Master of None

So before I forget anymore details about my last day in China, I figured I should finish this up - a week later :-P 

SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2011

So I wake up and look at my face - It’s not completely gone, but at least it’s gone down significantly and the skin firmness is almost normal – it was hard as a rock yesterday.  I was really afraid it was not going to go back to normal and would be stuck that way.  The human mind wanders and thinks of worst possible thing, at least, I do.  Lol. 

We pack up our luggage in the car and decide to have breakfast in the hotel - they gave us free breakfast coupons.  Sweet!  It was sort of a "continental" Asian breakfast buffet of sorts.  Sorry, no photos - wasn't that interesting.  But it was filling and that's all I needed. 

Random Photo - waiting in the lobby - quick photo.

After breakfast, we went back to the Community Health Clinic so I could get another IV.  Well, apparently no one could remember what the address was.  Lol.  However, last night I was able to remember how we left the hospital.  So I was able to trace back how to get there during the day using landmarks.  I was spot on! :-)  Guess you don't need navigation when you have Tran Tran. 

Random Photo - here are the nurses that were during all the IVs.  Just go up, get your IV and then sit down. 

Here's a video of my IV - people have been saying my IV was dripping pretty fast - Lol. Your thoughts?

The grand total of two doctors visits, medication, and four bottles of IV? $17 USD.  Even with co-pays here in the US, it would've been more than that. 

Anyways, after the clinic visit, we had about a half a day ahead of us to do some sightseeing in Nanning before our flight.  We drove up to Qingxiu Mountain Park which towers over Nanning and provides a great view of the city (smoggy Lol)... there are so many different areas you could probably spend a whole week there and not see everything that they have to offer. 

We stopped by an area with a lake...and it had whole bunch of Koi...a heck of alot.

Yes, I took a photo... I look retarded, don't I?...well, even more so than normal :-P

We went up a hill to see a large tower and it was hot - even the locals were sweating. 

Anyways, we spent a couple of hours in the area where we we at and decided to just drive around.  I cannot believe how large of a park this is.  Anyways, we decided to leave it at that and just leave.

We drove around a little to see more of the city.

Very weird architecture - very daring.

Yeah, this doesn't seem so safe :-P

I guess it's some kind of housing fair, so people can find new developments to live in.

After awhile, we decided to head to the airport - which is about 30 minutes away from the city.  Not much else to really say, but still amazed at how nice their turnpike roads are.  They seemed to be very concerned about safety judging from all the signs. 

I've never seen these types of signs here in the US, but they help you judge distance between yourself and the car ahead of you.  So you don't follow too closely. 

Well, we get the airport and park.  I guess my relatives are excited because they have never been inside an airport, let alone fly in an airplane.  It's hard for me to imagine going this long and not flying, but I suppose it makes sense.  During their entire life, they have never left Dongxing/Nanning.

We ended having lunch in one of the airport restaurants - nothing special.  Yeah, I know it kinda sucks to end my China trip with ho-hum food.  But it's okay, I had enough amazing food throughout my trip. 

Random photo - I doubt you see a fish tank in many airport restaurants...

This is the last view of my relatives and..uhh, her. Lol.  By this time, the swelling around my eye had gone down considerably - now I just look slightly retarded.  Lol. 

And so these are the last few steps I have for my trip - as I'm boarding the flight to leave Nanning. 

In-flight to Beijing, apparently I didn't know I couldn't have ANY electronics during the flight.  I guess during Chinese domestic flights you aren't allowed to.  How did I find this out?  Apparently, I was sitting behind the equivalent of a US air marshal.  He demanded I immediately turn off my iPhone (was listening to music). 

So we land in Beijing airport and unlike last time, we had plenty of time to get our next gate.  I'm still amazed at how nice this airport is and how large it is.  So as we approach our gate, I can see that it's definitely ours.  Lots of non-Chinese on the flight... seems like quite a few tour groups flying back to the US.  Anyways, again, I wasn't sitting with my parents, I was sitting pretty far away... however, I got lucky, I got my aisle seat...and double luck - no one was sitting next to me.  I was able to sit comfortably for the 12 hour flight to LAX. 

For the last meal on the airplane...they had western and eastern meal choices.  I was going to go for western (sausage, egg, croissant)... however, they ran out by the time they got to me.  Damn!  So what did I get?  Congee!  Lol.  By this time, I guess I didn't mind.  Congee isn't so bad... again, as long as there's something tasty to go with it. 

So now what?  We get to LAX and go through immigration and customs.  No issues there, just long waits.  I wasn't worried about catching our flights, we had five hour layovers.  And that is where my parents and I had to part ways.  What's funny is that I was going to Cleveland and they were going to St. Louis, we both had connections in Chicago...which always seems to be delayed, either going in or leaving. 

My flight in Chicago was delayed over an hour...and my parent's flight was delayed over two hours.  And I quickly discovered that my traveling clothes t-shirts and shorts were definitely not appropriate when I arrived in Cleveland.   Kind of a stark contrast, I started off sweating in Southern China...and ended up freezing in Cleveland.

Anyways, arrived home and it felt awesome.  I was tired after about 27 or so hours of traveling... but the last thing I wanted to do was pick up Kobe from Paul's house.  I didn't realize how tired I was until I got halfway to Paul's house... but I really wanted to see Kobe.  When I opened the door, Kobe saw me and was really excited.  So excited that he was "yipping" if that makes any sense.  So I scooped him up and went home. 

SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2011

So I woke up the morning and I looked like this

I was like WTF – thought I was supposed to be getting better…I feel like Quasimodo, without the hunchback (then again give more time, it could happen :-/)  I had mixed emotions, I was scared, ashamed, and felt like a monster.  I didn’t wanna go out into public, but this was the day we were traveling up to Nanning.   Reluctantly went downstairs to wait for my cousin’s to pick us up… I had my head down most of the way, I didn’t want anyone to see me. 

On our way out of the hotel room, I did a last minute check to make sure we didn’t leave anything behind– I pulled out the slideout drawer that had the keyboard and mouse for the room’s computer, and it ended up having a naked girl on the mouse pad (sorry no photos…lol – would’ve been awkward to try to photograph that with my parents waiting for me)  Final confirmation it’s not a family friendly hotel, another girl walked out of the elevator while we were waiting in the lobby – did not look like she was staying there, a bit more conservative than the girl in the leopard shirt – but I think she was waiting for her pimp to pick her up… at least she looked better than the girl from the previous day.  Lol.

