First Semester Midterms

This past weekend was midterms at Future 2, and I have to say, I really got a kick out of the whole thing. I felt like a real teacher laying down the law. Watching the kids sweat buckets due to nervousness was a welcome change from hyperactive class destruction as well. Although it did make it that much harder to give some of the little snots bad grades. So it goes.

The midterms also mean something else - my stay in China is a quarter over, and that's sort of crazy. In honor of this milestone of sorts, I want to try something new on this blog. If it works, I'd expect to do this at least three more times. If it doesn't... probably still three more times.

Instead of a long rambling post, I'm turning the floor over to you, our loyal blog reading fan base. I know you guys are out there, and I'm sure you all have questions. Post them under the comments section, and Corey or I will answer them. Nothing is sacred, so feel free to ask anything!

Also appreciated are comments, criticisms and suggestions about things to focus on in the blog. As much as this is a way for us to log our experiences in China, it's also a tool for keeping friends, family, and complete strangers abreast of everything going on here.

So please humor me, and post something!

- Shawn

(Oh, and I keep forgetting to point out a cool new widget we added to the blog, and since this is largely a post about nothing, now is as good a time as any. Scroll all the way to the bottom, and you'll see that there is a nifty map that logs all of our visitors from around the world. I think it's sort of neat actually. Anyways... get to the comments section already, what are you waiting for!)

Bootleg Reviews: Love Actually, Lost: Season 1, Hot Fuzz, and Jackass: Number Two

I don't really know what it says that this installment of Bootleg Reviews came a lot quicker than the last one. But instead of musing on inane possibilities, lets get to the movies.

The Bootlegged Chinese Vocabulary/Rating System

Bang ji le - Excellent
Hen hao - Very Good *
Yi ban - Meh (so-so)
Bu hao - Bad
Cha ji le - Shit

* (Chinese lessons have revealed the actual meaning here... we'll just go with it...)


Love Actually



For a movie I had absolutely no desire to see, I have to be honest and say that Love Actually was umm... Actually a pleasant surprise. It's a genuine, heartfelt romantic comedy that at no point feels like a chick flick. And that's saying a lot.

One of my primary reasons for dreading this film is Hugh Grant as one of the ensemble stars. I hate Hugh Grant. A lot. But he was actually fun to watch in this movie, and at no moment did I want him dead. And that's saying a lot.

Love Actually is a lot of fun and actually makes you feel for characters that never seem to be boring cardboard cutouts. Three storylines worth keeping an eye out for are a couple that meet while assisting in the pre-production of a porn film, an English Lad who had the epiphany that English girls are too stuck up for him, and he must go on an epic quest to America, and lastly the newly elected Prime Minister (Grant) who is looking for love in the... whatever passes for the British version of the White House. God, I'm such an American. And for an American to thoroughly enjoy a British romantic comedy well... that's saying a lot.

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: Seems to be just as much a Chinese bootleg, as it is a Japanese bootleg. Not that that's particularly interesting. Oh well.

Shawn's Rating: Hen hao
Corey's Two Cents: Bang ji le


Lost: Season 1



I've been using the internet to bootleg a bunch of shows that scream to be watched like 24, Heroes, The Office, and South Park. But up until now, we haven't really experienced the full on madness that is bootlegged Chinese television shows. (Although I did buy a strange 24 one that you can gander at back in our first bootleg review).

Regardless, Bianca, one of our fellow Foreign Teachers, is something of a Lost addict. She lent us the bootleg box set of Lost: Season 1, and I have to say... I'm pretty impressed. I know people get pretty crazy about it, but I could never rank it as high as something like 24 (or even the cheesy joy that is Heroes). Still, there's something about Lost that keeps drawing you back. Maybe it's the mystery of the island the characters have crashed on, but more likely it's the powerful characters themselves - all of whom have a fascinating back story told in flashbacks that are just as much the show's draws as the convoluted conundrum of the island.

