Happy New Year

Hey, remember me? I know it's been quiet around here for the past two months but I thought I would pop back in to wish you a happy New Year and recap the awesomeness that was 2014.

January
The winter in Shanghai is chilly, making it perfect hot pot weather. But Shanghai apparently wasn't cold enough so we traveled to Harbin for the Snow and Ice Festival, where temperatures dipped down to negative 30. Brrrrr. While the ice was the main attraction, we also enjoyed the Russian cathedral and eating ice cream.

February
February started with an ill fated trip to Cambodia. The month improved though with the Lantern Festival and a Bean Valentine auction.

March
In March, I indulged in a decadent brunch at Vue and shared my feelings about being a housewife. I also found out I was born to be an expat.

April
I came clean about my addiction, attended the Formula One race and participated in the Jinqiao 8k. The highlight of the month was when I volunteered to teach English in rural Henan Province and visited the hometown of my childhood hero, Mulan.

May
May is my favorite month since it's the annual celebration of my parents blessing the world with their youngest child (that would be me). I celebrated the demise of my twenties dressed as a giant cat and also indulged in lots of dumplings. But May also sucked this year because it marked the beginning of an exodus of expat friends from Shanghai. At least May had lots of pretty flowers. And a weekend in Hong Kong.

June
We spent a relaxing weekend in Moganshan with college friends where I realized I had become far too local and returned to America for a detox.

July
I was feeling a bit lazy from finally figuring out how to ride ride the bus, so I ran a Half Marathon in Inner Mongolia. Normal.

August
August was hot and busy. I'm sure I did something interesting but all I can remember is attending Shanghai Supper Club.

September
September was a month of travel with a hike up Huangshan, a weekend in Seoul, and a tour of Beijing with my sister.

October
I was a bad blogger this month but I did return to Cambodia. So there's that.

November
The moment I had been dreading arrived and we said our goodbye to Shanghai by running through it in the Shanghai International Half Marathon. Then we boarded a plane and left this crazy life behind.

 

December

December was a flurry of settling into our new house, new jobs, and new lives. It was a time to celebrate with family and friends but also a time to reflect back. Not only on 2014, but on the entire three years in China. For the first time in three years, I was stateside for New Year's Eve.

As we begin a new year, I'm excited for what is ahead, the next adventure we undertake. But I'm also sad that this piece of our journey is over. Looking back over the last year, I cannot fathom the things I have done and the places I have been. I can't imagine 2015 will top 2014, but the same could have been said for 2013 I suppose. Let's hope 2015 has a few surprises in store.

Hiking Huangshan or How I Made Myself Sore For 5 Days

When Matthew and I realized that our time left in China was limited, we began scheduling lots of weekend trips. One of those trips was to Yellow Mountain, or Huangshan.

Before heading to Huangshan, I wrongly thought that Yellow Mountain was a single mountain. But in reality, Huangshan refers to an entire mountain range in southern Anhui province.

There are literally hundreds of peaks and thousands of ravines in the Yellow Mountains, 72 of which have been named. Heavenly Capital Peak (1800m), Lotus Flower Peak and Bright Summit (1841m/6040ft) are the three major peaks, all rising more than 1,800 meters (5,900 feet) above sea level. That means that at times, I was standing next to a cliff that dropped down over a mile. For this heights adverse gal, the trip was often harrowing.

We arrived Friday night and spent some time exploring Tangkou, the town situated at the bottom of the mountains. That took about 10 minutes because Tangkou is TINY. With more time than we knew what to do with, we took the suggestion of our hotel and headed to the hot springs to relax for a few hours. Heaven. My only regret is that we visited the hot springs prior to ascending the mountain and not after. But soaking in a pool of hot water scented with wine and coconut milk wasn't a bad way to spend a Friday night.

Early the next morning, we joined the masses in line to take the buses into the park. As Huangshan is a national park, the only way to enter is on foot or via the National Express bus. We arrived at the Yungu Cable Car or Eastern Steps and then rode the cable car to the top. I don't remember much of the 12 minute cable car ride, though Matthew claims it was beautiful. I had my head between my knees and was trying to ignore the Chinese people pointing at the foreign girl who was freaking out. Like I said, I don't do heights.

After nearly meeting my death (I'm sure the cable cars are totally safe, but it FELT like I was going to die at any moment), we spent a few moments getting our bearings and then began the hour long hike to our hotel. Some of the best views on Huangshan are sunrise and set, and staying on the mountain meant that we could enjoy them.

We arrived at our hotel only to find there was a small snafu with our room, as in they didn't have one for us. But we were able to sort things out and received free accommodations in the single sex dorm rooms. Not what we had planned but it just added to the experience. We dropped off our bags and started off on another hike.

