The Kinetic Canuck

Saying Goodbye to Suzhou

It’s been a long time since my last post. So much has happened. I’ve been focusing on living life, and haven’t had much time to write about it. You may have also noticed that I’ve moved over to a new platform. Luckily, we were able to move over all my previous posts (by ‘we’, I mean my wonderful tech-savvy husband), and now that I’ve figured out the new system and gotten it looking the way I want it to, I’m back!

The 2022/2023 school year can truly be divided into two parts. In the first half of the year, Suzhou was still in and out of lockdowns due to COVID. They were stricter than ever about entering buildings and it got to the point where we were cooking at home, just to save ourselves the hassle of trying to get into the mall. Volunteer trips to the shelter became nearly impossible because I needed to collect phone numbers, passport numbers, green codes and proof of tests for every single volunteer (usually around 25 people). If I didn’t have these things, we weren’t allowed into the village where the shelter is located.

It was especially frustrating because they wanted me to prove that we all had green codes and had been tested 2 days before the trip….but they also wanted tests done within 24 hours. For those of us who were teaching, this wasn’t too difficult, because we were getting tested anyway…but for people who don’t teach, it was a big hassle. Volunteer numbers were affected.

Chinese citizens had enough, and protests started to erupt all over the country. I haven’t talked much about the worst parts of the COVID measures in China, but many people did die due to those measures. 10 people died in the western province of Xinjiang, when their building managers locked them in with chains during lock downs. A fire broke started, and people couldn’t get out. 27 people died in Guizhou province while on their way to a quarantine hotel. The bus lost control and went off the side of a cliff. At that point, only 2 people had died of COVID in all of Guizhou province, but it didn’t change the crazy measures they were taking to keep people ‘safe’.

These ‘Da Bai’ became a symbol of fear in China. Someone dressed up as one for Halloween and my heart stopped when they walked into the bar. I thought we were all going to be shipped off to quarantine centers. Not only did they start getting a lot more aggressive in 2022, but they also started throwing people into jail if they refused to show their codes. Many of them loved having so much power over others.

In addition to all the deaths caused by COVID measures, lockdowns were getting worse all over China. Dave and I were watching the news in horror as violence was breaking out in factories all over the country, where hundreds of thousands of people were being locked into their places of employment. There were food shortages, and anyone testing positive was taken into horrible quarantine camps. People had had enough, and they started to fight back. Things became very physical, and we were seeing videos popping up all over Chinese media. Of course, they were taken down within hours (sometimes minutes!) of being posted, but everyone saw them anyway.

Even at my own school, there were times where we were told we could not leave campus until all the tests were checked and negative. Luckily, I didn’t have to stay late very often, but it was unsettling knowing that I was being forced to stay at the school, especially while knowing what was happening all around the country.

It was a very scary time to be living here, and it took a toll on our mental health. My classes were interrupted daily for testing. We were being tested nearly every day in autumn, and as winter approached, things were looking grim. I didn’t want to spend my last year here in and out of lock downs. I didn’t want my memories of this beautiful country to be tarnished by a virus that was going to spread regardless of government actions. I just wanted things to go back to normal.

This message popped up every other morning for months. It interrupted my classes constantly, and I quite often taught 2 consecutive classes in the mornings, so I often had to run downstairs to get tested during the 5 minute break I had between my classes.

Then, on December 7th, it all changed. Codes were no longer needed and testing was halted. The city was no longer full of ‘Da Bai’ (the term for people dressed in the white safety suits that China used). The country stopped posting daily number for infected individuals. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever experienced. A switch was flipped and suddenly, we could breath again.

I was getting tested every day at the beginning of November. Without that green stamp showing 24 or 48 hours, I couldn’t enter school grounds I added 5 minutes to my commute every morning, just for showing codes to get into the gate. I needed this one, a green travel code, and often also the Alipay health code, if security was being particularly picky.

It was impossible for them to track how many people got sick in those first weeks, but the numbers were certainly in the hundreds of millions. Hospitals were overrun, mostly because people in China go to the hospital for even the smallest thing. Fever clinics were opened up all over Suzhou to help with all the people coming in, demanding IV drips. There were certainly deaths, but they weren’t announced. I caught COVID on December 18th, and Dave started showing symptoms on the 19th. By Christmas, we were right as rain and able to go enjoy a dinner in nearby Kunshan. Most holiday celebrations were cancelled though, because so many service workers were catching the virus and recovering at home or in fever clinics.

This is a photo of a hospital waiting room in Beijing. You read more about it here

By mid January, it was estimated that 80% of China’s massive 1.4 billion citizens had had caught COVID. Eventually, quarantine measures for flights were reduced and then disappeared, and life got back to almost normal. Masks became optional. People started to live again. But I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was living in fear. I was scared it could all start up again at any point. When Monkey Pox started hitting the news, we were worried they were renew virus management measures.

Suddenly, all the COVID Christmas specialty items we bought were no longer relevant…there was a LOT to choose from. I got the cutest Christmas cards with Santa being swabbed with a PCR test before can enter a house, and him dressed up as a Da Bai…. here’s another example of a COVID themed Christmas sweater. This stuff was everywhere.

A lot of ridiculous things were posted online during that time. Superstitions were rampant. People in China were terrified of doing any physical activity for months after they caught COVID, because they were sure it would cause them to have heart attacks and die. I was told by all my coworkers that I shouldn’t be taking walks, because physical activity could be deadly. Long showers were also risky, I was told. When Monkey Pox started hitting the news here, news articles were being published telling locals not to shake hands or come into contact with any foreign people because we might infect them.

An actual headline from a Chinese news site. The person who said it was quickly reprimanded, but word was already out there. Foreigners were being targeted (again).

But, eventually, things sort of just went back to normal. People started going out again. We weren’t all living in fear that we might be put back into a lock down. Events started happening again. We could go places freely. We didn’t have to worry about getting COVID tests daily, and I didn’t need to show any codes when I came into the school or went to the store. I went from having my temperature checked 5 times a day, to never having it checked at all. We all started LIVING again. It was wonderful.

I spoke at a Women’s day event about my work as a rescuer and the founder of 2 rescue groups. It was a lovely evening!

Our last few months in China were incredible. It made me very sad to leave this place that I’ve called home for the past 8 years. I accepted a job in Hanoi, Vietnam, in spring, and as the date came closer, I felt sadder about leaving. I knew it would be hard to say goodbye to all my friends here. I know it would be especially hard to say goodbye to the music scene. In my last 6 months in China, I performed nearly every weekend, sometimes by myself, but often with various bands.

The 5 piece band I play in – Decadz. A really cool mix of musicians from all across the globe!

One of my favourite songs to play with these guys: What’s Up by Four Non-Blondes. I loved playing it electric because I could belt out the notes in a way that I couldn’t when I played it solo or acoustically. I love how much fun Sheldyn was having on drums.

I’ve been playing this song with Kit for 8 years here in Suzhou. Harmonizing and doing duets with him is something I’ll always miss about my time in Suzhou.

It took us some time to get Jolene ‘just right’ but by the time June rolled around, it sounded awesome at every show!

Sadly, the thing that made me happiest in my last 6 months in China, also cost me a lot. Although Dave and I were supposed to arrive in Vietnam on July 7th, everything changed at my farewell party on July 1st. But I’ll be telling that story in my next blog post. It’s a doozy. Be sure to check back to hear all about how I was arrested in front of all my friends, and spent 6 weeks trapped in the country I once loved so much.

Quarantine

After a wonderful trip to Canada, where we got to see friends, family and so much of what we missed, we headed back to China, where COVID is treated like ebola, and where measures often don’t make sense and seem in excess. The trip back was a nightmare, especially at Pudong airport, where we queued and walked kilometers across the airport, going from one check point to the next. By comparison, quarantine wasn’t actually as bad.

When we booked our trip, back in March, we knew it meant 2 weeks of hotel quarantine, followed by 2 weeks of home quarantine. We booked our tickets knowing this, but were very relieved in June, when we learned that the government was reducing this time to 7 days in a hotel + 3 at home. With Omicron having a shorter incubation period than previous strains of COVID 19, the government finally loosened up a bit.

Most people experience symptoms within 2-3 days of exposure for Omicron, as opposed to 4-5 days for Delta. There were some freak cases last year that had people testing positive weeks or even a month after coming into contact with a positive case, and a lot of the government measures were based on that.

Now, I should start by saying that I’m not actually opposed to the mandatory quarantine imposed on people coming into China. With such a dense population, it is very easy for case numbers to grow very quickly, overwhelming hospitals, and leading to a lot of deaths. I believe in protecting the vulnerable, and I know I would feel AWFUL if I caused an outbreak by unknowingly spreading COVID.

It can spread so quickly if left unchecked, so I do understand why China can’t just drop all the regulations.

Still…I can say, some of it was pretty ridiculous, but hey, it makes for good reading, so at least I can blog about the experience!

