China - Hong Kong, Xian, Shanghai, Bejing

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2-4-08
Man Vietnam is in the bag. It seems like I get to a country and begin feeling a little relaxed, and the the next thing I know I am running out of time. I get rushed to see everything in that counry and quickly find myself in the next country and the cycle repeats itself.

I paid the cabby $12 for the prearranged fare by my hotel from Hanoi to the airport. I really think booking things through your hotel especially in countries where there are lots of scams is a good way to go, as they want your business and want to treat you right. I have gotten some really good fares for trips through my hotels.

A couple times during the drive out of Hanoi to the airport, which is about a 40 minute drive, the driver saw me taking pictures and actually tried to get in positiion so I could get a better shot. No one really tips here so I do not think he was expecting a tip or anything just trying to help me out. I saw a really good picture of a guy on his bike with a bunch of balloons and got a decent picture of that with the help of the driver.

I made it to the airport about 3 hours early and found the airport to be very small. I could have probably arrived a lot later, but thought since it is an international flight I better make sure. There was a German couple there as well, that was really confused, and their flight was in less than an hour. They didn't seem too excited. I had breakfast, my last bowl of Pho Bo or beef noodle soup, and then went up stairs two hours prior to my flight, which was the earliest I could check in. From there I went quickely through check in and security and I was in line. The security is very laid back here, which surprised me a little. The US definitely has some of the toughest requirements. Whenever your in our position, where a lot of people want to immigrate to a country to work and because of our extremely powerful stature in the world that kind of security should not be surprising. Whenever your on top of anything, people will always be after you. As I have told people throughout the trip, that have rightfully complained about our current government, look at the bright side in a few years we will no longer be the most powerful country in the world China will be. Then we can all complain about China. I wonder how China will handle their power. Germany was the most powerful country for awhile and look what they did. France was the most powerful country for awhile and look what they did. Actually when the European country's where the most powerful countrys from the 1500s to the middle 1900's they were fighting wars, trading slaves, invading and running off the indigenous people of countries in Australia, New Zealand, in North(including the United States) and South America the list goes on. I am not sure how to stop this cycle of craziness. The average person in all countries of the world are good people, it's the politicians that screw things up. It was good to see that after 6 years of the Bush craziness the people of the United States finally realized what was going on with Bush's party and voted his party out of control of Congress. I wish there were more parties in the United States to choose from, but it really is just a two party system.

I went to a restaurant at the airport and man the food was expensive for Vietnam Standards. I just had a glass of tea. I talked to a Spanish girl that worked in London and a guy from Australia that had a St. Louis Rams jacket on. I told him I was from there and he said he bought the coat in Hanoi. Amazing though most of our stuff is made in China so that should not have surprised me. He said he would give me the coat if he were going back to Australia, but he is not. Winter Coat sales were way up in Vietnam in recent days. Everybody seemed really surprised by the cold temperatures.

Finally the flight came and I got on it and I was quickely outside of Vietnam air space. What an amazing place Vietnam! I genuinely think the folks are good people just struggling to make ends meat. They are like it used to be for my Dad I think when he grew up poor. These folks do not have much money just getting by and at night they sit around watching tv. I can remember Dad talking about sitting around watching tv when they first became available. TV is not a bad thing it really allows you destress for awhille and in moderation that is an ok thing I think. Everything in moderation. Practice what you preach Dave as there is nothing moderate abou this trip. I know I will probably burn myself out and never travel again. I am not a moderate person even though I say that is best. Hypocrit Dave.

In Hong Kong you land on Lantau Island which is where my second couchsurfing host lives. From there I took the tram to Kowloon another island and then onto Hong Kong Island. I had no idea it was an island either. I met my cs host there and it was nice to set my bag down and forget about it for awhile. Carrie is from Iowa, but grew up in Chicago. She has been teaching overseas for awhile now. She was fixing Chocalate Chip Cookies. Man now that is a heck of away to be introduced into Hong Kong. Actually the more I saw of Hong Kong the less foreign it seemed. I saw people from all over this world. As I talked to the locals they said it really is an international City. There were lots of English being spoken. I usually take CS host out for a meal and Carrie and I went to a pizza place upon my request as I had been craving that as I had not had it for many months. Man the prices here are a lot different than Vietnam. I learned too, that people in Hong Kong do not consider themselves as being part of China. That really seemed weird to me. They have a different currency as well as does Macau the place I was headed to next. Macau is considered the Las Vegas of the east and I read where it turns over more money than does Vegas. How can you not check out a place like that.

After supper we headed back to her place. Hong Kong has the longest escalator in the world and we took that part of the way. I got settled into my room after using the computer for awhile and called it a night. I had an awesome setup as I had a dehumidifier in my room as well. I had the background noise, I had security, I had a nice firm bed and a full belly. This might be the best night of sleep of my life. All the elements were in place! Good night from Hong Kong where I am heading into dreamland!

2-5-08
As forecasted I did sleep well and did not get up until around 9:00. That is late for me. I really wanted to just lay around and do nothing for like a week, but I felt again I had to do something today. Carrie fixed an awesome American Style breakfast with bacon and eggs and I was in heaven. I even took a nap after the breakfast. Wow this was just what the doctor ordered. In Hong Kong Carrie said you can pretty much get anything you want, except for Alice of course or wait that was at Alice's Restaurant. Well I think it is true for Hong Kong as well that you can't get Alice.

I headed into town to look for some electronics. It would have been nice to have a mobile wikipedia so I could look up things as I traveled. The German kid's wikipedia phone was awesome when we were traveling along the Great Ocean Road in Australia. I didn't find anything though. I did find a card reader though that reads SD cards and micro SD cards, which will work for my phone that has a micro sd and for my camera which has an SD card. That will be handy. It cost about $15. To convert to USD you divide everything roughly by 7. In Vietnam you divided everything by 16,000, which was really weird. I wonder when the day will be when their currency will be more valuable and you will be dividing their currency into ours. Probably not during my life time, but who knows.

I walked around the Park, where they were having New Years Festival activities. I met a lady from Ohio that said her and her husband were getting sick of the US in recent years and decided to move. I talked to them for awhile and had some Carmel popcorn and a Cane Sugar drink. The Cane Sugar drink consist of running a cane through this ginder and the juices you drink. It is green in color and is quite good. I had never seen that before.

I headed back to Carrie's around 8 and I used the computer for awhile while she read, we talked awhile, and called it a night. She was leaving bright and early in the morning for Thailand or some place I forget exactly, but I know it was warmer there than it was here. She left me the key to be deposited in her mailbox. That was great as she was leaving very early and I did not feel like leaving really early. Good night from my second night in Hong Kong. I must say it is nice being in a Western City again where it seems most things work.

2-6-07
I got up around 7 to check the primaries as I am really interested in that this year as I think most people are. I was thinking that Hillary would win the Democratic nomination by a landslide, but Obama was really doing well. I really thought either canidate would be ok, but in hearing the political commentators that Obama would be a harder canidate for the Republicans to bash and defeat. The Democrats are really engaged this year it seems. I think everyone is so sick of the craziness that Bush has performed during his tenure that the Democrats want to do everything they can to defeat the Republicans. The last midterm elections were controlled by the democrats. You never know, but I would think something similar should happen now as well as Bush has done nothing to improve his image or his parties image. It will be interesting following politics during a Democratic Administration to see if anything really changes. I think change is a heck of a platform to run on and both Hillary and Obama are trying to run on just that platform. We will see what happens.

I called my couchsurfing host and he had to run into Hong Kong for work so I ended up staying at Carries until around 3 at which time I met Dietmar (my next couchsurfing host) at the place to catch the ferry to Lantau Island. I made it there before him and waited a few weeks. He is from Tirol, Austria which is near where my Salzburg, Austria friend lives. Dietmar is a very nice guy who is currently a pilot. Late in life he went to school to be a pilot and is now doing just that in China, where there is a high demand for pilots. He said in China there recently was a pilot who crashed a plane because they came in for their landing way too hard. He said the Chinese pilots never want to admit a mistake so they sometimes will land a plane hard rather than going around for another pass. I have never been on a plane where they had to go around for another pass. Didn't know in practice that actually happens.

Our boat came and we took the ride to Lantau Island. It is about a 30 minute boat ride and I particularly enjoyed it because you got to see Hong Kong from the water. Everything looks different from the water. Dietmar told me of a guy who is sailing around the world picking up work as a tatoo artist. Dietmar said this guy is a fabulous tatoo artist and had made big money in Miami before taking to the waters of the world. I wish I had a natural ability. Maybe I do I just have never let the ability surface? I told Dietmar I want to contact this guy and introduce myself as might be up for a long distance sail if this guy ever wanted crew on a long distance sail. Dietmar said the guys boat is well equipped with all the gadgets, which is a question I had. I did not want to go on the SS Minnow or a delapidated boat. I really do not think I want a conventional job anymore. I really want something that gives me more time off. Not sure what that might be, but I am going to keep my ears open. I will probably go back to engineering. If I find the right lady and want to move on to the next phase of my life then I suspect I will have to do engineering which will be fun as well. I look forward to the next phase that challenge and adventure as well.

We hopped off the boat and jumped on the bus and went to his place. He too did not have heat and his place was very cold. We had a couple glasses of wine, which helped warm things up and had sphaghetti. Dietmar said the Phillipino lady that stays with him always fixes something with rice and it was nice to have pasta. When she got back it was neat to see them two argue about who was doing the dishes. She always did the dishes and Dietmar would tell her not to, but she would do them anyway. They both wanted to do the dishes. How weird is that? She was very cool and nice to talk to with speaking pretty good English. She had gotten some chocalates and shared them with everyone.

About 10 we called it a night I think partly because everyone was cold. Dietmar lives right on the beach in the countryside. You cold hear the waves gently breaking on the beach. I had decided to leave tomorrow and head to Macau as it was just too cold to really do a whole lot and China is a big country and I really wanted to see as much as possible. Good night from Lantau a very beautiful but cold place.

2-7-08
I was able to stay pretty warm through the night, but really would like to find a place to stay with heat. Man heat would be such a luxury right now.

I left Dietmar's place about the same time as him and jumped on the bus headed in the opposite direction. He was headed to the airport and I was headed back to Hong Kong to get a ferry to Macau. Everything went pretty smoothly and I was in Hong Kong. I was on a pretty fast ferry because I spent a little more money for this ferry, which really only arrives about 10 minutes sooner but in this situation I was going to have to wait 2 hours for the slow ferry.

I asked around and found a ferry going to Macau. I was really concerned about finding lodging in Macau as everyone said it would be difficult so I tried to call a couple places in advance, but could not get a phone to work so I just jumped on the boat. I had read in lonely planet that there were a couple options for lodging away from Macau if necessary, which made me feel reasonably comfortable of finding something.

In Macau I jumped on a bus taking me down town. Everything seemed rather confusing much more so than in Hong Kong. I stumbled across one of the lonely planet hotels and it was 400 Macau a night which is like $57, which was really expensive and the place did not have heat either, and I wondered what was I getting into here? I walked to a side street looking for my next lonely planet hotel recommendation stop and found the cost there to be $400 as well. The next night, which was a Friday, they said the price was going up to $600. I only seen one night here in my future. I found another place that lonely plant described as being a bed and that was about it. The place was not too clean and the walls were essentially painted plywood and as LP said stopped no sound. The room I was shown had a sink, a bed, a desk, and I was concerned might include rats. I looked under the bed, but didn't see anything. I am not sure rats like to be on the second floor. There was no reason to believe there were rats here except things were not too clean, but just wondered. Really the only place I had seen rats were in Vietnam. I told the person I wanted to keep looking and might be back. Actually that is what I tried to describe to her not sure how much she got from it. I met a guy from I believe Norway in the hotel, and he said they were in town to see the Police concert tonight and they were staying there so that made me feel a little better about the place. I wanted to find internet though to see if by chance my CS request possibly came through. I assumed not, but wanted to check one last time given the circumstance. I walked to a hotel and on the way was offered a massage which are very special ones from what I hear. I declined the kindness of the lady and found a hotel that was also mentioned in the LP. It had really scrummy looking outside but the interior was really nice. The guy said $600 and I told him I can not afford that. They had a computer there and I asked him how much and he said 10 Macau for an hour. I told him I just wanted to use it for a couple minutes and he said to just use it. He also came back and offered me a price of 500 something Macau, I think he was genuinely trying to help me, but I told him I can not spend that much.

