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My Top 10 Posts of 2009

Monica — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 19:00:21 +0000

My New Year’s Resolution: To be happy & healthy in mind, body & spirit. And travel a crap load more.

I started A Pair of Panties & Boxers as a reminder to myself to never conform to society’s norm in the daily grind of a 9-5. I didn’t want my job to be the reason I stopped seeing beyond four walls and I didn’t want the burden of saving for grad school keep me from seeing the world. I figured the best way to travel as much as I can is to start a travel blog because in order to write about my travels, I’d actually have to go and travel. When I start running out of things to write, that means I need to get on a plane, train, bus, boat or any type of transportation fast – not that I don’t get that urge to just jet every single day. But sometimes, we do what we have to do and not what we want to do.

It hasn’t been a year since I started blogging but I thought I’d still wrap up 2009 featuring my top 10 most popular blog posts of the year. I hope all my readers enjoyed growing this blog with me these past 6 months. Thanks for sticking around.

So without further adieu, here are the top 10 posts for 2009.

1. Photo Friday: Kaifeng, China

Kaifeng, China

The beauty of traveling through China is that sometimes, I feel like I’m in two places at once – the past and the present.

See #8 for related post.

2. Facing Mud Made “Squatties” In Yunnan

The one thing I absolutely loathe about China is the lack of Western toilets. Those hole-in-the-ground-you-have-to-pee-by-squatting apparatuses make me cringe every time. I’m a girl — how am I supposed to pee that way?!

So when my roommates and I decided to trek westward for fall break, towards rural Yunnan and Sichuan, I had to put on a brave face and come to terms with the fact that I’d be using nothing but “squatties.”

Five hours into the bumpy bus ride and two bottles of water later, I was bursting with thoughts of shiny automatic-flush toilets and marble sinks.

Alas, what greeted me at the makeshift rest stop was an outhouse made out of mud and three little children asking for a 50 cents fee for using their “bathroom.”

The Blue Mosque sits directly across from the Hagia Sophia on the Hippodrome, also known as the Sultanahmet Square. It’s hard to say which is more impressive. They both rival in beauty. With six towering minarets, The Blue Mosque dominates the Istanbul skyline.

5. Poverty In Pudong

I paid ¥20 for a cab ride down to People’s Park (人民公园), ¥10 to see the Gaudi exhibit at the MOCA, ¥40 for lunch at Pizza Hut, ¥50 for a shuttle ride to the Oriental Pearl Tower, another ¥50 for dinner and ¥1o for extraneous expenses. I dropped ¥170 like it was nothing because in my mind that was only $10.

My friend (at the time) JC and I walked along the Huangpu River that night. We saw a boy in ripped rags and torn slippers. He looked about 10 years old. He approached us raising a flower in his hand and said…

“一块，一块。要不要花？”(One dollar, one dollar. Do you want flowers?)

He haggled a little. We politely declined. I turned around and watched him zig-zag his way down the path. He made sure not to miss a single couple. JC and I sat down on the stone-rimmed flowerbed and watched the boy pace back and forth under the moon light.

6. My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

Travel Secret #1: Art of Cheap Accommodations
Travel Secret #2: Kaifeng, China
Travel Secret #3: Climb The Great Wall When It Snows

What are some of your best kept travel secrets?

Share!

JC and I walked non-stop these past two days. It was either restless leg syndrome or it was the excitement of being in Madrid. I thought we would take it a little slower on the third day but nope – not when traveling with JC.He only knows one speed – and it’s just go, go, go, go, go!

We began the day with a trip to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, home of Real Madrid.

8. Kaifeng, China: Chinese Jews

This was Kaifeng’s welcome to us. Fog? Pollution? Combination? I don’t know but it was one hell of a welcome. I held out my hand and saw nothing. I looked down and I had no feet. We blindly walked forward – away from the train station and closer to the sound of the road. We had a hard time crossing the street. We couldn’t see the cars and bicycles and they couldn’t see us. We played it by ear. Literally. And hailing a cab? I want to say, “Fuggedaboutit,” but we managed to do so. Till this day, it still puzzles me.

9. Merhaba Istanbul!

I’m a nerd. I like math and I like to plan. Excel is my best friend. I can’t live without my planner. When it comes to traveling, I get excited at the thought of creating a new spreadsheet. Budgeting is my favorite part. How low can I go?

I conquered 7,200 steps to the top of Taishan and trekked 4 hours around the West Lake in Hangzhou. Climbing The Great Wall? Sure! No problem. Except I forgot to factor in the high altitude and nearly freezing temperature. Read more…

The Galata Tower & Fish Sandwich

Monica — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:00:48 +0000

This post is part 7 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

The Galata Tower

If you lucked out of a stay in the Hali Hotel and it’s terrace view of The Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque and The Bosporus River, visiting the Galata Tower is the second best place to go for a panoramic view of the Old Istanbul. JC and I hopped on a bus from Chamberlitas station in Sultanahmet and took it over the Galata Bridge. The sun beamed at a 45 degree angel. In a few hours it would be setting. There would be no better place to watch the sun set over the Istanbul skyline than up on the Galata Tower.

