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13 May 2004
The Longest Day
This was the longest day. I arrived at the airport at 10:45am, and made
it to the gate by 11:15. There, an older gentleman told me that the
flight had been overbooked by 37. Luckily, I had a boarding pass with a
seat assigment, so I got on board. I sat next to a young Asian man and
asked him if he had taken this flight before. He said no, but I think
he misunderstood me. We talked for a while. It turns out that he was a
Taiwanese grad student studying politcal science in New York and was on
his way home for the summer. I told him I was taking my first trip to
Asia.
Once we took off, there were several movie choices, including
"Lost in Translation". Although I saw it last fall, I decided to watch
it again, as it seemed quite fitting. A meal was also served at this
time. After the movie, the cabin lights were turned off, so I tried to
rest. Then they served chinese noodles, and I decided to watch another
movie, "Girl with a Pearl Earring", also starring Scarlet Johansen. I
think I was on the Scarlet Johansen plane. This movie was a little
boring. Afterwards, I shut my eyes and tried to sleep, but I couldn't.
I also followed the pathway of the plane. We flew up through Canada,
then through the center of Alaska, down the international date line,
and finally into Tokyo Narita airport.
After we landed, I went through Immigration and Customs. Then
I went to exchange money. I had read that traveler's checks bring a
better exchange rate than cash and it was true. It was 112 yen to the
dollar. Then, I bought a train ticket on the Japan Railway line to
Tokyo. I had to wait until 6pm for that trip.
I made it to Tokyo station about an hour after leaving Narita
airport. The Japanese subway station was teeming with throngs of
Japanese business men and women in dark suits. I tried to figure out
which train to take to get to my youth hostel. Finally, I found it and
got on board. As luck would have it, it was an express train and passed
the stop I wanted. I got of at Shinjuku and decided I would try to
navigate my way to the youth hostel. All I had was a crude map in the
guide book and a compass. It was dark outside and there was a slight
drizzle. The street outside the train station was filled with flashing
neon signs. According to my guidebook, this area had been the
inspiration for Ridley Scott's Bladerunner. After wandering the steets
for a while, I realized that I wasn't going to find the place on my
own. So, I stopped at a little business and asked, "Tokyo Yoyogi yusu
hosteru was doko desu ka?". He tried to explain it in limited English,
then decided to draw me a map. He even used a green marker for the
streets and a blue marker for names. Quite impressive. Eventually, I
found it, and since it was nearly 10pm, decided to crash. After all, if
it's 10pm in Tokyo, do you know what time it is in Milwaukee? Of
course, it's Miller Time. :)
No thanks. I didn't fly 6000 miles to eat here!
14 May 2004
Subway Insanity
The Tokyo subway system has to be the most complicated one in
the world. It's bigger than New York, London, and Paris all put
together. There are so many trains, and so many tracks at some of the
stations, that it can take a while to figure out what to do. Luckily,
the trains and stations are labeled in English as well as Japanese.
But, it still is tough.
I woke up at 3am today, and I mostly just lay awake for the
rest of the morning, much like the characters in Lost in Translation.
The time shift plays with you biorhythms. I spent the morning hiking
back to the Shinjuku train station where I finally got a map of Tokyo.
I should have done this earlier. Then I found the train I needed to get
back to Sangubashi station near my hostel. I then went to the Meiji
Jingu (or shrine) and planned to see the treasure museum, but it was
closed. Lunch was eaten at a little Japanese place where you sit at a
bar and face the cooking area. Luckily I got a picture menu, so I could
just point and said "Kore o kudasai." I ordered the only thing with
meat in it (as protein is my thing). It was bowl of noodles with pork.
Not too bad. But the menu said "Chinese Noodles" so it may not have
been Japanese food. Still, it was Japanese enough for me.
In the afternoon, I headed to the Imperial Palace. Although
you cannot go inside, you can see the walls around it and one large
park. Unfortunately, the park was closed. So, I headed north to the
craft gallery and the National Art Museum. The art musuem was
interesting. It showcased many works of modern Japanese art by artists
who had gone to Europe in the first half of the 20th century. Many of
the paintings looked eeriely like works by Van Gogh, Renoir, or Dali.
That evening, I headed to the Ginza shopping district which is
full of people milling about the streets. The buildings are covered in
large, flashing neon signs and jumbotrons. The Sony buildling showcased
new electronic goods, including a high definition LCD widescreen
television. The image of the woman swimming in the water was so
realistic, I dared not get to close lest I get wet. Then, I headed to
the Roppongi district, where I went up the 337 meter Tokyo Tower. When
I travel, it's required that I go up tall buildings. This one just
happens to be a few meters taller than the Eiffel Tower and looks quite
similar. From the top, I got a good night time view of Tokyo.
