October 31, 2005

 

Well Kinda Lonely But No Longer Stressed (Day 32)

*Please don't be offended if you've posted to my blog and I haven't replied. I can't see my site. Hopefully that will soon change*

Okay, okay so I guess I'm kinda lonely. But it doesn't help that I'm in a city that has no youth hostels, no one who speaks English and I have a hotel room all to myself.

Right now I'm in Nanning. I arrived last night, and I'll be leaving tomorrow morning...need I say more? Naw, it's actually a pretty city, there's just nothing to do. Except of course what I came to do:

GET MY VIETNAM VISA!

Yes, my time in China has come to an end. Sooner then planned, and at the cost of a flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia, but I really don't mind. I've enjoyed my time here (most of it) but I'm ready to go. I'm actually really excited, and I realize that's not because there's a ton of stuff I'm roarin' to do in Vietnam. There are really only two reasons:

1) Friends
2) Beaches

Now those are two good reasons if I may say so myself! (and I may, this is my blog) The first reason brings us back to the loneliness issue. Being in Yangshou it wasn't so bad because it was beautiful, there were lots of people around that spoke English, and I didn't have to figure anything out. But once I left, things got hard again ("things" being everything that has do to with communicating with someone from China) and the loneliness set in. It's a lot easier to figure out where you're going when there are four, three or even two of you. Not because someone in the group is spontaneously able to read Chinese, but rather because it takes less effort to achieve the same thing. For example, if you're asking for directions to the bus station, a group of four can ask 4 different people and you only had to ask once. That means you're less likely to get stressed out because all the weight is not on your shoulders. The load is spread, thus it's lighter, therefore you tend to get places faster. Okay, enough with that jibberish. My point is that the frustration of travel is much less when you have someone to share it with... not to mention someone to laugh about it with. So, since I'm meeting friends in Vietnam, I'm looking forward to Vietnam.

My second reason should need no explanation. I'm from Santa Barbara, and despite the fact that my skin is already dark, I love to tan. Well, I love sitting on beaches in the sun with cocktails in my hand... and that's a synonym for tan.

But before I cross the border into 'Nam/beaches/bird flu I would like to make a list of the things I loved about China. I realize that much of what I've written has at times been negative, and even as I walk down the streets I'm often thinking of the things I don't like about China. So, I figured I'd force myself to come up with the things I like so I leave with a much better feeling about the place...although I do have to deal with a lot of crap crossing the border tomorrow, but oh well. So here goes...

THINGS JASMINE LIKES ABOUT CHINA:

1) There are snacks everywhere. The Chinese love snacks and so do I
2) There are internet cafes around every corner
3) It's cheap. Who doesn't love getting a meal under $1 and a room for under $5?
4) Yangshou
5) The train system. It's really good once you figure it all out
6) Sweet and Sour Pork...there's just something about it
7) The fact that the guy on the computer next to me is watching porn...wait no strike that, that's something I DON'T like about China
7) (since the last one didn't count) The fact that we all seem to take the same route. This may not have as much to do with China as the China Lonely Planet, but it seems that most travellers are interested in the same places and travel at about the same speed. This may seem annoying to some, but I was able to make friends and learn lots of stuff. In some ways tourist traps can be beneficial
8) Tourist Traps. Someone can always speak English
9) The Forbidden City. Even though it was extremely crowded when I went, I still think it's one of the most amazing sites in China. As you can see, the place is ginormous!
10) CITS...except when they lie to me, like the guy in Guilin. Mostly I just like them because someone there always speaks English
11) Street Food. It makes me wish we didn't have as many health codes at home
12) Nanning. Even though I don't really like it, I found a place to run and I got my Vietnam visa in one day
13) The people who truely wanted to help
14) The food. Fried, breaded, slathered in sauce, mmmmm
15) Markets. How often do you hear yourself say: "no, really, what is that??"
16) The late nights. Everything stays open late...everything
17) Seniors doing Tai Chi in the morning
18) The Great Wall. Because it is GREAT