We climbed up the vertical hill before reaching the foot of the medieval stone cylinder, where a line already snaked around the base. The Galata Tower stands out as one of Istanbul’s most striking landmarks. The blue cone capped tower offers a panoramic view of The Golden Horn, The Bosporus River, the Sea of Marmara and the skyline of Old Istanbul dotted with minarets and dome mosques.

The Galata Tower was built by the Genoese in 1348 to fortify the city. After the Ottoman Conquest, it became a holding place for captured war prisoners and a watch tower for spotting fires. There is an Old Galata Tower called the Megalos Pyrogos, which was built during the Byzantine period on another location. It was used to control the entrance of the Golden Horn. However, the old tower was destroyed during the Fourth Crusade.

The current Galata Tower contains a restaurant, a café and a nightclub. None of which were of any interest to me. I darted straight to the narrow deck to claim my spot and held down the fort until the sun set. The deck is just wide enough for one person but tourists are impatient. They squeeze by anyway forcing the person standing closest to the fence to sway the upper half of their body over the edge giving them a thrilling view of the 220 foot drop. It’s not for the faint of heart. Good thing I’m short. I didn’t sway over too much.

We lingered on the deck long after sunset. The city looked different at night but it was still as lively as it was before. From above, the lights below were the heartbeats of the city. Everything seem to have a pulse – the restaurants, the cars, the mosques, the ferries, the streets, everything. JC and I made our way back over to Eminonu via the under path below the Galata Bridge. Restaurants filled the length of the bridge from one end to the other. Looking out towards the water, I could see the almost invisible fishing lines that were dangling from above.

At the end of the Galata Bridge in the Eminonu district, three neon flashing fishing boats rocked heavily from left to right. They were Eminonu’s famous fish boats that served fish sandiches straight from the deck. I was a little seasick just watching the cooks work. I wonder how they stayed on for so long. The waves crashed hard along the boardwalk and the boat almost looked like it was about to tip over. The cooks didn’t look phased at all. They must have taken some really strong dopamine. We sat away from the water and people-watched from afar while we munched on our fish sandwiches. Our fingers smelled fishy for a very long time but I didn’t mind. It was great to be absorbed in another world.

Photo Friday: The Blue Mosque At Night

Monica — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 11:00:06 +0000

The Blue Mosque at night during Ramadan

Translation please?

The Hippodrome Comes To Life

Monica — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:00:20 +0000

This post is part 4 of 17 of my trip to Istanbul. The series intends to give more than just a I-saw-this-and-did-that review. It aims to share the voice inside my head as I explore a world I’ve only read in books.

During the Byzantine period, the Hippodrome was the center of Constantinople’s largest social gatherings. This was the arena where their passion for horse racing and chariot racing took place. The Hippodrome was the only place where the emperor and the masses came together in one venue. And at times, it was also a place for political debates.

The Hippodrome, now known as the Sultanahmet Square, is still a major social scene. It’s like Times Square without the lights, especially during Ramadan. Families of three generations gather together, plop their behinds and mark their spots on the grassy courtyard hours before the sun sets. They sit and chat as they await for the first meal of the day.

Today the seats and columns of the stadium no longer exist and the race track is paved over with cement. The Hippodrome has been replaced by one large courtyard that sits between the Hagia Sophia and The Blue Mosque . Only a few remnants remain of what use to be the racing arena.

I’m not a fan of history. Dates and time lines evaporate somewhere between the a person’s mouth and my earlobes. But facts, depending on how interesting they are, might go in one ear and occasionally out the other. What really sticks with me is seeing the cause and effect relationship between the past and the present.

So when faced with remnants of the Ottoman era, I had to mentally entertain myself. I strolled through the Hippodrome personifying them. What would they look like? What characteristics would they have? What have they seen over these thousands of years? What would I see if I were them?

Obelisk of Thutmose III

The Walled Obelisk

Snake Column - Wikipedia

At one end of the Hippodrome sits is the Egyptian Granny, Obelisk of Thutmose III, who’s in pretty good shape considering the fact that she’s almost 3,500 year old. She’s made with pink granite and was brought over from Temple of Karnak in Luxor, Egypt.

The other end of the Hippodrome is The Grand-Daddy Basil I of Constantine VIII, better known as the Walled Obelisk. He was originally donned with gilded bronze plaques and topped with a sphere. Unfortunately, the Fourth Crusaders came through and stripped him bare. Each of his plaques represented the many victorious battles he had won over the years.

The Old School Warrior is about 2,486 year old and nicknamed the Serpent Column. Quite fitting since he is a bronze statute with three decapitated serpent heads. It’s been said that he was made from the shields of Persian soldiers. He resided in the Hagia Sophia before relocating to the Hippodrome.

I can only imagine, which is exactly what I did, what it would be like to see the world change over 3,500 years – the knowledge that I would accrue, the beauty that I would see, the pain that I would feel and the changes in the human race through the generations. Sometimes I wish I could stand in one place and press rewind, like Adam Sandler in the movie Click or become a reincarnation of a phoenix.