There are very few blue skies in China.
Drivers do not know anything about yielding, right of way, or even slow down, for cryin' out loud! They do not slow down when turning a corner, when pulling out on to a road or even when passing in front of me while I walk with a green pedestrian light (and whether it's green or red means nothing). I realize this may sound like drivers in many countries, but I am more fearful crossing roadways here than I have been anywhere else. And on a bad day it makes me absolutely crazy - I have even hit a few cars with my hand to release some frustration. That, and the incessant honking!! They honk when they are passing, when they are being passed, when they are thinking of passing, they honk at other vehicles, they honk at people, they honk because they are driving!
While I have learned enough of the language to be understood when I am bargaining, ordering food, buying train/bus tickets, almost never am I understood when I ask for a toilet! No matter how many different ways I pronounce the word for toilet, using various intonations, I almost always receive looks of fright and calls for somebody/anybody to come deal with me. I'd rather that my need for a toilet didn't involve so many people, but c'est la vie. So I came up with a solution to reduce this aggravation. I copied the characters for toilet onto a little flash card, which I can pull out when needed. Unfortunately, now that I am in Beijing I haven't had the opportunity to try it out - there are plenty of high-end hotels, McDonalds, KFCs and public toilets - so I'm never far from a tser-swor.
Despite what I found out about their success rate with dams, I still believe that if you need a road, bridge, tunnel or rail-line in a hurry, the Chinese are the ones to call.
They're not bad with parks either! And they know how to use their parks. Parks are fantastic places to relax and people watch. They are flying kites, playing badminton, ballroom dancing, doing Taichi, group dancing with scarves, group dancing with fans, group dancing with swords. practicing with the Chinese yo-yo, playing cards, playing mahjong, running, stretching, walking backwards, singing (group and solos), Chinese hackey sac, paddle ball - and this is all usually happening before most of us are out of bed.
How can you not like people who take their birds out for a walk? It's wonderful to walk down the street or walk through a park and listen to birds everywhere singing from their beautiful bamboo cages.
Men rarely wear shorts, but can sometimes be seen wearing pyjamas. Most often they are dressed in Western-style suits with the tailor's label prominently on the sleeve. Beepers and cell phones are also prominent and clipped to their belts.
Women wear ankle or shin-high stockings with their dresses and skirts. Maybe I've been away too long, but I don't think it's such a bad look.
There's a famous Canadian over here. I've wondered who the goofy looking white guy is that I see on TV all the time. Now I know - Mark Rowswell aka Da Shan.
http://www.cctv.com/program/UpClose/20041028/101784.shtml
... and has he gotten into a bit of trouble?
http://english.sohu.com/20050512/n225531197.shtml
31.5.05
30.5.05
Three Gorges Dam - postscript
Some info I've come across that I found interesting:
The dam is being built on an earthquake fault.
The Gorges have a long history of enormous landslides that cause massive waves.
The resulting reservoir will flood 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,352 villages; it will swamp 650 factories and 139 power stations.
Over 350 million people live in the Yangze watershed and over 2 million will be displaced.
3200 Chinese dams have burst since 1949. The Chinese dam failure rate is 3.7% vs. 0.6% for the rest of the world.
The advantages that are discussed are electricity, flood control, and transportation.
The dam will create enough electricity to replace the burning of 50 million tons of coal/year. The dam's 26 massive turbines will produce the equivalent of 10 nuclear reactors, enough energy to boost China's national output by 10%.
The Three Gorges Dam as a topic has been banned from public debate since 1987.
The dam is being built on an earthquake fault.
The Gorges have a long history of enormous landslides that cause massive waves.
The resulting reservoir will flood 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,352 villages; it will swamp 650 factories and 139 power stations.
Over 350 million people live in the Yangze watershed and over 2 million will be displaced.
3200 Chinese dams have burst since 1949. The Chinese dam failure rate is 3.7% vs. 0.6% for the rest of the world.
The advantages that are discussed are electricity, flood control, and transportation.
The dam will create enough electricity to replace the burning of 50 million tons of coal/year. The dam's 26 massive turbines will produce the equivalent of 10 nuclear reactors, enough energy to boost China's national output by 10%.
