Category China adventures

Step one:  Leave with too much stuff in your bags and pull every muscle in your back and neck.

Step two: Backpack to post office to mail a laptop and other stuff that is too heavy. Why did Mike pack a history textbook?

police

Step three:  Hail a cab during rush hour on the Chinese May 1st holiday.

Step four: Share a bottle of Jamison with friends.

Step five:  Forget to eat dinner while consuming Jamison.

Step six: Try to hail a cab again during rush hour and then bribe the driver to drive on the sidewalk to get us to the train station.

Step seven: After bribe attempt, realize that your train leaves at 6:25 not 6:45.

Step eight: Arrive at train station at 7:00 and sit on bag with beer until police blow whistles in your face for loitering.

Step nine:  Laugh when girlfriend gets in whistle blowing contest with the police using your emergency whistle.

Step ten: Convert to Buddhism after they exchange tickets for the train for the following day for free.

Step eleven:  Check into hostel in the city in which you have lived for the last year and a half.

Step twelve:  Get lost in that same city looking for friends who are still drinking from the Jamison incident, and find them at local all-you-can-drink brewery to discuss the tenants of libertarianism and wind energy.

Step thirteen:  End up at a classy bar in travel pants that zip off in three different places to have someone tell you that you really need to get your life together…after noticing aforementioned zip-off pants.

Step fourteen:  “I’m sure something else will happen so lets leave this one open.”

Travel tip:  You can exchange your train tickets!  I never knew you could do this.  You definitely could not do this in the states, at least for free.  Perhaps we just looked that pathetic.  Go to window 13 at the shanghai ticket office to exchange your tickets.

We leave China today. Here is a list of the top ten things we’ll really miss about China:

• Drinking in Public. While this may seem like a silly thing to miss, in reality being able to drink outdoors is a fun experience. Sitting in the park with a beer is much nicer than sitting there with a Frisbee. We also think the cops in the USA should focus on bigger problems. Naturally, we’re still against drinking and driving, but drinking and walking– we think most people can handle that.
• Cheap food. Surprisingly, food in Shanghai is extremely expensive and diverse. You can find fine dining here to rival New York, but the prices are comparable. What we’ll miss is the street food. For 2RMB you can get a whole stick of lamb meat. At 2am, there is nothing better than lamb kebab.
  

  Window Washers

• Diversity. In the year we lived in Shanghai we were friends with Americans, Brits, Frenchmen, Russians, Ecuadorians, Finnish, Germans, Turkish, Swiss, Chinese, folks from Aruba and more. In a year of living in Saint Paul, MN, we were friends with only Americans. We will really miss the diversity here and it was great fun knowing people from all over the world.
• Travel. Moving around within China is easy. The train system is set up to move millions, and is clean and efficient. There are endless possibilities for travel here and whenever we had time we jumped on a train or boat out of the city with endless destination options. Even with only a free weekend, there were unexplored water towns near Shanghai for a quick escape.
• Work. While the rest of the world is feeling the crunch of the financial crisis the expats in China are doing alright. While I was laid off from my bank job, there were other opportunities for me in China. Meanwhile, I was unemployed in the USA with literally no options or prospects. I will miss the ease associated with job hunting in China.
• Transportation. In Shanghai, getting around was a cinch. The elaborate subway network could get you nearly anywhere in the city for 4RMB. Meanwhile, a plethora of buses honked around on the main streets which you could jump on for 2RMB each way. If all else fails there are cabs dotting the entire city for 11RMB to start and going up to about 30RMB for a trip across the entire town in rush hour traffic. Much easier than owning a car.
• Bartering. While this annoys many expats, I loved bartering. I like setting the price of an item in my mind and then thinking, “I’ll pay anything up to this number for this item.” Thinking like that helped me to prioritize what I needed versus what I wanted. I even enjoy the exchanges between the seller and the buyer with each playing their part as if rehearsed.
• Our Guards. We lived in two apartments in Shanghai and both had an amazing group of guards who protected
  

  Pudong, Shanghai

  the building entrance and doorways. In our first apartment we brought the guards gifts on Chinese holidays. They were always happy to see us and fun to be around. In our second apartment we dropped off beer one evening for them and they never stopped smiling and waving at us after.

• Our Ayi. An Ayi is a cleaning lady. Ours was named Xiao Xu, from Anhui province. She was a very sweet lady who was recommended to us from friends. She was the most patient person I have ever met and she listened to me fumble through my Chinese trying to talk to her and then patiently, and slowly, responded. How she didn’t slap me in the face with the wet mop after the thousandth time I mispronounced something is beyond me.
• Expat lifestyle. This is definitely a great lifestyle. We had a great little apartment in a great area surrounded by easy transportation, cheap and yummy local food, a maze of pubs, endless activities and sights and a modernizing and growing city to watch. Meanwhile, we made decent money and had some amazing friends.

So, as we chug away on our train today, it will be a bitter sweet good-bye as we remember the things we’ll miss, but look forward to the excitement of the road ahead.

Our apartment

As we pack up our apartment I’m reminded of when we first moved to China and began looking for a place to live. The process of apartment hunting in China is vastly different than in the States. Here, you find a local agent in the area you want to live and go to their office. You describe what you want in an apartment to the tiniest detail. While you wait (“would you like more tea, sir?”) they search online listings and their own reserve of available housing. After a half hour or so of searching and phone calls the realtor puts on his or her jacket and you march of, always on foot, to view the apartment. You arrive at the apartment and it is in shambles. In the US, realtors ensure the house is looking its very best before they show it. In China, you must see potential instead of beauty. One apartment we saw was so filthy we left footprints in the grime and dust as we perused the layout. Another apartment we viewed was covered in moldy, dirty dishes and overturned furniture. It was as if the residents quickly packed a few belongings and ran out in a hurry.

We saw about ten apartments before we found one we liked. We were shown several apartments that did not meet our criteria because the realtor gets paid by how many times he can show a place. Once you express interest the landlord and the realtor begin to scream at each other over price, additional fixtures, cleaning, etc. After an initial bartering phase the realtor reports that the lowest the landlord will go is, for example, 5,000RMB. You act offended and counter, naturally, with 4,000RMB. The landlord pretends not to hear you. Once the realtor turns and gives the counter-offer to the landlord he or she erupts in a stream of rationalizations for the 5,000RMB price. Eventually (after much bartering) the price is settled around 4,300RMB with a few extras like a cleaning crew to sweep through and a replacement chair for the office.

Now comes the tricky part. Money needs to be exchanged on the spot or else the landlord will not hold the apartment. Usually one month rent is put on the table. The realtor takes the money to appease both parties. The whole process takes less than half an hour. A move in date is set and when the happy day arrives the realtor emerges with contracts, candies, your deposit and a big smile – the realtor’s fee is one month’s rent split between the landlord and the renter.

There are, of course, apartment postings on craigslist and other expat sites. But usually these are more expensive and it is a bit harder to find someone who will sign on the spot. We recommend playing along with local custom and finding a local realtor. If a realtor does not find you an apartment you like you do not owe them anything. They only get paid if they please you, and the landlords whose apartments they show. The downside is that the realtor has no incentive to help you barter down the price, as he is merely helping to lower his commission.

