As some of you know, I shall shortly be setting off on a little jig around China!
Feeling confident having more or less mastered the intricacies of the local lingo (well, I finished second in the Mandarin course after all - brave last words!) I shall be spending five weeks ambling between Beijing, Tibet, Shanghai, Guilin and Hong Kong! Incredibly excited about the prospect and raring to go this Sunday.
I shall write a more detailed first entry later - at the moment a bit bogged down trying to sort out packing and remembering all the last minute details :)
Hope everyone is well!
Cheers!
Robin
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Why China? - July 1, 2007
Why China? - July 1, 2007
A first quick message on the blog having sorted out all the packing and organisation! It's amazing how many little things there are to resolve ahead of a trip like this! I'm very excited about the prospect - it's taken a long time to organise and I can't wait to get going!
Some of you may be thinking "why China and why Chinese"?! Well, it all goes back to last summer when I woke up one morning to hear the BBC Radio 4 Today programme announce the opening of the final section of the Beijing - Tibet train line, describing this incredible feat of engineering travelling at nearly 5000m across the Tibetan plateau. Lying there I thought to myself - "that would be a trip and a half!" And there it might have ended, as a passing idea, if not for the fact that on the very same morning on the Brussels metro I happened to be stood next to a Chinese girl reading a Chinese text and I thought to myself - now that would be a challenge! And with that I decided that if I wanted to go to China and do the trip to Tibet I should look at learning some Mandarin (Tibetan is for next year!)....!
Fast forward one year and a completed first year of Mandarin - having somewhat bizarrely finished second in the class - and I'm ready to go! The plan is to spend the first five days in Beijing studying Mandarin. I have taken 20 classes of 1-2-1 tuition so it should allow me to polish up my skills before heading off. The classes will be in the morning, leaving enough time for all the sightseeing! On Friday I will join the tour from Beijing to Tibet - we will spend around 10 days travelling through the north of China, visiting among others Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors, the Yellow River and a variety of intriguing places along route! Hopefully there will be internet so I can update this! The final train to Tibet departs from Qinghai province one late afternoon and arrives 24 hours later in Lhasa - the trip through the Tibetan plateau should be superb, and then I'll spend 4 days or so in Lhasa visiting all the sites, before returning to Beijing!
From this point, I become an independent! The plan is to catch the night train from Beijing to Shanghai on July 22, spend four days there, before moving on to Guilin in the south to do a four day Cantonese cooking course in Yangshou! From there I'll catch another train to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, spending four days there before heading home on August 5!
I'm looking at the clock now and guess I should go! I hope you enjoy checking this blog from time to time and hopefully I shall be able to update fairly frequently!
All the best!
Rob
A first quick message on the blog having sorted out all the packing and organisation! It's amazing how many little things there are to resolve ahead of a trip like this! I'm very excited about the prospect - it's taken a long time to organise and I can't wait to get going!
Some of you may be thinking "why China and why Chinese"?! Well, it all goes back to last summer when I woke up one morning to hear the BBC Radio 4 Today programme announce the opening of the final section of the Beijing - Tibet train line, describing this incredible feat of engineering travelling at nearly 5000m across the Tibetan plateau. Lying there I thought to myself - "that would be a trip and a half!" And there it might have ended, as a passing idea, if not for the fact that on the very same morning on the Brussels metro I happened to be stood next to a Chinese girl reading a Chinese text and I thought to myself - now that would be a challenge! And with that I decided that if I wanted to go to China and do the trip to Tibet I should look at learning some Mandarin (Tibetan is for next year!)....!
Fast forward one year and a completed first year of Mandarin - having somewhat bizarrely finished second in the class - and I'm ready to go! The plan is to spend the first five days in Beijing studying Mandarin. I have taken 20 classes of 1-2-1 tuition so it should allow me to polish up my skills before heading off. The classes will be in the morning, leaving enough time for all the sightseeing! On Friday I will join the tour from Beijing to Tibet - we will spend around 10 days travelling through the north of China, visiting among others Xi'an and the Terracotta Warriors, the Yellow River and a variety of intriguing places along route! Hopefully there will be internet so I can update this! The final train to Tibet departs from Qinghai province one late afternoon and arrives 24 hours later in Lhasa - the trip through the Tibetan plateau should be superb, and then I'll spend 4 days or so in Lhasa visiting all the sites, before returning to Beijing!
