So, um. We're back in Kunming. I kinda wish that I would have pushed to have conference a little closer to this area as we had to do a major back track to get back to where we just were. Oh well. Kunming is a pretty cool city to kick it for a while.
What did we do? Not a whole hell of a lot. We arranged out flight out to Laos - Vientiane. and then hung out at the Prague Cafe to suck down some of their delectable BLT sandwiches. Don't underestimate the power of a good sandwich.
On Valentine's Day we decided to make it a cafe Valentine's Day and went to the French Cafe, the City Cafe and the Prague Cafe and gobbled down our favorite treats from all of these places. At the French Cafe they even had special strawberry tarts in the shape of a heart, served complete with two forks and a rose. Awwwww!
We also made it out to the Provincial Museum and (dum-da-da-dum!!! - the sound of triumphant trumpets) it was open. One of the first provincial museums we have visited to be so. Last year, the museum was closed for renovations when we tried to go. We got there about 20 minutes or so before it was to close. Did that stop us? NO! We cruised that museum like a [insert clever simile here]. The museum was really nice looking and modern. They did a great job updating the look and feel of the place as a lot of Chinese museums suffer from 'book on the wall' syndrome.
One of the disappointments in Kunming was that we were unable to locate Wei's pizza and not from the lack of trying. Looked up and down both sides of the street and down the alleys too. Remember that happy picture of Matt with a gigantic pizza. Well, never again will we be able to see that face. Because as far as I can tell it is gone. Sigh, sniffle, sniffle.
Other than that we didn't really do too much. We went for a couple more BLT sandwiches - we got a breakfast BLT and then got s couple more to go to eat for lunch on the plane.
So, next, Laos! I can't wait!
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Who would have thought...
that we would be in Hong Kong without internet!?! :) So, no posts for you!
So, conference. Wasn't too into it this time around. Not that it wasn't good to see everyone again and some for perhaps the last time. Our VIA pow-wow was out in the New Territories area of Hong Kong. It was really quite beautiful out there, quite removed from the high rises, crowds and cars.
So, what did we do at conference. Well, we talked and talked and well, talked. About um, China (duh). Here is the over-simplified re-cap(not in any particular order):
Vols arriving to conference late - BOO!
M & M being "uncharacteristically" late - a little to worried to boo right away, but eventually - boo!
Post reports - yea!/2 Nanjing boos!
Brainstorming about stuff - yea! Putting it (hopefully) in action - YEA! (hopefully)
VIA home office updates - Yea! Hopefully will put PD in a better "yea" position in the coming years.
Lesson idea exchange - Mu's lesson - YEA! Fellow vols as students - boo! Also, special mention of Naree's - boo-hoo (inside joke, yes. Will explain, no.)
BBQ - Yea! Baijiu soaked marshmallows - a big, bad, BOO!
The last supper - Yea - good food! Boo - 'cuz it's the last supper.
So, I missed some stuff, but that's at least how the recap pretty much played out in my mind.
After we said our goodbye we all split off to head out on our post-conference travels. Matt and I got a chance to hang out with the new(er) vols in Kowloon for the night before we split off for different SE Asian travels.
Hong Kong is different from "China" - I mean, no jay walking, none. Just patiently waiting for the light to turn - no pushing to get that 4 inches of better curb position for when it is clear enough to Frogger across the street. I did not see a snot rocket. A lot less phlegm clearing. I wonder if they have nicknames for the crass mainlanders? I liked the way the city moved, crowded, but smooth. Someone stepped on my foot and genuinely apologized. Immediately. I didn't even have to shoot a dirty look!
So, sorry I don't have much of a commentary on the city. I didn't have too much time to explore, but was happy to see a little bit of a place that I wasn't planning on going. Hong Kong was expensive. But good to see. I'm glad that we were able to go (even if it did through a wrench in the SE Asia travel).
I'll go see the inspiration crib for my fav designer, Vivienne Tam, another time.
So, conference. Wasn't too into it this time around. Not that it wasn't good to see everyone again and some for perhaps the last time. Our VIA pow-wow was out in the New Territories area of Hong Kong. It was really quite beautiful out there, quite removed from the high rises, crowds and cars.
So, what did we do at conference. Well, we talked and talked and well, talked. About um, China (duh). Here is the over-simplified re-cap(not in any particular order):
Vols arriving to conference late - BOO!
M & M being "uncharacteristically" late - a little to worried to boo right away, but eventually - boo!
Post reports - yea!/2 Nanjing boos!
Brainstorming about stuff - yea! Putting it (hopefully) in action - YEA! (hopefully)
VIA home office updates - Yea! Hopefully will put PD in a better "yea" position in the coming years.
Lesson idea exchange - Mu's lesson - YEA! Fellow vols as students - boo! Also, special mention of Naree's - boo-hoo (inside joke, yes. Will explain, no.)
BBQ - Yea! Baijiu soaked marshmallows - a big, bad, BOO!
The last supper - Yea - good food! Boo - 'cuz it's the last supper.
So, I missed some stuff, but that's at least how the recap pretty much played out in my mind.
After we said our goodbye we all split off to head out on our post-conference travels. Matt and I got a chance to hang out with the new(er) vols in Kowloon for the night before we split off for different SE Asian travels.
Hong Kong is different from "China" - I mean, no jay walking, none. Just patiently waiting for the light to turn - no pushing to get that 4 inches of better curb position for when it is clear enough to Frogger across the street. I did not see a snot rocket. A lot less phlegm clearing. I wonder if they have nicknames for the crass mainlanders? I liked the way the city moved, crowded, but smooth. Someone stepped on my foot and genuinely apologized. Immediately. I didn't even have to shoot a dirty look!
So, sorry I don't have much of a commentary on the city. I didn't have too much time to explore, but was happy to see a little bit of a place that I wasn't planning on going. Hong Kong was expensive. But good to see. I'm glad that we were able to go (even if it did through a wrench in the SE Asia travel).
I'll go see the inspiration crib for my fav designer, Vivienne Tam, another time.
Oops! We're in Macao...
After our wonderful time in Cambodia and Vietnam, we headed off to conference. We boarded a train to Nanning to try to make it to our VIA-China conference in Hong Kong without being too late. The problem was that the conference was hitting us right in the middle of our break and really wound up costing us a lot to get there. So, I was a little pissed about all of that. Granted I should have been more vocal about the timing of conference and less accommodating, but I wasn't but, I still felt like I wanted to be a little late just to be a twerp.
So, well, um, we took a little side trip to Macao. We arrived in the evening and right away set out to find a nice guesthouse. The first problem was getting a cab. None of the cab drivers were very helpful. We even found some people to try to help us, but they didn't have much luck with the cabbies either.
Eventually we just flagged one down, loaded all of our stuff in the cab and then told him where we wanted to go. This was more successful - didn't give him a chance to say "no" and drive off. Eventually we found the guesthouse we wanted him to take us to. I went out to scope out the rooms only to find that they were positively the dingiest little cells that I had encountered on the trip thus far! Horrible! So those little rat-traps were a big N-O. So off to try to find the mysterious Villa Universal.
We wound up asking some kids on the corner for some directions and they tried to help us. One of the problems we found was that all of the information in the guidebook about Macao was in Portuguese and did not list the Chinese for the places so sometimes getting around with the LP was challenging. Eventually, a older lady flagged us down and waved some business cards at us. Low and behold, Villa Universal! Thank goodness she was working the corner (to strum us hotel business) or we would probably not have found it.
The rooms were pretty nice and they were clean! Also had hot water and private bathroom for a fairly reasonable price. So, we crashed there for the night. I was feeling pretty grimy and didn't want to go out, but Matt went out to find something to eat. When he got back he brought with him some fantastic cookies! Kind of like fortune cookies, but filled with crushed almond and sugar. Delicious!
The next day we set out to see a few of the sights. We went to one of the old cathedral ruins sites and then went to the old fort which has since been built to house a museum. I can't even begin to tell you how cool the museum was! They had lots of interactive sections as well as different kinds of media (could choose from 4 different languages) throughout the entire museum. It was really spectacular!
After, we went for some lunch - a Portuguese lunch. Matt really enjoyed his shrimp and coconut curry, I was less certain about my pork and tamarind, but it filled us up and got us ready for the Maritime museum! Another spectacular museum! Had a lot of fun there and even got to play pretend captain for a little while to boot!
Oh, I almost forgot!
...Ummm, my internet timed out right after I wrote that and I have since forgotten. Shit. I hate when that happens. But if I think of the missing tidbit, I will be sure to record it in a completely random post (not to worry).
We also got to look at the outside of a few of the casinos. They had dress codes and a couple of scummy lookin' backpackers weren't going to make the velvet rope cut, so we just peaked around the frosted glass as much as we could and saw chandeliers, but that was about it. BUT we did get to walk around the maze of hallways of expensive stuff (small box of Ricola - $20 Pataca!) to keep you in the realm and got to see some prostitutes tailing some old men who were guests at the $1000+ USD a night hotel/casino/fun palace.
I thoroughly enjoyed my 20 or so hours in the former Portuguese colony. But we had a conference to get to so we set out on the jetboat to the old British colony. Yup. Jet. Boat. Jetboat. Looks like a jet when you enter, but, surprise! Boat. It was a quick trip, but I still managed to get motion sickness, but not enough to use my "air" discomfort bag. Instead, I was distracted by a taped collection of favorite moments from an odd but cool Japanese game show.
The Japanese do have a certain way about their game shows, don't they? This game show involved people creating scenes with bodies. Like a rhythmic gymnast doing a routine, but instead of a ball, it is some dude's head playing the role of the ball. Some of the shorts/scenes were just downright wacky. But a good distraction from said sickness. At least I didn't fall into a toilet.
Pataca. That is one of the coolest currency names.
Macao/Macau. Too short on time, but gald we dropped by for a quick visit!
So, well, um, we took a little side trip to Macao. We arrived in the evening and right away set out to find a nice guesthouse. The first problem was getting a cab. None of the cab drivers were very helpful. We even found some people to try to help us, but they didn't have much luck with the cabbies either.
Eventually we just flagged one down, loaded all of our stuff in the cab and then told him where we wanted to go. This was more successful - didn't give him a chance to say "no" and drive off. Eventually we found the guesthouse we wanted him to take us to. I went out to scope out the rooms only to find that they were positively the dingiest little cells that I had encountered on the trip thus far! Horrible! So those little rat-traps were a big N-O. So off to try to find the mysterious Villa Universal.
We wound up asking some kids on the corner for some directions and they tried to help us. One of the problems we found was that all of the information in the guidebook about Macao was in Portuguese and did not list the Chinese for the places so sometimes getting around with the LP was challenging. Eventually, a older lady flagged us down and waved some business cards at us. Low and behold, Villa Universal! Thank goodness she was working the corner (to strum us hotel business) or we would probably not have found it.
The rooms were pretty nice and they were clean! Also had hot water and private bathroom for a fairly reasonable price. So, we crashed there for the night. I was feeling pretty grimy and didn't want to go out, but Matt went out to find something to eat. When he got back he brought with him some fantastic cookies! Kind of like fortune cookies, but filled with crushed almond and sugar. Delicious!
