Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 14, 2011
Holiday Recap
2 weeks on the road.
Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei, Chongqing.
Chengdu city for Chinese New Year celebrations. Massiveassive crowds in select parks and Buddhist temples. Reminded me of Lollapolooza crowds all crammed in and heaving. Except no hipsters, and throw in all the old people and toddlers.
Saw some dance and singing performances which were reasonably entertaining. One charismatic singer had a good voice, but i didn't care since i assumed he was lip syncing. I was shocked and impressed to later realize that (gasp!) he was actually singing!
Also saw some tigers and a bear perform, which was occasionally impressive though constantly rather depressing. Still: i didn't know a bear could really dance!
Visited one of China's oldest rock and roll bars: a bit of a hole in the wall where deliberate attention was paid to local music as opposed to Taiwan pop. I wish Little Bar was in Beijing. Also visited some very slick and somewhat sexed out clubs; yawn.
Leshan
Then i went to see the world's biggest Buddha near Leshan. And yes, it's very large, hence the "-est". However, FOUR hours of line up to see the damn thing kinda sucked out my enthusiasm. It was like, "well, I've waited an hour already, and I'm almost at the front now," only to get released to the next stage of the line, when you go "well, I've already waited 2 hours already so I don't want to leave now." Note to self: reconsider the idea that maybe an early bailout is preferable to another 2 hours of pushing and squeezing people who obviously should NOT even pause to take photos 'cause it slows down the flow.
Add in reflections about how tourism and religion make awkward bedfellows as i consider all the cameras prying the spiritual energy out of this 71 meter high Buddha.
Mount Emei
Note to self: mountains are bigger than I seem to think, based on some attractive but not to scale "maps". Hence i spent 1.5 days getting to the peak, the only dude lugging up a big ol backpack.
Spent the first night in a gorgeous old Xi Xiangchi monastery, where the monks were friendly, and the sunset was breathtaking. Was going to chill there a while, but this family i hiked w/ some convinced me at the last minute that i HAD to continue up to the peak. So i did, skipping out on the cable car ride near the peak. (The masses take buses up the mountain, hiking 1 km of outrageously slippery and dangerous staircases (often in high heels) up to the cable car). But despite my body's fatigued state, that just seemed like too much of a cop out after the distance i'd already covered.
When my snail's pace did finally get me to the peak, the blue sky above, the ocean of clouds below, the sparkling temples, and golden buddha all conspired to bring tears to my eyes. Really i felt elated to be in that stunningly beautiful environment.
Nonetheless after a foggy no-show of the next sunrise, i still bid a hasty retreat bk down the mountain (yes, employing both the cable car and the bus) to get back down the mountain to Baguo Monastery near the base to get in some meditation.
Simple room, just off the courtyard between temple halls, where I could hear the monks chanting each morning and gongs gonging throughout the day. Short stay, but i did get up to 8 hours of sitting in in a day, definitely aided by the environment and concentrated energy there. i chitchatted w/ some monks who to my surprise, invited me to sit in on the chanting the next morning. Wow, those were some otherworldly sounds to be bathed in for 45 minutes. Occasionally in a temple i see Buddhas who are emanating energy, or seem cognizant of your presence. Well no wonder those Buddha statues get all charged up if monks are praying to them like that each day. Pay attention. Hands together. Kneel. Bow. Stand. Hands down. Hands together. Turn. Kneel. March around the room (hands together). Stand. Bow, etc etc. Beautiful way to finish off my stay there.
Next stop: Leshan, just to catch a bus to Chongqing. Tickets sold out. Spend the night in a somewhat dodgy hotel, and waste too much time looking at porn sites, and only sat 2 of my intended 4 hours.
Chongqing.
Short stay in a big city. Feels really... Chinese. Coolies hauling boxes up and down the steep streets. Alleys brimming with staircases and vendors. Street foods on constant display. Cruise and cargo ships clogging up the brown waters of the Yangtze river. Posh restaurants with filthy washrooms. Cockroaches strolling past the scalding hot pot at the table centre. Another city that I'd like to revisit: check.
