Roaming Asia

Getting pretty behind in the blogging but I'm going to try to catch up a bit here. Plenty to write about I'm almost a month in to Vietnam but still have to write about the last half of my Philippines trip so I'll start there. I'm on the bus to Ha long Bay right now. I actually tried journalling first but the roads are so bad my writing is hardly readable so I'll try to take a dent out of the blog.

I last left off at Boracay. The most popular beaches in the Philippines, especially for partying. Not much else to do there but nobodies complaining. One of the most beautiful beaches in the world they say and it's easy to see. White sand for kilometres shaded by palm and coconut trees and warm blue green water as far as you can see. I actually end up going the same time as the girl who owns and runs the hostel I've been staying at. She's my age and we've gotten to be pretty good friends. She's a Boracay pro who comes there all the time so she knows just where to go. I was only there 4 nights I think but it went by in a snap. Or maybe more of a blur. Thanks El. One of my final days there after a solid night out coming back home by sunrise I'm woken a few hours later by the manager who tells me I'm late for my boat ride around the island. Was pretty hard getting up for that but I'm glad I did. It was a lazy and really beautiful boat ride around the island on a sail boat. Stopping only for some lunch, the odd quite beach and some snorkeling. Sailed past Pacquiaos mansion too which our boatman points out by shadowboxing the air. It's about the size of a large hotel. Anyways Bora was really beautiful and a lot of fun, if flooded by tourists and hawkers.

Sun-burnt and back in Manila. I do some work when there’s work to be done. Lots of waiting around for paperwork to be done. Things go extra slow when you don't pay extra under the table, and everyone wants a little something extra. I've made some good friends here who are always up for showing me a good time. And something is always going on in Manila it seems. I find a nice new muay thai and boxing gym here that offers dirt cheap private sessions. Felt great to get back in the gym but I really couldn't believe how out of shape I was. The insane heat wasn't helping either. Despite sweating buckets, Tyson, my trainer wants to get me a fight right away. Whoa slow down Tyson. I don't tell him I'm fighting back puking in-between rounds with him on the pads. I'm in too bad of shape I tell him, but it's good to know I haven't lost it all. He's a great guy. Almost 40 but still in incredible shape.

I told Tyson about some guys trying to rob me on the street and he asked me why I didn't kick their asses. I told him I didn't really want to get in trouble over here and I wasn't really in danger. He told me I should have and told me that he's the martial arts instructor for the police academy and a member of this police hotline. Now this hotline he said he could make me a member of. Which normally they don't do but since I know him they would accept me. Once I'm a member of I could go around kicking asses and running red lights etc. without getting in trouble. Rather when the police arrive on scene I'd get a high five for dishing out some justice. How crazy and hilarious is that. If I stayed don't get me wrong I'd totally do it.

A few weeks later I plan my next trip to island of Palawan. Supposed to be incredible beaches there too but without the crazy tourism which sounds more up my alley. I fly in the Puerto Princessa the capital and was planning on staying there first and then going to El Nido after. My handy motorcycle taxi driver convinces me to do it the other way around which worked out way better. From the airport I go straight to an agency that shuttles back and forth to El Nido. A bus is leaving in less than an hour and it's a 5 hourish ride to El Nido. My bus is loaded with international students from Italy, France and Sweden studying in Taiwan. All really good people and we end up hanging out most of the 4 days I'm in El Nido.

El Nido. Small town and fairly off the grid. So small in fact there is no electricity for a good part of the night. And no ATM's. I have cash but it ends up not being enough which causes me trouble later. No idea where I'm staying and we get in late. We check out a few spots. Dorms haven't caught on in a lot of places in the Philippines and this is definitely one of them. But hotels are still pretty dirt cheap. We get a decent place grab a bite and hit the sack with plans on doing one of the island hopping tours the next days which is a real steal too.

The island hopping is unreal. This is what I wanted to see. We go from one nearly pristine, deserted picturesque beach to the next. Stopping to do some snorkeling in some spots which was one of the highlights. Putting your face underwater its like sticking your head into a discovery channel special. So many different kinds of beautifully coloured fish. It's funny seeing the fishes reaction to you in their home. Some just stare at you floating there. Some swim away. Some almost seem curious and others pretty angry. Seeing a little guy puff up and flare his gills at you is pretty funny. And nobody told me these cute little guys bite. It wasn't until a few days later but this one guy really let me have it. After giving me a few fake attacks to scare me off and that didn't work he decided to try and take a bite out of me. I was so surprised I dunked my head underwater knocking out my earplug and getting water in to my busted eardrum causing an ear infection. I never thought I'd run away from a fish that size before but it happened. And hey he broke skin, my shin was bleeding and I had a nice little circular mouth size bite mark on me.

The ear infection actually really sucked, I went to see the local and only doctor who gave me some generations old antibiotics that didn't work at a seriously inflated price. 5 doctors later and several antibiotics later I'm finally rid of the ear infection. But the antibiotics I was prescribed at the end in Vietnam were pretty heavy, prescribed only for drug resistant bacteria. Made me really sleepy. I'm off them now but still not quite back to normal.

I took the next day off from water activities after the ear infection to rent a dirt bike and check out the surrounding area of the little town. That was a lot of fun. I went to a few places that looked like they've never seen electricity before. Kids running out from their homes to come shyly say hello to me. Playing with them and exploring the countryside is another big highlight.

