Quit 'cher belly achin'

We've had a wrenching stomach ache the last few days and they both started at the same time which leads us to believe it was one of 2 things: The apples that the nice elderly folk gave us on the train that were bought straight off the street and thrown into a dusty bag though they warned us to wash them, we were on the train using recycled water from the communal vanity room where I wouldn't be surprised if the sink shared the same pipe as the toilet. That or the coconut creme cookies purchased from the train station general store where they must have initially stocked all of their grocery items in 1992 and have been waiting patiently to dispel every product off the shelf. It's grabbed hold for the last 3 days and China has to be the worst place to have that hunka-burnin-love feeling constantly hovering over you. We had gone a full week before we had to encounter the hole-in-the-floor toilet which, once we hit Xian was unavoidable. And they don't allow you to flush toilet paper as their pipe system won't hold up to it, so you just toss it in the open basket next to you where, if the bastard before you wasn't cool enough to conceal his work, you're staring at some things mighty undesirable. We have our prescription Cipro to ease us of the pain, but only 30 pills which we strategically reserved entirely for India- I think that gamble will pay out big when all the cards are laid out. So right now we're sticking to sandwiches at the 7-11.

It turns out our friends that we mentioned from the park were part of this huge ring of students who prey upon bewildered westerners in the city's central shopping/museum district, the People's Square. Carolee wanted to go back to the area to see the Shanghai Museum but I opted out so I just lounged out in the fountain area where I noticed a large group of young Chinese gathered at one corner of the park. They were constantly surveying the entrance to the museums for tourists. I had a good hour to observe their ploy and noticed that everytime they pounced they'd travel in pairs, one guy and girl, which I guess appears more harmless? (who knows, they had it worked out well). There must have been a good 20 of them as they worked their magic over 5 couples within only 20 minutes. Our original assigned pair was actually back and had the gall to reapproach me where I politely told them to beat it (radio version). I actually felt it my obligation to tip everyone off, but I wondered to what extent. Being that there was a mob of them, it could have been a well organized "family" affair and that might have lead to a bit of trouble. Then I figured I should just let things run their course, as even if some people did get swindled, again, there wasnt any threat of physical safety and it would have only been $10 bucks or so. And more importantly, you learn a valuable lesson when you get bilked like that. So when we left, I just headed towards the nearest victim and pulled the guy aside and told him to just watch out- that we had been nabbed earlier and I had been watching how his whole bite unfolded- he was appreciative of it.

So Shanghai wasn't so spectacular after all. Did a lot of the tourist circuit: boatcruise, Jin Mao building (4th tallest in the world), Jade Buddha Temple, walking down Nanjing. I'm sure we would have appreciated it somewhere later on in the trip, but at this point, it wasn't anything fascinating.

One of the days we took a daytrip to Suzhou, (the Venice of the East), which was really nice. We couldn't afford all the gardens that the city is known for as they number in the teens maybe and ask on average 50 yuan a head so we went to the most popular (we do the most convenient like pros), the Humble Administrator's Garden, and just biked the rest of the day. The biking was actually the best part as we could find some of the more inaccessible canals and just ride down the walkway watching people go about their daily business.

So now we're back in Beijing. Had to come back to catch the train to Mongolia (only available Mon and Tue to Ulan Baatar). So we've had 3 days to do NOTHING. absolutely marvelous. We've been going at break-neck speed to hit all these sites so far that we haven't been able to relax as we should while on vacation. So the first day we slept in til 11, had KFC next door and went back inside to watch 70 channels of Chinese TV. The next day was more ambitious, hit some of the lesser hyped sites we hadn't seen the first time: Liulichang Antique Market, Beihai Park and Ritan Park (where we by surprise came across a 70 foot climbing wall within the grounds and decided to spend some good time doing that with these guys from Boston and Toronto). Then at night found a decent lakeside restaurant but they pulled the old Euro-trick of charging for EVERYTHING- the peanuts, the napkins, and even the view. Petty.

So tomorrow we head for Mongolia where we plan on heading out to the Gobi for 2 weeks. Doubt there'll be internet access-- would be severely disappointed if there was. So we'll be back in a couple weeks. And if we're not, call the proper authorities. Seriously.


**Post-Script: added Nov 27-- It has been 2 months since we left Shanghai, and while visiting the ever-resourceful Lonely Planet-Thorntree forum for updated travel advice, we've read that the Shanghai scam is still alive and kicking. Dozens of travelers have fallen victim to this scheme, having been chatted up just outside the Shanghai museum and being led to the same tea shop. To our chagrin, it's not just $10 that they have lost. After sitting down, not only is tea served but a slew of menu items including high-priced whisky and various foods begin to appear. When the bill is laid down to the tune of $50-70 US, two hulking Chinese employees appear to ensure the bill is paid in full. Very upsetting.

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