So for our last breakfast in Dongxing, you guessed it... more congee.  Lol. 

One of my cousin's went out to get me some cheap sunglasses to help hide my eye... not a perfect solution, but better than nothing :-P

So the cousin closest to my age was driving and my oldest cousin's wife went with us to Nanning.  We ended up traveling in the Toyota Crown... still think its pretty sweet. 

Anyways, they weren't 100% sure of how to get to Nanning so we had to punch it in a Nav.  Well, they had a PDA standalone unit that you could write in...but they had a bit of trouble. 

Since the Toyota Nav was really similar to the one I had in my old Lexus, I was able to figure out what menus we needed to use to punch in the destination - but they needed to punch in the actual address... since everything was in Chinese.  They said they never used the one in the car all this time... since they didn't know how to use it.   Lol. 

Anyways, it was going to be a three hour drive or so... so I took a nap - wondering how long my face was going to be like that... woke up for a bit and talked about cars with my parents and cousin (he's really into cars - so I'm gonna send him some DVD's of Top Gear since he's never seen it before).  After a bit, took another nap... since we were on a turnpike, we stopped at a service area to take a break - he bought us all hot dogs, pretty tasty IMO.  Yum.

Anyways, as we approached Nanning, I quickly realized that the airport was no where near the city and I had a wrong impression.  I knew it was going to be a large city, but didn't realize it was THAT large of a city.  When I first flew into Nanning airport, it was a small terminal - maybe 10 gates and it was out in the countryside.  Well, when we got off the turnpike into the city, it was just amazing... not what I was expecting at all.  Here's a short video of what I saw...

And as a side note - there were much cuter girls here - sorry no pics, I'm not that creepy.  

Anyways, we end up booking another "business" hotel – guys in one room, girls in another - and if you must know, the girl that I had met earlier in the week met us there at the hotel.  She lives near Nanning and is the cousin of my cousin's wife that was with us.  

 Continuing on - there were hotel room rates for different suites, and last one. Said “O’clock” which I assume means hourly rate.  Lol. 

So after dropping off our luggage, we went out looking for something to eat.  Well, my cousin LOVES American food - especially KFC.  We first saw a Pizza Hut and tried to get in, but it was going to be over an HOUR wait.  WTF.   So we were about to get back into the car but saw a KFC in the distance. 

Just outside the shopping area - look at all the motor scooters and cycles... crazy.

Went into the KFC and it was a mad house.  My cousin ordered the food while we found seating.  So when he came by with the food, it was certainly not recognizable as "typical" KFC.  My meal was Teriyaki Chicken Sandwich and Chicken Wrap with Cucumbers… they ate Chicken and Shrimp sandwiches (almost like po-boys if you're familiar with that).  There were also McDonald’s like fries…and Egg Tarts.  Lol.  Oh yeah, my cousin also got wing dings as well... apparently they don't sell chicken pieces everyday (thighs, legs, breasts, etc) , just certain days... honestly, could have been my worst meal of the trip :-P 

Then we went back to hotel to rest… felt like I was getting better - tried medicine and herbs.  Woke up and it got worse (maybe allergic to herbs?)  I'm thinking that the herbs may be reducing the redness, but still irritating my allergy.. wasn't sure..but my eye was closing up again :-( 

Well, an old family friend who incidentally I share my Chinese name with lives in Nanning and we called him up to have dinner with him.  He seems to be  sort of a baller there – rolls in BMW 520Li. Apparently it's a Chinese only stretched 5-series variant...actually looks pretty nice and seems like the perfect size. Here's a stock photo of one... didn't get a chance to snap one of his...

One thing you also gotta remember that imported cars are subject to a 100% tariff which is ridiculous.  So imagine a $50k car in the US would cost $100k in China and the average person probably makes $500/month - crazy, right?

Anyways, we follow my namesake to a restaurant…and it's awesome food.

While we were eating, he told us we should go to Community Health Center to seek medical attention – if I want to get my swelling reduced, they'll probably feed me an IV.  So after eating, we follow him to the clinic and he knows people, so he gets them to prioritize me so I can see a doctor faster...we see him - writes out prescription for some meds – pay for it… get meds…and then see nurses for IV.  

Here's me sitting there getting my IV, yes I'm still wearing my shades. 

It's kinda weird, they have a room specifically for people to take IVs... sorta creepy in away. 

Anyways, after the two bottles of IV (which took an hour), I did feel a little better and could feel the pressure reducing around my eye. 

Well, my relatives said we should get rest, but since its last night – I said I want to go sightseeing, I’m just half blind..but can still walk.  Lol.  We end going to the center of the city, sort of their equivalent of NYC's Times Square.  All the buildings have multicolor LED lights.  Amazing what you can do with LED lights.  Here are some photos and videos of our time out there. 

After that, we come back to the hotel.  Apparently, some other relatives are waiting for us to chat, they heard we were in town. 

Anyways, I go up elevator first.  There's a cute girl that rides up with me…she stops at the third floor, the doors open up and apparently it's a nightclub of some kind... hmm, again more than just "business" happens here.  So when I get into the room, I see package of condoms blatantly displayed on the nightstand...and you can also see that the glass shower is somewhat exposed to the bedroom... yeah, more than just business...lol.

Sorry it took so long to start finishing up my travel blog considering my circumstances, you'd understand. 

FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2011

Well, after the disturbance from last night – I was able to sleep pretty soundly until morning.  We found out later that it was someone’s wife that was trying to get her husband out of the room.  The front desk said her husband was gambling in the room with his buddies.  However, something else makes me think otherwise. 

Well, there were a number of things have made me suspect that this “business” hotel offers more than just a nice room.  Last night as we were driving home, I noticed that the hotel has flashing/moving LED lights on the exterior.  I know when I was back in Hong Kong awhile back, neon lights outside an establishment meant it was a brothel.  Maybe this is the same type of thing? 

