On our way out of Datong, we whipped round to see the nine dragon screen. It is supposed to be the China's largest and oldest ceramic wall. It was made 600 years ago and I am sure the glaze chipped off and they painted it. If you look, there is a lot of turquoise background colour running down several dragons. In one instance there is a tile which has no business even having that colour on it that has huge streaks. There is no way any artisan that could produce such a beautiful work would make such huge errors in glazing and actually use the tiles in the finished project. My guess is that the glaze was looking worn and someone (a sloppy painter) decided to "fix" it. Too bad, I hope someone can restore it sometime.
We took a pretty decadent trip to the screen. We walked out of the hotel and into a taxi (who ripped us off by driving the long way round) and gave us a $1.50 ride. On the way home we took another taxi and only paid $1. I think it is ridiculous how little the taxis are being paid. Granted gas seems to be the equivalent of 50cents/litre, but I don't know how they can make anything with depreciation costs factored in. I would never think of jumping in a taxi at home to visit Parliament Hill for 15 minutes. It would cost 10 times as much at least anyway.
We took the train to Beijing during the day because the overnight train arrived at 5 in the morning again and we were pretty sure the kids couldn't handle that twice on the trot. Speaking of trot, Jacob is sick. He has stuff coming and going at once if you catch the euphemism. I am glad we are (a) in a big city (Beijing) and (b) almost ready to come home. This is only the second time one of them has been sick (thank goodness). It has been months since Heather got sick in India along with my sister Nicky and her sons, Sam and Jay. Perversely it didn't seem that bad to me then because (a) Surya speaks the lingo and (b) there was some wierd sort of "safety in numbers" thing going on in my head which is, I know, completely illogical, but there you go. We have postponed our trip to the Great Wall until the day after tomorrow and hopefully he will be recovered enough to visit the Forbidden City tomorrow. We got to the gates today but he didn't feel well. He actually started throwing up on the way home.
We have been in Beijing for 2 days and have not managed to accomplish much sightseeing. Yesterday we only managed to buy more junk than I think we will be able to carry (again) and find out that the proposed trips to first Japan and then Mongolia were not possible because in both cases the transport only goes once or twice a week and they are full up anyway. We were trying for a boat to Japan and a train to Ulanbator. We checked about flights to Japan and the price was just too exhorbitant for a week stay. We have decided to jump in and out of Hong Kong to fulfil our visa requirements and visit another few places in the south of China before we head home on the 14th of June. For those of you that don't already know, we have cut the last two months off the trip. There were two reasons: financial and burnout. Now that the end is in sight though, we are all thinking we will miss the travelling and seeing all the new and interesting stuff. All the time.
I went to a place today called the Lama Temple. It has another entry in the worlds biggest Buddha sweepstakes. This one is 18m high and carved from a single sandalwood tree. Now THAT was a huge tree. This Buddha apparently made it into the Guinness book of world records in 1990. It is at least our 6th worlds biggest Buddha so far on our trip...
We are staying in a fabulous 300 year old hotel. Apparently it was a family compound and converted to a hotel 50 years ago. It is two stories high and mostly beautiful wood construction. It has a central courtyard inside and two rings of rooms round it. There is a huge skylight covering the whole courtyard. It was taken over by the hostel Heather had picked from their posters (they say "c u in Beijing" with a cutesy happy face with a chinese hat...aimed at the younger set and hitting squarely on her mark). We were really lucky to have been put in the overflow hostel. It is much nicer than the real one.
Beijing is under HEAVY renovation (as are a lot of places we have been in China) to put on a good show for the Olympics. They are apparently evicting all the stores we went to yesterday so they can be demolished and rebuilt in time for next summer. There is a huge picture of what the area will look like on the billboards which are being used to close the streets off. All the ends of the streets leading into the area are being bricked up and they seem to just build the brick walls one block further out each time and knock the buildings down.
China will be impressive for the olympics but they will have to do something about the pollution. I think the main thing people will notice is the air quality. They have 16 of the worlds 20 most polluted cities right now and the countryside is almost worse. On the way to the Hanging Monastery the other day I counted 29 smokestacks at one time in front of the bus. Scary. After spending a few weeks in China it makes me wonder if there is any hope of Kyoto succeeding even if it is ratified. I think China will pick up any slack and carry on the warming for us.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
From Heather’s Perspective
I had to pay 20 ￥ （approx。 3 dollars）for the publication rights to this journal entry （all spelling is original-in more ways than one）
On the 22 we arived in pingyao， walked around the station and found that the doors had bycycle locks on them。 But we weren‘t the only ones。 there were at least six other people with us and all the officers inside did was lagh at us。 Some people walked up and down the doors looking for one without a lock， but there were none。 So it’s ten thirty， the guy from the hotel is waiting for us on the other side of the building， and we don‘t know what to do。 finally a conductor came and unlocked one of the doors for us。 When we finally got to the other side a guy with a sign saying “ALAWRITCHI” came up to us and brought us to a little electric cart he had waiting for us。 So we all squeezed into this cramped cart with our bags and after awhile we decide he’s not taking us to the hotel， He‘s taking us around in circles and that got my parents going all “are you sure this is the guy from the hotel” and “I thought you were following him”。 So my parents were geting all worked up until my brother said “of course this is the guy from the hotel， don‘t be stupid， I was following him” and at that moment， as if on qeue， we stoped and the taxi driver said “walk from here”。So we walked down the street to the hotel and were given a very warm welcome and some very warm tea by the owners。 We then had dinner， wich was quite good， and got our room where I fell asleep right away。
The next day we met the puppy， a tiny dog the colour of coffee full of milk。 He also had one white stripe that ran halfway across his shoulders。 He would sit and let you pet him for hours。（well，I bet he would， mum didn’t give me that long）。 after breakfast we climbed up and walked along the city walls。 When we were leaving we noticed a dog coming out of the hotel next door， a really scruffy dog that was supposed to be white but looked brown beacause of dirt。 When we looked off the wall we saw another dog like it。dad said “Look， it‘s the dog from next door， I didn’t think it would come this far” and so mum said “It‘s not the same dog， that’s just what dogs look like here” so the rest of the way Jacob and dad and I were looking for dogs that looked different， saying things like “that one is brown， not white” and “that one is huge， and black”。 That annoyed mum a lot。
On the 22 we arived in pingyao， walked around the station and found that the doors had bycycle locks on them。 But we weren‘t the only ones。 there were at least six other people with us and all the officers inside did was lagh at us。 Some people walked up and down the doors looking for one without a lock， but there were none。 So it’s ten thirty， the guy from the hotel is waiting for us on the other side of the building， and we don‘t know what to do。 finally a conductor came and unlocked one of the doors for us。 When we finally got to the other side a guy with a sign saying “ALAWRITCHI” came up to us and brought us to a little electric cart he had waiting for us。 So we all squeezed into this cramped cart with our bags and after awhile we decide he’s not taking us to the hotel， He‘s taking us around in circles and that got my parents going all “are you sure this is the guy from the hotel” and “I thought you were following him”。 So my parents were geting all worked up until my brother said “of course this is the guy from the hotel， don‘t be stupid， I was following him” and at that moment， as if on qeue， we stoped and the taxi driver said “walk from here”。So we walked down the street to the hotel and were given a very warm welcome and some very warm tea by the owners。 We then had dinner， wich was quite good， and got our room where I fell asleep right away。
The next day we met the puppy， a tiny dog the colour of coffee full of milk。 He also had one white stripe that ran halfway across his shoulders。 He would sit and let you pet him for hours。（well，I bet he would， mum didn’t give me that long）。 after breakfast we climbed up and walked along the city walls。 When we were leaving we noticed a dog coming out of the hotel next door， a really scruffy dog that was supposed to be white but looked brown beacause of dirt。 When we looked off the wall we saw another dog like it。dad said “Look， it‘s the dog from next door， I didn’t think it would come this far” and so mum said “It‘s not the same dog， that’s just what dogs look like here” so the rest of the way Jacob and dad and I were looking for dogs that looked different， saying things like “that one is brown， not white” and “that one is huge， and black”。 That annoyed mum a lot。
Friday, May 25, 2007
Heading for Beijing today
We have been to Pingyao and now Datong since the last post. In Pingyao we stayed in the guest house with the nicest hosts you could imagine. They kept giving stuff to the kids like drinks and peanuts. There was only one internet connection for the whole guesthouse so we couldn't really stay on for very long because someone else was always waiting. We are in one of the HUGE internet cafes you find in China. Actually this one only has about 50 computers (the other 46 people are smoking). We have been in internet cafes with up to about 200 computers.
