Blogs from Henan, China, Asia - page 12

Advertisement

Asia » China » Henan June 24th 2010

The Quest Goes South, and Other Tales from the Middle Kingdom The festival of DuanWuJie is a time for racing dragon boats and eating zongzi - nuggets of rice wrapped in bamboo leaves. Alas I didn’t achieve the first, but I did achieve the second on my trip to Zhengzhou. I took the trip 700km south of Beijing to Henan province to visit a friend, and to see the sights the province (which has a larger population than Germany) has to show. Kaifeng After I had arrived by overnight train to the bustling station at Zhengzhou we took a morning bus for a day trip to Kaifeng. Kaifeng is an old capital of China - centre of the Northern Song (Bei Song) dynasty a thousand years ago. Though it was built 25km south of the yellow ... read more
Kaifeng
Shaolin Temple
Shaolin Monk

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou May 23rd 2010

Hi All, The weather is heating up here now. Very warm and sunny at the moment. Think we may hit 30 degrees today which is great for the end of May. So what's been happening here. We had a quiet weekend last weekend. Stayed in mostly, it rained both days, This week seems to have been the week of traffic incidents. I've seen a very nasty accident involving a motorbike and a bicycle. Quite scary seeing bodies in the middle of the road, people milling around the scene of the accident smoking and debris. The road is the main road from Zhengzhou to Kaifeng and has five lanes. The traffic was just slaloming in and out of the carnage. I didn't see an ambulance, police car or fire engine rushing to the scene on the road ... read more
DSCI0009
DSCI0010
DSCI0011

Asia » China » Henan » Kaifeng May 3rd 2010

Hi All, Wow what a weekend. We started out on Saturday morning. We left home at around 8.30 for the bus station, we followed the advice of the rough guide for our bus travel. We arrived at the bus station to find that the buses don't go to Keifeng from that bus station. So after much discussion, I'm getting quite proud of my chinese, we found out which bus to take to the other bus station. On reflection perhaps travelling on the 1st May was not the best idea the bus was rammed but nothing could prepare us for the scene at the bus station. It seemed as though the world and his dog wanted to travel to Keifeng. The queue for the bus was enormous. I may also need to add that the temperature on ... read more
Ready for the off
Zhengzhou bus station
Rickshaw

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou April 27th 2010

Hi All, Me and Daniela watched the college's sports meeting yesterday. What a great day. We were so tired by the time we got home. We were very lucky as the weather was beautiful, sunny and warm. We were treated to a great day. The day started off with an opening ceremony, which the students had been practicing for over a week. We watched a demonstration of Tai-che and then a demonstration of gymnastics. I don't remember sports days being like this when I was at school, I know it was a long time ago before I get some sarcastic comments. The students were very entusiastic and cheered themselves hoarse cheering for there classmates. We learnt how to shout come on in chinese, don't ask me to write it as it would only be wrong. The ... read more
DSCI0047
DSCI0055
Star and Dani

Asia » China » Henan » Luoyang April 25th 2010

We left for the trip the day after our finals, Saturday night. We got on an overnight train from Beijing to Luoyang. The train was not as nice as the train we took last semester from Beijing to Xi’an. It was the same set up with six beds together then a wall, but unlike the Xi’an train, there was no wall between the beds and the hallway, so it was really just a big open area. We talked to some very nice people, which seems like a common occurrence on trains in China. I slept well and was ready to start my trip when we arrived in Luoyang early the next morning. First we went to the Shaolin Temple, which is the home of a very famous martial arts school. Kids are brought to the school ... read more
DSC01545
DSC01546
DSC01547

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou March 31st 2010

I think I may have had one of the most hair raising incidents ever. A crazy mini-bus driver flying down an 8 lane motorway in thick fog. It all just seems so strange. Why don't Chinese drivers turn on their lights. Is it really safe to just switch on your hazard lights and think all will be OK. Thankfully the fog has cleared a little this afternoon so hopefully the ride home won't be as scary. ... read more

Asia » China » Henan » Zhengzhou March 30th 2010

Well there we are our first month here has flown by and we are all finally reunited. Perry finally came home yesterday and had to have a bath as he was a little smelly. He was probably wishing he was back in Beijing after the bath. Anyway what's to tell. This weekend passed quietly really. Saturday was spent in the market buying veggies and fruit. We also stumbled upon an Arab bakery where the bread was delicious. We also managed to buy a couple of bicycles and solve a problem at the bank so a fairly productive Saturday really. The bank was a challenge but we managed to get our point over and the guy eventually understood us. Sunday was spent relaxing at home. I've found the Chinese sport channel on the internet so I watched ... read more
DSCI0046
Two Boys
DSCI0051

Asia » China » Henan March 1st 2010

I was reminded this morning of what it was like to be back in Henan...there was a peasant on the dorm bed next to me...before sleeping he offered me a cigarette and proceeded to nonchalantly light up in the 'non-smoking' room. And this morning I was awakened by the charming act of spitting on the floor (many weeks later, the stain is still there on the wood floor...I know, gross!). This of course primed my habit of 'correcting' the customary habits of people from the countryside, as I had made the unneeded habit of doing when I lived in China before. But the story of my relations with Chinese people will be the subject of another blog. Suffice it to say, it would be better for me, to simply learn total acceptance, just to allow people ... read more
Entrance to Market
The Wall of the Old City
Veggies at the Street Market

Asia » China » Henan » Song Shan October 24th 2009

SUN 11 OCT 2009 Just to put all your minds at ease, I'll start by confirming that Paul was much better by the morning and just woke with a headache, probably down to dehydration so he will definitely be back to his usual mischievous ways in no time!! AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR! Leaving Stuart and Jamie behind till South East Asia; Derek, Leanne, Paul and I donned our packs and started the long trudge to the station without so much as a morsel to eat as breakie was not served at the hostel till aft 7.30am. By the time we cleared security the train was boarding so we rushed through. Now up to this point every train we had taken had been a night train and a soft sleeper at that (the most expensive but ... read more
Shaolin Monk
Derek, Paul, Leanne & I at Shaolin temple
Budda in temple gardens

Asia » China » Henan » Luoyang October 22nd 2009

Day 477: Monday 19th October - The bus breaks down I get up early to catch my 8am bus from Xian to Luoyang. There are plenty of buses that ply this route and they leave regularly so I didn’t need to get up so early but I wanted to so that when I arrive in Henan I still have time in the day to visit the Longmen Caves. It may seem rushed and I admit that I am travelling particularly quickly on this section of my trip but I’m in a hurry to get to Beijing. I want to get to Beijing by Friday to start the ball rolling with organising a Tibet tour. The ball is already rolling I guess after what has happened in Xian but it will be better to be in Beijing ... read more
1. Stranded on the side of the road after the bus breaks down on way to Luoyang
2. Entrance to Shaolin Temple complex, near Luoyang
4. Kung-fu students, Shaolin Temple, near Luoyang




Tot: 0.144s; Tpl: 0.006s; cc: 6; qc: 92; dbt: 0.0832s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1; ; mem: 1.3mb