Hong Kong - written Dec. 11

I would like the Curry Mansion Please

An easy sleeper train dropped me off in Hong Kong and for a week I was free. Free from the cold, free from the language barriers, and even free from the silly China censor. Ah freedom, how I missed thee. What am I saying, I'm back in China now, where it's chilly, still Chinese and I'm without my blog. Shackled, yet happy. I'm not exactly sure what Hong Kong is. It's not really China. It's certainly no longer a British colony. It's the financial hub of the region. Doesn't Jackie Chan live here or something?

To answer some of these questions, I started my HK adventure in the Chongking Mansions. I've heard much about this place and I was hoping it would leave me shaking my head and screaming for mommy. It didn't exactly happen that way, but it was still bizarre. The Mansions are a set of buildings located right in the smack center of downtown Kowloon (think Brooklyn to NY's Manhattan, which is HK Island). Real estate here is at a super premium. Down the street is a Four Seasons, right next to a fancy Marriot, attached to more fancy hotels and bars. You would almost think you were in an upper class neighborhood, except for the Mansions. Not only are these buildings an eyesore, but they really do their best to offend all your senses. They're ugly, soon to get a facelift though, but as they say, 'you can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig'. It smells, mostly like curry from the numerous Indian restaurants located in it's bowels- some find the smell of curry offensive, but I rather like it (we'll see if I'm still saying this a couple months from now when I'm in India). It is damn noisy- from cell phone vendors during the day, prostitutes at night and room hawkers in between. It tastes pretty strange- I licked the building....not tasty. And it can be uncomfortable to say the best- my room was about seven feet by four feet, more like a cell than a room actually. So why in the world would I stay in such a place? It's a real mix of the not so hidden underbelly of HK. From the illegal black market electronic sales, to trafficking in drugs. I would never expect to see so many Indians and Africans concentrated in such a small area...and I got a taste of that. I didn't see anything too strange, but I did get a thoroughly weird vibe from the place. This was augmented by a visit to the local park one late afternoon. What I saw there was a colorful dance party (at five in the afternoon). Normally I shrug, but in this case, it seemed like the participants were prostitutes of multiple nationalities being admired by pimps and would be customers. Wait, I was watching.... Let's just say I got out of there fairly quickly and I was more than happy to stay with a friend of mine on the good side of the river.

Stuck in the Middle

HK isn't China, but it's no longer part of the UK either. It has a strange colonial vibe, yet there's no colonist. We went out one night in a district filled with white people. In Chicago this is normal. In China, not so much. I take it back, there were Asian ladies about, in fact they were out at night, which would make them Asian Night Ladies, which is exactly what they were. Aside from the prostitutes and the service employees you could have mistaken the place for being a part of the West. This was even more apparent when I went to the track. The arcades and stands were filled with Westerners having a couple of brews, laughing at the idea of betting on races and in general having a great time. Inside, actually gambling, you would see the Cantonese. Silly gamblers. Actually, I put down a bet. I picked the long shot in the second to last race, I heard he was due. He wasn't, I was out $20 hk dollars. To think, that's three ice-creams, oh how foolish I was.

The whole colonial dynamic is interesting. More interesting is the way that HK is or isn't assimilating into China. This is of particular concern to Hong Kongers, who unlike their track-watching Western tourists, have a life to lead. It should be great considering that HK is a really cool city, but they have a real struggle on their hands. With China doing it's best to promote Shanghai in the hopes that it overtakes HK as a financial center, will HK lose it's edge? How can Hong Kongers compete on cost with mainland China located just over the Delta? We're all experiencing this outsourcing problem, but it's not at our doorstep. Imagine if Northern Mexico spoke English, had skills good enough to send high paying jobs there and would be willing to work for one fourth of our cost. We would not be happy. Well this is just the dilemma for a Hong Konger. A Shenzen person can do the same work (not as well) for a fourth of the cost. Anything that's really sophisticated runs the risk of being relocated to Shanghai. I don't expect that banks will be relocating out of the area any time soon, but all the back office work that was here, certainly won't be as English improves in the mainland.

Island Hopping

Politics and history aside, the place is just beautiful. How many world-class cities have tropical parks located off subway lines? Or islands begging to be hopped? It's vibrate, active, steamy, there's great shopping (not that I care), awesome food (probably my favorite in China so far), you can get by with English (I felt a bit guilty) and people with funny hats (ok I made that up). The first island that I visited was Lamma island, known for it's stock of Western tourists that never left (think hippies). With a chilly port and some nice beaches, this little island has everything you need to sit back and forget life for the next forty years. In the event you're an I-banker, no worries you can take the local ferry to HK Island to do your deeds. I chose to spend my day hiking along one of the island trails with a destination of a beach. It's not that I wanted to go to the beach, I simply had to. The thing is, I hadn't used my bathing suit yet, and it's a travesty to be traveling for three months out of a little bag and have an article of clothing that hasn't been used. No problem, had a little beach to myself for an hour (check!), then on to more interesting things. Like walking back to the port, not along the trail but along the cliffs. I figured, I bought the tevas for a reason and my mom wasn't around to tell me not to climb the rock walls, so I did it. It was great, but I think all the rock hopping tweaked my ankle a bit.

On my second island tour, I went to Cheung Chao, Long Island. Unfortunately, by this time my ankle started to hurt and blisters were forming. Luckily, like most islands, Cheung Chao had beaches, so that's where I spent my afternoon reading and relaxing. That was until a gaggle of kids (I would guess from some international school) broke my peace. In no time a group of boys were constructing castles in the sand. Actually in this case, they were building a graveyard. After I inquired why, they said it was so they could kill and bury Nazi's. I didn't have a huge issue with that, but it was odd seeing an eight year old drawing swastikas in the sand, even if there were for the purpose of tricking the Nazi's to their death. I found this all a bit morbid, so I asked if they knew about Godzilla. They didn't, so I happily shared with them the essentials of the city smashing lizard. In no time the graveyard was forgotten and instead the focus was on constructing and smashing little cities (much more appropriate for little boys, IMHO). My ankle began to ache so I figured it was time to go back. During this trip, whenever I'm down, or have a bit of adversity, or otherwise bored, I try to treat myself, in many cases with ice-cream. And that's exactly what I did on this occasion, enjoying a double chocolate bar on the boat ride home. Mmmm chocolate.

Back in China

It would be very easy to allow HK to suck you in. It has both the intensity and grandeur of a true international city with the proximity of islands and tropical forests. But I was not to be enchanted. Plus I don't own a hunting riffle, pipe or safari hat, gear requisite for a true colonial experience. There are more adventures to be had, and I still hadn't seen the south. I am planning to use my next thirty day visa to explore this area a bit (I say a bit since Southern China is roughly the same size as Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma, places I expect to visit over a series months), and then leave China (for the time being at least). Naturally this was to begin with a series of buses and trains that ended up getting me to my next destination at four thirty in the morning. Boo hoo. Then again, I found myself in backpacker paradise, the Southern China city of Yangshou. More about that next time (depending on computer accessibility). But now it's time for bed. So I'll say goodnight from the autonomous Dong minority region in NW Guagxi province, which coincidentally is also colloquially known as ADMRN WGP.

Shanghai - written Dec. 6

Shanghai

The plan was to take a sleeper to Shanghai, but I found a cheaper ticket to Hangzhou and it was a flight. Same price, ten hours faster, yes please! A quick hour plus flight was not without entertainment. Several of the passengers looked totally confused on the plane. Many of them needing personal assistance to find their seats. An old man in front of me struggled for ten minutes trying to figure out how to use is headphones before a flight attendant spent an additional five minutes instructing him. I'm not trying to laugh at my fellow passengers as taking occasion for many. Certainly familiarity with air travel is something I take for granted. A flight must have been a special

Going south, I was hopeful that I would avoid the snow and be in a more comfortable climate. This was only partially the case. The temperature was barely enough that there was no snow. Instead I had the pleasure of freezing rain for a couple of days. Out of self pity, I checked the temp in Chicago, where I thought for sure it would be colder, but I was wrong.

