Saturday, July 5, 2008--Fenghuang (Continued)
The rain had stopped by the time I left the cyber cafe. I wandered the streets of the old town. It is so much fun to see the old houses and watch the people. Since I am unusual here (being a western tourist when most are Chinese), everyone looks at me and says hello to me. I stopped and had a plate of spicy fried rice with bacon at a place facing the river. Then I walked more until it got dark and people were putting lighted candles in paper boats to go down the river. The simplest versions were really just paper cuttings shaped to look like flower blossoms with one candle. Others are in the shapes of boats with multi-levels and 4-5 candles. One section of the old town is dark at night with the restaurants and businesses using candlelight to operate. It is nice being along there. Because of the narrow street and the old buildings, it feels as if one has gone back in time 100 years. Finally, around 21:00, I headed back to my room and read until bedtime.
Sunday, July 6, 2008--Fenghuang to Huaihua
I was up early and arrived at the bus station about 7:20. I had to wait about an hour, however, until the bus filled up before we could leave. Then it was a two hour ride to Huaihua through the mountains on a twisting, narrow road that was lined with nice old wooden houses and small villages. I could imagine that this roadway looked much the same (except that there is better pavement now) as it has looked for many decades along it.
I am in Huaihua because it is a transportation crossroads. The town itself has nothing special to see. Outside it, however, is an old town that I will visit tomorrow. Today, however, I had a list of things to do to have everything prepared for the rest of my days in China.
First, I headed from the bus station to the train station. Fortunately, it wasn't too far. But the lines for buying tickets, as usual, were very long. And I could see that the windows would all close in 45 minutes for a lunch break of 2 1/2 hours!! I was lucky, two students who speak English got in line behind me. We visited as we waited, and they were there when I bought my ticket in case I needed them. (Fortunately, I didn't.) I got to the ticket window with only about 10 minutes remaining before closing time, and they were next and got their business done with about 5 minutes remaining. Everyone behind us was frustrated that we were taking so long. Anyway, I got an overnight train from here to Kunming for tomorrow. It was my least favorite choice of times, but the sleeper berths were already sold out for the trains leaving in the early afternoon for the 16-18-hour trip. I had to buy a berth on the train leaving at night that will not arrive in Kunming until the late afternoon the next day. But I got a ticket!!
Next, I got a hotel. I waited for that, because I could have had to stay here an extra night if no berths were available on any of the trains leaving tomorrow. With my ticket in hand, I knew I only needed to be here one night. I'm back in luxury. I checked into a 3-star place across the street from the train station. The employees all wear fresh flowers on their lapels. My bathroom has a green plant sprig, too, and the usual phone beside the toilet that is common in better Chinese hotels. My room is actually a suite, and it comes with breakfast and English news (although via the communist broadcasting syndicate here).
From the hotel, I went to a travel agency. I had decided I would like to buy an air ticket to save me about 15-16 hours on a bus! The ticket I bought cost only about $110, an the bus would have cost about $25, so it is well worth it, I think. My train arrives in Kunming on the 8th, and on the morning of the 9th, I will fly to Shangri La. It's an old town up in the Himalayas that is considered to be the place that James Hilton had in mind when he wrote Lost Horizon. I will stay there 2-3 days and then work my way through other two other villages (Lijiang and Dali) in the mountains back down to Kunming for my last days in China.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Light Rain in Hunan
Friday, July 4, 2008--Fenghuang (Continued)
When I left the cyber cafe, I went wandering through the old town streets of Fenghuang. They are narrow, cobblestoned, and lined with old wooden buildings with businesses at street level and houses above. Most of the businesses today cater to the tourists--tea shops, restaurants, dried fruit stores, stores selling local spirits, souvenir shops, etc. Some of them face the river that goes through the middle of the old town, so I also walked along it. On the outer reaches, I came across an area where the young men gather in the afternoons to swim and bathe together where the water is still behind a dam. This area, like Dehang where I was before, is home to the Miao tribal people, so there are people in native costumes selling souvenirs, offering to have their photos made for a price, etc.
All day long, I only saw two other westerners--a blonde couple walking together. I saw them twice. It's interesting that this place survives on its popularity with Chinese tourists and does not have more westerners.
One problem for westerners, due to there not being enough of us, I guess, is that menus are not posted in English anywhere. It's as if I were in any city in terms of choosing a restaurant and trying to eat. By 18:00, I was hungry since the only thing I had eaten all day was a banana the lady on the bus had given me. I was searching for a place that looked clean enough and easy enough for eating. I passed some young people sitting at a streetside table having noodles. One said hello. I asked if he spoke English, and he did a little. I asked about the noodles, and he said they were good and invited me to join them. I ate the noodles which were fine except for the meat pieces having some gristle on them. Then when I tried to pay, the young man who spoke English and had said he is a mariner on a large ship insisted on paying for mine. We took photos of me with him and his friends and then parted. On the way home, I was thirsty, so I bought a beer and drank it on my balcony as I watched the boats in the river and the restaurants across the way setting up the tables for the dinner crowds.
