Times Of My Life

I went to the American embassy today to pick up my new passport (apparently you have to renew those things). My new picture turned out surprisingly flattering, so I told Stick we can get married tomorrow but if he expects me to change my name, he has to wait until January of 2018.

Picking up my new passport was fast and painless, but in handing all my papers back and forth, I misplaced the claim slip to get my iPod back from security. The claim slip was actually half a Post-it with the number 10 written on it in pen, but without it, the security guard was not going to give me my items back.

The guard clearly wanted to give it to me, but he was afraid that I might be a masterthief who pretends to renew her passport all the time in order to gain access to the little plastic baskets of electronics that aren’t allowed into American Citizen Services compound. I was about to go back to ACS to look for the missing ticket when I thought of a better plan.

“I can prove that’s mine,” I told the guard.

“How?”

“I have the local times for Beijing, New York, Denver and Bombay saved. In case I have to call someone I like, and I don’t want to wake them up,”

He looked at me kind of funny, but I was reunited with my Grosse Point Blank soundtrack.

Winterplace Ski Resort (West Virginia)

Winterplace tops the crest of Flat Top Mountain and is located two minutes off I-77 at Exit 28 Ghent / Flat Top, West Virginia.

Winterplace is not only a ski resort, but offers a bounty of beautiful scenery. It’s affordable and easily accessible, offering 27 trails and 9 lifts. There’s a snow tubing park with 16 lanes and 5 tubing lifts and also a terrain park. There’s something for everyone…even the kid in you that once dreamed of sliding down majestic mountains.

Winterplace is a member of the Professional Ski Instructors of America and gives classes with the promise if you don’t learn to ski or snowboard, you can take the class over for free. For children ages 4 - 11, they offer the Skiwee program which includes instruction, supervision, lunch, snacks and fun. Care is available for children ages 6 months to 4 years with 24-hour advanced notice.

Winterplace allows skiing from 8am to 10pm on weekends and holidays and 13 hours of enjoyment from 9am - 10pm weekdays. The resort is more crowded during weekends and holidays so if you like a more isolated atmosphere, plan your trip during weekdays.

Enjoy great restaurants at the cozy Mickey’s Mountain Cafe or breakfast, lunch and dinner at Mountain Mama’s. Entertainment is offered at The Mountain House and Snowdrift Lounge where you can hang out and get a drink or snack before heading back to the slopes.

Winterplace also offers facilities in the summer for weddings, family reunions, conferences or other events.

I have to admit I’ve never went down the slopes of Winterplace, but have visited there. As I stood outside on the deck, I was mesmerized with the beauty of the snow, the excitement of people coming down the slopes, the breathtaking views and the crisp mountain air. On one visit I met a celebrity, Michael Damian who played Danny Romalotti on “The Young and Restless”. He’s as handsome and nice in person as he is on tv and then some.
Whether you are a skiier, like to snowboard or snowtube or none of the above, Winterplace is worth your visit! For more detailed information, visit their website at
http://www.winterplace.com/

Silk Street Shopping, Beijing

Today we stopped playing Civ long enough for lunch at Mexican Wave and a visit to the Guiyou silk market. I suggest a couple margaritas before any shopping adventure.

Guiyou silk street is listed in Lonely Planet and so forth, and it’s enough of a landmark that I’ve used it to tell cabbies where Mexican Wave is, but I’ve never actually been inside. The first floor is a underwhelming mass of knockoffs, but as we made our way upstairs, each floor had better merchandise. We shifted through piles of injection-molded green plastic jade and mispelled namebrand clothes to find some great gifts to send home and some clothes for us. I think I’m more able to deal with the sensory overload of a Chinese mall nowadays but it could just be the margaritas.

Anyway, shopping with Stick is a laugh, because when the vendor suggests a three-digit idiot price, he responds with a single-digit counter offer. Bargaining is a crazy game; the vendor, Stick and I all know that the sweater’s worth between 20 and 30 RMB, but the vendor doesn’t know we know. The game is not whether we’ll pay the hilarious asking price, but will we pay 28 to be done quickly? Or hold out for 23? If she throws in something else, will we take 2 for 46?

There was a cool silkmaking demonstration on the second floor. Silk, like beer or bread, amazes me that it was ever first invented. I mean, who sees a caterpiller and turns it into a qipao? The demonstrator pulled the silkworm cocoons out of bucket of water and spread the wet silk over an oval frame. There was also a spinning machine but no one was using it when we were there. I thought of Seneca the Younger condemning silk as un-Roman luxury for immoral women.

The fourth floor of the mall was full of jewelry, stalls selling endless strands of pearls, coral, and jade, blown glass pendants, carved cinnabar bracelets, cloisonne hairsticks. I picked up some nice bracelets and showed them to Stick.

