I've been in France for a few days spending time with my nieces and nephew. They are a bundle of energy as usual and it's interesting to see how they've developed in the last year. However, today's post is about my frustration in acquiring visas.
I've gone into Paris twice already. Twice to the China embassy and once to the Taiwan embassy-equivalent. The China one denied visa services to me because I don't have a French ID card. "Go back to the US. It's not our problem, it's your problem." Thanks. That's really helpful. Also really helpful are their office hours - only 2.5 hours in the morning.
The Taiwan office was much nicer. My not having a French ID card meant I wasn't eligible for the multi-entry visa. I could only get a single entry...which for the hefty 89 euro price, really isn't worth it. I could fly to the Philippines with that money and just do a visa run and combine a beach vacation into one.
The difference in the offices wasn't about what visa they could offer but in their method of communication. The China office was just plain rude. The Taiwan office was firm, but polite. It's another reminder about why I'm glad I live in Taiwan now.
I've been researching ways to get a China visa - my last one I got in Australia. Turns out I can't use France, Japan, or Taiwan. One option is Hong Kong, but their website says as an American, I have to go to my home country. So, I can definitely use the US, but even then the hassle of getting a flight ticket (why would I buy an expensive air ticket when I could just go in by ferry/bus/train from HK as I originally planned) and hotel bookings is enough to make me just want to go back to Taiwan early instead of heading into China. Plus there's no way I'm flying back to the US to get a visa...and I can't think of anyone unemployed in SF that could do me this favor.
Here's a blog all about the China Visa policy changes and the effect on business people. And another blog entry about how one guy fooled the system.
In case you need to go the Paris offices, here's the info...
France Consular Office for China
18-20, rue de Washington, 75008 Paris
2 min walk from the George V metro stop, off of Ave Champs Elysees across from Louis Vuitton
Visa hours: 9:30 am - noon M-F
On a Wed at 10:30 am I was behind 50 other people. There is a separate line for Olympics visas.
Services only available to those with French identification.
Bureau de Représentation de Taipei en France
78, rue de l'Université, 75007 Paris
Close to the Solferino metro and Musee d'Orsay RER stops
Visa hours: 9:30 am - 12:30 pm, 1:30 pm - 4pm M-F
The woman I talked to spoke Mandarin, French and English fluently. There are publications about Taiwan in English, French and Chinese that you can read while you're there or take away. There were 3 people in front of me and the office only had 4 desks and two chairs, so I don't expect it ever really gets all that busy.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Chick Night
I hosted a chick night the other night and decided to make cream puffs for dessert. I just about always work on dessert first before entrees and appetizers. I find that if you've got a dessert ready and everything else sucks, well at least you can end on success. It's a bit of an Amelia Bedelia safety net. The first time I made cream puffs was for our Greenlake housewarming party with Theresa and Julie. They were surprisingly easy to make and tasty, too. So I gave another go of it.My camera ran out of batteries and after recharging I forgot to snap a picture. But they were OK looking. Just trust me.
Cream Puffs
Custard Filling
- 1/2 c sugar
- 5 T all-purpose flour
- pinch of salt
- 2 c milk
- 2 egg yolks, beaten
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1/2 c butter
- 1 c water
- 1 c all-purpose flour
- 1/4 t salt
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips
You can make this a day ahead to chill in the refrigerator.
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar, flour and a pinch of salt.
- Stir in milk, a little at a time, until smooth.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil 60 seconds, then pour a small amount of hot liquid into the 2 egg yolks, and stir.
- Return now heated egg yolks to saucepan and stir, over heat, until mixture starts to bubble again.
- Remove from heat, add vanilla. Cover and chill in refrigerator.
How do you get the space in the center? The dough rises by itself! At a high temperature, the pastry rises, and then the rest of the time is drying it out so it holds its shape. Easy peazy!
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C)
- In a medium saucepan, combine butter and water and bring to a boil.
- Sift together 1 cup flour and a pinch of salt and pour all at once into boiling mixture.
- Stir vigorously until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat, let sit 5 minutse.
- Add eggs, one at a time, stirring vigorously after each addition.
- Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto baking sheet, or pipe into desired shape.
- Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven, then reduce heat to 400F/200C and bake 20 minutes more, or until golden.
- Cool completely.
This step is optional, but seriously, who wouldn't want their puff with chocolate?
- Melt chocolate chips in microwave or slowly over low heat.
- Use a chopstick to poke a hole in the pastry.
- Pipe the custard in. You can use a ziplock bag and cut off a tiny bit of the corner.
- Optionally, you can cut off the top of the pastry, use a spoon to fill it with custard and replace the top.
- Cover with melted chocolate.
- Serve immediately or refrigerate.
I also made homemade burger buns (see below), burger patties (ground beef, chopped onions, worcestershire sauce, dried chili powder, fresh ground black pepper, salt), sesame noodles, and a fresh mozzarella salad.
Burger Buns
- 2 1/4 t yeast
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes or 1 tsp.onion powder -- optional
- 2 tablespoons butter -- melted
- 1 egg
- 1 cup warm water (100-105 deg.)
- Place ingredients into bread machine in the order required by the manufacturer. Run the Dough cycle.
- Turn out onto floured surface and knead by hand 1-2 minutes. Add more flour if too sticky.
- Divide the dough into 10 pieces. Slap the dough into bun shape -- flattened balls, 4-7" in diameter. Put buns on a lightly oiled cookie sheet and let rise about 30-40 minutes.
- Optional: Glaze the buns with the egg yolk and 1 t water mixture, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake in 375F/190C oven 12-15 minutes or until golden.
Last Week of Shida
This was my last week at Shida for the quarter. Our class finished up Chapter 9 in Book 3, 2nd edition and got started on 10. During the week I ran into 3 out of my 4 previous teachers. One of them just got a job at Mt Holyoke. She'll be gone for 3 years...which is good for them, but bad for us. She was an excellent teacher for the time I had her as a substitute.
