What a month of living in Hawaii is like

 

it's the little things, like walking Kalani to the bus in the mornings

walking back from a garden visit

Kalani's old school, where our garden is

I've been back in Honolulu for nearly a month, which means that my time is up, since my stay is only that long.  I've been "covering" for my wife, who is normally here with the kids now, and is finishing a course in dog grooming in Bangkok instead, due to return here soon.  

My kids are here for school; the idea was to relocate, 3 years ago, but switching work over never worked out.  Which is fine; it has made for some strange life circumstances, but working remotely has made it possible for me to spend 10 or 11 months here in that time, in 4 different stays.  Or about a year now, after this.

The point here is to cover what it's like being a part-time local, to explain how that relates to people visiting on vacation mode, and how it's different.  Of course on the work and life-theme side I've been responsible for a duties, helping manage the kids' education, running a household, shopping, cleaning, paying utilities, and so on.  This won't cover that; you know how that goes.  But if I only write about swimming, running, and hiking it will seem like I live out a vacation, but it's been hectic, and difficult.

Sometimes people say that it sounds like the best of both worlds, to spend time back in a lower cost setting (Bangkok), visiting Honolulu to appreciate the parts that don't necessarily cost a lot here.  We don't go to luaus, of course.  Parts are great, but the best parts are time with my kids, wherever we go.  We could live in a desolate wasteland and I'd still enjoy their company, maybe even all the more so.  But we don't, so I'll cover how it works out, being where people vacation to live instead.

ethical concerns / why transplants aren't welcome:  there's something to this.  The obvious counter to this theme is that US citizens are welcome to live in any of the 50 states, as Hawaiians are to move to the mainland.  But cost of living gradually keeps rising in Hawaii, while the economy tends to not support work in a way that follows that same increase.  But that's true in all 50 states, right?  Here it's different, where essentially all homes cost a million dollars, and even tiny apartments are expensive, while lots of people try to live on $15 an hour service or retail jobs.  

I went to UH, as my wife did, which makes us feel more at home here, but that changes nothing, related to a typical local perspective.  We live where transplants are "supposed to" live, at one edge of Waikiki, but that only tempers it so much.  People working remotely have probably added a bit more demand pressure, over the last few years.  I can't resolve this tension, or shed more light on it, I just wanted to address it, or at least introduce it.  It's a valid concern, and a complicated problem.  On to lifestyle and activity themes.

beach experience:  my son has had repeated ear infections, in part related to competitive swimming, so he hasn't been in the ocean in the past month.  And he doesn't like the beach, so he's barely walked by it, even though we live close enough.  My daughter has spent lots of afternoons with friends playing in the waves, with a bodyboard, staying out as long as she can.  One day they went out before noon and stayed until dark, after 7.  

I mostly go out to swim to a flag and back, a 500 meter or so round trip, which I do as often as I can (not daily, but not infrequently).  I run for exercise, so it's a rare chance to exercise my upper body, and it seems to help with running recovery.  The beach is fantastic here.  Waikiki being so crowded throws off a lot of the experience, but for locals you find ways that balance what you are into against what you don't like as much.

where I swim

one part of Waikiki

a lot of the rest of it

running:  I've been building back up to running my typical 12 km loop, around Diamondhead, then out and back the Ala Wai canal.  That was harder than I expected, since I took this summer off running, so busy with the kids visiting back there (in Bangkok), with lots of doctor's visits and errands.  And we got kittens; that deleted out my extra time for exercise.  I've ran that 12 km twice, but that's it.  It's so cool and pleasant an environment to run in that it's never enough, but it will have to be.

A final update:  a third 12 km run went ok, but I'll never "normalize" running that distance and intensity, on this trip.  I ended up walking a lot later that day, after running, and I've had back problems since.  My take-away is that it's a lot easier to stay in shape than to get back in shape.  It really was crazy how hectic that summer was though, and it's hard to not prioritize time with the kids over exercise.

over the side of Diamondhead; one part of where I run

the end of a 12 km route, coming back the Ala Wai canal

it looks much different at night

Diamondhead from Kalani's old school

hiking:  Keoni and I went out on two nice hikes, up Koko Head (volcano), and on a ridgeline at St. Louis heights, above Manoa valley (where the University of Hawaii is, where I went to grad school).  That's part of what threw off my run training, leaving a little extra time for hiking recovery.  It's a fair exchange, but as a runner one that I experience as a real cost.  I don't love the exercise function as much now, but I've always loved hiking, and with time spent with Keoni as a factor it wasn't anything to think through or weigh out.

