Beijing Trip Part III (Forbidden City)

We had to make this Beijing trip as complete as we could. It didn't mater if it was only one weekend long, we had to see everything. Up, out and about we shot over to The Forbidden city by cab. We passed the drum towers where I imagined huge drums hanging instead of bells. Every time they would need to have a town meeting, someone would have to scale to the top of each tower an bang the drums, jumping, screaming and nearly deaf from the thunderous sound these men were responsible for calling the town to assemble in the square. And in my imagination the town meetings were held in the courtyard of the forbidden city. And that's where we were.
This is where the emperor had his throne; one of many. He would walk slowly from one building to the next to find the perfect thinking spot. Depending on the day, respite might be in the Hall of Infinite Peace, or the Hall of Eternal Strength. He slowly walked, many steps ahead of his entourage of servants and concubines. Each watched his deliberate steps, on the bridge over the Waters of Supreme courtesy, transfixed. The Emperor would stop; everyone would freeze. He looked up, and after a long pause, where breathing didn't even seem possible, he would comment about the sky, in it's Infinite Blueness of Order. Servants scrambled to jot down his words as perfectly and eloquently as the emperor had said them. Each wrist floating far above their scrolls making sure that each stroke was as perfect as the sky and the sound that left the emperor's throat on the rare occasions when he would take the time to release some words, more poems than prose, into the world.
We were were an ancient Chinese engineer would give his life to be in service of the royal family. We were within the walls of the Forbidden City.

Upon entering the main gates, the city truly is fit for a king

The throne in the Hall of Supreme Peace

The rain from yesterday had disappeared leaving the most beautiful sky.

The anachronism of modern cityscape beyond the ancient walls.

Like something out of a J. R. Tolken book , an Emperor's hobbit hole

The engineers infront of a very large door. I wonder what force is exhibeted on each hinge.

Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go, right?! Pissin' on a national landmark.

Dragon-head drains. Form and function

Ancient trees in the Royal Cocubine Garden

Chinese archetecture

Budah in the Hall of Treasures

Mini landscape from blood coral also in the Hall of Treasures

My favorite Chinese invention, the Equatorial Sundial. In this picture I'm facing north and it's almost 2pm.

We found the Hall of Chinese Replica Clothing and Props, where they dressed me as Emperor

Pat, as a distinguished looking Ancient businessman

They offered Lauren the dress of the Emperes, but she wanted to be a concubine!

The royal upstart servant-guard chalenged the emperor to a battle of KungFu

But eventually in the spririt of modern comunism, we decided to share the throne

At the end of the Forbidden City the gate opens to Tianamen Square, overlooked by a knoble looking MaoZeDong. Remeber, "bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han?"

Beijing Trip Part II (The Great Wall)

After the summer palace, the rain had died down a little. The sun was peaking out from behind grey clouds. We took a bus about an hour drive for lunch and then to the BaDaLing section of the great wall. It's one of the most restored sections of the wall and we were ready to climb.

Chairman Mao ZeDong, the Communist revelotionary leader of China, once said, "bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han." This loosely translates to, "if you don't climb the great wall, you are not a real man" Or not a "hero." I've heard multiple translations, but the saying was known by every Chinese person we met. We heard it more and more as we neared closer the base of the wall. People would come up to us and whisper it in our ears, and then run off. It was repeated like a mantra. bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han. bu dao Chang Cheng fei hao han. We could resist the draw of the wall and the mountain it stood upon no more. We looked up from the bottom and then climbed the Great Wall.

At the bottom. It looks easy from here.

OK...I take it back. These angle of the stairs makes it much more difficult than initially suspected. We were sweating almost instantly.

Pat makes the great wall look like a fashion accessory.

Hiroshi gets artsy with his pictures of us.

We've come a long way, but we aren't up yet!

Where's Pat?

It looks even more beautiful near the top.

We are sweaty and a few of us threatened to quit half-way. But we're almost there! Let's take a picture break so we can sit for a moment.

Look how far we've come!

Exhausted and soaked, we've made it; everyone in for this picture! Get in, yosh!

Hiroshi frames that perfect shot.

This wall....its grrrrrrreat!

Lauren doing her world famous signature handstand on the wall.

When the top isn't good enough...get even higher.

On top of the world. We've climbed over 1,100 vertical feet from the base of the wall where we began.

Make sure to check out Part I of this Beijing trip and come back soon for Part III

Beijing Trip Part I (Summer Palace)

Hello again.
As always, it's been a while since the last post, but I'm sure this one won't disappoint. This was one of the best weekends I've ever had in China.
The Olympics had just ended not but a week ago and we decided that it would be one of the best times to make a trip out to Beijing. All of the trappings of the Olympics would still be up but we wouldn't have to deal with any of the madness of the huge crowds. Booked and excited we packed for our weekend in the capital city of China. Even though we were only doing this on a weekend between our working schedule, we intended to try to get everything in, no matter what. We scheduled a tour guide and bus, with the promise of experiencing both the Emperor's Summer Palace and Great Wall in one day! We flew right out of Shenzhen Airport, only 30mins from our work. The four of us, Pat, Hiroshi, Lauren, and myself climbed aboard an Air China Boeing 737 and made the 3 hr flight up to Beijing.