We then spent the next five hours going up paths that looked like this:

And down stairs that looked like this:

It was beautiful, thrilling, and at times terrifying. The guard rails were only often knee high and a small stumble could send you tumbling over the side of a mountain. Thankfully, while there were thousands of other tourists with us on the mountains that day, the crowds thinned considerably once we were away from the cable cars. At one point, we hiked for over an hour without seeing another soul.

Our original plan had been to watch the sunset at Fairy Walking Bridge, but once we made our way there, we knew there was no chance we would want to hike back the same way in the dark. We instead headed back up the trail, closer to our hotel and settled in for the show.

We could see the masses of people sitting far away on Bright Top, but enjoyed our empty spot along the trail, even if the sun disappeared behind a mountain before it reached the horizon.

As the darkness began to settle, we headed to our hotel for showers and much needed food. We had managed to skip lunch amid the hotel mixup and were famished after over 6 hours of hiking.

Staying in the hostel section of the hotel meant that we had little choice as to when we awoke the next morning. At exactly 4am, the lights in my room came on and everyone began to prepare for sunrise. We slipped on some thermals (despite wearing shorts during the day) and joined the masses en route to Bright Top. Why isn't there a photo of the sunrise in this post? Because there wasn't much of one. Thick fog and crowds of people meant that we couldn't even get close to seeing the sun come up. Back in our rooms, we showered and prepared for another long day.

We spent the next five hours hiking down the Western Steps of Huangshan. While Saturday had given us blue skies and beautiful views, Sunday proved to be wet and foggy. But it meant the trails were fairly empty and the temperatures were moderate on the way down. Around noon, we arrived at Mercy Light Pavilion and happily jumped on a bus back to Tangkou. As our flight to Shanghai was not until much later that evening, we checked into a hotel for showers and an afternoon nap. After we devoured a bowl of noodles that is.

Afterwards, we realized we had walked over 13 miles/21 km, mostly on stairs, over the two days on the mountains. I consider myself to be in fairly good shape (I teach 2 spin classes and run an average of 15 miles a week, plus I'm about to run my third 1/2 marathon in a year), and I have to tell you, Huangshan was no joke. While I never felt unable to make it, I was sore when we woke up on Sunday. And I was even more sore Monday morning. In fact, I found it hard to go down stairs even on Thursday. But the views? Well, they made everything worth it.

Cambodia: Ta Prohm

Not far from Angkor Wat is the beautiful temple of Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for being the featured in the movie Tomb Raider. It's also where I tossed my cookies.

The unique thing about Ta Prohm is that it has been left in much the same condition in which it was found. Trees grow from the top of buildings and the jungle surrounding the temple makes it insanely photogenic.

It almost made me feel like an explorer, discovering something unseen for the first time. Except for the all the other tourists that were there of course.

Cambodia: Angkor Wat

We visited Cambodia in February during the Spring Festival. However, I've written very little about the trip. Unfortunately, I don't remember most of it. And what I do remember about those first few days, I sort of wish I could forget.

One of the spots I do clearly remember was the Temple of Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat is the largest religious monument in the world and classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Built by the Khmer King during the 12th century (113 BC), the site has served as a Hindu as well as Buddhist temple.

We awoke early and gathered ourselves for a sunrise view of the temple. We had hired a guide who helped us find our way through the vast darkness and waited for the first rays of light to appear.

Slowly, the outline of the temple became visible directly in front of us. As the sun rose, so did the giant towers of the temple.

Ankor Wat is nothing short of breathtaking. As someone who has toured a fair amount of temples and ruins, I can easily say this is the most impressive one I have visited. While walking around, I was awed by the size of the structure and by the simple fact that I was privileged enough to be seeing it.

In my opinion, Ankor Wat is best toured with a guide simply because the history surrounding this place is immense. Your inner nerd will thank you.

$20 USD will get you a single day pass to tour Ankor Wat as well as the surrounding temples in the Angkor Archeological Park. 

Scam City Shanghai

Has anyone seen the show Scam City on National Geographic? The premise is simple, really. The host visits some of the world’s most popular cities in an effort to expose the darker side of tourism. He intentionally falls victim to swindlers to display local adaptations of popular scams such as pick pockets, expensive cab fares, or bars luring people in with adult entertainment at a high cost. Thankfully, I have been lucky enough not to be on the receiving end of any scams in Shanghai. However, I have friends (both visitors and locals) who have been. In an effort to keep others from following prey, here is a rundown of the most common scams in Shanghai.

Tea Ceremony/English student
You'll be approached in a tourist spot (this is very common in People's Square) by someone claiming they are an English student at a local university. Then comes the hook. The "student" will ask if you would mind helping them practice their English. In exchange, they will offer to treat you to a traditional Chinese tea ceremony. After your new friend orders snacks and tea, they will excuse themselves. The bill will arrive shortly after and you will be forced to pay the exorbitant cost of the meal.

There are some actual students who may approach you to practice English. Just let them know you will be picking the location.

