At around 11 pm, people started going home. I am not sure why...we ended up going to get ice cream. Not very exciting, but we had fun anyway!
Meagan with a Vietnamese Hat
Meagan with sparkler
First Kiss of 2006
Saturday, December 31, 2005
New Year's Eve
For New Year's Eve, Matt and I just cruised around Saigon. We had no special plans. I got home late from the spa and he had a long day, so we just walked around. There was a giant street fair, and we bought some sparklers to celebrate. Then we sat down and people watched. I saw a woman picking up cans to recycle. She had a limp and her arms had tremors. I was inspired by the fact that she could have been begging but instead she was recycling. Then I was thinking, maybe she was injured in the war. I had just read a book about Kim Phuc, a girl who had been burned by a napalm bomb. The book made me very sad, so maybe that is why I felt like I should give the woman money. I rarely give money when I travel, but I felt like I should give this woman money. Then I worried that maybe I was wrong, and that I would insult her by giving her money. I decided to trust my first instinct and give her something.
At around 11 pm, people started going home. I am not sure why...we ended up going to get ice cream. Not very exciting, but we had fun anyway!
Meagan with a Vietnamese Hat
Meagan with sparkler
First Kiss of 2006
At around 11 pm, people started going home. I am not sure why...we ended up going to get ice cream. Not very exciting, but we had fun anyway!
Meagan with a Vietnamese Hat
Meagan with sparkler
First Kiss of 2006
Friday, December 30, 2005
Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City)
I loved Siagon! It was my favorite part of our Vietnam trip. The city felt very vibrant and alive...you could feel the forward momentum almost. Alot of my love of Saigon has to do with the wonderful spa I went to, L'Apothiquaire. It was GORGEOUS! It was housed in an old French villa in District 3. The inside was all white with dark wood trim and purple accents everywhere. The floors were tiled with mosics and there was a spiral staircase. It was luxurious and wonderful. I paid 60 US dollars for a half day at the spa. This included an hour long facial, an hour long massage, a "spa meal" served on the beautiful patio next to the pool, a manicure and pedicure, and a head massage with shampoo and hair styling. Amazing! After being in Beijing, then driving through the Mekong Delta and frying myself in the sun and staying in a very rustic beach hotel, I needed the spa time!
Matt and I split up for the day. He went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were built by the Viet Cong during the war. They lived underneath the city and launched night attacks on the South Vietnamese. Matt had read a book about it during our trip, and it sounds like it was very interesting. He got to go inside the tunnels and fire an M-16. He had to ride on the bumpy Vietnamese roads for 70 kilometers on the back of a guy's motor bike! Sounds horrible...good thing I was at the spa!
Saigon is Motorbike Madness!
Matt at the entrance to the Cu Chi tunnels
Matt on a tank
Matt and I split up for the day. He went to the Cu Chi Tunnels, which were built by the Viet Cong during the war. They lived underneath the city and launched night attacks on the South Vietnamese. Matt had read a book about it during our trip, and it sounds like it was very interesting. He got to go inside the tunnels and fire an M-16. He had to ride on the bumpy Vietnamese roads for 70 kilometers on the back of a guy's motor bike! Sounds horrible...good thing I was at the spa!
Saigon is Motorbike Madness!
Matt at the entrance to the Cu Chi tunnels
Matt on a tank
Snorkeling
The next day we went on a snorkeling trip set up by the guy we had met at the ferry terminal. It was a lot of fun! You are definitely guaranteed a good day if you go out on a boat and go snorkeling. On the same boat were two guys that live in Hong Kong, some English teachers from Saigon, some people from Beijing, and some Germans. (Of course Germans...you can't go anywhere in Asia without running into some Germans on holiday.)
There was one scary moment where I was pulled by the current away from the boat and around a small island. I really felt the strength of the ocean! It was amazing! Good thing I was wearing my flourescent yellow bathing suit at the time...that way they could see me if I needed to be rescued! Haha! I vowed to wear that bathing suit on all future snorkeling trips.
The snorkeling was a lot of fun, but not half as scenic or beautiful as snorkeling in Thailand or the Philippines. (Okay! I will stop comparing Vietnam to other countries!)
Matt in the water
Secluded Beach
There was one scary moment where I was pulled by the current away from the boat and around a small island. I really felt the strength of the ocean! It was amazing! Good thing I was wearing my flourescent yellow bathing suit at the time...that way they could see me if I needed to be rescued! Haha! I vowed to wear that bathing suit on all future snorkeling trips.
The snorkeling was a lot of fun, but not half as scenic or beautiful as snorkeling in Thailand or the Philippines. (Okay! I will stop comparing Vietnam to other countries!)
Matt in the water
Secluded Beach
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Phu Quoc
After our long drive through the Mekong Delta, Matt and I were definitely ready to relax in Phu Quoc. When we arrived, we were bomabarded by two menoffering us a ride to our resort, a snorkeling trip, a hotel, their business card, and other things I can't remember. My firstinstinct when people come up to me is to not trust them and to tell them to go away. Matt didn't though, and the guy turned out to be nice and he took us snorkeling the next day.
