The Senakams | Corgi + 3

Duck Neck and World's "Fastest" Train

Being here in China for 3 weeks now, I can say that my Chinese-ness is slowly coming back to me...

I've mastered crossing the street irrespective of traffic light (stick with a crowd and be prepared to sprint); I manage to stay balanced without holding on while looking non-chalant on jam-packed metro trains; and I take the "opportunistic" approach when lines are involved (hey, when in Rome, right?).

But once in a while, I still flinch at fairly "everyday" occurrences: trying not to pee my pants when my seatbelt-less taxi fly over 5 lanes trying to exit a roundabout the wrong way; skip-hopping on the street to avoid the random loogie hawked in my feet's direction; and being offered delicacies such as worms, turtles and snakes...

One such delicacy that apparently is all the rage now is:

Duck neck.

Yep, this is a big bag stuffed with spicy, cured duck neck from a famous chain in Wuhan. You'll find specialty stores everywhere in Wuhan, selling every part of a duck you can (or can't) imagine- duck feet, wing tips, and of course, heads. 

And no, I'm not being particularly adventurous here, this is just souvenir for my dad, who happens to love this stuff.

I have to admit, I'm kinda curious.... care to try one with me?

And in case you're wondering, Wuhan is a city right smack dab in the middle of China. It's known as one of the "four furnaces" of China- my first day there it was 85 F when I was going to work at 8 in the morning. Yikes. It's about a 3-4-hour high-speed train ride from Guangzhou where we are, I have to visit a couple times a month since it's where my other office is.

Speaking of high-speed train, I'm glad that I got a chance to experience the world's fastest second-fastest train going to Wuhan last week. Well, let's say it WAS the fastest until about 2 weeks ago (thanks to its new Shanghai-Beijing high-speed cousin). 

The top speed actually is reported to be around 350 km/hr, I noticed during our trip it only got close once at around 340 km/hr, other times we were cruising at a leisurely 329 km/hr (for my American friends back home, that's about 204 miles/hr). 

And at that speed, it's really impressive how comfortable the ride is. So comfortable our little girl fell right asleep... Isn't she soooo cute? This reminds me of this picture, taken during our babymoon, with her still inside my belly.... Awww...

The technology and comfort of the train sharply contrast the endless span of rural farmland we pass by... 

And we got a "reserved for first class" snack box and the ubiquitous wet towel. Disappointing though, no duck neck.

Powered by a first-class snack, Eva's off to terrorizing her parents and fellow passengers again. Fun!

For more photos of our short Wuhan trip, visit our flickr album here. Enjoy!

Guangzhou --> Shanghai --> and Back

It’s been a crazy whirlwind of a week! Apologies for the delay since our last update, as we have traveled from Guangzhou to Shanghai and back, and our schedule there has pretty much been non-stop from the moment we open our eyes to when our heads touch the pillow (when we’d immediatley zonk out). 

Here we are at the new Shanghai Hongqiao Airport, where you can find a traditional tea shop next to a Keng De Ji (Chinese for KFC) alongside a news stand that sells a complete Elmo collection in Chinese with a Porsche parked right next to it. Weird, I know, but that's a fairly representative portrait of the mix of new and old, east and west that is Shanghai today.

And what exactly's been keeping us so busy in Shanghai, you ask?

Well, for one, I finally started working officially! After all these months of preparation and anticipation (we even had training on how to eat Chinese food properly), it feels a bit surreal to finally set foot in our office in the heart of the pharma hub in the Pudong district, filled with futuristic skyscrapers in all kinds of shapes and colors (including one that looks just like an enormous bottle opener) you’d think you’re in a elaborate sci-fi movie set.

But after walking into our office, meeting with our Chinese colleagues, having lunch with them, chatting about our work, lives, families, and comparing iPad apps (yes, the iPad 2 just launched here in China and we're all equally obsessed), I have a feeling that we may come in different packaging, but inside we're pretty much made of the same human ingredients.

And you’ll be right to guess that outside of work, sightseeing and shopping are other activities that have been keeping us busy, but a bonus for us is that my cousin’s family also lives here in Shanghai. We stayed with them in their nice surburban Shanghai house for a few days, and got to experience “local” lives outside of hotels and avoid stuck in tourist traps...

Speaking of tourist traps, did I mention a fake Marc Jacobs bag marked 2800 yuan in the underground mall will be sold after much bargaining to a foreigner for 600 yuan which can be had by a local for 250 yuan?

