Happy Holidays from Xining!

Merry Christmas to those who celebrate! I am currently in Xining and have passed a lovely Christmas eve day in the city. Here is a list of recommendations for how to celebrate in Xining, should you ever choose to pass this holiday in this city:

1.  Listen to Michael Buble's Christmas album, specifically his version of Santa Baby. This will help set the Christmas mood and spirit.

2. Eat shao kao (street food) for a light lunch. I stupidly forgot to bring my camera with me, so here are some shots from Beijing's night market. I am convinced this is purely for foreigners. I have never seen a Chinese person eat what I ate that night:

Scorpions!

Group starfish!

Solo starfish at the Beijing night market

Sugar glazed fruit!

I was not so experimental here in Xining, choosing seaweed, meat (not idea what kind), sausage, and tofu. It was a Muslim shao kao restaurant where you put the skewers in a basket before they cook it in delicious mildly spicy sauce. Ignore smoking man in the corner. This is China, there will always be a smoking man (and not the X-files kind).

3. Buy winter clothing like a scarf.

Pretty scarf representing UVA colors (I didn't realize until the boy pointed it out)

4. Go to a random part of the city that you have never been. In my case it was the central bus station which is right across from the Tibetan part of the city. Try something sweet that will you remind you of being a kid again. I had some cotton candy, which the Tibetan ladies found hilarious.

5. Take bubble bath #1 to chase away the cold. Watch something funny and/or Christmasy.

Wonderful tub!

6. Search online for restaurants advertising Christmas eve dinners. Fail at this.

7. Take a shot in the dark and head to Yinlong Hotel in Xining for a rumored western buffet.

8. Be blindsided by a ridiculously entertaining Chinese Christmas evening. This will include LOUD entertainment, a thin Santa, sushi, and a herd of children running amok. The highlight of the night for me was when the Boy and I were presented with two stuffed animals (his had a Hello Kitty dress on) just because the Boy was the only white person at the entire event. We gave his to a shop lady because she has an adorable baby.

So cute!

The biggest shocker of the night (and the part of the entertainment that had all of the guests and staff engrossed) was when a man dressed in a bra pulled a Cirque du Soleil and twirled in a barely controlled circle with a girl clamped to his torso using her legs. He proceeded to fling her away and she ended up smacking her face into the ground as part of the act. The crowd thought this was hilarious. So hilarious that I couldn't get the attention of the chefs the entire duration of the act, leaving me standing awkwardly in front of the roast beef and faking a smile.

9. Walk through the beautiful park that sits between Yinlong and my hotel, and watch people light up sparklers.

10. Take bubble bath #2 to shed the last of the cold.

SO amazing it had to be shown again.

11. Round out the night by either continuing to listen to Michael Buble's album or trying to find Home Along and/or Nightmare Before Christmas.

12. Finish off the night staring at gifts that you can't wait to open. Or nerd out and play Dragonvale, one of the most addictive IPad/Iphone games ever.

The Boy won't let me open anything until the morning =( This is actually a picture of my gift to him.

 Luckily we had a joint early Christmas present that makes up for having to wait:

IPad!!!

Even the box is pretty!

With its beautiful magnetic cover on.

Plus, the hotel was really sweet and gave us healthy presents:

There were apples inside!

Yes, I am a nerd.

 I hope that this post was informative or at least entertained a bit.

Happy holidays everyone!

Lost Girl of the Week

 This last week, I was featured on The Lost Girls as the Lost Girl of the Week! I am extremely excited to have been chosen, especially on such an influential site. The original Lost Girls are three friends who quit their jobs in order to travel. Here is a description of them in their own words:

In June 2006, we-three friends and media professionals, Jennifer Baggett, Holly Corbett and Amanda Pressner-left our jobs, boyfriends, apartments and everything familiar behind in New York City to embark on a year-long search for adventure and inspiration. Journeying across four continents and more than a dozen countries, we shared our experiences with other aspiring vagabonds on our website, LostGirlsWorld.com. 

