We had no idea it was Easter. There is absolutely no sign of it happening here. Although there is a little bunny rabbit hopping around the hostel this morning... So Happy Easter everyone, and Happy Birthday Jazz!!
On Friday we went to check out the Xi'an city walls. They are massive and do a 14km loop of the city to keep out, we assume, the shitty Mongolians. Upon entering the South gate we were confronted by dragons doing their dragony dance. One came right up to Jazz and battered his massive eye lashes in front of his face. Jazz was taller then the two Chinese lads in the costume standing on top of one another. Well cute. We then hired a bike to ride around the wall. Notice I said 'a' bike. Yep we went tandem. After 15 minutes of giggling incesently we finally got the hang of it and ended up cycling the entirety of the wall. You get some pretty grand views from up there. After the bikes we decided to try our hand at kite flying. It's a big thing over here and currently there is a kite festival going on on the wall. So we ran around like fools for half an hour trying to get the kite off the ground. Finally when I had it up and going it up and went! The string wasn't attached to the handle so it just flew away. I was having so much fun I nearly cried like a child. So off we went to get another one. The guy selling them yelled at me in Chinese and then tried to give my money back - he was a little startled when we asked for another but took our money happily. We finally got the hang of it - after some help from the locals - and flew it for quite a while - until I crashed it into one of the buildings (relics) and it got caught there. Yes we defiled a relic. And then ran.
In the afternoon we went for a spa. As in 100 minutes of massage and pampering Chinese style. Which means it cost $14AUD and hurt as much as it was awesome. To continue the theme we went and got a hair wash. Jazz has been filling my head with the wonders that is a Chinese hair wash but till yet we hadn't found anywhere that did them and I was starting to get dubious - It wasn't as much a hair wash as a head neck and shoulders massage. 40 minutes worth of heady bliss. After that it was on to the train for the overnight trip to Shanghai. Which was an hour late. Panic was a foot. But we ended up in Shanghai in one piece.
Shanghai is like the sanitised, westernised, Disney version of China. It's bloody beautiful, yet still confusing. We spent all day and night walking around the bund being amazed by the views and odd things. The Bund Tourist Tunnel lived up to its reputation of unsurpassed mediocrity. For dinner we went to a restaurant over looking the bund and the river. The setting was glorious and the food (4 courses) was pretty amazing. I still can't get my head around how cheap things are here.
Today we're off to do a tad more sightseeing and then on the Train to Macao for the Royale Suite at the Venetian. 5 star luxuary, can't wait!!!!
Sunday, 24 April 2011
Friday, 22 April 2011
Damn trains: The great dumpling masacre of 2011
Damn trains. When we arrived at the waiting room at Beijing West Station I thought I was going to loose my shit. Everytime I think I've never seen so many people crammed into such a small space, China outdoes itself. It was hella intense. But our trip from Beijing to Xi'an was seamless. The deluxe sleeper car was spacious, comfortable and private. It was a bit difficult to sleep due to the train stopping at stations along the way but overall it was a good trip. Unfortunately when we arrived at Xi'an and attempted to buy our next lot of tickets to Shanghai they were completely sold out except for standing room only. 12 hours overnight standing? I think not. So we had to get a later train meaning we're not leaving Xi'am until 10.30 at night and not arriving in Shanghai till after midday. This paniced us so we tried to get tickets for the Shanghai to Hong Kong leg. The problem with China trains is you can only book the tickets from the station you are departing from. Thankfully our hostel was able to sort some tickets out for us. But they are from Shanghai to Shenzhou(?) and then we need to make our way down to Macau afterward, which Jazz assures me is not an issue. (Looks dubious) Neither of the tickets are deluxe sleepers so we will be in with other people and have to use the (gasp!) public toilets. As long as no one starts sniffing my hair while I'm sleeping we should be fine. The big down side is it now means we'll only be in Shanghai for 24 hours. We'll just have to cram it all in.
