Window Shopping

I am a big fan of gazing out of windows. Planes, trains, or automobiles. I love it. Before you judge me for talking like a hopeless romantic/emo child, hear me out.

Sure, any Joe Shmoe with a window in front of his face will look out of it (I had to think if I was offending the blind readership of this blog..). It's an instinct to watch, observe, and think. Might seem trivial and maybe it really is. But, that's not the point.

Compare it to taking a long drive, or a warm shower, even reading a great book. It's just you, the window, and the scene. As you drive/fly/train(?) by, your thoughts come along for the ride.

Take for instance, the taxi ride from an airport to your accomodation. I'm a firm believer in first impressions (with a few exceptions), and my first window-trip in a city is a first encounter. I watch, I observe, I think, and I judge. Mostly, though, I'm overcome with excitement. Everything is new, and your mind goes in atleast four places. Jumping to conclusions, creating backstories, making comparison, affirming/shattering preconceived notions. You might be proven completely wrong int he coming days, but the experience is lasting.

I came to think of this while on a nightbus to Guilin. Think Harry Potter, just like that. Unable to sleep in my shelf of a bed, I watched China pass me by. I thought: this road is nice! China's doing well...Wow! Gas is expensive EVERYWHERE, that's something to find some solidarity in...why does everyone in China squat?

Anyways, trivial? For sure. Still exciting? Most definitely.

Gazer fo lyfe,
Danyal

A Week in the Life of a Fatty in HK: The Danyal Kothari Story

If I wrote about about my week, that would be the title. The cover would be me, eating.

Let's recap a few meals I had this week:
3 meals of Pizza
2 meals of KFC
1 late night McDonald's Run

Approximate calories: 3000
Approximate blockage of arteries: Drastic
Approximate pounds gained: 0. Gotta love being a 20 year old boy (man?)! But oh god, it's gonna catch up real fast...

Now, let me defend myself.

Pizza: Midterms were this week and when its late and you're hungry and (pretending) to work pizza is fast and convenient. Why so many meals? Well, if you're a student in HK if you buy 1 large pizza, you get 1 free!! Whaaaaat. How can you pass up that deal? It's like free happiness. Needless to say, the pizza lasted for a few meals.
KFC: This one's a little sad. Again, studying and hungry. After an evening shower, I find to my dismay an empty underwear drawer! At this moment, I considered buying the "paper underwear" sold in the grocery store...but how would I get to said grocery store with no underpants!! Dilemma. I had to turn down a (non-fast food) dinner invitation and was trapped in my room doing laundry! Fed up with pizza, my roomate suggested KFC delivery. But, the minimum order is 60HKD...so I was forced to order the "Combo for 2"...for myself! Don't judge.
McDonald's: After a night out, this one is hard to resist. Guilty.

Fatty Mc Fat Fat,
Dans

Things I Miss

-Falafels
-Pedestrian's Right of Way
-Non-dettachable showerheads
-Mexican food
-Feeling cold (sometimes)
-My double bed
-Hemo's and Bui's
-The stank of a real subway (for real, the MTR here is sterile...hospital status)
-Watching TV on Hulu
-Sunday afternoon football
-Chicken without bones and skin
-Pandora
-Dryer machines that dry
-In n out Burger
-Classrooms with no A/C blasting
-The radio


Oh, and friends and family. :)

Also, this list deteriorated into mostly foods...Disclaimer: I had to disperse the food items in the list to have some balance in there.

I'm hungry.

Double the MAN

Today, October 26th, is the Cheung Yeung Festival in Hong Kong.

For most, it's a holiday to enjoy the beautiful and temperate autumn weather of Hong Kong. Hiking is a popular family activity as is visiting the graves of ancestors. Luckily, lots of graveyards are on hills. Two birds with one stone, what up!!

When I asked Sammy, my R.A. of sorts (who loves to eat his chicken bones...), he said it celebrates the ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar. "Nine" represents "yang," or the masculine part of this guy.

