Want to fit in
with the other Chinese men? Here’s a
quick how to. Whether you’re outside, in
a train station, on the train, or in
a restaurant, just follow these simple steps: 1) Roll your shirt up &
expose your gut, 2) puff away on a smoke, lighting one with another, 3) squat
down on your heels, & 4) snort & hack up, using the worst noises you
can create, a loogie into the streets.
Now get out there & become one with the city folk.
At first
glance, China could be summed up by men with bad habits, abandoned buildings,
nosey people, garbage, motor bikes, noodles, & breast enlargement
commercials. (Yes, they have in fact found crystals in the depths of
mountainous caves that, when placed in your bra, suck the fat from your stomach
& arms up to your chest! The same
blonde doctor backs another discovery, a spray that doubles your chests fat
cells. If I brought over our “I must, I
must, I must increase my bust” work out, I’d hit pay dirt!) But after some time, it grows on you (the
country, not boobs). The people are
actually quite friendly, the less populated areas are gorgeous, & the food
can be great (minus a few major disaster meals).
Xi’an... Another
massive city. We were hoping to get away
from hustle & bustle to enjoy a quiet, laid back life, but not yet. The bus directions from the train station, provided
by the hostel, were crap. The #918 bus
didn’t go where they claimed it did.
Thankfully a girl on the bus was happy to show off her English &
give us the proper route: #918 to the 613, to the 603, followed by an hour+ of
aimless, frustrated walking. Oh well...
that’s backpacking, isn’t it?!
We decided to
penny pinch & stay in a dorm. As
someone put it, “save, save, splurge”.
The hostel food was great, although a little too western. For some reason, the Chinese think
westerner’s want everything in China to be like home; from food to clothes,
speaking to jewellery. I’ll admit, it
was nice to eat fruit, muesli, & yogurt with a strong coffee. The hostel also set up time wasting events
like a dumpling party & trivia night.
Actually, they were a lot of fun.
20 odd travellers, all with different stories, sat around chatting while
mashing together some dough into the shape of a dumpling. And trivia night, Ben & I were split up,
I with the winning team, “The Dumplings”!
I contributed not much more than China’s square km, which I based on
Canada’s (almost spot on – bragging rights!).
We hooked up
with a new travel family at the hostel; Brian from New York, Nicole from
Boston, & Tim & Eric, dental students from Portland; another great
posse. It’s bitter sweet, meeting these
wonderful people, sharing some laughs, then having to say our goodbyes so
soon. Our first night together was spent
on the hostels’ stoop with “the Spaniards”!!
What nutty, but friendly & extremely generous dudes! It’s funny how after a couple beer & a
few sips of scotch, you can speak Spanish.
And wouldn’t ya know it, a friend, Nico (our friend from Beijing), found
his way to our same hostel, even the bunk beside us! We’ve worked out how to meet back with him
when we all arrive in Guilin.
We had decided
that we would not pay for tours for 2 reasons, money & so we could set our
own pace. The list of touristy things we
tackled while in Xi’an:
First, were of
course the Warriors. We had thought they
would be something to check off the list just to say we did it. It was pretty cool though. To think that a 13yr old kid had the power to
have his people create a totally unique army for his protection in the
afterlife is amazing! Each warrior was
to have his creators’ initials carved into their backs before he was killed with
honour. There were 3 pits, each with
their own characteristics. We saved the
first for last as it was the largest & original find. Other than the herds of tourist groups, it was
fantastic. The man, linked directly to
the family who once lived in the area to protect the army, was digging a well
& came upon a warrior. In the 1970’s,
he was offered a whopping 10rmb (about $1.50) for his land. When Bill Clinton came to visit, he asked to
meet the man who discovered the warriors & for his autograph. Unable to spell, the man signed 3 x’s. After being taught by the Government how to
spell his name, Mr. Yang now sits quiet, signing warrior books sold for 100rmb
each. Sad.