This morning as we were coming down the elevator, it stopped at one of the floors.  A woman walked in wearing a skimpy leopard print shirt and short mini-skirt.  Hmmm, she definitely didn’t look like she was staying there.  All she had with her was her wallet and that’s it.  And if you’re wondering, she wasn’t attractive at all.    

There’s also a little plaque bedside that has writing and a phone number – and shows a photo of a girl in a bikini – not going to ask my parents what it means, I’m thinking it’s an escort service. 

Also when I woke up this morning, my forehead start getting a little itchy and red and so was my left forearm... Little did I know this was just the beginning :-P

Anyways, we went to the “Chinese” Bánh Cuốn place again and it was still tasty

After that we basically spent the day hanging out with the family at the furniture store, since this was going to be the last day in Dongxing.  My relatives had also noticed that my forehead was not quite right and it started to swell a bit.  So my uncle went out to find some herbs to help.

We determined that I had caught some kind of poison ivy from going up into the mountains a few days ago - when I went to go see my grandmother's burial grounds.  Apparently, one of my cousin's husband cut me a walking stick, but the walking stick was a form of poison ivy :-P  It was super hot that day and barely any breeze...so I was sweating and wiping it all over my forehead and forearm... not good.  I was hoping that the worst of it was over... boy was I wrong..

Random Video – this has got to be a crappy job, you pick up trash in your cart, roll it to the garbage truck, drop it on the ground and shovel it into the truck… me thinks there’s gotta be a more efficient way of doing this – unless they are just looking to give jobs to people.

Lunch - yes more congee... lol. 

After the workday was over, all my relatives came in and they wanted to have some family photos shot.  I obliged of course. 

Then we went out for a grand feast at a nice local restaurant – where we happened upon the largest lazy susan I have ever seen!

This table was monstrous and we quickly learned it seems like a good idea, but in practice it kinda sucks..lol.  Anyways, it was impressive regardless.

Here's a video of everyone around the table...I really didn't know who most of the people to the left of me were, but I guess they are distant family...

So here are more images of the night...

I don't know who this guy is and what he was doing... old guy with a RAZR... either way, odd

With good food, drinks and company - a great night was had by all.  All the while, my face was starting to swell up... here it is just before bed.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2011

Only a few more days left here and I’m starting to realize that outside of working and eating – there isn’t much else for people to do around here.  Seems like they are working on getting commerce and housing situated first…fun stuff later, perhaps?

So off we go – one of the best meals of the day – breakfast.  Our stop today was the same restaurant we had gone for dim sum a few days ago – but this time…surprise, surprise – we had congee… Lol.  Can’t escape the stuff here in China.  I’m definitely growing fonder of it by the day… but I was happy I was able to revisit those tasty steamed buns.  Yum!

After that – we stopped by the older furniture store to hang out for a bit and see what we are going to do.  My mom and I headed out with one of my cousins to do a bit of sightseeing of areas that we didn’t get a chance to see before. 

Random photos - I guess in this neighborhood - the trash is taken to garbage truck and scooped in.  Crappy job, but it's a job.

Again, we saw the harbor where Vietnam and China meet – but from a different side.  It was more industrial and gritty, but cool nonetheless.  You can see people really working and trying to make a buck…

Then we went for a tour around the newest developments in Dongxing.   He showed us what could be called a convention center for international business.  It was very European looking and beautiful.  It’s honestly very crazy to happen upon this in the middle of this place.  As we continued on, he showed us other new developments.  It seems like this city is poised to become a center of commerce… hopefully that happens.

In general, there is just so much construction going on - it's amazing that they can work on all these projects at once and complete them.

[Star Trek Geek]This reminds me of a Borg ship...[/Star Trek Geek]

So this is where the “rich” people of Dongxing live, the houses themselves aren’t that terribly expensive, but like anywhere else it’s all about location...

The other types of businesses, which have a nice buildings and storefronts, are the various “karaoke” bars in town.  I didn’t get a chance to take a photo of the other two, but they were pretty nice… at least from the outside.  I wouldn't know anything about what happens inside… or would I?  (jk, I am curious however)

Here is Dongxing's City Hall

So then we end up hanging out drinking fresh coconuts by the harbor again…

This is the same Vietnamese girl that sold us the fresh fruit the other day while we were walking along the border - she tried to sell us more and a couple more girls flocked over to do a hard sell as well.I guess my cousins also love cars – maybe it's a just a universal guy thing.  I also love the Toyota Crown that they have.  It’s got all the options – seat warmers, parking sensors, navigation, reverse camera with park assist, and it’s even got oscillating vents! (I took a video of that, never seen it before)

BTW, did I mention they also run an electronics/appliance/tv repair company?  Hmmm, I guess fiddling with electronics also runs in the family, huh?

Random Photo - I guess along with "real" street sweepers (people with brooms) they have this truck that sprays high pressure water on the road...I'd be pissed if I had a freshly washed car.

Anyways – went back to the furniture store to grab my dad and his brothers to go out to eat down the street.  Again, it’s another sketchy looking place – but it’s good to know people where you are visiting, they know where the best places to eat and what to order.  As they brought out each dish – it was a brightly colored collection of food…and of course, congee made its presence yet again.  

There is one oddity that I have failed to mention in previous posts – at least with my family’s meals.  Coke and/or Sprite always accompany meals, but we’re drinking it in cups roughly the size of Dixie cups – so you don’t drink a lot at a time.   It was a little annoying at first since I’m used to slamming down a lot, but now that I’m used to it – I don't mind it at all.  Besides we also have tea and whatever soup we’re eating to keep us hydrated. 

There is something that I’ve noticed this entire trip weather wise.  In the morning, it’s always overcast and the temperature is very comfortable, even cool.  By the time you hit mid-day however, the skies clear up and bit and the sun starts baking anything in its path.  Then by evening, it gets comfortable again.  I suppose if I were used to it, I wouldn’t need to wear shorts and a t-shirt to be comfortable.   

Anyways, after lunch we headed back to the hotel for a bit of rest and then back to the furniture store for dinner in the evening.  It was an interesting scene - they setup a big table in a dimly lit open area right in front of the entrance.  The entrance is on the second floor of a stairway - which has people constantly going up and down.  I suppose there are also other businesses and living quarters here in the building. 

Random Photo - this is of the stairway just outside the entrance of the store - thought it was kind of interesting.

