Too Cold In Land of Dragons

---

Hello everyone, hope you are all well, sorry its taken so long for the next blog but hey I'm finally soaking up some sun in Laos after leaving Vietnam and hard at work on the tan, you know how hard traveling can be, busy busy busy. Anyway straight onto China, I left Tibet on the new train that opened just last year from Lhasa to Beijing and had booked a soft sleeper for the 48hr journey. I arrived at the station at 7.30am and had to fill in a form to say I didn't have a temperature or flu like symptoms, as if anyone would really admit they had and risk being turned away! I was however feeling very ill. The previous night I had eaten fried potatoes at a restaurant and I noticed some were a shade of green, Tibetan cuisine will never win any prestigious awards and I'll doubt there will ever be a restaurant opening anytime soon in London. If you read that one has opened my advice would be to give it a very big miss, you owe it to your health, well actually you owe it to your life. My instinct at the time was to leave them but I didn't so I only had myself to blame. Once settled into my cabin with 3 other bunks, my rucksack propped at one end I curled up into a ball and waited for the inevitable to arrive. I was soon joined by 3 Chinese who took the other bunks none of them spoke a word of english and they soon treated me as though I were invisible, well not even that I had simply ceased to exist. For the next 24 hours they walked in and out of the cabin, left the door open, talked very loudly, stood on me and my bed, snored loudly at night and watched the small tv's at the end of each bunk all night even as they slept. They desperately did all they could from preventing me from sleeping but never underestimate an English old boyscout traveling, we did afterall create an empire and gave the world industrialism. I was now a seasoned and experienced traveler, not only armed with my bible (a lonely planet guide) but also had a range of essentials that 007 would be proud of. No sooner had they tried to intimidate me with their antics I simply delved into my rucksack and retrieved the eye mask from the original flight from London with the ear plugs that Simon had recommended I take. My world suddenly became dark and quiet and I relaxed into a deep a silent sleep and their plot to dominate the cabin was foiled.

However, those first 24 hours weren't the best I'd ever had, I was shaking and felt cold and visited the bathroom every half hour as the food poisoning took its grip. I couldn't eat anything without it returning to the world soon after consumption so I simply drank lots of water. At least I had the outside world to occupy me. The train crosses the vast Tibetan plateau and at times I noticed the train was at 5,200m above sea level this must surely qualify as the highest mountain railway in the world? Each cabin and bed had an oxygen supply and mask should anyone feel the altitude and start to feel ill they could suck in some thick oxygenated air. The scenery is breathtaking, snow capped peaks rose above us on both sides before crossing large open areas of barren wasteland as far as you can see of beige coloured grasses. At times hundreds of Yaks (a Tibetan cow) grazing, dotted these vast plains you could see them as small black dots that finally disappeared on the horizon. They have long dark coats to keep them warm and are perfectly adapted to life at high altitude and for an animal so big they are very agile. Many times I have seen them perched on narrow ledges high above me grazing on small grasses and plants that only grow over 6,000m. They are the equivalent I suppose to the buffalo of the American west and even bear some similarity in facial appearance, the Yak is a useful animal. It carries heavy loads on its back, supplies milk, the hide makes a good blanket its body good beef, the bones carved into useful utensils. Tibetans are very adept at making the most from this animal. I noticed Tibetans walking across these wastelands sometimes on their own or as a couple with large bundles on their backs, no towns or villages to be seen anywhere and wondered how long they would walk before they reached their intended destination, days maybe even weeks, who knows. Watching these vast undulating plains stretching as far as the eye can see I imagined how the huge army of the Mongolian Empire and Genghis Khan must have looked as it swept through here in its conquest of Asia. What a magnificent sight that must have been nearly a million soldiers pouring and crossing these plains, crushing and defeating anyone that opposed them.

It's a very inhospitable place to be and incredibly cold, the outside temperature was never above minus figures. We passed a lake that I noticed was frozen, the shape of waves crashing onto the shores perfectly visible but unmoving as though they were instantly frozen by some supernatural force. This wonderous landscape changed and then rechanged before my eyes and kept my attention for the entire first day until darkness fell under a glorious sunset. The train rolled along at around 90kmh and as I relaxed to this gentle pace all the stress and hardship endured in Tibet soon evaporated and I entered another world, my cabin and window had become a looking glass onto an alien but interesting new world. It was as though I was viewing a part of the world that has remained unchanged for centuries, life for those that live here is the same as it has always been. There are no roads, no cities, no internet, no factories or offices just small remote communities of people living as the generations before them have lived. Tibet is a spiritual place, a special place, you can't see it but you can feel it. The people are simple, life is hard, but community and their religious beliefs binds them closely, a better life is coming, their next life will be a good one. This one has been a test, a test of suffering, all living is suffering to a Tibetan, but the Gods have promised redemption and as long as they have been good to their neighbours they will be rewarded in the next life.

