OK. I am altering my trip rather significantly. I think. I am scrapping Europe, taking the time (4 months) and money (about half my budget) I was going to spend there and spend it elsewhere.
Four months of money in Europe is enough for 6-24 months elsewhere in the world. Yes, Europe is that expensive. This change I am not sure I am doing yet, but it is very likely: I will extend my trip from 15 months to 22, spending more time in fewer places and getting to know the culture more and take my time when moving about. With this (potential) change comes several others:
1. It no longer makes sense for me to get a round-the-world (RTW) ticket since they are only valid for a year. In addition, in the future, I will only be taking one big flight (Australia/New Zealand to South America). So, even from a cost perspective it does not make sense.
2. This relates to number 1 above. My original order of regions no longer makes sense. Starting from the "intermission" in Mexico with family from early- to mid-October, I was planning on the following basic path: Japan-South Korea-China-South East Asia-Australia-New Zealand (RTW ticket start)-South America-Europe-India-New Zealand (RTW ticket end)-Central American-Chicago. Now, assuming I do not go to Europe, the RTW ticket no longer makes sense, as discussed above, and that path does not either. New plan, starting from where I am now (Hong Kong): China-South East Asia-India-South East Asia-Australia-South America-Central America-Chicago. You are probably thinking, "How can 'South East Asia-India-South East Asia' make sense?" Well, it does, thanks to Air Asia. Flights between SE Asia and India are cheap. This path allows me to catch India when the weather does not make everything miserable.
3. Given the 7 month extension of the trip, fewer countries visited, and the over-all slowed pace of travel, I will probably pick a handful of cities and spend about a month in each. I will probably try to find a meaningless job in each of these cities. For example, I have heard that hostels in a place in China I am going are always looking for people to help out with English. Perfect. Something like that. Or, I may spend the month learning a practically useless skill like surfing when I am in Brazil. I do not know where I will stay and the decision will most likely be made by if I can find a job or if there is something like surfing that can keep me entertained in a single place for that long of a time.
If everything goes as described above, I would return to Chicago in May 2011.
On a nearly completely unrelated note, I return to China tomorrow. This means that I will not be able to post anything on this blog or have access to Facebook. I have set up a way around the blog being blocked so that I can continue to post but I have heard that my back-door method of posting is blocked as well. If it is in fact blocked and I do spend a month in the small city as mentioned above, it may be some time until I post again. So, until then, when ever that may be.
07 December 2009
Hong Kong, Part II
Ferries between Macau and Hong Kong run about every 30 minutes so there is no need to reserve in advance or plan ahead even. Just show up and purchase the ticket. The trip takes about an hour and the views nothing to speak of. Most people just nod off, including me. I had slept for no more than four hours for about a week and it was catching up with me. I arrived in HK with the intention of catching another ferry to Lamma Island to return to my Couch Surfing host's place. However, as soon as I landed I realized that the ferry from Macau that I took did not return to Hong Kong Island but rather to Kowloon, the part of Hong Kong that is part of the mainland of Asia. I took this opportunity to do some of the things I wanted to do in Kowloon. First I went through Kowloon Park, which is nice but small and commercialized. Then I went to a bespoke tailor I heard about from my family friend that I stayed with in Osaka, Japan. Sam's Tailor is famous. They have made suits for kings, queens, presidents, the richest businessmen, etc. They also serve people like me and everybody in between. I only wanted one suit and the price started off at HK$3000, which is a ton of money. We eventually agreed on a price of HK$750, which is actually considerably less than I was willing to pay. However, I learned that it would take 10-14 days to make the suit, not 3 as I was expecting, so all the negotiating was for naught and I left the store frustrated and disappointed.
I made my way to the ferry to head to Lamma Island, where I promptly went to sleep because I had a full day ahead of me. The next day me and another couch surfer tried to go up Victoria's Peak. The trouble was not with actually climbing it but with finding where to go up. We failed and he had to leave to have lunch with a friend. I walked around and ended up on the Hong Kong tram. The HK tram is probably the cheapest way to get around Hong Kong Island other than foot, but it moves slowly. It offers a very interesting perspective of the city, however, it should be done by all visitors. You move from very wealthy, up-scale areas to poor, depressed neighborhoods as fast as you can on a slow-moving tram. The poorer areas have no tourists and thus no signs in English and even more authentic (read: disgusting) food than you find elsewhere. It was nice to see and experience but part of the reason tourists do not normally visits these areas is because there is not much there.
On my way back to Central to catch a ferry to Lamma I stopped to get some dinner. In doing so, I missed the 8:30 ferry and had to wait an hour until the next one departed. I decided not to wander to far to ensure I make the 9:30 ferry so I just went across the street to the mall, IFC. Inside I went into what is obviously and over-priced, up-scale grocery just to walk around and laugh at the prices. I was just wandering around when I saw my holy grail: real pretzels. I did not even look at the price because I knew I was buying them no matter what. I opened them before I got the register and got several funny looks as I was inhaling the simple snack food.
For those that do not know, I love pretzels. I once saw a Discovery Channel show about pretzels that said the average person from Pennsylvania, the state that consumes more pretzels per-capita than any other in America, eats about 2 pounds a pretzels a year. I do that in a month, often a week, with regularity. In high school, about 50% of my diet was pretzels. I eat a lot of pretzels, but outside of America and Germany, pretzels are hard to find. So, not buying them was just not a consideration and devouring them was inevitable.
On the ferry I (reluctantly) offered the pretzels to the woman, Peta (pronounced PETE) that lent me her newspaper the previous night. Soon I was offering them to all the English-speaking people in the back of the ferry plus some little Chinese kid that would not stop starring at me (he did not accept.) Lamma Island is known as an expatriate haven. This, combined with the fact that on these ferry trips, as with any common but not massive transport system (as in, the Metra in Chicago but not the CTA), you get to know the people you travel with. I just kind of happens because you are with the same people every day, often twice a day, for 25 minutes each trip and you just sort of end up talking to each other. So, on this particular trip, I was deeply ingrained in the expat-Lamma-sub-culture.
Once the ferry landed the Peta insisted she buy me a beer in exchange for the pretzels. I accepted and was soon even deeper in the expat-Lamma-sub-culture. The bar was nothing special. I was the youngest person there by about 10 years. The drinks were absurdly over-priced and watered-down. Some people were interesting others never stopped talking about themselves and were constantly looking for yo to reinforce their egos. The night went on, people were fascinated about the couch surfing. Nothing exciting.
The following day I did not leave Lamma and barely left my host's apartment. I just took care of administrative things like laundry, planning, and writing blog posts that are way too long.
The next day I was determined to finally climb Victoria's Peak. Before doing so I finally went of the Star Ferry, which is the "original" way to travel between the mainland of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Cool, but nothing out of the ordinary. From there I went to the Bird Market and Flower Market. Nothing interesting, really. Seeing all of both takes about 20 minutes. After an uneventful and disappointing start of the day I headed to the Peak with full of excitement. Of course, I was disappointed. Though not a waste of time, the Peak is not what I was expecting. The view of the city at night from the mountain and from the Peak Tram (I took it down because I could not see the path) are stunning but that is pretty much it. I may have done something wrong because getting to the top is a challenge (not physically, just finding it is complicated).
I returned to Lamma and prepared to leave HK the next day and return to China.
I made my way to the ferry to head to Lamma Island, where I promptly went to sleep because I had a full day ahead of me. The next day me and another couch surfer tried to go up Victoria's Peak. The trouble was not with actually climbing it but with finding where to go up. We failed and he had to leave to have lunch with a friend. I walked around and ended up on the Hong Kong tram. The HK tram is probably the cheapest way to get around Hong Kong Island other than foot, but it moves slowly. It offers a very interesting perspective of the city, however, it should be done by all visitors. You move from very wealthy, up-scale areas to poor, depressed neighborhoods as fast as you can on a slow-moving tram. The poorer areas have no tourists and thus no signs in English and even more authentic (read: disgusting) food than you find elsewhere. It was nice to see and experience but part of the reason tourists do not normally visits these areas is because there is not much there.
On my way back to Central to catch a ferry to Lamma I stopped to get some dinner. In doing so, I missed the 8:30 ferry and had to wait an hour until the next one departed. I decided not to wander to far to ensure I make the 9:30 ferry so I just went across the street to the mall, IFC. Inside I went into what is obviously and over-priced, up-scale grocery just to walk around and laugh at the prices. I was just wandering around when I saw my holy grail: real pretzels. I did not even look at the price because I knew I was buying them no matter what. I opened them before I got the register and got several funny looks as I was inhaling the simple snack food.
For those that do not know, I love pretzels. I once saw a Discovery Channel show about pretzels that said the average person from Pennsylvania, the state that consumes more pretzels per-capita than any other in America, eats about 2 pounds a pretzels a year. I do that in a month, often a week, with regularity. In high school, about 50% of my diet was pretzels. I eat a lot of pretzels, but outside of America and Germany, pretzels are hard to find. So, not buying them was just not a consideration and devouring them was inevitable.
On the ferry I (reluctantly) offered the pretzels to the woman, Peta (pronounced PETE) that lent me her newspaper the previous night. Soon I was offering them to all the English-speaking people in the back of the ferry plus some little Chinese kid that would not stop starring at me (he did not accept.) Lamma Island is known as an expatriate haven. This, combined with the fact that on these ferry trips, as with any common but not massive transport system (as in, the Metra in Chicago but not the CTA), you get to know the people you travel with. I just kind of happens because you are with the same people every day, often twice a day, for 25 minutes each trip and you just sort of end up talking to each other. So, on this particular trip, I was deeply ingrained in the expat-Lamma-sub-culture.
Once the ferry landed the Peta insisted she buy me a beer in exchange for the pretzels. I accepted and was soon even deeper in the expat-Lamma-sub-culture. The bar was nothing special. I was the youngest person there by about 10 years. The drinks were absurdly over-priced and watered-down. Some people were interesting others never stopped talking about themselves and were constantly looking for yo to reinforce their egos. The night went on, people were fascinated about the couch surfing. Nothing exciting.
The following day I did not leave Lamma and barely left my host's apartment. I just took care of administrative things like laundry, planning, and writing blog posts that are way too long.
The next day I was determined to finally climb Victoria's Peak. Before doing so I finally went of the Star Ferry, which is the "original" way to travel between the mainland of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island. Cool, but nothing out of the ordinary. From there I went to the Bird Market and Flower Market. Nothing interesting, really. Seeing all of both takes about 20 minutes. After an uneventful and disappointing start of the day I headed to the Peak with full of excitement. Of course, I was disappointed. Though not a waste of time, the Peak is not what I was expecting. The view of the city at night from the mountain and from the Peak Tram (I took it down because I could not see the path) are stunning but that is pretty much it. I may have done something wrong because getting to the top is a challenge (not physically, just finding it is complicated).
I returned to Lamma and prepared to leave HK the next day and return to China.
Macau
There really is not much in Macau. There are casinos and some good food and a Formula 1 track. I think that is it. I had some good food, though I did frequent McDonald's more than I would like to admit. I ran the Formula 1 track (which is just a series of streets) best I could. And, of course, I went to the casinos.
I was meeting a guy that I might in Suzhou, China, Sanjee, who was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in Africa and New Zealand, and lives in Australia (seriously, these are the kinds of people I meet all the time). We actually played cards in Suzhou together and kept in touch. He arrived in Macau a couple of days before I did, with a net profit of HK$55 (about US$7).
Despite his warnings I decided to stay at the same hostel he was staying. In fact, his bleek descriptions of the San Va only made me more interested in staying there. The walls are basically cardboard and do not extend to the ceiling so you and easily hear eveything happening in the rooms next to you and have a good idea of what is happening throughout the hostel. If I where a real estate agent and I commissioned to sell the San Va I would use words like "charm" and "unique" and "charasmatic" in the property description.
Warning: If you are not into gambling and or are not interested in every detail of my trip, you should consider not reading the rest of this post because it will probably get pretty dull. A short summary if you are just curious about profits and losses: I lost track exactly, but I made about US$1000 net profit with one losing day. I more than exceeded my goal of making my Macau trip pay for itself (transportation, hostel, food, etc).
I arrived in the hostel, put my bags down, and immediately head to the Grand Lisboa Casino, where Sanjee told me he would be. I found it without a problem as it is just a ten minute walk down the street from the hostel and has plenty of flashing lights. I wandered around the casino a bit before finding the poker room.
A couple quick notes before I continue: casinos in Macau do NOT accept the local currency in Macau, the Pataca (MOP), which is fixed at a 1:1 ratio to the HKD (MOP1 is always exactly equal in value to HKD1). Also, the HKD is fixed at a 7.80 ratio to the USD (USD1 is always equal to HKD7.80, though the currency is allowed to fluctuate a little bit, about 7.70-7.90). Another note: all this currency conversion stuff is information I have to deal with on a constant basis. Literally all the time. USD are accepted all over the world for the most part but if you try to use them you get a terrible rate. You are constantly converting currencies in your head and are forced to round and use short-cuts (for example, blinds: HKD10/20 to USD1.5/3. It is not exact, but it is close enough for small amounts of money). Also, all dollar amounts stated for the rest of the post are in Hong Kong Dollars, unless otherwise stated. I am not going to indicate this every time or convert it for you.
I say hello to Sanjee, ask how he is doing (down a little bit), etc. The minimum stakes where 10/20, which is still the biggest stakes I have played in a casino (I have played US$1/2 in Vegas before), with a buy-in of 1000-3000. I get 2000 and sit down. Immediately I am getting above average cards and, more importantly, playing good poker. I doublt up fairly quickly and can tell I am going to make some money in the session. By the time I am finished with the session I have about 6500 in front of me and Sanjee and I go get some 30% off sushi. I use some of my profits to buy a much needed external hard drive.
We walk around for a bit, talk poker, where we have traveled since Suzhou, and all that. We return to the hostel because he wants to call it a night because he is losing and I want to put the hard drive in my room before I go back to the casino to gamble more.
I end of gambling all night. This time I lose 2000 almost right away and decide to call it a night because of the loss and I suddenly felt very tired. Upon my return to the hostel, I hear "board games being played" in the room next to me and have trouble falling asleep.
The next day Sanjee and I get to the casino in the early afternoon and start our day. He continues losing money slowly and I continue making money. He leaves at some point to get some food but I am on a rush so I do not want to leave the table. I end up getting up from the table to get some dinner around 9:30PM (in an effort to catch the 30% off sushi again, which starts at 9:30). I eat and Sanjee joins me for another break from his current losing session. We walk around again after and go back to the casino. I win more, he loses more. Sanjee was planning on leaving the casino at 5AM to catch the first free shuttle bus to the ferry pier but decided instead to leave at 1AM to catch the last shuttle because of his declining funds. (Sanjee, if you are reading this, sorry, man. I am not trying to rag on you or anything.) We say bye and will try to meet up when I am in Australia/New Zealand. I continue playing and make more money. I return to the hostel and go to sleep (at this point it was early enough in the new day that there were no "board games being played.")
The following day is my last day. I was either going to leave with Sanjee if I was losing or leave the next day if I was winning. I was winning, so I had the extra day to win more. This logic failed me completely. This final day was the only day I incurred loses.
I decided to play in my first ever casino tournament. It was a 300 buy-in starting at 2:10 in the afternoon. I got to the casino around 1 to play a little in an effort to warm up. I lost 2000 within 20 minutes. I took a breather before the tournament began. The tourney was small, only about 20 entrants and a first-place prize around 2700. Given the previous two days, I would be losing money in opportunity costs if I win the tourney becauce I could win more in that time playing in the cash games. I realized this about two hands into the tournament and immediately started trying to lose. Of course, this caused me to win. After about a dozen hands I realized I was the chip leader at the table and decide that even though I could potentially make more in the cash games I would try to win the tournament. Let me say now that I was playing some stellar poker in this tournament. I was not geting the cards I was getting the previous two days, but I was making great decisions. One hand comes to mind: I have J6 off, I hit none of the flop, get bet into, all-in. Normally this is an easy fold. However, people in Macau raise insanely pre-flop (normal pre-flop raise is 6-20x, not 3.5-5x), which creates great pot-odds later in the hand. So, the raise into me creates pot odds of about 8:1. I have an over card and two draws. I call, turn the 6 and river the J for a win. I apologize and my opponent acknowleges he did not have enough to get me out of the hand.
By the end of it, I am heads-up with a Chinese guy. I have a 2:1 chip advantage, all the momentum, and, truthfully, am a better play than my adversary. There is a bunch of raise-folding at first with few hands even getting to the flop. Eventually there is a meaningful hand. I have AQ and top pair on the flop. We get all-in. He has a pair of 5s. I am way ahead, but he rivers his 3 and all the sudden I go from up 2:1 to down 1:2. The next hand I have J10, hit top-pair (J) again, go all-in, and am called by AJ. I lose the tourney and first-place. In the end, I am pleased with my play, though I really do with I had won. Second place is not bad for my first casino tournament but I wanted the win.
Especially when you consider that I took my 1300 in tournament winnings (1000 profit) and immediately lost it playing in the cash game. After this, I went for a walk. I go back to the casino, bought in again for 2000 and was doing well. I decided that I would play until I had 6000 in front of me or 6AM or 0 in front of me, which ever came first. I was doing pretty well considering how the rest of the day had treated me and was up to about 5000 when my pocket kings got cracked around 4:30AM. I went to me hostel and slept until 10AM, woke up, ran the Formula 1 track, returned to the hostel, showered, and left Macau to go back to Hong Kong.
I was meeting a guy that I might in Suzhou, China, Sanjee, who was born in Sri Lanka, grew up in Africa and New Zealand, and lives in Australia (seriously, these are the kinds of people I meet all the time). We actually played cards in Suzhou together and kept in touch. He arrived in Macau a couple of days before I did, with a net profit of HK$55 (about US$7).
Despite his warnings I decided to stay at the same hostel he was staying. In fact, his bleek descriptions of the San Va only made me more interested in staying there. The walls are basically cardboard and do not extend to the ceiling so you and easily hear eveything happening in the rooms next to you and have a good idea of what is happening throughout the hostel. If I where a real estate agent and I commissioned to sell the San Va I would use words like "charm" and "unique" and "charasmatic" in the property description.
Warning: If you are not into gambling and or are not interested in every detail of my trip, you should consider not reading the rest of this post because it will probably get pretty dull. A short summary if you are just curious about profits and losses: I lost track exactly, but I made about US$1000 net profit with one losing day. I more than exceeded my goal of making my Macau trip pay for itself (transportation, hostel, food, etc).