I was tired and stayed in the room in the evening. I did go out on the balcony at dark, however, to watch the candles floating down the river. It is a tradition that the tourists light candles in small paper boats and send them floating down the river at dark. That combined with the outlines of the old roofs and the neon lighting flashing on some of the signs really gave a nice atmosphere to the evening.
Unfortunately, because it is a tourist town, it is a noisy town at night. Music comes from bars and restaurants until late in the evening. People were having a great time, I could tell. I just inserted my ear plugs and went to sleep.
Saturday, July 5, 2008--Fenghuang
I awoke to the sound of light rain. I looked to check, and could see it looked as if it would continue. I just went back to bed for another hour after opening the door slightly (with the screen locked) to let fresh air into the room.
It has continued to rain lightly all day. The sky is not dark. It's rather light. And I can see the hills in the distance, so the clouds are not heavy. The conditions are just right to keep the rain coming rather than the clouds breaking up.
I went out for a while in the morning. I was hungry and thought I would go to a local bakery I had seen near my room. When I got there, they had little to offer today. They had either sold out or had not finished baking. So I wandered to another area of town and found a bakery. I bought some cookies that are similar to almond cookies that can be bought in Chinese bakeries in America. They are light and crumbly--about 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter--and have sesame seeds on them. I got a package of 15 cookies for less than $1 U.S. It wasn't fun being out, so I returned to the room and stood on the balcony eating cookies and watching the river and the opposite bank. Then I spent much of the rest of the day reading, planning travels, etc. I've come out now to be at the cyber cafe and will probably eat before returning to the room for the night. Unless the rain stops, I don't want to spend time outside.
I have now finished 2/5 (40%) of my travels for this year. I've been in China over 4 weeks and have only 2 weeks to go before traveling into northern Thailand.
When I left the cyber cafe, I went wandering through the old town streets of Fenghuang. They are narrow, cobblestoned, and lined with old wooden buildings with businesses at street level and houses above. Most of the businesses today cater to the tourists--tea shops, restaurants, dried fruit stores, stores selling local spirits, souvenir shops, etc. Some of them face the river that goes through the middle of the old town, so I also walked along it. On the outer reaches, I came across an area where the young men gather in the afternoons to swim and bathe together where the water is still behind a dam. This area, like Dehang where I was before, is home to the Miao tribal people, so there are people in native costumes selling souvenirs, offering to have their photos made for a price, etc.
All day long, I only saw two other westerners--a blonde couple walking together. I saw them twice. It's interesting that this place survives on its popularity with Chinese tourists and does not have more westerners.
One problem for westerners, due to there not being enough of us, I guess, is that menus are not posted in English anywhere. It's as if I were in any city in terms of choosing a restaurant and trying to eat. By 18:00, I was hungry since the only thing I had eaten all day was a banana the lady on the bus had given me. I was searching for a place that looked clean enough and easy enough for eating. I passed some young people sitting at a streetside table having noodles. One said hello. I asked if he spoke English, and he did a little. I asked about the noodles, and he said they were good and invited me to join them. I ate the noodles which were fine except for the meat pieces having some gristle on them. Then when I tried to pay, the young man who spoke English and had said he is a mariner on a large ship insisted on paying for mine. We took photos of me with him and his friends and then parted. On the way home, I was thirsty, so I bought a beer and drank it on my balcony as I watched the boats in the river and the restaurants across the way setting up the tables for the dinner crowds.
I was tired and stayed in the room in the evening. I did go out on the balcony at dark, however, to watch the candles floating down the river. It is a tradition that the tourists light candles in small paper boats and send them floating down the river at dark. That combined with the outlines of the old roofs and the neon lighting flashing on some of the signs really gave a nice atmosphere to the evening.
Unfortunately, because it is a tourist town, it is a noisy town at night. Music comes from bars and restaurants until late in the evening. People were having a great time, I could tell. I just inserted my ear plugs and went to sleep.
Saturday, July 5, 2008--Fenghuang
I awoke to the sound of light rain. I looked to check, and could see it looked as if it would continue. I just went back to bed for another hour after opening the door slightly (with the screen locked) to let fresh air into the room.
It has continued to rain lightly all day. The sky is not dark. It's rather light. And I can see the hills in the distance, so the clouds are not heavy. The conditions are just right to keep the rain coming rather than the clouds breaking up.
I went out for a while in the morning. I was hungry and thought I would go to a local bakery I had seen near my room. When I got there, they had little to offer today. They had either sold out or had not finished baking. So I wandered to another area of town and found a bakery. I bought some cookies that are similar to almond cookies that can be bought in Chinese bakeries in America. They are light and crumbly--about 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter--and have sesame seeds on them. I got a package of 15 cookies for less than $1 U.S. It wasn't fun being out, so I returned to the room and stood on the balcony eating cookies and watching the river and the opposite bank. Then I spent much of the rest of the day reading, planning travels, etc. I've come out now to be at the cyber cafe and will probably eat before returning to the room for the night. Unless the rain stops, I don't want to spend time outside.
I have now finished 2/5 (40%) of my travels for this year. I've been in China over 4 weeks and have only 2 weeks to go before traveling into northern Thailand.
