Home, Sweet Home! September 14, 2008

Sunday Farmer's Market at DMV

After 2 months of traveling and drifting, and 1.5 months of not having access to wordpress, I am finally home!

Vietnam was incredible, much much more than I had ever imagined. The food was simple, dynamic, and extremely flavorful and refreshing! The people were timid, friendly and unbelievably forgiving! Because we took a bus from Saigon (pretty south of Vietnam) all the way to Hanoi (the very north of Vietnam) along the west coastline, we were able to see the changing landscape along the way. Vietnam is beautiful! The ocean is calm and perfect for a surf beginner like myself.

Visiting Beijing during the Olympics was a proud and humbing experience. I was proud, honored, and excited to be part of this historical moment with China, with my country men and women, and with the world. I was proud that China had pulled it off, produced a spectacular event and has safely carried it out from beginning to end, From my memory, Beijing has never been so organized, so green, so friendly and so helpful as it was during the Olympics… It was refreshing, surreal and jaw-dropping all at the same time. Watching the games live was without a doubt one of the most blood boiling activities in my life. I was addicted to the high you get from simply being a spectator. I cannot even begin to imagine how the athletes must feel living through their most crucial moments a second at a time. Their abilities were unfathomable. It made me feel completely unathletic and unworthy in terms of fitness. I am forever humbled and inspired from Beijing 2008.

You would think after all these exciting events coming home would be difficult. It wasn’t. Both Alex and I were eager to have a home-made breakfast in the morning, even if it only involves pouring hot water from our trusting electric kettle to instant oatmeal. That was how desperate we were to the idea of home. Truly, the old cliche of not appreciating things until you lose it, even if its temporarily, it’s so-I hate to say it-true.

Two months away from home was enough to make me miss all the simple pleasures that I had so easily neglected in the past. The comfort of our own bed, and I now realize, we really do have a very very comfortable bed, cannot be replaced by even a 5-star hotel experience, although that was far from the experience we had for our 2 months travel. The blue sky, the perfect California weather, the Berkeley hill directly across from our condo, my little bike, our pleasant walks to our neighborhood shops, cafes and restaurants, the never dull joy of going to Berkeley Bowl and the amusement of picking from the hundreds of fresh and organic produce they offer, the simple pleasure of having a crisp and fresh salad at home, the comfort of standing on my own deck and stretch in the sun, the quiet moments of reading in my usual chair, having reliable and constant internet, drinking out of our delicate and spotless bodum glasses, my never ending effort of chasing after MiaoMiao with a brush in hand, fresh air, TAC, cooking…

It’s good to be home!

Everything I heard about Singapore is true and more… July 21, 2008

Just like legend claims, Singapore is a clean clean clean country. Everything seems to be super organized and highly regulated. The streets are spotless, cars are clean and under 10 years of old, all of them! In fact, we learned that cars older than 10 years are not allowed in the country. It has to be sold to the junk yard, and the government will pay you S$4000 to S$5000 ($1 = about S$1.35). Not a bad deal. But in general, you’ve really gotta be careful living or visiting here. You can literally get a fine for almost anything.

Just a few examples,
Fine for littering (S$500).
Fine for crossing street outside of designated crosswalks.
Fine for chewing gum.
Fine for honking.
Fine for spitting.
My favorite, fine for dirty car. haha.. this is awesome…
My favorite, favorite, fine for not flushing public toilet after use. Should be a global rule, although I wonder how they enforce it

Rules aside, this does feel like a very safe and organized place! People seem friendly. It’s very diverse here, everyone seems to be living harmoniously together.  The MRT here is incredibly clean, high-tech and beautiful.  All the trains are connected and open on the inside.  Its amazing!  All the food, including street food and tap water are safe for tourists..  And they have a killer Chili Crab dish here.. I had it today.  It was yummy!

Little India is bustling and truly Indian feeling, not that I’ve been to India before.  It felt authentic to me.  The streets were filled with flower shops, gold shops, sari shops, eateries, veggie stands, spice shops… It was a sensory overload experience.  I loved it!

Chinatown was also believablely real.  The music, the food, the people, the night stands, it all brought Alex and I back to China last night.

