holidays – Page 3 – HurricaneMaine

Shanghai flower market

Before leaving Guangzhou I had breakfast with Elaine and Killian. Our routine Monday night dinner would not happen due to travel so was nice to see them before I left. From there I walked with them too the metro to go to the airport.

After arriving in Shanghai, a driver picked me up to take me to my friend Cat and her son Rowan. They are fabulous people, so warm and welcoming. Rowan and I have hiked together and I have to say he is the coolest 14 year old I’ve encountered in a long time. A testament to his mom and his personality. They also have two dogs. This will be a fun few days!!!!!!

We went to the flower market where I could get my fill of Christmas decorations. It was nice window shopping and having fun with the two of them.

In China you are always on the lookout for mislabeled products. This one that Rowan found led to serious laughter. If the stickers were on that theme I would have bought it!

Lunch was amazing. Portobello mushroom soup, super food salad, and a trio of desserts we shared because we couldn’t decide. Date sticky pudding, chocolate pecan pie, and run raisin cheesecake. All delicious.

Mall shopping. We saw this cake store where the cakes are 1000 rmb. That is about 150 USD.

Outside the mall.

It is cute the reindeer bring each other decorations, but Christmas balls hanging from the butt….

This was outside the entrance to a store that has novelties from a movie called Spirited away.

We didn’t go into this building, but it looks like my kind of place….

Later I had to go to the travel office to get my covid test to travel to Harbin. They made it so easy. 5 minutes and I was on my way. We registered in advance and they take care of everything. Afterwards we walked around the neighborhood as Cat had never been there yet.

The next morning I took their golden retriever Ollie in a jog around. It is colder in Shanghai much like Virginia weather. Of course my nose is running constantly and another reason I don’t want to be in colder weather. I have not seen frost in over three years.

Friends and the week before Christmas

I am grateful to have a variety of friends and activities to keep me occupied during this holiday season. Even though it really does not feel like Christmas and just another week in this crazy ridiculous year that was 2020, it helps to keep my mind off the fact that I had planned to be home in the US this holiday season. Of course now, no one really should be getting together in the US as the virus cases are out of control.

I am equally blessed that my family is healthy even if my brother was potentially exposed at work. So grateful that his covid-19 test came back negative.

The combined Christmas concert at school featured choir, band, and orchestra. As usual it did not disappoint.

My legs were better midweek after the marathon to play in the girl’s teacher-student basketball game. It was called the Christmas chocolate classic. Teachers wore ridiculous clothes. To make it fair, teachers had no rules. We could do anything. We still lost. It was a blast though. Even though my legs didn’t hurt, they didn’t want to run back and forth across the court either! But honestly, those girls can sprint.

The coach is so fun and everyone was great as a team!!

Book club was held where I used to live in Clifford mansion. Tatz made a carrot cake for my birthday, we swapped books for Christmas gifts, and we were surprised by carolers!

We closed out the end of school for the holidays at a 90’s themed holiday party. It was fun despite losing my voice voting (screaming) for my friend Trisha and Dan to win best couples contest! They won and I did win the trivia contest as well.

The first weekend of break I decided to relax. I was originally supposed to travel to Chengdu to go hiking with my friend Morgana before traveling to Shanghai. Unfortunately, Chengdu went red with a covid-19 case that infected multiple places (a young person going from bar to bar…). I cancelled that part of the trip. Money was refunded easily.

Instead I stayed in Guangzhou and ate food and other things. Brunch at a Christmas market and movie on Saturday and dim sum on Sunday with Jack.

At the lobby of the grand international hotel where we ate dim sum.

After dim sum we took a walk around Tianhe park.

Artist who is famous for depicting the mood of the times.

Soldier who led the battle against the Japanese and is buried in the park.

Jack had never tried stinky tofu. It is fermented and has an off smell but tastes like regular tofu. Very spicy sauce.

Great start to my two week vacation. Next on the agenda is Shanghai to visit a friend and then off to Harbin. I really have no plan and am just winging it for this vacation.

Kaiping

I traveled with Global friendship and Pachamama tour to a village outside of Kaiping for day of the dead celebrations. It was a two plus hour bus ride out of the city.