We've landed in Xi'an a week before the Xi'an International Agricultural Exposition 2011. This means there are people everywhere desperately trying to beautify the city with flowers and plants. Some of it works, some is just odd. We went out to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Bhuddist temple and saw wome moks praying and burning incense and doing monk type things. It was pretty cool. We then hung around awaiting Asias biggest fountain light and music show. Just in front of the Pagoda is a massive fountain - easily as big as a city block of houses. So we sat by it and waited. And waited. And waited. And then heard fireworks from behind us. Apparently the smaller less attractive fountain around the corner is where all the action was at. But hey, at least they had illuminous cherry blossom trees.
Yesterday we visited the Terracotta Warriors. It was amazing. Imagine you're out one day digging in your field and uncover an entire army of dudes underground. I've told Jazz that this is the kind of monument I want created in my honour when I pass. At what point do you kind of go - you know what, after I die, I'm pretty sure I'll need an inaminate army to protect my tomb - make it so *clap clap*. I don't know how one gets to that point, but I'm hoping that I can at some time in my life.
Last night we took our first paid 'tour'. It was a dinner and dance - true dinks. It was pretty pricey for Chinese standards and we became dubious when we were the only ones going. We could smell a rip off a foot. But how wrong we were!! The 'tour guide' simply dropped us off at the theatre. Upstairs was the dining and downstairs was the show - You didn't think we were the ones that were going to do the dancing did you? Dinner was dumpling heaven. Such a pleasant unexpected surprise. Every single dumpling you could ever imagine was presented to us - duck, sharkfin, fish, mushroom, chicken, spinach, pumpkin, pork, beef, seafood, oyster...... the list goes on and on. And they were shaped like what was in them! Little fishes and ducks and such. And they just kept bringing them and bringing them. If we were dogs we would have eaten ourselves to death. But we only managed a mild coma. Afterward we watched traditional dances, singing and performances from the Tang Dynasty. Think of that dance she does in House of Flying Daggers with the drums and scarves. Yeah that cool. It was a really excellent night. Of course we were home in bed by 9.30 because you know - travelling Jazz and Mandy are pox.
Today we are going to ride bikes around the city walls and tonight we get on the train to Shanghai.
We've landed in Xi'an a week before the Xi'an International Agricultural Exposition 2011. This means there are people everywhere desperately trying to beautify the city with flowers and plants. Some of it works, some is just odd. We went out to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda, a Bhuddist temple and saw wome moks praying and burning incense and doing monk type things. It was pretty cool. We then hung around awaiting Asias biggest fountain light and music show. Just in front of the Pagoda is a massive fountain - easily as big as a city block of houses. So we sat by it and waited. And waited. And waited. And then heard fireworks from behind us. Apparently the smaller less attractive fountain around the corner is where all the action was at. But hey, at least they had illuminous cherry blossom trees.
Yesterday we visited the Terracotta Warriors. It was amazing. Imagine you're out one day digging in your field and uncover an entire army of dudes underground. I've told Jazz that this is the kind of monument I want created in my honour when I pass. At what point do you kind of go - you know what, after I die, I'm pretty sure I'll need an inaminate army to protect my tomb - make it so *clap clap*. I don't know how one gets to that point, but I'm hoping that I can at some time in my life.
Last night we took our first paid 'tour'. It was a dinner and dance - true dinks. It was pretty pricey for Chinese standards and we became dubious when we were the only ones going. We could smell a rip off a foot. But how wrong we were!! The 'tour guide' simply dropped us off at the theatre. Upstairs was the dining and downstairs was the show - You didn't think we were the ones that were going to do the dancing did you? Dinner was dumpling heaven. Such a pleasant unexpected surprise. Every single dumpling you could ever imagine was presented to us - duck, sharkfin, fish, mushroom, chicken, spinach, pumpkin, pork, beef, seafood, oyster...... the list goes on and on. And they were shaped like what was in them! Little fishes and ducks and such. And they just kept bringing them and bringing them. If we were dogs we would have eaten ourselves to death. But we only managed a mild coma. Afterward we watched traditional dances, singing and performances from the Tang Dynasty. Think of that dance she does in House of Flying Daggers with the drums and scarves. Yeah that cool. It was a really excellent night. Of course we were home in bed by 9.30 because you know - travelling Jazz and Mandy are pox.