Then, it was off to Higashi Shinjuku (east Shinjuku) which is
the spot for crazy Tokyo nightlife. I had dinner at a medium-sized
Japanese restaurant, but most of the menu items were western (pizza,
burgers, etc). So I ordered the pork and kimichi. Of course, kimchi is
Korean, but it was close enough for me. I also ordered the cold sake to
drink. If my brain was quicker, I would have echoed the line from
Austin Powers to the waitress, "Sake it to me, baby." :)
After that, I just wandered around the Shinjuku area, which is
full of restaurants, video game arcades, and small little shops.
Tokyo's red light distict is right nearby. In case you don't know,
that's where the Japanese go to buy red light bulbs.
Bright lights, big city - Ginza shopping district.
15 May 2004
Fuji-san and the Clouds
I had planned on taking an afternoon bus to Fuji-Yoshida, but
some language difficulties resulted in my buying a bus ticket that left
in the morning. So, I arrived at Fuji-Yoshida, a small town at the foot
of Fuji-san (Mt. Fuji or Mr. Fuji to you), later that morning. I caught
a great view of Fuji-san from the bus just before pulling into town. I
immediately went to a booth labeled "Tourist Information Center," where
two kind old ladies were working. They were impressed when I asked for
a map in Japanese - "Fuji-Yoshida no chizu ga arimasu ka?" And they
showered me with pamplets and information, as well as gave me a map to
my youth hostel.
After dropping my backpack and poster tube (annoying to carry)
at the youth hostel, I walked up Honcho dori, the road leading to
Fuji-san, looking for a place to eat lunch. I passed a pizza place,
then I headed to the train station where I saw a burger joint. But I
didn't travel 6000 miles to eat western food. And my guide book told me
that Fuji-Yoshisa was famous for its teuchi udon, or thick noodles. So,
I went back to the information booth and asked the two old ladies to
recommend a restaurant. They gave me a map to a nearby restaurant that
served teuchi udon. Those two ladies are my new best friends. Of
course, once inside the restaurant, I was faced with ordering from a
menu in Japanese (no pictures). So, I looked up the words for meat
(niku) and noodles (menrui) and said. "Niku to menrui ga hoshii desu."
After some language difficulties, I eventually got my order through.
And let me tell you, the teuchi udon noodles are really good.
Back outside, I saw the clouds had now covered Fuji-San. So, I
walked up to a famous shrine in the area. There is a torii, or red
gate, that is 60 feet high. Every 60 years, it has to be torn down and
rebuilt slightly bigger than the one before. This tradition started in
the year 110. Who knows how long it will continue.
For the rest of the day, I wandered around town. There wasn't
much else to do. I thought about hiking up a small mountain, but
couldn't find the path. Of course, I had done so much walked over the
past few days that my feet were no longer my best friends.
That night, I ended up having dinner at a little Japanese
joint, this time eating authentic Japanese food. I had a tofu steak and
egg. Although I'm not a fan of tofu alone, it wasn't too bad with the
egg. A British guy, who also was staying at the same youth hostel,
wandered in and we started to talk. He was teaching English in Tokyo
and had been doing so for 9 months. During our conversation, I saw that
a couple guys to our left were served what looked like raw meat. I told
the British guy, "That looks a little rare to me." The cook noticed our
interest and said, "Horse. . . sashimi." Then he prepared two small
pieces on a plate and gave it to us. I said to myself, There's no way
I'm going to eat raw horse meat. Then I saw that the British guy had
picked up a piece with his chopsticks. So, I picked up the other piece
and shoved it in my mouth. There's no way I'm going to be showed up by
a Brit. With the wasabi sauce, it actually tasted kind of good. But it
was chewy. After a couple of minutes of chewing, I spit it out. Then,
the cook served us a sample of sake for free. He was a cool guy. After
that, it was back to the youth hostel, where I slept in a Japanese
style room - tatami mat floor and Japanese style bed. It's not too bad
if you sleep on your back or stomach, but there's not enough cushion to
sleep on your side.
Fuji-san from the town of Fuji-Yoshida.
16 May 2004
The Temple and the Bath
I woke up Sunday morning to the sound of pouring rain. I guess
I wouldn't get another chance to see Fuji-san. So, I then headed to the
train station to figure out how to get to Kyoto. I had to a buy a
ticket to Otsuki, and there I could buy a ticket (2 actually) on the JR
line from Otsuki to Tokyo and Tokyo to Kyoto. The last ticket would be
aboard the Shinkansen. Of course, the tickets were printed in Japanese,
which made it a little tricky to figure out which track to go to, but
evenatually I boarded all the right trains. And by 10:40 am, I was on
the Shinkansen (or bullet train) on my way to Kyoto.
