I caught the 11 hour train ride to Beijing from Shanghai. I had the lower bunk and shared my compartment with 2 Chinese women and a Chinese man. No late night sharing of stories because I was the only English speaking person. They were very helpful and kind to me when I had to store my luggage and settle in. I had trouble getting to sleep which was a problem because the lights were switched on as we came into the train station at 6 AM. I had only about 4 hours sleep and I was heading into a large city with some instructions on how to take the subway and walk to my small hotel. It was also raining at the time which unbeknownst to me was a good thing because would comment in the coming days how clear the air was after the rain. I got to my hotel okay and quickly made friends with some people at the hotel: Charlie, an oil and gas manager from Calgary; Colin, a Scottish English as a second language teacher in Beijing, and Maggie, a Chinese student from Dalian, China. We went out to breakfast which was dumplings and an oatmeal like soup for about a $1. During the breakfast I got instructions to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Sqare which are within walking distance of each other. They had suggested I take a cab but I decided to walk. By walking I discovered the difference between how close something can seem on a map and the reality of the distance on the ground. Not having slept much I was getting tired by the time I got to the Forbidden City which was becoming more like the Forbidding City because it is so large in scale and I was diminishing in energy. Once I started walking from one section of the city to the next I felt more energized. I had seen the movie "the Last Emperor" which is the story of the last emperor who left the grounds in I believe in 1924. He had been established as the emperor at the age of 3. The buildings and space are overwhelming and it is hard to capture in pictures because the scale is so large. There are 8700 rooms and the overall space it covers is some other phenenomal number. Let's just say it is very big. Some of the buildings are under renovations which is true of many parts of Beijing due to the Olympics coming in August. When I visited the Forbidden City, as well as the artifacts on display at the Shanghai, it brought home the understanding of China as a huge empire which is beginning to recapture its former prominence. The amount of energy and determination it would take to make this palace a reality is truly remarkable. The Chinese are into having the biggest palace on earth (the Forbidden City) , the largest public square in the world (Tiananamen Square) in addition to the largest population etc. The square and palace are within easy walking distance, you walk out of the city practically into the square. After I walked around the square I took four subway stops to the Silk market because I wanted to get started on buying some stuff which I had left until Beijing because I did not want to be carrying gifts across the country. I walked into the market and bumped into Charlie from the hotel. I hadn't planned on it but I already began buying and haggling that afternoon. I had my tailored Australian cashmere wool suit ordered before I left and had pretty well decided what my purchases would be the next time I was going to be there.
The next day I woke up early and went on the 10 kilometer hike of the Great Wall. It didn't start out well because the bus was overbooked and our driver was trying to get 5 of us into a car about the size of a Honda Accord. We refused and so we had to wait around for an hour and a half. Then we spent 3 hours getting to where we would begin our hike because we were not going to the most visited site which is generally just a short hike, look and see, and then back home. Ours was 6 hours round trip plus a 4 hour walk because the wall is not a flat walk but the wall reflects the up and down terrain it is built on. We walked past 30 of those outposts you see in the picture. It was great not only because of the wall but also because of the cleaner countryside air and it was a nice warm day despite the fact we were in higher elevation. I walked with my trip companions a Dutch couple and an English couple. I was the lonely guy on his own but of course I am never lonely because the fellow travellers are quite friendly and there is never a shortage of things to talk about whether it is our native countries, what we are experiencing in the present,or where else we have been in our travels up until this point. The walk was good exercise and I have a good understanding of the again impressive achievement of creating a barrier of this immensity. A little humour was provided when someone had written in black "Made in China" on the wall.
The next day I went back to the Silk market and perfected my haggling skills. Just as I was getting good at it I was done buying what I needed. It is fun to engage in the haggling but it can be time consuming and draining. Afterwards I went up to the Temple of Heaven with Charlie who had gone to the market with me. The Temple of Heaven is like a huge park in Beijing and a respite from the traffic, people, and noise of Beijing. It is the religious shrines where offerings to the gods had been made for centuries. Not nearly as large as the Forbidden City ,which is the home and political administration of the Emperor, this temple had a long history archeologists having found evidence of sacrifices being conducted 5500 hundred years ago at this site.
