I've been off for a couple of weeks - trying to get some relaxation away from Urumqi (to be honest, once you've been here 6 months, anywhere feels more relaxing / just plain better) ... My first week away wasn't the MOST enjoyable - I think I stayed a couple of days too long at an old friend's place and ended up feeling quite bad about it - not because he wasn't hospitable but because our views on some things differed greatly and after a couple of arguments there really wasn't much else to say. I should just have left. Well I suppose you live and learn.
At least I got to see ONE of my former Chinese students, and maybe I'll see more in July before I come home; and as you've maybe read, I had a drab day in Suzhou, culminating with a couple of hours in a smoky internet cafe half-heartedly updating this blog among other things, before I spent an inordinate amount of cash on some alright coffee and read a book for a bit.
The night before Lucy arrived I really couldn't sleep. It didn't even matter that I'd been out with some friends for a meal and then to a bar, where we'd stayed until I was nicely tipsy. My sleep was fitful and inadequate; sure I got my head down but when I woke up it still wasn't enough. Oh well no time to complain - Lucy's coming to China! :) I forgot the location of our hotel for the first night and spent a frantic half hour working out where we were supposed to be - fortunately I got the information just in time to leave for the airport, taking the bus because it was cheapest and to save the thrill of the Maglev for when I was actually with Lucy (the thrill mainly being hers - I've ridden it at least 4 times before). I think from here in I'll keep things short else you'll be here forever:
* She arrived. Sounds obvious doesnt it? But it's true and it made us both very happy. Within minutes we were bantering like we'd been apart 6 minutes not 6 months. Also my handdrawn "Welcome to China" sign with her name (in English and Chinese) went down well :) Maybe I will post a photo of it later.
* The hotel was adequate. I hadn't gone overboard for the first night, and if the thermostat had worked better we would probably have given the entire place 9 / 10 (clean the carpet and I'd give it a 10) but with the stuffy air inside the room and no way to fix it, my rating sinks to about 5 / 10. I don't know what Lucy thinks, but I'm guessing she mostly agrees. We spent the first day slumming in the hotel room, strolling around the Bund (the Pudong Development Bank interior is still wonderful), sampling some "normal" (ie: cheap, standard-for-Chinese-people) food and then flopping out because the A/C was still crap and the windows didn't open.
Well you win some you lose some, right? And hey, we still had each other :)
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 February 2009
Monday, 16 February 2009
I Cannot Wait ...
I am holed up in a smokey Suzhou net cafe as I type this, the weather being abysmal (overcast, rainy, a bit windy) and my friends (who were going to meet me in this city) busy with their first day back at uni ... bah, I will have to see them in July before I come home. Suzhou is supposed to be beautiful; I imagine some days it is, just not today. I've seen only Western-style places and I'm really somewhat bored. I can't even go back to my host's house (in a town 30 minutes away) for another couple of hours because he and his wife are at work. Ah well. In better news, I have ordered an air ticket back to Urumqi for the 25th, and will collect it (and pay for it!) tomorrow, before doing not-very-much for the rest of the day and then going out with my French friend Pascal in the evening ... before Wednesday morning which will undoubtedly be the highlight of the last six months :) I'm a mix of impatient and nervous and until Wednesday I have a feeling that time is going to slow down for me and everything is going to feel like it takes forever ...
Hours until Lucy arrives: approximately 44
Which is 44 too many.
For now I'm off to a coffee bar to sketch some stuff and maybe write a brief letter before heading back to Wujiang and supper and another night with freezing hands because it's not cold enough down here for the local govt to put heating of any sort on so I've got used to a 20C house in middle-of-winter Urumqi and I'm having a hard time getting used to the iceblocks on the ends of my arms now. Vive Wednesday!
Hours until Lucy arrives: approximately 44
Which is 44 too many.
For now I'm off to a coffee bar to sketch some stuff and maybe write a brief letter before heading back to Wujiang and supper and another night with freezing hands because it's not cold enough down here for the local govt to put heating of any sort on so I've got used to a 20C house in middle-of-winter Urumqi and I'm having a hard time getting used to the iceblocks on the ends of my arms now. Vive Wednesday!
Monday, 12 January 2009
"Winter Wonderland" (Marlene's Visit Part 1)
Those were the words Marlene used to describe Urumqi on our walk back to my flat after her arrival. Yay, I have a guest, even if her views on this city are slightly different to my own ;) Before I get too many raised eyebrows, Marlene's a fellow student of mine from back home, though she chose to spend this year in sunny (and temporarily cholera-ridden) Haikou, the capital city of Hainan Island in the south of China. (To be precise, off the coast of the mainland, but not Taiwan!) ... Most of the last five months has been a pleasant 25C for her, so arriving at 0100 on Sunday morning, the balmy -15C of Xinjiang was quite a shock, but fortunately not enough to put her off the place!