Anyway, I digressed... here is Eva hanging out with her new bff, Cousin Stephanie, who’s taken Eva under her wings and acted as her dai jie jie (big sister), always holding her hand on the street and feeding her during meals. These days Eva would wake up from her nap saying “Sephi.... Sephi....”

And you know where these last 2 pictures were taken? I know it sounds kinda crazy, but it's the childhood home my paternal grandma grew up in, which is now a designated historic site in Shanghai that's under restoration.

We found this sign there that describes the restoration process of the "Yin Family Home". Apparently they were a wealthy family of landowners who's also involved in the printing industry. The house was locked from the front, but the resourceful and determined descendants of the Yin family found a way to visit our ancestral home...

Cool, eh?

Another highlight of our Shanghai trip was visiting one of the famous water villages near Shanghai. The one we went to is called Zhu Jia Jiao (朱家角). 

The many bridges and historic buildings seem nicely restored and cared for, and even though 9 out of 10 people you see are tourists like us and most stores sell the same things that they think tourists like to buy, we found the people who live/ work there genuinely charming and hospitable, like this restaurant owner lady below who couldn't put Eva down and kept coming out of the kitchen to give her an extra piece of cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, and way too many pieces of candies.

Eva couldn't resist the purple clay tea set next to our table, guess its minute stature reminds her of her play tea set at home. And so she helped herself...

In case you're wondering, this is pork belly wrapped in lotus leaves, a local specialty, and the orange baggies are attached to the mechanical part of a fan, serving as scare-flies. Smart people.

It's a real pity that I didn't even had time to see the "real" Shanghai- the downtown, the bund, and all that good stuff. Oh well, guess that gives me an excuse to come back some time this summer. Bye, Shanghai (for now)!

From China with Love

Hi blog peeps! We've arrived in Guangzhou, China! Woohoo!

First, thanks to all of you who wished us bon voyage. We all survived the 15+ hour trans-Pacific flight, save for a few hairy moments- leaking milk bottle, exploding banana in the bottom of hubby's backpack, carry-on that's about 40 lbs overweight.

Yup, that's right, we're one of those idiots who assumed no one will weigh our carry-on bags. Our airline has a 15 lb (7 kg)/bag limit which is strictly enforced. The luggage itself weighs about 10 lb. You do the math. We weighed every piece of checked-in luggage with military precision, coz I swear we wouldn't be one of "those people", squatting at the check-in area, frantically repacking their luggages while trying desperately to conceal (unsuccessfully) all those embarrassing stuff you wish people wouldn't notice... But yeah, that was us. And add a toddler who's still up at 12 a.m. running on chocolate-milk-power trying to tip over everyone's luggage. Fun times.

With all that now safely tugged in my repressed memory compartment, I can move on and tell you that we made it here safely and have begun to settle in our apartment, in the heart of the new business district of Tianhe. 

Our first 48 hours here in Guangzhou mostly consists of trying to figure out what time it is (here and back home), nodding off at 4 p.m. and tossing and turning at 4 a.m., learning how to use the phone, our credit cards, internet, water heater (which I accidentally turned off then harassed the front desk endlessly to get fixed, oops...). 

We haven't really ventured out much yet, other than to the grocery store, which in itself was an adventure (more on that later, it deserves a separate post). My parents have come up from Hong Kong to help us get acclimated, and has helped drag the jet-lagged trio out to find food and basic essentials. Here are a few photos of our adventure on the first day:

The view from our unit, busy streets, digital signs, smog... all the wonders of modern city life. And the building site right next to us is absolutely enormous. More on what it's about below.

Eva enjoys all the toddler hazards amenities of our unit- sheer curtain to play hide and seek in, sharp corners of opulent marble table top to bang her head against, huge, fluffy beds to fall off of...

The street in front of our place. And yes, it's been raining off and on since we got here. Which is actually not bad since it's cooled things off quite a bit.

Discovering chopsticks- as drum sticks.


So this (and many similar stores) is what's being built in the complex next to us. This sign (and I assume the store being built behind it) is absolutely gynormous, but I'm sure it's nothing compared to the appetite people have for the name brand goods offered behind its walls. It's mind-boggling how many Louis Vuitton bags (and matching belts, shoes, other miscellaneous paraphernalia) I've spotted these past couple of days. How much of them are the real deal I don't know, but the obsession is evident. 

