Beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear

It has been three years since I was last in Asia, but I went back to visit Beijing, Chennai, Hong Kong and Macau this past December.

Although the main purpose was to attend my buddy's wedding reception in India, I also wanted to see old friends, try new things, and revist the past.

It was a great trip, and I had forgotten just how much I loved this part of the world. It is strange, but I like to think of Hong Kong as my other home. Anyhow, here are some neat things that I came across during "Asia Tour 2009".

Beijing

Here is a sample of what's old and new in China. The photo on the left is a bridge I saw when I visited the Yuan Ming Yuan (old summer palace). Destroyed by the French and British in the 1860's during the Opium Wars, Yuan Ming Yuan survives today as a collection of ruins to remind people of the past.

The photo on the right is a shot of the entrance to Qian Men Dajie which is a new street that didn't exist three years ago. It is a giant corridor flanked on either side by Zara, Starbucks, H&M, and other western stores. The funny thing is that the old neighborhoods (hutongs) that used to exist in Qian Men where bulldozed to make this tourist trap. In fact there are large walls erected to block the view of the continued demolishion of the old homes and lives.

Next to Qian Men is another hutong where a famous Beijing duck restaurant called, "Liqun" exists. I read about this restaurant in Lonely Planet three years ago, but I was too "chicken" to go and try the duck. This time I decided that I couldn't miss the opportunity - if it was good enough for Al Gore, it should make me a decent lunch. Unfortunately the duck wasn't as good as other ducks I've had.

Do you see the "McRibwich" on the left? So did I when I was riding the Beijing subway and was watching the TV screens. I haven't seen a McRibwich in 20 years so when I saw it in China, I had to revist it.

The verdict: It was just as bad as I remembered. Of all the things you could import to China, why did they unleash a crappy retro, pork-inspired, burger that uses a patty of formed meat to mimic the look of barbeque ribs?

The last image is from inside of the Olympic Birds Nest stadium. In the same kitchy vein as the McRibwich, The Birds Nest is being filled with snow and a mountain is being built for indoor skiing.

India

Chennai (formerly known as Madras) was a blast! I have never been to India before and I wanted to change that - just to be able to say that I have seen one of the oldest civilizations in the world.

This is a photo of the beach house I stayed at on my first night in Chennai. My buddy Asif wanted to treat his new bride and me to something grand so he had his brother arrange this beach house.

During the day time and from 40 feet away, it looks pretty sweet, but at 2:30 a.m. and from the inside it was a different story. We don't think the place was ever cleaned and we shared the house with lizards, bugs and a giant squirrel that later I confessed was a rat. It turns out that Asif's brother never saw the house either so Asif blindly rented the beach house. Don't worry though, I had a half bottle of icy vodka and it was one of the funniest nights I've ever had since my shitty boat ride through Szechuan.

Check out the beach though. The waves from the Bay of Bengal were so dramatic and beautiful.

The people I met in Chennai were so friendly. Since I was obviously a visitor to Chennai, the people were quite welcoming.

After the Beach House Adventure, Asif treated us all to a luxury villa. The photo on the left is of the villa's manager, me and the owner of the villa. I had the honour of being the first foreigner to ever stay at this villa and so the owner came out to meet me for breakfast... at 6 a.m. These guys were very nice and they treated us like royalty.

The photo on the right is of a local fisherman I met on the beach. He's been fishing since he was a boy and has been making a living of it ever since. In the background you can see where he and his family live.

Strangely enough, while I was in Chennai, it seemed so similar to Malaysia. Anyhow the best thing about Chennai was how on any given day, crazy shit happens as soon as you leave your door.

These are some shots of what you see on the street in Chennai - fast moving traffic, bustling crowds, and vividly coloured chaos. Can you feel the realness?

This last shot is of Asif's family at the beach behind our villa.

It was on our last day together before they moved on to Kerala in the neighboring state, and I pushed on to Hong Kong.

This is my favourite photo of India and it captures everything I remember fondly about Chennai. Asif, thanks for hosting me in India and inviting me to be a part of your home. Next time we will rock Kerala, but let's not take the train - it is too real.

Hong Kong

I lived in Hong Kong for four months back in the fall of 2006. While I was there I came to love Hong Kong. HK is a beautiful and exciting place where ancient cultures live in one of the most modern metropolises in the world.

This is a shot from a tea house I went to in Sheung Wan. This tea house is supposed to be over 70 years old. I love this shot for its dramatic qualities, but because the story it tells could be from the 1940s. Timeless and classic.

At the same time, Hong Kong is an international urban hub where you can find a hip cosmopolitan lifestyle complete with all the angst and flavour you can handle. Warm friends, beautiful strangers, dazzling lights, and plenty of dark places in between.

On the other extreme is the tropical oceans and mountains that are just minutes away. Here are a couple of shots from Lamma Island just south of central Hong Kong Island.

Lamma is a sleepy fishing village where people come to hike and get away from the noisy crowds. It's also a place to go to eat fresh seafood like crabs, abalone, clams, squid, prawns, fish and other exotic curiosities. I went to Lamma to enjoy the ocean and mountains and decided to stay for dinner. When I finished my hike it was still early so I sat on the pier with a bag of peanuts and a couple of giant San Miguels. It was a great way to watch the sun go down, drinking beer while a small trail of peanut shell flakes drifted away from you.

On my last night in HK before heading back to Beijing, my buddy Wesker took me to the Happy Valley Race Course.

What better way to say goodbye to Hong Kong than trying your luck at the track with a friend.

Here is a photo of my two ponies losing the race and burning my cash. Lesson learned: If there is a strategy to playing the horses I have no idea what it is aside from reading the useless odds, or picking the horse with the prettiest name. Damn.

These last two shots are what I remember most about HK - the people. From morning to night, at whatever time, there is always somewhere to go and something to do. Most of the time that something involves eating or drinking.

Anyhow that was my trip to Asia. I had no idea that it would take three years to return and I have no idea when I will be back. But it makes me feel good to know that it is always there like an old friend to welcome me back.

That's All Folks

So I've decided to end this blog.

It's been 73 posts, half a year, and thousands of miles traversed and recorded for online posterity.

This blog was started to keep me in touch with family and friends when I moved away from Vancouver, stayed in Toronto, moved to Hong Kong, and then travelled about Asia.

Since then I have moved to Toronto and it seems that this where I will stay for the next while. So keeping this blog running seems anti-climactic and out of place.

On the otherhand, I've made some great friends from around the world and I want to stay in touch with you all as well. So I have started a new blog called:

My View From Here: The Toronto Experience

Please visit it often as I will keep making posts about my life here. Better still, send me a mail once in awhile. Anyhow that's all folks. I'd like to end things here with a few memorable photos from the last 73 posts. Take care and I'll see you at my new address!