In the last two days I've done more than I probably do in an average week - that either says something about my extreme laziness, my empty routine, or the fact that when fresh eyes are present there is suddenly more to do and see. Following her arrival we got a taxi back to my place ... let me pause here to tell you about taxis from Chinese transport hubs:
1) When you step out of the airport (most commonly), there will be Chinese people trying to "advise" you not to take a taxi and instead come with them, because "you won't get ripped off, it will be cheaper than a taxi" - tell them NO THANK YOU. Lots.
2) When you get a taxi, it doesn't matter how fluently you speak in Chinese and know the local area (I have been here 5 months, I know exactly where I live thank you and I can tell the driver with 100% accuracy where I need / want to go, especially when that place is my HOUSE), they will just smile and nod and think "okay so he speaks Chinese" but assume you came in from another Chinese city, because you're at an airport. This is bad because he then thinks he can rip you off.
3) When the taxi driver pulls out of the airport, he might need payment for his entrance fee to the airport. This is usually quite cheap (5RMB or so), so even if he's ripping you off, it's not by much. However, the then thinks it's okay not to use the meter - even when you shout at him in Chinese to use it - instead, he "calls his boss" (yeah right, he rings his mate on the CB radio to tell them he has foreigners in his cab, ha ha), and says if he doesn't use the meter, you'll get a better deal. This can be avoided if you know how much a journey should cost and tell him that if he doesnt use the meter he will get just X RMB, the value it ought to be. Finally, yell at him, and make sure he understands in no uncertain terms that you want the meter ON, RUNNING, and that this is not an optional situation.
The chap eventually got the meter running properly (instead of in "scam" mode) and had a laugh about how I was no fool to the system and couldn't be tricked by him. Awww what a shame, buddy, I suppose you think this paints a beautiful picture of life in China when the first thing tourists encounter is one group after another of thieving bastards ...
So back to the main theme, we arrived at my flat around 0200, and were supposed to have hot chocolate and go to bed, but of course ended up talking until about 0430 ... c'est la vie. A lazy morning followed, and I think we were finally out of the house by 1300, to eat lunch (丁丁炒面 for anyone remotely interested) and then onto the post office via a card shop (Mum I have sent Nana a card, I apologise if it is late and I definitely apologise for the conduct of China Post who made me mess up the outside of the envelope because writing an address (or even a return address!!!) is not allowed in red according to their "regulations" - one of these days I am going to go postal (excuse pun) on them and their crappy regulations that mess up EVERYTHING). From the post office we went to a China Mobile to top up Marlene's phone but to our complete lack of shock discovered that branch couldn't do it (not big enough, didnt have the right equipment, or just staffed by imbeciles, who knows?) so we'd have to go to another location (argh, China, in the words of a drill sergeant I once knew, "SORT YOUR SHAGGING LIFE OUT!").
We finally found the other store and then it was no problem to top up her phone; our next stop was a large shopping centre, but today's exhibition of stalls were mainly food based. Word to the wise, Chinese sausages come in all manner of shapes and sizes, most of which are unappealing and the smell of which will most likely make your gag reflex work overtime. Also, salespeople are doubly (if not triply) annoying when they wear a microphone and speak into a loudspeaker despite their stall being tiny and everyone else doing the same thing; we got out of there pretty quickly! The next stop was a large market (Xiao Shou Men, or however it is) to hunt down some thermal leggings and see if we could get Marlene some boots. We succeeded in finding leggings, gloves (Marlene now sports some pretty ladybird mittens), sampling some fried food (friend apple waffle turned out to be alright!) and trawling stalls for a good hour or so in the hope of finding cheap corduroy trousers (we didn't). Aside, Chinese people think "hello, hello" means "come here and look at my stall", which is annoying - best policy, just ignore them.
We stopped off at the same restaurant as before for a lag maan dinner (Marlene's first), and then home for hot chocolates, watching a film (to anyone reading, see Wall-E, it's good!) and bed before 0400. A good first day for Marlene!
In the last two days I've done more than I probably do in an average week - that either says something about my extreme laziness, my empty routine, or the fact that when fresh eyes are present there is suddenly more to do and see. Following her arrival we got a taxi back to my place ... let me pause here to tell you about taxis from Chinese transport hubs:
1) When you step out of the airport (most commonly), there will be Chinese people trying to "advise" you not to take a taxi and instead come with them, because "you won't get ripped off, it will be cheaper than a taxi" - tell them NO THANK YOU. Lots.
