Our journey from Xi'an to Chengdu (Panda Central) was certainly not without drama. We shared two taxis to the station with John and Dori. Me, Keeg, and Stu jumped in one, whilst our young Scottish friend shared with John and Dori. We got to the train station first, and as time was of the essence we swiftly got through the barriers and got on the train. We put our bags down, got settled etc. and waited for Forrester to turn up. Some time passed. All of a sudden, we realised that Vinny had given his ticket to Kirstie earlier for safe keeping. Nightmare! We had visions of Vinny being stranded in Xi'an, whilst we frolicked around in panda land. This certainly could not happen, especially since Vinny was clearly the most excited about our encounter with the black-and-white, furry, little buggers. He does love cute things after all! Anyway, with about 3 and a half minutes before the train was scheduled to leave, I valiantly vowed to sprint through the vast railway station to take Forrester his ticket. With the potential for Keegan and Stu to be arriving in Chengdu minus two people but plus one massive rucksack, it was definitely nail-biting time! I set off like a Usain Bolt being chased by a cheetah. But after a world-record breaking 20 metres. I basically slammed slap bang into Vincenzo, John, and Dori. Crisis averted! Rejoice! Huzzah! etc. The canny Scot had cunningly used an old ticket to slip through the barriers undetected! "The Crisp" strikes again! (Just to clarify - Vinny's new nickname is "The Crisp" due to his effortless, fluid and crisp cue action when playing pool). Anyway, we were all very sweaty, but super happy. We enjoyed a few train beers with the gang and then went to sleep with excited anticipation of the endangered-animal wonders which lay ahead!
We arrived in Chengdu the next afternoon, checked-in at the infamous Mix Hostel (1 quid a night accommodation), and headed out in search of Sichuan's world-famously spicy cuisine. We went to a local restaurant and smashed up some Kung Pao chicken, some belly Pork, spicy shredded pork and some deep fried sweetcorn. Ace. After that, we strolled through the Old Town, and made our way to Tianfu Square, where an imposing statue of Mao was to be found. After our twilight jaunt, we got back and had a few brewskis in Mix's charming garden, and then got an early night ahead of the next morning's panda extravaganza!
We had to get up early in order to catch the pandas' feeding time. Apparently they wake up at about 9am, chow down on a seriously large amount of bamboo, and then spend the rest of the day sleeping! Therefore we got to the Chengdu Panda Breeding Centre at a few minutes to 9, and thus just in time to see them stirring from their slumber. Then the feeding frenzy began! It is quite impossible to describe just how satisfying it is to hear the sound of a panda's tooth crunching on bamboo. We saw older, wise-looking pandas, stroppy adolescent pandas, and also extremely playful, clumsy and excitable baby pandas! It is quite a privilege to witness so many pandas in one place. Obviously though, this was the place to see them, since 80% of the world's pandas reside in the Sichuan province of China. It was quite a surreal experience too, as the pandas actually just look like humans wearing big panda suits; especially as they lounge around, scratching themselves like your inappropriate uncle, and stripping leaves swiftly and easily from endless poles of bamboo. The panda's wrist works like an opposable thumb to grip the bamboo with impressive dexterity. It truly looks like you could give a panda a seriously good handshake. After checking out the Giant Pandas we were taken to see the Red Pandas, which in all fairness are a bit shit. They're just really small, and look like a raccoon. And yeah, just generally a bit boring. Not impressed at all mate! Apparently, you could hold a red panda in your hand for a fiver, but obviously none of us were particularly arsed. One step better though, you were able to hug a big Giant Panda for around 40 quid, or even hold a baby Giant Panda in your hand for 120 big ones! Our budgets certainly didn't allow for such an extravagance, and so we went without man-handling a panda this year. John Prescott, certainly got more than a handful though when he visited the place a few years before; the Panda museum demonstrated this with clear pictorial evidence. He did however (as my mate Spunge pointed out) look like he was about to eat it.
After all the excitement, we went back and napped for a while, then went to McDonalds (again! - shameful I know, but just try eating Chinese food all day everyday). That evening it was the Champion's League final. Vinny was too knackered to watch it (the girl) and Keegan is not the biggest footy fan, so just me and Stu headed out to watch it. We watched the game at an Irish bar called at 2.45am and it was all rather disappointing all round. Man Utd were crap and essentially might not have bothered turning up, since Barca absolutely walked it. There was a great atmosphere in the bar though, and the wealth of Barca fans present were going absolutely mental. We also met a charming chap there, who was staying at our hostel, and it turns out lives in East Bridgeford (10 minutes from Bottesford i.e. back home in England). Consequently, he was a Forest fan, so we chatted about footy and also drinking in The Reindeer pub of East Bridgeford. It's a small world after all.
The next day, Stu and Vinny left me and Keegan alone for a few days, as they headed out on a 3 day boat trip down the Yangtze river through the impressive Three Gorges. Thus me and Keegan went and explored Chengdu a bit more, before catching a gruelling 25 hour train journey to Guilin. Highlights of our pleasant, exploratory day included- visiting the peaceful Wenshu Monastery, eating some wicked-sweet fried rice for lunch in a bustling Chinese food hall, and then walking past a man in the centre of the busy city, who inexplicably had a live rat and dead mouse attached to the same piece of string. Weird to say the least! Indeed, even after a few weeks, China was still continuing to surprise me.
Monday, 13 July 2009
Monday, 22 June 2009
China: The Walls, The Warriors and The Wonders of the Muslim Quarter
We arrived in Xi'an, after our brutal train journey, at 7am in the morning; exhausted, smelly, and truly sick of eating Chinese pot-noodles already (a feeling which would worsen severely as our trip continued). We headed to our hostel, which was two pounds a night, and truly the best place we had stayed so far. Traditional, spacious, with courtyards, a sun terrace, and a bar downstairs.
After showering etc. we decided to head to the City Walls. Incidentally, Xi'an is the only city in China which still has the entirety of its city walls still intact; and you can walk around them or hire bikes. Of course, we went for the bike option. Me and Keegan shared a tandem and looked like absolute nerds as we cycled about the place. Vinny and Stu opted for the singular bicycle variety. A wise choice, as I think they were keen to avoid looking like a couple. First of all, we cycled round to the end of the southern wall, when all of a sudden Vinny's pedal fell off. Consequently, we made a hasty retreat back to the cycle distribution centre, to replace Vinny's bike. A short journey which involved Vinny holding onto Stu as he towed the Scotsman back to the starting line. After the switch was made, we cycled the perimeter of the city. The vista was far from jaw-dropping, but the cycling novelty created all kinds of excitement. We all had a go on the tandem, we weaved in and out of pot-holes, and we ate amazing cola/lemonade ice lollies half way round.
When we got back, we freshened up, and then got in a taxi to the train station. I'm pretty sure this taxi ride was basically a real-life manifestation of a scene from the computer game Crazy Taxi or Grand Theft Auto. The driver was truly mental! He weaved in and out of cars at an alarming speed. I'm pretty sure at one point, he even asked Chewbacca to push us into hyperdrive. Our own lives did not pass before our eyes, but the lives of several others certainly did. Literally within the space of ten seconds the driver nearly ran over A) a toddler, B) a woman pushing a baby in a pram and C) an octogenarian. A little shaken up, we actually made it in one piece, and booked our tickets for our next train to Chengdu in a few days time. That night we went out for some food in a restaurant with a menu which was written entirely in Chinese script. We just pointed and guessed, and ended up with some fantastic local dishes including a whole fish in a really tasty curry sauce. That night we had a few drinks with John, and Jess (whom we had previously met in Shanghai) and a Kiwi chap called Declan, who was an absolute charmer. He also found everything we said which was intended to be funny, actually funny; therefore, he went even higher up in our estimations.
The next day we decided to undertake our first organised trip of the entire journey. It was to the Terracotta Warriors, and a lot of friends we had made joined us on the trip too. Before, we got to the site of the warriors, we were made to stop off at a real tourist-trap factory, where replica Terracotta Warriors were made and sold for outrageous prices. Fortunately, I was unable to fit a life-size, archer made from jade (the precious stone, not Goody) into my 65 litre rucksack ; and therefore, no purchases were made.
