Now, you don't have to know me all too well to know that I think smoking is a ridiculous habit and totally gross. I don't think I am too individual in my feelings about this subject. Most people, at least in the US, feel similarly.
Don't get me wrong... many of my good friends at least here in China do smoke. It doesn't make me love them any less, but I wish they would stop, for their own health.
I just know that as long as I can remember.... so roughly 20-25 years, you haven't been allowed to smoke on airplanes. I would say that is long enough that it should be known the world over that smoking on an airplane is forbidden.... I would be wrong.
As we are flying to Sanya a guy a few rows in front of me lights up!?!?!?!?!?!?! What is that all about? Even after he was told to put it out, he still lite another cigarette about 30 minutes later?!?!?!?! Only in China!
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sanya Take Two
Blogging from the beautiful "Hawaii of China".... well, whoever called it that has obviously never been to Hawaii, but it is a quick getaway to a warm spot with a beach. We headed out yesterday from Tianjin and got in late last night. Even though it was raining when we arrived, it was still drastically warmer than TEDA! I felt my toes immediately defrost.....I didn't even know they were frozen until we got here.
We woke up bright, but not so early this morning to find ourselves faced with a windy and slightly chilly day. Luckily I had packed one long-sleeved shirt, just in case I had gotten to badly sunburned that I needed full coverage. It came in handy all day today. No swimming, no beach, but a lot of wandering and exploring.
Leave it to me to find in the wandering and exploring a spa! Amazing how they are just everywhere, huh? We got a lovely massage. If you ever go there to the spa near the Tea Tree spa but not the Tea Tree spa... I highly recommend #6 and #12 - strong hands!
After the spa my hound dog nose led us to a place called X-Bartender, which makes a mix of lovely concoctions all of which they will put in a to-go cup. We had a mango daquiri and a margarita, both delicious. We even got a frequent users card...I plan on going back there every day!
The wind is finally dying down...so perhaps a night swim is in the cards, if I can wake Aaryn up from his late afternoon nap.
I'll get some pictures up as soon as we do anything.....
We woke up bright, but not so early this morning to find ourselves faced with a windy and slightly chilly day. Luckily I had packed one long-sleeved shirt, just in case I had gotten to badly sunburned that I needed full coverage. It came in handy all day today. No swimming, no beach, but a lot of wandering and exploring.
Leave it to me to find in the wandering and exploring a spa! Amazing how they are just everywhere, huh? We got a lovely massage. If you ever go there to the spa near the Tea Tree spa but not the Tea Tree spa... I highly recommend #6 and #12 - strong hands!
After the spa my hound dog nose led us to a place called X-Bartender, which makes a mix of lovely concoctions all of which they will put in a to-go cup. We had a mango daquiri and a margarita, both delicious. We even got a frequent users card...I plan on going back there every day!
The wind is finally dying down...so perhaps a night swim is in the cards, if I can wake Aaryn up from his late afternoon nap.
I'll get some pictures up as soon as we do anything.....
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Desensitized
The other day I was shopping in Beijing with my friend Sharzie. We did the usually stops, fruit and veg market and the western grocery store (gotta get my salsa somewhere). We were done for the day and heading back to TEDA. It was rush hour in Beijing and fairly busy on the freeways so we both decided to lean back and let Qui (her driver) take us on home.
I sat up when i realized we were going in reverse....
Qui had realized he passed his exit, and in full blown rush hour traffic, decided to reverse on the freeway to go back and take it.
I'm not sure what bothers me more... the fact that it happened, or the fact that once I realized what he was doing, I leaned back and fell asleep. Am I desensitized?
I sat up when i realized we were going in reverse....
Qui had realized he passed his exit, and in full blown rush hour traffic, decided to reverse on the freeway to go back and take it.
I'm not sure what bothers me more... the fact that it happened, or the fact that once I realized what he was doing, I leaned back and fell asleep. Am I desensitized?
VPN!!!
Yipee Skippy!
We have a VPN (not really sure what that is, but it allows me to get online without it being as slow as dial-up in 1990)!!!!!
Be prepared for many more updates.....
Monday, March 1, 2010
S'mores
So, we ladies have coffee once a week. One Friday we were discussing back home, and things we miss... and we Americans missed S'mores.
Well low and behold, Aussies have no clue what these delicious concoctions are!!!! So, we had to rectify the situation. We couldn't find graham crackers, so we used "digestive biscuits" which actually worked out really well!
We made them on Liz's patio, overlooking the lovely golf course behind our apartment complex (no sarcasm there!)
EVERYONE LOVED 'EM!!!!
And then to top it all off.... It started to snow!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
TGI... What???