It's easy to overlook how great a benefit that is, to have decent hiking available essentially within Honolulu itself.  We banged out a 45 minute up and back in the Manoa falls trail back in May; that's another good option, the main local one for tourists.  For tourists in good shape I'd definitely recommend getting some hiking in here.  Someone from my high school class visited from the mainland this year and not only did they skip hiking they didn't spend hardly any time at any beach, too busy with themes like the Dole Plantation or Pearl Harbor.  That's a mistake, as I see it. 

strawberry guava

more strawberry guava

other outings:  that was really about it.  There's a zoo nearly across the street, and nice museums here, but we just didn't get to that this time.  Now that I think of it I've not been to that local aquarium in the 3 years I've been here.  There isn't that much of an arts scene here but you could search out a concert performance or play, if you really wanted to, and we've seen those in the past, but not as much with the kids (not at all).  They're busy with their friends, or pursuing their own themes.  If we have an extra hour to spend going out for a walk is nice, to see a sunset on the beach, or wherever, sometimes to get ice cream at McDonald's.  Eye (my wife) thinks that's a terrible idea, eating low quality food, but it's about doing something they want to do, that doesn't add up to much time commitment or expense.  It's an hour well spent, even if it's not a good dietary input.

playgrounds:  this is one of the main attractions for local people with younger kids; I've spent a decent amount of time with Kalani at her old school playground, even on this stay.  The random shootings and kidnappings haven't hit in the same way here so lots of things are still more open, than they will be in a few years once that stuff escalates.  I just got a "stranger danger" notice in email yesterday, of someone trying to get a kid to go with them in a car; it's on the way.  But for now kids playing while supervised in a park seems to relate to no risk at all.  We just signed Kalani up to a "boys and girls club;" that sort of theme has been very helpful in the past, swapping out time staring at electronics for other activities.

malls:  there is a popular, well-attended mall here, Ala Moana, but we don't go there for hanging out.  We do go to Sam's Club and Wal-mart to shop near there, and less often to Target.  With the outdoor weather just perfect and so much park space there's no need to stay inside.  Last spring we got into playing pickleball, but we've let that drop since.  My wife took our racquets back (at Wal-Mart), not long into that exploration, wanting to buy versions back in Thailand, but that didn't work out, so we've moved on to whatever else.  I told her that was a mistake back then, but she was set on it.

some of the malls include throw-back themes

local foods:  you'd think there would be a good selection of interesting foods here, and to some extent that's true, but as poorer locals (we live on a Bangkok salary) we cook, and don't venture into cooking local Hawaiian foods.  For people who don't live in Bangkok Vietnamese or Chinese foods might be interesting options in the Chinatown here, but for Thais it's all way overpriced, and not better than "back home," or not as good as the best options there.  I bought us a nice pineapple a week ago, but there are lots of variations of those back in Thailand, where they cost much less.  

There isn't much here that isn't in Bangkok. 

gardening:  we inherited a local garden plot from a local Thai friend, so I've been doing a little gardening, and that helps add fresh basil to dishes.  I just made a fried okra omelette, with ham and fresh basil, for the kids for before school, and neither ate a single bite (not from okra from the garden; it's an example of how vegetables are hit and miss for them).  I wanted to buy more okra so that Kalani gets to eat it fried with bread crumb coating, the way she likes it, as a traditional Southern side dish, but time runs out, and I probably won't.

social ties:  we met Kalani's old best friend's family a number of times here, when they visited for a long vacation break.  And her other friend, visiting back from moving to the big island (called Hawaii; kind of confusing naming).  It has been nice visiting with neighbors, but that's about it.  I really don't mind my main social ties being two kids, and my wife's mother.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  I would love to have visited with a local "uncle" here, but that hasn't worked out, yet, and I leave in a few days.

I kept trying to set up an informal tea tasting meetup, with neighbors, but it seems that won't go through either.  I did two successful tastings here, one with them, but it's kind of a stretch.

with a close family friend

spiritual ties to Hawaii:  it's hard to know how to describe this.  As a transplant I'm not even supposed to be here, according to a local convention.  It doesn't matter that I went to UH; you're not supposed to stick around.  All the same my wife and I feel a connection to the island.  I can't say that the island returns the feeling, or supports it.  I feel vaguely accepted here, and blessed; it's enough.

It reminds me of feeling an attachment to my neighbor's cats, who I have no business feeling any attachment to.  They're not mine to love.  But we connect with things organically, not always feeling the ties we are supposed to, and sometimes taking up those we aren't.  I've mourned the loss of contact with one of them, which hasn't worked out this visit, not so differently than I've lived out the temporary loss of my three girls back home (the other one), two babies and a grown cat.

It has become something of a running joke with my kids, as so many themes have.  Not about here, so much, but I'll make a Southern dish and comment about how that relates to my childhood as a Southern boy (which I'm not).  I accidentally told a neighbor here that "we are Thai," and my son corrected that, as "you're not."  I'm not.  I feel a deep connection to that culture, but I have no real claim to possessing it.  Second hand, by having Thai kids?

