Orion Pies and a Shi Yan Christmas

A few weeks ago, I was introduced to the delicious Orion Pies. If you've never had one, it's like a little slice of heaven covered in chocolate. I realized after my first Orion Pie that I was hooked on them. Now, I find myself going to the store with a few gongfu brothers and purchasing a box of 6 pies for 10 yuan (which are usually gone by dinner time). A few nights ago, I was chillin with 2 of my gongfu homies, Jeff and Simon, when Jeff let me in on a little secret...Cacao Pies. I thought Orion Pies were tasty and good, but these Cacao Pie were much better because they are made with real Cacao. I'm not sure what I'm going to do when I return to the States without any Cacao or Orion Pies. I don't think I can go "cold turkey" on these pies, so I may need to start purchasing the 2 packs instead of the 6 packs. That way, when it comes time to leave China, I can control the urge to buy some Orion Pies.

Onto a more serious note...Christmas in China. I have chatted with a few of my friends on Gmail chat and Facebook and the one questions I was asked all last week was, "Do the Chinese celebrate Christmas?" Well, they don't celebrate Christmas, but what I find odd is that some of the stores decorate for Christmas. Even the supermarket in Wudang played Christmas tunes and the employees wore Santa hats around the store. I even noticed a few shopkeepers along the main road in Wudang setting up Christmas trees in front of their stores the day of Christmas. However, I'm not sure if Santa Claus has clearance to fly over the airspace in China (joking).

Since there are 16 foreigners attending the Wudang Kungfu Academy, we all decided to do a Secret Santa to keep the spirit of Christmas alive at the school. Of the 16, ten decided to participate with only a couple of rules. One was the limit for spending was 100 yuan (roughly $16) and the second was you were not allowed to discuss who you had with anyone else (that rule was broken on the first day). Jacky (Scotland) organized the drawing of names after one of the morning training sessions. I ended up getting Dane as my Secret Santa which worked out perfectly because he is one of the few guys that I hang out with at the academy. So this made it really easy to find a gift for him. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, I had convinced Dane that Melanie was his Secret Santa and he believed it till the day we exchanged gifts. He had no idea that I could have been his Secret Santa because he would constantly tell me what he wanted in hopes that I would relay the info to Melanie.

The day of Christmas, 12 foreigners including Sifu Yuan headed out to Shi Yan (about 45 minutes away from Wudang) for a Christmas dinner. We went to a steak house where we had a private room which included a mahjong table for our amusement. We arrived at the restaurant at 530pm and I tell you this because you will not believe how long it took to serve our dinner. After settling down and reviewing the menu, the waitresses took our order at 6pm. It wasn't until 8pm when the first plate of food was served. Around 830pm, there were 6 that were still without any food and when they received their steaks, they were over cooked or completely raw. And we were the first people in the restaurant. So a few of the students that spoke chinese went to the manager to ask for a discount, and sure enough we got one! So what did we do after dinner you ask? Well, my friends we went to the happiest place in Shi Yan....McDonalds! Yes, that's right, McD's in China after Christmas dinner. We all ate "ice cream" and those that didn't enjoy their Christmas dinner (myself included) ordered either a Big Mac, quarter pounder with cheese, "chicken" nuggets, hamburgers, or any combination of food on the menu.

This Christmas is one that I will not forget because I was able to experience it in China, a predominately Buddhist country. I am glad I had access to Skype because I was able to speak with and see my family on Christmas. Oh yeah, on a side note...on Dec 24th, a few of us went to Shi Yan to buy some goodies and Simon and I purchased some rasta headbands to wear around Shi Yan and Wudang. As a write this blog, I am still wearing the rasta headband (I take it off only when I sleep, shower or train).

Simon and I sporting our rasta headbands on Christmas day.

Infront of McD's in Shi Yan

Sifu Yuan "enjoying" his steak dinner.

Jeff and Tan-man at the Mahjong table

Exchanging gifts in Tan-man's room.

Jacky and Brandi celebrating Christmas with a nice bottle of wine.

Tan-man, Calvin and Myself in Shi Yan (Ladies, don't act like you're not impressed)

The essence of Wudang

This performance Wednesday showcased some new forms and hard qigong. I've decided to only post up some photos and videos of the event.

Also, I started taking chinese lessons an hour a day to learn the language. It only costs 5 yuan per hour, which is about 75 cents. I'm really excited about this class because I'll learn some conversational chinese as well as pin-yin. Eventhough I'm here at the academy for 3 more weeks, I feel that I will be able to absorb as much as the language in that time. So far, my favorite phrase has been "Wo fei cheng fengzi" which means "I'm really crazy".

Photos


Videos

Dane and I performing Ji Ben Quan
(Can you tell which one is nervous and which one is Luigi?)

