Ascent of Wonder

---

As I sit on my tatami floor, in my room warmed by the kerosene heater beside me, I shake off the cold and remember my latest escapades, this time in China, the most populous country on Earth. I got a cold virus towards the end of my journey in the Middle Kingdom, and was more than a little anxious to return to the land of verdant rice fields and endless mountains. Still, I look back with fondness on my recent adventures, this time shared with my family. Yep, the whole gang (mom, dad, bro and sis) made the trip to the Orient to see me and check out the views.
China is a very big country, and we wanted to see as much of it as we could. To that end, we set out on a hectic schedule that included five cities and as many hotels, two domestic flights, and an overnight 13-hour train. In the end, my body partially succumbed to the constant travel and stress from dealing with my family, but it was worth it in the end for the wonders I was able to see. Near the top of the itinerary was the favorite of everyone: the Great Wall of China, more accurately described as a castle or fortress both by appearance and function. The wall has largely disintegrated with the passage of time, whole sections falling prey to the ravages of nature or rapidly encroaching civilization. The section we chose to tackle, close to Beijing, was restored. Snow had fallen, making passage a bit hazardous especially going down (a sled would have been useful.) The views from the castle turrets were awesome as you can see the castle walls swerving in and out amidst the mountains. The sheer manpower necessary to extend the wall a thousand miles was truly awe-inspiring. At the end, I succumbed to the incessant beckoning of vendors, and purchased a genuine sketch of the Great Wall, complete with Scott Fried December 29, 2002. I was there, and I have proof.
The food of China led to one of my more interesting yet disappointing discoveries. Surprisingly, it bore a remarkable similarity to American Chinese food. Now, I can’t deny that I like American Chinese food, and the Chinese variety was without exception exceedingly well done, but I still felt a sense of authenticity lacking. Still, the presentation was pleasing. A series of small dishes containing vegetables, meats, and pickles preceded the main courses, large platters of various dishes circulated around on a Lazy Susan so everyone could take their pick. In addition, I finally found a beer I like! It was of sufficient weakness that I could actually get the stuff down, but then I found Japanese sake, or fire water and quickly switched to that, much to my mom’s surprise!
Actually there was a delicacy that I did try, conveniently forgetting about the kosher laws for the moment. I ate snake, an actual rattler. As I write this, I can’t believe I did it, but it did take quite a bit of convincing on my friend’s part. Finally I realized we only live once, and I offered to share the rattlesnake he was drooling over with him. It came cut into pieces on a platter, devoid of any part that identified it as being a crawly, slimy thing. Heck, even the poisonous part, supposedly the part most beneficial to the health, was removed. I gingerly picked up a section with my chopsticks and nibbled off a bit. It was mostly bones, lacking in meat, but I soon realized the taste for what it was, something largely resembling chicken! I am not kidding. I would have preferred a more exotic flavoring, but I can still say that I have eaten rattlesnake in Beijing. How many people can own up to that particular feat?
Our last city of the tour and departure point from China was Shanghai. Shanghai is a city that can easily be substituted for any number of first class world cities, New York, Tokyo and London to name only a few, filled with McDonalds, shopping malls, and endless skyscrapers. Still, we took advantage of the opportunity to see the one and only Shanghai circus, really more of an acrobatic performance than the zoological variety. It started with girls twisting their bodies in impossible ways. Following the contortionists were cyclists, gymnasts, and acrobats all dazzling the audiences with feats unimaginable. The highlight of the show was a gigantic sphere into which were placed four motorcyclists. The door was sealed, and they were left to fend for themselves, utilizing the three dimensions of the sphere to avoid banging into other, and maintaining a sense of grace in the process as they narrowly missed crashing into each other. If that wasn’t enough to put my heart in my throat, my brother brought it all the way there by disappearing into the streets of Shanghai when we were supposed to meet back at the circus. After staring into passers-by on a main boulevard of Shanghai, a city of 15 million people for a good forty-five minutes, we returned to the hotel to find my brother had already been there a good twenty minutes. If I wasn’t already ill by that point, heads would have rolled, but I was in no condition to do such a thing. Knowing how much muscles my arms pack, I am sure my brother was quite relieved.
Some random observations of China: The pandas were cute as expected, but the rest of Beijing Zoo suffers from unfortunately squalid conditions. Everyone in China practically rides a bike to school, work and wherever else they go. All you overweight out of shape Americans, take note. The Forbidden City which contains the ancient palace of the emperors is certainly enormous, but not that impressive. Ditto Tiannamen (sp?) Square although it certainly is enormous. The clay soldiers in Xi’an, unearthed a couple of decades ago by unsuspecting farmers, were pretty cool. There are thousands of these life-sized, individually made soldiers buried under the earth, mostly still uncovered. They were fun to see, but the endless replicas for sale; some life-sized themselves, were a bit scary.
Next time: back to Japan. I warn you those among you who actually look forward to these missives that bar a really good earthquake story the next one will be a while in coming.

---