Maybe my favorite restaurant…shut down! Along with a fruit stand and three other restaurants.

Two weeks ago tomorrow it happened. I drove by in my jet black Benz (okay, I rode past on my yellow “Flying Pigeon” bike) and people were tearing these store fronts down. The roofs were already demolished. The boss was standing out front, so I thought they might just be doing renovation, but then I saw a cart of bricks. They brick up the entrances and then go over them with concrete so no one can enter. Above is the finished product. Odd thing is that we ate dinner there the night before and the boss didn’t mention a thing. Maybe he didn’t even know it was coming.

The other restaurants and stand I could care less about, but this spot, run by some folks from NW China is awesome. When it comes to Sichuan dishes, this place wins hands down. Two people can feast for less than $4. Cheap, large portions, good service, etc. I wasn’t a fan of the 1RMB/person charge for rice (human right), but I learned to live with it. Anyway, this change was inevitable I guess. We are in the city center, so these cheap, small, not so clean spots will be extinct soon enough.

A lot of good memories here. RIP!

From the Philippines. Some highlights:

The big pink thing. Positioned the sidewalks in parts of Manila, they offer a place for men to relieve themselves. Our cabby pulled over. You can see his feet.

Jeepney’s. Everyone custom built, tricked out.

The last picture. “Free service charge”. Weird English translation. Oxymoronic.

Also pics from my 36 hour train ride to Shanghai.

Happy Mid-Autumn Day!! The festival, which falls each year on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month, is highlighted by eating tons of moon cakes (”yuebing”) that are packaged in really spiffy boxes. Why moon cakes? Well, because of the full moon. After some history (copy/pasted) on the festival, a few photos of how we got down in the office. Don’t just scroll past, either. Better read that!

The festival has a long history. In ancient China, emperors followed the rite of offering sacrifices to the sun in spring and to the moon in autumn. Historical books of the Zhou Dynasty had had the word “Mid-Autumn”. Later aristocrats and literary figures helped expand the ceremony to common people. They enjoyed the full, bright moon on that day, worshipped it and expressed their thoughts and feelings under it. By the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the Mid-Autumn Festival had been fixed, which became even grander in the Song Dynasty (960-1279). In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, it grew to be a major festival of China.

Folklore about the origin of the festival go like this: In remote antiquity, there were ten suns rising in the sky, which scorched all crops and drove people into dire poverty. A hero named Hou Yi was much worried about this, he ascended to the top of the Kunlun Mountain and, directing his superhuman strength to full extent, drew his extraordinary bow and shot down the nine superfluous suns one after another. He also ordered the last sun to rise and set according to time. For this reason, he was respected and loved by the people and lots of people of ideals and integrity came to him to learn martial arts from him. A person named Peng Meng lurked in them.

Hou Yi had a beautiful and kindhearted wife named Chang E. One day on his way to the Kunlun Mountain to call on friends, he ran upon the Empress of Heaven Wangmu who was passing by. Empress Wangmu presented to him a parcel of elixir, by taking which, it was said, one would ascend immediately to heaven and become a celestial being. Hou Yi, however, hated to part with his wife. So he gave the elixir to Chang E to treasure for the time being. Chang E hid the parcel in a treasure box at her dressing table when, unexpectedly, it was seen by Peng Meng.

One day when Hou Yi led his disciples to go hunting, Peng Meng, sword in hand, rushed into the inner chamber and forced Chang E to hand over the elixir. Aware that she was unable to defeat Peng Meng, Chang E made a prompt decision at that critical moment. She turned round to open her treasure box, took up the elixir and swallowed it in one gulp. As soon as she swallowed the elixir her body floated off the ground, dashed out of the window and flew towards heaven. Peng Meng escaped.

When Hou Yi returned home at dark, he knew from the maidservants what had happened. Overcome with grief, Hou Yi looked up into the night sky and called out the name of his beloved wife when, to his surprise, he found that the moon was especially clear and bright and on it there was a swaying shadow that was exactly like his wife. He tried his best to chase after the moon. But as he ran, the moon retreated; as he withdrew, the moon came back. He could not get to the moon at all.

Thinking of his wife day and night, Hou Yi then had an incense table arranged in the back garden that Chang E loved. Putting on the table sweetmeats and fresh fruits Chang E enjoyed most, Hou Yi held at a distance a memorial ceremony for Chang E who was sentimentally attached to him in the palace of the moon.