First stop, The Emperor's Summer Palace. Apparently leading all of China was a difficult thing. The Emperor would get tired of all that ruling on high and in the heat of the summer he would move his rule about an hour from the center of Beijing to someplace a little more soothing. This was the summer palace. We hired a tour guide. Cindy was her name and she was awesome. She told us some interesting stories about this place. One that sticks out in my mind is the story of the Dragon Lady. She started as a concubine to the Emperor. She gave birth to his only son. Then when that son was only about 10 years old, the Emperor died. The son became the emperor but it was clear that she was standing behind everything pulling the strings. The son was weak and died when he was nearly ready to take power back from his mother. Then with the only heir to the throne dead, Dragon lady appointed the son's young cousin to the throne. But he too was young. And she was able to extend her rule for many more years. She was a force to be reckoned with. There would be a flag lifted high above the Summer Palace anytime she took a nap. This warned people to be particularly quiet. No one wanted to endure the punishment for waking the Dragon Lady!

The Summer Palace is positioned on a lake for that cool breeze off the water. And I imagine much time and care was taken to remove some of the amazing stones that lined the courtyards of the palace after you enter.

A huge rock excavated from the KunMing lake the palace is built on.

Longevity Hill in the background.

One of the sleeping rooms in the many courtyards. Longevity hill pagoda in the upper right.

Just enough rain to make it magical. The tour guide kept telling us we were lucky as Beijing is one of the driest places in China. Rain is good luck!

A bed fit for a king. A small king.

Flora at the palace.

One of the famous dragon boats on KunMing Lake.

Through that door they have transformed this part of the palace into an art school.

Pagodas galore.

Do we have the same hair?!

Make sure to check back soon for the Beijing Trip Post part II!

Daylight Zombie (Audio Post)

Boomp3.com

This was written and recorded in a very jet-lagged state of mind.

Daylight Zombie
Ryan Goodnight
(C) 2008

Slightly south of sober and that’s just from the jet lag.
Halfway ‘round the world and I can’t see the sights; ‘stead eyelids sag.
I keep one eye half open for all the people that I might meet
but prefer to stare into a corner where things are going more my speed.
Today I feel like a lefty -- exorcising the devil,
and learning how to write proper. It’s hard ‘cause I’m disheveled.
Forget ambidexterity, as I can’t even get my dominant hand
to cooperate. My motor functions are not going as how I planned.
I fold my paper, holding the scissors backwards to cut what should be snowflakes
that turn out looking more like squares, confetti and half moon shapes.
It’s the night of the living dead, but I’m the only zombie instead,
Fear of all the humans that constantly surround me.
They all move fast. Run circles ‘round me,
I cover my eyes, yet they savor the outside being sunny.
I groan; I turn. I frown. I can barely see ee ee ee.
Leave me in the dim light to stare at the intersection of these two walls,
counting the subtle scratches from the painter’s brush strokes; look like they’d made by tiny claws.
So much for this beautiful day.
My one respite is that at some point I might actually get some sleep.
And perhaps I’ll wake up with my sight a little better than now, and mine to keep.
My circadian rhythm previously moved along with the stream of the tides,
ebbing and flowing in perfect cycle to the massive monorail that the moon rides.
Now my flow feels like the fat kid from up the block, has jumped in the kiddie pool.
The water sprays from the shock of him jumping in and flailing like a fool.
Soon he remembers he can’t swim and struggles, hydrophobic,
It’s become the world’s smallest wave pool. Everything around, he’s soaked it.
Heaving waters knock the other toddlers over the plastic walls.
Leaving them in the browning grass besides the pool confused and crying, all.
So much for this beautiful day.

Guest entry by: Andrew Tan, A Story of Heroes

A Story of Heroes

The tale of how 7 Americans invaded Lan Kwai Fong on the Fourth of July

Preface

To give this story proper perspective we must start four weeks before the date in question.

Before their trip even began Mr. Calhoun, Mr. Kim, Ms. Kohut, and Mr. Goodnight himself began to make plans to celebrate that quintessential of American holidays, Independence Day, overseas. Mind you this was not anyone’s ideal situation but, as we all must do sometimes, these visionaries decided to make the best of an imperfect situation.

Well anyway back to the idea that spawned a cascade of events that lead to seven Americans taking over one of Hong Kong’s most popular attractions. This idea, as innocent as it began, opened the floodgates to one of the best nights in China that any of us have ever had. Essentially the plan was to drape themselves in the stars and stripes and celebrate as if they were in Philadelphia or Washington D.C. From the first hand account you are about to read you can judge if this plan was a success.

Off to Hong Kong

We left that day straight from work. Springing ourselves from the doldrums of Bao’an district, Shenzhen was like removing a stifling weight from all our shoulders. The night was perfect, which is almost unheard of for southern China in July. The air was crisp and the skies clear, the anticipation was palpable.