Our hotel,the Thousand Stars Resort, was, um, interesting to say the least. It was on a nice beach, which was good, but the staff acted like they had never had guests before. They didn't have enough towels for everyone, and for dinner they had all the food layed out as if it was a buffet, but you had to pay for each item. They didn't keep track of what you ate though, so at the end of the meal we had to tell them everything that we had eaten, and they acted like we were trying to put one over on them! During theday, the staff slept in all the hammocks in the shade...so guests hadto sit in the blazing sun. They used the pool table constantly so that none of the guests could play. They were rude to some people...we sat down to breakfast and two British girls were already there. They gave us menus, andthegirls didn't havethemyet. We ordered eggs and got them...the girls ordered eggs and the waitress told them the restuarant was out of eggs. Then two more people came and ordered eggs and were given them! Crazy! The whole time we were there I lived in fear of making the waitresses mad... The other weird thing about our hotel was that there were life size ceramic animals everywhere, including a giant half naked mermaid.
Phu Quoc was nice, but the beach was not as nice as Thailand or the Philippines, and the people were way less friendly. It is a very small island with not too many tourists, which was nice. There are only a few hotels there. Given the expensive, government regulated price of flying to Vietnam, the rudeness of the people, and the so-so beach, I will probably not go back to Phu Quoc any time soon. I would much rather go to the Philippines! Or Thailand! Either one would cost half theprice to fly to.
Matt at the Thousand Stars Resort
Matt with a giant half naked mermaid statue
Meagan on a dock
Meagan with a giant shrimp
Our hotel,the Thousand Stars Resort, was, um, interesting to say the least. It was on a nice beach, which was good, but the staff acted like they had never had guests before. They didn't have enough towels for everyone, and for dinner they had all the food layed out as if it was a buffet, but you had to pay for each item. They didn't keep track of what you ate though, so at the end of the meal we had to tell them everything that we had eaten, and they acted like we were trying to put one over on them! During theday, the staff slept in all the hammocks in the shade...so guests hadto sit in the blazing sun. They used the pool table constantly so that none of the guests could play. They were rude to some people...we sat down to breakfast and two British girls were already there. They gave us menus, andthegirls didn't havethemyet. We ordered eggs and got them...the girls ordered eggs and the waitress told them the restuarant was out of eggs. Then two more people came and ordered eggs and were given them! Crazy! The whole time we were there I lived in fear of making the waitresses mad... The other weird thing about our hotel was that there were life size ceramic animals everywhere, including a giant half naked mermaid.
Phu Quoc was nice, but the beach was not as nice as Thailand or the Philippines, and the people were way less friendly. It is a very small island with not too many tourists, which was nice. There are only a few hotels there. Given the expensive, government regulated price of flying to Vietnam, the rudeness of the people, and the so-so beach, I will probably not go back to Phu Quoc any time soon. I would much rather go to the Philippines! Or Thailand! Either one would cost half theprice to fly to.
Matt at the Thousand Stars Resort
Matt with a giant half naked mermaid statue
Meagan on a dock
Meagan with a giant shrimp
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
The Mekong Delta
From Hanoi, Matt and I flew to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) and hired a car to drive us to Can Tho in the Mekong Delta. It was a long, slow, bumpy ride! I probably would not do it again unless I had more time to peruse the area. We were on a tight time schedule, and unfortunately we spent most of our time driving! It was interesting to see the Delta: lots of rice paddies and women wearing ao dais and conical hats. Very scenic! Our hotel in Can Tho was not very good, but I think we were just spoiled after the Church Hotel in Hanoi. Early the next morning, we went hired a boat to take us to the floating market. It was very picturesque. People were selling all types of fruits and vegetables and you good even buy pho or coffee from peoples' boats. Sort of like mini floating restuarants! Unfortunately, our boat driver took us to a weird coffee shop/restuarant/exotic animal prison. (They had monkeys tied to trees, alligators in tiny cages and other various sad looking creatures.) It seems like they always do that to you in Asia...you hire someone to do one thing for you and then they bring you around to all their friends and try to sell you a whole bunch of stuff you don't want. It was fun anyway though...the market was nice and at the animal prison we met a Vietnamese man who had an orchard, and he lets tourists do homestays with his family. It could be fun, staying with a Vietnamese family. It could also be very much NOT fun...I guess you would have to try it to find out. Honestly, I was slightly wary of Vietnamese people after Hanoi. In South Vietnam they were much more friendly, but not friendly enough to make me forget Hanoi!
After we visited the floating market, we had another long car trip to Rach Gia, where we boarded the ferry for Phu Quoc Island.
Stilt Houses
More Stilt Houses
Ladies Selling Fruit
Ladies Selling Pineapple
Matt Relaxing on Our Boat
Meagan on the boat heading towards the floating market near Can Tho
Relaxing at the Market
After we visited the floating market, we had another long car trip to Rach Gia, where we boarded the ferry for Phu Quoc Island.
