Our First Twitter Contest “Inspire Others to Travel” – Win $50 in Amazon Gift Cards
After some thoughts on how to get the word out about our very awesome blog, we decided that we will hold a Twitter Contest. We want to enlist your help in spreading the word, and in return, we will pick two winners. Each lucky winner will receive a $25 gift card to Amazon.com. We hope you will spend it all on cool travel related stuff or Lonely Planet guidebooks for your next trip!
So here are the simple rules:
- You must have an account on Twitter.
- You must be a follower of @FlyingCoach.
- To enter, tweet any post from our blog. Use the hashtag #FCContest and mention @FlyingCoach.
- You can copy and paste the tweet below to tweet this post.
- Each tweet counts as an entry.
- You can use a URL shortener, such as ow.ly, tiny.ly, bit.ly, etc..
- The contest begins on Monday, April 25th, at 12:01AM Pacific Time.
- The contest closes on Sunday, May 1st, at 11:59PM Pacific Time.
- We will select the winners using a random number generator. Winners will be notified via Twitter on Monday, May 2nd.
Retweet the following to begin:
Inspire Others to Travel, follow @FlyingCoach & RT to win $50 in Amazon GC. http://ow.ly/4EMF4 #FCContest #Contest
Ready? Set? Go!
Read MoreCongratulations, Gary!
In the mid-90′s, I was fortunate to be able to work and travel at the same time. I spent four and a half months traveling around South America with a group of guys and we had our share of adventures. I lost touch with all of them over the years, but recently ran into my closest friend from that trip, Gary Ryals (I have mentioned him in a previous post). We have since spent some time together catching up and it turns out he has gone on to become a U.S. Navy officer and earned his MBA from UCLA.
Not only has he been incredibly successful in his career, but he was also named by UCLA as a Top 100 Inspirational Alumnus.
Congratulations, Gary! We had quite a few good times together and hopefully have many more to come.
Read MoreTrans-Siberia Episode 04: Xi’an Train Station
Our first train in China commenced from the Xi’an Train Station. Over 6000 miles later, we still had not found a crazier station (although Beijing was close). What a way to break into the mass-transit experience. While this is not on the Trans-Siberian route, it marked the beginning of our train trip across Asia, ending in St. Petersburg, Russia. We took the overnight train from Xi’an to Beijing (the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railway) on a very nice train.
Some notes on this train: The sleeper cars were very clean and it was a nice way to ease into life on a train. It was very comfortable, although all we did was sleep. Once we awoke, we had arrived in Beijing. The bathrooms were clean at the beginning, with a choice of the traditional sit-down toilets or squat toilets.
One additional comment for all of those women who complain and complain when a man leaves the toilet seat up. Well, too bad for you, on this train they leave them down and, let’s just say, you better get in there early because proper aim on a train is IMpossible. Later trains had a hook which held the seats up at all times, but for some reason this train either did not have them, or no one used them.
Read MoreHow You Can Help Japan
Sara’s first travel experience was to Japan. That trip changed her life and gave her the passion that she has for travel today. I proposed to Sara in Japan and our younger daughter’s first trip other than to Taiwan was to Tokyo. I found the country to be at the top of my favorite places to have visited. The recent tragedy there is heart-wrenching for our whole family.
If you are not sure of the best way to help the Japanese, a fellow blogger, Todd of Todd’s Wanderings has put together a list of trustworthy support agencies based in Japan that have English websites. He was in Japan at the time of the quake and his wife is Japanese, so he knows firsthand the devastation and the relief efforts that have the greatest effect. Please go to his site, pick an organization and donate what you feel you can to help out.
Read MoreXi’an: So Much History!
The ancient legend, passed down from generation to generation, told of the first Chinese emperor who was so afraid of the afterlife that he arranged to bring thousands of warriors to guard him when he passed on. It was not important that they had not yet died. They were buried alive with him when he died, along with gold, food, livestock, clothing and anything else he would need in the next world.
This was a legend that every Chinese child was taught as historical fact in school for thousands of years. It was something they all believed as much as we Americans believe in Washington crossing the Delaware. Thousands of people buried alive just to appease one man’s ego. It seems difficult to believe, but was it true? No one knew for sure, until about 35 years ago.
