Beijing, Autumn 2013

Autumn is an awesome time in Asia when the humidity dies out, the air cools and the leaves change color. It's also time for more travels. :)

Beijing Autumn: Foliage and "Fog"

There are two weeks out of the year, where people in China (including us) don’t work: Chinese New Year and Chinese National holiday in October. This year, for Chinese National holiday, we went back to Indonesia…mainly to buy the wooden bird that we didn’t buy last year. This year, our trip consisted of Gili Air to scuba dive, Bali to get the bird/R&R, and ofcourse Hong Kong to eat/shop.
The Gili Islands are three tiny islands located between Bali and Lombok with excellent diving.

The boat we used for all our dives.

Due to recent rip currents, we were unable to do any dives far from our island, Gili Air. Despite that, our dives had excellent visibility with plenty of sea life to see, including manta, sea turtles, eels, pygmy seahorses, scorpionfish, pufferfish, sea slugs, porcupine fish, baby cephalopods, tiny hermit crabs and numerous schools of tropical fish. Also, the dives are drift dives, so you just go with the current and enjoy the ride. We did a couple dives a day and one night dive.

Well, hello there Ms. Turtle! Photo credit: Whitney (our dive master).

I think we found Nemo! Photo credit: Matt Paschke.

Rising sun every morning!

Our travelling companion since December 2012, Kiwi.

Once we dove to our hearts content, we moved to Bali and stayed at one of the nicest hotels I’ve ever experienced, the Komeneka Tanggayuda. EVERYTHING there was so romantic and the service was superb! It’s certainly a honeymoon location.

Romantic dinner in our private pool villa. Photo credit: Matt Paschke.

Our pool villa, during the day.

While in Bali, we finally bought our wooden bird, got the rest we wanted and ate our share of yummy Balinese food.

We finally got our bird that we should have gotten a year ago! Photo credit: Matt Paschke.

Breathtaking views of Bali. Photo credit: Matt Paschke.

Ofcourse, we ended our trip with a couple days in Hong Kong before heading back to Mainland China.

Hong Kong: No trip is complete without dim sum.

Tapeo: One of our favorite HK haunts.

In mid-October, Matt spent the week in Hangzhou for Chinese immersion. I followed him there for the weekend to explore. Hangzhou, a Southern Chinese city, was made famous by Chinese love poets, who were inspired by the views of the hills, lake and buildings. When we went, it was quite polluted and the visibility was fairly low, so it was not that romantic. Hangzhou is also famous for its Jinlong green tea. I made sure I bought back a couple boxes to try out. The tea’s pretty strong and has a very savory taste to it. The city does have a shortage of taxis and buses, so you’re forced to walk everywhere. If we go again, we’ll make sure we hire a driver to get around.

Hangzhou: "Misty" views and lunar eclipses.

Around the world (doesn’t matter where), Western expats celebrate Halloween. In Beijing, our friends hosted a Halloween party. This year, I decided to go punk, which meant shaving much of my hair into a Mohawk. Matt dressed as a caveman. I think they were both hits.  I was reluctant to keep the Mohawk because I felt it was not work appropriate, so I decided to shave it off. Now, I’m trying to grow it back before it gets REALLY cold. On the actual night of Halloween, we gave out candy to kids who lived in our building. It’s such a nice tradition, even though we’re thousands of miles away from home.

Halloween 2013: Caveman and Punk

Every year, around November 10th, embassies and some large consulates around the world celebrate the establishment of the Marines with a ball.  This year, I attended my first Marine Ball. Because I lost weight during a bad stomach bug, my tux was pretty loose. So, in every picture taken, my bowtie was crooked because it was tucked under my (now big) collar. The event was a happy occasion and everyone looked so beautiful.

Beijing Marine Ball 2013: Dapper-esque. Photo credit: Brianne Watts.

