16 September 2019
Fiori e tortini di luna del mezzo autunno
Oggi è il "giorno di mezz'autunno" del calendario lunare cinese. È anche il terzo anniversario del mio matrimonio di Sanya. In realtà quel giorno era il 15 settembre solare, oggi è il 16, ma siccome si conta il calendario lunare la data nel nostro calendario gregoriano cambia tutti gli anni. Basta saperlo...
Esco da solo, non sono ancora mai andato a far compere per conto mio ma ci provo. Compro un mazzo di fiori per 90 Rmb per un bel mazzo, mi regalano anche qualche fiore in più.
Poi compro i classici tortini per il mezzo autunno, 100 Rmb per 10 poi me ne faccio regalare un altro ma so che comunque mi ha fregato anche se sono molto buoni e hanno ben due tuorli al centro!
Quanto torno a casa Lifang è contenta dei fiori, per una volta sono riuscito a farle una sorpresa gradita! Mio suocero è sorpreso pure, per il fatto che sia andato a far spese da solo senza parlare la lingua. Non che sia stato difficile, e poi mi hanno pure fregato sul prezzo, ma non importa: comunque ho guadagnato qualche punto.
La sera andiamo a cena ad un ristorantino particolare, si chiama "Golden Claypot Rice" cioè il "riso nella ciotola di terracotta dorata". Un posticino speciale, dove cucinano il riso in ciotole di terracotta, appunto, su fornelli alimentati a carbone posti sul marciapiede antistante la porta d'ingresso.
Poi dal menù si sceglie cosa abbinare al riso: carne, pesce, ortaggi vari. Quando hanno finito il riso chiudono, non servirebbero mai carne o pesce senza riso. Sennò la terracotta dorata che ci sta a fare?
27 February 2019
Back to Hong Kong
He is a very traditional Chinese man even though he is only in his forties. He said he got her daughter a job in Chenzhou as a kindergarten teacher but does not want her to go and live far away or have a career. He gives her some extra money each year to compensate for what she's missing. Despite his young age, he has already planned to bequeath some money to his two daughters but all real estate properties to his only son.
Ready to go back to Europe, but first one last espresso in China. My three-year-old niece learned how to operate my Nespresso machine a few days ago and now every time I say out loud I want a cup of coffee she wants to do it!
My niece makes me coffee! |
We leave at 7.30 with a Didi car my wife booked night before. It is rush hour so it takes a bit of time to get out of the town. On the way, we meet a funeral procession on the road. Four people are carrying the coffin on shoulders. A long line of mourners follows them and they all wear white cloth on their head. Musicians play trumpets and cymbals. I am curious and interested in the ceremony, though we do not have time to stop and look. Lifang, however, is not amused, she does not like to talk about anything that has to do with death or accidents in the morning, especially early morning, at the start of the day.
On the road to the airport, lots of little street hawkers sell hot dumplings to cars on their way to work in Chenzhou. Maybe commuters or just people going for shopping or business to the big town. Big pots and steam coming out are quite inviting but we just had a substantial breakfast and decide not to stop.
Another fast train to Hong Kong. Lots of people at the station, but fairly disciplined this time, no one is cutting the line, or almost no one.
On the train, I can't help chuckling every time I see, over and over again, this promotional tourist video with a chubby doll in a red dress showing her enthusiasm for the major Chinese tourist sites.
Once in Hong Kong, we have a few hours until our late night flight to London, and decide to make our way to the "Peak". It is not the best day to visit, the visibility leaves a bit to be desired, but still, it's worth the effort. At the top, besides the obvious view, there are lots of restaurants and souvenir shops. Tricky Hong Kong... once you are topside you have to pay another ticket to get to the terrace from which you can enjoy the view, otherwise, you are stuck at the restaurants and the museum!
It is not always easy to get a ticket for the iconic tram at the last minute, but we manage to get a combo pass of some kind that will also allow us entry into a funny wax museum with all kinds of statues of well knows (and some not so well known to us) Hong Kongers from all walks of life.
After which we need to go and pick up our many bags at the hotel we stayed in last time, and traffic is not promising but luckily a trusted Uber driver shows up when we start up our App and we get through the rush hour in no time.
26 February 2019
Carbonara in China
His first carbonara |
Dinner with family, mostly food from my in-laws' farm, pickles, bamboo shoots, dried fish. Mother-in-law has set aside two large bags of the addictive peanuts they grow to take back to Europe.
Tonight I used what was left of my guanciale to make some carbonara, thus taking my culinary proselytism one step forward from the gricia of the other day! My first time eating carbonara with chopsticks!
