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.
In the morning we walked to the flower market, just opposite the jade market I visited last week.
Some European food for sale, interesting to see prosciutto, salami and mortadella from Italy, and Iberico from Spain.
Lots of flowers but also wood carvings, tableware, exotic (for me) fruits.
Afterward, it was time to head back to the Sun Yat-Sen memorial for the calligraphy exhibition we heard about would be taking place today.
As we arrive we are welcomed by a lively scene of families, elderly people, some with their carers,
A whole huge room of the memorial is reserved for this event.
first children, then high school students followed by professors and finally masters. It is amazing to see all this talent pooled together to honor and perpetuate the ancient art of Chinese calligraphy.
At 5 o'clock sharp the staff start packing everything up, seats tables...
As I see some blank paper, a brush and an inkpot that have not been packed away yet, I call my wife and she paints my Chinese name on a white scroll in beautiful calligraphy!
In addition to local calligraphers, there are many participants from Japan and the United States.
As we are about to leave we met Mr. Zheng, a slim and tall Chinese who was born in Malaysia but emigrated to California in 1980. He is an active member of the American Association for calligraphy...
His main hobby however is painting and he's also been performing Peking opera for over 30 years.
His brother lives in London, his sister in Australia but his 98-years-old mother is still in Malaysia. They try to get all together with her as often as possible!
Before parting ways he wants to take a picture together, then the official photographer of the event comes up and wants to shoot us too, what an honor!
Visit to an important landmark of the city of Taipei, whatever you think of the history behind the man.
The most obviously awesome sight is the change of the guard in front of the huge statue of CKS sitting between flags of the Republic of China. It takes over ten minutes for the procedure to complete, and there always are lots of people watching.
A highly controversial man he was: the museum takes you through the various phases of his life, from a traditional Chinese background to world leader dealing with Churchill and Roosevelt.
His father died when he was very young and he grew up attached to his mother.
He was married off to his first wife at age 14! Much later he met Soong Meili, the woman of his life..... but still had a concubine in traditional Chinese royal fashion!
CKS car
The exhibition lavishes praise on him but I would not say there is a
cult of personality. his political and military failures and defeats are also covered in text and photos.
There are other art exhibitions in the mausoleum, one about Andy Worhol and another by YawaiMeika, a young (born 1990) lady painter who belongs to an aboriginal tribe in Taiwan.
We also try our luck at the concert hall and theater but there is not much going on, the next concert is in a week's time! perhaps because of the New year celebrations, oh well.
A pleasant walk around the mausoleum, lots of people walking around, children playing, elderly watching on wheelchairs, it is a weekend family day out despite a cloudy and windy day. Many exotic plants, the grapefruit flowers gift us the most intense scent of the afternoon.
Lunch at a simple but friendly eatery just outside the memorial complex, Steamed chicken, pork intestines. Shared formica tables, paper napkins and metal chopsticks which I don't really like, too slippery. I later noticed packs of single-use wooden chopsticks but they are for takeout clients. As I was thinking to ask for permission to use them a Deliveroo driver came by to pick up an order.
pork intestines
On the way to the hotel, past lots of lit paper balloons for CNY, a well-deserved foot and body massage, a popular feature of central Taipei, 1200 ntd, 1 hour foot and 1 hour body.
Per la terza volta al National Palace Museum di Taipei. Mai abbastanza anche se certamente non c'è più l'effetto novità. Vero che le circa 700.000 opere delle collezioni imperiali sono esposte a rotazione (solo l’1% è visibile, il 99% sta negli scantinati) sono probabilmente diverse da quelle che ho visto nel 2002 e nel 2010. Non sono però in grado di ricordare, e tanto meno valutare, le differenze tra diversi capolavori.
Fa sempre impressione ricordare la storia di questa collezione. Per secoli a Pechino nella città proibita, poi portata via da Chiang Kai-shek in ritirata e trasportata a Taiwan quando i comunisti di Mao vinsero la guerra civile. C'erano molte più opere, ma i militari di Chiang non poterono portare via tutto. Alla fine comunque qualche migliaio di bauli sono adesso protetti nella motagna adiacente a Taipei, a prova di attacco nucleare!