The day after the Marine Ball, the pollution blew away and Matt and I seized the opportunity to visit a historic site in the city. This time, it was the Temple of Heaven. During the dynastic era, the emperor would pray for a fruitful year at the The Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests on Winter Solstice. Unlike the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven is well-restored and gorgeous!

Temple of Heaven: One of the most beautiful structures in Beijing

Fun & Random: Me being the Stranger at a Big Lebowski-themed party. Photo credit: Matt Paschke.

 All photos were taken from my iPhone unless notified.

Downsides of China: Petty Theft and Getting Sick

Ever since moving to China, I have had a false sense of security that it’s really safe. There are cameras everywhere and you hear little about crime. In late-October, I was on the Metro with my headphones on to block out the noise. As any work morning, it was packed. This time, a group of guys came in and it gave me a weird vibe. One of them looked at me and reached out to grab my arm. I looked at him and then he let go and walked away. I thought that was really strange. A moment later, I noticed that the music had died and reached to my pocket to turn the music back on. There was no phone! I looked down and the headphones were dangling and connected to nothing. I then realized I had just gotten mugged. And there was nothing I could do on the metro! By then, these guys were gone and I didn’t have good enough Chinese to say anything. It was pretty amazing because during the exchange, I did not feel any movement in my pocket nor yank from my headphones. I now realize the distraction caused by the guy grabbing my arm tricked my mind to not feel what was actually going on. I felt pretty violated and from now on, keep my phone in the inner pocket of my jacket. Fortunately, we have USAA insurance and they covered about 90% of the cost of the new phone. So now I have a iPhone 5S, which is really nice but I was also very happy with my 4S.

One of the drawbacks to China is getting sick a lot. Not only are the strains different from those in the West, they’re also a lot stronger! So many of my expat friends have expressed never being so sick in their lives. Recently, I caught a stomach bug that made me run for the bathroom at least every hour. Eventually, I went to our Embassy doctor, who prescribed Cipro, a very strong anti-biotic. Fortunately, it worked. In the end, I lost 6 pounds…I guess it may be a good thing because Matt and I plan to do an U.S./Italy/Spain trip at the end of 2013/beginning of 2014, which means LOTS of good Vietnamese, Mexican, American, Italian and Spanish food!

Beijing, Summer 2013

After a super-busy spring and early summer at work, Matt and I decided to take a well-deserved week off. Originally, we scheduled the vacation to coincide with my birthday, but due to Matt’s very painful back injury (where he almost had to get surgery), we re-scheduled it for the week after. In the end, it worked out for the best. Our plans for the trip: (1) Hong Kong boat ride for my birthday (a reprise of last year’s birthday boat trip) and (2) scuba diving in Koh Tao/Koh Samui.

As always, Hong Kong was amazing. This time, we had a surprise visitor: Typhoon Jebi. Our previous Hong Kong boat trips always happened right after a typhoon, creating gorgeous weather. This time, the typhoon happened DURING the boat trip. We were supposed to make a stop at a nearby island for a seafood lunch and then park somewhere to swim. However, the waves were so rough (in combination with unwisely downing a Matcha Green Tea Iced Frappuccino beverage before boarding) that I got very sea sick.

The nightmare ahead of us. Photo credit: Jim Cerven.

A friend and I ended the trip early and took a ferry boat back to Hong Kong island right after lunch.  The next day, I recovered and was ready for Thailand.

Celebrating birthday with friends and pictures of before/after the typhoon.

The next few days, we spent on Koh Tao, a tiny island off the coast of southern Thailand. Koh Tao is famous for its diving sites and schools. During our time there, we got scuba certitied---I got Open Water Scuba certified and Matt got Advanced Water Scuba certified.  Prior to the certification, I was pretty terrified of deep water. This was due to almost drowning in a pool when I was 8.  Since then, deep pools made me nervous. After the first couple open water dives, deep water was no longer scary. Our best dive, Chumphon Pinnacle was 1.5 hours away from Koh Tao. Visibility was excellent and there was incredible sea life diversity. It was also enjoyable because I was confident with my scuba abilities. We stayed at the best hotel on the island, Aminjirah, which had incredible sunset views. Our first night was painful because our A/C was broken, so we fried for much of the day and evening.

