Arrived in Dali City the new part at 6am. I have found that at airports, trainstations etc, if you wander around with a backpack, someone will come up and ask you what your are looking for or point you in the direction of a bus etc. This time I was searching for the buses in this bus area and was guided to the correct minibus. Arrived in old Dali at 7am, too early for anything except to see the sunrise. Which was pretty impressive. So despite my backpack on my back I walked around for an hour taking photos. Now booked into the Old Dali 4 Seasons hostel. Ok ish. So may try for another once people have checked out of Jim's Tibetan hotel, where I had wanted to go.
Dali is amazing. It is like stepping back in time and very very laid back. It is quite an old town in parts, although some of it is being "renovated" but not in total keeping with the old. Some of the buildings are so old and crooked. It was great to walk the streets this morning before all the traffic started. Although many school kids were up and running just before sunrise. Being dropped off by parents, grandparents etc. on bikes and motorbikes and god knows what else. It was fun to watch them get their breakfast at the stalls. In Xi'an too I often saw them being taken home. Some of the kids say hello and then giggle shyly when you acknowledge them with a hello in return.
Walking around this afternoon, I got a better feel for the place. It is definitly a backpackers place as many of the cafe's are very backpackerish with with lots of cushions and names like Lazy Lizard etc. Still it has loads of charm and character. I just love the place. Although I hear Lijiang is even more well kept.
There are two main ethnic groups here Yi and Bai and you can spot that this has heavily influenced the population. There are young and old ladies in colourful headresses all over town. I missed a group of about 10 of them walking along in full costume, displayed as I was on the wrong end of the street. The colours are so eye catching. I love the way their way of dress has been maintained but mixed with modern items like jeans.
I went to Dali to chill, and it was possible to do that and just wander around the town and be mesmerised just by walking around. I went on one tour, as it happend it was by myself as not so many tourists here at this time of year. I even noticed a job vacancy for foreigners to help staff the local bars/restaurants.
I went to this amazing local market near Dali. It was full of locals, mostly Yi, selling foodstuffs, kitchenware and most other useful things. I only saw about 2 other tourists and they were Chinese. The colours of the locals and the foodstuffs were incredibly photogenic. The really beautiful thing was most of them didn't try to sell me anything, so I could wander around unimpeded. In some respects I was as much a distraction for them as they were for me. That is what I love most about China. I carried on to the next item on the tour. This was a lovely village with the prerequisite winding streets and charismatic inhabitants. I had a lovely guide who showed me around the temples, and local home industries of weaving and batik.
My four days were up and I had to leave Dali.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Kunming, flowers, birds and boxes of live insects
Wow for a very modern clean city, this place is so relaxed. The traffic is minor and large good roads in most places. Chongqing and Kunming could not be more different. I wandered around the town looking for a bus to the Bamboo temple but I was the only person looking and it would cost me 100 there and back and I wouldn't get to see much else. So thought better of it. I wandered in to the old part of Kunming and the flower and bird market. Contrary to the LP, there were loads of birds and flowers for sale, among a hell of a lot of other things. I explored all the little alleys and found them. Loads of fish, loads of mice and hamsters and turtles too. Oh and live insects to feed them. Boxes of them. Big black ones.
I went in search of the Upriver cafe which is supposed to be a cafe and funky gallery. Took ages to find it and I got distracted by intriguing alleys and stalls. I was dying for the toilet but when I got there it looked like a proper restaurant and they didn't have a clue when I tried to ask if they served for tea, cha etc. So had to hold my legs together until I found this lovely Stone park cafe in this lovely building and had Taurus tea no less. And with lovely toilets, you could only smell the cleaning agents. After that I ended up buying tea in a lovely teashop across the road and bought some of the local yunnan black tea and some Pearl Jasmine. I had tastings of the various options and got Yunnan tea that apparently lasts for 7 years but was really good and er not cheap. 10 Euros per 100g. eek. Of course after drinking all that tea... So I went in search of dinner and ended up in the City cafe which was nice but very western in some respects but it was near my hotel where I had left my bag. After that it was off to the train for Dali. I had gotten the last soft sleeper and my 3 Chinese roomates were really nice.
I went in search of the Upriver cafe which is supposed to be a cafe and funky gallery. Took ages to find it and I got distracted by intriguing alleys and stalls. I was dying for the toilet but when I got there it looked like a proper restaurant and they didn't have a clue when I tried to ask if they served for tea, cha etc. So had to hold my legs together until I found this lovely Stone park cafe in this lovely building and had Taurus tea no less. And with lovely toilets, you could only smell the cleaning agents. After that I ended up buying tea in a lovely teashop across the road and bought some of the local yunnan black tea and some Pearl Jasmine. I had tastings of the various options and got Yunnan tea that apparently lasts for 7 years but was really good and er not cheap. 10 Euros per 100g. eek. Of course after drinking all that tea... So I went in search of dinner and ended up in the City cafe which was nice but very western in some respects but it was near my hotel where I had left my bag. After that it was off to the train for Dali. I had gotten the last soft sleeper and my 3 Chinese roomates were really nice.
Tuesday, November 14, 2006
3 Gorges, old rustbuckets and Trev and Nance
11Nov: We thought we had until 1pm to get to Chongqing but we must have got the express train, as at 10am the staff came to kick us off the train. We had a bit of a rush but it was great as it meant we had more time to sort the cruise down the Yangzi river. Leaving the our bags at the station, we got a taxi to the port. After a few negotiations, we finally got a boat with a 2nd class berth. We wandered around Chongqing. We couldn't believe how very, very packed and busy it is. It is also extremely foggy most of the time. We decided it was too much and headed off to the Ciqikou Ancient town, built in the 15 hundreds. It was packed with tourists but was still absolutely fab. The little shops and streets were just gorgeous and we had the best kebabs ever without being ripped off. It had very arty shops packed with items I have not seen anywhere else. We even had a chance to go to a tea house and listen to some traditional Chinese music while we sipped.
It was then time to head to our luxury 4 star cruiseship. Or rather a large rust bucket packed with Chinese tourists. It was spot the foreigner, all 7 of em. We thought we were going to have our 4 berth cabin to ourselves but at the last minute our roomates arrived. A 40 something couple, with no English. But they seemed pleasant enough. Wazza nicknamed them Trevor and Nancy.
We tried to get on deck but it was another 55 yuan, wandering around, we realised we had no option but to pay, if we wanted to see anything. Another bad mark. We came on deck and got beckoned over by some Chinese, who welcomed us in to their group and I got my photo in to yet more chinese family albums. Wazza and I had our pot noodles with the rest of the "gang". It was fun. Then 3 guys came along from Farid(Paris), Chris(England) and Dave(Scotland) and joined us. They had all met at work in Paris and now worked throughout Europe. We broke out the wine, Wazza and I had bought. Then another 2 guys came along. Tim from Cornwall and a Canadian called Attila, yes that is his name and yes I thought he was joking and yes I took the pee. Luckily he was well able to take it and give it back and it set the tone. They were all going to the Ghost town tour. Neither Wazza nor I could be bothered to rise at 6am. Went to bed early.
12Nov: We realised that Trev was typical Chinese and hacked his lungs up into the bathroom, this morning. We were grateful that he was not hacking on the carpet or smoking in the cabin. Many of the Chinese hack their lungs up or blow their snot out of their nose along the corridors and in the restaurants etc. The government in an effort to reduce this offensive habit and to please the Olympics committee before the Beijing Olympics, has launched a campaign and fines to stop it. It has apparently reduced but it bloody well hasn't stopped.
When Trev and Nance left, I went into our bathroom there was a huge glob of hack on the floor which I tried to wash with the shower. Between that and the smell of urine coming from the squat toilet, I started to gag and actually had to leave. I went to the public toilets instead which were more tolerable. The fog was clouding everything and the view we had, was of cruddy cities. It did not bode well. I felt dissapointed and a little bad for Wazza, as this had been my idea. Trev and Nance came back from the tour to the ghost town and gave me oranges and tangerines. They are soooo sweet. I met the 3 guys again and they taught me a new game of cards. Pretty cool. It was fun to play cards again. I will have to teach the gang in Cork. The game is called shithead. I think the Cork gang will appreciate it. Wazza and I went on our tour of the Qinglong waterfall. The 1hr drive was spectacular, all luscious green paddy fields and amazing views, to the top of the mountain. The waterfall was 64.5 metres high and105 metres wide . The best thing was you could walk behind the curtain of water. I loved it. We bought some food as well, so were happy. A few hours later, w stopped at the Zhang Fei Temple. It was nice and we bought food from the stalls at teh bottom of the temple , which tasted great. We broke out some wine again with the 5 boys. We had such a laugh. They have a great sense of humour and bounced well off each other.
