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Published: September 27th 2007
Tian'an Men
A gaint portrait of Mao hangs over the entrance.Ni Hao, Xishoujian zai nali? Quing bangmang! Jino yisheg! See, there's no need to worry folks, I've got this Mandarin mumbo jumbo down. This tonal language has only 4 tones to work with as opposed to the 6 tones used in Cantonese (the main language in Hong Kong). It's no wonder I had such a difficult time communicating in the Kong; now everything should be smooth sailing from here on out - I'm Sure! Let me start this journal off by giving you a brief description of the normal procedures I go through when entering a new country.
Before my flight or bus reaches the destination, I ensure that all of my immigration paperwork is filled out and in order. I take a second to read over the directions to the hostel I have chosen before hand. This usually consists of selecting a cheap but popular hostel from my Lonely Planet or in this case (since I can't carry a book for every country I'm visiting) I jot down directions from the one I've picked on
HostelWorld.com. After landing, I quickly dart and weave through the airport like Larry Berndorff (you know... the speed walking champion...never mind) and find the
shortest line at Immigration. Next, I hand in all the proper customs paperwork depending on the country and locate my backpack at the baggage claims area. I then strap everything on securely and head to the nearest ATM to withdraw the local currency or go to the exchange desk if I have a lot of leftover bills from the previous country. Here comes the fun part! I make my way to the exit nearest the bus pick-up or shuttle service and brace myself for the barrage of taxi drivers that swarm. After fighting tooth and nail through the crowd, I find the bus stop and look over the route plan and schedule. The directions I take down prior always have the street name and number, or a well known landmark that is close (walking distance) to my chosen hostel. That usually does the trick and within a short while I'm sitting comfortably in my new hostel. I am now going to switch from what I generally do to what actually happen in Beijing, China.
In this particular case, I had directions from the main Beijing train station that was roughly 500 meters from the hostel (Leo Hostel) and a
street name (Da Zha Lan Xi Jie - yeah, that's easy to remember). I was unable to read the Chinese (surprise) on the bus map, so I had to rely on the employee behind the booth for the correct bus number and route. I explained to him that I needed to get to the main train terminal and he quickly pointed to the correct bus and sold me a ticket (I'm lucky he spoke some English). The bus ride to downtown Beijing was a little over an hour and I was dosing off hard due to the lack of sleep I have been getting. I arrived at the train station and looked over my directions. "Walk north away from the station until you reach the first set of traffic lights, turn left on to 'Da Zha Lan Xi Jie' and then walk 200 meters and you will see the Leo Hostel on your left" - hey, simple enough. As I began walking, taxi drivers approached me and offered their services. I told them I'm going to the Leo Hostel and that I can walk. They claimed that it was way too far to walk, but this seasoned traveler wasn't falling
Gate of Supreme Harmony
With in the walls of the Forbidden City. for that. I pulled out my compass, located north and left them standing in my dust. It took me a good fifteen minutes to reach the first traffic light and when I did, I found that the road I was to turn left on was not the same name as the one I'd jotted down. I started asking for help from people passing by, but no one spoke English. This went on for a few minutes, so I wrote the street name bigger and started pointing to the name and asking people to show me which way. This went on for a few more minutes until I found someone who recognized the name (of course he didn't speak English). The guy kept pointing up the street and waved like it was much further, but that couldn't be right, the directions said the first light. Confused and very tired from lack of sleep and carrying my heavy bags, I headed to a large hotel in that same direction to find someone who spoke English. At the hotel, that was way out of my price range (less than $10), I found a front desk girl who spoke some English. This is when
I discovered that the bus I took was to the South Train terminal and not the Main Train terminal which are very far apart (hey, South - Main they sound similar - thanks guy!). This was great! I had to catch another bus or a taxi (which were not around) and head across town. By this time it was dark and did I mention that I was still carrying ALL of my stuff! I walked to the bus stop, finally caught the #44 bus passing by and was on my way again. At this point, I was drenched in sweat, standing in a packed bus like a sardine and wondering how in the world I was going to figure out when to get off (b/c the bus only passed by the terminal and didn't stop). I started asking if anyone spoke English and all I got were a bunch of blank stares and shakes of the head. This is when I really started praying - "Dear Lord please help me find this hostel, someone who can speak English, please lighten this load on my shoulders, don't let me get robbed and a girlfriend would be nice...kidding we'll discuss that later,
for now I just want to make it to the hostel alive - Amen!" A few minutes later, a young girl wiggled her way up to the front and said that she had heard me asking for help and that she did speak a little English. Thank you Lord, and just in time. She informed me that the main terminal was around the next corner and even hit the buzzer to signal the stop. I thanked her and hopped off in front of the station. I wasn't home free yet. I still had to find my bearings and locate that road (you know, Da Zha Lan Xi Jie). Then, to my surprise, an older man (who actually spoke broken English) saw me spinning around with my compass and came over to see if I needed help (I'm sure I looked like it by now). I said "yes" and asked the location of the Leo Hostel. He claimed he lived right near it and offered to walk me that way. I made sure he wasn't trying to scheme me for money and I gladly accepted. He walked me all the way to the hostel's door step and entertained me with a
little small talk along the way. I thanked him for his generosity and finally crossed over the threshold of the Leo Hostel. Phew! Thank God that's all over.
