Tianjin weekend

Last weekend my roommate Craig and I decided to take an excursion to Tianjin, China's fifth largest city. I was not really sure what to expect out of this weekend trip as I really did not know much about Tianjin and I left all the trip planning up to my buddy Craig.

Unlike our trip to Beijing, Craig and I had no trouble getting a proper train to Tianjin. Upon leaving the train station, we were greeted with a spectacular city skyline from the Hai River. Tianjin has a long history of foreign influence and you can see from the buildings. Tianjin looks like a mixture of China and Western Europe. 

We arrived at our economy hotel called the IBIS. The hotel was actually very clean and comfortable, I preferred it to the hostel we had booked in Beijing that reminded me of a college dorm. The IBIS actually felt like a hotel. It also had a separated shower in the bathroom, which I had not experienced since I left for China. Although our window view was a depressing abandoned warehouse, which a family was using as a home... After taking pictures of the Tianjin skyline, Craig and I decided to stay in for the first night. We enjoyed a hilarious dubbed version of "Bad Girls Club" on Chinese TV, complete with a bitchy remake of their attitudes.

Unfortunately, I see contrasts in China like this everyday. Fancy, modern areas next to incredibly impoverished 

As we awoke the next morning, we decided to do some exploring of the city. Our first stop was to see the Tianjin eye. It is a Ferris wheel  replica of the famous London Eye that overlooks the Hai River. It was a very smoggy day in Tianjin so we decided to save the riding of the eye for another time where we could get some good pictures.

Tianjin Eye

Tianjin Fishing

Our second stop brought us to a basic Chinese market, complete with street food, vendors, and fake name brand items (I bought a fake Gucci belt. Holla!). We decided to be a little adventurous and ate at a whole in the wall restaurant with no pictures on the menu. We said the Mandarin words for beef and beer and hoped for the best. Luckily, we were pleasantly surprised when we received a hearty bowl of beef soup with potatoes! 

Lunch Roulette 

Our tasty meal had us energized and ready to do some more sight seeing. We wandered over to The Ancient Culture street market in Tianjin. The Ancient Culture Street is in fact a collection of streets offering traditional Qing-style architecture and décor of a typically Tianjin style. Shops on the streets feature delicately carved bricks and watercolor paintings. We tried some handcrafted lollipops designed after Chinese zodiac animals. They were unique and tasty, but the candy got stuck in my teeth!!

Ancient Culture Street Market

The Candy man making a rabbit

After a an hour or so of exploring the culture market and playing Chinese hacky sack with some locals, Craig's female friend and Tianjin resident "Ace" picked us up to show us some of the local flare of the city.

We first stopped at the 5 avenues of Tianjin. The “Five-Avenue Area”, which has become one of the most attractive tourist destinations in Tianjin, is a section of the city that had been once been dedicated to European style homes. An important reason for the reputation of the western buildings in Tianjin is that the people who once lived in the buildings were unusual. Two presidents of the Republic of China and seven Premiers or acting Prime Ministers once resided here in the 1920s and 1930s. In addition, a large number of celebrities of different fields left their historical mark in the “Five-Avenue Area” of Tianjin,

Chinese grandmas playing Chinese games by 5 avenues

Chinese wedding crashing

A few subway cars, quick stops, and a picture taking stroll down the Hai River, we went on our way to see Italian Style Town. This is a small area of Tianjin that contains several western restaurants and shops. Being here, I felt I was not in China, but in Europe. This is because all the buildings in this place were built based on Italian architecture. Italian Style Town was built in the early 1900s during foreign occupation of the city. There is a good selection of bars, restaurants, and picture worthy buildings .

Our night would conclude with a little pizza, drinking, and dancing at Helen's bar across town. Ace explained this was a popular place for expats because of its great pizza and beer. We devoured our pizza, guzzled our beer, puffed hookah, and sang Justin Bieber at the top of our lungs until the sun came up.

As you see I'm not a smoker.