Yet again, our relatives did not disappoint with dinner.  Everything was tasty and no dish was left unmolested by me.  Lol.  After eating and while they were chatting, I managed to take a few night shots through the windows of the store. It's pretty lively at night here.

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to end the night.  I never really got a chance to ride through the city at night - it's actually a little scary since there are few street lights and you still have to watch out for pedestrians, motorcyclists, scooters, cars, and everything else.  Remember, the rules of the road are just general rules here - so you have people driving down the "wrong" way all the time.  

So head to bed... and that's it right? Wrong lol.  My parents and I were woken up in the middle of the night with what sounds like kicking or slamming into one of the room doors in the highway.  He wasn't yelling or anything, just hitting the door...this went on for a couple of hours.  We called the front desk several times and someone came up to talk to whoever it was... but then it continued after they left.  So finally I think the front desk called the police to escort whoever it was out of the building.  Crazy... I was almost curious to open the door and see what was going on in the hallway, but probably best I didn't. 

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13, 2011

Today was more of a sightseeing day – with good food mixed in of course.

Again, started off the day with food. I’ve had more congee during this trip than I have ever had during my entire life before coming here. I’m not a big fan of congee, but I’m growing to somewhat appreciate it… as long as its accompanied by something else tasty.

Today my eldest uncle actually came out from the farm to go sightseeing with us. He was surprisingly very active while he was out with us and considering his age, that’s great. His youngest daughter had come out as well to take us around.

Our first stop was someplace to see a “boundary tablet” that was along the coast. The Qing Dynasty placed it to mark the border of China and Vietnam after the Sino-French war. So yeah – not very exciting. Lol.

After that we drove to the Beilun Preserve, a series of marshlands along the coast. Honestly, it wasn’t that cool at first but once we got out to the main part of the marshlands it was pretty neat.

Yeah, that's a bit tall - I wonder if someone has ever climbed up it?

Something about being like over a thousand years old?  Again, makes me think of LOTR - those tree creatures.

Now, I'm thinking Samara/Sadako from the Ring is gonna climb out

Since tide was low, there were people out catching something – I think it was crabs but can’t be for sure.

Some tourists that went down to try their luck at catching whatever it is

China is spending money rehabilitating all these "touristy" spots to attract tourists, but I think it kinda loses a bit of charm when you "clean" things up.

After that we rolled ended up stopping by another cousin’s place, his newly built house. I guess for a lot of the new houses, they pour concrete into molds to build the entire structure of the house…which isn’t totally unheard of in the States. However, they don’t insulate and drywall the interior walls. I think they rarely need to worry about losing heat since it doesn’t get THAT cold there.

Also, I think the high ceilings (14ft or so) and windows help to ventilate it quite nicely in the summer. I also notice that since it is solid concrete walls, they have to run all their wires and electrical with conduits along the walls and ceiling – practical thing to do – but not aesthetically pleasing. Also, I have never seen carpet ANYWHERE here so far – everything is tiled, I guess because it's a lot easier to clean and maintain.

One the neighbor's houses had glass shards along the top of their fence for security... I wonder if its to keep people in... or out?  Hmmmm

Well after some talking, the next stop is Jingdao Beach for some food and beach walking. It wasn’t too far from my cousin’s house and you can see that there is a lot of construction going on. Again, you see billboards with the promise and vision of what the area is going to look like. It almost feels like an apocalyptic movie because you have people living in shacks next to new buildings and just behind are dilapidated ones – all next to rice fields with oxen grazing.

Anyways, we get to the Jingdao and immediately head towards a seafood restaurant. Again, I’m generally not a big seafood guy (unless its sushi) but I’ll roll with it. They picked out items from the saltwater tanks to cook up.

The items came out and looked great and tasted equally as good. Now there were some interesting items on the table… okay, so there was shrimp, some kind of fish, veggies, worms – yes worms, they looked like earthworms to me, but like all things deep fried they ended up being delicious.

Pre-fried worms

Also, there was some kind of gelatinous food – almost like jellyfish, but it was clearly the skin of something – I’m thinking it was sea cucumbers but can’t be for sure. It didn’t have much of a taste, just a jellyfish like texture.

Then this mofos came out and could see these attacking me in my nightmares. I was like WTF are these – I guess they are a kind of shrimp, the freaky kind. Lol.

Anyways, I managed to eat one – sorta like shrimp but almost gamey if that makes any sense. It was just freaky to pick it up and try to shell it.

So after the meal, we walked to the beach to see what’s what. It’s not really a beach I would call “nice.” Then again, it isn’t summer here yet and it wasn’t sunny out. It was partly cloudy and brisk out. And there were fishing boats all over.

One cool thing is that has those tiny crabs that roll little sand balls near their burrow holes – so you find all these tiny balls all over the beach. Not sure if it's a territorial thing, mating, or just plain OCD. I’ve only heard about these and it was pretty cool to finally see them in person.

So after a bit of walking around and a sort of beachfront park was being built - looks like this is a wireframe for a starfish... in the distance I saw what looked like a clam.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011

I started writing this last night after the long day, but was too tired to finish it before I passed out…

Today will probably be the highlight of the entire trip.  “So let’s take a look…” - DG

Random photo - played around with the miniature photo setting on the Canon 300HS

It started off great with a tasty breakfast.  Ended up going to a small restaurant that serves a thin rice crepes with stuffing (not sure what was in it), but it was very similar to my favorite Vietnamese dish, Bánh cuốn.  It was good, but I still prefer Bánh cuốn…well, when it’s done right of course. 

After that we ended up needing to convert more money over to Chinese currency.  I guess the bank gave an okay rate, but the street converters give a better one and they don’t require any paperwork… The first time it took over an hour to get money converted.   So we ended up picking someone up to go find a trusted street currency converter.  I thought it all seemed a little shady at first, but then found out he was the son of a family friend… plus his kid hitched a ride with us.  Guess I was wrong.  Lol.

Anyways, we stopped by the furniture store.  Yes, again – seems to be our daily thing to do – almost like a home base and we’re awaiting our marching orders.  After a bit of time, we were on our way back to my eldest uncle’s place yet again – we were gonna travel DDR (Dirt Death Road) once again.    

