Out of Cortex

A Day To Remember: April 28, 2012

The reason April 28, 2012 will always be seared into my memory is because that is the day that my wonderful boyfriend, Mike, proposed. Yup, I'm ENGAGED! 

Interestingly, I didn't see it coming at all. I mean, we've talked about getting engaged as some point in the near future, but I thought it was more of a "after we graduate" type of near future. Plus, Mike was really good at putting his plan into play incognito. On different dates, he emailed my family (father, mother, brother) to let them know of his more specific plans and to show them the ring via photos (after he had already spoken them in person over winter break); he emailed our friends to try to concoct a fancy plan; he had his parents mail the ring to his home under cover of getting an IRA form or something that he had to sign and which was time sensitive (I didn't even bother asking more about it; even until the night before he proposed, he was showing me rings online that he was "thinking about buying" in the near future although he had already purchased mine and it was hiding in the drawer near the couch where I always sit when we watch TV!; he bought a mini tripod under cover of "hey, the weather is getting so nice, and when we do our exploration walks, we never have good photos of us together because we have to do the arms-length thing," so that I wouldn't be suspicious of his attempt to document the whole thing; and he timed it so that the day was beautiful and clear and there was something else to be excited abotu (Holi!). Anyway, in the end, all his planning led to a decision to keep the whole thing simple and intimate, and I can most assuredly say I'm very happy with the result! 

He woke me up early and we went for brunch at Carriage House. Then, armed with my camera and his tripod, we took a walk toward campus (this is pretty customary stuff for us, when the weather is nice). Looking back, it was kind of suspicious because he ordered two mimosas with brunch and he downed them quite quickly, but I got one too thinking "I guess we're going to start day drinking!" and plus Mike tends to gulp his drinks, alcoholic or not. I wasn't suspicious, even when he was slightly buzzed and muttered "liquid courage." When I asked him "huh?" He said, "well, I'm excited about Holi but it's going to be crazy so you know, something to take the edge off." I didn't think much of it (kind of oblivious of me, really).

So when we finally hiked up the hill from Carriage House, to "our spot" by Uris Library (also known as the location for Slope Day), I took out my camera and started snapping photos while Mike set-up the tripod. We took a regular photo together, and then Mike said "Oh I need to adjust the tripod."

I just gazed out at the view below, and when he stepped over to me, I noticed the timer light on my camera wasn't flashing, so I asked if he actually clicked it correctly. He said yes, I was kind of confused. And I thought we were going to take a photo, so I hugged him to pose, but he started talking to me. Now, I can't really remember what he said, but I know it was very sweet. Still, I felt confused, like "what is going on?" Then, after maybe three sentences, he slowly drops to his knee and pulls out a box. I see the box, I'm still confused, my mind doesn't register, and I'm thinking "huh? What is that?"

And then he asks, "Will you marry me?"

My first reaction isn't "Oh my goodness, yes!" ... rather, it's "Are you serious?!" but in a good way. And I just couldn't leave him kneeling there, so I bent down too and that's that. And now, in hindsight, I see how all his planning came into play and that the whole reason the timer light wasn't blinking on my camera was that Mike was taking a video of the whole thing so we can share with friends and family, and so this moment will be immortalized forever. He will edit the video soon, with subtitles (because the McGraw Tower bells were going off and you can't hear him on the video...you can only hear me say "...Are you serious?!").

WOW. Can you believe this? Amazing. Thank you, Mike, for a beautiful proposal, for a beautiful ring, and for showing me (once again, and definitively) that you love me so much! It's going to take some getting used to... because I guess Mike isn't my boyfriend anymore. He's my fiancé! Ack! Still can't believe it! And thanks to EVERYONE for keeping this a secret and doing such an amazing job NOT spilling the beans and playing it so cool for the month prior to Mike's proposal, and for the outpouring of support and love after you found out that it finally happened. Love you all!

Many Faces, Many Smiles

My walls seem a little bare at my home, not that I have much wall space because my room/studio is just so small and my zip-up closet takes up so much room. But still! I feel like my house isn't very personalized... which is why I decided to put together some photos of the people I care about them and post them by my desk. So I introduce to you a series of panels, including one of my family first! 

 And one of our friends (although in looking at it now, we're missing a lot of people... and the photos of the people don't necessarily represent how often I hang out with them, except for maybe the number of times we see Mike and Sam in the pictures! For instance, I think only one picture of Justin is included and I see him all the time...oh well. I think he's just in proportionately fewer pictures because he's camera shy).  

 And of course I have a panel of pictures consisting almost entirely of Mike and me. I guess that's because he belongs in both my friend and boyfriend category. As I scanned quickly through all my digital photo albums looking for interesting pictures, I am happy to note that we've seen quite a few places and experienced quite a few things together! We've been swimming in the cold waters of Truman State Park, we've walked the Freedom Trail in Boston, explored the Smithsonian in DC, lived on both poles of California, enjoyed city life in NYC, and traveled to China. A good start, if you ask me!

I am looking forward to making something better for my actual home once I move in. I would like a series of photos of my friends, family, and puppy (Barley's is always featured on this blog, since the last make-over so he shouldn't feel left out). Cheers!

 

Touring North Bay

Today, Mike and I took my mom on a brief tour of North Bay, starting with Baker Beach. It's this sort of hidden beach that is quite the hot-spot for dog walking! We saw ten or so groups of dogs, each walker holding onto something between four and ten wagging bundles of joy. The sand was fine and clean, the waves were glorious and high, and the beautiful bridge was so close. It was a bit chilly, but I loved it. Hopefully we can go back in the future and take Barley on a bit of a frolick, although we'll have to chose a day the waves aren't quite as rough or harsh. 

