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.

Hello everybody..written 10/0/09

Dear Friends,

Has it been one month already? It doesn't seem like it at all. Hopefully, you've been checking my blog http://www.aviadventure.blogspot.com/ to see what I've been up to. Unfortunately, I can't actually access my blog here in China. But I've arranged for a clandestine agent to ensure that the updates keep coming. I've devised an intricate plan involving carrier pigeons, coded text and the Russians to get my message out. I won't divulge too much, lest my methods be discovered.

This past month has been great! I've met the Emperor, unleashed my inner karaoke beast, wandered around aimlessly, climbed mountains, experienced temples, been stared at constantly, photographed, filmed, smiled to, spat at, chased by dogs (even the dogs know I don't belong here), flirted with a Chinese army officer, been devoured by mosquitoes, met many people and much more.

Japan was everything it was supposed to be. Wonderful temples, crazy modern cities, beautiful countryside, great food, quirky and interesting people. I felt my three weeks there barely scratched the surface and if not for budget reasons (one thing Japan is not, is cheap) I would have been happy staying longer. Tokyo and Kyoto are a must see. Hopefully you will all have the opportunity to visit if you have yet to. I imagine just about anyplace in the country to be very enjoyable. How can you not love a country with a constant supply of supremely fresh fish and toilets that do everything short of talking to you? I wouldn't be surprised to learn of a model that thanks you for your deposit.

I'm currently writing from Keifeng, which was once home to many Jews and served as a refuge during WW II. Some have even mentioned Chinese Jews as one of the lost tribes of Israel. Between the Ethiopians, Chinese, Indians (I know they're others), I think Jacob must have been embarrassed to tell the world he had more than four wives. This is just my third city here and I've been here a little bit more than a week. China is, as you can imagine, quite different than Japan. I'm not sure the Chinese would ever admit it (since many hate the Japanese), but I think they are jealous of the cleanliness, efficiency, and transition to modernity of Japan.

As an aside, I asked a typical rural 23 girl about the Japanese. She responded by clearly expressing her adamant hatred of them. Since she works at a hostel she once met two Japanese tourists but she made a point of not talking to them and only communicating with them monosyllabic. When I asked about their particular offense she mentioned the terrible actions of the Japanese in WW II (no debate about that). When I pointed out the fact that this occurred over two lifetimes ago for someone our age and surely no 25 year old was involved in those atrocities. She simply responded with, I hate the Japanese. Hmmm

It took me awhile, but I've finally learned how to say chicken. It involved flapping my arms like wings and saying bok bok. I think I don't have the tone quite right because I only seem to be getting the worst pieces (neck, back, beak). It's still good though. Chinese is a tough language because of the tones. It's not enough to master the pronunciation, the inflections and intonation have to be right on to be understood. I'm trying and it's certainly humbling and humorous to resort to pantomiming or just accepting not being understood. It leads to many discussions with those who have some English and much laughter as I mispronounce newly taught phrases.

I've discovered that spitting (not ping pong) is the national sport. I believe there is a countrywide competition taking place at the end of the month. Assuming there is no prohibition on foreign competitors, I would like to enter the event.

I have also been made aware of a special car lease arrangement. Apparently if a car's horn is proved to be defective, the lessee is no longer obligated to make future payments while still being able to enjoy the use of the car. Naturally, this results in the ever present honking found in cities. Some consider the resulting music akin to a glorious symphony. I think it sounds more like the environment wailing or dogs playing the kazoo. In either case, while it's an intriguing idea for the sake of the greater good, I think this is an idea better left untested in the States.

China is much more of an adventure than Japan. Just getting anywhere seems like an accomplishment- this must be why Buddhism thrived here. While it's dirty and in some places filthy, I'm enjoying myself here. Much of that is due to the Chinese people, who have been just great. Being a Westerner, especially a tall, bearded, hairy, handsome one leads to many looks and much adulations (at least where I've been to at this point). Not a day has gone by without smiles from little kids, pictures with strangers and bewilderment from elderly. It's all going to my head and making traveling here really fun. The plan is to keep moving west to Xian and possibly beyond, before heading up to Beijing and then back south. I'm not sure how long I'll be here(1-3 months) and if you have any local contacts, I would greatly appreciate them.

All the best, I hope you're well, stay in touch and check the blog for more frequent updates.

Housekeeping Issues

Housekeeping Issues

Before I continue with my sightseeing experiences, I think now is a good time to discuss some of my impressions from everyday interactions with the food, language, road and cleanliness here.

What No Fortune Cookie?

Like any good Jew, I've always been fond of Chinese food. Of course my experience is based upon the Americanized version of this cuisine. A big part of traveling is eating and I was particularly excited about my visit here. So far the results have been mixed, yet encouraging. Much of Chinese restaurant cuisine is communal style with several dishes ordered for everyone to dig in. One of the problems with traveling by yourself is there is less opportunity to try random food. And of course there's the problem of actually ordering. If you find yourself at a place with pictures you can simply point and say jigga. It's also acceptable to wander around and point to other people's food. If this isn't an option, it's usually a funny experience trying to communicate and always exciting to see what arrives. So those are the tough parts.