Friday, July 04, 2008
A Day in a Remote Village
Thursday, July 3, 2008--Jishou to Dehang
I arrived at the mini-bus stop in front of the train station at 9:00, and I only had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus to fill for our departure for Dehang, about an hour away. Dehang is a Miao minority settlement up in the karst mountains and is in a national park area. My room overlooks an old stone arched bridge, the small stream going under it, and the narrowing canyon beyond that is topped by the ragged tops of the mountains. From my window, I can see a boy fishing in the street, a woman and a man washing their clothes in the stream, a woman on the sidewalk frying and selling crab kebabs in a wok, and the old tiled roofs of the houses built in clusters along the stream. It's a fascinating view.
This is such an idyllic place. It would be easy to stay here for days just taking an occasional hikeon one of the trails and eating good meals. I took two hikes today. This morning, I followed the Nine Dragon Stream Scenic Trail. It goes from the bridge where my room is up the stream I can see out my window. As it continues, the canyon narrows leaving behind the rice terraces that are along it at the beginning and leaving just the lush greenery of the mountains topped by the sheer faces that lead up to the jagged peaks. Butterflies and dragonflies are everywhere along the trail. At one point, about 10 huge butterflies were fluttering in a circle around me as I walked. The dragonflies are irridescent blue, light blue, and orange. Occasionally, there is a local person, often an older woman dressed in a native costume that is based on the appearance of the butterflies (which the local people believe they descended from). The trail ended at a waterfall with a big pool beneath it. It was possible to hike further by going up the mountains, but it was hot and close to noon. I just returned to town.
I ate at my lodge. The woman cooked me a dish that was made with small slices of smoked pork (skin, fat, and meat), garlic, ginger, and peppers. On the side, she gave me a dish of stir-fried green beans, a dish of seasoned cucumber slices, and rice. It was too much food! And it was definitely too much fat!!!
After napping for about 2 hours, I went out again on the Yuquanxi Scenic Area Trail. It followed another stream in much the same way. There were many rice terraces at the beginning. Then it became more rocky. The trail crossed the stream back and forth at least 8-10 times and climbed higher and higher. By 18:00, I was almost to the end of the trail and decided I should turn around to make sure I could make it back to my room by dark. I ended up walking back with some Chinese people who had been on the trail, too. One, a government employee working on a philosophy degree, spoke some English and visited with me.
I was too full from lunch to eat again, so I just rested in my room. I watched TV some--a typical communist entertainment program where huge groups sang songs while making movements with either fluttering fans or streamers. As Arne used to always note about the communist programs we could see in Denmark, all the participants had religious-like smiles on their faces almost as if they have been hypnotized. Anyway, by the time I turned off the TV and went to bed, it was unbelievably dark in the village. It's a great place for looking at the stars!
Friday, July 4, 2008--Dehang to Fenghuang
I was up early and caught the mini-bus back to Jishou. A young Chinese lady who is an English major at university sat beside me. She, too, was headed to Fenghuang. It took us quite a while to get to Jishou. One of the small towns in the area was having its weekly market, and people were everywhere. We could hardly move through the crowds, and the bus kept stopping to drop off and pick up more passengers.
We had to transfer to another bus station to get our connecting bus. We took a taxi and arrived just in time to get the last two seats on a bus leaving then. It was another hour to Fenghuang. The station there was outside of town, so we got another taxi with two others who were on our bus (about 15 cents each to get into town that way).
Fenghuang is an old town built along a river. The houses are built on poles out over the river. My room is in one that is beside the covered bridge that goes across the river. As I look out, I see the boats carrying tourists on the river, the old wooden houses on poles across the river, etc. It is very atmospheric. And it is filled with tourists.
I was tired from getting up early and traveling all morning. Once I got my room, I just napped again. After coming out, all I have done is walked some to see what can be seen. The old town is very large with lots of shops and nice old buildings. I wandered through it heading to the newer part of town to find a cyber cafe. Tomorrow, I will really explore the place, since I plan to remain here for two nights.
I arrived at the mini-bus stop in front of the train station at 9:00, and I only had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus to fill for our departure for Dehang, about an hour away. Dehang is a Miao minority settlement up in the karst mountains and is in a national park area. My room overlooks an old stone arched bridge, the small stream going under it, and the narrowing canyon beyond that is topped by the ragged tops of the mountains. From my window, I can see a boy fishing in the street, a woman and a man washing their clothes in the stream, a woman on the sidewalk frying and selling crab kebabs in a wok, and the old tiled roofs of the houses built in clusters along the stream. It's a fascinating view.
This is such an idyllic place. It would be easy to stay here for days just taking an occasional hikeon one of the trails and eating good meals. I took two hikes today. This morning, I followed the Nine Dragon Stream Scenic Trail. It goes from the bridge where my room is up the stream I can see out my window. As it continues, the canyon narrows leaving behind the rice terraces that are along it at the beginning and leaving just the lush greenery of the mountains topped by the sheer faces that lead up to the jagged peaks. Butterflies and dragonflies are everywhere along the trail. At one point, about 10 huge butterflies were fluttering in a circle around me as I walked. The dragonflies are irridescent blue, light blue, and orange. Occasionally, there is a local person, often an older woman dressed in a native costume that is based on the appearance of the butterflies (which the local people believe they descended from). The trail ended at a waterfall with a big pool beneath it. It was possible to hike further by going up the mountains, but it was hot and close to noon. I just returned to town.
