Monthly Archives: March 2017

Around the World #38: Sean Kelly

Hanging out with Sean.

My guest today is Sean Kelly. He's an art teacher in Beijing, China. He has also lived in Shanghai and Costa Rica. We talked about life here, living on campus, travel and a few interesting movies that remind us of China.

Click the Play button to listen, or you can follow the link to download the mp3 directly. Better yet, you can subscribe on iTunes. Thanks for your support!

Download this Episode (right-click and choose “save as”)

Show Notes:

The original Blade Runner came out in 1982 and was set in Los Angeles in November 2019. Seven different versions of the film have been released, so it can be a bit difficult discussing the plot.
Blade Runner 2049 comes out in October of this year and is (obviously) set in 2049. It looks to be a sequel, not a reboot.
The Blade Runner movies are based on the book Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Phillip K. Dick.
Brazil is another classic movie that I mentioned. Some of the scenes, especially those with “nature”, remind me of China.
Check out these photos of Shanghai in 1990 vs 2010.
Here's a video from the Chinese/Burmese border town of Ruili:
Contrary to what I had thought, 70% of Sri Lankans are Buddhist, 12.6% are Hindus, and 9.7% are Muslims.
Big shout out to Carol and Fei Fei; you can find the podcasts I recorded with them by following the respective links.
The Nicaraguan Canal is a strange story. Progress appears to have been halted amid controversy, protests, and extreme engineering difficulties. But officially, the project is still on.
Sean and I were both right about the Panama Canal's history. The US originally wanted to build the canal in Nicaragua, but the French changed the proposed location to Panama, which was then part of Colombia. In 1903 the US backed a revolt which led to Panama becoming a separate country, and more agreeable to US interests. You can read more about the history of the Panama Canal on Wikipedia.

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Ahh, clean air!

This one reminds me of Brazil.

Many motorcyclists wear futuristic garb here.

Picture of Katie playing on an elliptical machine in Beijing.

Katie is playing on an abandoned adult playground.

You'll meet some colorful people in India. You might even wake up to a snake charmer at your doorstep.

Here I am with my Punjabi friends.

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Check out this boat coming through the Panama Canal:

Picture of boat going through the Panama Canal.

Before.

After (7 minutes later).

Gubeikou Part 2, The Hutong Edition

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of people hiking on the wall.

Our hike on the Gubeikou Great Wall.

Last week, the friendly folks at The Hutong invited me to return to Gubeikou (古北口, or “Ancient North Pass”), a section of the Great Wall of China about two hours northwest of Beijing. (Click here for photos from my first trip.)

I was really looking forward to getting outside and learning more about the history of this section. Unfortunately, when the day finally came, the sky was overcast, and it was cold and rainy. I thought about staying at home, but eventually decided to go. And I was really glad I did. Jeremiah and Simon, the trip's leaders, brought a wealth of knowledge of this region's history and natural setting. They did a great job of explaining the circumstances that led to the wall's construction in the 16th century. When I went to Gubeikou without a guide, I simply hiked on the wall. But this time, I could really envision Manchu armies invading from the north, and Chinese troops taking positions to defend their homeland.

If you're looking for a Great Wall experience that's more challenging than sitting in a cable car, but not too strenuous or dangerous, then this trip is for you.

The Hutong is a cultural exchange center based in Beijing. They offer cooking classes, walking tours of the city, and trips that go further afield. For more info, you can check out The Hutong's Website.

Here are a few photos from this trip:

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of cannon, with Hutong employees.

Simon points out the geography of Gubeikou. A river to our west acts as a natural barrier against invasion.

Yup, that's the Great Wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall – Cross-section of the wall.

Here you can see the outer section of the wall, completed in 1567. Invading armies could defeat the wall by knocking this section out from its foundation.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of people walking on top of the wall.

We begin our walk along the Gubeikou Great Wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of Hutong group.

The group from The Hutong.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of crumbling wall.

Here you can see where the “new” addition (450 years old) has crumbled away.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of Simon pointing.

Simon points out a cross-section of the wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of cross-section.