Koh Tao: Sunset at Aminjirah.

Certified: My Open Water Diver Card.

Once we were certified, we headed over to Koh Samui for some R&R. Koh Samui is an island near to Koh Tao, but much more sophisticated.  We’ve been to Koh Samui, so the experience was very comfortable and familiar. We stayed at the Bo Phut resourt, which was amazing compared to the basic accommodation in Koh Tao. The food was as good as we remembered Thai food to be and the entire place was incredibly romantic. I’d definitely recommend it! Sadly, we had to return to polluted and crowded Beijing.

Koh Samui: Paradise

During the late-summer, we hosted a couple visitors and took them to the Great Wall and Chengde, the summer palace of the Qing dynasty (the final one in China). They were lucky to arrive during times with clear skies and little pollution. We also got a couple good days of seeing the Forbidden City.

Gorgeous views of the Great Wall.

Matt getting ready to tobogan down the mountain.

Qi Wang Lou Hotel: Where we stayed in Chengde.

Chengde. Top Row: Tibetan Temples. Bottom Row: Chengde Mountain Resort

Forbidden City seen from Jingshan Park

All photos taken from my iPhone, unless notified.

What's In Your Food?

I LOVE to eat and I love Beijing because there is an excellent restaurant scene here. Nearly all of my favorites cuisines can be found here-Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, Mexican, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, American, and obviously many Chinese cuisines (Sichuanese, Cantonese, Yunanese, etc.).  The authenticity of the food can range from being somewhat authentic to very authentic. Though I love to eat, I have to be very careful because of various food safety issues.

Delicious German Breakfast

Excellent Chinese Food at Black Sesame Kitchen

Who wants some brisket, deep fried pickles or pulled pork?

China’s food safety issues come from its lax food regulations and the quickly developing economy (i.e., factories dumping toxic chemicals into rivers that gets into irrigation systems). This issue, however, seems to be a common problem among most developing countries. Even during the U.S. industrial revolution where the food was barely regulated, many European countries banned our meat exports because it was tainted with toxic chemicals or parasites. Does Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle” come to mind?

When I first arrived to China, I heard about some food safety concerns. This made me curious and began researching the food quality in China. The more I researched, the more I regretted learning what how food was processed and what toxic chemicals (or harmful life) lie within. Here are my scary findings:

The Source of Life: Water (and liquids)
Many rivers in China are tainted with toxic chemicals and sewage. That means that most anything (if not everything) polluted water touches is also tainted. When I first moved to China, I learned not to eat the seafood. Much of Chinese seafood is farmed seafood, where water shortages and water supplies are contaminated by sewage and industrial/agricultural waste. That can be super-difficult when having the craving for sushi, sweet and sour fish, or Har Gau dumplings during dim sum brunch.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/15/world/asia/15fish.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.

Furthermore, water from the faucet is not safe to drink. Many apartments come supplied with drinking water dispensers. We’re fortunate that the Embassy provides us with bottled water and a water dispenser. Yet, a recent study showed 31 water bottle brands exceeded the allowable bacteria limit.  We also have to be cautious of what brands of water bottle we purchase when we go out. Since moving to Beijing, I’ve never had so many stomach problems than before. I’m not sure if it’s the water, the food or catching bad stomach bugs from others.

Li River, Yangshuo: Beautiful carssed mountains. Not sure if I'd want to drink water from here, though.

