"No fruit dies so vile and offensive a death as the banana..."
Kiran Desai, The Inheritance of Loss.
Talk amongst yourselves.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
China Trip--Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
Finally--Ningbo, People's Republic of China! Not at all what I expected--a very large city, much neon, tall buildings, busy streets, Starbucks--but mixed in with all of the pollution and modernization are faint remnants of a much harder life. The old men on bicycles with large amounts of luggage strapped on, the beggars in the streets, the lack of central heating (everywhere south of the Yangtzee River, and darn, it was cold while I was there).
Some interesting facts about Ningbo, courtesy of Wikipedia: Yo-Yo Ma is originally from Ningbo, Houston, Texas is a "city of friendly exchange" with Ningbo...who knew?
Arriving, this is what greeted me through the hotel shuttle window:
Some interesting facts about Ningbo, courtesy of Wikipedia: Yo-Yo Ma is originally from Ningbo, Houston, Texas is a "city of friendly exchange" with Ningbo...who knew?
Arriving, this is what greeted me through the hotel shuttle window:
Not quite what China is supposed to look like, is it?
Daylight showed very crowded streets (with many no honking signs--see previous post)--
On our second day, I noticed the peaked eaves of the roof of a surprisingly oriental-looking building while driving to the courthouse, and went later that night after work to investigate--little did I know it was a huge working Buddhist temple complex. Very interesting to see, tucked in amid all the modern buildings. There are some really good photos of the details of a temple very much like this temple at www.pbase.com/henryhpk/temple_in_china, look at the gallery for Ningbo Xuedou Temple. I like the giant carved carp the best.
Food options were great! One night we ate at New Shipu Restaurant (石浦大酒店) at Tian Yi Square. Considered one of the best restaurants in Ningbo--representative artistic plates of ingredients for each dish are displayed in a portion of the restaurant, and you select the dishes you want then sit down while they are being cooked. Interesting ingredients, to say the least. I was the only non-Chinese person in the 2-story restaurant. We had a good dinner, very cheap, and watched a drunken pair of men back down when a Red Army officer was called to "handle" them. Good floor show! The symbol for this restaurant is a walking golden carp with collagen-injected lips--darn I wish a had something with the carp on it. Too funny. On our last night we went to a Szechuan restaurant basically directly across the street from the entrance to the Ningbo Sheraton (or Portman, as they call it in Ningbo--don't ask for the Sheraton 'cause they won't know what you are talking about) that TOTALLY ROCKED. Oh my...I gained 20 pounds in that place, and EVERYTHING was covered with chillis. YUM.
We still don't have a signed settlement agreement, and I've got at least 2 other infringers in Ningbo (booming place, that Ningbo) so I may get to go back and revisit my fave Szechuan spot! We'll see.
Monday, February 12, 2007
China Trip--Random Oddity
My favorite sign EVER:
So THERE, B--they don't want no stinking brass quintets, faculty or otherwise, in China!
Hahaha. It really means no honking, and let me tell you, these signs were EVERYWHERE!
Just had to share for all my bugle-riffic friends.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
China Trip Part 4: Day 3 in Hong Kong
Day 3 in Hong Kong was a Sunday, a perfect day to take a tourist "tour"--on a bus, with a guide, and various odd other tourists--to see some of the rest of Hong Kong Island. The itinerary of the full-day Hong Kong Island tour beckoned.
The first stop was at Man Mo temple:
One of the first traditional-style temples built during the colonial era, Man Mo temple's magnificent external architecture reflects its historical roots. The temple is dedicated to the Taoist gods of Man (literature) and Mo (martial arts). There is also a statue of Pau Kung, the god of justice, and another of Shing Wong, the god of the city. The plaques near the entrance give an interesting perspective on the history of the temple and its gods. Inside, the air is thick with aromatic smoke from the coils and incense sticks that are said to carry prayers to the spirit world.
