Nostalgic for Shanghai

26 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Shanghai

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Asia, Bund, China, Nanjing Road, Selfish Years, Shanghai

During the summer of 2002, I did a law study abroad program focusing on Chinese law in Shanghai at the East China University of Politics and Law. I have very fond memories of tasting soup dumplings, watching tai chi in the park, bargaining at the market for souvenirs, and walking on the Bund.

This time around, Mr. Selfish and I spent two weeks in Shanghai. Admittedly, that is a long time to stay in Shanghai. But I was nostalgic when planning this leg of the trip, and I don’t regret it.

Here are some photos of the Bund and Nanjing Road at night to kick off our series of Shanghai posts:

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Lovin’ Japan Already!

25 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, Japan

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Asia, Day Trips, Fukuoka, Japan, Kanazawa, Kobe, Kurokawa, Kyoto, Mount Koya, Nara, Osaka, Selfish Years, Tokyo

Mr. Selfish and I arrived in Kyoto last night and are staying in an apartment here for a glorious 22 nights. After so much fast traveling through China and Korea, we were glad to unpack our bags, do some laundry, and buy some groceries to make home cooked meals.

We started our trip in Japan at Fukuoka for one night and then went to Kurokawa, which is an amazing onsen town, for two nights. After Kyoto, we’ll visit Kanazawa for a couple of nights and then Tokyo for two weeks.

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The Delicious Food of the Hui Muslim Quarter

24 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, China, Food & Drinks, Hui Muslim Quarter, Huimin Street, Muslim Street, Xi'an

Mr. Selfish and I were surprised to find that Xi’an has a large Muslim population. We decided to wander around the Hui Muslim Quarter, which is primarily off of Huimin Street, and sample different types of Chinese Muslim food. The quarter is quite near the drum and bell towers, which are very scenic at night.

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The Lesser Known Tomb of Emperor Jingdi in Xi’an

23 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

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Asia, China, Hanyangling, Selfish Years, Tomb of Emperor Jingdi, Xi'an

Mr. Selfish and I traveled to Xi’an, China primarily to see the Terracotta Warriors Museum. In doing my research, I learned that there was a lesser known tomb in Xi’an for Emperor Jingdi, which is also known as Hanyangling. We decided to visit this tomb first and save the Terracotta Soldiers for later.

In hindsight, I found the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi to be a more well-done attraction than the Terracotta Warriors Museum. The Chinese government recently renovated the Tomb of Emperor Jingdi, and as a result, the Tomb is better designed and allows you closer access to the excavation pieces. Most of the pits had a glass walkway over which you can walk to see the thousands of excavated pieces.

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A Little Underwhelmed in Xi’an: The Terracotta Warriors Museum

22 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

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Asia, China, Selfish Years, Terracotta Warriors Museum, The Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, Xi'an

Mr. Selfish and I couldn’t go to China for more than a month and not visit the Terracotta Warriors Museum (officially the Museum of Qin Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses) in Xi’an. Unfortunately, we were a little underwhelmed by the experience.

The first building we entered had two large painted bronze chariots. They seemed pretty well-preserved but were swarmed by Chinese tourists. Even though the chariots were behind glass, the throngs of supposed photographers kept utilizing their flash to take photos, which completely defeats the purpose of the photo.

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Succumbing to Western Food in Chengdu

21 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, Chengdu, China, Food & Drinks, Mike's Pizza Kitchen, Peter's Tex Mex Grill, Selfish Years, Tex Mex

Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed the Sichuan cuisine in Chengdu but after a while, we started craving Western food. When I discovered that there was supposedly good Tex Mex and pizza in Chengdu, we couldn’t resist.

First, we went to Peter’s Tex-Mex Grill, which is a mini chain in China. Apparently, the first restaurant was opened in Chengdu by a Chengdu native. Mr. Selfish has been craving authentic nachos since we left the States. We’ve ordered it twice while in Thailand and both experiences left much to be desired.

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Marveling at the Chinese Opera in Chengdu

20 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

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Asia, Chengdu, China, Chinese Opera, Opera House, Selfish Years, Sichuan Opera

I adore the film “Farewell My Concubine,” which is about two Chinese opera actors prior to the victory of the Communists in 1949. Mr. Selfish didn’t watch the entire movie because he couldn’t stand the Chinese opera singing. Although I initially didn’t like it, the singing grew on me as the film progressed, and it was 171 minutes long.

