Monday, May 18, 2009
14 - Sichuan Hotpot
The Chengdu region is situated in the middle of the famous Sichuan region. For dinner that evening, Frank had booked a table for a Sichuan hotpot feast, which I must say didn’t light my interest as I’m not a chilli fan. I could only think of the pain associated with the evacuation procedure the next day. But, nevertheless, we went & were served with a giant bowl of chilli hotpot with a small pot in the middle of it for cooking the meat & vegetables. Once cooked, you can then dip the meat/vege into the dark red chilli soup, then place in your bowl. In your bowl was some sesame oil, some oyster sauce & some fresh parsley leaves mixed around. The meat/vege then went into that sauce & was then ready to eat. Surprisingly, I became almost addicted to the food there. I was the one who dipped my stuff into the chilli sauce more than anyone else, but it didn’t really seem to be that spicy to me. Though simply by looking at the chilli pot you could see how hot it was meant to be. The others found it too hot & mostly refused to dip their food into it. Weird that I didn’t really experience it that way.
13 - Chengdu - The People's Park
I wanted to visit the People’s Park which has a lot of tea houses & generally many Chinese people being sociable. So I went to the nearest main street corner to hail a taxi. 40 mins later, after all the taxis went by full, an electric rickshaw driver approached for a lift. I bargained down from 45 yuan to 12 yuan & 10mins later was at the front gate of the park.
The park had a similar feeling to the Temple of Heaven gardens. People were congregating around either singing, dancing, playing cards/majong, splashing about in hired row boats, or simply drinking tea. Again there were few foreigners about & I noticed how many stares I received. The tea houses didn’t look very swish, & I must admit I was expecting a higher quality of tea house as it was so famous in this region. I did eventually take a seat & order some jasmine tea, which certainly wasn’t anything to write home about. Over tea, I watched the kids (& a couple of adults) playing with small fish nets trying to catch any kind of living creature from the pond. Only one kid was successful & he took it back to a small water bottle for saving.
12 - Tibetan Yak Meat & Butter Tea
While in Chengdu, as it's only 3 hours away from Tibet, we went out for a group lunch to sample some true Tibetan food. There were only two of us game enough to try some butter tea, which at first was quite disgusting, but with some sugar added, became quite delicious - I ended up having about 7 cups of it, quite certain I would suffer quite a bit of extra weight as a result. The food was interesting, not sure if I’d call it tasty. We started with some really delicious rice fried with some kind of chive & some tiny pieces of yak meat. Then there were these balls of something that looked a bit like truffles, but I preferred my title of ground yak balls, which made them look even more ominous than they already did. There was quite a bit of yak at the table really - yak meat pieces (too over cooked for my liking), yak meat sausage encased in yak intestine (tasted okay), & a yak meat hotpot. The only vegetables served were some potatoes, nothing else I could remember anyway.
11 - Chengdu - Tibetan Quarter
The hotel was smack in the middle of the Tibetan Quarter, the largest Tibetan community outside Tibet. There had been some kind of uprising several weeks back, & previous groups travelling at that time had to stay elsewhere. Seemingly, there were some violent riots & police & army were going around checking if there were any journalists in the area - you did not want to be a journalist in the area at that time. Of course, it was all over the lack of Tibetan independence, & thing it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the takeover of Tibet by China. There were, of course, Tibetan people everywhere. All the shops sold Tibetan wares, especially Buddhist ornaments, & I bargained hard for a wooden beaded bracelet. I was a tad shocked when, for the first time in China, a child started begging to me to give him some money. He was spurned on by his mother who encouraged him to run after me. The kid, who would have been only 5 years of age, followed me even when I waved him away, grabbed hold of me & was overall incredibly persistent. Even though I really wanted to give him some money, I didn’t because it only encourages begging - & Frank says that it’s better to give some money to charity institutions.
10 - Western Breakfast in Chengdu
On 3rd May 2009, we arrived via another overnight train in Chengdu at 5:30am, before the city had time to wake up. After dropping off our bags at the hotel, we made our way to Holly’s Hostel down a back lane around the corner. None of us could believe our eyes - the menu offered western food, including bacon & egg rolls. Two of the traveller’s on the tour were celebrating their birthdays & being here for breakfast made an excellent choice for a celebratory meal. I had the omelette with bacon, blood orange juice & green tea - lovely!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
9 - There's Flu Pandemic & I'm in CHINA!!!
