One More Train Trip:
For our Final Adventure in Beijing this year, we decided that the Great Wall of China would be a perfect topper to our little slice of China. We were going to go to the Simatai section of the wall, since it was reported to have the least tourists, and the least rebuilding. We would have been able to see it in it's weathered condition. Thursday as I mentioned in a previous blog, was the most drastic cold front in Beijing yet, and the temperature hasn't made it above freezing since. We couldn't justify taking a 2 day trip out to the Simatai portion of the wall in this weather, so we settled for the closest, most touristy section of the wall, the Ba Da Ling Great Wall.
We actually woke up this morning, pretty early. We were going to head out early, but we really just lingered until 11am in the apartment. I am going to chalk this up to the cold temperatures. Thanks to Fan, we were prepared, and knew the perfect way to reach the great wall. There is a fast train that goes from Beijing North Railway station on the S2 line that is inexpensive and goes straight to the Ba Da Ling section of the Great Wall. We caught a taxi and headed to Beijing North Railway Station.
Despite it's opening in August of this year, the station is still incomplete. It's a bit of a maze to make it to the actual railway, but the path is well marked (In Chinese) and pretty easy to find. We bought 2 first class seats (a price difference of 3 RMB per seat between first and second class) grabbed some snacks for the train (Beijing street foods) and headed in to the railway waiting area. It was about ten minutes and the train arrived. We loaded up into the train and headed out.
The first class seats are spaced widely apart. The fascinating thing is that you can actually swivel the "row" of 2 seats around to face the ones behind them. There is a table/tray stowed in the back of each chair. Cullen and I took our seats and got ready for the 1 hour train ride. The seats were comfortable, the train was cozy, and we were prepared for a wonderful ride. The first class area was pretty empty. About 2/3 of the seats were empty. We had a very young couple next to us, a pair of girls behind us that were a little older than the couple, and two men directly in front of us. The female in the couple next to us settled all her bags in the two seats in front of her, then popped out her laptop. She immediately blasted the car with Mariah Carey, and her boyfriend, when the announcements came on, was kind enough to turn the volume down out of respect for everyone else in the car. One of the two men in front of us immediately move to the very front of the car into an empty seat once she started the music.
For 1/2 an hour or more, she blasted the same Mariah Carey song on repeat while they both slept. One of the girls behind us finally tapped the boyfriend on the shoulder and he turned it off. She immediately changed to song to another and put that on repeat. It was a song in Chinese, so I'm not sure what it was, but I could probably sing it to you. Cullen and I were both excited to get off the train and away from that laptop.
Despite this, the train ride was exciting. It went pretty fast and the ride was relatively smooth. Once we saw the Great Wall, all I could say was "wow". It really is an awe inspiring sight the way it snakes over the mountains. I have heard it described as a 'dragons spine laid over the mountains,' and I could think of no better description.
Where's a slip and slide when you need it:
We walked out of the train station and up up up toward the entrance to the Ba Da Ling Great Wall. This section has been developed so that even the disabled can climb the wall. I don't think we actually climbed the side that is disability friendly though. Once we started climbing the wall Cullen remarked, "China has the best paved hiking trails." The inclines on some of the spots in the wall were ridiculous. There was one part, where we were coming down, where we couldn't even see the stairs from the beginning of the set of stairs, the incline was so steep. I could see myself tumbling to my doom, and not stopping until a nice sharp curve in the wall. We were really lucky it hadn't snowed. I wouldn't have braved the wall under those conditions.
I have read several posts about very persistent vendors at the Ba Da Ling Great Wall, so I was prepared to be ambushed at the entrance where all the shops were. These posts neglect to mention that the vendors are actually ON the WALL while you are struggling to climb up. They are gathered in clumps in places where people take a break from the steep incline, and ambush you when you are half out of breath. It's really just a matter of ignoring them though they will yell after you for a bit. Cullen didn't have a scarf for our journey, so he decided to bargain for one, since there was no shortage of scarf vendors. She started pretty high, but Cullen managed to get her down to a reasonable price. We walked to the fort at the top, then worked our way down again... being stopped by another vendor, who knew how much he had paid for the scarfs and offered him a slightly lower price. It's really amazing how they communicate with each other. When we passed the scarf-vendor he had bought the scarf from, they wanted to know how much he had paid for a book of the great wall he had bought from another guy. It's really funny. I love the vendors here. They are all such good sports and so friendly. It's so much fun to watch Cullen bargain with them. Even though I know they are just trying to sell things, they really are amazingly friendly. One lady, while her partner was bargaining with Cullen, helped me correctly pronounce the phrase for "how much is it" in Chinese.
After making it off the wall and back to the train station, I stood in a very short line for tickets for the return trip. While I was in line, a man with a camel sauntered by the railway station. Cullen quickly grabbed the camera from me and went to go try and take photos. He returned with three photos of him and the camel. I don't think it spit on him either.
The sun had set by the time we settled onto the train back. We were hoping for a much more pleasant ride, in a similar time span. This ride actually took about 1/2 an hour longer than the trip there, and despite the no smoking sign on the train, the car was filled with cigarette smoke the whole ride back. This time, the train didn't go as fast between stops and was a bit more rough.
Fancy Pants and his amazing Dance:
When we got off we were both starving, so we decided that the Pizza Hut marked on the map near the railway station would be a fair enough stop for dinner. Through a bit of adventure that I will omit here (Cullen can tell everyone if he likes) we managed to find the mall containing the Pizza Hut. When we entered the mall, the temperature change was drastic and welcome. I pulled my cap off and loosened my scarf. We seemed to have entered in the middle of a break dancing contest complete with a huge sound system and dance floor. It appeared to be the preliminary rounds when we arrived and we were too hungry to watch much before dinner, so up to the second level we went for some Pizza Hut excitement.