Arab street was also interesting, filled with beautiful fabric shops, carpet shops, small restaurants and Muslim women with scarfs.  I actually felt slightly disrespectful and out of place wearing the dress that I wore  walking around the area.  But people were friendly!

Its late now. I’ve got to sleep.  Singapore is a beautiful, orderly and modern place.  I like it alot!

I become a paddling fish… July 20, 2008

Nusa Dua Beach, where I attempted surfing and kayak surfed

The last day and a half in Bali was wonderful!  I finally got that long desired surf lesson and actually caught a few waves, laying down on my long board of course.  It was soooooooooo much fun!  I paddled, paddled, and paddled, with my back arched and everything.  Although it was a very short lesson, but I feel so much more confident about being able to actually surf one day.  I really do love the ocean despite my lame swimming abilities.

The morning of our flight to Singapore, Alex and I ocean kayaked; it wasn’t a surfable condition ….   Kayaking turned out to be an awesome decision.  Being the surfing addict that I am now, the entire time, we were kayaking toward a wave or trying to catch one.  By the end the ride, we caught 2 waves on our kayak!   The feeling you feel when riding on a wave is incredible, like flying on water!  I think I’m in love again and wish I was a dolphin!!!!

Leaving Bali July 18, 2008

I definitely meant to write this post since the first day I arrived in Bali, but reality taught me different. Anyway, tomorrow will be our last day in here. And I felt it necessary to at least make one post before the farewell.

So Bali, to be completely frank, the first impression was a big disappointment. The drive from the airport to our first hotel in Seminyak had alot to do with this impression. Coming from China, I should be used to bad driving, but somehow, I was still not prepared enough for Bali driving. The streets are tiny, dirt paved, and filled with mopeds. At any given moment it felt like our car might hit someone or vise versa. Yet, everyone else seemed perfectly happy with weaving in and out of the road chaos.

Trash was another big problem in Bali. This beautiful island is covered with trash. It’s sad, and its not right! The entire island is lush and green, even in most parts of busy cities. But for every inch of green, there’s probably also a piece of candy wrapper or chip bag near by. For the entire two weeks spent in Bali, I haven’t noticed any official garbage collection system. The only apparent way for disposing trash is individually initiated burning. First I thought the fire and smoke was a part of some cultural ritual, but later realized that it was the daily ritual of trash disposal. Usually this happened in the morning or at dusk. Luckily Bali is a island, otherwise, the air quality will probably also suffer greatly from the trash issue. Anyhow, the stuff that actually get burned are what people bothered to sweep into a pile, but 80% of the stuff on the ground do not get swept. And that is what covers most of this beautiful island. One ‘funny’ story about this is that one time Alex and I were hiking in a jungle outside of a traditional village in Tenangan, in Southeast Bali, at one point, we fell off the suggested trail by our tour book, basically we were kinda lost in the jungle. But thanks to the candy wrapper trail, it eventually lead us to the only mountain side warung (store) in the entire area which also happened to be one of the stops on the tour guide trial. Not to mention, the magnificent rice paddy view the same wrapper trail had opened our eyes to. It was truly a breath-taking view. So I guess, even trash has its useful moments. Where there’s candy wrapper, there is civilization near by!

Uluwato beach view from the Villa Istana

Starting a post with a negative note is usually not my style, and really there are still a lot of beauty here! The ocean here is amazing!!!! One of the most beautiful spots was actually in Uluwatu, where Mel and Kevin got married. Uluwatu is the far South tip of Bali, away and away from the touristy Kuta and Seminyak, it is almost all natural beauty that surely took my break away. I say almost because Villa Istansa, where the wedding reception took place, was also THE most stunning, open-aired, clean-designed, well-situated, place both Alex and I have ever seen. It is the ultimate house, villa, whatever you want to call it, place to live, to own, to build, to see, to have a wedding in…. The waves in Uluwatu are also among the most impressive that we’ve seen. Not that I’m a wave expert myself, but the real ones are all hanging out right there below the cliff of Villa Istana. In fact, there was no beach in some of the areas, the determined surfers had to paddle out there on their boards.