When people heard of the story that Chang E had turned into a celestial being, they arranged the incense table in the moonlight one after another and prayed kindhearted Chang E for good fortune and peace. From then on the custom of worshiping the moon spread among the people.

Well, I don’t know where to start, because I just read that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe intends to resign. First question is: will the next PM visit Yasukuni Jinja? Nevermind. Yesterday, I attended my first ever soccer match. Chengdu is hosting the preliminaries of the 2007 FIFA Women’s World Cup and ZY’s friend, Alex, had extra tickets. FYF and I joined him for what many expected to be the best match of the entire Cup - USA vs. North Korea. And they were right. For me, an awe-inspiring experience. Something like losing my virginity…to Giselle

The match started at 5:00pm. We arrived 20 minutes before, but had to pass through security before entering. Slooooooooow. Like many others, we ran around the stadium looking for our gate. As we came closer, the excitement grew. Every “ooh” and “aah” heard from inside the stadium made us run faster. I can’t remember being this excited about an event in recent years. Michigan vs. OSU is big stuff and Christopher Hill negotiating nuclear agreements with KJ Il is fun stuff, but the former is between countrymen and I don’t get to bang on chairs when there’s a concession on uranium enrichment in the latter, so…. We missed the start of the game, but no goals. The place was packed - around 35,000 people - but not sold out. Clouds and rain covered the game.

I was wondering if there would be N. Koreans attending the game. The only other impression I had of them was when I was watching their women play Japan’s on TV. They had a section of guys (all guys), who looked like farmers, cheering like crazy. They won in a shoot out. To our left was a huge section of N. Korean fans, all dressed in identical uniforms - khaki pants, red shirts, white hats, N. Korean flags, and noisemakers filled with kimchi (serious, I smelled it). Someone pointed out that Kim Jong Il didn’t want to send people out of the country in fear that they would know what they were missing, so he sent money from that Macau bank (you know, the one that launders money for the DPRK) to the mainland and had some Chinese guys hire migrant workers from the countryside and dress them up, etc. But that’s just a rumor.

As you might expect, the Chinese were cheering religiously for North Korea. Chinese say they like Americans (but just not our government - but how is that possible since we are by, for, and of the people?), but we all know that’s not true (its an open secret we can say). And when it comes to allegiances, they’d choose their small, rabble rousing neighbor over the US anytime. No matter, I choose Japan, but we’ll get to that later. Every time a Korean player touched the ball, even if it was on the opposite side of the pitch, the crowd went wild. Really wild. Crazy. Bananas. Ape shit. Orgasmic-like. And the guy behind me kept say “好球” (good ball). I was thinking more like “好烦” (annoying). When the US had the ball, no one booed, but the sense of “oh, shit” filled the air. But that wasn’t often, because the N. Koreans did such a fine job of controlling the ball. As soon as we found our seats, they had a shot on goal, and it continued this way the entire first half. In fact, for those first 45 minutes I was feeling “oh, shit”. It was 0-0 at the half.

Finally, the USA scored the first goal and the crowd seemed overwhelmed with sadness. A big ‘ol “damn, Americans are so fucking good” kinda feeling. I played it cool. But soon after, the N. Koreans scored and the crowd exploded. Really exploded. I played it cool. Then the N. Koreans scored again. I played it cool. I’m a cool cat, what can I say? This whole time, Alex and FYF, who I clearly knew were pulling for N. Korea (even though they didn’t say it), were also playing it cool. I was surprised. Finally, the USA pulled through and tied the game at 2-2. I got fucking hyped!!!!

The game tied at 2-2. I have very little knowledge of soccer, so I thought there would be overtime period or, even better, some of those one-on-one kicks. But alas, no. This is tournament play and there ain’t none of that. So when I saw people leaving with 5 minutes remaining, I was wondering, ‘but why?’. haha.