When we arrived at the temple, our tour guide encouraged us to "bang the drum and gong so the spirits would know we were there and listen to us". I politely declined, although all of the other tourists did so. The tour guide then handed out incense for us to place in fron to fthe "god" of our choice, to "make a wish". I declined again...How insulting would that be to the one true God? I did explain to the tour guide that I had no issue observing the temple, but would not participate because of my beliefs. I do believe this was the first time in my life I had ever observed real-time, Old Testament - like, idol worship--it is sad, really to see people coming in and placing fruit in front of these ugly statutes, paying money for long-lasting incense for the "gods" to remember them, and the choking dust of burning incense in that place--if you breathed it in long enough you would probably lose all rational reasoning ability.
The first stop was at Man Mo temple:
One of the first traditional-style temples built during the colonial era, Man Mo temple's magnificent external architecture reflects its historical roots. The temple is dedicated to the Taoist gods of Man (literature) and Mo (martial arts). There is also a statue of Pau Kung, the god of justice, and another of Shing Wong, the god of the city. The plaques near the entrance give an interesting perspective on the history of the temple and its gods. Inside, the air is thick with aromatic smoke from the coils and incense sticks that are said to carry prayers to the spirit world.
When we arrived at the temple, our tour guide encouraged us to "bang the drum and gong so the spirits would know we were there and listen to us". I politely declined, although all of the other tourists did so. The tour guide then handed out incense for us to place in fron to fthe "god" of our choice, to "make a wish". I declined again...How insulting would that be to the one true God? I did explain to the tour guide that I had no issue observing the temple, but would not participate because of my beliefs. I do believe this was the first time in my life I had ever observed real-time, Old Testament - like, idol worship--it is sad, really to see people coming in and placing fruit in front of these ugly statutes, paying money for long-lasting incense for the "gods" to remember them, and the choking dust of burning incense in that place--if you breathed it in long enough you would probably lose all rational reasoning ability.
This is a photo of the exterior of the temple:
Now, this is Hong Kong, and this small looking building is sandwiches between many other bigger buildings. The interior of the temple. The curly things are incense coils--the bigger the curls, the longer they burn, some up to 2-3 months. There is dust everywhere. After about 10 minutes in the building, your eyes burn something fierce.
The view from the top of Victoria Peak is the world famous "Hong Kong" vista. It was quite cold the day we were there, and extremely windy. Thank goodness for the Starbucks latte I copped in the shopping center.
We then drove around the coastline, on windy, hilly roads, to Aberdeen , which is where most of the fishing business still takes place. There are a large number of fishermen that live on their boats, and we saw the famous tourist trap Jumbo Restaurant , which I believe was featured in some Tom Cruise movie or other. We did not eat there, nor would I choose to do so, given my proclivities towards motion sickness--sea sickness in particular.
Continuing to drive around the coastline, we then drove through the Repulse Bay area, which is known as the "Hawaii of Hong Kong." Hunh. As it turns out, one of the guys I had dinner with the night before lives in the most famous building in Repulse Bay, this one with the big hole in it:
Supposedly that makes for some fantastic "feng shui", because the hills are behind it, the bay is in front, and the hole allows the nature forces to flow through and all around. In contrast, the "feng shui" of the "Standing Rib Roast" building in the right hand side of the photo below is supposed to be the worst in all of Hong Kong--the building has been completed for 7 years and remains completely vacant. Don't ask me. It is on prime real estate, but the fact that some witch doctor guy can declare it "bad feng shui" and everyone shuns it, is just a bit much.
We then drove on to Stanley, a lovely water-front community, where we had lunch, then wandered around looking at all the "stuff" for sale for a few hours before boarding the bus to go "home."
All in all a great relaxing day, where all details were taken care of for me. I even avoided spending money on "stuff".
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
China Trip Part 3: Day 2 in Hong Kong
Welcome to day 2 of Hong Kong--
The morning started, after the Chinese/American/European buffet breakfast, of course, with some walking and shopping in Central (an area of Hong Kong Island).
The primary goal was to carefully observe the Shanghai Tang store. This store has exquisite products, not the usual "stuff" you find in all the markets (and also back home). Everything is special, and pricey, unfortunately. I did find some goodies for gifts though--sorry, I won't disclose any more.