The
Leo Hostel turned out to better than I'd hoped. It had all of the amenities that it claimed to have on it's website (unlike HK) - Free Wi-Fi, hot showers, security lockers, library of books for exchange and group tours; plus street food vendors were lined up the street (cheap!), little shops were everywhere, a food market two doors down and travelers from all over the world mingling in its bar/restaurant down stairs. All is good!
Over the next four days, I visited many amazing sites in and around Beijing. The following is a list of my favorites and a brief description. As for the rest, I'll just let my pictures take care of that.
* The Great Wall of China: One of the "Seven Wonders of the World." This magnificent wall cuts through the mountains and across ridge lines for several thousand miles. It was built between 221 - 210 BC as a barrier to keep out the attacking Barbarian Hordes. In 1215, the Wall was breached by
the Mongols (lead by Genghis Khan). All I can say is Amazing!
* Forbidden City: One of the largest and greatest palace complexes ever built. At one time in history, the members of the Imperial Court were the only people allowed inside the palace grounds - thus the name.
* Summer Palace: A summer retreat for the Imperial Court that left the Forbidden City to escape the hot summer temperatures. The architecture of the Summer Palace is impressive but the lake side view is what makes this place - it was one of my favorite sites of Beijing.
* Tian'an Men Square: The worlds largest public square and the resting place of Chairman Mao Zedong. Many remember the square as the stage for the 1989 protests that resulted in the
Tiananmen Massacre. This refers to the violent ending of a student movement protesting for democracy (June 3rd and 4th, 1989). The Chinese Government lost patience and ordered the People's army to turn their weapons on the protesters.
* Temple of Heaven: Once the venue for the annual winter solstice sacrifices, which were performed to ensure ample harvest in the upcoming year. Remains Beijing’s most recognized icon.
On my tour
of the Great Wall, I hung out with four fellow travelers (Josie, Andrea, Meagan and Nick) who've all been teaching English in South Korea for the past year (3-Canadians, 1-American). I spent the next two days touring the remainder of the city with Josie and Andrea. The girls were a blast to hang with and taught me a lot about Korea and shopping. We traveled around the city by bus, subway, taxi and boat. We got lost a couple of times, but eventually got it down. Our most successful technique was to have the front desk girls at the hostel write down our desired destinations in Chinese script and then we just showed it and pointed (that usually did the trick). Did I mention that they were shopaholics, yeah...they each ended up buying a traditional Chinese outfit (full silk) that they had hand tailored - very pretty. Would you all think of me any different if I draped myself in silk from head to toe and flaunted it around K-town? - be honest, you'd dig it.
Aside from the girls, I've met some really peculiar characters in my dorm room. On the bunk across from me is a fella
from Myanmar (you may know it as Burma) who only speaks Burmese with a few words of English, so we communicate through hand jesters and weird facial expressions. I haven't quite figured him out yet. I often find him sitting on his bed, legs crossed, eyes closed and hands together in prayer for long periods of time. He rarely leaves the room, only talks to me and every chance he gets he throws me a wave and a smile. He seems totally harmless but very lonely (and curious of his new American friend). Now besides him, there is the French guy on my top bunk. This wandering nomad has strung colored pages of Tibetan scripture all the way around the base of his bed (which is dangling down from a string in front of my bed). I haven't quite figured him out either, but I think he's a little confused (nice guy though). He says that he's Buddhist but he's exploring a new Tibetan form of Buddhism and he claims the script pages around his bed put him at peace. What is weird is that they're all written in Tibetan and I'm positive he has no clue what they say,
but I do admit that the pretty bright colors, prancing horses and eight-armed, genie-looking figures on the pages make me feel a bit giddy. I'm sure the future will bring many new and unique characters to add to this wild experience - I can't wait to meet them.
China has been as interesting as it has been challenging. The palaces, history and ancient structures are amazing. Hong Kong and Beijing are vastly different cities with much to love about both. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Beijing is hosting the 2008 Olympics. Sources say that the transformation of the city is perhaps the most ambitious remake of any major world capital in history. Everywhere you look there is construction in progress and many new structures are already finished. The countdown is 316 days and counting...I hope that they'll be ready in time. Now, along with the good aspects of China there are some annoyances that you have to get used to: The constant cutting in line (it is a free frall to get anywhere), everyone Spitting!! everywhere!! (even the grandmas and I'm talking some serious hauking), hands-on grabbing to get you to buy something (You buy! You buy!)
and of course the difficulty in communication - the Chinese symbols are nearly impossible to make out and I have come to realize that I am definitely "tonally challenged". Besides that everything was great - I highly recommend a visit. Well, that's almost it. I leave for Vietnam soon and I'm presently finishing up this journal on the floor of the Hong Kong International Airport (I'm lucky they have free Wi-Fi). Oh yeah, did I mention that I brought my laptop along with me this time. I decided to do this because a lot of hostels in Asia have wireless internet and this will make my journal writing sooo much easier. I'd just better not break it! Now where was I? Oh yeah...I'm on the airport floor because I flew back into Hong Kong and will be catching a flight tomorrow morning for Saigon. So, instead of spending money on a hotel room and transport to and from the city (a lot of hassle), I have decided to spend the night at the airport (16 brutal hours). Yeah, I know - I'm a Dork, but ya gotta love it! Alright, I'm signing off. Next stop - Vietnam!
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Chad
non-member comment
Curl, I really am digging the fact you brought your laptop this time. The more frequent updates rule. The more you travel, the more potential your blog has to becoming the eighth world wonder. How is the General Tso's chicken? Take care brother.