a note!

Wikipedia is not accessible in China. I find this very interesting.

I wonder just how much they're hovering over internet use and searches.

I love the Chinese Government! Very efficient! :D

Day 5 - Very Sick

Began the morning @ my usual 4:45; in which I take about an hour getting ready in my bed (putting pants, undergarments and shirt on under blankets and over hostel sheet takes a lot of work!) while trying to stay quiet around roommates. By 5:45, I'm out the door and chatting on gmail for about an hour or so before breakfast is served at 7:30. I enjoyed my "chinese" breakfast of wheat cakes stuffed with pork, scallions and cabbage with a glass of steaming hot soy milk. Apparently, I'm the only person here eating the 'chinese' option, and I read in a few guidebooks that many Westerners have difficulty with chinese breakfasts. Its goooood. And here, a lot more filling than toast and eggs.

Started out with my friend over to the language school where I thought I'd take a few classes (primarily to read pinyin, the romanized Chinese script) before I head off to Chengdu in a few days. That's probably where I'll need it most since Beijing is almost lost and I don't think I want to communicate in Chinese while in Tibet. On the way there, we were caught in a torrential downpour, the streets flooded up to my knees, and we hailed a cab immediately. The subway station was A MESS, I had to take off my shoes while crossing the moat that had formed .. completely drenched and wearing an embarrassingly bright neon green poncho that was made for use while on a bike (if you can imagine, the front hung down to my ankles, i looked like an idiot).

At the school, I was rejected. The cashier banished me at the counter and hid my receipt (I hadn't paid, it was only a stub). Maybe Interestingly, it is a school for learning Chinese -- but they SPEAK TO YOU IN CHINESE. Immersion's cool and all, but that was pushing it.

Outside, I decided that I didn't want to fork over the 30 kuai it would probably cost to get me back (that's less than US $4, but I'm a cheapskate and walking/biking/busing since I got here). I got very lost. I also saw too many mosquitos, swarming around the rainpuddles. I jumped on the first bus I saw and was asked where I wanted to go. I had no idea where I was so I shrugged and gave the operator a kuai.

Anyway, I returned to my lodgings soaked, sneezing, stuffy, and sick as hell. I asked to be put in a single room for the night because I didn't want to get my bunk mates sick. Spent the afternoon sleeping, left later in the evening to have tea but couldn't find the teahouse. I spend most of my days lost. It was not the best day, and probably would've been nicer if I'd been in the company of another ........... but, too bad for me.

OH YEAH. While at the supermarket, I noticed the bar soap that I've been using for the past 5 days was in the laundry detergent section. Next to a bar of Tide. NICE going Charmaine. No wonder I've been so itchy! So I bought a nice gel with a pouf.

Also, I've noticed that I often catch the chinese staring at my hair (big and poofy) and my shoes (big and clownlike). At the store, while buying clothes, the woman handed me a Large and an X-Large - both fit perfectly. In the US, I almost don't exist! China is fulfilling my Amazonian complex.

Day 4 - Putzing around

Woke up at 3:30AM (well, 1:30 .. 2:00 .. 2:30 .. 3:00 .. 3:26) to get over to Tiananmen Square for the Flag Raising Ceremony @ Sunrise. Met a new friend at the end of my hutong (Hey mom, I'm walking down dark, deserted alleys at 4:00 in the morning -- good for you to know!) and we took a cab to the plaza.

There were swarms of Chinese tourists and school groups there, the guards had us sit on the pavement facing the Forbidden City for about half an hour before it began raining. Everyone leapt to their feet and began surging forward, I had to believe I was 1000 pounds just to stay grounded. The ceremony lasted about .. 3 minutes. It was interesting.

Spent the afternoon getting lost again, this time, I got on a bus and decided to get off wherever it looked interesting. Thinking I was going southwest, it turned out I was going north-east. I really need a compass!

Had the famed Peking Duck for dinner .. the restaurant was situated on the main tourist jaunt here in Beijing, like the Champs Elysees of Paris .. or City Walk/Rodeo Drive in L.A., Union Square in SF. And I finally saw tourists! There are mostly local residents in the alleyways where I am -- I don't understand why anyone would want to go to shopping area where they sell everything already available in their home countries. Or people that stay in hotels that mimic western traditions, "like you never left home".

Went to a mall and bargained for toys, walked back. Collapsed and died in a puddle of sweat for the night.

****

OH YEAH! I don't want to forget this part: At the restaurant, my friend (White Female) and I were seated in a back section of the restaurant. She was presented with a menu while I sat there ... staring.

Friend motioned to the waitress and indicated that I would need a menu, and the waitress apologized to her. After a few minutes, she came back to take our (her) order.

"The whole duck and some juice to drink"

When the food was brought out, a single steamer basket with crepes was placed by my friend along with half a duck before her.

"Uhhhhh .. I know I pointed to the whole duck"

Finally, I called the waitress over and demanded that the rest of the duck be brought out. So she turned to my friend and apologized profusely.

(To the waitress' credit, half-a-duck was definitely enough for the two of us. She probably did not know how to tell us that there there was no way we'd be able to finish the whole. But I liked how I was completely invisible.)

Also, Plastic Surgery is BIG here. On my map, the "Plastic Surgery Hospital" is noted as a destination point.

It is hot. 85 degrees-but-feels-like-105 hot.