Just before bed on my last eve in Xi'an, I tottered off to the business centre upstairs, taking my baby laptop so I could check out my bank accounts. Just before logging off, I happened to check the ABC news website to get an idea of what’s happening in the world. That’s when I heard about the swine flu. The information was all over the net & it seemed the not-so-perfect place to be in China at the outbreak of a major infectious disease, particularly after the severity of SARS here. Although, from another perspective, they are so strict in China that if anyone is identified as having the disease, they’d probably be sent away to some kind of quarantine centre for the next 6 months, or until they died, in order to save the rest of the community. But I decided, being an ex Girl Guide & being prepared & all, that I would take the required precautions & stock up with a face mask (trendy fashion accessory as they are in China) & some Tamiflu just in case.
I’d planned on getting up early & wander down to the park to do some tai chi with the locals. Sleeping through to 8:30 didn’t fit well with my agenda, & by the time I repacked my bag, I wasn’t out the door till 9:30. Two important things on my ‘To Do’ - get money out of the bank & purchase flu preventatives.
First thing to a pharmacy for the flu goods. The hotel directed me to a small pharmacy just opposite the hotel in the laneway. No one any English, but I was presented with a menu of goods with English titles for the diseases. When I flicked through to the page for Influenza/Cold, everything was in Mandarin. But I knew there was a difference between flus & colds - flu is bacterial, colds are viral. At this point, I was a bit confused - how can a bacterial infection be airborne? Sure, colds spread so rapidly because they are viral. But a flu is a different thing altogether, seemingly, so why are they touting the swine flu as being as catchable as a cold? There are obviously many many things medicinal that I’m still yet to learn. Anyway, I pointed the ‘influenza’ out to the woman who swiftly produced a couple of packets of medicine with not a word of English on them. Not sure if this was for colds or flu, I eventually gave up on trying to explain & understand, & headed out the shop to the big supermarket mall near the Bell Tower.
Once there, I managed to find my way to the pharmacy which was part of the food section of the supermarket on the lower ground floor. On my way, I loved watching the L’Oreal girls promoting their products & making up all the Chinese woman, anxious to look more beautiful. Many woman were eager to look more beautiful. I finally located the pharmacy section, but again had the same problem - no one spoke a word of English. Although, in my attempts at explaining what the flu was, & dropping the acronym SARS, I did notice a look of alarm on the woman’s face as she probably assessed if I may have the disease. With no luck in translation, I wandered around the supermarket asking people if they could speak English, ending up the L’Oreal counter where the women there must have thought I was in desperate need of a good makeover instead of medicine. In the end, I had no luck with the medicine & decided that if I was meant to die from the swine flu, then it was my destiny & I would be okay with that.
I’d planned on getting up early & wander down to the park to do some tai chi with the locals. Sleeping through to 8:30 didn’t fit well with my agenda, & by the time I repacked my bag, I wasn’t out the door till 9:30. Two important things on my ‘To Do’ - get money out of the bank & purchase flu preventatives.
First thing to a pharmacy for the flu goods. The hotel directed me to a small pharmacy just opposite the hotel in the laneway. No one any English, but I was presented with a menu of goods with English titles for the diseases. When I flicked through to the page for Influenza/Cold, everything was in Mandarin. But I knew there was a difference between flus & colds - flu is bacterial, colds are viral. At this point, I was a bit confused - how can a bacterial infection be airborne? Sure, colds spread so rapidly because they are viral. But a flu is a different thing altogether, seemingly, so why are they touting the swine flu as being as catchable as a cold? There are obviously many many things medicinal that I’m still yet to learn. Anyway, I pointed the ‘influenza’ out to the woman who swiftly produced a couple of packets of medicine with not a word of English on them. Not sure if this was for colds or flu, I eventually gave up on trying to explain & understand, & headed out the shop to the big supermarket mall near the Bell Tower.
Once there, I managed to find my way to the pharmacy which was part of the food section of the supermarket on the lower ground floor. On my way, I loved watching the L’Oreal girls promoting their products & making up all the Chinese woman, anxious to look more beautiful. Many woman were eager to look more beautiful. I finally located the pharmacy section, but again had the same problem - no one spoke a word of English. Although, in my attempts at explaining what the flu was, & dropping the acronym SARS, I did notice a look of alarm on the woman’s face as she probably assessed if I may have the disease. With no luck in translation, I wandered around the supermarket asking people if they could speak English, ending up the L’Oreal counter where the women there must have thought I was in desperate need of a good makeover instead of medicine. In the end, I had no luck with the medicine & decided that if I was meant to die from the swine flu, then it was my destiny & I would be okay with that.
8 - Around Xi'an
Food was a real treat in Xi’an. Fresh steamed buns right outside the hotel entrance were fabulous, & inexpensive at 2 yuan (AUD$0.40) for 4 dumplings. Then there was the Muslim Quarter, famous for its outdoor markets & a real hive of activity. On our first evening, a few of us ventured out there for dinner. I loved it. Everything is so confusing, there are so many things vying for your attention, you don’t know where to turn. People are squeezing past each other just to watch the street stall sellers cooking their goods. This was the first time I felt comfortable enough to venture out in the taste bud area & try different things without fear of waking up hugging a toilet bowl the next morning. And the food had a decidedly middle eastern flavour to it. Sweets made of ground hazelnuts & peanuts. Meats spiced with cumin & chilli & grilled over an open flame. Delicious!!!!!