“Nice beads,” he said, “I’ll trade you Manhattan for them.”

Modern Beauty Salon, Beijing

Yesterday, I stopped by the Modern Beauty Salon in the Ginza Mall, mainly to use their shower. I needed the shower because on Monday our hot water heater died in spectacular fashion. We’ve been heating water in the electric kettle, pouring it into a basin and sponge-bathing, just like in my first apartment in Yantai, but it’s not really the ideal situation.

Because I had walked into the salon on the off chance that they could do my eyebrows (and let me have a shower), there wasn’t a regular room available, and I was assigned to a “slimming room”. White spa towels, with a rose and gold silk cover on the table, red silky lampshades, and wallpaper with gold fu symbols. It was almost a shame to leave my battered jeans and boots in such a pretty room.

There was also some kind of slimming machine in the room, a big yellow monstrosity. I’m not quite sure what it was supposed to do, but I’m pretty sure Dr. Crusher would have known how to use it.

Oh, the shower. I might be slightly biased here because I hadn’t showered since Sunday, but the shower was incredible. Hot water, water pressure, scented shampoo. Did I mention the hot water? Also the shower stall was made out of black stone tiles and small mother-of-pearl mosaics. It was gorgeous and I would have been more impressed if I hadn’t been distracted by the hot water.

When I got out the shower there was an attendant standing by the stall door, holding an extra towel for my hair. It felt a bit odd at the time but now I wonder if I can get Stick to do that.

Another attendant was waiting in my room with a cup of tea, weird Chinese candy, and a bowl of rose petal water. I knew what to do with tea and weird candy (drink one and ignore the other) but I’ve never actually been presented with a bowl of rose petals. Pretty cool! Although it was mostly psychological… it didn’t really feel any different from plain water.

I did pretty well with my limited Chinese (my primary students taught me most basic body parts), but when the attendant wanted me to take my robe off and wrap up in a towel, though, the thought of a naked waiguoren was too much, and she resorted to sticking out the towel and mumbling quickly into her shoulder. Needless to say, it took me an extra long time to catch on to these instructions, but eventually I did, and lay down on the table.

I’ve often complained that nothing is fast and simple in China, but it finally worked out to my advantage. You can’t get eyebrow shaping without a facial. And that means an hour’s worth of pressure massage, warm oily stuff, cold face-creamy stuff, a different kind of a massage with a different kind of cream, a neck and arm massage while the facial potions worked their magic, oh, yeah that eyebrow stuff, then another massage with another cream. Amazing. I didn’t want it to end.

Unfortunately the price I got (88 RMB) was a special new-customers promotion, and before I could leave, I got harassed to buy a package of 20 facials for 6000 RMB, or become a member for 5000 RMB and get 50% off everything, or at least try the rose bath and body massage package. The hard sell ruined my mellow feelings, and actually made me less interested in returning, but I may go back for a bath.

Wangfujing Snack Street

It’s time for another trip to Wangfujing to visit the foreign-language bookstores! I’ve read everything in the house at least twice (Except for Scarlett, because seriously, once was more than enough.) and needed to restock, and Stick was looking for a German-English dictionary because he’s decided to learn German instead of Chinese.

On our way to the bookstores, we wandered down the Wangfujing snack street, a food-only nightmarket mix of delicious and nausating food on skewers. Candied strawberries, squid bits, chicken kebabs (heads, feet and all), the smells of frying noodles and roasting meats and fermented tofu.

The row of stands is pretty busy, and vendors try to outshout each other. Some of them use English to get our attention. Hello, chicken, ok! Hello, baozi, ok! Hello, food, yes? Hello, ok, strawberry! Ok? Hello! You look! Ok? I’m starting to wonder if there’s anything that can’t be expressed with Hello and OK when one fellow calls out:

“Hello, I love you!”

(It turns out that the Wangfujing Playboy said that same thing to Beijing blogger Penglisha the same weekend. So much for fidelity!)

The Red Sea

If you are not familiar with the whereabouts of the Red Sea, you can pretty well say it runs down the eastern border of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula on the Israel border, where you will find the Taba Hotels complex, down through Sharm el Sheikh, onto Hurghada, and then Soma Bay and beyond. These are the names of the best known hotel and resort areas. It is a part of the world that has been a must for scuba divers almost for ever.

The question here is, when is the best time to visit, because Egypt and the Red Sea have classically been a winter sun destination for European Holidaymakers. I have visited Taba, and Sharm in the early Spring, when the weather was pleasant, but it became very cool in the evenings, and Soma Bay in July when the temperature was consistently 45 degrees, but with no humidity, and a good breeze, it was more than bearable!!

The main difference between the two visits was the fact that at Taba it was relatively busy, Sharm was packed, whereas at Soma Bay there was only 10% occupancy in a superb hotel called Les Residence des Cascades!!