Pingyao is a beautiful little city. They have an almost intact city wall that is about 6km (don't believe the link it says 64 km) in total. You can climb up and walk but not all the way round as a couple of places have caved in. They seem to be in the process of rebuilding it. It has a much more authentic look than the one in Xi'an. The guidebook had said that large parts were missing in Xi'an(3 yrars ago) and it is intact now. It is quite obvious that it is new construction in a lot of places. The one in Pingyao had bricks falling out of the facade all over so it looked old. Apparently Pingyao was quite poor so it didn't get torn down and rebuilt like so many other places. It has a lot of old buildings and has been designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO. It was well worth going to. We were there for two days and rented bicycles each day to cycle round the town. It is what you think of when you think of China. It is the only place we have been to that had old architechture over most of the old town. We took a side trip to the Wang family courtyard which was a walled enclosure for about 250 members of the extended Wang family built in the 1700's. The kids got tired after two hours but it would take 3 or 4 hours to see everything. We had the option of going to the Qiao family courtyard where they filmed Raise the Red Lantern but the guy at the guesthouse said the Wang courtyard was 5 times bigger and better. I think the kids would have been fine at the small one.
The night before last we took the night train between Pingyao and Datong. We arrived at 5.15 in the morning. The kids were still tired so we found a hotel and let them crash. The first hotel we went to had indescribably bad toilets. We would have had to share and I couldn't even look let alone think of using them. We went to another hotel across the square and it seemed great in comparison. It is still dirty (I will do another post on the pollution soon) and the plaster is falling off the walls, but what the heck, I don't feel like being ill when I use the bathroom. Actually, I am sure it was once a luxury hotel. It has really nice architecture with a grand staircase from the lobby to the second floor. It is just that it was probably a luxury hotel in the 50's.
Datong is really a nasty place with two fabulous attractions. Yesterday we went on a bus tour to both. They are the Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Monastery. The tour was good but the two venues are in opposite directions from town so you are on the bus for a total of 4 out of 8 hours to see the sights. The grottoes were very impressive. They cover about a kilometer of cliff face but half of them are "under renovation". A lot of chinese sites are being fixed up for the olympics next year. I think that is why they fixed the walls in Xi'an. We were talking to a guy that had been to the terra cotta warriors in 2003 and he said they were surrounded by huts. They now have huge new buildings around all the dig sites. The half we saw were impressive enough to make the trip to Datong worthwhile. There were 20 caves open and about 7 of them had huge Buddhas or Boddhisatvas several meters high carved out of the rock. Some of the caves had elaborate carvings all round and a couple of them were painted as well as carved.
The Hanging Monastery was built by monks 1400 years ago by lowering themselves down the cliff on ropes. It was certainly a labour of devotion. When you are in it, you just hope it lasts 1400 and one years. It is obviously very old wood. Some of the passages are outside with just knee high rails and a drop of 20 meters off the other side. They have set out a route so you cover the whole thing but everyone travels in one direction. I am sure that in high season, you would have no choice of the pace you travelled in. There is probably just a slow shuffle all round.
We are catching the train to Beijing at noon today.
Pingyao is a beautiful little city. They have an almost intact city wall that is about 6km (don't believe the link it says 64 km) in total. You can climb up and walk but not all the way round as a couple of places have caved in. They seem to be in the process of rebuilding it. It has a much more authentic look than the one in Xi'an. The guidebook had said that large parts were missing in Xi'an(3 yrars ago) and it is intact now. It is quite obvious that it is new construction in a lot of places. The one in Pingyao had bricks falling out of the facade all over so it looked old. Apparently Pingyao was quite poor so it didn't get torn down and rebuilt like so many other places. It has a lot of old buildings and has been designated a World Heritage site by UNESCO. It was well worth going to. We were there for two days and rented bicycles each day to cycle round the town. It is what you think of when you think of China. It is the only place we have been to that had old architechture over most of the old town. We took a side trip to the Wang family courtyard which was a walled enclosure for about 250 members of the extended Wang family built in the 1700's. The kids got tired after two hours but it would take 3 or 4 hours to see everything. We had the option of going to the Qiao family courtyard where they filmed Raise the Red Lantern but the guy at the guesthouse said the Wang courtyard was 5 times bigger and better. I think the kids would have been fine at the small one.
The night before last we took the night train between Pingyao and Datong. We arrived at 5.15 in the morning. The kids were still tired so we found a hotel and let them crash. The first hotel we went to had indescribably bad toilets. We would have had to share and I couldn't even look let alone think of using them. We went to another hotel across the square and it seemed great in comparison. It is still dirty (I will do another post on the pollution soon) and the plaster is falling off the walls, but what the heck, I don't feel like being ill when I use the bathroom. Actually, I am sure it was once a luxury hotel. It has really nice architecture with a grand staircase from the lobby to the second floor. It is just that it was probably a luxury hotel in the 50's.