Left this unfinished I'm picking up now after finishing Vietnam.

El Nido was great and my favourite spot in the Philippines for sure. Being on these beautiful beaches knocking coconuts out of the trees and drinking them while cruising around the ocean there I'll never forget. I also had the best seafood meal of my life there. We went to the same restaurant every night and stuffed ourselves. The next morning I want to leave early but I'm out of cash and there are no ATM’s in this town. I have to wait until the next day when a shop opens up where I can get a cash advance off my Visa so that was a pain. Anyways I head out sun-burnt with a ear infection but loving the experience.

I get in to Puerto Princesa and stay at a place just outside of town. Not much to see there but I make my way the next day to Sabang to check out the longest underground river and one of the newest 7 natural wonder of the world. It's pretty huge and there is some neat formations in there but it didn't really blow me away. It's a quick 15 minute tour in the dark with just a single flashlight checking things out. I was so nearby I had to check it out but could have skipped it.

After the underground river I head straight to the airport to get back to Manila. It's a different feeling flying back in this time as I know the scams and rip offs and am ready for it. A big one being the cab drivers picking up ignorant tourist who don't know how much to pay. They never want to use the meters there and when I ask him how much and he quotes me more than 4x the meter I call him and thief and he smiles to me as I close the door. I'm only there for a few days before leaving to Ho Chi Minh but there was one place nearby I always meant to check out and hadn't gotten around too. The volcano Taal in Tagaytay. El and I drive out there through the mad traffic as usual and grab a bite of some local food at a restaurant overlooking Taal volcano in the middle of Taal lake. We drive down to the water almost running over dozens of guys trying to sell us on the boat ride over to the Volcano. A few actually follow us on motorcycles and drive past us trying to get us to buy it through them so they can make their commission They're crazy. We try to skip the middle men and head right to the boatmen but they will not leave you alone. It drives me kind of crazy but we end up getting a decent if inflated price.

The boatman gives us a tarp we're wondering whats for but find out quick as we get soaked on the ride over. It's a bit of a hike to the top of the ridge overlooking the inside of the volcano but we skip the donkey ride and foot it up just in time for a beautiful sunset. Steam is actually coming out of parts of the hills which I thought was pretty wild. We stick around for a few pictures and hike back down trying to beat the darkness. Another wet ride and were on our way back to Manila and I'm off to Ho Chi Minh the next morning.

Thus ending my roller coaster ride that was the Philippines. Attempted pickpocketing from desperate people aside, and as stark a contrast as the rich and the poor were, the people are incredibly friendly. I got more people offering me a place to stay on couch surfers than I could have imagined without even asking. I met some great people there and I'll miss them.

VIETNAM

• I actually wrote this weeks ago and never published it because I was going to sort and edit some photos but I’ll just get it out here now and put another one out sooner. The last paragraph or two is the only new addition*

Been in Manila for nearly two weeks and what a time it's been. First there was Hong Kong again though so I'll pick up there.

The train from Shanghai to Hong Kong isn't a short one, I can't remember how long exactly but I'm thinking it was just shy of twenty hours. I got off to an exciting start arriving just as the train was starting to leave. 10 seconds later and I don't think I'd have made it, running after a train is pretty fun when you make it on. The train ride was the usual curious bunch of Chinese people talking to me, or some trying to only in Chinese. The ride went by fast as I had a bed which I couldn't have been more thankful for. I actually had to take the train to a city just outside HK called Shenzhen where I would pass through customs and immigrations. From there I'd be able to take the subway all the way in to Hong Kong Island where my hostel was.

I was glad to be back in HK. I knew I'd look at it differently after being in mainland China for three months. And with a few friends living there from travelling and from when I was last there it would be a whole new experience. Shanghai comes close, but there’s definitely no city like it in China.

Avoiding the notorious area I came to the first time around a friend told me about a good hostel in HK Island that was much better. It's crazy how much of a premium real estate is in HK, if you’re not careful you'll be staying in a closet and not cheaply. Anyways my place was good. A friend I met in Shangri-La (Nicholas), busy guy, happened to have a free night so he took me to a great restaurant for some popular HK goose. Luckily he made reservations, it was packed but the food was worth it. Afterwards we took a quick street tram around a popular area and it was late.

I still had a cold or something I couldn't shake from Shanghai so I thought I'd see a doc and put the medical insurance to use. He spoke some English but not enough for things to go real smooth. Was more like a game of charades the way he acted things out and I guessed what he meant. Thanks for the ibuprofen.

One thing I regretted missing my last trip was a visit to one of my hero’s statues, Bruce Lee. On the avenue of stars there are tributes to all kinds of local celebrities. It's located right along the sea wall and at night time there is a light show coordinated with the buildings on the other side in HK Island. Was pretty impressive for something they do nightly.

On top of the normal aimless wandering I do I decided to do a recommended walk in Sheung Wan where there are all kinds of old traditional shops selling dried lizards and other things which I had no idea were. Not a touristy area it was a pretty cool stroll. Taking the street trams are pretty fun as you get a neat look at the city you obviously can't get underground in the subway.

I met up with another friend from the last time I was in town and she takes me to a bunch of the outdoor markets which are massive and super packed. Selling just about anything you could be looking for. The next day I join her and some friends who want to take this other German guy out for some crazy food. The brains omelet didn't go down to well with me and I still can't believe we had the, I think, cow penis soup. Good for virility apparently.

