Incredible Dependable Indispensables : The Beijing Battalion

The long, cold, dry and often polluted Beijing winter is a bit of a beast. But over time, I have constructed a band of warriors; a small army if you will, to help combat the savage brutality that one must endure during the harsh winter months. I may have exaggerated, but only slightly…this winter has been rather mild. It is quite possible I would not have survived to enjoy such comparatively warm temperatures if it wasn't for these loyal comrades. 

Meet: 

Peter The Heater 

Peter was the first addition to my apartment. During the darkest, coldest evenings, Peter offers an almost-friendly orange glow and lukewarm comfort that only a cheap heater from Taobao (Chinese ebay) can provide. 

Rita The Heater 

…Because one heater is just not enough! As temperatures plummeted to -10ºC and below, Rita stepped in and took command. She is the juggernaut of all heaters and truth be told, often intimidates Peter. But when the two heaters work together, they create enough warmth so that I can (at least for short periods of time) remove my thermals. Due to the horrors of combatting draughts and chills (yet mainly due to the amount of electricity she consumes) I have offered Rita some well-earned rest & recuperation. She currently resides in my spare room but remains alert and ready for the next sub-zero emergency. 

Mariah The Air Purifier 

Don’t be fooled by Mariah’s clean and sleek appearance. Filtering out disgusting and health-damaging air particles is a dirty job, but somebody’s got to do it! Beijing’s air quality is no laughing matter and it’s no coincidence that Mariah is the most solemn of the gang. You think your diet is hard? Mariah eats PM2.5 for breakfast, lunch and dinner. She spends most of her days cleaning the air in my apartment but in her free time (on low-pollution days) she enjoys singing sea shanties and having clothes draped on her. 

…and introducing, Mr. McGuire The Humidifier 

Beijing’s climate is absurdly arid. I often wake up with cottonmouth and have to embark on a treacherous journey to the kitchen in search of water. One glass of H2O next to my bed at night is just not enough to quench the dryness that nighttime brings - especially if Rita is in close proximity.

I had growing fears that I was going to end up as a shrivelled, withered, dehydrated husk of my former-self. Oh, these are not laughter lines or wrinkles brought on by the passing of years…these are clearly creases in my ravaged, haggard face that have been formed by lack of moisture. To be honest, Bear Grylls would have resorted to drinking his own urine months ago.

I, on the other hand, decided the best option would be to purchase Mr. McGuire The Humidifier. He is the most recent addition to my apartment and yet already has a great deal of expectations placed upon him. I firmly believe that adding moisture to the air will help combat terrors like: dry mouth, chapped lips, wrinkles (and the general ageing process), hunger pains, flatulence while also preventing other negativity such as having a bad day at work, hearing my neighbour playing the same music every evening and finding there is no more cheese in my fridge.


So there you have it, the Incredible Dependable Indispensables. I will update you on their continuing battle and inform you of any new arrivals to this team of elite equipment.

Bắc Kinh có khí hậu khô ráo. Nhà tôi cực kỳ khô trong mùa đông. Tôi có một máy tạo hơi ẩm cho phòng ngủ. Tôi không thể chịu nổi những tháng mùa đông lạnh giá. Tôi có hai lò sưởi điện. Ở Bắc Kinh, ô nhiễm không khí rất khủng khiếp. Tôi có một máy lọc không khí trong nhà. Làm sao để qua mùa đông? =))

Wangfujing

王府井（Wángfǔjǐng）

Recently I visited the snack street and night market at Wangfujing. I first visited the area last summer, when my parents came to visit. It is famous for selling a smorgasbord of strange and striking street food. It’s popular with Chinese tourists from outside of Beijing and there are usually a handful of foreigners meandering through the hungry crowds.




There is something about the market that appeals to my curious nature. Food that I would never consider trying in a restaurant, suddenly becomes intriguingly appetising when displayed on kebab sticks and presented to me by persuasive vendors. It is almost as if I have to accept the challenge of gorging on bizarre refreshments.



