baking / crafting / other stuff i like

… waking up in a blanket of warmth that is not your blanket yep, it’s starting to feel...

Mon, 13 May 2013 21:06:50 -0400

… waking up in a blanket of warmth that is not your blanket

yep, it’s starting to feel like summer

開門七件事 (aka "The Seven Necessities")

Sat, 04 May 2013 01:20:00 -0400

柴 - firewood
米 - grain (rice)
油 - oil
鹽 - salt
醬 - sauce (soy sauce, oyster sauce, chili sauce)
醋 - vinegar
茶 - tea

They all seem pretty necessary to me!

No wonder why I love Chinese food and life in China so much (beyond being able to learn about my family history and the history of our people that is). This is great … ‘cept I don’t actually like rice … but all food tends to have oil, salt, sauce and vinegar. Haha. Yum. AND TEA! Can’t forget about the tea!

(Stems from the Chinese saying “firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are the seven necessities to being a day”)

What Maisie Knew (2012) Alexander Skarsgard. Must watch. (This...

Fri, 03 May 2013 23:01:00 -0400

What Maisie Knew (2012)

Alexander Skarsgard. Must watch.

(This is actually meant to be good too haha)

from afar this looks like my mom … amazing

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:43:00 -0400

from afar this looks like my mom … amazing

southersalazar: Mr. Smashed Apples 2007 =) that is all.

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:48:01 -0400

southersalazar:

Mr. Smashed Apples

2007

that is all.

Zhang Family Temple, Taxia Village, Nanjing, Fujian (April 20th,...

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:31:08 -0400

Zhang Family Temple, Taxia Village, Nanjing, Fujian (April 20th, 2013)

Most famlies in China have an ancestral temple which is where the family originated from, where many return for pilgrimages (especially once successful) and where people go to pray to their ancestors. At this particular temple (and actually most of the villages in the Nanjing area), there are totems outside of the temples to commemorate important individuals from their families. They are usually topped with a paint brush or a lion, the former for intellectuals and the latter for warriors.

Apparently the Tsai family temple is in Yupu Village, Shishi, Fujian and there is a family-tree book there with my name in it!! I would love to see it, but I told my dad that I would wait until I could take him there for his 60th birthday (he’s never been).

Hakka Tulou III: “Four Dish, One Soup Cluster”,...

Thu, 02 May 2013 22:13:40 -0400

Hakka Tulou III: “Four Dish, One Soup Cluster”, Nanjing, Fujian (April 19th - 20th, 2013)

The infamous “Four Dish, One Soup” cluster of mud houses (said to look like four circular dishes and one pot of soup).

Many people (including myself) ask “but don’t these mud houses ever fall down”? The answer, yes. This photo set also includes a photo of a mud house that fell down (and was never restored). You can also see that the walls often do crack (heck, they are 500-800 years old!) but with regular reparations, the houses tend to withstand the elements thanks to their ingenius design. We are actually in the DRY because the awnings are so big that they protect the walls from the elements.

A lot of the villagers living inside these popular heavy-trafficTulous also make gorgeous oil paintings!

Hakka Tulou II, Nanjing, Fujian (April 19th, - 20th, 3013) The...

Thu, 02 May 2013 21:58:00 -0400

Hakka Tulou II, Nanjing, Fujian (April 19th, - 20th, 3013)

The 700 year old Hakka Tulou (mud house).

All the villages in this area are built along the river. The Hakka Tulous are humongous buildings made of rammed earth, logs (for the roofs) and tiling shingles. Most of them are MASSIVE in size. They used to hold entire villages with each family owning one tall section (usually reaching up to 4 floors). Each family would have a ground floor (usually the kitchen) a second floor (for storage), and one or two upper floors used as living and sleeping space.

As family sizes grew, those with more money would build new buildings outside of the original mud houses (which now surround the traditional mud houses) so they could live in privacy. Many families still live in the mud houses which tourists are allowed to visit. The government pays the villagers with the money that is received through the tourist dollars.Tea is a commodity often sold by the inhabitants of these mud houses (along with souveniers).

The sheer size of these buildings is astounding and amazing.

Hakka Tulou I, Nanjing, Fujian (April 19th - 20th, 2013) Our...

Thu, 02 May 2013 21:49:00 -0400

Hakka Tulou I, Nanjing, Fujian (April 19th - 20th, 2013)

Our hotel. It was an old abandoned deteriorating Hakka Tulou (mud house) which was then purcahsed, restored, and converted into a hotel for our staying pleasure.

Taiwanese Food Street!!!!!, Xiamen, Fujian (April 18th,...

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:17:49 -0400

Taiwanese Food Street!!!!!, Xiamen, Fujian (April 18th, 2013)

Cheap oysters and mussels galore, black stinky tofu, shaved ice with fruits, fresh squid, Taiwanese sausage and last but not least … “Big Sausage Wrapping Small Sausage” (SAUSAGE INCEPTION!!)

Xiamen & Gulangyu Island, Fujian (April 18th, 2013) Yellow...

Thu, 02 May 2013 09:00:00 -0400

Xiamen & Gulangyu Island, Fujian (April 18th, 2013)

Yellow Bus Cafe, Mochi Ice Cream (with shaved peanut deliciousness), small streets on Gulangyu, “naturally awaken”, and where all our garbage goes. Training week in Fujian.

There are actually many beaches around Xiamen, but it was only sunny on our first day which we spent on the island.

Around Hong Kong (April 14th, 2013) Avenue of Stars with McDull,...

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:30:20 -0400

Around Hong Kong (April 14th, 2013)

Avenue of Stars with McDull, 2for1 Margaritas in Wan Chai, riding trams to catch the Central ferry. All make up for a wonderful day.

