Walking the Streets of China: Aug 18, 2008

Monday, August 18, 2008

Homeward Bound!

Baring some crisis I am only 17 hours away from home. One nine hour plane ride from Hong Kong to LA and a short hop to Seattle later and it will all be a memory and an incredible memory at that. I can't believe it is over already. This hasn't been just a journey across the middle kingdom but a journey of growth and self discovery. I look forward to seeing you all soon.

我在哪儿？ Where Am I?

8/17 - Checked my bag at the Hong Kong MTR station, enjoyed a breakfast at Starbucks and off to the Airport. At long last, my trip comes to an end as I board my flight for LAX and then onto Seattle.

8/16 - Visited Lantau Island, beautiful beaches and Giant Buddha, walked for a bit on the the Dragon’s Back trail, which was named the Best Urban Hike in Asia.

8/15 - Trip to Macao, Took the ferry to the island - less than an hour. And spent the day walking around town. Visiting the sites. It is a lovely place with with . The hotels are amazing but not nearly as grand as Las Vegas - perhaps on par with Atlantic City. Visited the Venetian, Wynn, MGM, the Lisbo,
Many Baccarat, Sico bo and Fan-Tan tables, only an occasional craps table. Key for a backpacking tourist it Macau is using the casino's free bus shuttles from the Ferry Terminal as a hub.

8/14 - Got up early and headed out into Hong Kong. Had breakfast at the mid-level escalators. Walked the avenue of the stars and went to the Olympics in the evening.

8/13 - Hong Kong Disneyland! Totally worth the experience. Very, very small compared to Magic Kingdom at Disneyland, but they pack a mighty punch into a very small plot of land. I visited every attraction and went on Space Mountain 8 times. Something about being at Disney, I was in Child like wonder the entire day. Stay and watch the fireworks, the castle may be small but you'll have front row seats.

8/12 - Got up early this morning and headed straight to the train station. I am sorry to see the day end. The train from Guangzhou to Hong Kong is faast and efficent, but at the end finding an MTR station is gosh-dang difficult. I am sure there is one there, I just couldn't find it. Eventually I was able to hop on a bus and catch the Star Ferry across the harbor.

8/11 - Ventured into Downtown Guangzhou. Enjoyed walking past all the shops. If you are interested in art, or shopping get off of the island (which marks prices up becuse the shops cater to Western parents adopting Chinese babies). Metroed out to Sun Yat-sen University. Then headed up near the Peasant Movement Institute to Haizhu square, back up Renmin Lu to Ximenhou and the Chen Clan Academy, before returning to the Island. Fun walking around and seeing a different sde of the city. Metro is really easy to use and clean. Key though is that the little disk things the fare booths give you are radio frequency coins. Press them to the pad on the turnstile to allow you entry.

8/10 - Flight to Guangzhou, return to Shamian Island. Although I am excited to be back on the island, I have come full circle, ironically I am assigned the same bed as I had on my first night in China.

8/9 - Return to Chengdu, where the bus almost was hit by a rockfall and we got a flat tire. The ride was suppose to take 6 hours, it took a bit more waiting in the middle of no where to fix a tire.

8/8 - Visit Jiuzhaigou. The waterfalls and lakes are amazing! If you visit any Nature Park in China, I would recommend here. Return to the Hotel in the evening to watch the opening of the Olympics!

8/7 - Jiuzhaigou. The town is absolutely deserted. My guess is there are 100 tourists here, no more. The northern end of town, is a ghost town. We get a great deal at the Sheraton, five star hotel. 300 a person a night, htough we are packed 4 into two doubles. Late start so we visited the small town and got sick from lunch. Argue over the inflated prices, and watch a women and men get into a fight. Everyone is standing around, no one is breaking it up. I am shocked.

8/6 - Full day bus ride to Jiuzhaigou, through earthquake ravaged Sichuan. It was very sad, but the people along this main road seem to be doing well. Less than 100 miles from the epicenter of Wencheng. The number of International NGOs and Chinese NGOs providing support up here is amazing, but does stop your heart from dropping every time you see a house that is only a pile of bricks.