The next day we set out to see a few of the sights. We went to one of the old cathedral ruins sites and then went to the old fort which has since been built to house a museum. I can't even begin to tell you how cool the museum was! They had lots of interactive sections as well as different kinds of media (could choose from 4 different languages) throughout the entire museum. It was really spectacular!
After, we went for some lunch - a Portuguese lunch. Matt really enjoyed his shrimp and coconut curry, I was less certain about my pork and tamarind, but it filled us up and got us ready for the Maritime museum! Another spectacular museum! Had a lot of fun there and even got to play pretend captain for a little while to boot!
Oh, I almost forgot!
...Ummm, my internet timed out right after I wrote that and I have since forgotten. Shit. I hate when that happens. But if I think of the missing tidbit, I will be sure to record it in a completely random post (not to worry).
We also got to look at the outside of a few of the casinos. They had dress codes and a couple of scummy lookin' backpackers weren't going to make the velvet rope cut, so we just peaked around the frosted glass as much as we could and saw chandeliers, but that was about it. BUT we did get to walk around the maze of hallways of expensive stuff (small box of Ricola - $20 Pataca!) to keep you in the realm and got to see some prostitutes tailing some old men who were guests at the $1000+ USD a night hotel/casino/fun palace.
I thoroughly enjoyed my 20 or so hours in the former Portuguese colony. But we had a conference to get to so we set out on the jetboat to the old British colony. Yup. Jet. Boat. Jetboat. Looks like a jet when you enter, but, surprise! Boat. It was a quick trip, but I still managed to get motion sickness, but not enough to use my "air" discomfort bag. Instead, I was distracted by a taped collection of favorite moments from an odd but cool Japanese game show.
The Japanese do have a certain way about their game shows, don't they? This game show involved people creating scenes with bodies. Like a rhythmic gymnast doing a routine, but instead of a ball, it is some dude's head playing the role of the ball. Some of the shorts/scenes were just downright wacky. But a good distraction from said sickness. At least I didn't fall into a toilet.
Pataca. That is one of the coolest currency names.
Macao/Macau. Too short on time, but gald we dropped by for a quick visit!
Staring...Why are you looking at me?
So, if you look different, people are going to stare at you, right? Matt has been stared at throughout Asia as well as some of the other volunteers. I was not expecting to be stared at in Vietnam, I mean, I blend.
Now, so I might not look Vietnamese, although I was mistaken, but I do look a little more native than the white guy I travel around with. Sometimes I like to walk behind Matt to watch the people's expressions/gestures after he walks past. In Vietnam though I started to notice that, sure Matt was getting his fair share of stares, but so was I. I was perhaps getting even more.
This whole staring business is fairly new to me, as I have mostly traveled in Asia, so it was a little weird to me. Why are you looking at me? Do I have something on my face (check face, try to be discrete), do I have something in my hair? (check hair, try to be more discrete), do I have something on my butt? (check butt, try to be uber-discrete). Once I have determined that I don't have anything stuck on me, I still am left with the same question I started out with, "why are you staring at me"?
I have come up with a couple of possible solutions:
1) They think that I am Vietnamese and wonder why I am with a white man.
2) They are trying to figure out where I am from.
3) They think that I am a Vietnamese woman and I married an expat.
4) They think I am a prostitute.
The stares eventually made me feel a little paranoid, "Do they think I'm a whore?" and then made me want to prove my non-whoreness by speaking English very, very loudly. Did that just make them think that I was a multilingual whore? I dunno.
Some seemed curious, and others seemed, well, accusatory. Of what? I don't know.
So, what one of the above do you think was the reason for the staring? Cast your votes now, or write in your idea!
Now, so I might not look Vietnamese, although I was mistaken, but I do look a little more native than the white guy I travel around with. Sometimes I like to walk behind Matt to watch the people's expressions/gestures after he walks past. In Vietnam though I started to notice that, sure Matt was getting his fair share of stares, but so was I. I was perhaps getting even more.
This whole staring business is fairly new to me, as I have mostly traveled in Asia, so it was a little weird to me. Why are you looking at me? Do I have something on my face (check face, try to be discrete), do I have something in my hair? (check hair, try to be more discrete), do I have something on my butt? (check butt, try to be uber-discrete). Once I have determined that I don't have anything stuck on me, I still am left with the same question I started out with, "why are you staring at me"?
I have come up with a couple of possible solutions:
1) They think that I am Vietnamese and wonder why I am with a white man.
2) They are trying to figure out where I am from.
3) They think that I am a Vietnamese woman and I married an expat.
4) They think I am a prostitute.
The stares eventually made me feel a little paranoid, "Do they think I'm a whore?" and then made me want to prove my non-whoreness by speaking English very, very loudly. Did that just make them think that I was a multilingual whore? I dunno.
Some seemed curious, and others seemed, well, accusatory. Of what? I don't know.
So, what one of the above do you think was the reason for the staring? Cast your votes now, or write in your idea!
Side Thought - Bringing Memories Home
While we were looking at the various curio stores and street side vendor stalls in Vietnam we would inevitably find some dog tags. It was really creepy. Because most likely they got the tags or copies of the tags off of dead US soldiers. I didn't feel right buying them so I didn't. Sifting through bowls and bowls of dog tags.
Now I wish that I had.
I wish that I had bought every single tag I could have laid my hands on just to honor the memory of a US soldier who served in Vietnam. I would have brought them back to the US and back to DC. To at least bring home the memory of someone who served the great nation (with all of its good points and bad) I call home.
I guess I have another reason to go back to Vietnam, anyone want to join me?
Now I wish that I had.
I wish that I had bought every single tag I could have laid my hands on just to honor the memory of a US soldier who served in Vietnam. I would have brought them back to the US and back to DC. To at least bring home the memory of someone who served the great nation (with all of its good points and bad) I call home.
I guess I have another reason to go back to Vietnam, anyone want to join me?
Saturday, February 03, 2007
GIBBONS!!!
Matt and I decided to take a trip out to Ninh Binh to see the gibbon and monkey rehab center. I don't know if it was totally worth the extra trip, but they sure were entertaining to watch!
We took a bus out to Ninh Binh and arrived bleary eyed at around 5 AM - still dark outside and we had no idea where we were. One of the guesthouse keepers was out to meet the bus and we eventually went out to his guesthouse. It wound up being a really nice place and we both felt really lucky to run into the man who we might have otherwise ignored.
After some needed sleep we decided to rent a couple of bicycles and bike around the city (it wasn't too big) and see some of the sights. We first set off to see the limestone peaks by boat and then cycled out to one of the small temples. The caretaker there spoke Vietnamese and French, so I had to try to bust out the truly rusty high school francais to understand what he was trying to say to me. I think I was able to get the gist of what he was saying, which is really better than I could have hoped for.
When we got back into town, we decided to take a look around and there really wasn't too much there at all. So we headed to the guesthouse for dinner. The only thing that they were serving that night was a Vietnamese BBQ - kind of Korean style. It was okay, but what topped it all off was the Ninh Binh water they shared with us after dinner. Um...I only dipped my lip and was coughing, much to the delight of one of the guesthouse caretakers. Matt said that it was at least better than baijiou, which isn't saying that much.
So early the next morning we set out with our driver to the gibbon center and other places within the national park. But the prime reason was to see some primates! The gibbons were amazing! They had some sweet little babies and were swinging all around their enclosures! They would do little mid-air twirls and turns. So much fun to watch! The monkeys that they had there were also very cool - they were really chill. They looked like little bearded men wearing red, black or grey pants. And, go figure, they were called the red pants monkey, black pants monkey and the grey pants monkey.
Besides the monkeys we went on a couple of walks through the forest - saw and hugged (just for Debz) a +1,000 year old tree, and explored a cave which was used for shelter and other things in prehistoric times. After that, our driver stopped by the edge of the road and helped us get on the right bus to Hanoi.
All in all, we made the most of our time there, I don't know if I would go back, but definitely good for a little stop to break up some of the bus riding fatigue.
I am way behind on my blogging, so keep checking back for more!
We took a bus out to Ninh Binh and arrived bleary eyed at around 5 AM - still dark outside and we had no idea where we were. One of the guesthouse keepers was out to meet the bus and we eventually went out to his guesthouse. It wound up being a really nice place and we both felt really lucky to run into the man who we might have otherwise ignored.
After some needed sleep we decided to rent a couple of bicycles and bike around the city (it wasn't too big) and see some of the sights. We first set off to see the limestone peaks by boat and then cycled out to one of the small temples. The caretaker there spoke Vietnamese and French, so I had to try to bust out the truly rusty high school francais to understand what he was trying to say to me. I think I was able to get the gist of what he was saying, which is really better than I could have hoped for.
When we got back into town, we decided to take a look around and there really wasn't too much there at all. So we headed to the guesthouse for dinner. The only thing that they were serving that night was a Vietnamese BBQ - kind of Korean style. It was okay, but what topped it all off was the Ninh Binh water they shared with us after dinner. Um...I only dipped my lip and was coughing, much to the delight of one of the guesthouse caretakers. Matt said that it was at least better than baijiou, which isn't saying that much.
So early the next morning we set out with our driver to the gibbon center and other places within the national park. But the prime reason was to see some primates! The gibbons were amazing! They had some sweet little babies and were swinging all around their enclosures! They would do little mid-air twirls and turns. So much fun to watch! The monkeys that they had there were also very cool - they were really chill. They looked like little bearded men wearing red, black or grey pants. And, go figure, they were called the red pants monkey, black pants monkey and the grey pants monkey.
Besides the monkeys we went on a couple of walks through the forest - saw and hugged (just for Debz) a +1,000 year old tree, and explored a cave which was used for shelter and other things in prehistoric times. After that, our driver stopped by the edge of the road and helped us get on the right bus to Hanoi.
All in all, we made the most of our time there, I don't know if I would go back, but definitely good for a little stop to break up some of the bus riding fatigue.
I am way behind on my blogging, so keep checking back for more!
Creepy Commies
Greetings from Hanoi!
Matt and I are on the last leg of our trip in Vietnam. We just saw a very cool water puppet show at the City Water Puppet Theatre (duh). It was interesting to see the way the puppets glide across the water - the water is very much a part of the show too - not just a groovy stage.
We also went out to see Uncle Ho today. His mausoleum. His embalmed body. Total creepiness. What is up with saving the bodies of communist leaders? Lenin, Mao and Ho all kept in a eerie state of waxiness so people can shuffle through and view their bodies. Did North Korea embalm "The Great Leader"? Right around Ho's mausoleum is his former palace/greeting place, residence, museum, his cars, etc. The museum was actually one of the most interestingly laid out and put together museums I have ever been to.
Anyhow, as I have been traveling though this country, I haven't really felt like I have been in a communist country - like China. Vietnam just breathes differently - a nice and refreshing different. But right around the mausoleum it was something straight out of Commie handbook 101 - big open square - check, austere concrete buildings - check, green uniforms - check, LOTS of pictures/propaganda about leader - check. Didn't so much care for that sudden reminder of where I am after being lost in my head for the past weeks, and also having a sudden reminder on where I must return to after my vacation is over.