19)The fact that it makes me think. China has made me think about a lot of issues and opinions I had before, and as odd as it is, it's the first place that's made me more okay with where I'm from and who I am (you can ask me about this in person if you want me to explain)

Okay, now that that's done I have a sudden urge to list the things I hate. Today I was reading some posts on the Thorn Tree (Lonely Planets Travel Forum) and it got me thinking. Someone had listed the things they didn't like about China which I felt took some guts. Some people agreed with him, but others repremanded him pulling the usual "you're culturally ignorant/that's just your opinion" stuff, and I realized well, yeah, it is my opinion and that's really all that matters to me. It's okay for me to not like a place as long as I understand that me not liking it doesn't make it wrong or backwards. It's just different. I don't have to like everywhere I go, what I do have to do is think about everywhere I go. And if that means thinking I don't like it, well, so be it. Plus, after a stressful 2 days I need to vent. This is what a blog is all about right? So much for leaving off on a good foot.

THINGS JASMINE DOESN'T LIKE ABOUT CHINA:
(mind you I'm grossly over-generalizing...sometimes)

1) The fact that the guy next to me seems to think it's okay for him to share porn with the entire room
2) The Spitting. I'm sorry, I'll never get over it, it makes me cringe everytime
3) The Staring. GET THE F**K OVER IT! SO I'M NOT CHINESE, WHO GIVES A S**T!
4) The Food. Fried, breaded and slathered in sauce...can I please just get a salad?
5) The Incessant Honking. Some cities excluded (ie. Nanning, Guilin...I think that's it)
6) The fact that everyone that walks by in the internet cafe thinks that my emails are their business
7) The fact that most Chinese seem to think everything is their business
8) The people who have tried to screw me. This is the most unfortunate one of all because at the moment I feel like most people in China were trying to get money out of me. I'm just a big $ and the sadest part is that will probably never change
9) The fact that no one runs in China. I ask where people workout/run and everyone looks at me like I'm crazy
10) The fact that 90% of the time I don't feel like the person I'm talking to is trying to understand. They just seem to be trying to get me to do what they want me to do
11) The Yelling. Why is everyone always talking so loud?! "Loud noises! Why are we yelling??!" I've decided most people in China must be partially deaf
12) The Yacking. I kinda like this about the Chinese, but I find I'm annoyed by it more often then I'm amused so I put it on this list. They always seem to be discussing something. Everybody will be on the bus ready to go, but they'll stand around and discuss something for 45 mins. What are they talking about? That is the main reason I want to learn Chinese, so I can know what the hell they're all talking about!
13) The Smog
14) The Smoking. I think I have lung cancer... ahe ahe
15) The fact that they have no cheese



This list may make me seem ignorant, I will admit that. Some of the things I've listed are definitely things I don't understand, but a lot of them are things that I do understand and will allow myself to admit I don't like. I've always been so scared to say I do or do not like something being a Media, Cultural Studies major. But now, after being on my own, away from home in a foreign land for over a month, I've learned that it is okay to say you don't like things. Life is about figuring out how you feel and doing what makes you feel best. Do I dislike China more than I like it? Probably not. Do I like China more than I dislike it? Probably not. Who knows, I could come here a third time and have a wonderful experience, but then again I could come here a third time and find myself thinking "why the hell did I come here a third time?!". Odds are, I'll be here a third time. 1st impressions (and sometimes 2nd) can't be trusted.

Funny, I feel better already. Xie xie China. Xie xie.


