Thursday, August 23, 2007
"No straw day"
One of the days in Hong Kong, I asked for a straw with my Sprite and the clerk said in a very clear voice "no- it's no straw day." I returned to take a picture of the sign discussing the fact that they did this twice a month to try and protect the environment.
Hong Kong
The buildings in the forefront of the picture are the Hong Kong Island, Kowloon is across the river.
The Victoria's Peak Tram
This is how we got up to the top of Victorias Peak to catch the view of Hong Kong.
Hong Kong in two days
Hong Kong was a good way to end the trip. It was metropolitan enough (Louis Vuitton and Prada stores all over the place - because you know that's where we shop), but still cool things to see. I went to the Hong Kong History Museum which was a trip hilight for me personally. I also visited the Chinese dinosaur fossils at the Hong Kong Science Museum, and parts of the Art Museum. We all got a last massage before we left, and we traveled to the "Peak" to see the view of Hong Kong. Despite the fact that it was a bit crappy as far as weather goes, it was a nice view. There were McDonalds and other "recognizable" foods there. There were green tea Krispy Kreme donuts and a California Pizza Kitchen. One thing that we had to remember is that Hong Kong was a British colony, so the driving was on the opposite side of the road. All in all, Hong Kong was a good end to the trip - and we were ready to head home.
Hong Kong Skyline
Hong Kong skyline from the Kowloon side. This was just before the laser light show started.
On to Hong Kong...
After a nice stay in Shanghai, we were off to our last destination- Hong Kong. We flew from Shanghai to Guangzhou (thanks to plans from the Grand Pacific Travel Agency), and then got a train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong. The train was interesting; the seats were more comfortable than an airplane, and we actually got to see the surroundings which was interesting. There are parts of China that are absolutely breathtaking, and other parts that are just dirty and gross. I suppose that goes for any country, but it seemed like there were really stark differences. We arrived in Hong Kong and tried to get to the Alisan guesthouse (hostel).
Now, we had stayed at hostels before, both here and many of us in other places. However, this was like no hostel I'd seen. It was small, which was to be expected, but the best part was how we got there. We were to call the owner when we were in Guangzhou, and let him know when we'd be arriving in Hong Kong. He advised me over e-mail to then call him, and take the free shuttle to a fancy hotel that's a couple blocks from where their hostel is. We were to use the free phones on the right side of the lobby- we were to NOT GO TO THE RECEPTION DESK- and then they would come and get us. Um, can you say sketchy? The numbered door we were to enter to get to the hostel was just a normal door to an apartment building. We were being housed in a residential apartment- so there were obviously other people in the halls, and other people's stuff in the halls, and I was convinced that there were critters.
We checked in - the process took almost a half an hour- and then we were brought to our rooms, only one of the two was ready. The line we were given is that it was a busy morning and they were a little behind as they were short staffed as well. It was after 5 pm. hmph. I knew immediately that the room was not going to work. We were on the last leg of a darn near 6 week trip, and we wouldn't have been able to even open our luggage in the room. So, after dinner we set out for different accomodations. After we settled with Tommy, the owner of the Alisan guesthouse- and it was only Amy's skilled negotiation that saved us having to pay for all three nights without having spent more than 15 minutes in our room- we were out of there. At any rate, I don't have an issue with hostels, anyone who travels understands what I was going through. We were tired, and overpacked already- and we needed space to truly relax. We stayed at the South Pacific Hotel which was much more our comfort level at this particular part of the trip.
Now, we had stayed at hostels before, both here and many of us in other places. However, this was like no hostel I'd seen. It was small, which was to be expected, but the best part was how we got there. We were to call the owner when we were in Guangzhou, and let him know when we'd be arriving in Hong Kong. He advised me over e-mail to then call him, and take the free shuttle to a fancy hotel that's a couple blocks from where their hostel is. We were to use the free phones on the right side of the lobby- we were to NOT GO TO THE RECEPTION DESK- and then they would come and get us. Um, can you say sketchy? The numbered door we were to enter to get to the hostel was just a normal door to an apartment building. We were being housed in a residential apartment- so there were obviously other people in the halls, and other people's stuff in the halls, and I was convinced that there were critters.