Here is also a link to a brief synopsis of their round the world trip: Our Trip 

Please check out my submission: Lost Girl of the Week: Cecilia (Cici) Haynes

I hope you enjoy!

A "Recovering" TCK

That's me on the left!

* Here is a wonderful response to and defense against my post: Recovering *

Every since I wrote the post on what I consider to be the Top Ten TCK Quirks, I have experienced an outpouring of support and appreciation for what I wrote. It is my most commented on piece and because of the huge response, I have decided to gear my blog more towards TCK related matters, in addition to my current travel adventures. This is the first of what I hope will be a series of musings on the subject of us. I apologize if the following sounds like a bit of a rant. Also, this is very long, so I will put titles so you can skip to what you find interesting (if anything at all).

Down with the Label of a "Recovering" TCK

I want to kick this off by addressing the issue of a "recovering" TCK. This label makes it seem as if being a TCK is a traumatic sickness or wound that needs to be healed. Leaving aside the usage as a joke, there are some people who clearly feel this way. When I read the story of Brice Royer, founder of My Tckid (a community site full of TCKs), I was a little troubled by his story. At the age of 19, he started suffering mysterious physical ailments that he (years) later figured out were due to emotional pain. Once he had this realization, the pain disappeared and he founded the site in order to help other suffering TCKs have a sense of belonging. While I am not saying that this wasn't real for him, or that emotional turmoil can't manifest itself physically, the fact that it was because of the privilege of having a multicultural experience bothers me. 

Personal Issues 

While I have gone through some unhappy periods, I have never regretted the way I was raised and am extremely grateful that I was lucky enough to have the life I have lived. There are SO many people in this world who will never have the opportunity to see what I have seen and while I used to take this for granted, I have since learned to appreciate the hand I was dealt. This post on Thought Catalog thoroughly expresses how I feel about this subject. 

My biggest rough patch was when I moved back to the states for four years when I was ten. I struggled to find a way to keep in contact with my best friends from New Delhi since the whole email thing was quite new. I was completely miserable. I hated where I lived, although this might have been slightly influenced by the fact that I had just read the Goosebumps story Welcome to Dead House and I was a little paranoid that the suburb we moved into might be the very one from the book. 

In school, when I would say comments like, "I fell off a camel when it was running in a desert in India," (true story, my brother used to be slightly rotund and since I couldn't get my arms all the way around him, I ended up slipping and falling. Luckily I had already been gradually moving sideways and so the rest of the fall was just a short drop onto a soft dune), my classmates would just stare blankly at me before awkwardly changing the subject. This pushed me into books, and while I had friends, some close, I was not a happy camper. I am still remembered by some people as the girl whose dad had a tarantula and lots of lizards and snakes. I don't mind that title though! 

I was extremely relieved to move to Chennai afterwards and go back "home" to India. It was a hard time, but I am glad I went through it. That was the most I have ever had to adapt and I learned a lot about myself from living in my "passport" country. Having had the experience of the states helps me to talk to people today about what was happening in the U.S. at the time and so I can relate to even more people because of this experience. 

End the Pity Party

I say down with the pity parties! I know I sound a bit harsh as I write about my frustration with fellow TCKs feeling agonized over their past, but honestly, I think that this background should be embraced with pride. Admittedly, I do get annoyed explaining my background to people, but I have worked to curb this reaction. I wrote this in the comments of my post, but I thought this was pertinent to write again: I used to lie about where I was from, a lot. To make conversations easier, I would just say the U.S. or Hong Kong. If people pressed and I gave them the full list and they asked me ridiculous questions, I would make things up like I rode elephants to school and lived in a hut in a village with only a single computer. I have since realized this might not be the best response and have started to take the time to explain what a TCK is and what kind of TCK I am. I hope that more and more people will start hearing the label "TCK", know what it means, and ask informed questions on people's backgrounds. 