Chengdu, Leshan, Mount Emei, Chongqing.
Chengdu city for Chinese New Year celebrations. Massiveassive crowds in select parks and Buddhist temples. Reminded me of Lollapolooza crowds all crammed in and heaving. Except no hipsters, and throw in all the old people and toddlers.
Saw some dance and singing performances which were reasonably entertaining. One charismatic singer had a good voice, but i didn't care since i assumed he was lip syncing. I was shocked and impressed to later realize that (gasp!) he was actually singing! Also saw some tigers and a bear perform, which was occasionally impressive though constantly rather depressing. Still: i didn't know a bear could really dance!
Visited one of China's oldest rock and roll bars: a bit of a hole in the wall where deliberate attention was paid to local music as opposed to Taiwan pop. I wish Little Bar was in Beijing. Also visited some very slick and somewhat sexed out clubs; yawn.
Leshan
Then i went to see the world's biggest Buddha near Leshan. And yes, it's very large, hence the "-est". However, FOUR hours of line up to see the damn thing kinda sucked out my enthusiasm. It was like, "well, I've waited an hour already, and I'm almost at the front now," only to get released to the next stage of the line, when you go "well, I've already waited 2 hours already so I don't want to leave now." Note to self: reconsider the idea that maybe an early bailout is preferable to another 2 hours of pushing and squeezing people who obviously should NOT even pause to take photos 'cause it slows down the flow. Add in reflections about how tourism and religion make awkward bedfellows as i consider all the cameras prying the spiritual energy out of this 71 meter high Buddha.
Mount Emei
Note to self: mountains are bigger than I seem to think, based on some attractive but not to scale "maps". Hence i spent 1.5 days getting to the peak, the only dude lugging up a big ol backpack.
Spent the first night in a gorgeous old Xi Xiangchi monastery, where the monks were friendly, and the sunset was breathtaking. Was going to chill there a while, but this family i hiked w/ some convinced me at the last minute that i HAD to continue up to the peak. So i did, skipping out on the cable car ride near the peak. (The masses take buses up the mountain, hiking 1 km of outrageously slippery and dangerous staircases (often in high heels) up to the cable car). But despite my body's fatigued state, that just seemed like too much of a cop out after the distance i'd already covered.
When my snail's pace did finally get me to the peak, the blue sky above, the ocean of clouds below, the sparkling temples, and golden buddha all conspired to bring tears to my eyes. Really i felt elated to be in that stunningly beautiful environment. Nonetheless after a foggy no-show of the next sunrise, i still bid a hasty retreat bk down the mountain (yes, employing both the cable car and the bus) to get back down the mountain to Baguo Monastery near the base to get in some meditation.
Simple room, just off the courtyard between temple halls, where I could hear the monks chanting each morning and gongs gonging throughout the day. Short stay, but i did get up to 8 hours of sitting in in a day, definitely aided by the environment and concentrated energy there. i chitchatted w/ some monks who to my surprise, invited me to sit in on the chanting the next morning. Wow, those were some otherworldly sounds to be bathed in for 45 minutes. Occasionally in a temple i see Buddhas who are emanating energy, or seem cognizant of your presence. Well no wonder those Buddha statues get all charged up if monks are praying to them like that each day. Pay attention. Hands together. Kneel. Bow. Stand. Hands down. Hands together. Turn. Kneel. March around the room (hands together). Stand. Bow, etc etc. Beautiful way to finish off my stay there. Next stop: Leshan, just to catch a bus to Chongqing. Tickets sold out. Spend the night in a somewhat dodgy hotel, and waste too much time looking at porn sites, and only sat 2 of my intended 4 hours.
Chongqing.
