Sanjiang

I wish more of the biking was like the picture above, but, alas, it wasn't. The ride from the Rice Terraces to the city of Sanjiang was a beautiful stretch along a river. The first third of it was a beautiful and easy ride, but due to some pretty major road construction, we weren't allowed to ride and so again, we resorted to stashing our bikes in the van and driving to Sanjiang.

Sanjiang isn't really all that exciting a place, however, it is the launching point to visit the Dong minority. China is predominantly Han. It would be like saying the United States is majority Caucasian. I am Han Chinese. The country or China has numerous minority groups that speak their own dialects and cultures. It's just that they all look pretty much Chinese to most people.

Throughout the Dong communities, they have built these covered bridges all without nails.

We got to watch a performance by the Dong. The young boy in the middle was having the time of his life and not jaded by performing.

If you're Chinese you need to learn to squat. You are in this position when eating to watching television to working in the fields.

Wandering through the village, we looked through a window and saw this woman making cloth. She was nice enough to let us come in and watch.

I'm embarrased to say that it took me a while to figure out what each of the moving parts actually did.

Somehow I saw this as indicative of China

This region is known for building drum towers

The towers serve as a social gathering place for the community

Leaving the Dong minority village, we headed back for some time in the town of Sanjiang.

Visiting temples, there are a jar full of sticks on which a fortune is written. This is what I picked and John said it was really good but couldn't explain it. Mom? Dad? Help, please.

Want to known where our lumber products come from? By the way bamboo (or which there are 15 or so different types) grows like a weed here and is really strong!

Here at the chopstick factory, scrap lumber is cut into rectangular prisms of wood. Everyone in China uses disposable chopsticks. John says it's a sanitary thing, but I'm not sure about that.

The prism are run through a machine to shape the sticks into rounded form as well as putting the slit through the middle.

Each set of sticks is visually inspected by hand and visual imperfections as shaved off

Here's where the "Made in China" Pier 1 Import Chairs begin life

The strands in the foreground to become toothpicks and then thin strips in the background to become steamers

Myself and our driver Deng dining on the streets

Many nights we three would retire to my room and play Chinese Chess

Rice Terraces

Day 2 of biking started out on a long mountain pass that I was NOT ready for in the least. I tried my best to not resort to using the van service for a ride to the top of the pass. I could see the top, it was about three turns away but I was exhausted and got a ride (in the air-conditioned van) and then enjoyed a five mile downhill. Our destination was the little town of Pingan. We biked to the base of the mountain, drove up a couple of kilometers and then hiked up the last half hour to a small little village clinging to the side of a mountain. However, the scenery was worth the effort.

The "Dragon's Backbone" Rice Terraces

These terraces was the genesis of my week long fascination with rice. Up until now, I always though that the kernels of rice grew below the surface and upon harvest the plant would be picked and then the rice removed from the roots. However, it isn't that way at all. We see the rice here about halfway from planting to harvest. As the plant matures, sprouts, much like what wheat looks like, begin to form on the plant and it is within these sprouts the rice kernels develop. The rice plants seen here will eventually turn yellow in color and eventually be harvested in early fall.

Myself and John Yang, my biking guide

At the lookout point, we see the traditional meeting technology!

The town of Pingan, adjacent to the "Dragon's Backbone" Rice Terraces

Rice ready to harvest

An old-fashioned method of getting the rice off the stalk. The foot pump spins a drum upon which are mounted little "fingers". I took a hand at this, but I couldn't get the coordination right. The man in the picture laughed.

Chongqing to Guilin

The cruise ended at Chongqing and we disembarked at 830AM. However, my flight to Guilin didn't actually leave until 8:55PM, therefore I had an entire day to explore Chongqing. The city has great historical significance in recent Chinese history as it served as the capital of the Kuomintang as it battled the Communists for political control of the country. The best way to describe Chongqing is that it has the geography of Pittsburgh and the economy of Detroit. It is situated at the confluence of the Yangtze and another river and is a major manufacturing center for the entire country.