Experiment

I did a social experiment the other night. I was out with friends of friends who I met in the elevator of the restaurant Blue Smoke BBQ (basically the friend was supposed to be there but couldn't make it and when I was explaining this situation to another friend of mine in the elevator, his friends overheard and we ended up sitting together). They were all Princeton in Asia fellows who had been assigned to Hong Kong. These were traveled individuals who went to big name schools stateside. I ended up asking them if they knew what a TCK was. They were stumped. I hope that if they ever meet another TCK, they will understand better how to react to confusing diversity. 

Arrogance

Another personal failing of mine is arrogance. Stemming from my time in the states, I used to believe that if you hadn't lived like I had, you hadn't lived. I also used to believe that if you hadn't grown up traveling, that you were incapable of having the travel bug and therefore I couldn't relate to you. Even traveling as an adult or a college student didn't make the cut since I have been around people who either went "crazy," as in over drank, etc., or were insufferable because of some supposed life-changing experience. I have since realized that this is definitely not everyone, it isn't even most people. Plus, even if a person has never traveled, there are so many other interests that we could share (music, movies, books, politics, desire to travel in the future, etc). I used to place on myself the pressure of defining my experiences and that caused a lot of my unhappiness. I think that other TCKs are definitely guilty of this too. 

Not Preaching and Disclaimer 

Honestly, I am not trying to preach. Live your life however you want. I think that TCKs are awesome and we should embrace the fact that we were born extraordinarily lucky.  

Again, I am not disputing the fact that some people are struggling to cope with feeling alienated, etc., but there sure are a lot of sites with seminars, lessons, and all sorts of "helpful" advice for getting through such a "difficult" background. Questions from people asking why they can't form meaningful long-term relationships, why they feel restless, and frustrations with identity feel like they are trying to blame how they were raised as opposed to other more current causes. I could be very wrong about this (and probably am in some cases), so please let me know if you feel differently (in a respectful and calm manner, please!).

I promise the next post will be travel-related! I have been swamped with friends, family, visas since coming to Hong Kong and I will have more time as soon as I go to Xining, Qinghai, China tomorrow.

Happy Valley Race Track: Beer, Gambling, and Horses

I was born in Hong Kong and have been back to visit pretty much every year of my life. When you have this sort of pattern with a city, you tend to want to visit the areas you are familiar with and won't see for a year. My brother and I stuck to Causeway Bay, TST, Mong Kok, and Sham Shui Po. These were the parts of the city where you used to be able to get bootleg games and movies (the government cracked down a few years ago and now pirated stuff is harder to find). However, in doing so, I missed out on a lot. 

This year, we decided to try something different and headed to the famous Happy Valley Race Track.

This was extremely convenient since our hotel, the Cosmopolitan, is located directly across from the course. Races at Happy Valley are only on Wednesday nights and traffic around the area can be dicey since roads are blocked off because of how large this event is. I saw this firsthand when I was heading back to my hotel later and a mass exodus was streaming onto the streets at 11:00PM. 

The Cosmopolitan Hotel

View from Happy Valley

As I headed over to the stadium, I didn't realize that the public entrance is at the complete opposite end of the area close to the hotel. It was a bit of a hike and we had to pass every specialty members only area before finally arriving at the common people turnstiles. It is a 10hkd entrance fee and you can use your octopus card if you have one. You will know that you have reached the cheapee area because you can see beer stalls just beyond the entrance.

Right past the turnstiles

The first of many, many beer stands

Lit up stadium full of people!

The tables where you can place pitchers

If you have never been to the horse races, GO. It is so much fun! The energy, the people, the beer, all make for a great night. I ended up going at around 7:00 but I found out that gates open at around 5:15-5:30.

Here is the official Hong Kong Jockey Club site with information about times, etc:

Race Courses FAQ 

If you are with a group, I would recommend going early since there are tables attached to the various beer stands and they fill up fast. If not, you can get right up to the track. If the places around the fence are full, wait until the next race finishes. It gets really crowded leading up to a race and as soon as it is over, people disappear to go gamble more or buy food and drinks. People are extremely friendly and open to talking. Some random guy filled up my beer cup with the pitcher that his group had. Another couple started chatting with me about how to bet and that they go for fun every single week. 