2) When you get a taxi, it doesn't matter how fluently you speak in Chinese and know the local area (I have been here 5 months, I know exactly where I live thank you and I can tell the driver with 100% accuracy where I need / want to go, especially when that place is my HOUSE), they will just smile and nod and think "okay so he speaks Chinese" but assume you came in from another Chinese city, because you're at an airport. This is bad because he then thinks he can rip you off.
3) When the taxi driver pulls out of the airport, he might need payment for his entrance fee to the airport. This is usually quite cheap (5RMB or so), so even if he's ripping you off, it's not by much. However, the then thinks it's okay not to use the meter - even when you shout at him in Chinese to use it - instead, he "calls his boss" (yeah right, he rings his mate on the CB radio to tell them he has foreigners in his cab, ha ha), and says if he doesn't use the meter, you'll get a better deal. This can be avoided if you know how much a journey should cost and tell him that if he doesnt use the meter he will get just X RMB, the value it ought to be. Finally, yell at him, and make sure he understands in no uncertain terms that you want the meter ON, RUNNING, and that this is not an optional situation.
The chap eventually got the meter running properly (instead of in "scam" mode) and had a laugh about how I was no fool to the system and couldn't be tricked by him. Awww what a shame, buddy, I suppose you think this paints a beautiful picture of life in China when the first thing tourists encounter is one group after another of thieving bastards ...
So back to the main theme, we arrived at my flat around 0200, and were supposed to have hot chocolate and go to bed, but of course ended up talking until about 0430 ... c'est la vie. A lazy morning followed, and I think we were finally out of the house by 1300, to eat lunch (丁丁炒面 for anyone remotely interested) and then onto the post office via a card shop (Mum I have sent Nana a card, I apologise if it is late and I definitely apologise for the conduct of China Post who made me mess up the outside of the envelope because writing an address (or even a return address!!!) is not allowed in red according to their "regulations" - one of these days I am going to go postal (excuse pun) on them and their crappy regulations that mess up EVERYTHING). From the post office we went to a China Mobile to top up Marlene's phone but to our complete lack of shock discovered that branch couldn't do it (not big enough, didnt have the right equipment, or just staffed by imbeciles, who knows?) so we'd have to go to another location (argh, China, in the words of a drill sergeant I once knew, "SORT YOUR SHAGGING LIFE OUT!").
We finally found the other store and then it was no problem to top up her phone; our next stop was a large shopping centre, but today's exhibition of stalls were mainly food based. Word to the wise, Chinese sausages come in all manner of shapes and sizes, most of which are unappealing and the smell of which will most likely make your gag reflex work overtime. Also, salespeople are doubly (if not triply) annoying when they wear a microphone and speak into a loudspeaker despite their stall being tiny and everyone else doing the same thing; we got out of there pretty quickly! The next stop was a large market (Xiao Shou Men, or however it is) to hunt down some thermal leggings and see if we could get Marlene some boots. We succeeded in finding leggings, gloves (Marlene now sports some pretty ladybird mittens), sampling some fried food (friend apple waffle turned out to be alright!) and trawling stalls for a good hour or so in the hope of finding cheap corduroy trousers (we didn't). Aside, Chinese people think "hello, hello" means "come here and look at my stall", which is annoying - best policy, just ignore them.
We stopped off at the same restaurant as before for a lag maan dinner (Marlene's first), and then home for hot chocolates, watching a film (to anyone reading, see Wall-E, it's good!) and bed before 0400. A good first day for Marlene!
Monday, 6 October 2008
So Much Has Been Happening Part 2: Discovering Urumqi and a Trip to Tulfan
Okay, a lot of other stuff happened in the last 14 days or so, but unfortunately I've been so lazy I didn't write down even snippets of what went on, so I've forgotten a lot of events. Oh well, here's some stuff I CAN remember!
We've just been on an 8 day break (back to school tomorrow, supposedly, more on that later), and one of the things we wanted to do was go to Tulfan (aka Turpan), the lowest point in China and one of the hottest summer destinations (literally, they recorded a temperature of 59C there once, that's one of the hottest temperatures on earth let along China), but in autumn and spring it's supposed to be very nice. How convenient for us that it's autumn now (though some days it really doesnt feel it, far more summery). However, we had thought we might want to stay a night there, and see the place properly, so maybe having our passports back from the PSB would be useful. That and they were supposed to be ready for collection on the 30th, which is quite long enough without my main form of international ID thank you very much! So on the 30th we went to collect them. Now to his credit, the taxi driver did try and tell us when we got into his vehicle that the office was closed, but we had our receipt and we were sure this meant they'd be open to return our passports. After all, why issue a returning date on the receipt if you'll be closed? Banks don't tell you to come in on Christmas Day or a Bank Holiday do they? It's stupid. So off we went; when we got there however, the place was clearly closed. Despite Anniwar's sage advice that "the 30th is not a holiday, but you have the day off uni", we were once again disappointed and appalled with the Chinese system. The lesson to be learnt here is NEVER TRUST THE CHINESE ON ANYTHING THEY SAY, DO, OR PRINT. What made it worse is some people from Marta's class had been back before their due collection date (knowing that the place would be closed) and their passports had been ready for them. This is a seriously messed up country.