After dropping off my backpack at the airport, I found a bus to take me back to the core of the city. I explored the city as best I could in the midst of intermittent showers. Western China has been experiencing heavy rains, and thereby downstream flooding, this summer. There was something really exciting/frightening walking around an unknown foreign city. I never felt so alone on this trip than I did this day.

I did duck into a hotpot restaurant to partake of Chongqing's famous hotpot cuisine. The waitress didn't understand my Chinese and the menu didn't have pictures. I conveyed to her the idea that she was to bring me whatever and I would try it. So, I must confess here, that I understood that hotpot meant that one cooked their meal in a specially made contraption that had boiling water and that it was quite spicy. The Chongqing definition of spicy is sinus clearing, burn your mouth, panting and sweating spicy. And that doesn't start describing it. Plus, the waitress brought me some stuff I couldn't even swallow. I am proud to say that i am an adventurous eater, but I still have no idea what the black squid looking like stuff was. The waitress giggled when she saw what state I was in and how much food was left over when she came to clean up the dishes.

In Chongqing, I also saw some indications that the Chinese have more disposable income than in the past. I saw people walking their pets and I saw advertisements for orthodontists.

That evening I flew to the city of Guilin in Guangxi Province. It is the gateway to the great karst topography that most have seen in pictures of China. The first day my biking guide John and I took a tour through the city. We went to a couple parks, but must interestingly, we found a market. Here's what's for sale.

The Three Gorges on the Yangtze River

After my day in Hong Kong, I flew up to the "small" town of a mere 4 million called Yichang. It's the largest city in the western portion of Hubei province and situated directly downstream from the Sandouping/Three Gorges Hydroelectric Project. However, it is also located right at the end of the eastern most of the famous Three Gorges of the third longest river in the world, the Yangtze. In China it is known as the Chiang Jiang which translates to the "the long river." Fact: One-third of all Chinese live in the Yangtze River basin. The translates to one in every twelve persons in the world that lives in the Yangtze River basin.

I arranged to take the cruise upstream to Chongqing, which was 4 nights and 3 days of cruising. Victoria Cruises is an American owned company catering to English speakers. The boat can carry up to 300+ passengers. Our sailing had a total of 64, so it was quite an intimate sailing. I was a total anomaly being a young, non-married passenger. I don't think they really had any idea what to make of me. My dining partners were couples from Canada, New Zealand and Dallas, TX. You guess as to which set contained the least urbane member.

The cruise used to be all about the scenery of the gorges. However, since the mid-1990's, when the Chinese government elected to build the Sandouping Dam, the dam itself, as well as it's effects, is a major component of the trip. The positive aspects that are touted are the 26 generators that will supply China with a large proportion of it's electricity, flood control and improved navigation for those upstream.

The 1.4 mile long Sandouping/Three Gorges Dam. It is 18 meters wide at the top and 130 meters wide at its base.

On the other side, the locks, which have a set for upstream and downstream travel. The Panama Canal only has one set of locks.

There are a series of 5 consecutive steps in the locks. At the moment, only 4 are in use as the reservoir behind the dam is being filled to its capacity.

Entering lock 1. Eventually four ships would traverse the locks with our ship.

One of the doors of the lock from my cabin window as we moved from one lock to the next.

So I've discussed the benefits of the dam. However, what have been the tradeoffs? We have all heard about the thousands of cultural and historical artifacts that have been submerged. The environmental impact is yet unknown, however it is a certainty that the river morphing into a reservoir will have some impact. However, it is the 1.3 million or so residents of the flooded areas of the 400-mile reservoir created by the damming of the river that seems to me to be the biggest story.

Cities flooded were usually rebuilt above 175 meters above sea level, which will be the reservoir's height upon completion of the dam. Former city dwellers were given subsidized prices to purchase new apartments. Residents who were farmers in the flooded region were also given the subsidized price to purchase places to live in a newly built city adjacent to their land. In speaking with a couple of the guides we had, the consistent story I got was that the younger people who were displaced were certainly affected, but they were quickly adaptable (and perhaps more amenable to) urban life. However, it was the older subsistence farmers who were uprooted from their homes and land who suddenly found themselves in cities with no skills or economic opportunities. These are truly displaced people.