I meet up with another friend I met my first time around for dinner and tell her about my plans to do Macau the next day. She's never been so she decides to join. It's about an hour’s boat ride away and man do I get sea sick. I didn't realize we'd be on like a giant speed boat rocking all over the place. Anyways glad to be on dry I have to pass through immigrations again to get in.

Macau, another place that's like a whole other country. Portuguese is the official language but they speak English and Chinese as well. You can clearly see all the Portuguese influence in all the buildings and food. The main tourist area is a beautiful walk. The cities really know though for being the Vegas of the east. Only planning to spend the day there we rush around to see as many of the casinos as we can. We finish and spend most of the time at the Venetian as they have a floor that is filled with a big canal and ceilings painted with a lifelike sky. We come back home late at night pretty spent.

We meet up again another night and after dinner grab a few Heinekens to drink on the seawall. We run in to a couple of her friends and go for a stroll where we find this big pirate ship docked and a party going on on board. We stare down at it from up top when somebody on board waves us on. Surprised, we head on down where we get captains hats thrown on us and a crew full of models screaming hello at us. We disembark and do a little cruise around the harbor where some acrobats put on a show hanging from the ships ropes. Random good times.

Halfway through my stay in HK the days I have booked at my nice hostel runs out and unlike most places where you can extend on the fly, you can't here. They are booked up for weeks. Calling all the decent hostels in HK and half the no so decent and they are all sold out. Luckily a friend who I met from couch surfers helped me find a place that had a bed. Even though it was massively overpriced for a bed with a curtain around it in the middle of a living room and no AC while old Chinese women yapped all night. The next day I moved back to my old stomping ground in Kowloon. Moving down in the world at least it was private, cheap and included AC.

The girl from couch surfers was great. We met at a cafe and talked for a few hours. She's in the movie biz and one of the following nights we did one of both of our favorite pastimes, going to the movies. Way more English movie selection in HK.

On my last day I'm scheduled to fly to Manila at 9:50 so during the day I head to Stanley. It’s not far out of Hong Kong but it has beaches and markets. Fairly popular with the tourists. I get back later than planned and take the subway directly to the Airport. I make it but with no time to spare when I'm informed that they won't let me on the plane or in the country with a one way ticket. No choice I buy a return ticket at an inflated price. Thanks for telling me at the airport and not when I booked the ticket.

My flight is actually delayed due to the typhoon just passing by so I get to Manila in the middle of night. Things feel different the second I get off. Everyone from the bathroom attendant to the security guard wants cash me which I haven’t got yet. I have to cab to my hostel and cabs are so sketchy here they take the info of the cab you get in just to be safe.

I’m here for work before play and dad’s office is in Tondo, one of the worst neighborhoods in Manila apparently. Somebody compared it to what the Bronx in New York would be. And not wanting to be far from the office I get myself a nice hostel right in the middle of the ghetto. And it really is nice. As the cabbie takes me further in I’m wondering what I got myself booked in to but the place has to be one of the nicest in the neighborhood. It’s more of a guesthouse really. Six floors with a decent view and pool on the rooftop. It’s a real character house with what looks like Spanish inspiration. With a big locked gate out front that was key.

Traffic here is insane. If there are rules nobody follows them. They have these big jeeps called ‘jeepneys’ everywhere which are there version of city buses except privately owned and they are all over the road stopping anywhere they like. On top of that there are ‘tricycles’ which are just motorcycles with a makeshift side cart. Tons of them and just as much of a pain in the ass. It takes forever to get anywhere and Manila is spread out. I once saw a kid in a car that had driving school signs over it and I had to laugh. There’s a sky train of sorts but it’s limited.

Getting to know my neighborhood it’s got a feel to it alright. And it’s usually not a safe one, especially at night when my hostel owner suggested I not go out and during. That made me curious though so I had to go see what was going on. Once was enough for an evening stroll. The whole week or so I was there I saw honestly only one other white person in that part of town. People usually stare at me and give me this look like what is this guy doing here. I’ve made some friends in Manila and when I tell them where I live they are always shocked and ask why.

I was the only one who stayed at my hostel except for one other girl, and ya she robbed me. It’s a long story but I left my things alone while I was in the shower and magically the money I had hidden away was gone. She was a pro though, claiming to be a doctor and working for Lonely Planet (I checked she doesn’t). I was ready to leave it and move on as I had no proof and it could have been somebody else who worked at the hostel I thought. But Chit, the old colonel who’s a business partner of my dad’s wasn’t having it. Police were pretty useless though.

Ready to move on again I move to a nice new hostel in Malate and what do you know the thief is staying there too. I let the manager know what happened and she had suspected her of stealing there too. And she was already accused once at the last hostel. I catch her lying a bunch to my face and I nail her for it. She ends up lying more and leaves the hostel because I was making things uncomfortable for her, sorry about that. Anyways again nothing I can do right? Well another guy at the hostel who went away for a while travelling in the Philippines ends up being robbed by her in another city. But the police couldn’t help him there either as he didn’t witness it.

Not much I can do and I hate to keep thinking about it anyways. Live and learn. I’ve been to Boracay and back which was a nice change of pace. One of the best beaches in the world. I’ll get to that next time.