From this point, I become an independent! The plan is to catch the night train from Beijing to Shanghai on July 22, spend four days there, before moving on to Guilin in the south to do a four day Cantonese cooking course in Yangshou! From there I'll catch another train to Shenzhen and Hong Kong, spending four days there before heading home on August 5!
I'm looking at the clock now and guess I should go! I hope you enjoy checking this blog from time to time and hopefully I shall be able to update fairly frequently!
All the best!
Rob
Beijing - July 2 2007
Beijing - July 2 2007
Hurrah! I have just arrived, well to be truthful I arrived at 10h30 this morning but it took quite some time to clear customs and all the paper checking! The flight across was uneventful except for the fact that I nearly missed the connecting flight out of Heathrow due to the enhanced security checks - fortunately we were fast-tracked through to the plane - which in turn was delayed itself due to all the queues!
First impressions: it's hot and humid and very misty today - I'm wondering if this is more smog than mist, but the pilot insisted it was foggy. Actually, one of the weirder announcements I've ever heard on a plane - we were delayed landing because of "military manoeuvres"! Fantastic! But we evaded whatever was going on up there and touched down safely.
My first real experience of China - and the hapless nature of my Chinese came with the taxi into the city! It was all looking fairly straightforward as they have a series of people guiding you at the taxi ranks and after various "checks and discussions" I found myself setting off in a taxi with a chap with zero English! No problem I thought, what with my Chinese and the fact one of the "controllers" had explained the destination... More fool me :) He knew which district we were going to - Haidian - but that was about it! Led to 45 minutes driving around and eventually asking a combination of Chinese students (its near the university) and policemen the way to go! Comical - between my terrible Chinese and a multitude of blank faces I am astonished I got here!
But here I am, sitting in the school tapping this mail while I wait for someone to come and take me across to the residence! It's all looking good. I thought the classes were going to be in the morning but it turns out they might be in the afternoon - this is no bad thing given how it hot it is post midday! "IF" I get up early I can do a lot of my sightseeing early doors - and in any case the big sights I'll do as part of the tour from Friday!
What else I have noticed? What I have seen so far it looks like a big building sight - we drove past the Olympic stadium - it's very impressive. But the whole city, or the parts I saw from the highway at least as I say, looked like a construction site (for the Brussels folk - like Rond Point Schuman multiplied a million times over!). I hope to get settled in this afternoon and then get in contact with some of the people friends have kindly put me in touch with!
I had better conclude here as not sure when they are coming to whisk me away! Next instalment should be post jet-lag and therefore of a slightly clearer nature :).
Rob
Hurrah! I have just arrived, well to be truthful I arrived at 10h30 this morning but it took quite some time to clear customs and all the paper checking! The flight across was uneventful except for the fact that I nearly missed the connecting flight out of Heathrow due to the enhanced security checks - fortunately we were fast-tracked through to the plane - which in turn was delayed itself due to all the queues!
First impressions: it's hot and humid and very misty today - I'm wondering if this is more smog than mist, but the pilot insisted it was foggy. Actually, one of the weirder announcements I've ever heard on a plane - we were delayed landing because of "military manoeuvres"! Fantastic! But we evaded whatever was going on up there and touched down safely.
My first real experience of China - and the hapless nature of my Chinese came with the taxi into the city! It was all looking fairly straightforward as they have a series of people guiding you at the taxi ranks and after various "checks and discussions" I found myself setting off in a taxi with a chap with zero English! No problem I thought, what with my Chinese and the fact one of the "controllers" had explained the destination... More fool me :) He knew which district we were going to - Haidian - but that was about it! Led to 45 minutes driving around and eventually asking a combination of Chinese students (its near the university) and policemen the way to go! Comical - between my terrible Chinese and a multitude of blank faces I am astonished I got here!