I checked emails and no luck in Macau for CS as expected and I went back to the place where I didn't want to stay, but that was really the only affordable option I had. The cost was like 70 Macau a night or about $10. I hoped there was no complimentary rats, but I suspected there were not. I was excited to walk around in this Vegas like town so I took a shower, which was decent but shared with everyone staying there. I headed out around 4 and was impressed by the sights. The decorations for the new years were cool as well. I took lots of pictures with a couple that I liked. I walked around the casinos and thought about seeing a show, but the only one I came across was like 400 Macau which seemed ridiculous considering the effort I went to not to pay that much for the room. I decided against that. I actually ate at a McDonalds, which I am embarrassed to even admit when I eat there, but I suspect if people traveled as long as I have they would be eating there occassionally as well.

I basically spent the rest of the night just walking around. I only saw about 6 people all night that looked like they might be Americans and 5 of them were entertainers at the Sands. Sands had free entertainment and really was the only place that did. Actually the Wynn did as well. I had a couple drinks at the Sands. One of the entertainers ask me during their routine if I was having a good time and where I was from. He I suspect was from the states as well. He seemed surprised as well that I was there.

I went to another bar that was not even open yet at 9, when I arrived but they allowed me to sit there and have a drink while they finished cleaning. I was really not that impressed with the night life and decided to call it a night. Really though the last time I was in LAs Vegas I got bored as well. People say you can go to Vegas and just walk around, which is true the first time, but the second time it is not nearly as interesting.

I walked back to my room and got lost a couple times, but eventually made it. I had walked a lot probably 3 miles or so which actually felt good as I had not been walking that much as of late. At the hotel it was cold but the couple screwdrivers that I had in me seemed to help with the coldness. Well good night from Macau, the Vegas of the east. No rat sightings. At least not yet!

2-8-08
Man another cold night. Actually it wasn't too bad as I wore my stocking cap all night and never really got cold. I checked out and headed to the hotel where I had used the computer as the guy there was really nice the night before. Unfortunately there was a different person working there and she would not let me use the computer for a few minutes she said 10 Macau is the cost whether I use it for a minute or an hour. I told her too expensive and went outside to the bus stop where I jumped on the bus to the ferry terminal I thought they could help me cipher out how to cross the border. They did and I jumped on the bus. It seemed really weird that I was crossing the border into China for the first time after being here several days now. Hong Kong is in China, but it is not. It is a really weird setup. I had no idea that it worked that way. It goes back to when the Europeans were traveling all over the world in their ships and settling in various places. The British had set up camp here and that influence still remained.

The bus ride was about an hour and I was at the border crossing. Everything went very smoothly and before I knew what happened I was on a bus heading to Guangzhou pronounced GwonJo. I had no idea, but this is one of the biggest train stations in China. I was just told to head there to get a train to Yangshuo. When on the bus I got to talking to the the people behind me and they ask why I was going to Guangzhou and I said I do not know I was just told to go there to get train to Yangshuo by the information person at Macau's Ferry Terminal. It seemed weird that she was questioning that, but she was. I told her that her English was very good and she said that she went to UNLV to study casino gaming for 4 years. That explained it. She said I would have to go back through Nanning to get to Yangshuo. It did look like I was taking the long way around a little, but not a lot. She said whatever you do make sure you get the train ticket before you go to the train station. I didn't realize the entire meaning or magnitude of that statement until a little later.

I was amazed by the magnitude of these City's we were driving through. Smilar to most countries most of the population of China is along the Ocean.

We arrived at the stop where I was to get off and I looked around for the ticket place, but did not see any. The last thing the lady that went to UNLV said to me when she got off the bus at an earlier stop was to make sure I buy the ticket before getting to the train station. I finally went to the hotel across the street and they said that I could buy the ticket at the train station. I told them I was told to not to do that. They said well the person probably thought it would be busy there, but this hotel said it probably is not so busy now as the crowds should be less. Ok I was heading to the train station without the ticket and would just buy it there. As I approached the train station I was encountering more and more people on the sidewalks, but didn't really think that much of it. As I got closer more and more people until finally I arrived to the greatest number of people I think I have ever seen together. I walked up to an area and pushed and shoved my way to a gate and showed the officer my book stating in Chinese I want to buy ticket. I saw a little snicker come from him and he pointed in the direction I was to go. After walking a little farther I came to more guards and ask them and they pointed in the direction where I needed to go again. I then came to a roped off area with security guards blocking people trying to get under the rope. I leaned across the rope and showed the Chinese (requesting a ticket) to the guy and the biggest laugh of all came from him and he pointed me around the corner to where there was an even longer line of people. I walked over to this other guy and showed him the quote and he laughed to and indicated all those people are waiting in line. I then understood what was going on as the people behind the rope were trying to shortcut the line. Chinese love to cut line that is for certain. I remember in College when they use to do the same thing now I know where that mentality comes from. I didn't like that answer at all as I was going to be spending many hours in line. I decided to try the dumb tourist approach and went to another guard close to the entrance where I needed to go to get into the next area. I led with my lonely planet in front of me and showed the guard the quote and he pointed this way so I started walking that way waiting for him to stop me at any point but he never did. I had succuessfully cut line. I suspect the people in line really wanted to kill me, but I did it anyway. I suspect this maneuver in the US would not have been looked upon favorably, but no one here seemed to upset largely because I was a tourist and I think maybe the only tourist among these 100's of thousands of people.

I then came to the next series of lines and waited about an hour there. One guy and his wife got behind me and then tried to creep in front of me for the next 20 minutes. I was twice as tall and probably 3 times as heavy as this guy, but finally gave him some ground after leaning on him for several minutes. There was no way in Hell that I was giving him that spot though. After awhile a security guard came over there trying to organize the lines better as ours was getting to be 2 lines and he asked me where I was supposed to be and I pointed between the guy a little head of me and he indicated to get there so I jumped in there which resulted in that guy moving back not by his own will, but because I had a much bigger bumper than he did. I have no idea why these Chinese try to cut line all the time. I felt vindicated and thought I hope he learned his lesson, but I suspect he will do the same thing the next opportunity he got. The security guards were all over the place and were barking orders inccessantly to keep things organized. Some physical contact was being made between the guards and the people trying to get tickets, but it was nothing to extreme. It was kind of cool watching the dynamic. It seemed the guards were helping me out every chance they got though. We got to the next rope barrier where the guards at there will let people into the actual ticket hall. I went in and was in another line. I estimated I had at least another hour of waiting there. I wondered now what is the likely hood of me getting a ticket at this point. The line moved reasonably well and I had an approach on how to ask for my ticket, which required me pointing to phrases from my book. At one point I saw a guy walk past me and then just tried to mix in with some people as if he knew them. After standing there for 5 minutes another guy in line walked up to him and after about 5 minutes of dialogue the guy went to the back of line. I suspected he was trying to cut line, but did not have the words to ask him or really was not in a position to object to it either for that matter. The guy that told him to go back in line was just another person in line. I gave him the thumbs up sign and he looked at me a little weird and I wondered if maybe I should not had done that. I was trying to say good on you as an Aussie might say.

As I stood there in line my biggest fear was, it would get to be my turn and I would have an insurmountable language barrier issue. My time did arrive and I told the person I wanted to go to Yangshuo and showed the lady the Chinese name. She said not possible in broken English. I then remembered that to go to Yangshuo you actually have to go to a nearby town. In Europe they would have just said the nearby town that I had to go to, but not here. I had been standing here for 3 hours and I had not had all this looked up ahead of time. I felt bad holding up the line and pointed to stand to the side while the next person goes and she indicated sure. There were other people that were standing where I was and the security guard ran them off, but the security guard said it is ok for me to. Man you talk about reverse racism. I was given all kinds of slack. I looked the town up and it was Guilin and I showed her the Chinese town and she looked that up and said, today not possible but tomorrow evening I could go. Damn delayed. Only one day though I should count my blessings. I said ok and snatched the ticket as I had no better options. Thinking back I really did enjoy the trains in Europe. That was a great experience in itself. I thought too now I know why the lady was so emphatic about getting the ticket before getting to this train station. Guangzhou pronounced Gwun Jo is a mess especially now, the Chinese New Year.

I left the train station looking around at the thousands of people. A lot of these folks I suspect were spending the night here out in the open with nothing over head. I felt sorry for them.

I read my LP and there apparently were several cheap hotels in the area. I thought man you know those are going to be filled up especially in this situation. After getting a little ways from the chaos I was approached buy a guy offering lodging. I told him I was looking for a cheap hotel and he said 150 yen. I thought what kind of place is that going to be given the circumstance here and that cheap a rate. I told him no and wrote down 200 yen. This obviously confused him. The guy wants to pay more? He harassed me a while longer and finally I was able to get rid of him. Another guy walked up to me and he said he had hotel for a cheap price. I told him I was looking for a hotel for 100 yen not thinking any would be available but he said ok. How is this possible there are hundreds of thousands of people here and they have rooms for 100 yen are roughly $14. I asked if can walk to hotel and he said yes, but he kept wanting to take a taxi. I said no walk. We began walking and after about 25 minutes of walking we finally made it to the hotel. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. The first room was musty and I said no and they showed me a different room but wanted to charge me more. I told them no and they found me another and I said ok. They then wanted me to leave a depost of 200 yen. I thought that was a crazy price for a room that only cost 100 yen. I told them I was not leaving that much money with them. We were at a stale mate and finally I gave in being sure they wrote the amount of the deposit on the receipt.

I walked around for awhile nearby and had some supper at the KFC nearby. I can not eat the rice everyday like these folks do. I was getting a little full of rice.

Good night from Guangzhou. Just down the street there are hundreds of thousands of people trying to get on trains.

2-9-08
I stayed in my room as long as I could just typing most of the morning. I got a cd burnt and used the computer at this computer place nearby that I had seen the night before. They let me use there own personal computer to do this as there did not appear to be many internet cafes in the area. After checking out around noon I walked to a post office as instructed by the people in the hotel. After asking several more people where the post office was using my book showing the chinese word for it I made it there. I decided to send the stuff in two packets as I thought there would be a better chance they would get there. I sent the cd and some other smaller stuff in one package and then the shirt and two hanging pictures that I bought in Sapa. It took about an hour to get that sorted and it was costing about 300 yen to mail that which was about $45. It is much better than carrying it around all the time and risking losing it. Especially the pictures.

I headed to the train station and decided to head to the KFC to wait, eat and type for a couple hours before going to the station which was just across the street. This place was crazily busy as well. I talked to a guy from Canada for awhile. At least he grew up in Canada. He says he had not been there in about 10 years. We talked about a lot of different things and of course I talked about politics a little and of course he does not like the US. He says the US is an oppresive government. I did not feel like arguing with the guy and did not go into detail about what he meant by that, as I was not sure. Was he talking about Iraq. Not sure? He did go onto say he believes Canada is the best country in the world, but says he has not been to all country's. This seemed a little arrogant of a thing to say given he has not lived there in 10 years. He says in Asia he lives like a king on the money he makes. Ok let me get this right, he thinks Canada is the greatest place in the world to live, but yet he leaves there for a higher standard of living. He actually said his standard of living is higher here. I like Canada a lot, but I am not sure I am ready to say it is the best in World. I also like, Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand and that crazy country of the USA. I heard a person say once that her friend had a baby up there and she said the medical care was not very good and this person was a nurse so she would know. You know I was thinking recently how we are the first to go into areas needing humanitarian aid. Do people ever remember that? There are a lot richer people in the world than in the US look at some of the folks in the Middle East with all the oil. We have very good people. It is kind of good I think traveling when I am, because of the dislike for our current extremist president. I suspect the experience would be similar regardless of whose president as we would be hated then to, but with less fervor I suspect. This guy had not lived in the US so how does he know anyway. Most people that criticise countries have never been to the country they criticize.

