Week 39: T-shirt Diva’s Excellent Adventure in China

The post about Greece a couple of weeks ago made me think of the reasons why I chose to visit Greece. When I made a decision that I wanted to see the world, I realized that I did not have enough funds to see the entire world. To enjoy trips and vacations, one needs funds – maybe a lot of funds. I just moved to California, started my first real (non-internship) job after college, and was technically just starting up… and broke.

Back then, I could not imagine seeing all the countries I wanted to visit. So, I made a list and prioritized. Having just visited Italy and England (Thanks to my Mom and Dad – what I considered a college graduation gift), I decided to visit what I considered the cities that were influential centers of the world. Having just visited Rome and briefly visited Tokyo, on my top three were Greece, Russia (still on the list, but lowered in priority), and China.

After graduate school and no social life for two years, I decided to give myself one more graduation gift: A trip to China. A close friend had always wanted to visit, so we figured this would be a good opportunity for us to get-together & enjoy a lifetime experience.

In actuality, this was a couple of years after grad school, and my actual gift from mom and me was a trip to Cancun (a subject for another post) and enjoyed a visit to Chichen Itza.

Back to the topic at hand…My friend and I found a tour that would suit our needs; cities on the tour were Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Hong Kong. It was a perfect combination for the two weeks that we had. Also, since the last stop was Hong Kong, my friend could spend some time with her friend and it will give me a chance to travel back home to the Philippines after the trip to chill out with my family – my vacation after the vacation.

My friend and I were quite accustomed to long flights. I am originally from Manila and she grew up in Vietnam (and Paris). The flight from San Francisco to Beijing was not a problem. Our first adventure though started at the airport: While we expected to be greeted by a tour bus or at least a van, we were greeted by a young lady and was led through a dark parking lot in what seemed to be a family car. My friend and I gave THAT look to each other – telepathically - I think we were both thinking “if we die now, at least we made it to Beijing.”

Obviously, we ended up both fine. The tour for the Beijing leg was actually a “private tour” with just my friend and I with a driver and a guide. This actually had some advantages… and disadvantages.

While in Beijing, we toured the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Temple of Heaven, and Ming Tombs. These sights were usually very crowded and we had to squeeze through a lot of people. My friend gave up taking a photo without people in it. We did a lot of walking during the tours and even more walking afterwards. My friend and I went shopping downtown and tried to navigate the nearby shops (She speaks some Chinese, I don’t). We even went to a wonderful Chinese Opera.

Of course, while in Beijing, we visited one of the gates of The Great Wall of China. It was a magnificent site and spanned miles and miles. We only had about an hour to explore, climb and take photos. It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip. One side of the wall was pretty crowded, so we decided to also explore the other side. It was a harder climb (hence less people), but we were younger and more adventurous. We had some truly unforgettable pictures from there.

Other highlights on our trip were seeing the Terracotta Warriors in Xian and the Li River Cruise and the Reed Flute Cave in Guilin. The Li River Cruise was so beautiful that it was worth it for me to skip lunch and take video and photos. Lunch that day was two ClifBars, but I took really great photographs - well worth it!

Xian and Guilin back then did not have as much infrastructure as Beijing. It seemed rather rural, but a refreshing change from the crowded smoggy Beijing. That said, we did miss some big city amenities; for example: the cab that we took in Xian was almost falling apart, so much so that we had to hold on to each other to prevent us from falling out. I remember that I had a difficult time finding places to get soda.

So, after almost a week, we could not wait to be in Hong Kong. Having congee in the morning, good dimsum for lunch and enjoying a good dinner; and having soda and Haagen Daz handy! It was a welcome site, indeed... And people around us spoke English! Even our hotel was the most luxurious hotel that we’ve stayed in – ever. The room was controlled by a panel on our nightstand, and I had a great time experimenting on what button to push for this or that.

I truly wish we had more time in China. There were so many more sites that we did not see and adventures to explore. In Beijing, we did not get to see the Summer Palace, which is supposed to be very beautiful. We did not get to visit Shanghai, the “Paris of the East.” Hong Kong probably has a whole week or two of sites to explore and we were only there for three days.

At least, I got to check it off my bucket-list. One more to go.

Week 38: On Aikido Seminars

It’s another aikido weekend. Well, most weekends, at least Saturdays, are for me. This one is a big one for me as I am doing my nidan (Second-degree black belt) demo this week. So, I thought it would be appropriate to write about aikido this week.

The shirt that I am featuring is probably one of my favorites. I bought it in Reno, while I was attending my first seminar by Hitohiro Saito Sensei. I was quite nervous, as always when I attend a seminar. Back then, I was not even a shodan (first degree black belt), maybe not even ikkyu (Third-degree brown belt), so I felt really intimidated by the sea of yudanshas (black belts) who attended. Clearly, this was very advanced training and I am not sure if I am ready for it.

I did have a lot of fun and learned a lot. The techniques were familiar, but after a day or so, my head was already spinning. One of my most memorable moments was when Saito Sensei came by and corrected the technique that my training partner and I were doing. He bowed to me, and asked me to attack him. I was very nervous, and my Japanese was very minimal, almost non-existent. However, I did the technique with him and even surprised myself because I he did not correct my attack.  It was an honor to train, even just for a few minutes, with a high-ranking master.  I was also thankful that I remember what my Sensei taught me.

