Sunday, August 17, 2008
Guilin Vacation: Day 2
On the second day of our Guilin trip, we first headed out for a motorized raft ride on the Li (pronounced Lee) River. After the 45-minute bus ride to the destination, we found that the scenery before us is featured on the back of the 20RMB bill. The raft ride was advertised as being a bamboo raft, but the Li River has a stronger current than the Yulong, so for sturdiness sake (and probably ease of construction) they use PVC for the raft and furnish it with bamboo chairs.
Lawnmower engines that were converted into boat engines powered the boats; the drivers would steer by placing the engine left or right in the water. This ride was not as peaceful as the ride when we had a gondola-like driver. The scenery was awesome, we saw: magnificent landscapes, people on the shores washing clothes, ducks on the water and banks, and water buffaloes swimming to name a few.
At the southern most point on our raft ride, there was a small market place set up on the shore. The neatest thing here was the fishermen who had cormorant birds on bamboo poles. The men (we saw only fishermen, no fisherwomen) tie the birds to bamboo poles and let the birds do the fishing. Jim was upset because after we took pictures, the man started asking for money. I told Jim we should just pay the 4RMB ($0.58) and be done with it, which we did.
We ate a late breakfast back in the town and then headed back to Yangshuo to go on a cave tour. The cave we toured, features two paths a dry cave and wet cave. The cave is called the Buddha Cave and it gets its namesake from one of the first formations you see, a large Buddha. When we entered the cave we were told to put hard hats on (understandable) and take our hiking shoes off and put house slippers on (what?!?!). So we did as the Chinese do and put on our vinyl slippers. A French couple was also on the tour with us, and they were as stunned about our required cave apparel as we were. After about 5 minutes in the cave, we realized this was a very Chinese experience, as this type of tour would never be approved for tourists in the states. OSHA, the ADA, or some other governmental agency, would have major objections to tourists crawling through tunnels 2.5 feet in diameter, scaling down formations 5 feet tall with only a rope.
While conquering these feats, the tour had a photographer who would snap photographs. So for instance while trying to navigate down a stair-like rock formation, the flash would go off and blind us at the most inopportune time. When we reached the end of the dry cave, we found out that the tour was not circular in nature, but an out-and-back course. Thus, we now had the opportunity to do the opposite of every action we just did.
Eventually the slippers made sense, when we started the path into the wet cave and we were walking through waters anywhere from ankle-deep to upper calf-level. The water was clear and cold. Not sure if we would drink it though.
Jim slipped at one point, while telling Rachel to be careful of her footing. He scraped his elbow and knee, but the camera was OK!! At the end of the wet cave, there is a mud pit; the locals call it a mud bath and claim it’s good for your skin. They jump in with their bathing suits; we decided not to.
Of coarse at the end of the cave tour they tried to sell us pictures. Jim did a little bargaining and was able to buy the whole set for 30RMB ($4.36). Instead of burning a CD though, they put it on one of our memory cards. Click on the pictures to see the whole set. Enjoy!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Guilin Vacation: Day 1
The aforementioned mistery vacation was to Guilin, China. We left Thursday evening and returned Monday afternoon, which left us three days for intense Jim & Rachel play time.
Guilin is in the province of Guangxi, and the area where we stayed is called Yangshuo. Our hotel was the Li River Retreat, and was about 2km out of the town of Yangshuo.
So the first day after breakfast, we met up with our tour guide, YuLing, and headed out. We rented bikes, rode through Yangshou and made our way to the Yulong River. The bike ride was nice, even though the sun was already scorching. We stopped along the ride for photo oppurtunities.
At the Yulong shore, we took a bamboo raft ride downstream. The raft driver (who navigates the raft like a gondola driver does a gondola) put our bikes on the back of the raft, and we sat in rinky-dink bamboo lawn chairs in the middle of the raft. There were some small 'waterfalls,' and on two of these the embankments we were passing over was too long for our driver to just push us over. So Jim & I had to step off the raft and help edge the raft over the edge and hop back on before it went over. The guide would hop on at the last minute. Anyways, on our first hop off the raft, I almost had a nice swim in the Yulong because I started to slip on the algae present.
