Hong Kong Cooking

I stumbled upon these pictures today, and was surprised and rather embarrassed to realize that they are from way back in April and I have not posted them yet. I suppose that April and May were rather tumultuous times, what with moving and all, but I am still aghast that in the intervening time I have not noticed and posted them. Oh well.

J's friend Gary is from Hong Kong, as are his girlfriend Karen and our friend Harry. In April, Gary and Karen invited me, J, Harry, and Jonny over for a Hong Kong-style hot pot meal, and for durian afterwards.

I have to say, I wasn't entirely sure what a hot pot meant in this context, but when I got there and saw that there were dumplings, I realized that it must be the best invention ever. Which it was. We had all this delicious food, which we put into the hot pot and cooked (to varying degrees of done-ness, depending on our patience). Everything was delicious!

It was a bit hard to get all the food out of the hot pot with chopsticks, but we did pretty well. The dumplings were the hardest, and I have to confess that I did spear just one or two.

Yum, yum, yum!

This is durian. It is a fruit that smells so bad that it is illegal in certain public places in some Asian countries. J thinks that it smells like death (or old gym socks), and others have compared it to much nastier things, but I actually wasn't too bothered by it. It certainly didn't smell good, but I didn't find it too bad, either.

Although it is illegal in some places, it is also called "King of Fruits" in others. I get the impression that people either truly love it or find it supremely distasteful.

It is pretty weird looking, especially because it kind of looks like meat, but then when you scoop it, it is a bit stringy like squash. I actually thought it tasted pretty good, which elicited exclamations of delight from Gary, who bought it, and shrieks of disgust from Harry, who had been appalled that we were even going to try it. 

The only complaint I had was that it was so sweet that it bordered on the sickeningly sweet of rotting things, especially after Harry pointed that out. But I found that if I didn't think about that perspective on it, I just enjoyed that it was sweet. J didn't like it, although he did admit that if the smell hadn't repulsed him so much, he might have been okay with the taste.

Just for added information, this is apparently what durian skin looks like. What we ate was packaged and frozen, which Gary says greatly detracts from the taste, but that's how it is available in NZ.

It was a great evening, and it was fun to spend time with that group of people all together, since we usually hung out with the two couples separately. 

At one point in the evening, I looked up from my conversation with J and Jonny to notice that the three caucasian people were deep in conversation in English, while the three from Hong Kong were enthusiastically talking in Cantonese. I was amused to realize that in addition to this accidental separation, we three caucasians happened to be discussing racism. Wanting to complete my picture of the scene, I asked the Hong Kong group what they were discussing, and Harry replied, "Noodles." Perfect! As an overly analytical and self-reflective person, I tend to be entertained by the varied and surprising manifestations of stereotypes, and this situation will doubtless remain at the top of my list for years to come.

Snowboarding on Mount Turoa

Didn't know that J and I could snowboard? Well, neither did we, and yet that's what we did this weekend! Well, J knew that he could snowboard a little over 10 years ago, but I'm not sure that counts. And I have been skiing once, and was actually decent for the 3 or so hours that I got to do it before skiing of a cliff and spending the rest of my day in the hospital. So let's just say we're beginners.

It was a wonderful trip, full of excitement, beauty, and adventure. Allow me to give you the guided tour.

We left home at 6:30am, drove to Whanganui and met up with Anna and Ollie, then we all drove up the mountain together. Mount Turoa is part of Mount Ruapehu, which is next to Mount Tongariro, where J and I went hiking fairly soon after we arrive in NZ. We'd never been to Turoa before, so it was nice that Anna and Ollie, who go skiing often, knew where they were going.

As we drove up the mountain, we drove into increasing wind and sleety misty greyness, which did not bode well for our day. When we got out of the car, we could barely walk for the ice covering the parking lot and the wind that slid us across it, but we made our way towards the blurry mass that was almost entirely obscured by the mist, comforted by Anna and Ollie's assurances that it was the lodge and we would be sheltered from the wind inside. At this point, while J was being uncharacteristically stoic, my toes and hands wer already numb, and my brain had taken up, "Why did I think I wanted to do this?" as its new mantra. Ugh.