I'm reminded of a fellow expat telling me that if I stay in Thailand later on I'll feel equally out of place everywhere, and I guess that I've arrived at that, even back in my own country.  All the more so where I grew up, where I spent a month last October, visiting Pennsylvania for the first time in 8 years or so (most of my kids' lives).  I can look the part back there, or rather I did after getting a more acceptable local haircut, and can "do" the local perspective, but it's never a perfect fit.  If I tell them about fasting experience, or about life anywhere else, people take on an oddly blank look, as if trying to follow, but not getting it.  People are great about staying vaguely positive about meeting my mixed race kids, who are clearly also Asian, so that limited acceptance is enough.

perspective on tourists:  this is an odd theme.  Of course I have nothing against tourists; how could I?  It would be bizarre to blame others for visiting a place where I'm stuck in between being a local and a long term visitor.  I'll never be truly Hawaiian.  Then again most people on Oahu lack any native Hawaiian heritage, so that's kind of normal.

But my son is not as open about experiencing negative sides of tourism.  Tourists are loud, at time disrespecting local culture and traditions, or even the local natural environment.  They'll stand on coral, sometimes, damaging it, or crowd up close to a seal sunning on the beach (which I last saw twice in the past week; at time of one edit I almost stepped in to tell them to not let their 3 or 4 year old kids stand within a few feet of one).  Tourists and locals alike will throw off the experience of something as natural and easy to appreciate as a sunset on the beach by blasting loud music.

Of course it's easy to separate out which parts are a step too far; it's the standing on coral part.  But they miss what's best here by staying in crowded resort areas and rushing to visit crowded natural sites together.  Which reminds me:  we've barely visited our favorite park spot this time, the duck pond very near by our house.  No time to stop and smell the roses, on our part?  I'll get them to this weekend.  Later edit:  Keoni and I just walked by there.

No one wants tourists to step out of the tourist track and visit secret local beaches, or hikes.  I'm not saying that they should.  But for me the island has a magical feel, that you connect with when you leave yourself open to it, which won't happen in a hotel bar or shopping strip.  Maybe sunrise and sunset are good prompts for tourists to stop and take it in, since that kind of beauty is undeniable, and intense.  It's probably for the best that my daughter plays at the beach until it's quite dark; I've seen it a few times.

the dark side of Honolulu: is there such a thing?  Homelessness makes it feel less completely welcoming.  I don't worry about what the crazy people talking to themselves are going to do, but it can still be off-putting.  

To me immersive focus on materialism is more of an issue.  Hawaii is packaged for sale in Waikiki; you can just go sit on the beach, but there are a dozen things you "should" buy if you do so.  I walk over to swim wearing board shorts, carrying flip-flops (slippers), and a mask and snorkel, and to me it's a more joyful experience for traveling so light.  I don't have a phone, or money, just keys to get back in the apartment.  That's what tourists often seem to miss:  the experience of not buying anything for an hour, not experiencing any lack to satiate in such a way, while not looking at a tiny screen.  Hawaii is most fantastic when you are fully present.  Maybe that's even true on the bus, or in malls, but it's not the same there.  Parks aren't "real nature," but the vibe in those is worth taking in.

I just had an interesting experience talking with a local homeless guy.  It doesn't really tie this all together, but it puts a human face on the one darker side.  He was walking next to me on the sidewalk and asked about the tropical storm that just missed us.  We talked about that, and he told me that someone told him that a lot of the big island is going to break off and slide into the ocean, probably causing a tsunami.  I told him that some input from others might be unreliable, without really contesting that source or that prediction.  

He mentioned how it all seems to relate to the current "end times," and in a sense he kind of had a point related to that.  It does feel like things are changing, and especially that the US really is circling the drain.  But in Honolulu and Hawaii in general not so much.  This bit of Hawaii was really fantastic when I went to grad school here 18 to 20 years ago, and it hasn't changed so much.  The few changes were negative, mostly, but it's still great.  You don't feel the same kind of tension that can potentially arise elsewhere in the US, which in some places might even have a war zone feel to it.  People come to Hawaii to relax, and it's a great place for that.  Waikiki isn't as natural or pleasant as lots of other parts, but it's pretty nice too.

that float that we helped decorate, way back when

jungle

the best part of being in Hawaii is these guys, same as anywhere else

I don't have that many pictures of us three from this trip, but we got out some

Experiences with offsetting aging effects

This theme came up from discussion in a Reddit aging related sub-group, here.  The title for that post was "experiences with reversing aging," which this title version probably corrects a bit.  You can really offset some of the effects, maybe even reversing what is regarded as an irreversible outcome in some cases, but in general it's about positively affecting general health, not turning back the clock.  