At the end of the raft ride we met back with YuLing and rode our bikes to Moon Hill, a scenic outlook spot. You can see Moon Hill from various parts of Yangshuo, but we heard it was great to see from the top. So we walked up the 800 steps to see it. The funny thing about this is when you pay to go to the top of Moon Hill, you get a 'dedicated' tour guide to go with you. From our observations, the prerequisites for becoming one of these tour guides listed below:
1) female.
2) at least 65 years old.
3) able to scale 800 steps faster than most Westerners/toursists.
4) able to carry a 1 cubic foot styrofoam cooler full of assorted beverages while completing #3.
5) constantly fan your tourist while completing #3.
6) some conversational English (desired in order to sell goods from #4 and offer rest brakes to the whimpy tourists).
The guides were very polite and helpful, teaching us various Chinese words for things we didn't know: bird, butterfly, tree, etc. An interesting note about the beverages they carried: the price varied with where you wanted to buy it. Two bottles of water at the top of Moon Hill was 20RMB, whereas two bottles back at the bottom at the end of our trip was only 10RMB. I guess that's a pretty basic lesson in the Law of Supply and Demand.
After Moon Hill, YuLing took us to a local restaurant where we sampled the local fare: beer fish. We enjoyed the meal, especially after the busy activities of the day. After our late lunch, we headed back to the hotel to get some R&R before our plans that evening.
In the evening we headed to the Liu Sanjie lightshow, which is performed at least once every night, employs 500+ people and showcases how the local minorities live off the land. The entire show takes place on bamboo rafts or floating docks. The man who choreographed/directed this show was also responsible for the opening ceremony at the Olympics. Needless to say the show was fascinating; we tried to take pictures to capture the moments but this is one of those experiences that photos cannot fully encapsulate. That said, if anyone wants to go see it, I think we would both be game on going back.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Coast Bike Ride & Craving Comfort Food
The last weekend in July we headed off on a bike ride for the coast. The roundtrip was about 52 km, or 32 miles. The ride took longer than we expected, but we didn't really have a clear path laid out. Rather we just found our way around different neighborhoods as we went. The Shanghai summer heat may have slowed us down too, but we took plenty of water breaks to stay hydrated.We have more pictures from the trip, click the picture to the right to see more.
After the bike ride, we were both pretty famished and craving a good 'ol home cooked meal. But I was not about to lift so much as a finger in the kitchen. So that evening, we hopped on the metro and headed to the far west-side of Shanghai, HongCiao. We had set our eyes on a restaurant called Bubba's Bar-B-Q. We reasoned that even though the restaurant caters Texas-style BBQ, it would be hard for it to measure up to our standards, but still worth a shot.
The food was good - Jim had brisket and I devoured a half-rack of pork ribs. ... The real reason we made the journey: we heard rumors that Bubba's served bottles of Shiner Bock Beer. Jim said if we could find Shiner, he would even drink one. Those who know how little alcohol my husband consumes, know how much of a statement that is. :)
Alas, the Shiner beer at Bubba's was fictional. Later while surfing some expat websites, Jim thinks he may have found a venue that serves the dark brew, so we plan to investigate this claim as well. If we are unsuccessful, it will be one of my first indulgences when we return for 2 weeks in late August. Heck, I'll probably indulge even if I do find it over here.
This is a photo of a little boy who was riding the metro on our way home from Bubba's. He was a cute youngster, even with his mini-emperor haircut. He would stare at us, but look away whenever we looked at him. Eventually, we were able to start a game of peek-a-boo with him. Obviously, I am wanting to show of my ever-increasing Photoshop skills with this photo too.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Lost in Translation
Last week I followed up with our Chinese teacher, Flora, about the death threat I received when I was shopping at the market with my friend Suzanne. At first Flora was a bit confused by why the sales girl would have told me that, then she realized what the salesperson meant to convey.