It was really strange to go into the chambers to view the body - the chamber is completely climate controlled, and dark, except for the lighting over the body. It looks a little misty-ish when you walk in and then there is a glow over the pallid corpse. It really is quite creepy. There are uniformed guards stationed around the room as well as in the pit surrounding the platform displaying the body. People shuffle in and some pay respects by bowing slightly when they get to the central point of the railing. It was strange and surreal. I had so many thoughts going through my head at this time. I didn't know what to think - I was confused. I was standing 10 feet away from a man who's political decisions caused/contributed to thousands of deaths in the name of so-called "liberation".
"Liberation".
He is celebrated for the "liberation" of South Vietnam and unifying the country. But what a cost this "liberation" had. Now as I try to explain what I was thinking it is all very muddy, it wasn't so clear at the time either. When I got to the center of the rail, my mind was just racing. I frowned and scowled. Not because I support or oppose one political ideology or another, but I just was having a lot of trouble coming to terms with the cost of his actions and this usage of "liberation". When I looked up, I met the eyes of a guard sitting in the pit. He was not very amused by my expression. He hardened his face, frowned at me and motioned me to leave the chamber. Not that I really could or planned on camping out, I just followed the crowd out a little more quickly than I had been moving.
Anyhow, this was both a sobering and creepy experience. We also went to the Hanoi Hilton museum. A former prison which was first built by the French to house the Vietnamese, then later, was used to house US soldiers. I read all about how horrible the conditions were for the Vietnamese and saw another guillotine. I also read about how well the US troops were cared for while there and even saw John McCain's photo and gear from when he was captured and imprisoned there. It has been interesting to read all about the war from a completely different perspective. Although I am getting rather tired reading the carefully scripted propaganda in the museums. Not that the propaganda in the US is necessarily better, it is just different in a very tiring way to me.
So, we are looking to cyclo through the city tomorrow and then head out to Ha Long Bay the day after. Then, sigh, back to China. Hong Kong. Hopefully we will have some time to roll the dice in Macao, but we'll have to see if we have time as my conference is creeping up at a really bad time in my vacation and is going to wind up costing me more money than I feel it is going to be worth (so just a little angry and resentful about that).
Okay, this is getting long and too rambly for my likes. I'll write more later about Ninh Binh (Gibbons!), but it will be post-dated, so look back for it.
So, I just have to make a date with Unky Mao when I get back to Zhong Guo and then head to Russia to complete my embalmed communist leader tour. Hmmm...maybe I'll just hop back on that trans-Siberian line and finish the ride!
Matt and I are on the last leg of our trip in Vietnam. We just saw a very cool water puppet show at the City Water Puppet Theatre (duh). It was interesting to see the way the puppets glide across the water - the water is very much a part of the show too - not just a groovy stage.
We also went out to see Uncle Ho today. His mausoleum. His embalmed body. Total creepiness. What is up with saving the bodies of communist leaders? Lenin, Mao and Ho all kept in a eerie state of waxiness so people can shuffle through and view their bodies. Did North Korea embalm "The Great Leader"? Right around Ho's mausoleum is his former palace/greeting place, residence, museum, his cars, etc. The museum was actually one of the most interestingly laid out and put together museums I have ever been to.
Anyhow, as I have been traveling though this country, I haven't really felt like I have been in a communist country - like China. Vietnam just breathes differently - a nice and refreshing different. But right around the mausoleum it was something straight out of Commie handbook 101 - big open square - check, austere concrete buildings - check, green uniforms - check, LOTS of pictures/propaganda about leader - check. Didn't so much care for that sudden reminder of where I am after being lost in my head for the past weeks, and also having a sudden reminder on where I must return to after my vacation is over.
It was really strange to go into the chambers to view the body - the chamber is completely climate controlled, and dark, except for the lighting over the body. It looks a little misty-ish when you walk in and then there is a glow over the pallid corpse. It really is quite creepy. There are uniformed guards stationed around the room as well as in the pit surrounding the platform displaying the body. People shuffle in and some pay respects by bowing slightly when they get to the central point of the railing. It was strange and surreal. I had so many thoughts going through my head at this time. I didn't know what to think - I was confused. I was standing 10 feet away from a man who's political decisions caused/contributed to thousands of deaths in the name of so-called "liberation".
"Liberation".
He is celebrated for the "liberation" of South Vietnam and unifying the country. But what a cost this "liberation" had. Now as I try to explain what I was thinking it is all very muddy, it wasn't so clear at the time either. When I got to the center of the rail, my mind was just racing. I frowned and scowled. Not because I support or oppose one political ideology or another, but I just was having a lot of trouble coming to terms with the cost of his actions and this usage of "liberation". When I looked up, I met the eyes of a guard sitting in the pit. He was not very amused by my expression. He hardened his face, frowned at me and motioned me to leave the chamber. Not that I really could or planned on camping out, I just followed the crowd out a little more quickly than I had been moving.
Anyhow, this was both a sobering and creepy experience. We also went to the Hanoi Hilton museum. A former prison which was first built by the French to house the Vietnamese, then later, was used to house US soldiers. I read all about how horrible the conditions were for the Vietnamese and saw another guillotine. I also read about how well the US troops were cared for while there and even saw John McCain's photo and gear from when he was captured and imprisoned there. It has been interesting to read all about the war from a completely different perspective. Although I am getting rather tired reading the carefully scripted propaganda in the museums. Not that the propaganda in the US is necessarily better, it is just different in a very tiring way to me.
So, we are looking to cyclo through the city tomorrow and then head out to Ha Long Bay the day after. Then, sigh, back to China. Hong Kong. Hopefully we will have some time to roll the dice in Macao, but we'll have to see if we have time as my conference is creeping up at a really bad time in my vacation and is going to wind up costing me more money than I feel it is going to be worth (so just a little angry and resentful about that).
Okay, this is getting long and too rambly for my likes. I'll write more later about Ninh Binh (Gibbons!), but it will be post-dated, so look back for it.
So, I just have to make a date with Unky Mao when I get back to Zhong Guo and then head to Russia to complete my embalmed communist leader tour. Hmmm...maybe I'll just hop back on that trans-Siberian line and finish the ride!
Monday, January 29, 2007
Tidbits
Not a full post today, just some things I want to post before I forget them.
If/when you all go to Saigon (Saigon is just way more fun to say than Ho Chi Minh City), make sure to look at some of the houses - some are just freakin' amazing! There was one that had a huge Buddha on top of the house in a little garden area.
On the way to Hoi An, Matt had to make an emergency roadside stop because of intestinal discomfort and wound up squatting on some poor person's front lawn. The truckers driving by got a good view of a nice, white full moon that night (Retold with permission).
In Hoi An we stayed next to a guesthouse that Michael Caine used when filming a movie.
I have not been feeling too well - as Matt put it, I seem to be having a gastric-intestinal tornado going through me (cramps on top of cramps and a lot of funky sharp pains). I accidentally ate part of a shrimp and then felt sick afterward, not because it was bad or anything, but I just was having images of it swimming around in my stomach and that made me queasy. But, I don't think that my current state is related to that incident.
I got a pair of shoes made! If you never have had custom made shoes, you should try it! It is so much fun and I got a great big hug from the girl who was the shopkeeper! Green and red silk shoes - sooo much fun, I think I might get something tailored in Hanoi.
Ummm...
I guess that is all for now.
Uh...
I pet a really cute puppy...
Yup.
That's all.
Talk to you later!
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Centuries Old Traditions
Yup, China's old. I have been told that in various forms about a gazillion times since arriving here. Chinese history, blah, blah, blah, Chinese art, blah, blah, blah, Chinese customs, blah, blah, blah. But now that the whole would will be looking at the "culture" it looks as if the central gov has decided that it is time some things change. Here is the top-down approach they have decided to enforce - not sure if this is better than the spit bag idea or not:
Olympic Beijing will be polite -- it's the law
By Mark Magnier
Source: Indy Star 1/3/07):
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701030459
BEIJING -- Take heed, rude Beijingers: Mind your manners, or someone else will.
Apparently frustrated by its limited success in persuading Beijing residents to stop spitting, act more courteously and show a friendlier face to strangers in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the Beijing municipal government has opted for a more top-down approach.
Starting next month, Beijing shopkeepers who vent their anger, act impatiently, glance at customers disdainfully or act absent-mindedly are in violation of the law. Also forbidden under the draft regulations are sarcastic or ironic comments, vague explanations and grabbing customers to coerce them into buying something, according to a report released on a state media Web site last month.
As the capital of the Middle Kingdom prepares to play host to the world in a little less than two years, it's hoping law will trump centuries of culture.
"The ancient capital has produced residents with a reputation for generosity and big gestures, but it's also fostered a tradition of arrogance in Beijingers reflected in the commercial and service industry," the China News Service reported. "Complaints of bad service in Beijing are all over the Internet."
Song Xuelei, a 27-year-old student, said he applauded the idea. His pet peeve is getting dirty looks from shopkeepers when he's only window-shopping.
But enforcing the new rules, which take effect Feb. 1, could be a bit difficult.
"People get emotional," Song said. "Maybe the shopkeeper had a bad day. It's a bit hard to control. And I don't really think this is the government's business. We just need to change people's behavior over time."
Ivy Li, 30, an advertising executive carrying a shopping bag on a recent day, sees little need. "I've never met a rude sales clerk in Beijing," she said.
The government report makes no mention of penalties, leading to speculation about how the regulations will be enforced. What will a consumer need to prove that he or she was wronged? Will a cell phone video clip become the supporting evidence of choice?
The real problem, some Internet users said, is state-owned stores with their lazy workers -- an illustration of how quickly ordinary complaints in China these days can morph into criticism of the government, especially in large cities.
"All stores should be private," one posting said. "Then maybe consumers would be treated like gods!"
As with the Soviet bloc, bad service was a Beijing fixture during decades of central planning. Greater competition and an expanded private economy, however, have put a new spin on the Communist Party's "Serve the People" mantra.
"In the old days, many consumers used to keep quiet even if they weren't satisfied," said Victor Yuan, chairman of Beijing-based Horizon Research Consultancy Group, which does polling for the private sector and the party. "Increasingly, people feel they have the right to complain and demand better service."
Zheng Haihang, vice president of Capital University of Economics and Business, told China News Agency that Beijing had modernized faster than many other parts of the country because of its status as the capital. But the deeply embedded "ye," or master, culture formed by centuries of being the seat of imperial and communist power now threatens to derail modernization and work against a service mentality.
Li Hui, 26, a shopkeeper at the Wuan musical instrument store in Beijing, welcomed the sentiment behind the new regulations. When she goes shopping, the Guangzhou native said, she is often frustrated by clerks who ignore her as they gossip among themselves or chat on their cell phones.