I arrived in the hostel, put my bags down, and immediately head to the Grand Lisboa Casino, where Sanjee told me he would be. I found it without a problem as it is just a ten minute walk down the street from the hostel and has plenty of flashing lights. I wandered around the casino a bit before finding the poker room.
A couple quick notes before I continue: casinos in Macau do NOT accept the local currency in Macau, the Pataca (MOP), which is fixed at a 1:1 ratio to the HKD (MOP1 is always exactly equal in value to HKD1). Also, the HKD is fixed at a 7.80 ratio to the USD (USD1 is always equal to HKD7.80, though the currency is allowed to fluctuate a little bit, about 7.70-7.90). Another note: all this currency conversion stuff is information I have to deal with on a constant basis. Literally all the time. USD are accepted all over the world for the most part but if you try to use them you get a terrible rate. You are constantly converting currencies in your head and are forced to round and use short-cuts (for example, blinds: HKD10/20 to USD1.5/3. It is not exact, but it is close enough for small amounts of money). Also, all dollar amounts stated for the rest of the post are in Hong Kong Dollars, unless otherwise stated. I am not going to indicate this every time or convert it for you.
I say hello to Sanjee, ask how he is doing (down a little bit), etc. The minimum stakes where 10/20, which is still the biggest stakes I have played in a casino (I have played US$1/2 in Vegas before), with a buy-in of 1000-3000. I get 2000 and sit down. Immediately I am getting above average cards and, more importantly, playing good poker. I doublt up fairly quickly and can tell I am going to make some money in the session. By the time I am finished with the session I have about 6500 in front of me and Sanjee and I go get some 30% off sushi. I use some of my profits to buy a much needed external hard drive.
We walk around for a bit, talk poker, where we have traveled since Suzhou, and all that. We return to the hostel because he wants to call it a night because he is losing and I want to put the hard drive in my room before I go back to the casino to gamble more.
I end of gambling all night. This time I lose 2000 almost right away and decide to call it a night because of the loss and I suddenly felt very tired. Upon my return to the hostel, I hear "board games being played" in the room next to me and have trouble falling asleep.
The next day Sanjee and I get to the casino in the early afternoon and start our day. He continues losing money slowly and I continue making money. He leaves at some point to get some food but I am on a rush so I do not want to leave the table. I end up getting up from the table to get some dinner around 9:30PM (in an effort to catch the 30% off sushi again, which starts at 9:30). I eat and Sanjee joins me for another break from his current losing session. We walk around again after and go back to the casino. I win more, he loses more. Sanjee was planning on leaving the casino at 5AM to catch the first free shuttle bus to the ferry pier but decided instead to leave at 1AM to catch the last shuttle because of his declining funds. (Sanjee, if you are reading this, sorry, man. I am not trying to rag on you or anything.) We say bye and will try to meet up when I am in Australia/New Zealand. I continue playing and make more money. I return to the hostel and go to sleep (at this point it was early enough in the new day that there were no "board games being played.")
The following day is my last day. I was either going to leave with Sanjee if I was losing or leave the next day if I was winning. I was winning, so I had the extra day to win more. This logic failed me completely. This final day was the only day I incurred loses.
I decided to play in my first ever casino tournament. It was a 300 buy-in starting at 2:10 in the afternoon. I got to the casino around 1 to play a little in an effort to warm up. I lost 2000 within 20 minutes. I took a breather before the tournament began. The tourney was small, only about 20 entrants and a first-place prize around 2700. Given the previous two days, I would be losing money in opportunity costs if I win the tourney becauce I could win more in that time playing in the cash games. I realized this about two hands into the tournament and immediately started trying to lose. Of course, this caused me to win. After about a dozen hands I realized I was the chip leader at the table and decide that even though I could potentially make more in the cash games I would try to win the tournament. Let me say now that I was playing some stellar poker in this tournament. I was not geting the cards I was getting the previous two days, but I was making great decisions. One hand comes to mind: I have J6 off, I hit none of the flop, get bet into, all-in. Normally this is an easy fold. However, people in Macau raise insanely pre-flop (normal pre-flop raise is 6-20x, not 3.5-5x), which creates great pot-odds later in the hand. So, the raise into me creates pot odds of about 8:1. I have an over card and two draws. I call, turn the 6 and river the J for a win. I apologize and my opponent acknowleges he did not have enough to get me out of the hand.
By the end of it, I am heads-up with a Chinese guy. I have a 2:1 chip advantage, all the momentum, and, truthfully, am a better play than my adversary. There is a bunch of raise-folding at first with few hands even getting to the flop. Eventually there is a meaningful hand. I have AQ and top pair on the flop. We get all-in. He has a pair of 5s. I am way ahead, but he rivers his 3 and all the sudden I go from up 2:1 to down 1:2. The next hand I have J10, hit top-pair (J) again, go all-in, and am called by AJ. I lose the tourney and first-place. In the end, I am pleased with my play, though I really do with I had won. Second place is not bad for my first casino tournament but I wanted the win.
Especially when you consider that I took my 1300 in tournament winnings (1000 profit) and immediately lost it playing in the cash game. After this, I went for a walk. I go back to the casino, bought in again for 2000 and was doing well. I decided that I would play until I had 6000 in front of me or 6AM or 0 in front of me, which ever came first. I was doing pretty well considering how the rest of the day had treated me and was up to about 5000 when my pocket kings got cracked around 4:30AM. I went to me hostel and slept until 10AM, woke up, ran the Formula 1 track, returned to the hostel, showered, and left Macau to go back to Hong Kong.
Taiwan
Quickly: Taiwan is top three on the list of countries I have been to so far on this trip (Israel and South Africa fill out the rest), and, I am unsure of where it goes in the top three. I think South Africa is "better" for people 18- to 30-years-old and the uber-wealthy that can spend weeks upon weeks on safari, but outside of those two exceptions, I think Taiwan has it beat, which would place it in the number one spot (I think), but I am not sure I am ready to do that for reasons discussed below.
I admit I am skewed because I did not spend enough time there to get bored, but I would say that is true for basically everywhere I have been so far. I only had five nights in Taiwan, I spent four in Taipei and one in Hualien. Taipei is a good city, but not as cool as Hong Kong, but still very cool.
As I write this I find myself thinking, "Why *did* I enjoy Taiwan so much?" because what I write does not make it sound so great. Most of the problem is that I am simply not articulat enough but at least part of it is just how the country feels; its vibe or atmosphere or feeling or gut or whatever word you want to use. I do not know if this is common, but when I go somewhere I get a feeling for it right away. Sometimes that initial feeling is wrong, but usually it is dead on (obviously this is partially a self-fulfilling prophecy, I know). For example, Hong Kong. I liked Hong Kong as soon as I got out of the airport but, after having spend some time there, I still like it but for reasons that have nothing to do with what I saw outside of the airport. I just had some feeling inside that told me I liked it there. I guess what I am saying is that this post will be cut off because I cannot articulate why I liked it and I do not want to write a list of things I did.
I admit I am skewed because I did not spend enough time there to get bored, but I would say that is true for basically everywhere I have been so far. I only had five nights in Taiwan, I spent four in Taipei and one in Hualien. Taipei is a good city, but not as cool as Hong Kong, but still very cool.
As I write this I find myself thinking, "Why *did* I enjoy Taiwan so much?" because what I write does not make it sound so great. Most of the problem is that I am simply not articulat enough but at least part of it is just how the country feels; its vibe or atmosphere or feeling or gut or whatever word you want to use. I do not know if this is common, but when I go somewhere I get a feeling for it right away. Sometimes that initial feeling is wrong, but usually it is dead on (obviously this is partially a self-fulfilling prophecy, I know). For example, Hong Kong. I liked Hong Kong as soon as I got out of the airport but, after having spend some time there, I still like it but for reasons that have nothing to do with what I saw outside of the airport. I just had some feeling inside that told me I liked it there. I guess what I am saying is that this post will be cut off because I cannot articulate why I liked it and I do not want to write a list of things I did.
Hong Kong, Part I
In short, Hong Kong is awesome. This might be my favorite city I have been to so far. I, and I think most Americans, if not people in general, think Hong Kong is all buildings and metropolis and steel and concrete. It certainly is those things, but outside of that small part of HK, there is loads of nature, hiking, beaches, etc. The city part of the city is probably the best example of pure capitalism in the world, but when you step out of those areas, it is complete different. It is kind of like "the other side of the tracks," expect without the negative connotation of a bad neighborhood. Just two very dissimilar places making up one place.
After arriving, I took a couple of buses to Central, which is the main hub of HK and what most people think of when they think of the city. From there I took a ferry departing from Central Pier 4 to Lamma Island, where my host, Adrian, on Couch Surfing (more on this later) lives. The ferry is about 25 minutes and provides for some nice views. Lamma Island is one of the bigger of the 270 islands that are included in Hong Kong and has gained some notoriety as a expatriate area (though there are tons of expats all over HK). The island is also known because cars are not allowed on it. There are still plenty of scooters and there are a few very narrow vehicles that are used to transport product over the island, but nothing is wider than about three feet. When I arrived my host was not home but hid a key for me so I let my self in, put my stuff down and went exploring Lammma Island. I should mention that I do not know why it is called Lamma Island. I assume, as you probably have already, that at some point lammas were used to transport product on the island. But, I completely made that up and have no idea if there is even a speck of truth to it.
Lamma Island has one main "road" (path is really a more accurate word, but it is called a road) that is only about a quarter mile long. After that there are some area that have a decent number of people but most people live close to this path and it is also where most of the shops are located. After this main path, there are other paths that are intended for walking around the island and do not have residences or shops along them. One of these paths is called "Family Path," which makes me chuckle. I walked around for a few hours until I could not see any more (very sparse lighting along all paths except for the main one) at which point I returned to where my host's apartment. After some time there I got bored and went for another walk.
Lamma Island is stunning. Most people like the view of the harbour, but it is nothing special to me. In fact, I think all the machinery gets in the way of a lot of my pictures. Other views of the water and considerably nicer and the interior of the island is loaded with lesser taken paths (compared to "Family Path," for example) and you can walk for a long time before seeing or hearing anybody else.
My host, Adrian, was hosting two others the day I arrived. One, Austin, who is also American, had been there for more than a week, but would not be there that first night because he went to some party. The other, Bastain, from Germany, would be my travel companion for the next couple of days. After some brief introductions, Adrian, Bastain, and myself promptly went to bed. The following day, Sunday, Adrian and I explored Lamma Island, this time in the daylight and I took care of several small errands I needed to do. A very relaxed but good day. Bastain and I hung out a bit and made plans for the next day.
On Monday, Adrian went to work and Bastain and I went to Hong Kong Island (where Central and several other areas of HK are located and where about 65% of the tourist sites are located). We spent the first part of the day trying to take what is supposedly the longest escalator in the world. We found one end of it, but it was moving toward us so we ascended countless steps (I lost count somewhere around 134) to the other end. Upon our arrival we noticed that it was, again, moving toward us. Needless to say, we were confused. We decided to go to the nearby Hong Kong Botanical Gardens (just OK, nothing too exciting) hoping that in the meantime it would switch directions again. After the Gardens, we returned to the escalator to discover that, much to our disappointment, it was still moving toward us. That is when we noticed the schedule of when it switches directions. We decided to descend the stairs and catch it from the beginning on the side that we were originally on. About a third of the way down we decided that the claim of the longest escalator in the world was invalid and fraudulent because the escalator is not continuous - it is broken up into several sections thus making it, in my opinion, a series of escalators rather than a single, "world's longest" escalator. As a result of this decision, the idea of riding it its entire length was no longer appealing, so we just hoped of for a bit and then got some food.
We stopped by the Chinese consulate so Bastain could apply for a visa (he is taking the same 20-hour train ride, but in the opposite direction) and explored other areas of Hong Kong Island including Admirality and Casuseway Bay, all of which are cool in their own way. Victoria Garden in Causeway Bay is particularly nice.
Austin left that day but was replaced within hours by a Polish girl, Lucy, while Bastain and I were out. The three of us went to some little-known beach the following day and explored the Kowloon part of Hong Kong (on the mainland and developed just as Central is with lots of big buildings), which is cool as well. There are a few things that I did not do in Kowloon that I still want to do and will hopefully be able to write about them in my "Hong Kong, Part II" post.
The following day I took a flight to Taipei, Tawain for a short week.
After arriving, I took a couple of buses to Central, which is the main hub of HK and what most people think of when they think of the city. From there I took a ferry departing from Central Pier 4 to Lamma Island, where my host, Adrian, on Couch Surfing (more on this later) lives. The ferry is about 25 minutes and provides for some nice views. Lamma Island is one of the bigger of the 270 islands that are included in Hong Kong and has gained some notoriety as a expatriate area (though there are tons of expats all over HK). The island is also known because cars are not allowed on it. There are still plenty of scooters and there are a few very narrow vehicles that are used to transport product over the island, but nothing is wider than about three feet. When I arrived my host was not home but hid a key for me so I let my self in, put my stuff down and went exploring Lammma Island. I should mention that I do not know why it is called Lamma Island. I assume, as you probably have already, that at some point lammas were used to transport product on the island. But, I completely made that up and have no idea if there is even a speck of truth to it.
Lamma Island has one main "road" (path is really a more accurate word, but it is called a road) that is only about a quarter mile long. After that there are some area that have a decent number of people but most people live close to this path and it is also where most of the shops are located. After this main path, there are other paths that are intended for walking around the island and do not have residences or shops along them. One of these paths is called "Family Path," which makes me chuckle. I walked around for a few hours until I could not see any more (very sparse lighting along all paths except for the main one) at which point I returned to where my host's apartment. After some time there I got bored and went for another walk.
Lamma Island is stunning. Most people like the view of the harbour, but it is nothing special to me. In fact, I think all the machinery gets in the way of a lot of my pictures. Other views of the water and considerably nicer and the interior of the island is loaded with lesser taken paths (compared to "Family Path," for example) and you can walk for a long time before seeing or hearing anybody else.
My host, Adrian, was hosting two others the day I arrived. One, Austin, who is also American, had been there for more than a week, but would not be there that first night because he went to some party. The other, Bastain, from Germany, would be my travel companion for the next couple of days. After some brief introductions, Adrian, Bastain, and myself promptly went to bed. The following day, Sunday, Adrian and I explored Lamma Island, this time in the daylight and I took care of several small errands I needed to do. A very relaxed but good day. Bastain and I hung out a bit and made plans for the next day.
On Monday, Adrian went to work and Bastain and I went to Hong Kong Island (where Central and several other areas of HK are located and where about 65% of the tourist sites are located). We spent the first part of the day trying to take what is supposedly the longest escalator in the world. We found one end of it, but it was moving toward us so we ascended countless steps (I lost count somewhere around 134) to the other end. Upon our arrival we noticed that it was, again, moving toward us. Needless to say, we were confused. We decided to go to the nearby Hong Kong Botanical Gardens (just OK, nothing too exciting) hoping that in the meantime it would switch directions again. After the Gardens, we returned to the escalator to discover that, much to our disappointment, it was still moving toward us. That is when we noticed the schedule of when it switches directions. We decided to descend the stairs and catch it from the beginning on the side that we were originally on. About a third of the way down we decided that the claim of the longest escalator in the world was invalid and fraudulent because the escalator is not continuous - it is broken up into several sections thus making it, in my opinion, a series of escalators rather than a single, "world's longest" escalator. As a result of this decision, the idea of riding it its entire length was no longer appealing, so we just hoped of for a bit and then got some food.
We stopped by the Chinese consulate so Bastain could apply for a visa (he is taking the same 20-hour train ride, but in the opposite direction) and explored other areas of Hong Kong Island including Admirality and Casuseway Bay, all of which are cool in their own way. Victoria Garden in Causeway Bay is particularly nice.
Austin left that day but was replaced within hours by a Polish girl, Lucy, while Bastain and I were out. The three of us went to some little-known beach the following day and explored the Kowloon part of Hong Kong (on the mainland and developed just as Central is with lots of big buildings), which is cool as well. There are a few things that I did not do in Kowloon that I still want to do and will hopefully be able to write about them in my "Hong Kong, Part II" post.
The following day I took a flight to Taipei, Tawain for a short week.
20 Hour Train Ride to Hong Kong
This gets its own post not only because it was basically a day of my trip but because it is an experience.
Preparing for a 20 hour train ride is not as simple as you might guess. You have very limited access to at least your biggest bag because of how it is stored. You sleep, and live, really, in a very confined area with up to 5 strangers right in the same confined area, and hundreds of other strangers on the train. You do not know if food is provided, so you have to bring enough food for 20 hours. You do not know if the train is going to be cold or hot so you have to prepare for both. You need to keep your self entertained for 20 hours, less sleep, so you have a book or two, music, etc, ready to go. And, there is a pretty decent chance you will not speak to anybody for those 20 hours because the odds of somebody knowing English are not so high.
Well, I prepared just fine. I had a bit too much food, which is better than the alternative. I was entertained adaquetly. Temperature was reasonable. And, on top of all that, in my confined area where two English people and an elderly Chinese guy that for some reason spoke perfect English. It was a good trip and time went by pretty quickly.
Unlike nearly every other train I have been on in China, I was early to arrive for this one. I did not want to even risk missing it. And I am glad I was, especially when the two English people mentioned above told me that they were supposed to be on the train to Hong Kong that left two days ago but missed it.
That said, I am fine with not taking another 20 train ride any time too soon.
Preparing for a 20 hour train ride is not as simple as you might guess. You have very limited access to at least your biggest bag because of how it is stored. You sleep, and live, really, in a very confined area with up to 5 strangers right in the same confined area, and hundreds of other strangers on the train. You do not know if food is provided, so you have to bring enough food for 20 hours. You do not know if the train is going to be cold or hot so you have to prepare for both. You need to keep your self entertained for 20 hours, less sleep, so you have a book or two, music, etc, ready to go. And, there is a pretty decent chance you will not speak to anybody for those 20 hours because the odds of somebody knowing English are not so high.
Well, I prepared just fine. I had a bit too much food, which is better than the alternative. I was entertained adaquetly. Temperature was reasonable. And, on top of all that, in my confined area where two English people and an elderly Chinese guy that for some reason spoke perfect English. It was a good trip and time went by pretty quickly.
Unlike nearly every other train I have been on in China, I was early to arrive for this one. I did not want to even risk missing it. And I am glad I was, especially when the two English people mentioned above told me that they were supposed to be on the train to Hong Kong that left two days ago but missed it.
That said, I am fine with not taking another 20 train ride any time too soon.
