Hong Kong came and went all too quickly. The other night the group had one last outing at the night markets. We ate at a Dai Pai Dong on the street (Big thanks to Ana and Bao of MeetTheTravelers.com for another mini-feast). I was a bit upset that day as I lost my Braun 7505 Syncro electric shaver (Mom, that's the model number....hint hint), I got a terrible haircut from some Hong Kong stylists who thought I could pull off a do which made my hair short in front and long in the back, and the charger to my laptop stopped working. We were rationing battery power for two days while I scoured HK for a replacement (I found one, so expensive! Now I have to decide whether to carry the old one for two months until I can get an AppleCare replacement)
The next day in Hong Kong was a bit more pleasant. I explored some of the posh shopping near Central and spent a nice afternoon strolling around the Stanley Market on the south side. A bunch of us headed to the Harbor at night to catch a huge fireworks show. We feasted on Indian food at a joint called Taj Mahal (also sponsored by Ana and Bao).
Hong Kong was a nice, westernized Chinese city. It's comfortably foreign if you will. A lot like London except with more people blowing snot rockets on the street. I really wish I'd given myself another day to explore but it was off to Beijing the next morning.
I walked through Tian'anmen Square one last time and worked my way past what seemed like 75,000 people gathered together for laser shows and other National Day festivities. It was very strange to be in Beijing with this feeling of familiarity. Except I was alone again and all of my senses were on alert. Much different from the comfort of the tour group.
And now I've made it to Bangkok, Thailand. I'm booked in an Inn on the famous Khaosan Road. A few of the girls from the tour have also ended up here and we're all in a daze of disbelief, seeing each other in a new and different place. Last night, Steph, Carlien, and I wandered the street checking out trinkets and clothes. Guys constantly approached offering tuk tuks, massages, and the infamous 'ping pong' show. The streets are filled with white people. Young and attractive backpackers. After a noodle dinner we watched a Thai trio perform a bunch of cover songs in a rooftop bar. Travelers from Holland and Norway scribbled down travel tips on napkins for us. Today, we've got to decided where all of us are headed. The Brits, the Swedes, and the American... going our separate ways. ::sigh::
The next day in Hong Kong was a bit more pleasant. I explored some of the posh shopping near Central and spent a nice afternoon strolling around the Stanley Market on the south side. A bunch of us headed to the Harbor at night to catch a huge fireworks show. We feasted on Indian food at a joint called Taj Mahal (also sponsored by Ana and Bao).
Hong Kong was a nice, westernized Chinese city. It's comfortably foreign if you will. A lot like London except with more people blowing snot rockets on the street. I really wish I'd given myself another day to explore but it was off to Beijing the next morning.
I walked through Tian'anmen Square one last time and worked my way past what seemed like 75,000 people gathered together for laser shows and other National Day festivities. It was very strange to be in Beijing with this feeling of familiarity. Except I was alone again and all of my senses were on alert. Much different from the comfort of the tour group.
And now I've made it to Bangkok, Thailand. I'm booked in an Inn on the famous Khaosan Road. A few of the girls from the tour have also ended up here and we're all in a daze of disbelief, seeing each other in a new and different place. Last night, Steph, Carlien, and I wandered the street checking out trinkets and clothes. Guys constantly approached offering tuk tuks, massages, and the infamous 'ping pong' show. The streets are filled with white people. Young and attractive backpackers. After a noodle dinner we watched a Thai trio perform a bunch of cover songs in a rooftop bar. Travelers from Holland and Norway scribbled down travel tips on napkins for us. Today, we've got to decided where all of us are headed. The Brits, the Swedes, and the American... going our separate ways. ::sigh::
All Good Things Must Come to an End
4 Comments Published by Tony on Sunday, September 30, 2007 at 1:01 AM.
The rice terraces were beautiful in Longji. I'll try to cut a video on the train and put it up in Hong Kong. We're killing time in Guilin right now before the 13 hour night train to HK tonight.
Shout out to D, S, and C who always have my back. Some people have no sense.