Stilt Houses
More Stilt Houses
Ladies Selling Fruit
Ladies Selling Pineapple
Matt Relaxing on Our Boat
Meagan on the boat heading towards the floating market near Can Tho
Relaxing at the Market
Sunday, December 25, 2005
Christmas
Matt and I spent Christmas and Christmas Eve in Hanoi. For Christmas Eve we had a wonderful dinner at a French-Vietnamese restaurant called The Green Tangerine. It was so delicious, and the setting was gorgeous. The restuarant is in the Old Quarter of Hanoi, in an old French villa. We sat in the courtyard and had the set menu. I ordered a very curious dish: orange crusted prawns over a Curacao-soaked apple. The apple was bright blue and the prawns wer bright orange, so it looked like some sort of space-aged meal. It was delicious, but a bit on the sweet side. For dessert we had a baked apple stuffed with Camembert cheese. It was yummy!
For Christmas day, Matt and I drove ten kilometers out of town to a village that raises snakes. We had a ten course meal, with each course consisting of snake cooked in a different way. The highlight of the meal was when the owner brought the snake to our table and squeezed the blood out of it. He put the blood into a bottle of some type of strong alcohol, and we drank it. The owner took out the heart of the snake, which was still beating! He put it in Matt's glass, and Matt had to drink it for virility! I was very proud of Matt...even I would have been hesitant to drink it. It looked gross.
The church down the street from our hotel staged a huge dancing/singing performance on Christmas Eve. The whole street was blocked off and there were hordes of people. They had giant TV screens on three sides of the church showing the performance. It felt like a carnival or something!
Lots of people dressed up their kids like Santa, which made it feel even more like a carnival!
The courtyard of the Green Tangerine, where we had our Christmas Eve feast.
My bizarre yet delicious entree: orange crusted prawns on a Curacao-soaked apple
For Christmas day, Matt and I drove ten kilometers out of town to a village that raises snakes. We had a ten course meal, with each course consisting of snake cooked in a different way. The highlight of the meal was when the owner brought the snake to our table and squeezed the blood out of it. He put the blood into a bottle of some type of strong alcohol, and we drank it. The owner took out the heart of the snake, which was still beating! He put it in Matt's glass, and Matt had to drink it for virility! I was very proud of Matt...even I would have been hesitant to drink it. It looked gross.
The church down the street from our hotel staged a huge dancing/singing performance on Christmas Eve. The whole street was blocked off and there were hordes of people. They had giant TV screens on three sides of the church showing the performance. It felt like a carnival or something!
Lots of people dressed up their kids like Santa, which made it feel even more like a carnival!
The courtyard of the Green Tangerine, where we had our Christmas Eve feast.
My bizarre yet delicious entree: orange crusted prawns on a Curacao-soaked apple
Friday, December 23, 2005
Hanoi
I went straight from Beijing to meet Matt in Hanoi. It was a lot colder than I expected...I still had to wear my winter coat from Beijing. Ugh! Hanoi was nice, and it felt so good to be out of school. We stayed at the Church Hotel on Nha Tho Street. We loved it! The people were friendly, and it was in a great location. We could walk to everything, and we were right in the middle of a cute shopping area. They left us a basket of fresh fruit every day and for breakfast they made exatly what you ordered...no buffet breakfast like most hotels. That was a good thing cause I usually don't like buffets.
Hanoi was alot more tourist oriented than I had expected. Everywhere we went there were packs of western tourists with giant cameras hanging from their necks, clutching their Lonely Planets. Yes, I know, Matt and I are tourists too...but somehow it detracted from the excitement of the place. Sadly, I did not find the Vietnamese there to be very friendly. They count on the cluelessness of tourists and try to chrge outrageous rates, all the while being very surly and having a mocking grin on their face. It is so different in Beijing, I now appreciate how friendly Beijing residents are. One woman tried to charge me 2 US dollars for one apple! That is alot when you consider than you can buy a whole meal for 50 cents. Even in the US I would not pay 2 dollars for one apple. I would not pay 2 dollars for a pound of apples! I don't mind paying "too much" for things when I am in other countries, that just comes along with travel, but I do mind paying outrageous prices and having then laugh in my face! Because of this negative attitude, I shopped primarily at the Western style boutiques, where there was a set price and everything is labeled. There were so many cute stores and about a kajillion art galleries. I bought some beautiful laquerware, and not much else. There was a lot of beautiful silk for sale and many silk and embroidered hand bags.
While we were in Hanoi, Matt and I did not see any sights. We spent our time enjoying each other and walking around and eating lots of yummy food. It seems like so long since Matt and I have had time to relax and be together. I was so happy knowing that after this trip, I would not be going away from Matt and missing him. If there is one thing that I learned in Beijing, it is that I definitely like my life a lot better when Matt is around. When we are living together he annoys me sometimes, but that is probably true with any couple...It annoys me a lot more when he is not around!
The Church Hotel
Matt and I at Hoan Kiem Lake, in the middle of Hanoi
A shop selling lacquerware
While we were in Hanoi, we saw a performance of the Water Puppets. Hanoi is famous for it, and it is something that all the tourists do. It was pretty good, and only cost three US dollars. The best part was that the show was accompanied by live music, and some of the traditional Vietnamese instrumentsare really cool. A whole band of musicians sat on the side and played music and narrated the performance.
