Laris is away

Canton: my last city in the mainland

laris — Sat, 6 Oct 2012 00:01:00 GMT

Say whatever, but I honestly didn't find Guangzhou (or Canton, as we know in the West) a nice place. I would skip it, totally. I would use the three days I spent there in Beijing. Or em Yunam. Or somewhere else.

As we were there, and bored, decided to see the foreign concession, Tianjin, in the middle of the town. For a long time (cant remember how many years), foreing countries (England, Japan, Belgium and France) occupied the tiny bank of sand in the middle of the river for trade purporses. It was like another territory, with it's own rules and divisions. The concession was also phisycally apart from the rest of town: heavy gates were set at the end of the conecting bridges to avoid visitors. After few riots and strikes the foreigns lost the foreign autonomy. And then the war and the comunism finished the rest of the story.

The place is nicely designed and the old buildings are still there. If you are planing to see, go during the day. In the night is a little dark.

The rest is pretty much the same: temples and comunist spots.

I wouldn't visit Guangzhou again. Sorry.

Cultural-clash, crabs, frogs and snakes: all and a little more in Xiamen

laris — Mon, 1 Oct 2012 12:32:00 GMT

On Saturday a couple of guests joined us in the breakfast. After the usual where-have-you-been-in-China-how-long-you-are-staying-here questions we found out they were working in Hangzhou for six months already. She, Polish, works with telecommunications and he, German, is teaching German. I wonder if “teaching German” is the new “ teaching English” as a excuse to do something useful while you're backpacking, but who knows.

While expressing our impressions about China, they gave us a perspective that was unknown so far. Working directly with chinese colleagues, their opinion about work and partnership has many more obstacles than the cultural differences per se.

Communications is a huge problem, and they tend to do the day to day tasks according on what they think they know, not necessarily on what was discussed. According to the Polish girl, her Chinese colleagues didn't ask questions when the workload was being distributed and even agreeing in doing the task, it would be complete in a different way. If confronted, they would give any explanation about the communications problem. The point in the whole story is: why not to ask? Simple: to not lose face, according to the couple.

Generally, one-morning conversations are not enough to make you change your mind from difficult concepts like this. Even understanding that there is also the other side of the story, he insight was great to make me think more in cultural clashes in the working environment. I had experienced similar situations in my previous work and it took me a long time to change roles in my mind.

The situation is not different when it comes to food. Why do they eat snakes, frogs, turtles, crickets and worms is beyond my comprehension. But we do eat “weird” food in Northeast Brazilian. Special dishes cooked with blood chicken, sausages made with pork blood, sun-dried meat and, in few areas, all sorts of dishes made of goat's intern organs. Not to mention the goat's cooked brain (bleeergh), delicacy eaten at 6am in one particular market in the north area in Fortaleza.

In Xiamen, there is a market close to the pier. In there you can buy all you know and don't know regarding seafood - and other types. Crabs? Prawns? Mussels? Fish? Sea urchin? Sea cucumber? Lobster? Octopus, cattle fish, squid? Name it. They have. And they sell it alive. They also have snails, frogs, turtles and snakes, also alive and disposed in buckets, normally too small to store them in a acceptable condition. Close to this market you can find a long long street cooking the seafood you saw in the market. Food is fresh, and it is a pity that they not always cook in front of you.

In our expedition we tried rice and prawns, cooked in a bamboo shot (good, but too greasy). We also tried a pork dumpling soup (tasteless) and deep fried “ fresh milk”. I thought it was cheese, but the girl in the counter (engineer student working in her “middle-autumn job” . Apparently they need some working experience, not specified in what) told me it was coagulated milk. It was ok, honestly. Nothing to die for, but nothing to make you vomit.

Later on we took a boat to Gulang Yu and walked to the other side of the island. It remembers me Olinda a lot, with all hills and colonial houses. Far from the touristic fuss, we found tiny little charming streets, hiding their secrets to those lazy enough to climb it.

A beach to just look at

laris — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 14:09:00 GMT

As expected, Chinese girls don't swim in the beach. Even though the boys wear the " brazilian speedo" and enjoy long hours bathing in the salty water, the girls tend to get just the toes wet, and generally don't wear swimsuit in public. For teenagers, beach turns into a place to get along and the hours are spent under the shade (as I normally do).

