Well rested now

Ok, so, I was tired and irritable in my last post, so it may not be a fully accurate reaction of how I feel.

It occurs to me that I should be recording my eats so that I may relive it when I'm far from it.

Lets see in the past few days, thing that jump into my memory:

Zhang Jia Gang:

1. Fresh rice: freshly harvested. Glowing, soft sheen, with a sweet, clear fragrance. No need for any accompaniment.

2. Wild 黄鳝 （Monopterus albus according to Baidu）. I think it's quickly fried in a pan with all the oil, vegetables, soy sauce all mixed, then left to simmer at low heat for a little while. The wild variety has more texture to it and more taste. There is an almost muddy taste to the little things.

Small town close to Zhang Jia Gang where I went horse-riding. This was in a government building by the way.

1. Goose liver: Amazing. I've never tried foie gras, but i imagine it is something similar. The poor birds were raised especially for the purpose of liver consumption. So their livers were pure creamy fatness, no birdie taste that you would usually get, and no stringy bits.

2. Crabs: pretty small, a lot of eggs still in existence. In their peak years no doubt.

3. Abalone: On little shells and then steamed.

4. 雪菜: Sweet tasting.

Hm....is it any wonder I have weight problems?

More highlights:

• Soft-shelled turtle: (don't worry, they're not endangered) on rice. Rice tasted gooooddd
• Some fish with the shell still on. Supposed to be like that.
• Suzhou's tiny won tons, with a lot of vegies and not a lot of meat.
• What else?
• Pidgeons: roasted in special, secret sauce. In Nanjing. Was named one of NJ's top 10 things to eat. Or so we were told.

Man. All this fat is worth quite a lot isn't it?

Oh yes:

奥运加油，中国加油！

(Go go Olympics, Go go China)

East vs. West

Back in Nanjing!!!!! So happy. Home sweet home. This one was meant to be a rant about how us Chinese are second-class citizens even in our own country etc etc, how the old peasant culture mindlessly favours males over females etc.... I mean, so what if I have a rare surname and am not male....dammit, if I ever breed, they are going to have my surname. Cost of doing so, don't care.

Plus, just because your ancestors once had the ability go kick my ancestors' arse, does that mean you can intentionally and needlessly block someone's photo op just so you can stupidly look at some building and see whether or not it was a fan? Stupid pigs.

Not in a good mood as you can see. There is a typhoon, I have wasted this day on....things I would not willingly do on my own. Due to old thinking. By some people that are old and some that aren't even old but acts like it.

Another thing. Old topic. Media bias. Read an article on the train back today. On Putin. From this, the man is nothing less than a mysterious, golden hero. He is physically as powerful as he is politically, but not only has he mastered the art of Judo, a physical kind of assertion, he has also mastered diplomacy, by "losing" to a 10-year old girl in one of Japan's famous houses. There are collectable in his image. Coins, chocolates...... He is every Russian girl perfect man to marry. He is The Man. His being PM is just a constitutionally correct was of realising his year 2000 promise:
"Give me 20 years, and I will give you a great country"

Now, read an article on the issue in the western press. Who's right?

We cannot believe anything anyone says. But to not listen is suicide. Life is hard.


Toured tourist SuZhou yesterday. Not all that impressed (treated like 2nd-class citizen).

Toured New SuZhou yesterday. Now, that is what I call beauty. Huge lake. Round. Lined with neon lit pieces of architecture with the showpiece being China's premier movie theater. It's a round cone thing, with a pearl like structure at it's center. All lit in bright, ever-changing lights. All from a beautiful, faux-ancient pagoda build on the surface of the lake with a little path leading up to it. Lit in lights. Perfect place to fall in love. There is of course, a typhoon, so the wind was pretty strong, however, it is summer, so it was a warm, humid kind of wind.

Ah, feel so much better after that rant. After all, all that stuff, the sex and race prejudice, is not really a part of my world. For now. But hey, girls are rising. I mean from all the champions in the Uni Exams, most of them were girls. It's due to the fact that unlike the spoiled little male brats out there, most of us know that we have nothing, have been told that we are nothing, so there is no other choice than for us to create our own things. Is this feminism? Who cares? Nouns are actually create confusion. I mean, no two thing are actually the same, but nouns make us think that is so.

