For the sake of one good action

One hundred evil ones should be forgotten.

The Chinese have not had a great 2008 year so far. The Chinese New Year kicked things off in February with freezing sub zero blizzards that killed off a lot of the countries live stock and farming produce, this devastated the countries food supplies. In March the violent rioting escalated with the monks and lay people in Tibet then Chinese security forces moved in killing many which shocked the world. April brought angry demonstrations as the Olympic torch relay got pelted around the globe especially in London by pro-Tibet demonstrators. April also witnessed the T195 Beijing to Qingdao train crash which killed 66 people and was said to be caused by human error. No spring break for the Chinese this May as more horror manifested with the recent 7.9 earthquake in central Sichuan province with 69,016 dead, 368,545 injured, 18,830 still missing and 5 million now homeless. End of May, the province of Guizhou was hit by flash floods and landslides and now a lake is about to burst its banks with over 7,000 houses damaged and 500,000 people effected. On the 1st June a helicopter crashed with 19 patients and rescuers on board that had just come from Sichuan quake zone, no survivors have been found as of date of writing this blog. China has received $5.98 billion dollars in disaster aid in less than one month.



I fully understand that the Tibet debate is never ending and totally heartless and insane, but what about all the other good people of China? With the up and coming threats of Olympic boycotts how come I see all these donations, aid, support and mutual grief around the world? One thing this earthquake has done is shake up universal compassion, this is one good thing. Maybe its only a tiny slither percentage of the 1,319,175,350 Chinese population who are to blame for these injustices and human rights issues, but the vast majority of Chinese citizens are good, warm hearted and very humble people and as I breath in the same air I have now personally been the more positive side the earth-rat is a good year for new beginnings including fresh changes within international relations especially governments, so it is a fantastic year for elections and social order. London recently changed its Mayor Ken to Mayor Boris which made my jaw drop to the bottom of the Thames. The USA elections between minority opponents is hotting up as we could for the first time in history have a black or a female president. Cuban legislative election were earlier this year and wow another side step Castro win. The Russian's have a presidential election this year but they are winners already as Russian Dima Bilan stormed the Eurovision song contest with a landslide victory of 272 points last month with a song ironically called 'Believe'. The last time this exact same combination of animal horoscope and element happened was 1948 which was another leap year. Burma gained its independence from Great Britain, Ceylon became independent from UK renaming itself Sri Lanka, the State of Israel was established and also confrontation between Israel and Arabian countries began leading in to the Arab-Israel war.



The cold war and the blockade of Berlin started and the formation of the Western Union by the treaty of Brussels to confront the threat of USSR was started, that being the precursor to NATO. Earthquake hit Fukui Japan killing 3,895, Mahatma Gandhi was murdered, it was the end of the Costa Rican civil war, Earth-Rat year 1948 was also the very same year London held the summer Olympic Games after a 12 year break due to World War 2 and was officially opened by King George VI where most of the events were won by a Miss Fanny Blankers of the Netherlands. England didn't win a bean but London did manage to complete the Olympic building in time and within budget (if we did it once we can do it again) but the rest of the city was still very much rubble from heavy bombings from the war, also the British National Health Service was put in motion and Oliver Twist premièred in London. Could history be repeating?



With China's strong belief in animal horoscope signs and their corresponding elements some people have shown grave concern about this years clash with current leaders President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao who were both born in the same Horse year of 1942, the horse is said to clash terribly with earth rat, but the horse is said to be very suited to politics because of its strength, cunning and intelligence, both leaders are water horse thankfully not the dreaded fire-horse combination of 1966, which I covered in Vietnam HCMC blog. These clashes of the combined 2008 earth rat and personal water horse of both leaders is said to have double negative results in serious cosmic ways by causing devastation injury and bloodshed this year. But, I have watched the endless news reports where both President of the Peoples Republic of China Mr. Hu Jintao and the Premier of the state council of China Mr. Wen Jiabao have been very present at the earthquake destruction almost daily, could this dedication come from the compassionate hearts of both Horse men or from their horoscope masters who advised them to muck in more as it would help balance the negative forces and elements or is it just plain old media spin?