After we enjoyed the scenery of the beach, we headed over to the Pelican Bay Inn. I think this will become a tradition for each time we head off to the Muir Beach or Muir Woods area. The food was hearty and delicious (yum, bangers and mash; drool, fish and chips; cheers, delicious guiness stew). My mom had a giant mug of the snakebite (half cider, half beer), which she loved. At one point, she smiles and says with a happy, ruddy glow all about her "So this is why you guys like to drink!" We meandered over to a trio of lovely horses across the way, and one came over to say hi... or, rather, he came over to check if we had any delicious lumps of sugar in our pockets for him. He was so lovely, this beautiful auburn-y reddish bronze. And his nose was so soft and velvety! Mike was a bit startled by the sight of his giant, gentle face looming closer and closer to us while he made his sugar inquiry. "His face is so big!" But ain't he a beaut! 

Once we said our hellos and goodbyes, we drove up toward Muir Woods. Always a pleasure, because it's always so beautiful. I wish we had gotten an earlier start (we had needed to pick up a car from the shop that morning, which delayed us), so we could have spent more time hiking, but it was nice either way. My mom wouldn't be able to make the hike, so she wheeled around in the flat areas while Mike and I rushed through a bit of the national monument. We found my mom sitting in the cafe/gift shop, happy and warm while reading her newspaper and sitting off her slight buzz from lunch. 

Although we made plans to have dinner in Berkeley with my aunt and uncle, we left around 3:45 pm, so we thought we'd have time to make a visit to Mount Tamalpais, which my mom really wanted to see. She said it'd only take fifteen minutes to drive to the top, but I think she was thinking about the West point while she directed us to the East point. After forty five minutes, we made it to the top and enjoyed a spectacular view of the almost-setting sun. 

After a flurry of hurriedly snapped photos, we jumped back in the car and sped off again down the super ridiculously winding path (thank you for driving, Mike!). We hit a ton of traffic, and my aunt directed us by phone to take a different route. We made it just fifteen minutes late. Ahh, delicious Peking duck and a good day in the bay! 

And then, Disaster Strikes...

Today was meant to be pretty damned epic. My mom and dad got us this amazing sounding tour at a super affordable price. They decided to take a different tour, similarly affordable. It seemed too good to be true, but otherwise, we'd all have to truck it to the Great Wall, and my parents have been several times. Either way, good idea, right? WRONG. Several things went wrong...

First, we had an awful breakfast. Second, Mike and I got the wrong time for the flag raising in Tiananmen Square. We didn't want the tour to wait for us so we missed it and slept in two extra hours. That'd be fine, except the tours tours were late to pick us up after, and we waited like 45 minutes. Third, and worst of all, breakfast might have had something shady in it because Mike started feeling sick. His stomach felt funny, then he got really head-achey, and then a fever started up. By that time, we were on the bus and he felt awful. But he was game to see the Great Wall, so he decided we should still do the tour. This is where the fourth problem comes in: the tours sucked! We totally got CHEATED because they said they'd take us to three spots on the Great Wall: Juyongguan (居庸关, Jūyōng Guān), Badaling (八达岭, Bādálǐng), and Shuiguan (水关). BUT we DROVE BY the first two, which are epically beautiful sections of the wall that are super popular and lovely, and the two places I wanted to take Mike....and just stopped at Shuiguan, which is low, flat, and not really representative of the Wall in general. Even on the official Chinese tour guide website, Shuiguan is described as a "wonderful hiking supplement to Badaling." WHAT?! SUPPLEMENT? I can't believe I paid for this. UGH. WORST DAY EVER. Of course, I tried to make the best of it, and Mike was such an awesome trooper despite how sick he was feeling.... and I kept saying, well, at least Mike gets to touch/see the Great Wall and I can take a few pictures, even if part of me was bitter that the pictures weren't of the places I thought I would see. 

 

Getting to the Great Wall was still nice, I guess, although we should have just taken a cab ourselves to see the parts we wanted to see... but oh well, right? Right. Mike gets the idea, I get to see a new part of the wall (even if its shittier), and I guess it was really cheap.

And at least the view was okay once we got out the of bus.  There was this surly camel who was clomping around, and there was the impossible climb, the cold wind so bad that my mouth tasted like metal, probably from the microscopic abrasions in my lungs or something. Anyway, I got a few neat shots, like this panoramic and this weird angled one of the steep climb (literally, some people had to climb using hands and feet). 

 So even though we drove by Juyongguan and I was reminded that we were basically CHEATED (see photos above), I was still sort of optimistic that the addition of the Ming Tombs or something would make everything better... until shit really hit the fan. Mike got REALLY ill, even sicker, once we walked from the parking lot through the main entrance, and finally set foot on the wall. Mike couldn't walk up to the main checkpoint and he was just shivering uncontrollably. It was so unlike him that I was pretty scared for him. And the wind was horribly strong and freezing.... Mike told me to hike up and take some pictures, just so we can remember the day. So I did that, and I forced him to pose a bit at the levels he could reach. It took me 20 minutes of hauling myself up to the top as fast as I could, snapping pictures haphazardly as I went, and 20 minutes for me to come back down (the wall was so steep I felt like I was going to fall all the way down at anytime if I didn't hold onto the railing). When I got down, Mike was a mess from sitting in the cold and from horrible stomach pains, headaches, cold sweats, shivering, and all sorts of horribleness. We sat on the bus on the drive away from the Wall, but then we just drove THROUGH the Ming Tombs and landed in this shady ass place for lunch where it was still cold (no one seems to keep the heat on, and when they do, they have these thin glass doors that basically let out all the heat, or they have spaces between where the door attaches to the wall so that heat escapes. That's when we decided that we had to leave the tour and go home, because Mike was getting worse and this was no place for him to sit and rest.