One day in 1974, a poor farmer needed to dig a well to irrigate his land. As he dug, he came across some ceramic material and was not sure what it was. He thought that it might be valuable, so he contacted the local authorities. It turned out to be the answer to the myth of the buried soldiers. The government took over the land and eventually discovered thousands of clay (terracotta) figures. Unfortunately, they were all in pieces, but once they were reconstructed, it was discovered that each figure was individual, based on a real person. It seems that the legend was real, at least in part.
Xi’an, formerly Chang’an, is the home of these Terracotta Soldiers, tasked with guarding the first emperor of China in the afterlife. Currently, this is what Xi’an is known for and the city serves mainly as a tourist destination. However, Chang’an was the capital of several dynasties of ancient China and the history here is rich beyond most, if not all, Western destinations. The silk road, the ancient highway connecting the East with the West, begins in Xi’an. Several pivotal battles were fought here. A 500,000 year old man was found nearby. But, probably the most significant historical occurrence was when the Chinese monk, Xuanzang, brought Buddhist scriptures back from India and transformed the country’s religion into what it is today (more or less).
Xi’an is, today, a city for tourists. I am not at all a fan of an organized tour group. If I want to hang out with a bunch of old, white Americans, there are plenty of places in the U.S. where I can get my thrills. However, I do feel like there are certain times when hiring a private guide is well worth it. With the right guide, you can get the inside scoop on things, learn a little history and even save some money if he is trustworthy and helps you avoid the tourist traps. We were fortunate that our guide was honest, knowledgeable and spoke excellent English.
We spent two days with Rafael of Xi’an Auto & Tour Company. He is not your average tour guide. First, he did not take us souvenir shopping (although he said that he would if we wanted to). Second, we had already secured hotel accommodations outside the city, but he told us that if we stayed there, we would really be spending most of the time in the car. Instead, he found us a non-tourist hotel, for less than we were paying (which was already very low), right in the middle of the city, walking distance to the night market. Let me explain the non-tourist hotel. This is a hotel that is not licensed to market to tourists and foreigners. They are allowed to let them stay in the hotel, but the foreigners must find it on their own. They are generally cheaper because only Chinese natives know about them. In our case, it was a very nice hotel and very convenient to our touristy destinations.
If you are a regular reader of our blog posts, you might notice that Sara and I tend to get ourselves into sticky situations more often than not. Unfortunately for you, the reader, this time, everything went pretty smoothly. Rafael took very good care of us and drove us to all of the sites, explaining the history in great detail. We saw the city walls, a night-time show, the night market, the Terracotta Soldiers and the Huaqing Hot Spring. (Please note that the Huaqing Hot Spring is the site of the Xi’an Incident, prior to World War II involving Chiang Kai-skek and possibly changing the future of China as we know it. Even though I really enjoy history and thoroughly enjoyed seeing this, I did not want to bore you with the details. Just know that if you delight in reading about and seeing things related to WWII, you do not want to miss this.)
If you would like to see more of our experience in Xi’an, please check out our video and photo gallery.
Xi’an was very calm and orderly with Rafael guiding us. Then, it was time to take our first train ride of the trip. He dropped us off at the Xi’an Train Station, bid us, “Good luck!” and left. We were now on our own, amongst thousands of people, all trying to get on a train. Even though we had Sara with us, who could speak and read Mandarin, the train station was a very hectic experience. There is little English, either written or spoken, in the station. We were supposed to be in a First Class waiting area, where they would announce our train’s arrival, and we were, but so were hundreds of others. When our train came, there was no announcement on the big board, some lady just shouted out that our train was in the station and it was time to board…in Chinese. We have a video on the way with more details…
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I just wanted to add one more detail about the Terracotta Soldiers. The legend taught for thousands of years to the Chinese about the soldiers being buried alive is still believed by some in the older generations of Chinese and Taiwanese. They were taught this as fact for so long that even with the discovery of the Terracotta Soldiers, the belief is still that the soldiers were buried alive and were transformed into clay after burial. It is possible to purchase a mini replica of a soldier as a souvenir, but many Chinese believe they are haunted and will bring you bad luck. Buyer beware!
Read MoreTrans-Siberia Video 03 – Xian
Xian, the most famous and historic of China’s ancient capitals, is home of the terracotta warriors, a beautiful city wall and the start of the silk road.
