After driving to Beijing, we checked into the airport at around 11AM...about 2 hours before our departure. Apparently, someone famous was about to land as there were multiple camera crews and a huge audience waiting outside the entrance. Unfortunately, Beijing only allows one personal item and a carryon suitcase...(any sized backpack weren't allowed since they have two straps, while single strapped bags of ALL sizes were allowed)...this caused us to repack frantically. Finally, we checked in our luggage and headed to the monorail to reach our departure gate. Ended up going through customs, etc and finally had about ~30 minutes before our plane left before we finally made it to the terminal. We were parched and ended up buying lots of bottles of water for the plane ride (at a more expensive price too!), but unfortunately....flights to the US from China prohibited all water that people carried on...talk about epic fail. This obviously angered a lot of people, and especially us, since we even asked during checkin about this and they told us we COULD bring water that we bought in the airport after we cleared security.
Flight was fairly standard...ended up watching Push, Dragonball, and another movie... The cool part of the flight was that we ended up sitting next to the Chinese National Volleyball team, who was coming to the US for summer training/ competitions. Landed in SFO about 30 minutes early, and hung around in the terminal for a bit before our connecting flight left. Apparently, we even ended up passing by Michelle Obama, who was at the airport too! Ending up eating some good old clam chowder with sourdough for lunch before boarding our flight.
On the ride to Boston, I ended up sleeping for most of the trip. The most amazing part was the end, since we were landing during a sunset. We ended up seeing an amazing view of Boston in the sunset and the accompanying landscape. Afterwards, my dad picked us up from the airport and we arrived home at about 9PMish. I was completely awake and wasn't able to fall asleep for a while.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Chengede: Part 2 / Departure
After returning, we explored the city of Chengde and the famous surrounding temples for the next couple of days. Learned to do the Chinese yo-yo (and the one-sided yoyo). Also watched an American Idol type of event at the city square, which was pretty funny and interesting. Also, ate at a famous dumpling restaurant, where the former Emperor used to frequent. Also, ended up doing the usual of shopping, going to the arcade...there sure are lots of knock-offs in China...for 150 Yuan, you can purchase a pair of Nike Air shoes that look like the real thing, except they use "highly advanced mimicing technologies" (quote the shopkeeper). One of my granduncles ended up writing calligraphy for me to bring home as well, which I thought was pretty cool.
Tomorrow, I'll be leaving from Beijing airport at around noon-ish. Hopefully when I land in San Francisco I can get some wifi :).
Until then!
Tomorrow, I'll be leaving from Beijing airport at around noon-ish. Hopefully when I land in San Francisco I can get some wifi :).
Until then!
Chengde Excusions: Journey to Inner Mongolia
In our first full day at Chengde, we woke up early to visit the Emperor's Summer Palace. The Palace is actually quite huge, as there's also a huge park, a large lake, and a mountain range. There are about 44 "scenic areas," and we visited quite a few of them. In the park area, there are over 1000 deer that live on the premises. They aren't afraid of humans and will actually nod their head in thanks if you feed them food. After walking along the surroundings for a bit, we ended up renting a small motorboat to tour the lake. Afterwards, we headed to a tour agency to book our trip to Inner Mongolia (which is part of China!) and went back for dinner.
The following day, we woke up early to catch our tour bus. After a three hour bus ride, we finally arrived at our destination: the Emperor's Hunting Grounds of Inner Mongolia. Our destination was literally in the middle of nowhere, since we were about 1000m above sea level and there was only one nearby village. We ended up staying at a lodging area that had Mongolian Huts and small "cabins" to sleep in. We deposited our luggage into the cabins (boy were they cold, I ended up wearing pants and a sweatshirt!). Afterwards, we went rafting for about an hour or so before setting off again.
Next, we set out to our first real destination: the grassy plains of Inner Mongolia. The view there is spectacular. You can just look out into the horizon and see an abundance of green, as well as a feeling of "relaxation." We then visited the large horse stables nearby (didn't go on since we didn't have enough time). We ended up taking a "goat cart" to a different part of the grassy plains to take pictures. Afterwards, I went ATVing for a bit (extremely fun!), and took so pictures of the surroundings. Next, I went to the archery range and shot until my fingers were numb since we had to wait for the others to return haha. Our final destination for the day was a Mongolian monument, where people came to pray. We participated in the ritual, which involved walking clockwise around the monument three times, and then throwing a rock to the top of the five-layered altar. (You're allowed to ask for anything you want, but it has to be constrained to within the coming year.) After, we returned to our lodging area for a quick dinner at their restaurant, before heading straight to bed (it got really cold...since there was a lot of wind too).
