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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