For a two bedroom in Shanghai on a subway line we paid 4,300RMB a month. The

place was western in style with a tub, fully-stocked kitchen, wrap around sofa and big screen and an office. Our last apartment in China was tiny, with a fold our bed and a kitchen that stretched into our laps in the living room at a price of 3,000RMB a month. Our first apartment in Beijing had no toilet and a sink that spewed brown liquid and tiny insects but cost only 1,200RMB a month. So, you can find something at every price range here.

Hua Shan Hospital

There are several mixed reviews about Chinese hospitals and myths about “socialized medicine,” but I deemed it necessary to mention a few things about our Chinese hospital experiences.  Over the course of the few years we have lived here, one in Beijing and over a year in Shanghai, we have each been to the hospital a few times.  In China, you don’t go to your family practitioner unless you have a really good expat medical package.  Let’s face it, that pretty much rules 95% of all expats out because of the keywords good expat medical package.

In Beijing our experience at Ren Min Yi Yuan (People’s Hospital) was acceptable.  There are many reviews about how dirty the hospitals are and that they would never go back.  However, if you are on a fixed budget the expat clinics cost upwards of $150 USD just to see a physician.  This does not include any treatment  or medicine.  Moreover, you will have to return for a checkup and to receive any results from testing – which will easily cost you at least another $100USD (about 700 RMB).

These are Chinese hospitals.  Expect there to be no soap in the bathrooms, IV racks next to the toilets, and people smoking in the hallways.  Ren Min Hospital was pretty dirty and there were workers carrying cement bags through the hallways, in which there were people on cots with IVs in their arms.  However if you can learn to look past these aspects, which are are part of living in China, you may notice the positives.  Below is a bullet list of my most recent experience and costs at Hua Shan Hospital in Shanghai.

Without going into too much detail about the idiotic events that led to this hospital visit, lets just say – I hurt my foot bad enough to warrant a trip to see if it was broken.  Being in no mood to start off our trek through Central Asia with a broken foot, we headed off for Hua Shan Hospital.  In a previous visit we had learned that one of the upper floors was host to a foreign clinic and we were immediately directed there.  The costs were astronomical and x-rays would not be available for several days – they would call you at home and you would come back.  For a cheaper and more efficient experience proceed immediately to what I believe was the “门诊”，men zhen or “outpatient clinic,” and talk to the attendants there.  The most difficult aspect of this approach is if you do not speak any Chinese, however basic Chinese will be enough to communicate what hurts, where, and for how long.  Moreover, you will find that most of the doctors actually speak English quite well.

• Outpatient Clinic Registration – 25 RMB
• Proceed to Station 1 (Patient- Doctor Consultation) – Here you meet with the doctor and explain what happened and he / she will prescribe a certain test and direct you to the next station.  In this case an X-ray was in order.
• Payment Counter – 70 RMB – First you need to pay for your X-ray in advance
• 4th Floor X-Ray Lab – Go have your treatment or test (X-ray)
• Doctor Examination – Wait about 20 minutes for your X-ray to fully develop and then you show it to the original doctor you saw in station 1.
• Prescription Payment – 15 RMB – Luckily, it was not a break and he simply prescribed some pain medication.
• Hospital Pharmacy – Go to the 2nd floor and pickup your prescription from the” 门诊” ‘men zhen’ counter upstairs.  This is a special window at which there should be no line of people where you can pick up your prescription at walk away.

Every time I go to Chinese hospitals I am amazed at the efficiency and speed at which everything is completed.  There was practically no wait and we were out of there in a little over an hour.

Total price:  110 RMB – Which is only $16.10 for an outpatient doctor’s consultation, X-ray, analysis, and pain killer prescription.  The alternative is to go to the foreign clinic upstairs and pay 700 RMB and another 315 RMB for an X-ray.  This is without insurance of course and the foreign clinic has nice dry walled interiors, comfortable chairs, and English fluent doctors.  I personally prefer the 1 hour $16 USD method over the $148.63 USD method that includes a day or two wait sometimes for results.  Once again, if you can look past the fact that the building and cleanliness standards may not be the same, the efficiency, speed, and cost make up for these other irrelevant short-comings in my mind.  The medical equipment used is top of the line and has usually purchased overseas.

If you need to go to any one of these hospitals the addresses are:

Beijing:  Ren Min Yiyuan (Part of Peking University) – 北京大学人民医院 – 北京市西城区西直门南大街11号 – Beijing Shi Xi Cheng Qu, Xi Zhi Men, Nan Da Jie, No. 11

Shanghai – Hua Shan Yiyuan – 乌鲁木齐中路12号 近长乐路 – No.12, Wulumuqi Zhong Lu, Huaihai Zhong Lu, near Changle Lu

Top Four Places We May Consider Living

As the journey to Ashgabat approaches, careful planning is necessary.  We also need to plan for what we will do when we get return, and where we would like to go.  We will travel through some of our favorite places in China and will certainly discover more as we go.  With jobs scarce, careful consideration needs to be given to choose the next destination.  Also, just for fun I have listed the top 5 places I would consider moving to and living for the next year or two.

XinJiang

Easily a favorite of mine, the Taklamakan Desert is fabled for expeditions and discoveries; from Maro Polo to Sven Hedin and Aurel Stein, lost cities and ancient ruins are splattered across the desert.  Arguably the harshest desert in the world, surrounded on the west by the Himalayas and the Gobi Desert to the far East, crossing the Taklamakan Desert of XinJiang Provence, China has been a long lasting goal in my mind.  With some of the friendliest people I have ever encountered, Turpan, Urumqi, the capital, and Kashgar – the famous Silk Road trading outpost – would be great places to spend a portion of one’s life.

Uzbekistan

Easily a road less traveled for most westerners, Uzbekistan, a former Soviet Republic, is one of the most remote “Stans.”  With a wide variety of languages, cultures and ethnic groups, Uzbekistan would be a great place to discover something new.  Tashkent, the capital, would be a good place to start and find a job.  The famous shrinking Aral Sea is rapidly decreasing in size due to drastic misuses of water from the sea and Soviet cotton production.  Boats can be seen sitting in a sand dune where the harbor used to be 50 years ago.  Having a 50% Muslim population would also add to the illustrious and interesting nature of this possibly misunderstood and understudied country.

Thailand

Considered the vacation hot spot for Australians and many Europeans, much like the Caribbean is for North Americans, Thailand is a tropical paradise.  With several islands, forests, beaches and sunshine, Thailand would be a significant change from the smoggy air of Shanghai, China.  Although Thailand is currently suffering some political upheaval over their democratically unelected prime minister, it is still a safe and desirable place to live.  Famous for Muay Thai boxing, several areas in Thailand host Muay Thai training camps to give foreigners the change to learn this incredibly powerful art.  For $3500 USD, one can live and learn Muay Thai for one month.  Many foreign companies have set up branches or offices in Thailand because of labor costs and simply for the desire to live on the ocean.

Ecuador

Right smack dab on the equator, another warm beautiful country, perhaps not as frequented by travelers as Thailand, Ecuador bosts great culture and history on the otherside of the world.  With thousands of years of Incan hisotry, World National Heritage sites like the Galápagos Islands, and massive diversity in climate because of the different elevations, Ecuador would be a great place to live – and learn Spanish.  Also having friends from Ecuador, makes is a very desirable place to consider.  Teaching Enlgish while learning Spanish would be a phenominal way to ride out the recession or just live regardless.