The Three Gorges Dam as a topic has been banned from public debate since 1987.
25.5.05
Welcome to Beijing
I had a window seat on the upper level of the traincar going into Beijing. It was a 3 hour journey with only one stop on the way. And across from me sat a man who was getting off at that stop.
He was Chinese, but had Australian citizenship - so that led to some very interesting conversation about how and why. We talked about how he was able to acquire citizenship when he fled China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. We talked about living in Australia vs. living in China and how he wanted to move back when he got older. He is now living in China because he is married to a Chinese woman and has a small child - and he doesn't want to risk trying to leave under these circumstances. We also talked about traveling as a foreigner in China, the language, the food and so on.
After he got off, I was fortunate to find that the young man who had been sitting next to him also spoke English. His name is Lucky Yang. Beijing is his hometown and he asked me if I had been to Beijing before. No. Do you know where you are staying? Yes. Do you know how to get there? I think so, I am going to take bus #52. Can I help you to make sure you get on the bus? Yes, that would be very nice!
We arrived in Beijing at 9 p.m., after dark. Lucky got on bus #52 with me and asked to see my guidebook to read the directions to the hostel. Along the way he pointed out the important buildings and told me that the bus was traveling along the most famous road in China - Chang-an. It was great to have my own personal guide!
He then said that he thought there was a better way to get to the hostel and so we got off at the Tiananmen stop - and what a nice introduction. The massive square is well lit at night and there was very little traffic. We had to walk through the square to catch a taxi - he said it was too far to walk to the hostel.
And how nice to have someone who speaks the language helping me out. We hopped into a cab and between Lucky and the cab driver and a few folks on the street we eventually pulled up outside the hostel, which is tucked away on a tiny lane in one of the old hutongs (Chinese neighborhoods). We both got out of the cab, I hoisted my pack on my back and asked if I could pay for the taxi. He said no, no, as he hopped back into the front seat and then he said welcome to Beijing! Indeed!!
Thank you very much Lucky!
He was Chinese, but had Australian citizenship - so that led to some very interesting conversation about how and why. We talked about how he was able to acquire citizenship when he fled China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square incident. We talked about living in Australia vs. living in China and how he wanted to move back when he got older. He is now living in China because he is married to a Chinese woman and has a small child - and he doesn't want to risk trying to leave under these circumstances. We also talked about traveling as a foreigner in China, the language, the food and so on.
After he got off, I was fortunate to find that the young man who had been sitting next to him also spoke English. His name is Lucky Yang. Beijing is his hometown and he asked me if I had been to Beijing before. No. Do you know where you are staying? Yes. Do you know how to get there? I think so, I am going to take bus #52. Can I help you to make sure you get on the bus? Yes, that would be very nice!
We arrived in Beijing at 9 p.m., after dark. Lucky got on bus #52 with me and asked to see my guidebook to read the directions to the hostel. Along the way he pointed out the important buildings and told me that the bus was traveling along the most famous road in China - Chang-an. It was great to have my own personal guide!
He then said that he thought there was a better way to get to the hostel and so we got off at the Tiananmen stop - and what a nice introduction. The massive square is well lit at night and there was very little traffic. We had to walk through the square to catch a taxi - he said it was too far to walk to the hostel.
And how nice to have someone who speaks the language helping me out. We hopped into a cab and between Lucky and the cab driver and a few folks on the street we eventually pulled up outside the hostel, which is tucked away on a tiny lane in one of the old hutongs (Chinese neighborhoods). We both got out of the cab, I hoisted my pack on my back and asked if I could pay for the taxi. He said no, no, as he hopped back into the front seat and then he said welcome to Beijing! Indeed!!
Thank you very much Lucky!
22.5.05
more chuckles
After finding that the PSB (police) in Taiyuan (a hot, dirty, trying-hard-to-be-something town) were not interested in helping me extend my visa, I made a quick change of plans and am heading to Beijing where I can get my extension, drop off some weight and head out again.
On the way to Beijing I decided to stop for a day in Shijiazhung from where there is a good day trip to a monastery in a dramatic location, perched high on a mountain.