There is endless footage of both men wearing notably different yet appropriate outfits on every piece of footage. They have mucked in, feeding hungry babies, reading stories to infants, ruffling the hair of curious nose picking juniors, shaking many desperate hands, patting many bewildered backs, playing ball with teenagers, holding hands with the elderly, pulling rubble from sites, donating blood, greeting the injured in hospitals, the troops out in the fields, grieving and shedding tears with the bereft. They really have done more for their people in this time of national grief and devastation than most world leaders I could think of, they have not displayed any signs of stampeding horses or bulls in China shops as they have both tread very carefully wearing shoes made from diplomatic egg shells. What I really don't understand right now are the news reports from England about the ongoing anger the Chinese president still shows towards his Holiness the Dalai Lama who to me is the universal symbol of peace and love and who is trying to help all the people of this world unite, along with our PM Gordon Brown they are trying to give aid to Chinas Earthquake victims and at the same time meet in London and not upset the Chinese and its trade relations blagh blagh. Our PM decided to meet His Holiness in Lambeth of all godforsaken places by throwing in an Arch Bishop into the 'religious' talks, not the proper regalia for an adored (by me) dignitary religious saint who should have been received with grace at No.10....And haven't I already mentioned when Bush did the hush hush meeting with his Holiness in this same manner last year? All just to keep the Chinese trades relations happy? My heart sank when I read all of this and this is where my pro-argument for the double Horsey Chinese leaders falls a bit flat for now.



Old Chinese Proverb Says: Better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.



I have been told that one way to ward off any more bad energy vibrations while travelling within turbulent 2008 China is to wear the Ox symbol as a pendant especially if I am born in the birth animal Horse, which I am actually born a Goat, but my Stu was born in the steady year of Ox and the Ox is meant to neutralises the rat and is a dear friend of the horse and Goat (he is such a nice guy). The Ox is said by soothsayers and Feng Shui masters not to be comfortable right now with the overload of soggy water energy as this year has not drained well so far, but I was assured not to panic, as this year the yellow dragon is visiting China, this is great news for us all as the Ox and yellow dragon do not clash they get on well creating great harmony and balance! So I think I will carry my boyfriend man Ox across my shoulders until we are out of China and home free to a beach anywhere in South East Asia.....She puffed........!



Old Chinese Proverb Says: The blogger's blurb is the mirror of her thinking thoughts

How To Survive An Earthquake

Anyhow, just in case any more acts of God occur while travelling in active Asia, I was sent an amazing piece of information written by a man named Doug Copps. Called 'The Triangle of Life' How to survive an earthquake I have since been looking at Chinese building structures, roofing, ceilings, staircases, emergency exits, just in case, I do think he has a point, that point being to place yourself next to a bed next to the table or sofa not under it as the weight of the roof will crush you and the object you hide under, where as if you lay low flat next to a bed or table the table will break its fall and create a triangle of protection.

But then I read this response from the American Red Cross Red Cross response ummmm!

DA TONG

The girls at the Temple side Guest house in Beijing gave us our tickets to Da Tong. She told me the ticket clearly said in bold Chinese symbols 'Central' train station and not 'West' train station, she said that any taxi driver would be able to get us to 'Central' in less than 10 minutes. With this I cuddled all five white fluffy kittens and Mrs. Mummy Bowie-cat goodbye and we grabbed a cab and headed off in a tummy screaming WESTERLY direction. I sat in the back and kept saying to Stu and his new best friend the non English speaking cab driver “Central...not west ....CENTRAL...NO.... not WEST....where is he going now that sign said West Beijing.....Stu tell him.....!” Cab man got on the radio and 'Datong' was mentioned a few times and 'OK' a few more times but still he headed West. I was having kittens of my own while sat impatiently in the back, my Ox protector boyfriend was too chilled for my liking as he assured me that the driver knew what he was doing, I told him I did not think the driver knew what he was doing, maybe he could not read Chinese properly as there is two kinds of Chinese, Cantonese and then Manderin. Stu quipped that he was Chinese so of course he'd be able to read Chinese, which ever it could not be that different. We had less than 48 minutes until the train left 'Central Station' the next departure was not until 7 hours later.



While we were driving at Black Turtle speed along a random yellow tailed free way I knew it was all wrong and felt sick in my stomach. We got to the busy 'West' station, I ran out showed someone in uniform my ticket, he giggled then nodded all was OK, but I felt it was not Ok, it was the giggling that put me on edge, I was in a tummy spin. We got all our bags out of the cab and paid useless Manderin cab man, then went inside, at security check a woman in uniform asked for our tickets, she told us we were at the wrong station we needed to be at 'Central' Station, this was once all our bags were half way through the scanner machine with four people ahead of us.... Urrrrrrgghhhhhh! With 31 minutes to go, I grabbed my bags and ran down two flights of stairs to find another cab, but they all wanted 80-100Y for the trip instead of putting their meters on, we found a nice man who drove more like Miss Daisy after an acupuncture session and the city traffic was dense. We got to Central station with 3 minutes to spare and it cost 26Y.