But it's a two-way street, she added. Beijing also has lots of rude customers, including those who come into her shop, bang loudly on the drums, damage her expensive violins and agree to prices after lengthy bargaining, only to walk away.
"I think they should also pass a law against rude customers," she said. "That might help as well. It's a mutual problem."
***okay, with all of that being said, I can see this going to the other extreme - being too helpful. I hate it when I am constantly being followed-err-"stalked" is a better word - around a store. I try to lose them, but they always manage to find me and then stick to me. Either way, I just think that that the Chinese are screwed when it comes to this and in no way does this address the real problem and complaint, the inability to queue in lines. Mayhem! Pandemonium! Can't wait!
Olympic Beijing will be polite -- it's the law
By Mark Magnier
Source: Indy Star 1/3/07):
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007701030459
BEIJING -- Take heed, rude Beijingers: Mind your manners, or someone else will.
Apparently frustrated by its limited success in persuading Beijing residents to stop spitting, act more courteously and show a friendlier face to strangers in preparation for the 2008 Olympics, the Beijing municipal government has opted for a more top-down approach.
Starting next month, Beijing shopkeepers who vent their anger, act impatiently, glance at customers disdainfully or act absent-mindedly are in violation of the law. Also forbidden under the draft regulations are sarcastic or ironic comments, vague explanations and grabbing customers to coerce them into buying something, according to a report released on a state media Web site last month.
As the capital of the Middle Kingdom prepares to play host to the world in a little less than two years, it's hoping law will trump centuries of culture.
"The ancient capital has produced residents with a reputation for generosity and big gestures, but it's also fostered a tradition of arrogance in Beijingers reflected in the commercial and service industry," the China News Service reported. "Complaints of bad service in Beijing are all over the Internet."
Song Xuelei, a 27-year-old student, said he applauded the idea. His pet peeve is getting dirty looks from shopkeepers when he's only window-shopping.
But enforcing the new rules, which take effect Feb. 1, could be a bit difficult.
"People get emotional," Song said. "Maybe the shopkeeper had a bad day. It's a bit hard to control. And I don't really think this is the government's business. We just need to change people's behavior over time."
Ivy Li, 30, an advertising executive carrying a shopping bag on a recent day, sees little need. "I've never met a rude sales clerk in Beijing," she said.
The government report makes no mention of penalties, leading to speculation about how the regulations will be enforced. What will a consumer need to prove that he or she was wronged? Will a cell phone video clip become the supporting evidence of choice?
The real problem, some Internet users said, is state-owned stores with their lazy workers -- an illustration of how quickly ordinary complaints in China these days can morph into criticism of the government, especially in large cities.
"All stores should be private," one posting said. "Then maybe consumers would be treated like gods!"
As with the Soviet bloc, bad service was a Beijing fixture during decades of central planning. Greater competition and an expanded private economy, however, have put a new spin on the Communist Party's "Serve the People" mantra.
"In the old days, many consumers used to keep quiet even if they weren't satisfied," said Victor Yuan, chairman of Beijing-based Horizon Research Consultancy Group, which does polling for the private sector and the party. "Increasingly, people feel they have the right to complain and demand better service."
Zheng Haihang, vice president of Capital University of Economics and Business, told China News Agency that Beijing had modernized faster than many other parts of the country because of its status as the capital. But the deeply embedded "ye," or master, culture formed by centuries of being the seat of imperial and communist power now threatens to derail modernization and work against a service mentality.
Li Hui, 26, a shopkeeper at the Wuan musical instrument store in Beijing, welcomed the sentiment behind the new regulations. When she goes shopping, the Guangzhou native said, she is often frustrated by clerks who ignore her as they gossip among themselves or chat on their cell phones.
But it's a two-way street, she added. Beijing also has lots of rude customers, including those who come into her shop, bang loudly on the drums, damage her expensive violins and agree to prices after lengthy bargaining, only to walk away.
"I think they should also pass a law against rude customers," she said. "That might help as well. It's a mutual problem."
***okay, with all of that being said, I can see this going to the other extreme - being too helpful. I hate it when I am constantly being followed-err-"stalked" is a better word - around a store. I try to lose them, but they always manage to find me and then stick to me. Either way, I just think that that the Chinese are screwed when it comes to this and in no way does this address the real problem and complaint, the inability to queue in lines. Mayhem! Pandemonium! Can't wait!
Miss Saigon
Hello All!
I don't really remember the last time that I posted - one of the nice things about traveling is losing all track of time. But I just wanted to let you all know that I am currently in Nha Trang - the beach! Today we went to the Monkey Island, but I have some other things to tell you about first.
So, Saigon was awesome! The heat is on in Saigon - but not in that hooker-brothel kind of way (at least my experience was whore less - I can't comment on the old men with really young ladies...). I love that city! We stayed at a nice guesthouse that only had about 4 rooms to rent out, so it was nice and quiet, the location was perfect too. Right near the main backpacker area, but down a little alley, so away from a lot of the noise.
I was feeling pretty rough when we arrived, so we didn't do too much - just bummed around town, looked at a market and went to the fine arts museum. The museum was okay, nothing too outstanding. For some reason all of the paintings looked a little muddy to me. Don't know if was because of the heat, the lack of sleep or if the colors just looked muddy. So, I wandered around the galleries for little bit not really looking at the pictures and then went home.
The next day we did a little walking tour of the area - we went to a couple of museums - both war related, the former palace (looked like a very amped up version of the Brady's home with a war room ready basement). Communist "revolution" museums are not very interesting to me. Reading some of the signage is interesting to a point, but generally it gets old after a bit and coming from China.... I guess that revolution would be a major event in the history of a nation, but it just seems to be soooo influential that much of the art and cultural/history museums are solely dedicated to the propaganda. Gets boring. Nuff said. At one of the museums they had a guillotine and a very disturbing display about the effects of agent orange.
Okay, so the next day we got n a tour out to see the main Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai seems like an interesting religion. It is a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity. One of he main western spirits/saints of the religion is Victor Hugo and the symbol is that eye in the pyramid picture. Groovy. We went and watched one of the prayer sessions from the balcony above and now, I don't know which country can truly boast having the rudest tourists (a toss up between the French and the Chinese).
--Oh side note - when going through immigration when entering Vietnam, there was a huge crowd of people waiting to go through. There was a little gap along the side of the mass of people and sure enough the 3 Chinese people cut and bumped their way to the Head of the line, pissing off quite a few people in the process. But what was even more amusing was that the line wasn't moving at all! You had to wait for the officials to call out your name before you could go through. The Chinese were just about dead last to go through. HA!
Okay, back to Vietnam.
After the trippy Cao Dai temple, we went to the Cu Chi tunnels. Very interesting and, um, small. Our tour leader told us about some of the history (he was a communications officer for the South Vietnamese Army) about the area and the war. That was probably one of the more interesting parts of the tour - hearing about some of the first hand experiences. But we saw some of the nasty booby traps that were put out to snare US soldiers. Also watched a very interesting video about the soldiers - I just remember a line that went something like this: Look at this young little girl. She is very small and weak, but she is one of the soldiers fighting for our country! Even though she is just a girl she has received hero awards/recognition for killing Americans. Then we walked around the grounds some more and saw some of the craters left by bombs and some people chose to shoot some guns ($1.3/bullet with a minimum of 10 bullets).
A little later we went through the tunnels. They had been widened to about double the size they were originally. Damn, they were small! I don't know how Matt got through. I was following a girl from Germany (who was right behind the guide). It was pitch black and small and hot. She suddenly said, "hole!" I didn't realize that it was an actual hole that dropped down, so yes, I fell through the hole in the most ungraceful way possible. I managed to wedge my left leg and right arm up while the rest of me dropped to the ground below. Ouch!
I was really happy to get out of the tunnels. I can't imagine going through the original tunnels and having to live in them underground! We surfaced in the old hospital dug out - coincidence?
Anyhow, after all of that excitement, we jumped a bus to Nah Trang. I love it here too! Not the busy, busy time here so not overly crowded. I mentioned we went to the Monkey Island earlier. That was a creepy experience. There weren't very many people there and um...just seemed spooky to be on this amusement parkish island but have virtually no people, just monkeys. Did they eat the people? What was going on? We bought some monkey feed and were quickly assaulted by monkeys - a couple watched Matt buying it and then followed him out of the shop. So, fed the monkeys, had them follow us around. There was this one little monkey who had a bloody gash across his face and he was just screaming and screaming at us (going "ape shit" if you will) this was really freaky - I mean, what kind of "outbreak" island was this?Fun. Still creeped out.
After creepy Monkey Island, we went to see a waterfall. The waterfall was really cool, more of a hike than I thought it would be but it was fun climbing out over the rocks to get to it. Also, no one else was out there so Matt and I had a private viewing of the falls. Cool.
Today, we are just killing some time before we catch our next bus to Hoi An. We went down to a practically deserted beach and playing in the water/sand for a few hours. Met some local kids who were trying to sell us stuff, but apparently the allure of digging a big, deep hole is enough distraction for Matt, Molly and the under 15 crew. So we dug holes and built little sand walls. The kids were pretty cool, one asked me to buy postcards, I said, that I didn't need any. Then he suggested that I go with him to buy him some ice cream! Kids. Gotta love 'em.
Anyhow, just ate a really great pub burger with all the fixins and am just wating for 6PM to roll around to hop another bus. So, that is the update for now, talk to you later!
I don't really remember the last time that I posted - one of the nice things about traveling is losing all track of time. But I just wanted to let you all know that I am currently in Nha Trang - the beach! Today we went to the Monkey Island, but I have some other things to tell you about first.
So, Saigon was awesome! The heat is on in Saigon - but not in that hooker-brothel kind of way (at least my experience was whore less - I can't comment on the old men with really young ladies...). I love that city! We stayed at a nice guesthouse that only had about 4 rooms to rent out, so it was nice and quiet, the location was perfect too. Right near the main backpacker area, but down a little alley, so away from a lot of the noise.
I was feeling pretty rough when we arrived, so we didn't do too much - just bummed around town, looked at a market and went to the fine arts museum. The museum was okay, nothing too outstanding. For some reason all of the paintings looked a little muddy to me. Don't know if was because of the heat, the lack of sleep or if the colors just looked muddy. So, I wandered around the galleries for little bit not really looking at the pictures and then went home.
The next day we did a little walking tour of the area - we went to a couple of museums - both war related, the former palace (looked like a very amped up version of the Brady's home with a war room ready basement). Communist "revolution" museums are not very interesting to me. Reading some of the signage is interesting to a point, but generally it gets old after a bit and coming from China.... I guess that revolution would be a major event in the history of a nation, but it just seems to be soooo influential that much of the art and cultural/history museums are solely dedicated to the propaganda. Gets boring. Nuff said. At one of the museums they had a guillotine and a very disturbing display about the effects of agent orange.
Okay, so the next day we got n a tour out to see the main Cao Dai Temple. Cao Dai seems like an interesting religion. It is a mix of Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism and Christianity. One of he main western spirits/saints of the religion is Victor Hugo and the symbol is that eye in the pyramid picture. Groovy. We went and watched one of the prayer sessions from the balcony above and now, I don't know which country can truly boast having the rudest tourists (a toss up between the French and the Chinese).