.Labels: China
The rice terraces were beautiful in Longji. I'll try to cut a video on the train and put it up in Hong Kong. We're killing time in Guilin right now before the 13 hour night train to HK tonight.
Shout out to D, S, and C who always have my back. Some people have no sense.
Shout out to D, S, and C who always have my back. Some people have no sense.
Labels: China
The 24 hour train trip from Shanghai to Guilin wasn't as painful as I
imagined it could have been. I spent lots of time catching up on sleep,
being subjected to special effects make-up, and watching Singin in the
Rain on my ipod. Before we knew it we were on a bus to Yangshuo.
imagined it could have been. I spent lots of time catching up on sleep,
being subjected to special effects make-up, and watching Singin in the
Rain on my ipod. Before we knew it we were on a bus to Yangshuo.
Yangshuo is this amazing little area tucked away amongst these
beautiful karsts- steep limestone mounds covered with trees, 100 to 300
meters high. The town is filled with loads of tourists with spa
services, night clubs, cafes, and western style restaurants serving
their needs. But everything's pretty laid back. The first night the
group had dinner at Lucy's cafe. I had a delicious meal of fish, rice,
and veggies provided by my bud, Holly (Thanks again, Holly!) We
celebrated one of our group member's birthdays with cake and a trip to
Monkey Jane's Bar. This led to dancing and another late night.
But it was up early the next morning to do some caving. We hopped
three buses across town to take a trek through a few mountains,
stopping off to jump in a huge pool of mud. Very dirty, very fun. The
funny part of the cave tour was having the guide stop us every 10 yards
to show us a rock formation that supposedly looked like something. (a
turtle, a woman bathing, a monkey carrying a baby...) It was a rock
Rorschach test.
No time for a nap after that, the group got together for a boat ride
on the Li River where we took in some amazing views of the karsts
(views apparently so beautiful that they use them on the 20 Yuan note
and a pack of cigarettes!), watched a man go fishing using trained
birds (the birds catch the fish but can't eat them because their
throats are tied shut, so the guy just swoops them up and empties the
fish into his basket... yup), and feasted on chicken, tofu, roasted
peppers, pumpkin, taro chips, pork, and stir fry veggies (why do I keep
adding things in parentheses?).
The tour is definitely been one of the highlights of my trip around
the world. I've had a great taste of China that's already left me
wanting to come back and have a little more. I've met a great bunch of
friends and with less than a week left, it's going to be tough getting
back onto my solo trek.
I'm officially adding Shanghai to my list of favorite cities in the world. I like the metropolitan vibe mixed in with the busy Chinese back streets. I had a wonderful day looking at artifacts at the Shanghai Museum before grabbing a tasty lunch at a random cafe. Fried garlic rice and a tall glass of mango juice hit the spot. The food in Shanghai seems to be cooked with more vegetables, thank goodness. I need the roughage. We hopped into the Bund Tourist Tunnel which was described as the "weirdest" way to cross the river over to the Oriental Pearl Tower by Lonely Planet. It was a bit kitschy but really entertainingly so. We popped up about 300m to an observation deck of the tower and took in some city views. It was a bit rainy but still nice to get a different view of this fast developing section of the city.
In the evening we took a walk down the Bund to see the lit up skyline before a birthday dinner for one of the tour group. Steve and I share our thoughts on Shanghai while giving you a look at the lively streets. I walked with the girls for days, trying to find nightclubs but we were unsuccessful. Shanghai was threatening to ruin my fondness for it but the night was saved by a round of drinks (yay, Shilpa!) in a little cafe bar and the friendly enthusiasm of a taxi driver.
Loving it here and I'll definitely be back to take a closer look at the architecture someday. But in a few hours, we're jumping a 24 hour train to Yangshuo. Time to sleep!
I had a really fun day in Shanghai today. We walked along the waterfront area called "the bund" before grabbing pizza for lunch (sometimes you need to break for Western food). Steve, Steph, Carlien, and I went over to a market area afterwards where they sell all of the Chinese 'knock-off' versions of designer clothing, jewelry, etc. It was wild!