Here is a picture of the beginner slope (which was the only thing not too iced over to use), just after we first arrived. Fortunately, the slope was a bit sheltered, so all that greyness wasn't actively pelting it as people skied/snowboarded.

Despite the vicious weather, we got all suited up. My spirits were much improved by the purchase of amazing Goretex mittens and by Ollie's life-saving gift of hand and foot warmer packets, which undoubtedly saved me of at least a few amputations. Once I wasn't terrified of the cold on my circulation-less extremities, I was able to get excited again about the actual snowboarding part!

Side note: While shopping for mittens, I found out that beards are very stylish. Maybe Dad's looked like this before it went grey?

First thing I didn't realize about snowboarding: Turns out, it is hard to stand up on slippery snow with your feet strapped to a board and your ankles unable to bend.

Second thing I didn't realize about snowboarding: Once you do manage to get up, the only functional way to move is to start snowboarding, because shuffling just makes you fall over again.

Something I knew but never fully appreciated about mountains: The weather can change very quickly. Within 10 minutes of us being on the slopes, the nasty weather blew away, leaving glorious sun and much less frigid winds. Yay!

Note: This is the same view as the first picture. Bet you didn't even realize there was a mountain there, before!

Third thing I didn't know about snowboarding: Apparently you solve the inability to move problem by unstrapping one of your feet when you get to the bottom of the slope. (Hence my one foot strapped in, and the other just placed near the straps). This works pretty well, but you have to be very careful not to do some nasty twisting of your knee of the leg that is still strapped in. Also, the straps are user-friendly, but it is still a bit of a headache strapping and unstrapping so often.

Fourth thing I didn't know about snowboarding: For being a couch potato, J is very good at it!

Anna took this picture - good thing, too, because I didn't get my camera out quickly enough to catch the wind as it buffeted the snow from the peak. Mountains are interesting places.

Anna skiing down the slope. 

Ollie skiing down the slope. 

Unfortunately for them, the lodge had already sent home most of its staff when the weather cleared up, so they didn't open any of the harder areas. Anna and Ollie are too experienced to really want to spend a whole day on the beginner slopes, but they were good sports about it, and they love just hanging out, so they were glad to spend the whole day on the same slope as us. They also went back the next day when everything was open, so they got that later.

Fifth thing I didn't know about snowboarding: According to my limited experience, a snowboard is harder to control than skis. When I went skiing, I had no problem with the beginner slopes, and was actually quite comfortable with the next steps up in difficulty, whatever they are called. I found the zig-zagging to control speed very intuitive, and didn't feel out of control (with the notable exception of the flying off a cliff incident). Snowboarding, on the other hand, basically had two options for me;

1) Let the board go where it would and focus on keeping my balance until I went so fast I crashed, or

2) Make an attempt to steer and immediately crash.

I tried both of these plenty of times, and discovered the my balance was actually quite good, and I could do almost the whole beginner slope without falling, as long as I made only minimal attempts to steer. Also, after some practicing, I did managed to figure out how to turn my board sideways and lean back so that I could stop without falling. Which I'm pretty sure means that I am a superhero. And J must be a deity of some kind, because he managed to do all that and more!

Sixth thing I didn't know about snowboarding: You can fall really hard and not have it really hurt, because the board/boots seem to hold your body in fairly helpful positions (unlike, for example, skis and ski poles, which pull your limbs in all the wrong directions).

Fun times on the mountain! I am just realizing that we never asked someone to take a picture for us, so there are no pictures of the four of us. Oh well.

Seventh thing I didn't know about snowboarding: Just because J can do something, doesn't mean I can do it. Anna and Ollie were having fun going down a steeper slope at the edge of the official slope, and asked if we wanted to try. We did, and J went first, and made it look easy, so off I went, not pausing to think about how I was actually going to do it. Unfortunately, I lost control and started to fall right at the top of the slope (before I started the hard part), and ended up sliding down it on my hands and knees. More unfortunately, because not many people had gone down this particular bit, it was frozen quite hard and offered little padding.

