College Craziness and the Hessler Hustle

February seems like forever ago.

Streets of Macau

The Giant Buddha in Hong Kong

After returning briefly to Bangkok for a few days after the islands, we headed up north to Hong Kong to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The trip ended up being bittersweet. Hong Kong was awesome; John’s health was not. Somewhere during our tour, John was bitten by a particularly bitter mosquito. After several international phone calls, a few two-hundred dollar withdraws from the bank, and a dozen trips between the hostel and hospital, we were relieved to know that John was likely infected by Dengue Fever, a non-contagious, usually non-life-threatening severe tropical virus. Athough the parades, fireworks, and shopping was fun, the best part of the trip was making it through Chinese customs without purple-n-red-chili-pepper John tipping off the thermal temperature sensors.  Our return to Beibei was timely and rejuvenating. During the rest of February I spent countless hours preparing for the GMAT exam.

The month of March was completely dedicated to my MBA candidate profile. March 7 marked the date of the GMAT exam, which I took in Chengdu, China. While visiting, I befriended local Chengdu people Dan and Justin (wife and husband, respectively), friends of Maggie Zhou, a friend from Rongchang (Sean and Cassie’s teaching campus). I was able to see the famed Chengdu Pandas, visit the beautiful People’s Park, and beat the locals (Dan and Justin) in Chengdu-style Mah-Jongg. For those of you unfamiliar with Mah-Jongg, this is quite a feat.

After returning from Chengdu, I spent my non-teaching hours as a busy hermit: writing/editing college essays, researching schools, filling out applications, etc. After the whole process was over, I was able to take two weeks for The "Peter Hessler" Experience: visit the famed Three Gorges Yangtze River Cruise and a tour around Fuling and the White Crane Ridge Museum. These sites were all mentioned in Peter Hessler’s River Town. the book I read this summer, previous to my China experience. I am reminded of his stories everyday. It seemed poetic to get to visit these spots during my teaching experience here, living in a town down by a river..

Cribbage n' beer on the boat. I lost in cribbage many times. 

*China owns the only underwater museum in the world, The White Crane Ridge Museum. Unfortunately, it is nothing more than a glorified submarine ride. The impressive, ancient carved rocks that are now completely submerged due to the Three Gorges Project are barely made visible through the murky river water, and the visitor only has six 3’ diameter glass window from which to gaze upon them.

*China has the world’s largest power station in terms of installed capacity (Yangtze Three Gorges Project), generating 22,500 MW. It’s a great feat that benefits countless people, yet it also displaced 1.3 million people and damaged many archaeological sites (like the one above) in the process. Was this right to do? The answer surely can’t be black or white.

*Chinese rarely shake hands, and surface level talk is minimal if not nonexistent. After all, surface level talk can be costly when living in the suburbs of a city with 34 million people. A typical conversation with a passing student in Beibei goes like this…

ME: “Helllooo! How’s it going?” (often forgetting one of my over 800 student’s names)
Student: “Going to eat! You know.. chi fan!” (After several nervous, failed attempts to greet with a more intricate English phrase)
ME: “Okay sounds good. See you!” (No handshake or hug, just the standard yet slightly awkward wave)

Three Gorges River Cruise

Koh Phan...gone, Thailand

As fast as the island life came, it went. Our stay on the small islands of Koh Tao and Koh Phangan went by in an unforgettable two weeks of laid-back bliss. While we spent some time snorkeling, exploring the islands. climbing forest paths and swimming under waterfalls, most of the time was spend in peaceful solitude with our cheap oceanside bungalow. Between intense games of low stakes cribbage, we marveled at the beauty of the sea-skyline. Sunsets were unbeatable, as was the seafood. I don't know if I'll ever return to Cambodia, Bangkok, or even Hong Kong, but I'll certainly be back to Thailand's southern beaches. There is a part of me deep down inside that yearns for island life.. perhaps I'll let that part out when I retire in 30 some years :).

Anyway, there's lots to catch up on (yes, I'm back in Beibei, China, already... forgetful blogging occurs frequently after getting a dose of island life). I'll let the pictures and videos do the talking..

Grilled barracuda (best fish I've ever eaten) with fresh coconut 

A little seaside studying...

Swimmin' with Erik

One of the many stunning sunsets

John poses with magnificence

The deck of our seaside bungalow... complete with two card tables, chairs, and two hammocks

Panoramic of inner-island waterfall, Koh Phangan

Lovers' Rock
(Kassy and Sean)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

While this side trip was by no means planned, it worked out perfectly for us. Instead of traveling by land and incurring hefty boarder crossing fees, we saved a few bucks by taking a flight to Malaysia and spending a day layover in seemingly the most diverse city in the world. Everything about KL (except for the language and the "wrong" side of the road driving) was familiar: high scale malls, Skyscrapers, Wendy's, nice cars.. And despite the Malay-inscribed advertisements,everyone spoke English. Our one full day was enough to enjoy Malay food (fantastic seafood), climb the KL tower to look at the Patroneus towers (the 4th and 3rd tallest buildings in the world, respectively), and even get a taste of home with a Wendy's lunch and Outback Steakhouse typhoon bloom. After our brief visit, we found ourselves flying in seaside to Surat Thani, Thailand for a couple weeks of island life.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia's capital, was a very sobering visit. Aside from blatant examples of sex trafficking and prostitution, Phnom Penh is also the site of the Killing Fields; one of several hundred locations in Cambodia where tens of thousands innocent civilians were brutally beaten to death by members of Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge. These acts of genocide were carried out during 1975-1979... During which nearly 5 million Cambodians were systematically erased off the planet. After the Khmer Rouge were finally overthrown by Vietnamese troops in 1979, the Khmer Rouge retained presence and funding support for 10 years from countries such as Great Britain and the United States. A majority of the leadership of Khmer Rouge remain free, while a few select leaders still await trial, charged with crimes against humanity and genocide. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to inform themselves about what happened in Cambodia in the late 1970s. Some of the things I learned about in the Toul Sleung Prison and the Killing Fields tour would even make Adolf Hitler flinch.

While the somber nature of this city in repair brought about long faces and early bedtimes, we still got plenty of lighter moments, such as playing chess in a smoothie shop or watching the Buddhist monks' tunics flow elegantly from the Mekong river breeze.

Ankor Wat, Cambodia

A few more pics from the 12th century mystical temples of Ankor Wat, the largest remaining religious ruins site in the world... Or something like that. Either way, these temples were of magnificent scale. While tramping around these ancient temples it seemed we were only missing khaki safari hats and a British accent to get the full on 18th century explorer experience. Prior to leaving Seam Reap (town near the Ankor Wat site), I also enjoyed a bit of the local "snack" specialty (see last two pictures).

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Hello friends, family, colleagues and all the good people on The List,

I am obviously back at that backpacking thing. I will be mobile for the next two months and blog posts are hard to complete with such fun new experiences constantly surrounding me. Therefor.. I will be uploading only the most important items to my blog for the next month... Just pictures. Remember though... If you send a personal note my way I promise to reply.

Enjoy the images!