Getting Lost on the Great Wall and other Adventures

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July 26

With nostalgia and relief, we boarded our Ethiopian Air flight to Beijing. We’d learned much, slowly and belatedly, met with much resistance and fearful self-protection but Dandiwad (thank you) India, we had a wonderful time. The traffic and chaos, Bollywood MTV, tabla and sitar music and the melodic rolling sound of Hindi were left behind with the heat and the dust.
Of course, our exit wasn’t exactly as smooth as it might have been. Although there were only 13 people on the flight, the check-in hosts wanted to force us to check one of our bags each. Mom was not about to let that happen with-out a fight and after whipping off her hair the host realized that one of our bags was “actually just a laptop” so we were able to proceed.
Mom’s little secret was safe the entire trip in India, even when we announced one day that I gave mom a “hair-cut.”
The 7 hour flight was made luxurious when we each were able to snag 3 seats to lay down on. As soon as the plane’s wheels hit the ground, instead of clapping we heard the loud hawking sound of flem being ejected. The first of many! We looked at each other, not wanting to ponder where the spit landed, and knew that we were now in China. Oh, and there were foot prints on the plane’s toilet…

As promised, here is our Astrology reading: (Note: when we first read it in front of the Astrologer, mom immediately decided that the whole thing was wrong. In fact it’s very telling that once again our knee-jerk reactions were unfair and unjustified. Lessons to be learned here but better late than never.)
Sasha:
*Angry, obstinate, obdurate, proud, frank speaking, and a hard worker by nature. (This is what set mom off)
*3 children (?!? - well mom’s excited about this part)
*Live near the water (Manhattan anyone?!)
*Get happiness from horses (travel?) and elephants (enlightenment?)
*Life will focus on spirituality and service
*Aires is my ascendant and moon is in Aquarius
*I will work in education and other fields
*My family and friends are extremely close to me
*I will live to at least 86 years of age

Mom:
*Cancer ascendant, moon in Capricorn (that’s why we get along so well)
*Quiet, generous thinker, patient sometimes, performs hard-work at slow pace
*You will be happy staying away from home
*You will not love things but you are fond of jewelry
*Sometimes you will have pain in chest (!!!!)
*Will believe in religion after getting proof (still waiting)
*Will have contact with high-class peoples (UN students!)
*Bad times: 2007 & 2008, and until Aug ’09 (!!!)
*Live at least 80 years (yay!!!!!!)

We arrived too late to meet the group at orientation but were ripe and ready Monday morning!

July 27

It didn’t take long for us to make a fool for ourselves, as we proceeded to make history by getting lost on the Great Wall. The wall was shrouded in mist and it was like walking in a dream. The ironic story of the wall is that it was made as a 4,000 k fortification from the south China sea to the Gobe Desert. Defeating it was as simple as bribing the guards who hadn’t been paid in 6 months. In fact the workers are mixed in with the mortar and buried within the walls themselves.

Beijing: Coming from India, we experienced quite a bit of culture shock with it’s ten lane highways, clean and modern walls, KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Huts and hoards of Chinese tourists everywhere. In the city we went to the Temple of Heaven, a beautiful park with temples. We saw men playing Mahjong, cards, ribbon dancers, Karaoke couples singing opera, people in white silk suits performing tai chi, and kites like birds in formation hurling up to a kilometer in the sky wound with huge fishing wheels attached to their waists. We tried to power walk our way home with a local but ran out of time and triumphantly took the subway and landed in the lobby with 30 seconds to spare (the story of our lives) just in time to go the theater to see the Beijing Acrobats. Although the toll that some of their contortions must have played on their bodies, we were overall dazzled.

July 28

Tiananmen Square! Able to hold 1 million people, and I think it was pretty much at capacity, which is to say with Chinese, non-westerner tourists. After learning about the 1989 student uprising in history class in 10th grade, I was super excited to be there myself, standing in the same spot that the Chinese government doesn’t remember happening. Our fearless guide risked his career by telling us about the discrepancy between the official records, and the believed numbers from that day, as well as the dichotomy between the memory of Mao’s regime between the generations. There were secret police and hidden video cameras everywhere. His portrait predominated over the square and one couldn’t see the ends of the lines to view his embalmed body. We also visited the Forbidden City which is supposedly situated on the center of the universe/the central meridian.

