Posts Tagged ‘china 2009’

Thankfully by the time we arrived I had basically recovered, although the weather was overcast and rather gloomy. The station was crowded due to multiple trains arriving at the same time, so it took about a half hour to get out of the station and into the subway station. Beijing was different for me in regards to perspective, since there are few sky scrapers it is difficult to see how large Beijing is. Especially walking around with the city covered in fog, you feel as though you are in a smaller city, especially when combined with large open spaces such as Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. We had some difficultly locating the Grand Hyatt, the provided “Taxi Card" was useless as only a two streets were labeled. Eventually we did find I way and arrived at the hotel around 7:30am. Rather unexpectedly, they checked us in to our room which was fantastic since this allowed me to take a much needed shower.

We set out for the usual sights, namely the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. Our hotel was situated on the same road, so all we had to do was walk 5-10 blocks to get there. Even though it was overcast again, the crowds were still out in force. Chinese tourists stopped by the entrance to get their picture taken in front of Mao, police where everywhere, both uniformed and plain clothed. Once we got into the city itself, the crowds died down quite a bit. Amazingly, only about 3/4 of the ‘city’ is actually open to the public, which is hard to believe once your inside. Next we stopped off at Tienanmen Square, however it was past noon which meant Mao’s body (or wax representation) was not available for display. To be honest there wasn’t much to see anyways, so looked around and continued on. We decided to stop off at the Olympic Green, just to see the birds nest and the general Olympic area. I was surprised at how run down the subway station had become, as well as the area surrounding it. Lines of shops once occupied during the 2008 Olympics stood vacant, the interior gutted. Escalators and elevators stood still, either just turned off or broken. Glass windows were shattered in a few spots, surrounded by rusting trash bins and the occasional inoperable drinking fountain (drinking fountains are rare in China). Outside of the station things looked a bit better. There seemed to be some sort of building to house the TV and station crews during the Olympics, however that was closed and vacant as well.

On our way back to the hotel, we quickly realized we had forgotten it was nearing the 60th anniversary of the communist party. Our hotel had notified us, however we didn’t pay any attention since the preparations were supposed to start the day we checked out of the Grand Hyatt and moved to the Park Hyatt. In good communist fashion, the government decided to close down half the city as its citizens protested. A few subway lines and stations were also closed, and we found ourselves stuck. The road we needed to go down to get to hotel was closed, I attempted to show the police officer our room key but we were just waved away. We ended up going to the Beijing train station to get a taxi, which took forever. Eventually we did find our way to the Park Hyatt and checking in was rather comical. We were both drenched since it was raining again and probably smelled too, and to top it off I had left my passport in my bag at the Grand Hyatt. They asked us if we had any luggage which we did not, so basically we were two bums attempting to check into a 5 star hotel which unbenounced to us had a dress code. Thankfully they let us in and we arranged to have our bags transferred the next day. We spent the evening dining at the China Grill on the top floor which had afforded us a fantastic view of Beijing, partially closed that is. Because of our baggage issues, we were unable to go to the Great Wall which was a severe disappointment. There was just no way it was going to work out, so instead we took it easy the next day until our bags arrived. Most attractions are closed on Mondays, which left us with only a few options. We visited Houhai and a some parts of the Houtongs, and for one of our last meals in China we ate Beijing Duck (and pigeon) at Huajia Yiyuan.

The duck was ok, although the pigeon was surprisingly good, especially with the Pringles used as a garnish. It was rather comical to see the other patrons reactions as we ordered an entire duck for ourselves and had the thing carved table side. We spent our last night in China swimming at the pool, which was surreal experience. We were the only guests there, along with a few attendants who greeted us, brought water and towels, and showed us how to operate our locker. The pool had a great view of the city, and with no one else there it felt rather odd, perhaps even lonely.

Perhaps it was something in the water, something I ate, or swine flu. Whatever the reason, I felt horrible on the train ride from Guilin to Shanghai, and for most of my stay there as well. Originally, we held reservations for a ‘hard sleeper’, which is basically six bunks per compartment with each compartment open to the rest of the car. I was not looking forward to this, considering this would be our longest train ride of 24 hours and I was not feel well at all. Thankfully Matt was able to upgrade us to ‘soft sleepers’ and to my surprise we had the whole cabin to ourselves. After eating some noodles and catching up on some reading, I went to bed and placed my SPOT next to the train window. Even though we were in the upgraded cabin, the train itself was rather old with half working AC and a ventilation system that circulated air throughout the car. This meant if anyone was smoking in their cabin, the smoke would circulate into our cabin. Myself not a smoker and not accustomed to 2nd had smoke felt horrible after inhaling 24 hours worth of smoke. Once we got into Shanghai the only thing I wanted to do was get to our hotel.