Old Chinese Proverb says: Be not afraid of driving Miss Daisy in wrong direction, be afraid only of standing still.



The train was to take a mere six hours so we booked a hard seat which is the cheapest option in the common part of the train some three miles down the same platform, every pair of eyes watched Ox and Goats every move, giggles could be heard, talking behind hands could be seen, slight irritation could be felt within my inner Goat sanctum. We found our seats and had to rudely ask two youths to move somewhere else so we could sit in them. A nice man helped us order the scallies to their designated standing areas between the trains joining bits. I proudly got out my pot noodle in clear view of my fellow train comrades, this brought more giggles and ohhhh's of acceptance from the party train. What I did not have was a clear plastic flask to hold boiling water and herbs, which is what they all have here. The helpful nice man didn't speak English but we managed to get around this by finally digging out our Lonely Planet and using the translation parts hidden in the back areas. I noticed this man was helping everyone, he first noticed a young woman who came from the loo with her cardie tucked into her pants the rest was dragging along the floor, he discreetly unhooked her from behind, an old lady couldn't reach the upper hold all to get something from her suitcase, he brought the case down for her and placed it back when she had finished, he went to get boiling water for a man who had a gammy leg and clutched a walking stick. He said with a smile ' Engoriss, Herro, You'rrrr Werr chrome' to us, he wanted to teach me some Chinese, more than the two words I have picked up so far, which are: Nihao- hello - (neehaaw) Xiexie - thank you - (shay shay).



He taught us Bu yong xie - you're welcome (Book eeeer chiiii). During my hard seated bum numbing journey I stood up to shake out any lurking blood clots between the 3rd and 4th hour into the 6 hour travel time frame, as I was shaking my legs the whole train was watching the nice guy and myself learning each others languages, at some points I was near tears with joy and so was the entire train with amusement. He pointed to the LP book where it said doctor, he pointed to me, how on earth did he know this? I'm no doctor but he referred to my medical past, he pointed to his waist belt, it looked like a metal waist belt, I didn't notice any symbols on it, he fascinated me.



The Hanging Temple (Xuankong Si)This was really impressive, 40 tiny bendy wooden halls and walkways that look as if they are suspended high up in the rocks, but they are sort of embedded into the rocks. Inside are Confucist, Buddhist and Daoist gods in stone, iron and bronze. In one Sanjiao Dian hall (three religions hall) Confucius, Buddha and Laozi are seated all together, another example that we can all live as one. The rickety stilts that hold the temple up were constantly being shaken by tourists, it was unnerving to see this as the building is so old and so high up any turbulence or shaking of its structure should be avoided at all costs, especially with us still on them.



Old Chinese Proverb Says: No matter how big one beam, it cannot support old house stampeded by tourists with little brain...



The Yungang Caves These caves are carved into sandstone cliffs, the most impressive display of Buddhist art that I have seen so far, 51,000 Buddha statues started during the Wei dynasty around AD 453, many influences are visible throughout, such as Indian, Persian, central Asian, proving many influences coming into China at that time via the Silk Road which is the biggest and most famous route for traders from Xian China right through to the Mediterranean sea. Da Tong was once Chinas capital, but when the capital was moved to Yuoyang in AD 494 all work stopped in the caves. There are over 40 caves, but caves 16-20 are the oldest and built by Monk Tao Hao. Cave 5 The Seated Buddha blew my mind as it was so grand. The main big Buddha cave 20 is the most photographed in the whole of China and is known as ' China's minister of foreign affairs'.



I found out about this place by seeing photos on chinesecultureclub.com, to date our lonely Planet has not been used for guidance apart from translations on the train. Old habits are dying hard. The day before we went to see both these places I asked a fellow traveller what did he think of them, his words were “It wasn't all that really!” To be honest I thought it was more than 'all that' and really felt pleased we had come all this way to see them. We were also met at the train station by a CITS rep who took us to his hotel, so again we didn't need to refer to the book.

A Fortune Teller Finally Told Me....