Right up against the rails

 I ended up gambling about 20hkd (minimum is 10hkd). I was with two other people and we all picked different numbers. We still lost, but it was all in good fun. Even if you aren't much of a gambler, put one bet down. It's an experience and even if you lose, there are bound to be people around you who are in the same position and then you can commiserate together!

There is something magical about being surrounded by the tall, lit buildings of Hong Kong and smelling horse and turf. When the horses start approaching your area, the crowd begins to roar and cheer, and even though the horses race past in a second, you can feel the ground shake. 

I think some of the horses were unruly and had to be led...

Yet another

Others just ran by themselves to the starting point

Man with newspaper he hopes he holds the answers to the race about to come past us

8 had a huge lead!

Next race

Even though 9 is leading, there is plenty that changes right near the end

Official Hong Kong Jockey Club board with the HK flag in the background

My winner!

The people who clean up the divots while watching out for the steaming ones!

The couple that was explaining the different types of bets told me how the boxes at the top of the stadium cost millions of U.S. dollars every year. They thought this was a complete waste of money since you would be so far from the action that it would be as if you were watching the race on TV. Even being in the restaurant distances you from the horses and the excitement of the crowd. I completely agreed. I would not have sacrificed being amidst the sea of energy for a better view. I think seeing a group of horses thunder past you is the best view in the house.      

The restaurant

The horses being paraded around before the race

Up close and personal

I can't imagine that is comfortable for the jockeys...

Races are every 15-30 minutes. You can pick up a handy guide which tells you race times and the competitors. I ended up placing another bet and winning! Off of 20hkd, I received 134hkd. It was enough to get dessert and I count myself lucky. I chose number 4 on a whim even though it wasn't given high statistics for winning. As much fun as it is to be outside, that is how depressing it is to be in the area where you place the bets. The sheer number of people staring avidly at the giant screens, scribbling furiously on notebooks or newspapers, and debating the merits of each horse is a little troubling. During each race, the board posts how much money is riding the winner and on which bets. These numbers reach 20,000,000hkd and up, and this is per race. 

SO much money

I won!

The winning ticket

I can't even fathom betting my life on something so chancy. I understand that this seems to allow people the illusion of more control as opposed to games like roulette, but it is still unpredictable. I think the cartoon film All Dogs go to Heaven gave a more plausible explanation of which horses win. The movie joked that it was the horses themselves who decided who should win based on whose birthday it was!

All in all, if you are in Hong Kong on a Wednesday, I highly recommend you go. In a couple, a small group, or a large group, there is a great night to be had.

A Snapshot of Lhasa

 

Monks in a department store. Clearly making some prayer rounds.

 The majority of articles on Tibet are filled with burgundy-robed monks silently twirling handheld prayer wheels. In a red columned assembly hall, they sit cross-legged on worn red pillows as shafts of light stream down from the rafters. Atop buildings and connecting pillars, prayer flags flutter in the wind as the faded yellows and greens contrast sharply with the piercing blue of the sky. Outside saffron stained temples, faithful adherents garbed in dull black and brown chupas prostrate themselves in front of statured gods. Palms together in prayer, they swing their arms from their forehead to their chest before gingerly falling to their knees and lying face down on the dusty, stone floor. After a moment of stillness, they get up and start the process over again. Staring out at this show of faith, wide-eyed deities with finely arched eyebrows sit with silky white prayer scarves draped around their shoulders and laps. Some faces are painted gold, others red or blue, as their hands grasp various instruments wrought in brass. The snarling faces of a few protector deities are covered up since they are deemed too terrifying to behold. During special occasions, the coverings are removed from their faces, revealing bulging eyes and fangs sprouting from grimacing mouths. Some of these deities sit astride various steeds as they trample demons whose bodies are pinned to the ground. Lining the front of these beings are iron troughs that look blue in the lighting. Hammered designs can be seen twining around the bases. The pungent smell of yak butter and burned juniper wreathe any who approach the twinkling of the lit altars. Pools formed in the soft, off-white wax landscape reflect serried rows of tiny flames. The flames dance, flickering and twisting whenever the faithful dribble liquid butter onto cratered mounds. Others use spoons to flick clumps of solid butter which create mountains surrounding the lakes encircling the flames. Waves of people pass through the various chapels and murmured prayers create a soothing lull that fills the air.