We checked in - the process took almost a half an hour- and then we were brought to our rooms, only one of the two was ready. The line we were given is that it was a busy morning and they were a little behind as they were short staffed as well. It was after 5 pm. hmph. I knew immediately that the room was not going to work. We were on the last leg of a darn near 6 week trip, and we wouldn't have been able to even open our luggage in the room. So, after dinner we set out for different accomodations. After we settled with Tommy, the owner of the Alisan guesthouse- and it was only Amy's skilled negotiation that saved us having to pay for all three nights without having spent more than 15 minutes in our room- we were out of there. At any rate, I don't have an issue with hostels, anyone who travels understands what I was going through. We were tired, and overpacked already- and we needed space to truly relax. We stayed at the South Pacific Hotel which was much more our comfort level at this particular part of the trip.
Shopping in the Yuyan Bazaar
This was the heart of the bargaining area in Shanghai's Yuyan Bazaar area.
The Astor House Hotel
This is our room in the Astor House- it doesn't do it justice, it was really nice. The whole area smelled of stargazer lilys... it was fantastic.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Shanghai
We arrived in Shanghai too late to really do anything. We toured the
city by way of lost tour guide and driver, and enjoyed a meal not too
far from the base of the Pearl Tower- the largest tower in Asia.
The next day, we started at the Yuyan gardens and bazaar- which was
very nice, but it was a shopping mecca, and we only had an hour there-
so the bargaining would have to wait. The gardens were beautiful-
there were rock sculptures and trees galore, water- all of the elements
of a Chinese garden. It was cool in there, so we spent almost our
entire hour in the gardens. We knew that we would return to shop so we
weren’t too worried.
After that, we went to the Pearl tower to go up to one of the
observatory towers to enjoy the view; ok- so most of us could enjoy the
view. Ang is a little scared of heights- but she was a trooper and did
really well. It helped that we did not go up in a glass elevator- and
it was seemingly stable once we were on the observatory tower- so it
was a bearable experience for her.
After the tower, we returned to the same resturant for lunch that we
had eaten dinner the night before, and we were thankful that that would
be our last meal with unidentified Chinese food if we wanted. They
dropped us off at our hotel and went on with their trip back to Yuyao.
The Astor House Hotel is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been in.
There was a bit of a ruckus at first since the way I had worded the
e-mail and the way they understood it got lost in translation- but
thankfully Emily stayed and got it sorted out. Our rooms are on the
3rd floor- the celebrity rooms- and they have high ceilings and real
hardwood floors and a turn down service and a breakfast that is
included that is exactly what we needed. There is everything from
Korean fish soup to onion rings to eggs and corn flakes. I am really
pleased with our hotel- so if you’re ever in Shanghai, I highly
recommend it- and it’s only $80 a night- (we got a price off the
internet, and they did not realize that it was listed as that on the
internet!!!)
We split up yesterday because Amy and Karen wanted to see the Shanghai
museum- so Ang and I headed to the French Concession in the morning.
We visited the homes of Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai- (look them up if
you don’t know them, but anyone who has taken my class should know who
they are…). We also ate lunch at a beautiful Thai restaurant on the
grounds of a gorgeous hotel. It was a little pricey, but worth it. We
overlooked the park in the midst of the hotel complex’s grounds and
enjoyed our experience. Where else can you get Earl Grey tea ice
cream? Actually, you can probably get it lots of places, but we felt
special.
