Two Very Different Chinas

I am finally taking some time to write my blog! I hope I can remember everything for you all (and for me). I have to admit, where I was so good journaling at the beginning of the voyage, I’ve fallen behind. The next thing to do when I can finally lay down (I just took my first dose of Malaria medication – if you lay down within the hour, it could give you bad heartburn – no thank you!) is to play catch up there! :)
China was very interesting. We ported in Shanghai on February 3, and after clearing immigration went out to explore. Captain Jeremy got us an UNBELIEVABLY beautiful parking spot with a great view!

I am going to admit something now that hopefully won’t offend anyone. In America, I never saw any distinct characteristics or personality traits in Asian Americans that would allow me to identify them as Korean or Chinese or Japanese – now, after traveling to Japan and China, the differences in these cultures are so evident. I’m not sure it would help me any in the states, but it was just an interesting observation. Looking at babies in China, I could tell the Japanese tourists from the Chinese ones… now granted, I have no way to know if I was right in a lot of those cases but it was pretty interesting just the same. It also made me realize how incredibly lucky I am to live in the “melting pot” where walking down the street you can see people of all shapes and sizes and colors. Many of the students on our trip spoke about being stared at, pointed at by children, and asked by middle school girls to pose for photos – not because they were trying to be rude or discriminate, but because many had probably never seen a black person or a red head or a white person. One group on a train was helping the little boy behind them practice his English and he wrote them a note in Mandarin that his mother translated for them. It said (and I’m paraphrasing) “Welcome to China beautiful girls. We are so happy you are here.” It’s all fascinating. Such different lives and experiences.

Back to Shanghai – the first thing I did was do a SAS field program (I LOVE these because I learn SO much) to the Zhujiajiao Water Village. As we travelled our tour guide was telling us about Shanghai and pointing out some sights. She kept saying “That building is VERY old! It was built 50 years ago!” and all I could think was 50 years is old?!?! I soon learned that because China is so heavily populated they often rebuild over the older buildings with bigger, newer and taller ones so for them, in the “new city” (Shanghai’s nickname), 50 years was a really long time to have a building stick around. Does that put things into perspective or what? We learned from our tour guide the rules to the one child policy, and a little about everyday life in mainland China. It was so interesting. Upon getting to the village, we saw that the streets were actually canals. The locals were out cleaning fish and cooking lunch for the day. It was so cool to go and experience it. We also stopped in a temple. Everything is decorated for new year so there are red ornaments and lanterns everywhere. So beautiful. We had a gloomy day, and it was a little cold but still got to see great sights!

Zhujiajiao Water Village VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After I got back I went for a walk and ran some errands with my friend Amanda in Shanghai. We ran into some wedding photography on the bridge and walked by the bund which is on the water and has a lot of flowers. We then went to the Apple store and to get glasses (that’s where I got my Ray-Bans!)

After that we went back to the ship. We found out that we lost a faculty member that day. He had a heart attack on one of our trips and passed away at the hospital. Wade Lancaster was sailing with his wife and they were both teaching classes on our voyage. We stayed on the ship to help with the aftermath of that, and to support our colleagues. Wade was a friendly man who always had a smile on his face. Jeanette is an unbelievably strong woman, who’s first question when she got back to the ship was to check on the others on the trip and make sure their trip leader was okay. Wade will be missed. Jeanette is home with her family right now, and will rejoin us in Singapore. We will have a memorial for Wade when we are at sea in later February. Please take a minute and think about them. A faculty member put it best when he said, “We are so fortunate that Wade lived a long life and then passed on while he was doing something he loved”. It is truly a great way to put a positive spin on this. The following day I was on duty and had a lot of work to do with the deans and student follow-up. The ship sailed on to Hong Kong, and I got off to meet them there!

