The southern tip of Veitnam, southwest of Saigon, is an area known as the Mekong Delta. The countryside of Vietnam here is alive as it is in no other place. This is where the Mekong River finds its way to the sea carving out a throng of islands and little villages and intersting places.
Vinh Long is a nice place to spend a couple of days. The day we arrived we did a boat tour during which a low branch barred our progess and created some excitment and interest in figuring out exactly how to resolve the situation (lifting the branch using leverage over the roof of the boat was the way to go). However, the real attraction of Vinh Long is to get out of the town part and go to the island just off the coast for a homestay. I had previously done one of these in Sapa nearly a month before but this one was different. Our group of seven took up the entire homestay and the people running this one were much warmer. It was truly a family going about their daily business with the extra responsibilities of tending to our needs. We rented bikes and motorbikes (I had a bike) and spent most of the day riding and getting lost. The way it worked out, I ended up riding with the only person in the group who spoke almost no English so during our brakes from riding in conversation that consisted mostly of pointing in the direction and very simple English (point forward and ask "Yes?" then point backward and ask "Yes?" means "Do you want to continue going forward or would you prefer to turn around and go back?") It worked well enough and I had a good time and I found out later, through a translator, that so did my partner.
After the night at the homestay the group of seven returned to the main part of Vinh Long where we parted ways. The six of them need to get back to Ho Chi Minh City to catch a flight back to China and I needed to figure out how to get to Chau Doc so that I could make my way into Cambodia. After our good-byes I, once again, ventured off on my own.
Chau Doc is not much of place though it is a major tourist point because it serves as an in-between for travelers between Cambodia and Vietnam. The main attraction, the sacred Sam Mountain, is 5km (3.4 miles) outside the city center and why it is sacred I have no idea. The views are supposedly excellent but I could see anything not because of the weather but because the at the peak the edges of the mountain are so full of shops and carnival games that you cannot see much of anything.
No harm done, however, as I, like most travellers, am just using this as a launching off point to another destination.
19 February 2010
Dalat, Vietnam
I try to avoid quoting Lonley Planet in this blog but sometimes it just does a better job than I can and "bizzaro Vietnam" could not be better descriptor of Dalat. The air is cool, the land is hilly, the town is spread out but not huge, the architecture still retains much French influence, and foreigners are harrassed considerably less.
Quy Nhon remains my favorite place in Vietnam but if I had to live somewhere in Vietnam, Dalat would be the place.
The combination of the hills and the spread-out nature of Dalat lends itself nicely to renting motorbikes and we indulged. Dalat itself is a pretty good place but the surrounding area is where the real beauty is. Lakes, waterfalls, picturesque scenery, evergreen forests, hidden beaches with plenty of hammocks. Just riding and looking around was the best part.
Side note: The prevalence of hammocks in central and southern Veitnam is one of my favorite things about it. They are every where. While waiting for customers people sit/rest/sleep in hammocks in their store. At places that serve beverages along a walking path or a beach chairs are often replaced by hammocks. Never in my life have I seen more hammocks including the time I was in the hammock complex on third in the hammock district.
While in Dalat I had my birthday which this year coincided with Tet, the Veitnamese New Year, and the biggest and most important and popular holiday of the year and of course especially this year because it was my birthday and I was in town. Fireworks aplenty. Lots of fun to be had. Everybody celebrating and happy and excited. Certainly a memorable birthday.
Quy Nhon remains my favorite place in Vietnam but if I had to live somewhere in Vietnam, Dalat would be the place.
The combination of the hills and the spread-out nature of Dalat lends itself nicely to renting motorbikes and we indulged. Dalat itself is a pretty good place but the surrounding area is where the real beauty is. Lakes, waterfalls, picturesque scenery, evergreen forests, hidden beaches with plenty of hammocks. Just riding and looking around was the best part.
Side note: The prevalence of hammocks in central and southern Veitnam is one of my favorite things about it. They are every where. While waiting for customers people sit/rest/sleep in hammocks in their store. At places that serve beverages along a walking path or a beach chairs are often replaced by hammocks. Never in my life have I seen more hammocks including the time I was in the hammock complex on third in the hammock district.
While in Dalat I had my birthday which this year coincided with Tet, the Veitnamese New Year, and the biggest and most important and popular holiday of the year and of course especially this year because it was my birthday and I was in town. Fireworks aplenty. Lots of fun to be had. Everybody celebrating and happy and excited. Certainly a memorable birthday.
Mui Ne, Vietnam
An old-school beach town that has been converted into a resort town because of how beautiful its shores are. Fortunately for me, the economy is still slacking and even the Vietnamese are not sure they are still going to have a job next month. (This is a joke that nobody will get so allow me to explain: the unemployment rate in Vietnam is 2% basically always. This is true because the guy who awakes from his nap on his motorbike to yell/offer "motorbike" every three hours is employed. Everybody has a job but jobs often consist of doing nothing and getting paid nothing. Other jobs consist of working 14 hour days every day with two days off a month.) OK, because people are not confident in their inflow of income in the future they are more reluctant to take a vacation, especially one in a resort town and especially when they can go to their hometowns or Hanoi or Saigon (yes, they call Saigon) for Tet (New Year), which at the time was just a couple of days away. So, even though I was in Mui Ne during what is normally the high season the town was way less busy that it could have been.
The first night we pseudo-busted into a resort and swam in the sea in the moonlight. I say "pseudo-busted into" because we bribed the security guard to guide us through the maze of weaving paths that lead to water with a beer. It was memorable and awesome. The water is warm and the beach was completely empty other than us and the beer-drinking security guard who decided to spend some time on the beach as well. We built the Chinese city of Xi'an (which I visited) as it is the home town of one of the people in our late-night swimming session and has walls that are relatively easy to replicate with sand. This being said, our sandy Xi-an devolved into a bowl of noodles complete with chopsticks which made it look like a TV with rabbit ear antennas.