Samarkand

Having completed all the necessary paperwork, acquired mini photos of myself and located my passport I set off to the Uzbek consulate in Shanghai.

No one seemed to know where Huangpu Road was. After several attempts I finally located number 99 and went to the 15th floor, which is where the Embassy site said the consulate offices were. I found a glass door with neon green construction paper glued to the door and a tiny white sign in Chinese with a phone number. I called the number and asked where the consulate was. He replied with a question, “rent or buy?”

I went to a nearby office and asked how long the room with the green door had been empty. “Almost two years,” came the cringe-worthy reply. I called Mike, who looked online and located another phone number. No answer and then a dial tone. Bummer.

After returning from the boondocks to my Shanghai apartment I confirmed online that I had gone to the right address. I called the Uzbek Embassy in Beijing. No one spoke English and the Chinese intern who answered the phone hung up when I asked if it was the Uzbek Embassy. Frustrated, I asked a friend who is fluent if she could follow up and find any information. Meanwhile a friend of Mike’s who speaks Russian is looking online for more information.

Meanwhile, if I can’t find information on the consulate I’ll have to take the overnight train to Beijing to find the Uzbek Embassy and try to deal with acquiring the visa in person in Beijing.

Through the whole semi-frustrating ordeal I was reminded that this is simply how things are in Asia- impermanent. It is a great start to the trip!

-Posted by Lauren.

A few days ago our kitchen sink began to leak and we had quite the adventure as the landlord’s mother and several other randoms arrived to ‘fix’ the problem. So, when the back of the toilet at our Chinese rental apartment began to run we bean to panic. Obviously the float was broken. I poked around inside the back trying to remember what my grandfather had taught me about plumbing. The pieces are completely different here and the floating thing that stops the water is a non-existent part of the Chinese design.

I called the landlord and asked him to have a plumber come over, but not to send the whole crew of voyeurs this time. Naturally he responded that the whole army of curious bystanders would arrive between 8 and 9 the following morning.

At 7am I sat bolt upright in bed. Last time they came over the plumber flooded the floor near an outlet and nearly killed three people via electrocution. All night I had horrible dreams about people frying. I went into the bathroom, unplugged everything and went back to bed.

At 8:30 there was a knock at the door and two strangers and the landlord filed past me and into the kitchen. I redirected them to the bathroom and the three of them starred at the back of the toilet. Chinese usually use squat pots, so the site of the upright was a bit confusing for the plumber. I could empathize.

Half an hour later the three emerged, turned off the water to the apartment and left to buy a new part. I went into the bathroom. They had flooded the entire floor and mopped it up with a towel into the tub. At least I knew what to expect this time! Apparently flooding is part of the process.

I left the apartment after talking with the landlord who explained they would be back at 3pm. In a building with no water 6 hours is a long time. I went to breakfast with a friend, ran some errands and returned at 2pm to find the problem fixed. Part two was much better than the nearly lethal part one!

-Posted by Lauren.

On the last day of our four day trip to HuangShan we were exhausted! We climbed down the entire mountain in one fell swoop, the details of this trek are etched into the backs of my eyes. Having finally made it to the bottom and had a nice night’s rest in a real bed, we woke up refreshed in the morning and had a nice buffet breakfast at the Best Western where we had happened to find lodging.

Labeled a 5 star hotel, the Best Western at the base of HuangShan could have been a tent with a mattress and I would have called it five star worthy, but this place deserved the stars even for the non travel weary. With rolling gardens sprawled across the estate and a wayward rock bridge crossing the valley before out hotel window, we were delighted.

After checking out of the hotel we wandered to the nearby spa (affiliated with the hotel for branding) and signed right up for the all inclusive hot spring afternoon for 169RMB. We put on our suits, downed some red tea and emerged in an Eden-like paradise! We were led to a large natural hot spring where staff waited on our beck and call while we lounged in the natural water and let the jets relax our aching muscles.

After a nice soak in the natural water we were led to a smaller pool full of liquor. The water smelled of booze, but the staff informed us that it was good for healing blemishes and making clear skin.

From here we were led to a pool of 40 degree water with coffee grounds in it. Literally a giant coffee cup roasting humans along with beans. We dunked in momentarily, having heard it was good for hair shine.

After the coffee we submerged ourselves more calmly in a slightly cooler pool of milk water. This was said to whiten and soften the skin. Set under a cherry blossom tree, we found ourselves in the shade and isolated, it was calming and beautiful, and we were the only people in the whole spa aside from staff.

From the milk we were dunked in red wine heated to 32 degrees. This was a pleasant spot as well, where we could hear water trickling and smell the grapes in the water.

There were several natural pools of various temperatures that did not contain anything other than water, though one contained salt. After several of these we were led to a very shallow pool where we had to sign a waiver.

Stepping into the pool I shrieked as loudly as I’m able (quite ear-splitting, actually) and nearly walked on water until I was standing on level ground. The staff roared in laughter and we read the sign next to the pool. The shallow water contained hundreds of tiny fish who were to eat dead skin off your feet and legs. I watched while Mike submerged his legs and continued to watch as they vanished around a pool of tiny green and blue fish. I returned to a natural pool and read a book for a while as Mike submerged his entire body into the fish tank. Mini Parana are not my idea of spa treatment, but it was interesting to watch!

Finally, after several hours at the spa we left, hired a random Huangshan native to drive us in his car to the train station, and spent a sleepless night on the overnight train back to Shanghai.

-Posted by Lauren.

In the morning we set off again to find the complete opposite of the previous day’s hike. The paths were congested with people and there was screaming, yelling, pushing and more screaming. It was like being back on the Shanghai subways. We forged ahead and eventually broke into a relatively quiet space between two rather large groups about 100m to the front and rear of us. We hiked all morning after watching the sunrise and eventually came to Lotus Flower Peak, the highest point of the mountain range at over 2000m. After climbing stairs that were carved into a sheer rock cliff, with both hands and feet on the steps, we eventually summited the peak where we found an old old woman selling noodles. How she got up there is a mystery, as there are only the stairs. Throughout the hike we had been passed by several elderly folks who giggled as they marched past us while we huffed and puffed up the mountain.

Climbing

After summiting the highest point we followed the steps around to the back of the mountain and down to Celestial Capital peak, the second highest peak. Due to ice, the mountain was closed. We had been planning on spending the night at a hostel that was built into the side of the cliff wall on the opposite face of Celestial Capital, but with the mountain closed we were faced with two options. 1) climb down the entire mountain and spend the second night at the base, or 2) explore the summit and then take the cable car down in the morning. Amid a wave of screaming and pushing from locals and tourists we decided, quite quickly, to leave the crowd and set off down the Western steps of the mountain.

The steps down were steeper than the steps up, and further apart. With one bad knee it wasn’t long before I felt my poor knee screaming at me to rest. With no where to go except back up or all the way down, we pushed forward with the sun rapidly setting behind us. A cane salesman half way down the hill was only too happy to part with a wooden stick which he sold for 5Rmb to me as I hobbled up to his lonley booth. With the aid of the cane I was hobbling along at a speedy rate of a snail. However, throughout the descent we played the tortoise and the hare, as groups rushed past us only to stop exhausted and covered in sweat at each resting point where we slowly hobbeled past without pause. It was a trial, but one with amazing scenery and it was a beautiful and throughout the trip there were subtle surprises like a tiny waterfall or a neon bird that kept my eyes glued to the bamboo forest.

