Beijing: Dreams Come True

Beijing: my last and final trip...and boy was it a fantastic end to a wonderful semester. I got to do several things in Beijing that I have dreamed of doing for a long time. But I won't get ahead of myself here. Let me start from the beginning.
I traveled to Beijing on my own. Most of you who know me know that I don't like being by myself. However my options were this: go with friends for 2.5 days or go by myself for 5 days. I chose the later because I really wanted to be able to see the entire city. So, I went on this journey on my own, hoping the extrovert in me wouldn't die of boredom.

The first day in Beijing, I went Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. Tianamen Sq. is really interesting because neither in the square anywhere nor in the square museum do they acknowledge what happened there in 1989. How could they not even mention it, as that is what tourists know it for? Well, the China government likes to pretend some things never happen...so, the students are not taught about it and it is never mentioned. Crazy, huh?

Anyway, the square was just a gigantic concrete square (see picture), nothing too interesting. The Forbidden City, however, was so interesting. It is chalk full of history from Imperial Chinese times. The Forbidden City is where the emperor and his empresses and concubines lived. It is absolutely huge, as the emperor never really left the area. I have learned a lot about that stuff in my Women in China class at HKUST, and so it was cool to get to see some of that historical stuff in person. The gate to enter the Forbidden City is called the Gate of Heavenly Peace and has a huge portrait of Mao's mug on it (see picture). People in China like Mao. Apparently they agree he did some bad stuff but they have a saying (actually I think it is the party slogan) that goes something like "Mao was right 70% of the time and wrong 30% of the time."...ha!


After a long day running around Beijing, tragedy struck. I went to a convenience store to buy food and then walked 2 hours home (because a I refused to take a ride back home with this particularly persistent tuk tuk driver and then asked him for directions...bad idea because he pointed me in the completely wrong direction). When I got home, I realized I didn't have my wallet, and because I was alone in Beijing I got quite nervous. I stepped outside my hostel to get a ride (with borrowed money from the front desk) back to the convenience store to see if my wallet was still there. Ironically enough, the tuk tuk driver that had given me wrong directions was sitting right outside (ready to laugh at me). Because I had few other options, I took his ride back to the store. When I got there, they told me they didn't have the wallet (of course). Then I really panicked. I had no money, no credit cards, and therefore no way to eat or move around Beijing...with 5 days to go. (Of course this would happen on the one trip I go on alone). So I called my dad from the hostel crying hysterically, and he was able to contact a friend of a friend in Beijing to bring me money that night. The lady's name was Joy Ding, and she was a Beijing local. She not only brought me enough money to get through the rest of my time in Asia at 1am in the morning, but she also offered to take me around a lot of Beijing in the following days. She was fantastic. I thank God for working everything out for me so smoothly!

The following day, I woke up at 5 am to hike the great wall with several other people from my hostel. My hostel provided a tour that no other place in Beijing does. It doesn't take you to the touristy spots that was reconstructed (and thus date back to circa 1993) with the roller coaster rides and other random ways to make money...they took us to a spot they call the "secret wall." It was about 3.5 hours out of the city, and we had to hike 1.5 hours to get to the wall from the rural road. But all the traveling was well worth it because the wall was so legit. In any Western country, this tour would not be legal for safety and liability reasons. The wall not reconstructed at all, and so it was crumbling in most places. Also, when you got to the high parts of the wall (in which the sides were crumbling or gone), the wind was so bad that we had to crouch down onto our knees sometimes so the wind wouldn't blow us off the steep side. Several times the wind blew me across the walkway...it was so strong. But these things definitely added character and adventure to the trip. I got so many great pictures, and I loved every minute of the hike. This was literally a dream come true.



After the Great Wall, Joy took me out with her family to eat the famous Peking (Beijing) Roasted Duck. The meal was delicious, and her family's company was great. We had to use my Chinese-English dictionary times, but that added some spice to the nice. I loved the Roasted Duck..but I didn't like the duck liver as much. And, yes, in the picture that is the duck head on the plate, split in half. Ha, oh China!


The next day I went to the Summer Palace, which is where the Emperor and his empresses and concubines lived during the summers. The place was huge and very beautiful, but most of the things to report are very similar to what I had to say about the Forbidden City above, so I will spare you the details. However right after the Summer Palace, I went to the Olympics area in Beijing and saw the Bird's Nest (and went inside) and the Cube. They were absolutely beautiful buildings (even better in person than on TV) and are wonderful works of modern architecture. Because I love the Olympics, this was another dream come true.


That night, I went to a tea show at the first tea house in Beijing with Joy and a friend of hers. I saw some Beijing opera, Sichuan mask changing act, Chinese comedy, kung fu, Chinese acrobatics, etc. It was a great show, and the tea was wonderful. Joy also took me shopping on my last day. I bought so many things because China is just so stinking cheap! I got shoes, scarves, chopsticks, a tea pot, purses, pearls, etc. This shopping trip was a wonderful way spend a day in Beijing!

