798 in Beijing

Beijing, China



I'll admit it, I went to Beijing as part of a planned layover because I really, really wanted to see the pollution. I've been told that it is palatable; a dense, brown muck that sticks with you for weeks. I wanted to see it, then vow to never come to Beijing again, as many people I know have done.

For some reason, it was the clearest it has been in years when I went. So I missed out and had a great time.



Taking advantage of the free 72-hour layover visa available at the Beijing Airport (a normal China visa for Americans is upwards of $200) I planned on 2 days of just kicking it. No tourist stuff, as I did all that 6 years ago.

798 is the perfect place for that sort of thing.



The sheer number of nerdy coffee shops is a testament to the success of 798. Originally a communist-era factory complex, this space on the edge of town has been taken over by art; studios, galleries, workshops.



You can wander around for hours.



Old communist slogans remain in the darker alleys, while the streets are filled with whatever.



Most of it (all of it?) is free.



Apart from 798, I just rented a bicycle for a few yuan and aimlessly cycled around the city. Beijing seems built for a tank parade, which means straight, wide roads with dedicated cycling lanes.



Mickey approved! I pretty much cycled the suggested routes #1 and #2 from this site, with an extended 30 minutes down Chang'An (the 20 lane boulevard is dotted with massive infrastructure buildings, it is crazy). Stopped a lot for food and beer and chilling on benches.



Temple restaurant. Wow, this place is legit for lunch. Around $25 gets you a massive course lunch in this 600 year old temple / restaurant. Dinner looks to be spendy, so go for lunch if you are looking for the fanciness on a budget.





In the old hutongs of Beijing . . .



 . . . some sort of coffee shop.



Ah, got it.



Great Leap Brewing. I would become a regular at this one if I was in town. Solid micro-brew. Prices are cheap? expensive? I really don't know the value of the yuan, and everything is obviously cheaper than in Japan.



I would have liked to sample more, but some old guy scammed me into buying an overpriced massage on the street and I was low on cash. Good massage though, and I would gladly pay him that $20 again.



Da Dong is arguably the most famous Peking duck restaurant in Peking.



Awesome, but I think they were stretching with their menu. Most of it is a bit on the fancy-fusion side, with Japanese dishes starting to weasel their way in, and I think they added all that to justify raising prices across the board. But that is just me complaining for the sake of complaining; the duck was rad.



I also ate some tantanmen:

张妈妈特色川味馆

and

鑫渝都摊摊面

张妈妈特色川味馆 was a bit better than 鑫渝都摊摊面, though 鑫渝都摊摊面 supposedly had some authentic spices that 张妈妈特色川味馆 lacked. 张妈妈特色川味馆 is a must-eat if you are looking for that sort of thing.

Hope this helps someone out with ideas in Beijing. And remember, if the customs people tell you that you need to register with the local police, you should do that. You don't want to end up in the airport holding cell like I did.

Hong Kong: Kowloon Shopping

Along Nathan road on the Kowloon side of Hong Kong there are a bunch of rad little shopping neighborhoods. For some reason, all the aquarium stores are on the same block, all the wedding tailors on one block, all the sex shops... well those are everywhere, but there's one block with nothing but. It's all rad, and you should take a few hours to walk north along Nathan road. Start at the water and go!

Minimum wage in Hong Kong is a paltry $28 an hour.

The Goldfish Market is a must see spot. If you are into fish, you'll be blown away.

Nepenthes.

Snack anyone?

The grasshoppers are considered a special treat for your bird.

In the morning, old dudes come down with their prized pet birds.

Can't escape it.

This "shop" is for fan repair. The sole worker has been repairing fans for over 40 years.

I was trying to buy a few for gifts, but they wouldn't sell them for less than $400, about $50 US. Too much for a gag gift.

Bootleg JAV shop.

King of snake = lazy.

These street side tea shops are all over. Made with 20+ herbs (28 in this case), it's a health thing. Made me poop, which was cool.

I wish ivory wasn't evil. But it is, so don't buy this.

That's it. No more posts about Hong Kong!

Hong Kong: The Great Outdoors

You may well have spent every day in Hong Kong drinking and eating rad food, all without leaving a few square kilometers. Namely Central. But Hong Kong is pretty massive, with a bunch of outlying islands and natural areas. Do yourself a favor if you get stuck there for 3 weeks while everyone in Tokyo goes crazy, filling their apartments with bottled water and toilet paper. Do yourself a favor and go see some trees.

On Lamma Island, you can walk to a few beaches. There are also hella stray animals, but they are all tame.

The view south is beautiful!

The view north... not so much. 工場もえ!

The other island that everyone goes to is Lantau. I wanted to do something that no one does in Hong Kong. Namely hiking. I asked the bus driver if he went to Nam Shan. Jpmey confirmed that destination and I rode. NAM SHAN! Look, I don't speak more than 3 words in Cantonese, and two of those are dirty phrases that my buddies in the projects taught me, and I pronounced Nam Shan like it is spelled in English.

Then the bus dropped me off at Cheung Sha. How do these words sound alike? Chinese people, please explain.

Taxis in Hong Kong are straight cheap. $40 in Tokyo cost be about $5 in Hong Kong.

Nam Shan god dammit.

Anyways, you can hike over the mountain. There aren't so many people. The two peaks of Nantau is about a 15km hike. There is a bus stop halfway if you want to give up.

Everyone comes to Lantau to take a ropeway up to a giant Buddha or visit Disneyland. So you could do that as well.

Actually, Lantau was kind of weak. The trails are all stairs, and the bus drivers take you an hour from where you want to go. Nam Shan dammit!

Get out to Tai Po and you can rent a bike. And ride by some weird shit.

The horse tracks are on the other side of the fence.

Beverly Hills (3rd phase). Most of the houses were empty, and my HK buddy told me they were mostly investment property for rich mainland Chinese. Dudes with mad cash just buy housing, then leave it empty for however long.

Just past Beverley Hills you can pick some medicinal herbs. She told me that they are organic. No shit, I don't think anyone is fertilizing wild weeds with chemicals.

Flying high. Sick muffler by the way.

Flying high. You want some?

Not really nature, but next to my housing project was was an ill playground.

Yes, it's a giant dragon. And the entire area was covered with foam flooring. So you could do a backflip off the top of the dragon, upload the fail video of you breaking your neck, but the joke is on the viewers, cause you walk away uninjured.

Yes, after 3 weeks I was bored. One day I woke up, and with nothing to do, decided to walk up some stairs in the distance. Seriously, my plan for the day was to check out some stairs.

Awesome! Religious shit on the side of some construction / mountain.

More religious stuff. Maybe an Asian dude would be fascinated by crosses in random spots, but I dunno.

From the top of stairs mountain I could see another government housing open pace. The track in the upper right is for racing RC cars. Sick! But I took the wrong path down.

Check out Nan Lian Gardens at Diamond Hill station. Seriously, it's fresh.

Rock gardens and bonsai.

And a Buddhist monastery to boot. Oh, by the way...

Happy Birthday?!?