Travel Crafts

I crocheted two small bags and a scarf out of the one (huge) ball of yarn I brought with me to Mongolia. I gave one of these bags to Odna, my friend Urna's aunt (Odna and Urna are pictured below in a restaurant in Sainshand, Mongolia). The other one I gave to Urna's awesome grandma. Odna intends to use hers as a makeup case and I think it's the perfect size for that.

The scarf, which I will feature tomorrow, is for Urna. I finished it on the plane ride from Beijing to JFK and have to send it to her soon. I hope she likes it!

This yarn is the same kind I used to make my grocery totes a while back.

Almost Over Our Jet Lag

John and Rachel under the "Scholar's Tree" (it seemed appropriate) in the Forbidden City.

Sorry for the delay in posting these photos. Although we're back home and the faster internet connection ostensibly makes it easier to log on, I've been taking a break from blogging for the past couple of days as I try to get over my horrible jet lag. Interestingly, John and I found ourselves on nearly opposite jet lag sleep schedules over the past few days. I have been waking up somewhere between 2am and 4am, after going to sleep around 10:30pm, while he has been going to sleep between 2am and 4am! In any event, it seems that we're both beginning to adjust to being daylight dwellers in North America again, so I present a final post about our last days in China!

Our friend Sandra was a wonderful host- she's working on creating a website called Savour Asia and we were fortunate enough to accompany her to many delicious Beijing restaurants in the name of web research! We also wrote an article on Mongolian cuisine for her website- check it out! One of the things we already miss about China is the delicious food, like the dish pictured below:


Here's a close-up of John and me on the Great Wall of China:



Here's John outside the Forbidden City, at what may be the most famous place to take a photograph in Beijing!



Here's a particularly quiet courtyard in the Forbidden City:



And here's John outside of Mao's Tomb in Tiananmen Square:


I guess that this blog will likely now morph back into a craft blog. I hope you've enjoyed following us on our travels. Please stop back occasionally to read about my crafting adventures as well!

Some Night Market Photos

We've returned and in spite of some bad jet lag (or maybe because of it), I'm keeping my promise and posting photos of the Beijing Night Market, along with some of the tasty morsels we ate there!

I believe those of you who know us well are aware that we approached this experience with an open mind and an awareness that cultural difference is totally relative- what's unique in one context is familiar in another. For those of you whom we haven't met, please understand that we experienced these foods not as "other" or "weird" but rather as a way to expand and broaden our own horizons. And we were not disappointed- John liked the scorpions so much that he ate 1 1/2 of them (minus the stinger) and I found starfish to taste remarkably similar to breaded pork chops.

What's the Most Interesting Thing You've Ever Eaten?

Before this trip, I'd have said scorpion. Now John and I can add silkworm larvae and starfish to the list. Yes, starfish. On a stick.

If you want to see photos of these adventures, I want comments! Please write in and tell us what unusual foods you've encountered and then I'll post photos of some of us eating some really interesting (and sometimes tasty!) stuff.

Oh, and in case you're wondering- 2 scorpions on a stick are quite pricey, at $6.75 US. Silkworms, on the other hand, come about 8 to a stick and are only .65 cents US. Starfish is served one to a stick for $2 US.

Now, don't you want to see pictures??!

We're headed home today so I'll be posting lots of picture-heavy posts once we get back. I'm not just being coy with this post- it's actually difficult to post to Blogger in China. Stay tuned!

Wild Wall Beijing

We had a great time climbing on the "wild" Great Wall of China on Sunday. We took a hike through some brush up to a section of the Great Wall that is not repaired or technically open to the public. It was an amazing, off-the-beaten-path experience and we're thankful that our gracious hosts helped us get there! We finished off with a lovely bowl of noodles at a restaurant called The Schoolhouse. Yum!

Vote for Qualia!

Please go to www.artvoice.com and vote for QUALIA in the Battle of the Bands this week! It's my brother's band and I want him to win!


(More posting to come... we're in China now and it's been a bit difficult to post for the last several days...)

Luggage Bliss, or Why Ben is on our List of Top Ten People in the World

Just a brief update-- our luggage is en route from the airport right now. It's coming with Sandra's husband Ben, who is a huge hero for bringing it for us as he's just returning from a long overseas flight himself. I'm sure the last thing he wanted was to haul 3 suitcases belonging to other people, but we are forever indebted. Our train leaves for Mongolia in less than 10 hours. That's too close a call for my tastes.

No more blogging for a few days, unless my wifi connection works on the Trans-Siberian railroad. ;)

Beijing: Curio City, Peking Duck, Massages... and Still No Luggage

Well, despite our lack of luggage (we've been assured that it's on its way from NY at the moment, please cross your fingers), we managed to make the most of this layover day in Beijing. This morning we traveled to Beijing Curio City so that we could check out an "ancient weapons shop". The authenticity of the antiques on offer is questionable, of course, but John managed to find some items that were interesting even if they're of the faux variety!

I found a really beautiful, hand-embroidered baby carrier. Since the price quoted for this item was approximately $600 US and because the quality of the embroidery was pretty amazing, I do believe it's the real deal. Much out of my price range, of course, but I thought that fellow crafters might like to see an antique Chinese Baby Bjorn:



From there we made our way to a well-known Peking duck restaurant for lunch, the Beijing DaDong Roast Duck Restaurant. In addition to the obvious choice of a whole crispy duck for lunch, we also got duck hearts with lily, dragon beans, and beef with chrysanthemums. Sandra, John and I all agreed that the duck hearts were the most delicious item, but the beef was quite pretty so it's featured below:



From DaDong we made our way down a bustling thoroughfare to a therapeutic retreat called Bodhi, where an 80 minute foot reflexology treatment included a basic shoulder and back massage, and was just what we needed after a long plane ride. The inevitable comparisons between John (who's 6'9" tall) and Yao Ming amused our three male massage therapists to no end.

All in all, it's been a fun day! It would have been a bit more fun in our own clothes, of course, but c'est la vie.

We Made It to Beijing... Too Bad We Can't Say the Same for our Luggage

Just a quick post to let you all know that we've made it to Beijing. The trip itself was fairly uneventful- a couple of slight delays but when you're flying for 13+ hours, a delay of one and a half hours seems nominal! Our friend Sandra, who I know from my Harvard days, is a wonderful and gracious host. We're staying in her lovely apartment and she has been kind enough to lend us clothes UNTIL OUR LUGGAGE ARRIVES. Yes, that's right, we are sans baggage for the day. We've been reassured by Air China that our luggage will arrive on a flight from JFK tonight. We're hoping for the best, since we leave tomorrow morning at 7:45 AM for Mongolia. Good thing I brought all my research essentials (computer, digital voice recorder, paperwork) in my carry-on bag, I guess!