Now, the last, and one of the coolest things I have to report: I ATE A SCORPION. On my last night, I was downtown and was on the "snack street" where you can get many different things on a stick. I saw a whole stand of bugs and was completely disgusted. I, along with many other tourists, took pictures and gasped in horror. Time passed, and I left the area. Then I stopped in the middle of the street and turned back. I realized that I could not leave Asia without eating something completely insane. So without much hesitancy, I went back to eat a bug. After arriving there, I decided (with the help of others) that the scorpion was the most adventurous so I went for that one. But these aren't just scorpions...they are live scorpions (see video). They are still squirming around. So I ordered a stick, the guy stuck them on the grill for 10 seconds and then handed them to me. AH! No other tourists were willing, and all gathered round to watch the one blonde girl from America try it out. So, without fear (kind of), I bit an entire one off the stick, kept it on my tongue for a picture, and then chewed it up. It was actually not horrible (though I wouldn't eat it again). It tasted just oily and very crunchy. So....BE IMPRESSED! ;)

Friends from Another Land

Since being in Hong Kong, I have made friends from all over the world. The friends that I want to write about here are the local Hong Kong friends that I have made. There are basically 3 different groups (or I should say 1 individual and 2 groups) that are worth discussing. First, I met a girl named Ruby on my first day of classes in Hong Kong. She sat next to me in a class and even walked me to my following class several times (because it was too difficult for me to remember). Well, I eventually dropped the class, but Ruby and I still hang out. She has taken me to get tea, Dim Sum, shopping, etc. I am so grateful for her because she has been the nicest local student I have met, and she is so willing to help me figure out HK and also she is willing to make new friends even when she has friends at UST already. (This is Ruby and the cake we bought her on her birthday)



Another group of locals that I have grown to love are the locals in my Hall (mostly the executive committee of my Hall IV that call themselves Fourster). They are CRAZY (in a good way), and everyone on campus agrees to that. They hold many themed events and walk up and down our hall chanting things in Cantonese frequently. I started going to the events (even though it can be difficult because they always speak Cantonese at them), and they completely welcomed me in. Now I have friends named Desiree, Irene, Longman, So John, Darren, So Jai, Anita, Emily, Insect, etc. They are so great, and I feel a special bond with them.


They are so enthusiastic about our hall, and I love being a part of it. For example, the halls will compete in soccer/basketball games, and everyone comes out to cheer the teams on. The exec committee gets SO into it and they literally chant the entire 1.5 hours, non-stop. They chant "Ja Mu" (or something like that) which means VISTA in Cantonese. Vista stands for Vein IS The Almighty (Vein is our Hall exec co. name kind of because they provide the essential services for the life of the hall, just like a vein to the body). I have started chanting with them...which makes me an official part of the "cheer team." (This video is of us at the Hall IV championship basketball game...which we won! YEA!)



Hall IV has many traditions, but the most interesting is their tradition for male birthdays. When it is a guy's birthday, he gets...well...tortured. The most funny thing they to do the guy is this: they grab a hold of his boxers and pull him up into the air until the boxers rip off of him (while chanting something in Cantonese, of course...they love chanting). Apparently (and obviously), it is VERY painful. After this, they throw the guy in the dirty, nasty pond outside our dorm. Why? I have nooo idea. But they love it, and all the guys accept this as a Hall IV tradition.
Here is them doing it to an American guy on his birthday (go to minute 2:20), except his boxers wouldn't break because apparently American boxers are a lot stronger than HK ones. Hilarious.

The final group of locals that I have gotten to know are a couple students in my finance classes. I haven't gotten to hang out with them much outside of class, but I really enjoy their company. I have even abandoned my exchange student friends in the back of the classroom to sit with these guys in...the front row! Love it.

Mmm Mmm Good

So I am doing so many blogs today because I am finally catching up on everything before I leave tomorrow for Beijing and come back with so many new updates. Anyways, I have been exploring different restaurants around Hong Kong recently. Many of them have been fantastic, and some have been just okay. About a week ago, I went to a famous noodle place in Hong Kong. This place became famous when it was featured on Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations show on the Food Network. If you didn't know, you would think this place was like any other tiny noodle restaurant in HK. However, the noodles here are special because they are the only noodles in Hong Kong that are still hand made. A old man wakes up before dawn every morning to make these noodles. He says that he knows he can make them using machines, but he wants to keep the tradition of making noodles like his parents taught him. He is one of the last people that knows how to make noodles the traditional "by hand" way. Here is the link the the Anthony Bourdain clip on this guy and it is quite interesting (go to minute 2:00).


