Is Shenyang, China worth a visit?

by Jerry Guo on

I recently spent a day in Shenyang, a huge metropolis in northwestern China above Beijing. It has been far overshadowed by superstars like Shanghai, Hong Kong, and even upstarts like Chengdu.

When it comes to Shenyang, I think there’s good reason why you haven’t heard of it. For a city of this size, there’s not a proportionally impressive amount of cultural and sightseeing outlets. Of course, that’s not to say forget about Shenyang.

If you’re on your way to the northern playground of Harbin, for instance, it might be nice to drop by Shenyang. Same if you’re off to the beach resort of Dalian. Here’s why: there’s the Shenyang Imperial Palace, which is in the same style as the Forbidden City in Beijing, and has much less foot-traffic (definitely worth a visit); a 2,000 year old pagoda right outside of town (look in Lonely Planet), and the “Strange Slope,” a bump of a hill on which gravity takes you uphills if you’re driving a car.

Of course, there’s also the ridiculous giganto monument of Mao in the center of the city that’s worth a look. Neil has the gallery below as well as a post about Mao in Shenyang.

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Amazing Race 12 episode 9 recap

by Jamie Rhein on

As the teams left Mumbai, India for Osaka, Japan I thought, now there’s a contrast. I haven’t been to Mumbai or Osaka, but I’ve lived in New Delhi and traveled in Japan. If you put the two places on a spectrum, they’d be at opposite ends. Smells, sounds, music styles, food, religion, dress–if you come up with a category, I can assure you that they are nothing alike.

Ah, I have one. Tea is a popular beverage and both places have a real fondness for flowers. And one more similarity. Temples are quite prominent as cultural and historical landmarks in both countries. If you want insight into the inner workings of the countries’ belief systems, the temples are a good place to start.

Japan’s organizational style seemed to suit the teams well once they got to Japan, although for most of this episode TK and Rachel weren’t featured. Since they made a mistake by going through two airports–New Delhi and Beijing– to get to Osaka, by the time they landed in Japan, it was almost dark. The moral is: Never, never, never expect that going through two airports will get you anywhere fast, particularly if one of the airports is the one in New Delhi.

The other three teams ended up on a flight that went from Mumbai through Hong Kong to Osaka which meant they hit the ground about the same time, managing to be neck and neck for a good part of the episode. The first stop was Kishiwada Castle, a majestic, pagoda style building with pristine, orderly gardens.

Built in 1547, the castle is now a folk museum. Hmmm. I didn’t see any folk art or folk artifacts, but perhaps that’s because the teams barely had time to catch their breath from hoofing around the grounds and up into the main building to find their clue that would direct them to Kanjosan Noda Station–part of Osaka’s subway system.

At the point when Nate and Jen snatched their clue out of the box, they were as happy as could be since they figured out they were in first place. Likewise Ron, still vowing to be a better father and a better traveling companion, quit chastizing Christina and let her lead the way for a change–after all, she lived in Japan before and had studied Japanese. Don and Nick , now in third place, continued along in their consistent, affable and respectful way, even though Don was beginning to feel road weary and it showed.

I did notice Nick’s smart move when he asked the taxi driver to stay and wait for them while they looked for their clue at the castle. When I lived in India I often asked the taxi I hired to take me someplace to wait. It was worth paying the extra money just to have a taxi after whatever errand I was on in order not to be left stranded.

Once at the station, each of the teams found the station cleaner person who handed them their Road Block instructions. One member from each team had to don white gloves and a hat worn by Japanese taxi drivers so they could actually become taxi drivers just long enough to take a Japanese couple assigned to their cab to the post office five miles away, drop them off and head back to meet up with their team mate. Not so easy.

In Japan traffic patterns are opposite to the U.S. and the driver’s side is on the right. Then there are the signs mostly written in Japanese and the one way streets and the roundabouts. If I was doing this leg, I would have flashed back to my high school driver’s ed nightmare.

While watching the couples patiently sitting in the back seats of the taxis I thought that it must have not been that hot in Osaka. No one was perspiring. Can you imagine what it would have been like to be the Japanese couple wondering if and when they’d get to the post office? Or what it would have been like to drive if the temperature was what it was in Mumbai?

During this task, Christina discovered knowing Japanese did not do squat. She set the windshield wipers off once and couldn’t find the key. Turns out, she doesn’t drive back in the U.S. because she doesn’t have a car.

I was totally rooting for Jen in this part of the race. She was so darned pleased with herself, and so proud of how she looked in that hat. She’s growing on me. The white gloves and hat reminded me of the airport folks who work at Narita airport. Japan is such a tidy place. Plus, she’s so polite to everyone. Notice how many times she turns to say, “Thank you?”

One snippet I enjoyed seeing during this segment was watching Don and Ron drink water and share snacks at the subway station while they waited for their team mates to come back. It was a “Since I can’t do much about anything at this point, I may as well relax” moment.