Thankfully I knew we were staying at the Hyatt on the Bund, which I was confident could provide me with a clean bathroom and comfortable beds. I was not disappointed, since I was a platinum gold passport member they upgraded me to the top floor. The panoramic view of the Bund was great although by this time a fever had set in and I was seriously considering calling for a doctor to take a look at me. Matt set out to explore Shanghai and was kind enough to bring some food back with him, while I laid in bed a took a long bath.

The next day I was feeling much better. Although still not fully recovered I felt well enough to walk around Shanghai. Since I was not feeling 100% and sleep deprived, I don’t think I enjoyed Shanghai as much as I could have. Everything was under construction for the 2010 world expo, and in my opinion the city was the dirtiest we had visited since coming to China. The Shanghai World Financial Center was probably the highlight of the day, with a great observation deck and a fantastic bathroom. Once we completed our short tour, we headed over to the train station where we had checked our bags. The train from Shanghai to Beijing was supposed to be the nicest of the three train rides we would take, and I wasn’t disappointed. The train seemed basically new, even the bathrooms were clean enough to use. We shared a cabin with a mother and a daughter who were also taking a few days in Beijing, once again I was impressed with their hospitality, even more so this time as the mother spoke english rather well and we were able to tell her where we were going and where we were from.

Despite the good experience I had on the train ride to Guilin, I was still very tired and basically felt like crap after being on a train for 12+ hours. I was ready to check into our hotel and take a long hot shower. The Yesin Hostel was nice and relatively clean as hostels go, however I was looking forward to using a shower that wasn’t combined with the bathroom proper and was larger than a broom closet. Once off the train we headed to the bus station, people everywhere were heckling us, asking if we needed a ride to Yangshuo. If you ever do travel around in these parts, be sure to use the bus at the OFFICIAL bus station, as privately run mini buses have been known to charge more and sometimes will drop you off outside of town instead of taking you the entire way.

Once on the bus, it was another hour ride to Yangshuo. The scenery was amazing although contrasted with the systemic poverty becoming more apparent as we moved out of Guilin. We passed a few abandoned factories and large buildings while our bus swerved in and out of traffic as we overtook slower moving dump trucks and motorcycles.

From the moment we got off the bus it was clear that Yangshuo was a tourist destination, especially for Chinese tourists coming from other parts of the country. We moved outside of the bus station, however the pay phone we found didn’t work so we decided to walk to our hotel which was located in Moon Village, a short distance out of town. The "short" walk turned into a 10Km hike with all my baggage, and myself not being in the best physical shape was extremely tired afterward and not in the best of moods. I was drenched in sweat, and the entire walk along the highway was filled with fumes from the passing trucks and buses, along with the still echoing honks from trucks who thought it necessary to honk at anything that moved with their obnoxiously loud air horns. Needles to say it was difficult for me to full appreciate the nature I was surrounded by. Once we arrived, Matt continued on to hike up Moon Hill, which I regret now that I didn’t join him. We at dinner at a fantastic Italian restaurant in the Yangshuo Village Inn, I highly recommend this place if you are staying in Moon Village or anywhere near by. The restaurant was great, I almost wish we had stayed hear instead.

The next day we headed out to do a few touristy things. Most are not worth mentioning, however I have to say DO NOT go to the Dragon Tail Cave. This is possibly the most worthless attraction in Yangshuo, and to be honest if I do ever go back I’m going to spend all my time outside and stay the hell away from the "water caves," the caves at akiyoshidai in Japan were miles ahead of this. First off, we were surrounded by Chinese tour groups, which felt it necessary to communicate with their tour group via yelling into loud speakers while inside an cave. The resulting echos and reverberations were enough to give me a headache. The cave itself was pathetic, faux lighting bathed the cave walls with an array of annoying unnatural colors, complete in places with a laser light show . . . I felt as though I was in some Chinese disco from hell. Then as we exited the cave, we were forced to go through 5 or so gift shops, selling cave crap. The best part however was the wall they had set up, were you could attempt to throw your coins through a number of small holes. I have no idea what the appeal of throwing your money at a wall was, however it seemed to be very popular with the Chinese tourists. Whoever thought of this idea is a genius.