But here I am, sitting in the school tapping this mail while I wait for someone to come and take me across to the residence! It's all looking good. I thought the classes were going to be in the morning but it turns out they might be in the afternoon - this is no bad thing given how it hot it is post midday! "IF" I get up early I can do a lot of my sightseeing early doors - and in any case the big sights I'll do as part of the tour from Friday!What else I have noticed? What I have seen so far it looks like a big building sight - we drove past the Olympic stadium - it's very impressive. But the whole city, or the parts I saw from the highway at least as I say, looked like a construction site (for the Brussels folk - like Rond Point Schuman multiplied a million times over!). I hope to get settled in this afternoon and then get in contact with some of the people friends have kindly put me in touch with!
I had better conclude here as not sure when they are coming to whisk me away! Next instalment should be post jet-lag and therefore of a slightly clearer nature :).
Rob
Beijing - July 4 2007
Beijing - July 4 2007
It's midday on my third day in Beijing and I am busy with the classes and trying to tackle this incredibly complicated language! The classes started yesterday - I have 20 classes over a four day period. I have one-to-one tuition which is good as it means I can structure what I would like to learn. I have asked my teacher to focus on the practicalities so in terms of booking trains, buying tickets, handling restaurants etc etc! Once I set off on the independent part of my travels I shall really need to be able to master this kind of vocabulary and the relevant phrases!
I am staying in a student residence not too far from the school, good accommodation and students from all over - from "Anglo-Saxons" to even French, German and Spanish! Feels just like Brussels - well apart from the Chinese!
I have had some particularly challenging moments with my Chinese already - it's amazing how difficult it is to communicate and understand even when you have the basics. But this does lead to some fun experiences too. For example, on Monday evening I found what turned out to be a Chinese fast-food restaurant for dinner - but unlike any fast-food I have seen before. The basic idea was that on arrival you chose your dish from hanging bamboo tickets with the names of dishes on them, which were then ordered from the kitchen for you. Having worked out the system, I began asking for the dishes I know in Chinese (not wide ranging on Monday evening I can tell you!) and took from the reaction of the waitress that they had run out of my selection! Gridlock ensued ... until a kindly Chinese chap got up and came over to enquire of me, in perfect English, what I wanted to eat! I have rarely been happier! Then, once settled with beef noodles (spicy), I had the surreal experience of watching the!
e locals watch a documentary about David Beckham - I nearly stood up and said "wo shi de Manchester" but thought better of it... :)
Yesterday morning before the classes started I decided to go and check out some of the sites in the city which I will not see as part of the tour. I wanted to go to the area north of the Imperial Palace where there are gardens and lakes. Well, getting there felt like crossing a country - Beijing is so big! We're in the northwest of the city and it took me 2 hours, mixture of walking, suburban trains and metro to get there, but in the end I did. It was a beautiful area to walk around, and I may try and go back at some stage.
Yesterday evening I met up for dinner with a Beijing local - Ma Yi. My colleague in Brussels, Bernadette, had met her in London when she was on a press visit and she took me for a traditional Chinese meal. It was excellent - noodles, beef, fruits and some bizarre sour stuff called duo zhi which I am told only old Beijingers can handle! Ma Yi seems to be encapsulating the entrepreneurial spirit that China is renowned for, having given up her job as a journalist to try and set herself up importing an American company's cosmetics into China!
This evening the school has organised a trip to a Peking Duck restaurant so we're raring to go off there - once another two hours of Chinese have been ticked off! It's nearly lunchtime too, but this time I am prepared: my teacher has recommended a fast-food place and a dish - fingers crossed they have it or it could be a difficult lunch!
More to come later :)
Rob
It's midday on my third day in Beijing and I am busy with the classes and trying to tackle this incredibly complicated language! The classes started yesterday - I have 20 classes over a four day period. I have one-to-one tuition which is good as it means I can structure what I would like to learn. I have asked my teacher to focus on the practicalities so in terms of booking trains, buying tickets, handling restaurants etc etc! Once I set off on the independent part of my travels I shall really need to be able to master this kind of vocabulary and the relevant phrases!
