Category: Asia

Ode to My Man

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There is someone very special in my life, who I’m missing a lot these days. When he first came into my life, I wasn’t sold on the idea of a relationship with him. He was a lot of work, messy and required a lot of attention. All of these things considered, we fell totally in love and have been through so much together. He was there when I moved into my house and eased my fears of a single girl living alone. He helped me train for the marathon last year giving me “that look” whenever I didn’t feel like running. Soon after, I’d find myself following him out the door and behind him for the rest of our run. Everyday, when I came home, it was like he hadn’t seen me in months. After he stopped screaming with excitement, he’d shower me with kisses. Our relationship is not perfect. Sometimes his endless energy and neurotic behavior gets on my nerves. There are days I want to just relax on the couch and he just doesn’t seem to understand. Other times I want to do things without him and it just about breaks his heart.

His name is Bear and he’s a German Shepherd who I’ve had for a little over 4 years. Let me play proud mother for a moment. There are a few words you can’t say when he is present because he will explode with excitement. Squirrel, vacation (meaning camping), mama, school, walk and the most impactful…ball. To say he loves to play ball is an understatement. If you’ve been to my house, he most definitely has tried to sucker you into a throw or two (or a thousand) by nicely placing the sometimes spit soaked tennis ball on your lap. I have never once seen him refuse a game of fetch. He also loves walks and runs. Everyday when he sees you go for the leash, he screams and jumps with excitement. Another thing he throughly enjoys is going to Doggie Daycare (aka school). Go ahead and call me pretentious, but it’s the perfect way to get his energy out, keep him socialized with other dogs and not feel guilty because he’s home all day in his crate. He even has a girlfriend, another German Shepherd, named Abbey. They play soccer together but I’m told that she’s the one who wears the pants in the relationship. I’m proud because I raised him to respect women and do what it takes to make them happy. Which leads me to the next reason that he’s so awesome. He listens to me, does what I say and knows that I’m the boss. I don’t even need to say anything, I just need to give a look and it’s understood that I’m not happy about what he’s doing. So, he usually just goes and punishes himself. If I give him the silent treatment coupled with not looking at him, he’s efforts to earn my forgiveness are relentless. I always know when he’s done something bad because I’ll come in the house and he’s nowhere to be found. Usually, he’s upstairs hiding under the bed. Yes people, my German Shepherd can be a sissy. And this was never more the case since I got roommates. With 2 other girls, came 2 additional cats (I already had one). You would’ve thought Bear would be at the top of the food chain. Nope, at the bottom. It’s not unusual to see him hauling ass down the hallway followed by a cat or two who are irritated with him because he’s woken them up, tried to eat their food or simply existed. I made him look in the mirror once and then told him “You’re a German Shepherd and you don’t have to take this.” He’s a lover, not a fighter.

Now that I’ve made all the non-animal people sick or simply stop reading, I’ll wrap it up. Since I’ve been in China, my roommates and best friends, Lara and Liz, have become his surrogate mothers. I am so incredibly grateful for them and for my mom who have been taking good care of him. I love Bear and miss him more than I could even begin to express. For the first few months in China I would find myself sad and then realize it was because I missed him. I know he’s just a dog but he has also been a strong constant in the happiest years of my life. He ALWAYS wants to be with me and there is NEVER any question about his feelings. He is the perfect example of unconditional love.

Happy 5th Birthday Beary!

Hol(l)y Crap

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I’ve been pretty fired up for one of my best friends, Holly, to come visit us in China. She was scheduled to arrive Thursday night in Hong Kong, so I had planned lunch with another friend who lives there and booked a hotel for us to stay that night before heading back to Guangzhou on Friday. Thursday morning I woke up to a voicemail from Holly saying her flight was cancelled and she didn’t know when she would arrive. I was so bummed but because I had lunch plans, decided to head to Hong Kong anyway and wait it out. To get to the city I took the train from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, then walked across the customs boarder and hopped on the Metro into the city. When I was exiting the Metro I felt my backpack move. I turned around and saw that some douchebag had my wallet in his hand. I snatched it back and he said “sorry”. Let’s side bar here….If I were a low life, thieving, dead beat like him, I wouldn’t of said ‘sorry’, I would’ve started running with the cash. So not does this guy suck at life, he also sucks at being a loser. I wasn’t going to let him get away with his shenanigans. I grabbed his shirt and decided I would make a citizens arrest. He decided he was going to resist and started running. His shirt ripped and then I had the realization that he could have a knife or turn around and punch me in the face, so I let go. This was my wake up call that I had gotten lax with my travels. No more wallet in the backpack pocket. Lesson learned.

