Goodbye, China.
Monday, November 7, 2005
The events of the past 48 hours may very well go down in history as some of the most fun ever. I arrived on Saturday afternoon, and Cat immediately whisked me off to a bevy of great stores and markets in Nolita. And then, we were joined by the always fun Holly for a night of Asian tapas and many, many drinks. Also some cat cuddling. And a hilarious bit with Cat's "mom purse" and all its random contents.
And then Sunday dawned clear and warm and sunny: The perfect "marathoooon Sundaaaay!" The folks who now live in my old apartment in Park Slope (right in the middle of the race course) really do it up right: They blast inspiring music ("We are the Champions", "Born to Run", "Chariots of Fire") and initiate as many loud cheers as possible. We (including Miss Amy) hung out in front, danced, cheered, sang, screamed, and had ourselves quite a little blast. And although neither Stu or Doug were actually spotted running past, rest assured that we still managed to capably cheer on the other participants. Case in point: When the team of young men walking the race course in full army gear passed us by, Cat hollered supportively: "You're hot! You're all so hot! Whooooo!" It may have been my favorite race moment ever. Even better than the man running in the puffy Mr. Testicles costume.
And then, as if that weren't enough, there was fabulous Brooklyn post-marathon walking and shopping. The highlight: The Superhero Supply Store (part of 826NYC, a tutoring and creative writing program for local kids founded by writer Dave Eggers). Cat (otherwise now known by her self-chosen superhero name, "The Great Catherine's Pita!") had to recite a superhero pledge to be able to make a purchase. She was quite into it, and when the little man in the little booth told her she was all set, her reply was, "Fantastico!" Good times.
how much is that doggie in the window? because i want him.
saturday night: holly takes a sip
i was wearing my great backless sweater from chinese designer zhang da, which is pretty unique. but then this girl also wearing a backless shirt sat right behind me! the nerve!
recognize the old place?
cat dutifully recites the plegde. everyone making a purchase must do this.
the vow, so you can prep before you go (and you should definitely go)
the store's signs are awesome. my favorite: "when it is time to settle your account, please do not go back in time".
Friday, November 4, 2005
ah, dijon. home of cassis and mustard and pretty little churches.
We are at the end of a week in France, because really, when you're moving to a tropical island in a few months, it's always a good idea to stock up on the vacations. But really, it was wonderful. Balmy weather, beautiful scenery, delicious food. So much delicious food. The entire trip was essentially an exercise in gluttony: We stuffed ourselves silly with fondue (so much fondue!) and escargots and baguettes and croissants and kirs and steak frites and crepes and chocolate and many, many sandwiches grec. We walked all over Paris (but not near any riots), and when that got old, we picked a place on the map -- in this case, the charming city of Dijon -- and went there for a few days. (I'm happy to report the mustard is really that good!) And now we will roll ourselves back to DC for a little while.
Paris was bright and sunny and warm.
we walked everywhere, like the musee de tokyo palais, a crumbling, cool contemporary art museum.
excuse me while i have a tiny avril lavigne moment.
i kept getting my chinese and my french confused, but that happens. right?
ah, the pantheon. near our hotel in the 5th arrondissement, my absolute favorite neighborhood.
and darren was there! we had excellent wine and delicious food and talked about estonia.
mike was intent on learning how to use the medium format camera.
in dijon, you follow around the little owl for a complete walking tour of the city
the belgian sandwich -- that would be fries and bread -- is just ridiculous.
the Paris metro sign is my favorite. so cool!
Saturday, October 22, 2005
So. Here we are. Nearly two years after I arrived in China, I bid the country (and my cute little apartment, sniff) adieu on Wednesday. Of course, I very nearly didn't make it back, thanks to extreme incompetence on the part of US Airways, but I finally did, and now I am very sad.
The last week was spent doing all my favorite China things:
--Eating delicious gan bien bien dou (essentially, sauteed green beans, but really, so much more than that) from Xiao Wang Fu's
--A final (okay, several final) trips to Hatsune, the best sushi place I've ever known. (Goodbye, Moto-roll-a. We'll miss you most of all!)
--One last final push from tailor Wendy, to ensure I have plenty of cute warm-weather things to wear in Singapore
--One final $7 haircut from hairdresser Andy, who -- despite the fact that I don't speak hair terms in Chinese, and he doesn't speak English -- never once gave me a bad haircut, and should be commended for that
--Plenty of Chinese diet coke, which is so much better than American diet coke, I can't even tell you.