Today we watched a strange movie in class. The morning class had leftover fruit and Pringles. One of the Jimmy's brought in peanut treats from Jinmen, and another brought in bags of popcorn and tea. Since I woke up late and missed breakfast I pigged out quite a bit. Just before class ended my left eye started getting a blind spot in the middle. Sign of an oncoming migraine. I was pissed because, well, migraines pretty much always suck. But also b/c I was going to meet my language exchange partner and have lunch at one of my favorite beef noodle shops. Instead I went to bed and tried to sleep it off. I woke up at 5 feeling better. My head still has the leftover pounding feeling, but nothing like the intense part during the peak of the migraine. It should be gone in 24 hours.
Earlier in the week I went in with a friend to inquire about signing up for classes. Jenny, the English speaking office worker, told us that they were no longer accepting new students and were even having trouble finding enough teachers to fulfill all the private tutoring requests.
Today we watched a strange movie in class. The morning class had leftover fruit and Pringles. One of the Jimmy's brought in peanut treats from Jinmen, and another brought in bags of popcorn and tea. Since I woke up late and missed breakfast I pigged out quite a bit. Just before class ended my left eye started getting a blind spot in the middle. Sign of an oncoming migraine. I was pissed because, well, migraines pretty much always suck. But also b/c I was going to meet my language exchange partner and have lunch at one of my favorite beef noodle shops. Instead I went to bed and tried to sleep it off. I woke up at 5 feeling better. My head still has the leftover pounding feeling, but nothing like the intense part during the peak of the migraine. It should be gone in 24 hours.
Earlier in the week I went in with a friend to inquire about signing up for classes. Jenny, the English speaking office worker, told us that they were no longer accepting new students and were even having trouble finding enough teachers to fulfill all the private tutoring requests.
Friday, May 23, 2008
YangMingShan
Last weekend, I went to YangMingShan to celebrate Dan's birthday. We had a beautiful guest house to ourselves overlooking the mountain. We spent the night soaking in the hot springs (diverted into a small tub in the house), eating burgers and cake, and even playing one of my favorite games - Twister. In the morning, we enjoyed the clean air, fresh fruit and yummy bagels. We did a short hike to a waterfall and cooled off in the water. It was quite chilly but in a nice refreshing way.Note: Catch Bus 260 from across Jiantan MRT station to the terminal station.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Blabberings
Mangos
Mangoes are back in season! Geoff got me some from Costco that were monstrous in size.
I took these pictures to show my dad. From the first pictures you can see one part cut off from the seed...it's definitely bigger than my hand. And in the third, look how thin the seed is! I love mangoes that are all meat.
There are "regular" type mangoes in the fruit markets - these are hit or miss in terms of sweetness but always juicy. And by regular I mean what's normal for Taiwan but nothing you'd ever find in America.
MRT
On my way home from Xiaonanmen tonight, I was waiting for the train to come back from Ximen. A young woman asked me something in Chinese and I couldn't understand. I asked her to repeat and still didn't understand. I told her that my Chinese wasn't that good. Usually at this point, a questioner will move on to find someone else to ask. But to my surprise, and delight, she stuck with me. It turns out she was new to taking the MRT and was trying to get to Chang Kai Shek (whose Chinese name I can never remember or recognize which is why I didn't understand her in the first place). And then I found out she was actually trying to get to Nanshijiao and had gotten on at CKS and realized she was going the wrong way and got off where I was. I've made the same mistake before, getting on going in the wrong direction, so I tried my best in Chinese to make her feel better about her mistake. It's always nice to practice speaking with complete strangers. Turns out she is a junior in high school and planning on studying physics in college.
ShiDa
It's the last week of class and we are slightly behind the school's new schedule. They want us to get through chapter 10 but we're only just finishing 9. Most of my class opted to keep the same teacher and so 6 of them will be together again next quarter along with some other kids they found for the 8 person minimum. My plan is to review and forge ahead while I'm on vacation in June (Grr, maybe you can hold me to this by checking up on me like last time) and then come back and start classes again.
However nothing ever really seems to go to plan, so we'll see what happens.
Mangoes are back in season! Geoff got me some from Costco that were monstrous in size.
I took these pictures to show my dad. From the first pictures you can see one part cut off from the seed...it's definitely bigger than my hand. And in the third, look how thin the seed is! I love mangoes that are all meat.
There are "regular" type mangoes in the fruit markets - these are hit or miss in terms of sweetness but always juicy. And by regular I mean what's normal for Taiwan but nothing you'd ever find in America.
MRT
On my way home from Xiaonanmen tonight, I was waiting for the train to come back from Ximen. A young woman asked me something in Chinese and I couldn't understand. I asked her to repeat and still didn't understand. I told her that my Chinese wasn't that good. Usually at this point, a questioner will move on to find someone else to ask. But to my surprise, and delight, she stuck with me. It turns out she was new to taking the MRT and was trying to get to Chang Kai Shek (whose Chinese name I can never remember or recognize which is why I didn't understand her in the first place). And then I found out she was actually trying to get to Nanshijiao and had gotten on at CKS and realized she was going the wrong way and got off where I was. I've made the same mistake before, getting on going in the wrong direction, so I tried my best in Chinese to make her feel better about her mistake. It's always nice to practice speaking with complete strangers. Turns out she is a junior in high school and planning on studying physics in college.
ShiDa
It's the last week of class and we are slightly behind the school's new schedule. They want us to get through chapter 10 but we're only just finishing 9. Most of my class opted to keep the same teacher and so 6 of them will be together again next quarter along with some other kids they found for the 8 person minimum. My plan is to review and forge ahead while I'm on vacation in June (Grr, maybe you can hold me to this by checking up on me like last time) and then come back and start classes again.