October 29, 2005

 

A Not So Lonely Loner (Day 30)


So, here I am... alone again. After almost 3 weeks with the guys it's really quite odd to be alone. I almost don't know what to do with myself! Right now I'm in Yangshou, about an hour away from Guilin (the last city I wrote from). It's raining today so I figured it would be a good day to "take care of business": go shopping, read, email and blog. Very important business :P

I've really been enjoying myself the past week or so, which is a good thing seeing I'm leaving China on Wednesday (I decided I'm gonna ditch my flight to Malaysia and just head overland into 'Nam). We got to Yangshou about 6 days ago. Within the first hour we had chartered a little boat for the 4 of us and were out on the waters of the famous Li River. As we puttered up stream at dusk, I realized I'd finally found the China I was looking for. I would definitely allow this part of China to be called "beautiful", "charming", "amazing", you name it. Yangshou is what we all picture when we think of the beautiful Chinese countryside. The little town of Yangshou is definitely charming and despite the fact that it's a tourist trap, I absolutely love it. For once I agree with Lonely Planet's evaluation:
"[A] sleepy yet hip village - and travellers mecca - plunked within other worldly topography[...] Pedalling through the rice fields amid the splended green-topped limestone peaks for a day, or three, is for many their top China experience"(p. 5 /p. 611)



So far, it has definitely been mine.

After our little river cruise we headed back to town for drinks (there are tons of cute bars) and a dinner of "drunk duck", a local specialty which is even better than it sounds (come on being drunk always sounds good ;P). The next day we got up late - something which seemed to happen a lot with the 4 of us - rented some bikes and headed out into the countryside. It was amazing - dirt roads, water buffalo, farmers in fields, small villages and a really sore butt...wait that wasn't amazing, that part sucked! I don't know what it is but I just can't ride a bike comfortably. It's just not meant to be.

The next day (as usual) we got up late, changed hotels (I've never seen Colin so excited) and rented some little motorcycles. When I say little I actually mean tiny. They're these battery-powered motorcycles about 2 1/2' high. Even though my bike was the slowest, and it broke down at one point for about a 1/2 hour, I still had a blast! This is one of the great thing about traveling with guys (especially Colin...he's...hmm...motivated. Which I love by the way, no getting mad Colin!) they get you to do things you probably wouldn't have tried on your own; like renting motorcycles or rock climbing (I'll get to that later).

Anyway, we rode our little BMWs out to this cave where we swam in an underground pond and had a mud bath. I was cold most of the time (surprise, surprise) but it was still a lot of fun. That night we came back and drank waaaaay too much and I wrote some drunk emails...I hope you all enjoyed those. *wink wink*

The next morning, Jon and Rich convinced me to go rock climbing with them. I guess Yangshou is world reknown (how the hell do you spell that??? damn chinese spell check...) for it's rock climbing, and I can totally understand why. There are tons of places to climb because of all the karsts (the hills/mountains that jut up everywhere... you know the scenery you see so much in Chinese art). Anyway, I was worried at first because I'd only been climbing twice, and Rich and Jon seem to do a lot of indoor climbing back in England. Both of them did the first climb before me and got me totally freaked out saying how hard it was, but when I finally went it was a breeze! I guess I'd forgotten that I was actually a pretty good climber for a beginner.


Girls 100,000,000,001 points/Guys 0 points...okay, maybe 2.

[Ha, quick little side note, right now the cafe I'm sitting in is playing "Buena Vista Social Club" their music just makes you feel like a traveler; I think I've already heard it in a couple of other bars in town too :) ]


Yesturday we didn't do anything, the guys left at 5pm and then I found myself alone. I was sad at first. I really enjoyed traveling with all of them. They were a lot of fun, and company is really nice to have, expecially company that makes you laugh... a lot. My sadness didn't really last that long though. I won't see Rich or Jon again... at least not on this trip. They're flyin' through S.E. Asia in 1 1/2 months. I'm pretty sure I'll see Colin fairly soon. They all headed south into Vietnam to Hanoi. I think they were going to head N.W. to a place called Sapa, and after that I think they've gotta head back to Hanoi, so I should overlap with Colin there. I'm also planning to meet up with another girl I met in Xian - Julia. We basically have the same travel route, and have to get to Thailand around Xmas to meet friends/family. We're planning to meet in Hanoi or somewhere nearby around the 7th. So, really when it comes down to it I'm not going to be alone that long, and even if I am, I've learned that it's really not that hard to meet people. I know, I know, people always tell you that, but at first it's scary and you wonder if it's really as easy as everyone says...eventually it is.