Given all the political overtones (playing N. Korea, in China, on 9/11, etc) that the first game had, the second (Sweden vs. Nigeria) was something of a UN love fest. It was much funner. The “N. Koreans” changed back into their street clothes and revealed themselves to be local Chengdu people, who are funny as hell. Many cheers in local dialect and even that “o lay o lay o lay o lay” song. But those are the only words of the song people know…yours truly included. And I’ve never experienced “the wave” being done for so long on a continuous basis. Seriously, wave after wave after wave. 厉害!!!!! Most everyone cheered equally for both teams, with a slight lean toward Sweden, but maybe it’s because their scared of blacks? Yes, I said what you were already thinking.

Oh, wait, politics is everywhere. Before the second game, the broadcaster announced the names and home countries of the referees. I saw this information written on the scoreboard (in English) before the announcement. I saw that the first three were from China and the last from Japan. I wondered what the response would be to the announcement of the last one. Okay, I didn’t wonder, I knew, but I didn’t want to be a product of my environment - pretentious - so I waited. The crowd exploded for their compatriots, of course, as would I. And finally, a collective “boooooooooo” of the Japanese. But, hey, even if Abe is resigning, they are still a staunch US ally, helping us refuel ships in the Indian Ocean, etc. So, first in Chinese, then in honorific Japanese, I yelled, “Japan, yeaaaah, Japan, Japan, wooooooo Japan”. lol…It was great, especially in Chinese. People were looking really befuddled, but not angry. It was great.

Sweden and Nigeria tied 1-1. Japan and England, playing somewhere else, tied 2-2.

One misty evening in Chengdu…

Two teams got it on…

Americans repped to the fullest…

Jeff, Steve, and Pete. These guys really rocked. A lot of fun.


They were like rock stars at half-time. Everyone was coming up to take pictures with them. They didn’t turn anyone away, even old men. They usually held the flag behind them, as a backdrop, but realizing that wasn’t good enough, they they draped it over this girl in a perfect example of ‘chicks dig red, white, and blue guys’. Way to spread the culture guys! You are the real Ambassadors!!

Feng Yao Feng (FYF) and Alex

Get cha’ wave on!

Debunking myths for all of you who can’t be here.

Shy? Reserved? Traditional? Human after all?

Lovers participate a kissing contest at the foot of Huaying Mountain, southwest China’s Sichuan Province August 18, 2007 to celebrate the eve of Chinese Valentine’s Day. About 150 pairs took part in the contest. The festival is called Double Seventh Festival, which falls on the 7th day of the 7th lunar month.

China Daily

Hold tight. Updates soon to follow, including details of falling in love twice within a 24 hour period, the Shenzhen-HK commute, and a lot of other provocation. Pics while you wait.

I’m focused. I put my ear phones (I hate calling them “buds”) in, have the iTunes playing, and I’m not gonna leave this computer until I’ve squeezed every last detail from last night’s debauchery into this entry. It’s 9:53 AM here. I’ve been thinking since last night about how I’m gonna preface this entry, but no suitable means came to mind, so I’ll just jump right in to describing another classic Chengdu night.

Yesterday was some festival. I don’t want to sound like I don’t care, but I’m not going to Google the name and copy/paste details to pretend like I knew what was going on. And I don’t feel bad about that, because when I asked locals about the history, meaning, etc. I got competing accounts. I think there’s a “zh” in the name, and I know it includes dragon boat races, because I saw them on TV in the morning. Here’s what I got from locals: There was a poet, or maybe he was a warrior, maybe both. He either fed the fishes or was fed to the fishes, maybe both. Either way, he ended up dead and in the river. This is all B.C. So, hoping that the fish won’t eat his body, people bring food and place it in the river on this day each year. I’m just wondering what the fish are supposed to do the rest of the year.

That’s like only feeding me on Thanksgiving…Anyway, the food is this sort of rice ball - same shape (not actually a ball, more of a triangle) as the ones you get in Japan, but wrapped in leaves (maybe Lotus) instead of plastic. The rice is super sticky and there are some other ingredients that make it a brownish/grayish color. I think you can eat this anytime of the year, because I had it a few times before. I didn’t try it today. But I did eat “yadan” / duck egg. Just think of a hard boiled egg, I think soaked in something for a long time, so when you peel the shell, the outer white of the egg is black and the yolk is green. This is a variation of “pidan”, which I read is an egg soaked in horse’s urine (locals can’t confirm that). Pidan is quite delicious, but the yadan we ate wasn’t as good.

