Some Closing Thoughts

Our time in China is ended--It's official that Kris is staying for the second half (being that his flight out of China was originally scheduled for November 8th)--and I'm a little sad to leave China.

In general, the people were modest as individuals but proud as a nation. There's a clear openness with each other and with us. Even if they were surprised or unsure of us at first, the hesitancy often melted away with a smile. We have not felt unsafe here (even though we were robbed), and while we know that people have been taking advantage of our Westerness by over-charging us, we didn't get the sense that it was out of disrespect or malice. People were as eager to answer our questions as they were to ask them; and we all got good laughs from our strained attempts to communicate.

Getting around was always an adventure: dodging persistent taxi drivers, finding the right bus, climbing into our too-short beds, searching for a cheap hotel, making sure we got off at the right stop, and being thankful that we were never as sick as some of the other (Chinese) passengers. The food became a little monotonous only because Kris and I had difficulty asking for anything besides rice and noodles, but we ate well.

The unique combination of ancient and modern fascinated us. There are televisions everywhere and Chinese pop blaring in the streets while people still carry things around in baskets and on bamboo poles balanced on their shoulders because, as I said earlier, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The practical, straight-forward ways of doing things work, and I'll miss them.

The signs of China's new Capitalist identity were everywhere; so too were their efforts to establish themselves as a benevolent international power with their record-breaking aid to Africa as well as their incessant preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Beijing. We found ourselves in China while its searches for its new identity and grapples with the terms of global Capitalism and Chinese Communism. It was clear that we were seeing China at a significant transformational time in its history.

In a few ways this marks a beginning more than an end: we hope to keep in touch with some of the people we met along the way; Kris is planning on coming back in a few months to study Kung Fu with a monk; and I'm now contemplating studying Mandarin out of a linguistic fascination as well as to make me more desirable in an increasingly competitive job market.

I have no doubt that I will love the second half of my trip, but after living in China for the past month, there's a part of me that will miss it.

... moving on...

I don't know what to say. Even Nik Brodie's luck wears out eventually. I got back my camera from the man who stole it in the restaurant, I got it back from the beak of a cormorant, but it appears that when someone goes through my bag while I'm sleeping on a bus that's the where my luck wears out, and I lose my camera. It sucks most that I lost a month's worth of irreplaceable pictures. Oh yeah, they stole Kris's out of his bag too. We're thankful that no credit cards or passports were taken. He still has his film camera, though, and he already sent a bunch of rolls from the first weeks home already... at least it's something. We went to the police station today and filed a report, but we don't think there's much they can do.

We fly to Thailand tomorrow. We're excited and are going to make sure that the theft doesn't spoil the rest of our trip. I'll keep updating my blog, but don't expect any photos. Heh heh... oh... [meek smile].

Cormorant Fishing

We're in Dali today and going to Lijiang tomorrow... more minority cultures! Today we drank some tea, learned how the people use elaborate tie dying to decorate cloth, watched a traditional dance performance, and went comorant fishing--the highlight of the day. This is where a man in a boat (Kris and I hesitate to call him a "fisherman") is followed by about 10 comormants (a type of water fowl) who seem to like him because he feeds them... occasionally. The man has previously tied their necks so that if a fish is big enough, it won't go down. When the neck is visibly full (see picture), the man pulls the bird into the boat and squeezes the fish--sometimes still alive--out of the bird's neck into a bucket. Done! He has "caught" a fish. Kris and I were on the boat the birds fished around and were dragged onto when they succeeded. It didn't look pleasant for them, but they kept coming back. Plus, they got to eat the smaller ones that did go down. It was all pretty exciting. I got video of a bird being pulled on board and coughing up three fish at one time. I tried to get some underwater video with my spiffy submersible digital camera and a comorant bit it! Luckily, I won a quick bout of tug-of-war rather than the "fisherman" having to squeeze my camera out.

Kris and I are leaving China on Thursday (11/16) for Thailand!

What's Lookin' Good Cookin'?

This is what Kris and I made during our cooking lesson in Yangshuo. There's ginger broccoli, sweet and sour chicken, vegetable dumplings, and (two plates of) vegetable fried rice. It was all so yummy. There were so many leftovers that we, unfortunately, never got around to eating them. I hope I remember how to make these by the time I get home. Maybe I'll pick up some Thai recipies before then.

