The Beautiful Island of Lombok

So since I'm a few posts behind I am going to skip forward to my trip to Jakarta. I arrived on Tuesday night at around 8 pm. I eventually made it through the customs line and found Mike. He had been waiting for a while because he came straight from work and still had a birthday cake from his office celebration. I was happy to see him and catch a cab to his apartment. Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia and it is full of people, cars, mopeds and smog. I don't think it is as dirty as Beijing but it could give Beijing a run for the title. We chatted for a brief bit and then headed to bed. Both of us were exhausted and our flight left for Lombok the next day.

In the morning, I gave Mike his birthday presents, some terra cotta soldiers and an 2008 Olympic pin set. My real present was being here on his birthday. After all the gifting, we headed back to the airport and left for Lombok.

We had a small layover in Jogjakarta which suffered so badly from the recent earthquake. We didn't even have time to leave the plan but did see some of the relief crews unloading supplies. Hopefully, the city can find some quiet time to recover. This is questionable given the continuing aftershocks and the worsening situation with Mt. Merapi, an active volcano located nearby. However, we got out to Lombok with no problems. We arrived in Lombok and taxied our way to our hotel, Quinci Villas. If your ever in Lombok, its a great place to stay. The pool overlooking the ocean makes for great relaxing and the staff and the food are really great. The outdoor shower and bathroom were interesting especially when the geckos showed up at night. Here's some pics from the hotel:

After relaxing by the pool, we agreed to do a little treking in the mountains near our hotel. It was supposed to be soft treking but the uphills killed me. I swear I could swim forever but a flight of stairs will have me gasping for air. First we started off at the monkey house. Mike had a ball feeding the monkeys and talking to them. He really likes monkeys. They were a little agressive but would take the peanuts out of your hand. The monkey king didn't like the smaller monkeys getting in on his action and would routinely chase them off. After the monkey action was done, we began our trek up to the ridge top. As I huffed and puffed my way up, our guide just kinda ambled his way up while smoking a clove cigarette. He does this everyday but I was dying. After we got up to the top, the views were great and the hike much easier. However, going down was pretty treacherous and wiped out a few times and will have some small scar reminders of the trek. Here are some pics of the adventures of Mike and Jen on the mountainsides of Lombok:

After treking, we took the next day off to lounge by the pool. I of course got too much sun but had a restful and relaxing day. Here are some pics from my deck chair:

The next day we headed out for some snorkeling on the Gili Islands off the coast of Lombok. We took off on our small boat, the Kura Kura (or Turtle in Indonesian). Mike and I were both a little tenative about going very far in this little outrigger boat, but we had a great time and the snorkeling was great. Lots of sea turtles, reef life, and colorful fish.

My Last Sunday in Beijing

Sometimes an almost perfect day can make everything all right. Sunday was as close as I'm gonna get for a while. I slept in a bit and then did laundry. I had to move rooms from the second floor to the fifth because of some big group. I could have raised a stink about it but our tour gal, Jasmine, is so nice that I just went with the flow. With my laundry drying, I had a lot less to move which was nice.

Then I grabbed some lunch and headed to the Dongyue Temple in Chaoyang district. I had read about this Taoist temple and was fascinated. In Taoist belief, the world is divided into different departments that deal with everything from birth to death. The temple has a huge courtyard with small rooms or shrines lining it. Inside each is a department dealing with an area such as The Department for Implementing 15 Kinds of Violent Death to the Department of Water. Each room has figures on each side consisting of men, women and a variety of other creatures with a major Tao figure sitting in judgment above them all. Here's a small sample:

The rest of the temple was just as interesting and there were very few people which suited me just fine. I wandered around from room to room to room. At the back of the temple, the Beijing Folk Arts Museum had a nice collection of items from different Chinese festivals with really nice English notes and titles. Often when I go to a museum everything is in Chinese or I get a tour in Chinese. So this was a nice turn around.