But the Wall is an hour out of the main city, so the bus couldn't take us back; we had to take a bus, get off the bus and then walk 15 minutes to a metro stop, and then get off the crowded ass metro to walk back to the hotel on our own, not knowing the way and having trouble understanding peple with their thick ass Beijing accents. ARGH! It took us like 2 or 3 hours to get home, Mike being sick the whole way... I ended up crying with frustration because some people were so unhelpful! In our time of need, a few people did offer marginal help... the nice student that gave us some direction when we wandered around after getting off  the bus, looking for the metro, and the metro ticket lady that let us cut in line when some crazy Tibetan monk dude was taking forever to buy his ticket via the machine.  Other than that, everyone was mean. Ugh. Mike definitely has a fever. We're wondering if we should take him to the hospital, but he feels like just sleeping so he's in bed and I am going to eat a quick dinner with the parents, bring him some broth or something, and hope for the best. Maybe we'll go to Guilin, and maybe we'll just forget it and head back to Shanghai? 

Onwards and Upwards!

Now that Mike got a taste of the metropolitan Shanghai, I also wanted him to see a more historical city (although it's also metropolitan...it's just not the same as Shanghai). We took the overnight train to big old Beijing (北京, Běijīng), the sprawling capital of China. It's kind of one of those must-sees on your first trip to China. We packed up at night and took a cab to the station where we spent a long time looking for our train... because the train station was just crazy! It was seriously huge, probably bigger than SFO. The train itself was surprisingly clean for a sleeper train and for China, but of course it wasn't pristine.

The sad part is that no one took care of the bathrooms...so as the trip wore on, the bathrooms were simply un-usable. I complained a bit, and my parents called me a whiner because Mike, the American boy who has never been to China or experienced such things, was happily enjoying the journey and being all optimistic about things. He obviously enjoyed the train ride...despite having a tv screen from the Ring (it kept blipping in bright white lights and then going grey with static, and then blacking out...and starting all over again through the night)!

Anyway, once the train stopped, I was pretty happy to be off it. I couldn't sleep because Mike, my mom AND my dad all snored! It was like a cacophonous symphony surrounding me, each snore from the first person seamlessly fitting with the next one, all in varying pitches and intensity. Oh well. I guess I was awake enough because we made it! Pretty exciting stuff, especially because there is just SO much to see in Beijing... We only have a few days here though, because 1) my dad could only take so many days off and 2) Mike and I want to spend more time in Guilin where (I hope) it's warmer. Beijing, by the way, is freezing this time of year. Regardless, there was so much to see. We only got through a tiny bit of it today... but it helps that we got a move on really early in the morning. Got off the train around 7 am, made it to the hotel around 8, and got out of there by 8:30 so we could go see some sights. We started by the Old City Gate and moved our way to Chairman Mao's mausoleum. There used to be like 9 Old City Gates or something like that, but the government started tearing them down to "modernize." When they were about to tear down the last one, people started realizing that these were historic relics so they preserved this one and declared it a National Treasure. We didn't have much time, so we had to make some choices about what to see. Mike and I decided to split up with my mom and dad; they've been to Beijing a bunch and I've been here two or three times too but my focus was to take Mike to see the sights. So they went into the mausoleum, and we went toward Tiananmen Square (天安门广场, Tiān'ānmén Guǎngchǎng, literally "Gate of Heaven's Pacification"...everything sounds way better in Chinese).  

    Near the main entrance to the Palace, we met this nice couple trying to take pictures of each other. They were white and I felt like they had to get a photo of the Tiananmen Gate, so I asked if they wanted us to take a photo for them. They seemed really pleased to talk to a few fluent English speakers (they were like "Yea, I was going to say, you're English is really amazing!"). They were also from California! Small world, big city, I guess. I wonder now if they wanted to stick together a bit, but we were in a rush to make it through the City, so Mike and I said our goodbyes and entered the Forbidden City (故宫, Gùgōng)! I took some cool panoramic pictures of the entrance, the first gate (Gate of Supreme Harmony), and the third main building (Hall of Supreme Harmony)... I didn't get one of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, I don't think, but they end up looking pretty similar and you get the idea. 



It's nuts because this is one of the best preserved palaces in the world, I think. For almost five hundred years, it served as the home of emperors and their households (through the Ming and Qing Dynasties), as well as the ceremonial and political center of Chinese government. Built in 1406 to 1420, the complex consists of 980 buildings with 8,707 bays of rooms and covers 7,800,000 sq ft!!! Crazy. Imagine being the emperor and having people walk like twenty minutes through your many gates and halls until they reach the main throne room. Like I said, crazy. It was seriously a beautiful sight though. And while much of it is renovated, much of it is also original. For example, the main walkway is smoothly paved, but if step off it a little, you end up on rough, original pavement. This next picture is courtesy of Mike (I really like the details!). 

 

The Forbidden City is actually a huge Museum right now. The Palace Museum has a really extensive collection of artwork and artifacts, building upon the imperial collections of the Ming and Qing dynasties. Part of the museum's former collection is now located in the equivalent of the museum in Taipei, since the Chinese Civil War. It sucks because now all this stuff is separate; stuff that belongs to China's history as a nation were taken by all the rich people who ran off to Taiwan (part of the Nationalist Party) because they had access to this stuff and took it when their political faction of the government split off to Taiwan.  