One of my favorite local place I have been to was a hole-in-the-wall Szechuan place recommended on OpenRice.com (we get our Cantonese speaking friends to read the site for us, as it is all in Chinese and these -> 最兩間角新開食成 mean nothing to me). Szechuan is a province in China, and it is known for 1) its really spicy food and 2) for the terrible earthquakes that happened there almost exactly one year ago. The food at this restaurant was delicious...the best dumplings I have had since being in Asia (and that is saying a lot because I have them often and dumplings are an Asian specialty). I also got Dan Dan (spelling?) noodles which are like a thick noodle (kind of like Udon) in a peanut flavored soup. It was fantastic, and I am going back again before I leave.

Also, Hong Kong has very unique desserts. If you are going to eat local food, you will never have brownies, cookies, or cake. Hong Kong desserts always involve some sort of jelly or tiny balls with interesting textures. I have figured out that Chinese people love their textures. Every dish/dessert has at least a couple different textures in it. For example, I got a mango dessert the other day with mango pudding, mango juice, sago (jelly-like) balls, mango ice cream, and mango chunks (see picture to right). So many different things going on in one dish. Also, many Hong Kong desserts are like soup. For example the other day I got for dessert Hot Black Sesame Soup with Sweet Balls (see picture to left). I had never had black sesame or red beans before coming to Asia, but you can find these two things in about 90% of the desserts in Hong Kong. Very interesting, but actually quite good.

Big Buddha and Tai O Fishing Village

So I have been in Hong Kong for about 4 months already, and as of a week ago, I hadn't done one of the most touristy things in Hong Kong: the Big Buddha. The Buddha on Lantau Island is the largest sitting Buddha in the world (I saw the largest reclining Buddha in Thailand...big difference). The Buddha is probably 1.5 hours away from where I live by the MTR (subway), so it is a long hike. Once you get there, you have to take a cable car to get up to the little village where the Buddha is. The cable car ride is quite beautiful, as you get to a view of the mountainous hills of Hong Kong (see photo). Also, you get a great view of the man-made island that the Hong Kong Airport is on. It is an impressively large island for being man-made.


The Buddha is rather anti-climactic. You have to climb up quite a few stairs to get to the top, and once at the top, there is nothing to do but look at the Buddha. It took me about 10 seconds to take in the sight of this gigantic Buddha, and then I was bored.


So after we viewed the Buddha, we traveled to the Tai O Fishing village nearby. The entire village is set up on stilts because the water levels change so dramatically throughout the year. The village is quaint and quite rural. We walked around the village for a while, enjoyed the beautiful scenery, and tried to stay out of the scorching sun. I am glad that I went to see the Buddha and Tai O, but neither really compared to the many fantastic things I have seen in Asia.

BUN FESTIVAL, Say What?

Never in a million years did I think that somewhere on earth, humans had a day to celebrate buns. But that day exists. And it exists here in Hong Kong on Cheung Chao Island. Every year at the beginning of May, thousands of people crowd onto this tiny island, eat buns, watch parades, and burn holy statues, and climb a bun tower.

Many of you may not know this because the buns in the U.S. are very different from the buns in Hong Kong, but I LOVE HK BUNS. They have a bready shell with some sort of filling inside: usually red bean, lotus, pork, or egg custard filling (by far my favorite). Most of the buns at the Bun festival are filled with lotus filling because that is the traditional, most lucky filling. All day, we were filling ourselves with delicious street food and eating buns of all kinds. I was in heaven! On this day, the women on the island work furiously to produce thousands and thousands of buns (see picture to left). All the buns are stamped with a red Chinese character "Ping An" or Serenity/Peace (see picture above).

Also on this day, there is a long parade with traditional dragon/lion dances and lots of loud drums (everything you would think a Chinese parade would be like). We caught the beginning and the end of the parade, and it was quite fun to watch.

The most exciting part of the day, however, is at midnight when the "Bun Race" occurs. In the middle of this tiny island is a bun tower that is close to 50ft. tall (see picture below of me with the tower during the day)! Many men compete in tournaments and take classes in the weeks before the bun festival to see who gets to be the lucky ones who compete on the famous bun tower on the day of the Bun Festival. The goal of the race is to scramble to the top of the tower (covered in buns) and start taking the buns off of the tower and putting them in your bag. The buns at the top of the tower are worth the most points, and the ones at the bottom are worth the least. So the men race to the top and start collecting buns in their bags until the time runs out. It is CRAZY, and thousands of people stand around the tower watching and cheering furiously. I never would have believed that a festival or race like this exists in the world, but it does...and I got to see it!

The whole day was an exciting, and long, one. I left my campus at 9:30am and didn't return home until 2am. After the bun race was over there was a mad rush to the ferry line, but we were able to make it on the first boat. If we hadn't, we would have been stuck sleeping on the island somewhere! I am definitely going back to Cheung Chao island on a non-festival day because it seems like a fun place to bike around, eat seafood, and do a little kayaking in the water. It is a charming island to say the least.