The second day
we took it pretty easy & cycled on top of the wall which surrounds the
city. Ben & I chose a tandem
bike! Which we figured was probably the
original tandem bike from the year of invention... It was rough! At one point, some locals pushed Ben off the
front of the bike, sat down for a picture with me, & motioned for Ben to
get out of the shot! Hahaha. It was a
first that Ben, with his blue eyes & blonde hair, was not the centre of
attention! For a minute anyways... When we got back down the wall, an entire
family pushed me out of the shot & gathered around Ben for their new family
portrait. We laughed thinking of what
the caption in their album would read.
Cheng Du was to
be our next stop. A Panda reserve open
to tourists & a chance to break up the long journey south. Another Han Tang Hostel guest mentioned their
experience of the reserve here in Xi’an that only this & one other hostel
had access to because of their donations.
After a bit more review research of the one in Cheng Du, we decided on
Xi’an’s. We are so glad we did. Only 13 of us toured the whole place, except
volunteers. It was such a relief to see after our experience at the Beijing zoo. The animals seemed happy, probably because
they were surrounded by real trees, not plastic, & grass, not
concrete. The young ones were adorable. One lounged atop a tree with his foot wedged awkwardly
on a branch while another few played in the grass, eventually coming close to
show off how cute they could really be.
The red panda’s were great.
Little guys running around so excited to see people & on our way
back to the truck, we stopped to feed them.
What
next?! We heard rumours of rain, &
so decided to wake up early & if the streets were dry, hop on a bus to Hua
Shan Mtn. At 7AM, the skies looked
clear, so onward we marched. Ben & I
boarded the bus only to realise we forgot our money! Nicole & Brian saved us! Thank you both!! An option to ride the gondola to the base of
the peaks would be a good choice. With passage
ways named "Cloud Stairway", "Heaven Ladder", &
"Ear Cliff" (named so because climbers must have their ear pressed up
against the cliff to make the climb!) you can imagine what a hike the rest
really was. No need to drain our energy with over 2 hours climbing
stairs to get to the good stuff. The
first few trails had Ben & I struck with pure vertigo... China
doesn't believe in safety; just some rails & chains here & there
to help you up with only a foot of ledge to "bottomless". We
decided on only 3 of the 5 peaks, North, Central & East (time only allowed
so much). Central Peak was
amazing... We were greeted by "monk music", the smell of
incense, & funky boulders with no one else around. Wind tearing
through the valleys blowing misty clouds below us & pushing our weight
around. Definitely freaky when you already feel like you'll be picked up
& tossed off the cliff at any moment. With time, we got over our nerves
& the decent felt less intimidating.
There were little spots to stop & buy noodles & a drink. We wondered how they got the stock up
there... Then we saw the men, some in their 60’s, with back breaking loads,
hauling them one slow step at a time to the peaks. I will never complain again... about
anything!
Now on the
train, with 2 men staring & snorting at me, & Ben asleep beside, we
make our way to Cheng Du. We’ve decided
it was still a good place to break up the trip to Guilin. Apparently, when you book the bottom bunk
(which we made sure to do this time around), it means absolutely nothing to the
other passengers... I just had a guy
assume I didn’t want to use the end of my bed & is now sharing it with
me. Wonderful, just wonderful. Anyways... Ben & I got some groceries for
the 16 hr ride. We settled on some
overly spicy instant noodles, bread that I’m pretty sure is the same recipe
used for food rations during WWII, dried apricots, & some very salty
pumpkin seeds. My attempts at finding a
decent bag of ketchup chips have failed. They seem to think mixing ketchup,
mint, & cucumber is a good idea for the taste buds... sick! Another quick interruption, the guy at the
end of the bed keeps eyeing up my feet... I think he’s baffled at their size!
Well, that’s it
for now... We’ll keep ya posted on our
trips further south & photos to go along!
Much love to
you all!
