My folks (and Boit) came and went last week. Four days in Beijing, with me accompanying (and staying at the Red Wall Hotel with) them for three. Their tour package pretty much took us to the same places I went to in 2001, except maybe for the crystal and cloisonné factory (Point. Less.). We barely climbed the Badaling part of the Great Wall. Boit was bitching a lot about the tea ceremony, among other things.
Spent our whole free day in WangFuJing, where Ma got me a new shirt, jeans and winter clothes. Still need a new pair of gloves, though. They also brought me a bunch of stuff from back home, but my favorite is the CD of pics and videos of the kids.
They should be in Bejing by now. Hope they get me a digicam.
Sep 14, 2004
Shang Danged Vacation, Part Two
Sept. 3: Rode the 6:16AM non-express bus back to Guilin. The bus conductor didn’t seem to want us to get off when we saw a much faster bus that passed by. Got an upper-deck seat on the train and chatted with a 74-year-old lady who sat with us. Both actions didn’t last long. As soon as we reached our first stop we were booted out of our seats. Turns out the train ticket was good ‘til we reached Nanning (the transit point to Kunming), but not the seats. Luckily we found some on the lower deck, but I thought this is the last time we ask Lisa for anything. The shang dang streak continued when, while killing time at the local KFC in Nanning, my wallet was stolen, and D realized that we left the cakes and candies gift bag on the train! This has been one expensive stopover. Good service from the hotel receptionist and taxi driver, though.
Sept. 4: At 6:20AM I woke up to pee. An hour later I woke up, period. An hour after that our train arrived in Kunming. An hour later we were panicking because we had to choose between a 40-hour train ride from Kunming to Beijing or a 3-hour plane ride. The choice was easier for me since I was the only one that brought a passport. Finally I got the plane ticket (borrowing money from D) while D and Mens bought a train ticket to Xian, about 5 hours less than the Kunming-Beijing trip.
We barely made it to the a10AM bus ride to Dali. D, on the other hand, barely survived the bus ride. Some of the roads we so bumpy we saw a passenger on another bus puking amidst the dust storm the buses were kicking up. Five hours later we were at Dali. Two hours later we reached the Guesthouse. Had lasagna and cream of potato soup for dinner.
Sept. 5: I’m broke. Losing the wallet and buying the plane ticket wiped me out. Had to borrow money from D and Mens to pay for the tour and the guesthouse.
Breakfast buffet wasn’t bad at the Guesthouse. Accompanied by the tour guide and 2 recent graduates from Bejing Geological University (across the street from BLCU’s South Gate), the whole day was spent touring Dali. Old Bai minority houses. Bai ceremonies onstage. A spectacular glass house in a SuanNan fishing village with Japanese European influences. Traditional (read: handmade and expensive) tie-dyeing. A short boat ride to Putuo island, with its Buddhist temple situated in the middle (almost) of Ear-Shaped Lake. Lunch at GuanYuan village. Photo-shoot (and costume wearing for D) at the TianJing Pavillion. And a final boat ride across the lake back to the city of Dali-- only to get on another boat to witness cormorant fishing. The birds were tied by their necks to keep them from swallowing the fish they catch. Freaked D out when they started jumping onto the boat. The drizzling didn’t help, either. Dinner at eight.
Sept. 6: Got on the 10AM train to Kunming. We sat with a family of three. Their 19-month baby was exceptionally bright. Passed the time doing animal sketches for her. Reminded me of my niece Jasmine.
At 4:40PM I parted ways with D and Mens as they caught the time to Xian. I walked around downtown Kunming (used a Hotel bathroom and had fastfood for dinner), killing time before taking a cab to the airport. Flight was delayed by 40 minutes.
Upon arriving in the Bejing (around half-past midnight) I almost rode a gypsy cab with a bunch of teenagers who thought picking up strangers at the airport would make for a good living after college. One of them even asked me for some pesos to add to her collection. I passed on both the request and the ride when they wanted more than 60RMB. Ironically I ended up paying 83 RMB for a cab, though I would’ve paid 10RMB less had I not asked for “fa piao,” which the driver seemed to interpret as “pseudo lotto ticket.” Sigh. Shang danged at 2:30AM. The only pleasant surprise I received was the newly cleaned bathroom at my dorm, as well as a replaced toilet seat. You take your bright sides where you can.