However nothing ever really seems to go to plan, so we'll see what happens.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Taiwanese Haircut
I normally don't pay for haircuts, but I'd heard about the special Taiwanese style of haircutting so decided to give it a try today. I went in to ShowLin on Shida Lu right next to the Watson's, by recommendation of my friend Sabrina. She said to ask for stylist number 8, but with my poor mandarin and confusion about the process I'm not sure if I actually got number 8 (I was seated at #6).
The whole thing started with a shoulder/neck massage for about 5-10 minutes. Oh, and I was offered some magazines to look at as well - but they were all Chinese and didn't look very interesting. Then she shampooed my hair right while I was sitting without dripping on me at all. For about 20 minutes she worked the shampoo-water mixture through my hair and massaged my scalp the whole time, occasionally working my neck and behind the ears as well. She said something in Chinese I didn't understand, but in after thought I think she was asking me if it was enough. I've heard that you can ask them to continue massaging/shampooing if you don't think it's enough. We moved on to the next step which was the hot water rinse. This one was reclining as you would in the US. This included a little massage as well. Afterwards, I was sent back to my seat.
The stylist came over then and asked me what kind of cut I wanted. I just wanted a trim to get rid of the split ends and even things out a bit - nothing fancy, and certainly nothing like the typical Taiwanese hairstyle (dyed, crimped, and/or permed). This part took another 20-30 minutes as she blow dried my hair, cut it, and dried it some more.
In the end the damage was $399 NT which is about $13 USD. It's the equivalent of a Supercuts/Great Cuts price, but with the 30 minutes of massage, is of much higher value.
The whole thing started with a shoulder/neck massage for about 5-10 minutes. Oh, and I was offered some magazines to look at as well - but they were all Chinese and didn't look very interesting. Then she shampooed my hair right while I was sitting without dripping on me at all. For about 20 minutes she worked the shampoo-water mixture through my hair and massaged my scalp the whole time, occasionally working my neck and behind the ears as well. She said something in Chinese I didn't understand, but in after thought I think she was asking me if it was enough. I've heard that you can ask them to continue massaging/shampooing if you don't think it's enough. We moved on to the next step which was the hot water rinse. This one was reclining as you would in the US. This included a little massage as well. Afterwards, I was sent back to my seat.
The stylist came over then and asked me what kind of cut I wanted. I just wanted a trim to get rid of the split ends and even things out a bit - nothing fancy, and certainly nothing like the typical Taiwanese hairstyle (dyed, crimped, and/or permed). This part took another 20-30 minutes as she blow dried my hair, cut it, and dried it some more.
In the end the damage was $399 NT which is about $13 USD. It's the equivalent of a Supercuts/Great Cuts price, but with the 30 minutes of massage, is of much higher value.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Fun Chinese Sentences
My teacher is full of fun Chinese sentences. Here are some samples.
2-3 (3-3)
老闆 (小姐) 你好請你給我啤酒. 沒有啤酒只有小姐.
Lao3ban3 (xiao3jie3) ni3 hao3 qing3ni3 gei3wo3 pi2jiu3. Mei2you3 pi2jiu3 zhi3you3 xiao3jie3.
Hello boss (miss), please give me some beer. We don't have beer, only ladies.
When two 3rd tone words are next to each other, the first one changes to second tone. So use this sentence to get your 2-3 tones down.
4-3
下午下雨最好跳舞．日本電影
xia4wu3 xia4yu3 zui4hao3 tiao4wu3. ri4ben3dian4ying3
This afternoon it's raining so it's best for us to go dancing. Japanese movie.
The 4-3 word pair comes out with the second word only having the low end of the dropping tone of 3rd tone without rising up again. Make sure to go very low!
3-2
美國有錢,女人很忙...
mei3 guo2 you3 qian2, nu3 ren2 hen3 mang2...
America is rich, the women* are busy.
The 3-2 word pair changes the first word into just a dropping sound, leading into the rise of the second word.
*女人 vs 女生 vs 女的 vs 女性
The first has a sexual connotation. The second is for a student. The third is saying female. The fourth is for saying female gender.
4's
世界運動大會報告
shi4 jie4 yun4 dong4 da4 hui4 bao4 gao4
The Olympics report
1's
今天 媽媽說她發燒． 東方新生擔心...
Jin1 tian1 ma1ma shuo1 ta1 fa1 shao1. Dong1 fang1 xin1 sheng1 dan1 xin1...
Today Mom said she has a fever. Eastern first year students worry...
I can't remember the teacher's so made up my own.
3-2-1
補習班，
bu3xi2ban1
Again, I can't remember the other samples.
Ma
媽媽罵馬，馬罵媽媽．
Ma1ma ma4 ma3, ma3 ma4 ma1ma.
Mom scolds the horse, the horse scolds mom.
Shi
事實是事實.
Shi4shi2 shi4 shi4shi2.
The truth is the truth.
The beauty in these last two is that I can actually hear the tone differences and say them correctly, whereas I know that first and second quarter I was still quite tone deaf. Yay for progress!
2-3 (3-3)
老闆 (小姐) 你好請你給我啤酒. 沒有啤酒只有小姐.
Lao3ban3 (xiao3jie3) ni3 hao3 qing3ni3 gei3wo3 pi2jiu3. Mei2you3 pi2jiu3 zhi3you3 xiao3jie3.
Hello boss (miss), please give me some beer. We don't have beer, only ladies.
When two 3rd tone words are next to each other, the first one changes to second tone. So use this sentence to get your 2-3 tones down.
4-3
下午下雨最好跳舞．日本電影
xia4wu3 xia4yu3 zui4hao3 tiao4wu3. ri4ben3dian4ying3
This afternoon it's raining so it's best for us to go dancing. Japanese movie.
The 4-3 word pair comes out with the second word only having the low end of the dropping tone of 3rd tone without rising up again. Make sure to go very low!