I arrived in Kyoto around 1pm and took the subway to
Imedegawa. I got off and it was raining outside. Soon enough I found my
lodging - the Myorenji Temple. This is a 13th century temple with a
separate building for lodging. It's a tradiational wooden Japanese
building with sliding doors and rock gardens inside. Pretty cool. My
room has a tatami floor mat with a Japanese style bed. Although there
is a toilet and a sink, there is no bathing facility. But, I the kind
old lady running the place gave me a ticket and a bowl to use at the
public bath located just down the street.
After checking in, I headed to the conference center to
register, then spent a good deal of time updating this website. As I
was about to leave, someone asked me where the reception was being
held. I had totally forgotten about the reception. That's when I
realized that I wish my former classmate and coworker Gopi was here -
he always has his ear to the ground when it comes to free food and
drink.
[Warning: the following paragraph contains nudity]
Back at the temple, I decided that it was time to use the
public bath. So, I grabbed the bowl with a bar of soap, ticket, and a
towel and headed down the street. When I arrived at the buidling, there
were two doors, but I didn't know which one was for men and which one
was for women. So, I just stood there, waiting for someone to exit.
Soon, a woman appeared from the street, smiled at me and pointed to the
one on the left. Inside, a a very short, very old lady took my ticket
and, babbling ni Japanese, tried to explain to me what to do. She
walked me to the men's side of the bath, not bothered by the fact that
there was a naked man just a few feet away. After the lady walked away,
I put my clothes in a bin, the bin in a locker, and walked into the
sauna-like bathing room. I had read about what to do in my guide book.
I also followed the example of another bather. Basically, you have to
sit on a little stool, fill your bowl with soap and water, wash
yourself off, then go sit in the hot bath. When I got to the hot bath,
I put my left leg in and found the water very hot indeed. Then I put my
right leg in and felt strange throbbing sensations almost like an
electric shock. I took my leg out for a while and then tried it again.
Still, I felt the shocks. Either there was something wrong with that
water or there was something wrong with my leg. So, I decided to forego
the hot bath, and just dry myself off and leave. The old Japanese lady
babbled more to me as I left. The only thing I caught was, "Sayonara."
Sitting in my Japanese style room at the Myorenji Temple.
17 May 2004
The Conference
Today, I didn't do much sightseeing. Instead, I spent most all of the
day at the conference. That is
one of the main reasons I'm here, of course. It also rained all day, so
sightseeing would not be particularly fun anyhow. I've also heard that
it may rain all week. That would be bad.
I did enjoy a good Japanese bento box lunch at the conference.
Of course, to get the free lunch, you had to first sit through an hour
of talks from 1pm to 2pm. Afterwards, they handed out tickets with
which you could obtain the free lunch inside the exhibition hall. In
previous years, you could just grab the free lunch at the start of the
talks. The organizers are getting smarter and smarter. At the end of
the day, I met up with a colleague from MCW, who was waiting to have
dinner with Bob Cox and Rasmus Birn. I tagged along, but to my dismay,
they chose to go to an Italian eatery. Still, it was an interesting
dinner. (By the way, for those of you who don't know, this is a bit of
shameless name dropping. :) )
Myorenji Temple - my lodging for 5 nights in Kyoto
18 May 2004
Getting Sick
This morning, I woke up early (around 5:30 am when the sun was
up). I bought my breakfast from a convenience store. I find that this
is the cheapest option. For less than 400 yen (roughly $3.50), I can
buy a juice, a pasty, and a yogurt. The store clerks are always very
polite, bowing and saying "Arrigato gozaimasu" when I enter and after I
make a purchase. I've gotten into the habit of doing it myself. I
wonder what what happen if I did that back in Milwaukee.
I planned on going to the 7am talk at the convention center,
but didn't make it there until 7:20. Still, I saw a talk I wanted at
7:30. After the early morning talks, I saw that the weather was picking
up outside, so I walked around the convention center and took some
pictures. Now, I don't want to sound insulting, but the convention
center is pretty ugly. It's made of hulking, bland concrete.
For lunch, I got another free bento box. This one had sticky
rice and cold meat. I figured that it couldn't be too bad. I spent the
rest of the day at the conference, and by about 6pm, I started feeling
nauseous. I had planned on meeting some researchers from my department
for dinner, but I had lost my appetite. I decided to take to the subway
home and rest. On the train, I started feeling worse. At my subway
stop, I rushed out of the train and ran up the stairs looking for a
public bathroom. Then, I realized that I had no more time to wait. I
found a garbage can and vomited into it. Several times. I made it back
to my room at the temple, and vomited several more times in the
bathroom. Something in that bento lunch did not agree with me. That was
not a fun experience. I'm glad to report that the following morning I
felt better.