Quarantine Breakdown

The current quarantine regulations for people entering China involve 7 days in a hotel + 3 at home. It can vary a little for residents of cities close to Shanghai (like Suzhou), because Shanghai simply can’t handle that many people quarantining all at once, for 7 days. So, our Quarantine was actually broken down into 3 parts instead of 2.

Part 1: A hotel in Shanghai
Part 2: A hotel in Suzhou
Part 3: Home quarantine in Suzhou

Suzhou doesn’t have its own airport, and most of the flights coming into China nowadays are going to Beijing, Shanghai, Xiamen or Shenzhen. That means a LOT of people are quarantining in those cities.

Now, I should begin by explaining that you get 0 say in which hotel you’ll be sent to, and wherever you end up, you have to pay for your room, regardless of the price. Couples are not allowed to quarantine together either, doubling the already inflated costs of these rooms. This was a pretty scary reality for us, but we hadn’t been home in 3 years, so we decided to just hope for the best, and prepare for the worst.

We had heard of some people in Xiamen having to spend $300 Canadian per night, per person. There are currently 7 days of mandatory hotel quarantine (+3 at home), which could have ended up costing us $4200 CAD if we’d landed ourselves in one of the expensive boarding facilities. This was on top of inflated flight prices and the $700 we spent on tests before we could even board the plane. Again… we would have had virtually no say in it if we ended up somewhere that was charging $300 per night.

Our faces pretty much the entire morning we arrived in Shanghai

Fortunately, the bus that transported us from Pudong Airport brought us to the Mercure Hotel, which was far more reasonable than the ones we had heard of in Xiamen. Still, we had no idea what we’d be paying until we reached that check in room, and they charged our debit accounts.

Part 1 of our quarantine cost us a total of $720 Canadian. The fees included our daily testing and meals, but was still quite a bit more than we would usually spend on a hotel in Shanghai. In a typical situation, we would spend about $250 to stay there for 3 nights. Still, the hotel was nice, and we had desks to work at, so we were relieved with the situation.

Part 2 of our quarantine was in Suzhou. We stayed at an older hotel there, located on Yangcheng lake, where Suzhou’s famous hairy crabs live. This hotel wasn’t quite as nice as the one in Shanghai, but the rooms were much bigger. Plus, the situation was much better for us in Suzhou because I managed to get a note from my doctor that enabled Dave and I to stay together in the same room. You can get doctor’s notes for a few things; in my case, it was for anxiety (turns out being cooped up alone for days is bad for the mental health.. who knew!?)

Our hotel in Suzhou even had a balcony. We couldn’t go out onto it though…

This meant that we still had to pay double for food, but we were only charged the cost of 1 room, instead of 2. Our Quarantine hotel in Suzhou came to $464 Canadian, which was a big relief. Our total cost of hotel quarantine came to just under $1200 CAD, which is a LOT better than we had actually expected to pay when we booked our trip to Canada.

The poor testing staff are forced to change their PPE after every test. They were so sweaty that they could hardly see. One of the reasons hotel quarantine prices are higher is because of all the hazard pay and extra services the hotels need to provide guests

Part 3 of quarantine is done at home. Of course, home quarantine is still supposed to be done solo, and without my doctor’s note, 1 of us would have had to stay in the hotel for those last 3 nights. Many people in Shanghai actually can’t do home quarantine at all, because it’s up to the compounds on whether or not they’ll allow it. Lucky for us, our compound was fine with it (thanks to my doctor’s note), and even let us order in groceries. We couldn’t go outside and we were only allowed to open our door for deliveries, but at least we were home!!

Keeping Busy

Once you are brought to your room, you close the door, and are only allowed to open it again for testing (once per day) & to get your food (3 times per day). If extra necessities need to be delivered (my first thermometer didn’t work, for example), they are left on the table outside of your room, and you can pick it up when you get your next meal.

I snapped a picture of the empty hallway when I grabbed my food one day

There are monitors on every door, so if you decide to open it when you shouldn’t, hotel staff know. There are also cameras in all the halls. It’s all very strict and I’m sure it wouldn’t be pleasant if someone were to break the rules. We all had to sign contracts on arrival, stating that we would abide by all government laws and COVID protection measures.

Day 1 wasn’t actually too bad. I was so relieved to be done with the airport fiasco, and sitting in an air conditioned room, with access to plenty of water… it was honestly a relief! Of course, I kept busy by reading, getting a bit of work done, and by messaging my friends to let them know we landed safely.

Our passports WERE returned to us, by the way

Day 2 was more of the same. I journaled, blogged, read…. anything to stay busy. By day 3 though, I was like a tiger in a cage… Pacing my room, stretching, exercising and basically just doing anything that requires movement. There was just enough room for me to walk around my bed, so I spent a lot of my day doing exactly that.

When you’re alone that much, you have a lot of time to think. Our dear cat, Ollie, died while we were in Canada. Of course, I thought about this a lot. Also, many of our friends moved away in June, having put up with enough of the restrictions…I thought about that a lot too. It’s difficult to be positive when you’re alone, anxious, and worrying about all the lock downs that will likely be happening during our last year in China.

Losing my best friend on the planet (aside from Dave) was devastating, and the full impact hit me on day 3. He wouldn’t be there when I finally got home.

I called my doctor on day 3, and got the note that allowed me to be with Dave for the rest of our quarantine. 3 days alone was bad enough…10 would have been unbearable for me.

I was stuck to him like glue our first couple of hours back together

The Food

When you’re trapped in your room, unable to go out or even open the door outside of meal time, food become a really important part of your day. Even though I wasn’t really looking forward to EATING the food, it was something to break up the monotony, so I looked forward to each meal regardless of what they served.

Breakfast included congee, pumpkin, steamed buns and other random stuff

Added Measures

Just as our 2nd hotel stay was coming to an end, we got a message from a government official in Suzhou, informing us that Dave had been flagged as a close contact to someone who tested positive on our flight. We were given an extra day of mandatory quarantine, and were required to do blood tests “just to be safe”. The woman who had been sitting next to Dave was also flagged as a close contact, but as a resident of Shanghai, she wasn’t given extra time in quarantine and didn’t need to do blood work. As is often the case, Suzhou was just slapping on extra measures.

Of course, there’s nothing we could do about it, so we did our extra day in quarantine, did the blood tests, and looked forward to being able to go home.

The (Extra) Strange Stuff

Swabs

On our last morning at the hotel in Suzhou, they came to do throat swabs, as usual, and then handed us half a dozen wet swabs, with a sign explaining that we were supposed to test various areas of the room, and then give them back the swabs for analysis. Keep in mind that this was after we had already had 12 COVID negative tests and had no symptoms.

Dave, expertly swabbing the light fixtures

Gloves

For some reason, when we left our hotel in Shanghai, we were made to put on latex gloves for the bus ride and trip to the hotel. This is still a mystery to me. We already had 7 negative tests at this point, and it definitely felt like more theatrics.

Bleach

Ok, this one sort of made sense to me. Bleach kills viruses, so of course you should find it in a quarantine hotel. The abundance of bleach was extreme though. All our luggage was sprayed down with it upon our arrival to the Suzhou hotel. At other hotels, they were DRENCHING people’s luggage with the stuff.

This photo was taken from a different hotel. The floors of all the buses and hotels were like this.

The bleach is also never actually wiped off, just sprayed on, layer after layer. The buses, hallways and hotels were covered in residue. The halls in our Suzhou hotel had carpet, and therefore covered with tarps and plastic… Which were also coated in bleach. It made everything look kind of gross.

Deliveries

At the Shanghai hotel, we were allowed to order things online, even coffee from Starbucks. We could order food and really whatever we wanted, as long as we only opened our door to receive them at meal time. In Suzhou, however, we could only receive things if family members or friends dropped them off. No food was allowed, and anything that came in had to be left overnight in a special room, and…. You guessed it…sprayed with bleach. Furthermore, our hotel would only deliver these things on Wednesdays and Sundays. We arrived on a Wednesday and left on a Sunday, so even if we wanted to, we couldn’t have had anything dropped off.

At least they provided us with the basics… Masks, bleach tablets (for the toilet?) And rubbing alcohol. And of course, lots and lots of hand sanitizer

Every hotel has its own rules. Last year, when a friend of mine was quarantined after being in a high risk area, I was able to bring her cake from Starbucks, yogurt, fruit and bread. As long as it wasn’t home made, it was fine. Every hotel makes up their own rules, and once more, we were left feeling like it was far more about theatrics than safety.

A perfect example… The neighborhood center near our apartment requires multiple codes, masks and a temperature check for people to enter. That same center does not provide toilet paper or soap in the washroom. The washrooms also stink of human waste.

