baskets, bells, bicycles...oh my!

Beijing's bicyles are beyond belief. Believe this bargain: below 30 bucks!

Biased by a beautiful beacon of brightness, I boldly bought a brand-new bike, with basket, bell, the whole she-bang.  

As I braved through Beijing's bustling boulevards, I became aware the basket was bent and bearably banged up, so I brought it back to better it.

A bit of banter later, I was ready to begin basking under the bright beacon and to barge down those Beijing back alleys.

Being back to a bona fide biker, my booty is bearing quite the beating. I'm hopeful the breaks don't bust before I bust my behind.





Bicycle, bearing...

 

butterfly basket, bearing...



Billy bag.



heritage-abundant henan.

About an 8-9 hour train ride southwest of Beijing lies the province of Henan. And for a short weekend, I had the pleasure of discovering what it had to offer.

 

A familiar logo.

Henan is the home to several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. What does it mean to be a World Heritage site? In 1972, UNESCO adopted an international treaty to help create global cooperation in the preservation of these sites. According to UNESCO,

"It is based on the premise that certain places on Earth are of outstanding universal value and should therefore form part of the common heritage of mankind"

Among the world ranking, China is 3rd with about 40 sites (following Italy with 45 and Spain with 42), including 5 in the Beijing municipality alone.



First stop: Longmen Grottoes. Known as one of the three "great sculpture treasure houses in China", these grottoes form an amalgmation of thousands of caves, niches, inscriptions, Buddhist statues and pagodas.  



View from across the river.

 

 

Read from right to left:
shǎolínsì.

Second stop: Shaolin Temple. Yes, the Shaolin monastery.

Forwarned that it would be hella touristy, it was indeed a popular destination among travelling Chinese citizens during the long weekend.

To be honest, it wasn't that different from any other temple I've visited, maybe except for the affluence of physical training "equipment" around the grounds. 

Biggest disappointment: not a monk in sight. At least we had some good, Pagoda Forest fun.

Pagoda Forest.

In training.

 

Yùntáishān.

Last stop: Yuntai Mountain. This mountainous scenic area is one of its kind's first in China. If you're a fan of geology, this is where you need to be.

Covering a massive area, the park has a convenient shuttle bus system taking you to each scenic look-out point, all included in the entrance fee. With several valleys, gorges and waterfalls to see (and each one taking about 2 hours), you're allotted 2 days to visit the entire park. But if you're thinking  of re-selling your ticket because the thought of more than 24 hours of red quartz sandstone is too much to handle (as if!), think again. In order to prevent people from sharing the 2-day pass, your fingerprint is linked to the card and is required each time you pass through the checkpoints.

Breathtaking scenery, but again, hella crowded.

 

Hongshi Valley. 

gaudiness + the green goblin.

Don't get me wrong, I love him as much as the next girl, but why spoil a good thing?

From Renegade Handmade.com

twenty-five candles.

Quarter of a century. XXV. The atomic number of manganese.

Latté...where cameras are not safe.

Special appearance by some masked-strangers.

My favourite pic of the night!

After you've danced the night away.
(photo courtesy of: A.)

"This year, your birthdate is a palindrome: 11-4-11."   - guess who... 

titillating translations.

One of the interesting things I've always thought about learning a new language is the way certain "un-translatable" words become translated. Take brands for instance, or names of stores. What would be the equivalent of Sephora in French? Well, considering it was originally founded in France and the name stems from the Greek word for "beauty", sephos, I should really be asking, what is its English translation? 

As my study of the Chinese language progresses, I'm becoming more and more familiar with the Mandarin equivalents to what I always thought to be natural in the English language. Let's see if you can figure out the original meaning...

大卫贝克汉姆  dàwèi bèikèhànmǔ

(Hint: He has a gorgeous wife, three equally handsome sons, and soon expecting a daughter. )

china street eats, number one.

Quail eggs.

These little spotted egg shells are cracked over the mould, cooked, then basted with some kind of mystery sauce before being sprinkled with a spicy mix of chilli flakes and pepper.

Great little snack, but definitely not suitable when you are a starvin' marvin. I downed it in about 20 seconds.