Dinner as usual in Pizza Hut. When we were done, I decided to snap a bit of video from the dance contest. It was nifty. Then we caught a taxi home. Our final adventure was complete with a bit of surprise dazzle at the end.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Friday, December 5, 2008
This is cold
Yesterday when we woke, the temperature was at -2C, not unreasonable considering the sun hadn't quite warmed things. Well, as the day progressed, the wind banged things around and caused a constant whistling in the bathroom. Around 3pm the temperature had dropped to -6C and by the time we went to bed it had made it down to -10.
Having no experience with subzero temperatures and laundry hanging outside,I decided to do laundry in this ridiculously cold temperature. It was a bit cold to hang the clothes on the balcony, but not so cold that I expected what Cullen found in the morning.
Cullen went to retrieve a piece of clothing to wear, and what he returned with was a shirt that was frozen stiff. It took a bit to thaw it over the heater, but the towels were especially frozen. On normal days it usually takes about 2 days to dry them on the balcony.
Laundry, the new experiment.
I also want to add that I think Beijing wastes it's subzero temperatures. What good is a temperature below freezing if you can't have snow? Where's the Snow? The climate is too dry, they say.
Having no experience with subzero temperatures and laundry hanging outside,I decided to do laundry in this ridiculously cold temperature. It was a bit cold to hang the clothes on the balcony, but not so cold that I expected what Cullen found in the morning.
Cullen went to retrieve a piece of clothing to wear, and what he returned with was a shirt that was frozen stiff. It took a bit to thaw it over the heater, but the towels were especially frozen. On normal days it usually takes about 2 days to dry them on the balcony.
Laundry, the new experiment.
I also want to add that I think Beijing wastes it's subzero temperatures. What good is a temperature below freezing if you can't have snow? Where's the Snow? The climate is too dry, they say.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thanksgiving
To everyone I was unable to reach with our Thanksgiving wishes, I would like to extend them to you as well. We missed home so very much, and family. I arrived home from my short vacation with Fan the day before Thanksgiving, and was totally excited to be back with Cullen, but a bit too exhausted to take on an entire Thanksgiving meal. I cooked our Thanksgiving meal on Friday.
I found the simplest cornbread dressing recipe, Cooked some cornbread, crumbled it with some white bread we bought from the store, stuffed this into a chicken, then baked that while I made the mashed potatoes and green beans. The whole meal took hours to prepare since you can't find things like canned green beans, prepared stuffing mix, or seasoning mixes for Thanksgiving here. We both agreed that it definitely tasted like Thanksgiving. The only missing ingredient was family.
It's just a bit over a week until we fly home now. See you soon.
I found the simplest cornbread dressing recipe, Cooked some cornbread, crumbled it with some white bread we bought from the store, stuffed this into a chicken, then baked that while I made the mashed potatoes and green beans. The whole meal took hours to prepare since you can't find things like canned green beans, prepared stuffing mix, or seasoning mixes for Thanksgiving here. We both agreed that it definitely tasted like Thanksgiving. The only missing ingredient was family.
It's just a bit over a week until we fly home now. See you soon.
day 8?
Do Over:
We slept until we woke without any assistance. We knew our flight was at 7:55pm and we weren't going to put anything in our way to keep us from flying home today. We packed everything for the last time, storing at the front desk of the hotel this time. We headed out to have some lunch since it was already 11:30 by the time we made it down stairs and out of the building. We went to the Golden Gates street, which we were told had a long string of restaurants. We stopped at the first one we saw. Fan went in and ordered pork on the bones and some soup for both of us. The soup arrived in stages. First was the bowl of noodles and a spoon, then was the platter of things to add to the soup. This platter consisted of a large plate with beef, fungus, and some greens such as mint and spinach. There were 3 smaller platters stacked on top of the large dish. One containing onions, another containing pepper and sliced chili peppers, and the final with some more veggies. The final part of the soup arrived, the chicken broth. It was boiling hot and in a bowl ridiculously large. Fan had asked one of the older women at the table next to us how to put the meal together. She said that in Beijing it is always already in the bowl when it arrives, and you never have to put it together yourself. First goes the meat, fungus, and greens on the lower plates... then the veggies and onion platters. You dump the noodles on top of all this, then pepper it to your tastes. I refused to put the meat in mine, uncertain if the broth was hot enough to cook it. Fan dished the extra meat into her bowl.
The meal was delicious and quite filling. I had become better with the chopstick on this little adventure, but still managed to splash some boiling hot broth into my eye while eating. Fan explained the history behind the way the dish is delivered. There was an old politician (I may be recalling this incorrectly. I can't remember what the old man's status was. Maybe he was just a scholar or philosopher.) who desired to live his days apart from his wife, studying all day. Their separate houses were connected by a bridge, and the husband would read books all day long on his side of the bridge. The wife would cook for him, but every meal she cooked would be cold by the time she made it to him with the food. She decided that if she brought the separate pieces of the meal to him, then the bowl of boiling broth, he could finally have a hot meal. I was told it was called a Cross Bridge dish.
After our hot meal, we headed to the Golden Gate just around the corner. The gate was beautiful and Fan explained that if they were great politicians, the people they governed would erect a Gate in their honor so you would be remembered.
We wandered around a little in this area, finding that the wares sold here were the same wares sold in Li Jiang. Fan managed to find a map vendor and on the map, she discovered we were very close to the zoo and a Buddhist temple. We walked the few blocks to the temple and Fan decided, despite he lack of religion, to make an offering to the Buddhist god. She offered incense sticks for money and good luck. She desired mostly the good luck.
The temple was beautiful and the waters were filled with turtles and coy. The peace and quiet of the temple was a very welcome and needed change from the busy city. We spent quite a little bit of time in the temple. Fan made her prayers and I just sat quietly thinking.