I then wandered around the narrow lanes, up hill, down hill, looking in all the shops of dried formerly living things. The thought struck me that Hong Kong is the real China town (if you've spent much time in San Francisco you will know what I mean)--and I have so many memories of SF's China town, that Hong Kong felt almost familiar.
After a bit I dropped my bags off at the hotel, then wandered over to take the ferry to Kowloon. Hong Kong itself is an island--Kowloon is on the mainland. I managed to board the famous Star Ferry for the 2 minute ride.
I lasted until about 2:00 at the museum, then decided that instead of having lunch, I would "take tea" at The Peninsula Hotel. This is the "grande dame" of Hong Kong hotels and the British imperialist-colonialist aura has been impeccably maintained, down to the little monkey suits that the doormen wear (honestly, I felt that their uniforms were a bit demeaning--they looked like Curious George outfits, little square hat and everything! Ugh!) Tea was absolutely scrumptious--with live string quartet and all.
Back at the hotel later that evening, I prepared for a dinner out with colleagues at Indochine restaurant. This restaurant, a photo of which is conveniently here:
is located in the Lan Kwai Fong district. Wow! Narrow street, crammed with people, lights, food smells, really fascinating. This district is solely an eating and drinking spot and caters mostly to expats, but is really unique.
Upon finishing dinner (the best part of which was the crispy salt and pepper eggplant, I must say!), having improved my skills with chopsticks to "no longer embarrassing American occasional chopstick user", I went "home" to go to SLEEP! (at least until 3:00 in the morning--notice I'm sleeping a bit longer each night).
Stay tuned for the Gray Line Tour of Hong Kong Island tomorrow.
The morning started, after the Chinese/American/European buffet breakfast, of course, with some walking and shopping in Central (an area of Hong Kong Island).
The primary goal was to carefully observe the Shanghai Tang store. This store has exquisite products, not the usual "stuff" you find in all the markets (and also back home). Everything is special, and pricey, unfortunately. I did find some goodies for gifts though--sorry, I won't disclose any more.
I then wandered around the narrow lanes, up hill, down hill, looking in all the shops of dried formerly living things. The thought struck me that Hong Kong is the real China town (if you've spent much time in San Francisco you will know what I mean)--and I have so many memories of SF's China town, that Hong Kong felt almost familiar.
After a bit I dropped my bags off at the hotel, then wandered over to take the ferry to Kowloon. Hong Kong itself is an island--Kowloon is on the mainland. I managed to board the famous Star Ferry for the 2 minute ride.
The ferry dropped us off, and I wandered along the waterfront for awhile, observing the activities that accompany the very nice weather that day--teenagers playing in a rock band, giggling, artists trying to sucker tourists into buying sketches, all the usual stuff.
The next stop was the Hong Kong Museum of Art. This museum contains some beautiful exhibits of ceramics that date from ancient biblical times--500 BC and older--and they are still intact! Some of the truly ancient pieces reminded me very much of American Indian pottery, interestingly enough, in the designs and colors. Man is the same everywhere, I guess. Here's a snap of the exterior of the museum--the other side of the building is right along the waterfront, although you can't tell from this photo.
I lasted until about 2:00 at the museum, then decided that instead of having lunch, I would "take tea" at The Peninsula Hotel. This is the "grande dame" of Hong Kong hotels and the British imperialist-colonialist aura has been impeccably maintained, down to the little monkey suits that the doormen wear (honestly, I felt that their uniforms were a bit demeaning--they looked like Curious George outfits, little square hat and everything! Ugh!) Tea was absolutely scrumptious--with live string quartet and all.Back at the hotel later that evening, I prepared for a dinner out with colleagues at Indochine restaurant. This restaurant, a photo of which is conveniently here:
is located in the Lan Kwai Fong district. Wow! Narrow street, crammed with people, lights, food smells, really fascinating. This district is solely an eating and drinking spot and caters mostly to expats, but is really unique.Upon finishing dinner (the best part of which was the crispy salt and pepper eggplant, I must say!), having improved my skills with chopsticks to "no longer embarrassing American occasional chopstick user", I went "home" to go to SLEEP! (at least until 3:00 in the morning--notice I'm sleeping a bit longer each night).