Don't get me wrong, the actual Terracotta Army is certainly worth seeing, but as expected/warned it was a little disappointing. The intricacy of the warriors is incredible, and the sheer size and amount of them on display was mind-blowing. However, once you've seen one clay warrior (although the face of each individual warrior is entirely unique apparently) you have seen them all. Moreover, the experience is certainly not enhanced by the amount of tourists clammering for a photo, and the overbearing aircraft hanger, which the statues are contained in. The whole experience sort of lacked a certain magic. The idea and the history of the original Warrior production is the facinating aspect, but this was not overly-well explained by our charming, yet hapless tour-guide who bobbed around the place smiling, and holding a cuddly flower toy aloft, instead of the archetypal umbrella. "Follow the flower!" was the most heard sentence of the day.
That night we met some more people at the hostel, who we visited the vibrant Muslim Quarter with. These people were thus- a Glaswegian guy called Andrew (a Rangers Fan), an Aussie called Rohan, and a group of Canadian girls, who were actually all travelling separately- a pair of young opera singing students, a mandarin speaking girl called Lindsay, and a slightly over-enthusiastic Chinese girl called Dori (like the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo) who had lived in Canada for a few years, and had now subsequently renounced her chinese heritage completely.
The Muslim Quarter is a bustling street market area with a massive array of tat on sale, but also has amazing street food by the bucket load. We ate- Chicken Kebabs, Spicy Beef Pancakes, Sweet donuts filled with sweet kiwi sauce or dates, and some gelatinous rice cake things which upon first glance looked like the most amazing fried potatoes mixed with chilli and garlic. Fair to say, the rice cakes were a tad disappointing. After exploring the stalls, and sampling the plethora of culinary delights, we got some road beers for the walk back to the hostel, and then picked up a crate of Tsingtaos from the local shop. We then spent the evening chatting, and getting drunk on the sundeck. Andrew also bought a Chinese spirit called Baijo, which is rather popular it seems for two main reasons- 1) it is 60% proof, and 2) it costs 60 english pence for a bottle. However, despite the drunken revelry, this was also a sad evening. Not only did Celtic not win the Scottish Premier League (Andrew was happy. Vinny was not), but Damian Duff and his wonder strike (own goal) relegated Newcastle Utd to the Championship next year. Gutted. Not cool Damian, not bloody cool!
The next day we got an extended lie in. Then we went and bartered for some things in the Muslim Quarter. Vinny bought a new day bag for just 5 pounds, which incidentally ripped in half about a week later as soon as we arrived in Hong Kong. Then, that night we got the night train to Chengdu along with John, and Dori.
Chengdu was next, and with this came the prospect of seeing Pandas.
After showering etc. we decided to head to the City Walls. Incidentally, Xi'an is the only city in China which still has the entirety of its city walls still intact; and you can walk around them or hire bikes. Of course, we went for the bike option. Me and Keegan shared a tandem and looked like absolute nerds as we cycled about the place. Vinny and Stu opted for the singular bicycle variety. A wise choice, as I think they were keen to avoid looking like a couple. First of all, we cycled round to the end of the southern wall, when all of a sudden Vinny's pedal fell off. Consequently, we made a hasty retreat back to the cycle distribution centre, to replace Vinny's bike. A short journey which involved Vinny holding onto Stu as he towed the Scotsman back to the starting line. After the switch was made, we cycled the perimeter of the city. The vista was far from jaw-dropping, but the cycling novelty created all kinds of excitement. We all had a go on the tandem, we weaved in and out of pot-holes, and we ate amazing cola/lemonade ice lollies half way round.
When we got back, we freshened up, and then got in a taxi to the train station. I'm pretty sure this taxi ride was basically a real-life manifestation of a scene from the computer game Crazy Taxi or Grand Theft Auto. The driver was truly mental! He weaved in and out of cars at an alarming speed. I'm pretty sure at one point, he even asked Chewbacca to push us into hyperdrive. Our own lives did not pass before our eyes, but the lives of several others certainly did. Literally within the space of ten seconds the driver nearly ran over A) a toddler, B) a woman pushing a baby in a pram and C) an octogenarian. A little shaken up, we actually made it in one piece, and booked our tickets for our next train to Chengdu in a few days time. That night we went out for some food in a restaurant with a menu which was written entirely in Chinese script. We just pointed and guessed, and ended up with some fantastic local dishes including a whole fish in a really tasty curry sauce. That night we had a few drinks with John, and Jess (whom we had previously met in Shanghai) and a Kiwi chap called Declan, who was an absolute charmer. He also found everything we said which was intended to be funny, actually funny; therefore, he went even higher up in our estimations.
The next day we decided to undertake our first organised trip of the entire journey. It was to the Terracotta Warriors, and a lot of friends we had made joined us on the trip too. Before, we got to the site of the warriors, we were made to stop off at a real tourist-trap factory, where replica Terracotta Warriors were made and sold for outrageous prices. Fortunately, I was unable to fit a life-size, archer made from jade (the precious stone, not Goody) into my 65 litre rucksack ; and therefore, no purchases were made.
Don't get me wrong, the actual Terracotta Army is certainly worth seeing, but as expected/warned it was a little disappointing. The intricacy of the warriors is incredible, and the sheer size and amount of them on display was mind-blowing. However, once you've seen one clay warrior (although the face of each individual warrior is entirely unique apparently) you have seen them all. Moreover, the experience is certainly not enhanced by the amount of tourists clammering for a photo, and the overbearing aircraft hanger, which the statues are contained in. The whole experience sort of lacked a certain magic. The idea and the history of the original Warrior production is the facinating aspect, but this was not overly-well explained by our charming, yet hapless tour-guide who bobbed around the place smiling, and holding a cuddly flower toy aloft, instead of the archetypal umbrella. "Follow the flower!" was the most heard sentence of the day.
That night we met some more people at the hostel, who we visited the vibrant Muslim Quarter with. These people were thus- a Glaswegian guy called Andrew (a Rangers Fan), an Aussie called Rohan, and a group of Canadian girls, who were actually all travelling separately- a pair of young opera singing students, a mandarin speaking girl called Lindsay, and a slightly over-enthusiastic Chinese girl called Dori (like the forgetful fish from Finding Nemo) who had lived in Canada for a few years, and had now subsequently renounced her chinese heritage completely.
The Muslim Quarter is a bustling street market area with a massive array of tat on sale, but also has amazing street food by the bucket load. We ate- Chicken Kebabs, Spicy Beef Pancakes, Sweet donuts filled with sweet kiwi sauce or dates, and some gelatinous rice cake things which upon first glance looked like the most amazing fried potatoes mixed with chilli and garlic. Fair to say, the rice cakes were a tad disappointing. After exploring the stalls, and sampling the plethora of culinary delights, we got some road beers for the walk back to the hostel, and then picked up a crate of Tsingtaos from the local shop. We then spent the evening chatting, and getting drunk on the sundeck. Andrew also bought a Chinese spirit called Baijo, which is rather popular it seems for two main reasons- 1) it is 60% proof, and 2) it costs 60 english pence for a bottle. However, despite the drunken revelry, this was also a sad evening. Not only did Celtic not win the Scottish Premier League (Andrew was happy. Vinny was not), but Damian Duff and his wonder strike (own goal) relegated Newcastle Utd to the Championship next year. Gutted. Not cool Damian, not bloody cool!
The next day we got an extended lie in. Then we went and bartered for some things in the Muslim Quarter. Vinny bought a new day bag for just 5 pounds, which incidentally ripped in half about a week later as soon as we arrived in Hong Kong. Then, that night we got the night train to Chengdu along with John, and Dori.
Chengdu was next, and with this came the prospect of seeing Pandas.
Sunday, 14 June 2009
China: Hang-zhou Time at The West Lake
Our one full day at the West Lake in Hangzhou was spent circumnavigating said body of water. Around 10km around, it was a sun drenched, and tiring walk. Incredibly picturesque, it far outshone the wonders of the Summer Palace in Beijing. We wandered around it's network of tiny islands, gardens, pagodas, and humpback bridges.