I know knees are lumpy anyway, but the swelling between the arrows is not meant to be there, and indicates a lot of pain. (Also, yes, my knee is covered in many, many oddly-shaped scars, but those are old news).

After it happened, it hurt really badly for a few minutes, but then the pain really went away, so I figured I would be fine. I rode the lift back up and headed down the slope again, no problem. Until I fell. The pain of falling on the knee was exponentially worse than injuring it in the first place, and convinced even enthusiastic me to call it a day. We only had about 45 minutes left for our rentals, anyway, and I was getting very tired, which is dangerous in-and-of itself.

Anna, Ollie, and J were all ready to quit with me, but I convinced them to keep going so I wouldn't feel bad about them missing out because of me. While I was sitting for a bit, I also got some of those action shots, so it was time well spent. 

Eighth thing I didn't know about snowboarding: If you are worried about falling on your knees, just sit on your snowboard, and it turns into a very fast and exciting sled, with virtually no risk to your knees, even if you do topple off. I had a great time!

Ninth thing I didn't know about snowboarding: No matter what the ups and downs, or how sore you are the next few days (spoiler alert: very sore), you definitely end up wanting to go again soon!

The Warrior Mountains

This is the cover of a book I read to my kindergarteners, that tells the story of a Māori legend that explains how the mountains on the North Island came to be where they are.

The big, orange mountain in the middle is Tongariro, the blue one in the front is Taranaki, and the smaller ones on the sides are Tauhara and Putauaki. The green one in the back is Pihanga (the only girl, and the love interest). The story also features Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, but they didn't make the cover.

You can watch a video of some adorable-sounding children reading the whole book here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cY2YpMYfB6E. I do have to note that their pronunciation of the Māori names is consistent with how most Kiwis pronounce them, but not technically correct. I will have to devote a post sometime to the linguistic challenges of bicultural/bilingual societies, but not now.

This is an illustration from the book. It is my favourite page, because it relates to the two places we have lived in NZ. It depicts Mount Taranaki, defeated by Mount Tongariro, storming away to Taranaki and leaving a deep gouge in the land, which became the Whanganui River. Which I think is very cool. And actually, we have been hiking on Tongariro, and just drove past Lake Taupo (which is in the picture), so it is all very familiar to us now. Makes me feel like a part of a legend!

The story told in the book is just one version of the legend, which makes sense, because legends were retold and passed down orally for many years, so different offshoots would be natural, and it would be hard to track down the "original."

The following is another version, which you will see is very similar, with the main exceptions being that Pihanga did not start out in love with Tongariro, and that Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu are competitors in the battle, rather than children playing. I like the version in the story book better, but both are equally valid, as far as I know.

"According to Māori belief, mountains were once gods and warriors of great strength.

Tongariro was one of seven mountains that stood next to each other around Lake Taupo - New Zealand's largest lake, and source of the Waikato river and spectacular Huka Falls.

In the legend, all the mountains were male except for Pihanga. She was a stunning beauty, and the other mountains were deeply in love with her.

One night, the mountains decided to fight for the right to win Pihanga. The warrior mountains fought fiercely with violent eruptions, smoke, fire and hot rocks that burned the sky for days. The land trembled and quaked under the force of their anger.

When the fighting ceased, mighty Tongariro was the victor. Having won Pihanga's devotion and the right to stand next to her, Tongariro became supreme leader of the land.

The defeated warrior mountains were given the night to move away from the couple. At the dawn of the new day, they would be eternally fixed to the place where they rested.

Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu moved off to a respectable distance, just to the south of Tongariro.

Putauaki and Tauhara headed to the east. As down broke, Putauaki settled at the northern end of the Kaingaroa plain, near Rotorua, and remained there as a mountain sacred to the people of the Ngāti Awa tribe. 

