China: The Great Wall

The Great Wall of China. How can you adequately describe such a place in words? It began with feelings of great anticipation... the drive from Robin's apartment to Mutianyu, the section of the Wall we decided to visit. That was one of the first surprises, that you don't just go to "the Wall" but to a certain part of it. Badaling is the closest to Beijing but was described as such a tourist's hell that we opted to go further out for a more authentic experience.

My anticipation turned to fear when I saw that in order to "climb" the Wall, we'd have to take a chairlift to reach it. With my fear of heights, I had prepared myself for closing my eyes while in a cable car, but the chairlift was far more terrifying. Very little other than the Great Wall of China could make me get on that thing. With my eyes closed til we reached the top, Jon snapped some pictures of the trip up.






Everyone wants to climb and walk along the Wall for as long as they can. I just wanted to keep going and going, but it turns out this is easier said than done. The Wall is STEEP! When we got to the base of it, our guide informed us we could turn right or left, with the right turn being more difficult but a bit less crowded, and the left having more people but an easier climb. We opted for the left, which wasn't particularly crowded that day.



In the spirit of China's embrace of capitalism, there were old men sitting along the Wall selling everything from ice cream and drinks to little souvenirs. Jon was able to haggle for a beautifully-carved wooden egg with an friendly old man who was just great fun to talk with. He claimed to love Americans and was an expert haggler. Mostly the experience was just taking in the sheer immensity of the Wall as well as the natural beauty of the surrounding hills and mountains. We were lucky that the crowds seemed to stay away that day and were even able to have parts of the Wall to ourselves.

Although I wanted to climb forever, eventually the tiny steps that sloped deeply along the Wall began to make me dizzy. So I stopped where I was and sat down with Robin, gazing at the mountains and people-watching, as Jon continued on, happy as a clam, to explore more. It was one of those rare and treasured travel experiences where the site that you were so anticipating seeing, for such a long time, manages to be even better than you could have imagined it.





We left the Wall, had a nice lunch and then headed to the Ming Tombs. With such an evocative name, we expected a bit more than the spartan underground chambers with very little to actually see among the ridiculous hordes of tourists. But after the incredible Great Wall experience, it didn't really matter all that much to us.

China: The Summer Palace and Hot Pot

Well, since we are leaving on our second big vacation tomorrow, this seems like the perfect time to finish my China blog ;-)

This was quite a long trip for us. We took the metro from Robin's apartment to the end of the line, then had to catch a cab from there. I can only imagine what a schlep it must have been in the time of the emperor. But it was worth the trip. The Summer Palace grounds were a peaceful escape from the crazy urban life of central Beijing - except for the omnipresent policemen who I feared would ask us for the foreigner registration we didn't have every time we walked by.

We enjoyed a nice picnic by the lake of our 7-11 take out noodles and watched a colony of ants attempt to bring our fallen peanut bits back to their home. So wonderfully peaceful!

Unfortunately, we didn't plan this trip too well. We decided to walk from the entrance to the palace proper, and once again were reminded of the sheer size of the place. Everything is really bigger in China. So while we enjoyed a lazy stroll through the grounds, our poor feet were pretty tired by the time we reached the other side.

And to make matters worse, it was close to 4:00, which is when the last of the dragon boats ran to take us back to the entrance, AND the sky had just turned the ugly, dark grey that precedes a big rainstorm. So we missed the opportunity to explore the huge palace complex, but did enjoy our leisurely walk and the pleasant dragon boat ride back to the entrance. We took a cab back to the metro and paid twice as much as the earlier ride due to what must have been a "rain tax" and went back to Robin's.

Our dinner plans tonight were for Mongolian hot pot. It might not sound too tempting to boil your own food in the soupy, muggy air of Beijing, but this was one of the most enjoyable meals we had here. First, we chose the broth for our pot, then got a selection of different kinds of raw meat - ostrich, lamb, beef and crab, then went to make our own little dips at the counter. We used our chopsticks to drop the strips of meat into the boiling water. It was a delicious meal and one of those experiences you could never have in the USA.

China: Temple Hopping

After such a long day at the Temple of Heaven, we decided that Day 5 of our China trip would be an easy day. There were two temples just across the street from each other, a Confucian temple and a Tibetan Buddhist one. With thoughts of Seoul's Jongyesa Temple in our minds (a small but gorgeous little Buddhist temple smack in the middle of the city), we set off on the metro.