Traditional wooden house in Kyoto
19 May 2004
Dining Disappointments
I got up late today on account of my being sick the night
before. I felt better, but I was still quite tired. I decided to skip
the morning of the conference, so that I could do some laundry and some
sightseeing. After I finished my laundry, I headed to the Imperial
Palace, but I arrived too late for the 10am tour. So, I headed down the
street to Nijo-jo, or Nijo Castle, when it started to drizzle. This
place had several old palace buildings, one of which you could walk
through (after taking off your shoes, of course). The walls inside the
palace had old paintings, but photography was prohibited due to the
sensitivity of the artwork. For lunch, I found a Japanese diner and sat
at the counter between the Japanese business men. I luckily got an
English menu, and ordered the box lunch for 650 yen. This one was warm.
Some meat, egg, and rice. When I went to pay the bill, I was told 950
yen. Since I couldn't really argue in Japanese, I just paid it and
left. It was raining quite hard outside now.
The rest of the day, I spent at the conference. In the
evening, I was told about a western style restaurant near my lodging. I
tried to find it, but wound up at a Japanese restaurant. I figured I'd
just eat there. Of course, this place had no English menu, but the cook
said, "Dinner" and I answered, "Hai." Soon, I recevied this fancy box.
I opened the top lid to see a couple green beans, a tiny fish, and a
flower. Then I took this compartment off to reveal another layer, this
one with a couple small pieces of cook meat. Is this it, I thought?
Then in a few minutes, I received another dish - this one had raw fish
on a bed of ice. No way, I said. I said the word for warm, "Atatakai,"
but the cook didn't seem to understand. Then I said, "Cooked" and
pantomined a frying pan. He seemed to get the idea. Several small
dishes followed, each one presented in a very elegant manner. This
makes me wonder if the Japanese like airline food. But the bill was a
little more than I expected. Oh well.
The entrance to Nijo Castle
20 May 2004
Kyoto in the Rain
Apparently there is a typhoon that is causing all this rain in
Kyoto. At least, that's what the old lady running the temple told me.
This morning, I decided to do a little more sightseeing as the day
started out free of rain. I made it to the Imperial Palace for the 10am
English-speaking tour. Before you enter, you have to go to the
Information Office and fill out a permission slip with your name and
passport number. The grounds of the Imperial Palace had several classic
Japanese palaces. Although the original palace was built in the 12th
century, the current buildings date from the mid-nineteenth century due
to fires. Candles can be a very destructive form of illumination.
Next, I went to Toji Temple, where I saw two old temples
filled with giant gold-colored Buddhas. Pictures were not allowed here,
unfortunately. There was also a five-storey pagoda - the largest in
Japan. That was pretty impressive.
Then it was back to the conference (after a lunch at
McDonald's in the Kyoto station). That night, the conference reception
was held inside the cramped hallways of the convention center instead
of outside due to the rain. There was a Japanese jazz band playing
dinner music followed by a show of dancing Geisha girls. The night was
capped off by fireworks in the rain.
The outside wall to the Imperial Palace in Kyoto
21 May 2004
The Sun Finally Shines
On the last day of the conference, the sun finally came out to
shine. On Friday, the conference only had morning sessions. After those
were done, I went to hike up a small mountain to see Kiyomizu Temple.
From the top, I got quite a view of Kyoto. Then, I had to rush back to
Kyoto Station, where I bought a ticket for the next Shinkansen to
Hiroshima. On board the train, I walked forward to get to the
non-reserved cars, but soon found that it was standing room only. Even
though the train was doing 300 km/hr, the ride is fairly smooth.
In Hiroshima, I called my lodging to get directions. I was
told to take bus number 2, but I soon learned there was no bus number
2. There was, however, a tramline number 2. Eventually, I made it to
the minshuku - a Japanese style lodging where my room had a tatami
floor. This place had regular doors and locks on them, unlike the
temple lodging in Kyoto. After throwing my stuff down, I went out to
find a place to eat dinner. I ended up going to one restaurant that had
pictures of cooked meat on the outside. When I walked inside the
restaurant, everything was painted yellow, red, and green. It turned
out to be a Jamaican restaurant. I ordered the jerk pork and was served
my meal with a fork and knife. This caused me to do a double take as I
hadn't used such implements since arriving in Japan. Could I still
remember how to use them, I wondered. Yep, I could.