Datong is really a nasty place with two fabulous attractions. Yesterday we went on a bus tour to both. They are the Yungang Grottoes and the Hanging Monastery. The tour was good but the two venues are in opposite directions from town so you are on the bus for a total of 4 out of 8 hours to see the sights. The grottoes were very impressive. They cover about a kilometer of cliff face but half of them are "under renovation". A lot of chinese sites are being fixed up for the olympics next year. I think that is why they fixed the walls in Xi'an. We were talking to a guy that had been to the terra cotta warriors in 2003 and he said they were surrounded by huts. They now have huge new buildings around all the dig sites. The half we saw were impressive enough to make the trip to Datong worthwhile. There were 20 caves open and about 7 of them had huge Buddhas or Boddhisatvas several meters high carved out of the rock. Some of the caves had elaborate carvings all round and a couple of them were painted as well as carved.
The Hanging Monastery was built by monks 1400 years ago by lowering themselves down the cliff on ropes. It was certainly a labour of devotion. When you are in it, you just hope it lasts 1400 and one years. It is obviously very old wood. Some of the passages are outside with just knee high rails and a drop of 20 meters off the other side. They have set out a route so you cover the whole thing but everyone travels in one direction. I am sure that in high season, you would have no choice of the pace you travelled in. There is probably just a slow shuffle all round.
We are catching the train to Beijing at noon today.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Hua Shan - scenic beauty spot extraordinaire
"Hua Shan - when you have seen this mountain you need visit no other". Jacob saw this on a travel poster somewhere in China. It is of course not quite the case, but it is fabulously beautiful nonetheless. It is another place with scenery that is a bit different than any other place I have seen. These are granite mountains - huge expanses of granite with small trees and other bits of greenery hanging on for dear life. Some emperor a thousand or so years ago wanted to visit the sacred mountain, so they hacked pathways and stairways all over - up the mountain and between the five different peaks. I would have hated to be either one of the stonemasons or (heaven forbid he decided to do this - the bearers of his litter). I wouldn't like to see it on a busy day, though. I feel horror when I think of what it would be like with thousands of tourists on top. Especially Chinese tourist who push all the time (apparently there is a campaign to train the tourists before the olympics next year and they all get stiff lectures from their guides on etiquette). I could just imagine myself or one of the children being nudged off the precarious paths.
It is possible to walk up to the top from the village below (if you follow the link I gave you it says it takes 10 hours to get up and between the peaks - these would be an absolutely gruelling 10 hours). Luckily for us there is a bus to the Austrian built cablecar. When you are in the cable car, you just pray that it is also serviced regularly by Austrians, or at least someone who knows what they are doing. It is the steepest cablecar I have ever seen and the pure granite doesn't make for lots of trees below you. There are some, but not so you get any false sense of security from them. You are painfully aware that you are hanging on by a thread (albeit an inch thick metal thread).
There are all these old men carrying loads up the mountain. One had two watermelons as well as a crate of drinks. They suspend two loads on either end of a pole and carry the pole on their shoulder. They all looked very old, but I expect it is like the Nepali porters. If you asked their age, you may be surprised how young they are because carrying heavy loads up steep mountains every day seems to take a lot of years off the end of your life. I am not sure how much they make from carrying their loads up, but I just hope beer and watermelon are really expensive on the far peaks.
From the cable car you can walk to the other peaks of the mountain. We explored the peak near the cablecar and went halfway to the second peak before we had the mutiny. Yesterday it was Heather's turn. If we had had more time, we would have probably spent a night up at the top and explored the peaks for another day. When we came to China, I thought we had a lot of time, but now we are having to be really stingy with the itenerary and feel we are running around and only brushing the surface. We could have easily spent another few weeks here to do everything we are finding we want to do. Some people seem to be trying to do China in two weeks which seems really crazy to me now.
It is possible to walk up to the top from the village below (if you follow the link I gave you it says it takes 10 hours to get up and between the peaks - these would be an absolutely gruelling 10 hours). Luckily for us there is a bus to the Austrian built cablecar. When you are in the cable car, you just pray that it is also serviced regularly by Austrians, or at least someone who knows what they are doing. It is the steepest cablecar I have ever seen and the pure granite doesn't make for lots of trees below you. There are some, but not so you get any false sense of security from them. You are painfully aware that you are hanging on by a thread (albeit an inch thick metal thread).
There are all these old men carrying loads up the mountain. One had two watermelons as well as a crate of drinks. They suspend two loads on either end of a pole and carry the pole on their shoulder. They all looked very old, but I expect it is like the Nepali porters. If you asked their age, you may be surprised how young they are because carrying heavy loads up steep mountains every day seems to take a lot of years off the end of your life. I am not sure how much they make from carrying their loads up, but I just hope beer and watermelon are really expensive on the far peaks.
From the cable car you can walk to the other peaks of the mountain. We explored the peak near the cablecar and went halfway to the second peak before we had the mutiny. Yesterday it was Heather's turn. If we had had more time, we would have probably spent a night up at the top and explored the peaks for another day. When we came to China, I thought we had a lot of time, but now we are having to be really stingy with the itenerary and feel we are running around and only brushing the surface. We could have easily spent another few weeks here to do everything we are finding we want to do. Some people seem to be trying to do China in two weeks which seems really crazy to me now.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Terra Cotta warriors -- very impressive
I finally have something to write about after slacking off a bit. Heather was talking to another traveller the other day and she said "sometimes I wish I could just be on holiday instead of having to be a tourist all the time". We decided to lay a bit lower for a day or two. It was my birthday on Friday and I got a chocolate bar and a packet of instant mocha drink which we added hot water to on the train. The first half of my birthday was still on the train coming to Xi'an from Chengdu. In the afternoon I decided that for my birthday I wanted to be alone and do whatever I wanted. Since it was 37 degrees, I went out VERY briefly and decided that whatever I wanted ran to nothing much.
Yesterday we went to see the terra cotta warriors. They are as impressive as would imagine they are. There are just so many of them and if you look, no two are the same. Each warrior has a slightly different set of clothes, hair and face. I can imagine how many potters must have worked putting the army together. Those emporers sure put on a show. It is possibly no wonder they were overthrown semi-regularly over history.
Today was really enjoyable. We took a taxi to the south gate of the old city and climbed up onto the city walls. At the top we rented bicycles and cycled around the rebuilt walls. The circuit is 14.7 Km altogether. It took 100 minutes, which, coincedentally is the exact amount of time they rent the bicycles for (without late fees). Jacob had a bit of trouble with his kickstand which made him less than blissful, but for the most part it was a highly successful outing. We had to purchase expensive drinks to keep everyone going but that is to be expected when you are actually doing something a bit active.
We had promised the kids we would rent bicycles some time in China and were beginning to think we had made a mistake. There is no such thing as a bicycle helmet in this country and the roads are a bit hectic to say the least. I think the only person I know that may be able to drive successfully in this country is my sister Philippa. All others would be mowed down in no time. The city walls were a perfect place to cycle because they are almost empty and flat all round. They are a bit bumpy, especially in the older parts. Heather said it was a bit like a computer game where you had to choose your path to avoid the hazards. I thought that was a particularly telling remark.