Il possesso della collezione è vista, in sé, come una sorta di legittimazione del potere politico, per questo a Pechino sono così arrabbiati. Il direttore del museo che organizzò la prima esposizione è visto come una sorta di usurpatore, vilipeso quasi quanto Chiang. Molti a Taiwan pensano che sia un bene che le opere siano qui, avrebbero potuto essere distrutte durante la Rivoluzione Culturale di Mao.
Ottima audioguida multlingue, ma sono sorpreso che bisogni pagare in contanti, Taiwan dovrebbe essere all'avanguardia tecnologica ma invece no.
Nel museo i cartelli esplicativi sono in inglese e cinese, e anche traslitterati in Pinyin (il sistema inventato negli anni 50 in Cina e ora adottato in tutto il mondo) e Wade-Giles, il vecchio sistema della Cina imperiale.
C'è molta gente, soprattutto scolaresche, poi dopo le 5 tutto più calmo e ci possiamo godere le opere d'arte con calma.
Uber a Shilin in prima serata, il "mercato notturno" per antonomasia. Sicuramente un pochino turistico ma comunque interessante. Ci sono turisti ma anche molti locali.
Sauté di vongole, zuppa di costolette di maiale e poi ostriche e uova. Poi andando via siamo stati imbrogliati da una venditrice di frutta fresca. Ottimi prodotti ma prezzi triplicati rispetto agli altri mercati "normali" della città. Non era così quando ero venuto in passato, nel 2010 l'ultima volta, era più genuino!
Abbiam preferito un Uber, aspettanto qualche minuto, invece che prendere uno dei tanti taxi che aspettavano all'uscita del museo, perché TUTTI i tassisti erano incalliti fumatori e le auto puzzavano in modo indecente.
Qualche colpetto sulla app e mi arriva una email annunciando l'arrivo della macchina. Pulita e profumata. La cosa strana è che a Taiwan non è consentito lasciare una mancia agli autisti Uber, vai a capire.
Avevo prenotato un pranzetto a sorpresa per la San Valentino, ristorante ad un piano altissimo del "Taipei 101", il grattacielo orgoglio della città. Lo avevo visto in costruzione già nel 2002, ci misero anni a finirlo ma ora è un centro di commercio, affari e attività culturali.
Arrivati alla base, vedo un uomo sulla sessantina solo, sta dimostrando di fronte all'ingresso del grattacielo. In una mano tiene un cartello giallo, con su scritto frasi di amicizia.
Nell'altra mano una bandiera cinese, della Repubblica Popolare della Cina (RPC). Ci parlo, mi dice che i suoi concittadini trattano male i "mainlanders", cioè i cinesi della RPC, che invece lui li vuol far sentire benvenuti a Taiwan, sono fratelli. Però non se lo fila nessuno. Lo ignorano.
Ma ovviamente è libero di dimostrare i suoi sentimenti, cosa che non sarebbe mai possibile ad un cinese della RPC che volesse sventolare una bandiera di Taiwan nel bel mezzo di una delle principali piazze di Pechino.
View from Taipei 101
Saliamo al piano per il pranzo, che si rivela discreto, ma il motivo principale di scegliere questo ristorante sarebbe stata la vista. Devo usare il condizionale passato perché il piani alti dell'imponente edificio sono completamente circondati dalle nuvole! Non si vede proprio nulla di nulla! Sarà per un'altra volta.
Dopo pranzo passeggiata fino al non lontano mausoleo a Sun Yat-sen, il padre della patria per la Cina moderna, venerato sia qui che a Pechino. Fu lui a creare la repubblica dalle ceneri dell'impero Qing, nel 1912.
Un momento spettacolare è il cambio della guardia.
Leggiamo che l'architetto dell'edificio ebbe il suo da fare a convincere Chiang Kai-shek ad approvare un progetto moderno anche se richiamante motivi tradizionali cinesi. Il Generalissimo voleva un edificio nello stile imperiale Qing. Forse per mania di grandezza, forse perché pensava che la repubblica non sarebbe stato il destino della Cina.