With not a lot else to do, Marta and I took a wander around the local area, the PSB office is not in our neighbourhood and we were curious to see what was to be seen ... not a lot really, what with it being a holiday and all. Drat. We did find a nice restaurant though, and it was exceedingly cheap (I'm going to be used to having meals for about 5 RMB and find myself totally out of my depth when I get back to England - "what? that costs how much? i'll have you know in CHINA i could eat for a tenth of your price, good day sir!") ... and then we went for a stroll. But quickly wished we hadnt. We took a gander down a small alley kind of road, hoping it would lead out the other side to another main road to see what there was, but no, it was a dead end. And this was kind of awful because it meant coming back down the same alley to get out. The alley that contained seriously dilapidated run-down buildings, small shops selling tatty looking veg, TV and electrical goods shops thrown in there too (as if to highlight the difference in the quality of goods, the veg being poor, the TVs looking actually very nice), animals in dire states (the treatment of cats and dogs in China is for the most part abysmal - the 2 cats in this alley were tied on cords that wouldn't even let them get off the box they sat on unless they wanted to be hanged, and the rabbits down the end of the alley were in a cage that just about kept them off the ground which was covered in their urine stains), but the worst sight was probably the man with disfigured hands (a lot of people seem to have strange mutilations, most likely from some kind of radiation poisoning) dejectedly sifting his way through a skip of raw throwings-out and general crap (literally in some cases). It was disgusting.
We left the alley quite quickly, but it didn't get better. To one side of us was a restaurant with a load of dogs chained up outside, and as we walked by it was obvious that (a) they were on chains all day long, poor things, (b) the restaurant was most likely one that served dog, and (c) a beautiful large dog was being taken inside the restaurant. We got a taxi home and didn't feel so much like exploring again that day.
Later in the week we took a trip down to Da Bazaar (the Grand International Bazaar to give it it's full title), on the recommendation of previous students and also because we wanted to see where we could get some delightfully cheap stuff for winter, even if we didn't buy on the spot. Well, Nikki, I have to say I'm disappointed. This isn't a dig at you by the way, but maybe you and I get our kicks out of different things, possibly the fact you never left Europe before you came to China the first time gave you different perspective. Also I don't know if you've ever been to the Middle East (or indeed WHERE in the Middle East you might have been to get the impression that it was akin to the Bazaar) ... well anyway, I digress. I personally didn't like it so much. It just felt like every other damn place I've been to in China where they have a large market. Lots of people, lots of shouting, lots of haggling, lots of watching your wallet and phone, rows of shops selling the same old stuff that you probably don't want to buy anyway, and lots of people using their halting broken English to attract your attention. It was like ShangYang market in Shanghai but ... dare I say it ... worse?! True, they had some good stalls, the mens's clothes section on floor 3 will get another look later in the year for winter clothes, and the alcohol store will also be revisited because of it's ridiculously cheap foreign imports (assuming they are real! but they look it) ... but in general the atmosphere was horribly samey, just like all the other large Chinese shopping places I have been to recently and in 2006. Worse though, was the proliferation of beggars. I thought beggars in other parts of China were bad, with their approaches and touching (nay grabbing) you, but here it's not their approach (which is actually non-existent) but their appearance. These people REALLY NEED HELP. Deformations and disabilities abound. It's horrible, and shocking to see a society that just doesnt care, especially in this area because I always had this view of Muslim communities that there's a sense of just that - community. Sticking together a bit in your area. Charity laws in Islam. Who knows, whatever I thought, I'm not seeing it here. And what's even worse is that my giving these people any of my money isn't really going to CHANGE anything for them. It might make things better for a brief moment but it isn't going to lift them out of their misery and poverty-stricken lives. Really, I came away from Da Bazaar with a very negative impression of things.