8/5 - Went down town to catch site of the Olympic torch, as did everyone else who lives here. The people are excited. In the town's main park, people are chanting "Zhongguo Jiayou! Sichuan Jiayou!" Inspiring. A mini-march has formed and the police come in with Swat gear and clear the park. Really scary, puts Tiananmen in an entirely different context for me. In the afternoon I take a bus out to the electronic district, I need a new external harddrive my iPod is full of photos.

8/4 - Day spent trying to figure out how to receive money via Western Union... finally success! I now have money again. Which prompts my trip into the optometrist )i.e., eye hospital) next door to the hotel. Oh how I have an eye infection. The entire staff is interested in my blue eyes and there are like a dozen nurses and doctors in the room for the exam. Return to the Guesthouse (my favorite so far) and eat an amazing dinner!

8/3 - Arrived by plane from Chengdu, staying at the Sim's Cozy Hostel. They's moved locations, be warned. It is walkable, but will pay for your taxi ride from the old location to the new. Since I am low on funds, they said I could pay at the end of my trip. Bless them. The Hostel is amazing, if you are in Sichuan there is no better choice then to stay there.

8/2 - Left at 4 am from Hami on a 6 hour train to Urumqi. Took bus 8 to the north gate and transfered to bus 61. Arrived at the Hostel International guest house called silver birches, room was 30 yuan.

8/1 - Day trip to Yiwu to see the eclipse (1900 hours beijing time). Really really sick! I can't stop throwing up. I am taken to what constitutes the hospital. The staff doesn't speak English and I am trying to explain my symptoms. The first question they ask me is, "did you eat any of the local melon?" No, but I am not now. I think. They give me an oldfashioned IV and some anti-nauseau medication and I am still not feeling better. The hospital is very premative.

7/31 - Met a man named Doc from Wales who invited me to share his car to the Yiwu site the following day. Bought my permit for 350 yuan.

7/30 - Left Kashgar by plane for Urumiqi where I went directly to the train station to buy a ticket to Hami. Success.

7/29 - Return back from Karakul Lake a day early after being kicked out of the area by the Chinese miltary. A little depressed.

7/28 - Depart for Karakul Lake, set up camp lakeside. The place really is disgusting. The hills, the moutains are so pristine, but the water at the lake and the area around the Yurt hotels is filled with raw sewage and garabage.

7/27 - Visited the sights around Kashgar, including the Sunday Market (a bazaar) with the help of a local named Elvis. If in Kashgar, look him up. He is a wealth of information and a hoot to talk with.

7/26 - Errand day including many phone calls and a trip out to the airport and both bus stations. Evening is spent hanging with the http://www.amsterdambeijing.com/ crew from Holland.

7/25 - Happy Birthday to me! I am now 22 years old. Lesiurely morning, then to the bus station. 10 hour bus ride to Kashgar, where I checked in to the Chini Bagh Hotel that occupies the old British Consulate. Had a mix up with rooms but ended up in a triple room with a Chinese college student, the bed was 35 yuan. Went to the cafe in the courtyard where there was a boat load of people from Holland and ended up at a table with 5 people from Holland and a guy from Denver. Went to bed about 2 pretty tipsy.

7/24 - Arrived in Hotan (Hetian) after a 24 hour bus ride across the Taklamakan Desert. Checked into the Happy Hotel run by a Uighur couple for 50 yuan a night, I am only staying one night. Attempted to take a much needed shower but the water was absolutely freezing. Spent the day wandering the local markets, and bought dinner from the local street vendors (2 bottles of Iced Green Tea 6 yuan, a baked pizzaa pocket like sandwitch with lamb filling 3 yuan, and a soft serve ice cream cone 2 yuan.)

7/23 - Did a couple of morning errands including buying my airline tickets online to leave Kashgar (Kashi), getting money from the ATM, and stocking up on water, nectarines and local bread for the bus ride ahead, before heading for the bus station. Bought a ticket for a bus that was scheduled to leave only a half hour later at 1:00pm Beijing time. Ticket cost was 245 yuan, which included insurance.

