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 =))

Air a grievance and an art attack

I have been back in Beijing a month. The summer holiday already seems like a distant memory. It is good to get into the routine of work, but it has been rather hectic in preparation for the new school year.

I have no regrets about my decision to move to Beijing. I could begin writing an endless list of reasons why I enjoy my life here and why I would love to continue living in the capital of China. However, there is currently one reason why I know I will not continue living in Beijing long-term and that reason often eclipses all the positive features of this gargantuan city full of culture, history and adventures. That reason is air pollution.

The CCTV Tower through a veil of smog.

When I was in Britain, I took breathing fresh air for granted. I now have an application on my mobile phone which tells me the quality of the air outside. If the air pollution levels are too high on the weekend, it will usually result in cancelling my plans and staying indoors. I have also purchased an air purifier, which cleans the air in my apartment.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), air pollution can seriously affect our health due to the small, harmful particles floating around. The smaller particles are most harmful as they can penetrate the lungs when breathed in. After moving to Beijing, I soon developed the habit of checking pm2.5 levels. This is particle matter measuring 2.5 microns in diameter. The pm2.5 levels are monitored and can be viewed online. WHO suggests that people should not be exposed to pm2.5 levels greater than 25 micrograms per cubic metre in a 24-hour period. This is extremely rare in Beijing.

When the pm2.5 levels are less than 100, the air appears “clean” and we would have what appears to be a “clear” day. Last weekend, we had pm2.5 levels of over 200. The air appeared “foggy” although on these days, you can taste and smell the pollution. This is not just weather. It is pollution.

I can still recall the winter in 2013, when Beijing made international news for pm2.5 levels of greater than 800. Not only does the pollution cause health problems, it really affects people’s moods and attitudes.

Schools in the United Kingdom often have indoor play time when the weather is too bad for children to play outside. This seldom occurs here in Beijing, however we frequently have indoor play time due to the pollution. Sadly, for the students here, many of them are now accustomed to this lifestyle.

On the weekend, Liz and I conducted some research to find a place in Beijing which could shelter us from the poisonous particles outside while keeping the ‘pollution blues’ and boredom at bay.

We ended up going to the Today Art Museum （今日美术馆）which is a non-profit, contemporary art museum. I am not an art enthusiast, but whenever I visit museums such as this, I enjoy and appreciate the modern art. The lady at the reception was incredibly friendly, enthusiastic about her job, plus we got a discount for being teachers.

There are three buildings belonging to the museum and the exhibits are regularly changed and updated so there will always be something new to see. I would definitely recommend this museum to anybody looking for an activity when the air pollution is bad.

Afterwards, we headed to Sanlitun and feasted on sweet and sour prawns, lemon chicken and pan fried dumplings. It was the perfect remedy to a grotty weekend.

The Government has made plans to lower the pollution levels here in Beijing. However, on heavily polluted days, I can’t help but dream about my next place of residence and those days are far too frequent for me to wait for promises of improved air quality to reach fruition. For now, I will try to relish my time in this ancient metropolis, as I want to make sure I have enjoyable experiences before I leave.

Gần đây ở Bắc Kinh, không khí bị ô nhiễm nặng. Tôi đã mua một cái máy lọc không khí. Tôi nghĩ chất lượng không khí đối với tôi là quan trọng nhất. Bây giờ, không khí trong lành là một điều xa xỉ với tôi. Cuối tuần qua, tôi đã đi thăm một bảo tàng nghệ thuật hiện đại.

Back in Beijing

Firstly, I wanted to celebrate. I spent the summer holiday writing this blog on my mobile phone. Now that I am back in China, I can graduate to my laptop. Hurrah!

I do have another reason to celebrate. It is about two years since I first arrived here in Beijing. It feels good to return to “normality”. If a noisy, heavily polluted yet interesting and exciting city can be described as normal. For me, it is coming back to what I know and it is therefore normal for me now.

What has changed in these two years? I have gained a lot of experiences which have taught me how to deal with many professional, social and cultural situations. I can now communicate adequately (to a certain degree) with Chinese locals, although often get to the point of a conversation where I can’t understand or say exactly how I feel and therefore feel frustrated with myself. Continuing my Mandarin lessons will hopefully build on my skills.

I also like to think I have become more Beijing-wise. I now know when someone is trying to overcharge me with “foreigner tax”. I am still nowhere near amazing at navigating around this huge city, but the feeling of disorientation and being lost occurs much less now. If I ever do find myself in a strange place, I can now ask for directions to the underground or explain where I would like to be to taxi drivers. This definitely makes life more comfortable (and less stressful) when compared with two years ago.

Mother nature can sometimes be a cruel mistress. Beijing is usually a super dry city. I think I can count on one hand the amount of times it rained in my first year residing in Beijing. But on my first full-day back in Beijing, there is indeed a shower of acidic rain merrily dancing through the sky and dampening the streets below. Another perk of living here for two years is knowing that if is does rain (or more often the case – if the pollution levels are too high) and you don’t want to leave the house, you can order in food very easily.