Filling our bellies with donkey soup and sandwiches the next morning for breakfast, it was time to depart the hotel. I left Craig and Ace to "pack", while I did a little bit of sight seeing. My hour of time to kill led me to the Dabei Buddhist Temple.  It is a famous ancient Buddhist monastery which once held the holy ashes of Xuanzang, a monk of the Tang Dynasty. It was a busy Sunday morning at the temple, with plenty of people practicing ancient Buddhist customs. I was not sure if I was allowed to take pictures here, but I decided to anyway until someone told me to stop. The statues of Buddha gods here were colorful, large, and beautiful. This was a eye opening and unforgettable experience for me because it was the first time I had ever stepped foot in a religious building that was not a Christian church. I was really fascinated by it all and was so excited when I saw real life monks walking about!

The final stop in our Tianjin weekend tour led us to the Beining Park. The park was originally built in 1906 as a botanical garden and revamped a couple years ago. The coolest thing about the park was the huge pagoda tower in the middle of the park. Beining park also had a nice small lake and antique style Chinese buildings. One thing I have noticed about parks in China is that most are built to be impressive. I feel like the parks I been to have unique look and style to them that makes you want to go there. 

Our trip concluded with a rainy train ride back to Tangshan. As I tried to sleep and be in my own thoughts, our curious train passengers woke me up to talk. They were so curious about Craig and I. We chatted the rest of the ride and ended up having some interesting stories to laugh about later, but this was actually one of the few times I did not want my "celebrity" status drawing attention to me. I just wanted to sleep!! 

Until next time friends!! 

Ever Heard of Popeye's?!?!

Since being in China, everyone frequently asks me how the food is. So today's blog is all about food, mainly about the "Friendship Market" just outside my residence.

When I first arrived to my new apartment in China, was a little nervous about the market, unregulated, cheap food that comes from who knows what out of who knows where. However, after a few gambles on meal choices, the market has to be one of my favorite aspects about my life China.

Wearing PJs out in public. No big deal. 

The Friendship Market consists of an inexpensive eclectic array of meat, fruit, and vegetables. There are also vendors who sell clothes, alcohol, and various household goods. The best part about the market is that the food for the most part is ridiculously cheap. As stated in a previous blog entry, an average lunch for me costs about 5-15 RMB ($1-3 US). 

unrefrigerated slabs of meat just laying out in the open....

Chinese 'pizza' bread

Lately, my favorite lunch has been donkey. For about a week I had been eating these tasting sandwiches and dumplings, having no idea what I was eating until one day my roommate and I noticed the big donkey picture above the vendor stand! I was totally freaked out at first, but shortly I got over it and indulged myself in a couple donkey sandwiches! I guess am a fan of ass when it comes to women and food!!

Eating 'ass'

The other night, my roommate and I decided to try or first Chinese duck. We were able to get a whole duck with sauce, pancakes, veggies for 40 RMB ($6 US).

Not everything at the market is cheap however. Fruit at the market can range from a reasonable price to more than I would ever pay back home. For example, I can get plenty of random Chinese fruits for cheap, but try and buy 4 red apples, it will cost me 90 RMB ($14 US!). Also, 1 lemon at the market is 30 RMB ($5 US). Pineapples and watermelons are also on the expensive side.

Everyone is very friendly at the market. Every day I get the curiosity stares and "hello!" from vendors and patrons alike. After a few weeks, I have made relationships with some of the vendors I frequent.  However, our conversations are very minimal since my Chinese is still very limited.

Like Chris Tucker from Rush Hour 2, this is my daily experience at the market...

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Since returning from Beijing, my roommate Craig and I have had a string of good luck when it has come to restaurants around town.

One day we attempted to have a nice fancy fish at a restaurant that Craig had tried when he first arrived, but we arrived too late at to eat at the restaurant. Hungry and on a quest for something different, we stumbled into an interesting looking place called "Kabob Cafe". The restaurant was closed, and not officially opened for business yet, but the owner of the restaurant recognized me from around town and asked if we would like to join their taste test. We were hesitant at first, but it was one of the best decisions we have made since being in China. The group that invited us to sit told us the restaurant was going to be opening up in a week and would have an upscale western cuisine that would be unmatched in Tangshan. I was skeptical at first since the 'western' style food I had tried in China before that night was a mediocre attempt on the real thing, complete with an expensive bill. However, they quickly brought out a FREE complete meal for us to taste, fish, steak, pumpkin soup, appetizers, desserts, imported wine, and beer. The food was so good; if not better than 'western' dishes I have tasted back home. I was completely blown away. They showed us around the restaurant and made us feel really welcome. I cannot wait to go back!!