13Nov: Next day we all skippped the 6am tour but Trev and Nance bless em were up and hacking. The toilets had improved or maybe it was just a once off the first morning. The view from the deck had changed dramatically and we were in the 3 gorges area. Huge walls of rock on either side. Sometimes the gorges were 3oom across sometimes, 100m. We all went on the 3 lesser gorges tour which necessitated getting into mini cruisers then even smaller boats with about 20 seats. Our drivers even sang. It was breathtaking. As Wazza said it was "Gorge"eous. It was kind of weird to see these signs for 175m at different places along the river. Since the dam has been built the water levels have risen to about 15om higher than they were before the dam began. Many towns and villages and historical sites have been lost to the waters. The water will be further raised about 20 m to 175m in 2009, hense the markers to show where the the new level of the river will be. We saw the tops of houses that had been flooded and saw many more that would be under water in a few years. I had been trying to do the cruise down the Yangzi river because I thought they had not raised the water levels that much but they have and there is not much more to go. However, as we had not seen what it was like, what we saw was still pretty inspiring but the rush to see things had been unnecessary. We stopped a few times at little places where the locals spread their wares and food was plentiful. At one stop there were these roasted birds but they looked like little ducklings. Chris saw one Chinese man just stuff the bird's head in his mouth and chew and swallow, bones and all. Chris and Dave tried the bird and said it tasted like roast chicken. I skipped it, but it did look good. Later, we saw live ones swimming by the shore. That evening I went with the 3 guys to get somefood when we landed at this temple for a show. None of the 7 of us bothered with the show but we got to eat some nice kebabs.
14 Nov: Last day of cruise. Kind of sad to leave the old rust bucket and Trev and Nance and the boys. Wazza and I rushed to the front to get in the first batch so we could go to the 3 gorges dam and get to Yichang before it was too late for Wazza's flight to Shanghai. We were first on the bus, having walked instead of the cable car but still were one of the last buses to leave, as everyone else faffed. However, the dam was damn impressive. It is an unbelievable feat of engineering and well worth the visit. When we finished, I didn't know what to do, as I had not sorted onward transportation, so went to the airport with Wazza, as trains were few and far between to get where I wanted. So I decided to take what ever flight would get me out of Yichang. I am now in the airport for a few hours waiting for my 9.20 flight to Kunming. Not quite the original plan but it was part of what I had thought about doing some time ago but due to time constraints thought better of it. I didn't bank on yichang being such a pain to get out. Anyway updated my blog. The Airport at Yichang is lovely. Small but very modern and the most funky exterior I have seen. Basically a concrete murial. Flight was easy and got to Kunming in 1hr 15 min. All for 58 euros. Got a taxi to the hotel for the price I wanted. Getting better at this bargaining lark. Til the next time...
It was then time to head to our luxury 4 star cruiseship. Or rather a large rust bucket packed with Chinese tourists. It was spot the foreigner, all 7 of em. We thought we were going to have our 4 berth cabin to ourselves but at the last minute our roomates arrived. A 40 something couple, with no English. But they seemed pleasant enough. Wazza nicknamed them Trevor and Nancy.
We tried to get on deck but it was another 55 yuan, wandering around, we realised we had no option but to pay, if we wanted to see anything. Another bad mark. We came on deck and got beckoned over by some Chinese, who welcomed us in to their group and I got my photo in to yet more chinese family albums. Wazza and I had our pot noodles with the rest of the "gang". It was fun. Then 3 guys came along from Farid(Paris), Chris(England) and Dave(Scotland) and joined us. They had all met at work in Paris and now worked throughout Europe. We broke out the wine, Wazza and I had bought. Then another 2 guys came along. Tim from Cornwall and a Canadian called Attila, yes that is his name and yes I thought he was joking and yes I took the pee. Luckily he was well able to take it and give it back and it set the tone. They were all going to the Ghost town tour. Neither Wazza nor I could be bothered to rise at 6am. Went to bed early.
12Nov: We realised that Trev was typical Chinese and hacked his lungs up into the bathroom, this morning. We were grateful that he was not hacking on the carpet or smoking in the cabin. Many of the Chinese hack their lungs up or blow their snot out of their nose along the corridors and in the restaurants etc. The government in an effort to reduce this offensive habit and to please the Olympics committee before the Beijing Olympics, has launched a campaign and fines to stop it. It has apparently reduced but it bloody well hasn't stopped.
When Trev and Nance left, I went into our bathroom there was a huge glob of hack on the floor which I tried to wash with the shower. Between that and the smell of urine coming from the squat toilet, I started to gag and actually had to leave. I went to the public toilets instead which were more tolerable. The fog was clouding everything and the view we had, was of cruddy cities. It did not bode well. I felt dissapointed and a little bad for Wazza, as this had been my idea. Trev and Nance came back from the tour to the ghost town and gave me oranges and tangerines. They are soooo sweet. I met the 3 guys again and they taught me a new game of cards. Pretty cool. It was fun to play cards again. I will have to teach the gang in Cork. The game is called shithead. I think the Cork gang will appreciate it. Wazza and I went on our tour of the Qinglong waterfall. The 1hr drive was spectacular, all luscious green paddy fields and amazing views, to the top of the mountain. The waterfall was 64.5 metres high and105 metres wide . The best thing was you could walk behind the curtain of water. I loved it. We bought some food as well, so were happy. A few hours later, w stopped at the Zhang Fei Temple. It was nice and we bought food from the stalls at teh bottom of the temple , which tasted great. We broke out some wine again with the 5 boys. We had such a laugh. They have a great sense of humour and bounced well off each other.
13Nov: Next day we all skippped the 6am tour but Trev and Nance bless em were up and hacking. The toilets had improved or maybe it was just a once off the first morning. The view from the deck had changed dramatically and we were in the 3 gorges area. Huge walls of rock on either side. Sometimes the gorges were 3oom across sometimes, 100m. We all went on the 3 lesser gorges tour which necessitated getting into mini cruisers then even smaller boats with about 20 seats. Our drivers even sang. It was breathtaking. As Wazza said it was "Gorge"eous. It was kind of weird to see these signs for 175m at different places along the river. Since the dam has been built the water levels have risen to about 15om higher than they were before the dam began. Many towns and villages and historical sites have been lost to the waters. The water will be further raised about 20 m to 175m in 2009, hense the markers to show where the the new level of the river will be. We saw the tops of houses that had been flooded and saw many more that would be under water in a few years. I had been trying to do the cruise down the Yangzi river because I thought they had not raised the water levels that much but they have and there is not much more to go. However, as we had not seen what it was like, what we saw was still pretty inspiring but the rush to see things had been unnecessary. We stopped a few times at little places where the locals spread their wares and food was plentiful. At one stop there were these roasted birds but they looked like little ducklings. Chris saw one Chinese man just stuff the bird's head in his mouth and chew and swallow, bones and all. Chris and Dave tried the bird and said it tasted like roast chicken. I skipped it, but it did look good. Later, we saw live ones swimming by the shore. That evening I went with the 3 guys to get somefood when we landed at this temple for a show. None of the 7 of us bothered with the show but we got to eat some nice kebabs.
14 Nov: Last day of cruise. Kind of sad to leave the old rust bucket and Trev and Nance and the boys. Wazza and I rushed to the front to get in the first batch so we could go to the 3 gorges dam and get to Yichang before it was too late for Wazza's flight to Shanghai. We were first on the bus, having walked instead of the cable car but still were one of the last buses to leave, as everyone else faffed. However, the dam was damn impressive. It is an unbelievable feat of engineering and well worth the visit. When we finished, I didn't know what to do, as I had not sorted onward transportation, so went to the airport with Wazza, as trains were few and far between to get where I wanted. So I decided to take what ever flight would get me out of Yichang. I am now in the airport for a few hours waiting for my 9.20 flight to Kunming. Not quite the original plan but it was part of what I had thought about doing some time ago but due to time constraints thought better of it. I didn't bank on yichang being such a pain to get out. Anyway updated my blog. The Airport at Yichang is lovely. Small but very modern and the most funky exterior I have seen. Basically a concrete murial. Flight was easy and got to Kunming in 1hr 15 min. All for 58 euros. Got a taxi to the hotel for the price I wanted. Getting better at this bargaining lark. Til the next time...
Friday, November 10, 2006
Xi'an and the Terracota Army.
06Nov: I arrived in the early am to Xi'an and went to bed once I booked into the hotel and went to sleep for a few hours. I was so tired. I went downstairs to drop some laundry in and saw this guy checking in. I said better check your change as I had been short changed checking in and had just realised it. Turns out this guy (John) is from Kenmare in Ireland, so we arranged to meet for dinner. In between I checked the town for different tours. We ended up having dinner in the hotel and it was lovely. I went to bed early as was still tired.
