2/17/11
2/14/11
Zaijian
I'm back in the States and it's fantastic. I slept for a few hours yesterday afternoon and another ten hours last night. While it still doesn't feel like I'm really back on schedule, I think that by the time tomorrow night rolls around, I'll be back to my normal self. I'm glad that I was able to keep a record of my trip to China, but wish that I had kept more handwritten notes or voice memos or something in order to keep a fresher record of what was going on. The first few days in Beijing were busy and great, but I wish I could remember everything that happened; going to the theater to see a live acrobatics show, spending time in the hostel chatting with locals, etc. Even my trips to the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, while it's nice to have photos, I wish that I had made blog entries about them on the same day to capture all the details. It was impossible at the time since I didn't have email-to-blog set up, and I'll be sure to set that up ahead of time for the next time I go out traveling. Next trip, I'd also like to bring my own netbook or laptop or something (and a mini travel router), so that I can at least type up quick notes even if there's no way to publish them immediately.
Last night, I treated myself to potato skins and a burger with cheddar cheese and bacon and a Harpoon IPA for a taste of America, then this morning I went to Chinatown for dim sum to show off my limited Chinese vocabulary and because I kind of felt like getting some Chinese food. I'm very glad that I'm back home and have my own bed and shower and life, but I'll definitely miss the feeling of going outside and experiencing a completely different way of life than what we do in the US.
Now I need to begin the process of sorting my photos and adjusting them so that they're presentable to the outside world. Unfortunately, a lot of them didn't come out, but plenty of them did and I'm looking forward to showing them off when they're ready. Mostly, it's just going to be correcting levels and color balances and that kind of thing. Expect a link to an online gallery within the next few days. Until then, I'd ask my readers -- both of you -- to go work on saving up enough money (including plane tickets, I spent about $2500 for two weeks) in order to experience your own vacation in China. It's really a great time.
2/11/11
What's an Internet?
Welp, looks like we're on the last leg of our trip here in China. The flight from Harbin to Beijing went off without a hitch, and it's just about time for me to fly back to the United States. Keith and I have split a hotel room near the airport and are just killing time until our bus arrives in 11 hours.
A few quick thoughts:
I think that I've learned a bit about China but much more about travel. One thing that I took for granted was Internet access, that Wi-Fi hotspots would be relatively common, and that when Internet access was available, it would be consistent and reliable enough to be able to make blog posts and write emails with. Completely not the case: China has blocked most all normal blog sites, and even when you're on a network, connectivity to the outside world is touch and go. I also learned that it's important to have your destinations and other important information (like flight numbers) written down, so that even if you can't get in touch with other people in your party (or your email), you can get all your information that you need quickly and easily from a notebook or whatever. Next time, I'll also probably bring sturdier luggage (and less clothes) with hard walls to keep my valuables safe when it's getting thrown in the back of an overcrowded van. Next time I'd also like to investigate to find out what kind of payment is accepted so I don't have to carry stacks of cash around -- Visa is not accepted at most places in China (or at least not U.S. Visa cards, Justin mentioned something about Visa cards from over here working).
Anyway, I'm going to head into downtown with Justin to get some dinner, but am looking forward to reviewing all my photos when I get back home and putting together a nice photo album.
Done with Harbin
Over the past few days, I think that we have successfully exhausted all the tourist destinations in Harbin, with the exceptions of the 731 torture camp (gross) and the Yabuli ski resort (2.5 hours away). We saw the snow festival, the ice festival, st. sophia's church, and got a taste of a culture that is a cross between Chinese and Russian.
In half an hour, our shuttle to bring us back to the airport will arrive, and we'll fly back to Beijing for our early morning flight back to the states. My take on Harbin is that it's not a bad city, but not worth visiting for longer than a few days unless you really love cold weather.
I'm looking forward to heading back to Beijing, where it's warmer and friendlier. I really like Beijing as a city and could easily see me coming back in the future - although probably at a different time of year, not because of the cold so much as because during spring festival/new years, everything is closed. Admittedly, new years eve in Beijing was a LOT of fun, but it's much harder to do all the sightseeing that I'd like to when everything is on a restricted schedule.
2/8/11
Saint Sophia's at Night
Siberian Tigers are Incredible
This morning, we saw the Siberian tigers at the park a few kilometers away and it was absolutely bananas. Tickets to ride a bus through the Jurassic Park style zoo were 90 RMB each, but also on the price list included live animals. Lucky for us, someone else had already purchased a live cow for 2000 RMB for a feeding exhibition and we were going to be able to watch. The tigers are massive and beautiful, but seeing them in action reminds you that they are built for just absolutely ruining other animals in the wild.
I got some really great video footage of the tigers surrounding the cow before going in for the kill - and am really happy with the camera I bought for the trip. After the bus tour we got to tour some of the tigers' pens and pay to hand feed them some live meat, which I did. I bought a live chicken for 50 RMB tied to the end of a stick and dangled it over the tigers and they jumped like 8 feet in the to snipe the bird off the stick. Really cool stuff, Keith got a video of it. I've got pictures but they're on my external hard drive and I'm writing this in my iPhone.