So… That was our quarantine experience. Overall it wasn’t too bad. I do have to mention that the staff at both our hotels were VERY kind and helpful. The rooms were also very clean and comfortable, and all our food was edible. It could have been SO much worse. Especially if we’d tested positive while in quarantine. We know a few people who did, and they were shipped to special COVID hospitals, where they were given a wide range of drugs to ‘combat’ COVID. If you end up in one of those hospitals, you have to stay there until you test negative multiple times. It’s a nightmare, and I’m so glad it isn’t one that we had to experience.

No matter how welcoming they try to make it look, it just doesn’t look like a good time…

I’m planning on doing quite a bit of blogging about Suzhou over the next year. One thing that the quarantine experience taught us, is that we definitely don’t want to be doing it again. So, at the end of this school year, we’ll be moving onto our next adventure. Until then, we’ll keep living it up (and they’ll keep locking us down… I’m sure).

Southern Manitoba: Part 2 – Food!

I have travelled to many countries and eaten many meals. I can’t say I’m a terribly fussy eater, and I’ll try most things once! From scorpion in Thailand, to pig tongue in Korea, I’ve tried some interesting stuff!

Dave and I trying Scorpion in Thailand, back in 2014. It wasn’t very good, and I can’t say I’d try it again, but I am glad we at least gave it a shot! (the silk worms were quite good though!!)

When you think of Winnipeg, you might not actually think there’s much for food. You can find great barbecue, and burgers are everywhere, but there is certainly more than Poutine to eat in Canada! People have immigrated to this lovely country from all over the world, and lucky for us…they bring along their food with them!

Of course, I’m not dissing “Canadian” food…if My uncle and Dad opened their own restaurant selling pulled pork and beef brisket, I’d be writing about them too! Unfortunately for you.. they only provide food at family barbecues.

Chinese food isn’t hard to find in Peg City. Chinatown is an obvious place to find it, but if you travel down to the University of Manitoba, on Pembina Highway, you’ll find lots of great stuff too! Our favourite down that way is called Sun Fortune restaurant. You’ll hear more Mandarin than English when you’re there, so you know it’s authentic! If you want to order the Peking Duck though, make sure to call ahead! It’s very popular, and sells out fast!

We didn’t make it down there this year, so I snagged a photo from their website. Peking Duck, if you’ve never tried it, is a culinary masterpiece that every Foodie should try!

Corydon Avenue is also a great place for Foodies in Winnipeg. Colosseo is a top notch Italian restaurant, located at the corner of Corydon and Hugo. Whether you love pizza, pasta or tiramisu, you’ll go home with a full belly!

This year, I tried Misto di Pesce di Mare. Scallops, Halibut and shrimp, in a Sambuca sauce. The portions were enormous, and Dave informed me that my left overs were still very good the next day.

Today I want to talk about a couple of my favourite ‘hole in the wall’ restaurants in Winnipeg. Dave and I rarely eat at chain restaurants, and instead tend to find ourselves at little places, that are always full, but don’t have many tables. Here are a few of my faves!

Feast

I’m going to begin with something local and unique. Feast is a great little restaurant on Ellice Avenue. They make traditional Indigenous cuisine, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s the perfect place to go if you want a taste of Manitoba!

Bison Chili, Pickerel Sliders and saskatoon pie…what more could you want from life? They use local ingredients and everything we’ve tried there has been fantastic. I am usually WAY too full for dessert, but this year, I ordered some to go. It turns out that I like bannock donuts better than regular donuts, and it’s easy to see why! They taste as good as they look!

The atmosphere in the restaurant is great too! Service is good, and the restaurant is filled with Indigenous art. It’s the perfect place to stop for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We’ve never been there for breakfast, but since I learned that they do Eggs Banny (using bannock instead of English muffins), I know I’ll be swinging by there to start the day on my next trip home!

Vientiane

Dave and I have always been very fond of Thai food, even before moving to Asia, and our love for this cuisine only deepened once we visited. Bangkok Thai (on Osbourne) is always a favourite, but the one restaurant we simply CANNOT miss when we’re home is a little hole in the wall restaurant on Marion Ave, called Vientiane.

It doesn’t look like much, but don’t let appearances fool you!

Their food is unreal! If you like spicy, this is the place for you! They say that ‘medium’ is 3/10…and they mean it. We order a 5 or 6, and it’s a bit of heat. If you order a 10, prepare for your eyes to water, because it’s an ASIAN 10!

The massaman was glorious! Many places only let you order this dish with beef, but you can get it with chicken here

I LOVE their fish green curry, and their Crab Rangoon is OUT OF THIS WORLD! The Massaman is also always a hit. They also feature Laotian dishes at Vientiane (the restaurant is named after the capital of Laos, actually), and there’s a great variety of food to try.

Filled with crab & cream cheese, dipped in a perfect sauce. They come out hot and delicious!

They have stacks of coconut milk in the back. Most South East Asian curries use plenty of this

The restaurant may be small, but the food is great, and the staff have always been wonderful to us! The food also comes out quick, because curries are often prepared in big batches. It’s the perfect place to stop for a quick bite!

Gojo

We were away for 3 years, unable to visit Canada due to China’s strict travel policies, and I can honestly say, the food I missed most was definitely Ethiopian cuisine. It isn’t available anywhere we’ve travelled in China (trust me…we’ve checked!), but of any food on earth, I think Ethiopian is my favourite!

We try and eat Ethiopian food every week when we’re in Canada. We’ve also found it as we’ve travelled in other countries, like in Madrid! My favourite places have all been in Winnipeg, although, I still haven’t actually been to Ethiopia, and when I do make it, my opinions might change!

Winnipeg actually has quite a few Ethiopian Restaurants. There are about 2500 people of Ethiopian descent living in Winnipeg, and are quite a few little restaurants that serve their cuisine around the city. This is great, because Ethiopian food is actually quite difficult to make, and unless you’re willing to spend HOURS in the kitchen, getting the injera and wats ready, restaurants are going to be your best bet.

Ethiopian food is meant for sharing! You eat it with your hands, by pinching bits of stew in pieces of Injera (a type of sour dough pancake). We got good at making the stews, but Injera is difficult to make if you don’t have the right tools. We used to buy ours at a local grocery store in Winnipeg, when we wanted to spend some time in the kitchen. Usually, we just went out, because it’s just so much better when it’s cooked by people who REALLY know what they’re doing!

I was CRUSHED to learn that my favourite place, Massawa, shut down during the pandemic. We were loyal customers for years, visiting several times each summer, and more frequently when we lived in Canada. Alas, it caused us to try out some new restaurants, one of which is in the same location where Massawa was previously located.

The food was good, but not all the way warm. It was obviously cooked ahead of time (which I’m sure is normal because these stews usually sit for hours), but they weren’t as warm as we would have liked. The samosas (or sambuusas, as they’re called in Ethiopia) were as good as ever. We love the ones that are filled with Lentils

The restaurant that really impressed us this year, though, was Gojo, on Sargent. The place was small, but when we walked in, we were hit with all the gorgeous smells of Ethiopia!

I ordered the vegetarian combo. I love what Ethiopian cuisine does with lentils!

The staff were SO kind, and the food was fresh and fantastic! Their bathrooms were clean, and I could see into the kitchen (always a good sign) and everything was spotless in there too! I’m really looking forward to being able to go back to visit Gojo again, the next time we’re in Winnipeg!

Another restaurant that might not look like much, but is VERY MUCH worth trying!

Honourable Mention: Sushi Ya

I was lucky enough to live right behind this little gem of a restaurant when I was a poor student. I love this place, not only for their fantastic sweet chili sauce, but also for their prices. You can get a great lunch without breaking the bank! Many of their rolls are quite small, so you can stop in for a snack, or just try a wide variety of sushi! This has been one of my favourite restaurants in Winnipeg for about 15 years, so if you like Sushi, you should definitely give it a try!

My two favourite dishes: The Spider Roll and the spicy salmon roll!

Honourable Mention #2: Maggi’s

The last place I want to mention is a great little restaurant owned by a family of refugees. Located in Transcona, Maggi’s makes fantastic wraps, shawarma and other Syrian delicacies! Service was good, and it’s a great place to enjoy a quick bite in nice weather!

It’s a tiny restaurant, located near the Dairy Queen on Victoria. They have picnic tables outside where you can eat, and plenty of parking out front.

I ordered a falafel wrap, and Dave and my mom both ordered the chicken shawarma. The large ones are HUGE and great if you’re really hungry! If you want something a little lighter, go with the the smaller sized wraps.

So there you have it…some of my favourite restaurants in Winnipeg! I wrote this post while still stuck in quarantine, where the food is…less good. Now, I’m hungry and I only have myself to blame!

I love Chinese food… This is not real Chinese food… I’m so excited for Quarantine to be over!

My next post will be all about the 13 days of quarantine that we faced (and are still facing) upon our return to China! It’s been a bit of a wild ride, so stay tuned!