The next morning we returned to the beach and our Xi'an/noodles/TV remained. I guess people liked it.
Mui Ne is one of the best places in the world to kite and wind surf. I was ready to learn how to do at least one (I was leaning toward kite surfing since Mui Ne is particularly famous for it) until I learned it costs about US$300 to get started. This was way out of my price range so I took to jumping waves in the notoriously rough (read: awesome) sea with its large waves and strong ripe tide. Kite surfing is so popular here that several times I was able to count 50 kites in the area; and that at a time when the high season was not so high.
Our hostel was mediocre and the food is overpriced though good. Mui Ne is known for its sand dunes (red/yellow and white) but nobody had the proper footwear (closed-toe shoes, no sandals because the sand is so hot) so we did not go. We rented bicycles and went all over which was good fun. Mui Ne is more of a strip of beach than a town. If you go more than a few blocks off the beach there is almost nothing. The 11-15km (6.8-9.3 miles, depending on the source) is one of the longer beaches in the world and we went on bike to where beach-goers stopped going and there was not a person in site. It was nice and riding my rented bike on the sand/in the water was fun. Then I popped a tire and it was still fun.
The first night we pseudo-busted into a resort and swam in the sea in the moonlight. I say "pseudo-busted into" because we bribed the security guard to guide us through the maze of weaving paths that lead to water with a beer. It was memorable and awesome. The water is warm and the beach was completely empty other than us and the beer-drinking security guard who decided to spend some time on the beach as well. We built the Chinese city of Xi'an (which I visited) as it is the home town of one of the people in our late-night swimming session and has walls that are relatively easy to replicate with sand. This being said, our sandy Xi-an devolved into a bowl of noodles complete with chopsticks which made it look like a TV with rabbit ear antennas.
The next morning we returned to the beach and our Xi'an/noodles/TV remained. I guess people liked it.
Mui Ne is one of the best places in the world to kite and wind surf. I was ready to learn how to do at least one (I was leaning toward kite surfing since Mui Ne is particularly famous for it) until I learned it costs about US$300 to get started. This was way out of my price range so I took to jumping waves in the notoriously rough (read: awesome) sea with its large waves and strong ripe tide. Kite surfing is so popular here that several times I was able to count 50 kites in the area; and that at a time when the high season was not so high.
Our hostel was mediocre and the food is overpriced though good. Mui Ne is known for its sand dunes (red/yellow and white) but nobody had the proper footwear (closed-toe shoes, no sandals because the sand is so hot) so we did not go. We rented bicycles and went all over which was good fun. Mui Ne is more of a strip of beach than a town. If you go more than a few blocks off the beach there is almost nothing. The 11-15km (6.8-9.3 miles, depending on the source) is one of the longer beaches in the world and we went on bike to where beach-goers stopped going and there was not a person in site. It was nice and riding my rented bike on the sand/in the water was fun. Then I popped a tire and it was still fun.
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (also called HCMC and still called Saigon)
Meh.
Several people Rachael knows from teaching English in China met up with her in HCMC and I stuck around as well. So, while in Vietnam, what was originally me travelling alone, became a group of two or three on and off, and was suddenly a group of seven. A group this big changes the dynamics of travelling. It is difficult to explain (decisions are made differently, people have pre-existing relationships, people have different wants about where to go, when to eat, how much to spend, etc). Also, while Rachael and I got to know each other decently over the previous 3ish weeks, she had known three of three of these people for the entire year she had spent in China and the other two for the last six months. They all knew each other better than I knew any of them and they all spoke varying levels of Chinese (from native speaker to slightly above my level of none). The group dynamics were weird and I often felt out of place. That said, I still had a wonderful time with them and was happy to meet them. I spent the rest of my time in Vietnam, except for the last destination, with this group.
In Vietnam, HCMC is highly regarded for its food, both quality and variety. I am not much of a foodie so this was almost completely lost on me. To me the food was no better or worse than any other place I went in Vietnam and though it is more varied that is expected from a huge city.
The War Remnants Museum is terrifying. While slightly anti-American, it is mostly pretty fair and keeps natural prejudices in check. Some of the photographs on display and exhibits will haunt my dreams. I rushed through it so that it would end sooner. The most horrifying thing was actually not something from the war era, it was pictures made recently by Vietnamese kids aged 8-13 (or something). I am not going to say much but I will say this: if those kids were in America and drew those pictures there is no doubt they would be sent to a psychologist and their parents questioned by Child Protective Services.
Reunification Palace was actually pretty good. Nothing outstanding but worth a visit if you are there. Plenty of statues of Ho Chi Minh, or as he is often called "Uncle Ho." (That makes me laugh.) The city is huge and very spread out. I really only explored what is called District 1, which is the "main" district, especially for tourists. I sure I missed some stuff but I do not think I missed much.
Yeah, that is pretty much it. As I said, meh.
Several people Rachael knows from teaching English in China met up with her in HCMC and I stuck around as well. So, while in Vietnam, what was originally me travelling alone, became a group of two or three on and off, and was suddenly a group of seven. A group this big changes the dynamics of travelling. It is difficult to explain (decisions are made differently, people have pre-existing relationships, people have different wants about where to go, when to eat, how much to spend, etc). Also, while Rachael and I got to know each other decently over the previous 3ish weeks, she had known three of three of these people for the entire year she had spent in China and the other two for the last six months. They all knew each other better than I knew any of them and they all spoke varying levels of Chinese (from native speaker to slightly above my level of none). The group dynamics were weird and I often felt out of place. That said, I still had a wonderful time with them and was happy to meet them. I spent the rest of my time in Vietnam, except for the last destination, with this group.
In Vietnam, HCMC is highly regarded for its food, both quality and variety. I am not much of a foodie so this was almost completely lost on me. To me the food was no better or worse than any other place I went in Vietnam and though it is more varied that is expected from a huge city.