Now, I'm sure most of you have noticed this blog is a little more optimistic than most, and I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Even though everyone wants to know what I'm up to, I don't really write about what I'm doing as much as how I'm feeling, because that's more important to me. You will all see my pictures sooner or later (sooner if I ever take the time to figure out how to post 'em on my blog!) and they will tell you what I've been seeing and doing. They will not, however, tell you how I felt after stopping at my first roadside "WC" (water closet/toilet)...well actually neither will this blog, it's so revolting I'll save that one to tell you in person. Although pictures can convey many amazing things, the pictures I take (and most of the video) can't tell you what I think about the people I meet, or how I feel about the food, or what I find annoying, and that's what's most important to me. Remembering the little things, because one day all I'll have left will be the pictures. So bare with me and my cynical quirky style of writing.

Also, I realized that I wasn't really that excited about the things I was doing and seeing earlier, and that's probably why I wasn't writing about it. This could have been a result of culture shock, the fact that I thought the first part of China was ugly, because I just wasn't doing anything exciting or a mix of the three. Either way, I only write about what excites me, and for a while that was...well, it was cheese. (I found a cheese plate and lots of baguettes here in Yangshou, maybe that's why my mood has changed :P).



Whatever the reason, as I sit here writing at a candle little table in a small cafe playing "Buena Vista Social Club" as it drizzles outside on the narrow cobblestone walkways of Yangshou, I can tell you with honesty and confidence that China IS an amazing place... you just have to know where to go.


October 23, 2005

 

Day 25 and Sheila's Request (Day 25)

First, I'd like to make an amendment to my previous entry:
Strike the first thing I said about English guys. They just talk funny.

(sorry, inside joke: ha ha Rich is a b***h)

So, today is day 25. 25 days of travel, Good God! Right now I'm in Guilin, a little town...wait, that's totally deceiving, let me vent for a minute...

Lonely Planet likes to refer to towns in China as ''little'' or ''charming'', when in reality there is nothing ''little'', ''cute'', ''charming'' whatever! about any town in China (at least not the one's I've been to). I shouldn't even use the word ''town'', they're all cities and huge ones at that! That's not meant as a putdown to China at all. It's actually meant to be a jab at Lonely Planet. Their descriptions make everything sound "beautiful". They would probably make Hell seem like just a warm cave. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy to have my Lonely Planet to guide my way through this chaos we call earth, but really they could try to be a little more straight forward.

For example, Datong is described as a city who's ''central area [...] is turning into a pretty lively place, with rows of trying-to-be-chic shops and restaurants surrounding the city's few - but worthy - historical sites'' (China Lonely Planet 2005, p. 401)

My description of Datong:
''A hazy shithole with crappy hotels hardly worth more then 24 hours of your time. See the Hanging Monastry and Yungang Caves and get the f**k out!" (Jasmine 7pm 10/25)

Therefore, a good compromise description would be something like:
"Datong's chief attractions are the Hanging Monastry and the Yungang Caves. Both are definitely must see sites. Most travelers stay only 1 night because Datong is a busy city set in the middle of coal country. One day should be ample to see the sites and get a feel for the city"
















*These two pictures are the only things you need to see in Datong...now you don't even have to go*

All I want is a little honesty. But I guess in some ways they are being honest. It's all relative to the country. In China there are beautiful cities/places but not nearly as many as Lonely Planet makes out, and I realize that's mostly because my standard of "beautiful" is at a completely unpolluted level (pun intended). The beautiful small "towns" in China are beautiful small towns FOR CHINA. You just have to have an idea of what's ugly in China so you can use it as a base. Then, you can understand when they call something beautiful that you actually think is average.

My other pet peev with LP is that sometimes they just choose not to list things. For example they make out like Guilin (where I am now) is quite small and has no places to drink (aka: bars). When, in fact, it's quite large and there are at least 8 clubs/bars within a 1/4 mile of where we're staying. It just doesn't make sense.

