Heartbeat from Sanniangwan
by Chaser on Apr.16, 2012, under Quickies
From the complete lack of posts in the last six weeks, you may have assumed that I was either having the time of my life or dead. Wrong on both counts, unfortunately. I’ve just been busy. Busy doing what? I’m not sure, I don’t feel like I have much to show for my efforts.
I’ve spent most of the time at Sanniangwan, a small, shallow water bay located near the city of Qinzhou in Guangxi Autonomous Region, China. When the weather and water conditions are good, we take a speedboat into the bay and observe the local population of Chinese white dolphins. The photo above shows a group of three young dolphins who were in an especially playful mood that day. More substantial posts to come!
Little Donkey Farm
by Chaser on Feb.28, 2012, under Posts
I’ve mentioned Beijing’s Little Donkey Farm a couple of times already. I finally had the chance to visit.
Food safety has been a huge issue in China in recent years, and wealthy urban dwellers are starting to scramble for food that will not render them sterile or cancerous. Little Donkey Farm capitalizes on this fear by giving Beijingers a few options for access to less-toxic food. Insecure urbanites can subscribe to a weekly order of in-season vegetables, or they can rent a plot of land at the farm and either tend it themselves on the weekends or pay the farm to raise vegetables on it.
Jinghong, Yunnan – the most pleasant big city in China
by Chaser on Feb.22, 2012, under Posts
As you may have heard, housing prices in China have exploded over the last few years. Why someone would pay over $500USD per square foot (the price for a mid-range condo not located TOO far from downtown) for a 70-year lease (private land ownership does not exist in China) in crowded, polluted Beijing when a townhouse in California’s wine country can be had for just over $100USD per square foot is beyond me. Or, if you want to spend the money, check out this beauty in San Francisco’s Mission District for $570 per square foot.
The world’s highest rainforest canopy walk – Skytrees of Mengla, Yunnan
by Chaser on Feb.16, 2012, under Posts
The land crossing from Laos into China gave me a bit of a sphincter workout. The border official saw that I had repeatedly gone in and out of China in the last few years and asked me a bunch of questions. First, he just wanted to get to know me. He even asked me who my father is, and what does he do. Then he called his boss, who immediately started bragging about their new learning computers, with neural net processors, designed to sniff out miscreants like me. In an unexpectedly friendly turn, he offered me a box of donuts. As I reached for one, his stern expression returned. If I wasn’t being completely honest, he threatened, I’d better leave enough room for his fist, because he was looking forward to ramming into my stomach. I felt like puking all over his pig face at that point, but as a show of good faith, I stuffed the whole donut in my mouth and wolfed it down, doing my best to smile brightly the whole time.
For what seemed like hours, I sat there waiting with my ass clenched so tight you couldn’t squeeze a greased bb up there. Finally, he came back with a grin and handed me my passport. As I stood up, finally relaxing my butt cheeks and inadvertently expelling a huge air biscuit, he gave me a hearty smack between my shoulder blades. ”Welcome to China, Mr. ___.”
By the time I got through, the bus had left and I had to hire a motorcycle to catch up to it. Fortunately, everything worked out and I arrived safely in Mengla, a town in southern Yunnan province.
A few kilometers from downtown Mengla is a well-designed little nature reserve and park called Skytree, or 望天樹. It features a protected area of primary rainforest which is home to the endangered Parashorea chinensis Wang Hsie, a tropical tree endemic to this region.
A charming mystery
by Chaser on Jan.22, 2012, under Posts
In three different towns in northern Laos, I saw the following message:
on the grounds of a temple in Udomxai...
endearingly misspelled in the ancient town of Phongsali...
...and next to the bus station in Muang Khua
Maybe love is everywhere, just waiting for us to become aware of it.