I ate at my lodge. The woman cooked me a dish that was made with small slices of smoked pork (skin, fat, and meat), garlic, ginger, and peppers. On the side, she gave me a dish of stir-fried green beans, a dish of seasoned cucumber slices, and rice. It was too much food! And it was definitely too much fat!!!
After napping for about 2 hours, I went out again on the Yuquanxi Scenic Area Trail. It followed another stream in much the same way. There were many rice terraces at the beginning. Then it became more rocky. The trail crossed the stream back and forth at least 8-10 times and climbed higher and higher. By 18:00, I was almost to the end of the trail and decided I should turn around to make sure I could make it back to my room by dark. I ended up walking back with some Chinese people who had been on the trail, too. One, a government employee working on a philosophy degree, spoke some English and visited with me.
I was too full from lunch to eat again, so I just rested in my room. I watched TV some--a typical communist entertainment program where huge groups sang songs while making movements with either fluttering fans or streamers. As Arne used to always note about the communist programs we could see in Denmark, all the participants had religious-like smiles on their faces almost as if they have been hypnotized. Anyway, by the time I turned off the TV and went to bed, it was unbelievably dark in the village. It's a great place for looking at the stars!
Friday, July 4, 2008--Dehang to Fenghuang
I was up early and caught the mini-bus back to Jishou. A young Chinese lady who is an English major at university sat beside me. She, too, was headed to Fenghuang. It took us quite a while to get to Jishou. One of the small towns in the area was having its weekly market, and people were everywhere. We could hardly move through the crowds, and the bus kept stopping to drop off and pick up more passengers.
We had to transfer to another bus station to get our connecting bus. We took a taxi and arrived just in time to get the last two seats on a bus leaving then. It was another hour to Fenghuang. The station there was outside of town, so we got another taxi with two others who were on our bus (about 15 cents each to get into town that way).
Fenghuang is an old town built along a river. The houses are built on poles out over the river. My room is in one that is beside the covered bridge that goes across the river. As I look out, I see the boats carrying tourists on the river, the old wooden houses on poles across the river, etc. It is very atmospheric. And it is filled with tourists.
I was tired from getting up early and traveling all morning. Once I got my room, I just napped again. After coming out, all I have done is walked some to see what can be seen. The old town is very large with lots of shops and nice old buildings. I wandered through it heading to the newer part of town to find a cyber cafe. Tomorrow, I will really explore the place, since I plan to remain here for two nights.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Yangtse River Cruise
Sunday, June 29, 2008 (Continued)-Tuesday, July 1, 2008
I was escorted to the bus from the office where I bought my ticket. There were many people there for the same cruise. I put my luggage on the bus and got on. It was obvious there were already too many people, but many of the men started leaving. I went toward the back only to discover that there was no other seat after everyone in front of me sat down. But a young man stood up and told me to take his seat. I declined, but he insisted saying that he could sit on the step in the aisle. I already had my name tag around my neck for the tour, so it was like being a man from an old folks home on an outing--my ID around my neck and a young man giving up his seat for me! His name was Daniel, and he had traveled here overland from his home country of Poland. But he speaks Chinese and has been working in Shanghai for a couple of years with Delphi Corporation. He was touring China on his way to his home there. A seat opened up in front, so he got it and everyone was happy that way.
It was a miserable bus ride of 3 1/2 hours. The road was rough even though it is an expressway. For me, it was just too much of a repeat of the trip I had coming to Chongqing. But we did eventually reach the boat. What a relief.
Daniel had only bought a passage ticket and planned to sleep in a sleeping bag and/or hammock he had with him. I offered him the use of my room, since I had a room with two beds all to myself. He insisted on sleeping on the roof of the boat, however. He did take showers in my room and stored his luggage there throughout the trip, however.
The whole trip was much better than I expected. My room and its accompanying bath were larger and nicer than I thought they would be. The stops along the way were really nice. The food was reasonable in price and quite good. And there were many people who became friends during the voyage. We had 3 days of good companionship and activities!!
The people I met and got to know well in addition to Daniel from Poland were:
1. Two young women from the U.S. who have finished their junior year majoring in Chinese at Middlebury College and have been in China for a 6-month on-site language experience. (Once they found out about around-the-world tickets, I think they have decided to take a one-year trip after they graduate next year.)
2. Two American law professors from Spokane, Washington. They are traveling together on their way to Nepal to visit the village where one of them grew up and still has family.
3. Two Chinese professors--a dean and a vice-dean. They are both in computer sciences and one of them specializes in robots.
4. A Chinese-American who owns a restaurant and lives on Long Island and who speaks no Chinese. (He's had some interesting experiences, since everyone here expects him to understand them and to be able to talk to them.)
