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You are here: Home / Archives for cultures

Photo of the day: Tibetan Prayer Flags

January 19, 2011 By Danny

This close-up of Tibetan prayer flags was taken while we were on an excursion into the Tibetan countryside near Xiahe, China. The flags themselves are surprisingly made from cheap, Chinese produced, synthetic fabric which feels like it came from the dollar store. Seeing them all over the place, and feeling the energy of the land was wonderful.  Getting close and seeing they were synthetic was a touch ironic.

Special thanks to Flickr user edward.duca for marking this photo as a favorite.

To see a few of our favorite photos from China click here.

Our PHOTO PAGE has links to all of our collections on Flickr. Be sure to mark some of your own favorites so that we can include them on this column. We’ll be highlighting a different photo every day.

Remember, you have until the end of January to mark your favorites and be entered in our photo contest!

 

Filed Under: photos Tagged With: cultures, religion

Angkor Wat

November 22, 2010 By Jillian

IMGP9903I don’t remember when Angkor Wat first captured my imagination, but for me it has always seemed like an enchanting and exotic place. Obviously I’m not the only one given how many movies have been filmed on-site.

There is no denying that the Angkor temples are incredible both in architecture and design. Huge pyramids and towers covered in carvings, the pyramids are an inspiring site from up close and afar. Incredibly detailed despite time and weathering, the temples are nothing less than enchanting. Strangling trees wrap intricately carved religious figures and buildings giving the area an almost Narnia feel. It was exactly as I imagined it and standing below the main level in the Bayon looking up at the towering faces carved into the stone I felt as though I stood in an exotic, fantasy world.

The temples at Angkor, dozens in all, are left over from the reign of the Khmer empire which reigned at an interesting point in Cambodia’s history. Extending over land from Myanmar to China and the Malay Peninsula the empire reigned for nearly 500 years. IMGP9853During the Khmer empire the court changed religions, from Hindu to Buddhism. Most interestingly, the temples were still used and hardly changed at all and scenes, gods and religious figures from both religions are found through out the sites even today. Angkor Wat itself is in fact, is decorated in some pretty fabulous bas-reliefs depicting the Hindu epic Ramayana and Mahabharata. The cultural and religious mixing made for some really interesting art, I only wish I had an art historian or religious scholar with me to tell me the stories.

Although my sister originally planned to visit us again for Thailand we convinced her to extend her vacation a little bit and join us starting in Cambodia. With so much history and atmosphere the only thing the three of us could really do to take it all in was spend the whole day wandering around.  From temple to temple we roamed, picnicking in the cool shade of Ta Prohm and climbing through the Bayon. Despite the numerous roaming vendors and pushy souvenir stalls, the temples maintain an captivating atmosphere.

IMGP0193IF YOU GO: One day was enough to do what the tours call the “petit tour” of the major sites, after that we were templed out. We stayed outside of town at Angkor Spirit Palace which we highly recommend. Shuttle buses run regularly to/from Phnom Penh. Despite what the guidebooks say there are connections from Siem Reap to eastern Cambodia that don’t go through Phnom Penh. Be careful with the Khmer massages- ours was basically an hour long tiger balm rub down. There is good and inexpensive souvenir shopping in Siem Reap. Browse the “old market”, but buy what you want at the Central Market further down Sivatha Street where starting prices are about half that of the “old market.” Check the quality of everything though, most clothing in the market is irregular or second-quality. Please do NOT buy from children selling in the temple complexes. Simply responding to their requests by saying firmly that you do not buy from children will send most of them away. They wouldn’t be there if tourists didn’t buy from them – they belong in school not selling trinkets.