After traversing the entirety of the Palace, Mike got super hungry and weak so he stopped posing for pictures (oh well). But poor Mike... we had one more place to see in that area before heading to lunch. We went to JingShan (景山, Jǐngshān), literally "Scenic Hill" or maybe "Prospect Hill". Here, the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty hung himself when he knew his kingship was over and the Qing Dynasty was on its way in. GREAT view of the Forbidden City, and a nice garden in and of itself with three beautiful pagodas stretching over its high points. Lovely view, nice little hike/climb! My mom couldn't climb that high because of her bad back and knees, so we hurried through our little tour, but a view is a view and we didn't need that much time. Note: I saw all these interesting birds... I wish I knew their names. 

After Jingshan, we went to lunch at this yummy restaurant, but I forgot the name of it. Regardless, it was yummy! And then we went to this temple but it wasn't very interesting even though all these different people told us how epic it was going to be. I think it's because they're Buddhist and this temple opened one of its back rooms to the public just for this day or something. And we weren't allowed to take photos. I feel like we got swindled... oh well. We couldn't stay out in the cold, so we headed toward our next stop, a restaurant! I know, again so soon? There is this huge shopping street along the way where my mom got some goodies and I looked at some English books. When it got dark, it was time to eat some... PEKING DUCK! Ahhhh, so delicious. The first time I had Peking Duck in Peking (the old name that westerners had for Beijing) it was super oily and fatty and not that tasty at all. But this time it was much, much better. I think the old school way was a little less fatty, but it got fattier when people thought fat = wealth, but now its going back to the original because people are getting more health conscious (although you can't tell with all the McDonalds and KFC joints around... still, people here don't eat it every day... sorry, stream of consciousness). Dinner was really good...although afterward, I really wanted to try this traditional Beijing (northern China in general) dessert specialty that is especially good in the winter: 冰糖葫芦 (aka bīng tánghúlu)! Basically, it's Chinese hawthorn (shān zhā, 山楂), which is kind of sour alone, covered with hardened sugar syrup on a bamboo skewer! So good. Sour, with sweet crunchiness. I wish we could get it here...and it was awesome because it was fresh! You can only get that freshness in winter time. Lucky us! 

 

Love it! After that, my mom wanted to take us to Houhai, even though we were tired and SUPER frozen....annnnd the taxi prices were unbelievable. She was so mad at the taxi driver she wouldn't look at him and gave the curtest answers (usually she is super gregarious with the cabbies). The guy laughed and was just like "well, that's what we all charge so sorry miss!" Kind of funny in hindsight, but you just have to take it with a grain of salt. They weren't supposed to park near this huge shopping area, so I get it, you charge people a lot and all cabs agree so no one gets an unfair advantage. Anyway, Houhai was very beautifully lit and there were all these neat bars there.

 

Fun-filled day, but really exhausting. I am super beat. The only bad part? The hotel is not so nice... the shower is awful (toilet, shower, sink are all in one room without separating glass between them) and the beds are tough. But at least there is heat in this frigid city! And that's something to be happy about. Time to pass out hardcore. 

Old Shanghai

Mike got a taste of the new yesterday, so I decided to take him to an older place today. While there are lots of old things in Shanghai, I felt like Yu Yuan Garden was the place to go for us because it was a sunnier day to be outside for, because it's a beautiful place, and because it's somewhat of a must-see in Shanghai even if it is a bit touristy. Plus, I hadn't been back to this garden for almost ten years (since sophomore year of high school). But first, LUNCH! I was craving noodles, so Master Kong's (康師傅) noodles it was! My mom and I took Mike to the restaurant, but we were a tad early. Worth the wait?

  Definitely...Deliciousness is always worth the wait! I don't know why these noodles are so tasty, but they are. I think its a combination of the textures of the noodles and the savoriness of the broth. Plus all the ingredients taste super fresh. It's kind of on the heavier side, but hey, we're going to be walking around and stuff so too bad. Mike also tried the aloe-watermelon juice, which was surprisingly good with the aloe by the way, and I had this HUGE craving for the red-bean coconut cake so we finished of lunch with some of that. Ahh, Master Kong, you did not disappoint. After we ate, my Mom decided to head back home (she's seen YuYuan many times) so we got on the Metro and headed over. 

  
During our trek toward the Garden from the metro stop, I realized how different it was from the last time I've been. Everything is clean and refurbished or something... it doesn't look as historic as I remember. Given, both times I've been here it's been kind of rainy and whatnot, but I definitely sensed the weary old-worldishness of the place. The garden itself was always well-preserved, but the surrounding streets and markets used to be smelly and run-down, with walls of crumbling brick or slabs of cold concrete. This time around, everything was of polished wood and glass. I was kind of sad about the change in some ways, because the market lost that interesting, old character. But in other ways, it was nice to have everything so clean outside of the garden, which also made me think about how the "opening up" of China has really affected the lives of the store vendors and really just everyone in China. Even the lives of the truly impoverished have been affected in that the gap widens between themselves and those gaining wealth around them.  

 
 

After the Garden, we walked around the shops a bit and then we went to City God Temple of Shanghai (城隍庙) which I remember more fondly in my memories. It used to look imposing and big and old, with beautiful melting red candles all over and a smoky haze of that traditional incense you smell at most Buddhist temples. Now it's pristine in look with all this weird, new incense that smells acrid and gross. It was a shame. Not much to take photos of anymore. I remembered more stone lions at the gate and such. Oh well. The streets, without their original character, didn't occupy us for long. We decided to go back to that huge mall (the 8-story one) to get some tea. My mom had gotten tea that day and forgotten the remaining container of teabags so Mike thought we ought to go get some and bring her the remainder this time. Aw, very sweet and thoughtful. So that's what we did. The tea was really nice and refreshing (I think it was anxi tieguanyin, or 鐵觀音, tea). Last time a pot of tea, and the remaining container of tea bags, came with a plate of delicious frog legs. This time it came with chicken. We also got a snack of potstickers. Hey, when in Rome. 