The War Remnants Museum is terrifying. While slightly anti-American, it is mostly pretty fair and keeps natural prejudices in check. Some of the photographs on display and exhibits will haunt my dreams. I rushed through it so that it would end sooner. The most horrifying thing was actually not something from the war era, it was pictures made recently by Vietnamese kids aged 8-13 (or something). I am not going to say much but I will say this: if those kids were in America and drew those pictures there is no doubt they would be sent to a psychologist and their parents questioned by Child Protective Services.
Reunification Palace was actually pretty good. Nothing outstanding but worth a visit if you are there. Plenty of statues of Ho Chi Minh, or as he is often called "Uncle Ho." (That makes me laugh.) The city is huge and very spread out. I really only explored what is called District 1, which is the "main" district, especially for tourists. I sure I missed some stuff but I do not think I missed much.
Yeah, that is pretty much it. As I said, meh.
Quy Nhon, Vietnam
Easily my favorite place in Vietnam.
Racehael and I got semi-scammed on the our transportation here in that the bus let us off about 10km (6.8 miles) from the city center. We sort of hitch-hiked our way to where we wanted to be. I went partially insane during the bus ride to Quy Nhon; I could not focus on anything. I considered, simultaneously, extending my trip to decades instead of years and returning home as soon as possible. I was losing my mind and was in a terrible mood by the time we got off the bus (three hours after we expected to be). I immediately liked the place just out of spite. I do not know how to explain this but it is what happened. I forced myself to like it right away, based on nothing, and besides the fact that I was pissed at everything. It took Rachael it bit longer to come around to liking Quy Nhon but not much longer.
Quy Nhon is one of the less touristy beach towns in Vietnam. In fact, I probably saw about ten foreigners during the two days I spent there. The main beach is stunning but not great for swimming so we went to another beach that, as it turns out, is part of a leper colony. This beach was gorgeous. Getting there on bicycle was one of the physically harder things I have done; 2.7km (about 1.67 miles) on a crap bicycle up a hill that was tilted at about 15 degrees. (Going down was also one of the more dangerous things I have done in my life; calling my bikes brakes shaky would be generous.)
Here I think I got a better feel of what the real Vietnam is. At the very least, a better feel of what the real coastal Vietnam is. There was little to no price inflation for foreigners, meaning everything was cheaper because I was paying the same price as the locals, which, sadly, is not the norm in Vietnam.
Renting a bike and just riding was great. Going through side-streets and little-if-ever-travelled-by-tourists-allies was an experience.
To top it off, there is a statue of some guy flicking off China. This alone is enough to make Quy Nhon awesome. Seriously. There is a statue of somebody flicking off a country. I could not figure out how to get close enough to it to take a picture myself. I know you have to take a boat to get there but I could not find any such boat. I took pictures from a distance but you can only see the statue as a whole and not the intersting portion of it (the outstretched hand, of course).
Not much of Quy Nhon could be changed for it to be more perfect.
Racehael and I got semi-scammed on the our transportation here in that the bus let us off about 10km (6.8 miles) from the city center. We sort of hitch-hiked our way to where we wanted to be. I went partially insane during the bus ride to Quy Nhon; I could not focus on anything. I considered, simultaneously, extending my trip to decades instead of years and returning home as soon as possible. I was losing my mind and was in a terrible mood by the time we got off the bus (three hours after we expected to be). I immediately liked the place just out of spite. I do not know how to explain this but it is what happened. I forced myself to like it right away, based on nothing, and besides the fact that I was pissed at everything. It took Rachael it bit longer to come around to liking Quy Nhon but not much longer.
Quy Nhon is one of the less touristy beach towns in Vietnam. In fact, I probably saw about ten foreigners during the two days I spent there. The main beach is stunning but not great for swimming so we went to another beach that, as it turns out, is part of a leper colony. This beach was gorgeous. Getting there on bicycle was one of the physically harder things I have done; 2.7km (about 1.67 miles) on a crap bicycle up a hill that was tilted at about 15 degrees. (Going down was also one of the more dangerous things I have done in my life; calling my bikes brakes shaky would be generous.)
Here I think I got a better feel of what the real Vietnam is. At the very least, a better feel of what the real coastal Vietnam is. There was little to no price inflation for foreigners, meaning everything was cheaper because I was paying the same price as the locals, which, sadly, is not the norm in Vietnam.
Renting a bike and just riding was great. Going through side-streets and little-if-ever-travelled-by-tourists-allies was an experience.
To top it off, there is a statue of some guy flicking off China. This alone is enough to make Quy Nhon awesome. Seriously. There is a statue of somebody flicking off a country. I could not figure out how to get close enough to it to take a picture myself. I know you have to take a boat to get there but I could not find any such boat. I took pictures from a distance but you can only see the statue as a whole and not the intersting portion of it (the outstretched hand, of course).
Not much of Quy Nhon could be changed for it to be more perfect.
Hoi An, Vietnam
My affinity for Hoi An makes little sense. I did not see the chief cultural attractions because I had heard too many mixed reviews from other travelers and admission was unjustifiably high. The beaches are nice and good but there are better. One of the main attractions is bespoke clothing (more on this later), which entails a lot of decisions related to clothes (which I hate) and shopping (which I also hate). There are tons of tourists, foreign and domestic alike. (I do not think I have seen a high ratio of white-to-Vietnamese anywhere in Vietnam.) Still, Hoi An is one of my favorite destination in Vietnam and I do not know why. I think it just has a cool and relaxed vibe and is attractive and makes you just enjoy yourself.
Alright, I am going to get this out of the way right now: I did a good deal of shopping in Hoi An. I had three bespoke suits and six dress shirts made for me. I even went through the effort of buying the material seperately from where I had the suits made (cheaper and more fun/less excrutiating). I also had a silk robe made because I thought it would be funny. All this cost US$272. When I bought suits when I was working, I got off the rack suits from Brooks Brothers outlet store on some super sale for US$150 each. The suits I got in Hoi An cost $45, $80, and $81 and were made specifially for me. I must say I am pleased with how they turned out and hope I eventually have an opportunity to make use of them so they do not just sit in a closet.
