28 Oct. 2011: Lame Duck

It's a ritual here to treat your guests to the gourmet feast known worldwide under Beijing's original name --- Peking Duck. I know that back home you have to give 2 day's notice, so the duck can be slow cooked until the skin is crispy and all the fattiness dripped out. Have a look
in the window next time you pass an old-time Chinese restaurant --- chances are you'll see the duck in all it's glory, ready for that evening's feast.

Unfortunately, our host brought us for this delicacy with no notice to the upscale restaurant!
They promised to rush the duck in one hour. In the meantime, we sampled a banquet-full of unfamiliar but mostly good dishes. Chicken in a peanut sauce, cold mashed yam with blueberries, seasonal corn with peas, a sort of lettuce with white beans, a glutinous soup with beef and egg, Chinese greens, and a Malay bok choy I remembered from Singapore. Oh, and the standard drink of hot water in a flask.

You know that I'm no foodie, so I was quite full by then and my fingers hurt from all the chopsticking. But the duck arrived and the tableside ceremony performed. Predictably, the duck was still fatty and the only thing crisp was the linen tablecloth. We dabbled in the hoisin sauce and roll-it-like-a-taco ritual. But to no avail. The duck feast was dead as a dodo, to mix metaphors. And the duck's last flight was out the door in doggy bags!

28 Oct. 2011: The Summer Palace

Thanks for all your responses from the
first Blog post via email.The Blog will continue to be sent out this way throughout China...

We were taken to the historic Summer Palace, a spot considered as mandatory to explore as The Great Wall. Now within Beijing city limits (and on the subway) the Palace was originally how the
emperor escaped the brutal summer heat. He and his entourage basically went to the cottage! Central Beijing is flat but the Palace was built where the hills and lakes begin to the northwest. It's about 600 acres of stone paths, gardens, waterways, and elaborate buildings such as Temple of Heaven, Longevity Hill, Hall of Benevolence, Fragrance Pavilion, and Cloud Dispelling Hall (which doesn't seem to be working, downtown at least).

The origins are ancient, but the 18th century Emperor had 100,000 of his loyal subjects deepen and expand the lake. Over time foreign troops burned and vandalized the place, but it has always
been rebuilt and restored. The Empress Cixi left her mark with the incredible and unsailable Marble Boat. Etc., etc., etc.

I wanted to see the qilin, a hybrid animal that only appears on earth at times of harmony, so no surprise that it was boarded up! But the place is fantastical in the amount of work, art, landscaping, and mythology. With elements of the Pyramids, Macchu Piccchu, BoruBadur, Acropolis, and other UNESCO Heritage Spots the Summer Palace should be on your world bucket list. Check!

27 Oct. 2011: First Impressions

Hi Everybody

As I was afraid of, my blog and apparently 27 million others (!) have been blocked from China. Some say it's a political fear of criticism, others say it's a money issue, with the authorities wanting Chinese websites to be used. We can read the blog here via round-about "proxy" tunnels, but I can't post anything new. Very very disappointing because everywhere you turn there is something interesting or bizarre to talk about and photograph. So I'm emailing some comments and pictures to addresses I know. Any anonymous followers are out of luck. Please let me know if you DON'T want to receive these and I will take you off the list. On the other hand, please forward these if you know someone else who would be interested. Thanks, and here we go...

Beijing is 12 time zones ahead of home, so I figure we're exactly halfway around the world. The flight was tedious and completely full with about 95% being Asians. But the seatback entertainment system was great ---- I watched the movies "Unknown" and of course "2 Cars" oops, I mean "Cars 2"! With no window to look out of, the 14 hours of limbo just plain had to be endured.

At customs (1 hour random lineup) everybody has their picture taken and you can give instant feedback by pressing buttons about good or bad service. Any guesses which button I pressed? At baggage (1 hour wait) I was sure my stuff had gone on to Mongolia.

The very kind people at Pat's university had someone there to meet me. Thank goodness, because the city is huge and chaotic. Sorry to say the air is awful --- I have to clear my throat and nose constantly and there is a perpetual grey haze where blue sky used to be.

But Pat was waiting as we climbed to the 5th floor apartment that will be home for the next 2 weeks. Great to be together again and catch up on all the news.

More on the apartment, the neighbourhood, and more. I just want to make sure this note and some photos get out...

I hope this works
Rick

HAIL, SALE, TRAIL, FISHTAIL, SAIL

Three days ago we drove through hail and snow. Two days ago it was back to spring, with garden tilling and rehabbing the birds that ricochet off our windows. Then yesterday we left at 6 a.m. for a 3-hour drive to Brantford. There was a Motorcycle Swap Meet and I'm trying to sell an old Honda and engines. Lots of guys with stories but no sale :(. Inside is  a Heritage Military Museum ---- are you ready to celebrate 200 years since the Can-Am War of 1812?? Oh, and in a corner is the Heritage Motorcycle Museum that needs more space or more bikes!!

A more uplifting spot in Brantford is the local TransCanada Trail Pavilion. Did you know my dad coming from the old country first settled on a farm near Brantford?? That's why I proudly listed his name here, in his eternal honour. Then the drive home through stomach-churning urban sprawl around Cambridge. But a nice surprise to find a shop in Durham that sells pond fish --- we've been looking for weeks. Hope the newbies get along with the oldie goldies!

Then like whipped cream on dark blue sherbet, the local ferry Chi-Cheemaun sailed by for the first time to signal that spring has really sprung. Or will we be writing today's first sentence again??

Last Post B4C

This laptop gets packed away like everything else today. I'm in Owen Sound tonight and catch the 3-hour airport shuttle in the morning. From then I'll be in transit about 42 hours to Pat's door. The last time we were in China together was more than 10 years ago. The building boom had started but there were still contradictions in time, like the phone booth pictured. Do you think that booth is still there, in a country with over 300 million cell phones?

It's never easy to leave home with all its comforts and beauty. But opportunity/adventure calls, and it's no fun being a world apart from each other.

This is my last blog post before China, but I hope there will be lots more from within. The internet connection with Pat has been suspiciously wonky, and she has not been able to access this blog there. There should be a new post by next week, but I will have to rely on you followers to let me know if it got through. Wish us all luck!