Chinese Cake-Making Class @ Wing Wah Cake Shop, Hong Kong (April...

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:22:23 -0400

Chinese Cake-Making Class @ Wing Wah Cake Shop, Hong Kong (April 14th, 2013)

Learning to make wife cakes and egg rolls. Nomnomnom.

Skating in Hong Kong (March 4th, 2013) What more can I say?

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:13:24 -0400

Skating in Hong Kong (March 4th, 2013)

What more can I say?

Mui Wo —> Discovery Bay Hike (February 15th, 2013) What...

Wed, 01 May 2013 08:09:29 -0400

Mui Wo —> Discovery Bay Hike (February 15th, 2013)

What initially began as “a walk to DB” turned into a [much-more-difficult-than-i-initially-thought-because-paddy-didn’t-describe-how-much-of-a-hike-it-really-was] hike. There is a “short way” (~1 hour up and down) and a “long way” (~3 hours) to DB from MW … we took the long way. The beautifully scenic long way for sure! We even had a beautiful view of the golf course haha.

We missed the ferry on the way back because we were reading a completely wrong schedule (apparently the ferry only runs twice a day??) so we ended up having to walk back to Mui Wo the short way (still a tiring uphill/downhill walk!)

Angkor Wat, Cambodia Gopro

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:37:00 -0400

Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Gopro

Cat Ba Island [Halong Bay], Vietnam (February 4th - 7th,...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:35:00 -0400

Cat Ba Island [Halong Bay], Vietnam (February 4th - 7th, 2013)

Somewhere along the way to Halong Bay I remember we got lost on some small unnamed roads and ended up riding through small villages with no highway numbers … and finally ending in some town starting with a V … who knows. Haha.

Anyways, our trip to Halong Bay didn’t include Halong (the city) itself. Instead, we went straight to Cat Ba Island which is part of Halong Bay. The boat (bay) tour is something that everybody has to do when they’re there, but it is far too long and not really worth the price. But again, it’s one of those things that you kind of -have- to do. The Karst Mountains were gorgeous, there was some kayaking, a visit to a cave and lagoon, a trip to Monkey Island, some snorkeling??, and a visit to the floating villages in the bay. It was cool and to be honest, I guess it gave us the time to get to know the people on our boat (including Graeme and Victoria whom Ollie had met on the Transsiberian a few months earlier! Talk about fate …)

The best part about Cat Ba was probably our journey there - when we took the local boat to the inbetween island and the lady (unbeknownst to Ollie) sold him an egg which he later had to pay for. Once we were at the half-way island we scooted right off to catch the next ferry, but we unfortunately missed it and ended up renting a personal ferry to take us over to Cat Ba. Once on Cat Ba, we were riding in the middle of the night … for the first time on our trip. Chase’s light didn’t even work and Ollie’s light gave out on us halfway. We ended up navigating our way around the island (on winding, hilly, coastal roads) with my headlamp! Good thing I replaced it with decent batteries beforehand … haha.

Quite the adventure it was.

Last stop? Hanoi (which I actually don’t have any photos of on my camera … damn)

Ninh Binh, Vietnam (February 4th, 2013) It seems as though ever...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 10:20:20 -0400

Ninh Binh, Vietnam (February 4th, 2013)

It seems as though ever since I visited Yangshuo, China (in hopes of seeing the renowned Karst Mountains) the mountains cannot escape me! It’s amazing really. I’ve seen so many places with Karst Mountains in Asia!!

Ninh Binh stands out because it has rice paddies growing right on the riverside that flows through the Karst Mountains. Rowers take you out to row down the river and under caves/mountains. They even row with their feet (what I thought was special and unique, but actually most of them can do it) amazing nonetheless.

It was unfortunate that the rice paddies weren’t growing at their highest during the time that we went, but it was still nice to see Karst Mountains in a different sort of setting (not quite ocean, and not in the middle of agricultural land).

Phong Nga Cave, Vietnam (February 3rd, 2013) Named the biggest...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:25:07 -0400

Phong Nga Cave, Vietnam (February 3rd, 2013)

Named the biggest cave (April 2009) in terms of largest chambers, Phong Nga Cave was the highlight at the end of the WHCM trail. Granted it was made for tourists - complete with bright colourful lights and a fun boat ride - it was still amazing. The formations were astounding and the sheer size of many of them was just breathtaking. I can safely say that I’ve seen my share of caves since being in Asia (starting in China), but this one is definitely up there in terms of the amount of features it holds.

Curtains, flowstone, stalctites, stalgmites, columns, grottoes, gour pools … even some lampenflora!! Haha. It appears as though my Dragonfly training has taught me a thing or two about things I will encounter in the real world. Kudos.

West Ho Chi Minh Trail, Vietnam (February 2nd, 2013) The road...

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 09:02:29 -0400

West Ho Chi Minh Trail, Vietnam (February 2nd, 2013)

The road from Khe Sahn to Phong Nga is a long, quiet, yet beautiful road. Based on some recommendations, we decided to take the WEST trail (not the -slightly- busier East trail) to head up to Phong Nga. This was probably the most empty road we rode during our whole trip. Just beautiful, winding roads, up and down through the beautiful mountains. I can’t believe how desolate and quiet it was. We were told to make sure we filled up before leaving Khe Sahn and to bring bottles just in case we ran out of gas … because people weren’t kidding when they said there is NOWHERE to stop along these roads. There was perhaps ONE village along the way where we stopped for food (all they had was really gross snacks which we picnic-ed on) and another place where we managed to find noodles. Other than that, and beyond that, there was absolutely nothing. Just us and the beautiful open road.

I loved how quiet it was and how all there was was just us. Couldn’t ask for a better, more comfortable and serene environment to travel through.