China – Page 3 – Travelog

White Pagoda

Took my time in the morning, then headed to Hue Han Lake, to see if I could find something to eat and get some money from the bank. I tried to get money yesterday before and had some issues, and today was no different. Decided to head back to the hostel and see if there was a lock on my card of some sort, but all was clear. She suggested I try a lower amount, which I did, and it worked – but I am still not sure why I couldn’t get the first amount – since it really wasn’t much. Thankfully, traveling in Beijing is quite cheap.

After getting a bit of money I headed to Bei Hei park, and had a walk around the lake, and then up to the White Pagoda. I decided I’d like to check out one of the markets (I was going into shopping withdrawls), so I headed towards the Pearl Market, but determined it was further than I thought – so I ducked through the Oriental Plaza (high end shopping mall) back to Wanfuching, and took a bus back to the hostel.

Met my two roommates, Constantine (Seattle) and Magley (Ottawa). We then ended up meeting Sevey (Florida), who had been living in Taiwan for 4 years, and had just moved to Beijing. He spoke fluent mandarin, which was handy. He also knew how to play mahjong, so he taught Magley, Constantine, and myself.

After playing a few games, we decided to grab some dinner. With a fluent guide, eating was a lot easier. Sevey did the ordering, and got us some interesting dishes – pig paws, fish, chicken soup (complete with head). The meal came to about $20 Canadian for the four of us. Not too bad, but I’m going to try and eat for less tomorrow.

Temple Of Heaven

Breakfast at the hotel again, and then we checked out. Something I am growing quite accustomed to. It’s always nice to spend a few more days in one place, though – as in New Zealand I was in a new bed almost every day. Fransis, Elizabeth, Christiaan, Adam, Mary Lou, Gabriella, and Victoria are heading back to Shanghai in the evening, so I checked out a few hostels online to see if Wendy could yay or nay their locations.

Wendy thought it would be nice for us to see the Temple of Heaven in the morning, when the locals show up for dancing and exercise and generally being social. Ball room dancing, dancing with scarves (they looked like scarves to me), exercising, card playing, dominoes, but not a
lot of Tai Chi, which I was expecting to see.

Next, we headed north, past the Forbidden City and Tian’anmen Square to the Drum Tower, which lies along the meridian that runs through the Forbidden City, the square, and Jingshan. We were introduced to a guide for the area, Lucy. The drums were used to let people know the time in the days before wristwatches and mobile phones.

At the base of the drum tower, we all got on rickshaws (two to a rickshaw, I drew the short stick and was paired up with Gabriella) and made our way through the hutongs. At one point we stopped and went into a woman’s house to see how people lived in the hutongs. Well kept, but definitely not what we are used to in Canada. The woman was lucky enough to have a shower, but has to use a communal bathroom that everyone else in the hutong uses.

There was still time before everyone had to head to the airport, so Wendy took us to Jingshan park. There’s a large hill in the park, which we climbed to get a nice view of the Forbidden City. Unfortunately, it’s never really clear in Beijing, so our view wasn’t all that great – but you could stil see most of the Forbidden City, and the surrounding areas. The girls and Christiaan got some traditional Chinese costumes, which made for some nice photographs.

After the park, it was time for everyone to head to the airport. With Wendy’s help I was parked in front of the alley to the Hutong that housed my hostel, and pointed in the general direction. It was sad to see everyone go, as the last week had been quite fun – and the hospitality outstanding, but I was also looking forward to getting back into the hostel routine as well.

I made my way through the hutong, and found my hostel without incident. Thankfully they had rooms available. I asked about nearby bookstores, and got sent back to Wanfuching Pedestrian mall. I took the bus this time, which was cheap (about 20 cents a ride) and packed – so packed I was afraid that even if I figured out the right place to get off, I might not physically be able to get off the bus.

Got off the bus and checked out the bookstore. I wanted a Beijing guide, but didn’t see any I liked. I was tempted to get one on Malaysia and Singapore, but put it off for now. On the way back to the hostel (crowded bus again), I stopped and grabbed some water. I think I paid more than I should have, but by Canadian standards it was still relatively cheap.

Chatted with my mom when I got back to the hostel, and watched an episode of Lost, then caught some much needed sleep.

The Great Wall

Another early day. I hopped in the shower first, then uploaded some photos. We were going to leave the hotel and find somewhere for breakfast, since none of us wanted to do the buffet at the hotel, but then we discovered the hotel offered a la carte as well. In the end, we all ended up getting the buffet anyhow.

Our destination for the day was the Badaling section of the great wall. If I had a choice, I’d have preferred some of the less touristy areas, but time was of the essence. On the way to the wall we passed Olympic Park, which is very near to completion. Birds Nest Stadium looks pretty cool, as does the swimming area. They have yet to open the area to the public, as they want it to be a surprise when the olympics begin in just over 150 days.