After we finished up with the tigers, we went to Sun Island Park to see the Snow Festival. There were tons of carved snow statues all over the place, my favorite being a massive one of Apollo, maybe 50 feet tall and 250 feet tall.
The day was a full one, and tomorrow we'll be doing some sightseeing around town (cathedrals and temples and stuff) - then going to the Ice Festival for the evening.
2/7/11
Nonstop Running
The move from Tianjin to Harbin was incredibly hectic and I'm very relieved that it's over with. Our bus from Tianjin to the Beijing airport had us leaving at 3:30am, so we all decided that the best idea would be to rent a couple extra hourly rooms in the modern high rise that Justin lives in - furnished rooms in it can be rented monthly or on apparently much shorter terms. So when our rooms were available at about 10, we decided to split up to get some rest. For myself and Justin especially, some shut eye was much needed from our 5am antics at KTV and Soul Bar. After a few hours of fitful sleep, we woke up a little early for our 2am checkout and made it to the bus stop by 3:15 to see our (fully occupied) bus driving away without us. The bus company had a few extra vans for this situation, so we still made it to the airport. At the airport, I had to split from the rest of the group to catch my own flight (the other flight was fully booked) at another terminal and left like an hour or something before the flight Justin, Keith, John, and Rosemary were taking. My new friends Raymond and Sophie were staying in Tianjin, but Robert would be taking another flight later in the day.
I made it to Harbin well enough, although was presented with a long queue of passengers attempting to board an escalator to the baggage claim. To the right of that escalator was an empty staircase with a nice long banister for sliding. On a whim, I chose the latter approach and ended up shattering the side of the 20 foot long protective barrier that the airport had installed next to the handrail to keep toddlers from falling off it. I turned around to see if anybody noticed. The entire queue of escalator passengers ranged from horrified to amused; it was like a needle had come off and scratched a record and everyone was staring. No police noticed, but the place has cameras all over the place. I quickly decided that I had to get out of there as fast as possible, with the chance of getting in trouble for destroying airport/government property incredibly frightening. Even walking through the airport to baggage claim, I was unbearably uncomfortable. I was the only westerner at the airport, so I stuck out like a sore thumb. My bag was the fourth to come out of the baggage claim, I promptly bailed from the airport but not entirely sure if I was in trouble or not. I texted the phone number I thought was Justin (it later turned out to be Robert) and he said he wasn't departing until 11am. It was 9:30 already and a 2 hour flight. Instead of standing around outside in the cold for 4 hours, I could go back inside and wait for someone to spot the white guy who destroyed federal property (fat chance) or I could bail via taxi to the nearest restaurant and camp out there. Another option, I could have gone back inside to the airport in search of an English-speaking person to explain the handrail thing to, but the threat of getting detained sent me packing.
After a few hours of waiting at KFC, Justin and I cleared up the miscommunications with wrong phone numbers and I was able to catch a cab to the hostel after hailing them for about 15 minutes. I met up with the rest of the team, and we spent the rest of the day exploring downtown Harbin. I'll send some pictures of that over later.
By 7pm, I was ready for bed. I couldn't sleep much on the bus or the plane, so climbing into a nice warm and soft bed was like a trip to heaven. I just woke up from a long sleep and am going to shower up and make my way to the lobby to watch some of the super bowl in a bit, and then we'll be off to see some Siberian tigers. Hopefully I can manage to stay out of trouble and away from banisters.
2/5/11
KTV
Last night, I got to experience China's franchise karaoke bar: KTV. China has them all over the place, and they're unlike anything American. I also don't think that we'll be seeing them in America any time soon. At the end of our busy day wandering around Tianjin -- highlights included Old Culture Street marketplace, Chinese Italian food (great carbonara), and skating on a weird miniature chair thing (impossible to describe) -- we were able to enjoy our 8pm reservation at KTV.
I'll try to describe it. The inside was black and gold with dozens of private booths for patrons to reserve. Each booth has its own TV, a couple microphones, a couple percussion instruments (tambourine and maracas), and touchscreen DJ controls. The controls are pretty elaborate-looking, and the fact that they're entirely in Chinese doesn't much help. Our group was small, and I think that our Chinese friends were troubled by our lack of talent with plenty of awkward feigned smiles to each other; the Chinese language is inherently musical, so the locals seem to be universally good at singing. I was legitimately impressed at one of the girls in our group, who could perform spot-on Whitney Houston. They also probably have much more practice, but each local was a tough act to follow. Despite the ridiculous contrast in going back and forth between talented practiced singing and slightly awkward and unintentionally jarring off-key howling, everyone had a great time. Also, the Chinese love Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.
