Tim's China Trip

Blog It Up

Hey Everyone,

I made it to Shanghai safe and sound. I can’t really comment much about the train ride, because there is nothing to comment about. It’s pretty much what you would expect it to be: little compartments where you can fit four people, a table for your snacks, a nice window view of the country, and elevator music playing randomly. I thought it was going to have a Darjeeling Limited vibe to it, but it felt too modern, which is probably for the best anyways. Wouldn’t want a train to get lost.. Though how could a train get lost? Right?

The last day in Beijing was quite possibly the worst day to check out the two coolest tourist attractions in the city. As one may not know, Beijing is an interesting city when it comes to pollution. Some days it can be as sunny as can be, and the next it will be nothing but haze caused by pollution. It looked like Seattle, except in Seattle, the stuff that is actually fog doesn’t take a year or two of your life. We had the worst haze you can imagine. Even Alan, our leader on this trip, said it was the worst weather that he had seen in China. Luckily, I try to keep an optimistic view on things so I went ahead and had a good time.

I visited the Bird’s Next and the Water Cube. Out of the two, I liked the Water Cube the best. The design and structure of it is surreal. It reminds me of something from a science fiction movie. Even the music had a X-Files style to it. I was close to the pool that Michael Phelps swam in, which was a nice feeling. I then found out that a few days after we leave to head back to the states that people could swim in the Water Cube for 50rmb for two hours. I was ticked off. Rain check!

We then visited the 798 Art District, which was really nice. It seemed like my kind of place. It reminded me of the Paseo, if the Paseo were more daring and not incredibly hippie. There isn’t much else to say about it, except their basketball court is very futuristic looking. I’m sure anyone who is a fan of basketball would cry at the site of it. If not, then shame on you. After that, we went on our train, and to Shanghai we go.

We’re stuck at a nice hotel with free internet, so no more internet cafes thankfully. They were fun the first week, but the second hand smoke got to me after awhile. On our first day, we went and visited the Longhua Temple. I don’t know if Atkinson’s words got to me or what, but I didn’t take many pictures. It just seemed wrong to me to be taking pictures of something that people are worshipping to. My one bone to pick with Christianity in America is how commercialized we make it when it’s sacred. I remember going to youth group many moons ago and there were always pictures taken of all the kids praising and praying to fill up Sunday morning bulletins. When I look back on it, it seems wrong and dirty, that something so sacred to me has gone this route. Obviously Buddism and Christianity are different from one another, but at this point in the trip, I don’t want to make something that is sacred to someone else into just another tourist attraction.

The next day we went to the Oriental Peal TV Tower. Now that was way cool. To be up that high walking on glass and looking below at the little ants known as people.. Pretty sweet. I don’t think I’ll have a high like that for awhile. We then went on a boat ride that viewed most of downtown Shanghai. We went in the evening. It was grand. It’s really pretty at night.

Today we explored the site of the CCP First Meeting. It was cool, I suppose. It was funny seeing some communist merch for sale between 50-300rmb. Later in the evening we saw a chinese acrobatics show, which was fun. Not much to comment about it, but I had a fun time participating with clapping and what not.

In four days, I’ll be heading back to the states. A part of me doesn’t want to go back so soon, but I am so tired.. Physically and emotionally, and I just need some rest.

Sincerely,
Tim

Another Blog

Hey everyone,

This is my last night here in Beijing. It’s been an interesting week for me, and just about everyone else. It’s also been the busiest. There was a lot of sight seeing and it has completely burnt me out. We don’t have anything planned in the morning, so I will get to sleep in.

It’s going to be hard to narrow down what’s important and memorable and what’s not. Everything that I did will be engraved in my brain for quite sometime. The ones that come to the top of my head though:

* Saturday night, a few of us decided to go out and hang. We were originally going to go to this dance club Banana, but when we discovered how far away it was, we decided to stay closer within the area. We came across this hotel that had a hip hop dance club in the lower level. Needless to say, it went down. We met up with a group of people. They kept buying us whiskey and coke, which I couldn’t turn down for various reasons. You can only take light beer for so long that it starts to get annoying. I ended up befriending these three french women ( all seem to be around my age, which was nice ). Is it just me, or does America have the most conceited/effed up girls out there? These girls from France were incredibly friendly and very easy going to talk to. It was nice. I asked for a number I could call them at incase I wanted to hang out again, and they gave me a number.

