The Li River Runs Through It

Tiffany and I celebrated our last day of work on Friday the 21st of March. The next day we flew down to Guilin in the south of China to experience the famous Li River boat cruise to Yangshuo, where we spent four days celebrating the end of our China careers.


Along the Li River cruise are some incredible landscapes, and the boats floating slowly down the calm waters are dwarfed by sheer, craggy mountains on both sides. The scenery along the river has famously been memorialized in countless Chinese scroll paintings and landscapes, as well as on the back of their 20 dollar bill.



Yangshuo is a sleepy little river town that has become somewhat of a mecca for Chinese tourists and foreign backpackers. The food is excellent, and the hotels cheap. Many outdoor activities are available, including biking around town to see some of the beautiful-to-the-point-of-surreal landscapes, rafting down the river, hiking and rock climbing.




Tiffany and I focused our efforts on maximum relaxation and spent many happy hours reading on our balcony, and wandering aimlessly around the area and admiring the many stunning views. You can see the view from the balcony in our room, and I am sunning myself contentedly.

Here Tiffany bikes along a country road to nowhere, always on the lookout for cute animals that she shouldn't approach but invariably will.










Above and behind me you can see Moon Hill, with the hole in the mountain at the top forming the shape of a rising moon. We hiked up to the top to take a closer look, after fending off a flock of aggressive Chinese ladies selling drinks. We gave in early and bought 2 bottles of water for a dollar, in return for their agreement not to follow us up the mountain, like they did with all the other hikers we saw.


At the top of the mountain was not only an impressive rock formation, but some brave rock climbers who were busy ascending it. If you look closely you can see the climber on his descent. He had just finished climbing the underbelly of the arch, which, given gravity's annoying persistence, is extremely difficult. (For all the rock climbers out there -- I asked him about the climb and he said it was rated a 5.13b.)









It is really an amazing sight, to see these mountains. Imagine you were high above up in the sky and had a handful of mountains in your hand. If you were to let them spill out of your hand, and watched them tumble to earth, and plunk into the ground at random angles and patterns, that is pretty much how Yangshuo would appear.





It was the perfect way for Tiffany and me to wrap up our China careers. We had a nice long weekend to rest and relax, and contemplate what a fascinating experience China has been.



And what better place to sit and think than Guilin and Yangshuo, whose breathtaking sights have served as inspiration to philosophers, artists and very appreciative travelers for centuries.

Models vs. Real People

Last week, I somehow got talked into taking part in a International Women's Day fashion show featuring a group of Shanghai's female professionals. They tempted me with free clothing, how could I say no?

I arrived at 4PM sharp for almost 3 hours of hair, make-up and practice. I was one of three western women, as all of the other 'models' were Shanghainese movers and shakers.

The hair stylist apparently thought most of the women were too short for the runway, and took the liberty of adding 3-4 inches of hair height.

With lots of ratting and hairspray, the hair stylist unknowingly re-created my 8th Grade Dance Hair (circa 1990) . Needless to say, that style remains a low point (right next to the spiral perm and big bangs) in my hair history.

The show started at 6:30, and it was my understanding that I could do the fashion show and cut out after. But, as happens so many times in China, I misunderstood the situation, and ended up having to sit down to a formal dinner, listen to many speeches (in Mandarin of course), and watch several cultural performances before my runway debut.

After dinner, speeches, entertainment, and several toasts of orange soda (apparently the drink of choice for Women's Day events), it was time for the 'Fashion Show by Elegant Women Elites', my big runway debut. I felt pretty good, as I had at least 4 inches on all of the other participants and was by far the youngest of the group by at least a decade, and while I wasn't a big fan of my hair, looking at the other participants, it seemed I had gotten off easy. With my ego puffing up by the moment, I took my place in line, trying to remember all of the instructions barked at me during our 45 minute practice (of which I had understood about 20% since they were all in mandarin) and hoping I wouldn't fall.

Then something even more unexpected than having to sit through a formal dinner with ridiculous amounts of orange soda happened. A gaggle of real models breezed right past onto the stage. I immediately had a flashback to an old Sex & the City episode, as I realized there were 'real' models followed by us, the 'real' people. Let me tell you, there's no bigger reminder that you're NOT a model then having to follow a bunch of real models on a runway in front of an audience of 400+ people.

I was able to scrape a bit of my ego off the floor when after the show a very kind man from the audience asked to take his picture with me. He was pretty surprised when I asked him if I could take a picture of the two of us with my camera as well. I figured what the heck, I may not be a model, but at least I've got a fan, and I've got the picture to prove it!

Soaking Up The Culture

Tiff and I are now in the "final round-up" phase of our China adventure. That means hitting a few off-the-radar places we always wanted to visit, one last trip to favorite restaurants, and covering any potentially embarrassing omissions.