A new city built above 175 meters

A common site along the Yangtze. These structures are built for landslide and erosion control

The Yangtze is the artery for coal mining and transportation

I want to end with the beauty of the Three Gorges. It's impossible to show you the immensity and grandeur of the place. To be on a boat with the walls of the gorge all around you is something one must experience. Pictures don't do it justice. However, I'll post some of the best shots.

Sailing upstream along the "mini three gorges"

As a Geology major, here is a requisite shot of an exposed cross-section seen in the Wu Gorge.

The new city of Fengdu (The city of ghosts) on the far side. The former city, in the foreground, has already reverted to grassland and will soon be flooded.

Paying homage to Buddha

The Qiling Gorge at sunset

Hong Kong and Macau

My two week trip was bookended by a day in Hong Kong at the beginning and then a day each in Hong Kong and Macau at the end. I cannot emphasize enough how much I love Hong Kong. I love how everything works so efficiently and how it truly is the international crossroads of Asia. It's this amazing fusion of British properness and Chinese fortitude. You have Gloucester Road in the Wan Chai District. You have MTR stops of Sheung Wan, then followed by Central, Admiralty, Tsim Sha Tsui, Jordan and Mong Kok. It's schizophrenic, but it works.

I also love the juxtaposition of these urban high-rise buildings climbing up the side of a mountain, which form the apex of Hong Kong Island. But where the buildings end, the forest and nature begin. The boundaries of urban and nature are stark, there is none of this suburban sprawl we have in the United States.

If I were a shopper, I would love Hong Kong even more. However, as most of you know, shopping isn't my thing. However, I did pick up a pair of Banana Republic cargo shorts for $9 at Stanley Market. I took the bus to Stanley at the end of my trip. As a youngster, I remember the Stanley Market as this amazing place where my parents bought me many things inexpensively. The trip as an adult wasn't nearly as wonderous, but this time I appreciated the cool sea breezes and scenery of the southern part of Hong Kong Island.

I also loved the food vendors on the street. During my trip, I sampled gyoza (pot stickers) at every chance I could. The best I had were from this sidewalk stand in Kowloon. In Hong Kong, I also had gyros and French pastries. I could totally live in Hong Kong.

The only drawback to Hong Kong was that my Mandarin wasn't understandable to the Cantonese speaking majority of residents. Therefore, I had to be an English speaker in Hong Kong. So on to the pictures.

During that first day in Hong Kong, I just started walking from my hotel, in Wan Chai by the convention center, up to the Victoria Peak tram. I walked through the Pacific Center mall, mostly to suck up the air-conditioning.

From the top of Victoria Peak, Hong Kong in the foreground with Victoria Harbor separating Hong Kong Island from Kowloon. The clouds overhead were the precursor to a major afternoon storm.

Looking east along the Northern coast of Hong Kong Island.

Lugard Road which rings the top of Victoria Peak. Residents are only allowed to drive in a counter clockwise direction.

From the top of Victoria Peak, I walked down to Mid-Levels district, which is located on the slopes adjacent to the central district. The really neat thing (in my nerdy mind) was the fact that a string of 17 (of course I counted) covered escalators link Central to the top of the urban area. Going by the unoriginal name of the "Central Escalator". The escalator runs downhill from 6-10AM and uphill from 1030AM-Midnight. Of course I had to walk to the bottom to ride the escalators up and then walk to the bottom again.

The Central Escalator

The Central Escalator Again

A typical street as seen from the escalator.

A mosque tucked into the crowded city streets.

The never ending dredging of Victoria Harbor

Hong Kong at sunset.