Alla fine il progetto fu ispirato a tre principi: economia, praticità e semplicità. Che poi, si potrebbe argomentare, erano tre principi a cui la vita stessa di Sun era stata ispirata. Ed un certo desiderio di voler essere più vicini alla gente, in un'epoca in cui il feudalesimo imperiale faceva ancora parte della memoria di tanti.
Oggi il mausoleo è utilizzato per mille scopi: mostre artistiche, attività di associazioni, manifestazioni culturali. E naturalmente per tener viva la memoria di Sun, con l'enorme statua ed il cambio della guardia ad ogni ora del giorno.
Anziani in sedia a rotelle vengono accompagnati, chissà forse sono veterani dell'esercito di Chiang. Due milioni di cinesi, in buona parte soldati, vennero qui dopo la disfatta del 1949, quando Mao prese il potere a Pechino. Anche molti bambini. Sun è morto da quasi un secolo ma è ancora vivo.
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.
Today is the day when the locals send a paper balloon, kept aloft with a small fire, and inscribed with their wishes, up into the air, I wonder where do they all go and if any of them ever started a fire!
We also visit a Japanese movie theater, opened in 1930s, then closed then open again when the director of Sad City won golden lion in Venice 1989.
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!
Oggi giornata di templi. Dapprima il Tempio di Confucio. Mi pareva strano leggere che ci sia un tempio, edificio adibito al culto religioso, per un personaggio come Confucio, che per tutti i suoi indiscussi meriti non è una divinità. All'ingresso, un cartello in inglese e cinese ci informa della tribolata storia del pensiero del grande saggio:
La scuola confuciana è stata fondata da Confucio stesso. Questo evento ha segnato la prima volta che il sistema educativo delle classi dirigenti è stato scardinato in tutta la storia cinese. Il sistema "L'apprendimento è prerogativa dei governanti" è stato ribaltato perché "l'istruzione non conosce discriminazioni pregiudizievoli", consentendo all'apprendimento e alla cultura di diffondersi a strati sempre più ampi della popolazione.
Qinshihuang, il primo imperatore della Cina unificata, rispettava però i "legalisti" alla vecchia maniera, e ordinò di bruciare libri e seppellire gli studiosi, praticamente eliminando il pensiero confuciano. Fu solo durante la dinastia Han, quando si comprese che il governo benevolo era il fondamento per una stabilità duratura, che il pensiero confuciano prese ancora una volta piede nel paese. Dal momento in cui la scuola confuciana divenne mainstream, i Quattro libri e i Cinque classici sono stati oggetto di ampie ricerche.
La Sala Dacheng è l'edificio principale del Tempio, progettato da un maestro falegname, Yishun Wang, di Quanzhou nel 1925 e completato nel 1929. Qui sono custodite le tavolette di Confucio, insieme con le spoglie di quattro "santi" e 12 filosofi. Lo stile architettonico è stato ispirato dall'arte tradizionale del sud della Cina. Costruita con 42 enormi pilastri in pietra, la sala è stata pensata per essere grandiosa. Sul soffitto ottagonale, 24 mensole concentriche, dette "ragnatela". Questo design delicato e allo stesso tempo imponente è una delle opere architettoniche distintive di Yishun Wang.
Ci si pone il problema del pranzo, non ci sono ristoranti in vista e non vorremmo allontanarci troppo dalla zona: abbiamo in programma per il pomeriggio il tempio di Dalongdong, o Baoan, dedicato alle religioni tradizionali di Taiwan, appartenenti alla cultura delle etnie che abitavano qui prima che arrivassero i cinesi.
Dalondong
Offriamo incenso che compriamo da una signora dallo sguardo molto serio, è un rito che mi tocca ogni volta quello di accendere i bastoncini e infilarli nella cenere delle migliaia di altri bastoncini che riempie i grandi calderoni di bronzo.
Subito fuori il tempio si staglia verso il cielo una grande torre, alla base della quale è ricavato un grande foro che potrebbe sembrare un forno a legna, nel profondo del quale si scorgono le vampate di un grande fuoco, vivacissimo, nel quale i fedeli bruciano finte banconote in omaggio agli antenati. Cosa che naturalmente facciamo anche noi.