To break up this slightly negative tirade, I also found a couple of DVD stores this week. Thank god. I was wondering where all the fake DVDs in Urumqi had got to. Now I know at least 2 places where I can waste some cash on some semi-decent copies of movies of TV series' I may want to see. Anyone want anything? I can have a look for it and maybe get you it if you pay me. It's silly-cheap though. Around 8 - 10 RMB for a DVD, usually this DVD will have anything from 4 - 12 films on it, not all of them in great quality, but hey, you are only paying about 80p what do you expect! In Shanghai a lot of the DVDs were similar price and perfect quality, but this isn't Shanghai :P
Ah where was I, yes, negative things ... our trip to Tulfan wasn't REALLY a negative experience (actually very positive) but some ASPECTS were less than good. Tanya made the bookings for us all, through some company whose brochure she had acquired from somewhere - 220 RMB for a day trip to Tulfan, excellent. Meet at 0820 by her gates, where we will be collected? Great. So at 0820 we're standing there and no one has phoned. We call the company and they said something about meeting later. Er, right? How about now? 0845 someone turns up and takes us to some buses, about a mile away. Why not just tell us to meet you there?! We pay our 220 RMB and get on a coach. It drives to the Sheraton and we have to get off and board another coach (so why not tell us just to meet at the Sheraton?! Idiots, we could have had another hour in bed!) ... We set off on this coach and the tour guide comes round and says it'll be another 110 RMB each if we want to go INSIDE the attractions we are due to visit today. Sorry what? 220 wasn't enough? And what's this about attractions, I thought we were just going to Tulfan?! Ah no, we have it all wrong, this is a day out seeing various sights AROUND Tulfan. And to get into those sights we ... yes yes we need to give you 110 RMB. Thanks. So now we have bugger all money left to do anything else with all day, and I ended up lending Marta ANOTHER 100 RMB. That's not a complaint by the way, Marta's Mum, it's just a statement of fact. For anyone planning to come to China, read what I said above about NEVER TRUSTING THEM ON ANYTHING, THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF AND THEN SOME. THERE IS ALWAYS SOME STUPID HIDDEN CHARGE, SOME COST YOU DIDNT KNOW EXISTED, SOME THING THEY JUST "FORGOT" TO TELL YOU ABOUT. That's a complaint.
Well, to cut things short, so I can get back to complaining again, the day out was marvellous. We didnt understand the guide very much (hence us overstaying 20 minutes at the first location, a big vineyard with underground tunnels, much to the annoyance of the rest of our group), and she did talk A LOT - all the way to Tulfan she was reeling off information over a microphone, while the coach (which had no suspension at all) bumped its way for 2.5 hours from Urumqi to the vineyards. She was actively encouraged (I'm sure) every time she finished a massive speech about the area, by the Chinese people on board clapping enthusiastically at her fluent knowledge. Oh well, it's her job, it's a tour bus I suppose we ought to have expected this! The weather was very good - blue skies, 30C, could have done with more breeze, but made for spectacular views, and I think an excellent time was had by all. Not to labour a point though, but I would like to return to the whole not trusting the Chinese tour people thing. We were having lunch at some place, a very basic affair that couldnt have cost more than 3 RMB each, and for which we probably paid 20 as part of our package deal, and the guide started to kick up some fuss about us 3 eating. We hadn't paid or something. Tanya was busy with some problem that had arisen on the phone concerning some Russian students in another part of Xinjiang, Marta didnt know what was going on, and I had only the vaguest of ideas but I was hungry and just kept eating despite the guide. She rang her boss and put him on the phone to me, so I asked him what the hell she was on about? Not being allowed to eat when we paid the same 220 as everyone else. Well you should have seen her face change as soon as I said "not allowed to eat" - "oh no no no no, that's not what I said", she started out with ... "well what DID you say?", I queried, but was unable to understand her answer. Anyway, this Australian professor was there with a former student (Chinese) and they said the guide was just being stupid and that we'd all paid the same money, and not to worry about it, they didnt understand what she was on about either and they were fed up because there'd been talk of honeydew melon that hadn't shown up (there was a reason for this we found out later, but not a great one, and the guide said she'd buy us all some later, but that never happened either) ... tsk.
I took my pleasure that day in the landscapes and the times we were allowed off the coach to get away from some of the Chinese (except this one kid who took to trailing me a bit and talking some English, though a lot of the time it was hard to understand him). The sunset was brilliant. The ruins out in the desert were delightful. With the exception of the tour company attempting to rip us off, the day out was well worth it, however next time we do something like this we're going to get a group of five and hire a jeep plus driver for the day - which apparently can be got for about 400 RMB total, as opposed to the 990 RMB we ended up giving as a threesome going on this tour - and having a customised day out to ourselves. But you live and learn and as experiences go it was a good one. I've now seen Asia's second largest wind farm, some vineyards, underground tunnels, gorgeous sandy orange mountains against powder blue sky, clear night skies (wow), and houses cut into the landscape like I wrote about in an essay back in Newcastle but never actually SAW before
It really was fun.
EDIT - i tried to upload pics, but it wasnt liking it. maybe i'll post just a picture blog as my next entry.