7/22 - I hired a car for the day to see the local sights which are all a ways out of town. Car, driver, and guide who spoke English, Chinese, and Uighur cost a whooping 430 yuan. Yikes! Sights seen included the village of Tuyoq (30 yuan), Grape Valley (free since my guide new a local grape grower), Flamming Mountains (free since we stopped on the highway shoulder and did not enter the 'park'), Bezekilk caves (20 yuan and not worth it since they have been pretty much stripped by foreign archeologists in the early 20th century), Jiaohe Ruines (40 yuan), and the city Mosque. Had a hamburger and fries for dinner from John's cafe, bill came to 40 yuan. Probably one of my most expensive days thus far, but I have to say it ranks in my top 3 days of the trip.

7/21 - Arrived in Daheyan 60 kms north of Turpan by train at 9:25 in the morning. Bought a seat in a shared taxi for 10 yuan which dropped me at the long-distance bus station in town. Checked in to the Tulufan Bingguan (Hotel), a bed here in a six bed dorm was 30 yuan for each of two nights. Choose the hotel because it has a John Chang's information cafe adjasent which was a big help in Turpan. Enjoyed a traditional Uighur breakfast of very tender rice in a clear broth and milk tea for 3.5 yuan. Met a Uighur studying English who tagged along with me as I walked through the old part of town out to the Emin Minaret which is surrounded by grape fields. Picked some grapes and saw my first of many donkey carts. In the evening visited the evening market for a dinner of lamb kabobs and jiaozi (boiled dumplings).

7/20 - Was woken rather rudly at 7:45 am by a local tour guide who the hotel receptionist must have contacted after I inquired about the caves only 4 hours before at 3:45am when I returned from the internet cafe. The guide wanted to fill a seat on her bus out to the Mogao Caves, so we packed our stuff and checked out of the hotel (apparently not quick enough for the guides liking). We opted to only bus tickets for the bus ride out, opting to not be rushed into returning at noon with their Chinese group. Bought tickets for the caves, at an extremely expensive price of 160 yuan, spent an additional 20 yuan for a shared english speaking dosent. The 20 yuan was probably the best bargain I have found in China so far, and completely worth every cent. Her English was not only good, but she knew her stuff! Bought a replica painting at the gift shop where I was very proud of my bargaining skills and even managed to get them to wave the Visa Fee of 40 yuan! Stopped in at the disappointing museum where you are not allowed to take photgraphs of the recreated caves (well I did anyways since you aren't allowed to take pictures in the actual caves.) About 1:30 we headed out ot the parking lot and found a seat on a local bus heading into the city for only 6 yuan! Met up with 5 French guys who I had met on the train two days ago and drank beer and played cards before returning to the hotel for my bag. We got on the same bus that we took from the caves (as coincidence would have it) and headed to the train station for a 8:20pm train. Said goodbye to my friend from Poland as she boarded an early train back to Lanzhou. Settled into my bearth, and met the group I was sharing it with, members of a tour group of Dai ethnic people from Dali city in Yunnan and enjoyed a couple hours with them until lights out at 11:00pm.

7/19 - Lazy morning in Dunhuang, this afternoon we headwd in the direction of the Western Thousand Grottos, bus out was 10 yuan and entrance fees were 30 yuan. Visitors to the caves gave us a ride back towards the city and along the way we stopped at a reconstructed ancient town used for the Chinese film "The Great Dunhuang," entrance fee was 10 yuan. They dropped us at a local bus stop and a kind Chinese man offered to pay our 2 yuan ticket. We arrived back in Dunhuang and had the local speciality for dinner meat noodles for 3 yuan. We strolled the night market and I bought my first souviner a wood carving. The wood carvings themselves seem to be unique to the region and I have yet to see similar items for sale so far in my travels. The carving I bought for 50 yuan, was circular with ancient written characters carved into it, I did not see any other similar ones in the entire market.

7/18 - Woke early and took a 7:17am train to Dunhuang, arrived about 10am. Found a hotel, which I am sharing with a girl from Poland, cost to me is 40 yuan a night. Spent the afternoon and evening out to the sand dunes (1 yuan each way, 120 yuan entrance fee).