As seems to happen too often, the guidebook suggests this is an unremarkable town, yet it looks to me like a nice place to hangout for a day or two. Unfortunately, there seems to be no budget accommodation in town. So I am paying four times more than I'd like to pay. And as I move north, I am finding it increasingly frustrating getting inexpensive rooms. Hotels often have pictures of the types of rooms with their prices. When I point to the room that I am interested in, it is never available and I am always directed to the more expensive rooms.
I am staying at the Zhong Jing Grand Hotel. There are 218 guest rooms, each has been provided with a luxurious bathroom, auto-fire-fighting alarm and water spray equipment. Thank goodness.
The guest rooms, which are in various vigorous styles and ready with complete modernized installation, are just the perfect place for businessmen and tourists to have a nice rest in order to dispel fatigue.
My room is on the 19th floor and has a magnificent floor-to-ceiling view of the city. Off to the right are 5 nuclear cooling towers, and not far to the left are 3 more.
On the street I met a young woman from Saskatchewan who is here studying Chinese with her husband. When I told here about my view, she said she wants to believe her husband who said they are not nuclear, but are for the enormous coal industry (later confirmed by a Chinese man).
When I came back from my evening walk the assistant manager came running over to communicate to me that I would not get breakfast. Ah... so breakfast could be included? I asked why I could not have breakfast and was told because I had bargained down and gotten a reduced room rate. I looked sad, and gave a few chings (please) and was soon given a ticket for breakfast.
Now, do I stick around and hike 2 hours to the monastery, or go see the tribute in Martyrs Park to Dr. Norman Bethune? Dr. Bethune, a Canadian doctor (and member of the Cdn Communist Party), came to China to help the Communists in the fight against the Japanese. He became a close confidant of Mao. Mao was so impressed with Bethune's devotion to his work that he told the Chinese to "learn selflessness from Dr. Bethune." Bethune's remains were moved to China at the request of the Chinese government in 1953.
I'm feeling lazy.
On the way to Beijing I decided to stop for a day in Shijiazhung from where there is a good day trip to a monastery in a dramatic location, perched high on a mountain.
As seems to happen too often, the guidebook suggests this is an unremarkable town, yet it looks to me like a nice place to hangout for a day or two. Unfortunately, there seems to be no budget accommodation in town. So I am paying four times more than I'd like to pay. And as I move north, I am finding it increasingly frustrating getting inexpensive rooms. Hotels often have pictures of the types of rooms with their prices. When I point to the room that I am interested in, it is never available and I am always directed to the more expensive rooms.
I am staying at the Zhong Jing Grand Hotel. There are 218 guest rooms, each has been provided with a luxurious bathroom, auto-fire-fighting alarm and water spray equipment. Thank goodness.
The guest rooms, which are in various vigorous styles and ready with complete modernized installation, are just the perfect place for businessmen and tourists to have a nice rest in order to dispel fatigue.
My room is on the 19th floor and has a magnificent floor-to-ceiling view of the city. Off to the right are 5 nuclear cooling towers, and not far to the left are 3 more.
On the street I met a young woman from Saskatchewan who is here studying Chinese with her husband. When I told here about my view, she said she wants to believe her husband who said they are not nuclear, but are for the enormous coal industry (later confirmed by a Chinese man).
When I came back from my evening walk the assistant manager came running over to communicate to me that I would not get breakfast. Ah... so breakfast could be included? I asked why I could not have breakfast and was told because I had bargained down and gotten a reduced room rate. I looked sad, and gave a few chings (please) and was soon given a ticket for breakfast.
Now, do I stick around and hike 2 hours to the monastery, or go see the tribute in Martyrs Park to Dr. Norman Bethune? Dr. Bethune, a Canadian doctor (and member of the Cdn Communist Party), came to China to help the Communists in the fight against the Japanese. He became a close confidant of Mao. Mao was so impressed with Bethune's devotion to his work that he told the Chinese to "learn selflessness from Dr. Bethune." Bethune's remains were moved to China at the request of the Chinese government in 1953.
I'm feeling lazy.
13.5.05
Cruising - Chinese style
Down the Yangze River, the longest river in China and the third longest river in the world, beginning in the mountains above Tibet, flowing 6400 kms to Shanghai on the east coast.