Having said that there is increasing evidence that tour operators are now concentrating on the Egypt Red Sea area in the summer months, believing it to be more profitable for them than Spain or the Meditteranean in Euroland.

This means prices that were low in the summer months are now rising with demand.

School holidays are now expensive, but the season as in Europe now runs from May until October. This means the Tour Operators have their capacity geared to these months. In other words if you can travel in September, when incidentally the water is warm for scuba divers, or May and June, then you may well find some real bargains.

One piece of advice is don’t book early. If you can wait until late April or early May before booking June, it is likely the Operators will not have sold their allotment of beds, so prices can tumble dramatically.

So when is the best time to go to the Red Sea, the answer is probably June.

Info about Kenia

Kenya is a part of the vast continent of Africa and yet it can provide you with an experience that is out of Africa. A Kenyan Safari is something that everyone visiting Africa should go for. The beaches of Kenya are untouched and unexplored. There is a vast coastline, which is protected by Coral reefs and hence is devoid of any pollution or sharks. You might be the only people on this beach except for the locals. Hence, it will give you the experience of a remote island. These beaches are surrounded by a vast expanse of wildlife.

Kenya - Unplugged
The famous safaris of Tsavo, Masai Mara and Lake Nakuru are situated in Kenya. Kenya is called the Cradle of Humanity and has unsullied beaches and thriving wildlife. The migration of wild beasts in the Masai Mara has been recorded a million times but you have to see it to believe. You should be sensible when visiting Swahili cities as they can be dangerous.

Tsavo is another place, which has featured in the movies. Famous for its ingenious man-eaters of Tsavo, made famous by the movie starring Val Kilmer, the place is another good tourist attraction. You will keep hearing the word ‘Karibu’, which means welcome in the local dialect. There are various flights connecting Kenya to the rest of the world. Most of them fly straight to Mozambique.

Lake Magadi is the most southerly of the rift valley lakes in Kenya. The place is very remote and hence is scarcely visited by tourists. However, it is an excellent place to visit as the thick encrustation of soda gives it a lunar appearance. This is the most mineral rich of all the soda lakes.

History enthusiasts can head to the Gede ruins hidden in the forests. These ruins consist of a vast colony of houses and mosques, which are engulfed in mystery. There are no records of this place’s existence in the textbooks of history making them even more mysterious. Excavations, which were carried on in this place, have led to the discovery of startling facts about the history and trade of the place.

Savannah and Safari in Kenia

The savannahs of Kenya are a home to a wide range of wildlife. One of the most frequently seen wildlife is the spotted hyena, yet little is known about them.
In the traditional African society, the Hyena has been branded ‘the coward one’.
This has been due to the way of feeding of the hyena. Known as a scavenger, the hyena is actually a great hunter and scavenging only makes 5%- 10% of their meals.
They rarely leave any evidence especially because they devour everything. For example they can make a kill in the night and the only sign will be light blood stains.
In the recent years the complexity of the hyenas has been revealed. Lots of time has been dedicated to studying them. This article is about hyenas and their survival tactics in the savannahs of Kenya. They range throughout sub-Saharan Africa in savannah, arid areas, and open woodlands. So far they aren’t present at the coast.
There exist three species of hyenas in Africa. Two species are found in Kenya.
The most common being the spotted hyena, crocuta crocuta.
They live in groups called clans and the clan is under the leadership of the oldest female, the alpha female. Interestingly, the females are dominant over the males and are heavier than them. The females genitalia are very masculinized which contributes to their being aggressive. Such sex dimorphism is not common with other wildlife. This is due to the presence of higher level of testosterone in the female’s body than that of the males.
A distinguishing feature with the hyenas is the ‘haunch-back’ and short hind legs. They hold their head low when they walk. Usually the head has a rounded skull and long ears. They have extremely strong jaws and a complex acidic digestion system. This is one of the factors that give them a step ahead for survival. They are capable of ingesting bones, horns, hooves and the tough animal skins.
Only the hair is not digested and this usually comes out in the form of bolus or locally referred to ‘hyena hair ball’. All this bone matter that they eat is what makes the hyena feces chalk-white.
They hunt in packs in a way that could be termed as ruthless as they do not have a killing bite. They lack in hunting technique and most cases they run down their victim to exhaustion. Usually they attack their prey and tear chunks before their victim dies.
It is interesting to know that lions steal lots of their kills. It is true that hyenas do the final cleaning by chewing the bones and the skins left by others. In some cases the hyenas have succeeded to steal from the lions but in most of occurrences the reverse is more common.
The reproduction and life cycle is not seasonal. The females do not however mate with their members of the clan. They can take any other wandering male for mating and discard him. Four months is the gestation period and usually give birth to up to four cubs. These are usually black in color with some others having small taint of black. A weird thing that happens with the cubs is competition over who nurses first.
This in most cases result in fighting for dominance. The looser usually starves to death and this is only with the female cubs. Hyenas, unlike other wildlife take very long to wean their cubs. It may take between 14-18 months. The female can lactate up to 12 months with milk that is very high in protein percentage.( 14%). The cubs start following the mother to the point of kill when they reach 1 year.
They do not bring back food to the den. They eat to their fill on the spot.
The female cubs stay in the clan of their birth but males are kicked out when they reach around 2 years. Apart from playing with the cubs the male has no role in upbringing of the cubs.
One clan can have between 20-100 members, all on the matriarchal system. All the members are related. Each clan digs its own den which comprises of deep and long tunnels to accommodate the clan. They mark their territory through anal sac secretions. This is a paste that they use to define their boundary and is deposited at the edge of their territory. That is their home-territory that they protect and intruders are not welcome. They have a greeting system of sniffing each others genitalia and also as a way of identification or recognition within members of the same clan.
To the untrained eye, it is difficult to differentiate between males and females. This is because of the physical resemblance of the female’s genitalia to that of the male. But in any case they are female organs. The females are not hermaphrodite as some have claimed at first sight.
Hyenas have ‘toilets’ whereby all the members go to deposit their dung. This adds to the boundary markings of their territory.
They communicate in a number of ways: When about to attack the tail is held high, when it is held forward over the back, it is a sign of excitement. And when frightened they hold the tail tucked between the legs. When there is presence of food, this is the time you hear the famous ‘hyena laughter’ especially in the night. This laughter
is a call to other clan members and can be heard up to 3 kilometers away.
It is important to note that though hyenas portray cowardly behavior, they can be extremely dangerous. They should be left alone, least intimidated and their respect awarded to them.

