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.