3-2
美國有錢,女人很忙...
mei3 guo2 you3 qian2, nu3 ren2 hen3 mang2...
America is rich, the women* are busy.
The 3-2 word pair changes the first word into just a dropping sound, leading into the rise of the second word.
*女人 vs 女生 vs 女的 vs 女性
The first has a sexual connotation. The second is for a student. The third is saying female. The fourth is for saying female gender.
4's
世界運動大會報告
shi4 jie4 yun4 dong4 da4 hui4 bao4 gao4
The Olympics report
1's
今天 媽媽說她發燒． 東方新生擔心...
Jin1 tian1 ma1ma shuo1 ta1 fa1 shao1. Dong1 fang1 xin1 sheng1 dan1 xin1...
Today Mom said she has a fever. Eastern first year students worry...
I can't remember the teacher's so made up my own.
3-2-1
補習班，
bu3xi2ban1
Again, I can't remember the other samples.
Ma
媽媽罵馬，馬罵媽媽．
Ma1ma ma4 ma3, ma3 ma4 ma1ma.
Mom scolds the horse, the horse scolds mom.
Shi
事實是事實.
Shi4shi2 shi4 shi4shi2.
The truth is the truth.
The beauty in these last two is that I can actually hear the tone differences and say them correctly, whereas I know that first and second quarter I was still quite tone deaf. Yay for progress!
Identity
In America, I'm Chinese.
In Taiwan, I'm American.
I identify as an Asian American.
When people in Taiwan ask me where I'm from, I say I'm American. Because of my looks they always want to know what my parents are. I reply that my mom is Taiwanese and that my dad is from Mainland Chinese (and sometimes throw in that he grew up in Taipei). This satisfies Taiwanese quite well, as they can now understand my accent (terrible American) with my looks (Chinese).
However, when I went to China and was asked the same and gave the same response, I would get some funny looks. Distinguishing the fact that my mom is Taiwanese, to them, was redundant - being Taiwanese is being Chinese after all! To them, Taiwan is just another province. So I should just say that my parents are Chinese, instead of one is this and one is that.
Hmmm. This ignores the fact that my mom can speak Taiwanese and my dad doesn't, that my mom's family came from the mainland many generations ago, whereas my dad was the first, that my dad's side speaks Mandarin with something closer to a Beijing accent and my mom sounds Taiwanese.
It's like saying "I'm American" ignores the fact that I'm also of Asian decent (and all that brings with it, growing up in a mostly white American suburb). And saying "I'm Chinese" doesn't make it clear whether you're FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) or an ABC (American Born Chinese). Even people technically within a category may not have the culture associated with it (I grew up on the low end for Chinese culture of an ABC).
* * *
My teacher has mentioned something similar - that in America she is Chinese, in China she is Taiwanese, and in Taiwan she is Taipei-ese. Like my dad, she was born in the mainland and then came to Taiwan as a young child. She also bore children in the US and lived there for quite a while. She is quite liberal and has a mixed identity, not easily labeled.
In Taiwan, I'm American.
I identify as an Asian American.
When people in Taiwan ask me where I'm from, I say I'm American. Because of my looks they always want to know what my parents are. I reply that my mom is Taiwanese and that my dad is from Mainland Chinese (and sometimes throw in that he grew up in Taipei). This satisfies Taiwanese quite well, as they can now understand my accent (terrible American) with my looks (Chinese).
However, when I went to China and was asked the same and gave the same response, I would get some funny looks. Distinguishing the fact that my mom is Taiwanese, to them, was redundant - being Taiwanese is being Chinese after all! To them, Taiwan is just another province. So I should just say that my parents are Chinese, instead of one is this and one is that.
Hmmm. This ignores the fact that my mom can speak Taiwanese and my dad doesn't, that my mom's family came from the mainland many generations ago, whereas my dad was the first, that my dad's side speaks Mandarin with something closer to a Beijing accent and my mom sounds Taiwanese.
It's like saying "I'm American" ignores the fact that I'm also of Asian decent (and all that brings with it, growing up in a mostly white American suburb). And saying "I'm Chinese" doesn't make it clear whether you're FOB (Fresh Off the Boat) or an ABC (American Born Chinese). Even people technically within a category may not have the culture associated with it (I grew up on the low end for Chinese culture of an ABC).
* * *
My teacher has mentioned something similar - that in America she is Chinese, in China she is Taiwanese, and in Taiwan she is Taipei-ese. Like my dad, she was born in the mainland and then came to Taiwan as a young child. She also bore children in the US and lived there for quite a while. She is quite liberal and has a mixed identity, not easily labeled.
Monday, May 05, 2008
Flurry
A flurry of posts and I haven't even gotten to May yet! Well, blogging is sometimes tiring so here's a quick summary of the month so far.
Hsinchu visit
I went to Hsinchu for an interview and to see family. It was interesting to see Science Park, the Silicon Valley of Taiwan. My cousin's family is also a lot of fun. It's much like my cousin's family in Malaysia - multiple generations convening together regularly. My cousin's parents, kids, sister, sister's kids were all there. I had a lovely home cooked meal with them and then played Wii for the first time. My arms got instantly sore just from boxing -- in air!
Spring Tourney
This past weekend was the quarterly Taiwan tournament, held in Taipei this time. Renegade submitted two teams - one competitive and one for training. Spank, the former, got 1st place with the help of NA Steve visiting from Korea and our MVP Fei Fei (who had loads of layout D's). The training team Thatch had a good time teaching a whole bunch of beginners that we hope have been enticed enough to keep on with it and come to our regular practices.
