Tuesday, September 28, 2010

The Great Wall of China

“He who does not reach the great wall is not a man!” Mao Zedong

The Great Wall was one of my biggest inspirations and must see attractions in China.

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We were staying at Leo Courtyard a super social youth hostel in Beijing.  It was a perfect escape from the busyness of China.  They had a fooz ball table on the top floor, and “Buy 2, get 1 free” beer specials that we took full advantage of during our stay there.

This is where we spent many an evening meeting and challenging new friends to multiple games such as “The Holy Trinity” which were three super cool friends biking through China: Elaine (Ireland), Philip (France) and Matheo (Slovakia).

 

Anyway, I digress. 

When we saw that there was a “Secret Wall” tour offered through  the youth hostel, we jumped on it.  There were good reviews of it on Trip Advisor so we thought why not?  The Secret Wall tour is a section of the tour which is undiscovered by tourists, and is open to only our group of thirty or some odd people.

 

IMG_3794And so we set off and met the group at 7:30 AM in the morning.  We boarded a bus and rode for about 3 hours.  And it was quite entertaining on the bus, there was a Southpark marathon, non stop Southpark episodes playing on the D.V.D. including the episode where the “Crazy Mongrorians” keep attacking the great wall.

We got to the wall and proceeded with our 10 KM hike which lasted about 2 hours.  This picture was taken at the end of it, with big sighs of relief after hiking great lengths of dodgy wall and ten fortresses.

Yeah all in all the wall was breathtaking.  The hike was beautiful but it got a bit monotonous after the first half a hour.  There are areas of the wall that are so dilapidated and over grown with grass, eroded rock which led to me bailing (lightly) twice on my china bought sneakers.   I love hiking, but it was so hot!! My mentality during this hike was, well it’s gotta be done at least once in your lifetime.  The Great Wall has nothing on the grouse grind!

IMG_3805 Okay, but then get this, after hiking for 2 1/2 hours, drinking all our water and dying for lunch, we find out that our bus got caught in a traffic jam.  And we’re all thinking okay how does a bus get caught in a traffic jam when it had like 3 hours to come pick us up?  Well it turns out that the last time they had a big traffic jam like this, it lasted for 9 DAYS!!!  Well that’s China for ya!

So we sit by the side of a road for about an hour, before the guide decides well this is not happening anytime soon.  Let’s start walking.

We started walking in the countryside.  Then onto the highway, and we kept walking…. and walking…

    IMG_3809 We walked through stretches of highway with trucks loaded with all kinds of things: red peppers, tomatoes, bok choy, pigs, horses, cows, you name it. 

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It was quite the experience.  The upside, though was there was water, and snacks available on the sides of the roads.  Everyone could have gotten really bitchy, but no one did.  Everyone shared their snacks, water, and laughed at what a crazy experience this was.  We hiked for about another 3 hours before we even got to the restaurant.  The walk on the highway took more time than the great wall.

IMG_3827 IMG_3833What was really shocking to me though, was that for a capital city that boasts the best university in China, people are not conscious of the environment at all.  People in the cars are eating snacks and just chucking them out of the window.  I was shocked, and could not believe it … people squatting under their trucks, so much garbage littered on the road.  I am so Canadian that way, I almost felt the urge to pick it all up!

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This was our reward at the end of the day. While the food looks delicious, it was all cold and extremely unsatisfying.  The only thing that made it tolerable was the company and the beer.  Who thought I would ever say that? 

IMG_3698Anyway, nothing went as planned which I am realizing is the norm when you are travelling through Asia. And you always have a choice to go with it or go against it.  Going with it is much easier, which I realized at the end of the night as I was feeling filthy, covered in dust and entire body achy and dissatisfied with the food. 

But it’s a great memory, filled with shared laughter, friendship and culture.