To me it's not about aesthetics, but it could be for others.  It also doesn't tie so closely to health markers, from doing bloodwork (general health assessment), but I did just check those results within the last couple of months, and they look ok.  I missed the last two company health checks or I could've assessed changes.  I've started fasting practices and have escalated running volume over the last 2 1/2 years; those recent markers should be better than earlier ones.

Let's start with that post; it also includes limited intro, so a lot of that would be overdoing it:

It's not really one of my things, as it is with Bryan Johnson and those other typically sketchy aging research guys, but I've had limited experience with seeing the effects of aging reverse. My hair was greying some years ago, and it has almost entirely returned to the original color. To be more specific my son counted 13 grey hairs about two years ago, and there are just a few at my lower temple now.

To back up a little I'm 56. In some other ways, partly related to appearance, I haven't aged as fast as I might, with my skin holding up decently, not using reading glasses, still exercising, etc. I can't know direct causes but I'll speculate about that here.

I took up periodic fasting just over 2 years ago, now fasting 5 days at a time, 4 times a year, but it was more that first year, nearly a month in total. I've been running a lot for 3 or 4 years, but I've levelled off at being able to run 10 km three times a week; I can't seem to recover from more than that. I don't know if it makes a difference but I've been eating a little goji berry most days for a number of years (said to help maintain eye health). I've improved my diet quite a bit based on resetting it related to fasting, and have been keeping up with sleep for years. A long cycle of meditation practice may have helped with memory issues.

I have kids, and had them late, so most of that didn't apply in my 40s. I was definitely out of shape over that decade, not exercising much, but I stayed active. I suspect that being a little underweight during my 20s and 30s, related to being a vegetarian then, may have been an earlier cause for slower aging.

I wouldn't necessarily recommend that people try to suspend aging, but maintaining exceptional health seems reasonable.

Feb. 2025; looking a bit middle-aged, ok for 56

The "typically sketchy" part, about aging researchers, relates to them often seeming to package a product as much as search for answers for the benefit of society.  It's as well to not get side-tracked on that critique; parts of the research must hold up to further review, and will benefit many people.

Commentary

That group focus on a narrow range helped shaped what I tried to communicate there, on aging as affecting appearance and some narrow ranges of health.  Without that group-location framing I'd tend to focus more on discussion of just improving health, in general.  I'm also in a biohacking group on Reddit, which I might comment in but never post to, which would be more concerned with supplements, especially experimental versions.  Some people there see fasting as a functional form of biohacking.

Since I don't know the cause and effect sequences of making a few lifestyle input changes it's all vague enough.  I think fasting made a lot of difference, but any positive changes could have related mainly to better diet and getting more exercise.  I'll run through some potential positive changes in more detail here.

Life and location change as a possible input:  three years ago my family moved our kids to Honolulu, Hawaii to go to school here instead of Bangkok, intending to relocate my work, which never worked out.  I've been back and forth since, spending most of my time still in Bangkok, and working remotely part of the time.  

It may be that living a more active life in Hawaii changes things, even though I've only been spending 3 months a year here, while they spend 9.  I swam a lot this spring (in March through the end of May); an input like that couldn't hurt.  "A lot" is relative; I was swimming about 500 meters about 3 days a week, in the open ocean, out to a flag and back in a swim lane.  My son trains for competitive swimming and his daily practices cover a lot more distance, every day versus my weekly total.

out for an early run around Diamondhead

I swim out to that flag, and see turtles there (tourist for scale)

Diamondhead from my daughter's former school

Genetic factors:  one input I see as relating to appearing younger is kind of a random thing:  I have oily skin.  If I don't shower twice a day I end up looking a bit greasy, while living in a warm or hot climate.  That may be relatively equivalent to people using a lot of moisturizer in a cooler and dryer place (which I don't use).  My sister also looks quite young, also in her 50s, and good genetics for aging gradually probably go well beyond that.

these guys are holding up well

Food preferences probably have a lot of effect, along with eating what might be considered a good diet.  The luck of the draw might factor in, related to the former.  Thai food is typically based on natural, whole foods, not involving that much processing, even though use of frying and addition of some sugar does come up. 

I drink an awful lot of tea; it's odd that I didn't mention that in passing in that post.  I've considered before that beyond some polyphenols potentially supporting health, or offsetting aging effects, just ingesting extra minerals every day might make a difference.  Tea plants collect and store minerals, in addition to some contaminants, so I may be keeping topped up on a range of minerals.  Who knows about effects beyond that; maybe it is unusually healthy.

I started drinking coffee again within the last 6 months.  I can't imagine that's having a lot of effect either way, especially since I never drink more than one large cup a day (maybe 10 to 12 ounces), but it's an example of how other inputs keep shifting.  I last meditated regularly nearly two years ago; that's another example of ongoing changes.