If you haven't gotten caught up in Lost yet, clear up some time on your schedule and hit up the Season 1 DVDs. You won't be disappointed.

Shawn's Rating: Hen Hao
Corey's Two Cents: Bang ji le

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: Man oh man, the Chinese out did themselves on this one. This is a nice package, complete with a solid box, and hastily glued on covers. A sight to behold indeed:




Hot Fuzz



Two of my all time favorite comedies are Super Troopers, and Shaun of the Dead. So when I heard that the makers of Shaun were making a cop comedy, you can imagine how stoked I was.

It's a good thing the movie delivers, because after self hyping Spider-Man 3 for myself, I needed something like this. The movie isn't a lame parody of the cop genre, but rather a cop movie itself. Just one that's slightly ridiculous and altogether tongue in cheek. A lot like Shaun of the Dead actually.

The movie isn't consistently funny, but it IS consistently good. While there are a lot of strong, and very funny jokes, the filmmakers are clearly more interested in crafting a great movie than a side splitter. And I'm just fine with that.

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: The movie was graciously lent to us by Aaron, so alas, I never got a gander at the box.

Shawn's Rating: Bang ji le
Corey's Two Cents: Bang ji le


Jackass: Number Two



This was actually among the first bootlegs I bought when I got to Dalian. It's been sitting in the "to watch" pile for quite some time, because well, I've seen it already. I bought it because I knew there would come a time when the stars would be aligned, and I would NEED to see this film again.

You see, Jackass: Number Two is pretty much our generations equivalent of Citizen Kane. Only... it's better. The character drama, the innovative plot structure, the acting and of course...

Ok, ok... this movie was brought out of the "to watch" pile because it is the PERFECT movie to end a night of low key drinking with some friends. It's not a movie anyone will pass out while watching. Unless it's from disgust. Say what you will about Jackass, but it will keep you glued to the screen. Whether that's due to disgust or sheer elation is up to the person watching.

And of course, being a little bit drunk while viewing it doesn't hurt at all.

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: It may look like Edward Norton, but it's all an Illusion. The movie apparently actually stars Martin Lawrence. Good trick.

Shawn's Rating: Bang ji le
Corey's Two Cents: Yi Ban

Go forth and check out these DVDs. Your life will be better off for it! Except of course Jackass : Number Two. People are only worse off for that one.

- Shawn

Lovely Faces of the Future (Aston School)

So I was recently asked to take portraits of our fellow teachers.... I'm not sure what they'll be used for but the Chinese Teachers did an excellent job of lending themselves, and their vast array of personalities to some great pictures. I would like to thank all of them for being so willing, and open to the idea of being photographed ( lying!! they loved it for sure!!)

Christine

Winnie


Winnie

Harry (short for Harry Potter)

Louis

Helen

Beme (our chinese teacher)

Beme (still our Chinese teacher)


Archie

Tony

Lucia


Amy

Bonnie

Lily

Lily

Snow



Well I hope you enjoy these portraits. These are the people who make our days go faster and smoother. They're pretty awesome, and always full of new things for us foreigners to do, try or eat in Dalian! I hope you can get an idea of their personalities from the portraits.

Photo Props

What's going on here? I don't think Corey is giving into the recent celebrity inspired trend of adopting Asian babies, and I'm pretty sure she isn't being confused for the Pope or a president... so then how did she come to have a confused child placed in her arms?

It's a phenomenon I may have mentioned before as a side note in previous posts, but it deserves the full attention of a post unto itself. You'd need to be fairly visually impaired not to notice the differences between the Chinese and their "western" friends. Many Chinese are so tickled by the idea of us foreigners that they'll drop whatever they're doing to try and get us to take a photo with them. Or their bewildered child.

Since us foreigners usually travel in packs, we are often recruited to take the picture, making it hard to take one of the strange scene ourselves. Luckily this time (way back from the Dandong trip to be honest), there were enough of us around that I was able to sneak behind the unsuspecting shutterbug and not only take the same picture she was (as seen above), but take a behind the scenes shot as well!



