April 4, 2008 Guangzhou, China Yesterday, Fiona Zhu and I walked to Shang Xia Jiu, which literally means "Up-Down Nine," as in "Up and Down 9th Street." The long pedestrian avenue crosses the old town center, but it's also one of the city's trendiest hangouts. It's...
Asia
STORKS & STONES – An Island of Foreigners in China
April 3, 2008 Guangzhou, China It’s another wet, cloud-swaddled morning in Guangzhou, the city’s towers and apartment blocks floating in a bath of white mist. Perhaps it’s for the best. This industrial city might otherwise look too starkly gritty and real in the full...
DIRTY LAUNDRY & DUBBED MOVIES – Acclimatizing in Guangzhou, China
If you’ve been waiting for the next installment of the search for my Chinese roots, please excuse the slight delay. As Marcia Brady would say, “Something suddenly came up.” It turns out I can’t manage a travel story every single day, unless I neglect my clients. So,...
PERFECTING THE PAST – Imagine a Chinese Village…
March 31, 2008 Bok Sa, Toishan, Guangdong Province, China Another misty, rainy day and night in Toishan. I haven’t really seen the sun since I walked out of the airport in Hong Kong seven days ago. I do recall one five-minute reprieve when the clouds parted just long...
THE FISH DOESN’T WANT TO DIE – A Long Life in China
March 31, 2008 Bok Sa, Toishan, Guangdong Province, China Yesterday, we paid our promised visit to Old Mr. Ma Wen Hui. When we arrived, his granddaughter Ma Jin Feng and her mother Kuang Cui Lan flung open their doors and eagerly shepherded us inside. We passed...
GROSS – A Cultural Exchange in China
March 30, 2008 Bok Sa, Toishan Yesterday I took a laxative in the wee morning hours, but it didn’t kick in until afternoon, and even now I still feel full of crap. All the doughy dim sum in the mornings, and white rice and rice-based foods all day long aren’t helping....
FINDING FAMILY IN UNEXPECTED PLACES – An American Cousin in China
March 29, 2008 Bok Sa Town, Toishan, China Yesterday, I hoped to find the village of my great-grandfather, Ma Bing Sum. I had thought he was from the village of Gong Hao. But it turns out that Gong Hao isn’t a village; rather, it’s a small district of many villages....
THE WAY TO COME HOME – Following A Ghost To China
March 28, 2008 Overseas Chinese Hotel Bok Sa Town, Toishan County, Guangdong Province, China In the town of Bok Sa, I'm not merely one of the few foreigners: I'm the only non-Chinese foreigner. As such, I've become an instant celebrity. Last night, our plump, smiling,...
WHAT UNCLE ROY ATE BEFORE HE RAN FOR HIS LIFE – Tracing Hong Kong’s Past
March 26, 2008 Hong Kong I wanted a “hearty” breakfast. Fiona Zhu wasn’t familiar with that word, so I said, “I want to eat a meal that will make me feel full and make me strong… so I can walk all day.” She still seemed at a loss, possible because I also said I wanted...
FROM CANTONESE TO CAPPUCCINO – Walking in Hong Kong
March 26, 2008 Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong Yesterday morning, Fiona Zhu and I ate breakfast at a noodle shop. I ordered rice noodles with pork in soup. I expected little bits of pork, and was disconcerted to see an entire chop in my bowl. It was tasty, although I...