Supplements, including anti-aging supplements:  I mostly take a multivitamin, magnesium, and D when I'm not getting that much sun.  I was also taking fish oil for awhile, and replace some salt intake with a potassium chloride based salt product; that's about it.

I also eat some goji berries most days, which is said to contain zeaxanthin, one of two compounds that promote eye health (along with lutein).  My wife said that it would help with eye health and hair loss, but who knows about traditional Thai medical claims.  It seemed like a bit of extra vitamin A couldn't hurt; those are supposedly a good source of that.

There are a broad range of other supplement or drug compounds being developed and tested now, but I don't really investigate those much, never mind taking any.  I'm more ok with aging normally than being a test subject, even though I am concerned enough about health to put effort into all of it.

Recommendations, and justification for them

Exercise:  there's no need to justify endorsing exercise, right?  I can add that running just a little early in my practice, starting nearly 7 years ago, seemed to make a lot of difference, but my cardio conditioning only improved once I ramped up volume.  I run 20 miles / 30 km a week when I'm more active, and maybe two thirds of that when I'm inconsistent, with some extra multiple week periods "off" in the past year or so.  I was more consistent and diligent before moving back and forth to Hawaii made that difficult.  It's not about making the time, or jet-lag disruption, but instead valuing the time with my kids in a different way after we re-unite.

If I run consistently for about 6 weeks my conditioning will change a good bit right around that time, but if I run consistently for only a month it won't.  I'm not implying that your health would change a lot, if you could lean into it all for 2 to 3 months.  Maybe that's true, and probably race conditioning works like that, but I don't know what supports general health well enough, versus what will "drop time" on training paces.

Fasting:  I suspect that fasting makes a lot of difference, but I'm not completely sold on hearsay related to autophagy, the process of your body recycling mis-folded proteins or whatever other damaged material.  Supposedly this always occurs in your body, and helps offset varying long term health issues, but vigorous exercise triggers more of it, or fasting for around 48 hours or longer does.  But if you try to look up research papers linking that this does occur, and that it relates to specific health-related outcomes, it's not easy making the connections.  

Again this isn't a claim either way.  I suspect that I am slightly mentally clearer related to periodic extended fasting, but who knows.  You could observe what you expect to, to some extent.  I also feel like I have more energy when running, that maybe greater "metabolic flexibility" helps with that, training my body to also use fat as an energy source.  I don't mind at all when meals run late, or skipping one is fine; I'm a lot less constrained by habitual eating now.

Diet changes:  my diet was never bad enough for me to see change effects in the same way someone moving off a truly bad diet could.  I took up being a vegetarian over 30 years ago, and tried to eat a healthy, balanced diet based on essentially no actual meat input for that next 17 years.  I was the "lacto-ovo" type; I still ate dairy and eggs, thinking that it would help me avoid deficiencies.  Then I think the deficiencies did enter in, around 13 years ago now, and my immune system stopped working normally.  I had been fine for that first decade, living in the US, watching my diet and eating supplements to help, but after I moved to Thailand I ate meat-based dishes without the meat, and it wasn't the same.  More idle speculation, probably, but that was my take.

So I'm describing improving an already pretty decent diet over the last few years, already based on input of plenty of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains, along with good quality meats input.  I've not eaten much for junk food, processed snacks, and fast food for a long time, with the exception of eating a good bit of ice cream.  Moving back to the US did add some challenges, since it's easy to appreciate different kinds of snack foods, that weren't options back in Thailand.  Those tubs of chocolate chip cookie dough are nice; I may have noticed the input of eating that on my body weight and cholesterol score.

Summary perspective:  the implied claim here, in all of this, is that I feel like I'm really 30 or 40, and not 56, and I guess that sort of holds up.  My exercise recovery is a lot slower; it's all that I can do to recover from around 30 km of running a week (20 miles), which to me doesn't seem like that much.  I switched to 12 km runs here in Honolulu, with hill sections (running around Diamondhead), and I could keep that up indefinitely on an 8-day, 3 run cycle, but not quite 3 times a week.  With more conditioning I could've got there; I was trying to ramp up and maintain that within a 2 month or so cycle.  But it's hard to make changes to training volume or intensity at this age, and I've experienced very minor injuries before that highlight that those can only occur gradually.

I guess that I feel fine.  I keep busy and active, walking a lot, doing many other things, and never feel like it's too much.  I don't notice much for aches and pains, or digestive system changes, or whatever else.  I really did feel less clear in my early 40s, when I was still adjusting to a busy office-life experience, but adding running seems to have resolved some of that.

I wouldn't consider TRT / HRT because all of that seems fine to me.  I don't see anything wrong with others making that choice, but I don't experience any of the other symptoms it's supposed to correct for (low energy, mood issues, problems with exercise, body composition, or sexual function, etc.).

