The terracotta army in Xi'an. A 2000 year old collection of over 8000 warriors protecting China's first true Emperor. I can't tell you how many classes I've taken that have referenced this 8th wonder of the world. The terracotta army has to be right up there with Egypt's pyramids as the most elaborate necropolis ever. The sheer wealth of the emperor, to be able to force his subjects to create on such a grand scale. Amazing.
http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/XiAn
So, there was no question about whether or not I'd be going to Xi'an. Some locations are maybes, some are nos, Xi'an was an unquestioned yes. I flew in, collected my bag (first off the plane), and jumped on the shuttle bus. There, a funny thing happened. Some girl tried to elbow me aside to get a ticket for the bus - there are always more people than tickets for the shuttle bus, so elbowing is required - and I said, "Hey! no shoving me aside!" She spoke a little English and thought that this was hysterical, so she saved me a prime seat at the front of the bus. We talked during the hour long ride into Xi'an's center. Assertiveness really is a positive trait in China.
I was dropped off at the end of the shuttle line in front of the Melody Hotel. I had an address and directions to Shuyuan Hostel, but no clue as to the distance involved and it was sprinkling, so I tried to get a cab. No luck in getting a cabbie to understand where I wanted to go. I swear, I was pronouncing everything correctly. I think that cab drivers just can't understand anything coming from a Westerner. They're distracted by our strange colored hair. So, I set off on foot. This was actually quite nice. I was walking along South Street on a Friday night. There was lots of neon, loads of people and amazing things to look at.
I found my hostel, and it was a lovely 3 story 3 courtyard complex. Beautiful. Before even dumping my bag, I got myself booked onto a Terracotta tour for the next day. Priorities. :) Then, the trouble started. I went down to my $3/night dorm room. Down, because the room was in the basement level. That's fine, I'm only sleeping in my room, I don't really need natural light. However, walking down the stairs, I was met by overpowering varnish fumes. They were remodeling the hostel and the fumes were intense. OK. I can handle it. I open the door to find two sets of bunk beds, a desk and a concrete floor covered in a 2-5 mm thick layer of sediment and old cigarette butts. Yuck. OK, I'm still dealing. I settle in to go to sleep. That's when the swarm of mosquitos struck. Crap. I was too tired to deal with changing rooms that night, so I suffered through it, arising at 8:30 for my tour with relief. I vowed not to spend another night there. This was reinforced by my need to climb upstairs and down a courtyard to use the toilet in the middle of the night. Horrid.
The horrendous night behind me with only 2 mosquito bites to show for it (thank you citronella), I set off with singing spirit for the Terracotta Army. The tour left at 9:40am and I couldn't believe that I was really going to be there in person. Well, I wouldn't actually get there for another few hours. This was a tour in the classic sense of the word. This wasn't transit to the site with a guide once we were there, this was an actual tour. For those who are fortunate enough not to have taken a tour, these fabulous itineraries always include 4 things: 1) the major draw, the thing that people book the tour to see; 2) a lesser draw, something kind of interesting but that you wouldn't go to see if it wasn't included in the tour; 3) a factory/folk art site, the place where people still practice traditional craft relating to the major draw; 4) the restaurant, someone's cousin's place that offers an incentive to the tour company to bring in the tourists.
This tour started out visiting the lesser site, Ban Po village. It's an Neolithic archaeological site near Xi'an that is vaguely interesting. Some nice old pottery, local farmer's art and strange depressions in the ground that we were told were actually the location of houses and ceremonial sites. There were also some graves containing skeletons from 4000 BCE. Cool. That was relatively painless. Our guide, Jia Jia was also a complete sweetie and made the whole thing almost fun.
Next was the Terracotta factory, where modern day Chinese workers churn out Terracotta warriors for people's shelves and gardens. They range from a couple of inches high to larger than life sized. This was slightly interesting. We were taught how the original figures were made, molds for the body, air drying of the Li mountain clay, kiln firing, hand smoothing and painting, and then the insertion of the separate head. The heads were made individually because each was unique, whereas the bodies are only in 4 types: officer, soldier, archer, horseman. All of this was good background info, but we were ready to go see the real thing. Then came the hard sell. We were led into the warehouse of warriors and lacquered furniture and let loose to hopefully be tempted into buying a keepsake at their inflated prices. They misjudged their targets. We are BACKPACKERS! We're cheap. Not one of us was likely to drop $2,000 US on a lacquered table, or $10,000 US on a larger-than-life-sized terracotta general.
Next on the agenda was lunch. This was when the revolt happened. Led by a likely fella from London, we collectively declined to go to lunch and requested immediate relocation to the Terracotta Army. Flushed with victory, we were quite happy during the one hour drive to the location. Until...we pulled into a hotel parking lot. Hmm, I could have sworn that the tour site didn't have a hotel. It turns out that 2 of our number had quietly indicated that they were hungry, and those 2 outvoted the remaining 8. That was a pitiful revolt. Most of us settled into our nice buffet like proper tourists. The Londoner and a man from Malta were hold-outs, eating their crisps in the lobby until we were done.
Finally, at 2pm, after hours and hours of being driven around and being force-fed both knowledge and lunch, we arrived at the site.
Wow! The army is certainly not up there with the Wall in terms of staggering works of mankind, but I think that #8 in the list is just about right. First, we watched a movie shown in a 9 screen 360 degree cinema. This was a full historical, costume adventure story of the first emperor of the Qin dynasty and his creation of the terracotta army. We were told that the reason he was so cruel was that he ate mercury to extend his life. Unfortunately, this had the opposite effect along with the impairment of his mental faculties. Having been insane and cruel, possibly necessary qualities in a man who would conquer and unite the 6 states that became China, Qin Shihuang decided that he would need some back-up in the afterlife. Thus, the Army. It is unbelievable.
The figures were partially ruined and thoroughly smashed only 2 years after the emperor's death when General Xiang Yu led/participated in a peasant uprising that took out part of its aggression on the funerary arrangements of the emperor. It's interesting that Qin Shihuang had his people so terrorized that it took them 2 years to recover enough spirit to wreck his clay army. It's interesting that I never knew the army was found in pieces. All of what we see today has been painstakingly assembled by the shattered remains left behind after the rioters had finished. Also, originally the figures were painted. There is enough chemical residue to know that the faces were pink, the clothes blue and green and the arms were brown, but no visible paint survived the passing millenia. So cool!!!
I could enthuse some more, but I'm sure you get the point. It was quite nice. :)
After getting back (5ish), I agreed to meet Julie and Andrew (from Dublin) in the hostel lobby at 8 to go see the water and light show at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Even after showering and changing, that still left loads of time. I made the most of it by heading off to the Muslim Quarter. There's an area of Xi'an that has had a Chinese Muslim (Hui) population since the late 8th century. It contains a great mosque and numerous street food vendors. Seeing ethnic Chinese women wearing head scarves is very odd. Nothing wrong with it, just odd.
The street food was primarily meaty. I did have a delicious sticky rice hemisphere on a stick with fruit syrup, and then had to head back to the hostel to meet my Irish friends. We took the bus out to the Big Goose Pagoda; yes, there is in fact also a Little Wild Goose Pagoda, but not a medium-sized one. There, we dawdled, trying to get a picture of the pagoda at night. Tricky. I had to use my kids & pets setting with no flash and even then, it blurred. Suddenly, the show was starting and the pavilion was packed. We'd left it too late and without a display of incredibly adept shoving, there was no way we'd get the spot we'd intended to watch the show from. Instead, we went around the side.