You know what? All the above actually is not a important thing to be considered. I mean, I can't change my race or sex (well..you know my meaning), so, I should just continue on my happy self.

After all, life is unfair.

Weight Issues

I cannot believe how much difference to the waistline ten days or so can make. There is definately much more of me to love. But I can't help myself when there are so much good food in this world! Sigh. I resolutely bought that small sized pair of short anyway....even though I couldn't quite fit into the waistline. But I have faith. Plus the medium sized one had around 2 inches of free space. Obviously not my size. Aaaargh!!!!!!

SH is back to what I'm familiar with. The shopping, the noise, the traffic, the people. Even the worries are the same. At last! I have discovered the meaning of culture!

The streets seem to be filled with four types of people:
1. Young people dating
2. Two or more girls shopping
3. Girl with mum
4. Lone male

We were of course, the exception.

I'm dying to taste life. Away from all this family cloud. My 12 year old cousin who is still addicted to aforementioned internet games is hovering around. Better get off the computer. Ciao!

Yesterday and Shanghai

TODAY

Du family reunion. All of us together. I was mostly in coffee withdrawl. Head Ache. Still haven't quite figured it out. Other than that there is a definate generation gap.

It was really sad saying goodbye to Great-Aunt and Uncle. They sang for us some local operas on the car. Will no doubt see them again.

Am now at an aunt's house. Will get to taste some more of Shanghai tomorrow. Night!

YESTERDAY:

We went to visit my Great-Grandmother and Father's tomb in Chang Shu (常熟). It was in the deep dark recesses of a forested hill. For the purpose of getting there before the gate guards forbid us to drive up, we woke at 5 and set off at around 5.30.

By the time we got to the hill at 6.30, there were already a lot of people there exercising but no guards. So we drove into the spot, and dove into the deep forest. Didn't really think of snakes at the time but really I should have. There were ants a centimetre long and mosquitos everywhere. And I mean everywhere. I have never in my life seen so many mosquitos congregated on one spot. It was actually quite scary. One need only to look at the air in front of one to see around 20-30 mosquitos after your blood. At this sight, we covered ourselves in mosquito repellent, to the point that even I felt repelled, but that didn't deter them......my mother was positively dancing in fright, at least that much was extremely entertaining. My mosquito count has risen. And they are evil mosquitos. It has only started swelling today. Sigh. 忍受 . It's a good exercise. Just distance your mind from your body. Works with heat, itchiness, drunkeness, fatigue, pain....easier said than done of course.

After that exercise, we went to a noodle bar just at the foot of the mountain. Gosh I love noodle bars. This one I think was not as good as the one we had on horse-riding day. But cleaner. So, this backs up my theory that the dirtier the place, the better the food. This one's noodle was like, half cooked too. But I think that may be the style of the place. What was really interesting was the people there. First, the shoe shiner. Around mid 40s to early 50s I think. With straw shoes. Put the guy (with a fairly big gut) in a suit, and there was no difference between him and all the other people around the place. I was too shy to take a photo I'm afraid, but maybe dad, who seems to have almost mastered the art of being ignored, has.

I suppose the wealth gap has widened significantly and there is not much social security. The New China is, I'm afraid, a place for New Chinese. We don't get sick much, is ready to work the gruelling hours, handle the pressure, has the brains and aggression to navigate the ever-shifting maze that is China. Admittedly, all this sounds like a kind of paradise for myself at the moment. I have nothing to lose. Aim for the sun, and if you have reached half-way, you have success. I'm already on the ground, and this little birdie is ready to spread her wings. However, what about the other little birdies that are used to ocean airflow and suddenly someone builds a mountain range? In an ideal world, all those little birdies will be re-located, but mostly, with habitat destruction, they die off. . . so does that mean that it is actually due to the kindness and toughness of the human spirit that the wealth gap even exists? Now, that is a cruel thought, but I think, quite optimistic.