At the wall, everyone opted for the easy route. Even still, the climb was pretty steep at times, and must be quite interesting in slippery conditions. We made it to the Hero tower, and now we are all men (or so the Chinese believe). I don’t really feel all that different. Adam received a not so nice comment from one of the security guards on the wall, but otherwise it was all good.

We visited the Ming tombs next, which was where many of the emperors had been buried. Huge spacious tombs buried under the earth. There was also a nice, stone statue lined, walk, which was part of the procession that the (dead) emperors took on the way to being buried.

In the evening, I went to the corner store with Gabriella to stock up on water and snacks, then the adults (which includes me – go figure!) went out for dinner. We went to a hot pot (kind of like a Chinese fondue without the cheese) place, while the kids stayed home and wreaked havoc (although they did a good job of cleaning up afterwards).

There Are 9 Million Bicycles In Beijing

Jay drove us to the airport at 7am, to catch our 9something flight north to Beijing. Every day in Shanghai has started off cloudy (smoggy?), and today was no exception. At the airport we took a bus to the tarmac, and boarded our plane that way. Fransis got stranded and had to take the next bus, but we all made it onto the plane without incident.

Sat next to Adam on the plane, and we both made the probably not so intelligent decision to have the Chinese style breakfast, as opposed to the western style omlette. The meal consisted of salted egg, pickled vegetables, congee – a sort of rice porridge, and some yogurt. It actually tasted better than it sounds, but the egg was a little disgusting.

I knew we had a driver for our time in Beijing, but didn’t realize we had a tour guide as well. Wendy, the guide, picked us up at the arrivals gate, and we headed to the bus. The original plan was to sight see first, and check in later, but due to some time constraints we checked in first. The hotel was the Wangfujing Grand Hotel. Nice, except for the fact that you can smoke, but that is something I’ll have to get used to, I think. They originally wanted to give us three rooms, but we forced them down to two, and got ready to get back onto the bus.

Our first stop was the Forbidden City, not too far from the hotel. Had a walk through there – but it was very crowded. Apparently it is usually even more crowded, so I won’t complain about that too much. We entered through the north gate, which is not how it’s normally done, but after making our way through the huge city, we ended up at Tian’anmen square. Unfortunately there is a congress meeting in progress this week, so we were unable to go onto the square itself.

For dinner, we had what one must have in Beijing – Peking Duck. Pretty tasty, and a beautiful restaurant. We told Christiaan it was chicken, and he seemed to quite enjoy it. The girls were still desperate for Uggs, so we went to the Beijing Hot Wind store, in the mall near the Wanfujing Pedestrian street. The store was unbelievably warm, and sadly fresh out of Uggs, so once again the girls left empty handed. As we were leaving we stumbled across two Chinese girls playing electric violins – seemed to be for Nokia or something. A bit odd.

Didn’t waste much time walking back to the hotel and falling asleep – as we have another early day ahead of us tomorrow.

Bund

Took our time in the morning, then headed to Yu Yuan Garden in Shanghai. I was looking forward to some sight seeing, and the girls were sad that they had to take a break from shopping. As it turned out, Yu Garden offered a little bit of both. Lots of small shops lined streets of more traditional looking Chinese buildings.

We found a nice dollar store-esque place, and the girls stocked up on various knick knacks. Even I broke down and spent 18 yuan (about $2.50 Canadian). Next to the dollar store was a market with very narrow aisles and lots of tiny shops. We puzzled over how some of the shopkeepers even managed to get into their shop, because they were surrounded by products. The market did not seem tourist oriented, which was a nice departure. I bought a small pocket mirror because sometimes I forget how beautiful I am, and it’s nice to have a reminder (and mosty because Victoria and Gabriella have been chipping away at my self esteem over the past week).

We headed to Nanjing Rd. – which is a pedestrian street in Shanghai. The dialect on this street is quite different – instead of hello they say “bags, Gucci, Prada, Sunglasses, Watches, dvd dvd dvd”. I’m not exactly sure what that translates to in English, but I’m intent on finding out. Had lunch there, at a Chinese place called “Subway”. I had the sandwich of the day, which was a very exotic Spicy Italian 6″.

After dinner we walked down to the Bund, and took some pictures of Pudong across the river. Quite different than the view we had from the Pudong side on Wednesday. We walked around there for a while then headed back to the car and picked up Fransis at work.

Headed home from there, had dinner, and did some packing to prepare for our trip to Beijing in the morning.

Is Anyone Tired Of Shopping Yet?

A designated shopping day. We were supposed to meet with one of Elizabeth’s friends, but she called to say she was sick, so we ventured out on our own. The girls wanted Ugg Boots, so we headed to Hot Wind, where we’d heard rumours we might find them. The first Hot Wind store was fresh out of Uggs, but they directed us (read: Jay) to another Hot Wind that apparently had some in stock.