Southern Manitoba: Part 1 – Sites & Attractions

Having grown up in Manitoba, it’s very easy to take for granted what the province has to offer. Fields are common place, local attractions aren’t a big deal because you can go any time, and you have no idea what you have there unless you travel and see what other places lack. After 3 years stranded in China, without the opportunity to go home, I got to see Manitoba with new eyes. I’ve been planning this post for a long time, so I think it’s time I finally write about the place where I grew up.

Manitoba is located in Central Canada. I grew up about 3 hours from Fargo, North Dakota.

I used to pass the center point of Canada on my way to work every day. A few years ago, the government put a sign up where people can take photos. A school even donated a little library where people can leave and take books

Manitoba is known for harsh winters, mosquitoes and construction, but if you visit at the right time of year, there’s actually plenty to do! Here’s a list of some of my favourite things to do when visiting home!

Take a Drive

I’ll start with the simple beauty of the province. Located in the prairies of Canada, Manitoba is the perfect place to visit if you want to see huge skies, beautiful fields and stunning sunsets.

Pull over down a service road and just take in the beauty!

We bought an old 1981 Honda motorcycle years ago, and one of our favourite pastimes is cruising around and just enjoying the views. Taking the back roads and smaller highways can be a great way to take in lots of natural beauty, and this was honestly one of the things I missed the most in my years away.

The clouds always amaze me. They seem so much bigger when I’m home!

Sunsets are especially beautiful in Manitoba. The days are long in summer, and if you go out from 9:30 to 10pm, you’ll see the most beautiful sights. The whole sky becomes colourful, and the prairies make the skies look endless, with no buildings or mountains to hide the view.

Assiniboine Zoo

No trip to Winnipeg is complete without a trip to Winnipeg’s Zoo. I have seen zoos all over the world, and I’ve grown to be very weary of them because, too often, the animals are given cramped spaces that are very different from their natural habitats.

They even have a beautiful butterfly garden!

Assiniboine Zoo is wonderful. The animals are given plenty of space and the zoo is involved with helping many injured species of birds. The polar bear exhibit is stunning and if you’re lucky enough to be there when they’re swimming, you can even watch them swim by overhead, from an underground tunnel.

This year, one of the Bears was really showing off! We were there on a really hot day and he was having a blast playing in the water

You also need to stop by the bison enclosure…truely Manitoban!

The park around the zoo is the perfect place for a summer picnic as well. It’s a great place to bring kids and spent time with the family. Going to the zoo with my nieces and nephews is always a must-do for me when we are home. Some locals complain about the prices since the zoo was renovated a few years back, but maintaining these large enclosures and giving the animals a reasonable place to live costs money. For me, $20 for an adult tickets is peanuts when you consider these things, and all the fun to be had while you’re there.

There is lots for kids to enjoy, like a kangaroo exhibit, the butterfly garden, the dinosaur area and, of course, all the resident animals!

When you’re done, drive around the park and find a picnic table for lunch!

Winnipeg Forks

The Winnipeg Forks is an important place historically. The Red and Assiniboine rivers meet there, making it a perfect place for trade between indigenous tribes, and later on, fur traders. Now, it’s a cool little place to walk around and take in the sights.

There are plenty of pretty paths to walk, and beautiful art is found throughout the site.

You can go antique shopping, grab some craft beer, get some food and shop for local specialties. My favorite thing to do at The Forks though, is to walk the river path. There are always geese, ducks, chipmunks and squirrels to see, and if you’re lucky you might even see a raccoon!

If you’ve got time, you can also visit the Human Rights Museum, where you can learn about all sorts of social issues, both past and present. It’s a huge museum, and you can easily spend a few hours, learning about everything from Indigenous Rights, to Refugee crices. It’s been a few years since we were there, but we were really impressed when we visited!

The tall building in the back is the museum. It is quite an iconic building, and most people either love it or hate it. Since my husband pointed out that it looks like sky and wheat fields in architecture form, I’ve definitely grown to appreciate it more!

Finally, if you find yourself at The Forks in winter, rent some ice skates and skate down the longest ice rink in the world! There are little shacks along the way, where you can rest and warm up. It’s a great way to spend some time during the winter!

I haven’t been to Winnipeg in winter for nearly 10 years now, so I had to borrow this photo from the Winnipeg Fork’s website

Visit a Lake

Manitoba is home to over 100,000 lakes. In fact, 16% of this massive province is covered in fresh water. Lake Winnipeg is our biggest, and the southern tip is less than an hour away from the province’s capital.

Many of the province’s lakes exist due to massive Lake Agassiz, which covered most of the area during the last ice age. We also have a crater lake, Westhawk, which was caused by a meteor. It’s quite deep and even a popular place for scuba diving!

Historical lake Aggasiz, covering most of Manitoba during the last ice age.

West Hawk Lake is near the Ontario boarder.

It’s no surprise that plenty of people have boats and cabins in Manitoba, and this year we were lucky enough to spend time cruising around these beautiful lakes with family and friends. Most of our time was spent on beautiful Falcon Lake, named after a Metis poet. It only takes about an hour and a half to get there from Winnipeg, and it’s located in a beautiful provincial park. Campsites book up quickly, and it’s easy to see why!

We saw loons, deer and ducks, and my uncle even recently saw a bear! If you’re lucky enough to know someone with a boat, it’s a gorgeous way to spend a sunny afternoon in July!

Winnipeg Festivals

I can’t end this post without at least mentioning some of Winnipeg’s many summer festivals. The Pride festival takes place at the end of May or beginning of June every year, and is celebrated in Downtown and The Forks. Canada Day is another big one, with celebrations moving around the city. We have celebrated our country’s birthday in Osbourne village, The Forks and this past year it was at Assiniboina Downs.

My two favourite festivals are Fringe Fest & Folklorama. Winnipeg’s Fringe is always HUGE, with performers travelling from all over the continent to take part. We made it to one Fringe show this year, performed by a group that had travelled all the way from Portland, in the USA!

Folklorama began after we left this year, so sadly we didn’t make it, but we go any time we can! Winnipeg is an extremely diverse place culturally, and Folklorama gives people a chance to learn about all the different cultures represented in our great city. You can try different food and drinks, enjoy a dance or music show and generally just sit back and have a good time, learning while you do it!

Ellie and I enjoying ourselves at the Slovanian pavilion a few years ago

So there you have it: my favourite things to do in and around Winnipeg! You might be tempted to drive through on your way to Alberta or Ontario, but don’t be shy about spending a few days in this beautiful province on your way through! I’m proud to call it home.

As always, feel free to leave your comments below! I’ll be back soon with Part 2 if my Manitoba posts! That one will include some of my favourite places to eat!!

From China & Back Again

I’ve taken quite the absence from my blogging this year, mostly because there hasn’t been much to blog about. We were in and out of the various stages of lock down for 3+ months, which led to our finalized decision to leave China in June of 2023. The good news is that there was a silver lining at the end of lock downs… we got to go home!!!

The last time I’d seen my family was August 2019.

I had new nieces and nephews to meet this year! And new fur-family to meet too!!!

The months leading up to our trip home was filled with uncertainty. When we booked our flights, we were expecting to do 2 weeks of hotel quarantine and 2 weeks of at home quarantine where we would not be allowed to leave the apartment. About a month before we left however, this was changed to 7 days in hotel quarantine with only 3 days at home. Several other changes lead to us having an extra week in Manitoba as well, so it seemed like things were looking up! Still, I didn’t fully relax until we were seated on our flight back to Vancouver. Things change quickly, and right up until that point, we were prepared for things to go wrong.

The whole process of getting out of China and then getting back in was quite an ordeal. I thought you might all be interested in hearing about all the steps we had to take, so here it is: our summer adventure!

Getting out of Suzhou

Getting out of Suzhou was a bit of an ordeal up until the week we left. If we had gone 1 week earlier, we would have had to take a car to the permiter between Suzhou and Shanghai and then transfered to another car because it was impossible for drivers to get into Shanghai and then out again. This rule was lifted just in time and we were able to take 1 car the whole 3 hour drive. It was still pricey (3x the normal fee) but doable.

For a long time, no one could even drive in Shanghai without a special (and very expensive) license. If we had tried to travel at that point, it would have cost us almost $1000 Canadian to drive 100km

We arrived at the airport 5 hours before our flight and we were very glad had the extra time. Although Pudong airport was a ghost town (which was very strange because it’s usually an incredibly busy place), it took us 2.5 hours just to check in our luggage. It seemed like everyone packed more luggage than usual (many seemed to be paying to take extra suitcases), and many pets were flying too. Worst of all, due to COVID concerns, the AC was basically non existent so we had to stand there in the heat, wearing N95 masks. Shanghai is a hot city and even in the morning it was between 25 and 30 degrees celsius, with plenty of humidity.

