Beautiful, isn’t it? I took my first urban walk in the City of San Francisco since my return today, from home to Mt. Zion. It took an hour, around 3 miles. Along the way I encountered the usual playground, park setting, lunch at one of my favorites (My Father’s Kitchen on Divisadero for chicken Soup and Pho), and an inner courtyard. The city was warm, breezy and crystal clear, a once a year phenomenon each Fall. Today was the day.
In my initial plan I overlooked the possibility of capitalizing on the theme of 80 days around the world. I also thought that many of my friends outside the US would like to see what “home” here in San Francisco is like. So, let’s make it an even 80. I am attaching the next 12 days back in San Francisco as an addendum to my blog for my German, Chinese and friends of other nationalities so they can appreciate what home here in the US is to me.
Day 69: San Francisco Sunset District Steps: see the following for a project in our neighborhood:
Gee Kin was part of the planning and implementation of two beautifully designed tiled steps in the Sunset District where we live.
On my first day back, we decided to keep the Asian influence alive so we had lunch at King of Noodle.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/king-of-noodles-san-francisco-3
to be continued…
If I had had audio capability to enhance my blog, I would have inserted the Beatles song “In My Life” as the leader to this post. Its melancholy tone would have been apropos to my sentiment at the moment.
With this last official post to my blog, I wanted to share my thoughts on how fun, challenging, and rewarding it has been during my travels for 68 days around the world with myself and others. It has raced past and seldom felt lonely, particularly with the focus on sharing at least one event each day.
Having the blog felt the same as when you flick the TV on at home after a long day at the office. It’s comforting to hear the background noise as if others are in the room with you. Only at rare moments did I feel that I was communicating with outer space (anybody there? Any body??)
In any event, we are at the end of my adventure. It has been nothing less than a thrill. I’ve met some terrific people–Vladimir, Karen, and Meilina from my German class; the driver and guides in Uzbekistan; Morten in Emei Shan; and old friends Peter, Cordelia, and George from Hong Kong.
I tried my best to keep the pace on this travel magazine moving, not too heavy or intellectual, and fill the posts with timely information as I became more experienced in formatting more visuals.
My apologies again for any technical difficulties born in part by Google’s agreement with China and other conditions beyond my control. And pardon the caps being cumbersome and captions not aligning with pictures. I will have a word with the graphics department about its performance.
Since I am traveling back to San Francisco today, I’m recapping my trip through the panorama shots (not in any particular order) in case you missed them in the headers.
Photos, top to bottom:
1. Dresden Altstadt
2. Samarkand, Uzbekistan
3. Konigstein, Germany
4. Chengdu, China
5.Gaocheng, Turpan, China
6.Urumqi, China
7. Hong Kong MTR
8.Guangzhou Civic Center
9. Chengdu Railway Station
10. Top of Emei Shan, Szechuan
Call or email me if we have been out of touch during this time. I have lots of time and would love to hear from you.
Auf Wiedersehen, Zai Jian, and can’t wait to see Gee Kin, Melissa, and Julianne! Time to get back to the Real World!
With love,
Vickie Victoria
The purpose of my stop in HK was to visit with old friends. But it’s still irresistible–there are so many shops that you feel guilty avoiding them and not taking up the free AC at the front of the shop.
1. The equivalent of old Maxim’s Fast Food in the MTR at still not to be beaten prices–rice box with duck for less than $5US.
2. Apple Store flooded inside, even without a fancy staircase
3. Apple Store outside selling IPhone new release
4. Causeway Bay: the classic corner that takes 20 minutes to cross at peak–this was a sleepy weekday at lunch hour
5. more IPhone bargains
6. Boutique Deli items–Freeze-Dried Truffles, Chocolates, and other gourmet goodies
7. In case you are looking for snakeskin Remote-Control covers, hand over your $$$
Everything has improved remarkably…the food, the familiar faces, the language. Even the stifling heat and humidity are reminiscent of living in Hong Kong. Of course, the visual scene has changed significantly, and I can say it is virtually unrecognizable. The sleepy colonial version of the city is hidden or missing, and I have no bearings to the city. I headed over to a pedestrian street that was another recommended “must see”, known as Beijing Jie.
The first exciting discovery came from archaeological findings dating back to the Song, Ming, and Yuan Dynasties. In renovating the street in 2006, various layers of the street gates were unearthed. The pavings were preserved and covered in glass so you could see the different generations of paving for this ancient street. Now that was a thrill!
The second came from the wide, but short shopping street for locals. It was Friday night, and everyone was happily shopping or appeared to be. All the usual knockoffs but no top of the line. In the mix were a variety of clever crafts shops made modern and food vendors that differed from the one in Chengdu. These were less touristy and more for the local resident population.
Try Peking Duck sold by a duck skinner paired with an assistant who spread the plum sauce on a crepe and assembling just the right amount of duck. Four pre-rolled snacks for 10 Kwai, or $1.66. I bought some moon cakes and dried pork for my relatives in the Chinese version of Fouchon, all nicely packaged but primarily again for locals only. Lots of original designs and clever spins on old crafts.
And third, a great subway system is in place. I could easily figure it how to get back to the hotel without a hitch. All for the price of 3 Kwai or 50 cents. The high rises are staggering and similar to those in Chengdu, but with less night lighting.
Everyone on the subway missed my taking photos of them because they were intent on their smartphones and thought I was intent on mine. They never bothered to look up or be bothered.