Demonstration of Hard QiGong

Wulong Gong Shan

Today, Master Yuan took us to one of the sacred mountains in Wudang. Wulong Gong Shan (Five Dragons Mountain) is located in a remote part of Wudang and has not been exposed to tourist like Mt. Wudang. It was such an honor and gift to have Master Yuan show us around the mountain range today.

It started early in the morning at 7am when 18 of us met at the entrance to the school. Master Yuan led us into town for a quick breakfast (dumplings or noodles or fried bread) and after that, hop on a bus for a 30 minute ride to Wulong Gong Shan. Let me tell you, I sat next to my friend Jacky (from Scotland) and we were both scared for our lives as the busdriver took sharp turns trying to reach our destination along the mountain range. There were guard rails on the side of the road and he came close to edge on every turn.

Soon after exiting the "bus of death", Master Yuan began to lead us up the mountain. Not sure what the elevation was, but I would guess it was somewhere around 1000 meters or so. We hiked for about 2 hours (with a few breaks in between) and arrived at Wulong Gong Temple. What a mystical site, especially on a foggy day like today. We were greeted by a Taoist monk who allowed us to sit and eat our snack by the temple. Master Yuan told us the story of Wulong Gong Temple. It was a story of a Taoist who had been praying for rain to continue growing his crops. One day the Taoist looked up in the sky and, in the clouds, he saw five dragons circling above. From the day forward, a temple was built in honor of the five dragons that brought rain to the locals. Hence the name Wulong Gong Temple or Five Dragons Temple. This is one of the oldest Taoist temples in Wudang.

For lunch, we were treated to an organic feast prepared by some of the local Taoist priests. After lunch we proceeded to hike up to the peak of Wulong Gong Shan. The scenery and views were breathtaking. We spent roughly 6 hours hiking the mountain and stopping at various temples and "rest-stops." I must say that today was an energizing day because being up in the mountains, especially the mystical Wulong Gong Shan, was a great way to cultivate the Qi. Below are the photos and video of today's hike.

Photos

Videos

Washington Star Dragon Reid (that's his english name) is a badass!
Here, Washington is performing a scene from "Fearless"

Washington showing off his skills.

Karaoke Funerals

The reason I call this post "Karaoke Funerals" is because I had to endure a 3 day funeral ceremony. The funeral took place next to our school and it kept me up all 3 nights. If you have never experienced a funeral in China, let me give you a quick synopsis. The funeral is supposed to be a joyous occasion for family and friends so they celebrate death. And this is done by having a party where everyone comes out to sing, drink, eat, play music and set off fireworks. Yes, this may sound fun, but it lasts all freakin day! The funeral started on Tuesday with band performing some traditional chinese music which led into Wednesday Karaoke. Well I guess it was karaoke because it was mostly amateur singers "blasting" their vocals all night long till about 4am. Then followed the fireworks at 6am and 7am, which sounded like they were in our hallways (remember, our school doesn't have any insulation so any noise from outside our walls echos within our hallways). I felt like I was on the beaches of Normandy Wednesday morning. I nearly jumped out of bed and thought the world was ending....seriously. Oh, it didn't stop. Wednesday night I decided to venture to Shiyan (about an hour away by taxi) with some of my friends from the academy hoping to escape the Karaoke Funeral. Well, to my surprise, when we returned from Shiyan around 9pm the party was still going on. And more karaoke but this time the volume was set at 100%. Even with my door closed I could here the singing in my room! And guess what happened at 1am, 4am and 6am? YES MORE FIREWORKS! I just want to thank those at the Karaoke Funeral for keeping me up all three days...I really appreciate it.

Onto something more exciting. Today I ventured up Mt. Wudang with Volkan (aka Voltran the German student). We decided early in the morning that we were going to the sacred mountains of Wudang and experience the birthplace of the Tao. Before we headed out, we agreed that we were going in full uniform and take shots in various postures on the mountain. We set out after breakfast and thought we could take a short cut through one of the trails along the mountain. What we didn't know was that when hiked the trail, we ended up inside the Mt. Wudang site. We had to go back the way we came (an hour detour) and head through town to reach the entrance of Mt. Wudang.

When we arrived at the entrance, we learned that we could either pay 180 yuan for a single entry pass or 190 yuan for an annual pass. Even though I wont be staying a year in Wudang, I opted for the annual pass because there is so much to see at Mt. Wudang. It would take 3 or 4 days to soak up all the beautiful temples and sights at Mt. Wudang. Volkan and I started our morning by going to Nan Yan, one of the most scenic parts of the mountains. We took a 30 minute bus ride to the entrance of Nan Yan and began our exploration there. After about 3 hours of hiking and taking photos (see link below) we stopped and ate lunch at one of the local restaurants. As we finished, the bus had arrived and we hopped on to our next destination. When the bus made its first stop down the mountain range, we elected to get off and explore a new area. Not sure what the site was called but we ended up by a beautiful stream and some wild monkeys (could have been the notorious Monkey Valley, but not sure). To give you an idea, the elevations of Mt. Wudang are about 1300 meters (or 4265 ft. ). The good thing about this day was when we arrived at the academy, there were no Karaoke Funerals!