 
Next? We're off to Beijing tonight!

A Taste of Modern Shanghai

Considering the fact that Mike has never been to China before, I don't think he quite knew what to expect. Okay, so I warned him about the squatting toilets, described the constant flowing waves of people, and mentioned the awesome 6.6 RMB to 1.0 USD exchange-rate. I think he was rather impressed by the development in Shanghai, though; seeing it is definitely different from hearing "oh yeah, Shanghai is really modern." It's definitely more modern than any US city I've been to. We hopped on the metro with my Mom (she gets bored sitting at home when my dad's at work anyway) and started our tour off with a visit to the Shanghai Technology Museum (keji guan). We got my brother's suits and my mom's jacket made underground at the market where you can bargain for stuff on the cheaps. We weren't so much into shopping as just giving Mike a feel for the city.

(Awesome panoramic mode, no? If it looks funny, that might just be me getting used to the camera...and I don't always center it so that everything is proportionate because I like the off-kilter feel.) We wandered around, despite the freezing and overcast day, and although I didn't take him to the Expo, we saw lots of reminders that it was a pretty big deal.

My mom took this last photo (above). Anyway, we wandered around admiring the many different kinds of architecture and the varied skyline for a bit before heading to one of the big malls in town. It's like 7 or 8 stories high with tons of stores, but not much that you can't find in LA or NYC. The mall was near the Pearl Tower so we took some pictures but my mom couldn't get the whole tower in the shot. Fail. Oh well, you get the idea.
 In the mall, we ate lunch at this Korea BBQ place (pretty good) and then headed over to the top of the tower. It's pretty interesting at the top... beautiful view,  despite the smog. I think the most memorable part includes the glass-floor look-out bit. I'll admit, it made me a little nervous stepping out onto that glass. 

Pretty startling is a goodway to describe the feeling of seeing the floor drop out from underneath you...And Mike got this nice little video clip of a guy who didn't expect it. His stumbling walk kind of illustrates the point, but I think the video is too long to post here. Either way, it was fun. It's a shame the pictures can't do it justice (damn the smog!). When we got to the bottom of the tower, we took the mini historical tour of Shanghai where we got to see some amazing old photographs of Shanghai before all the development. It's amazing to see all the different buildings...and some of the same ones still standing. I think the one below is from the 30's, of the Bund on the Western bank where the former Shanghai International Settlement was (basically, it was the foreign quarters of occupying western countries).

Oh, and Mike found a display that he said reminded him of me and him! Haha can you guess who is who? Please...I think Mike being at a bar in any era is probably more accurate than him being a coolie or a rickshaw driver? 

Afterwards, we went to Nanjing Road where there is a ton of shopping. We also went to meet up with my Dad so that we could have dinner with a family friend. Of course we stopped into the Nike store where Mike paid homage to his favorite basketball player... Kobe's new show came out I guess. The shoes and the displays did emanate that whole Black Mamba theme really well, I must say. 

 
 Dinner was hosted by some family friends at this fancy Shanghai-nese restaurant. I think all the dishes were pretty expensive, but I was glad they didn't order shark fin soup or anything that I'd find kind of morally opposing. Overall, a nice quick tour of modern Shanghai. There are lots of fun night-time things I want to show Mike, but I don't know whether we'll have the time, as we're leaving for Beijing tomorrow night, but either way I think he got a feel for the city. It feels pretty much like any other city in the US, actually, but a bit newer with more people who speak Chinese and lots more smoking. Oh, by the way, that was a huge problem for me... People can smoke almost anywhere, minus in the subways and stuff like that. Restaurants, bars, some shopping areas... ugh. And sometimes there are "no smoking" signs but people still disregard them and the waiters/waitresses usually turn a blind eye. Ugggh....very frustrating when I'm not a smoker myself.

MICHAEL HSUEH

The arrival.

 My mom cooked dinner and we ate at home. Then, instead of letting this poor jet-lagged boy to rest (after 30-hours of total waiting and travel which including flying up from LAX for a night spent in SFO, a layover in Vancouver, and a long flight over to meet me in Shanghai), we dragged him to visit my grandma's little sister. Actually, I was happy we saw her, because my grandma's other little sister passed away a few days later and I think that would have been a very sad trip otherwise. 

Either way, WELCOME TO SHANGHAI, Mike! :) 

 

PS: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME CAMERA, MIKE!!!!! Almost all the photos from the trip are from the new camera Mike got me. It is SUPER awesome. I love the panoramic mode, the twilight mode, the food mode, and the amazing HD Video. I love that it's light, its quick, it's user friendly... I just love it. ASIDE from your arrival, this camera and the week you spent researching cameras you thought I'd like = best gift I could ask for. 

A weekend in "Venice"!

"A very great and noble city... It has 1600 stone bridges under which a galley may pass."    - Marco Polo

 

We spent this past weekend in Suzhou, via a company-organized tour, also known as the Venice of China (actually, in the 1980s, these two places were officially named sister cities... and although both cities have a multitude of other "sister" cities, these two seem to be among the most famous). Assuming I correctly remember the information from the tour guide, there are seven rivers in this town and over 300-bridges (Marco Polo may have been a little off?). Since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Suzhou has also been central to China's silk industry and continues to hold that prominent position today. The city is part of the Yangtze River Delta region.