I am staying in a student residence not too far from the school, good accommodation and students from all over - from "Anglo-Saxons" to even French, German and Spanish! Feels just like Brussels - well apart from the Chinese!
I have had some particularly challenging moments with my Chinese already - it's amazing how difficult it is to communicate and understand even when you have the basics. But this does lead to some fun experiences too. For example, on Monday evening I found what turned out to be a Chinese fast-food restaurant for dinner - but unlike any fast-food I have seen before. The basic idea was that on arrival you chose your dish from hanging bamboo tickets with the names of dishes on them, which were then ordered from the kitchen for you. Having worked out the system, I began asking for the dishes I know in Chinese (not wide ranging on Monday evening I can tell you!) and took from the reaction of the waitress that they had run out of my selection! Gridlock ensued ... until a kindly Chinese chap got up and came over to enquire of me, in perfect English, what I wanted to eat! I have rarely been happier! Then, once settled with beef noodles (spicy), I had the surreal experience of watching the!
e locals watch a documentary about David Beckham - I nearly stood up and said "wo shi de Manchester" but thought better of it... :)
Yesterday morning before the classes started I decided to go and check out some of the sites in the city which I will not see as part of the tour. I wanted to go to the area north of the Imperial Palace where there are gardens and lakes. Well, getting there felt like crossing a country - Beijing is so big! We're in the northwest of the city and it took me 2 hours, mixture of walking, suburban trains and metro to get there, but in the end I did. It was a beautiful area to walk around, and I may try and go back at some stage.
Yesterday evening I met up for dinner with a Beijing local - Ma Yi. My colleague in Brussels, Bernadette, had met her in London when she was on a press visit and she took me for a traditional Chinese meal. It was excellent - noodles, beef, fruits and some bizarre sour stuff called duo zhi which I am told only old Beijingers can handle! Ma Yi seems to be encapsulating the entrepreneurial spirit that China is renowned for, having given up her job as a journalist to try and set herself up importing an American company's cosmetics into China!
This evening the school has organised a trip to a Peking Duck restaurant so we're raring to go off there - once another two hours of Chinese have been ticked off! It's nearly lunchtime too, but this time I am prepared: my teacher has recommended a fast-food place and a dish - fingers crossed they have it or it could be a difficult lunch!
More to come later :)
Rob
Beijing - July 6 2007
I can't believe how quickly time is passing - already nearly a week into my Chinese trip and I have finished the classes here in Beijing! It has been quite hectic, with, 20 classes between Tuesday lunchtime and today (Friday lunchtime). Excuse any lapses as I write, but my stomach is crying out for my favourite lunchtime portion of spicy pork and veggies at the local Chinese fast-food place! I have learnt a lot in the classes: an incredible amount of vocabulary to cover the range of situations I might find myself in over the next few weeks as well as practicing pronunciation! This remains one of the most challenging aspect - and I suspect will do for quite some time!
On Wednesday evening a group of us from the school went to have Peking Duck in a well-known restaurant! I don't recall having ever eaten Peking Duck in the past, but it was very good, and good fun watching the chef slice up the duck in front of us (apologies in advance to the veggies among you :)). Overall on the food front, I am gradually mastering the intricacies of the Beijing menu: following the recommendation from one of my teachers on Wednesday, I have made the local fast-food haunt my regular destination of choice since then. As predicted by many people, it also helps being English in these kind of environments as everyone wants to speak English with you - I normally have a rather bizarre discussion with the employees there, them speaking in English and me trying out my pigeon Chinese!
Yesterday evening I caught up with another Beijing contact (again courtesy of my work colleague Bernadette - thanks again!) Ben, who does PR at Hill and Knowlton Beijing. The phrase "isn't it a small world" came to mind when I turned up and met his colleague and a visiting representative from UK Trade and Investment based in Hong Kong, but up in Beijing scoping out extending their activities here. A enjoyable evening was spent drinking tsingtao and losing badly at a very competitive speed pool competition!