As I’m sure you heard, there have some milk scares in China. In 2008, a China milk manufacturer produced “milk” containing melamime, sickening more than 300,000 infants and killing 6 in China and more worldwide. Melamime is sometimes illegally added to food products to increase its protein value.  Melamime a type of plastic known for flame retardant properties and on dry erase boards. It is known to cause renal and urinary problems in humans and animals. It registers as protein, but actually has little or no nutrition value.  Despite the efforts to ban this, melamime is found in other products (i.e. ice cream). Ever since this milk scare, Chinese do not trust domestically produced milk. Instead, many purchase imported milk. Some even go to Hong Kong to purchase dried milk to bring back to China. This caused milk shortages in Hong Kong. Now, Chinese people have a limit on the amount of milk they can purchase in Hong and amount they can bring back to China.
Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal
http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/27/china.tainted.milk/index.html

A couple things I miss about America: donuts and ice cream. Don't eat street ice cream in China!

Staple Food: Rice
Rice is a staple food in China, particularly in Southern China. However, cadmium, a toxic heavy metal affecting kidneys and the skeleton is found in Chinese-produced rice. Cadmium is one of several poisonous, heavy metals that officials say have over the years leached from mines and chemical factories. Once Cadmium reaches rivers, lakes and streams, it contaminates the region’s rice paddies.
Sources: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57579062/imported-rice-may-contain-dangerously-high-lead-levels/
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/confronting-chinas-cadmium-laced-rice-crisis-2013-06-06

Meat
Rat Meat Disguised as Lamb
I used to wonder why Chinese restaurants often served the heads of animals with your dish. After living in China, I now know why. In addition to the head having medicinal value, it gives the consumer the confidence that the meat they are eating is authentic. Apparently, fake meat runs pretty rampant in China. Earlier this year, about 900 people were arrested for passing off fox, mink and rat meat as mutton. Counterfeiters treated meat with chemicals and dyes and sold it at as mutton at farmers markets. Much of what they sold was also disease-laden meat (i.e. Ecoli). This meat has put people into hospitals and some resulting in death. Clearly, none of this fake meat was sold with the head.
Source: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/may/03/china-arrests-fake-meat-scandal

The head indicates it's what you're really eating: Pigeon.

Thousands of Dead Animals Floating in Rivers
In March of 2013, tens of thousands of dead pigs were found floating in a Chinese river nearby Shanghai.  It was quite the post-Apocalyptic sight. Apparently, farmers are required by law to send diseased or dying animals to processing pits. However, black market dealers have illegally intercepted these pigs and butchered and sold them to unsuspecting consumers. Eww. Because of the recent crackdowns, these black market traders have stopped buying the dead pigs and instead have been dumping them into rivers.  Additionally, not too soon after that, there were also thousands of dead ducks and swans found in bags in nearby rivers.
Sources: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/mar/29/dead-pigs-china-water-supply
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2303514/Bird-Flu-China-Dead-pigs-swans-ducks-linked-new-fatalities.html

Could there be dead, diseased pig or duck in this? Will never know...

Fake Eggs
To make a quick buck, some folks make fake eggs and sell them on the streets. These eggs are made up of toxic chemicals. Recipes for fake eggs for vendors are available online.
Sources: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/world/asia/08food.html?pagewanted=all
http://www.chengduliving.com/fake-eggs-are-no-joke/

Tea
I’m a huge tea fan and was disappointed to find out that much of the tea produced in China contains lead. However, according to research, as long as one does not eat tea leaves, they will only consume very small traces, if any, lead. During tea brewing, lead does not fall off the tea leaves. Apparently, Bigelow and Lipton tea brands have 1.25 to 2.50 micograms of lead per serving; whereas, Teavanna (Japanese tea leaves) has no traces.  A WHO paper states 23 micrograms per day is an acceptable amount of consumption. Regardless of what this paper says, I’m still goint to be very cautious of any heavy metal consumption, considering I’m constantly exposed to other toxins in China (e.g. pollution, food, water).
Source: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/23/whats-in-your-green-tea/

Cooking Additives 
Gutter oil
One of the main reasons why I am not tempted to purchase any food off the streets is because street vendors are known to use gutter oil to cook food in. Gutter oil refers to recycled oil made from kitchen waste taken from gutters behind restaurants as well as inedible animal oil. The oil is dangerous if consumed, as it contains carcinogenic substances and bacteria. Here’s a video of how gutter oil is made
Source
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/food/2013-04/12/content_16396041.htm

Soy Sauce
Some soy sauces has found traces of arsenic

Taking chances and eating locally. Do they use gutter oil?

