{"id":1866,"date":"2012-02-14T20:12:34","date_gmt":"2012-02-15T04:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interspacedesign.wordpress.com\/?p=1866"},"modified":"2021-06-25T11:14:37","modified_gmt":"2021-06-25T18:14:37","slug":"destination-asia-of-dragons-spice-and-everything-nice-part-l","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/destination-asia-of-dragons-spice-and-everything-nice-part-l","title":{"rendered":"Destination Asia: Of Dragons & Spice and Everything Nice – Beijing & Busan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Once in a while, I come across travel deals I can\u2019t resist. Our recent 16 night SE Asia cruise was one such example. Covering 9 ports and 6.5 countries (I\u2019ll consider Hong Kong a separate entity until it officially comes under the Motherland\u2019s rule in 2047) it was a kaleidoscope of sights, tastes and smells that affirms Asia\u2019s reputation as an exotic destination. Come with me to see some of the most colorful and vibrant countries on that continent!<\/p>\n

BEIJING, CHINA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since we had already\u00a0toured the Imperial Palace<\/a>, hiked the length of Mutianyu\u00a0Great Wall<\/a> and trolled through\u00a0the Wangfujing\u00a0Night Market on a prior trip, we only planned on a 2 night stay in Beijing before the cruise. This gave us just enough time to explore the Summer Palace<\/a>, meander around Houhai<\/a>‘s \u00a0boutiques and pig out on Peking Duck &\u00a0venison \u2013 just enough to whet our appetite for another visit to this brash and dynamic capital of the Middle Kingdom!<\/p>\n

\"Polychrome<\/a>
The polychrome corridors of the Summer Palace.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Summer Palace built by Qing\u00a0Emperor\u00a0\u00a0Qianlong\u00a0for his mother, the Empress Dowager Cixi, is as extensive as it is lavish. Designated as a World Heritage site for its Chinese landscape design, it masterfully integrates scores of palaces, temples, pavilions, corridors and bridges harmoniously into the surrounding hills and lakes.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The boat that sank the Chinese Navy \u2013 this is the infamous Marble Boat built by Cixi to drain the treasury of money intended for modernizing the Chinese navy, sealing the fate for the country\u2019s decline.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Having always imagined it to be an extravagant monstrosity, I was surprised to see the modestly sized reproduction steam paddle boat. Undoubtedly a lot of the money ended up lining the pockets of the court officials – either that or the Chinese Navy budget\u00a0was a mere pittance\u2026<\/p>\n

Ironically the Marble Boat is so heavy it would have sunk like a rock (or ton of marble?!). The wooden top storey was a later addition, decorated with colored glass and mirrors positioned to give an illusion of it being afloat.<\/p>\n

\"Platter<\/a>
Seasonal Fruits on Dried Ice<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We ate at Dadong Roast Duck<\/a>\u00a0the first night. The name may sound pedestrian, but it is purportedly one of the best Beijing Duck restaurants in the city. This branch was hard to find but totally worth the effort. The menu was innovative and presentation of the dishes was beautiful. The fabled duck\u2019s thinly sliced skin was sublimely crisp and it was fun using all the condiments, buns and wraps, apparently de rigueur for proper consumption of THE DUCK at this restaurant.<\/p>\n

We were happily surprised by a couple of complimentary desserts at the end of dinner (communication and service are still lacking in China): sweet black sesame drink and a platter of jujubes, cantaloupe and watermelon slices artfully presented on a bed of dried ice.<\/p>\n

\"Pedicab<\/a>
Fancy pedicab\u00a0for a hutong tour!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hutongs\u00a0are maze-like neighborhoods of narrow alleys formed by adjoining courtyard homes and have been the fabric of life for generations of Beijingers.<\/p>\n

Pedicab tours give visitors a glimpse into the traditional way of life that is fast disappearing under the bulldozers\u2019 tracks.<\/p>\n

\"Wait<\/a>
Wait staff carving our Beijing Duck at Houhai\u00a0Quanjude.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We chanced upon a new branch of Quanjude<\/a>, a major Beijing Duck chain, in Houhai. Granted the duck was not as lean and crispy as Dadong\u2019s, but the menu was cheaper and there was a free Chinese variety dinner show, so it offered reasonable value. Venison seemed to be \u2018in\u2019 as it was on the menu both nights.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s best to stick with duck dishes \u2013 our saut\u00e9ed Bambi reminded us of the song Hotel California: we stabbed it with our steely knives but just couldn\u2019t make a dent in the leathery beast!<\/p>\n

\"Night<\/a>
Night scene of lakefront bars at Houhai.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Known for its cafes, bars, and hutongs, Houhai was gentrified for the Olympics and the main drag is now chock full of retail and entertainment establishments in make-believe traditional Chinese architecture.<\/p>\n

Music from each establishment is piped out to the patio and becomes a virtual \u2018battle of the speakers\u2019 as each bar seeks to outdo its neighbor in decibels.<\/p>\n

\"Hutong<\/a>
Hutong door knockers.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are still traditional homes around. These came from a house in the hutong where our Courtyard Hotel was located.<\/p>\n

BUSAN, KOREA<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our first port was Busan<\/a> in South Korea. We decided to check out the local street food scene and wandered around the stalls. Most of the offerings were fried \u2013 not exactly healthy but piping hot and very tasty. We chose to queue up on the longer lines as the locals obviously know which vendors are the best!<\/p>\n

On the other hand, if shopping is your pleasure, extensive underground malls link several subway stations together so you can shop and walk around town in comfort regardless of the weather. We strolled between 2 subway stations but found much of the merchandise catering to young people.<\/p>\n

\"Korean<\/a>
A bit of folk art and culture around a construction site \u2013 sight for sore eyes indeed!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is one of a series of drawings on the siding surrounding a construction site. This is so much more refreshing than billboards and ads!<\/p>\n

\"Food<\/a>
Food stalls around the Jagalchi Fish Market.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From griddle pancakes to deep fried\u00a0whole fish, food was everywhere in the streets surrounding the Jagalchi Fish Market<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"View<\/a>
View of Jagalchi Fish Market from the pier.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Fish Market is housed in this surprisingly contemporary structure. We couldn\u2019t have guessed what was inside this massive pier side edifice.<\/p>\n

\"Seafood<\/a>
Seafood galore at the Jagalchi Fish Market.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There are stalls selling all manner of seafood, fresh or dried, as far as the eye can see.<\/p>\n

The second floor is a food court with some eateries featuring live seafood where you can pick your own slab o’ protein protein fresh from the tank!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is first of a series on the blog of my SE Asia cruise visiting China, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand & Singapore. Covering grand gardens, architecture, food, culture and whatever catches my fancy, it’s a collage of sights, sounds and smells that makes Asia so alluring and exotic. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8730,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,9,15],"tags":[48,49,62,139,141,243],"class_list":["post-1866","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-architecture","category-food","category-garden","category-travel","tag-beijing","tag-beijing-duck","tag-busan","tag-houhai","tag-hutongs","tag-summer-palace"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/beijing-summer-palace-marble-boat-1-497x300-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1866"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8729,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1866\/revisions\/8729"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1866"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1866"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/interspace-design.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1866"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}