Filed Under: Asia & Oceania, Cambodia, Headline, History & Culture Tagged With: cultures, empires, ruins

Water Puppets, Primates and Tam Coc

November 10, 2010 By Jillian

IMGP9462Those of you that have been following along with us are probably now thinking- how did you get from Beijing to Hanoi? Well it’s a long story, but basically traveling during National Holiday in China completely screwed up our itinerary. Since we were so limited in what transportation was available, we cobbled together a strange route through China that had us end in Beijing. Unwilling to take a 3 day train to Vietnam, we bit the bullet and booked a flight, through Malaysia. Yes, from Beijing to Hanoi we spent a day in Kuala Lumpur, which frankly was awesome. Shopping capital of the world- we even found multi-grain cheerios!IMGP9411

We briefly stopped in Hanoi and instead headed to the coast and spent a few days in Nihn Bihn. An Endangered Primate Center is the biggest draw at the Cuc Phong National Park, but after spending so much time in heavily polluted China we were glad to have a day in the fresh air hiking through the jungle and took less than 15 minutes for the bugs to find Danny, reminding both of us of the many joys of the tropics. We hiked to a tree which is claimed to be over 1000 years old and even hiked into a pitch black “pre-historic” cave. No animals were spotted through any of this, outside of stickbugs and other insects, as hunting in the park has diminished animal populations so much that there are hardly any animals left in the park.

The next day I found myself sitting in a row boat watching a woman row with her feet. Yup, you read that right. Rowing with her feet. Through the caves and stone arches of Tam Coc – Bích Dong (means 3 caves) we admired the scenery as every other boat that passed stared at our boat driver rowing with her feet.IMGP9480 Sure there were other drivers using their feet, but our lady rowed that way for the full hour long trip. It was impressive, but then again, why hadn’t anyone else thought of that before? Surely these can’t be the only people in the world innovative enough to use larger muscle groups to row. I guess necessity is the mother of invention, as was the hard push we received on the boat to purchase some local embroidery.

Back in Hanoi we filled a full day sightseeing and sat through a rather amusing water puppet show. A traditional form of entertainment, the water puppet shows are traditionally performed along river banks. Now the shows are performed from pools inside auditoriums and although the story lines were a little lost on us, we enjoyed watching the puppets flip back and forth on long sticks. It was a little kitsch but cute and worth the $3 price of admission.

Plenty of other sites abound in Hanoi, we enjoyed the Ethnography museum- be sure to check out housing examples in the back, some of which were put up in the traditional way by villagers. We also stopped by the IMGP6165“Hanoi Hilton,” where John McCain’s flight suit is on display. I wonder what would have happened if he had become president?

IF YOU GO: We stayed at a great hotel in Old Hanoi called the Allura, shop around and you should be able to find something comfortable and decent without any problem. Buses to Ninh Binh run from a bus station in the south of the city very frequently and are less than $3. From Ninh Binh we were able to arrange a car to take us to the national park, but be aware that the primate center closes mid-day for lunch. A little restaurant on-site serves food until it runs out- this can be rather early, so bring snacks and water. We rented bikes in Ninh Binh to get to Tam Coc for the boat trip and took a route along the river.

Filed Under: Asia & Oceania, Headline, History & Culture, Vietnam Tagged With: capitals, cultures, rivers, transportation

Foodie Friday: Organs, Intestines and Noodles…Oh My!

October 15, 2010 By Danny

D: Which do you want for dinner, the taco looking thing with shredded meat or the stir-fry.

J: Hmmmmm, both look good.

D: Maybe lets start with the taco and then we can get something else after.

J: Good idea

Walk to the guy making as he takes out a pig’s foot, shreds some meat off of one end, and adds it to his skillet, then puts the foot back in the container it came from.

J: That was a pig’s foot.

D: I can see that.

J: Let’s try the stir fry.

D: What is all the meat sitting on inside the bowl, I can’t see.

J: Those are noodles, see the dough being pulled over there?

We walk over and do our usual pointing and charades before sitting down. Eventually a plate of stir-fry filled with dark meat, peppers, onions, and ‘noodles’ appear in front of us. As we begin eating Jill gives me a lesson in the use of chopsticks.

J: You’re doing really well with the chopsticks.

D: Yeah, forks are superior…why haven’t these people switched yet?

J: You can stab the meat like a fork if its easier.

D: Then maybe I should just use a fork?

J: Why is the meat so dark?

D: I don’t know, I was thinking the same thing. It must be a marinade because it doesn’t taste anything like that (heart we ate in Peru.)

Jill continues to ‘examine’ the food in front of us as Danny continues to practice on his chopstick usage. She holds up a ‘bumpy’ noodle.

J: What’s this?