22 November 2009
Shanghai, China, Part III
I know, I know, you are sick of Shanghai. Let me tell you, I am too. Seriously. Shanghai is my least favorite destination that I have been to in China and I have been there thrice for a total of six nights, or the same number of nights I spent in Beijing, which I liked a lot.
I spent the first day this time taking it easy again in the same spirit as my first two days in Hangzhou. I went to the Shanghai Museum, which is highly regarded and pretty decent, I suppose. I bought a train ticket to Hong Kong, which took nearly two hours to accomplish. I prepared for the 20 hour train ride to Hong Kong. That is pretty much it.
I spent the first day this time taking it easy again in the same spirit as my first two days in Hangzhou. I went to the Shanghai Museum, which is highly regarded and pretty decent, I suppose. I bought a train ticket to Hong Kong, which took nearly two hours to accomplish. I prepared for the 20 hour train ride to Hong Kong. That is pretty much it.
Hangzhou, China
First, I should admit I considered not going here at all because I had read/heard that it was very similar to Suzhou and I figured why visit to very similar destinations. In the end, though, I decided to go and I made the right decision.
The first two days I spent here I only left the hostel and handful of times and all of those expeditions were two minutes away to get some food then return to the hostel. I was feeling a little sick but just wanted to take it easy for a bit to make sure it did not get any more serious and cause me to stay in bed for more than a couple of days. So, these first two days I basically did a lot of reading, planning, and sleeping. Good thing though because my plan worked and I was feeling much better by the end of the two days, though still not 100%.
I needed to continue with my plans, however, so I toured Hangzhou on a rented bike. The main attraction in Hangzhou is West Lake. There are more than 35 lakes in China called West Lake. All of them are named after this one and with good reason. It is beautiful and the surrounding area and is stunning as well. Hangzhou also has its fair share of pagodas and temples but the other real activity to do here is "hiking" a mountain/hill. On my way back from West Lake I decided I was up to scaling a peak along the way. Now, I probably should not have done this given how well, or not well, I was, how dehaydrated I was, and how little time I had (I still needed to return to the hostel, return the bike, gather my things, and get to the train station), but the temptation was too great and up I went.
Very cool place. After about 2 mintues of walking up I could not hear another human being and, other than nature, the only other audible noises were the occasional car horn. As I got higher the horns stopped. In fact, I did not see another person until I got to what I thought was the top and then again to I got the actual top. I also discovered a ride that was designed to take people up but had clearly been abondned. I also found what looked liked houses being constructed but not furnished or occupied. Of course, I broke into a few and walked around inside but there was nothing interesting.
Although I only exlored the city for about six hours, Hangzhou is up there among my favorite destinations in China. I would very much like to return and think it would be a very different experience not only had I not been sick but if the weather was nice and the sun was shining.
The first two days I spent here I only left the hostel and handful of times and all of those expeditions were two minutes away to get some food then return to the hostel. I was feeling a little sick but just wanted to take it easy for a bit to make sure it did not get any more serious and cause me to stay in bed for more than a couple of days. So, these first two days I basically did a lot of reading, planning, and sleeping. Good thing though because my plan worked and I was feeling much better by the end of the two days, though still not 100%.
I needed to continue with my plans, however, so I toured Hangzhou on a rented bike. The main attraction in Hangzhou is West Lake. There are more than 35 lakes in China called West Lake. All of them are named after this one and with good reason. It is beautiful and the surrounding area and is stunning as well. Hangzhou also has its fair share of pagodas and temples but the other real activity to do here is "hiking" a mountain/hill. On my way back from West Lake I decided I was up to scaling a peak along the way. Now, I probably should not have done this given how well, or not well, I was, how dehaydrated I was, and how little time I had (I still needed to return to the hostel, return the bike, gather my things, and get to the train station), but the temptation was too great and up I went.
Very cool place. After about 2 mintues of walking up I could not hear another human being and, other than nature, the only other audible noises were the occasional car horn. As I got higher the horns stopped. In fact, I did not see another person until I got to what I thought was the top and then again to I got the actual top. I also discovered a ride that was designed to take people up but had clearly been abondned. I also found what looked liked houses being constructed but not furnished or occupied. Of course, I broke into a few and walked around inside but there was nothing interesting.
Although I only exlored the city for about six hours, Hangzhou is up there among my favorite destinations in China. I would very much like to return and think it would be a very different experience not only had I not been sick but if the weather was nice and the sun was shining.
Shanghai, China, Part II
I did not know prior to going to Suzhou if I could get directly to my next intended destination so I made plans to return to Shanghai. Also, the hostel said they could hold on to my bag for a couple of days, which lessens my load a lot and makes getting around markedly easier. So, even though I had less than positive opinion of Shanghai I returned.
I liked Shanghai much more this time than the previous time. I think this difference can be mostly attributed to a few things:
1. Weather (constant rain to just scattered rain).
2. Hostel room (I was in 103 before with a chronic urinate-all-over-the-washroom, not just seat or toilet, but entire washroom, Chinese guy and then was in 116 with a much cleaner washroom).
3. Actually doing stuff (relates to number 1 above) and meeting people who do not urinate all over everything.
Shortly after I arrived I went to the Bund area, which is supposed to be some of the best views in the city. Unfortunately, Shanghai has construction all of the city (for the Expo 2010 previously mentioned) and the views of the Bund are mostly obscured. The following day I went to the French Concession area and walked around. This area is now dominated by little boutiques selling things I am not interested in, but there are still several nice streets and buildings and parks. A good area that I would like to visit again in warmer weather. The French Concession area is easily my favorite in Shanghai. Honestly, as it is currently, it is one of the few things in Shanghai actually worth seeing.
Overall, this time in Shanghai elevated my opinion of the city, though it is still not my favorite place.
I liked Shanghai much more this time than the previous time. I think this difference can be mostly attributed to a few things:
1. Weather (constant rain to just scattered rain).
2. Hostel room (I was in 103 before with a chronic urinate-all-over-the-washroom, not just seat or toilet, but entire washroom, Chinese guy and then was in 116 with a much cleaner washroom).
3. Actually doing stuff (relates to number 1 above) and meeting people who do not urinate all over everything.
Shortly after I arrived I went to the Bund area, which is supposed to be some of the best views in the city. Unfortunately, Shanghai has construction all of the city (for the Expo 2010 previously mentioned) and the views of the Bund are mostly obscured. The following day I went to the French Concession area and walked around. This area is now dominated by little boutiques selling things I am not interested in, but there are still several nice streets and buildings and parks. A good area that I would like to visit again in warmer weather. The French Concession area is easily my favorite in Shanghai. Honestly, as it is currently, it is one of the few things in Shanghai actually worth seeing.
Overall, this time in Shanghai elevated my opinion of the city, though it is still not my favorite place.
Suzhou, China
Suzhou is considered by the Chinese to be one of the most beautiful cities in the country and also one of the most beautiful in the world. Well, I did not have the best weather to be a fair judge, but I would venture to guess that these are probably true statements.
The city is famed for its gardens and traditional waterside architechture, and, to a less extent, its pagodas. It is is sometimes called the Venice of the East. And, despite the constant cold and nearly constant rain, it remained gorgeous.
I have noticed that China has a way of charging admission for just about everything. As in, some public parks, that are largely not visited by tourists but by locals doing tai chi in the mornings, often charge admission. On that note, it was obviously no surprise that the pogodas and gardens had an admission fee, but sometimes they are unreasonably high. One of the better gardens, The Hunble Administrator's Garden, has a entrance fee of 50RMB in the low season and 70RMB in high season. To Americans, this does not sound like too much money (about $7.75 and $10.75), but it is a lot of money here and when you consider that it only takes a few hours to explore and you usually do a few attractions a day, the costs add up quickly. So, you discriminate and become more selective about which attractions you visit. Which means you see less.
I decided to go to the tallest pagoda in the area (North Temple Pagoda) and what is usually regarded as the best garden (The Garden of the Master of the Nets). The entrance fee to the pagoda was 25RMB (about $4). The pagoda itself was just OK. It provided nice views of the surroundings but the weather and smog significantly diminishes the sights. However, while doing a lap on the top level of the pagoda me and the two guys I was spending the day with noticed a small pond just off the foot of the pagoda. We made our way there and this is what made the 25RMB money well spent. The pond was very pretty and it was nice just to walk around absorbing the atmosphere.
After lunch me and the two Americans I met in the hostel split ways. I took my rented bike down a couple of the nicer streets Baita West Road, which is more developed with clothes shops and such but still has a very Chinese feel, and Pingjiang Road, which is an ancient street that has not been touched and follows one of the many streams in the city. This was a great bike ride. The rain had all but stopped and the sights are picturesque.
The bike ride was taking to my second entrance-fee-required site of the day, The Garden of the Master of the Nets, which I had read was 30RMB, but was only 20RMB. I picked this garden in particular because my guide book says it is probably the best in Suzhou despite it being among the smallest. Also, I like the name. The Garden of the Master of the Nets. Awesome. The garden is highly regarded mostly for its use of space and its proportionality. Now, I do not know what those terms means when it comes to gardens and I am sure I would appreciate the garden more fully and with greater depth if I did, but it was still a nice place despite my lack of garden knowledge and terminology. The main attraction in the garden is a pond, which, of course, is very nice. About half of the garden consists of the former residences. I found this part less enjoyable but, again, that probably has to do with my limited knowledge. Either way, it was good time.
From the garden I headed back to my hostel. Almost as soon as I left it started to rain again. I half expected to just give up and get in a cab with my rented bike but once I got going I really enjoyed riding in the rain. It was 5:20PM and there were hundreds of Chinese riding their own bikes home from work. I felt like a local. I was weaving in traffic, ignoring traffic signals, and getting soaking wet just like everybody else. It was great. Probably my most authentic experience in China.
Then I got lost and it was no longer great. I had been doing really good for about an hour then I lost it. I do not even know what happened. I was perfect and then I wasn't. Also, just about then is when the chain fell off the gear for the first time (it happened a second time about 10 minutes later) which was not fun to fix in the rain, with no light (I did not even know what the problem was for the first 5 minutes), no tools, and partially numb hands and fingers. I got it fixed and eventually found my way. Despite getting lost and the troubles with the bike, this ride was probably my favorite part of Suzhou.
The following day I slept in a bit and hung out in the hostel until I needed to leave to catch my train back to Shanghai. Suzhou is pretty small and I had seen enough of the city the previous day, plus the weather was unfavorable and I did not feel motivated to do much more than sit down and chill out. The hostel did not put on the heat, however, so could see my breath the entire time.
The city is famed for its gardens and traditional waterside architechture, and, to a less extent, its pagodas. It is is sometimes called the Venice of the East. And, despite the constant cold and nearly constant rain, it remained gorgeous.
I have noticed that China has a way of charging admission for just about everything. As in, some public parks, that are largely not visited by tourists but by locals doing tai chi in the mornings, often charge admission. On that note, it was obviously no surprise that the pogodas and gardens had an admission fee, but sometimes they are unreasonably high. One of the better gardens, The Hunble Administrator's Garden, has a entrance fee of 50RMB in the low season and 70RMB in high season. To Americans, this does not sound like too much money (about $7.75 and $10.75), but it is a lot of money here and when you consider that it only takes a few hours to explore and you usually do a few attractions a day, the costs add up quickly. So, you discriminate and become more selective about which attractions you visit. Which means you see less.
I decided to go to the tallest pagoda in the area (North Temple Pagoda) and what is usually regarded as the best garden (The Garden of the Master of the Nets). The entrance fee to the pagoda was 25RMB (about $4). The pagoda itself was just OK. It provided nice views of the surroundings but the weather and smog significantly diminishes the sights. However, while doing a lap on the top level of the pagoda me and the two guys I was spending the day with noticed a small pond just off the foot of the pagoda. We made our way there and this is what made the 25RMB money well spent. The pond was very pretty and it was nice just to walk around absorbing the atmosphere.
After lunch me and the two Americans I met in the hostel split ways. I took my rented bike down a couple of the nicer streets Baita West Road, which is more developed with clothes shops and such but still has a very Chinese feel, and Pingjiang Road, which is an ancient street that has not been touched and follows one of the many streams in the city. This was a great bike ride. The rain had all but stopped and the sights are picturesque.
The bike ride was taking to my second entrance-fee-required site of the day, The Garden of the Master of the Nets, which I had read was 30RMB, but was only 20RMB. I picked this garden in particular because my guide book says it is probably the best in Suzhou despite it being among the smallest. Also, I like the name. The Garden of the Master of the Nets. Awesome. The garden is highly regarded mostly for its use of space and its proportionality. Now, I do not know what those terms means when it comes to gardens and I am sure I would appreciate the garden more fully and with greater depth if I did, but it was still a nice place despite my lack of garden knowledge and terminology. The main attraction in the garden is a pond, which, of course, is very nice. About half of the garden consists of the former residences. I found this part less enjoyable but, again, that probably has to do with my limited knowledge. Either way, it was good time.
From the garden I headed back to my hostel. Almost as soon as I left it started to rain again. I half expected to just give up and get in a cab with my rented bike but once I got going I really enjoyed riding in the rain. It was 5:20PM and there were hundreds of Chinese riding their own bikes home from work. I felt like a local. I was weaving in traffic, ignoring traffic signals, and getting soaking wet just like everybody else. It was great. Probably my most authentic experience in China.
Then I got lost and it was no longer great. I had been doing really good for about an hour then I lost it. I do not even know what happened. I was perfect and then I wasn't. Also, just about then is when the chain fell off the gear for the first time (it happened a second time about 10 minutes later) which was not fun to fix in the rain, with no light (I did not even know what the problem was for the first 5 minutes), no tools, and partially numb hands and fingers. I got it fixed and eventually found my way. Despite getting lost and the troubles with the bike, this ride was probably my favorite part of Suzhou.
The following day I slept in a bit and hung out in the hostel until I needed to leave to catch my train back to Shanghai. Suzhou is pretty small and I had seen enough of the city the previous day, plus the weather was unfavorable and I did not feel motivated to do much more than sit down and chill out. The hostel did not put on the heat, however, so could see my breath the entire time.
Shanghai, China, Part I
From Xi'an, I took another overnight train to Shanghai. Now, I try to seperate what I hear from other travelers from my own experience and try not to let their impressions influence my own but I think people I have talked to have been spot on about Shanghai.
In short, I hate it here.
Alright, that is an exageration. But I do not care for it much at all. I also try to seperate the weather from how I feel about the city. (Partially because I know Chicago weather can be less that ideal on occasion.) But, it did not stop raining while I was there and put in a bad mood the entire time. I could not do enjoy or even do half of what I wanted to because of the constant, unyielding rain and could not enjoy what I did do.
I saw very few of the few attraction the city has to offer and those that I did were not only obstructed by the weather, but also my the terrible smog and the construction in preperation of the Shanghai 2010 Expo. Also, nobody really knows what the Shanghai 2010 Expo is. Really, I have asked dozens of people, including people that live here and others that work for its development, and nobody can tell me what it is for sure. What I have gathered (meaning, my best guess) is that is going to be Shanghai's effort to show the world that it can be an alpha-city like New York and London and Tokyo. Well, I am biased because I like New York and London and Tokyo, but, sorry, Shanghai, I do not see it happening.
In short, I hate it here.
Alright, that is an exageration. But I do not care for it much at all. I also try to seperate the weather from how I feel about the city. (Partially because I know Chicago weather can be less that ideal on occasion.) But, it did not stop raining while I was there and put in a bad mood the entire time. I could not do enjoy or even do half of what I wanted to because of the constant, unyielding rain and could not enjoy what I did do.
I saw very few of the few attraction the city has to offer and those that I did were not only obstructed by the weather, but also my the terrible smog and the construction in preperation of the Shanghai 2010 Expo. Also, nobody really knows what the Shanghai 2010 Expo is. Really, I have asked dozens of people, including people that live here and others that work for its development, and nobody can tell me what it is for sure. What I have gathered (meaning, my best guess) is that is going to be Shanghai's effort to show the world that it can be an alpha-city like New York and London and Tokyo. Well, I am biased because I like New York and London and Tokyo, but, sorry, Shanghai, I do not see it happening.
Xi'an, China
From Pingyao I wanted to go to Shanghai, but, because Pingyao is so small, there is nothing direct. OK, fine, I will go to Xi'an and visit the Terracotta Warriors. It is not like it is the most (or second most, depending on your source) visited site in China. Mostly because I had no real interest in seeing the Terracotta Warriors, I had low expectations, but, in truth, seeing them was really cool. How well preserved they are, and there sheer number, is amazing.
Overall, Xi'an was better than I expected, but, again, I did not expect much. There are too many tourists, and, though I am a tourist, that really takes away from the experience. Xi'an should be as inexpensive as Pingyao but because it sees so many more tourists the prices for everything are jacked and makes visiting the sites not worth it. For example, one, if not the, main attraction in Xi'an is the Bell Tower. Admission to the Bell Tower is 40RMB (just over $6), which is not much until you consider that, a) that is more than I pay for a night's accommodation, and b) there is nothing to see/do in the Bell Tower other than take pictures of the surrounding area. I did not go in and do not regret it at all.
The highlights of Xi'an other than the Warriors was walking along the city wall, which provided for some excellent views. And, two, on the way back from walking on the wall me and the girl I was walking with stopped at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I had the best meal I had had in China. While deciding to eat there or not we realized that the guy next to the woman who was preparing the dishes to be given to customers was making the noodles from scratch that were going in the food. That was the deciding factor.
Overall, Xi'an was better than I expected, but, again, I did not expect much. There are too many tourists, and, though I am a tourist, that really takes away from the experience. Xi'an should be as inexpensive as Pingyao but because it sees so many more tourists the prices for everything are jacked and makes visiting the sites not worth it. For example, one, if not the, main attraction in Xi'an is the Bell Tower. Admission to the Bell Tower is 40RMB (just over $6), which is not much until you consider that, a) that is more than I pay for a night's accommodation, and b) there is nothing to see/do in the Bell Tower other than take pictures of the surrounding area. I did not go in and do not regret it at all.
The highlights of Xi'an other than the Warriors was walking along the city wall, which provided for some excellent views. And, two, on the way back from walking on the wall me and the girl I was walking with stopped at some hole-in-the-wall restaurant where I had the best meal I had had in China. While deciding to eat there or not we realized that the guy next to the woman who was preparing the dishes to be given to customers was making the noodles from scratch that were going in the food. That was the deciding factor.
