As Far As the Eye Can See

Nov 28, 2008
Kumming to Lhasa

The flight from Kumming into Lhasa was amazing. Snow capped mountain as far as the eye can see. Miles and miles of it. It makes you want to be an explorer, it makes you want to go on adventures and discover unknown territories.

Dapper Mr Chen

Back to the travel adventure of "Wok the Dog," shall we?

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Nov 29, 2007

We had originally made travel plans with a Tibetan company, they were gonna take us from Lhasa to Everest Base Camp and back. However, we have been unable to get a hold of them since we have been here in China. They usually respond to emails but it takes them a few days. Although I'd much rather spent the money on a Tibetan company, we didn't have much of a choice but to find another travel agency.

Permits, permits, permits. A permit to get into Tibet, a permit to travel to certain providence of Tibet and another to enter the national park that Everest Base Camp is part of. Of course we never actually saw any of these permits but we did purchase them.

We found this man, Mr Chen, he is listed in the Lonely Planet Guide and the guide said that Mr Chen's sales pitch was better than his tours. Well, what a sales pitch it was. He is tall and skinny, with fancy rimmed glasses, an orange North Face fleece (most likely a knock off), black slacks and dress shoes. He has a "gold plated" cell phone that just cracks me up. He talks really fast and as soon as he realized that I speak Chinese, he tried to revise his sales pitch so that I would think he was giving us a deal because I am Chinese. He talks in this tone of voice that is meant for you to think that he is being straight forward and giving you the bottom line, but some how I am not convinced.

On the day we got back to Kumming from Dali City, we stopped by Mr Chen's office so that we can get our plane tickets to Lhasa for the next day and also make sure that all is well. Mr Chen was either on a date, or interviewing a girl for a job. Its hard to tell. Don and I think that he probably talks the same way to his dates as he does to his clients. His office is inside the Camellia Hostel and I think he lives in his office, which is actually not unusual. A lot of the Chinese business live and work all within the same space. Even if its just a cot that they pull out at night and sleep inside of their shop.

All in all, Mr Chen did what he said he would do, the tour guide, the driver, the 4WD were great and we were not left on the side of the road to die at any point in time. Despite how Mr Chen might claim that he was giving me a discount, I paid exactly what I expect it would cost. His dapperness and his mannerism were amusing and he certainly was a character.

To the Roof Top of the World we go!

Bread and Butter

San Francisco, CA

All I have thought about today is the brunch I had at Boulette's Larder yesterday. I nearly cried tears of joy over the toast and butter. I was rendered speechless by the biscuit with bacon, pork belly with Japanese mustard and pork sauce.

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YAY! Lard has finally return! I still remember how we used to have these dry noodle bowls with bits of fried shallots mixed with lard. Nothing quiet smells like it.

Chinese Foot Massage

San Francisco, CA

Oh how do I love thee, Chinese Foot Massage.
Hot Herbal foot soak
50 minutes of foot rub
Always someone nice and friendly
Glad to be working,
evening if your feet is stinky
Never costs that much money
And your achy achy feet can go on walking.

Possiblities of "YES"

I had dinner with an old college friend Scott tonight. I sometimes forget how much fun Scott is and how much I miss him. Today has been a tough day. Don and I can't agree on where our next destination for "Wok the Dog" will be, or even if he wants to go with me. I remember this story Scott told one day, when we were still young and worked for minimum wage. He said that his dad told him if he were to just walk up to 100 random girls, say nothing to them, except if they would like to have sex with him, at least 90 of them would slap him in the face and say "No!" But at least one, if not ten of them would say "Yes!"

I understand that Don doesn't need to be on the road, or out of the country to create music or do what he wants to do. But I do. Over 50% of the projects that I am excited about and want to spent my time and energy developing all involved me being on the road. I am saddened and not sure what to do.

I realized how much of me lives for the possibility of "Yes!" "Yes, of course we can!" "Yes of course we will have a baby polar bear one day!" It might not be about having a baby polar bear for real, for one thing, where would Don sleep? But about knowing that I can, or that we can, that its possible and lets work towards that "YES!"

Boulette's Larder and Chocolate Dog with Dreads

San Francisco, CA

Second day up here in SF and had lunch at Boulette's Larder in the hopes to cheer myself up. Got some great news and feed backs last night for "Wok the Dog," several magazines and writers that I really love and respect agreed to contribute a quote for the project. I don't remember the last time I was that excited!