All in all, it's a strange but flattering thing. It doesn't happen often, but when they do, they tend to be generally excited by it and very friendly. If you're lucky they'll even blush a little bit, and I'm not just talking about the little kids forced by their parents. So cute.

I find myself getting stared at a lot here in China, and one thing I don't do after responding to giggled "hello"s and "what's your name"s, is shouting out the perennial classic line of "Take a picture, it'll last longer" because I know full well that they just might do that.

Say Cheese,
Shawn

Korean Kendo

In order to up my marketability as an all around awesome dude (obviously just going to China isn't enough), I've taken up Kendo lessons.

The whole thing was found by Aaron, one of my coworkers. It's taught by Koreans who speak no English and very little Chinese. My Chinese is slightly above nonexistent, and although Aaron's is significantly better, it doesn't really help much. But when you see how awesome you look in the full on get up, holding a bamboo practice sword - you know that you're willing to work through the language barrier to pick up some incredible new fighting moves.

The place where we take the lessons is also worthy of note. It's on the top floor of a somewhat legal technology market in downtown Dalian. You enter the market and go up three floors on an escalator. Then, you come to two nonworking ones. You climb the first one, and if you're lucky, the second one also. Things weren't that easy when I went though. The way to the second stalled escalator is blocked by a gate, so we had to hop the escalators (narrowly avoiding a deathly technological fall).

Of course, I wouldn't have had it any other way. It's all part of learning a Japanese sword fighting martial art that's been co-opted by Koreans who claim it as their own in China, despite speaking no Chinese.

Updates on this latest endeavor will be forthcoming in the next few months, with pictures to boot.

- Shawn

Bootleg Reviews: 300, Shortbus, Spider-Man 3, and The Illusionist

I know it's been a while since the last batch of these bootleg reviews, but I'd like to chalk that up to being nice and active, and making the most of this place we call China. That said, DVDs are still a way of life here, so away we go with the manly epic 300, the twisted Shortbus, the much anticipated Spider-Man 3 and The Illusionist (which for reasons unknown didn't get an adjective put in front of it).

A quick refresher on some Chinese Vocabulary/Rating System

Bang ji le - Excellent
Hen hao - Good
Yi ban - Meh (so-so)
Bu hao - Bad
Cha ji le - Shit


300



I was excited for 300 since before I came to China, but it took three bootleg DVDs before I actually secured a copy that was watchable. But it was worth the trouble.

If you've seen the trailer for 300, you'll instantly know if you'll like it or not. The review for this movie should be short and sweet because if you have an ounce of testosterone in your body, you owe it to yourself to behold the awesome might of 300.

It is raw, powerful and brutal. It is awesome. It is Sparta.

Sorry, I had to. I saw the movie a while ago, and it's still in my head.

But really, don't expect an in depth review of this one. It can, and should, be enjoyed on a simplistic, visceral level.

After you watch it, it makes you want to go out and hit something. Or someone. Repeatedly. While yelling or grunting. And that may be the highest compliment I could give to a film.

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: 300, directed by Oliver Stone, staring Colin Farrell, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Hopkin. But then three lines later, they get the director right. Close enough.

Shawn's Rating: Bang ji le
Corey's Two Cents: Hen hao


Shortbus



Despite the occasional dirty words, I do my best to keep my blog posts as all age friendly as possible. PG-13 at most. Thing is Shortbus is a movie as far removed from all age friendly as possible. It is the most graphic and sexually explicit movie I have seen outside of hardcore pornography, and in many ways more offensive. (To those offended by these sorts of things).

Of course, even those not easily offended may find Shortbus to be a hard film to digest. Not only does it show you things you've probably never even dreamed of, it makes the viewer think about them throughout the movie, and long after.

That said, despite the explicit and sometimes a little disturbing sexual imagery, I think Shortbus is an important movie that has a lot to say about the alternative youth culture in America. Namely: they're all sorts of fucked up in the head.

Kidding. Sort of.

