Friday, June 11, 2004
China Vol. 1: Overture (phiLLer blog stylee)
within a small roller valise and brown messenger sac
ten tee shirts
ten pairs of argyles
nine pairs of boxers (oops)
three pairs of cargo shorts (khaki, gray, navy)
one pair of cargo pants
one pair of hipster khakis
one ping pong paddle (unused due to exhaustion)
contact lenses
$300 US
favorite black cotton zip-up jacket/sweater (unused due to heat)
one b/w houndstooth sweater (see just above)
passport (inc. Chinese visa)
trusty maroon Colgate baseball cap
red/navy puma sneakers (now worn almost beyond use)
navy/brown boat shoes (still good for their second summer)
three books(Our Town, Plainwater Anne Carson(amazing, thanks Gary), Wise Blood Flannery O'Conner)
twenty cds (various R.E.M., Miles Davis, The Smiths, Radiohead, etc)
new Sony CD Walkman & parasitic headphones
within ten days of marathon travel
three major Chinese cities (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai)
three Buddhist temples
one Taoist temple
one Confuscian Temple
one Great motherfucking Wall (the Badaling sections)
three five-star hotels (including the Grand Hotel Beijing)
ten five-star hotel breakfasts (mostly Western food)
ten varied and (mostly) delicious lunches (mostly basic Chinese food)
ten very varied and unique dinners (mostly Chinese)
three shows (Tang Dynasty Extravaganza, acrobats, music, dancing)
two tombs (Ming Tombs, Qin Shi Huang's terra cotta warrior army)
one Purple Forbidden City
one Summer Palace
Xi'an City Wall
two silk markets
endless haggling
Tian'anmen Square
endless stories, histories, and jokes
two birthdays
six plane flights
the water city of Zhouzhuang
two museums (Shaanxi Provincial, Tang)
endless walking
risky frisbee of honor and longevity
countless street vendors hawking postcards and cheap crafts
plenty of capitalism
not so much communism
countless people, everywhere
coming home with
experience, knowledge, exhaustion, reflection, images, memories
two straw hats (one for Barros as per request)
two gemological gifts
sundry ticket stubbs, shopping bags
two new glorios stamps in the passport
one cd of Buddhist music (talk about catchy)
one Mao tee shirt
one imitation Polo golf shirt
one black wool/cashmere coat
one black cotton jacket
0.00 RMB despite contrary effort
$60.00 US
end volume 1
within a small roller valise and brown messenger sac
ten tee shirts
ten pairs of argyles
nine pairs of boxers (oops)
three pairs of cargo shorts (khaki, gray, navy)
one pair of cargo pants
one pair of hipster khakis
one ping pong paddle (unused due to exhaustion)
contact lenses
$300 US
favorite black cotton zip-up jacket/sweater (unused due to heat)
one b/w houndstooth sweater (see just above)
passport (inc. Chinese visa)
trusty maroon Colgate baseball cap
red/navy puma sneakers (now worn almost beyond use)
navy/brown boat shoes (still good for their second summer)
three books(Our Town, Plainwater Anne Carson(amazing, thanks Gary), Wise Blood Flannery O'Conner)
twenty cds (various R.E.M., Miles Davis, The Smiths, Radiohead, etc)
new Sony CD Walkman & parasitic headphones
within ten days of marathon travel
three major Chinese cities (Beijing, Xi'an, Shanghai)
three Buddhist temples
one Taoist temple
one Confuscian Temple
one Great motherfucking Wall (the Badaling sections)
three five-star hotels (including the Grand Hotel Beijing)
ten five-star hotel breakfasts (mostly Western food)
ten varied and (mostly) delicious lunches (mostly basic Chinese food)
ten very varied and unique dinners (mostly Chinese)
three shows (Tang Dynasty Extravaganza, acrobats, music, dancing)
two tombs (Ming Tombs, Qin Shi Huang's terra cotta warrior army)
one Purple Forbidden City
one Summer Palace
Xi'an City Wall
two silk markets
endless haggling
Tian'anmen Square
endless stories, histories, and jokes
two birthdays
six plane flights
the water city of Zhouzhuang
two museums (Shaanxi Provincial, Tang)
endless walking
risky frisbee of honor and longevity
countless street vendors hawking postcards and cheap crafts
plenty of capitalism
not so much communism
countless people, everywhere
coming home with
experience, knowledge, exhaustion, reflection, images, memories
two straw hats (one for Barros as per request)
two gemological gifts
sundry ticket stubbs, shopping bags
two new glorios stamps in the passport
one cd of Buddhist music (talk about catchy)
one Mao tee shirt
one imitation Polo golf shirt
one black wool/cashmere coat
one black cotton jacket
0.00 RMB despite contrary effort
$60.00 US
end volume 1
Monday, June 07, 2004
anNEE HOW
'Blogging from the other side of the earth, I'd like to post from Xi'an, of China's chang'an region and cradle of the Chinese civilization from over 3,000 years ago. I've been in China for a week now, and I return on Thursday from Shanghai (via Vancouver). Thursday is also my birthday, which will be extended due to travel into a decadent 36-hour affair mostly spent crusing at 30,000 feet.
The Great Wall is fucking unreal.
More to come when this doesn't cost money (although 1 yuen/minute isn't bad).
'Blogging from the other side of the earth, I'd like to post from Xi'an, of China's chang'an region and cradle of the Chinese civilization from over 3,000 years ago. I've been in China for a week now, and I return on Thursday from Shanghai (via Vancouver). Thursday is also my birthday, which will be extended due to travel into a decadent 36-hour affair mostly spent crusing at 30,000 feet.
The Great Wall is fucking unreal.
More to come when this doesn't cost money (although 1 yuen/minute isn't bad).
