Hello from Beijing... but not for long.
Friday, September 10, 2004
The visitors have left and the deadlines have passed (at least for this week). And now, I need a break. The camera, bathing suit, book, and I (oh, and Mike) are off to Bali for a week. There will be some reporting, but mostly there will be relaxing. (Er, I hope.) See you on my return. In the meantime, photographic proof of guests having fun:
ro and leo stopped by this week on their whirlwind tour through asia. we fed them until they could eat no more (check out the duck hanging in the back). yum.
hey! who are these handsome folks?
see you soon!
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
My parents are here and on the tail end of the Betsy Goes to China Grand Tour. (You, too, can be on this fun-filled tour -- but only for a limited time. Start planning now!) We've hit Beijing, Shanghai, Yangshuo, and Xi'an, and now are back in Beijing. Here are some selected highlights. See how much fun it is?
The Wall is really quite great, as you can see.
And you can take a chair lift up! Just like skiing.
Can you ever have enough pictures from the Bund in Shanghai? I submit you cannot.
Red flags, everywhere.
Apparently,, someone wised up to the "no shitting" sign. Sigh.
On to Yangshuo, fun little backpacker town in the south, surrounded by these mountain-like karsts.
At work in the rice paddies.
And! There are tons of water buffalo hanging around.
Yangshuo itself was quite hopping.
Beware the waterfalls while on bamboo boats. You will get stuck.
Blue skies are the best! Also: All sky pics inspired by Leanne who has quite amazing sky pics from San Francisco up right now.
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
I had a very Chinese weekend. It started on Friday, when I hit a fabric market in the south of the city. It is possibly my favorite spot in Beijing (at least when I'm in the mood to deal with craziness): Rows and rows of stalls selling everything from cotton fabrics to furs, plus a happy, busy mix of tricycles running into each other, kids, food vendors, and people who like to squat on the side of the road. And at the end of the first big row, a guy sat blowtorching the hair off of a bunch a pigs' heads. It was just crazy and fun and wonderful.
Then, there was a delicious Peking duck dinner (in honor of Chris, in town from Shanghai for the week). Then the Asia Cup soccer finals between Japan and China in the stadium in the middle of town (the streets were flooded with fans). Then, karaoke -- which I had always professed to hate, but now realize I love, as long as I don't have to get up on a stage and sing to a bunch of strangers (here, you just get a private room and sit around and sing your heart out).
And finally, there was a trip to a farming village outside Beijing populated by local painters. We took in modern art. We took in the town. It was also great, but now we are pooped.
that crazy pig's head!
You may have noticed some slight technical difficulties over the past few days, and for that we apologize. Our server administrator (a.k.a. John) has just moved and had his parents visit, all in one week, and yet he has still patiently put up with the onslaught of e-mails regarding resolving said technical difficulties while entertaining family members, buying curtains, and holding down a full-time job. (Ah, yes. Remember those things?) For that he gets a big mwah!, and also a margarita when we have delicious burritos in San Francisco in October. Yum.
Tuesday, August 3, 2004
This weekend, we went to the minorities theme park -- best described as the Epcot Center of China. (A quick history lesson: China has 56 officially recognized ethnic groups, or nationalities. The major one -- more than 90 percent of Chinese people -- is the Han. The other 55 are considered minorities, and can be found in different areas across China. They each have their own languages, customs, and traditional clothing.)
So, what better way to explore these minorities than with a theme park smack dab in the middle of Beijing? There are farm animals, and dances, and many many souvenir shops selling fun (and, I'm sure, traditional) crap. While Disneyworld may have New Year's Eve every night, the Minority Theme Park celebrates the Dai Water Splashing Festival on daily basis. (It is actually the best part of the park.) And when you're done? You can head just down the road to Ikea, and top off the day with a 12 cent ice cream. Ah, China.
the rice paddy (er, "rice paddy") had real ducks
everyone does a big group dance before the water splashing
the very wet aftermath (i was hit by a few buckets myself)
there was also plenty of regular dancing
if you're not careful, you could end up upside down
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