The Second Half

I'm sitting on a plane, about 1 hour into a 9.5 hour flight from Beijing to Vancouver. Seems almost short after the last one, not to mention the trains. Looking forward to having unobstructed internet access again at the end of it. China felt more open and unoppressed than Russia, and far more so than the mid-east countries I hit up last year, but it's still got a ways to go.

Anywho, here's what went down on the second half of the trip...

Xi'an
- Arrived early in the morning and were lucky enough to get straight into our hotel rooms for much needed showers after the overnight train. My room over-looked a school yard so I also got to watch the kids do their opening exercises before heading out for the day which was pretty neat.

- Day 2 (I'll get to Day 1 in a minute) was the Terracotta Warriors. It's impressive, and worth a visit if you are here, but to be honest it's not worth the long trip to Xi'an just for that. Fortunately there's a lot of other things around here as well. Unfortunately none of it was on our itinerary.

- Traffic here was craaaazy. Of all the places I've been in the world, this was the only one that ever had me clenching my butt cheeks. The sole rule of the road that I could determine was simply "most aggressive driver wins" which inevitably leads to a perennial game of chicken, pedestrians included. I almost got hit by a bus before I figured that out.

Hua Shan
- This was Day 1 in Xi'an. While others had a free day to explore the ancient capital at their leisure, I had arranged a private driver to take me out here for the day. 1 other person from the group (Lucy from Britain) decided to come along so I had some much welcome company for the adventure. Of course, I didn't tell her about any of my mountain mis-haps until we were almost there...

- Hua Shan is one of the 5 sacred Daoist mountains and known for being the most dangerous. Hence my interest in it. I mostly just wanted to do the climb and particularly the famous plank road (which I did, pics to come), but the scenery far exceeded my expectations. Stark white cliffs that plummet hundreds of straight vertical feet, often blanketed by thick trees rooted in un-possible slopes, mostly dark green but beginning to change to fall colors. I took more pictures here than any other day of the trip, and it'd be hard to say whether this or Yangshou was my favorite. Will definitely post pics of this!

Beijing
- another overnight train, this time instead of arriving to a room and shower, we struck straight out for perhaps the longest and most exhausting day of the trip. Temple of Heaven, Tianemen Square, Forbidden City, and the Legends of Kung Fu show.

- I really enjoyed Temple of Heaven, particularly the park as we went in the morning and got to watch locals dancing, playing cards and badminton, and doing Tai Chi, which we even enjoined for a few minutes.

- Tianemen Square was mostly non-descript. Highlight was when someone in our group (no, not me) asked about the "incident". Our guide's eyes widened and she emphatically said "we do not discuss that, especially here. Look at all the soldiers around us". I'm embarrassed to say I don't really know much about it, so I'll have to do some reading when I get back.

- Forbidden City was long and repetitious. It was long and repetitious. Highlight was actually the bus ride back. After waiting almost half an hour, the bus we needed arrived fully loaded, and the next didn't come for another half-an-hour, which was also fully loaded by then. It was anatomically impossible to get even 2 more bodies on, but we had to make it happen, so we defied the laws of physics and somehow squeezed 9 in. I almost didn't make it, but several locals must have thought this solitary red head wouldn't survive long if separated from his pack and literally helped push me in and close the doors. I'd never really experienced the crowded transits of Asia before - I can honestly say I now have.

- Kung Fu show was also good, on par with the acrobat show. The set was full of visual delights and they did some neat tricks with the spot lights that made it look just like a movie at some points.

The Great Wall
- Day 2 in Beijing was a day trip to The Wall. Not much I more I can really say about it. It's really long and repititious. But likely slots in at number 3 on my favorites from this trip.


We finished off the trip with a delicious farewell dinner of Peking Duck. I can also now add to the list of foods I've tried both lotus roots and sweet olives. Recommended. Most of us said our good-byes shortly after, although this morning I rejoined a couple of the solo-traveling girls who were staying 2 extra days for a very brief visit to the hutongs (old city neighbourhoods) before I bid them audieu and fled to the airport.