Funny as I write this not an hour ago somebody on the street tried to steal from me. I’ve heard about this one too actually. A guy in front of me keeps pestering me for some change or something speaking Tagalog while he has a few buddies around me. He keeps me distracted but I move fast when I’m walking through sketchy areas so I don’t give anyone a real good chance. That’s when I feel a tug at my backpack. I spin around ready for some action but two guys split instantly. I pull my bag in front and see that it’s unzipped. That’s when I return my rage to the guy in front who takes a seat with his hands out to the sides playing innocent. I know he in on it but he didn’t touch me so what can I do but yell at him. You’d think with a security guard in front of nearly every establishment with a shotgun this stuff would be rare but it’s not.

It’s easy to let your guard down when you’re approached so often by somebody wanting money or selling something. I’m confident that nobody will ever get my money on the streets though unless they’ve got a weapon. I wouldn’t leave my cash in such an easy place to get to.

So I've been in Shanghai for nearly 3 weeks now and it's been great. So good it's been really hard to leave actually. The trip here was good on the bus except for the fact that my bed was right beside a disgustingly smelly bathroom that slapped me in the face every time the door was opened and closed. Still better than sitting on the train all night.

I've stayed here longer than I thought but I've just made too many good friends here and got too comfortable. It's so different from Beijing. Beijing has so many historical and cultural sights and there really aren't that many here, but that's alright. By far the most modern city in mainland China, Shanghai feels a lot more like Hong Kong. But it's not without its sights.

The Bund is really beautiful, especially during the night all lite up. It's a harbor with skyscrapers on one side and colonial buildings lining the other. It's the most obligatory sight in Shanghai and for a reason. Took some good pictures of it you'll have to check out.

My hostel is perfectly located just off the main drag here and right beside a metro station. It's only a few years old and still really cheap with everything you could ask for. I made a bunch of good Chinese friends here and we end up hanging out quite a bit. They speak really good English too so it makes me lazy with boning up on my mandarin.

Shanghai also is pretty bad with the scams. Probably the worst I've been to so far, and convincing. The main one similar to Beijing with the whole 'I want to practice my English with you lets go to a tea ceremony' and hit you with extortionate prices scam was very convincing. I just got in town and hadn't checked out local scams and the first girl to approach me should have been an actress. She was really beautiful so I of course heard her out. She was telling me how she was a traveller from Lijiang. What do you know I've been there, so we talked about it. She had her story straightened out. It wasn't until she suggested we grab a drink that my spider sense finally went off. I asked her where. She said casually this place looks good. But when I told her I wanted to continue to walk and we could go to another place further on she wasn't interested. It was fairly clear at that point.

It's unfortunate that you have to treat most people who approach you on the street as if they would take all your money from you if you'd let them, but it's necessary at times. Mostly in the big cities, but not in Hong Kong actually. I've had no trouble here. Also badgering you on Nanjing street (main drag) are guys trying to sell you anything from 'copy watch, copy handbag' to massages or *gasp* massage sex. They always think they have me with the last one which is really funny. Do I really look like a John? Beat it.

The scams make for interesting stories but that's really not what these cities are about. I've met so many cool genuine local people and beautiful local sights. We have a nice kitchen at the hostel and a few nights a friend cooked a bunch of us a big dinner which is always great. Another night this local girl I met took me to the carnival, it was practically dead so we had it to ourselves which was actually really fun.
Shanghai's an impressive metropolis so just walking amongst its sprawling modern skyscrapers is fun day. The nightlife is really alive here as well. Meeting so many people we can go out any day of the week and there is something going on.

China celebrated its mid-autumn festival last week which seems sort of like a thanksgiving to me. Families get together and eat a ton of moon cakes. Shanghai was flooded and walking around was a nightmare. It might be mid-autumn but it's still hot as blazes most days, hovering somewhere in the low to mid 30's. I'm really looking forward to some cooler weather. Maybe give my flip flops and sandal tan a break.

Last week I also made a day trip to Suzhou which is a city just outside Shanghai famous for these rock gardens. I actually didn't really care for them, they seemed really artificial and not that special especially for the price. But considering some of the amazing sights I've recently seen I'm probably a tougher critic. It probably didn't help that it was 35 ish degrees out and I was exhausted from not sleeping due to the loudest snorer I've ever heard in my life. Thanks old Chinese man sleeping in the bunk below me. After the second night I had to wake him up and tell him, his insane snoring grunts kept jarring me awake. It was either that or put my pillow over his face and help him into an eternal slumber. The cool part of the trip was actually the high speed train. We got to speeds over 300 km/hr and it was smoother than the slower trains. Definitely comes at a premium though, but was worth it for the short distance.

Having such an amazing time in China I've actually really considered teaching English here for a while. Shanghai seemed like the perfect place for me to do it. So put my ear to the ground and made some friends who could help me. Trying to find a place who might want me in 3 months or so I made a call to a place on Friday and they wanted me to start on Monday. I didn't think I could find a blazer with patches on the elbows that quick so I had to turn it down. Anyways good to know I could find something. It was the beginning of the school year though which I just realized so that was part of the reason why jobs were aplenty. Looking forward to it.

I also met up with a woman who owned a hostel I stayed at in Lijiang who said she could possibly help me find a job in Shanghai as that's her home. She invited me out to an amazing Japanese BBQ dinner with some of her friends, a few who were university teachers. So that was great.