Again they loved it beyond expectations, much to my satisfaction. We even rang the bell at the neighbors and gave them some. Ai yi (the auntie) later came over to thank and to say they had eaten it and appreciated it a lot! She looked sincere!
At night we go out for a little walk and my wife has a facial massage from a little shop inside the supermarket from which she bought some aloe vera cream. I found a massage machine: a large and supremely comfortable armchair with all kinds of moving parts inside which massage my whole body, from the neck down. However, it was necessary to have a special store card to use it and we did not have one. So my wife's masseuse kindly agreed to use hers for a 25-minute session, I think it was 15 Rmb and we had to insist to reimburse her!
Later at home chat with the neighbors, as well as catching my niece who continues to hide behind the curtains until I catch her! While we are doing this, the tv is always on in the background. Quite often my father-in-law put on serials about the war with Japan. There are quite surreal features. All the actors are very beautiful, without exception, also the hated Japanese. They all wear lots of makeup, and all the men sport perfect shaves. I doubt anyone was so presentable in the heat of war.
25 February 2019
Pasta alla gricia and espresso
I cooked "pasta alla gricia" with guanciale from Lubriano kindly gifted to us by friends Jacopo and Luciana who came to China with us.
I only cooked 300 grams of spaghetti even though there are eight of us because lots of food was already cooked, and che Chinese like to have a little bit of many dishes at every meal.
I was slightly concerned at first. Despite the fact that pork fat is a familiar taste in China, its combination with Italian spaghetti is new for them and my friends and family are not always very curious to try new foods and flavors they are not familiar with. I slightly over-cooked the pasta, a couple of minutes over my usual al dente texture to make it easier for them, as Chinese noodles are always on the soft side compared to their Italian counterparts. I also avoided adding cheese, though the recipe would call for pecorino romano.
Amazingly, the gricia went down well, it was all finished in 5 minutes! And we used the traditional Chinese chopsticks of course, no forks or table knives in this home!
I then decided to push my luck and offered everyone an espresso. I have a Nespresso machine here which I took with me from Europe. I actually tried this before, but my in-laws never liked my Nespresso, they said it smelled and tasted like something burnt.
The other relatives and friends loved it though it may be in part because I offered to add a little bit of sugar. Even the little kids wanted it, and I gave them some decaf with brown sugar!
24 February 2019
Guiyang dining tables
People gather around on their sofas or stools and eat while keeping warm. An oversize table cloth/blanket is placed on top and falls on the diners' laps all around, trapping the heat inside and keeping everyone warm. ot at least the lower half of everyone. Prices range from less than 900 to over 5000 Rmb.
Today dinner at aunty's, they just bought a sparkling new apartment in a large complex just opposite ours. It is a building we visit often, as it hosts both the best supermarket in the neighborhood and our massage parlor.
The building is relatively new but for some reason the elevators were never properly finished so they look a bit like cargo lifts. Nonetheless the one we take is on the outer side of the building and has glass walls, so it's pleasant to have a view of the urban setting as we make our way up. I am always puzzled at how all the windows of all floors are heavily protected with metal bars. Usually I have seen that, in many countries, at the top floors, where thieves could get in from the terrace or roof, or at the bottom floors, more accessible to ill-intentioned strangers from the street. But here it is almost universal practice.
Some teenage kids smoke in the elevator as we walk inside, although it is obviously not allowed to do so. They calmly kill their cigarettes when they are done and leave the stub on the floor of the lift. When I look at them with obvious disapproval they tell my wife... he looks like a foreigner!
We sit around her heated table and chat about life in Guiyang, she says there is no theatre in Guiyang no concert hall, no entertainment really. We are not there yet. But I am sure we will get there: the money is flowing and the curiosity for new things is already palpable.
23 February 2019
Hot Pot e liquore al serpente
Ma anche molte imitazioni, prodotti ispirati a marche famose ma abbastanza differenziati da poter aspirare ad un'identità propria. Per esempio una marca di telefoni che si chiama OPPO, foneticamente quasi indistinguibile da APPLE. Una marca di vestiti si chiama GODLESS Architecrue, boh.
C'è anche una imitazione di McDonald che serve panini e qualcosa che assomiglia ad un hamburger. Non capisco il nome ma il logo è molto simile al colosso alimentare americano.
Ad un certo punto sentiamo delle trombe che provengono da un sottoscala. Mi avvicino curioso e c'è un funerale! Tutti vestono una stoffa bianca sulla testa. Lifang mi chiede di non disturbare ed io obbedisco.
Nella zona pedonale anche molte gioiellerie, tanto tanto oro! Collane e bracciali ma anche lingotti di tutte le dimensioni, da 10 grammi a 1 chilo, che indicano "999.9", praticamente oro puro.