I found the beach near our place particularly sad. The building that suppose to be a water park looks abandoned, stained and the color was fading in the painting. The restaurant had nobody inside, adding a little bit more flavor to a already depressing atmosphere. Maybe it is just my western way to look at it.

[I am not saying, in this case, that I find our way to make things better. Not at all. In the Brazilian Northeast- where I am from- the loud music and the crowded space is suffocating, and even worse with millions of sellers harassing the people and trying to sell you from bikini (!) to melted cheese. Even when I miss the beach-food I grew up eating, the loud terrible music that is played everywhere just make me nauseous.Brazilian people CANT deal with silence. In the Northeast coast, people HAVE to have music playing in the highest volume ever imagined. ]

So, beach in Xiamen didn't work. Disappointed, We ended up taking a bus to have a look in town. The bus (751) was chosen randomly, just for the sake of the trip. We stopped at a "communist" restaurant, where old posters and Mao's pictures were hanging in the walls. Good choice: the food was good, cheap and came quite fast.

The rest of the day was just lazy, downloading movies and searching for a place to stay in Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

Today we are going again to Gulang Yu and to a open market close by the pier. The other guests in our guesthouse said the market was worthy.

We are expecting the island to be outrageously crowded. It's Saturday, after all.

Xiamen and Gulang Yu

laris — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 12:53:00 GMT

The high speed train was pretty fast, and if there is anything I love in this country is that people get very silent when sitting in comfortable seats. Maybe it's because there is nowhere to sit at all in some squares. Maybe it's because the seats are normally made of cement or wood, shaped in weird forms to make your ass look like a dice. No doubt people feel unsettled and with a huge desire to talk to make the time pass faster.

The good thing is the train from Hangzhou spent only seven hours to arrive in Xiamen, and the experience felt like 30 minutes. Very good seats, fantastic air-conditioning and a extremely tied and clean berth. The hot water for tea (common pretty much everywhere) was close by my place and the toilet didn't have any " surprise" on the way. (I will try to write something about toilets in China soon. Maybe this afternoon, after beach).

With around three million people living in Xiamen, the impression I have is that it is a tiny city. After seven million people in Hangzhou, 20 million in Shanghai, eight million in Xian and 19 million in Beijing, three million is almost misery. Ok, its three times the whole Timor-Leste in a only town, but it doesn't feel like. The city in the night is ok, and has a gorgeous view too. It's slightly hotter than anywhere else we've been in the mainlandbut the constant breeze give us some relief.

Yesterday we decided to go to the supermarket to buy supply. The place where we are, Koala bed and breakfast, has a beautiful full equipped kitchen, with oven and electric stove so modern I almost can't handle. On the way to the supermarket we decided to have a look at the Gulang Yu, a tiny island 5 minutes far from here, by boat. There is no traffic in there. No cars, no bicycles, no motorbikes. Just people walking. In my mind, a place like this would have that much development like fancy buildings and paved roads. Turns out my mind is wrong, and the place is fully packed with people. There are some electric cars (like golf cars) to transport tired legs up and down the hills, although most of them have to walk to get around.

We had no appropriate shoes to walk far, and the boat to Gulang Yu WAS far. It happened because on the way to the pier I freaked out thinking we had past the port and we jumped in the wrong place. Something like an hour to get to the harbor, plus few hours in the island and a couple of other hours in the supermarket in our way back.

I woke up today with miserable legs and a lazy mood. I honestly don't want to go anywhere further that the beach that stretch out in front of the compound where we are. I may come back later to describe the toilets and to talk a little bit more about Gulang Yu.

West lake, a restored temple and a Zoroastrian

laris — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 12:28:00 GMT

This morning the squirrel knocked at the window while eating the sunflower seeds left overnight. He liked the trick, and soon other squirrel came to join. Pity they were so ashamed to come closer, and both run away we heard any noise coming from the room. There is more sunflower seed resting there, so I guess they will have a good breakfast tomorrow morning again. Hope to see them before taking the train to Xiamen.

After a good breakfast at 11h (!) we were off to take the boat. The main objective was to visit the big temple we can see from the hostel. As usual and everywhere in China, almost nobody speaks English and if the sights are written only in Chinese, you have to search for your own way to get information. After few minutes trying to figure out how to tell them we wanted to go to the big temple, a Malaysian woman appeared. Speaking English AND Chinese Chae helped us to figure out more or less what to do.