Apparently it has to do with a Chinese phrase that doesn’t translate too well to English, as the direct translation is very close to “I kill you.” What it is supposed to communicate is:
Apparently it has to do with a Chinese phrase that doesn’t translate too well to English, as the direct translation is very close to “I kill you.” What it is supposed to communicate is:
“You are my friend and I am offering you such a great deal, that if you do not take me up on it I will have to kill you, because you have clearly lost your mind.”Flora reassured me that the phrase is only meant figuratively, not literally. She also commented that the sales girl must not have a very good command of the English language since she used the very direct translation. Flora is very adept at explaining the details (or what we consider idiosyncrasies) of the Chinese language and culture. Flora rocks.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Shopping, negotiating… and having your life threatened
Negotiating a good deal when shopping in China is always culturally acceptable. The only places you really can't negotiate are stores like supermarkets, book stores, department stores, etc. But even then, the worst that can happen is that they tell you “No,” and you are forced to decide if you want to pay the price on the sticker or not.
To me negotiating feels totally unnatural, and it has taken awhile for me to feel comfortable at the markets. The only things we heavily negotiate on in America are vehicles. And here, securing a purchase price for an everyday item can turn into that sort of fiasco. It feels wrong to ask for a lower price, even if I know they are marking up the price 300-600% if for no other reason than that I’m a lăowài (foreigner).
Negotiations last for several rounds and, the general rule of thumb I’ve heard is to start at 10-15% of their asking price (or of the price that you think is reasonable). From there you work your way up to a price you’re comfortable with paying. It’s typical for negotiations to get heated, which does not put a ceiling on my already environment-induced elevated blood pressure.
Last Wednesday, my friend Suzanne and I were out and about Shanghai, and we had some extra time on our hands so we decided to hit one of the markets. Suzanne has been here since February, knows where various markets are and is excellent at negotiating.
We went around looking for deals and heard “Lady, you want purse, bag, watch…” to no end. Towards the end of our trip Suzanne spotted a boutique-like shop and saw a dress in the window she liked. While she tried the dress on I perused the racks. And then the sales girls speaking very good English swept in on us: Suzanne’s dress turned into four more, and I went from looking to trying on 3 shirts, and a pair of trousers.
We decided on the items we liked and negotiations began. The main sales girl, we’ll call her Mei, was upset because we didn’t want to buy everything we tried on. Suzanne’s negotiations weren’t going as well as she would have liked, so she dropped out of the game. This is a common tactic; if they really want the sell they will drop the price to get you back in negotiations.
But Mei turned her attention to me and my simple tunic. She started trying to sell me the top for 710 RMB, or just over $100. I laughed at her offer and told her that it was not that nice of a shirt and offered about 30 RMB ($4). Her rebuttal was that it was real silk and her priced dropped not more than 20 RMB. I told her it was not real silk, but more like a gossamer. Then she told me that I didn’t know what real silk was. Insults are common in the process, and you just have to know how to play them.
I told her I did not want the top and started to leave. Mei then blocked my exit to the store, but she started to negotiate with me more, dropping her price now in increments of 80-100 RMB. She kept asking what my ‘final price’ was, I was inching my price upwards in intervals of 5-10. When I reached 65 RMB ($9.52), I decided I had enough arguing and enough insults and that it was time to leave. But she blocked me again! So there I was, being blocked in a store by a Chinese woman who weighed no more than 105 pounds. I really would have had to knock her down to get by her. Suzanne is watching all of this from her post outside the store.
I told Mei I needed to go, as I had somewhere else to be. Mei told me that, “If you don’t buy this top, I kill you.” Wow a death threat, I was in total shock. A split second later I see Suzanne who is now in stitches, and then I realize that this too is part of the game too. So I told Mei, “No, I’m bigger, I kill you if you don’t let me out of the store.” Mei was irked off and was still asking me for my ‘best price’, hers was around 200 RMB.
