|
 |
Category: Culture
Every morning I listen to the radio, and every morning it is just more of the same: doom, gloom, despair, anger, hatred, and violence. I assume this is the case because it probably catches the listener’s ears better than proclaiming happy things, or maybe the only thing I remember is the doom and gloom.
Working in the jewellery industry where we deal solely in happy occasions (marriage’s, anniversary’s, birthdays, just because’s…, etc) we get to hear some very happy stories, and I feel truly blessed to be a part of these stories.
I feel compelled to tell you this one:
A co-worker got a call the other day from an employee of Chapters. This Chapters employee had found an Independent Jewellers bag that somebody had left behind. Inside was a present, and a receipt. The employee gave us a call to let us know what he had found, and because our receipts print the name of the client on them, he gave us the name so we could look up the client’s phone number. My co-worker gave the client a phone call, and sure enough, she had been looking everywhere for this gift and was panicking because she could not find it. Needless to say, she was incredibly grateful to get back the gift she had lost.
Now you might have been expecting a more grandiose story, and my apologies if you were, but I find these very small acts of kindness to be more moving and more refreshing. I would love to hear any good story you might have, and if you so care, I encourage you to write in the comment section below so other people can share in the beauty of it.
Happy New Year!
My week in Beijing (formerly Peking) is coming to an end. What an amazing 5 days I’ve had. My tours with Hias were terrific, but it’s been in the last two days where most of my time has been spent walking, that I was able to grasp just a miniscule sense of what life here is really like. I spent time in Jingshan and Beihua parks which date back many centuries, and are unquestionably the finest parks I’ve ever visited. It’s not hard to spend the entire day in either park - they are quite large; the horticulture is picturesque; the temples (e.g the white pagoda) leave one in awe; they are peaceful; and the people are very friendly. A quick smile will usually evoke the question “where from?” and my response being “Canada” almost always results in a big smile, and “from Vancouver?” Nobody so far has heard of Winnipeg. I’ve walked many kilometers in the last two days; something the locals don’t quite understand. When I tell my hotel receptionist about where I have all walked, there’s usually shock and strange looks with the question:”why not taxi or bus?” All of my meandering has taken me away from the hot tourist spots, and sometimes it does feel strange when you’re the only caucasian and the locals stare at you quite unabashedly.
Safety here seems to be taken for granted (other than playing chicken with cabbies, even when you have the green light). But then, it’s difficult to walk a block without seeing either a military or police presence. The streets here are wide and clean. Beijing seems to be the ultimate, well-planned capital city, designed to show foreigners what China is capable of doing. And it truly is an awesome city (other than the almost daily, heavy concentrations of smog). This city with its ancient civilization certainly has it’s contrasts. The Confucian sayings collide with the internet; the Mercede’s, Audi’s, and BMW’s fight for space with the bicycles and pedi-cabs (rickshaws in the old days); the traditional Chinese cuisine competes with America’s fast food vendors (MacDonalds, Burger King, KFC,etc.); and modern upscale malls, with every high-end brand you’ve ever heard of, is juxtaposed against the small, one-person shops to be found on virtually every street.
I’m not sure why, but I’ve always had a fondness for jade. I’ve worn a simple jade ring for a number of years. Coming here, I’ve learned to appreciate, to a small extent, why the Chinese civilization has such a high regard for jade. It is literally known as the “stone of heaven” as, for thousands of years, it has been used in worship ceremonies by the emperors when praying to the gods of heaven. The route known today as the “silk road” was originally known as the “jade road”. And nowadays it is thought to bring good luck and good fortune to its wearer. That’s why many women wear jade bangles, in many cases since childhood, and never take them off.
Chinese symbols are often explained to Westerners to mean: “good luck; long life; hope; and prosperity”. I’m sure that that barely scratches the surface. But I’m good with that because my five days here have also just barely scratched the surface.
As Always.
Two quick corrections on my Beijing post. The Great Wall portion which I climbed is correctly spelled “Mutianyu”. And Jackie is actually Jacky. His e-mail address is jackyxiv@gmail.com.