Thus endeth another sojourn to a far off land for me. I think I've now spent as much time in Asia as I have in Europe, which is pretty fly for a white guy. I've learned a lot about the culture and history of a civilization I previously knew little about. Some of it I liked. Some of it... well, the smoking, scamming, and horking in particular I could do without. And I'm looking forward to getting back to the wide open spaces of Canada... I'll never complain about crowds again.


That's all for this trip. Up next? Turkey, Croatia, Costa Rica and Brazil are all pretty high on the list. Western Europe and several pockets of North America still need to be checked off at some point too. But to be honest, a relaxing beach vacation is sounding really, really good right now.

Till then,
Greg Ash be

The First Half

September 23, 2013. Captain's Log.

I'm on a train from Yichang to Xi'an. This is the short overnight train on our trip, at a measely 15 hours. If it's on time.

3 beds to a bunk. 2 bunks to a "cabin". 108 people to a carriage. 2 bathrooms.

As the BBC documentary says, "This. Is WILD China."

We're about an hour in, and I've heard the squatter bathrooms are already wonderful, so I figured I'd take my mind off the urge to go and try to kill a little time blogging. And maybe notice the smoking a little less.

Chinese people are funny. Everything with food is about being healthy and nutritious. They love to explain the health benefits of each ingredient, all while puffing away on a cigarette. Often right beside the no-smoking sign.

It's not that bad on here though. I've been on worse. No, wait... I haven't. Literally.

But no, it's not that bad. We'll visit, I'll sleep, and we'll wake up in Xi'an for the next leg of the journey. Here's a quick summary of what we've already seen so far:


Shanghai 
- the Bund is un-bund-leviable. (oh come on, you've heard worse. No, wait - you haven't). But seriously, it's gotta be one of the most iconic city scapes in the world, and very cool to see in person. The architecture is impressive everywhere in the city: upside buildings, twisting towers, rarely a straight up-and-down line anywhere. And crazy to think the city, with 27 some million souls now, was a small fishing village barely more than 150 years ago.

- I cannot walk 2 blocks on Nanjing street without getting propositioned for a "sex massage". "young lady". "very pretty". "you come look, see if you like." One even grabbed my arm and starting pulling me towards a side street. 'twas very nice when the rest of the group showed up so I could walk next to one of the girls be left in peace.

- also went to Circus World Shanghai Acrobat Show. On par with, if not better than, Cirque-du-Soliel, but I liked it better as it was more physical and less artistic.

Hangzhou
- had never heard of it before, but the tour I wanted stopped here to see "one of the most beautiful lakes in all of China". Meh. Was an unfortunate waste of day IMHO.
Yangshou

- This was the whole reason I came to China, and was not in the least disappointed. The Karst Mountain scenery is spectacular, with the best views we had from a climb to the top of Moon Hill.

- Even better, was biking through the country-side scenery, where we passed rice fields, small villages, and ended up with a cave tour punctuated by a mud bath, cold shower, and a dip in a hot spring. Everyone who joined agreed this has been the highlight of the trip.

- the town itself is an interesting mix of quaint and gawdy. Surrounded by a karst mountains and bordered by the Li River, the main area is only a few cozy and walkable blocks you can stroll in for hours. But at night the neon lights turn on, the bar doors open, and unless you are in one of them, you'll hear the music from all of them. If I were to come back, this is a place I'd bunk down for longer.

Yangzti River Cruise
- the Three Gorges Scenery was quite nice, but the best part was being able to relax for a day as we had no where else to get to. Ended with a tour of the Three Gorges Dam which, aside from all the dam jokes, was quite disappointing. Fog made good pictures impossible, and the tour itself doesn't let you on, in, or practically even near the dam. It's another thing I'd strongly suggest you reconsider before expending the effort to get here.

The Rest (aka Random Thoughts)

Prices - after SE Asia, I was expecting things to be fairly cheap. Generally food is, but everything else is, well, my money's been disappearing far faster than I expected. It may have something to do with the fact I seem to have "SUCKER" written across my forehead when the locals look at mye. I don't want to admit to what I paid for the cab from the airport.