The guy gave me some pointers on what to look for in the train station and I headed out. It would have been nice to have gotten some typing done during that hour, but I always choose to talk to people when given the opportunity. I said goodbye to Mr. Canada, but who has not lived there in 10 years, and hello to the chaos called Guangzhou train station.

The station appeared just as busy this day as yesterday. Given the Canadian guys suggestion it was quite easy. Before I knew what happened I was standing in my waiting spot. They funnel you into a waiting area for boarding. It really is quite easy as long as you know what your train number is. In the waiting area I was getting lots of stares. I played with the little kids there for awhile and gave two of them quarters from the US. This is actually a great gift and I wish I had more to give out. Finally after standing there for about an hour it was our turn to head to the train. There were people trying to climb through windows, but only to be deterred by the security guards on the other side. It was quite the spectacle. After the preliminary indication to get ready the doors were opened. Everyone picked up their luggage and people started moving. I saw that the guy right next to me, when he picked his up he lost control of it and it actually fell on the opposte side of this barrier wall. The wall had probably 1" stainless steel pipes spaced about 1" apart and the wall was about 5 ft. High. He was to short to reach over it and had two umbrella handles that he was trying to hook the box with and lifting it up but was not getting very far. I headed his way bumping around people to get there at this point and leaned over the railing and heaved the box up. It probably weighed 80 lbs. I could not believe how much it weighed. There was no way he was going to get that box over that railing with those two umbrellas. I wondered what in the hell he had in there? He was very grateful and the whole thing when put in context seemed really funny. He had waited there for over an hour and then when it comes time to leave he lifts the box up only for it to fall over this barrier and quite frankly without my help he would not have been able to get the box back over the wall.

He then tried to place another box on top of this box and it quickely fell off. I grabbed that box for him and motioned for him to continue on which at first he was hesitant to do, but then realized he had no other option. I bet that box weighed as much as this guy who I would say was probably in his late 60's early 70's. He continued on looking back at me occasionally I guess to make sure I was not stealing the box of his I had. I do not know what was in the box I was carrying, but it was larger than a shoe box and it sounded like it had broken glass in it at least at this stage of the game. The people were shoulder to shoulder and I do not think there was any point where there was less than two people touching me at any one point. I was twice the size of pretty much everyone there and actually used my weight a couple times to stay near the guy whose box I was carrying. We had been moving probably for a couple minutes by now and I was surprised how long this was taken. It was definitely a free for all at least within the confines of these walls and ramps. At one point the guy I was following dropped a bag and he looked back and realized there was no way he could get the bag at this point and had given up on it. I grabbed the bag and realized it was full of fruit. Some of the fruit was falling out of the bags and I let it go. This man was just going to be happy that I snatched some of his fruit. After several minutes of this craziness we made it to the train platform and got a little breathing room. I walked the guy to his train and gave him his stuff. I know he said some really nice things to me, but it was in Chinese so I am not sure what it was that he said. I then went and jumped on my train and was on my way. I must say that was quite the experience.

I was in a nice sleeper car with 3 other men. They smoked though so that kind of sucked. It seems a lot of the Chinese smoke. They have peculiar habits too. They will pretty much spit or throw anything on the floor and pretty much pee anywhere, but when inside the sleeper compartment they are very conscious that their shoes come off before getting in there bed. I know that might seem like a no brainer thing to do, but it is almost paranoid like behaviour. How can a person be so messy, but then so clean. They spit sunflower seeds all over the floor of the compartments as well. Just craziness.

Well good night from somewhere on this train in China on my way to Yangshuo. The thing I learned today was if in the next life your the bottom of a shoe living in China, you are going to have a tough life.

2-10-08
We arrived in Guilin and a kid on the bus recognized me as being English speaking and he came over to chat as we prepared to disembark the train. He said he worked for an American company Motorola. His English was pretty good and said he lived in America for awhile. I told him where I was going and he called his girlfriend to ask her if they had electric there yet and she said they did. At first he was telling me to stay in Guilini a night before going to Yangshuo. I had similar situations occurr before. People genuinely trying to help me feel like they need to give me this awesome insider information. Anyway we walked upon a bus that was going to Yangshuo and I ask how much and he said 15 Yuen. The price seemed ok, but the Motorola guy said if he was going along that would be fine, but since I do not speak Chinese I should not go with them. I said I agree lets go to bus station. He walked with me the whole time and asked if I wanted to stop and eat and I said no lets get the bus ticket first and then grab a bite to eat. I did not know if I was being rude by saying that, but that is the what I said. At the bus station he got my ticket and I told him to just get me the first one available. He gave me a ticket on a bus that left in 2 minutes. I really would like to have had breakfast with him, but had to get on the bus now. I really did not expect a ticket that quickely. I said goodbye and took a picture of us never to see that good fellow again. You say that sometimes in the states and you do encounter that person again, but I suspect in this case I will never see this nice Chinese man again with relative certainty.

The bus ride was typical of any other bus ride in China or in Vietnam. On the way they pick up several more people until all the seats are filled and often any other air volume on the bus is filled and then they make a B-Line to the intended destination. It was quite predicatable.

The topography in this area is quite dramatic. They call it karst topography, which means there are lots of ups and downs. It looked like very small mountains all over the place varying in size, but averaging probably 100 yds.

It is about an hour trip to Yangshuo, which I was really anticipating as I had heard and read some great things about this place. Upon arrival I was not let down, but yet not raised up either. I think if the town was in say Switzerland or Germany or Austria or the US it would be awesome, but in China it is just ok. Everything still carried the burden of communism. Not sure what I mean by that. It still is pretty dirty I think is what I mean. China and it uncleanlinees is starting to become a theme with me. It just did not appear clean and everyone selling stuff all over the place. The topography was in deed awesome, but the people here were like all the others in China. Not very well off trying to make ends meat. That is about it. I walked from the bus station over to a roadside diner which means in China a table and chairs set inside a building with the people living in the back of the same building and the cooking is done just inside the building off the street. That is how most chinese roadside diners are set up.

I was excited too as the place had dumplings, which I had read about in Lonely Planet on my way there. Normally I have to seek out foods recommended in Lonely Planet but not here. I really liked the sausage filled dumplings as well. They have these small, I assume rice wraps and grab about a teaspoon sized amount of sausage and wrap it in the sheet of rice wrap and plop it in the boiling water for awhile and done. They have some of the broth with it as well and it is actually quite good. THe broth kind of reminds me of chicken noodle soup. From there I stumbled upon the Yangshuo Hostel which was in the Lonely Planet book and got a room there for 70 yuen which is less than $10 and they had heat too. I feel a little bad using the heat while the owners huddle around a charcoal burner in the front of there store but that is the way it works. I really tried to conserve the heat the best I could.

After putting my bag down I went back downstairs and told the person I wanted to take a boat tour up the Li River today if possible as it was only about 7:30. I had arrived in Guilini that morning about 6 am. She got me set up on one and said the bus would be by to pick me up at 10:30. Cool bananas the first day here I am already getting something done. This is how things are supposed to work.

I went and used the nearby computer lab, which I learned required a 10 yuen deposit before using which seemed a little strange but whatever. After using the computer I went back to my hotel to wait for the bus. I was waiting for the bus at 10:30 and no bus, which doesn't concern me a whole lot only in that someone might be forgetting to pick me up. I ask the person and she called them and said they are coming. A few minutes later the lady yells at a van in the street and of course that is my van and she motions for me to quickely go jump in that van. The van is pulled off in a median like area but since it is in town the traffic moves very slowly. I ran over and jumped in. That is just how it works in China. Also when getting on people are always trying to get as many seats as possible but everywhere in China they fill them up completely anyway. I don't get it. I grabbed a seat a lady had her purse sitting on and sure enough before long the people were sitting on the floor. Again that is just how it works here. I am glad I do not liver here. Maybe in another life. Maybe there actually is another life for each person. If so I sure do not want to be that shoe sole in China. That would be about the equivalent to being a aerator at a sewage treatment plant. What is amazing about all this though is that the Chinese generally are very clean. They do not stink, they do not pass gas, they have clean clothes, their hair is well done and their nails are manicured, their teeth seem good. They are such an ironic people to me. Given all this they still go around spitting anywhere and everywhere, cutting line and peeing pretty much anywhere as well. Did I tell you during breakfast this morning I saw a lady carry her baby girl over to the curb, dropped her drawers and she went pee while her mom held her about 18 inches above the curb. Crazy! I have also noticed all the kids seem to be spoiled around here. I am not sure if they are spoiled they just are given loads of attention. I was thinking maybe that is because of China's one child policy. I wondered what that meant for the future of China with kids that are given that much attention. Will that make them spoiled. Will that make them better educated. What will that do or has it done? Stay tuned!

At the town where the boat cruise was supposed to take place of course everything was disorderd. There was supposed to be someone there to pick me up and take me to the boat. I ask the lady that seemed to be charge on the bus and she took me through a town to a restraunt and said they would take me to the harbor in about an hour and ask me if I wanted anything to eat. I think maybe this is a scam to get money from me. I had eyed a place on the street and went there instead. The food was ok and I enjoyed the family and the kids running around there the most. I often take a bite and then rub my belly making a moaning sound as if it is really good. Kids love this. Kids are the same universally no doubt about that.

I was taken to the boat and sat on there for about 20 minutes people were getting on and off and getting onto other boats I had no idea what was going on. Finally we headed out and start crusing the Li River. We went about a 0.5 mile up the river and then turned around and went another branch of the river or a different river I was not sure. The karst topography was very nice all around the boat. One guy had his young daughter I suspect about 8 years old wallk over to me and ask me where I was from. It was very cute as she looked a little scared. It kind of reminded me of the Rolves's, from Albers making their daughters ask for permission to board my boat the time we went sailing. That was a day that I probably should not have went out sailing but we had been trying to make that voyage happen for such a long time that I felt bad not going out. We really did not sail that day we just blew around out there for awhile. We made it back in safely but I hope to take them again some day where we actually sail. That day was more about survival and we did that thank god!

A little later they asked for a picture with me as did some other people on the boat. Man this place is listed in Lonely Planet but yet people here are never use to seeing foreigners. I guess these folks are probably not living in tourist areas and most tourist know not to travel in China during the new year. Anyway I was a celebrity for a day.

They cooked off the back of the boat and some folks ate that food, which consisted of fried small fish. One family offered me one of the minnow like fish and I took it then and then asked how to eat it. They said to eat the whole thing. I was wondering why I had taken the fish. So I did that ate the head, tail and everything in between. Add a little breading and fry anything and it becomes edible. This was not the most edible thing that I have ever eaten, but it was consumed.

I made it back to Yangshuo and rested for about an hour and then went out to get something to eat. I know you are supposed to eat the food of the place your at, but I really craved pizza so I went out looking for that. I found one of the shop owners to be very pushy which is something Lonely Planet warned about. She felt that I Should buy something given she had showed me about 5 different coats of which 4 of them she had to get out of packaging for because the 2X's were in the back room. I really liked one, but did not know if I wanted to pack that around in my backpack. Anyway I had enough shopping after that experience. At one point her little girl walkedout and pooped on the floor. I was wondering what she was doing pulling her pants down. I guess I should have known but not having kids I guess I am a little slow about things like that. I just acted like I did not see it. I suspect if mom had been there she would have just put her over the curbing and tell her to do her thing. Who knows?

