Paul at Forbidden City

I finally made it to Beijing! Business will take to Beijing roughly
once every quarter, for a day or two. MSF-Belgium has an office there,
and I periodically meet to review administrative issues and so on.
Since I've been a student of China and its history and culture, off
and on, for more than twenty years -- without ever making it to
Bejing! -- this was a big deal for me. And I loved the city. I loved
it much more than I thought I would, and I found it far more
manageable than I thought I would.

I suspect the friends I've had who have visited in the past just
assume that I know what a wonderful city it is, so they feel free to
complain about the traffic, and the weather, and the people and how
they're not as friendly, and pollution, and blah blah blah: all the
complaints you can make about any big city, really. But let's face it:
this is one way cool city. With lots of really great history and
buildings, and a consumer economy that is booming -- very nice, for a
second weekend in a row, to have access to Starbucks...and yes, I did
partake. Even though a latte and a cheesecake (such indulgence!) cost
five times the price of my dinner at a lovely little Szechwan place
where the waitresses really enjoyed chatting with me, and asking me to
help them translate their menu. (I learned the word for frog, after
they showed me the frogs sitting in their tank...poor guys, they
looked so happy in their tank.) Oh, and then there was the double dip
at Haagen Dazs...you see, these are all things we don't have in
Nanning, so I felt a bit like a yokel in the big city. :-)

Anyway: this is Paul at the moat around the Forbidden City, with one
of the guard towers behind me. Yes, it's very impressive, and very
beautiful. What follows are other photos from my weekend in Beijing.
Thanks, as always, for your interest and support!

Temple Roof Detail and Mountains

One of the things I've missed in Nanning (as those who've already seen
the Hong Kong photos, which appear below this large batch of Beijing
photos, know) is places where I can get into nature, and away from
people. I've missed the downtime and quiet that comes from being
surrounded by trees. So after spending all day Saturday walking the
buildings and palaces of central Beijing with our Head of Mission (who
happened to be in Beijing after meetings with MSF-B and before heading
back to Paris for a further week+ of meetings related to our annual
general assembly), I spent my Sunday at a gorgeous park in the far
northwest corner of Beijing, really outside the urban area in the
hills well beyond the fringe � though it's part of Beijing
administratively. I went for two reasons, 1) My guidebook told me I'd
find, near the entrance, a unique pay-what-your-spirit-calls-for
vegetarian buffet restaurant, and 2) The park sounded lovely and very
enjoyable. Though I spent about an hour searching for the restaurant
(it sounded so good � the dishes are supposed to change every day, and
range widely over different cuisines�yum), I never found it and
actually went rather hungry that day� But it was SO worth it since the
park is really lovely.

I got a great hike, plenty of quality time with myself to ponder plans
and the meaning of life and so on. I came into this week, and I pass
on into June, feeling very refreshed by these two weekends out of
town. I'm excited and eager to explore Nanning some more -- on my run
this morning, I saw so many things I want to write about here, and
take pictures of. What you've seen so far are largely shots that show
the developed and lovely side of China. But when I go for my run by
the river in the morning I see such contrasts between swank new
buildings going up, and folks living in little tin shacks surrounded
by mud and chickens. It's really quite fascinating, and I hope to get
some photos up for you soon so you don't get the idea this park and
the shots of Hong Kong, or of Nanhu Park earlier, are all we've got
here in China. There are great contrasts here.

But for now: enjoy some shots of a lovely park outside Beijing!

Rock Garden, Buildings, Mountains

Did I mention the weather was completely gorgeous during my time in
Beijing -- here in Nanning it hasn't gotten below 80 even overnight,
and daytime temperatures have always gone over 90 since mid-April;
humidity doesn't seem to go below 75 or so...and is usually well over
80, I have to think. So we sweat a lot. In Beijing...blue skies, 70s,
low humidity. Lovely.

Temple Gate Detail w/Bamboo

Though it's maybe a little hard to see in some of these shots, much of
the temple complex has been very beautifully restored or maintained.
This is a gateway at the bottom of a long series of (sandstone?) steps
that lead to the highest building in the temple complex -- you can see
a photo of the skyline shot from there a few photos down -- which
houses the clothes Sun Yatsen wore when he was briefly interred here
before being moved to Nanjing for burial. Hmm, I think I have that
right...though come to think of it, it seems rather morbid: taking his
body and leaving the clothes. It raises so many questions that I
choose not to pursue. In any case, part of this complex is referred to
as his "dress tomb" or something of the sort. Sorry I didn't take
better notes on this!

Still and all: the buildings and many of the details are truly lovely
and interesting, and there really is a sense both of age and of
stillness or serenity in much of this complex.

Mountains and Buildings

I thought this was a lovely view, and spent some time contemplating
it. There are far more ornate buildings, but none with so lovely a
backdrop.