Craig, Kelly, Jason, and I had decided we were going to fly that night to Hong Kong to meet up with the ship. After we gathered our stuff and got off the ship, I stopped at a bank to use the ATM. I was waiting patiently in line with my card still in my wallet when a woman came up to me and said “Your card won’t work here.” UMMMMM LADY HOW DO YOU KNOW I DON’T HAVE A BANK OF CHINA CREDIT CARD. It was such a minute and minor thing but it was the first time I was ever aware I was being racially profiled. Craig was cracking up when I said it out loud but it was a little disconcerting that assumptions were made about me from the way I look. I know it could’ve been (and may be in other ports) a lot worse but still just a feeling I was never expecting but am so grateful I had.

The flight was… well let me start with the airport. We took a taxi to the airport which cost us all of $15 (divided by FOUR of us), and got there in plenty of time. It was 4:00ish and our flight wasn’t until 8:30 maybe (I can’t even remember now). We found our way to check in with the help of very friendly employees and found out we couldn’t check in for an hour. We went and wandered around the front of the terminal and finally got checked in (we saw a FIGHT at a few gates down where some people were screaming at the person working check in and one of them PUNCHED HIM IN THE FACE… The cops came over but didn’t do much.. it was very weird), got through customs, got through security, and then went on the mad search for McDonald’s (sometimes you just want what you want). We settled for a Burger King that was playing a mix of what I can only imagine they think of as American music. We walked up to a blaring unidentifiable (to me) country song, then Bieber, then Pachabel’s Cannon (WHHHHAT)…. It is a little hilarious to see how we are seen by other cultures. We had our BK, shopped, and headed to the gate. We decided to go with Spring airlines because they were cheap, had a good safety rating, and were “comparable to SouthWest”… So we were delayed an hour and met a nice man from Denmark, and ate a lot of cola flavored mentos (THEY ARE SO GOOD – Don’t worry sister, I got you some). We caught up with some students and other staff that were also taking the flight, and finally it was time to board.

What happened next… Well, I am not sure I can put it into words.

There were no boarding zones so everyone just got in a super long line. We packed into a bus and a half so they could take us to the plane which was out on the runway with some stairs to get up there. Now in China, it’s often very crowded – there isn’t a lot of order or lines (unlike Japan). The doors of the bus opened and people started RUNNING to the stairs and were in a jam packed pushing mob. Parents were getting separated from their children, an elderly woman practically got trampled (not saying by who – Craig). People were being INSANE. I didn’t get it. We had assigned seats, the plane wasn’t going to leave while we were standing right next to it… what the heck was the big rush?! Craig thought it was to make sure they had room for overhead bags but I just stood back and watched… and when I nicely boarded the plane, there was overhead room left and my seat was still there. I have never experienced anything like that. Utter chaos. So, let me tell you about Spring Air… The seats are built for teeny tiny cartoon characters with tiny knubby legs – not for grown ups. The amount of room we had was laughable. The flight itself was pretty uneventful but they didn’t change the cabin pressure when we landed so my ears were in the most excruciating pain I’ve ever felt (don’t worry – they popped in the next day or two).

		Spring Air VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When we got to Hong Kong it was very late. We took a cab to our hostel which got great reviews and was in an ideal location…. I think sometimes people are very generous with their reviews. The Apple Hostel was great for what we needed – rooms with our own bathroom, great customer service, and in a great location. Hilarious parts? It was located in the middle of a black market mall, the shower was on top of the toilet, and every time we came and went people tried to sell us “watches, handbags, tailor?”. Umm, no thank you. I would not like your back ally goods.

 

The next morning we walked around Kowloon Bay. We attempted to go to the Temple Street Night Market (during the day it’s a produce market), and attempted (unsuccessfully) to find the jade market. Around 11, Craig and I decided to break off from Kelly and Jason and head on our next adventure. We were going to Macau. Jason walked with us to the ferry station and on the way we got a little turned around but took a lovely stroll through Kowloon Park.