On a hot summer's day, my dad and I decided to try deep-fried scorpion(蝎子xiēzi) and seahorse (海马 hǎimǎ). From what I can recall, they tasted rather salty and crunchy. Mum did not want to try such exotic delicacies, so ended up eating candied fruit and tteokbokki.










On my latest visit to the market, it was time to finally try stinky tofu (臭豆腐chòu dòufu). I was pleasantly surprised that the taste was far less repulsive than the smell. Following that, I thought it was necessary for me to reward my adventurous culinary experiment, by trying deep-fried ice cream. It was rather sweet and after being deep-fried, the ice cream melted into a fruity, creamy substance. It wasn’t such a terrible ordeal. The best part of this edible escapade is not necessarily devouring the nibbles on offer. Just taking in the market atmosphere and viewing the wide variety of “treats” on offer is quite an experience.


                   Stinky tofu

          Deep-fried ice cream

Pineapple fried rice

Silk worm, squid and innards on sticks

Quail eggs

Too cute to eat?

Spiders and other creepy crawlies

After walking around the stalls, Liz and I ended up at the main street flanked with large shops and malls. We then stumbled across the Beijing Foreign Languages Bookstore. Since getting a Kindle, I have downloaded a rather large catalogue of ebooks to keep me busy. However, I had just read about the author Yu Hua (余华) and was unable to download his books. So I seized the opportunity and bought his novels “Brothers” and “To Live”.



Wangfujing is definitely a place that visitors should see and I will make sure to return there next time I am feeling adventurous and hungry.

Cuối tuần trước, tôi đã đi đến một chợ đêm. Ở chợ đêm này, tôi đã ăn bọ cạp, cá ngựa, kem chiên giòn, và đậu phụ thối. Thức ăn vặt ưa thích của bạn là gì?

Deliciously Roasted Gratitude

I may be living in Beijing, but today I celebrated my first American Thanksgiving. I went to Lily’s American Diner in Sanlitun with Liz and her co-teacher, Jessica. Our starter was a salad, followed by a turkey dinner and an apple pie for dessert. It was delicious and definitely a treat to have turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, as I won’t be returning home this Christmas for my traditional-roast-dinner-fix.

In the spirit of the event, I considered the things I feel thankful for. I have whittled it down to the following list:

• Having a loving family.
• Having great friends all over the world.
• Having a good and interesting job.
• The opportunity to travel to new places.
• Living in a place where I frequently experience/learn something new.
• Low pollution days!

It’s very easy to be happy and grateful for things, but sometimes the stress of everyday life can get in the way. I will try my best to take stock of my blessings!

Hôm nay tôi tổ chức Lễ tạ ơn. Hiện nay lễ tạ ơn được tổ chức vào ngày thứ Năm tuần thứ tư tháng 11. Bữa ăn Lễ tạ ơn có món gà tây quay mềm ngọt, béo ngậy.

感恩节快乐！

The whole world in a park

Last weekend, I visited Beijing World Park (北京世界公园 Běijīng shìjiè gōngyuán). 

Not since my students introduced me to Baigoogledu (a dual search engine simultaneously displaying the results from Baidu and Google; and more importantly sounding like a funky cockerel) had I felt so excited about a new and unknown China experience.

The park boasts replicas of famous landmarks and buildings from around the world. “What better way could you spend your weekend?” I hear you ask…I may need some more time to answer this question.

From the moment Liz and I arrived outside the park, an eager lady wielding a camera greeted us. “Hello! Photo!” she beamed, as she purposefully placed us together and individually for a number of shots. Then she disappeared while we bought our entry tickets. As soon as we made our way to the gate, we noticed the lady sprinting back in our direction. She was on a mission. Once she caught her breath, she hastily and proudly revealed two small photo keyrings. After our wonderful tacky souvenir from the Watermelon Museum, Liz and I knew we had unwittingly already gained our memento for our latest adventure.

Stepping into the park, I was more than happy to see that the usual drove of people appeared to be occupied elsewhere. The park was (by Beijing standards) very peaceful!