5. Two young Australian men, one of whom had quite a sense of humor.
6. An Irish man and his Malaysian fiance (of Chinese descent).
By the time the tour came to an end, I hated to say good-bye to these people. They were all interesting and good people. Dan, the Chinese American who speaks no Chinese said, however, that he might take a Southwest Airlines flight to San Antonio in the fall to explore the city since he had heard so many good things about it.
We went through the Three Gorges. But we also went through the Three Little Gorges and the Three Mini Gorges on a side trip. So there was plenty of scenery. All were just beautiful. The weather cooperated with sunshine most of the time and with light foggy haze in the mornings. I didn't realize how lucky we were with our view until I was told by one of the Chinese professors that the lake will rise to its full height in September (apparently the government is waiting until after the Olympics visitors have had a chance for a tour). That will be 30 more meters higher than the lake was during our tour. That will make a big difference in the view. The mountains won't seem so high nor as dramatic. The only thing to mar the pleasure was the amount of trash floating in the lake. Chinese throw everything out or over whenever they are finished with it, so all kinds of matter can be seen floating on the surface of the lake. The side trips to the little and mini gorges were nice because there was much less trash there. That was probably due to the fact that the large ships don't sail that way. (We took small boats for those tours.)
We stopped at two temples and had entertainment twice on the visit. I didn't go to the first temple. It was the first night only an hour after we had left, and I just didn't want to see a temple. The second one, I saw, but I could have done without it. It was the entertainment that I especially enjoyed. One night, there were local people singing, dancing, playing drums and horns, and reciting poetry for us. It was a big crowd pleaser. It was by the temple I visited which is known for being the temple of a poet that UNESCO has listed as one of the greatest 10 poets to have ever lived. That's why we heard the poetry. In fact, China has just established a 3-day holiday in honor of this poet starting this year and continuing every year in the future.
The other excursion/show was the highlight of the trip (besides seeing the scenery) for me. We left our ship on dragon boats and had a dragon boat race. My boat won first place!! Then we continued to a small gorge where we hiked back inside a smaller gorge and then climbed up stairs to the top of the gorge and walked back up there and then down again. When we were returning, there was high-wire entertainment. A bicycist was going over a wire across the wider gorge. Soon he was joined by a unicyclist going across on the same wire. Then came a person attached at the waist and spinning his/her way across the wire. And finally, a motorcyclist came across, picked up the spinner, and took him/her back. All these people were on that wire and moving at the same time. It was fantastic.
After the high-wire act, there was a stage act. The stage was on the edge of the water and was open-air. There were banners blowing in the breeze along the sides, and huge butterflies were fluttering in and around the audiance. Again, we had singing and dancing, but we also had a short play.
When we got to the dam, we had a tour of it. But that was a waste of time and money. There really was nothing of importance to see other than a view of the dam. I would have preferred skipping it and going on into town. But we spent about 2 1/2 hours being taken from place to place to see it from different angles. The only view I appreciated was the one when we saw the ships going through the locks to get past the dam.
Unfortunately, I got separated from my friends during the tour of the dam, because they were going elsewhere afterwards and I was staying in town for the night. It was sad not to be able to say a final good-bye to all of them. But they all took my e-mail address, and I hope to hear from them.
I had booked a hotel with the guide from my group on the boat. She had said that it would be near the train station, but it was about 2 km (over a mile) away. Anyway, I checked into the hotel and went to the train station to buy a ticket for tomorrow. I returned to a cyber cafe across the street from the hotel only to find that I could not post to the blog. I tried and tried. Finally, I gave up and went to a nearby restaurant to have a plate of beef and mushrooms with rice. Then I was so tired that I went to bed at 8:30 and slept for 11 hours!!
July 2, 2008--Yichang to Jishou
My train was at 13:30, so I decided to go to the cyber cafe again and try to write in the blog. Again, however, I could not access it. Then I talked to another tourist at the hotel who told me that he understood that government bans on websites were done regionally. Apparently Hubei Province or the area around Yichang has banned Blogger.
The rail trip was longer than I expected. It took me 7 hours to get to Jishou, so it was 20:30 when I got off the train. It was dark and I was tired. But the trip went as well as it could. Everyone around me was nice and was looking after me. They were also enjoying watching me. They thought it was so much fun to watch me eat my dinner with chopsticks on the train. The guy across from me kept trying to show me how to scoop rapidly from the box into my mouth. A young boy nearby sat beside me and rubbed the hair on my arm for a while. A baby across from me kept wanting me to hold her.
I don't know if I am staying in the hotel recommended by the guidebook or not, since there are only Chinese symbols on the signage. But I got a good place to stay. It is equivalent to the 3-star places I have been on this trip, but the price is only 100 yuan ($14.30 U.S.) per night. I'm looking forward to going back there to sleep as soon as I finish this post. I knew there was a 24-hour cyber cafe by the train station, and I saw it as I went to the hotel. So I returned to see if I could post or not. This is now Hunan Province, so I guess I have moved away from the area of the ban!!