After several irrate phone calls to Delta, I determined that Holly would arrive on Friday at 8:30 am, 11:30am or 7:35pm. I managed to keep myself busy at the airport and take full advantage of their free WI-FI and Facebook access. Fortunately, she arrived at 11:30am and we boarded the bus to Guangzhou. Normally the ride takes 3 1/2 hours, but it was Friday rush hour so it took roughly 6. Poor Holly. After 15 hours of plane I know the bus ride was not fun. The next day we tooled around the city getting pedicures, massages and measurements for a custom suit for her. It was an easy going day which was needed because we were leaving for Beijing early Sunday morning.

We awoke to terencial downpour but fortunately our flight was not delayed. I expected Beijing to be the Asian version of Manhattan. Not the case. The taxi driver had no clue what was going on and the city is laid out like Houston. Sprawling urban areas and everything far apart. Due to Holly’s extensive travel in the US, we were hooked up with a free room at the JW Marriott which included a serious breakfast spread and happy hour dinner and drinks. Big pimpin’ in Beijing. We immediately hit Tiananamen Square and the Forbidden City. They were great sights and we were instantly turned into Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. Everyone wanted our pictures which just made Holly crack up. Both sights were great and had we not been starving and exhausted, we would’ve spent more time. We decided to get a taxi and head to the hotel for a late afternoon nap. As we waked down the street trying to unsuccessfully hail cabs, we chatted about some of the funny cultural differences. I clued Holly into an ancient Chinese secret for potty training children. Just let them walk around without pants or wear the popular, Asian assless pants. I couldn’t have timed it better because no sooner did I say that and I saw a little girl taking a leak in the garden. I laughed, pointed and as soon as Holly looked she saw something horrific. The little girl was not peeing but doing a #2 and Holly just witnessed the whole thing. This would be the focus of many spontaneous outbursts of laughter over the next few days.

Tuesday was almost uneventful and we visited the Olympic Park (super cool) and then got foot massages. Holly wanted a full body massage but the masseuse wanted to give it to her with all of her clothes on and with out any oil. The Chinese are so modest. After that, we were in need of a little fun and went to the bar street which surrounds a lake. There we had beers and ate Roast Peking Duck, the Beijing specialty. We turned in early because the next day we arranged for a private car to take us to the Great Wall and Summer Palace.

We woke up early and were excited about the day which promised to be the highlight of the whole trip. After a hearty breakfast in the Executive Lounge, our driver called to say she had arrived and was waiting outside. We got to the car and she there were other people in the van. Had we wanted to go with other people we would’ve booked a with a group for 200 RMB less. Then the chica advised us we’d be making a stop at the Silk and Jade Factory. I smelled a scam so after reading the girl the riot act, we walked away. Defeated, we headed back to the room and called another driver who gave us there business card a couple days earlier. Same thing. They showed up, no one was in the car this time and tried to take us to the Silk and Jade Factory. Here it was 10am and we have been through 2 drivers already. Instead of walking around and looking for a driver we decided it was time to check with the hotel. The doorman helped us negotiate with a taxi driver and we agreed on a higher (but reasonable) than expected price. Within 30 minutes of dumping our 2nd driver we were finally on our way. And he was fantastic. He took us to the part of the wall that we wanted, made sure we got our tickets, gave us bottles of water and even laughed at my attempts to speak Chinese with him. Totally worth it.

The wall itself is simply amazing. It made traveling to Beijing totally worth it. We went to Mutianyu, climbed until you couldn’t climb anymore, took about a million pictures, sweated in the 100 heat and loved every minute. It was steep, the mountains went forever, and every time we turned around we couldn’t help but say it was more beautiful than the view before. I won’t even low grade the wall by saying, if you ever have the chance to go, then take it. I would say, that the Great Wall is a must see place. Simply stunning, breath taking, heart breaking and totally the most amazing sight I’ve ever seen.