I was ready for some food. I had read there is a microbrewery here so I went there and of course like most places they had no heat. They did put an electric heater under the table that was quite nice. I had a beer and pizza. The pizza actually was very good and I left feeling I had gotten a great meal. I walked around a little longer and decided to head for the computer site for a little while before going to bed. I got there and deposited my 10 yuen and got on the computer. After a couple hours of work I went back downstairs and not thinking handed the lady 10 yuen as it was 3 yuen per hour and she took the money. I motioned to her I needed change and she indicated it is 5 yuen per hour. I told her I was here this morning and it was 3 yuen per hour and come to think about it I gave her 10 yuen deposit as well so she owes me 14 yuen. I was growing really pissed as she was not giving me any money back. Her English went from broken English suddenly to no English which is generally the case. There was a guy working there too and told him when I came in I handed you 10 yuen and he acted like I hadn't and then told him the cost is 3 yuen per hour not 5 yuen. He tried to explain to me that it is a different rate. I asked him to show me somewhere where that is written. The lady then up and leaves. I was not going anywhere and started wondering whether I actually gave her the 10 yuen to begin with . I knew I had in the morning, but not sure if I had tonight. I remember seeing an apparent English speaking guy near me so I ran back up to ask him if he had deposited 10 yuen when he arrived and he said he had.

I went back downstairs more certain than ever. He went and got a couple other guys that were supposed to speak better English, but their English was bad to but better than the guy behind the desk mainly because he was lying which negatively affects his English speaking abilities. The 4 guys around me at this point were all about 0.5 my size and there were lots of people working in the computer lab so I was never worried about anykind of physical violence it was more about principle than anything and the next person that comes in here and they try to screw over as 14 yuen is less than $2 that will not even get you on a computer in a lot of places in Europe for more than a few minutes. The guy from Australia came down and the guy was trying to tell him it was 5 yuen an hour and the Australian guy ask if the rate changes as I had privied him to the scam when I was talking to him earlier. The guy pretty much had to do that since I was there I presumed. He paid the Aussie his money back and he wished me luck. Finally the guys that he brought in indicated he should pay me the money as well and after about 30 minutes of arguing with this clown I got my 14 yuen back. Man what a deal.

I went back to my hotel and called it a night. The heater seemed to work a little, but not great. That is how things work in China. Sometimes they do other times they do not. It's a much rougher existence than this Midwesterner is used to I know that. Good night from Yangshuo. It was an ok day for me, but nothing great. I think I am ready for a western city again. Maybe Shanghai will provide that much needed break.

2-11-08
I was wanting to do some hiking this day, but it was foggy and cold again so I decide to just do blog work and get my laundry washed. I wanted to go to a different computer lab, but the only other gig in town did not seem to want me. They said no when I walked in. I was thinking maybe the word is out about me. I went back to the other computer place and they let me in. I worked on blog stuff and emails for most of the day then later at night went shopping and actually bought some stuff. The crazy lady was not in her shop as I walked by to look. I still was getting sick of being cold and looked for therman underwear and some gloves. People really do harass you in this town. I actually bought two pairs of gloves as the deals were to good to be true. Gortex gloves for less than $5 how can you pass that up. I decided I will mail the extra pair home next mailing I make.

Berfore going to bed I went to the computer lab one last time and there were two English speaking guys in there arguing with the same guy I had been with last night. I told them how the scam works. He was trying to tell them up front the cost was 5 yuen per hour when they said it was 3 yuen earlier today. I told them there is a place down the road, but they would not let me in this morning. Otherwise you can just pay the 5 yuen per hour I guess. At least they were being told up front. It is sad people have to resort to this kind of deception to make a living. Afer using the computer for a couple hours I went to bed. For the record the kid only charged me 3yuen per hour. I do not really think I would have even screwed with trying to get the 2 yuen back from him on this night as I was tired. Tomorrow was another traveling day. Lets hope things go well. I really need to start booking these train rides in advance especially with all the crazieness here lately. Good night from Yangshuo a pretty cool place but a little soured by the salesmanship tactics practiced. I also learned after leaving this place there was a foreigner murdered on Moon Hill. I knew not to go there already as Lonely Planet had said there was a foreigner accosted there. I guess these places are like any other place you have to be a little careful, where you travel to. The US is still much more dangerous than anything I have seen anywhere in China. These folks just do not seem nearly as violent as us Americans are. I know for an American here such a thing is probably shocking, but the US is the most violent country I have traveled to.

2-12-08 cont.
The kids continued to play and I contiued to try and act tough, but I was tired. I could not believe those kids as it was not 11 and they were still going strong. We were having a grand time and the people around us were enjoying the activity as well. The little girl was particularly cute whenever I would touch her belly she would start this adorable giggle. Both kids were wrapped like pilsbury dough boys are little Michelin Men. They really bundle there kids up in China.

The bathrooms on the trains are deplorable and there kids use these as well normally just held over these standup toilets. As a result and because of the Chinese mentality Urine is strewn all over the bathroom. Man I hate to use them, but sometimes you just have to. Fortunately not many people seem to throw up on these trains like they do the buses.

I am currently on a flight to Shanghai sitting by this American guy and they just handed him some food and he opened it up rolled his eyes and closed the aluminum foil backup. It is roll with a little meat in the middle. It is nothing special, but it is not horrible either. I was thinking buddy if you see the way these folks are living about 30,000 ft. Below us you would not roll your eyes like you do. I might have a hard time listening to the Americans complain about there rough lives. The next time someone says it is cold in the house when it falls say around 65 while these folks have no heat in their houses and you can often see your breath. I am going to be much less sympathetic to their plight having seen the way these folks live. After questioning myself a little about coming to China I am really glad I have. This is another great experience if I can just live through this train ride!

The train chugged on at a slow rate. These trains I have been on never seem to go over 30 mph I guess and the connections between the cars often clunk together and apart jolting the passengers. No one complains though they are use to. I am growing really sick of all this smoke but then again no one seems to think anything of it. It is mainly the old folks that are smoking with only a fw young people. I think it is great that smoking is something not viewed to be cool like it once was. I get the impression fewer young people smoke these days. I asked some folks if they smoke and they said no but the one said her Dad does. She added that he can not stop. That is sad that smoking is that addictive. I am glad the couple times I tried it I did not like it at all. It is very expensive as well and I think of all the money I have saved as well.

Well it is about 1 in the morning and the little girl has just fell asleep I was beginning to think she might be up all night. She had been running the aisles for about the last hour playing with a toy. She often dropped the toy and then would put it in her mouth. She would do this near the restroom where people are walking out of the urine splattered bathroom and spit splattered floor. I don't know that is just the way thinks work here. The little boy had fallen a sleep around 12:00.

Well it is 2:00 in the morning and I really have no idea where I am, but on this smoke filled train. Yep this is a cheap ride alright. Now I know why. Good night yeah like I am going to be able to sleep sitting like this. I am on vacation? No not really. I am out learning about the world. Class is dismissed for today!

2-13-08
We arrived in Jishou around 7 and just outside the train station there are all these people wanting to help you. These nice folks even agreed to take me to Fenghuang, how lucky am I? I did as I always do I get on the bus and then they pile all these locals all around me. The bus was soon full and we were on our way.

Outside of Fenghaung there is a leveled out area on the side of the mountain that serves as their bus station. I was a little concerned as to what was going on when they pulled into this place. They told us all to get on this other bus. I had not slept at all and was suspicious of all this as the lady on this next bus wanted a yhuan. I questioned this and told her I gave you 15 yuan and you said I would be taken to Fenghuan now I have to pay again? I wasn't giving her the money. Granted I was arguing over $0.15 but it was the principal that I was arguing. We were already driving into town and the guy next to me gave the lady the yuan for me he appeared to be Japanese. Part of the problem was the language barrier issue. I gave the man a yuan right away. It was obviously getting tired. What happens at least with me is someone rips me off and then I take it out on the next people I encounter by being difficult with them. Kind of like in basketball the guy that gets called for the foul is not the one that commits the initial one.

The bus dropped us off at this bridge over the Two River. Now I was understanding how things were working. The place we were initially dropped of at was the City's bus station. You then drive through the new part of the town which is actually quite big and then get to the old "tourist" part of the town which is where I was being dropped off. I was really not having a good day and just wanted to find a hotel with ehat and sleep for a couple hours. I checked out one hotel but they had a standup hotel which I really did not feel like messing with but the price was definitely right. I told them maybe I come back which they never like to hear.

I walked around and was quite impressed with the town. Now this is the kind of thing I came to China to see. These really old towns with the cool roof lines. I realized I was on the wrong side of the river and crossed back over. They have a water wheel and several footbridges across the main river. There is one staggered stepped bridge which is quite cool and maybe the most popularly photographed thing in town.

I found a place for breakfast and there was a family of 3 in there and we talked for awhile as the mom was an English teacher. This conversation was just what I needed and I felt a lot better afterwards. They said they live just outside of Bejiing and said I should come and visit them when I am in the area. They have other English speaker teachers there as well. We exchanged contact information and we took some pictures. It was a great breakfast and great conversation. I plan to visit them while in Bejing. I walked to a hostel as I thought there might be English speaking people there. There was indeed a lady there from South Dakota and we talked for awhile. I booked the hotel right across the street from the hostel for 180 yuan and I was right on the water. It was a great view and they had heat. I was getting tired of the cold and even though this cost a little more it was only about $25. Stacey the lady I had met decided to spend the day together sight seeing so we did just that and actually hung around at night as well. She had been with a Chinese Family for over the holiday and she said they have no heat either and she did not really speak enough Chinese to communicate very well and felt like she was maybe in the way there so she came here. I was glad she did as it was good to talk to her. This town was pretty nice but I knew I really needed to be heading out. I recommend coming to this town as this is the kind of stuff I had been wanting to see as a tourist. One of the unique these town has is flattened and I assumed dehydrated pig heads. Not sure what you do with them but they had them hanging for sale in lots of store windows. They also did this with lots of other animals. It was quite strange which is good for toursim I suspect. Well good night from a hotel room nexst to the Two River. There is beautiful Chinese stuff just across the water from where I sleep.

2-15-09
I left my hotel about 8 and grabbed a taxi. Not sure if I am getting lazy or what, but I am a lot more likely these days to take cabs and they are really cheap which makes it better too. We went to the bus station arriving safely which surprised me a little since it was a lady taxi driver which is unusualto have a lady and also unusal to make it there safely knowing lady's driving skills. Oops did I say that? 😊 I grabbed the first bus back to Jishou. Of course this was another unusual bus ride but not unusual for China. Just lots of people on the bus mainly and stopping letting people on and off along the way.

The driver did not let me off at the bus station which I asked him to do but two young ladies came over and helped me out as they were in the van as well. They said I should take a taxi but I said no that it was too expensive which it wasn't but I was in a little bit of a stubborn mood. They said ride with us in our taxi and we will drop you off. Man they were being nice The taxi driver did not want to let me in I guess because she was to only go to one spot but the ladies convinced her to let me go I guess because I was a tourist. The line at the bus station was crazy so I walked down to the train station. It did not appear much better. I talked to a security guard telling him I wanted to go to Chongquin today. He motioned for me to come into his office. We talked a little more. He said I had to go to Huaihua first and get ticket there to Chongquin. His English was not too good but I go the information I needed and he wrote it down so all I had to do was hand the paper over to the attendant. In the meantime a lady came into the office and her English is better. It seems women are much better at foreign languages than are men.

I left there and got in line. The lady I could see was watching me the whole time as it got close for me to get the ticket she came over and actually talked to the attendant for me and gave me the ticket. As we walked out I asked her where the ATM was and she pointed in a direction by a motel so I walked there and was not finding it. All of the sudden this same lady popped around the corner and said no it is here. She actually startled me when she came out of nowhere and said she had been watching me and saw I was in the wrong spot. I was amazed by the extent of this ladies help. Everyone in the train station stared at me as I waited the 30 minutes before my train came. The lady of course helped me to the waiting area as well. This lady had been extremely helpful and we took a picture together.

I got on the train and headed to Huaihua. In Huaihua I hurriedly got in line for a ticket to Chongquin and once there the ticket lady said no tickets available. I ask her well what about tomorrow and she said none available. I could not wait any longer I was going to have to get on a bus.