Per pranzo andiamo a far provare un "hot pot" ai nostri amici in visita: c'è un ristorante che serve la specialità di Chongqing proprio accanto alla zona pedonale. Saremmo voluti andar al Parco della Cultura ma fa troppo freddo e pioviggina, non è il caso. Proviamo quindi le prelibatezze offerte dal ristorante, oggi mi avventuro sul cervello di maiale. Come condimento ci sono una ventina di salsine predisposte in ciotoline attorno ad un tavolo rotondo, ognuno si alza e sceglie quelle che vuole.
Dopo pranzo piove ancora, oggi niente parco. Andiamo invece nel grande albergo vicino alla Piazza Ouyanghai, dove una cugina di Lifang fa la massaggiatrice dei piedi. Previa telefonata, quando arriviamo troviamo 4 massaggiatrici che ci aspettano. Lavorano molto bene, e ce la godiamo su quattro lettini comodissimi.
Non è stata fortunata la cuginetta. Da giovanissima si era innamorata di un ragazzo di un villaggio vicino al suo. Ma il padre si era opposto, temendo che lei si sarebbe trasferita nel villaggio del marito, come di prassi, e non lo avrebbe assistito. Siccome il padre non aveva figli maschi...
Così il padre nascose il suo "Hukou" e lei non potè andar via. Al posto del suo innamorato il padre le procurò un marito tramite un sensale. Lei non ebbe scelta. A complicare le cose nella sua vita, nacque un primogenito autistico. Poi ebbero una bella bambina, sana e intelligente.
Le cose sembravano mettersi su un binario accettabile se non proprio normale ma il marito muore in un incidente. Lei si ritrova da sola a dover pensare a tutto. La bimba che cresce bene ed è molto dotata nella danza, viaggia per tutta la Cina a fare spettacoli e saggi. Però questa attività costituisce un impegno finanziario per la mamma.
Per far fronte alle normali spese della famiglia e quelle relative alla danza la cugina lavora come massaggiatrice in un albergo di lusso, a 5 stelle, nel centro di Guiyang. Guadagno ottimo anche se irregolare, molto dipende dalle commissioni e quindi dal numero di clienti.
Però questo lavoro non è ben visto, toccare i piedi di estranei tutto il giorno è considerato degradante. Il che le impedisce di trovare un nuovo marito, pur essendo una donna piacevole e simpatica. Dice che mai un uomo accetterebbe una vedova, per di più con figli e massaggiatrice di piedi!
Cena dai vicini di casa. Fa un freddo cane, e ovviamente, come sempre, niente riscaldamento. Siamo imbacuccati come per andare a sciare.
Grande scelta di carni e verdure e poi la novità della serata: liquore di serpente. Shushu, lo "zio", si presenta con un enorme giara di vetro, conterrà 10 litri di liquore e nel liquido giallastro si intravedono un paio di serpenti interi. Dice che lo tirano fuori solo per le occasioni importanti e siamo onorati di essere considerati tali.
Ci offrono sigarette, che nessuno di noi fuma. Però mi dice Lifang che noi uomini dobbiamo accettarle, e anche se non le fumiamo possiamo metterle dietro il lobo dell'orecchio in segno di accettazione della cortesia. Le donne invece possono anche non accettarle, così il Galateo cinese. Dopo averla tenuta dietro all'orecchio per una mezz’ora ne accendo una per gentilezza, poi la spengo subito.
Allora tirano fuori dei sigaretti, ma che non credo contenessero solo tabacco, avrei giurato che nel truciolato c'era anche qualche erba ma non saprei dire quale. Comunque meglio delle sigarette!
22 February 2019
back to Guiyang's market n.2
The new market is much better than the old one, for one thing, it is a proper building with a tiled floor and a rainproof roof, unlike the messy jumble of stands on mud floor like the old one. The old one was more fun to watch though!
Shops for live animals are clustered together, along the same street. On one side of the market they sell fish (alive from styrofoam boxes, as usual here) and on the opposite side of the block, it is poultry, also alive.
I buy some pig ears. I like the texture of the cartilage and enveloping skin, especially as my mother-in-law cooks it with her signature home make chili-garlic-ginger spicy sauce.
In the afternoon it is massage and herbal bath time. My wife and I take our two friends who are visiting from Italy to try the Chinese technique. One hour is filled with three sessions of massage, body, legs, and arms, alternating with sessions in a wooden tub for a hot bath of herbal infusions. The massage takes place in a warm room with gentle music in the background. Single or double rooms depending on clients’ needs.