07Nov: John and I had decided to go on the Eastern tour. There were about 10 others. We had a great guide. The terracotta army was amazing. Only 2000 of these warriors have been unearthed from this emperors tomb (the first emperor of China who united the whole country) but they believe there maybe thousands more as there is about 20 years work still to do. We went to this hotsprings palace also, as well as a shop, selling mini terracotta warriors. When I came back, I met Raj (from Milton Keynes) who had been in my dorm room and we decided to go for drinks tomorrow night. There was also a Dutch lady and German chap whom I had a chat with. They were all lovely. I met John again for dinner as we were both so tired after the tour we ended up having dinner in the hotel again. We went for a drink of coffee and had a great chat for hours until midnight. The latest I have stayed up in weeks. Turns out he is not 19 tho he looks it but is 31.
08Nov: John and I met for breakfast. While John was getting his flight sorted, I ended up talking to Wazza from Australia. He had been on the terracotta tour yesterday and had been through Russia on the Transib with 14 others but now all the others had left, the last of them today. He asked where I was off to next and I said the 3 gorges. He decided to come too so off we went to book our train to Chongqing.
After John and I went off to view the bell and drum towers, then wandered around the Muslim quarter. We found a great street of bars so thought that would be a good place to go tonight.
We met Raj and Wazza for dinner. We had a great meal. I shared a bottle of the Great Wall red wine with Wazza. It was actually quite ok. We then went to the bar area. In the first bar there was live music but it was loud. I had a beer with Raj and John, as they had no wine and Wazza had some spirits. We went to another bar with better music and I had another beer and a B52. I met some locals and was asked to come over to them to chat, as it was one girls birthday. I ended up chatting to them for a while. They all spoke English well, as they were studying it. We then ended up in another bar which was quiet but you buy a bottle of vodka then bring the mixers and fruit and you pour you own drinks. There was great music and we all had a small boogie and took some silly photos. We went to the the most famous club in town 1+1. That was when my problems started... Not being a big drinker and having not drunk more than a glass of wine or more than a shot of vodka for weeks, the drinks I had took their effect and I ended up quite ill in the toilet. Not great. I love clubbing so missed that and went home.
09Nov: I was so hung over. I met John, Raj & Wazza for breakfast. I was barely able to eat it. I then had to rush off as I thought I was going to be ill again but wasn'. The boys thought it was really funny and couldn't believe I had spent an hour in the toilet. They had lost Wazza too and thought the 2 of us had scarpered off together. How could they think such a thing. I stayed talking for another while then left the boys go off. I went back to bed.
However, this lovely Swiss guy with gorgeous eyes, had moved into our dorm and I ended up chatting to him for an hour. He had a week off from college where he is studying in Singapore so we had a chat about that, as I had been there a few months ago.
In the evening I met the boys for dinner and we looked at the photos from the night before. They were so funny. We said goodbye to John as he was off to Shanghai that night to meet his friends.
10Nov Today I said good bye to Raj. He left this morning to go to Shanghai. I met Wazza for breakfast and we got the bus to the Big Goose Pagoda. It is a nice temple complex. Quite serene. The Pagoda itself is 64 metres. I climbed to the top and the views were pretty good.
I left Wazza to his own devices and I went and hired a bike to take me around the city walls. Xi'an had much of it's city walls intact then the local authorities rebuilt the remaining bits. Now the walls completely surround the city and you can cycle around the top. They are about 14 meters across and 14 km long. Fairly impressive. The sun was splitting the stones and it was so beautiful. I was on top of the world cycling around with no traffic and taking in the superb views.
Wazza and I met for dinner and wandered around the Muslim quarter and found a really fab little restaurant with great kebabs.
We then got the train to Chongqing. We had a berth to ourselves. No one hacking his guts up. Fab. Got a good nights sleep.
11Nov: We thought we had until 1pm to get to Chongqing but we must have got the express train, as at 10am the staff came to kick us off the train. We had a bit of a rush but it was great as it meant we had more time to sort the cruise. We left our bags at the train station and got a taxi to the port. After a few negotiations we finally got a boat with a 2nd class berth. After a wander around Chongqing a very, very packed and busy city, we then headed off to the Ciqikou Ancient town, built in the 15 hundreds. It was packed with tourists but it was still absolutely fab. the little shops and streets were just gorgeous and we had the best kebabs ever without being ripped off. It had very arty shops packed with items I have not seen anywhere else. We even had a chance to go to a tea house and listen to some traditional Chinese music while we sipped.
It was then time to head to our luxury 4 star cruiseship. Our rather large rust bucket was packing them in. It was spot the foreigner and there were only about 7 or so. We thought we were going to have our 4 berth cabin to ourselves when our roomates arrived. a 40something couple, with no English. But they seemed pleasant enough. Wazza nicknamed them Trevor and Nancy.
12Nov: Next morning though, we realised that Trev was typical Chinese and hacked his lungs up into the bathroom. We were grateful that he was not hacking on the carpet in the cabin or smoking in the cabin. Many of the Chinese hack their lungs up or blow their snot out of their nose along the corridors and in the restaurants etc. It has apparently reduced. The government in an effort to reduce this offensive habit and to please the Olympics committe before the Beijing Olympics, has launched a campaign and fines to stop it. It has reduced but it bloody well hasn't stopped. When Trev and Nance left, I went into our bathroom there was a huge glob of hack on the floor which I tried to wash with the shower. Between that and the smell of urine coming from the squat toilet, I started to gag and actually had to leave. I went to the public toilets instead which were more tolerable. The fog was clouding everything and the view was of cruddy cities. It did not bode well. I felt somewhat dissapointed and a little bad for Wazza, as this had been my idea. Went to bed early.
13 Next day I didn't go to the temple, as it was a 6am start. This morning tho
Gorgeous
14 Nov: Last day of cruise. Kind of sad to leave the old rust bucket and Trev and Nance. Wazza and I rushed to the front to get out in teh first batch so we could go to the 3 gorges dam and get to Yichang before it was too late for Wazza's flight to Shanghai. We were first on the bus, having walked instead of the cable car but still were one of the last buses to leave, as everyone else faffed. However, the dam was damn impressive. It is an unbelievable feat of engineering.
07Nov: John and I had decided to go on the Eastern tour. There were about 10 others. We had a great guide. The terracotta army was amazing. Only 2000 of these warriors have been unearthed from this emperors tomb (the first emperor of China who united the whole country) but they believe there maybe thousands more as there is about 20 years work still to do. We went to this hotsprings palace also, as well as a shop, selling mini terracotta warriors. When I came back, I met Raj (from Milton Keynes) who had been in my dorm room and we decided to go for drinks tomorrow night. There was also a Dutch lady and German chap whom I had a chat with. They were all lovely. I met John again for dinner as we were both so tired after the tour we ended up having dinner in the hotel again. We went for a drink of coffee and had a great chat for hours until midnight. The latest I have stayed up in weeks. Turns out he is not 19 tho he looks it but is 31.
08Nov: John and I met for breakfast. While John was getting his flight sorted, I ended up talking to Wazza from Australia. He had been on the terracotta tour yesterday and had been through Russia on the Transib with 14 others but now all the others had left, the last of them today. He asked where I was off to next and I said the 3 gorges. He decided to come too so off we went to book our train to Chongqing.
After John and I went off to view the bell and drum towers, then wandered around the Muslim quarter. We found a great street of bars so thought that would be a good place to go tonight.
We met Raj and Wazza for dinner. We had a great meal. I shared a bottle of the Great Wall red wine with Wazza. It was actually quite ok. We then went to the bar area. In the first bar there was live music but it was loud. I had a beer with Raj and John, as they had no wine and Wazza had some spirits. We went to another bar with better music and I had another beer and a B52. I met some locals and was asked to come over to them to chat, as it was one girls birthday. I ended up chatting to them for a while. They all spoke English well, as they were studying it. We then ended up in another bar which was quiet but you buy a bottle of vodka then bring the mixers and fruit and you pour you own drinks. There was great music and we all had a small boogie and took some silly photos. We went to the the most famous club in town 1+1. That was when my problems started... Not being a big drinker and having not drunk more than a glass of wine or more than a shot of vodka for weeks, the drinks I had took their effect and I ended up quite ill in the toilet. Not great. I love clubbing so missed that and went home.
09Nov: I was so hung over. I met John, Raj & Wazza for breakfast. I was barely able to eat it. I then had to rush off as I thought I was going to be ill again but wasn'. The boys thought it was really funny and couldn't believe I had spent an hour in the toilet. They had lost Wazza too and thought the 2 of us had scarpered off together. How could they think such a thing. I stayed talking for another while then left the boys go off. I went back to bed.
