We didn't have to check out till noon today but we got up early anyway and ate breakfast with the group at the hotel restaurant. Then we took one last round the streets of Pingyao's Ancient City. Visited the Armed Escort Exhibit and a few other residences converted into museums. We also visited a Daoist temple, where Emery got scammed into getting his fortune and offering a "donation." I can almost swear the fortune teller was another one of those fake monks scamming Chinese tourists. The monk said the most stereotypical shit ever--stuff I could probably google or make up myself. Emery has a superstitious streak and was really psyched about visiting his first Daoist temple so he gave this guy 300Y (and I was coerced into dropping another 20Y). I don't think it helped that Emery was also doped on Tylenol.

We left the guesthouse by one of the big van taxis at 2:30. It took us about an hour or two to reach a nicer shopping district area in Taiyuan. The air was still gross but the hotel was actually decent. The bathroom had a tub!

Jenny led the group to a nice restaurant around the corner. Had an excellent selection was but the service was average ("average" in China is poor...); he messed up a bunch of little things. Emery ordered (guess what) donkey meat again. It was braised this time. I asked for a crispy pork dish that was supposed to come with some vegetable noodle of some sort but instead came with peanuts. Oh well, it was good and I ate till I was full. We all had a good time chatting and joking for a few hours after we finished eating. Some of us pitched in a few kuai to buy a birthday cake for one of the group members. Tomorrow we might go do KTV after we get off the plane and arrive in Chengdu. Sounds like fun. :)

I went looking around for bottled water later that night for Emery because he still had a dry mouth from getting over his cold and the pollution but the nearest convenience store wasn't near at all and it wasn't well stocked. It's definitely not the usual tourist destination so the prices weren't as inflated. It gets noisy around here at night because of all the shopping and boozing but I'm surprised that it's quieted down a good bit. It's only midnight. Should go to sleep though, have to be up at 5 in the morning.

1st pic- breathtaking view out of our new hotel room.
2nd pic- the good menu at the crappy restaurant.
3rd pic- much like the Shinjuku district in Japan.

<--- duped...="" got="" i="" span="">

Shared Expenses
breakfast bacon at the hotel restaurant 15Y
green tea bottle 3Y
vegetable pancake 1Y
photo with monkey 5Y
lunch at the hotel restaurant 44Y
Daoist temple fortune 320Y
dinner 55Y
water bottles and snacks 12Y

total = 465Y approx. $68US

* Thursday, April 30, 2009

Checked out of the hotel around 7:45-8, got on the public bus with everyone. It wasn't the kind of bus we had seen from googling public transportation. There weren't any chickens or goats so we were okay. Chinese-dubbed movies played on the Yimeda TV. On the same note, I've noticed a good deal of Engrish while in China, on designer clothing, signs, and other random knock-off products. It's really funny how the Chinese always seem to get it slightly wrong. It's truly an art form.

Everyone was hyper in the morning and then as the day wore on, we all got tired and retreated into our shells, listening to music, reading books, or napping. At one point, we had to switch to a smaller public bus. When we got to the security check at the bus station, a friendly checkpoint guard cracked jokes and asked our group lots of questions out of curiosity. It must have been a weird combination to him, seeing Australians and Chinese-looking Americans together.

I had to use the restroom while at the station. Past the door curtains, I was in for a shock. The station restroom was just a row of stalls without doors. Several women were squating over this man-made river that would flush periodically. There were flies buzzing around and I could see other women's butts. I just ran down to the stall at the end, did my business, and got out as fast as I could. Emery told me that the gas station restroom that he went to was the worst. It was just a slope of cement with a huge pile of poop all over it. No flush. I don't even want to imagine the smell.

When we reached the outskirts of Taiyuan, a several bike taxis picked us up and drove us into the dusty city of Pingyao. I think "ancient" is just a buzz word that all the guides use to lure clueless tourists. From the outer walls, the city looked really old and dirty but as we got closer to the center, it still looked dirty but a bit more updated and
tourist friendly. There was a long stretch of souvenir stands and street vendors and every third building was a guesthouse style hotel.