Shortbus is not for the feint of heart, but I recommend in nontheless. At least to certain people. Sorry I can't give details though. It's not even the people that'll be repulsed I'm worried about. Those of you that want to see it shouldn't have this stuff ruined for you in advanced.

Go into Shortbus with an open mind, and expect to find that even at your most liberal, you still have a long way to go.

Shawn's Rating: Hen Hao
Corey's Two Cents: Bang ji le

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: Shortbus, like a few other films that will be reviewed in later posts, was bought in Beijing. That means that I had to ditch all the boxes en route due to legal concerns at the airport. Oh well.


Spider-Man 3



I'll assume you read these movie review posts straight through and hope that you read the bit about buying DVDs in Beijing. Our friend Cody from Syracuse took us to this great DVD store that sells loads of great Bootlegs. We bought a few of indies like the aforementioned Shortbus, and a few others we hadn't seen in Dalian yet. I bring this up because that beautiful magical store wasn't the only place selling DVDs in the country capitol. There were dudes on the street as well. One of those dudes actually came up to us on the street with a satchel filled with flicks. While telling him to leave me alone I saw him whip out Spider-Man 3. Well golly gosh, I could have sworn that one wasn't out yet anywhere, and here's this homeless looking Chinese man offering me a copy. Skeptical yet wanting to believe, I bargained him down and scored myself a copy.

Closer inspection didn't bode so well. The pictures on the back of the box were definitely not from Spidey 3. Hell, they weren't even from Spider-Man 1 or 2. Dan Akroyd was there (top box right hand side)!



But I still held on hope. I opened the package, and low and behold, they couldn't even be bothered to put in a DVD fakely labeled Spider-Man 3. It was a film named Goya's Ghost. Never heard of it. Definitely not Spider-Man.



Although I was slightly crushed, I just shrugged it off. T.I.C. I'll just grab a new bootleg in Dalian when the movie comes out. Or at least, that was the plan before I found out that a current release movie was coming to Chinese theaters in English.

Oh yes, we actually went to see a movie in a movie theater. You have to understand, this bootleg thing is really a China only phenomenon. I love seeing movies on the huge ass screen. So this was gonna be a real treat.



We went with a bunch of the teachers, got ourselves a tub of funky tasting popcorn and sat down in an imax sized theater (even though the movie itself was regular size).

Before I get into the movie, it should be noted that despite the subtitles, for a good ten minutes or so of the movie, I completely forgot I was in China - which was a weird feeling.

So anyway, my most anticipated movie of the year: Spider-Man 3. People know that I'm a huge nerd and a big Spider-Man fan, so that should be no surprise to anyone. So it should also come as no surprise to those of you that've seen the movie (which judging by the numbers at home is everyone) that I was incredibly disappointed.

I can tolerate dark emo Peter Parker (sort of funny). I can deal with Sandman killing Uncle Ben (not that big of a nerd). I can even accept the weird eXtreme snowboarder costume they gave Harry "The New Goblin" Osborne. But two musical numbers and two dance numbers taking up valuable time that could have been otherwise been filled by the criminally underused and underdeveloped Venom? Really? Why!

The parts that were good, were really good. The problem is that in retrospect I find myself thinking too much about the movie's shortcomings. The real crime is that it had so much going for it, and it just fell flat on its face.

Basically: Venom was cool, Sandman was cool, Harry was cool, the effects were cool, the weird skinny girl next door was cool, Gwen Stacy was a waste, the singing was a waste, the dancing was unbearable, and our hero Peter Parker porkered himself up a few pounds... which doesn't really make much sense if he's swinging around the city all the time.

All that said, I'll still be excited if they make a 4th.

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: See above.

Shawn's Rating: Yi Ban
Corey's Two Cents: Yi Ban


The Illusionist



While it didn't take three tries to get The Illusionist to work, it did take two. The first copy stopped five minutes into the film building up some decent hype and hope for the movie.