As I've mentioned on several occasions, my super time in Beijing was a direct result of the great people I was spending time with. As I went south, I was worried that I would be completely on my own again. It took me all of two minutes in the Hangzhou hostel before I met Ofer. We were quickly drawn to each other and spent the next week together. I tend to have warm feeling to the Israelis that I've met. Fortunately China is not plagued with the hordes of Sabras known to haunt India and other cheap parts of the backpacker world. Plus Ofer was extremely patient with my Hebrew and our Chinese was on a similar level. We had a great time laughing at newly created sayings in Chinglish, Hebrish, and Ivru. It was nice to work a bit on my very rusty and limited Hebrew skills. Now that I've checked the Great Wall off the list, I'm thinking it can be replaced with studying yoga at an Indian Ashram either filled with Israelis or conducted in Hebrew. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Hangzhou is famous for West Lake, which is surrounded by gardens and hills. This city, with over six million people was a former retreat for royalty and aristocracy. The west, leisure and scenery sprouted an artistic tradition that still thrives today. Despite the superlatives, it is very pretty. Unfortunately this fact is hard to appreciate when huddled under an umbrella and shivering from the cold. The area is also known for it's teas, which is properly sampled and enjoyed in a traditional teahouse.

I'm not sure if this concept exists in the states, but if it doesn't someone needs to import it. Imagine an elegant restaurant or country club where you can spend the morning or afternoon/evening sitting back enjoying tea while munching on a never ending supply of food. Sounds heavenly right? Initially, Ofer and I were resistant on whether to stay. The listed price was about ten dollars and it appeared that it would double if we stayed for longer than an hour, which seemed pricey to us. How foolish we were. After some confusion, we determined the price was actually $10 and the food, atmosphere and company was so pleasant, we stayed there almost four hours. The teahouse's buffet was filled with at least twenty dishes, mostly delicious, and others (like chicken feet) not. In no time we had a table filled with small plates of everything. Our favorites were the fresh fruit. We happily spent the evening munching kumquats Asian pears, lychee while sipping our various teas out of cups that would not have looked out of place in a dollhouse. I think if they had a hot tub and massages, we would still be there. Alas they didn't, so we went to Shanghai the next day.

What's an Expo?

Did you know that the next world expo is taking place in about six month in Shanghai? Neither did I until I came here. The city/country is making such a big deal of the event, it's impossible not to be excited. They claim it will be attended by seventy million people. I still don't really understand what the Expo is. I have no idea which cities have hosted in previous year.s If you told me that the last expo occurred whichever year Edison unveiled the lightbulb, I would have had no reason not to believe you. As a result, much of the City is experiencing a face lift. Too bad for anyone planning to visit in the next six months, great for visitors after.

The city has a major chip on it's shoulder. It's competing with Beijing for political importance, fighting Hong Kong to be the financial hub of the East, and want to challenge the likes of New York and others for the title of World's Greatest City. All the outward focus seems to have created a soulless, commercial hub, albeit a populous one with some nice infrastructure. I'm not exactly sure what I mean when I say the city has no soul, but it doesn' t have the synergy of some of the other places I visited. It maybe a result of the population running after money, but I think you can say the same thing about Hong Kong and that city's just great. Whatever the reason is, foreigners really enjoy it and you can see the Western influence here like no other city in China (HK doesn't count). I get the appeal. Shanghia is definitely Chinese, there's the people, the food, etc, but it's not in your face China. It's clean, there are Western places, great shopping. I can picture a Western tourist coming here and no where else and regaling their friends back home about how different the East is. All the while never having to learn a lick of the language or straying too far from their four style hotel and lifestyle.

For it's size Shanghia doesn't have the types of sights one might expect. It is home to one of the coolest museums that I've been to- the urban planning museum, and some pretty interesting Jewish history. That being said, I had a great time in Shanghai, again it was because of meeting Ofer and I. We had a 'meeting' at least once a day for almost a week. We crashed a surprise birthday party, had our first KTY/Kareoke experience, and practiced our minimal Arabic with a shockingly fluent Chinese gal. It was all great. Who knew we were so popular? We were also entertained by the strange people we kept meeting in the hostels. Hostels have some bizarre people, and for sure these are some of the most interesting sights to see when traveling. We shared a room with a Frenchman who would spend his days drinking baijo (think rice vodka) and playing arcade games and in the evening at clubs cavorting with Chinese ladies. A recent college grad who was trying to establish himself as a club promoter from the hostel. A Chinese guy named Lyon who spoke excellent English but with a bizarre British-Australian accent (for the record his teachers were either Chinese or American) who was writing a book about his personal wacky philosophy/spiritualism, which I believe centered around him being a prophet. Ofer and I had numerous discussion trying to psycho-analyze the local patients.

OREO SHAKE PLEASE

Oreo Shake Please

Yangshuo was the first true backpacker town that I stayed at. I rolled in around four thirty in the morning and was whisked away to an IHA hostel, that was really more like a hotel. The price seemed reasonable and I had no qualms stealing a few hours of sleep before I started my day. When the sun came up I learned that contrary to my hawkers proclamation, I was not in the center of town and in an effort to save money on electricity the heater in my room was turned off. When I complained to the owner, he said I should find a girl to keep me warm. Black girls are the best, and he could help me meet a Chinese girl. I was tempted, but I thought he would likely set me up with a prostitute. I passed and moved locations the next day. The next place was staffed by underground Christians, they were nice.

Aside from the cheap rooms, ample eating options, and many loud bars, Yangshuo has a lot to offer. Let me rephrase. Even in if you don't want to indulge in the backpacker lifestyle, it's still worth visiting. Mainly because the scenery is amazing. Giant Karst mounds pop right out of the valley and the city is located by two very picturesque rivers. The area is so pretty, it's been enshrined on the back of the 20 kuai bill. I did my best to sample the scenery.

I spent a day floating down the river, another biking by the mountains and a third wandering through neighboring villages. Each had their own special highlights/memories. On the river cruise I won't forget stopping at a little island where villagers had pairs of very sick looking birds. I'm still not sure why someone would pay to have their picture taken with them. While biking, I had to cross the river several times via bamboo rafts. On one occasion, I slipped and stepped right into the river, whoops. Later that day while trying to stop before a rock, I fell over in what must have been the slowest crash in mountain bike history. Laughter was had on both occasions. After wandering for a couple hours, I decided to stop for a nap by a river. I was accidentally awoken by three local twenty somethings. Apparently, I had stumbled upon their spot. Naturally, I was obligated to share a small feast with them including more than a few beers.

Being in a backpacker town, I got access to some backpacker amenities, like fun courses or ways to test your adventureness. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go rock climbing-too wet, but I did take a coking course. Five dishes and half a day later, here's what I've learned. Use lots of oil, put oyster sauce in everything and water is your friend. The food was yummy. In fact, the local dish we made was better than when I ordered it several days prior.

A Walk in the Clouds

Staying in backpacker central was fun, but after several days in the touristy part of town, I was ready to get back on the road. How many interesting discussions can you have with travelers who are completely lost and staying here because it's cheap? The solution was to go north and west traveling through minority areas in the less visited spots of NW Guangxi and Guizhou.