Tauhara, stricken with grief, could not bear to move far from Pihanga. He stayed on the shores of Lake Taupo, perpetually looking back across the lake to Pihanga.

Taranki, consumed by anger, gouged a great trail in the earth as he moved west to a place where he now stands overlooking the ocean below. The trail he left behind was filled with tears cried for Pihanga, and became the great Whanganui River."

(http://www.newzealand.com/travel/en/media/features/maori-culture/maori-culture_new-zealands-sacred-mountains_feature.cfm)

I think that this is a very interesting story, and the children really enjoy hearing it. I always love stories of how things came to be, which is also why I liked the ones I learned in Wellington about the Taniwha (sea monsters) in the harbour as well. 

I have been accepted into a tikanga Māori (culture) course, which I am extremely excited about, and which will hopefully provide many more interesting legends and beliefs. However, I am currently on a rather long list of people who have been accepted, and have received a letter saying, "We cannot currently provide you with an official start date," so I'm not sure how long I will have to wait. Hopefully not too long, because I am eager to start learning! I'll keep you updated.

Rotorua Part 5: Glass Blown Sculpture Garden

The last thing we did on our trip was to stop at Lava Glass Studio, which is between Rotorua and Taupo. I had found a deal on Grabone.com (a site that has discount deals for places around NZ) that gave us lunch at the Lava Glass café, a glass blowing demonstration, and entry into the glass blown sculpture garden, all for only $25. Aside from being a fantastic deal, J and I both love glass blowing, so we were really excited to go.

The glass blowing demonstration was amazing and interesting, as such things always are, and the inside of the store had loads of unbelievable examples of glass blowing talent. Since they were for sale, no pictures were allowed inside.

Fortunately, there was no such rule in the glass blown sculpture garden across the way, which was stunning. Here are some of the things we saw.

This rainbow is at the entrance to the garden.

Huge spheres which, although they seem rather simple, are apparently very difficult to make.

Teal mushrooms.

A waterfall of thin glass bowls (for lack of a better word).

One of many sets of lily pads in the little lake.

A bathtub full of glass balls, and more floating in the second tiny lake. Made me think of bubbles, and of how delighted my children would be to play with unbreakable versions of all these things.

Glass mosaic on glass walls.

This was my favourite of all - a whole forest inside a glass ball! Notice the little mushrooms in the middle, and the details of the foliage in the trees and the colours in the flowers. There were even more detailed ones inside for sale.

J smelling the glass flowers. The artists explained that they wanted to give you the impression that you were walking through the forest in the glass ball that I liked so much. I think they succeeded! There were loads more flowers, and even a second field of them in just pastel colours.

These flowers are much bigger, but I still don't quite blend in.

A very pleasant ending to our very pleasant trip.

I can't believe that it has taken me a month to get all of the pictures posted, but I wanted to post them little by little so as to do them proper justice. I have also not been too tempted to rush, since after spending time and money on this trip, we have done a lot of relaxing, which has been wonderful, but has not incited many blog-worthy moments. But not to worry, there are many things rattling around in my little brain that will be happy to be turned into posts before too long.

Rotorua Part 4: Wai-o-Tapu Geothermal Wonderland

The next day, we went to Wai-o-Tapu (Sacred Water) Geothermal Wonderland, which is a little ways outside Rotorua, and mostly on our way home. Anna and Ollie had recommended it, so we figured we'd better check it out. It was well worth the effort. We had a great morning there, and will definitely recommend it to others.

We turned off the main highway at the Wai-o-Tapu sign, and immediately started seeing steam billowing out from the landscape. The smell, of course, was not enjoyable, but it was pretty neat to be seeing otherwise normal looking bushes and trees, but with this crazy steam everywhere!