However, this lovely Swiss guy with gorgeous eyes, had moved into our dorm and I ended up chatting to him for an hour. He had a week off from college where he is studying in Singapore so we had a chat about that, as I had been there a few months ago.
In the evening I met the boys for dinner and we looked at the photos from the night before. They were so funny. We said goodbye to John as he was off to Shanghai that night to meet his friends.
10Nov Today I said good bye to Raj. He left this morning to go to Shanghai. I met Wazza for breakfast and we got the bus to the Big Goose Pagoda. It is a nice temple complex. Quite serene. The Pagoda itself is 64 metres. I climbed to the top and the views were pretty good.
I left Wazza to his own devices and I went and hired a bike to take me around the city walls. Xi'an had much of it's city walls intact then the local authorities rebuilt the remaining bits. Now the walls completely surround the city and you can cycle around the top. They are about 14 meters across and 14 km long. Fairly impressive. The sun was splitting the stones and it was so beautiful. I was on top of the world cycling around with no traffic and taking in the superb views.
Wazza and I met for dinner and wandered around the Muslim quarter and found a really fab little restaurant with great kebabs.
We then got the train to Chongqing. We had a berth to ourselves. No one hacking his guts up. Fab. Got a good nights sleep.
11Nov: We thought we had until 1pm to get to Chongqing but we must have got the express train, as at 10am the staff came to kick us off the train. We had a bit of a rush but it was great as it meant we had more time to sort the cruise. We left our bags at the train station and got a taxi to the port. After a few negotiations we finally got a boat with a 2nd class berth. After a wander around Chongqing a very, very packed and busy city, we then headed off to the Ciqikou Ancient town, built in the 15 hundreds. It was packed with tourists but it was still absolutely fab. the little shops and streets were just gorgeous and we had the best kebabs ever without being ripped off. It had very arty shops packed with items I have not seen anywhere else. We even had a chance to go to a tea house and listen to some traditional Chinese music while we sipped.
It was then time to head to our luxury 4 star cruiseship. Our rather large rust bucket was packing them in. It was spot the foreigner and there were only about 7 or so. We thought we were going to have our 4 berth cabin to ourselves when our roomates arrived. a 40something couple, with no English. But they seemed pleasant enough. Wazza nicknamed them Trevor and Nancy.
12Nov: Next morning though, we realised that Trev was typical Chinese and hacked his lungs up into the bathroom. We were grateful that he was not hacking on the carpet in the cabin or smoking in the cabin. Many of the Chinese hack their lungs up or blow their snot out of their nose along the corridors and in the restaurants etc. It has apparently reduced. The government in an effort to reduce this offensive habit and to please the Olympics committe before the Beijing Olympics, has launched a campaign and fines to stop it. It has reduced but it bloody well hasn't stopped. When Trev and Nance left, I went into our bathroom there was a huge glob of hack on the floor which I tried to wash with the shower. Between that and the smell of urine coming from the squat toilet, I started to gag and actually had to leave. I went to the public toilets instead which were more tolerable. The fog was clouding everything and the view was of cruddy cities. It did not bode well. I felt somewhat dissapointed and a little bad for Wazza, as this had been my idea. Went to bed early.
13 Next day I didn't go to the temple, as it was a 6am start. This morning tho
Gorgeous
14 Nov: Last day of cruise. Kind of sad to leave the old rust bucket and Trev and Nance. Wazza and I rushed to the front to get out in teh first batch so we could go to the 3 gorges dam and get to Yichang before it was too late for Wazza's flight to Shanghai. We were first on the bus, having walked instead of the cable car but still were one of the last buses to leave, as everyone else faffed. However, the dam was damn impressive. It is an unbelievable feat of engineering.
Qufu, Confucious say...
I arrived in Qufu and was walking around looking for the hotel I wanted wh en a kindly tuk tuk driver offered to drive me to the hotel for 1 Yuan. Bargain. I had a walk around town and it was a lovely little place. Quite restful and chilled.
Next day I went to the Confucious Temple and Mansions. Confucious (in China, known as Kong fu) was born (500BC approx) and died in Qufu. Although he himself died in abject poverty his teachings were recognised and his family became alost royalty. They set up the temple around where he thought. Later generations of the Kong family became dukes and owned the town of Qufu and built these amazing houses surrounded by walls. It was nice walking around the temple, mansion and the grounds of both. The Kong mansions were populated until the 50s. Howeer during the cultural revolution, Confucious among most other historical things became unpopular and Mr Kong the 77th direct decendant of Confucious fled to Taiwan.. It is amazing that 77 generations of Confuscious family over the past 2500 could be so fixed on one abode.
Later in the day I went in search of a train ticket office. In the LP it mentioned an office but I coudl find no trace of it or the bowling alley it was supposed to be next to. And I figure a bowling alley would be hard to miss. I went back to the hotel and asked them about it. The husband of the hotel owner brought me to the ticket office some way out of town and helped me buy it. It was so kind of him. I could not decide whether to go to Shanghai or Xi'an. So I thought I would let fate decide. Well it did. However, all I could get was a hard seat for the next day and I was lucky to get that. This meant another day in Qufu and only a seat instead of a bed all the way to Xi'an a 17 hour journey.
Next day, as I had time I walked the few Km to the Confucious family cemetary. The cematary is a little forest and has all the Kong family buried there including Confucious. Family members are still being buried there today. Some of the tombs are amazing. Although Confucious tomb was sedate and modest.
That afternoon I got on the train. I think there were a lot of surprised people when I arrived in the hard seat area. People were nudging each other to look at me. I was lucky to get a window seat and I even got to put my rucksack on the shelf overhead. I happend to be sitting next to some nice people although we didnt talk. I was doing fine and even had a snooze or 2 but after a few hours the conductor came around when they saw me they asked in sign if I wanted to sleep but I said I was ok. But a few minutes later. Another person came and they all had a discussion about me and my bag was taken down and I was frogmarched after this policeman through about 4 or 5 carriages. I was sooo embarrassed. I was puce passing through the carriages both from the embarrassment and the effort it took to cary the bag and keep up with a rather fast walkign policeman. I had to carry my rucksack in front of me as I thougth I was only going one or 2 carriages but no. I must have bumped into a hundred peopel who had their heads or legs in the aisles. I felt bad as I was treated like royalty and these poor buggers had to stay where they were. I didnt like being so privilaged. I was escorted to the dining car and presented with 2 seats. However, to be honest I was more comfortable where I was. It was bloody freezing. I tried to sleep and was able to snatch a half hour here and there but not a great nights sleep by any stretch. About 6am I gave up the ghost. The staff including the policeman, the chef and a few others called me down to where they were sitting. The chef spoke a few sentences and between this and my phrasebook we whiled away an hour and a half. I was delighted. It made up for the crappy sleep. They were sooo lovely and we had a laugh. The chef told me he loved me and was singing it while he started breakfast. It was so funny. His colleagues were talking the pee something cronic. I really do love China. It is incredible.
Next day I went to the Confucious Temple and Mansions. Confucious (in China, known as Kong fu) was born (500BC approx) and died in Qufu. Although he himself died in abject poverty his teachings were recognised and his family became alost royalty. They set up the temple around where he thought. Later generations of the Kong family became dukes and owned the town of Qufu and built these amazing houses surrounded by walls. It was nice walking around the temple, mansion and the grounds of both. The Kong mansions were populated until the 50s. Howeer during the cultural revolution, Confucious among most other historical things became unpopular and Mr Kong the 77th direct decendant of Confucious fled to Taiwan.. It is amazing that 77 generations of Confuscious family over the past 2500 could be so fixed on one abode.
Later in the day I went in search of a train ticket office. In the LP it mentioned an office but I coudl find no trace of it or the bowling alley it was supposed to be next to. And I figure a bowling alley would be hard to miss. I went back to the hotel and asked them about it. The husband of the hotel owner brought me to the ticket office some way out of town and helped me buy it. It was so kind of him. I could not decide whether to go to Shanghai or Xi'an. So I thought I would let fate decide. Well it did. However, all I could get was a hard seat for the next day and I was lucky to get that. This meant another day in Qufu and only a seat instead of a bed all the way to Xi'an a 17 hour journey.
Next day, as I had time I walked the few Km to the Confucious family cemetary. The cematary is a little forest and has all the Kong family buried there including Confucious. Family members are still being buried there today. Some of the tombs are amazing. Although Confucious tomb was sedate and modest.