If I recall correctly, and I do, The Illusionist came out around the same time as The Prestige - one of my favorite movies. Two magic films out at the same time will naturally draw comparisons, and that may be The Illusionists ultimate downfall. It's just nowhere near as good.

But I'll quickly try and review it on its own merit. It's a well crafted story that keeps you hooked. The final payoff was a bit too simple for me, but it works well within the story.

The Illusinist is a decent movie worth watching if you're in the mood for something light and enjoyable. But if you want a good magical mystery, I'll have to ignore what I said about trying not to compare it to The Prestige, and recommend the other instead.

CHINESE BOOTLEG DVD BOX FUN: It may look like Edward Norton, but it's all an Illusion. The movie apparently actually stars Martin Lawrence. Good trick.

Shawn's Rating: Yi Ban
Corey's Two Cents: Yi Ban

Hope you enjoyed that, and check out some of the movies. If you've seen them already, let me know what you think!

Come back tomorrow (or later tonight depending on your timezone) for another update. This one involving stick based martial arts!

- Shawn

FUBAR

Hey ya'll, I just wanted to share some of the pictures I've been playing with on my computer. I've never really used a program to do anything beyond fixing spots and contrast so heres what I've been playin with. Its a great way to use pics that just don't stand on their own. Enjoy!

Outhouse near our apartments
Dalian, China

Statue in Xinghai Square
Dalian, China

Mao Statue and kite
Dandong, China

Rat from Chinese calender in Xinghai Square
Dalian, China

Flowers over North Korea
Dandong, China

Catch ya soon, Corey

This Is China...

Probably the most frequent question I get about life in China is about what "crazy things" I've seen recently. And to be completely honest, it's a hard one to answer because there are just so many. That, and I'm starting to get desensitized to it all. (But only a little bit, somethings will stick out no matter what.)

In one of my Bootleg Reviews, I talked about the movie Blood Diamond. In it, the viewers are introduced to the term T.I.A., This Is Africa. It's used to dismiss or deal with any of the insanity surrounding the characters (and by extension real people) in the African war-zone.

It's funny how easily adaptable it is to China. So here we are with a brand new label "T.I.C." This Is China. It'll be the place to go for any tidbits that might be used to answer the question "What crazy things have you seen recently?"

And since this is the inaugural edition of T.I.C., I'll throw you all a few bones with a random assortment of strange China stories...

ITEM! Taking the bus to (or maybe from) school one day, we got a somewhat shocking view of two bodies sprawled in the middle of the road after clearly being hit by a taxi. The police were there, as was a large crowd gathered around. No one was making any effort to clean the scene, which at home seems like a no brainer. Accident scenes are cleared as soon as possible, and crowds are pushed back. Seems to be the exact opposite here. And I said "somewhat shocking" not to play down the grotesque scene, but rather express my lack of surprise that someone(s) had gotten hit. The traffic here is insane. There are very few traffic lights to accompany the crosswalks, and even though there are crosswalks, people tend to just cross anywhere regardless. Not that this is entirely the jaywalker's fault. The drivers here are all seemingly insane. In cabs so far I have almost hit at least one person, and countless cars. I'm sure there will be more like this to come, because lets face it, T.I.C.

ITEM! While checking in at the Beijing airport, Corey and I were cut in line by not one, not two, but five people in a very grumpy group. Line cutting is the practice of the day here. Commuters line up for buses in the morning, and as soon as the bus arrives the line explodes, and everyone starts pushing and shoving to be the first to get on the bus. The strangest part is why they bother to line up in the first place. But the bus stop in the middle of the street is one thing... the airport is another. How the girl at the counter let that just be ok is beyond me, but what can you do? T.I.C.

