June 2021

Oh man, it’s a week into July and it’s HOT HOT HOT! The AC is my lifesaver (sorry environment 😦 ) and I’m rarely sweatless when I’m out. I’m now fully on summer holidays, which started in mid-June and will last till the end of July. Then in August I start full-time work, so I’m fully enjoying my time off without reserve. Let’s see what I’d been up to in June 😉

Starting off with some nice sky photos – it’s been a while since I’ve seen such beautiful azure with magnificent cloud formations. This one was taken at Xinyang train station, during a short weekend trip.

Here’s one right at home, as the sun was setting. Lots of people were getting out their phones to take a photo and I could understand why – it’s been one of the rarest sights of the year so far!

More cloud formations at dusk, by the East Lake in Wuhan.

Looking through a hexagonal hole in the wall (literally) at a bookstore, where I was studying for the afternoon.

More fun with hexagons! This was a piece of art exhibition showcased at a private contemporary art gallery in the East Lake area in Wuhan. The hexagonal glass patterns reflect the natural backdrop and though it was cloudy that day, the shapes and colours created a mesmerizing display. Really liked this one!

Breakfast in Tianjin overlooking the city on the 31st floor, where my hotel was located. This was a traditional meal of local breakfast items including green bean flour strips dipped in sauce, a thick spring roll, a roasted bun (hidden behind the plastic bowl), and a gigantic bag of soy milk. All this for 10 RMB (<$2 CAD)…what a fantastic start to the day!

For something more heavy, here we’ve got the spicy oil-steamed crayfish, which is super popular in Hubei province during summer time. It takes quite a bit of effort to eat and does get messy but is almost an obligatory rite for everyone in Wuhan during the summer season.

Figurines of cats dancing in unison, yup. There were displayed at a bubble tea shop and I could have taken them all home with me along with my tea… 😛

And yeah, I do ❤ cafes and I try to go to local ones instead of large chains as much as I can. Great place to chill, study, read, have a drink, chat, or just sit and do nothing all afternoon…

Finally got around to posting this entry after much procrastination – haven’t used this word in a while. Happy summer, and remember to bring sunscreen!

May 2021

May has been a time for me to rest and reflect as I transition between jobs. I quit my old job at the end of April and will officially start full-time in August as a biology teacher at an international school in Wuhan – bet not a lot of people saw that coming 😛 In May and June I am working part-time and am only obligated to be present at the school on Mondays and Tuesdays. However, I am still working to prepare for teaching on the other days, but my schedule is extremely flexible. That’s why I had been able to visit some restaurants and coffee shops that have long been on my to-go list, and even travel a bit outside of Wuhan. Days like this won’t last so I’m cherishing and enjoying them to the fullest before I return to full-time work. Here’s May!

I will always try to get a window seat on a plane or train ride and this is why – the views speak for themselves. The high-speed train from Guiyang (a post to come later) to Wuhan passes by countless mountains and villages, and this stretch of rice terrace had to be my favourite scene during the 4.5-hour trip.

Had to catch the end of spring in May anf take a few more leisurely strolls along the East Lake in Wuhan before it gets too hot in the summer…

…or cycle a couple dozen kilometers. The end of may already saw some 33-degree weather so this might be my last cycling trip for awhile, unless I’m crazy enough to brave the summer heat waves!

Donut art, random encounter during a supermarket visit. I don’t particularly like donuts as they’re too sweet, but here they look like they might as well be in a museum!

Lamb chop time! Jian and I had been intending to make lamb chops at home but it only stayed an intention until two weeks ago, when we finally made it happen. Well I did the cooking and Jian helped with devouring it, heh. The lamb chops were first pan-seared and then baked in the oven. Side dishes included q colorful salad and some garlic-sauteed potatoes. May I give myself a 12/10 for this, please! It looked fantastic, if I could say so myself, and tasted so delicious!

Animal friends at a cafe that I frequented during my free afternoons in May. Why cats in any form have gone viral is anyone’s guess…

I’ve seen a couple of these ducks lurking around the neighbourhood recently. The English says “I am very busy” but the Chinese tells you what he’s busy doing as it translates to “busy making money”. Well played, Mr. Duck, well played.

This photo was taken by Jian, presumably one day during lunch break, and I just had to steal it and post it. It was a simple snail but I love how the image was super clear and the details came out so sharply. I do have to admit that lately my husband’s photography skills have improved greatly and they indeed deserves applause.

Finally, a real animal friend, our beloved Shanshan. I suppose I answered my own question about cats going viral – how could they NOT??!!!

I’ve been loving my coffee shop afternoons and in fact I’m sitting in one as I write this. I guess coffee culture has become a fad in many parts of the world and though I know nothing about good coffee, I do find it delightfully pleasant to work or chill in a nice coffee shop (with a reasonable purchase, of course). And here comes June with the summer weather – I’m not ready for this yet!!!