That afternoon I got on the train. I think there were a lot of surprised people when I arrived in the hard seat area. People were nudging each other to look at me. I was lucky to get a window seat and I even got to put my rucksack on the shelf overhead. I happend to be sitting next to some nice people although we didnt talk. I was doing fine and even had a snooze or 2 but after a few hours the conductor came around when they saw me they asked in sign if I wanted to sleep but I said I was ok. But a few minutes later. Another person came and they all had a discussion about me and my bag was taken down and I was frogmarched after this policeman through about 4 or 5 carriages. I was sooo embarrassed. I was puce passing through the carriages both from the embarrassment and the effort it took to cary the bag and keep up with a rather fast walkign policeman. I had to carry my rucksack in front of me as I thougth I was only going one or 2 carriages but no. I must have bumped into a hundred peopel who had their heads or legs in the aisles. I felt bad as I was treated like royalty and these poor buggers had to stay where they were. I didnt like being so privilaged. I was escorted to the dining car and presented with 2 seats. However, to be honest I was more comfortable where I was. It was bloody freezing. I tried to sleep and was able to snatch a half hour here and there but not a great nights sleep by any stretch. About 6am I gave up the ghost. The staff including the policeman, the chef and a few others called me down to where they were sitting. The chef spoke a few sentences and between this and my phrasebook we whiled away an hour and a half. I was delighted. It made up for the crappy sleep. They were sooo lovely and we had a laugh. The chef told me he loved me and was singing it while he started breakfast. It was so funny. His colleagues were talking the pee something cronic. I really do love China. It is incredible.
Saturday, November 04, 2006
Sunrise at Tai'shan
01Nov: I arrrived in Tai'an and made my way to the cheapest hotel recommended by the Lonely planet. It wasn't cheap. One of the most expensive so far. 230 Yuan per night but I had a private bathroom and tv. It was nice to have a lovely bed and no cockroaches.
I went to the Dai temple which was the main sight in Tai'an besides the mountain. It was a lovely place and very tranquil. I ended up buying a fu tablet. One bit you leave at the temple with your name etc. on it and tie it to a wall near oone of the gods. The other half,you bring home. There were hundreds of them there. So it had to be done. As I was hungry I went in search of food and on the way was waylaid by this lovely girl and guy from this restaurant, who spoke t me in English. this tends to garner my attention when I am hungry. I thought I might as well go in as at least if they hadn't an English menu there might be a chance that they might understand me. As it happens, there was an English menu. I got this nice chicken dish and sweet potato. They must have wanted to treat me really specially, as they gave me the choicest chicken bits. I found a whole chicken head including moveable beak. AND a tasty foot. But the rest I more or less polished off. The sweet potato came out carmelised. With the sugar coating still crystalising and the idea being you dunk the pieces of sweet potato into a little bowl of cold water on the side, to harden the sugar coating. It was actually really nice.
The next day I had a hearty western breakfast in a very western but Chinese cafe. Real posh, shame on me but it was lovely.
I changed some money and met a lovely Aussie/English couple in the bank and chatted for a while before heading to my main target: The fabulous Tai'Shan. Basically a mountain that is one of the 5 most important Taoist sacred places in China. I took about 3hrs to climb to the Midway gate to Heaven. I.e. the halfway point. There were loads of little temples on the way up but it was a tough climb, as it was mostly steps and they were steep in places. But there were numerous elderly Chinese with walking sticks and wizened faces, making their way up. If they could do it then what was I moaning for. It was a beautiful day and it was a lovely hike. It was about 3.30 when I arrived at the halfway point and I booked into the hostel for the night. Afterwards I went for a bit of a wander around this little hamlet. It had a few restaurants, hotels and lots of sounvenir sellers and that was pretty much it. I had a few hours to kill before going to bed so I went to one little hotel with a terrace and the lady asked if I wanted some tea so I thought fab idea. Just what I wanted. I sat there for an hour or so watching the bus loads of tourists arrive. They had taken the easy route and not walked. Hah! I felt quite smug. This lasted for about 5 minutres until I went to pay for my tea. I hadn't asked the price. Doh. I thought how expensive can a cup of tea be? I had been to a teashop in Beijing and the most expensive was 100 yuan for a pot. That was also with someone sitting at the table with you and pouring each little cup of tea AND it was speciality tea. I thought I was relatively safe. Hah what a fool. I underestimated the greed, wiliness and the scent for the tourist dollar. 330 I was charged. I thought it was 33.30 which is quite expensive anyway for tea in China. BUT 330 was taking the biscuit. I couldn't believe it. I tried arguing but to no avail. I could have had afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches in the Ritz for what it cost me. That will teach me to be ask next time. I was annoyed at myself for being so silly but that was really unbelievable. It did lave a bitter aftertaste so to speak.
Anyway, I went back to my room read and slept a bit until the alarm went at 1am. Yes 1am. I had to get up, to get up to the top of the mountain for the sunrise.
As I was walking up, I realised that maybe I had left a little early. There was no one else around and only some of the souvenir sellers were beginning to stir. A bad sign. But I carried on and eventually I could hear people clacking away with their walking sticks and I knew I was no longer alone. The peace was slightly shattered. It was lovely climbing up in the dark. There were various lights emanating from the little food/souvenir stands along the route. I was able to watch the locals stiring before their major sales pitches got into full swing. About 3.15 I got to about 30 min from the top. I had done the climb in about an hour and a half. BummerI had at least 2hrs before sunrise or so I thought. But I was not alone and before long I could hear the usual hello and I was joined by about 10 students who soon adopted me and it was with them that I climbed to the top of Tai'shan. We went in search of a good view point for the elusive sunrise with the help of my trusty torch and LP. The sun decided it didn't want to get up early that morning and it was about 6.45 before the actual sun could be seen even though we had light from about 5.40. It was a bit of a hazy sunrise but there was a round of applause by those that had risen like me to view it. I had the prerequisite photoshoot with my new found Chinese friends and we swapped email addresses. They were soooo lovely and kind. I made my way down the mountain again, after checking out any remaining temples or sights I had missed in the dark. I collected my bag from the hotel in Tai'an and got a a tuk tuk to the bus station, only to find out the buses for Qufu didn't leave every 30 min as per the LP. I had to wait 3.5 hrs but I just stayed in the bus station reading my lp as I was not going to carry my rather heavy rucksack around more.
Eventually I got my ticket and went out and just shouted Qufu at any bus in the station til I found the right one. Luckily Qufu is easy to say. And I was off.
I went to the Dai temple which was the main sight in Tai'an besides the mountain. It was a lovely place and very tranquil. I ended up buying a fu tablet. One bit you leave at the temple with your name etc. on it and tie it to a wall near oone of the gods. The other half,you bring home. There were hundreds of them there. So it had to be done. As I was hungry I went in search of food and on the way was waylaid by this lovely girl and guy from this restaurant, who spoke t me in English. this tends to garner my attention when I am hungry. I thought I might as well go in as at least if they hadn't an English menu there might be a chance that they might understand me. As it happens, there was an English menu. I got this nice chicken dish and sweet potato. They must have wanted to treat me really specially, as they gave me the choicest chicken bits. I found a whole chicken head including moveable beak. AND a tasty foot. But the rest I more or less polished off. The sweet potato came out carmelised. With the sugar coating still crystalising and the idea being you dunk the pieces of sweet potato into a little bowl of cold water on the side, to harden the sugar coating. It was actually really nice.
The next day I had a hearty western breakfast in a very western but Chinese cafe. Real posh, shame on me but it was lovely.
I changed some money and met a lovely Aussie/English couple in the bank and chatted for a while before heading to my main target: The fabulous Tai'Shan. Basically a mountain that is one of the 5 most important Taoist sacred places in China. I took about 3hrs to climb to the Midway gate to Heaven. I.e. the halfway point. There were loads of little temples on the way up but it was a tough climb, as it was mostly steps and they were steep in places. But there were numerous elderly Chinese with walking sticks and wizened faces, making their way up. If they could do it then what was I moaning for. It was a beautiful day and it was a lovely hike. It was about 3.30 when I arrived at the halfway point and I booked into the hostel for the night. Afterwards I went for a bit of a wander around this little hamlet. It had a few restaurants, hotels and lots of sounvenir sellers and that was pretty much it. I had a few hours to kill before going to bed so I went to one little hotel with a terrace and the lady asked if I wanted some tea so I thought fab idea. Just what I wanted. I sat there for an hour or so watching the bus loads of tourists arrive. They had taken the easy route and not walked. Hah! I felt quite smug. This lasted for about 5 minutres until I went to pay for my tea. I hadn't asked the price. Doh. I thought how expensive can a cup of tea be? I had been to a teashop in Beijing and the most expensive was 100 yuan for a pot. That was also with someone sitting at the table with you and pouring each little cup of tea AND it was speciality tea. I thought I was relatively safe. Hah what a fool. I underestimated the greed, wiliness and the scent for the tourist dollar. 330 I was charged. I thought it was 33.30 which is quite expensive anyway for tea in China. BUT 330 was taking the biscuit. I couldn't believe it. I tried arguing but to no avail. I could have had afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches in the Ritz for what it cost me. That will teach me to be ask next time. I was annoyed at myself for being so silly but that was really unbelievable. It did lave a bitter aftertaste so to speak.