We followed KTV with a visit to "Soul Bar," where foreigners supposedly get free Jack Daniels, but it was unfortunately 40 RMB per beer, which equates to approximately $8. Expensive even by American standards! The bar doubled as a dance club, and the DJ did a great job at mixing up American and European music. It was all like a notch better than what I'd hear in the US, and the DJ would often sing over tracks in flawless English. It was a late night and I was out until 5 in the morning.
Today I've been recovering and have been writing this off and on while watching Trainspotting. Neither here nor there, but it's actually way better than I remember when I watched it when I was 15. Anyway, just now, I've come to realize that I've had a very full vacation already. I've climbed The Great Wall, seen Tienanmen Square, celebrated Chinese New Year in Beijing (F'ing nuts, I attached a photo of a firework that I managed to capture), visited The Forbidden City, eaten non-stop authentic Chinese food (weird but I'm actually starting to really enjoy some of the dishes), and participated in a culture completely unlike anything American.
At 3:30am tomorrow morning, we'll catch a bus back to Beijing Airport, and fly out to Harbin in order to experience Ice Lantern Festival.
2/4/11
Chinese Food
A friend of mine asked me what the food in China is like, and I know that I'd probably ask the same question. First of all, it is nothing at all like what Americans call Chinese food - the meals are mostly made up of fairly simple albeit super unusual ingredients to western cuisine. The meals are all family style and each dish comes out to be about 25-30 RMB (local currency, probably about 5 USD). It's tough for me to be specific about what exactly is in the dishes since they all have totally foreign names and ingredients that I very rarely see. Last night, we had a great meal (like 9 dishes) in Tianjin at a restaurant that's about a 5 minute walk away from where we are staying. One of the dishes was a seafood plate containing some of the freshest seafood I've ever had - the scallops were incredibly flavorful and delicious. I'll try to take some pictures for the blog.
Another thing that's unusual to me is that it's totally normal to leave the table and the restaurant to go get something to drink. On Chinese New Years Eve, Raymond got up to go across the street and returned with a couple 2-liter bottles of soda that we drank using their glasses. Totally normal.
The personal plates that each person eats off always show up shrink wrapped together in a bundle, and disposable chopsticks come with each meal. Just about the only thing that American Chinese food and native Chinese food have in common are that they are both served with disposable chopsticks.
Before I flew out, I kind of expected to see exotic meats being served all over the place, and in Beijing it was surprisingly common to see street vendors serving weird stuff. One of the alleys in Beijing was packed with carts serving bizarre food - skewered scorpions, seahorses, rat, lizard, larvae, and snake were all there. I tried to get a video of it; the scorpions were still moving on their skewers and were cooked to order. I tried skewered snake and it was pretty good, although a little overseasoned with cumin.
All in all, the food is good but mostly just foreign. To me, the best culinary experience is when I start craving something specific and then satisfy that with something that knocks it out of the park. Here, that doesn't happen, it's totally different. Not to be misunderstood as me not liking it, because I really genuinely enjoy trying new food out, but it's a different kind of experience. It's cheap and exciting to try new dishes out, but I never know what to expect when I take that first bite.
2/3/11
Ni Hao, Tianjin
Well, thankfully, it was free alcohol night at the bar last night, so I've been working through a weird hangover funk all day!
The Beijing leg of my trip is over with, and I'm now in Tianjin (took a 180+ mph train - took about 30 minutes to get here from there). China is great, and it set in at the airport that I'm in a foreign country - after getting through customs (lightning fast, no problem) I had to get a taxi. The woman operating the taxi queue stared right at me and asked me something in Chinese, and I had no idea what it was. that's when I realized I was in a foreign country. Having translators with me is a tremendous asset. Justin and his girlfriend met Keith (college buddy) and I at the airport.
Having Sophia (a native speaker) and Justin (learning Chinese and fluent enough) around makes all the difference in the world, and has allowed us to do all sorts of things around Beijing. When I say "us," I'm referring to our traveling group -- my friend Keith, Justin's brother John, Justin's mother Rosemary, and a couple of Justin's local friends (Robert and Raymond). Things we've done included visiting The Great Wall (really big, very tiring to walk), The Forbidden City, and Tiananmen Square.
The culture is wonderful and has a childlike curiosity about it. In my travel guides, I read a few things about staring being very common, and it's somewhat true although it happens maybe once or twice a day, not all the time everywhere like I had expected. I'm just settling down now and getting ready for bed -- this trip is very busy. I'd like to write more, but even getting this far has been an uphill battle. Time for bed.
-Ian
P.S., no joke about the internet thing here! Writing to my blog is practically impossible - I don't get AT&T coverage here, and Chinese government blocks everything. More later, promise!
2/2/11
Happy New Year!
Sorry for the lack of updates, but the government has blocked access to all social media sites, including blogspot.com!
I'm at my hostel right now, listening to non-stop fireworks and firecrackers and have been in and out of writing this for the past two hours. I am on my way to a new years celebration up the street and will hopefully write more later!
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