I went out and had Peking duck that night plus visited a night club in the infamous Houhai Lake area. The next morning I got up and took a cab to look at the Olympic site. It was a little disappointing because you cannot get to close to the buildings but nonetheless it was an impressive amount of interesting architecture going into the main structures.
There is so much more I could have done in Beijing if I had time and yet I was ready to go home after being away on my own for 10 and a half weeks. I felt I had done what I had set out to do in terms of the 3 and half weeks I had to see China and Thailand. I had enjoyed myself with the nice balance of seeing some interesting places like Hong Kong, Bangkok, Ko Phangnan, Yangshuo, Shanghai, and Beijing plus doing the activities of hiking, biking, snorkeling, scuba diving, moped riding, and conversing with people from different countries all over the world. I was ready to go and see my family and friends.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Shanghai
Shanghai
I arrived in Shanghai at 2:30 P.M., after a 22 hour train ride. The East Asia hotel is located on East Nanking Rd. which is really not unlike Times Square in New York. Lots of neon lights and people plus many shops and restaurants. I went out the first night and walked the Bund which is the area on the Huangpu River where British and French had many of their offices and banks at the turn of the century. There is a cross section of architectural styles in the construction of the buildings. Many of them also have interesting interiors such as elaborately painted ceilings and walls. The Bund is on one side of the river and Pudong the business area of Shanghai is on the other. I did not visit the Pudong section but I did take some great pictures of it from the Puxie or Bund side of the river. I later walked back to my hotel for the night.
The next day I tried to reach the nephew of Jerie, a counselor in Manila, whose nephew is a psychologist in Shanghai. Unfortunately it did not work but I still had a meeting set up with Lucy Wang and her associates regarding the setting up of a career counseling program here in Shanghai. My impression from communicating with people across China is career counseling ought to be offered because there are many economic and social changes which are affecting people’s work lives and choices.
I was fortunate to have 2 Americans from Seattle in my compartment. Most likely the only English speakers in my car. Susan and Brian had been travelling for 12 months around the world and have 2 months to go before they go home. They have been to Europe, Africa (hiked to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro with 8 porters and a guide), and Asia just having come from Viet Nam where they had met up with Susan's mother who was an escapee from Viet Nam 33 years ago with her one year old daughter Susan. They had spent 2 months there travelling all over Viet Nam. The train ride went quickly because we had a lot to talk about. Throughout the 1500 kilometre train ride when I looked out the window I always saw someone tilling the land or walking somewhere. The houses looked well kept, often concrete formed with tile roofs. Many of them were 2 stories. China looked prosperous without a parcel of land that was not being put to some sort of use. Not many trees along the way which is probably why they like Guilin/Yangshuo so much because of the lush vegetation.
I was lucky to have booked a hotel which was right on Nanking Rd. which is the centre of the old city or Puxi area of Shanghai. It was like stepping out onto Times Square when I left my hotel. I spent the 3 days there going to the Shanghai Museum (my one museum stop on this trip but one of the best museums in China with lots of displays of ancient pottery, statues, and interesting displays of the ethnic minorities in China with their clothing and various accoutrements), seeing the YuYuan gardens which is a preserved 16 century royal garden, and in addition the evidence of the often European and American presence in Shanghai. This was demonstrated on the Bund which is a long string of unique buildings along the Huangpu River developed by the Europeans and Americans which reflect the different architectural structures at the time they were built like art deco, roccoco etc. There is also and area called the French Concession which has a very European feel to it with many trees lining the streets and more European style restaurants with menus in English. We avoided these restaurants when we went there because they were more expensive and I did not go to China to eat lasagna.