The road didn’t seem so bad this time around, there didn’t seem to be as much trucks.  In case I didn’t mention before, all the big trucks were hauling rock and dirt for road construction purposes.  Carving the materials out of a mountain and bringing them in for processing. 

Though there were fewer trucks rolling down DDR, we took a less luxurious ride – the previous time we had taken a Toyota Crown (it's a bit bigger than a Toyota Avalon in the States) and it road over the bumps pretty nicely.  However, today’s ride was a Toyota Camry – suspension wasn’t quite so friendly and didn’t absorb the bumps as well. Felt like we were getting rocked side to side quite a bit and we were bottoming out every five minutes. 

While we were traveling on the DDR, they had discussed if my father and I were going to visit my grandmother’s grave to pay our respects.  I was why not?  They said it was on top of a mountain and it’s a bit of a hike to get up there.   Well, if my dad can handle then I should be able to with no issues. 

So we arrive at our destination, and you can tell preparations for today have been going on since this morning.  There are already a dozen people there (with more to come) and they are preparing food and just activity everywhere on the property. 

Yes, this is a wood burning stove and wok...

I’m not too familiar with Buddhist traditions, and I remember seeing shrine growing up.  So I know I recognize that we pay respects to our ancestors at the shrine and burn paper representations of gifts to pass onto the afterlife.   After that, I guess Chinese people love fireworks because they lit off a string of pretty powerful ones.

The aftermath of the fireworks.

Next up - I was told to travel up the hill behind the house – my grandparents are buried up there.  I went up the hill, it was a bit steep, but definitely manageable.  There was a cleared area with a tombstone and a mount of dirt and then was told to go up even higher.  Again, a bit steep but wasn’t too much farther up to the next clearing with a mound of dirt.   So all the prepared items (I don’t know what they are officially called – someone please enlighten me) of food (chicken, roast pig, etc) – were placed and then we had a ceremony.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Then I was told to go back to the lower one.  They told me this was my grandfather’s grave – so I was like who’s the one up higher?  I guess it’s something like paying respects to the guardian of the mountain. 

So we had the ceremony at my grandfather’s grave and the youngest brother prayed that my family would have safe travels and have good fortune in our future – or something to that effect.  Then the paper objects were burned – a heck of lot of gold, Chinese money, and even US money – not sure if they have currency converters in the afterlife.  Anyways, I didn’t realize that the “paper gold” actually contained a small swatch of gold leaf in it.  The things you learn, huh? 

After the burning – they ended the ceremony with more fireworks – even louder this time – the ones at the end sounded like shotguns ringing through the countryside. 

Random photo - I guess even in the middle of nowhere, you need your satellite TV - though its probably the Chinese regulated one..better than nothing

It's an amazing view from here

So we then go to the bottom of the “mountain” back to the house and it didn’t dawn on me at that time that we still need to go see grandmothers grave.  I was like how much worse can getting to my grandmother’s grave be?  Ummm, much worse as I come to found out.   So since it's an arduous trek up a mountainside – all the women did not go and all the guys went.  So we took three carloads of people with the same prepared items out about 20 minutes from the house traveling down the DDR again.  Stopped at a farmhouse and there was a trail behind it that led up the mountainside to my grandmother’s grave. 

At first, I was like this isn’t too bad.  But it got real steep, real fast and it was pretty toasty out.  The woods are thick with brush so it prevented too much wind from blowing through.   On top of that, the brush along the trail’s ground was pretty thick as well…and of course that day I wore shorts – I scratched the hell out of my legs while traveling up and down that day.  Since I haven’t hiked up trails in a few years it really knocked the wind of me and I stopped several times. 

I tried taking video on the way up, but was going to be too dangerous for me to do so.  There were sharp stumps of small trees along the way up and would’ve been very bad to trip and fall on one of them. 

Along the way up – there were taps on trees that were collecting something.  It was definitely not maple syrup – they were saying it was used to build explosives or something – I’ll need to do some research on that. 

Finally, I saw a clearing and a gravesite – but no it’s not ours, continue on.  Then I saw another - again, that’s not ours.  So we finally get to the top and there’s a clearing - yup you guessed it, not ours – but that’s the guardian of the mountain and we pay our respects.  My grandmother’s grave was just down the hill on the other side.  Honestly, I initially thought this was crazy that people have been doing this – but it did bring me closer to my roots. 

We performed the ceremony, prayed, and then lit off more fireworks for my grandmother.   This time we had ones that shot straight up a bank of 25 of them…and for some odd reason, we were standing up hill from them… yes, I know not smart.  And they lit up some really large firecrackers – these sounded even louder than the ones back at my grandfather’s ceremony. 

As a side note, me being the connected geek that I am - had paid for a global data package - just in case I needed it.  And I used it to quickly GPS tag my uncle's place and my grandparents grave locations with my iPhone.  (can do it without data, just faster and more precise acquisition with data). 

Now it’s time to book it back to my uncle’s place to eat.  What’s interesting is that the clouds rolled it while we were doing the ceremony and cooled things down significantly.  Maybe she was giving us some relief? 

Down the hill was much quicker but felt far more dangerous since it was so steep.  I was able to take video of much of the descent and again, will have to post an addendum to show the video.  I felt like I was Frodo from the Lord of the Rings at some point.  I did however manage to fall, good thing it wasn’t on a stump and it’s clear when I fall in the video… lol. 

We get back to the cars and roll back to the house to eat.  When we got back, it was buzzing with activity trying to get everything ready to eat. 

Here's a photo with my dad, his older brother, and some family from different lines.

I don't know who this person is right now, but she reminds me of the creepy guy from the Phantasm movies

Mom told me to come with her down the way to a neighbor’s house.  We went to see the mother of my youngest uncle’s wife.  She had fainted or something the previous day (she’s 80-something) and was put on an IV to hydrate her.  Honestly, I still can’t believe people live in these kinds of houses in the countryside.  Crudely built with dirt floors, but yet they’ve been here for quite a long time.  There’s a certain charm to it, but I don’t think I could do it… at least for very long. 