All throughout my time travelling this globe, especially since I read that book A Fortune Teller Told Me I have asked around if there are any fortune tellers anywhere. When I left the Yungang Caves a strange thing happened, a man dressed in white leapt up from his stool and grabbed my arm, he kept pointing to my face and rubbing either side of my nose then gesturing to the cash he had in his hand, I thought he just wanted money for a massage, but his dress was meticulous and clean, his fingers manicured, money didn't seem to be what was bothering him. He would not let me go and kept saying 'money then pointed to my nose'. I thought maybe I needed rhinoplasty or something, so I kept saying 'I like my nose and I don't have any money to give you, sorry....' and tried to walk away. Our tour guide walked past, he talked to her for a bit and she looked at me in a 'wow' surprised kind of way, making me fondle my nose to check if I needed rhinoplasty! This man had wanted to tell me that I had an unusual western nose, it was not a normal western nose, I asked if he thought it was Mongolian? (just one of my past lives) But they both looked confused..... my nose is apparently a clear and definite shape of a Chinese (or could well be Mongolian..) money nose, here they read palms and faces and he wanted me to draw out a sacred stick from his bamboo cup, he read my fortune. He told me my nose is pure money, I told him I have not had much money to date, I just get by, he said but money is always around you, I said that isn't it always around a lot of people but it doesn't mean I can spend it, and as I am travelling I could be seen as being rich by just being able to be here. But then he told me that my parents have given me nothing in this life time, that I adapt well, I have a strong spirit and a big heart and I always get by. This is very true, I listened to what he had to say, he told me this year I had small money meaning nothing coming in, but as of next year my nose will take great shape and I will make others happy. He told me after this year has finished I will never need to worry about anything again....(not specifically money, I could have mastered the art of chill zendome by then) Right now I have not a single idea what Ill be doing next year, so any one out there in any parts of the world with any job offers and small flat and car thrown in please write to me, my bags are already packed and ill be very happy to hear from you. Ironically he wanted no money for telling me all this, even after I took his picture. If this is all rubbish, I got to see a impromptu fortune teller in China and it made me laugh on my way back to the hotel as I dreamt of finally feeding and clothing my Siem Reap orphan boys for life, then sponsoring every street kid aged 4-16 in Oaxaca Mexico and then maybe blogging Canada, Australia, Bhutan and maybe Ill go back to India and do it in pure style.



The other place of interest to see in Da Tong is the local internet shop near the train station that is filled to 200 capacity full of young boys and Ox men playing on-line games, it is quite a sight. Da Tong is Chinas coal mine capital, this is why the pollution in this country is so great as most of it is real smog from coal fires, like back in ye olde Londinium days,



Now here is a twist of time....Currently in 2008 Chinas favourite film turned opera is Oliver Twist just like London Earth Rat year of 1948 but here they translate it as 'The Orphan In The City Of Fog'.



On the subject of orphans I wish to send a huge warm thank you to Heidi and Briana who emailed me this week to tell me that they had read my Angkor Wat Children in Need blog and went to visit my beautiful Orphans & Disabled Arts boys, they were equally moved by them and went about fund raising, as a result they could pay for a brick and cement structure with doors and windows and a solid tin roof with a wood and cement frame. Which is currently in the process of being built. Also, they were able to provide the ODA school all the supplies needed for renovation. With all the left over scrap wood from their previous sleeping quarters, they were able to put a structure up over their kitchen and it will soon have leaf roofing! They were even able to get Grandma who sat quietly by the side lines new leaf roofing to sustain her little sales hut. This was music to my ears and it proves that these blogs are being taken seriously and great things are now manifesting as a result. Thanks guys!



As we were leaving a man grabbed my arm, it was the lovely old man from the incoming train, he pointed to his belt again, but again I didn't see the connection or knew what he meant then he pointed to my $5 Prada day bag that had 2 red Cross symbol badges from Vietnam and China and I have a small badge in Chinese that says, 'Fighter for the people' which always grabs attention, this was how he knew I was medical, or he took a wild guess at least, then he pointed to the sign behind him which clearly stated 'Police', blow me he was a copper, which answered my question of how he was all knowing and all seeing in three languages, Chinese, Engorish and body. I will actually miss the old fella.



I have not eaten with a proper knife and folk for nine whole days now. Chop sticks a go go.....



Old Chinese Proverb Say: Only she that has travelled the road without a Lonely Planet knows where the holes are neck deep, the temples are sky high and the fortune tellers have a nose for money.

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