CHINA, Terracotta Warriors, Xian

September 8, 2008

This morning I went to visit the site of the Terracotta Warriors. It was quite impressive with approximately 1200 of the estimated 8000 warriors having been unearthed so far. There are also many terracotta horses. It is said that every warrior has a different face and were modeled after the emperors soldiers. They were built and placed in his tomb to guard him in the afterlife.

A girl from Finland convinced me and several other backpackers from England and France to play a drinking game that only she knew. Bad idea, one of the backpackers missed his flight the next day. Luckily I went to bed at 1 am and did not stay up with the others who were up till 5 am.

There are fewer English speaking Chinese than I expected. Almost no one speaks any English except at the hostels, tourist attractions and McDonald's. Even at KFC they shove the English menu in front of you and wait for you to point.     

CHINA, Overnight train from Xian to Chengdu

September 12th to 13th

This was to be my first experience overnight on the train in a hard sleeper car. The three alternatives that you have when traveling on the train are soft sleeper, hard sleeper and hard seat. My trip from Beijing to Xi'an for 11 hrs (9pm til 8am) was a hard seat. Fell asleep once and fell into the aisle much to the amusement of the Chinese on the train. Don't do this for more than 6 hrs.

I had an idea what the hard sleeper would be like. 10 compartments in the car with six beds in each compartment. The compartments have no doors so that everyone walking down the hall can see each person. I was fortunate enough to have gotten a bottom bunk as nobody wants a top bunk, climbing in and out with the ceiling staring at you all the time.

When I got to my bunk, across from me were two elderly Chinese (of course) gentlemen talking and eating fruit. I quickly realized that one of these men was going to have to climb up to the 2nd or 3rd bunk. So I offered my bottom bunk for their 2nd level bunk, mostly by pointing and gestures. He was very appreciative. Though it would have been interesting to see how well he did climbing up into that bunk. Probably would have done better than I did for the next 16 hrs. Hoping Karma will remember this.

The couple in the picture at the train station were university students going home on the National Holiday. They both spoke pretty good English and were eager to practice. Being that the train was 1 hr 40 minutes late we had plenty of time for practice.

The hard sleeper is exactly as it sounds. Kinda reminds me of a metal ironing board with that thin pad covering it. But I saved an extra $12 by not getting the soft sleeper. As all backpackers know, the more money saved, the more you can travel.

CHINA, Chengdu, Giant Panda Research and Breeding Center

September 14, 2008

With all the emphasis on Beijing, China for the upcoming 2008 Olympics I made a decision to visit China for 1 month AFTER the Olympics due to cost. This visit to the Chengdu Research facility was definitely one of the highlights. Will highlight China adventures over the next week and hope to plan another trip next year. Pic with Panda was $135 but worth the money.

CHINA, Chengdu (Giant Panda Breeding and Research Base)

Sunday, September 14, 2008

This morning I went to see the Giant Pandas. We left early and got to the Center at 8:30 am because pandas just eat and sleep, kinda like babies, and after 10:30 am you won't see much action. The pandas were great fun to watch even though they mostly just eat. I planned on having a picture with a baby panda but when I found out they had raised the price to $175 and that the "baby" pandas were 1 1/2 years old. I elected to go with the 2 1/2 yr old panda which is probably 50 pounds heavier and not as cute but only $60. No brainer. Only one person out of 50 had their picture taken with the "baby" panda.

Picture later including me with the panda. Note: very seldom will their every be a picture of me on the blog unless there is a special occasion and this was one.

Monday I take the overnight train by hard sleeper for 25 hrs to Guillen. I am skipping the 3 Gorges Yangtze river trip because of info I received that it is no longer what it used to be due to the river rising by such a large amount. Will use that money to try and get to Tibet if I can find the right deal.

CHINA, Overnight Train to Guilin

Monday September 15, 2008

I leave on the overnight train from Chengdu to Guilin at 17:58 this afternoon and will arrive around 21:00 for a total of about 25 hrs in a hard sleeper car. Preparation must be made first which involves going to McDonals for their cheap lunch meal and then buying 3 cheeseburgers ($1.25 each) for supper and meals for the next day. I also take several moon pie cakes which are only 14 cents each. The train offers hot meals which are on a rolling server which comes down the aisles. I have not recognized any of the food yet so I will stick with cold hamburgers until I get a little more courage.

Each compartment does have a tv which shows old kung fu movies that usually have Jackie Chan or Jet Li when they were in their early 20's. I think I have already blogged this but here it is again.

When I booked my train ticket I somehow ended my destination in Liuzhou instead of Guilin so I have to find a way to continue on the train for another 3 hrs without getting off the train. I got the people in the hostel to write down in Chinese that I would like to continue to Guilin and purchase an additonal ticket. We will see what happens.

I know that sometimes it always seems to be about how cheaply one can travel and how little one can spend, and it is. But that is the vehicle that allows backpackers to travel more frequently to more places and for longer.

I laughed at an English couple last night. He mentioned that he was thinking of getting a beer to which she quickly said that then she could get an ice cream. When I laughed , he said that she was in charge of the finances and that there was always compromise on how they spent the money. They were traveling for 1 year.

CHINA, Guilin, Ambushed by Monkeys

While still in Seven Star Park I walked up to the top of the karst peak to get a good view of the city. On the way down I found a path that looked as though it has seldom been traveled and of course that is my favorite path. As I walked I started hearing sounds coming from the trees. Mostly a rustling of the branches. The more I walked the louder the sounds got and the more frequent. Then I saw a monkey up in the top of one the trees and I thought "how cute". Then there were a couple of monkeys that I noticed in another tree and I thought how fortunate I was to have run into some monkeys. Then the monkeys started to converge on me. The next thing I knew there were monkeys everywhere and they meant business. They were invading my personal space all of a sudden and I was getting a little uncomfortable. One large monkey was only a few feet from me staring me down.

Then I remembered that I had read somewhere that they were expecting food and that you were supposed to thrust your palms into the air showing that you had no food and start walking. It seemed to work fine and they no longer pursue you.

There is a Chinese saying, " One monkey can halt the path of a thousand soldiers." Now I understand what they meant. lol

CHINA, Guilin, Seven Star Park and Caves

I spent 5 hrs walking around the Seven Star Park in Guilin by the Li River. I really enjoyed the underground caves which were lit up by colorful lights to better illuminate the stalactites and stalagmites.

CHINA, Trekking up the Li River

Saturday September 20, 2008

I finally got back into my element today, trekking. I got up early and caught the 6:30 am bus to begin my trek up the Li River about 45 minutes from Yangshou. The trek to Yangdi is 24 km (15 miles) and ended up taking me about 4 hrs. I only got lost twice. All the signs along the river paths are in Chinese and whenever the paths forked, you didn't know whether the sign said Li River Trek or All Trespassers will be Shot. Mostly just stayed close as possible to the river. With temperatures hitting about 95, this was probably one of my smartest moves but had fun anyway. I took plenty of water and Oreos, my own personal emergency kit.

I was able to witness the large cruise ships which I decided not to take from Guilin to Yangshou. At one point there were 10 ships lined up behind each other cruising down the Li River loaded with passengers. Not my idea of traveling. Maybe others though. I caught the bus back from Yangdi.