I left the train station wanting to go to the bus station. The security guard did not seem to know what I was asking so I just walked out to the taxi area and the driver seemed to act like they did not know what bus station meant even though I was pointing to it's Chinese spelling. I asked another driver and they too seemed to wonder what I was asking too. This was really weird and seemed like something out of X-Files. I finally decided to go and ask a security guard as these responses were a little weird. I found about 4 security guards walking together and ask them about the bus station and they said not safe. I was like what? I was thinking these people were all protecting me? I was really confused. I told the security guards that I have a flight out of Xian on the 20th and I wanted to boat up the Yangtze river and for all that to take place I had to be in Chongquin tomorrow. The one lady said to follow here. I got the impression she was going to get me a ticket. I did not know how but this was getting very interesting. She walked me to the platforms out near the trains and into a room that said VIP above it. She said we will get you on the next train to Chongquin and left saying that some other people will stop by to take me to the train in about 40 minutes. I did not know what to say but thanks. Man was I feeling like a rock star. When I walk around people watch my every move, they take me to the VIP rooms. This will be the closest I will ever get to celebrity status that is for sure. Backpackers usually do not make it too big.

The room had a big tv and heat which was something I was not used to and was really enjoying. Some intern like ladies stopped by. They said they were working here until they go back to school. I asked them about gettinga snack and they walked me back out to the concession area and I got some food. After getting back to the VIP room they said they had to go back to work and would be back for me in a little while. I did some other typing and a few other people funneled in. One guy actually ask me if it was ok for them to smoke. Normally people in China just smoke and do not bother asking. It was nice for someone to ask and I said sure just do it over where they were.

The ladies came back and said it was time to go. I go out on the platform and the train came about 5 minutes later. The ladies talked to the first person and then we moved onto the next person and another. I grew increasingly concerned maybe I would not get a seat. Soon everyone else from the train station came out and things got really busy. The ladies finally came through and told me to get on here. I took a picture with them and said goodbye. Wow how nice was that. Dave the Rock Star Bick. I like the feel and sound of that!

They told me to sit on a seat in the aisle and he left. People continually bumped into me as I sat there. I was thinking damn if this is where I am spending the night it is going to be a long night. All I really cared about though is being on this train. This is making the Yangzi River tour possible. After we left a guy came back and walked into a sleeper room and said for me to go in there. There was already 4 people in the 4 bed cabin and the one guy jumped into the bed above the bottom bed with another guy and he said the lower bunk is mine. Man I felt a little weird and thought man I bet these guys are hating me. I have no idea what the worker told them about me but here I was . I was having a hard time getting a good read on these guys in this cabin. The one guy offered me some food and seemed nice but I just was not sure. I called it a night around 10:00. I stowed all my stuff close to me near my bed so if anybody messed with it they were going to disturb me as I had everything tied to the table near me and some of the stuff actually contacted me. There was room to store the bag above the entrance way to the train but I indicated to them I was putting near me . I am sure they saw the suspicion I had of them. I was probably not worrying about anything but who really knew? Good night from the train tracks on my way to Chongquin!

2-16-08
Well the train ride was pretty decent, but again even though I slept I still did not feel rested. The train was arriving latte which worried me a little as I wanted to still get on a hydrofoil boat and cruise the Yangste yet today.

As we got close a kid saw me walk to the bathroom which are absolutely disgusting in the mornings. Really they are disgusting anytime but particularly so in the mornings. When walking back a young kid in a suit saw me and said a couple things in English. A few minutes later he showed up in my sleeping car and said he went to school to study English. His English still was not too good. I thought is this what the Chinese schools are turning out for English majors. Anyway we talked for awhile and he offered to help me. He said he had friends picking him up at the train station. I asked them if they had a car and he said they did. He said they could take me to the place to get the boat as they would know where it is.

We get to the train station and I follow him and we walk through the masses finally finding his friends after about 30 minutes we find the bus station and he starts talking to these two people. It was like these folks were strangers, but yet he talked passionately to them. The lady handed him some sort of ticket. I was wondering what in the heck was going on. After about 5 minutes of talking he introduces them as being his friends and that I was best to take a taxi. I was like what the heck, as I have been following him around for 40 minutes now only to learn I should take a taxi. There was a billion of taxis waiting right outside the train station for me. I said thanks and wished him the best. It turns out him and his friends all had train tickets. How could I misunderstand what he was saying that badly? And he was a Chinese English major? I thanked him for his help and continued on. I was a little upset by those turn of events as I needed to get on a boat. I jumped in the first taxi and he took me around to where the boats were docked. No one was speaking English and I was getting a little perturbed at everything that had happened since I had gotten off the train. Lemons to Lemonade, Lemons to Lemonade.

I asked about another travel place and the guy pointed right across the street. The Lonely Planet said they spoke English there. I went there and there was English being spoken. This is just what the doctored ordered. I told him my scenario that I needed to be in Xian for my flight on the 20th. He gave me a couple options and the best option was to take a bus from there to the next City and then jump on the hydrofoil from there to take me to Chiang where I would catch a train in the afternoon. I was getting so tired of all this train craziness I just started booking things with this guy. I booked a hotel in ChongQuin for tonight. I booked the bus trip and hydrofoil ride to Chiang for the next day. I booked the train ride from Chian to Xian and the hotel room in Chian, This would get me through the next couple of days. Which put my mind at ease and put me in Xian that would have to do as I already had my flight from Xian to Shanghai for the 20th.

The hotel I booked was for 180 yuan or about $26, which which was pricey for China, but I wanted something nice as I felt like I really had been pusing hard. I thought man am I that big of a wimp then realized that these Chinese people I see on these trains or not doing that evey day like I am. I know they are tougher than me but maybe not a lot tougher than me? Then again they probably are a lot tougher than me.

The hotel was very nice and I hung out there most of the rest of the day. At night I had read where they have great hot pots in ChongQuin so I went out spending about 2 hours just trying to find one and I finally had to ask. The map I had was not too good. Hot pots consist of boiling flavored soy sauce like water and then you pick what you want to cook in them. I picked a mushroom, crab meat and the chef suggested a variety fish so I got that. They control the heat of the water with adjustments to the burners under the table. I put my food in there and really did not know how to cook it. The first fish I took out and took a bite of was cold inside so I obviously put that back in. The chinese folks around me were really staring at me and they are so so messy. Spilling juices etc. All over the place and they were staring at me? I thought the food was ok but nothing great. I would have expected such a meal to be quite expensive but it really was only around 40 yuan or $6.

I went to another bar that lonely planet said ex pats (foreigners) go to but I only saw a couple that looked to be foreign but it was early. I had not been feeling very well so I decided to jump in a taxi and head back to the hotel as I did not feel walking all over the place trying to find the hotel. I had wanted to ride the cable car over the Yangste river but decided not to as I was not feeling that daring and it seemed a little scary at the time. It is amazing really they stretch this cable across this major river and then take you across on this gondola like care. Very cool.

The taxi ride was very short and he was a great driver. It cost me less than a $1. I was starting to feel a little bad and after a little tv decided to go to bed. Good night from ChongQuin a pretty nice city really I wish I had time to see more. Although this place is known for it's fog. They say this place is foggy on average 100 days a year. It was foggy this first day I was there. Good night I am not feeling too well which will mean I will sleep really good or not worth a damn. Lets see what it will be!

2-17-08
About 1 in the morning I woke up feeling horrible. I had cold chills, unsettled stomach and that hot pot seemed to be in the back of my throat. I really wanted something to happen, but I did not feel like I could extract that hot pot although I sure wanted to. I was quite certain I had a fever. I was sweating under the covers, but once I took them off I turned into an icicle. There was no controlling this temperature. I took a couple Ibuprofen and that seemed to help. I never got back to sleep the rest of the night. All this crazy traveling had finally caught up to me. I had been cold since I arrived in Hanoi a couple weeks ago.

I got up around 6:00 showered and checked out. Right when I was leaving I wiped my shoes off with the towel I showered with. I got down stairs and they called for me room to be checked as they due in most places in Europe. I waited for several minutes and then she gave me all but 10 Yuan back for my deposit. I was livid. I asked her why and all of the sudden her English became non existent. At one time she acted like she was wiping something off to try to explain to me and the best I could do was guess they were complaining about the towel but I had no idea. I wish I would had made her go back tot he room and show me but I had to catch my bus. I am sure I overeacted due to my lack of sleep and I knew it was less than $1.50 that I was complaining about, but this always frustrates me. I do not care if someone charges the fee up front but when they try and weasel it out of me I really get cranky and that is what I thought was happening here.

I stormed out of there and went down to where I was supposed to meet. The first person acted like he did not know what the slip of paper meant that I showed him. The travel agent told me the day before to show it to them and they will tell you what to do. Then he motioned to a lady that knew about the ticket. I really needed some things to go right today as I felt like crap, virtually had no sleep and knew I was going to have a short fuse. While we were waiting I wanted to find something to drink but everything was closed nearby and I was afraid of missing my bus. There was no way I could even think about eating anything and was not sure water or orange juice was going to sit any better but felt like I had to try. As usual the lady did not give any directions to the group until about 20 minutes after the designated meeting time and then she said to follow her. We walked about a 0.25 mile and then was at a bus station where we were told to get on. I grabbed some orange juice there. So much for getting on the bus at the location the travel agent said to. This worked too just very view things are ever as they are supposed to be. We got on the bus and for the first time they did not fill it up completely which was nice but I like the idea of full buses even though it is nice when they are not.

We drove to Wanzhou and got on a boat there. Here again we were dropped off at the bus station and then escorted to another bus that actually took us to the docks. I tried to follow the folks in the group the best I could as no one really spoke English with the guide speaking just a little. The hydrofoil boats were interesting and looked cool but were obviously old and this would not be it's first trip up the Yangzi. I jumped on looking for a spot near the window and luckily found a spot in the back of the boat. I had some lettuce about 12"s from my back shoulder as well and the plexi-glass like stuff to see through had not been washed in a long time and appeared scratched so much that it didn't really matter. The glass was partially fogged already as well. I had a window seat though and for that I was happy. They fired the engine up and it didn't really want to be running apparently as it took several cranks and some adjustments but they got her running. The engine sounded souped up and really rumbled. I wondered if maybe the pistons were bored out on this guy. The motor had some power. As we started to leave I quickly got myself associated with the location of the life jackets and developed an exit strategy just in case! You never know. We got going and the boat seemed to place out and the ride was relatively smooth. Before long we stopped at another place letting people on and off. We did this about 4 times during the cruise. I suspected we were moving about 40 miles and hour and had about 7 hours ahead of us so we were going to have traveled around 280 miles at the end of the day. I suspect the actual distance was closer to 200 miles when you factor in the stops. There were 3 main gorges I wanted to see and tried to stay awake enough to see through the cloudy glass on this cloudy day. What are you going to do. The answer is the last word in that sentence. You are going to do. That is really all I ask from people in life that they do and I guess I like to see the Golden Rule being lived as well. Is that asking too much?

We made it to the first gorge and I walked to an area on the boat where you could actually get a clear view of the surround mountains. It was indeed quite spectacular. I was one of the few tourist on the boat as everone else was using the boat for transportation. At first I was wondering why I went through all this effort for this boat ride and after seeing this first gorge I realized why I came. Even in my sicken state I was impressed by the gorge. I went back to my place on the boat and sat by my lettuce. They showed a movie on the boat that I could somewhat follow along even though it was in Chinese. Some lady was bringing a lot of drama into her life and familys life by dating this trouble maker. Definitely not an origianl theme but everyone seemed to like it.

The total trip ended up only taking around 6 hours and it was definitely worth the effort. At the gorges I always got up and looked around. It was not about 5 in the evening and I still had not eaten a thing just been drinking orange juice and water. I really wanted some western food I really wanted some McDonalds.

We pulled into the pool near the Three Gorges Dam and I was impressed by it but not blown away. This is the worlds biggest dam. I could not see it fully but only parts of it. I kept telling myself I really needed to see that place especially with my background in Engineering.

We bused the hour into town and as we pulled around a corner those Golden Arches came into view. I had never been so happy to see a McDOnalds in my life. We got off at the bust station and there was a McDonalds there as well. It was a small one that only had chicken but I said good enough and I had a chicken sandwich. It really was not too good but given the circumstances I was very happy eating there.

