So we’d been camped out on Kamala Beach for a couple of days now and were ready to explore more of the island. We’d heard rumors that Phuket Town was cheaper than the beaches (which made sense) so we decided we’d head inland to have our long-anticipated seafood feast. (We’d been ordering some great shrimp on the beach but were ready for some crab and maybe lobster.) As much as I loved the tuk-tuks in Phuket, they were pricey. 300 baht to get into Phuket Town (divide by 40 for USD—doesn’t seem much, but for comparison we paid 540 baht for a 2-person room at the YMCA in Chiang Mai; also, it was 300 baht to rent a mo-ped for a day… unfortunately it’s against company policy to rent a mo-ped at all). Anyway, we paid the 300 baht and said “Phuket Town.” As we got into town, we asked the driver if he knew any good seafood places, he said he did, and we headed that direction. I knew we were in trouble as we kept heading farther and farther out of town. Our contingency plan was that if he took us somewhere shady or expensive, we could walk somewhere less shady and less expensive. But, as we turned onto a quarter-mile long dirt road, far from town, we realized that was out of the question. The place he took us to was nice. We were seated on a deck overlooking some water. Too nice, I thought. I was right. The crab on the menu was over 500 baht, lobster even more. We’d been eating for around 100 at Kamala. But, we had already sat down and put in our drink orders before we saw the menu (our mistake), so we waited for the drinks, drank them and left. For whatever reason (maybe this had happened before, I thought), our tuk-tuk driver was still waiting in the parking lot of the restaurant when we left. We’re saved! We told the driver that the place was nice, but too expensive. Can you take us somewhere cheaper, we asked? No problem, he said, he knew just the place—and there was no extra charge. What a great guy. We drove back down the dirt road and back into Phuket Town. When we stopped, the driver pointed us down an alley. Cheap seafood, he said, that way. We skeptically crept down the alley to a large, sliding metal door at the back. It was cracked enough to see couches around the walls with reclining Thai woman and was without a doubt, definitely not a restaurant. This time the tuk-tuk was gone and we knew we’d been punk’d. Apparently in Thai, cheap seafood means cheap prostitutes. We bu yao’d out of there, down the street to a corner restaurant with plenty of sunlight and openness—mei yo shadiness. We opened the menu: right around 100 baht, the same price as our usual places. We had a nice meal and found a tuk-tuk for the ride home. “Kamala Beach, please. We’ve already had dinner.”
(Bu yao is “I don’t want it” in Chinese; mei yo: without.)
February 20, 2006
February 18, 2006
Wal-Mart run
My week back in Beijing has been great. The sky's been clear, the weather not-so cold, I've slept in everyday (noon for three days straight even), haven't spent too much money (much-needed after spending the rest of it in Thailand), and I've even been sort-of productive. By productive I mean of course that I finished another book (Alice in Wonderland--bringing the total to 5 since Chinese New Year), watched the entire Band of Brothers series, and made my first Chinese Wal-Mart run.
Wal-Mart isn't all that far from here (still in the NW part of town), but it's not the easiest to get to. My companion and I for the day chose the cheap route (by bus) and it took us about an hour on the 653. It was a clear day so it was actually one of those helpful travel days because you can see where you're going. Have I said much about the smog in Beijing? Seriously, there's days where you can't see the top of a building across the street... I went a month before I realized you could see mountains out my office window.
Anyway, we made it to the Wal-Mart Supercenter off of Ji Chun Lu and though I wasn't expecting a big parking lot and a McDonald's or anything, it still was strange to see good old Wal-Mart tucked in the middle of good old Beijing--sort of a mixing of two worlds, I guess. This particular Wal-Mart is three stories (not all that big inside really, though) and has the usual stuff: electronics, office supplies, groceries, luggage, clothes, etc. And, like all big stores in China, they have the carts with four wheels that turn (rather than fixed back wheels like in the States), so you can do cool stuff with it like turn really fast and push it sideways. It's probably hard to explain, but trust me, it's cool. And to take the carts within the three levels, they have flat escalators (think the people-movers in the Pittsburgh airport on an inclined plane)--pretty cool, I think.
Canada may have milk in a bag, but you have to come to China to find roast duck in a bag. Maybe you actually don't, but here's a look at the inside--pretty much the same, right?
My big purchase of the day was a set of Samsung speakers for my computer. I had said to Sammo the night before that I was sick of only hearing music out of my dinky laptop speakers, so I was primed to give up 150 kuai for something a little bigger and louder. I ended up spending under 200 (about $25) on the speakers, a cable I didn't need for the speakers, some shampoo, a bag of Lay's International potato chips (I chose Classic American flavor over Crab, Seaweed, Spicy Drumstick and something else), and a stapler. The speakers are swish, the chips were good, and though the shampoo and stapler remain unused, I have complete confidence they'll be just fine.
As happened so many times in my happy college days, it was another successful--but different--Wal-Mart run.