Another highlight of my time in Hoi An was this little hole-in-wall "bar" we found. I know everybody always says those places are always the best, but this was even more hole-in-the-wall that those places. Calling this place a "bar" is not even accurate. This place was about 10-12 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Beer, the only beverage available, was served out of a keg was was sitting on the floor at the store's front. It was, however, great beer and cost 4000VND (under US$0.25) per glass. We went there on three different occasions. The sole employee knew not only us by face but the bicycles we rented. Every time I went there I had a good time casually (not heavily) drinking and talking to the people I was with and locals that were (heavily) drinking. It was good times all around.
Side note: Vietnamese drinking cultural in entertaining. Like much of Asia, they drink at all hours of the day. They almost never drink in mixed company. In places other than proper bars and clubs, instead of ordering a beer or a drink, they order a case of beer. They put ice in their glasses, which melts quickly not only because the air is warm but because the beer is not refridgerated. There is little talking among a group for extended periods of time but then they will erupt. It is entertaining to watch. It is also entertaining to be part of.
Hoi An is a cool place and one I would certainly be happy returning to. Especially if I need to have more suits made.
Alright, I am going to get this out of the way right now: I did a good deal of shopping in Hoi An. I had three bespoke suits and six dress shirts made for me. I even went through the effort of buying the material seperately from where I had the suits made (cheaper and more fun/less excrutiating). I also had a silk robe made because I thought it would be funny. All this cost US$272. When I bought suits when I was working, I got off the rack suits from Brooks Brothers outlet store on some super sale for US$150 each. The suits I got in Hoi An cost $45, $80, and $81 and were made specifially for me. I must say I am pleased with how they turned out and hope I eventually have an opportunity to make use of them so they do not just sit in a closet.
Another highlight of my time in Hoi An was this little hole-in-wall "bar" we found. I know everybody always says those places are always the best, but this was even more hole-in-the-wall that those places. Calling this place a "bar" is not even accurate. This place was about 10-12 feet wide and 30 feet deep. Beer, the only beverage available, was served out of a keg was was sitting on the floor at the store's front. It was, however, great beer and cost 4000VND (under US$0.25) per glass. We went there on three different occasions. The sole employee knew not only us by face but the bicycles we rented. Every time I went there I had a good time casually (not heavily) drinking and talking to the people I was with and locals that were (heavily) drinking. It was good times all around.
Side note: Vietnamese drinking cultural in entertaining. Like much of Asia, they drink at all hours of the day. They almost never drink in mixed company. In places other than proper bars and clubs, instead of ordering a beer or a drink, they order a case of beer. They put ice in their glasses, which melts quickly not only because the air is warm but because the beer is not refridgerated. There is little talking among a group for extended periods of time but then they will erupt. It is entertaining to watch. It is also entertaining to be part of.
Hoi An is a cool place and one I would certainly be happy returning to. Especially if I need to have more suits made.
Hue, Vietnam
The main attractions of Hue are the Perfume River and the Citadel and its Imperial Palace. The Perfume River was nothing special and almost was just an obstacle to getting to where you wanted to go. The Citadel is a good place to just ride a bike
around. In fact, doing this was the best part of my time in Hue. Going through tiny villages and getting a glimpse at how the Vietnamese that do not cater to tourists spend their daily lives was rewarding and interesting. The Imperial Palace was pretty
disappointing. Everything looked very new and we (Rachael, myself, and a guy we met on the train from Alaska named David) could not figure out why. That is, until we walked a little further and saw the enormous restoration project that was underway. Everything, literally, I think, in the Imerpial Palace was being restored, ruining its authenticity and charisma and causing things to look fake and unappealing.
I liked Hue more than that paragraph would make you think. This is true almost entirely because of the bike ride around the citadel. Hue is not a bad place, just the main attractions are not so major or are being made less major.
around. In fact, doing this was the best part of my time in Hue. Going through tiny villages and getting a glimpse at how the Vietnamese that do not cater to tourists spend their daily lives was rewarding and interesting. The Imperial Palace was pretty
disappointing. Everything looked very new and we (Rachael, myself, and a guy we met on the train from Alaska named David) could not figure out why. That is, until we walked a little further and saw the enormous restoration project that was underway. Everything, literally, I think, in the Imerpial Palace was being restored, ruining its authenticity and charisma and causing things to look fake and unappealing.
I liked Hue more than that paragraph would make you think. This is true almost entirely because of the bike ride around the citadel. Hue is not a bad place, just the main attractions are not so major or are being made less major.
Halong Bay, Vietnam
The Bay of Descending Dragons, as it translates to, is considered one of the most beautiful places in Vietnam. It is famous for its rock formations, which are the same as the ones I lived among when I was in Yangshuo, China, except that in Halong Bay they are set in water. Unfortunately for me, however, with trips to Halong Bay you get what you pay for so going there on a budget means you do not get everything you want. The trip I decided to do (again with Rachael and Tim) was for US$53, which is not the least expensive you can get but it is close. Most trip are in the US$80-120 range. I enjoyed Halong Bay OK but I know there is much more to be enjoyed and do that I did not. Given that, I still went kayaking, spent a night on a boat ("I'm on a boat!"), ate plenty of fresh seafood, some decent hiking, explored some caves, and played soccer with some locals. It was fine, just not great, but I knew this was going to be the case before the trip even started.
Sapa, Vietnam
From Hanoi I went with a couple people people I met in my hostel of Sapa, which is close to the Vietnam-Chinese boarder. Rachael from Iowa (with whom I would continue to travel with in Vietnam), Tim from Holland, and I took and overnight train to Lao Chi because there is not a direct route to Sapa. The most entertaining part of the bus ride was the Vietnamese guy in our sleeping compartment. His snoring was not especially loud but it sounded like the snoring equivalent of beat-boxing. It reminded me of Rahzel's If Your Mother Only Knew. It was so funny it was not even annoying.