Think of it as the 09/09/09 party of the Chinese Century! Woah! That's a lot of man to handle--triple the yang!

So to all you readers to my West--wishing you the best on this most masculine of days.

Manly,

Dans

On China

Two Things.

Well, first let's back (back, back it) up for a bit. Let me say this: China is remarkable (I was gonna go for amazing and/or incredible, but the whole human rights things kept me from going there..). It's hard to grapple with the sheer amount of people. But it's also fascinating to watch it develop. You just don't see (or maybe I don't) the kind of poverty you might see in India or any other developing country. It's surely a feat worth noting.

Still, I've got my beef with China. I'm all about embracing the oddities and quirks of each country, but there are some things that are downright strange or have an inherent "gross factor."

First, in China men love to urinate and smoke at the same time. Most every bathroom I've been to in the PRC has an ashtray above the urinal. Also, most every bathroom experience I've witnessed multiple men light up, open up, and let loose. While I'm sure that this combination of activities probably feels quite nice, I just find the extent--from gas stations to clubs--of this phenomenon. Weird.

Second, Chinese men and women alike have no qualms about "hocking loogies." I'm not sure if that's an official term, but the practice is precisely that. Snort, hock, spit. All day, every day. This is the kind of inherent grossness that I can't quite get around. I don't get it, China. Are you genetically predisposed to a higher phlegm-production than the rest of the world? Let us know, because it seems to be working.

I love being here, but I had to let the world see China for what it really is. Urinating, smoking, and spitting.

Hoping the PRC doesn't shut us down,
Danyal

Odds and Ends: Running Prego and Hostel Hospitality

I am the worst. Today, I made a pregnant lady run.

There is a pregnant woman (by the name of Percy!..I always thought that was a man's name, but that's cool) in my Imperial Women in Chinese History course. I actually thought she had a gut for the first month of class, until I confirmed with a classmate of her preggo-status. Boys are clueless, I know.

In true foreign exchange student form, I thought I would chat up Percy on our way to class. As we both walked towards the door, I thought I'd hold it open for her. What a gentleman! Instead, she somehow (pregnant women move very slowly, I learned) fell about 20 feet behind and saw me holding the door. In an attempt to catch up to me, Percy trudged herself hurriedly to the door. And, I made a pregnant lady run today. Awful.

This evening I'm traveling to Yangshuo--a small town in Guangxi province in South China. The place is renowned for its landscapes. Needless, to say I'm excited. Even more excited to stay in our hostel, which sent us this lovely welcoming message...

Hello

Thanks a lot for choose our hotel..

We can arrange any tour for you with cheapest price,so you donnot need warry anything ,just come here.

Travels by boat is very expensive in Guilin, I suggested that you take bus to yangshuo, then take LiRiver tour from yangdi to xingping ,cheapest and nice.

Sometimes arrived time is diffrent.So give us a call when you arrived yangshuo.( phone number: 0773-8826460 or 13788438142 . if you not have phone you can use public telephone call 8826460 donnot need 0773 ,take0.5yuan ) we can go to there pick up you with your name card.

.(Some man is not good ,always say he is steven or he is from west lily.this hotel is so far.no room......dont belive that until you see your namecard. )

Becarefully: sometimes the busdriver at gas station tell you get off the bus,donnot belive that.yangshuo busstation is last stop you need see everyone get off the bus and you get off bus.

see you

lily

I'm afraid of Steven.

War(r)y as ever,

Danyal

"Do You Smell What the R.O.C. Is Cookin'??!!": Taipei 10.16.09-10.19.09

Back from the Republic of China (R.O.C.)! This trip especially tickled my nerdish tendencies because I've been taking a history course in China-Taiwan relations! But for the purposes of keeping this blog interesting and preserving your image of me as being super cool-I must resist.

Having received our fair share of gay jokes in the past week, my French (man) friend, Guilhem, and I went on a bromantic weekend trip to Taipei. It wasn't the most active weekend, but it was a true vacation in that sense.

