The Great Birthday

Today was the greatest birthday ever!  Before we even left China I told Darren that I wanted to spend my birthday on the Great Wall (since we were going to be in the area anyway).  Though it may sound a little cliche, the Great Wall has always been one of those things high up on "my list".  I've always wanted to see it and knew that when I finally did, it would be amazing... and it was!  Blue skies in Beijing are rare, and to have two in a row was a blessing.  Mind you, as per the rules of nature, it never rains on my birthday (*knock on wood), so I knew that that wouldn't be an issue, but I never dreamed we would have such clear skies.

Our day started early.  We booked a tour through our hostel, called the "Secret Tour", and our bus/minivan left at seven thirty.  (Before we left, one of the girls, Sophie, from the front desk, who is the sweetest, happiest person you'll ever meet, gave me a melon and told me she wished me a "sweet" day.)  We drove for three hours, without air conditioning, and it was hot, which didn't help the general sense of fatigue.  Our driver seemed as tired, if not more so, than I was--I think he had just finished a night shift driving a bus--and he kept hitting himself on the head and making loud yawn-like noises, and he spent the entire drive singing, seemingly to keep himself awake.  At one point, Darren said the driver seemed barely able to keep his eyes open he was so sleepy, which could account for his inability to keep the van running properly.  He would stall just before any sort of bump in the road, and it there were a few times I worried that he wouldn't be able to get the van started again.  The drive was long (but after that train ride, seemed like a breeze) and we passed the two-three major tourist sights for the Wall and they were packed.  All you could see were masses of brightly coloured hats moving along the giant stone steps (you see, the tour groups here all comically wear the same coloured hats and/or t-shirts in order to identify themselves, so you always see masses of people in red, yellow, blue, etc. baseball hats following a similarly coloured flag and a megaphone).  So we drove past these few busy sights, not sorry that we were because it didn't seem all that enjoyable, and stopped in a small village at a playground to pick up our itty bitty tour guide.  This woman we 79 years old, and apparently does this tour every single day!  She was easily under 5 feet tall, and was wearing these polyester (?) blue pants (the kind that old women wear), and a blazer... it was over 30 degrees out!  Anyway, we drove five minutes further, just past the village, and were dropped off at the mouth of these hardly discernable trail through the dry bushes.

 

It was about a 45 minutes trek up through the hills to get to the actual wall.  There were only seven people in our tour group, two of which were an older Belgium couple so we took our time and went fairly slow to start.  Our guide was adoreable and gave the other woman, who must've been ten-twenty years younger, her walking stick, and would randomly stop and grab branches to turn into more walking sticks for herself and the older man as well.  She would also make sure to give ample time for everyone to rest, in the most convenient places (under trees, wherever there was a decent rock to sit on), and at one point she even pointed out a place for the women in the group to stop and take a pee.  She didn't speak English, so she just pointed to the large rock, sort of gestured around it, then squatted and made a whishing noise while gesturing the flow of pee with her hands... it was extremely amusing, and none of the men understood what she meant.  Eventually, but surely, we reached the mouth of the wall, and it was rubble.

The whole appeal of the "Secret Wall" is that little/none of it (supposedly) is restored.  It is supposed to be a truely authentic experience, with the original and authentic wall, and for the most part, I totally believe that it is.  Compared to the parts of the wall that we saw on our drive up, our hike was completely different.  You rarely found a piece of stone in one piece, and there were loose pieces of stone everywhere.  For the most part, I believe that what we walked on was the foundation of the wall, most of it seemed eroded away.  There were a few parts where I think some reconstruction has taken place, but most of it seems fairly untouched.  At one point, we had to take a small detour off the wall because the wall was too eroded to walk on in some areas.  It was amazing, slightly strenuous, but wonderful.  Even though it was fairly hot out, once you got onto the wall, there was a nice, refreshing breeze which helped combat the sun (though my shoulders might tell otherwise).

The level of tourism/influence of tourism was also minimal, especially in comparison to some of the other hikes.  We were the only tourists on the wall at that time, we didn't encounter anyone but the people in our group, and the one salesman at the only pit stop on the wall.  At the peak of one of the stretches was a man selling water, cookies, and cold beer, along with some souvenirs.  (We didn't buy anything since the prices at these places are usually jacked), but that was the extreme of our commercialisation.  At the other sections we passed on the way up, there were endless stores and shops selling who knows what!  It was so nice to be so secluded and unbothered by the mass commercialization we run into constantly (as a side note, for example, there is a woman at one of the shops down the lane from our hostel who calls out "Hey Lady" every single time I pass her, which I do sometimes six or seven times a day).

