I am 30 years old...that's 1.11 Celsius

Today marks my 30th trip around the sun. I am not quite sure how I feel about turning the big 3-0. I might feel differently if I was on my native soil. Last year I spent my birthday in Beijing. This year I am in Tokyo. I can't remember much about the last birthday spent at home. Today has put me in a somewhat reflective mood. Perhaps I will write more about it later.

"Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional." - Chili Davis

The Friendlies

These propaganda pandas are the official mascots of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. They look like a result of drug influenced love making between Carebears and Monchhichis. I love how they are called "The Friendlies." "Hey...we aren't a communist nation out to gain world domination through cheap labor, undervalued currency, and a build up of a large military complex. No...we are Friendly." These commie pandas are being made into toys, video games, clothing and other marketing crap.

Oh no...my luggage has been deceived

This is another humorous attempt by the Chinese to translate documents into English. The bell captain gave me this document when I stored my luggage at a Shanghai hotel. I didn't think it was possible to mislead luggage.

Shanghai at Night

The first pic was taken on Nanjing Road. The other two pics were taken on the Huangpu River looking towards Pudong.

Shanghai Skyline

Shanghai has one of the most unique skylines in the world. These pics represents some of the unique high rise buildings in Shanghai. The bottom building reminds me of something found on the forrest moon of Endor in "Return of the Jedi."

Parks in Shanghai

Shanghai has some beautiful parks and gardens entermingled within the high rises. These pics were taken in the Yuyuan Gardens. I never found the Tower of Happiness, but I always seem to end up in Hall of Mildness.

Denim for her pleasure

These were available from the mini-bar in my room in Shanghai. Nothing is sexier than indigo colored prophylactics. Now that's classy.

Where did I park my scooter?

Normally scooters are the most innocuous form of transportation, but lax motor vehicle laws makes these death missiles on the streets of Shanghai. For those visiting Shanghai for the first time be very cautious walking on the sidewalks and crossing streets. Motor scooters will forgo the street and instead drive on the sidewalk.

Shanghai Maglev Train

The Shanghai Maglev train was the first commercial high speed magnetic levation train in the world. The top speed is 431 km/h or 267.81 miles per hour. Critics complain about the high cost of the Maglev when compared to the value to the Shanghai citizens. It does seem more like a show piece than cost effective method of public transportation. The Maglev provides a fast and surprisingly smooth journey from the Shanghai Pudong International Airport to the center of town. Aside from all that, it goes 267+ miles per hour. Very cool.

Mmmm....Fish Lips and Pigeon

I preferred the food in Beijing to what I tried in Shanghai. The food in Beijing is fantastic. I won't be able to eat Chinese food for months after I return to the States. American Chinese food lacks the flavors, textures, and freshness found in its origins. The food in Shanghai is more for the adventurous foodie. Tonight's menu included, sweet and sour pork ribs, fish lips with crab roe, roasted pigeon, and sweet cabbage with dried scallops. Americans tend to think that every meal in China includes rice. That is not true. In order to have rice with a meal you must request it.

"Rice is great if you're hungry and want 2000 of something." - Mitch Hedberg

Random Art in Shanghai

I stumbled across this art while walking the streets of Shanghai. I wish I knew more about the exhibit, but I don't.

What do you mean I can't shit in the park?

There are plenty of hilarious English translations to be found in China, but this is one of the funniest. These are rules for visitors of public parks in Shanghai. Clicking on the picture will show a expand the picture. Read number 2. The fact that they had to tell people not to shit in the park implies that people were actually shitting in the park. The fact they used the word shit adds another level of hilarity.

Disappearing Hutongs of Dashilanr

Beijing is undergoing massive construction projects to prepare for the 2008 Olympic Games. Last year I did some shopping near the Hutong district near Tiananmen Square. I was surprised when I visited the area this year. Many of the Hutongs were being demolished and the shopping district is undergoing a western modernization to prepare for influx of visitors in 2008.

The Vancouver Courier has an interesting article about the disappearing Hutongs.

http://www.vancourier.com/issues06/102206/travel.html

Critics complain about the loss of culture, but I have mixed feelings about the issue. The Hutongs represent historic Beijing, but they also represent substandard housing for its inhabitants. Individual units do not have bathrooms. The tenants must use communal bathrooms on the streets of the Hutongs. They units seem to have no efficient heating or cooling options.

Hutongs - Continued

These are some additional pics I took in Beijing Hutongs. Notice in the last picture how the roof has been converted into a garden.