Everybody is rushing to do the cruise before the Three Gorges Dam is completed in 2009. The largest dam in the world will submerge historic sites and towns and requires the relocation of millions of people.
Altho I've never relished the idea of cruising and hanging out with hundreds of people, I thought this was something I should do since I was in the area.
I arrived in the city of Chongqing (one of China's most heavily industrialized cities, population 30 million), checked into a hotel, and immediately started to source out cruise info. I was chased down by hundreds of touts - how many boats would be on the river?! I could take the 2 day/3 night trip on a luxury cruise ship ($300) or a Chinese cruise ship (300 RMB/$40). I chose the lower bunk in a six bed room on a Chinese boat.
At 6:30 pm it was time to board. I found my bed, introduced myself to the two older Chinese couples and the single Chinese woman in my room as best I could, then off to the top deck. The staff tried to tell me I had to pay 20 RMB to sit up here!! Sorry, boo ming bai - I don't understand (but I didn't think I'd get away with this everytime). I pulled up a little stool and got ready. At 8:00, just after sundown, we started to sail away, admiring the night lights of the city - how exciting!
Then I toured the ship (capacity about 600 people) and went back to our tiny cabin where the TV was at top volume. At about 10 everybody was ready for bed. It seemed they were going to sleep in their clothes, nylons, belts with attached cell phones. I showered and put on my shorts and t-shirt - was this ok? We discovered that the light switch wasn't connected to the light. Oh well, I'd read a bit longer and was thankful to have the lower bunk.
I was finding it hard to fall asleep in a daylight-lit room so I read until 1:30 before finally nodding off. Then at 4 am the ship's horn droned and another cruise ship pulled up right beside us. After 15 minutes of commotion and noise it took off for the opposite bank. Time for a bit more sleep? Nope, here comes another ship and what a ship! A red and gold dragon (Dragon Cruisers) and every room had a private piece of deck. And, we also noticed it was pouring rain. I gave up on sleep (and could feel a blog coming on) as everyone started to wash up, share my bed and slurp their instant noodles. It was also getting more difficult to breathe with the ship exhaust coming in the windows. And the 'elevator' music soon started.
Their first tour began at 6 - a chance for me to be alone and scout the town for some breakfast. The first stop was at Fengdu - a ghost town - a town being relocated. Some of the dilapidated and abandoned buildings were still occupied by residents who had small shops selling food and camera film to the hundreds/thousands of tourists parading the streets. I could count at least 8 ships out there - how could they fill them every day? (I would see later that boats stop at different interest points, so there were even more boats out there, including the boats coming up-river. Everything in China is on a grand scale!)
The first day was a very hazy grey/brown. The second day was green - thank goodness.
One of the highlights of this trip would be passing through the Three Gorges. After a goodnight's sleep (we found the proper light switch), we were awoken early with announcements, which of course meant nothing to me. I was guessing that everyone was being given instructions for the morning's stop - a separate tour through the Three Little Gorges, which I was passing up. I didn't want to be crushed on a small boat with hundreds and I didn't need a bright new yellow ballcap.
As my cabin mates rushed out the door, I thought yeah - I could change and wash with more privacy. I was wrong. After changing and washing, I strolled out to the deck to discover I had just missed the first gorge - oh well, there were two more later on.
While they were off on the Little tour, I toured the town and hung out on deck. I met a Chinese couple who retired to Ottawa ten years ago to be closer to their daughter. Their English was a little rough, but it was nice to talk. They insisted I join them later for lunch. Well, I had tried the food on board on Day 1 and it was nothing special... and I had just secured myself a place along the rail because once we set off, which would be about lunch time, we'd be heading into the second gorge. But how could I say no?
I was wrong. We were about fifteen minutes into the gorge, the scenery was good and then I got a tap on the shoulder. "Follow me."
In the dining room we took a table with a great view into the gorge from the back of the boat. And then the food started to arrive - it seems that they had special ordered. It was a very nice lunch. Then they asked me to join them on the last tour of the day - to the dam itself. I had planned to do a very cheap local bus version the next day to pass time until the evening train. I accepted.