Troviamo un buchetto di ristorantino che ci prepara un vassoio di riso e carne da asporto, e ce l'andiamo a mangiare in un giardino accanto al tempio di Confucio, attrezzato con comodi tavolini sistemati sotto alcune tettoie rosse tipo pagoda. Piacevole mangiare al fresco davanti ad allegri zampilli lanciati dalle paurose bocche di dragoni che troneggiano nel bel mezzo di fontane multiformi.
Giornata dedicata ai templi, una parte così importante di Taipei. Per primo il tempio di Tianhou (la principessa del cielo) dedicato a Mazu.
Il tempio è talmente seppellito in anonimi palazzoni moderni che quasi non si vede, anzi senza quasi, non si vede proprio se uno non lo cerca. Quando ci siamo arrivati non lo abbiamo neanche notato, mi credevo di aver sbagliato con il mio navigatore. Ma avendo notato su Googlemaps che c'era un importante tempio sulla nostra strada abbiamo cercato meglio.
Il tempio è talmente seppellito in anonimi palazzoni moderni che quasi non si vede, anzi senza quasi, non si vede proprio se uno non lo cerca. Noi stavamo andando altrove (vedi sotto) e confesso che lo abbiamo trovato solo quando ho aguzzato gli occhi, avendo notato su Googlemaps che c'era un importante tempio sulla nostra strada.
Nello stesso edificio c'è un museo della moda, che per un attimo ci ha distratto ma poi abbiamo lasciato perdere.
Un posto dove si respira misticismo. Molte donne.
Alcune offrono il tradizionale incenso, ma ce n'è un gruppo che canta preghiere.
Dopo il museo acciuffiamo un rapido spuntino: zuppa di intestino di maiale, si chiama "lu rou fan" ed è molto tipica di Taiwan. Sapore agrodolce, consistenza morbida ma corposa.
Taipei si conferma il paradiso dello "street food", ma il meglio verrà più tardi.
Bangla Qingshui temple found by chance on my way to Bangka old street.
Infine Lunshan temple, bombes mosquitoes people escaped Buddha not hurt (to be completed)
Cena al mercato notturno di Huazi: jiao zi, raviolone al vapore con grasso di maiae e noccioline grattugiate e spolverato di coriandolo. E poi ... "deretani di gallina allo spiedo"! Ottimo, caldo e croccante, anche se c'è molta pelle del pollo, che il mio dottore mi ha detto di non mangiare se possibile, ma stasera il mio dottore non c'è e ho deciso che non glielo dirò!
It's a late morning wakeup, we are tired from our travels returning from Palau and need a good sleep.
As we leave our hotel in the cranky elevator I went to push the 1 button to get to the ground floor and noticed that there is no floor number 4. They skip from floor 3 to floor 5.
This is because anything number 4 in China is bad luck, as the pronunciation of the number is similar to that of the character for "death".
I thought it was some kind of old superstition that only old people in villages believe, but no, it is here in one of the best hotels in the high-tech capital of modern Taiwan.
A short walk and we are out in the lazy Sunday traffic.
Trip to the Jade Market, which has become a bit touristy, a lot actually, but is still interesting. Open only on weekends from 10 to 6 in the evening.
Mostly jewels, lots of handicraft and even live anumals, like a few friendly parrots.
Many coins from the Qing dynasty are available, a souvenir full of history. Some may be fakes, but they are quite common and cheap, I don't think it would pay to mint fakes.
In the end I bought a pair of jade earrings from the Qing dynasty for my wife. They dynasty reigned for almost 300 years so it's hard to date the stuff, but it does not really matter.
The most interesting encounter is with a Tibetan couple who came to Taiwan 11 years ago. In broken English, they tell us their stories and show us their wares. They did not feel safe in Tibet and decided to leave, but it was not clear to me why they decided to come to Taiwan. I did not want to be intrusive and did not ask.
I bought a curiously intriguing red Buddha carved in I am not sure what. Maybe some resin or perhaps animal bone.
Funny that they only take cash everywhere in the market. I did not expect Taiwan to be so backward. In any similar market in China these days everyone, including illiterate farmers, would accept electronic payments.