Sapa is probably my second favorite place in Vietnam. It is famous of its rice terrace mountain range and for the various "hill tribes" the remain in the area. The scenery is stunning despite the prevalence of fog the obscured the view and pictures. Walking through the rice terraces is challenging and endlessly fun. Fortunately there are plenty of people from the local hill tribes that are there to lend a helping hand and just ask that you purchase some of their suvouniars when you get to a resting point. The locals providing assistance makes for some humorous situation such as when this 6'4" German guy we met was being helped by a woman that was no younger than 60 and also by a girl that was no older than 10. It is just a funny scene. I decided that I want to do it unassisted because it would be harder and therefore more fun and also so that I could say I did it alone. Also, in truth, falling down is part of the experience and fun and as long as you do not damage your camera there is nothing want negative that can happen other than getting dirty and/or wet. I managed to only fall a few times over the three excursions I went on and caught myself with my hands each time. So, no harm done and lots of fun. I did notice that I any time the woman who was making with me (even though I did not want her to and she was not helping me) complimented my rice-terrace-traversing skills I was considerably more prone to slipping. I attribute this to overconfidence. It was a good time.
Of the two nights that were spent in Sapa one of them was spent at what is called a homestay. It is kind of like hostel but it is basically somebody's house of which part is sectioned off for tourists to sleep in. In other words, it is a more authentic experience though not still completely and truly authentic. The homestay experience was a good one was a nice change.
The other night was spent in a hotel in more of the "city" part of Sapa (meaning not the mountains). During a free afternoon Rachael and I renting bicycles and went to Cat Cat Village. Here I witnessed people going about their daily lives of farming and tending to farm animals, plus the little kids asking for money and my OJ (not sure why they wanted my OJ). Cat Cat too provides some amazing scenery. The highlight of Cat Cat was what appeared to be a house ceased being constructed unfinished. It was on the side of a mountain near the top and allowed for some truly stunning views. The house was nothing but its cement frame so in the places where windows are likely intended instead is nothing but open air. This not only meant there was not glare on the pictures but meant that you could feel the strong winds at occur at that altitude. Very cool place. I kind of want to buy it.
Sapa is probably my second favorite place in Vietnam. It is famous of its rice terrace mountain range and for the various "hill tribes" the remain in the area. The scenery is stunning despite the prevalence of fog the obscured the view and pictures. Walking through the rice terraces is challenging and endlessly fun. Fortunately there are plenty of people from the local hill tribes that are there to lend a helping hand and just ask that you purchase some of their suvouniars when you get to a resting point. The locals providing assistance makes for some humorous situation such as when this 6'4" German guy we met was being helped by a woman that was no younger than 60 and also by a girl that was no older than 10. It is just a funny scene. I decided that I want to do it unassisted because it would be harder and therefore more fun and also so that I could say I did it alone. Also, in truth, falling down is part of the experience and fun and as long as you do not damage your camera there is nothing want negative that can happen other than getting dirty and/or wet. I managed to only fall a few times over the three excursions I went on and caught myself with my hands each time. So, no harm done and lots of fun. I did notice that I any time the woman who was making with me (even though I did not want her to and she was not helping me) complimented my rice-terrace-traversing skills I was considerably more prone to slipping. I attribute this to overconfidence. It was a good time.
Of the two nights that were spent in Sapa one of them was spent at what is called a homestay. It is kind of like hostel but it is basically somebody's house of which part is sectioned off for tourists to sleep in. In other words, it is a more authentic experience though not still completely and truly authentic. The homestay experience was a good one was a nice change.
The other night was spent in a hotel in more of the "city" part of Sapa (meaning not the mountains). During a free afternoon Rachael and I renting bicycles and went to Cat Cat Village. Here I witnessed people going about their daily lives of farming and tending to farm animals, plus the little kids asking for money and my OJ (not sure why they wanted my OJ). Cat Cat too provides some amazing scenery. The highlight of Cat Cat was what appeared to be a house ceased being constructed unfinished. It was on the side of a mountain near the top and allowed for some truly stunning views. The house was nothing but its cement frame so in the places where windows are likely intended instead is nothing but open air. This not only meant there was not glare on the pictures but meant that you could feel the strong winds at occur at that altitude. Very cool place. I kind of want to buy it.
Hanoi, Vietnam
After an, let's go with interesting, bus ride from Nanning, China to Hanoi, Vietnam, I finally arrived at my intended destination. I had been in China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan for nearly all of the 90 days of my Chinese visa and it felt weird to be in a completely different place.
What grabs you first about Vietnam is the driving. While still in China I had decided that I was going to buy a motorbike and ride from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City (or HCMC, formerly Saigon) in the south. This is a very common route and buying a motorbike to make the trip is something many backpackers do. After crossing the boarder into Vietnam I almost immediately changed my mind. The driving here is madness. Cairo, Egypt gets close, but in my experience so far this is the craziest I have seen. What makes the driving here more hectic than Cairo is the heterogeneous makeup of the vehicles on the road. In Cairo it is almost all cars. Here there are more motorbikes than anything, but also a ton of bicycles and still plenty of cars. Also, as far as I can tell, there are no laws. Seriously. The only police I have seen in Vietnam are tourist police (basically there to help tourists and keep them in line) and only a few other cops that were literally sleeping.
Hanoi is a cool city with a good vibe. It is compact enough to walk around and, at least when I was there, the weather was pleasant enough that walking was nice. There are a few good museums and a couple of nice lakes and a handful of other attractions. Nothing is outstanding or a must-see, in my opinion, but there is plenty worth seeing. The best thing to do in Hanoi is just roam around exploring the character (and characters) of the city or sitting outside at some "cafe" sipping on some of the world's least expensive beer while people watching.