After the hike, which took about three hours or so, our guide brought us back down into the village where a local family prepared lunch for us.  It was excellent, there was rice (of course), two types of sauteed lettuce/greens, some sauteed greens with beef, some sort of dumpling, a chicken stir fry, and sauteed onions, all included in our tour package.  Needless to say, (with five guys and only two women) our group had worked up quite an appetite.  There was also a slew of icy cold beverages on the table (for an extra charge, but very reasonable price) which was more than welcome.  Normally, drinks (beer for instance) is only sort of cold, but these were actually cold, the water was even a little frozen.

With our bellies full, and our thirst quenched, we made the drive back to Beijing (which I slept through as much as I could); after which, we got cleaned up and took a nap.  Later, Darren and I met up with Nan to go out for dinner at a Schezuan restaurant (a fancier one this time).  The food was amazing.  Darren and I tried catfish for the first time and it was pretty good.  It was nice because even though there are bones, the bones are larger, so it's not like carp where you're constantly spitting the damn little things out.  The dish was massive though, way bigger than we had anticipated, and there was way more food than we could finish.  We also had a great mushroom dish... apparently they're called tea mushrooms, and they were unlike any mushroom I've ever had.  They weren't as soft as regular ones, and were almost meaty.  It was all around an excellent meal.

(Mushrooms)(Catfish)

After dinner, we came back to the hostel, and met with Nathalie and Shiri (two Israeli girls we met in Suzhou).  We headed down the lane to Sakura (the local, popular ex-pat joint) for a little cake.  Nathalie and Shiri were super sweet and bought me some cheesecake from a secret little bakery in town, and Nan also bought me a giant (though he said it was small) chocolate fruit-like cake which was delicious.  (I know, I'm spoiled.)  On our way to Sakura though, Sophie (again, from our hostel) ran into us and stopped to give me a present.  She bought me a watch for my birthday.  The best hostel receptionist ever.  I will never forget her.

We ended the evening with mass amounts of cake and a couple drinks.  It was the Great Birthday (get it? the Great Wall?).  It really was excellent, and I'm so grateful to have had so many people make it such a wonderful day.  Even though we're so far away from home and all our friends, it hardly felt like it surrounded by so many special people.  Never had I anticipated that I could fly across the globe and still have so many people to celebrate with.  I guess the girls at the hotel made a note on the calendar because all day the staff have been wishing me a happy birthday.  It really has been such a wonderful day, and I couldn't have asked for more.

It's off to Luoyang next, the Buddhist grottoes and the Shaolin temple.  Happy birthday Aislinn (yay, you're actually 12), and I hope everyone is well!

A Little This, A Little That, A Lotta Shopping

The last few days here in Beijing have been fairly liesurely.  We've spent most our days taking in a sight or two and just taking the evenings easy.  What we've really been doing a lot of however, is shopping.

On Sunday we went to the dirt/weekend market.  It's an antique market/flea market that only takes place on the weekends.  On the one side, is all the sellers with their stuff/antiques spread out on a blanket or matt on the floor.  The "antiques" included broken pieces of porcelin and pottery, vases, trinkets, tea pots, etc.  We had a lot of fun walking around and trying to sift through all the old treasures.  Darren found himself a pretty nice hand knife (he stops everywhere we go to look at swords and knives), and I found (but did not buy) some interesting (not so old) stone "carvings" (see the picture below for clarification).  Surely not what I expected to find amongst traditional jade and wood carvings.  On the other side of the market was actual stalls; an entire section for art and paintings, and a section of your typical nick-nacks- jewellery, 'silk' items, tea pots, chop sticks, etc.  We did find an amazing painting, an actual original compared to some of the mass produced pieces out there.  I was so close to purchasing it, it was expensive (hence the hesitation) and when I went back, conmmited to buy it, but,someone else had beaten me to it.  That was a sad day for me.  Otherwise, the market was pretty incredible, and Darren and I were able to practice our bargaining.