Today we are going to ride bikes around the city walls and tonight we get on the train to Shanghai.
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
The Wall of Greatness: Duck Duck Scorpian
Yesterday I did the running man on the Great Wall of China. Hell to the yes. We left the hotel at dick o'clock and went off in search of the wall. We were taking public transport and thought we had it all figured. We were looking for bus 919, which would have been easy, if there weren't 72 different bus 919s. We lined up in at least 5 of them before we found the correct one. Of course the Chinese were their usual helpful self continually directing us to the wrong line. If we were in Japan someone would have walked 3 blocks to deliver us to the correct bus stop - here, you're lucky to get snarled at.
Once we were on the right bus it was smooth sailing. As smooth as sailing on Chinese roads can be. The bus drivers here are the craziest mofos I have ever come accross. I will never complain about Adelaide drivers again!! There was at least one moment where we were holding on to one another for dear life and saying our goodbyes. But we got there safe and sound. First stop was the toilets. Big mistake. HUGE. The memories of that throng will never leave me.... women barging through - knocking little old ladies out of their way, people opening the toilet doors and screaming at others to hurry up, women getting in to the cubicle before the other person had left yet. I couldn't do it. It was chaotic. And those tiny women are freakin scary. Jazz on the other hand was having a dandy time. Thankfully we found less offensive toilets further up the hill.
The wall itself, as anyone could imagine, was just stunning. It's the first time that we've been in China that I have felt real reverence for a place. We were at the busiest point on the wall - Badaling - but we went in the opposite direction along the wall than the crowds. Not sure why they all go to that section but Jazz seems to think there is a sacred site around tower 6 or 7 that area is just wall to wall (pun intended) people. In the other direction it is much calmer and there are a lot less people. I was startled by the steepness in places. There were one set of steps that were verticle, it was more like climbing a ladder than stairs. But we made it a fair distance up without too much difficulty. We were surprised to find that there were a heap of Cherry Blossom trees blossoming around the wall. I'm not sure why they are so revered in Japan, and not even really mentioned in China. Along the way we were graced with the presence of a group of Irish school boys. It added a very humerous element to the adventure. Especially when they were attemping to barter with the hawkers. Ahhhh school boy shenanigans in an Irish accent. Gold.
After the climb we pretty much headed straight back to the hotel for a nanna nap. The wall was freezing, but we both got fairly sunburnt. After our nap I had a hankering for some Peking Duck. C'mon, you can't be in Beijing for a week and not eat Peking Duck. The guy at our hotel is a wealth of knowledge and sent us to a local restaurant. It was devine!! We ate a butt load of duck and the freshest, tastiest dumplings I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It was flavour heaven. We then headed down to the Night Markets.
WARNING: Not for the squeamish.
The night markets are a bustling strip of hawkers and bizzare food stalls. You could eat - snake, octopus, tarantula, cockroach, seahorse, starfish.... in fact if it's meat - it's there on a stick. They are all stuck on sticks and put up for display - the scorpians little legs are still running 10 to the dozen. Then they flash fry them - chuck them in some spices and you eat them. Yep. We ate scorpian.
Today we're having a rest day, because tonight we are taking our first overnight train. Tomorrow we will awaken in Xian!
Once we were on the right bus it was smooth sailing. As smooth as sailing on Chinese roads can be. The bus drivers here are the craziest mofos I have ever come accross. I will never complain about Adelaide drivers again!! There was at least one moment where we were holding on to one another for dear life and saying our goodbyes. But we got there safe and sound. First stop was the toilets. Big mistake. HUGE. The memories of that throng will never leave me.... women barging through - knocking little old ladies out of their way, people opening the toilet doors and screaming at others to hurry up, women getting in to the cubicle before the other person had left yet. I couldn't do it. It was chaotic. And those tiny women are freakin scary. Jazz on the other hand was having a dandy time. Thankfully we found less offensive toilets further up the hill.