A quick word about minorities in China. Ethnically, China is pretty homogeneous, boasting a Han population of around 90%. Of the remaining ten, I think the Uigher, Hui and Tibetans make up the balance and those folk are mostly out west. Here in the South, there are some twenty to thirty minorities. I've visited towns of the Dong and Yao, two of the larger groups consisting of three to four million people. In recent years, China has showcased their minorities to a greater extent. There's currently a touristification of many of these groups. Chinese will pay good money to see bizarre cultural shows ( think traditional dances with a disco bent) and many minority towns are living museums where after paying an admission fee you get to look at the locals. Which is pretty much what I've been doing, although hopefully less obtrusively. Plus the scenery is gorgeous and it allows me the opportunity to get my fill of ass massaging bus rides.

The first stop was Pingan and the Dragon Backbone Rice Terraces. I'm not sure how much you know about rice, but apparently, this is not the time of year to see 'jaw-dropping' (LP's words, not mine) views. What exactly does 'jaw dropping' mean anyway? Talk about hyperbole. Could you imagine going somewhere so intense it actually caused you seizures? I wouldn't want that. I saw Raider of the Lost Ark. I know my limits. I'll stick with amazing, beautiful, lovely, pleasant, austere, moving, special, etc. Anyplace 'jaw-dropping' I want nothing to do with. Where was I?

I like terraces, I think they're fun to look at. Small villages can be cool too, especially when they're filled with women who never cut their hair. Apparently the Yao believe beauty has much to do with the length of a woman's hair. So from teenage years onwards they don't cut it. Incidentally the men have no such prohibitions and just look like poor villages. Surely there are some special hair washing festivals when the women let their hair down (normally it's wrapped and covered), but as a balding man, I can't say this does much to pique my interest.

Right off the bus I was harassed (followed) by a woman offering me room accommodations. After strolling and bargaining, we finally reached a price for a room plus dinner. I thought I made a good deal. Little did I know that her place was at the top of the village, normally a positive, but with daytime visibility at 100 feet, not so important. I probably needed the exercise walking up... Her room was freezing and she stiffed me on dinner. By the time this fact became apparent it was pitch black outside and with visibility down to ten feet, I was convinced I would never find my room again. I buckled down and supped on Chinese Twinkies and sunflower seed.

Sleep came easily and after a hearty breakfast, I embarked on a half day hike that more than compensated for the poor hospitality. In the five hour hike between two villages, I was walking above and through rice terraces. Unfortunately, visibility was pretty poor and the terraces were just dry remains of the previous harvest. Not exactly the glistening rice fields in the pictures. I'm not complaining, i do still have my jaw.

Dong Da Dong Dong

From there it was onwards to several Dong villages, first Chenyang and then Zhaoxing. Getting around the villages was pretty tough because of the very poor condition of the roads. The one bright side is that many were in the process of (re)construction. So at some point getting around out here will be easier. For now, it can be a back-breaking, butt-bouncing affair. I do not have fond memories of the road between Conjiang and Kaili. Supposedly separated by 120 km, the ride took almost eight hours. Visibility in these parts has been pretty poor. So while there are many pretty mountains and terraces, most cannot be viewed. Boo. On country roads, there are usually country travelers. This is fine except some get motion sickness and end up spending the majority of the bus ride, pucking. Lovely.

The Lonely Planet mentions that several of these places are overrun with tourists and lost their rustic charm. I didn't find this to be the case at all and I haven't seen a white face for over a week. I'm sure it's partially because of the time of the year. I don't mind travelers that much. Without them(us) it's harder to find places to stay, where to eat, find companionship, etc. In China, this is not to be belittled, especially since hotels here need a special permit to house foreigners. In less visited areas it's often very tough to find budget accommodations. The other day I wandered around needlessly for two hours before I found a suitable (not crazy expensive) place. I've spent the past week with a Korean fellow, and I've been very happy to have the company, plus he can read a little Chinese.

Dong villages have two primary characteristics. They're dirty, filled with muck and mud and they are under constant construction. They also tend to have lots of drum towers and naturally are filled with Dong people. The amazing thing about Dong construction is that they don't use any nails or bolts. All the pieces fit together like giant log legos. Part of me is amazed by the quality as they build three and four story buildings this way. The other part of me, wants to encourage them to get into the twenty first century. Their architects and woodsman must be real craftsmen. But spending hours planning wood, or figuring out exactly how many divots to fit into a particular log seems like a very inefficient use of time. I can only imagine what would happen if a woodworker found himself in a Home Depot. He would faint for sure, with sudden death being a remote possibility.

The past couple of days have been spent walking and biking in these random villages. Basically, we wander around hiking in the surrounding mountainsides, bike where we can ogle at villagers and sit down inside the drum towers. Drum towers seem to be where the older men of the village congregate so it's generally fun to hang out with the old timers for a bit. Usually they just sit around a fire, burning anything to keep warm. When I say anything I mean it. Wood, trash, clothing, animals (ok I didn't see that), even random mechanical equipment. The guys are quite a sight. The Dong people are small and the old men are always smoking. Often then don't bother to deal with matches or lighters and simply stick their pipes or most often their whole hands in the fire. I've seen enough charred hands and fingers for the time being. In one little mountain village we were pleasantly sitting, minding our own business, when a popping noise starts coming from the fire. Next thing we know a large metal projectile flies out of the fire. It was at that point that we decided to leave. It was great strolling around the country side. The weather didn't exactly cooperate since it's been cloudy, misty and rainy most of the past week. I saw the largest waterfall in Asia. I'm not sure I believe it's the biggest fall since while it's nice, it wasn't overpoweringly large. Yesterday we tried to visit one of the largest caves in China. Five hours into our three hour bus ride we realized we didn't have time to actually go to the cave. Instead we stopped at a Chinese version of a KFC, Home Cooked Chicken and turned right around. The food was surprisingly good. I'm not that upset about missing the cave, I would have been pissed if I missed my train that night, which I didn't.

I'm currently in Kunming, the capital of Yunan and home to many exciting outdoor adventures. Hopefully winter won't blow me away and I'll spend the next couple weeks enjoying the interesting scenery. Plus I'll be joined by my good friend Charles who is visiting from the states for a couple of weeks. Should be great!

Way Behind

I'm way behind in updating this and for that I apologize. I'm not trying to make excuses, but I have a couple good reasons for the delay, (1) I haven't had/sought consistent computer access, (2) I'm having too much fun to take the time and (3) for the better part of the past month, I've been traveling or staying with people and they're much more interesting for me to interact with than a silly computer.

Here's a quick update of where I've been. I spend a week plus in Beijing, flew down to Hangzhou, spent a week in Shanghai and now I'm in Hong Kong. And it's finally warm, woohoo! I even went to the beach today. There's no way I'm going to do justice to my experiences of the past couple weeks, but I'll try to give some highlights/impressions.

Beijing
Did I mention how much I enjoyed this city? I think I did, in any case, let me say it again. This place is teeming with life, past present, future, it's all here. Xian is the ancient capital and it's got some great history, but I think the sites are way more compelling in Beijing. In a similar way that the elegance and beauty of the temples in Kyoto draw you in, the magnitude and grandeur of the Forbidden City and the Great Wall blow you away. Beijing was pretty close (it's not the north capital for no reason) hovering around freezing the whole time and snowing on multiple occasions. The one positive being that there were less travelers and I didn't get hastled too much, oh and I got to throw snowballs at random Beijingers from time to time. I was fortunate to walk the 10k on the Greet Wall on a crisp, clear, yet cold day. I must have been one amount fifteen tourists that morning. We all got a good workout and I was fortunate not having been more sore from the previously mentioned exercise routines.