It was 7:30 pm and we were docking for the last tour - the dam. On my way off the boat I ran into the two beautiful blonde Norwegian 20 year old girls I'd met in the dorm in Chongqing. They were at their wits end as they had done every side trip, and after all, who knows gorges better than Norwegians! I listened to them vent as hundreds of us pushed on to the cable cars to get up to the buses and vent more as we all pushed on to the buses. Nobody pushes better than the Chinese - I had quite a tussle with an old lady!
It was about an hour drive to the dam site. I feel incredible frustration here because I don't know the language - more than for my traveling convenience, I want to know what's really going on here. The tour guide on the bus talked non-stop. What did she say?
Everybody lined up with incredible enthusiasm to have their pictures taken in front of the dam. Given the controversy of the dam (any dam), what do they think of this project? I think the woman sitting next to me on the bus was trying to express her great pride when she excitedly talked to me, touching her heart, pointing out the window, beaming and spreading here arms out. After viewing the dam we walked backed to our buses along a beautifully landscaped promenade where one could relax on a bench and further enjoy the view of the dam.
A ten minute drive took us to another section of the dam park with colourful lights, large fountains, streams, statues, a huge indoor model of the project area and the largest gift shop I've seen yet, where you could buy everything from DVDs, jewelry, silk robes and NY sun visors. After confirming that it was 'New York' I had to ask why, there was only a little smile in reply.
Well, that was interesting, but I didn't think it was worth 120 RMB. Oh... but we weren't done yet.
At the next stop we passed by many food stands and then into an aquarium. I walked through the aquarium and followed everyone to the next area. We could hear loud music and a sign said something about War Horses and the Three Kingdoms. I walked through the Enterance and gasped - oh my! It was a large muddy outdoor arena with a grand Chinese gate at one end, through which strode 20+ horses and historically costumed riders. I didn't stick around for the entire mock battle because my stomach was set on some dumplings I'd seen.
Back on the bus I was thinking it would be quite late by the time we got back to the boat, I was tired and it would be an early morning because we were to arrive in Yichang about 4 am, but could sleep until 6 when we'd be kicked off the boat.
Another stop. I was on the verge of a giggling fit. We piled off and were toured through a temple, where among the artifacts there were corpses that had been dug up during the dam construction (only two). On the way out, through a large snack shop, I ran up to the Norwegians and asked with a laugh "So how many more stops do you think?"
They looked at me and said "This is it." After struggling with the English speaking guide, they had figured out that we weren't going back, we were to wait here for our boats. It was 11:30 and ours was scheduled to arrive at 2 am. The guide told us to find a seat in one of the many outdoor tea/eating areas, for which we had to pay 2 RMB.
Good thing I had bought a pack of Three Gorges playing cards at the last stop. While many of the tourists marched and sang pop songs, the three of us played Hearts.
There was no sleep last night, and I'm on the overnight train to the ancient city of Xian, where I should park myself for a week to catch up on my sleep.
Next attraction: Terracotta Army
Everybody is rushing to do the cruise before the Three Gorges Dam is completed in 2009. The largest dam in the world will submerge historic sites and towns and requires the relocation of millions of people.
Altho I've never relished the idea of cruising and hanging out with hundreds of people, I thought this was something I should do since I was in the area.
I arrived in the city of Chongqing (one of China's most heavily industrialized cities, population 30 million), checked into a hotel, and immediately started to source out cruise info. I was chased down by hundreds of touts - how many boats would be on the river?! I could take the 2 day/3 night trip on a luxury cruise ship ($300) or a Chinese cruise ship (300 RMB/$40). I chose the lower bunk in a six bed room on a Chinese boat.
At 6:30 pm it was time to board. I found my bed, introduced myself to the two older Chinese couples and the single Chinese woman in my room as best I could, then off to the top deck. The staff tried to tell me I had to pay 20 RMB to sit up here!! Sorry, boo ming bai - I don't understand (but I didn't think I'd get away with this everytime). I pulled up a little stool and got ready. At 8:00, just after sundown, we started to sail away, admiring the night lights of the city - how exciting!