Sooo... I'm at a mexican food restaurant (I use the term loosely) with a Canadian friend of mine, Sharzie, in Beijing. It's called The Saddle. After much trial and error, I have found that the edible items on the menu are the "mexican pizza" and.... okay, so just one edible item.
But, the Pimm's Mojitos are divine!!! And the Margaritas are almost right (except made with lemon instead of lime?!?!?!) I ordered one of my favorite ice cold beverages and this is the glass it was served to me in:
But, the Pimm's Mojitos are divine!!! And the Margaritas are almost right (except made with lemon instead of lime?!?!?!) I ordered one of my favorite ice cold beverages and this is the glass it was served to me in:
Need a closer look???
Yes! That is a TGI Friday's glass at The Saddle in Beijing! So, TGI Friday's, if you are missing a glass, I know who has it....
Thailand Part 2
The rest of our time in Thailand was much less adventurous than the first few days....
We did a lot, and I mean a lot, of relaxing by the water. Whether it was the beach....
or the pool.....
It didn't matter to us. We needed to rest, relax, reconnect, and read! I finished 2 books and Aaryn finished Crime and Punishment, which should count as several books!!!
The only other event of note was a cooking lesson we took. They took us to Phang-Nga market, which is very similar to our market here in town. As they say in Thailand "Same, Same...but different."
Then we went back and cooked Green Curry, Pad Thai, and Green Papaya Salad.... it was all delicious!!
And now, since Aaryn took the class with me, I know he can cook something besides migas (which is glorified scrambled eggs for those not in the know).
We did a lot, and I mean a lot, of relaxing by the water. Whether it was the beach....
or the pool.....
It didn't matter to us. We needed to rest, relax, reconnect, and read! I finished 2 books and Aaryn finished Crime and Punishment, which should count as several books!!!
The only other event of note was a cooking lesson we took. They took us to Phang-Nga market, which is very similar to our market here in town. As they say in Thailand "Same, Same...but different."
Then we went back and cooked Green Curry, Pad Thai, and Green Papaya Salad.... it was all delicious!!
And now, since Aaryn took the class with me, I know he can cook something besides migas (which is glorified scrambled eggs for those not in the know).
We had a wonderful vacation.... time to plan the next adventure!!!
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Thailand Part 1
Thailand is an amazing country! We've just spent the most spectacular day here, it's almost hard to believe it happened....
We started off our perfect day with a ride off of Phuket, where we've been staying, to Phang-Nga to a wildlife sanctuary. Once we got to "base camp" we set off on our first adventure - Elephant Trekking!
Our elephant, Comtak, was a hairy girl and our mahout was.... well, a hoot! He had us pose a million times trying to get just the right shot of us on our trusty steed.
Once back from our trek, we headed off to the river for some whitewater rafting! Now, anyone who knows me, probably knows that things like this aren't my bag.... I don't enjoy being at the mercy of nature, nor do i like when my rafting guide splashes me with icy cold water. But... despite those set backs, I really loved it!!! I mean really!!! Even the splashing was fun! I only had mild flashbacks to my last toobing debacle....but all in all, it was incident free. Once it was done, I was sad that we had to get out of the river. An hour passed in the blink of an eye!
Rafting sure builds up an appetite! So we headed back to base camp for a delightful traditional Thai meal of soup and fish and rice and vegetables.... really yummy!!!!
After lunch, we hiked out to a waterfall. A gorgeous waterfall! It was set back in a rock, so once you climbed inside it was really loud and the current pulled and pushed you in every direction. We had a whole group of people, that we had met along the way, inside the rock formation all at one time, each taking our turn under the falls..... and only one guy lost his shorts!!!
Unfortunately, after the waterfall, it was time to head back to the island..... but tomorrow brings new adventures. Or, perhaps, a lazy day on the beach.... who knows?!?!?!
We started off our perfect day with a ride off of Phuket, where we've been staying, to Phang-Nga to a wildlife sanctuary. Once we got to "base camp" we set off on our first adventure - Elephant Trekking!
Our elephant, Comtak, was a hairy girl and our mahout was.... well, a hoot! He had us pose a million times trying to get just the right shot of us on our trusty steed.
Once back from our trek, we headed off to the river for some whitewater rafting! Now, anyone who knows me, probably knows that things like this aren't my bag.... I don't enjoy being at the mercy of nature, nor do i like when my rafting guide splashes me with icy cold water. But... despite those set backs, I really loved it!!! I mean really!!! Even the splashing was fun! I only had mild flashbacks to my last toobing debacle....but all in all, it was incident free. Once it was done, I was sad that we had to get out of the river. An hour passed in the blink of an eye!
Rafting sure builds up an appetite! So we headed back to base camp for a delightful traditional Thai meal of soup and fish and rice and vegetables.... really yummy!!!!