Sept. 4: At 6:20AM I woke up to pee. An hour later I woke up, period. An hour after that our train arrived in Kunming. An hour later we were panicking because we had to choose between a 40-hour train ride from Kunming to Beijing or a 3-hour plane ride. The choice was easier for me since I was the only one that brought a passport. Finally I got the plane ticket (borrowing money from D) while D and Mens bought a train ticket to Xian, about 5 hours less than the Kunming-Beijing trip.
We barely made it to the a10AM bus ride to Dali. D, on the other hand, barely survived the bus ride. Some of the roads we so bumpy we saw a passenger on another bus puking amidst the dust storm the buses were kicking up. Five hours later we were at Dali. Two hours later we reached the Guesthouse. Had lasagna and cream of potato soup for dinner.
Sept. 5: I’m broke. Losing the wallet and buying the plane ticket wiped me out. Had to borrow money from D and Mens to pay for the tour and the guesthouse.
Breakfast buffet wasn’t bad at the Guesthouse. Accompanied by the tour guide and 2 recent graduates from Bejing Geological University (across the street from BLCU’s South Gate), the whole day was spent touring Dali. Old Bai minority houses. Bai ceremonies onstage. A spectacular glass house in a SuanNan fishing village with Japanese European influences. Traditional (read: handmade and expensive) tie-dyeing. A short boat ride to Putuo island, with its Buddhist temple situated in the middle (almost) of Ear-Shaped Lake. Lunch at GuanYuan village. Photo-shoot (and costume wearing for D) at the TianJing Pavillion. And a final boat ride across the lake back to the city of Dali-- only to get on another boat to witness cormorant fishing. The birds were tied by their necks to keep them from swallowing the fish they catch. Freaked D out when they started jumping onto the boat. The drizzling didn’t help, either. Dinner at eight.
Sept. 6: Got on the 10AM train to Kunming. We sat with a family of three. Their 19-month baby was exceptionally bright. Passed the time doing animal sketches for her. Reminded me of my niece Jasmine.
At 4:40PM I parted ways with D and Mens as they caught the time to Xian. I walked around downtown Kunming (used a Hotel bathroom and had fastfood for dinner), killing time before taking a cab to the airport. Flight was delayed by 40 minutes.
Upon arriving in the Bejing (around half-past midnight) I almost rode a gypsy cab with a bunch of teenagers who thought picking up strangers at the airport would make for a good living after college. One of them even asked me for some pesos to add to her collection. I passed on both the request and the ride when they wanted more than 60RMB. Ironically I ended up paying 83 RMB for a cab, though I would’ve paid 10RMB less had I not asked for “fa piao,” which the driver seemed to interpret as “pseudo lotto ticket.” Sigh. Shang danged at 2:30AM. The only pleasant surprise I received was the newly cleaned bathroom at my dorm, as well as a replaced toilet seat. You take your bright sides where you can.
Shang Danged Vacation, Part One
Presenting my trip down south of China with Diana and Mendel. Stops included Guilin, Yangshuo, Nanning, Kunming and Dali. One word to describe the experience? Expensive. The summary, please:
Aug. 30: Didn’t sleep. Figured I’d catch up on it on the 26-hour train ride to Guilin. Murphy’s Law moments included taxi driver dropping us at the wrong side to the train station, and our hard-sleeper beds not being in the same nook. And it’s only 9AM.
Aug. 31: Woke up at 6:45 AM. Backache from bad bed made for bad sleep. Dreamed that a bunch of comics I sent to the US got sent back to me. Chatted with a Guilin girl named Zho Wen Juan. She offered me part of her breakfast of egg and hotdog (instant noodle additives, apparently).
Upon arriving in Guilin (and an expensive lunch, a first of several seemingly “shang dang” moments we’d be experiencing) we got on an express bus to our main destination, Yangshuo. The place was incredible. West Street was embraced by hills and mountains, seemingly enveloping the town. I’m guessing the street was named as such to cater to the mostly Western clientele, as the cafes and shops would seem to indicate. Lots of cool DVDs, but a bit pricey. We stayed at Lisa’s Guesthouse in a quadruple-bedroom. Lisa herself reminded me of Mary “Rosebud” Ong, sans bizarre lifestyle.