It’s the middle of the afternoon and I hear a “psss pssss” from XW. “Get on MSN”, she tells me. I log on and she asks if I have any plans tonight. I say no and she invites me to go for dinner with her and some University ‘mates. Then, she tells me, we’ll go to the river to make a wish.

Skip ahead to around 6PM. ZY and OL, both colleagues, will join us. We head outside. CJ, one of XW’S friends is waiting for us. We start to walk. I have no idea where we’re going. After 10 minutes of walking I realize they’re trying to catch a cab. Catching a cab in Chengdu at 6PM is like catching one in NYC when it’s raining. I see a foreigner waving at every (occupied) cab driving by. Must be a rookie, I thought. You gotta hustle here to get a cab. What’s that? Oh, no, I wasn’t hustling, but the girls were. No matter, it still took us 30 minutes of walking before we finally got lucky - a cabby let out a passenger on the same corner we were on. We took a 10 minute ride, got out on a busy street, and made a b-line for a side street. CJ asked me if I’d been here before and I said no. After 10 minutes of walking, I saw the restaurant which, indeed I had been to once before. XW’s other friend, TW, was waiting for us.
Not to hold myself out as some kinda expert, but I know one thing about restaurants in China. It’s damn hard to get kicked out, especially at the local places. But most have never encountered the wrath of my friends powered by baijiu and beer. And this place was about as local as you can get. How local? You call for the waiter to order and he throws down his pen and pad and tells you to write it yourself. It was packed, so we waited another 10 minutes to get a table. Waiting is not very common here, so you know that if people are waiting, the food is delicious. And for this joint, spicy. The food is from a city in Sichuan called Zigong. Chengdu people love to think there food is spicy, but it’s nothing compared to the Zigong dishes. Last time we came, FB let out a tear when he tried one of the dishes. Anyway, confirmed this food is spicy and delicious. Just not sure if it will be both when it comes back up.
Anyway, we took our seats at a table outside. At this point there was 5 girls and me. Heaven, right? Hmmm…you know they have a saying here in China. Something like: one woman is equal to a 1000 ducks. All that chattering in local dialect had me dazed and confused, so I asked for a beer. They said we should order 2 because they wanted to have a glass also. Cool. We ordered the food and a few minutes later, XW scouted out a group leaving from inside the restaurant. I prefer eating outside, but I figured that the girls wanted the A/C. Cool. We went inside and, again, had to wait for the table to be cleared, cleaned. While we waited, I noticed (they were impossible to miss) a group of 12 guys in the corner - loud loud LOUD. Drunk, drunk, drunk. This is quite common….and super fun to be a part of…some people, however, become annoyed at these types…if they aren’t drinking themselves. I don’t mind being on either side…when I’m not one of them, I try to let them make my experience better instead of ruining in. It’s all in the perspective. I digress.

LYM (friend, colleague) and LL (XW’s friend) arrive. LL is a girl. LYM is a guy, so I feel some relief. We pour them each a cup and the beer is gone. We order four more bottles. The food starts arriving. The girls start toasting each other….alot…they start challenging us with an attitude that seems more Shanghai than Sichuan. I didn’t want to drink a lot today, but I can’t refuse a lady. The beer is gone. We order more. The girls are ALL tipsy. XW orders baijiu. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Why did you do that? But this isn’t some stuff out of the bottle. This is out of a jar. Homemade, scooped out with a cup into a small pitcher. Think moonshine. It’s serious, but a little sweet. Not as killer as the stuff that got HJ and I in trouble. Anyway, we toast the baijiu, I say “suai le”, some local dialect for “all the way”, but I was just kidding. Everyone knew I was kidding, except LL…or maybe she didn’t care. I saw her cup empty, so I had to oblige…and so did everyone else….okay, I feel a little buzz now. Just want to eat, though…

But the girls won’t stop drinking, toasting. More beer is ordered, in larger quantities. I think they are going a little overboard, so I start to drink half of their cups, kinda like Zhao Min did for me in the club. It doesn’t matter. The baijiu is gone. XW orders another pitcher I know where this night is gonna end. As the blood-alcohol of the girls increases, so does their voice, audacity, etc. They are easily surpassing the level those 12 guys were at.