* The group and I were going to the memorial of Mao, but while in the process of going, I ended up losing my group. My chinese is still shaky, so I had no idea what I was going to do. I ended up making it back to the hotel and decided to take a nap for three or four hours. Apparently I didn’t miss much. On my way back to the hotel, I started talking to a chinese man who could speak english. At one point he asked me ‘How do you feel about China only having one party - a communist party’ and, being the honest guy that I am:

‘Well, I don’t know how you feel about it, but to me I think it would kind of suck to not have a choice of party, especially if I had disagreements with a party that I would be obligated to support because it is the only one. It seems unfair and doesn’t leave you with a lot of options.’

His response:

‘I like your answer.’

* Tuesday night, I went to the Banana club to meet up with the french girls. After going to the Banana club, I am going to find it hard going to any dance club in Oklahoma again ( not that I go to them to begin with ). This place was nice. It felt like something you would probably come across in LA or New York. French girls said they would be in Shanghai possibly, which I am going to tomorrow evening. I gotta admit, it’s going to be really hard to leave, especially after making some new friends.

Probably the most memorable moment was Saturday when I climbed the Great Wall. It was probably the greatest high I have ever felt in my life. At the same time, it was quite a work out! The chinese love their steps here. There is no denying it. Loads and loads of stairs. There is something floating around that a certain someone did acid their first time here at the Great Wall. After climbing, I find it hard to believe. HA.

Some other sights I came across: Beijing Zoo, Ming Tomb, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Wang Fu Jing Shopping Street, Pearl Market, Summer Palace.

Tomorrow, we plan on visiting the main stadiums of the 2008 Olympic Games. Yes, that includes the Bird’s Nest. I’m way excited for that.

Well, I need to get off. I will update you guys in a few days, hopefully.

Sincerely,
Tim

Beijing

Hey everyone, 

I am currently in Beijing at the moment. There is internet access at the hotel we are staying at and my roommate Terry has a lap top, so no internet cafes for about a week. Those were starting to bug me for one reason or another.

Sunday I was still in Lijiang. It was our last day, so it was kind of a sad one because of how short our duration there was. We went to the Tiger Leaping Gorge, which was a ton of fun. Lots of underground walking and waterfalls. Who could ask for more life and death situations? 

Monday we flew back to Kunming for a few more days. The first place that we stopped at was this Export and Import Commodities Fair that they had going on. I came to the conclusion that I need an eye massager after trying one out. It felt real nice. 

Tuesday was an off day of sorts, which is kind of weird considering it was our last day in Kunming. We had a farewell dinner and a lecture over Chinese opera. For whatever reason, they asked us if one of us wanted our face painted. Me wanting to break out and be the crazy one out of the group, I was like ‘sure, why not?’. 

WORST. DECISION. EVER.

It took about 30-45 minutes to wash all of it off. There were three different phases that went along with it:

Phase 1: ‘OMG, my face is purple’ 

Phase 2: ‘Great, my hair is colored’

Phase 3: ‘Now my skin hurts’

The group decided to go out for a little bit to this place called the Speakeasy. Strangely enough, there’s a place in OKC with the same name, but this one was a little different. I ended up hanging out with these girls from Vermont for a little while. Even played pool with them. One of them could easily be mistaken as Maya Rudolph. She was fun to talk to, and it’s nice to find another person who appreciates the kind of electronic music I like. I ended up walking them back to their hotel.

Wednesday we flew from Kunming to Beijing. Beijing is what I expected it to be, if not more. It’s really nice and so far there has been plenty of sight seeing. I’ve gone to a few stores in the area and finally tried on some shirts. It’s weird how XL’s here fit like M’s ( which is what I wear ). And this whole time I thought the chinese women were implying that I was fat.

I’ve sortive gotten to that point on the trip where people are starting to annoy the poo out of me for one reason or another. It’s not incredibly bad, but that doesn’t keep it from still bothering you. Oh well. A few weeks to go.