As soon as we got out of the taxi, we were swarmed by eight or nine guys trying to direct us towards a building where they had "watch, purse, Gucci, DVD movie". I actually thought that this must be what a celebrity feels like, completely attacked by fans. This 'entourage' followed us as we tried to figure out where to go shopping. I split off and went to the bank for cash. When I came out, three of them were waiting for me. In a wonderfully coordinated effort, they reunited me with the other three. It's a bit annoying to have eight guys follow you around a shopping center. The girls weren't enjoying our escorts so I pleaded with them to give us some space, assuring them that we'd check out their wares later. They agreed to go away but they left us with one guy to follow us around. All in all, it was pretty amusing and we found some nice items. I was really tempted to buy some $10 Puma sneakers but I resisted.
In the evening I went to a couple of clubs with a group of the girls. It was pretty weird. Every place we went to provided us with cups of dice (I was smacking myself for not remembering the rules to 'Liar's Dice'). In one club called M-Factor, guys dressed up as Spiderman and Venom wandered around, occasionally poking their heads into our booth. We couldn't figure out why. We sat on the patio of another club for a moment until we glanced over and noticed girls dancing on poles inside. The girls decided it was too expensive anyway so we moved on. Not a bad night I'd have to say.
Labels: China
We made it to Shanghai safely. Everything looks fine where we're staying. Gotta run off an explore.
Labels: China
Not much time to bore you with words so check the photo gallery for some snapshots of my visit to the Terracotta Warriors this morning. Pretty amazing. Thousands of these guys have been dug up, each one is different! Heading to Shanghai on a 12 hour train tonight. Guh.
P.S.- LA peeps, anyone going to the AFI 40th Anniversary screenings? I wish I was there. On sale today for the Oct. 3 event.
So I just read that there's a typhoon heading for the Shanghai area. Are these things following me now or what? Today we grabbed lunch at 'rbt' and discovered that they served "Whatever" on the menu. Everyone whipped out their cameras. I actually ordered the Whatever. A large even. There's a photo of it in the Picasa album. It tasted like whatever.
I'm trying to take it a bit easy today. Took in some nice drum and bell performances at the Drum and Bell towers. They played instruments I'd never even seen before. Around town, people seem to lie down in on sidewalks to take afternoon naps. They don't look homeless, just really really tired. Like this writing. :yawn:
Tomorrow we're heading out to see the Terracotta Warriors. Right now, I need to go find food and to get out of this coffee shop where everyone keeps staring at me.
Labels: China
After a pretty rowdy night train ride from Beijing, we zipped into another nice hotel in Xi'an. It's a nice city, with beautiful pagodas and markets with merchants who leave you alone. We walked around a bit this morning and stopped into for a tea ceremony which was wonderful. We must have had a gallon of peony, oolong, green, red, jasmine... so much tea. The four of us guys in the group have been getting on very well and our lewd and crude sense of humor makes for endless laughing. The tea ladies found us very entertaining.
This evening we walked over to the Muslim market area (there's loads of dried fruit sold out there) for a dinner of lamb, beef, noodles, breads, tofu, and veggies. I took the liberty of extending Tristan's generosity and treating one of my new friends, Carlien, to dinner. On the walk over we noticed these strings of kites floating over the city. There were hundreds of kites strung high up into the sky. It was a magical sight to see over the Bell and Drum Towers. [I mispronounced Xi'an in this video... sorry China]
Most of the group stayed in this evening to play cards. I went on a beer run and announced to everyone on my return that Azad had provided the group with twelve cold bottles of Hans beer. Thank you my friend. Someone's got a photo somewhere.