The Company I Keep - yet again, the group is quite good. Older than usual, and I'm the only straight guy under 50, but all are friendly and look after each other. Most are with friends or partners, but there's three girls also traveling alone so we mostly hang together. 2 from Munich and 1 from Finland, so it's like a 2 week game of Taboo... they explain what they are trying to say without saying the actual word and I have to guess it. And then there's Patrick, the 67 year old Irish marathon runner. Good ol' St. Patty. He's got a good heart, but he sure marches to the beat of a different drum.

Food - was worried about this given I'm currently on an elimination diet, but its actually been quite easy. Dishes are far simpler than Western cuisine so it's pretty easy to see what's in everything and get around the plethora items I have to avoid.

In the Category of "New Delicacies" I've tried consuming:
- Durian --> Smells Awful. Tastes Great. Like a blend of mango and banana.
- Pickled Bamboo --> Smells Awful. Tastes Awful. But kinda grows on you.
- Pig's Ears --> Smells Great, Tastes Awful. Mmmm... cartilege.
- Frog Skin --> Smells Great, Tastes Great.
- Snake Wine --> Smells like turpentine, tastes like turpentine. With a hint of the snake that marinates in it.

In the Category of "Things I'd Never Seen Before":
- An Asian Dwarf
- An Asian with Downs-syndrome
Both are surprising in that you don't realize you've never seen it until you do

In the Category of "Biggest City You've Never Heard Of"
- Chongqing. The city proper is only 7 or 8 million, but the Municiple Area it governs (~= a North American "Greater Metropolitan Area") is 44 Million. 50% larger than Hong Kong, Beijing, or Shanghai. Or Canada for that matter.
- speaking of which, the population numbers here are mind boggling. I'm not sure what the actual number is because every time you see an estimate it's different. 1.25 Billion. 1.34 Billion. That's right, the entire population of Canada isn't even a rounding error in a Chinese census.

The Land of Rice and Green Tea

I saw this picture once when I was a teenager. It's been on my bucket list ever since.

Never really knew where it was though until I showed my good friend Jimmy Zheng. "Oh ya, that's Guilin. My parents went there on their honeymoon."

We did the math and realized there was a good chance this is also where the story of his life began... awkward pause...

Still on my bucket list though, so off I go to see it! I'll try just to avoid that hotel!

I'm going to be behind the Great Firewall of China for the next 2 weeks, so no guarantees I'll be doing my usual travel blog. No Facebook. No Twitter. Not sure about BlogSpot. I think email is ok, so I've set this up to be able to post via email. Won't be able to edit that and make it look pretty. Heck, no guarantees it'll even work.

So if you don't hear from me for 2 weeks, below is the itinerary of roughly where I'll be. If you don't hear from me in 3 weeks, send hel... actually, never mind. I've had a good run.

The Itinerary:

- start in Shanghai where I'll meet my G Adventures group. The G is starting to stand for Greg, I've done so many trips with these guys. Always a great group of people and painless but adventure-filled travel style.

- Next is Hangzhou, where we'll visit a tea plantation and get to pick and make our own tea

- Then Guilin, where we'll rent bikes and ride along the Yangshou country side for a couple days, and perhaps even join the local fisherman for a bizarre but traditional fishing experience (Google it, it's pretty unique!). Also, I'm probably butchering the spelling of all these places, but my flight boards in 5 minutes, so meh.

- 2 day cruise up the Yangzee River ending at the Three Gorges Dam. I'm surprisingly excited to see that. It's said it's so large that when they filled it with water if shifted the earth's center of gravity enough to move the axis a couple inches!

- Then Xi'an for the Terracotta Warriors. If that wasn't good enough, I'll also be ducking out of the tour for a day here to go climb Mt. Huashan! (i.e. this thing)

If I do go missing, this will likely be the spot where it happened. :)

- Finally an overnight train to Beijing, as no tour to China would be complete without seeing the real Great Wall, Forbidden City, and eating some Peking Duck.

Boarding Time! By for good. I mean, now.

Greg