Today was a beautiful day in Guangzhou and we got another massage and did some serious shopping. Tomorrow we’ll be heading to Hong Kong to sightsee and celebrate the 4th of July weekend, American/Chinese/French style – whatever that is.

Check out Beijing’s Greatest Hits by clicking here.

Bali in a Coconut Shell

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Indonesia does not share the same views on efficient immigration as Thailand and Singapore. Getting through customs took two hours.  This includes the part where you have to pay 25 USD simply to enter the country. Whatever, I’m in Bali I thought. Then I looked around and scoped the people. I’m going to put on my pretentious hat….I thought I would see all of these beautiful, earthy,  yogi’s. What I saw was America and Australians finest. Mullets, missing teeth, a cut off Skynard t-shirts  and even one looker with sweat pants hiked up so high they were now daisy dukes. WTF are these people doing here?
Eventually I got through customs and arrived at my “hotel” for the night, the Gong in the south, Ulu Watu. It’s run by a typical Balinese family. When I walked in, the father was dressed in white and throwing holy water on the grounds. Unfortunately and fortunately, they gave away my room. Instead of a basic twin bed I had been upgraded to an apartment with a living room, dining room, huge king size bed and ocean view terrace. Score! In the morning I enjoyed coffee and ocean breeze before I headed to the beach to sunbathe on the sandy cliffs, watch surfers and waste the day away. In the afternoon I went to the seaside temple and fought off the monkeys who were trying to defend their territory and Asian tourists who wanted their photo taken with a white American girl.
After sunset, Balinese dad drove me to Sanur where I planned to meet up with the girls. We chatted and I was surprised to hear that he has never left the island. This is typical for a lot of Balinese considering the hefty air ticket expense. In Sanur we were hooked up with another huge room and terrace and I splurged on a pedicure and foot massage while I waited for the girls.
The next morning we took the boat to Nusa Lembogan and did nothing the whole day. This is a little island an hour boat ride west of Bali known for seaweed farms and mangrove trees. Believe it or not, there was another girl from Michigan on the boat. It was my favorite leg of the trip. Laying on the beach, listening to the bar play Jack Johnson, reading, swimming in the infinity pool and enjoying our gorgeous beach bungalow that we only paid $30 for. Our 2nd day in Lembogan was spent snorkeling in the morning and biking the island in the afternoon. We weren’t prepared for the hills which was comical to the passers by who intelligently rode motorbikes. It was a fantastic way to see rural Bali and a few of the secluded beaches. Sadly, our plan was to leave the next morning.
We thought it was a joke when this little fisher boat pulled up to our hotel. Nope. This was going to take us back to Bali. We braced ourselves with sunscreen and Marjorie took a motion sickness pill. Fortunately, we survived and washed ashore our first black sand beach. From there we hit Ubud and hiked through rice terraces, which are truly works of art. After a couple strenuous days we felt it was time for massages, milk baths and body scrubs. So we paid $15 and spent the evening at the spa. The next morning was spent visiting Ketut Liyer, the famous palm reader from Eat, Pray, Love. I could write a whole separate blog about that experience, but I’ll summarize. Basically he told me I was good, pretty, smart, lucky and a good driver. What a waste of $15.
Then the real adventure began. We rented a car and drove to the north city of Lovina. The cars are right hand drives and they use the other side of the road but fortunately, Marjorie is well versed having lived in South Africa. The drive was picturesque and included more rice terraces, a ride up a volcano, a crater lake and many surprised Balinese. I guess they don’t see three white girls in a green car that often. Lovina was a tad disappointing considering the dirty beach so we only stayed there a day before heading to Balian Beach for our last evening. There we splurged and stayed in a huge guest house with ocean and rice field views. The last day was spent like a lot of the others – laying at the pool, reading and napping.
Bali is a magical place. I went to there expecting to find the “balance of worldly enjoyment and divine transcendence” just like Elizabeth Gilbert did. I didn’t and the reason is because I already have it and visiting Bali just just made that clear. But I did find a great vacation and a fun adventure with two great new friends.
This Sunday I am off to Beijing to conquer the Great Wall with one of my favorite partners in crime, Holly.