Anyway, enough about LP, back to Guilin. Today, we (Rich, Jon, Colin- I'll tell you about him in a bit- and I) went to a cave on the outskirts of town...I mean the city :P It was actually pretty cool. It had tons of stalagtites, stalagmites and they had everything lit up in an interesting fashion. We decided it would be a good place for a rave.

We just got to Guilin yesterday and boy is that a funny story, but let me start from where I left off last entry...

We (Jon, Rich and I) left Chengdu on the morning of the 18th after seeing the "Pandas??" I wrote it like that because none of you would understand and that makes it funny. No, no, I'll explain. In the morning when we were waiting to go on the Panda Tour, the guide was counting everyone. He'd point at you and say "Panda??" and you would say "yes". There was no one in the courtyard except one girl sitting on a couch, that wasn't going to see the pandas, yet he kept asking. The funniest part about it was that he asked me like 6 times and I was the only black person there! (the only black person within 10 miles I'm sure) The Chinese...sometimes they can't stop staring, other times they don't even notice when they're standing on your arm.

So yeah, we went to see the "pandas??" which was cute/interesting (that's a "Red Panda" standing on a stick) and then caught a bus to Chongqing (pronounced Chongchin). From there we caught the Ripmeoff Cruise...wait I mean the Yangtzi Cruise. We were told it was 500 yuan and we ended up paying close to 1200. You had to pay to get on outside decks! This is where we met Colin. He's from L.A. and he's very L.A. He's kinda like a little encyclopedia, but a cool encyclopedia. You talk about anything and he starts spitting out facts. (he just told me how to spell encyclopedia...I had it right already though so ha) I think he thinks I'm crazy though, we always argue completely different sides. I mean come on Colin, Nike's campaign is much better then Victoria Secrets! It's so funny when you start meeting people from different parts of the world, especially Cali, and you start to see the difference between them and Europeans...they are very different.

We got off the boat @ 6am (the Chinese like to do everything early) and caught a bus to Wuhan where we caught a train (this is the funny part) to Guilin.

Here's the thing. On an overnight sleeper train you have 4 seating options:


Prices descend accordingly. We normally get hard sleeper. They're really quite comfy and soft really isn't worth the extra $$$... most of the time. Anyways, the guys really didn't want to stay a night in Wuhan, and the only tickets available were hard seat, so we took 'em. I knew it was a mistake from the get go, but I figured I would accompany them while they learned their lesson.

We got on the train at 3:3opm and expected to arrive in Guilin @ 10am the next morning. Thank God Almighty we got in at 5am, 'cause I think we would have died on that train and been stuck there for eternity because it's also Hell (not that I plan on going to Hell, but it's funny to say). So we got here at 5am, slept until 2pm, drank beer (yes beer) slept again, and here we are on the 23rd day of October.

From here (as usual) I have no idea what I'm going to do. The guys head to Vietnam (their visas run out at the end of the month) and I think I might do the same. I'm trying to see if I can get credit from my plane ticket, or at least change the date because I don't want to stay in China until the 14th of November. We'll see, I've gotta call the airline tomorrow.

Since I'm on the topic of my route (pronounced "root" by the English) I figure I can give you an idea of what my entire itinerary is, mostly because Sheila has been nagging me to do it :P

Happy Sheila?? :P

Oh, there are some more things I've realized about China that I'd like to add to my previous lists...

1) You can't be fat in China, everything is little

2) You are fat in China...I went shopping yesterday for pants because I was sick of my clothes. I had to get the largest size in the store everytime (size 29, not even large!) and if they didn't fit, they would look at me like: "oh my God, it doesn't fit??!!"

3) You can't be in a wheelchair in China...there are no elevators

4) There is no cheese in China...I know I've mentioned this before, but I miss cheese so much I felt the need to mention it again.

Oh cheese. Cheese, Cheese, my sweet fatty rich creamy cheese. I miss you so.

Don't worry, I miss you guys too.


October 16, 2005

 

17 Hours to Think (Day 18)

*Once again, excuse any typos. Chinese spell check is worthless when you're writing in English*

Right now I'm on a 17 hour train ride from Xian to Chengdu, so I figured it would be a good time to write a new entry.