The evening was another relaxed affair; however, we actually ended up going to two restaurants in the space of an hour. The food in the first one was inedible at best. Tiny portions, greasy and at times quite frightening. We ordered duck, which turned out to be a whole little mallard (or equivalent) Head, beak, spinal cord; it was all there. However, the meat seemed to be missing. After paying too much for far too little, we got the fuck out of dodge. After our inadvertent starter, we headed back in the direction of the hostel in search of a main course. Hanging out in the garden of our hostel were some local chinese people who worked in hotels around the area. We asked them for directions to a good local restaurant, which resulted in two absolute charmers- Devvy and Jim- taking us to an amazing, cheap, and local restaurant. Not only did they show us the way, but they translated the menu for us, ordered, gave us advice on chopstick wizardry, and chatted to us throughout our meal. Ace. Their english was incredible too. Jim especially (a sure fire geek), was incredibly fluent and knowledgable. It turned out his job was in a local posh hotel, where he was required to deal with people's complaints all day, every day. Consequently, he had a good rant and told us stories about some of the complaints he received. A particular highlight was that of a Canadian gentleman whose underpants fell onto the bathroom floor, so he demanded that the hotel buy him a new pair, or give him a free night's accommodation. Jim found this particularly funny it seems. Jim's expert command of the english language was further demonstrated as he continuously provided us with various titbits of information about Britain with great gusto e.g. "the Clyde is the longest river in Scotland." It seems Jim (in a worryingly similar manner to Vinny) has clearly spent far too much time on wikipedia. I exchanged email addresses with the chap and he has sent me some charming emails thus far, complaining about his life and describing his aspirations.
Some incredibly sincere highlights include-
1) "Are you still in Xi'an, how about there?...I dreamed to visit there for a long time, but every time end at failure."
2) "now everyday I have to work, sometimes I feel very boring, everyday just repeat the same thing, everyday must face a gang of angry guest. sometimes I wondering why they addicted to complaining."
3) "I like to make freinds with youngest,especially the same age with me. we have the common."
Charming.
Next stop was Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors. 21 hours on a train later, and we were there. Phew!
The evening was another relaxed affair; however, we actually ended up going to two restaurants in the space of an hour. The food in the first one was inedible at best. Tiny portions, greasy and at times quite frightening. We ordered duck, which turned out to be a whole little mallard (or equivalent) Head, beak, spinal cord; it was all there. However, the meat seemed to be missing. After paying too much for far too little, we got the fuck out of dodge. After our inadvertent starter, we headed back in the direction of the hostel in search of a main course. Hanging out in the garden of our hostel were some local chinese people who worked in hotels around the area. We asked them for directions to a good local restaurant, which resulted in two absolute charmers- Devvy and Jim- taking us to an amazing, cheap, and local restaurant. Not only did they show us the way, but they translated the menu for us, ordered, gave us advice on chopstick wizardry, and chatted to us throughout our meal. Ace. Their english was incredible too. Jim especially (a sure fire geek), was incredibly fluent and knowledgable. It turned out his job was in a local posh hotel, where he was required to deal with people's complaints all day, every day. Consequently, he had a good rant and told us stories about some of the complaints he received. A particular highlight was that of a Canadian gentleman whose underpants fell onto the bathroom floor, so he demanded that the hotel buy him a new pair, or give him a free night's accommodation. Jim found this particularly funny it seems. Jim's expert command of the english language was further demonstrated as he continuously provided us with various titbits of information about Britain with great gusto e.g. "the Clyde is the longest river in Scotland." It seems Jim (in a worryingly similar manner to Vinny) has clearly spent far too much time on wikipedia. I exchanged email addresses with the chap and he has sent me some charming emails thus far, complaining about his life and describing his aspirations.
Some incredibly sincere highlights include-
1) "Are you still in Xi'an, how about there?...I dreamed to visit there for a long time, but every time end at failure."
2) "now everyday I have to work, sometimes I feel very boring, everyday just repeat the same thing, everyday must face a gang of angry guest. sometimes I wondering why they addicted to complaining."
3) "I like to make freinds with youngest,especially the same age with me. we have the common."
Charming.
Next stop was Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors. 21 hours on a train later, and we were there. Phew!
Friday, 12 June 2009
China: Shanghai Plus One
On day 14 of our adventure, I went to Pudong International Airport, and after what had seemed like a lifetime I finally met Kirstie in China. It was pretty damn exciting for me to now have Keegan along for the journey. We headed back to the hostel, hung out for a bit, met up with Vinny and Stu, and then we went for another stroll along Nanjing Road.
That evening we went to a restaurant called Little Sheep, which our guide book recommended as the best place in town to get Mongolian Hotpot. Essentially, at this restaurant you have to cook your own food. You get given a bubbling pot of sauce which is kept burning over a stove in the middle of the table, then you get given raw meats, and meatballs, fishsticks, vegetables, and dough sticks, or whatever you wish to order. Subsequently, you then cook your little morsels in the big pot of sauce. Kinda like a Meat Fondue. The novelty was great, but it certainly wears off after a bit, and the quality of food was not great. Keegan and Vinny were less than impressed. Me and Stu were a slightly more impressed. But not blown away that's for sure.
The next day we had a mammoth lie-in which was definitely needed by Keegan who had been awake for the past 40 hours or so. Then we decided to go and explore the stylish French Concession. Its leafy streets with french architecture, quaint cafes and charming boutiques were certainly a refreshing escape from the hyper-commercialism and headache-inducing buzz of Nanjing Road. We wandered the streets, hung out in the park, watched the locals doing Tai Chi, had a few cocktails, and went to Bao Luo (the same restaurant from two days before) for dinner and more Hongshao Rou. It was yet another relaxing day in Shanghai.
The next day, me and Keegan got up early and strolled along the Bund and enjoyed the views of futuristic Pudong across the river. Unfortunately though, we could only walk so far because major construction work was going on by the river for the Shanghai Expo 2010. Then we met up with the boys, and went to an amazing/cheap local eatery to eat Satay Noodles for just 40 pence. We then strolled to People's Square, where we just hung out in the park.
That night we went over to Pudong and became dwarfed by the incredible skyscrapers which lit up the sky. We went into the uber-posh Park Hyatt Hotel, and strolled through it, attempting to look natural whilst clearly looking completely out of place. We got the escalator to the Cloud 9 bar on the 87th floor, didn't buy a single drink and took lots of photos of the amazing views of the Shanghai skyline at night. During this little jaunt we met three others attempting a similar exploitation of the Park Hyatt's vantage point, John and Jess (who we would see a lot more of during our travels round China), and an aloof american guy called Eric. We went for a few beers together at a road side vendor in Pudong.
The next day it was absolutely belting it down in Shanghai, so after just grabbing some more Satay Noodles, we hung out in the hostel and caught up on correspondence etc. Then in the evening we got a train to Hangzhou to see the West Lake. More updates coming soon.
Jack x
That evening we went to a restaurant called Little Sheep, which our guide book recommended as the best place in town to get Mongolian Hotpot. Essentially, at this restaurant you have to cook your own food. You get given a bubbling pot of sauce which is kept burning over a stove in the middle of the table, then you get given raw meats, and meatballs, fishsticks, vegetables, and dough sticks, or whatever you wish to order. Subsequently, you then cook your little morsels in the big pot of sauce. Kinda like a Meat Fondue. The novelty was great, but it certainly wears off after a bit, and the quality of food was not great. Keegan and Vinny were less than impressed. Me and Stu were a slightly more impressed. But not blown away that's for sure.
The next day we had a mammoth lie-in which was definitely needed by Keegan who had been awake for the past 40 hours or so. Then we decided to go and explore the stylish French Concession. Its leafy streets with french architecture, quaint cafes and charming boutiques were certainly a refreshing escape from the hyper-commercialism and headache-inducing buzz of Nanjing Road. We wandered the streets, hung out in the park, watched the locals doing Tai Chi, had a few cocktails, and went to Bao Luo (the same restaurant from two days before) for dinner and more Hongshao Rou. It was yet another relaxing day in Shanghai.
The next day, me and Keegan got up early and strolled along the Bund and enjoyed the views of futuristic Pudong across the river. Unfortunately though, we could only walk so far because major construction work was going on by the river for the Shanghai Expo 2010. Then we met up with the boys, and went to an amazing/cheap local eatery to eat Satay Noodles for just 40 pence. We then strolled to People's Square, where we just hung out in the park.
That night we went over to Pudong and became dwarfed by the incredible skyscrapers which lit up the sky. We went into the uber-posh Park Hyatt Hotel, and strolled through it, attempting to look natural whilst clearly looking completely out of place. We got the escalator to the Cloud 9 bar on the 87th floor, didn't buy a single drink and took lots of photos of the amazing views of the Shanghai skyline at night. During this little jaunt we met three others attempting a similar exploitation of the Park Hyatt's vantage point, John and Jess (who we would see a lot more of during our travels round China), and an aloof american guy called Eric. We went for a few beers together at a road side vendor in Pudong.