What I did go to China for was the hot pot which we had on a side street off the Yunnan food st. The hot pot is this medal cylinder with hot coals in it which sits in the middle of this wok like metal container. It heats up the water and you throw in whatever food you have purchased to be cooked. We had slices of chicken, tofu, mushrooms etc. When they were cooked we would each fish out our food and put it on our rice. Very fresh and lots of fun plus we washed it down with TsingTao beer. I found the beer very good throughout Asia very good but I did not drink any wine or spirits except when we drank cognac with Yi's parents in Foshan. I also ate off vendors on the street which I did not do in the Philippines and Thailand but I thought I am coming to the end of my trip so I can take a risk. I never did get sick except a little towards the last day or so but I just lost my appetite, nothing major. In Shanghai I would get fish balls, tofu, dumplings, and potato pancakes with a fried egg for practically nothing. I was also always buying fresh fruit off the vendors no matter where I was. Food is an important part of everyday life for the Chinese and so it is fun participating it in with them. When it comes to drinks its different. They think it is bad to drink things cold so when you ask for milk or water it will be warm or hot. In fact someone told me in the summer if they see a Westerner giving their kids a cold drink they think it is child abuse and want to take it away from the child.
Of course one of the safety things you need to do is watch out you don't slip on some phlegm when walking down the street. I think with the air pollution I wanted to start spitting but the Chinese have something about mucous like it is bad to have any in their body or at least the males seem to think this. They begin to retrieve some from the inner bowels of their bodies and make this huge grrrhhhup sound which I would have liked to have caught on tape. And of course just spit it on the sidewalk. Sometimes I would see someone slip slide sideways and I know it was someone slipping on a fresh gob on the sidewalk. Supposedly there is a public health campaign to get them to curtail this activity until after the Olympics.
Shanghai is where I got back into the art of haggling. I had done it years ago when I imported clothing from Guatemala so I was out of practice for almost 30 years. I watched Brian in Shanghai and Charlie a Canadian in Beijing and learned again the art of relationship building. In haggling it isn't about the cheap price but the time and effort you have to engage with the seller. The better the relationship the better the price. One of the telling signs of how well you have haggled is after the product is bought if you if they offer you their card that means they are happy at what you bought if for and if you have to ask for their card they are saying you got a good price and I don't want to see your friends and probaly not you again because you cost me too much. So much for the relationship.
I ended up buying sunglasses , dvds, and a tennis racket off these guys from Nanking Rd. who we decided to follow up with. I had been approached by 30,000 guys to buy a watch but Brian and I decided to look at some dvds these guys were selling. We thought they'd have some in the alley instead they led us to a store which had a false door which revolved and there were 3 storeys full of jackets, shoes, dvds, watches, other jewellery. Everything is a knockoff and about 20% of the going North American price. The ironic part is it is illegal in China although throughout Asia it is Chinese products which are sold everywhere and must be condoned by the gov't in order to be made in such quantities.
So after 3 and a half days it was on to Beijing. I am going to catch an 11 hour overnight train to Beijing. I will probably not get as lucky as I did with the first train with great companions like Brian and Susan.
I arrived in Shanghai at 2:30 P.M., after a 22 hour train ride. The East Asia hotel is located on East Nanking Rd. which is really not unlike Times Square in New York. Lots of neon lights and people plus many shops and restaurants. I went out the first night and walked the Bund which is the area on the Huangpu River where British and French had many of their offices and banks at the turn of the century. There is a cross section of architectural styles in the construction of the buildings. Many of them also have interesting interiors such as elaborately painted ceilings and walls. The Bund is on one side of the river and Pudong the business area of Shanghai is on the other. I did not visit the Pudong section but I did take some great pictures of it from the Puxie or Bund side of the river. I later walked back to my hotel for the night.
The next day I tried to reach the nephew of Jerie, a counselor in Manila, whose nephew is a psychologist in Shanghai. Unfortunately it did not work but I still had a meeting set up with Lucy Wang and her associates regarding the setting up of a career counseling program here in Shanghai. My impression from communicating with people across China is career counseling ought to be offered because there are many economic and social changes which are affecting people’s work lives and choices.
