Chinese New Year, Part I

Hey everyone. Sorry for the belated post. I know that I promised to post every week but things got hectic around here (especially before Chinese New Year). Hope everyone is doing well.

For those of you don't know, Chinese New Year is like Christmas for Chinese people. IT'S HUGE AND IT'S IMPORTANT. Every year there are hundreds of millions (Just imagine the whole population of the U.S. traveling during Christmas time) that travel throughout the country, either going back to their hometowns to visit family and friends or people going on vacation. Since my 2 members of my immediate family are in the US and my extended family is in Taiwan (where most of them are not going to be home for CNY) my Pops and I decided that we would go spend a few days traveling as well.

Shanghai was getting really cold and so my Pops and I decided to go down South where we THOUGHT that it would be warmer. Since I've already been to HK, I thought going to Guilin would be a great choice. For those of you that don't know about Guilin, it is known as one of the most beautiful scenic areas in China; so beautiful that it's featured on the back of the 20 RMB bill.

Well, we were wrong about the weather. The weather was suppose to be colder than Shanghai; since we booked our tickets well in advance, there was no way of backing out. We left on the 24th, and from the minute we got there it was COLD. I actually do not mind the cold weather, but it was really WINDY and thus it was colder than usual. We got into Guilin late afternoon, and thus couldn't really explore as much as I wanted to. They say that the further south you go in China the weirder the food gets; of course I had to check it out. I saw live chickens, ducks, rabbits, snakes, turtles in front of restaurants...but my favorite one was this:








Yup, muskrats. Don't they just look DELICIOUS? I looked it up and they're actually not related to rats. In fact, I remember watching the discovery channel and seeing people in Louisiana eat them. I seriously considered trying it, but my Pops thought it was gross and forbade me. Maybe next time...haha

After a "normal"dinner, Pops and I went to catch a show where they performed native dances. Guilin is the province of Guangxi, and the province is known for its large population of native minorities. I wish I had pictures of the dances, but alas, I wasn't allow to take pictures.

Since our boat ride down the Li River was early in the morning, I decided to wake up at the crack of dawn to check out the most famous site in Guilin: Elephant Trunk Hill. The Chinese people have a tendency of imagining physical landscapes as animals (you'll see more examples later on). Take a look and you can determine if it looks like an elephant with it's trunk in the water...






















After visiting Elephant Trunk Hill, my Pops and I headed to the boat down the Li River. These are the images people see on T.V. and movies...































































20 RMB Bill...










This is called Mural Hill of Nine Horses...can you see them?












So this is what it basically looked like for four hours. It was cold, windy, cloudy, and occasionally rainy, and most people go down the Li River during the summer, but I thought it gave a different type of beauty and mysticism that you can't see during the summertime. Plus, it wasn't packed full of tourists, thus the scenery was a lot better.

We got to Yangshuo early afternoon. We visited a few of the sites in the city, including some caves...






















We also visited this amazing tree...YES, THAT IS ONE TREE, NOT MULTIPLE TREES. It's called the Big Banyang Tree...and it's over 1500 years old. When the branches got long, the local people planted them into the ground and it started to grow separately while being grafted to the main tree...great example of the allegory in Jacob 5. The local people also worship the tree thus you see them praying to it, burning incense, and putting good luck charms on it.


















When nightfall came we went to West Road (know for its nightlife and westerners...surprisingly, there are a lot of westerners that live in Yangshuo...actually not surprised... it's so beautiful there I want to live there)

I saw some ex-pats lighting fireworks (the video at the beginning of the blog...sorry I flipped the camera in the middle of the video; I didn't realize it was a bad idea until afterwards) near the bridge and the river. And that was the end of Chinese New Year's Eve for me!

The next morning my Pops and I visited an area known for its butterflies; however, since it was winter, there were no butterflies...but the scenery was still fantastic...

Here's a video on the way there...















































We also went to check out the famous Moon Hill...it's a natural phenomenon...and depending on where you look at it, you can see a different phase of the moon...



































You can actually climb to the peak of the hill; I wanted to do so badly, but my Pops forbade me since it was very rainy and wet...oh well, next time.

After Moon Hill we headed to the Yulong River to get a raft to float down the river...it took around 3 hours but the views were breathtaking...

Here's an video of our trip...


We were soaked after our trip down the river and decided to head back to the hotel...this is what happened to our car...













Kidding! But we did see this car on our way back. Those crazy Asian drivers...

By the time we got back to our hotel it started to rain harder and we had an early flight the next morning, so we decided to stay in for the rest of the day. Although I didn't get to see EVERYTHING (there were a lot more sites) I was pretty satisfied. I'm thinking about coming back in the summertime (when the weather is nicer). Who's with me?