--Oh side note - when going through immigration when entering Vietnam, there was a huge crowd of people waiting to go through. There was a little gap along the side of the mass of people and sure enough the 3 Chinese people cut and bumped their way to the Head of the line, pissing off quite a few people in the process. But what was even more amusing was that the line wasn't moving at all! You had to wait for the officials to call out your name before you could go through. The Chinese were just about dead last to go through. HA!
Okay, back to Vietnam.
After the trippy Cao Dai temple, we went to the Cu Chi tunnels. Very interesting and, um, small. Our tour leader told us about some of the history (he was a communications officer for the South Vietnamese Army) about the area and the war. That was probably one of the more interesting parts of the tour - hearing about some of the first hand experiences. But we saw some of the nasty booby traps that were put out to snare US soldiers. Also watched a very interesting video about the soldiers - I just remember a line that went something like this: Look at this young little girl. She is very small and weak, but she is one of the soldiers fighting for our country! Even though she is just a girl she has received hero awards/recognition for killing Americans. Then we walked around the grounds some more and saw some of the craters left by bombs and some people chose to shoot some guns ($1.3/bullet with a minimum of 10 bullets).
A little later we went through the tunnels. They had been widened to about double the size they were originally. Damn, they were small! I don't know how Matt got through. I was following a girl from Germany (who was right behind the guide). It was pitch black and small and hot. She suddenly said, "hole!" I didn't realize that it was an actual hole that dropped down, so yes, I fell through the hole in the most ungraceful way possible. I managed to wedge my left leg and right arm up while the rest of me dropped to the ground below. Ouch!
I was really happy to get out of the tunnels. I can't imagine going through the original tunnels and having to live in them underground! We surfaced in the old hospital dug out - coincidence?
Anyhow, after all of that excitement, we jumped a bus to Nah Trang. I love it here too! Not the busy, busy time here so not overly crowded. I mentioned we went to the Monkey Island earlier. That was a creepy experience. There weren't very many people there and um...just seemed spooky to be on this amusement parkish island but have virtually no people, just monkeys. Did they eat the people? What was going on? We bought some monkey feed and were quickly assaulted by monkeys - a couple watched Matt buying it and then followed him out of the shop. So, fed the monkeys, had them follow us around. There was this one little monkey who had a bloody gash across his face and he was just screaming and screaming at us (going "ape shit" if you will) this was really freaky - I mean, what kind of "outbreak" island was this?Fun. Still creeped out.
After creepy Monkey Island, we went to see a waterfall. The waterfall was really cool, more of a hike than I thought it would be but it was fun climbing out over the rocks to get to it. Also, no one else was out there so Matt and I had a private viewing of the falls. Cool.
Today, we are just killing some time before we catch our next bus to Hoi An. We went down to a practically deserted beach and playing in the water/sand for a few hours. Met some local kids who were trying to sell us stuff, but apparently the allure of digging a big, deep hole is enough distraction for Matt, Molly and the under 15 crew. So we dug holes and built little sand walls. The kids were pretty cool, one asked me to buy postcards, I said, that I didn't need any. Then he suggested that I go with him to buy him some ice cream! Kids. Gotta love 'em.
Anyhow, just ate a really great pub burger with all the fixins and am just wating for 6PM to roll around to hop another bus. So, that is the update for now, talk to you later!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Farewell Cambodia!
Well, it has been good. I have really enjoyed myself here! The country is pretty beautiful, hot, but really beautiful! For the last meal here Matt and I ate dinner at the FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) and watched the sunset over the National Museum.
I have wanted to go to Cambodia for such a long time, mostly fueled by my desire to see Angkor Wat, but more recently (err...high school) because of the Killing Fields. The Killing Fields and the prison/torture museum we visited today were amazing in a whole different way - amazingly horrifying. I have watched that movie several times over the past years and have wanted to come to see the areas where these events happened. The museum is housed in the former prison. It is pretty creepy - they set up some of the exhibits in the former cells, also, they left lots of the cells intact so you can enter them. In some of the cells, they still had the frames of the beds out with a pair of shackles, ammo box, spade (sometimes), and a photo on the wall of one of the victims spread out with blood splattered all over the floor where you are currently standing. Truly horrifying.
The museum was mostly identification photos of all of the inmates - men, women and children. But they had some paintings of the kinds of torture the prisoners were subject to as well as some gruesome photos of people who where killed - one man didn't have a face left. Also, there were a couple of special exhibits with survivors telling about their time, people who never saw their loved ones again, and a short exhibit on the former guards of the facility. Emphasis on "short" in that previous sentence as not many had come forward to tell their stories.
Anyhow, tomorrow morning we will begin our 8 hour bus journey to Saigon. I hope I won't get too bus sick, but I have some good peppermint and camphor oil just in case. So, the next time I write will be from Vietnam!
PS - I wrote out postcards for many of you, but have been way to lazy about mailing them here, so I will mail them from Vietnam or from China. Talk to you later!
I have wanted to go to Cambodia for such a long time, mostly fueled by my desire to see Angkor Wat, but more recently (err...high school) because of the Killing Fields. The Killing Fields and the prison/torture museum we visited today were amazing in a whole different way - amazingly horrifying. I have watched that movie several times over the past years and have wanted to come to see the areas where these events happened. The museum is housed in the former prison. It is pretty creepy - they set up some of the exhibits in the former cells, also, they left lots of the cells intact so you can enter them. In some of the cells, they still had the frames of the beds out with a pair of shackles, ammo box, spade (sometimes), and a photo on the wall of one of the victims spread out with blood splattered all over the floor where you are currently standing. Truly horrifying.
The museum was mostly identification photos of all of the inmates - men, women and children. But they had some paintings of the kinds of torture the prisoners were subject to as well as some gruesome photos of people who where killed - one man didn't have a face left. Also, there were a couple of special exhibits with survivors telling about their time, people who never saw their loved ones again, and a short exhibit on the former guards of the facility. Emphasis on "short" in that previous sentence as not many had come forward to tell their stories.
Anyhow, tomorrow morning we will begin our 8 hour bus journey to Saigon. I hope I won't get too bus sick, but I have some good peppermint and camphor oil just in case. So, the next time I write will be from Vietnam!
PS - I wrote out postcards for many of you, but have been way to lazy about mailing them here, so I will mail them from Vietnam or from China. Talk to you later!
Friday, January 19, 2007
Wonders
Okay, name all 7 of 'em...I'll wait.
That's the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World (don't Google them, that's cheating).
The Great Pyramid of Giza, right...
The Colossus of Rhodes...
The Lighthouse of Alexandria...
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon...
(over half way)
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia...
The Temple of Artemus at Ephesus
AND
The Temple at Halicarnassus
Whew!
Good job!
So, what should the new list be like? Angkor Wat? Easter Island? Stonehenge? The Taj Mahal? Well now it's time to decide and vote!
Register to vote for the new wonders of the worlds here: www.new7wonders.com. There is a pretty good list, some I totally disagree with, but others are so amazing that to not include them would certainly make the list less wonderful.
So, stop by, check it out, register, and vote!
That's the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World (don't Google them, that's cheating).
The Great Pyramid of Giza, right...
The Colossus of Rhodes...
The Lighthouse of Alexandria...
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon...
(over half way)
The Statue of Zeus at Olympia...
The Temple of Artemus at Ephesus
AND
The Temple at Halicarnassus
Whew!
Good job!
So, what should the new list be like? Angkor Wat? Easter Island? Stonehenge? The Taj Mahal? Well now it's time to decide and vote!
Register to vote for the new wonders of the worlds here: www.new7wonders.com. There is a pretty good list, some I totally disagree with, but others are so amazing that to not include them would certainly make the list less wonderful.
So, stop by, check it out, register, and vote!
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Running at about 40 Watts
I'm tired and yes, I am indeed sick on vacation yet again. I am really exhausted! Matt and I went Wat hopping yesterday and the day before. It really was amazing to see and amazing to consider going through the jungle and just happen upon an ancient wat. Angkor was of course amazing, but there were some other temples which were just as remarkable in other ways. One of my favorites was one that we saw yesterday. It looked a little different than the others - it was made of a pink(er) sandstone and the carving was exquisite!
So, after running around in the heat, humidity and sun while sick, my body just needed some rest. But not quite yet! We checked out of our hotel at 5:30 AM this morning to catch transportation to the boat docks - to catch a boat to Phnom Penh. The boat ride was about 5 hours and was okay - I tried to get some rest, but it was difficult to do so in the seats.
So, now we are here, after much battling with the tuk-tuk drivers and are ready for a new day of exploration. Well, maybe after some sleep.
Yup, I am pretty tired, one dim bulb about to go out for the night. Talk to you later!
So, after running around in the heat, humidity and sun while sick, my body just needed some rest. But not quite yet! We checked out of our hotel at 5:30 AM this morning to catch transportation to the boat docks - to catch a boat to Phnom Penh. The boat ride was about 5 hours and was okay - I tried to get some rest, but it was difficult to do so in the seats.
So, now we are here, after much battling with the tuk-tuk drivers and are ready for a new day of exploration. Well, maybe after some sleep.
Yup, I am pretty tired, one dim bulb about to go out for the night. Talk to you later!
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Wat was that?
:D
Hee, hee...I just couldn't help myself!
So, Matt and I are finally in Siem Reap, Cambodia! Even though we have only just got here, we already are starting to feel rejuvenated from the China funk. We got to spend some time at the Bangkok airport, like, 8 hours at the Bangkok airport, but hey, at least it was a kick ass airport! I got my sweet sticky rice and mango fix, so I'm a happy camper. Just being at the Bangkok airport and browsing in all of the shops, I am pleasantly reminded how nice Thailand and the Thai people are.
Anyhow, so tomorrow we are headed to see the Angkor Wat area and I am soooooo incredibly excited about that! I would be jumping all over the place if I wasn't so tired. So far things are nice and chill in Cambodia and I am amusing myself by watching a gecko war on the salmon and green wall. Good times!
So, I will post some more tomorrow after my day out at the mac daddy of the wats.
Hee, hee...I just couldn't help myself!
So, Matt and I are finally in Siem Reap, Cambodia! Even though we have only just got here, we already are starting to feel rejuvenated from the China funk. We got to spend some time at the Bangkok airport, like, 8 hours at the Bangkok airport, but hey, at least it was a kick ass airport! I got my sweet sticky rice and mango fix, so I'm a happy camper. Just being at the Bangkok airport and browsing in all of the shops, I am pleasantly reminded how nice Thailand and the Thai people are.
Anyhow, so tomorrow we are headed to see the Angkor Wat area and I am soooooo incredibly excited about that! I would be jumping all over the place if I wasn't so tired. So far things are nice and chill in Cambodia and I am amusing myself by watching a gecko war on the salmon and green wall. Good times!
So, I will post some more tomorrow after my day out at the mac daddy of the wats.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Outta Here!
Hey all!