Kaiping area is home to hundreds of unique Diaolou-fortress watchtowers. They were used to protect the city from invaders and we’re built during the second world eat and with conflict with Japan. Kaiping is the hometown to many overseas Chinese many of which have an interest in maintaining and finding use for the many abandoned buildings. The villages are historic and surrounded by agriculture and traditional way of life. The Diaolou and villages are enlisted as UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Tangkou village

The TK-SPACE is a communal space for international people to get together and learn and interact in rural practices and developments.

Two old factories were renovated to build this hostel and restaurant. The largest part was an old watch factory and the other made lampshades.

The place was already decorated for Halloween.

We had lunch and settled in then took a walk around the village where the abandoned buildings and diaolous. Many of the buildings the owners cannot be found or descendents won’t spend money to transfer ownership. As all the owners here are from other countries many are not here anymore and are elderly.

The design asking the to of not in concrete but of pressed rice and has survived the years.

Wet painting. While the concrete is wet, the paint is applied and they must work fast. The color stays many decades later.

This old place is like a mansion. So sad to see it empty.

This is the post office and all collect calls in the area came here which means they needed to be arranged in advance.

The Diaolou.

An old Diaolou. There is writing on the wall from 1946 where soldiers used this as a hideout during the war and to keep a lookout for japanese.

In every rice field there will be an altar for good crops and always near a banyan tree which must never be cut down.

The flowers and seeds (rice) in this rice paddy. You know how you cook rice or open a rice package and smell the rice? Standing next to the rice paddy, that is what you smell…

We painted pumpkins or skulls and are mexican day if the dead bread made as gifts to leave for the dead on Nov. 1.

Day of the dead party

Morning run

We ran from village to village for a 10k run the next morning and saw this moon. It was the first full moon that fell on Halloween since 1944. The picture here in the morning is better than the one I took at night.

I also went through a UNESCO area but did not take pictures. Unfortunately we did not go back there later that day.

After breakfast, we toured the crops. This place leases land to villagers and then buys back the produce for their center. They supply jobs and economic incentives.

This rice is within two weeks of harvest.

This bathroom is state of the art for the area and had brought in tourism as a result.

In front of this Diaolou is water chestnuts.

Relaxing in Hainan

When I “planned” this vacation, I really didn’t plan it well. There were many places I could go from the well known Sanya to other areas. I didn’t want to be among really large crowds which I would find in Sanya. I really wanted to enjoy a beach without crowds. (*Even though masks are not required here, now that travel is really opened up here in China I thought it still a good idea to go to more remote places like Xiangshui Bay. They are expecting cases to increase again as asymptomatic people move around.)

People who know me also know I generally always keep moving and doing things. A remote area means more time in travel to go places or just learning to relax for awhile. I chose the latter.

This place is beautiful.

The first two days I did go places for part of the day then decided I would stay put. I spent my days reading using my Kindle app, swimming in the pool, laying out by the pool or beach, long walks or runs on the beach, boogie boarding, and taking naps. At first it was difficult to just relax but I’m glad I did. I’m the most rested I’ve been in a long time.

Even my run was relaxed. 9 km/hour.

Boogie boarding here is a bit different than when I lived in VA Beach. There you could walk out far from the beach and still touch sand. Here the water is deep close to shore. But fun nonetheless. It has been a long time since I’ve done that.

Images from a long beach walk:

I found a restaurant off site less than a km away where all the waitresses were nice. I went there every night. One night I decided to buy the live fish and sea urchin and have it cooked for me.

My whole meal was 121 RMB or about $17.70. it was delicious.

Other food I ordered while here:

I will miss this vacation as it was very relaxing. I met some nice people who were very friendly, only three other foreigners the whole time, and enjoyed lounging by the pool. Now back to relax a few days in my apartment before school starts again.

Nanwan Monkey Island and Daidai Island

This is actually one island but two different parts. Advice on the internet (and if which I agree) is to go early and arrive sometime close to 8 to avoid the crowds.

