Beijing, the symbol of change

My dearest friends, 

I have just got back from a 4 nights and 4 days trip in Beijing, China. On this trip, I finally got to visit the places that you know you have to visit at least once in your life, e.g. The Great Wall (cloudy, foggy wall for us unfortunately), the forbidden city, the tian'anmen square, etc. More importantly, since I have such a knowledgable travel partner (aka my dad), I think this trip is very mind-opening in term of my perspective of Chinese people, socialism and definitely it's potential as the world's biggest power (no kidding). Well, I don't want to share too much about what we do or where we went during this trip, but I would like to share my thoughts and the reflection on what I have learned on this trip. I hope I wouldn't bore you guys too much. 

Beijing (北京) has blown my mind in oh-so-many ways. The buildings, the urban planning, the redevelopments.. are in so many ways, much greater than I have imagined. I have been to temples and older area in China before, so I was expecting all these attractions in Beijing to be somewhat the same. But.. To y surprise, the buildings here are very grand (yes, you may argue that they are showing off their wealth, but who wouldn't?) I was staying at Dongzhimen area and the weather sucked for the first three days (foggy, cloudy, smoggy, whatever you chose to call it, I just can't see shit. Pls excuse my language). So I didn't get the see the lines of these beautifully designed buildings. I was really really impressed! Though my second thoughts after seeing that was "such a waste of space". The impression of how beautiful these buildings are.. Definitely overruns my efficient self. To be honest, people kept telling me these things but I failed to accept it, only have accepted the negative perspective that people have of Chinese people (not that it is not true, I definitely have experienced the moment that I know it happened from time to time). I definitely learned on this trip that they can be very helpful and very nice. It is just that it's in their culture, they have always done things this way, of course going outside of China, it may appears as they are being rude.. But it is the norm here. And maybe I should once again try to be open-mind of the people. 

Back to my points on their capacity in urban planning and redevelopment. First, the forbidden city. What. The. Heck. Why is it so freakishly big!? It's tiring just to walk from front gate to the inner city wall. Not to mention all these small halls inside the inner city.. And, all these halls that are practically serving the same purpose! I bet all the people who worked inside the palace (what Thai people call "ขันที") must be really fit walking at that length just to go see the emperor or talk to someone from another hall. I'll for sure get lost from time to time. But all these halls, they have such great characters. Great meanings. I mean someone told me it get redundant and repetitive over awhile, which I have the agreed, but I found it is very interesting to see the meaning of the structures. It is as though they have thought through the planning process many many times before they can come up with such a grand yet very symbolic structures. And it actually fit quite well to the newer buildings nearby, i.e. national museum, hall of people. 

Another example would be the "altar of heaven" at the temple of heaven park. The nine layer of everything they do. Nine bricks from the center, nine stairs and floors, it's very interesting! So beautiful and also so meaningful. The Art 798 (七九八 as the locals call the area). It used to be factories and storage space. Now it has been redeveloped to be a creative space, where everyone is free to create (of course there are some limitations, no political incentives). I mean, the reason I value that so much because there is a similar sort of space in Thailand, which I love so much. You can walk there and explore new ideas. It's a space where I can get inspired, and 798 gave me that same feeling. I dare say that this type of space is very very limited in Hong Kong. Something I can never really get over with (sorry Hong Kong, I miss this uniqueness and small startups, not so much corporations and franchises. But my point on 798 is actually.. The fact that it is so well-developed using the old factory and warehouses, changing them into the galleries and artsy stores (ugh, I wish we have more time to explore!)

Now a bit more about what I learned about Chinese people. 

1. They know how to "obtain" what they want, not waiting for it to happened. I mean that is admiring. They took the steps necessary without fear of embarrassment. Sometimes I wish I am like that as well. Sometimes. 
2. They can be really nice. I just need to learn and practice more of my mandarin! People can be redundant but they are helpful. Service are quite good (compared to HK. in Thailand it might be the same, but maybe that is so because I was staying in the city). 
3. They are just like us and why are we comparing culture to cultures and making judgment based on individual cases should not be assumed to be the same as the mass. Do you know what I mean? I think I've been indulging myself without taking a step back to trying to understand their cultures. I need to remind myself that next time. 

Anyway, I am now waiting at the airport, Beijing capital airport, somewhat praying that my flight won't be delayed. But also, I've found their airport to be quite epic! It's so pretty!! Sometimes it reminds me of HK and BKK airports (except the flights delaying part). Anyway, this is quite long, so I think I should end it here. I hope everyone would get a chance to go visit Beijing and feel as impressed as I am. Next stop in china maybe Shanghai or Yunnan or Tibet! Weeeee! Maybe I should start planning with ms. Lek! 

Thank you for reading. I would love to discuss more about what I learned or listen to your perspectives on china, so please feel free to comment! 

Also, thanks to my love or being so patient when I cannot contact him during my time in Beijing. Thanks for understanding. ;) 

A little something to share before I end this post..

Tian'anmen Square (天安门)  and Forbidden City from afar

:)

Love, 

Emily

Dimsum Land turns Outdoor Land

Dear friends,

Coming to Hong Kong, I was under the impression that I am coming to live in one of the most crowdest place in the world (apparently that is not true, although sometimes it seems like it could be), one of the best food in the world, but a claustrophobic would just die living in HK apartments.  At some point earlier, I just know that I would never live in Hong Kong. And I remember saying that.

Although it took me some time to ease in to Hong Kong lifestyle, now I really have grown to love this city. Its accessibility and its systematic transport system. Many of my friends actually told me that the "honor system" tends to works perfectly well here, but not things have changed for a bit. Although coming from the absolute (and not relative, since I have never lived in other Chinese-speaking city) perspective, HK people are rather rude.

Hey, hey.. this is not a blog to rant about HK but rather I want to express how appreciative I am that I chose to come to HK. I met many good friends and I have learned a lot of these great people around me this year. It's going to be approximately 1 year next Saturday since I arrived in Hong Kong for this job.

So... back to my point on being appreciative. I have recently becoming more active, and start hiking and playing hockey. I have realized and am very much impressed by HK people's activeness. They are always busy doing something, playing sports, going to the beach, hiking, BBQ-ing, etc. But I have fell in love with HK outdoors. It's like a hidden gem. Almost like Seattle Summer as the Northwest secret, just almost though. But this recent eye-opening completely alters my perspective of HK and I recalled the last time I went home, my mom said "you really do travel like a local." Yes, I am proud to travel like local. Spending time outside in HK is.. one word... Epic.

My colleagues/ex-colleagues hiked up to this beach yesterday, Ham Tin Beach. This is claimed to be the most beautiful beach in HK, and it surely is (see picture below). Took this picture with iphone, sorry for the bad quality and my scribble on the photos. But well if you want the better version, go find me on instagram (@mzkaew).

 

Despite the obvious sign. We went out there anyway, just to see how scary it is.
Well I go there for taking a picture, but my friends are probably not there just to check how cool it is.
Credit to: Pauline Chan

My intention is to explore HK outdoor a little bit more while I am here. Finish the HK trail by the end of this year. And appreciate HK a little bit more each day. Perhaps even fall in love with it like I did with Seattle.

Okay, I should go now! Hope you all enjoy the picture! Ciao!

Best,
Emily