Once we got through check-in, we had to get through immigration and security. They were extra fussy with security this year, and we had to leave behind all our hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes. Our luggage was thoroughly checked. Customs was easy for us, but the line was slow because any Chinese people leaving had to explain why they were leaving in detail. I overheard one woman explaining that she needed to go to America because she hadn’t seen her son and grandchildren in three years. China is still trying to prevent any unnecessary travel in and out of the country, so people actually had to have a valid reason to leave.

Their stash of confiscated COVID prevention tools….

Once we were boarded, things went smoothly, but the flight itself was 2 hours longer than normal because there was a crew switch in Seoul. With the added COVID rules, the crews couldn’t legally do the entire trip. They have hours of safety measures to do once the plane lands, so all flights to and from Canada now have a stop in Korea, to allow a new crew to take over We weren’t allowed off the plane, of course, and it added an additional 2 hours to our already long trip home.

When your trip home is already 36 hours to begin with, it’s kind of rough having another 2 hours added on…

Arriving in Canada

Arriving in Canada was easy peasy. Although there were massive delays in Toronto, Vancouver was not very affected, so aside from a slightly longer wait to check in, arriving in Canada was a piece of cake. It was so good to be home, hearing French on the intercoms, and seeing familiar shops and restaurants. Our first meal back was at A&W, where we overloaded on sodium and sugar and immediately regretted our decision.

Getting Ready to Head Back

Our trip home was fantastic and I’ll write more about that in my next couple of posts. The last week, though, was a bit stressful. In addition to worrying about our flights being cancelled, we had to be tested and apply for a codes that would allow us to get back into the country. We heard horror stories of people who had tested positive and the difficulty they were having with getting negative tests, even weeks later. Many flights were being cancelled on the Canadian side (because of staff shortages) and also on the China side (due to circuit breaker measures that China has in place if too many people on a particular fight test positive on arrival).

We were checking groups and websites every day to make sure our flight wasn’t cancelled

Our biggest challenge was finding the right information about the testing requirements to get our green codes for re-entry. Info on the consulate websites were out of date and we had a lot of difficulty getting in touch with anyone at the consulates as well. It turned out that we had to get 2 tests done from DIFFERENT labs. The first had to be done 2 days before departure, the second 1 day before departure. The problem was that there was only 1 lab in Winnipeg that was in China’s approval list. After some digging, we found out that they were ok with us using labs that weren’t on the list, as long as they were legit and the tests were done in the nose. We found this to be particularly interesting because all the testing we do weekly in China is done in the throat, but rules were rules and we followed them.

Accurate portrail of us trying to figure out exactly what we needed to do to be allowed back into Canada. We researched all this before we left but things change so frequently, we couldn’t keep up.

In total, the testing cost us over $700 Canadian, which was a little crazy given that we get tested multiple times per week in China for free. And if we happen to miss the free testing, it costs less than a dollar to pay to have one done. Of course, China has the infrastructure in place to mass test, whereas Canada relies mostly on at-home antigen tests. Those aren’t accepted in China, so it’s PCR or nothing here.

$700 to have our eyeballs poked through our noses…

I think the biggest stress in that last week, aside from conflicting and missing information, was our fear of catching COVID. If we had, it could have taken months for us to get back to China, and it also would have cost us thousands of dollars. We hand sanitized, masked up and acted like paranoid nuts that last week, but luckily, our families were very understanding and accommodating and we had most of our get togethers and goodbyes outside, where risks were much lower. We never caught COVID, which was a stroke of good luck, supported by careful measures. Our time in China had already normalized a lot of these behaviors, so it was just a matter of switching back into those habits after a very stress-free summer.

We avoided all cash as well, using only cards.

We managed to get through it all and got our green codes to China, and before we knew it, we were off!

One last breath of fresh Canadian Air before we put our masks back on for the next 40 hours or so

Arriving in China

This is where the real “fun” began. I’ll try not to bore you with too much detail, but the moment we arrived back in China, things got a lot more serious. The difference in the way we were treated was obvious. In Canada, COVID is basically treated as ‘no big deal’. In China, we were treated like we had bubonic plague and had the intention of spreading it to the masses.

We were already exhausted after 27 hours of travel at this point, and there was so much yet to come…

The airport was all extremely sterile, with every worker in a full PPE suit, despite the heat. There was a lot of shouting as we were hearded from one line up to the next, walking several kms around the airport for the different parts of re-entry. This is a rough breakdown of the steps.

Recheck the codes that we had needed to board the airplane & sign consent forms for testing to be done (these tests were not optional, so I’m not sure why we needed to sign consent)
COVID testing- the most painful and uncomfortable test of my life. It took the guy 3 tries before he was happy with the results, and the swabs went so deep into my throat that I gagged and heaved the entire time. My throat was sore for hours.
Temperature checks and facial recognition.
Immigration
Baggage claim
Sorting into provinces for the quarantine hotels
Preparation for the hotel quarantine location we’d be staying in and the surrender of our passports
Getting onto the bus that would take us into quarantine
Check in and payment at the quarantine hotel
Preliminary testing at the COVID hotel, including temperature checks (with thermometers that didn’t work), another PCR (nose AND throat… different swabs, don’t worry) and logging in info so that we could be sorted into our next quarantine hotel.

Little did I know… This would be the worst PCR of my life!

We landed at 6am and it was probably about 1pm by the time we could finally sit back and relax in our quarantine room. None of it was particularly difficult, but the amount of walking we had to do, carrying all our luggage, was exhausting… especially in the heat & N95 masks. I was very glad to have a bottle of water for Dave and I to share, because there was no where to get water on the way. This was probably a good thing because I don’t think we were allowed to use the washrooms either.

Luckily the hotel had 25 liters of water waiting for us in the room. I swear I finished half the first one when we finally arrived

By the end of it, I was jetlagged, sore and emotionally drained. I got yelled at so many times, and there wasn’t a smile to be seen anywhere… Just PPE suits, masks, visors and exhausted and overheating staff at the airport. It wasn’t exactly the nicest welcome back.

I have 1 week left of quarantine and plenty that I’m still planning to write about, including an entire post describing our life behind monitored doors, and several posts about Canada…

Stay tuned and feel free to leave your comments below!!

COVID in Suzhou

Well, it’s been an interesting start to the year of the Tiger! Dave and I decided to stay in Suzhou over Chinese New Year, once more. Traveling in China at the moment is a headache, as Omicron spreads across the country. We didn’t want to deal with potential quarantines or all the testing required to travel, so we stayed in the city of gardens and canals and enjoyed good times with good friends.

Organized several trips to SAPA to help out. They only had 2 workers there, taking care of 1300 animals over the holiday. We had PLENTY to do!

The last night of the holiday, things got interesting. Suzhou announced that 4 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Suzhou. It was announced that schools were going to be closed while the city figured out if the virus had spread. 4 cases may not seem like much, but Suzhou hasn’t had any local transmission since May 2020, so this was a pretty big deal.

For those unfamiliar, Suzhou is a city about 100km from Shanghai

Monday morning, things got even more interesting! I woke up at 7am to find out that the city was ordering mass testing, and that we wouldn’t be allowed to leave our apartment compound until we had COVID tests done. So, we lined up outside, along with 1000 of our neighbors, and waited for the swab.

In line. I’m glad it isn’t -40° like it is in Canada!!

It took about 2 hours to get through the line, and then I was able to get to the school for an emergency meeting on how online classes would be handled. I was a little annoyed that my boss decided that an in-person meeting was required (we’ve been through all this before, after all…), but we were called in, so we went.

By the end of the day, there were 8 confirmed cases in Suzhou.

My compound was all clear, but some of my coworkers ended up with yellow codes, indicating that they had been in the same vicinity as someone who was confirmed as being a positive case. One of my coworkers had a confirmed case in her apartment complex, which was a little alarming. She had to go home and basically stay there until further notice.

We’re up to 24 positive cases in Suzhou now. No one is really panicking. We all know that omicron isn’t super deadly and that we’ll mostly be fine if we catch it, but with China’s MASSIVE population, and close living conditions, an out-of-control breakout could lead to a LOT of hospitalizations, so it’s still taken very seriously.

Dave and I lined up again this morning for test #2. We’ll likely need to be tested every second day for the next couple of weeks. I’m teaching from home and we stocked up on groceries (and toilet paper!), So we aren’t leaving the apartment all that much. We are free to move around if we want to, and as long as we comply with testing and masks, we can go out, but we’d rather not risk ending up with yellow codes if we come into contact with someone who later tests positive. It’s too much of a headache, so we’re playing it safe.

Today’s line up was shorter and we went later in the morning. It wasn’t as urgent for us this time because I’m teaching from home and didn’t need to go anywhere

I find it interesting how different countries are reacting to things now (and through these past two years too). In Canada, there are massive protests going, and with vaccination rates being so high, and population density so low, I understand why people are tired of the restrictions. I am too. In China though, the risks are different, and as frustrated as I can get about things here, on some levels I get it.