Another annoying aspect of Yangshuo were the throngs of bicycle women who would follow you around, yelling "HELLO?! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!?!" while trying to sell you bottles of water and pop. The only way to avoid them was to completely ignore their advances, which I quickly learned to do. This is unfortunate, considering I know there were Chinese who were generally interested in talking with us (this happened on the train and a few instances later on). Instead I learned it was best to simply ignore any "hello?" inquires as the majority of the time whomever was trying to get your attention simply wanted to sell you something or con you out of some money.

The cave experience was the proverbial nail in the coffin for me, Yangshuo and I really didn’t get along aside from the amazing setting and landscape the town was surrounded by. In my opinion its simply a massive tourist trap, my suggestion would be to simply enjoy where you are, do some hiking, and stay away from any tourist attractions. Or better yet, use your money and go to akiyoshidai in Japan instead.

Hong Kong reminded me strongly of Tokyo in regards to the fast pace crowded streets I had experienced before. The landscape and a few other aspects contrasted however, but generally Hong Kong is a modern developed city. Parts of Kowloon were rather run down, however nothing that I hadn’t also seen in Japan. Mainland China by comparison is much different. We crossed the border into Shenzhen, one of China’s designated “Special Economic Zones” which transformed Shenzhen was the richest city in China. Although we didn’t have much time there, we walked through two electronics markets. I was amazed, floor after floor filled with computer and electronic components. If you were looking for ANYTHING electronic, you could find it in Shenzhen. Booth after booth vendors were selling everything from beta cassette to SSD wafers to full computer systems. I really wish I had more time to look further, we were not able to see much with the two hours we had.

From Shenzhen we took the overnight train to Gulin, in the ‘soft sleeper’ car. This meant we shared a four bed cabin with two other travelers, in our case a man about our age and a mother with two small children. I admit, when I first saw them glance at their ticket and move towards our cabin a sense of horror came over me as flash backs of flying with vomiting screaming children passed before me. However as the trip went on the opposite became true and would develop into one of my most enjoyable experiences in China so far. As Matt pointed out beforehand, it is customary to bring food onto the train, and to have enough to share with the other travelers who are in your cabin. We both had bought a bunch of snacks and food from the convenience store before we left so in that regards we were prepared. After getting settled in, the mother offered us some food and we gladly accepted. Although we spoke no Chinese and she spoke no english we got the point across that we were thankfull for the gesture. The next step was to find some hot water to make our noodles, however we had neglected to bring chop sticks (in Japan at least they put everything you need in your bag when you checkout). We wandered down to the dining car as Matt attempted to ask for some chop sticks and order some drinks which proved difficult. Our other cabin mate was also in the dining car, and motioned to come and sit with him at one of the tables. I was rather hesitant at first, however after waving his hand it was obvious he was motioning for me to join him. I sat down and Matt soon followed, however we had no idea what to do. The menu was in Chinese and our new friend didn’t speak any english either. He ordered some food and the waiter disappeared to place the order, she came back and he paid for it, although we attempted a number of times to re-pay him but he respectfully refused. Dinner was fantastic, and we were quite the spectacle as he talked to the train crew who were probably making fun of the crazy Americans who didn’t bring chopsticks. Some other diners joined into the conversation that we couldent understand, although it became obvious he was looking for a translator. A young lady was near by and came over to translate, asking us if we were still hungry and wanted any more food. We both said we were full and very grateful for the meal, after which he offered us a beer. In the spirit of international relations, I gladly accepted, however Matt who doesn’t drink beer attempted to refuse. They still brought three glasses, and I ended up drinking Matt’s glass as well.

Back in the cabin we settled down, I shared some snacks with the children. The little girl happily stuck her hand into box of cookies I offered, however after her mother scolded her she retreated. The remainder of the ride was un-eventful, and to be honest I think I slept much better than on the overnight train I took from Munich to Paris back in 2007. But most of all I was amazed at what the Chinese culture and people had to offer. I have never heard or seen anyone buy foreigners dinner on the Amtrack back in the states. Everyone we’ve met so far has been wonderful, although as expected we’ve been acaosted by random locals trying to scam us. Whereas the level of service was above and beyond in Japan, everyone seemed reserved, here locals are happy to interact with you even if you don’t speak their language, many times forcefully which takes some getting accustomed to.