The relaxation was totally over after Jen & Nate, with Christina & Ron close behind, headed off for their second Road Block. Nick managed to get himself lost while driving the taxi, therefore arrived at the subway 10 minutes behind the other two.

I’m not sure why Don is worried about his age. Nick somehow manages to get lost during every episode. If Don had been driving, they may have fared better. Still with TK and Rachel not even in Osaka yet, what’s the hurry?

Halfway through the episode there was a shot of TK & Rachel heading through the airport in New Delhi realizing that they probably made a bad move. The first time I saw the New Delhi Airport I wondered the same thing. The lighting in that place is so funky; it can make you think something is wrong with your eye sight–plus it doesn’t really smell all that swell.

After the taxi driving, you’d think that Jen and Nate could have enjoyed their triumph. She was trying to by excitedly recounting her moves, but he was an idiot. Instead of praising her for her driving skills, he told her that he couldn’t really listen while they were taxiing it to the Kita-mido Temple, a 16th Century Buddhist temple for their next Road Block directions.

Oh, bad move. This prompted Jen to become upset and the mood chilled which they had a hard time shaking, even after they arrived first at Saera Flower Shop for the Road Block task “Sense of Smell. “

If teams picked Sense of Smell their task was to pick a real flower from the fake flowers by sniffing it out. Ron and Christina also chose the Sense of Smell. As soon as they hit the shop close behind Nate & Jen, Christina told her father to blow his nose and he did. They found their flower not long after Nate and Jen found theirs and left.

Since Nate and Jen were back in their bickering mood, they had a heck of a time finding a taxi to take them to the Pit Stop at Tempozan Park, which allowed Christina and Ron time to catch up.

For a brief while though, it seemed that Ron and Christina would lose their edge since their taxi driver was acting like he might, to use Ron’s word, croak. Now, that would have made for some interesting TV. Even more than Jen accusing Nate of shoving her. There was a repeat of that footage, and from what I could tell it was more of a nudge, as in a “Get in already, we’re in a hurry and I’m excited because we might win a million dollars” kind of nudge.

Nick and Don were also beginning to narrow the gap between the two teams in the lead and them because of their ability to get along. Nick, who by this time was carrying his grandfather’s bag as well as his own, never blamed his grandfather for their lag time which is probably why they rarely court disaster. Even though Don wasn’t thrilled with their “Sense of Touch” Road Block task of getting small robots to play soccer at the Shimojima Building, he didn’t let that get in his way of letting Nick show him what to do. This was a pretty nifty way to work in Japanese gadget smarts.

The task involved using some sort of cell phone gadget to get the robots to move. It seemed to me these two were pretty good at this task, although I couldn’t tell how long it took them to get the robots to score the two required goals. For a guy who is going to be 70 soon, Don exhibits probably the traveling behaviors that lead to success. He will admit when something is out of his realm, but will try it anyway, and eventually succeeds.

TK & Rachel, who seemed to breeze through all the tasks even though they were all done after dark, were determined to enjoy themselves whether they ended up in last place or not. They did, and they were rewarded. When they stepped onto the mat at Tempozan Park, Phil told them this was not an elimination leg. Yipee. So for one more week, we’ve found out that it does pay to be nice.

As for Ron & Christina who came in first, they each get an environmentally friendly electric car for their efforts. I wonder if Christina will sell it or use it to tootle about when she goes back home. Neither of them seemed that thrilled with their prize, but they are thrilled to come in first, something Christina attributes to Ron not being negative towards her all day which helped her to concentrate.

I wonder if TK & Rachel ever get miffed at each other? I hope they get more air time next week.

*Shots of the teams are from the Amazing Race Web site.

Long weekends: Penang, Malaysia, perfect for a three to four day jaunt

by Jamie Rhein on

One of the great things about living in Singapore is how easy it is to travel from there to other places. When I lived there, one of the first things we would do each August at the start of the Singapore American School school year was figure out where we wanted to go on school holidays. There were several three-day weekends sprinkled throughout the year. Planning early meant getting a flight to where we wanted to go. On holidays, everyone scrambles to get out.

One place we headed to on a three nights, four day vacation was to the island of Penang on the north-western coast of Malaysia. This trip was before kids, but everything we did was kid-friendly. It was also dad-friendly. My father went along with us on this particular long weekend away.

Penang is a perfect mix of history, beaches, nature and terrific food. Not too touristy, unlike what has happened to several beach areas of Thailand, but touristy enough that the hotels know what travelers might like and you can find a variety of interesting things to do. We went here based on recommendations of a few different teacher friends of ours.