Thailand: The Last Leg

So our final destination on this crazy-long trip was Bangkok, Thailand. We extended our stay in Laos for a day because the riots broke out and conditions were not really safe for tourists. However, we decided to enter anyway because we had to get back to Hong Kong somehow (so brave...what can I say?) There were military men strewn everywhere with huge guns...quite intimidating. Also a crazy assassination attempt occurred (100 bullets shot into the car of the leader of the "yellow shirts") while we were in Bangkok. Luckily, we were safe the whole time.

After 2.5 weeks in third world countries, with heavy backpacks, staying in crappy hostels, and eating street food, we decided to treat ourselves to a...hotel (see picture) in Bangkok! We stayed at a 4-star hotel in Bangkok, and got a great deal for it. This was a nice treat because we had clean sheets, a comfortable bed, a concierge, and a SWIMMING POOL! We spent our first afternoon chilling by the pool because we were just too exhausted to go out and see the town. That evening we ate some local food at the Night Bazaar, and it was the best we had eaten. I got Pad Thai (which I love in the US), and I was astounded: for only $1, I could get the most amazing Pad Thai. At home, that would cost at least $12.

On our first full day in Bangkok, we went to see the Grand Palace, Temple of the Dawn, and the Reclining Buddha...a very full day. The temperature was 41 degrees Celsius, which is like 105 degrees Fahrenheit. I used an umbrella all day to shield from the sun, and I still got sunburned. But I was grateful for the non-cloudy day because our pictures turned our really well. The Grand Palace is exactly as it is called: grand. It is extremely ornate with glass pieces and gold reflecting the suns rays giving it a really amazing effect (the pictures cannot do it justice).
After the Grand Palace, we were scammed into following a tuktuk driver: "Come see a Buddha! Missy, only open today!!! Special holiday! I take you for special price. Good price for you beautiful lady." But of course, the Buddha was actually a tiny Buddha statue in the middle of a run down building...no other tourists were there because it isn't actually a tourist destination (for good reason). So we decided not to believe any of the locals suggestions on places to see after that, and we stuck with our guidebook. We saw the Temple of Dawn, which gave us a great view of the city. It was a hike up some pretty steep steps, but the view from the top was well worth it.


Our last day, we went to the Chatuchek Weekend market where there are (get this...) 15,000 stalls. It is only open on the weekend (I am sure because it takes forever to get ready for this). The place sold everything from curtains to pet flying squirrels and dogs to cheezy souvenirs to beautiful wooden vases to the materials needed for making silk flowers...everything. Locals and tourists alike can all find things they want or need here. If you go to Bangkok, definitely go to this market. It will blow your mind.
After a day at the market, we went back, rested, and then went out for the night. We got some amazing food, again. (I think I ate Pad Thai almost every meal during our Bangkok stay...ha!), and spent some time at the strip of bars where there was some great live music.

Overall, I had a great time in Bangkok. Since it was the end of a very long trip, I took fewer pictures and was exhausted pretty much the whole time, but I enjoyed the city nonetheless.

The trip back to Hong Kong felt very long because we all were just ready to get back "home." The traveling was also difficult considering I practically doubled the weight of my bags since the first day of the trip (and I even left my towel, some clothes, etc. at the last hotel in order to make room)! This picture shows my new backpack nearly busting at the seams...what it doesn't show is the small backpack and over-the-shoulder sack that I was also carrying in front of me...Southeast Asia just has too many good deals! Then the day I got back to Hong Kong I had to furiously study for my midterm the next day. No worries, Dad, I ended up doing fine...school before traveling! :)

Laos: A New Year in April

After leaving Cambodia, we ventured up into the beautiful, mountainous country of Laos. Before I go on to tell about our many activities in all of Laos, I must first talk about the Laos New Year (April 14-16, but they start celebrating 2 weeks before and end 1 week after!). In order to bring in the New Year, the people celebrate by having a city-wide water fight. You cannot go anywhere without getting drenched (and I do mean drenched) by a bucket of water or huge waterguns. We bought waterguns while we were there in order to have some way to defend ourselves, but we could rarely keep up. People line the streets pelting motorbikers or tuktuks driving by, and they are also not afraid to get the innocent pedestrians. One time, I made friends with some of the locals (see picture) and helped them drench others in water. When I went to leave, they got me...so much for allies! This water fight goes on for days, and so we were literally soaked for 75% of our time in Laos. So when I tell you the following stories, you can probably bet we were getting hit with water every other 10 seconds during them.



Our first stop was the UNESCO World Heritage city of Luang Prabang. This city, or I should probably say town, has only one main road that you can walk in the length of in 10 minutes. So, needless to say, this place had a very quaint feel. Luang Prabang had some amazing shopping at their night market along the main road. At 5pm, hundreds of women begin setting up little tents across the main road, making it off limits to bikes and cars. The tents sell everything from tea to bedding to lanterns. Also, there are delicious street vendors that sold...brace yourself...chicken breasts on a stick! Now, you might not be as surprised as I was when I saw this, but if you have ever been to Asia you would understand. They rarely just sell a grilled lean, boneless chicken breast. So when I found this, I decided I would try to make up for all the lost protein over the last few months in my few days in Luang Prabang. On top of the fact that they were delectable, they were also only about US$1. To go along with the chicken breast, I always ordered a fresh mango and pineapple smoothie...to die for. Anyways, at the market, I ended up buying many things including scarves, tea, jewelry, and a new duvet cover for my bed. The ladies even custom made my duvet cover the size and style I wanted for only US$20! Amazingly cheap.