For our two friends, they only had two single rooms and only one of the rooms had a shower. The masseuses did not speak any English, so with the help of a phone translator my lady friend's masseuse, at the end of the session, wanted to tell her if she wanted to rinse in her husband's shower. Except she said: "I want to take a shower with your husband!" Haha.
21 February 2019
Supermarket and TV series
Every time I come here I get a kick out of seeing the live fish in the aquarium waiting to be hauled out with a net and knocked dead with a wooden stick before being weighed by the fishmonger. Weighed but not cleaned as the Chinese like to eat the skin as well as the guts of the fish, which by the way are delicious, silly of us to throw it all away.
Ground floor kids space all kinds of games and entertainment. You buy a card and top it up, then tap every time you play a game until you run out of credit. Our niece Cindy is very fond of this and whenever we are here she can't wait to drag us to the games.
An evening watching TV at home. There is a singing contest on CCTV (China state TV) with many Taiwanese singers. I suppose that is a good way to improve relations across the Taiwan straits.
Later on, there is one of many war series with Chinese soldiers killing many Japanese during the war of the 1930s. The subject touches raw nerves in China even eighty years later. Many Chinese soldiers are very pretty and immaculately manicured girls, but no less brutal fighters!
20 February 2019
Train to Chenzhou
Crispy fish skins |
In the early afternoon we take a taxi to the sparkling new West Kowloon Terminus, the final stop of the newest fast train coming directly from the mainland. One more step toward the integration of Hong Kong with the motherland.
It is all very new and impressive. For some reason we foreigners are charged 30 Rmb to collect our tickets even though we had already book and prepaid online. Perhaps because we must show our passports to a human teller. (All tickets are nominal.) Chinese can do this at an automatic teller and for free with their electronic ID cards. Anyway, we are lucky to have seats at all. It is still the end of the CNY celebrations, lanterns day festival was yesterday and millions of Chinese are still on holiday.
Second class tickets are the equivalent of about 40 Euro each, fairly reasonable at European prices for 2 and a half hours ride on a superfast train, but quite expensive for the average Chinese. And yet the train was long fully booked. My wife was smart to catch tickets for us and our visiting friends via a special app which somehow manages to snatch tickets as they become available (one month before the trip) or when there is a cancellation.
Pass Hong Kong passport control first and enter a duty-free area, just as if we were leaving the country although Hong Kong is an integral part of China, if with a special autonomous status. I bought some whisky to share with my family in Guiyang.
Then, before we get to the PRC passport control positions, we walked over a thick yellow line on the ground and passed from the "Hong Kong area" to the "Mainland area" on the other side. Landing cards must be filled and we were at the Chinese passport control checkpoint. The officers did not smile much but are polite and very fast to let us all through.
The ride is quite smooth. We arrive in Chenzhou and it's dark and very cold. We have to get off fast as the train stops only for very few minutes before resuming its run to Wuhan.
Taxis are readily available, 100 Rmb to Chenzhou. We tried Didi, the company that bought Uber out in China, but could not get one. We don't trust some illegal taxi drivers who approach us and offer a discount.
Pile up our suitcases in the truck at the back of the taxi but they do not fit, so the driver just leaves the lid open and ties everything together with some strong belt he always carries with him.
19 February 2019
Lanterns Day Festival in Hong Kong
Pomeriggio a spasso per Kowloon, ci fumiamo un sigaro con un mio amico in visita dall'Italia. Mentre ce ne stiamo tranquilli su una panchina a fumare e guardare le barche che passano arriva un guardiano, o un giardiniere forse, che ci avverte che è vietato fumare. All'inizio non capiamo poi ci prende quasi per mano e ci accompagna un centinaio di metri più avanti, in una zona riservata ai fumatori. Molto gentile.
Il mio amico poi passa dal sarto che gli è stato consigliato. Ce ne sono tanti qui a Hong Kong, molti sono indiani, e fanno vestiti in 48 ore a prezzi stracciati. Io non ci capisco nulla ma il mio amico sì e dice che la qualità è ottima, i tessuti sono spesso importati dall'Italia e la manifattura è impeccabile. Se lo dice lui deve essere vero.
Carine le lanterne enormi predisposte intorno al museo delle belle arti, in rifacimento da anni.
Ma il punto forte dei festeggiamenti sono gli spettacoli teatrali. cui per fortuna riusciamo ad accedere senza troppi problemi nonostante la grande folla.
13 February 2019
Taipei tour, food and baths
Giro guidato con Chen (non il suo vero nome) una guida di "Toursbylocals", un'originale agenzia che mette in contatto turisti e guide locali.
Spesso queste non sono professionisti, ma persone che conoscono la propria città e desiderano presentarla ai visitatori nel migliore dei modi. Non sono professionisti, a volte sono pensionati.