Hong Kong

We love Hong Kong! In some ways it's more modern than New York; the subways and buses are so new and clean; the lights and activity is similar to what I imagine Tokyo to be like; but the trees, climate, green mountains, and waterfront reminds me of Honolulu. It's such a great mix. The prices are more like the US than Kris and I care for (and are used to after China), but we're not planning on staying long. The Hong Kong Dollar is similar to the Yuan in exchange rate, but the fact the ATM gives it out in denominations five times higher than in China, gives us an idea of how we'll spend it. Our wallets are looking forward to getting back to mainland China even though we'd love to hang out here longer. I hear there are beaches. I didn't realize how much I missed the ocean until I smelled it again. Maybe we'll go scope them out tomorrow.

Our next stop is Kunming.

Yangshuo

We've been in Yangshuo for three days now. It's touristy but fun and beautiful. Kris and I went to a cave yesterday that had a mud hole. It was a lot of fun. The density of the muddy water meant that we could basically just lie on the water... more buoyancy than the Dead Sea. There was a clear pool to wash off in afterwards, but my hair still needed two washes later to get all the mud out. We took a bamboo raft ride and biked a little through the countryside. Kris and I are starting to get a little annoyed by the word "hello". People here use it as if to mean "consume". "Hello water? Hello Beer? Hello?" And they're everywhere. Even on the raft ride, which looks so serene... they set up floating food stands in the middle of the river and even photo booths to take our pictures, print them out, laminate them and sell them to us. We were bad Americans and bought nothing. We just wanted to enjoy the boat ride.

These are the green mountains that I've seen on China posters that I was looking forward to seeing. They really do just pop out of no where and go straight up. The city of Yangshuo itself has mountains sticking up in the middle of it. It's crazy... and beautiful.

Kris and I are going to take cooking lessons this afternoon! Maybe I can add a few more dishes to my repertoire of spaghetti and the very occasional summer roll.

We're taking a 10-hour, smoke-free (YIPEE!) sleeper bus to Hong Kong tonight. We won't stay too long there because it's pretty expensive, but we're looking forward to seeing it.

More Pictures

Here are some more fun ones. Kris has since shaved his beard. No more scruffy traveler-man. He looks all young and clean again.

In the second picture, the girl on the left kept saying "hello!" She was glad to pose for the photo and encouraged her friend behind her to do the same.

Kris and I are heading to Yangshuo tonight. Talk to you soon!

Basketball Anyone?

Kris played basketball with one of our drivers today. There were so many kids at the court that it was a little more than one on one. You can see Kris was the tallest one there (granted, they are mostly kids)... and the best one at basketball. It's been our experience that when we say we're American, questions about the NBA inevitably follow; and of course, Yao Ming. I wanted to practice "my shot" especially since I thought I could have been better than half the boys out there, but we had passports, wallets, and two digital cameras that needed monitoring. So I took pictures, and attracted a swarm of kids fascinated by our cameras. Here I am with the girls.

Zhaoxing

This is a shot of the village Zhaoxing where we're staying. It's the most touristy Dong village we've been to, with hotels, restaurants, and of course an internet cafe, but it's also a working village with many farmers and people living in ways that don't involve tourists. It's tucked away in green mountains and surrounded by these paddies.

They have fields everywhere! The mountains are all cut into steps so the land can be cultivated despite its natural slope. Farm land in the US means as flat as a calm ocean, but here farmland is in the moutains! Much harder to work and each field is much much smaller but great views. It's so green and peaceful here. People live in these wooden houses with their animals in their basements, but they still have their flat screen TVs and satellite dishes. We saw a new wooden village under contstruction, and it was being built the same exact way as the older ones. They are happy to live this way it seems. If ain't broke...