I was fortunate to have 2 Americans from Seattle in my compartment. Most likely the only English speakers in my car. Susan and Brian had been travelling for 12 months around the world and have 2 months to go before they go home. They have been to Europe, Africa (hiked to the top of Mt Kilimanjaro with 8 porters and a guide), and Asia just having come from Viet Nam where they had met up with Susan's mother who was an escapee from Viet Nam 33 years ago with her one year old daughter Susan. They had spent 2 months there travelling all over Viet Nam. The train ride went quickly because we had a lot to talk about. Throughout the 1500 kilometre train ride when I looked out the window I always saw someone tilling the land or walking somewhere. The houses looked well kept, often concrete formed with tile roofs. Many of them were 2 stories. China looked prosperous without a parcel of land that was not being put to some sort of use. Not many trees along the way which is probably why they like Guilin/Yangshuo so much because of the lush vegetation.
I was lucky to have booked a hotel which was right on Nanking Rd. which is the centre of the old city or Puxi area of Shanghai. It was like stepping out onto Times Square when I left my hotel. I spent the 3 days there going to the Shanghai Museum (my one museum stop on this trip but one of the best museums in China with lots of displays of ancient pottery, statues, and interesting displays of the ethnic minorities in China with their clothing and various accoutrements), seeing the YuYuan gardens which is a preserved 16 century royal garden, and in addition the evidence of the often European and American presence in Shanghai. This was demonstrated on the Bund which is a long string of unique buildings along the Huangpu River developed by the Europeans and Americans which reflect the different architectural structures at the time they were built like art deco, roccoco etc. There is also and area called the French Concession which has a very European feel to it with many trees lining the streets and more European style restaurants with menus in English. We avoided these restaurants when we went there because they were more expensive and I did not go to China to eat lasagna.
What I did go to China for was the hot pot which we had on a side street off the Yunnan food st. The hot pot is this medal cylinder with hot coals in it which sits in the middle of this wok like metal container. It heats up the water and you throw in whatever food you have purchased to be cooked. We had slices of chicken, tofu, mushrooms etc. When they were cooked we would each fish out our food and put it on our rice. Very fresh and lots of fun plus we washed it down with TsingTao beer. I found the beer very good throughout Asia very good but I did not drink any wine or spirits except when we drank cognac with Yi's parents in Foshan. I also ate off vendors on the street which I did not do in the Philippines and Thailand but I thought I am coming to the end of my trip so I can take a risk. I never did get sick except a little towards the last day or so but I just lost my appetite, nothing major. In Shanghai I would get fish balls, tofu, dumplings, and potato pancakes with a fried egg for practically nothing. I was also always buying fresh fruit off the vendors no matter where I was. Food is an important part of everyday life for the Chinese and so it is fun participating it in with them. When it comes to drinks its different. They think it is bad to drink things cold so when you ask for milk or water it will be warm or hot. In fact someone told me in the summer if they see a Westerner giving their kids a cold drink they think it is child abuse and want to take it away from the child.
Of course one of the safety things you need to do is watch out you don't slip on some phlegm when walking down the street. I think with the air pollution I wanted to start spitting but the Chinese have something about mucous like it is bad to have any in their body or at least the males seem to think this. They begin to retrieve some from the inner bowels of their bodies and make this huge grrrhhhup sound which I would have liked to have caught on tape. And of course just spit it on the sidewalk. Sometimes I would see someone slip slide sideways and I know it was someone slipping on a fresh gob on the sidewalk. Supposedly there is a public health campaign to get them to curtail this activity until after the Olympics.
Shanghai is where I got back into the art of haggling. I had done it years ago when I imported clothing from Guatemala so I was out of practice for almost 30 years. I watched Brian in Shanghai and Charlie a Canadian in Beijing and learned again the art of relationship building. In haggling it isn't about the cheap price but the time and effort you have to engage with the seller. The better the relationship the better the price. One of the telling signs of how well you have haggled is after the product is bought if you if they offer you their card that means they are happy at what you bought if for and if you have to ask for their card they are saying you got a good price and I don't want to see your friends and probaly not you again because you cost me too much. So much for the relationship.
I ended up buying sunglasses , dvds, and a tennis racket off these guys from Nanking Rd. who we decided to follow up with. I had been approached by 30,000 guys to buy a watch but Brian and I decided to look at some dvds these guys were selling. We thought they'd have some in the alley instead they led us to a store which had a false door which revolved and there were 3 storeys full of jackets, shoes, dvds, watches, other jewellery. Everything is a knockoff and about 20% of the going North American price. The ironic part is it is illegal in China although throughout Asia it is Chinese products which are sold everywhere and must be condoned by the gov't in order to be made in such quantities.