Rice paddies amidst a jungle near Tenganan

The rice paddies in the remote mountains are breathtaking. I hate using the same word over and over again, but it’s fitting, and you’ll agree with me if you saw what I saw. These massive paddies are especially incredible when you find them unexpectedly, like most good things in life. As mentioned earlier, we were lost in the jungle for a bit, although it was definitely not the worst thing that can happen to you to be temporarily lost in a beautiful and sacred Balinese jungle, but when we finally popped out, all we can see was endless tiers of rice paddies peacefully laying in the heart of two jungles. Can you imagine how that looks and feels? All green and manicured to perfection, in the middle of no where… It was beautiful, and felt like finding an oasis in the dessert, hopeful and refreshing!

A chicken dish from the best restaurant in Ubud, right in the middle of rice paddies and organic, Restaurant Bodag Maliah (Sari Organik)

Prior to Bali, friends have warned us that the food may be bland. Not sure what they were talking about, cuz most of the food we’ve had here have been quite flavorful and delicious for the most part. But of course, by now, after 14 days of eating the same stuff, being the spoiled Berkeleyans that we are, a break from Indonesian food sounds great. All joking aside, Alex and I embraced Mie Goreng (Indonesia fried noodle) for at least the first 7 days of our trip here straight. I’m serious, we literally had it for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a few days… It was that good! Finally when we traveled around more, we still held to our unfailing policy, when in doubt, Mie Goreng….

K, there are so much more to write about our experiences in Bali. But I have a feeling this post is getting a little too long for an one-serving reading… I’ll try to do some short addition posts on Bali later…

For now, the adventure goes on… In 3 more hours, Alex will experience his first EVER paid body massage at the, again, breathtaking Hyatt spa, Kriya, in the, what I call, Bali Disneyland resort compound in Nusa Dua….

The beginning of a very looooong trip… July 3, 2008

Traveling for two months is a pretty long time.  It is my first time, and I am both excited and nervous about it.

Here I am sitting at the Omni Cafe in one of Taiwan’s international airports waiting for the next and final leg to Bali.  Alex and I have just traveled for 12 hours from SF to arrive at this very cafe, so we can sip on some mediocre hot chocolate, overly fragrant tea and probably extremely fat saturated walnut muffins.  Do I sound bitter?  No, I really am not.  I am excited about finally arriving in Bali, after 3 more hours of waiting here and 5 more hours of flying.  In fact, I even had an instant injection of excitement when I found this power plug for my laptop, so I can use my time more wisely.

I am tired, but nonetheless, super duper excited and eager to arrive in Bali for the first time!

Clean, Convenient, Affordable Hotel in Shanghai May 12, 2008

Since I grew up in China and still travel there quite a bit even after I moved to the US, everyone likes to ask me for tips on food, drink, play, shop, stay, etc., etc….

Shanghai is one of my, and many others’, favorite modern cities in China, but of course, in this city, everything tends to be more expensive than else where in China. Staying in hotels can definitely take up a huge portion of the cost to visiting Shanghai, but fortunately, there are other alternatives to expensive 5-star hotels that are clean, cozy and most importantly affordable.

Green Tree Inn is one such chain. This is a business hotel type of place. It has a few locations throughout Shanghai. While it has no luxurious grand lobby, and the service at the front desk is at best mediocre, the rooms (at least the ones at the 661 Wuding Lu location) are clean and comfortable. And for the price of 294RMB (~$42) per night, you really can’t complain!

* Of course the standard free internet and breakfast are included in the rate.

My First Solo Trip – HangZhou November 8, 2007

Its been a while now since I thought about going on a solo trip somewhere. The scaredy cat in me finally decided that adventuring somewhere in China would be both doable and appealing for a first solo attempt. So there I was, taking an overnight train all by myself for the first time in my life from Beijing to Hangzhou.

The train station episode turned out to be quite an amusement all on its own. I had a huge suitcase, only because I had to carry half of my entire 5 weeks worth of luggage with me on this 2-day trip for logistical reasons, and had to log it across the crowded Beijing train station, up a set escalators and down 3 sets of actual stairs before I even got to the train itself. The way I had to carry the suitcase in one hand and hold on to another bag in the other hand all while having my purse hanging from my back could have been a funny scene from a movie. I literally had to stop every couple of stairs to rest and re-energize myself. Since I had plenty of time before boarding the train, another rare occasion for me, and no one waiting impatiently, the whole experience was really more comical than anything else.