A few weekends ago fell into the last category. During our time in China, I have been to Beijing probably 15 times. However it was always been for work and I had never seen some of China's greatest cultural attractions. Namely, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace.

It's ridiculous because almost all of our visitors at least made it up to Beijing to see those three, great sites. But until our recent trip, I had never been. So Tiff and I had a full cultural weekend in Beijing and I am happy to now report that I have seen all three of those fantastic, historical places.

Our first stop was the Great Wall. Here, of course, you can see the pitfalls of asking a friendly passerby to take your photo. This one apparently was only in the mood for candids. I think he was the same tourist who, after explaining that the Wall protected China from invaders, answered his child's question of, "Where did the invaders come from?" with the brilliant response, after a pause, of, "Well... from both sides..." and then proceeded to cut off any follow up questions by pointing out with forced enthusiasm the location of the public restrooms.

The Wall sits on a mountain ridge and was breathtaking as we walked all along it, with beautiful views of the countryside "on both sides" of the Wall. The amazing thing was that, after hiking along for quite some time, we eventually tired, and looked around and at the map, and realized that we had walked just the tiniest fraction of the full length of this massive, ancient barricade.

We took the slide down, which was a thrilling way to end our hike. Basically you sit on a metal sled and with zero steering and limited braking ability, you fly (no protective helmet or seat belt of course) down a winding steel slide to the base of the mountain. I wish I had a picture to show you, but of course, both my white-knuckled fists were gripping the ineffective brake handle for dear life the entire time! The whole way down, I was re-thinking the insurance option we had waived. Of course, it was only 1 RMB (about 15 cents), so probably wouldn't have done much in an accident.

Our next stop was the Summer Palace, where centuries of ruling Chinese came to rest and relax. It is a sprawling spread of over 700 acres of trees, hills, water. We had a nice, tranquil stroll along the lakeside and through the graceful, hilly landscapes, imagining life as part of the royal, ruling families of China during feudal times.

Finally, back in the center of Beijing we experienced China, old and new. The old we saw first, at Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Again, it was hard to conceptualize the sheer enormity of the construction, and as we passed under Mao's watchful eye at the Forbidden City entrance, we walked through gate after gate, into seemingly endless numbers of vast, open courtyards.

The Forbidden City was the former imperial palace which was the home to twenty-four Chinese emperors over 491 years between 1420 and 1911. The Forbidden City is now known as the Palace Museum and is open to Beijing's visitors. The well guarded palace is surrounded by a moat 3,800 metres long and 52 metres wide. Intruders were discouraged by guards in watchtowers with bow and arrows.

And we saw new China being built around us all weekend, from the gravity-defying CCTV building under construction, to the "Bubble", as they are calling the Olympic swimming and diving center, along with the "Bird's Nest", the main Olympic stadium.

The Bird's Nest is the perfect symbol of China advancing into the future, with a complex weaving of steel and concrete, built to modern architectural perfection, in the form of an old China favorite.

The weekend was a great opportunity for me to see what Beijing has to offer outside of hotels and conference rooms.

Wild Wild World of Tiffany

One of the coolest things about our Asian travels is our access to animals. As many of you know, I'm a HUGE fan of animals. Due unknown reasons (possibly a weak PETA presence and legal systems that don't allow people to sue over missing fingers and rabies), I've had lots of opportunities to get my hands on lots of neat critters during the last few years. Here's a list of some of my favorites:

1. My best friend Kimmy and I came across a daily 'March of the Penguins' at a Japanese aquarium during our trip to Miyajima. Kim had to politely but firmly peel my fingers off this little guy in order to give the huge line of kids behind me a chance to get up close and personal with the little guy.

2. Sticking with aquatic themes, here I got to pet a very friendly dolphin in Indonesia. So soft and slippery!

3. After the dolphin incident, one of the trainers introduced me to Sandy, a quasi-pet monkey they had tied up. Zach was mentally chiding himself for not making me get rabies shots before moving to Asia as he saw me get up close and personal with Sandy. This was done with good reason, as right after this picture was taken, she but my finger. Fortunately, she didn't break the skin, as a safety precaution, we doused it with Purell and Zach watched me closely for a foaming mouth for a good week.

4. Zach kept me on a tight leash around monkeys after the biting incident, especially on our Cambodia trip, where they were often found meandering in the parks. Here I'm safely abiding by his monkey to Tiffany distance requests.

5. I got handed this adorable ball of fur during our trip to the Ice Festival in Haerbin. It was a money making ploy, but they picked the right target, as how could I not pay for a picture with this beautiful powder puff?