The wall itself, as anyone could imagine, was just stunning. It's the first time that we've been in China that I have felt real reverence for a place. We were at the busiest point on the wall - Badaling - but we went in the opposite direction along the wall than the crowds. Not sure why they all go to that section but Jazz seems to think there is a sacred site around tower 6 or 7 that area is just wall to wall (pun intended) people. In the other direction it is much calmer and there are a lot less people. I was startled by the steepness in places. There were one set of steps that were verticle, it was more like climbing a ladder than stairs. But we made it a fair distance up without too much difficulty. We were surprised to find that there were a heap of Cherry Blossom trees blossoming around the wall. I'm not sure why they are so revered in Japan, and not even really mentioned in China. Along the way we were graced with the presence of a group of Irish school boys. It added a very humerous element to the adventure. Especially when they were attemping to barter with the hawkers. Ahhhh school boy shenanigans in an Irish accent. Gold.
After the climb we pretty much headed straight back to the hotel for a nanna nap. The wall was freezing, but we both got fairly sunburnt. After our nap I had a hankering for some Peking Duck. C'mon, you can't be in Beijing for a week and not eat Peking Duck. The guy at our hotel is a wealth of knowledge and sent us to a local restaurant. It was devine!! We ate a butt load of duck and the freshest, tastiest dumplings I have ever had the pleasure of eating. It was flavour heaven. We then headed down to the Night Markets.
WARNING: Not for the squeamish.
The night markets are a bustling strip of hawkers and bizzare food stalls. You could eat - snake, octopus, tarantula, cockroach, seahorse, starfish.... in fact if it's meat - it's there on a stick. They are all stuck on sticks and put up for display - the scorpians little legs are still running 10 to the dozen. Then they flash fry them - chuck them in some spices and you eat them. Yep. We ate scorpian.
Today we're having a rest day, because tonight we are taking our first overnight train. Tomorrow we will awaken in Xian!
Sunday, 17 April 2011
Beijing Ding-a-ling: Forbidden Love
What a full on couple of days.
Yesterday we vistied Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. I have never seen so many people in the one place ever. And they were all in massive groups wearing the same coloured hats, following a guide with a flag. It was insane. The buildings themselves were grandiose. They certainly built the city to inspire awe and exhibit their power. It took us nearly the entire day just to get through it.
As a side note on China and its helpful people - We wanted to visit the 'hall of clocks and watches' - no idea why it just sounded the best of the myriad meseums scattered throughout the city. We found the entrence but could not find the ticket office to save ourselves. We asked several people who all gave us less than helful guidance. The woman at the ticket counter just screamed LEFT at us repeatedly. So we figured we'd go have a look at the massive building called 'information centre'. It was a beacon of hope shining to us from accross a massive courtyard, however upon closer inspection the information centre was a doorway with a massive shiny sign inside and and nothing else. It was hilariously ridiculous. We eventually got tickets and saw some clocks.
Today we headed out to the Summer Palace. Again - just a massive expanse of royal dick swinging. It was lovely to walk through and the view from the very top of the garden was breathtaking. The highlight, for me at least, was a random massive choir that seemed to spring up out of nowhere and sang so loudly and beautifully it was show stopping. Such a perfect backdrop to the palace.
We then visited the Temple of Heaven. Some weird shit went down there as far as we can gather. There were definately sacrafices but we're yet to discover of what variety. The Palace of Abstinance was disappointing to say the least. But then that was probably to be expected....
China itself is proving to be challenging. The food is great, the subway is exceptional - only 2 yuan (about 30 cents), to go anywhere on the subway and the sights are amazing. There's only two issues - the toilets and the staring. I thought we had issues with the Japan toilets - but they don't have anything on Chinese ones. They have squats which we became acustomed to in Japan, but you can't flush your toilet paper. So what does one do with ones toilet paper if not flush it? Well one leaves it in the waste paper basket next to the squat. Which means every time you squat down to take a pee your face is about 20 cms away from an overflowing basket full of soiled paper. I'm desperately trying to get used to it - Jazz just laughs at me. And then there's the staring. Jazz told me to expect the Chinese to stare at us. What he didn't tell me is that they would stop mouth agape staring at us for a full minute after we had walked past, or that they would run into walls on their bikes because they were too busy checking out the "wai gua ren" (forigners). We have had 3 families and 1 soldier stop and ask to take their pictures with us. Who would have thought that we would be as big a tourist attraction as some ancient ruins!! Sometimes it's fine other times - and particularly for someone who is already self concious - it can be very awkward.