Imagine a football field. Now divide it into sections. Each section is about 20' long and runs the width of the field. These areas are divided by a 4' wide strip on which people are crowded. Each section is filled with water jets, at the base of which are multicolored lights. At one end of the field, there is a massive main fountain area which is an extra 20 feet wide on either side. There are huge loudspeakers playing instrumental music, and looking over the whole extravaganza is a seven-story Buddhist temple dating to 652 CE and anecdotally linked to the religious merits of vegetarianism. Sidetrack: the story goes that a group of Buddhist monks ate meat regularly. Then, one day they couldn't find meat and so a monk said, "I hope the merciful Bodhisattva will give us some meat." At that moment, a wild goose flying by broke his wings and fell at the monk's feet. Now, a Christian would have taken that to be an answer to prayer and cooked that goose quicker than a wink. This group of monks instead decided that Bodhisattva was ordering them to be more pious. They started building a pagoda where the goose fell and they all stopped eating meat.
All in all, this was an event made to appeal to me. After hanging by the sidelines for a bit, I noticed that the center pedestrian strips were emptying out. Apparently, the locals didn't feel like getting splashed by the fountains. This was a Saturday night and everyone in the city seemed to be here, so finding that empty spot was miraculous. The three of us headed out and watched the remainder of the show from the midst of it. People, especially children and teenagers were daring each other to run through the fountains, trying to time it to avoid getting splashed. It was a giant party.
The party eventually ended and then I was off to Pizza Hut for dinner. Yes, I know. Pitiful. By now, though, it's a tradition. I visit a Pizza Hut in every country that I spend more than a few days in. It's my comfort food. It's the one thing I can count on to taste the same no matter where I happen to be. Also, I hadn't eaten since my forced buffet experience and was starving!
After gulping down my pizza, I went back home to change rooms (my new room was right above the bar, but I have earplugs), go to sleep and get ready for climbing one of China's five Taoist mountains, Hua Shan.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Monday, September 10, 2007
Best of Beijing
Fitness Oriented Populace:
Everywhere I went, there were people exercises, playing physical games, dancing etc. I saw:
Cricket, croquet, tennis, dancing, hacky sack, tai chi, cycling, jogging, kung fu practice, handstands, and just people walking.
Many methods of Cycling:
My fave were the people riding pillion on bicycles. You'd see young couples out for a date on one bike with the girl riding sidesaddle on the back of the bike. Parents ride with children in back, people transport all manner of goods using their bikes. They wear slickers in the rain and visors in the sun. There are crowds of bicycles everywhere you go. It's wonderful.
Driving:
Cars, bicycles and pedestrians all share the streets. There are many dedicated bike lanes but crossing the street is a bit difficult. Cars will start turning despite the pedestrians and bikes still crossing. The cars and trucks will just slowly edge their way through the crowd. Cars don't stay in lanes either. Lanes are just suggestions. Whoever is biggest gets the right of way. Buses are faster than cabs because they just bully their way through traffic. Drivers just assume that other cars will get out of their way.
Accent:
The Beijing accent is wonderful. Everyone sounds slightly cartoonish, as if they are tightening their vocal cords while speaking. The arrrrr sound is particularrrly distinctive. It's actually very pleasant to hear.
My rock star status:
Tall and blond, I am an object of interest to people. On the street and on the bus, people take pictures of me with their cell phones. On the wall, they'd request photos with me. I'm not sure what they will do with those photos, but I've been immortalized. Nice.
Everywhere I went, there were people exercises, playing physical games, dancing etc. I saw:
Cricket, croquet, tennis, dancing, hacky sack, tai chi, cycling, jogging, kung fu practice, handstands, and just people walking.
Many methods of Cycling:
My fave were the people riding pillion on bicycles. You'd see young couples out for a date on one bike with the girl riding sidesaddle on the back of the bike. Parents ride with children in back, people transport all manner of goods using their bikes. They wear slickers in the rain and visors in the sun. There are crowds of bicycles everywhere you go. It's wonderful.
Driving:
Cars, bicycles and pedestrians all share the streets. There are many dedicated bike lanes but crossing the street is a bit difficult. Cars will start turning despite the pedestrians and bikes still crossing. The cars and trucks will just slowly edge their way through the crowd. Cars don't stay in lanes either. Lanes are just suggestions. Whoever is biggest gets the right of way. Buses are faster than cabs because they just bully their way through traffic. Drivers just assume that other cars will get out of their way.
Accent:
The Beijing accent is wonderful. Everyone sounds slightly cartoonish, as if they are tightening their vocal cords while speaking. The arrrrr sound is particularrrly distinctive. It's actually very pleasant to hear.
My rock star status:
Tall and blond, I am an object of interest to people. On the street and on the bus, people take pictures of me with their cell phones. On the wall, they'd request photos with me. I'm not sure what they will do with those photos, but I've been immortalized. Nice.
The Summer Gardens, Kung Fu & Massage
On Thursday, I spent a lazy morning online, then had Indian food (delicious) with Fergus before the two of us headed off the the Summer Palace and Gardens. Fergus is the rugged sort of backpacker, so there was no question but that we'd take the bus, or buses as the case actually was. We caught the first bus, under my admirable leadership, with no problem. Then Fergus took the reins firmly in hand, decided that the directions given at the hostel were inadequate and proudly used his 20 words of Chinese to find a different bus than we were told to take that would get us to the palace. Great work! Or, it would have been if he hadn't landed us on the local bus that took an indirect route to the Palace rather than the express bus that we were told to take. ARGH! I had been enjoying the experience of not being the one to research and figure things out and deal with talking to people, but this was a good reminder that when I screw up, I'm only mad at myself. When someone else screws up, it's much more aggravating.
We finally got to the gardens at 3:30. We needed to be on a bus back to the hostel at 5 for me to catch my kung fu show, so we did a whirlwind run up the Hill of Longevity. The Gardens are a huge complex of wilderness and lakes with pagodas and palaces scattered throughout the grounds, hidden from each other. Each spot seems isolated from the world, though there were also wonderful views of modern Beijing in the distance.
Fergus and I wandered as much as we could and then started back. We'd taken photos, run into two more people from the train - I'd also run into some at the Wall, my hostel, and the Forbidden City. Really, it's like each train and plane disperses a horde of insectoid tourists who all follow the scent markers that previous tourists left along the trail. We all go to the same places, generally in the same order.
Anyway, we started back toward the bus. Fergus still stopped to take pictures, though we were in a hurry. This prompted my photo composition of Fergus taking a photo of a pagoda as two points of a triangle, with a giant rock making up the third point. A stinging commentary on his stubborness. :) We eventually got back to the hostel, an hour late for my kung fu show. Fergus had been a decided hindrance the entire way. I was supposed to be there at 6, instead arriving at 5 to 7. When I ran into the hostel, and pantingly asked if I was too late, the girl at the desk laughed and said yes, it was too late. I asked what time the show started. She replied that it started at 7:30. I asked how long it took to get there. She said 45 minutes. I said, great, I don't mind being late. That was that.
I actually arrived 5 minutes before the show started and was so glad to have gone! The kung fu show was really almost operatic. It was the story of "The Pure One", his boyhood, young manhood, descent into temptation, repentance and ascension to the position of abbott of the temple. It was amazing!!! These guys are all much better acrobats than the acrobats. I absolutely loved it. If you're in Beijing, it's at the Red Theater and is truly amazing. Skip the acrobatic show and go straight for the kung fu.