As a traveler I was unprepared for the hardship of Tibet and biologically westerners are not naturally adept to the food or environment, I saw people living as though still in some medieval age and it saddens me that some countries have such excess of everything and others nothing. I feel I have been lucky to look into this mystical country and experience the people, culture and religion for myself. Tibet has been viewed as a land of mystery for many years and has only allowed foreigners to travel freely throughout it since the 1970's. Its a sad reflection I suppose of the world in which we live in that we have so many choices in our lives. Its very easy to shrug ones shoulders and become hardened to this reality of other cultures, its also a shame that their only choice in life is in a faith that brings some hope for a better future only after they have left this life. On that note its time to continue the journey.

The next morning my fellow cabin inmates had done their time and were paroled at the first station we stopped at in the morning. I was finally left on my own for the remaining 24 hours left to go, I read, I slept, I watched the world go by and saw the diverse landscape of China. We crossed the Yellow and Yanghze rivers and passed through large industrial towns of factories which beat at the very heart of China's current economic explosion that is making such an impact on the world. Tall chimney's pour white smoke into the atmosphere, there is no care for the ozone or world pollution, the colour isn't green in China its red, this is the land of the dragon and its awake and breathing its fire into the world. Building projects dominate any town or city skyline, tall cranes lift steel to the top of residential or commercial skyscrapers. This is a country with one ambition, it's people are united and committed to that same ambition, China is a country that wants to dominate and influence the world politically, financially and perhaps by force. This is a country gearing itself up seriously to take on the west industrially and commercially, it is investing massively into infrastructure and has the workforce to deliver that ambition. It knows it can be as powerful as the Americans and it knows its time is coming, however it has its weaknesses that may see this dragon loose its firery breath. If I'm honest I really didn't enjoy traveling China at all. I did however enjoy the history of China, walking the ancient monuments, learning about how they made their famous pottery and seeing the Palaces of the Emperors. It was by far the hardest country I have visited to date, I found the people to be rude and arrogant and unhelpful. They have the disgusting habit of spitting and equally rude blowing the contents of their noses onto pavements as you pass or in front of you. It was very difficult to travel around and I found it virtually impossible to get around by traditional methods of backpacking by yourself. The moment I arrived in Beijing and got off the train my problems started, I had booked a hotel in advance in Lhasa and jumped in a taxi at 8am with my rucksacks. I showed the driver my hotel and address in Chinese, he didn't understand, he spoke no English, didn't understand Chinese writing written in western letters, he only understood Chinese characters. He opened the door took out my rucksack, asked me to get out and drove off looking for an easier fare, this happened to me twice again, drivers refusing to take me anywhere. Finally I found a taxi driver who called the hotel from his mobile to get directions (as mine was cut-off again) and I arrived at my hotel not far from the forbidden city. On checking-in, no-one spoke English so it was a performance to communicate anything to oneanother and took a while to understand they needed my passport and visa inorder that I was checked-in. I had a hot shower and decided to change some money to Yen and wander the streets and see some sights. On entering a bank the security guard gave me a ticket and pointed at some seats. Obviously I had to wait until my ticket was called, the ticket was, you guessed it, in Chinese characters, and the announcement in Chinese, I had no idea how and when I was to approach a window. A Nigerian sat next to me and asked politely in English "how do you know when its your turn" I replied "Oddly I was wondering the same thing" we both sat there in silence obviously contemplating our options and both wondering if we should get up and leave and find another bank. He then asked "what are you going to do?" and continued "I got my ticket after you, so I know that when you work things out I'm next". He wasn't being much of a help. Someone got up at a till and I made my move, ignoring the others seated and their disapproving looks I rushed at the empty till. I explained quickly my dilema in English and hoped they understood me, luckily the person did, "you sits down now (I was already seated) over there, I call you when your turn, go away!" I returned to my seat and the Nigerian smiled at me without saying anything "thanks for your help" I nearly said to him.