Once at the base I looked at the pedometer I had been wearing since 6 that morning. 13, 561 steps from the hostel to the temple at the bottom of the hill. That’s over 6.2 miles of sheer steps going straight down. The day before we walked 3.8miles going straight up (and then took the cable car when dusk approached). We stepped off our final stair, with the aid of the cane, at 4pm and caught a bus to the closest town. At the town we were lucky enough to find a Best Western. Ironically, we were looking for the hot springs and decided to check into the hotel to shower and change and rest for a bit before setting out to find the springs. During our check in we were informed that the hot springs were not part of the hotel. How fortunate for us, because we would have wandered all over the mountain side looking for a natural spring. We checked in, ate dinner, cleaned up and promptly passed out.

In the morning we were in for a real treat.

-Posted by Lauren.

We returned today from a four day trip to HuangShan, Yellow Mountain, in Anhui province, China.

On Friday the 13th we boarded the nightly slow train to Anhui at 10:00pm. We were in a crowded sleeper car with about seventy other adventurers on their way to the mountain. Everyone was wearing hiking boots and had Canon cameras around their necks. Since it had been raining the past few weeks, everyone had a rain jacket strapped to their bags. We settled in and fell promptly asleep after a few games of cribbage, and listened to the sounds of our fellow cabin mates playing poker until the early morning.

At 5:00am I woke to the sounds of laughter- our cabin mates were gambling again already. I pulled out my book and read for a while before descending from the top bunk (they are three high in mini rooms of 6 beds) and found a seat along the hall where I watched the scenery change from the flat, coastal farmland around Shanghai to the rolling, rocky hills of Anhui province. We arrived at the HuangShan train station at 10:00am.

After buying our return tickets to Shanghai for the following Monday evening, we were accosted by dozens of men and women eager to sell us anything we might desire. One such promiser was a middle-aged woman who offered a ride to the base of the mountain for 15Rmb. We agreed, as this is how things are generally done around China, and hopped in the back of her 6 person mini-van. Ten minutes later the van had 10 people in it and we were bumping along at 70 miles an hour. An elderly woman with purple hair tapped Mike on the shoulder every few minutes asking his age, or my occupation, or his dental plans, or if I wanted a boy or girl child. The van stopped in a town at the base of the mountain, but several hours hike from the start of the mountain trails. We got in another mini van, the driver of which was quite possibly drunk, and took off down a winding road of switchbacks until we finally arrived, mid vomit, at the entrance to the Nine Dragon Falls. Though this was not the gate we had asked to be taken to, the falls looked beautiful so we went in after the ticket lady (all of 14) assured us we could connect with a seldom used trail to the main route.

The falls defied beauty and went into the realm of nirvana. We were alone on the trails, which were often little more than a few granite stones pointing the way, and we stopped often to feel the water, take pictures or explore areas off the path. By 2pm we were hardly half way to the halfway point, and sped up our pace a bit as we hiked through endless bamboo forests. Around 3pm we stepped off the granite path and onto a black-top road, shocked to discover that there was an auto-route up the mountain. Also at this intersection was a cable car that would deliver people and cargo to the base of the summit. As the sun was going to set soon, we hopped a ride on the cable car for 10USD.

The cable car ride was, in a word, magical. From the bamboo and palm tree waterfalls and turquoise ponds the lift heaved us up into a frozen paradise, where trees looked like crystal and sidewalks looked like glass. When we stepped off the lift a surreal feeling fell over us, and there was a long silence as we walked around touching the ice and rubbing our hands together.

We explored the various peaks around the summit until well into the evening, and then discovered that the hotels on the summit cost more than I make in a month. We walked out of each hotel a little more worried until a plump little man approached us and said “100 Rmb hostel?” to which we replied, “YES!”

The room was a cement square with a cement roof and cement floor. Four wooden beds lined the walls. In all, it was smaller than the compartment on our overnight train and had no bathroom, running water or heat. It was negative 3. We bought the whole room, which was 300Rmb, and then put all the blankets on one bed to try to keep warm. A party of hikers bought out the rest of the building and stayed up all night gambling and screaming, singing and drinking. We lay awake all night shivering, cursing and then laughing. It was easy to get out of that bed and that cement coffin of a hostel to go see the sunrise at 5:30am.

The sun peaked out over the hills and light flooded the valley in waves of orange, red and then blue. It was beautiful, except for the hundreds of other spectators who were screaming, waving bells and trying to hear their own echoes in the early morning valleys.

After a nice breakfast at the spendy hotel we packed our bags, big adieu to the stout cement square owner and set off for a day of summiting the various peaks of HuangShan.

-Posted by Lauren.

Yellow Mountain

Today we’re heading to HuangShan, yellow mountain, in Anhui province. This is the most famous of the five sacred mountains of China, and the filming location of endless Chinese epics (including some scenes in Flying Dragon, Sleeping Tiger, or whatever its called). With some advise from friends (Thanks T&L!) we’re planning on hiking up the four trillion steps on one side, and then descending on the other side, having spent the night in a hostel on the top of the mountain. There are hot springs at the base of the mountain and endless hiking paths along the many ridges.

The train takes between 9 and eleven hours to get from Shanghai to HuangShan, so we’re leaving tonight, Friday the 13th, at 10:00pm and arriving in the morning at the base of the mountain. We’re only bringing a few changes of clothes, a cribbage board, my camera and notebooks. It will be very nice to get away from the noise, smog and hustle of the city in exchange for the bird chirping and rain falling sounds of the mountain.

When we get back we’ll have less than a month before we depart on the ‘Shanghai to the Caspian’ trip. This is a good warm up.

-Posted by Lauren.

As the trip planning progresses I find myself at the stage of applying for international visas, a process wrought with vagueness and inconsistencies. For example, you can get a transit visa for several Central Asian countries but the duration of stay is not long enough to get across the country by land. Or, visa laws will stipulate that you need A, B and C and then when you get to the consulate they will have a list that goes from A to Z of random documents and health testing you need. That aside, the trip planning is going well. We are set to go from Urumqi to Almaty by train or bus through the Tien Shan mountains, and then spend a day in Almaty seeing the world’s second largest canyon and the accompanying hot springs. From there you grab a train to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where we’ll spend a day in the capital before heading to Samarkand and Bokarah, where I’d like to spend a few weeks, if time permitted.

Maps of the region are hard to come by, so planning a more accurate by land traverse is difficult. Where trains become obsolete we’ll take buses. In Central Asia and China a bus is anything from an SUV with all the seats removed to a long hallow tube with stacked cots and a pin for animals in the back. Hopefully the buses in and around Bukarah are an improvement upon earlier experiences, but either way its an adventure.

Trains are apparently the best way to travel…. until you reach Bokarah, whereupon the train becomes a projectile of T.B. From Bokarah we’ll need to take buses or rent an SUV or comission a pack of horses or camels to take us to Ashgabat. With visa laws somewhat obscure for Turkmenistan, I’m having difficulty believing I can just nab permisssion to cross at the border.