After lunch we rented a tuk tuk to go around the hutongs (back ally-ways) but, like most of the rest of Beijing, it has been reconstructed, modernized, and the chaotic life for which it was once known is gone. You’ll notice that there is a door step that you have to walk over to enter a house. This is said to keep the money inside, and keep the ghosts out. Pomegranate seeds and figs are signs of fertility and woman are supposed to enter a building with their right foot, and men with their left for good luck. Then we promenaded around Ha Hoi park lake and decided we could definitely live here. There were lots of really nice cafes, and restaurants. We passed pipe street (known for its opium, not plumbing) and then to Ba Hai gardens and temples where we saw men blowing figurines out of molasses instead of glass, and birds putting Yuan (money) into piggy banks.

From there we saw sheep penis, centipedes, scorpions, sea horses, and starfish on skewers at the night market and we bought Sasha silk negligee for my dowry and a string of opera masks for mom. Of course by now we were completely out of time and hired a tuk tuk to take us back to the hotel where we promptly left on the 44 hour over night train to Lhasa.

July 29 & 30

Cookies, virgin jello shots, and cups of noodles. Cookies, virgin jello shots, and cups of noodles. Cookies, virgin jello shots, and cups of noodles. (get the idea?) Some of the people in our train’s car decided to wash their feet in the only sink/bathroom area so the rugs were sopping wet the entire time, and one could bet on hearing someone show off their spitting and clearing of their throat every 5 minutes, and the 2 bathrooms decided not to flush for one night, but besides that we had hot water all the time to make our cup of noodles, instant coffee and bubble tea! During the 2nd night we passed over 5000 meters and woke up to brilliant views of snow-capped mountains, nomadic tents and yaks. (By now I have eaten Yak for dinner…) Getting tickets for this train is a challenge, as they only go on sale 5 days in advance, and are promptly “sold-out.” We had to buy ours from scalpers for 2.5 times the price. We had to submit our tickets to the conductor in exchange for tokens, which was to prevent people from getting off at unofficial stops and sign a paper that if we die at the 5,000 feet it is not the train’s fault. Oxygen was available. We left from the largest train station in the world (greatest number of passengers a day traveling). Music started at 7am and throughout the day we were given tidbits of travel trivia and the local myths and propaganda blurbs, either for our edification or to add a touch of class. It was never dull as potato chip packages exploded at various times during the journey.
This is a controversial train because it brings millions of Han Chinese into Tibet which is causing an identity crisis and demolishment of the Tibetan culture. When the Chinese “liberated” Tibet (1960), they made the farmers switch from their barely crops to rice and wheat, which at this high altitude caused massive starvation. It is in fact a complicated issue because clearly the standard of living has increased dramatically for all, although there is a huge oppressive military presence on every corner. These soldiers are 18 or so, far from home, and scared, so that is a thankless job too. Everyone has been very friendly and the city (Beijing and Lhasa), though huge feels very safe.

July 31

Tibet! The land of snow, the roof of the world, Shangri-La! Yak butter tea, Tsampe (a wheat barely mixture that tastes like corrugated cardboard) decedents of the monkey (Buddha of compassion) and the ogress Tara.
The Jokhang Temple! People were prostrating themselves flat out on the ground in prayer. And prayer wheels were rolling and prayer flags were flying. It was the first time mom was actually able to go inside as it has only been open since 1997. After walking around the markets we went to a school for the blind. Although we always think of Buddhism as being rooted in the concept of compassion, it seems that physical afflictions are seen as bad luck and a reflection of bad karma being reincarnated so the blind are often ostracized from their families and communities. The school that we visited was founded by a blind German woman who created a brail language for Tibetans. The school serves 43 students at a time, teaching them English, Chinese and Tibetan in brail as well as trades such as medical massages, making cheese and how to use a computer.

“We wish you Bao He” (from the book of changes) - maintaining harmony between all things on earth to have a long period of peace and stability. (May it be so).

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Comments

[Ann]

Loved the Horoscopes
I loved your horoscopes. They made me laugh. And cry a little (from happiness!)

[elizabeth]

sasha
*Angry, obstinate, obdurate, proud, frank speaking, and a hard worker by nature. well, you can be 'angry' per say... not in a crazy hectic way, but in the way that makes u long for change, and which empowers you. you couldd say you are angry with some of the things in this world... it's a possibility