This was pretty much the pattern to emerge when traveling China. The only people who speak english are tour guides or hawkers (con artists) trying to rip you off. After changing my money I went sight seeing around Tiananmen Square and was immediately deluged by con artists. They try to persaude you they want to practice their english with you over a tea or coffee, after 15 mins at a tea house, they disappear and you are presented with a large bill. You are not allowed to leave until you have paid this bill, I heard some pretty harsh stories where this extortion got quite messy when the victim tried to hold his ground. Of course I told them I wasn't interested however they follow and hound you with their persistance and as soon as they are gone than they are replaced with another couple and so on. It gets very tiresome sightseeing, everytime I stopped to take a picture or stood still for a moment I was being hassled, some literally touching my arm and physically trying to drag me down a side street. If it's not the con artists, it's the street sellers, 'buy my postcards, very cheap' you say no to one and another is on you, I could walk past 10 of these people each one before them heard me say 'no' to the previous. Yet the next one would be as persistant as the first or the previous one, they think they will wear you down to say yes but in effect its the opposite. There is only one solution to this problem when it gets too much, either run away as fast as you can, or ignore them totally. Ignoring them was best for me even when they get right in your face I just pushed them out of the way and walked on. The next 3 days I saw all the major sights, I visited the Heavenly Palace, Forbidden City, The Great Wall, The Ming Tombs, The Summer Palace and The Lama Temple and some of the museums in and around Beijing. Some of these sites you have to book as a tour for example the Great Wall is some 20km outside Beijing so I booked it through my hotel. This is an amusing process to say the least, I had read in my guide be careful not to book tours that take you to jade factories, because the guides get paid so little they get a commission for anyone that steps through their factory doors regardless if they buy anything. Tourists have complained that they had little time at the sights and spent more time at these stupid places. I stressed this to the agent at the hotel 'no jade factories' who just said yes to anything I asked, he couldn't understand me at all. I asked is that 'yes' to no jade factories or is that 'yes' you do go to jade factories again he simply said 'yes' to both my questions, this was hard work. I paid my money and simply hoped for the best. The next day two Italian girls and myself were on the tour, within the hour we were in our first jade factory, followed by a second, followed in the afternoon by a tea shop trying to sell us tea. I bitterly complained, but noone understood and I felt my words fell on ears that simply didn't understand or really care.

But let me talk about the sights for a moment, the Forbidden City is truly amazing and impressive despite the fact that it is being redecorated for the Olympics next year. The main gate as you enter is covered in scaffold therefore its a little disappointing not to see it, however its huge and easy to get lost in numerous narrow high walled alleys. Slightly more interesting is the way they are redecorating the city and other sights in Beijing. It was originally painted a rich burgandy and had dragons inlaid in gold leaf, parts are looking seriously in need of redecoration and are showing the wear of time. However, the areas that have had their face lift use very glossy and shiny finish paints, these building don't look old at all, they appear in fact as though they were built just yesterday. There must be a way to maintain these buildings with all the technology and materials we have today but retaining that original feel, using for example matt finish paint. It's a fabulous place but that 'wow' factor just eludes you, there is just something missing, maybe its the hoards of Chinese tourists that barge you out of the way especially if you are reading the information plates next to an exhibit. This applies to most of the sights I visited, the Great Wall one of the 'man made wonders of the world', couldn't wait to see it. When I eventually was there and climbing it, I couldn't see the wall snaking off into the distant horizon just the next hill. This wall was rebuilt to look like the old wall especially for tourists to walk on, the original had long since crumbled away, again it looked as though it was built within the last 10 years. Also the day I was there, the museum was closed, as were other surrounding buildings of interest, however that was my fault for choosing to travel China off season. The Summer Palace was a beautiful spot, large pagodas and bridges situated on a large lake, the lake was frozen solid and I spent the day in freezing weather walking around so cold my feet and fingers went numb. So as the name implies it is best to visit the Summer Palace in the summer.