This is the classical image of Tibet, but Lhasa today is a burgeoning metropolis. Branching out from the walls of the temples, winding white walled streets give way to wide paved roads. Cars swerve around darting pedestrians while pedestrians weave around cars parked on sidewalks. Dogs of all shapes and sizes, in various states of uncleanliness, navigate through vehicles and people with their tongues happily lolling. Some have tinkling bells, while others are adorned with ratty red mane collars, which transform even the smallest Lhasa Apso into a fierce, albeit adorable, snow lion. In addition to multi-colored, tarp covered market stalls, department stores glitter with polished floors and bright fluorescent lights. Tibetan women hawking neon yellow blocks of yak butter contrast with manicured saleswomen displaying the latest brand name perfumes and make up. Those same burgundy robed monks stroll through the lanes between clothing sections, chatting on their cellphones. Street-side dentist stalls with rusted, peeling signs advertising gold emblazoned teeth are eclipsed by three-story centers with dental chairs and sterile equipment. Heaps of white curd, dried meats, and fungi compete with well-stocked supermarkets filled with plastic sealed soy sauce eggs and knock-off Oreos. 

No matter where you go in the world, you will never be able to escape dogs dressed in cute clothes.

Backpacks and leopard print are for all activities.

Skateboards galore!

The central tourist hub of Lhasa is the Barkhor, a wide-ranging market that sprawls around the Jokhang Temple. Armed with giant cameras with even larger lenses, packs of international and domestic visitors roam between stacks of thangka paintings and turquoise jewelry. Swept up in the clockwise tide of practitioners that circumambulate the Jokhang, visitors find it hard to leave. There are tons of restaurants, sites, and shops within this maze, so barring trips to major sites outside of this area, most tourists only see one side of Lhasa. Neglecting the rest of this rapidly expanding city is unfortunate since it has so much more to offer. Take, for example, cuisine. There are food stalls and tea houses everywhere. While these offer tasty fare, there are tons of other restaurants in the city that are overlooked. One such is called Hot Space. It is a hotpot restaurant that is renowned among the local Chinese and Tibetan population, but very rarely frequented by tourists. There is usually a wait. To keep patrons entertained, a row of computers boast the addictive game Plants versus Zombies. Waitresses even bring cups of juice so that those waiting will be hydrated for the spice. When ordering, the staff is incredibly helpful and will offer suggestions. This is very important since the menu is entirely in Mandarin. Due to the dearth of foreigners, it’s possible that the meal will end with singing and a flurry of white prayer scarves. This is just one of the many experiences awaiting tourists who explore outside the norm.

Dico's replaces McDonald's as the fast food of choice.

Prime hotpot goodness.

Lhasa is in the midst of industrial, cultural, and technological development. The giant St. Regis Hotel resort occupies an entire block, and it’s not even a small block. Likewise, a Four Seasons Hotel has also sprung up with a fancy restaurant that serves Hong Kong delicacies. There is also a large computer center with a roller skating rink on the top floor. While historical sites like the Potala Palace and Drepung Monastery should be the focus of any traveler’s sojourn to Lhasa, exploring the more modern areas is well worth the time. There is nothing like walking past the daunting walls surrounding St. Regis, straining to gain a glimpse inside while, on your other side, stalls are filled with yak carcasses. Meanwhile, children of all ages, who never tire of seeing foreign faces, will good-naturedly call out “hello” as they pass by with baseball caps balanced precariously on the tops of their heads. Playboy stores are couched between dry cleaners and tea houses where Tibetan men in fedoras sit outside playing various games with tiles. Part of the charm of Lhasa is seeing this unique mixture of cultures and experiencing the growth of a city firsthand. Lhasa cannot be limited to a single perspective and travelers should take the new with the old. 