After the walls, we went for lunch (it had been at least 3 days since the kids had pizza so we went to that kind of restaurant) and on to the two towers of Xi'an. They are the bell tower and the drum tower . One was built to announce the beginning of the day and the other the end. A kind of city alarm clock. For a small fee, the children were allowed to ring the bell and strike the drum. At the end of the day Jacob said he thought we had done quite well as tourists, and Heather was thrilled we got to cycle, so a good day was had by all.
Yesterday we went to see the terra cotta warriors. They are as impressive as would imagine they are. There are just so many of them and if you look, no two are the same. Each warrior has a slightly different set of clothes, hair and face. I can imagine how many potters must have worked putting the army together. Those emporers sure put on a show. It is possibly no wonder they were overthrown semi-regularly over history.
Today was really enjoyable. We took a taxi to the south gate of the old city and climbed up onto the city walls. At the top we rented bicycles and cycled around the rebuilt walls. The circuit is 14.7 Km altogether. It took 100 minutes, which, coincedentally is the exact amount of time they rent the bicycles for (without late fees). Jacob had a bit of trouble with his kickstand which made him less than blissful, but for the most part it was a highly successful outing. We had to purchase expensive drinks to keep everyone going but that is to be expected when you are actually doing something a bit active.
We had promised the kids we would rent bicycles some time in China and were beginning to think we had made a mistake. There is no such thing as a bicycle helmet in this country and the roads are a bit hectic to say the least. I think the only person I know that may be able to drive successfully in this country is my sister Philippa. All others would be mowed down in no time. The city walls were a perfect place to cycle because they are almost empty and flat all round. They are a bit bumpy, especially in the older parts. Heather said it was a bit like a computer game where you had to choose your path to avoid the hazards. I thought that was a particularly telling remark.
After the walls, we went for lunch (it had been at least 3 days since the kids had pizza so we went to that kind of restaurant) and on to the two towers of Xi'an. They are the bell tower and the drum tower . One was built to announce the beginning of the day and the other the end. A kind of city alarm clock. For a small fee, the children were allowed to ring the bell and strike the drum. At the end of the day Jacob said he thought we had done quite well as tourists, and Heather was thrilled we got to cycle, so a good day was had by all.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Now that WAS a big buddha
Well we went to see the big(gest in the world?) Buddha near Leshan yesterday. He is one impressive sculpture. I am staggered by the dedication of people when I visit sights such as this, or the cave temples near Ajanta and Elora in India, or the great cathedrals of Europe. The vision of the end, not achieved within the lifetime of either the workers or the people that fund the work. This took 90 years to carve. Some of the caves in India or the cathedrals in Europe took hundreds of years from start to completion. Generations carve or build, the first entire generation probably seeing very little progress toward the goal they believe in. Today we cannot see even a few years ahead to help our polluted world.
We headed from the hotel armed with the name of the bus station we were supposed to leave from and arrive back to in Chengdu. We got to Leshan with no problem. The bus station here in Chengdu is much more formal than we have seen before. You actually buy a ticket for a specific seat on a specific bus. In the other places, we have just arrived near the bus station and been greeted by frantic people yelling the names of their destinations to us to see if that is what we are looking for. If you want to go there, you are rushed onto the bus and the bus continues. One person drives the bus, another herds the passengers. The conductor leans out the door as you are leaving town, constantly yelling the name of the destination at passersby. If someone is interested, the conductor jumps off and hurries them onto the bus. We rushed out of Yangshou the other day with only a handful off passengers. By the time we got to Guilin the bus was full and had been full for quite some time. Some people got on and some got off but the bus remained full. I am not sure how the contracting works on those buses, but the people really seemed invested in getting passengers onto their bus.
When we got to the bus station in Leshan, we were immediately set upon by touts and taxi drivers. I tend to get really anti being herded in those situations. My instinct was to get away and walk in the direction we believed the buddha to be. Too many people trying to pull you in their direction. Just then a city bus stopped and the driver obviously wanted us to get on. We decided to do it and for 4 yuan (a total of 65 cents) we all got a ride. We were not sure where we were going, but the driver seemed to enjoy having us on his bus. He kept passing other buses, honking and smiling and pointing us out to the other drivers. We figured that the worst that could happen was we went for his whole circuit and ended up back where we started. There was no language between us except gestures. It turned out he knew what he was about and he dropped us off at the gate of the park where the big buddha is.
They have built a whole thing around it and imported lots of other buddha statues to put in caves. They have also carved the worlds largest reclining buddha (we saw another world's largest reclining buddha in Thailand, but that one was free standing and inside and this one was carved into a cliff face). You walk through a very pleasant park and up and down hills, through a huge temple to get to the actual big buddha. You can climb right down beside him on the cliff face. Luckily they have installed a hand rail on the outside of the set of stairs. Centuries ago when the stairs were put in, you would have to be REALLY stout of heart to use them.
When we got out of the park, we had plans to maybe stay overnight in Leshan. We also considered taking a boat ride to see the buddha from the river. At the gates, another bunch of people were trying to get us into their conveyances. One said we could catch a bus back to Chengdu. Faced with trying to find a hotel and a restaurant there or returning back to the hostel we like (with a restaurant the kids love in the lobby and a washing machine we can use), we chose to come back. The first person that tried to get us on her bus admitted her bus was going to the wrong bus station in Chengdu. We were then going to take a taxi into town when a woman from across the street told us her bus went to the right one. We waited in her shop (buying snacks and water of course) while we waited for the bus. We were assured by 3 seperate people that we were going to the right place. When we arrived at the wrong bus station in Chengdu, I still wasn't really surprised. It so happened that there was a Chinese American from Boston on the bus with her husband. She wasn't willing to sit down and take it and she insisted that the driver make good. After a heated debate, he put us in a minivan and sent us to the other place. We would have just given up ourselves, which is what I am sure happens every day.
We headed from the hotel armed with the name of the bus station we were supposed to leave from and arrive back to in Chengdu. We got to Leshan with no problem. The bus station here in Chengdu is much more formal than we have seen before. You actually buy a ticket for a specific seat on a specific bus. In the other places, we have just arrived near the bus station and been greeted by frantic people yelling the names of their destinations to us to see if that is what we are looking for. If you want to go there, you are rushed onto the bus and the bus continues. One person drives the bus, another herds the passengers. The conductor leans out the door as you are leaving town, constantly yelling the name of the destination at passersby. If someone is interested, the conductor jumps off and hurries them onto the bus. We rushed out of Yangshou the other day with only a handful off passengers. By the time we got to Guilin the bus was full and had been full for quite some time. Some people got on and some got off but the bus remained full. I am not sure how the contracting works on those buses, but the people really seemed invested in getting passengers onto their bus.