Con Chen abbiamo parlato un po' di tutto nel corso della giornata. Ci racconta come i taiwanesi si autodefiniscono "locali", per distinguersi non solo dai cinesi della repubblica popolare (la "terra madre") ma anche da quelli che da lì sono venuti qui con Chiang Kai-shek e nei decenni a seguire.
In effetti, dopo la morte del dittatore, con il consolidarsi della democrazia a Taiwan, i "locali", precedentemente sottoposti ai cinesi, hanno cominciato a far valere le loro ragioni culturali, politiche ed economiche.
I "cinesi" vengono in gran parte, per il 70 percento dice Chen, dalla provincia del Fujian. Invece ci sono 16 tribu aborigene di Taiwan.
Adesso il partito DPP (Partito Popolare Democratico) ha rallentato molto i contatti con la Repubblica Popolare, e di conseguenza il turismo dei cinesi a Taiwan, che negli anni precedenti era costantemente cresciuto, è crollato. Lui è un ex militare, in pensione da qualche anno e gli piace portare in giro i turisti. Parla un ottimo inglese.
Dice che fa fatica a far capire ai suoi figli che le loro due generazioni sono state fortunate a godere di 70 anni di pace. I figli lo danno per scontato, e sbagliano. Naturalmente è preoccupato dalla possibilità di un conflitto con la Cina, l'unica possibile minaccia per Taiwan nel contesto geopolitico attuale.
A Taiwan esiste un problema demografico, si fanno pochi figli, ben al di sotto della soglia minima, necessaria a mantenere il livello della popolazione, di 2.1 bambini per ogni donna. Di conseguenza la popolazione si riduce di numero e invecchia.
Arrivano fortunatamente immigrati dal sud-est asiatico, dall'Indonesia e dalle Filippine. Molti sono preparati, studiano anche il cinese prima di venire, per non trovarsi spiazzati.
Visitiamo il ponte sospeso di Jiufen, dove ci fanno salire al massimo in 100 persone alla volta.
Mangiamo un curioso frutto, un misto tra una mela e una banana!
Poi un frutto Sakyamuni, molto dolce (metti foto)
A seguire una "giada dell'amore", della quale si mangiano solo i semi, e con cui si fa una gelatina quasi liquida, da bere. Gusto di limone un po’ acido per bilanciare il quale si aggiunge, a piacere, zucchero di canna integrale.
Il piatto principale oggi sono 5 polpette assortite, di maiale, pesce, calamaro, manzo e bamboo, grigliate sulla carbonella in un bugigattolo tra i tanti che ci capitano davanti. Chen lo conosce e ce lo consiglia, quindi noi ovviamente ci accomodiamo. Lui è molto gentile, ci consiglia e ci serve.
It is an old-fashioned cinema, it reminds me of the theatre of Nuovo Cinema Paradiso the Oscar-winning film by Tornatore.
There is no toilet paper in bathroom, I asked lady guardian and she said they took paper rolls out because there are too many Koreans! I looked at her slightly perplexed... She said they use too much and throw it all over the place and also steal rolls! To be honest I find it hard to believe her, but then who knows.
La prossima tappa della giornata è al museo dell'oro. Furono i giapponesi a iniziare l'estrazione in grande scala dell'oro, anche se i locali avevano sfruttato le mine per secoli. Ci fanno anche visitare la casa del direttore dei tempi dell'occupazione giapponese, mezzo secolo giusto dal 1895 alla fine della guerra mondiale, nel 1945.
In bella vista c'è un lingotto che ci dicono essere il più grande del mondo, e non faccio fatica a crederci dato che pesa 220 kg. La regola è che si può toccare, accarezzare e fotografare attraverso due grandi buchi sulla bacheca. E chi riesce a sollevarlo può portarselo a casa!
Chiang, oltre ai tanti reperti del National Palace Museum, portò via da Pechino anche tanto oro, che ora fa parte delle riserve della banca centrale di Taiwan.
Non lontano dal museo aureo il nostro Chen ci vuol far sostare alle cosiddetta "Cascate d'oro". No, non sono d'oro, solo la roccia è giallognola per sedimenti minerali che fuoriescono dalle falde, ma comunque spettacolare!
La giornata finisce nella zona di Beitou, famosa per le terme. Prima però facciamo una passeggiata nel bel giardino antistante le terme. Flora lussureggiante, bacino d’acqua con pesci, insomma un vero giardino tradizionale cinese. Ci voleva, rilassante dopo il trambusto di oggi.