--A final big blowout party, which was awesome even though it made me very sad to say goodbye to everyone and even though it took me about two days to recover
And so -- next stop: Singapore! (Okay, next stop: Washington DC. And then, next stop: Paris. And then: New York. And then: Delaware. And then: Las Vegas. And then: the California coast. And then: Florida. But THEN: Singapore! We'll be there just after New Year's.) I look forward to catching up with all on you on my North American/European tour; just send an e-mail for the dates. And in the meantime, pictures will continue to come, because I'm on vacation now and that's what I do.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Our final trip -- a trek through the Tibetan region of far Western Sichuan capped off by one last weekend in fabulous Shanghai -- is done. It was awesome: good friends, great food, gorgeous scenery. Sure, there were some questionable moments -- basically, every time I went into a Chinese toilet, plus a run-in with some suspect hot pot -- but overall, it was sublime. You'll see.
We arrived back in Beijing last night (and promptly caught up on a week's worth of Internet. I mean, Tom and Katie? A baby?!!? The things you miss when you're out petting pandas!) Now we have one more errand-packed day to get our apartment together. The movers arrive tomorrow. We're nearing the end of China, and that makes me sad. (And, gee whiz. Who can believe it's been two whole years already? And, where is this gorgeous October weather I was promised? Nothing like a lot of haze to make you ready to head home. For a bit, anyway.)
our tale begins in chengdu, the capital of sichuan.
actually, quite a charming city.
though have you ever traveled in china during one of their three holiday weeks? it's absolutely packed. that's an understatement.
chengdu is the home of the panda!
it costs $100 to hold a real panda, but you can hold the red panda for about $5.
i should also point out that the world's strongest man competition was also last week in chengdu, and we bumped into a bunch of very, very big men also looking at pandas, including the winner.
sometimes, while walking around the shopping district of chengdu, you will come across a cart of dead ducks, ready for cookin'.
then we were off! seven hours bus ride west of chengdu to kanding. this is the village roadstand where you stop for lunch.
populated by cute little old ladies.
and cute dogs, curled up on coal.
on a clear day, kanding is quite pretty
then we were off again, in our little mini bus that squeezed in seven (us plus driver) to tagong, a tibetan cowboy town another four hours west of kanding
you go over this stunning mountain pass whilst on the sichuan-tibetan highway. the altitude is something like 14,000 feet. breathing is tough.
you can take a pony to the top of the mountain, if you are so inclined. i was.
not all of the highway is paved, mind you.
but it winds through tiny tibetan villages where you get accosted by kids who want your extra beer.
though we're not technically in tibet, the influences are everywhere.
and so are herds of yaks.
and then: tagong! it's a bit touristy, but it's home to some good monasteries and good scenery. we stayed here.
such colorful, beautiful architecture.
to eat lunch, you just head to a local restaurant and pick what you want to eat from the kitchen.
most of the people who live and work here are tibetan.
they have great clothes.
here were are inside tagong's main tibetan buddhist temple.
i'm also a big fan of the monks, who are quite friendly.
and, if you want a hunk of meat, all you have to do is ask.
then, back over the pass to kanding again.
the weather was perfect. the scenery was intense.
we had to stop and water down the brakes, which were smoking after all that climbing.
luckily, the break provided for some amazing pictures. this is possibly the most incredibly view i've ever seen.
back in kanding, more monks! i love the monks.
and even monks have to wash their robes, you know.
up, up, up to a kanding temple.
more stupa action.
i do love me some stupa.
the yak forced to take pictures in front of the stupa does not.
back to chengdu, where we met this very cute girl whilst eating traditional sichuan hotpot.
she loves peace! and kittens. and KFC.
but oh no, we're not done yet. i bring you: Le Shan, the tallest buddha in the world!
it was built around 700 AD.
but it's getting weathered, like these buddha carvings that line the walls.
it is very, very large.
almost done! i know how you love the signs. there were some great ones.
i had no memory room left to take pictures of shanghai, except this old sign. but rest assured, it was full of shopping and awesome restaurants and a trip to the bar on top of the jin mao tower (Shanghai's biggest building), and hanging out with chris, who is headed to the sudan. and now, i pack.
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