Check out the photos from Mt. Wudang here!

Some videos of Mt. Wudang (there is even one of me performing Wudang's Ji Ben Quan)

Performance Wednesdays

Every Wednesday, all the students (including yours truly) has to perform everything they have learned to date for Master Yuan. Here are some video clips of different students performing various forms. Enjoy!

Some more photos from Wudang

Training at Wudang - week 1

Well, this has been my first week training at Wudang and I will say this...its more than what I expected. The training is rather intense with qigong starting at 620am. The teachers here are amazing and very detailed. Here is what my average day is like:

Wake up at 6am
QiGong from 620am to 720am (we practice standing mediation and 5 animals QiGong)
Breakfast at 730am
Morning training from 830am to 11am, which consists of stretching, line drills, 300-500 situps, 50 pushups and practicing your forms.
Lunch at 12pm
We get a "break" from 1230 - 250pm (most of us either sleep, practice our forms, or email),
Afternoon training from 3-5pm, same as morning training.
Dinner at 6pm
Evening meditation from 8-9pm

As you can see, there is not much time to focus on anything else. In my free time, I may run to the market to buy some fruits and snacks. Some of us will either practice our forms or even our own kungfu (I don't want to forget my Wah Lum forms). This week was rather tough for me because I pulled my hamstring and groin muscle. The teachers acknowledge that you are injured but they push you to continue (if you show up to the training). Some of the students when injured just sit in there rooms, I elected to show up for training because I don't want to miss this opportunity to improve my skills. The teachers will not ask you to perform any stances, kicks, movements, etc that will cause further injury. But they will push you to your limits! I did have a breakthrough...I was finally able to perform a full side split (to the ground) with the help of HsuMing. I was about 8 inches from the ground when HsuMing came up to me and said "lower." I looked at him and said "yeah, right. This is how far I go." He decided to show that I could go lower. So he stands over me, his hands on my shoulders and begins to push me down while yelling "lower, lower, lower." And guess what, I made it to the ground!

Living at the academy has been an eye-opening experience. For example, we are not allowed to have heaters in our room (I guess it's supposed to help us with our kungfu). At night, its so cold here that I sleep with my hoody, leg warms, sweat pants, gloves, socks and my blanket. I can even see my breath when I talk on skype or with the other students in the hallway. Also, the lighting here is set on timers. For instance, the hallway lights are sound sensitive and they stay on for about 30 seconds before turning off. So if you want to walk down the hallway, you either have to make a really loud noise or stomp your feet to trigger the lights. Otherwise, you'll be walking the in the dark. The same goes for the bathrooms. Unfortunately my room is directly across the hall from the bathroom, so I can tell when there are students in the bathroom at night because they are trying really hard to keep the lights on by making loud noises.

The food has been delightful but you end up eating rice everyday with every meal. Most of the dishes prepared are vegetarian dishes but there are some occasions where they will serve us chicken or fish. However, I will not eat the chicken because it's served with the head in the dish and it freaks me out. I end up eating the scrambled eggs (which I must say is soooo delicious) with the veggies and rice. What I end up doing after lunch is head out to the market with a few friends and purchase some romen noodles and various snacks to hold me over till dinner time. One of the students from Holland went to Shiyan (about 1.5 hours by bus) and purchased some peanut butter for a few of us. That was a lifesaver because know I eat PB sandwiches everyday...yummy!!!

This afternoon, Master Yuan was talking to a small group of us on the development of Qi and moving softly. One thing he said caught my attention. He said, "In order to develop and feel Qi, one must first feel at peace internally. Otherwise, you will just be going through the motions and will never feel or develop Qi. So, when practicing QiGong and Taiji, just relax and focus your energy internally. Feel at peace with yourself." That blew my mind because its so simple and makes sense. He also said that by feeling at peace internally will eventually lead to a strong sense of Qi and improve our kungfu skills.