We've just been on an 8 day break (back to school tomorrow, supposedly, more on that later), and one of the things we wanted to do was go to Tulfan (aka Turpan), the lowest point in China and one of the hottest summer destinations (literally, they recorded a temperature of 59C there once, that's one of the hottest temperatures on earth let along China), but in autumn and spring it's supposed to be very nice. How convenient for us that it's autumn now (though some days it really doesnt feel it, far more summery). However, we had thought we might want to stay a night there, and see the place properly, so maybe having our passports back from the PSB would be useful. That and they were supposed to be ready for collection on the 30th, which is quite long enough without my main form of international ID thank you very much! So on the 30th we went to collect them. Now to his credit, the taxi driver did try and tell us when we got into his vehicle that the office was closed, but we had our receipt and we were sure this meant they'd be open to return our passports. After all, why issue a returning date on the receipt if you'll be closed? Banks don't tell you to come in on Christmas Day or a Bank Holiday do they? It's stupid. So off we went; when we got there however, the place was clearly closed. Despite Anniwar's sage advice that "the 30th is not a holiday, but you have the day off uni", we were once again disappointed and appalled with the Chinese system. The lesson to be learnt here is NEVER TRUST THE CHINESE ON ANYTHING THEY SAY, DO, OR PRINT. What made it worse is some people from Marta's class had been back before their due collection date (knowing that the place would be closed) and their passports had been ready for them. This is a seriously messed up country.
With not a lot else to do, Marta and I took a wander around the local area, the PSB office is not in our neighbourhood and we were curious to see what was to be seen ... not a lot really, what with it being a holiday and all. Drat. We did find a nice restaurant though, and it was exceedingly cheap (I'm going to be used to having meals for about 5 RMB and find myself totally out of my depth when I get back to England - "what? that costs how much? i'll have you know in CHINA i could eat for a tenth of your price, good day sir!") ... and then we went for a stroll. But quickly wished we hadnt. We took a gander down a small alley kind of road, hoping it would lead out the other side to another main road to see what there was, but no, it was a dead end. And this was kind of awful because it meant coming back down the same alley to get out. The alley that contained seriously dilapidated run-down buildings, small shops selling tatty looking veg, TV and electrical goods shops thrown in there too (as if to highlight the difference in the quality of goods, the veg being poor, the TVs looking actually very nice), animals in dire states (the treatment of cats and dogs in China is for the most part abysmal - the 2 cats in this alley were tied on cords that wouldn't even let them get off the box they sat on unless they wanted to be hanged, and the rabbits down the end of the alley were in a cage that just about kept them off the ground which was covered in their urine stains), but the worst sight was probably the man with disfigured hands (a lot of people seem to have strange mutilations, most likely from some kind of radiation poisoning) dejectedly sifting his way through a skip of raw throwings-out and general crap (literally in some cases). It was disgusting.
We left the alley quite quickly, but it didn't get better. To one side of us was a restaurant with a load of dogs chained up outside, and as we walked by it was obvious that (a) they were on chains all day long, poor things, (b) the restaurant was most likely one that served dog, and (c) a beautiful large dog was being taken inside the restaurant. We got a taxi home and didn't feel so much like exploring again that day.
Later in the week we took a trip down to Da Bazaar (the Grand International Bazaar to give it it's full title), on the recommendation of previous students and also because we wanted to see where we could get some delightfully cheap stuff for winter, even if we didn't buy on the spot. Well, Nikki, I have to say I'm disappointed. This isn't a dig at you by the way, but maybe you and I get our kicks out of different things, possibly the fact you never left Europe before you came to China the first time gave you different perspective. Also I don't know if you've ever been to the Middle East (or indeed WHERE in the Middle East you might have been to get the impression that it was akin to the Bazaar) ... well anyway, I digress. I personally didn't like it so much. It just felt like every other damn place I've been to in China where they have a large market. Lots of people, lots of shouting, lots of haggling, lots of watching your wallet and phone, rows of shops selling the same old stuff that you probably don't want to buy anyway, and lots of people using their halting broken English to attract your attention. It was like ShangYang market in Shanghai but ... dare I say it ... worse?! True, they had some good stalls, the mens's clothes section on floor 3 will get another look later in the year for winter clothes, and the alcohol store will also be revisited because of it's ridiculously cheap foreign imports (assuming they are real! but they look it) ... but in general the atmosphere was horribly samey, just like all the other large Chinese shopping places I have been to recently and in 2006. Worse though, was the proliferation of beggars. I thought beggars in other parts of China were bad, with their approaches and touching (nay grabbing) you, but here it's not their approach (which is actually non-existent) but their appearance. These people REALLY NEED HELP. Deformations and disabilities abound. It's horrible, and shocking to see a society that just doesnt care, especially in this area because I always had this view of Muslim communities that there's a sense of just that - community. Sticking together a bit in your area. Charity laws in Islam. Who knows, whatever I thought, I'm not seeing it here. And what's even worse is that my giving these people any of my money isn't really going to CHANGE anything for them. It might make things better for a brief moment but it isn't going to lift them out of their misery and poverty-stricken lives. Really, I came away from Da Bazaar with a very negative impression of things.