When we left the temple, we headed to the hotel to pick up our bags then go to the largest flower market in Kunming. This, I speculate, must be the largest flower market in China, as Kunming is the "Flower Capital" of China. It was large indeed. We had to make our way through a maze of Coffee and Coffee products to finally reach the flowers, but the flowers were an even larger maze of green, red, purple, blue, yellow and pink. It was beautiful. Almost every booth that sold flowers also sold bouquets of dried flowers. There were flowers that were said to bloom if you sprayed them with water for a few days, and flowers that were examples of these bouquets already bloomed. The odor and appearance of so many flowers in one space was intoxicating. The fragrances weren't overpowering, just light and fragrant enough to entice buyers.
We took turns monitoring the luggage, since there was nowhere to store it in the flower market. Fan returned with several new purchases. I only bought one bouquet of roses for Cullen's and my Anniversary to add to the lilies he bought. We made it out of the maze unscathed and had a quick soup at a restaurant outside of the flower market. Once done eating, though it was only 5pm and we were moments away from the airport, we headed out to get a taxi to the airport. The taxi, despite the traffic, dropped us off well before 5:30pm and we didn't dilly dally. We went straight to check in and head to the terminal. The security check was rather speedy and we made it out without any issues. We sat from 5:55pm to 7:35pm waiting. Fan taught me a bit of useful Chinese, and we were both glad to be waiting at the terminal and not the least bit unhappy about the long wait.
When we boarded the flight, we were much more relaxed, and the 3 hours went by very quickly. Landing at 11pm and retrieving our luggage was hassle free. We hopped in a taxi and headed first to her home, then me alone for the rest of the ride back to Cullen. It was so good to be home. Beautiful day, that.
We slept until we woke without any assistance. We knew our flight was at 7:55pm and we weren't going to put anything in our way to keep us from flying home today. We packed everything for the last time, storing at the front desk of the hotel this time. We headed out to have some lunch since it was already 11:30 by the time we made it down stairs and out of the building. We went to the Golden Gates street, which we were told had a long string of restaurants. We stopped at the first one we saw. Fan went in and ordered pork on the bones and some soup for both of us. The soup arrived in stages. First was the bowl of noodles and a spoon, then was the platter of things to add to the soup. This platter consisted of a large plate with beef, fungus, and some greens such as mint and spinach. There were 3 smaller platters stacked on top of the large dish. One containing onions, another containing pepper and sliced chili peppers, and the final with some more veggies. The final part of the soup arrived, the chicken broth. It was boiling hot and in a bowl ridiculously large. Fan had asked one of the older women at the table next to us how to put the meal together. She said that in Beijing it is always already in the bowl when it arrives, and you never have to put it together yourself. First goes the meat, fungus, and greens on the lower plates... then the veggies and onion platters. You dump the noodles on top of all this, then pepper it to your tastes. I refused to put the meat in mine, uncertain if the broth was hot enough to cook it. Fan dished the extra meat into her bowl.
The meal was delicious and quite filling. I had become better with the chopstick on this little adventure, but still managed to splash some boiling hot broth into my eye while eating. Fan explained the history behind the way the dish is delivered. There was an old politician (I may be recalling this incorrectly. I can't remember what the old man's status was. Maybe he was just a scholar or philosopher.) who desired to live his days apart from his wife, studying all day. Their separate houses were connected by a bridge, and the husband would read books all day long on his side of the bridge. The wife would cook for him, but every meal she cooked would be cold by the time she made it to him with the food. She decided that if she brought the separate pieces of the meal to him, then the bowl of boiling broth, he could finally have a hot meal. I was told it was called a Cross Bridge dish.
After our hot meal, we headed to the Golden Gate just around the corner. The gate was beautiful and Fan explained that if they were great politicians, the people they governed would erect a Gate in their honor so you would be remembered.
We wandered around a little in this area, finding that the wares sold here were the same wares sold in Li Jiang. Fan managed to find a map vendor and on the map, she discovered we were very close to the zoo and a Buddhist temple. We walked the few blocks to the temple and Fan decided, despite he lack of religion, to make an offering to the Buddhist god. She offered incense sticks for money and good luck. She desired mostly the good luck.
The temple was beautiful and the waters were filled with turtles and coy. The peace and quiet of the temple was a very welcome and needed change from the busy city. We spent quite a little bit of time in the temple. Fan made her prayers and I just sat quietly thinking.
When we left the temple, we headed to the hotel to pick up our bags then go to the largest flower market in Kunming. This, I speculate, must be the largest flower market in China, as Kunming is the "Flower Capital" of China. It was large indeed. We had to make our way through a maze of Coffee and Coffee products to finally reach the flowers, but the flowers were an even larger maze of green, red, purple, blue, yellow and pink. It was beautiful. Almost every booth that sold flowers also sold bouquets of dried flowers. There were flowers that were said to bloom if you sprayed them with water for a few days, and flowers that were examples of these bouquets already bloomed. The odor and appearance of so many flowers in one space was intoxicating. The fragrances weren't overpowering, just light and fragrant enough to entice buyers.
We took turns monitoring the luggage, since there was nowhere to store it in the flower market. Fan returned with several new purchases. I only bought one bouquet of roses for Cullen's and my Anniversary to add to the lilies he bought. We made it out of the maze unscathed and had a quick soup at a restaurant outside of the flower market. Once done eating, though it was only 5pm and we were moments away from the airport, we headed out to get a taxi to the airport. The taxi, despite the traffic, dropped us off well before 5:30pm and we didn't dilly dally. We went straight to check in and head to the terminal. The security check was rather speedy and we made it out without any issues. We sat from 5:55pm to 7:35pm waiting. Fan taught me a bit of useful Chinese, and we were both glad to be waiting at the terminal and not the least bit unhappy about the long wait.
When we boarded the flight, we were much more relaxed, and the 3 hours went by very quickly. Landing at 11pm and retrieving our luggage was hassle free. We hopped in a taxi and headed first to her home, then me alone for the rest of the ride back to Cullen. It was so good to be home. Beautiful day, that.