One of the great things about eating here is the ever present food stalls in night markets. You can find all sorts of fun treats. The other night I had dinner in one such market. I samples BBQ meat (mystery meat for sure), stir fried noodles, dried tofu, minced meat in pocket bread, sesame pudding and fresh sugar cane juice. Mmmmmm night markets. Plus they're really cheap, the above cost me no more than three dollars.

The couple times I've eaten in groups have been a real treat. My favorite places so far are the night stands step-up for dinner. There are a row of carts each proudly displaying the dinning possibilities. Aside from the requisite veggies, you'll see an assortment of proteins; tofu, chicken, assorted organs of various animals, live fresh fish, not so fresh fish, squirming sea creatures, random bugs and probably anything else you can possibly eat. Of course this is much easier to navigate with a Chinese speaker and since everything is cooked in one of two pans the tastes kind of run together. But so far, I've been pleased with this arrangement. And I'm proud to say I've done a pretty good job of just sticking food in my mouth. I'm sure sooner or later I'll end up eating something strange (could have happened already) like goat testicles, fermented yak spit, or dog's tail. But what's the harm if I don't know?

One last thing I have yet to see (nor do I expect to) is a fortune cookie. If you want a fortune, you need to go to a temples and pay a monk to shake some sticks, just like any other good Buddhist.

Me No Speaky Chinese

This is an understatement. In my week plus I've learned about ten phrases. But it seems that none of them are understandable. What makes Chinese so tough are the four tones. The same words can have multiple meanings based upon accent and inflection. I can barely hear this and fail miserably in my attempts to speak it. This difficulty is made harder by the reception of the Chinese people who seem to be totally unforgiving to mispronunciations and foreign accents. I feel like I can be 95% correct and still often receive blank stares. Plus it seems there are as many local dialects as people.

Hope can be found in the relatively simple grammar. There does not appear to be tense forms, nor gendered articles, or plural forms. I'm probably not correct. I have been unable to find a phrasebook (I've looked half-heatedly in several stores) and the three language pages at the back of my Lonely Planet book are barely helpful. At times I have similar ambivalence about the book in general.

They have Licenses Here?

Theoretically there are rules to the road, they appear to be followed primarily based on convenience. I've seen people drive on both sides of the street (right is standard) and it's not uncommon to see motorbike taxis on the sidewalk. The sound of honking is ever present in the city. While China has some catching up to do regarding car technology, I would be willing to bet that the next breakthrough in horn technology will originate here.

Safety is a major concern for anyone on or near the road. The street food can be intimidating at times, but it's unlikely to kill you. The same cannot be said with the roads. I joke with my family that one of three things are bound to happen while I'm here. I'll either get food poisoning, get hit jaywalking or be in a bus accident. Personally, I'm rooting for number one.

While at times the roads are dangerous when I'm able to take a step back and watch, I see some funny things. Not a day goes by where I don't see some car passing on the wrong side of a crowded two lane street honking at on-coming traffic as if to say, how dare you drive on my road. Surprisingly, I have yet to see an accident.

Naked Baby Bottoms

I love wandering the cities. Just picking a street int he general direction of where I think I'm supposed to be going and just exploring is what I'm all about. It's fun to dip in and out of the market I see. What's not so enjoyable is the general filth that's all around me. Every body of water must be passed with caution, lest the stench of the putrid green-grayish much knock me over. The Chinese people are a dirty bunch throwing trash everywhere, constantly spitting. There's no respect for the environment, which in Chinese must be synonymous with trash can. I noticed this again several days ago when I was at Tai Shan. At the top of China's most sacred peak, young and old alike were throwing plastic bottles, discarded wrappers and all other trash down the mountain. This slovenly behavior is learned at an early age. Babies and young children often wear clothing that covers neither gentiles nor bum. When there is business to be done, the parents just watches over the child as they do their thing wherever they happen to be standing.

I'm sure the lack of trash cans does not help the situations and the street cleaners seem to all be elderly citizens working with brooms fit for the tenth century. None of this explains the truly crude behaviour. Smoking in elevators, smoking in bathrooms (often while squatting and chatting with a neighbor), smoking in buses, leaving food sitting outside for days.....

The Chinese government is currently freaking out about H1N1, canceling schools, encouraging people not to travel. I know I'm just a silly Western tourist, but maybe suggesting people to wash their hands with soap, not eat from the same food trough and provide clean water would be more affective than to create hysteria.

That's what I got for now. There will be much more to say about these issues in the coming weeks for sure.

Confucius Say (written 10/4/09)

Confucius Say

I didn't find anything particularly compelling about Qingdao, so I left after a couple of days. I figured while the beer is cheap, the serious drinking would have to wait until I'm further south. Plus, I think I need to experience the gritty, grimy, confusing China, before I go all fratboy.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this the other day, but it's a National holiday for the next week. This makes train tickets hard to come by, bus stations a total mess and hotel prices grossly inflated. I bought the first ticket I could and after some minor adventures, ~500 km, and eight hours I arrived in Qufu (pronounced choo-foo).