Wedding Reception
Morris and Angel had a Mr & Mrs Smith theme (Mr & Mrs Lin) that was beautiful, touching, hilarious and fun. The reception was at the Grand Hyatt, just by Taipei 101 with the 12-14 course meal that is typical for Chinese weddings. What was atypical was the rejection of all hong baos (traditional wedding gift of money), an entertainment video about pre-wedding events a la Mr & Mrs Smith, and the overall high class feeling of everything. They really did a good job of making it feel like a true celebration.
Hsinchu visit
I went to Hsinchu for an interview and to see family. It was interesting to see Science Park, the Silicon Valley of Taiwan. My cousin's family is also a lot of fun. It's much like my cousin's family in Malaysia - multiple generations convening together regularly. My cousin's parents, kids, sister, sister's kids were all there. I had a lovely home cooked meal with them and then played Wii for the first time. My arms got instantly sore just from boxing -- in air!
Spring Tourney
This past weekend was the quarterly Taiwan tournament, held in Taipei this time. Renegade submitted two teams - one competitive and one for training. Spank, the former, got 1st place with the help of NA Steve visiting from Korea and our MVP Fei Fei (who had loads of layout D's). The training team Thatch had a good time teaching a whole bunch of beginners that we hope have been enticed enough to keep on with it and come to our regular practices.
Wedding Reception
Morris and Angel had a Mr & Mrs Smith theme (Mr & Mrs Lin) that was beautiful, touching, hilarious and fun. The reception was at the Grand Hyatt, just by Taipei 101 with the 12-14 course meal that is typical for Chinese weddings. What was atypical was the rejection of all hong baos (traditional wedding gift of money), an entertainment video about pre-wedding events a la Mr & Mrs Smith, and the overall high class feeling of everything. They really did a good job of making it feel like a true celebration.
Jeju 4/25-27
Flight
Far Eastern Air Transport, or FAT for short. Apparently going through bankruptcy now, but the only airline with a direct Taipei-Jeju flight (popularly used as a jumping point into China).
(5/20/08 Addendum: Apparently FAT stopped flying in May. see the Taipei Times article)
Accommodation
We took the bus to our hotel for 5000 won, which took about 70 minutes. This was also easy to find, and the stops were announced in Korean, Chinese and English. Sun Beach hotel was organized through the tourney - everyone else supposedly only had mats and blankets, but our room had 2 full on beds - one queen and one full, which were quite comfortable (especially after the hard bed in the Xian hostel).
Tournament
Gnarly Nines
Unlike the US version of 9 games to 9 in one day, this one is split over two days, making it a lot less hard on the body. My team of 9 consisted of a Hong Kong base, with a few pickups from elsewhere. Unfortunately, day 1, point 2, we lost one of our nine. Nicki got punched in the face during an intense collision and her nose was broken in 2 or 3 spots! She flew back home early to consider surgery options with her own doctor. This one's a 5:2 tourney (unlike the US 4:3 standard), so Lily and I played savage the rest of the tourney, which wasn't so bad with the 25 mph winds on Saturday that pretty much dictated the down wind points and easy going zone play.
Sunday was a lot better weather wise, and so of course a lot tougher. We were seeded 4th going in, ended 5th Saturday, and then tied for 3rd on Sunday. In the semi-finals against Shanghai we were down 2-7, but played a better second half bringing it up to 9-13.
Wilkie, Tim, Lin, Geoff, Derek, Stu, Lily, Jon
Food
I love Korean food. The first thing I ordered was chop che...a dish I haven't been able to find in Taipei. I also had some bi bim bop and mandoo (Korean jiao-zi). The field food was delicious - especially the Korean bento boxes of marinated beef with rice and veggies. They also provided plenty of bananas, tangerines and water. Plus breakfast at the hotel and Saturday night all you can eat buffet (western food).
Misc
Other than that, I didn't really see much of Korea. I'll have to go back another time to experience more of the culture. Hopefully before FAT goes out of business.
Another highlight was seeing some familiar faces. James and Chris were there - I hadn't seen James in ages, but remember him always being friendly in Seattle. Apparently since I last saw him, he's gotten married, had ACL surgery and moved to Japan! However, he's going back in July, so I'm not sure I'll see him anymore in the Asian ultimate scene. Our loss for sure!
On the way home we were bumped to first class! My first time ever. The flight was overbooked and the only seats left were up front. Yes! It really wasn't that much difference. Sure, the increased leg room (straightening my legs, I couldn't even reach the seat in front of me). Of course, with my short asian legs, the extra space was really wasted on me - I'm always comfortable in economy. The food was upgraded by having tablecloths set on our trays and delivered with salt and pepper shakers. Otherwise it felt the same as regular. Oh wait, we did get several extra glasses of orange juice and water. That does make a difference.
The taxi back to the airport cost us 30000 krw, which included an 800 krw stop at a convenience store.
Far Eastern Air Transport, or FAT for short. Apparently going through bankruptcy now, but the only airline with a direct Taipei-Jeju flight (popularly used as a jumping point into China).
(5/20/08 Addendum: Apparently FAT stopped flying in May. see the Taipei Times article)
Accommodation
We took the bus to our hotel for 5000 won, which took about 70 minutes. This was also easy to find, and the stops were announced in Korean, Chinese and English. Sun Beach hotel was organized through the tourney - everyone else supposedly only had mats and blankets, but our room had 2 full on beds - one queen and one full, which were quite comfortable (especially after the hard bed in the Xian hostel).
Tournament
Gnarly Nines
Unlike the US version of 9 games to 9 in one day, this one is split over two days, making it a lot less hard on the body. My team of 9 consisted of a Hong Kong base, with a few pickups from elsewhere. Unfortunately, day 1, point 2, we lost one of our nine. Nicki got punched in the face during an intense collision and her nose was broken in 2 or 3 spots! She flew back home early to consider surgery options with her own doctor. This one's a 5:2 tourney (unlike the US 4:3 standard), so Lily and I played savage the rest of the tourney, which wasn't so bad with the 25 mph winds on Saturday that pretty much dictated the down wind points and easy going zone play.Sunday was a lot better weather wise, and so of course a lot tougher. We were seeded 4th going in, ended 5th Saturday, and then tied for 3rd on Sunday. In the semi-finals against Shanghai we were down 2-7, but played a better second half bringing it up to 9-13.