Recommendations:  I should close this by recommending truly low-hanging fruit, what I think would make the most difference the fastest.  It's diet change.  For people accustomed to drinking soda just dropping that out would make a lot of difference.  Drinking water should be fine, or tea or coffee as a healthy input, or tisanes, herb teas.  Maybe drinking enough water alone would make a difference, versus falling short daily, or just getting enough sleep.

Changing diet could relate to making small, periodic changes, like swapping out fast food for cooking healthy natural food versions, or chips for nuts, or maybe replacing processed deserts with fruit.  Fasting makes this easy, because it's easy to see each break and renewed eating cycle as a reset.  But there must be other ways to push the same effect, like making a few small changes at the start of every month.  I "only" fast about 20 days a year, so not a high proportion, and I've gained weight over the past two years, so using fasting to lose weight would require a more specific focus on that.

Listening to your body is important.  The amount of sleep that's enough would vary by person.  Poor diet inputs or unusually helpful inputs also would vary by person in relation to positive or negative impact.  Related to exercise more would be better up to a point, but at middle age injury is an early warning sign that you're progressing too fast, and that's no good.

Being open to life changes may make a difference.  Of course it would help if those are positive.  I went through a period of meditating a lot, the second I've experienced in my life, and that seemed to help.  Getting a new pet can change things in a positive way (although losing one can also be really rough).  Life connections and activities seem to make a lot of difference.

Having kids late seemed to help.  I've been playing in kids' play areas for years (14 or 15), going to water parks, ice skating (a lot; the kids took lessons), biking and hiking with them, and so on.  That decade off exercise involved a lot of activity.  Some of it is just mental, not seeing yourself as sedentary and inactive, but it seems important for that to connect to physical activity.  I don't think it needs to be all that strenuous; hanging out laundry or doing gardening could be enough, to maintain flexibility through varied movement.

my other babies; I miss them terribly, while I'm away for this month

Beyond all of this I think accepting long-term transitions like aging is helpful.  You can focus on health, and change that, and some "symptoms" might diminish.  But in general life is about change, and walking a changing path, so feeling negatively about that context could be unhelpful.  Leaning into whatever activity works for you could tie in with feeling positive about your capacity, and enjoying different activities.  We--as a family, essentially--took up pickleball this year; it's nice when those can involve some limited exercise.

more on this here, especially relevant to people in Honolulu

good experience of meaning can't hurt

2022 Bangwai and 2021 Bulang gushu sheng pu'er

 

I'm reviewing two more of what should be fantastic gushu sheng pu'er from Tea Mania.  Again these are mini-discs, not the ideal form for brewing, but it works, and with practice it works well.

I've been trying Bulang versions some lately, but of course that range could vary.  I might seem to imply understating origin as an input to flavor and other character, even though I claim that the two connect, and that there are regional consistencies, probably more pronounced the more local the area is under consideration.  It's just that I don't memorize a matrix of past impressions, and derived general expectations.  For the Bangwai even that wouldn't apply; I may or may not have ever tried a version from there, and don't know where that is within a broader region.  I'm fine with only passing on an impression, as a primary review practice, but it seems a bit like sloppy work.  

Of course I'll compare this a little to Bulang versions I've tried in the past month, but even then not much.

Bangwai Gushu 2022  ($117 USD for 200 grams; equivalent to a $209 357 gram cake)

The Bangwai Gushu is celebrated for its meticulous, traditional handmade processing and the selective use of the finest tea leaves. This dedication to quality is evident in every sip, making it a treasured choice among collectors. Due to the limited availability, Pu-erh teas from the Bangwai region are released in small quantities each year, adding to their exclusivity and allure.

Ideal for long-term aging, thi tea is a tea connoisseur’s delight, known to develop richer and more complex aromas over time. Its robust character and evolving taste profile make it a remarkable choice for those who appreciate the depth and intricacy of Pu-erh teas.

Harvest: Spring 2022...

Aroma: Spicy, much Cha Qi and sweet finish

Terroir: Bangwai, Lancang prefecture, Yunnan province, China...

Tip: This Bangwai tea is ideal to mature a few years

Bulang Gushu 2021 Balanced  (the same price as the other cake, 95 CHF, $117 for 200 grams)

Harvest date: Spring 2021

Pressed: 2021

Typ: Sheng

Taste: Strong, intense and deep

Terroir: Bulang Mountain, Xishuangbanna prefecture, Yunnan province, China

There is a bitter version and "balanced" version listed, and I'm guessing that this was balanced, since it's really not all that bitter.  I guess it's possible that 4 years of aging transition changed it a lot, and it could have been, and it might be the other one, but probably not.