Also, we both had the great pleasure of meeting old (and new) friends. I was able to have dinner with Alistair (or is it Mr. Grant?), who was my college counselor at Harker. And Guilhem with some Frenchie Friends of his own. We also met a friend of a HK student from Taipei, who gave us a real local's take on Taipei! Without further delay, ladies and gentlmen here is your...

Top 5 Taipei!

5. Body Language Taken to New Levels

Our first experience with Taiwan was on the bus from the Airport to the Central Station. Having made a HK friend from our flight, we weren't too concerned with where we needed to get off, thinking she would help us out. With Guilhem fast asleep and me zoning out, we soon realized we were the only 3 (add the HK lady) left on the bus! First very upset that we had cut into his break time, the bus driver eventually got a kick out of our lack of common sense.
The best part of this adventure was asking the bus driver if we had time to pee while he took a break to smoke. He asked, "Shui Shui, MA" (You need to peepee?). But instead of subtly making a gesture to pee, he uses both hands to hold his imaginary "thing" (ding dong, etc.) and hunches his back. What are you packing down there, bus driver??! Also, the area to "Shui, Shui" was in the cargo--where, obviously, you can't leave your birds (see below).

4. The View from Atop
Taipei 101: The Crown Jewel of Taipei. People here are very proud of this architectural mega-monument. Once the tallest building in the world (thanks a lot, Dubai...), Taipei 101 was cool enough as a super tall building, but much more interesting in feeling the sense of pride Taiwanese felt for their building. Also, an old man next to us farted. I think he was scared of heights.


3. The Lincoln Memorial...of Chiang Kai Shek
You might be thinking..."Oh! How America-centric of Dans!" It's the Chiang Kai-Shek memorial! But, for real...check this guy out! I think it's about time for a side-by-side.



..and Abe. Alright, fine..just ignore the whole marble thing. Can you see it?

2. Do You Smell what the R.O.C. Is Cookin'??!!
Night Markets dominate the after-sunset food scene in Taipei. The largest one, ShiLin Night Market was a maze of food vendors, carnival games, trinket stores, and loads of people. Luckily, we had two locals to help us navigate through the somewhat chaotic market. Highlights of Taiwanese street food are the Oyster Omlette and Stinky Tofu. Wasn't quite brave enough to taste the latter...but man, it stank!!


1. Stumbling upon Gems
While I touted about routine just a few days ago, sometimes the unpredictability of travelling presents the most rewards. After visiting the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial, we overheard some loud drumming music and followed it until we ran into a massive indigenous Taiwanese people's parade (I think that's what it was...).
The flamboyant costumes and energy of all the participants was remarkable! It would take pages to recall all the details, but two of the higlights for me were...
1. Green Man (any relation to this guy? or Grass Man from Saigon?) He blew fire!!

2. The Kids. While it now seems a bit creepy that I was taking photos of these kids, they were such troopers!
I've posted hundreds of photos from the parade here.

Phew!

Cheers,
Danyal

Dinner With Friends

Cooking can be a pain! But, good company can turn that pain upside down (i know it's actually frown, but work with me..).

Last Thursday my roommate (David), our friend (Jack) and I cooked dinner in our flat (apartment, whatever. British colony, remember?). The food was delicious! And it's strange, every time I cook a successful meal...I get really inspired to cook more often, but that luster really wears off fast. I wonder if I have a string of successful meals, can I maintain that inspiring feeling? That might be asking too much...

Here's a recap of our glutinous evening:

Action Jack(son)..Jack in Action. He's a master chef! I asked where he learned to cook. His response: "Youtube." The interweb is a beautiful thing, my friends.

Chicken Wings..China Style! David's Dish. Salty as ever, but delicious (not nutritious).


Shout out Mickey Avalon's hilarious (albeit explicit) rap song:

My Dish--the least tasty of them all.
Yo' Dish--off the wall!