Then I toured the ship (capacity about 600 people) and went back to our tiny cabin where the TV was at top volume. At about 10 everybody was ready for bed. It seemed they were going to sleep in their clothes, nylons, belts with attached cell phones. I showered and put on my shorts and t-shirt - was this ok? We discovered that the light switch wasn't connected to the light. Oh well, I'd read a bit longer and was thankful to have the lower bunk.
I was finding it hard to fall asleep in a daylight-lit room so I read until 1:30 before finally nodding off. Then at 4 am the ship's horn droned and another cruise ship pulled up right beside us. After 15 minutes of commotion and noise it took off for the opposite bank. Time for a bit more sleep? Nope, here comes another ship and what a ship! A red and gold dragon (Dragon Cruisers) and every room had a private piece of deck. And, we also noticed it was pouring rain. I gave up on sleep (and could feel a blog coming on) as everyone started to wash up, share my bed and slurp their instant noodles. It was also getting more difficult to breathe with the ship exhaust coming in the windows. And the 'elevator' music soon started.
Their first tour began at 6 - a chance for me to be alone and scout the town for some breakfast. The first stop was at Fengdu - a ghost town - a town being relocated. Some of the dilapidated and abandoned buildings were still occupied by residents who had small shops selling food and camera film to the hundreds/thousands of tourists parading the streets. I could count at least 8 ships out there - how could they fill them every day? (I would see later that boats stop at different interest points, so there were even more boats out there, including the boats coming up-river. Everything in China is on a grand scale!)
The first day was a very hazy grey/brown. The second day was green - thank goodness.
One of the highlights of this trip would be passing through the Three Gorges. After a goodnight's sleep (we found the proper light switch), we were awoken early with announcements, which of course meant nothing to me. I was guessing that everyone was being given instructions for the morning's stop - a separate tour through the Three Little Gorges, which I was passing up. I didn't want to be crushed on a small boat with hundreds and I didn't need a bright new yellow ballcap.
As my cabin mates rushed out the door, I thought yeah - I could change and wash with more privacy. I was wrong. After changing and washing, I strolled out to the deck to discover I had just missed the first gorge - oh well, there were two more later on.
While they were off on the Little tour, I toured the town and hung out on deck. I met a Chinese couple who retired to Ottawa ten years ago to be closer to their daughter. Their English was a little rough, but it was nice to talk. They insisted I join them later for lunch. Well, I had tried the food on board on Day 1 and it was nothing special... and I had just secured myself a place along the rail because once we set off, which would be about lunch time, we'd be heading into the second gorge. But how could I say no?
I was wrong. We were about fifteen minutes into the gorge, the scenery was good and then I got a tap on the shoulder. "Follow me."
In the dining room we took a table with a great view into the gorge from the back of the boat. And then the food started to arrive - it seems that they had special ordered. It was a very nice lunch. Then they asked me to join them on the last tour of the day - to the dam itself. I had planned to do a very cheap local bus version the next day to pass time until the evening train. I accepted.
It was 7:30 pm and we were docking for the last tour - the dam. On my way off the boat I ran into the two beautiful blonde Norwegian 20 year old girls I'd met in the dorm in Chongqing. They were at their wits end as they had done every side trip, and after all, who knows gorges better than Norwegians! I listened to them vent as hundreds of us pushed on to the cable cars to get up to the buses and vent more as we all pushed on to the buses. Nobody pushes better than the Chinese - I had quite a tussle with an old lady!
It was about an hour drive to the dam site. I feel incredible frustration here because I don't know the language - more than for my traveling convenience, I want to know what's really going on here. The tour guide on the bus talked non-stop. What did she say?
Everybody lined up with incredible enthusiasm to have their pictures taken in front of the dam. Given the controversy of the dam (any dam), what do they think of this project? I think the woman sitting next to me on the bus was trying to express her great pride when she excitedly talked to me, touching her heart, pointing out the window, beaming and spreading here arms out. After viewing the dam we walked backed to our buses along a beautifully landscaped promenade where one could relax on a bench and further enjoy the view of the dam.