Just letting you know that I will be hitting the road tomorrow! Matt and I are headed south for part of the winter - Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
I am soooo excited and really looking forward to leaving China over the heaviest travel time period in this country!
Anyhow, I will be posting travel updates as I can - I don't know what the Internet situation will be like while traveling because the earthquake has slowed access in many places in Asia.
And rest assured, I think I can manage to take a couple of pictures of our travels. Just a couple.
Just letting you know that I will be hitting the road tomorrow! Matt and I are headed south for part of the winter - Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos.
I am soooo excited and really looking forward to leaving China over the heaviest travel time period in this country!
Anyhow, I will be posting travel updates as I can - I don't know what the Internet situation will be like while traveling because the earthquake has slowed access in many places in Asia.
And rest assured, I think I can manage to take a couple of pictures of our travels. Just a couple.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Make your travel plans soon!
Tibet, Now
The New York Times
By JOSHUA KURLANTZICK
Published: December 10, 2006
Correction Appended
IN front of one of the holiest sites in Tibetan Buddhism, the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, hundreds of pilgrims fall on the ground spread-eagled, prostrating themselves so forcefully their hands bleed from being smacked on the earth. Some have traveled on foot for months from hundreds of miles away, bowing toward Lhasa after every few steps. Several seem so overcome to have arrived at the Jokhang that they sob uncontrollably or stare into the temple as if entranced.
Then the trance snaps. Behind one of the pilgrims, a tourist climbs onto one of the Jokhang’s massive golden prayer wheels, pulls out a cellphone camera, and starts snapping.
One pilgrim, a young Tibetan man, jumps to his feet and begins gesturing inside his long cloak, where some Tibetans traditionally carry a long, sharp knife. The tourist holsters his phone and walks backward, putting his hands up in universal signal of “I surrender.” But when the pilgrim leaves, the tourist starts snapping away again.
Once almost a synonym for remote, Tibet has in recent years experienced a surge of development and tourism, bringing cellphone cameras and tour leaders wielding megaphones to sites like the Jokhang. Tourism to Tibet is skyrocketing, a result of rising Chinese incomes, growing Chinese fascination with Tibetan Buddhism and easier access to the Roof of the World. This summer, Beijing unveiled an engineering marvel of a train line to Tibet. The train climbs to 16,000 feet, the highest of any railroad in the world, and workers had to build special features into the cars, like oxygen tanks for passengers gasping at such high altitudes.
“I had to come here,” one Chinese tour guide tells me during my visit to Tibet this summer. “This is where I can make money.”
This tourism boom is only the beginning. Though in 2004 Tibet received some 1.2 million tourists, by 2020 Chinese officials estimate that 10 million visitors may come, potentially threatening conservation efforts. Unesco has warned that China is allowing the destruction of Lhasa’s traditional buildings.
For many Western travelers, the tourism bonanza has added to the urgency of getting to Tibet while they can still recognize its unique culture and fragile environment. Yet even as more foreigners consider visiting, Tibet is becoming more comfortable, with easier access for independent travelers and higher-end accommodations like Lhasa’s first boutique hotel, which opened this summer.
Lhasa, the historic capital of Tibet, has become the center of the development and tourism drive. In the sprawling newer section of Lhasa, cranes loom and hammers clatter, erecting boxy glass-and-steel shopping centers and fast food outlets so popular they employ bouncers, like elite nightclubs. In central Lhasa, Chinese tour groups pose with red-robed Tibetan monks, who look distinctly uneasy appearing in the photographs. Young Chinese hippies with wispy goatees gravitate to smoky Tibetan bars — for young Chinese traveling on a shoestring, remote Tibet has become their Goa.
Despite the development, once I walk into the Barkhor, the older Tibetan section of town, Lhasa still resembles a medieval city, suffused with the smell of yak butter, juniper and incense. In the Barkhor’s narrow, winding alleyways, flanked by mud-brick homes topped with prayer flags and churning with crowds, monks bless Tibetan children by blowing on their heads and crowds of pilgrims walk in circles around holy sites, murmuring to themselves as their eyes roll back into their heads. Porters hoist slabs of yak cheese on their backs or hack apart bloody sides of yak right on the sidewalk, leaving bones strewn in the gutters.
In the center of the Barkhor, I wander into the Jokhang Temple. Avoiding tour groups in the main sanctuary, I head into the back rooms, past warrior deities painted on the walls. In the back, I am alone with one Tibetan devotee, who spins a line of golden prayer wheels. Though murals on the Jokhang’s front walls have faded — during the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards attacked the Jokhang — in the back the mural details become clearer, and I can even make out goddesses’ long eyelashes.
Above the Barkhor stands the Potala Palace, traditional residence of the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet. The 13-story-high Potala’s size and detail remain impressive. The exterior walls, constructed from mud and wood, are painted such a deep, rich crimson that from a distance they appear covered with plush carpet. A walking tour climbs through endless, labyrinthine throne rooms, side chapels and catacombs, emerging onto roofs topped with golden pagodas. In one chapel alone, cabinets hold more than 1,000 images of the Buddhist god of longevity; in the room housing the tomb of the eighth Dalai Lama, who died in 1804, his coffin glimmers with what is said to be 5,574 ounces of gold leaf, inlaid diamonds and pearls.
But the Potala feels empty, ghostly, a museum of a dead culture. In a room where Tibetan leaders once received religious teachings, a kettle still sits on a mantel, as if the current 14th Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after the Chinese invasion, would be coming right back for tea. Few monks pray in the Potala, and most rooms lack residential furniture, giving visitors little idea of life before the Chinese takeover. Only near the end of the tour does one faded mural provide a glimpse of the past — of Lhasa crowded with monastic orders living in the hills surrounding the Potala, of a Potala swarming with monks.
The Potala exit sends me into a sea of vendors selling prayer beads. Though they are selling Tibetan objects of worship, most vendors seem to be Chinese migrants. “The Chinese tourism just allows migrants to take tourism jobs — Chinese businesspeople mass-produce Tibetan jewelry and they run the jewelry shops in the Barkhor,” says one Tibetan guide.
Still, some tourism specialists believe high-end travel to Tibet could empower Tibetans. This summer, Laurence Brahm, an American entrepreneur, opened House of Shambhala in Lhasa. The city’s first high-end boutique hotel, with elegant suites, a yoga center and a Tibetan crafts shop, it seeks to revive Tibetan arts and train Tibetans in tourism management.
After choosing to build in a traditional courtyard home that once housed a calligraphy school, Mr. Brahm employed a team of Tibetan restorers. They filled the rooms with antique hand-painted furniture and natural stone and wood floors, and outfitted the interior courtyard with prayer wheels and a small shrine. The design proved so authentic that, one morning, I wake to a fashion crew using House of Shambhala for an advertisement featuring an actor dressed as a Tibetan warrior in chain mail.
Other high-end operators have followed suit. One foreign nongovernmental organization helped found Dropenling Handicraft Development Center, a Lhasa initiative producing Tibetan crafts, like handbags, geared toward Western design sensibilities. Luxury travel agencies now run plush Tibet trips, like Imperial Tours’ high-end jaunt, or Power Places Tours’ trip, led by a guide, Gary Wintz, who was one of the first Westerners to live in Tibet in the 1950s.
The new train itself exudes luxury: In the plush four-bed sleeper berths, each bunk includes a personal television. When I board the train, I see many local travelers dressed up for the ride — Tibetan men wearing tattered pinstriped suits along with traditional high boots — though as we approach 16,000 feet, some Chinese train riders ruin their clothing by lying on the floor, moaning as their heads ache from the thin air. Like a cruel joke, a scrolling board constantly displays the current (towering) altitude, and a placid electronic commentator explains all the ways high altitude can damage your body if you are not in shape. “Dear guests, you better have done some sports before you came to Tibet,” the voice tells us.
The train soon will become even more luxurious. Next year, a company called RailPartners plans to introduce $1,000-per-night cars that will include private suites, butler service and haute cuisine.
It already ranks as one of the most impressive rail rides in the world. Snow-capped peaks shrouded in clouds loom over a plain studded with small stupas; the scope of the Tibetan vista makes America’s Big Sky country look small. Out the window, I watch nomads with long, flowing black hair herd flocks of woolly yaks across the rolling Tibetan grasslands. Seemingly amazed by the train, some nomads tether their horses next to tents and watch the cars roll by.
TRAIN travel also can help get travelers away from the Lhasa region. After several days outside the city, I decide Tibet still retains its majesty. But while in the past travelers could just stumble upon that allure, today you have to work to find it.
Disembarking from the train, I drive to Namtso Lake, at 15,500 feet one of the highest lakes in the world. The fierce, high-altitude sun turns the Namtso water a glimmering bright turquoise, and I watch one crane soar over the lake. From its shores I can see the serrated Tangula range, which Heinrich Harrer crossed during the epic trek to Lhasa immortalized in his book “Seven Years in Tibet,” and where mountains top 21,000 feet. When I walk toward the lake, I understand Tibet’s environmental fragility — crunching under my feet, the ground is little more than a thin veneer of grass over cold hard tundra.
Returning from Namtso to central Tibet, I stop at Ganden Monastery, traditionally one of the most important in Tibetan Buddhism. Unlike the empty Potala, Ganden feels like a living, working house of worship. Monks are everywhere — unloading trucks of food, debating Buddhist scripture by slapping their palms to emphasize points, joking with pilgrims camped nearby.
Sucking wind, I climb to the top of the monastery, nestled atop a mountain with panoramic views over the nearby Kyichu Valley. From the ridge, I can watch handicapped pilgrims crawling to touch Ganden’s sacred rocks. Near the apex of the mountain, a family performs a Tibetan sky burial, an ancient tradition that sometimes horrifies Westerners: Tibetans take the bodies of the deceased to a holy high point and leave them to be consumed by animals.
The majesty is even easier to find in culturally Tibetan areas outside Tibet province itself, officially known as the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Chinese government generally exerts less political pressure on monasteries outside the region, so they can practice traditional elements of Tibetan Buddhism with less interference.
On another trip, when I visit Labrang Monastery, a major site located in Gansu, a province near the autonomous region, I arrive in time for the annual harvest festival. Tibetan nomads in long black coats and gauchoesque wide-brimmed hats have ridden here from hundreds of miles away and now wait at the monastery gates. Within minutes, a senior abbot in a huge banana-shaped yellow hat appears at the gates, and the crowd of nomads surges forward, grabbing my arms and legs and pushing everyone inside the monastery. From the roof of the monastery, topped with paintings of grinning demons, young monks blow trumpets so big three men have to carry them, the rumble echoing back from the valley below. Other monks walk swiftly out of the monastery, beating drums and hand cymbals into a deafening racket. With no warning, they then unveil a series of enormous paper sculptures, light them on fire, and furiously stamp them to pieces, destroying evil spirits.