Jack's dish (foreground)--garlic steamed bok choy--was finished like everyone's favorite Nicholas Cage/Angelina Jolie feature. Mine (background) was a lame attempt to recreate some of my favorite American Chinese food. Fried String beans and Mongolian Beef. A bit oily, but not bad. Still, it was finished only after two hours of chatting and picking at food. Sorry to disappoint you, Mom. I'll do better next time :(


The final product.


Great food! Great company! Life is good...

Edit: Jack scooped the NYTimes! Adding to his overall baller effect.

Daily Routine Folks, I Salute You

Routines can be mundane. They can push us to escape from the ordinary and reject the predictable. But, not always.

Routine means continuity.Routine (especially when in a new environment) means comfort. But, routine also helps accentuate and makes us appreciate even the most subtle changes from day-to-day.

Every morning (read: afternoon, or whenever I manage to pull myself out of bed) as I walk towards campus I meet many of the same faces. I've never spoken more than two words to these people at a time, but I feel like they are just as much a part of my Hong Kong experience as anyone else.

You see them everyday, around the same time, eye contact is made and a few words are exchanged, maybe even a smile. And, you move on with your day. It's the ritual underlying these interactions that give them staying power.

Allow me to introduce a few of these characters...

There's bespectacled construction worker. With Arthur-esque glasses and walkie talkie in tow, this man (I like to think his name as Arthur) helps me and hundreds of other students cross the road safely as construction work continues. Arthur never smiles, but each time I pass him he makes firm and direct eye contact--not the kind that makes you uncomfortable, the type that you know he recognizes and acknowledges you. Each time I pass by, I wonder how a man who looks like everyone's favorite 8 year-old aardvark got into the construction business...

Then, there's the United College Canteen cashier. On my first day in Hong Kong, she helped (and never scoffed) at my dehydrated self trying to count the proper amount of coins to pay for a bottle of water. I'm sure she deals with thousands of students a day. But, I like to think our very first encounter brought us closer, and we share a (albeit super lame) secret. Now, when I pay for my water bottles and have exact change ready--I flash cashier lady a smile of confidence. I don't think she cares...but, I still love her.

I've gained a greater appreciation for routine this past month. Is it that we cling to ritual when we are put in uncomfortable situations? Is it a marker getting older (and more boring)? I'm not sure. But I do know that I'm OK with being comfortable in a routine. Shaking things up is exciting and adventurous, but for me the comfort of routine can't be beat....Hot chocolate gives it a run for its money, though. And blankets.

Always,
Danyal

Put that peach down!: Saigon 10.08.09-10.12.09

Had a blast in Vietnam! Saigon is a really interesting city. That word "interesting"...it can mean so many things, though! Well, I want to try out going Letterman on my city trips (no, not like sextortion Letterman...weirdos). Letterman has his Top 10, I'll try a top 5.

Top 5 Saigon

5. Victor Hugo meets Sun-Yat Sen
Visited the largest Cao Dai Temple in Vietnam. Apparently, Caodaism is a relatively modern religion that has all sorts of influences. Victor Hugo is a saint of sorts. Jesus and Buddha are both ballers in their minds. Anyways, the temple was probably the most garish spiritual place I've seen...but it works. Also, we were really close to the Cambodian border, which made me feel kinda badass (why?).

4. Delta (Delta Delta)
Don't be deceived by the nasty brown Mekong River Delta. It's an agricultural marvel! Made famous in 'Nam movies, we visited the region where it spills into the Pacific. Highlight? Rowing down a canal while old ladies in neighboring boats passed sublminal messages (whispering in my "tip money, tip money").

3. Yummy in my tummy
I love you Vietnamese food! So much! Don't know if the feeling is mutual....My tummy's on the fritz. If that wasn't apparent.

2. War sucks.
Don't want this blog to be a downer. But this museum really brings you back down to earth. You see a lot of the images and untold stories of the war. The one positive feeling I took away from this place was an even greater appreciation for photographers.


