September 16 , 2002 - The Journey to Beijing, China...

This passage, although dated on September 16th, was mostly written near the end of my journey. I thought this would be the best place for a perspective of my trip to China.

Packing for this trip was a bit amusing. I expected to be in warm temperatures for about half the trip, and with a few mountainous excursions in temperatures well below zero. I was travelling with a good friend of mine, Jim, who has proven to be a good travelling and hiking companion. I was excitied both in catching up with him, since it has been years since we've really taken a break from life to really catch up. I was also excited because when you can share gear with someone else it REALLY cuts down on the weight!

I also had foot surgery earlier that year, so I didn't actually fit into my jeans anymore (spending a few months on a couch really does wonderous things to your body). That, of course, was a last minute discovery, so I decided to hopefully find some cold weather clothes there.

The flight to China was very long, spanning 18 hours, several in-flight meals with personal serving sized everything. Many times I found myself wandering up and down the aisles of the aircraft (a triple-7), hoping for some outlet for all my energy. I befriended the attendents, a few of the flight crew, and spent an hour looking at the northern ice cap, amazed at the beauty and desolation of it all. I also decided to steal two airline comfort blankets, since I had only a pair of hiking pants, and nothing for cold weather. Otherwise I could see myself freezing on a mountain top thinking how stupid I was not to take them...

I don't know really what to expect in China. A few of my friends cautioned me against the trip, but I couldn't see a reason not to go. I've had all my vaccinations (all 6 of them), and my only hope with that experience is that I would be constantly exposed to hepatitus and encephalitus in China, otherwise they would all go to waste!

The next days of my journal will tell about getting lost, reading chinese, speaking chinese, wonderful discoveries, and encountering many wondeful people. There is a little drama, and a little adventure, but for the most part I believe this journal will recount a wonderful trip that will inspire everyone to tour China and get to know its people.

September 17 , 2002 - Arrival in Beijing, first impressions...

We arrived in Beijing without any problems. I picked up from the long flight there that people will ask for 81 Yuan for the trip from the airport to the city, and if you get an unmetered cab it can be much more expensive. The bus, however, was only 9 Yuan (which is about one US dollar), and was apparently easy to find.

Finding the bus was easy... but finding the right bus was a bit more of a strain. Imagine about 5 bus stops, all clearly indicating where they are destined in chinese, and many many people swarming around in a sea of chaos. The fact that the first person we asked for assistance answered "yes" when we asked if the bus went to the Friendship Hotel gladdened us, and it wasn't until the bus was supposed to leave that a single chinese person on the packed bus overheard us and told us that the bus actually went in the opposite direction. We told her that the driver told us that he did go there, and she promptly replied that most chinese don't speak english, and are too embarrased to admit it, so they will instead say "yes" to any question in order to resolve the awkwardness. I didn't believe the kind lady, but I decided to quickly test the bus driver. I pointed to my map, and questioned the driver "Do I have three testicles"? He answered back knowingly "yes", and then Jim and I quickly exited the bus and later found the right one.

Once we were confidently on the right bus, we met two cute and friendly japanese women, one actually spoke english. We discovered that their names were Rio and Osako, and Rio gladly told us when to exit the bus, and upon our departure I was sad to see our one experienced guide drive away. After several wrong turns we found our way to the Friendship Hotel, where I booked the first night at a wonderful price of 540 Yuan online (it was amongst the cheapest deals). We quickly showered, and found that you could get an hour massage for only 120 Yuan (about $15 US), and for only 20 Yuan we could get a haircut to boot! We both made appointments, and decided to locate a traditional chinese restraurant for a nice relaxing dinner before the massage.

About an hour and a half later, we finally gave up wandering the streets and headed for the KFC that was located near the hotel. We found many restaurants, but all were closed. I was saddened by having to eat in the KFC, but in hindsight that was mighty fine chicken after not having eaten in such a long time.

The massage and haircut were also great. I was a bit concerned at first, because my masseuse put on a doctors face guard and gloves (wondering what the word massage really meant in China... and hoping that it wasn't the same word for surgery). However in the end both Jim and I both received great massages that perfectly framed the beginning of our vacation. It was interesting, however, how much they giggled when they saw the hair on our arms and chest... apparently it is unheard of in China, and I found later on how much of an icebreaker it was to show chinese people the hair on my arm and make monkey noises...

So here is my formal review of the Friendship Hotel. It was big, and clean, and in hindsight way to expensive. I would look to the hotels South of Tianenmen Square for the real nice (and far less expensive) ones.

September 17 , 2002 - Discoveries... and the Lu Song Yuan.