What grabs you first about Vietnam is the driving. While still in China I had decided that I was going to buy a motorbike and ride from Hanoi in the north to Ho Chi Minh City (or HCMC, formerly Saigon) in the south. This is a very common route and buying a motorbike to make the trip is something many backpackers do. After crossing the boarder into Vietnam I almost immediately changed my mind. The driving here is madness. Cairo, Egypt gets close, but in my experience so far this is the craziest I have seen. What makes the driving here more hectic than Cairo is the heterogeneous makeup of the vehicles on the road. In Cairo it is almost all cars. Here there are more motorbikes than anything, but also a ton of bicycles and still plenty of cars. Also, as far as I can tell, there are no laws. Seriously. The only police I have seen in Vietnam are tourist police (basically there to help tourists and keep them in line) and only a few other cops that were literally sleeping.
Hanoi is a cool city with a good vibe. It is compact enough to walk around and, at least when I was there, the weather was pleasant enough that walking was nice. There are a few good museums and a couple of nice lakes and a handful of other attractions. Nothing is outstanding or a must-see, in my opinion, but there is plenty worth seeing. The best thing to do in Hanoi is just roam around exploring the character (and characters) of the city or sitting outside at some "cafe" sipping on some of the world's least expensive beer while people watching.
Nanning, China
Nanning is a gateway city to Vietnam. There is even a Vietnamese consulate to get a visa. This is the primary reason most backpackers go there and it was mine as well. In fact, it was one of three things I wanted to accomplish in Nanning. The other two were laundry (successfully completed) and trip planning (unsuccessfully started).
Getting the visa was easy enough and the laundry was probably the cheapest I have seen in China, which was a nice coincidence. The trip planning, however, is a different story. When I decided to not go to Europe and extend my trip much of the months of planning I did before I left the States became useless and I needed to figure out what my new plan was going to be. I have some estimation of it, but I figuring out some minute details, for example when I am going to India and Nepal, in advance will save me lots of money in airfare. So, I wanted (and still want) to figure that out.
The reason Nanning has a Vietnamese consulate is to attract travelers. (That is complete speculation. I have no idea if it is true but I would bet that it is 100% true.) In other words, few people go to Nanning for Nanning. The city is OK; it is known by its inhabitants as the "green city" because there are so many trees. While there are a lot of trees, there is also a lot of non-trees and gray. The park is subpar and the markets are nowhere near as intersting as other markets in China.
To be honest, the my favorite part of Nanning was this Muslim restuarant that was near the hostel I was staying at. So far when travelling I try to eat at a variety of places and eat different dishes as often as I can. This was not the case in Nanning. I think I had two meals during the four nights that I was in Nanning that was not from this Muslim place. It was great. Among the best food I had in China. I never got the same thing twice and every dish was at least good, often really good, and several times great. Two of the dishes I had are probably among the top five meals I have during the entire time I was in China. I made sure that the bus I was taking to Hanoi, Vietnam departed from Nanning at a time that was condusive to me getting one last meal from this place. It was so good that I have spent an entire paragraph writing about it.
Getting the visa was easy enough and the laundry was probably the cheapest I have seen in China, which was a nice coincidence. The trip planning, however, is a different story. When I decided to not go to Europe and extend my trip much of the months of planning I did before I left the States became useless and I needed to figure out what my new plan was going to be. I have some estimation of it, but I figuring out some minute details, for example when I am going to India and Nepal, in advance will save me lots of money in airfare. So, I wanted (and still want) to figure that out.
The reason Nanning has a Vietnamese consulate is to attract travelers. (That is complete speculation. I have no idea if it is true but I would bet that it is 100% true.) In other words, few people go to Nanning for Nanning. The city is OK; it is known by its inhabitants as the "green city" because there are so many trees. While there are a lot of trees, there is also a lot of non-trees and gray. The park is subpar and the markets are nowhere near as intersting as other markets in China.
To be honest, the my favorite part of Nanning was this Muslim restuarant that was near the hostel I was staying at. So far when travelling I try to eat at a variety of places and eat different dishes as often as I can. This was not the case in Nanning. I think I had two meals during the four nights that I was in Nanning that was not from this Muslim place. It was great. Among the best food I had in China. I never got the same thing twice and every dish was at least good, often really good, and several times great. Two of the dishes I had are probably among the top five meals I have during the entire time I was in China. I made sure that the bus I was taking to Hanoi, Vietnam departed from Nanning at a time that was condusive to me getting one last meal from this place. It was so good that I have spent an entire paragraph writing about it.
21 January 2010
Yangshuo, China
Part of the decision to not go to Europe and to expand this trip from 15 to 22ish months was to pick a handful of cities and live there for about a month, learning a near-useless skill or doing some simple job. Yangshuo was the first of these cities just as I had a feeling it would be. After only a couple of days in Yangshuo my mind was made up.
I had heard the the hostel I was staying at, Monkey Jane's, was looking to hire somebody that is fluent in English and I inquired about the position (meaning I asked Monkey Jane after I bet her in a drinking game if I could have the job) and I got it. My job basically consisted of writing signs in English and being constantly harassed by Monkey Jane. After about three days of working at Monkey Jane's I moved to another "job" "volunteering" to "teach" English. In exchange for 1.5 hours of talking to students of English twice a week I got accommodation and lunch and dinner on weekdays. A pretty sweet deal by my standards. Each 1.5 hours was slow and somewhat agonizing because the students' English is often not even at the level yet that conversation is really feasible. However, partially because of their limited English but mostly because of differences in social norms, there were plenty of laughs and utterly hilarious comments, statement, and questions from the students not just to me but to each other. Most are not repeatable on this blog, but, suffice to say that the stereotype the I think most Americans have of Asian cultures being withdrawn and timid, while generally true from my experiences, is thrown out the window when these students tried to speak English. Some truly amazing quotes have been said in the rooms of New Start English in Yangshuo.