The next day, I was even lazier and spent the whole morning lounging before going to the spa for my $12 80 minute massage and $5 best pedicure of my life. It was so great. I want to have $12 massages at home. Why can't we? Let's issue work permits for more masseuses rather than for computer scientists.
At 4, I needed to leave to get to the airport. I had waited too long to book my train ticket to Xi'an, and all that was left was standing tickets. That was not going to happen. 1st class is the soft sleeper; 2nd is the hard sleeper, still good; then comes the never category of hard seat (just a chair crammed in with the locals) and standing (what it sounds like - if you're lucky, you can try to sleep on the floor). I decided to fly.
The airport is fabulous. Everything is in English and Chinese, and most personnel speak English. I saw lots of monks, including one with a head tattoo talking on a cell phone. I also met a business man from Houston who'd been to 3 cities already that day and was on his way to inspect a 4th steel mill. He told me about the pleasure of eating cockroach and live eel soup. He said that between banquets, he always stopped at McDonalds or KFC.
Beijing airport shuttles passengers out to the tarmac. I loitered, watching the planes, and was one of the last ones to board. I got back to row 24, only to find my precious window seat occupied by a middle-aged Australian woman. I double checked my ticket and said, "Hi, I think that's my seat." Pause, no response. Triple check the ticket. "Yes, 24A, that's my seat." Pause, husband in the center seat glares, woman scowls, "Yeah, but I can still sit here. Right????" This said very pugnaciously as if by sheer force of personality she could quash me into the aisle seat. "Yes, except, that's my seat and I like to sit by the window." Victory. It was funny, she and her husband both acted as if I was entirely rude and unreasonable to want to sit in my own assigned seat that I'd been smart enough to request in advance. Loons.
That victory under my belt, I watched the surprisingly dim lights of Beijing fade into the distance and made my way to Xi'an.
http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/Beijing
We finally got to the gardens at 3:30. We needed to be on a bus back to the hostel at 5 for me to catch my kung fu show, so we did a whirlwind run up the Hill of Longevity. The Gardens are a huge complex of wilderness and lakes with pagodas and palaces scattered throughout the grounds, hidden from each other. Each spot seems isolated from the world, though there were also wonderful views of modern Beijing in the distance.
Fergus and I wandered as much as we could and then started back. We'd taken photos, run into two more people from the train - I'd also run into some at the Wall, my hostel, and the Forbidden City. Really, it's like each train and plane disperses a horde of insectoid tourists who all follow the scent markers that previous tourists left along the trail. We all go to the same places, generally in the same order.
Anyway, we started back toward the bus. Fergus still stopped to take pictures, though we were in a hurry. This prompted my photo composition of Fergus taking a photo of a pagoda as two points of a triangle, with a giant rock making up the third point. A stinging commentary on his stubborness. :) We eventually got back to the hostel, an hour late for my kung fu show. Fergus had been a decided hindrance the entire way. I was supposed to be there at 6, instead arriving at 5 to 7. When I ran into the hostel, and pantingly asked if I was too late, the girl at the desk laughed and said yes, it was too late. I asked what time the show started. She replied that it started at 7:30. I asked how long it took to get there. She said 45 minutes. I said, great, I don't mind being late. That was that.
I actually arrived 5 minutes before the show started and was so glad to have gone! The kung fu show was really almost operatic. It was the story of "The Pure One", his boyhood, young manhood, descent into temptation, repentance and ascension to the position of abbott of the temple. It was amazing!!! These guys are all much better acrobats than the acrobats. I absolutely loved it. If you're in Beijing, it's at the Red Theater and is truly amazing. Skip the acrobatic show and go straight for the kung fu.
The next day, I was even lazier and spent the whole morning lounging before going to the spa for my $12 80 minute massage and $5 best pedicure of my life. It was so great. I want to have $12 massages at home. Why can't we? Let's issue work permits for more masseuses rather than for computer scientists.
At 4, I needed to leave to get to the airport. I had waited too long to book my train ticket to Xi'an, and all that was left was standing tickets. That was not going to happen. 1st class is the soft sleeper; 2nd is the hard sleeper, still good; then comes the never category of hard seat (just a chair crammed in with the locals) and standing (what it sounds like - if you're lucky, you can try to sleep on the floor). I decided to fly.
The airport is fabulous. Everything is in English and Chinese, and most personnel speak English. I saw lots of monks, including one with a head tattoo talking on a cell phone. I also met a business man from Houston who'd been to 3 cities already that day and was on his way to inspect a 4th steel mill. He told me about the pleasure of eating cockroach and live eel soup. He said that between banquets, he always stopped at McDonalds or KFC.
Beijing airport shuttles passengers out to the tarmac. I loitered, watching the planes, and was one of the last ones to board. I got back to row 24, only to find my precious window seat occupied by a middle-aged Australian woman. I double checked my ticket and said, "Hi, I think that's my seat." Pause, no response. Triple check the ticket. "Yes, 24A, that's my seat." Pause, husband in the center seat glares, woman scowls, "Yeah, but I can still sit here. Right????" This said very pugnaciously as if by sheer force of personality she could quash me into the aisle seat. "Yes, except, that's my seat and I like to sit by the window." Victory. It was funny, she and her husband both acted as if I was entirely rude and unreasonable to want to sit in my own assigned seat that I'd been smart enough to request in advance. Loons.
That victory under my belt, I watched the surprisingly dim lights of Beijing fade into the distance and made my way to Xi'an.
http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/Beijing
The (insert superlative here) Wall of China
The Great Wall of China is just that, GREAT! It was unbelievable. I booked a trip to hike the wall from Jinshanlin to Simatai. It was definitely the best way to see the wall. The old-style way for tourists to see the wall is to go to Badaling which is closer to central Beijing. From people I've spoken to, that is a little disappointing. The hike was more than I'd hoped for, so I'd really recommend the hike.
At 7am, I caught a shuttle bus with the other 15 people booked on the tour. I was the last one on the bus, so got the "undesirable" seat in the back of the bus, in the aisle, sandwiched in with three guys. There was nothing to stop me from flying through the windshield in the case of an accident - no seatbelts or seats in front of me. However, I did have an hour to chat up my seatmates and made friends to hike with. Bonus! It would have been awful to have no one to share my raptures over the wall with. The boys were: Motohiro "Hiro", a controller for a French company in Tokyo; Fergus, a PhD candidate in theoretical astrophysics - also a mountain climber in his spare time; and James a solicitor in London.
At the wall, we discovered that we'd arrived on the day of the Great Wall Marathon! So cool. There were runners doing loops back and forth along the wall. It was amazing. For any marathoners reading this blog, try it! It's the marathon I'm doing if I ever go insane and decide to run a marathon. You just need strong ankles to get you over the rough bits on the wall.
First, my little cadre encountered a problem when we arrived last at the wall to find our group gone and two directions to go in with nothing to indicate which was correct. The map that we were shown before leaving the bus seemed to say go right, while Hiro was sure that we were told to turn left at the wall. Eventually, we ran into other people who all agreed that Simatai was to the left. Just to be contrary, we still hiked right to a tower with a great view of the path we were not taking, then turned around and went toward Simatai. Every time we passed a marathoner, we'd stop to clap and whistle and say, "come on, you can do it!!"