Then it all went wrong this morning, at first I was unable to get tickets to see Eddie Vedder at the Wiltern in April (yes, I am a huge fan of Pearl Jam and Eddie). So I had to go through a ticket broker on ebay. Well....lets just say that its high way robbery for what these guys are charging for the tickets and I wonder if Eddie would have a heart-attack to know what the fans have to pay. Or maybe he has just resigned himself to the reality of being part of the business.

So lunch at Boulette's Larder. Its one of my favorite place here in SF. It makes me happy just to be in there. I love to sit at the large communal table and see all the people at work in that magnificent kitchen. I had the brown rice bowl with miso sauce and this yummy beautiful pork. For desert I had a chocolate tart with coffee ice cream with espresso beans. I was almost done with the meal when something moved near my foot. It turns out to be this large sheep dog with brown dreads. She looks like a giant shag carpet, you can hardly tell where her head is cause her dreads are so long. She is entirely too adorable to be real.

I love Boulette's Larder. I wish I could live there!

I heart SF

San Francisco, CA

I am in SF today and will be here until Monday. So we will have to delay the recounting of recent "Wok the Dog" adventures until Tuesday when I am back in LA.

I was looking in my spam folder to see if there were any email of importance there by chance. Lord and behold, there was a reply from Michael Pollan. I love his last book and I felt like he is someone who would really be excited about "Wok the Dog" and help me out with a quote of endorsement or two.

I was able to hand him a press kit when he was in LA recently but I have yet to hear back from him in one way or another. So my pulse quickened when I saw his name in my spam folder! I think to myself, YAY - he did respond to the work and he thinks its great and he would love to contribute a quote to helpe me promote! It was a responds to my request for a meeting from his assistant dated nearly 3 weeks ago.

So, not exactly what I was hoping for, but I still have not given up. I am sure that Mr Pollan really loves the work but just has not had time for it yet.

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On this Southwest flight to Oakland, there was this man sitting next to me, Royce, a commercial real-estate guy, a Koren lady who is a professor of sociology and theology. We chatted all through the hour long flight. They were liberal, intelligent and well educated. They were all very excited about Obama and the prospect of a new presidency. Especially Royce, I was touched by his enthusiasm and positive outlook on our collective future.

He made me feel like we are standing at the cusp of a new era. I feel like bursting into a chours of "Age of Aquarius."

The Heart Beat of the Market

November 27, 2007
Old Dali City Traveling to Kumming, China

Last day here in Old Dali City where our hotel room with our own bath and limited hot water is only 50 yuan per night (less than $7US).

Breakfast at our favorite “Go Go Cafe” where you can watch current American Movies for free if you buy food from them. This is a cafe for foreigners, for the ex-pats. Bob Dylan is always on the stereo and I am beginning appreciate him more and more. Maybe it has something to do with my wanderlust.

One last trip through the two different markets in town.

The butchers, pork mostly, all are at one end of the market, two long rows of them. Their tables are covered in these sheets of metal that are screwed down to the wooden table below. When the chop meat on it, it makes this weird sound. I can’t help but wonder doesn’t it dull their knives real quick?

Chili is sold everywhere in the southwest providence of Yunnan. The vendors have these large mechanized morter and pestle contraption that pounds the chili down into powder, paste, what have you. The sound of the the morter and pestle pounding reverberates through the market and it as if its the heart beat of the market. Its amazingly beautiful.



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Really starting to take it all in. The environment, the towns, the people, everything. I was resistant at first but now I lament at how short these next 23 days will be. You can’t even begin to scratch the surface of things.

Ducks in a Bag

November 26, 2007
Shaping, Yunnan Providence, China

We went to the market at Shaping today. Shaping is a town outside of Old Dali City by about an hour, 30km or so. Its a small town, only a couple of streets, but once a week there is a big market day here.

The first thing I saw as we approach the market, might have been the most amazing thing. Ducks in bags. There are these ducks, some how made to sit inside of these burlap-esq bags and with their heads sticking out on either side. First time ever have I seen something like this. I saw these two people crossing the street each grabbing on the an end of the burlap sack that contained at least half dozen ducks or so. I wish I had gotten a good shot of it.

Shaping has a very colorful market. Full of ethnic minorities in their colorful traditional dress. Full of spices and vegetables. There are carts set up to sell noodles and snacks mixed in with the produce vendors.

Then, there were the stamping pig phenomena. In the pork isle, I saw this man with a large stamp and an ink pad. He would life up the side of pork, take a look, then stamp the hide side of the pork a few times. I asked one of the butchers what does it mean to have your meat stamped, he said that it means it passes the inspection. Interesting...Not sure that one gains enough information just by looking at the meat to decide whether it passes the inspection or not.