Here you can see the multiple layers of bricks that were used to reinforce the sides of the wall, along with the sediment in the middle.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of snake skin.

Simon found this snake skin. He has seen more snakes on this section than anywhere else on the wall.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of hole in the wall.

In the 20th century, Chinese soldiers made these holes in the wall to act as turrets, from which they could snipe Japanese troops invading from the north.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of deomonstration of sniping.

Here's a demonstration of how the troops used these holes. They would've gotten a great view of the valley below.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of guard tower.

One of the guard towers.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of wall from the vantage point of a guard tower.

Looking over the wall from inside a guard tower.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of brick carving.

If you look carefully, you'll find bricks like this one, carved with the name of the guard tower's creator, as well as the date it was created.

Looking straight up through the guard tower.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of panoramic view.

Some of the guard towers offer you a panoramic view of the beautiful mountainous landscape.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of hiking on the wall.

Nearing the end of our hike.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of precarious wall.

The downside of choosing not to restore this section is that it is slowly falling apart. This bit, for example, is hanging by a thread.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of evergreen trees.

The wall is quite tall in some places. And no guardrails here.

Gubeikou Great Wall - Picture of hikers.

This is a fairly easy hike, more adventurous than taking the cable car up to Mutianyu, but not as difficult as Jiankou. And very few tourists come here.

Want more photos? Click for more photos from this trip to Gubeikou.

AtW #37: Never Lose Your Passport!

Never Lose Your Passport!

My guest today is Moisés Santiago. We touched on a variety of topics, including being a teacher in China, spaying your cat (not for the faint of heart), staying calm in stressful situations, and the importance of maintaining possession of your passport while traveling abroad. It turns out that both of us have had the pleasure of losing our passport, though his experience had significantly worse consequences than mine.

Moisés was an awesome guest and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. Let's get right to it:

Download this Episode (right-click and choose “save as”)

Show Notes:

It has been a couple of years since China ended its one-child policy. Al Jazeera recently posted this update on the results so far. (Hint: more babies)
Kitten thinks of nothing but murder
I talked about how hard it is to figure out the captcha system when buying train tickets in China. This article talks about just that.
Moisés and I talked about the ridiculous rule that, when changing planes in the USA, you need permission to enter the country. In the example I used, if you're from Brazil and want to vacation in Spain, nearly every flight will get routed through either Miami or Atlanta. You're only going to spend a couple hours in the airport, yet you need to go through the entire interview process to obtain a US visa. I don't know of any other country that has this rule. For example, last year I flew from Beijing to Berlin, via Moscow. I didn't have a visa to enter Russia, yet I could transfer at the airport, no problem. And Russia is normally thought of as a very strict country with its immigration rules. This Stack Exchange forum explains the issue in more detail.
The TV show I couldn't remember the name of is Out of this World.

This is where I lost my passport in Tasmania:

Never lose your passport: Picture of beach.

Moisés lives in a hutong in Beijing. Here are some of my photos from Beijing's hutongs:

Never lose your passport: Picture of hutong.

Want more? Click for more of my photos from Beijing.

Around the World #36: Mirco Tranchina

Mirco and Dan, no lyin'.

Mirco Tranchina has lived in China for several years. Since coming here, he has become fluent in Chinese, and he is now on a TV show called Informal Talks. He also has a full-time job, and he's finishing his master's degree. Fun fact: So far, Mirco has lived in ten different apartments in Beijing. Luckily, he was able to take some time out of his busy schedule to record this podcast. We had an awesome conversation; I hope you enjoy it.

Download this Episode (right-click and choose “save as”)

Show Notes:

Check out this video of flooding in Beijing:
We talked about the new (and giant) wave of bicycle-sharing companies in China. The revolutionary aspect of these bicycles is that you don't need to return them to a docking station. You can leave them anywhere (within reason).
The show Mirco is on is called Informal Talks. Here is the latest episode. Watching it will also give you an idea of what TV is like in China (Think “A.D.D.”).
Follow this link for a list (in Chinese) of every episode of the latest season.
This article talks about live streaming in China. The technology is going mainstream. It's not just girls seductively eating bananas anymore.
Here is how “yada yada yada” works, according to Seinfeld:

Hiking on the Gubeikou Great Wall

Gubeikou is a few hours from Beijing.