Pingyao, China
Pingyao is a lesser-known traveler destination, which is precisely the reason I chose to visit it. The city itself was once the most important financial hub in China - in its prime nearly 50% all Chinese firms had there transactions and business process go through Pingyao. At the time, the town was booming and had branches basically everywhere in China. Suffice to say, Pingyao and its reach in China was enormous. Well, as you no doubt have guessed, this did not last. Once things turned south for Pingyao it had no money for even the most basic infrastructural improvements. In fact, only in the last ten years (when tourism started picking up there) has the city had enough cash to make betterments. As a result of the financial downfall, Pingyao is among the best, if not the best, preserved example of imperial China that exist today.
Pingyao is filled with temples and "former residence of X," with X being some formally famous Chinese financial guru. Visit some of the places is interesting, but gets repetitive after a bit. The real charm of the town is just wandering around. I can describe Pingyao as this: you walk/ride (on a rented bike) on the main roads, which are filled with shops and overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops. You turn off the main road and you have a few restaurants. You turn off that and there is almost nothing. You turn off that and you have nothing. You turn off that and you have homes with, what I have to guess, is mothers teaching their kids math. It is really amazing. In Pingyao, the best thing you can do is get lost, which I have no trouble doing.
Pingyao is a great place in China that I have recommended and will continue to recommend to every traveler interested in listening. I went there on the advice of my guidebook. Sometimes guidebooks lead wrong, sometimes they are spot on. I guess I really did get lucky this time because my China experience would no doubt not be as it is without Pingyao.
Pingyao is filled with temples and "former residence of X," with X being some formally famous Chinese financial guru. Visit some of the places is interesting, but gets repetitive after a bit. The real charm of the town is just wandering around. I can describe Pingyao as this: you walk/ride (on a rented bike) on the main roads, which are filled with shops and overpriced restaurants and souvenir shops. You turn off the main road and you have a few restaurants. You turn off that and there is almost nothing. You turn off that and you have nothing. You turn off that and you have homes with, what I have to guess, is mothers teaching their kids math. It is really amazing. In Pingyao, the best thing you can do is get lost, which I have no trouble doing.
Pingyao is a great place in China that I have recommended and will continue to recommend to every traveler interested in listening. I went there on the advice of my guidebook. Sometimes guidebooks lead wrong, sometimes they are spot on. I guess I really did get lucky this time because my China experience would no doubt not be as it is without Pingyao.
21 November 2009
Beijing, China
From Seoul I took a flight to Beijing, China. I plan on spending about a month in China, so I post will be more city-based than country-based. (Though the Chinese government blocks Facebook and my blog among other sites so I do not know when this will actually get posted. I am writing this on 2 Nov.)
Upon arrival I took a bus and then the subway to my hostel. I had a less than ideal feeling about the hostel as soon as I arrived for no particular reason, but soon found it was at least partially justified. I had reserved a four bedroom dorm to find five beds. The hostel advertizes wifi in the rooms, but in fact there is none. After being there for a couple hours I informed the hostel that I would not be staying for the three days that I had reserved. They put up a bit of a fuss, but in the end it was not too much trouble.
That night I went out with a couple of people from the hostel. Both said that the hostel was either the best or one of the best hostels they have ever stayed at so I questioned my decision to leave but I had already made a reseveration at a new hostel. The evening was uneventful but enjoyable.
The following day I checked out and walked to my new hostel. I made the right decision. The new hostel was much better, cleaner, nicer, and with an enormous, comfortable bed. I did not do much this day, just a bit of walking around and getting situated.
The following day I went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (Palace Museum), and some park just north of the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square was intersting but did not take nearly as long to see as I expected; just about an hour. I walked through it and reached the end (where the Forbidden City starts) without even realizing I was done. In contrast, I think I liked Forbidden City more than most. It was really cool and interesting and completely enthralling. I really enjoyed it. I had been walking all day in sandals but decided it was still too early to call it a day and go back to the hostel so I paid 2RMB (about $0.30) to enter a park nearby. The park was beautiful and full of great pictures. I was very pleased I decided to go in and had an ice cream (another $0.30) for breakfast/lunch.
The next day I went to the Great Wall. There are several portions of the wall the remain to day. Each has kind of developed a different reputation. One is where you go if you basically just want to say you walked the Great Wall (trips to this one always include shopping). Another is less touristy, but not at all challenging. The one I did is not overhelmingly touristy, though there were a couple of other groups of tourists. It is also regarded as one of the more challenging and is 10km in length, but it truth was not difficult at all and we completed it in about three hours instead of the "typical" four.
I liked my trip to the Great Wall more than I expected to, and I had high expectations. What really added to it for me was the weather: it was awful. It hailed. It rained. And it was great. Call me crazy, but I think I would not have liked it nearly as much (but still a great deal) if it had been all warm and sunny. It was a great time.
What also added to my Great Wall experience was that I did not do an oranized tour. I had signed up for one with my hostel even though the cost seemed a bit high 355RMB ($55) but I did not want to do it alone in case the worst happened. As luck would have it, I met a couple of French guys who invited me with them. I promptly canceled my organized tour (and got a full refund) and told them I was in. Not going on an organized tour makes every detail more complicated but also more true, real, and fun. We took the subway to the long-distance bus station, a bus to a stopping point where we were supposed to transfer to a mini-bus. With no mini-buses to be found we hired a driver to drive us there and back to the same stoppig point.
The Wall itself is something unique. The experience is difficult to explain because all it is is walking on the top of a wall. But the scenary is beautiful and the meaning of the wall adds to the experience. It it truly outstanding, but needs to be experienced first hand. It is like the Giza pyramids outside Cairo: you can look at all the pictures you want but they are nothing like seeing them with your own eyes. So, in short, go to the Great Wall (and the pyramids).
After my trip to the Great Wall, I am comfortabke admitting, my shoes smelled a bit. I decided to wash them. I left them on top of the garbage in my room so that the water drained into the garbage instead of on to the floor. The hostel staff took their position to mean that they are garbage (I admit, partially, if not mostly, my fault) and threw them away with the rest of the trash. I returned to my room, noticed they were not where I placed them and figured out what had happened. Luckily for me (sarcasm) that night I was attending a Halloween Party, customs and all, and it snowed. I still had a good time, but my feet were ice when I returned. Because of the weather, it took me and a friend more than 30 minutes to get a taxi to get back to the hostel and that time walking in the snow/slush was less than ideal.
In the end, though, no long term damage. The following day I went to the Pearl Market and bought myself a pair of fake Timberlands. It was still snowing, but my and the friend I was with decided the Temple of Heaven would be a unique experience given that it was still snowing. The Temple of Heaven is, according to traveling books and other tourists, among the top attractions in Beijing, and it was cool. The weather, again, added to it for me. We made a snowman in the Temple of Heaven! Come on, that is cool. Aside from smowmen, the Temple itself is pretty and a wonderful place to wonder around.
After the Temple of Heaven we returned to the hostel, new shoes and all. And, guess what, the hostel had found my shoes. OK, now, on the surface this is a absolutely positive thing, right? Wrong. My world is different than your's. It sounds kind of obvious, I suppose, but you really do not understand it until you live it. Yes, the finding of my shoes is a good thing, kind of. Except that I just spent $25 (a lot of money here - about 5 nights' accomodation) on a new pair of shoes. And, now I have the decision of, a) keep both pairs of shoes and carry both of them around until it no longer makes sense to do so, or b) dump either the old, once lost shoes or the new pair of face Timberlands that I just bought. I could not bring myself to dump one of the pairs, of course, so now I am carrying both pairs, which really sucks and is more inconvienent than you can imagine.
Also, the recently found shoes are soaking wet because they had been sitting outside in the snow since they were mistaken for garbage. In a stroke of genius I decide to dry them with a hair dryier. Of course I do not pay close enough attention and set the left shoe on fire. After I resole that situation, the sole of the left shoe is all, let's say "misshapen," though that is really generous, and I have to cut off the back 2/3 to make it wearable. And, I do not notice until several days and wounds later that the heel as well took some damage and is quite sharp in several areas. And, yes, I am still carrying this pair in hopes of salvaging them.
That evening I boarded my first overnight train in China. I have never been on an overnight train before and I had heard that long-distance train travel in China is an experience. Well, it is. I decided to pay a small amount extra for a bottom bunk. (There are three levels. The bottom bunk has enough height to sit up straight on, the top bunk you can can barely lean up from laying down.) As it turns out, the bottom bunk is kind of social area in which everybody, culturally, is welcome to sit, eat, and relax on. This, of course, was news to me, and, though I do not think I am normally a particularly territorial person, I felt very upset that MY space was being invaded. Sadly, there was nothing I could do so I sucked it up and delt with countless Chinese men eating KFC and farting (openly and obviously) on my bed.
I slept well.
Upon arrival I took a bus and then the subway to my hostel. I had a less than ideal feeling about the hostel as soon as I arrived for no particular reason, but soon found it was at least partially justified. I had reserved a four bedroom dorm to find five beds. The hostel advertizes wifi in the rooms, but in fact there is none. After being there for a couple hours I informed the hostel that I would not be staying for the three days that I had reserved. They put up a bit of a fuss, but in the end it was not too much trouble.
That night I went out with a couple of people from the hostel. Both said that the hostel was either the best or one of the best hostels they have ever stayed at so I questioned my decision to leave but I had already made a reseveration at a new hostel. The evening was uneventful but enjoyable.
The following day I checked out and walked to my new hostel. I made the right decision. The new hostel was much better, cleaner, nicer, and with an enormous, comfortable bed. I did not do much this day, just a bit of walking around and getting situated.
The following day I went to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City (Palace Museum), and some park just north of the Forbidden City. Tiananmen Square was intersting but did not take nearly as long to see as I expected; just about an hour. I walked through it and reached the end (where the Forbidden City starts) without even realizing I was done. In contrast, I think I liked Forbidden City more than most. It was really cool and interesting and completely enthralling. I really enjoyed it. I had been walking all day in sandals but decided it was still too early to call it a day and go back to the hostel so I paid 2RMB (about $0.30) to enter a park nearby. The park was beautiful and full of great pictures. I was very pleased I decided to go in and had an ice cream (another $0.30) for breakfast/lunch.
The next day I went to the Great Wall. There are several portions of the wall the remain to day. Each has kind of developed a different reputation. One is where you go if you basically just want to say you walked the Great Wall (trips to this one always include shopping). Another is less touristy, but not at all challenging. The one I did is not overhelmingly touristy, though there were a couple of other groups of tourists. It is also regarded as one of the more challenging and is 10km in length, but it truth was not difficult at all and we completed it in about three hours instead of the "typical" four.
I liked my trip to the Great Wall more than I expected to, and I had high expectations. What really added to it for me was the weather: it was awful. It hailed. It rained. And it was great. Call me crazy, but I think I would not have liked it nearly as much (but still a great deal) if it had been all warm and sunny. It was a great time.
What also added to my Great Wall experience was that I did not do an oranized tour. I had signed up for one with my hostel even though the cost seemed a bit high 355RMB ($55) but I did not want to do it alone in case the worst happened. As luck would have it, I met a couple of French guys who invited me with them. I promptly canceled my organized tour (and got a full refund) and told them I was in. Not going on an organized tour makes every detail more complicated but also more true, real, and fun. We took the subway to the long-distance bus station, a bus to a stopping point where we were supposed to transfer to a mini-bus. With no mini-buses to be found we hired a driver to drive us there and back to the same stoppig point.
The Wall itself is something unique. The experience is difficult to explain because all it is is walking on the top of a wall. But the scenary is beautiful and the meaning of the wall adds to the experience. It it truly outstanding, but needs to be experienced first hand. It is like the Giza pyramids outside Cairo: you can look at all the pictures you want but they are nothing like seeing them with your own eyes. So, in short, go to the Great Wall (and the pyramids).
After my trip to the Great Wall, I am comfortabke admitting, my shoes smelled a bit. I decided to wash them. I left them on top of the garbage in my room so that the water drained into the garbage instead of on to the floor. The hostel staff took their position to mean that they are garbage (I admit, partially, if not mostly, my fault) and threw them away with the rest of the trash. I returned to my room, noticed they were not where I placed them and figured out what had happened. Luckily for me (sarcasm) that night I was attending a Halloween Party, customs and all, and it snowed. I still had a good time, but my feet were ice when I returned. Because of the weather, it took me and a friend more than 30 minutes to get a taxi to get back to the hostel and that time walking in the snow/slush was less than ideal.
In the end, though, no long term damage. The following day I went to the Pearl Market and bought myself a pair of fake Timberlands. It was still snowing, but my and the friend I was with decided the Temple of Heaven would be a unique experience given that it was still snowing. The Temple of Heaven is, according to traveling books and other tourists, among the top attractions in Beijing, and it was cool. The weather, again, added to it for me. We made a snowman in the Temple of Heaven! Come on, that is cool. Aside from smowmen, the Temple itself is pretty and a wonderful place to wonder around.
After the Temple of Heaven we returned to the hostel, new shoes and all. And, guess what, the hostel had found my shoes. OK, now, on the surface this is a absolutely positive thing, right? Wrong. My world is different than your's. It sounds kind of obvious, I suppose, but you really do not understand it until you live it. Yes, the finding of my shoes is a good thing, kind of. Except that I just spent $25 (a lot of money here - about 5 nights' accomodation) on a new pair of shoes. And, now I have the decision of, a) keep both pairs of shoes and carry both of them around until it no longer makes sense to do so, or b) dump either the old, once lost shoes or the new pair of face Timberlands that I just bought. I could not bring myself to dump one of the pairs, of course, so now I am carrying both pairs, which really sucks and is more inconvienent than you can imagine.
Also, the recently found shoes are soaking wet because they had been sitting outside in the snow since they were mistaken for garbage. In a stroke of genius I decide to dry them with a hair dryier. Of course I do not pay close enough attention and set the left shoe on fire. After I resole that situation, the sole of the left shoe is all, let's say "misshapen," though that is really generous, and I have to cut off the back 2/3 to make it wearable. And, I do not notice until several days and wounds later that the heel as well took some damage and is quite sharp in several areas. And, yes, I am still carrying this pair in hopes of salvaging them.
That evening I boarded my first overnight train in China. I have never been on an overnight train before and I had heard that long-distance train travel in China is an experience. Well, it is. I decided to pay a small amount extra for a bottom bunk. (There are three levels. The bottom bunk has enough height to sit up straight on, the top bunk you can can barely lean up from laying down.) As it turns out, the bottom bunk is kind of social area in which everybody, culturally, is welcome to sit, eat, and relax on. This, of course, was news to me, and, though I do not think I am normally a particularly territorial person, I felt very upset that MY space was being invaded. Sadly, there was nothing I could do so I sucked it up and delt with countless Chinese men eating KFC and farting (openly and obviously) on my bed.
I slept well.
Seoul, South Korea
The ferry from Osaka, Japan to Busan/Pusan, South Korea was far nicer than I expected it to be. I was prepared for the worst, no food for the nearly 20 hour voyage, no security/safety, less than desirable sleeping conditions. I was surprised all around. There were two meals provided (dinner and breakfast), both buffet style, though they were only open for about an hour, and were pretty good. My room for four only had two, and was not bad at all and included a locking door. On top of all that, my student card gave me a 20% discount, so the somewhat high fare become reasonable.
During the trip, I started talking to a Canadian guy. He studied history in college so he was able to give me some more information on what I had seen in Japan and what I was going to see in Seoul. He was good company and quite talkative, which made time go by faster. Of the course of the trip, we had a couple of good conversations on some interesting topics.
Once we (myself, Canadian guy, his roommate) took the Korean high-speed train, the KTX, to Seoul. The three hour trip was nice, but there is not too much to see in South Korea besides Busan and Seoul, so I did do much looking out the window. Once in Seoul, I took the subway to my hostel, HEY Backpackers.
Apparently HEY is a bit of a famous place. It is in the heart of Seoul's primary nightlife area. I put my stuff down in my room and headed to a tourist office to get some maps and information. On my way there I saw a guy wearing a Phillies hat and asked him who won the game that I saw briefly while on the ferry (my room had a TV and baseball was the only thing on that both me and my Japanese roommate could understand and enjoy). He said the Phillies had won and if I knew a place to stay for the night. I brought him and his two friends to HEY.
These three guys are stationed in Korea with the US Army. After they put their stuff done, they joined me to look for the tourist office. We could not find it and decided to have a beverage instead. One beverage lead to another and before I knew it I was fully engrossed in the Seoul nightlife.
The following day I did almost nothing as I had had a bit too much fun the night before. However, the following day I went with a German guy and two other Americans to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the boarder of North and South Korea. It was pretty cool and interesting. This trip is just about the only important cultural thing to do in Seoul. So, over the next few days I did some walking around and some sightseeing.
I had only planned on spending three nights in Seoul but ended up spending five, partially because the first night neutralized the following day and partially because I could fly to my next destination (Beijing, China) cheaper if I delayed it for a day, which, of course, I did.
Seoul is a really cool place. The city is nice and there are a good number of places to see around. The local food is pretty tasty and cheap. Cultural/educational items are a bit slacking, but I hear the museums are getting better and better (I hear one is pretty good but I did not feel like going to it). However, I think the main reason people visit Seoul is for the nightlife. To illustrate how crucial the nightlife is to the city, consider this: very few stores open before noon, unless they serve food in which case the usually open around 11AM. The tourist office that was seeking the first day I was there had the hours of noon to 10PM. Just about everybody goes to sleep after 2AM, often closer to 6AM, so the city is kind of empty before noon. I will also point out that the nightlife significantly detracts from how inexpensive the city is.
In the end, a very cool place that is a good place to spend a some time and have a good time.
During the trip, I started talking to a Canadian guy. He studied history in college so he was able to give me some more information on what I had seen in Japan and what I was going to see in Seoul. He was good company and quite talkative, which made time go by faster. Of the course of the trip, we had a couple of good conversations on some interesting topics.
Once we (myself, Canadian guy, his roommate) took the Korean high-speed train, the KTX, to Seoul. The three hour trip was nice, but there is not too much to see in South Korea besides Busan and Seoul, so I did do much looking out the window. Once in Seoul, I took the subway to my hostel, HEY Backpackers.
Apparently HEY is a bit of a famous place. It is in the heart of Seoul's primary nightlife area. I put my stuff down in my room and headed to a tourist office to get some maps and information. On my way there I saw a guy wearing a Phillies hat and asked him who won the game that I saw briefly while on the ferry (my room had a TV and baseball was the only thing on that both me and my Japanese roommate could understand and enjoy). He said the Phillies had won and if I knew a place to stay for the night. I brought him and his two friends to HEY.