Il punto di forza è la prima biblioteca "verde" di Taiwan, aperta nel 2006, opera speciale perché usa pannelli solari per l'elettricità e acqua piovana per i bagni. Legno sostenibile e molta luce naturale durante il giorno, cosa non sempre riscontrabile nelle biblioteche tradizionali, che spesso sono buie e pesanti.
Finiamo la giornata in una delle terme di Beitou, anche se il nostro obiettivo di visitare la più vecchia salta perché è chiusa il mercoledì. Così ci accontentiamo della "Gold bathhouse", dove ci danno una stanza con vasca, aromi e idromassaggi per 90 minuti al prezzo di 1198 NTD, circa 35 euro.
Notare sempre il finale 8 nei prezzi cinesi, di buon auspicio. In questo caso di buon auspicio soprattutto per loro, è piuttosto caro rispetto alla media locale, e sono molto severi in viso quando ci dicono che se staremo oltre i 90 minuti ci sarà addebitato il tempo extra.
Comunque la saletta è accogliente, una bella vasca con capiente e luci soffuse. C’è anche una teiera con due tazze per un'infusione di erbe che nel contesto ...ci sta! Dalla finestra, stando a mollo nella vasca di acque sulfuree, si vede il giardino della biblioteca. Piove.
Quando usciamo abbiamo fame! Per fortuna ha smesso di piovere e possiamo fare due passi in direzione della stazione della metropolitana, decideremo poi se prendere un Uber, ma intanto buttiamo un occhio nei mille ristorantini che ci si propongono davanti. Alla fine decidiamo per una zuppa di noodles e maiale!
30 January 2019
Palau politics and passport
Palau is one of the fewer and fewer countries that still recognize Taiwan as the legitimate government of China, much to the chagrin of Beijing. And this despite the fact that Chinese tourists now provide a large amount of business.
This is because, despite the above-mentioned policy, Chinese nationals can travel to Palau visa-free, which of course makes it a very attractive destination for a tropical vacation.
China recently tried to make the point that enough is enough, and made it more difficult for tour operators to organize trips to Palau. But there are still quite a few who do come, so much so that there are a number of Chinese restaurants in Koror which cater mostly to them.
Some of these Chinese settle in Palau, some try and become naturalized citizens. For one, foreigners can't buy land or businesses alone, they can only be only co-owners with a local Palauan partner.
Another reason is that a Palau passport is one of the most coveted ones in the region, as its proud owners can travel visa-free in 118 countries around the world, including the USA. Though a far cry from Japan's 190 visa-free destinations, it is much better than most. Chinese nationals can go to 74 countries visa-free. Taiwanese can travel to 148 countries, exactly twice as many.
I should be quite happy with Italy's 188 destinations, which puts my country at the n.5 spot in the world, after Japan with 191, Germany with 190, Singapore and South Korea with 189.
18 January 2019
Chinese tourists in Palau
Mrs Wan, who runs some restaurants and hotels in Palau, came over from Guangzhou some fifteen years ago with her husband. She speaks Cantonese and Mandarin but only basic English. Their kids grew up here in Palau and speak good English.
She takes a liking to us since we keep coming back every day for dinner and comes over to chat. We come back because the food is excellent, the price is fairly low and they come and pick us up from our hotel for free. And take us back after our meal. Oh, and because my wife is Chinese and there are no Italian restaurants in Koror. None that could be called that really. And not many good restaurants, period. Lots of hamburgers and junk food I am sorry to say.
Mrs Wang also gave us free food a couple of times: a delicious crab one day and fresh yellow fin tuna just caught by her cousin another evening.
She says business is slow these days because the numbers of Chinese tourists are down. In fact during a whole week we've only seen very few patrons in the restaurant, all of them Chinese, which is surprising since there are quite a few western tourists around. I guess they prefer hot dogs and hamburgers. Oh well.
The biggest table in the restaurant, a big one with a lazy Susan in the middle, is always that of Mrs Wan's family and their visiting friends!
She came to talk to us a few times. She says fewer Chinese come to Palau these days despite the allure of a not too far sunny tropical destination accessible visa-free, an unusual combination of attractive factors for the rising middle class of China. The reason, she explained, is that Palau recognizes the government of Taipei as the legitimate government of China, and not that in Beijing.
So Beijing has forbidden Chinese travel agencies to sell group tours to the country. Since most Chinese still prefer group organized travels this has had a major impact.
Tom, an American dive guide who has lived here for decades, would later explain to us that another reason for fewer Chinese is that Palau's government has withdrawn the license it had given to Chinese charter flights. The reason is that too many Chinese were flying over but not spending much money. They would stick to their tour operator's activities, eat at Chinese restaurants, even bring their own food from China. Tom said the Palau government would rather do without them and try to attract bigger spenders like Americans, Japanese, and Koreans as well as the relatively few European divers who make it all the way down here.
