Nuts about Nuts – Beijing Travelogue (15/12/2006)

Before I took the Malaysia Airlines flight no. MH0379 back to Kuala Lumpur for a transit to Kuching, I still had the time in the morning to do last-minute shopping at the Dong Jiao Wholesale Market (东交批发市场). All kinds of goods, from food to construction materials can be found here at wholesale price. I found the nut stalls very interesting; because this was the first time I saw different kinds of nuts in their nutshells.

These are pecan nuts in the shape of a rugby ball which are sweet and crunchy.

These pecan nuts are rounder in shape but equally delicious too.

After looking at two types of pecan nuts on sale, I almost mistaken these as another type due to the same texture of the nuts inside. These are in fact walnuts.

These hazelnuts taste delicious even without the chocolate coating.

And there are hazelnuts with lighter colour nutshells.

These are almond nuts.

And more variety of the almond nut family with a lighter brown nutshells.

Do you know what nuts are these? They are macadamia nuts!

Last but not least, I present to you the chestnuts.

After seeing all these nuts, I had to pack up and leave Beijing for Malaysia. My luggage was definitely filled with some of these nuts! :-D

That ends all parts of my travelogue in Beijing.

Day and Night at the Hutong – Beijing Travelogue (14/12/2006 - Evening & Night)

Most of the lower income group people are still staying in the old streets created since the Ming and Qing Dynasties. These well laid-out streets are called Hutong (胡同) in Mandarin. There is a Hutong area just right across the street of the Lama Temple (擁和宮) where the highest educational institution Guo Zi Jian (国子监) used to be.

Most of the people living in the Hutong rely on the tricycles as their main form of transportation. This one looks like a tenant is moving away from this house with his belongings being loaded on a tricycle-truck.

The living condition for a family in the Hutong is just so fundamental for a big city life.

But the people here are so contented with what they have.

There are a few families living behind this closed door.

And there are more families behind this door.

The corridor leading to the inner courtyard is mostly used as a garage.

Somewhere along the way browsing through the intertwined Hutong, the paperboy left his bicycle outside a house which used to be a house of a high ranking government officer in the Qing Dynasty.

You may ask how I know that it was the house of a high ranking government officer in the Qing Dynasty. It is quite easy to tell, just look at the stone carvings laid out at the sides of the main door. The drum carvings can only be used by the high ranking government officer.

This picture shows the very basic living condition in the Hutong.

This house belonged to someone with certain social status. You may wonder again how to tell. Well, the answer lies in the emblems just above the door leaves. The more emblems installed, the higher the social status of the owner.

After visiting the Hutong, I took the subway back to the Beijing Station to have dinner.

When I have already filled my stomach, I had the energy again to explore another part of the Hutong at night, the Hou Hai (後海) area. The old buildings here have been turned into a posh dining and clubbing destination.

All the buildings were restored and renovated into fancy restaurants and pubs with attractive lightings.

And one of the iconic buildings is this Chinese-style Starbucks. The two moving persons on the left are my friends residing in Beijing.

That ends another day of my holiday in Beijing. :-)

To Play or to Pray? That is the Question – Beijing Travelogue (14/12/2006 - Day)

On my second last day in Beijing, I visited the Pang Jia Yuan Antique Market (潘家园旧货市场). It is filled with all sorts of merchandise that you can or cannot think of. When I was about to enter the market, I came across this lovely trishaw that must be recorded into my memory card.

The first things I saw in the market are these remarkable necklaces that a woman can’t resist and a man can’t have any excuse but to buy for her.

If you are looking for a lamp for your home décor, this is a good item to have.

Putting this smiling face on your office desk can help you to distress from your bosses’ grumpy faces.

A mahjong game after work isn’t too bad an activity to distress as well.

Or maybe a Chinese chess game can help your mind to unwind after a hard day’s work.

If you know how to play Chinese checker game, it is one kind of an interesting game.

After all the games, this abacus will come in handy when you need to count your winning or losses in a game.

Of the two facial expressions, which one is most likely the portrayal of your mood today? I hope it is the smiley face for you everyday. :-)

If you have shopped more than what your suitcases can accommodate, it is not too late to grab a few more suitcases.

I wish I could bring this home, but I don’t think I’ll play my precious records on this machine!

I don’t have the talent for this, so please wait till somebody who has the talent to pick it up.

The keyboard hasn’t evolved too much since the mechanical typewriter days, it's just a matter of the amount of pressure that you need to exert on the keys.

But cameras have evolved abruptly since digital images were invented. Have you seen a digital camera nowadyas in these shapes? :-)

I ain’t need any thumb ring, but they form lovely patterns for a shot.

I ain’t need this silver ware too, but it is surely a masterpiece of handicrafts!

Some of these may make good souvenirs, pick one colour for each friend and you won’t miss anyone.

Getting a pair of kissing sheep as souvenir for a loving couple is not a bad idea at all!

After seeing enough of the stuff at the antique market, it was already in the late afternoon, so I immediately made my way to the Lama Temple (擁和宮). This Temple was built by one of the Emperors in the Qing Dynasty. There are many pavilions like this inside the compound for the prayers and tourists to rest.

And one can pray at one of the many prayer halls here.

Young or old Lama getting in and out of a prayer hall is a common scene, but hard to capture on camera.

There are magnificent prayer halls one after another.

After seeing much of the buildings at large, I started to admire the details on this wooden column.

Before I left, I managed to see one Lama doing his studies in one of the prayer halls.

After the visit to the Lama Temple, it was still early in the evening with bright sunshine, so I continued walking to the 'hutong' (胡同) where the imperial educational institution, Guo Zi Jian (国子监) used to be. That'll be in the impending part of my travelogues. :-)

Tomb Raider versus the Macho Man – Beijing Travelogue (13/12/2006)

This is one fine day in Beijing that the weather is clear. I had to wake up at 5 a.m. in the morning as the pick up for the day tour was very early. However, the tour didn’t start until 7 a.m. when we were all transferred to a bigger tour bus. It took us more than one hour to arrive at our first destination, the Ming Tombs (明十三陵). We visited one of the only two tombs that are open to visitors. It’s called Chang Ling (长陵), which is the Tomb of the Ming Emperor Zhu Di (朱棣).

Before I left, I took one last glance at the tomb through the arch where the burial ceremony procession passed through.

Then the tour took us to the second and last destination of this one-day tour where I was about to be macho for the second time! That’s the Great Wall at Ba Da Ling (八达岭). There were more steps for me to climb!

When I glanced back to where I started for my second macho man quest, I saw this spectacular view of the Great Wall and the mountain ranges.

I can’t imagine how the construction materials were brought through these tough terrains to build the Great Wall!

There were not many tourists during this low season, so I could have a large part of the Great Wall to myself.

However, I could still occasionally spot some gals on their quest to be macho ladies.

There are yet more steps and forts to be visited on my second quest.

Wow! I’m almost there to the second highest point on this route.

Overseeing the highest fort from the second highest, I was envying those people who could proceed, whereas I had to make a U-turn due to time constraint.

However, I was rewarded with this nice view when I made the turn back. Well, sometimes the best things in life are behind us, but we need to make the turn to discover them.

This couple were indulging themselves in the same view as mine.

After the tomb raiding and the second macho-man quest, I was back to modern civilisation.

There are more buildings like this in downtown Beijing, but they are all dwarfed by the significance of the Great Wall.

After a long day, it’s time to look for food again. These red lanterns suggest that there are steaming hot-pot foods inside!

I couldn’t wait any longer to dig into this plate of sotong balls. So I put down my camera and the rest of the food is for you to imagine.