For the past week or so I've been traveling with two guys from England - Rich and Jon. As a result of all the time I've been spending with them I've decided 2 things:

1) English guys are more mature than American guys
2) The English talk funny

In regards to my first conclusion, well...I don't know how to explain it really, they're just not as immature and they just seem more polite. Although, as I write this I start to wonder if maybe its just the accent. As to my second conclusion, I really feel no reason to explain myself. They do talk funny. Half the time they're talking jibberish and I don't have a clue what they're saying. Fag, nackered, fit, nailed, minging, pulled, bollocks. I need just about everything translated and if they start mumbling, forget about it! I'm definitely happy to be travelling with them inspite of the language barrier ;P Having people around makes the dirt, smog and staring much easier to bear. Also I think I need boy banter. Women just don't banter in an entertaining fashion. Not to mention, some girls just get annoying (ie. worrying all the damn time and complaining about their coffee). They make me feel kicked back! :P

Speaking of the English, it seems like the only travellers I meet are English or from some other random European country. I can't remember the last time I talked to an American! Where the hell are we??...wait...I know exactly where we are. Europe, Australia and maybe a few are partying on the beach in Thailand (which sounds quite nice at the moment if I may say so myself). It's okay though, I'm used to being different, at home it's my color, here its my color, my accent and my nationality. Why should life be any different?

I will say that my color gets a lot of attention. I could be imagining it (long hours of travel do cause a certain level of delirium). The thing is, most travellers are white European, I think I've only seen 1 or 2 dark men my entire trip. Not to mention that the Chinese don't seem to value dark skin...unless of course you look like an NBA star. No matter how confident you are, it's hard to feel comfortable in a country that still openly sells whitening creams.

Okay, enough about what I'm thinking, you probably want to know what I've been doing. Oh, and please excuse me for not having any pictures on my blog yet, I've still got to sort all that stuff out.

After Chengde (pronounced Chengdugh) I headed back to Beijing for a night since I couldn't get a train ticket straight to Datong (unfortunately no one informed me of this because people in China don't seem to like to explain things in depth, especially in regards to train tickets, but I'll tell you about that later).

My 2nd stay in Beijing was much more pleasant. I was in a much nicer part of town, and I even managed to find some cheese!! Okay, let me quickly tell you a little something about Chinese food...

1) There's always mystery meat. I think they like to keep themselves on their toes.
2) Everything is fried, or at least dipped in oil at some point during preparation. One of my dormmates in Beijing decided that they cooked everything in order to kill the parasites. Unfortunately it also kills most of the nutrients, someone should really tell them.
3) It is impossible to find bread that isn't sweet. I know this may seem odd coming from me, a lover of bread and any sweets, especially donuts. But now, all I look for is a good wheat bread. I think my search is futile, but I try.
4) There is no cheese in China. There are no cows in China, therefore, there is no cheese, milk and the yogurt is kept in packages that aren't refridgerated. It's really quite scary.

Anyway, while in Beijing I found a baguette, cheese and some fresh tomatoes. I was a very happy camper.

The next day I caught a train to Datong where I spent one night and met Rich, Jon, Susan and Lucy. Susan and Lucy are two girls both traveling alone like myself which was reassuring. I find I'm starting to meet way more lone travellers now that I'm with people...it's a bit ironic.

After Datong, we went to Pingyao, this is where we entered train ticket hell. Basically in China it's really hard to get a ticket for a train that doesn't start in the city you're in. Also, it doesn't help that they (train station workers, taxi drivers, and random people who like to chime into your conversations) like to tell you there are no tickets when there actually are. So here's the lesson I've learned:


(chinese hardsleeper)

After what seemed like weeks, but was in fact only a day we got our tickets and made our way to Xian where we saw the Terracotta Warriors and a whole lot of prostitutes...oh sorry, I mean massuses that stay open really late and have red lights on. Yesturday we went to this mountain 2 hours outside of Xian called Hua Shan. I will say this, and only this: I hate stairmaster workouts, especially workouts which take 3 hours and have 17,000 steps.