My favorite activity in Luang Prabang was our day excursion to Kouangxi Waterfall. It was stunningly beautiful, as we got to hike up a mountain and see each level of the water fall. Each waterfall got larger and larger as you got up to the top of the mountain. The waterfall at the very top was gigantic (see picture). Also, at each individual waterfall you could stay and swim in the water underneath it. One of the stops even had a rope swing. I tried to do some gnarly tricks of the swing (see picture below), but I wasn't so good. ;)



We also took a day to go biking around the town. We ended up biking down an unpaved road for about 7km. By the end of that road, my rear end and hands were killing me (bikes in Laos don't have shocks or much padding on the seats). The bike ride let us see some beautiful nature and we also spotted an elephant at the end of the road.

I spent my last day in Luang Prabang, Easter day, by myself. My friends decided to go on to our next stop early, and I wanted to stay one more day. I spent Easter going to a local tea house, reading, and walking around town. After close to 2 weeks in 3rd world countries carrying around gigantic backpacks, eating street food, staying in cheap hostels, and running around like mad tourists, I was ready for a 1-day break!

Our second destination in Laos was Vang Vieng. The whole premise of Vang Vieng is to go get really drunk while tubing down a river lined with bars. Now, all of you who know me, know that that is not my thing, so I occupied myself doing other things. However, I did make it out to the river scene once and found myself being thrown into a mud pit by some extremely inebriated European boys (see picture). I would never have jumped in myself, but hey, when in Laos, right?! (Oh, and we got back to our hostel very muddy only to find out that "The city is out of water." Apparently the city-wide water fight used up all the water. So we had to sit muddy until the water turned back on. Oh, Laos...)

I didn't like Vang Vieng that much. First, because it is a place to get wasted, I obviously wasn't the best candidate for tourist there. Second, while we were there a girl died (we didn't witness it firsthand, but we heard from others there). She went down one of the slides on the river, hit her head, and died in the water. I was horrified, but the people on the river did nothing. Her boyfriend had to fish her body out of the water, and within 10 minutes the music was back on and people were going back down the slide! I guess in a country with no laws, there is not much you can do. But it just astonished me that her death phased no one!

Anyways, I hate to end on a sad note with the death of a girl, so I will redeem Laos in this blog and say truthfully that I really did enjoy my time there. The New Year celebrations were phenomenal, and Laos is a beautiful country.

Cambodia: The Land Where Smiles, Babies' Butts, and Hammocks Abound

I never believed in love at first sight...until I went to Cambodia. It took me a matter of seconds after entering in this country before I realized that the place was special. Cambodia is like a Sunday afternoon in the spring (to continue on with my analogy theme): you read a book, you nap, you spend time frolicking outside, and everyone is generally feeling laid-back and content.

PHNOM PENH
Our original plan was to only spend the night in Phnom Penh (the capital of Cambodia) and leave early the next morning for Siem Reap. However, our night in Phnom Penh was so fantastic that we decided to stay and extra night (i.e. 1.5 days). Our first night captivated us so much because we stayed in the backpackers area, which usually puts in you in an unavoidable tourist bubble, but that was not the case in Phnom Penh. The locals, the backpackers, and the expats were all in the streets celebrating the Cambodian New Year together. Despite the ecstasy, opium, and other crazy drugs available on the street, the city felt like a intimate lakeside celebration. On top of that, the food in the city was delicious. I never loved curry in America, but when in Asia, you have to learn to like it. However, it was not difficult to love the Cambodian Amok (like curry but a little more coconuty). I ate it every meal I could!

My favorite happening in Phnom Penh was our spontaneous dance party in the streets of downtown. After dinner we decided to walk around the city. We ended up in some small alley where a local girl grabbed our hands and started dancing with us. Before we knew it (2 hours later) there were probably 50 people (all locals, but us) dancing to the traditional New Year music. Finally after the hours of dancing, I, the apprentice, successfully executed the many dance steps from the New Year song. The women, my teachers, were ecstatic.



SIEM REAP
Saying goodbye to Phnom Penh was bitter sweet, but we knew it was time to move on to Siem Reap, Cambodia, and we all hoped the people there would be just as welcoming. Turns out we were not disappointed. Apparently being kind and hospitable is in the Cambodian genes. We spent our first 1/2 day just hanging out in the small city of Siem Reap...nothing too much to report about that day.


