Blog Archives

Days 173-175: Chillin' Out In Bangkok

11/7/2013

After China, our next stop was Bangkok, Thailand, where we'd spend a quick three days before heading to Cambodia. We stayed at the Eastin Grand Sathorn in Bangkok, a hotel we'd highly recommend. The hotel was connected to a BTS stop, which was fantastic, as the traffic in Bangkok is horrendous. The rooms were modern and spacious, the breakfast was abundant, the price was reasonable and the pool was awesome.

Pool on the 15th floor of the Eastin

One of the highlights of our time in Bangkok was that we got together with some of Chris' friends from business school who currently live in the area. We went to a delicious Japanese restaurant not far from our hotel and had great time catching up with everyone! We also got some great advice on where to go and what to do in the area - not just in Bangkok but all over South East Asia.

Sloanies reunite: Parith, Niran, Gib & Chris :)

We spent a lot of our time in Bangkok just chilling out. Since we'd spend the next four days visiting temples in Siem Reap, Cambodia, we decided to pass on the major tourist attractions in Bangkok this time around, figuring we'd be back in the city again before leaving Thailand. Instead, we went down to the major shopping area to pick up our bus tickets to Siem Reap. While we were there we had a look around the malls and both of us really enjoyed the Siam Center. While it's technically a mall, it's full of pop-up concept stores showcasing really artistic and unique fashion. I'm living out of a backpack and don't have the luxury of high fashion, so I really enjoyed looking through these stores! Even Chris - who abhors shopping - liked it!

Siam Center

Siam Center atrium

One night we went next door to our hotel to have a delicious dinner at the Blue Elephant. The Thai food was awesome and the building was beautiful. It dates back to 1903 and was once the Bombay Department Store. Twenty years later it became the chamber of commerce, and during WWII the Japanese used it as a command center. In 2000 it was restored and is now used as a restaurant and culinary school. Definitely worth a visit!

We also went to Asiatique on Saturday night. Asiatique, once a bunch of wharhouses, is now a compilation of restaurants and stores located right on the river. To get there we took a free ferry boat down the river. Since it was Saturday night, the place was absolutely mobbed. We ate dinner at a French restaurant by the pier which was good, but then headed back early as the place was a zoo! While the complex was really well done and there were tons of interesting restaurants to chose from, next time we'd probably head over during the week, as the weekend here is crazy!

We had a great time in Bangkok and look forward to returning. On our next visit we hope to see the Grand Palace, Jim Thompson House and have a drink at Sirocco (rooftop bar notable for its appearance in the Hangover II).

0 Comments

China: Expectations vs. Reality

11/6/2013

1 Comment

We looked back at our initial expectations as to what China would be like, and whether each turned out to be reality or myth. Here are some of the biggies:

Expectation:
Most Chinese people are short and will be in awe of Chris because he is really tall.
Verdict:
False. Many Chinese people - in particular Beijingers - are quite tall and were more interested in little ol' me.

Expectation:
There will be people everywhere.
Verdict:
True. Crowds galore - everywhere.

So. Many. People.

Expectation:
Beijing is a compact city, comprised of old buildings and crowded winding streets.
Verdict:
False. It's hard to find old neighborhoods in many parts of Beijing, and much of the city is very modern, fancy and spread out.

Beijing - super modern!

Expectation:
There is a lot of pollution.
Verdict:
True. There was a lot of smog and air pollution in the cities. Often it was difficult to breath when in traffic.

Fortunately, this was not taken while we were in Beijing! (This one courtesy of Reuters)

Expectation:
China will be cheap.
Verdict:
False. Beijing and Shanghai in particular are quite pricey, even compared to many US cities. Even the countryside, which is cheaper, is not quite the bargain it once was. Also wagyu beef - so not cheap.

The beef cost whaaat???

Expectation:
Many websites will be blocked.
Verdict:
True. We needed to use our VPN to access sites like Facebook and Youtube, and sometimes even that did not work. Google defaulted to the Hong Kong site but sans search ads. Many sites that we tried to click on in the search results were blocked.

