Endangered Species

The Giant Panda a.k.a ailuropoda melanoleuca a.k.a 熊猫 (bear cat) is what drew us to Chengdu, a city of 10 million people, 1650 km (1025 miles) and a 3-hour flight west of Shanghai.  (If you click "Chengdu" above, you will see it just below the "C" in "CHINA".)

At the Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, we seized 

an opportunity to volunteer for the day to

clear bamboo from panda sleeping areas, 

feed them apples, learn about breakthroughs in panda breeding...

 ...and to take pictures of me holding panda poop!

Also in Chengdu are several cultural and historical sites, 

like the Du Fu Thatched Cottage.

Here I am in front of a 4-story pagoda replica, 

built on top of the original pagoda site.

The interior is very spacious and on the 4th floor is a large, 

10-foot bronze bell. I couldn't turn down a dare to stand inside it.

 Strolling through the garden, one cannot resist

a "jumping picture" among a grove of bamboo.

Koi ponds and large bronze sculptures also grace this cultural site.

Sichuan province is known for it's spicy food, so we ordered Huo Guo, or Hot Pot, with half hot and half not.  You can see the red, boiling broth with several varieties of spicy oil, chili, and yummy goodness.  They say that the Huo Guo keeps you warm during the winter.

Later that weekend we ordered an

Estremamente Grande latte at Starbucks...

...and a 4-month old baby giant panda to go.

Posing with Mascots, Etc.

Mascots and silly things are everywhere!

At supermarkets,

 on the streets of Shanghai,

 in front of hotels,

 outside snack shops,

 at tall towers in Japan,

 in front of KFCs,

 outside Expo Performance Halls,

 at Netherlands Pavilions,

 inside China Pavilions,

 at Shanghai Masters events,

 Australian Rules football games,

 outside coffee shop chains,

 and at cruise terminals.

As long as someone is willing to take the picture, I'll keep posing.

干酪说!

Thanksgiving in Hangzhou

With a couple of extra days added to the Thanksgiving weekend, we decided to take the maglev to Hangzhou, a city southwest of Shanghai with a big, beautiful lake called "West Lake".

This "bullet train" can reach speeds up to 360 km/hr (223 mph), and at top speed, it feels like you are on a jet just before it lifts off the ground.  It is an incredibly smooth ride.

After finding our hotel and having a well-deserved rest, 

we took a calm boat trip on the lake to a small island called, 

"Three Pools Mirroring the Moon."

While relaxing and enjoying the temple and 

mountain views along the lake, I took out 

my sketchbook and hardly noticed the onlookers.

The next day we went to the Lingyin (Souls Retreat) 

Buddhist Temple complex at the foot of Lingyin Mountain.

The entire site has beautiful landscaping, halls, 

and stone sculptures dating back

to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) .

We ended our trip by visiting the famous Mejiawu Tea Plantation

for some Longjing (Dragon Well) green tea.

Thanks to the bullet train's speed, we're thinking of 

going back to Hangzhou to enjoy some 

mango lassi we had at a cozy Indian restaurant!

A Tale of Three Cities

This is entry #1 of an unknown number of entries.

Our tale begins on October 21, 2010 in San Diego, which is home to MexGrocer.com.  

4060 Morena Blvd, Suite C

San Diego, CA 92117

(877) 463-9476

(5-Piece Tortilla Making Kit)

After spending over 15 months overseas, I thought it was about time that I start making my own corn tortillas.  It seems that the masa (corn flour) needed to make these circular, edible, flexible plates to hold delicious concoctions of finely chopped carne asada, salsa, cilantro, and onions is not available in Morocco or China.

I had considered ordering a tortilla making kit (Mexican Tortillas Making Kit) when I was in Marrakech last year, but when I heard that it would have taken several weeks to arrive, I thought I could just wait a few months until I went back home during the summer.  When I returned home, I visited a little market in San Juan Capistrano where a 3 pound sack of "Maseca" was only $4, and I still didn't buy it because I thought it would be too much additional luggage weight.

(Tortilla Press)

One late night, I visited the site again and took the plunge.  Something told me this would be an interesting blog entry -- ONE blog entry -- that would end with a photo of me making a fresh corn tortilla.  The only snag in my plan was that MexGrocer.com does not ship internationally.  They recommended Bongo International, a shipping broker that gives you a US address to have items shipped to, then they take care of shipping it overseas.  It all sounded so easy, so delicious, so tacos for lunch!

The shipping address is located in the second city in our tale: Bridgeport, Connecticut.

A Tale of Three Cities, part two

Entry #2 of an unknown number of entries.

Signing up for my Bongo International account was fairly easy.  Just a few bits of information and a credit card to validate my name and to confirm payment.  To validate, they told me that a credit card charge between .01 and .99 would appear on my credit card within 4 days.  Once I saw the charge, I would need to sign in, enter the amount that was charged, and that would allow me to continue with my order.  I did see the charge 4 days later and went back to Bongo to sign in.  But there was a problem.

I guess my Shanghai address raised some eyebrows, and my account was put on hold until I could verify my identity by sending a copy of my passport and both sides of my credit card.  I was hesitant to do this since the email would be traveling thousands of miles and through so many filters.  Who knows who would see my valuable data?  So I scanned it and encrypted it in a PDF file.

I must have encrypted it very well because Bongo couldn't open it!  10 emails, in as many days, later, my account was finally verified.  My MexGrocer, 5-Piece Tortilla Making Kit that was sitting in Bridgeport, Connecticut for 5 days was finally ready to be shipped overseas to the third city in this sordid tale: Shanghai, China

A Tale of Three Cities, part three

The third city in this tale is Shanghai, China.

Once the package arrived at the DHL office at the Pudong International Airport, it needed the proper customs clearance.  That sounds easy, but it really is more complicated than that.

A 38-minute subway ride from school to the customs office, an interpreter to fill out the form for me in Chinese, and three separate windows (Primary Approval, Secondary Approval, and Cashier (it was the same officer at the Primary and Secondary Approval window, he just moved over one seat)) was what it took to complete the "Custom Cover" paperwork, but I still had to take the paperwork back to school to get an official seal stamped on it!

The yellow dots mark the subway journey. 

I went back to school, got the stamp, and rushed back to the office to turn the paperwork into window #4, Final Approval (different officer).  With the paperwork completed, I sent it to DHL via courier and was told to wait for one week to see if the Department of Agriculture (CIQ) would allow me to import the masa flour.  I had to wait up to 7 days to find out if the masa would be delivered or destroyed.

The End of the Story

Finally, on Monday, December 13th, I received the long-awaited package.  It felt light -- not a good sign.  I carefully opened it, looked inside, and saw that there was no package of masa inside.  So, I have a comal, tortilla press,  cookbook, and tortilla warmer, but no masa to make fresh, homemade tortillas.

(Sigh).  Oh well.

I wonder if China will let me import livestock? 

 I'll start here:

7-Day Cruise

During the 10 day National Holiday, we went on a Costa Cruise to Korea and Japan.

The weather was perfect, the sites were beautiful, and we had a great time!

 

 

 

I think these photos say it all!