At the next store they did indeed have Uggs, but unfortunately they were not the right size for the girls. We waited around at the store while they had one of the employees fetch a pair from yet another location. The next pair fit, but were an ugly shade of purple, and quickly dismissed. The girls were pretty upset, but hopefully they’ll find Uggs again. Apparently they’re much cheaper in China. Go figure.

It was lunchtime next, and we haded to Pearl City and had lunch around the corner at a western place called Zentral. Had a yummy tuna melt sandwich, then headed to the Pearl City market for some more shopping.

Shopping here was pretty much the same as the underground market we were at on Tuesday – but the girls managed to find some more stuff to buy. Sunglasses, mostly – and some jeans. With the help of Jay (who knows how much one actually should pay, and laughs at the prices westerners pay), Adam picked up a coat and some watches. I left empty handed again.

With the first floor complete, we headed to the second floor, which was nothing but pearl jewelery shops. While the girls talked to one of the shopkeepers Elizabeth was familiar with, I headed up the stairs to the third floor. More shops up there, but obviously they don’t see a lot of people on that floor, because the sales people were chasing me through the hall. I headed back downstairs as the girls were finished with their pearl browsing, and we headed back to the car.

Another fantastic meal at home, and we stayed up to entertain Esther (who came by the night before when we’d all gone to sleep early).

More Than Just Shopping

Got off to an early enough start, bidding Fransis goodbye, as he headed to Wuhu or Huha or someting to that effect for a business trip. Christiaan was feeling better, so he caught the bus to school, and we had breakfast.Â When Jay got back from dropping off Fransis, we prepared to head out, but Christiaan’s school called to say he still wasn’t feeling well. Jay drove us to the school to pick him up, and we took him back to the house.

Stopped at the bank to get some money, then headed to the Pudong side of the river, or the Eastern Promenade. Nice views of the old Bund from our vantage point, and the river was quite busy with boats. Stopped at a small grocery store to get a variety of things Elizabeth needed. The store caters to expats, and had a lot of foreign brands.

Jay took us to Super Brand Mall after that, where we headed to the fifth floor to get some food. Today was a sight seeing day, so we were trying to avoid any shopping. I’m not sure going to a mall was the best strategy, but we didn’t do too bad. Started out in one restaurant, before determining (thanks to Jay, who had joined us for lunch) that all the meat dishes were really vegetarian dishes flavoured to taste like meat. We left before anyone had a chance to order, and headed to Thai Thai, which was a fast-food Thai restaurant of sorts. Quite odd to see people smoking in the restaurant.Â Had a nice variety of dishes there and, of course, we stopped in at a shop or two on our way back to the car.

The Shanghai Museum costs 20 RMB to enter, which is about $2.50 – a nice change from the 50 New Zealand dollars I paid to get into Te Puia in Rotorua. A nice, quiet museum, filled with calligraphy, ceramics, statues, costumes, and currency. A lot of the items were a little redundant, but they had some nice pieces. We had to visit the gift shop next, and they had some actual authentic pieces for sale. Prices were reasonable, as well.

Headed back home for a delightful Indonesian meal.Â I think the jet lag was playing a toll on us all – I came back upstairs at 7:45pm and everyone had gone to bed. I lasted a little longer myself, but in the end I drifted off too.

Underground Shopping

Our motley crew increased by six this morning, when Christiaan announced “We have babies” whilst peeking into the Hamster cage. Turns out Fluffy and Zippy really ought to be Fluffy and Zipette, as they’d just had some new additions to their family.

Christian was still sick, but well enough to tag along with us to the market underneath the Science and Technology Museum subway (note: I link to wikipedia – but I can’t access it from China. The government protects its people from all the website’s lies). Esther, Elizabeth’s neighbour, is crazy enough to drive in Shanghai, and agreed to show us (and by us I mean Victoria and Gabriella) some of her favourite shops. I’m slowly adjusting to driving (or being a passenger) on the right side of the road again. Esther may be slightly crazier than some of the Chinese drivers, but we managed to make it to the market unscathed.

The horrible exhaust fumes that overwhelmed us when we entered the market slowly faded away (or we just got used to them) as we got further into the market. Not nearly as many shoe stores as the day before, which was a nice change. Lots of purse stores – the girls bought several from one place while I chatted with the saleswomen. Adam picked up some watches and Christiaan added to his Gameboy games collection. The girls also got some nice down filled jackets for dirt cheap. “Watches. Good price for you.”, “You want sunglasses?” – no one lets you walk by the store without trying to call you in. Christiaan brought his scooter, and I thought I’d be quick enough on that to avoid their beckoning, but no such luck.