So after 3 and a half days it was on to Beijing. I am going to catch an 11 hour overnight train to Beijing. I will probably not get as lucky as I did with the first train with great companions like Brian and Susan.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Yangshuo Mountain Retreat
The day after my bike riding I hired a guide to take me to some of the old sections of a few small cities based on the advice of an English woman who had done it the day before I arrived. The guide is the father of a young woman who works at the retreat and has "brittle bone" disease which is like a form of osteoporosis but happens from birth. They have very porous bones and as a result do not grow properly and their bones break easily. Often they are bed ridden from a young age and may never walk. Angel is such a person and works at the front desk of the hotel. She is about 2 ft tall and cannot walk or stand. She speaks English very well and is obviously very intelligent. I wanted to help by hiring the father and it would include a visit to her 500 year old village on the Li River and meet her family. The father met me and we saw some villages as agreed. I paid for his bus ticket and I paid for lunch which was not discussed beforehand but I was okay with in addition to the fee I was paying him. The part I had trouble with was toward the end of the day I took a short boat ride to the village and saw Angel and her family. When I got off the boat the boat operator asked for an excessive amount for the short boat ride. I could only conclude that the father was in collusion with the boat owner. I spoke to other people and they shared my hunches. I told them it was excessive but rather than make a scene I paid it but it left a bad taste in my mouth. The father is taking advantage of the situation but the family has had to cope with a lot. I would rather they just be straight with me about the costs rather than the deception. Otherwise it was an interesting day. Bill Clinton had been to their village and their home over 10 years ago and they had huge pictures in the living room to prove it.
The next morning I went on the bike again for a few hours thru the small villages along the Yulong River. I was glad once again that the rain had not come and I had the chance to see some different areas of the valley. Later in the day I left for the train station to start my 22 hour train ride to Shanghai with a little trepidation wondering who will be my compartment companions.
Well I ended up getting lucky because my companions were Susan and Brian from Seattle who are in the last 2 months of a 14 month trip around the world . They were in their 30's and had left managment positions to do this dream trip. They have spent months in Europe then went from Egypt down to South Africa hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro and going on a safari in the process. They then went to India, Thailand, and had spent 2 months in Viet Nam where Susan's family is from. Her mother and her had escaped when she was 1 year old. Her mother's family was originally from South China. Her mother has one sister who still lives in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) who Susan and Brian stayed with when they were there. Anyways we shared stories and the 22 hours went by quickly. We had brought some fruit and bread with us so we did not even go to the dining car. The train provides a huge thermos of hot water with which we made noodles we bought in the station plus coffee and tea we had brought with us. It was quite a smoothe train ride.
I am now in a hotel room on East Nanjing Rd. in the heart of the commercial district of Shanghai. It is like being on Times Square in N.Y. although it has quieted down after 11 P.M. I had to upgrade my hotel room because the less expensive one smelled of smoke. People smoke a lot here and anywhere they want. In the next couple of days I am to meet a graduate of the G.B.C. program who lives here in Shanghai with her husband. They had only lived in Canada a little over a year. She has been in communication with us in our program regarding starting a similar program in Shanghai. I am looking forward to the next few days here as my trip winds down.
The next morning I went on the bike again for a few hours thru the small villages along the Yulong River. I was glad once again that the rain had not come and I had the chance to see some different areas of the valley. Later in the day I left for the train station to start my 22 hour train ride to Shanghai with a little trepidation wondering who will be my compartment companions.