The next day, we woke up early for a simple breakfast (man tou, hardboiled egg, and congee soup). Afterwards, we headed to a scenic lake and spent an hour or so there visiting the sights and taking pictures. Next, we visited a famous tower, composed of nine separate floors. Adjacent to it, was an old monastery that the former Emperor visited whenever he came to the hunting grounds. Apparently, the tower has been renovated, since there's an elevator that goes through each floor. At the top of the tower (the tallest place in the entire region), you can see way off into the distance in all directions. To the north, you can see the border with Mongolia and the former battle sites between the Mongolian and the Chinese. This last spot marked the end of our journeys, since we began the long bus ride home shortly after.
The following day, we woke up early to catch our tour bus. After a three hour bus ride, we finally arrived at our destination: the Emperor's Hunting Grounds of Inner Mongolia. Our destination was literally in the middle of nowhere, since we were about 1000m above sea level and there was only one nearby village. We ended up staying at a lodging area that had Mongolian Huts and small "cabins" to sleep in. We deposited our luggage into the cabins (boy were they cold, I ended up wearing pants and a sweatshirt!). Afterwards, we went rafting for about an hour or so before setting off again.
Next, we set out to our first real destination: the grassy plains of Inner Mongolia. The view there is spectacular. You can just look out into the horizon and see an abundance of green, as well as a feeling of "relaxation." We then visited the large horse stables nearby (didn't go on since we didn't have enough time). We ended up taking a "goat cart" to a different part of the grassy plains to take pictures. Afterwards, I went ATVing for a bit (extremely fun!), and took so pictures of the surroundings. Next, I went to the archery range and shot until my fingers were numb since we had to wait for the others to return haha. Our final destination for the day was a Mongolian monument, where people came to pray. We participated in the ritual, which involved walking clockwise around the monument three times, and then throwing a rock to the top of the five-layered altar. (You're allowed to ask for anything you want, but it has to be constrained to within the coming year.) After, we returned to our lodging area for a quick dinner at their restaurant, before heading straight to bed (it got really cold...since there was a lot of wind too).
The next day, we woke up early for a simple breakfast (man tou, hardboiled egg, and congee soup). Afterwards, we headed to a scenic lake and spent an hour or so there visiting the sights and taking pictures. Next, we visited a famous tower, composed of nine separate floors. Adjacent to it, was an old monastery that the former Emperor visited whenever he came to the hunting grounds. Apparently, the tower has been renovated, since there's an elevator that goes through each floor. At the top of the tower (the tallest place in the entire region), you can see way off into the distance in all directions. To the north, you can see the border with Mongolia and the former battle sites between the Mongolian and the Chinese. This last spot marked the end of our journeys, since we began the long bus ride home shortly after.
A Day in Beijing
We ended up taking another night train to Beijing, so we woke to the passing city streets and bustling people of Beijing. While we slowly pulled into the station, we saw not only the urban portion of Beijing, but also the less developed rural sections. After we departed from the station, we ended up meeting with a couple of my dad's old friends and went to eat world famous Beijing fried duck for lunch (its really good!). Later in the afternoon, my uncle from Chengde arrived to pick us up.
On our way to Chengde, we stopped at a portion of the Great Wall of China. In total, we ended up climbing along it for a couple of hours...the sights up there are quite breathtaking...though the stairs are extremely steep. Afterwards, we continued on our journey to Chengde. When we arrived at our destination in the evening, we ended up meeting extended family members before eating a good home cooked meal.
On our way to Chengde, we stopped at a portion of the Great Wall of China. In total, we ended up climbing along it for a couple of hours...the sights up there are quite breathtaking...though the stairs are extremely steep. Afterwards, we continued on our journey to Chengde. When we arrived at our destination in the evening, we ended up meeting extended family members before eating a good home cooked meal.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Zhengzhou Part 2 : Cultural Fiesta
The following afternoon, my aunts and cousins left, so I spent most of the day relaxing and catching up on some work. Not much happened, except for the fact that I looked after/ played with my other cousin's daughter for a while. She's only two years old, but she's quite the character since she recently learned to speak. At first, she was really shy, but by the end of the day, she ended up sharing some of her snacks with me and calling me "uncle." For dinner, we headed out to the famous Nightmarket of Kaifeng, where vendors sold many delicacies. I saw the usual: bbqed beef, bbqed lamb, but also the exotic: fried bugs, fried tentacles, etc... I ended up going for a more "normal" dinner, and ended up eating bbqed lamb, bbqed beef, shao bing (kinda like fried pita bread), sweet congee soup, and other amazing food.