Technology surrounds the ancient Potala Palace.

Globalism at its best.

Hong Kong and Lhasa

I am currently on my way back to Hong Kong after three months in Lhasa. For the occasion, I have compiled a list of things that I am looking forward to in Hong Kong and things that I will miss about Lhasa. 

Everything that I am looking forward to applies only to my individual situation. I am not making any sweeping claims about what anyone else experiences or their priorities. I also know that some problems are beyond the control of any of the hotel staff and the people I am around.

Hong Kong 

I think Hong Kong looks better at night.

1. Food variety

I miss the sheer diversity of food in Hong Kong for cheap to reasonable prices. I love Tibetan food, I love Chinese food but I miss being able to go out for something as simple as a burger. Or going up the alley in LKF that serves Thai, Indonesian, and Malaysian food without costing me all my money. While most restaurants here offer western fare, with the exceptions of St. Regis and La Bon Vie, they aren't great.

     2. Reliably hot showers

Call me spoiled but nothing beats the feel of a piping hot shower, especially as it gets colder. Showers at Dekang tend to be hot but will occasionally, seemingly at random, become lukewarm to chilly. 

    3. Not smelling smoke everywhere

Bans against smoking in public spaces/hotel rooms haven't quite made it over. I am really looking forward to being able to not be surprised by clouds of smoke in elevators and bathrooms in the hotel. Hong Kong is crazy about not smoking in public places and that is ridiculously exciting.

   4. Having the shower drain properly

During my stay, I have noticed that the shower drains more and more poorly. Every time I shower, it is like taking a knee bath at the same time. 

   5. Consistent internet

For about a month now, the internet has been shutting off at 2:00-2:30am. This isn't a problem for most people but because I am a night owl, it isn't very pleasant. Having made my peace with this restriction, a new issue has cropped up within the last couple of weeks. The internet will now randomly fluctuate throughout the day and become agonizingly slow for long periods. I am SO excited about having fast, reliable internet 24/7.

   6. Family and friends

I haven't seen my mom or brother for over a year and I am flying to Hong Kong to see them. I am very excited to be able to spend some time with them since I won't be heading back stateside until March. I also have some close friends in HK and, as much as I enjoy the company of the Boy, it will be nice to see everyone again.

Lhasa

It's nigh impossible to get a night shot of the whole of Lhasa.

   1. Tibetan food

While I do crave variety, I am a huge fan of anything with yak meat. I will especially miss Momos (the yak filled dumplings), Thukpa (noodle soup), and Tsaksha Lapuk (yak and radish soup).

  2. The view

The mountains surrounding Lhasa are some of the most gorgeous I have seen. There is nothing quite like waking up in the morning and seeing snow covered mountains in the distance. Not to mention the fact that because they are so far and vast, the clouds and the sun illuminate various portions.

  3. Dekang Hotel

For all my griping, Dekang has become my home and my comfort zone. The room is spectacular and I know the area really well. The staff here are incredible and extremely accommodating. They are so friendly and I will definitely miss them.

 4. Some of the monasteries

There are some monasteries here that are quiet and under the tourist radar. These are my favourite to visit since they have really neat little areas like caves and rooftop chapels.

  5. Mastiffs

I love, love LOVE mastiffs as you can see from this post An Ode to Tibetan Mastiffs. I will miss seeing mastiffs everywhere and especially the big red girl right now the street.

 6. Friends

I have made a few friends here and will miss seeing them!

Hopefully I will be able to come back in a month, but for now I will enjoy some delicious dim sum!