We hiked 6 kilometers of the wall, passing 30 towers. Some bits were restored to smoothness and ease, other patches were a little rougher and even dangerous. One woman had an intense fear of heights and had problems with that. What the entire stretch had in common was breath stopping beauty. Every step was the view of a lifetime. It was unbelievable. I still have to give Petra the top spot for my favorite place ever, but the wall is firmly ensconced in the number two spot. I might be influenced by the endorphin release of the hike and the adrenaline bursts when traversing a tricky descent from a tower, but it was truly amazing. The best bit was, all 4 of us agreed that this was a moment that would never come again, and so we took our time, stopping for photos or just a quiet moment whenever we wanted with no one getting impatient at the stop.
At the end of it all was the zip line down to the car park. AWESOME! It actually didn't go very fast, but the views of the wall and the river were amazing. At the bottom, we caught a boat to take us across the river to the car park to get back on the bus back to Beijing. We were the last to arrive and unapologetic for it.
In Beijing, we all took much needed showers and then went out to an Asian Fusion restaurant for a huge spread of food. Everything was delicious. The asparagus with white water lily buds and carrots there is amazing. We also experienced baiju for the first time. Baiju is the local hard alcohol. At 56% alcohol, it's akin to drinking paint thinner. I took one whiff and declined to partake. The men (after climbing the great wall, a male is allowed to call himself a man according to Chairman Mao) all tried a sip and then Fergus kept the bottle to try washing his shoes with.
Over dinner, we chatted about this that and the other, but kept circling back to the wall. Most things, you can learn about from home. You can visit museums, do interactive tours of the Louvre online, etc. Hiking the Great Wall of China is one of those things that you really need to actually go do. It is an experience that I don't think would be possible to regret.
http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/Beijing
At 7am, I caught a shuttle bus with the other 15 people booked on the tour. I was the last one on the bus, so got the "undesirable" seat in the back of the bus, in the aisle, sandwiched in with three guys. There was nothing to stop me from flying through the windshield in the case of an accident - no seatbelts or seats in front of me. However, I did have an hour to chat up my seatmates and made friends to hike with. Bonus! It would have been awful to have no one to share my raptures over the wall with. The boys were: Motohiro "Hiro", a controller for a French company in Tokyo; Fergus, a PhD candidate in theoretical astrophysics - also a mountain climber in his spare time; and James a solicitor in London.
At the wall, we discovered that we'd arrived on the day of the Great Wall Marathon! So cool. There were runners doing loops back and forth along the wall. It was amazing. For any marathoners reading this blog, try it! It's the marathon I'm doing if I ever go insane and decide to run a marathon. You just need strong ankles to get you over the rough bits on the wall.
First, my little cadre encountered a problem when we arrived last at the wall to find our group gone and two directions to go in with nothing to indicate which was correct. The map that we were shown before leaving the bus seemed to say go right, while Hiro was sure that we were told to turn left at the wall. Eventually, we ran into other people who all agreed that Simatai was to the left. Just to be contrary, we still hiked right to a tower with a great view of the path we were not taking, then turned around and went toward Simatai. Every time we passed a marathoner, we'd stop to clap and whistle and say, "come on, you can do it!!"
We hiked 6 kilometers of the wall, passing 30 towers. Some bits were restored to smoothness and ease, other patches were a little rougher and even dangerous. One woman had an intense fear of heights and had problems with that. What the entire stretch had in common was breath stopping beauty. Every step was the view of a lifetime. It was unbelievable. I still have to give Petra the top spot for my favorite place ever, but the wall is firmly ensconced in the number two spot. I might be influenced by the endorphin release of the hike and the adrenaline bursts when traversing a tricky descent from a tower, but it was truly amazing. The best bit was, all 4 of us agreed that this was a moment that would never come again, and so we took our time, stopping for photos or just a quiet moment whenever we wanted with no one getting impatient at the stop.
At the end of it all was the zip line down to the car park. AWESOME! It actually didn't go very fast, but the views of the wall and the river were amazing. At the bottom, we caught a boat to take us across the river to the car park to get back on the bus back to Beijing. We were the last to arrive and unapologetic for it.
In Beijing, we all took much needed showers and then went out to an Asian Fusion restaurant for a huge spread of food. Everything was delicious. The asparagus with white water lily buds and carrots there is amazing. We also experienced baiju for the first time. Baiju is the local hard alcohol. At 56% alcohol, it's akin to drinking paint thinner. I took one whiff and declined to partake. The men (after climbing the great wall, a male is allowed to call himself a man according to Chairman Mao) all tried a sip and then Fergus kept the bottle to try washing his shoes with.
Over dinner, we chatted about this that and the other, but kept circling back to the wall. Most things, you can learn about from home. You can visit museums, do interactive tours of the Louvre online, etc. Hiking the Great Wall of China is one of those things that you really need to actually go do. It is an experience that I don't think would be possible to regret.
http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/Beijing
China!!! At last!!! Beijing
Blessed, blessed release. When we finally pulled into Beijing, I was one of the first off of the train. I'd already said my goodbyes and collected email addresses. There was no final lingering on the platform, bidding fond adieus. Nope, I was for a shower, food, and laundry.
The first obstacle to these worthy goals was getting a cab to my hostel. I had taken the precaution of learning to say my street name in Chinese, writing out the address in characters, and circling the location on a map of Beijing. Despite these elaborate preparations, I could not get one single metered cab to admit that he knew where Nan Luo Gu Xiang was. I tried between 10 & 15 before finally giving in and going through a tout. Thus, my entry to Beijing was marked by my needing to pay 70 quai (local for yuan - translates as buck) for my 26 quai ride. I was not pleased, but was so desperate for food and a shower that I didn't mind too horribly.
At my hostel, I was shown to my lovely 8 person dorm. There, I monopolized the bathroom for a good 1/2 hour. I scoured myself. I washed my hair twice. It was heaven. Hot water. Wow.
Then, I packed up almost all of my clothes and dropped them off to be washed. This left me in my pyjama pants, but hey! it's China. Loads of people were wearing pyjama pants. I had no qualms in walking next door to the cafe and getting a huge salad and mozzarella sticks, which for some reason seemed like the perfect meal.
These important tasks completed, I booked my Great Wall hike from Jinshanling to Simatai for Thursday (this was Tuesday), an acrobatics show for Wednesday night and a kung fu show for Friday night. That completed the duty portion of my day. I was now free to goof off online and then hit the hay.
Funny, I actually had a hard time getting my land legs. I kept feeling like I was still in motion and I had a horrible time sleeping. I missed the rocking motion of the train. Isn't that pathetic? All those days on the train longing for a bed, and then, I couldn't sleep.
I still got up at 8:30am to get a start on my day. First stop was the Bank of China to pull some currency out of the ATM. That was no problem. Next was find the Forbidden City. Easy enough. It is absolutely enormous after all. Nope. My sense of direction is completely skewed in Beijing. I walked in the opposite direction. For those who've never been to Beijing, it is immense. A block can go on for a mile. Everything is far apart. After walking for over an hour, I determined that I might be lost. OK, easily fixed. I knew that I hadn't gone far, so I jumped in a taxi, asking for Tienanmen Square.
Harrumph. I don't think that she did it deliberately, but instead of driving straight down the street to the square (I'd walked in the exact opposite direction), she went the other way and jumped on the ring road. So, not only did she add distance and price to the meter, she got us stuck in Beijing's worst traffic. A 10 yuan, 15 minute trip turned into a 28 yuan, 45 minute trip. I was not amused. I vowed not to get in another Beijing taxi. I was also dropped off about 1/2 a mile from the square, and my driver pointed me in the wrong direction.
I walked into the hutong for a bit, finally meeting fellow tourists who were at least able to point me in the right direction. I also found a camera shop that carried a battery charger for my lithium ion camera battery. This put me in a good enough mood to enjoy my sightseeing. I was starting to get nervous about finding a charger and I was down to the last of my three batteries.
