CHINA – TOKIDOKI (NOMAD)

LIJIANG, CHINA: “NAXI LIFE”

Published on September 21, 2020September 25, 2020 by jacquelinemhadel3 Comments

Rooftops of Lijiang

Beautiful early morning view from my hostel’s 3rd floor.

Small Square, Early Morning.

I love to get up early and explore places with the feeling of being virtually alone. Fortunately, I got that feeling this morning. This is a small square that by the afternoon, was overrun by tour groups with flag-waving guides.

Water Wheels

‘Water Wheels,’ divide the ‘Old Town’ from the ‘New Town.’

Early morning shot of a canal on the ‘New Town’ side.

Chairman Mao. In a square near the business district. Taller than a mountain.

‘Old Town’ Scenery

My hangout for coffee and Tibetan beef momo dumplings. LAMU’S HOUSE OF TIBET. Tibetan Beef Momo Dumplings. Delicious!

Smells Like Dead Spirits

‘Bridge connecting two important trade streets back in the day. When they used to travel via horse carts…‘New Town’ Waterway

Samurai Doggy & Girl

Naxi woman

Boy Praying

The Naxi created a written language over 1000 years ago using an amazing system of pictographs. The ONLY hieroglyphic language still in use.

Three wells that people still use for drinking and washing clothes.

Three Friends in a Cafe

Lijiang has been the base of the Naxi minority for the last 1400 years. Naxi women wear blue blouses and trousers covered by a blue or black apron. The traditional cape apparently symbolizes the heavens.

“I was lost for about two and a half hours in the windy, maze-like streets of Old Town…and came upon one of the coolest places ever — providing me with one of the coolest moments in my life...I happened upon this little door…it said ‘bar,’ but…it was just one room, dark room, with a voice that said (i couldn’t see anyone) ‘come in.’ I said ‘no, thanks’ and walked away…but ended up returning due to the intrigue…one room with a couch and pillows….”

So, this is it. My dream dwelling. He just lies on the couch and listens to music…So, from the doorway, you can see the whole room. There’s no bar, really. He just hangs out here to relax during the day then has jam/drinking sessions with his friends every night…

This is my favorite aspect of the room. A small stage with a chair and amplifier…a solitary black and white photo on the brick wall of hands strumming a guitar…a mini-horse’s saddle (?), half-drunk liquor bottles….just love it!

Sorry for the blur — it was so dark in there, but I hate using a flash, distorts the color too much…so, this is him. We didn’t exchange names, he didn’t speak much English…see his guitar and the Bob Marley pic. We’d try to speak a little, then he would just recline and listen to his Chinese rock music…

As I walked in, the beer shelf was to my right. There were only two kinds of beer, 1 Chinese and 1 Budweiser. I opted for the Chinese and then asked how much. He said ‘no money. free.’ And that’s how my afternoon with this cool guy began…

Lijiang, China. June 2009

PINGYAO, CHINA: “WALLED IN”

Published on September 10, 2020September 19, 2020 by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

Yamen Hostel, Pingyao. 30 rmb/ nt. around 5 usd.

Yamen Hostel courtyard

One of a million archaic archways leading to homes and courtyards…

Sakura Cafe. The place to hang when you’re in Pingyao.

Sakura Cafe Apple Pie

The Apple Pie at Sakura Cafe. It’s a whole pie. Naturally, I expected just a piece. I was even getting impatient, asking them how long it takes to get a piece of pie out here. Then, this came. I was like, a whole pie? How much? It was what it said in the menu…24rmb…in general, the Chinese eat big portions of everything. In KFC or McDonald’s, couples will get two sandwiches, chicken on the side, and ice cream for dessert….I love to watch the Chinese eat unabashedly. Whereas, in Vietnam, they sit in KFC for hours to see and be seen with a small fries and small Pepsi…not the Chinese!!!

Men on Bike Carts in a Narrow Alleyway

Bike Cart

Looks like a house built into the wall

The best-preserved ancient walled city in China – Pingyao.

Pingyao residents

Through another winding gateway

Ancient walls built in 1370

Its residences and shops, and even the government office are all STILL in the style of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) Dynasties

The most sedate cats and dogs in the world. Maybe they’re opium-heads? I dunno. It’s a bit disconcerting. I watched an owner play ‘chase’ with her dog today and the dog didn’t make a sound…just ran all around the room…I kept watching and thinking ‘Bark, dammit! Bark!’