Routine for the next several days was the same: staying at home for part of the day, then going out later on.
The first day I went out with my cousin, and we ended up watching the new Transformers movie, the original English version :). I thought the plot and action were pretty good, though it was definitely rushed at parts. I've got high expectations for the next one though! Next, we headed to the arcade again. This time, I ended up playing Tekken and did quite well (I picked Lei Wulong for those of you who are curious). After I placed my one token in, this guy came over and we started fighting each other. I won the first battle (which are a best out of three) easily, as he barely landed any hits. Since he lost, he put in another token and we fought again. This time, he picked Devil Jin and kept using a cheap move that was hard to block. I lost the first battle, but ended up winning the second one. In the third and final battle, my character was brought down to near death (any one hit would've KO-ed him), while my opponent had over half his health left. Somehow, I managed to use a large succession of combos and was able to take him out :). Since he left, I ended up playing the computer and won three series of battles, before I ended up losing. (All this was on one token ^^, Note: I also managed to hit the jackpot in this wheel of fortune-esque game that dispenses tickets) Afterwards, we went out to eat some sushi at this restaurant near the mall. I ended up eating 10+ kinds of sushi, as well as a bowl of seafood ramen. The sushi was pretty good and not too expensive, after converting back to US currency haha.
The next day, I ended up going out shopping and bought lots of various goods, including shirts, ties, etc. For dinner, we went to an amazing Korean BBQ restaurant. The place had optional tradition seating, where you were required to take off your shoes, and also, all the waiteres/ waitresses wore traditional clothing. We ended up getting two plates of pork, one plate of fish, one plate of lamb, one plate of beef, one plate of potatoes/ sweet potatoes, and some vegetables. I really enjoyed personally cooking the meat, as well as the custom sesame sauce they provided.
After a couple of days, we went to one of the largest amusement parks in Zhengzhou (I don't think it was that big, as there were only 14 rides total?- it had a tourist rating of AAAA, whereas the max is AAAAA). The rides at the park were fairly repetitive, as the majority of them involving spinning in a circle, or flipping upside down. I seriously doubted the safety of the rides, as the cushions were rock hard...think binders being hit on your upper torso/ head as you are being flipped upside down and turned in circles. Afterwards, we headed to an Italian restaurant, which was actually full of "outsiders," mostly Indians?. For dinner, we ended up getting a sausage and green pepper pizza, chicken and egg soup (that's not Italian.. haha), pasta and...beef?, as well as a Hawaiian pizza (which was made of pineapple...and shrimp?) The pizza wasn't too bad, as the cheese was quite authentic, though there was hardly any tomato sauce. Everything tasted pretty good, though the shrimp was quite unexpected...they didn't really have much taste either.
Near the end of our trip, we decided to spend a day at a health spa, which was part of a four-star hotel. Basically, you could stay for 24 hours (with three meals included) for only 100ish Yuan (16ish dollars?). The spa facilities were amazing as there were so many different aspects. The shower room was quite extravagant too, as there were massage style showers and other aspects. On the first floor, there was a huge pool that had numerous water massagers built into the sides, as well as lounge chairs, and semi-hot tubs. We spent a couple of hours there relaxing away and enjoying the complimentary water, tea, and juice. In addition, there was an upper portion where people could lie on "hot slabs" and sleep if they wanted. Furthermore, there was a set of "natural" hot tubs, some of which were filled with various herbs. Finally, there was a fairly large pool filled with small fishes that would "nibble" / clean dirt off your body if you stayed still. When lunchtime came, we changed into bathrobes provided by the spa (they were white and red striped...reminding me of prison hahahaha). Lunch was a buffet, filled with various Chinese dishes, as well as soup, rice, and noodles (and great dessert!). After lunch, we headed upstairs to a floor filled with massage chairs that each had LCD TVs attached and ended up sleeping for a bit. (There were also personal massage rooms and a VIP section) Next, I ended up surfing the web at a mini "internet cafe," though the internet/ computers there were horrible...so I left after a couple of minutes (think IE version 6, Windows XP PRO chinese version, <256 MB RAM, and laggy internet). Instead, I ended up going back to the first floor and relaxing in the hot tub for a while longer. Afterwards, we went back and began packing for Beijing!