Not a great way to start the year of the tiger… Which is actually my year!

I think I can speak for everyone on the planet when I say that I just really want this all to end.

Stay safe everyone! Looking forward to the day that all this is a distant memory!!

The Self Isolated Canuck

We’re in beautiful Hainan, and although still on holiday, I haven’t written for a while. There’s actually a pretty good reason for that: China is experiencing an outbreak. To make matters worse, there was a single sick person in Zhangjiajie while we were there, and the whole country has been put on alert. I figured that might be something worth writing about for my friends back home.

COVID in China

Of course, COVID is something that the world has been dealing with for nearly two years now. It began in a Chinese city called Wuhan, and quickly spread across the world. China failed to contain the virus in early days but became a lot more smart about it very quickly. Mass lock downs took place in every city across China, and international travel was halted for months. We were lucky enough to get back into the country before the major lock downs happened, but many people weren’t. I know so many people who were separated from their spouses for over a year. Some are still separated.

I can’t imagine how much harder this time would have been without Dave. We’re so lucky that we’ve been able to stay together through all this!!

Eventually things got better. Mass testing and strict regulations brought down the country’s COVID numbers to nearly none. In the past year, there have been little breakouts here and there, but they’ve been stopped very quickly but locking down affected districts and through mass testing. Spring Festival saw several small breakouts and the whole country was asked not to travel. Companies offered incentives for their workers to forgo their trips home, and once more, the virus was put back under control and life continued pretty normally.

There has been a massive effort to get everyone vaccinated in China. Dave and I both got our shots and felt confident about traveling within China for the summer. There is still a 4 week quarantine period for anyone coming back into China though, so international travel was off the table yet again. With only 6 weeks off for summer holiday, I couldn’t face 4 weeks of quarantine here and 2 weeks in Canada. Still, I was grateful to at least move around China as we have.

We saw so many incredible things this summer! Read though my summer posts here!

The Delta Variant

Months back, a new version of the virus emerged during a massive breakout in India. That variant has China on high alert because although their vaccine is ok to deal with the original strain, and several others, it isn’t as helpful against this new, more contagious strain. When several airport workers tested positive in Nanjing in June, once more, the country was on high alert. Citizens of Nanjing had to go for daily COVID tests and the whole city was put on lockdown. Unfortunately, cases can go undetected and several sick people left Nanjing, unaware that they were sick.

The patient who tested positive in Zhangjiajie was in the city at the same time that we visited the park. We were lucky enough to never cross paths with him. We were never in the city of ZJJ itself, and he was at the park the day that we left the area. Still, it caused a bit of problems because our 2 week travel history shows Zhangjiajie.

The text at the bottom of the white part shows all the places I’ve been in the last 2 weeks. The ones with stars are medium or high risk zones. Luckily, my code has stayed green, but those stars mean that I need to show negative nucleic acid tests before any city will let me in.

Shortly after we were in Haikou, someone tested positive there too. Once more, we were never in any of the same places as this patient, but our codes were flagged. We decided to hunker down a little longer at our hotel on the outskirts of Lingshui. I’m very happy we had booked here and not in Sanya or Haikou, which are much more popular tourist destinations. We booked this way specifically to keep away from crowds. Even though China has remained relatively safe for the past 18 months, we like to be careful.

This is about as busy as the beach near our hotel gets.

Being Responsible

We have done our best to be as responsible as possible with all this information. We got tested right away, and have been avoiding crowds. We’ve spent most of the last 2 weeks either in our room, or walking in areas that aren’t too populated by people. We did make a trip into Wanning and Wencheng when our tests came back negative, but the following day we got a call from the district Health Authority asking where we had been in Wanning, because there was a suspected case there. Once more, we were lucky enough to not have crossed paths with the person (he had been at the testing center, and we had been at the outlet mall) but it was enough of a scare to get us not to travel anywhere else on the island ever since.

Even though this outlet mall is pretty dead, and we wore masks the whole time, I wish we hadn’t risked it.

The last couple of weeks have been kinda scary. We got SO many messages from friends back in Suzhou, scared for us because we’d been in Zhangjiajie. Suzhou itself has gone a little overboard and is forcing anyone who was in ZJJ to do a hotel quarantine, regardless of multiple negative tests. Even though we were never in any of the same places as the ZJJ patient, if we went back to Suzhou now, we would be put in 2 separate hotel rooms and stuck there until we’d been away from Zhangjiajie for 2 full weeks. Even if we had multiple negative tests.

Articles like this pop up in my feed every single day, and they often have information about all the places that a COVID positive person may have been. They list any trains (and the seat numbers) that these people took, and any areas where the person went
This is why I can say, with confidence, that we never crossed paths with these people.

This is part of why I find it so strange that people think that wearing a mask in public is such an infringement of rights. China has taken much further measures tracking and posting positive patients’ whereabouts and enforcing mass quarantines and testing. We honestly don’t even mind going along with most of it, because we’ve seen first hand the effect these measures have had on reducing the number of cases here in China.

By comparison, America has had over 36 million cases, and Canada has had about 1.5 million. Given that China has a HUGE population, I’d say 93,000 cases is pretty good!!!

Suzhou itself is a bit of an extreme case. Events are forbidden there right now, and bars have been closed. Many buisnesses are only allowed 1/2 capacity. Schools are even shut down for all of August, which will affect me at the end of the month. There’s mass testing happening right now in Suzhou, and I have several friends in quarantine hotels at the moment. Suzhou hasn’t had a single case of community transmission, so it feels like an over reaction, but at the same time, these measures might be why there hasn’t been a single community spread there since May 2020.

Community transmission is much better controlled if mass testing takes place.

By contrast, we didn’t have to quarantine in Lingshui. We chose to, until our tests came back negative, but it wasn’t forced. When someone tested positive in Haikou, Hainan’s capital, things did tighten up. Masks were enforced and temperature checks came up again, but other than that, it’s been business as usual. So far, everyone who was near the Haikou patient has tested negative, and Hainan province is still only showing up with 1 case in all the news reports. This is a relief and probably due to all the calls made by the Health Authority to anyone who came into contact with the positive patient. It was nipped in the bud, and stopped before it could spread.

This looks scary at a glance, but you can see that most of these places only have a few cases. It’s so closely monitored and updates like this come out every single day.

So that’s been our last couple of weeks in Lingshui. We’ve mostly be working and catching up on some reading. Of course, we’ve made full use of our balcony tub as well. When we have gone out, it’s been to places with few people, and always outdoors. Our trip to the outlet mall in Wanning was a lesson and we didn’t need to learn it twice.

Spent a bit of time at the pool, although very little. There are only 2 loungers in the entire area.

I’ll be back soon with some backlogged posts about our time in Hainan last Christmas. I never got around to finishing those posts thanks to some nasty food poisoning, followed by a very busy January full of exams.

An edited photo of a water lily on one of our Christmas hikes. More on that soon!!

Are you living in China right now? What have your experiences been this summer? If you’re not in China, what is your perspective on the way the virus has been handled here? I’d love to hear your comments!

Zhangjiajie: The Avatar Mountains

China has such a variety of geological landscapes. From the deserts of Gansu, to the karst mountains of Guangxi, there is an abundance of beauty here. Mount Everest, Yellow Mountain, and Mount Emei are some of China’s most famous peaks, and the Yangtze and Yellow rivers are equally famous vast bodies of water. China has a lot to offer tourists, although many skip these natural beauties, visit the Wall, The Warriors and The Bund, then peace out. They don’t know what they’re missing.

Dunhuang’s desert
Mount Emei
Tiger Leaping Gorge: the most famous part of the Yangtze River

Admittedly, when I first moved to Xiamen in 2005, I didn’t realize how much China had to offer either, but through the years, I’ve come to appreciate the variety of landscapes the Middle Kingdom offers. These past 2 years have been especially eye opening to me, because I haven’t been able to go home. My summers are usually spent with family and friends in Canada, but with that being impossible for 2 summers in a row, Dave and I have opted to travel China, rather than to sit and sulk in Suzhou.

Don’t get me wrong, Suzhou is gorgeous and I love living there, but I REALLY miss home. If we weren’t traveling right now, I would just be constantly reminded of where we SHOULD be. Traveling is keeping me sane.

There is one place though, that Dave and I have always wanted to visit, but always put off, mostly because of the crowds. Zhangjiajie is located in Hunan Province, and although many foreigners haven’t heard of it, local Chinese tourists have. It’s the busiest place we’ve been all summer, and it’s very easy to see why.

It’s super pretty!!

Now, I had never heard of these mountains until a coworker of mine visited in 2015 (when we were living in Guiyang). But although I had never heard of them, I HAD seen them, and just not realized it. They’re featured in the movie Avatar.

Spoiler: they don’t actually float in real life, but it can look like they do when fog sets in.