Day 3 - The Great Wall of China

After hastily signing off from my blog yesterday, I ran to catch the van to Jinshanling, an area through which the Great Wall passes. It was a 3 hour drive north from Beijing.

That was one of the most difficult hikes I have EVER completed. It was about 90 degrees, but felt at least 100 with the humidity. I climbed it with a crazy old man from Montreal who has trekked the world over several times. It was supposed to take us 6 hours, but with him, it took 3. I struggled to keep up with him as he lept from brick to brick. This part of the wall is not as well maintained as other parts, like Great Wall at Badaling. There were no more than 100 people on the 6 mile stretch, where there are thousands upon thousands on any day at Badaling. There were also many hagglers, soliciting goods like cold beer, water and post cards.

I forgot my lunch but fortunately, Crazy Canadian guy packed enough for three. We stopped and had biscuits and boiled eggs; another bedraggled hiker came up from behind, barefooted, and joined us for lunch.

Another hour and a half and we were through. Instead of walking down to the area where the van was meeting us, I took the 'flying fox' express route instead - strapped into a harness, I slid down a steel cable over a river to the end point in Simatai. A classy exit.

Day 2

15 minutes to post before I head off to the Great Wall! I'm going to be hiking about 10K from one section (Jinshaling) to another (Simatai). Apparently, this part of the wall is not hoarded by tourists and giftshops, so it makes for a more scenic and enjoyable time on one of the world's greatest wonders. I also hear it will take up to 3 (the woman I spoke to yesterday said it took her 5!) hours to hike. 10K = 6 miles.

For the occasion, I purchased new clothes: yellow bermuda shorts and a baby blue zip-up tee-shirt. I don't know what was going through my mind when I snatched them off their hangers, but I think I'm really going to fit in with the locals in this get-up.

I spent the morning getting to and wandering around Tiananmen Square and the Palace. I'm spacing out on the actual names but that will do for now. Just trying to find the bus to get to Tiananmen was such a hassle, especially since I didn't know north from south. Ran up and down an avenue (5 minutes til i have to go) and frantically searched for the bus stop. Finally, I chased the bus I needed to catch and caught up to it after running a couple of city blocks.

The Palace was impressive, really, in size .. preservation was only apparent with a couple of the buildings, the first site I saw upon entering the gates was scaffolding along another. I'll probably visit again next week though, so mre on that later.

I spent the rest of the day getting lost on a bike. Exhausted after Tiananmen, I had a plate of rice and a fried egg while reading a guidebook on Beijing; Rented a bike and got lost beyond my sanity's ability to cope and thought i'd never make it back to my hostel.

I attempted to find the french embassy because I found out that they screen french films; unfortunately, upon speaking to an attendant, I was told that films were screened at the cultural center "next to the worker's center" which meant NOTHING to me. So i looked and looked and looked and failed.

The end.

GREAT WALL!

Day 1

Stepped off the plane into a mess of people, scrambing out of the gate only to be envelopped by the stifflingly humid Beijing weather. After having nothing to declare, and claiming that I was free of any signs of the Avian flu ("check box: do you have Avian flu? Be honest"), I exchanged my money and was greeted by the driver from the hostel I'm staying at.

We walked toward the parking structure, across 5 traffic lanes -- none of the cars stopped for us, nor did anyone walking seem to have any intention of stopping for traffic. I soon learned that this was not post-flight haze or disillusionment. We entered the expressway where Paul, the driver, cut people off with only inches to spare. I like that the lanes here are merely suggestions of the speed you should drive, i.e. "between 100-120 km/h", "between 60-80 km/hr".

Once we entered the city proper, Paul switched into kamikaze mode, swerving across the (suggested) double yellow line and into opposing traffic in order to pass other cars. He also ran red lights, cut across lanes to make immediate turns - Within 20 minutes, he broke every traffic law I'd been aware of (in the U.S., at least). Very impressive. And very fun!!

At the hostel, I paid upfront for my week-long stay in Beijing. The hostel is situated on an unpaved street (although I should clarify: its an old road being widened for traffic) and I'm told that the hutongs (alleyways) where I'm staying are an endangered attraction here in Beijing with the upcoming Olympics in 2008 and the city's rush to 'build-up'. There are apartments that rival L.A. skyscrappers here, to give you a clearer idea.

Settled in, I decided to find a market for shower sandals, soap shampoo and snacks. Walking through the hutongs, I was warned that it would be very easy to get lost. At the market, slabs of meat were draped with yellowed cheesecloths, yet the smell of fetid meat flesh did not permeate shop. I also saw shrimps being sold on the street from a styrofoam bin; some of which were dropped then placed back into the box for sale. I bought everything I needed for 24RMB, about .. US$3.50. I also found my way into a small cafe where I noticed there were pictures of food items :) I chose an rice roll with a powdery brown substance inside. I'm not sure what I ate, it was slightly sweet and somewhat salty, the rice was sticky and the grains were large; if there is such a thing as sushi-style arborio, that was it.

Oh and I also saw acrobats last night for 80RMB at the local theatre! With children that looked to be about 5 years old, it was difficult to watch .. seemed as if I was paying into an industry of child exploitation. Of course, it was entertaining and awe-inspiring (with numerous backbends and handstands held for minutes at a time. I was very jealous)

Find photos of my journey @ http://charmo.shutterfly.com