The square...it is the world's largest public space. It is enormous. It dwarfs the Zocolo in Mexico City. I was there during the early afternoon, so I didn't see anyone flying a kite, but there were multiple kite vendors. Sadly, Mao's tomb was closed for renovations, so I am unable to offer a comparison between Lenin and Chairman Mao. However, I did find a wonderful clock/calendar counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the Beijing Olympics. They are SERIOUSLY excited about the Olympics. Everyone talks about it, and practices English, and renovates for the tourists, even Mao's crystal crypt.
The square was fine, but really, just a square. I bought a pink parasol and continued on to the Forbidden Palace. I did the audio tour, which was excellent, if only for the pure use of Chinglish. For those unfamiliar with the form, it is English translated directly from the Chinese that comes off very strangely. See my pics for many excellent examples. I tried to snap pics of good Chinglish signs.
The palace museum is immense. It's an enormous expanse of stone and paint. Honestly, it looks very uncomfortable to live in, but extremely grand. I wish that I'd been there between 1911 when the last Qing Emperor was overthrown and 1924 when he was evicted from the Inner Palace. In1915, the Outer Palace, including the Hall of Supreme Harmony (I love it!), was opened to the public. Imagine, entering a place that's been closed off for over 400 years, and yet still not being allowed to even see into the heart of it. My imagination would have run wild! It must have been incredibly romantic.
I wandered through as much as I could take of the Palace's 800 buildings, making sure to stop by the Palace of Concentrated Beauty, the harem. This was depressing. Such a small space, enclosing so many women and keeping them from living any sort of a normal life. The garden was quite nice. Lots of gnarled Cypress trees and strangely shaped rocks. The 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties who ruled from here liked to sit in the small pagodas and write poetry.
After the Forbidden city, I didn't feel like walking and wouldn't take a cab, so I got myself a rickshaw to take me back through the hutongs. The hutong districts are old areas of Beijing that are filled with twisting, narrow alleyways and traditional courtyard houses. They are full of charm and are really an example of living history.
That evening, I went to see the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. First, I was surprised that they were all children. The performance they were putting on was of the "#1 top class - stars of the future". I really thought that I was seeing the training school perform and was disappointed. Some of the tricks were quite impressive - my favorite was when 12 girls rode in circles on one bicycle. After the show, I asked my driver when the adults perform. He was confused. We finally worked it out to communicate that the performers are fired when they hit 20. They are all children. During the show, there was an emphasis on particular performers being "so young aged", or "as graceful as a falling snowflake and as delicate as tender flower." I guess youth is the big attraction in acrobats in China. All of the 21 and over performers must join Cirque du Soleil.
For pictures, see http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/Beijing
The first obstacle to these worthy goals was getting a cab to my hostel. I had taken the precaution of learning to say my street name in Chinese, writing out the address in characters, and circling the location on a map of Beijing. Despite these elaborate preparations, I could not get one single metered cab to admit that he knew where Nan Luo Gu Xiang was. I tried between 10 & 15 before finally giving in and going through a tout. Thus, my entry to Beijing was marked by my needing to pay 70 quai (local for yuan - translates as buck) for my 26 quai ride. I was not pleased, but was so desperate for food and a shower that I didn't mind too horribly.
At my hostel, I was shown to my lovely 8 person dorm. There, I monopolized the bathroom for a good 1/2 hour. I scoured myself. I washed my hair twice. It was heaven. Hot water. Wow.
Then, I packed up almost all of my clothes and dropped them off to be washed. This left me in my pyjama pants, but hey! it's China. Loads of people were wearing pyjama pants. I had no qualms in walking next door to the cafe and getting a huge salad and mozzarella sticks, which for some reason seemed like the perfect meal.
These important tasks completed, I booked my Great Wall hike from Jinshanling to Simatai for Thursday (this was Tuesday), an acrobatics show for Wednesday night and a kung fu show for Friday night. That completed the duty portion of my day. I was now free to goof off online and then hit the hay.
Funny, I actually had a hard time getting my land legs. I kept feeling like I was still in motion and I had a horrible time sleeping. I missed the rocking motion of the train. Isn't that pathetic? All those days on the train longing for a bed, and then, I couldn't sleep.
I still got up at 8:30am to get a start on my day. First stop was the Bank of China to pull some currency out of the ATM. That was no problem. Next was find the Forbidden City. Easy enough. It is absolutely enormous after all. Nope. My sense of direction is completely skewed in Beijing. I walked in the opposite direction. For those who've never been to Beijing, it is immense. A block can go on for a mile. Everything is far apart. After walking for over an hour, I determined that I might be lost. OK, easily fixed. I knew that I hadn't gone far, so I jumped in a taxi, asking for Tienanmen Square.
Harrumph. I don't think that she did it deliberately, but instead of driving straight down the street to the square (I'd walked in the exact opposite direction), she went the other way and jumped on the ring road. So, not only did she add distance and price to the meter, she got us stuck in Beijing's worst traffic. A 10 yuan, 15 minute trip turned into a 28 yuan, 45 minute trip. I was not amused. I vowed not to get in another Beijing taxi. I was also dropped off about 1/2 a mile from the square, and my driver pointed me in the wrong direction.
I walked into the hutong for a bit, finally meeting fellow tourists who were at least able to point me in the right direction. I also found a camera shop that carried a battery charger for my lithium ion camera battery. This put me in a good enough mood to enjoy my sightseeing. I was starting to get nervous about finding a charger and I was down to the last of my three batteries.
The square...it is the world's largest public space. It is enormous. It dwarfs the Zocolo in Mexico City. I was there during the early afternoon, so I didn't see anyone flying a kite, but there were multiple kite vendors. Sadly, Mao's tomb was closed for renovations, so I am unable to offer a comparison between Lenin and Chairman Mao. However, I did find a wonderful clock/calendar counting down the days, hours, minutes, and seconds until the Beijing Olympics. They are SERIOUSLY excited about the Olympics. Everyone talks about it, and practices English, and renovates for the tourists, even Mao's crystal crypt.
The square was fine, but really, just a square. I bought a pink parasol and continued on to the Forbidden Palace. I did the audio tour, which was excellent, if only for the pure use of Chinglish. For those unfamiliar with the form, it is English translated directly from the Chinese that comes off very strangely. See my pics for many excellent examples. I tried to snap pics of good Chinglish signs.
The palace museum is immense. It's an enormous expanse of stone and paint. Honestly, it looks very uncomfortable to live in, but extremely grand. I wish that I'd been there between 1911 when the last Qing Emperor was overthrown and 1924 when he was evicted from the Inner Palace. In1915, the Outer Palace, including the Hall of Supreme Harmony (I love it!), was opened to the public. Imagine, entering a place that's been closed off for over 400 years, and yet still not being allowed to even see into the heart of it. My imagination would have run wild! It must have been incredibly romantic.
I wandered through as much as I could take of the Palace's 800 buildings, making sure to stop by the Palace of Concentrated Beauty, the harem. This was depressing. Such a small space, enclosing so many women and keeping them from living any sort of a normal life. The garden was quite nice. Lots of gnarled Cypress trees and strangely shaped rocks. The 24 emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties who ruled from here liked to sit in the small pagodas and write poetry.
After the Forbidden city, I didn't feel like walking and wouldn't take a cab, so I got myself a rickshaw to take me back through the hutongs. The hutong districts are old areas of Beijing that are filled with twisting, narrow alleyways and traditional courtyard houses. They are full of charm and are really an example of living history.