Wilkie, Tim, Lin, Geoff, Derek, Stu, Lily, Jon
Food
I love Korean food. The first thing I ordered was chop che...a dish I haven't been able to find in Taipei. I also had some bi bim bop and mandoo (Korean jiao-zi). The field food was delicious - especially the Korean bento boxes of marinated beef with rice and veggies. They also provided plenty of bananas, tangerines and water. Plus breakfast at the hotel and Saturday night all you can eat buffet (western food).
Misc
Other than that, I didn't really see much of Korea. I'll have to go back another time to experience more of the culture. Hopefully before FAT goes out of business.
Another highlight was seeing some familiar faces. James and Chris were there - I hadn't seen James in ages, but remember him always being friendly in Seattle. Apparently since I last saw him, he's gotten married, had ACL surgery and moved to Japan! However, he's going back in July, so I'm not sure I'll see him anymore in the Asian ultimate scene. Our loss for sure!On the way home we were bumped to first class! My first time ever. The flight was overbooked and the only seats left were up front. Yes! It really wasn't that much difference. Sure, the increased leg room (straightening my legs, I couldn't even reach the seat in front of me). Of course, with my short asian legs, the extra space was really wasted on me - I'm always comfortable in economy. The food was upgraded by having tablecloths set on our trays and delivered with salt and pepper shakers. Otherwise it felt the same as regular. Oh wait, we did get several extra glasses of orange juice and water. That does make a difference.
The taxi back to the airport cost us 30000 krw, which included an 800 krw stop at a convenience store.
Hong Kong 4/23-24
I got to see my old college roommate, Hanna, again. We went to one of her favorite restaurants in her neighborhood. After a week of meat and bread in China, I was happy to gorge myself on the most mouth watering of vegetable dishes. Eggplant and "jade pieces" never tasted so good.
The next day I went out on my own to explore Hong Kong. Last time I was there, I only had time for a couple restaurants and the tournament. This time I took the day to meander around town a little. It certainly is a city of covered walkways, which is nice in its own way, but also confusing at other times (it wasn't always intuitive for me to find out where the entrances were to the walkways I could see above me).
I love the ability to check in on Hong Kong Island early in the day. For an 8 pm flight, I was able to drop my bag off at 9 am and just take a purse around town. I spent most of the day in Stanley (bus 6) enjoying the shore, watching fishermen, and ogling all the items at the grocery store that I can't find in Taipei.
The next day I went out on my own to explore Hong Kong. Last time I was there, I only had time for a couple restaurants and the tournament. This time I took the day to meander around town a little. It certainly is a city of covered walkways, which is nice in its own way, but also confusing at other times (it wasn't always intuitive for me to find out where the entrances were to the walkways I could see above me).
I love the ability to check in on Hong Kong Island early in the day. For an 8 pm flight, I was able to drop my bag off at 9 am and just take a purse around town. I spent most of the day in Stanley (bus 6) enjoying the shore, watching fishermen, and ogling all the items at the grocery store that I can't find in Taipei.
Xian 4/20-23
Airport
XIY, 40 km NW of Xian city center
When you arrive at the airport you can
HQ Hostel
We rented half the hostel, which was really one full apartment, including 2 queen beds and 2 bunk beds, a bathroom, kitchen, dining area, and living area. Great location, within short walking distance to the Muslim area. Downside was lack of any kitchenware or internet. But there is a coffee shop just around the corner with free wireless (however, their drinks are terrible - at least the italian coffee and the fresh milk were both horrendous).
Sites
Terracotta Warriors
Definitely do from least to most impressive order - museum, room 2, 3 and then 1. The folks that built the place were all killed and buried within to keep the location a secret. Only discovered in the early 70's. The places are booby trapped and only partially dug up - also because of the near instantaneous deterioration of the paint on the statues. Scientists are currently working on a way to preserve the colors so they don't disintegrate on contact withe oxygen.
Hua Shan National Park
About a 2 hour drive to the entrance, and then from the parking lot there are shuttles that take you to the base of the hiking area. We walked up the stairs instead of taking the cable car. It takes your breath away - both from the views and the steep incline. On the way, we only passed a few people. At the top, it was clear that people came in by the droves via cable car. We made our way up towards one of the peaks, but it was getting late and cold, so I rested while waiting for my partner to finish. There are toilet facilities near the top, but they aren't pretty (sight or smell).
The City Wall
On a clear day, go to the south or north gate and rent bicycles. They have tandem bikes (good for kids) and normal bikes. We circled around the whole city in one morning. Note: It's closed to biking during rain.
Food
Delicious lamb and beef. Wonderful flat breads. Great noodles (liang pi were the best). We gorged ourselves silly knowing we couldn't get the wonderful spices and breads back in Taiwan.
XIY, 40 km NW of Xian city center
When you arrive at the airport you can
- take the shuttle bus to Bell Tower (last stop) = 25 rmb / person
- you can get 2 taxis (just tell the driver to give us a call for directions)
- we can arrange pick up in a minivan (180 rmb) - we went with this option for 6 people
HQ Hostel
We rented half the hostel, which was really one full apartment, including 2 queen beds and 2 bunk beds, a bathroom, kitchen, dining area, and living area. Great location, within short walking distance to the Muslim area. Downside was lack of any kitchenware or internet. But there is a coffee shop just around the corner with free wireless (however, their drinks are terrible - at least the italian coffee and the fresh milk were both horrendous).