Master Yuan and his assistants have told me that my basics are one of the best (Thanks to Sifu Kee) and that I learning quickly. Today, HsuMing (one of the assistants) said the he sees that I have "good kungfu skills" and that he was impressed how quickly I learned Wudang's Jin Bin Quan (I took me one week to learn while it has taken anywhere from 2-3 weeks for most students, twice a day). I approached Master Yuan on Wednesday and asked if I could learn 2 forms (1 kungfu and 1 taiji) at the same time and he said, without hesitation, YES because of my basics. Im one of the only foreigners learning multiple forms. So, in the morning I learn new movements for the kungfu forms, and in the afternoon I learn new taiji movements. I anticipate that I will be finished with Taiji 28 Postures within 1 more week which will leave me the remaining 5 weeks to learn Tai Yi Wu Xian Quan (and 8 minute form when performed correctly). This is the description of the Tai Yi Wu Xian Quan from Master Yuan...

"Tai Ji is originated from the Infinity. It is the originator of the Two Extremes. The Two Extremes comes from the phenomenon of separating Yin and Yang.

Liang Yi Quan is also known as Tai Yi Quan. The practice includes hand, eye, body, steps and explosive internal power. Its characteristics are combination of slow and fast, soft and hard, lightening reflects, and thundering movements. In combat application, it equips one with ways of starting late but reaching first. It is a must for Tai Ji practitioners. In Daoism, it is said that “Tai Ji is formed when combining Yin and Yang; the Two Extremes are formed when separating Yin and Yang.” Infinity is for training in mind, Tai Ji in the flow of internal energy through control of mind, and Liang Yi Quan in using the mind and internal energy for external power. As Liang Yi Quan combines fast and slow, soft and hard, and Yin and Yang, it is called the Two Extremes."

Video journal entries from around China

Here are some video journal entries that I took while traveling around Beijing and on the train. This captures most of my journey so far.

Off to see the Wizard...of Wudang

Journal entry from Sunday....
What a day it has been so far. I spent the morning recovering from a hangover because I stayed up till 3am drinking beer with Ville, Anders and Lars. We spent the evening talking about our country's culture and learning something new from each other. When I awoke up around 9am, my head was pounding and I still felt a little drunk. I thought some breakfast would help but my stomach did not agree. I came back to the room and forced myself to throw up in order to feel better. And it did! I felt like total ass but at least I didn't feel nauseous or have the aching headache. In the afternoon, I checked out of the hostel and hung out in the lobby area until it was time to leave. There I met an italian girl, Carolina, who has been studying chinese for the past 6 months. She told me that in January she will return to China and work for a year for one of the insurance companies in Beijing. I thought that was rather impressive. The cool thing is that she spoke spanish, italian, french, english and now chinese. So we communicated in spanish mostly, but at time she did catch herself asking me questions in italian.

One of the girls at the hostel helped me plan my route to Beijing West Station to catch the train. She told me it would take about 45 minutes on the metro and that I would need to arrive an hour before departure. I took her advice and proceeded on my way around 2pm. As I was walking down the hutong towards the main street, it dawned on me how much I enjoyed the stay in Beijing. Such an interesting culture and the city brings to life all aspects of China, from the modern to the traditional. You see lamas and monks walking down the sidewalks, you kids imitating westerners with blonde hair, the older generation playing chinese chess on the streets, vendors selling caramelized fruit and kabobs, and cyclists merging with ongoing traffic.

When I arrived at the Military Museum Station, I flagged down a taxi driver and pointed to my map. He understood and took me the train station, driving through the hutong and honking his horn at every pedestrian on the street. The entrance to the train station was packed and the taxi driver pointed to area where I needed to go. I strapped on my backpack (which by the way weighs about 18 kilos) made my way through the crowds. One thing about crowds in China, you are either shoving your way through or you are the one being shoved. Masses of people were sitting in the different waiting lounges until their train number was called. I had no idea where to go so I found myself sitting in the McDonalds on the second floor until it was time to board. I again found myself shoving my way through another crowd just to get to the train. Crazy, I tell you.

On Jan's recommendation, he mentioned that the soft sleeper is the way to travel in China. He said the hard sleepers, though 220 yuan cheaper, are not the safest place for westerners because your luggage is out in the open. Also, you can't sleep comfortably because are sharing a car with 66 other people and no privacy. So opted for the soft sleeper when I arranged my ticket a few days ago. I'm so happy I took his advice because I only share a small room with 3 other people and we are closed off to the corridor. I even have a small area where I can store my luggage without fear of having it stolen. There are also vendors that walk the corridor selling beverages, fruits, nuts, snacks and romen noodles. It's almost 11pm now and I've been in my sleeper alone which has been a blessing. Im enjoying the solitude because it gives me the opportunity to read and also update my video journal. I only have 14 more hours before arriving at Wudangshan where someone is supposed to pick me up.

