Impressions of Nanjing

23 May 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in China, Nanjing, Travel Tags: , , , , , ,

After a week in Nanjing,  I reflect on my short time here.

I have enjoyed the “newness” and “bigness” of Nanjing. Of course, China itself is massive, compared with Taiwan; there is so much more space. I love the lights – everywhere! Buildings are outlined in lights and every night is a clever light show on the jumbotron on the building across from my room at the Jinling. (If you visit Nanjing, stay here!)

Not everything is new here. One can still see the remains of the city wall, built hundreds of years ago to protect Jinling’s citizens from invasion. Two of my homebuilding buddies took me, one night, to the Buddhist Temple, Fuzi Miao (foo-dza-me-ow) for dinner (I tried stinky tofu and lived to tell about it) and some shopping. I got a wonderful  ink painting of a dragon; my hosts bargained the dealer down to 8USD! We walked along the river, and, oddly, ran into co-workers from Taipei!

Dragon Lights

The metro system in any new city can be a bit daunting but whoever planned Nanjing’s system took into account that foreigners would be using it.  I was able to figure out (on my own!) which line and stop to take to get to the Brocade museum. It was amazing to see gorgeous fabric panels being created the old fashioned way: by hand on giant (what else?) looms.

Brocade weaver at work

One interesting thing (among many) that I saw in the metro: the government metro employees salute the train as it arrives and leaves. The walls are covered in amazing art. And of course, the system runs like a well-oiled machine.

3D underground art

I am ready to head back to Taiwan but I have a feeling that I’ll be back in Nanjing soon…

First day in Nanjing

21 May 2012 2 Comments

by twgurl54 in China, Daily Life, Nanjing, Travel Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

I know I need to grab breakfast before taking a cab to work (I’ll figure out how to get there more economically later on). The buffet at the Jinling Hotel is, like everything else in China seems to be, BIG. Every type of bread, butter jam (but no peanut butter). So many vegetables (raw and cooked), fruits (no surprises, darn it, I wanted to try something new.). I am shown to my seat and they cover up my purse when I get up to make my food selections. I am addressed in English and wonder what would happen if I answered in German. They ask what I’d like to drink and I speak in Chinese (I have one cup tea.) The tea is waiting for me when I get back with my salad, veggie juice (!), and fixin’s for a croissant veggie sandwich to take to work for lunch.

Then, I’m off. I get the address written in Chinese and show it to the cab driver. He deliberates for a while and then we join the throngs on the road. The super modern streets and highways are crowded. I have no clue where we’re going. I know the office is in something called the “Soho International Plaza”. The driver is obviously lost and I’m not able to help. I’m also not able to use my phone to call anyone… by sheer luck, I see our company logo on a sign and point excitedly to it.  To the driver’s credit, he didn’t charge me the full fare. That 25 min. ride cost me 30RMB. I check in with the receptionist (who, I later find out was the one who made most of my in-China travel arrangements) who makes some phone calls. I am met by the tech doc manager who shows me to my seat. NOTE: the building is very modern and new, like so much of Nanjing. It’s a 4-floor square, built around a courtyard. Flower, bushes, and trees abound – as does the dust and, sorry to say, SMOG. My throat is already burning, reminding me of growing up in soCal. How do folks here deal with this?

Our office in Nanjing

A few short minutes later, I’m plugged into the corporate network and answering emails and setting up appointments for the week. ( I am here to work, after all.)

My development group takes me out to lunch. Unlike Taipei, most people here have cars. Nice, new ones! They know I don’t eat meat and kindly find a place that serves literally at least 20 different types of mushrooms! See? More BIG options!

At the end of the day one of my China colleagues (another American) lends me his subway card, prints out a map (there are currently 2 lines in Nanjing, with at least one more, to the airport) planned. The metro station is clearly marked and he shows me how to use the card. All metro signs are in English and Chinese, making it easy to figure out when the next train will arrive. The subway tunnel is clean. The subway cars are clean. People openly stare at us foreigners.

check out the artwork on the walls

On the way out to an expat bar owned by an Aussie, I purchase what look like logan berries (5RMB) – and although I have been warned about street food, I find they are really quite delicious. At BlueSky I have a veggie burger, fries, and we play pool.