I decided I wanted to buy an external hard drive and asked around where to go. Xu Jia Hui is a massive mall of electronics, there’s actually several of these malls side by side. Anyways lots of options and plenty of haggling to be done. What's real and what's not? I don't know but I didn't go to the shop with the big sign that said iPhone 5. I settled on a drive I found at a vender that seemed like a good price with a good name brand I know. But I plug the thing in and my virus software nearly overloads. Thanks buddy! Good thing I forgot to ask for a receipt. I didn't realize at the time I was going back to Hong Kong, where electronics are by far the cheapest. Ah well.

I was actually just planning my trip out of China and to Vietnam when I got an e-mail from my pops saying he could use a hand with a few things business related in Manila so I jumped on that opportunity. Manila wasn't on the schedule but it is now. Originally I was going to train to Nanning and hop over to Vietnam from there but instead caught the next train to Shenzhen. A town just outside HK where you pass through immigrations and customs. 19 hours later and one hard sleeper top bunk later and I'm there. Flights are a lot cheaper from HK and I like it here so I'm happy to be here. Regardless of how much more expensive it is. I only had a few days left on the last visa extension so I had to get out of mainland China soon. Luckily HK offers free and instant 90 tourist visa's upon entry. Vietnam will wait for me.

Hong Kong will be different this time around. I have a few friends here this time so I'm excited to see them. Nicholas, who I met in Shangrila, is a really busy but managed to take me out to an excellent dinner last night at a popular spot, good thing he made reservations. He treated me to some Hong Kong goose and other delicious plates. What's better the Hong Kong goose or the Beijing duck you’re thinking right? I don't know they're both good. Anyways great to see him.

I'm staying on Hong Kong Island this time, and the hostel is a big improvement. I mentioned the building I stayed at last time to Nick and he cringed. It's apparently notorious. So thanks for the suggestion buddy. I'm just getting over another cold. Incredibly frustrating but what can you do. I don't know if it's the constant big jumps in temperature from the heat to AC or what that's doing it but hopefully this is the last one for a while. Anyways off to Manila soon and enjoying HK in the meantime. Hope things are going as well for everyone back home as they are over here.

Want to talk? Get on Skype, kurtthiele is my username. I'm online most mornings which will be in the evening for you being 15 hours ahead of time.

EDIT UPDATED ***

• **So I totally forgot about 3 cities I went to. With my memory that’s what happens when I wait to long to write something down.

After Chengdu I wanted to go directly to Jiuzhaiguo. Jiuzhaiguo is a really small town but really famous for having one of the most beautiful national parks in China. Winging things as I usually do I try to get a bus ticket only a few days ahead of time and of course the one bus that goes there is booked up for the next couple of days. So I do a little research and find out theres another small town nearby called Songpan, not much going on there except some horseback treks. But I can leave there the next day. It’s about 7 hours by bus and only a few hours from Jiuzhaiguo so I figure I’ll spend a night there and leave the next day to Jiuzhaiguo.

Well there definitely wasn’t much going on there. But it’s still interesting to go to the unpopular tourist destinations sometimes just to see what things are like. 24 hours is for sure enough though. The city still has it’s city walls surrounding it’s city center which is pretty cool. The main little drag inside is nearly all under re-construction. Much like a lot of China trying to cling on to it’s past architecture that hadn’t been destroyed. It’s getting back up in to the mountains and getting cold again quickly. I spend most of my time exploring the backstreets and whatever looks interesting. The hostel is as basic as it gets offering nearly no services except a bed. And the old lady running things speaks zero English.

I get my breakfast the next morning which is this type of bread which has some meat and chive looking vegetables in it which is usually good, except I’m still in Sichuan and it has this spice in it that numbs my toungue. After one last stroll I hop on the bus and am surrounded by a bunch of older Chinese guys wearing army fatigues (pretty sure they aren’t in the army) drinking (and stinking of) baijuo. For whatever reason they are really interested in me and keep asking how much everything I have costs. Privacy is no concern as everything I do they watch intently. I tried to watch a movie on my laptop but I couldn’t get into it with about 5 of them trying to watch it too.

Anyways I get to Jiuzhaiguo finally and the hostel is pretty good. I get settled in and get all the info I need for the park. It’s the most expensive site I’ve gone too with entry being over $300 RMB. You can spend the day there and not see it all so I plan on going early the next day. For now I just walk around town a bit to check it out. I meet some cool Korean guys who speak good English so we go out for a bite.
I get up around sunrise the next day and head to the park. There is no beating the traffic though. Mass amounts of Chinese tourists. You have to take a bus inside the park to get around certain areas it’s just so big. I spend about 9 hours there and still don’t see probably about a third of it. It is really beautiful. I’m not sure I’ve seen clearer or more colorful water. And not only that but big and little waterfalls everwhere you look. I think it would be better to go in the falls though with all the leaves changing color. That day was also my biggest photo shoot day. I don’t want to even think about how many Chinese girls photo albums I’ll be in. “Hello, picture?” me “Sure.” Then it’s like ok here hold my baby.