After Dongyue, I headed to the Lama Temple which is the largest Buddhist temple in Beijing and its dominated by Tibetan and Mongolian monks. Given China's relationship with Tibet, its interesting to find this small Tibetan oasis in a bustling city. As I exited the subway, I simply followed my nose because the smell of incense was really strong. Fortunately the crowds were small here and I wandered around for another hour. Here's a small sample of pics from Lama Temple:

Eventually I decided to head down the street to find the Confucian Temple and Imperial College. This proved a bit more challenging than I thought, but after some walking and a quick walk down a hutong, I finally found it. As I entered the courtyard, it was clear that renovations were underway which were really needed. China's government has a conflicted relationship with its Confucian past and had really let the site go. It was nice to see the investment in the site even if it meant that I couldn't really enjoy it to its full potential. It was in this college that students were placed into small cells as part of the completion of their degrees. While many were successful and had their names placed on tablets within the temple, many others went mad from the process. The most outstanding feature of the temple was large archway made of green glazed tiles that challenged the students to study hard and learn. Also there seemed to be some sort of art installation being put up involving a scaffolding, old bikes, and a couple of Italians yelling. Here's a few pics of from the Temple/College:

After all of this temple action, I decided to have some American food and headed to the subway to go to Steak and Eggs. Just as I was finishing my meal in walked Asher from our program. We sat and chatted for a few minutes as he ordered some food. Then two more students walked in, Sara and Jenny, and we all chatted and ate. After everyone finished dinner, we headed to Tiananmen Square to see it at night and also because Sunday marked the 17th anniversary of the Chinese army's violent reaction to the democracy protests.

The whole mood was pretty somber and the no one was being allowed in. The police presence was really high and we tried to take some pictures but they only ended up blurry. After that we decided to head to Wanfujing which is a major shopping district in Beijing and also close to Jenny and Sara's hotel. They are working for a very prestigious law firm for 3 weeks after the program ended.

Wanfujing is also known for its food vendors which sell everything on a stick, including scorpions, cicadas, squid, starfish, and lots of other things that I couldn't even identify. Asher wanted to try the scorpions so Jenny and I agreed to try them too. They were so fresh that they were still moving on the stick! But they weren't moving after they were fried on the grill for a few minutes. Then pop them in your mouth and they tasted like fried potatoes or french fries. Could have been the grill but they weren't bad. Asher's got the pics of use eating them so I'll try to post that later. We also tried the starfish and I would not do that again. Imagine chewing on seaweed with a really crispy shell. It was awful! The veggie pancake that I had with a spicy chili sauce was nice. The banana fritters were also really tasty. Here are some pics of the various offerings available streetside:

We said goodbye to Sara and Jenny for the night and Asher and I walked down the street to get a cab. We had a great chat on the way home about traveling and politics. He was excited to be heading home the next day and I envied him a little bit. I was excited to go to Jakarta and see my buddy Mike for his birthday, but I was also ready to come home soon. Finally we arrived back at PKU and I hit the bed for lovely night of sleep.

17th Anniversary of Tiananmen Protests

Sunday marked the 17th anniversary of Tiananmen and several of us went to the square to see what the government's reaction would be. Usually Tiananamen is bustling with people and lights at all hours of the day and night. But on both Sunday and Monday, guards were posted at all tunnels leading to the square and the police force around the square was intense. It was odd to see the square empty with only a few buses, police vehicles and guards marching to and fro. Apparently several people attempted small protests but were immediately detained. I'm glad that we didn't try anything stupid, but we were all hyper vigilant because even we knew that the police were out in force.

It was downright odd to be honest. The state controlled media mentioned nothing about the anniversary despite huge protests in Hong Kong and Macau. This silence extends to young people in Beijing as well. Many students that we talked with at PKU didn't know about the event until they arrived at PKU. Students and professors at PKU played key roles in the protests and several were killed in the resulting violence. Several professors are still living under a pseudo house arrest which does not allow them to leave Beijing.

While this seems like a somber way to leave Beijing its pretty symbolic of my experiences here. Despite my lack of Chinese language skills, I have found myself impressed with the people I have had the good fortune to meet. They are optimistic and resilient folks and for the most part they understand the system. Most people seem to work within it to get where they need to go. But there may a time in the future when the younger generation begin to rise in power in the Communist Party and change may start to happen. I'm not sure though. Being able to make money and live a better life is a good substitute for counter revolution. We will all have to wait and see what happens.....

Finally done....

Just finished up my exam and now I'm off to see the National Museum on Tiannanmen Square. We have a farewell banquet tonight at Summer Palace which should be fun. Then hopefully some dancing and such later.

Last night I went to a local Battle of the Bands at 13 Club down the street from Peking University. Interesting to say the least. Typical punk club with bands of boys making noise and all in Chinese of course. Nonetheless it was a nice break from studying and I think it was worth the walk and the cover to get in.