Liaoning night food market for dinner. Taipei is famous for its night markets, again it can be a touristy experience but the food is good and generally cheap.
Tonight for me it's goose intestine with chili, ginger and spring onion. All washed down with cool local beer.
Followed by pig blood curd soup. Usually we have our soups first, but you can't really plan a meal at a night market in Taiwan, it depends what you stumble into first.
My third time on this small island whose sand is soaked with history. Today for the first time with my wife. In between dives we took a walk around the pier, where we quickly ate some snacks and took a shower.
No time to do a full tour of the island so we were just taking a short walk ashore when a stocky man driving a pick-up truck approached us and asked how long we were staying on the island.
I told him no more than a half-hour and he offered to show us the wreck of a Japanese Zero that had been downed nearby and the airstrip for which so many people had died.
500 people live on the island now, but boats of tourists come from Koror every day to restock a couple of minimarkets. Other than that, locals have to boat to the capital for shopping.
We can see a small house, nothing special but the building is proudly announced by signs and photos as the house where the Japanese Emperor and Empress rested during their visit to Palau and Peleliu on 9 April 2015.
The photos of the imperial visit show the couple, meeting local elders and children, and of course paying tribute to the fallen soldiers of both sides, Japanese and American.
There are two mausoleums on the island a Shinto for the Japanese and one for the Americans, though both sides, I am told, retrieved their dead to be buried in their respective homeland.
Peleliu offers better dive sites than Palau, I wish we had spent more time here. But I fear the liveaboard skipper wanted to save fuel...
In the final dive of the day an incredible encounter with a leopard shark.
Daniela (not her real name) works as a maid on the boat, she is from the Philippines, is 32, and misses her 12 years old son who is back home. Her husband is working in Saudi Arabia. She goes home once a year, Palau is not so far from the Philippines, to see her son.
But she can only meet her husband every four years as it's more difficult for him to take time off and Saudi Arabia is a much longer and expensive trip for him.
They are trying to get together and work in the same country so as to be able to have a normal family life with their son but not easy. However, "for now just have to be faithful and make sacrifices," she says.
Roxy, her colleague and one of the greatest masseuses ever, says it's better like this because she knows both of them and when they were together they were fighting all the time!
In the middle of the night my wife woke up with food poisoning, it looks like the green long beans at the buffet maybe were not well cooked or washed. Palau produces virtually no vegetables, they are all imported from the US. I suppose it might be easier to import them from Asia or Australia, but give the special relationship I am not surprised a lot of food comes from American farming. Even eggs I am told!
We hate having to wake up our cruise director but she is feeling really sick, even coughing blood.
Luckily our boat is not far from the port, and the skiff ride to shore in the moonless night takes only a few minutes.
The hospital is a simple structure but seems alright. I register her with a receptionist and get checked by a nurse before seeing a doctor: a young petite lady who wears a white mask and gloves. She sends us to an adjacent lab for a blood test.
As I walk in the door there is no one to be seen but, after a few minutes, a really big betel-chewing guy with red gums shows up in a blue hospital apron and takes a sample of her blood. After some 20 minutes, we get the results. The soft-spoken doctor says not to worry it's not too serious and blood is just coming from her scraping her throat with the repeated vomiting.
On checking out, I'm pleasantly surprised to see a sign on the cashier's window that they accept my DAN (Diver Alert Network) insurance for their services. Except that they don't. When they see our cards they argue our policy does not include this eventuality. Insurance companies never cease to surprise. It's going to be 151 dollars for us. Could have been worse.
A poster on the wall encourages women to report domestic violence. It informs us that 37 percent of the victims in Palau don't ever tell anyone while 67 percent don't report it to the authorities.
Another poster explains ABC: babies must sleep Alone, on their Back and in a Crib. And without a pillow, but somehow the P didn't make it into the acronym. And by the way, no toys in the crib ...
Another poster warns about dengue fever: report asap any symptoms. I thought Palau was free of dengue but apparently it comes back from time to time.
On a happier note... an open box on the wall is full of condoms and a little colorful note taped to it encourages patients, or anyone passing along really, to take a free condom, "or 2 or 3..."
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.