I also really enjoyed the 798 art district, admittedly as much for the real estate as for the art. Several years ago the government decided to transform a district of old warehouse building into galleries and a walking area. I'm not sure if this area is economically viable, meaning is enough art being sold to allow the galleries to afford the rent that must be required to justify the cost of rehabilitating the area? And in general is the art at a reasonably high quality or are the galleries fishing for tourist dollars (i went back and forth on this one)? From a public works/space perspective, I just love the idea. I know my Chicago peeps are still smarting from last months' Olympic rejection. But imagine if the City invested the cost of just one of the temporary stadiums (let's say $400 mil) into an area like this. What would you rather have, a stadium for three weeks or a lasting area for creativity and tourism? Seems like an obvious choice to me.

The one disappointing attraction I experience was going to Chaoyang Theatre to see some acrobats. I'm clearly spoiled, since I was left unastounded by the show. Let's just say that I was impressed but hoping for jaw-dropping stuff, which I didn't see. Plus there was no narrative and little artistry. Just gals and dudes in ugly leotards.

The food on the other had was very good. The night we went out for duck was probably the best meal of my trip. Since it was only $20, I'm' craving it again just thinking about it. Wait, Cantonese food is delicious....mmmm Chinese food. The duck was awesome, the best part being the crisply skin, which would melt in your moth after the application of some sugar. The show stopper though were sauteed bamboo shoots, with a great soy marinade and a satisfying crispiness.

Aside from the pollution, the City was totally great...sites, food and best of all the people.

Super Hospitality

Super Hospitality I was fortunate to have an invitation to stay with some people in Beijing. Considering that they were friends of a friend of a friend I was lucky indeed. In fact, I hit the jackpot. My hosts Taylor and MCK weren't just generous they were all around great guys; really interesting, fun to hang out with, extremely creative, nice friends, plus handsome to boot. I have no problem admitting a small man crush on my hosts, and it was difficult to finally leave their place. It was great because I got to experience Beijing from an ex-pats prospective and I felt like I actually got to sample life in the city. Not only did I travel around and see the sites, I also had the pleasure of dinner parties and meeting many great people. This is just the second capital I visited on this trip so far-Tokyo being the other, and I've loved them both, but for different reasons. Tokyo is the epitome of a metropolis and since it's Japanese it has all the craziness and excitement of that culture. These are just two of several reasons why it's great. What I loved about Beijing was totally different. The history of the city is interesting, but it's the dynamic nature of the place that I loved. China is going through a revolution unlike anything we know. It's a simultaneous industrial and information revolution taking place in the twenty first century. Beijing is the nexus of this development- some say Shanghai but Beijing is the political capital in any case. And it seems to be attracting people interested in benefiting and shaping the development of the country. The people I met in the capital were all doing some very interesting things from running their own non-profits to working for embassies. My hosts were no exception. Taylor has a number of interesting consulting gigs including helping Chinese companies list on the German market. MCK runs his own strategic marketing company called Khaki Creative. There is an entrepreneurial bent to expat life in China that's very exciting at the moment. I loved that I got to see this life close, even if it was just for a week.

Pumping it Up
So the guys I stayed with are real go getters. In go getter fashion they would start their days with an early morning workout. This was first introduced to them by a guy named Matt, who also happened to be staying there. Matt is a former army captain who was in China to follow Mao's Long March. He's currently applying for a Fulbright to come back here for research on the subject (see what I'm talking about when i say interesting people). Aside from being a great guy, the man is huge! Matt used a set of workout tapes called P 90x during his service, and passed along his wisdom to MCK and Taylor when he saw that they were interested in intense workouts. The boys asked me if I was interested in joining them for a killer morning workout. This never really crossed my mind, but when in Rome.... I think I'll always associate Beijing with this routine because for a week plus this became an important part of my daily routine, starting everyday at 6:30. P 90x (this and other tapes can be found on www.beachbody.com) is a ninety day fitness challenge that is supposed to transform the fit and healthy to ass-kicking super-specimens. The tapes are led by an overly energetic fitness guru named Tony Horton. The man could probably kick Sergeant Slaughter's ass and is very likely on speed (he's way too energetic not to be). Without going into too much detail, there are about ten routines, that alternate through the three months, jumping, lunging, stretching, and lifting, using nothing more than weight bands and a pull-up bar. This man will destroy you! Even though it was only one week, I think I could feel results. I'm certainly not cut now, but I am fitter than when I started. There was something really great about starting my days with this intense activity and although I was constantly sore, hopefully it's something that will be part of my life when returning to some degree of normalcy. Since my situation was so comfortable , I was in no hurry to see all the sites, although I saw plenty. Instead, I focused on hanging with my new friends, and eating some yummy food. I spent a day in the old hutong neighborhoods of the city. Another wandering in open markets and pretending to be interested in the mounds of cheap knockoffs and 'antiques'. It's fun to bargain especially when there's nothing you fear not getting. Before I knew it, I was in Beijing a number of days without having seen the obligatory sites.

TRAINING EAST

Training East

The last flight to Beijing left Dunhuang at the end of October. It sucked that I missed it by a couple of weeks, but it meant I would have the pleasure of taking my first sleeper train, a nice easy 30 hour ride. Dunhaung is not on the main east-west transit line so it meant that I had to first get to Liuyang, some hour or two north, and since my train was to leave at five in the morning I figured I might as well sleep in the station.

After help from the hostel, I found myself in a shared cab at about nine in the evening. After running a few errands, including picking up more passengers to squeeze into the back, we were on our way, weaving along an unlit desert highway. It was a bit scary, so I dozed off. By one we were in the station and within five minutes I had picked out my very own spot amid the grime and cigarette butts to sleep on the floor. At five, I stumbled into the train and in no time I was asleep again nestled in my own little sleeper bed.

By eight thirty the cabin was alive with activity. I fought the urge to get up mainly because there was no where to go. I was stuck for a day plus; sleep seemed like my best option. The next day was spent alternating between reading, writing and sleeping, kind of like my trip from Japan. This time though all the characters were front and center (sometimes on my bed) for me to observe. I think I turned out to be more interesting for them, then vice versa. As the only foreigner I had to struggle with some major language issues. I had an initial conversation with my neighbors for about an hour. That sounds impressive, but in fact, I only understood the first minute or two and thereafter I was just nodding politely. Most of my interlocutors peeled off as they lost interest, but one guy kept me sitting there for a while. Where was I to go? If I scampered off to the bathroom, he would just be there when I got back. I just had to wait until he decided to shut up.

A number of people on the train thought I was Chinese. They would approach me and ask, "Are you from Xinjiang?" This question is only slight less ridiculous after you learn that this is the home of the Muslim Uigher population. Some of them have beards, I have a beard. I guess it makes sense.

Two observations from the train. Chinese travelers are terrible packers for train journeys. This is apparent in their selection of food, and bizarre attire. It seemed that the average traveler brought a quantity of food equal to or greater than a fifth of their body weight. As if they are prepared to spend not one day, but possibly one week with this stock. As if this weren't enough, several bought additional boxes of fruit. Many of the male travelers wore cheap sport coats, which I found odd because they weren't warm, didn't' look good and there was no place to hang the jacket. Odder still was the amount of pant layers worn by the guy in the bunk next to me. After the trousers came off, he removed his sweatpants, after which he had thinner pants, which were over long johns. This made no sense to me since the cabin was totally temperature controlled and rather pleasant.

The toilet was also stranger. Rather than keeping the waste to be drained at the station. The toilet opened upon flushing and seemed to let everything fly. I'll have to have a closer look the next time I pass some tracks. The trip passed without any major discomfort and I arrived in El Capital without any problem.