7/17 - Arrived in Jiayuguan about 3am, finding an open hotel meant spending more than I would have liked 300 yuan!!! Slept for a couple more hours and got up. I walked down the main road of the city to another hotel where I had been told I could rent a bicycle, ended up costing 20 yuan for the day. I rode the 5 km outside of town to the old Ming dynasty fort, entrance cost was 100 yuan. Took lots of pictures but got caught in a rain storm and opted to head back to the city instead of going out to the wall, as I took a wrong turn.

7/16 - First thing this morning I took the bus to the train station where I was lucky to recieve a soft sleeper ticket to Jiayuguan, the trip is 9-10 hours, and the trains tend to run a bit late. I hope to arrive between 5 or 6 am. The ticket cost onl 185 yuan. I checked my bag into storage for 6 yuan and walked around the city. I took the White Chair Lift across the river and up the mountain for an amazing view of the city.

7/15 - Departed on the 2:22 train which finally arived about 3:30 for Lanzhou. Arrived shortly after 8. Checked in to old west wind of the Friendship Hotel. The room was only 30 yuan, but it looked like it had once been an insane assylum. No showers but a facet and after two days I really needed it.

7/14 - Departed Xi'an by bus to Tianshui. The 75 ticket took almost 8 hours to arrive. It was quite an adventure, to read about it see my 7/16 blog post. Stayed at the hotel at the bus station for 40 yuan and had dinner down the street for 15 yuan, where I had pickled garlic (a local specialty), spiced cabbage (regional delicacy), and a canadian bacon and bamboo shoots dish that was very, very good.

7/13 - Got a refund on the panda trip, as my roommate said that the conditions the pandas were in were just deplorable. I was attracted by the World Wildlife Fund and really thought better of them. Instead we went and climbed Huangshan ('Yellow Mountain'), it was quite steap and you had to use the chain railings for the last 2 kms, 4 days later I am still sore.

7/12 - Woke early, took a shower and washed my clothes. Departed at 9:30 for the Terracotta Warriors, the "mandatory" workshop-stop behind us, the Warriors were fabulous. The return trip included local lunch for 30 yuan and a drive past the big goose pagoda.

7/11 - Rose at 5:30 and departed for the Ressonant Sand Gorge, a piece of the Sahara in the middle of Inner Mongolia. Rode a 4x4, went down a sand slide, and took many photos. Opted not to ride the camels, but I hope to do that in Xinjiang.
Returned to Hohhot and caught an evening flight (for 700 Yuan, that was delayed) to Xi'an, where I took the airporter bus for 27 yuan into the city. The Shuyuan Youth Hostel (50 yuan a night) was five blocks away. When the power went out I turned in for the night about 1:30.

7/10 - Left at 7:30 am for Xilamuren in the Mongolian grasslands. Took a 4 hour horse back ride to see a swamp and heards of cattle. Arrived back at our camp just beating an incoming storm. Dinner included traditional dance and song. Retired to the yurt tent early, and slept on the floor. This was part of a two day tour arranged through CITS for 380 yuan, the horse riding cost an additional 230 yuan.

7/9 - Stayed last night at a rather posh hotel , my room was 300 yuan, but it was late and I took one look at the room I had reserved near the train station (cost was only 60 yuan and was not in the best part of town) so I stopped into the nice hotel tower I could see two blocks down. This morning I transfered to the BinYue Youth Hostel (I wanted a dorm room at 60 yuan a night, but they were booked) where I am in a double for 180 yuan. But I figure the extra 250 yuan was worth it for my safety, I enjoyed a hillarious 1980s film called House Arrest on the free HBO english channel before falling asleep.

7/8 - I have already purchased my ticket to Hohhot in Inner Mongolia. The ticket was $227 Yuan for a soft-sleeper, the trip takes 10 hours and departs shortly after noon, arriving about 10pm!

7/7 - Quiet day today. Went to the market, washed clothes, transfered my pictures to my iPod, got a cup of Starbucks, pulled a bunch of stuff out of my pack to ship tomorrow morning. I am going to go to a Yunnan restaurant for dinner and a Rum bar later tonight. I might rent a bike once the heat of the day breaks.