So, the first week closes and I am now looking forward to starting my trip to Tibet! I join the tour later this afternoon, and after spending the weekend here visiting the Great Wall, Forbidden City and taking in an opera, I'll be heading off to Xi'an and the terracotta warriors on Sunday evening - from there it's a mixture of train and car across the northern regions of China to Tibet! I'm very excited about the trip and also keen to see the contrasts with the big cities like Beijing and the rest of the country: I have seen and heard a lot of contradicting points about China already - perhaps Ben summed it up best when he said "one country many cultures"?
Lots to discover anyway and more to come soon :)
Rob
On Wednesday evening a group of us from the school went to have Peking Duck in a well-known restaurant! I don't recall having ever eaten Peking Duck in the past, but it was very good, and good fun watching the chef slice up the duck in front of us (apologies in advance to the veggies among you :)). Overall on the food front, I am gradually mastering the intricacies of the Beijing menu: following the recommendation from one of my teachers on Wednesday, I have made the local fast-food haunt my regular destination of choice since then. As predicted by many people, it also helps being English in these kind of environments as everyone wants to speak English with you - I normally have a rather bizarre discussion with the employees there, them speaking in English and me trying out my pigeon Chinese!
Yesterday evening I caught up with another Beijing contact (again courtesy of my work colleague Bernadette - thanks again!) Ben, who does PR at Hill and Knowlton Beijing. The phrase "isn't it a small world" came to mind when I turned up and met his colleague and a visiting representative from UK Trade and Investment based in Hong Kong, but up in Beijing scoping out extending their activities here. A enjoyable evening was spent drinking tsingtao and losing badly at a very competitive speed pool competition!
So, the first week closes and I am now looking forward to starting my trip to Tibet! I join the tour later this afternoon, and after spending the weekend here visiting the Great Wall, Forbidden City and taking in an opera, I'll be heading off to Xi'an and the terracotta warriors on Sunday evening - from there it's a mixture of train and car across the northern regions of China to Tibet! I'm very excited about the trip and also keen to see the contrasts with the big cities like Beijing and the rest of the country: I have seen and heard a lot of contradicting points about China already - perhaps Ben summed it up best when he said "one country many cultures"?
Lots to discover anyway and more to come soon :)
Rob
Beijing - July 7 2007
Beijing - July 7 2007
Still in Beijing, but joined up on the tour yesterday! So a change of scene if not a change of place yet! All going very well - despite the fact that I am sitting in one hell of a hot furnace internet cafe - it must be 40+ degrees in here, so be patient with any excessive digressions! It's the heat, honest, and not any Beijing pijiu (beer)! :)
I am the youngest person on the tour - the baby I guess you might say! I can see the influence of the grey (or silver?) pound / Euro/ USD on the travel industry! Saying that the people are all very nice, and come from a variety of places: UK, Italy, US and Australia (no French or Belgians, but you can't have everything!).
Today was the first big day on the tour and we went out to the Great Wall of China - it was fantastic! You can check all the facts and figures you would ever need to know about the wall, but the point I most appreciated was the one about how Genghis Khan merely bribed his way past the sentries on his way to Beijing! Corruption, it appears, is not a modern manifestation in China!
Anyway, back to the tour: we went to the Mutianyu section of the wall. This is not the most touristy part, but neither is it the most secluded. It wasn't so bad - once you had negotiated the million people selling water and junk at the bottom!
We climbed up in the scorching heat and humidity and then walked along the wall. It was truly a fantastic experience - and surprisingly not too busy! I may try and upload some photos from my camera for Colin to put on here if I can withstand the heat of this place - it's that hot in here! We're now back in Beijing and will be going to see some opera this evening which I am really looking forward to - and then following that up with Beijing duck: I've done this already, but when in Rome as they say!