Standing near Kiyomizu Temple, at the top of a mountain overlooking
Kyoto
22 May 2004
Tramlines, Bullet Trains, and Ferries
This probably has to be one of my more complicated travelling
days. I started out the morning by taking a tramline out to the
Miyajima stop, where I hopped on a ferry to Miyajima island. This is
where you can see the famous red gate standing in the water off the
coast of the island. Next, I went back to Hiroshima, where I walked
through the Peace Memorial Museum. Inside, you can see pictures
detailing what happened to the people and city in the aftermath of the
atomic bomb. There's even a watch on display that stopped at 8:15 am on
August 6, 1945. It's all pretty moving. Nearby, there is a monument
with the names of all those who died. And by the river, below the
epicenter of the blast, lies a building that remains untouched since
that day.
After that, I had to hurry up to catch the next Shinkansen to
Hakata. I only had time to buy some crackers and beef jerky for lunch
before hopping on the 12:52pm train. I needed to be in Fukuoka to catch
a 3:30pm ferry ride to Pusan, Korea. The ticket vendor told me that the
train would arrive at 2:55. That was going to make things close.
It turns out that the train arrived at 1:55pm. That gave me
time to spend more yen, find the bus to the ferry port, and wait around
for the ferry. I was the only westerner on the ferry. That made me feel
kind of proud. The rest were either Japanese or Korean. That gave me
the idea to play the game, "Are they Japanese or Korean."
The high-speed ferry had comfortable seats like an airline and
rode on a jet engine. In three hours, we had made it to Pusan, Korea.
After going through immigration, I found a restaurant, where I had some
very spicy chicken for dinner. Then, I found my way to Bujeondong train
station where I bought a ticket for the night train to Wonju, Korea. I
called my friends in Wonju to let them know I'd be arrving at 5am the
following morning.
The Atomic Bomb Dome - the one building left untouched in Hiroshima,
Japan since 6 August 1945
23 May 2004
Climbing Korea
I didn't get too much sleep on the night train. But I got a
little more rest after I arrived. After breakfast and some chatting, my
Korean friends decided that we would drive to Chiak san, or Chiak
mountain, a famous hiking spot near Wonju. Since my friends had a
little third-grader, we didn't hike very quickly. Also, we avoided the
more strenuous last leg of the hike to the top of the mountain. Still,
we saw the Goryongsu Temple and the Seryempokpo Falls. That night, we
had dinner at a traditional Korean family restaurant. Here we had to
remove our shoes at the door, and we sat on the floor at a low table.
On our table, we cooked seasoned pork, which we then wrapped in lettuce
leaves along with spices and rice. It tasted pretty good. The one thing
that I like about Korean food is that it's cooked.
First sight of South Korea - the shipping port of Pusan (or Busan)
24 May 2004
Seoul Food
I took an early morning bus from Wonju to Seoul, arriving about
9:20am. I then had to navigate the subway system to find the exit for
my youth hostel. Seoul's subway is pretty big, but still not as
complicated as Tokyo's. After calling for directions and wandering
through the streets, I eventually found the youth hostel. I then
dropped off my backpack and went to explore some palaces.
Seoul is a very interesting city. If I were to compare it to
Japan, I'd say that Seoul has the big city feel of Tokyo as well as
this rich history of Kyoto. And prices in Korea are much cheaper than
in Japan. So, if you only had time and money for one Asian city, Seoul
would be a good choice. But I'm an adventurous traveler, so I like to
see as many places as I can.
I first went to Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is very large and
impressive. There are many old buildings to see there. Of course, many
have been rebuilt. What's funny is that in Japan, the palaces were
often destroyed by fires. In Seoul, the palaces were often destroyed by
the Japanese. Another interesting thing to note was that there were
hordes of school children visiting the palace and many seemed
interested in the blonde foreigner, saying hi and asking me where I was
from. Maybe they were beginning to learn English and wanted to
practice.
After lunch, I went to Changgyeonggung Palace and Jongmyo.
This site was smaller than the first, but still interesting. I walked
outside into Jongmyo Park, where I saw lots of old men playing Go or
Korean chess. It was quite a sight. To end the day, I headed to Seoul
Tower, where I first had to hike 20 minutes up neverending concrete
stairs. There was also a cable car, but that's for wimps. I went up
Seoul Tower to get a good evening view of the city. I then waited for
the sun to set to get a night view.
Now that I'm in Seoul, there are a few things on my agenda: I
need to eat some Seoul food, hear some Seoul music, and purify my
Seoul. Or my name isn't Seoultysik. (Had to say it eventually.) I had
dinner at a little restaurant in the Hongik area. It was a dish with
spicy beef and octopus served with rice. It was good, but very spicy. I
think the Koreans coat everything with red pepper. All in all, it was
quite a busy day.
Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea
25 May 2004
The Dangerous DMZ
As everyone knows, North and South Korea are divided by the DMZ
zone. Today, I went on a DMZ tour. A group of us on a bus first went to
Imjingak Park, where we saw war memorials and the Bridge of Freedom,
where 13,000 war captives returned to South Korea back in 1953. Next,
we went to the entrance of a tunnel that goes down to the Third
Infiltration Tunnel discovered by South Korea in 1978. North Korea
denies digging these tunnels. Then we went to the Dora Observatory high
on a hill, where you could see over the DMZ. You could also look in
binoculars to see North Korea's propaganda village - a group of modern
apartments designed to 'lure' South Koreans to live in North Korea.
However, you could only take pictures behind a yellow line. Otherwise,
soldiers would confiscate your camera. (And no, I didn't test this
rule.) We also saw Dorasan Station, a train station recently built to
service a future train line between North and South Korea. The South
Korean government seems quite optimistic about a future unification.
We returned to Seoul around 3pm, and I hopped on a subway
train to visit another palace - Deoksugung. This one was small, but
interesting because it also housed a museum of contempory art and the
Royal Museum, which housed artifacts from Korean palace life. Then, I
headed to the Namdaemun Market, which is a giant outdoor market with
hundreds of vendors selling their goods on tables or the ground. Even
though I had no interest in buying anything, it was quite a spectacle
to see, especially for a westerner such as myself.
Dora Observatory, overlooking the DMZ between South and North Korea
26 May 2004
Third World Charm
I caught a bus from Seoul to Incheon International airport a
little after 7am. The brand new airport is actually located 52
kilometers west of the capital, and the subway won't reach it for
another couple years. After 40 minutes, I arrived at the spacious,
modern, and clean airport. I have to say that I'm pretty impressed. I
think it's the nicest airport I've seen (although I haven't been to the
one in Paris.)
The plane ride to Beijing on Asiana Airlines was around 2
hours and it included a meal. Back in the states, you'd be lucky to get
five pretzels thrown at you for a 2-hour trip. After landing, and going
through immigration, I tried an ATM machine. It wouldn't take my bank
card, but it did accept my credit card. Then, I went to get a taxi ride
to Beijing, which is also located away from the airport. Just as my
guide book had warned, an unoffical taxi driver tried to get me to take
his taxi for an inflated fare. He even followed me to the official taxi
line. I told him, "Let me check the price of this taxi." He eventually
went away.
Of course, I ended up in a taxi with a driver who didn't speak
any English and couldn't read the address I wrote in English. He called
a translator on his cell phone, but the translator hadn't heard of the
youth hostel I was trying to find. So, I looked at the map in my book
and found a hotel nearby the place I wanted to go. I copied the Chinese
name onto a piece of paper and showed it to the driver. He nodded and
took me close to where I needed to go.
After finding the hostel and checking in, I did my laundry,
which was overdue. Wearing the same dirty clothes over and over is not
habit I want to maintain. By this time it was evening, so I strolled
through a hutong on my way to Tiananmen Square. By the way, 'hutong' is
a Chinese word meaning narrow, dirty alley in which old people stumble
alomg, bicycles weave around like flies, and car drivers laughingly try
to maneuver. Since the dollar is very strong compared to the Yuan, I
had dinner at a fairly nice restaurant - roast duck and (warm) Tsingdao
beer. Then I strolled up through Tiananmen Sqaure, where I was
constantly assaulted by hawkers of postcards and kites. Unfortunetly,
when you don't look Chinese, it's like having a large banner over your
head that reads, "Please annoy me by trying to sell your useless crap."
This is my first trip to nation of impoverished people, so I suppose I
should get used to it. Ah, the pleasures of third world charm. After
seeing the wall with the picture of Mao, I walked back through the
hutong to my youth hostel to get some rest.
Chairman Mao keeping a watch on Tiananmen Square
27 May 2004
The Forbidden City
When you arrive at Beijing, you need to check your manners at
immigration, and pick them up later. Now, maybe it's because I've spent
a lot of time near touristy locations - Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden
City - but I really find Chinese people to be rude. Walking in these
areas, I am accosted every 10 seconds by someone trying to sell
something. I've adopted a strategy of avoiding eye contact, ignoring
them when they speak, and trying to move like a running back to avoid
the bottom feeders. Perhaps a supersoaker would come in handy. Or
better yet, a can of mace.
Today, I went to Chairman Mao's mausoleum, but couldn't get
inside because I had a backpack. I guess I'll try again another day.