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An NW A330 next to my gate, not headed to Narita but Amsterdam, poor SkyTeam logo

Sorry this is rather late in coming, to be honest I’ve just had no time to update my blog or upload any pictures, most of this will probably have to wait until I return home. In any case, my flight was uneventful, despite the moderate turbulence which required our flight to divert slightly to the south for the NW7 leg. Once again my NW7 flight was great in Y, two decent meals and an ice cream bar, with free drinks was a nice touch. The IFE was not bad either, although the movie ‘Star Trek’ was not as great as I’d hoped, a few episodes of ‘Fraiser’ and ‘The Office’ made up for it. It was nice to be in Japan if for only two hours, I really wish I had enough time to leave the airport or even spend a night in Tokyo, but my time was limited. By comparison, the NW29 was abysmal hellish experience. As expected, the 744 was terrible compared to the A330, and I was seated next to a strange man, screaming children (naturally), and a fat guy who could not fit in the seat behind me and was only able to read his book by pressing it against my head rest.

Hong Kong customs was just as easy as getting into Japan, and once through I found my travel companion, Matt, waiting at the Burger King like we had planned. I wasn’t able to see much of Hong Kong that night, since my flight got in at 10:30pm, however the one thing I remember and will remember throughout my stay in Hong Kong was the heat and the humidity. Staying a constant 80-90 F with at least 80% humidity meant I was perpetually drenched in sweat. We stayed at the Yesin Hostel, which although small was relatively clean, centrally located, and cheap. I would recommend it for anyone staying in HK on a budget, although all you get is a closet sized room with a bed, and an all in one bathroom.

The next day we headed out and saw the Tian Tan Buddha. Although the Ngong Ping Cable Car was down for maintenance, we were able to take a bus to the Buddha and the monestary. The views were fantastic from the Buddha, and the bus ride also provided great views. Later that day, we headed back into Kowloon to walk around the city and visit a few markets. Oddly enough, most of the markets listed were literally what the titled suggested. For example, the ‘Goldfish Market’ was selling Goldfish. We were rather concerned after we decided to visit the ‘Ladies Market’, however this broke the trend and was just selling clothes and jewelry . . . not ladies. I didn’t see anything I wanted to buy and neither did Matt. For dinner we at at some random Halal place in Kowloon which proved to be a fantastic find. There was a group of foodies apparently doing a review of the restaurant. The food was fantastic, although I have a feeling we were not only given the english menu, but also the english priced menu. Even so our entire bill was just over $12.

It’s been quite a while since I posted, and as usual I’ve been insanely busy with work and have basically been playing catch-up for the last two months. Time has gone by so fast, that my trip to China has caught up to me – I actually leave in less then two weeks! In any case, this time around my trip will be less of a "vacation" and more of an "adventure." Those definitions are largely dependent on the traveler, and to be honest I think China will be a mix of both. In preparation, I acquired a SPOT GPS Messenger since it would allow my friends and family to keep track of me while I’m gone, and I think its just neat to be able to have the ability to communicate anywhere in the world via satellite. I’ve integrated my SPOT messaging into my blog, so any SPOT updates will be posted here although with a slight delay so any evildoer won’t be able to find me and steal my lunch money. This should be an interesting experience; I plan on keeping this with me on the flight over to see if I can get any signals while in flight. It will also be a nice addition to any future motorcycle trip I take. I’ll be posting more frequently in the weeks to come, and hopefully when I get to China I’ll be able to post a few updates as well.

I never thought I would have to use my NW7 tag again (especially in the same year), guess I was wrong. Yep, I’m going to China for about two weeks! Sadly not via J class, although I’ll get to spend some time in a few first class hotels, I really loved my time at the Hyatt Regency Kyoto and want to try and repeat that experience. I’ll fly into Hong Kong, meet up with a friend, and continue throughout the country until I fly out of Beijing.

So what can you (all of two readers, if that) expect? Firstly, this time around I’ll be sure to bring a decent tripod, an accessory that I sorely missed while in Japan. So expect some great decent pictures. I’ll also try to get some more posts up this time around, I never got as many up as I wanted for Japan, mostly because I didn’t have the time after I returned. So be sure to check back near the end of August for some amazing trip reports! That is, provided the unstoppable swine flu "pandemic" doesn’t spread any further . . .