The next day, we went to the ancient temple ruins of Angkor. We woke up at 4a.m. to see the sunrise at the temples. The sunrise was not colorful, nor was it that beautiful, but it kind of felt like God was revealing the beauty of the ruins to us slowly from the darkness (sort of like a dimmer). We spent literally the entire day exploring the many temple ruins. The most famous is Angkor Wat because of its incredible size (see picture). The wats were created in the early 9th century (which makes me realize how young America really is). We had to climb many steps, all of which were frighteningly steep and narrow (you had to walk up and down them sideways because they weren't wide enough to fit your foot). We also got to go to Ta Phrom, where scenes from Tomb Raider were filmed. This was, by far, the most beautiful wat. Nature has taken back over this area, as trees have begun to grow over the ruins (see picture below). And, of course, I was as hard core as Angelina Jolie in Tomb Raider as I explored each of the ruins.

Overall, Cambodia was a fabulous experience. The enchanting cities, charming people, and rich history really grabbed me. I can definitely see myself coming back there one day...we'll see!

The Start of My 18 Day Backpacking Journey: Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

So on April 2nd, we flew to Ho Chi Minh (Saigon), Vietnam to start our Spring-Break-Backpacking-Through-Southeast-Asia Extravaganza (I am a TRUE backpacker...see picture). Because it was our first destination, we were all overly excited, full of expectations, picture happy, and ridiculously ambitious. We arrived in late at night, settled into our hostel and enjoyed our first (of many) cheap street food meals. We were all pleasantly surprised by the mystery meat and rice...however, the lizards and cockroaches that surrounded us as we ate on the ground did unnerve me a little!

On our first day, we toured the Reunification Palace, which was rather disappointing. Despite its several strange similarities to UVa.'s Rotunda (which I love), it was uninteresting, and was worth only about a 30 minute stop. I am glad we went, however, because I enjoyed being in this significant place where history was made in Vietnam and in America. (FYI: The Reunification Palace is where Saigon fell to the communists once and for all and the Vietnam War ended.)
After the Reunification Palace, we went to the War Remnants Museum, which will not be given any more than a few sentences in my blog here. Basically, as an American, I was offended, horrified, and spurred to research more. The museum was filled with awful, violent pictures with captions that were clearly biased. I understand that I learned the American version of the story, and the Vietnamese learn the Vietnam version, but I am looking to find the truth...hopefully future readings will show me.

While walking around Vietnam we were able to experience first hand the insane motorbike traffic that we had heard about from many of our friends who had travelled to Vietnam before us. You can not even imagine how many motorbikes are speeding around the streets all the time. There are very few driving rules, so it is complete chaos. By the end of the trip, we realized that, when crossing the street, it is best to keep a steady pace. If you speed up or slow down the motorbikes won't be able to predict your movements and will likely hit you. I had a hard time doing that at first, but by the end I was fearless!



The next day, we went on a Mekong River cruise which took us to a village on the river. We got to try local coconut candies, ride on canoes down the river (with rice hats provided to shield us from the intense sun!...see picture below)), and explore the local village. The trip was (as we learned to expect) too touristy, and we vowed to do fewer "organized" tours and do more things on our own at our future destinations.

We decided to get a decent dinner that night (rather than street food), so we chose to go to a Korean BBQ place recommended on WikiTravel and in the Lonely Planet book. We were starved when we left the hostel, and if I had known it would take us 2.5 hours to find it, I would have settled for a $1 meal on the street! We asked around and followed directions, but could not find it. We hopped in multiple taxis that pretended to know where they were going, and then dropped us off in random places (taxi drivers...UGHH!). People would point us in different directions every time we asked, and we were all just fed up. Finally after almost giving up, we found the place...surprise, surprise it was on the main road (right next to many of the tourist attractions in the city), so we have NO idea how no one knew how to direct us! Anyway, we got there, and had a great meal. The rats that were running at our feet, however, REALLY did not do it for me. How can you go to a nice restaurant and have rats running around!? This story sums up the 2 things that I can't stand in Asia: the scams (taxi drivers taking you random places and making you pay) and the cleanliness (or lack there of). However, that is the only complaint you will hear from me. Because although I don't really appreciate those things, I still really liked Ho Chi Minh (and the rest of Asia, of course) and the things I do like far outweigh the negatives.

On the final day, we went to the Chu Chi Tunnels. These tunnels were used in the Vietnam War by the communists. You will NOT believe how tiny the tunnels are (see picture). We went in ones that were enlarged for visitors (specifically "fat Americans"), and they were still so small that I felt claustrophobic being in them for a short time. The ones that the VietCong soldiers actually used were tiny (see picture)...I could fit in it, but I would DIE of fright and would probably not be able to move around with a bunch of gear. The tunnels were also rather anti-American, but interesting nonetheless (we got used to the anti-American sentiment after a while).
Ho Chi Minh was a great first stop. The city is not like many other large Asian cities. There are really no skyscrapers and it is pretty spread out (so we took Tuk Tuk's around...see picture). The city is full of small shops, travel agencies, parks, and delicious restaurants. If I could describe the vibe of the city with an analogy I would say that it is like an ant colony: residents running around purposefully and practically. I cannot say it was one of my favorite places, but it was definitely enlightening and I enjoyed experiencing the culture.