Rockets A Flying
Before I get to my wonderful time in Beijing. I wanted to discuss a couple recent events. Prior to my visit, I learned that Beijing experienced one of the largest snowfall in the past thirty years. Apparently the city is having some water problems so the government tried to induce rainfall. This was done by shooting a rocket into the sky to seed the clouds. Unfortunately, the dosage was mistakenly too large and the weather was colder than expected. The result, snow, lots and lots of snow. Ooops. No biggy, as it melted a few days later, and fortunately, it snowed two more times in the week plus I spent there.

The other event that caught my attention was the opening of a new stock exchange. I believe it's called the GEM market. On it's first day of trading all the stocks were up twenty percent, such that trading temporarily suspended. The excitement of the opening I think is common here when discussing the economic situation. The euphoria together with the massive level of development and lack of the true oversight (read rampant corruption) worried me. Stocks don't go up forever, companies don't effectively /police themselves , tax dollars get misappropriated. Everything is all good right now, but what happens if there's a problem

Caravaning West

Caravaning West

After a week of abdicating most minor decisions to my new Chinese speaking friends, I was once again on my own and totally lost in translation. I shouldn't say totally since I've picked up a bit of Chinese. I can now ask for directions. Unfortunately, I won't understand the answer. I don't actually mind the helplessness, it's funny at times and a good lesson in trust. But at times it does lead to adventures.

The goal for my first day on my own was to visit the mountainside monastery some two hours from where I stayed. It was a struggle from the get go as the tax driver charged three times the actual price to get me to the bus station. Fortunately, I knew the price and when he said 12, I paid four, we were both happy. The next bus, supposedly every half hour, wasn't to leave for an hour and when it did we went five minutes before stopping for an additional hour to find more passengers. From the book, I learned to take the bus to a small town, some seven km from the monastery where frequent minibuses shuttle back and forth to. Small town was an understatement as this village didn't have more than twenty houses by Chinese standards this place is nonexistent, there was no minibus to be found and it turned out to be twenty km away. There didn't seem to be anything around. Yet with little hesitation I hoped off as the bus driver gesticulated this as my destination. By this time it was already mid-afternoon and I didn't want to be stranded here. So I walked through the neighboring hills. Accompanied only by the buzzing of cicadas and the distant howling of dogs, I was by myself in the middle of the high desert, totally lost. It was great, much more enjoyable than the monastery for sure. Surrounded by dirt fields, a blue blue sky, snow capped mountains, I really enjoyed this time of being in the middle of nowhere.

That experience was replicated a few days later in Jayaguan. the only reason to visit this dusty little desert town is to see the fort, which was located at the western point of the Chinese Empire. It was nice, but like many of the other sites here, too much theme park, not enough history. I was tempted to pay the dollar to defend the fort from attackers by shooting arrows down from the wall at a straw man. And I was really hooping that a tourist would try their luck firing a cannon juts outside the fort's gate. Who owns a cannon? And how did they get it? Once I was down with the fort, I spent the remainder of the afternoon wandering along the Great Wall. This was my first experience with the wall and rather than the dramatic twists and turns in the mountainside, this section just flowed into the barren desert. It was fun to do, but not the amazing experience I'm hoping for outside of Beijing.

Riding Off Into the Sunset, On A Camel

My last stop out West turned out to be one of my favorites. The Great Wall is supposedly the border, but Dunhuang really is at the edge of civilization. My hostel literally backed into sand dunes. I had previously been convinced of the pleasure of an overnight stay in the desert and the camel trek sounded fun. I was prepared to go by myself, but I was grateful when I found the other two guests in my hostel were equally keen on spending the night among the freezing elements.

Before riding off into the sunset on my camel, I first visited the Magao Caves, the largest complex of Buddhist Grottoes in China. As you can probably guess from my two previous experiences, I had an interesting visit here. Louyang and Tianshui have impressive carvings, Magao has that, plus some very unique artwork throughout the site. Think Buddhist art meets Arabic art. Flying Buddhas, dramatic colors, something unlike anything I've previously seen. I think this site along would justify coming all the way out here. The desert is an added bonus.

Dunhuang is home to some of the tallest sand dunes in the world, and the desert here looks like it does in the movies. It's no coincidence since they actually film movies out here. We could see their trucks in the distance. I was hoping to be an extra in a Chinese Kung Fu desert movie (how cool would that have been?), but it didn't happen. The camel trek was nice, nothing to blow my mind since I've been in the desert before, unlike my Chinese companions. It's always peaceful to be in the middle of nowhere. Since there was a full moon, midnight felt like dusk and while the stars were out in full force, it wasn't one of those nights where they blanket the sky.

It was very cold, certainly less than freezing and even with my warmest clothes on, I still felt chilly. The camel guide was fortunately well prepared bringing along old army jackets. Unfortunately he didn't have the matching maozi (hat) since that would have had the double benefit of warming the ears and making for a funny picture. His other technique to battle the cold was to light dried camel dung on fire and bury the embers under the tent. He clams to have discovered this technique himself. Which is a shame, since this is a well-known strategy for adding warmth when needed. Let me tell you, nuzzling into your sleeping bag in the freezing desert is much easier when you're on top of some smouldering poop.

The next day, we got up to watch the sunrise. But since china doesn't 'believe' in time zones, this was easier than it sounds. Sunrise was at 8:30 or so, kind of weird. What I enjoyed most about the desert was climbing up the sizable dunes and tromping back down. Invariably the dune peaks seemed closer than they were and it was tough, yet rewarding work. Some times the sand was nice and compact and no problem to walk in, at other points, I would sink in to my knees. The climbing up was nice and the view from the dunes was really great, but my favorite part of the whole trip was finding my way down the dunes. This was best done by running as fast as I could through the powdery sand. The inclination was very steep and the only way to prevent tumbling down was to keep running. Oh, what great fun. It was with great satisfaction that I would take off my shoes and empty the ample quantities of sand.

So that was Dunhuang and the desert. Really pleasurable, if the temperature was a little bit more accommodating I would stay longer. It was certainly time for me to see the capital and after a thirty hour train trip that would finally happen.

A TASTE of TIBET

A Taste of Tibet

There is so much discussion of Tibet in the West that it's hard not to be curious and want to see it for yourself. Currently, the only way for non-Chinese to go the region is with a guided tour group, with a cost of two to three times actual travel costs. I am certainly curious to see Lahsa and it would be interesting to see what must be beautiful mountains and countryside, but I don't like the idea of seeing a Tibetan theme park. For travelers in the West, there are plenty of Tibetan towns that are open and with a short detour can be visited no problem. This past week, I've seen several of these towns in the Gansu and Qinghai Provinces. Some travelers have discussed this as a more 'authentic Tibetan experience,' since there are a higher percentage of Tibetans than in much of Tibet, with a less (but frequent) prominent police and government presence.

I'm going to leave all the politics to the side, especially since I'm waiting for a visa at the moment. I'll say only this; the post-colonial dialogue that we often hear in the West, "China bad, Tibet good," is a ridiculous oversimplification of the issue and should be rejected.