Dropped Metro Card
This trick that has gotten many Shanghai newbies. The taxi driver will "accidentally" drop your transportation card as he attempts to hand it back to you. The taxi driver likely saw that you had a lot of money on your card and dropped it by his feet to quickly switch it for an empty one. An easy way to circumvent this dupe is by placing a sticker or other identifying marker on your card to confirm the correct one is handed back to you.

Black Taxi 
As much as I complain about Shanghai taxis, only use the official ones. If a car (usually a black car that looks nicer than usual taxis) pulls up next to you and the driver asks where you want to go, or simply says "taxi?", you should walk away. These unmetered "taxis" seek out foreigners and charge outlandish fares, or worse.

Pickpockets
If you are hanging out on Nanjing Lu or other tourist spots, be on the lookout. Typically, a single man or a pair of women with babies strapped to their chests approach you from behind, unzip your bag, and make off with anything inside (many a friend has lost an iPhone this way). Remember to keep your bags in front of you and do not place valuables in your back pocket.

KTV
This con is mostly directed at men visiting Shanghai. If some pretty Chinese girls randomly ask if you want to go to KTV, the correct answer is NO. It's not uncommon for girls to find naive foreigners to go out drinking with them, run up a huge bill and then leave you to foot it. Generally speaking, any time you are going to a bar with strangers, you should always pay for drinks as you go. Running up a bar tab with people you don't know can be a dangerous exercise.

As with most things, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is. While most of these schemes will only result in a loss of your money (and perhaps dignity), many of them can become dangerous if you refuse to pay. If you find yourself in one of these situations, it is often best to pay the bill and then dial 110 for the police or 962288 for bilingual assistance. You should also follow up directly with your credit card company to quickly dispute the charges. Overall, I feel much safer in Shanghai than I did in large cities back in the US, however, all big cities come with some level of crime. It's best to be aware of the types of crimes you may encounter.

Harbin Eats

When researching places to eat in Harbin, we found very little information. Tripadvisor wasn't a huge help with McDonalds coming in near the top of the restaurant list.

Additionally, we found very few places with English menus. With our basic Chinese and Waygo phone app, we were able to order without too many issues though restaurants along the pedestrian street seemed to have more English menus available.

We had some hits and misses but overall, greatly enjoyed the food in Harbin. Here are the places we tried throughout our stay.

Dongfang Jiaozi Wang/Eastern Dumplings King (Numerous locations)
We actually ate here twice because it was close to our hotel, cheap, and tasty. We noshed on various dumplings (I'd recommend the pork and chive as well as the mushroom) with a side of eggplant, all washed down with a few cups of tea. Our bill was around 65 rmb for two people each visit.

Tatos (127 Zhongyang Dajie)
Tatos was one of the few places to offer us an English menu. We ventured here because I wanted to try some Russian food. To be honest, I don't have a ton of experience with Russian food (other than borscht) and had no idea what to expect. The food here was good, but not great. But maybe I'm just not that huge a fan of Russian food? The prices were okay, we spent around 200 rmb for two people, including drinks. I'd recommend trying the baked claypot dishes if you go.

 

Lao Chang Spring Pancake (178 Zhongyang Dajie)
Again, no English menu though this was easily my favorite meal in Harbin. I'd highly recommend rolling up some spicy pork and red peppers with sliced cucumber as well as one of the egg fillings. And don't forget to order a sauce. 100 rmb will get you more food than you'll be able to finish.

After dinner, be sure to purchase a popsicle outside the Modern Hotel (89 Zhongyang Dajie). The ice cream sold here is supposedly made according to a hundred year tradition. Apparently that makes it extra tasty because we went back every day for one of these. Matthew declared it the best ice cream he has eaten in China. That's high praise from my husband.

Anyone else been to Harbin? Did I leave your favorite spot off the list?

Harbin: Saint Sophia Cathedral

Harbin is a city with strong Russian roots. At one time, over a third of all the people living in the city were Russian. Because of this, a strong Russian influence can be seen in the architecture and food of the region.

One of the most visible places to see this is at Saint Sophia Cathedral.

Saint Sophia is a former Russian Orthodox church, built in 1907 after the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway.

The church was closed for a number of years during the Great Leap Forward as well as the Cultural Revolution and decades of neglect have sadly taken their toil on this beautiful example of Neo-Byzantine architecture. The inside of the church shows multiple cracks in the walls and much of the intricately decorated plaster has fallen away.

Thankfully, the government designated the cathedral a national cultural heritage site in 1996 as part of a nationwide campaign to protect historical sites. The following year, the cathedral was turned into the Municipal Architecture and Art Museum.

What is left of the chandeliers and decorated walls gives you a glimpse into what a masterpiece this building must have been in her hay day. Tickets are worth the 20 RMB entrance fee to not only warm up your hands, but also gaze upon what is left of this charming building.