A ten minute drive took us to another section of the dam park with colourful lights, large fountains, streams, statues, a huge indoor model of the project area and the largest gift shop I've seen yet, where you could buy everything from DVDs, jewelry, silk robes and NY sun visors. After confirming that it was 'New York' I had to ask why, there was only a little smile in reply.
Well, that was interesting, but I didn't think it was worth 120 RMB. Oh... but we weren't done yet.
At the next stop we passed by many food stands and then into an aquarium. I walked through the aquarium and followed everyone to the next area. We could hear loud music and a sign said something about War Horses and the Three Kingdoms. I walked through the Enterance and gasped - oh my! It was a large muddy outdoor arena with a grand Chinese gate at one end, through which strode 20+ horses and historically costumed riders. I didn't stick around for the entire mock battle because my stomach was set on some dumplings I'd seen.
Back on the bus I was thinking it would be quite late by the time we got back to the boat, I was tired and it would be an early morning because we were to arrive in Yichang about 4 am, but could sleep until 6 when we'd be kicked off the boat.
Another stop. I was on the verge of a giggling fit. We piled off and were toured through a temple, where among the artifacts there were corpses that had been dug up during the dam construction (only two). On the way out, through a large snack shop, I ran up to the Norwegians and asked with a laugh "So how many more stops do you think?"
They looked at me and said "This is it." After struggling with the English speaking guide, they had figured out that we weren't going back, we were to wait here for our boats. It was 11:30 and ours was scheduled to arrive at 2 am. The guide told us to find a seat in one of the many outdoor tea/eating areas, for which we had to pay 2 RMB.
Good thing I had bought a pack of Three Gorges playing cards at the last stop. While many of the tourists marched and sang pop songs, the three of us played Hearts.
There was no sleep last night, and I'm on the overnight train to the ancient city of Xian, where I should park myself for a week to catch up on my sleep.
Next attraction: Terracotta Army
7.5.05
Experimental Travel
Check out these sites for some new ideas:
http://www.journalism.ryerson.ca/online/shift/fetish/aali.htm
http://latourex.org/
http://www.journalism.ryerson.ca/online/shift/fetish/aali.htm
http://latourex.org/
6.5.05
China so far...
Incredible scenery, mountain passes, cobbled highways, paved highways, deep valleys, landslide scarred terrain, pine plantations, extensive rice terraces, denudation, rubber plantations, dusty skies, wide boulevards empty of traffic, ghost-towns of concrete and glass, minorities in wildly colorful costumes, tea terraces, tea harvesting, tea rolling, tea pots, tea flasks, eating all day, steamed dumplings, boiled dumplings, jelly soup, fried dough twists, steamed corn, noodle stalls, more noodle stalls, still more noodle stalls, dumpling stalls, more dumpling stalls, chilis, chili oil, green chilis, red chilis, crushed chilis, flower chilis that numb the gums, hot hot chilis, spicy noodles, spicy soup, spicy cookies, spicy beer, spicy everything, piles of shit, my own shit, pigshit, chickenshit, dogshit, maggots in shit, frozen shit, streams of shit, babies shitting on sidewalks, hawking and spitting, highway and street-cleaners in flourescent orange suits, garbage trucks whistling It's a small world after all and Jingle Bells!, landscaped roadways, towns which feel like they have been built last week, villages which have been around for centuries, sleeper buses, pink buses, broken buses, shiny new buses, internet cafes with over 100 computers, regions with no power, roads lit like Vegas, endless smoking, bus drivers bribed with cigs, cigs sparked on leaving the parking lot, cigs sparked on arrival, cigs sparked in friendship, cigs sparked in anger, rocks, crushed rocks, piled rocks, rocks rocks rocks, Mao suits, whispy beards, cokebottle glasses, high stylin' shoes, barefeet, Armani, Escada, Ferragamo, shaggy hair, orange hair, Avon, Tupperware, Chinese TV, 30 year-old imported circus and magic shows, Chinese Price is Right, Chinese Survivor, games, cards slapping, majong clinking, heated chess discussions, happy faces, surprised faces, so many hellos....