At this point another sales person (she said she was the store owner) stepped in and started to appeal to me that the price I was offering would not cover their cost of purchasing the shirt. I told her fine, that they could sell the shirt to someone else, but I was not going to pay more. Negotiations went on a little more with this woman, but guess what … I got the top for 65 RMB!
Below is a picture of my newest purchase. The picutre doesn't do it justice, so I'll try to get a picture of me in the top sometime.
To me negotiating feels totally unnatural, and it has taken awhile for me to feel comfortable at the markets. The only things we heavily negotiate on in America are vehicles. And here, securing a purchase price for an everyday item can turn into that sort of fiasco. It feels wrong to ask for a lower price, even if I know they are marking up the price 300-600% if for no other reason than that I’m a lăowài (foreigner).
Negotiations last for several rounds and, the general rule of thumb I’ve heard is to start at 10-15% of their asking price (or of the price that you think is reasonable). From there you work your way up to a price you’re comfortable with paying. It’s typical for negotiations to get heated, which does not put a ceiling on my already environment-induced elevated blood pressure.
Last Wednesday, my friend Suzanne and I were out and about Shanghai, and we had some extra time on our hands so we decided to hit one of the markets. Suzanne has been here since February, knows where various markets are and is excellent at negotiating.
We went around looking for deals and heard “Lady, you want purse, bag, watch…” to no end. Towards the end of our trip Suzanne spotted a boutique-like shop and saw a dress in the window she liked. While she tried the dress on I perused the racks. And then the sales girls speaking very good English swept in on us: Suzanne’s dress turned into four more, and I went from looking to trying on 3 shirts, and a pair of trousers.
We decided on the items we liked and negotiations began. The main sales girl, we’ll call her Mei, was upset because we didn’t want to buy everything we tried on. Suzanne’s negotiations weren’t going as well as she would have liked, so she dropped out of the game. This is a common tactic; if they really want the sell they will drop the price to get you back in negotiations.
But Mei turned her attention to me and my simple tunic. She started trying to sell me the top for 710 RMB, or just over $100. I laughed at her offer and told her that it was not that nice of a shirt and offered about 30 RMB ($4). Her rebuttal was that it was real silk and her priced dropped not more than 20 RMB. I told her it was not real silk, but more like a gossamer. Then she told me that I didn’t know what real silk was. Insults are common in the process, and you just have to know how to play them.
I told her I did not want the top and started to leave. Mei then blocked my exit to the store, but she started to negotiate with me more, dropping her price now in increments of 80-100 RMB. She kept asking what my ‘final price’ was, I was inching my price upwards in intervals of 5-10. When I reached 65 RMB ($9.52), I decided I had enough arguing and enough insults and that it was time to leave. But she blocked me again! So there I was, being blocked in a store by a Chinese woman who weighed no more than 105 pounds. I really would have had to knock her down to get by her. Suzanne is watching all of this from her post outside the store.
I told Mei I needed to go, as I had somewhere else to be. Mei told me that, “If you don’t buy this top, I kill you.” Wow a death threat, I was in total shock. A split second later I see Suzanne who is now in stitches, and then I realize that this too is part of the game too. So I told Mei, “No, I’m bigger, I kill you if you don’t let me out of the store.” Mei was irked off and was still asking me for my ‘best price’, hers was around 200 RMB.
At this point another sales person (she said she was the store owner) stepped in and started to appeal to me that the price I was offering would not cover their cost of purchasing the shirt. I told her fine, that they could sell the shirt to someone else, but I was not going to pay more. Negotiations went on a little more with this woman, but guess what … I got the top for 65 RMB!
Below is a picture of my newest purchase. The picutre doesn't do it justice, so I'll try to get a picture of me in the top sometime.
Suzanne said I drove a good deal.
The difference between 65 RMB ($9.52) and 200 RMB ($29.29) seems small, especially considering the turbulent past the Chinese have endured. At times, you have to wonder if it is worth your time, as the above adventure took at least 35 minutes. But they don’t lack business sense; they will let you walk away if your price is too low.
