June 9, 2010
2010 Asian odyssey: Shanghai World Expo, Kuala Lumpur, and more! (Part 1)
By Simon J. Lau
Let the adventures begin! I left for Beijing last Monday to kick off my 5-week vacation in Asia! So far, things have been going really well. I’m currently staying at a hostel several blocks south of Tiananmen Square. There are a ton of shops nearby, easy access to the subway, and really fun people, so I couldn’t be any happier with this place! I’ll probably add pictures of the hostel later, but for now, here are pictures from my trip so far.
This particular restaurant was recommended to us by Time Out Beijing, a travel magazine. The article raved about King Mutton’s popular Mutton Soup, so a few of us made our way here to check it out. The soup was pretty good, despite the fact that I’m not a huge soup fan. Also, as you look through my meal pictures, you’ll probably notice that my staple drink of choice has been beer. This isn’t because I really like beer, but rather it’s the only drink most restaurants always keep in the fridge. At this point, I’m starting to crave (cold) water.
798 Art Zone, Beijing’s art district. Just getting here was an adventure in and of itself. My friends were intent on getting here via public transportation, so after hopping from train to train and bus to bus, we finally found it.
This BMW 3 Series replica was made of stone, beginning from the exterior shell to the wheel and stick shift. They also included real glass for windows, so had it been later in the evening, I may have really thought this was a real car!
This exhibit was simply the most interesting part of our trip here. The work is called “Feelings are facts” by Olafur Eliasson and Ma Yansong. Eliasson, a Dutch-Icelandic artist, and Ma, a Chinese architect, came together to create this amazing work. Essentially, it’s a large white room where the ground gradually inclines towards the ceiling with neon lights everywhere and fog being pumped throughout the room. It was really great walking through it since you can’t see anything that’s not immediately in front of you, so for a moment, you really feel like you’re alone (in a peaceful way). I was really impressed by this and couldn’t help but walk through it four or five times. As for this picture, this is one of my hostel mates, Joanna, viewing the exhibit from a lower vantage point.
Despite being so far away from home, memories of San Francisco continue to follow me. This, for instance, is a miniature replica of the Powell and Hyde Street cable car. If you’re even remotely familiar with these cable cars, you’ll know what I mean when I say it was done really well. Look at the red paint and yellow lettering. If I didn’t know any better, I would think this was a picture of a real San Francisco cable car. Well done!
I found this little guy at a restaurant in 798. His master had just left to run an errand and although the dog wanted to come, he knew he wasn’t supposed to. So he just sat on the patio waiting anxiously for his master to come back. This is just one example of why dogs are superior companions compared to other pets. They’re intelligent, they’re always happy to see you, and they’re always eager to please.
Finally, my room at the hostel… Just kidding! This is actually a suite at the Yi House, a boutique hotel at 798. For some reason, my friends really wanted to see it, so while we were there they also asked to see an available room. It was nice with a lot of amenities, but I just don’t know if there are enough visitors that come to 798 to really make this place profitable. In any case, one of the owners was this lady who was born in Beijing but studied in California and worked in San Francisco. She mentioned how there’s a large number of people like her who leave China and eventually return. Chinese people call them “sea turtles,” since they come back to the beaches (home) where they were born. It was an interesting concept, and I was happy that she shared that with us.
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