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!!!!

My First Solo Trip – HangZhou November 8, 2007

Hangzhou is awaiting...

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 of 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 Hangzhou, 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!

The hostel I stayed at was JiangNanYi which was at the foot of the LongJing Tea mountain and 5 minutes walk from the beautiful West Lake. This hostel also happens to be a well-known local restaurant for delicious local food. The one that I keep drooling over, even today 😉

Over night train from Beijing to Hangzhou

My luxurious 4-soft-bed cabin on the train

Train entertainment...

LongJing tea farms on hill tops.

Walking through the mysterious bamboo forest, I was later told that I was lucky to not have ran into the wild boars that are known for attacking people.

Entrance to the LongJiang Tea Village

Tea drying process...

Finally having my own cup of tea and getting a rest from my long hike...

There is something nostalgic about using the old style scale...

Jiang Nan Ji Hostel

The bestest oil braised bamboo ever ever!

West Lake

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?

Windsurfing day 2 September 16, 2007

After much practice and the help of a slow wind morning, I’ve made some progress today. I successfully tacked (upwind turn), jibed (downwind turn) and sailed without falling in water. It was so much fun. In fact, I felt so encouraged after the 4-hour class, I went back into the water with a smaller board under windier conditions for another 3 hours to practice. In retrospect, that was probably not that great of an idea, since I was already very physically exhausted after the morning training. And I can’t believe how much difference a slightly smaller board can make on water. It is so much harder to balance. I pretty much spend most of the 2nd half of the day in and out of water and peddling against the current. Very frustrating. I probably should have stopped after the first 4 hours. Oh well, no regrets, it was still an amazing day to be spend in the water. My body is so worn out now, my elbows are both bruised from climbing back on to the sailboard countless times. At the end of the day, I was so beat, I had to actually get towed back to shore. But then again, if not for all those falls during the day, I probably won’t be enjoying dozing off on the sofa so much right now! 🙂

Windsurfing in the Bay – so hard, but so fun September 15, 2007

Yes, I am having a little ocean fever right now. I just can’t seem to get enough water activities these days. So this week, the chosen challenge is windsurfing. I watched it from ashore for the first time in my life when I discovered the beauty of the Berkeley Marina 2 weeks ago. It looks like one of the most liberating sports on water. But, as I learned today, to get to the point of flying across water, countless falls must take place. 4 hours today and another 4 tomorrow. Hopefully by the end of tomorrow, I will somehow get a shot of me actually standing on the board with the sail in my hands. haha…

The joy of falling in water and the magic of a wet suit! September 12, 2007

I had an action packed weekend!

Inspired by my walk in the Berkeley Marina and the previously discovered lust for the ocean, I took a sea kayaking class with Alex this past Saturday. For those of you that know me well, don’t be shocked. I know I have always been a scaredy cat when it comes to being in water, especially very cold ocean water. I am proud to say that with the discovery of the wonderful and powerful wet suit, I am no longer afraid of falling into cold water 🙂 In fact, during the 8-hour sea kayaking class, I fell into the ocean 3 times, 2 of which were for practice. Surprisingly, the 3rd time was when I had the most fun. The fall was completely unexpected and in turbulent waves, but since I was already previously trained on what to do should such a fall occurs, I did not panic at all. I actually loved it. Alex even performed a rescue on me. It was awesome!

In case you were wondering what is there to learn about sea kayaking in 8 hours, like I did going into it, there are actually a lot. In fact, the 8-hour course that Cal Adventures offer was a crash course for sea kayaking. The normal course is a 12 hour training over 3 days. Like many things in life, the finer details are what tend to make the difference between someone who think they know what they are doing and someone who does know what they are doing. And kayaking is not an exception.