April 2009. Pingyao, China.

DALI, CHINA: “CHINESE BOHEMIA”

Published on October 13, 2012August 22, 2020 by jacquelinemhadel3 Comments

**Dali lies at an altitude of 1900m with a backdrop of the 4000m Cang Shan (Jade Green Mountains.)**

**Man smoking outside one of the town gates**

**The rolling clouds seem close enough to touch**

BAI PEOPLE'S BREAKFAST: The Bai People's Pancake, Fried Goat cheese with Chinese Ham and Scrambled Eggs, Yunnan coffee — **BAI PEOPLE’S BREAKFAST: The Bai People’s Pancake, Fried Goat cheese with Chinese Ham and Scrambled Eggs, Yunnan coffee**

MAY 2009. Dali, China.

SHANGHAI, CHINA: “NOODLE BREAK”

Published on October 13, 2012August 22, 2020 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

This is part re-told from a friend living in Shanghai and bits and pieces from the internet: “Moller Villa: Legend has it that Jewish Eric Moller came to Shanghai in 1919 empty-handed and made his fortune here by winning large sums at the horse races, culminating in the construction of this fantasy home for his daughter. The daughter is said to have had a dream in which she saw a castle like those in the Hans Andersen fairy tales. On awakening, she drew a sketch. The father was so fond of his youngest daughter that he immediately commissioned an architect to build her dream house.

In reality the Mollers were originally Swedish with British citizenship. Eric Moller was the son of wealthy businessman Nils Moller, who had started a business in Hong Kong in the 1860s. It was said that a fortune-teller told Moller that if he ever finished the house, ill-fortune would befall him. So Moller dawdled, adding bits and bobs for more than 10 years, finally completing the task in the late 1940s. According to Johnston, Moller’s daughter said that the fortune-teller tale too is false, but there is no doubt that Moller’s fortunes took a turn for the worse following the breakout of World War II.

Moller left Shanghai in 1950 soon after the communists came to power. A few years later on a flight to Singapore, as his daughter Nancy watched and waited for him at Singapore’s Kallang Airport, his Qantas plane crashed on landing, killing Eric Moller and 32 other passengers.”

Jamison in his Shanghai Apartment

I could feel the presence of people who lived in the apartment many years ago.

April 2009. Shanghai, China.

SHANGHAI, CHINA: “CONSTRUCTION & DUMPLINGS”

Published on October 13, 2012August 22, 2020 by jacquelinemhadelLeave a comment

As we walked through or towards the French Concession... — **As we walked through or towards the French Concession…**

The one that is gray and has a design on it is unique. Legend has it that as they built the highway, that’s the one spot they couldn’t get a pillar to go into…they tried and tried. Finally, they contacted a Buddhist monk, who informed them that they couldn’t put a pillar there because there was a dragon down there. If they drew a dragon motif on a pillar, then they would be able to put it in the ground. So they did, and they did.

Construction along the skylineThe guys responsible for the construction along the skylineFamous Teahouse in The Old Town. Used to be a private residence.

Nan Xiang Dumplings: Jamison in line for famous and delicious dumplings. 16 for $2! Cheap and awesome!

**Amazing Chinese dumplings! Xiaolongbao**

Hey, that's not the 'Peace' sign. Shanghai's next top model hamming it up with her brother in the park...shoving bottle in his face... — **Hey, that’s not the ‘Peace’ sign. Shanghai’s next top model hamming it up with her brother in the park…shoving bottle in his face…**

Jamison with new friends. The boy can't quite figure out what's going on. — Jamison with new friends. The boy can’t quite figure out what’s going on.

**The Pearl Tower and the financial district across from The Bund. Pic taken on rooftop balcony of Captain Hostel.**

April 2009. Shanghai, China.

NANJING/NANKING, CHINA: MORE TO IT THAN TRAGEDY

Published on October 13, 2012August 22, 2020 by jacquelinemhadel7 Comments

Jasmine Hostel, Nanjing. Quiet, relaxing.