After lunch, we hiked out to a waterfall. A gorgeous waterfall! It was set back in a rock, so once you climbed inside it was really loud and the current pulled and pushed you in every direction. We had a whole group of people, that we had met along the way, inside the rock formation all at one time, each taking our turn under the falls..... and only one guy lost his shorts!!!
Unfortunately, after the waterfall, it was time to head back to the island..... but tomorrow brings new adventures. Or, perhaps, a lazy day on the beach.... who knows?!?!?!
Chinese New Year
When we first moved to China, it was immediately following Chinese New Year. We came into the Year of the Ox without much hoopla. This year was quite the opposite…. Most of my friends had planned vacations to leave China during the Chinese New Year Celebrations, AKA Spring Festival. To be honest, we probably would have, had Aaryn not had to work over the holiday. No worries, we planned a trip to Thailand immediately following the holiday…. How exciting to be in China to see a celebration of this magnitude, right?
From what I had heard, one was to expect to feel like you were hunkered down in a bomb shelter waiting for the blitzkrieg to end….. Not far off! The festivities began early afternoon with fireworks being shot off at regular intervals (yes, I know you can’t see them during the day…. But people were doing it anyways). We had a few friends over and watched out over the golf course behind our apartment as the sun went down and the real show began! Our building shook with the proximity of blasts and eventually there was no pause between constant flashes and kabooms. We had bought a box of fireworks (that would rival any small town’s city fireworks display) for $20 USD and at about 11:45 went out front to set off our tiny display…
When we got to the front of our complex we could barely walk by the guard shack… All the guards were there with probably 40 boxes of fireworks, not nearly as puny as our miserable one. They were frantically wiring them all together to a master control box that would shoot them off in sequence. Not too shabby! So we handed them our box to add into the array and stood back waiting for the show.
It began with these ropes of poppers that sounded like we were being attacked with machine guns… and were very nearly were, as we were standing right next to them when they began going off!!! I’m still partially deaf in my right ear! Then the real show began….
We moved to the safety of the dry grass field (hahaha) a few meters away to see the big explosions go off. They were absolutely amazing! Beautiful, big, colorful, loud, and totally unsafe…. But hey! This is china!! Mei Wen Ti!
Now I should probably give you a little geography lesson… no, I am pretty sure if you are reading this you know where China is… I mean a geography lesson of our apartment complex in relation to other buildings. We live on one of the major street in our town, TEDA, Second Avenue. Our guard shack sits back about 100 feet from the street and then twice again back from there the apartments begin. We live furthest away all the way to the left from the guard shack. But… directly next to the guard shack, on second avenue is a new high-rise, still under construction. They are probably up to the 17 or 18th floor in the construction at this point, and the entire top is wrapped in scaffolding and some type of fabric to catch debris…. Or I guess I should say was wrapped…..
Halfway through the amazing fireworks display put on by the Warner Gardens Guards the wrapping caught fire…. Not a huge fire, but a steady smolder. New Years Eve just got a little more exciting! At this point my fingers and toes were icicles, but who could leave such a show????
Not to be dissuaded, the guards quickly grabbed as many boxes of fireworks as they could and ran into second avenue, one of the main streets in town, and began setting them off…. While we waited for a fire truck to arrive.
The first truck was too small and ill equipped to put out the fire, so reinforcements were called in….. And then more reinforcements. This had become what we call back home a “3 Alarm Fire” !!! Luckily the last truck was a ladder truck. They parked it on Second Avenue and began setting the supports to be able to raise the ladder up, the Bronto Lift. Aaryn and all the guys we were with said in unison…. They parked way too far away, it’ll never reach! And…. They were right. But it got darn close! Rather than move the truck and try again, they decided to send men into the building with fire extinguishers….. You heard me right. These men ran up the stairs and in a matter of 7 minutes had all the fire out. Why didn’t we do that first? Too obvious…..
Welcome to the Year of the Tiger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From what I had heard, one was to expect to feel like you were hunkered down in a bomb shelter waiting for the blitzkrieg to end….. Not far off! The festivities began early afternoon with fireworks being shot off at regular intervals (yes, I know you can’t see them during the day…. But people were doing it anyways). We had a few friends over and watched out over the golf course behind our apartment as the sun went down and the real show began! Our building shook with the proximity of blasts and eventually there was no pause between constant flashes and kabooms. We had bought a box of fireworks (that would rival any small town’s city fireworks display) for $20 USD and at about 11:45 went out front to set off our tiny display…
When we got to the front of our complex we could barely walk by the guard shack… All the guards were there with probably 40 boxes of fireworks, not nearly as puny as our miserable one. They were frantically wiring them all together to a master control box that would shoot them off in sequence. Not too shabby! So we handed them our box to add into the array and stood back waiting for the show.