When we got to the bus station in Leshan, we were immediately set upon by touts and taxi drivers. I tend to get really anti being herded in those situations. My instinct was to get away and walk in the direction we believed the buddha to be. Too many people trying to pull you in their direction. Just then a city bus stopped and the driver obviously wanted us to get on. We decided to do it and for 4 yuan (a total of 65 cents) we all got a ride. We were not sure where we were going, but the driver seemed to enjoy having us on his bus. He kept passing other buses, honking and smiling and pointing us out to the other drivers. We figured that the worst that could happen was we went for his whole circuit and ended up back where we started. There was no language between us except gestures. It turned out he knew what he was about and he dropped us off at the gate of the park where the big buddha is.
They have built a whole thing around it and imported lots of other buddha statues to put in caves. They have also carved the worlds largest reclining buddha (we saw another world's largest reclining buddha in Thailand, but that one was free standing and inside and this one was carved into a cliff face). You walk through a very pleasant park and up and down hills, through a huge temple to get to the actual big buddha. You can climb right down beside him on the cliff face. Luckily they have installed a hand rail on the outside of the set of stairs. Centuries ago when the stairs were put in, you would have to be REALLY stout of heart to use them.
When we got out of the park, we had plans to maybe stay overnight in Leshan. We also considered taking a boat ride to see the buddha from the river. At the gates, another bunch of people were trying to get us into their conveyances. One said we could catch a bus back to Chengdu. Faced with trying to find a hotel and a restaurant there or returning back to the hostel we like (with a restaurant the kids love in the lobby and a washing machine we can use), we chose to come back. The first person that tried to get us on her bus admitted her bus was going to the wrong bus station in Chengdu. We were then going to take a taxi into town when a woman from across the street told us her bus went to the right one. We waited in her shop (buying snacks and water of course) while we waited for the bus. We were assured by 3 seperate people that we were going to the right place. When we arrived at the wrong bus station in Chengdu, I still wasn't really surprised. It so happened that there was a Chinese American from Boston on the bus with her husband. She wasn't willing to sit down and take it and she insisted that the driver make good. After a heated debate, he put us in a minivan and sent us to the other place. We would have just given up ourselves, which is what I am sure happens every day.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Chengdu and onwards by train
We did make the train and there were no problems. I had successfully procured the right tickets. The whole process of catching a train here is really quite fascinating. Each train that is going to depart from a station is given it's own space in a waiting room where everyone gathers, kind of like an airport. This space is assigned about 2-3 hours before boarding time. When the train comes into the station, everyone gets up together and goes to the train. For the first train we took, a guard led us through a warren of tunnels. The whole body of us had to stop at one point at the intersection of two tunnels until a few people ran past frantically, presumably to catch a train about to depart. After they had passed, we carried on in procession through the tunnels until we came to our platform. For the train yesterday, our train came in to a platform alongside the waiting room and we were let out like thoroughbreds from a gate to race out onto the platform to find our cars. It really felt like we were indeed racing, even though I am sure the train would never have left with people still streaming toward it across the platform.
We are in Chengdu and it is unbeleivably polluted. It makes New Delhi seem as the Swiss alps... This morning we went to the Panda Research Station. We had been told it wasn't a zoo but I am hard pressed to tell the difference, except they only have two species of animals in cages instead of a wide variety. The kids loved it. When we were about to leave the hotel for the car to take us there, I thought maybe someone had burned toast in the restaurant they have in the lobby, but I quickly realized it was just smog outside. You can literally see it in the air throughout the whole city. It is sort of scary. We are going to see the biggest buddha in the world (this one carved in a rock face). I am not sure how many biggest buddhas there are in the world, but this is the second one to make the claim in as many weeks. Actually we are also going to make a side trip to the largest RECLINING buddha as well....
We are going to Xi'an on Friday so I can spend all of my birthday on a train, just like mother's day. Actually the trains here are as nice as any I have been on, and I have always loved train travel. They run on time and are really clean (at least when they set out -- the asian toilets are scary after 25 hours - why IS the floor wet, I HOPE it is water, you think desperately). People come by collecting garbage and sweeping the floors regularly and the berths are really not bad places to spend time - although they are not exactly comfy - they make better seats than beds.
We have so far had what are called hard sleepers. They come in sets of 6 with a small table near the window. They are open to a narrow corridor which runs down the side of the train car and each set of 6 berths has a 15cm wide table with two fold out chairs beside it in the corridor. We have promised the kids that for our last journey we will get soft sleepers. They are sets of 4 berths with (presumably) cushier mattresses in closed compartments. We will have a compartment to ourselves instead of having to share with one or two others in the hard sleepers. Actually we have only had one other person both times and have pretty much had the run of the section by sheer volume of both numbers and noise.
We are in Chengdu and it is unbeleivably polluted. It makes New Delhi seem as the Swiss alps... This morning we went to the Panda Research Station. We had been told it wasn't a zoo but I am hard pressed to tell the difference, except they only have two species of animals in cages instead of a wide variety. The kids loved it. When we were about to leave the hotel for the car to take us there, I thought maybe someone had burned toast in the restaurant they have in the lobby, but I quickly realized it was just smog outside. You can literally see it in the air throughout the whole city. It is sort of scary. We are going to see the biggest buddha in the world (this one carved in a rock face). I am not sure how many biggest buddhas there are in the world, but this is the second one to make the claim in as many weeks. Actually we are also going to make a side trip to the largest RECLINING buddha as well....
We are going to Xi'an on Friday so I can spend all of my birthday on a train, just like mother's day. Actually the trains here are as nice as any I have been on, and I have always loved train travel. They run on time and are really clean (at least when they set out -- the asian toilets are scary after 25 hours - why IS the floor wet, I HOPE it is water, you think desperately). People come by collecting garbage and sweeping the floors regularly and the berths are really not bad places to spend time - although they are not exactly comfy - they make better seats than beds.
We have so far had what are called hard sleepers. They come in sets of 6 with a small table near the window. They are open to a narrow corridor which runs down the side of the train car and each set of 6 berths has a 15cm wide table with two fold out chairs beside it in the corridor. We have promised the kids that for our last journey we will get soft sleepers. They are sets of 4 berths with (presumably) cushier mattresses in closed compartments. We will have a compartment to ourselves instead of having to share with one or two others in the hard sleepers. Actually we have only had one other person both times and have pretty much had the run of the section by sheer volume of both numbers and noise.
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Yangshou until tomorrow
We haven't done much today because it has poured with rain off and on all day. All the people that tried to sell us postcards yesterday were trying to sell us umbrellas and rain ponchos today. Give the people what they want... After the 5th person approached me, I dug the rain poncho out of my little pack and every time one of them held one in my face to try to sell it to me, I showed them mine. It seemed to keep them at bay. They just thought I was nuts for not having it on, I suppose.
