Pagodas!

It is Saturday - time for the weekly excursion...

This morning, we woke up to a pretty grim situation. For those who follow Kimbeijingerly, you know that our Korean vacation was a bust earlier in the week. What you may not know is that since we returned, the air quality has been so bad that the embassy rates it as "dangerous", advising all children to stay inside. The issue is that on top of the fog, the inversion layer over Beijing traps all the burning coal smoke from the nearby villages. Simply evil. Here is a picture of the sun today at 2pm.

We thought about staying inside and groaning all day but rallied to get out of town. About an hour away are the mountains - we figured that if we got there it would still be foggy but at least less polluted. Boy, was that the fix for us.

We went to the Silver Mountain Pagoda Forest - roughly an hour away. This is an area that has several 1000 yr old pagodas with the ashes of buddhist monks resting inside. It was pretty amazing.

On top of the pagodas, it also is in a beautiful mountain setting - we hiked for 2-3 hrs up to the peak. About 2/3 of the way there, there is a big bell you can ring for buddhist good luck.

Our driver, Mr. Duan, came along with us. I think it was nice for him to see - he had never visited there before. Frankly, I think he is convinced we are insane. (the peak we hiked to is the one behind Lucas - yes, all the way to the top).

Also, I got to watch Kimberly the linguist master chat with him in Chinese. I am already light years behind her. Mere miles behind Lucas. At least Kimbeijingerly taught me how to remember how to say "I forgot".

At the end of the day, we drove back through the pollution to home. However, definitely recharged and ready for another week.

More pics are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30443412@N08/sets/72157625125146988/

Zai Tien!

Brad

Lama Temple

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Originally uploaded by cincimakers

The weekend before Forbidden City - we went to Lama temple. This active Tibetan Buddhist monastery is about 40 minutes from our house and was amazing! Packed with tourists, monks, and monk tourists.

The complex was 10-20 different temples, ranging prom pocket size to one big enough to house a 50' tall Buddah carved from a single sandlewood tree. Wow.

That's it for todays's posts - more to come (hopefully more quickly than last time)

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Family Pictures

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Originally uploaded by cincimakers

Last weekend the trip was to the Forbidden City. It was pretty amazing. Basically just the buildings but amazingly huge. Hard to believe that this was essentially someone's house less then 100 years ago.

While there, no less than 4 families asked Lucas to join them in their family photo. He was clearly their favorite exotic sight. Go figure.

And the weekend before ....

Saturday Excursions

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Originally uploaded by cincimakers

Wow - it has been a long time since I have posted. Luckily, Kimbeijingerly has been picking up the slack.

We have started to settle into a rhythm here. Every Saturday, we see something cool. Every Sunday, we stay home, have soccer (sorry - football) practice, and relax. The weeks are packed with work, figuring out life, and normal life. Except life is not normal here. However, becomes more so every day. However, this post is not about the joys and struggles of settling in, it is about Saturday adventures.

This picture at left is obviously Optimus Prime. For those who didn't know, after he filmed Transformers the movie - he came to Beijing to hang out in the modern art zone - 798. He lives there amidst injustrial tanks, factories, caged dinosaurs, paintings, and other assorted modern art goodies. We had a great time yesterday with Lucas and his friends playing the game - "is this art?".

And last weekend ....

How to buy a bike in Beijing - step 1

Well - i decided that it was time to start biking to work. However, I needed a bike. Not my Serotta. Not a mountain bike. I needed a real chinese bike - heavy, tough, and cheap.

I thought about getting a used Pigeon or other communist era bike but decided to go with a basic new Giant. Giant and Trek are the big brands here but Giant seems to be a bit more utilitarian.

Super proud of myself, I downloaded the name and phone of the store in Chinese to my ipad (my drive does not speak english). I had never been there but friends told me it was only 5 min away. Lucas and I hopped into the Minivan with our driver - Mr Duan.

To my surprise -we drove for like 45 minutes. Guess I got the wrong store. Mr Duan had to hop out and ask directions 3 or 4 times as well. We were in a VERY Chinese city outside of Shunyi where we live. Not another westerner in sight.

Finally - we got to the Giant store. Luckily, next door there were a bunch of cannons parked including shells. Lucas was certainly excited.

I found a nice cheap bike for $120 inside. However, when I asked them to come down in price (everything must be negotiated in China) they wouldn't drop a dime. I think this offended Mr Duan. He got on the phone and told me "better price - my friend --go". I figured what the hell and we got back in the car.

How to buy a bike in Beijing - step 2

After leaving the Giant store, we got back in the car and drive back to Shunyi. Lucas and I passed the time by checking out weird vehicles - like this one piled high with bottles for recycling. (the best was the day before when we saw someone walking his goat behind a motorized cart)

How to buy a bike in Beijing - step 3

So - after we drove back to our area, our driver brought us to a back alley in one of the rural "villages" of Beijing. These are the areas that nobody goes that is not local.

We pulled up to a sliding metal door, Mr. Duan honked the horn, and we drove into a dusty courtyard, driving around various small dogs rolling in the dust and barking at our tires.