Hanoi Opera House
I was very cold in Hanoi...I wore my winter coat the whole time!
Hanoi was alot more tourist oriented than I had expected. Everywhere we went there were packs of western tourists with giant cameras hanging from their necks, clutching their Lonely Planets. Yes, I know, Matt and I are tourists too...but somehow it detracted from the excitement of the place. Sadly, I did not find the Vietnamese there to be very friendly. They count on the cluelessness of tourists and try to chrge outrageous rates, all the while being very surly and having a mocking grin on their face. It is so different in Beijing, I now appreciate how friendly Beijing residents are. One woman tried to charge me 2 US dollars for one apple! That is alot when you consider than you can buy a whole meal for 50 cents. Even in the US I would not pay 2 dollars for one apple. I would not pay 2 dollars for a pound of apples! I don't mind paying "too much" for things when I am in other countries, that just comes along with travel, but I do mind paying outrageous prices and having then laugh in my face! Because of this negative attitude, I shopped primarily at the Western style boutiques, where there was a set price and everything is labeled. There were so many cute stores and about a kajillion art galleries. I bought some beautiful laquerware, and not much else. There was a lot of beautiful silk for sale and many silk and embroidered hand bags.
While we were in Hanoi, Matt and I did not see any sights. We spent our time enjoying each other and walking around and eating lots of yummy food. It seems like so long since Matt and I have had time to relax and be together. I was so happy knowing that after this trip, I would not be going away from Matt and missing him. If there is one thing that I learned in Beijing, it is that I definitely like my life a lot better when Matt is around. When we are living together he annoys me sometimes, but that is probably true with any couple...It annoys me a lot more when he is not around!
The Church Hotel
Matt and I at Hoan Kiem Lake, in the middle of Hanoi
A shop selling lacquerware
While we were in Hanoi, we saw a performance of the Water Puppets. Hanoi is famous for it, and it is something that all the tourists do. It was pretty good, and only cost three US dollars. The best part was that the show was accompanied by live music, and some of the traditional Vietnamese instrumentsare really cool. A whole band of musicians sat on the side and played music and narrated the performance.
Hanoi Opera House
I was very cold in Hanoi...I wore my winter coat the whole time!
Monday, December 19, 2005
Good Bye, Beijing
Now that I am leaving Beijing, I am very sad. I am leaving in less than one week...on Friday I fly to Hanoi to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve with Matt in Vietnam. I am extremely excited about going to Vietnam. I love the food, and I cannot wait to get out of the bitterly cold windy weather in Beijing. But, I now that I am leaving I keep thinking about everything I wanted to do but didn't do while I was here. I never went to the Antique Market, I never went to the Summer Palace, and I didn't really get out of the University District that much. Oh well, I guess this always happens when you are about to leave some place. I am pretty sure Matt and I will be back here next year, so I don't feel that bad. After I go to Vietnam, I will go back to Hong Kong with Matt and continue studying Mandarin at the City University of Hong Kong. I am really excited about Mandarin right now, because I feel like I am on the verge of a break through! When I think back to ho little I used to know, and how difficult it was for me to communicate, and compare it to how I am now, I feel very excited! In May, Matt and I will come back to the US for a while and then travel a little bit, maybe to India. Then, we are not sure what we are going to do.
I am very sad about my laptop crashing. Matt says it is really messed up and we may not be able to recover the data. That computer has all of my pictures of every place I have been for the past year! And, it has all of Dad's pictures! I am so sad. I would pay a lot to get that data back...Matt told me that it would teach me to back up things that are important to me. That is not very nice to say, cause I already feel very sad and stupid. I will definitely back things up next time. Luckily, I have at least some pictures on my blog, and some on MyYahoo photos. Unfortunately I never posted my Germany pictures, and they were so good!
My Class Mates at a Good Bye lunch
These are some of the students in my Sunday morning English class. I loved teaching English! Chinese kids are so nice and innocent! One of my students gave me a Christmas card and it said:
"Dear Meagan,
It is such a warm and beautiful world. Let's listen to the wishes from the
Earth and stretch our arms to welcome a hopeful year together.
Sincerely,
Laura"
How great is that? I am sad that I won't be teaching English any more...Maybe if Matt and I come back to China I will start teaching again. Also, notice how serious all of the students are in the picture. Chinese people don't seem to think that you should smile or look happy in pictures. All the kids were happy and smiling, and then as soon as I got out the camera, they turned into very serious, grim looking people.
I am very sad about my laptop crashing. Matt says it is really messed up and we may not be able to recover the data. That computer has all of my pictures of every place I have been for the past year! And, it has all of Dad's pictures! I am so sad. I would pay a lot to get that data back...Matt told me that it would teach me to back up things that are important to me. That is not very nice to say, cause I already feel very sad and stupid. I will definitely back things up next time. Luckily, I have at least some pictures on my blog, and some on MyYahoo photos. Unfortunately I never posted my Germany pictures, and they were so good!