Our room had a bed that took up 2/3rds of the room, which was awesome. And the bathroom looked very clean and new so I wasn't upset that the shower again had no separator. Outside of the room, there was a little pot of koi fish blubbing about. I can see why they got a good word from Lonely Planet.

Emery and I explored the streets for a bit, bought some cookies, biscuits, and bargained for stone name seals. At 6:30, we met the group for dinner at the hotel restaurant, which was alright but again a bit pricey since Emery is used to ordering two or three dishes at a time. We ordered Pingyao mountain noodles and donkey meat again because Emery expected it to come out pottage style but it tasted like lunch meat. Service at the restaurant is great however. The waitresses refilled our pot of tea periodically and brought out complimentary fruit. I noticed that they also had a small area in the restaurant for guests to surf the web and massage services started at 40Y.

I couldn't have asked for more. Well, maybe except for cleaner air and a hairdryer. Poor Emery is still sick from the pollution. Hopefully the air will be better on Emei Shan.

Shared Expenses
tickets to Pingyao Ancient City attractions 160Y
souvenir stamps 100Y
small dangao (cookie) 1Y
biscuit from street vendor 1Y
restaurant dinner 122Y

total = 384Y approx. $56.50US
* Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Around 10 in the morning, the sleeper train arrived at Datong, another one of China's most polluted cities. Datong is well known for coal mining (so their air is very dirty) but there is a lot of cultural treasures in this city as well, such as the Hanging Monastery and the Yungang Grottoes.

Our hotel, Feitian, was right across from the train station. Everyone had a look of relief on their faces after seeing the lobby, which was lavishly decorated with chandeliers, large koi aquariums, and a golden laughing Buddha by the glass rotating door.

When we reached our floor, a woman with a huge set of keys walked us to our room and unlocked the door for us. No card keys! We realized that she lived on our floor and was in charge of manning the hallway.

Our rooms had similar looking beds to the ones we had on our first night in Beijing, but kind of mushier. The furniture was really tacky and old and the carpets were grimey. The scariest part was the bathroom because the toilets were small and wobbly, the shower again had no separator, and the fluorescent light didn't work very well so it cast a dim greenish light on everything. It looked very much like something out of a horror movie.

We were given two hours of free time before the tour to the Hanging Monastery so Emery and I tried to go to the China Post and ship off a giant suitcase because we had packed too much and bought too much for this trip. There was no sidewalk on the way to the post office so we had to drag the suitcase around on the road. Taxis and motorcycles were honking, changing lanes, and U-turning while pedestrians were weaving through. A lot of construction work was still being done around our hotel so we had to navigate around mountains of dirt in front of the buildings. When we finally made it inside, the postal workers told us it would be impossible through them so we decided to take care of it later and returned to the hotel.

On the drive to the monastery, we were able to spot remnants of the Great Wall, an old route the Mongols used to attack Beijing. We could see a few tall rock platforms that were used as signaling posts for scouts. There was also a great deal of farm land on plateaus, mountains, and a variety of trees. I'm surprised that China's reforestation policies have spread even this far out in the country.

The tour bus took a brief stop in front of a small village of clay/baked earth homes. It reminded me a lot of Pueblo architecture. Dodged more souvenir peddlers and took pictures of some goat and sheep herders.

Hanging Monastery dates back to around 1400 years ago during the Wei Dynasty. Although it looks barely suspended by long columns, most of it is supported by Heng mountain. No one currently lives or worships in the temple but it is constantly being renovated. This temple also showcases bits of China's three historical beliefs: Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. For those not scared of heights, the Jinlong Canyon can be seen from the rickety balconies. Speaking of which, there was a few people who climbed the temple but had fear of heights. That was not a good time...

The climb up to the temple was interesting but I don't think it was worth the long drive. I might have been satisfied simply looking at a photo book.

After a so-so group lunch near the temple, we had the option of going back to the hotel or continuing with the other tour group to the Yungang Grottoes. Emery and three other group members went back to the hotel because they were feeling woozy.