Fast food chains do deliver to your home here in Beijing. However, I prefer to use companies like Sherpa’s Food Delivery Service. You log on to their website, choose a restaurant in the city, select what meal you would like and then the delivery man will hop on a scooter, go to the restaurant, collect your order and bring it straight to your door. The delivery costs depend on the distance to your place.

Tipping is unheard of in Beijing, but this is a service I have really valued since living here, so I regularly tip the deliverymen - especially on a smoggy day. To celebrate my Beijing two-year anniversary, I ordered bacon and chicken fusilli (NOT easy to find good bacon here), a zucchini carrot cake and a peach, banana, passionfruit, oat, honey and yoghurt smoothie. Happy Two Years, Bejing, here’s to having a great new year together!

Tôi sống ở Bắc Kinh được hai năm rồi. Tôi thích cuộc sống ở Bắc Kinh, nhưng không khí ô nhiễm đến nỗi không thể thở được. Sự khác biệt trong ngôn ngữ và văn hóa xuất hiện như sự thử thách thật sự. Văn hóa Trung Quốc vừa độc đáo vừa hấp dẫn.
Tôi không biết tại sao nhưng tôi luôn nghĩ nền văn hóa của các nơi khác thú vị hơn nền văn hóa của nước tôi.

Farewell Hanoi!

Another visit to Hanoi is coming to an end. I don't feel sad. As I walked around Hoan Kiem Lake for the last time, I thought about my very first trip to Vietnam. So much has changed and a lot has happened in the past eight years. But I am grateful for my experiences in Hanoi. They definitely helped to shape the person I am and my love for the place is probably the main reason why I am working as an international primary school teacher with a love of travelling. I know I will return to Vietnam again someday.

On my last trip around the lake, a young girl with cerebral palsy came to sell me water. She was so surprised that I could speak some Vietnamese and was interested to know where I was from and how I knew Vietnamese. It reminded me of the openness of many Vietnamese people and how appreciative they can be of foreigners trying to speak their language. She told me that she goes to the lake every day to sell water. She wanted to take a photograph with me before I left. How I love Hoan Kiem Lake.

Since coming back from Bac Ninh province, I have tried meeting up with friends again before I leave Hanoi, while also finding time to relax (because I am lazy, but also because I am aware work will be starting soon).

On Thursday evening, Ngan invited me to a gathering. In 2006, we visited a zoo with her sister and neighbours. Ngan thought it would be nice to have a reunion. We went to Cau Giay Park and took some photos. Ngan said she will try to edit the photographs from both 2006 and 2014 so that we can easily compare the changes from past and present.

Those shy children from eight years ago are now young adults and were very successful in making me feel old (while repeatedly telling me how fat I have become). I will post the photo from 2006 and 2014 when I get a copy. Back then, I was a lanky nineteen year old and was still called fat by some Vietnamese. So I haven't got a chance of being thought of as thin now!

It was nice to meet Ngan and her group of friends. Her sister Thu had some great news that she passed her exams and will begin university after the summer.

On Friday, I ate mì xào (fried noodles) and drank a fruit tea before meeting with Khoa. He has some more guitar concerts in Hanoi and next week will go to Danang for the remainder of his summer holiday.

Afterwards, Minh and I ate crêpes. I chose to have a banana and custard cream filling. Later, we had a beer on a rooftop bar by West Lake.

Today I spent time with Minh and Nhung. I had my last Vietnamese coffee and a brownie with vanilla ice cream. Then we went souvenir shopping and took an obligatory selfie.

In the evening, Quy invited me to try the food at a vegetarian restaurant. I am by no means a veggie, but it was interesting how this restaurant recreates dishes without meat while still being very tasty and having a meat–like texture.
I once tried vegetarian bacon (fake-on) with dire consequences. It tasted like the world had ended in my mouth. In fairness I was hungover. Anyway this restaurant however, impressed me.

We had stir fried cauliflower in a sweet and sour sauce, vegetarian summer rolls and spring rolls and vegetarian kebabs. There was something suspiciously like sausage meat on that kebab, but I will trust that it was indeed meat free.

As we left the restaurant, we were caught in the mother of all electrical storms. It seems that Hanoi thought I deserved one last soaking before I left. Quy stopped the motorbike to get a plastic rain coat for me. Because I was already quite wet, the lady selling the coats had to help me into it. Quite a funny scene. A road sweeper was also sporting a similar coat and shouted in English "handsome boy!". What a fashion statement.

Quy and I went to eat che before driving through the rain back to my hotel.

It has been a fantastic summer of travelling and seeing friends. Thanks to all the people who made it special and hope to see them all again in the future.

Tôi thích đi du lịch suốt các kì nghỉ hè. Kỳ nghỉ hè của tôi thật tuyệt vời. Tôi đã đến Hàn Quốc, Thượng Hải, Tô Châu và Việt Nam. Chuyến đi vượt ra ngoài mong đợi của tôi.

 Bây giờ tôi cảm thấy buồn vì kì nghỉ hè sắp kết thúc. Hẹn gặp lại Hà Nội! Một ngày nào đó tôi sẽ trở về và ngày đó sẽ không còn xa nữa~