The next day it was absolutely belting it down in Shanghai, so after just grabbing some more Satay Noodles, we hung out in the hostel and caught up on correspondence etc. Then in the evening we got a train to Hangzhou to see the West Lake. More updates coming soon.
Jack x
China: Noodles, Noise-Core, and Nanjing road
Shanghai - Part A (2 days before keegan)
We got the hard seat train from Suzhou to Shanghai, which in truth was very comfortable! It was spacious, air-conditioned and there was no livestock running around the train. Safe to say it was a refreshing antithesis to what our guide book described as pretty much hell-on-earth. However, the scenes at Suzhou train station were akin to that of the apocalypse. Absolute carnage ensued as the train was announced, and it seemed that half the population of China suddenly appeared and began to cram through the barriers, and literally fight their way bare-handed onto the train. Babies were being thrown about like american footballs, people were fosbie flopping over barriers without batting an eyelid, crowd surfing was rife, and bloodshed most certainly occurred. The atmosphere was one of palpable tension, screaming tore through your ear dums, and train tickets filled the air and scattered like confetti. This madness was actually about 45 minutes before the train left, so after the Jumanji-esque stampede had fizzled out, Vinny, Stu, and myself nonchalantly strolled through the barrier, stepping over dead bodies, and nodding politely at the bedraggled railway staff.
We arrived in Shanghai in the evening, and met two chaps in our dorm. One was an English guy called Spike, and the other was a Chinese gentleman who did not speak a single word of English; instead he literally just laughed and smiled the entire time. Thus he eternally became 'Smiler.'
We ended up grabbing dinner at an absolutely awesome restaurant with Spike who could also speak Mandarin. Over a dinner of Fried Noodles, Mi Fan (rice), Belly Pork (aka: Hongshao Rou = unbelievably good), Beef in chilli oil, Bullfrog, Sweetened Beef, and Boiled Jellyfish (which did not taste like food, neither texture-wise nor flavour-wise), we managed to learn some more useful Mandarin phrases off Spike. Most importantly were- "Bu Yao!" which means "no want" and is an essential phrase in responding to the endless amount of people trying to sell you stuff in the street all over China. In fact, I think every day after this I used the phrase "Bu Yao!" at least 100 times a day.
Day 2 in Shanghai started with a much needed lie in. But then we got up and headed over to a venue on the east side of town called- Red Star. We had heard about a gig there with some local alternative music, so we were pretty excited. The bands turned out to play avant-garde, noisecore music. It was pretty crazy, and stupidly noisy. The show even involved some weird elements of theatre. Halfway through the set of the last band, a chap dressed as a doctor climbed aboard the stage and pretended to inject the band members with a giant needle, which resulted in them going properly mental. Effects pedals hit the wall, tables were turned over and deafening drones filled the room.
When we got back to the dorm, we found Smiler (still smiling) but repeatedly miming that he was shivering, and pointing at the air-conditioning. Unable to turn it off himself, it seemed he had just sat there for a good few hours. We switched it off for him, and Smiler's smile could clearly be seen from space. Quality.
After that we just had a stroll down Nanjing Road and drenched ourselves in the lights of Shanghai''s most vibrant/commercial street. We just relaxed again in the evening, and I got an excited early night, ready to meet Kirstie at the airport the next day.
We got the hard seat train from Suzhou to Shanghai, which in truth was very comfortable! It was spacious, air-conditioned and there was no livestock running around the train. Safe to say it was a refreshing antithesis to what our guide book described as pretty much hell-on-earth. However, the scenes at Suzhou train station were akin to that of the apocalypse. Absolute carnage ensued as the train was announced, and it seemed that half the population of China suddenly appeared and began to cram through the barriers, and literally fight their way bare-handed onto the train. Babies were being thrown about like american footballs, people were fosbie flopping over barriers without batting an eyelid, crowd surfing was rife, and bloodshed most certainly occurred. The atmosphere was one of palpable tension, screaming tore through your ear dums, and train tickets filled the air and scattered like confetti. This madness was actually about 45 minutes before the train left, so after the Jumanji-esque stampede had fizzled out, Vinny, Stu, and myself nonchalantly strolled through the barrier, stepping over dead bodies, and nodding politely at the bedraggled railway staff.
We arrived in Shanghai in the evening, and met two chaps in our dorm. One was an English guy called Spike, and the other was a Chinese gentleman who did not speak a single word of English; instead he literally just laughed and smiled the entire time. Thus he eternally became 'Smiler.'
We ended up grabbing dinner at an absolutely awesome restaurant with Spike who could also speak Mandarin. Over a dinner of Fried Noodles, Mi Fan (rice), Belly Pork (aka: Hongshao Rou = unbelievably good), Beef in chilli oil, Bullfrog, Sweetened Beef, and Boiled Jellyfish (which did not taste like food, neither texture-wise nor flavour-wise), we managed to learn some more useful Mandarin phrases off Spike. Most importantly were- "Bu Yao!" which means "no want" and is an essential phrase in responding to the endless amount of people trying to sell you stuff in the street all over China. In fact, I think every day after this I used the phrase "Bu Yao!" at least 100 times a day.
Day 2 in Shanghai started with a much needed lie in. But then we got up and headed over to a venue on the east side of town called- Red Star. We had heard about a gig there with some local alternative music, so we were pretty excited. The bands turned out to play avant-garde, noisecore music. It was pretty crazy, and stupidly noisy. The show even involved some weird elements of theatre. Halfway through the set of the last band, a chap dressed as a doctor climbed aboard the stage and pretended to inject the band members with a giant needle, which resulted in them going properly mental. Effects pedals hit the wall, tables were turned over and deafening drones filled the room.
When we got back to the dorm, we found Smiler (still smiling) but repeatedly miming that he was shivering, and pointing at the air-conditioning. Unable to turn it off himself, it seemed he had just sat there for a good few hours. We switched it off for him, and Smiler's smile could clearly be seen from space. Quality.
After that we just had a stroll down Nanjing Road and drenched ourselves in the lights of Shanghai''s most vibrant/commercial street. We just relaxed again in the evening, and I got an excited early night, ready to meet Kirstie at the airport the next day.
Monday, 8 June 2009
China: Mini Town Mazes and Mini-Mountain Jaunts
We arrived in Suzhou at night and asked the chap from the hostel about a good place where we could go for some quiet beers. However, he seemed to be having us on somewhat, as he directed us to a region where the majority of venues were most certainly "Lady Bars". The other places which had a distinct lack of breasts on show, were just dead. We played darts over a few Tsingtao's in an Australian bar. Then we eventually found a rather jumping club/bar called Scarlet. Masses of local youths seemed to be loving the tunes being played (incidentally there was far too much Akon for our liking). However, we ended up hanging out with a local lad called Eric, and some of his friends.
The next day we got the local bus to a nearby canal town called Tongli. Unfortunately, Vinny and Stu refused to pay the entrance fee to the town. Nevertheless, I was not gonna waste the day, so I went in whilst the chaps spent the next four hours reading. The town was packed full of peaceful gardens complete with mini pagodas and ponds teaming with Koi carp. I strolled around the many canals, humpback bridges and backstreets, which was certainly a welcome change of pace from the frenetic energy of China's big cities.
The next day we got the local bus to a nearby canal town called Tongli. Unfortunately, Vinny and Stu refused to pay the entrance fee to the town. Nevertheless, I was not gonna waste the day, so I went in whilst the chaps spent the next four hours reading. The town was packed full of peaceful gardens complete with mini pagodas and ponds teaming with Koi carp. I strolled around the many canals, humpback bridges and backstreets, which was certainly a welcome change of pace from the frenetic energy of China's big cities.
That night we just streamed the England vs West Indies test match on the internet.
The next day we went to Tianpingshan in the Lake Tai area, where we had a particularly hot and sweaty hike. There was also a bizarre mini-disneyland themed-amusement park at the foot of the mountain, complete with statues of the seven dwarves and paddling pools.
Shanghai was next! And the arrival of Keegan.
The next day we went to Tianpingshan in the Lake Tai area, where we had a particularly hot and sweaty hike. There was also a bizarre mini-disneyland themed-amusement park at the foot of the mountain, complete with statues of the seven dwarves and paddling pools.
Shanghai was next! And the arrival of Keegan.