Eat your heart out, Phileas Fogg! Eighty days to travel the world?! Pah! I managed it in an afternoon. Following a brief stop in Moscow, I was stunned and distracted by a rather humorous sign. English errors are a common occurrence here; however this one is certainly a favourite of mine.

It seems that some of the landmarks are more impressive and preserved better than others. Of course, the replica of The Great Wall was quite striking.  
Travelling through Europe and the Americas, we passed by the pyramids in Egypt and finally took a welcome break in Africa. I sat down on an elephant while contemplating where to go next.

The White House!

The journey then took us on a trek through Asia and down to Australasia. 

Taj Mahal

Angkor Wat

It was only when we got closer to the exit that we realised we had not been to Rome and Italy. Thankfully we rectified this blunder. It may be a cliché, but this photo with the leaning tower of Pisa was a necessity.

Had to be done!

It was definitely an enjoyable day and each replica came with a short description of the landmark and location. I was happy to see a famous landmark from Hanoi and made sure to have my photograph taken next to the One Pillar Pagoda.

Leaving the park, Liz and I waved by to the camera lady who was still loitering and hoping for further victims. We walked towards the subway station and grabbed a couple of roasted sweet potatoes from a street vendor. Not bad for a Sunday afternoon! It was made even better when we managed to get seats on the long subway journey home! Score!

Om nom nom!

YES! Seat on the subway!

Tacky souvenir? YES!

Cuối tuần qua, tôi đã đi Công viên thế giới Bắc Kinh. Hay quá nhỉ! Tôi có thể đến thăm những cảnh đẹp nổi tiếng trên toàn thế giới, ở một công viên! Bạn có nhận nơi này không? =))

What a melancholy watermelon kind of day

Well, it could have been dull and boring, but watermelons helped to save the day...

It is often necessary to have a Plan B in Beijing. As mentioned in my previous blog post, the air quality here means you may have to change plans. I had originally hoped to visit The Summer Palace today (after two years of living in Beijing, I still haven’t visited it, but don’t tell anyone, I am sure it’s a criminal offence). However, the pollution levels were too high to spend a whole day outside, so a colleague and I decided to visit a strange yet interesting museum.

We went to the China Watermelon museum (中国西瓜博物院). It was a rather long drive from Chaoyang District, but it was definitely a unique experience on an otherwise grey, smoggy day. The museum is dedicated to educating visitors about the history, culture and technology of cultivating different kinds of watermelons.

Although most of the information there is written in Chinese, it was still a fun place to look around. Dotted around the grounds of the museum are some comical statues, including Zhu the pig from Journey To The West.

Trư Ngộ Năng!

We were surprised to enter the museum for free, as information online stated there was a 20元 fee. We were the only people in the museum during our time there. I think that somehow made our time there more enjoyable. To emphasise the science and technology component of growing watermelons, most of the museum has been given a “sci-fi” theme. On occasions it felt like I was inside Doctor Who’s Tardis (if it had been powered by watermelons).

There were melons of all sizes. Something for everyone...

A personal highlight was the satellite orbiting a globe (half planet earth, half watermelon).

We happily viewed a variety of watermelon seeds (who knew there were so many kinds?), photographs of random people enjoying watermelon and impressive carvings made out of watermelon. 

I have decided to spend the rest of my weekend hunting down watermelon toothpaste, which was given a special display cabinet in the museum. Hopefully I can find it in a local supermarket and test it out.

Muskmelons were also mentioned. No idea what they are so may conduct a little research after completing this blog entry.

Before leaving, Liz and I thought it would only be fair to purchase a tacky souvenir as a memento of our adventure. As we prepared to get in our taxi, Liz and I realised that the outside of the museum has been designed to look like a watermelon with wings. Genius.

Back in Chaoyang District, we enjoyed a fest in Baoyuan Restaurant. We ate broccoli, dumplings, sweet and sour pork, spicy tofu and an aubergine dish.

Mike 1-0 Air pollution. Ha.

Hôm nay tôi đã đến một viện bảo tàng rất tốt nơi tôi có thể học rất nhiều về dưa hấu… lạ mà độc đáo =))