Short stay in a big city. Feels really... Chinese. Coolies hauling boxes up and down the steep streets. Alleys brimming with staircases and vendors. Street foods on constant display. Cruise and cargo ships clogging up the brown waters of the Yangtze river. Posh restaurants with filthy washrooms. Cockroaches strolling past the scalding hot pot at the table centre. Another city that I'd like to revisit: check.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Stinky Tofu
If you haven't heard of stinky tofu, it's a style of fermented tofu which kind of reeks. It's called "chou dofu". The translation of that is literally "stinky tofu". It literally smells like feces. For example one time a few of us came across a pungent smell on the sidewalk and we debated momentarily whether it was stinky tofu or reeking bathroom. Seriously.
About a year ago i was a bit baked, wandering the streets, and decided to try some "chou dofu". Likely enhanced by my altered state, i realized that this tofu wasn't stinky at all, it was... AMAZING! Yup, i chowed that shit down, and wished i had more.
Part 2.
This year, I was in Chengdu, where the food flavours pull no punches, where 50% of the food is spiced in ways that leave you gasping for air, and your tastebuds numb. I was a bit baked so I decided to give the chou dofu another go. Here the style is skewered, fried, and bathed in salt and chili. I could smell the stand a mile away. Unfortunately, i didn't have the same rapturous experience. About 1 minute into my tofu, I realized... it really does taste like shit. Not human shit, but more like horse manure. Of the salty and spicy variety. I wished i'd only bought one instead of 2, considered throwing it away, but decided that would be wasteful and i needed the protein plus ... well, wasn't i trying to embrace the whole chou dofu culture?
Anyhow, I'll wait a bit before i try it again, and frankly i think it is quite a bit milder up north. Do note, however, that this delicacy is truly popular throughout huge swathes of China, east and south Asia... Can millions of stinky tofu eaters be wrong?
pix by
http://supahcute.com/2009/08/19/stinky-tofu/
and
http://planetgreen.discovery.com/food-health/7-unexpected-slightly-gross-protein-sources-think-wasps-and-super-stinky-tofu.html
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Heading Out Today
Not yesterday.
Although I did pack my bags and hop on a subway to the railway station, only to receive a phone call from Q and to have her say, "why are you going to the station TODAY? You said you're leaving on the 2nd!"
Oops. This kind of confusion has been long running with me. My bad.
So I'm off today. First I'll pop into a park to see some Chinese New Year festivities. the firecrackers have already started booming around 8 am. Sheesh.
Then overnight train to Chengdu, where i'll hang out for a few days, most likely bypassing the pandas. Pandas: certainly worthwhile if my gf were w/ me, but you know how it is...
Then off to Mount Emei, which is dotted with buddhist temples and tourists, to meditate for... 5 days. Eventually heading to Chongqing, a central historical city in China.
That's roughly it.
Daily itinerary intentions: meditation, reading, studying Chinese, push ups. I'll see if i can do this til work kicks in again.
Later, folks.
Although I did pack my bags and hop on a subway to the railway station, only to receive a phone call from Q and to have her say, "why are you going to the station TODAY? You said you're leaving on the 2nd!"
Oops. This kind of confusion has been long running with me. My bad.
So I'm off today. First I'll pop into a park to see some Chinese New Year festivities. the firecrackers have already started booming around 8 am. Sheesh.
Then overnight train to Chengdu, where i'll hang out for a few days, most likely bypassing the pandas. Pandas: certainly worthwhile if my gf were w/ me, but you know how it is...
Then off to Mount Emei, which is dotted with buddhist temples and tourists, to meditate for... 5 days. Eventually heading to Chongqing, a central historical city in China.
That's roughly it.
Daily itinerary intentions: meditation, reading, studying Chinese, push ups. I'll see if i can do this til work kicks in again.