I was escorted to the bus from the office where I bought my ticket. There were many people there for the same cruise. I put my luggage on the bus and got on. It was obvious there were already too many people, but many of the men started leaving. I went toward the back only to discover that there was no other seat after everyone in front of me sat down. But a young man stood up and told me to take his seat. I declined, but he insisted saying that he could sit on the step in the aisle. I already had my name tag around my neck for the tour, so it was like being a man from an old folks home on an outing--my ID around my neck and a young man giving up his seat for me! His name was Daniel, and he had traveled here overland from his home country of Poland. But he speaks Chinese and has been working in Shanghai for a couple of years with Delphi Corporation. He was touring China on his way to his home there. A seat opened up in front, so he got it and everyone was happy that way.
It was a miserable bus ride of 3 1/2 hours. The road was rough even though it is an expressway. For me, it was just too much of a repeat of the trip I had coming to Chongqing. But we did eventually reach the boat. What a relief.
Daniel had only bought a passage ticket and planned to sleep in a sleeping bag and/or hammock he had with him. I offered him the use of my room, since I had a room with two beds all to myself. He insisted on sleeping on the roof of the boat, however. He did take showers in my room and stored his luggage there throughout the trip, however.
The whole trip was much better than I expected. My room and its accompanying bath were larger and nicer than I thought they would be. The stops along the way were really nice. The food was reasonable in price and quite good. And there were many people who became friends during the voyage. We had 3 days of good companionship and activities!!
The people I met and got to know well in addition to Daniel from Poland were:
1. Two young women from the U.S. who have finished their junior year majoring in Chinese at Middlebury College and have been in China for a 6-month on-site language experience. (Once they found out about around-the-world tickets, I think they have decided to take a one-year trip after they graduate next year.)
2. Two American law professors from Spokane, Washington. They are traveling together on their way to Nepal to visit the village where one of them grew up and still has family.
3. Two Chinese professors--a dean and a vice-dean. They are both in computer sciences and one of them specializes in robots.
4. A Chinese-American who owns a restaurant and lives on Long Island and who speaks no Chinese. (He's had some interesting experiences, since everyone here expects him to understand them and to be able to talk to them.)
5. Two young Australian men, one of whom had quite a sense of humor.
6. An Irish man and his Malaysian fiance (of Chinese descent).
By the time the tour came to an end, I hated to say good-bye to these people. They were all interesting and good people. Dan, the Chinese American who speaks no Chinese said, however, that he might take a Southwest Airlines flight to San Antonio in the fall to explore the city since he had heard so many good things about it.
We went through the Three Gorges. But we also went through the Three Little Gorges and the Three Mini Gorges on a side trip. So there was plenty of scenery. All were just beautiful. The weather cooperated with sunshine most of the time and with light foggy haze in the mornings. I didn't realize how lucky we were with our view until I was told by one of the Chinese professors that the lake will rise to its full height in September (apparently the government is waiting until after the Olympics visitors have had a chance for a tour). That will be 30 more meters higher than the lake was during our tour. That will make a big difference in the view. The mountains won't seem so high nor as dramatic. The only thing to mar the pleasure was the amount of trash floating in the lake. Chinese throw everything out or over whenever they are finished with it, so all kinds of matter can be seen floating on the surface of the lake. The side trips to the little and mini gorges were nice because there was much less trash there. That was probably due to the fact that the large ships don't sail that way. (We took small boats for those tours.)
We stopped at two temples and had entertainment twice on the visit. I didn't go to the first temple. It was the first night only an hour after we had left, and I just didn't want to see a temple. The second one, I saw, but I could have done without it. It was the entertainment that I especially enjoyed. One night, there were local people singing, dancing, playing drums and horns, and reciting poetry for us. It was a big crowd pleaser. It was by the temple I visited which is known for being the temple of a poet that UNESCO has listed as one of the greatest 10 poets to have ever lived. That's why we heard the poetry. In fact, China has just established a 3-day holiday in honor of this poet starting this year and continuing every year in the future.
The other excursion/show was the highlight of the trip (besides seeing the scenery) for me. We left our ship on dragon boats and had a dragon boat race. My boat won first place!! Then we continued to a small gorge where we hiked back inside a smaller gorge and then climbed up stairs to the top of the gorge and walked back up there and then down again. When we were returning, there was high-wire entertainment. A bicycist was going over a wire across the wider gorge. Soon he was joined by a unicyclist going across on the same wire. Then came a person attached at the waist and spinning his/her way across the wire. And finally, a motorcyclist came across, picked up the spinner, and took him/her back. All these people were on that wire and moving at the same time. It was fantastic.
After the high-wire act, there was a stage act. The stage was on the edge of the water and was open-air. There were banners blowing in the breeze along the sides, and huge butterflies were fluttering in and around the audiance. Again, we had singing and dancing, but we also had a short play.
When we got to the dam, we had a tour of it. But that was a waste of time and money. There really was nothing of importance to see other than a view of the dam. I would have preferred skipping it and going on into town. But we spent about 2 1/2 hours being taken from place to place to see it from different angles. The only view I appreciated was the one when we saw the ships going through the locks to get past the dam.
Unfortunately, I got separated from my friends during the tour of the dam, because they were going elsewhere afterwards and I was staying in town for the night. It was sad not to be able to say a final good-bye to all of them. But they all took my e-mail address, and I hope to hear from them.