Actually, on the when in Rome front, I have just had my first experience in a Chinese pharmacy! I have got some kind of ear infection so our Chinese local guide - Jason - took me down to get me sorted with some ear drops. I have never seen a chemist look so confused by a list of symptoms, but I came away with said drops and some Chinese medicine! Hurrah - I was diagnosed as being too "hot" - clearly the case, as some of you know! So I have been given traditional herbs - but in little balls to take! 50 twice a day though! Back at the hotel I tried to take some and got to 10 before I couldn't be bothered carrying on - they don't taste great either! Hopefully my ear will clear up before our ascent into the heavens...
On another "isn't the world a small place" theme - our tour leader, Sam, studied at Bradford University so we have been reminiscing about the joys of getting up to N Floor on the Richmond Building (apologies to those not part of the Bradford alumni!). Last night we also went to see an acrobatics show - it was very good, and some heart-stopping moments when I thought people were going to do themselves some serious "Achilles tendon" type injuries!
Tomorrow's plan is Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, Hutongs and Temple of Heaven, before we get on the overnight train to Xi'an at 9pm! Can't wait for the first train journey of the tour!
I'll update in the next couple of days!
Rob
Still in Beijing, but joined up on the tour yesterday! So a change of scene if not a change of place yet! All going very well - despite the fact that I am sitting in one hell of a hot furnace internet cafe - it must be 40+ degrees in here, so be patient with any excessive digressions! It's the heat, honest, and not any Beijing pijiu (beer)! :)
I am the youngest person on the tour - the baby I guess you might say! I can see the influence of the grey (or silver?) pound / Euro/ USD on the travel industry! Saying that the people are all very nice, and come from a variety of places: UK, Italy, US and Australia (no French or Belgians, but you can't have everything!).
Today was the first big day on the tour and we went out to the Great Wall of China - it was fantastic! You can check all the facts and figures you would ever need to know about the wall, but the point I most appreciated was the one about how Genghis Khan merely bribed his way past the sentries on his way to Beijing! Corruption, it appears, is not a modern manifestation in China!
Anyway, back to the tour: we went to the Mutianyu section of the wall. This is not the most touristy part, but neither is it the most secluded. It wasn't so bad - once you had negotiated the million people selling water and junk at the bottom!
We climbed up in the scorching heat and humidity and then walked along the wall. It was truly a fantastic experience - and surprisingly not too busy! I may try and upload some photos from my camera for Colin to put on here if I can withstand the heat of this place - it's that hot in here! We're now back in Beijing and will be going to see some opera this evening which I am really looking forward to - and then following that up with Beijing duck: I've done this already, but when in Rome as they say!Actually, on the when in Rome front, I have just had my first experience in a Chinese pharmacy! I have got some kind of ear infection so our Chinese local guide - Jason - took me down to get me sorted with some ear drops. I have never seen a chemist look so confused by a list of symptoms, but I came away with said drops and some Chinese medicine! Hurrah - I was diagnosed as being too "hot" - clearly the case, as some of you know! So I have been given traditional herbs - but in little balls to take! 50 twice a day though! Back at the hotel I tried to take some and got to 10 before I couldn't be bothered carrying on - they don't taste great either! Hopefully my ear will clear up before our ascent into the heavens...
On another "isn't the world a small place" theme - our tour leader, Sam, studied at Bradford University so we have been reminiscing about the joys of getting up to N Floor on the Richmond Building (apologies to those not part of the Bradford alumni!). Last night we also went to see an acrobatics show - it was very good, and some heart-stopping moments when I thought people were going to do themselves some serious "Achilles tendon" type injuries!
Tomorrow's plan is Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, Hutongs and Temple of Heaven, before we get on the overnight train to Xi'an at 9pm! Can't wait for the first train journey of the tour!
I'll update in the next couple of days!