Then it was down to business- shopping. We returned to the bazaar and
did some real damage. They totally saw us coming though- and we
enjoyed following many different strangers into the areas that stored
their fake purses. There were back alley storage places, we went up
elevators to abandoned warehouses, we crouched down as we crawled under
the back shelves of stores- a section of the shelving swung out to
reveal rooms behind the actual store- it was crazy. I don’t know if
they do that just because they know people will come to experience it,
or because they could get in real trouble for selling faux items. At
any rate, we went to way too many of these sketchy areas – and left way
too much money there. After a good hard afternoon of shopping we
returned to the hotel, dropped our stuff off- and regrouped to enjoy
the tourist sightseeing tunnel. This is the product of someone who had
too much time on their hands. It’s a mechanism to get across the river
to the Pearl Tower side- but this tunnel has all kinds of psychadellic
lights that you see as you travel along in your tram. It has a little
narration and everything- quite the Star Wars meets the 1970s
experience (according to my friend Anne). We enjoyed a drink along the
river- and to Ang’s surprise, she met a new little friend. In the seat
cushion behind her, there was a kitten sleeping so once she had settled
in the chair, something started moving behind her, and out came this
little cat. It was really cute, but sad that he was abandoned there.
Now the challenge is going to be getting everything we just purchased
into our luggage… perhaps the professional badminton set will have to
stay here… oh well.
city by way of lost tour guide and driver, and enjoyed a meal not too
far from the base of the Pearl Tower- the largest tower in Asia.
The next day, we started at the Yuyan gardens and bazaar- which was
very nice, but it was a shopping mecca, and we only had an hour there-
so the bargaining would have to wait. The gardens were beautiful-
there were rock sculptures and trees galore, water- all of the elements
of a Chinese garden. It was cool in there, so we spent almost our
entire hour in the gardens. We knew that we would return to shop so we
weren’t too worried.
After that, we went to the Pearl tower to go up to one of the
observatory towers to enjoy the view; ok- so most of us could enjoy the
view. Ang is a little scared of heights- but she was a trooper and did
really well. It helped that we did not go up in a glass elevator- and
it was seemingly stable once we were on the observatory tower- so it
was a bearable experience for her.
After the tower, we returned to the same resturant for lunch that we
had eaten dinner the night before, and we were thankful that that would
be our last meal with unidentified Chinese food if we wanted. They
dropped us off at our hotel and went on with their trip back to Yuyao.
The Astor House Hotel is probably the nicest hotel I have ever been in.
There was a bit of a ruckus at first since the way I had worded the
e-mail and the way they understood it got lost in translation- but
thankfully Emily stayed and got it sorted out. Our rooms are on the
3rd floor- the celebrity rooms- and they have high ceilings and real
hardwood floors and a turn down service and a breakfast that is
included that is exactly what we needed. There is everything from
Korean fish soup to onion rings to eggs and corn flakes. I am really
pleased with our hotel- so if you’re ever in Shanghai, I highly
recommend it- and it’s only $80 a night- (we got a price off the
internet, and they did not realize that it was listed as that on the
internet!!!)
We split up yesterday because Amy and Karen wanted to see the Shanghai
museum- so Ang and I headed to the French Concession in the morning.
We visited the homes of Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai- (look them up if
you don’t know them, but anyone who has taken my class should know who
they are…). We also ate lunch at a beautiful Thai restaurant on the
grounds of a gorgeous hotel. It was a little pricey, but worth it. We
overlooked the park in the midst of the hotel complex’s grounds and
enjoyed our experience. Where else can you get Earl Grey tea ice
cream? Actually, you can probably get it lots of places, but we felt
special.
Then it was down to business- shopping. We returned to the bazaar and
did some real damage. They totally saw us coming though- and we
enjoyed following many different strangers into the areas that stored
their fake purses. There were back alley storage places, we went up
elevators to abandoned warehouses, we crouched down as we crawled under
the back shelves of stores- a section of the shelving swung out to
reveal rooms behind the actual store- it was crazy. I don’t know if
they do that just because they know people will come to experience it,
or because they could get in real trouble for selling faux items. At
any rate, we went to way too many of these sketchy areas – and left way
too much money there. After a good hard afternoon of shopping we
returned to the hotel, dropped our stuff off- and regrouped to enjoy
the tourist sightseeing tunnel. This is the product of someone who had
too much time on their hands. It’s a mechanism to get across the river
to the Pearl Tower side- but this tunnel has all kinds of psychadellic
lights that you see as you travel along in your tram. It has a little
narration and everything- quite the Star Wars meets the 1970s
experience (according to my friend Anne). We enjoyed a drink along the
river- and to Ang’s surprise, she met a new little friend. In the seat
cushion behind her, there was a kitten sleeping so once she had settled
in the chair, something started moving behind her, and out came this
little cat. It was really cute, but sad that he was abandoned there.