On our free day (by myself again) I visited a number of sites. First the Bell Tower which has a really big bell that chimes & marks the middle of the city. Then the Drum Tower which looks almost exactly like the Bell Tower, but with drums instead of a bell. Then I scooted down into the Muslim Quarter for a look see, taking my time to soak it all up without feeling rushed or slowed by others. I checked out the Great Mosque which was there & also the Folk House which had a great tea ceremony as well as a shadow puppet show that I attended as the sole viewer.
In the afternoon, I went to the South Gate of the city wall. Xi’an is the only city in China, if not the world, that is still surrounded by a fully intact city wall marking the perimeter. Of course, centuries ago it was used for protecting the city from invaders. The others has hired a bike & cycled around the wall, which takes about 1 hour. At 6pm, after a full day of walking, I couldn’t be bothered. So I just had a small walk around then headed back (again) to the Muslim Quarter for dinner. There I met up with a young couple of Chinese students, one from Xi’an, the other from Beijing. We had a lovely chat about this, that & everything in between.
Back in my room, I readied myself for departure the next day so that my time in the morning would be completely freed up - or that was the plan anyway. Packing my backpack seems an endless task with rare moments of satisfaction. Prior to coming away, I’d done some trial packs & there was plenty of room for all the stuff I wanted to take away. But when it came to packing it all in again the night prior to leaving, it had suddenly ballooned into a pack bulging with goods. So, when it comes to packing up my bag every day or two, I’m once again confronted with this dilemma of working out how to fit all the stuff into the one bag. And, on top of that, it’s really heavy. My backpack & daypack would come in at around 20 kg - I feel like a pack donkey.
On our free day (by myself again) I visited a number of sites. First the Bell Tower which has a really big bell that chimes & marks the middle of the city. Then the Drum Tower which looks almost exactly like the Bell Tower, but with drums instead of a bell. Then I scooted down into the Muslim Quarter for a look see, taking my time to soak it all up without feeling rushed or slowed by others. I checked out the Great Mosque which was there & also the Folk House which had a great tea ceremony as well as a shadow puppet show that I attended as the sole viewer.
In the afternoon, I went to the South Gate of the city wall. Xi’an is the only city in China, if not the world, that is still surrounded by a fully intact city wall marking the perimeter. Of course, centuries ago it was used for protecting the city from invaders. The others has hired a bike & cycled around the wall, which takes about 1 hour. At 6pm, after a full day of walking, I couldn’t be bothered. So I just had a small walk around then headed back (again) to the Muslim Quarter for dinner. There I met up with a young couple of Chinese students, one from Xi’an, the other from Beijing. We had a lovely chat about this, that & everything in between.
Back in my room, I readied myself for departure the next day so that my time in the morning would be completely freed up - or that was the plan anyway. Packing my backpack seems an endless task with rare moments of satisfaction. Prior to coming away, I’d done some trial packs & there was plenty of room for all the stuff I wanted to take away. But when it came to packing it all in again the night prior to leaving, it had suddenly ballooned into a pack bulging with goods. So, when it comes to packing up my bag every day or two, I’m once again confronted with this dilemma of working out how to fit all the stuff into the one bag. And, on top of that, it’s really heavy. My backpack & daypack would come in at around 20 kg - I feel like a pack donkey.
7 - Xi'an - Terracotta Warriors
Here I was thinking that Xi’an would be a quieter, more village type feel. Wrong! I was packed chocka block with people on their holiday break. While not as big as Beijing, there appeared to be even more people here crammed into the smaller space. The Chinese love to shop - boy do they love to shop. Their late entry into capitalism has perhaps spurred on a need to catch up on all the shopping they may previously not have had access to. The big shopping malls really are madhouses, with people scrambling to get at bargains, even when they aren’t on special. In general, prices for international brand name items are the same as you’d pay in Australia. But then there are the dud buys, of which there are good quality duds & just plain old dud duds.
At 12:30pm we met in the hotel lobby for our trip out to the famous Terracotta Warriors. We went out there by two public buses - an adventure of its own. When, as a westerner, you use public buses in China, everybody stares at you. They are either thinking, “I never knew there were poor westerners” or “their tour leader is slack & can’t get them the transport they need”. Anyway, with staring a plenty, we arrived at our destination. The warriors were accidentally discovered by a farmer back in 1972 (I think). As he was digging a well searching for water, he retrieved a warrior’s head from underground & was immediately petrified at what he may have done wrong. The actual farmer was there the day we visited the warriors, sitting down signing books purchased at the store. Not a happy chap, he gets really peeved if you take his photo. Obviously someone that isn’t loving the work he does.