Photos, from top, left to right:
1. There’s a Hi-rise city coming your way…
2. Beijing Street
3. Unearthing of Song, Ming and Yuan Dynasty Street paving and gates below glass at street level
4. Peking Duck to go for a song
5. Electronic big screen ads rival Picadilly or Times Square
6. Man still shops for daily greens al fresco despite modernization
7. Inside Guangzhou Metro station
8. Cell phone mania inside train–a world-wide phenomenon
9. Metro floor graphics for crowd control
This is Chinatown reinvented by Chinese for the Chinese. Despite being Disneylandish and very crowded, this recreation of an old street in Chengdu maintained some of its old buildings, walls and facades. It looked like a winner to the Chinese tourists, who were curious about all the vendors displaying their crafts and willing to try different food. There were plenty of demonstrations of brush painting, shadow puppets, Chinese instruments, and food preparation. I found quite a few new presentations of snacks that I had never seen before, so for me it was a worthwhile visit. And of course I was momentarily distracted by reproductions of original Chinese architectural features in the fretted windows of the shops and dining establishments.
1. Oysters and pearls
2. Jellied pudding with spicy dressing
3. Rolled rice noodles with spicy dressing
4. Bamboo with sweet rice stuffed in stalk
5. windows along restaurant
6. Hand painting
7. entrance to Jinli Street
8. vendor selling meat on skewers, dim sum and sweet rice dessert
9. Traditional windows
This city of 7.6 million people strikes me as being one of China’s prides–everything seems to be the latest and well done. The architecture and the people are more like Chicago than New York–better planning and friendlier. The buildings are exciting and refreshingly soft on the eye. Lots of lighting at night that’s fun to look at. The people are stylish but not over the top.
I have uploaded the missing photos from the previous posts to Instagram. Look for them at vifongit.
Attached is the fascinating history and interesting facts supporting my impression of Chengdu on Wiki: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chengdu
Photos, from top:
1. All-in-One Pilaf and Lamb Dish Vendors
2. Skewered Meat Vendor
3. Dried Nuts and Seeds Vendor with Yam Chips
Fast facts: The population of Bokhara today is 280,000. Bokhara is the oldest city and predates the others at 2750 years old. Just for comparison, Samarkand’s population is 500,000 and Tashkent’s is 3 million.
The land is flat, considered steppe and not desert (a desert designation is devoid of vegetation, and steppe has some visible vegetation if sparse–you know, kinda like the Bay Area).
Photos, from top, left to right:
1. Nodir Devon Begi Madrassah 1623. This is one of the later buildings dedicated not to the king but a lower ranking official. By the time the buildings were dedicated to others the central govt was already in decline. The phoenix birds show Indian or Chinese influence. The face at the top was not banned at the time in artwork and different interpretations are made as to whether images are acceptable or not. The use of multicolored tile and yellow is also a late development, compared with the earlier cobalt and turquoise monochromatic schemes.
2. trading market designed and as covered market at crossroads to two streets. There were 5 built-in the city but they didn’t work so well. The earlier strip markets developed organically around neighborhoods. These did not take into account where people lived and needed the services. These trading markets are now mainly tourist attractions after they were designated for specialized trades such as metalwork or arts and crafts. Open cross ventilation makes this a very cool and sustainable place in the summer though!
3.wood door detail inside trading center
4. the water system was crucial to survival of the cities. Bokhara was considered an oasis along the trade routes and served as the seat of many governments who conquered and ruled this strategic location. Water came from the river that separates Afghanistan and Uzbekistan, but is now piped from the mountains in Tajikestan.
5. the minaret, made of bricks, shows how creative their brick craftsmen were in designing and pushing the height of these lighthouses.
6. contemporary building using wood columns and doors decoratively.
7. The earliest building in Bokhara was built below grade and preceded the Mongol invasion around the 12th c. Most buildings, particularly Islamic structures were built on top of the sites of former sacred sites, so it is likely that an earlier building preceded this one. This building is devoid of tile decoration but shows how use of brick for both structural purposes and textured walls was used very successfully, prior to the introduction of tile.
8.Detail of brick work.
As I wind down this segment of my travels, I feel very sad to leave Dresden. Particularly having bonded with my German class, it is hard to say goodbye. Everyone has their lives to live beyond this momentary blip in the universe. I’m so grateful for having had the support and encouragement from family and friends to do this, at this time of my life, because it IS the time of my life.
I felt wistful about leaving out some shots that didn’t ever seem to fit into the theme for the day. This is a potpourri of architectural photos, a one-off sign, and some cultural relics. I’ll be leaving Dresden, overnighting in Frankfurt, then starting Segment 3 of the Silk Road this weekend.
Photos above, from top:
1. The Blood Center
2. Clinical buildings in the medical center area of Dresden.
3. Another clinical building.
4. Sign indicating from the Pirate Party that there is room for another million residents in Sachsen, the state where Dresden resides. It also implies that mixing and matching population is good for Saxony. (tap up the scale to read text).
Party elections are coming up and Angela Merkel is scheduled to come to Dresden on Saturday. Unfortunately, I will be off before then, but I would have definitively gone to see her.
Photos below, from top:
1. The Molkerei, a dairy and classic cheese shop that has been around for generations. The ornate decoration makes this a popular tourist stop.
2. The interior of the Frauenkirche, where Helena and I attended a concert. Maria Baumer played the part of Bach’s wife in several readings between Bach pieces. The concert was sponsored by the Moritzburg Festival.
3. Another panorama shot of Dresden and surrounding area from the Konigstein fortress. Zoom up to appreciate the beauty of this area.
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