Having lived in Beijing for the last three years, Katie and I have visited the Great Wall many times. Contrary to popular belief, the Great Wall isn't one continuous wall. There are many sections; some have eroded to almost nothing, others remain relatively intact, and still others that have been completely restored to their former glory. My favorite sections (as you probably guessed) are un-restored, yet still hike-able.

Gubeikou (古北口) fits the bill perfectly. It's one of the easier sections to hike, it typically draws few tourists, and the surrounding landscape is spectacular. It's only a few short hours from Beijing, so if the Great Wall is on your travel radar, Gubeikou is a great section to consider visiting.

Here are some photos I took on a springtime hike to Gubeikou with my wife Katie and our friends John and Courtney:

We stayed in a village at the base of the wall.

The train came very close to the wall.

A lot of this section of the wall is nothing but a trail, nowadays.

A “Great” day for hiking.

Gubeikou: Picture of Katie on the Great Wall.

Gubeikou: Picture of steep steps on the Great Wall.

A long section of steps leading up to a tower.

There are mountains in the distance.

Which way to the Great Wall?

This abandoned house was right next to the wall. Check out those old newspapers on the walls.

Many of the hills in the area were terraced.

Gubeikou: Picture of Great Wall landscape.

Now entering the Jingshanling section.

The wall snakes into the distance.

The view from a guard tower.

John and Courtney.

More photos from the Gubeikou Great Wall

If you want more info about Gubeikou, or anywhere else in China, feel free to contact me.

Around the World #35: Erin and Connor

Erin and Connor: Erin and Connor: Picture of Erin Draycott, Connor Grill and Dan Pery.

Erin and Connor: Bath robes and whiskey, oh yeah!

My guests today are Erin Draycott and Connor Grill. They have both been living in Beijing for several years. I sat with Erin and Connor on the roof of their hutong apartment for a conversation about travel. We touched on many subjects, including their recent trip to Israel.

Let's listen to my podcast with Erin and Connor:

Download this Episode (right-click and choose “save as”)

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Show Notes:

Connor briefly talked about WWOOFing. This stands for “Willing Workers on Organic Farms.” Their website has more info.
I've never seen the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile in Beijing, but this clown duck guy comes pretty close. Just don't rear-end him or he'll be sad.

A sad clown.
According to Wikipedia, the urban population of New York City is 8.5 million, whereas Harbin has 5.2 million, though it's hard to get an apples-to-big-apples comparison with city populations.
During the podcast, I talked about how Ixonia got its name. Here is the story.
Connor mentioned a quote from It's a Wonderful Life: All you can take with you is that which you've given away.
One of Connor's favorite books is Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. Follow the link for more info.
Banksy is a famous street artist. Here is his website. Connor and Erin saw a lot of his artwork on the wall in Palestine.
If you feel like being depressed, you can read more about the 2014 Israel-Gaza Conflict.
Here is how public school kids warm up before class in China:
Erin mentioned nightmares and night terrors. Here is an article describing the difference.
We talked ever-so-briefly about Jonestown in Guyana. Here is the fascinating story of this place.
Mosquitoes are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal, including other humans. This article from Wired has more info and a historical timeline.
Mefloquine (AKA Larium) is the drug I took to prevent malaria. Here is one of the reviews of this drug from drugs.com: “I was prescribed to take 6 pills at once for treatment of malaria. Can't sleep, I keep having hallucinations when I close my eyes and can't focus when my eyes are open.” Yay malaria pills!
Hans Rosling has helped change my mind about the world and our future. In the show, I mentioned that while some places are better off than others, there has never been a better time to be alive than now. Watch this video and tell me if you disagree:
Gravity drops off with the square of the distance, which is part of the inverse square law. I accidentally said some gibberish instead of properly referencing this law. Around the World with Dan Perry regrets this error.