The food from my "job" was pretty good, but did get repetitive after some time. There were usually five dishes that everybody helped themselves to. For me, there was always one dish I did not care for at all and one that I really liked. The other three could have been as bad as the one I did not like or as good as the one I did. It was just hit or miss depending on the meal. That being said, I do not think I have ever eaten as much McDonald's during a one month period as I did during my time in Yangshuo. This is the case because dinner was served at 5:30 and just about every night would be a late night (rarely was I in bed before 2AM) and McDonald's was one of only a few places that serves food that late. There were some times when I was there for more consecutive nights than I care to admit to. There were also days were I spent 6-7 hours in McDonald's for reasons other than the consumption of food.
It did not occur to me until recently that other than the aforementioned McDonald's and very limited other Western food I have been eating Chinese food for every meal for about three months. For those do not know, when I am in the States I dislike eating Chinese food more frequently than every four weeks. I can do two weeks in between, but any more than that I am completely uninterested. I attribute this difference to of course the differences in options but also to the differences in Chinese food in China and Chinese food in America. I do not know how to explain why I did not get tired of it here because I do not know why myself. (Either way, I move on to Vietnamese food soon enough.)
Yangshuo itself is an amazing place. It is beautiful, addictive, and fun. There is a huge nightlife. A huge rock climbing scene. A huge tia chi following. A huge kung fu crowd. A huge number of foreigners learning Chinese and Chinese learning English. The town is surrounded by what must be hundreds of karsts, which jut of from the ground at about 80 degrees and dive back to Earth just as sharply, and a river and several streams sprawl all over. Yangshuo is hands down one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I was there during the time when the weather is at its worst (though still not bad at all by Chicago standards). During my month here I met several people that visited for a few days and ended up staying for a month, come back regularly, came back to move permanently, or never left at all. Staying for a month is not uncommon. Staying for a month intentionally is uncommon.
I went rock climbing twice (sadly only twice), bike riding countless times, on a couple long bamboo raft trips and several short ones, hiking often. I met loads of people and made many friends that I have already maintained contact with and will certainly continue to do so in the future. Yangshuo will provide more long-lasting memories and friends than any other place in China and probably more than any other place I have been to on this trip so far.
I had heard the the hostel I was staying at, Monkey Jane's, was looking to hire somebody that is fluent in English and I inquired about the position (meaning I asked Monkey Jane after I bet her in a drinking game if I could have the job) and I got it. My job basically consisted of writing signs in English and being constantly harassed by Monkey Jane. After about three days of working at Monkey Jane's I moved to another "job" "volunteering" to "teach" English. In exchange for 1.5 hours of talking to students of English twice a week I got accommodation and lunch and dinner on weekdays. A pretty sweet deal by my standards. Each 1.5 hours was slow and somewhat agonizing because the students' English is often not even at the level yet that conversation is really feasible. However, partially because of their limited English but mostly because of differences in social norms, there were plenty of laughs and utterly hilarious comments, statement, and questions from the students not just to me but to each other. Most are not repeatable on this blog, but, suffice to say that the stereotype the I think most Americans have of Asian cultures being withdrawn and timid, while generally true from my experiences, is thrown out the window when these students tried to speak English. Some truly amazing quotes have been said in the rooms of New Start English in Yangshuo.
The food from my "job" was pretty good, but did get repetitive after some time. There were usually five dishes that everybody helped themselves to. For me, there was always one dish I did not care for at all and one that I really liked. The other three could have been as bad as the one I did not like or as good as the one I did. It was just hit or miss depending on the meal. That being said, I do not think I have ever eaten as much McDonald's during a one month period as I did during my time in Yangshuo. This is the case because dinner was served at 5:30 and just about every night would be a late night (rarely was I in bed before 2AM) and McDonald's was one of only a few places that serves food that late. There were some times when I was there for more consecutive nights than I care to admit to. There were also days were I spent 6-7 hours in McDonald's for reasons other than the consumption of food.
It did not occur to me until recently that other than the aforementioned McDonald's and very limited other Western food I have been eating Chinese food for every meal for about three months. For those do not know, when I am in the States I dislike eating Chinese food more frequently than every four weeks. I can do two weeks in between, but any more than that I am completely uninterested. I attribute this difference to of course the differences in options but also to the differences in Chinese food in China and Chinese food in America. I do not know how to explain why I did not get tired of it here because I do not know why myself. (Either way, I move on to Vietnamese food soon enough.)
Yangshuo itself is an amazing place. It is beautiful, addictive, and fun. There is a huge nightlife. A huge rock climbing scene. A huge tia chi following. A huge kung fu crowd. A huge number of foreigners learning Chinese and Chinese learning English. The town is surrounded by what must be hundreds of karsts, which jut of from the ground at about 80 degrees and dive back to Earth just as sharply, and a river and several streams sprawl all over. Yangshuo is hands down one of the most beautiful places I have ever been and I was there during the time when the weather is at its worst (though still not bad at all by Chicago standards). During my month here I met several people that visited for a few days and ended up staying for a month, come back regularly, came back to move permanently, or never left at all. Staying for a month is not uncommon. Staying for a month intentionally is uncommon.
I went rock climbing twice (sadly only twice), bike riding countless times, on a couple long bamboo raft trips and several short ones, hiking often. I met loads of people and made many friends that I have already maintained contact with and will certainly continue to do so in the future. Yangshuo will provide more long-lasting memories and friends than any other place in China and probably more than any other place I have been to on this trip so far.
Guilin, China
Guilin is where a lot of Chinese tourists vacation. It is a dream destination of sorts of the Chinese because of its beauty. Consider this: there are 30 five-star hotels and 100 four-star hotels in a city with a population of about 1.34 million. Chicago (population 2.85 million), has 4 five-star hotels and 49 four-star hotels (according to Expedia). There are a ton of Chinese tourists here.