Flights (aka confusion)
Final Farewell to Li Jiang:
When we woke, at 7:30am to take the photos, the temperature wasn't as cold as it had been. We dressed, gathered our things for our return, and headed out for breakfast and a bit of exploring. The taxi to take us to the airport was to arrive at about 11:00am since our flight out wasn't until 1:05pm. We stepped out of the gate, the lovely one-eyed dog leading us along. We followed him for a bit, all the way to the middle school in the area, then stopped at a noodle vendor for some breakfast. The noodles were tasty, and we had a lovely time relaxing there at her small table to eat up the warm breakfast. These Chinese breakfast foods were growing on me here in Li Jiang.
Once done with feeding ourselves, we started out to explore the parts of Li Jiang we had yet to see. About an hour into the exploration, we started running into multiple tourist groups. At one point, I decided that I would sit and wait for a tourist group to pass... instead of passing, they all decided this was the perfect time to take a photo with the Westerner on the bench. I can't even count how many people took a photo with me as they passed. They were very kind and friendly about it.
Once the photo session was done, Fan and I continued exploring for a bit, catching all the places of interest that we had missed, and headed back to the hotel to wait for the taxi.
The taxi was right on time, and we loaded up and headed to the airport. We arrived early enough to catch lunch, but since we couldn't find an easily accessible restaurant in the Li Jiang airport, we just checked in and went to wait for the plane.
The plane arrived on time, and we boarded at the time scheduled on the dry-erase board. The airport had very few terminals.
Landing in Kunming:
Once we finally took to the air, the flight was short, sweet, and without incident. We had quite a long layover until our flight from Kunming to Beijing so we decided to store our luggage with the airport security. They charged 5 RMB per bag up to 4 hours and 10 RMB for 4-10 hours. We headed out to see the park that is reported to have all the birds, and were then going to visit the small flower market near the airport so as not to encounter any traffic jams, since the taxi driver had warned us the road construction on the main street was causing traffic jams in the city. It was Tuesday, so we knew we would need to avoid 5pm traffic. Our flight left at 7:55pm, so we were going to head to the flower market at 4:30pm, then from there hit the airport between 5:30 and 6pm to get dinner and our bags and check in for the flight.
We found the park just fine, and since we couldn't find any restaurants near by, we settled for food from the bakery that we could choose to share with the birds if we wanted. We each had a buttered and sugared bread and another pastry. My second pastry was a hot dog wrapped in sweet bread with cheese and some green onions baked on top. This was glazed with a sweet sugar glaze and baked to perfection. Fan's second pastry appeared to be a filled sweet bread, but I was more interested in my lunch than questioning her about hers.
We headed across the street to the park and were amazed at the numbers of migratory birds floating in the small lake. At first I thought this had to be all the birds there were, the numbers were amazing, but when we started down the path, we noticed another lake filled with birds. I'm horrible at estimating, but I can say for approximation there were about 2 birds per square foot, and these birds were about 2/3 the size of your average duck. They were packed in there.
I was far too hungry to share my bread with the birds, but they didn't mind taking Fan's hand-outs. Like any birds, they would squabble over the small bits of food. After a generous wander around the park, we caught a taxi to the Flower Market, well before the alarm for 4:30pm went off.
We made it to the flower market and were informed that the airport was a short walk from the flower market and we wouldn't even need to take a taxi there. We browsed the wares of several booths, purchasing some small gifts and then Fan found some blue roses to buy for herself. She was amazed at how cheap they were compared to their price in Beijing.
Dinner and failure:
After securing our gifts and such we headed toward the airport. We were ahead of schedule, and none to worried. We were told the airport was only 5 min away, but found ourself walking for 30 min to get there. This was fine since we arrived at the airport around 6pm with plenty of time to eat a meal and get our luggage back. We headed to the KFC again and sat down. We left KFC at about 6:45 to get our luggage and, instead of being able to just go retrieve it, we had to wait for an attendee to bring it to us. This took until about 7pm, which had us a bit frustrated, so we had to hurry back upstairs to wait to check in. We still appeared to have enough time to get through security, to the gate to board the plane. We waited in line to check in and I pulled out my passport. Fan pulled her wallet out to get her ID, but couldn't find it. She searched for a while through her bags, trying to find the ID but eventually told me to check in while she looked.
I got to the front of the line, but the attendant said she wouldn't help me and that I should go to another line. I am still uncertain why she moved me to another line, but I went to the next line, and waited for the 2 people in front of me. By the time I reached the front of the line, I can't even speculate what time it was, but the attendant told me I was too late and that I should go book another flight. My spirit was crushed.
Fan had gone somewhere to look for her ID or to call someone. She was nowhere to be found. I was alone, and couldn't read a word of Chinese. All the flights and flight listings were in Chinese. I had never in my life missed a plane before and certainly not in a country where I couldn't speak the language. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and so overwhelmed.
I set my bags down in the middle of cold airport floor and just cried. I couldn't think of what to do. I was horribly frightened.
About 2 min. after sitting down on the floor, I called Fan. I could barely get the words out... "I missed the flight. They told me I was too late."
"Oh wow." was her response. She couldn't think of what to say.
I sent a text message to Cullen and he was astounded (he may well have a different description and is more than welcome to contribute).
I just sat there for a while, crying. The couple from Shanghai said hello to me... all I could manage was a wave back. I had tears pouring out of my eyes and my mind was running in circles while all I saw was Chinese characters. A girl came up and asked me in perfect English if I was ok... of course, I had a hard time getting the explanation out, but while I was telling her, Fan called and told me to come over to the entrance of KFC where she was looking for her ID still. I thanked the girl, she was so kind and caring, and headed over to where Fan was frantically pulling all the contents of her bags out on the floor.
Fan was certain she would have to spend the night in the airport because without an ID you can't even book a hotel in China. With me there, she could at least book a hotel with my passport. Though this made things easier, she still searched over and over for her ID. Taking a break only to go find out how she could get tickets back to Beijing and how much work she would have to do to get her identity verified.