Although we did hang out on the beach a little, we’re not exactly beach people, so we spent more of our time at other Penang offerings. George Town, the state capital has historic buildings which have not lost their flavor for what life was like here in the 19th and early 20th century. There is an interesting mix of temples, museums, shop houses and hotels that can easily take up an afternoon of sightseeing. We did take a day tour with a guide that made getting around to various sites simple and easy. (When traveling with family members, almost always choose simple and easy. It’s a sanity saver.)

Another place we went was The Butterfly Farm. According the Penang Web site, this was the first butterfly farm set up in the world. I remember it as being utterly gorgeous and fascinating. The ride through the island countryside was part of the allure.

Here’s another travel hint. Stay at a modest hotel and splurge on a brunch buffet at a swankier place. We stayed at the Lone Pine Hotel in Batu Ferringhi and had brunch next door at the Shangri-La. We also took over a few of the Shangri-La’s beach chairs and no one seemed to notice.

Chinese Buffet – Part 8: Contemplation at the Temples

by Kelly Amabile on

Chinese Buffet is a month-long series that chronicles the travels of an American woman who visited China for the first time in July 2007.

Besides wandering through shady parks, I spent quite a bit if my week in Beijing roaming the grounds of the city’s various temples. Like the parks and gardens, temples were my serene havens, where I could sneak off to escape the bustling streets. Many temples are located right in the middle of the busy city that has built up around them, but once inside the walls of these sanctuaries, the urban buzz dissipates.

Dongyue, a Taoist temple tucked between tall buildings along Chaoyangmen in the eastern part of the city, was the first one I visited. Not having been to a temple before, I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I tried not to focus on the fact that the theme of this place is Death. (Dong Yue is the mountain peak that the spirits of the dead travel to.)

This donkey was one of the first things that caught my eye, but I circled the entire temple before I came back to it for a closer look. It was only on my second pause by this guy that I learned the story behind the Bronze Wonder Donkey, who was the riding animal for the God Wen Chang:

“Being a supernatural animal, it has the head of a horse, the body of a donkey, the tail of a mule and the split hoof of a bull. As the story goes, touching the animal could cure diseases and proved to be highly effective.”

Apparently it used to be a customary practice to visit the donkey for a rub of good fortune.

This was exactly the kind of good omen I was looking for. A close relative of mine back in the US was undergoing major surgery that day, and I had told her that I’d seek out a sacred place where I could send some good thoughts her way. I gave the donkey a few good rubs in the worn spots on his snout and side where so many others had done so before.

A few days later I visited the Yong He Gong or Lama Temple, more popular with tourists groups, and it certainly showed in the number of folks milling about. The smell of incense was intense — that lingering scent will be what I remember most from my visit here. I sat and watched worshipers light and burn the hot pink and yellow sticks, meditating on what meaning any of this had for me.

This temple, the largest working one in Beijing, is home to the “yellow hat” Lama sect of Buddhism. There is a large group of monks from Tibet and Mongolia who regularly worship here. A group of the fine feathered fellas came outside while I sat nearby. They chanted in low tones as tourists gathered around them. I stayed back, on a bench across the courtyard, and zoomed in with my camera for this shot:

I sat in the Lama Temple for quite awhile, listening to the humming Buddhist prayers, and how they seemed to move in rhythm with the snores of the Chinese man asleep on the bench next to me. It was comical and spiritual — there was some sort of spirit moving through the air — a peaceful one, that also had a sense of humor.

Directly across the street and about halfway down a hutong alley from the Lama Temple is the Confucius Temple, which is currently undergoing major renovation. It was deserted except for staff and construction crew, but was still open to the public. I enjoyed the emptiness of the place — and took the opportunity to get creative with my digital camera. While incense was the strong scent at Lama, here it was the paint. These glimmering red columns (which I liked contrasted against the bright green leaves) looked as if they were still wet.:

When I went to leave the temple about 30 minutes later, an older gentleman seated by the door motioned for me to head left before exiting. It turns out there was an entire other section of the temple that I would have missed completely if it were not for his direction. I wound up spending another hour or so exploring the additional grounds and buildings, and spent most of my time in a long dimly lit room near the rear of the complex. I again found myself having fun with the camera, trying to catch shadows and light:

I had stumbled upon the Qianlong Stone Scriptures, the “forest of the steles of the Thirteen Classics.” This collection of 190 stones is inscribed with much of the tenets of Confucian philosophy. The temple staff members positioned at either end of the narrow hall each spoke to me in Chinese — I knew they were both trying to share information with me about these stones, about their significance, no doubt. I nodded silently, feeling reverent, but frustrated that I could not talk with them. In the absence of common language, there was only silence to share. All I could do was walk in awe, capturing visual memories of this life-size stone book:

My hours of contemplative wandering through Beijing’s temples were solitary explorations that uncovered treasures like these oracle stones. I didn’t need to know all the details of Taoism, Buddhism or Confucianism to find meaning in these places. I just looked at my own belief system from a different perspective, and discovered common ground — universal truths about fortune, good health, humor and the power of words.