 

I’m glad we did it, and would definitely do it all over again.

xx phyllis

Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Boys DJ after the Shanghai Sandwich Shop

 

I'm trying to keep this blog up to date, but being in China for the past month has been getting in the way of keepin' it real time.  Right now I am writing from Kathmandu (I can never spell that right) in Nepal.  I am looking forward to going to Tibet for a week on Tuesday followed by the Tatopani trek - which is a trek through Nepal ending in some hot water springs.  But more on that later.

I am sad to say that the Thailand tan I had going for many months is starting to fade and that it will only be about three months before I am back in Vancouver.   Lately, the reaction to the response people have when they ask me how long I've been away (9 months), they have started asking me if I am getting tired of it.  I find that a funny question because I'm not tired of it at all.  I am enjoying myself so much, that it is a bit hard visualizing the transition I'm going to have to go through to adapt to a regular life again.  Usually I just laugh it off and say some people have babies, whereas I like to travel.  Depending on the demographic, you usually get a good laugh out of it or a bewildered look combined with the drop of a jaw.

Here is a brief outline of where I/we have been and where I plan to go for the rest of it:

1. Thailand
2. Laos
3. Vietnam
4.Cambodia
5. Thailand
6. Bali
7. Singapore
8. Thailand
9. Hong Kong
10. China
11. Nepal
12. India
13. Maybe Thailand or London  (If the finances allow!)
 
The best sandwiches in Shanghai at my cousin's deli
Logo - Night club
The guys played a wicked set which made me a bit homesick.  Ceebass & Abasi have a distinctive sound which I have missed going out in Asia.
My cousin with his awesome friends Mia and Mel, who are also from Vancouver but now live in Shanghai as well.
Stay tuned for our adventure to The Great Wall.  Got a little more than we bargained for on that one ...

Friday, September 17, 2010

Shanghai World Expo Pt II

Pictures continued from previous post:

 
  
All things being said, I enjoyed the Expo.  Since we were there, we had to go.  Many of the local Shanghainese people we met have not even bothered because of the sheer amount of people and line ups.  We went for one day, and didn’t even consider going back for a second.  There were beautiful exhibits, and many places to hang out, sit and drink.  And I’m really happy the guys convinced me to go with them. 

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Shanghai World Expo 2010: “Better City, Better Life…”

 

We flew from Shenzen to Shanghai after enjoying a day of shopping for electronics.  The guys bought the knock off Ipad and I bought a purple “Balencia” clutch.  IMG_2771

Flat tire on the way to the airport.  There’s nothing like hearing the bang of a flat tire as you’re rushing to catch your plane.  Farshad was ready to jump out and catch another cab, but we felt bad since we had already negotiated a queue jumping rate, and paid the guy.  We unloaded our heavy back packs  Seb helped with the flat, and we were outta there in under ten minutes.

Yes we made it to the plane on time, only to find out it had been delayed for 2 hours!

IMG_2845 Shanghai World ExpoIMG_2823

IMG_2838Line ups were gruelling.  The ticket prices were extremely affordable at $20 bucks a day.  But this also meant that tourists from all over China came, and considering the population that meant 5 hour line ups for the most popular pavilions such as Japan.  Couple that with the Chinese way of budding in line, pushing and shoving in the heat meant that your nerves were sure to get grinded in some way or other.  It was interesting to see how so many people brought little stools to sit on, and nap on in the line. IMG_2987

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Monday, September 13, 2010

Big City Living - Goodbye Hong Kong, Hello China!



Leaving Hong Kong happened so fast that it was a real blur.  One minute we are watching the big light show downtown, and the next minute our good friend Farshad is in town and we crammed all things good into his itinerary for the three days he was there.
We went to the Big Buddha which was extremely beautiful.  I could have stayed the whole day there, there was this peaceful energy that I can’t even find the words to describe.  We took my family to Peking Garden, which is Yee Ling’s favorite and ours as well.  They had really great service and the food was amazing!  Then of course we hit all the usual drinking spots: Yumla, Drop, The Gecko Lounge (which is the only place in Hong Kong that legally serves absinthe)

On our last day in Hong Kong, our friend James took us into Shenzen in China and helped us book our tickets out.  It was a gong show considering the population in China.  He took us shopping at the electronic mall and helped us hail a cab to bypass the line up.  We were in such a rush, to get there on time and during rush hour – I hear this BOOM sound!  This was the sound of our cab getting a flat tire during rush hour.  He was so efficient that with Sebs help we were outta there in like 15 minutes.  And we got to the airport in time just to find out we were delayed by about an hour!