When Fan returned, she noticed that her ID was right in the window it was supposed to be in, just buried behind some business cards she had received. We were both relieved. Not only could we book tickets and get out of Kunming the next day, but she was now able to book a hotel with ease.
Fan booked the tickets for the same flight number the next day. We headed out of the airport and jumped in a taxi for the hotel her husband had found on the internet near the airport in Kunming. We were both a bit shaken and just wanted some sleep. Thanks to Cullen and Fan, I was able to calm down and get some rest.
When we woke, at 7:30am to take the photos, the temperature wasn't as cold as it had been. We dressed, gathered our things for our return, and headed out for breakfast and a bit of exploring. The taxi to take us to the airport was to arrive at about 11:00am since our flight out wasn't until 1:05pm. We stepped out of the gate, the lovely one-eyed dog leading us along. We followed him for a bit, all the way to the middle school in the area, then stopped at a noodle vendor for some breakfast. The noodles were tasty, and we had a lovely time relaxing there at her small table to eat up the warm breakfast. These Chinese breakfast foods were growing on me here in Li Jiang.
Once done with feeding ourselves, we started out to explore the parts of Li Jiang we had yet to see. About an hour into the exploration, we started running into multiple tourist groups. At one point, I decided that I would sit and wait for a tourist group to pass... instead of passing, they all decided this was the perfect time to take a photo with the Westerner on the bench. I can't even count how many people took a photo with me as they passed. They were very kind and friendly about it.
Once the photo session was done, Fan and I continued exploring for a bit, catching all the places of interest that we had missed, and headed back to the hotel to wait for the taxi.
The taxi was right on time, and we loaded up and headed to the airport. We arrived early enough to catch lunch, but since we couldn't find an easily accessible restaurant in the Li Jiang airport, we just checked in and went to wait for the plane.
The plane arrived on time, and we boarded at the time scheduled on the dry-erase board. The airport had very few terminals.
Landing in Kunming:
Once we finally took to the air, the flight was short, sweet, and without incident. We had quite a long layover until our flight from Kunming to Beijing so we decided to store our luggage with the airport security. They charged 5 RMB per bag up to 4 hours and 10 RMB for 4-10 hours. We headed out to see the park that is reported to have all the birds, and were then going to visit the small flower market near the airport so as not to encounter any traffic jams, since the taxi driver had warned us the road construction on the main street was causing traffic jams in the city. It was Tuesday, so we knew we would need to avoid 5pm traffic. Our flight left at 7:55pm, so we were going to head to the flower market at 4:30pm, then from there hit the airport between 5:30 and 6pm to get dinner and our bags and check in for the flight.
We found the park just fine, and since we couldn't find any restaurants near by, we settled for food from the bakery that we could choose to share with the birds if we wanted. We each had a buttered and sugared bread and another pastry. My second pastry was a hot dog wrapped in sweet bread with cheese and some green onions baked on top. This was glazed with a sweet sugar glaze and baked to perfection. Fan's second pastry appeared to be a filled sweet bread, but I was more interested in my lunch than questioning her about hers.
We headed across the street to the park and were amazed at the numbers of migratory birds floating in the small lake. At first I thought this had to be all the birds there were, the numbers were amazing, but when we started down the path, we noticed another lake filled with birds. I'm horrible at estimating, but I can say for approximation there were about 2 birds per square foot, and these birds were about 2/3 the size of your average duck. They were packed in there.
I was far too hungry to share my bread with the birds, but they didn't mind taking Fan's hand-outs. Like any birds, they would squabble over the small bits of food. After a generous wander around the park, we caught a taxi to the Flower Market, well before the alarm for 4:30pm went off.
We made it to the flower market and were informed that the airport was a short walk from the flower market and we wouldn't even need to take a taxi there. We browsed the wares of several booths, purchasing some small gifts and then Fan found some blue roses to buy for herself. She was amazed at how cheap they were compared to their price in Beijing.
Dinner and failure:
After securing our gifts and such we headed toward the airport. We were ahead of schedule, and none to worried. We were told the airport was only 5 min away, but found ourself walking for 30 min to get there. This was fine since we arrived at the airport around 6pm with plenty of time to eat a meal and get our luggage back. We headed to the KFC again and sat down. We left KFC at about 6:45 to get our luggage and, instead of being able to just go retrieve it, we had to wait for an attendee to bring it to us. This took until about 7pm, which had us a bit frustrated, so we had to hurry back upstairs to wait to check in. We still appeared to have enough time to get through security, to the gate to board the plane. We waited in line to check in and I pulled out my passport. Fan pulled her wallet out to get her ID, but couldn't find it. She searched for a while through her bags, trying to find the ID but eventually told me to check in while she looked.
I got to the front of the line, but the attendant said she wouldn't help me and that I should go to another line. I am still uncertain why she moved me to another line, but I went to the next line, and waited for the 2 people in front of me. By the time I reached the front of the line, I can't even speculate what time it was, but the attendant told me I was too late and that I should go book another flight. My spirit was crushed.
Fan had gone somewhere to look for her ID or to call someone. She was nowhere to be found. I was alone, and couldn't read a word of Chinese. All the flights and flight listings were in Chinese. I had never in my life missed a plane before and certainly not in a country where I couldn't speak the language. I was exhausted from lack of sleep and so overwhelmed.
I set my bags down in the middle of cold airport floor and just cried. I couldn't think of what to do. I was horribly frightened.
About 2 min. after sitting down on the floor, I called Fan. I could barely get the words out... "I missed the flight. They told me I was too late."
"Oh wow." was her response. She couldn't think of what to say.
I sent a text message to Cullen and he was astounded (he may well have a different description and is more than welcome to contribute).
I just sat there for a while, crying. The couple from Shanghai said hello to me... all I could manage was a wave back. I had tears pouring out of my eyes and my mind was running in circles while all I saw was Chinese characters. A girl came up and asked me in perfect English if I was ok... of course, I had a hard time getting the explanation out, but while I was telling her, Fan called and told me to come over to the entrance of KFC where she was looking for her ID still. I thanked the girl, she was so kind and caring, and headed over to where Fan was frantically pulling all the contents of her bags out on the floor.