China: Massacres, Memorials and Mountains of Purple
Right here it goes- China updates are coming thick and fast now! (I hope)
From Qingdao, we took a Soft Seat train to Nanjing. 8 hours of serious "arse on cushion" comfort. The pollution between the two cities was ridiculous. The view consisted of the following pattern- power station, smog, polluted fog, power station, power station, power station, smog, smog, smog, another power station, oh yes some more smog, and then what's that? oh its a power station. It clearly seems that China's attempts to develop into a super power is more like an attempt to develop into a "super power station".
Anyway, we arrived in Nanjing at night and it was a pleasant city with leafy boulevards across the place. The Sunflower Hostel was a little bit grubby but not too shabby by all accounts. We met a young, American roister-doister called Fletch in our room, so we decided to go grab a few beers with him. As we were heading out we also met a few more people: a young german couple called Gerhardt and Gertrude (I can't remember her actual name) and then Stevesie (guy who was into map reading and camping. He looked kinda like a skinny version of Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic - hence the nickname). We went to a few places and had a few beers, before Stevesie, Fletch and the slightly dull German couple left us to our own devices in The Castle bar. However, soon after their departure we were joined by an incredibly hammered/enthusiastic Tibetan chap. He asked us to join him and his friends. All of them were from Lhasa in Tibet, and all of them were inebriated. Conversation tended to include the following subjects- 1) Welcoming us to the Tibet in their hearts. 2) The freedom of Tibet. 3) They would mention an English football team/football player/film star and then they would smile, stick their thumb up and exclaim "Very good!" It was quite charming. "Clive Owen. Very good!" was a particular highlight. Then they all sang to us, in unison, a Tibetan song about their hometown. Subsequently, we were asked to sing "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles. We obliged. As we were leaving, the ringleader of the Tibetan group pointed at his T-shirt which had Heath Ledger's face emblazoned across it, and exclaimed "Orlando Bloom. Very good!" Good times.
The next day we visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, which was in dedication to the 300, 000 Chinese people killed in Nanjing by Japanese soldiers in 1937. It was understandably pretty grim, hard-hitting stuff. It was a fascinating museum, but it really did not pull any punches at all. The museum housed graphic photos, video footage of dead bodies and women who had been raped (sometimes 40 times in one day - apparently if they were particularly attractive) and of people with chunks taken out of their neck from unsuccessful beheading attempts. We also saw three different actual mass graves, filled with skeletons of the victims. It was a fantastic museum and I would certainly recommend it, but don't expect to be feeling too great afterwards. The Chinese people however, seemed to appreciate the place in a slightly different and bizzarre way. It was not uncommon to see young people, both strangely and distastefully, posing for smiley photos alongside statues of people on fire or holding their dead babies.
That evening we just hung out with a few 35p beers. The next day we headed to the Purple Mountain on the fringes of Nanjing. We caught the cable car up to the top and explored the gardens, and walked back down to the city. Excellent views were enjoyed. That's about that. That night we got the train to Suzhou. Canal towns ahoy!
From Qingdao, we took a Soft Seat train to Nanjing. 8 hours of serious "arse on cushion" comfort. The pollution between the two cities was ridiculous. The view consisted of the following pattern- power station, smog, polluted fog, power station, power station, power station, smog, smog, smog, another power station, oh yes some more smog, and then what's that? oh its a power station. It clearly seems that China's attempts to develop into a super power is more like an attempt to develop into a "super power station".
Anyway, we arrived in Nanjing at night and it was a pleasant city with leafy boulevards across the place. The Sunflower Hostel was a little bit grubby but not too shabby by all accounts. We met a young, American roister-doister called Fletch in our room, so we decided to go grab a few beers with him. As we were heading out we also met a few more people: a young german couple called Gerhardt and Gertrude (I can't remember her actual name) and then Stevesie (guy who was into map reading and camping. He looked kinda like a skinny version of Bill Murray in The Life Aquatic - hence the nickname). We went to a few places and had a few beers, before Stevesie, Fletch and the slightly dull German couple left us to our own devices in The Castle bar. However, soon after their departure we were joined by an incredibly hammered/enthusiastic Tibetan chap. He asked us to join him and his friends. All of them were from Lhasa in Tibet, and all of them were inebriated. Conversation tended to include the following subjects- 1) Welcoming us to the Tibet in their hearts. 2) The freedom of Tibet. 3) They would mention an English football team/football player/film star and then they would smile, stick their thumb up and exclaim "Very good!" It was quite charming. "Clive Owen. Very good!" was a particular highlight. Then they all sang to us, in unison, a Tibetan song about their hometown. Subsequently, we were asked to sing "Yellow Submarine" by The Beatles. We obliged. As we were leaving, the ringleader of the Tibetan group pointed at his T-shirt which had Heath Ledger's face emblazoned across it, and exclaimed "Orlando Bloom. Very good!" Good times.
The next day we visited the Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall, which was in dedication to the 300, 000 Chinese people killed in Nanjing by Japanese soldiers in 1937. It was understandably pretty grim, hard-hitting stuff. It was a fascinating museum, but it really did not pull any punches at all. The museum housed graphic photos, video footage of dead bodies and women who had been raped (sometimes 40 times in one day - apparently if they were particularly attractive) and of people with chunks taken out of their neck from unsuccessful beheading attempts. We also saw three different actual mass graves, filled with skeletons of the victims. It was a fantastic museum and I would certainly recommend it, but don't expect to be feeling too great afterwards. The Chinese people however, seemed to appreciate the place in a slightly different and bizzarre way. It was not uncommon to see young people, both strangely and distastefully, posing for smiley photos alongside statues of people on fire or holding their dead babies.
That evening we just hung out with a few 35p beers. The next day we headed to the Purple Mountain on the fringes of Nanjing. We caught the cable car up to the top and explored the gardens, and walked back down to the city. Excellent views were enjoyed. That's about that. That night we got the train to Suzhou. Canal towns ahoy!
Friday, 5 June 2009
Update! Finally...from Hong Kong - 3 weeks later
Hello! FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here is a quick update. I am currently in Hong Kong, which is ace. Keegan has gone to Taiwan. Thus I am very sad. Erm, and we fly to Brisbane tomorrow. New country = woop! Firstly, let me explain why I haven't been able to write any posts since Qingdao. Basically, it proved entirely impossible to access this website in China for the rest of my stay. Perhaps I was censored, I'm not sure. I certainly didn't mention anything about the Tiananmen Square protests; well at least to the best of my knowledge. Nevertheless, a whole lot has happened, and we have seen a lot of amazing things. Therefore, when I get to Australia, I will attempt to fill you in on all the China-based shenanigans, as best as I can. Look out for the following forthcoming highlights- Terracotta Warriors, Pandas, John the most charming brummie man in the world, Cockroaches, the world's longest escalator, countryside bicycle jaunts, and literally crapping my pants in a local supermarket. It's all go out east, I tell thee!
Right, gotta go because I'm in a coffe shop using the free internet, and I certainly haven't bought a drink! Woops.
Toodlepips x
Right, gotta go because I'm in a coffe shop using the free internet, and I certainly haven't bought a drink! Woops.
Toodlepips x
Thursday, 14 May 2009
China: The Beach, The Power and the Return of SoCo Vinny
Right then. Lots to catch up on.
First things first, my two week beard is going pretty well. It has turned from stubbly to furry. Next step full on carpet.
After our night train slumber time, we arrived in Qingdao. We arrived in the morning, showered and headed out to the beach. This was the beginning of an immense relaxing/party time. After a kip in the sun, a few sips of a few Tsingtao's (local beers), anda dip in the icy cold sea, we headed back. Indeed, over the next few days this kip, sip and a dip formula would prove highly successful.
We met a whole host of people that evening from around the globe- Ben (Welsh) and his girlfriend Cecilia (Danish), Blake (a pleasant Australian chap) and 3 Norwegian girls, whose names momentarily escape me. After quite a few beers in the hostel bar, we chartered two local taxis and asked them to take us to another watering-hole. In the taxi we cranked up the stereo and me, Stu, Vinny, and one of the norwegian girls (Christina - perhaps) sang along heartily to Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On'. This was clearly to the absolute delight of the our taxi driver (let's call him Pedro for argument's sake). After a rip-roaring taxi thrillride, the taxi driver certainly dropped a bollock, as we ended up at Club New York. This place was dead. And was closing in 5 minutes. And was incredibly expensive (for China prices). But we got a few down us. The highlight was indeed a miniature train which inexplicably circled the top of the bar. After this little soiree we attempted to fit 7 people into a taxi. The driver was not pleased. Especially since Vincent was lying across people's laps. Understandably, another taxi was swiftly flagged down. No Celine Dion this time though. Disappointment!