Day 1 - Panmen, Wumen Bridge, Ruiguag Pagoda, Jingli Koi Fish Pond and Teahouse, Dingyuan Garden

 We started off at Panmen, a historic area with "three fine sceneries", including the Ruiguang Pagoda, Panmen City Gate, and Wumen Bridge.  The Ruiguang Pagoda is over 1700 years old. Every time I think about how America prizes its 200+ year old buildings in Boston or DC or something, I kind of have to laugh. Anyway, Ruiguang Pagoda is the oldest pagoda in Suzhou. It is about 175.6 feet tall and was built in masonry-timber structure with eight sides and seven floors. It is said that the pagoda was built by Sun Quan, a famous king who established the Wu Kingdom in Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), in 247 to show his respect to his mother. Unfortunately, since its completion, the pagoda has been damaged badly in many wars, leaving only the brick body of it. In 1978, a little pagoda with Sheli (Buddhist shrine) was found on the third floor of Ruiguang Pagoda and some other cultural relics were also found there, such as Miaofalianhua Scripture written on green paper and bronze Buddhist Statue. My dad and I climbed to the top, but my mom couldn't because it was too many stories high and, as my dad and I found out, the staircase was incredibly narrow and steep. You could probably barely squeeze one-and-a-half to two of me side-by-side. Anyway, a bunch of people on our tour gave up on the climb because it was too steep. Also, if you ever plan on climbing this place, watch for low-hanging beams and ceilings! I kind of enjoyed the cozy feeling, though. The view from the top was pretty cool, although everything had a dusty, smoggy feel to it. 

The only tough part of the walk through this historic park was that my dad and I had to carry my mom's scooter over all the little bridges and steps. 

Later on, after a simple lunch, we went to the Jingli Koi Pond and Teahouse. Apparently, Suzhou is pretty well known for its tea (especially its famous biluochun tea). Anyway, obviously known for its many canals and waterways, this sister of Venice has little Chinese gondolas floating down water-streets everywhere (it makes me think of Water Town in One Piece). We got to take a short ride, and although it was indeed a very short ride, I was glad we weren't on the tiny boat any longer because the rocking was very uncomfortable for my mom especially in so shallow and narrow a boat. 

We saw some neat historic things, including a Half Pagoda that was put there by Kangxi Emperor (a really great ruler from the Qing Dynasty), who was the longest ruler in Chinese history at the end of his61 year reign. Of course, his grandson Qianlong Emperor held onto de facto power longer, but that's neither here nor there. 

 
As the day came to a close, we made out  way to our accommodation for the evening: the Le Xiang Hotel near Guan Qian Road, which is a famous shopping street. We first looked around to find a good place to eat dinner, and my mom pointed out a packed restaurant that looked really clean and nice. It turned out to be a Pizza Hut! The food was much more like California Pizza Kitchen or BJ's than a normal Pizza Hut. The only negative comment I have about that is that someone was smoking in the bathroom and it leaked out into the public area, pretty much ruining my dinner. Disgusting... People in China really need to cut back on smoking in public places and they need to respect the idea that there is no sneaky smoking allowed in the bathrooms either.  

We also went shopping afterward, but it was so cold that it was pretty tough walking around. I bought a dark green infinite scarf! It also kind of functions as a shawl. Overall, it  was a lot of fun seeing all these historic sites and hanging out with the parents. More importantly, it was important for me that my parents got to relax with each other, without the stresses of work for my dad and without the stresses of household concerns for my mom.  

 

Day 2 - Mudu Ancient Town, Yen Family Garden, TaiHu Wetland Park

Sadly, I didn't sleep well the night before, despite having such a full and tiring day. My parents both snore, for one thing. For another, the beds were rock hard and the room was so dry and stuffy that I woke up completely congested and ill feeling. Ugh. Oh well, at least we had things to do and places to go so I could try to forget my discomfort... although I have a sad story to tell later. Anyway, we went to Mudu Ancient Town, which has a bunch of longtang home-structures (you know in those old wuxia/martial arts movies where there is this double wooden door and a big family courtyard and then a bunch of little side rooms or whatever connected by picturesque little gardens? yea, that). They're known as "hutong" in Beijing. You can also think of them as a Chinese adobe village. It was pretty cool because all these famous people lived in those houses. For example, there was this ex-president of Taiwan (Yen Chia-kan, who succeeded Chiang Kai-Shek) whose family lived there. The gardens in his house were amazing, sprawling over the area and winding, twisting through beautiful mini-landscapes. They had seasonal gardens that were most beautiful specifically in winter, spring, fall, and summer respectively. The summer garden's focal point is a southern magnolia tree that was planted there by Qianlong Emperor himself (see reference from Day 1) when he was touring Southern China. This particular tree (pictured below; fourth small picture, clockwise from top left) is over 250 years old! Pretty neat that the tree knew Quianlong, if you ask me...and now it's somewhat of a celebrity itself. 

 Similarly interesting to me is how carefully the architects planned out the details of the gardens.  For example, the pebble-paved walkways often reflect the theme of the garden itself. In the example of the magnolia, the pebbles fan out like the petals of a magnolia flower. In the winter garden (pictured above; second small picture, clockwise from top left, showing the tree with small yellow flowers), the walkway mimics the floral pattern of prunus mumes (also known as Chinese Plum) as shown below on the right. A side note: in China, there are over 300 recorded cultivars of mei, which can be broadly divided by colors randing from white to purple to light green types. The mei can usually grow for a long time, ancient mei trees are found throughout China. Huangmei county (literally "yellow mei") in Hubei features a 1600-year-old mei tree from the Jin Dynasty which is still flowering today. Neat, huh?! Moving on... One interesting thing in one of the longtangs that we saw was a library made for the owner's daughter. Usually, there is only one library for the sons to learn in. But this man thought his daughter also ought to learn how to read, write, do sums, know history, etc. Pretty revolutionary, if you ask me. 