7/6 - Took the bus from Dazhimen to Miyun (14 yuan), where I hired a car to take me to the Jinshanling section of the wall (240 yuan). From here I hiked 10km to the Simatai section of the wall (95 yuan). My driver picked me up from here and put me on a bus in Miyun back into the city (15 yuan).

7/5 - Arrived in Beijing from Jinan, flight was delayed for 45 minutes due to thunderstorms. Cost ended up being 550 yuan. It was a three and a half hour drive to the airport from Jining. Dinner was from my favorite Sushi restaurant in all the world for 64 yuan.

7/4 - Happy Independence Day! I cooked American Foofi.e., spagehetti, mac 'n cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and hot chocolate) for my friends in Jining.

7/3 - After a visit to the beach, which was covered in algae (a post to come), still slightly covered in sand we made the drive back from Qingdao to Jining.

7/2 - In the morning we visited the Polar World Park - aka the aquarium - which had a beluga and dolphin show. In the afternoon we hiked Lao Shan, at the top was a beautiful sculpture overlooking a 75 foot waterfall. THe evening was a seafood bbq dinner at an out of the way restaurant.

7/1 - After a morning sick, we (Mr. Li, Mrs. Wei, Anya - Li Yingzhi, Hannah - Li Xuehan, and I) set off for Qingdao. We had a delicious bit od seafood for dinner, the high point of which was trying to eat a full crab with chopsticks.

6/30 - Visited the school, where a delegation of 47 principals from the US was visiting. The children put on a delightful talent show. Afterwards we went to Isabelle's house and her mother taught me how to make dumplings. Everyone delighted in teaching me the words to all the dishes and ingredients.

6/29 - Laid back day, we went fishing and ate the fish for lunch. I caught 4!

6/28 - Visited Zoucheng, somewhat less touristy hometown of Mencius. Considerably smaller too, but still a treat, great lunch followed at an out of the way restaurant owned by a former student of my host.

6/27 - Visited Qufu, the somewhat touristy hometown of Confucius. Ticket for access to the Temple, Mansion, and Gravesite cost $150 yuan, English speaking guide cost an additional $100.

6/26 - Arrrived in Jining by train (only 12 yuan), where I met my friend Ben (Jiang Laoshi) who has set me up with a host family, visited the middle school he teaches at and went out for Japanese dinner with some of his students.

6/25 - Climbed the 1545 meters, that is 6,666 stairs, to the top of Taishan with a group of American teachers. Amazing views from the top, entrance fee, bus, and tram back down the mountain cost just shy of 200 yuan.

6/24 - Departed Guangzhou this morning, taking a rather expensive taxi (100 Yuan) to the airport. The flight (750 Yuan) took me to Jinan, Shandong, where I caught a bus (80 yuan) to Tai'an near Taishan.

6/23 - Still in Guangzhou. Still hot and sticky! The weather has been made worse by my itchy pink-polka mosquito-dotted legs, though the Grande Caramel Frappaccino from Starbucks, 32 yuan, did help.

6/22 - The weather today was hot and sticky. I spent most of the day laying low. I went out to dinner with some locals and proudly sampled all the food, even a turtle and chicken foot soup. Yikes! I finished off the night with a Tibetian Foot Bath for 15 Yuan and Lichee fruit and knock-off Washington State apples from a fruit stall.

6/21 - Staying at the Guangzhou Youth Hostel on Shamian Island in Guangzhou. Rooms are 60 yuan, and I am planning on staying four nights! Today I visited Yuexiu Park, Renmin Park, and the White Cloud Mountains.

6/20 - Currently heading toward Wan Chai neighborhood in Hong Kong to catch a bus to Guangdong province in the South of China for 100 HKD.

6/19 - Booked myself into the Hong Kong Youth Hostel on Paterson Street in the Causeway Bay neighborhood of Hong Kong for 25o HKD.

6/18 - It was pouring down rain, so I stopped at the first guest house I found in Chuangking Mansion. Accommodations were shabby but really cheap 120HKD.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Homeward Bound!

欢迎光临! Welcome!

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我在哪儿？ Where Am I?

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