Sunday: We left for Hong Kong early in the morning. The last few days before we left were crazy. I was trying to get all of my grad. class work done before we left, finish planning the trip (which as I stated above, became more difficult due to the holiday), and going to different events: banquet, b-day party, etc... It was a relief to get away from all the work from home, but I had an uneasy feeling about where we were staying in Hong Kong. The ladies we were traveling with weren't used to staying in low-class hotels. We don't usually like to stay in dumpy hotels, but we are always looking for a good price. Honestly, the only way we're able to travel the world is because we travel cheaply. Hong Kong is not a cheap place, and so the lowest prices were not even that cheap. We booked a hotel in Chungking Mansion. Sounds like a nice place, doesn't it? Well, when you look up reviews for this place they say: fascinating unsanitary fire-trap; a centre of drugs, as well as a refuge for petty criminals, scammers, and illegal immigrants; a rat-infested hole with a good chance of diarrhea thrown in for free; the location is rather creepy- the hallway is old, decrepit; If you are lucky, you get a room with a few men sleeping in the hallway... Well, I think you get the idea. Of course, I noticed most of these reviews after we booked the "hotel." So, I was nervous, not because I was scared, but I was worried that these girls would be terrified staying there. They haven't really traveled cheap like us, and I wanted to show them that it can be a good experience. Well, I've had the suspense going long enough....It turned out to be a good experience. Yeah, the hallway was gross, but the rooms were nice, albeit the smallest room yet. I keep taking pics of the smallest room we've stayed in, and it keeps getting smaller.
This was the bathroom and shower.
OK. So, the hotel was good. We were ready to hit the town. First place, the Star Ferry. This ferry took us across Victoria Harbor for $0.25 USD. Once we were on the other side, we really didn't know what to do. Melissa's and Marcy's friend told us to go to Stanley. What's special about Stanley? We really didn't know, but we heard it was a nice place. Since it started raining when we were trying to decide, Zach and I hopped on the bus along with the girls.
Stanley turned out to be a fun, little town. The drive showcased a beautiful scenery along the coast. Once we got there, we found a market. I love markets! I like shopping for little knick-knacks and bargains. This was my type of place. The promenade along the seaside even had a veggie burger. Amazing! HK was turning out to be little America.
The evening ended by watching the light show at Victoria Harbor. Since it was rainy and windy, we found a closed shop to hide behind and escape the wind. However, we naively left our spot to take a group picture. Some unsuspecting Aussies quickly stole our spot just so they could light up their cigarettes. Ughh... On to finding a new spot. The light show was hai hao. Fun to see once.
The day turned out to be a fun, relaxing day. We rarely go someplace that we know nothing about. I enjoyed it. Plus, English was everywhere! Not only was it fun being spontaneous, but we also were able to communicate with bus drivers and people on the street that allowed us to be more spontaneous.
Monday: Our travelmates (Is that a word? If not, I just coined it) took the funicular up Victoria Peak while Zach and I spent a relaxing morning in our hotel. Next stop...Beijing. Our flight was delayed, which was the beginning of some of our traveling troubles. Sera claims that disasters follow her, and as the trip progressed, when things would come up, I'd clench my fist in the air and silently whisper, "Sera."
Zach ended up going through customs effortlessly by himself, but all of us girls got pulled over in line and had our bags searched. Sera...
Tuesday: Great Wall Day. We started our day bright and early. With the heavy Beijing smog, it felt like dawn all morning as the sun was trying to peak through the smog. Each of us packed tons of clothes for this trip, but as we started hiking, layer after layer started coming off.
After arriving back in Beijing, we grabbed some food and headed out for the markets. We saw centipedes, starfish, geckos, live scorpions, bug larvae- all on sticks. Gross. But to cancel it out, we did find a Dairy Queen. Unfortunately, it was closed. We also found another market, where each one of us enjoyed haggling for some Chinese goods.
Wednesday: Off to the Forbidden City... I always knew that I wanted to see the Forbidden City, as it sounds so foreboding. However, I realized quickly that ancient fortified cities all seem kinda the same. This city didn't seem much different than what we had seen in Korea or Japan. It was impressive, but after a long hike the day before, my legs didn't really feel like exploring much.
Upon entering the Forbidden City, you walk through the Gate of Supreme Harmony, which displays the portrait of Chairman Mao. After reading multiple books about the suffering many Christians endured during the Cultural Revolution, all I wanted to do was throw a rotten tomato at this picture. Even though China is open to Western ideas, it still is a communist country, which is evident to see while you're there.
