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
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
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!)
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!)
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