Random photo - guess he was one of the neighbor kids, thought it was a good photo

 I guess we found out from her that she knew my dad when he was a kid (before he left for Vietnam) and apparently he was a hellraiser.  Lol.  I guess since my grandparents on both sides had passed away before I got to meet them – I never had the stories about my parents’ childhoods to identify with.  After a brief bit of time with her, we were told to head back - the food was ready.

Random photo - one of the neighbor's houses, a wee bit too close to the road

As we approached the house, there were several tables setup with food that looked absolutely delicious. 

I sat with my mom at one of the outdoor tables and my dad sat with my uncles and elders (I guess they were from different lines from previous generations) in the shrine room. 

So we ate and had a great time.  In case I didn't mention this before – I guess I “speak” a dialect of Chinese that isn’t quite Cantonese and every one of my family members speak it – so it was kind of weird to hear that many people speaking and understanding most of it.  But I feel like with a couple more generations and the Chinese initiative to make everyone learn Mandarin, it’ll probably end up going away. 

Random photo - this little guy was walking around looking for scraps... of course we obliged. 

The Tran family has big cocks... on our farm. Lol

Anyways, after the eating was done – we decided to take family photos.  With a little bit of coaching – a family friend took the family group shots for us.  And they turned out great (well, with a bit post from Photoshop). 

Here's the entire family

Here's my eldest uncle's family

Here are the dad and my uncles with their wives

So this was basically end of the day and we traveled down the DDR yet again – but in darkness this time.  It was ten times scarier traveling at night – with rolling up on people with scooters and motorcycles and trucks with their high beams on.  The narrow roads and dust reflecting your lights back at you was just plain crazy – especially at the speeds my cousin was traveling.   I guess he knows these roads all too well.

Well, the day ends… and I have to pause to reflect.  I never really had a sense of family until now – I visited my mom’s side of the family in Vietnam back in 1998, but never really felt the sense of family.  It seemed like all they were looking for was money, plus I don’t understand Vietnamese – so that was a huge barrier.  Here with my dad’s side of the family – they weren’t looking for money.  They were happy to see that we could finally visit after all this time.  They wanted to pay for everything and not accept any money.  They are hardworking, not looking for handouts – and I can identify with that. 

I’m happy to see this is where it started – and I could see how my life could have been if it didn’t arc the way it did.  I see my entire life up to this point in a different light now and I am grateful to have the life that I have now.  But now I am invigorated and have a sense of what I want to really accomplish in the future. I want to help my family that’s here and be able to help them and help upgrade our family’s farmhouse. And I need to utilize all the talents and tools that I have and not squander them.

MONDAY, APRIL 11, 2011

Well, today ended up being more of a relaxation day… which is good, since I was able to get additional rest. 

First thing to do? EAT!  We went to a dim sum restaurant that was great.  I sometimes forget how much I love steamed BBQ rice buns, and I discovered new buns!  Taro and Black Sesame, so tasty!  I wish we had them in Cleveland. 

After the meal, we decided to walk to the river that separates China and Vietnam in that area.  The Vietnamese city of Móng Cái lies right across the river from Dongxing.  Since they are right next to each other there are many Chinese and Vietnamese traders that walk to the opposite sides to sell stuff.  We were able to buy some fresh fruit from one of them… and get stopped by a dozen more trying to sell more stuff as we were walking - mainly cigarettes and “dead money” (or whatever its called). 

Here's the bridge that connects two cities

The riverside walk was pretty nice with some interesting architectural details.

The temperature was bearable until you got to areas with little to no shade because concrete was radiating massive amounts of heat…I was dying, I knew I should’ve worn shorts :-P  The riverside area was still being constructed and I’m pretty sure that if they had OSHA they would be in deep trouble.

To escape the sun, we ended up walking back to the furniture store, which thankfully was nearby.  Along the way I noticed that a lot of the stores surrounding the border crossing had Vietnamese language signs on them.  I would probably bet if we went over to the opposite side, we would see Chinese language signs as well. 

Here's a rendering of what the Chinese side of the border crossing is supposed to look like eventually... pretty impressive

While we were “chilling” in the store, my uncle brought out something interesting.  He showed us a family document that outlines the family tree of 20 generations, but it was first put together 5 generations ago… regardless of 20 or 5, its really cool.  I just wish I could read it.  It has information on things like birthdate, names, children, and careers – also what the next generations “Chinese names” should be.  My uncle gave me a copy of the original to keep for myself, which is awesome.  I also ended up taking photos of the original so I can create good pdf of it (I love the original look and feel of it).

After that, we decided go to back to the hotel and rest until dinnertime… at which point, I passed out for a few hours… 

Random photo - pretty sweet ride, I'd put some dubs on that.

Dinner! Yummy food once again! All smiles here. 

After that, just winded the evening down with more talk.  Here are a couple images of my cousins’ kids.

SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 2011

…the story continues!  I would say today was a combination of National Geographic, Ice Road Truckers, and a bit of Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmerman.  

Woke up early and found that there was fog... or maybe dust... or smog haze?

The day started off with getting picked up by our relatives around 8:30AM.  Thought we were headed to breakfast, but ended up swinging by one of his brother’s family business, furniture store. I was able to sit up in the front seat and was strapping myself in, but wait there's something already hooked in.

Yes, that's to defeat the safety belt warning... lol.  Definitely wouldn't fly at all in the states, but I know a few people who'd love to have this. 

So we get to the store, most of it was a bit gaudy to me but I guess that's what people are looking for there *shrugs* 

Then finally, we are off to get something to eat.  First place we tried was too packed so we ended up going to another down the street.  We went upstairs to the second floor where there was group seating.  And this was on the ragged edge of my comfort level – there was just something about the room, décor, and overall cleanliness that really disturbed me.  But I don’t wanna make a fuss, so I rolled with it.  I guess there’s a good reason why at every restaurant you get your plateware sealed in plastic shrink-wrap. 

And the food ended up being great – also, it looks like my dislike for shrimp is lessening by the day.  J I even ate a couple whole ones with the shell and head, for me – that’s crazy!

So after that we stopped by another furniture store location and hung out there for a bit.  So this is where they are trying to set me up with a girl, one of my cousin's wife's cousin.  Lol.  No photos to see or none that I will post.  We'll just keep it at that.  If you want to know, ask me in private...or just not at all. 