Journal entry from Monday...
Last night a couple joined me in the soft sleeper. I had just turned out the lights and was getting ready for bed when I the door opened. In came this couple and they looked alittle shocked that they were sharing a room with a westerner. I said "ni hao" and they both just starred at me, like was an animal at the zoo. They didn't say a thing; they just put their bags in the over head compartment and laid down. The gentlemen had the top bunk and snored all night long. It was worst the the signature Fleshman snore; I wanted to punch this guy. With only a few hours of deep sleep, I was up at 6am and laid in the my bunk. I was able to sleep for the next 2 hours because the guy woke up and decide to sit in the corridor. The rest of the day I spent either in the corridor or pacing around the train. The couple eventually opened up and the wife said "hello" to me. They even invited me to play cards with them (chinese rummy I believe).

I arrived at Wudangshan at 1249pm and seemed a little lost because Master Yuan said that there would be someone there to pick me up. Welll I walked out of the train station and these 2 women approached me and wanted me to stay at their hostel. They kept insisting and I kept telling them "bu yao" (i dont want that). Then I felt a tap on my shoulder and it was a student from the school. He had a piece of paper with my name on and asked me if I was 'luigi". So we proceeded to walk to the school, which was about a 15 minute walk from the train station. Jian took me into Master Yuan's office and poured me some green tea. We talked about what I came to study and he told me that I would meet Master Yuan later. Jian gave me the training schedule and asked if I wanted to begin today. "Of course," I responded. That's what I came here to do. So at 250pm all the students met in the entrance of the building and we walked together to the temple. I immediately realized that I was not the only foreigner at the academy and that made me feel better. There are about 20 foreigners training anywhere from 1 month to 5 years and from all parts of the world. So the training began with basic stretching and then it was off to line drills. We did the basics for an hour and the next hour is spent on your own, practicing what Sifu has taught you. Since I was the new guy, I had to learn the basic form. They noticed that I had kungfu training and said that I would pick this up quickly, and I did. I learned the entire basic form in a matter of minutes. So over this next week, I will begin learning taiji 28 and then some other forms as well. I will speak with Sifu Yuan and ask him if I can learn the tai yi because I saw these 2 Canadian girls practicing the form and it looked rather interesting. One of the chinese students told me, during the line drills, that my kungfu look strong and I had good form. He was impressed with my style. The cool thing is that I just jumped in the afternoon training like I've been here for months. I can only imagine what my body will feel like after a weeks time here. Training is from 6-7am, 8-10am, and 3-5pm. We have breakfast at 730, lunch at 1230 and dinner at 6pm with a mediation at 8pm. The rest of the time is spent practicing what you learned. We train every day of the week except Thursdays.

Fotos and Video from the previous days

Enjoy

Photos from the Beijing Zoo

Zai jian Beijing...for now

Well, my time in Beijing is coming to an end because tomorrow I take the K279 train south to WudangShan. I embark on a 20 hour train ride to one of the oldest places in China to learn more about taiji and qigong. My stay in Beijing has been a blessing. The hostel and its staff have been extremely helpful and welcoming, especially to someone who doesn't speak the language. In the past seven days, I have traveled to the Great Wall to the Summer Palace and all other glorious sites in Beijing. I have also become accustomed to the spitting (yes, spitting) from the locals. The metro has been my saving grace because I have been able to move around Beijing with ease and able to see as much as the city as possible. I feel at home here in Beijing even though I don't speak the language. The locals are so friendly and when I make eye contact, there is always a friendly gesture and a polite "Ni hao" follows. I noticed how safe this city truly is because I did not notice any crime or see many police around the streets. I think I saw more police in the banks then I did wandering around town.

Today I kept to an easy schedule of arranging my backpack for the train ride and washing some clothes. I know, sounds exciting, doesn't it? I also went to the local market to buy some fruit and snacks for the trip tomorrow. As I was walking down Dongsi Lu, three Tibetan monks approached me and wanted to ask me my name. (I'm kind of a big deal in Beijing...people know me). At first they were speaking in chinese and was able to make out a few phrases like "what is your name". It was a privilege to speak with such holy men on the streets of Beijing. They also wanted to take their photo with me so I happily agreed. I even had them use my camera to capture this wonderful moment. I have to say that this was one of the highlights of my trip. I never expected a Tibetan monk, let alone three of them, wanting to speak with me and take a picture with such a handsome guy...hahahaha.

Tonight I plan on staying around the hostel and chatting with a few of the people I've met over the last few days. I plan on returning to this hostel in January because they have treated me so well. The staff also gave me the nickname "taiji". Every time I walk into the lobby, the girls behind the counter say "Ni hao Taiji". One of them noticed my Wah Lum hoody the other night and asked me if knew kungfu. I told her that I take kungfu and tai chi lessons in the states and she was very impressed. From then on I have been known around the hostel as "Taiji".