I hope that we'll have more time to do some real sight-seeing before we head off to Shanghai for our orientation next week. In the mean time, gotta head off to my first business meeting here. Wish me luck!

Day -1: "We are going to visit buddha in CHAI-NAHHHH"

Yup. That's 23+ hours to go! *swallow hard*

I know I've done my fair share of complaining about how stressful it has been planning our China trip, so I'm glad that someone whacked me on my head (OK, she didn't actually whack me, but I could really use one), and reminded me to keep things in perspective. Of how lucky we are to get this opportunity to begin with!

So, with my vision re-focused, here's a countdown on what I'm feeling excited about as I'm trying not to fuss about whether to pack that 3rd box of dryer sheets...

(1) Spending quality time with Gong Gong and Po Po:

Yeah, that's my mom and dad, Eva's Gong Gong and Po Po, holding her just hours after she was born. I'm actually fairly psyched about this, that for the first time since college, I'll be living within driving distance from my parents. They currently live in Hong Kong, which is a 2-hr train ride away from Guangzhou where we'll live.

My mom already told us that they'll take the train up and bug us every weekend until we're sick and tired of them. I think they'll probably get sick and tired of us (and our request for babysitting) first. My mom also told me that she's already helped us stock up on "safe" milk products, baby detergents, and everything else only moms can think of. Where would we all be without our moms?

(2) OK, this will sound a bit dorky, but I really do look forward to my work assignment in China. I've always had this idea that some day I would have something useful to sort of "give back" to where I'm from. And this country has changed so much since I was a kid growing up in Hong Kong, I'm fascinated by what I've read, and now I get to live it and experience it for myself.

I also realize though that I'm a little "neither here nor there"- this August I would have officially lived half my life in Hong Kong and half here in the US (hmm, although these next few months would mess up this neat calculation, anyway, you get the idea). I know people will look at me and think "what are you?". I'm curious to find out where/ how I'd fit (or not) in China.

(3) Despite of my ambiguous identity, I do look forward to showing Eva this part of the world where half of her heritage comes from.

And I have to say, I'm quite surprised (perhaps wrongly so), that she is very aware of what's going on... At first, we didn't say much directly to her about our visit to China, we started to play more Chinese music, and taught her to say some Chinese words, which was fine and all. But as Bryson disappeared and boxes/ luggages began to appear, her behavior changes too. She's much more clingy to us, and she'll fuss even when one of us is away.

That's when we realize we had to have a "talk" with her.

How do you tell a 21-month old about a trip to China? Except for saying "CHAI-NAHHH" over and over again multiple times a day, we started just telling her about random stuff about the country, and what we're doing (now we are packing our bag for CHAI-NAHHHHH, and now we're buying extra diapers for CHAI-NAHHHH)...

We started telling her about buddha when we visited a Thai temple last week. And that some buddhas also live in CHAI-NAHHHH. Now if she sees any image/ statue that vaguely resembles a bald guy, she'll say "Boo-dah... Chaii..." (or "boo-di" when she's feeling extra chummy)

And we showed her Chairman Mao money. 

She obviously has no idea what it is, but thought she might as well get acquainted with the great Chairman before we leave. One thing interesting to note regarding renmenbi (RMB, or "the people's money"), that the largest note comes in 100 RMB (which is the equivalent of around $16). Wouldn't that make for lots of Chairman Mao's to carry around? Well, guess we'll find out.

(4) Last but not least, curious about where we'll be living in China? Me too! Well, this is a picture of the serviced apartment we'll be living in on the official website. We'll see if the real thing actually looks anywhere close to this. We'll post some pix once we get there.

So, that about sums it up :)

Hard to believe that we'll be posting our next post from China! And by the way, some of you kind folks in China have alerted me to the fact that typepad blogs (like ours) are not blocked in China (as opposed to many other blog platforms). And I don't intend to write anything on this blog that'll change that. But we got a VPN account anyway, just so we can still go on flickr and facebook and the like.

So bear with us as we get settled in/ oriented/ over jet-lag in these next few days! Promise we'll be in touch very, very soon from the other side of the planet.

Oh, one last thing, these Easter egg hunt photos of Eva and her new bff Aidinh are too cute not to share! Enjoy these while we transport ourselves across the world. Stay tuned!