After that, it was time to head over to oldest brothers place just outside of the city.  It started off normal (crazy oncoming traffic still) but this time we turned off onto a dirt road – a dirt road that was 1.5 lanes wide and as we were getting further out –only a lane wide. 

While traveling down this road, there were large trucks rolling up and down… lots of blind corners where horrible accidents could happen.  Dust was flying each time a vehicle passed by, I don’t know how people can live next to the dirt road it’s gotta be like a sand storm every time someone drives by.  I'll post videos when I get back to the States, photos don't do it justice. 

We finally arrive at our destination – my father’s family home – there were five generations that were born and raised there – my father being one of them before he left for Vietnam.  It was pretty emotional experience for my dad and eldest brother.  It was kind of eerie to see the resemblances between the brothers.  It was really cool to see where generations of family have lived...

Here's my dad and his oldest brother

There was a shrine and to the the right of it was a wall of family photos

What was really eerie to me is seeing my family on there... maybe more weird than eerie perhaps to see these photos halfway across the world in the middle of nowhere?

Here's the house where my dad was born and raised (until age 5)

Here's the inside of where my oldest uncle and aunt live - a bit creepy and blair witch-esque. 

Here's a photo with all three brothers...and no I don't know why he had that funny hat on his head, I know I was sweating when i got there. 

So somehow during all that was going on there, I DROPPED the NEW Canon 300HS camera that I had gotten.  I managed to do it while videoing and it slammed right on some concrete steps... amazingly there were just a few minor blemishes but still works fine,  this just insures I keep the camera now... lol.  And that was caught on tape... I'll post later.. lol

Anyways, after some good byes (not for long apparently we're going back out later in the week to have a family dinner of sorts there)  We headed back on the most dangerous road in Vietnam... ok, not really but that's how I felt.  Lol.  I thought we were headed back to the city but apparently we weren't.  We headed to another city that wasn't too far and we were to meet my eldest uncle's wife there (I don't know why they weren't just out together). 

She was SUPER emotional and happy to see my family.  Apparently I found out that I'm the most educated person on my dad's side of the family.  I'm not quite sure how to take that... I should be proud, but feel a little weirded out by that.

Anyways, after some chatting - apparently it was time for a large family dinner in one of the town restaurants.. not what I was expecting, but a good surprise

Compliments to the Chef!

So apparently this town's cottage industry... is stripping bark.  They say its for an ingredient for Dr. Pepper... I'm highly suspicious but that's so random, it's gotta be fact right?

And to increase the cute factor a bit, here's one of the town's puppies.. which makes me miss Kobe so much!

Anyways, after dinner we went back into town and I thought back to the hotel... but, of course not.  We're chilling at my brother's place right across the street and I don't know why.  I know my parents are tired...and I am.  Somehow they get on the subject that I'm good with computers and want me to take a look at their new computer - which they barely know how to use (maybe I'm adopted?... jk!)  Now my mom suggests they get a webcam so they can video chat... so I went out with one of my cousins to go get one.  Of course there's no Best Buy around... but there's a store for everything, ended up picking one up for like $8 US...lol.  So went back.. setup Skype for them.. and they were ready to rock and roll.  Now we just have to hope they know how to start Skype :-P  I'm sure their kids can teach them.

So here I am, trying to document each day of my China trip – so I don’t forget any details.  My parents and I are visiting my dad’s side of the family.  I had previously thought he had not seen them since he left over 30 years ago.  Apparently, one of his uncles had taken my father over to Vietnam when he was only 5-years old and never came back.  So it’s been over 60 years that he hasn’t seen his brothers.  Crazy right?  I know.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6TH 2011

So where do we begin?  Let’s start before I even leave for the trip – on Wednesday.  After leaving work a little late (trying to wrap up as much loose ends as possible), I get home around 7:30pm and start to unwind a bit and think about what to pack.  I know I should’ve packed earlier, but hey, I’m a great procrastinator.  So I go online to check-in for my flights and unable to because they are asking for my passport information. 

So why don’t I have it?  I guess we have to rewind time a couple months back.  My parents asked me to go to China with them to visit family and they decided to use a local travel agency (in St. Louis) to do so.  They wanted me to send in my passport so they could get all the Chinese VISAs completed at the same time.  Anyways, so they got back the passports and visas, and told me that I could get it when I meet them up in LA.

So moving back to Wednesday night, I got my passport info over the phone and tried to check-in.  Well, now it says I can’t check-in because my itinerary is through multiple carriers and internationally.  So here’s where my panicking happens, I start to realize that I may need to have my passport to check-in from Cleveland since my final destination is China.  So I call up, the agent tells me YES, I need my passport at the time of check-in in Cleveland.  And since its literally less than 24hours before my flight – can’t get my passport overnighted.

So on that basis, this means I have to drive to St. Louis to get my passport (8-9 hour drive) and hope I can catch a flight with my parents to make the connections.  Well, I was denied making any changes through either American Airlines or Air China…and the travel agency that my parents had chosen only had a Mandarin speaking agent at night :-P   And they couldn’t help me either (after doing a 3-way call with my mom)… so now what can I do?  - Drive to St. Louis and back (18 hrs) and barely make my flight.  Not a hot idea, but I had no other options.

Literally I threw everything in my suitcases in less than 15 minutes and drove off as quickly as possible.   Well, along the way I tried calling American Airlines again to see if there was another way – and apparently there was, the first two agents I called either said I NEEDED my passport.  And the last agent said, it’s common and as long as I get my passport in LA, I’ll be fine.  But they could only check me in domestically.  Sweet!  By this point, I had already gotten to Brunswick, but happy to be driving back home so I can get sleep and have the next day to pack!

THURSDAY, APRIL 7th 2011

Well, there wasn’t much during the day – just packing and making sure I wasn’t forgetting anything at home or at work.  (but I’m sure I did).  Anyways, made it to the airport and checked-in with no issues.   My first layover was in Dallas and no issues – my highlight was a frozen yogurt with blueberries, granola, and peanuts.  YUM!