So, Xie xie Beijing for such an amazing time in your city. I really love it here and can't wait to return in January for another week before heading home to the states.

Zai jian Beijing...for now...

Kung Fu Pandas

Kung fu Panda style does exist!! I saw it with my own two eyes today at the Beijing Zoo. I met up with my Brazilian friends this morning at the hostel's cafe and we decided to go to the zoo. It's a great value, only 15 yuan to enter plus 10 yuan if you want to see the pandas. I must say these pandas are adorable and they definitely know how to entertain the crowds. I witnessed two of them practicing their kungfu...so panda is a style!!! The Beijing Zoo had so much to offer from various shops and small restaurants to an aquarium located on the north side (110 yuan to enter the aquarium). They had the zoo separated into different sections ranging from australian animals to african animals to nocturnal animals to pheasants and so on. It was easy to navigate throughout this large piece of property.

After the zoo, I spent the day walking around Beijing in search of the silk market. The Brazilians and I found the location only to be disappointed because the silk market had no silk. It was just a large mall that sold knockoffs of Polo, Nike, Puma, etc. It was a "trap" for the tourists. What a disappointment. So we headed 6.2 km back to the hostel on foot passing through Wangfujin again (I love walking through the bizarre food market in Wangfujin). I decided to be the brave and try one of the foods from the local vendors. It was a roll (5 yuan) of sorts...not sure what was inside but I will say it was quite tasty. (Remember, this is the bizarre market, so I could have eaten worms or something like that and not know it). I could have gone for the scropion or the grasshopper but I thought I would be safe with this roll. So far my stomach is ok with it so I don't I'll get sick from the food....hahahaha.

Also this evening I met two more guys from Denmark who are traveling for the next 5 months in Asia (see previous entry). Very interesting guys and we will be heading to Sanilan Tu (bar street) tomorrow evening. This should be an adventure.

Well Im off to sleep now because its waaaaay past my bedtime. Good night and good fight!

Summer Palace

Just some photos...no journal this time. It's too late and Im sitting in the cafe with some new friends from Denmark enjoying TsingTao.

Summer Palace fotos...check them out.

Miska-laneous stuff

Hello everyone, here are some video clips my daily adventures throughout Beijing. Enjoy!

My room Delicious Live Scorpions...mmmmm

16mm Cafe

Another beautiful morning in Beijing...crisp cool air and clear sky. I decided to make my way to the Summer Palace, which I was told would be an all day event. I hopped on the metro to Bagou Lu, catching lines 5 to line 10. As I started to walk down the street, I realized that the Summer Palace was much further than what the mapped proposed. So I called a cab (and no, I did not get ripped off this time) and within 15 minutes I was at the entrance to this spectacular site. (By the way, it cost me only 10RMB which is equivalent to $1.30) I have some great video footage and pictures of the Summer Palace, so within the next few days I will post them for you all to see. I cannot even begin to explain the sheer beauty of the Summer Palace. I opted not to take the tour and explore the Palace on my own. It is the largest imperial garden in the world and takes a full day to really capture all the wonders of the garden. There are monumental structures throughout and one can spend hours just observing the details and artwork located on the structure. To give you an idea, the Summer Palace covers 2.9km and the is a large lake in the middle. I spent a good 5 hours and definitely did not cover the entire site. (Again, photos and video will be posted later this week).

After returning to the hostel from a long day of sightseeing, I worked on updating my iPod. The great thing about this was I exposed the staff at the hostel to reggae. They loved it!!!! I was happy to hear them play The Aggrolites at the cafe. One of the guys was asking me if I could supply him with more. See what alittle rastalove will do to ones soul. Rastafari, I and I....lord have mercy. I need some action, tender love and satisfaction. My chemistry is rising, can you cause a chain reaction. Action....CHAMOT!!!!! (only a few of you will get that last line)

In the evening, I met up with my German friend, Jan for dinner. We decided to meet a local coffee shop called 16mm. It was located in the LuoGu Hutong where there are many coffee shops and bars. Our stay at 16mm was short because we wanted to grab some dinner and chose to experience an authentic chinese restaurant, one that was not intended for tourist. We felt that we should experience the traditional food. So we walked down the main street and arrived at a restaurant that was full of locals. We were the only Westerners in the restuarant so we knew it had to be good. Our waitress (fu-wu yuan) approached us and immediately wanted to take our order but we didn't have the opportunity to view the menu. To keep her busy, we order 2 Tsingtao's and by the time she returned we have decided on three dishes (Sauteed asparagus, grilled beef in a black been sauce, and chinese yams and snowpeas). Jan and I discussed the benefits of traveling with a laptop and "sold" me the model he purchased for 2800 yuan (roughly $250). Jan made a great point...I can store all my photos on the hard drive as well as music and connect to the internet anywhere in Beijing. Thanks to Jan, I may go to the mall tomorrow to browse the laptop he purchased and see if I can negotiate a lower price. This way, if I purchase it, I can upload all my videos without having to wait for the computer to become available at the hostel. Also, I will be able to use the magicJack my dad purchased as well as keep my Skype available for those who are connected.