My Class Mates at a Good Bye lunch
These are some of the students in my Sunday morning English class. I loved teaching English! Chinese kids are so nice and innocent! One of my students gave me a Christmas card and it said:
"Dear Meagan,
It is such a warm and beautiful world. Let's listen to the wishes from the
Earth and stretch our arms to welcome a hopeful year together.
Sincerely,
Laura"
How great is that? I am sad that I won't be teaching English any more...Maybe if Matt and I come back to China I will start teaching again. Also, notice how serious all of the students are in the picture. Chinese people don't seem to think that you should smile or look happy in pictures. All the kids were happy and smiling, and then as soon as I got out the camera, they turned into very serious, grim looking people.
Shanghai
Last weekend, I met Matt and some of our friends from Hong Kong in Shanghai. We were celebrating Kelly and Mel's birthdays, both of which are in the beginning of December. Kelly and Raul had told me how much they loved Shanghai, but I didn't really think much about it....It turns out they were right! It was the most beautiful, dynamic city I have seen in a long time. In fact, it is my favorite city in all of Asia! It has the best aspects of Beijing and Hong Kong combined into one city: there is a definite downtown area, with tall sky scrapers, and everythng is close together so taxi rides are never too long (unlike Beijing). The streets are lined with those big beautiful trees that arch over the road, and there are a ton of gorgeous, old buildings. You can definitely see the French influence on Shanghai, with old manor-style buildings and black wrought iron balconies and gates. The food was extremely good, and not too oily (like it is in Beijing). The clubs and bars are much more sophisticated than in Beijing, and the expats are younger than the ones in Hong Kong but cooler than the ones in Beijing. The prices are much easier to handle than those in Hong Kong, even at very nice bars and restaurants. Also, Shanghai is near the ocean, and somehow there is something much nicer about living close to a large body of water. Beijing is very far from the ocean and it can feel sort of closed in and stifling. I loved it in Shanghai! I would love to live in Shanghai one day. The only problem is, they speak a dialect of Chinese called Shanghainese, and it was very difficult for me to understand them even when they were speaking Mandarin.
Altogether there were 8 of us there: Kelly and Raul, Kelly's sister, Mel and John, Torry and Patrick, Payal, and Matt and I. We were staying in a gorgeous hotel right on the Bund. I felt like I was in heaven! Maybe I loved the hotel so much because I had just come from Beijing...in the hotel, the shower always had hot water, the room was warm and there was always electricity! In my apartment in Beijing, none of those things is guaranteed. Matt and I ordered room service for breakfast on Saturday and it was so delicious. They actually knew how to make Western food! I just had 2 fried eggs, sausage and toast, but it was the best breakfast that I can remember having since I went to visit Uncle Andrew in Minneapolis. On Friday night we went to a club called Bar Rouge, which was a lot of fun, despite the very blatant presence of many Chinese prostitutes. Here, the prostitutes were much more savvy and sophisticated than the ones in either Hong Kong or Beijing. They dressed much nicer than any of us and were not overly obvious about being working girls. It was very disturbing, actually. They weren't very nice. On Saturday we went shopping and out to a big lunch and dinner, then on Sunday we had a delicious brunch. Way too much eating in one weekend! We went to the antique market and the fabric market. I treated myself to white cashmere coat. (At least they told me it was cashmere. Well, it was cheap even if it wasn't real.) It was one of those weekends where I felt extremely happy the whole time. It made me very excited to go back to Hong Kong to be with Matt and all my friends!
Meagan in Shanghai
Kelly and Raul
Kelly's Sister, Courtney
Raul and the Door Lady at Our Hotel. I am not sure what their uniform is supposed to look like...
Aren't they cute with their matching umbrellas?
My New Cashmere coat from the Fabric Market
Altogether there were 8 of us there: Kelly and Raul, Kelly's sister, Mel and John, Torry and Patrick, Payal, and Matt and I. We were staying in a gorgeous hotel right on the Bund. I felt like I was in heaven! Maybe I loved the hotel so much because I had just come from Beijing...in the hotel, the shower always had hot water, the room was warm and there was always electricity! In my apartment in Beijing, none of those things is guaranteed. Matt and I ordered room service for breakfast on Saturday and it was so delicious. They actually knew how to make Western food! I just had 2 fried eggs, sausage and toast, but it was the best breakfast that I can remember having since I went to visit Uncle Andrew in Minneapolis. On Friday night we went to a club called Bar Rouge, which was a lot of fun, despite the very blatant presence of many Chinese prostitutes. Here, the prostitutes were much more savvy and sophisticated than the ones in either Hong Kong or Beijing. They dressed much nicer than any of us and were not overly obvious about being working girls. It was very disturbing, actually. They weren't very nice. On Saturday we went shopping and out to a big lunch and dinner, then on Sunday we had a delicious brunch. Way too much eating in one weekend! We went to the antique market and the fabric market. I treated myself to white cashmere coat. (At least they told me it was cashmere. Well, it was cheap even if it wasn't real.) It was one of those weekends where I felt extremely happy the whole time. It made me very excited to go back to Hong Kong to be with Matt and all my friends!