It was a beautiful day on the Great Wall. Our group hiked the Jinshanling (Golden Mountain) section to our hostel in Simitai. It was a moderately tough hike of 10km (the wall is something like 6,000km long) where we got to see parts of the Great Wall that were recently restored to sections that have crumbled apart. Crossing through 32 towers, we encountered dozens of people trying to sell us ice-water, beer, colas, "I climbed the Great Wall" t-shirts, snakes, and centipedes. Oh, and one obnoxious tourist who decided urinating off of the edge of the Wall in front of everyone was somehow appropriate. (He sounded European)
At the end of our hike, we could either walk along the mountain to our hostel or take a zip-line down to the water and hop a boat. I shot that video with a different camera so I'll show it to you later. But it was fun. I seem to be pretty open to anything these days as long as it doesn't exhaust my wallet too much. Plus, I'm traveling with a bunch of people with positive spirits and a yearning for new experiences. There's always an element of 'when will I ever get to do this again?'
The subject of romantic love was on my mind much of the way up and down the wall (until that wonderful point of exhaustion where fantasies of hamburgers and ice cream take over). Actually the subject's been on my mind since Japan when I watched a TED lecture by Helen Fisher. It's a wonder how two people come together. It seems so random but rarely effortless. As much as I try to figure it out, playing with themes and situations in my stories, it never makes any sense. What's the formula? How much kismet, how much pursuit? It'll always fascinate me and unfortunately drive me passionately into right and wrong directions.
Tonight we're headed on an overnight train to Xian. Not sure when I'll get to chime in again but I'll be thinkin' about ya.
Howdy. Still in China. Still having a pleasant time. It's been terribly rainy here the last couple of days. We had to skip the Summer Palace this time around. We did check out the night market where different things are served up on a stick. It's full of energetic merchants shouting at you, waving tentacles and snake bits at you as you walk by. Tourists crowd around and squirm. People dare each other to eat silkworms and crickets. Others grab fresh grilled meats or fruit dipped in sugar. Here's a bit of scorpion for you:
We took a walk to the Temple of Heaven today. It was very beautiful despite the rainy weather. Beijing's turning out to be another place I'd like to return and see more of. Say hello to Fuwa, the Olympic mascots- Beibei Jingjing Huanhuan Yingying & Nini:
We took a walk to the Temple of Heaven today. It was very beautiful despite the rainy weather. Beijing's turning out to be another place I'd like to return and see more of. Say hello to Fuwa, the Olympic mascots- Beibei Jingjing Huanhuan Yingying & Nini:
Labels: China
Woke up to a rainy day today. Took a leisurely walk to the local bakery for some delicious jelly rolls and seeded buns. Then I headed to Tian'anmen Square where I was roaming around all by my lonesome. But by a stroke of luck, half of my tour group was standing right behind me taking the same photos. Tonight we're going to try to check out the night market where things like scorpions and snake are served up to order. Blech.
P.S. - HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRO!
I moved over to the Chongwenmen hotel today where we start our tour with Intrepid. The place is fancier than anywhere else I've stayed so far. Not counting 'the b' in Nagoya or Pin's place in Shimizu. Rumor has it there's a karaoke/brothel on the third floor!
My roommate is a British dude named Nick. He's one of four guys in the group including our guide. The other twelve are girls. I wish you could hear the giddiness in my voice. While Nick napped away his jetlag, I walked down the street to find a meal. There was McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, and even a place called RBT that had swinging seats hanging from ropes. What caught my eye was a place called 'Kung Fu'. Chinese fast food. Why not? I'll tell you why not- bones. I don't know why spare ribs, duck soup, rice, and boiled lettuce sounded appetizing when I ordered it but it wasn't so hot. Even the 'sweetened mung bean' drink was slightly lousy. It took the hunger away though but I couldn't let my ninja friend Scott's dough end up in an unsatisfactory meal. So I joined the tour group for a huge Peking duck dinner. The food was unending. Everything was pretty tasty except for the part of the duck I tried that you'll see in the YouTube video:
Afterwards, a bunch of us went to a nightclub called Suzie Wong's. There was a dress code so I had to borrow a pair of Adidas track pants provided by the club for a 100 Yuan deposit. Luckily they were magic dancing pants and I danced like a maniac til 1am. Ah what a fun start to the tour. Though I'm the oldest of everyone. Guh.
THANKS SCOTT!
tout: a person soliciting custom or business, typically in an aggressive or bold manner.