Thankfully Roni turned up at my hotel in Beijing. Her husband and children were trekking Everest Base Camp in Nepal and she had been in one of the landcruisers in my group crossing into Tibet. Whilst I took the train, she had flown in half the time to Beijing via Xian. On telling her my problems so far, I decided to use her travel agent who spoke english to book the rest of my trip in China, trains, hotels, flights etc. I was having absolutely no luck trying to do it myself and was on the point of wondering what to do, however, even this took a whole two days to organise with them. Roni was good company and although her sightseeing agenda was different from mine we met up one evening for a show of Shoalin Kung Fu experts, she was the first person I had been able to have a conversation with for days. I was on my own and I saw very few westerners about, probably because it was off season. I couldn't visit the Yanghze river or the 3 valleys or Tiger Leaping Gorge it was all frozen or snow bound. Instead I moved down the east coast until I reached Shanghai then Hong Kong. I visited the Terrocota Warriors in Xi'an which were impressive to a point, I know I'm being an old misery. There are 3 pits in total and all 3 are still in the process of being unearthed slowly, pit 1 has all the warriors lined up as you see on TV, pit 2 has really nothing to see as all the warriors are still under the ground, and pit 3 has a few broken warriors awaiting repair and reminded me of the bits of broken action men we had as kids left lying around the floor. There is a separate building for a bronze chariot that has taken 8 years to restore from pieces, amazing, but lit so dark for some reason you can hardly see it or photograph it. Nevertheless they are impressive as are many of the places I visited, these are amazing structures and incredible works of art that are thousands of years old, they just lack the impact they deserve in their presentation. A little more thought should be put into the art of presenting these works of art, not all exhibits have English translations (no surprise) or are mentioned on audio guides. At times I was left looking at an object so beautiful but had no way of knowing what it was or how old it was.

So in summary, I toured China at the wrong time of year, it was very cold and a month spent in below freezing weather was miserable for me, especially after Nepal and Tibet. I have never been so cold and for example 7 hours spent walking around The Forbidden City at 10 below was tough going. There wasn't one city I really enjoyed, except suprisingly Hong Kong (I'm going to write a separate blog on this city). Shanghai was just okay another big city with a large smog cloud hanging over it, the Chinese people were very un-helpful and very un-friendly and rude. If I stopped in a museum to read a plaque, someone instead of walking around me would simply push or barge me out of the way constantly, very irritating. They hate queing and would simply push in front of you at train stations and airports. The food was not for me, I never had one good Chinese meal unless I visited Pizza Hut or a western equivalent. Wherever I went I was stared at and even followed, I was frequently hassled to buy cheap postcards or someone tried to manhandle me into a massage shop down some backstreet. When I finally left China I felt exhausted emotionally and physically. For a country preparing to take centre stage with the Olympics Games next year they have some work to do. China is busy frantically building roads, airports, offices, houses and hotels, well basically they are just building full stop. It has forgotten one other essential element. It needs to consider its personality because at present it lacks any personality of warmth or general friendliness. I'm not saying that everyone in the world should speak English, although it would be bloody handy, but it needs to consider how to interact with foreigners. China should and could be an amazing cultural country to visit if only it would take two minutes thought on how to interact with overseas visitors of any nation. I found the Land of the Dragon left me cold, literally, I'm not saying not to go there, just don't go there on your own because it would be better to have someone to talk to and share the hardships with, I mean experience of course. For me China could have been that much better simply if I had found one face that smiled back at me.

---

Photos

The Heavenly Gate
A rare photo opportunity in between hawkers and postcard sellers.

Power to the people
One of the impressive carved stone statues on display around the square.

The Square
The famous T'men Square, the largest in the world apparently.

The Heavenly Palace
The Emperor used to hold a ceremony here every year to pray to the Gods for a fruitful harvest for the coming year.

The Emperors Seat
This is where the Emperor sat when the ceremony took place, he always sat higher being deemed as a deity on earth.

The Forbidden City
The entrance gate to the Forbidden City.

Gate
One of the many gates within the city that divide it into many smaller other areas. These areas were for the Empress or the concubines.

Heavenly Path
The large pavings on the path in the foreground were for the Emperor to walk on only. These large pavings are exactly in the centre of the City and extends from the North to the South.

Courtyard
One of many large impressive courtyards in the City on walking through one another would follow. The Forbidden City has to be one of the man made wonders of the world.

The Great Wall
Another man made wonder of the world, however of the 5,500km wall 2,500km are in desperate need of repair or have already crumbled.

Guard Tower
One of the many guard towers built help soldiers defend the wall

Terrocota Warriors
The impressive warriors as seen in Pit 1, the largest collection unearthed so far.

Terrocota Warriors
Again from Pit 1, the warriors lined up as if ready for battle, their weapons have long since perished.

Detail
Every face of every warrior is different and unique, specialists believe many were modeled on the individual artists face.

Horses
Even life size horses and their cavalry have been uncovered.

Bronze Chariot
Taking 8 years to restore the bronze horses and chariot, created 1/3rd actual size.

Comments

[simon Kolka]

well, no surprises then
this was always going to be the toughest part of your trip, and you survived ! Sounds like the kind of experience you'll be musing over for a period, at any rate. Good to hear you've made it to nicer climes. Keep on having fun, old bean