When I learned that there was a highly recommended Chinese opera performance in Chengdu, I wanted to go. The Shu Feng Ya Yun Sichuan Opera in Chengdu is highly recommended. The performance starts at 8pm every night. If you arrive early, you can watch the actors and actresses putting on their makeup and costumes. Mr. Selfish and I were the only ones watching them during this process but they didn’t seem to mind.

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My Mouth is on Fire (aka Tasting Sichuan Food)

17 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, Chengdu, China, ChuanBei Famous Snacks, Hot Pot, Numbness, Selfish Years, Shujiuxiang Hot Pot Restaurant, Sichuan, Sichuan Food, Sichuan Peppercorns, Wonton

Mr. Selfish and I held a belief that we could handle spicy food. Yes, I deliberately used the past tense in that last sentence. After experiencing the Sichuan (aka Szechuan) food, I seriously doubt our ability to handle spicy food.

Sichuan food originates from the southwest of China. It is known for its bold and spicy flavor due to the liberal use of garlic, chili peppers, and the Sichuan peppercorn. This peppercorn is unlike any other peppercorn I’ve ever encountered. In fact, it is not traditionally spicy but actually causes a numbness in your mouth that sets the stage for the other hot spices used.

We decided to try Sichuan hot pot at Shujiuxiang Hot Pot Restaurant. There was a long line out front so we figured it would be good. The queue was based on a number system. Luckily, the staff figured out that we didn’t speak Chinese and tracked us down when our number was up. At that point, we didn’t know how we were going to order since nothing was in English. The staff found a huge menu with lots of photos, and we just pointed to what we wanted. We chose the spicy red hot pot and then randomly pointed at meats and veggies to cook in it.

The hot pot is made of metal with a metal separator. Chili oil, chili peppers, and Sichuan peppercorns are heated until they come to a slow boil.

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Exploring Charming Chengdu

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

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Asia, Chengdu, China, Green Ram Temple, People's Park, Qingyang Palace, Selfish Years, Wenshu Temple

In planning our trip to China, Mr. Selfish and I chose to spend a few days in Chengdu primarily to visit the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding. We also found the city of Chengdu itself to be quite charming.

First, we visited Wenshu Temple, which is dedicated to the Buddhist representation of wisdom, the Manjusri Bodhisatva. The temple contains more than 450 Buddha statues and other relics. Mr. Selfish and I just walked around and enjoyed the scenery.

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How to Cuddle with a Panda in Chengdu

15 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

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Asia, Chengdu, Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda, China, how panda chengdu, how to cuddle with a panda in chengdu, Panda, panda chengdu

In planning our 33 days in China, I chose to go to Chengdu for four days. We stayed in the downtown area of Chengdu, which is surprisingly the fifth largest city in China with a population of over 12 million people. But there’s really only one reason to visit Chengdu – the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda, where you can hold a baby panda.

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The 1.34 Billion Oddities of China

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by misterselfish in Asia, China, Rant

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China, Selfish Years

Prior to our Selfish Year of travels, I had never been to China, so wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I guess I was thinking traveling in China would be similar to wandering around Chinatown in San Francisco – dirty, pungent, and delicious. Everything in a mixture of Chinese and English (well, maybe less English), and everything at dirt cheap prices.

The reality, of course, is that things are much, much different from what I was expecting. If you’re thinking of planning a trip to China, here’s what you can expect.

1. Air pollution is everywhere.

Although Beijing is the most dramatic example, every city in China is much more polluted than Western cities. The air quality index in Shanghai as I write is 165 (Beijing can get as high as 750). For reference, the air quality index back in Orlando is an average of 38, and in San Francisco is a whopping 30. What this means is that even on clear days, the sky is more of a white-blue, than a blue-blue. It also means that we’ve breathed in the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes a day – if we’re lucky.

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The Non-Gambling Side of Macau

13 Saturday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks

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Asia, Cafe Tai Lei Loi Kei, China, Day Trip, Egg Custards, Food & Drinks, Koi Kei Bakery, Largo do Senado, Lisbon, Lord Stow's Bakery, Macau, Pork Chop Buns, Ruins of St. Paul's Church, Selfish Years, St. Dominic's Church

As I’ve noted previously, Mr. Selfish and I didn’t gamble much at Macau. Instead, we mostly wandered around looking for Portuguese similarities. We had found Lisbon to be quite charming (although cold and rainy).