Nanjing encounters

In 2019, I visited Yancheng in the province of Jiangsu for my cousin’s wedding. As a side trip after the wedding, I dropped by Nanjing (or Nanking), the capital of Jiangsu, for a brief visit. Nanjing is one of the ancient capitals of China, along with Beijing, Luoyang in Henan province, and Xi’an (or Chang’an) in Shaanxi province. In recent years, Nanjing has developed rapidly into a modern metropolis of great socioeconomic importance. It is home to tourist attractions such as Fuzimiao (Confucious Temple) commercial area along the Qinhuai River, the historical city wall, the Presidential Palace, and the Nanjing Museum. I visited some of these places, but this post will showcase some of the non-touristy sights and encounters that I found interesting in Nanjing.

Tangbao, or soup buns, are the most well-known street food in Nanjing and are a larger version of the perhaps more famous xiaolongbao. Dip one into some vinegar, take a small bite, and let the hot soup with all the delicious essence flow into your mouth…yummmmmmmmmmmm. I must have had this at least three times during my short stay in Nanjing, and if “You are what you eat” is true, then I have turned into a tangbao myself…

People were lining up for something here but I never found out what it was. I was more interested in the gigantic LINE FRIENDS characters next to the queue. Never used LINE myself but you could never get enough of Brown and Cony 😛

Huge egg covered with a variety of flowers…or well, it looked like a humongous Easter egg, though it was just a tree shaped like one.

Giant plant sculptures of peacocks at Gulou Square. The aerial view is much more impressive.

Large pig, small pigs, pigs doing yoga, meditating pigs, pig doing leg raise…wouldn’t mind grabbing this set of pig figurines and putting them in my living room.

Nothing much to see here, except this ingenious…hat? Convenient for shading from the sun without having to actually hold an umbrella, and the rainbow pattern certainly attracted my attention rather quickly. Nicely done, lady.

Engagement photo session with an extravagant dress on the old city wall of Nanjing. Frankly I don’t understand the hype behind these lavish photo sessions that, to be honest, look overexaggerated and fake, but it ain’t a typical wedding in China if you don’t take these photos. Maybe I’m the strange one.

Statue of a girl playing the banjo (I think), presumably the Jasmine Melody, which is a classic Chinese tune.

So that was my non-touristy summary of the brief stay in Nanjing. Again, I did drop by some of the popular tourist spots, but those are simply Googleable so I didn’t want to spend too much time showing photos of them. I think I only spent two days in Nanjing, by far too short to get anything more than an overview of what the city has to offer. Honestly I’d go back for the tangbao alone – it was that good!!

April 2021

So, I quit my job, and April 30th was my last day which means…I am now unemployed?! Well, yes, but I will be starting a new job very soon!! Excited to be entering a new chapter of my life in China but at the same time a bit nervous because I will be doing something that I’ve never done before – I will keep you updated on the status of the new job in future posts, once I get into it. Here’s a recap of April 2021.

Surprise roses from Mr. Husband just because 😉 All those hinting finally worked 😛

Spring evening in Wuhan, between rainy seasons, having passed the cold pre-spring phase and not yet having welcomed the pre-summer heat. Perfect weather that’d only last a few days…

Three lone green leaves amidst a sea of dark red, after the rain.

Happy birthday – not to me! We celebrated the birthday of three friends in April with cake, snacks, and good company at our place.

In April I continued exploring more coffee/drinks shops. Often I’d grab my laptop, a book, and a notebook, order a drink, and either write, read, or daydream for a couple of hours on a weekend afternoon. Top left: classic latte; top right: iced lemon jasmine tea; bottom left: matcha-flavoured yogurt drink; bottom right: “dirty” coffee.

Another recent food-related obsession is curry and I’ve been trying various restaurants that serve curry rice. Here’s one of my favourites – crispy tonkatsu with curry on rice. The curry was rich and flavourful, and the tonkatsu was juicy and tender. Yummmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Cats welcoming guests to a coffee shop by sitting in a very…interesting position XD

Meet-up with a friend who came back to Wuhan for a brief visit. Good food and a nice long chat to catch up.

Event of the month: surprise proposal!! I was fortunate to be involved in the planning and execution of the proposal, which was a lot of fun and full of joy and laughter. Congratulations to the newly engaged couple!!

Here we are in May and temperatures have gone up to 30+ degrees Celsius already on some days. Bring it on, summer…bring it on!!

Wandering in Warsaw

There are places that I travelled to, primarily not because I really wanted to see the place, but because someone I knew wanted to go but couldn’t. It’s not a gesture to brag by saying, “Look, I’m where you want to be!” but more like…”I’m fulfilling one of your wishes on your behalf, though I really wish you were here with me.” The first place was Luxembourg. I think my uncle meant it as a joke and picked Luxembourg randomly on the map of Europe, but when he told me, it just stuck with me, and I went as my first weekend trip away from Belgium.