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Dreams, Passion, Loss
For the last two nights I have had dreams about an I.T. client of mine whom I have known for over 10 years (according to my dream, Hurley from Lost was his personal chef). I found out two weeks ago that he passed away in December after a battle with stomach cancer. I have been fortunate over the years to have a lot of clients, but I can safely say that Dr. Dana Launer was pretty unique. He was a colo-rectal surgeon by trade and you would think that a lifetime of looking up people’s rectums would make someone surly, but this man had a zest for life, always a smile on his face.
Dr. Launer found out in August that he had developed cancer and subsequently had his stomach removed. I did not find out about this until just before Christmas when he called me to help him set up a computer in his house downstairs because he could no longer climb his stairs. I normally do not go to a client’s house, but with Dr. Launer I have always made an exception. When I was over at his house, we talked of travel. He told me of taking a trip to Lake Tahoe with his kids when they were very young. I shared with him some stories from our latest trip on the Trans-Siberian Railway (he knows Sara very well). He looked at me and said, “I always wanted to take Elaine and travel once I retire. Now it looks like I might never get that chance.”
That statement stuck with me and gave me quite a bit to think about. At first, I felt bad for him, because he never got a chance to follow his dream to travel. He had worked hard his whole life, becoming Chief of Surgery at the same hospital where our younger daughter was born. He never had time to play. Then I recalled an earlier conversation I had had with him in the elevator at his office. I was headed to my car, tired after a long day of visiting clients, and he seemed his normal, chipper self.
“Why are you so happy?” I asked him.
“Because I’m headed to surgery.”
I was confused. Of course, he was going as the doctor, not the patient, but to me, surgery meant a long tedious process that would exhaust you even further and was not something to which I would look forward. So I asked again, “So…why so happy?”
He answered, “Because this is my favorite part of my job. I am going in there to change someone’s life. I am going to take away their pain. This is why I became a doctor: to help people.”
I do not feel bad that Dr. Launer never pursued his dream of travel. He pursued a lifetime of his passion. I will miss him. Good-bye, Dr. Launer.
The secret to enjoying your life is simple: Find your passion. Don’t postpone it. Pursue it.
Not next week.
Now.
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Huangshan: The Most Beautiful Mountain in China
About five hours into our six hour bus ride from Shanghai to Huangshan, the bus driver pulled off into an area that was obviously not our final destination. He turned and announced something in the local dialect, so even Sara could not understand what he said. Whatever it was, though, it pissed off two-thirds of the people on the bus, because they suddenly erupted into angry shouts. Apparently, he wanted them to get off the bus immediately. This was not their destination. The driver matched their angry words with shouts of his own. He was tough and he wasn’t going to take any crap from these people. The shouting intensified and Sara whispered to me to watch out. We were in the front seats of the bus, between the driver and the masses, not a good position in a riot.
The day had started early in Shanghai. Our friends, Charles and Vina, and Sara and I boarded our bus and were pleasantly surprised to find that we had front-row seats and the bus was almost empty. It was a nice, clean bus and it left on time. What more could one ask for? We suspected our driver might be a con man when, less than hour into the trip, he made an unscheduled stop and picked up enough people to fill the bus. The fare for all of our new arrivals was paid for in cash by one man, who didn’t get on the bus.
The bus finally pulled out, and we were once again on our way. The bus was no longer peaceful, but everyone had seats, so everyone was happy. We were minding our own business, when the shouting started. Sara could catch a few words here and there that she understood and she was visibly frightened. The people on the bus wanted to get to their final destination and the bus driver was absolutely not going to take them. We were stopped in an unpopulated area, and obviously not close enough to where the driver had originally promised to deliver this crowd. The yelling intensified and suddenly the driver darted off of the bus. We did not know what was going on, but the people did not chase him, so this was a good sign.
A few minutes passed and the driver re-boarded the bus and announced to the people that he had secured another van for them that would take them where they needed to go. They seemed satisfied if not pleased, gathered their belongings and left the bus for a much smaller van in which they all needed to fit. As soon as they all disembarked, our bus driver high-tailed it out of there and we never saw the people again.