Temple Building

I've lost track, but I think overall there must be at least 15
buildings, ranging from ornate and elegant buildings like this one, to
small gazebos set beside reflecting pools or walking paths. Inside
some of them are large statues of Buddhas and Boddhisatvas; inside one
of them are literally hundreds of different versions of (I think)
Buddha. For those who don't know and are interested: there's only one
Buddha, but he's portrayed in many ways in the Chinese approach to
Buddhism. I think. There are several Boddhisatvas, people have
attained enlightenment but then, rather than passing into nirvana and
leaving our human plain of existence, choose to remain with us to help
other humans attain enlightenment. Please correct me, via e-mail or
comments posted here or both, if I'm wrong; I'm going from a
(excellent) class on Buddhism at Oberlin 20 years ago, so my details
may be wrong. Part of what interests me about Chinese Buddhism is
that, like some of the approaches you see toward Catholicism in Latin
America, there's really a great deal of syncretism going on --
elements incorporated into Buddhism here that come from other Chinese
folk, religious, or philosophical traditions and that are not
represented in other strains of Buddhism. Dialogue welcome on this
topic in comments section!

Senior Citizens at the Temple

As I was heading down and out of the temple complex (and back to the
main park), I saw a rather large tour group of what were clearly
senior citizens from one of China's minority groups -- without any
real basis or knowledge, I'm sort of guessing Tibetan maybe? In the
group were a number of truly interesting women and men, faces
weathered and lined, who really made me wonder what their life stories
would be if I could ask. Given my camera equipment and my reluctance
to intrude on the practice of their religion, I didn't take any
frontal pictures of them kneeling and bowing as they faced the
statues, but I thought this shot would give you a sense. It's nice to
know a group like this can freely visit the temple and worship...I
suspect twenty-five years ago, let alone 40 years ago, that would have
been difficult or impossible.

Skyline With Buddhas

This is the first of two views of the Beijing skyline (assuming these
photos post in the order I hope). Though a small portion of the temple
has been given over to a museum and monument to Sun Yatsen, including
portions of the complex from which this photo was shot, overall much
of the temple is an active temple today -- as you saw in the previous
shot of older folks visiting the temple. In light of the many
challenges to the practice of religion that China has seen, especially
during the 60s and 70s (which are referred to, somewhat obliquely, in
the signs at the entrance to the temple complex -- they refer to
"destruction" or destructive acts of the temple during something along
the lines of "unrest during the 60s" or some such), I was cheered to
see many people actively worshiping at these buildings, including some
who bowed or saluted these Buddhas and Boddhisatvas.

Beijing from On High

The park also includes the highest mountain close to Beijing --
roughly 500M -- which you can either climb on foot via several pretty
steep paths...or take a chair-lift to the top of! I took the chair
lift for the experience, and rather enjoyed thinking about all the
other times I've been on chair lifts in interesting and beautiful
places. (Amy, Nancy, and Kip, if you are reading this: yes, I thought
fondly of our time last year in Alta.) From the top, you've got a
really nice panoramic view out over all of greater Beijing, as well as
the hills to the north and west - where, another 50K on or so, you'd
get to the most-viewed section of the wall, at Badaling.

In this picture, you see a green area with lakes about the center-left
of the photo or so. For those who've been, that's the summer palace --
which gives you a sense of how far out Xiangshan is.

Self-Portrait in Park

After the long walk around the temple and down the mountain, I found a
lovely grassy area full of flowers (it rather reminded me of Jardins
de Luxembourg, one of my favorite parks in Paris...except there's more
grass here, and you're welcome to sit on it!) and settled in to read a
bit and, yes, do some yoga. Just so you'd know it was me taking all
the pictures, I thought I'd document it...not that you can really tell
from this, I guess. :-)

Paul with the Hong Kong Skyline

The second weekend in May I had the opportunity to take a long weekend
in Hong Kong. I had some business with MSF-HK, and since I'd worked a
few weekends after arriving in town, I decided to add a few days and
give myself a long weekend. I'd not been to Hong Kong but once, back
in the early 80s, and I knew it had changed quite a bit in the
interim. I thought this would be a nice chance to buy some of the
English-language books I've been wanting (book group: I've finished
Kite Runner, and will send out my thoughts to you all soon I hope; and
I began Guns, Germs and Steel last night -- I'm looking forward to
reading it!), eat some food I can't get easily here in Nanning, and
generally relax away from my work and the project here in Nanning for
a while.

The trip was all of that and more, as you will see in the comping
pictures. I hiked, spent time with a new friend and his son (thanks
for hosting me!), drank some pretty darn good coffee and had one good
Thai meal...spent WAY more than I should have in a really nice
English-language bookstore, and so on.

I also had a chance to check the way my blog looks when you can
actually access the site. Carrie and Steve, thanks for being such
regular readers and commenters. It's always nice to read the comments,
even if it takes a while for me to have the chance to read them!