In trying to buy tickets (they wanted me to purchase from the app but you need a Chinese ID to do that) a person nearby who spoke English helped. She was so helpful. Nikki mentioned her friend told her to go to Daidai Island first. I decided to follow them and her family was very sweet. She has twin daughters and her parents were lovely. They invited me to Chongqing and Chengdu! It was nice to meet sometime new and share experiences.

Take the ferry across to the island.

Then you board s shuttle bus to go to the beach. Most of this part is photo props but there is a beautiful beach, diving, and places to relax. In fact Daidai means to stay and rest awhile. In a translate app from the person I bought tickets it translated as dumb. It seems we don’t have a literal translation for that.

The longest cable car in Asia takes you from Nanwan back across.

Lots of places to relax. Nikki’s family (mother and daughters) having a snack.

I love this. Nikki’s dad taking her picture.

From Daidai you take the shuttle bus past the ferry to the entrance of Nanwan monkey island. This avoids a lot of crowds.

Many come to the part at the entrance where you can purchase food to feed them. They are a sight jumping around and waiting for someone with a plastic bag to steal from!

Many of the monkeys come and go but they know eventually there will be food.

I was not interested in the shows as the Macaque monkeys are not well treated. I snapped this picture and decided to walk around and find them enjoying freedom in the trees. I left Nikki and get family there but could not find them later. We are keeping in touch on WeChat!

Those in the show so not look happy about their captivity.

Where the circus is held the monkeys seemed to like playing as no one was around.

At various places through the park..

Hide and seek. Do you see the mom and baby?

The swimming hole is a popular place for them to congregate, swim, or grab a drink.

At a pavilion people would get in the structure and monkeys would jump around on the outside. I’m not sure what that was about but I didn’t stay to find out.

After waking around awhile I headed back to the cable car. This is the longest cable car in Asia. It goes over the Danjia Fish farm. This is a village where no one owns land. They live on a mass of floating houses and fish farms and make their money from the sea. Since there life is so unpredictable and fragile they are called Danjia which means “egg people” as their lives are fragile like eggs.

Xiangshui Bay, Hainan

I decided to go to Hainan on October break which is billed as the Hawaii of China. Of course I know there is no comparison and this is still a tourist trap but I felt I should check it out. My other option, Chengdu, is not allowing feeding of the pandas right now due to covid and I’ll wait to see if that changes. (Honestly I don’t know how the world could go back to normal.)

I took the metro to the airport. It is a straight shot and cheap. Usually it is mundane and routine. Not this time. I really need to be that person who videos things. There was a scary yet spectacular fight between a man and a woman. Skip this part if you want: Both ended up with injuries and it took multiple of us to keep them apart. But when it was really crowded, they got into it and I yelled STOP. It got everyone’s attention as it was in English and I gestured to the packed car to show there were too many people here. A few of us got between them. It stopped it for a bit but when he left he spat on her. In the age of covid….

I landed in Sanya then took a train to Lingshui. It is easy here as the train station is right outside the airport.

As for Hawaii….

The Marriott is beautiful, the pools are nice, but just like the majority of places in Hainan, you can’t swim in the ocean. In the park across the bay I could see people in the water. I decided to run there the next morning and wore my swimsuit to cool down in the water. It becomes deep quickly. In defense I can see why there is surfing but no swimming. I know there are a few areas that you can if you look.

Views from the 11.6 km run.

There are a lot of places where development here has stopped due to Covid-19. The jungle quickly takes over.

This flower was pretty. There were fire ants that reminded me to just keep moving!

The beach I ran on where i stopped to get in the water.

First evening.

A little restaurant one km away from the hotel is where I ate the first two nights. They all want to help with my order and it was a way to use their translation apps. I’m amazed at the people who assume I just arrived in China and do not have WeChat or Didi apps. They forget people are here to work. Of course I practiced Chinese too.

Squid Teppenyaki and a pickled vegetable that was pretty spicy!

A friend recommended Gangmen Harbor.

I’ve thought about going off the path a few times but this reminded me not to.

It was pretty but a long drive for a short visit. As the Didi driver left I wondered if I would have trouble getting another car out here. I was right. After two failed attempts I decided to walk as I noticed that we traveled through a couple small villages.