I had booked a hotel with the guide from my group on the boat. She had said that it would be near the train station, but it was about 2 km (over a mile) away. Anyway, I checked into the hotel and went to the train station to buy a ticket for tomorrow. I returned to a cyber cafe across the street from the hotel only to find that I could not post to the blog. I tried and tried. Finally, I gave up and went to a nearby restaurant to have a plate of beef and mushrooms with rice. Then I was so tired that I went to bed at 8:30 and slept for 11 hours!!
July 2, 2008--Yichang to Jishou
My train was at 13:30, so I decided to go to the cyber cafe again and try to write in the blog. Again, however, I could not access it. Then I talked to another tourist at the hotel who told me that he understood that government bans on websites were done regionally. Apparently Hubei Province or the area around Yichang has banned Blogger.
The rail trip was longer than I expected. It took me 7 hours to get to Jishou, so it was 20:30 when I got off the train. It was dark and I was tired. But the trip went as well as it could. Everyone around me was nice and was looking after me. They were also enjoying watching me. They thought it was so much fun to watch me eat my dinner with chopsticks on the train. The guy across from me kept trying to show me how to scoop rapidly from the box into my mouth. A young boy nearby sat beside me and rubbed the hair on my arm for a while. A baby across from me kept wanting me to hold her.
I don't know if I am staying in the hotel recommended by the guidebook or not, since there are only Chinese symbols on the signage. But I got a good place to stay. It is equivalent to the 3-star places I have been on this trip, but the price is only 100 yuan ($14.30 U.S.) per night. I'm looking forward to going back there to sleep as soon as I finish this post. I knew there was a 24-hour cyber cafe by the train station, and I saw it as I went to the hotel. So I returned to see if I could post or not. This is now Hunan Province, so I guess I have moved away from the area of the ban!!
Saturday, June 28, 2008
Leaving for Yangtse (Yangsi?) Cruise
Saturday, June 28, 2008--Chongqing (Continued)
Various Observations (Continued)
4. It's amazing how many fairly new (20-30 year old) buildings are abandoned here in China. They are in every city. Is it because of poor construction which has made staying in them unsafe? Is it because of over construction causing them to be abandoned for newer buildings?
5. Polution from auto exhausts creates such an unattractive situation for buildings here. Not long after they are built, buildings start to turn dirty. Their windows are dirty, and so are any other surfaces. It is all from polution from auto exhausts. It really makes what could be gleaming buildings look unattractive.
6. Chinese do not put diapers on their babies. Instead, they buy outfits that are slit from the waistband in the front to the back. Then babies are allowed to just do their thing! I was on a train in Beijing when a girl just started peeing. I've seen mother's encouraging babies to squat in an effort to potty train them. Today, I saw a mother putting newspapers under her baby in one of these outfits as a way of trying to train her.
I wasn't hungry for dinner. Instead, I went back to the place where I bought the yeast bun last night and had another. Then I just snacked on some peanuts in the room.
Sunday, June 29, 2008--Chongqing and Departure on Yangse River Cruise
I finished reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen today. It's a very good story--a typical novel that has two parallel stories going at one time. One part is about a man in a nursing home, and the other part is about when he was a young veteranarian traveling with the circus during the Depression years. I found the story rushed a little and became, therefore, a bit weak toward the end of the part about the circus years. But overall, I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 4. There are hilarious parts related to the nursing home experience, and the circus portion, like most circus stories, is fascinating.
I went to the Chongqing Planning Museum this morning. It is just down the street from my hotel, and I wanted to pass the morning before checking out around noon. Although the topic sounds strange for a museum, it was quite interesting. There is a huge hall about Congqing in general giving its development history; an exhibit showing graphs about it's progress in income, GDP, etc.; an absolutely HUGE model of the whole city; etc. Then there are small exhibit halls for each portion of the city to show it's development expectations through 2020. One reason I went was to learn more about the Grand Theater being built here. I had read that it is hoped that the building will "put Chongqing on the map" as the Sydney Opera House did for that city. I saw the progress of the construction across the river yesterday and could see it from the museum itself. Well, they had a model on display of how the building will look when finished. It is nice. I think its setting, on a tip of land where two rivers come together and across the river from "Old Chongqing," is wonderful and dramatic. It will have to be seen whether the design of the building combined with this setting will accomplish what they want. A Google search did not turn up any imagines of the model for some reason.
My hotel room has scales which I had not seen until this morning. They were the model kind with a clear plexiglass platform, so they didn't show up well against the carpeting where they were stored. Anyway, when I found them today, I weighed myself. I am down to 78 kg (171 1/2 lbs) now. The rate of loss has slowed for a couple of reasons. First, it is harder to lose weight after the first fat has gone. And second, my hotels have had breakfasts lately causing me to eat more calories than I do when there is no breakfast. Anyway, my present weight leaves me with 6-8 kg (13-17 lbs) to go before I reach the goal I want to attain before arriving back in San Antonio. With about 14 weeks left of travel, that means I only have to lose 1/2 kg (1 lb) per week. That should be possible.