To break up this slightly negative tirade, I also found a couple of DVD stores this week. Thank god. I was wondering where all the fake DVDs in Urumqi had got to. Now I know at least 2 places where I can waste some cash on some semi-decent copies of movies of TV series' I may want to see. Anyone want anything? I can have a look for it and maybe get you it if you pay me. It's silly-cheap though. Around 8 - 10 RMB for a DVD, usually this DVD will have anything from 4 - 12 films on it, not all of them in great quality, but hey, you are only paying about 80p what do you expect! In Shanghai a lot of the DVDs were similar price and perfect quality, but this isn't Shanghai :P
Ah where was I, yes, negative things ... our trip to Tulfan wasn't REALLY a negative experience (actually very positive) but some ASPECTS were less than good. Tanya made the bookings for us all, through some company whose brochure she had acquired from somewhere - 220 RMB for a day trip to Tulfan, excellent. Meet at 0820 by her gates, where we will be collected? Great. So at 0820 we're standing there and no one has phoned. We call the company and they said something about meeting later. Er, right? How about now? 0845 someone turns up and takes us to some buses, about a mile away. Why not just tell us to meet you there?! We pay our 220 RMB and get on a coach. It drives to the Sheraton and we have to get off and board another coach (so why not tell us just to meet at the Sheraton?! Idiots, we could have had another hour in bed!) ... We set off on this coach and the tour guide comes round and says it'll be another 110 RMB each if we want to go INSIDE the attractions we are due to visit today. Sorry what? 220 wasn't enough? And what's this about attractions, I thought we were just going to Tulfan?! Ah no, we have it all wrong, this is a day out seeing various sights AROUND Tulfan. And to get into those sights we ... yes yes we need to give you 110 RMB. Thanks. So now we have bugger all money left to do anything else with all day, and I ended up lending Marta ANOTHER 100 RMB. That's not a complaint by the way, Marta's Mum, it's just a statement of fact. For anyone planning to come to China, read what I said above about NEVER TRUSTING THEM ON ANYTHING, THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF AND THEN SOME. THERE IS ALWAYS SOME STUPID HIDDEN CHARGE, SOME COST YOU DIDNT KNOW EXISTED, SOME THING THEY JUST "FORGOT" TO TELL YOU ABOUT. That's a complaint.
Well, to cut things short, so I can get back to complaining again, the day out was marvellous. We didnt understand the guide very much (hence us overstaying 20 minutes at the first location, a big vineyard with underground tunnels, much to the annoyance of the rest of our group), and she did talk A LOT - all the way to Tulfan she was reeling off information over a microphone, while the coach (which had no suspension at all) bumped its way for 2.5 hours from Urumqi to the vineyards. She was actively encouraged (I'm sure) every time she finished a massive speech about the area, by the Chinese people on board clapping enthusiastically at her fluent knowledge. Oh well, it's her job, it's a tour bus I suppose we ought to have expected this! The weather was very good - blue skies, 30C, could have done with more breeze, but made for spectacular views, and I think an excellent time was had by all. Not to labour a point though, but I would like to return to the whole not trusting the Chinese tour people thing. We were having lunch at some place, a very basic affair that couldnt have cost more than 3 RMB each, and for which we probably paid 20 as part of our package deal, and the guide started to kick up some fuss about us 3 eating. We hadn't paid or something. Tanya was busy with some problem that had arisen on the phone concerning some Russian students in another part of Xinjiang, Marta didnt know what was going on, and I had only the vaguest of ideas but I was hungry and just kept eating despite the guide. She rang her boss and put him on the phone to me, so I asked him what the hell she was on about? Not being allowed to eat when we paid the same 220 as everyone else. Well you should have seen her face change as soon as I said "not allowed to eat" - "oh no no no no, that's not what I said", she started out with ... "well what DID you say?", I queried, but was unable to understand her answer. Anyway, this Australian professor was there with a former student (Chinese) and they said the guide was just being stupid and that we'd all paid the same money, and not to worry about it, they didnt understand what she was on about either and they were fed up because there'd been talk of honeydew melon that hadn't shown up (there was a reason for this we found out later, but not a great one, and the guide said she'd buy us all some later, but that never happened either) ... tsk.