Fan was certain she would have to spend the night in the airport because without an ID you can't even book a hotel in China. With me there, she could at least book a hotel with my passport. Though this made things easier, she still searched over and over for her ID. Taking a break only to go find out how she could get tickets back to Beijing and how much work she would have to do to get her identity verified.
When Fan returned, she noticed that her ID was right in the window it was supposed to be in, just buried behind some business cards she had received. We were both relieved. Not only could we book tickets and get out of Kunming the next day, but she was now able to book a hotel with ease.
Fan booked the tickets for the same flight number the next day. We headed out of the airport and jumped in a taxi for the hotel her husband had found on the internet near the airport in Kunming. We were both a bit shaken and just wanted some sleep. Thanks to Cullen and Fan, I was able to calm down and get some rest.
Riding with Tour Groups
On the road again:
We woke early, gathering our things once again, this time to go back to Li Jiang. It was difficult to get up in the morning, have gotten less sleep than usual, and waking early enough to get breakfast while waiting for the bus. The owner of the hotel was in the dining room when we finished breakfast, willingly discussing the cost and work he put into the beautiful hotel. It was clearly not complete, but lovely none the less. The interior decoration of the rooms was still in progress. The bathrooms were functional, but not yet done. The rooms were lovely, but only mostly decorated. It was simple, but I would have loved to see his completed vision. Maybe next time I decided to take a trip out to Lugu Lake, I will stay in this completed hotel.
The bus arrived only a few moments too late, and we were told that we would be transferred to another bus shortly so it didn't matter where we sat. Other passengers were picked up, and we were taken to a hotel further up the mountain. The hotel was in a far less tourist trafficked area, and it was obviously cheaper. The bus we transferred to was a tourist bus. This bus had 32 seats, about 8 of which would be empty when everyone had loaded up, so we were told to wait until the tourists had all entered the bus, then could have our pick of the seats. The seats we had booked were seats at the back of the bus for 50 RMB per person. We had no trouble, once the bus was loaded, finding room to sit. The driver of the bus on the way back was far more careful and made sure to stop frequently before lunch so everyone had ample opportunity to go to the restroom at fairly clean facilities. The tourist in the group didn't like stopping so much, and complained loudly about it on multiple occasions. At lunch, the bus driver expressed his displeasure with the complaints privately and told us we should take this opportunity to go to the bathroom, since he would only make one more stop in the next 4 hours of the trip.
True to his word, there was only one more stop on the trip, and we made it back to Li Jiang by 6pm. We had to walk a bit to get back to the hotel, but once again, it wasn't far, and we made it just fine. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and had dinner at the restaurant the hotel had recommended the first night we were there. This restaurant was noisy, crowded, and obviously clean. The way to pick a good Chinese restaurant is by how many clients frequent it. This one must have been one of the best in Old Town Li Jiang. The food was delicious, and I had no doubt about the cleanliness of the dishes. The waiter was friendly as well, being able to converse a little in English with me. I found that people in this part of China who approach me to speak English are more interested in practicing their English or just finding out more about me than trying to sell me something, like in Beijing. The people were so friendly and happy to see a Westerner here. I enjoyed the meal and the conversation.
Final night in Li Jiang:
Fan and I, knowing this would be our last night in Li Jiang, wandered the streets, looking for gifts and small purchases that wouldn't make our luggage too heavy. We enjoyed the night, and Fan desired to visit a bar before we left, just to get a taste of the night life that was so famous in Li Jiang. We passed quite a few bars with loud laughter, singing and banging on the tables. It was such an interesting night. The bar we entered was more of a beatnik sort of place. All of the patrons were artist, or fans with a desire to be different from the norm. The room was darkly lit and the people were all enjoying quiet conversation. We stayed for only a few moments, but I truly enjoyed the atmosphere. If I were better at speaking Chinese, I think I really would have enjoyed this quiet bar. It was lovely.
We headed back to the hotel well past 1am and got ready for bed once more. We wanted to get up early to take some nice photos before the tourists came out. Fan set an alarm for about 7:30am and fell quickly asleep.
We woke early, gathering our things once again, this time to go back to Li Jiang. It was difficult to get up in the morning, have gotten less sleep than usual, and waking early enough to get breakfast while waiting for the bus. The owner of the hotel was in the dining room when we finished breakfast, willingly discussing the cost and work he put into the beautiful hotel. It was clearly not complete, but lovely none the less. The interior decoration of the rooms was still in progress. The bathrooms were functional, but not yet done. The rooms were lovely, but only mostly decorated. It was simple, but I would have loved to see his completed vision. Maybe next time I decided to take a trip out to Lugu Lake, I will stay in this completed hotel.
The bus arrived only a few moments too late, and we were told that we would be transferred to another bus shortly so it didn't matter where we sat. Other passengers were picked up, and we were taken to a hotel further up the mountain. The hotel was in a far less tourist trafficked area, and it was obviously cheaper. The bus we transferred to was a tourist bus. This bus had 32 seats, about 8 of which would be empty when everyone had loaded up, so we were told to wait until the tourists had all entered the bus, then could have our pick of the seats. The seats we had booked were seats at the back of the bus for 50 RMB per person. We had no trouble, once the bus was loaded, finding room to sit. The driver of the bus on the way back was far more careful and made sure to stop frequently before lunch so everyone had ample opportunity to go to the restroom at fairly clean facilities. The tourist in the group didn't like stopping so much, and complained loudly about it on multiple occasions. At lunch, the bus driver expressed his displeasure with the complaints privately and told us we should take this opportunity to go to the bathroom, since he would only make one more stop in the next 4 hours of the trip.