The "Iro" was not a "maru", like most wrecks in the Chuuk lagoon, ie it was not a merchant transport converted to military uses. It was an oil tanker built in 1921-22 expressly for the imperial Japanese navy. Funny she was powered by coal, was a steamer, even though she carried oil for the engines of other ships. One of only 9 oilers in the Japanese navy in WWII, a major weakness.
It participated in most major WWII operations, except Pearl Harbor. During the course of the war, it was hit many times but survived.
It was finally hit by a torpedo in her bow near the Philippines which chopped off a whole bite of the hull at the very front edge. In March 1944 it was limping on her way to Chuuk to be repaired when she learned of operation Desecrate, the American attack on Palau, and she was ordered to Palau, the next maritime line of defense for the imperial navy.
There she was again attacked and finally sunk.
It was salvaged in the 1950s, the Japanese recuperated the bodies and valuable metals but... the boat bringing the remains of the Iro's sailors and any valuables back to Japan sink en route!
The Iro now rests upright, stern sank first and is deep under the sand with prop and rudder clearly visible. A most interesting set of dives.
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.
Very American breakfast with lots of fruit juices though they are mostly from concentrate. Disappointing in a tropical island. Lots of processed foods actually, mostly imported from the US and Taiwan, even eggs!
Weird...In Palau, cars drive on the right-hand side of the road, like in Europe but they all have their wheel on the right-hand side of the vehicle, like in the UK. Very strange. Maybe it's because here cars come mostly from Japan where they drive on the left-hand side of the road so it makes sense to have the wheel on the right-hand side here it's just strange.
We are picked up at our hotel by Marete, a stereotypical tall, blond, blue-eyed Danish lady who is spending a gap year traveling and working around the world with her boyfriend before going back to Denmark and continue her studies. Great idea. Not many Italians do this, even fewer Chinese I think. Too many Italians stay home with mamma until they move in with their wives. Anything to avoid cooking or having to manage a household.
Chinese are just beginning to understand the concept of a gap year. Until now they have to work as soon as possible to support the family. But the rising middle class now knows that is an option and can afford it, we'll see.
Amazing canoe tour at Risong. A small group of us with a guide who comes from Tinian but has worked here for 12 years: meny more tourists, more money to be made. He takes us through the unmistakable Palauan volcanic formations carpeted with luscious green bushes whose branches overloaded with deep dark leaves reach all the way to the waterline.
An American pilot is with us with his Japanese girlfriends (panta rei, a few decades ago she would have rather died than be anywhere near him). he works for United Airlines is enjoying a day off before returning to Guam, US aviation and military hub in the region.
We join a group of 4 elderly and very energetic American ladies. one asks where we live, and when I say London but not sure after Brexit she invites me to move to her native New York city.
We can see small fish of all shapes and colors, a few baby reef sharks and lots of totally innocuous jelly fish, which do not sting as they have no predators in these protected waters.
Dinner at the Yue Hai restaurant, owned by Cantonese family who moved here some two decades ago
also run the hotel's jewelry shop all in the family, including some cousins who have come here for a few years to help and make some dollars. The restaurant is far more appealing and much better value than the jewellery store.
has just been published and is available on all Amazon sites.
Description:
1980: the Cold War between capitalist West and socialist East is in full swing. Tensions are high but, at the academic level, some channels of useful exchange remain open. The author and two classmates would join one such program linking a leading American university and its counterpart in Poland. They drive to Warsaw in a bright yellow VW Beetle and, in addition to attending classes, travel far and wide within the country as well as to several of the neighbors in the socialist bloc where the Soviet Union called all the shots. They drive across the USSR and visit the Berlin Wall, the symbol of the division of Europe. Throughout, Marco takes detailed notes of what they see and hear.
Almost four decades later, the East-West division of Europe is gone. Marco recently found his diary and decided to publish an expanded version of it. His written notes from 1980 have been enriched with descriptions and analyses of historical events that will help the reader see his personal experience in a more significant cultural, social, political and economic context.
The author hopes this real life story will help younger generations, who did not live through the Cold War, better appreciate the blessing of living in a European continent that is immensely more open, rich and free than it was then.
Today it's China national day, the anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. It is the beginning of one week of celebrations in the whole country.