Hutongs

Walking through the Hutongs offers a glimpse into historic Beijing. Many of these neighborhoods are being torn down and replaced with modern high rise apartments. Doors open into the alleyways to offer a peak into a simpler existence. I admire the people that live in such simplicity. Granted that doesn't mean I am about to give up my 42" plasma TV, 10 MB broadband connection, or my 6 inch pillow top mattress. But it does make me ponder over my material centric existence.

Pics - Beijing

These pics were taken in Beijing, China in October 2006.

Yonhegong Temple

These pics were taken at the Yonghegong Temple in Beijing. Westerners more commonly refer to this temple as the Lama Temple. Today it serves as an active temple and monastery for the Geluk School of Tibetan Buddhism.

Do these come with dipping sauce?

These bug kabobs were being sold in a market in Beijing. The proprietor demonstrated the freshness of his product by blowing on the scorpions. The legs and tails would wiggly back and forth trying to escape their impalement. This was proof of life. Hungery shoppers would point to the kabob of their choice. I am not quite sure how they knew which one skewer was more appetizing than the other. "Oh look! That one has a larger stinger. Yummy."

One a selection had been made, the vendor would quickly roast the skewer over a grill. Maybe the flame grilling brought out the flavor or perhaps it ensured the scorpion wouldn't sting the customer. The other item for sale in this picture is salted, dried seahorse. The vendor had several other delicacies for sale including chicken heart, chicken liver, cicadas, some unknown type of beetle like creature, chicken breast, and other various unknown meat pieces. I have tried some unusual foods in my life, but I couldn't muster the courage to gnaw on a shewer of stinging insects.

The last sign stopped me dead in my tracks

These are some funny signs taken around the Confucius Temple. The original temple was constructed in 1302. It is currently undergoing major renovations in time for the 2008 Olympic Games.

It cleans and exfoliates

I advise anyone visiting China to bring with them several packs of their favorite toilet paper. Chinese toilet paper feels like a mixture of recycled news paper and those plastic rings that hold a six pack together. This stuff is so rough I could refinish furniture with it. To make things worse, a new roll of toilet paper is less than half an inch thick. If used sparingly you might get two uses out of it. This is a pic of a new roll of toilet paper. It is difficult to gage in the picture but this roll is about 1/4 the thickness of its American counterpart.

The page cannot be displayed

For nearly 1000 years The Great Wall defended the Chinese Empire from foreign invasion. Today the Great Firewall of China protects its inhabitants from a modern invasion of free speech and dissident thought. China employs some of the most sophisticated blocking and Internet filtering tools available. Luckily I have been able to access sites I frequently use such as Hotmail, Blogger, Myspace, etc. I didn't even think about technological imposed censorship until I tried to access Wikipedia. Every time I tried to access the page it quickly timed out. There were no messages that the site was being blocked. There were no red flags, no stop signs, and no Chinese cartoon panda saying Father Mao says this site is bad for you. It was just the standard "The page cannot be displayed." I began to investigate further by using ping tests, trace routes, and other tools in my geek arsenal. No luck. That made me wonder what other sites were blocked. I began trying to connect to other sites. Keep in mind I do not want to end up in Chinese prison so I kept my cyber sleuthing to a minimum. Below are some of the sites I tested.

These sites are currently being blocked the Great Firewall of China

1. Wikipedia - http://www.wikipedia.org/
2. Playboy - http://www.playboy.com/
3. Amnesty International - http://www.amensty.org/
4. Free Tibet - http://www.freetibet.org/
5. China Times - http://www.chinatimes.com.tw/

Nice Doggie

According to the news wires, North Korea has successfully conducted its first nuclear weapons test. In response, the entire South Korean population simultaneously shit their pants. Most of the people I have spoken with here in Beijing seem somewhat dismissive about the issue. That may be due to the fact that North Korea is not a direct threat to China. The nuclear test is not the top news story here. The Chinese news seems more interested in the visiting Japanese Prime Minister. Most of what I know about the situation has come from online sources. This test will most likely make my entry into Japan more difficult. Security will be much tighter getting into Japan. The island nation will be on high alert as the world decides how to "diplomatically" respond to the issue.

"Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock." - Will Rogers

Now in Beijing

Look for updates and pics from the Far East in the coming days. I am now in Beijing. I will be traveling to Shanghai and Tokyo in the coming weeks. And no...I am not going back to the Great Wall this time. I figure puking on it once was enough. For those that don't know can read an excerpt of the trip on the February 2006 archive.