It was another hour before we were at the grottos. Yungang Grottoes contains over 50,000 carved Buddhist statues in 45 little caves that stretch more than a kilometer along the southern cliffs of Wuzhoushan. We only got to look in through caves 5-19 but they were amazing! I couldn't take enough pictures and the ones I did take don't do the carvings any justice. Inside of caves 5 and 6 were two giant Indian-style Buddhas and the surrounding Buddhas were in painted vibrant reds, greens, and blues. Unfortunately, no one was permitted to take photos of these caves; though they were heavily guarded, I think some people still snuck in a few shots.

Back at the hotel, Emery had worked with Jenny to ship out some luggage back home. It cost 600Y, which is roughly $88US. Not bad for 60kg.

The group went out for dinner at a fancy restaurant across the hotel. Hot pot was the local specialty so we were prepared to spend a little more. Emery and I ordered a royal soup broth with thinly sliced lamb, squid, duck blood, small cabbage, lettuce, Chinese fried pancakes (cong you bing) and a pot of chrysanthemum tea. All of it was delicious--one of the best dinners we had while in China so far.

Bought some snacks for tomorrow's public bus ride to Pingyao (egg ball biscuits, sunflower seeds, candy, tea). Showered and went to bed around midnight. Emery woke up around 4AM and said the cars were still honking outside. Crazy China.

Shared Expenses
lunch 24Y
optional tour to Yungang Grottos 30Y
beaded bracelets 2 at 10Y each
hotpot dinner 52Y
snacks at convenience store 32Y
shipping fee for 60kg worth of packages 600Y

total = 784Y approx. $115US

* Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Today's plan was to visit the Yonghe Lama Temple, one of Beijing's most significant Buddhist temple. Met up with the tour group at 8:30 to check out of the hotel and walk to the Beijing Metro Station. Took us about 20-30 minutes to get there.

Yonghe Lama Temple was built back in the Qing Dynasty as the home of Prince Yong, then it was converted into a lamasery several decades later. The temple was one of those things that somehow survived the Cultural Revolution. Here we could see an 18-meter high Buddha, carved from sandalwood which was pretty cool but photos were not allowed. However, what I found most impressive was sand art done by the monks. I kept thinking, "How did they make all those little details?" and "I really want a picture!" As we went along, Jenny also pointed out that the architecture of this temple reflected both Tibetan and Han Chinese religious influences, in addition to some minor Manchurian and Mongolian characteristics. All four languages on the temple signs are supposed to encourage harmony and respect for each others cultures, at least that's what Jenny said.

After we finished looking at the temple at 1, we were given free time until 9 to wander around Beijing. Emery and I decided to make another trip to Wang Fu Jing (Gotta love this place--it's like Beijing's version of Shinjuku). We had lunch and dinner at the mall, eating at both Japanese restaurants, Ajisen Ramen and Asabu Jyuban Sabo. The food was just so good and cheap to boot. We ordered gyuudon, fruit salad, chicken cold noodle/salad dish and small fried fish, and gyoza.

Finally went up to the 3rd floor of Wang Fu Jing Bookstore on our 2nd return and bought armfuls of translated texts on Eastern philosophy and folklore as well as Chinese learning materials. I knew it all wasn't going to fit into my suitcase but I felt no regret about buying so much. I planned on shipping it all back home.

Later that night, the tour group boarded the sleeper train off to Datong. My suitcase was already unbearably heavy so it was absolute torture hauling it around until we actually got on the train. We had an hour wait at the station before getting on so Jenny and some people from the tour group killed time by playing Chinese hackysack with another willing stranger. Their skills drew an audience and amused many curious observers.

The sleeper train cabins turned out to be more narrow than I had anticipated but surprisingly, there was room for everything and I even slept well. I'm glad I didn't have to use the bathroom the whole time I was on it.. I had a glance at the squat toilets while boarding and all I can say is YUCK. Overall, my experience on the trains weren't bad at all.