Anyway, I went back to my room read and slept a bit until the alarm went at 1am. Yes 1am. I had to get up, to get up to the top of the mountain for the sunrise.
As I was walking up, I realised that maybe I had left a little early. There was no one else around and only some of the souvenir sellers were beginning to stir. A bad sign. But I carried on and eventually I could hear people clacking away with their walking sticks and I knew I was no longer alone. The peace was slightly shattered. It was lovely climbing up in the dark. There were various lights emanating from the little food/souvenir stands along the route. I was able to watch the locals stiring before their major sales pitches got into full swing. About 3.15 I got to about 30 min from the top. I had done the climb in about an hour and a half. BummerI had at least 2hrs before sunrise or so I thought. But I was not alone and before long I could hear the usual hello and I was joined by about 10 students who soon adopted me and it was with them that I climbed to the top of Tai'shan. We went in search of a good view point for the elusive sunrise with the help of my trusty torch and LP. The sun decided it didn't want to get up early that morning and it was about 6.45 before the actual sun could be seen even though we had light from about 5.40. It was a bit of a hazy sunrise but there was a round of applause by those that had risen like me to view it. I had the prerequisite photoshoot with my new found Chinese friends and we swapped email addresses. They were soooo lovely and kind. I made my way down the mountain again, after checking out any remaining temples or sights I had missed in the dark. I collected my bag from the hotel in Tai'an and got a a tuk tuk to the bus station, only to find out the buses for Qufu didn't leave every 30 min as per the LP. I had to wait 3.5 hrs but I just stayed in the bus station reading my lp as I was not going to carry my rather heavy rucksack around more.
Eventually I got my ticket and went out and just shouted Qufu at any bus in the station til I found the right one. Luckily Qufu is easy to say. And I was off.
QingDao
I arrived really early in Qingdao. This woman approached me and said did I want a hotel so I ended up getting a free lift to the hotel Well the hotel was interesting. I wnet to bed straight away as I was so tired from the train journey. I got up that afternoon and walked around looking for a restaurant. Finally found one but realised I had left my money in the hotel. So I explained in signlanguage that I had forgotten my money and ran off. I came back with the money and my order was served. I went to bed early but not early enough to miss the cockroaches scurrying around the bathroom and the bedroom carpet. Fabulous. Next day I walked around looking for the German area. Qingdoa was colonised by the Germans for a while, which influenced the local architecture. I must have walked for miles. I even managed to see the two churches, one catholic and one protestant, in the town. I climbed up to the bell tower and it was so like climbing up Shandon steeple in Cork. There are some lovely German villas and some really nice beaches. I even got to put my feet in the sea. It was so lovely to smell the sea and walk along the beach. There were loads of Chinese on the beach, mostly male in their bathing trunks. I had a grand view.
As I was walking back to my hotel, this young girl stopped me and asked me to stand next to her so her friends could take a photo of both of us. It was really funny,. Then of course I had to have a photo with the friend. There are photos of me throughtout China with various people whom I have no clue of. It still amuses me how much they find us a novelty.
That evening I really struggled to find a ticket office to buy my train ticket out of Qingdao. So I went to the train station and luckily the person behind the information desk could speak a bit of English and she wrote on a piece of paper the time and train number etc. So I went off to fight for my place in the melee that calls itself a queue and actually got the ticket for the train. Wey Hey! Result!
I had a hard seat ticket. Which meant that I had to sit in the cheapest train seats. However, it was only for a few hours. I got on the train for Tai'an. Again the locals where highly curious as to the Laowai in their midst, and were tapping their friends to look at me. I got to have lunch by seeing what the locals bought and it was satisfying. I even got ot buy a few pairs of socks. It is amazing the train staff go up and down the carriages selling socks, food, jewellry. It is a whole markent on the train. Out of boredom people will look and sometimes buy. I did. Well, as I said a few pairs of socks but the ones I brought with me are ruined and have holes in the toes. And these are super dooper ones as I saw the whole demonstration of their durability.
As I was walking back to my hotel, this young girl stopped me and asked me to stand next to her so her friends could take a photo of both of us. It was really funny,. Then of course I had to have a photo with the friend. There are photos of me throughtout China with various people whom I have no clue of. It still amuses me how much they find us a novelty.
That evening I really struggled to find a ticket office to buy my train ticket out of Qingdao. So I went to the train station and luckily the person behind the information desk could speak a bit of English and she wrote on a piece of paper the time and train number etc. So I went off to fight for my place in the melee that calls itself a queue and actually got the ticket for the train. Wey Hey! Result!
I had a hard seat ticket. Which meant that I had to sit in the cheapest train seats. However, it was only for a few hours. I got on the train for Tai'an. Again the locals where highly curious as to the Laowai in their midst, and were tapping their friends to look at me. I got to have lunch by seeing what the locals bought and it was satisfying. I even got ot buy a few pairs of socks. It is amazing the train staff go up and down the carriages selling socks, food, jewellry. It is a whole markent on the train. Out of boredom people will look and sometimes buy. I did. Well, as I said a few pairs of socks but the ones I brought with me are ruined and have holes in the toes. And these are super dooper ones as I saw the whole demonstration of their durability.
Beijing Here We Come
21Oct: We got the train from Haerbin train station. All was well, we found the right entrance for the soft sleeper waiting room. We don't mingle with the masses darling. However, our train didn't appear on the board yet again... and as it was getting closer to the time we should be getting on it, we heard an announcement that sounded awfully like Beijing. So off trouped G, to find an attendant who pointed in the direction that everyone else was heading to. Off we went.
Oh my god it was so luxurious compared to our trains in Russia. We ended up with a 4 Berth cabin to ourselves. There was a separate washroom with 3 sinks no less. The toilet was spotless. Our cabin even had individual tvs for each berth... with headphones. There were even complimentary slippers for crying out loud. Had to get a photo of the bear and the sheep in this state of luxury, separately of course!!!
It was great to see TV even if it was in Chinese. I ended up watching this soap set in ancient times with "Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger" type scenes and Kung fu stunts etc. and those were just for the women. I know it was a soap, as I now watch it each chance I get. Sad dab that I am.
After 11 hours, our train arrived in Beijing early Sunday morning. We got the Metro and walked from there to the Far East Hostel we had booked. It turns out the hostel is both a hotel and a hostel. And part of a chain. However, it was relatively cheap and we ended up with a twin room for 120 each with ensuite shower and toilet in the (2 star) hotel. We had breakfast across the way in the hostel cafe, which was very much a backpackers hangout. The menu contained English or American Breakfasts or muesli etc. I had fried rice.
There are some parts of Beijing that retain the old Hutong that were laid down by Genghis Khan when he razed old Beijing to the ground after he conquered it. These are little alleys laid down in a grid fashion, many just wide enough to carry a horse and cart; Should that have been your mode of transport at the time. Our hotel is in one such Hutung. They are fabulous. Full of so many chinese characters both human and caligraphy. I navigated my way past riskshaws, offering Hutong tours and bicycle bells warning me to get out of the way etc. and of course the odd posh car. To get to Tiananmen sq was a mare. There was some parade going on which left various entrances closed off. Eventually, I got to where I was to meet G. For the rest of the day we wandered around the various monuments around Tiananmen Sq. However, most were closed. But there was enough to see without having to enter anything. G didn't feel like dinner when I did. So I ended up wandering around our hutong and found a little restaurant with the sweetest man. He even had a menu with English in it, though he spoke not a word of it. I had a feast of mutton slices, chilli with the thinest slivers of fried potato and pepper. I had tried to get a glass of wine but it would have meant opening a bottle. In sign language I asked for tea and finally after getting rid of the bottled iced tea offered, I got proper hot chinese tea. Ah such bliss. I found the word in my chinese phrase book for delicious and showed the owner. He was sooo chuffed. I was dead tired so went to bed around 10. G came back about midnight then about 5am he had a few visits to the Wc, as his meal in the hostel cafe kicked in.