I’m growing more excited about the trip. Reading up on the bazars,

minnerets, whirling-dervishes, single-eyebrowed ladies and massive lakes of fire have inspired me to salavate when looking at the map of my overland route. It is a shame humans invented airplanes because I feel little good has come of it. We use them for war and for making travel easier. Unfortunetly its made travel less interesting. This trip is really going to feel like a trek from shore to shore. From Shanghai to Ashgabat, and then west to Turkmenbashy on the Caspian Sea. Visas are being acquired and train tickets sought out. The countdown begins!

-Posted by Lauren.

In planning the trip from Shanghai to Ashgabat, I’m encountering some chatter online about difficulties previous travelers have faced trying to cross the Irkeshtam pass from China into Kyrgyzstan. I contacted a Central Asian expert to inquire about the safety of traveling in this region, as well as the probability of attempting a border crossing at Irkeshtam. I was told it would be a waste of time to attempt to get from Kashgar to Osh. However, there is some hope in arranging for a Chinese travel company to escort me to the border and then deliver me to a Bishkek travel company, which would then drop me off safely in the capital of Kyrgyzstan.  As for safety, there was no one who would recommend a woman travel alone, naturally.

I’m determined to travel from the Coast of China to the Caspian Sea. If there were some way to make it from Turkmenistan to the Mediterranean I could have gone from coast to coast without touching an airfield, truly a feat in this day and age, where travel is about arriving, not departing.Alas, there are a few countries between the Caspian and the Med that are not intelligent to visit at present. It is all in the planning stages, and perhaps there is a way, but I will be more than happy to have gone from Shanghai to Ashgabat.

I invited a travel partner recently, and am excite to hear if she can make the trip. This woman has traveled all over the world, and has a travel resume that would make even the most adventurous traveler blush in envy. I’ll let you know what she says. She speaks some Russian and a bit of Kyrgyz, which would be helpful on the trip, not to mention she has an intimate knowledge of the Stans. I’ll not ruin the surprise until I get confirmation.

All else is going well, investigating visa options, researching train schedules and studying maps. I’m also following the news from the countries we’ll travel through and alternate routes should anything go south mid-trip.

-Posted by Lauren.

As many of you know, I was laid off from my financial job on New Year’s Eve (classy timing). But this upsetting twist has been an amazing thing. I’ve been busy writing full time now, and making a fairly decent income to boot. I’ve been painting and touring around Shanghai as well, and will upload pictures of the paintings soon.

Alas, this time should not go wasted. It is rare that I have money saved up, free time, and the perfect location from which to launch a trip like this one. I’m planing a journey across land from Shanghai to Ashgabat, beginning late April. So far, I have the first half of the trip, some 8,200 miles, planned.  I’ll take the train from Shanghai to Urumqi, which is a 48 hour trip through a varied and diverse terrain. I’ll be writting on the train, as well as photographing the changes as we chug through flatlands, mountains and then desert.  From Urumqi I’ll take an overnight bus to Kashgar, the bus takes 24 hours and skirts along the Taklamakan desert, one of the harshest in the world.The bus leaves mid day so that we will be traveling by night through the deepest parts of the desert.

Kashgar is one of the few places on the planet that inspires instant envy. I’m enveious of the folks I know who have been there who claim it is truly an oasis of culture and color- the fading with the influx of new residents. I want to get there before it compleately dissapears.

From Kashgar to Ashgabat, the roads are a bit hazy and the trip a bit more dangerous. Careful planning is needed, at least to secure visas, permits and find a map with existing roads on it. This second phase of the journey will be planned at a later stage. For now, I’m busy finding out what there is to see along the route I have mapped so far. I’ve been to Turpan and toured around Urumqi, so this trip I’d like to check out some outlying villages to the North of the city before heading through the desert to Kashgar. At some point, I’m determined to use a camel as a mode of transportation.

I just hope my laptop doesnt melt. April/May is a rough time to be out in the desert, but alas there is no time like the present. It will take about a month to finish planning, packing and acquiring visas, hence, the adventure begins now!

-Posted by Lauren.

Travel

How much would it cost to travel in Asia for a year?  This thought crossed my mind today as I was sitting in my office.  Like being back in grade school, my teachers refused to let me sit by the window because I would just stare outside all day and they would have to say my name multiple times before my head would turn.  Not much has changed since then as I am sitting in my office looking out the window.  Just ask Lauren, she will tell you how many times she has to say my name before I hear or acknowledged her – partially because I didn’t hear, more because I was thinking about something else, and probably because my hearing has gotten selectively more selective over the years.

Pondering bamboo scaffolding, how suspension bridges work, and what plant I would masticate as an antidote for…oh I don’t know, being shot by a poisonous frog dart like in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; I fixated on travel for a long time this morning.  Now, all the previous thoughts being completely rational and normal for most people to have on a Tuesday morning in the office, how much would it cost to travel in Asia for a year?

This is really quite simple to answer, especially if you are already living in Asia and would not need to purchase a plane ticket.  Any Lonely Planet, not that I would recommend using them, will tell you that it is quite possible to get by on $20.00 USD a day in most Asian countries.  Even this is an inflated figure, as in many Southeast Asian countries you can easily get by for under $10 USD each day.  Including train travel expenses and the occasional treat, I think $20 USD is very fair.

I estimate that if I were to save up about 7,500 USD, I could travel for exactly 375 days, non-stop, for a year.  This was a really exciting thing to become fixated upon.  Lauren and I have no departure plans set yet, but these numbers are really fun to throw around in our heads for when we plan the Exodus and will probably affect how we go about doing it.  So much more to see and do!

“Do not tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.”

–  Muhammad

Image from the famed 1980's movie - The Princess Bride

We all remember this scene right?  When the Six-Fingered Man turns the water wheel and Wesley convulses in pain?  “I’ve just sucked away one year of your life.  How does that make you feel?”  Wesley whimpers and the Six Fingered Man responds, “Pity.”

This is how I feel about China’s air quality.  As Lauren and I approach our 1 year anniversary of moving to Shanghai (February 16th), and Winter colds and coughs are dissipating, I have been considering the toll we are paying for breathing in this air.  Chinese New Year was a blessing of one week’s worth of fresh air, blue sky and sunshine as all the the factories closed for the festival; albeit, some of it was replaced with very high levels of sulfur from some of the most amazing fireworks displays I’ve ever seen.

I was amazed to see the moon and stars, which I have missed a lot since I moved here.  Maybe comparing China’s air quality to the Six Fingered Man’s Life Sucking Water Wheel of Death is a little extreme, but those of you who know me also come to expect these urges I have to be irrationally sarcastic.  But is it that extreme?  – Oh, did I mention stubborn?

A few weeks ago I read an article on CNN about the last two decade’s Drop in US Air Pollution Linked to Longer Lifespans.  Hilariously blocked by the Chinese firewall, this article argues the statistical proof that the decrease in the United States’ air pollution has increased life expectancy by 5 months since the 1980’s.  This is absolutely mind-blowing as I can’t even imagine what I am breathing in comparison to…let’s say New York or Los Angeles?  China’s air quality and Shanghai’s air pollution must be at least 2-3 times that of the states (Randomly Generated Facts, pg. 486).