Rob
Xi-an - July 9 2007
Xi-an - July 9 2007
Hedgehog hospitalisation: Well no, not quite, but the budding sub-editor in me got the better of me and decided to exaggerate a little the story... Well it is a blog after all I guess :) It turns out I have managed to get a dose of tonsilitus (I think on the plane) - yesterday morning in Beijing I felt terrible so the local Chinese guide took me to hospital to get some treatment. I was relatively quickly diagnosed and then presribed some Western treatment - even though I had been quite open to trying the various Chinese medicines dolled out to me by the chemist! Because we were travelling yesterday evening, the doctor decided that I should have the first dose by drip so I sat for 2 hours having the treatment. It was all very efficient - they had a row of comfy chairs and people came and went for a variety of drips. I watched them and they definitely watched me! A more amusing anecdote came at the start of the examination by the doctor. She asked me to sit in what closely resembled a dentists chair - imagine the anxiety rising in me (!) - and of course the chair was designed for the smaller "average" person here in China! Sam and Jason, the guides, were laughing at me as I struggled to sit in the chair, as the doctor turned round and demanded "what is your problem?" provoking my answer of "well you see, I think I'm too tall for your chair". Blank face and penny dropping on my side, I quickly recanted and explained all my symptoms :)
A little interlude from the story to give you an idea of the place I am. In Xi-An (more on this later), I am in a really cool internet cafe where they have single seat sofas in front of each PC station - this is the kind of set up I could do with at home! And I have just noticed they have headphones so I am trying to listen to BBC Radio 4 - interestingly they don't have the full spectrum of programmes on here, i.e. no Today programme or World at One. The Chinese have really got control of the internet I see. On the other hand, they appear to have left the Manchester Evening News to their own devices, at least when it comes to news on Man Utd...although they should learn and block news about Sven and City :)
Yesterday evening we took the first train of our journey from Beijing to Xi-An. This was everything and more than I expected it to be. The train station in Beijing is immense in size and scale - it looks more like an airport than a train station! The train we took was incredibly modern, we had soft couchettes - ruanwo - four to a cabin. It was great fun: you have a carriage attendant and a pot of hot water you can use for your cha and coffee, or in my case some disgusting pot noodles. It would appear pot noodles in any country are by definition crap :) Anyway, sleeping on the train was a wonderful experience as was watching the countryside slip by in the early morning fog (and this time, unlike Beijing, I am sure it was fog of the natural variety).
And so, we arrived in Xi-An. Some it has to be said, in less style than others. Waking up this morning I felt like my throat had been put through the ringer, so I took my daily dose of antibiotics before any consideration of food had even started to enter my head... 30 minutes later and I am decorating the rather pleasantly sculptured Xi-An platform flowers with some additional fertiliser. As a result of all my exertions I took the day off today, slept and wandered around a little. I plan to go out and check out some of the sights later this evening as I understand they look beautiful at nightime. Xi-An is the former imperial capital - "xi" means West - it is south west of Beijing. It is famous for the Terracotta Warriors, which, touch wood, I shall be seeing tomorrow morning. It is also famous for the story of the monk who goes to India with the monkey and the pig (have I got that right?!). It was on TV in the UK in the 70s and 80s - Monkey or something! I am not kidding you when I say this, but it is on Chinese TV everytime I turn it on!! (an update on the Chinese blocking of internet sources - they also block Judge Jules and his techno on Radio 1 - well I would never have expected that!).
So what else? Despite my illness, I did manage to get round Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City yesterday morning. As you would expect, the Square is indeed massive and somewhat overwhelming - especially when it feels like it is already 35+ plus with sticky humidity at 9am! Anyway, took all the right pictures, including of course, the one of the man himself ("Great Leader") and then checked out the Forbidden City.
This is a truly magnificent place and it is my to regret that I was not able to explore properly properly. I did see most of the big parts and then spent quite a lot of time in the Imperial Gardens watching the world going by. A rather bizarre experience happened when a father with what appeared to be his young daughter came over to me and gestured with a camera. Naturally thinking they wanted me to take a photo of them I was all ready to go, but no the chap wanted a photo with me! Well if you must... :)
I guess that is just about all :) Tomorrow evening we are moving on again, taking a night train, heading west edging closer to Tibet, or Xizang to give it its (Chinese) name.