Well I ended up getting lucky because my companions were Susan and Brian from Seattle who are in the last 2 months of a 14 month trip around the world . They were in their 30's and had left managment positions to do this dream trip. They have spent months in Europe then went from Egypt down to South Africa hiking up Mt. Kilimanjaro and going on a safari in the process. They then went to India, Thailand, and had spent 2 months in Viet Nam where Susan's family is from. Her mother and her had escaped when she was 1 year old. Her mother's family was originally from South China. Her mother has one sister who still lives in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) who Susan and Brian stayed with when they were there. Anyways we shared stories and the 22 hours went by quickly. We had brought some fruit and bread with us so we did not even go to the dining car. The train provides a huge thermos of hot water with which we made noodles we bought in the station plus coffee and tea we had brought with us. It was quite a smoothe train ride.
I am now in a hotel room on East Nanjing Rd. in the heart of the commercial district of Shanghai. It is like being on Times Square in N.Y. although it has quieted down after 11 P.M. I had to upgrade my hotel room because the less expensive one smelled of smoke. People smoke a lot here and anywhere they want. In the next couple of days I am to meet a graduate of the G.B.C. program who lives here in Shanghai with her husband. They had only lived in Canada a little over a year. She has been in communication with us in our program regarding starting a similar program in Shanghai. I am looking forward to the next few days here as my trip winds down.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Guilin and the Liang River
I took the train to Guangzhou and caught a plane to Guilin which is about 300 miles northwest of Guangzhou. Guilin is suppose to the most beautiful place in China and Yangshou (my destination the next day) is suppose to be the most beautiful place in Guilin. Guilin did not seem so beautiful at night. It seem like another somewhat chaotic city with many people, cars, mopeds, trucks, and bikes everywhere going in all kinds of directions. Also there are no street lights or sidewalks so everyone is in the shadows. I did get to a restaurant where I could order a la carte in small portions otherwise I would be ordering one thing which is made to be shared with 4 or5 other people. People do not eat alone in China or order individually but in a group sharing generally although it is changing because McDonald's is McDonald's although with a Chinese slant. I actually liked the coffee they served in the main floor of my hotel in Guangzhou. So I did get to eat my lonely little dinner amongst a sea of group oriented people. In fact I was able to find a small dish of strawberries and cherry tomatoes which was a treat. I had some chicken but this can means all parts of the chicken which can be a little crunchy.
The next day I got on a bus with a group of other Westerners and quickly struck up a conversation with Tom from Birmingham who is a film and TV producer who use to work for the BBC but now freelances. As a result of freelancing he is able to take chunks of time off. He was travelling with the couple in front of us, Tom and Sarah, also from Birmingham. Sarah looked liked a female version of Hugh Grant. They had very soft English accents. They were my companions on the way down the Li or Liang river which flows through the karst countryside. These large rounded mountains which have interesting shapes. Also the area is quite lush with trees and other forms of vegetation which is unique in China. There are lots of Chinese tourists here. The trip was pleasant with a decent meal and we bought tickets to the performance "Impressions" which is set on the Li River at night with over 600 performers. It is directed by Zhang Yimou of Raise the Red Lantern fame and other movies. It was quite a show because he used the darkness like a curtain, closing off scenes with fadeaways into the darkness and on the other hand he introduced scenes with vivid shocks of red or used lighting in a provocative manner. It was only 70 minutes long but it told the love story which has its origins in local legends and included many of their characteristics such as the women have hair which is 2 metres long etc. What was different was that the Chinese talk through the whole performance. And I don't mean low voices I am talking like its a party. The whole performance had the audience conversation as a backdrop. The other surprise was the lack of applause at the end. A very lukewarm response and they got up immediately and filed out although the performers were mostly still looking at the audience. We were blown away by the performance so it was kind of confusing. Of course how could they appreciate it because they were talking to each other throughn the whole performance! Anyways I was glad I went.
The next day it rained and I did some errands and met the Birmingham people for dinner. The following day I took a bike ride through the Yulong River valley which is close to where I am staying at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat. It is owned by an American and there are corporate training and teambuilding kinds of activities held here. I rode my bike from 9 in the morning until after 6 P.M. and boy was I sore the next day. But it was a great day because I saw a lot of the countryside and many different villages along the way. I got lost again but I asked for directions from Crad and Phoebe who set me straight and then asked me to join them and their guide as they biked. They had studied English in University and so they could converse with me quite easily. I spent about 4 hours with them riding, going on a short boat cruise, and having lunch. I asked lots of questions especially about their work, their parent's work, and how they saw their future. I left them as they were going into the water caves. I have seen caves in U.S. west so I do not need to see more. I went on biking for another 4 hours just taking in the countryside.