The day before I left Asia, I took an hour long hydrofoil ride to the former Portugese colony of Macau. Hong Kong and Macau are situated on the Eastern and Western sides of the Pearl River delta. I did not find Macau to be all that exciting. I was hoping to see more of an impressive collection of European architecture but I found a more run down version of Hong Kong. Perhaps I missed something.

New casinos next to faux/restored European architecture on the waterfront.

Macau is the Las Vegas of Asia

The Macau Tower and Entertainment Center

The Macau Tower looking down from the observation deck.

Greetings from Hong Kong

So, many of you might be surpised to see this post since I proclaimed I wouldn't be posting during my trip. However, I sit here at the top of Victoria Peak in Hong Kong in the midst of a massive rainstorm and am waiting it out before I venture outside again to walk down the mountain.

So for many of you who don't know, I am on this trip due to a chance encounter with a colleagues brother who was on the HRS campus back in January. This guy was recruiting students for a program called Rustic Pathways which takes kids all around the world for summer programs. I jokingly asked the guy whether or not there were employment opportunities. His response was "Yes, we always need flight escorts." So, I applied and was hired to meet a group of 17 students at SFO, make sure they got through security and then onto the plane bound for Hong Kong. On the Hong Kong side, I simply had to get them through immigration, customs, the SARS body temperature check (!) and then pass them off to the program officer here in Hong Kong. That being done, I meet the students in two weeks and fly them home. For my efforts, I got a round trip ticket for one-third of the price.

I'll leave the details of my wanderings here in Hong Kong for an official posting with pictures. However, to give you all a tease of whats to come. Tomorrow, I fly up to Yichang to take a three day four night cruise on the Yangtze River. After than, I'll be joining a six-day biking tour through the beautiful countryside of Guangxi Province. I will then return to Hong Kong for a couple days (and plan to take a side trip to Macau) before flying back to San Francisco.

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July! The day didn't exist for me as I boarded the plane at 1AM July 4th and arrived in Hong Kong at 630AM July 5th. No promises on me posting again before my return to the US on the 19th of July.

Notes from Seattle

Quotes that took me for loop when I heard them!

"I need to charge my cell phone" -- Mom, as she came home after picking me up from the airport

"I bought it on eBay" -- Dad, after I asked him where he got the putter I'm borrowing for golf tomorrow

I also have to comment on the significant proportion of fans at the Mariners/Red Sox game I attended last night. Can there be such a large number of expat New Englanders in the Puget Sound region? I couldn't believe the sheer number of Red Sox paraphenalia being worn throughout Safeco Field. I must also mention that I found Red Sox fans to be particularly obnoxious, even moreso than Yankee Fans. Something must have changed upon winning the 2004 World Series that has given members of the Red Sox Nation them this sense that they can be more "in your face" than before their big victory. It seemed as if every time the Red Sox team did something positive, they all started pointing at us Mariners fans. Could it have been as childish as them feeling better at the expense of our unhappiness? It sure felt that way. In the end, the Red Sox fans had to be bummed by the fact that the Mariners swept the series 3-0.

The Senator's Wedding

There are people in your life that somehow you pick up along the way, just by random chance and they stick. My friend Kathryn K. (her last name is the same as an influential US Senator in the 1950's) introduced me to her friends as someone that she inherited from a previous relationship (I was a friend of her ex). My friend Carlos came down from Seattle to attend the wedding as well, which was held at the Brazilian Room in Tilden Park located high in the Berkeley Hills.

The ceremony was a combination of a traditional Jewish ceremony (chupa and broken wine glass) and a Laoatian ceremony, since "the senator" had spent a couple years living in Laos. One thing struck me as wise and it was said by Rabbi Jane. She said that many people think the longest journey is the search for the right partner. But, she in fact dismissed that claim. Instead, the longest journey is the one in which each person makes themselves whole and ready to accept another person fully into their lives. That hit home because I am well into this long journey and doing the hard work that is needed to be a person that can contribute and not be a detriment to a partnership.

Weddings are moments of reunion, celebration and acquisition of wisdom. "The senator's" wedding certainly fit that bill.