Produce
Exploding Watermelons
Some farmers “mistakenly” oversprayed their crops with a growth accelerator, hoping they could get their fruit to the market ahead of peak season. This resulted in entire fields of watermelons. The remnants were then fed to fish and pigs.
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13421374

Others
Pet Treats
Since 2007, hundreds of pets in the U.S. died after eating pet snacks made in China, much from kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding. To this day, the FDA is still unclear what was in those treats.
Sources: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19426023.600
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-24/china-killed-your-dog-are-you-next-.html

Don't poison poor Snowy! Fortunately, he wasn't.

Toys
2007 saw many toy recalls, most coming from China. Mattel recalled 7 million toys, because much of it contained high amounts of lead. Additionally, researchers from Greenpeace and IPEN tested Chinese toys and found traces or large amounts of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, antimony or chromium. These six heavy metals can cause permanent damage to a child’s nervous and immune systems.
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/8944028/One-third-of-Chinese-toys-contain-heavy-metals.html

Toothpaste
In 2007, Spain discovered that imported Chinese toothpast contained traces of substances that were used in antifreeze and solvents.
Source: http://www.cosmeticsdesign.com/Formulation-Science/Spain-withdraws-Chinese-toothpaste-from-the-oral-care-market

Counterfeit Drugs
China is the world’s largest producer of counterfeit drugs, creating problems domestically and internationally. In the past decade, African countries including Nigeria and Angola seized large sums of counterfeit medicine (i.e. HIV/AIDS, anti-malarial, emergency contraception) from China. Some had the label “Made in India” but had actually originated from China.
Sources: http://allafrica.com/stories/201311041250.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/dec/23/africa-counterfeit-medicines-trade

Chinese Medicine: For indigestion, you get little tubes of liquids. I got better. Was definitely real!

So how do you eat in China?
1. Purchase meat/produce and imported products from Western markets
2. Eat at local restaurants the locals recommend; if you're on your own, halal restaurants are a safe bet
3. Mail things in from Amazon.com from America or have visitors deliver them to you
4. Check local listings and reviews (i.e. tripadvisor, beijinger, cityweekend)
5. Use your intuition to guide you in making decisions to eat

Funny Translations While Dining Out

All photos were taken from my iPhone.

Spring 2013: Season of Asian Travels

Once the painfully cold and polluted winter was over, it was liberating to be back in the Beijing outdoors and re-commence our Asia travels, including Shanghai, Taipei, Tokyo, and Xi'An.

Gorgeous Spring in Beijing.

Our first trip of the season was to Shanghai to see my college friend, Tutram. She was finishing her MBA studies and only had a couple weeks left in Shanghai before departing. Instead of taking the plane, we took the bullet train. We were surprised to see how new, clean and fast it was. Though it was a 5-hour train ride, the ride was comfortable. That weekend welcomed us with endless sunshine and warmth. We had a great time walking on the Bund and catching a view of the futuristic skyline and an incredible brunch with Tutram at Madison’s.

At the Bund. This time in comfortable weather.

The perfect brunch: Excellent food, fabulous company.

The following week, we took a few days off to visit our friend Michael who was studying Chinese in Taipei. It was our second trip there. I was expecting a gorgeous weekend, as I had enjoyed in Shanghai. Sadly, it was rainy and cloudy the entire time.

Taipei at night.

Despite the rain, we did have a blast and even gained a few pounds! They say to come hungry to Taiwan and you will certainly come full when you leave.

Taipei is a heaven for good food!

Taiwan is also a very gay friendly place. It hosts the largest gay pride in all of Asia. You can also see gay men being affectionate with one another without people giving them dirty looks. There are a couple gay areas in the city and even a bear bar! Matt was certainly a celebrity there…they put us at the front table when we walked in!