I plan on leaving the next day but the bus is booked. So I have to stay an extra day. Which works out well because I get food poisoning for the second time. It’s painful and drains all the energy out of me but I must be getting good at being sick because I recover mostly in 2 days.
Day 3 and all better or not I’m determined to leave. I want to go to Xi’an but there is no direct transportation. I have to take an 8-9 hour bus to a city called Guangyuan on the route from Chengdu. Guangyuan's claim to fame is the fact that the first and only female emperor was born there. Hours to burn we walk to a Pagoda on a hill in the middle of town. There was a couple in my room on the same route so we team up a bit. We get there and a luck has it there is only one bed left on the train so I grab it and they wait for the next train. ****

FINISH EDIT***

It's been too long since I've blogged or even journaled for that matter. And with my memory the details can get lost. I've got weeks of journaling to catch up on, but hopefully this rough go over will jog my memory for when I tackle that afterwards.

When I last left off I was somewhere in Chengdu. Home of spicey food and spice girls (seriously they call them that[la mei zi], the good looking ones who are hot tempered anyways). I had a good time but had to move on to Xi'an. China's oldest city (formerly Chang'an and the world's most prosperous city). No shortage of culture and museums to see here. I was lucky enough to get myself a hard sleeper which I was so happy about and had a really good trip. I booked a hostel that was really close the train station and is counted as one of the top 10 hostels in the world by hostelling international. It was a really beautiful setting and still cheap. I'll be putting up some pictures, it's called 7 sages. A friend I made in Lijiang was already there and offered to meet me at the train station, which was nice because it always sucks getting to a new city with no map trying to figure out where to go. I make a point of only using cabs as a last resort and have only used a handful when neccesary. This place was walking distance though.

Luggage dropped off and showered up we head out right away. The girl I met had lived in Xi'an for a while so she really knows her way around which is obviously handy. I was given the tour over a few days and can't remember what order we saw things in but we covered a lot walking around every day. The drum and bell tower were pretty cool, mainly for the view really as you can get a good 360 view of the city. The muslim district was really popular and busy, we stopped off for some pretty good eats that were different and strolled through the big market. Mainly though it's just a lot of walking through popular areas and shopping districts.

She has to take off after a few days so I skip the tour as usual and make my own way to see the Terracotta warriors which is about 2 hours outside of town. After a quick bus ride I'm there and decide to see it backwards as lonely planet suggests. This was you start with the small pits and see the main one of three last. The smallest one is for the generals and officers I learn from one of the few english signs. The first two pits are cool but it's really the third where you feel the awe. Many of the clay warriors are destroyed or still buried but there are enough standing for you to imagine what it would have looked like when they originally built it. It's a combination of waiting and muscling your way in to the front to get a good picture of the pit but it's worth it. Over 2200 years old and nearly 10,000 warriors strong it really is a sight to behold and gives you a glimpse of a different time. With no tour I manage to run through it all a little faster than most probably and just as well as it's hot as blazes out as usual. Also I'm starting to not feel so well.

I wake up the next day with a full on Chinese cold. Though just as with Chinese food I guess call it a cold over here. I'm guessing the culprit is the absolutely freezing air conditioner in our room that is aimed right at my bed. And here they hardly give you a thin sheet to cover a man no taller than 5'8 I would say. With my train ticket booked I have to leave sick. I bought my ticket 4 days earlier and even then I could only get a hard seat. I wasn't looking forward to it. It's a 15 hour train ride if I remember right, and it was rough. The only comfort was seeing how uncomfortable the people who were standing were. Although it did get old having them lean on me as I had the aisle seat. Familiar with the over night seat I was still hardly able to get maybe an hour or two of shuteye.

The hostel which advertises being able to meet you at the train station is unable to for whatever reason so I have to make my own way to the hostel which is not close. I get some quick rough bus directions on the phone (which thank god I have now). As usual though I meet some nice younger chinese people chat me up on the train and help me out with directions a bit. It's a 30 minute bus ride and I finally recognize my stop. I grab a few supplies, check in, shower up and then hibernate for a few days in bed. It's several days before I see much more than a few blocks from my hostel.

Once I feel better though I book a tour of the great wall though the hostel at a friend and bunkmates suggestion. A belgium guy who speaks real good english, actually lived in Canada for a year so being able to use slang again is real nice. I never do tours but this one takes you to a really quiet area of the wall where chances are there are little to no other tourists. It's actually a 2 hour bus but we get breakfast and lunch included. It's a blue sky day which is rare in beijing I hear because there usually a nice layer of smog due to the high pollution. This makes the hike on the wall really sweaty. And ya it is a hike. There are some points you almost need to climb up. Wearing sandals wasn't a good choice. This area was restored to a degree but we walk to a point and have some free time so I continue on for half and hour and get to the area that wasn't restored and you can tell the difference. It's crumbling in areas and overgrown all over on top.

All in all it's a pretty cool experience. I learn it's around 6000 km's long and get to see a few pretty long runs but it's actually really hilly so hard to see too far in the distance. Every so many kilometers there is a post where a general would be or an area where they would light smoke signals identifying how many pesky mongolians were coming. Two wonders of the world in just over a week, that'll be hard to top. It's brutally hot and after 3 hours everyones spent. We get a really good meal at some local chinese womans house and bus back in to town.

I relax a bit the next few days with some friends and check out some hutongs (traditional alleys) which can be pretty neat. Looking in to my second visa extension here I go to the local PSB and learn all the hoops you need to jump through. On top of the normal residence permit and forms and pictures etc. they want you to have a chinese bank account with a bunch of cash in it. So that's a pain but I get it done. Compared to Shangrila where that's not neccesary and it only takes an hour, here it takes a week. So I'm stuck in Beijing for another week.