Sites
Terracotta Warriors
Definitely do from least to most impressive order - museum, room 2, 3 and then 1. The folks that built the place were all killed and buried within to keep the location a secret. Only discovered in the early 70's. The places are booby trapped and only partially dug up - also because of the near instantaneous deterioration of the paint on the statues. Scientists are currently working on a way to preserve the colors so they don't disintegrate on contact withe oxygen.Hua Shan National Park
About a 2 hour drive to the entrance, and then from the parking lot there are shuttles that take you to the base of the hiking area. We walked up the stairs instead of taking the cable car. It takes your breath away - both from the views and the steep incline. On the way, we only passed a few people. At the top, it was clear that people came in by the droves via cable car. We made our way up towards one of the peaks, but it was getting late and cold, so I rested while waiting for my partner to finish. There are toilet facilities near the top, but they aren't pretty (sight or smell).The City Wall
On a clear day, go to the south or north gate and rent bicycles. They have tandem bikes (good for kids) and normal bikes. We circled around the whole city in one morning. Note: It's closed to biking during rain.Food
Delicious lamb and beef. Wonderful flat breads. Great noodles (liang pi were the best). We gorged ourselves silly knowing we couldn't get the wonderful spices and breads back in Taiwan.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Beijing 4/16-20
Airport
On our way, I read that direct flights are scheduled to start July 4 (between Taiwan and Mainland China, of course). So of course, we stopped in Hong Kong before landing in Beijing. The public bus outside was cheap and easy to find and figure out. Routes are explained in Chinese and English, with one going to DongSiShiTiao.
Accommodation
Beijing East Gate Plaza Service Apartment
Reserved online through sinohotel.com We were willing to go fancy but not so much as paying 4 star prices. This turned out to be remarkably good, especially for 3 young kids. Very spacious apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a huge common room with comfortable sofas and a tv. There was a big fridge, dining table, fluffy (but strangely non-absorbent) towels, washer/dryer, high speed ethernet and A/C.
It was in a decent location as well, with a big mall next door with a supermarket, squash court, bowling alley, and restaurants. It was walking distance to DongSiShiTiao and DongZhiMen subway stations, as well as to Da Dong Roast Duck and Ghost Street (with lots of restaurant choices).
Sites
Summer Palace
A strikingly large grounds area. What was more striking was watching the Chinese reaction to seeing a Chinese woman holding a blond, blue-eyed 5 year old's hand walking around. People would not stop to gawk, take pictures, touch, and other mildly-to-extremely uncomfortable things. People usually wanted to talk to me, and I was happy to get in some Chinese speaking-listening practice in. However, after a while, it just became plain annoying. 
Mostly because it was freaking the kids out - having people stand 2 feet from them, staring into their faces while trying to eat lunch. No one appreciated being stroked and then picked up suddenly by a complete stranger and hugged close for a picture. I can understand the novelty of the situation, but I also think some lines of respect were crossed.
The Great Wall
Against all advice, we went to Badaling, since it was the shortest distance to the wall and 3 kids in a van for longer than necessary just puts more pain on everyone than bearable. So we braved the crowds instead. The wall, of course, is extremely impressive in person. It was fun walking the open sections, flowing with the crowds and discussing prices. There was one vendor selling shirts with your picture on it. For the number of people wanting a picture of the kids, I think we could have charged them for taking our picture instead of paying for a shirt.
On our way home, the makeshift van carrying 7 of us, was stopped by police. Apparently the van was not licensed for cabbing, nor was the driver. My Chinese still isn't so hot, especially combined with listening to the Beijing accent (after all this time hearing the Taiwan accent). However, I do understand that a driver doing something illegal and being taken away from us, leaving us stranded in the middle of nowhere would not be a good situation (especially with 3 tired kids in the car). And after the policeman asked me if the driver was a friend and watching the driver vehemently shake his head up and down behind him, I decided to say yes. "So you didn't pay him any money?" And this I was happy to answer truthfully with a no.
I think they must have seen through the lies, but luckily, he was only slapped with a 100 RMB fine and we were on our way again.
Tiananmen
The largest city center in the world - coming out from the underground stairs, we saw a Chinese woman seriously peeved off at a police officer. She was well into her tirade, chastising him for wronging her. She even went so far as to poke him a few times, and I was surprised to see he just stood and took it. Half an hour later, she was still going strong - him not budging to the apology she may have been waiting for, and her not relenting to stop the shouting in his face that she was doing seemingly without breathing.
Forbidden City
My images of the Imperial Palace all come from the movie, The Last Emperor. Walking through the grounds, I realized how much bigger it is than I imagined. Yet even for its size, imagining being confined within its walls as a child still seemed suffocating.
Other
We took a stroll through Beihai Park, bartered our way through Silk Market and then again through the much more reasonable YaShou Market. On the first night, we also spotted a garbage can in full flame. On the last night we meandered all along Ghost Street. After so many days of relentless staring, touching, commenting and general rudeness from many Chinese people, I was happy to end the night on something good. The pollution was striking as soon as we got into the city. Even on sunny days, with no clouds in the sky, it was impossible to see any blue. The haze seems to forever laze over the city. With so much sand in the air, I had a bit of trouble with my contacts. I stopped at one point to take it out, but instead of landing in my hand, it fell on the sidewalk. And this was well into the night. I stood my ground so as not to step on it, but couldn't spot it anywhere. People walking by noticed us looking for something on the ground, and they all eventually slowed and started to help. Some people were looking without even knowing what they were looking for! When I looked up there was easily a group of 15 people around me, with one particular person pulling out a flashlight (which really did the trick). We finally spotted it, I picked it up and someone asked "What is it?!" We said it was my contact, and they peered closer to look at the tiny curved lens. "Ohhh" I rinsed it off, put it back in my eye, and thanked everyone for their help.
Food
I really enjoyed the mango opportunities - we had some 'normal' sized ones, but the best ones were the kidney mangoes - shaped like a kidney, incredibly small, but with a seed that is razor thin, and a peelable skin, leaving plenty of meat to be eaten. Yum.