Mr. Duan's friend came out and said hi (I guess - all was in Chinese). He then called someone, yelled into the phone, and the bike box behind Lucas came down the conveyor. They guys (all in offical Giant shirts) assembled the bike and let me test ride it around the dogs in the courtyard. $90 changed hands and the bike was mine - saved a whopping $30 vs the $120 retail price.

I must say, the savings wasn't huge in $$ terms but was a great experience. Also - I plan to get a nice mountain bike while here - definitely will go the wholesale route and have Mr. Duan hook me up.

How to buy a bike in Beijing - step 4

Step 4 - I became the proud owner of a 1000 lb Beijing bike. I still need to get a basket but as of next week, i am cruising to work in style.

I've been at the beach for a nice vacation before we all move back to Beijing. It has been great to see everyone - 7 weeks is way too long to be apart.

The days have been full of sun and surf. The ocean is flat as a pancake today though so it will be a recovery day.

Everything appears to be set for our trip back on the 9th. Now - off to the beach to work on my tan ....

The 798 District

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Originally uploaded by cincimakers

The last few days have been frankly tough. I've been living in a hotel for over a month and bottom line am a bit worn out and miss the family. I head back to the States on Monday tho so things will be looking up.

Today, I debated whether to just hang in my hotel room or venture out. I decided to head out and boy am I glad that I did!

I went to the 798 District - an area devoted to contemporary art galleries, art shops, and cafes. I have been to art districts before but nothing like this. Imagine 10-20 city blocks filled will alleyways and every alleyway filled with (mostly) free galleries. On top of that, put many working artists shops, nice cafes, and a kick ass vegetarian lunch for under $3.

In the 60's - this was the Bauhaus of Beijing. It has lost its anti-establishment vibe and is not bohemian like it used to be but is pretty darn amazing in my book. Supposedly the "real" artist area has moved out of the city - shall visit that someday as well. However, as an art tourist, I think this was perfect.

This is the kind of place you could spend days and days and still not see it all. Definitely will be heading back for multiple visits.

A few things I saw are at the link below. Most are statues as many galleries did not allow photos. Much much much more to see than I captured here.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30443412@N08/sets/72157624395180219/

North Face Store - Beijing

North Face Store - Beijing
Originally uploaded by cincimakers

Didn't have time today but I am SO doing this - the North Face store in Beijing has an indoor ice climbing wall!

Pink Lambourghini

Pink Lambourghini
Originally uploaded by cincimakers

Today, I saw another side of Beijing - the mega rich side. I went downtown to the English book store/cafe - right across the street from a big mall. While walking to the mall I came across this mildly nice car - a pink Lambourghini. A pretty sweet ride.

The mall is more of a super nice shopping plaza with most stores outside. Apple, North Face, Columbia, Sbucks, Addidas, Doc Marten - they all had shops there (and many more). Prices were pretty reasonable as well - similar to back home. Had a delicious fresh squeezed watermelon juice too.

China is really a land of have and have nots right now - the divide is amazingly large. Gives you a bit of cultural whiplash sometimes.

Mountains in Beijing

Mountains in Beijing
Originally uploaded by cincimakers

When I think of Beijing, I think of a pancake flat city full of old Chinese stuff and a ton of pollution. Reality is a bit different - there is plenty of old Chinese stuff and it is polluted some times but many days the weather is beautiful and the sky blue. We have had hot but great weather for the past week.

Also, while the city is flat, 1-2 hours outside of the city are rings of mountains. One of the guys at work takes his son hiking and exploring on a regular basis. From what I hear, it is really beautiful.

The Great wall of China runs through these mountains. Especially cool for hiking is the areas of the wall that have not been rebuilt for tourist purposes. These are supposed to be amazing - you can walk (carefully) on the crumbling wall in complete solitude. Cannot wait to go.

Bicycle man

Bicycle man
Originally uploaded by cincimakers

From my walk around the music street - Xin Jie Kou - these bicycle repair guys are everywhere.

First days in beijing

Well - time for my first post. I have been thinking that this will be a good way to share my adventures, thoughts, and feelings as I move to Beijing with the family. Seems this is a good way to go.

I have been here for a week and have two more to go this trip. So far, it has been a whirlwind of jet lag, work, and sorting out life. I am living in a hotel for the next two weeks so am really stuck in transition. It is a nice hotel, but will be a relief to be into the house in August. But for now - the Crowne Plaza. I'll be back to the states for a few weeks in the end of July and then we all move over in early august.

Yesterday, I went to the city to walk around and just get out of the hotel - it was a nice afternoon. Had a great meal, found the music street in Beijing (25 or so stores full of guitars, cellos, violins, and other instruments), and got lost in the hutongs (old alley towns in the middle of Beijing). By the end of the day, I was happy but exhausted. It was fun and an adventure but until my Chinese gets better, normal things like walking around the city will take more energy than usual. It will be nice to share things with Kimberly and Lucas - company certainly makes these things into adventures.

Today is a rest day - reading, working on a new song, and dinner with a friend. Tomorrow - back to the week!