What happens next?

Last night I had a dream... nothing worthy of a political message like Martin Luther King's dream... but one of enlightenment nonetheless.

I was walking along a black and white checkered road in the sky. The circled path was tilted upward and the middle swirled around in circles, which made me feel like I was about to fall off at any time. As I walked I came across familiar faces who smiled at me and held my hand until I regained my balance on this moving path. I went through hurdles, doorways, around corners and was greeted by a different person every time who helped me get to the next checkpoint. The checkpoints were squares covered with astronomical symbols like stars and moons.

My analysis of a dream that will no doubt have my parents calling me asking if I was doing shrums in Beijing... it was a wheel of fortune. The spinning black and white path was like a Roulette board and I was the ball landing on all these different checkpoints... clearly winning every time. A wheel of fortune symbolizes karmic payback, destiny or just plain luck. The familiar faces were those who helped balance me through my past struggles. I sound extremely sappy and spiritual right now but my luck did start changing today!

You're going to laugh but here it is...

I usually have a terrible time getting a cab around 8am... but today I had three cabs line up when I waved my hand.
I left late today but there was no traffic and I got to work early!
I had the BEST sticky pork bun for breakfast this morning for only $50 cents.

And I just have an overall feeling that my good luck will keeping on rollin'...

P.S. Beijing is awesome. I'm working hard from 9am to 6pm, attending yoga classes, socializing with friends after the gym, and sometimes going to bed to wake up to do it all over again. Ha. 6 days left in Beijing.

I have been meaning to make daily entries about my internship, the Usher concert, my amazing weekend. As I look back on what I've written it seems to be just a list of my everyday experiences... which is perfect for everyone like my parents who read this blog to keep track of my whereabouts. But for me, those entries are more to pass the time while waiting for an epiphany-- a sense of change to my inner core that I seem to always feel at some point during my travels. I believe these rude awakenings are actually cycles-- cycles of death and resurrection. During numerous times in one's life a person can be brought to their lowest point. A necessary step in order to enforce humility and awareness. But like a phoenix from the ashes, transformation helps us rise back up again. Therefore, what if disappointment wasn't really disappointment... and just life's way of causing natural change and passage.

I faced my own disappointment this morning and oddly enough the only thing that I could think of was Robert Frost's poem:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

This poem is genius-- it's message ambiguous but direct at the same time. Robert Frost leaves the reader questioning... what is the nature of the 'sigh'? Is it a sigh of regret or nostalgic relief? Was the difference a positive or negative difference? But interestingly enough, the poem has a direct truism... that any choice an individual makes is going to make 'all the difference' in how our future turns out.

Robert Frost takes the road that he thinks is less traveled. To him both roads are very similar and both look like they have been worn just the same. So how does he choose... how does he decide which one seems less traveled? Is it the road he fears? Is it the road he has never considered? Is it the road that others around him never considered? For me it would be all of the above. But instead of harping on the fact that I once decided the other path was the right path, I think I can sigh with relief... because I am considering the road that appears to be less traveled. Maybe it's because I am accepting the natural change that life is forcing me to endure or maybe it's because it seems a little more exciting not knowing what lays beyond the bend. But at least the consideration is present. Why struggle down a path that I once believed would get me to my goal if I just fought hard enough. Why not have a little faith and choose the one where the end result isn't clear. Isn't faith the medicine that gives life excitement? We have to LIVE in order to find out whether our former choices made a positive or negative difference.

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I have been away for a while. After my second day of work, the law firm took all the Beijing employees and their families to Phuket, Thailand. Luckily I got to go along! I didn't have access to the internet over there so you guys have a lot to catch up on.

Day One:

Our entire group got up around 8am, had a wonderful continental breakfast in an open pavilion right next to the beach. After breakfast we hopped in a coach bus and our THREE tour guides explained our itinerary for the day. On the bus I found my would-be playmate for the entire trip. His name was Thomas, the five year old son of one of the firms partners. We bonded with a common interest in tri-lingualism (we mastered Hi in Thai= "Sawatdee Kaa"), cartoons and hide-and-seek games.

During the day we went on a boat ride along Chaophaya River, had lunch of crab and fried glass noodles on a floating restaurant... then we took little canoes into caves and around the mangrove trees to secluded beaches. I was put in a canoe with one of the partners of the firm and had a hour to talk with him about my legal career and other aspects of our lives. This trip was turning out to be professionally useful rather than just a mental relaxation. On our way back to shore we passed the Thai island they used to film James Bond.