Later, folks.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
My Digs
Meant to post these long long ago. But anyhow, this is what $7400 rmb/month ($1140/month) will get you around here. Everybody says "SEVEN THOUSAND FOUR HUNDRED??? That's way too much!" but most things that were say, 5000 rmb for 2 bedrooms, were ske-e-e-echy! This place is a 2 bedroom loft (that's us up on the top 2 floors) which could be adapted to 3 bedrooms. 6th (and 7th) floors. No elevator. Partially furnished. A landlord who's sorta nice, but not particularly helpful. A landlord who rented out OUR parking space when we said we didn't have a car (and i wanted to rent that space out myself...)
Anyhow, it's home, and if i do say so myself, a pretty sweet one. And hells yeah to not taking a buses and subways for 1 hr to get downtown every weekend!
Friday, January 28, 2011
Just Getting Ready...
Presently it's been a week out of 4 for my Spring Festival holiday. So far just been puttering around Beijing. Spent some time trying, and finally succeeding in scoring a train ticket to Chengdu. Not an easy task, as i am but one of 230 MILLION people trying to book a train home for Spring Festival. Spring Festival is like the family holiday equivalent of Christmas, as there's millions of people for whom it's the only time they see their families.
So that being the case, I wasn't trying too hard to get the tickets, usually only waiting in line for 15 minutes to see if there was a ticket around (and was usually told "no"), and was convinced by Q not to bother trying to book until Spring Fest is already underway. True enough, the next time I inquired, there was indeed a ticket available. "But only the most expensive tickets are available" said the lady. No problem: i feel guilty enough taking that ticket when some poor guy/woman is just itching to score any ticket to avoid the momentarily bloated flight tickets.
So anyhow, Feb 2nd, I'm off to Chengdu. Plan to spend a few days meditating on Emei Mountain, which is covered in buddhist temples. And tourists. Will probably pass up on the opportunity to play with pandas unless Q manages to find enough time to come out after visiting with her family.
Note: Last year i met her folks, but this year wasn't quite invited since Q thinks she and her dad will be... discussing things. ie) her relationship with me. Ehm... hope that goes well. i thought i oughta pay a visit, but Q thinks it's best this way. Ah well.
As for the holiday so far, it certainly is nice to, you know, not work. Although i did start reading Pride and Prejudice recently in prep to teach the gr 12s (wow, that first page is pretty damn funny, i'll have you know). And there's some other prep which i haven't touched yet. Hey: it's holiday time. can't i relax for the 1st week at least?
Saturday, January 22, 2011
No News Is ... Bad News
Well you know how when people are depressed they tend to get more reclusive. When i'm not doing so hot i tend to be less social.
That's not so good.
Anyhow things w/ Q were starting to drag a while back and were incrementally feeling more strained in general.
So one night when we talked about things, things got unexpectedly messy, we almost broke up, and we wound up with an apartment that needed a lot of cleaning, and i missed a day of work. We also were awarded with... another chance.
Early in the morning, we had a super frank conversation, and despite all, we still love each other. Wow, we really almost threw in the towel, but after an intense night, find some renewed hope and positivity.
And hey, did you know that i just started my spring festival 1 month holiday? Good to have more time and an intended excursion to Sichuan w/ Q!
That's not so good.
Anyhow things w/ Q were starting to drag a while back and were incrementally feeling more strained in general.
So one night when we talked about things, things got unexpectedly messy, we almost broke up, and we wound up with an apartment that needed a lot of cleaning, and i missed a day of work. We also were awarded with... another chance.
Early in the morning, we had a super frank conversation, and despite all, we still love each other. Wow, we really almost threw in the towel, but after an intense night, find some renewed hope and positivity.
And hey, did you know that i just started my spring festival 1 month holiday? Good to have more time and an intended excursion to Sichuan w/ Q!
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Happy Not So New Year
Well, that went by in a hurry. Sort of.
Was gonna do some sort of recap on 2010, but that seems like a lot of effort, and i'm a bit of a burn out these days. Ok, ok, i'll keep it short.
-met the gf's parents!