The other place was Warsaw. Whenever I asked my dad if there was anywhere in Europe he really wanted to visit, he’d say Poland, specifically Warsaw. I don’t know if there was any particular reason, but I think he had the impression that Poland is a good representation of the Eastern European countries, if he could only pick one.

Well, my dad still hasn’t gotten the chance to go to Poland but alas, I knew I had to go and see what it was about Warsaw that attracted my him. So I went for a weekend in 2017 and, for the first time in my life, photographed a streak of lightning and saw a peacock spread its feathers. Of course, these are only two of many reasons why the two days in Warsaw left a deep impression in my memory. After almost four years, I am blogging about this trip from recollection, so a lot of details may not be accurate. But this will be a reminder to head back with my dad in the future, to fulfill his wish for and with him.

Palace of Culture and Science, a prominent landmark in Warsaw. Dark clouds were approaching and a storm was anticipated, so I had to dash quickly to get inside before I got soaked. There was a viewing terrace at the top of the building where I enjoyed a panoramic view of Warsaw in the midst of a thunderstorm…

Same building viewed from a different angle, lit up in rainbow colours during the night, after the storm. I mistakenly thought that this was the building known as “Stalin’s Birthday Cake” but that was actually the Academy of Science in Riga, though they do look similar.

The old town square in Warsaw looks like any quintessential old town square found in almost every city in Europe. Don’t get me wrong, it is very pretty, especially on a nice day under blue skies. Ironically, unlike Bratislava, Warsaw didn’t come off as melancholic…or “blue”.

Quiet morning after the rain, with not-so-blue skies this time (a day after the previous photo).

I quite liked these carvings on the walls of the University of Warsaw Library (Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Warszawie, or BUW). There were actually eight panels and it took a bit of research to find out about the two pictured here. On the left is the score for B-Moll Study by Karol Szymanowski, a Polish composer (source), and on the right is Collatz conjecture algorithm coded in Pascal (according to Reddit).

I thought this was just a random sculpture of a mermaid with a sword and shield but apparently the Mermaid of Warsaw is a symbol of the city. She appears on the city’s coat of arms and there are various sculptures of her across the city, the one in the photo standing next to the Vistula River by the Świętokrzyski Bridge.

And here is a silhouette of a unicorn and a girl on the “unicorn well”, next to St. Kazimierz Church in the New Town. Apparently the unicorn had been on the coat of arms of the New Town, according to Wikipedia, again. I’m quite stoked to be learning so much, after four years, about the symbols that appear in these images that I took without much thought. Pretty amazing the amount of information you can find out there by Googling “Warsaw unicorn”…

Chillin’ in the park, under the shadows, in the sunlight. Of course that wasn’t me in the hanging cage (is there a specific name for that?) but I wouldn’t mind switching with those folks… 😉

Time for some food!!! I was looking forward to dining at Rózana in Warsaw because I’ve heard great things about it from various sources. After sitting down, I decided to get the roasted duck, which was described to be “served on apple and forest cranberry sauce with potatoes and fried apple”. I love a good duck dish everywhere I go, and while this one was nice, I couldn’t help comparing it with the duck roast that I had in Prague. As a result, the Polish version appeared a little underwhelming because the one in Prague was just sooooooooooooooooooooo good. A bit unfair I know, sorry!

Pierogies, or dumplings, are perhaps Poland’s national dish and if not, they are still massively popular. There are restaurants specialized in serving pierogies, Zapiecek being one restaurant chain that can be seen all over the place in Warsaw. Obviously I had to try some, and I went for the mixed pierogies with Ruthenian dumplings (cottage cheese with potatoes) and dumplings with meat and cabbage. The dumplings were served with a very greasy but flavourful bacon gravy. I was surprised to find that these dumplings were quite similar to the Chinese pan-fried ones (pot stickers). Would I get them again? Why, certainly I would!

Of course, the trip wouldn’t be complete without cabbage rolls, or gołąbki, as they’re called in Poland. There’s something irresistible about cabbage rolls but I didn’t know that I was getting it when I ordered. “Polish gołąbki” on the menu didn’t mean a thing to me (gotta order something mysterious once in a while) and I was surprised and glad that it was indeed a cabbage roll dish, which was oh-so-delicious!

Always carrying my best travel buddies, Mr. Nikon and Boo from Mario, with me all around the world. It would have been nice to share the lovely food with some good company but my dad wasn’t there at that time and I hadn’t met Mr.ZJ back then, so some trips such as this one had to be completed alone. That didn’t stop me from enjoying a nice beer with the gołąbki, ha!

I left out one place that I will write about in the next entry and that is Łazienki Park, which was probably my favourite place in Warsaw (out of the limited number of places I visited). Lots of green coming up in the next post!