Oh, one last thing, I want to thank my sister for a novel idea. A live video journal/feed of my daily life. As I was walking and talking to her on my cell, she asked me to video what I was experiencing and upload it to the blog. Great idea! So, I will honor her request and update this blog with as much video as possible of my daily activities. This way you can view, in WeegTime, what I go through here in China.

Wan-li Chang-cheng

This morning I woke up at 5am to prepare myself for a long day at Wan-li Chang-cheng, as the locals call it. I planned a trip to the Great Wall of China starting at JinShanLing to Simatai with my Brazil friends Andre and Carol. After an "American" breakfast, we met our guide "Jacky" who was going to drive us to the largest structure ever created by man. We boarded our van at 7am and met a German by the name of Jan who was traveling on his own. Jacky told us it was going to be just the 4 of us on this hike. I will let the videos tell the rest of the story (more videos to follow). And for those keeping score at home, visiting the Great Wall marks the second time I visited on of the 7 Wonders of the World (Machu Picchu was the other).

Don't forget to check out the photos of the Great Wall

Speaking with Jacky on the drive, he discovered that I practice kungfu and tai chi. Jacky has been practicing tai chi for only 1 year and has always been fascinated with kungfu. He wanted me to practice some tai chi with him at the end of our hike. Well, along the hike Jacky asked me to give him a kungfu pose for one of his pictures. I began to do one of my forms (Little Open Gate) to give him some opportunities to take photos of an American doing kungfu. A few of the locals that were on the wall were asking Jacky how did I know kungfu. They were shocked that an American can perform such moves. Jacky told me that kungfu is not very common among the people living in China. It's more of an honor to study kungfu and you must seek out a master that is willing to teach you. It's more common to learn tai chi because the form is passed down from generation to generation.

Beijingese supports Obama

I speak Chinese

I know most of you were wondering if I can speak chinese. Well, thanks to Michelle for letting me borrow her chinese/english phrase book, I've learned some simple phrases to help me in my journey.

And Mike said it best, the internet is a great tool. Im happy my friends are setting up an FTP site where I can download some music. You guys are the best!

Some common phrases I use quite often...enjoy.

Ni hao - hello
Ni jioa shem-ma ming-zi - what is your name?
Wo shi - My name is.....
Jian doa ni hen gao xing - Nice to meet you
lu chah - green tea
Ni ke-yi gei wo zhao xiang ma? - will you take my picture?
Duo bo chi - excuse me
Ni shui shuo Ying wen ma? - DO you speak english?
Fu-wu yuan - waitress/waitress
Xie-Xie - thank you
Duo yuan? - How far is it?

Lama Lama Lama Laaaaama

I believe that Serano said it best in the movie "Major League" when paying homage to his little Buddha statue, "Lama Lama Lama Laaaaama". Yesterday, after spending a few hours at the hostel trying to restore the iPod (again thanks to Jon, Collin, RJ and Mike for your suggestions) I decided to venture out on the streets of Beijing. First stop, the Lama Temple. Being only 200 meters away from the hostel, I entered this amazing structure. The cost was only 25RMB ($3) and you can explore all the splendors of the this temple. Hundreds of people flock to this temple daily to pay respect to the various Buddha structures and ask for his blessing. Walking to the temple you know you are close because there vendors on the street selling incense and mala beads so one can leave as an offering at the temple. So when I entered all I can see is people lining up and paying homage to the structures in the temple. I decided to join in and went to the on of the buildings that held one of the largest Buddha statues and payed homage to it by bowing twice and the leaving 3 sticks of incense (unlit of course).

After a few hours I decided to grab the subway (line 5 to line 1) to Tiananmen Square. What an amazing site. I believe it's one of the largest town squares in the world. There were so many people walking around the square and taking photos infront of the Forbidden City, which lies behind the walls of Tiananmen. As I was walking around the Forbidden City, a local Beijingese girl approaches and askes me where Im from. I told her I was the US and instantly she wanted to practice her english. So after a few minutes she decided to show me around the hutong (local alleys) of Tiananmen. We ended up in a traditional tea house and spent the next 3 hours discussing things from politics, religion to family life. Beijing people are extremely friendly and welcoming and find us Americans interesting. Zhao Na and I walked through the various hutongs for another hour and she was explaining to me the life of a typical Beijing local.