Thursday: We started this morning with another early start, but as we discovered, it wasn't early enough. After wondering around the train station and standing in line for awhile, we finally got our tickets to Hua Shan. The teller told us "蒯典 Kuai Dian (Quickly)," as he handed us our tickets. We ran to security, ran to our gate, and discovered no one was in line for the train. Ahh... 蒯典.. 蒯典.. After having our tickets checked, I turned the corner to discover an unending corridor. Run.. Run...Run... I followed the man who was frantically running in front of us onto the last platform, only to discover our train was the platform right next to it. My stomach sank as I saw the train sitting there. I just had this feeling that it was going to pull away any minute. As we ran back up and down the stairs to the other track, our train was still sitting there. "Ahh... yes.. Wait. What? We can't get on!" The train was just sitting there, but they wouldn't let us on. "Sera..." :) We discovered that the trains in China like to leave early, and even though you're there a couple minutes before it should depart, they are jerks and will leave with you standing there, mouth wide open and ticket in your hand.
Luckily, there were a few Chinese ladies who also had "missed" the train, and they helped us get new tickets. But after waiting in line for new tickets, we discovered the tickets would be leaving too late. Why is this day going so poorly? Off to try to find a taxi for 5 people that would take us all the way there.
We got a taxi, that smelled a little musty, but we were now on our way. BUMP. The car behind us rear-ended us. Really? Why is this all happening today? It was at this time that we realized we neglected praying that morning. After a quick prayer and some quick money exchanged between our taxi driver and the rear-ender guy, we were now on our way to Hua Shan.
Due to our limited time on the mountain, we took the cable car up to the north peak (However, even if we had had more time, I still would have opted for the cable car.)
During this entire trip, I kept reminding myself, "We're in China!" Crazy. Our day at Hua Shan was just as epic as our day on the wall. Hiking these mountains weren't really that bad, either. I thought I'd be constantly out of breath, but surprisingly, I was able to pass most of the hikers around me. Of course singing the song, "Let's Get Down to Business, To Defeat the Huns..." in my head helped cheer me on, too.
You can barely see the trail along the ridge in this picture, but we hiked it.
Golden Lock Pass, Hua Shan
After getting back from Hua Shan, Zach and I headed straight to Walmart. Yeah, we heard it wasn't the same as the States, in fact I probably could have only found a handful of things the same as the States, but it was worth a trip there. We saw unrecognizable meat, mounds of rice, durian, but no alligators as I had seen from pictures online. Maybe they've changed their image a bit.
Bell Tower, Xian
Friday: We had the same taxi driver take us to the Terracotta soldiers. We kept listening to the same CD in the taxi, and once we got out, lo and behold, the same song was playing in the parking lot. Crazy! "Yi ge ren de ji mo liang ge ren de cuo" and "Bu yao shuo ni cuo ..."
One thing I've learned while living in Taiwan- Never be a tourist during a national holiday. Unfortunately, we had no choice while in China, and we were going to have to suffer through the crowds. Unfortunately, the Terracotta Soldiers was super crowded, as it was a Chinese holiday. Nobody likes crowds, but I've learned to give and take. However, what I can't tolerate is the Chinese mentality of "me first." There were plenty of times when the crowds seemed to disperse a bit, but I still was being pushed and shoved. "Why can't they just walk around me like any normal person?!" Well, my experience of living in Taiwan had prepared me for situations like this, and I started to box out - stick butt out, elbows out, and push back. At times I also exclaimed loudly, "Pai Dui 排隊 (line up)!" This was one of the best Chinese phrases to learn, because I found that people quickly responded to what I said. I think they were mostly surprised that I spoke Chinese.
\
The terracotta soldiers were impressive. There were approximately 8,000 soldiers built around the year 200 BC to protect Emperor Qin in the afterlife. Every soldier's face is unique. This massive army was discovered 38 years ago. What other historic artifacts are be hidden below ground that we are unaware of?
This was an epic trip. We saw things we'd only heard about in history books, but I was ready for it to come to and end and go home by Friday. I was getting tired of the crowds. Unfortunately, hopping on an airplane was not as easy as I originally thought. Our first flight was delayed an hour, making us miss our connecting flight. The second flight was delayed another hour as we were waiting for a late flight. Why couldn't they have waiting 25 min. for us to catch our original flight? Ugh...
After arriving in Taipei 2 hours later, we discovered that our luggage did not follow us home. :( However, this turned out to be a blessing. Taxis believe that you can't fit 5 people and their luggage in one cab- I know how physics works, and I know it can be done. Well, since we didn't have any luggage, they were willing to fit us all in, and Zach and I experienced our first taxi ride home from the airport. Even after we arrived home, we weren't able to get into our house since our keys were in our "lost" luggage. With the help of our neighbor, we searched the school and our principal's house for spare keys. At 1:30 am we finally made it home. So good to be back!
Firsts: missing a train, getting rear-ended while in a taxi, taking a taxi home from the TPE airport, seeing Terracotta Soldiers, riding a high speed train in China, visiting Walmart in Asia, seeing the Great Wall, etc...
No comments:
Post a Comment