Routine for the next several days was the same: staying at home for part of the day, then going out later on.
The first day I went out with my cousin, and we ended up watching the new Transformers movie, the original English version :). I thought the plot and action were pretty good, though it was definitely rushed at parts. I've got high expectations for the next one though! Next, we headed to the arcade again. This time, I ended up playing Tekken and did quite well (I picked Lei Wulong for those of you who are curious). After I placed my one token in, this guy came over and we started fighting each other. I won the first battle (which are a best out of three) easily, as he barely landed any hits. Since he lost, he put in another token and we fought again. This time, he picked Devil Jin and kept using a cheap move that was hard to block. I lost the first battle, but ended up winning the second one. In the third and final battle, my character was brought down to near death (any one hit would've KO-ed him), while my opponent had over half his health left. Somehow, I managed to use a large succession of combos and was able to take him out :). Since he left, I ended up playing the computer and won three series of battles, before I ended up losing. (All this was on one token ^^, Note: I also managed to hit the jackpot in this wheel of fortune-esque game that dispenses tickets) Afterwards, we went out to eat some sushi at this restaurant near the mall. I ended up eating 10+ kinds of sushi, as well as a bowl of seafood ramen. The sushi was pretty good and not too expensive, after converting back to US currency haha.
The next day, I ended up going out shopping and bought lots of various goods, including shirts, ties, etc. For dinner, we went to an amazing Korean BBQ restaurant. The place had optional tradition seating, where you were required to take off your shoes, and also, all the waiteres/ waitresses wore traditional clothing. We ended up getting two plates of pork, one plate of fish, one plate of lamb, one plate of beef, one plate of potatoes/ sweet potatoes, and some vegetables. I really enjoyed personally cooking the meat, as well as the custom sesame sauce they provided.
After a couple of days, we went to one of the largest amusement parks in Zhengzhou (I don't think it was that big, as there were only 14 rides total?- it had a tourist rating of AAAA, whereas the max is AAAAA). The rides at the park were fairly repetitive, as the majority of them involving spinning in a circle, or flipping upside down. I seriously doubted the safety of the rides, as the cushions were rock hard...think binders being hit on your upper torso/ head as you are being flipped upside down and turned in circles. Afterwards, we headed to an Italian restaurant, which was actually full of "outsiders," mostly Indians?. For dinner, we ended up getting a sausage and green pepper pizza, chicken and egg soup (that's not Italian.. haha), pasta and...beef?, as well as a Hawaiian pizza (which was made of pineapple...and shrimp?) The pizza wasn't too bad, as the cheese was quite authentic, though there was hardly any tomato sauce. Everything tasted pretty good, though the shrimp was quite unexpected...they didn't really have much taste either.
Near the end of our trip, we decided to spend a day at a health spa, which was part of a four-star hotel. Basically, you could stay for 24 hours (with three meals included) for only 100ish Yuan (16ish dollars?). The spa facilities were amazing as there were so many different aspects. The shower room was quite extravagant too, as there were massage style showers and other aspects. On the first floor, there was a huge pool that had numerous water massagers built into the sides, as well as lounge chairs, and semi-hot tubs. We spent a couple of hours there relaxing away and enjoying the complimentary water, tea, and juice. In addition, there was an upper portion where people could lie on "hot slabs" and sleep if they wanted. Furthermore, there was a set of "natural" hot tubs, some of which were filled with various herbs. Finally, there was a fairly large pool filled with small fishes that would "nibble" / clean dirt off your body if you stayed still. When lunchtime came, we changed into bathrobes provided by the spa (they were white and red striped...reminding me of prison hahahaha). Lunch was a buffet, filled with various Chinese dishes, as well as soup, rice, and noodles (and great dessert!). After lunch, we headed upstairs to a floor filled with massage chairs that each had LCD TVs attached and ended up sleeping for a bit. (There were also personal massage rooms and a VIP section) Next, I ended up surfing the web at a mini "internet cafe," though the internet/ computers there were horrible...so I left after a couple of minutes (think IE version 6, Windows XP PRO chinese version, <256 MB RAM, and laggy internet). Instead, I ended up going back to the first floor and relaxing in the hot tub for a while longer. Afterwards, we went back and began packing for Beijing!
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