Pumpkin soup!

Tasty spinach and fish!

New friends sharing steak

While going to Wanda Plaza (blog entry about Wanda Plaza to come in the future) to see Looper, we investigated the 3rd floor restaurant portion of the mall. Now in the US, the food court is made up of cheap, fast, and chain restaurants for the shopper on the go. However, in China, the restaurants at the mall are a complete dining experience. We were able to finally find some sushi in China! The special rolls were similar, but not quite the same as back in the US. However, they were still quite tasty.

Can't go too long without sushi in your life!

There is also a Starbucks at Wanda, but their selection is completely limited! There are a few items you would get from a normal Starbucks coffee, mocha, cappuccinos, etc., but there are few specialty drinks. Also, most importantly, NO HOLIDAY DRINKS AKA NO PUMPKIN SPICE.

No pumpkin.....FAIL

Next weekend I am off to a large city in the Hebei province called Tianjin. I will blog about my adventures there. Until next time!! 

How Chinese fish for dinner at Wal-Mart

Beijing Pt. 4: Midnight Train from Hell

Waking up from our final night in Beijing, we were all very tired and worn out from the last two days of big tourist traveling. On our last day we decided to take it easy, get brunch, and find a nice little flea market to haggle for interesting items.

After finishing lunch we took a subway and a bus to a nearby flea market that was a popular site for tourists and locals. They were selling everything there from jewelry to random knick knacks. Everything can be haggled down to a reasonable price, and is expected. I am a terrible haggler, so I needed my roommate Craig’s assistance on buying the commie memorabilia I thought was interesting. Hopefully, I will get better as the year progresses.

Market Vendors

Market Entrance

Market Flags

Weird Lennon like glasses

More Market

I swear I am still a capitalist, but sometimes I like to buy communist things. 

After a few hours of haggling and dinner, we decided it was time to leave the vibrant city of Beijing, and go back to our sleepy town of 2 million people. Of course, not learning from our train ticket mistakes of getting to Beijing, we show up to the train station expecting to buy a reasonable ticket at a reasonable time. WRONG. The soonest train to Tangshan was another 2.5hr long "standing" train at 11pm. Not wanting to take another expensive cab ride back to Tangshan, we decided to weigh all our options. We booked a ticket for a sitting train at midnight that would get us to Tangshan within the hour. Perfect! We thought, nothing can go wrong now.... Little did we know, we wouldn't be resting in our beds that night until the sun came up 12 hours later.

Midnight finally arrived and we were ready to board the train. The queue for the train was crowded, but for the most part people were civilized once the gates opened. We boarded the train, which to my surprise was very nice. All the stories I heard from Craig was that Chinese trains were grungy, dirty, and old. This train had anything you would expect a train in the states would have. Somehow the comforts of the train let our guard down when the stop came. The train announced we were arriving at Tangshan.

The western way of thinking: Train stops, collect your bags, and get off the train.

Chinese way of thinking: Announcing train is stopping, get to the door now, and train stops for 1min and leaves.

Long story short, we missed our stop. Frustration and fatigue begin to show themselves in all of us as the train attendant explains to us in broken English that we must wait until the next stop (A hour and a half later) to get off, buy another train ticket and back track all the way to Tangshan. 

We finally arrive at the next train station, which is actually quite nice. The next train available to Tangshan was a "standing" train at 3:30am and arriving in Tangshan at 5:30am. After a 15 minute arrival delay, the "lovely" train arrives to take us to Tangshan. As soon as I step on the train, I feel like I am in an already never ending nightmare that I will never wake up from. Besides the entire train car of Chinese eyes staring at us, the train looked like it has hadn’t been used since the Cold War. The furnishings were old, ragged seats, but this didn't matter because everyone was sprawled out sleeping in all the rows. I finally arrived at my "assigned seat". Across from me was a haggard looking Chinese man and his wife. Next to me was a crouched up old woman. Luckily, she was nice enough to let me sit down. The table in the middle had old, smelly bits of dinner they had eaten from earlier before, and all I could do was lay my head in my lap hoping I would wake up in my bed. Finally, what seemed like the never ending train ride came to an end. We made sure this time to get off the train in a timely manner. We hopped in the first taxi we saw and headed back to our lovely apartment. Waiting for us was our lovely Chinese pancake lady and her husband with a big smile on her face ready to make us breakfast. We devoured our meals and crashed in our beds just as the sun came up.