Now the challenge is going to be getting everything we just purchased
into our luggage… perhaps the professional badminton set will have to
stay here… oh well.
Putoshan
The school plans a three day trip after our teaching time is over. We
might be the most aggressive, or independent group of teachers they
have ever had, as we essentially planned the trip and told them what we
wanted to do. At any rate, we ended up going to Putoshan Island on the
first day. It’s an island that holds particular significance in the
Buddhist religion, as there are many temples on the island. The Puto
mountain at the heart of this island is one of the four most important
Buddhist mountains in China. We loaded up at 6:30 in the morning to
make the trek there. We had the Vice director, Emily and a tour guide
with us- and of course the driver of the van. They were surprised at
the amount of luggage we had, but we were packing for 6 weeks- so of
course there was a lot of stuff.
We were taken to the island on a ferry that held motor vehicles which
is not a problem, except the night before, I was re-reading my “travel
cautions in China” (and laughing at all the things we had already
experienced that were on the list) and one of the things they mentioned
in passing is multiple accidents involving overweight ferries. So as
umpteen tour buses and semis fought to get on the ferry, I was
admittedly a little nervous.
We made it across safely and continued our adventure to Puto island.
We had actually landed on one of the other 130 islands in this
particular archipelago- (good word for a one who teaches geography huh)
and it was a very large island. We traveled to another boat station
and took another boat across the water to the actual Putoshan island.
The first stop was lunch, and we entered one of the different
restaurants near the big temples. As we walked in, there were low red
tubs holding any kind of seafood you could imagine. Eels, crabs,
shrimp, big fish, small fish- multiple unidentifiable sea creatures. I
got a little nervous as I don’t particularly care for sea food, but
what the heck-we’d eaten sparrow and rabbit already… the lunch was
good- not too many unidentified things, and we continued to the
temples. They were absolutely beautiful. I’ll put some pictures on,
but there were many tributes to the goddess of mercy- Guanyin. One in
particular is a large golden statue that stands 33 meters tall.
For dinner that night, we went to a local restaurant that was like the
one at lunch, except that was all they served were the creatures
located in the same red tubs. We walked in and our tour guide told us
to pick out what we wanted… oh boy- yes, I’d like an entire stingray
please, actually, no- the eel and some sea turtle is actually what I
was hungry for. It was an interesting experience. The Crab was taken
out of the shell for those who enjoyed it, and the shrimp was so fresh
(since it’d been swimming minutes earlier in their designated red tub)
that it looked borderline appealing. Needless to say, Ang and I
ordered fried rice- and that’s it. David and Kristy went for it with
crab, shrimp and clams- Amy and Karen had shrimp and crab as well. The
crab was a big hit as it was apparently tender and the spices were
good. I thought the fried rice was to die for. Ok, not really, but it
worked. We ended up staying at the second hotel the guide tried to get
us into. We had been at one earlier and were in our rooms and
everything, then the hotel came out and said that they didn’t take
foreigners… (which we later found out meant that the standards were not
good enough for foreigners).
We ended up visiting the beach the next day(though it was too hot to
really enjoy the way we normally would). It was pretty once you got to
the beach areas, but the water was kind of this murky shade of brown
everywhere, so we were a little skeptical of ever entering it. We saw
some sand sculptures and other nice areas about the island. Then it
was back to the ferry, and on our way to Shanghai- “The whore of the
East.”
might be the most aggressive, or independent group of teachers they
have ever had, as we essentially planned the trip and told them what we
wanted to do. At any rate, we ended up going to Putoshan Island on the
first day. It’s an island that holds particular significance in the
Buddhist religion, as there are many temples on the island. The Puto
mountain at the heart of this island is one of the four most important
Buddhist mountains in China. We loaded up at 6:30 in the morning to
make the trek there. We had the Vice director, Emily and a tour guide
with us- and of course the driver of the van. They were surprised at
the amount of luggage we had, but we were packing for 6 weeks- so of
course there was a lot of stuff.