So (sigh), today we head to Chengdu where we'll spend 1 night and then move onto Chongqin where we'll catch a riverboat cruise down the Yangtz for 3 nights and 2 days. After that...who knows. The boys head to 'Nam and I head south. Althought I'm enjoying myself more, I'm ready to get on to S.E. Asia with their cocktails, beaches and whitening creamless tans.

...oh yeah, and the Bird Flu.


October 06, 2005

 

Chengde pronounced Chengduugh (Day 7)

The Chinese language is insane. After one week I can still only say hello (nihao), thank you (xie xie), and the names of certain cities. Today I bought myself an English-Chinese dictionary, as you can tell the language barrier was starting to get to me. After talking to other travelers I've come to see that I picked one of the hardest countries to travel in because hardly anyone speaks English. I guess that's a good way to start, that means it can only get easier.

Yesterday morning (7:15am to be exact) I caught a train to Chengde. I bought a soft seat ticket without really knowing the difference between soft and hard but it ended up being a good choice. The train car was quite comfortable, clean and quiet, not at all over crowded. The hardseat section (which is in fact softseats as well) is over crowded sometimes with standing room only available. Although that would be "emersing" myself, I figure I've got a whole lot of crowded bus/train/boat/plane rides for the rest of this trip. Why not take the softseat? It was only $8 anyway.

On the train I met a couple of girls from Belgium and have been traveling with them ever since (although I did lose them somehow a couple hours ago, but I'll just see them back at the hotel). It's nice having people to talk to, but at the same time it makes everything more difficult. You never want to make other people angry and you start to adjust your travel style to their own. These two were probably some of the best girls to meet early on because their quite nice and one of them speaks a little Chinese. (pardon the "quite" or any other strange language I start to use, that's what happens when everyone you speak english with is from Europe).

After we got off the train yesterday, we found a hotel (80yuan each, expensive given I was paying 40 in Beijing. 40= a little less then $6) and walked around for a little while. Within 2 hours all of us were able to decide that we don't like Chengde. It's just a smaller Beijing. From the travel books I got the impression it would be more quaint and green, and this worries me. Are all the towns in China going to be so big a dirty? I don't mind the dirt, but they're really just big ugly cities with little personality architectually. I want to be in the little villages with the rolling green hills! If it exists I'm going to find it, and from the sound of it they're all south.

So, as a result of my dislike of Chengde, today I'm being a lazy butt. This morning we went to Puning Temple which has an enormous (about 22m high) statue of Guanyin, the Buddist Goddess of Mercy. Unfortunately, She, like every other amazing religious statue in China, didn't let me take her picture. So, my video camera has nothing to document the moment. After that we roamed around in a bookstore (pointless other then my dictionary) and now I've found myself in an internet cafe wasting time. It's only 2 yuan an hour so I could waste 130 hours in here given my daily budget.


Speaking (or should I say writing) of my daily budget it's about 260 yuan/day. Which works out to about $33. It actually hasn't been that hard to stay within, and that's probably because I eat a lot of street food and walk just about everywhere. Most days I walk in the streets for at least a couple of hours, and if I don't find anything exciting, at least I've provided some entertainment for the locals.

Tomorrow we're (the belgium girls and myself) are going to take a bus back to Beijing since there were no train tickets left (stupid national holiday). I'll probably spend the night in Beijing and then head south yippie!!!! I'll write again when I have something exciting to say...or maybe when I'm bored :P

October 03, 2005

 

First Impressions and more (Day 4)

*Disclaimer: please excuse all typos or the way this may look when posted on my webpage. I am working on a computer where everything is in Chinese, and I'm unable to look at my webpage because the Chinese websearch (or the Chinese government for that matter) doesn't seem interested in finding www.jazzytraveler.blogspot.com*

So, after being in Beijing for 3 days I've decided a few things.