Anway enough rambling - we're off to get some Peking Duck and tomorrow - The Great Wall!!
Yesterday we vistied Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. I have never seen so many people in the one place ever. And they were all in massive groups wearing the same coloured hats, following a guide with a flag. It was insane. The buildings themselves were grandiose. They certainly built the city to inspire awe and exhibit their power. It took us nearly the entire day just to get through it.
As a side note on China and its helpful people - We wanted to visit the 'hall of clocks and watches' - no idea why it just sounded the best of the myriad meseums scattered throughout the city. We found the entrence but could not find the ticket office to save ourselves. We asked several people who all gave us less than helful guidance. The woman at the ticket counter just screamed LEFT at us repeatedly. So we figured we'd go have a look at the massive building called 'information centre'. It was a beacon of hope shining to us from accross a massive courtyard, however upon closer inspection the information centre was a doorway with a massive shiny sign inside and and nothing else. It was hilariously ridiculous. We eventually got tickets and saw some clocks.
Today we headed out to the Summer Palace. Again - just a massive expanse of royal dick swinging. It was lovely to walk through and the view from the very top of the garden was breathtaking. The highlight, for me at least, was a random massive choir that seemed to spring up out of nowhere and sang so loudly and beautifully it was show stopping. Such a perfect backdrop to the palace.
We then visited the Temple of Heaven. Some weird shit went down there as far as we can gather. There were definately sacrafices but we're yet to discover of what variety. The Palace of Abstinance was disappointing to say the least. But then that was probably to be expected....
China itself is proving to be challenging. The food is great, the subway is exceptional - only 2 yuan (about 30 cents), to go anywhere on the subway and the sights are amazing. There's only two issues - the toilets and the staring. I thought we had issues with the Japan toilets - but they don't have anything on Chinese ones. They have squats which we became acustomed to in Japan, but you can't flush your toilet paper. So what does one do with ones toilet paper if not flush it? Well one leaves it in the waste paper basket next to the squat. Which means every time you squat down to take a pee your face is about 20 cms away from an overflowing basket full of soiled paper. I'm desperately trying to get used to it - Jazz just laughs at me. And then there's the staring. Jazz told me to expect the Chinese to stare at us. What he didn't tell me is that they would stop mouth agape staring at us for a full minute after we had walked past, or that they would run into walls on their bikes because they were too busy checking out the "wai gua ren" (forigners). We have had 3 families and 1 soldier stop and ask to take their pictures with us. Who would have thought that we would be as big a tourist attraction as some ancient ruins!! Sometimes it's fine other times - and particularly for someone who is already self concious - it can be very awkward.
Anway enough rambling - we're off to get some Peking Duck and tomorrow - The Great Wall!!
Saturday, 16 April 2011
Welcome to China - Land of Contradictions
The ferry saw us land at Qingdao Port on the North East Coast of China. It occured to us after the fact that entering a country through a shipping port is not the best way to get the first impression of a country. To say I was shit scared was an understatement. Jazzy of course was holding firm that it 'wasn't that bad' (he conceded later that yes, in fact, it was that bad). The minute we stepped out of the terminal taxi drivers were screaming at us to use their taxi, we declined with the intention of taking a train. The area was like nothing I have ever seen. To say it was dilapitated is being too generous. We dragged our way through the road/footpath/dirt along the train line looking for the station which was nowhere to be found. Finally we stumbled accross a ticketing desk but the clerk would not help us - literally, he just sat in his office ignoring our existence. So out to get a taxi we went. After numerous attempts we finally flagged one down. The question of our cases was too much for him though. It took us a full five minutes to get into the taxi and moving.