There are a few things you should know, if you’re thinking of traveling to Zhangjiajie. First of all, flights can be a bit tricky. Unless you’re flying from a major city, you’ll have to have a layover in Changsha or Xian. You can take the train as well, but once more, it’s a bit of a long trek unless you’re already living in Changsha. That being said, it IS worth the trip.

Our train back to Changsha was mostly standing room only. It’s a 3 hour ride so you’ll want to make sure to book early and get a seat.

Another thing to consider is that it’s almost always crowded, especially during holidays (most people in China all get their holidays at the same time). We went during summer, which was probably the least crowded of all the regular holiday seasons, but it was still crowded. We got to the park before 8:30am, thinking we would be ahead of most of the crowds, but it was already packed by then.

Lots of tour guides in that line, each with a stack of passports to get through.

We also found Zhangjiajie to be a bit xenophobic at the moment. The woman who looked at our documents at the train station didn’t want to let us through despite the fact that we are vaccinated, have a clean travel history and haven’t left China in a year and a half. We also had COVID tests done 3 weeks prior, but she wanted much more recent ones. She did let us in, in the end, but for anyone reading this and planning a trip to Zhangjiajie this summer, you might want to get a test done a few days before.

This app tracks all the places I’ve been in the previous 2 weeks. If I have been in any medium or high risk areas, it turns yellow or red. It’s all tracked by my phone’s GPS. I have 4 different versions of these apps and they ALL show green. We showed her the 2 most commonly known ones and she still wasn’t happy. Most places are happy with the green code and vaccination record. Not Zhangjiajie though!!

However, no matter how many little inconveniences we faced, I would still recommend Zhangjiajie to anyone who has a little patience and perseverance. It’s really an out of this world kind of place to visit, and here’s why:

The Park is HUGE!

To counter my complaint about the crowds, I must also mention the size of Zhangjiajie. If you take any of the hiking trails, you’ll be able to avoid most the crowds. We spent a good portion of our day on the Golden Whip Trail. A lot of it is flat so even if you aren’t super fit, you’ll be ok.

The trail is about 7km long and follows a beautiful little river the whole way. You can get some really nice views of the mountains from below. The water is cold too, so if you start to overheat, you can dip your feet in to cool down. Golden Whip Trail was actually my favorite part of Zhangjiajie, and we did it twice. We went up and also down the river, rather than racing the crowds.

This isn’t the only way to get around, of course. There are buses that take you from scenic spot to scenic spot once you’re up in the mountains. They were making me really car sick though, so we avoided them when we could. There are also cable cars and elevators to get you up to the peak and most scenic spots, but there are often 2 hour lines to get into them. We took the stairs instead.

There were a lot of them, but we took it slow and stopped often for water, and it was fine.

The Scenery

We only really had time for 1 scenic spot, so we chose the Avatar Mountains. Also called Yuanjiajie mountains, these peaks were stunning. My favorite view of them was our first… Right when we made it to the peak, but before we met up with the swarms of tourists that had taken the cable cars up.

Not only was it stunning, it was also peaceful.

Once we were back in the crowds, the most scenic spots were all around, but it was hard for me to enjoy them with all the selfies and shouting and vendors trying to sell things. It was still beautiful, of course, but I would definitely have enjoyed it more if there had been fewer people in that small location.

You can get into traditional costumes and get photos done at the peak.
It takes a while to get a clear shot
Enjoying some Bing. It’s a jelly-based dessert that’s quite common in southern China. Delicious and refreshing!

For the next couple of hours, we moseyed along the park, hopping on and off buses to see the sights. Nothing we saw compared to the Avatar Mountains, but if we had scheduled another day at Zhangjiajie, we would have explored some of the more famous areas of the park.

It’s disappointing how commercialized this place has become. They have KFC, McDonald’s and so many shops and stalls… It just seems weird to me, given how beautiful of a place we were at.

We timed things well, and took the cable cars down one section of the mountain. At around 3pm, most of the tourists are seeing the major sights, so that’s when we booked our tickets down. The views were SPECTACULAR!

The cable cars down were definitely worth the fee! 70rmb per person for a one way trip seems a bit steep, but you get a really cool vantage point of the park.

Once we were back down to the main level of the park, we decided to take the Golden Whip Trail back, rather than take a bus or a taxi (there were some there, which surprised me, but they were charging WAY too much).

As the sun started to go down, the trail was even prettier.

The Wildlife

Another thing worth noting is the wildlife at Zhangjiajie. There are countless macaques that will steal your food, and chase you if you get too close.

Wildlife photography is definitely my favorite kind of photography!!

We’d only been at the park for about 10 minutes when we watched a mother with a baby hanging onto her back lunge at a tourist, stealing their snack and running off with it. It was pretty funny to be a spectator, but given how aggressive these monkeys can be, I’m glad I wasn’t the one holding the food!!

The monkeys loot the garbage bins as well. We picked up trash along the trail several times and we are hoping it was monkeys that left it behind, and not humans!

Other notable wildlife were the birds and insects in the park. There were cicada-type insects buzzing up a storm, and in the silence, I find the sound to be calming. It reminds me that I’m in nature, and that makes me happy!

This little creature can make a LOT of noise!!

Zhangjiajie is really an incredible place. There are plenty of great lodgings to be found in the areas just outside the park. We stayed at the Forest Glass Inn and loved it. There were about 700 stairs to climb to get there, but the view was spectacular and the hotel was lovely.

I’m very happy we went, and I would encourage anyone to go!

With views like this, who wouldn’t want to go here!?

Our next stop on our trip is a 10 day stay in Hainan! We loved it so much at Christmas that we decided to come back. I’ll also be able to finish some of my posts that I never had a chance to finish then! (Food poisoning affected our last few days there).

I’ll finally get to finish my post with all my best photos!

I’ll be back soon!!

Gorgeous Guangxi – Yangshuo

The very first place Dave and I traveled together once we moved to China was Guilin. We visited a beautiful cave, took a Cruise down the Li River and climbed up to the top of the Longji Rice terraces. It was an epic 4 days and I often think back to them fondly. There was one place in the area though, that we didn’t get to see properly: Yangshuo.

We loved the area on our last trip, but we were disappointed that we only got to spend a few hours in Yangshuo. This summer, with so much time to travel, we decided to fix that and spend a few nights there! Here’s how we spent our time….

After a quick night and morning in Guilin where we enjoyed the sights and some delicious noodles!

Seeing The Countryside

A lot of our time was spent cruising around on our ebikes, checking out the sights and stopping whenever we saw something interesting. I think that is my favourite way to see a new place, but it’s not something we can easily do in China, where international drivers’ licenses aren’t recognized. Luckily, in Yangshuo, you can rent ebikes anyway.

The man we rented them from charged them for us every night too! For only 60rmb per day, it was a great way to get around!

There are several old bridges and ancient towns where you can stop in. Fuli Ancient Town was one of our stops. They are famous there for making hand painted fans. In the heat of the day, it seemed like most of the shops were closed, but a few were open for business and it looked like they offer painting classes as well.

There’s also a thriving tobacco market in Fuli

Another benefit of driving around on your own is that you can stop and enjoy the scenery whenever you want, and you can stop and eat at little roadside restaurants. We enjoyed some bamboo rice, beerfish (both local specialties) and a sunset on our last night.

They stew the fish in a beer soup. It’s very good!!!

With plenty of small roads to explore, you can easily spend a day driving around, stopping for a swim or a plate of watermelon if you get too hot or hungry. The roads aren’t too crazy. Just be sure to be vigilant, and to not drive too aggressively, and you should be fine. Of course, Yangshuo City is a little crazier of a place to be driving.

A beautiful little pit stop. We went for a swim in the river.

Yangshuo City

We didn’t spend a lot of time in Yangshuo itself. Something tells me that a few years ago, it would have been a quaint place to visit, but nowadays, it feels a bit like a party town. You can find KFC, McDonald’s, Starbucks and all the usual western chains in the city, and there are plenty of places to stop for food too.

A delicious dinner at a little vietnamese place in Yangshuo

During the day, you get a lot of people shopping for souvenirs, at the end of their Li River Cruises. Down by the water, you can see the men who fish with birds, and even take a dip in the river (it moves pretty quickly though, so you’ll want to be careful).

We had a really nice time sitting by the river, enjoying the view!

Night life in Yangshuo involves loud music, dancers, club antics and people trying to pull you into their bars or stores. I’m sure it’s a lot of fun for people in their early 20s, but we weren’t feeling much like parting, so we didn’t spend a lot of time in Yangshuo.

Even in town, the scenery is beautiful though!

Ruyifeng Cable Car

Our trip to Ruyifeng Cable Car was actually the highlight of my time in Yangshuo this time around. Not only was the cable car ride itself spectacular, but there is tons to see once you’re up there too. We did the full circuit, seeing the suspension bridge and both glass bridges and it took us over 2 hours to explore it all.