A common message in China

Expectation:
It's very difficult to travel in China without having a guide or knowing the language.
Verdict:
False. We found it easy, although admittedly did not venture too far off the tourist route, which may have proven more difficult. Many people at our hotels spoke English, which also helped.

Expectation:
The dumplings will kick ass.
Verdict:
True.

Expectation:
So will the Peking duck.
Verdict:
True, per Chris (I don't eat duck).

Din Tai Fung = Dumpling heaven :)

Expectation:
Most people will drive Chinese brand cars we've never heard of.
Verdict:
False. The big brands seemed to be Volkswagen, Audi, Chevy and Buick. In fact there seem to be a lot more Buicks in China than in the US.

Ni-hao America. I'm kind of a big deal in China. -Buick

Expectation:
There will be lots of Samsung phones, and few iPhones.
Verdict:
True. And their Samsung phones have huge screens. They have really embraced the phablet here.

Expectation:
There will be a heavy military presence everywhere.
Verdict:
False. We saw very few members of the military and limited police presence, even in the central areas of Beijing.

Expectation:
There will be lots of national symbolism and red/gold everywhere.
Verdict:
True - there is a very heavy use of red and gold, both for nationalistic displays/pride and for everyday decoration. There are also lots of people who wear national symbols - green hats with red stars, flags, army green jackets.

Expectation:
Chinese people are very superstitious.
Verdict:
To some degree, true. As one example, most buildings still do not have a floor #4 or #14.

Expectation:
Eastern medicine is heavily utilized.
Verdict:
True. Herbal and homeopathic treatments occupied the bulk of the shelf space at most pharmacies.

Expectation:
They eat EVERYTHING.
Verdict:
True. And we'll leave it at that.

1 Comment

Amusing Observations In China

11/3/2013

4 Comments

After our visit to China, we thought it would be fun to recap a few tidbits that made us laugh, think, or just scratch our heads.

1. Street-sweepers in Guilin blast It's a Small World while they're driving around. Kind of like ice cream trucks in the US, but they drive even slower. Just when you thought driving a street-sweeper around all day couldn't get any worse, boom - you have to listen to It's a Small World on continual loop while people on the street give you the death stare. This must be one of Dante's stages of hell.

2. The Chinese love to take photos. In particular, they love to take photos of whatever you are taking a photo of. If you are admiring a view and taking a photo, someone will be waiting there to take your spot and capture the exact same shot (not from a foot to the right or left, but from exactly where you were standing). We tested this theory by taking photos of mundane subjects such as phone booths or old plastic chairs. Sure enough, someone would be waiting to snap a photo of the same object when we were done!

Testing our theory by posing next to mundane objects.

3. One day at breakfast in the hotel dining room we heard a familiar tune from our distant past. They were playing the instrumental theme from Kindergarten Cop. We thought this was hilarious.

Breakfast anyone?

4. Nearly all the ads feature Western models - even those for Chinese brands. It's very rare to see ads using Asian models which is really peculiar. There are so many beauties in China, I could have picked out ten runway models in one day in Beijing.

5. In Shanghai, a man selling music sits on the street corner near the Grand Central Hotel. He blasts Bette Midler's The Rose every day on repeat ALL DAY LONG. We had a few theories about why he did this:
- It's his favorite song.
- He tested various tracks one week and The Rose was the one to lure in the most sales.
- Our hotel pays him to help patrons who get lost easily...just follow Bette's voice!

This song used to make me thing of 6th grade music class. Now I will forever associate it with Jiujiang Road in Shanghai.

6. A common sight in China is a toddler missing a critical component of his wardrobe. They call these toilet training pants or split pants, and they feature big opening in the crotch area (no diaper). The parent/grandparent will regularly fold the kid in half, bum towards the ground, and urge the baby to take care of business. You see it happening everywhere - on the sidewalk, in the park, over a garbage can at the train station, etc. One can't help but wonder why it doesn't happen over the toilet? Anyway, we took extra care to avoid all puddles after seeing this!