Man, I really know how to bs, we are only at 8 am.

Also went and had a look at the Yangtze delta. Gorgeous countryside. Retirement heaven. Like something out of a picture.

After that, lunch with an old friend of Great-Uncle at Changshu Development Area. Really pretty office. Details not really there, but at first glance, the white-collar dream. Haha. I'm dreaming a lot in this holiday isn't it?

Lunch was good, got introduced to the Chinese habit of drinking to one's higher level beings. And being a lower level being, that means emptying your cup to show respect. Luckily, I did 9% Yellow rice wine. Kinda like cooking wine but finer. A Changshu product. It's nice. Kinda like yellow sake. Low limit with a sweet, fragrant aftertaste. The lunch itself: some fish with poisonous blood, abalone, shrimp that are drowned in this sauce so that they breathe it in and have more flavour. Too raw though. I like my shrimps cooked. It would be nice if they seared it afterwards.

After that, Great-Uncle was nice enough to take us through Jiangsu-Nantong Bridge (苏通大桥). It was foggy, but the bridge was absolutely humongously breath-taking. Almost makes me wish I had done engineering. But that takes a less jealous heart than I can offer.

Oh, on hearts, I get Howl's Moving Castle now. Even beautiful superhumans have flaws and that even though a girl may not be pretty, she can capture that superhuman's heart through the strengh of her own. Inner beauty. So romantic...does it happen? Well, there are no beautiful superhumans in existence, so I suppose we will never know. Even if they did, there will probably be no Sophie to save them from being torn apart by all the people that lust after them and want to own them. So, that is why it is a good idea not to watch too much fantasy, gives one a distorted view of what might be. I have found that through much appreciation of the genre and much time spent trying to reconcile the world of dreams and the one I happen to live in. Same goes for video games btw. I know some people think it is escapism, but personally, I don't think most of them have anything to escape from. Or nothing that bad. Just a immature kind of dreaming. But who am I to judge? Living on drugs is excellent until it's not possible. Gaming seems to have a longer possible addiction period, and no, how can I put this, widespread withdrawl symptoms. Maybe it's the next nirvana.

Hua Xi Village 华西村

We went to a "village" close to Zhang Jia Gang today. It used to be a part of collective socialism during the old days, and the villagers there have kept the spirit. The force is still strong in the village. Their village motto is:
"家有黄金数吨,一天也只能吃三顿饭"
Even if a family has gold in the tonnes, one can only eat three meals a day.
At the hotel /Gold tower (12o million yuan, with 39kg of gold turret on top) we went to, their famous leader, that led the village to all this wealth for the village, Wu JiaBao, added:
"豪华房子独占鳌头,一人也只占一个床位" - 吴仁宝
These luxurious rooms alone occupy the top place, but each person need only one bed.

NOTE: Wu JiaBao's counterpart in Zhang Jia Gang is Qing ZhenHua (秦振华, will check spelling)

Anyway, the place is famous for both their rocketing wealth and also what they decided to do with it....that is, create a "world park", where they built imitations of famous world sites. There is a hill in the village, quite a large one, and along the peak, they have built a miniature version of the Great Wall. Complete with guard's post, lookout posts and turrets. There is also Tiananmen Square, the Sydney Opera House, the US Capitol, the Arc de Triomphe......yea. In my mother's words, this is what happens when peasants get rich.....but gosh, it sure was fun looking at all the buildings and trying to recognise them all.

The streets around the Gold Tower are filled with stone statues that either they have erected in celebration of something or given to them.

The peasants got wealthy by putting together their money to have some investments in things like factories and stuff. Thus, is the power of teamwork.

Man, this place really makes me want to believe that Babylon was not a myth.