As is customary, I sometimes take some food from a dish and put a little into someone else’s bowl. Not just for politeness, but maybe because a dish is far from them. LL kept toasting me, so I figured the only way to curb her enthusiasm would be to get her to eat, so I took some dish, maybe shui jiao (boiled dumplings) and put it in her bowl. She responds with something that causes everyone to burst out laughing. It’s fast and local, so I can’t catch up. She says it again. Everyone is losing it, almost rolling on the floor…except me. I don’t know what she said. translate dammit, translate!!! In true 辣妹子 “la mei zi” style, she said “You didn’t give me enough of your meat”. haha…

Things escalate. The girls start throwing things. First, it’s just dirty napkins, but by the end, an entire fish (no meat, just the skeleton). I got napkins in my face…cool…but I got the fish to the crouch…not cool…but funny….they are super split. They’re at the point where they start to “accidentally” spill drinks when they pour, toast. Yeah, you guessed it, I got spilled on…baijiu to the crouch…not cool…but funny. They start feeding each other soup with the huge soup ladle. Everyone is staring intensely at us. I had scouted a group of girls at a table near ours - 4 of them, no guys. I had an excuse to go over to talk to them in Chinese. I saw them about to toast each other, so I stood up and walked over….with my fishy crouch. Hell hath no fury like the wrath of XW….”What the fuck are you doing?”, she said. I’m just toasting them…excuse us for being so loud…she was pissed at me…More beer is ordered.
LYM doesn’t speak a lot of English, so he reaches for his cell phone, types into his dictionary, leans over and says (while showing me his cell phone screen), “we need this!”. The word???? “Control”. At this point, we were quagmire status. We were the only two not drunk.The only feasible exit strategy we had was to pay the bill. I wasn’t about to go the typical route of fighting for the bill. 6 drunk girls fighting for the check??? I went to the boss and asked for the bill. 288. I was 30 short, so I asked LYM for cash. He only had a card, so I had to ask XW. That got the others involved…and then the fight…not over who would pay, but if we had been over charged…all of them grabbing for the invoice, scribbled on a white piece of paper, lines crossing things out, tick marks. True auditors. I thought about HJ’s story from another Zigong restaurant. He asked how much for the beer. They said “si kuai”. 4 yuan, right? No, 10 yuan. “Shi”, which is 10, is pronounced “si” in Zigong…lol…ZY paid and we went back to the table…I tried to take a gulp of soup from my bowl, but there wasn’t much left. No worries, XW can help me with that. She took the entire pot of soup and dumped it into my bowl…yes, overflow.

I forgot, in the middle of the dinner, OL had to go back to the office, so I sent her off. I’d heard that OL could drink, but the only other time we’d been out together was at a KTV, and I left after one toast, so I didn’t know if the reports were true. But, sure enough, she is a good drinker. I was impressed.
Back on track. LL had passed out in her chair. I went over to check on her and blaaaaaaaaaaaaaah. She threw up on the floor of the restaurant. The restaurant boss and staff were losing their patience. Cleaning up fish and soup from the floor is one thing, but most people make it to the bathroom for the big blaaaaaaaaaaah. I need to use the bathroom myself. As I walk over and see the men’s is occupied, I alter my destination: the women’s room. As I am about to enter, the door to the men’s opens and it’s XW. We pause, make eye contact and exchange a “ga”. I continue to the women’s room.

LYM and I each take an arm and carry LL out of the restaurant, across the street. On the way…blaaaaaah…all over my shoes. We’re still walking and a taxi pulls up. We call for him. One look at us and he speeds off. Another comes. He stay a bit longer, but takes off once he sees what he’s really dealing with. LL is on the curb, near a drain just in case. Another cab. No way. Finally, after three tries, one accepts us. Me, TW, XW, and LL will take this one. I have no idea about everyone else. Open the back door. I had to (literally) throw LL into the back seat. You know how those guys bust down doors with those tree trunk shaped battering rams. Yeah, like that. One, two, throw…then I had to get in and drag her the rest of the way. XW is in the front seat. LL is laid horizontal across the back seat on top of TW and I. She starts to throw up again…all over the back seat…some of it ended up on my shoulder…I don’t know how.