Dinner was at the Stone Roses Café. The free internet service (offered by many of the eating establishments) barely made up for my sub-par sirloin steak and D’s shepherd’s pie. After dinner, cheap gelato (cheaper than Beijing’s, anyway) and an evening constitution I went back to Lisa’s while D and Mens had a massage.
Sept. 1: Breakfast at Lisa’s. Shang danged again. We had yet to experience a good meal. Afterwards we biked with our tour guide Sofia to Moon Hill. I rode solo while D and Mens got a tandem bike. D, for the most part, was scared silent since she didn’t know how to ride a bike. After switching to (and enduring) a scorching 2-hour raft ride (plus some more biking afterwards) I regretting not putting on sunblock.
Lunch was at Sophia’s “family friend’s” restaurant. Methinks the family business has more than just tour guiding involved. Afterwards we detoured to cave for a guided spelunking trip. The brochure said we’d get to experience swimming in clear water (as opposed to the mud holes they also featured), but didn’t say (and should have) we had to pay the whole 160RMB (we only paid half) to reach it. After the cave “tourist trap” we still had some energy left to climb up Moon Hill. The view from the top (and subsequent photo shoots) was worth the 10RMB, and, unlike the hill, much more satisfying.
It was getting late so we hastily biked back to Lisa’s. At night. With bikes that neither had bells nor reflector strips. Couldn’t talk much during the experience since I had to concentrate on the road and avoid accidentally swallowing bugs.
Speaking of dinner, we (as suggested by the 2002 edition of Lonely Planet) went and had beer fish (a popular West Street menu item) and taro balls at Susanna’s. Former bad, latter okay.
Sept. 2: Lunch at the Pizzeria finally broke our shang dang food cycle. Almost. We ordered too much food this time, thus shang danging ourselves. The whole morning was downtime ‘til the 3PM boat ride on Li River. It was great. Feet in the water, wind and too much sunblock on my face, giving me that Kabuki-foundation-make-up look. It kinda made up for the bumpy tricycle ride to and from the boat. You think horse riding hurts the nuts? Try their tricycles if having children isn’t an option for you.
Our final dinner in Yangshuo consisted of roast chicken at Café China. Good stuff. Afterwards we went pasalubong shopping. Cakes and candies galore.
Aug. 30: Didn’t sleep. Figured I’d catch up on it on the 26-hour train ride to Guilin. Murphy’s Law moments included taxi driver dropping us at the wrong side to the train station, and our hard-sleeper beds not being in the same nook. And it’s only 9AM.
Aug. 31: Woke up at 6:45 AM. Backache from bad bed made for bad sleep. Dreamed that a bunch of comics I sent to the US got sent back to me. Chatted with a Guilin girl named Zho Wen Juan. She offered me part of her breakfast of egg and hotdog (instant noodle additives, apparently).
Upon arriving in Guilin (and an expensive lunch, a first of several seemingly “shang dang” moments we’d be experiencing) we got on an express bus to our main destination, Yangshuo. The place was incredible. West Street was embraced by hills and mountains, seemingly enveloping the town. I’m guessing the street was named as such to cater to the mostly Western clientele, as the cafes and shops would seem to indicate. Lots of cool DVDs, but a bit pricey. We stayed at Lisa’s Guesthouse in a quadruple-bedroom. Lisa herself reminded me of Mary “Rosebud” Ong, sans bizarre lifestyle.
Dinner was at the Stone Roses Café. The free internet service (offered by many of the eating establishments) barely made up for my sub-par sirloin steak and D’s shepherd’s pie. After dinner, cheap gelato (cheaper than Beijing’s, anyway) and an evening constitution I went back to Lisa’s while D and Mens had a massage.
Sept. 1: Breakfast at Lisa’s. Shang danged again. We had yet to experience a good meal. Afterwards we biked with our tour guide Sofia to Moon Hill. I rode solo while D and Mens got a tandem bike. D, for the most part, was scared silent since she didn’t know how to ride a bike. After switching to (and enduring) a scorching 2-hour raft ride (plus some more biking afterwards) I regretting not putting on sunblock.