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Yesterday in Old Dali City, the school had just let out and the rain had just stopped. The town was suddenly filled with kids in their school uniforms. Old Dali City came alive for me. It was no longer these few streets that are full of shops selling the same trinkets for tourists. It was a real place where real people lived. We were walking through the town square and I saw this boy, maybe 15 or so, still in his school uniform, tentatively handing something to a girl. He blushed, she was embarrassed, he wanted to talk to her some more but her friends came and she became even more awkward. The friends took the girl away giggling and the boy was left standing in the square reliving that short moment he had with her. This is another shot that I wish I had gotten.

It inspired me. It made me want to do a project about the mating rituals of teenage kids in Asia. Somehow, I don’t seem to related as well to teenagers in America. I think it all comes to easily, sex, girls and whatnot. It not special anymore, there is no sense of courtship. But seeing these kids in uniforms, I instantly relate to them, perhaps because I was once in uniform myself. I wonder if kids in Asia are still a little bit more innocent, a little bit simpler, if for nothing else, sex can still be a very big deal in the culture. When it doesn’t come so easily, it becomes a little bit more precious.

The Killing Den

November 25, 2007
Old Dali City, China

Let the Stalking Begin! Ok its more like me that is being stalked today - by people who are trying to interest us in a mini bus tour, a boat ride or a pony ride.

The Market today - different - its big and full of ethnic minority. Just before you enter the market there is a muslim stall that has whole sides of lamb - inside the market its mostly chicken and fish. There are a lot of Bali people here, dressed in their colorful grabs with plastic baskets worn on their back like a backpack. Lots and lost of vegetables, even at the end of November.

There are these three stalls at the end of the market, The Killing Den, where you can have the live poultry you just purchased killed, plucked and cleaned for you. The people who work there don’t like having their pictures taken.

At the Killing Den, they take the poultry, slit their throat, drop them in a large barrel and let them bleed out inside the barrel. Then they get a quick dip in hot water to help their feathers come off. In less than 5 minutes, the chicken is plucked, gutted and cleaned, and returned to their loving owner in a plastic bag.

Let the Stalking Begin

Nov 24, 2007 Kumming China

The first morning to the first market. Let the Stalking Begin! We walk the streets until we see someone carrying bags of grocery and then walk in the opposite direction that they came from. That is usually how we find the markets in each city. Its almost like stalking prey but backwards.

The market today was really neat, all set within these narrow alley ways, in between building that have been demoed and waiting for a shinny new high rise to be built there. The alley ways are hard to get through - really small and way too many people. All the stalls of different sellers are mixed within each other here, unlike Guangzhou where the sellers are grouped by what they sell, vegetables together on one side, meat on anther and so forth.

There is only a limited variety of fish sold here, a lot of these large river fish, about 3-4 feet in length. Fermented rice in clay pots (I love these), lots of live chickens and one rabbit. The market starts at 8am and it goes until midday, there is a break, then it starts again at 3pm to sunset.

I wondered how much longer trolling the market will be exciting for me. After all, "Wok the Dog" has been on going for 10 years now, and these last 3 years we have travelled purposely for the project. But then the thought of the fish market in Japan, markets in Morocco, Southeast Asia, South America, AFRICA....I can't even begin to imagine what those markets are like and to explore the relationship these people have with their food, I get excited again.

The most BEAUTIFUL thing I have seen at the market today are these huge chunks of FAT! Beautiful luscious chunks of FAT!

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An Account of Recent "Wok the Dog" Adventures

So, I have decided to start a blog, mostly because I wanted to share my experience of what happens when I am on the road and creating images for "Wok the Dog" and or any art / photo projects that I am undertaking at the time.

But since this last trip for "Wok the Dog" was taken before the birth of this blog space, I will recount the experience from my diary.

Nov 23, 2007
Traveling from Taipei to Kumming, via Hong Kong today. Plenty of time to spent in the duty free shops at the airport. Out of borden and curiosity, I have applied about 10 different products to the back of my hand. This is not a very accurate test, mind you. What can a one time application on the back of my hand really tell me about the effectiveness of this product? Don is making fun of me, saying that I will have one will preserved patch of skin on my left hand. All the more fun cause he is making fun.
Its been a long time since I have been to Hong Kong. It got me thinking about how one nation could claim someone else's country to be their own but promise to give it back after certain amount of time. "Oh, let me just borrow this island of yours for a bit, but I promise to give it back!" The sense of entitlement first class nations have...