Today, I met a couple from Brazil (Andre and Caroline) at breakfast and we decided to explore the city together. Our first stop was the Olympic park. There we visited the Birds View and the Water Cube, the home the Michael Phelps built...hahahaha. I would highly recommend spending a few hours in this part of Beijing. It's amazing what this country did to prepare for the Olympics. Afterwards we decided to head to Wangfujian which is known the "shopping distrcit." Here is where you find all the major stores from Chanel, Addidas, Nike, etc but you also find the bizzarre market in one of the alleys. We started following some of the crowds and wound up in the middle of frenzy. There were vendors selling some strange foods such as live scorpion (yes, people were eating them), grasshoppers, beetles, and some creature that looked like a minature bat. I was thinking about trying the grasshopper....yeah right!!! As we started to head back to the subway station, another local Beijingese girl approached me and asked where I was from. (I knew where this was heading.) All she wanted to do was practice her english so Andre, Caroline myself and our new friend, Tracie (she gave herself an American name) went to a local bar for some tea and beer. We spent a few hours just having fun and listening to some cool chinese pop music (wasn't toooooo bad).

Tomorrow, Im off to the do the Great Wall 10km hike from JinShanLing to Simatai.

Here is the first set of photos of the trip...enjoy

Lost Music

I finally made it to Beijing after 13 hour flight from LAX. The flight was just fine until the last hour. I was trying to take a quick nap before landing when I find out the my iPod mysteriously reset itself and lost ALL my music! SO FREAKIN UPSET. The entire flight I was listening to music, watching Dazed and Confused and even playing some Sim Pool...then all of a sudden, my iPod lost all of that. So what to do now? I have no music and Im here for the next 2 months. Im going to try and download iTunes at the hostel and see if I can restore it because the iPod still shows that Im using 7.3 gigs, so apparently the music and movie is there somewhere.

Also, I got my first taste of being an American in China. My taxi driver ripped me off (I found out from the front desk clerk at the hostel when I told her the price). He charged me 3 times than what the locals pay. The front desk clerk says it happens all the time to first timers in Beijing. Next time, Ill make sure to find out how much it will cost to travel by taxi before getting into one.

First stop - Los Angeles

So, Wednesday morning my dad drops me off at the airport at 6am to catch a 740am flight to LA. As I'm boarding the plane, I realize that I'm leaving Orlando for 2 months. Reality hits and what a feeling...I'm heading to China! Before catching my flight to Beijing, I decided to spend a day in LA site seeing. Let me tell you, if you haven't been to LA, it's a huge city that is alive at all hours of the day. I had the 2 best "tour guides" in the city of angels. Gage picked me up from the airport and immediately started giving me the tour of his town. We headed to Runyon Canyon for a quick hike and when we reached the top, you see the city stretching out as far as the eye can see. Afterwards, we headed around town, to the different districts (W. Hollywood, Hollywood, Sunset Blvd. Moholland Dr., the Valley) and then ended at a small coffee shop for some tea in the afternoon. I caught my first glimpse of a Hollywood star...well he wasn't that well know, it was the young kid from the tv show "7th Heaven". Not sure the actors name, but he was sitting there with some friends drinking coffee. (No I was not star-stuck and did not ask for an autograph). Later that evening, I ended up over at my friends place in North Hollywood. Hector and I sat around and chatted for a few hours before taking an evening drive down Moholland Dr. I highly recommend (if you're ever in LA) to view the city at night from the top of Runyon Canyon. It's an amazing view...all the different boroughs are lit up (Century City, the Valley, NOHO, Hollywood, etc.) Afterwards, Hector treated to my last burger in the states at In and Out Burger. DELICIOUS!!!! Then, after eating all that greasy food, we walked a few blocks to his Jiu Jitsu school to meet one of his teachers, Chris Lisandro. We spent a short time there talking to the students and watching some of them grapple and practice arm and leg locks.

Today, Gage and I are going to tour the city again...maybe even hit Venice beach to catch some Hippie action. Then it's off to the airport for a 1240am flight to Beijing.

I want to thank both Hector and Gage for their hospitality and willingness to show me around. You guys are the best!!!

"You stay classy San Diego"

China - the Land of Wonders

Hello everyone. I've created this site to keep you updated on my journey to China. I will upload photos as soon as I can, so please check in from time to time. I can't promise that I will have access to this site, however I will do my best to keep you informed.

So here is a tentative schedule while in China (all dates and locations subject to change)...

Nov 15th to Nov 22nd - Beijing

Nov 23rd - train ride to Wudang

Nov 24th to Jan 4th - staying at the Wudang Daoist Traditional Internal Arts Academy - Mt. Wudang

Jan 5th to Jan 12th - TBD

Jan 13th - Beijing