I was definitely a source of amusement. I stopped for drinks and eventually noticed a taxi that would definitely have to be going past me again. I was lucky… These small towns have narrow streets and many bikes.

This trip has been easier without having to show documents over and over. People here are still taken aback at seeing a foreigner and I have not seen any others while here. The guard at Gangmen Harbor did ask me where I was going (in ‘hinese). I replied sight seeing. He at least stepped aside.

Dragonboat day. No dragonboats but friends

Due to the pandemic, there were no dragon boat races but plenty of dinners with friends as we had a day off during the week.

I met Claire at Taikoo Hui, a very upscale mall with stores I can’t afford. I usually come here for Godiva ice cream. We met at Putien which is featured in the Michelin guide. I tried purely Cantonese fair which included pig intestine and jellied pork trotters. I just tried. I don’t eat meat but you have to try something new. The yellow croaker was delicious as well as the purple seaweed. The greens were cooked with a duck eggs and pretty rich.

Afterwards we walked nearby to where a flea market was to be. It is mostly restaurant stalls and other things and was packed with people waiting. They only allow so many in at a time. It actually looks really cool and will plan to go another time.

On dragonboat day I went to get my 8th virus test. This one is so I can travel to Yunnan the next week. My friend Elaine went with me as she had been there before. The western clinics charge ten times as much. It would have been easier to go to the other clinic as we have to translate forms and even step in to type my English name in their computer. But the savings in money was worth it.

We then went out for a Western breakfast.

We decided to go shopping in the Fashion Hub. This shopping area is underground the sports center. You can get lost back here. You can make pottery, play games, eat, shop, and there are plenty of photo op areas. It is the craziest and most fun place.

That night I went to Catch at the Four Seasons for a friend’s birthday. Tricia was really surprised we were there and the food was delicious. It is on the 100th floor of the hotel.

There were tents set up outside s large mall. What in thought was a food festival was instead shopping if handcrafts and fun.

All of this was the end of two weeks of summer school. It was good pay but very tiring with STEM classes.

Making pressure sensors for a simulated brain.

Using the microbit to get data on the force when the brain is struck with an object.

Design challenge of building a water tower after looking at water pollution and issues.

First afternoon in Athens

Happy New Year! I flew from Cairo to Athens and not only received a complete meal (2 hour flight, why can’t the US do this) but they have away these 2020 wishes as I left the gate in Athens.

I arrived mid afternoon, checked into my hotel, and bought a couple of tours online. I had done some research but did not actually book tours before arriving. Since I have only two whole days here in Athens I chose to use the hop on hop off tour with entrance to attractions for one day. It is cheaper this time of year. I’ll have to start early.

I also bought a one day multi island boat tour. Usually they include a stop for swimming but it is winter now. There is a luncheon and dance show. You can also learn traditional Greek dance. Looking forward to this tour.

As a vegetarian usually there is a choice on airplane food or at least most of which I can eat. Not this flight. There was cheese but also a large amount of meat. One flight attendant found an extra vegetarian sandwich. Since I hate throwing away food, I first offered the meat to those around me, but then decided to wrap it up and bring it to the hotel when no one accepted.

My goal was to find a deserving kitty or dog to give the meat to. There are not as many cats visible here as there were in Egypt.

I started touring places that would not be included in the hop on hop off tour. I found a small church where buildings have been built around it.

Ekklisia Agia Dynami is a Greek orthodox church.

Next is Syntagma Square which is on front of the old palace (where parliament currently is). It is the central square in Athens.

From here I noticed the national garden. I love to walk in nature. I also noticed the first cemetery of Athens on the other side.

On the way to the garden. You can see the snow on the peaks in the distance.

One of the entrances to the national park.

I do like looking at old cemeteries and I’m sure I’ll find some cats there. I followed paths out one of the sides of the park to get to the cemetery. The word “oikos” means house which is used to announce the family name on the crypts.

And yes I found some deserving cats for the meat from lunch.

I love the narrow streets that I walked through.

Statues…

The stadium of the first modern Olympic games: Panathenaic stadium. This is a reconstruction from the 1800’s that recreates the ancient stadium that originated from AD 117.