I took a taxi to my hotel and I checked out the room. The guy in Chongquin kept telling me this was a 3 star hotel when I asked him about it and payed him in advance. My room was quite bad but it would do I did not have the energy to argue with them. I told them I wanted to book a tour to the damn and they had a hard time understanding what I wanted even. This is the biggest dam in the world and they didn't understand what I was wanting. I called the guy that was supposed to bring my train ticket to this hotel and he said he would bring it in the morning. I also told him I wanted to tour the Dam but needed to be back for the train ride the next day. He said he would get me a tour the best I could understand. I was really nervous about this kid showing up the next day. I went to sleep that night not knowing if I would have a train ticket to Xian the next day and not knowing if I would have transport to Threee River Gorges Dam. Oh he said the guide spoke English as well. Man if she did that would be awesome but I have learned not to hold my breath. Ok the day really seemed to go ok considering how bad I felt in the morning and I was impressed with the Gorges.

2-18-07
What would today bring that was the million dollar question. I slept better last night that is good. I got packed and headed downstairs wondering if I would get my entire deposit back here and wondering if I had a train ticket to Xian, and wondering if I would get a tour of the Three Gorges Dam today. I guess I awoke with a lot of wonderment.

Well I headed downstairs about 10 minutes before 8 which was the agreed to meeting time. Of course the guy was not there yet. I got checked out and got my entire deposit back. So far so good. The guy did not show by 5 minutes after 8 and I ask the girls at the front desk to call him. They stated maybe he is just late. I told them he is already late and I need to talk to him about getting out to the damn before the tour buses leave. They called him and he was 2 minutes away. Good.

He came in and had the train ticket. I told him I was told the price was $250 and had already paid his friend in Chongquin $50. This is not what he expected and I finally told him I am not paying him anymore call your friend if you have questions. He said ok and gave me my train ticket. This was my biggest fear for the day. Things were going ok today thus far. I then paid him for the tour to the Three Rivers Gorge which included an English Speaking Guide. He said the people will pull up soon which they did almost immediately. There was no room for my backpack and we took the backpack back in for storage. They said they would be bring me back to the hotel to get my stuff and then drop me off at the train station at 1:00 this sounded good to me. All my transportation was taken care of for the day,

We headed out and the tour guide as I expected spoke only a few words of English. The tour guide probably spoke 3,000 words to the rest of the group and maybe 30 words to me. I did not expect mych going into this so I was not really disappointed. The tour guide was very petite even for Chinese standards. As most Chinese her dress and air was well done and she wore high heals. I was waiting for her though to spit on the ground as anyone in China will do that without reservation but I never saw her do that.

The dam has an hydroelectric plant capable of putting out the equivalent electricity of 18 nuclear power plants. Not sure if the power from one power plant is standardized or what but that was the statistic I saw. It is the biggest damn in the world not sure if that is based on the amount of water it stores are amount of concrete in it or what but this is known to the biggest. I know the lady at Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona had mentioned this damn as well as being the biggest. I was impressed with it but I am more impressed with the Glen Canyon and Hoover Dams as they appear a lot higher on the downstream side which for me is what makes a dam look cool for me.I bought a book at the visitors center in English thinking this was really the only way I would get much out of it. I remember cruising upstream of this dam the markers on the sides of the canyons with water level markers. They are still filling this bad boy. The damn is to improve water navigation along the Yangzi as well as perform other functions. There is a lot of folks against this project but for me I think hydroelectris damns are generally good things. They are worried about sturgeons, displacement of a million people and the lost aretefacts that will be submwerged. This project was first thought about in 1919 and as you might imagine several hurdles were finally crossed through the years and this finally happened. I know there is several projects like this on the drawing board in the states but have never happened. Maybe they will some day.

At one of the visitors location I met an Austrian guy and his wife probably in there 60'S and he seemed a little grumpy. I know the Chinese were getting to him. They can if you can not go with the flow. As previouly stated I am thoroughly glad I came but am glad to be leaving. They do not live how I want to live but I like the day of people being different. I do not want everyone to be the same in this world. I do not want everyone to have a democracy. I like it the way it is although I know the fat cats like myself are using more of the finite resources of this world than are other folks. The rest of the world wants me to use less which we do need to work towards using less resources no doubt about it.

They would not let you cross the dam so we hopped on a bus and drive to a park on the other side. There was an amphitheatre there that I though was quite cool with a view of the damn in the background. For me this was the best view of the dam. I really could get no good photos because it was so foggy. I got the impression it normally is foggy here similarly to Chongquin.

We left there and headed back into town. We were a little early and I was able to grab a bite to eat before I left on the train. I had virtually eaten nothing all day again as I did not feel very good either. I chose McDonalds again and this time I got to go to a good one and had a great burger. I left for the train station and waited an hour and was on the train to Xian. I was rooming with 2 girls from Xian who spoke no English.

2-19-08
The idea was to get into Xian around 7 and get in the tour to see the Terracotta Warriors right away. Once I got off the train there was a guy offereing a hotel. This is common place but this guys English was so good I decided to look into it. He took me to a nearby hostel and things looked good there so I went for it. They had tours as well so I jumped in the tour. This could not have worked better I have been in Xian for about an hour now and have a tour booked and lodging. I headed to the nearby McDonalds for supper as that is what seemed best for my stomach. After breakfast I headed back as our group was leaving soon. In our group there were two kiwis one who was Chinese, two canadians, two women from Latvia and the tour guide and driver. The group was entirely English and the guide was decent but you could tell everything she said was pretty much memorized. Once you asked a question she was lost. We stopped at a factory where they make teracotta warriors which was basically a place where the tour company is trying to get you to buy something as they get a commission. From there we headed to the Huaqing Hot Springs that I thought was quite interesting and then we went to the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang where we also had dinner. I liked the hot springs and the tomb was cool as well once you had some history behind it. It was all pretty good but the good stuff was yet to come.

The location of the terracotta warriors was flat, which for some reason I envisioned a hilly woodsy area. It was quite impressive and the facility was amazing as well. They indicated they are waiting some of the excavation until better technologies allow them to uncover the area better with less destruction. I thought that was cool. The tour guide for me was pretty worthless and reading lonely planet was the better option. The guy who originally founded the site was there and you had to pay to take his picture. The Kiwi raised his camera and the guy saw him and raised a fan in front of his face. The guy was a chain smoker and did not appear like a cool person. He was just a guy who was digging a well and encountered these folks and is now try to capitalize as much as possible.

The Latvian women were traveling to Shanghai a day after me and then going to Beijing about the same time as me as well.

After the tour Dace, one of the Latvian women and one of the Canadian guys decided to head out and I did as well. We went to a touristy Japanese dance and music show which was quite boring actually. From there we walked around the muslim area for awhile and saw the Bell Tower. Xian appeard quite cool and I wish I had more time.

We headed back around 11:00 and called it a night. A good busy day. Tomorrow it is off to Shanghai. Dace's friend was not feeling well and she was considering taking her to the emergency room. I gave her the ibuprofen I had and some of the allergy medication. I thought it might make her feel better but would not help cure her. I suspected she probably had the same thing I had. Good night from Xian, China home of the famous Terracotta Warriors.

2-20-08
Man after a quick day in Xian it is off to Shanghai. I felt like I had seen enough in Xian, but thought too it would have been nice to stay another day. But you know how it is, you end up spending the day not really doing anything either when you have extra time.

I checked out of the hostel a little before 7 and they said you better hurry if your going to catch the bus they said the buses run every hour on the hour and they pointed in the direction I needed to go. I ran there but really had no idea where it was and once I ran the two blocks I ask for help but no one spoke English very well. Finally I found someone to speak decent english and learned the bus had already left. Ok I wait an hour, get some breakfast and catch the next bus. I should have time.

The hour went quick and I was on my way to the airport. I noticed when the plane was pulling away from the terminal that he did it very aggressively. I was thinking man this fast paced lifestyle is in all faces of their life. I also was thinking about the Austrian who flies planes in China and says the Chinese pilots if they come in wrong for a landing will land the plane hard rather than admitting failure and go around for a second pass. He said one pilot broke a place in half doing this. Man what am I getting into here I wondered.

The flight went fine and before long I was landed in Shanghai. I took the Magnetic Levitation train into Shanghai which was awesome. We got up to 431 km an hour which is by far the fastest I have ever been. We were traveling 258 mph and it was a smooth ride even. As the train was speeding up my smile got bigger and bigger. I had no idea that this train was going to go that fast. From there I took the subway to the couchsurfers place and called her after borrowing a ladies phone there. The couchsurfer came and picked me up. We spent the night not really doing much. I washed my clothes and we did some shopping and called it a night. There was a Japanese kid there as well and I enjoyed talking to him as well. He too was traveling around the world but at the age of 23. He was asking me about Vietnam where I came from. Good night from Shanghai. China. Am I really in Shanghai? Yep!

2-21-08
I slept pretty good last night but coughed for awhile before going to sleep. I really thought I should just find a hotel and chill out for the day so I decided to do just that. I headed out and went to Starbucks to type for awhile and then to a Motel 168 were I had read the rates are reasonable. I took the subway to near the motel and walked to it. It was about a 15 minute walk and the rate was 180 yuan or $25 which wasn't bad but I had hoped to do better. I went ahead and took and went to my room around 12:00 and just crashed.

I watched a couple movies on the tv and then went out to find something to eat. I had been drinking a lot as well the used empty bottles were starting to pile up in the room. I was still not ready to eat chinese food so I looked for western food. I was not finding any but kept walking. Along a back alley I found a place called Olives that served western food. In the US whenever you mention dark alley you think of being robbed are assaulted but most other places in the world it is really not that big of a deal. Sure if your a woman it should still be avoided but it doesn't have the connotations it has in the US. I am really glad I came to China as I thought it was a dangerous country as well but it is not. It is a very safe country.

I got a pizza to go at Olives and took it back to my room and watched some tv. I could not believe it but on HBO they were playing the movie Gremlins. This just seemed a little dated, but I watched it anyway since there was nothing else on. It seemed more dramatic when I was a kid. You know I think the competitiion in the US is part of the problem. People are really into there own personal possessions more so than helping there fellow man. That is my car you better not scratch it. That is my property you better not get on it. I see places that have personal property signs all over there property in the US. I do not believe that is a good mentality to foster in the world. Some people have to be the best at this or the best at that or kill the most ducks or kill the most deer or have the most deer heads on the wall. Look at duck hunting in Batchtown these days. People will shoot at ducks a long ways away from there blind just so another blind doesn't get them. Duck hunting at Batchtown is more like a shooting arcade these days. How many shells can I shoot and can I get more ducks than the neighboring blinds if I do that means I am better than the people in that blind. That is what we have in America these days. We have a lot of things right but we do not treat our neighbors like we would want to be treated. We do not live the Golden Rule. Good night from Shanghai. What does the phrase being Shanghaied mean?

2-22-08
I woke up feeling really refreshed. I had not slept that much for a long time. I walked to a bakery for breakfast but the pastry was just ok. The Chinese are not too good with breads. I used the internet for awhile at the hotel and then napped a little awhile longer in the hotel room. Man I think I got my $28 worth here in Motel 168. I headed out at 11:30 and headed to where the Latvian women that I had met in Xian were staying. Dace said the hostel was right across the street from the Caoyang Metro Stop which was on line 3. I got there and looked all over tarnation for the hostel which she mentioned and no dice. I walked in one direction and did not see it and then walked back to the Metro stop. I saw another backpacker and ask him a French kid if he was heading to the hostel and he said yep. He however did not know where it was. We walked together and I finally saw the hostel and it was the hostel he was going to but I learned it was not the hostel I was looking for. The people at the desk pointed me in the direction to go but with broken English it was hard to understand what they were saying. I followed a new road pursuant to their directions but did not find it but ask directions there and they steered me in a direction that I had already been but maybe I over looked it. Sure enough this time I did find it. There was a big sign off the road aways that I probably should have noticed the first time but I hadn't. You had to walk through a security gate to access it and then another gate to access the hostel. I definitely felt safe. The hostel itself was very nice. I asked for the room where the Latvian woman were but they had left already. I was about 30 minutes later than I said in getting there because I had been looking for this place for such a long time. Dace was definitely going to be given a hard time with her directions that this hostel was right across from the metro stop. I know English is her 4th language but still she could do better than than. She made it sound so easy to find I didn't even look up directions on the internet. Women and directions are like oil and water. They just do not mix.

