Who’s your Mao Daddy?

We're Back,...

...and as promised there is plenty to tell. I have finally made it through the mire of holiday travel, a couple of doctor's visits and a few attempts to break free of the shackles of a boring life watching movies, shopping and spending Amy’s money to get back to the blogging. Since it has been over a month since the last post I thought it would be good to let you in on a bit of everything we’ve been doing both here and abroad, so welcome to the Guihot Blog Mixed Grill – full of meaty goodness, with a hint of fatty grissle for filler.

Prairies, Poutine and Tim Hortons

Around 18months ago while we were still Canberra-bound we had made some plans with the family to all meet in Canada in May of this year for a big ol’ family reunion with Amy’s sister in-law's crew, who were based in and around Winnipeg. We had also planned to push onwards after the family do and check out the US of A and all of the lard-based treats that it has to offer. Our sudden relocation and Amy’s new work commitments meant these bigger plans were no longer possible, but with family time now being a commodity in short supply we decided to bite the bullet and at least do the family part of the trip. So off we went to the land of Eh! And while catching up with family members was the first priority, I also had my own personal mission (should I choose to accept it, which I did) - to sink my teeth into some good ole’ Canadian poutine. Not the prettiest looking stuff, but what’s there not to like about a tasty combination of hot fries, gravy and cheese curd

Winding Down and Winding Up
Even with our eyes on the Canadian trail there were still a few things we had to attend to pre-holiday departure, making the weeks leading up to our break out of country a very busy one for the whole Guihot family. On the work front Amy had a busy time trying to wrap things up at work, while I was taking care of some important business on the wine and beer order front for a keen bunch of thirsty drinkers. Aside from a few lingering issues on Amy’s job front we were both able to have some time together on the Monday and Tuesday before we flew out, allowing us to enjoy a bit of Beijing outside of the busier weekend period. We took this opportunity to take in a massage and complimentary lunch at the Oriental Taipan spa which has to be the best thing since sliced bread. For 2 and a half hours we were massaged from head to foot, and while they were finishing off the feet we hooked into the menu that was superbly serviced by their own Macao chef. All for the equivalent of $40 each (Amy got the additional manicure and pedicure, which they managed to do in unison with the muscle manipulation therapy). We also headed out with a few friends to the 798 Art District, which I had visited previously as part of my language lesson but Amy was yet to check out. After a morning of wandering around looking at the few open exhibitions (mental note: do not go on Mondays as a lot of places are closed) we had a great lunch and then went back to one favourite shop and brought our first real piece of art for the house from China – two little statues by a local Chinese artist. As you can see from the photo above they are not what you would normally associate with Chinese sculptures - more Mao than Ming. In addition to this we decided to finally rid ourselves of the need to share our single television with Maddy’s Cartoon network, and got a 2nd one (which I don’t think has been on any other station since we set it up). It was great to get out when the shops weren’t wall to wall with customers and get our last bit of over-serviced customer service for a few weeks. By the time we departed on Wednesday we were packed and excited, and as we went through the departure gates were ready for some time away from the oddities of Chinese culture. Or so we thought.

Musical Chairs at 35,000 feet
If there is one thing that can bring humour to an 11hr flight it is watching 3 air stewards trying to get 4 Chinese people to stay in their allocated plane seats for take-off. On boarding the plane at Beijing Airport we wandered up to our isle to find a local sitting in my seat. After asking him to move, he and his partner moved into the last row behind us, only to be told by the air hostess that this row was left empty and they had to return to their allocated seats. After being asked twice they finally got up and went back to their seats on the opposite side of the isle to me. 2 minutes later another Chinese passenger jumped out of her seat 2 rows down, and sat in the last row right where the two back-seat adventurers had been. A minute after this the air hostess comes back, telling this poor lady that she’d already been asked 2 times to return to her allocated spot. After giving the air hostess a “What are you talking about?” look she confirmed that she’d only just sat there, so after a quick reading of the riot act by the hostess she was also back in her allocated place. Five minutes after that, and while the aeroplane was taxiing to the end of the runway, the original pair of wanderers (who’d already been ousted once from the back middle row) decided they were bored with their own seats, and again moved to the rear row by the window. In the meantime the guy next to me had also gone wandering to a spare seat 2 rows down to talk to a friend, and was sent on his merry way back to his own place in the passenger class pyramid. It really was like watching a 3 stooges skit, and in the end the air hostesses just gave up and decided that if body identification was ever required, it would be one for the forensic dentists to sort out.

All in all it was an OK flight for me as I managed to get around 6hrs sleep. Can’t say the same for Amy though who found it hard to sleep with Maddy talking for the first half of the flight, and then finding it hard to get comfortable without waking Maddy up after she finally nodded off. Amy spent most of the latter half of the flight giving me death stares from across the aisle while I snored away (I was going to tell her that I felt uncomfortable being stared at and could she please stop, but I didn’t have an ice pack nearby).

Amy and Maddy at Stanley Park, Vancouver.

We got into Vancouver around lunchtime on the Wednesday, to a much cooler climate than Beijing. While being very jetlagged we decided to check out the city, so after dumping our bags at the airport hotel we got a taxi into downtown where we grabbed a coffee and then boarded the hop-on hop-off tourist bus (or in Amy’s case ‘Nod-On, Nod-Off’) for a lap around the finer parts of Vancouver (and some of the dodgy parts also). We really only had the energy to jump off once, which we did down near Stanley Park and walked around the edge of English Bay before jumping back on at the next stop and cruising back to the harbour. By this stage we were well and truly knackered so grabbed a taxi back to the hotel where we managed to track down a local Bistro chain for the first of many great meals in Canada (for Amy the salmon, and for me the ½ Roast Chicken in Maple Syrup). It was an early night for us, being hit with the jet lag and having to be at the airport for the flight to Winnipeg early the next morning.