Lunch was at Sophia’s “family friend’s” restaurant. Methinks the family business has more than just tour guiding involved. Afterwards we detoured to cave for a guided spelunking trip. The brochure said we’d get to experience swimming in clear water (as opposed to the mud holes they also featured), but didn’t say (and should have) we had to pay the whole 160RMB (we only paid half) to reach it. After the cave “tourist trap” we still had some energy left to climb up Moon Hill. The view from the top (and subsequent photo shoots) was worth the 10RMB, and, unlike the hill, much more satisfying.
It was getting late so we hastily biked back to Lisa’s. At night. With bikes that neither had bells nor reflector strips. Couldn’t talk much during the experience since I had to concentrate on the road and avoid accidentally swallowing bugs.
Speaking of dinner, we (as suggested by the 2002 edition of Lonely Planet) went and had beer fish (a popular West Street menu item) and taro balls at Susanna’s. Former bad, latter okay.
Sept. 2: Lunch at the Pizzeria finally broke our shang dang food cycle. Almost. We ordered too much food this time, thus shang danging ourselves. The whole morning was downtime ‘til the 3PM boat ride on Li River. It was great. Feet in the water, wind and too much sunblock on my face, giving me that Kabuki-foundation-make-up look. It kinda made up for the bumpy tricycle ride to and from the boat. You think horse riding hurts the nuts? Try their tricycles if having children isn’t an option for you.
Our final dinner in Yangshuo consisted of roast chicken at Café China. Good stuff. Afterwards we went pasalubong shopping. Cakes and candies galore.
Aug 28, 2004
Speaking of Dinner
Just had dinner with Jaycee, his parents, our Japanese roommates and their friends and the HuaQing girls at the Korean BBQ place acr0ss the Panda Restaurant. His family is just so over the top. And they sued Miss Lopez in Saint Jude! How could you not love them?
Updatem (duh)
New faces in the form of Fernan (Manol’s friend) and Jaycee, (friend of Aileen’s friend) have arrived. Old faces KV, David, Joyce, Di and Jella have returned, as well. A new Asian majority has come in the form of the Japanese, as all 3 Pinoys in the dorm (actually the only 3 Pinoys at the moment) have Japanese roommates. Mine speaks passable English (thank God) but no Chinese (so much for practice). Manol also suspects he’s gay, w/c doesn’t surprise me. The guy’s toiletry bag is pink, and I’ve never a man with so many Shiseido products in all my life.
Pinoys attended a dinner hosted by Manol’s dad, who, along with Manol’s uncle and cousin, arrived yesterday. Jay was there and for some reason was giving me a look. Hard to describe, but it’s kinda like the look I’d like to give Belo (not Jarvy--ever again) when he returns. I generally don’t give a bullcrap when a guy I hardly interact with gives me a look, but damn if I don’t get curious about it. I mean, I can’t even remember the last time I saw Jay, so what’s he got to be pissed about?
My relationship with my countrymen in Beijing has taught me that adages, “Familiarity breeds contempt” and, “Absence make the heart grow fonder” hold true. I get butterflies at the thought of the old batch of Dorm 6 (Tin Tin excluded) coming back. Actually I think it’s just Belo. God’s the amount of backbiting that goes on here makes me sick. Don’t tell so-and-so this and Lemme tell you about whasisname that. Sick of it.
Pinoys attended a dinner hosted by Manol’s dad, who, along with Manol’s uncle and cousin, arrived yesterday. Jay was there and for some reason was giving me a look. Hard to describe, but it’s kinda like the look I’d like to give Belo (not Jarvy--ever again) when he returns. I generally don’t give a bullcrap when a guy I hardly interact with gives me a look, but damn if I don’t get curious about it. I mean, I can’t even remember the last time I saw Jay, so what’s he got to be pissed about?
My relationship with my countrymen in Beijing has taught me that adages, “Familiarity breeds contempt” and, “Absence make the heart grow fonder” hold true. I get butterflies at the thought of the old batch of Dorm 6 (Tin Tin excluded) coming back. Actually I think it’s just Belo. God’s the amount of backbiting that goes on here makes me sick. Don’t tell so-and-so this and Lemme tell you about whasisname that. Sick of it.