Following two weeks of business in Bangkok and Hong Kong, I arrived in Beijing on Monday the 20th for a five day vacation. Never having been to mainland China before, I was much anticipating this new experience. Departing from HK, I noticed that my plane had the name “Air Macau” painted upon the outer fuselage. Upon inquiry however, I was assured that I was on the correct flight, bound for Beijing. After a rather rocky take-off, things settled down and the trip to Beijing became uneventful. This Chinese capital of some 20 million people is impossible to describe in a blog. Besides which, there are numerous sites on the Net which would do a much better job than I ever could. Let me just share a few hi-lites.
I’m staying in a “boutique” hotel called the Jade Garden Hotel. Well-located, decent service, and, other than the fact that the air-conditioning does not function properly, it’s an over-all nice hotel (3-4 star in my opinion). As an aside, the toilet has a remote contol with eleven different options – I gave up trying to figure it out and have reverted to the manual flush.
I had pre-booked four tours with a company called “Hias Gourmet”. Tuesday had me spending the better part of the day with Jackie (my guide for the day) and a car and driver. We spent the day at the Forbidden Palace, Tianamen Square, and the Temple of Heaven. My guide spoke a good English and was extremely helpful with his excellent historical knowledge. Again, details of these locations can be found elsewhere on the Net – needless to say I was quite overwhelmed by the experience. The weather was foggy and rainy in the morning, but cleared up later in the day.
Wednesday was the 1st day of a 3-day festival/holiday called the “Mid-Autumn Festival”. It has resulted in major traffic jams throughout the city (think Toronto #401, multiplied I don t know how many times over). Part of the festival is the annual production of “Mooncakes”, to be given as a gift and eaten by the recipient. To put it politely, they are definitely an acquired taste and having tried it once, I won’t rush out to try it again. This day had me booked for two half-day walking tours. The first one called “Hutong Eats” had us with a fluently English guide who was studying to complete his Master’s law degree. Two women (one from Toronto and one from Croatia) were also on the tour. Hutongs are original Beijing living areas – narrow streets, limited services, and living quarters of approx. 100 sq.ft. Yet, because they are centrally located, they have become quite desireable as a place to live. We wandered through several Hutongs, had some interesting foods along the way, and ended up at Qian Hai, a canal-lake which the empress-dowager used to take when she and her entourage were moving from her winter residence to her summer palace. This lake is also the area where many of the floating lanterns are released on the evening of the festival day – I resolved to return that evening. My second walking tour that day was called “Beijing Night Market” and I was lead by my guide “Angela” -a well-educated English-speaking Chinese woman. As nobody else had signed up for the tour, I received a personalized tour through some of the more interesting eating spots. Selections included grilled scorpions, deep-fried silkworms, squid on a stick, stinky tofu, and numerous other options. I’m normally willing to try almost anything once, but many of these items were just not not going to be on my menu – my mind refused to wrap itself around these items as being delicacies. That evening, after the tour, I returned to Qian Hai and spent several hours walking around the lake. It was jammed with people, and there are more bars with live entertainment there than I have ever seen. I was told that Beijing at night is quite safe, and with a heavy police presence, I have never felt any concerns about doing a walk-a-bout. I had read, prior to arriving to beware of the “tea-scammers”. Simply put, two young women will approach a tourist and begin to make light conversation. If a rapport develops, they will invite you for tea at a local tea shop. Not suspecting anything, you’ll enjoy your tea, after which the girls will leave to use the facilities – only they do not return. Eventually you receive the bill – an enormous amount will be on the bill (over CDN $500.00 in some cases) and there are some rather large guys in the vicinity making sure you don’t leave without paying. As it happened, I was twice approached by young Chinese women who wanted to “pratice their English”, and “would I like to go to a tea shop with them?” As much as I enjoy a cup of tea, I respectfully declined.