Shared Expenses
cab fare back from the Yonghe Lama Temple 30Y
Name stamp at the temple 40Y
Tour guide tip 300Y (150Y each)
Wang Fu Jing Bookstore 247Y
Ole 77Y
Chamate 55Y
Ajisen Ramen 77Y
Asabu Jyuban Sobu 55Y
face masks and adapter 26Y

total = 907Y approx. $133US

* The dates I may update this blog may be irregular so I will start posting the actual date I wrote the post here: Monday, April 27, 2009

Emery felt beat today so he skipped out on Tian'anmen Square and Forbidden Palace (he had already seen it anyway). We shared some of the goodies we bought yesterday from Bread Talk in Wang Fu Jing like the cheese bun, green tea/red bean bread, and fire floss (that's spicy dried stringy pork) bun. Then I went downstairs to meet the group in the lobby at 8:30.

We followed the crowds of people the hotel to Tian'anmen Square, stopping at a street vendor to grab egg onion pancakes for breakfast. It wasn't even peak season but the square was swarming with Asian tourists in red baseball caps. Saw chubby little Chinese children flying kites and picking fights and also more old hags peddling Chairman Mao watches. Jenny gave us another brief overview of the history of Tian'anmen Square and the surrounding buildings. Afterwards, four of the tour group members rushed off to see the Mausoleum the tour guide, me, and one other member watched their stuff. We took pictures, cracked jokes, and speculated over why Chinese women here didn't wear skirts (maybe simply because it was really cold) and why old men love rice wine and other hard liquor.

When the others came back to meet up with us, we walked to the Forbidden Palace where Jenny transferred us over to a local guide for the day. The local guide explained every aspect of the palace. I learned that the Last Emperor was filmed there (haven't seen it yet, even though I know I should have) and that the there are several halls in the palace for different purposes. The Hall of Supreme Harmony/Tai He Dian is for large ceremonies such as New Year's, Emperor weddings, and celebrations for military victories. The Hall of Central Harmony/Zhong He Dian is for the Emperor to rehearse. There are also five bridges inside the palace to signify each virtue: benevolence, rites, righteousness, fidelity and intelligence. In addition to halls and towers, this palace also has an imperial garden and many bronze mythical and lucky animals guarding some outer gates.

My legs were killing me by the time we were done looking at everything. Jenny came to my rescue and called one of those motor rickshaw cabs since the taxis around the Forbidden City are more expensive. When I arrived at my hotel, I had make the driver wait while I exchanged a 100Y at a shop because he didn't have change, or rather, he wouldn't make change.

Emery and I decided to opt out on the group dinner that night and walk around Wang Fu Jing again. We entered through a all-in-one music/electronics/game store called FAB. Found a lot of cheap foreign DVDs (a lot of them in region 6), Asian pop CDs, box sets of TV series, and translated video games. There was even a book section.

There's also a supermarket inside of the mall called Ole that specializes in imported products, kind of like World Market and Fresh Market combined because they sell breads, produce, and sushi too. Lots of familiar brands with similiar packaging as the ones that sell in the US but with Chinese characters, like Olay, Pantene, Chips Ahoy, etc. It's possible to buy the original products catered to the US market but at 2 or 3 times the price. I also find it funny that those products are wrapped around in an extra plastic baggie.

<--- span="" style="font-size: 85%;">Chinese people seem to have a greater appreciation for books than Americans but their publishing industry isn't as sophisticated yet.
We got out of that mall quickly though because the air was so hot and stuffy. It felt like we had our heads stuck in a dusty PC. The longer we spent inside the mall, the harder it became to breathe. It felt like there was no ventilation. Emery found out later today that Beijing is the 9th most polluted city in the world. That the stinky stuff that we were inhaling was petroleum particles and more of it gets blown in from the southern winds. If enough of it is breathed in for a long period of time, it can eventually lead to some severe throat or lung issues. No wonder the people in Beijing always hack and spit into the streets.

I adlibbed part of a ditty from Lion King to encompass how I feel about this part of Beijing...

In the jungle,
the China jungle,
the city stinks tonight.

We went into Wang Fu Jing Bookstore--probably the biggest bookstore in the area--but we didn't stay for too long. Picked up a few pinyin books and skedaddled out of there because we were starting to choke again and break out in cold sweat.

I went hunting around Meishi Street for a supermarket that sold those hospital face masks. But of course it was futile, Emery already asked Jenny if any place in the area had it in stock and the answer was negative. I ended up just bringing back some hand moisturizer and wet wipes because ever since I came to Beijing, my fingers have been rough and flaky. I guess I don't realize what humidity does for me until it's not there.