Aug 9, 2004
And What Have You Been Doing?
Life in Bejing goes on as it goes… and it goes slowly. Formal classes finished more than a month ago. Did a few weeks of teaching and made decent money. (Had to, since I lost a bit of “chedda” from that travel agency fiasco).
At present only me and Manols are the only Pinoys left from the original February-July semester group that still live in Dorm 6. Everybody else moved to apartments outside campus. Suffice to say the inactivity is not as refreshing as one would imagine. Planning another trip to Inner Mongolia for the end of the week, sans third party organizers. After that, who knows?
At present only me and Manols are the only Pinoys left from the original February-July semester group that still live in Dorm 6. Everybody else moved to apartments outside campus. Suffice to say the inactivity is not as refreshing as one would imagine. Planning another trip to Inner Mongolia for the end of the week, sans third party organizers. After that, who knows?
Jul 18, 2004
BAD News good news
BAD news:
-Trip didn't push through. Travel agent fucked up big time.
-Now "proud" owner of a 2000RMB computer. More if you count the purhase of the speakers and CD writer.
-Lost my shoulder bag in the melee of getting off the crowded train, and, along with it, all the money ($1000+) for the trip.
GOOD news:
-Met new friends in the fellow travellers/victims, mostly from Hong Kong, like Jackie and Ken.
-Dropped my camera for the upteenth time, and it looks like the LCD display is busted, but I tinkered with it a bit, and it looks okay now.
-Anne called me for a job for the 19th-30th, 3 hours a day. Okay, a chance to earn back a third of what I lost.
-Trip didn't push through. Travel agent fucked up big time.
-Now "proud" owner of a 2000RMB computer. More if you count the purhase of the speakers and CD writer.
-Lost my shoulder bag in the melee of getting off the crowded train, and, along with it, all the money ($1000+) for the trip.
GOOD news:
-Met new friends in the fellow travellers/victims, mostly from Hong Kong, like Jackie and Ken.
-Dropped my camera for the upteenth time, and it looks like the LCD display is busted, but I tinkered with it a bit, and it looks okay now.
-Anne called me for a job for the 19th-30th, 3 hours a day. Okay, a chance to earn back a third of what I lost.
Jul 16, 2004
Almost Zero Hour
Due to leave for Inner Mongolia in 15 hours. Still haven't bought new shoes. Still haven't packed up completely. Still haven't moved stuff to Aileen's room for storage.
Got a new roommate. Akeen from Kenya/London. Met and had lunch with him and his friend Lisa from Finland.
Met new neighbor Fon (pronounced "Fawn") from Thailand and her "charge" of 3 minors, all brothers. Had dinner with them and Fon's friend Greg from Mexico at Nina. Greg said the food wasn't authentic. Well, at least the critique was legit.
Paid up back rent and reservation rent.
More surprising news: Sunny's going to L.A. next month for 6 months. Computer in my possession going to be a problem, since it was because of her that I was able to borrow it from her soon-to-be-former roommate. Talking about possible monthly deposits in a bank account as rental fee.
Got a new roommate. Akeen from Kenya/London. Met and had lunch with him and his friend Lisa from Finland.
Met new neighbor Fon (pronounced "Fawn") from Thailand and her "charge" of 3 minors, all brothers. Had dinner with them and Fon's friend Greg from Mexico at Nina. Greg said the food wasn't authentic. Well, at least the critique was legit.
Paid up back rent and reservation rent.
More surprising news: Sunny's going to L.A. next month for 6 months. Computer in my possession going to be a problem, since it was because of her that I was able to borrow it from her soon-to-be-former roommate. Talking about possible monthly deposits in a bank account as rental fee.
Jul 9, 2004
Almost Bored
Well, Tin's gone home, as well as most of the Dorm Sixers. Four Pinoys left here. AJ went to stay with Jay. Lorna's... out there, somewhere. Everyone else (still here) in their apartments. Funny how I now have plenty of time to watch DVDs, but lacking the enthusiasm to do so. Sigh.
Jul 5, 2004
FINALLY...So far...
After a few days/ weeks of the Blooger.com going whacko on me I'm blogging again.
So far I made a fair amount of cash (that I won't see) selling comics on Ebay. Backpacking preparations are slow but steady.