-glossy Japanese cityscapes!
-solitude in snow covered forests!
-mediocre performance on stage!
-and was offered payment!
-moved to dntn BJ!
-moved in w/ my gf and brother!
-got informed that another misstep will get me fired!
-revisited lots of loved ones in Vancouver, BC, Canada!
-got baked!
-got clean!
-got unclean again!
-ate stinky tofu and liked it!
-became buddhist!
-watched the moonrise!
-stayed up till the sun came up
-worked uncountable overtime hours!
-got my gf to toke up and swim naked at Wreck!
Well, that doesn't look so bad. Kinda makes up for all the ups and downs and stresses which i conscientiously omitted from putting on the list.
As for new year's eve itself, it was a bit weird. before dinner we visited L'Occidental, cause i got a couple bottles of stuff for Q for Christmas, but then she saw they were too close to the expiration date, so wanted to exchange them. At the store she realized that they were on sale together and was pissed off 'cause she thought i only got them 'cause they were cheap. Only partly true: they're actually much more expensive in China than in Canada, and so i did figure that getting them on sale was pragmatic, and why wouldn't someone want eye cream w/ Shea Butter?
But in Q's eyes, it was a major loss of face. Like buying someone food that's ready to rot. Not thoughtful, AND cheap. She was pissed off, and stated that she wanted to bail out on the planned trip to Qingdao the next morning. So i had to do some damage control to get things back on track.
Then it was like 11:30, and Derrick was like, "So are we going to go somewhere or what?" So we considered going, but in the end just meditated through midnight, not unlike my good ol' DIY Dharma gang in Vancouver.
Originally planned to go to my friend Yuqi's gig, but then we realized it was on Sat 1st, not Fri 31st. So that was a no-go. When i told a friend (who's in Yuqi's band) that we couldn't attend the party, he said, "Really? I thought you were opening for us!" Um... no...
Was gonna do some sort of recap on 2010, but that seems like a lot of effort, and i'm a bit of a burn out these days. Ok, ok, i'll keep it short.
-met the gf's parents!
-glossy Japanese cityscapes!
-solitude in snow covered forests!
-mediocre performance on stage!
-and was offered payment!
-moved to dntn BJ!
-moved in w/ my gf and brother!
-got informed that another misstep will get me fired!
-revisited lots of loved ones in Vancouver, BC, Canada!
-got baked!
-got clean!
-got unclean again!
-ate stinky tofu and liked it!
-became buddhist!
-watched the moonrise!
-stayed up till the sun came up
-worked uncountable overtime hours!
-got my gf to toke up and swim naked at Wreck!
Well, that doesn't look so bad. Kinda makes up for all the ups and downs and stresses which i conscientiously omitted from putting on the list.
As for new year's eve itself, it was a bit weird. before dinner we visited L'Occidental, cause i got a couple bottles of stuff for Q for Christmas, but then she saw they were too close to the expiration date, so wanted to exchange them. At the store she realized that they were on sale together and was pissed off 'cause she thought i only got them 'cause they were cheap. Only partly true: they're actually much more expensive in China than in Canada, and so i did figure that getting them on sale was pragmatic, and why wouldn't someone want eye cream w/ Shea Butter?
But in Q's eyes, it was a major loss of face. Like buying someone food that's ready to rot. Not thoughtful, AND cheap. She was pissed off, and stated that she wanted to bail out on the planned trip to Qingdao the next morning. So i had to do some damage control to get things back on track.
Then it was like 11:30, and Derrick was like, "So are we going to go somewhere or what?" So we considered going, but in the end just meditated through midnight, not unlike my good ol' DIY Dharma gang in Vancouver.
Originally planned to go to my friend Yuqi's gig, but then we realized it was on Sat 1st, not Fri 31st. So that was a no-go. When i told a friend (who's in Yuqi's band) that we couldn't attend the party, he said, "Really? I thought you were opening for us!" Um... no...
