We will find, and drink, boba tea!

Unbeknownst to us, we had been set on a quest. A quest to secure and imbibe boba tea, knowing not the words for tapioca pearl. While we ultimately completed this quest, we certainly had our travails along the way.

The first attempt in Shanghai was a complete disaster. We went to a place that clearly, clearly sold milk tea with tapioca pearls. We ordered two drinks. It took a lot of pointing and hand gestures to get to "tea," which did not bode well for us. The drinks were mixed, they came...and they had tea and ice, with nary a solid in the glass.

The second attempt, also in Shanghai, took several baby steps towards success. Showing our capability to learn, we knew we were going to have to watch the production to steer it towards boba, as we could not find the words for it. So Max, demonstrating his courage by going first, mimicked little round balls and pointed to the containers he believed contained our desired pearls. His drink came and it had solids! But it was lowly grass jelly, with nowhere near the absolutely delicious texture and bite of true pearls. I, trying to build on our momentum, motioned that I wanted solids as well and added to it my improvisation of picking up one of the large straws (created for the sole purpose of drinking boba tea) and motioned that I wanted the pearls that would use this straw. My drink came and the nice cashier handed it to me, with a large straw (logically, taking my motions literally). No pearls though.

The third attempt, in the small canal town of Zhouzhuang, proved our closest miss. We poked our heads in a cake and tea shop. We excitedly noticed the vacuum sealer that was used to attach the tight plastic caps to the tea drinks, punctured with the straws. I went on a recon mission, pretending to look at the little pastries but whirling around where I could see behind the tea counter. There! In a bucket! Tapioca pearls! Yes! Surely, surely, we would secure them now. We ordered from the cashier, who asked for our pick of flavored powders. I was so giddy with joy that I picked some obnoxious blue powder, and I didn't care. Then, as she made the drink, she didn't put any boba in. I walked around the corner and pointed to the bucket, saying my best version of "please, those" in Mandarin. she said something back to me which I could not begin to understand. She understood this, and finally said "no!" very firmly and confidently, and finished our drinks. What happened? I do not know to this day.

The fourth, and victorious, attempt occurred in the small town (ha!) of Beijing. Max, his antenna keen as ever, recognized our blood sugar levels dropping and said "follow me." We left the Temple of Heaven, and he began to steer. We crossed the street. We looped behind a big building. We held close to a big market. We walked down an (apparently to me) empty street. Finally, the joint miraculously appeared, a tapioca pearl place! With pictures! And a cashier who seemed amenable! Max made his order, using a combo of hand signals and pointing to the menu. He double confirmed the pearls. And, lo and behold, they came! Joy of joys! It was beyond refreshing. Immediately after finishing our drinks, we craved another.

Note: It is completely possible that there were several attempts between three and four that the author does not wish to recount.

Streets made of water

With four days of Shanghai proper under our belt, Max and I were ready for some exploration. We headed towards the canals, to the famous water town of Zhouzhuang.

After our three hour long bus ride, we were ready to stretch our legs so we headed straight for the heart of town. Surprisingly, they had an entrance gate to get into this section - it was a sign of things to come.

Once inside, I was amazed at how schlocky and overrun with silly souvenir shops and bland restaurants it was, all selling and serving precisely the same items. In many sections it ruined the fantastic-ness of the canals and architecture completely. Which is too bad, really, because the canals and architecture, by themselves, were lovely.

Max and I felt like rats in a cage. So we endeavored to find the hidden stuff, and to find a way out.

One successfully located hidden area had the Ruyi Pagoda within. Seven stories tall, it would have afforded wonderful views of the town. Too bad it was locked.

Next up was the Quanfu Temple. Certainly not hidden nor a secret, it did still offer some respite from the crowds outside. A great place to take a rest in a gazebo in the middle of a small lake, and then to peruse the various buddhas (one quite fat) and other religious statues on offer.

After the temple, we could take no more. We busted through the gate hemming us into the tourist area (well, we simply walked out, but it felt dramatic). We cruised around town, looking for something interesting. Boy did we find it.

Apparently, there is a nightly performance by high school aged youth that tells the story of Zhouzhuang and its water culture. The setting is dramatic, on a stage floating in the middle of the canal. The performance, also dramatic, ending with a finale that includes fire dancers. We, luckily, caught the free rehearsal (or at least the last bit of it).

So, a little bit of whimsy and newness in a town seemingly designed to while these away to death. I was forced to agree with a sign we saw while exiting the town:

Beard overload!

With so many weeks gone, we'll have to add a couple of Track My Beard shots to the flipbook. They also provide a sneak preview of some of the China posts to come. Last one will stay on the right page of the blog, the rest are for posterity!

Early in Shanghai, on May 20, this is me on the Bund in front of one of the ubiquitous Expo advertisements.

At Zhouzhuang, the water town, on May 24, in front of Ruyi Pagoda.

Bearded in Inner Mongolia, this is me on May 30 with the grasslands.

Back in Beijing, on June 3, next to a very large bell in the Bell Tower.

And, finally, in Beijing on June 7, hanging out with a dragon stellae in the Lama Temple.