The warriors were pretty amazing. To think that this Emperor had a whole army, about 6000 warrior statues, buried with him to protect him in the afterlife. There were archers, chariots, & foot soldiers aplenty, spread across several areas known in archaeological terms as ‘pits‘. And pretty much nobody throughout history had the slightest idea it was there. Never anything documented. No wonder the farmer was surprised at his find. Nearly every one of the statues was damaged to a greater or lesser degree. They had been ransacked on a couple of occasions, & some of the pits have evidence of fire & looting. But the diligent little archaeologists have been working hard to put all the little pieces back to together. They still have a long way to go, no doubt.
At 12:30pm we met in the hotel lobby for our trip out to the famous Terracotta Warriors. We went out there by two public buses - an adventure of its own. When, as a westerner, you use public buses in China, everybody stares at you. They are either thinking, “I never knew there were poor westerners” or “their tour leader is slack & can’t get them the transport they need”. Anyway, with staring a plenty, we arrived at our destination. The warriors were accidentally discovered by a farmer back in 1972 (I think). As he was digging a well searching for water, he retrieved a warrior’s head from underground & was immediately petrified at what he may have done wrong. The actual farmer was there the day we visited the warriors, sitting down signing books purchased at the store. Not a happy chap, he gets really peeved if you take his photo. Obviously someone that isn’t loving the work he does.
The warriors were pretty amazing. To think that this Emperor had a whole army, about 6000 warrior statues, buried with him to protect him in the afterlife. There were archers, chariots, & foot soldiers aplenty, spread across several areas known in archaeological terms as ‘pits‘. And pretty much nobody throughout history had the slightest idea it was there. Never anything documented. No wonder the farmer was surprised at his find. Nearly every one of the statues was damaged to a greater or lesser degree. They had been ransacked on a couple of occasions, & some of the pits have evidence of fire & looting. But the diligent little archaeologists have been working hard to put all the little pieces back to together. They still have a long way to go, no doubt.
6 - My first hard sleeper train trip
The tour leader, Frank, briefed us on the challenges we would face on a train journey to Xi'an. This included: 6 beds to a compartment no bigger than a standard western toilet room; thieves that would attempt to take all your valuables from you as you sleep; smelly toilets with no/little wash facilities; & people without tickets who will sit outside your doorless compartment talking all night. I couldn’t wait to get onboard.
A private bus took us to a major train station a half hour from the city centre. There were incredible amounts of people heading to the trains. We all had to stick together for fear of being lost in the crowd & never being found again. And Frank walked ahead at his usual million miles an hour, occasionally waiting for us to catch up. I had to carry my backpack weighing all up about 20kg, which was a great incentive to never put on more weight cause this might be what it feels like. Of course, once through the turnstile (man punching tickets with a hole puncher), our compartment was all the way down the end of a very long train. When we got on, people were already settled into our beds & we had to move them on so we could get in.
There wasn’t any space to play around - a narrow corridor led to all the compartments. We had to get in, put our bags down & stay in our compartment until everyone was on the train & ready to go.
Frank's ‘random’ cabin assignments had me bunking down with all the Chinese folk, while the rest of the tour group got to stay together in one compartment. Travelling by yourself on a tour when everyone else is coupled up is almost like travelling completely alone at times. As it turned out, everything was great.
I shared the compartment with a wonderful elderly couple, & even though they couldn’t speak English, I had Frank on hand to almost constantly translate for me. The old woman, who I called Nani (Grandma), was a treat. I had to call her Nani cause seemingly it’s impolite to ask the elderly what their name is. Nani & I clicked instantly - obviously a past life connection somewhere along our line of reincarnations. We held hands & laughed every time we looked at each other. By the end of our journey, she wanted to adopt me as her child (an old child nevertheless) & have me come & live with her on their farm outside Xi’an. Very tempting indeed!
Frank had given us fair warning about the thieves in & around Xi’an. Sleeping on the train, I carefully weaved my hand through the straps of the daypack while clutching at it through the night. Thankfully, no one attempted to rob me - they probably saw the hold I had on my bag & had a good laugh instead.
At about 8:45am we arrived safely in one piece in Xi’an, then weaved through the multitudinous number of people at the train station towards our private bus waiting to take us to our hotel.
A private bus took us to a major train station a half hour from the city centre. There were incredible amounts of people heading to the trains. We all had to stick together for fear of being lost in the crowd & never being found again. And Frank walked ahead at his usual million miles an hour, occasionally waiting for us to catch up. I had to carry my backpack weighing all up about 20kg, which was a great incentive to never put on more weight cause this might be what it feels like. Of course, once through the turnstile (man punching tickets with a hole puncher), our compartment was all the way down the end of a very long train. When we got on, people were already settled into our beds & we had to move them on so we could get in.