23Oct: The forbidden city was closed to the masses for 500 years but now is open and oh are the masses coming in. Today being Monday meant that all the monuments were open and of course that meant all the tour groups were out in force. It was facinating to watch the antics. We even found one guide with a miniture umbrella with little ears on it. Superb. I knew the forbidden city would be a marvel but nothing could prepare you. I could have wandered around it for days. Each corner brought another photogenic moment. I couldn't get enough. Even though some of the buildings are being "reconstructed" thus off limits, there was still plenty to gawp at. There are just so many rooms, exhibits and temples. So much history, so many stories. I found the story about the Empress Dowager, Cixi, the most interesting. She was a right little minx. She had been chosen whilst very young to be a concubine to the emperor. Because of her beauty, youth and wiliness, she was promoted up the ranks. She then had the emperors only son, which of course put her in a special position. The Emperor died, whilst the son was just 6, so she and the empress guided the young emperor in his rule. When he got married he then didn't need her any more so she then got rid of him. She was like that. She ruled China for over 50 years and didn't do much for her people but did a lot for herself. As we were leaving the forbidden city, the changing of the guard started. We then got hemmed in and ended up talking to this man (Joe) of the Chinese race but who lived in Canada. He spoke fluent English and Chinese and was over on business and decided to take a few days off to tour Beijing. This Ukranian lady came up to him in a fluster. She had lost her husband who was on the other side of the blockade and her phone had died. Joe lent her his phone and all was well. He was a facinating and lovely chap, we ended up going to dinner with him.
24Oct: We got up a little earlier this time without any digestive problems and set off to find the Ming walls. The remaining city walls go on for about 2Km. The real shame is that they went on for longer, almost around the city until the 1950s, when they were taken down by the then government. So many cities would give anything to have their original wals intact. It was sacrilege. But a lot of bad things went on at that time. The walls were impressive and the gate that remained was well kept and beautiful. We didn't go up as we wanted to see some other sites. Our next site was the Lama temple. This was created to house a visiting lama a few hundred years ago. This was a complex with an amazing array of Tibetan Buddhist temples. One of which houses a 55 foot sandalwood statue of the Maitreya Buddha. The statue was carved from a single tree. Awesome! in the true meaning of the word. We spent a few hours here and bought some incense and burned it at different temples. It seemed to be the thing to do. We then tried to go to the Confucious temple, which was closed for repairs and we couldnt even find the Imperial College. So we ended up going for a Cappucino in this fab cafe. I then had to meet this guy Glenn that wanted to do the great wall. I had a phone interview with a recruitment consultant which turned out to be for a job I already had got but turned down. which delayed me. Also, I ran out of memory and asked Glenn would he mind transferring my photos to my USB key. However, when we tried the key was broken but I had to transfer the photos so I could take pictures on the wall tomorrow. He agreed to send them to me. G, Glenn and I had a lovely dinner and chat.
Oct: We got up at 6 to get the 6.30am bus to the great wall. We had booked a tour to take us to Jinshaling, one part of the wall. This would allow us to walk 10km along the wall to Simotai anotehr point on the wall, where we would then be picked up. However, we didn't leave till 7, as these 3 morons alarm didn't go off. That was fair enough but instead of apologising for keeping us all waiting, they came on and complained about the lack of proper seats etc. They didn't impress anyone. At the wall, G did something that annoyed me. This particular thing had been annoying me for a while and this was the final straw. I made a sarky comment and just walked on and then later told them not to wait for me. I was in such a bad mood. I calmed down later but I decided that G and I weren't bringing out the best in each other and to call it quits and part company. The great wall was FANTASTIC. I knew it would be good but it far exceeded my expectations.
Oh my god it was so luxurious compared to our trains in Russia. We ended up with a 4 Berth cabin to ourselves. There was a separate washroom with 3 sinks no less. The toilet was spotless. Our cabin even had individual tvs for each berth... with headphones. There were even complimentary slippers for crying out loud. Had to get a photo of the bear and the sheep in this state of luxury, separately of course!!!
It was great to see TV even if it was in Chinese. I ended up watching this soap set in ancient times with "Hidden Dragon, Crouching Tiger" type scenes and Kung fu stunts etc. and those were just for the women. I know it was a soap, as I now watch it each chance I get. Sad dab that I am.
After 11 hours, our train arrived in Beijing early Sunday morning. We got the Metro and walked from there to the Far East Hostel we had booked. It turns out the hostel is both a hotel and a hostel. And part of a chain. However, it was relatively cheap and we ended up with a twin room for 120 each with ensuite shower and toilet in the (2 star) hotel. We had breakfast across the way in the hostel cafe, which was very much a backpackers hangout. The menu contained English or American Breakfasts or muesli etc. I had fried rice.
There are some parts of Beijing that retain the old Hutong that were laid down by Genghis Khan when he razed old Beijing to the ground after he conquered it. These are little alleys laid down in a grid fashion, many just wide enough to carry a horse and cart; Should that have been your mode of transport at the time. Our hotel is in one such Hutung. They are fabulous. Full of so many chinese characters both human and caligraphy. I navigated my way past riskshaws, offering Hutong tours and bicycle bells warning me to get out of the way etc. and of course the odd posh car. To get to Tiananmen sq was a mare. There was some parade going on which left various entrances closed off. Eventually, I got to where I was to meet G. For the rest of the day we wandered around the various monuments around Tiananmen Sq. However, most were closed. But there was enough to see without having to enter anything. G didn't feel like dinner when I did. So I ended up wandering around our hutong and found a little restaurant with the sweetest man. He even had a menu with English in it, though he spoke not a word of it. I had a feast of mutton slices, chilli with the thinest slivers of fried potato and pepper. I had tried to get a glass of wine but it would have meant opening a bottle. In sign language I asked for tea and finally after getting rid of the bottled iced tea offered, I got proper hot chinese tea. Ah such bliss. I found the word in my chinese phrase book for delicious and showed the owner. He was sooo chuffed. I was dead tired so went to bed around 10. G came back about midnight then about 5am he had a few visits to the Wc, as his meal in the hostel cafe kicked in.
23Oct: The forbidden city was closed to the masses for 500 years but now is open and oh are the masses coming in. Today being Monday meant that all the monuments were open and of course that meant all the tour groups were out in force. It was facinating to watch the antics. We even found one guide with a miniture umbrella with little ears on it. Superb. I knew the forbidden city would be a marvel but nothing could prepare you. I could have wandered around it for days. Each corner brought another photogenic moment. I couldn't get enough. Even though some of the buildings are being "reconstructed" thus off limits, there was still plenty to gawp at. There are just so many rooms, exhibits and temples. So much history, so many stories. I found the story about the Empress Dowager, Cixi, the most interesting. She was a right little minx. She had been chosen whilst very young to be a concubine to the emperor. Because of her beauty, youth and wiliness, she was promoted up the ranks. She then had the emperors only son, which of course put her in a special position. The Emperor died, whilst the son was just 6, so she and the empress guided the young emperor in his rule. When he got married he then didn't need her any more so she then got rid of him. She was like that. She ruled China for over 50 years and didn't do much for her people but did a lot for herself. As we were leaving the forbidden city, the changing of the guard started. We then got hemmed in and ended up talking to this man (Joe) of the Chinese race but who lived in Canada. He spoke fluent English and Chinese and was over on business and decided to take a few days off to tour Beijing. This Ukranian lady came up to him in a fluster. She had lost her husband who was on the other side of the blockade and her phone had died. Joe lent her his phone and all was well. He was a facinating and lovely chap, we ended up going to dinner with him.
24Oct: We got up a little earlier this time without any digestive problems and set off to find the Ming walls. The remaining city walls go on for about 2Km. The real shame is that they went on for longer, almost around the city until the 1950s, when they were taken down by the then government. So many cities would give anything to have their original wals intact. It was sacrilege. But a lot of bad things went on at that time. The walls were impressive and the gate that remained was well kept and beautiful. We didn't go up as we wanted to see some other sites. Our next site was the Lama temple. This was created to house a visiting lama a few hundred years ago. This was a complex with an amazing array of Tibetan Buddhist temples. One of which houses a 55 foot sandalwood statue of the Maitreya Buddha. The statue was carved from a single tree. Awesome! in the true meaning of the word. We spent a few hours here and bought some incense and burned it at different temples. It seemed to be the thing to do. We then tried to go to the Confucious temple, which was closed for repairs and we couldnt even find the Imperial College. So we ended up going for a Cappucino in this fab cafe. I then had to meet this guy Glenn that wanted to do the great wall. I had a phone interview with a recruitment consultant which turned out to be for a job I already had got but turned down. which delayed me. Also, I ran out of memory and asked Glenn would he mind transferring my photos to my USB key. However, when we tried the key was broken but I had to transfer the photos so I could take pictures on the wall tomorrow. He agreed to send them to me. G, Glenn and I had a lovely dinner and chat.