We arrive at our destination. They tell me, since there is no other guy, I have to carry her on my back. Can you picture it? You know, I don’t bring my camera out often and I don’t really regret it. But if there were ever a time where I wish I’d had photos, tonight was it. She was dead weight, not able to wrap her around arms or legs around me, so the task proved quite difficult. Think of Chen Hao Fat(sp???) in that dead guy movie. Making our way across the street, the cabbie pulls back up…XW left her keys…nice guy…

We make it to her gate, security guards staring us down. We knock over a chair and make it to her building’s entrance. A pretty girl with her dog is coming out as we are in the door way. !!!!she starts talking English!!! so annoying. Why? Because she starts to lecture - can’t you get them to help you, referring to the guards. Calm down, purty lady. wo keyi…keyi…I make it up three floors to her apt…we lay her on the bed…we have her shoes…she’s about to hurl again…i grab a bag and get there in time…

Now XW is sick…frequent trips to the bathroom, but refuses to puke in the toilet. This has to be a pysche thing. I’ve always been miffed when I see puke in a sink. What’s up with that? You can’t flush a sink like a toilet. LL is put to bed, mumbling a bunch of things…

The night is not over. XW, TW, and I head to the river. We arrive and are welcomed by other drunk people. A girl on a moto scooter completely crashes. No one helps her, so I run over to see if she is okay. Once I go, another guy comes over. Minutes later, I see this girl sitting alone with her head down. Then I see her arguing with the guy that had came over to assist before. He was sitting on the moto. My guess is that they’re a couple. She tried to steal his moto and crashed instead. Later, he road off. She reluctantly followed on her pedal bike. She was cute, too.
Anyway, I was confused and thought that everyone was going to be throwing those rice balls into the river so the fish could eat, but I didn’t see any. Instead, I saw paper lotus flowers with candles inside floating everywhere. Also, some paper lanterns. XW started to feel sick again, so we sat down. CJ appeared out of no where. Then her and TW disappeared together. I sat there with XW and watched a group of beauties standing nearby. TW and CJ finally reappeared, this time with candles and paper lotus flowers in hand. I was instructed to write my wish on the flower, place a lit candle inside, and let it go into the river. Problem was: we had no pen. Solution was: I went to ask for one from the beauties. No problem. They obliged after confirming I would return it (does this look like a face that would steal anything other than your heart, ladies?). I brought them a flower and lit candle for their trouble.

We were lighting twenty of these things between the four of us, laying them in the grass before we set them afloat, so everyone was staring at us. Some guys said something about “foreigner”, so I gave them a local “ehhh?” and a “I understand” in Chinese. Later, these same guys said something else about “foreigner”, so I told them in Chinese “you are a foreigner”, but actually I messed up and said “your foreigner”…maybe they thought I was flirting. Anyway, TW had a camera, so we took some pics of the candles/flowers and also of each of us setting them in the river. I tried to write some wishes in Chinese characters, but I failed miserably.

Finally, we took a cab home…

All this…on a Tuesday.

Me in the “lotus” pose and a “not mine” black purse

The pose is not my idea. From left to right: TW, CJ, XW

Fab made a trip to Xian this weekend to check out the terracotta soldiers. He snapped some great pics. I’ve included a few below.

Ran across this pic - one of my favorites - and wanted to share. Haircut. NYC throwback. I learned “gaman dekimasu ka?” (can you be patient?) that night, among other things.

I was rockin’ the curls, but the thickness became too much for me, so I snapped, and shaved my head. Check out the process. In fairness, the first two shots are taken with a flash, so I look a little…you know. In truth, the third looked pretty good and I thought about keeping it, but opted out. I gave you some cleavage on the fourth shot…don’t get too excited.

I flew to Tokyo from Chengdu via Beijing. Most of the passengers on the first leg of the flight got off in Beijing. Most of the passengers on the second leg of the flight got on in Beijing, leaving just a marginal number (12) of us who take the entire CA 421 flight.
For some reason, the passengers bound for Tokyo and those bound for Beijing are separated before boarding. When I arrived at the gate for boarding (i.e. a bus that would take us to the plane), the sign listed another flight, so I asked (in Chinese) the airport personnel if this was the gate bound for Japan. She told me to “wait a moment” and I took a seat with a group of 40 and 50 something Japanese businessmen. For the first time in nearly three months, I heard real people (not iTunes) speaking Japanese. Just the cadence made me super pumped and even more so once I realized that I still understood pieces of their conversations.