1. Grass man and friends.
Saigon = Motorcycle Capital of the World. Crossing the street was comparable to Frogger. One particular motorcyclist stood out above the rest, though. Grass man be MY friend.


p.s. "Putting down a peach" is how you say "taking a dump" in France. Cool/Gross, right?

Edit: Special Thanks to Richa(rd) Gupta Photography Co. for all the photos. I lost a bag with my camera over the weekend--so Richa kindly donated hers.

Hong Kong English

We all know Hong Kong used to be a British Colony. So, the level of spoken English here is not too shabby. But what about their written English?

There's the Student Union--which is called the "Amenities Building." Makes sense, right? There are amenities in a Student Union. Then there's a myriad of warning signs in the most proper English (sorry, can't think of a specific one right now). And of course, there's the formal e-mails. Oohhh, the e-mails...

Here is the latest e-mail that makes me scratch my head:

Dear All,

I am sorry for the retard reply.
I cant login my email account by night.
Attached plz find a review note.
Thanks and sorry again!

Cheers,

So many questions for my classmate, who sent us the "review note"! First, I think she means "late response," but "retard reply" will sufice. Mostly because of the great use of alliteration. Second, why can't she login by night? Is she a super hero fighting the near-0% crime in Hong Kong?

Cheers,
Danyal

For Real?

In hopes of making this blog more coherent for its (nonexistant) readership, I will feature some regular (read:more than once, i hope) installations.

This one is called "For Real?" Included will be stories that make you think "Did that just happen?", ridiculous Asian t-shirt slogans and (hopefully) some great Chinglish signs. Stay tuned for more!

This story occurred the first week I arrived in Hong Kong. Amidst the crowds of students and faculty getting off the shuttle bus at the train station, I noticed one shady character. Tall, dressed in black slack and sunglasses, he seemed like a man on a mission. What was that mission?

Walking determined to the station, the unidentified man shoulder-taps who seems to be a close friend on the opposite shoulder--classic trick! The sunglass-ed man pulls off the shoulder-tap beautifully but instead of chatting up the victim, he continues--straight faced as ever--on his way to the train station. Meanwhile, poor guy is stopped in his tracks trying to figure out who tapped him.

Who are you working for, shady sunglasses man? How many innocent people have you shoulder tapped? And, I ask you--for real, man?

I don't know whether I respect you or dislike you. Regardless, you confuse me, sir.

Until next time,
Danyal

Greetings from the East!

Hello Everyone!

First, let me catch you all up to speed. I'm on a study abroad program in Hong Kong for the semester.... That's about it, actually.

Now, you must be thinking...who is this guy? Who made him King? And why does he call it the "Kong"? Well, to the haters and nay-sayers I'd say--come to the KONG, and you will see for yourself! So in the mean time, let's get this blog-party started.

I have already been in Hong Kong for over a month, but only now am I getting busy writing about my adventures. This might be good timing as I'm preparing for my first trip outside of Hong Kong! I'm off to Vietnam (Saigon or Ho Chi Minh City) this Thursday.

We should rewind first. What have I been up to this past month? Pictures speak louder than words (or is it actions?..) So, here it goes. There's been a bit of...

The Weird
Note: These celebrity tutors are everywhere in Hong Kong. My favorite tutor? A toss up between "Frenda So" and "Enfany Chan". Disclaimer: Both Frenda and Enfany chose their own English names.

The Warm

Hong Kong's own Half Moon (or Hap Mun) Beach. Very crowded, very warm, very fun.

The Wondrous
Sai Kung coastline.

...and The (S)Weat
The humidity has been subsiding recently. But for the first four weeks or so, I was sweating like no other! This picture doesn't capture the true extent of perspiration..

Sorry for the lack of photos. Now that the camera is back in commission, I will post more photos and hope to post more often through this blog!

Cheers,
Danyal