We were taken to the island on a ferry that held motor vehicles which
is not a problem, except the night before, I was re-reading my “travel
cautions in China” (and laughing at all the things we had already
experienced that were on the list) and one of the things they mentioned
in passing is multiple accidents involving overweight ferries. So as
umpteen tour buses and semis fought to get on the ferry, I was
admittedly a little nervous.
We made it across safely and continued our adventure to Puto island.
We had actually landed on one of the other 130 islands in this
particular archipelago- (good word for a one who teaches geography huh)
and it was a very large island. We traveled to another boat station
and took another boat across the water to the actual Putoshan island.
The first stop was lunch, and we entered one of the different
restaurants near the big temples. As we walked in, there were low red
tubs holding any kind of seafood you could imagine. Eels, crabs,
shrimp, big fish, small fish- multiple unidentifiable sea creatures. I
got a little nervous as I don’t particularly care for sea food, but
what the heck-we’d eaten sparrow and rabbit already… the lunch was
good- not too many unidentified things, and we continued to the
temples. They were absolutely beautiful. I’ll put some pictures on,
but there were many tributes to the goddess of mercy- Guanyin. One in
particular is a large golden statue that stands 33 meters tall.
For dinner that night, we went to a local restaurant that was like the
one at lunch, except that was all they served were the creatures
located in the same red tubs. We walked in and our tour guide told us
to pick out what we wanted… oh boy- yes, I’d like an entire stingray
please, actually, no- the eel and some sea turtle is actually what I
was hungry for. It was an interesting experience. The Crab was taken
out of the shell for those who enjoyed it, and the shrimp was so fresh
(since it’d been swimming minutes earlier in their designated red tub)
that it looked borderline appealing. Needless to say, Ang and I
ordered fried rice- and that’s it. David and Kristy went for it with
crab, shrimp and clams- Amy and Karen had shrimp and crab as well. The
crab was a big hit as it was apparently tender and the spices were
good. I thought the fried rice was to die for. Ok, not really, but it
worked. We ended up staying at the second hotel the guide tried to get
us into. We had been at one earlier and were in our rooms and
everything, then the hotel came out and said that they didn’t take
foreigners… (which we later found out meant that the standards were not
good enough for foreigners).
We ended up visiting the beach the next day(though it was too hot to
really enjoy the way we normally would). It was pretty once you got to
the beach areas, but the water was kind of this murky shade of brown
everywhere, so we were a little skeptical of ever entering it. We saw
some sand sculptures and other nice areas about the island. Then it
was back to the ferry, and on our way to Shanghai- “The whore of the
East.”
Random Pics
The golden statue is Guanyin on Puto Island.
There is a beach scene from one of the temples on Putoshan Island.
Also, I am attaching a pic of some red tubs that goes with my fish story that I wrote.
Another picture is of the Yuyan gardens that we visited.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Greetings from Yuyao
Greetings from Yuyao- for maybe the last time. We leave tomorrow
morning for Putoshan Island (it has a big buddha and some beaches
there- so it's quite a tourist spot for people apparently) and then we
are off to Shanghai. We will be in Shanghai from the 8-11th and then
we travel to Hong Kong on the 12th. Our trip ends in Hong Kong. So-
my point is, I don't know how much access we'll have to the internet in
the next week, so bear with us.
morning for Putoshan Island (it has a big buddha and some beaches
there- so it's quite a tourist spot for people apparently) and then we
are off to Shanghai. We will be in Shanghai from the 8-11th and then
we travel to Hong Kong on the 12th. Our trip ends in Hong Kong. So-
my point is, I don't know how much access we'll have to the internet in
the next week, so bear with us.
Running!
For all of you out there who run- you never want to travel to this
school. They tease you with a perfectly good track (which I think is
only 300 meters based on my times) and they never unlock it for
running. So- every other morning, I have been running a .5 mile loop
that I created again and again and again. The nice thing about it is
that it is all concrete, yet it passes around the perfectly good track.