These three guys are stationed in Korea with the US Army. After they put their stuff done, they joined me to look for the tourist office. We could not find it and decided to have a beverage instead. One beverage lead to another and before I knew it I was fully engrossed in the Seoul nightlife.
The following day I did almost nothing as I had had a bit too much fun the night before. However, the following day I went with a German guy and two other Americans to the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) at the boarder of North and South Korea. It was pretty cool and interesting. This trip is just about the only important cultural thing to do in Seoul. So, over the next few days I did some walking around and some sightseeing.
I had only planned on spending three nights in Seoul but ended up spending five, partially because the first night neutralized the following day and partially because I could fly to my next destination (Beijing, China) cheaper if I delayed it for a day, which, of course, I did.
Seoul is a really cool place. The city is nice and there are a good number of places to see around. The local food is pretty tasty and cheap. Cultural/educational items are a bit slacking, but I hear the museums are getting better and better (I hear one is pretty good but I did not feel like going to it). However, I think the main reason people visit Seoul is for the nightlife. To illustrate how crucial the nightlife is to the city, consider this: very few stores open before noon, unless they serve food in which case the usually open around 11AM. The tourist office that was seeking the first day I was there had the hours of noon to 10PM. Just about everybody goes to sleep after 2AM, often closer to 6AM, so the city is kind of empty before noon. I will also point out that the nightlife significantly detracts from how inexpensive the city is.
In the end, a very cool place that is a good place to spend a some time and have a good time.
25 October 2009
Japan
Tokyo, my first stop in Japan, has about 13 million people. To help put that in perspective, New York City has less than 8.5 million. That is a lot of people. The Greater Tokyo Area has 35 million people and is the world's largest metropolitan economy with a GDP of $1.191USD trillion (according to Wikipedia). Tokyo is a huge, cool, interesting, and fascinating place full of contradictions, suits and white shirts on men, good food, and loads of things that make no sense. In the end, though, there is not that much.
I anticipated on spending four nights there and feeling that I had only seen a fraction of the city (how you would feel if you spend four nights in NYC) but after walking around for 8 hours the first day I was there I looked at a map and realized I had covered about 75% of the city. Obviously there is more to do than what I did in that 75%, but I can say I got a good feel for each area and could certainly describe the differences between them. Do not get the wrong idea. I really enjoyed my time in Tokyo; it really is a cool city. I ended up spending three nights there and the first night was just me arriving, getting the following day organized, and going to sleep after a very long flight.
A few things about Tokyo that will stick with me:
1. The fish market: The fish market in Tokyo is the biggest fish market in the world and known among visitors to be one of the craziest things you can see in Japan (which says a lot). It lived up to its reputation. It is like nothing I have ever seen. The floor is covered with bloodied sea water. There are all sorts of creatures for sale, some dead and some alive. Some tiny some enormous. Some rather pleasant looking others terrifying. There is yelling, pushing, weird electric carts rushing about. All this was around 6:30AM. The market dies down around 8AM, but starts before dawn, with a tuna auction. I wanted to see this auction so that I could see the biggest tuna caught before they are cut up but the auction takes place before public transportation starts running for the day and the market is too far to walk to from my hostel.
Next to the fish market is where just about everybody goes for the traditional breakfast given the location: sushi. My and a guy I met at the hostel waited in line for about 1.5 hours with mostly locals (a good sign) to eat the most expensive, freshest, and best sushi I have ever had. Now, this sushi is expensive (the least expensive pieces run about $3 each), but if you go to the part of town right next door, which "boasts" the most expensive real estate in the world, the meal would cost ten fold.
2. Shibuya: The Shibuya ward of Tokyo, specifically the Shibuya crossing, pretty much sums modern Japan. This video was not taken by me, though I did take video of the crossing. That happens over and over and over. It is truly stunning to see.
3. The trains and train culture: Tokyo's train system is like nothing I have ever seen. It is not only that the system is so extensive, but it is also the culture train riding. Other than the sound of the train and any other ambient noise, the train is quiet. Almost nobody talks on the train. You are not allowed to talk on your phone. Just about everybody closes their eyes and sleeps no matter what the hour is. It is weird.
From Tokyo I took a Japan Rail (JR) train to Osaka, with a stop in Shizuoka with the intention of getting some views of Mount Fuji. The JR train itself is a trip. The train is moving so fast that unless you are looking at something very far you do not have time to see it. So the idea of seeing the country on the JR train is foiled. However, falling asleep on the train is dangerous because if you miss your stop you will end up really far from where you want to go. It was too foggy to see Mount Fuji but Shizuoka is very nice by itself. It is full of parks and small streets to explore.
Osaka is often not visited by tourists because it is thought of as too similar to Tokyo. This is true in that both are big cities with similarities, but false in that one is a substitute for the other. Osaka has a different feel to it. The people are less busy and have more personality. That said, they are similar and I do understand why many skip it in favor of allocating that time elsewhere.
While in Osaka I took a day trip to Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan, and another day trip to Kobe. Koyto is nice, full of shrines and temples. I think most people spend too much time in Kyoto as I felt I had enough in a day. Maybe two days would be preferable to one, but more than that is overkill.
Kobe was just OK but I think I was in a bad mood so did not really enjoy it much. Had I been in a better mood I am sure I would have enjoyed it more. What I did like most about my Kobe day was the sake brewery that I went to. I got a few tasting of different sakes and ended up buy a bottle. It was interesting and funny to listen to the guy tell me about each different sake and what makes each unique. I ended up buying a bottle and will ship it home from China.
Overall, Japan is a really interesting place. I do not understand 99% of what is going on there. Seriously. The phrase that I learned to explain anything in Japan that I cannot think of a rationale explanation for is, "This is Japan." At first, this did not satisfy me as explanation, but it really is sufficient. I really liked Japan and would certainly visit again.
I anticipated on spending four nights there and feeling that I had only seen a fraction of the city (how you would feel if you spend four nights in NYC) but after walking around for 8 hours the first day I was there I looked at a map and realized I had covered about 75% of the city. Obviously there is more to do than what I did in that 75%, but I can say I got a good feel for each area and could certainly describe the differences between them. Do not get the wrong idea. I really enjoyed my time in Tokyo; it really is a cool city. I ended up spending three nights there and the first night was just me arriving, getting the following day organized, and going to sleep after a very long flight.
A few things about Tokyo that will stick with me:
1. The fish market: The fish market in Tokyo is the biggest fish market in the world and known among visitors to be one of the craziest things you can see in Japan (which says a lot). It lived up to its reputation. It is like nothing I have ever seen. The floor is covered with bloodied sea water. There are all sorts of creatures for sale, some dead and some alive. Some tiny some enormous. Some rather pleasant looking others terrifying. There is yelling, pushing, weird electric carts rushing about. All this was around 6:30AM. The market dies down around 8AM, but starts before dawn, with a tuna auction. I wanted to see this auction so that I could see the biggest tuna caught before they are cut up but the auction takes place before public transportation starts running for the day and the market is too far to walk to from my hostel.
Next to the fish market is where just about everybody goes for the traditional breakfast given the location: sushi. My and a guy I met at the hostel waited in line for about 1.5 hours with mostly locals (a good sign) to eat the most expensive, freshest, and best sushi I have ever had. Now, this sushi is expensive (the least expensive pieces run about $3 each), but if you go to the part of town right next door, which "boasts" the most expensive real estate in the world, the meal would cost ten fold.
2. Shibuya: The Shibuya ward of Tokyo, specifically the Shibuya crossing, pretty much sums modern Japan. This video was not taken by me, though I did take video of the crossing. That happens over and over and over. It is truly stunning to see.
3. The trains and train culture: Tokyo's train system is like nothing I have ever seen. It is not only that the system is so extensive, but it is also the culture train riding. Other than the sound of the train and any other ambient noise, the train is quiet. Almost nobody talks on the train. You are not allowed to talk on your phone. Just about everybody closes their eyes and sleeps no matter what the hour is. It is weird.
From Tokyo I took a Japan Rail (JR) train to Osaka, with a stop in Shizuoka with the intention of getting some views of Mount Fuji. The JR train itself is a trip. The train is moving so fast that unless you are looking at something very far you do not have time to see it. So the idea of seeing the country on the JR train is foiled. However, falling asleep on the train is dangerous because if you miss your stop you will end up really far from where you want to go. It was too foggy to see Mount Fuji but Shizuoka is very nice by itself. It is full of parks and small streets to explore.
Osaka is often not visited by tourists because it is thought of as too similar to Tokyo. This is true in that both are big cities with similarities, but false in that one is a substitute for the other. Osaka has a different feel to it. The people are less busy and have more personality. That said, they are similar and I do understand why many skip it in favor of allocating that time elsewhere.
While in Osaka I took a day trip to Kyoto, the cultural capital of Japan, and another day trip to Kobe. Koyto is nice, full of shrines and temples. I think most people spend too much time in Kyoto as I felt I had enough in a day. Maybe two days would be preferable to one, but more than that is overkill.
Kobe was just OK but I think I was in a bad mood so did not really enjoy it much. Had I been in a better mood I am sure I would have enjoyed it more. What I did like most about my Kobe day was the sake brewery that I went to. I got a few tasting of different sakes and ended up buy a bottle. It was interesting and funny to listen to the guy tell me about each different sake and what makes each unique. I ended up buying a bottle and will ship it home from China.
Overall, Japan is a really interesting place. I do not understand 99% of what is going on there. Seriously. The phrase that I learned to explain anything in Japan that I cannot think of a rationale explanation for is, "This is Japan." At first, this did not satisfy me as explanation, but it really is sufficient. I really liked Japan and would certainly visit again.
13 October 2009
Books
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Tool
Anthem - Ayn Rand
How the Light Gets In - M. J. Hyland
1984 - George Orwell
The Broker - John Grisham
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
About a Boy - Nick Hornby
A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
Rabbit, Run - John Updike
The Malaspiga Exit - Evelyn Anthony
The Best American Short Stories 2001 - Edited by Barbara Kingsolver and Katrina Kenison
The Linger Loco! - Chris Raven and Simon Raven
SuperFreakonomics - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
I Am Charlotte Simmons - Tom Wolfe
Utopia - Sir Thomas More
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby - Tom Wolfe
The Firm - John Grisham
The Age of Reason - Jean Paul Sartre
A Partial List of Books Read Incompletely (and Why):
Stupid White Men - Michael Moore (I may have read the whole thing but was skipping around when reading it so I am not sure.)
House Rules - Jodi Picoult (Owned by a CS host and left before I could read the last 1/3.)
Social Encounters - Edited by Michael Argyle (I forgot it on a bus before I could finish it.)
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Tool
Anthem - Ayn Rand
How the Light Gets In - M. J. Hyland
1984 - George Orwell
The Broker - John Grisham
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
About a Boy - Nick Hornby
A Long Way Down - Nick Hornby
High Fidelity - Nick Hornby
Death of a Salesman - Arthur Miller
Rabbit, Run - John Updike
The Malaspiga Exit - Evelyn Anthony
The Best American Short Stories 2001 - Edited by Barbara Kingsolver and Katrina Kenison
The Linger Loco! - Chris Raven and Simon Raven
SuperFreakonomics - Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
I Am Charlotte Simmons - Tom Wolfe
Utopia - Sir Thomas More
The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby - Tom Wolfe
The Firm - John Grisham
The Age of Reason - Jean Paul Sartre
A Partial List of Books Read Incompletely (and Why):
Stupid White Men - Michael Moore (I may have read the whole thing but was skipping around when reading it so I am not sure.)
House Rules - Jodi Picoult (Owned by a CS host and left before I could read the last 1/3.)
Social Encounters - Edited by Michael Argyle (I forgot it on a bus before I could finish it.)
12 October 2009
Intermission
First and foremost, I have (finally) posted pictures at concoursejaypics.shutterfly.com. They are only semi-organized and have no description. But, they look nice and now you do not actually have to read text any more, so enjoy.
I have more to say/write about Dubai, but in the end, I am just too lazy to type it, so the post already there will have to suffice.
I left the States on July 19. From there I had about 10 days of organized, guided touring in Israel. After that I visited a friend and his family for almost a week. After that I "really" started backpacking and did so for almost two months until I went on a family vacation in Mexico (where I am as I write this).
After Mexico, the real backpacking starts. I look at my time so far kind of as training for the real thing. I was less strict with money than I will be (or expect to be), particularly with food. I still plan on indulging with activities, because they are cool and really add to the trip. I will be adjusting the contents of my bag slightly (more on this later) given what I have learned over the past three months and putting to use what else I have learned. I will have about a year of this real backpacking and about 15 months total outside of the US.
When I first thought of this post months back I expected to have something insightful or to have had some epiphany to write about. Not so much. The trip has been great so far. I have met a ton of interesting people and experienced things I would have never either had the opportunity to do or would have have taken the opportunity to do. I supposed the pseudo-philosophical rule of thumb that I have developed follows along those lines: if there is something I have an opportunity to do that I would not have otherwise, do it. Of course, there are limitations, but this is a pretty decent guideline of my decisions so far. It pertains to small and big things alike (small: trying new foods; big: going shark diving), sometimes at the same time (small: I had a feces-spitting content with my tour guide [I won]; big: the tour guide was giving my a tour of Kruger National Park in South Africa with game all around).
I suppose the trip itself kind of follows that mentality. (Is this that epiphany I had not had?) I do not expect to have the opportunity to do a trip like this at any other time in my life so I might as well do it now. However, I think that is a cheap and over simplified explanation/justification of a trip of this magnitude and do not want to leave it at that. At the same time, I cannot verbalize why I am doing this trip any better so I guess it will have to do.
Adjustments to the contents of the bag: I am ditching the two cotton polos (the non-quick dry ones), one or two (I cannot decide) long-sleeved shirts (also non-quick dry), the pajama pants that I have never worn, a hat that I bought that is too big, the photobank (I think I broke it), several books, lots of at-one-time-local coins and a fair amount of notes that I picked up along the way and want to save, an assortment of rocks/stones from various beaches and historical sites that I wanted to keep, scores of train, bus, plane tickets and free pamphlets.
There are a couple of additions as well. My bag is getting more geeky: I bought a Asus Eee PC Netbook. I have only been using it for a few days but I like it so far. I also have acquired an iPhone through my exceedingly generous aunt and uncle. I do not really know how to use it yet, but I am getting more and more used to it and I am sure it will come in handy. With the Netbook I will probably post both texts and pictures more frequently, but I do not know this for sure. With the iPhone, I set up a Twitter account that I think might be interesting to use while traveling (twitter.com/concoursejay). I do not know how to use it yet, so there is nothing there and when I do learn how to use I am really unsure of how much I actually will. Right now it is just an idea, but I think it might be worthwhile and funny. Also, a different pair of headphones and a few new books.
I have more to say/write about Dubai, but in the end, I am just too lazy to type it, so the post already there will have to suffice.
I left the States on July 19. From there I had about 10 days of organized, guided touring in Israel. After that I visited a friend and his family for almost a week. After that I "really" started backpacking and did so for almost two months until I went on a family vacation in Mexico (where I am as I write this).
After Mexico, the real backpacking starts. I look at my time so far kind of as training for the real thing. I was less strict with money than I will be (or expect to be), particularly with food. I still plan on indulging with activities, because they are cool and really add to the trip. I will be adjusting the contents of my bag slightly (more on this later) given what I have learned over the past three months and putting to use what else I have learned. I will have about a year of this real backpacking and about 15 months total outside of the US.
When I first thought of this post months back I expected to have something insightful or to have had some epiphany to write about. Not so much. The trip has been great so far. I have met a ton of interesting people and experienced things I would have never either had the opportunity to do or would have have taken the opportunity to do. I supposed the pseudo-philosophical rule of thumb that I have developed follows along those lines: if there is something I have an opportunity to do that I would not have otherwise, do it. Of course, there are limitations, but this is a pretty decent guideline of my decisions so far. It pertains to small and big things alike (small: trying new foods; big: going shark diving), sometimes at the same time (small: I had a feces-spitting content with my tour guide [I won]; big: the tour guide was giving my a tour of Kruger National Park in South Africa with game all around).
I suppose the trip itself kind of follows that mentality. (Is this that epiphany I had not had?) I do not expect to have the opportunity to do a trip like this at any other time in my life so I might as well do it now. However, I think that is a cheap and over simplified explanation/justification of a trip of this magnitude and do not want to leave it at that. At the same time, I cannot verbalize why I am doing this trip any better so I guess it will have to do.
Adjustments to the contents of the bag: I am ditching the two cotton polos (the non-quick dry ones), one or two (I cannot decide) long-sleeved shirts (also non-quick dry), the pajama pants that I have never worn, a hat that I bought that is too big, the photobank (I think I broke it), several books, lots of at-one-time-local coins and a fair amount of notes that I picked up along the way and want to save, an assortment of rocks/stones from various beaches and historical sites that I wanted to keep, scores of train, bus, plane tickets and free pamphlets.
There are a couple of additions as well. My bag is getting more geeky: I bought a Asus Eee PC Netbook. I have only been using it for a few days but I like it so far. I also have acquired an iPhone through my exceedingly generous aunt and uncle. I do not really know how to use it yet, but I am getting more and more used to it and I am sure it will come in handy. With the Netbook I will probably post both texts and pictures more frequently, but I do not know this for sure. With the iPhone, I set up a Twitter account that I think might be interesting to use while traveling (twitter.com/concoursejay). I do not know how to use it yet, so there is nothing there and when I do learn how to use I am really unsure of how much I actually will. Right now it is just an idea, but I think it might be worthwhile and funny. Also, a different pair of headphones and a few new books.
28 September 2009
Dubai
Dubai, Dubai, Dubai. They say Dubai is a city of contrast and I could not agree more. For my first day here I kept thinking, "It must really suck to have the best thing about your city be the airport." Which, in Dubai's case, does not mean much because Dubai International Airport is really cool. Cooler than many cities, in fact. But, I do not think that is what Dubai is going for; "Come to DBX, Stay in DBX, Leave from DBX" is not exactly "I Love New York." Still, I really hated the city at first.
I really cannot even put all my thoughts together on this city. It is bizzar here. Everything about it contradicts everything else. The city is bankrupt, but the public does not know. It seems like half of the buildings are still under construction and many have stagnant machinary sitting atop it. The city is prime for growth but there is no money. Sidewalks are unfinished. The construction workers appear to NEVER do anything other than sit around. In progress are three enormous projects: One, the Burg Dubai, which is/will be the tallest building in the world. I saw this thing, it is huge. And that is coming from somebody that has seen the Sears Tower all his life. This is easily the most complete of the three. Two, "The Lagoons," which is going to be a private community of the fantastically wealthy on a series of man-made lagoons, creating "an eternally romantic setting." Three, Dubailand. Yes, that atrocious name is going to be twice the size of Disney World in Orlando and be similar in that it will be family-orientated but disimilar in that they do not have Disney characters. Dubailand is in the end of its first stage, 2005-2010, and should be completed by 2015. Yep, you read that right.