There wasn’t any space to play around - a narrow corridor led to all the compartments. We had to get in, put our bags down & stay in our compartment until everyone was on the train & ready to go.
Frank's ‘random’ cabin assignments had me bunking down with all the Chinese folk, while the rest of the tour group got to stay together in one compartment. Travelling by yourself on a tour when everyone else is coupled up is almost like travelling completely alone at times. As it turned out, everything was great.
I shared the compartment with a wonderful elderly couple, & even though they couldn’t speak English, I had Frank on hand to almost constantly translate for me. The old woman, who I called Nani (Grandma), was a treat. I had to call her Nani cause seemingly it’s impolite to ask the elderly what their name is. Nani & I clicked instantly - obviously a past life connection somewhere along our line of reincarnations. We held hands & laughed every time we looked at each other. By the end of our journey, she wanted to adopt me as her child (an old child nevertheless) & have me come & live with her on their farm outside Xi’an. Very tempting indeed!
Frank had given us fair warning about the thieves in & around Xi’an. Sleeping on the train, I carefully weaved my hand through the straps of the daypack while clutching at it through the night. Thankfully, no one attempted to rob me - they probably saw the hold I had on my bag & had a good laugh instead.
At about 8:45am we arrived safely in one piece in Xi’an, then weaved through the multitudinous number of people at the train station towards our private bus waiting to take us to our hotel.
5 - Traffic in China
As a pedestrian, crossing the street in China is similar to playing Russian roulette - the rules left a lot open to interpretation & you were very lucky if you got to your destination alive. The little green person light that generally means (in the Western world) you are safe to walk without worrying that a car, bus or truck is going to run you over, simply cannot be trusted here in Beijing. Cars, trucks & buses do honk vigorously if you decide to walk with the green light & you’re in their way.
I started to get the gist of it though - just follow the locals. Many of them cross when it’s red, figuring that the green light is pretty useless anyway. And if you are brave enough to go into the street, keep moving forward, never go back. Cars will stop (most of the time) if you happen to walk in front of them (if they see you, that is). Just keep on walking forward.
I started to get the gist of it though - just follow the locals. Many of them cross when it’s red, figuring that the green light is pretty useless anyway. And if you are brave enough to go into the street, keep moving forward, never go back. Cars will stop (most of the time) if you happen to walk in front of them (if they see you, that is). Just keep on walking forward.
I’ve decided to name the traffic situation in Beijing, ‘Harmonious Chaos’. Amongst all the confusion, horns honking & congestion, the buses, trucks, cars, taxis, bicycles, motorbikes, rickshaws, & other funny looking transportation devices manage to weave together generally without crashing into each other or getting angry. Even though there are lanes, they really aren’t used very much - vehicles just steer wherever they want to go, mostly without ever even using their signals to indicate where they’re going. But, it works, most of the time. I did see a motorbike completely squashed under a truck wheel the other day - no sign of the rider though.
4 - Beijing - All the other things to see...
We had a free day, so off I trotted on my own to a place far away - the Summer Palace. It was about an hours travel from the centre of Beijing by Subway & taxi. And it was incredible impressive. This is where the Emperors came to live out the warm balmy summers, & the grounds were certainly suited to royalty. Lots of temples, gardens, a lovely lake, & mini city shopping mall (old style) - something for every Emperor really. Nowadays, there are enormous amounts of everyday Chinese flocking to the palace to enjoy the surrounds.
The next morning, I headed off on my own to see the Lama Temple. I considered myself quite adept now at using Beijing’s magnificent Subway system, so it was easy to jump on board & head out. The Lama Temple is the biggest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet & holds one of the largest Buddha statues in the world carved out of one piece of Sandalwood trunk - must have been a bloody giant tree. I was a tad embarrassed at first to say my version of a Buddhist prayer with all the Chinese approaching theirs with such pomp & ceremony. But in the end, I did manage to arouse enough courage to have my one-on-one with Gautama. After giving my thanks, I then wandered around the local hutongs of the area which were very traditional.
Our first stop on the group tour that afternoon was the Huilin Arts Centre. Sponsored by Intrepid, they are a learning facility for intellectually handicapped individuals. They welcomed us with open arms & gave us a great performance, showing off their skills at dance, acting & singing. We even had a cup of jasmine tea offered to us. During the performance, we were asked to dance with them , which we all did with vigour & merriment.