Like proper tourists we went shopping for the afternoon. We first went to a famous Thai jewelry shop where they gave us a presentation of how precious stones are discovered in Thailand. An actual jewelry making factory was attached to the store, where the group got to watch employees make the glittering pieces of jewelry displayed in the next room. We then went shopping at another famous Thai market where we picked up Thai presents for family and friends. Then we had dinner at another fabulous, authentic Thai restaurant where I had the most amazing curry and cheap local beer, while some locals performed traditional Thai dancing in the center of the restaurant. In between first and second helpings, I watched a family send a paper balloon into the air for good luck (the candle in the middle of the balloon makes it float up into the sky). It was a very romantic evening in a restaurant by crystal blue waters.

The end of the evening was the best part. After dinner we all went to a cabaret show which consisted of transvestites in glittery vegas costumes dancing around and lip singing to American/Chinese/Thai songs. It was hilarious! The day was so much more magical and exotic than how I briefly described it. Since pictures are worth 1,000 words I will leave the rest of the description up to the pictures.

Day Two: July 4th!

Independence Day was a full beach day for me-- literally. We headed to the beach at 7 in the morning... Hopped on a speed boat and zipped around visiting secluded beaches and amazing coral reefs all day. I improved my snorkeling skills so much that day that I got close enough to the fish to touch one... and I guess I blended so well with the coral that I was constantly surrounded by a great big school of fish. I was the only one out there because everyone in the group couldn't swim or were afraid of the water.

Coming off of the beach I realized my mentality that "I don't burn" failed miserably. I got burned but luckily it wasn't bad and we immediately headed to a traditional Thai spa where I got a full body rub down with lavender body oil. I am going to take a brief moment to describe the spa- Thai spas are not for the modest. As soon as you step in the door the staff are hurrying you towards a changing room where they strip all your clothes off and wrap a flower-printed cloth around you. The clothe change happens in a matter of seconds. Then they lead you up winding paths, through beautiful gardens (that are gender specific, ie. no boys allowed) and into a steam room high on the property. They ask you to steam for a couple of minutes than take a dip in the cool swimming pool just outside the steam bath. They recommend repeating this process until you feel completely purified (whatever that means). I repeated the process twice and then was hurried into a shower where I was once again stripped and shampooed. After the cleaning ritual, you lay down on a very stiff bed and the massaging begins. The addicting part of a Thai massage is their lengthening techniques. They focus purely on realigning the spine, in between all the other body rubbing, and you leave the room feeling taller, slimmer and 'purified.'

In a daze, we all climbed back on the bus and went for dinner at a hot pot/bbq restaurant. In the middle of the tables of four, there is a small bbq stove surrounded by a moat of boiling hot water. On one side of the restaurant there are buffet tables lined with un-cooked meats, vegetables, and noodles. You get to pick what you want to eat, and then you spend two hours talking, drinking, watching your food cook, and eating very slowly. After dinner the group bought a Thai lantern, wrote our wishes on the outside, lit the candle and watched the paper lantern float into the sky. Although this tradition seemed to pollute more than anything, as I watched it disappear I couldn't help but hope that my wish would come true one day.

Day 3:

The last day in Thailand turned out to be wonderfully exciting. First off I have to state, with a very high head, that my food poisoning in the beginning part of the day didn't stop me from sun bathing, driving RTVs or riding elephants. I had been going to bed every night thinking that I just had the best day ever... but every day kept getting more and more exciting.

In the morning we went to visit some Buddhist temples. I had a chance to revisit my days in India and my freshman year in college when I explored the Buddhist faith... I lit some incense and prayed with the monks for a while. Then we went on a speed boat to the famous Phi Phi island. My stomach still felt queasy so I just slept in the sun (not too shabby though). Then we got changed out of our suits and went to a snake show where I got mildly choked by a king cobra. After the show, the company tried to sell us all fake snake medicine. The only medicine that everyone seemed to be interested in was the one that increased your sexual intensity, among other things. To the 'snake doctors' disappointment I didn't buy the overpriced viagra-enhancer made from snake skin. After lunch (which I didn't eat) we went and drove ATVs around the jungle and went on elephant rides. At the sight (which looked more like a run-down freak show) we also watched a monkey on a leash do tricks... which I thought was kinda cruel. At the end of the show, the monkey was trained to beg for money, eat the coins thrown at him and store them in his cheek for collection later by his master.

Like good and proper tourists we then went shopping! First at a snake/sting-ray skin store, for wallets and purses; then to an exotic foods store where we could try everything! Favorite food? Wasabi covered cashew nuts. Dinner was an amazing buffet at some hotel restaurant. I was so hungry after all the food poisoning that I devoured a whole plate of curry and rice. Last but not least, we went to Thailand's equivalent of Disney World, Fantasea. We saw a spectacular show that consisted of pyrotechnics, over 20 elephants, glow-in-the-dark acrobatics, magic, tigers, trained doves, chickens and mules. It was a traditional Thai story that was acted out. But sitting far from the stage I realized that I might need glasses. How far away is nearsighted?