Dubai, despite its location, is astoundingly green in color, because the city of 1.2 million consumes more than 250 millions gallons of water a day, or 208 gallons/person/day (Americans "only" consume 159 gallons a day). There are several water parks, countless fountains, and no regulation on water usage.
I have come to think of Dubai as high risk, high reward. The city is still young. In 25 years it will be completely different.
It seems that when people have an idea, they just act on it, and leave out that crucial step of critical thought. For example, there is a store I have passed many times that sells nothing but chair wheels, except most look decades old. How does that store seem like a good idea? "But that is just one store, a small sole proprietorship," you say. Well, the city itself opened a new Metro system on 09/09/09. The Metro is supposed to be a city transportation system, like the CTA in Chicago or the Tube in London, but it is more like the country-to-country trains in Europe. It seems to be great if you take it from one end to the other or your destination happens to be right next to a stop, but otherwise you are screwed because the other forms of transportation are unreliable (bus), expensive (taxi), infeasible (walking, because of the heat).
I am getting kicked out of the Internet cafe. More to come about Dubai (maybe).
I really cannot even put all my thoughts together on this city. It is bizzar here. Everything about it contradicts everything else. The city is bankrupt, but the public does not know. It seems like half of the buildings are still under construction and many have stagnant machinary sitting atop it. The city is prime for growth but there is no money. Sidewalks are unfinished. The construction workers appear to NEVER do anything other than sit around. In progress are three enormous projects: One, the Burg Dubai, which is/will be the tallest building in the world. I saw this thing, it is huge. And that is coming from somebody that has seen the Sears Tower all his life. This is easily the most complete of the three. Two, "The Lagoons," which is going to be a private community of the fantastically wealthy on a series of man-made lagoons, creating "an eternally romantic setting." Three, Dubailand. Yes, that atrocious name is going to be twice the size of Disney World in Orlando and be similar in that it will be family-orientated but disimilar in that they do not have Disney characters. Dubailand is in the end of its first stage, 2005-2010, and should be completed by 2015. Yep, you read that right.
Dubai, despite its location, is astoundingly green in color, because the city of 1.2 million consumes more than 250 millions gallons of water a day, or 208 gallons/person/day (Americans "only" consume 159 gallons a day). There are several water parks, countless fountains, and no regulation on water usage.
I have come to think of Dubai as high risk, high reward. The city is still young. In 25 years it will be completely different.
It seems that when people have an idea, they just act on it, and leave out that crucial step of critical thought. For example, there is a store I have passed many times that sells nothing but chair wheels, except most look decades old. How does that store seem like a good idea? "But that is just one store, a small sole proprietorship," you say. Well, the city itself opened a new Metro system on 09/09/09. The Metro is supposed to be a city transportation system, like the CTA in Chicago or the Tube in London, but it is more like the country-to-country trains in Europe. It seems to be great if you take it from one end to the other or your destination happens to be right next to a stop, but otherwise you are screwed because the other forms of transportation are unreliable (bus), expensive (taxi), infeasible (walking, because of the heat).
I am getting kicked out of the Internet cafe. More to come about Dubai (maybe).
22 September 2009
South Africa
South Africa has replaced Israel as my favorite country I have visited so far. I am really disappointed I only had two weeks here. I wish I had two in Cape Town. And the Garden Route. And the Sunshine Coast. And the Wild Coast. And Kruger. And all the other places I did not have a chance to visit because I only had two weeks.
Even before I leave I know I have to come back here.
The coastline stretching from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, and really even to St. Lucia should be required for everybody in their mid-20s. Wow. I am sitting here and do not know where to begin.
I took the BazBus from Nelspruit to Swaziland, where I stayed for about 12 hours (and neglected to run the mile that I was trying to do in each country I visited), then the BazBus again to Durban. The driver was happy to accept cash, so those rides were heavily discounted, from 940ZAR to 450ZAR. Swazi is cool and I also wish I had more time there. In Durban I met a Belgium guy, Lennart, who was willing to split a rented car with me for a week and drive to Cape Town. Man, am I lucky I found him. At first I was just happy to split the cost, but it turns out I did not remember how to drive a manual car as well as I thought I did. He did 85% of the driving and I had a refresher course during the remaining 15% (I am considerably better now).
Durban is a nice enough place but there is not a ton to do there. I ran on the beach (6 miles instead of 1 to compensate for the mile missed in Swazi and because you do not even remember you are running because of the view), walked around the city (during daylight), and went to a casino (one of the things I am going to try to do on every continent). Unfortunately the casino did not have any real card games. Or craps. So I played roulette. I won on my first play and then lost every time after that, ending down 50ZAR, half of what I bought in for, or about $8. The weird Indian woman standing next to me was flirting with me (I think) as she threw around 25 and 100ZAR chips (I was playing with 5ZAR chips). She was weird. I cashed out my chips and left.
From Durban, Lennart and I got in out white VW Avis car and drove to Coffee Bay. We did not make it all the way there and ended up staying in Port Saint Johns instead. The Jungle Monkey is a cool hostel and the beach is great. From there we drove to Coffee Bay and stayed at the Coffee Shack, where I took surf lessons from a guy you was hired by the owner, a former surfing champion. I am no expert, but I now know how to surf and can even stand up. I still no control over the board, but I still have 12+ months to improve. I also went to see the blow hole and a couple of nice hikes. Gorgeous place.
In Coffee Bay we met two Americans that wanted a ride to our next destination, so the joined us in our adventure to Jeffreys Bay. About 45 minutes into the drive, we got two flat tires, both on the passenger side (left in this country). We spent the next 2-2.5 hours resolving the situation (and playing soccer with local kids that were not in school for no reason with a loaf of bread made into a spherical shape) and then we were on our way again. Jeffreys Bay is one of the best surfing destinations in the world, if not the best. I intended on renting a board for a few hours but once I saw the waves decided against it once I saw the enormity of the waves. They are called "supertubes" by South Africans. Really intimidating to a novice like me. Instead I just used somebody's rented board for a bit just to say I surfed (or tried to) in Jeffreys Bay.
Outside of surfing there is not much to do in Jeffreys Bay, so we just chilled for a couple of days. Cool place, but the main attraction (surfing) is far beyond my skill level. The hostel was awesome and cheap (70ZAR/night) and the people are cool so there was plenty of good times.
From Jeffreys Bay Lennart and I set out to drive all the way to Stollenbosch to stay with a few people I met in Durban and do some wine tasting (Stollenbosch is heart of South Africa's wine country). We took a more scenic route and decided to stop mid-way in Mossel Bay. Here, our hostel was literally a train that sits on the beach. It was a bit cramped, but a cool experience. The beach was beautiful and the water was not too cold (unlike Jeffreys Bay where it was freezing). We did not do too much exploring here and simply woke up early and drove to Stollenbosch where I did some wine tasting (Lennart, per usual, was driving and did not drink). Wine was great, but I would not know decent wine from outstanding wine (bad wine I can identify most of the time). I bought five bottles, four as gifts, and one for myself to drink in Cape Town. Apparently when you buy wine here you get a free bottle of wine, so now I have two bottles to drink in my three nights in Cape Town. I think I am game for the challenge. (Note: one bottle is gone after one night.)
Cape Town. Man, this city is awesome. You can just feel it when you approach. I walked around today and it is just cool. I have two more nights here so I will save my Cape Town for another post.
Oh, I go shark diving tomorrow. And whale watching. All before dinner
Even before I leave I know I have to come back here.
The coastline stretching from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth, and really even to St. Lucia should be required for everybody in their mid-20s. Wow. I am sitting here and do not know where to begin.
I took the BazBus from Nelspruit to Swaziland, where I stayed for about 12 hours (and neglected to run the mile that I was trying to do in each country I visited), then the BazBus again to Durban. The driver was happy to accept cash, so those rides were heavily discounted, from 940ZAR to 450ZAR. Swazi is cool and I also wish I had more time there. In Durban I met a Belgium guy, Lennart, who was willing to split a rented car with me for a week and drive to Cape Town. Man, am I lucky I found him. At first I was just happy to split the cost, but it turns out I did not remember how to drive a manual car as well as I thought I did. He did 85% of the driving and I had a refresher course during the remaining 15% (I am considerably better now).
Durban is a nice enough place but there is not a ton to do there. I ran on the beach (6 miles instead of 1 to compensate for the mile missed in Swazi and because you do not even remember you are running because of the view), walked around the city (during daylight), and went to a casino (one of the things I am going to try to do on every continent). Unfortunately the casino did not have any real card games. Or craps. So I played roulette. I won on my first play and then lost every time after that, ending down 50ZAR, half of what I bought in for, or about $8. The weird Indian woman standing next to me was flirting with me (I think) as she threw around 25 and 100ZAR chips (I was playing with 5ZAR chips). She was weird. I cashed out my chips and left.
From Durban, Lennart and I got in out white VW Avis car and drove to Coffee Bay. We did not make it all the way there and ended up staying in Port Saint Johns instead. The Jungle Monkey is a cool hostel and the beach is great. From there we drove to Coffee Bay and stayed at the Coffee Shack, where I took surf lessons from a guy you was hired by the owner, a former surfing champion. I am no expert, but I now know how to surf and can even stand up. I still no control over the board, but I still have 12+ months to improve. I also went to see the blow hole and a couple of nice hikes. Gorgeous place.
In Coffee Bay we met two Americans that wanted a ride to our next destination, so the joined us in our adventure to Jeffreys Bay. About 45 minutes into the drive, we got two flat tires, both on the passenger side (left in this country). We spent the next 2-2.5 hours resolving the situation (and playing soccer with local kids that were not in school for no reason with a loaf of bread made into a spherical shape) and then we were on our way again. Jeffreys Bay is one of the best surfing destinations in the world, if not the best. I intended on renting a board for a few hours but once I saw the waves decided against it once I saw the enormity of the waves. They are called "supertubes" by South Africans. Really intimidating to a novice like me. Instead I just used somebody's rented board for a bit just to say I surfed (or tried to) in Jeffreys Bay.
Outside of surfing there is not much to do in Jeffreys Bay, so we just chilled for a couple of days. Cool place, but the main attraction (surfing) is far beyond my skill level. The hostel was awesome and cheap (70ZAR/night) and the people are cool so there was plenty of good times.
From Jeffreys Bay Lennart and I set out to drive all the way to Stollenbosch to stay with a few people I met in Durban and do some wine tasting (Stollenbosch is heart of South Africa's wine country). We took a more scenic route and decided to stop mid-way in Mossel Bay. Here, our hostel was literally a train that sits on the beach. It was a bit cramped, but a cool experience. The beach was beautiful and the water was not too cold (unlike Jeffreys Bay where it was freezing). We did not do too much exploring here and simply woke up early and drove to Stollenbosch where I did some wine tasting (Lennart, per usual, was driving and did not drink). Wine was great, but I would not know decent wine from outstanding wine (bad wine I can identify most of the time). I bought five bottles, four as gifts, and one for myself to drink in Cape Town. Apparently when you buy wine here you get a free bottle of wine, so now I have two bottles to drink in my three nights in Cape Town. I think I am game for the challenge. (Note: one bottle is gone after one night.)
Cape Town. Man, this city is awesome. You can just feel it when you approach. I walked around today and it is just cool. I have two more nights here so I will save my Cape Town for another post.
Oh, I go shark diving tomorrow. And whale watching. All before dinner
15 September 2009
Athens and Kruger
I have so much to write and not much time to do it in so I am going to break up this post covering the last week in a couple of posts.
Athens was OK. To me, it is a poor man's New York City, but even that is generous. It was a couple of the positive qualities of NYC, but does most poorly. For example, the Athens version of Central Park, called the National Gardens, used to be the play area for royalty. It can be explored in entirety in 30 minutes. The negative qualities of NYC, Athens does not fall short, and often exceeds. It is nearly as busy, far dirtier, and people have a similar disposition.
I had heard that Greeks are very vain people. I did not form this opinion, but I did notice that they like spending money. You know a couple of years ago when Americans spent about 100% of what they earned? I would not be surprised if most Greeks do the same. Except, instead of buying homes they cannot afford, they buy clothes, cell phones, and cars they cannot afford and eat out all the time. Even the tourist restaurants were had locals locals in them.
Leaving Athens, Greece to Johannesburg, South Africa was a trip. I had a stop over in Dubai, UAE, which is like going from Chicago to New York to Houston, expect the distances are longer. Fortunately I was on the airline Emirates, which is easily the best airline I have ever been on and, apparently, is currently rated the best airline. It was awesome. The food was good, service was good, entertainment options were outstanding and flight pleasant despite the string of terrible women I had sitting next to me. Coincidentally, my next destination after South Africa is Dubai, so I will be going back there (but on a different airline). This is OK with me because Dubai's airport is awesome.
I booked my Kruger National Park safari about 1.5 days before it was to begin. Oddly enough, doing so left so little time for me to pay the agent to in turn pay the suppliers, so I paid the suppliers directly, saving me about $150. From the Jo'burg airport I took a connecting domestic flight to Nelspruit then a "transfer" (private car ride) to my lodge in Kruger.
Aside from the family vacation in Mexico, the lodge is easily the nicest place I am going to be staying at during my travels, and might rival the time in Mexico. There was a table cloth! The service was good, food outstanding, and game drives unforgettable. A very expensive few days, but truly awesome. I have a ton of photos and even a few videos of game that I saw but am having trouble once again posting. I really need to get this figured out.
Another post to come soon-ish
Athens was OK. To me, it is a poor man's New York City, but even that is generous. It was a couple of the positive qualities of NYC, but does most poorly. For example, the Athens version of Central Park, called the National Gardens, used to be the play area for royalty. It can be explored in entirety in 30 minutes. The negative qualities of NYC, Athens does not fall short, and often exceeds. It is nearly as busy, far dirtier, and people have a similar disposition.
I had heard that Greeks are very vain people. I did not form this opinion, but I did notice that they like spending money. You know a couple of years ago when Americans spent about 100% of what they earned? I would not be surprised if most Greeks do the same. Except, instead of buying homes they cannot afford, they buy clothes, cell phones, and cars they cannot afford and eat out all the time. Even the tourist restaurants were had locals locals in them.
Leaving Athens, Greece to Johannesburg, South Africa was a trip. I had a stop over in Dubai, UAE, which is like going from Chicago to New York to Houston, expect the distances are longer. Fortunately I was on the airline Emirates, which is easily the best airline I have ever been on and, apparently, is currently rated the best airline. It was awesome. The food was good, service was good, entertainment options were outstanding and flight pleasant despite the string of terrible women I had sitting next to me. Coincidentally, my next destination after South Africa is Dubai, so I will be going back there (but on a different airline). This is OK with me because Dubai's airport is awesome.
I booked my Kruger National Park safari about 1.5 days before it was to begin. Oddly enough, doing so left so little time for me to pay the agent to in turn pay the suppliers, so I paid the suppliers directly, saving me about $150. From the Jo'burg airport I took a connecting domestic flight to Nelspruit then a "transfer" (private car ride) to my lodge in Kruger.
Aside from the family vacation in Mexico, the lodge is easily the nicest place I am going to be staying at during my travels, and might rival the time in Mexico. There was a table cloth! The service was good, food outstanding, and game drives unforgettable. A very expensive few days, but truly awesome. I have a ton of photos and even a few videos of game that I saw but am having trouble once again posting. I really need to get this figured out.
Another post to come soon-ish
06 September 2009
In the Bag(s)
I have two bags. A standard backpack like the one you had in grade school except with some anti-theft features and a 65 liter REI Flash Pack. When I left Chicago this bag checked-in at 29 pounds. The other probably weighed 5. Stuff moves between the two depending my needs. I also bought a small shoulder bag in Israel that is quite useful.
The rule of thumb is you fill the bag you have. I bought the 65 liter bag with that in mind. There are not too many things that I packed that I wish I had not and the couple that I plan on leaving in Chicago I could just as easily keep them with me. At the same time, I find myself not using most of the stuff I have.
I bought just about everything I did not already have from REI or Amazon. I will try to link to stuff when I can later as I did above but I do not want to take the time to do that now. I spent an embarassing amount of money on stuff in preperation. Seriously, I am not telling you. I probably could have done it for half. Also note that several things that many people would have already, like an i-Pod and camera, I did not have.
Clothes:
5 cheap white t-shirts that will be ditched as necessary
1 long-sleeved shirt with a collar
1 long-sleeved nicer (relatively) shirt (will leave in Chicago when I am there)
2 short-sleeved polo-like shirts (standard cotton, non-quick-dry, will leave in Chicago)
3 REI quick-dry short-sleeved t-shirts
1 REI quick-dry long-sleeved t-shirts
1 REI quick-dry polo-like shirt
1 pair REI quick-dry shorts
1 pair REI quick-dry pants
1 pair jeans
6 (about) pair of quick-dry ankle socks
6 (about) pair of boxers (standard cotton, not the quick-dry kind which I considered)
1 pair of hiking shoes from REI
1 pair of crappy flip flops
1 pair of sandles that can go in the water (what I am normally wearing unless proper shoes would be useful)
2 pairs of swimsuits, or whatever you want to call them
Electronics and Tech Stuff:
(This is the section where I am sure I can cut stuff out. Somebody actually commented to me that I have more stuff than clothes, which is not normal for backpackers.)
-16 GB iPod Shuffle (latest generation) and kit with a small wall recharger and headphones
-Sony CyberShot 12.1MP DSC290 (or something similar) camera with 2 4GB memory cards and kit including carrying case, extra battery, USB adapter
-40GB photobank (basically a hard drive that copies the data on a memory card)
-Water purifier and water bottle
-Security mesh thing for locking my bag to something fixed
-Binoculars
-Power adapters to just about everywhere
-Two small combination locks
Toiletries and the Like:
-Small container of shampoo and conditioner
-Small container of laundry deterget (which I lost before I used it a single time)
-Handful of q-tips
-Razor and extra blades and shave cream
-Electric razor and charger
-Small, folding toothbrush
-Small container of toothpaste
-Eye drops (lubricating)
-Anti-itch cream
-Tums and some common over-the-counter drugs
-Deodorant
-Ear plugs
-Small container of hand sanitizer
Other:
-Sleeping bag liner
-Universal sink-stopper
-Roll of toilet paper
-Several books (started with Fight Club (read), A Confederacy of Dunces (read), 1984 (nearly done)). Bought and read Anthem. And yes, that is the most I have read since grade school. Easily
-2 water-proof bags (unless submerged), one 8 liter the other 20 liter
-A Chicago Bulls hat (go Bulls)
-Timex watch
-Small alarm clock
-Swiss Army knife
-Wallet, debit card, credit card, Illinois driver's license, and less and less money
-Passports and slip for passport
-Photocopies of passports and health insurance card (and the card itself)
-Cheap duffle-like bag to put my big bag in when checking it
-Several plastic bags of varying sizes
I am sure I forgetting stuff that is really obvious but that is all I can think of.