Minority Cultures - Miao and Dong

Kris and I are exploring the Miao and Dong villages of the Guizhou Province. Today when we arrived in a Dong village, women dressed in their traditional clothes were singing. There were also video cameras taping two young people that looked like they were hosts of some show. Before Kris and I knew it, we were part of the Dong welcoming ceremony that was going to be aired on Chinese TV some time in the future. We were given some liquor from a ram's horn, and embroidered scarves as well as a dyed pink egg wrapped in yarn around our necks. We then walked down a gaunlet of the costumed singers as they sung. It was pretty cool to be part of the ceremony and funny that it will be viewed by maybe a billion or so people. LOL! Pays to be white--even in China--they put you on TV. :)

I've started taking pictures of the people were seeing, not just the scenery. I love faces. You know how some racists say that all Asians look alike? That couldn't be further from the truth. Even though I've been here for over two weeks now, I don't think I'll be able to go back to Hawaii and pick out which people are of Chinese decent. They all look so different from each other; so many faces of different colors, different shapes, different features. There's no classic Chinese "look" that I can discern, especially after meeting the minority cultures. So, from what I've heard (someone told me about a study) and from what I've seen, I think they are much more right in saying that white people all look alike. Ha!I thought this lady had a great smile, so I couldn't resist. You can sort of see from the background how pretty the scenery is around here.

Zhenyuan

We love it here. It's not that small of a village, but certainly the smallest we've stayed at. It is also, by far, the most picturesque place we've been. The buildings have an old style to them and the streets are narrow and windy. There's a turquoise river that runs through the town that's set in lush green mountains. It was a foggy and rainy day, but that just made everything greener. In some ways, we feel like we've finally made it to China.

The bus ride was bumpy and curvy... not great for the stomachs, but we were okay. An old woman came on board with her live chicken. Ha ha! I loved that part. They played a funny Chinese movie (The Conman) on the bus that had English substitles. That was cool except for the fact that the reading worsened our queaziness.

Tomorrow we're off to Shibing after a boat ride to look at some gorges. It will also be Kris's birthday (October 26th), so we're going to have to find a bakery. Yay cake!

Oh oh, I have another funny lost-in-translation story. So there was a man acting as our translator at our hotel in Kaili, and when I thanked him for his help, he replied, "no sex." Figuring that he was trying to say some form of "no thanks needed" or "you're welcome", I tried so hard not to laugh and failed. I tried to play it off that I was laughing at something in the guide book I was holding, but I don't think I was believeable. I felt really bad, but it was too funny. Of all the responses he could have given... It was a great moment, and I crack up every time I think of it-- like now. LOL!

Fun with Chinglish

This is a great example of badly translated English. I mean, I know we're Americans, but unless lotus flowers contain oil, I don't think we're going to "launch the destruction."

Guiyang and Kaili

It's been a while since I updated my blog since I haven't been able to access it from a cafe.

I told some of you about the theft and retrieval of my camera. I unknowingly set it on a stationary ledge of a revolving restaurant, and it revolved right past a guy who pocketed it and had the woman he was with put it their car; so when the police searched said car, I got my camera back! A fellow diner and Chinese University student Tina (an English major), acted as our translator throughout the ordeal and told us that the "bad man" will not go to prison but will have to pay the state ten times the value of the stolen item. Sucks to be him; it's a nice camera.

To thank "Tina" (she made her name easy on us) for her help, we took her and her boyfriend "Michael" out to the same revolving restaurant the following night and were shown how to properly eat the meal, and found out what we were eating. It was great. They were so nice and enthusiastic for having met us, as were we. She gave me her information, so we can contact her if we have any (more) trouble.

Kris and I had a great time in Guiyang. We became pretty comfortable with the buses and the city layout and were glad to be away from other tourists. I think it will be a while before we see white people again. Today we're in Kaili, and for the next week we plan to explore the surrounding villages of Chinese minority cultures, Miao and Dong. An English-speaking travel agent said that in some towns they won't have hotels and casually revealed that we'll have to just ask people if we can stay with them! This sounds a little nuts to us, but we would love to experience a day in the life... Hee hee. We'll see. Imagine someone trying to homestay with Americans? Good luck, buddy.

We were planning on heading back north after Hong Kong, but it looks like we're just going to explore the south for the rest of our time. We like the less beaten path, the different people, and we have some amazing landscapes to look forward to. We'll also be closer to our next Southeast Asian stops.