D: You said that was a noodle.

Danny continues eating ‘noodle’ as Jill keeps ‘examining’ the meat in front of us. We are both realizing that this is organ meat of some kind.

J: I think this is intestine.

D: You said that was a noodle.

J: I think this is intestine.

D: But, you said that was a noodle.

J: Look, it has weird bumps on it. Noodles don’t have that.

D: Why are you freaking me out continues eating to show some kind of asinine strength you said it was a noodle!

J: Let’s ask.

Jill motions for the lady to come over. She does and we first point to the ‘noodle’ and then—rather instinctively —we point at our bellies and while air-writing squiggly lines. The waitress says something unknown to us and then shakes her head yes and walks away. We are both dumbfounded.

D: You told me it was a noodle.

J: I didn’t know, aren’t you glad I told you now.

D: No, I was eating just fine before that realization.

J: I can’t eat anymore of this.

D: I already ate the intestine. Now it’s your turn.

J: No you didn’t.

D: Oh yes I did…with a great big helping of organ and onion.

J: You’re saying I have to too.

D: Damn straight…you said it was a noodle.

J: No, you didn’t eat any.

D: Yes I did, it was chewy. You said it was a noodle, so I ate it. Now it’s your turn.

J: Well then I’m eating it with organ and onion too.

D: Be my guest.

Jillian scoops some up and tosses it down the hatch. Chewing feverishly as the stuff just won’t go down. Her eyes begin to water.

D: Are you going to cry?

J: No eyes continue to swell.

D: Yes you are. You’re crying over the intestines.

J: Shut up. There I did it. Wipes her eyes.

D: Haha, you cried over the intestine. It’s your fault, you said it was a noodle.

That was China, day 2.

?

Filed Under: Asia & Oceania, China, Food, Headline Tagged With: cultures

The Uygur’s China

October 13, 2010 By Jillian

Editors Note: We are having extreme difficulty posting from China, especially with Flickr, so please be patient with us.

Our first week in China passed in an area that has virtually nothing to do with the stereotypical images of China. We entered into Xinjiang autonomous region, an area of China populated by the Uygur people, who have more in common with the Turks in Turkey than with the Han in China.

IMGP5953Muslim, the Uygurs speak a Turkic language which uses Arabic script rather than Chinese characters. A mix of Asian and European features, Uygurs are a central Asian people that settled in what is now northwestern China during the heyday of the silk road trade. Raising mostly sheep, the Uygurs are soft agrarian people and it wasn’t until the highly publicized political problems of the last few years that most westerner’s had even heard of them.

A July 2009 demonstration in the region turned bloody and caught the attention of the worldwide media. The plight of the Uygurs was brought to light and suddenly China had a second, very public minority problem on their hands (the first being Tibet). We entered the region expecting to find a repressed minority, but instead we found Urumqi, a thriving, densely populated Chinese city that’s home to a Louis Vuitton and a Cartier. It wasn’t the sort of economic situation I was expecting, in fact the place seemed booming.

IMGP5955It didn’t take long to realize the Chinese government had in place some very enticing economic incentives for Han Chinese families to move into the area. With all the violence in the last few years I expected to feel more tension on the street, but like most places, people are getting on with their lives, putting one foot in front of the other and taking one day at a time. Several days later, outside of Xinjiang province, a Han Chinese woman told us she would be scared to go into that province, for fear she would be singled out to violence because of last year’s political unrest. I’m not sure how many other Han Chinese feel the same way, but it certainly makes for an interesting discussion.

A few days later, in a smaller town, with a very clear Uygur majority, the tables were turned and it would have taken someone to tell us we were in China, for on the street you never would have known it. Unfortunately very few people speak English and we speak neither Mandarin nor Uygur (nor Arabic or Turkish) so although we were consumed by questions we left without many answers. It was disappointing because both of us were literally filled to the brim with political and social questions. Perhaps with more effort we could have found someone who spoke enough English to answer our questions, but then again, after what happened to me at the border I wouldn’t be surprised if they would refuse to talk to us out of fear of  reprisal.

Filed Under: Asia & Oceania, China, Headline Tagged With: cultures, minorities, politics, religion

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