I got checked into my dorm room and headed out. I went to the People's Square which was very nice and went to the Shanghai Musuem. I had no idea that China was so old. They had brass wine vases and tools and weapons that were around 1,500 years BC. That is around 3,500 years ago. That is old. It is amazing that they have been in existence for that long and have only developed so far and look at where we are in American compared to them. They can catch up quickely though. The porcelain there though was the main attraction for me as worldwide china is known for what we refer to as fine China. I spent about 3 hours in this musuem and really enjoyed it and consider it a must see in Shanghai.

I met a couple kids in there early 20's that were really fun to talk to. They actually invited me to see some Chinese Acrobats with them, but I decided not to for some weird reason. I headed back to the hostel and looked for the Latvian ladies again, but they were gone so I headed back down town by myself. I decided to go to the Pudong area of the City which was on the newer side of the river. The Pearl Tower is the main attraction there which is a hug space needle like thing. It was about 100 yuan to go up in which I declined to do. From there I walked to the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel which was my access to cross the river but it was about an hour before the next car left is what I gathered so I walked around looking for a place to eat and came across a Hooters. I know I shouldn't be eating so much Western food but Chicken Wings sounded really, really good so I got me a dozen and enjoyed them but really should have went with the 911 hotness as the hot just wasn't that hot. They were almost all westerners in the place.

I left and jumped on the Bung Sightseeing Tunnel and it was pretty lame actually. They try to make it exciting but it really wasn't. You get a Gondola like car and go through a tube to the opposite side fo the Huangpu River. It was just ok but I do give them a B for effort as they did try. From there I walked along the river promenade where there are mansions lining the river. There is a French Influence in this town. Shanghai was a port opened up to the west and therefore has a more worldly influence to it. The promenade was cool and I think might be very romantic with the right person but seemed just ok for me but it is something a person must do upon visiting Shanghai. I walked along the shopping area which is a street closed to traffic along east Nanjing Road and just was not that impressed. I then got to the metro stop around 11:00 and it was closed. I couldn't believe it was closed this early. I started walking in the direction of the next subway and stopped at a hotel and they confirmed that yes all the subways close around 10:30. I could not believe that but that was the case. I told the lady there where I was staying and asked her to write it down in Chinese for me as none of the taxis could understand English. She did that and I left confident I could just hand the note to the taxi driver and soon I would be at the hostel. I gave him the note and he said he understood and we were on our way. About 5 minutes after leaving he started talking again and then handed me the phone to tell the person where I wanted to go. I kept repeating CaoYang Road Metro stop but the guy on the other end of the phone did not seem to understand. Finally I gave the phone back to the driver and he had a couple closing words and hung up. I was aghast at this development and if I seen something recognizeable I was going to just tell him to let me out. Surprizingly though he made it to the Metro Stop. Man wouldn't you think people would know where metro stops are in the City are at least have a map showing them. I paid him and the fare was only 30 yuan or $4 for about a 25minute trip. Very nice. Good night from my 3 rd night in Shanghai. One more and I am out of here.

2-23-08
I met with the Latvian Ladies and I guess they were feeling sorry for me so they invited me along with them. Dace's friend whose name I always mangle had been feeling really bad, but was being a trooper and kept plugging along.

We agreed we needed to head towards to Yuan Gardens as Lonely Planet indicated that was quite cool. Dace had more stops planned as well. She travels pretty hard and I was impressed witht hat. She was wanting to go to Yuan Gardens and then maybe head to French Concession area and maybe even head another place.

Dace another young kid and I headed out for breakfast. Dace said she knew a place close that was really good. We went to the place she thought was it but for whatever she said it did not look right so we walked on. We never did find anything but I jokingly kept mentioning the nearby McDonalds and the next thing I knew I was having a crispy McChicken meal. Dace had picked up some bite size morsels from street vendors and the other guy had McDonalds.

Afte breakfast Dace,her friend and I headed to Yuan Gardens and it was quite the distance from the Metro stop so we walked about 30 minutes before arriving. It was a very cool place and a place I now consider a must see. Curved lined roofs all over the place which is what I define as China. Lots of shops as well making it rather touristy but still pretty cool. We went to the Garden itself and was impressed with that as well. Huxington Tea House is right next to Yuan Gardens and is supposed to be the most famous tea house in all of China. We went there and had a tea which was really expensive at 40 yuan for a couple glasses or over $5 total which in those terms does not seem to bad but it is expensive for China. There was no heat the building. This place use to a part of Yuan Gardens. There is a mote like lake around the tea house and they had floating blow up items in the water. That were catching a load of photo shots.

We left there and was getting quite hungry and Dace's friend was not into Chinese food and actually wanted McDonalds so we went there. I was still working on getting over my cold and this food seemed the best for me as well. Dace again had been snacking on street vendor food, that lady will eat anything, so she did not eat McDonalds but was not the type to rip on people that do like some people do.

Dace and her friend wanted to spend more time in this area to shop so I headed back to the hostel and let those two shop. At the hostel I chilled out for about 30 minutes and then showered and headed to the The Spot a bar I was to meet the German guy I had met in New Zealand and then again in Hong Kong.

Once there I asked Andreas to use his phone to text message Dace to tell her to meet me at the Haagen Daaz near the metro stop and I would meet her there and show her where The Spot was. I asked Andreas a couple times if Dace had text him back and he said know. I learned later that Dace was at the Haagen Daaz and had replied to the text but evidently Andres never got it. I felt really bad when I heard she was there and I let her down. She must have felt quite lonely and I felt responsible for that.

There was a Phillipino band and there English was quite good. It was nice to hear the music. They even sang one German song and the Germans really got into that. The beer was free and it was quite fun talking to the various Germans there. I met a couple Americans there as well. One was engaged to this Russian woman there and she was themost beautiful woman in the place which is so often the case. I know in Nha Tran the 4 most beautiful women in the place were all 4 Russian as well. Some folks say though once they get married they quit taking care of theirself. I am curious too to see if they are as violent as I have heard. It would be nice, sort of anyway, to find a culture that is more violent than America. It really sounds like Russia is a very unique culture and it would be interesting to check that out. I must say this big bad communistic country has turned out to be full of caring, hard working people. I sure did not think that could exist in a communistic country from what I had heard from the propaganda in the US. We fought a war called Vietnam to stop the spread of these crazy communist regimes. Historically Communistic countryes have failed on their own. Maybe we should be less ready to go to war. Did we really need to enter Vietnam for the purpose of stopping communism. I know now even though Vietnam is technically a communistic country everything I have seen in that country appears more like a capitalism. We fought a war to stop communism that we lost or gave up on how ever you want to look at it and then they have pretty much a capitalistic country these days anyway. Go figure?

I left about 11:00 and grabbed a taxi after showing the taxi driver on a borrowed map where to go. The driver shook his head with understanding and we left. About 5 minutes into the drive he started asking me questions in Chinese. I could not believe it. He tells me he understands now he is asking questions. I didn't know what to say but he kept driving and just knew we were going to end up somewhere totally off. After about 20 minutes I recognized a McDonalds and then he pulls into a driveway with a fence. I remember no way in heck this is the hostel but it was. How in the heck has he pulled into this location. I originally told him to take me to the metro stop and never once told him this was where I was going and here I was. I got out shocked and stunned and paid the man. I walked to the Hostel and ssaw Dace and she told me she had been there. She surprisingly was not mad instead she seemed quite relaxed. She said she had an ice cream while waiting for me. We talked for awhile and somewhere in the conversation she said she had a birthday coming up and I told her I did to and asked her when hers was. She said you first and I said March 18th. She looked aghast and said hers was the same day. I said right I need some I'd. She provided the I'D and sure enough it was the same day. I was shocked by this development and really felt weird. The chance of that happening is 1 in 365 or 0.27% chance. Not very likely. Not one in a million but not likely. That was weird. We called it a night as it was getting late and hit the hay. The next day I was off to Beijing for a week. It would be nice to spend a significant amount of a time in one place as I had not done that at any time during this entire trip. Good night from my last time in Shanghai. Am I really in Shanghai, China? Yep I am!

2-24-08
I got up around 7 and headed out. I was wanting to make sure I made it to the airport on time as I had to run past my couchsurfers to pick some things up I left there. I was not sure how long that would take. I grabbed the tazu abd everything seemed to go just fine and before I knew it was at the airport. I was kind of glad that this would be my last Chinese flight. For some reason I just do not trust them. A lot of the mistrust comes from talking to the Austrian guy that said they will land a plane hard rather than admitting a mistake and circling around for another landing. I really wished he had not said that.

The flight went fine and I was in Beijing where I grabbed a bus into town. We drove right past Tiananmen square to where the bus lets you off. We were let off at the Xidan Aviation Building. From there I figured I would walk to the hostel but the walked turned out to be a lot farther than I expected. I walked past the Beijing Opera House and thought maybe I would catch a performance. I kept thinking I should see the Chinese Acrobats even though I really did not want to. That stretching and acrobatics does not interest me a whole lot. I walked past a Duck Restaurant and thought I definitely was going to have Peking Duck during my stay in China. I saw a couple backpackers and figured that was a good sign as they were probably going the same place as me but they were not. Finally after about 40 minutes of walking I made it to the Hostel. It looked pretty nice but the area around it was not very great. There was lots of construction going on I assumed for the Olympics as a lot of tourist would be walking these back alleys or Hutongs as this area is called.

The Hostel inside was really nice and they had heat and the downstairs bar was cool. My room was just ok but for 60 yuan a night or $8 I was not going to complain. As it turned out no one else came in the room all week so I had a room to myself all week for $8 a day. I definitely was not complaining. It was about 4 in the afternoon and I still was not completely over the cold so after checking in I went into the bar area and laid on the sofa and watched about 6 episodes of Prison Break. Man that felt really good. I was warm, watching an intriguing show and people were speaking English. Things are good.

Good night from Beijing, China. You know they are having the Olympics here this fall. They also have some really famous wall here as well. I keep checking off lifelong vacation sights on a daily basis. Things are definitely good.

2-25-07
I slept in until about 8:30 and then went across the street to the Travelers café. I really liked the atmosphere here. Lots of tourist and everyone seemed pretty cool. There was some drinking going on in the hostel, but no one seemed to get too crazy with it. I had really slept good and now a western style meal was sitting there in front of me.

After breakfast I went back and took a nap. Did some typing sent Dace an email as she was the one that recommended the hostel and would be spending one night here before returning to Latvia. I just relaxed all day and watched some more Prison Break later in the evening. Again another restful day which was needed after all the crazieness in Southwestern China earlier on this trip. I talked to Dace a little bit in the evening and said goodbye. Her and her friend had went to the Beijing Zoo. Her friend had fainted as well as she had a cold and really was pushing herself. They both seemed like really good gals. Ok tomorrow I have to get moving as I was feeling guilty being so lazy. I was getting some typing down so that was good but I am here to see things not lounge around.