After the performance, we were off to the Forbidden City. The size of it astounded me. So much space in the middle of the city for Emperors gone by, as well as the occasional Empress. I was amused to learn that an Emperor had up to 3000 concubines living within the city walls. Each male servant had to be a eunuch in order to work for the Emperor, just in case he was inclined to dip himself into one of the concubines - heaven forbid! Seemingly, there was once a plot to kill the Emperor crafted by several of his concubines. One of the concubines in on the plot became too scared & decided to tell the Empress. Well, wasn’t she pissed! The punishment dished out was meant to thwart any further thoughts about Emperor slaying that may be harboured amongst the mistresses. The flesh of the guilty concubines was carved slowly from their bodies over days until they died an agonising death. Lovely!
The Forbidden City flows down towards Tiananmen Square, our next stop on the tour. There were army people everywhere, & seemingly lots of bugs & spies planted about. Oh, so scary Big Brother. The square is pretty huge - I think it can fit a million people in it, or so they say. There are red & Chinese flags everywhere, a picture of Chairman Mao, & one of Sun Yat Sen too. We didn’t get to view Mao’s fortified body as it’s back in the fridge after 1pm. Shame really.
The next morning, I headed off on my own to see the Lama Temple. I considered myself quite adept now at using Beijing’s magnificent Subway system, so it was easy to jump on board & head out. The Lama Temple is the biggest Tibetan Buddhist temple outside Tibet & holds one of the largest Buddha statues in the world carved out of one piece of Sandalwood trunk - must have been a bloody giant tree. I was a tad embarrassed at first to say my version of a Buddhist prayer with all the Chinese approaching theirs with such pomp & ceremony. But in the end, I did manage to arouse enough courage to have my one-on-one with Gautama. After giving my thanks, I then wandered around the local hutongs of the area which were very traditional.
Our first stop on the group tour that afternoon was the Huilin Arts Centre. Sponsored by Intrepid, they are a learning facility for intellectually handicapped individuals. They welcomed us with open arms & gave us a great performance, showing off their skills at dance, acting & singing. We even had a cup of jasmine tea offered to us. During the performance, we were asked to dance with them , which we all did with vigour & merriment.
After the performance, we were off to the Forbidden City. The size of it astounded me. So much space in the middle of the city for Emperors gone by, as well as the occasional Empress. I was amused to learn that an Emperor had up to 3000 concubines living within the city walls. Each male servant had to be a eunuch in order to work for the Emperor, just in case he was inclined to dip himself into one of the concubines - heaven forbid! Seemingly, there was once a plot to kill the Emperor crafted by several of his concubines. One of the concubines in on the plot became too scared & decided to tell the Empress. Well, wasn’t she pissed! The punishment dished out was meant to thwart any further thoughts about Emperor slaying that may be harboured amongst the mistresses. The flesh of the guilty concubines was carved slowly from their bodies over days until they died an agonising death. Lovely!
The Forbidden City flows down towards Tiananmen Square, our next stop on the tour. There were army people everywhere, & seemingly lots of bugs & spies planted about. Oh, so scary Big Brother. The square is pretty huge - I think it can fit a million people in it, or so they say. There are red & Chinese flags everywhere, a picture of Chairman Mao, & one of Sun Yat Sen too. We didn’t get to view Mao’s fortified body as it’s back in the fridge after 1pm. Shame really.
3 - Beijing - And what a bloody Great Wall it is!
The tour group left at 6:30am the next day for what I thought was a nice leisurely stroll along the Great Wall. I’d been nervous about the 10 km stroll. Frank did not warn us about the type of walk we were facing. 10kms yes. Up & down really difficult terrain - no. When people think of the Great Wall, they usually (or, rather, I usually) think of well paved surfaces easy to walk along with no steep gradients. Right? Perhaps even with cuddly panda bears along the way.
What we had was 4 hours of gruelling, & I mean tortuous, hiking - up & down over often rocky crumbling surfaces, often needing to climb in sections. I quickly came to think of it as a survival measure. I simply had to get to the other end or I may very well be left behind. Inevitably I made it to the end. But I did wonder what would have happened if I wasn’t able to. I won’t deny it, visions of a helicopter flying in to winch me out had fluttered through my mind on the odd occasion through my walk. I'm certain I wasn't the only one who had similar visions.
What we had was 4 hours of gruelling, & I mean tortuous, hiking - up & down over often rocky crumbling surfaces, often needing to climb in sections. I quickly came to think of it as a survival measure. I simply had to get to the other end or I may very well be left behind. Inevitably I made it to the end. But I did wonder what would have happened if I wasn’t able to. I won’t deny it, visions of a helicopter flying in to winch me out had fluttered through my mind on the odd occasion through my walk. I'm certain I wasn't the only one who had similar visions.