Luckily we were on the mend because it was still oppressively humid outside. The air looked and felt like pea soup. As we made our way through the entrance of Yonghe Gong Lama Temple, we remembered once again that we were in China, where everything is bigger. The little temple that we were expecting to visit in 15 minutes was an enormous palatial complex where we could easily spend three hours.


The architecture was so vibrant and colorful that exploring it was so much fun, even in the steamy weather. There were a few air-conditioned rooms that provided some relief, only to have the outdoors feel five times worse than it did before. We walked through scores of rooms with many different depictions and representations of Buddha and some weird freaky and grotesque gods. It was so much fun, and a welcome change from the European cathedrals, which had all started to blend into one. And just like the Forbidden Palace, each room grew more impressive and ornate as we got deeper into the temple.







Finally, we could go no further and got ready to enter the last building. Its roof was much higher than the others, and we were soon to see why. As we stepped inside, we were at first confused by what appeared to be only a large foot, only to have our jaws drop as we got closer. A 60-meter statue of Buddha stood before us, carved out of a single piece of sandalwood. It was simply awe-inspiring. When traveling, you always have to put up with so many inconveniences, large and small, from poisonous hot dogs to the Kafkaesque threat of government quarantine. One look at this stunning statue was all I needed to remind myself why I do. If it weren't for the terrible heat, I could easily have spent the afternoon gazing at the Buddha. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside, and even though I saw others doing it, I wanted to respect the sanctity of the temple and restrained myself. The image will be burned in my mind forever, but that didn't stop me from googling it and posting it here for others to see.





















The Confucian Temple was also great fun and very interesting. It was the first place we had visited that wasn't completely mobbed with tourists. After another hour or so of looking around and exploring the picturesque grounds, our short stint had extended into a 5-hour trip. It was time to head back and rest up for another long day of sightseeing in China.

Here's some other fun pictures from the temples

China: The Temple of Heaven

These blogs about my summer vacations always take longer than I expect to write. So here is Part Two of ??? of our China Adventure.

After the first couple days of hot-dog-induced stomach ailments, we were finally able to stagger out of Robin's apartment again. It was hotter than hell with 800% humidity but we managed to make our way to the Temple of Heaven. As we exited the subway, we naturally chose the wrong way and ended up looping around the giant wall that surrounds the complex (the Chinese are quite fond of walls as it would appear). So we didn't get the greatest vantage point for our first view of the temple's backside but it was still simply beautiful.





As we made our way to the front side of the temple, it became even more stunning. The brightly colored facades and intricate decorations, all adorned with the dragon and phoenix motif were surrounded by a marble white gate. The biggest disappointment was that we weren't allowed inside!








You could only walk along the perimeter of the actual temple and peek inside an even more brilliantly colored and lavishly decorated interior. It was jaw-droppingly ornate. I had to fight the urge to jump inside to gaze at the ceiling (one of my favorite sightseeing activities as the art history nerd I am), but I think they can execute you for that in this country so I remained safely outside. And soon a mob of tourists descended on us, so it was time to make an escape anyways.









There were other things to check out besides the Temple of Heaven, but as we were just recently recovered from food poisoning - plus the unbearable humidity and smog - we made a quick pass through the rest. The line for the whispering gallery was simply ridiculous so we skipped it. There's just so much tourist shoving you can put up with in a day, so we had a "quick" outing of just 5-6 hours before heading back to the air-conditioned comfort of Robin's apartment.

Trazzler Trips

Some links to the 20 mini-articles I did on Trazzler a while back. Too busy to post them before. :-)

Answering the Muezzin's Call in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Buying Fish Sandwiches Along the Ferry Docks in Istanbul, Turkey

Catching a First Glimpse of Red Square in Moscow, Russia

Celebrating Buddha's Birthday in Seoul, South Korea

Climbing Rocks and Water Tubing in Saklikent Gorge, Turkey

Delighting in Picturesque Charm in Cesky Krumlov, Czech Republic

Eating Beyti Kebab Alongside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey

Exploring the Real-Life Mines of Moria in Wieliczka, Poland

Finding Religion(s) in One of Europe's Crossroads in Mostar, Bosnia

Following the Semana Santa Worshippers in Granada, Spain

Haggling in the Bazaars of the Old Medina in Tangiers, Morocco

Haunting the Ghost Village of Kayaköy in Turkey

Listening to Duet Calls to Prayer in Istanbul, Turkey

Reliving a Sad History in Sarajevo's Sniper Alley, Bosnia

Riding the Ferry from Kadıköy to Eminönü in Istanbul, Turkey

Sampling the Local Flavor at the Fruit Market in Split, Croatia

Stopping to Smell the Flowers in Córdoba, Spain

Taking a Twilight Stroll Over Charles Bridge in Prague

Watching Folk Dancers at the Buddhist Street Fair in Seoul, Korea

Watching the Sun Rise Over the Euphrates River in Mt Nemrut, Turkey

China: What a wonderful, terrible place!

Every time I go to the airport, I get that familiar sense of nausea. It is a purely Kafkaesque experience. So many things can go wrong, but you can never quite pinpoint what it could be. Your backpack can be 1 pound overweight and you're forced to check it (This happened to me in Budapest when the woman decided to weigh my hand luggage!). You can arrive to find out that your flight that was canceled, then rescheduled, was indeed canceled. (Damn you Iberia and Barajas airport!) Or your flight can be delayed indefinitely, and you never find out that it was canceled except by word of mouth from the other passengers. (I'm looking at you Olympic Airways. First and last trip to Athens.)

But nothing could compare to the fear I felt before boarding the plane from Seoul to Beijing. We queued up in order to start boarding the flight, and a man with a thermometer gun stood ready. He scanned each of us with a quick shot to the head (via laser) to see if anyone had a temperature. When I heard mine beep, I felt an icy hand grip my stomach, but all seemed ok since I was allowed to get on board.

All these security measures have been put in place to safeguard China from the swine flu, H1N1 virus. On the plane we were treated to a ridiculously, almost propaganda-like video about it. Check it out here (youtube, is there anything you don't have??)

We filled out quarantine forms stating that we didn't have nausea, fever or cold-like symptoms (even though I was feeling many of those just from nerves.) The scariest and again, most Kafkaesque aspect to it was that you could be thrown in quarantine simply for sitting NEXT to a person who maybe, possibly could have a fever that may or may not be swine flu. Once we finally arrived, my stomach in knots, we passed through the enormous thermal scanners. And since we didn't feel any hands on our shoulders, we figured we were finally safe. To make matters even better, we saw Robin waiting for us with a cute sign that said "Lady Christina and Sir Jon."

Our second day was a bit better with a trip to the Forbidden City and Tian'amen Square. First stop was the Square where we had to put our bags through X-ray scanners in the underground tunnel before reaching the surface. Then, as you walk up and out of the underground, there it is. That famous red gate with the enormous portrait of Chairman Mao. And then it finally hits you: I AM IN FREAKIN' CHINA!!!



That is a touched-up photo that shows what it SHOULD look like. Here is the actual picture that includes that infamous Beijing smog.

















Tian'amen Square is massive. It's the largest public square in the world, reportedly holding up to a million people. While it wasn't quite at capacity that day, it was still pretty damn crowded. It's very hard to capture the enormity of a place like that in pictures, so I did my best with a 360 degree pan on my camera.




Finally, we made our way back underground to the other side of the street where the Forbidden City awaited us. Fought our way is a more apt term, actually. It was a Sunday and absolutely mobbed with people.

I was initially disappointed to see that the famous gate, after Mao's was under construction.














However, I wasn't then aware of just how immensely huge this palace complex was. It actually didn't matter at all that this gate was covered in scaffolding because there were at least eight more that we passed through afterwards, each one growing bigger and more elaborate than the next. It reminded me of a Russian matryoshka doll, except in reverse. (You can see all the pictures on my facebook page here. Blogger is giving me problems with uploading the rest of the images now!)

We again fought our way through the crowds for an elusive glimpse of the throne rooms. You weren't allowed inside, but could only peek through open windows and doors. Unfortunately around this time, Jon and I started to feel a bit ill. After all, it's not a vacation for us until we get some kind of food poisoning. We believe the culprit this time was a bad hot dog from a vendor out in the front courtyard. So we limped back to the subway and Robin's apartment. The next day was spent inside Robin's trying to recover from our sickness and hoping no one called the quarantine police on us, for exhibiting symptoms of swine flu. After a full day's rest, we were ready for our next excursion: The Temple of Heaven!