2-26-07
I was still feeling lazy but decided to walk around this day. After breakfast and the morning session of typing about 2:00 I headed out to Tiananmen Square and check that kind of thing out. Lonely Planet said it is the biggest square in the world. From what I was seeing I had no reason to believe that was not. It was massive and the buildings around it were huge and as Lonely Planet put it very communistic looking. I went to the entrance to the Forbidden City and took a couple pictures of Mao Zedong's picture which is the most famously photographed thing in Beijing. While doing so a guy ask me to take a picture of him there and he reciprocated for me. We talked for awhile and I learned he is from China but now lives in Vancouver. His English was pretty good and it was nice having a person somewhat local that spoke decent English I told him I was considering going to either the City Wall ruins or to the Temple of Heaven and invited him along. He said he would like to go and his preference was to see the Temple of Heaven. It was a much farther walk than expected and when there found a 10 Yuan entry fee waiting us. He was a little hesitant to go in as the Temples theirself were closed but I had walked that far I still wanted to check it out. We headed in and walked around. I could not believe how big this park was. That was nice to see in Beijing as I was beginning to wonder if there was much green space around here. The Temples seemed pretty cool from the outside. I have really seen no temples on the Interior that did much for me so it didn't really matter to me that I did not get to see the interior.

We headed back and decided to walk back as well. It felt good to be out here walking long distances again. I suspect I had probably logged 6 miles or so today. When we got back I told him the hostel I was staying in was really nice as he was looking for a place as well but it turned out Chinese Residents were not allowed to stay there unless they had a passport from a foreign country. That seemed rather odd but I guess it kind of makes since. Some hostels in Europe and the US have local people that essentially live there and quite frankly they disrupt the experience as they usually have a lot of clothes and take up a lot of the space in the room. Sometimes though I seek these types out figuring they would be less likely to be partying everynight as often they have jobs.

We walked up the street and found a really cheap place for him. Afterwards we headed out for supper and ended up having Peking Duck and some other dishes. He ended up buying saying I was in his country and therefore he should host me. They cut the duck right in front of me and it was the best duck I had ever had. Sorry Mom! The whole night was quite good and we headed out. He went to a nearby computer lab and I went to the hostel and called it a night after spending some mandatory time at the bar of course.

2-26-07
I walked around Tianenmen Square and went into the Forbidden City for me it was just ok even though Lonely Planet indicated a person should spend at least a day here. The temples and furnishings were not that extravagant like you saw in Europe. It was just ok and 4 hours was enough. I saw a clock exhibition that you had to pay extra for. It was pretty neat. There were lots of clocks from England there. At 2:00 they actually operated 3 of the clocks. They were quite extravagant with all the moving parts and characters. A few of the clocks were probably 8 ft. Tall.

I walked to Jingshan Park and up to the observation point at top where they had a big Budha. They say the hill in this park was created using the excavated dirt from the mote around the Forbidden City. I headed back to the hostel and chilled the rest of the evening. I was meeting some really interesting and nice people in this hostel and it was really beginning to feel like this was a nice temporary home.

2-28-08 to 3-2-08

The Bike Tour
I had mentioned to the Irish folks that I was considering riding a bike out to summer palace as Lonely Planet indicated the bike ride was 1.5 hours. I thought it might be a little physical, but knew in the end I would really enjoy the ride. They indicated they were interested as well. A couple days after mentioning that they had found a couple other people that were interested as well. This Irish couple has an infectious personality and are very nice and folks enjoyed their company. I ketp telling them I tend to get lossed on trips like these and I didn't want them getting mad at me should that happen. They jokingly kept riding me telling me I better not get lost. I was a little worried about it as I didn't want the whole group mad at me. There was another guy in the group who was kind of a take charge kind of guy so he was happy to take a lot of the stress off of me and we actually worked together. We made it out to the Summer Palace after about 2 hours. It was a longer trip than I had expected but we made it with everyone. We had the irish couple, two English men, a German Lady who just finished medical school and me. It was a good group and I think everyone enjoyed each others company.

We were all pretty tired so we decided to have some lunch before going in. Again that was fun as well. We had a rotating table that was fun to move the food around with as we all ate out of the same dishes and did not order separate meals. The eggs and tomatoes was the favored dish and we ordered more of that dish.

We went into the Summer Palace and I was blown away at first glance of this place as it is like you walk through the palace wall and immediately see a fairytale land. We walked out to the island and checked out the view and then walked up to the main temple with the buddha. It would have been nice to walk around the lake more but we knew we had a long bike ride to get back and decided to get back. The two English guys decided to go to the train station so I took the rest back. I got confused at one time as I had been following the English guy most of the time and not looking at my own map, which was not too good in the first place as it was at a very large scale and there was not much detail in it.

The Wall in China that is Great
One day I got up early and headed out to the Great Wall. There are about 3 sections of the wall that people go to and visit. I was going to the part called Jing (something) and it was the section that people go to to hike. The drive out there was about 3 hours and was the farthest drive of the 3 locations but something about hiking on the great wall seemed attractive. We made it there and were immediately hounded by some folks who said they were from Mongolia but now live in China. They said they are farmers and fllowed us along the wall until the 0.5 way point at which time the pressure to by was increased. I did buy a fan from the one lady and took a picture of her. I do not like to encourage this behavior but it seems like their livelihood and am not sure what else they would do if they didn't do this. Not sure of the best way to handle this . I never buy from kids as I know that encourages their parents to send them out to make money for them. You saw kids often in Vietnam.

The hike was pretty gruelling and one colored guy who was traveling with his brother got off the wall and hiked down through a valley which was an easier way. This guy was probably around 30 years of age and should have been in better shape. It was quite pathetic I thought. His brother stayed on the wall and the locals walking the wall and trying to sell stuff laughed at him which seemed funny to me. As we were walking the wall politics crept into the conversation and the black guy said he likes Bush. He said Bush was in a tough situation and he had to make some hard decisions. Yes he did but he made a lot of bad, radical decisions that turned out wrong. If your in a bad situation 911 and make wrong decisions is that make it ok? It amazes me how Bush supporters never admit he does things wrong. People that never admit wrong doing really scare me. I supported Clinton a lot more than Bush but will be the first to admit that he did wrong things. Just because I generally support someone I do not give them a blank check. If they do something that I do not like I will be the first to admit it. Everyone should be held accountable. No one is perfect. I can not think of a president doing anything worse than going to war and giving false reasons for going to war. I recently read 4,000 Americans have died and who knows how many Iraqis etc. I suspect we will always have a military base in Iraq which I suspect the military folks really like. Having a military base in the Middle East maybe that is why we went to war? Will we ever know the real reasons?

We continued the walk with the second 0.5 being much easier as it was mainly downhill. At the end of the walk there was a lake and I wondered what happened to the wall there. Is that a place where the enemy could get past the wall. At this point the wall continued on but we did not. We walked down the road to our meeting point. There was a Flying Fox crossing this lake which resulted in a shorter route down but I was not feeling very daring this day so I walked. There were a few people doing the flying fox and it looked quited fun.

We had a nice buffet dinner and a beer. It was a nice day of hiking and several people fell asleep on the way home. At the hostel I chilled out for the rest of the evening. Again today I did something pretty cool. I hiked the Great Wall of China! What a year!

3-3-08
My last day in Beijing. I was quite excited about going to India, but then again I was not looking forward to leaving the Far East Hostel my favorite of my travels thus far. I too really enjoyed meeting the people I did there everyone seemed quite cool and I was pretty much over my cold. I had several errands to run though so I worked on them and I also wanted to get out to the Olympic Park to check that out. How could I come this far and not do that with the Olympics being this Fall. The place I was to exchange cash was really busy and I suspected it might be that way all day long but decided to come back.

I jumped on the subway and thought it was quite good but of course really crowded. That is just the way things are in China. I made it to the station where the hostel told me to get off and I found a taxi and told them to take me to Olympic Park. The cost was 20 yuan. I saw what appeared to be a money exchange place and went there only to find it to be still under construction. I saw a Subway restaurant in a nearby building and grabbed some lunch.

I walked around the Olympic Park area, but there was not much to see at this stage as everything was under construction. The Aquatics center was the main thing to see at this stage and you could not get close and had to take pictures over a wall. There were quite a few people doing just that.

I hailed a Taxi and ask him to drive me around the complex in the opposite direction that I came. It was a little longer than the way I came. I asked him to stop a couple times for photos. I could see the meter was going up a lot faster than it should be so I told him, "Not Right" and pointed to the meter. He drew a picture on the dust in the dashboard showing where I made him go around a longer way. I could see he thought this gave him the aruthority to charge more. I told him no not right and kept looking at my map trying to bluff him into thinking I knew where he was going. I also took pictures of his identification card, odometer and meter. I was trying to make him think I was going to report him. He was already up to what I had paid to get out here. I knew for sure he had changed the meter. When we got to the subway where he was to drop me off I threw a 25 on the seat even though the meter said 30. He yelled something and then went away. I knew for the little bit of complaining he had indeed changed the meter. I assumed he set it for a late night rate or something.

I took the subway back to where I had got on and went back to the bank to exchange the money. The line had gotten shorter and I was able to exchange my money after only about a 20 minute wait. I went to the post office to mail some stuff home which cost me a lot more than what I expected.

Back at the hostel I said goodbye to a couple folks and went to the airport with the irish folks. They had a flight at a similar time as I .

I was impressed with the airport here and learned later that it was the biggest one in the world. Amazing.

As I waited in line there was a Chinese lady and a Muslim wearing a turban right near me. It was cool seeing the Chinese lady offering me to put my backpack on her cart, and then when she had to leave she asked the turban wearing guy to watch her cart. It was cool to see a Chinese, Middle Easterner and American all in a group like this and everyone helping each other.

After checking my luggage I got on the subway to the terminal, where I needed to go. I had realized I had forgotten postcards from China and hoped that the terminal would have some, but they didn't. The folks at home where going to have to do without Chinese post cards this time.

I had some supper and waited for a couple hours. There were a bunch of construction workers wearing orange including orange hard hats. There must be 150 of them. I got the impression they had never been on a plane before. I wondered if they would be on the same plane as I was getting on. I assumed they were going somewhere to work.

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Photos

Couchsurfing Cookies
I felt like I was home when I saw my couchsurfing host baking cookies.

Old Tabs
Have not seen tabs like these in a long time!

Guanghou Train Station
The Chinese or not good at forming lines but with police enforcement which was present here they can do it!

This guys package was bigger than him.
Ask me about the story behind this package and this guy. It is very funny.

Sleeper train.
I slept on one of these beds. See the kid playing on the ladder?

Helpful Chinese
All through China the Chinese really helped me. This guy took me to the bus station and got me on the right bus to Yangshou.

Breakfast Soups
This is what I had for breakfast the first morning in Yangshou.

Food Offering
Some Chinese tourist ask if I wanted some of their food. I couldn't pass up food!

More Helpful Chinese
These ladies help me get a ticket to my destination.

Luv the Kids!
These kids were running around the train all night long and really made the trip bearable. I had a blast playing with them.

Night Trains Ugh!
This was one of the toughest nights of my life sitting on this train for 10 hours.

Chinese Bejing Tourist
This kid ask to take a picture with me. Very nice family!

Hog Head
Not sure why they flatten these heads.

These Folks Really Helped me.
After explaining to these folks I couldnot wait for 3 days for a train they got me on the next train to Chongquin my next destination. Amazing people! I love the Chinese!

VIP Room
This is the closest I have ever been to receiving Rockstar Treatment. They put me on a train with 4 other people and 4 beds and made one of the guys sleep with another person and gave me the other guys bed!

Chop Stick Shop
I never figured out how to use chopsticks very well. The Chinese enjoyed watching me fumble with them.

Uh I do not feel so well.
I got really sick after eating this meal. It took me about 5 days to get over it.

Sicker than Heck!
I felt horrible on this boat ride on the Yantze River. The boat was really in bad shape but ran fast. Yes that is lettuce over my shoulder?

Yangtze Boat Ride
Other passengers. No other tourist here just me!

Three Gorges River
Yes our boat did not burn too clean!

Our Boat (Rocketship)
This thing really ran!

Biggest Dam in the World!
These are the electric lines coming from the hydroelectric plant portion of the worlds largest dam.

Amphitheatre at Three Rivers Dam
The three Rivers Dam project is in the background.

YiChange McDonalds
I was really, really sick from some food and this was a site for sore eyes!

430 KMH that is 258 MPH
Hold onto your hat!

Kids are the same all over the world.
They just want to have fun! Here they are playing in the Secret Palace.