I was really enjoying my walk in Beijing this afternoon because no one was bothering me. It was like being in Japan except instead of vending machines for beverages, there are huge drink stands every 20 yards down Wang Fu Jing (they have no problems with space in this town). But on my way back to the hostel, a Chinese dude asked me if I was French.
"Where are you from?" This is the first tip that someone on the street wants your money (in a hostel, it's the simplest ice-breaker). I've gotten it all over Cuba, Egypt, and India and I expect to hear it a lot throughout the rest of Asia. The routine starts with small talk based on where you're from, sometimes narrowing it down to the exact neighborhood. "Oh, the US? America... good! What part? California... ah! Where? Los Angeles. Oh! Hollywood..." They'll tell you about how they've been there, how they're going there, how their cousin lives there, or how they see it in movies. With me, I get a slew of other questions because I'm not quite American looking. Hence the gentleman's inquiry today as to whether I was French. I've been told that I look Italian, French, Greek, Egyptian, Indian, Japanese, Latin... and that I sound Canadian (the other night a guy said I sound like I'm from New Zealand... though he was so drunk, I think everyone must have sounded funny to him).
After the tout shows you that you both have something in common, he'll show you to his store. I've been taken to papyrus, carpet, scented oil, and handicrafts shops. Today, it was scroll paintings. They'll tell you just to come in for tea or to chat. If they sense apprehension, they'll insist 'no business'. The Chinese man, who's name was Joe incidentally, told me he wanted to give me his email address because he was showing his work in Los Angeles this October.
I usually go to these shops because my good nature frequently leads me into long conversations where I learn a lot about the person and the local culture. The problem is, at the end of the conversation, there's always a sales pitch and some sort of pressure to buy. If we've swapped life stories, I feel a tinge of guilt for not buying as a few dollars means a lot to the struggling. But I firmly remind myself of my rule: only buy what fits in my stomach... I need my backpack to lose weight, not my body. Plus, I have no income! When I explain that I don't need anything, they quickly ask if I'm married. No. Girlfriend? No. (Why they ask? No money I respond!) Mother? ::sigh:: Yes. Ah, this perfume/carving/carpet/painting would be a lovely gift for your mother. Rather than explain to them that she has too much stuff already, I decline for the dozenth time.
If you tell them that you're traveling for nine months and can't carry anything, they'll show you how they can package it up for easy shipping. I am often tempted as I do run across some nice pieces but I have to stop myself from accumulating more stuff. And I hope some of you understand that I couldn't bring back any cool stuff for you from my trip because, I don't think you really need more 'stuff' in your life either. (Confession: I did end up with the stolen kimono and a Mt. Fuji t-shirt from Japan... I always leave that country with more than I came with)
Today's sales pitch involved Joe showing me different types of paintings that he, his professor, and his students did. He explained that bamboo represented man, cherry blossoms, woman. He walked me through water color and inking techniques adding that they put medicines in their paint so the color doesn't fade. He showed me calligraphy and told me stories. It seemed very rehearsed. In the end, he explained that his students needed to pack up the work today and because it was very expensive to go to the US (apparently they're showing their work at UCLA, Oct. 25), I could pick up one of these paintings for about $12 US. I declined and instead of giving me a hard sell, he insisted on not sending me away empty handed. So he wrote Tony in Chinese calligraphy [photo above]. He said the bottom character means handsome and the top meant wisdom, like that of the waves in the ocean. Someone will have to verify this because I think it probably says, "Cheap tourist".
P.S.- As soon as I left the shop, a guy ran up to me shouting, "Hey, hey!" He pulled out a book of postcards and said 10 Yuan. I say, no, he says, 5. I say no, he says, how much. I walk away, he says two for 10! These guys are the real 'touts'. So aggressive you end up running away and almost getting hit by taxis.
Labels: China
I climbed into my bunk pretty early last night. I thought I'd watch a TED lecture or two to wind down (though they usually get my brain wound up). Within seconds of laying my head down though, I was fast asleep. I slept so heavily I never noticed the French couple return and climb into their own bunks. I must have been super exhausted.