With tourists come pickpocketers, of which, I became a victim. My ipod is no longer with me and it will be missed. I am still undecided if I am going to replace it, though in time I am sure I will.
While Guilin is the end-destination for many Chinese tourists it is a stepping stone for most foreign backpackers, including myself, to Yangshuo, which is described as a backpackers mecca. Guilin itself is an OK city. Well, "OK" is a stretch. The sites are OK, really not that great at all, and the city itself is pretty awful.
The chief attractions in Guilin are Reed Flute Cave, Solitary Beauty Peak, and the Li River. Reed Flute Cave is pretty cool and would be even better if there was not colorful, artificial light everywhere. Yes, it needs to be lit so that it can be viewed, but it does not need to be green, blue, red, or green. Just plain white light would be much better.
Solitary Beauty Peak was skipped because of the 70RMB (more than 10USD) entrance fee. This does not seem like a lot, but that is a huge sum of money here. My hostel in Guilin cost 15RMB per night. 70RMB is more than some parts of the Great Wall. It is an outragous amount.
After a longer-than-expected stay in Guilin because of some stomach problems, I am off to Yangshuo, where, if the place hits me the right way, I will be staying staying for a month making it the first of the handful of cities in my travels I will living in for that length of time.
With tourists come pickpocketers, of which, I became a victim. My ipod is no longer with me and it will be missed. I am still undecided if I am going to replace it, though in time I am sure I will.
While Guilin is the end-destination for many Chinese tourists it is a stepping stone for most foreign backpackers, including myself, to Yangshuo, which is described as a backpackers mecca. Guilin itself is an OK city. Well, "OK" is a stretch. The sites are OK, really not that great at all, and the city itself is pretty awful.
The chief attractions in Guilin are Reed Flute Cave, Solitary Beauty Peak, and the Li River. Reed Flute Cave is pretty cool and would be even better if there was not colorful, artificial light everywhere. Yes, it needs to be lit so that it can be viewed, but it does not need to be green, blue, red, or green. Just plain white light would be much better.
Solitary Beauty Peak was skipped because of the 70RMB (more than 10USD) entrance fee. This does not seem like a lot, but that is a huge sum of money here. My hostel in Guilin cost 15RMB per night. 70RMB is more than some parts of the Great Wall. It is an outragous amount.
After a longer-than-expected stay in Guilin because of some stomach problems, I am off to Yangshuo, where, if the place hits me the right way, I will be staying staying for a month making it the first of the handful of cities in my travels I will living in for that length of time.
Shenzhen, China
From my out-of-date Lonley Planet China: "China's richest city," "was no more than a tiny fishing village until it won the equivalent of the National Lottery and become a SEZ [Special Economic Zone] in 1980,"may not have much culture but is not totally devoid of it." Another distinguishing characteristic of Shenzhen is that it is China's second greenest city, with the second highest percentage of its area being parks and gardens. In retrospect, this is probably Shenzhen's only redeeming quality.
Why did I go there at all? There is no train directly from Hong Kong to Guilin so I was forced to stop somewhere and I thought some time in "China's richest city" would be interesting. I could not have been more wrong if I said Shenzhen was not totally devoid of culture (it is).
Disclaimer: It is possible that Shenzhen was kind of shock to the system. I had just spent more than two weeks in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, where English is prevelant, people are kind and volunteer their assisatance, and, in short, traveling is easier. This is not true of Shenzhen, as part of mainland China. I dismiss this point, however, because I did not have any of the feeling I have about Shenzhen for Beijing, which was my first Chinese destination.
In trying to figure out why Shenzhen is at the bottom of my list of Chinese destinations, I came up with this, admittedly terrible, analogy: Shenzhen is like that girl that you think you like. She has a come good qualities. For example, she has a good, respectable job (China's richest city) and is good enough looking (lots of parks and gardens). However, you do not know this girl all that well. As soon as you get to know her a little bit you realize she is crazy, mean, and kills baby seals. OK, Shenzhen does not kill baby seals as far as I know, but you get what I mean. Shenzhen has some things going for it but it is missing something crucial as well.
Other than the gardens and parks, there is basically nothing here. And the parks and gardens, as they are will just about everywhere in China, all look the same to the untrained (my) eye. Yeah, they are nice, but I can only look at so many
gardens.
Luckily I did not have to spend long here, though it was longer than I would have liked, and moved on to Guilin.
Why did I go there at all? There is no train directly from Hong Kong to Guilin so I was forced to stop somewhere and I thought some time in "China's richest city" would be interesting. I could not have been more wrong if I said Shenzhen was not totally devoid of culture (it is).
Disclaimer: It is possible that Shenzhen was kind of shock to the system. I had just spent more than two weeks in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Macau, where English is prevelant, people are kind and volunteer their assisatance, and, in short, traveling is easier. This is not true of Shenzhen, as part of mainland China. I dismiss this point, however, because I did not have any of the feeling I have about Shenzhen for Beijing, which was my first Chinese destination.
In trying to figure out why Shenzhen is at the bottom of my list of Chinese destinations, I came up with this, admittedly terrible, analogy: Shenzhen is like that girl that you think you like. She has a come good qualities. For example, she has a good, respectable job (China's richest city) and is good enough looking (lots of parks and gardens). However, you do not know this girl all that well. As soon as you get to know her a little bit you realize she is crazy, mean, and kills baby seals. OK, Shenzhen does not kill baby seals as far as I know, but you get what I mean. Shenzhen has some things going for it but it is missing something crucial as well.
Other than the gardens and parks, there is basically nothing here. And the parks and gardens, as they are will just about everywhere in China, all look the same to the untrained (my) eye. Yeah, they are nice, but I can only look at so many
gardens.
Luckily I did not have to spend long here, though it was longer than I would have liked, and moved on to Guilin.
07 December 2009
Slight Change of Plans
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.
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.
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).
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