Oh well. For all of you who I will be seeing at Cross Country soon-
don't tell Walsh that I'm running on concrete... he'd flip.
school. They tease you with a perfectly good track (which I think is
only 300 meters based on my times) and they never unlock it for
running. So- every other morning, I have been running a .5 mile loop
that I created again and again and again. The nice thing about it is
that it is all concrete, yet it passes around the perfectly good track.
Oh well. For all of you who I will be seeing at Cross Country soon-
don't tell Walsh that I'm running on concrete... he'd flip.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Hickeys!
This is a (really weak) example of the "hickey marks" that people get.
Some are from pinching, others are from the massage they receive. Mine
was inflicted with a small wooden object being run down my back several
times in a row. It didn't really hurt to receive this mark, but I also
do not think that it served it's intended purpose of keeping me cooler.
Who knows. When in Rome right?
Angela's TAs
This is a picture of Angela and two of her TA's- Yong and Kira. They
were telling her about the big party plans for tonight.
About the "cup marks" picture...
Here is the back side of one of the people who accompanied us to "the
village" which turned out to be a fishing park. The marks on her
shoulder blades are along the lines of the "hickey marks" I've talked
about before, they heat up cups and apply the burning hot cups to the
back to release some of the heat out of their bodies. Hmmm.....
Our Excursion on our third day off- by Angela
We were lucky enough to get to sleep in a little bit today. We had
been told to meet Emily at the gate at 8 for our departure to ¡°the
village¡±. Our van arrived with four men pushing it into the
courtyard. Apparently the battery was not charging up correctly
because it had not been used in a while. After a slightly delayed
start, we all piled into the van¡.all 12 of us. Yep, we had some new
guides that were coming along with us: Emily, Wendy (assistant
Director), Terry (TA), the driver and his wife and son. Oh the six of
us also piled into the back of the van as well. We were all quite
cozy. Our journey took about 40 minutes to get to the Moushan village.
We had some difficulty trying to decide which road to take. The driver
was getting different directions from all four women in the car. After
about 15 minutes of driving back and forth on the highway, the driver
stopped and asked some locals for directions. We were making headway
now.
Somehow we ended up at the Four Seasons Park and Resort. We later
learned that we were not going to meet Emily's family because the
school decided to set up this excursion instead. The park and resort
area was kind of set up as a natural park. As we got out of the van,
we were told, ¡°Now it is time to fish.¡± Who knew that we would be
fishing in China? We were each handed a fishing pole as we walked
along the path and headed across the bridge that took us over the pond.
It was a really beautiful area set against the hills. It reminded me
a lot of our local state parks. We were split into groups of two and
each group got their own fishing house with a little dock. We were set
up with chairs, and umbrella, a bucket of fish food, and a baggie of
worms. We had a gentleman help us get our hooks baited and throw our
lines out as we waited. Karen made a haul with three fish, Carla had
two, and Angela caught a tiny little one. Amy and David left the day
without any luck. It was really a fun way to spend the morning in a
beautiful setting.
We also were able to eat at the restaurant at the park. They had
quite the spread of food for us. We had an interesting assortment of
foods to choose from: peanuts, cucumbers, squid, chicken soup, rabbit,
edamame, a variety of melon, beans, snail, soups, potatoes, green beans
and pumpkin, corn on the cob, Mexican salad (corn, peas, and
carrots), and mussels. We had Sprite, tea, and beer to drink.
All of us piled back into the van to head back into town. As we
drove back, we decided to make a stop at the Madison Bridge Bar. We
had walked past there last week on our day off and they had handed us
each a card advertising the fact that they spoke English. They had
contacted the school and invited us to stop in when we got a chance.
It is quite funny that they know how to track down the foreigners in
such a big city. We stopped in to have a cocktail and they were all
very excited to have us there. Each of us got a decoration to write our
¡°feelings¡± on, which they hung up along for everyone to read. Our
bartender jazzed up the music for us because he wanted us to dance.
However, one in the afternoon is a little early for my dancing shoes.
We enjoyed the atmosphere while we were there. It is a fun little
place to hang out in a quaint little spot. It was a nice end to the
afternoon.
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