The bus driver dropped us off at a restaurant where we refreshed, had lunch and waited for our taxi to the entrance to the mountain. Since we only had one night to spend there, we opted for the cable car to the top, rather than the ten-hour hike. When we reached the top, the view seemed like it was from a movie. In fact, it is said that James Cameron based his floating mountains in the movie Avatar, on Huangshan. The clouds filled in the valleys and the peaks of the mountains popped through so they seemed to be floating.
The weather is ever changing on the mountain, so even if it is raining, just be patient and it just might stop and be sunny in 10 minutes. We found the view to be excellent when we arrived, but then it clouded up after we hiked to and checked into our hotel.
You should know that it is necessary to be in decent shape to visit Huangshan. Even if you plan to take the cable car and stay close to your hotel (there are several at the top, but they are not cheap), you will end up hiking up and down hundreds if not thousands of stairs. There is no easy way to go, only more difficult ones.
On such a long trip, each person develops certain noticeable habits that become expected and joked about throughout the rest of the trip. At the top of Huangshan, Charles became known among us as the one who could get things. It seems that our hotel was a bit stingy with the toilet paper (you would be, too, if you had to hike it 10 hours up a mountain). Charles was the man to go to for TP. He quickly made friends with the right person at the hotel and we each had three or four rolls in our rooms. It was a good thing, too, because lunch turned out to be not my friend. (Every trip I take I have at least one run-in with the food)
We hiked for the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed the scenery that has graced the most famous Chinese art for thousands of years. If you see ancient drawings and paintings with steep mountains in the clouds, it is most likely Huangshan. This is one of the top destinations of most Chinese travelers at some point in their lives. During summer months, it can be very crowded, but we were fortunate and the crowds, with the bullhorn-armed tour guides, were somewhat minimal (for China).
Late in the afternoon, Charles and Vina ventured off on their own, with the hopes of catching the sunset, while Sara and I remained in our room, with the hopes of me staying near the toilet. They missed the sunset, but managed to catch a really, really intense downpour. I caught some Imodium and a nap.
Still not feeling great the next morning, Sara and I slept in while Charles and Vina went to see the sunrise. Oops, rain again…no sun. We met up at breakfast and headed out for more hiking. The fog and rain kept us from seeing too much, but it was still a very enjoyable experience.
We met some fellow travelers: Pascal, Remy and Sabine. They were interns from France and Germany, living in China for a year. They had made the mistake of staying in the town of Huangshan, rather than the mountain of Huangshan. It is about a 45 minute taxi ride from the town to the mountain, not to mention the hike/ride up the mountain. They did not seem to mind too much as it is quite a bit cheaper, but if you are going, be sure you know the difference in locations.
The Huangshan experience can be expensive and the crowds can be extreme, but there is a reason that it is famous as a destination in times both modern and ancient. If you are only going to China once in your life, you should consider putting Huangshan on your list of things to see.
Read MoreHow to Eat Your Way Through Chinese New Year in San Francisco
Last year I got to experience diverse culinary delights from many different Asian cultures during the traditional Chinese New Year celebration in San Francisco. We went there to celebrate with Sara’s extended family. Unfortunately, her immediate family could not make it from Taiwan and China, but we did get to see almost everyone else on her mother’s side…dozens.
As individuals, Sara’s family members have many different interests and specialties. As a whole however, they only have one: food. When everyone gets together for a meal, while traveling, or just visiting, the topic of conversation over lunch is always what’s for dinner. Dinner always revolves around what tomorrow’s meals will bring. I knew ahead of time that we were in for a treat on this trip, but, once again, I was blown away by the quality of food that we were able to consume in one (three-day) weekend. If you are going to San Francisco any time soon and want some good authentic Asian food, read on…
Our first meal, lunch on Friday, was from a small, hole-in-the-wall Hong Kong style restaurant in the Sunset district of San Francisco called Cheung Hing Chinese Restaurant. We had a combination of soy-sauce chicken, duck and tofu over a bed of rice. I have really come to love this type of cooking over my years with Sara and this is one of my favorite restaurants that prepares it. No matter when you go, there will be a line, and, while you can eat it there, we never have because it is so tiny, so plan to take it away and eat elsewhere. Note that the beach is less than a mile away and if it is a nice day, it would make a great picnic.