Goodbye Hong Kong...For Now.

I am leaving in 4 hours for my 18-day spring break trip. I am traveling with Alyssa (from Wisconsin), Peter (from UVa.), and Jonny (from Emory). We are going to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Angkor Wat, Cambodia; Luang Prabang and Vang Vieng, Laos; and Bangkok, Thailand. We have SO many plans, and I am sure this trip will be exhausting...but completely worth it.

I won't be able to blog until I get back, but I would love to hear from you (as I will be able to check my email at most of the hostels)! Also, I can receive mail, and I would like nothing more than to receive a letter in the mail. My address is:

Sally Carlson
Room 435 UG Hall IV
Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Keep me in your prayers as I travel.

Love,
Sally

Tea and Cakes

So continuing on with my touristy activities here in Hong Kong, I went to two more classes put on by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. I went to a "Hong Kong Cake Making Class" and a "Tea Appreciation Class." In the cake making class, Alyssa and I made "Wife Cakes," which are a very old Hong Kong favorite treat. They are called wife cakes because of a very old story which goes like this...

Once upon a time an old man got very sick. His daughter-in-law, while her husband was at work, sold herself into slavery to pay for this needed medicine. The husband came home to find his wife gone, so he gathered up all the ingredients he had in the house, and created these little cakes. He sold the cakes on the street until he had enough money to buy his wife back. The end.

Good tale, huh? Basically it is an ancient Chinese romance story.

The first time I tried a wife cake I did not like it. They are basically made of shortening, flour, eggs, rice, and a tinnnny bit of sugar. So my American taste buds were not quite satisfied with the level of sweetness (I mean we are used to glazed, chocolate, and sprinkle cover doughnuts!!! ha.) However, when I made my own wife cake at this class I actually liked it...maybe it is because I put my own love and care into it. The class was held at a local bakery, and we got to work with the chefs to make the wife cakes, and then we got to enjoy the treats with some tea. It was a great time, and when I get home I am going to make these cakes for everyone.

Then a couple of days ago I went to a tea appreciation class with my French friend Menou. We got to try many VERY high quality teas and learn about the traditions that are behind the teas. We learned about "tea masters" which are like tea connoisseurs. We learned about one lady who, by tasting the tea, can tell who the Farmer was, where in China the tea leaves came from, and if the soil that the plant grew is was muddy, clay, dry, etc. Crazy, right? Maybe one day I will be like that...

A Tourist in Hong Kong Again

After about a month an a half of living the life of a "local" here in HK, I realized that there are still some touristy things I have not done. Before, I was refusing to carry around my "Top Things To Do in HK" books because I wanted everyone to recognize me as a HK resident. I prided myself in entering the HK residents line at customs, and I loved shocking people in the places I travelled by telling them I am from Hong Kong (I got better bargaining deals after I said that rather than America...ha). But I finally let go of my pride, pulled out my HK tourist books again, and started my exploration of some new places in the city.
First, I traveled out to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery, and climbed 450ish steps to see all the Buddhas lining the stair cases. Each Buddha has a different pose, and there are SO many. My favorite one was the one that looked like me ;). (see picture)
On my way back from the 10,000 Buddhas I stopped off at the market by the bus stop I always go to. I saw many things I wished I hadn't. Right there...next to the delicious produce I eat every day (!!!)...was the skin off of a pigs face, and freshly cut-off pig's legs. Here are pictures for your enjoyment (or disgust).
I have also gone to karaoke...finally! I have been living in Asia for close to 10 weeks now, and I haven't been to karaoke until now...a travesty. Anyway, we went with a group of like 25 people, so it was a lot of fun. We sang everything from Avril to Whitney Houston to Blink 182 to rando Chinese songs. It was great fun, and everyone knows how I love good songs and a microphone!

Lastly, I went to a Tai Chi class on the Harbor of Hong Kong (at Tsim Sha Tsui) very early in the morning...I had to leave at 6:30am. It was early, but worth it because we got beautiful view of the Hong Kong skyline at dawn. The Hong Kong Tourism Board puts the class on so that tourists can learn more about HK culture. If you go around town in the morning you can see many old women doing Tai Chi outside. Anyway, the class was great...I channeled my energy and got some good exercise, I guess. The class was taught by a renowned Tai Chi teacher. He was so small and so cute! He and his co-instructor were quite old, but in great shape and mental condition. Maybe there is something to Tai Chi?