So taxi rides in China. O.M.G. I sat in the back with my eyes closed praying for a swift and painless death. There appear to be no road rules. The only road rule is to use your horn constantly and scare the hell out of your passengers, pedestrians and other motorists. I have seen no evidence to disprove this threory in the taxi rides we have taken since. He did however, get us to the hotel safe and unscathed. It was one of those rare moments where we wanted to get into the comfort of the hotel room and ignore that there is a big bad world outside the door. But we persisted and headed down to the train station to get our tickets to Beijing for the next morning. The city was depressing. It was dirty, manic, chaotic - the exact opposite of all that Japan had been.
The train trip to Beijing and the taxi ride to the hotel were just as intolerable. We could not find our hotel at all, and the taxi driver parked his car in the middle of the road twice and got out to ask directions whilst other motorists beeped their horns around him. We finally just said let us out here and figured we would make better on foot. We spent about 20 minutes going around in circles in the tiny, smelly and dilapitated Hutongs of Beijings West, until finally at the very end of a tiny dead end Hutong we found a door.... our door.... that led into an amazing oasis. It's called Kellys Courtyard and it is the most beautiful, unexpected little getaway we could wish for. The furnishings are classical and stylish, the room is unbelievably cosy, the rooftop garden and the court yard are delightful to relax in.
Finally our China trip had started. Since then things have been fabulous. We are loving this city and seeing heaps every day. Tomorrow we'll tell you about Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City.
So taxi rides in China. O.M.G. I sat in the back with my eyes closed praying for a swift and painless death. There appear to be no road rules. The only road rule is to use your horn constantly and scare the hell out of your passengers, pedestrians and other motorists. I have seen no evidence to disprove this threory in the taxi rides we have taken since. He did however, get us to the hotel safe and unscathed. It was one of those rare moments where we wanted to get into the comfort of the hotel room and ignore that there is a big bad world outside the door. But we persisted and headed down to the train station to get our tickets to Beijing for the next morning. The city was depressing. It was dirty, manic, chaotic - the exact opposite of all that Japan had been.
The train trip to Beijing and the taxi ride to the hotel were just as intolerable. We could not find our hotel at all, and the taxi driver parked his car in the middle of the road twice and got out to ask directions whilst other motorists beeped their horns around him. We finally just said let us out here and figured we would make better on foot. We spent about 20 minutes going around in circles in the tiny, smelly and dilapitated Hutongs of Beijings West, until finally at the very end of a tiny dead end Hutong we found a door.... our door.... that led into an amazing oasis. It's called Kellys Courtyard and it is the most beautiful, unexpected little getaway we could wish for. The furnishings are classical and stylish, the room is unbelievably cosy, the rooftop garden and the court yard are delightful to relax in.
Finally our China trip had started. Since then things have been fabulous. We are loving this city and seeing heaps every day. Tomorrow we'll tell you about Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City.
Heading Down Town to China Town: The Love Boat
Well the ferry trip was an unmitigated success. We had the Maple Suite. We had no idea that this consisted of a king size bed, in a bedroom, coupled with a full bathroom - including bath, entry way/bar plus a full lounge suite with TV and full length windows out to the ocean. Upon arrival we were greeted with tea, a fruit bowl (!) and assorted savouries and sweets. I should really put this ferry in prespective though - we only paid an extra $100 for the suite, the class below us was 4 berth and no bathroom. A no brainer really! And the lowest class we could find was a large room where about 40 people slept in sleeping bags on the floor. There was really not much to do other than sleep, eat, watch bad bad movies and read. It was just the relaxation that we needed.
Behind the Bamboo Curtain
Jazzy and I have made it safe and sound to Beijing. Unforftunately we have no access to facebook or the blog. We do however have access to our hotmail so you can email us mandy2011@hotmail.com and ashleymedew@hotmail.com if there's anything pressing.
My beautiful mum has very kindly offered to keep updating the blog for us so please stay tuned.
Beijing in s sentence: Today I saw a woman standing outside a massive Louis Vitton store tending to her pet duck.
My beautiful mum has very kindly offered to keep updating the blog for us so please stay tuned.
Beijing in s sentence: Today I saw a woman standing outside a massive Louis Vitton store tending to her pet duck.
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