These days they are opening a new Chinese resort, Palau Royal Garden. Some fear Chinese intrusion into Palau, some politicians think they will use investment as a political tool. That is not inconceivable I suppose though people like Mrs. Wang are just hard-working entrepreneurs who go and find opportunity where they can find it in the world, just like the Chinese have always done.
01 October 2018
National day in Guiyang
We take a walk in the Culture Park. Lots of families, and quite a few children, many waving Chinese flags.
Chicken paws |
We celebrate in the evening when we have dinner with family and friends. The main curiosity of the day is pig intestine, at least for me, they are used to it of course. Also, duck paws and melt-in-your-mouth breaded pork cutlets. To finish off the meat dishes, some frogs! Everything delicious!
Pig intestine |
The men are drinking considerable amounts of distilled alcohol, 4 of them share a bottle. O. empties the bottle into their 4 glasses and then they make various toasts and challenges to each other until it's all gone! (It does not take very long!)
Drinking away |
O. says he wants his son to marry a girl who has an older brother so he can protect her. But he wants his daughters to marry men with older sisters who would then help their younger brothers set up their families. It is a bit convoluted but his reasoning has its own logic from a traditional point of view. Good luck! These days Chinese kids find their partners online and I doubt the gender of their siblings is an important part of their decisions.
30 September 2018
Massage and herbal bath
It is located on 12th floor of an apartment building that includes lots of modern shops and, at the ground floor, one of the biggest supermarkets in town.
I am surprised to see this kind of service in a town at Guiyang's stage of development. Is it a sign of gentrification in the area?
The masseuses are all ladies, no masseurs. There are several rooms, each with one or two massage beds and, in an en-suite bathroom, a wooden tub. The tub is lined with a thin transparent film and filled with hot water. A bag of herbs is sunk into the water an hour or so before the treatment so as to diffuse its scent through the water and the whole bathroom.
Before the treatment they offer tea. The masseuses are mostly little skinny girls but they are very strong. They massage especially hard massage at the base of my skull, which is a bit painful but I can feel the muscles and joints enjoying it.
At the end I feel great my joints are smooth, my muscles relaxed and a big red area on my back, along my upper back, demonstrates the energy the little girl has put in her hands as they pressed and slid along my spine.
More tea is provided at the end of a blissful hour and a half of treatment.
As I leave my masseuse and two others escort me to the elevator, I thanked them and asked if they were hungry for lunch now and they nodded in unison, and wave goodbye.
The subscription for this parlor is 3988 Rmb for 20 treatments no expiration date. It is not cheap, actually very expensive for local salaries (about two months' wages of a waiter) but they are in business and expanding, and there are no tourists in the city, so the only explanation is that there is a growing middle class who is eager to use this kind of services!
27 September 2018
Grey day and wedding
Mother in law and niece went to a wedding of some neighbors from Yan Jia village who are throwing a party in Chenzhou.
We had decided to go for lunch to a Korean restaurant in town, one of many new restaurants with foreign food which are open for business trying to attract the up and coming local middle class. Been there before, but would love to go again, look forward to some different kind of food. However, the clouds and especially the cold drizzle eventually act as a powerful deterrent and we decide to stay home.
Mother comes back with plastic bags full of of food, left overs from banquet: fruits sweets even a half kilo or so of delicious spicy prawns. It's the custom here: invitees to wedding receptions take home their share of leftovers. She said they took away the least compared to everyone else at the party. Some parents unabashedly tell their children to grab as much as possible as fast as possible!
24 September 2018
Festival della Luna a tavola
Ma nessuno si può alzare da tavola senza aver provato il liquore di prugna: semplicemente prugne affogate per qualche mese in alcol puro, al quale cedono il loro sapore. Un goccio e mi fermo, il gioco si sta facendo pericoloso!
23 September 2018
Market n. 2 in Guiyang and mid-autumn proparations
On the way I cross paths with a lady who is carrying a balancing basket. She is collecting paper and plastic bottles to sell back to commercial recycling companies, apparently a common activity here.
Lots of sellers of ducks line up the streets today, it is the traditional moon festival meal. All the ducks, of course, are sold alive and kicking in their reed baskets.
One lady buys a duck but she does not trust the seller's scale, so she grabs her animal and asks the next seller down the sidewalk to weigh it, not sure how it turned out but she bought the duck, 30 Rmb, about 4 euro.
The market is very busy, meat fish (always alive in water tanks) veggies of all kinds. Large quarters of cows are hanging from the roof of the covered market, and the butcher slices off any cut and size his clients require. On one side, a man with a grinder produces the typical spicy chili paste that is so common in Hunan cuisine.