We left just before Christiaan reached total meltdown (he’s not a huge fan of shopping, apparently), and headed back to the house for lunch. After lunch, we left Christiaan at home and Jay drove us to the fabric market downtown. Adam and I both got fitted for a bespoke suit and fitted shirt, and I also got a coat. I won’t see them until I’m back in Canada, so hopefully I’ll still like the styles then. I picked up a couple of ties and a scarf on the cheap too. Other than possibly buying some cufflinks, I think I’m set for any interviews when I get back to Canada.

Mostly Shoe Stores

A bit of a slow start, despite the lot of us being up quite early. Christiaan was still sick, so he stayed home from school, with the Ayi (a housekeeper of sorts), Christy. Fransis had to work, so Elizabeth had their driver, Jay, drive us to the French Concession in downtown Shanghai.

The Concession was a promenade of shops, and a small mall. The girls were keen on doing some shopping so we headed to the mall first. Prices were okay, but certainly not anything too outstanding. After the mall we walked down the pedestrian street and in to a few other shops while we looked for somewhere to have lunch.

Our attempts at lunch in the Concession failed us, so we went to one of Elizabeth’s favourite places in Shanghai – Element Fresh. Jay picked us up where he’d dropped us off, and drove through the city to the restaurant. Element Fresh is a modern restaurant with a wide selection of dishes to choose from. Gabriella and I had the same thing, Middle Eastern Chicken, and everyone else tried something different – but everyone seemed quite happy with their selection. Prices on food were also pretty decent, but not pennies a meal or anything to that effect.

Shopping seemed to be on the agenda, so we headed to a small street where every other store seemed to be a shoe store. Too many shoe stores. The girls were keen on going into nearly every store (or near enough to it), so getting down the street and back up the other side was a challenge. We overcame the challenge, despite being swarmed by people on the street intent on luring us to a location where we could see many many watches, sunglasses, purses, etc. “Pu Yao”, meaning “I don’t want it”, quickly became part of our Mandarin vocabulary.

We stopped at the grocery market on the way home, and wandered through the cd and dvd section in the market. Lots of cds and dvds at dirt cheap prices. Quality seems quite good too, although I have to question the legitimacy of some of the products.

I’m not too inclined on stocking up on anything, since I have no dvd or cd player, and don’t want to carry around said purchases for the rest of my travels.

Had a lovely dinner cooked by Fransis’ mom and Christy. Victoria and I started watching “Gone, Baby, Gone”, and were later joined by Gabriella. Victoria had seen it already, but was keen to watch it again. She fell asleep about half an hour in, but Gabriella outlasted her (although she went to bed under the impression the movie was over – when there was still about half an hour to go). Not as good as the book by a long shot, but not too bad.

Looking Down At The World With A Long Way To Go

The Air New Zealand flight was relatively pleasant. I slept a bit, but not nearly enough. I figure Mary Lou, Adam and the girls will be dealing with even more jet lag than me (12 hours difference vs. my 5) so I should still come out ahead. Watched “No Country For Old Men” (good, followed the book fairly closely), then mostly slept and ate (they feed you, despite what time it may be).

No problems getting through immigration at the airport, so I headed to the exit to meet up with Fransis, the best man from Mary Lou and Adam’s wedding. Only problem was that Fransis wasn’t there. To be fair, the flight was early. I checked the arrivals board, and saw that my flight wasn’t even listed – which I feared might only complicate matters.

I asked around and my exit was the only Arrivals area, so I figured I’d wander around there and wait for Fransis. After fifteen minutes or so, I remembered I had his mobile number so I tried to figure out how many numbers (of the 16 digit number I had) would need to be dialed to result in a connected call. With the help of someone who could obviously tell I was completely lost, I managed to get a phone that rang and rang. As I was hanging up, I saw Fransis as he saw me. We shook hands and headed to the car.

Drove through the (unusually, I’m told,) quiet streets of Pudong, Shanghai. Fransis and Elizabeth’s house is in a nice gated community with small (man-made I imagine) rivers running through it. Their house is beautiful inside and out. We chatted for a bit, then I figured I’d do them a favour and have a shower. I multitasked, reading and watching some movies with their 7 year old, Christiaan. It was Fransis’s birthday, so there was a nice spread of food, with a few neighbours heading over for a small get together. Fransis returned from his second run to the airport with some familiar (although tired looking) faces – Adam, Mary Lou, Gabriella, and Victoria.

Spent the rest of the day chatting with the various guests (all expats who’d been in China for years) and eating some good food. After the guests departed and the other Canadians headed to bed, I sorted through some of the stuff (mostly winter clothing) Mary Lou had brought for me and did some laundry and got caught up on this journal. Lorne burned me two episodes of Lost, but I was still tired from the jet lag and overall lack of sleep, so I called it a night fairly early. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll get to see some of Shanghai city, since it doesn’t really feel like China yet.