The next day I got on a bus with a group of other Westerners and quickly struck up a conversation with Tom from Birmingham who is a film and TV producer who use to work for the BBC but now freelances. As a result of freelancing he is able to take chunks of time off. He was travelling with the couple in front of us, Tom and Sarah, also from Birmingham. Sarah looked liked a female version of Hugh Grant. They had very soft English accents. They were my companions on the way down the Li or Liang river which flows through the karst countryside. These large rounded mountains which have interesting shapes. Also the area is quite lush with trees and other forms of vegetation which is unique in China. There are lots of Chinese tourists here. The trip was pleasant with a decent meal and we bought tickets to the performance "Impressions" which is set on the Li River at night with over 600 performers. It is directed by Zhang Yimou of Raise the Red Lantern fame and other movies. It was quite a show because he used the darkness like a curtain, closing off scenes with fadeaways into the darkness and on the other hand he introduced scenes with vivid shocks of red or used lighting in a provocative manner. It was only 70 minutes long but it told the love story which has its origins in local legends and included many of their characteristics such as the women have hair which is 2 metres long etc. What was different was that the Chinese talk through the whole performance. And I don't mean low voices I am talking like its a party. The whole performance had the audience conversation as a backdrop. The other surprise was the lack of applause at the end. A very lukewarm response and they got up immediately and filed out although the performers were mostly still looking at the audience. We were blown away by the performance so it was kind of confusing. Of course how could they appreciate it because they were talking to each other throughn the whole performance! Anyways I was glad I went.
The next day it rained and I did some errands and met the Birmingham people for dinner. The following day I took a bike ride through the Yulong River valley which is close to where I am staying at the Yangshuo Mountain Retreat. It is owned by an American and there are corporate training and teambuilding kinds of activities held here. I rode my bike from 9 in the morning until after 6 P.M. and boy was I sore the next day. But it was a great day because I saw a lot of the countryside and many different villages along the way. I got lost again but I asked for directions from Crad and Phoebe who set me straight and then asked me to join them and their guide as they biked. They had studied English in University and so they could converse with me quite easily. I spent about 4 hours with them riding, going on a short boat cruise, and having lunch. I asked lots of questions especially about their work, their parent's work, and how they saw their future. I left them as they were going into the water caves. I have seen caves in U.S. west so I do not need to see more. I went on biking for another 4 hours just taking in the countryside.
Hong Kong
I did a 24 hour whirlwind tour of Hong Kong. I managed to go up the Victoria Peak Tram which has a view of the Hong Kong harbour. At the beginning of the Tram it has a newspaper clipping from a newspaper describing the British fighting the Japanese (referred to as the "Japs"). It would have been quite a scene because it is quite steep. Hard to imagine the difference in the times. As I was crossing from Kowloon to Hong Kong I was thinking about how my impression for many years of Hong Kong was "junks" live in boats in the harbour. I walked up and down Nathan Rd. which is a famous shopping area in Kowloon. I also had some street food: fish balls and waffles. Not together but they did offset each other nicely. I stayed at the infamous Chenking Mansions which is a building block with about 50 different guest houses of questionable value. I thought for one night I could tolerate it so I took it but it was small. The place was another illustration of how in China there are many people working from all over the world. I met many Indians on the elevator but also people from the Middle East and Africa. I was on the 15th floor so I saw everyone get on and get off as I went up or down. I really did not want to spend too much time there knowing I am going to be in Shanghai and Beijing for a week.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Thailand