Rested up I set out early to check out Tienanmen square, The forbidden city and Jingshan park which are all next to each other so I figured I'd knock em all down in a day. I was pretty tired afterwards but I got it done. Chairman Mao's tomb is actually right near the square but only open on certain days, apparently that's a popular attraction but I couldn't check it out that day. The forbidden city is massive. Peasants in the old days were cut down for even looking directly at it close up. Now it's flooded with tourists. And it really is a city in a city. It's cool to walk around but there are practically no buildings you can go inside so that sucks. Rather you can peak inside through the gated front door which is a pain to wrestle in to get a view of. You go further but it's more of the same huge buildings with some fancy thrones inside. I'm pretty tired and hot after the forbidden city but head up to the peak of Jingshan park anyways because I heard you can get a great view of the forbidden city. You can but it's a pretty smoggy day so that kind of kills my pictures.

Another night we go to Ho Hai which is a pretty cool pub district around lake. There really is more pubs than you can count and they all give you the pitch to come in. Pretty cool atmosphere. Another day I go to Lama temple which the famous temple here. I've seen lots of temples but this ones close so I go anyways. All pretty standard except for the gigantic 85 foot buddha.

I've definately had more attempts to be scammed here than anywhere else. Luckily I always make sure I read up on what the local scams are and am leary. The most popular is a cute girl or two coming up to you and asking you if you speak english then telling you they'd like to practice their english with you. Seems harmless enough until they drag you to a tea house for a spot of tea that costs you over $1000 RMB. Since I know their pitch though I can usually have a laugh about it and tell them to beat it. Funny thing is they seems sometimes offended that I know what they are up to. Another one that sounds less bad but is supposively pretty annoying is when an 'art student' convinces you come check their art and really pressure you to buy their overpriced works. I've had enough ask me to check it out but have never gone, though I am curious.

Those experiences aside I've met tonnes of really friendly and cool local people here who've invited me out a lot and always insist on paying or pay before you've even finished eating.

The other day I went to the 798 art district which was pretty neat and something I don't think you'd see in China everyday. It's a massive art district in what seems to be a former industrial area which makes for a unique setting. It's all or mostly contemporary so you see some stuff that is pretty out there. Too bad like most of the interesting temples and that, you can't take pictures inside.

Beijing's huge but there aren't as many skyscrapers as I thought there would be. It's alot more widespread, but quickly becoming more modern I hear. There's still a lot I haven't seen here and I can't see it all but I'll check out a few more sights before I leave. I'm excited to go to Shanghai, lot's of ex-pats there and really modern I hear so it sounds different. I leave monday. Couldn't get a sleeper train and I'm not sitting all night again so I opted for a sleeper bus. Might be a little longer but at least I'm laying down.

So I'm in Chengdu.

I think when I left off I was heading out of Lijiang to Qiaotou to hike tiger leaping gorge. Which I tried to do, but I got there late as there was a huge traffic jam with all the road construction. The current roads are terrible. Also when I got to Qiaotou late it was raining pretty hard and really steady. After getting a little lost I decided to just catch the next bus to Shangrila and do tiger leaping gorge another day. Turns out another 2 guys had the same plan as me as I met them in the next mini bus to Shangrila. One guy was from Hong Kong and the other from Singapore. Both spoke mandarin, singaporean, really good english and the one guy from HK cantonese. Really cool guys and we hung out the whole time in Shangrila checking out the sights.

I really liked Shangrila, similar old town feel to Lijiang but way less touristy. The food was great. We ate at the same tibetan restaurant 3 times. We checked out the biggest monastary in the Yunnan province boasting 600 monks. At the center of the town was a really neat temple too where you can really notice the 3000+ elevation climbing the steps. The best sight had the be the Shaxi snow mountain where we took a cablecar to the top at 4500 meters. Amazing amazing panoramics. We soaked it in for hours checking out the different views. On a clear day you can see everest they say. We had a nice day but still some clouds.

I managed to get my visa extended in less than an hour in Shangrila. People told me it was a good place to get a Visa extension but I had no idea. A quick registration at the police station, 160RMB later and I can stay another 30 days. I also grabbed a chinese sim card in Shangrila with the help of my chinese/singaporean buddies, unlocked my iphone after a painful days work, and voila I've got a phone number over here. Oh ya it got really, surprisingly cold here actually. The one time I checked after seeing my breathe it was 6 degrees. A shock after just getting used to sweating 24/7 in the +30's.

After a quick 4-5 days in Shangrila we all headed out. I was told the route I wanted to take north to Chengdu was closed to foreigners and didn't want to chance waiting it out to reopen so I left to Tiger Leaping gorge with plan B in mind. I get to the train station bright and early and the train that runs every 30 mins in the direction I need it to is sold out until 2:30. So much for my early start on the hike. I make it in to Qiaotou to drop off my bags and hit the trail by the crack of 5pm. Hoping to get a good dent out of the hike I really don't. I make it to the first guesthouse which is only just over an hour in. Naxi guesthouse. I debated on moving on while there was still some light but the next hostel was 2 hours away and this guesthouse was beautiful. Tempted to move on I reluctantly stay and I'm glad I did. It got pitch black when the sunset over the massive mountains and the trail is dangerous in many places during daylight. I settle down to some delicious local food and share a few beer with some travellers, more germans what do you know.