On our way back, we stopped at a grapevine/yard (??). Organic. No chemical fertiliser nor insectcides. But very small amounts and really expensive. The going rate for grapes is around 12 yuan, this one's 25, and you have to pre-order. I suppose this is high end grape.......really good stuff though, makes me want to go to Xinjiang more. I just hope I'm not disappointed there. Grapes are my favourite fruit. Preferred kind: red, large, seeded. Maybe it's an outdated idea, but I still don't really trust unseeded grapes, I mean, how can you expect the poor vine to give it their all when there is no possibility of the grapes to fulfill their prolifigation purposes?

The owner of the vine showed us around. He is a graduate of ..... 上海农业学院 (Shanghai Institute of Agriculture) ? And has learnt really to enjoy life. I mean, the premium grapes guarantee a pretty decent income, and the guy really likes the work. He experiments with the cultivation of different breeds, and is thinking about breeding his own crop.

This place is actually really cool, I get to know a life outside shopping and eating.


Earlier today, we went shopping along the small streets of Zhang Jia Gang, as we could not afford the Louis XIII and 2000 yuan dresses on offer on the main shopping street. It is in these places that you get to see the real side of this town. We found this out with the food. Went to a rip-off soy milk place that was actually crawling with bugs serviced by a bunch of lazy spoiled brats. I have now added to my mosquito bite count. Again, on my left side. Sigh. It's hard being so tasty. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for my blood for the food. Not only overpriced but absolute disgusting. Luckily we were all hot and hungry, so, while complaining, still drank the cool drink in record time, and downed the yucky food.

The place, like the fake Tiananmen and Great Wall, LOOKS alright, but still, not the real thing.

Sigh, Nanjing may have be raped, pillaged, burnt to the ground, eroded by the sands of time, but we still have the foundation there. Bad food doesn't survive. The end.

Speaking of Nanjing, the development of my dear hometown seems to be underground. The big road that is now a temporary (and I don't think all that legal) carpark is because there is a underground crossing built there. We now are rapidly developing a subway, we already had a underground shopping maze, and there is now going to be another one, and most of the busiest crossings are now vehicles only. People cross underground. There are also red light free subways under busy highways to alleviate traffic, as opposed to bridges. Because it looks prettier. And also (but admission is another thing) because Shanghai has a lot of bridges. We wanna one-up them of course.

More SH-NJ comparison when I get to SH on Sunday.

Residual anger from yesterday

This from Yesterday's Wall Street Journal:

Here's Another Olympic Sport: Skewering the Mascots
China's Five Characters Spur Confusion; 'Could Have Been Much Better,' Says Creator
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121677560339275779.html?mod=2_1338_topbox

I can't believe that they have run out of that many ways to diss the Olympics that they resort on commenting on the cuteness of the dolls. Rupert Murdoch? Or just western propaganda?

Actually, another thought, it's what everyone WANTS to hear. Media gives them what they want (capitalism right?). But that goes back to the old argument that the west feels threatened by China's rise.

Seeing how things are done here. I don't think that's unfounded.

Zhang Jia Gang

Yesterday, we arrived in dad's hometown of Zhang Jia Gang (张家港). The changes to the place over the past few years are ENORMOUS! It has become a model city of economic development. This used to be a one horse town, now.... there a high rise apartments everywhere, miles and miles of newly developed highways, factories, parks, man-made lakes, high end shopping......totally don't feel like I'm in a small town.

Went horse riding today! My first time. Was pretty fun. I managed to get the horse into a trot, which, in the heeled sandals, that, other than the pretty jewelled jandals I bought yesterday, are the only two pairs of shoes that I have with me, is fairly decent (I think.....).

The riding was done on this little island in the middle of Yangtse River (长江河), called Two Mountain Island (双山岛）We got to see some peasant land, the crops growing on it, ducks, geese and all these little birds that you don't see very often in the cities like egret (白鹭), and swallows (燕子) plus other birds I don't know the names of. Beautiful day today, high of 38 degrees, luckily, we hit the island in the morning, which meant that it wasn't that hot.

On our way back, we saw a cargo barge along the the Yangtse...absolutely beautiful, that gigantic (not that big, but people are small right?) hulking thing slowly embarking on its journey futher upstream... shouldn't be that far up, hitting the dams soon.