At times I feel like I’ve been gone from home for so long, but the more I look at how many days left I have here, the more I think of how fast time is flying. A part of me really doesn’t want to go back home. It’s nice being in a different country where no one knows much about you. I like the idea of not having an identity at times.

Sincerely,
Tim

Apologies

Tim has posted a ton of pictures but I won’t be able to post them because he’s taken nearly a thousand photos and posted them online.  That’s far, far too many for me to try and post up one by one and I don’t have the time to take them all, put them on my hard drive, and then put them on Flickr or something.

I’ll help him set that up when he returns home, though.

New Tim!

Hey everyone,

This week has been a very busy week for me. We arrived in Kunming on Monday evening. I can’t say that I am a big fan of the city. It has some upgrades when compared to Xi’an, but I like Xi’an a little more compared to Kunming. It’s one of many factors, but I’m trying not to let them effect me. I mean, I’m in a city I’ll probably never visit again. I need to let this surrealism soak in as much as I can.

The Yunnan Normal University hostel that we are staying at is superior compared to the last one we stayed at. There is no AC, but the weather in Kunming stays at a reasonable enough temperature that there is no need for an AC. The security guard who is on duty is very nice. We washed our clothes for the first time in forever on Wednesday, and when we had to go upstairs, he would lock the laundry mat for us so that no one would steal our clothes. It made me feel a little safe.

Speaking of safe, a major pro about Kunming are the amount of police on duty during all times during the day. However, the reason for some many cops is because of such high crime. I keep my wallet in my front pocket and I keep my guard up. I would easily get my stuff stolen.

We’ve been following the same format that is similar to Xi’an, but we’ve had more field trips to various places. So far, we visited the Yunnan Nationalities Museum, the Flower and Bird Market, the Monument of Hump Flying, the Bamboo Temple, a Dynamic Yunnan performance ( which is completely hollywoodized. Wasn’t terribly impressed ), and the Stone Forest. I enjoyed the Stone Forest the most. I never knew how much I enjoyed hiking. I mean, I always like to go hiking, but I can never find anyone to hike with, so I am left along doing what I do, which is nothing.

Friday, we flew into Lijiang, which is where we are still at this very moment. I could be a little early when I say this, but when I am ready to retire, this is the place I would like to live. It has elements of my old stomping grounds of Redding, CA but with more mountains and cooler weather. All the shops are in walking distance, which makes it convienant instead of going into the new city area to a grocery store. I also experienced my first chinese pizza. It was really good. I plan on having another one before we head back to Kunming on Monday. 

Well, wish I could write more, but I have a headache. We’ve had to wake up around 5am the past few days, and our tour guide in Lijiang is adding a lot of things for us to do. Not that I’m complaining, but I am rather sleep deprived at the moment. 

Sincerely,
Tim

China Blog # 3

Hey guys,

My time in Xi’an is coming to a close after this evening. I feel like I’ve been here for awhile, but I know that’s just my mind being homesick for whatever reason. Funny thing is, I don’t feel homesick. As much as a culture shock being here is at times, it’s nice to be away from the things you are accustomed to and away from things that bother you, making you completely worry free.

Tuesday, the group went to the City Wall and the Forest of Steles. I was able to get a good view of the city when at the City Wall. Cloudy skies and cool weather make for a great view. That evening, we went with T.J. ( this Asian Studies major from Ou who has been here since September ) and his chinese girlfriends to this hot pot restaurent. I forget the name of it, so I can’t elaberate any further. If anyone remembers the scene from Lost In Translation when Bob and Charlotte go to the restaurant after Bob’s one night stand with the lounge singer, it was kind of like that, though the restaurant we went to was fancier and we had our own little room. It was a lot of fun. The food was really spicy, which I liked. It’s hard to find any good spicy food these days. And my father is the king of spicy.