I wake up around 7 and hit the trail around 8. Just in time to catch the sunrise which is amazingly beautiful with the mountains and mist rolling through it. I set a good pace and am huffing and puffing from the get go. Energized by how beautiful it all is and always wanting to see what is around the next corner. The next corner happened to have a few people resting and a lady selling all kinds of supplies. Pushing all kinds of things on me I tell her to wait a minute in chinese and the other chinese laugh. She's selling me chocolate one second and marijuana the next. I can't help but laugh, she doesn't join in. I meet a couple of young guys from the Sichuan province who want to team up for the rest of the hike, why not. Turns out they have plans to head back to Lijiang right after the hike as well so teaming up works out.

The views just get better and better. We get to one point that's a great picture spot. There is of course some lady there who wants a few RMb to let us take pictures there. The other guys don't want to pay and it's ridiculous but I don't want to miss the opportunity because I was too cheap to fork over a few cents, and I don't feel like wrestling her for it. One of my buddies in Shangrila after a similar occasion told me 'China is the most capitalist communist country' and I feel it ringing true. It's funny too my lonely planet book is 2 years old and almost everything in it is more expensive than when they listed the price. China is turning in to a hot tourist destination I guess and they are 'capitalizing' on it.

I digress. TLG is so beautiful I'd love to do it again, and on a less tight schedule. Sadly, and I hate to remind myself of it, at the end of the hike you can hike down to the point at the water where the elusive tiger is said to have lept. I of course had to skip this as it takes 2-3 hours and we only had 45 minutes until I was told the only bus leaves to Lijiang. Should I have stayed the extra 24 hours to go down? I don't want to think about it. Anyways my glutes felt the hike for days but it was spectacular. So glad I didn't skip it. The weather was great, no rain and fairly clear skies.

We get back to Lijiang just in time for the start of the torch festival. Where you guessed it they light up torches accross the city. Lijiang, which is normally crazy busy is now even more insane than normal. It's fun though. The guys are excited to take me to a Sichuan restaurant to introduce me to some of their favorite cuisine. It's pretty spicey. But not as spicey as the stuff I've had here in Sichuan today actually. I aim to leave right away the next day on an 9 hour bus ride to Panzhihua to catch the 12 hour train to Chengdu, but surprise I sleep in. I was out before my head hit the pillow the night before. So I book a ticket for the day after.

In the middle of a birthday call to my dad round noon I get invited by some old friends from the hostel to go to a a local Naxi girl's house for some hotpot. Can't resist that and have to cut the call short (sorry dad). Her place is beautiful. Both parents and her sister are doctors. Graciously I'm offered a light lunch with all kinds of fruit before a big hotpot dinner. They teach me some chinese domino type games and we bust out the baijou. Dinner is great. There is one big chicken foot in the pot and I stretch my chop sticks out for it. When in Rome. Unfortunately or Fortunately I get tapped on the arm and drop the slippery fella. Afterwards we head out for some KTV. I've been in China for over a month so it's a long time coming. It's a real nice place and actually lot's of fun despite the lack of english songs. How many Michael Jackson songs can I actually sing? Not many it turns out.

Up late and up early I'm on the bus the next morning with a headache. It's ok though the bus has no AC and it's really hot out. About an hour out from the train station we break down and what turns out to be lots of time for the train is now barely any. I'm lucky to get a seat. It's vertical and tight though so sleeping is nearly impossible. 12 hours and 2 bags under my eyes later I'm in Chengdu. Oh ya the train ran out of food, nice. Chengdu seems to be really popular as every half decent hostel is booked. I ran in to 2 chinese girls from my last hostel on the same route so we teamed up on the train. We get ourselves in to a cheap 2 star hotel and just glad to have beds. A quick shower and meal later and we're in bed. We hop over to another hostel the next night but it's even worse. Pretty expensive here too, the most expensive since Hong Kong. Anways we catch some sights. We go to a temple that honors some old heroes of the area, many of which I actually recognize and know from video games and movies which is pretty cool. Next day we mostly cruise the city and check out some small sights. It's been raining lots here so walking has been minimal.

Yesterday we went to the Panda research center. Can't skip that. Less than 2000 of them left alive apparently. The red ones are really neat, look like racoons. We make it in time for their breakfast where they are active and not sleeping like most of the rest of their time. Lots of laughs to be had as they are so lazy. Mostly laying back and ripping bamboo trees down on to their bellies where they can munch bamboo leaves in comfort.

Today one of the girls I'm with calls up a classmate who lives here and he shows us around a bit. We check out a museum and he takes us out for Sichuan hotpot. I ask him if he likes spice and he says he can't live without it. It's hot alright. The kind of spicey that hits you in the throat and makes you cough. Apparently they add something to numb your toungue so you can eat more spicey food. I sample the cow's kidneys and couldn't pass on the pigs brain. I didn't think it would be so bad but I was barely able to swallow the brain. Spicey brain. On the other hand the sweet and sour pork, which I can ask for in chinese, is excellent. Before I never liked rice, I actually look forward to it here. It just goes better with the food.

Where will I go next. I'm not so sure. I'll decide tomorrow.

Check out the new pics!