 

Oh, and when we went into one of the buildings, there was an art show of a famous embroidery artist (I think I mentioned Suzhou's fame in terms of silk products above somewhere). Imagine a photo you've seen of Mother Teresa, with all her detailed features, with all the shadows, lines, and textures caught on film. Now imagine this same face only every little bit was hand-tailored and carefully embroidered with thousands of tiny stitches and perfectly matched colored thread. It was seriously amazing the kind of realistic detail she caught in her embroideries. She also made landscapes, animals, other historic figures, fictional figures... I found her human renditions to be the most breathtaking. We weren't supposed to take pictures, but I snapped one before I knew. Pretty amazing, no? The Institute of Suzhou Embroidery is actually a first-class embroidery institute (pretty specific, don't you think?) and its motto is that "innovation is the best protection" for this culture, through a "combination of traditional skill and modern science and technology" (rough translation). As a result of this belief, Suzhou embroidery has become the only Chinese embroidery (of the four most famous embroidery locations) to create successful economic results. In the last 20 years, the institute has persisted in upgrading the embroidery pieces from "handicraft" to "artwork". Traditional Suzhou embroidery pays more attention to skill than art, and more on detail than on overall impression. The new generation of Suzhou embroidery is art work that maybe be seen from the distance and close-up detailed work. And I am more than impressed. The second picture is one I got from the web, and if you can kind of see what she's doing, that is how some of the pieces look. I wish I could find better pictures online, but we're not allowed to take photos prob for the very reason that we wouldn't buy postcards otherwise. But man, some of those pieces were HUGE like a giant poster, and some were tiny, but all were super fine. Just simply beautiful. 

I also really wish I had more time to walk the alleys of the old city. There are six or more longtang homes in this old city, and tons of vendors also live here in small apartments and stuff. They wash their laundry in the river, although I'm not sure how clean that is, and I also saw a lady washing her vegetables there. Suzhou is also famous for its tiny crabs, which are fragrantly fried and skewered (I wanted to try some but my parents said I'd best avoid getting food poisoning or something). Regardless, I thought the most interesting parts of the city included the life of actual, not just historic, residents.

Anyway, we were left to our own devices for awhile, and I found my way home through the twists and turns of the alleys on my own, so at least I got a few shots (my parents headed back first). Some of the other tour people got lost...no sense of direction! Also ... I like this town because there were a TON of dogs and cats running around. At first I thought they were filthy strays, but they ran in and out of the shops, and certain dogs limited themselves to certain shops, so I figure they know the owners and sometimes they owners threw them snacks. The cats, though, were super shy and kept meowing and then running away. They were in the old buildings, or running aroundon the street, and seemed more feral than the dogs for sure. Aw, but they were all so cute! I didn't pet any of them because they seemed a littledingy (I didn't want fleas), and also they seemed a little wild so I didn't want to get bitten on the chance that they weren't owned and they were actually street animals with rabies-potential or something. Sigh. Still adorable.

Haha then after, we went to Tai Hu, which is the third largest (I think) freshwater lake in China. Here is where that sad story happened... We were just getting off the bus to the general activities area (vendors, salespeople, etc.) and our tour guide suggested that we use the restroom as this was our last stop before the drive back to Shanghai. I heeded his advice and waited for a stall to open up. Now, in China you see a lot of regular toilets, just the same as you do in the States. You rarely see literal holes in the ground (where you dig a hole in the dirt where you do your business and then relocate when that area is foul enough). There are still lots of "holes in the ground" where you can imagine a white porcelain toilet bowl dug into the earth. This can actually be more sanitary in a lot of ways, because no one has to SIT on the bowl. But there can be complications. For example, it's tough for the elderly or disabled to squat and thus to use such a toilet. This doesn't just happen to the old and infirm, however, because (woe of all woes!) I actually fell on this very same toilet during our stop at Tai Hu. Accordingly, I was grossed out for about four hours afterwards, until I got home and took a long shower full of careful scrubbing. I saw the cleaning lady walk out of the restroom as I entered it, and clearly she had just cleaned the bathroom, mopping the floor probably with a greying mop and the same bowl of murky water. As I squatted down, my left foot slid across the wet tiles and under the space between stalls into the neighboring area (luckily the lady next door just literally just left the bathroom. To prevent my bare bottom from touching the nasty floor, I had to fling out my right hand to catch myself. I flung out my hand... and touched the awful, slippery, dirty, disgusting, cold and clammy edge of the toilet!!! UGH I almost cried in despair. I had a baby wipe for my hand, but I was still completely grossed out. I washed my hands in the icy sink water (no heated water, even in the absolutely frigid weather) for about 45 seconds. Ugh!!! Oh well. I was super careful not to touch ANYTHING with that hand, although I had to put on a glove later when my hand went numb. I washed the gloves immediately when I got home. Sigh. At least the scenery was nice, in a greyish and melancholy way. And I met a nice horse, who I felt really bad for. 