Wandering in Shanghai VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Macau is an island off the coast of Hong Kong that is supposed to be “like Vegas times 9” according to people we talked to. No one else wanted to go so we booked a hotel room, and hopped on the ferry. The ferry ride only took an hour, and it was so worth it. We started off our trip by hopping on a random hotel’s free shuttle. It was going to the MGM. When we got there it was BEAUTIFUL. Casinos really do it up normally but for Lunar New Year… damn. It was pretty. We made it to our hotel (which was also nice), and headed out to explore for the night. We may have gone to every casino. The games (even the machines) were pretty different from what we were used to so we didn’t play too much. We watched a water show which was quite lovely where the water dances to the music and walked around A LOT. My feet hurt before Macau but Macau sidewalks were this strange large cobblestones and some were kind of jagged and my shoes were not good for it (this will be important later). At one of the smaller casinos (and the only one with video poker) there was a stage in the middle of the room. It was surrounded by a small bar and lots of slot machines. When the curtain started opening, I was so excited! The show we were going to see wasn't playing the night we went so I was excited for a free show... and boy did I get one. A lovely lady came out in a Native American headdress and beautiful robe and started dancing... Then, within moments the music changed, the headdress and the robe came flying off and that girl was upsidedown on a pole. WHHHHAT?! Whoops. Craig made fun of me because when she was done, two people in the very large crowd that accumulated for this nice display of culture clapped and of course I was one of them. We got a good laugh after that one! Moving on. The casinos serve coffee, water, and appetizers as you gamble, and unlike in the USA - it is impossible to know who is winning or losing! Everyone is so quiet. There were some crowded tables but no way to tell what was happening. It was very different. You could get drinks from cocktail waitresses but we didn't try so I'm not sure if it was free like in Atlantic City or not.

MGM

Before heading back to our hotel, we decided to get a buffet dinner at the MGM. It was a Chinese food buffet (obviously) and I was excited that they had eggrolls and prawns and all kinds of yumminess. While I was getting my first plate, a man that I can only assume was homeless told me not to get the shrimp because it wasn’t fresh and then told me that most of the food there wasn’t fresh besides the fruit. Well great… there was no turning back now but that man was right, and the buffet was pretty gross. The best thing for me was the banana, and Craig liked the pineapple rolls.  I really wish I had a great buffet story for you but it was nasty. The photo in my album is the AFTER shot… all the full plates of food that we tried and passed on. I’m so glad we didn’t get sick and so sad we didn’t just grab McDonalds LOL

The next day we traveled to the other side of the island to check out those casinos. We spent most of the day in the GIGANTIC shopping mall between the casinos. The Venetian was nice and had the gondolas and the river running through it. It was very nice. We didn’t buy anything except at the souvenir store where I bought lucky roosters for me, sissy, and mom/dad :) They are  pretty cute (and hopefully really lucky!). We took the wrong ferry home and then spent the day trying to navigate the subway system back to the hostel to meet up with Kelly, Jason, Willard, and Dan. We saw a little bit of the Hong Kong antique market. My feet hurt so bad. The black flats I got on sale with my sister for $5 made me want to pay $5000 to get my feet cut off (again, this will be important later). We finally made it back to our group!

Macau! VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

When we finally met up with the group, first agenda item was dinner! We also met up with Aparna and Cathick but with 8 people we QUICKLY realized finding a restaurant would be hard. Then we found three right next door to each other! Some of us went to the vegetarian place, some went to the “hole in the wall” next door (I cannot eat anywhere where the meat is hanging raw in the window… it’s not in me), and the rest of us went to King’s Kitchen or King’s House or something that was nice and had dumplings which were very good. I really like dumplings! I also got friend greenbeans (not like in the states) and fried rice. YUM! I just love food.
We then went to the night market where I found a painting for Tess and went to Comic Alley in Kowloon Park and had an awesome time taking photos and imitating the characters. It was pretty great! Dan lost his wallet though and we spent the night searching the park for it and filling out a police report (just in case).