The New England Journal of Medicine, a little more reliable than CNN, has an article with staggering facts about air pollution and your health.  Now that we have moved to a new apartment, I think it is time to by an air purifier as well to curb the Water Wheel of Death that is China’s air quality.  Please check back for my next post: The ROUS (Rodents of Unusual Size) – The Panda.  Just kidding, only one Princess Bride themed post each year.

Its official. I was laid of on the 31st of December while on vacation in Beijing. I found out via an emailed letter from an employee I’d never met in London in the HR department. No explanation was given except for the “unfavorable economic situation.” Several others in our office (7 in total…. so far) have been laid off. Two additional staff were let go today…. literally three days before the biggest holiday and family celebration in China- the New Year. I will, I swear, never work for a bank again. They do not treat people like humans, and have no rhyme or reason for their crude and inhuman behavior. Its unforgivable how they have treated people, and it is a product of the industry as a whole. Shame on you, banking community, for being such *&#*&@_$s.

On the inverse, I’ve spent the entire month painting, reading and generally enjoying Shanghai’s city-scene. Its been liberating painting again, something I’d taken a break from for over a year for lack of time. Its a shame to let one’s hobbies go by the wayside. I’ve started a massive “History of Civilizations” book that is fascinating.

working

We are also busy apartment hunting. We found one we really loved, but as we were just settling our final negotations the realitor called to say that someone else had swept in with more money and taken it. It was a devistating moment, as now we are back to square one on the apartment hunt. Meanwhile, of of possibly bigger importance, the job hunt is stalling as no one will hire prior to the Chinese New Year.

Last night we all stayed up late to watch Obama get sword into office. It was a good moment in American history, and I am glad that the country is willing to work to reestablish our reputation as a moral country with humble power. I hope this president will roll up his sleeves and solve a few problems. I’m holding out for the best — we’ll see!

-posted by lauren.

HUtong

For the holidays this year my little sister flew into China via our week together with our brother in Japan. We took a break to hang out in Shanghai, even sticking it out over Christmas- when we climbed to the top of the JinMao Tower and walked around both the east and west banks of the Bund, before shopping and grabbing a nice Chinese meal for Christmas dinner.After the festivities of taking morning pictures we decided to trek to the Shanghai train station where we purchased tickets to Beijing the following Saturday.

The night trains are the only way to travel in China. You board in the evening (ours was at 8:30pm) and arrive the following morning after a night in a tiny bunk 12 feet off the ground, ready for your next adventure. Once in Beijing, we strolled to Tienanmen Square to gaze at the smog filled walkway and gateway to the Forbidden City. Afterwords we headed to a friend’s house, where we dropped off our heavy packs and then ventured out again to HouHai Lake, in Northwestern Beijing. The lake was frozen over, and skaters skidded across the ice, unsure of themselves. We strolled around watching them slip and slide about the lake before eating a massive Chinese dinner and heading to Sanlitun, the bar street, where we picked a quiet place for a few quick drinks before the long walk home.

The next day we saw the Forbidden City- a wonderfully intricate red, green and blue structure where emperors had once ruled. Two years in China, and I’d never been! I was happy to walk around the frozen palace, though the wind burn began to make smiling difficult after the first two hours. We then headed to Yashou– a shopping mall for antiques and other nick-nacks where we had foot massages to heal our sore feet. In all, we had walked 13 hours that day.

The following morning we relaxed a bit and headed to the Temple of Heavenly Peace, where we walked for hours around the gardens, surrounded by black crows and a few other brave tourists. We then did a self guided tour of the rebuilt hutongs along south Tienanmen.

The next morning was the 31st- the last day of 2008- and we got on an early morning bus to Badaling, a section of the Great Wall quite near Beijing. We arrived to freezing winds and very few tourists, and for the majority of the hike we were alone on the wall. The Great Wall is really more of a climbing ediphis than anything meant to keep someone else out. Beautiful though. After a quick nap we headed back out to Tienanmen for New Year’s Eve, where we assembled at the entryway of the Forbidden City with others celebrating the new year, and counted down to midnight in unison before cheering, hugging and then heading home for a night of much needed sleep.

The night train back to Shanghai was as old and rickety as the one we had been on a week earlier. I love the train, and slept fitfully but happily, it was in all a very fulfilling trip, and a great way to spend the New Years!

-posted by lauren.

After the pineapple park we were worried nothing would be able to keep the trip as elevated as that insane bird-biting adventure had. However, the next morning we woke up, sauntered down to the base grub hall and ate a healthy breakfast of American fried grease and then headed back to the cabin to change into our summer wear. After climbing into our swimsuits we headed down to the beach loaded with Bud’s, books, cameras and Ipods. Instead of finding a nice sandy spot we spotted some cliffs that cut shallow into the waves, and headed over for a look-see.

The water was turbulent, despite the nice weather, and we climbed around on the side of the cliffs looking for caves. We went quite a distance before being forced to turn back by a sheer wall of cement. Rock climbing on a beach shielded from the general public was liberating, and I wondered if anyone had stood on those rocks in years. Probably we were the first in over thirty years.

After we finished spelunking, we headed back to the sand where my sister discovered a live hermit crab, complete with beautiful purple shell, and we set up a little circular rice course of various diameters and took bets on how long it would take the poor crab to get to various areas of the circle. We named him Herbert and I won all bets as I’m more optimistic than most. Meanwhile, sister found another hermit crab (which we named Phil) and we set about digging a massive hole to watch them climb out of– a Colosseum for crabs.

Hours later we grew bored with the crabs and watched them scurry off into the sunset with wild stories to someday tell no one– being hermit crabs I doubt they gather around camp fires to tell war stories of humans abusing them on the beach.

All this time sister and I had been poking around with the silly hermits, brother had been reading and listening to tunes. We joined him until the sun finally set and then headed home for more Hannah Montana UNO and a few more Buds and chips. I had missed American food, and helped devour an entire bag of chips while watching bad American TV. Being around family was amazing, and we joked, played cards and watched silly shows well into the night.

-posted by Lauren.

Herbert

Canon

Lauren got a new camera a few months ago and has been relentlessly learning the ins and outs of using a Canon 1000D, or in the States, a Canon Rebel XS.  Our friend Tim, who could be a professional photographer, showed her some new tricks and she has taken to the streets, and Japan, to collect some prized photography.  We will be updating our website, as well as our flickr photo album as frequently as possible.  For the latest photos, please visit our album or subscribe to our RSS feed for blog updates.  Moreover, please see Tim Stelzer’s gallery for some amazing shots from a recent bike trip from Lhasa, Tibet to Nepal.

The China job market is still booming. People all over the U.S. are losing their jobs as corporate cutbacks, layoffs, and budget cuts threaten their bottom lines. The job loss trickle down of the economic slump, although having pierced the Asian markets triggering stock drops, has not yet reached the China job market. Although the Chinese economy is in the red big-time for the year, jobs are available in many different companies throughout China’s major cities, both foreign and domestic. I myself have just transferred from a Chinese company to a rapidly growing (Hong Kong registered) Australian company.