Oct: We got up at 6 to get the 6.30am bus to the great wall. We had booked a tour to take us to Jinshaling, one part of the wall. This would allow us to walk 10km along the wall to Simotai anotehr point on the wall, where we would then be picked up. However, we didn't leave till 7, as these 3 morons alarm didn't go off. That was fair enough but instead of apologising for keeping us all waiting, they came on and complained about the lack of proper seats etc. They didn't impress anyone. At the wall, G did something that annoyed me. This particular thing had been annoying me for a while and this was the final straw. I made a sarky comment and just walked on and then later told them not to wait for me. I was in such a bad mood. I calmed down later but I decided that G and I weren't bringing out the best in each other and to call it quits and part company. The great wall was FANTASTIC. I knew it would be good but it far exceeded my expectations.
Goodbye Russia, Hello Haerbin, China
20Oct: We got a taxi to the airport in Vladivostok for our flight to Haerbin. Vladivostok must be the tiniest airport. We couldnt find the check in desk. After about 10 minutes looking, G finally asked one of the attendants in one of the booths that sort of looked like they should know. Turns out you have to go through customs and then passport control, then you check in. AND you had to wait until they had finished with the last flight before you could go in. The waiting room was in the lobby of the airport and the restaurant was closed. I have been to many airports in the world but that sure was the weirdest. Our plane was about a 30 seater and we had to eater via the ass of the plane. The plane reminded me of my flight to Vientiane in Laos from Viet Nam. However Vladivostok airplanes were in far better condition and were not threadbare like Laos Airlines. Thank god.
After a few hours we finally arrived Haerbin. God, the two airports could not be so different. Haerbin was like most upmarket, modern international airports. Very clean and new. Although we couldn't find an ATM that would take our card and though we searched for a Bureau de Change, we couldn't find one. Armed with our phrasebooks, we set off in different directions to places we thought might give us some info. This Chinese gentleman started talking to me in perfect English and pointed me in the right direction, and when he figured that had not been enough, he came over and brought me to the desk. There was no way we would have found it. There was nothing to indicate it's function that we woudl have recognised. It was so nice to have had such help.
We got a taxi to the train station and tried to find the left luggage with the idea of getting a train to Beijing that night... Well that was a whole adventure in itself. We ended up in this baggage area but it was where you wrapped your bags before dumping them in the train baggage hold. We think... It was funny though, the staff looked at our phrasebooks and discussed what we wanted. When that didn't work, they roped some young girl whom they though might speak English into helping us. Which thank god she did. Once it was ascertained we needed the left luggage, one of the staff personally guided us to the left luggage place. They couldn't have been more helpful or kind.
We then tried to find a place to buy our tickets. So the adventure began again. We knew that in some stations there were special sections for foreigners to buy tickets. Could we find it? Could we heck!
So... as we knew there wasn't a hope in hell we could buy them ourselves at the train station; Not with the queues, or lack of... and no chinese between us. We went in search of various places around Haerbin, which should have been selling tickets but to no avail. Finally we went into this posh hotel, where some agency was supposed to reside. It didn't but the helpful girl at the desk sorted our tickets our for us.
Our first impressions of China: We cant find anything but the people have bent over backwards to help us. This was not so the case in Russia. We found nice people but there is such a different attitude in Russia against foreigners. Some of it is from years of being prevented from contact with foreigners under the soviet rules, some of it is just dont get involved, some just lazyness, or fear or reticence, etc. but some of it is sadly xenophobic. The Chinese are so different. They say hello to us in the street. They peek at us. We are something of a curiousity in Haerbin. When we stopped to look in our LP, 3 gents came over and took out a map to help us find a way, even though they couldn't speak English. Another time a young girl spoke to us in excellent English and asked if we needed help. I am just overwhelmed by their kindness and curiosity. It has been beautiful so far.
Haerbin is a major surprise. It is warmer than Russia for a start. The main drag is full of modern shops and buildings. There is a lot of Russian influence both in the architecture and in the contents of some of the shops. In fact many times in the shops they spoke to us in Russian. That was bizarre. It would appear asmany Russians come over to Haerbin, as Chinese to Vladivostok.
As we couldn't get tickets to Beijing for tonight we took a hotel right across the street from the train station. We tried to find the night market but we think it was finished by the time we started looking. So we ended up eating in the chinese equivalent of MacDonalds. It was ok.
21Nov: We had until about 8pm to wander around Haerbin. After a few hours, I went off to shop as I wanted to send some stuff home. I had tried but failed to find any help or desk to post my stuff at the Vladivostok international post office.
I finally found the Haerbin International post office. Armed again with my trusty phrasebook, the security guard guided me to the right desk where a helpful young lady worked out what country I needed to post to. I guess they don't get many Irish. A few customers helped her out and watched as everything was packed. They thought originally I was russian, as I was posting home my russian phrasebook and the russian dolls I had bought. But all in all between 3-4 of us the job was done and I have now to wait to see if they were posted correctly. I found the nightmarket on the way back to the hotel. It was fab. I tried some barbequed meat that looked like beef. I think it was but I can't be sure. I kept seeing the locals with this kind of square pasta sheet wrapped around something, then several of these were put on a skewer and grilled. I was facinated enough to buy some. I have no idea what was in them but they tasted great. I then sauntered off happily fed and met G to go on the train.
After a few hours we finally arrived Haerbin. God, the two airports could not be so different. Haerbin was like most upmarket, modern international airports. Very clean and new. Although we couldn't find an ATM that would take our card and though we searched for a Bureau de Change, we couldn't find one. Armed with our phrasebooks, we set off in different directions to places we thought might give us some info. This Chinese gentleman started talking to me in perfect English and pointed me in the right direction, and when he figured that had not been enough, he came over and brought me to the desk. There was no way we would have found it. There was nothing to indicate it's function that we woudl have recognised. It was so nice to have had such help.
We got a taxi to the train station and tried to find the left luggage with the idea of getting a train to Beijing that night... Well that was a whole adventure in itself. We ended up in this baggage area but it was where you wrapped your bags before dumping them in the train baggage hold. We think... It was funny though, the staff looked at our phrasebooks and discussed what we wanted. When that didn't work, they roped some young girl whom they though might speak English into helping us. Which thank god she did. Once it was ascertained we needed the left luggage, one of the staff personally guided us to the left luggage place. They couldn't have been more helpful or kind.
We then tried to find a place to buy our tickets. So the adventure began again. We knew that in some stations there were special sections for foreigners to buy tickets. Could we find it? Could we heck!
So... as we knew there wasn't a hope in hell we could buy them ourselves at the train station; Not with the queues, or lack of... and no chinese between us. We went in search of various places around Haerbin, which should have been selling tickets but to no avail. Finally we went into this posh hotel, where some agency was supposed to reside. It didn't but the helpful girl at the desk sorted our tickets our for us.
Our first impressions of China: We cant find anything but the people have bent over backwards to help us. This was not so the case in Russia. We found nice people but there is such a different attitude in Russia against foreigners. Some of it is from years of being prevented from contact with foreigners under the soviet rules, some of it is just dont get involved, some just lazyness, or fear or reticence, etc. but some of it is sadly xenophobic. The Chinese are so different. They say hello to us in the street. They peek at us. We are something of a curiousity in Haerbin. When we stopped to look in our LP, 3 gents came over and took out a map to help us find a way, even though they couldn't speak English. Another time a young girl spoke to us in excellent English and asked if we needed help. I am just overwhelmed by their kindness and curiosity. It has been beautiful so far.
Haerbin is a major surprise. It is warmer than Russia for a start. The main drag is full of modern shops and buildings. There is a lot of Russian influence both in the architecture and in the contents of some of the shops. In fact many times in the shops they spoke to us in Russian. That was bizarre. It would appear asmany Russians come over to Haerbin, as Chinese to Vladivostok.
As we couldn't get tickets to Beijing for tonight we took a hotel right across the street from the train station. We tried to find the night market but we think it was finished by the time we started looking. So we ended up eating in the chinese equivalent of MacDonalds. It was ok.
21Nov: We had until about 8pm to wander around Haerbin. After a few hours, I went off to shop as I wanted to send some stuff home. I had tried but failed to find any help or desk to post my stuff at the Vladivostok international post office.
I finally found the Haerbin International post office. Armed again with my trusty phrasebook, the security guard guided me to the right desk where a helpful young lady worked out what country I needed to post to. I guess they don't get many Irish. A few customers helped her out and watched as everything was packed. They thought originally I was russian, as I was posting home my russian phrasebook and the russian dolls I had bought. But all in all between 3-4 of us the job was done and I have now to wait to see if they were posted correctly. I found the nightmarket on the way back to the hotel. It was fab. I tried some barbequed meat that looked like beef. I think it was but I can't be sure. I kept seeing the locals with this kind of square pasta sheet wrapped around something, then several of these were put on a skewer and grilled. I was facinated enough to buy some. I have no idea what was in them but they tasted great. I then sauntered off happily fed and met G to go on the train.
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