(New blog to follow soon!)

Initial Thoughts on Korea

Food

It’s been two weeks since we arrived in Suwon-city and we are still in the transitioning phase. If we didn’t have to eat, it would be a mostly pleasurable experience. And it’s not even the Korean cuisine that’s the problem – I’ve had several tasty dishes that I could almost identify – but rather our lack of vocabulary to order successfully in a restaurant without a picture menu. Our main dietary staples come from the small bakery across the street where we can point and see a clear price. There’s the hot dog in a sweet roll that’s become a once-or-twice-a-weeker. Then there’s the pizza with pickles embedded in the crust that was less of a keeper. There seems to be a strange desire to add pickles to the most un-pickle-friendly food imaginable.

Luckily, the school serves a free lunch which means I get some authentic non-hot dog Korean food. (Although we did have a Korean corn dog at lunch the other day. My Korean co-workers offered me the last of it, probably figuring the American would appreciate the hot dog more than them.) Many times, the food is so hot that my lips are burning by the end of the meal. Almost every day we have kimchi, that fermented cabbage with hot pepper dish that is absolutely ubiquitous here. And I actually kind of like it, but my poor lips suffer after the fact. The principal watches me as I eat some days and chides me teasingly (at least I hope teasingly) for not finishing the last two kernels of my bap (that is, rice. Just showing off one of the four Korean words I know).

The Kids

I was mostly worried about making the jump from teaching small classes of upper intermediate engineers and managers in the business world to large groups of young kids in a public school with the absolute lowest level of English. But so far, it’s been quite fun. We sing and play games – which I often did with my adult classes anyways. Some of the kids are whip-smart and so eager to learn. Others are a bit cloddish. It’s finding the balance between the curious ones and the not-so-curious in a class of 25-30 students that’s the hardest. I’d love to just cherry-pick the good ones and have one class with them. They could learn so much so quickly and be on their way to fluency by the time they’re teenagers.

When I first got here, I felt a bit like Jesus. Some students just stared at me, like they’d never seen anything like me before. Some of them touched the hair on my arm and said “whoa!” (Apparently, Asian women have completely bald arms.) Some have crowded around me at my desk, said “Hello! How are you?” and then just stare, seemingly having exhausted their English vocabulary. They ask me to speak Korean, which I still know so little of, then say “Very good!” or shriek with laughter as I spit out an “Anyeong haseyo.” Several classes have asked me to “Sign! Sign!” their English books with my autograph. Surreal.

Some are already my favorites. One little girl, Song-ee comes to me after class and tries to teach me Korean. We point at things and I say the word in English, she repeats it and she tells me the Korean word which I can never remember. She brought her little group of friends, Jungye-on, Aram and Candy-Boy (that’s what he says his name is!) too and now they clean my room every afternoon and put on little puppet shows in the mini-theater in my class. They’re downright adoptable.


The School

From what I’ve heard from my co-teachers and other native English teachers from other schools, I hit the jackpot at Go-Hyun Elementary. The classes are beautiful, and the school even won an award for being so. My own classroom is palatial. There’s ten round little desks, a white board that slides to reveal an enormous wide-screen TV, which is hooked into my computer. All of our lessons are multi-media with a CD-Rom and a magic pen that acts like a mouse on the TV. Instead of running to my computer to click “next,” I use the magic pen on the huge TV and it does it for me. I don’t know how, so magic is my best guess.

My room has so many fun materials for the kids. There’s the little puppet theater mentioned above. In the back of the room, it’s partitioned into another two small rooms, a “department store” and a “restaurant.” The restaurant has a small table, chairs, a menu and even a display case of plastic food. The store has a cash register and lots of stuff to buy – hot chocolate, plastic fruits, Campbell’s Soup cans, candy, umbrellas, and the works. There’s a bookcase filled with fun children’s books, including all seven Harry Potters in the original English. (Score! Now I can re-read them all!) I would go crazy as a kid in a class like that.

Well, I meant this to be a short article about my first impressions, but there’s been a lot to write about. More to come soon…