I took my pleasure that day in the landscapes and the times we were allowed off the coach to get away from some of the Chinese (except this one kid who took to trailing me a bit and talking some English, though a lot of the time it was hard to understand him). The sunset was brilliant. The ruins out in the desert were delightful. With the exception of the tour company attempting to rip us off, the day out was well worth it, however next time we do something like this we're going to get a group of five and hire a jeep plus driver for the day - which apparently can be got for about 400 RMB total, as opposed to the 990 RMB we ended up giving as a threesome going on this tour - and having a customised day out to ourselves. But you live and learn and as experiences go it was a good one. I've now seen Asia's second largest wind farm, some vineyards, underground tunnels, gorgeous sandy orange mountains against powder blue sky, clear night skies (wow), and houses cut into the landscape like I wrote about in an essay back in Newcastle but never actually SAW before
It really was fun.
EDIT - i tried to upload pics, but it wasnt liking it. maybe i'll post just a picture blog as my next entry.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
The Great Train Ride - Night 1
I'm breaking my journey up a bit, because there's tons to write about ... Lucy I apologise that much of this is in my letter to you (a work in progress, I'm afraid), and also that I go on about toilets quite a lot. Actually I apologise to everyone for that, but it makes an integral part of a long train journey in China.
Knowing that there was very little chance of there being a Western toilet on the train I thought the best thing to do would be to go before leaving the hostel ... prudent, some may say. Eventually, at around 1800 I decided it was time to make a break for the train station. I said goodbye to my roommates and headed off to the subway. The main station was 13 stops from the subway nearest the hostel, but at least I didn't have to change lines. By now I was in unfamiliar territory where tiredness was concerned ... as I walked from the underground toward the main station entrance I found myself wanting to cry, and without any reason why. Sure, I felt "alone" but nothing major in that, I'm used to travelling solo, this was, I decided, just my body wanting to lay down and snooze for half a day, to put itself in order. I must have fought back the overwhelming urge to just break down and let it all out 5 times in the next 2 hours - everything just seemed too much to handle. Sitting in the waiting room for 90 minutes (I got there early) with all these Chinese around me was an absolute killer, no way was I going to make a show there though! "Stupid foreigner, why is he crying, I don't know, let's stare some more" ... Not gonna happen.
And then, like a second wind, my train was called and I was on some kind of autopilot, tiredness forgotten, just the prospect of getting on the train and finding my bed. I boarded at coach 13 and then found my sleeping bunk was at the other end, typical eh? I had to squeeze with all my luggage past 10 other berths of six beds each to get to my slot, but I was finally there. My bed was, in keeping with this day of trials, the top bunk ... I'll digress for a moment to explain Chinese trains:
* Soft Sleeper - most expensive, 4 beds to a berth, the berth has a door (ooh privacy)
* Hard Sleeper - not actually that much less comfy that Soft Sleeper but six beds to a berth, the top one usually being quite tight, and no doors on the berths - they are like rooms off a corridor (the walkway) but without a moment to oneself
* Soft Seat - padded seats
* Hard Seat - no idea, don't ever want to find out, apparently only suitable for the shortest of journeys and even then I think Soft Seat is a good idea if you can afford it!
Well, the Soft Sleeper option for this train had apparently sold out (I went for a walk on the train, I think there was only one carriage for it, which explains it being full), by the time my friend came to book the journey, and Hard Sleeper was fine with me, so that's what I got. The top bunk was not as claustrophobic as I had previously imagined - there was space enough to prop oneself up and it was possible to sit hunched over. Luggage went either under the bottom bunk or on top of the ledges opposite the top bunk - one advantage of being up there, I could nip in and out of my bag at my leisure without disturbing anyone. Also it was closest to the A/C unit, which was nice, until on the second afternoon when it started recycling the smoking air ... ewww.
After a brief chit chat with some of my fellow passengers - limited English if any, but all very welcoming - I excused myself to use the toilet ... umm ... yes, if that's what you call a stainless steel hole in the ground. honestly if you're going to do that, why not just have an open hole to the track? Fortunately at this point all I needed to do was wee out all the water I had downed in keeping me awake and hydrated while I negotiated the Shanghai humidity, and bigger matters (ahem) could wait. I decided to get my head down; I explained I had been travelling way too much and my newfound travel-buddies understood. I felt a bit odd keeping all my clothes on for sleeping in, especially given that I was still quite hot and sweaty from having lugged all my stuff around, but then again everyone else was, so why break the mould? It was some disappointment that my sleep was quite broken throughout the night, but I managed the best part of 7 hours' sleep and awoke feeling not too shabby for Day 1.
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