[later editing note: per discussion with Peter, the owner, it was probably the bitter version, which did emerge more in the late rounds (that flavor aspect).  But it was probably a good bit more bitter when new.]

There isn't much more description of the tea there, just some related background (only sampled):

This exquisite Bulang Gushu is a product of the collaborative craftsmanship of teamaster Panda and Yang Ming, crafted exclusively for us with a keen understanding of our fondness for Bulang teas. Reminiscent of the legendary 2015 Bulang Gushu, which we still fondly remember and has long been sold out, this tea promises a similar allure.

Echoing the legacy of both the 2015 Bulang and the esteemed 5-Village Blend, this Bulang Gushu shares a unique connection – it is sourced from the tea fields of a former school friend of Yang Ming.

These teas are really good, and they may well be very type-typical for this origin and general style.  It doesn't work very well for a vendor to add lots of flavor list, because in the 4 years this aged that probably changed some.  Interpretations vary so much that I'm sympathetic to vendors skipping adding much initially, even as an early snapshot.  They need to say something, but the flavor-list approach is problematic.

Review:

2022 Bangwai:  I let these infuse for about a minute, to start opening up.  Unless you really pry the tea apart it will brew somewhat unevenly, with the outside starting early, and being relatively far along the transition cycle by the time the center is even wetted.  I can accept that; it doesn't throw off results much, it just changes them a little.

Feel has nice creaminess, even though this is still too light to clearly identify a lot of flavor.  It's in a floral general range.  It's bright and clean, probably with decent complexity, and pleasant sweetness.  The effect seems quite fresh; 3 years isn't that long, in moderately dry and cool storage.  More description to follow next round.

2021 Bulang:  a warmer tone is included in this.  It also expresses quite a bit of feel, for being so light, but it's different.  The other was light in tone and creamy, and this contains some structure already, a vague hint of dryness.  There's a really catchy flavor that I can't make out yet, and good overall balance.  These aren't the kind of teas where you throw out half of the early infusion that you don't make out as clearly; they're already quite good.

At the risk of brewing them a bit strong I'll give them another minute to infuse, and while they won't be completely wetted yet by the third round they'll be brewing more normally.  Two full minutes of infusion time is a lot, for that outer layer, but to me it's not as if the time the tea spends wet (under water) is the only brewing it does; it seems to continue to extract into the moisture in the leaf between those cycles anyway.

2022 Bangwai #2:  the Bulang version opened up a lot more.  It's interesting that the topic of how hard pressed a tea coin is never occurred to me before.  And I suppose I expect dragonball shapes to be really tightly pressed too, in a relatively uniform way.  Of course that could vary.

Warmer mineral depth comes out more than I expected.  Bright, fresh, sweet, floral tones are present, but the overall character is layered, and not light and bright in tone, more medium.  It integrates well.  It's still a bit creamy, but those warm tones and slightly more structured feel change overall character.  Beyond the vague floral description, and mineral, there is a substantial richness to the flavor, matching the feel, I guess along the line of macadamia nut.  It's really clean and complex, well-integrated, so an impression of quality comes across.

2021 Bulang:  this is a little strong (where the other hadn't been yet).  Dryness stands out more, and a very different warm mineral layer.  In this it resembles cedar, or maybe an incense spice.  That catchy aspect may have been a fruitiness, that's hard to identify, along with the cedar or spice tone.

2022 Bangwai #3:  light; I dropped back time a lot, maybe too much for this version, at this level of leaf separation.  I'll pull it apart for the next round.

Flavor is still bright, clean, and somewhat complex, even though it's subtle.

2021 Bulang:  this balances really well, brewed to a proper infusion strength.  That catchy aspect is some sort of fruit, along with a spice tone.  I should be able to describe that fruit tone better than I can.  Maybe it includes floral range, a mix, that is integrated, making it harder to separate.

2022 Bangwai #4:  this is an unusual experience, how it comes across as quite complex and also quite subtle (lacking intensity, I guess, put another way).  The rich flavor might be in the range of butter cookie instead of macadamia nut, or between the two.  Bright floral range is quite limited, but it still seems to be an input.  There is a mineral layer, it's just light, both in the sense of being light in tone and also not strong.  Somehow it comes across as fresh, and refined.

Bitterness is quite limited; as a sheng drinker, who is often appreciating even younger versions, I don't really notice it.  Maybe to someone more into oolong that would actually stand out some.

2021 Bulang:  stronger, for sure.  Bitterness is much more pronounced, and warm mineral, some degree of floral, and range I'm interpreting as both spice (or aromatic wood, cedar or redwood, maybe sandalwood) and some limited dried fruit all give it great complexity, and intensity.  There's a lot going on.  For sure the bitterness was a good bit stronger 4 years ago, and tones brighter.  This has mellowed into a very pleasant and drinkable character.  