Then, I went into the Forbidden City. This is a very large and
impressive place. Larger than the palace complexes I saw in Japan and
Korea. And, because of the admission fee, the place was free of
annoying people trying to sell stuff. However, I found the Chinese
tourists to be a bit rude, pushing and shoving to get a glimpse and
take a mandatory photograph of the interior of the buildings.
Aftewards, I climbed a hill to the north of the Forbidden City
to see a small shrine and get a good view of the city. Then, I stopped
at a mall to try lunch at a Chinese McDonalds. Food here is cheap - a
Big Mac combo only cost 19.5 Yuan ($2.35). Then, I walked around the
southern part of Beijing, where I saw the Beijing Ancient Observatory.
The Chinese developed astronomy very early. But they still have a way
to go with civility.
For dinner, I had a large plate full of dumplings and a beer.
And it only cost 15 Yuan ($1.80). If you can put up with the rudeness,
China can definitely be a cheap place to visit.
The Gate of Supreme Harmony inside the Forbidden City
28 May 2004
The Great Wall
Today, I went on a 10-kilometer hike on the Great Wall, from a
place called Jinshanling to Simitai. This section of the Great Wall is
located 110 kilometers away from Beijing, and the 3-hour bus ride to
get there took 4 hours. Still, according to my guide book, this remote
section of the great wall had very few tourists and few hawers compared
to Badaling, the part of the Great Wall where most everyone goes. Also,
there are some very steep ascents and descents along this portion of
the wall, making for some very fun hiking. Our small group - about 10
or so - took about 5 hours to complete the hike, making stops at the
most of the guard towers. The Great Wall really is a magnficient
creation, lying on the ridge of mountains in northern China. From our
perspective, we could even see westward to the mountains of Mongolia. I
definitely recommend a visit to the Great Wall if you ever come to
China. It's quite amazing. Of course, after the hike, we were all dead
tired.
That night, we didn't return to the hostel until around
8:30pm. A group of us went to eat at a local restaurant down the alley
(or hutong). We sat outside at a table by which cars passed just inches
away in the narrow alleyway. We ordered several dishes and shared them
all. We feasted quite well and the meal only cost about 15 Yuan per
person. Some of the other travellers had been to other parts of China,
and they said that the people in the smaller towns are a lot more
friendly, and don't like it when you leave. Perhaps I should have
planned to visit some smaller towns. Also, some of the other travellers
had been travelling for 3 months, 5 months, or 9 months, making my
3-week journey fairly short and insignificant. Next time, I'll have to
plan a longer trip.
Looking out over the Great Wall of China
29 May 2004
Sick Day
Well, I had another sick day. I woke up this morning with a
fever and diarrhea. I did not feel good. I decided to cut out any
sightseeing to allow myself a chance to rest and drink fluids. I wasn't
really sure what made me sick - if it was something I ate, something I
breathed in, or if a bug bit me. Or it could have been the result of
the long hike on the Great Wall under the hot sun. In any case, I
didn't see anything special this day. It was mostly bed, toilet, bed,
toilet, etc.
30 May 2004
Summer Palace
I woke up late, feeling slightly better - let's just say the
fever was gone. So, I thought I'd try to do some sightseeing. After a
late breakfast, I headed to the Summer Palace. This is large garden
with a lake to which Chinese royalty would often retreat. One
interesting thing of note is a large pagoda on a hill with a large
statue of Buddha inside. It's called the Tower of the Fragrant Buddha.
There is also an old-fashioned Chinese shopping street along a canal,
which is mostly a tourist trap, but a charming one at that. Lucky for
me, there are many toilets in the complex. Of course, most of the
toilets stalls in Bejing are the hole-in-the-ground squat kind, but
they usually have one western style toilet. I don't know why they
Chinese prefer the squat toilet. It doesn't make sense to me. While
walking around, I encountered two of my fellow hikers from my trip to
the Great Wall. I told them that I had been sick. One of them said that
he had been sick too and believes it was a case of sunstroke. So,
perhaps that's what made me sick. And all this time, I thought I was
invincible.
On the way back, I had to take a taxi back to the subway. Now,
the taxi from the subway to the Summer Palace only cost 19 Yuan, but
all the taxi drivers outside the palace were shouting 40 or 50 Yuan.
One guy offered a ride for 35 Yuan, but I said the price should be 20.
It's funny that the only Chinese who speak English are the scam
artists. As I was walking away, he lowered his price down to 30, so I
took it. He didn't even drive a metered taxi; it was just his car. Even
though it seemed a bit dodgy, I figured it was okay. Everything in
Beijing is a bit dodgy. Anyway, the driver was crazy, squeezing onto
the shoulder of the road to get ahead of traffic and then forcing his
way back in. He didn't even drop me off by the station. I had to walk
another 100 feet to the subway entrance. As I turned around, I saw that
at the point where he stopped, he was able to make a quick u-turn where
he probably planned on heading back to the Summer Palace to get another
customer.