So far I almost done with pasalubong shoppping. Need to find Chinese lesson multimedia stuff (i.e. no flascards) for the kids, but it's being outnumbered by English lesson multimedia stuff 10:1.
So far I've meet a couple of new Pinoy students (and their foreign friends), namely Diana and Tina, both "1-monthers" with the former coming back next semester, which speaking of I already paid for in order apply for a 6-month visa extension.
So far I've not been able to get any new teaching jobs to fill the time between now and when we go backpacking, so I should really be scrimping more than usual. Plan to ask Tin for her dollars when she gets back from Inner Mongolia day after tomorrow.
So far the pictures are ready to be sent home. Though I have the time, the problem with having a lot of DVDs at hand is deciding what to watch first. Logically speaking it ought to be the ones that are going to Manila with Tin, not Punch Drunk Love like what's on right now. If that wasn't enough I borrowed Diana's copy of The Da Vinci Code, like I have the time for that. Hell, I haven't even finished a single folder-full of my downloaded comics. Sigh. Who would've thought free time'd be so hard to manage?
So far my highlight meals have been a night-out-til-dawn gettogether with Jella, Di, Joanne, Piyao, Tiffany, Ian and Manol at Jella and Di's apartment compound. Didn't even get an allergy attack. Also there was dinner with Geneva (from North Carolina) last week and lunch with KayWon (from South Korea) today, though in hindsight I shouldn't have let her pay.
So far I've been one lucky scavenger. Found an exercise bar, a pair of Goofy winter slippers, badminton rackets and watermelons (YES, they were clean), buncha DVDs (3 movies from which I haven't seen), glass, mug, English books for teaching and money. Yes, all 60 cents worth. I'm not homeless but I sure scourge through garbage like one.
So far I've been on 2 hiking trips, the last one just last Saturday. Aileen sprained her ankle, an incident I feel partially responsibly because it might not have happened had we simpy turned left instead of right. Left would've brought us to a waterfall almost immediately. Right gave us two tiring hours of hiking. No falls, just rock. Up and down rocks.
So far I made a fair amount of cash (that I won't see) selling comics on Ebay. Backpacking preparations are slow but steady.
So far I almost done with pasalubong shoppping. Need to find Chinese lesson multimedia stuff (i.e. no flascards) for the kids, but it's being outnumbered by English lesson multimedia stuff 10:1.
So far I've meet a couple of new Pinoy students (and their foreign friends), namely Diana and Tina, both "1-monthers" with the former coming back next semester, which speaking of I already paid for in order apply for a 6-month visa extension.
So far I've not been able to get any new teaching jobs to fill the time between now and when we go backpacking, so I should really be scrimping more than usual. Plan to ask Tin for her dollars when she gets back from Inner Mongolia day after tomorrow.
So far the pictures are ready to be sent home. Though I have the time, the problem with having a lot of DVDs at hand is deciding what to watch first. Logically speaking it ought to be the ones that are going to Manila with Tin, not Punch Drunk Love like what's on right now. If that wasn't enough I borrowed Diana's copy of The Da Vinci Code, like I have the time for that. Hell, I haven't even finished a single folder-full of my downloaded comics. Sigh. Who would've thought free time'd be so hard to manage?
So far my highlight meals have been a night-out-til-dawn gettogether with Jella, Di, Joanne, Piyao, Tiffany, Ian and Manol at Jella and Di's apartment compound. Didn't even get an allergy attack. Also there was dinner with Geneva (from North Carolina) last week and lunch with KayWon (from South Korea) today, though in hindsight I shouldn't have let her pay.
So far I've been one lucky scavenger. Found an exercise bar, a pair of Goofy winter slippers, badminton rackets and watermelons (YES, they were clean), buncha DVDs (3 movies from which I haven't seen), glass, mug, English books for teaching and money. Yes, all 60 cents worth. I'm not homeless but I sure scourge through garbage like one.
So far I've been on 2 hiking trips, the last one just last Saturday. Aileen sprained her ankle, an incident I feel partially responsibly because it might not have happened had we simpy turned left instead of right. Left would've brought us to a waterfall almost immediately. Right gave us two tiring hours of hiking. No falls, just rock. Up and down rocks.