So the next layover was in Los Angeles and where I would need to get my passport from my parents and check-in with Air China.   So what I needed to do was grab my bags from baggage claim and head over to the Terminal 2.  Anyways, we had little time to get to that other terminal and I had no idea which way to go.   Took forever to find someone to ask directions on how to get there quickly – apparently there was a shuttle bus that went around all the terminals.  It seemed like the guy was driving in slow motion, I guess when you’re rushed everything seems like its in slow motion.  Well, finally get there and go to check-in…slowest check-in EVER! (maybe I’m spoiled by how easy CLE/CAK airport are). 

Finally get everything situated and have to go through security again – so the TSA guy is just all up in everyone’s face on getting stuff through the security scanner and slamming the trays around since they had done it wrong.  Umm, okay, I’m gonna make sure he doesn’t slam my stuff… lol.  I guess it was like the “stereotype” – Asians are thorough and efficient at going through security checks.. lol.   Anyways, the guy starts speaking to me in Spanish…and I said I’m not Mexican, I’m Chinese.  He says I don’t know Chinese and lets me through.  Lol. 

So this point I’m already in for about 7 hours of flight time and layovers before I even leave for China!   So on the plane, since I wasn’t on the same itinerary as my parents, I couldn’t sit next to them.  They were however able to get me in the row behind in one of the central seats (4 in a row) and I’m an aisle kind of guy.  So the aisle seat ended up being empty and I was going to move there after the flight took off.  So what happens?  There’s a little old Asian lady and hops in the seat because her original seat was in the center a row back…and is apparently an aisle person as well.  I’m like crap.  So throughout the 13-hour flight, she keeps bumping into me as I’m trying to sleep as she’s moving around to find comfortable positions.  At one point, I think she was going to drool on my arm.  :-O  I guess it is better than having a crying baby, but only marginally.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9th 2011 (local time 5:40AM) 

Finally, we land in Beijing! and I've lost a day!  And it takes us nearly 30 minutes to taxi to the gate and we’re moving briskly the entire time.  It’s a HUGE airport and beautiful and wanted to take photos…but by the time we got into the terminal we had to rush to go through customs, pick up baggage (seemed like it took forever to get to the carousel) and re-check in our baggage to go to Nanning.  So literally after we got our baggage re-checked it…we had to quickly to go the gate – they were WAITING for us, we only had five minutes left before they were going to close the doors.  We hired one of those carts and took off!  Almost ran over a couple of poor Asians in the process.  Lol.  I'll see if I can post the video later.

So on the flight to Nanning, I could tell this was definitely domestic – smelled a little funny like a mix between fuel and smoke.   And you could tell it was an older plane… anyways, I made the mistake of picking the “eastern” breakfast versus the “western” one – I don’t particularly care for rice soup :-P  Oh wells, and the guy next to me was eye-f**king the hell out of my iPad when I was using it to play games and watch some videos.  I wanted to use the restroom, but afraid he would take it while I’m back there.   I couldn’t really see any of the Chinese mountains or countryside while we were at traveling altitude because there was cloud cover the entire time. 

So as we were descending and breaking through the cloud cover, I was able to see what this area of China was like… and I was like Dorothy in the Wizard of OZ – this isn’t Kansas anymore.   It’s kind of like the countryside of Vietnam – which incidentally isn’t too far away from where we were.  So we get to Nanning Airport terminal and wow – smallest and dirtiest terminal ever - felt like there should be chickens running around (well, not really, but you get the point). 

We claim our baggage and found out my big suitcase had lost a limb – one of the wheels was ripped off.   Anyways, we get to the exit and immediately are greeted by four older cousins and an uncle – it was pretty emotional, you could see it in my uncle’s eyes.  So we pack up the cars and begin our journey towards Dong Xing, on the Southern China coast bordering Vietnam.

Started off on a Turnpike-like highway that had tolls and service stations  - actually pretty damn nice.  However, my cousin seems to drive REALLY SLOW.  We were traveling at around 45 mph and everyone was blowing past us.  Ummm, okay… who cares, he does end up picking up the speed a little more.  Anyways, just noticing the countryside and how beautiful it is.  They literally carved these highways through the countryside and you can see it.  So many houses that look dilapidated to me are actually housing families and people are literally building their own additions ( I highly doubt they need permits…lol).  I saw them farming (mainly rice) with hand tools – only the “ballers” have motorized equipment.  The mountains and views were pretty amazing.  I wasn’t able to take any photos – mainly due to the car I was in had tinted windows. 

Stopping off at a rest area – it was pretty similar to one we would have in the States, restaurant, restrooms, gas and rec areas.  At this point, I get the sense that I don’t quite blend in. Almost every guy is wearing some kind of collared shirt and sport jacket…and coming from relatively cold Cleveland – mid 60’s are heaven!  My uncle was asking me if I was cold since I was wearing a t-shirt.  Lol. 

So after about two hours, we decide to make a quick stop at the city of Fang Cheng for a bite to eat – I find out that my grandmother on my mom’s side had lived there at some point.  Two things immediately pop out at me – one, there’s dust and dirt everywhere!  You could make a ton by washing cars out here.  Two, there’s a crapload of construction going on everywhere – mainly apartment buildings… like really nice ones… at least according to the construction billboards.  I guess apparently this city and the surrounding are poised to become a major shipping port so I guess they are preparing to modernize the area.   There were construction cranes EVERYWHERE.   After eating (I’m still fine no ill effects…yet) I then realize that every place has those squatting toilets…this will be very interesting indeed…good thing I didn’t need to take a deuce yet.   So now, we’re on a normal highway – very bumpy and riddled with potholes – I see people manually patching roads with no steamrollers or other heavy equipment… just shoveled and pounding asphalt into the road.  On the way there, I guess that had closed off one of the lanes of the divided highway and so now we had to go on a shared two-way highway… I swear we were going to die a few times…I was on edge all the way to Dong Xing. 

Finally get to our destination – Dong Xing.  Doesn’t look too much different from the everywhere else… and we arrive at my second oldest uncle’s place to unwind a bit and met the rest of his family.  His place houses his entire family on six levels and I guess each son has their own level (three sons).  So after a bit of time, we decided to get to the hotel so we can rest… at this point, we’ve logged around 27-28 hours of travel time to get to where we are.  Luckily the “best” hotel in town (or so they say) is right across the street.  Well, it’s a recently remodeled “business” hotel and seems to be relatively nice.  They have western style toilets (whew!) and Internet access…and that’s all I need.