After some discussions with Jim, we decided to chase the rumors that the hotel was expensive and tried to find a nice compromise. While online, I tracked rumors of a hotel called the "Lu Song Yuan", a traditional hutong style hotel quadrangle compound comprising 5 courtyards, the mansion of a former Qing General. Well, we found it, and for 81 Yuan (about $10 US) we both slept in rather luxorious dormatory in a beautiful Hotel only about 20 min walk from the Forbidden City.

Review of Lu Song Yuan Hotel: Wow, amazing! Not the cheapest hotel (the cheaper ones cost a bit less at around 30 yuan per person, but it was definitely a hilight of our stay in Beijing.) I would recommend their nicer suites for couples far more then the other hotels! It is far more romantic then many of the huge western hotels that are in the city, and the food is also amazing!

So after checking in at the Lu Song Yuan, Jim and I set out on foot to find and enter the Forbidden City. We marked prices and soon discovered that many of the traditional chinese restaurants in Beijing cost around 6 Yuan for a meal (but the catch is that that there is no english menu or english speaking help, so it is a huge, big gamble what you are going to eat [see Chengdu for more details]). The hutong district was bustling with people cooking, eating, riding bikes, and of course checking out the americans. Smells changed dramatically, as we would pass by a place making noodles or soup and then a coal processing plant, and then a toilet - and you can smell the toilets from about a block away! The store signs were all in chinese, but you could usually tell what they were by peaking inside. I don't think I've ever seen so much industry or busy-looking people in my life... slowly I perceived an order to this chaos and found myself quite comfortable getting completely lost in the maze of ever-twisting roads. Still, we walked with the sun against our backs, which was our best guess for heading West.

We stocked up on water and essentials for the day and eventually exited the narrow alleys and found the Forbidden City. We rented the english headsets for the guided tour, which was incredible because the vocal guide was none other then the best Bond... Roger Moore. In such an exotic location, I couldn't wait for the aged 007 to jump out of somewhere and blow something up... but of course it never happened.

After many photo op's, and a lot of getting a feel for the monsterous palace (over a kilometer long to a side), we ran into some "students" who were selling some of their "handmade" artwork for only 900 Yuan each. It seemed a deal, but Jim and I thought it would be better to wait until out many hikes were done before buying fragile artwork to stuff in our packs. Of course in hindsight this was a smart move, because you can buy real hand-painted artwork for about 500 Yuan, and the more commonly found factory produced ones for about 40 Yuan each (not the 900 they were asking). Still, we recall many tourists in Beijing on a group tour taking advantage at their one opportunity for authentic chinese art and proudly toting their collections about. Take this as a word of warning! Always always haggle, and don't believe any students from the "Chinese Art Institute".

On our way out of the Forbidden City, we ran into none other then Rio and Osako again. We chatted and decided that perhaps if we run into each other again in a few weeks when we return, we'd do lunch! We traded all the "it's a small world" cliches and parted...

After the Forbidden City, we headed South to Tienenman Square. It was impressive, and Tienenman Gate was beautiful, with the huge picture of Mao. Even the Mausauleum of Mao was a wonder. But we were hungry after walking some 3 hours, and based on our first days journey we decided to start searching for food now unless we wanted to settle for KFC again.

And food we found! We had a choice of meats from an english menu: donkey, cow, chicken, frog, dog, and many other nameless meats that I didn't bother translating (I stopped at chicken, thinking it was a safe bet). We ordered dumplings (baotze, pronouned bout-zah) and feasted like kings for about 35 Yuan (about $4 US for the both of us), including several beers and great service. We were in heaven... which makes sense since we passed through the gates of heaven and eternity on the way to the restaurant.

We then passed through a small shopping district on the west side directly south of Tienenman Square. There I stocked up on bluejeans (at only $2 each I considered them disposable) and sunglasses (the BEST sunglasses I've ever owned, at about $10 they were worth it). We also met some local girls who were practicing english, and from what I gathered would love an american husband. Very fun to talk to, as they gave us a better lay of the land, and I wasn't about to accept any other kind of lay from them :)

Then, as if it wasn't a perfect day already, the object of one of my lifetime goals stood in front of me... a Rickshaw driver completely unaware that Jim and I were soon to be his charge. Still, he looked old, and we were a good 12 kilometers from home, so we decided to move on. But then, he found an english-speaking woman who begged us to ride in the Rickshaw, and after some discussion, we came to an agreement that 60 Yuan would be payment enough for transportation home ala Rickshaw. I was soooo excited, but soon felt sorry for the man, slugging us uphill (I forgot about that bit) for more then an hour without rest. We were certain that he would drop, but he went on with the strength of a mule, and we reassured ourselves that we shouldn't feel guilty because it was a weeks income for him.