6. These guys weren't the softest, but they are the largest animals I've managed to pet (and bathe, and feed, and swim with). The Elephant Conservation Park in Thailand has by far been one of the coolest place we've visited on any of our trips, at least in my mind!

Next up on my animal wish-list: Koalas and Pandas!

Something Wicked This Way Comes

Zach received the following email from the head of his office last week. The funniest part is the somewhat 'posed' photograph of the supposed threatening subject that was captured on the security cameras.

Dear colleagues,
Some of you may have been aware that a strange lady visited CS offices on the 17th floor of Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) for a few times during and after the Chinese New Year holidays. The lady called herself Eva and apparently was in mental disorder. Upon our request, property management of the building has enhanced security measures to prevent further access attempts by this lady. The lady may be harmless in all probability, however, mentally imbalanced individuals can sometimes turn violent with little or no provocation and/or warning. Accordingly, to be safe, it is recommended that our staff avoid all contacts with this lady if you encounter her in or near the building. Please also call the building security immediately if you see her in SSE. A photo of the lady is attached below for your reference.

Best regards
Michael

Goooood Morning Vietnam!!

Tiffany and I just returned from Vietnam, where we celebrated Tet, or Vietnam's version of Chinese New Year. Thankfully we made it out just in time, as bad weather conditions across China were jamming up transportation everywhere, and right at the busiest travel time of the year.

Here, can you pick out Tiff and me in the crowd?Just kidding, that was the situation at the Guangzhou train station the day we left, where around 500,000 people were trying to get out of Shanghai! Luckily we were flying. Here we are during our stop at the Guangzhou airport:
(insert cricket noises here.) Lesson learned: Air trumps train travel in China during the holiday season, particularly during fluke, country-wide cold snaps.

We were expecting to warm up in Vietnam and duck the Chinese New Year's crowds. Little did we know, Vietnam was hit by the same cold weather as China, and they were celebrating Tet, Vietnamese New Year!

Here is Tiffany wearing 6 layers of clothes and feeling quite at home with all the traffic.

We visited the infamous Hanoi Hilton, built by the French during colonial times. It was flipped by the Vietnamese and used during the Vietnam War to hold American troops. Sort of looks like a nice French bakery!

I would never make it in the Big House...

They have kept on display the jumpsuit of John McCain, from when he was shot down during the war and held here. The placard next to this flight suit indicated that it belonged to the next US president! Tiffany was befuddled as she thought it looked a bit small for Barak Obama.....but then I jumped in and pointed out that it would fit Hillary perfectly.....

We then went to visit Ho Chi Minh, or as the locals call him, Uncle Ho in his mausoleum. He looked a bit shiny, and the rumor is they send the body back to Russia for an annual tune-up. We had a sneaking suspicion 'Russia' is a code name for Madame Tussaud's in Hong Kong.
Bobby Chinn, famous for World Cafe Asia on Discovery Travel and Living, has a restaurant in Hanoi. The food is a fusion of Egyptian and Vietnamese, and the restaurant has an interesting 'love den' feel (note the rose petals).

We also checked out the Temple of Literature, ancient collection of buildings, gardens and statues dedicated to scholars.

Tiffany goes nose to nose with one of the many turtles (a symbol of wisdom) that filled the temple grounds, while I search for inner peace through the sweet scent of incense.

Here Tiffany caught me looking debonair sipping coffee at Cafe Moca, a cool restaurant in which of my best friend's, Cali, has invested.We then headed to Halong Bay and spent the night on a Junk. It sounded a bit too close to camping for me, but Tiffany was sure to book us on a boat with individual cabins that included private bathrooms and heat. The views were fantastic.

We then headed south to Hoi An, a Unesco World Heritage site.

The city had beautiful architecture and was a nice break from bustling Hanoi.
We also welcomed in the New Year in Hoi An with plenty of fireworks (just in case we were homesick for China). After the show, we walked back through the deserted main market and came across a giant rat looking for food. We tried to keep our disgust at bay and told ourselves it was an auspicious sign for the year of the rat. Tiffany wasn't convinced, particularly when she almost stepped on a flattened mouse a few minutes later.
We also grabbed bikes and rode around the countryside.

And took a cooking class to perfect a few Vietnamese Dishes.
Unfortunately, the cooking class didn't go so well, as I got food poisoning the next day.While I was recovering, Tiffany trekked out to My Son, the ancient imperial village from the Cham Dynasty.

It reminded her of our trip to Angkor Wat.
Unfortunately, part of the area was bombed heavily by the US since the Viet Kong used the area as a hideout during the war. But it was still a beautiful and peaceful walk through the ancient ruins. Historians still haven’t figured out how the original builders managed to hold the big stone pieces together.

All in all, great trip, great country!