Our forced 3:30am smiles just before getting on the last train to Tangshan

Waking up later that afternoon, I laughed and looked back at the entire experience I had in Beijing. From the fun to the frustrating, I was so happy to experience everything that had happened and the people that I shared it with. I look forward to my next adventure here in China and letting everyone be a part of that journey through my blog. 

Beijing pt. 3: The Wall & Ming Dynasty Tombs

After staying up until 2:30am to watch my beloved 49ers stomp the Jets, I had to be up quite early to start our Great Wall day tour. At 6:30a our bus picked up Craig and myself and we were off to the wall. I was very excited to see the wall,  but I was quite anxious because we did not get a chance to have coffee or breakfast before leaving the hostel. I already am not the best of hikers (As my friends can tell you from our Julian hike!), so climbing the great wall without breakfast and about 4hrs of sleep had me a little nervous

One piece of history about the Great Wall of China that I didn't know that kind of about is that the touristy parts of the wall near Beijing have been reconstructed previously in the 1980s. Meaning most of the wall people see and walk on is not as old as you might think. However, the structure itself is amazing and well worth the trip. As they say in China, "You haven't seen China until you visit the wall."

After about an hour and a half ride, we arrived at the wall. We rode a rickety Chinese chair lift to the top, which had a great view of the mountains in the surrounding area. Once you reach the top, you can go to either the right or the left just about as long as you would like to walk it. We decided to go to the right for our journey. It was not the easiest climb to make on an empty stomach, but we had a great time taking pictures and taking in all the scenery. As we reached the limits of the tourist side of the wall, there was a sign that said "No tourists past this point." Naturally, my adventurous roommate took that as an opportunity to explore further. I cautiously followed my friend and the singing Chinese voice we could hear in the distance. This part of the wall was overgrown and definitely not part of the most recent reconstruction  After almost getting killed by a spider that looked like must have had a role in the newest Spider Man film, we finally made it to the decaying watch tower where we met singing Chinese stranger and his family. The family surprisingly spoke very good English and proceeded to tell us about their lives and offered me a wild flower bouquet his wife had just picked. In the end, was happy Craig dragged me past the tourist limit because we were able to see some cool views of the wall and meet some great people. We also found some original parts of the wall that we were able to take home.

Starting to remember my Julian hike here

Trying to give my cool Castro pose

Thanks flower lady!!

Beers for breakfast!!

The best part about the wall would have to be the way down. You have 2 choices. Either the boring, slow, old people chair lift OR the too fast, too furious, toboggan sled ride!! It is like a mini roller coaster/ go cart device on a track that you get to control the speed making for a great adrenaline rush down. I would by another ticket up just to go back down on it.

MaoBama. Hilarious ironic t-shirt at the wall I had to buy. "Says service to the people"

After a tasty Chinese lunch and a jade museum stop, our second half of the bus tour took us to the Ming Dynasty Tombs. Being the closed off American that I am, before coming here I had no idea this burial site even existed in China. The Ming Dynasty Tombs are 13 tombs spread with the principles of Feng Shui throughout the southern slope of Tianshou Mountain. There is only one available to go inside and see. For the most part, the inside of this tomb was kind of boring. There is nothing grand about it except that the marble is over 500 years old, but the inside is very plain. Also there were a few artifacts to see with money thrown at them (for good luck), but most of the burial pieces were destroyed or poorly maintained during the "cultural revolution" in the 1960s and 1970s under Moa Tse Tung. The outside was pretty cool, with some old marble staircases and monuments. You could also see some of the other tombs on higher points of the mountain off in the distance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ming_Dynasty_Tombs

Treasure Boxes/ All the treasures are gone due to poor maintenance and excavation back in the day.

Burial Throne with money on it. Chinese throw money on for good luck

500 year old marble pillar.

Our long day of climbing mountains and walking down into tombs, the tour finished with a free foot massage! Somehow I ended up with some dude masseuse while Craig lucked out with the cute Chinese girl, but either way my feet felt like I was walking on clouds by the end of it. Definitely a nice treat to end the tour!

We finished the day with another adventurous evening in Sanlitun!