2 - Beijing - Temple of Heaven
The Intrepid tour group was to meet at the hotel at 6pm so I had a whole day to get my travelling act together & explore a bit of the city. My first tourism choice was the Temple of Heaven. Looking at the Beijing map provided by the hotel, I figured that it couldn’t be too long a walk, & it would be good to mingle with the natives.
The short walk turned out to be nearly an hour. Crossing the street was similar to playing Russian roulette - see the blog on 'Traffic in China'.
Before reaching the temple, I found a restaurant packed with people and with a queue outside the door. Feeling hungry, I lined up, & on reaching the front of the queue, was constantly ignored by the attendant. So, with everyone overtaking me, I finally tapped him on the shoulder & asked for a table for one. He laughed at me. I think the Chinese find people eating by themselves a very strange thing to do as it’s considered a social occasion. So I asked again & he smiled nicely - I knew then I’d get my table. And I did - a table for 4 for 1. Two waiters came & cleaned away the table. Whatever was too big or difficult to take away, they just pushed over the edge towards the window. I sat down & had my first real Beijing food - stir fried beef with cumin - yummy!
The Temple of Heaven was a treat. Even more than the temples themselves were the fascinating gatherings of people within the grounds. Thousands of people lined the pathways, socialising together. People waltzed in the gardens, played cards all over the parks & benches, & sang to their hearts content. Walking back from the temples, I found one group of about 70 older people singing with all seriousness the songs being played on an accordion. There was even a conductor to navigate them through the tricky changes. I found out later that they were singing communist songs & that’s the reason why they sang with such pride & honour. Most of the people in the temple grounds were of a retirement age, & the reason many come to the temple is to contribute their value back to the community. The Chinese are remarkable for their community spirit!
The short walk turned out to be nearly an hour. Crossing the street was similar to playing Russian roulette - see the blog on 'Traffic in China'.
Before reaching the temple, I found a restaurant packed with people and with a queue outside the door. Feeling hungry, I lined up, & on reaching the front of the queue, was constantly ignored by the attendant. So, with everyone overtaking me, I finally tapped him on the shoulder & asked for a table for one. He laughed at me. I think the Chinese find people eating by themselves a very strange thing to do as it’s considered a social occasion. So I asked again & he smiled nicely - I knew then I’d get my table. And I did - a table for 4 for 1. Two waiters came & cleaned away the table. Whatever was too big or difficult to take away, they just pushed over the edge towards the window. I sat down & had my first real Beijing food - stir fried beef with cumin - yummy!
The Temple of Heaven was a treat. Even more than the temples themselves were the fascinating gatherings of people within the grounds. Thousands of people lined the pathways, socialising together. People waltzed in the gardens, played cards all over the parks & benches, & sang to their hearts content. Walking back from the temples, I found one group of about 70 older people singing with all seriousness the songs being played on an accordion. There was even a conductor to navigate them through the tricky changes. I found out later that they were singing communist songs & that’s the reason why they sang with such pride & honour. Most of the people in the temple grounds were of a retirement age, & the reason many come to the temple is to contribute their value back to the community. The Chinese are remarkable for their community spirit!
1 - First Steps in China
Compared to Hong Kong Airport, Beijing International Airport, while not as impressive as HK, has a grandeur that's more governmental in character. Some very officious airport people walked about with serious and suspicious looks.
Walking staunchly towards the customs gate, I carried that look about me that said, “don’t even think of messing with me”. My 5 foot 2 inch stature may delude some people into thinking I’m a pushover, but the 'back off’ written on my forehead warned the undesirables that they’d be getting more than they bargained for by picking on me. At least, I hoped so. Walking confidently, I readied myself to explain (read debate) the necessity of bringing my western herbal medicine into the country. But all that worry for no purpose - nothing happened. Customs was closed, perhaps because it was too late, & I sailed right through the empty customs area to the taxi rank outside.
After being delegated a taxi by the taxi rank official, I showed the address details provided by my tour operator, neatly summarised in Chinese characters, to my driver. At the point where he frowned with an “I’m not quite sure where that is” look, I should have instantly asked the official guy for help. Instead, I used English to ask the Chinese speaking driver if he was absolutely positive how to get there. A few nods of the head & I jumped in - sleep deprevation had obviously got the better of me.
Soon we were racing down the highway in the overtaking lane &, realising fully operational seatbelts must only be a western thing, I held on for dear life to the back of the front seat, with visions of the car flipping over & me dying in a horrific accident on my first day of travel.
But, that’s not what happened. He began to slow down, while he was in the outside overtaking lane, & signalled in the international code of body language that he had no idea where he was going. Incredulous, I once again showed him the Chinese character directions, insisting that he must understand. A few shakes of the head from the driver & I dived into my daypack in search of my ipod mandarin phrasebook. Meanwhile, cars were streaming by us, horns beeping incessantly, as we continued to slow down to about 40 kms per hour in the overtaking lane on the highway. I flicked through the ipod, not sure what I wanted to find.
