Boring dinner

Attended a very very very very....boring dinner last night. It's that kind of dinner where you don't really want to go but have to. I'm sure you know what I mean. Anyway, the hubby called up in the afternoon and said that his friend had invited the whole family for dinner with some Korean friends. Venue - some Korean place in Taipan. I was debating whether to say yes or not, especially when Ryan was having exams. Hmm...lucky him, he got off!! My sweet Ju offered to accompany me! I was wondering whether the 'family' meant that everyone was bringing their brood or was it just us?

Anyway, it does not really matter cos it turned out exactly what I envisioned it would be - BORING!! Koreans are notorious for being male chauvinists ( and I have not come across any exception yet) , and their women pretty much have to stay behind the limelight. This was from personal experience when I was working in GEC - our Korean counterpart thought I was the secretary and my assistant ( a guy) the Engineer. Even when he discovered I was the one he was supposed to deal with, he kept asking me if I was really an engineer!! What the.....

Anyway, coming back to the present, when we got to the restaurant, there were 3 tables reserved. One was for the Korean guy's family, in the middle, a big table were for the men, and another table on the other side for us!!! We were a bit late - that's another long story why - will save it for another time!! So everyone has started eating. Guess, it was a blessing in disguise cos that means I don't have to make small talk with other people. Just a big 'hi hi' and hello to everyone present and I can settle at our own table and eat!!! Thank God for small blessings!

Luckily Julian was with me cos the hubby 'abandoned' us right after eating and sat with the guys! Aiya, if they want to talk guy talk, why bring the family leh? Furthermore it was a week night and is usually not family day. Sometimes I wonder...does this make them feel better and convince themselves that they are not 'neglecting' the family??? Or they think we are so dumb that we can't see through their badly executed attempt to justify to themselves that they are giving us time? Hmm, I'd much prefer quality time over senseless quantity time.

So overall summary - food was ok, liked the Bulgogi and the BBQ beef. Sang gei tang was a bit weird, not like the ones I am used to. ( This one had a very thick soup ) Dessert was completely yukky - I have never seen or tasted it before , some kind of noodle in a cold sour spicy soup. Tasted a bit like sour plum but then again not quite. Don't know what it was. Will not eat it again. Ju very gamely finished half a bowl although he didn't like it . He said he wanted to be polite - he is sooooo GOOD!! So happy for his presence, otherwise, I would be bored stiff!!

Not a great evening and one that I would not care to repeat.

Hanging Monastery of Mt Heng

Another place to add to my 'to visit' list is the Hanging Monastery of Hengshan, or Mount Heng in Shanxi, China. It's an engineering marvel, just imagine building on a sheer cliff face, 50 m above the ground. That translates to roughly 15 stories up above the ground.!!

As usual, I saw in on TV - what a marvelous invention that idiot box is!! And so wonderful for armchair travellers like me. What I saw really intrigued me - the whole building is made of wood, save for the roof tiles and is very cleverly cantilevered out from the cliff face. The long poles you see in the photo only 'appeared' to be supporting the structure but in fact, they are there only to give the illusion of security. In reality, the poles are merely wedged between the platform and the cliff face. They are not even buried inside the rock!!!

The whole monastery is actually very spacious as the monks apparently burrowed into the cliff face to make cave rooms. This is so ingenious, and to think that the building was built 1400 years ago!! That means practically no machines and super tools. Just imagine the amount of manpower and time it required. And it is still standing..or rather hanging today! ( Of course it has been repaired, restored etc but still...) I am really impressed and I want to go and see it for myself.

The whole idea of building it against a cliff is for protection from floods and strong gusts. As it is a Taoist monastery, the idea of calm and serenity is also very important - who is going to come and kacau such a precarious location!!

If you are thinking of going there, it's roughly 300 km west of Beijing, near a town called Datong, in the Shanxi province. My idea is to go before my legs give way and cannot make the climb up....but that's only a plan. Hope it materializes!!! See you there! :)

PS: Meanwhile, I'll still be slogging in the gym to make sure my legs are still working!