True to his word, there was only one more stop on the trip, and we made it back to Li Jiang by 6pm. We had to walk a bit to get back to the hotel, but once again, it wasn't far, and we made it just fine. We dropped off our bags at the hotel and had dinner at the restaurant the hotel had recommended the first night we were there. This restaurant was noisy, crowded, and obviously clean. The way to pick a good Chinese restaurant is by how many clients frequent it. This one must have been one of the best in Old Town Li Jiang. The food was delicious, and I had no doubt about the cleanliness of the dishes. The waiter was friendly as well, being able to converse a little in English with me. I found that people in this part of China who approach me to speak English are more interested in practicing their English or just finding out more about me than trying to sell me something, like in Beijing. The people were so friendly and happy to see a Westerner here. I enjoyed the meal and the conversation.
Final night in Li Jiang:
Fan and I, knowing this would be our last night in Li Jiang, wandered the streets, looking for gifts and small purchases that wouldn't make our luggage too heavy. We enjoyed the night, and Fan desired to visit a bar before we left, just to get a taste of the night life that was so famous in Li Jiang. We passed quite a few bars with loud laughter, singing and banging on the tables. It was such an interesting night. The bar we entered was more of a beatnik sort of place. All of the patrons were artist, or fans with a desire to be different from the norm. The room was darkly lit and the people were all enjoying quiet conversation. We stayed for only a few moments, but I truly enjoyed the atmosphere. If I were better at speaking Chinese, I think I really would have enjoyed this quiet bar. It was lovely.
We headed back to the hotel well past 1am and got ready for bed once more. We wanted to get up early to take some nice photos before the tourists came out. Fan set an alarm for about 7:30am and fell quickly asleep.
Floating Boats
Sunny Mornings:
We were going to wake early and set an alarm for 5:30am, the time we were told to wake to catch a boat to see the sunrise on the island in the middle of the lake. The incessant alarm wasn't enough to get us out of bed. The temperature outside was too chilly, and we were cozy under the covers, so we fell back asleep. The roosters tried to rouse us several times, but we were far too comfortable. The curtains began to glow with the beginnings of a sunrise, and Fan rose to open them so we could watch it from the bed. We both quickly rummaged for our cameras and waited for the full sun to peak over the mountains to the East. I had never imagined that I would be able to watch the sun rise over the mountains from bed through a sliding glass door. It was truly awe inspiring.
We both then got ready for breakfast and switching hotels. We packed everything and went down stairs to see what was for breakfast. I ordered an American style breakfast. The first I have ever ordered while in China (not including the buffet breakfasts at the hotels in Hong Kong and Dongguan). The plate was huge filled with 2 slices of bacon, scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of toast, and french fries. Fan ordered a Chinese breakfast which was much cheaper than mine. I also ordered a coffee, since it was of the freshly ground persuasion that is extremely difficult to find in China. I made it through 1 piece of bacon, 3/4 of the eggs and some of the french fries before I was stuffed. Despite my excitement at having American food, I realized that my stomach couldn't hold enough to make it worth my while. The hotel's dogs really liked us after breakfast. We saved the toast to feed to the birds on our boat ride out to the island.
If there was a cloud in the sky, I didn't find it. The sun beamed down on the water shimmering and glittering as we made our way to the other hotel. Or spirits were high, despite our inability to get more passengers for our trip. We were going to pay 65 RMB per person to get a VIP trip out to the center of the lake, then the the Goddess Mountain and back to the hotel. It was a days worth of travel, and lots of work for our boat drivers. It was expressed to us, prior to setting out, that we would need two people to set the boat into the lake and make it to the center. We were willing to pay the price for such a special trip. As we set out, the elderly couple took their places on the wooden boat. The woman was at the head of the boat, with the large Canoe ore, and the man was at the back with the thinner ore, steering the pig-trough boat. The only boats allowed on the lake were these wooden traditional boats. They were a canoe of sorts, made from multiple pieces of wood with joints carved to match one another. I am not certain what type of sealant they used, but the boat was not quite water tight. By the time we reached the center of the lake, we were in about an inch deep puddle of water that the couple started removing as we exited the boat to go explore for a bit.
They had dropped us off at a set of concrete stairs, leading up to the top of the hill that was the island. The steps were reasonably easy to ascend, and we were greeted with a large house overlooking the lake. The house belonged to Joseph F. Rock for 27 years between 1922 and 1949. Information on Rock can be found here:
http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu/HIBD/Departments/Archives/Archives-HR/Rock.shtml
Just at the top of the hill was a Buddhist temple and a small garden. The resident came out for a bit, with his dog. The flowers in the garden were lush and beautiful, but obviously untamed. There were bees and butterflies flitting about in the midst of all the flowers. It was wonderful to see all the colors and contrast high on the hill with the mountains for a backdrop.
Once we finished taking photos and exploring, we headed back to the boat where the man a woman had finished evacuating the water that had accumulated during our ride over. They were taking a break and readily loaded back on to the boat when we arrived.
The oars in the water were mesmerizing. The patterns that traced our path as we pushed through the small waves trailed us. We relaxed on the way to the foot of the Goddess Mountain. The sun was well past it's zenith, and the time was about 1pm. We were ready for some lunch, so Fan made sure we could find some in the village at the foot of the mountain. We were assured that we would be able to eat some food before out trip up the mountain, and that they would wait for us while we ate and possibly took a look at the Goddess Mountain itself.
The old man took us to a home, but the residents weren't there, so he brought us to the Sichuan restaurant near the gondolas. We were ready for a good meal, and Fan ordered some Hot Pot with tofu and eggs. It took a while for the food to be prepared, and in the mean time, Fan chatted with the restaurant/hotel owner. He offered to show us the view from their rooms, which cost only 60 RMB per night, since they weren't on the most beautiful section of the lake. He told us he would show us around for an hour if we wanted, for free. Fan liked the idea, and once we finished eating, we went to take a look at the hotel room. The room was beautifully clean and well decorated. We snapped a few photos of the view from the room and headed back out.