We climb into a cab; I go back to the hotel and then he’s onto apartment, across the street from the office. At the Jinling my room is immaculate and the bottled water I requested is waiting for me. Yeah! It’s been a long day but I am excited to try my luck at taking the subway on my own.

Arriving in Nanjing on a full moon

21 May 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in China, Nanjing, Travel Tags: , , , , , ,

My work arranged for me to fly to Nanjing to spend a week working my product development group. Our travel agent is a gem; you tell her your preferences and things magically happen. I was booked on China Eastern Airlines, which I’ve never flow before (apparently it’s a lower-cost option to China Airlines, which I enjoy flying). My driver showed up on time; we made it to Taoyuan Airport in less than an hour. The check-in was uneventful; my one bag (filled with clothes for the week and goodies from Taiwan for my Chinese co-workers) weighed 18.4k – amazing, no? (Guess I’ve learned to pack!) I found out my flight was delayed – oh well. I wasn’t sure who to contact in Nanjing (The travel agent had arranged a driver on that end for me as well); I hoped they would check the flight status.

At TPE airport, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Getting through immigration was a breeze. Then,  at customs (security) they spent a lot of time looking at my purse (I worried that they would take away my tuna sandwich and guava slices, but they didn’t) and then they pawed, literally through my entire purse, paying special attention to my umbrella and my wallet. Not sure why…NOTE: I was the only obvious foreigner in line. on the way to the departure gate, I exchanged NTD for RMB. It’s strange trying to keep up with how much everything costs. I am always trying to convert the foreign currency into USD to figure out if something is a good price or not.

Once in the empty waiting area (where is everyone?), I ate my snack and played a game online. Finally, we got onboard. As usual everyone was very orderly getting on board, and we were off! We flew on a A321 which was comfortable but I have say I could not eat the food we were served. I’m not sure if no vegetarian meal was ordered or available but we were served beef noodles, a white roll in plastic, something that looked like a catsup packet but felt more like bean sprouts, some dessicated fava beans, and a half a canned peach. The crew had no clue what I was asking for when I said wo bu cher rou (I don’t eat meat.). In the food department, CI has it all over China Eastern! In flight, there were no magazines in English.

When I got off the plane at Nanjing’s Lukou airport, I waited in line for customs, and when I finally got to the front,  I was told I needed to fill out an Arrival Card (usually this is done in-flight, but not here). After that, it was smooth sailing. I got my bag, found my driver (he had water waiting for me), and headed to the Jinling hotel.

On the drive, I tried to get some sense of Nanjing but at night, even with a full moon, it was difficult. One thing was for certain: the air quality really is BAD (when you can see the smog at night, you know you’re in for some difficult times breathing).

Welcome to Nanjing!

Nanjing traffic is very orderly, the faster cars honking at the slower ones to get out of the way. Tall trees lined the median and side of the freeway. I could see really tall buildings, all along the freeway, outlined with bright lights (apartment buildings?). Once we got off the freeway, we could have been in downtown LA, except for the signs in Chinese. Everything is modern, clean, brightly lit and I noticed a few familiar signs: Howdy CVS, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and Cafe 85 (from Taipei).

The Jinling (named after the ancient term for Nanjing/Nanking) is a gorgeous building, the best hotel in town. I was graciously checked in and taken up to my room so that porter could show me how everything worked. The view at  night from my room is pretty amazing. I couldn’t hear the traffic but the lights are gorgeous!

I was able to figure out how to get online (many, many sites are blocked here in China). WordPress being one of them. I checked out the mini-bar – outrageous prices on Coke (3.00) and the  nuts were 6.00! Okay I broke down and had the nuts – they were packaged so cutely and after missing dinner, I was hungry.

Tomorrow I will attempt to make my way into the office (they say to take a taxi but i’m feeling brave….)