We got there just in time for the 10:15 eruption of the Lady Knox Geyser. It doesn't actually erupt exactly every 24 hours, so they trigger it, but they had a cool story to go with it. Apparently, when this area was first discovered by pākehā, it was used as a prison site (way to go, white people). Some prisoners found this hot springs before it was built up into this cone of deposits, and they thought it would be a great place to wash their clothes. To their surprise, the soap they used triggered and eruption, causing hot water and all their clothes to go flying way up into the air! Quite a funny image, if you ask me. Anyway, so they still use soap to put into the geyser to make it erupt each morning.

The eruption was quite cool and very high, but I have to say that it was not the highlight of our trip, and I'm not sure I would get up early to see it next time.

After the geyser, we went into the actual park area, and spend several hours walking around looking at the various embodiments of geothermal activity reaching the surface. These pictures are not in any particular order, nor could I possible manage to post a picture of every cool thing we saw. But hopefully you will enjoy the ones I have chosen.

This is an overlook for what some of the area looked like. Admittedly not the most exciting bits, but it is still nice to get a sense of the layout. A lot of the trails looked like that little one going in between the pools, and you can see the cool colour of the little stream up near the top.

This is me in front of one of the many craters in the area. Many of them have caved in from the heat, or earthquakes, or whatever excitement was going on at the time. They were actually very cool, but hard to get a good picture of, on account of the steam.

This is J crossing the Primrose Terrace. On either side of the small boardwalk we are standing on is hot water/minerals bubbling or oozing out of the ground. Someone described it to me as "death on either side," and I'm not sure that I would go far, but I'd guess you'd get some nasty burns if you managed to fall, and I have to say that I'm glad we didn't find out.

Here is a J-less picture of the Primrose Terrace. Notice the variety of colours!

An interesting note from the guide map: "These sinter terraces are the largest in New Zealand since the partial destruction of the Pink and White Terraces in the eruption of Mt. Tarawera (1886)." 

An interesting note from me: I am glad to have seen the next best thing to the Pink Terraces that I was so disappointed to have missed (by 128 years) in Rotorua. Also, I had to look up the word "sinter" - apparently it means "a hard siliceous or calcareous deposit precipitated from mineral springs." In this case, it is siliceous, and comes from the Champagne Pool. Now we know.

This is the aforementioned Champagne Pool, and one of the most well-known attractions at Wai-o-Tapu. It is 62m (203ft) deep, and the water in it is 74C (165F)! The red/orange deposits at the side (which I hope you can see are very bubbly and awesome looking) are a mixture of minerals including gold, silver, mercury, sulphur, and arsenic, just to name a few.

These raised edges are from those deposits eventually hardening into rock. The guide map says, "The various sinter ledges have been associated with tilting of the pool as consequence of earthquake activity."

I think it looks like the edge of the world.

  

J at the edge of the world. Notice, however that he is in no danger, because there is a very secure fence between him and certain death. And it is conveniently placed right at shin heigh, for maximum impact.

Also, I would like everyone to know that somewhere along the line I have indeed developed some self-restraint, because despite the immense temptation, my voice of reason convinced me not to follow that deliciously enticing path off the edge of the world. (J may have helped a bit with the convincing.)

I have saved my favourites for last - the next three pictures were the three things that I liked the most about Wai-o-Tapu. So here goes:

This is the Devil's Bath, and yes, it really is that colour! Wow! Apparently, it can also look quite yellow some days, depending on the weather, but it was green, green, green on our day!

Note: Lots of things were named Devil's _______. We debated it extensively on our walk, and eventually decided that the most simple explanation was probably the correct one - the Devil is associated with hot things and with the center of the earth, so... these things must be his, and are named accordingly.

This is Lake Ngakoro (Grandfather). I truly love the colour of it, and somehow the fact that it is the size of a normal lake, and yet that amazing colour, makes it all the more exciting. I should have gotten a higher-up picture of it, but this is what we got. 

This is the Oyster Pool, which struck me as quite dainty and tidy in the midst of all this other excitement. This is especially true because not only is the water quite precisely circular, the little bubbles that were coming up surfaced right in the middle like the pearl that it's name suggests.