Saturday, December 13, 2008

Pho

It was cold and we were hungry. Nothing quite hit the spot like a hot bowl of Vietnamese beef noodle soup, Pho.

Our plan was to walk the Back Lakes, a chain of man-made lakes connected by canals that allowed barges to supply food and other items to the Forbidden City. We would take the subway to the northernmost lake. We would then follow the lakes to the Forbidden City and from there hop the subway at Tian Anmen square back to our hotel. It was a modestly ambitious undertaking.

We soon got off course and found ourselves at the the Drum Tower, made famous during the Olympics as the place where an American was killed by a deranged man. Having been to the top of the tower during our last visit, we were not inclined to make the climb again. However, the immediate neighborhood did hold some fascination.

There, tourism interfaces with abject poverty. We wandered into a series of hutongs, old and crumbling neighborhoods that are the last connection to Beijings past.

Some of these neighborhoods have been renovated and are now tourist friendly commercial Meccas. We did wander through one such area later in the day. We were struck by the number of young, well dressed Asian tourists with cameras, photographing the type of street scene that are are described in coffee table travel guides as "authentic" tableau of old China. An on man fixing an equally old and rusted bicycle. An old women cooking something on a charcoal grill. It was as if they were attempting to capture a fleeting bit of history. Not unlike tourists in San Francisco seeking out the old Italian men on park benches in Washington Square Park arguing about European football. A street scene that was prevalent 20 years ago, but one that has now all but vanished.

We took pictures of each other in this very picturesque hutong, some of which are included in this blog. We did not take any pictures in the other hutong that we stumbled upon earlier in the afternoon. It was a dirty crumbling neighborhood, with impossibly narrow passageways connecting houses that afforded their occupant little in the way of privacy. As well dressed foreigners, we stood out like space aliens.

We were tempted to snap lots of photographs, reasoning that these are just images of an old historic neighborhood. After all, tourists in San Francisco are constantly snapping pictures of Victorian homes occupied by real San Franciscans. But we knew this was not the same.

Call it liberal guilt, but we felt like voyeurs. When we were in South Africa a few years ago, we heard about tour guides who would take wealthy foreigners into the most impoverished black shantytowns for photo opportunities. While the poverty in Beijing does approach that of South Africa, our impulse to photograph it seemed, well, unseemly.

We emerged from that neighborhood to find a street filled with shops , cafes and restaurants catering to the tourists drawn to the Drum tower. That is where we found a restaurant called "Little Saigon."

The first thing we noticed when we walked in was the sound of one of our favorite songs from the 80's "My Own Personal Jesus" (Depeche Mode). However this was a cover by Nouvelle Vague, a French group that covers new wave songs from the 80's touring them into French cafe torch songs.

The owner of the restaurant was himself a gregarious French man, straight out of central casting. He had married a Vietnamese woman, moved to Beijing and opened the restaurant. He was a little surprised but very pleased that we, as Americans, recognized a band that is popular in France, but not quite as well known elsewhere. He immediately wanted to introduce Mei Ling to his Vietnamese wife so that they could chat in their native language and was only a little disappointed to hear that English is Mei Ling's native language.

In halting English he told us an abridged version of his life's story, served us a wonderful bowl of Pho and set us on our way. Somehow this intersection of popular culture, food and ethnicity was the high point of our day.

3 comments:

Nina said...

You really captured the nuances of China, the juxtaposition between wealth and poverty, and the openness of the people. I miss China!

Can't wait to see you and Li Na in Nanning!!

Love,
Nina

Dori's Mommy (Diana) said...

Hi! I found your blog via Nina. I'll be following along as you meet your little li na!

MStebby said...

I am so glad you guys are having fun! How many more days till you get Li Na?

Maryanne