A very reliable source, my Mother and her avid reading of Readers Digest, argues that my Generation – Generation Y – is the first generation to consider the possibility that there are other countries better than the United States. Now, I am by no means saying that China is the answer nor am I saying that that statement is true. But I do agree that I have pondered the possibility for reasons and tangents I will save for another post. Either way, if you are interested in experiencing a culture, environment, and job market that is unlike anything you have ever seen and are looking for an experience that will benefit you in years to come…China may be the right place for you. The top 5 best ways to make this happen are:

1) The ultimate and absolutely best, and safest way, to work in China is to be sent here by your current company. Although this may not be true if you are interested in learning about the culture, language, and gaining personal growth through ridiculous endeavors. However, if you want to live in a developing country in which pretty much everything is dirt cheap with the exception of your luxury apartment, personal driver, maid, and chef – which your company pays for anyway, this is the wet dream of almost everyone who is here under completely different circumstances. Also, you usually will be paid a ridiculous sum of money plus hazard pay to move here.

Shanghai

2) Teach English. If only a job is what you want, about 1 billion await for you my friend. Open any search engine right now and type in, “teach English in China.” If you don’t find anything you probably should never reproduce, or teach, because you must have spelled something wrong. You can get paid anywhere from 4000 RMB a month in rural areas, 6000-8000 in large cities of China, and 10,000+ if you have a degree and ESL certification. This is pure, and should be, untaxed profit. Usually you would receive travel, living, and apartment money as well. It is a great way to learn Chinese and decide whether or not you could stand living here long enough to have a career before you gouging your eyes out and your head explodes.

3) Next, you will have to turn to the website job posts. www.asiaexpat.Com has one of the better online listings for different job offerings in specific cities and their local websites are frequently trafficked. They have a large array of many different fields from the entry level to the executive. For the most part, do not expect to be paid the equivalent of foreign salaries through these jobs, but they offer great starting points and experience for those who are new to the international career world.

4) Then you have other career and expat living magazines and websites like That’s Shanghai, The Beijinger and so on and so forth. These provide tips on living in the cities, services available, dating, and pretty much anything you can think of. However, these sites have not been used for headhunting as much as they have been in the past.

5) Last, and by far not least, another great way to get jobs in China is relationships (关系). This is a huge aspect of Chinese culture. Almost every Chinese business deal hinges on being friends first and trusting one another. This aspect of Chinese culture has affected many expats living here as well. This invaluable means of advancing ones career happens very frequently to expats who reside in a city for a semi-extended period of time. Most people don’t stay here forever, which means that there are constantly openings in companies all over China.

If you are interested in moving to China or have questions about living, working, or finding work here. Please feel free to contact us and we will be more than happy to help you out. You can also read more about our lives in Shanghai.

The Shanghai music scene mirrors China’s rapid growth and development over the last few decades. As one of the largest financial and commercial hubs in the world, Shanghai is also a culturally diverse metropolis. From Mexican mariachis to glow-stick waving raves, the city hosts a variety of international music for the entertainment of expatriates and locals alike. The Shelter, a converted World War II bunker, provides a rave atmosphere for unhinging your joints and flailing to Chinese techno. Meanwhile, Zapata’s cervasas and tiki huts offer a relaxing place to unwind after a long day of work.

Famous in SH

Although the city’s entertainment venues primarily focus on the clubbing and dance scenes, several live music bars have gained devoted patrons. One of the best places to find these hot spots is through That’s Shanghai, a monthly magazine that provides a listing of restaurants, bars, and music events throughout the area. This comprehensive guide provides everything you need to please your literal, and creative palate. Music events in Shanghai range from subway singers to local Chinese and expat bands, to international celebrities such as Kanye West and George Benson (performing this September).

Tucked away down a back street near 华山路 (Hua Shan Lu) Time Passage has become one of my personal favorites. Besides having ridiculously cheap beer, there are live music performances almost every night from local Chinese cover bands playing anything from classic rock to modern pop. It is difficult not to be impressed by the local talent. Bands will take the stage speaking little or no English, earning looks of skepticism from most of the first-timers and non-Chinese. The set begins with a strange adaptation of a song everyone faintly recognizes. ‘Something in the Way’ by Nirvana, is sung in perfect English by a Chinese man completely unaware he is singing, “But it’s ok to eat fish, because they don’t have any feelings.” Doubtful that he cares about the fish, or its feelings, the band finishes with an equally impressive Neil Young or John Denver song; they bow and walk off the stage to the sounds of wild applause from former skeptics.

Without a doubt, modern Chinese pop has been tremendously influenced by American culture. Simply turn on the T.V. and you will see Hong Kong rock stars, Chinese pop stars surrounded by an entourage of backup dancers, and Chinese rappers break dancing in front of brightly colored sports cars. Although the music culture resembles that of the U.S., it is also undoubtedly unique to China. These distinctions are partially due to China’s wide variety of cultures illuminated through a blend of ethnic minority music, traditional Chinese instruments and Western influence. Shanghai provides one of the most diverse and interesting stages for continually expanding original music genres. Behind the flashing neon lights of the Shanghai financial district, and down back alleys in neighborhood bars stirs talent just waiting for discovery.

-posted by Mike.

Traveling to Hong Kong when working for a Chinese company can prove to be a rather tiresome task. However, I have heard of several western businesses traveling in this manner. The manner in which I am asked to travel is sometimes completely beyond my understanding but it always is becomes a very interesting experience full of excitement, complications, and stressful situations. My company is constantly trying to “cut corners,” so to speak, and in the end spend much more money through these attempts.

Hong Kong

Usually I am asked not to fly directly to Hong Kong because it is extremely expensive. The reasons as to why flights from Shanghai to Hong Kong are considered international flights are money, the SAR (Special Authority Region) status that Hong Kong has maintained even after the 1997 turnover to China, and that China has signed a non-interference agreement with Britain / Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is politically part of China, but like other SAR and AR (Autonomous Regions) in China such as Xinjiang, Xizang (Tibet), and Inner Mongolia – which have existed independently for thousands of years, or in this case, 99 years under a treaty with Great Britain, the dissimilarities that exists between the mainland and these areas are immense. Even 11 years after the turnover, the Chinese authorities have surprisingly not intervened in Hong Kong. Besides the wide circulation and acceptance of only Hong Kong Dollars (HKD) and not Chinese RMB in most establishments, the fact that one crosses a “border” when entering and exiting Hong Kong, and that mobile phone networks from the mainland do not work or are charged international roaming fees, are solid examples of their semi-solidarity. I also believe that many Hong Kong citizens have a disenchanted or skeptical view towards the mainland. When asked about my employment with a Chinese company, many Hong Kong locals have responded, usually in perfect English, “you must be very angry and annoyed frequently while working for a Chinese company.” I will leave my response up to the interpretation of the reader.

Flying into Shenzhen is considerably less expensive than direct flights into Hong Kong. However, the land border crossing and shuttle bus back and forth can be extremely time-consuming. A shuttle bus from the Shenzhen airport arrives at the customs center near the international border crossing. All passengers have to carry all other luggage into the exit compound. After receiving some particularly annoying “foreign treatment,” you are ushered through the gate and board another bus outside the gate. This bus drives less than 10 minutes and arrives at the Hong Kong clearance compound. Once again, you have to take all of your bags off the bus and get clearance into Hong Kong. Then, you board a completely different bus and drive into Hong Kong. After almost two hours, you arrive at the destination you could have flown directly. Then, even though you have to go to a trade show near the Hong Kong airport, you have to stay in a hotel in Kowloon because it is also cheaper. After dealing with phone calls from your boss for not checking your email because the crappy hotel you stayed in doesn’t’ have internet services, you have a take the subway and walk to a bus center to take you back to the trade expo center one hour away every day.