Stay tuned for the Gray Line Tour of Hong Kong Island tomorrow.
Monday, February 5, 2007
China Trip Part 2: Day 1 in Hong Kong
So shoot me, I did not take a camera, nor did I take my cell phone (with camera)--I opted for the Blackberry with International Roaming and no bills that come to me...it was a smart idea, really, given my natural disinclination for taking good photographs. Thus y'all have to suffer with my elegant "word pictures" of my trip.
Day 2: What can I say, except toothpicks to prop up the eyelids would have been a good accessory--perhaps a smashing flirty plaid toothpick? Ah well, awake I stayed, with only one really embarrassing moment, around 3:30 in the afternoon, when I tried to pay for a cup of coffee ($21 HK Dollars) with $40 US Dollars...thank goodness for honest baristas.
I had several meeting in the morning at the company's Hong Kong office. It is in the tall building with the "flying buttresses" on the left in the photo.
We had a lunch meeting at The China Club, seated in the middle of the main dining room. This is a private restaurant/club, owned by an eccentric wealthy man who also owns the Shanghai Tang stores. Great lunch--and lots of Chinese art (mostly modern and eccentric). It is an interesting spot. (P.S. I "borrowed" the following photos of the China Club, and have no idea who the gentleman is in the first photo--please ignore him).
After lunch, which ended about 3:00 (now THERE'S a business lunch!), I went in search of the afore-mentioned coffee and found coffee nirvana at Pacific Coffee. Then off to a "department store" called China Arts & Crafts to see top examples of local work--silks, embroderies, jade sculptures, teapots, etc. All top quality, not that junk we routinely find. I decided to purchase some flower tea. We had some at lunch and it was such a treat to watch the hard little nugget bloom into a beautiful, fragrant tea.
By this time I'm dropping and head for "home away from home", the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. I ordered room service for a late dinner, counting on my trusty favorite, the club sandwich, for a little smackerel before nighty-night. But one bite into my sandwich revealed that it had been befouled with a fried egg! And not only the club sandwich, but the hamburger also! What's up with that?? On behalf of tired Americans everywhere, please don't make our comfort food contain even more protein... And no, I'm not anti-local food, but I had local food for breakfast & lunch and was so tired I couldn't think straight...Don't worry, I eat plenty of local food throughout the trip.
Tomorrow begins the sight-seeing odyssey of sparse free time until the litigation in China...
Day 2: What can I say, except toothpicks to prop up the eyelids would have been a good accessory--perhaps a smashing flirty plaid toothpick? Ah well, awake I stayed, with only one really embarrassing moment, around 3:30 in the afternoon, when I tried to pay for a cup of coffee ($21 HK Dollars) with $40 US Dollars...thank goodness for honest baristas.
I had several meeting in the morning at the company's Hong Kong office. It is in the tall building with the "flying buttresses" on the left in the photo.
We had a lunch meeting at The China Club, seated in the middle of the main dining room. This is a private restaurant/club, owned by an eccentric wealthy man who also owns the Shanghai Tang stores. Great lunch--and lots of Chinese art (mostly modern and eccentric). It is an interesting spot. (P.S. I "borrowed" the following photos of the China Club, and have no idea who the gentleman is in the first photo--please ignore him).
After lunch, which ended about 3:00 (now THERE'S a business lunch!), I went in search of the afore-mentioned coffee and found coffee nirvana at Pacific Coffee. Then off to a "department store" called China Arts & Crafts to see top examples of local work--silks, embroderies, jade sculptures, teapots, etc. All top quality, not that junk we routinely find. I decided to purchase some flower tea. We had some at lunch and it was such a treat to watch the hard little nugget bloom into a beautiful, fragrant tea.
By this time I'm dropping and head for "home away from home", the Grand Hyatt Hong Kong. I ordered room service for a late dinner, counting on my trusty favorite, the club sandwich, for a little smackerel before nighty-night. But one bite into my sandwich revealed that it had been befouled with a fried egg! And not only the club sandwich, but the hamburger also! What's up with that?? On behalf of tired Americans everywhere, please don't make our comfort food contain even more protein... And no, I'm not anti-local food, but I had local food for breakfast & lunch and was so tired I couldn't think straight...Don't worry, I eat plenty of local food throughout the trip.