A hidden gem of a teahouse

17 May 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Foreign Food, Travel Tags: , , , , , ,

A friend of mine just opened a teahouse, THÉ Beauté , (French for beautiful tea) and invited me to come check it out. He describes it as a “not traditional Taiwanese style,  more like a modern afternoon tea house”. Hmmmm, not sure what that means so I’ll just have to find out for myself…
If you think you know tea, you haven’t met Victor Yang! After a successful career in the high tech arena, he decided to make a change and has spent the past 5 years becoming a tea guru. Recently he opened a lovely shop, creating a tea experience where each little detail has been thoughtfully considered. His shop is sleek and elegant, every item custom-made: from the gorgeous menus, to the porcelain tea cups and hourglass timers for perfect tea temperature, to the tables and chairs covered in tea-colored velvet (what else?). What I love most about THÉ Beauté  is the education that comes with each cup of the world’s rarest tea. My favorite selection so far is called “Moonlight”. Picked only at night on a Sri Lankan mountain top, during a full moon in Spring, this brew smells as wonderful as it tastes! And there are only 5 venues in the world with access to these amazing leaves! If you’re hungry, try some of the locally-made tempting treats. (The fruit cubes are simply a little piece of sugared heaven!) A visit to THÉ Beauté promises not only a relaxing environment, but also tidbits of information about teas you may never have known existed. Enjoy!
The closest Metro station is brown line (文湖線) at Dazhi (大直) station, exit no.3. For detailed information (in Mandarin) see http://www.kireikan.com.tw/ .

Homebuilding, take 4

27 Apr 2012 3 Comments

by twgurl54 in Travel

Gawad Kalinga is an organization that builds homes for the needy in various countries. Apparently in the Philippines they rely solely on private donations and corporate sponsorship, of which my employer is one. On this trip, 25 of us from various countries joined together to help refugee families living in the GK site. Each day we awoke, had breakfast, and boarded a Jeepney for a bumpy, dusty, (did  I mention hot?) hour-long ride to the village where we’d be helping build homes for the poorest of the Philippines poor. We had to wear makeshift face masks to help guard against the ever-present exhaust fumes.

After dropping our backpacks in one of the classrooms, we assembled outside to do warm up (no pun intended) exercises, led by a different country’s team of volunteers each day. It felt like a little like keystone cops meeting basic military training – pretty laughable actually! Then we’d regroup to get our assignments. Apparently it’s not a well-oiled  machine. Each day we waited for supplies and help from the local villagers. We’d work until lunchtime, helped along by bottled water and Gatorade; our assignments included:

  • pumping water into various vessels and transporting them (they were HEAVY) one- and two-at-a-time uphill to a well-used cement mixer
  • Shovelling gravel from a big pile by the road into recycled bags and carrying them over to the cement mixer, dumping the gravel out to create a smaller pile. Ditto for sand
  • Schlepping 50# bags of cement from the school, uphill to the cement mixer (are you getting the picture?)
  • Once the cement mixer was started up, gravel, sand, and cement were combined and dumped into a reservoir from which shovelfuls of the stuff were deposited into recycled containers and transported, fire line style, up and over a weed-covered hill to workers waiting to dump the slushy stuff into wall frames or onto the foundation
  • Digging in the hard ground (using primitive tools) to create a deep hole for a septic tank

If you think you know what sweat is, think again! I can honestly say there is no way to accurately describe the combination of the sun beating down on us  and  humidity so thick most of us “wore” rolled up towels around our necks to keep from looking like we’d just taken another shower. Sore joints and muscles? I don’t even wanna go there…

After a simple and hearty lunch made by the ladies of the villages (“the Moms”) we’d take a rest. Some would literally try to sleep in the heat, others would play with the children waiting outside. Our afternoon work was a continuation of the morning session. We’d usually call it a day between 4 and 5pm, grab some water, and board the waiting Jeepneys for another bumpy, dusty, (did  I mention hot?) hour-long ride back to the hotel. We’d have a rest period until dinner time (how good it felt to dive into the “resort’s” pool), eat quickly, and then spend a few hours planning activities for the children for the next day. (We were there to WORK, and work we did!)

