Constipation and Barefootedness

For those of you who have lived in China for a while, you may have heard many weird things related to health.  One of the things I have always heard while living in Shijiazhuang, Hebei province was really off the wall.  It made me think though, if there actually was any scientific basis for it.  After all China has one of the longest histories and medicines on the face of this planet.  I heard it from my host family and from my Chinese teachers.  The problem was when they would see me walk barefooted around the place.  Ok, I know that isn't the smartest thing to do, especially in China, but I am from Hawai'i and we do tend to like to walk barefooted indoors - it's a cultural thing.  Anyway, they would say, "Hey don't walk around barefooted, you're gonna get constipated!"  LOL.

Well it has been a little over two years since I last heard people relate constipation to walking barefoot so I decided to verify their claims once and for all.  My goodness to my surprise I found an article talking about the causes for constipation.  You can read it by clicking here.  In that article it says that parasites can indeed cause constipation and that parasites can be easily picked up by walking barefoot! 

Now I feel a little dumb that I didn't believe my host family and teachers!  However, according to the article you need to walk over an area where an animal that has parasites was sleeping OR where an animal has defecated.  So no worries for my Hawai'i people.  It's not everyday we step in doodoo barefooted. 

Next time I hear some off the wall thing from another country, I won't reject it so quickly.  I should have verified the claims 2 years ago ;)

Haggling With Hags

Ok I admit it, the title of this blog entry is quite harsh.  Let me just be up front about it first though.  I am a tried and true hardcore haggler.  I will negotiate the price of something until I absolutely get the rock bottom price (or until at least I think I got the rock bottom price).  I have been known to spend hours just trying to get the best deal, many times at the expense of my friends saying, "Geez it's just a dollar."  Well let me tell you a dollar can go a long way in many parts of Asia, all my fellow travelers know this.  Anyway, what you see above you is a basket used to carry your toiletries.  I needed one because there was a communal bathroom in my dormitory at Beijing Foreign Studies University.  I haggled to death for this basket... so bad did I haggle that a hag selling the other basket called me a liar and told me to get out of her store. 

*Warning!  Please don't do this to the extent I did.  It is ok to haggle but not when 30 cents or less USD is involved.  Ok everyone is different but that is just me.  It makes a bad ambassador out of you for your respective countries.  I won't do it again for sure.

To make a long story short the hag's basket started off at 15 RMB.  Ok so that is equivalent to a little over 2 USD.  In my opinion you could get something like this at the dollar store, so in my mind I was like, "No ways!"  I told her 5 RMB which is around 73 cents.  She was like, "Haha get outta here that is too cheap."  So she gave the offer of 12 RMB.  I thought hmm, still too expensive, still over a dollar!  I told her I would go next door and figure out what the cost of a similar basket was, she lowered the price to 8 RMB, but I thought it would be worth it to gauge the cost from the other basket.  The man next door gave the same initial offer of 15 RMB.  But through haggling went down to 6 RMB because I gave him the, I'm gonna go next door and find out how much the hag is gonna sell it to me treatment.  I went back to her and told her about what the man next door was offering me.  That is when she said it, "You're a liar, get outta my store, I'm not selling to you."  I went back to the man and bought my basket for 6 RMB! 

Total savings through haggling:  9 RMB ($1.31)

Not bad, but I also may have cost some shame to my fellow Americans.  But hey, I'm Asian by ethnicity so she probably thought I was Korean or Japanese.  So in the end, successful day at haggling, but I felt bad for the hag...  All for a silly basket.

Hiking Kuli'ou'ou

This was the fourth time hiking the Kuli'ou'ou ridge hike.  The hike actually has two options.  Going into the valley or going up to the top of the Ko'olau mountain range.  Most hikers opt for the ridge, as it offers some of the most spectacular views of O'ahu.  On a clear day you can see all the way to diamond head towards town and Mokapu on the Windward side.  The hike gets the most difficult toward the end making it one of the most climactic hikes on the island, with a beautiful view waiting for you right at the end.

The beginning of the hike starts at the end of a culdesac.  A stone sign of the Board of Water Supply will say Kuli'ou'ou 350 Reservoir.  If you see the sign you are in the right place.  Don't go off to the right, but rather walk down the hill.  Going off to the right will lead you to a water tower. 

You will quickly enter into a world of trees and rocks.  This part of the hike is very easy, and is really quite a nice stroll in the park.  It is a lot easier than the later parts of the hike.

As you get further in you will come across an intersection in the trail.  If you want to go into the valley keep going straight.  If you want to get to the top of the ridge turn to the right up an incline.  Up that incline you will see a sign telling you to use the trail because not using it will cause erosion.  The trail will quickly become a winding path after this.  Higher up is where you will start to see pine trees like the ones on the left.  These are usually one of my most favorite parts of any hike.  Pine trees seem to keep the place so peaceful. 

Even higher up, you will start to see the Norfolk pines.  These are really a sight to see as many of them are still quite young.  You can tell the bigger ones have been growing for a very long time though already.  In the particular area in the picture on the right, there were many younger pines.  It is a nice refreshing experience to walk through a bunch of adolescant pine trees.

At one point you will come to a clearing with a shack located at the foot of the next incline.  Be sure to take a rest here unless you are really determined to get to the top in a certain amount of time.  After this point, the hike becomes fairly steep and difficult. 

Notice that after the shack, the trees become significantly larger.  They are also predominantly pines.  Watch out for the pine roots sticking out of the ground as they might trip you and become very slippery when wet.  On our way down the hike it rained and the roots became very slippery and dangerous.  Use the pine roots to your advantage by using them as steps when you come to the steep parts. 

The hike will get very steep and there will begin to be man-made steps.  The trail itself is suffering from erosion so I think the steps actually mitigate the rate of erosion.  The hike is climactic because not too far from the photo above, you will instantly come across the photo on the left, letting you see an excellent view of the Windward side.  Too bad the day we went was kinda cloudy.  The view wasn't as good, but I have to admit the coolness factor was still there.

Toward the left at the top facing the Windward side, you will see the Mokulua isalnds  Before the islands on land is Bellows Air Force Station and a bunch of farms in Waimanalo.  

Rabbit island or Manana can be seen toward the right facing the Windward side.  You can see in the picture of Manana on the left that there were many clouds.  I was lucky enough to get this picture off as after I took the picture a bunch of clouds rolled in. 

The top of the ridge is actually very cold as the wind was super strong that day.  Also, if the wind is strong, you will have to close your eyes from time to time to prevent dirt from flying in.  The picture on the right was taken when we just started our descent.  Notice Koko Head Crater on the left and the rest of Hawaii Kai on the right hand side.

View kuli'ou'ou in a larger map

The Kuli'ou'ou Experience

This hike will always be one of my favorites on the island.  You go through so many different types of terrain and I love how the hike is climactic, ending in spectacular fashion.  It seems like you can go further down the Ko'olau mountain range, but I haven't ever done so and wouldn't really recommend it unless you were a pretty good hiker.  We made the mistake of going straight into the valley at first because we missed the section that led you up to the ridge.  We quickly realized this however, and backtracked.  In all, a very nice hike that is hiked best on a clear day.

Hawaiian Language Glossary

Kuli'ou'ou:  Sounding knee (name refers to a small drum that was tied to the knee and played while performing the hula).  "Hawaii Place Names"

Ko'olau:  Short for ko'oko'olau - Windward sides of the Hawaiian Islands.

Waimanalo:  Potable water