Today I was able to strike an item off my “bucket” list as I was able to walk a portion of the Great Wall at Muitayang (sorry, but I misspelled that). Jackie was again my guide together with the same car and driver as on the first day. Jackie provided me with a spectacular day – bright sunshine, blue skies, and no smog; the drive was approx. 90 minutes. Again, because of the festival, traffic was heavier than usual. But upon arrival at the Wall, I experienced one of those “once-in-a-lifetime” experiences. After taking a chairlift to the top of the Wall, we began to hike for approx. 3 hours. The views were breath-taking as we were at an elevation of approx. 800 meteres. The ups and downs of the Wall make it rather strenuous, and Jackie took me to a section of the Wall which was almost completely devoid of other tourists. With good reason, UNESCO has designated the Wall as a World Heritage Site. I cannot begin to describe the magnitude of this structure which at one time stretched over 10,000 kilometers and took over 2,000 years to construct and maintain. Due to the loss of so many lives during its construction, and given that the bodies were usually buried within the Wall, it has also been called the longest cemetary in the world. Today, many parts of the Wall have disintegrated, but the restored areas are still built upon the original foundations. My mind was over-loaded with the images and impressions which this architectual phenomena has evoked. Jackie was again at his best with his historical knowledge and familiarity of spots along the Wall. Our return to the parking lot was accomplished by a toboggan slide. Not as in snow and ice-sleds, but as in a long metal chute which we descended sitting upon a single-seater sled and contolled by a manual braking lever. An absolute blast and definitely not to be missed in getting down (the other options are the chairlift or the cable car). I’m sure that my euphoria will diminish with time, but if anyone has ever thought about going to see the Wall, I would highly recommend it as one of those “must-see” destinations.
Sunday I return to wonderful Winnipeg. Should anyone have questions about my trip, feel free to call me upon my return.
As Always
White Top Drive-In (Picture Not Available)
409 Manitoba Avenue (on corner of Salter)
Atmosphere: Outdoors/Drive-thru
Rating: 4 out of 5 Diamonds
It has been a while since my last post under the “you-ate-where”? (new baby might have contributed to this), so I thought I would recommend one of my new favorite burger joints. I love burger/fry joints, especially as it begins to warm-up outside. Recently I discovered a place not far from our store called the White Top Drive-in. It is a red and white striped building on Salter and Manitoba that features great homemade burgers and fries. There is a drive-thru and parking north of the building and on the street to the south for those who chose to get out of the car.
The food is good honest fare, with hearty portions, tasty burgers with generous add-ons. When ordering the french fries, consider with whom you could share as they tend to be massive. The burgers are tasty, large and come with chili, onions and mustard. Oh and the milkshakes. Well, nothing helps wash down a tasty meal like a delicious chocolate shake. I eat here often when I need a quick meal (similar price and time to many fastfood joints) or am really hungry. Ask for Deemos or his dad (don’t remember the name), but one of them is almost always there.
Recommended Fare:
Burgers – however you like them
Fries
Hot Dogs
Milkshakes
Website: not available
Hope you enjoy!
Our “you-ate-where?” feature will look at our favorite local restaurants that provide great food, are located near downtown, a great value and places we like to recommend to friends. It will highlight places that you may not have eaten at or even heard of, but that we have come to love. The west end is brimming with culture and restaurants that reflect this. From the hearty fair of New York Burgers to the savory tastes of Little Siagon to the minty fresh Vietnamese cuisine of Pho #1, you are sure to find a restaurant that satisfies your palate. It is our hope you will come to enjoy dining in the west end as much as we do.
 The LineUp
98 Albert St.
Atmosphere: Casual
Diamond Rating: 4.5 out 5
This has to be one of the most interesting places to eat in the city. If you asked ten people to describe the LineUp, you would probably get ten different answers. The have 6 kinds of pizza, 3 kinds of salads, 5 or 6 kinds of pitas, 7 types of noodles-in-a-box, chicken fingers, fish and chips, and a variety of interesting french-fry options. And for those who miss Chi-chi’s, they offer fried ice-cream as a great dessert. The food is all prepared fresh and amazingly for such small place, they do it all well. I have had the coconut green curry several times which is a savory and spicy dish with chicken, carrots, bean sprouts, baby corn, broccoli, green peppers, choice of noodle, and lime. This has to be one of the best $8 meals in the city. This past week I had the falafel pita, a massive stuffed pita that comes with all the fixings you could want and many sauce options all for $7. They have a great dinner and movie combo for $11 (entree, drink, movie Globe, Imax or Towne 8). They have four parking spaces in winter for customers (in summer it becomes the patio) which is great if you are meeting someone for lunch. The staff there are friendly, take time to help and seem to know many of the regulars. I eat here a couple times a month and would recommend it to anyone as a great value.
Recommended dishes:
Coconut Green Curry (fairly spicy)
Falafel Pita
Butter Chicken
Greek Salad
Link: http://www.thelineup.ca
Hope you enjoy,
PS. First person to email me the names of all the pizza options gets a free meal jeremy@independentjewellers.com
|
|
|
|
|
Culture | Jonathan December 30, 2011 | 
Comments (0) 