你们卖口罩吗？！
DO YOU GUYS SELL FACE MASKS?!

*edit
Jenny bought us face masks the next day. She is an awesome tour guide!

Shared Expenses
Nestea bottled drink 4Y
small souvenir trinket 20Y
ride home 20Y
Azabu Jyuban Sabo lunch 61Y
Ole Supermarket goods 62Y
Wang Fu Jing (5 books) 55Y
local supermarket around the corner 44Y

total = 266Y approx. $44US

It was rise and shine at 5AM again. Thanks to Emery, Mr. Icanonlysleepinfivehourblocks. On that note, I think I'm going to start keeping these entries short because I'm exhausted each day's activities.

Breakfast was at (surprise, surprise) Jinshan restaurant. We usually have a choice of a Chinese (zhongfan) breakfast or a Western (xifan) breakfast at these hotels. Emery and I usually go with the Chinese one because hey, while in China, do as the Chinese do right? It was usually cheaper and we thought it'd be better than the standard continental junk that we have all the time anyway. In this case, both breakfasts at this restaurant was horrendous. It was actually laughable; we were supposed to have congee but instead we were served this bland cornmeal "soup," hardened mantou, and a small dish of shredded, equally tasteless tofu. Half of our friends ordered the xifan breakfast and basically what the restaurant served was a dish of three pieces of toast (one for each person), a dishes of thinly sliced spam, plain cucumbers and tomatoes, an egg, and a plate for each condiment: butter, jam, and pepper and salt. It was like they picked out every ingredient that they figured was "Western," put it on a plate, and presto! Instant Western breakfast. Needless to say, none of us ate much that morning.

Jenny gave us a rough idea of what our climb would be like that day by her wavy arm gestures. We noticed some other guests at the Jinshan restaurant were carrying in walking sticks and ski poles and laughed internally, thinking that some were just overzealous. When we actually began trekking, a few of us were already wheezing after the twelfth step. It was also windier than the day before so occasionally we had to stop and brace ourselves.

The Jinshanling section of the Great Wall is 10.5 km long with about 67 towers. The initial section of the wall has been restored to original condition, but the condition of the wall deteriorates towards its natural state as it approaches the Simatai section. Emery told me the first time he climbed the Great Wall, he thought that going through 10 towers was a great feat, and this was on a less steep and repaired portion of the Wall. Today, we were going to pass through 30 towers.

It started off very much like the first day of climbing then it got steeper very quickly. Most of the steps were too narrow to climb facing forward but as we advanced, some were simply missing; sandstorms had eroded some away and left a layer of slippery pebbles.

Gaggles of weathered peasant women loitered around most of the towers with backpacks of souvenirs, eager to help a foreigner in need. They held on to our hands and helped pull us through the steepest parts of the Wall, leading us through dirtroad shortcuts whenever it was possible. They made small talk and flattered us to death for "xiao kuai" and when we refused to buy or tip, we were no longer "piao liang." After two hours of slipping and tripping on the Wall, our throats were dry, our skin was cracking, and our legs felt like rubber so we gave in and let them rip us off.

I saved myself from walking the rest of the Wall by strapping myself in and going down this fun zipline called the Flying Fox. It looked very intimidating at first since the harness looked like a rock climbing one. I thought I'd just roll upside down and fall out of it and splash down, down below into the Mandarin Duck Lake. But another group member kindly volunteered to do it at the same time so I agreed to go along with it. The Flying Fox turned out to be not scary at all and actually relaxing, in spite of my fear of heights. It may have lasted 3 seconds to land on the ground but it felt like a whole minute. The water was sparkling and the huge mounds of earth along the Wall almost fooled me into thinking I was flying down Tiger Leaping Gorge.

We took a boat to reach the road where the rest of the group was waiting to have lunch at another local restaurant (forgot the name). Most everyone ordered dumplings. Emery ordered donkey meat--just to try it--and I ordered yangzhou fried rice and a kele/cola. After lunch, we rode 3 hours back to King Joy's Hotel in Beijing, singing songs and conducting therapy sessions and other silly stuff just to pass time.