Tomorrow begins the sight-seeing odyssey of sparse free time until the litigation in China...
Sunday, February 4, 2007
China Trip Part 1: From Dallas to Hong Kong
1. Wake up at 4:30 am in Dallas
2. Board plane to LAX.
3. Arrive at LAX and wonder why an airport that has so much celebrity traffic is so darn ugly and inconvenient.
4. Find Ambassador's club and realize there's nothing good to eat or drink anymore in the lounges! I still harbor memories of the old Red Carpet Clubs, where there was food, drink and it was still a more "rarified" atmosphere. That is all gone now (at least in the US). If you are asked to pay $50 for a day pass to one of these "clubs", don't bother. The airport terminal is more interesting.
5. Walk (yes, walk--there is no inter-terminal train at LAX) to the International Terminal, which, of course, is under renovation, and a total mess.
6. Board Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. Am immediately offered champagne, snacks, wonderful food, watched 3 movies, snoozed a little.
7. Arrive in Hong Kong. Navigate immigration, look for suitcase. Hear name being called over loudspeaker--realize no suitcase coming any time soon...get receipt for missing suitcase (apparently it didn't walk over to the International Terminal at LAX) and find ride to hotel.
8. Check in to hotel, do best I can with what I've got (which is computer bag, and liquids and business class overnight kit) along with toiletries at hotel. It wasn't too bad, except that I had to re-wear my clothes the next day to a business meeting. This is why you don't wear sweat pants on the plane--at least I was wearing jeans.
9. SLEEP--until about 2:00 am, that is, then sit bolt upright in bed because I'm still on Texas time...
Despite all this sarcasm, I didn't do badly at all with the jetlag, and I'm very proud of myself for going through all the missing luggage stuff while practically dead on my feet and not verbally eviscerating anyone.
More fun trip info to follow.
2. Board plane to LAX.
3. Arrive at LAX and wonder why an airport that has so much celebrity traffic is so darn ugly and inconvenient.
4. Find Ambassador's club and realize there's nothing good to eat or drink anymore in the lounges! I still harbor memories of the old Red Carpet Clubs, where there was food, drink and it was still a more "rarified" atmosphere. That is all gone now (at least in the US). If you are asked to pay $50 for a day pass to one of these "clubs", don't bother. The airport terminal is more interesting.
5. Walk (yes, walk--there is no inter-terminal train at LAX) to the International Terminal, which, of course, is under renovation, and a total mess.
6. Board Cathay Pacific flight to Hong Kong. Am immediately offered champagne, snacks, wonderful food, watched 3 movies, snoozed a little.
7. Arrive in Hong Kong. Navigate immigration, look for suitcase. Hear name being called over loudspeaker--realize no suitcase coming any time soon...get receipt for missing suitcase (apparently it didn't walk over to the International Terminal at LAX) and find ride to hotel.
8. Check in to hotel, do best I can with what I've got (which is computer bag, and liquids and business class overnight kit) along with toiletries at hotel. It wasn't too bad, except that I had to re-wear my clothes the next day to a business meeting. This is why you don't wear sweat pants on the plane--at least I was wearing jeans.
9. SLEEP--until about 2:00 am, that is, then sit bolt upright in bed because I'm still on Texas time...
Despite all this sarcasm, I didn't do badly at all with the jetlag, and I'm very proud of myself for going through all the missing luggage stuff while practically dead on my feet and not verbally eviscerating anyone.
More fun trip info to follow.
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Home, Sweet Home
I left Ningbo, Zheziang Province, China on Friday 2/2/2007 at 7:00 am local time, and arrived home in Dallas, Texas, USA on Friday 2/2/2007 at 4:45 pm local time. Need a time machine? Fly from Asia to the States! Taking everything into account, I was awake for over 30 hours straight for the trip home. The furbabies are happy I'm home, and while I did not take photos during my trip (okay, yell at me later--I'm bad with cameras, and that is just the way it is), I do have some interesting and unique stories to share.
zai jian for now.
zai jian for now.