An hour and some guilty distance later, one worn out sweaty Rickshaw driver arrived in front of the Lu Song Yuan, and we surried on inside to eat dinner, collect our days thoughts, and consider what else we wanted to see in the city. After talking to other travellers, we decided to spend the next day in Beijing and then tempt the Great Wall the next...

It was nice, however, enjoying the atmosphere of the inner courtyards of the Lu Song Yuan. After a warm meal and a few beers, my eyes drifted to the architecture of the place. I could easily envision this place as the estate of a general many many years ago... so close to the city, but yet in this courtyard a peace and happiness crept over me that I will not soon forget.

September 19 , 2002 - The Summer Palace...

Another amazing breakfast with those wonderful Man-toh rolls, cooked eggs, and fresh fruit. We set our sights on the Summer Palace, hearing it was more beautiful and majestic then the Forbidden City. Having just seen the Forbidden City in all its glory, it is hard to imagine a more majestic place, but my eyes were opening up to wonders I've never even imagined.

This will be my first experience with a public bus in China. The experts have chimed in with details that I can expect lots of spitting, eating, terrible smells, smoking, and within a few days I would likely have a cold. Who knows?

Okay, that was, um, interesting. Jim and I found ourselves stacked a bit like sardines... that is of course after we found the right bus. Every driver said yes to every question (see my first day experience to guess at what I asked), so eventually I found bus 808 heading toward the Summer Palace. I really really need a map of Beijing with comprehensive bus routes. 2 hours later after passing through all 4 beltways (there are 5, but the inner one basically doesn't exist anymore), we found ourselves at the estate of the Summer Palace.

I was stunned by the Summer Palace. the tiered hills, many palaces, long walkways, and rocky climbs. The towers and architecture are wonderful, as are the jade and marble fleet of ships moored in the harbor, the gardens, and the old village that the emporess used to shop in. The Summer Palace actually is an enormous park with a lake, pagodas, arbours, pergolas and inner yards. We got inside through the north gate, which carries the inscription "Summer Palace". Behind it you find a row of shops with a small harbour that is supposed to remind you of the southern Chinese town Suzhou from the late 19. century. I found the entire Summer Palace charming and relaxing.

Of course the first order of business was food. Jim and I started by touring around the old village, and Jim had his fortune read just before we dove into some amazing dumplings and beer. Too much beer, as I remember, because I really don't remember being in the emporers clothes and getting my picture taken.

One of the most amazing sights I recall from the summer palace was the ship made entirely of jade and marble. Apparently, the Empress DowagerCixi tricked the japanese and french into believing that there was a fleet harbored there with that ship and not attacking... but I don't think it worked as well as she thought, since most buildings had histories that stated roughly that they were destroyed and rebuilt in the last century.

There was one more amusing point. It seemed odd staring out over the lake in such a beautiful place to hear a gospel groups voice carry across the water singing "He has the whole world in his hands", but that was the case. One of the tour boats had a large english group on it, and after not having heard an english voice for several days, it was startling to witness the event! Jim and I were laughing very hard.

September 20 , 2002 - Jinshanling to Simatai Hike at the Great Wall

This day started out very well. Last evening Jim and I decided to t

9.24 (Tue) Leaving Wutaishan asap. Bus to Taiyuan. Sunrise! people. Chinese lessons. Locate dumplings. Internet cafe & bank. Dumplings (yum). Bank of China. Bagpipes. McDonalds! Overnight Train. Cards.

10.4 (Fri) Si hike. Sky burial. Lunch with Yang Yei Ling. Hanging out at home with the monks. More food at Laeshas. Local homes. Thankas!

10.5 Breakfast at Laeshas. Sky Burial (ugh). Horrid slow taxi to Xiahe. Tibetan Overseas Hotel. Declining Train Tickets. Good food! Nasty Tibetan food. Internet. Tofu.

10.6 Awesome huge temple. Good Breakfast. Friendly monks. Monk Clothing. Prayer wheel. Dresses for mom. Fast bug to Lanzhou. Wrong bus terminal. Friendly couple taxi ride. Tickets. Hotel. KFC & costume dancing! Bank

10.7 Bank again. Costume KFC. Shopping. Abacus. Silk Carpet. Lunch KFC. English couple. Train to Beijing. Read "Malaria Dreams".

10.8 Still riding to Beijing! Arrival... hot showers! Did I mention the hot showers! Back to Long Song Yuan Hotel. Meeting Chang Chen-Kou.

10.9 Shopping for all kinds of stuff. Lama Temple. Silk Market. Last meal in McDonalds (56!) Ice cream. Back to market!

10.10 Packing. Breakfast. Haircuts & massages! Airport. Most expensive meal (113!). Back home.