The three cities I've been to are all one-street towns of various sizes. The smallest being 3,000, the largest of about 70,000. Two things hit me immediately as I left the bus station in Xiahe. First, you can't but notice the dust, soot, exhaust that chokes you on any main street. It's enough to make one want to buy those little gas masks. At times, I was surprised not to be coughing up a dust clod. Second, the Tibetans are spitting images of the Andeans, same round face, flush checks, big smiles, layered dress, silly cowboy hats, even the scenery is similar. Of course you see monks here, and rather than little alpaca dolls you see tiny yaks,. But the similarities are uncanny and there must be some relation. This observation was shared by a Canadian and American that I spent the next couple of days with. Since the American could speak Mandarin, we had some funny discussions and good times with the Tibetans. Plus she taught me two new terms. ABC- American Born Chinese, and Sea Turtles- Chinese that live abroad but eventually make their way back to China. Funny. The first day we walked down some random street where some water system was being installed. In a short time we were in discussion with ten Tibetans ranging in age from 15 to 30. Much merriment ensued and in no time they were inviting us to their house half an hour away. Their hospitality was great as they offered the little they could, tea and an edible, yet unappetizing paste/bread called tsampa. They really enjoyed our digital cameras and took pleasure not only in looking at past pictures and seeing themselves, but also at trying their hand at photography.

Monkeying Around

Xiahe is home to one of Tibetan Buddhism most important monasteries- Labrang. This monastery and much of the city took part in riots last year. As a result, it is much less active-less monks, than in previous years. Still the monastery gives the town a special feel and you can't help but notice the presence of monks in the city. After poking out heads into various temples we climbed a stupa where we discovered a small basketball court with monks shooting some hoops. They were very excited when we walked onto their dirt court and in no time we were playing a spirited game of four on four. I chuckled when I saw one of them wearing an Iverson jersey and I was pleased to discover that I dominated the game. I think it's been five years since I've touched a basketball, but I was of course a college baller. I believe I was described in the local paper at the time as a raw talent at best. Oh Yeah! Once you start moving the altitude at 3,000 meter causes a burning in your lungs and shortness of breath.

After the game we were invited for lunch- some type of rice slop that tasted kind of like risotto. We took lots of pictures and laughed a lot, it was great. Several of the monks were excited to see my arm hair, delighted to see my hairy legs and went nuts when they discovered hair on my chest. At one point a monk grabbed my pants to sneak a peak at what lies below. He was unsuccessful, but I'll tell you, more hair. I have a rip in one of my pants and a kind monk suggested I make a patch with my leg hair. If I were easily offended, I promptly would have kicked him off the team. Instead, I've penciled him in as the starting two- I like his aggressiveness.

I spent the next week traveling with a Chinese speaking Belgian guy, and a constantly giggling Chinese lady. My favorite line from her- you look like a Bin Laden but cuter. Wow great!? We spent the first couple of days walking around. Langmusi was our favorite hiking spot and after waiting out the weather-it was snowing, something that I am completely unprepared for. We had a nice hike to the neighboring cliffs. The altitude really affected me and when we climbed three hundred meters to our peak of 3700m, I was pooped. After downing many a beer and gobbling up something called a yak burger we slipped under our electric blankets and off into sleep.

Xining was our destination since as a regional capital it was a safe bet to extend our visas. With no direct buses we were forced to stop over at Hezuo. Nothing too exciting here, and after a few days of no hot water we decided to go to a bathhouse. For five bucks we got all the hot water we would need and a massage to boot. It was an odd experience starting with the ample application of vinegar followed by a rubdown with a scouring pad normally used for pans. After scrapping us back, front and in between a balm of salt, random bag A and random bag B was applied. We were then tenderized by being whacked up and down- it really hurt. With the abuse over, we were ready to cook over low heat in the sauna. Our Chinese gal pal was equally indifferent to her massage, suggesting the masseur had more practice using her hands in a different more 'adult' way.

No problem with the visa in Xining and after a couple of uneventful days there, the highlight being learning Chinese drinking games and partying at a local club, I've headed back on my own NW along the Silk Road. Unfortunately, I'm heading the wrong direction (west) and flights back to Beijing are no longer available. This means I'll either have to detour or take a really long train back. Then again, I can always keep going until I hit Khazakstan, I heard about some event called running of the Jew. Nah, I'm excited to finally see Beijing, it's time. But first a couple last days in the wild wild West playing in the desert.

HEADING WEST written 10/25/09

Heading West

I could have stayed longer in Xian seeing how there's so much history, but I wasn't feeling the city and I wanted to move on. Part of that was due to my hostel, which I didn't love. The staff was nice, but the place was too busy for my taste. With a constant flow of people, you saw all kinds from the spunky 22 year old visiting Hong Kong, Xian, Beijing and Shanghai all in one week, to a guy biking across China. It was just too much of a scene for me and not what I'm looking for at the moment. The perfect place right now would have about ten travelers- five Chinese, five other (at least one Westerner) mattresses more than an inch thick, ample hot water and staff that specializes in massage therapy. I'm sure it's out there.

The past couple destinations were easy to plan. I've just travelled directly West since I've been here, with Xian as the destination. Now I've reached a little crossroad. Should I head back north, take a week and head back to Beijing or try for something a little bit different? I needed to especially consider the climate, it's mid-October and it gets cold here soon, and my visa situation. After visiting a public security bureau, I've been told it's relatively easy to get an extension and I should have a couple weeks of reasonable weather up north. I'm up for a little bit of adventure, so I've opted for heading West.

Here's my thinking....What I've really enjoyed since I've been here are the random interactions, climbing mountains, and getting uncomfortably lost. The sights themselves have been much less interesting than just traveling and being in China. In fact many of the attractions are presented in an unappealing way and the whole hostel culture can be trying at times. I see this as a way to see a very different fact of the country, where I will expect some major language issues. I have to admit two influences. Over the summer I read Rob Gifford's very interesting book, China Road about his travels from Shanghai to Khazakstan. And over the past several Weeks have met numerous travelers coming from the silk road. It will be nice to see the country a bit. I'll experience blue skies, try different foods. Plus it will give me a chance to see Tibetan villages without actually going to Tibet, which I don't think I'll be going.

But first I had to get out of Xian, something that proved harder than I thought. The China rail site I consulted indicated hourly trains until one and then nothing until evening. I had the fortune of meeting a couple of Americans in line who happened to be living in China. One was a producer from LA, the other a student from Chicago. I asked and the guy from LA agreed to help me buy my ticket. I was delighted only to later discover that he bought the wrong ticket and I was out the cost of the ticket. I feel like the $6 was well spent since I learned an important life lesson- never trust an LA producer. I didn't so much mind the lost time, but I was not pleased that my train wouldn't arrive until 12:30. In fact, I didn't get to my destination until well past two and I had no idea where I would be sleeping.

Tianshui

I quickly made my way through the yelling taxi drivers and thought about my search. After unsuccessfully negotiating at a couple crappy places by the station, I went to town to try my luck there. I should say, other town since the major area o f Tianshui is about 15 km from the station. I grabbed a cab and practiced the little Chinese I've acquired. It was all going great until we reached the destination, where I learned the bill was four times what the book said. We had an argument and I didn't pay until after I check ou t the hotel. Reception was closed and after knocking I learned they didn't have any available rooms, or at least not for me. Great, it's three in the morning, I have no room, and a cabbie is yelling about two dollars. I took my stuff, paid him half of what he wanted and continued wandering. The taxi sped off-meaning I paid a reasonable amount and I headed for another hotel down the street. After some negotiation, I finally got into the rock hard bed around four. I was tired.

My nice experience at the Longmen Caves led me to believe I would enjoy other grottoes as well. The fourth largest carving are located outside Tianshui at MejiShan. Getting there was simple enough and I didn't bat an eye when the bus driver asked for ten kua rather than the seven described in the book. LP is rarely 100% accurate about pricing. Anything that's close seems reasonable to me. Up on th e mountain, I learned the actual price was four yuan- it seems the guidebook author got taken as well and it also explained why the conductor gave the driver three kuai at the end of the trip. No matter since it was well worth getting out to see the grottoes. I was accompanied by clear blue skies, and the tens of Chinese tourists were a significant reduction from any site in Xian.