Homebuilding, take 3

27 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Philippines, Travel Tags: , , , , ,

After a 7am wake up call in Manila (and you know I don’t do mornings) I was up and headed down to breakfast. You really get to know your co-workers when you have the chance to see them bleary-eyed after a long day of travel. After breakfast, we loaded up in vans and headed to Laguna (close to the build site) for lunch. Apparently I am the only vegetarian they’ve ever had on this trip so the cook kindly offered to make me a plate of veggies – and then cooked them in the same chicken-based sauce that everyone else’s stuff was cooked in. Oh well…

Then it was  onto the GK build site – it reminded me a lot of AZ during the time of Hands Across America. Lots of dust, heat, and obvious poverty. 150 families living in tents (provided by the Saudi Arabia government).  (photo coming soon) No running water. Trash everywhere. And amid all this: the children and their adorable faces are heartbreaking. Their clothes are clearly second (or third) hand. Many have dental issues (missing and rotted teeth)  and still they smile at us, seemingly unaware of their situation.  I wish my own children could see this; perhaps they’d feel better about having grown up in a middle-class single parent household.

After walking around to view some recently-built homes (rows of 20meters square cement row houses which will each hold an entire family!) we headed back to the Laguna hotel to prepare for our first “build” day. It’s quiet on the ride back. The reality of why we are here is sinking in…

headed to PH

21 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Philippines, Travel Tags: , , ,

For the past 7 years my company has sponsored a home building program based in the Philippines: http://gk1world.com/ . Each year volunteers are recruited from our various business units around the world and sent to PH for a week to participate in building homes for refugees who currently live in a tent city (interestingly, the tents were all donated by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). Never having been to Manila, I eagerly filled out the application and was approved to go! After an orientation meeting and several additional lunches and after work get togethers to plan games for the build site’s children, I felt confident about the trip. Still, never having been to the Philippines before I had no idea what to expect. I spoke with co-workers who had previously gone on this trip; they spoke highly of the experience.  One story (about the positive effects of the trip) I heard over and over again was about an colleague based in Ireland who quit his job and went to work for GK.

You’ll be proud of me, fitting 1 week’s worth of my personal items into a carry one; the donations for the children fit into my checked luggage.

Homebuilding, take 2

21 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Philippines, Travel Tags: , , , , , , , ,

After a short flight on China Airlines (< 2 hours, during which we were served a lovely small snack – a definite difference from Delta where we got nothing but peanuts on a nearly 4-hour cross country trip) we arrived at MIA (Manila International). After standing in line to exit the plane, we stood in line for immigration with a whole SEA of people. (photos coming soon)

After about 30 minutes (LAX could learn something from this method of processing people, we got our luggage (by now it had arrived and the super friendly airport staff stood by to help grab it off the belt) and stood again in line for customs. Oddly, there was a well-dressed gentleman (who apparently had made it through immigration) who did not have his official immigration card all foreigners entering the Philippines must fill out in-flight. He had a bag labeled “Bahrain Duty-Free” and looked middle eastern so I asked, are you from Bahrain? Yes, he said but then seemed concerned about speaking openly with a woman. I could see his bright red passport, stamped with a fancy gold seal and gold (arabic?) characters. I’ll bet it was real gold!

I could see the airport exit but we still had one more hurdle: money exchange. We had heard that it was best to have USD and that the airport had a better exchange rate. 80 USD netted ~3600 pesos.

Our company had arranged a driver for us, so we went in search of him. Seriously, I’ve never seen so many people milling around. And man was it HOT and HUMID! A bottle of water (don’t drink anything not bottled we were told) cost 40 pesos. And we were off to our Manila hotel, well sort of. Think of LA drive time traffic and add to that motorcycles zipping about, “Pulis” with guns literally walking onto the road, and Jeepney’s (former military vehicles pressed into service as public transport) plowing through the mass of vehicles, and you’ll begin to get the picture.

At the hotel, we schlepped our bags (most of us had a large suitcase just full of donations for the refugee children) to our rooms and went in search of dinner. What an adventure!