It's interesting considering how this compares to a Legend of Tea Malaysia stored 2021 Bulang, reviewed here, three weeks ago.  It has been a long three weeks; that feels like over a month.  The write-up sounds pretty similar; the same basic flavor profile is expressed.  This is probably cleaner and more refined, and slightly lighter in tone.  I'm not sure it works to guess that it's better, but in a limited sense that's probably true, at a minimum related to preference for one type of character, and maybe to some extent in general.  This definitely lacks rough edges.  That tea had a sappy, perfume-like feel and associated flavor range; this sort of does, but probably not to that degree.  That tea was really good, exceptional for the price-point, and the quality of this is probably even better.  Or maybe it's that it is made in a more drinkable style, which is a different thing.

Put another way, expressed in more detail, that probably started out as more intense, with rougher edges, more bitterness and astringency, and had transitioned more by the time I tried it, perhaps arriving at a slightly warmer tone range.  For people more accustomed to factory tea that context and style could be better.  This might ring a bell more with people more on the page of boutique-style, drinkable when young tea versions, that are clean, sweet, and balanced, but not challenging, I suppose "giving up structure and intensity," if someone sees it that way.

2022 Bangwai #5:  this integrates all the better this round, with warmer spice tone entering in, resembling one part of the other tea.  Complexity and intensity really ramped up.  Maybe because I finally got timing right, and it's all wetted and brewing now?  It's not as if this has been challenging to brew, since results were really positive before, I'm just getting variation out of it.

Bitterness doesn't really stand out much, as sheng experience goes, but a little more of it balances nicely.  At least I can notice it.  The butter cookie / macadamia expression is nice, and light floral range, that I'm not really covering as much.

2021 Bulang:  perfume-like nature and sappiness ramp up; interesting.  Maybe because I'm looking for that?  But in that earlier review--of a different 2021 Bulang sheng--it ramped up across a number of infusions, as just occurred.  Dryness picks up a little too, but this is far from dry.  "Sappy" works.

Even though I'm in between the kids being here and the next travel step (I'll go back to Honolulu the day after tomorrow) I'm still busy, with a list of a few things to do to get ready, so again I'll cut this short.  One more round will work for catching final thoughts, or whatever I've missed.  Of course these teas are going strong, and will brew at least as many more rounds later, and of course I'll miss a couple of minor aspect transitions.

2022 Bangwai #6:  full, creamy, complex, and well-balanced, with flavors not so different than last round.  This flavor set, and other aspects, works really well for my preference.  Sometimes I'm describing a flavor range that could be fine, or even exceptional, but it just doesn't click with me as well as this does (like root-spice range sometimes doesn't).  This could even be interpreted as heavy on root spice, but it would be a light ginseng sassafras fullness, not a heavier bark spice oriented range, something more medicinal.

2021 Bulang:  brewed fast this round this is exceptional.  Intensity and complexity is great in both, and again this flavor and other aspect set seems very appealing to me.  Clean, balanced, and refined character is great.

So which is better, either in terms of general quality or a match to my preference?  Both are pleasant in novel ways.  The Bulang isn't challenging, at all, but it's more intense, and heavier in flavor range, with more bitterness offsetting that flavor set.  It's far from straight floral tones; the spice or aromatic wood tone might be even stronger, at this stage.  It all makes perfect sense together, to me.  These are in a great place for aging transition to integrate well just now.

It's all as I expected.  Really high expectations can be a challenge for a tea to be reviewed against, because any minor flaw or less favorable balance would stand out all the more.  Then when a tea is great it's just meeting those expectations; there is no exceeding them.  Even a novel flavor input or atypically positive feel aspect can only seem normal, if you go into it expecting a tea to be great.

There's a lot going on with these, so that I've cut short feel and aftertaste range descriptions.  There's some background noise as well; my wife is talking to our kids online about first week of school preparations (they just ended it, but hanging details remain, needing an extra binder or highlighter, and getting jet-lag sorted out).  I might've even added a couple more flavor aspect descriptions without that distraction.  This will do; the teas were great, as described.

Further conclusions:

Describing these as "really good" seems a bit limited.  They are, and the aspects seemed like what I've listed, but the clean nature, complexity, depth, and refinement are hard to pin down in a description.  This pricing may be more than I'd end up spending even if I had a loose budget, instead of very little of one to work with, but I get it why people open to that would drink teas like these.

It's hard to guess about longer term aging potential.  For as good as these are now I'd drink them right now, or within a year or so.  For someone with a wide open budget buying one to drink and one to age might be a good strategy.  That only goes so far, for these being sold as 200 gram cakes.  You could drink through one fast, if you weren't rationing it.  Which could work out; it's good tea.

I'm traveling now, for a month, and already miss them terribly

not exactly bonding, but at least Myra is adjusting to them being around