The carvings were made directly into the mountainside in a very dramatic fashion. Catwalks have been constructed so you can get a close up view of the carvings. Climbing up is not for those with a fear of heights. At times I had to concentrate on putting one foot after another and try not to think of the sheer drop. Getting a close up view of these Buddhist wonders is really special. Some of the figures are thoughtful, reverent, relaxed and powerful. Clearly artistic reflections of what I've felt on this trip.

After a short stop in Lanzhou-the regional capital and home to over three million people, I spent the next week or so in Tibetan villages out west, which I'll be writing about shortly.

I'll take the cheap Room - written 10/19/09

I'll take the Cheap Room

I took a four/ten hour bus trip from Louyang to Xian. I say four/ten because four hours was the projected travel time, ten was the actual. I'm not sure why it took an extra six hours, but I do know that we stopped at one point not moving for over two hours. Other than the fact that my elderly male neighbor had a terrible wig, there was nothing particularly interesting about the trip.

I finally rolled into my hostel around nine. Filled with good spirits, I felt like a thief when I opted for the twenty kuai room. Why pay double for the same accommodations- I ain't no sukka? I'll gladly stay in the basement. The following morning after an estimated two hours of sleep, I reconsidered my decision. The room seemed to be specially designed to circulate smoke into the room and the insulation was such that I felt I could directly participate in the conversation outside. I'm all for merriment, but these loud backpackers were up until six and wouldn't let me sleep. Then disaster struck. I noticed at some point in the middle of the night that my key disappeared. Normally this would never happen since I would keep it on my person. But this was a room where you had to put the card in the light switch to activate the electricity, which was crucial to operate a tiny fan. At around six when one of my roomies came in, I asked about the key. She was either too drunk, stupid, or foreign to understand; lIkey a combination of all three. Early in the morning I stormed to the desk and demanded satisfaction. They were sympathetic to my complaints and would gladly change my room but would have to charge me for the lost key. This amounted to a whopping $14 (what am I made of money?) and I refused to pay. I didn't lose it, your evil guests who tormented me mistakenly took it in an act of drunken negligence. After a little bit of back and forth, we reached a compromise. They would charge me 50 kuai for the key, but discount the upgraded room by 60 kuai. Fine with me, especially since I was happy to pay the higher rater, just not the key deposit. The next room was much better. I spent the next day with an English fella at the Terra cotta warriors and then co-habitating with two Danish girls and a French gal. We all nestled together at night and will be joining a Swedish commune next Fall.

Terracotta Spectacle

The Big Goose Pagoda is presented in typical Chinese fashion, totally exploited. The oldest and most famous site in Xian (the warriors don't count since they're outside the city) has been turned into a theme park. Come here to see a water show, poorly constructed statues and kitschy historical remakes. It's like someone from the tourist ministry visited Las Vegas, saw it's success and was convinced cultural sites needed to be Vegasized. Bigger and kitschier. Who needs to step back into the magical Chinese past when instead you can have your picture on a camel, buy an annoying bird whistle or overpay for ice-cream? At least Vegas has an ample supply of clean toilets.

The warriors were a similar experience. They're certainly cool, but way over-hyped. The entrance to the site calls it the eight wonder of the world. The mass of warriors is impressive, as is the fact that the tomb was begun when the emperor was just 13. Checky little guy. The tomb itself hasn't been excavated for fear that it will be destroyed during the process. The museum is disappointing, totally lacking in details. There is as much description praising the valiant nature of the construction workers who built the facility as actual history. I'm down for patriotic whooping, but why not focus it on the guy and the emperor who built the site?

More interesting than the Warriors was Emperor Jindi's Tomb. It was supposed to be an easy five minute bus ride and then a simple transfer to bus number four which would take me straight to the site. After my three attempts to board the bus were vigorously rebuffed, I became concerned. Signs that indicated buses leaving overnight- 0:30, 1:30, 3:00, etc. confused me. So, I walked to the bus station where I got similar direction as my hostel. An additional three attempts were denied before I was finally granted admittance. That wasn't that bad, tomb here I come. Well, it wasn't quite that simple. The number four drove for about twenty minutes before stopping at a random stop on the side of the road. The only distinguishing characteristic being the presence of several other buses. After gesticulating my question, I learned that I had to board another number four which was to leave from across the street. After forty minutes of waiting and a twenty minute drive I finally reached the tomb.

So, was all the hastle worth it? The fascinating archaeological site more than makes up for the pain. Plus the museum is very pleasant with interesting descriptions and fields of roses where digging once took place. I think what makes this site so interesting is that it's an active dig and you walk right over and next to the excavation pits. Jingdi's Tomb has relics that focus more on everyday life. So rather than warriors, you'll see horses, pigs and little men. It's all very interesting and if you make it to Xian I would say visiting the site is just as important and more enjoyable than the warriors.

Xian has some fascinating history, so I wanted to visit some of the cities museums. I did make it to one, but twice failed in my attempt to visit the large municipal one. On the first attempt, I discovered it's closed on Mondays and when I tried a couple days later, I found I arrived when the museum was closing 4:15. The guidebook said 7- stupid guidebook. Actually I'm not sure if it's LP's fault completely, the Chinese museums have strange hours in the afternoon. At an attached building I wandered to a small art exhibit. Where after five minutes I was approached by the artist. It was almost all calligraphy, which I have no problem admitting that I am indifferent to. It's hard to appreciate it when the language is totally lost on me and I know next to nothing about it's style and history. It was interesting to talk with the artist- now I know a little about calligraphy. His English wasn't great and when he could tell that I was not interested in purchasing pictures, nor a calligraphy aficionado, the conversation petered out.

Xian has a very active Muslim quarter (it was funny to hear travelers sometimes refer to it as the Middle Easter Quarter) with a lovely mosque and a winding maze of street vendors selling a wide range of products from 'Gucci" bags to delicious street food. I ate there a couple of nights with the highlights being grilled quail eggs and a thick lamb soup filled with chucks of bread. I should note that if you are interested in buying some low quality Chinese art there is a lady-I believe she's twenty stalls in on the northside of the street, who will give you a good price. She told me to tell my friends....

A City of the Past of One of the Future?

I have been here for a couple of weeks but Xian is my first real city (Louyang has a measly 1.5 mil) as such I've experienced a couple firsts. I saw a biker get plowed by a reckless taxi cab. I stayed there for the following argument and could only shake my head when after five minutes the cab drove off, leaving the girl in tears with only a crowd of spectators to console her. I also had the special joy of seeing multiple kids squatting in the middle of the sidewalk. There's nothing quite like walking down the street and seeing a kid give birth to a little brown snake. Especially when the delivery is a painful one accompanied by shouts of frustration and tears of pain. Oh, and I saw someone being dragged kicking and screaming into a police car, but that happens in any big city.

Equally surprising is to see the staggering amount of development. At the top of the Big Pagoda, I counted twenty cranes all in one direction. The magnitude of construction is amazing. It's not just that buildings are popping up left or right. It's that whole districts or even cities are being built. On my trip to the Tomb, I was struck by six support columns for a modern roadway located in the middle of nowhere. I could foresee ten years into the future where the fields are replaced by rows of apartments suitable of a proper suburb of Xian, right off the new interprovince roadway. This place that falls in the middle of nowhere is probably a pretty good real estate play.

I continue to have some interaction with the Chinese. I typically seek out the hostel employees and when I'm lucky, I am sometimes approached by random people when sightseeing, eating, or just generally looking lost. Usually, I'm approached by people under 30 and with varying degrees of English. During my second night while I was starting to enjoy some fried rice, I was hauled in by three guys in their late twenties. As we downed a couple of beers we had a pleasant conversation. Only one of the three had decent English, his name was David, he works for a large high-tech company headquartered in the States. At one point David extolled the virtues of Mao. "One of the world's greatest men, like your George Washington." I'm still figuring out how to deal with such provocative comments. In general, I just try to engage and ask questions. But there is often reluctance to go deeper than simple pronouncements.