As I snap away a policeman approaches me and Lifang and explains he doesn't want me to take pictures of his police car, which I haven't done and have no interest in doing anyway.
A little girl drinks fresh juice out of a plastic cup then throws cup on ground, I pick it up and try to show her to hold on to it until she can put it in a bin but her mother takes it from her and shows her how to throw it... on the ground! I give up.
At home mother in law has bought a duck, which is swiftly slaughtered in the bathroom, fairly quickly and effortlessly. The blood flowing from the neck is collected to make bean curd and then used in a soup. It's very delicious!
22 September 2018
Train from Hangzhou to Chenzhou
At the station we are welcomed by a very crowded waiting hall, lots of people going home for the mid-autumn day celebrations.
Lifang goes to get the tickets she has booked online while I wait in line to check-in. I've got all our suitcases and proceed with some difficulty. It's all the more difficult because the wheels of one suitcase are broken, so I have to drag it. But instead of helping me people try to jump the queue and get ahead of me. I manage to keep them behind me and make slow progress.
When she's back we go through to the waiting room a huge hall with thousands of people waiting for their train. From here batches of travelers are admitted to the platform in the order of departure of their train.
Lifang manages to buy some bananas and processed duck meat for the trip, we've skipped lunch after all. I like the boneless duck bums especially!
The station is quite impressive. Electronic boards show the next 3 or 4 departing trains: red letters and numbers when you need to wait, yellow when you need to get ready and green when the gates (which look like those at the London subway) are open. We slip our tickets through and take the escalator down to the platform.
Then it's time to take position at the color-coded marks on the ground which indicate where each car will stop.
When the train arrives and stops with millimetric precision where it is supposed to stop I'm pleasantly surprised to see departing passengers patiently let arriving travelers off the train first!
We board and struggle to find a place to put our luggage, the aisle is so crowded.
We're off at 300+kmh through Zhejiang province toward Hunan. We barrel through fields of farms, many towns and cities where modern tall and thin residential buildings contrast with old traditional houses.
Too many screaming Chinese children on train, parents could do better to calm them down. Or not. Half the passengers are listening to their favorite TV program or playing a video game online, and not one of them is using earphones. the result is a somewhat less than enjoyable persistent monotonous and loud cacophony.
Once we get to Chenzhou we need a taxi (or Didi) to Guiyang. There is a taxi stand by the station, the fare is 100 Rmb. We try and get something cheaper but end up wasting time with an unofficial taxi before calling a Didi and getting home for dinner! Lesson learned: you may save a few Rmb by using unofficial and/or pooled transportation, but it's probably not worth the hassle!
21 September 2018
Temples in Hangzhou
Three ladies are silently practicing tachi by entrance to the temple, completely oblivious to our presence.
The temple is from the Song dynasty and it contains Tao figures from before tang dynasty as well as big paintings celebrating inauguration of an emperor of the dynasty. We spend quite a bit of time looking at pictures for details. These celebrations lasted 67 days and cost 8 million yuan which at the time was an enormous amount of money.
The highlight of the day is our visit to the temple of the Soul's Retreat. It is a huge complex of several temples. As we walk in past the electronic ticket check we are greeted by a long series of Buddhas carved in the stone of the adjacent hills.
In the first temple a couple paid the monks to get their blessing. It was not their wedding, that had been done before, but a kind of enactment of a ceremony that to my untrained eye looked like a wedding. The groom is dressed very casually, just a cheap t-shirt really, while she is a little bit more elegant, but still no wedding attire of any kind. The monks, some thirty of them, gather at one corner of the temple and recite their mantras while the couple make an offer to a small altar lit by a few candles.
They then move to centerstage for more blessings and some drum playing by the monks.
We finally go outside with them and place incense sticks in a large bronze cauldron by the back door.
We spend the rest of the afternoon wandering around the huge complex. I can't see any foreign tourist, though there are many Chinese visitors, including quite a few pilgrims.
In one building we find a traditional writing desk with brushed and ink for people to try their calligraphy. More interestingly, there is a set of traditional robes and hats, for man and woman, for any one to try on for free. There is no one to be seen so my wife and I take our turns at dressing up and posing as a traditional Song dynasty family!
Dinner is back at Grandma, this time we share a table with a couple of middle-aged and rather large Chinese guys who keep ordering more food than they can possibly ingest. That seems to be a recurring trait in upscale restaurants in China. Maybe they do it to show off, I am not sure. Maybe the sudden abundance of wealth and food over the last few years still needs to be matched with a culture of avoiding waste.