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.
They opened a new massage parlor near home. It is the second branch of a company we tried last year. They offer a broad series of treatments, they sell beauty products and they complement it all with a herbal bath in a hot water tub.
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!
Grey day at home working on the English edition of my Maldives book.
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!
La festa del "mezz'autunno" lunare. In pratica coincide, con date variabili di anno in anno, approssimativamente con l'equinozio d'autunno solare.
Dopo il capodanno cinese è la festa più sentita, più partecipata in famiglia, anche se non si vedono le migrazioni di massa bibliche del capodanno. Ci viene a trovare qualche parente, ci si scambia qualche invito con i vicini.
Gran pranzo a casa, tutto cucinato fresco: il giorno di mezz'autunno è proibito mangiare cibi cotti precedentemente. Niente minestre riscaldate!
Si pasteggia con l'alcol fatto da mio suocero facendo fermentare patate dolci. Colore ocra gialla, profumi di mele e pere cotte di media intensità, mediamente secco, ed equilibrato al palato, e di media lunghezza anche se non molto complesso.
Piccoli bicchierini per tutti, tranne ovviamente la nipotina e mia suocera che ultimamente non beve alcol, non ho ancora capito perché. Tocca a me, il genero, come uomo meno "senior" di versare a tutti. Poi brindo, con il Jian kang! (Alla salute!) di rito, facendo attenzione che il bordo del mio bicchiere tocchi il lato del bicchiere di mio suocero, quindi sotto il bordo del suo bicchiere, in segno di deferenza.
Se provo a bere un sorsetto senza brindare a mio suocero (mi capita, anche perché sono quasi sempre inevitabilmente tagliato fuori da ogni conversazione in dialetto hunanese) mia moglie mi redarguisce e devo subito rimediare. Idem se il bicchiere di mio suocero resta vuoto e io non lo rabbocco all'istante. Per gli altri commensali basta brindare una o due volte nel corso del pasto. Comunque mia moglie è paziente, non si scompone troppo e mi continua a rammentare di rabboccare.
Il "vino" di prugna è una novità, ma devo ammettere che con il cibo medio-piccante che preparano i suoceri si abbina alla meraviglia. La morbidezza del resto, me lo hanno insegnato all'AIS, anzi è stata addirittura una mia domanda all'esame da sommelier, è la migliore amica del piccante.
A pensarci bene è un po’ come tra due innamorati, lei morbida e delicata, lui piccante, leggermente aggressivo ma pronto ad arrendersi e farsi avvolgere dalla seduzione.
Solo alla fine, quando non si beve più alcol, l'ultimo brindisi è preceduto da un Gan bei! (pulisci il bicchiere!) che indica l'impegno a svuotare completamente il bicchiere, fino all'ultima goccia.
Chissà perché, una volta che tutti hanno fatto gan bei, si comincia ad aggiungere riso al vapore nei piatti. Non ho mai capito la ratio di questa consuetudine anche se ho chiesto ripetutamente. Forse, ma è solo una speculazione, quando una volta c'era poco da mangiare a tavola, prima si finivano i cibi nobili (carne, verdure) e poi, se si aveva ancora fame, si riempiva la pancia con il riso. Che comunque non era necessario finire, poteva aspettare nella pentola fino al giorno dopo. Forse un giorno scoprirò se è veramente così.
A fine pasto mio suocero tira fuori anche un distillato, sempre prodotto dalle patate dolci. Pungente all'attacco, ma con finale morbido, si sente quando scende in gola. Ne prendo un assaggio, dopo vari bicchierini del fermentato non vorrei trovarmi sotto al tavolo.
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!
Morning to buy food for the mid-autumn day celebrations at Market n.2, just a kilometer or so from home.
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!
Grey sky drizzling. We pack our stuff check out of the hotel and are off to station with an ever reliable didi car.
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!
After breakfast we take a trusted Didi car to the old city street, then walk up to the Dongyue temple. As soon as we arrived and walked inside the temple it started pouring cat and dogs. Not so convenient for walking around but it made for a picturesque scenery and it cooled down the air.
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!
I rang a huge bell after reciting some vows.
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.
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.