Nanjing Massacre Museum.
FAMILY RUINED:
Never returns the son killed,
Never returns the husband buried alive,
Sorrow drowns the wife raped,
Heavens…

Main reason I came to Nanjing was to see this museum. One of the best books I’ve ever read, ‘The Rape of Nanking’ by Iris Chang. Found out in the museum yesterday that Chang committed suicide in 2004. She was working on a new book about the Bataan Death March. She was born in Princeton, NJ and the pressure of being a Chinese American and after her book, kind of representative of the victims to get the Japanese to admit guilt…she confronted the Japanese Ambassador in public…she started to feel paranoid, watched by the CIA…she thought they were trying to make her look crazy to discredit her…fell into deep depression…and killed herself. Brilliant writer, intense.

Bike,Tree,Lake

Ming Xiaoling Tomb. The first section of the avenue leading up to the mausoleum takes you along the ‘spirit path,’ lined with stone statues of lions, camels, elephants, and horses. These stone animals drive away evil spirits and guard the tomb.

Zhongsan Mountain National Park

Zhongyan

April 2009. Nanjing, China.

BEIJING, CHINA: “HEAVENLY PEACE”

Published on October 13, 2012August 21, 2020 by jacquelinemhadel2 Comments

Great hostel, under construction on the outside only. So far, the best hostel I've been to. Great staff, can arrange anything you want. — Great hostel, under construction on the outside only. So far, the best hostel I’ve been to. Great staff, can arrange anything you want.

Making youtiao, deep-fried dough stick. Tasteless, bordering on terrible-tasting, if that's possible. Powdered sugar would have been a wonderful addition... — Making ***youtiao, deep-fried dough stick***. Tasteless, bordering on terrible-tasting, if that’s possible. Powdered sugar would have been a wonderful addition…

The Great Wall at Mutianyu. Magnificent. Badaling is the tourist trap, this is the new, best place to see it without too many hawkers and vendors.

He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man. - Mao Zedong — He who has not climbed the Great Wall is not a true man. – Mao Zedong

'The strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it.' - Genghis Khan Sentries could be bribed, so...Matianyu is renowned for its Ming Dynasty guard towers. — ‘The strength of a wall depends on the courage of those who defend it.’ – Genghis Khan
Sentries could be bribed, so…Matianyu is renowned for its Ming Dynasty guard towers.

From the Dave Ball School of Self-Photography. He's the expert. I never do this. But I couldn't resist. It's The Great Wall! And I refused all of the people around me who offered to take a pic of me with my camera, haha! — From the Dave Ball School of Self-Photography. He’s the expert. I never do this. But I couldn’t resist. It’s The Great Wall! And I refused all of the people around me who offered to take a pic of me with my camera, haha!

Monument to the People's Heroes in Tianenmen Square — Monument to the People’s Heroes in Tiananmen Square

Forbidden City: Off limits for 500 years. Two dynasties Ming and Qing

GUILIN, CHINA: BAMBOO BOAT FROM GUILIN TO YANGSHUO

Published on October 13, 2012August 21, 2020 by jacquelinemhadel4 Comments

In May/June 2009, I took a life-changing month-long trip to China. I had no plan rather than to land in Beijing and work my way back down all the way back to Saigon, Vietnam. I just kept going from hostel to hostel on trains or buses (trips that the hostel staffs would arrange, so I’d cross my fingers and hope to make it where I intended.) I made it everywhere just fine. Below are two pictures of my bamboo boat trip from Guilin to Yangshuo. I’ll never, ever forget it.

MAY/JUN09. Guilin to Yangshuo, China. (Sony Camera and Lens)

Category: CHINA

LIJIANG, CHINA: “NAXI LIFE”

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PINGYAO, CHINA: “WALLED IN”

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DALI, CHINA: “CHINESE BOHEMIA”

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SHANGHAI, CHINA: “NOODLE BREAK”

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SHANGHAI, CHINA: “CONSTRUCTION & DUMPLINGS”

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NANJING/NANKING, CHINA: MORE TO IT THAN TRAGEDY

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BEIJING, CHINA: “HEAVENLY PEACE”

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GUILIN, CHINA: BAMBOO BOAT FROM GUILIN TO YANGSHUO

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