Qufu is famous as the birthplace of confucius (why we call him Confucius and not Kongtzi, like the Chinese is a mystery to me). As you may know, Confucius was a wandering sage who spent the better part of his career giving politically/moral advice to neighboring rulers (I think the rough equivalent to governors). He was periodically sacked or quit for some minor personal affront (wasn't invited to a particular dinner etc.) but always managed to land a new position. At some point, later in his life, he called it quits and returned to Qufu to impart his wisdom on eager students. These students collected his thoughts and bound them together as the Analytics.

I was not particularly impressed by the book. Much of it has to do with career and respect for hierarchy. As China struggled to stay unified (this was some 2,000 years ago) I imagine these teachings grew in importance as the major philosophy behind the cast system. Probably similar to many of the Chrisitian fatalism teaching that were to come later in Europe. But what do I know? I'm neither philosopher nor historian.

Unlike myself, the state of China is supremely impressed by Confucianism. The Confucian temples in Qufu were China's first registered World Heritage site. It's been said the current government is greatly supporting this town and encourage visitors. Surely as a nod to it's philosophy more than it's history.

The temples, traditional homes and Kong family cemetary are all worth going to.... But I think I have been spoiled a lot by the many beautiful temples in Japan and this complex just doesn't compare. I believe you will be more interested in seeing the local attraction....Me! That's right, it appears that my fame will reach new levels the further I get from the coast. No less than fifteen sets of random people came up to take their picture with me. There were young, old, couples, single men, young girls, it appears that my celebrity reaches all demographics. It's a very funny feeling to be walking down the street and have people just stare at you. We'll see how long it takes to get old.

The local street vendors are also amusing. They shout out broken English. I should say broken phrases. "hello, mister." "Helro, Prease" There are multiple booths selling stamp impressions, where you can get a phrase, or your name in Chinese. You see booths that say, "made in two minutes" "made in three minutes" but every now and then you see booths that say, "made in five minutes" these guys are either real technicians are not technologically advanced. In either case, who wants to carry around a block with your name?

Stairmaster 6000

The next day, I made my way to Tai Shan, one of the most sacred mountains in all of China. This is a typical pilgrimage during the October holiday, so I shared the mountain with many of my closest Chinese friends. Along the path I was stopped multiple times as well for some photo ops. I'm sure at one point this mountain was sacred and beautiful, but the experience has been totally changed. For one the whole path is composed of paved steps- around 6,000 of them to be exact. It's filled with people, and there are so many vendors selling crap along the way. My least favorite being imitation bird call whistles, so very annoying. But still it was a good climb, and appropriate punishment for my knees (bad knees!). Fortunately, two young students took pity on me and accompanied (along with their father) up the mountain. Without their assistance I probably would not have found a way back home- seeing how getting around here can be....interesting.

Welcome to Quingdao- Have a Beer

So, I've arrived in China at the port city of Qingdao. Qingdao is famous for its beer, which I believe is exported under the name of Tsingtao. The fact that it has beaches and a brewery means that it is considered by Chinese as a beautiful party city. Instilled is a better word. I've noticed in my week here a surprising similarity in answers to some of my questions. It's not just that many people seem to have the same opinion, their exact phrasing is about verbatim. It's as if they have been programmed to memorize it from a book. Hmmmm

The beer's ok, I prefer the Japanese variety. Then again, it, like much of China, can be very cheap. The other night, I went out with seven of my closest friends to a nearby bar. For two hours, the beer was flowing pitcher after pitcher. The total bill was seventy yuan. For those of you keeping track at home, it was less than $1.50 per person. Qingdao is also known as the perfect place to take a wedding photo. Walking along the boardwalk you see huge groups preening and posing for cameras, all wearing ill fitting cream-colored getups. The coast really isn't that beautiful. I don't see what all the fuss is about. It must have something to do with the group think mentioned above. More interesting is seeing the faces and characters all dolled up in cream. I remember one particular guy. He looked about 18, had no place marrying the girl next to him. He was a complete slob (I could tell this by watching his consumption of squid on a stick) and to top it off he was wearing sneakers with the playboy emblem. Really?

Qingdao (Like I'm sure much of China) is a tale of two cities (maybe more). I stayed in the dingy old city. Where there's crap on the street, people spitting everywhere and of course ever present honking on the narrow confusing street. Then I walked north, past a couple of beaches and boom this supremely modern city. Huge impressive buildings, a gigantic promenade, large clear street. I wonder if anything was here ten years ago or if they just knocked everything down.

It is currently the golden travel week in China on behalf of the country's 60th anniversary and the mid-autumn festival. It seems the whole country is traveling, the government estimates 200 million people moving about the country the next week. One thing that I've learned about China is that travel takes about twice as long as expected. If I think it will take one hour to travel, I should expect at least twice that.