ITEM! To get back from the Great Wall in Dandong, all of us Foreign Teachers decided to ride with a mysterious min-van back to the city. Things like this are fairly commonplace in China. The mystery vans are just as good as the legitimate buses it would seem. That's not the strange part. While getting into the van, Vicky (one of the aforementioned teachers) noticed that the van was sliding a bit. She told John (duh, another teacher - big Irish guy), and as he was going to sit in the front seat (like I said... big guy, so default shotgun) he pulled up the van's parking break while the driver was outside helping us in. While moving the break, he also moved a newspaper folded next to the driver's seat. Inside the paper was a knife with an apparently large blade. When the driver came into the van, John buckled in and accidentaly moved the paper again. The two made some knowing eye contact, but neither said anything. In Chinese, he asked us where we were from (looking at Corey and I). We said America, and excitedly, he got on his phone. Now, John didn't tell any of us about the knife at this point. We actually didn't find out about this until days later. But if I knew then what I know now, I would be as freaked out as John probably was. He's on the phone with his posse... LOOK I GOT AMERICANS IN TOW! Turns out he had his son on the phone, and it got passed around so he could practice his English with us. If you figure, the knife was definitely for his own protection. Being in the shady van business can't exactly be the safest line of work. The guy was actually incredibly nice, and shook all of our hands on our arrival. Heh, T.I.C.

ITEM! It's entirely possible that this one could happen anywhere. People get angry all the time. Thing is, it didn't happen just anywhere. It happened in China. Corey and I were on the bus home, and suddenly, the bus stopped with the driver refusing to go any further. It wasn't that far from our apartment, so we figured what the hell, we'll just walk. As we're walking we see why the bus driver didn't continue his route. There was another bus stopped. There were cars parked all around it, and a huge crowd gathered. I don't know what happened before, but we saw a man jump up and climb into the bus through a window and the proceed to launch himself at the driver, punching him repeatedly. He gets pulled off by those still on the bus, and suddenly leaps up, grabbing the hand rails and starts kicking the driver in the head. That's when the cops show up, with one of the officers climbing in through the same window to try breaking it up. That's when we started walking again. I have no idea what happened. Most likely an accident, but who knows? I've heard of fights starting on buses because their kid is slightly too tall to ride for free. They could have also been filming the new Jet Li movie. But probably not, because T.I.C.

more to come,
Shawn

Strange Moving Pictures From Dandong

My recent trip to Dandong (as recounted below), wasn't only great because it provided a unique view into North Korea. It also had elements that were so strange they could only be found in China, and really only believed if you see them.

That's what this post is for. They're quick, but assuredly strange.

Like this one... in Dandong, you are seemingly discouraged from simply walking across the street.

Why walk when you can dance?

But that's nothing compared to this gem. I'm sure everyone and their mother is familiar with the Ahhhnold's classic "True Lies". Apparently even Chairman Mao.

You may think that a square in China would be a strange place for a public screening of True Lies. But obviously, The Chairman disagrees.

He likes it. Not as much as Kindergarten Cop though...

Enjoy the silliness,

Shawn

Beijing Relapse

So I did indeed promise more pictures of Beijing so here are a few shots I took while we were gallivanting about this fabulous city.

Workers enjoying lunch near Ho Hai lakes
Beijing, China

Crazy snake tree in Forbidden City
Beijing, China

Bamboo graffiti in the Forbidden City
Beijing, China

The Great Wall at Simatai
Simatai, China

View from the Great Wall
Simatai, China

Enjoy, Corey

10,000 Steps to North Korea: The Ride

The trips taken during the May Holiday were great. That about sums it up, but since I'm slightly more verbose than my students you might might as well buckle in for a nice long recount of the two trips Corey and I went on. The first was to scenic Bing Yu Gou (gou means Valley, so from here on out, I think I may sub that for clarity - plus, you just learned a new Chinese word) right outside of Dalian with pretty much the entire staff from our school. The second was to the Chinese/North Korean border in the Chinese city of Dandong. With an itinerary like that, you better believe there are some stories worth telling.

And pictures too. I have some visual aids for you too, but for the real bread winners, scroll down to the previous post where Corey posted some pretty jaw dropping images (especially of the border at night). And I'm not just saying that because I have to...