The first stop was in the “ three moons lake”. Very nice island in the middle of the West Lake and a perfect spot for gorgeous photos. Lucky enough to not meet noisy tourist groups, we walked around taking some photos and trying to think that THAT could be a fantastic summer palace in the XXI century, if possible. Nicely arranged and restored, although new. Most of the place was destroyed after few battles and wars -that I cant recall and my friend Wiki can help you- the government found in the area a terrific opportunity to show their ability to create a good place and to maintain it. Beautiful and worthy.

After wondering for a while, Chae guided us to the big temple. As nothing is for free in China, we had to pay 40RMB to get there. The temple is impressive from distance and has five floors on top of a high hill, easily reached by escalators (thanks!). No doubt I got the escalator to climb up and once inside the disappointment was: just the ruins are in the basement. The temple as we see today is a new building, opened in 2000!

Of course it has its own merits and the view upstairs is breathtaking. Spend some time reading on the first floor (it also has a lift to help you climbing) to find more about the white snake legend. This legend is related to the ruins of the previous temple, were you can see the walls and the ruins in the basement.

Leaving this place we took a bus to the mall, to eat sushi and buy food for dinner. I bought edamame and did it in the hostel. Amazingly easy, cheap and tasteful. I'm definitely cooking it again, and many times once back home. While cutting the vegetables for the greek salad, a older woman went to the kitchen asking for a piece of paper to write about something. Turns out that she was a very pleasant company.

Mehej was born in India and has got British and Australian nationalities. With a beautiful English (maybe a mix of all accents) she spoke a little about herself, the family, her plans and religion. For the first time I met someone that declares herself Zoroastrian. I heard vaguely about this, and I confess that I don't know not even how to write.

While I'm typing this journal entry I have no access to internet. As soon as I get some free time I am definitely searching about this exotic religion (at least to me!) and will try to learn how to spell it...

She thought I was Indian. The she thought I was Australian. Turns out that Brazil blown her bets. ;)

Hangzhou: a place to fell in love with

laris — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 21:22:00 GMT

We left Shanghai yesterday in a “ bullet train” and it kept the promise of a smooth and fast journey. So fast I couldn' t believe we had arrived until I saw the signs all over the station. Clean, silent and comfortable, the train left Shangai Qiao station (close to the airport) at 11h, arriving at destination 11:49. The experience cost me 79RMB and it is worthy for the experience.

Once in Shanghai, the taxi was not difficult. My impression is that taxi is better anywhere outside Beijing, even if more expensive. I honestly don't believe westerns would refuse to pay more for a ride. Much more the opposite: in those days you're in a hurry, a cab to take you without complains would be very well tipped.

Back to Hangzou: the area around the lake is gorgeous, and clean, and peaciful. Today is Monday and it looks like all the crowd that usually runs everywhere in a billion population+tourists seems to be somewhere else. This area is almost like being outside town, blessed with beautiful view and amazing wide paths and lots of green everywhere. Almost.

Around 7 million people live here, and it's a number one destination for those living in Shanghai due to the proximity. I can't imagine the hell this place becomes with people trotting up and down in their noise tours. Peharps the best time to visit is... now.

Mingtown hostel is the place where we are staying. The double room with bath was almost 300RMB, and when I considered to stay in a dorm the girl in the reception suggested a double with shared bathroom for 130 RMB!

It was definitely the best deal since we arrived in China. The room is great, the lines are clean, it's big, cozy and facing the lake. And we are paying pretty much the same as we were in a dorm in Shanghai. Just to have an idea, I saw from my window a squirrel playing in the tree this morning. I also saw few birds, but it's ok. The reception is a little far, and the internet is extremely tricky, but the kitchen, the common areas and the view makes you feel lucky to be here.

The hostel is close to the supermarket (carrefour), to the bank (Bank of China, to exchange dollars fwith best rate) and to few seafood restaurants.

Tomorrow Ill try to run around the lake again. Our train to Xiamen leaves on Thursday, so we have some time tomorrow to see few sights. I kind of regret not coming before- and not staying longer. For some reason I think that three nights are not enough.