I am in China so I cannot read my blog so I am not sure where this left off. My mantra from Dik my scuba instructor which was "Breath deeply, just relax" paid off in the coming days. Thailand was a little fraught with risk partly to due to me and partly due to what I was doing. I was driving a moped around the island. I was very cautious but more so because I saw how many people were walking around with bandages on their knees or ugly scrapes on their hands and elbows due to falling off their bikes. When I was preparing for scuba diving I was warned it can lead to an embolism etc but very unlikely and I expressed some concern and Dik said "you drove here on a moped here didn't you, that is a lot more dangerous than scuba diving". So I survived riding around although I did run out of about 20 meters passed a gas station so I was able to roll my bike into the station. The gas gauge was not working properly. Then of course I attempted to walk to the top of the highest peak in Ko Phangnan and got lost in the process (in the jungle!) but I did find my way out with a trusty dog I picked up on the way and who stayed with me till I got to a village outside of the national park. I had to walk quite a ways because I was a far ways from where my moped was parked. I ended up hitchiking and got a ride on the back of a motorcycle to the nearest big town where I caught a cab back to my moped. So I thought on my last day I had survived some possible difficulties as I leave my hotel. I ask for my passport back from the owner because I had been cautious enough to ask him to put it in their safe. Aun, the owner, gives it to me and I go on to catch my boat and then the airport where I have a few hours to kill before my flight. I go to check my stuff in and present my passport and the airline person says this is not you and I look at it and its E.J. who is an ex-paratrooper from Saratoga Springs N.Y. who was staying at the hotel. So then it becomes a mad scramble to reach the hotel on the other island and hopefully recover my passport in time for the flight. At first I was unable to reach anyone at the hotel and I begin to think this will screw up my next days flight to Hong Kong etc. Then I remember "Breathe deeply and relax " and eventually it did work out. I contact the hotel and Aun agrees to bring it as he is very apologetic. Of course I have another customer's passport which I am sure they would not appreciate knowing it was on another island. Aun has to take a speedboat over stormy waters to bring it to me and he makes it in about an hour before my flight. So my time on the islands ends with a jarring event and I am able to leave unscathed.
It is not to say I did not commit any faux pas. One being one day I look up in the hotel and I see a picture of a man and woman, he has on a pair of dark, small, round sunglasses and she has a 1920's ironed looking haircut. It looks like it was taken at least 60 years ago but I just say spontaneously to Auna the co-owner "Oh is that a picture of you" meaning to be flattering although I know the picture is dated. She gives me a strange look and responds "No its the King and Queen!?!". Auna is offended I would compare the Queen to her a mere commoner. The King is very popular and there are pictures of him everywhere except they are usually more formal and at a later age. He's in his eighties. You can never ever say anything negative about the royalty. I have to be careful when I am trying to be nice.
It is not to say I did not commit any faux pas. One being one day I look up in the hotel and I see a picture of a man and woman, he has on a pair of dark, small, round sunglasses and she has a 1920's ironed looking haircut. It looks like it was taken at least 60 years ago but I just say spontaneously to Auna the co-owner "Oh is that a picture of you" meaning to be flattering although I know the picture is dated. She gives me a strange look and responds "No its the King and Queen!?!". Auna is offended I would compare the Queen to her a mere commoner. The King is very popular and there are pictures of him everywhere except they are usually more formal and at a later age. He's in his eighties. You can never ever say anything negative about the royalty. I have to be careful when I am trying to be nice.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
In Ko Phangan
Well I have been on the island for seven days now and so I return to Bangkok this evening and then on to Hong Kong tomorrow. I liked the snorkeling so much I decided to take an introduction to scuba diving. I had to learn some basics and take a short quiz before I got into the water with Dik my instructor from Holland. He was a good teacher. He did not mind repeating things especially since I could not have my hearing aid on in the water. We went over some basic skills: how to descend, equalize etc before we proceeded into shallow water and then into about 27 ft of water eventually. It is so much better than snorkeling because you are really amongst the fish as you can do while snorkeling if you dive down for a minute or so. The coral was amazing and I saw many schools of fish and other marine life. I am glad I did it because now I know I would like to get certified in this area when I get back to Canada. My training here counts towards my certification in scuba diving. It has been raining here but it tends to rain and then clear and then rain again. The locals are commenting how this is unusal this time of year because generally the weather is less unsettled. As a result the water is not as clear as it normally is but it is still unworldly under water. I am just about to do some more snorkeling before I leave this afternoon so I will sign off for now.
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