Downtown Vancouver from Stanley Park.

Maddy with her new little cousin Abigail.

Winnipeg wasn’t much to see from the room of our hotel, or from the streets. Its gems lay behind closed doors, away from the centre of town or out on the prairies and we were lucky to taste a bit from all three plates. On our 2nd day we headed to the Fort Whyte Nature reserve, where we got a real taste for the harsh nature of the prairies back when it was settled as well as seeing (and photographing) some great wildlife. We also used the rainy weather days to take Maddy to the Kid’s museum which gave her the opportunity to burn some energy, followed a few days later by a trip to the larger (and more family focussed) Manitoba Museum and planetarium. On our second last day we decided to check out the local zoo, which although somewhat overzealous with the wire cages made for some great (and funny) photo moments. Spring was certainly in the air at the zoo, with many animals seen lining up at the cigarette vending machines for when the breeding business was done.

The resident zoo squirrel was happy to pose for the camera.

A not-so-happy prairie dog.

With spring in the air the bears came out to 'play'.

Even the turtles were getting into the action.

One of the most interesting experiences for us over in Canada was the Sunday morning participation in an Anglican/Lutheran Church service. Given the father’s calling as the local clergy for one of the churches it was obvious that he was very proud and excited to have all of his new family in town from all corners of the world, and it showed no more than in the individual introductions we were given to all of the parishioners (meaning we all got up, did the Queen wave and took our seats again). It was not all formalities though, as Amy’s new 4 month old niece let her priorities be known by dumping 2 days of built up bowel aggression in a very noisy mid-sermon interruption (the lesser known 5th horseman of the apocalypse).

The church in St Bonaface in Winnipeg was one of the architectural gems in the town.

All in all it was a great trip, and the new family on Amy’s side were very welcoming. In addition to this, we discovered that one of Amy’s brother’s wife’s step-brother’s wife’s cousin (figure that one out) actually works and lives next door to us here in Beijing – that whole 1 degree of separation thing happening.

All the family who made it to Winnipeg, along with those who already call it home.

One of the interesting observations from our trip is how popular Starbucks is in Canada. While many Australians may despise the very name (especially given our long history of great coffee thanks to the Italian migrant influence) it was certainly gaining some steam in Australia before the big wind-down of 2008. No such backward steps in Canada though, where in one 2km strip along the same Vancouver street we passed 6 Starbucks coffee shops. And it was no different in Winnipeg, where the photo below shows two Starbucks located just a supermarket carpark away from one another. The Canadians though have their own version in the form of Tim Horton’s, which always had longer lines at the checkouts than their Green and White-logo’d competitors (and for good reason too – better coffee and service in my opinion).

Two Starbucks, 75 meters between them (sign for 2nd shop above the background blue shades).

The China Life
Outside of our travels and retail therapy we have continued to explore the peculiarities AND the great things that Beijing has to offer. On the social front we went out for a 2nd indulgence of the Westin Bubbalicious Brunch, this time for Mother’s day along with some friends from the Embassy (and again we rolled back home, after eating way too much and me trying all four shooter option this time – the Salmon Tequila Sunrise, the Jellyfish and Baiju again, the oyster Bloody Mary and the Pernod and kippers).

On the language progression front (although that is a loose term) I have continued to do the weekly ‘cultural language lessons’ with our teacher. A few weeks ago we decided that a trip to the Olympic Park to learn about all terms sporting related was in order. What a lesson in bad process this turned out to be. While the entry to the Bird’s Nest stadium was smooth, the entry to the Water Cube was anything but. Exiting the stadium, one just needs to walk across the open paved area to the entry gate for the cube. The only problem here is that you need to buy your tickets elsewhere. And not from a booth next to the gate, but from a booth ON THE OPPOSITE CORNER OF THE WHOLE CITY BLOCK that the Water Cube is on. We ended up having to walk for 15min to the booth to get our tickets, and then walk 15min back to the same gate to get in. Our teacher told us the reasoning for this is that visitors are forced to see more parts of the Olympic Green area. I reckon they actually go one step further, and actually force visitors to do the 50km walk event just to feel that ‘participation’ spirit. When we finally got in, I asked our teacher if people were allowed to swim in the pool to which the answer was a definitely ‘No’. It’s there to look at, and be proud of.

With the Olympic circus having left town this little abandoned mascot needed a big hug. (Or maybe he just wanted to have a swim in the Olympic Pool).

And here end’th the lesson on process management in the Middle Kingdom, where logic isn’t always as it seems and a Business Analyst like myself would have a job for life. Our next post will have all the details of our mountain bike ride out to the Ming Tombs over the weekend (posted to my Beijing Bike Blog, but will be linked to from here so stay posted). In the meantime you can check out more photos from our trip to Canada in our Picasaweb album here.

PS. I did manage to finally get my poutine on the last night, and OH what a great thing it was. Not the fast-food variety, but no less fatty than shoving a Mars Bar into a Krispy Kreme and deep frying the sucker.

Burning off some of the poutine with Maddy’s help.