More to follow at some stage :)
Rob
Hedgehog hospitalisation: Well no, not quite, but the budding sub-editor in me got the better of me and decided to exaggerate a little the story... Well it is a blog after all I guess :) It turns out I have managed to get a dose of tonsilitus (I think on the plane) - yesterday morning in Beijing I felt terrible so the local Chinese guide took me to hospital to get some treatment. I was relatively quickly diagnosed and then presribed some Western treatment - even though I had been quite open to trying the various Chinese medicines dolled out to me by the chemist! Because we were travelling yesterday evening, the doctor decided that I should have the first dose by drip so I sat for 2 hours having the treatment. It was all very efficient - they had a row of comfy chairs and people came and went for a variety of drips. I watched them and they definitely watched me! A more amusing anecdote came at the start of the examination by the doctor. She asked me to sit in what closely resembled a dentists chair - imagine the anxiety rising in me (!) - and of course the chair was designed for the smaller "average" person here in China! Sam and Jason, the guides, were laughing at me as I struggled to sit in the chair, as the doctor turned round and demanded "what is your problem?" provoking my answer of "well you see, I think I'm too tall for your chair". Blank face and penny dropping on my side, I quickly recanted and explained all my symptoms :)
A little interlude from the story to give you an idea of the place I am. In Xi-An (more on this later), I am in a really cool internet cafe where they have single seat sofas in front of each PC station - this is the kind of set up I could do with at home! And I have just noticed they have headphones so I am trying to listen to BBC Radio 4 - interestingly they don't have the full spectrum of programmes on here, i.e. no Today programme or World at One. The Chinese have really got control of the internet I see. On the other hand, they appear to have left the Manchester Evening News to their own devices, at least when it comes to news on Man Utd...although they should learn and block news about Sven and City :)
Yesterday evening we took the first train of our journey from Beijing to Xi-An. This was everything and more than I expected it to be. The train station in Beijing is immense in size and scale - it looks more like an airport than a train station! The train we took was incredibly modern, we had soft couchettes - ruanwo - four to a cabin. It was great fun: you have a carriage attendant and a pot of hot water you can use for your cha and coffee, or in my case some disgusting pot noodles. It would appear pot noodles in any country are by definition crap :) Anyway, sleeping on the train was a wonderful experience as was watching the countryside slip by in the early morning fog (and this time, unlike Beijing, I am sure it was fog of the natural variety).
And so, we arrived in Xi-An. Some it has to be said, in less style than others. Waking up this morning I felt like my throat had been put through the ringer, so I took my daily dose of antibiotics before any consideration of food had even started to enter my head... 30 minutes later and I am decorating the rather pleasantly sculptured Xi-An platform flowers with some additional fertiliser. As a result of all my exertions I took the day off today, slept and wandered around a little. I plan to go out and check out some of the sights later this evening as I understand they look beautiful at nightime. Xi-An is the former imperial capital - "xi" means West - it is south west of Beijing. It is famous for the Terracotta Warriors, which, touch wood, I shall be seeing tomorrow morning. It is also famous for the story of the monk who goes to India with the monkey and the pig (have I got that right?!). It was on TV in the UK in the 70s and 80s - Monkey or something! I am not kidding you when I say this, but it is on Chinese TV everytime I turn it on!! (an update on the Chinese blocking of internet sources - they also block Judge Jules and his techno on Radio 1 - well I would never have expected that!).
So what else? Despite my illness, I did manage to get round Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City yesterday morning. As you would expect, the Square is indeed massive and somewhat overwhelming - especially when it feels like it is already 35+ plus with sticky humidity at 9am! Anyway, took all the right pictures, including of course, the one of the man himself ("Great Leader") and then checked out the Forbidden City.
This is a truly magnificent place and it is my to regret that I was not able to explore properly properly. I did see most of the big parts and then spent quite a lot of time in the Imperial Gardens watching the world going by. A rather bizarre experience happened when a father with what appeared to be his young daughter came over to me and gestured with a camera. Naturally thinking they wanted me to take a photo of them I was all ready to go, but no the chap wanted a photo with me! Well if you must... :)
I guess that is just about all :) Tomorrow evening we are moving on again, taking a night train, heading west edging closer to Tibet, or Xizang to give it its (Chinese) name.
More to follow at some stage :)
Rob
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