Anyways, we drove back to the hotel around midnight, got three hours of sleep and caught a 6am flight to Beijing. I can't wait to tell you all about my adventures in person! I definitely recommend Thailand as a destination.

The way I decided to travel for the week before my internship was none other than genius... particularly for this part of the trip. Since I had stayed in an uncomfortable hotel in Huangshan, I choice to upgrade myself to the best hotel in Hangzhou, consisting of a pool, a fitness center, English-speaking staff, great food, tourist guides, HBO/Stars movies, massage center, ect. Although I won't get into specifics... I will say that I could afford to stay in such hotels but not for an entire week. Two days of luxury was absolutely refreshing, especially for my aching muscles (honestly my calves were sore for four days after the Yellow Mountains).

The day I arrived in Hangzhou it was raining. Unfortunately, all the sites in Hangzhou were outdoors. Fortunately, that meant that I could spend the day running around the luxurious hotel and laying in my king-sized bed watching HBO movies... guilt-free!

I woke up early the next morning, had a wonderful continental breakfast in bed and then walked around the West Lake. The only unfortunate thing about a place of great beauty is that you find yourself wishing that you had someone to share it with. The West Lake reminded me of a Monet painting... vibrant green lotus blossoms floating on top of crystal blue water. Elegant Chinese pavilions and bridges graced the still waters of the lake and inside the winding paths of the surrounding Chinese botanical gardens you can find lovers holding hands and posing for their wedding pictures. The boats drift slowly along the shore, hardly making any wake as the mist rises from the surrounding mountains. It all seems like a dream, even with the massive amounts of people crowding the area and the noise from the commercial golf carts carting the lazy to the popular sites.

I want to give a brief cultural lesson...
In the beginning of Song Dynasty's Yuanyou era (1086-1094), a great poet, Su Shi (蘇軾, also known as Su Dongpo), came to Hangzhou as governor and was a major influence on the area. At the time he came, the farmers in Hangzhou suffered from a drought, due to overgrowth of the weeds at the bottom of the lake clogging the irrigation ducts. Su Shi ordered dredging of the lake and piled up all the mud into a causeway, in the style of Bai Causeway, but much wider and nearly three times as long, he also planted willow trees along its banks. This causeway was later named after him as the Su Causeway. He wrote the most famous poem about the West Lake:

"Ripping water shimmering on sunny day,
Misty mountains shrouded the rain;
Plain or gaily decked out like Xizi;
West Lake is always alluring."

The poem is short but it accurately describes the scene of Hangzhou.

After a walk around the lake I discovered an amazing on-the-go meal from a vendor... it is pretty much the non-American version of a cup of noodles. It is extremely cheap, I think 5 RMB, and all you do is add hot water! It was a wonderful hot, spicy lunch... a perfect travel meal for when you want to sit and admire the surrounding natural beauty in a nearby park.

Around 8pm I bought tickets for Zhang Yimou’s famous Impression West Lake show. Never heard of Zhang Yimou? Did you happen to catch the spectacular 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremony? The Impression West Lake Show was another one of his amazing spectacles. Staged entirely upon the lake itself (a stage has been built 3 centimeters below the surface), Impression West Lake is a spectacle of light, music, dance and theatrics. The story is based on a Hangzhou legend (somewhat lost on us foreigners, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment). Using the lake and its surroundings as props, lights and hundreds of actors create a sensational performance.

[I will post a film of some of it when I get a chance to edit it all together.]

At the end of a wonderful show I walked around the West Lake for 45 minutes... trying to find an available cab. After a very public display of pushing, shoving and yelling from a crowd of people I managed to steal a taxi away from some very angry local Chinese women. Although they didn't believe in the policy first come, first serve... I did and fought for my right.

The next morning I left on a plane to Xian.

For the first part of my travels I hiked around the land of the avatars. Reputed to be the most beautiful mountain range in the country, the startling, cloud-cloaked peaks of Huang Shan (Yellow Mountain) have for centuries been celebrated by poets and painters... and of course must have been the inspiration for James Cameron's movie, Avatar.

Although the main peak is under 6,200 ft, the 70 sheer rock cliffs are extremely hard to hike, especially since the entire hike consists of thousands of winding concrete steps. Upon hearing that the mountain gets very crowded with tour groups, I decided to start hiking as soon as the mountain opened at 6:30 am.