That evening, I went to see the Chinese National Acrobatic Troupe. First, I was surprised that they were all children. The performance they were putting on was of the "#1 top class - stars of the future". I really thought that I was seeing the training school perform and was disappointed. Some of the tricks were quite impressive - my favorite was when 12 girls rode in circles on one bicycle. After the show, I asked my driver when the adults perform. He was confused. We finally worked it out to communicate that the performers are fired when they hit 20. They are all children. During the show, there was an emphasis on particular performers being "so young aged", or "as graceful as a falling snowflake and as delicate as tender flower." I guess youth is the big attraction in acrobats in China. All of the 21 and over performers must join Cirque du Soleil.
For pictures, see http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/Beijing
Thursday, September 6, 2007
TransMongolian Railroad
First off, the train left Moscow on August 28 at 9:30pm local time and pulled in to Beijing's Main Train Station (there's also a West station) on September 3 at 2:30pm local time (5 hours ahead of Moscow). That is 5 and a half days. On a train. Trapped in a space made up of tiny little sleeping compartments, narrow halls, and minuscule (not to mention filthy) bathrooms. If you are at all claustrophobic, do not take this trip.
That said, I was locked in for the duration with an eclectic and interesting assortment of people - admittedly, most were drunk for the entire trip, but that added to the interest factor. I also passed through some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. The trip was an adventure, a wonder, and an experience that I am so glad to have had. That said, I would NEVER do it again! :)
Yes, the scenery was beautiful, but it also never ended. It just kept going - being gorgeous and interminable. The inmates got a little rambunctious. There was a water fight; singing; noodle-eating; experiments in chucking things out windows; itinerary exchanges; kissing (my swedish roommates met some very nice polish gentlemen); card playing; reading; drinking; drinking; drinking. Anything to pass the time. We generally didn't sleep more than 7 hours a night. Strange, you'd think that sleeping would be the way to make the time pass, but it seemed difficult to sleep with so many awake and partying people around.
I read 4 books, yes that's not very many for me, i was too lethargic to be bothered by the last couple of days. The most interesting was Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov which I had never actually read. Very strange. Very very strange. I wrote in my journal; stared out the window; planned my itinerary in China (I'd left it for the train deliberately); chatted with new friends; got drunk once and abstained for the remainder of the journey; contemplated life; learned to shower in a tiny (filthy) toilet stall using only a water bottle; and banged my psyche against the walls. I had recurring fantasies about getting out at one of the stops and catching a flight to Beijing. I went so far as to look up flight info in my TranSiberian Railway Lonely Planet Guide. It was possible.
At the end of it all, I never want to see a train again - with the full knowledge that I will be riding the iron rooster throughout China; and I am so glad that I went. I met people that I'll never forget, and saw things that might not exist in another ten years. I fully expect that if I repeat this trip in ten years, it'll be a vastly different experience. The days of eating dried fruit, bread, and hard boiled eggs, drinking instant coffee made with the water from the samovar, were all worth it.
Here are some excerpts from my journal:
August 29th 4pm - "I just ran into a couple I'd met in St Petersburg. Small world. They showed me around their 1st class compartment. Nice. 2 bunks, an armchair, and a SHOWER en suite. There is wood paneling in the hallway, etched glass on their door. They have plush mattresses. I should have paid the extra." Note: my compartment had 4 bunks and that was it - no armchair and definitely no shower.
August 30th 2pm - "I am so hungover. I miss Greg."
August 31st 11am - "I washed my hair in the sink and gave myself a manicure. Much better. Unfortunately, the food situation is a bit dire. I have eggs and potatoes and bread in the restaurant car; fruit, bread and soy jerky in my berth. That's it. I'm going to be seriously unbalanced when I get to Beijing."
August 31st 1pm - "Beautiful wood houses with pool cue chalk-blue shutters and panes. There are trees everywhere. Birch and fir. Some are starting to change colors. There are meadows with tall grasses and bursts of wildflowers. Streams and ponds. Marshes with pussy willows...It's so gorgeous - the land. However, it's over 100 degrees and full of mosquitos in the summer and it's buried in snow in the winter. Beauty is something I'll travel to see. Comfort is what I look for in a home."
September 1st 4pm - "The Swedish ladies seem to have gone the non-bathing, no-wet wipe route. They're starting to smell a bit ripe. Make that rank."
September 2nd 12:35am - "I think that we just crossed into Mongolia. We spent 3 hours at Naushki on the Russian side of the border. Now, it's the Mongolian border patrol's turn to inspect our passports and look us over. I think that we're not supposed to go to sleep 'til after we get done... I'm sleepy. All of the excitement (excursions to the shop, exercising on the platform, missing Swedish roommate who'd been dragged into customs by the Russian military) wore me out! Now, I just want to sleep."
September 2nd 9am - "We're just outside Ulan Baatar. I'm checking out the new Mongolian dining car. Yummy breakfast. Bread with soft butter and jam, an omelette that's scrambled egg with onion, juice and coffee. Perfect. So much better than the Russian car." Note: each country had its own restaurant car. The Russian car was the worst, as well as being with us the longest. I had the choice of bread & butter, olives, eggs (fried in about 1/2 a cup of oil in a metal plate which was also the serving dish), potatoes (see description of eggs), and that's it. The Mongolian car was the best, but was quite expensive. Really expensive - not cheap backpacker expensive. He wanted $25 for a set lunch menu. The Chinese car was free and good for meat eaters, I just enjoyed the rice with soy sauce.
September 2nd 12:30pm - "Mongolia is lovely. Rolling grasslands with herds everywhere. The herders might be on horseback, motorcycle or car. I'm still excited to see the occasional ger (yurt). Maybe in a few hours I'll be bored, but so far, this is a nice section of the trip."
September 2nd 3pm - "We just stopped at a station. I bought 'Russian ice cream' from an adorable little girl. So cute! I also bought king chips (odd) and 'Number One Most Softness tissues'. I skipped the surfing baby Buddha chocolate crisps."
Septermber 2nd 3:30pm - (written in Mongolian dining car) "I ordered rice and made the mistake of asking if he had soy sauce. He said yes. He then brought back my rice covered in meat chunks and broth. I shrieked, NO! and repeated soy sauce. He brought the bowl back with the meat still on, just now with ketchup squirted on top. Finally, I got him to understand that I don't want meat and he brought me back plain rice. I had that and coleslaw for lunch. Oh, and the ice cream. I'm still hungry, but that wasn't too bad."
September 2nd 5pm - "We've hit the Gobi. Huge dust clouds. My hair has turned to straw and my hands feel mummified. Maybe I should've waited 'til tomorrow for my big shower."
September 2nd 8:42pm - "Approaching Chinese border."
September 2nd 9:30pm - "Still on the Mongolian side of the border. I really need to pee and am not allowed...I'll hold it 'til 10, then I'm demanding a toilet."
September 3rd 1:39pm - "We were held up at the Chinese side of the border for 4 hours."
September 3rd 2:24pm - "I think we're here!!!" Note: we had arrived in Beijing. I was off that train like a shot. No dilly-dallying saying goodbye. I'd gotten the emails I wanted earlier. Now was the time to flee that mobile prison!