Emery and I were assigned a better room when we got back. It was on the 3rd floor. It had a bigger bed, better lights, a mounted TV, glass shower doors, and hotter water (or was I imagining things?). Maybe it was just the 6th floor that was so crappy.

After chilling out in our room for a bit, we took a cab to the Wang Fu Jing Shopping Plaza and went around the mall there. Their food court--or Food Forum--was absolutely amazing. They have a good number of mid-range Japanese restaurants, a high-end Sichuan and Thai restaurant, several yogurt joints, and a bakery. Emery and I went to our first teahouse hangout in Chamate and ordered ourselves some steamed broccoli in creamy crab sauce and fried squid, hot almond milk tea, and red bean shaved ice. Oh my god. My stomach is growling again as I recollect all this. It was the first quality meal we had since in China.



We only had enough time to eat that night and our legs were starting to give out from this morning's exercise so we went back to the hotel and passed out.

Shared Expenses
Jinshan hotel breakfast 10Y each
1st two "helpers" on the Wall 100Y each
2nd two 50Y and 100Y
two water bottles at 5Y each
Flying Fox 40Y
lunch at nondescript restaurant 93Y
cab fare to Wang Fu Jing 40Y
cab fare back 15Y
Bread Talk bakery 50Y
dinner at Chamate 108Y
nail clipper from Ole supermarket 35Y

total = 761Y approx. $112US

On the way back, we bought two sesame balls stuffed with rice flour and red bean. We originally wanted just one sesame ball but the vendor gave us a busted one so instead of giving us a replacement, he wanted us to buy a second. I'm still getting used to the fact that good customer service in China is nonexistent a lot of areas.

Back at the hotel, we had a tray of congee, boiled (chicken) egg, mantou, and pickled vegetables. We checked out of the hotel around 9, leaving our big luggage at the hotel storage room. Jenny herded the group to the local tour "bus" (it was a small van). Our group were on the road for 3 hours or so, sharing Chinese snacks and talking about Australian and US politics and sex education in other countries. It's a rare opportunity to be randomly grouped with a bunch of laid-back and well-read people. All of them seemed socially aware of their surroundings and eager to share their many insights on a wide variety of subjects. There were always quirky observations to be made whether we were zipping past the heavily industrialized part of Beijing or out by the terraced hills and low ceiling shacks of the countryside.

We arrived and dropped off our bags at this four-sided courthouse style hotel in Jinshanling. We had a room with a central heating system, twin beds, and stone floors. The bathroom appeared to have a sauna but the door was broken and there was an exposed light bulb so we didn't touch it. Again the shower area was not separated from the toilet. I guess we were expected to sit on the toilet seat while washing hair? Despite the scary bathroom, I was more than pleased with our accommodations since it was way different from what I had anticipated.

For group lunch at the hotel restaurant (it's the only one around in the area), We ordered spicy tofu, water-cooked fish, a standard chicken dish, and duck wrapped in tofu skin. After lunch, we were free to explore the Shalingkou portion of the mountain.

Emery and I stayed in our rooms for a bit to wait out the late afternoon drizzle then we started down the road towards the Wall. It must have taken us at least 20 minutes to reach the first steps because we kept stopping every now and then to snap shots of trees, rocks, and flowers. When we finally made it at on the Wall were pleasantly surprised by how isolated that portion of the wall was that day. It was just us and the wind. From this portion of the wall, we could already see so many mountains. Unfortunately, we had left behind the binoculars in the hotel room. The many openings in the wall made me wish I had brought a toy archery kit along with me.



Dinner was set for 6 but we had taken a nap at 4 and woke up at 9... Fortunately, we were able to order take-out (cumin lamb and fish-fragrant chicken) from the restaurant and bring it back to our room. Bed time was around 11 that night.



Shared expenses:
xiaolongbao & spicy beef noodle breakfast 12Y
sesame balls 8Y
Xihua zhongfan breakfast 30Y
Jinshan lunch 64Y
Jinshan dinner 80Y

total = 194Y approx. $28.50US