It was quite hot up there, so the climb was a bit rough, but we took it slow, stopped for lots of water (and ice cream!) and got to see so many incredible views of the surrounding area. It was well worth the 200rmb each that we paid.

The suspension bridge was sturdier than many I’ve been on in China. There were red ribbons tied along a lot of it, making it really stand out against all the green. I think I like this better than the locks that are often put on bridges like this.

This picture turned out a lot cooler than I thought it was going to!

There are 2 glass bridges as well. I don’t typically bother with them because I usually find them overpriced, plus I’m dubious of their safety, but these ones were included in the price, and seemed to be well maintained. You need to rent 5rmb booties to cover your shoes, so the glass isn’t scratched up. It was actually pretty cool to see! My legs hardly shook at all!!

I was really impressed with this part of our trip. The whole area was well maintained and staff were there cleaning up any litter left behind by inconsiderate guests. Things weren’t priced too high, and overall, it was just a really nice experience.

No overflowing garbage cans. They empty them regularly

If you get your tickets right at the site, they are 260rmb each, but our hotel was able to save us some money and we only paid 200 (around 40 dollars Canadian). We spent about 3 hours there in total and got to see the countryside from a stunning vantage point. I’d recommend it to anyone, honestly, even if you don’t do the big walk around.

Other Things to Do

There were a few things that we had wanted to do but couldn’t, like rafting down the Yulong River, or seeing the Yangshuo evening show. Both would have been nice, but funds and time were an issue, so we had to skip them this time around.

We did year from many people that the night show is spectacular, but we really enjoyed hiking and taking in the natural beauty of Guanxi, so I can’t say we made a bad choice.

With so much beauty to be seen, I wanted to spend as much time outside as possible!

Our next stop on this journey was to the world famous park: Zhangjiajie!!! Thanks to the areas otherworldly landscapes, the movie Avatar was filmed there. We had a great time and I’ll be back to write about it soon!!

Guiyang: Day trips

Guizhou might be poorer than other Chinese provinces, but what it lacks in financial wealth, it makes up for with rugged beauty. The province boasts plenty of natural wonders, such as caves and China’s tallest waterfall, and it is also culturally relevant as well, with its many minority villages. If you head out to this part of China, and visit only Guiyang City, you’ll be missing out on a lot! Let’s take a look.

Day Trips

There are plenty of short trips you can take and still be back in time for hot pot in Guiyang City. On this last trip, we had plans to visit China’s tallest waterfall, Huangguoshu, but there was a mix up with our driver and he thought we wanted to go to a waterfall that was much closer to the city. We stayed flexible and decided to make 2 stops closer by instead. Here’s what we did.

Tianhetan

I had never heard of Tianhetan when we lived in Guiyang, and it is all in very good shape, so I think it might be a new attraction, built quite recently. Our plan was to go to Huangguoshu, but our driver wasn’t actually prepared to go that far for the 500rmb we had negotiated. Instead, we agreed to pay him 80rmb and he dropped us off at the park and went on his merry way. I’m still not entirely sure if he just genuinely misunderstood us, or if he was trying to make an easy buck on (what he thought were) some dumb foreigners, but either way, I didn’t want to be in a car with him all day, so I was happy with the solution.

As is usually the case in Guizhou, the park was lush and green and not too crowded. (By Chinese standards anyway)

We hiked around for a little bit and enjoyed the scenery. There was a coffee shop that made pretty awful sour coffee and poor Kim ended up with an insect in hers, but at least coffee was available! Guizhou has come a long way!

We didn’t really have a specific plan of what we wanted to see in Tianhetan, because we’d only learned about it that morning, but we moseyed around and eventually came upon signs for a cave. Caves are one of Guizhou’s specialties. On we went!

The boatride into the cave was a bit cheesy but honestly quite enjoyable. The cave itself was very well lit up, and there were plenty of beautiful areas. It went on for much longer than I expected it to! Of course, there are people snapping your photo along the way and you can buy them a little further down the cave for an inflated price. It’s a nice momento if you happen to look good in the picture (I almost never do).

China’s caves are always brightly lit up, so they don’t overwhelm me the way some caves do. There are enough distractions.

We were actually trying to find the waterfall, but weren’t too tenacious about it. We kept enjoying the paths and eventually found our way out of the park and onto the next leg of our journey.

A suspension bridge that Dave and I wanted to go on, but they were charging an extra so we passed.

Qingyan Ancient Town

I’ve actually been to Qingyan Ancient Town 3 times now, and each time it was pleasant in its own way. Like many ancient towns, there are shops galore where you can buy silver jewelry and plenty of Guizhou specialty snacks.

There are plenty of restaurants where you can sit down and have some lunch as well. Make sure to try the Yang Yu Ba (potato patties). They are stellar! Pigs feet are also always on the menu in this ancient town.

We didn’t stay for long on this trip, because we’d spent so much time in Tianhetan, and we ended up in a Guizhou-style thunderstorm, so we headed back before I’d really wanted to. If you’re looking for a chill way to spend some time, Qingyan Ancient Town is a great way to achieve that goal. You can easily pair this trip with a visit to Tianhetan as well, because both are easily accessible by Didi.

Weekend Trips

There are honestly so many different places where you can take weekend Trips in Guizhou. For this post, I’m only writing about the places that I have personally been. The two trips that Dave and I took while living in Guiyang are still some of my favorite memories of living out that way. Zhenyuan Ancient Town and Xijiang Minority Village are definitely worth the trip!

Xinjiang Minority Village

Xijiang and Kaili were actually one of our last stops when we lived in Guiyang. Looking back, I really wish we had done more traveling out there, but we were pretty overwhelmed at the time and I worked quite a bit. I am glad that we at least made time for Xijiang though.

Minority villages are everywhere in China, but the closest we’ve come to feeling like one was authentic was in Guizhou. You’ll see traditional architecture in these towns and people will often be in traditional costumes as well. There are always trinkets and souvenirs to buy and local food to taste. When we lived in Guizhou, I took this a bit for granted. I found Xijiang to feel a lot more authentic than Tongli, in Suzhou.

People still live in these towns, and although it isn’t 100% authentically traditional, they are still farming with hand ploughs and there are beautiful rice paddies all around. It’s peaceful.

To get to Xijiang, you can take a bus or a slow train to Kaili. We actually went after classes one Sunday night, and got to Kaili at around 11pm. Getting a taxi was rough (it would be easier now with Didi), and when we got to our hotel, they didn’t want to take us, because we are foreigners.

They aren’t just being racist when they declined foreigners, although it certainly does feel that way. Only some hotels in China legally able to register foreign guests. That’s what makes things complicated

**Pro China Tip** I strongly suggest booking with Trip.com if you are staying in more remote places. We’ve had a few bad experiences in the past where we’ve arrived at the hotel, only to find out that they can’t take foreigners. If this happens when you booked with Booking.com, you aren’t going to get much support. If you go with Trip.com, however, they’ll find you a new room. They offer much better support in that regard.

Zhenyuan Ancient Town

Of all our weekend trips during our time in Guizhou, my favorite was definitely Zhenyuan. We went there in an attempt to escape the noise and pollution of the city. We needed to unwind and Zhenyuan was perfect for that.

This clean and peaceful river was soothing to my culture shocked soul.

I wrote a couple of posts about our time in Zhenyuan, and they are actually 2 of my most viewed posts of all time. Not many people visit that little gem of a town, so they don’t realize that they’re missing out. Zhenyuan was the first little Guizhou adventure Dave and I took in that first year living in China, so it will always have a special place in my heart.

Walking around in Zhenyuan at night was beyond beautiful! The trip up the river was really nice as well!

If you want to read more about our trip to Zhenyuan, you can click here or here! There are lots of pictures and tips of what you can do and see there!

6 years later and I’m still proud of this picture!!

Other Options

Of course, these are just the places we ended up going, but there are plenty of other places you can visit within a day as well. Huangguoshu Waterfall along with the beautiful scenery nearby is an excellent option. Dragon Palace is nearby too, where you can see over 90 karst caves. Guizhou is full of natural beauty that you can see on a day trip outside of Guiyang.

If you have a bit more time, there are some incredible options to see other ancient towns, hike Mount Fanjing, or even visit Zunyi, home of China’s most famous brand of alcohol: Moutai.

With Guizhou’s milder climate and natural beauty, I really don’t think you can go wrong visiting this beautiful province. I may be a little biased because I called this place home for a year, but I think that as long as you have a sense of adventure Guiyang is a must see if you live in China!!

There is a higher ratio of squatter toilets in Guizhou, and your bed may not be as soft as you’re used to, but those are minor inconveniences in return for all this province has to offer!

The next stop on this epic 2021 Summer trip is the city of Yangshuo, in Guanxi Province!! We were there once before, but this trip was just as epic (and full of totally new experiences!!)

Spoiler: It was Beautiful!!!