Qingdao day two was similar to the first. Same beach, same activity, same beer. However, one vital difference. The Chinese X-Factor equivalent audtions (sponsored by Sprite no less) seemed to be kicking off on the beach. Before this really got going though a Chinese rock-classic cover band rocked the stage like your dad drunk at a wedding. They gave us hearty renditions of Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" and that song which goes "I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now". It was pretty funny. However, after we had obeyed our thirst for cheesy rock tunes, we resumed our day of rest. Later on though, after the X-factor gubbins had finished, and just as we were leaving the beach, we caught a few songs from some local emo band and then after that 4 young roister-doisters started pulling some seriously dodgy moves, as they attempted to body-pop on stage. Before heading back to the hostel we strolled through the Qingdao Botanical Gardens, and walked up to the highest point of the city next to the TV Tower.
We headed back via a night market which had sprawled over the high-street. Here we saw little puppies being sold/man-handled willy nilly by enthusiastic shoppers. I neglected to purchase a little dog and got some black low top Converse for 3 quid instead. Bargain.
That night we hit the notorious eastside of town to go drinking. After a few quiet ones in a place called Jack's Bar, we stumbled across La Banga. 80 yuan for all you can drink! 2 hours. Job done. We made friends with a Colombian girl called Catalina, who then directed us to another place called the Corner Jazz Club. No jazz was to be heard but some modern day English/American pop. I ended up chatting to some local kids. There names were- Chemi, Jimi, Will, Mia and Power (incidentally I now want to change my name to Power as soon as physically possible). They taught me some Chinese swear words and I returned the favour. Providing them with a few choice English words of my own. Then we chatted about the Nanjing Massacre and learned a bit about the history of the city where we would be heading next. We got a taxi back, and Vinny was at his "SoCo Vincent" best. Meandering walk, sweaty, scottish incomprehensible banter and vomit. All the trimmings! Indeed, we have missed you so "SoCo Vinny"!
Qingdao - day three. Hungover to say the least. This was a serious bed-day. Stu and Vinny slept longer though, so I went for a stroll to a local food market. Saw some dogs in cages, chickens in cages, what looked like doves (also in cages) and then loads of weird fish and shellfish, which incidentally were not in cages. I decided to not buy a weird looking fish, but got some steamed pork buns instead. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the hostel. Then that night me, Stu, Vinny, Blake, Ben and Cecilia headed out to a local Steak restaurant called Jazzbeefsteak (all one word). I'm not gonna lie, it was quite a strange meal. For a 35 yuan set meal we got a fillet steak, with a super peppery sauce, a fried egg, pasta and a shot of sweet wine to accompany it.
Qingdao has an absolutely different atmosphere to anything else I have experienced in China so far.
Roll on Nanjing.
First things first, my two week beard is going pretty well. It has turned from stubbly to furry. Next step full on carpet.
After our night train slumber time, we arrived in Qingdao. We arrived in the morning, showered and headed out to the beach. This was the beginning of an immense relaxing/party time. After a kip in the sun, a few sips of a few Tsingtao's (local beers), anda dip in the icy cold sea, we headed back. Indeed, over the next few days this kip, sip and a dip formula would prove highly successful.
We met a whole host of people that evening from around the globe- Ben (Welsh) and his girlfriend Cecilia (Danish), Blake (a pleasant Australian chap) and 3 Norwegian girls, whose names momentarily escape me. After quite a few beers in the hostel bar, we chartered two local taxis and asked them to take us to another watering-hole. In the taxi we cranked up the stereo and me, Stu, Vinny, and one of the norwegian girls (Christina - perhaps) sang along heartily to Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On'. This was clearly to the absolute delight of the our taxi driver (let's call him Pedro for argument's sake). After a rip-roaring taxi thrillride, the taxi driver certainly dropped a bollock, as we ended up at Club New York. This place was dead. And was closing in 5 minutes. And was incredibly expensive (for China prices). But we got a few down us. The highlight was indeed a miniature train which inexplicably circled the top of the bar. After this little soiree we attempted to fit 7 people into a taxi. The driver was not pleased. Especially since Vincent was lying across people's laps. Understandably, another taxi was swiftly flagged down. No Celine Dion this time though. Disappointment!
Qingdao day two was similar to the first. Same beach, same activity, same beer. However, one vital difference. The Chinese X-Factor equivalent audtions (sponsored by Sprite no less) seemed to be kicking off on the beach. Before this really got going though a Chinese rock-classic cover band rocked the stage like your dad drunk at a wedding. They gave us hearty renditions of Bryan Adams' "Summer of 69" and that song which goes "I want it all, I want it all, and I want it now". It was pretty funny. However, after we had obeyed our thirst for cheesy rock tunes, we resumed our day of rest. Later on though, after the X-factor gubbins had finished, and just as we were leaving the beach, we caught a few songs from some local emo band and then after that 4 young roister-doisters started pulling some seriously dodgy moves, as they attempted to body-pop on stage. Before heading back to the hostel we strolled through the Qingdao Botanical Gardens, and walked up to the highest point of the city next to the TV Tower.
We headed back via a night market which had sprawled over the high-street. Here we saw little puppies being sold/man-handled willy nilly by enthusiastic shoppers. I neglected to purchase a little dog and got some black low top Converse for 3 quid instead. Bargain.
That night we hit the notorious eastside of town to go drinking. After a few quiet ones in a place called Jack's Bar, we stumbled across La Banga. 80 yuan for all you can drink! 2 hours. Job done. We made friends with a Colombian girl called Catalina, who then directed us to another place called the Corner Jazz Club. No jazz was to be heard but some modern day English/American pop. I ended up chatting to some local kids. There names were- Chemi, Jimi, Will, Mia and Power (incidentally I now want to change my name to Power as soon as physically possible). They taught me some Chinese swear words and I returned the favour. Providing them with a few choice English words of my own. Then we chatted about the Nanjing Massacre and learned a bit about the history of the city where we would be heading next. We got a taxi back, and Vinny was at his "SoCo Vincent" best. Meandering walk, sweaty, scottish incomprehensible banter and vomit. All the trimmings! Indeed, we have missed you so "SoCo Vinny"!
Qingdao - day three. Hungover to say the least. This was a serious bed-day. Stu and Vinny slept longer though, so I went for a stroll to a local food market. Saw some dogs in cages, chickens in cages, what looked like doves (also in cages) and then loads of weird fish and shellfish, which incidentally were not in cages. I decided to not buy a weird looking fish, but got some steamed pork buns instead. The rest of the day was spent hanging out at the hostel. Then that night me, Stu, Vinny, Blake, Ben and Cecilia headed out to a local Steak restaurant called Jazzbeefsteak (all one word). I'm not gonna lie, it was quite a strange meal. For a 35 yuan set meal we got a fillet steak, with a super peppery sauce, a fried egg, pasta and a shot of sweet wine to accompany it.
Qingdao has an absolutely different atmosphere to anything else I have experienced in China so far.
Roll on Nanjing.
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Just a quick one - Contact details-wise
My pay as you go sim card won't work in China, but it will do in Australia. Until then, please text me if you wish on my old phone number. This is gonna be available until May 12th when my contract runs out.
Also if I have said I was gonna email you recently, or contact you on Facebook, then I can't for a bit. I am in Qingdao at the mo, and the internet at the hostel is free, but it is a bit poo. So I can't seem to access my email or facebook, I will contact you asap though.
I'll post a blog soon about Qingdao soon. I'll just say now though that it is an awesome city. The people we have met are super cool. Must dash though as I have certainly exceeded the 30 mins max internet time and I'm getting angry looks from other potential bloggers.
Toodlepips x
Also if I have said I was gonna email you recently, or contact you on Facebook, then I can't for a bit. I am in Qingdao at the mo, and the internet at the hostel is free, but it is a bit poo. So I can't seem to access my email or facebook, I will contact you asap though.
I'll post a blog soon about Qingdao soon. I'll just say now though that it is an awesome city. The people we have met are super cool. Must dash though as I have certainly exceeded the 30 mins max internet time and I'm getting angry looks from other potential bloggers.