When the time came to board the bus, the personnel made an announcement, oddly enough, in English. The businessmen, I guessed, didn’t speak much English, because they all looked at me to see what I was gonna do. I usually don’t find pleasure in being that guy who runs to the front of the line, but this time I was forced to be the first mover.

During the pre-flight procedures, an announcement was made that one Japanese stewardess was on board. I thought about some friends in China telling me that they can tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans. I’ve always thought that, like with Americans and English, I can only tell the difference based on style or accent/language, but not by face. That is to say, if we were all stripped of our clothes, make-up, and hair-styles, I don’t believe anyone could tell the difference. Anyhow, because all the stewardesses must wear a common uniform and cannot have over-styled hair, make up or nails, I thought it’d be a good test for me to differentiate.
Approaching Beijing airport is a real treat for a number of reasons. First, you get a Bird’s eye view of all the construction, including the airport itself, not to mention a unique perspective on Hutongs. Second, people from all over the world, speaking any number of languages. For me, it was the first time in three months since I heard a live native English speaker. My reaction was similar to that when I heard Japanese - super pumped, amazed, actually. Third, after being used to the way people behave here, I got a chance to look at “my people” (whatever that means) through the same lens as locals. For example, one guy talking loud on his cell phone about “deals” he “can’t talk about now because there’s people around” was a little annoying. Maybe the Chinese couldn’t understand, but for me スーパ うざいよ！！Well, come to think of it, the Chinese talk loud on their cells, too, but I can’t understand so it’s not really annoying.

I forgot to mention, I was sitting next to a Chinese guy on the flight from Chengdu to Beijing. He looked a little uncomfortable, like he didn’t fly often. How do I know this look? Because I had the same look I’m better than I used to be, but like him, I once gripped the arm rests during take-off, and read the in-flight magazines repeatedly in an attempt to ignore that pesky turbulence. Anyway, it reminded me of what an honor it is to fly, how lucky I am, how powerless and vulnerable I am on those planes. To go between two different worlds in the matter of hours is, perhaps, one of the greatest privileges some of us are afforded in our lifetime. Anyway, this all reminds me of my first time on a plane. Well, actually, my first time on a plane, I jumped out. But my first time on a commercial flight - Columbus to Chicago - I was amazed that people could sleep on an airplane; that they didn’t want to look out the window; that they didn’t feel nervous. I can sleep now, but I still feel in awe that a big chunk of metal can fly so fast, high, and far, full of people and their luggage. Amazing. Respect to the Wright Brothers.
次です。After landing in Beijing and getting stamped out, we re-boarded. I took a sequence of shots during take off. The first three are of the plane’s shadow, the fourth is of Hutongs and finally a “head in the clouds” shot.

Back to the stewardess. The whole time I’m trying to figure out which was Japanese. I could immediately rule out two of them based on the way they interact with one another. I finally get it down to two of them based on make-up. I make my final decision when one hands me a glass of water - she gave me this smile and a super-slight tilt of the head that, I thought, only a Japanese person is capable of doing. We landed, and I thought I’d have to leave without ever confirming if my guess was right. But then, as I was waiting for the train, a woman walks up beside me to form a line. It’s her. Even more than in the dimly lit, window shades down Boeing. At this point I’m almost certain she is Japanese - otherwise she’d probably be staying in a hotel near the airport with the rest of the Chinese crew, not waiting for the Keisei. Finally, someone walks up to her and she starts speaking Japanese. やっぱり！！！Anyway, she was super beautiful, the type you just want to stare at, but not like a stalker, unless your screen name is “Your Brother”.
Anyway, stepping into Tokyo is stepping into another world. The style makes my head explode. The women…aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh…a sexy girl on the train drinking a tall boy of Asahi…marry me…the vending machines…can learn a lot about Japanese from that vending machine and the decision making process they go through, the sounds of the trains, the automated conductors, nodding off on the train like it was a birth right, a backpacker looking lost as hell, letting him feel that and then helping him out. Telling him the story of Hachiko. Warning him what a blast he is gonna have in Tokyo, knowing that he still can’t comprehend it. Wanting to speak English to a native speaker, but he was super tired and sounded like a zombie, so I’d been better off with a cab driver here. He asked me if it was illegal to smoke and walk at the same time. Explaining that it wasn’t illegal, but maybe a little impolite, but to make the decision on his own. Sending messages on my cell phone. Everyone on the train sending messages on their cell phones. Fare adjustments!!! The Yamanote line!!!!!!!! Guys in suits, lots of guys in suits, looking sharp as knives. People sitting with their feet together, so as to not take up too much space. Women holding handbags tightly in their lap. Umbrellas. Overcome with excitement, a thick layer of sadness, still. Tokyo, my first love…