Metropolitan church of Athens. This is an 1800’s cathedral church with Greco-roman styling and phenomenal architecture.

More exploring tomorrow!

Alexandria, Christmas day

We hired a driver to go to Alexandria. We almost cancelled the trip because of the rain that was forecast. Here there is no drainage on the roads and dangerous flooding has been known to happen. There was rain and some areas that had standing water. It definitely took longer to get there.

At a rest stop I’m always on the lookout to try something different. I found paprika Pringles and basil seed drink. The Pringles are fantastic and the drink much tastes like a chia seed drink but the taste of basil seed.

We started at the Catecombs of Kom El Shuqafa. You can see Roman, Greek and Egyptian culture as some statues are Egyptian in style with Roman clothes and hair. The circular staircase was used to transport deceased bodies down the middle and leads down into the tombs. They were constructed in 200 AD. It was discovered in 1900 when a donkey accidentally fell into the access shaft.

Inside the vault are carvings that served as protectors of the dead.

Tombs. Originally this was designed for a single family but it was said that horse remains were also found here.

Inside a Tigran tomb. There is a front room, back room, and open court that is found inside the tomb. This was unearthed elsewhere in Alexandria and reconstructed here.

Stone with carvings of the burial process.

Next was the library at Alexandria. On the way I noticed there are still Radio Shack’s around!

The library in Alexandria is one of the largest collection of all media in the world. They had many artifacts on display and interactive exhibits throughout.

Downstairs is an antiquities museum.

Egyptian god of the moon which is a blending of a baboon and an Ibis.

The torso of Hercules. There is incredible detail in the muscles.

Ancient sundial for tracking time by placing it facing the South to catch the sun’s rays. This is from 2000 BC.

The heads of the Canopic jars that held the internal organs. Imsety had a human head and carried and protected the liver. Qebehsenuf had a falcon’s head and carried and protected the intestines. Hapy had the head of a baboon and carried and protected the lungs. Duamatef had the head of a jackal and carried and protected the stomach.

This Mosaic is from the original library. It shows exceptional detail including the expression on the dog.

They also had art displays throughout the basement leading to an exhibit is Anwar Sadat.

Next we went to the citadel. There is a Greek restaurant called White and Blue that is a block away. You choose your own fish to be butterflied and grilled. It was delicious. We chose bluefish from the Mediterranean and a red fish from the Red Sea. It is not cheap but worth it.

Tahini, tzaziki, baba ganoush, seafood chowder.

We ate on the balcony overlooking the Mediterranean.

The outside of the citadel which has a lighthouse. Unfortunately it closed for the day right before I got there. Go early if you want to see it on your travels.

Merry Christmas!

I love taking pictures of Christmas trees. There are many here in Cairo and other areas I have visited.

For my birthday on Christmas Eve we left Luxor and flew back to Cairo. The resort had decorations and played Christmas music continuously.

After a quick workout at the gym we stopped at 4 fat ladies bakery. They are amazing and make Western cakes and cookies. We bought a slice for each of us to celebrate my birthday. We ate a cookie walking around and looking at shops along the way back to Nicole’s apartment. They even had gingerbread which I bought for the car ride tomorrow to Alexandria.

Once back at the apartment we had cake. Mine was a fudge cake with lotus frosting. The others were an apple cake and carrot cake. Yummy!

For dinner we went to a great seafood restaurant called Ibn Hamido in New Cairo. It was fabulous and very famous. On the way I found other decorations as well as a mosque with a service station next to it. The sign in the hill says chill out!

The mosque is on the left. It obviously is not completely in the picture.

Santa is sleeping above the I and the V!

The seafood bisque was buttery but not too rich. We also had Sea Bass on a bed of gratin potatoes. The shrimp, fish, and tahini were delicious.

I see these Santa’s in many places here.

Afterwards, Nicole and I went to the new City Centre mall and watched the new Star Wars movie. It is an unbelievably immense mall and the decorations were beautiful.

Underneath the tree there were photo booth scenes you could use for a holiday photo.

A hazy start to this Christmas morning. May everyone have a Merry Christmas!