Meagan in Shanghai
Kelly and Raul
Kelly's Sister, Courtney
Raul and the Door Lady at Our Hotel. I am not sure what their uniform is supposed to look like...
Aren't they cute with their matching umbrellas?
My New Cashmere coat from the Fabric Market
Thursday, December 08, 2005
My Best Friend has Crashed!
I am so bummed...my lap top has crashed! It has been making weird sounds and doing weird things for quite a while now, but last night it finally died. (This means no more pictures on my blog till I have my computer working...) I am going to bring it to Matt and hopefully he can fix it. Luckily, we will see eachother tomorrow! We are meeting up in Shanghai for the weekend to celebrate the birthday of my friends Kelly and Mel. A bunch of Hong Kongers are coming and it is going to be wonderful. We are staying at the same hotel, and I think it is a nice one. I am just hoping the weather will be a little bit warmer. Beijing is SOOO cold now, and windy. The wind is like a blast of icy knives on my face when I ride my bike to school. (I am not sure if that is possible..."a blast of icy knives"? Well, that is what it feels like!)
In other news, Matt and I have finally confirmed (after much indecision on my part) to go to Vietnam for Christmas. Woohoo! The sun, the beach, the pho! I am dreaming about it every day...it is only 2 weeks away! Yay! We are flying into Hanoi on the 23rd and then down to Ho Chi Minh City on the 27th. From there, we are travelling down to Phu Cuoc, which is supposed to be a deserted but absolutely gorgeous island with white sand beaches.
In other news, Matt and I have finally confirmed (after much indecision on my part) to go to Vietnam for Christmas. Woohoo! The sun, the beach, the pho! I am dreaming about it every day...it is only 2 weeks away! Yay! We are flying into Hanoi on the 23rd and then down to Ho Chi Minh City on the 27th. From there, we are travelling down to Phu Cuoc, which is supposed to be a deserted but absolutely gorgeous island with white sand beaches.
Monday, December 05, 2005
Audrey's Last Weekend in Beijing
Last weekend was my roommate Audrey's last weekend in Beijing. She is going back to Hong Kong on Saturday and then back to LA for Christmas. I am so sad she is leaving! It was also her birthday, so one of her friend's came up from Hong Kong to celebrate. On Friday night we went to new club called Club Cargo. It was a typical Beijing club: huge, packed, and completely lacking personality. The onoly reason we had so much fun there that night is because Deep Dish was there, so the music was really good. We danced the whole night, and it was defintiely the best night I have had out in Beijing. Of course, it is a rare event for a good DJ to be here, and on a regular night the music would be horrendous: cheesy, booty shaking rap music. I like some hip hop, GOOD hip hop, but not the really cheesy kind. It was good that Audrey's last weekend ended things in a good way. Some of my classmates were also there, but they are young boys, and I don't think they like electronic music. It think they prefer the cheesy booty shanking music!
Saturday was Audrey's actual birthday, and she had invited a whole bunch of people to go to Bed, a Spanish tapas restaurant in downtown Beijing. I was really excited, cause I had heard this was one of the coolest bars in town, and they had good drinks and all the walls were lined with canopied beds that you could lounge on. It sounded to me like the restaurant in Barcelona that my friend Kelly had her rehearsal dinner at. It was nothing like it! Don't get me wrong, by Beijing standards, it was really cool. It had a minimalist, untilitarian design that looked cool, but the "beds" were really just those low Chinese style benches with thin cushions on them. Since we had a large group, we were seated in a private room with a long wooden table. It was freeeeeezing! The whole place was not heated, and it is super cold here, and it even snowed over the weekend. I kept my jacket on the whole time...I really can't handle the cold at all! The drinks were delicious, but the "tapas" were really just Chinese dim sum items. That is ok, I like dim sum items, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Then the main dishes came....these were more like Indian curries. Every single dish consisted of mysterious chunks of meet drowning in a thick sauce of varying colors. It tasted ok, but I would probably just stick to drinks and tapas next time.
The interesting thing about the dinner for me was that I met a Mormon couple. They were in Audrey's class, but I had never met them before. They were really nice, and we discussed the pancakes at Chick's Diner in Utah, BYU (they had just finished there), and why Mormons make so many things with Jello. They were really friendly...it was especially nice to meet the girl as there seems to be a major lack of Western females in China, particularly American females. Unfortunately, they were leaving the next day for India. Her family has always lived abroad, and I think she said her Dad is a doctor for the Embassy or something like that. Anyway, it was stragely exciting to meet Mormons in Asia, cause I haven't met that many here.