Then there was of course the challenge of getting my huge suitcase to fit in the actual train cabin where 4 people share a tiny little cabin with 4 bunk beds. Two of my fellow cabin mates, men, had to help me lift the suitcase way up in the barely fitting shelf right at the foot of my upper bunk. Once that was settled, the real excitement of this trip started to sync in.

After some casual conversation with the other upper bunk cabin mate, some peaceful reading, a few phone calls, and a night of so so sleep with my ear plugs, I was awaken by the friendly voice from the train speakers that announced our estimated arrival in one hour. It was almost 9am when I finally sat in a taxi, on my way to the hostel.


The next 2 days were filled with mixed emotions.

I ventured into a somewhat distant tea village, LongJing Village, on foot and bought some delicious green tea harvested from this past March, the best time to harvest LongJing according to the friendly tea farmer that I met and eventually bought from. Along the way, I visited a cave up in the mountain, hiked for hours in peaceful mountain roads, discovered multiple tea farms up in the middle of nowhere in high altitude, treaded through a thick and mysterious bamboo forest and got bitten by mosquito wildly, and searched for a chess pavilion up in the LongJing temple mountain, but never found it.

Since Hangzhou is famous for its XiHu (West Lake), I walked around it for hours. There’s something calming and possibly lonely about walking around a beautiful lake by oneself. For the most part, I loved it. Sweeping willows danced all along the still lake. Lotus leaves stood quietly in water. I sat in front of and as part of this surreal setting and read until I fell asleep…

The food experience in Hangzhou gave a whole new meaning to its long time acclaimed title for being the ‘heaven on earth’. If you ever go to Hanzhou, you must MUST try any of the bamboo dish. I had the best oil braised bamboo shoot EVER! It was so good, it brought me to heaven! Their locally made tofu was also another diamond in the rough. Simple but soooo satisfying!

Tan Dun Concert in Shanghai October 22, 2007

Just got back to Beijing from Shanghai last night. Thanks to my super girlfriend, Leafy, I went to Tan Dun’s concert at the beautiful Shanghai Grand Theatre. The entire performance was dedicated to two major themes, water percussion and orchestra and paper percussion and orchestra. Inspired by organic elements from nature, Tan Dun creatively and cleverly incorporated water and paper into the production of what he calls the ‘organic music‘. It is pretty mind blowing how many different ways these simple elements in life can be used to make sounds, and very different sounds. How to use the water, what to use the water with, movement in the water, or simply exploring the different ways of water drip can create very different sound effects. It is enlightening and inspirational.

Aside from the pure creative and technical inspiration, I especially enjoyed his narrative and photo slide show on his journey to find the source of paper making in a small village in GuiZhou. I went to a similar village just a few weeks ago, also in the same area. It is both refreshing and self-comforting to know that there are still places and people that live life the authentic way they know, without the pollution from modern developments. The process of making paper is amazing. It’s both an art and a skill that most of us don’t think about nor appreciate. I’m glad Tan Dun found inspiration in such simple yet beautiful things in life. The many different ways of using paper as an instrument has also excited the teacher in me, hopefully one day, I can share these simple instruments in the classroom.

Running along side the Forbidden City October 14, 2007

I finally got the chance to run the perimeter of the Forbidden City a few days ago. It was so crowded, but very amusing. Even though I’ve been inside a handful of times, I still get completely sucked in by its incredible beauty every time I’m near it. Maybe is its massiveness or the mysterious stories hidden behind those tall forbidden red walls, I simply can’t resist the strong desire to just stare at it and allow it all to sync in for at least a moment in time. Under those golden tiles and behind the intricacy of the wooden window frames, hundreds of years of glory, shame and mystery were held within. How could I not surrender to its beauty, its magic, and allow my imagination to run wild?

I’m back online! October 9, 2007

After two weeks of traveling around China, I’m finally back in Beijing and back online. To my surprise I am suddenly able to access my blog in China despite numerous fruitless attempts in the past. I guess the ‘good news’ about China’s tight online control is that it is constantly changing, one day my site address does not fit the great firewall requirement, the next day it does; in either case, no apparent reason will be provided. I am just happy that the fickle ’system’ is working in my favor for the time being.

With much more to come…