Today, I stepped outside to do some exploring- without a map. The streets are set up in a grid here so I figured I couldn't get too lost. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen are just a few blocks away. Turns out I immediately went in the wrong direction and ended up on a large avenue called Wangfujing. The streets are very wide here and the city flat. Sometimes, the streets seem much too big to cross (look for tunnels). Wangfujing is pleasantly closed off to auto traffic. Aside from the gray haze that blankets the city, I was enjoying my stroll through Beijing. I actually had a bit of a foolish smile on my face as I looked up at all of the enormous buildings in wonder. There's an incredible amount of construction going on for next year's Olympic games. Old buildings are being renovated or completely leveled for new ones. Cranes and scaffolding are erected on what seems like every block. Things are definitely a buzz for the games. The sound of a Chinese man singing what I assumed were some sort of patriotic or traditional songs, lured me into the Beijing Olympics flagship store. So much merchandise.
For lunch, I scarfed down another plate of fried rice (Thanks Charley, Lisa, kids! They didn't have cow liver on the menu...) before taking a nap and packing my duffel for the start of my 20-day tour tomorrow. Tonight I think I'll head out and explore a street nearby for street food. (Pin, I found a Mr. Lee's- the California Beef Noodle King- but it either hadn't opened yet or closed down. I'll keep looking)
Ever wake up on an airport bench in Japan, hop a plane, end up in China a few hours later, and think to yourself, "Where am I and why am I here?" That was my morning. But I have arrived in Beijing and I'm staying at the Jade International Youth Hostel down the street from Tiananmen Square. I'm in a shared room with four beds. Why do they always give me the top bunk? You know, I haven't had a shared room in a hostel since Athens, Greece. In the Greek islands, shared rooms were sold out so I had to pay double for my own room. Egypt and India were so cheap I didn't have to stay in shared rooms. Anyway, it's back to no privacy and meeting strangers.
Last night I hopped the Yamanote line in Tokyo and popped out for a quick hello/goodbye to Shibuya [photo above] and Harajuku. It was amazing to see how familiar the streets were. I realized that I covered a LOT of ground last time I was in Japan. Still, there's much more I haven't seen and I'm going to have to return someday. This time around, it was all about taking it easy [aside from climbing a mountain] and spending time with friends. I was extremely sad to leave yesterday. I realized that I hadn't really had time to hang out with anyone from the States since Anthonette came out to Italy. I was really craving the comfort of people who knew me. I was really really bummed as I thought about getting back on the road to strange places and faces.
My first impressions of China- the air quality is not so wonderful. And there are a lot of Chinese people here. They're everywhere dude. Somehow I managed to hop three buses through the city to find my hostel. It's really funny to have these exchanges with people who speak no English. They just spew out words at me, I smile, and nod.
I was dying to brush my teeth and then I wondered, is the water safe to brush with here in Beijing? They say it is but I don't know if I want to mess with it. I miss you, Japan water. Man, I'm in China. So weird. I guess it's time to find food.
Hey, if anyone has time to look this up, I'd appreciate it. I arrive in China on September 10 on a single entry visa. I take a land tour that ends in Hong Kong on Oct 1. Then I have to book a flight back to Beijing from Hong Kong in order to catch my next flight to Thailand on Oct 3.
My question is, do I need an additional visa to go back to China from Hong Kong?? Does going back to China from Hong Kong count as a second entry? I sure hope not. Maybe someone can phone an Asian travel agent in the States and clarify.
Thanks folks.
[update: I'm thinking that I'll be ok. I read that you can go from HK to China without a visa for 6 days. Worse comes to worse, I'll just move to Hong Kong]
My question is, do I need an additional visa to go back to China from Hong Kong?? Does going back to China from Hong Kong count as a second entry? I sure hope not. Maybe someone can phone an Asian travel agent in the States and clarify.
Thanks folks.
[update: I'm thinking that I'll be ok. I read that you can go from HK to China without a visa for 6 days. Worse comes to worse, I'll just move to Hong Kong]
Labels: China