 
 
Oh, and as for the sad story about the horse: he has this awful rusted metal bit in his mouth and he constantly wears a heavy saddle (usually, you take off the saddle when no one is riding him). It costs 10元 to ride him (literally for just a few feet in a tiny circle) and take a photo. Big heavy adults climb on him, and he doesn't look like he's that big of a horse. He was very sweet and when I clucked at him, he put his soft nose out to me. But he really didn't like this little girl from the tour (she was kind of spoiled, and maybe he could tell that she might tug on his mane or something). But everytime I came over, he'd put his face up close to mine and he loved when I scratched the little cow-lick on his forehead where he had a little patch of white. He had these doleful, beautifully gentle eyes. I really wish I could have taken him home. He followed verbal (Chinese) directions completely, without having to be tugged around, but the owner told the people trying to take photos on the horse to yank the harness up so that the horse's neck was uncomfortably straight ("so the picture looks nicer and his neck isn't drooping"). But that is an uncomfortable position for horses to be in; completely unnatural. What's more, the awful bit probably cut into his tongue and lips with every terrible pull. I heart went out to him and I kept whispering nice things to him between riders. Poor fellow. He was so beautiful. WhenI asked for his name, the owner scoffed at me and said "he doesn't need one." But when he saw the expression on my face, he said in a more mollifying tone "but you can come up with one if you'd like." Ugh. Please. I'd rather fall on the toilet again than have you keep this horse, but what can I do? It's sad too because in a country where this is how a man feeds his family, no one cares about animal rights. And why should they? I guess it just really offended my feelings about it. And I'm sure the horse wasn't too thrilled either. 

Oh, also weirdly enough, there were TONS (maybe 7 or 8) processions of people taking wedding photos. Huge parades of 20 people or more followed the bridge and groom around  while photographers snapped away, or the people weren't there and only the married couple and photographer were standing around in the freezing cold, snapping somewhat corny and (to be honest) quite fobby photos. The surroundings were coldly beautiful, so the bright colors and makeup and whatnot were jarring, but I guess it'd make for interesting contrast. 

Anyway, good trip. Then I'll wait a day and a half... and Mike will be here! 

The Path to Enlightenment?

My mom went with my dad to see the travel agent at SMIC and got tickets for our trip to Beijing and Guilin/Yangshuo! We went through SMIC because we knew they wouldn't cheat us in terms of prices. Also, we took the opportunity to make plans to visit Suzhou this weekend so we won't spend one of my last weekends in China just sitting  around. Afterward, my mom and I came home to grab some warmer clothes and such before heading out again to the Jade Buddha Temple ( 玉佛禅寺 aka Yùfó Chán Sì). It was founded in 1882, with two jade buddhas shipped to Shanghai from Burma. The temple draws from the traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. It's pretty beautiful, and each of the statutes, pillars, stands, ceiling tiles, and so on are intricately carved. Everything is incredibly costly, it seems, and the ticket prices reflect that: 20 元 (20 ¥) for the entrance fee and another 10 元 (10 ¥) to go up to the Jade Buddha Hall so we could actually see the Buddha sculpture we came to see! We weren't allowed to photograph it either. :( Poo. 

 

Anyway, it was quite a temple. I know it's a huge tourist attraction and lots of foreign dignitaries have come here in the past, including Nancy Reagan, Bill Clinton, and so on. Given its renown, there were lots of beggars outside trying to tell my fortune and telling me that huge news was coming my way. Moreover, they (like many beggars in China) use children to gain pity, and thus more money. One of them was carrying this super heavy looking child; the kid seemed passed out or something (maybe drug-induced almost) and he was definitely not of the age to be carried like a baby. His face was dirty and his jacket was worse. He looked like he was 7 or 8. Kind of sad. I wonder if he is even her child, or if he is a boy at all (maybe he was a girl dressed as a boy). I feel bad but I feel loathe to give them money because I have no idea what they would do with it or whether a few bucks really helps them (or just their "manager" to whom they give most of their earnings). 

After crossing the street to avoid the tugging hands and potential pick-pockets, we wanted to go to the Luster of the Dragon Temple (龙华寺, Lónghúa Sì), first built in 242 AD, but it seemed a bit far and my mom was getting tired. We hailed a cab so that we didn't have to walk anymore. As we waited for the cab to pull up, I noticed two stray dogs that were in need of a bath. They were super cute though...If I had my way, I'd bring them to Dogtown, I think. 

Anyway, we happened to drive by the Temple of Peace and Tranquility (静安寺, Jìng'ānsì) and decided simply to stop there. The first Jing'an Temple was built in 247 AD, at the time of the Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period. Originally located beside Suzhou Creek, it was relocated to its current site in 1216 during the Song Dynasty (which was interestingly the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a permanent standing navy, documented the first known use of gunpowder, and discerned true north for the first time using a compass). The current temple was rebuilt once in the Qing Dynasty, which was the last before dynastic rule was toppled in China (ending pretty much during the Opium Wars). It is currently undergoing renovation, which sucks, because it is SUPER beautiful and grand. What relaly struck me was how new everything looked and, much more importantly, how madly expensive! So much for letting go of worldly goods. And of course the entrance fee was 30 元, even though our access to the place was severely limited (both due to living quarters of the monks, construction, and locked doors. 

 

I guess it really struck me today how beautiful some of this Buddhist art is; I've known it on my visits to other grand temples in China before, but I especially appreciated all the details this time around. Still, those details must cost a fortune; jade sculptures, cedar wood buddhas, silver and gold trimmings, expensive entrance feeds, fresh offerings, donation boxes at every turn, on-going construction... it just reminds me that the opulence of most religious institutions really turns me off.  Oh well.

Lastly, today was a day of adventures for my mom. She'd never ridden the subway without my Dad before and without the natural buffer given her by her scooter! So now she is slowly getting used to how it works and learning what it feels like to be crushed in a seething mass of people. Ah the billions of people in China... I don't notice you day-to-day, but whenever we're in line for something, I am most rudely reminded. Once we got home, we taxied from the station to our home, where I called Sam and left a message at her hotel. Hopefully I'll get to meet up with her soon! Yay, fun times in Shanghai! 

While I am a bit tired, at least today wasn't boring!