My first day on the mountain, Wednesday, was a beautiful sunny day and of course the mountain was covered with tour groups. There are two cable cars that give the non-hikers access to the peaks of the mountains. Since Pierreponts never take the easy route (ask Stuyvie who almost killed my Dad on a hike to the "best" fishing spot in Colorado), I decided to hike the eastern route of Mt. Huang Shan. The eastern route, although shorter than the western route, is apparently the harder of the two mainly because it is 5 miles of climbing steep stairs straight up the mountain. The 3 hour climb was incredibly brutal, especially on a hot morning. There were points on the trail where I had to stop every 20 steps... and on a 3,000 step climb, you can imagine how strenuous it was. The most interesting part of the climb was watching the mountain employees carry heavy loads of supplies up the mountain. They used bamboo shoots to balance equal amounts of either side and slowly trekked up the flights of stairs... stopping every so often to let hikers by. It was amazing and it definitely put my exhaustion in perspective. Once I reached the eastern peak my legs were shaking and unfortunately I was not prepared with enough food to restore my aching muscles. I refused to purchase any supplies at the top of the mountain, purely because the prices were escalated to match the manual labor it took to get the food/water to the top. The mountain reserved the cable car for tourists only so all the supplies for the vendors and hotels at the top of the mountain were hiked up. I visited all the popular sites on the eastern peak... Beginning to Believe Peak, Stalagmite Peak, Guanyin Peak, Harp Pine, and White Goose Ridge. All the sites were covered with tour groups... hundreds of people wearing matching t-shirts or hats, following a leader with a flag and a microphone. By the end of another hour of hiking, I was exhausted and had a headache from the massive amounts of people and the very loud microphones. I was also tired of everyone either staring at me, following me, or asking to take pictures with me. I guess I got a taste of what it would be like to be a celebrity. Yikes! After finishing the small amount of cherry tomatoes and almonds I had brought with me, I decided to hike towards the western side of the mountain and head down. Somewhere in the middle of the mountain I came across two American looking people. They seemed to be as annoyed with the crowds as I were and so I decided to follow them down the mountain. I started talking with them and found out they were also from New York. They had been traveling around Southeast Asia for two months for their belated honeymoon. Together we pushed our way through the picture-taking tourists, who never looked exhausted from the hike, and headed down the mountain around 2:00 pm. I was so glad that I met them because I wouldn't have made it down the mountain without their peanut brittle reserves and extra water. By the time we reached the base, around 4:00 pm, my legs were shaking terribly and I was at the point of collapsing. I paid an exorbitant amount of money for a taxi to my hotel, took a long shower, drank two very warm beers, ate leftover fried rice and bamboo shoots from the night before, watched an episode of Family Guy and passed out around 8pm.

The next morning I had trouble waking up at 5:30. My body was exhausted and my legs were in such pain that I had trouble walking around my room. I made it down to the 3rd floor of the hotel to get a free breakfast consisting of bread, fruit and coffee... a perfect energizing meal for another day of hiking (which my legs were dreading). I reached the western base of the mountain around 7am, planning to take the cable car up and hike the Grand Canyon. According to my two American friends I had met the day before, the Grand Canyon was the hardest part of the mountain and required a full day of hiking. Luckily since it was overcast with a very high chance of rain there was no wait for the cable car. I reached the western peak around 8am and started hiking towards the entrance of the Grand Canyon. For the entire day I hiked up and around twisting/ jagged peaks that were constantly covered by mist. For the 5 hours it took me to hike around the Grand Canyon I barely saw a soul even when I stopped every hour or so to munch on some snacks (crackers, peanut brittle and almonds) which I had bought the night before in preparation of a strenuous day. The empty paths, the high, moss-covered cliffs, the mist... made the whole walk so mystical.

After I finished the Grand Canyon I noticed the dark rain clouds developing over the mountain. I decided to start hiking towards the western trail down the mountain, which would take around 3-4 hours from the Grand Canyon. An hour into my hike somewhat down the mountain (because you have to go up to go down), it started to pour. Thirty minutes later, practically running towards any type of shelter, I came across a vendor who was selling panchos. I bought a water bottle and a bright yellow plastic pancho, which luckily covered my entire body and my bookbag. Still going the same pace I reached the cable car in 45 minutes but decided against it. The line was already so long that I trusted the rumor that it takes more time to wait for a cable car than it does to hike down the 3,000 steps. For another 30 minutes I had to hike up and over another peak in order to reach the western trail down the mountain. That this point I was exhausted, soaked to the bone and extremely frustrated at how slowly I was moving over the mountain... because all the Chinese tour groups (true to form) were stopping on the paths to take pictures in the rain!!! Once I pushed myself past the blockage in the traffic I literally ran down the 3,000 stairs to the base... the entire way down thinking about running the exorcist stairs for Georgetown crew practice. I guess I needed to be in a mental fantasy world in order to get down the mountain without twisting an ankle... a pure survival technique.

I arrived home and did the same routine as the night before: shower, beer, big dinner of pasta, family guy, bed. The next morning I left on a bus to Hangzhou.