My pictures and stories about Xi'an will have to wait until later. Maybe until I get to Jakarta and have a bit more down time. Sunday and Monday will be filled with last minute sight seeing
and picking up gifts to bring back. Then I head to the airport to go to Jakarta on Tuesday. It'll be a long day with some more layover time in Hong Kong. I'm looking forward to Mike and I's trip to Lombok for some beach sitting, snorkeling, and volcano trekking. But mostly just to be able to get some sleep and relax.

Guess that's all for now and I promise to get the Xi'an pics and stories up soon!

Winding down.....

One more day of class left and then we have our final exam on Saturday. Despite the fact that only one person has ever failed the thing, its still makes for some nervous moments. I'm trying to study today but its the hottest day since we arrived. With temperatures of 30 degrees Celsius or 91 degrees Fahrenheit, its kinda miserable. Most places are open air so AC is hard to find. I've never been able to study in bed so my room is out of the question plus my roomie is driven me up the wall. So here I am at Ao Tu or the Uneven Photo Bar again to check up on the world and study.

As I was typing this one of the owners, Xiao Tu, brought a treat over for me. Yesterday was the Dragon Boat Festival and everyone celebrates by eating zongzi which consists sticky rice with dates wrapped in bamboo leaves and then cooked. I wish I could have seen some of the races, but yesterday was booked with class and an invitation to meet with law students at Peking University.

Yesterday, the Peking University Law Student invited us to a forum to talk about studying the law and many other topics. The students were eager to talk and had many questions for us. I feel as though I learn far more from these brief interactions than I have on any touristy outing that we've gone on. Several students wanted to talk politics and we discussed constitutional law issues and Nixon a while. One student wanted to discuss JFK's assassination which is a topic of interest to me personally. We also discussed Taiwan's threatened succession from Mainland China and its timing to coincide with the 2008 Olympics.

They were particularly concerned with our opinion about if the US would step in to defend Taiwan if China were to launch some sort of military attack. I was honest that I knew very little about the situation but sincerely hoped that a peaceful solution could be worked out. Taiwan is a particularly sensitive issue among many Chinese from the mainland. They view the tiny nation as part of China and many feel that they should rejoin PRC as Hong Kong has done. However, there are still many in Taiwan who are opposed to this and bad feelings persist from the Communist victory over nationalist forces in 1949. I would compare it to our own Civil War, but Taiwan is still a lingering reminder of this civil war that has yet to be resolved. While a lot of time has passed many people are not willing to simply forget and Taiwan's independent existence serves as a constant reminder of the remaining unresolved issues of China's civil war.

Another issue we discussed was Japan's potential entry into the UN Security Council. As with Taiwan, relations with Japan are a very sensitive subject in China. Japan's invasion and domination of parts of China before and during World War II. The Rape of Nanking was a very controversial book documenting the Japanese actions in the city of Nanking in 1937. Since this time Japan has failed to recognize or apologize to China for its actions. To this day, Japanese leaders honor their war dead without recognizing the atrocities committed against Chinese citizens. This is reflected in the attitudes of many Chinese toward Japan and Japanese people. One of my classmates who is Korean is often asked if he is Japanese which would probably lead to folks not talking to him or interacting with him very differently. One of our student assistants stated that he hates the Japanese government but likes most Japanese people. Another example happened when we were in Xian where a bar sported a sign that in English that "No Japanese allowed." So feelings still run very deep around this issue and the students we talked with were concerned about how this might give power to Japan. I explained that I had heard little about the issue and asked what their concerns were about the issue. As we began to discuss their views, our session ended and it was time to go. I have already received emails from two students and I look forward to continuing our discussions via email so that we can both learn from each other.

After all that talking I just wanted some quiet time. So I went to a local Starbucks wannabe coffee shop and read and emailed. Later I went with some folks to play pool at an Irish pub. We had a good time wandering around in the embassy district trying to find the bar as we were passed by little groups of soldiers marching around the block. It ended up being a late night because we are all horrible pool players. I'm looking forward to a quiet, early night as we get ready for final exams. Several of us are planning to go to a local battle of the bands tomorrow night featuring a death metal band, a pop band, hard rock, and a British style band. The guys are excited because the theme is "Keep defending men against injustice" and there's no cover for guys. I guess I've taken advantage of ladies night around town so I can't blame them for some equal treatment.

I still have to post about Xian but I am so tired and need to study some before heading home. So keep an eye out for it soon......