Toodlepips x
China: The Palace, The Nest and the Night Train
Hello.
Just a quick note about or last day in Beijing.
Having already booked our train ticket to Qingdao for that night, we really tried our best to cram as much as possible into our last day in the capital. So we got up earlier than we should have done considering the night before's drinking extravaganza. Feeling like someone had tried to fit the entire Great Wall into my head through my left ear, it was safe to say that we were all hanging out our respective arses. But we truly 'got aboot town' in a bish bash bosh kinda fashion.
First stop- the Lama Temple. This was an actual working temple. Incense was being burnt everywhere, locals were praying and the resident buddhist chaps engaged in hypnotic chanting. We got to see the world's largest buddha statue which is made from one single piece of wood, and is huge enough to feature in the Guiness Book of World Records.
Stop number two - the Summer Palace. Massive park with a beast of a lake. It was all rather tranquil, so we got on a pedalo and dashed around the lake, managing to take a ridiculous amount of photos and saying Ni Hao to other pedalo-ing charmers. At one point we changed who was pedalling, and as Vinny moved towards the front of our vessel, we started to take on water. For a minute, I certainly thought we would be the first people to actually sink a pedalo at the summer retreat of Chinese emperors. But it just turned out that the weight balance was altered, and the boat was tipping forward slightly.
Stop three - The Olympic Park. We arrived at night and the place was lit up like a christmas tree. The Bird's Nest and the water cube were as futuristic and impressive as they were on television. We were literally there for about 45 minutes though as we had to get back to the hostel and pick up our bags and rush to the train. When we got to the train station we only had ten minutes before our train, and literally all the information was in chinese script so we couldn't understand a thing. It was all getting a bit hectic until a young lady pointed us in the right direction, and we finally managed to get on right train.
The Night Train is an awesome experience. We got hard sleeper tickets, which were actually rather comfortable bunk beds. Probably about 50 beds in each carriage, seperated into groups of 6 bunks, 3 high and 2 abreast (hehe). We all got middle bunks, which is clearly the best option, as people will hang out and sit on the lower bunks and the top bunks have less headroom. We left Beijing at 10.48 and would arrive in Qingdao at 8 am the next morning. There is something ace about going to sleep in one city and waking up the next morning in another, with the infectious sounds of Chinese dance music ringing in your ears from the train's speakers.
Next stop Qingdao. Ace.
Big love
Jack
Just a quick note about or last day in Beijing.
Having already booked our train ticket to Qingdao for that night, we really tried our best to cram as much as possible into our last day in the capital. So we got up earlier than we should have done considering the night before's drinking extravaganza. Feeling like someone had tried to fit the entire Great Wall into my head through my left ear, it was safe to say that we were all hanging out our respective arses. But we truly 'got aboot town' in a bish bash bosh kinda fashion.
First stop- the Lama Temple. This was an actual working temple. Incense was being burnt everywhere, locals were praying and the resident buddhist chaps engaged in hypnotic chanting. We got to see the world's largest buddha statue which is made from one single piece of wood, and is huge enough to feature in the Guiness Book of World Records.
Stop number two - the Summer Palace. Massive park with a beast of a lake. It was all rather tranquil, so we got on a pedalo and dashed around the lake, managing to take a ridiculous amount of photos and saying Ni Hao to other pedalo-ing charmers. At one point we changed who was pedalling, and as Vinny moved towards the front of our vessel, we started to take on water. For a minute, I certainly thought we would be the first people to actually sink a pedalo at the summer retreat of Chinese emperors. But it just turned out that the weight balance was altered, and the boat was tipping forward slightly.
Stop three - The Olympic Park. We arrived at night and the place was lit up like a christmas tree. The Bird's Nest and the water cube were as futuristic and impressive as they were on television. We were literally there for about 45 minutes though as we had to get back to the hostel and pick up our bags and rush to the train. When we got to the train station we only had ten minutes before our train, and literally all the information was in chinese script so we couldn't understand a thing. It was all getting a bit hectic until a young lady pointed us in the right direction, and we finally managed to get on right train.
The Night Train is an awesome experience. We got hard sleeper tickets, which were actually rather comfortable bunk beds. Probably about 50 beds in each carriage, seperated into groups of 6 bunks, 3 high and 2 abreast (hehe). We all got middle bunks, which is clearly the best option, as people will hang out and sit on the lower bunks and the top bunks have less headroom. We left Beijing at 10.48 and would arrive in Qingdao at 8 am the next morning. There is something ace about going to sleep in one city and waking up the next morning in another, with the infectious sounds of Chinese dance music ringing in your ears from the train's speakers.
Next stop Qingdao. Ace.
Big love
Jack
Friday, 8 May 2009
China: Food Stalls, Great Walls and Beijing Bar Crawls
Hello. It has been a few days since my last post, so incidentally there is quite a lot for me to talk about. I'll cover a few days in Beijing here and then post a bit more stuff later.
First of all, just a quick note about chinese people in general. We have encountered a bizarre mixture of character types on our travels so far. It seems that Stu, Vinny and myself are treated somewhat as minor celebrities in China owing to our pale complexion. A handful of times already we have been approached by young couples who wish to take a photo of themselves with us. We have certainly obliged and posed with great gusto, making v-shaped peace signs, as is the custom across the country it seems. We are continually gawped at in the street, especially by young children. Also absolutely everyone who approaches us in this sense is wholly charming. Examples include- a three-year old girl (approx) who enthusiastically yanked on the pocket of my shorts, whilst on the subway and chimed "Ni Hao!" with great delight; and a young boy in a park at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, who was fascinated by a 2 pence piece which Vinny produced at one point. We gave it to him and he was incredibly grateful. Furthermore, a multitude of people will just simply say hello in the street as we walk past, and people are always so unbelievably helpful with directions too. Obviously, there a few attempts at tourist scams too, but we are beginning to be able to identify such signals early, and we are also beginning to play the game ourselves. Haggling is becoming second nature now!
On our second day in Beijing, we slept through our alarms and slept until about 1pm. It seems that we neeeded our sleep after being awake for 36 hours. After we eventually left the hostel, we walked though a high rise shopping district to the Temple of Heaven and it's surrounding parks. After a relaxing stroll through the gardens, and having played a small chinese lady's guitar type instrument, we left and began to weave our way north through some of the Hutong (slum-like but quaint housing for the many poor people residing in Beijing). As Vinny pointed out, it was a little like an asian 'City of God', but it was exciting to experience a little bit of the 'real China'. From here, we made our way to Tiananmen Sq again and made it just in time for the flag lowering ceremony at dusk. Sitting on the square, as it got progressively darker, the city lit up before our eyes, and even the forbidden city became aglow with bright lights.
From here we went to the Night Market on Wanfujiang Street, a bustling food market with a plethora of food stalls, which sold a huge range of different foodstuffs. These ranged from your standard delicious Chinese delights, through to skewered kebabs with either locusts, grubs, seahorses, or live scorpions. We ate a squid kebab and some miscalleaneous meat kebab, which could have been anything including dog. But we thought it was pork most likely.
After an early night, we awoke to a hearty breakfast before a trip to the Great Wall. In order to avoid the big crowds, and to see the best views, we travelled to Jinshanling and trekked across the wall for 4 hours to Simatai. It was absolutely amazing. Possibly the most beautiful place I have been. Amazing. We finished our walk sweaty, and tired. But it was certainly worth it.
That night we made our way to the bar streets of Sanlitun. Here we managed to haggle our asses off. Our best deal was getting 6 beers for 5 yuan (90p each), whilst other people we met were paying the equivalent of 4 quid a beer. We met a whole bunch of people- 'Tony', a chinese chap who was a massive fan of "Snuck" (snooker) and was keen to get us to visit a nearby "lady bar". We incidentally declined (for the record- Mum and Kirstie). But he was charming all the same, and we had a few beers with him. Then we met Dirk, a ridiculously charismatic Dutch chap who smiled the entire time, and his girlfriend Margeruite (we can't actually remember her name - so we gave her one). We got drunk with them and then took them to an Irish bar to watch the Chelsea vs Barcelona game at 2.45 in the morning. This resulted in me and Stu going mental when Iniesta smashed in the winner, high fiving equally excited Chinese barca fans. Good times.