Then he asked, putting his hand to his ear, if I had a phone. Yes, I did. But I wasn’t about to let him have my phone. So I asked him for his phone - demanded is a more accurate description - in between muttering the word for police just as a warning. A few naughty swear words a slipped out around this time, until I remembered that the People’s Republic of China didn’t like you using swear words & I shut up in fear of being thrown into some ghastly prison & left to rot.
After lots of pointing & arguing, I finally got a hold of his phone and called the Harmony Hotel. After briefly explaining the situation, the receptionist asked to speak with the driver who finally got the clarification he required in order to deliver me safely. It was just after midnight (after 2pm in Sydney) and I was bloody exhausted. Following a quick check-in, I found my way to my room, grateful for having a place to rest on my own for the night. After cleaning myself up & gaining a very small sense of normality back into my world, I was ready to jump into bed for a long-awaiting snooze.
I then sat on the hardest bed I have ever sat on before. This was not possible, it’s a nice western type hotel, it must have soft comfy beds for weak westerners like me. I tried the other single bed - also rock hard - the carpeted floor would have been softer to sleep on. I wondered about the reasoning behind this. Perhaps the communists think the westerners are too soft and need to experience a part of the real hard life here in China. I was left wondering as I bounced into bed, finding the best possible position that wouldn’t leave my arms numb or neck sore. Hardly able to keep my eyes open, I was so ready for sleep, aching for it. But with all the turmoil & bed discomfort, I managed only a few sweet hours before the dawn welcomed me with open arms to China.
Walking staunchly towards the customs gate, I carried that look about me that said, “don’t even think of messing with me”. My 5 foot 2 inch stature may delude some people into thinking I’m a pushover, but the 'back off’ written on my forehead warned the undesirables that they’d be getting more than they bargained for by picking on me. At least, I hoped so. Walking confidently, I readied myself to explain (read debate) the necessity of bringing my western herbal medicine into the country. But all that worry for no purpose - nothing happened. Customs was closed, perhaps because it was too late, & I sailed right through the empty customs area to the taxi rank outside.
After being delegated a taxi by the taxi rank official, I showed the address details provided by my tour operator, neatly summarised in Chinese characters, to my driver. At the point where he frowned with an “I’m not quite sure where that is” look, I should have instantly asked the official guy for help. Instead, I used English to ask the Chinese speaking driver if he was absolutely positive how to get there. A few nods of the head & I jumped in - sleep deprevation had obviously got the better of me.
Soon we were racing down the highway in the overtaking lane &, realising fully operational seatbelts must only be a western thing, I held on for dear life to the back of the front seat, with visions of the car flipping over & me dying in a horrific accident on my first day of travel.
But, that’s not what happened. He began to slow down, while he was in the outside overtaking lane, & signalled in the international code of body language that he had no idea where he was going. Incredulous, I once again showed him the Chinese character directions, insisting that he must understand. A few shakes of the head from the driver & I dived into my daypack in search of my ipod mandarin phrasebook. Meanwhile, cars were streaming by us, horns beeping incessantly, as we continued to slow down to about 40 kms per hour in the overtaking lane on the highway. I flicked through the ipod, not sure what I wanted to find.
Then he asked, putting his hand to his ear, if I had a phone. Yes, I did. But I wasn’t about to let him have my phone. So I asked him for his phone - demanded is a more accurate description - in between muttering the word for police just as a warning. A few naughty swear words a slipped out around this time, until I remembered that the People’s Republic of China didn’t like you using swear words & I shut up in fear of being thrown into some ghastly prison & left to rot.
After lots of pointing & arguing, I finally got a hold of his phone and called the Harmony Hotel. After briefly explaining the situation, the receptionist asked to speak with the driver who finally got the clarification he required in order to deliver me safely. It was just after midnight (after 2pm in Sydney) and I was bloody exhausted. Following a quick check-in, I found my way to my room, grateful for having a place to rest on my own for the night. After cleaning myself up & gaining a very small sense of normality back into my world, I was ready to jump into bed for a long-awaiting snooze.
I then sat on the hardest bed I have ever sat on before. This was not possible, it’s a nice western type hotel, it must have soft comfy beds for weak westerners like me. I tried the other single bed - also rock hard - the carpeted floor would have been softer to sleep on. I wondered about the reasoning behind this. Perhaps the communists think the westerners are too soft and need to experience a part of the real hard life here in China. I was left wondering as I bounced into bed, finding the best possible position that wouldn’t leave my arms numb or neck sore. Hardly able to keep my eyes open, I was so ready for sleep, aching for it. But with all the turmoil & bed discomfort, I managed only a few sweet hours before the dawn welcomed me with open arms to China.
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