Being in China is interesting because all the things we usually take for granted like Facebook and Youtube is censored.  The upside is it makes you realize how much you waste in front of the computer when it’s not there.  In case anyone is wondering that’s why I haven’t been updating my status.
For some reason, I had the idea in my mind that I was going to see the China from 15 years ago.  A country where everyone rides bicycles, and wears china men hats, and chinese silk dresses.  Man was I in for a surprise, China is so modern with big high rises and cars and electronics everywhere. It’s not what I had imagined at all – what a shock!

One of the first things we did when we got into Shanghai was go to the World Expo.  It’s a really cool thing to do, but the line ups for the popular pavilions are ridiculous.  The best one we went to was the U.K. pavilion.  They did a seed exhibit to preserve all the different seed species.  It was really remarkable.  The line up for this one was only one hour, but when we went to check out Japan, the line up there was five hours!
 
   
Another interesting experience I had while being here in Asia was one that has to do with language.  I came to Hong Kong for the first time when I was twenty and I had never travelled anywhere where I didn’t understand the language.  I just remember how annoying I found it to hear everyone talking such crap all the time.  I found Chinese people so loud and rude!

Then after my stint of travel through other Asian countries, where I barely understood a lick of what they were saying, I found it really refreshing and cool to be able to communicate with people in Hong Kong.  It was such a treat.  The other thing I was able to experience is what it’s like to be illiterate.  I can speak Chinese but can’t read the characters, so there is a bit of bumbling around but overall I am really loving it!  Now we are heading into Beijing, where they speak mostly Mandarin so I picked up copy of the Lonely Planet phrasebook, and am using the Rosetta Stone lessons.  And thanks to James for teaching me the basics!
Also, my cousin Derek lives in Shanghai and has been living here for 41/2 years.  This time around I got to spend some quality time with him and his beautiful wife.  We went for dinners, clubbing, massages, shopping.  It was amazing to reconnect with him, as we have known each other as kids and played together all our lives!
 
He has this New York deli in Shanghai.  It is super pimp with a big screen t.v., pool table, bar and everything.  He took us there and let us all make our own sandwiches which was such a treat especially for the guys who were sick of eating noodles and rice all the time.  I loved it!  It was those creature comforts that reminded me of home, making a sandwich with all the fixings I like (mustard!) and watching family guy while laughing with the guys!
Afterwards we went to Logo.  The guys had lined up two gigs at Shelter and Logo here in Shanghai which was really cool.  It really reminded me of home and made me realize how much I appreciate their music.  In Asia there is a lot of electronic music but it is really cheesed out because the population here really loves the commercial trance anthems so it was nice to hear a bit of the electro underground again.

 
 
And keeping with our regular tradition.  After bar food and of course we had to teach Farshad Slap jack!  So much fun!  My cousin has some really cool friends out here from Vancouver as well so it was fun to reminisce about my city.
 
The next day, Mimi had invited us out to udancecn.com which is the underground electronic radio station where Sebastien recorded a one hour set for her podcast.  It was really high tech and cool.  So much fun and what a surreal experience!
 
 
Well tomorrow morning, Sebastien and I are boarding an eleven hour train to head into Beijing where we will see the Great Wall, Forbidden City and Tiananmen square. We will go back to knowing no one and getting back on the backpackers trail.  It has been an amazing ride here, but as usual we are excited for the next adventure! 

** The internet connection is unbelievably slow here ... will be posting photos when it is not so painfully slow! **