Bryan in Hong Kong

Thursday we made a day-trip to Shenzhen, the boarder town just next to Hong Kong. Sun Zhe needed to mail some things back to Shanghai (cheaper from Shenzhen), I wanted to buy some Chinese language books, and Jin Gu just came along for food and fun.

If you’re looking for books in Shenzhen, Book City is the place to go. It’s a brand new mall with a variety of stores, including a separate foreign language book store, an art and design bookstore, a huge music store, and a gigantic Chinese bookstore (named something like “Book Experience”). The last one is the place to go if you’re looking for Chinese language instruction books. They have a great selection of material. I ended up buying the last two books in the series that we used at Purdue, along with some specialty book like “IT Talk” (ever wonder how to say ‘I’ve read your blog today, and left a message there’ in Chinese?).

I bought six books and two sets of CDs for a totol of 310 RMB (US$40). What a great deal. The selection was much better than anything I’ve seen in Hong Kong. For some reason, the HK bookstores seems to only stock books printed by HK presses (which are expensive, and don’t have a great selection–perhaps because not many people are learning Mandarin in HK), whereas the ones in Shenzhen had a full selection of mainland press material (which are really inexpensive).

To get to Book City, take the Number 4 line of the Shenzhen metro to Shao Nian Gong. You can’t miss it when you exit the station.

The pics from last week’s class boat trip are now posted. The boat met us right at Tsim Sha Tsui pear in front of the HK Cultural Center. We took it from there to Lamma Island on the southwest side of the main HK island. It was supposed to rain but turned out to be really nice weather. Once on the island we took a short hike to a beach, swam there for a while, and then finished the hike to the other side where we had a delicious seafood dinner. It was a great opportunity to hangout with everyone, since we’re not all taking the same courses like we were last semester.

It’s hard to believe. Three weeks from today I’ll be done, and Sam will be flying into Hong Kong. Still a lot to do: projects and finals, packing & shipping, planning the trip with Sam, booking tickets and collecting visas, and everything else required to wrap up the year. I’m starting to feel that things really are nearing the end here.

Everyone in the master’s program took a boat trip last Sunday to an outlying island, which was a lot of fun. I will make a post later. It was a nice opportunity to relax and just enjoy Hong Kong.

Got back late Sunday night from another great trip. I’ve posted the photos from my camera, with more to come later.

Chongqing 重庆

We flew into Chongqing in central china on Wednesday night, and started off with some very spicy hot pot. The Changjiang river runs through town, so after dinner we headed down to the waterfront to enjoy Chongqing at night (kind of like Shanghai’s Bund, though Chongqing is more mountainous). The next day we visited a number of places in town, ending up at a nice boat restaurant for lunch. Nearby there was a little carnival going on, so we did all the things I’m too cheap to do in America, including driving gocarts, archery, carnival games, and buying a kite just to fly it for 15 minutes (gave it to a kid afterward). Chongqing is a very large Chinese city. The amount of new construction was amazing, a lot like when I was in Shanghai three years ago. We left a little before seven to take the five hour train ride to Chengdu.

Chengdu 成都

We spent the remaining three days in Chengdu, which is a city with a lot of very interesting sights nearby. We started off at Qingcheng Mountain (青城山 or literally Green City Mountain), a major location in the development of Taoism. We hiked the mountain visiting the temples and caves along the way. In the afternoon we headed to the Dujiangyan Irrigation system which was developed in the 3rd century B.C. and is quite an engineering marvel. Here we also hiked an impressive trail along the cliffs. You can read UNESCO’s World Heritage description for the two sights here.

The next day we went to visit the Leshan Buddha, which is about a two-hour bus ride away from Chengdu. It’s carved out of a hillside and is the largest Buddha in the world at 71m high. It’s quite an impressive sight to experience in person, especially considered that is was carved in the 8th century. The river runs by directly in front of it, so as you work your way down to the feet (on the very crowded and narrow stairway carved from the mountain) you have a beautiful view.

The final day in Chengdu was spent at the famous Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. I’d seen pandas before a few years ago at the Beijing Zoo, but this experience was much better, as it was outdoor and very well maintained (not to mention it’s kind of the center of the panda “world”, serving as a distribution point for most zoos around the globe). The pictures can pretty much speak for themselves, though I only posted a few as they tend to get repetitive (panda eating, panda sleeping, panda eating…). Basically, we saw lots of giant pandas.

As a side note, the entry tickets to the sights in Chengdu were significantly more expensive that those in other Chinese cities I’ve been to (but still a great deal considering what you get). However, all the areas were noticeably well maintained, without an excessive number people selling things within the actual site (which I’ve sometimes seen overdone). I’m not sure if this has to do with the increased ticket price, their World Heritage status, or the Sichuan government, but whatever the case, I can highly recommend spending a few days in Chengdu.

Having a great trip! Currently in Chengdu, the captial of Sichuan province. Will post a full account and pictures in the next few days.

I’m leaving with three classmates tomorrow morning for Chongqing, then taking a train to Chengdu a day later. Will be back late Sunday night. Looking forward to some of that famous Sichuan food for the next five days. The final quarter of my program begins next week!

Mom has all the pictures from her visit to Hong Kong, so we’ll have to find a way for her to get them uploaded next week. It was very good to see her :)

Went to a Purdue Club Hong Kong dinner last night. President Jischke was on his final trip before he finishes at Purdue, and his last stop was Hong Kong. It was a nice evening.

Getting ready to head downtown to meet my mom at the Gateway Marco Polo Hotel (hmm… seems a step above the hotels dad and I stayed in during our trip!). Along with another teacher, she is bringing a group of her 25 high-school students here for a few days. They should have just got in from Beijing and are probably standing in line with their passports right now.