As the conversation flowed back and forth from the craziness of the week leading up to Friday and the events to come, everyone began to feel more and more energized and ready to cut loose.

Upon arriving at the ferry terminal we found that our intended transport had been canceled. Determined not to allow this setback cast a shadow over our plans, we adjourned to a near by pub to enjoy a beer and unwind prior to the adventure that lay before us. On the way to the pub we were treated to one of the most rousing renditions of the Star Spangled Banner by Mr. Goodnight. This was a most unexpected and welcomed treat.

After finishing a much needed beverage we ventured back to the port and boarded the ferry. The ferry staff had no idea what they were about to unleash upon Hong Kong.

Arrival

Once we made land, on Central Island of Hong Kong, the group’s immediate attention turned to depositing our belongings at the hostel and preparing ourselves for the night to come.

After a short cab ride to Causeway bay we arrived at the hostel and were shown to our rooms. We had booked three rooms for the seven of us and once the first key was turned, the race began to see who could don the most patriotic garb.

The fodder for this American explosion came in the form of shirts, provided by Mr. Kim, hats, bandannas, and temporary tattoos, all supplied by Ms. Kohut. As you can see from the two pictures below, this first part of the plan can be considered a huge success as I have never witnesses such a perfectly orchestrated team effort of patriotism, save for the signing of the declaration of independence.

All the elements were in place for a historic night.

LKF

After all preparations were set and all American ammunition was loaded, we set off for the site of our revolution.

Around 11:00 am Washington D.C. time we arrived at Lan Kwai Fong. Our first order of business was to arm ourselves with enough currency to fund our take over.

Upon leaving the ATM, Mr. Goodnight stumbled upon an unexpected treasure. This treasure was a golden rope. Armed with his new weapon, Mr. Goodnight proceeded to invite countless girls into club Wăn’ān.

From this point we proceeded to a Mojito bar, as recommended by Mr. Tran. This proved to be a wise decision as Mr. Tran is friends with one of the bartenders, who stoked the fires of our patriotism with a couple free drinks.

From here our tactical plan called for us to liberate the Russian ice bar, located half a block away.

Making our way through a swarm of combatants, led by a flag waving Mr. Tran, we prepared to battle the communist monster head on. However we were not prepared for their secrete weapon, the “sweat ray”. Being the excellent compatriot Mr. Goodnight is he decided to take the full force of the blast by himself, thus saving the rest of us from a soggy night.

Once we had liberated the ice bar, Ms. Kohut was feeling extremely patriotic and decided it was time for our platoon to do an American Bomb (Budweiser with a shot of Jack Daniels dropped in). These drinks tested all of our patriotism but, it was proclaimed in the end, “None of us need help being American!”

Taking the full force of the American bomb caused us to think of our countries rich and storied history. Consequently we remembered the Alamo, and decided the next battle we would have to fight would be against Mexico. Even though we were prepared of the onslaught of Mexico’s most notorious weapon, tequila, we were not ready for the Toro Loco (a margarita with absinth and red bull).

Left reeling from this surprise attack, we quickly regrouped and took our revenge on a British citizen, forcing her to take a picture with us.

One unexpected and quite welcome, side effect form the radiation of the Toro Loco is that is caused Mr. Goodnight to spontaneously burst into dance, which did not stop for the remainder of the night.

With a taste for British blood fresh in our collective mouth it was decided we should show our true colors we decided to thumb our noses at our original nemesis, the British. After a long and winding rout, where we though some of our compatriots had fallen, only to rise again, we arrived at the British Pub Bulldog’s.

Here we decided to put on a heroic display, by every last one of us neutralizing a car bomb, that would shake the confidence of every British man, woman and child for decades to come.

After thoroughly defeating the British on their own soil it was decided that our group of patriots needed a nice cold beer to celebrate. Cue Dolce Vita, it was here that Mr. Goodnight decided to take on Hong Kong herself and tackle a Lan Kwai Fong beer. We never could imagine that Lan Kwai Fong would itself provide the most difficult test to our resolve. While this was a hard fought battle our founding fathers would be proud as we emerged from the confrontation bloodied and bruised but still flying the colors of the red, white and blue.

Now that we hade conquered all that Lan Kwai Fong had to offer it was time for a victory lap, so it was back to the Mojito bar. As you can imagine at this point in the night emotions are running high and everyone is weary from the prolonged battle. Now it was time to relax and bask in the glory of our trouncing of Lan Kwai Fong.

The Morning After

As you can imagine we spent much of the next morning recovering from the vicious battle of the night before. After comparing battle wounds and stories from the night before we decided to return “home” to Shenzhen.

While there was no ticker tape parade or grand celebration for us when we landed in Shekou, we all knew that we had done our jobs. We represented America with every fiber of our beings and I am proud to call every member of our party a patriot, a friend, but above all else an American.

Patriots from left to right: Ryan Goodnight, Hiroshi Miwa, Craig Kim, Long Tran, Andrew Tan, Steve Calhoun, Lauren Kohut, Bald Eagle.