I make it a point to attend Saito Sensei’s seminars every time he is in the area. Another opportunity is our bi-annual divisional trainings and yearly summer gasshukus. It is an excellent opportunity to refine my technique, gain new perspective, and reconnect with old friends and acquaintances. Onegai shimasu.

Week 37: My Big Fat Greek T-shirt Post... Opa!

It’s Greek Festival season in our area, so this week’s t-shirt brings us back to our travels to Greece.

As with all the T-shirts in the pile, this trip has been some years ago. However, it was a very enjoyable and memorable trip. We actually started our adventure with an unexpected extended layover (our connecting flight was late) at the Munich airport. If there is anywhere that you need to spend a layover in, it’s Munich. My husband is German-American, so we had planned to enjoy a German platter with authentic dumplings and brats and good German beer. The extended layover allowed us to enjoy a Bavarian pretzel and more beer. We even picked up my favorite stuffed guy/keychain who sings and some other Oktoberfest things.

Back to Greece…

Our adventure in Greece started in Athens. We arrived late, more like very early morning, and were taken to our hotel by “the crazy cab driver“ who drove on the dividing line of the freeway. One of the things that we first noticed was that people were still out that time of night. Later we learned, that it’s “essentially the law” in Greece for people to be out at night and party.

While in Athens, we enjoyed the views from Lycabettus Hill, toured the Parthenon, had an incredible dinner in old town Plaka (with the world’s most delicious dolmathes), toured a Greek coin museum, and even browsed through a Greek Farmer’s market.

We then took the ferry to Mykonos. The Greek ferries were top-notch: we were in first-class and at the front of the ferry. The seats were very comfortable and had table service where I had my first Greek coffee; medium sweet, of course, and got some good, hot food. We had brief stops at different islands, which were each a photographer’s dream.

Mykonos is known as the party island, and it lived to its reputation. Like in Athens, people party to the wee hours of the morning. We saw the famed windmills and pelicans that hung out in restaurants. It was also the island where my husband was first kissed (on the cheek) by a guy!

We also enjoyed some enjoyable diving and beach time. Drinks were named rather provocatively – and I do not think I can repeat their names in this post. I also was able to use some of my language skills to make the bus stop, since we almost missed our hotel. Thank you "Books on Tape"... I was too cheap for Rosetta Stone.

Mykonos was also our jumping point to Delos, one of the most important archaeological sites in Greece.  We spent a whole day in Delos where we had a guided tour. The excavations on the island (the entire island is an archaeological preserve) are among the most extensive in the Mediterranean. Lots of walking was involved, but so well worth it.

Of course, no trip to Greece is complete without a visit to Santorini. Santorini is probably one of the most beautiful islands in the world. The view from Fira at sunset is probably one of the places where one can feel “on top of the world” (The other place is on the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii).  Oia is a bus ride away from Fira and also has beautiful views. One of the young girls in our tour said that this city is even more beautiful.

We also enjoyed touring the ruins of Akrotiri; Santorini’s equivalent of Pompeii - enjoying views from a Greek winery, the beaches at the other side of the island, and lunch at a fabulous seaside taverna where I had my first moussaka. My husband became hooked on moussaka from that time on. Now I am craving for moussaka; I think I’ll grab an order or two from the festival next week.

Oh, last but not least – on our final evening in Greece in Athens, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and a small snack at the rooftop lounge of the Gran Bretagne overlooking a glistening “white spotlight lit” Parthenon. It was really quite awesome!

Yassou!

Week 36: Summer Concerts

I cannot let summer end without writing about concerts. We have gone to our share of concerts and have collected a number of t-shirts over the years. I’ve seen Sting (two or three times), The Rolling Stones, Seal, Pink Floyd, India Arie, Sade, Moody Blues, the Gypsy Kings, B.B. King, and Jimmy Bufett (my hubby’s favorite) among others in different venues in the Bay Area.

I think one of my favorite concerts was that of U2. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Bono rock it out in front of thousands of people at the Oakland Coliseum. He brought so much energy to the crowd and the atmosphere was electric. Also, since I was familiar to most of their songs, it was great to sing along with them.

Unfortunately, concert ticket prices are now really expensive. To get decent seats, one usually has to spend almost $100 per ticket. During these economic times, we really have to be selective on who we see. Also, with the great number of entertainment options in the Bay Area, it can be difficult to choose.

We do take advantage of local free concerts in the local park or during Art and Wine festivals. Communities usually offer free entertainment during the summer months. There is a lot of really good local talent out there. So, we don’t need to spend hundreds of dollars to have a really enjoyable outing.

Week 35: Paws!

I love animals – all sorts, even the ones that scare me. Hence, I bought this shirt. I love the paw prints. It reminded me of all the wildlife we saw in our trip, especially Jasper.

We saw our share of bunnies, squirrels, a herd of goats (from up close from our car), beautiful mountain sheep, elk (or wapiti as the Indians call them) and even a wolf (from a huge distance).

I wish we saw most of the animals in this T-shirt – except for the bears! Camping and bears usually come together, but I try my best to avoid them. Hence, I prefer a camp spot away from the garbage dumps (my friends usually let me explain this to the camp guy) and always keep food in the car.

The one thing that I just noticed was this shirt had a polar bear paw print in it. Really? Isn’t it just a few hundred miles off?

Polar bears... in Canada.