Our trip to explore the area surrounding the mountain was cut short by the man's request that we return to the boat. His explanation was very vague as to why he wanted us to return, but we went back to the boat and rode back to the hotel with him. His wife had already headed back on foot.
Once back at the hotel, still with no clear explanation, Fan set up two seats on a bus for us to head back in the morning around 8:40am. We were hungry, so we decided to head out for dinner. This was our last day on Lugu Lake, so we decided to have dinner at the Jazz Sofa, a hotel that is reported to be the place that Westerners stay during the summer tourism months. The food was decent and the atmosphere was relaxed.
When we left the restaurant, we found the pair from the bus was staying the room next door to us. We all had a nice chat and I went to bed early. Fan chatted with them for hours more, heading to bed long after I had fallen asleep, which was already after midnight.
We retired to our hotel after our full day of water and sun behind us.
We were going to wake early and set an alarm for 5:30am, the time we were told to wake to catch a boat to see the sunrise on the island in the middle of the lake. The incessant alarm wasn't enough to get us out of bed. The temperature outside was too chilly, and we were cozy under the covers, so we fell back asleep. The roosters tried to rouse us several times, but we were far too comfortable. The curtains began to glow with the beginnings of a sunrise, and Fan rose to open them so we could watch it from the bed. We both quickly rummaged for our cameras and waited for the full sun to peak over the mountains to the East. I had never imagined that I would be able to watch the sun rise over the mountains from bed through a sliding glass door. It was truly awe inspiring.
We both then got ready for breakfast and switching hotels. We packed everything and went down stairs to see what was for breakfast. I ordered an American style breakfast. The first I have ever ordered while in China (not including the buffet breakfasts at the hotels in Hong Kong and Dongguan). The plate was huge filled with 2 slices of bacon, scrambled eggs, 2 pieces of toast, and french fries. Fan ordered a Chinese breakfast which was much cheaper than mine. I also ordered a coffee, since it was of the freshly ground persuasion that is extremely difficult to find in China. I made it through 1 piece of bacon, 3/4 of the eggs and some of the french fries before I was stuffed. Despite my excitement at having American food, I realized that my stomach couldn't hold enough to make it worth my while. The hotel's dogs really liked us after breakfast. We saved the toast to feed to the birds on our boat ride out to the island.
If there was a cloud in the sky, I didn't find it. The sun beamed down on the water shimmering and glittering as we made our way to the other hotel. Or spirits were high, despite our inability to get more passengers for our trip. We were going to pay 65 RMB per person to get a VIP trip out to the center of the lake, then the the Goddess Mountain and back to the hotel. It was a days worth of travel, and lots of work for our boat drivers. It was expressed to us, prior to setting out, that we would need two people to set the boat into the lake and make it to the center. We were willing to pay the price for such a special trip. As we set out, the elderly couple took their places on the wooden boat. The woman was at the head of the boat, with the large Canoe ore, and the man was at the back with the thinner ore, steering the pig-trough boat. The only boats allowed on the lake were these wooden traditional boats. They were a canoe of sorts, made from multiple pieces of wood with joints carved to match one another. I am not certain what type of sealant they used, but the boat was not quite water tight. By the time we reached the center of the lake, we were in about an inch deep puddle of water that the couple started removing as we exited the boat to go explore for a bit.
They had dropped us off at a set of concrete stairs, leading up to the top of the hill that was the island. The steps were reasonably easy to ascend, and we were greeted with a large house overlooking the lake. The house belonged to Joseph F. Rock for 27 years between 1922 and 1949. Information on Rock can be found here:
http://huntbot.andrew.cmu.edu/HIBD/Departments/Archives/Archives-HR/Rock.shtml
Just at the top of the hill was a Buddhist temple and a small garden. The resident came out for a bit, with his dog. The flowers in the garden were lush and beautiful, but obviously untamed. There were bees and butterflies flitting about in the midst of all the flowers. It was wonderful to see all the colors and contrast high on the hill with the mountains for a backdrop.
Once we finished taking photos and exploring, we headed back to the boat where the man a woman had finished evacuating the water that had accumulated during our ride over. They were taking a break and readily loaded back on to the boat when we arrived.
The oars in the water were mesmerizing. The patterns that traced our path as we pushed through the small waves trailed us. We relaxed on the way to the foot of the Goddess Mountain. The sun was well past it's zenith, and the time was about 1pm. We were ready for some lunch, so Fan made sure we could find some in the village at the foot of the mountain. We were assured that we would be able to eat some food before out trip up the mountain, and that they would wait for us while we ate and possibly took a look at the Goddess Mountain itself.
The old man took us to a home, but the residents weren't there, so he brought us to the Sichuan restaurant near the gondolas. We were ready for a good meal, and Fan ordered some Hot Pot with tofu and eggs. It took a while for the food to be prepared, and in the mean time, Fan chatted with the restaurant/hotel owner. He offered to show us the view from their rooms, which cost only 60 RMB per night, since they weren't on the most beautiful section of the lake. He told us he would show us around for an hour if we wanted, for free. Fan liked the idea, and once we finished eating, we went to take a look at the hotel room. The room was beautifully clean and well decorated. We snapped a few photos of the view from the room and headed back out.
Our trip to explore the area surrounding the mountain was cut short by the man's request that we return to the boat. His explanation was very vague as to why he wanted us to return, but we went back to the boat and rode back to the hotel with him. His wife had already headed back on foot.
Once back at the hotel, still with no clear explanation, Fan set up two seats on a bus for us to head back in the morning around 8:40am. We were hungry, so we decided to head out for dinner. This was our last day on Lugu Lake, so we decided to have dinner at the Jazz Sofa, a hotel that is reported to be the place that Westerners stay during the summer tourism months. The food was decent and the atmosphere was relaxed.
When we left the restaurant, we found the pair from the bus was staying the room next door to us. We all had a nice chat and I went to bed early. Fan chatted with them for hours more, heading to bed long after I had fallen asleep, which was already after midnight.
We retired to our hotel after our full day of water and sun behind us.
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