Part of it too, is how much are you willing to play the game too. A German mother/daughter came in the store after us, and Suzanne said she heard the mother settle on 400 RMB for a pair of sandals.
In the end I always wonder… Did I overpay? If so, how much? And, how many washings will my shirt survive? But this is an experience, which I can say I am definitely having.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Dragon Boat Race
This particular event is not held during the same time as the national Dragon Boat festival but instead is a competition between the companies in our business park. AMD had two entries in this years event but unfortunately one team had to drop out, which I was a part, because everyone couldn't agree to a practice schedule. Oh well. It was fun to witness the event and cheer on our co-workers. Click on the picture to see the others in the set.
Here is a little history about the national Dragon Boat festival held every year.
Excerpt taken from here
The festival was gradually derived from all of the suggestions and the story of Qu Yuan is certainly the driving power to make it a great festival today.
Like other Chinese festivals, there is also a legend behind the festival. Qu Yuan served in the court of Emperor Huai during the Warring States (475 - 221 BC). He was a wise and erudite man. His ability and fight against corruption antagonized other court officials. They exerted their evil influence on the Emperor, so the Emperor gradually dismissed Qu Yuan and eventually exiled him. During his exile, Qu Yuan did not give up. He traveled extensively, taught and wrote about his ideas. His works, the Lament (Li Sao), the Nine Chapters (Jiu Zhang), and Wen tian, are masterpieces and invaluable for studying ancient Chinese culture. He saw the gradual decline of his mother country, the Chu State. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was so despaired that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River.
Legend says after people heard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. Unable to find his body, people threw zongzi, eggs and other food into the river to feed fish, so hoped to salvage his body. Since then, people started to commemorate Qu Yuan through dragon boat races, eating zongzi and other activities, on the anniversary of his death, the 5th of the fifth month.
Here is a little history about the national Dragon Boat festival held every year.
Excerpt taken from here
The festival was gradually derived from all of the suggestions and the story of Qu Yuan is certainly the driving power to make it a great festival today.
Like other Chinese festivals, there is also a legend behind the festival. Qu Yuan served in the court of Emperor Huai during the Warring States (475 - 221 BC). He was a wise and erudite man. His ability and fight against corruption antagonized other court officials. They exerted their evil influence on the Emperor, so the Emperor gradually dismissed Qu Yuan and eventually exiled him. During his exile, Qu Yuan did not give up. He traveled extensively, taught and wrote about his ideas. His works, the Lament (Li Sao), the Nine Chapters (Jiu Zhang), and Wen tian, are masterpieces and invaluable for studying ancient Chinese culture. He saw the gradual decline of his mother country, the Chu State. And when he heard that the Chu State was defeated by the strong Qin State, he was so despaired that he ended his life by flinging himself into the Miluo River.
Legend says after people heard he drowned, they were greatly dismayed. Fishermen raced to the spot in their boats to search for his body. Unable to find his body, people threw zongzi, eggs and other food into the river to feed fish, so hoped to salvage his body. Since then, people started to commemorate Qu Yuan through dragon boat races, eating zongzi and other activities, on the anniversary of his death, the 5th of the fifth month.
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Zhujiajiao Bike Ride
Rachel already told you about the first part of our trip in an earlier post (pudong to puxi). Keep in mind that we had already ridden 20km by the time we reached the start of our group trip to Zhujiajiao. Zhujiajiao is a water town about 45 minutes west of Shanghai. After we arrived, the tour guides unloaded our bikes, made sure everyone had water, their lunches and we were off for another 25-30km ride. Rachel started out great but it was soon apparent that the morning ride was just a little too much for her backside to endure. She toughed it out though and in the end appreciated how much fun it was to go site seeing on bike. The beginning of the ride was really muddy so I didn't have my camera out but there was an incident where Rachel fell off the bike and almost ended up taking a swim. I think at this point Rachel was ready to quit but she knew the only way home was to get back on the bike and finish the ride.
Click on the picture to the right to see the rest of the photos.
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