I need to get back to work now...came in early to get caught up on
these photos. But if you stay tuned, you'll soon see photos of my trip
to Beijing, from which I just returned yesterday (Tuesday, May 24).
Thanks, as always, for your support and your e-mails and your
comments. And do check the MSF website (www.msf.org) - there's a lot
going on out there in the world, and they've been updating it very
regularly of late with interesting information.

Hong Kong Skyline

For those of you who've either never seen it, or not in a long time.
Hong Kong is truly a wonderful and world-class city in every way.

Paul with the Hong Kong Harbor

Thanks to Keith for taking these photos of me at the skyline!

Paul at the Skyline - Again

Thanks, Keith, for this one as well. :-)

Hong Kong Park Aviary

One thing that didn't exist when I last visited Hong Kong -- in 1984
-- was Hong Kong Park, in the center of the central part of the
downtown. The land, which is very central and would have been
developed otherwise, belonged to the British garrison in Hong Kong --
so when they gave it up, it became a park and a very welcome green
space right in the middle of town.

In the park is this wonderful aviary, full of interesting and
beautiful tropical birds from all over southeast Asia. The walkways in
the aviary are all above ground -- it's set up so that folks walking
in the aviary are all in the trees, at the heights where the birds
themselves typically hang out. I found the contrast of being in this
rich tropical rainforest environment, full of singing and colorful
birds -- all with the backdrop of the skyline of one of the world's
great cities -- very interesting.

Hong Kong Park

This lovely lake, full of fish and water lilies, is also in Hong Kong
Park. There's a marriage registry in the park as well, and it seems a
popular place for wedding photos to be taken - there was a party
having photos taken when I was there, and the outfits, both men and
women, were wonderful.

Shek O Peninsula, Hong Kong

Though my image before my trip was that I would spend all my time
eating Indian and Thai food and drinking good coffee and doing other
things that are difficult or impossible in Nanning, in point of fact I
discovered that what I most wanted was to get out into parks and
trails where I could be completely alone and hear nothing but the
sound of birds. And who knew that 40% of Victoria Island (hope I've
got that right -- believe that's the formal name of the actual island
people think of as the main part of Hong Kong) is reserved as parks
and open space? (Also hope I've got that stat more or less right...)
But it's true -- once you get up and over the hills from the downtown
district, which faces pretty much north toward Kowloon and Lantau
island, you get into a very steep and mountainous part of the island
that's home to four large parks. Through them winds the
52(?)-kilometer Hong Kong Trail, which ends just about where this shot
is -- at the Shek O Peninsula.

The last chunk of the trail is called the "Dragon's Back" section,
because of the number of times it goes up and down as it follows the
ridge lines in this very steep part of the island. I spent the first
of two completely wonderful days of hiking on this trail, and hiking
around the peninsula you see here. It was very hot and humid, and I
got a good solid amount of sun, but it was such a complete delight and
treasure to be able to get out to an area where all I heard were birds
and insects, and there were times when for more than ten minutes I
didn't see a single person, or in fact even hear any sounds of humans
-- this is quite rare in my life now, and I was very happy to have the
chance. And let me also say that there are so many beautiful
butterflies everwhere I went in Hong Kong!

Towards Stanely, Hong Kong

The Dragon's Back section of the trail follows the ridge line in a
very steep section on the southeast side of the island, which allows
the vistas to change fairly often as you look out in different
directions. This is a view looking south, toward the Stanley Peninsula
and the southern end of the island. Neal, does it make you homesick?
:-)

Lamma Harbor, Hong Kong

Lamma Island, which doesn't have a very large population and is really
rather small (I covered probably a solid 3/4 of it in about six hours
of hiking -- though, true, it's all quite mountainous so unfair to
expect folks to lug themselves up and over mountains just to get into
town...) has three (or is it four?) places where the ferries dock.
This is the second-largest town on the island, and as you can see it's
not very big. It's quite lovely, though, and all the banners are
around what's either a new permanent temple going up, or a large
temporary pavilion for a festival or something -- I have to admit I
just couldn't read enough of the characters to be sure, but there is a
large structure going up there, next to the permanent and rather
pretty little temple.

Lamma has a reputation of being "expat heaven" in Hong Kong -- a small
island fairly close to the main island, more or less across a short
strait from the part where all the famous floating restaurants are.
Since it's not facing either Kowloon or the main city, and since it is
a bit further out toward the open sea, the air is a bit clearer and I
suspect it's maybe a touch cooler than the city during the hot summer
months. The main town is, indeed, chock full of European and American
tourists (but then, compared to Nanning, so is all of Hong Kong). It
also caters to them...to the extent that I was able to have a
completely delightful (and darned expensive, this being HK) meal at a
vegetarian, organic restaurant. :-)

Lamma Island, Hong Kong

If these photos appear in the order I'm hoping, then I've already
mentioned that I spent two days hiking in the remoter parks and island
parts of Hong Kong. This was taken on an absolutely gorgeous hike I
took around Lamma Island -- I couldn't help taking this image, since
it seemed to me that many of my LA friends will think this could
easily have been taken in the canyons of Malibu or Topanga.