For dinner on Friday, Sara chose to have us go to Japantown for some ramen, a traditional Japanese noodle soup. I have never been a big fan of ramen, mainly because we Americans are only exposed to the really, really cheap stuff, but when we were in Japan, we had some from Ichiran Ramen in Ueno, Tokyo and it was without a doubt the best I have ever had. Unfortunately, that doesn’t carry a lot of weight, because I, once again in case you weren’t paying attention, don’t really like it that much, but Sara and her sister Sophia also agree that it was the best in the world. That is saying something. The restaurant in San Francisco, unfortunately, was not nearly as good, but was not bad in any way. They make their own noodles and everything is very fresh and appealing to the American palate. However, I have been spoiled and am still pining for my Japanese ramen.
Saturday brought a dim sum brunch. A lot of Americans do not like dim sum because they are afraid of it. If you are unaware of what dim sum is, it is a Hong Kong style Chinese buffet that is brought to you. You typically stay seated while waiters or waitresses bring carts around the restaurant with different dishes and you can pick what you want for the table to share. You only pay for what you take. The problem is that most Americans cannot identify anything and are scared to death that they are going to end up with something like cow’s intestine (definitely possible, so be careful). To overcome this fear, you really need to go to a dim sum restaurant with someone who really knows their stuff (and whom you trust to accurately relay that information).
The first time Sara and I went to a dim sum restaurant was in San Diego (not really known for great Chinese food). One of the items that was an option was obviously chicken nuggets, but they were curiously shaped like chicken’s feet. Being of the McDonald’s generation (parts is parts), I was used to chicken being ground up and re-formed into palatable shapes, but I could not imagine why they would choose to make them look like feet. I pointed this out to Sara, who laughed at the silly white boy and said, “That’s because they ARE feet.” OK, skip the feet. One point of note, if you do choose to try the feet, Sara tells me that at the cheaper restaurants they still have the toenails on them, while the higher end places trim them.
On this dim sum trip to Koi Palace, the family decided not to wait for the carts to approach us (all the good stuff is gone), but instead to order from the menu. It was the most incredible dim sum brunch I have ever had. We had all different forms of shrimp, chicken, pork, and most of it would be outstanding to the average American taste. Don’t get me wrong, we did have a few things that were not too appealing to me: cow’s intestine and, yes, chicken feet (they actually ordered them off of the menu!). I was feeling good, however, and I agreed to try one of the feet. Well, just one of the toes, actually, and I would like to say that it was quite good. But, of course, I would be lying. It was mostly skin and fat. Also, you know how your fingers are made up of quite a few bones held together by ligaments…so are the chicken’s. You have to filter those out with your tongue and then dispose of them discretely. I will say that the toenails were clipped, though.
That night was the traditional Chinese banquet, usually a 12-course meal, made up of almost every type of food you can think of, and a few that would never occur to you (jellyfish, sea cucumber – those little slug-like things). Once again, we went to a traditional Chinese restaurant, Five Happiness. The meal had been selected beforehand, so all we had to do was wait for it to be delivered. Everything is served ‘family-style’, meaning it was all put on a large Lazy Susan and everyone took what they wanted. Even though there are twelve courses, the portions are fairly small, so it is possible to try everything. I will say that I have had jellyfish before, several times, and I do recommend it. It has a great taste and the consistency is something to be experienced, both chewy and crunchy at the same time.
The highlight of the evening was Sara discovering a new allergy: eel. She determined a few years ago that she is violently allergic to tuna. So much so that she has to carry an EpiPen with her. After eating the eel (an early course), she started getting the same feeling as she gets when she eats tuna: massive headache and a feeling she is going to pass out. Tom, husband of one of Sara’s cousins, quickly found a nearby pharmacy on his iPhone and I set off to get some Benadryl (the EpiPen was at home). Luckily, Sara is not quite so allergic to eel, so I made it back in time with the medicine and she was OK for dessert.
Since Sara has family in San Francisco, we go there often, but it is certainly a city that can be visited over and over and you will never tire of it. I think that the only U.S. cities that rival it for unique and exciting culinary destinations are New Orleans and New York. If you are planning a trip there, Chinese New Year is certainly a time of year to consider going, especially if you have some Chinese friends there that can show you the secrets.
Read MoreTrans-Siberia Video 02 – Huangshan
The second leg of our journey took us to the most beautiful mountain of China, Huangshan, the Yellow Mountain.
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