The first thing I knew that I wanted was Portuguese egg tarts. The ones that we devoured from Pastéis de Belém in December made a lasting impression on me. Through my research, I learned that the ones from Lord Stow’s Bakery were supposed to be the best. After much searching, it ended up being inside the Venetian. They were very good but not as fresh, warm, and gooey as the ones from Belém. The turnaround in Belém was intense, and you could see them baking the new egg tarts in the back. At Lord Stow’s, it seemed just like a storefront. Nevertheless, they fulfilled my craving at the time for egg tarts.

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Exploring the Casinos in Macau

12 Friday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China

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Asia, China, Day Trip, Ferry, Galaxy, Grand Lisboa, Macau, Selfish Years, Shuttles, Venetian, Wynn

Mr. Selfish and I took a day trip from Hong Kong to Macau. We had recently learned that Macau has far surpassed Las Vegas in terms of casino revenues and braced ourselves for hoards of Chinese tour groups. I am not much of a gambler, and Mr. Selfish only dabbles in black jack, so we didn’t really gamble any in Macau. It was still fun to visit these beautiful casinos and enjoy the free transportation that they provide.

We took the ferry from Hong Kong to Macau, which only takes about an hour. It is a very comfortable ferry and cost about 652 Hong Kong dollars ($85 USD) for both of us round trip. We showed up around 10am to take the 11am ferry but it had been cancelled due to visibility issues. As a result, we had to take the 12:30pm ferry instead. We therefore bought our return ticket then and there since we didn’t want to chance an evening ferry selling out.

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Searching for the Best Dim Sum in Hong Kong

11 Thursday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Food & Drinks, Searching for the Best . . .

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Asia, Baked Barbeque Pork Buns, Barbeque Pork Buns, China, Dim Sum, Din Tai Fung, Dumplings, Hong Kong, Maxim's Palace at City Hall, Searching for the Best Of, Selfish Years, Soup Dumplings, Taro Cakes, The Manor Seafood Restaurant, Tim Ho Wan

Mr. Selfish is partial to the dim sum in San Francisco, particularly the baked barbeque pork buns, since he’s had it since he was a kid. Since we were in Hong Kong for five days, we decided to try to find the best dim sum in Hong Kong, or at least some that would rival the baked pork buns from Mr. Selfish’s childhood.

First, we went to Tim Ho Wan, which is one of the few dim sum restaurants in the world with a Michelin star. It wasn’t fancy and the décor was quite lacking but the dim sum was delicious. Mr. Selfish was quite anxious to try their baked barbeque pork buns. Although they were sweet and fluffy with an egg custardy top, the barbeque pork was thick and savory. These baked pork buns are quite different from the ones in San Fran. Mr. Selfish still managed to eat four of them, and I had two. There are three buns in one order, which is a steal at 16 HKD ($2.06 USD) per order.

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Hong Kong Disneyland – Part 2

10 Wednesday Apr 2013

Posted by mrsselfish in Asia, China, Disney

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Asia, Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars, Buzz Light Year Astro Blasters, China, Disney, Grizzly Gulch, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Disney, Hong Kong Disneyland, It's a Small World, Jungle Cruise, Mystic Mansion, Selfish Years, Space Mountain, Toy Story Land

In yesterday’s post, I went over my general impressions of Hong Kong Disneyland (HKD). Today, we’ll go over the specific rides on which me and Mr. Selfish went. One common denominator for all of the rides was the wait times were usually about 5-10 minutes. This is a very short wait time compared to the rides at Orlando parks or even the rides at Disneyland Paris.

We’ll start with the rides that were unlike any other Disney ride. In the area known as Grizzly Gulch, we rode Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars. Although the ride has a long title, it was a very enjoyable roller coaster. In fact, it is very similar to Everest in Animal Kingdom, which is one of my favorite rides. Both Big Grizzly Mountain and Everest both contain fuzzy characters that mess with your track and cause you to ride backwards for a bit. Mr. Selfish and I enjoyed this ride so much that we rode it three times – in the front, all the way in the back, and (for posterity) in the middle.

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