Wal-Mart isn't all that far from here (still in the NW part of town), but it's not the easiest to get to. My companion and I for the day chose the cheap route (by bus) and it took us about an hour on the 653. It was a clear day so it was actually one of those helpful travel days because you can see where you're going. Have I said much about the smog in Beijing? Seriously, there's days where you can't see the top of a building across the street... I went a month before I realized you could see mountains out my office window.
Anyway, we made it to the Wal-Mart Supercenter off of Ji Chun Lu and though I wasn't expecting a big parking lot and a McDonald's or anything, it still was strange to see good old Wal-Mart tucked in the middle of good old Beijing--sort of a mixing of two worlds, I guess. This particular Wal-Mart is three stories (not all that big inside really, though) and has the usual stuff: electronics, office supplies, groceries, luggage, clothes, etc. And, like all big stores in China, they have the carts with four wheels that turn (rather than fixed back wheels like in the States), so you can do cool stuff with it like turn really fast and push it sideways. It's probably hard to explain, but trust me, it's cool. And to take the carts within the three levels, they have flat escalators (think the people-movers in the Pittsburgh airport on an inclined plane)--pretty cool, I think.
Canada may have milk in a bag, but you have to come to China to find roast duck in a bag. Maybe you actually don't, but here's a look at the inside--pretty much the same, right?
My big purchase of the day was a set of Samsung speakers for my computer. I had said to Sammo the night before that I was sick of only hearing music out of my dinky laptop speakers, so I was primed to give up 150 kuai for something a little bigger and louder. I ended up spending under 200 (about $25) on the speakers, a cable I didn't need for the speakers, some shampoo, a bag of Lay's International potato chips (I chose Classic American flavor over Crab, Seaweed, Spicy Drumstick and something else), and a stapler. The speakers are swish, the chips were good, and though the shampoo and stapler remain unused, I have complete confidence they'll be just fine.
As happened so many times in my happy college days, it was another successful--but different--Wal-Mart run.
February 12, 2006
Chinese New Year (and halfway for me)
My vacation in Thailand is over and I'm back in good old Beijing, hiding my tan under jeans and a hoodie and wondering if I'll see the sun again before I'm back in America (I might not). Vacation was great. The highlights include: riding an elephant through the mountains above Chiang Mai, snorkelling off the coast of Phuket Island, lots of time on the beach, making the semi-finals of a Settlers of Catan tournament (no joke--I finished 5th in a field of 30), great seafood, Thai food, Western food, Burger King, watching the Super Bowl at 6 a.m. in the morning with such commercials as "Golden Moments of Wimbledon" and ads for English Premiere League soccer (courtesy of coverage on ESPN World), a Steelers victory, One For The Thumb, used book stores, the aforementioned tuk-tuks, country reports at conference, and finally, crossing the half-way point of my year overseas. February 5th was the exact halfway, so I heard, and the 11th was 6 months since I left home.
It's a new year back here in China (for all of us born in 1982, it's ours--the Year of the Dog), and tonight is the final night (I think) of the two-week celebration. In a land where fireworks were invented (and in a city where their use was banned until said ban was lifted this year), the Chinese people give even the Zambelli's a run for their money. Since nightfall there's been a pretty steady boom of fireworks here in Haidian District, with the night sky ablaze at certain points. Down every street and across every city block, citizens are setting off their own private displays--and it's after midnight now without much slowing down. I'm wondering if it's been like this since the Lunar calendar flipped to 2006, and if so I'm thinking the Fourth of July's got nothing on this. Not a bad homecoming.
I've got a lot more to say about conference, Thailand, and the months ahead, and pictures. There are a lot so I'm thinking of starting a photo site, maybe using Shutterfly. If I do I'll let ya know. I've got this next week off before I head back to the office--and I probably won't teach for another week after that, so I've got plenty of time to work on my fantasy baseball scouting, write up something about the Pirates offseason and write more about what I saw of Southeast Asia and what I hope to see here until June 27 rolls around. And I don't just mean a blue sky and some stars.
Goodnight, and Xin Nian Kui Le (Happy Chinese New Year) !
It's a new year back here in China (for all of us born in 1982, it's ours--the Year of the Dog), and tonight is the final night (I think) of the two-week celebration. In a land where fireworks were invented (and in a city where their use was banned until said ban was lifted this year), the Chinese people give even the Zambelli's a run for their money. Since nightfall there's been a pretty steady boom of fireworks here in Haidian District, with the night sky ablaze at certain points. Down every street and across every city block, citizens are setting off their own private displays--and it's after midnight now without much slowing down. I'm wondering if it's been like this since the Lunar calendar flipped to 2006, and if so I'm thinking the Fourth of July's got nothing on this. Not a bad homecoming.
I've got a lot more to say about conference, Thailand, and the months ahead, and pictures. There are a lot so I'm thinking of starting a photo site, maybe using Shutterfly. If I do I'll let ya know. I've got this next week off before I head back to the office--and I probably won't teach for another week after that, so I've got plenty of time to work on my fantasy baseball scouting, write up something about the Pirates offseason and write more about what I saw of Southeast Asia and what I hope to see here until June 27 rolls around. And I don't just mean a blue sky and some stars.
Goodnight, and Xin Nian Kui Le (Happy Chinese New Year) !
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