5.5.05
Today's Quotes
"Memories are permanent. Sorrowful one remained sad even with the passing of time, yet happy ones could never be recreated - not with the same joy. Remembering bred its own peculiar sorrow. It seemed so unfair that time should render both sadness and happiness into a source of pain. So what was the point of possessing memory? It didn't help anything."
"... our lives are but a sequence of accidents - a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life."
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
"... our lives are but a sequence of accidents - a clanking chain of chance events. A string of choices, casual or deliberate, which add up to that one big calamity we call life."
A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
3.5.05
TongHai, Yunnan - Hotel Review
I stayed at the LiYue Hotel in the lovely town of Tonghai for two nights. When I was checking out I found on the counter a wonderful glossy brochure with pictures and description - which gave me a chuckle on the bus ride outta town. Here it is:
Briep Lntrodoction of Lgyerlotel
LYUE Hotel stands on the No 56 West City-rounding road, TongHai, which is famous for it manners, YunNan province, South of the city is the Sue-Hill and north of the city is QiLu-lake. The surrounding of our hotel is beautiful, the devices are modern, the service are good, and the manogement is scientific. Our hotel is TWO_STARS hotel towards foreign.
LIYE Hotel was built in 1981. Now it has became the well-known hotel to many people.
Facing the new market, The Hard condition and soft condition of our hotel are made better to you. The appearance of the hotel is the classic Europe style. We provide a lot of services such as custom rooms, restaurant, entertainment, beauty, chess and puke, commercial affairs. In our hotel, there are sculptures, frest flowers, green meadows all these made our hotel full of the smell of good manner. We provide luxuious set, 20 luxurious standard rooms, 210 beds, lavatory, Telecommunication, TV set, big&small, east&west dining room. All this can provide the best service for 1000 people. Dishes in the restaurant are made by our chefs, who certificate with 1st, 2nd or special 3rd level, In our dancing hall, KTV rooms, Chess&puke rooms, you can satisfied with yourself. Beside this, we provide mini-hall, convince hall, big hall, and meeting hall for sorts of conferences.
We are solidarity, brave and creative, reinforcing inter management, standing outer figure. Number 1 is our target. perfect service is the guarantee of improving the ecomomic benefit. Our motto is always being the best and satisfying the public.
Perhaps management's service has slipped since the writing of this brochure as I've never killed so many cockroaches! The first night it was over 10, I lost count. The second night it was only 5 before I finally fell asleep. Did they come in from the green meadows or the puke room?
But it really wasn't a bad place to stay for just under $3/night/person.
Briep Lntrodoction of Lgyerlotel
LYUE Hotel stands on the No 56 West City-rounding road, TongHai, which is famous for it manners, YunNan province, South of the city is the Sue-Hill and north of the city is QiLu-lake. The surrounding of our hotel is beautiful, the devices are modern, the service are good, and the manogement is scientific. Our hotel is TWO_STARS hotel towards foreign.
LIYE Hotel was built in 1981. Now it has became the well-known hotel to many people.
Facing the new market, The Hard condition and soft condition of our hotel are made better to you. The appearance of the hotel is the classic Europe style. We provide a lot of services such as custom rooms, restaurant, entertainment, beauty, chess and puke, commercial affairs. In our hotel, there are sculptures, frest flowers, green meadows all these made our hotel full of the smell of good manner. We provide luxuious set, 20 luxurious standard rooms, 210 beds, lavatory, Telecommunication, TV set, big&small, east&west dining room. All this can provide the best service for 1000 people. Dishes in the restaurant are made by our chefs, who certificate with 1st, 2nd or special 3rd level, In our dancing hall, KTV rooms, Chess&puke rooms, you can satisfied with yourself. Beside this, we provide mini-hall, convince hall, big hall, and meeting hall for sorts of conferences.
We are solidarity, brave and creative, reinforcing inter management, standing outer figure. Number 1 is our target. perfect service is the guarantee of improving the ecomomic benefit. Our motto is always being the best and satisfying the public.
Perhaps management's service has slipped since the writing of this brochure as I've never killed so many cockroaches! The first night it was over 10, I lost count. The second night it was only 5 before I finally fell asleep. Did they come in from the green meadows or the puke room?
But it really wasn't a bad place to stay for just under $3/night/person.
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