Hong Kong by Night VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The next morning we left super early to try to get to see the ship come in… that didn’t happen but in great news when we got there, the ship had already cleared immigration! We were able to get on, get showers, and drop off our packs before our field programs that day! I have to say, after a few nights off the ship, I am often ready to come back. Willard and I went on one of my favorite field programs yet! We travelled to Lantau Island, another of the many islands that make up Hong Kong to visit a fishing village and see some awesome sights including my favorite, the giant Buddha. Our tour guide, San, was INCREDIBLE! He taught us so much and stopped at the markets to show us what all the dried fish things were! Here is what I learned:

• When China got Hong Kong back from England (1993 I think), They gave them 15 years unchanged to not interrupt their daily lives (Hong Kong has different currency,government, laws/legal systems, and even drive on the opposite side of the road from China!)
• We drove past the Shang-pik (I think) Jail on the way to the Monastery…it looks like a resort and people were outside having a soccer game. San said they built it like a resort because the minimum sentence you can have to stay there is 10 years, and the max is life, so they wanted the inmates to be comfortable.
• China is made up of 235 islands and only 10% are inhabited.
• Lantau was not an island where the British wanted to develop so it became perfect for hermits, nunneries, temples, and monasteries. (which is all you can see besides the fishing village and the vacation homes).
• Chinese don’t waste ANYTHING! They use the fishes meat, organs, and skin. They either eat it or they use it as medicine.

First we stopped at a beach and then went on to the fishing town and visited their Temple

Fishing Village VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After the Village we went out to the Giant Buddha and Monastery. It was one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I know I said it before but it would be impossible to be at this temple and not feel closer to God (whatever God you believe in). It’s incredible. The statue was put together in pieces. The head is only two pieces and needed to be brought in by helicopter. They have a relic here. It was a piece of Buddha’s skin if I’m correct which was cool to see (it was teeny tiny and could easily comfortably ride Spring Air), they also had memorials and a giant piece of art made with all of the natural elements – Wood, Water, Earth, Fire, and… there is one more that I can’t remember. Maybe air but how would they use air in a painting? I don’t know… anyway that was all inside the big Buddha and then we went outside to take in it’s beautiful-ness. Words cannot do it justice so please see the photos below.

Sidenote: For my Northside sweeties reading, yes, I chanted “Big Buddha” to the tune of “Big Booty” in my head the ENTIRE time… and am doing it now. BIG BUDDHA BUG BUDDHA BIG BUDDHA AWWWW YEA!

Big Buddha VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

At the bottom of the staircase, we went to a stage where if you stand in or close to the center, you can hear an echo of your voice. It was so cool. I was very surprised when I heard it. San said it was so the religious leaders could hear the voice of the Gods. We went to their temple and learned a little more about the beliefs and the symbolism of the things we were seeing. For example, they believe the incense carries their messages and wishes to the gods. They will make a wish or a prayer on and then light incense. The bigger the wish, the bigger the incense. Some hang in coils from the ceiling with wishes attached! Then we travelled over to the monastery for lunch! It was so delicious. Family style, vegetarian and I liked it all (except the mushies) including the tofu!!!

Big Buddha extras VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

After lunch we got some free time to shop and then took the cable cars down the mountain to meet the bus. It was unbelievable. I didn’t get a photo in time but Lantau has a lot of feral cattle and we saw some from the cable car. They also seemed to have a lot of dogs roaming around both at the Buddha and at the fishing village (which also had a TON of cats!). On the way home San took us to an overlook so we could get a better view of the cable suspension bridge. From there I could see the telescope and it made me miss Matty!

Cable Car & Overlook VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

That evening we attempted to find a dim sum place but were unsuccessful. We finally ate at a restaurant in the Ocean Terminal which is where we were docked. It was a giant shopping mall. Before dinner we walked around the mall and went to this Samsung place where we had caricatures drawn. I went with Willard since the guy was pretty slow! We also went into the photo booth and got buttons with our photos on them LOL

Samsung Weirdness VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

The next day was low key. We ran a bunch of errands. I got new shoes for walking. They are Crocs (yes, I said Crocs). My friends that know me well know how much I typically dislike crocs but these were fashionable and comfy so I went for it! My feet were SO happy. We went to get me chocolate milk (I was CRAVING it), and some groceries, and find stamps and postcards and then we went back to work the gangway.
(I still can’t believe these are Crocs)

On the way out we watched the lazer show from the ship. It was pretty foggy but the view was beautiful!

So long Hong Kong! ‘Til we meet again!