To learn more about the trip, please see my Picasa web album, TransMongolian Adventure at: http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/TransMongolianAdventure
That said, I was locked in for the duration with an eclectic and interesting assortment of people - admittedly, most were drunk for the entire trip, but that added to the interest factor. I also passed through some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. The trip was an adventure, a wonder, and an experience that I am so glad to have had. That said, I would NEVER do it again! :)
Yes, the scenery was beautiful, but it also never ended. It just kept going - being gorgeous and interminable. The inmates got a little rambunctious. There was a water fight; singing; noodle-eating; experiments in chucking things out windows; itinerary exchanges; kissing (my swedish roommates met some very nice polish gentlemen); card playing; reading; drinking; drinking; drinking. Anything to pass the time. We generally didn't sleep more than 7 hours a night. Strange, you'd think that sleeping would be the way to make the time pass, but it seemed difficult to sleep with so many awake and partying people around.
I read 4 books, yes that's not very many for me, i was too lethargic to be bothered by the last couple of days. The most interesting was Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov which I had never actually read. Very strange. Very very strange. I wrote in my journal; stared out the window; planned my itinerary in China (I'd left it for the train deliberately); chatted with new friends; got drunk once and abstained for the remainder of the journey; contemplated life; learned to shower in a tiny (filthy) toilet stall using only a water bottle; and banged my psyche against the walls. I had recurring fantasies about getting out at one of the stops and catching a flight to Beijing. I went so far as to look up flight info in my TranSiberian Railway Lonely Planet Guide. It was possible.
At the end of it all, I never want to see a train again - with the full knowledge that I will be riding the iron rooster throughout China; and I am so glad that I went. I met people that I'll never forget, and saw things that might not exist in another ten years. I fully expect that if I repeat this trip in ten years, it'll be a vastly different experience. The days of eating dried fruit, bread, and hard boiled eggs, drinking instant coffee made with the water from the samovar, were all worth it.
Here are some excerpts from my journal:
August 29th 4pm - "I just ran into a couple I'd met in St Petersburg. Small world. They showed me around their 1st class compartment. Nice. 2 bunks, an armchair, and a SHOWER en suite. There is wood paneling in the hallway, etched glass on their door. They have plush mattresses. I should have paid the extra." Note: my compartment had 4 bunks and that was it - no armchair and definitely no shower.
August 30th 2pm - "I am so hungover. I miss Greg."
August 31st 11am - "I washed my hair in the sink and gave myself a manicure. Much better. Unfortunately, the food situation is a bit dire. I have eggs and potatoes and bread in the restaurant car; fruit, bread and soy jerky in my berth. That's it. I'm going to be seriously unbalanced when I get to Beijing."
August 31st 1pm - "Beautiful wood houses with pool cue chalk-blue shutters and panes. There are trees everywhere. Birch and fir. Some are starting to change colors. There are meadows with tall grasses and bursts of wildflowers. Streams and ponds. Marshes with pussy willows...It's so gorgeous - the land. However, it's over 100 degrees and full of mosquitos in the summer and it's buried in snow in the winter. Beauty is something I'll travel to see. Comfort is what I look for in a home."
September 1st 4pm - "The Swedish ladies seem to have gone the non-bathing, no-wet wipe route. They're starting to smell a bit ripe. Make that rank."
September 2nd 12:35am - "I think that we just crossed into Mongolia. We spent 3 hours at Naushki on the Russian side of the border. Now, it's the Mongolian border patrol's turn to inspect our passports and look us over. I think that we're not supposed to go to sleep 'til after we get done... I'm sleepy. All of the excitement (excursions to the shop, exercising on the platform, missing Swedish roommate who'd been dragged into customs by the Russian military) wore me out! Now, I just want to sleep."
September 2nd 9am - "We're just outside Ulan Baatar. I'm checking out the new Mongolian dining car. Yummy breakfast. Bread with soft butter and jam, an omelette that's scrambled egg with onion, juice and coffee. Perfect. So much better than the Russian car." Note: each country had its own restaurant car. The Russian car was the worst, as well as being with us the longest. I had the choice of bread & butter, olives, eggs (fried in about 1/2 a cup of oil in a metal plate which was also the serving dish), potatoes (see description of eggs), and that's it. The Mongolian car was the best, but was quite expensive. Really expensive - not cheap backpacker expensive. He wanted $25 for a set lunch menu. The Chinese car was free and good for meat eaters, I just enjoyed the rice with soy sauce.
September 2nd 12:30pm - "Mongolia is lovely. Rolling grasslands with herds everywhere. The herders might be on horseback, motorcycle or car. I'm still excited to see the occasional ger (yurt). Maybe in a few hours I'll be bored, but so far, this is a nice section of the trip."
September 2nd 3pm - "We just stopped at a station. I bought 'Russian ice cream' from an adorable little girl. So cute! I also bought king chips (odd) and 'Number One Most Softness tissues'. I skipped the surfing baby Buddha chocolate crisps."
Septermber 2nd 3:30pm - (written in Mongolian dining car) "I ordered rice and made the mistake of asking if he had soy sauce. He said yes. He then brought back my rice covered in meat chunks and broth. I shrieked, NO! and repeated soy sauce. He brought the bowl back with the meat still on, just now with ketchup squirted on top. Finally, I got him to understand that I don't want meat and he brought me back plain rice. I had that and coleslaw for lunch. Oh, and the ice cream. I'm still hungry, but that wasn't too bad."
September 2nd 5pm - "We've hit the Gobi. Huge dust clouds. My hair has turned to straw and my hands feel mummified. Maybe I should've waited 'til tomorrow for my big shower."
September 2nd 8:42pm - "Approaching Chinese border."
September 2nd 9:30pm - "Still on the Mongolian side of the border. I really need to pee and am not allowed...I'll hold it 'til 10, then I'm demanding a toilet."
September 3rd 1:39pm - "We were held up at the Chinese side of the border for 4 hours."
September 3rd 2:24pm - "I think we're here!!!" Note: we had arrived in Beijing. I was off that train like a shot. No dilly-dallying saying goodbye. I'd gotten the emails I wanted earlier. Now was the time to flee that mobile prison!
To learn more about the trip, please see my Picasa web album, TransMongolian Adventure at: http://picasaweb.google.com/christine7world/TransMongolianAdventure
Tuesday, September 4, 2007
Chores and the Banya
This was my last day in Moscow. First, I woke up at 7 (with the help of my alarm) to shower, pack, and check out of the hostel and still have time to get to the internet cafe and call Greg at a reasonable hour. I tried to shave time by taking the metro. That was a mistake! I ended up further from the internet cafe than my hostel was and trekked a bit to get back there. Oh well.
After getting my Greg fix, I went grocery shopping for the train trip. I know that the book (Lonely Planet) says that there is food available at every stop as well as a restaurant car on the train, but I am a little paranoid and decide to load up on fresh fruit, dried fruit, crackers, yogurt, pastries, nut bread, water, rum and vodka. Nothing like having the essentials covered. I was done with my shopping by 2pm and had plenty of time for a nice long trip to the Banya before my train left at 9:30.
Back at the hostel (they have a left luggage area), I dumped my groceries and checked with the hostel staff to find out what I'd need at the Sanduny banya. Note: the banya is the Russian baths - the sauna and birch branch whipping and nude lounging spot. I was told by the two women working at the time that they never went to the banya in the city. It's too expensive and not very good. Harrumph. Not having the choice of going outside the city, I pressed on to ask what I should bring. They said, "oh, nothing. They'll have anything you need there."
I took the scenic route, since I had so much spare time, and got to the baths (Moscow's oldest) by 3. Right away, I started off feeling a bit wary and cheated. The only English language info available is a sign saying that the price is 600 rubles. Then, the woman at the ticket booth wouldn't let me in for less than 1000. Nice. If she was cheating me, that sucks. If not, they need new signs.