Jack
First of all, just a quick note about chinese people in general. We have encountered a bizarre mixture of character types on our travels so far. It seems that Stu, Vinny and myself are treated somewhat as minor celebrities in China owing to our pale complexion. A handful of times already we have been approached by young couples who wish to take a photo of themselves with us. We have certainly obliged and posed with great gusto, making v-shaped peace signs, as is the custom across the country it seems. We are continually gawped at in the street, especially by young children. Also absolutely everyone who approaches us in this sense is wholly charming. Examples include- a three-year old girl (approx) who enthusiastically yanked on the pocket of my shorts, whilst on the subway and chimed "Ni Hao!" with great delight; and a young boy in a park at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing, who was fascinated by a 2 pence piece which Vinny produced at one point. We gave it to him and he was incredibly grateful. Furthermore, a multitude of people will just simply say hello in the street as we walk past, and people are always so unbelievably helpful with directions too. Obviously, there a few attempts at tourist scams too, but we are beginning to be able to identify such signals early, and we are also beginning to play the game ourselves. Haggling is becoming second nature now!
On our second day in Beijing, we slept through our alarms and slept until about 1pm. It seems that we neeeded our sleep after being awake for 36 hours. After we eventually left the hostel, we walked though a high rise shopping district to the Temple of Heaven and it's surrounding parks. After a relaxing stroll through the gardens, and having played a small chinese lady's guitar type instrument, we left and began to weave our way north through some of the Hutong (slum-like but quaint housing for the many poor people residing in Beijing). As Vinny pointed out, it was a little like an asian 'City of God', but it was exciting to experience a little bit of the 'real China'. From here, we made our way to Tiananmen Sq again and made it just in time for the flag lowering ceremony at dusk. Sitting on the square, as it got progressively darker, the city lit up before our eyes, and even the forbidden city became aglow with bright lights.
From here we went to the Night Market on Wanfujiang Street, a bustling food market with a plethora of food stalls, which sold a huge range of different foodstuffs. These ranged from your standard delicious Chinese delights, through to skewered kebabs with either locusts, grubs, seahorses, or live scorpions. We ate a squid kebab and some miscalleaneous meat kebab, which could have been anything including dog. But we thought it was pork most likely.
After an early night, we awoke to a hearty breakfast before a trip to the Great Wall. In order to avoid the big crowds, and to see the best views, we travelled to Jinshanling and trekked across the wall for 4 hours to Simatai. It was absolutely amazing. Possibly the most beautiful place I have been. Amazing. We finished our walk sweaty, and tired. But it was certainly worth it.
That night we made our way to the bar streets of Sanlitun. Here we managed to haggle our asses off. Our best deal was getting 6 beers for 5 yuan (90p each), whilst other people we met were paying the equivalent of 4 quid a beer. We met a whole bunch of people- 'Tony', a chinese chap who was a massive fan of "Snuck" (snooker) and was keen to get us to visit a nearby "lady bar". We incidentally declined (for the record- Mum and Kirstie). But he was charming all the same, and we had a few beers with him. Then we met Dirk, a ridiculously charismatic Dutch chap who smiled the entire time, and his girlfriend Margeruite (we can't actually remember her name - so we gave her one). We got drunk with them and then took them to an Irish bar to watch the Chelsea vs Barcelona game at 2.45 in the morning. This resulted in me and Stu going mental when Iniesta smashed in the winner, high fiving equally excited Chinese barca fans. Good times.
Jack
Monday, 4 May 2009
China: Departures, Arrivals and First Day Survivals
Ni Hao! So we are here. We are in Beijing. I have now been awake for the past 30 hours, although it seems like a lifetime. Consequently, I am pretty darn cream-crackered as you might expect, but it's been a rather eventful day by anybody's standards.
First of all, we nearly missed our flight to China! The incompetent people at Apostrophe (Heathrow Terminal 5) seemed to take much longer than expected in giving us three cheese and tomato paninis. But we made it, panini in hand, bum in seat, cheese in mouth. The flight was a pleasant affair: 10 hours of excited banter and blockbuster films made it pass quite swiftly. Vinny managed to sleep for at least two thirds of the journey Stu didn't even bother to try and sleep; and my excitement got hold of me so much that everytime I closed my eyes, I would be awake within a matter of seconds.
Anyway, we finally got to Beijing. It was super hot and smoggy. We found the hostel without too much trouble, which was located just north-west of the central train station (incidentally my compass got its first airing of the trip - 1-0 to Jack). Unfortunately, the staff seemed to have lost our booking; but with a bit of arguing and humid contemplation we managed to sort out some rooms. Before we got things sorted though, we tried to find our booking confirmation in the hostel's internet cafe. This is where we met our first nemesis of the trip! A pompous stereotypical 18 year old fellow, who firstly asked us 'why' we were travelling, as if it wasn't obvious already, talked incredibly sincerely about a gorge he had visited, bragged about smoking marijuana; and then to put the proverbial turd-flavoured cherry on top, proceeded to describe himself as a 'Gappie' (presumably short for gap year adventurer).
After a revitalising shower, we strolled to the Forbidden City. On the way we were continously approached by hawkers and chinese students who were trying to persuade us to go to expensive art shows. It was pretty bizarre but cool to chat some locals despite their intentions to sell things to us. The Forbidden City was much more than I expected. It was just absolutely vast, and seemed to go on and on. Courtyard after courtyard, of impressive architecture and wide open spaces. After the initial swarm of tourists near the entrance, there was a certain sense of grandeur and calm about the place.
After that we walked across to Tiananmen Square. It was pretty big, it was pretty square, and it was pretty Tiananmen. In the words of Forrest Gump, that is all I have to say about that.
Back to the hostel, two hour nap, ate a mass of chinese food in a restaurant just north east of the city centre. Now we're back hanging out at the hostel with a few super cheap chinese beers. Ace.
Summer Palace tomorrow, the Great Wall the day after. It's gonna be sweet.
Big love
Jack x
First of all, we nearly missed our flight to China! The incompetent people at Apostrophe (Heathrow Terminal 5) seemed to take much longer than expected in giving us three cheese and tomato paninis. But we made it, panini in hand, bum in seat, cheese in mouth. The flight was a pleasant affair: 10 hours of excited banter and blockbuster films made it pass quite swiftly. Vinny managed to sleep for at least two thirds of the journey Stu didn't even bother to try and sleep; and my excitement got hold of me so much that everytime I closed my eyes, I would be awake within a matter of seconds.
Anyway, we finally got to Beijing. It was super hot and smoggy. We found the hostel without too much trouble, which was located just north-west of the central train station (incidentally my compass got its first airing of the trip - 1-0 to Jack). Unfortunately, the staff seemed to have lost our booking; but with a bit of arguing and humid contemplation we managed to sort out some rooms. Before we got things sorted though, we tried to find our booking confirmation in the hostel's internet cafe. This is where we met our first nemesis of the trip! A pompous stereotypical 18 year old fellow, who firstly asked us 'why' we were travelling, as if it wasn't obvious already, talked incredibly sincerely about a gorge he had visited, bragged about smoking marijuana; and then to put the proverbial turd-flavoured cherry on top, proceeded to describe himself as a 'Gappie' (presumably short for gap year adventurer).
After a revitalising shower, we strolled to the Forbidden City. On the way we were continously approached by hawkers and chinese students who were trying to persuade us to go to expensive art shows. It was pretty bizarre but cool to chat some locals despite their intentions to sell things to us. The Forbidden City was much more than I expected. It was just absolutely vast, and seemed to go on and on. Courtyard after courtyard, of impressive architecture and wide open spaces. After the initial swarm of tourists near the entrance, there was a certain sense of grandeur and calm about the place.
After that we walked across to Tiananmen Square. It was pretty big, it was pretty square, and it was pretty Tiananmen. In the words of Forrest Gump, that is all I have to say about that.
Back to the hostel, two hour nap, ate a mass of chinese food in a restaurant just north east of the city centre. Now we're back hanging out at the hostel with a few super cheap chinese beers. Ace.
Summer Palace tomorrow, the Great Wall the day after. It's gonna be sweet.
Big love
Jack x
Wednesday, 1 April 2009
Early Days
Hello and welcome! I am in fact not leaving the country for 12 days. So this post is pretty much redundant in terms of a travel journal. I am essentially still in the journey preparation stages at the moment. However, keep your eyes peeled for the first proper post. It will be arriving sometime after May 3rd. Visas, vaccinations, packing, saving money, and wetting my pants with excitement is all that will be happening in the next two weeks!
Jack x
Jack x
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