Saturday was Audrey's actual birthday, and she had invited a whole bunch of people to go to Bed, a Spanish tapas restaurant in downtown Beijing. I was really excited, cause I had heard this was one of the coolest bars in town, and they had good drinks and all the walls were lined with canopied beds that you could lounge on. It sounded to me like the restaurant in Barcelona that my friend Kelly had her rehearsal dinner at. It was nothing like it! Don't get me wrong, by Beijing standards, it was really cool. It had a minimalist, untilitarian design that looked cool, but the "beds" were really just those low Chinese style benches with thin cushions on them. Since we had a large group, we were seated in a private room with a long wooden table. It was freeeeeezing! The whole place was not heated, and it is super cold here, and it even snowed over the weekend. I kept my jacket on the whole time...I really can't handle the cold at all! The drinks were delicious, but the "tapas" were really just Chinese dim sum items. That is ok, I like dim sum items, but it wasn't what I was expecting. Then the main dishes came....these were more like Indian curries. Every single dish consisted of mysterious chunks of meet drowning in a thick sauce of varying colors. It tasted ok, but I would probably just stick to drinks and tapas next time.
The interesting thing about the dinner for me was that I met a Mormon couple. They were in Audrey's class, but I had never met them before. They were really nice, and we discussed the pancakes at Chick's Diner in Utah, BYU (they had just finished there), and why Mormons make so many things with Jello. They were really friendly...it was especially nice to meet the girl as there seems to be a major lack of Western females in China, particularly American females. Unfortunately, they were leaving the next day for India. Her family has always lived abroad, and I think she said her Dad is a doctor for the Embassy or something like that. Anyway, it was stragely exciting to meet Mormons in Asia, cause I haven't met that many here.
Monday, November 28, 2005
I missed another one!
While I was in Hong Kong, Matt's mom sent us some pictures from my friend Emily's wedding. Emily is a really close friend of both Matt and I. She is the little sister of one of Matt's best and oldest friends, and they have known eachother forever. Emily was my college roommate and close friend. Emily is also the link between Matt and I...If I hadn't met her I wouldn't have met him. For all of these reasons, and because I think Emily the most similar person to the buddha that I have ever met in my entire life, I was devastated to miss her wedding. Matt was too.
So when Matt's mom sent us the pictures, which was very nice of her, and I saw all of Matt's and my old friends laughing and frolicking around, I started crying! It as early in the morning, Matt was getting ready for work, and I think he was highly annoyed with me. He said, "Yeah, I feel bad too" in a very terse voice. Along with being sad about missing the wedding, I was also sad about all my old friends...people that are so important to me, that look alot older and that I am losing touch with. I know that is a natural progression of life...people come into your life and out of your life, it is natural...but it is more than just old college friends. I get the same feeling when I get pictures of my sisters from Rohit and my Mom. I love my friends in Hong Kong too...but they will all be leaving soon too. Kelly goes back to New York next January, and our other friends leave in April, other ones leave in May...Audrey leaves Beijing in a week to travel around the world...I know I have my whole life to be stable, but sometimes I feel like everything is so shaky, like quicksand. But then I worry I will be extremely bored if things ever slow down for me. I think too much! I am working on trying not to think as much.
I will stop my rambling now...Emily, you looked gorgeous and we are so sad we missed your wedding. I can't wait to get to know Kyle better in the future and I can't wait till Matt and I see you again. We will definitely be back in the US before May, so hopefully we will see you then. Congratulations! Your wedding looked like so much fun!
***(As a side note, it probably seems like I cry a lot. I don't. Sometimes I do cry though and I am not ashamed. It has been a hectic year and a half, I am entitled to some emotions, right?)
Emily and Kyle
Ann and Liz, my old roommates!
So when Matt's mom sent us the pictures, which was very nice of her, and I saw all of Matt's and my old friends laughing and frolicking around, I started crying! It as early in the morning, Matt was getting ready for work, and I think he was highly annoyed with me. He said, "Yeah, I feel bad too" in a very terse voice. Along with being sad about missing the wedding, I was also sad about all my old friends...people that are so important to me, that look alot older and that I am losing touch with. I know that is a natural progression of life...people come into your life and out of your life, it is natural...but it is more than just old college friends. I get the same feeling when I get pictures of my sisters from Rohit and my Mom. I love my friends in Hong Kong too...but they will all be leaving soon too. Kelly goes back to New York next January, and our other friends leave in April, other ones leave in May...Audrey leaves Beijing in a week to travel around the world...I know I have my whole life to be stable, but sometimes I feel like everything is so shaky, like quicksand. But then I worry I will be extremely bored if things ever slow down for me. I think too much! I am working on trying not to think as much.
I will stop my rambling now...Emily, you looked gorgeous and we are so sad we missed your wedding. I can't wait to get to know Kyle better in the future and I can't wait till Matt and I see you again. We will definitely be back in the US before May, so hopefully we will see you then. Congratulations! Your wedding looked like so much fun!
***(As a side note, it probably seems like I cry a lot. I don't. Sometimes I do cry though and I am not ashamed. It has been a hectic year and a half, I am entitled to some emotions, right?)
Emily and Kyle
Ann and Liz, my old roommates!