Outdoor Adventures in Guilin, China

So I am finally getting around to writing my Guilin, China blog. We left last Thursday afternoon (March 5th) returned on Monday (March 9th) morning. We took a sleeper train to Guilin from Shenzhen, China (just a few subway stations from Hong Kong). The sleeper train, however, was not as nice as the one to Singapore...and that is definitely saying something. For this train, they stack 3 beds on top of each other, and the train is a normal height (plus they put 6 beds in one tiny room!). Basically, I could not come even close to sitting up in my bed on the middle level. Luckily I was not at the top because you have to be some sort of acrobat to get up there considering there are no steps! This is a picture of us taken by the girl who was on the top bunk....clearly very little room to move around.

On the first full day, we took at 4 hour boat ride from Guilin down the Li River to Yangshuo. The whole river route, we were surrounded by these curvy, green mountains. The entire ride I was taken aback by the beauty of this rural town in China. Unfortunately it was rainy and foggy, so the scenery wasn't as good as it could have been, but it was still gorgeous.

After we arrived in Yangshuo, we did a little market shopping, and had a local dinner. But the highlight of the night is the show that we went to. It is called the Liu Sanjie Show (or Yangshuo water impressions show), and thousands of people, including us, were outside in the rain to watch it. It was directed by Zhang Yimou, the chief director of the 2008 Olympic games in China. He was the creative mind of the unbelievable opening ceremony that China put on...the one people are still talking about. The show in Yangshuo was breathtaking. It was entirely on water with all the mountains surrounding. They used boats to move around on the water, and the lights and other effects used were eye-catching and beautiful. There was a story line, although it was conveyed without dialogue, just songs. But because we couldn't understand the songs, we didn't follow the story. Nonetheless, the show was well worth the trip out to this tiny town. By the end of the day, we were all ready to get back to the hostel. It had rained all day, and we were soaked (I was wearing bags on my feet to try to keep them from getting any more wet).

The next morning, when we were trying to scurry around to find a taxi that wouldn't rip us off, we met a tour guide named Colin. He seemed like a decent enough man (and he spoke English...rare in China), so we agreed to pay him US$10 each to take us around for the day. And it was WELL worth the money. He took us first to the rice terraces in Ping An village a couple of hours away. They are famous, and very touristy, but for good reason. The villagers have been developing these rice terraces for thousands of years. And I love walking through rural villages (whether in Africa or China!), so I loved just roaming around. One of the villages around Ping An is famous for being the "longest hair village" becaus none of their women ever cut their hair. So we got some of the local women to take down their hair (for money, of course), and we got some pictures.

After the rice terraces, Colin took us to a local tea farm. And if you know me, you this is "my cup of tea"...no pun intended. We got to walk through their tea leaf fields and learn about how they make the tea. Then we got to have a tea testing to try several of the teas. We tried green, oolong, and black tea. I ended up buying a thing of Osmanthus Oolong tea because I loved it so much and because it was a local specialty, but by the end of the trip I realized it must have fallen out of my bag at some point...ugh.

Following the tea farm, we went to a local Chinese doctor where we got a traditional Chinese reflexology foot massage. They are supposed to be able to tell from your feet what the problems are in your body. Some of the other people in our group said that the diagnoses were correct. My lady said that I didn't have any problems...I guess that is a good thing!

On our last day in Guilin, we went to visit a cave with limestone stalagmites and stalactites. Instead of taking a cab, though, we rented bikes from the hostel and made the 7km ride on 2 wheels. The cave was unlike others I had been to before. And maybe this is because I haven't been to that many caves, but this cave's limestone was curvy and smooth. In order to light up the cave, they put many neon lights inside (soooo "Asia"), so the pictures all look so artificial, but oh well.

After the cave, we rode our bikes around literally for the rest of the day. We picked the bikes up at 10:30am, and we didn't drop them off until 7:30. Riding around the city was crazy. We had to weave in and out of traffic, and several times I thought a big bus was going to bump me from behind. I was so proud at the end of the day that I had made it out alive...Chinese drivers are not so careful. We biked both through the main city, and out further into some small villages around the area. Maybe I'll try biking through Hong Kong now...kidding.

At the end of the day, we were sitting in a park taking a rest when we looked up and saw tiny people on top of a mountain near us (see picture). Without question, the group consensus was that climbing the mountain was our next activity. Well, it took us a while to find the bottom of the mountain, and we decided that we needed to move quickly so we wouldn't get stranded at the top when it was dark. So we BOOKED it up this mountain...we were all huffing and puffing. After making it 90% of the way, we get to the last rock on the mountain, and this one I felt like I basically had to scale! I was pretty scared because the drop-off was really high, but I gathered up the courage and made it to the top. It was well worth all the struggle because the view from the top was gorgeous. It is hard to describe, but the city is basically built around these random mountains jutting up. The picture doesn't do it justice, but it will have to do.

Anyway, that was our trip...after the biking and hiking, we packed up our stuff and got on a sleeper train home. The trip was probably one of my favorites so far...I loved all the outdoor activities, and rural China captivated me

Love from across the world,

Sally