It’s a memory that comes back to me my last evening at House of Shambhala, as I climb a rickety ladder to the rooftop restaurant, which boasts views over the Barkhor, and watch the sun set over the Potala. Because of the sightlines from the Shambhala roof, I can stare directly at the Potala without seeing any of the sprawling, ugly newer part of Lhasa. For a moment, I can imagine the Lhasa from that Potala mural — a city teeming with spiritual passions, truly cut off from the rest of the world.
The New York Times
By JOSHUA KURLANTZICK
Published: December 10, 2006
Correction Appended
IN front of one of the holiest sites in Tibetan Buddhism, the Jokhang Temple in Lhasa, hundreds of pilgrims fall on the ground spread-eagled, prostrating themselves so forcefully their hands bleed from being smacked on the earth. Some have traveled on foot for months from hundreds of miles away, bowing toward Lhasa after every few steps. Several seem so overcome to have arrived at the Jokhang that they sob uncontrollably or stare into the temple as if entranced.
Then the trance snaps. Behind one of the pilgrims, a tourist climbs onto one of the Jokhang’s massive golden prayer wheels, pulls out a cellphone camera, and starts snapping.
One pilgrim, a young Tibetan man, jumps to his feet and begins gesturing inside his long cloak, where some Tibetans traditionally carry a long, sharp knife. The tourist holsters his phone and walks backward, putting his hands up in universal signal of “I surrender.” But when the pilgrim leaves, the tourist starts snapping away again.
Once almost a synonym for remote, Tibet has in recent years experienced a surge of development and tourism, bringing cellphone cameras and tour leaders wielding megaphones to sites like the Jokhang. Tourism to Tibet is skyrocketing, a result of rising Chinese incomes, growing Chinese fascination with Tibetan Buddhism and easier access to the Roof of the World. This summer, Beijing unveiled an engineering marvel of a train line to Tibet. The train climbs to 16,000 feet, the highest of any railroad in the world, and workers had to build special features into the cars, like oxygen tanks for passengers gasping at such high altitudes.
“I had to come here,” one Chinese tour guide tells me during my visit to Tibet this summer. “This is where I can make money.”
This tourism boom is only the beginning. Though in 2004 Tibet received some 1.2 million tourists, by 2020 Chinese officials estimate that 10 million visitors may come, potentially threatening conservation efforts. Unesco has warned that China is allowing the destruction of Lhasa’s traditional buildings.
For many Western travelers, the tourism bonanza has added to the urgency of getting to Tibet while they can still recognize its unique culture and fragile environment. Yet even as more foreigners consider visiting, Tibet is becoming more comfortable, with easier access for independent travelers and higher-end accommodations like Lhasa’s first boutique hotel, which opened this summer.
Lhasa, the historic capital of Tibet, has become the center of the development and tourism drive. In the sprawling newer section of Lhasa, cranes loom and hammers clatter, erecting boxy glass-and-steel shopping centers and fast food outlets so popular they employ bouncers, like elite nightclubs. In central Lhasa, Chinese tour groups pose with red-robed Tibetan monks, who look distinctly uneasy appearing in the photographs. Young Chinese hippies with wispy goatees gravitate to smoky Tibetan bars — for young Chinese traveling on a shoestring, remote Tibet has become their Goa.
Despite the development, once I walk into the Barkhor, the older Tibetan section of town, Lhasa still resembles a medieval city, suffused with the smell of yak butter, juniper and incense. In the Barkhor’s narrow, winding alleyways, flanked by mud-brick homes topped with prayer flags and churning with crowds, monks bless Tibetan children by blowing on their heads and crowds of pilgrims walk in circles around holy sites, murmuring to themselves as their eyes roll back into their heads. Porters hoist slabs of yak cheese on their backs or hack apart bloody sides of yak right on the sidewalk, leaving bones strewn in the gutters.
In the center of the Barkhor, I wander into the Jokhang Temple. Avoiding tour groups in the main sanctuary, I head into the back rooms, past warrior deities painted on the walls. In the back, I am alone with one Tibetan devotee, who spins a line of golden prayer wheels. Though murals on the Jokhang’s front walls have faded — during the Cultural Revolution, Red Guards attacked the Jokhang — in the back the mural details become clearer, and I can even make out goddesses’ long eyelashes.
Above the Barkhor stands the Potala Palace, traditional residence of the Dalai Lama, spiritual leader of Tibet. The 13-story-high Potala’s size and detail remain impressive. The exterior walls, constructed from mud and wood, are painted such a deep, rich crimson that from a distance they appear covered with plush carpet. A walking tour climbs through endless, labyrinthine throne rooms, side chapels and catacombs, emerging onto roofs topped with golden pagodas. In one chapel alone, cabinets hold more than 1,000 images of the Buddhist god of longevity; in the room housing the tomb of the eighth Dalai Lama, who died in 1804, his coffin glimmers with what is said to be 5,574 ounces of gold leaf, inlaid diamonds and pearls.
But the Potala feels empty, ghostly, a museum of a dead culture. In a room where Tibetan leaders once received religious teachings, a kettle still sits on a mantel, as if the current 14th Dalai Lama, who fled Tibet in 1959 after the Chinese invasion, would be coming right back for tea. Few monks pray in the Potala, and most rooms lack residential furniture, giving visitors little idea of life before the Chinese takeover. Only near the end of the tour does one faded mural provide a glimpse of the past — of Lhasa crowded with monastic orders living in the hills surrounding the Potala, of a Potala swarming with monks.
The Potala exit sends me into a sea of vendors selling prayer beads. Though they are selling Tibetan objects of worship, most vendors seem to be Chinese migrants. “The Chinese tourism just allows migrants to take tourism jobs — Chinese businesspeople mass-produce Tibetan jewelry and they run the jewelry shops in the Barkhor,” says one Tibetan guide.
Still, some tourism specialists believe high-end travel to Tibet could empower Tibetans. This summer, Laurence Brahm, an American entrepreneur, opened House of Shambhala in Lhasa. The city’s first high-end boutique hotel, with elegant suites, a yoga center and a Tibetan crafts shop, it seeks to revive Tibetan arts and train Tibetans in tourism management.
After choosing to build in a traditional courtyard home that once housed a calligraphy school, Mr. Brahm employed a team of Tibetan restorers. They filled the rooms with antique hand-painted furniture and natural stone and wood floors, and outfitted the interior courtyard with prayer wheels and a small shrine. The design proved so authentic that, one morning, I wake to a fashion crew using House of Shambhala for an advertisement featuring an actor dressed as a Tibetan warrior in chain mail.
Other high-end operators have followed suit. One foreign nongovernmental organization helped found Dropenling Handicraft Development Center, a Lhasa initiative producing Tibetan crafts, like handbags, geared toward Western design sensibilities. Luxury travel agencies now run plush Tibet trips, like Imperial Tours’ high-end jaunt, or Power Places Tours’ trip, led by a guide, Gary Wintz, who was one of the first Westerners to live in Tibet in the 1950s.
The new train itself exudes luxury: In the plush four-bed sleeper berths, each bunk includes a personal television. When I board the train, I see many local travelers dressed up for the ride — Tibetan men wearing tattered pinstriped suits along with traditional high boots — though as we approach 16,000 feet, some Chinese train riders ruin their clothing by lying on the floor, moaning as their heads ache from the thin air. Like a cruel joke, a scrolling board constantly displays the current (towering) altitude, and a placid electronic commentator explains all the ways high altitude can damage your body if you are not in shape. “Dear guests, you better have done some sports before you came to Tibet,” the voice tells us.
The train soon will become even more luxurious. Next year, a company called RailPartners plans to introduce $1,000-per-night cars that will include private suites, butler service and haute cuisine.
It already ranks as one of the most impressive rail rides in the world. Snow-capped peaks shrouded in clouds loom over a plain studded with small stupas; the scope of the Tibetan vista makes America’s Big Sky country look small. Out the window, I watch nomads with long, flowing black hair herd flocks of woolly yaks across the rolling Tibetan grasslands. Seemingly amazed by the train, some nomads tether their horses next to tents and watch the cars roll by.
TRAIN travel also can help get travelers away from the Lhasa region. After several days outside the city, I decide Tibet still retains its majesty. But while in the past travelers could just stumble upon that allure, today you have to work to find it.
Disembarking from the train, I drive to Namtso Lake, at 15,500 feet one of the highest lakes in the world. The fierce, high-altitude sun turns the Namtso water a glimmering bright turquoise, and I watch one crane soar over the lake. From its shores I can see the serrated Tangula range, which Heinrich Harrer crossed during the epic trek to Lhasa immortalized in his book “Seven Years in Tibet,” and where mountains top 21,000 feet. When I walk toward the lake, I understand Tibet’s environmental fragility — crunching under my feet, the ground is little more than a thin veneer of grass over cold hard tundra.
Returning from Namtso to central Tibet, I stop at Ganden Monastery, traditionally one of the most important in Tibetan Buddhism. Unlike the empty Potala, Ganden feels like a living, working house of worship. Monks are everywhere — unloading trucks of food, debating Buddhist scripture by slapping their palms to emphasize points, joking with pilgrims camped nearby.
Sucking wind, I climb to the top of the monastery, nestled atop a mountain with panoramic views over the nearby Kyichu Valley. From the ridge, I can watch handicapped pilgrims crawling to touch Ganden’s sacred rocks. Near the apex of the mountain, a family performs a Tibetan sky burial, an ancient tradition that sometimes horrifies Westerners: Tibetans take the bodies of the deceased to a holy high point and leave them to be consumed by animals.
The majesty is even easier to find in culturally Tibetan areas outside Tibet province itself, officially known as the Tibet Autonomous Region. The Chinese government generally exerts less political pressure on monasteries outside the region, so they can practice traditional elements of Tibetan Buddhism with less interference.
On another trip, when I visit Labrang Monastery, a major site located in Gansu, a province near the autonomous region, I arrive in time for the annual harvest festival. Tibetan nomads in long black coats and gauchoesque wide-brimmed hats have ridden here from hundreds of miles away and now wait at the monastery gates. Within minutes, a senior abbot in a huge banana-shaped yellow hat appears at the gates, and the crowd of nomads surges forward, grabbing my arms and legs and pushing everyone inside the monastery. From the roof of the monastery, topped with paintings of grinning demons, young monks blow trumpets so big three men have to carry them, the rumble echoing back from the valley below. Other monks walk swiftly out of the monastery, beating drums and hand cymbals into a deafening racket. With no warning, they then unveil a series of enormous paper sculptures, light them on fire, and furiously stamp them to pieces, destroying evil spirits.
It’s a memory that comes back to me my last evening at House of Shambhala, as I climb a rickety ladder to the rooftop restaurant, which boasts views over the Barkhor, and watch the sun set over the Potala. Because of the sightlines from the Shambhala roof, I can stare directly at the Potala without seeing any of the sprawling, ugly newer part of Lhasa. For a moment, I can imagine the Lhasa from that Potala mural — a city teeming with spiritual passions, truly cut off from the rest of the world.
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Toy Trucks, Plush Pigs, Pussycat Dolls?
Hello all!
I just wanted to share this "I wish I had my camera with me" moment!