This is definately a land of opportunity, if, like all lands of opportunity, a little dark. Still, not as dark as could be. China is more small level dark. Of course, that adds up to large level of darkness, but....I don't know, does that mean that each individual gets ripped off less? Or maybe we are more creative.

Read up a little on Roman Abramovich and his dark money ("abramovich vouchers"). All in the course of life.

You know, I've been thinking today, you know, money is just a way to waste time. We spend time earning money, then spend time spending money, then, we wait for the things that we have spent money on to get old and then do the above all over again. Of course, say that to your average coal miner, risking health, life and limb just to get a few hundred dollars a month to feed their family.

Still............from the high perch of my relatively comfortable life so far, I think you have a real purpose in life if you are in that kind of situation. Like...that bun after you have eaten nothing in the past 24 hours and is close to collapsing. Far, far more meaningful life than your average fat spoiled brat without having to worry about anything in their life ever. In that respect, it's good that I lived in NZ for so long. Wasn't spoiled. Here, I don't have to lift a finger. Food: ready (3.50 yuan noodles better than ever). Dishes: not my problem. Floor: you mean they get dirty? Cleaning up my room: other people. So in the end, living the hard life is a good thing. Those religions were right.......

Ah, my third day of endless food and heat. The freshness of the city is still very much upon us. Even the rice tastes better.

Insects of home:

The cicadas are so cute. They chirp in waves. One of then starts and the others also start in competition and it gets louder and louder and then suddenly. . . .it breaks off and there is silence. Only to start all over again a while later.

The dragonflies are really enchanting too. It's been years.... I totally remember lying in the grass looking at those pretty wings before they flit off again. . . ah, beautiful childhood, how great to re-live it again.

Some things never change. I'm still a mosquito magnet. have about 20 odd bites all down my left side because i usually sleep on my right.....it doesn't really itch though. I am older, wiser, and can exercise more self control over the itchiness.

Food of home:

Went and had a NJ classic today 鸭血粉丝汤 (Duck's Blood with Vermicelli Soup) and 小笼包 （um...dunno translation, little buns with soup and amazing meaty filling in them). Due to the abscence of my dear, gigantic laptop, I am unable to post any picture until I upgrade my person in HK, but I will see what I can do. As I am the slowest eater in the family (some things never change) ....I was the last one left to clear the table..... of course I would not let good food down to waste...

Sigh, fingers crossed that the sweating will protect me from pigginess. News says that it will rise to 36 degrees tomorrow, but then, they also said we might typhoon, which luckily didn't occur.

TV of home:

OLYMPICS!!! Behind the scenes, intro of athletes, movie/song stars, the dodgy director 张艺谋（Zhang Yi Mou)....everything. Say what you will, but this is going to be awesome. Actually, I have heard some people discuss whether it was all worth it. All the money, politiking, etc for what? A few athletes to come to this city, see who's the fastest, strongest etc? Because, pragmatically, that is what it is. I.e., is there indeed as great a significance attached to these games than the Chinese people would like to believe? I thinks so. I mean, we humans cannot completely live in the pragmatic world. This is our coming-out party. We are here to prove that we are not 1984 barbarians. Never was, never will be. It's not even the new China. Everything is still here. Just that the hardware has changed a little.

Actually, (ok this is a little off track), another thought that I had today is that the traditional course if life for the average Chinese, traditionally hasn't changed in hundreds of years. We are born, study, if we are good, we get into a good institution that pretty much guarantees you a comfortable life, meet a suitable spouse (temperament, social standing) have kid (ok, no "s" for the most part now, I suppose that's different), give that little cutie your all, retire, and play chess, collect stamps, have a menagerie, play mahjong, become an antique expert, paint...... all those things that one does not expect to make money out of.

I think that is why I like this society. Sometime, having infinite choice can be a bad thing. Here, there are mentally disturbed people of course, but for the most part, there are no emos, no taggers, no...rebels without a cause. Tried to watch that on the plane lol, but, you know those things that get remade so many times it just gets cliche?