The kids actually love it here, looking at all the trinkets and gee gaws. We also discovered a used book store and managed to trade in 5 books for 3 plus $8. I thought it was good to encourage that sort of store. It certainly helped Jacob. He gets really freaked out when he is down to less than 3 fat books in hand. He has actually not been reading much for a day or two, I think because he was worried that he might run out before he could replenish his supply. He now has 3 1/2 fat books and one normal size one to tide him over. As soon as he had the new books he started reading them while walking down the street again. Heather got a cross stitch kit and I am working on a crochet collar from Godey's ladies book. I hope with all these reinforcments we will be armed well enough for the 25 hour train journey to Chengdu tomorrow....
The kids actually love it here, looking at all the trinkets and gee gaws. We also discovered a used book store and managed to trade in 5 books for 3 plus $8. I thought it was good to encourage that sort of store. It certainly helped Jacob. He gets really freaked out when he is down to less than 3 fat books in hand. He has actually not been reading much for a day or two, I think because he was worried that he might run out before he could replenish his supply. He now has 3 1/2 fat books and one normal size one to tide him over. As soon as he had the new books he started reading them while walking down the street again. Heather got a cross stitch kit and I am working on a crochet collar from Godey's ladies book. I hope with all these reinforcments we will be armed well enough for the 25 hour train journey to Chengdu tomorrow....
Friday, May 11, 2007
Down the river to Yangshou
We are making a side trip to Yangshou today from Guilin. It is described in the book as a "tourist mecca". Why anyone would set themselves up for this much badgering, I will never know. We have not been accosted on this level since India and even that seems low key in comparison. You can't walk 5 feet without someone trying to sell you something and heaven help you if you try to stand still. Alan and Jacob disappeared and Heather and I did as you are supposed to, i.e. stay in the same place. Unfortunately, they were taking the opposite approach and looking for us far and wide.... Heather and I were sitting ducks on the street for all the hawkers.
Apparently this is supposed to be some promised land for people getting away from it all. You are supposed to ride bicycles in the surrounding countryside. I can only hope they don't try to knock you off your bicycles to sell you things.
Last night we went to see the performance of the waterfall hotel in Guilin. At 8.30 every evening, the facade of the hotel turns into a man made waterfall. A crowd gathers each night to watch the show. It is quite impressive. Before we went, I said to Alan that it would be too bad to miss something from the Guinness book of world records when we were so close (steps away). He said that was what made you coolest, when you didn't deign to put yourself out for these touristy things. I'm not cool. I once again embarrased my son by being too enthusiastic. I thought it was really good. After spending so much time in drought ridden Australia, it seemed really over the top, but I don't think they have water problems here. Not that we would know because we don't see any local news or understand it like we did there.
Apparently this is supposed to be some promised land for people getting away from it all. You are supposed to ride bicycles in the surrounding countryside. I can only hope they don't try to knock you off your bicycles to sell you things.
Last night we went to see the performance of the waterfall hotel in Guilin. At 8.30 every evening, the facade of the hotel turns into a man made waterfall. A crowd gathers each night to watch the show. It is quite impressive. Before we went, I said to Alan that it would be too bad to miss something from the Guinness book of world records when we were so close (steps away). He said that was what made you coolest, when you didn't deign to put yourself out for these touristy things. I'm not cool. I once again embarrased my son by being too enthusiastic. I thought it was really good. After spending so much time in drought ridden Australia, it seemed really over the top, but I don't think they have water problems here. Not that we would know because we don't see any local news or understand it like we did there.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Guilin -- beautiful, weird earthgrowths....
We moved on to Guilin last night and had our first experience with a "hard sleeper". The train was quite nice actually. It was quite clean, full of starched white sheets. The berths are stacked 3 high, just like the train we were on in India from Bubaneswar to New Delhi lo those many months ago. We had one side all the way up and the bottom teir of the other side of a set of 6.
I was very proud of myself today when I managed to get tickets for Chengdu in three days with hard sleeper berths when the ticket person didn't speak a word of English. I managed to point to Chengdu in chinese characters in the guide book, circle the characters for the sleeper bunks on our old tickets and write out the date. I pointed to each of my props in turn and was rewarded with the correct (at least this is what I sincerely hope and will let you know in a few days) tickets in 2 seconds flat. Who said you need to speak the language to communicate?
We went to a lovely cave today. Now we have been to caves in 4 different countries... This one had the most stalagmites and stalegtites yet and a chamber as big as a hockey rink inside. Apparently 1000 people can fit in that chamber at once. Judging by the size of the bus parking lot, I am sure that in peak season, they test this. I am REALLY glad I wasn't there to see that much humanity. Unlike the Australians, the people here have no qualms about "cave fantasy" (naming structures). We saw such things as "bumper crop of melons and vegetables" and "mountain city in the distance" amongst others.
Heather is back on display here big time. There were two ladies that were hugging her and holding her hand through the cave. I asked her a couple of times if she was OK with it and she said it was fine. I said to Alan that as long as we got her back at the end... It is like it was in Thailand when they realized she was a girl. They love her. It is a good thing she is so social, Jacob would be freaked out completely if they tried half of the stuff on him.
We later walked over to the Solitary Beauty Peak near our hotel. Climbing up it was my exercise for the day and we had a lovely view of the city from up there. The landscape around here is totally flat and then there are these bumps rising out of nowhere. This is one of the ones right in the city. From the top you can see many others all around the area. The one with the reed flute cave must be almost hollow to fit the cave we were in inside it.
At the top of the peak there were a bunch of inept security guards trying to get someone ready to rappel down and we think collect garbage from the face of the peak (he had a wastepaper basket attached to his back). They tried several times in vain to get the rope to work for rappelling but to no avail. At first I thought it would be really interesting to see someone rappel off the peak, but after a while I was scared of how interesting it might actually be. The guy in the harness actually lost interest and went back down after a while. I am not sure if they ever got things figured out.
I was very proud of myself today when I managed to get tickets for Chengdu in three days with hard sleeper berths when the ticket person didn't speak a word of English. I managed to point to Chengdu in chinese characters in the guide book, circle the characters for the sleeper bunks on our old tickets and write out the date. I pointed to each of my props in turn and was rewarded with the correct (at least this is what I sincerely hope and will let you know in a few days) tickets in 2 seconds flat. Who said you need to speak the language to communicate?
We went to a lovely cave today. Now we have been to caves in 4 different countries... This one had the most stalagmites and stalegtites yet and a chamber as big as a hockey rink inside. Apparently 1000 people can fit in that chamber at once. Judging by the size of the bus parking lot, I am sure that in peak season, they test this. I am REALLY glad I wasn't there to see that much humanity. Unlike the Australians, the people here have no qualms about "cave fantasy" (naming structures). We saw such things as "bumper crop of melons and vegetables" and "mountain city in the distance" amongst others.