Most challenging week (so far)

This has been the most interesting week I've had since I've been to Shanghai. I've been here for almost 2 months, and the transition has been quite normal. There was no major culture shock (no surprise there), work has been going well, and the adjustment has been pretty smooth...until this week.

Two challenges happened to me this week. The first was I had a stalker. This is the first (and hopefully the last) stalker I've ever had. This past Saturday my friend celebrated her birthday by going to a karaoke place. It's been since HS that I've gone to karaoke, and I was really not looking forward to it, but I ended up have a good time despite my doubts.

My friend teaches English in Shanghai, so she invited a few of her students to the party. Since my friend did not speak Chinese and her students' English was limited, I ended up being one of two people there that could really communicate with the Chinese nationals and the ex-pats. I begun talking to her group of students, trying to be friendly. As we kept on talking to each other, I began to feel like two of girls would not leave me alone. I was very cordial (and I probably only end up speaking to them for a total of 30 min) to them, but I left the party early because it started to get out of hand.

The next day I receive a text from one of the girls. I made the mistake of giving the girls my business card (very common practice when you meet someone new in China; and when they asked for it, I didn't think twice). 90% of the business cards here also include your personal cell phone #, so when I received her text I realized that I shouldn't have given her my business card. I didn't want to be rude so I texted her back (being very nice and professional about it) and she kept on texting me...

She texted and called me throughout the whole week, telling me all these things (I'm not going to repeat what they were...kind of embarrassing) that made me uncomfortable. The climax of this drama was when she told me she was sending me a gift to my office...A GIFT TO MY OFFICE! I ONLY SPOKE TO THE GIRL FOR ABOUT 30 MIN AND ONLY MET HER ONCE AND SHE WAS GOING TO SEND ME A GIFT TO MY OFFICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I finally decided to tell my friend (her teacher) about it; my friend said she'll take care of it and since today, I haven't received a call for her. Hopefully (and not trying to sound mean) I won't received any more calls.

The second situation is happening as I'm writing this entry. I had to stay late at the office today. I got done around 11 PM and when I left I realized that the subway was closed (I can't believe the subway closes at 11 PM in a city of 17 million people). This is the first time I've stayed out past 11 (yeah I know, my life is boring) in Shanghai. Since the subway was closed, I had to take a taxi. Oh, the frustration! It is impossible to get a taxi on a friday night in the middle of the city! I walked around for an hour trying to get one, and just could not do it. Maybe it's because I'm not agressive enough (I saw two people almost get into a fight). I mean you would think that since I lived in NYC I would have picked up some of the rudeness of New Yorkers...Shanghainese are just as rude (if not ruder) than New Yorkers, and I promised myself I wouldn't end up like one of them, thus I am still sitting in my office right now at midnight writing this blog...sigh...

Well, gotta go out and try again...maybe I should just sleep in the office...that might work too...

2009

All right, quick update on what I've been up to since Christmas:

1) I got food poisoning (for the first time in my life!) a few days before New Year's and thus my New Year's Eve celebration consisted of trying to keep food in my stomach and laying on my bed. The weird thing is I didn't get it from eating at some hole-in-the-wall that exists everywhere in China; I ate at a pretty nice restaurant that I've been to many times. I stayed up all night throwing up (last time I threw up was when I was a kid)...I now have a new found respect for pregnant women and their morning sickness.

2) I had some ass today...yes, you read right, some ASS. I went with my Pops and one of his managers (Shoutout to Alpha Qian!) to visit some customers a few hours north of Shanghai. People see pictures of Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai and think that China is becoming very modern (which is true) but realistically, most of China is still very poor and sometimes you feel like you are in a developing or third world country. We had lunch with a few of our agents in the city of Yangzhou. I had a piece of meat from a normal looking dish and it tasted like beef. I found out a few minutes later that it was not beef but rather donkey meat. I couldn't stop laughing. Never thought I would ever try the meat of an animal that brays, but hey, weirder things have happened.

3) The following pictures are from a small town called Zhujiajiao, a water village on the outskirts of Shanghai formed about 1,700 years ago. One of my co-workers (Shoutout to Carol Shen!) is from there and suggested that I should visit. They call it the "Venice of Shanghai". It's actually very small but it's a very charming place.


View from the main bridge during the day...


People were lighting lanterns and letting them fly "into the heavens." Word's like "luck", "health," and "love" were written on the lanterns as a symbol of hope for prosperity in the coming new year.







A view right after sunset...


One of the canals with a Chinese gondola...




The views at night...




One of the shopping alleys...


I also went to Suzhou (Home of the Classical Gardens of China) but more on that next week.