Photo Friday #27 Open ABOUT 10:30 AM This photo, taken at Uncle Mutt’s Barbecue in Victoria, Texas, reminds me to always be flexible while traveling and, of course, mindful of local customs. Sometimes in life we have a now! now! now! attitude. Like a lot of places in the world, (Southeast Asia comes to mind,) [...]
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The Town With The Big Family Confucius Temple Entrance Our last minute trip to Qufu this past Sunday was a success, if not without its little moments. Overall I would say that the home of Confucius is a worthwhile deviation from the standard tourist trail in China and for those of us in Shandong Province, [...]
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To the slopes! Errr… slope? Errr… hill? To refresh your memory: The Ski hill at Yi Shui It’s really more of a gentle rise, isn’t it? We approached our ski adventure with no expectations. We were just excited to get out of Linyi. We knew ahead of time the snow was artificial and since there [...]
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The Part With The Demon Water Slide From Hell Let me just start by saying the DH ate dog meat on this trip. In his defense, it was cold and he was competing in a timed downhill ski competition.* Maybe he needed the strength. Maybe he’s just cruel and unjust. Everyone else at the table [...]
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Skiing? In Shandong Tomorrow the DH and I have been invited on a “ski adventure” somewhere in Shandong Province. There will be underground caves, a ski slope with artificial snow and god knows what else. Although it is all a big unkown, it will be fun to get out of little Linyi for the day. [...]
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Photo Friday #25 Uygur man in night market area, Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, October 2009 The streets of Kashgar are chaos – motorbikes and taxis swerve among the pedestrians, kicking up dust. Food vendors call out to potential patrons. Kids run down the streets shouting with each other. Buses barrel down the wider avenues, honking at [...]
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The Ground Rules Do: Drink a Starbucks eggnog latte (Just to try, then I’m back to my regular grande latte.) Eat a chicken fried steak (One is all I need, but it must have gravy & mashed potatoes on the side.) And while I’m at it, a Mexican dinner of some kind (Tacos, enchiladas, tamales, [...]
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Photo Friday #24 Kids on the Sangker Riverbank, Cambodia, 2006 This year’s Passports with Purpose fundraiser aims to earn $13,000 to build a school in Cambodia. For just $10 you can bid on a prize and donate to a worthy cause. It has been almost four years since the DH and I visited Siem Reap [...]
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Day Trip to Lake Kalakuli Our fourth and final destination within Xinjiang Province was the Pamir Mountains. The Pamirs are a group of mountains at the crossroads of Asia’s great ranges – the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, the Kunluns and Tian Shan. Pamir means “roof of the world,” a phrase used liberally to describe the [...]
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Photo Friday #23 Uygur boys in Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, China – October 2009 Playing cards, snacking on popcorn, generally owning the streets… boys are boys the world over! The Next Bruce Lee? Kashgar, Xinjiang Province, China – October 2009 This boy stopped us on the street and pleaded, “Take my picture!” He then performed various [...]
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I'm an American expat living on the fringe of Chinese society. Thanks to a lifetime spent moving around, I often feel like an outsider. This blog explores life in Beijing, China, the occasional aviation topic, expat issues, random travel experiences and interesting things I see, read and hear. If you want to know more about my latest hobby, visit Sewing on the Fringe, where I blog about learning to sew in Beijing. And for daily documentation of Beijing's ever changing air quality, visit My Beijing Window. And, yes, I do wear my santa hat year-round. ;)