Heather is back on display here big time. There were two ladies that were hugging her and holding her hand through the cave. I asked her a couple of times if she was OK with it and she said it was fine. I said to Alan that as long as we got her back at the end... It is like it was in Thailand when they realized she was a girl. They love her. It is a good thing she is so social, Jacob would be freaked out completely if they tried half of the stuff on him.
We later walked over to the Solitary Beauty Peak near our hotel. Climbing up it was my exercise for the day and we had a lovely view of the city from up there. The landscape around here is totally flat and then there are these bumps rising out of nowhere. This is one of the ones right in the city. From the top you can see many others all around the area. The one with the reed flute cave must be almost hollow to fit the cave we were in inside it.
At the top of the peak there were a bunch of inept security guards trying to get someone ready to rappel down and we think collect garbage from the face of the peak (he had a wastepaper basket attached to his back). They tried several times in vain to get the rope to work for rappelling but to no avail. At first I thought it would be really interesting to see someone rappel off the peak, but after a while I was scared of how interesting it might actually be. The guy in the harness actually lost interest and went back down after a while. I am not sure if they ever got things figured out.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
A bus trip to an ancient kiln
We almost made a real tactical error today. We were given directions to get to the ancient kiln in Shiwan, near Guangzhou. We did all the right things to get there. The desk clerk wrote out for us where we wanted to go in Chinese. She (luckily) wrote down the name of the bus station we caught the bus at. We took the subway, found the bus station, found the bus and took it to near the kiln site. We neglected to note the bus number or even the type of bus we were on. What weren't we thinking? Not much obviously...
We had a bit of trouble finding the kilns because they are in the process of building a HUGE tourist attraction around it. I mean HUGE. It has a really large "cultural center" which is more like a temple than anything else. There is a children's playground and a huge lake with paddle boats. There is also a whole new street lined on both sides with ceramic outlets, each selling slightly different sets of wares. They have every concievable kind of chinese ceramics represented. It is not really opening for a month, so no one was actually ready to have any visitors. Most of the stores had most of their stock but there was a lot of packing material around and a lot of stores were just finishing the shelf stocking. I can imagine the tour buses will be rolling up this time next month and forever after. It was sort of weird to see the infancy. If we had come in a month, we never would have known how new it all was really. They will end up employing hundreds of people when all is said and done I am sure.
They have had kilns going for 500 years in the same spot. The whole area around it for city blocks sells ceramics. Mostly industrial ceramics, floor tiles and toilets, etc. It is kind of interesting that they have a whole modern city that grew up around an anceint business. And now they will have a tourist attraction to boot.
Luckily, we retraced our steps as we left the museum and the first bus driver I asked recognized the name of the bus station that the desk clerk had written for me in Chinese so we got back to the hotel with no problems. We had been 20 odd kilometers away in an area where NO ONE spoke any english. We will be more careful from now on.... Didn't I say that already? Now I mean it.
We had a bit of trouble finding the kilns because they are in the process of building a HUGE tourist attraction around it. I mean HUGE. It has a really large "cultural center" which is more like a temple than anything else. There is a children's playground and a huge lake with paddle boats. There is also a whole new street lined on both sides with ceramic outlets, each selling slightly different sets of wares. They have every concievable kind of chinese ceramics represented. It is not really opening for a month, so no one was actually ready to have any visitors. Most of the stores had most of their stock but there was a lot of packing material around and a lot of stores were just finishing the shelf stocking. I can imagine the tour buses will be rolling up this time next month and forever after. It was sort of weird to see the infancy. If we had come in a month, we never would have known how new it all was really. They will end up employing hundreds of people when all is said and done I am sure.
They have had kilns going for 500 years in the same spot. The whole area around it for city blocks sells ceramics. Mostly industrial ceramics, floor tiles and toilets, etc. It is kind of interesting that they have a whole modern city that grew up around an anceint business. And now they will have a tourist attraction to boot.
Luckily, we retraced our steps as we left the museum and the first bus driver I asked recognized the name of the bus station that the desk clerk had written for me in Chinese so we got back to the hotel with no problems. We had been 20 odd kilometers away in an area where NO ONE spoke any english. We will be more careful from now on.... Didn't I say that already? Now I mean it.
Monday, May 7, 2007
Guangzhou -- Starbucks still possible
We arrived in Guangzhou yesterday and we are staying in a youth hostel in a lovely neighbourhood on the river. Boy, do the chinese ever love neon. At least in Macau and here anyway. They have beautiful patterns all over the outside of the casinos in Macau in all kinds of colours of bright neon. Here in Guangzhou, we could see two huge buildings (20 storeys high) with neon facades from the restaurant last night. One building was made into a huge TV set by its neon and the other just had patterns which kept changing. There were also huge numbers of tour boats going by on the river with neon all over them. The opposite bank of the river had a retaining wall of which we could see at least 500 meters, all of it with travelling ribbons of neon running along it.
This could be any western city with a modern subway system. There are no more bicycles here than in Ottawa or Toronto. We had a rube's experience on the subway yesterday. We failed to notice the signs which indicated where we should have gone to change lines on the subway. We ended up going upstairs in the wrong place on an escalator which meant we would have to exit the whole subway system. The only way back down would be on the escalator we had just come up on. We gesticulated at the map on the wall to the security guard and showed him where we wanted to be. He actually stopped the escalator for us with a key so we could go downstairs and try again. Now that is service. It was all I could do to hold in my laughter till we got out of range.
We went to a really good museum today. Apparently they unearthed this tomb of an emporer of this region from about 100 BC when they were going to build something in 1983. It turned out to be a huge archeological find. They found 15 people who were sacrificed with the dead king. He was important enough to be buried in a 2000 piece jade suit which was impressive in itself. There were apparently several rooms packed with all sorts of common household stuff, musical instruments and treasures which were buried with him for the afterlife. Because it was discovered so recently, the archeological team was obviously top notch and the government protected everything and has displayed it really well in a beautiful purpose built museum around the original site.
The kids are happy that western food is still very much on the menu here and I have said that we really must quit going to every Starbucks we see. Actually we passed one before we went to the one we did this afternoon...
This could be any western city with a modern subway system. There are no more bicycles here than in Ottawa or Toronto. We had a rube's experience on the subway yesterday. We failed to notice the signs which indicated where we should have gone to change lines on the subway. We ended up going upstairs in the wrong place on an escalator which meant we would have to exit the whole subway system. The only way back down would be on the escalator we had just come up on. We gesticulated at the map on the wall to the security guard and showed him where we wanted to be. He actually stopped the escalator for us with a key so we could go downstairs and try again. Now that is service. It was all I could do to hold in my laughter till we got out of range.