On the other hand, I had some of the worst Chinese food I've ever eaten. I didn't have a single good dan-ta (egg custard tart) nor any good jiao zi (dumplings). The former was mushy and gross, and the latter was poorly made (the filling was just awful - strange ingredient combinations and overly salted). I guess it's best to just get your dan-ta in Hong Kong.
We did end on a lovely traditional breakfast opportunity, walking distance from the apartment - consisting of a bowl of noodles, a tasty bing, and a bowl of a tofu-soup mixture.
On our way, I read that direct flights are scheduled to start July 4 (between Taiwan and Mainland China, of course). So of course, we stopped in Hong Kong before landing in Beijing. The public bus outside was cheap and easy to find and figure out. Routes are explained in Chinese and English, with one going to DongSiShiTiao.
Accommodation
Beijing East Gate Plaza Service Apartment
Reserved online through sinohotel.com We were willing to go fancy but not so much as paying 4 star prices. This turned out to be remarkably good, especially for 3 young kids. Very spacious apartment with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a huge common room with comfortable sofas and a tv. There was a big fridge, dining table, fluffy (but strangely non-absorbent) towels, washer/dryer, high speed ethernet and A/C.
It was in a decent location as well, with a big mall next door with a supermarket, squash court, bowling alley, and restaurants. It was walking distance to DongSiShiTiao and DongZhiMen subway stations, as well as to Da Dong Roast Duck and Ghost Street (with lots of restaurant choices).
Sites
Summer Palace
A strikingly large grounds area. What was more striking was watching the Chinese reaction to seeing a Chinese woman holding a blond, blue-eyed 5 year old's hand walking around. People would not stop to gawk, take pictures, touch, and other mildly-to-extremely uncomfortable things. People usually wanted to talk to me, and I was happy to get in some Chinese speaking-listening practice in. However, after a while, it just became plain annoying. 
Mostly because it was freaking the kids out - having people stand 2 feet from them, staring into their faces while trying to eat lunch. No one appreciated being stroked and then picked up suddenly by a complete stranger and hugged close for a picture. I can understand the novelty of the situation, but I also think some lines of respect were crossed.The Great Wall
Against all advice, we went to Badaling, since it was the shortest distance to the wall and 3 kids in a van for longer than necessary just puts more pain on everyone than bearable. So we braved the crowds instead. The wall, of course, is extremely impressive in person. It was fun walking the open sections, flowing with the crowds and discussing prices. There was one vendor selling shirts with your picture on it. For the number of people wanting a picture of the kids, I think we could have charged them for taking our picture instead of paying for a shirt.On our way home, the makeshift van carrying 7 of us, was stopped by police. Apparently the van was not licensed for cabbing, nor was the driver. My Chinese still isn't so hot, especially combined with listening to the Beijing accent (after all this time hearing the Taiwan accent). However, I do understand that a driver doing something illegal and being taken away from us, leaving us stranded in the middle of nowhere would not be a good situation (especially with 3 tired kids in the car). And after the policeman asked me if the driver was a friend and watching the driver vehemently shake his head up and down behind him, I decided to say yes. "So you didn't pay him any money?" And this I was happy to answer truthfully with a no.
I think they must have seen through the lies, but luckily, he was only slapped with a 100 RMB fine and we were on our way again.
Tiananmen
The largest city center in the world - coming out from the underground stairs, we saw a Chinese woman seriously peeved off at a police officer. She was well into her tirade, chastising him for wronging her. She even went so far as to poke him a few times, and I was surprised to see he just stood and took it. Half an hour later, she was still going strong - him not budging to the apology she may have been waiting for, and her not relenting to stop the shouting in his face that she was doing seemingly without breathing.
Forbidden City
My images of the Imperial Palace all come from the movie, The Last Emperor. Walking through the grounds, I realized how much bigger it is than I imagined. Yet even for its size, imagining being confined within its walls as a child still seemed suffocating.
Other
We took a stroll through Beihai Park, bartered our way through Silk Market and then again through the much more reasonable YaShou Market. On the first night, we also spotted a garbage can in full flame. On the last night we meandered all along Ghost Street. After so many days of relentless staring, touching, commenting and general rudeness from many Chinese people, I was happy to end the night on something good. The pollution was striking as soon as we got into the city. Even on sunny days, with no clouds in the sky, it was impossible to see any blue. The haze seems to forever laze over the city. With so much sand in the air, I had a bit of trouble with my contacts. I stopped at one point to take it out, but instead of landing in my hand, it fell on the sidewalk. And this was well into the night. I stood my ground so as not to step on it, but couldn't spot it anywhere. People walking by noticed us looking for something on the ground, and they all eventually slowed and started to help. Some people were looking without even knowing what they were looking for! When I looked up there was easily a group of 15 people around me, with one particular person pulling out a flashlight (which really did the trick). We finally spotted it, I picked it up and someone asked "What is it?!" We said it was my contact, and they peered closer to look at the tiny curved lens. "Ohhh" I rinsed it off, put it back in my eye, and thanked everyone for their help.
Food
I really enjoyed the mango opportunities - we had some 'normal' sized ones, but the best ones were the kidney mangoes - shaped like a kidney, incredibly small, but with a seed that is razor thin, and a peelable skin, leaving plenty of meat to be eaten. Yum.
On the other hand, I had some of the worst Chinese food I've ever eaten. I didn't have a single good dan-ta (egg custard tart) nor any good jiao zi (dumplings). The former was mushy and gross, and the latter was poorly made (the filling was just awful - strange ingredient combinations and overly salted). I guess it's best to just get your dan-ta in Hong Kong.
We did end on a lovely traditional breakfast opportunity, walking distance from the apartment - consisting of a bowl of noodles, a tasty bing, and a bowl of a tofu-soup mixture.