In a poor attempt to save money, the company spent more on paying a salary while I was traveling and placing me in a hotel with no internet connection from which I could not perform my duties. This lack of foresight and logic is widespread throughout Chinese companies in my experiences. Although anecdotal, I have witnessed these events repeatedly and feel safe in generalizing, however many of these things are simply cultural. If you would like to save money by taking this route, I urge you to consider the time you are wasting while attempting to save money.

-Posted by Mike.

West Lake

We arrived in Hangzhou at 6:00am. The city is well known for its beauty, and along with Guilin is one of the most beautiful tourists spots in China. I had traveled here in 2005, my first time in China, and this city alone is what had eventually led me to return to China. The city is shrouded in everything one comes to love about China, and its history is startlingly ever present. We grabbed a cab to West Lake, the centerpiece of the city, and tightened the straps of our backpacks as we set of to circumnavigate the lake. Slightly remembering the features of the area, I set of pointing out aspects of my previous journey. We sat on the lake shore with a group of over twenty elderly Chinese and drank coffee and tea as we watched women in their nineties do tai chi while men did their morning exercises of military drills from years long passed. The elderly were surprisingly limber, and possibly in better shape than ourselves. They laughed and chatted amongst themselves while they exercised and drank their tea, and we aware that we were on the outside, looking in. I admired these old people, who were light years ahead of the American elderly who sat decaying in old folk’s homes, antisocial and full of self pity. Chinese elderly are the life of the country, they meet at night to dance in the parks with each other, and congregate every morning around the lakes to exercise and socialize. I hoped then and there that when I aged, I would age with dignity and grace like the Chinese in Hangzhou. We watched them for quite some time before the sun fully emerged, and then we set off along dragon bridges in the early morning light.

We continued our tour around the lake, sometimes losing sight of the shore as we strolled through deep woods, always keeping the lake in the distance. Emerging back on the shores, we encountered hundreds of boaters and fishers, eager to offer us a ride (for a fee, of course). The mood around the lake had shifted as the sun climbed in the sky. Younger people emerged, and with them some of the charm of the lake disappeared. Loud tourists came out of nowhere by the bus load, and we were happy that we had been there early to sense the quiet energy of the elderly. Eventually we were overrun by tours with megaphones and camera shutters snapping in our faces and decided we had had enough of tourism! We were tired of calculated trips where a lady with a bullhorn would screech into the crowd, “look how beautiful and serene the lake is. hurry. hurry. look. okay, moving on….” There is hardly anything to appreciate when one is in a crowd as massive and noisy as a Chinese tour group. We waited for the groups to pass so we could make our escape, but they did not cease. Finally we fought our way through the crowd to the nearest exit and hailed a passing cab. Exhausted and tired, we directed him to the train station where twenty minutes later we found ourselves sitting on a fast train home to Shanghai.

Hangzhou

Though it had been an amazing week on the river, we were tired and eager to be back home. It was odd thinking of our tiny apartment in Shanghai as our home, but when we walked through the door to familiar smells and fabrics, we smiled and truly realized how fortunate we were to have such a nice place, with so much security and comfort. A week sailing through poverty had made it so nothing would be taken for granted for a very long time.

-posted by Lauren.

Yellow Crane Tower

Again we were awoken at 5:00am as we passed through the final of three gorges. This last gorge was vastly different than the previous two, and we were happy that we had decided to go topside. The cliff sides were covered in lush greenery like a scene from Jurassic Park, and we took out our binoculars to watch for monkeys. After an hour the sun began to rise, and we joined the Swiss in the dining hall for boiled eggs and waterlogged rice. We continued our previous discussion of religion in Switzerland, noting that the Swiss pay taxes to the Church via the government. I pondered how un neutral this was, but decided not to point this out. We talked about neutrality for a long time, and though I had always admired the Swiss for being internally focused, I found neutrality to be a double edged sword. It protected the people, but it also meant they turned their backs on the world when it sometimes needed it. A truly confusion conundrum. After a leisurely meal the Swiss got off the boat to see a monument, we stayed on board and played cribbage overlooking the hillsides. The stop was the final day trip before the end of the cruise, but we had heard roomers that the stop was largely bullshit, another tourist trap selling plastic Olympic goods. The Swiss returned and sat with us in the windy sunshine and laughed at what a joke the last sight had been. It was a fake dragon boat race that lasted less than two minutes, but they had been forced to march at top speeds up a large hillside to see the race from afar. After a few warm beers and more discussion with the Swiss, we packed up our room and got off the boat. It had been an interesting four days, but I don’t think I would ever recommend the ‘cruise’ to anyone. At least not anyone I liked.

We boarded a bus for Yicheng, a nearby city where we would be able to buy train or bus tickets to Wuhan, and then back to Shanghai. We found Yicheng a beautifully modern and clean city that resembled, in many ways, the US mid-west. Our bus passed through a housing district of large brick mansions facing the river, and we watched, mouths agape, as the luxury passed behind us. Apparently black gold had made this village prosperous, that coupled with a constant stream of disembarking tourists had elevated the city. We rumbled towards the bus stop where we bid farewell to the Germans and the Swiss, and boarded another, more crowded bus that smelled of vomit and was full of flies. This bus would take us 5 hours to Wuhan.

Arriving in Wuhan near 21:00 we began walking aimlessly down a large street near where our bus had abandoned us. Curiously, we spotted the German couple down the road and hurried to catch up with them. They had arrived an hour earlier and had checked into a hostel down the street. We followed them to the hostel, checked in and then set about devouring a round of beers with the Germans. We took a cab to look for western food, but ended up in a Chinese buffet hall when we realized it was too late for most restaurants to be open. Returning to the hostel after a tasty meal- our first in five days- we slept soundly and awoke refreshed at 10:00, the latest we had slept since leaving Shanghai.

Yellow Crane Hill

After a nice breakfast at the hostel we went to the Yellow Crane Pagoda where, for 50Rmb one can stroll along the gardens and climb the pagoda where Li Bai had been humbled by former masters and an amazing view of the river. We spent the afternoon talking about American politics and slowly walking through the shade of the bamboo. Resting often, we felt close to the Chinese of old who had had a lifestyle of learning and growing. After the pagoda, which is a beautiful spot in Wuhan I’d highly recommend, we returned to the hostel to spend the afternoon resting in the sunshine. Mike found an abandoned guitar and he strummed songs and sang all afternoon in a cove in the hostel. I read Empire of the Sun, a gift from a Shanghai friend I had recently received for my birthday, and we whiled away the hours sipping beers and relaxing. We ate a nice hostel meal that was the largest array of foods we had seen in ages, and dined until our bellies hurt. At 17:00 the Germans appeared and we decided to share a cab to the train station. Once we arrived the Germans bought another round of beers and we chugged them on the platform and shook hands and exchanged phone numbers and emails. Traveling in china always produced friends of necessity, but this trip had been very good to us, and we adored the Swiss and German couples we had met on the trip. We boarded the night train to Hangzhou, and were amazed at the modernity we were faced with. This was the cleanest and nicest train we had ever been on, and we stayed up playing cards and drinking cheap beer until the lights were turned off and we crawled up into our top bunks and slept.

-posted by Lauren.