The Golden Gate Bridge is not golden. The name of its slightly rusty hue is International Red. The iconic International Red beams and cables that span San Francisco Bay perfectly compliment the forest green hills on either side and the turquoise waters below. Why don’t they paint all bridges red?
I crossed the bridge on foot. [...]
When you Californians you’re going to visit San Francisco, they all tell you the same thing: go eat at In-N-Out Burgers. But I had something else on my mind: sourdough.
A long time ago, I had a classmate who moved to town from San Francisco. The first time he invited me over to his house for [...]
On a recent return trip to China, I decided to take a detour through San Francisco. I realize that the City on the Bay is historically the place where people arrive from China and not the other way around. But it doesn’t matter which direction you’re headed when you’re going to San Francisco anymore. This [...]
For anyone who doesn’t already know, the 2010 World Expo (the modern-day equivalent of a World’s Fair) is going on right now in Shanghai.
I recently finished a tour of duty on behalf of my home state, Texas, which held week-long activities at the USA National Pavilion with the goal of attracting tourism and investment to [...]
This is becoming rarer and rarer — a moment in one’s travels when an unspoiled, non-commercialized spectacle of local life is stumbled across. I call it a “National Geographic” moment. It’s something simple and at the same time breathtaking, a product of everyday human life in a culturally relevant package. But it’s not for sale. You [...]
My favorite Chinese writer, Ning Ma, recently turned out an English poem about a trip she took to Seattle. Here’s an excerpt:
Inky letters float in the little bookstore,
crying out in the gloomy rain:
“EAT, SLEEP, READ”
this is their last battlefield.
Go over to to momentofbeing.com to check it out.
The Indonesian word for “return” is kembali … nearly a homonym for the island that I recently returned to, Bali.
It was just a brief trip – a few days on the beach after a workshop before I had to head back to Beijing. I was last in Bali for my honeymoon just over a year [...]
把自己的国家看作外国确实是一个很少有的机会。大多数人都得不到。我每次回国，在自己的家乡做客人，就会站在一个比较客观的角度看待家乡。在我以前经常去的地方假装人生地不熟地拍照，就是为了以后给你看看，给你写点儿有意思的东西。下面我给你简单地介绍一下美国德克萨斯州的达拉斯。
这个城市周围没有山也没有海。因为没有任何自然的界线，所以就一直延伸出去。市中心不像其他大城市那么重要。白天走在路上也不会碰到什么人。我已经习惯那个拥挤的首都，发现在这里觉得太孤单。
其实走在路上也会碰到一些要饭的。是，美国也有要饭的。但是有的不要饭。所以这种说法不太合适，还是应该叫“不愿意入世的人”。中文听起来好像是很智慧的，但是现实不像听起来那么好。
达拉斯只有一百年左右的历史。按照中国的标准这么短不叫历史，只能算“昨天”。
不过，在越来越延展的达拉斯的最中间，我们还能看到一间小破房。同志们别误会，这不是钉子户！传说这是建立城市的第一个人盖的房子。我估计这可能是后来随便从哪里拉过来的一间类似的房子。
达拉斯邻近另外一个小一点的城市沃思堡。达拉斯市中心是石油公司和银行；沃思堡市中心是艺术博物馆，酒吧和免费停车场，所以到处都有人。
有一天我带老婆去吃海鲜。德克萨斯有一个说法：任何东西在德克萨斯州都会大一些。这个说法不只是指的牛，也包括螃蟹。老婆一看，就说这些螃蟹很像《第九区》里的外星人。
很有意思的一个经历是去古董商店。那里面有一些特别老的中国古董，好像是解放之前美国人从中国带回来的东西。我在中国很少看到这种东西，在博物馆才能看到，真的古董根本买不到。在美国卖的这些也不便宜。中国朋友：你的旧东西在世界上太贵，千万别扔掉！
我最喜欢德克萨斯也最想念的一个东西是阳光。在地球上，天是百之五十，地是百分之五十，但是德克萨斯百分之七十都是天；地只有百分之三十，所以太阳看起来很大。
每个日出和日落都是一幅美丽的画，每一天都更美丽。在我的家乡，地上没有美丽的自然环境，美丽的环境在天上。
Go Too Far East recently had a lay over in Seattle. The city is about as close as they come to halfway between home and abroad, Asia and America, sushi and Starbucks.
Ning found the world’s first Starbuck’s. The flagship store is anchored near the waterfront. What’s it like? Just like any other Starbuck’s, except they [...]
This is what Beijing looks like with a dusting of snow.