It began with these ropes of poppers that sounded like we were being attacked with machine guns… and were very nearly were, as we were standing right next to them when they began going off!!! I’m still partially deaf in my right ear! Then the real show began….
We moved to the safety of the dry grass field (hahaha) a few meters away to see the big explosions go off. They were absolutely amazing! Beautiful, big, colorful, loud, and totally unsafe…. But hey! This is china!! Mei Wen Ti!
Now I should probably give you a little geography lesson… no, I am pretty sure if you are reading this you know where China is… I mean a geography lesson of our apartment complex in relation to other buildings. We live on one of the major street in our town, TEDA, Second Avenue. Our guard shack sits back about 100 feet from the street and then twice again back from there the apartments begin. We live furthest away all the way to the left from the guard shack. But… directly next to the guard shack, on second avenue is a new high-rise, still under construction. They are probably up to the 17 or 18th floor in the construction at this point, and the entire top is wrapped in scaffolding and some type of fabric to catch debris…. Or I guess I should say was wrapped…..
Halfway through the amazing fireworks display put on by the Warner Gardens Guards the wrapping caught fire…. Not a huge fire, but a steady smolder. New Years Eve just got a little more exciting! At this point my fingers and toes were icicles, but who could leave such a show????
Not to be dissuaded, the guards quickly grabbed as many boxes of fireworks as they could and ran into second avenue, one of the main streets in town, and began setting them off…. While we waited for a fire truck to arrive.
The first truck was too small and ill equipped to put out the fire, so reinforcements were called in….. And then more reinforcements. This had become what we call back home a “3 Alarm Fire” !!! Luckily the last truck was a ladder truck. They parked it on Second Avenue and began setting the supports to be able to raise the ladder up, the Bronto Lift. Aaryn and all the guys we were with said in unison…. They parked way too far away, it’ll never reach! And…. They were right. But it got darn close! Rather than move the truck and try again, they decided to send men into the building with fire extinguishers….. You heard me right. These men ran up the stairs and in a matter of 7 minutes had all the fire out. Why didn’t we do that first? Too obvious…..
Welcome to the Year of the Tiger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Skiing in China
As some of you may know, Aaryn loves to ski. This is a pastime that I have tried numerous times to master, and yet it still eludes me. But, I have not given up…. And just because we have moved to a coastal city in China I am determined to make it look easy!
Enter Nanshan, a mostly man-made snow covered hill in the not so picturesque “mountains” surrounding Beijing, and the “must see” ski resort for yuppie Beijingers. Well, we aren’t yuppie Beijingers, we live about 2 hours outside of Beijing, but we do like to try new and interesting places. So, with a van full of friends, and our expectations low we left TEDA and headed to our adventure for the day.
It’s about a 2 ½ hour drive from our place, mostly freeway, but with a few donkey cart paths thrown in there for local color. That was when I really felt guilty for talking everyone into giving up there Saturday to follow me on this crazy escapade. But…..when we rounded the corner and saw the slopes, I lost all guilt, or at least some of it. There was snow!!! And several runs, not just a bunny slope! Yeehaw!! We made it through getting our lift tickets, which include rentals, for about $25 USD.
The most interesting part was explaining what skis you wanted without any knowledge of that part of the Chinese language….most everyone just took what they were given and they were happy. But when do I ever choose the easy way? I eventually explained to 15 of the 16 people behind the rental counter, with much pantomime of my skiing and falling and breaking a leg and an ambulance and etc…. that I needed the shortest skis that they had, because despite my now 5 years of experience, I still suck!!! But eventually, with my excellent language skills, I got short skis….well, shorter skis. I am pretty sure they will all remember that crazy la wei lady who laid down on the floor the next time I go there to rent skis.
We all did a few trail runs down the bunny slope, or as I like to call it suicide alley because of the sheer numbers of inexperienced skiers having yard sales left and right. After we all got our bearings the boys split off to go to the BLACK DIAMOND run at the top of the hill, while we sane ladies went on to a green run. We all had an amazing time! And I only fell when I got plowed over by the chair lift ;)
After a few hours of skiing we all met up in the lodge, I use this term loosely, for a little lunch and a warm-me-up. Then off we went to the “Sledge”. It’s not a hammer, it’s actually a toob ride that hooks you to a “lift” that takes you to the top of a slop and then flings you down……the funnest thing ever!!!! And, yes, I know funnest isn’t a word, but there is no other way to describe “the Sledge”!
At sundown, we hopped back in the van, freezing, but having had a great day! Nanshan….China’s Aspen!
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