I was walking to the recording studio a few weeks ago and I pass a kindergarten on the way. Usually the kids are tearing it up outside, running all over the place and screaming. But this time they were all standing in lines according to height and dancing along with the instructors.
Awww...how cute! A bunch of 3 and 4 year olds dancing.
Wait!
What are they doing...?
Are they dancing to the...no...wait...yes, yes they are!
Lines of little kids, barely out of toddler phase where thrusting and booty shaking to, the groove of the Pussycat Dolls.
There's just something not right about seeing cherubic little kids grinding to "don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"
Yeah.
Hilarious and a little...um...weird....
I just wanted to share this "I wish I had my camera with me" moment!
I was walking to the recording studio a few weeks ago and I pass a kindergarten on the way. Usually the kids are tearing it up outside, running all over the place and screaming. But this time they were all standing in lines according to height and dancing along with the instructors.
Awww...how cute! A bunch of 3 and 4 year olds dancing.
Wait!
What are they doing...?
Are they dancing to the...no...wait...yes, yes they are!
Lines of little kids, barely out of toddler phase where thrusting and booty shaking to, the groove of the Pussycat Dolls.
There's just something not right about seeing cherubic little kids grinding to "don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?"
Yeah.
Hilarious and a little...um...weird....
Monday, January 08, 2007
Seriously, they should be extinct.
So, their main survival skill is that they are cute and humans want to save them and will pay mounds of cash to keep 'em.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - If you think kids are picky, try feeding a giant panda.
It takes four full-time bamboo hunters at Zoo Atlanta to satisfy the palates of the zoo's panda pair, Lun Lun and Yang Yang. And they are not always successful.
The animals' diet consists almost entirely of bamboo, but they will eat only about 20 of the 200 or so species that grow in Georgia. What type they like also varies by the time of year. Sometimes the pandas will eat nothing but one variety for a week, then refuse to eat it anymore. (Sound familiar, parents?)
And the bamboo has to be fresh — the pandas turn up their noses at dry or wilted leaves and discolored stalks.
So the zoo relies on a bamboo hunting team to find and harvest local patches of the plant. The bamboo they collect cannot be grown with pesticides or near polluted waterways. And most important, it must be appetizing to the pandas.
Bamboo grows wild — and fast, like a weed — in many parts of the country. The Atlanta zoo could, of course, grow its own, but that would not be very practical, given the pandas' ever-changing tastes.
"They might eat golden bamboo from Mr. Smith's yard but they won't eat it from Mr. Jones' yard," said Jan Fortune, manager of the zoo's animal nutrition department.
The finicky black-and-white animals are native to China's Sichuan Province. Lun Lun, the female, weighs around 250 pounds; Yang Yang, the male, is closer to 300 pounds. Each panda eats 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo a day. The leaves and stalks account for about 95 percent of their diet. (They also get soy biscuits and apples as treats.)
That means that the bamboo hunters have to haul in about 400 pounds of bamboo each week to provide enough food for the pandas and a few other zoo animals, like the elephants and gorillas, that also eat the plants.
The team works five days a week harvesting bamboo from the yards of homes and businesses on a list of about 1,500 approved donors within 100 miles of Atlanta. Their jobs will get tougher in nine months when the zoo's panda cub Mei Lan, born Sept. 6, moves from Lun Lun's milk to the stalk.
Zoo Atlanta spends $2 million each year on the pandas, which includes the costs of leasing them from the Chinese government and employing the bamboo hunters.
On a recent morning, Zoo Atlanta's bamboo hunters trooped through a wooded lot carrying a saw, a lopper and twine. They sawed, chopped and bundled the long, green stalks with ease and efficiency, filling the back of their truck in a couple of hours.
They brave yellowjackets, wasps, snakes, fire ants, poison ivy and every kind of weather. They have even been chased by a wild boar.
"Sometimes, in the country, people come out with their guns and ask, `What are y'all doing?!'" said Rytis Daujotas, one of the bamboo hunters.
The plants must be free of chemicals, bird droppings or other animal feces, which can be toxic to the pandas. Bamboo grown near a busy road is no good because auto exhaust can contaminate the crop.
And the bamboo team cannot use power tools because any oil or gas residue would poison the pandas. The hand-held saw and lopper are greased with cooking oil after being disinfected every day.
As recently as last year, Zoo Atlanta also relied on a bamboo farm in Savannah operated by the University of Georgia. But the availability of closer sources and the growing cost of hauling the bamboo 250 miles to Atlanta ended that relationship.
Other U.S. zoos with pandas get their bamboo in various ways. The Memphis Zoo has a team that harvests bamboo in the area. The zoo also grows the plant on its own seven-acre bamboo farm.
The San Diego Zoo grows all the bamboo eaten by its three adult pandas. The Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington gets most of its bamboo from a private donor's property in Maryland, but it also is trying to grow some at the zoo.
Since pandas are picky, most zoos have found that growing only one species of bamboo won't cut it. Zoo Atlanta keeps files on what types of bamboo the pandas eat each day, but the animals often change their minds.
"You have to kind of play it by ear," Daujotas said. "It's a good thing we have elephants. What pandas don't like, elephants like."
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - If you think kids are picky, try feeding a giant panda.
It takes four full-time bamboo hunters at Zoo Atlanta to satisfy the palates of the zoo's panda pair, Lun Lun and Yang Yang. And they are not always successful.
The animals' diet consists almost entirely of bamboo, but they will eat only about 20 of the 200 or so species that grow in Georgia. What type they like also varies by the time of year. Sometimes the pandas will eat nothing but one variety for a week, then refuse to eat it anymore. (Sound familiar, parents?)
And the bamboo has to be fresh — the pandas turn up their noses at dry or wilted leaves and discolored stalks.
So the zoo relies on a bamboo hunting team to find and harvest local patches of the plant. The bamboo they collect cannot be grown with pesticides or near polluted waterways. And most important, it must be appetizing to the pandas.
Bamboo grows wild — and fast, like a weed — in many parts of the country. The Atlanta zoo could, of course, grow its own, but that would not be very practical, given the pandas' ever-changing tastes.
"They might eat golden bamboo from Mr. Smith's yard but they won't eat it from Mr. Jones' yard," said Jan Fortune, manager of the zoo's animal nutrition department.
The finicky black-and-white animals are native to China's Sichuan Province. Lun Lun, the female, weighs around 250 pounds; Yang Yang, the male, is closer to 300 pounds. Each panda eats 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo a day. The leaves and stalks account for about 95 percent of their diet. (They also get soy biscuits and apples as treats.)
That means that the bamboo hunters have to haul in about 400 pounds of bamboo each week to provide enough food for the pandas and a few other zoo animals, like the elephants and gorillas, that also eat the plants.
The team works five days a week harvesting bamboo from the yards of homes and businesses on a list of about 1,500 approved donors within 100 miles of Atlanta. Their jobs will get tougher in nine months when the zoo's panda cub Mei Lan, born Sept. 6, moves from Lun Lun's milk to the stalk.
Zoo Atlanta spends $2 million each year on the pandas, which includes the costs of leasing them from the Chinese government and employing the bamboo hunters.
On a recent morning, Zoo Atlanta's bamboo hunters trooped through a wooded lot carrying a saw, a lopper and twine. They sawed, chopped and bundled the long, green stalks with ease and efficiency, filling the back of their truck in a couple of hours.
They brave yellowjackets, wasps, snakes, fire ants, poison ivy and every kind of weather. They have even been chased by a wild boar.
"Sometimes, in the country, people come out with their guns and ask, `What are y'all doing?!'" said Rytis Daujotas, one of the bamboo hunters.
The plants must be free of chemicals, bird droppings or other animal feces, which can be toxic to the pandas. Bamboo grown near a busy road is no good because auto exhaust can contaminate the crop.
And the bamboo team cannot use power tools because any oil or gas residue would poison the pandas. The hand-held saw and lopper are greased with cooking oil after being disinfected every day.
As recently as last year, Zoo Atlanta also relied on a bamboo farm in Savannah operated by the University of Georgia. But the availability of closer sources and the growing cost of hauling the bamboo 250 miles to Atlanta ended that relationship.
Other U.S. zoos with pandas get their bamboo in various ways. The Memphis Zoo has a team that harvests bamboo in the area. The zoo also grows the plant on its own seven-acre bamboo farm.
The San Diego Zoo grows all the bamboo eaten by its three adult pandas. The Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington gets most of its bamboo from a private donor's property in Maryland, but it also is trying to grow some at the zoo.
Since pandas are picky, most zoos have found that growing only one species of bamboo won't cut it. Zoo Atlanta keeps files on what types of bamboo the pandas eat each day, but the animals often change their minds.
"You have to kind of play it by ear," Daujotas said. "It's a good thing we have elephants. What pandas don't like, elephants like."
Non-Toxic, Whew!
So, I sort of drank my liquid glue stick.
Yeah.
I'm cool.
It was next to my cola flavored high fructose corn syrup beverage.
But I do have to question the toxicity of the glue as it is Chinese and has some random English words on it, so is "non-toxic" random or real?
I guess now it is just a waiting game.
I'll let you know. Or won't depending on what happens :)
Anyhow, I have been having oodles and oodles of internet problems and I have recently written to many of you - Mom/Dad, Q, Debz, Bri, Gfarb, Jerry, Kerrie, but I don't think all of them will be able to jump the broken internet cable gaps in the pacific, so if you haven't heard from me lately that's why. But don't worry, I haven't said anything of any importance in any of my written correspondence, so you're not missing out on anything.
I have only 2 more classes to do this week and then CAMBODIA!!! Woohoo! I can't wait!
Yeah.
I'm cool.
It was next to my cola flavored high fructose corn syrup beverage.
But I do have to question the toxicity of the glue as it is Chinese and has some random English words on it, so is "non-toxic" random or real?
I guess now it is just a waiting game.
I'll let you know. Or won't depending on what happens :)
Anyhow, I have been having oodles and oodles of internet problems and I have recently written to many of you - Mom/Dad, Q, Debz, Bri, Gfarb, Jerry, Kerrie, but I don't think all of them will be able to jump the broken internet cable gaps in the pacific, so if you haven't heard from me lately that's why. But don't worry, I haven't said anything of any importance in any of my written correspondence, so you're not missing out on anything.
I have only 2 more classes to do this week and then CAMBODIA!!! Woohoo! I can't wait!
Sunday, January 07, 2007
THANK YOU!!!
Sorry for the belated response to the very excellent care packages! This whole earthquake business is really inconvenient with all of the Internet stuff that I HAVE to do. Well, not HAVE to do, but would really like to get done. Anyhow, I just want to thank Jerry for his awesome holiday/birthday packages that came just in time for Christmas! Most of the edible contents are already gone....
Also, a huge thank you to Matt's parents! We got an incredible Christmas box from them too! It's not the holidays without Christmas cookies/cake and delicious cheese and sausage (oh, you guys know our gastronomic preferences so well!)
I hope you all of my readers, old and new, had a very happy holiday are were able to partake in in holiday goodness no matter where you are our what you believe in.
Now, on to some other business...
What's your resolution?
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