Pandas

Beijing Zoo....yeah, it's a zoo alright....mostly because we braved it on a major chinese holiday and got MAULED by the crowds!

There are 5 pandas at the zoo, each caged individually (and I do mean caged) - there are 3 cages and 2 park-like, open-air holdings.

The pandas are MAGNIFICENT and as beautiful and majestic as the pictures I had seen.

I enjoyed seeing them, and seeing the joy on kids' faces all around me. But the conditions under which they were kept did make me a bit sad. Maybe that's why we need to be vocal about protecting (and not exploiting) these beautiful creatures.

More from Hong Kong

A few more pictures for you to follow us throughout China....

WALKING AROUND THE CITY - it is full of people, life, and unfortunately, a lot of pollution. You can see how hazy the days look.

The pictures above are from the harbour, looking at Hong Kong Island.

Above is Kowloon Park, near the guesthouse where we stayed.

FOOD! This is one of the true highlights of this trip - the food NEVER disappoints!

VICTORIA PEAK (Hong Kong):

This is a worthwhile thing to do when you're in Hong Kong. There is a tram (quite steep) that takes you to Victoria Peak, overlooking Hong Kong Island. We went up to watch the sunset and had incredible views during the day and night.

This was taken as the sun was setting.

LANTAU (Hong Kong):

We went to an island a train ride away from Hong Kong to spend the day and see this Buddha.

From the cable car (which was a 25 minute ride) you could see the International Hong Kong Airport below.

The view from the top was beautiful - worth the climb!

This is the closest we got to it. It is the tallest outdoor seated buddha in the world.

TEMPLE ST NIGHT MARKET (Hong Kong): I had a lot of fun in this night market. It's one long street narrowed by the endless stalls selling everything from souvenirs to sunglasses, appliances and clothes too!

We also got some great food that night:

China

Hello from China!

This is the first time I've had access to the internet and been able to upload some pictures for you to see. It is not a perfect connection, so I'll put one or two pictures of each place and when I get home, I can bore you all with all the photos.

HOT POT in Hong Kong with my roomates from Australia:

SNACK MARKET (Beijing)

Yes, those ARE scorpions. And no, mom, I didn't eat them!

THE FORBIDDEN CITY (Beijing)

The view from the Meridian Gate

TIANANMEN SQUARE (Beijing)

The gate to enter the Forbidden City, still adorned with a portrayed of Mao, is at the north end of Tiananmen Square. visiting the Terracotta Warriors in Xi'an. I'll post more pictures as soon as we get a chance.....

FUGU

Among the many pieces of advice my mother gave me before I left on my trip was the warning NOT to eat fugu in Japan.

Sorry mom, but I HAD to try it!!!!

FUGU aka blowfish aka globefish, is one of the most notorious and celebrated dishes of Japan.

It is a lethally poisonous fish if prepared incorrectly, and so, only licensed and specially trained chefs in Japan are allowed to serve fugu. You see, if you ingest the poison it paralyzes your muscles and you die by asphyxiation. The worst part is that the poison doesn't affect your brain and you're fully conscious as this happens. The most poisonous parts of the blowfish are its liver and ovaries, and eating these is illegal in Japan. So you can imagine that when Mike and I went in search of fugu the other night, we wanted a chef who knew EXACTLY what he was doing!

This is where we found our much anticipated dinner:


There are many ways to enjoy fugu...

...grilled...

...boiled like shabu shabu...

...and the most popular:
served as sashimi, sliced so thin that you can see the dish it is presented on.

And so came the moment we were waiting for. We proceeded with some caution but ate it all nonetheless!



Two questions that you may be wondering about:

Did we die? obviously not since I'm posting these pictures. Typically, you die from the fugu poison within 4-24 hours of its consumption. It has been a couple of days since our dinner, so I think we're safe now.

What does it taste like? not much. It is actually a rather bland fish, and the accompanying sauces give it some flavour. I suppose that part of what makes this dish so famous is the potential risk (although when it is preparedly properly the risk is minimal) and that if you eat enough of it, or just some of the illegal parts, you do get a prickly/numbing sensation on your lips and tongue.

Still, I was thrilled to try it! We had so much fun in the process and that alone was worth it! Besides, could I really have left Japan without adding this adventure to my experiences here?

Arashiyama

On Friday Aiko and I spent the day in Arashiyama, on the western outskirts of Kyoto. This is a beautiful area of Japan, where shops and restaurants lie huddled across the Hozu River. There are also zen temples, a bamboo grove and the elegant Mount Arashiyama overlooking it all. We had a lovely day there, and I want to share some pictures here.

Along the Hozu river

My friend Aiko who graciously spent her only day off this week showing me around.

Part of Mount Arashiyama overlooking the river

Lunch!

Around the town...you see as many people in jeans and running shoes
as you see women in kimono.

Even the dolls in the shops bow to welcome us. I wish I could have brought her home!

We sat here, ate ice cream and enjoyed the view of Togetsukyo Bridge

Above are some pictures of the many temples, shrines and small homes that we found on our walk around.

I couldn't resist: these little guys are too cute!

This is a residential area. We were told to walk up this street to find the bamboo groves....

...and look at the beauty we found on the other side!

We took a walk amidst the bamboo groves

There were even small shrines scattered throughout the walk

Then we took a tram (Sagano Torokko Ressha) to tour all the way around Mount Arashiyama. The day was perfect for it!

Above are pictures of our view from the tram ride.