way. Until then, bon voyage!
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