Hard seat and a not so pleasant experience

laris — Sun, 23 Sep 2012 10:44:00 GMT

Who said it was nice to sit in a 90 degrees chair, two side by side and in front of another two? The seat is low with no room for legs or even the possibility to recline. Nothing. The train berth is crowded with people playing games in the mobile with loudspeakers on, smoking non-stop in front of you, spiting on the floor and coughing loud. FOR.13.HOURS. Some call it trip. I call it “nightmare journey at the devil's lap”

I don't know how it happen, but the tickets from Pingyao to Xian were bought very last minute. In result, no hard or soft sleep remaining. I swear I would bribe anyone to get out of there if I could. And I swear I will never NEVER travel long distances in a hard seat again.

NEVER.

Even today, two weeks after this trip I still remember. It's pretty much like the war scars you carry along with you. I think I'm traumatized.

Posters, propaganda and a better dinner

laris — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 22:48:00 GMT

Tomorrow Hangzhou will become the 5th destination in my list. We are leaving tomorrow morning in a fast train -whatever it is-, that promise to arrive just 56 minutes after departing from Shanghai's train station.

The weather was pretty bad this morning when we headed to the French Concession to find the Shanghai Propaganda Poster Art Centre.On the way, we stopped by a restaurant the served cantonese food and had a good experience with a non-greasy meal.

The propaganda centre is quite hard to find, specially if you are relying in maps that are anything but precise. After getting lost in the beautiful streets with fantastic architectures, we arrived in the basement of a compound, where the centre is. The exhibition is fantastic and the collection is great. I wish the owner could have more space and open the gallery in a more central area (not a residential building). I've been to a propaganda/poster gallery in Ho Chi Min City and found the one in Shanghai more organized, with its historic value highlighted in every caption.

To summarize: it is well worthy. Scratch your pocket to release 20RMB and enjoy. The Centre also has a little shop where you can buy original posters and copies. A single poster copy costs 100RMB, but if you buy 4, the individual price drops to 50RBM each. It's a terrific souvenir!

Jut before going to the museum we passed by supermarket in the street below. We found parmesan, salami, arugula, cherry tomatoes and olive oil. In the next door there is a bakery where you can buy fantastic bread and good baguettes. All together cost exactly 87RMB!

And that, beloved readers, was the dinner tonight.

p.s.: the chinese wine we bought yesterday is still around. "DYNASTY".

It's all about food

laris — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:46:00 GMT

"Food has an important place in Chinese culture". I don't know where I read this- and at this time of the day is even harder to remember details- but it's not difficult to agree.

Food is everywhere in China. Whatever direction you look your eyes will catch someone cooking, someone selling fruits, someone arranging tables or sharpening the chopsticks for the next meal. In the restaurants, menus are huge and food variety is immense. Lots of veggies, incredible ways to cook organs and intern parts and pork dishes in almost all places (excluding muslim restaurants, obviously). In other words, it looks to me that every single part of the animal or vegetal is qualified for cooking. And ready to be eaten.

Yunnan, in the southwest part of the country, has a delicious cuisine and the food is spicy and delicious. Fresh ingredients are used in the dishes and they are the few to use cheese in their meals. In that region they fry buffalo milk cheese and serve as dessert (with condensed milk).

If someone tells me that is starving in China, I wouldn't believe. Together with several Chinese restaurants or kiosks you can also find western fast food in all towns, including the small ones. KFC, McDonalds, Subway. It's everywhere. But not healthy, you would say.

You would be right, but let me tell you something about my impression of the Chinese food. Although is delicious and flavorful it's not that healthy as I thought. In most parts I've been in China, from Beijing down to Pingyao, Xian and Shanghai, I found the food greasy and dripping oil. Oil, oil, oil, fried, fried, fried, deeper fried, stirred with oil, boiled and served with oil... Delicious to eat once a week, but definitely would affect the system of those searching for a healthy meal.

My statements are, of course, based in my experiences so far. Tomorrow we are going to Hangzhou, and after three nights, to Xiamen. Let's see how the food is down there.

I will try to write a post about wine in China. Oh boy, that's a experience.

Half way down, trip almost over

laris — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 01:52:00 GMT

We finally changed hostels after three nights in Shanghai. The biggest difference is the cleanness. The new hostel is much nicer that we regret a little of staying in the other one for so long.

The biggest surprise in China is the blocked pages. Maybe I was just naive to think that I could access wordpress and update my travel blog from there. Surprise surprise: I can't. Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, few wikipedia entries and most of the blogs servers are blocked. Unless you have a VPN (virtual private network) installed in your laptop, access to the most used social media -western, at least- world can't be done from here.