Taipei is pro-gay and anti-nukes.

For Memorial Day weekend, we took a trip to Tokyo. Because the Japanese Yen wasn’t doing as well, eating was actually affordable. When we arrived, we learned that the Narita International airport was pretty far from Tokyo. It took us nearly 2 hours to get from Narita to Tokyo proper. Next time, we’ll have to fly into Haneda. Given only having two full days to explore the city, we were only able to see the main attractions.

Day One, we went to Akihabara, the electronics and anime district of Tokyo. It was full of electronics, anime stores and sex stores.

Akihabara: Tokyo's electronic and Anime centers.

We then grabbed ramen before heading to Odaiba, an artificial island with a small amusement park and shopping malls. There was supposed to be a rainbow bridge, but the lights were off by the time we got there. However, we did ride the big rainbow ferris wheel.

Odaiba at night. Pretty romantic.

Day Two, we first went to Sensoji Buddhist Temple (below, top left), Tokyo's oldest and most visited temple and then to Meiji Shinto Temple (below, bottom left), one of the most beautiful temples we've seen.

Next, we stopped by Harajuku, Tokyo's sub-culture fashion district. I remember hearing about this place through Gwen Stefani's music, early/mid-2000s (e.g. Hollaback Girl). It’s as fun, edgy and crazy as I imagined it would be.

Harajuku: Fun. Fierce. Fab.

For dinner, we stopped by Ebisu to eat Japanese tapas and get Japanese ice cream with Matt’s friend. On our way to the gay-borhood, we stopped by Shibuya Crossing, Japan’s busiest crossing and to purchase the amazing green tea Kit Kats! This area was super-busy even for a Sunday night. Shinjuku, Tokyo’s gay-borhood was pretty quiet and low-key. There weren’t many people around. Probably because it was a Sunday night? We grabbed a drink and went into a couple shops before grabbing katsu curry for a late night snack.

Shibuya Crossing, yummy eats and Tokyo gay bar.

On our last day, we went to the Tsukiji Fish Market, one of the largest fish wholesale markets in the World. We missed the early morning auction, but saw lots of large sea creatures and got some yummy fresh sushi! Before heading back to the airport, we grabbed ramen and mochi with our friend, Kat. We definitely plan to come back to buy some ceramics next time and see more local attractions.

Who wants sushi?

In June, Matt did his immersion program in Gansu Province. Gansu is a very long province that stretches from the Eastern to Western side of China. This region is associated with the Silk Route. Many cities in this area have an interesting cultural mix (Muslim, Buddhist, Central Asia and Middle Eastern) due to trading. This mix is reflected in the food, architecture and the attitudes of the locals. Matt says much of the people he met were extremely nice. Taking the trains out was very easy, but inconvenient because they don’t run frequently. Unfortunately, Matt traveled during one of the wettest periods in the province’s recent history, causing many sites to be unavailable when Matt visited. I met up with Matt in Tianshui, the eastern end of Gansu to visit a Buddhist grotto, Maijishan. However, the unexpected downpours made it treacherous to climb up and the grotto was closed to public. We decided to spend our weekend in Xi’An instead. Xi’An is always a pleasure to visit. Not only does it have a very rich history (was the terminus of the Silk Route and capital for much of China’s history), the local government has done a fantastic job at preserving and re-building the old city. Our favorite parts of Xi’An include the Muslim quarter to eat and observe the night life, walk or bike on the city wall, and catching glimpses of the Drum and Bell towers at night.

Xi'An: one of my favorite Chinese cities.

Matt and I also did a couple other Springtime trips. We made a stop in Hong Kong to watch Star Trek, Into the Darkness with our Guangzhou buddies and Shanghai to celebrate our friend Lynn’s 40th birthday. We are always more than happy to visit either city.

The Year of the Ox buddies.

All photos taken from my iPhone.