The hotel concierge gave me a map and I managed not to get us lost as we walked down an unlit main road, across street without traffic lights. (If you know how directionally-challenged I am, you’ll understand what sort of miracle that was!) We decided on an Indian restaurant on the 5th floor of the Podium mall since there were a fair number of Indian people also eating there. The food was surprisingly good (although they didn’t have the masala dosa listed on the menu). Our little group consisted of: 2 Japanese, 3 Taiwanese, and me, having vegetable biryani, green curry, naan, and raita in the Philippines! The cost? 435 peso each (~10.00)

My asian co-workers had a ball taking photos of practically everything! Tired but satisfied, we found our way back to the hotel. Tomorrow we get up early to get our first look at the build site.

Homebuilding, take 1

21 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Travel Tags:

I’m sitting at the A1 departure gate at Taoyuan International Airport, waiting for my flight to Manila to board. I’m plugged into a computer hotspot, trying to connect to the internet. I can see the “free Airport wifi” listed on my internet options but for some reason, my new laptop doesn’t feel like connecting to it. (Ah, the intricacies of getting online in a foreign country.) I have a feeling things will not get easier in the Philippines. (read: It’s truly a 3rd world in the “provinces” – or so I’m expecting.)

It’ll be interesting to see if the reality truly is that bad.

Some notes about departing from Taoyuan International Airport: the general public can actually get past the check-in counters and up to a strip mall of duty-free (and other) shops. If you’re travelling with family, this allows you to spend a few more minutes with them, go grab a meal together. Then your family/friends must leave as it’s through the custom’s line and onto security where you do not have to remove your shoes!! It’s all very civilized. No one is herding you into a specific area and droning on about “TSA” instructions, and little plastic bags as you pass by. It appears that the biggest dangers to airport (and personal) security are firecrackers, magnets (big ones, from the graphic), and guns. Now come on, who carries around a big old magnet? or thinks, hey, lemme celebrate my upcoming flight by firing off some small (but really loud) explosive devices? I guess it could happen, but in a nation of really well-behaved and super polite people, I’m guessing it doesn’t happen too often.

I’m drinking a Bernachon coffee (30 NT/1USD, cold, in a can, from a vending machine) and waiting for caffeine to kick in. I was up late last night, packing the suitcases: one for my personal stuff and one for all the donated and purchased items. We were told not to wear jewelery or wear fancy clothes, since the crime rate in PH is apparently quite high. Yikes! I got lots of tips on how to avoid getting pickpocketed from my filipino co-workers. It’ll definitely be a change from super safe Taipei.

My co-workers have arrived and are filling up their water bottles from a free vending machine next to the restrooms. Hmmmmm, doesn’t sound too appealing to me. I can see our plane at the gate…

Qigong Center

14 Apr 2012 Leave a comment

by twgurl54 in Foreign Food, Taiwan Tags: , , , , , , ,

Each month, I select one of the places I’ve visited in Taipei to “recommend” to the readers of Centered on Taipei magazine. This month, one of my co-workers introduced me to a delightful vegetarian restaurant; we had such a positive experience, I wrote this:

 

As much as I love Taiwan, I still sometimes get a bit overwhelmed by Taipei’s fast pace (okay, that’s mainly the taxi drivers), the constant barrage of sights and sounds, and the enormous variety of everything, available 24/7! Wouldn’t it be lovely to find a peaceful environs, just off the beaten path, where you can have a wonderfully delicious meal, served in zen-like surroundings, soft music playing? And after your meal, you could wander through a modern gallery, perusing museum quality works of art, or browse a selection of colorful east-meets-west clothing? If a thoughtful, peaceful haven is what you seek, then I highly recommend the Meimen “Life Cultivation” Center. The staff at this haven are welcoming and friendly. The food at the restaurant is prepared according to the Chinese philosophy of Five Colors, Five Tastes, and Five Elements. The Qigong area offers both physical and spiritual rejuvenation. Interested in flower arranging, calligraphy, or attending a special tea ceremony? Needing a one-of-a-kind handcrafted wooden tea caddy? You’ll find all that here, and more. Enter with an open heart and leave with a lighter spirit. Meimen Culture Center, 42 Lishui Street (just off of Heping, near Shida), Taipei 106 +886 0223 216 677 www.meimen.org

 

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As for me, I will take the road less travelled…