Poor Juliette Binoche

It has been weeks since a post has gone up, mostly due to laziness, but also due to the strange clumps of vacation time Sam has had to fit in before the end of the year, lest he lose it.  Solution?  Plane jaunts to Shanghai and another to the Yunnan province in southwest China.  Both…

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The Forbidden City, Beijing, China

The Forbidden City, like the Great Wall or the Terracotta Warriors, is on every top-10-things-to-see-in-China list.  Oh, fine.  Probably not on every list, but close enough. I think the first time I was introduced to this landmark was when I saw The Last Emperor waaay back in the day.  The scenes of the Forbidden City,…

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Xi’an, China: Ten Things to See and Do

Xi’an China is probably best known for being the base from which to see China’s famous Terracotta Warriors.  What isn’t as well known is that Xi’an (formerly known as Chang’an) ranks right along with the likes of Rome and Constantinople as one of the 10 Ancient Capitals of the World … and, and … the…

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Terracotta Warriors: How to Get There, What to Expect

Sam and I have been in China four months now!  One-third of a year!  One hundred and twenty-two days!  Basic greetings, conjunctions, taxi directions, numbers 1 to 100 and bartering banter learned thus far in Mandarin! And for me, this also coincides nicely with having finished my draft of The Orphan of Torundi! To celebrate our…

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Tianjin’s Shopping Paradise: Binjiang Dao

Tianjin is well-known for its shopping.  Malls are everywhere here, and that is no exaggeration.  Sam and I marvel at how so many stores and so many mega-buildings — with new shopping malls going up every month — manage to stay in business.  If I were sixteen with some cash to blow, I’d be in…

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Tianjin’s Antique Market, “Guwan Shichang”

Just to the west of Tianjin’s famous pedestrian shopping street of Binjiang Dao, lies Tianjin’s Antique Market (called “Guwan Shichang”). While the traditionally-styled wooden shops and street-side stands that make up the antique market are often identified as beginning at the cross roads of Shandong Lu (“Lu” means street)  and Shanyang Dao (“Dao” means road), it…

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Ordering Western Groceries in China

When all you have is a bicycle, getting those few western groceries in China can be a challenge.  Especially if you have unfortunate predilections towards real coffee that isn’t instant, Splenda and non-melamine milk. Some stores deliver of course, such as D-Mart or the Good Friends Store, but to see what is actually in stock,…

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