We took this one outside the Forbidden City. Nice choice, kid.

7. Cat ears are in. You often see gaggles of teenage girls sporting them. We were admittedly a little jealous at times.

8. There is no shortage of toothpaste. In addition to the normal hotel toiletries, it is commonplace for Chinese hotels to provide you a dental kit, consisting of a toothbrush and tube of toothpaste each day. Of course, we amassed a stockpile for the rest of our trip.

It is important to save where you can on every round-the-world trip. So who are we to refuse free toothpaste?

4 Comments

Days 171-172: Guilin, China - Pagodas, Temple Buffet and A Proper Tea Ceremony

11/2/2013

0 Comments

After an amazing few days in Yangshuo, we bused it back to Guilin for our final two nights in China. We thought we'd check out the Longji Rice Terraces the next day, however we found out that the terraces had been recently harvested, which meant the views were not spectacular. The terraces are also about a 2.5 hour drive away, and require a private driver for the day (if you don't want to go on the organized tour, which we didn't). So, we decided to pass on this altogether and spend the day kicking around Guilin.

Here are a few of the things we saw in this mid-sized city in south-central China.

Our hotel, the Guilinyi Royal Palace, was set in a botanical garden. Here's an old fashioned ferris wheel located near the park.

These two tower pagodas - The Sun and Moon Pagoda - are iconic symbols of Guilin. The pagoda on the left is surrounded by water and can be reached via a tunnel. It's notable for being made of copper, and for being the world's only pagoda with an elevator.

A sign near the pagodas. Apparently bicyclists are not allowed, but ninjas are just fine.

One of Guilin's four lakes, with the karst peaks in the distance

Temple Buffet
We had read about a great vegetarian restaurant in downtown Guilin so we decided to check it out. We found it behind one of the Buddhist temples which didn't surprise us as we have learned that most vegetarian restaurants in China cater to monks. The place was was jammed packed with people. We figured it must be good if all the locals were flocking there so we gave it a try!

For dinner, we found this restaurant hidden within the a Buddhist temple. There was some sort of festival going on at the temple, so the restaurant was featuring an all-you-can-eat buffet for about $4. We decided to check it out. The place was packed with locals - and us.

Chris trying to blend in.

I was very excited about the food. All vegetarian so I didn't have to worry about chicken or other mystery meat!

People were lighting lots of candles for the temple festival on our way out from dinner.

Tea Ceremony
We had been in China for 2 weeks and had not yet attended a tea ceremony. We had to try it before we left, so we stopped by our hotel's beautiful tea house one night.

Our hotel had its own traditional tea house, which we decided to try out after returning from dinner. Here is the tea house by day.

Our table setting. We really enjoyed the entire experience - especially all the detail that went into making the tea.

Making our tea was an involved process. First she put the loose tea leaves into the clay pot and then cleaned them with boiling water. Next, she poured the water into a vented tray. Then she poured more boiling water into the tea pot and let it sit and poured hot water into our cups to warm them and clean them. After a few minutes she strained the tea and poured it into the glass pot which she used to serve us. We tried the local black tea which was quite good.

Trying the tea. Each cup is so tiny and only holds a few sips! We read that it's rude if you make a noise when you place your tea cup down so we were being extra careful!

View from our room at the Guilinyi Royal Palace

And thus our China adventure had drawn to a close. We headed out the next morning for Thailand. We really enjoyed our time in China and learned a lot. Some things surprised us, and some were expected. We'll break it all down in our next post!

0 Comments

Forward>>

Days 173-175: Chillin' Out In Bangkok

China: Expectations vs. Reality

Amusing Observations In China

Days 171-172: Guilin, China - Pagodas, Temple Buffet and A Proper Tea Ceremony

Author

Archives

Categories