I have strayed waaayyyy to far off topic. Comments welcome. It makes me feel less like I'm becoming one of those mentally disturbed.

Its good to be back

Just arrived in Nanjing after a long journey, it has been fun. It is currently around 33 degrees and it feels like a sauna when you are away from the AC. I'm actually quite enjoying it, it's like getting a sauna without going a very hot room with an endless supply of cold drinks and food at my disposal.

I'm afraid I am being affected by the great firewall of china atm. Facebook is cut off for some reason, The economist and wsj are really slow, but at least I can access some of them. And no, I don't know how to proxy, it was one of those things that I knew I should learn to do but didn't get around to it. . . my laziness is coming back to bite me. Oh well, I didn't agree with the rumour fuelled Tibet separatist stuff they blocked on last week's edition anyway, a whole lot of hot air.

Anyway, Shanghai was absolutely gorgeous today, blues skies, clean fresh air, brillant sunshine....almost the same as Auckland on a bad day. Our journey was very pleasant, got picked up at the airport and was driven to Nanjing （南京） by a friend of dad's. The driving takes a little getting used to. The lines that specify the lanes are actually only approximate guidelines, as with the red lights, depending on your attitude to driving. So asian drivers(the real ones) aren't actually bad, it's just normal to sway in and out of your lane, over take by driving between two cars in the lanes (0n the line) and to cut people off when changing lanes.

Everything seems so different to a year and a half ago when I was last back. It's way hotter for one, and I suppose I now view things in a different light. There is a lot more further development, the busy road outside my grandparents' house is now blocked off for redevelopment, and all the side streets have turned into free carparks basically. There are definately more cars on the road, so frustrating, it took us more than an hour just to get out of Shanghai.

The food here is so good. We went to Changzhou (常州) on the way to 南京 yesterday, and they bought some of their famous dishes. I don't know, we were tired and hungry and that was our first meal there, but even the cucumbers (凉拌黄瓜） tasted amazing.

The old clothing factory that used to be opposite our house is now a after-school tuition class sponsored by 南京师范大学（Um....Nanjing Normal University?）How is that for an example of the transition of the Chinese economy from one of small scale manufacture into a knowledge economy? Actually, its probably just a reflection of high real estate prices. . . Believe what you will.

Ah, fb is back...

Re-vamping my blog

Hello my future readers!

I have resurrected one of the products of my old trawls through the vast world of cyberspace.

As I contemplate my first period away from home, there are many things that strike me.

Firstly, how much do I know my adopted country? I don't interact much with local media, local marketing doesn't really reach me either (doesn't help that around 90% of it revolves around a sport, that, while barbaric, is not barbaric enough to entice the bloodthirsty spectator, but on the other hand, while technical, is not technical enough to keep the keen spectator mentally engaged for the full lengh of the game. Of course, this makes for excellent intoxicated viewing, which is generally what one does, but, the idea that one must be under the influence of a drug to enjoy an activity does not exactly score that activity brownie points does it? Mayhaps I have simply not taken the time to explore the game and its subtleties.

Of course, the natural follow up to that is of course, how much do I know about China? Not much. If anything. But I'm going to find out no doubt.

Also, there is the feeling that one must not accumulate too much material things in the world. It is so true that you cannot take it with you. And not just to the grave. From now on, I shall try to maintain this "refugee mentality", all that one really possesses is what is in one's head, and what can reasonably fit in one's pockets (and perhaps a small handbag). Everything else are just temporary auxillary things. Imagine accumulating so much stuff that you have come to depend on, that you cannot bear to relocate permanently to another place! I have come to empathise with Kubrick in his later years. This whole excercise reminds me of that base thingy in Dune 2000. Just double-click and the entire thing turns into your future base. Doesn't help if you've choosen the wrong spot and it's on the most exposed part or alteratively, your finger slipped...

Actually, that is the similar kind of reasoning that 《突击》 (my latest TV drama obsession) went through．　Property is of no value. No loss is greater than loss of comrades. Sigh. Who's getting philosophical in her cold swivel chair?