Giant Buddhas carved in limestone 10/10/09

Buddha photos taken 10/10/09

The Buddha and ME

me and the girls 10/9/09

Longmen Grottoes written 10/10/09

Longmen Grottoes

It's here in Louyang that I've seen my first Chinese site to really blow my mind. The Longmen Grottoes are about fifteen km from the city of Louyang and easily accessible by local city bus. Some 100,000 statues and images were carved out of the limestone mountainside on both sides of the Yi River. The bulk of the carving took place from 500 to 700 AD and the site is impressive in terms of beauty, size and simple quantity of images. Unfortunately, many of the statues were partially or completely destroyed. Some in the Cultural Revolution, others well before then. It's a real pity since this is a site that is totally inspiring.

The most impressive carving is a 35 meter Buddha surrounded by seven or so of his most trusted henchmen. Even the evil be headers were so beholden by this statue that they couldn't bring themselves to completely destroy it. Standing face to face with this enormous, I was just enraptured. A traveller I met joked that the site is so impressive, it must have led to converts on the spot- of this, I'm sure. I enjoyed the site so much, I've resolved to visit one of the other two special grottoes in China either west in Dunhuang or north in Datong- stay tuned to see where I end up.

Kung Fu- Holywood Style

The previous day I visited the Shaolin Temple on Mount Song. The word temple should be used very loosely. While Song mountain was in fact the meditation center and final resting place of one of Shaolin's most famous monks, the complex is more of an academy than a monastery. It was fun to see the kung fu performance. But the whole thing stank of showmanship, seemed to lack the spiritualism that is associated with the acrobatics and all the kitsch was a bit over the top. It actually had the feeling of many tourist sites in China. Once special places that have been exploited for their touristic possibility and stripped of their wonder.

This is exasperated by the typically high admission charges, and newish construction. Most of the buildings in the Shaolin complex were built in the past twenty years, and it's hard to think spiritually when the first two things I noticed were a gigantic projector screen spewing advertisements and various stores selling kung fu crap, some of which included Japanese swords and pieces from Lord of the Rings....very authentic. It's a common complaint of travelers I've met, and one that I agree with, that the admission charges to various cultural sites, mountains and any general tourist location seems to be very high. For example, the Shaolin Temple complex cost about $18 admissions. This does not seem like a large sum of money, but relatively speaking for China it's expensive. Consider that my food, lodging and local buses for two days were about this amount and you can see that the tourist ministry is stretching the realm of reasonability. How can locals afford to experience their country if they can't afford it?

Who Knew Stalin Read?

Ever since I've arrived, I've been on a half-hearted search for a Chinese phrasebook. Since I'll be here for a bit, I figured it's essential for me to be able to hold a one minute conversation along the lines of .... hello, my name is avi. I am from the US. Where are you from? I like China, the people are very nice and the food is delicious. Have you been to X? No I am not married. No, I don't want to meet your daughter (cousin, aunt, girlfriend, wife), etc. But I have been unsuccessful in my search. Finally, after two weeks I have a book.

I went to the big Xinhua in Louyang (1.4 mil peeps). I believe that Xinhua is the national bookstore (is there a national ice cream shop as well?), and it is well stocked with books about English. I even found about thirty books in English, but I couldn't find a simple English-mandarin phrasebook. Thirty minutes into my search, it was time to finally ask someone. After taking guidance from the hanging posters of Mao and Stalin (really?), I jumped in. I had composed several very elegant sentences to get across my message. 'Hello, I do not speak Chinese. I want to speak Chinese. Kanji, no good.' This was met by bewilderment and excitement. Naturally, the booksellers quickly ran for one of their mandarin-English books. I tried to explain that Kanji doesn't work for me. They did not understand. After five minutes, they called in the big guns, someone from the first floor. The results were the same. Finally, a local girl understood what I was saying and together we found the one, (one!) English-mandarin book in the whole store. Like all language books I've seen, I immediately wanted to rip out the pages for half of it, do I really need to know the names for Olympic sports and their associated Beijing venues? I think not. I don't need a list of area codes in the country. Who decides what goes in here? While all the other English books seemed reasonably priced (less than $5), and printed at the minimal cost, I feel I picked up the most expensive book in the store- almost $10, and the one that probably is copy written. Grumble...At least I got to see posters of babies in cameo, and full military garb (think the scene in Bruno) at the checkout line. That seemed to distract me from being ripped off.

I'm off to try some traditional local cuisine and tomorrow I'm headed to Xian, which is famous for it's ancient cloud of soot- I'm very excited.

Four Star Luxury

Four Star Luxury

Kaifeng was my next stop and because of the holiday, I had a tough time finding accommodations. In normal circumstances I would be willing to wader around until I found a reasonable place to stay, but in this case my train was to arrive at eleven. After a four hour journey, I knew I wouldn't feel up to the hassel. After calling ten or so places, I finally found a suitable room, not too far from the old city. Unfortunately, I would be paying about ten times my previous location, but at $40 a night, I felt I could swing it no problem.

I was very impressed by the four star hotel rating, but quickly became concerned when I discovered the staff had zero English, like a small step above my Chinese. How to describe my room? Well, it kept me laughing for three nights and I would say the big bucks were worth it. Not because of the high quality, but because it provided me with the ability to experience dated, Communist luxury first-hand.

Since I was on the tenth floor I had an excellent view of the adjacent power-plant and government housing projects. This view was available through my sizable room length window and aided by the fact that the shades were in taters. The room was huge and the bathroom was just ridiculously large- bigger than the main room in my first Chicago apartment. The bathroom had a giant two person bath, bu the water came out in a trickle and the bathtub leaded. The remainder of the bathroom was a vast expanse of cheap white tile specially chosen to match the moldy ceiling tiles. The bedroom was just as elegant, complete with a mah jong table, TV and queen size bed. The room had peeling paint, electric sockets that didn't work, a badly stained carpet and torn bedspread. The bed itself was a rock- not that much of a surprise considering all the beds I've slept in here seem to be a one centimeter mattress atop plywood. The hotel was once luxury or at least designed with that in mind. Either the developer siphoned the funds to some private account or the manager just gave up trying to maintain it a long long time ago. The funniest part of the hotel was how it continue to promote itself as top-class luxury. The sticker prices on rooms were no less than $70 per person with most well over $100.

The highlight of Kaifeng was the great night market. I ate there several times and sampled a wide variety of foods from fresh squeezed sugar cane juice to odd-smelling (but interesting tasting) fermented tofu. My favorite was the grilled mutton (who can be sure what the meat was?) seasoned with copious amounts of cumin and chili powder, served by a disco-dancing (his booth rocked some solid beats) red-faced man.

Kaifeng was very crowded and I wasn't able to actually see any of the Jewish relics. I still found it interesting as it's an ancient capital with several sites of worth. The most impressive was a thousand year old pagoda. The pagoda is the oldest, best preserved in China. It's towering at around thirteen stories- try to imagine that 1,000 years ago, and constructed with a pressed clay that gives off a brownish hue, and it's name, Iron Pagoda. Plus for ten quay you can ascend to the top. That is if you can brave the dark passageways filled with steep, narrow steps and little kids. Also of note is a thousand armed Buddha. It's four-faced and took about sixty years to carve. It's attractive enough to block out the never ending supply of tourists and make up for the hypocritical trinket, selling, monks of the monastery.