Bing Yu Valley

On Monday, 50 odd people - including majority of the Future 2 teaching staff, friends, relatives, and random people picked up along the way - borded a bus that had much needed seats that folded out into the eisle so that more people can fit (only in China). That night's activities sounded minimal on paper, but somehow a dinner with Lamb Blood Sausage, Lamb Entrail (and friends) Soup will stick with you. Especially if you combine that with an after dinner roast of a lamb carcass.

Mmmm...

Bright and early the next day, we headed to the valley. It was nice scenic and relaxing. Here, look.

The real standouts of the trip though were the nutty little extra flourishes that are distinctly Chinese. There was one portion where to cross a bridge you had to choose which method you want to pay to cross with. There was an almost standard bridge with parts of it replaced with rollers. That was the closest to normal. Then there was a swing bridge where you move from swing to swing, a contraption that lets you cycle across in a circular doohicky, and finally what was essentially a GIANT FREAKIN' HAMSTER WHEEL!

You want to guess which one I took?

The seemingly tranquil nature of our trip evaporated when amidst our hike, we stumbled on a concrete staircase. Now, stairs are a strange thing to encounter on a hike, but its happened before. While climbing them, Michael, the school's principal, made some comment about there being 10,000 steps. We had been walking up them for a whilE, so I thought it was quite an appropriate joke.

Turns out he doesn't joke. At least not about stairs. Ten. Thousand. Stairs. I don't want to sound like I'm whining. It wasn't that horrible, and I wasn't even particularly winded afterwards, but man... 10,000 steps suck. No two ways about it.

There was a cool temple nested in the mountain at the top which (almost) made it worthwhile.

By the time we got back to the bus to head back to Dalian, my legs were twitching (seemingly due more to the trek down a set of stairs interestingly enough) and my shoes smelled worse than... I dunno... something lamb carcass related.

All in all, Bing Yu Gou was a nice get away from the city, but it was nothing compared to what came next...

Dandong



I'm honestly not sure where to start here. Dandong itself is a rather unremarkable city. It's rather considerable draws lie outside of its city limits, but they're enough to make this one of the most memorable trips I've taken. The first order of business was the North Korean border. I'll spare you the political undertones, and the significance of being an American. It's enough to know that you're spitting distance from a place you're not only not allowed into, but will probably be shot on sight.



We took a crazy cool speedboat along a bit of the border and got a close up look at some beached, wrecked boats, some factories, and even a few errant North Koreans.






(Look closely... real live North Koreans!)

Afterwards, we walked along the Chinese side of the border and crossed a bridge destroyed during the Korean War. Only half the bridge is still standing.



Once you get to the end, you can see a North Korean Ferris Wheel that was obviously built to make people thing the place isn't as shit poor as it really is.



You can also see a bridge built parallel, that is most definitely in use... with people walking too and from China and North Korea.

We returned at night to see the much ballyhooed "North Korea at Night". It definitely lived up to the surreal hype. The whole country was pitch black, while China had all sorts of lights and light shows. Even the connecting bridge was only half lit.



It was eerie, and strangely moving. I dunno how to describe it.

The next day, we headed to Dandong's portion of the Great Wall. It is billed as the Eastern most section of the Wall.



For better or worse, having seen the Great Wall at Simatai, this place wasn't much to write home (or on the blog) about. It was severely reconstructed, in parts even looking like the brickwork on my house in Queens.



What was very cool and different comparing this chunk of Wall to Simatai, is the view. While Simatai had beautiful valleys, and a steep wall that seemingly went on forever, this part had North Korea. And North Korean views never get old. Boasting clearer views of North Korean soldiers/farmers as well as camps and the actual flag, the area around the lackluster wall was anything but.







We were really close.



Like... really close.


(Left side, China. Right side, North Korea.)

Dandong was great, and I only really did two things there. Hell, we didn't even make it to the "Museum to Commemorate U.S. Aggression". No, I'm not kidding.

The trips were great, but like all good trips to come before them, they just leave me hungry for more...

Stay tuned,
Shawn