1) If you ever travel to China with a baby, you don't need to bring diapers. Thats not because they have lots, but rather because they don't use them. The kids just run around with a big slit in their pants. Honestly it's not like it opens and closes either, it's open all day long. Which means two things: 1) the baby can go to the bathroom at anytime 2) you can see the baby's butt all day long (if you so choose). I have yet to see how mothers handle their child's spontaneous "releases", and well...I'm fine with that.

2) Everybody in China wears pants. It could be 80 degrees (or shall I say 35 degrees celcius) and everyone has pants and long sleeves on. I mean I'LL even be hot and everyone will have jackets on. I've noticed a few girls with short skirts on here and there, but they just make me wonder...

3) Smog is the worst thing on the planet. When I come back I'm buying an electric car, and we can all thank Beijing for my change of heart. It will not however, look like this:


4) Do not come to China during their national holiday week. I thought a holiday week would be busy but fun because there would be festivals and parades etc. Nope, it's just busy. It's just a week when all the Chinese travel and nothing more. I don't know who's working 'cause from the looks of it, they're all in Tiannamen Square.

5) A sleeping sack is worth every penny.

6) Everybody in China has little dogs. Every dog is a shitzu or some sort of ugly little thing. There aren't even any cute little j.b.'s, all just rats. Rudder would have a hayday chasing them around, and I would probably have just as much fun watching ;P

7) Ex-Pat bars aren't a bad thing. The second night I was here a girl from my hostel and I went to a local bar area which had a lot of ex-pat (ex-patriot: people who are from the U.S. or some other country and now live abroad. Whether that's because they no longer like their home country, I don't know. Real definition) bars. I used to be anti mostly because I felt that when you're traveling you should emerse yourself in the culture, but this trip I've realized that sometimes you need a little taste of home, and that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Now, it may seem like I'm not that into Beijing, and although I've been having a good time and been seeing some beautiful sites...I'm really not that into Beijing. Maybe it's because its smoggy and busy, or maybe it's because I'm more in the mood for green rolling hills and tropical beaches, either way I'm kinda ready to move on.

Tomorrow I'm going to hike along the Great Wall for a few hours. I'm excited because it's a part of the wall that hasn't been completely restored. Last time I was here I went to a part near Beijing which was a total tourist trap, it also looked brand new, so it really wasn't that "great". This time it should be nice. So it seems my last day in Beijing won't actually be in Beijing since this part of the wall is about 3 hours away...I'm okay with that :P

On Wednesday (your Tuesday- unless you aren't reading this in the U.S.) I'll be heading to Chengde. It's not a fantastic town, but it has a lot of temples and a particular buddist statue I'd really like to see. After that I plan to head southwest to Datong and then to Xian. I'm really excited about the southern and southeastern part of the country, so I'm looking forward to all the long crowded train rides I have in store... no really I am.

Although I figured some things out about Beijing, there are a lot of things that still baffle me.

For example, why the staring????!! I mean it seems like there are a lot of westerners around town, why are they still staring? It has got to get tiring.

In relation to the staring, ,why do people want pictures with me? Are they making fun of me without my knowing it? Today at the Forbidden City at least 2 groups tried to secretly take pictures of me by standing really close, and one group actually asked. I agreed to take a couple pictures with them, but should I? Or, am I just making a fool of myself?

Another thing that is odd is that everyone talks about how great it is to travel alone, yet everyone is with someone. I think I've seen one westerner roaming alone in all of the tourist traps I've been to over the past few days. This helped me realize (and I must say I would have been happier without this epiphany) that it would be harder to adjust to being a loner than I originally thought. At the end of my first full day (Saturday) I was tired and really just wanted someone to talk to. That night my roommate and I hungout and went to the bar. I had a great time, and I came to see that all I really need is a good conversation with someone every now and then, and I'm quite content being on my own. I think it's the days at a time that will make it hard. So far my own head has been good company, and although I occassionally wish people where here to share it with me, I've been wishing that much less then I thought I would. It is still only the first week so we'll have to see what rollercoaster ride my emotions will take. But in the meantime, things are going great...I will say one thing thought, I'm definitely going to have to get a cell phone, calling home from China is waaaaay too hard.

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