Thursday, December 23, 2010
On the Road Again
I drove on the streets of Beijing for the first time last night. Which was kinda fun, but a bit stressy. Driving some very new very expensive big black BMW SUV. Q's friend has a rich bf. All sorts of new-fangled doohickey's to confuse drivers of regular cars.
She hurt her tailbone, so wasn't so comfy driving. Ok, i'll do it. Don't worry you can drive really slow, she said. Although in the end, it was a bit sketch since she had me doing all sorts of illegal turns and squeezing through the skechy traffic circles, gunning ahead of traffic at the lights and stuff. I wondered occasionally if it really was stupid to be driving considering my lack of license, but then again when the hell else would i have a chance to drive in China?
Also, frankly the roads seem a lot less insane to me than they used to. In fact, not only do i feel more adjusted to the way they are, but i truly think that drivers are less insane than they were 4 years ago. Wish i had some hard data on that...
Gigs and Shenanigans
Had my gig a wk or 2 ago, which was a bit flat, frankly. (well my singing's usually a bit flat, so that goes w/out saying), but the audience (which was a reasonably full house, in a reasonably small venue) was weirdly quiet, i thought. That threw me a bit too. So i raced threw my set, making less mistakes than i'd expected, said thx, and was done. Then my friend's full piece band (6 professional musicians), and sounded amazing, but frankly i still found the audience to be on the quiet side. BJ audiences are like that sometimes, ah well.
And then yesterday was the school Christmas concert/party.
I had my gr 10s sing Happy Christmas (War is Over) and my gr 11s sing Do They Know It's Christmas. I struggled w/ the less than hype 11s to pump their fists in the air and yell "Let them know it's Christmas time at all!", w/ ultimately more success than expected once the audience started yelling too.
Also, my top student asked me to accompany his soul-style version of Oh Holy Night. So i learned that song. He sang it really well, and i did minimal back up. He waved his arms around a bit at my suggestion.
Also two girls asked me to accompany them singing this song, so I learned it. It was ok, but they need more cute smiling before breaking the bigtime.
Also this one somewhat nerdy but sweet student asked me to accompany her singing a song by Queen Sea Big Shark, a pretty decent BJ band i'm surprised any students know about. i was amazed to note the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sigur Ros on her iPod when she was looking for the track. And i was stoked when she agreed to let me start off the track solo, before coming on stage wearing my pilots helmet as her grand entrance.
Also one other student asked me to play guitar for her, and i said "no." Seriously, how hte hell can a guy do any teaching when he's wasting all his time trying to learn new songs. Gimme a break.
Anyhow, although the very sweet gr 10s sang much worse than normal, it was still pretty fun.
And then yesterday was the school Christmas concert/party.
I had my gr 10s sing Happy Christmas (War is Over) and my gr 11s sing Do They Know It's Christmas. I struggled w/ the less than hype 11s to pump their fists in the air and yell "Let them know it's Christmas time at all!", w/ ultimately more success than expected once the audience started yelling too.
Also, my top student asked me to accompany his soul-style version of Oh Holy Night. So i learned that song. He sang it really well, and i did minimal back up. He waved his arms around a bit at my suggestion.
Also two girls asked me to accompany them singing this song, so I learned it. It was ok, but they need more cute smiling before breaking the bigtime.
Also this one somewhat nerdy but sweet student asked me to accompany her singing a song by Queen Sea Big Shark, a pretty decent BJ band i'm surprised any students know about. i was amazed to note the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Sigur Ros on her iPod when she was looking for the track. And i was stoked when she agreed to let me start off the track solo, before coming on stage wearing my pilots helmet as her grand entrance.
Also one other student asked me to play guitar for her, and i said "no." Seriously, how hte hell can a guy do any teaching when he's wasting all his time trying to learn new songs. Gimme a break.
Anyhow, although the very sweet gr 10s sang much worse than normal, it was still pretty fun.
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