The Summer Palace
31 May 2004
Temple of Heaven in the Toilet
I woke up this morning and found a pharmacy, where I pointed to
the Chinese word for anti-diarrhea medicine in my Lonely Planet
guidebook. A good guidebook is indispensible during travel. This seemed
to mend my malady somewhat, though my colon seems to have shrunk as I
still seem to require frequent visits to the toilets (or hole-in-the
ground versions that seem to be popular here).
I made it to the Natural History Museum after lunch. This was
quite an interesting place if you like science. Although there was few
signs in English, you could still get the jist of the exhibits. The
basement contained the most interesting exhibit - preserved human
bodies that had been cut open with the skin removed, revealing muscles
and bones. The bodies were in various poses and they weren't even
enclosed in anything so you could touch them. (I didn't.)
Next, I headed to the Temple of Heaven Park, or Tiantan
Gongyuan, which was right next door. I enjoyed this park more than the
Summer Palace, as it had long, shady paths for walking and several
classic Ming era buildings including a tall, three-tiered hall that
resembles a pagoda. Behind this was the Temple of Heaven, a small but
important temple. A long walkway called the Bridge of Vermillion
Stairway led up to the main area. A slight upward slope was built into
the walkway to give the illusion of ascending into heaven.
Even though I was feeling better, I was still having to make
frequent trips to the toilet. And I drank like 4 bottles of soda or
water, which seemed to disappear inside my body and never come out. All
this talk of toilets is probably pretty disgusting, but it seems quite
fitting as much of Beijing does smell like a toilet, especially the
subway, which must run through sewage pipes. It's hard to believe that
Beijing will host the 2008 Olympics.
As I was writing this entry around midnight local time, a Brit
from the Great Wall hike found me and told me that a group was going
clubbing. Since it was the last night of my trip and I was feeling
better, I dropped what I was doing and joined them. We went to a techno
dance club called Banana that was packed with locals even though it was
a Monday. What's funny is that they danced without moving their feet,
justing bouncing up and down. It turns out that the circular dance
floor moved up and down as people bounced in rhythm. Pretty cool. But
it was packed like a sardine can, so our group found a place outside
the main floor to dance 'Western-style.' We left at 3am and the place
showed no signs of dying down.
Hall in the Temple of Heaven Park
1 June 2004
Hi, Mao, Bye, Mao
I finally got to see Chairman Mao today. I had also tried
Monday morning only to discover that the mausoleum is closed on
Mondays. But today, I joined the long, but fast-moving queue to enter
what some refer to as the "Maosoleum." The Chinese people really pay
respect to Mao; he's like their George Washington. Many buy flowers or
bow down before his statue. After 40 minutes, I finally saw the body.
The face looks a bit like wax, but stays preserved.
Then I wandered through the markets and down the hutong to my
hostel, where I finished an entry in my journal, packed my bag and took
a taxi to the airport. When I arrived, I couldn't find the United
Airlines terminal, so I asked a person at Information. She pointed and
said "International," where I had already been. So, I walked back and
asked a person at Korean Air. She said upstairs. So, I go upstairs and
it's a food court. Then I ask another person at Information. "You have
to go through customs," he said. This turned out to be correct. If you
don't know the answer, don't make something up.
The flight was 13 hours including waiting time. It's strange
spending that much time on a plane, but luckily I got some sleep after
watching a couple movies (Miracle, which was good, and Big Bounce,
which wasn't despite Owen Wilson's humorous antics). Just as the plane
was about to land, the plane began ascending. Apparently, another plane
was using an intersecting runway, so we had to go up and get back in
the landing queue. And I really had to use the bathroom. Fortunately, I
was able to hold on. We finally landed a little after 4pm local time
and was back in the U.S. of A.
Epilogue
In closing, I hope that this blog had been both educational and
entertaining. Backpacking through foriegn lands is an adventure, not an
idyllic vacation, but one that I highly recommend. Many of the
travelers I met work for a while, saving up money, then quit and travel
for any length of time from a couple months to a year. That's a serious
commitment, but a trip can take as long you like. Many backpackers also
stick to the poorer countries where travel is quite cheap.
In the end, I have to say that despite the lows, the highs
were definitely worth it. I hope that my next trip is longer, more
adventurous, and even more entertaining. I'll keep you posted.
Handsome guy hiking the Great Wall of China
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