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Our Second Thanksgiving Dinner
On Saturday, Matt and I went with Kelly and Raul to their friend's house for another Thanksgiving dinner. It was MUCH more relaxing than the Thanksgiving dinner we made for ourselves. To start with, the location was gorgeous. The weather was very San Diego-like...you know, "non weather", where the air temperature is almost the same as the temperature of your skin, and the air is neither dry nor humid. Basically, it was perfect and sunny and clear. The best part was, our host's had a yard...such a luxury in Hong Kong! Also, they had 2 maids, so no cleaning up! To top it off, Kelly and Raul picked us up in their new convertable! What a day! We had a good time...two delicious turkeys, an array of stuffings, many pies, and...brussel sprouts. It was my first time trying brussel sprouts, and I thought they were delicious! (Maybe it was the butter...) I am not a huge fan of pecan pie, but someone had brought a fantastic Bourbon Pecan Pie, with Bourbon whipped cream. It was amazing.
After our second Thanksgiving dinner, we headed back home and out to some clubs. After being in Beijing, the nightlife in Hong Kong seems like heaven. It is warm so you don't have to bring scarves and hats and all of those nuisances, all of the action is close enough to our house that we can walk or take a very quick taxi ride, I know alot of people, everyone is friendly, and there are a TON of choices of places to go. But we were tired from our marathon dinner, so we didn't stay out long.
John, Matt and I at Medina
Matt, Stuart and I at Soda in Hong Kong
After our second Thanksgiving dinner, we headed back home and out to some clubs. After being in Beijing, the nightlife in Hong Kong seems like heaven. It is warm so you don't have to bring scarves and hats and all of those nuisances, all of the action is close enough to our house that we can walk or take a very quick taxi ride, I know alot of people, everyone is friendly, and there are a TON of choices of places to go. But we were tired from our marathon dinner, so we didn't stay out long.
John, Matt and I at Medina
Matt, Stuart and I at Soda in Hong Kong
Friday, November 25, 2005
Thanksgiving in Hong Kong
For Thanksgiving, Matt and I went over to Kelly's house for dinner. It felt really good to eat with them, especially since I hadn't seen them for a while and it felt sort of like we were eating with family. Matt and I had got there at about 5 pm, and Kelly was starting the mashed potatoes. None of us had ever cooked a full Thanksgiving meal before, so we hit a few snags along the way...Neither Kelly nor I had ever made mashed potatoes before. I don't like them, and I think Kelly's mom usually did it at their house. Kelly got a recipe out of Food and Wine magazine, and it didn't mention anything about boiling the potatoes, it just said to simmer them in cream, butter and garlic. So, we did that for a long time, and of course, the potatoes stayed hard as a rock for a long, long time! Meanwhile, the turkey was in the oven, but we didn't know how long it should stay for. It was 16 pounds, and the recipe that she had from Food and Wine magazine was for a 12 pound turkey. The recipe said to peel the skin off and then reattach it, so Kelly did that before we got there. Kelly and I hadn't seen eachother for a while, so were chatting and did not notice how nothing was getting done...Matt was in the living room watching the wedding crashers and drinking wine. So, Raul came home after work and freaked out because nothing was done. I guess he wanted the food all out on the table? The potatoes were still hard and the cream was congealing slightly, and the skin on the turkey had shriveled into a disgusting looking mass because Kelly had peeled it back. There was a minor -- ok, major -- blow out about how Thanksgiving was ruined by a lack of cooking skills. Ayayay! Lucky Matt, blissfully watching a movie in the living room! Anyway, everything turned out fine in the end. The smoke alarm only went off 4 times, the mashed potatoes were mostly smooth, the turkey was moist and delicious aside from the uncooked portions, and we were sitting down to eat at a very respectable 9 pm! Haha! Making Thanksgiving dinner and timing everything correctly is much harder than it seems! Oh well, you live and you learn. We had a nice relaxing dinner, with 4 drunk people, and a very exhausted and completely sober Kelly and I.
(I probably shouldn't have admitted all of our cooking fiascos...But, hey, I don't claim to be an experienced cook! I haven't cooked since I lived in San Diego, and that was quite a while ago!)
Despite all of the fiascos, it was great to be back in Hong Kong with close friends. We are going to do it all again on Saturday...Raul's coworkers invited us to their house for another Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. This should run more smoothly though...we now how to make mashed potatoes properly and aside from the that we are just supposed to bring a fruit and cheese platter. Thursday night was just a practice run.
One Big Happy, Slightly Disfunctional Family
Kelly Mashing potatoes
Chopping Onions is Really Funny
A Sumptuous Thanksgiving Feast
(I probably shouldn't have admitted all of our cooking fiascos...But, hey, I don't claim to be an experienced cook! I haven't cooked since I lived in San Diego, and that was quite a while ago!)
Despite all of the fiascos, it was great to be back in Hong Kong with close friends. We are going to do it all again on Saturday...Raul's coworkers invited us to their house for another Thanksgiving dinner this weekend. This should run more smoothly though...we now how to make mashed potatoes properly and aside from the that we are just supposed to bring a fruit and cheese platter. Thursday night was just a practice run.
One Big Happy, Slightly Disfunctional Family
Kelly Mashing potatoes
Chopping Onions is Really Funny
A Sumptuous Thanksgiving Feast
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