We went to a really good museum today. Apparently they unearthed this tomb of an emporer of this region from about 100 BC when they were going to build something in 1983. It turned out to be a huge archeological find. They found 15 people who were sacrificed with the dead king. He was important enough to be buried in a 2000 piece jade suit which was impressive in itself. There were apparently several rooms packed with all sorts of common household stuff, musical instruments and treasures which were buried with him for the afterlife. Because it was discovered so recently, the archeological team was obviously top notch and the government protected everything and has displayed it really well in a beautiful purpose built museum around the original site.
The kids are happy that western food is still very much on the menu here and I have said that we really must quit going to every Starbucks we see. Actually we passed one before we went to the one we did this afternoon...
Friday, May 4, 2007
This is all in chinese....I hope I remember what the symbols mean
Hi
I am in an internet cafe in Macau and some other blogger has been using this computer so the page is being presented to me in chinese. I hope I can remember where all the appropriate hot spots are on the page so I can actually publish the post when I finish typing it. I think this may be shades of things to come in the next six weeks as we enter our Chinese (and final) leg.
My typing is actually improving from this blog, I think. I now sound more like the other typists in the internet cafes who type like the dickens (or Ann Mikula). I know I am a bit of a pollyanna when it comes to travelling, but now I love Macau. It is very European in its architecture. As we were walking through the alleyways yesterday, it reminded me of when I lived in Basel, Switzerland and I thought I could be there if it was a bit cleaner and full of Swiss instead of Macau people. It is still western in it's varied restaurants. We decided to stay tonight as well because it is still Golden Week in China and we wanted to be sure of being able to find a place to stay when we arrive.
When we got to Macau, the taxi driver could not understand where we wanted to go. We had several phone calls to a mysterious friend who spoke some english and had to consult several maps before we got to our pre-booked accomodation. It is like being back in India where you can't even resort to writing it down because we can't write chinese. I didn't expect it as soon as Macau. I thought we had one more shot before we had to worry so much about communicating. We have to be careful from now on.
Jen and Shunji came home on Wednesday and we went out for a dim sum lunch with them before we caught the ferry to Macau. They have ferries between Hong Kong and Macau every 15-30 minutes all day. They are really fast and the trip takes an hour. Apparently people come here from Hong Kong for the casinos. Since two of our party are not even teenagers yet, we are giving those a miss.
It was really nice to spend time with Jen and Shunji (especially, I think, for Jen and I). She is so easy to talk to, just like Aunty Pam and the rest of the Fergusons. We will be going back for a few days before we head home. Hopefully we will also be able to see her when she comes over in the summer with the kids if we can make it down there. Heather especially really enjoyed playing with her kids (as predicted before we went). We left some stuff there so we could lug less around China. I am not sure where we put it all because somehow our packs are still full and we left so much there.....
It has been raining both days we have been in Macau. As they said in Cairns, that's what you get for coming in the rainy season. We didn't really have much choice. It doesn't really matter because it is so warm that even if you get wet, you don't get cold.
I am in an internet cafe in Macau and some other blogger has been using this computer so the page is being presented to me in chinese. I hope I can remember where all the appropriate hot spots are on the page so I can actually publish the post when I finish typing it. I think this may be shades of things to come in the next six weeks as we enter our Chinese (and final) leg.
My typing is actually improving from this blog, I think. I now sound more like the other typists in the internet cafes who type like the dickens (or Ann Mikula). I know I am a bit of a pollyanna when it comes to travelling, but now I love Macau. It is very European in its architecture. As we were walking through the alleyways yesterday, it reminded me of when I lived in Basel, Switzerland and I thought I could be there if it was a bit cleaner and full of Swiss instead of Macau people. It is still western in it's varied restaurants. We decided to stay tonight as well because it is still Golden Week in China and we wanted to be sure of being able to find a place to stay when we arrive.
When we got to Macau, the taxi driver could not understand where we wanted to go. We had several phone calls to a mysterious friend who spoke some english and had to consult several maps before we got to our pre-booked accomodation. It is like being back in India where you can't even resort to writing it down because we can't write chinese. I didn't expect it as soon as Macau. I thought we had one more shot before we had to worry so much about communicating. We have to be careful from now on.
Jen and Shunji came home on Wednesday and we went out for a dim sum lunch with them before we caught the ferry to Macau. They have ferries between Hong Kong and Macau every 15-30 minutes all day. They are really fast and the trip takes an hour. Apparently people come here from Hong Kong for the casinos. Since two of our party are not even teenagers yet, we are giving those a miss.
It was really nice to spend time with Jen and Shunji (especially, I think, for Jen and I). She is so easy to talk to, just like Aunty Pam and the rest of the Fergusons. We will be going back for a few days before we head home. Hopefully we will also be able to see her when she comes over in the summer with the kids if we can make it down there. Heather especially really enjoyed playing with her kids (as predicted before we went). We left some stuff there so we could lug less around China. I am not sure where we put it all because somehow our packs are still full and we left so much there.....
It has been raining both days we have been in Macau. As they said in Cairns, that's what you get for coming in the rainy season. We didn't really have much choice. It doesn't really matter because it is so warm that even if you get wet, you don't get cold.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
A "pilgramage" to see a great big buddha
Happy May day to all. How many of you Morris Dancers greeted the dawn? Anybody dance round a maypole? Around here it was Labour Day. We had forgotten that when we set out for a major tourist attraction.
Apparently on a regular Tuesday morning we might have had the great big Buddha almost to ourselves, but it was full of holiday makers today. To get there we took 2 trains, two ferries and two buses. It is in the village of Ngong Ping on the island of Lantau (the one with Hong Kong airport on it). To get home we took a cablecar, 4 trains and a bus. Actually the journey, especially the ferries and the cablecar were some of the best parts of the day (not so much the subway trains and buses which we have taken everyday already but are getting to be old hands at now).
The statue, the world's largest outdoor Buddha, is at the top of a biggish hill (as are all good Buddhist sites it seems) with 260 steps leading up to it. It is a modern deal, built to open in 1993 and financed by some rich local Buddhists. It is impressive in it's magnitude. There is one of the nicest tourist trap village attached that I have ever been in. I usually hate them, but this one was exotic enough to win me over, I guess.
Apparently on a regular Tuesday morning we might have had the great big Buddha almost to ourselves, but it was full of holiday makers today. To get there we took 2 trains, two ferries and two buses. It is in the village of Ngong Ping on the island of Lantau (the one with Hong Kong airport on it). To get home we took a cablecar, 4 trains and a bus. Actually the journey, especially the ferries and the cablecar were some of the best parts of the day (not so much the subway trains and buses which we have taken everyday already but are getting to be old hands at now).
The statue, the world's largest outdoor Buddha, is at the top of a biggish hill (as are all good Buddhist sites it seems) with 260 steps leading up to it. It is a modern deal, built to open in 1993 and financed by some rich local Buddhists. It is impressive in it's magnitude. There is one of the nicest tourist trap village attached that I have ever been in. I usually hate them, but this one was exotic enough to win me over, I guess.
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