The rule of thumb is you fill the bag you have. I bought the 65 liter bag with that in mind. There are not too many things that I packed that I wish I had not and the couple that I plan on leaving in Chicago I could just as easily keep them with me. At the same time, I find myself not using most of the stuff I have.
I bought just about everything I did not already have from REI or Amazon. I will try to link to stuff when I can later as I did above but I do not want to take the time to do that now. I spent an embarassing amount of money on stuff in preperation. Seriously, I am not telling you. I probably could have done it for half. Also note that several things that many people would have already, like an i-Pod and camera, I did not have.
Clothes:
5 cheap white t-shirts that will be ditched as necessary
1 long-sleeved shirt with a collar
1 long-sleeved nicer (relatively) shirt (will leave in Chicago when I am there)
2 short-sleeved polo-like shirts (standard cotton, non-quick-dry, will leave in Chicago)
3 REI quick-dry short-sleeved t-shirts
1 REI quick-dry long-sleeved t-shirts
1 REI quick-dry polo-like shirt
1 pair REI quick-dry shorts
1 pair REI quick-dry pants
1 pair jeans
6 (about) pair of quick-dry ankle socks
6 (about) pair of boxers (standard cotton, not the quick-dry kind which I considered)
1 pair of hiking shoes from REI
1 pair of crappy flip flops
1 pair of sandles that can go in the water (what I am normally wearing unless proper shoes would be useful)
2 pairs of swimsuits, or whatever you want to call them
Electronics and Tech Stuff:
(This is the section where I am sure I can cut stuff out. Somebody actually commented to me that I have more stuff than clothes, which is not normal for backpackers.)
-16 GB iPod Shuffle (latest generation) and kit with a small wall recharger and headphones
-Sony CyberShot 12.1MP DSC290 (or something similar) camera with 2 4GB memory cards and kit including carrying case, extra battery, USB adapter
-40GB photobank (basically a hard drive that copies the data on a memory card)
-Water purifier and water bottle
-Security mesh thing for locking my bag to something fixed
-Binoculars
-Power adapters to just about everywhere
-Two small combination locks
Toiletries and the Like:
-Small container of shampoo and conditioner
-Small container of laundry deterget (which I lost before I used it a single time)
-Handful of q-tips
-Razor and extra blades and shave cream
-Electric razor and charger
-Small, folding toothbrush
-Small container of toothpaste
-Eye drops (lubricating)
-Anti-itch cream
-Tums and some common over-the-counter drugs
-Deodorant
-Ear plugs
-Small container of hand sanitizer
Other:
-Sleeping bag liner
-Universal sink-stopper
-Roll of toilet paper
-Several books (started with Fight Club (read), A Confederacy of Dunces (read), 1984 (nearly done)). Bought and read Anthem. And yes, that is the most I have read since grade school. Easily
-2 water-proof bags (unless submerged), one 8 liter the other 20 liter
-A Chicago Bulls hat (go Bulls)
-Timex watch
-Small alarm clock
-Swiss Army knife
-Wallet, debit card, credit card, Illinois driver's license, and less and less money
-Passports and slip for passport
-Photocopies of passports and health insurance card (and the card itself)
-Cheap duffle-like bag to put my big bag in when checking it
-Several plastic bags of varying sizes
I am sure I forgetting stuff that is really obvious but that is all I can think of.
Unsure What an Good Title Would Be
Turkey was great. I wish I had more time there. I only had the chance to visit a few places and did not even make it to Istanbul.
I did, however, go paragliding near Fethiye. I took video with my camera but am having some trouble uploading it to anything (YouTube and Facebook) and for some reason cannot view it with a computer using Windows Media Player. I know the video took because I can watch it on the camera but I cannot move it somewhere else, which means I cannot delete it and make room for pictures. If any of the three readers of this blog have any ideas, please let me know.
As for my Turkey experience outside of paragliding: I need to go back. Attila's Hostel outside of Ephesus is probably the best hostel I have ever stayed at. Ephesus itself is cool, but does not compare to Petra. The whole country, rather everywhere I went in the country, has a great vibe and feels relaxed and interesting.
I did really hate paying the 10 Euro port tax twice. And, I ordered a chicken sandwich meal from Burger King, regular size, no tomato, no mayo in Turkey just before getting on the ferry. I got two Whoppers meals, king sized, and what I can only assume was extra mayo because there is no way Burger King puts that much mayo on its food normally. Get it you way my ass. On the ferry a group of 5 older Israelis sat with me. They liked that I did Birthright, but seeme to question whether I was actually Jewish. Nice enough people, especially for Israelis, and made for a more interesting ferry ride than would have been otherwise.
So, I decided to spend the night in Samos after arriving from Turkey. I book a 12:30 ferry to Athens for 41 Euro. I have grown friendly with an Australian guy, Anthony, that is working for the place that sells ferry tickets. He is staying in the same hostel as me, though he is not paying for it as it is part of his compensation. We went out last night with some other guy, David, to experience the Greek nightlife. It was fun. Too much fun, in fact. I slept through my alarm and missed my ferry. Now, I have an extra day (really more like two days because the next ferry does not leave until 4PM) in Samos and a day less in Athens. All that is fine with me. The real down side is the wasted 41 Euro. I refuse to pay for another night in a hostel so, kind of as punishment to myself, I am going to leave my bags with Anthony for tonight and sleep on the beach. Yeah, that sounds cool, and it is for the most part, but the beaches in Samos are stone beaches, little sand if any, so my sleeping surface will be less than comfortable.
As a result of this, I will only have about a day and a half in Athens. Which, people tell me, actually is enough time. In my guidebook there is a "Athens in Two Days" textbox which includes several things I am not interested in so I think I will have enough time in Athens.
As indicated by the previous paragraph I have not been to Athens yet, but 6ish weeks into my trip and 5 countries under my belt (Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey), Greece is easily my least favorite. It is still nice, but clearly ranked last. It is beutiful ; the entire country is a post card. The people are friendly. At the same time, I cannot identify the source or cause of this opinoin. I think part of it is that all the islands are very similar to me. Also, I know part of it is that I feel like the entire country is full of tourists. I have met so few Greeks it is amazing. If you do not include the Greeks that I have met using services (hostels, buses, etc) the number drops to single digits. Everybody here is visiting or working here for the summer (and working for a tourist service).
I have spent part of my extra time in Samos on the Internet (obviously) at 3 Euro per hour, which is a lot but actually reasonable for the area. I am trying to oranize a guided tour in Kruger National Park in South Africa. I found one that looked great and way cheaper than all the others, around $400 for 2 night/3 days. Then I realized that was the per day cost. Then it became similarly priced to the others. I need to book one soon but I am having some trouble doing so. I emailed the company a bit ago and hope for a quick response.
Unrelated: I keep forgetting to post something I thought was funny. Within a scan of a couple days about 1.5-2 weeks ago, I was told a look considerably older than 25 and pudgy. Never in my life have I been told either of these things. People generally guess I am several years young than I am. And I am not a chubby person at all. Never have I been. When I left the States I weighed about 125 pounds and I have lost a noticable amount weight since then. I have to pull my belt so tight that the waist of my shorts folds onto itself in multiple places.
I did, however, go paragliding near Fethiye. I took video with my camera but am having some trouble uploading it to anything (YouTube and Facebook) and for some reason cannot view it with a computer using Windows Media Player. I know the video took because I can watch it on the camera but I cannot move it somewhere else, which means I cannot delete it and make room for pictures. If any of the three readers of this blog have any ideas, please let me know.
As for my Turkey experience outside of paragliding: I need to go back. Attila's Hostel outside of Ephesus is probably the best hostel I have ever stayed at. Ephesus itself is cool, but does not compare to Petra. The whole country, rather everywhere I went in the country, has a great vibe and feels relaxed and interesting.
I did really hate paying the 10 Euro port tax twice. And, I ordered a chicken sandwich meal from Burger King, regular size, no tomato, no mayo in Turkey just before getting on the ferry. I got two Whoppers meals, king sized, and what I can only assume was extra mayo because there is no way Burger King puts that much mayo on its food normally. Get it you way my ass. On the ferry a group of 5 older Israelis sat with me. They liked that I did Birthright, but seeme to question whether I was actually Jewish. Nice enough people, especially for Israelis, and made for a more interesting ferry ride than would have been otherwise.
So, I decided to spend the night in Samos after arriving from Turkey. I book a 12:30 ferry to Athens for 41 Euro. I have grown friendly with an Australian guy, Anthony, that is working for the place that sells ferry tickets. He is staying in the same hostel as me, though he is not paying for it as it is part of his compensation. We went out last night with some other guy, David, to experience the Greek nightlife. It was fun. Too much fun, in fact. I slept through my alarm and missed my ferry. Now, I have an extra day (really more like two days because the next ferry does not leave until 4PM) in Samos and a day less in Athens. All that is fine with me. The real down side is the wasted 41 Euro. I refuse to pay for another night in a hostel so, kind of as punishment to myself, I am going to leave my bags with Anthony for tonight and sleep on the beach. Yeah, that sounds cool, and it is for the most part, but the beaches in Samos are stone beaches, little sand if any, so my sleeping surface will be less than comfortable.
As a result of this, I will only have about a day and a half in Athens. Which, people tell me, actually is enough time. In my guidebook there is a "Athens in Two Days" textbox which includes several things I am not interested in so I think I will have enough time in Athens.
As indicated by the previous paragraph I have not been to Athens yet, but 6ish weeks into my trip and 5 countries under my belt (Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Greece, and Turkey), Greece is easily my least favorite. It is still nice, but clearly ranked last. It is beutiful ; the entire country is a post card. The people are friendly. At the same time, I cannot identify the source or cause of this opinoin. I think part of it is that all the islands are very similar to me. Also, I know part of it is that I feel like the entire country is full of tourists. I have met so few Greeks it is amazing. If you do not include the Greeks that I have met using services (hostels, buses, etc) the number drops to single digits. Everybody here is visiting or working here for the summer (and working for a tourist service).
I have spent part of my extra time in Samos on the Internet (obviously) at 3 Euro per hour, which is a lot but actually reasonable for the area. I am trying to oranize a guided tour in Kruger National Park in South Africa. I found one that looked great and way cheaper than all the others, around $400 for 2 night/3 days. Then I realized that was the per day cost. Then it became similarly priced to the others. I need to book one soon but I am having some trouble doing so. I emailed the company a bit ago and hope for a quick response.
Unrelated: I keep forgetting to post something I thought was funny. Within a scan of a couple days about 1.5-2 weeks ago, I was told a look considerably older than 25 and pudgy. Never in my life have I been told either of these things. People generally guess I am several years young than I am. And I am not a chubby person at all. Never have I been. When I left the States I weighed about 125 pounds and I have lost a noticable amount weight since then. I have to pull my belt so tight that the waist of my shorts folds onto itself in multiple places.
31 August 2009
Change O' Plans and Notes
I flew into Athens and took a bus east to the port city of Rafina instead of the more traditional bus west to Athens. I decided to do Athens at the end of my time in Greece to avoid going into the city twice. Once in Rafina had to kill 6 hours because I missed the ferry by about 15 minutes. Rafina is nice, but there is not much to do.
Once on the ferry I was on my way to the lesser-visited Greek island of Andros. Apparently this island is such a infrequent tourist destination that there are no hostels, which forced me to pay 30 Euros a night for a room (I got him down from 80 Euros). I rented a motorbike/scooter thing the first full day I was there and explored the island going no faster than 80 kph (about 50 mph), done going down hill with the wind at my back. Andros is beautiful and I took more pictures than I think I have ever taken before.
I decided to come to Greece now instead of the summer 2010 because it is low season now compared to what would be high season and because Greece is kind of out of the way when visiting the rest of Europe (look at a map). Though less expensive than high season, Greece is still expensive, especially when I compare it to the country I was prior, Egypt. For example, my first accommodation in Greece was 30 Euros a night ($44ish), and he wanted 80 Euros, as written above. In Cairo, the hostel was 40 Egyptian pounds (less than $8). Yes, the room in Greece was far nicer, but I am not looking for nice places. I am looking for cheap places that I feel safe and trust the lock to protect my luggage. That is it. No frills, just a simple lock.
The next day it was off to Samos, another less-traveled island. In order to get there I had to stop off at the tourist destination of Mykonos. I ended up having to spend the night there and the entire following day because the first ferry to Samos did not leave until 12:50AM the following night. Mykonos is beautiful as well, but it was at this time that I realized it was the same views as Andros. It different in that is was full of drunken tourists. Also, I went rock climbing with a 20-year-old artist from Cape Town that has not been home for more than a year. He gave me tons of advice about traveling in South Africa, which (at the time was) is my next destination.
I took the ferry to Samos, which is supposed to take 6 hours but actually took 8. On the ferry I meet 4 Australians stopping in Samos for a day en route to Turkey (at one point Turkey is less than 1km from Samos, Greece). I told them that I intended on doing the same thing but then read how crazy expensive it was to take that ferry. Upon arrival in Samos the Aussies and myself went to the same ferry-booking store to book our respective ferries; them to Turkey, my returning to Mykonos in a couple of days. Apparently what I read was wrong and the ferry to and from Turkey is only 45 Euros, not the hundreds that I read. So, instead of seeing another island (probably would have been Syros) I am going to spend a short week in Turkey.
Right now I am in Samos waiting for a bit longer until the ferry to Turkey leaves.
This worked perfectly for me. As gorgeous as the Greek islands are I was getting kind of sick of them. And, I wanted to go to Turkey but the supposed cost created a barrier. I will be traveling with them until 9/4/09 when the get on a week-long ferry around Turkey and I will head back to Greece, via Samos, where I will spend the day exploring, before heading to Athens for a couple of days before catching my 9/9/09 flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.
NOTES:
1. Sorry about the lack of pictures. The pictures I take are big files (12M) and uploading them takes time. And, when you are paying for time on the Internet in 1-15 minute intervals, you tend to not want to take the time to upload. I can re-size them to make them smaller and easier to upload, but I cannot download and install the software to do so in Internet cafes. I will definitely upload a ton in early October.
2. I plan on a post at some point that will be updates frequently keeping track of certain things like ferries taken, miles flown, bouts of constipation, etc. I think it will be interesting any funny, for me, anyway.
3. I also have been meaning to post an inventory of the items I brought, but I keep forgetting and do not want to do so when the Internet is as expensive as it is in Greece. I hope to get one posted soon-ish.
Once on the ferry I was on my way to the lesser-visited Greek island of Andros. Apparently this island is such a infrequent tourist destination that there are no hostels, which forced me to pay 30 Euros a night for a room (I got him down from 80 Euros). I rented a motorbike/scooter thing the first full day I was there and explored the island going no faster than 80 kph (about 50 mph), done going down hill with the wind at my back. Andros is beautiful and I took more pictures than I think I have ever taken before.
I decided to come to Greece now instead of the summer 2010 because it is low season now compared to what would be high season and because Greece is kind of out of the way when visiting the rest of Europe (look at a map). Though less expensive than high season, Greece is still expensive, especially when I compare it to the country I was prior, Egypt. For example, my first accommodation in Greece was 30 Euros a night ($44ish), and he wanted 80 Euros, as written above. In Cairo, the hostel was 40 Egyptian pounds (less than $8). Yes, the room in Greece was far nicer, but I am not looking for nice places. I am looking for cheap places that I feel safe and trust the lock to protect my luggage. That is it. No frills, just a simple lock.
The next day it was off to Samos, another less-traveled island. In order to get there I had to stop off at the tourist destination of Mykonos. I ended up having to spend the night there and the entire following day because the first ferry to Samos did not leave until 12:50AM the following night. Mykonos is beautiful as well, but it was at this time that I realized it was the same views as Andros. It different in that is was full of drunken tourists. Also, I went rock climbing with a 20-year-old artist from Cape Town that has not been home for more than a year. He gave me tons of advice about traveling in South Africa, which (at the time was) is my next destination.
I took the ferry to Samos, which is supposed to take 6 hours but actually took 8. On the ferry I meet 4 Australians stopping in Samos for a day en route to Turkey (at one point Turkey is less than 1km from Samos, Greece). I told them that I intended on doing the same thing but then read how crazy expensive it was to take that ferry. Upon arrival in Samos the Aussies and myself went to the same ferry-booking store to book our respective ferries; them to Turkey, my returning to Mykonos in a couple of days. Apparently what I read was wrong and the ferry to and from Turkey is only 45 Euros, not the hundreds that I read. So, instead of seeing another island (probably would have been Syros) I am going to spend a short week in Turkey.
Right now I am in Samos waiting for a bit longer until the ferry to Turkey leaves.
This worked perfectly for me. As gorgeous as the Greek islands are I was getting kind of sick of them. And, I wanted to go to Turkey but the supposed cost created a barrier. I will be traveling with them until 9/4/09 when the get on a week-long ferry around Turkey and I will head back to Greece, via Samos, where I will spend the day exploring, before heading to Athens for a couple of days before catching my 9/9/09 flight to Johannesburg, South Africa.
NOTES:
1. Sorry about the lack of pictures. The pictures I take are big files (12M) and uploading them takes time. And, when you are paying for time on the Internet in 1-15 minute intervals, you tend to not want to take the time to upload. I can re-size them to make them smaller and easier to upload, but I cannot download and install the software to do so in Internet cafes. I will definitely upload a ton in early October.
2. I plan on a post at some point that will be updates frequently keeping track of certain things like ferries taken, miles flown, bouts of constipation, etc. I think it will be interesting any funny, for me, anyway.
3. I also have been meaning to post an inventory of the items I brought, but I keep forgetting and do not want to do so when the Internet is as expensive as it is in Greece. I hope to get one posted soon-ish.
26 August 2009
Ups and Downs in Egypt
Maybe it was my disinterest in school, but I think I have been grossly misinformed about what Egypt is. I knew of Cairo and that was essentially it. And, I thought Cairo was basically the Pyramids and the "city" part of the city was tourist stuff to get westerns to and from the Pyramids and a place to spend their money.