Well, I paid the 1000 ($40 US) and went in to the lounge room. There, I was given a key to a locker, assigned to a booth and was told that I'd need to pay to rent sandals and a towel. There were 4 types of towels listed. I splurged and went for the sheet (100 r). Then, the woman managed enough English to try to sell me a massage. The cheapest was the birch branch (1200 p) "massage", so I picked that one. I was assigned a burly, butch looking masseuse who spoke about 10 words of English. She took me in the large bathing room and told me to wait. I waited. About 20 minutes. In the main room, there is a Japanese wood tub with cold water, two Jacuzzis with cold water, various wooden benches and coat racks and about 5 open shower stalls. Very spare, and not at all luxurious. Think concrete walls and floors. I stood around in my towel feeling increasingly annoyed. Finally, masseuse lady came back and told me to sit in the sauna for 2 minutes with my sheet wrapped over my head. I waited in there about 15 minutes and she never came back. The sauna is a large two level room. The stove is on ground level and is surrounded by a rising plane of tiles. There are stairs leading to the wooden loft with benches surrounding the area and a wood floor in the center. There are two small windows for ventilation. Oddly, the point is to get heated as quickly as possible, so I saw more naked people in the bathing area than actually in the sauna.
I finally got out and took a tepid shower then splashed myself with cold water. I waited some more. Then I got back in the sauna, got out and splashed myself with cold water, repeat. After about 45 minutes, I was BORED and confused. I looked around for the soap, product, whatever was offered and found a nice little layout of product on a towel on a bench offering products with labels in Russian, English, and French. Nice, at least they do something well! I washed my face and applied a glob of coffee body scrub (very good, by the way), only to realize that I had just helped myself to someone's private stash. Whoops! Apparently, you're supposed to bring your own. The girl was very nice about the whole thing, but still, quite embarrassing.
I went out to get some water and was denied water and gestured to get back to the sauna. The masseuse came in and told me to lay on the floor of the sauna. Problem, the floor was full of naked Russian women with sheets over themselves. There was plenty of space between bodies, so I asked them to please make space for me. No response. I asked what I was supposed to be doing. No response. The masseuse made me wait in the bathing room. I asked for help and/or to be told what was going on. No response. I called them all a bunch of bitches, suddenly they all spoke English! Amazing.
After an hour and a half, I had not been massaged, had not received water, had not been told what the hell was going on and was pissed! I also started to think about last minute prep for my train. I decided to skip the massage and got the hell out of there. Of course, I was still charged 300 rubels for the birch branches for the massage I never received, and 100 r for the water I never received. I finally learned that this was meant to be a 3 hour "very relaxing" experience that is quite ritualistic. I was told that I really should have come with a Russian friend. Hah! They need to set up a stand selling those.
That was pretty much it. Up until my "treat-myself" experience at the banya, I'd been feeling rather fond of Moscow. I'd finally gotten a handle on the required lack of facial expression, and vague impression of disdain that the true Muscovite gives off and was really enjoying the pastries and blinis, but now, I was ready to get on the train, and meet some people who actually smile and seem happy that you are giving them a great deal of money. Goodbye, Russia!
After getting my Greg fix, I went grocery shopping for the train trip. I know that the book (Lonely Planet) says that there is food available at every stop as well as a restaurant car on the train, but I am a little paranoid and decide to load up on fresh fruit, dried fruit, crackers, yogurt, pastries, nut bread, water, rum and vodka. Nothing like having the essentials covered. I was done with my shopping by 2pm and had plenty of time for a nice long trip to the Banya before my train left at 9:30.
Back at the hostel (they have a left luggage area), I dumped my groceries and checked with the hostel staff to find out what I'd need at the Sanduny banya. Note: the banya is the Russian baths - the sauna and birch branch whipping and nude lounging spot. I was told by the two women working at the time that they never went to the banya in the city. It's too expensive and not very good. Harrumph. Not having the choice of going outside the city, I pressed on to ask what I should bring. They said, "oh, nothing. They'll have anything you need there."
I took the scenic route, since I had so much spare time, and got to the baths (Moscow's oldest) by 3. Right away, I started off feeling a bit wary and cheated. The only English language info available is a sign saying that the price is 600 rubles. Then, the woman at the ticket booth wouldn't let me in for less than 1000. Nice. If she was cheating me, that sucks. If not, they need new signs.
Well, I paid the 1000 ($40 US) and went in to the lounge room. There, I was given a key to a locker, assigned to a booth and was told that I'd need to pay to rent sandals and a towel. There were 4 types of towels listed. I splurged and went for the sheet (100 r). Then, the woman managed enough English to try to sell me a massage. The cheapest was the birch branch (1200 p) "massage", so I picked that one. I was assigned a burly, butch looking masseuse who spoke about 10 words of English. She took me in the large bathing room and told me to wait. I waited. About 20 minutes. In the main room, there is a Japanese wood tub with cold water, two Jacuzzis with cold water, various wooden benches and coat racks and about 5 open shower stalls. Very spare, and not at all luxurious. Think concrete walls and floors. I stood around in my towel feeling increasingly annoyed. Finally, masseuse lady came back and told me to sit in the sauna for 2 minutes with my sheet wrapped over my head. I waited in there about 15 minutes and she never came back. The sauna is a large two level room. The stove is on ground level and is surrounded by a rising plane of tiles. There are stairs leading to the wooden loft with benches surrounding the area and a wood floor in the center. There are two small windows for ventilation. Oddly, the point is to get heated as quickly as possible, so I saw more naked people in the bathing area than actually in the sauna.
I finally got out and took a tepid shower then splashed myself with cold water. I waited some more. Then I got back in the sauna, got out and splashed myself with cold water, repeat. After about 45 minutes, I was BORED and confused. I looked around for the soap, product, whatever was offered and found a nice little layout of product on a towel on a bench offering products with labels in Russian, English, and French. Nice, at least they do something well! I washed my face and applied a glob of coffee body scrub (very good, by the way), only to realize that I had just helped myself to someone's private stash. Whoops! Apparently, you're supposed to bring your own. The girl was very nice about the whole thing, but still, quite embarrassing.
I went out to get some water and was denied water and gestured to get back to the sauna. The masseuse came in and told me to lay on the floor of the sauna. Problem, the floor was full of naked Russian women with sheets over themselves. There was plenty of space between bodies, so I asked them to please make space for me. No response. I asked what I was supposed to be doing. No response. The masseuse made me wait in the bathing room. I asked for help and/or to be told what was going on. No response. I called them all a bunch of bitches, suddenly they all spoke English! Amazing.
After an hour and a half, I had not been massaged, had not received water, had not been told what the hell was going on and was pissed! I also started to think about last minute prep for my train. I decided to skip the massage and got the hell out of there. Of course, I was still charged 300 rubels for the birch branches for the massage I never received, and 100 r for the water I never received. I finally learned that this was meant to be a 3 hour "very relaxing" experience that is quite ritualistic. I was told that I really should have come with a Russian friend. Hah! They need to set up a stand selling those.
That was pretty much it. Up until my "treat-myself" experience at the banya, I'd been feeling rather fond of Moscow. I'd finally gotten a handle on the required lack of facial expression, and vague impression of disdain that the true Muscovite gives off and was really enjoying the pastries and blinis, but now, I was ready to get on the train, and meet some people who actually smile and seem happy that you are giving them a great deal of money. Goodbye, Russia!
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