I arrived at Sangubashi around 1130. あいかわらず、Hikaru and I stayed awake until 0400 talking。

The next day, I had two goals - visit Yoyogi Koen and eat a natto big mac. Visiting Yoyogi was like a reunion with an old lover. You know she’s changed, but not quite sure how. You wonder what the chemistry will be like. Would I fall back into that extreme state of comfort that we shared in the past, or had things changed? Shit, ain’t a damn thing changed. Yoyogi was even more beautiful than when I had left. I soaked it all up. Went to the grocery store and got that natto, some pickled vegetables, etc. Home and crushed that specialty. うfrigginまい.。なつかしい。

Or, at least, Tokyo.

I’m outta here, baby! Won’t be updating regularly for the next couple of weeks, so take the time to read my old posts. If you please.

I still have your glasses. They are growing on me.

Listening to: Green Day - Time of Your Life

It’s 2AM. Xiang Wen walks out of her room and says, “I have a present for you”.

“Shao kao”, I ask, knowing that we already ate it earlier.

“No”, she replies, with both hands held behind her back, slowly revealing a cylinder-shaped object. After a few erroneous guesses and some complimentary hints, I get it.

A traveler’s set of a fork, spoon, and “kuai zi” (chopsticks). So practical. I love to eat. I love to travel. The perfect gift. What a surprise!!! ちょびっくり!!!

All this after she told me that she doesn’t believe in romance. She said romantic guys are liars! The perfect woman, fellas? I don’t think you can get any closer. Eat your heart out.

Anyway, she said her plan is for me to think of her whenever I eat. 噶！Consider it done.

Hey Xiang Wen, this is for you –> You are my sunshine, my FUCKING sunshine

Some more random Japan. Headed back on Wednesday and wanted to flush out the photos on hand.

Siesta

かわいいいいいい。。。ね？

教えて下さい

Yeah, life in Tokyo is so tough!

“Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty”.
え？アクスルさん チェンヅいきたいの？

I have a drawl in my room where I keep everything, including my camera. I pulled out the camera and snapped this one.

One from Huanglongxi I forgot to include last week.

And don’t let go.

Today, HJ and I went to Huanglongxi, a small, old town about 50km outside of Chengdu. Some take aways:

Topping my list is a condom dispensing machine outside of a clothing store for babies (sorry, no picture). I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but it seems that if you are shopping for baby clothes, then you might be a little late for the condoms. Then again, maybe it’s a warning to those walking past: buy a condom else you’ll end up spending much more on baby clothes later!

Now, some pics.

While praying inside of a Buddhist temple, I knelt down, opened my eyes, and the “datoutie” of these two young folks appeared before me. It took it as a sign and took them with me.

Note: Don’t point while in a Buddhist temple. I know this, but pointing is practically hard-wired inside of me, so I always slip up.

This gentleman was playing the “er hu” (two strings). I took a close up of his hands (see below)

I really like the shadow.

This tree had some deep roots. It was really massive.

I am crying, so my eyes are red like a bunny. You love these little creatures more once you taste them!

Some say China is red, but to me it is all gray.

This is quite a sleepy, peaceful town, mostly older folks running the shops, with some young kids lending a hand after school, but HJ mentioned that someone told him prostitution was rampant here. We thought the condom dispensers might be a sign of that (locals just go to the pharmacy, right?), but we confirmed earlier reports when we were leaving and three ladies clad in mini-skirts walked by and undressed us with their eyes.

We headed back to the city and ate some frog and loach, a small fish that is very delicious and healthy for men. He taught me some local dialect, one phrase which sounds like “Joe Slim”. It means commander of drinking, the guy who always pours the alcohol. And “anyi de ban”, which is the equivalent of “terrific”, but much funnier.

The weather is changing, and with it, the attire. God bless Chengdu!