A few weeks ago, our family dog Pickle had to be put down. He had heart troubles as well as several conditions from his old age that affected his quality of life severely. I was glad I got to spend two weeks dog-sitting him while my family was back in Malaysia. Each morning, he would…
Category: My Favorite Posts
The Highway of Dreams
One way to experience the legend of the purported Eighth Wonder of the World, the Karakoram Highway (or KKH for short), is to travel from Kashgar to the town of Tashkurgan. Although Tashkurgan itself isn’t much of a destination, it’s a great place to rest for the night after a six-hour journey. I’d been told that there…
The Kashgar Livestock Market
As I showed a taxi driver a picture of the Kashgar livestock market I found on the internet, I told him, “Wo yao chi zhe bian” (“I want to go here.”). The Uyghur-looking driver looked at me and replied back in Mandarin as we looked at each other, him in a questioning and I in…
Practicing Gratitude
March 14, 2019 This morning, somewhere on the East Coast of USA, I woke up early to walk to the beach to watch the sunrise. I don’t remember if I’d ever watched the sunrise on the Atlantic Ocean so this marked a first for me. Watching the sunrise reminded me of a practice I’ve been…
Chinese Food
China seems to get a bad rep when it comes to food. Those I’ve spoken to in the past who’ve had food in China usually use the same word; bland. The internet has also posted videos of Chinese people “salvaging” used cooking oil in drains, aptly called “gutter oil“. There are news articles which show crocodiles…
Explorers
I had recently come across a video shared by someone on Reddit. It was a montage of his 2018 adventures on a motorcycle. The song in it (“Explorers” by The Midnight) caught my attention because I think it represents the spirit of adventure. I think there are many people out there, who, although lead normal…
Summary of China 2018
I remember about a year and a half ago, I was in the local Barnes and Noble near my apartment. I wandered to the travel section to look at guidebooks for fun. I saw a section on China and I thought, “I will explore you one day, you land of magical mysteries”. The land where…
Senbazuru – The Story of One Thousand Cranes
‘I will write Peace on your wingsand you will fly all over the world.’ Those were the words that a 12-year old girl named Sadako Sasaki wrote about her cranes she folded as she was battling leukemia. August 6, 1945 – Little Boy hit Hiroshima. In an instant, the lives of 80000 people vanished. Another…
One time, one meeting
“One time, one meeting.” I was watching Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown this past weekend, specifically, the episode where Tony goes to visit Japan with the head chef and owner of Masa (from NYC), Masayoshi Takayama. (Not that it matters to this story but Masa is supposedly the most expensive restaurant in the USA where meals…
Tashi And The Monk
My first experience with an orphanage happened when I was very little, maybe 4-5 years in age. My family went to visit this orphanage because my cousin was there. Why was my cousin there? He was mentally challenged. At least that’s what my parents told me. He wasn’t born to my uncle and aunt. He…