Spending Update: While waiting around my room, I decided to determine my spending statistics for China so far. Through yesterday, I had been here 19 days and had spent a total of $628.33 (NOT including the advance payment for the cruise I will take starting today). That's an average of $37.81 per day which is less than I thought it would be since I have stayed at several nicer hotels along the way. Again through yesterday and not including the cruise cost, I have traveled 54 days since leaving Texas and have spent $2243.10 for a daily spending average of $41.54. Those expensive days in Japan are still keeping the daily average up!!
I will report for my cruise down the Yangtse (Yangsi?--I've seen both spellings in English) this afternoon at 15:30. (The link is to a boat that looks like the one I am booked on and should be similar to it.) I doubt that I will have access to the Internet during the 3 days of the cruise. But it may pull into ports in the evenings so we don't miss sights along the way. If it does, if we are allowed to disembarque, and if I can find a cyber cafe, I will be online and update the blog. If not, it may be 3-4 days before I get a chance to be online again.
Various Observations (Continued)
4. It's amazing how many fairly new (20-30 year old) buildings are abandoned here in China. They are in every city. Is it because of poor construction which has made staying in them unsafe? Is it because of over construction causing them to be abandoned for newer buildings?
5. Polution from auto exhausts creates such an unattractive situation for buildings here. Not long after they are built, buildings start to turn dirty. Their windows are dirty, and so are any other surfaces. It is all from polution from auto exhausts. It really makes what could be gleaming buildings look unattractive.
6. Chinese do not put diapers on their babies. Instead, they buy outfits that are slit from the waistband in the front to the back. Then babies are allowed to just do their thing! I was on a train in Beijing when a girl just started peeing. I've seen mother's encouraging babies to squat in an effort to potty train them. Today, I saw a mother putting newspapers under her baby in one of these outfits as a way of trying to train her.
I wasn't hungry for dinner. Instead, I went back to the place where I bought the yeast bun last night and had another. Then I just snacked on some peanuts in the room.
Sunday, June 29, 2008--Chongqing and Departure on Yangse River Cruise
I finished reading Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen today. It's a very good story--a typical novel that has two parallel stories going at one time. One part is about a man in a nursing home, and the other part is about when he was a young veteranarian traveling with the circus during the Depression years. I found the story rushed a little and became, therefore, a bit weak toward the end of the part about the circus years. But overall, I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 4. There are hilarious parts related to the nursing home experience, and the circus portion, like most circus stories, is fascinating.
I went to the Chongqing Planning Museum this morning. It is just down the street from my hotel, and I wanted to pass the morning before checking out around noon. Although the topic sounds strange for a museum, it was quite interesting. There is a huge hall about Congqing in general giving its development history; an exhibit showing graphs about it's progress in income, GDP, etc.; an absolutely HUGE model of the whole city; etc. Then there are small exhibit halls for each portion of the city to show it's development expectations through 2020. One reason I went was to learn more about the Grand Theater being built here. I had read that it is hoped that the building will "put Chongqing on the map" as the Sydney Opera House did for that city. I saw the progress of the construction across the river yesterday and could see it from the museum itself. Well, they had a model on display of how the building will look when finished. It is nice. I think its setting, on a tip of land where two rivers come together and across the river from "Old Chongqing," is wonderful and dramatic. It will have to be seen whether the design of the building combined with this setting will accomplish what they want. A Google search did not turn up any imagines of the model for some reason.
My hotel room has scales which I had not seen until this morning. They were the model kind with a clear plexiglass platform, so they didn't show up well against the carpeting where they were stored. Anyway, when I found them today, I weighed myself. I am down to 78 kg (171 1/2 lbs) now. The rate of loss has slowed for a couple of reasons. First, it is harder to lose weight after the first fat has gone. And second, my hotels have had breakfasts lately causing me to eat more calories than I do when there is no breakfast. Anyway, my present weight leaves me with 6-8 kg (13-17 lbs) to go before I reach the goal I want to attain before arriving back in San Antonio. With about 14 weeks left of travel, that means I only have to lose 1/2 kg (1 lb) per week. That should be possible.
Spending Update: While waiting around my room, I decided to determine my spending statistics for China so far. Through yesterday, I had been here 19 days and had spent a total of $628.33 (NOT including the advance payment for the cruise I will take starting today). That's an average of $37.81 per day which is less than I thought it would be since I have stayed at several nicer hotels along the way. Again through yesterday and not including the cruise cost, I have traveled 54 days since leaving Texas and have spent $2243.10 for a daily spending average of $41.54. Those expensive days in Japan are still keeping the daily average up!!
I will report for my cruise down the Yangtse (Yangsi?--I've seen both spellings in English) this afternoon at 15:30. (The link is to a boat that looks like the one I am booked on and should be similar to it.) I doubt that I will have access to the Internet during the 3 days of the cruise. But it may pull into ports in the evenings so we don't miss sights along the way. If it does, if we are allowed to disembarque, and if I can find a cyber cafe, I will be online and update the blog. If not, it may be 3-4 days before I get a chance to be online again.
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