I'm not sure how much internet access we'll have for the next week. So if you don't hear from us, don't panic; we're fine, just exploring.

Pingyao and X'ian

Went to see the Terra Cotta Warriors today. It was amazing. Even though I saw the warehouse on TV, it's hard to get an idea of just how big the site is and how many statues there are. It was beyond impressive.

Yesterday, in Pingyao Kris and I went on a tour with a local who took us into a middle school. It was definitely a highlight of our trip so far. We went into an English class and read to them as they repeated after us. They were so happy to have us there. Kris attempted to copy some Chinese characters from one of their books onto the chalk board. The kids ran up to correct his writing. I admired him for trying. Their teacher wasn't in the room for some reason, and when we left, they starting reading English out loud as a class. Yeah, that wouldn't happen in the US. Students doing work shortly after a big excitement... and without a teacher present.

I'm not sure if we're still jet-lagged or what, but both of us are tired a lot.

It's so polluted here. The mornings are always foggy and the sun becomes easy to look at while it's not that low... it's kind of gross. Sunsets are colorful, though.

We're in X'ian right now, which is right outside the Terracotta Warriors, so it's just a big tourist town. I've seen more white people here than our whole trip combined. Prices are also higher here. We are still having a really great time, loving what we're seeing and the people we're meeting; we look forward to meeting more Chinese people again after X'ian.

Pingyao

So far we've been to Beijing, the Great Wall, Datong, and Pingyao. We're in Pinyao right now. It's a town that modernization forgot. It's so cool. It's pretty touristy now, but it is a walled-in city with narrow streets, carved wooden building facades and the typical ceramic shingles. It's a classic Chinese town. We love it here. We're leaving tonight, though, to X'ian on another sleeper train to see the Terracotta Warriors.

We're still contemplating going to Tibet. Cost of flight is our biggest issue. Good thing I brought my hat and scarf if we go. :)

It also looks like Kris may be joining me for the second half of my Southeast Asia trip. We'll see.

I hope to hear from you all soon. I'm glad we're able to keep in touch so well.

I'm In China!

I forget if I brought my USB cable with me or not to upload pitures. If I find it, I'll post some.

So far Kris and I have taken public buses and been pretty successful in getting around. While I'm sure we've been hosed a few times because we're tourists, everything's cheaper than it would be in the States, so it isn't a problem. We're not too bad at bargaining either; sometimes inadvertantly, like asking our hotel clerk to call us a cab to a cheaper hotel... got our room price cut in half.

People have been so friendly. I thought we might be faced with feeling unwelcome, but people seem fascinated by us in a positive way. Lots of staring, but if we smile, they smile big right back. Some say "hello" to practice their English, and we respond "nihau". They seem to like us being around.

Kris and I are trying to learn two to three words each day. We're doing pretty well. Since we didn't know anything, we're still on pretty basic stuff. Today we got in a cab, I said train station in Chinese, and the driver knew exactly what I meant! We normally have to repeat things over and over with our useless accents and play charades. We've been good about using our guide book's dictionary as little as possible. I think we both enjoy the challenge of communicating and prefer to use gestures and draw pictures rather than the book. The people we're talking to don't seem to mind it. We all get to celebrate when we understand each other. It's fun.

We've climbed the Great Wall. Kris went further than I did. He basically ran up the stairs. My legs gave out much sooner, and I wanted to rest them for the way down. We spent about two hours on the wall. Kris spent most of that climbing, while I spent a good amount just sitting and looking around.

We took a sleeper train last night to Datong. We were each on a top bunk, which is the third level up. It wasn't a room, just three walls and a walkway. Kris had a foot from the other side of the wall kind of poking onto his bed. He was also too tall to lay without bending his legs, and we were both too tall to sit up straight on the bed. We didn't sleep very well, but we got to our destination alright. We thought the whole thing was pretty funny. We'll be taking trains like that all over China, so I'm sure we'll get used to them.

We have the next few days planned with hotels and travel already booked. It feels good. There's good internet access here, as some of you have noticed. I'll try to keep adding entries to this blog. Sorry this one is so long. I have a lot to say... big surprise there. I'll try to keep the others shorter, but no promises.