China

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Monday, 17 October 2005
The Verdict

So, IS China a must see destination I hear you ask... well... in the months since leaving, I have caught myself mainly talking about the disgusting and awful things that I experienced. Mind you, all of which I am glad to have experienced. It has seriously made me realise how fortunate I am.

Would I go back?
Not in a hurry... but I am yet to make myself sick on spring rolls, since it was near impossible to find them. I would like to visit Hong Kong and Beijing.... maybe one day, on a stop over....


Friday, 9 September 2005
Pics....finally.
I took about 500 photos... hence it took so long... chose my favorites xx enjoy xx

Best of China...


Thursday, 25 August 2005
Ughyr Lesson
IN the west, China is not the China you would expect. A lot of the food and culture is Ughyr... hence I know more of this than Chinese!

1 - beer
2 - ikky
3 - utch
4 - dut
5 - besh
6 - alta
7 - yetta
8 - ?
9 - ?
10 - un
11 - unbeer
20 - yeergeerme

what is your name - ismingus nime
my name is.. - ismin ....
yoghurt - kaituk chickpeas - perchuk
chilli - achasul
hat - dawpa

Chinese Lesson
thankyou very much - faychung shayshay
it was very delicious - faychung how chew
not spicy - boolar


1 - ii
2 - ar
3 - some
4 - ts
5 - wu-u
6 -
7 - chi
8 -
9 - ko
I forgot 6-10 already!!!
NB This is only the phonetic pronunciation for English reading.


WHY? WHY? WHY?
Why this country was granted the Olypics is beyond me. I think they should look at the millions of people and how they are living if they want to spend money on something. To hide this fact in the west, where the "Ughyr" minority live, the Government is spending a lot of money on "developing" the desert. Huge, ugly sky scapers are going up - I don't think the avg Ughyr family can afford to live there.... only the wealthy Chinese... perhaps clean water, flushing toilets would be a good start???

Now for something positive....
The Ferry Ride
The most pleasant 2 x 2day/night journeys in the whole month - no flea ridden seats or blankets and it had an onsen.


Thursday, 18 August 2005
Where did I go?
From Shanghai, I caught a two day (dirty, dirty, overcrowded and did I mention dirty?) train to Turpan. It was the best town - great atmosphere and food stalls. Not so developed but still a big enough city given it's location.

Kashgar - good fried fish. Worth a visit but a city.
Karakul Lake - beautiful scenery. Stayed in a yurt!!
Khaglik - dont ask about this few days, I was standing over a toilet, or sitting if it was clean...
Hotan - lovely atlas silk. The best Sunday market!
Urumqi - yuk yuk yuk. Big city, sky scrapers and still no flushing toilets.
Suzhou - cheaper accom and people were much nicer than in Shanghai.
Shanghai - cheap massages,silk and good food brought me back... and I had to get the ferry..


Why China should not have the Olympics
1. The people
Anyone in the tourist industry or government employment was awful. I've never been so shocked by the abruptness, pushiness, unhygenic areas and down right rudeness of a group of people.
Families were very kind (and some individuals from minorities or the occasional restauranteur in their own business) sharing everything they had and accepting nothing in return, despite what little they had. Also, they were quite patient putting up with us considering we spoke no Chinese, nor did I really make any attempt to learn it - I felt it was my way to suppress the pushy Chinese, they way they have and do to the minority groups. Silly? Clever? who knows...
People on trains were a mix of these two groups.
My favourite were the occasional kids wanting to talk to us, but they usually ended up reciting their entire english class dialogues, songs, games etc.

2. The Economy
There is such a huuuuuge gap between rich and poor and there is little opportunity for this to change.
As a result it is a dog eat dog world where you have to look after yourself. You dont push in a queue for an overcrowded train - you sleep under the seats and stand all day.

3. How I felt
# Incredibly rich and lucky.
# Often sick from sloppy jalopies (loo terminology).
# Sick from the sight and smell of the piles of
faeces or "toilets".
# Pissed off when I slept on the floor under the very low seats so the granny next to me could sleep on the seat, and in the morning I woke up with sun flower seeds and watermelon she had thrown on me.
# Even more pissed off when we couldn't book a train ticket (for another 2 day and 2 night journey) and had to ride on a hard seat for the second time.

Ps I couldn't add anything to this page from China as my site was blocked from viewing by the government - god forbid I should slander them...

More slander coming soon, with pics.... stay tuned xxx


Wednesday, 20 July 2005
The Journey there...
In Kyoto (Japan) for two nights. Going to Osaka tommorrow to get passport (hopefully WITH a chinese visa).

Catching 12pm ferry to China - 2 days and 2 nights.
Don't worry, I have a badminton set to relieve boredom.

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