Really excited to see mom for the first time in seven months. Obviously will post more about this later in the week.

In other news, the academic quarter is ending this week which means I have an exam on Tuesday and one on Wednesday. It also means I have a week break starting this Friday. Currently trying to plan a little trip, perhaps Chongqing and Chengdu or Sanya. Ok, got to get going!

Updates have been sparse over the past few months, so here’s a big one, complete with pictures!

Ai in Hong Kong

On the 25th Ai came to visit for her spring break. Her dinner with Warren Buffet was rescheduled so she came to Hong Kong early instead. I guess that officially makes me more exciting than Warren Buffet ;) Anyways, she got here on the 25th and we spent a week and a half in Hong Kong. We did all kinds of exciting things including riding a tandom bike around Tai Po, taking a very long hike around Clear Water Bay, and going to the horse races. A full pictorial account of our adventures is available in the usual section of the blog (left column, click “photos”).

To Vietnam…

On March 8th we left for Vietnam and were met by distant relatives at the Saigon airport. This was the first introduction to the “Nguyen clan,” a network that spans the whole of Vietnam and is guaranteed to meet you as soon as you arrive in any city, and spend countess hours taking you on tours and finding/cooking delicious food :) After chatting for a few hours (I didn’t catch much, it was all in Vietnamese), we caught our flight to Danang (if you need a geography review, here’s a map, and btw, Saigon = HCM City). We made a quick visit to Ai’s grandmother’s house, then went to her aunt’s house where we slept.

Phong Nha

The following morning we woke up around 6am for a trip to Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Her uncle drove Ai, her dad, and me in “the clan’s” Toyota. It was about a five hour drive to the north (located about half-way between Hue and Vinh on the above map). Along the way were beautiful views of rural Vietnam, and we stopped at small roadside restaurants to eat during the trip. Ai wasn’t particularly pleased with the bathroom situation, as previously she had successfully avoided squat-style toilets (apparently due to over-pampering from family members on previous trips ;)

Phong Nha was an amazing place (photos). The mountains were beautiful and the cave river was amazing. There weren’t many people there, so it was also very peaceful. Naturally, after 2005’s legendary Mammoth Cave expedition (sorry, no photographic evidence remains, though all who were present can vouch for how amazing it was), we were ready to do some cave exploring. Our boat guide said that professional cave explorers often visit to travel deeper.

UNESCO says, “Phong Nha displays an impressive amount of evidence of earth’s history. It is a site of very great importance for increasing our understanding of the geologic, geomorphic and geo-chronological history of the region.” Yes, I have to agree, and I’m sure you will too after you review the photos ;)

We returned to Danang that evening and spent time with the extensive relative network. Her aunt’s house is just a few minute walk from the beach so we took a stroll that night.

Hoi An

The next day we got up early again for another trip. This time to yet another of Vietnam’s five World Heritage sites, Hoi An. It was just a 45 minute moterbike ride away (more thoughts on motorbikes later). On the way we rode past a number of beach resorts and stopped at an a section of town that is entirely devoted to stone carving where we picked up some very nice pieces (ever wanted one of the giant marble lions you find outside Chinese restaurants?). Hoi An was very much like some of the ancient Chinese cities I’ve visited; the architecture and craftwork was very similar in many ways. After spending a few hours exploring by a fleet of bicycle rickshaws, we headed back to Danang on the motorbikes for the “big surprise.”

the big surprise

The big surprise it turned out was my birthday party! Because we had to leave early the next day to return to Saigon, Ai’s dad had planned a birthday-eve party for me in Danang. All the relatives (I counted about 25!) came and it was an amazing time. It was on a floating boat on the Han river. Throughout the night people took turns singing on a little stage (kind of like karaoke, but no screen), including one of the younger cousins (who I was assured, despite his initial facial expression, loved to sing). Everyone had a great time and I definitely had the most amazing 3-tier cake ever, complete with a little rat on top made of icing (I’m year of the rat, duh!).

Sick in Saigon

The next morning we woke up early for our flight back to Saigon. I wasn’t feeling too well, I thought because of too much sun while riding the motorbikes (should have been wearing that straw hat). At the airport though I really started to feel it, and things turned ugly on the plane (which is a first). After getting to Saigon we checked in at the hotel and I spent the next 9 hours in bed feeling pretty bad. Later that evening though I was feeling better, so Ai’s two uncles gave us a tour of the city on motorbikes. I ate some pho (the Vietnamese soup) and stared to feel a little better.

Phuc Arrives

Purdue’s spring break just started, so Phuc got to Saigon around 11 where we met him at the airport. Phuc loved the terracotta warrior chess set that I found for him in Xi’an. It was late so we went back to the hotel and called it a night shortly after. My flight back to Hong Kong was at 10:10 the next morning, and Ai, Phuc, and their uncle’s flight back to Danang was at 7. I woke up and said goodbye to them and then went back to bed for a while and took a shower. Ai’s uncle paid the hotel to have a taxi waiting for me at 8:30, but when I came downstairs they were trying to flag one in the street, and it was clear that wasn’t going to work anytime soon. He suggested that he take me on his motor back, to which I agree. I slung my giant duffle back over my shoulder and hopped on back. I cut it really close getting to the gate, but I made it, and the flight went much better than the one the previous day.

Thoughts on transportation

There weren’t many private cars anywhere in Vietnam. By far the popular form of transport were small motorbikes. Riding one for the first time was quite scary especially given the enormous amount of riders on the road. It was not uncommon to see entire family’s of four all riding on one bike. I’m in the process of uploading a few short movies to give you a taste for what it’s like, but they really can’t capture the true feeling.

Ai flew back to Hong Kong Friday afternoon and we made hot pot last night. Sadly, I saw her off at the airport this morning at 8. Thus ends a great 2 weeks.