Best time to visit Kenia

Everybody who thinks they know what they are talking about will tell you the best time to visit Kenya is between July and September. The reasons for this are firstly that the wildebeest in their hundreds of thousands are arriving from the Serengeti.

This has the very unfortunate side effect of dramatically increasing the number of tourists in the region, and places like the Masai Mara are inundated with them, and this means two things to the prospective tourist.

The first thing is that prices go through the ceiling, and secondly when your minibus driver takes you to see the wildebeest crossing a river, you will be one of dozens of vehicles full to the brim with tourists, all watching the same animals. This is not my idea of a safari,in fact it is my idea of hell, because I want to be alone with my family in a vehicle, and alone with the animals.

The other time the experts tell you to avoid is between March and June, which is the time of the long rains, and November, which is the time of the short rains.

November may just be the best time to visit Kenya, and go in the first two weeks, because the prices are much less, the tourists have departed, and it is now the wildebeest begin their long march back to the Serengeti, and the sight of miles and miles of them is something you will never forget..

Tropical rain is extraordinary in itself with torrential rain, and the most incredible electrical storms, but not solid rain, just heavy showers of up to a few hours. You now see the golden brown colours in the Masai Mara beginning to go green again, and the speed of the transformation is incredible.

So ignore the wise pundits, and go to Kenya in early November for a much less expensive vacation.

Belize´s Dreams

They have said that Belize is one of the most beautiful places to spend your honeymoon or a romantic getaway. Belize is a place where you can enjoy a different type of lifestyle if only for a few days. Once you have visited this beautiful place, you will not want to leave. Belize is known worldwide for the unique wildlife and their many historical structures that date back hundreds of years. Belize has some of the most wonderful structures you can find in the world such as the Maya ruins.

One of the greatest things to experience in Belize is the Bird Watching Tours. These tours can last from 1-7 days and you decide to stay in the lodges if you prefer. During the day, you can take canoe trips or walks along the water to see the delightful birds that you cannot see at home. Some of these birds include the Toucan birds, blue-gray tanagers, parrots, anhinga birds, swallows and so many more. There are over 600 different types of birds for you to try to see while you are here if you enjoy bird watching. There are also the birds that migrate to Belize during different times of the year. This is something that you will want to make sure you experience on your trip to Belize. If bird watching is not your favorite thing to do you can still enjoy the walks along the waters edge and the trails through the jungle.

If you are looking to get more personal with the wildlife and love water, then another hot thing to do in Belize is diving into the beautiful waters of Belize. They have over 50 different spots to dive. You be in one spot swimming with the Barracuda to another spot swimming with sharks and stingrays. There are endless spots to dive from and witness many different sea creatures in their own natural habitat. Here you can come close to various ocean life and watch as they go about their daily activities. If this is something you are looking into doing on your trip, the best time to visit then would be between the months of April and June.

Belize is one of today’s greatest places to visit or honeymoon. If your not much into getting out in the waters or the jungles, there are also many other attractions such as the city of Belize. The shopping is great in the city and they have many great places to dine as well.

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