Wednesday, we went to the Pagoda and the Provincial History Museum. The Pagoda was an interesting sight to see. I came across a few people who would knee down to pray to some of the statues. Coming from someone who believes in a higher power ( specifically God ), it was one of those moments where I didn’t know what to think. My whole moto has been ‘If it makes you happy, great, but that’s not me’ kind of mentality. I’ve never been one to judge or make fun of other religions, regardless of how redicoulous they might be to a certain perspective. That evening, a small group of us decided to go to a karoke bar in the city. The place that we went to was very nice. We had our own little room with a plasma screen tv that had the words up with couches. Definitely a lot different from say a Buffalo Wild Wings karoke night. Of course, I would imagine it being different. The selection wasn’t that great, though. I was expecting to find some songs you wouldn’t normally find at a regular karoke bar ( I was in the mood for some New Order ). That wasn’t the case. Heck, we couldn’t find any Red Hot Chilli Peppers for T.J. The highlight of the evening was Justin’s ( one of the guys in the group ) commentary during the songs and adding of words. Fun times.

Thursday was our free day of sorts. Our whole group decided that we should it at a McDonalds closest to the university. Now I made an oath not to eat anywhere that I can eat at in America, but when you hear things like ‘Oh, it’s different’ and curiousity strikes, you fall prey. While the taste is the same, and prices for the most part were about the same if not cheaper, there are notable differences when comparing to American McDonalds:

* The employees are dressed real nice. Too nice. I almost felt like I was eating at a formal restaurant, but it was McDonalds.
* There are some menu items here that are more exotic and chicken orientated than ones in the states.
* There is no super size ( which didn’t bother me, coming off from losing 50-60 pounds ). However, their medium drink is our small drink, and same goes with the fries. They are big on portion control.

Friday was a pretty busy day. We went to the new Xi’an University, which is out in the middle of nowhere, but it’s very nice. They have the biggest library that I’ve ever seen, and their campus has a futuristic vibe to it. It was nice. We then played a basketball game against some of the students at the university. We won by one point, but man they were good. I definitely felt out of place, as I’ve never been the greatest at basketball ( though I try ). Later in the evening I went out with a few other people to the Shaanxi Grant Opera House for dinner and a ten part musical of sorts. It was an enjoyable experience for me, as big of a music lover that I can be. It was relatively cheap, too: 150 RMB. Not shabby.

Saturday we went to the Tang Paradise, which to me felt like a theme park minus the rides but more history orientated. That was fun.

Sunday we went to the Warriors ( I mean, Worriors ) Museum and Banpo Museum. I feel like I would be repeating myself explaining what all I did ( looked at real dead bodies, fake Terra Cotta bodies, etc ), so I will simply put it was a fun time. After the museums, I got a massage. Yes, I know what you’re thinking. It was great, though. It felt nice. For all the guys wondering: No happy ending :(. But that’s ok, considering the other people in the room were girls, so :) for them not witnessing the horror.

Well, I need to go. Going to Kunming.

Sincerely,
Tim

China Blog # 2

Hey again,

Two days in a row I post. Hopefully that keeps people from worrying too much, if anyone is worried at all.

Not a lot to add since my last posting about a day ago. Last night, the professor and I decided to walk around town just for the fun of it. It last about two hours and we came across many stand alone stores here. One of which everything there was 19 yuan ( which is really cheap, like 2.75 in american dollars ). Sadly, the highest size shoes I came across were 43 ( in US language, that’s about a size 10-11.. I wear a size 12 ). There were some really interesting designs that you normally don’t see on a shoe. Oh well. What disturbed me about the walk was the fact that I came across a KFC restaurant. I saw one at the airport, and now one on the streets. According to Professor Atkinson, KFC was one of the first places to go over seas, with places like McDonalds and so forth following suit. So on one hand, it’s not that weird, but on another hand, it kind of is, ha.

The classes have been fun so far. They’re more trying to get us familiar with the history of the country and how to interact with the people here. It’s been very useful. Especially when trying to get an apple Fanta ( yes, an apple Fanta ). Today we had a calligraphy class, which was fun. Our teacher was very interesting and great at his craft. Surprisingly, his teacher ( whose name I didn’t catch ) did the portrait of Mao on the yuan here. Kind of interesting and nice to know that you’re in good hands.

Well I need to go. We are going on a field trip around 2pm to tour the city wall and forest of steles. I’ll have pictures up sometime this week. Take care, guys.