Well, the last part of that exists, but Cairo and Egypt are so much more. The city is lively and has a great vibe. It has been Ramadan for the past several days, so the city is different now than it was when I was here when I last posted (not including the Quick Post earlier today). The people are visably exhausted from not eating or drinking anything while the sun is up. While normally very friendly and helpful, Egyptians are a little more curt and abrasive during the month-long holiday, though still very friendly and helpful.
Since I was last in here, I took a bus from Cairo (near the top of the Nile) to Aswan (at the bottom). The bus ride should take 11-12 hours. It took 15.5 hours, with the driver starting a third Arabic movie at 2:30AM, playing his Arabic "music" (this is not a slight, I really do not think it was music) blasting loud when movies were not playing, and honking the horn at literally nothing constantly during the ride. It was not pleasent.
Once in Aswan, the four New Zealand guys and myself hired a falucca to take us north toward Luxor. A falucca is basically a small boat that you ride up the Nile just relaxing, talking, playing cards, napping, etc. There is not anything specific to do not the falucca as it is almost the most basic boat imaginable, but it is an experience unlike any other still. Our captain, or "Cabten" as was painted on his boat, was coincidentally name Ramadan. He took us north for a few hours until we stopped at his village where he brought us dinner on the boat which was simple (rice, potatoes and veggies in a tomatoe sauce) and delicious. We slept on the boat then headed north further to Luxor (faluccas intending on stopping in Luxor always stop before then for some reason).
Luxor is my least favorite city in Egypt. Part of it is the heat 45 degrees Celsius (113 Farenheit). Part of it is that anything in the city worth doing cost relatively huge sums of money. Part of it is that because it was Ramadan and Luxor is not a major city like Cairo, there is no place to eat after 12 noon as all the locals go to mosque at noon then nap until 4:30 leaving tourists like myself to eat at a US-priced McDonald's or the uber-touristy Snack Time (similarly priced). But mostly it was that I was fined 250 Egyptian Pounds in the Valley of the Kings for taking pictures in the tombs. Yes, that is less than 50USD, but that is an enourmous amount of money here. The average per capita income for Egyptians is about $1643. For 5 photos I was fined about 3% of what the person who fined me makes a year. I was pissed, but it was better than the alternative of him calling the police and me hoping for the best.
I was not the only person unhappy with Luxor. We had planned on staying two nights and promptly left a day early when we got feed up with the city. I was pleased.
From Luxor we took a 10 hour bus ride (meaning 14 hours) to Cairo. This bus ride was different other than the complete inability of the bus company to estimate the duration of the trip. The bus departed Luxor at 6PM. At prciesly 6:30 we pulled over for 45 minutes. Why? So that everybody could eat. People bought McDonald's or made a sandwich or whatever and brought it on the bus waiting for the sun to set. Some people got off the bus and joined the table of locals gorging themselves after they finished the food they had. It was quite a scene. The rest of the bus ride was also the polar opposite of the other. On this one there was plenty of room, only a little unnecessary honking, and even a movie in English (Jackie Chan's Drunken Master which was great). The sleep I got on this bus was among the best I have had since I have been travelling.
In Cairo, we returned to the Lialy Hostel and just planned on chilling out for a bit. The Kiwis (slang for natives of New Zealand) had a flight in a couple of days and I scrapped my plans to visit Alexandria because of the money was fined in Luxor. I just wanted to soak up the city a bit more and organize my plans for the next month.
Then the fun started.
After a day of lounging around and figuring out exactly what I am doing next I sat down in an Internet cafe to book my flights. I need to arrange four in total (in previous post). I knew it would be a bit pricely, but doing Greece now would actually be considerably cheaper than doing it in the summer of 2010 because it would be high season then while it is currently the low season. I knew getting to South Africa would be expensive no matter what because it is pretty far away. I recognized flying to Dubai for less than a week is costly because of the flight and because of the city. And, I knew that once I return to Cairo getting to Tel Aviv takes way longer than it should and is complicated.
Still, these were all things I wanted to do and they needed to be done. So, I looked up flights, figured out the best and cheapest way to do everything, and decided exactly what I was going to do. Tried to pay for my first flight with my Visa credit card. Declined. OK. I probably typed something wrong. Declined again. Not good, but I do not have time to figure it out right now. I used my debit card. No problem. Second flight. Tried the credit card again. Declined. Debit card worked fine. Third flight. Credit declined again. Debit card, declined. I assume I typed something wrong. Try debit again. Declined. Shit. My two sources of cash are frozen, I have about 100USD in cash, and leave for Greece (one of the flights I did manage to make) in less than 12 hours. I am freaking out. I call the international collect numbers on the back of my cards. Ring, ring, ring. Nothing. Shit. I send paniced emails to family at home, but it is still too early there and nobody is awake.
Finally, this guy in my hostel, Chris, says I can use his Skype account to call the US 800-number over the Internet. Except, he needs to put money on his account. I have known Chris for less than 24 hours and, man, did he help me out.
Chris and I plan on meeting up in Dubai.
Well, the last part of that exists, but Cairo and Egypt are so much more. The city is lively and has a great vibe. It has been Ramadan for the past several days, so the city is different now than it was when I was here when I last posted (not including the Quick Post earlier today). The people are visably exhausted from not eating or drinking anything while the sun is up. While normally very friendly and helpful, Egyptians are a little more curt and abrasive during the month-long holiday, though still very friendly and helpful.
Since I was last in here, I took a bus from Cairo (near the top of the Nile) to Aswan (at the bottom). The bus ride should take 11-12 hours. It took 15.5 hours, with the driver starting a third Arabic movie at 2:30AM, playing his Arabic "music" (this is not a slight, I really do not think it was music) blasting loud when movies were not playing, and honking the horn at literally nothing constantly during the ride. It was not pleasent.
Once in Aswan, the four New Zealand guys and myself hired a falucca to take us north toward Luxor. A falucca is basically a small boat that you ride up the Nile just relaxing, talking, playing cards, napping, etc. There is not anything specific to do not the falucca as it is almost the most basic boat imaginable, but it is an experience unlike any other still. Our captain, or "Cabten" as was painted on his boat, was coincidentally name Ramadan. He took us north for a few hours until we stopped at his village where he brought us dinner on the boat which was simple (rice, potatoes and veggies in a tomatoe sauce) and delicious. We slept on the boat then headed north further to Luxor (faluccas intending on stopping in Luxor always stop before then for some reason).
Luxor is my least favorite city in Egypt. Part of it is the heat 45 degrees Celsius (113 Farenheit). Part of it is that anything in the city worth doing cost relatively huge sums of money. Part of it is that because it was Ramadan and Luxor is not a major city like Cairo, there is no place to eat after 12 noon as all the locals go to mosque at noon then nap until 4:30 leaving tourists like myself to eat at a US-priced McDonald's or the uber-touristy Snack Time (similarly priced). But mostly it was that I was fined 250 Egyptian Pounds in the Valley of the Kings for taking pictures in the tombs. Yes, that is less than 50USD, but that is an enourmous amount of money here. The average per capita income for Egyptians is about $1643. For 5 photos I was fined about 3% of what the person who fined me makes a year. I was pissed, but it was better than the alternative of him calling the police and me hoping for the best.
I was not the only person unhappy with Luxor. We had planned on staying two nights and promptly left a day early when we got feed up with the city. I was pleased.
From Luxor we took a 10 hour bus ride (meaning 14 hours) to Cairo. This bus ride was different other than the complete inability of the bus company to estimate the duration of the trip. The bus departed Luxor at 6PM. At prciesly 6:30 we pulled over for 45 minutes. Why? So that everybody could eat. People bought McDonald's or made a sandwich or whatever and brought it on the bus waiting for the sun to set. Some people got off the bus and joined the table of locals gorging themselves after they finished the food they had. It was quite a scene. The rest of the bus ride was also the polar opposite of the other. On this one there was plenty of room, only a little unnecessary honking, and even a movie in English (Jackie Chan's Drunken Master which was great). The sleep I got on this bus was among the best I have had since I have been travelling.
In Cairo, we returned to the Lialy Hostel and just planned on chilling out for a bit. The Kiwis (slang for natives of New Zealand) had a flight in a couple of days and I scrapped my plans to visit Alexandria because of the money was fined in Luxor. I just wanted to soak up the city a bit more and organize my plans for the next month.
Then the fun started.
After a day of lounging around and figuring out exactly what I am doing next I sat down in an Internet cafe to book my flights. I need to arrange four in total (in previous post). I knew it would be a bit pricely, but doing Greece now would actually be considerably cheaper than doing it in the summer of 2010 because it would be high season then while it is currently the low season. I knew getting to South Africa would be expensive no matter what because it is pretty far away. I recognized flying to Dubai for less than a week is costly because of the flight and because of the city. And, I knew that once I return to Cairo getting to Tel Aviv takes way longer than it should and is complicated.
Still, these were all things I wanted to do and they needed to be done. So, I looked up flights, figured out the best and cheapest way to do everything, and decided exactly what I was going to do. Tried to pay for my first flight with my Visa credit card. Declined. OK. I probably typed something wrong. Declined again. Not good, but I do not have time to figure it out right now. I used my debit card. No problem. Second flight. Tried the credit card again. Declined. Debit card worked fine. Third flight. Credit declined again. Debit card, declined. I assume I typed something wrong. Try debit again. Declined. Shit. My two sources of cash are frozen, I have about 100USD in cash, and leave for Greece (one of the flights I did manage to make) in less than 12 hours. I am freaking out. I call the international collect numbers on the back of my cards. Ring, ring, ring. Nothing. Shit. I send paniced emails to family at home, but it is still too early there and nobody is awake.
Finally, this guy in my hostel, Chris, says I can use his Skype account to call the US 800-number over the Internet. Except, he needs to put money on his account. I have known Chris for less than 24 hours and, man, did he help me out.
Chris and I plan on meeting up in Dubai.
Quick Post
Just a short post right now as I am leaving the Internet cafe soon. I plan on posting again in a couple of hours covering the last week's many ups and few downs. For right now, however, I present my itinerary until October 3:
8/27: fly from Cairo, Egypt to Athens, Greece
9/9: fly from Athens, Greece to Johannesburg, South Africa
9/24: fly from Cape Town, South Africa to Dubai, UAE
9/29: fly from Dubai, UAE to Cairo, Egypt
9/29-10/1: get from Cairo, Egypt to Tel Aviv, Israel
10/2: fly from Tel Aviv, Israel to New York, NY, USA, where I will be for 22 hours
10/3: fly from NYC to Mexico with family
Post covering the rest of Egypt to come later. Complete with all the mishaps that are inherent in travel that I have endured in the last week
8/27: fly from Cairo, Egypt to Athens, Greece
9/9: fly from Athens, Greece to Johannesburg, South Africa
9/24: fly from Cape Town, South Africa to Dubai, UAE
9/29: fly from Dubai, UAE to Cairo, Egypt
9/29-10/1: get from Cairo, Egypt to Tel Aviv, Israel
10/2: fly from Tel Aviv, Israel to New York, NY, USA, where I will be for 22 hours
10/3: fly from NYC to Mexico with family
Post covering the rest of Egypt to come later. Complete with all the mishaps that are inherent in travel that I have endured in the last week
20 August 2009
Egypt So Far
As I am learning is often the case, what was planned is not what is realized.
The Belgium girl (Lisa), four New Zealand guys (Jarod, Joel, Logan, and Sam), and myself did stay for a third day in Dahab. Lisa decided to stay for another day or two and the five guys were planning on going to Mount Sinai. On the morning we planned on leaving, an ATM ate Joel's card and delayed our departure. I decided I would try to catch a bus to Mt Sinai instead of the taxi they were going to take to minimize my costs. Upon arriving at the bus station, I found there are no buses to that location but managed to find a driver that would not only drive the five of us for a reasonable price but was willing to wait a bit until my friends arrived. Meanwhile, Joel got his card back when the bank opened without issue, but learned what I learned at the bus station at the hostel and found other means of travel figuring I would do that same (I was not going to travel in the same taxi as them because five is too many people for a trip this long).
At the bus station I waited patiently while my driver-to be grew more and more frustrated. Eventually I got "traded" to another driver (this is commonplace) and then traded again. I convinced the driver to drive me back to the hostel and see if my friends were still there and then he would at least know how much longer he would have to wait (I figured he was just having some problem with the bank getting his card back). I got there and they were not there, but Lisa told me they had left about an hour before. I pieced together what probably happened, asked the driver to drive me back to the bus station, and bought a ticket headed to Cairo in 10 minutes. According to the ticket office, the ride would take "7 to 10 hours," a comment me and three Australians and I enjoyed throughout the nine hour trip.
Once in Cario, I stayed at the hostel that I was supposed to meet the German couple (whose names are Kathi and Jan) hoping to catch them on their back trip. (No luck here.) However, I did meet two guys from upstate New York who were leaving that evening. I spent the day with them walking around the city and going to a museum that was "closed for 1-2 months" so the guy "can eat lunch." We decided we did not know what that could possibly mean and went to another museum that was pretty cool. Since they were leaving, they gave me their copy of their guidebook, Rough Guide Egypt. In return, I gave them my copy of Fight Club.
Before they left we were sitting outside the hostel just talking and I saw Joel walk by. Then the three other "Kiwis," as they are called. They are staying at the same hostel. Then, later that evening, I noticed a new bag in my dorm room. I am on my bed reading and in walks a Asian girl that looks familiar. At first, I tell myself that I am racist for thinking this is the same girl I met nearly a week earlier in Amman, Jordan, but, it was. Christina, from Hong Kong, also out of pure coincidence, is staying in the same hostel as well.
Now for the stuff you might care about. Today I went to see the Pyramids of Giza. Getting there, and especially getting back, was needlessly complicated. We elected to take camels and horses around (which cost 150 Egyptian pounds (less than $30) instead of 240 (nearly $50) thanks to my negotiating skills). It goes without saying, but the Pyramids are spectacular. It is difficult to fathom unless you see them in person and even then you have doubts. Seriously. Pictures just do not do them justice. We decided to purchase tickets to go inside the only pyramid that was open at the time, called Pyramid Number 2, according to the ticket. If the ticket was not so inexpensive (about $3 for me because I still have my student ID and about $6 for them because they did not) and if otherwise I would not have had to say that I went to Cairo and did not go in a pyramid, I am not sure the ticket was worth it; you follow a tunnel that is about 4' high for 3ish minutes, see a room that may have been a tomb that is no bigger than 20'x50', and then walk back out the tunnel. The whole thing takes 15-20 minutes if you take your time. There are no decorations or writing on walls save for some information about when it was discovered in 1818 written in what looks like black spray paint. The other pyramids may be different, but I doubt it. Cameras are not allowed inside because if they were everybody would know not to go in.
Tomorrow we are going to the Egpytian Museum, which is enormous with 120,000 items, then taking a 12-13 bus ride to Aswan, Egypt.
Until next time...
The Belgium girl (Lisa), four New Zealand guys (Jarod, Joel, Logan, and Sam), and myself did stay for a third day in Dahab. Lisa decided to stay for another day or two and the five guys were planning on going to Mount Sinai. On the morning we planned on leaving, an ATM ate Joel's card and delayed our departure. I decided I would try to catch a bus to Mt Sinai instead of the taxi they were going to take to minimize my costs. Upon arriving at the bus station, I found there are no buses to that location but managed to find a driver that would not only drive the five of us for a reasonable price but was willing to wait a bit until my friends arrived. Meanwhile, Joel got his card back when the bank opened without issue, but learned what I learned at the bus station at the hostel and found other means of travel figuring I would do that same (I was not going to travel in the same taxi as them because five is too many people for a trip this long).
At the bus station I waited patiently while my driver-to be grew more and more frustrated. Eventually I got "traded" to another driver (this is commonplace) and then traded again. I convinced the driver to drive me back to the hostel and see if my friends were still there and then he would at least know how much longer he would have to wait (I figured he was just having some problem with the bank getting his card back). I got there and they were not there, but Lisa told me they had left about an hour before. I pieced together what probably happened, asked the driver to drive me back to the bus station, and bought a ticket headed to Cairo in 10 minutes. According to the ticket office, the ride would take "7 to 10 hours," a comment me and three Australians and I enjoyed throughout the nine hour trip.
Once in Cario, I stayed at the hostel that I was supposed to meet the German couple (whose names are Kathi and Jan) hoping to catch them on their back trip. (No luck here.) However, I did meet two guys from upstate New York who were leaving that evening. I spent the day with them walking around the city and going to a museum that was "closed for 1-2 months" so the guy "can eat lunch." We decided we did not know what that could possibly mean and went to another museum that was pretty cool. Since they were leaving, they gave me their copy of their guidebook, Rough Guide Egypt. In return, I gave them my copy of Fight Club.
Before they left we were sitting outside the hostel just talking and I saw Joel walk by. Then the three other "Kiwis," as they are called. They are staying at the same hostel. Then, later that evening, I noticed a new bag in my dorm room. I am on my bed reading and in walks a Asian girl that looks familiar. At first, I tell myself that I am racist for thinking this is the same girl I met nearly a week earlier in Amman, Jordan, but, it was. Christina, from Hong Kong, also out of pure coincidence, is staying in the same hostel as well.
Now for the stuff you might care about. Today I went to see the Pyramids of Giza. Getting there, and especially getting back, was needlessly complicated. We elected to take camels and horses around (which cost 150 Egyptian pounds (less than $30) instead of 240 (nearly $50) thanks to my negotiating skills). It goes without saying, but the Pyramids are spectacular. It is difficult to fathom unless you see them in person and even then you have doubts. Seriously. Pictures just do not do them justice. We decided to purchase tickets to go inside the only pyramid that was open at the time, called Pyramid Number 2, according to the ticket. If the ticket was not so inexpensive (about $3 for me because I still have my student ID and about $6 for them because they did not) and if otherwise I would not have had to say that I went to Cairo and did not go in a pyramid, I am not sure the ticket was worth it; you follow a tunnel that is about 4' high for 3ish minutes, see a room that may have been a tomb that is no bigger than 20'x50', and then walk back out the tunnel. The whole thing takes 15-20 minutes if you take your time. There are no decorations or writing on walls save for some information about when it was discovered in 1818 written in what looks like black spray paint. The other pyramids may be different, but I doubt it. Cameras are not allowed inside because if they were everybody would know not to go in.
Tomorrow we are going to the Egpytian Museum, which is enormous with 120,000 items, then taking a 12-13 bus ride to Aswan, Egypt.
Until next time...
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