The next day, was the ultimate day of shopping.  Yes, we went to the Silk Market.  Like my own heaven on earth.  For those who don't know, the building is divided up by product, by floor.  The first couple of floors were all clothes, the next floor crafts and art, the next jewellery and accessories, sunglasses, etc.  It was intense.  It took us (ie. me) three hours to get through the first couple floors.  It was intense and excellent.  I must say, I've become fairly good at the bargaining.  I averaged about 20% of the first price (though the first price included what we call the tourist tax).  Whenever you'd walk by a stall, they'd call out "Hey Lady!  Come look at my store.  Just take a lookee!"  It was pretty hilarious.  Some of them would get pretty aggressive.  They'd physically pull you into their stores/stalls and wouldn't let you go until you either physically broke away or bought something.  I remember I walked into one stall just to look, and it definitely wasn't my style, and the girl looked so disappointed as I started to leave.  She told me I was breaking her heart and just kept blurting numbers out at me.  The market is great for your ego as well.  It's interesting how everything and anything about yourself can be the motive for the "best deal".  "You are so beautiful.  I give you best deal because you are so pretty."  "I want to be your friend.  I give you best deal Friend."  Or my favourite, "For an American, I give this price (shows 2000 RMB on the calculator), but because you're Canadian, I give this price (shows 1520 RMB on the calculator)", priceless!  Darren's bargaining skills are priceless.  We split up for a half hour to roam the clothing sections.  In half an hour, I think I bought six shirts.  In half an hour, Darren bought one vest.  He spent the entire half an hour working down the cost for this one vest.  They would not come down to his price, and the clincher: he offered to buy the two girls a popsicle if they gave him the vest for the price he wanted.  Ha ha ha.  They did try to bargain him into buying three though instead of the two he said he would.  Baha ha ha!  We were going to go back to the market the next day, since we were too exhausted to go through the shoes/purse section, but for the sake of our budget we decided it would be better that we didn't.

Yesterday though, instead of the Silk Market, we went in search of some electronics, which we didn't find.  However, what we did find was another great side-street market, with some "interesting" array of skewers.  (Again, see the pictures for clarification).

(The scorpians were still alive).

Speaking of food, other than shopping, we've been eating.  A lot.  We've met a lot of people, and with them, has come a lot of food.  Nan, our wonderful Beijing tour guide, has been taking us to tons of excellent restaurants to savour the local cuisine (some of which you may have already heard about).  We've also found some great back alley vendors who make wonderful pancake like breads to snack on, and a place to get lychee black tea.  It's excellent.  I want to go back on Friday to grab some more for home.  We also met a couple other girls who took us out for hot pot, which is excellent.  The way they do it here is awesome.  It's not electric, but heated using coals.  You can also get pots that have two separate cooking sides.  Here it's so you can do half spicy and half hot, but with a picky, semi-vegetarian like myself, and a meat eater like Darren, I'm thinking genius.  I'm also thinking perfect for camping?!  It's brilliant!

The most ingenious hot pot ever!

Today, by the way, was the most beautiful day we've seen since we've come to Beijing.  The sky was blue and beautiful, and it was hot, around 30 *C.  We spent the day with Nan at the Summer Palace.  We walked around the lake for four hours and it was excellent.  There was a light breeze coming off the lake which made the heat bearable, and everything was green and lush.  Our feet were swollen and so sore, but it was great.  We climbed a couple bridges, walked a ton of stairs and got some great views.  It was such a perfect day!  I think the haze, maybe the lack of oxygen, is the reason I've been so tired; but, with the sun and clear skies, I felt great today.

Here's hoping tomorrow is just as wonderful.  It's a special day tomorrow... tomorrow we're climbing the Great Wall!  I'm so pumped... it also happens to be my birthday tomorrow and some of our new found friends are meeting up with us to celebrate in the evening!  Yay!

Hope everyone is happy and healthy, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY Ruth and Amanda!

A Day of Firsts

So after the horrific train ride, Darren and I had a shower, a little grub, and a little nap, which turned into a full on sleeping marathon.  We slept for seventeen hours, making up for a few lost z's the previous night.  So our first day in Beijing was actually Friday... and it was a day of firsts.
During our initial scan of the poorly translated menu (before we konked out for seventeen hours), it was the first time we had seen "five pragrances dog meat" on a menu (not gonna lie, I didn't want to eat there at all after I read that, but I think we had already ordered.  I was skepitcal of our 'chicken').  It was also the first time we encountered " five pragrances dinkey (donkey) meat" (the translator must have been Pilippino).  Again, I was tempted to go back to being a full vegetarian!

It was the first time Darren or I had ever been to the Forbidden Palace.  It was cool for sure, massive in fact.  Quite crowded as well, and not quite what we had expected, but massive.  The sheer size of the place is incredible.  It's more of an enclosed city than just a palace.  It was not quite as elaborately decorated as I had expected, but I supposed the place is 700 years old, and of course all the original treasures are now "reproductions" in the palace museums.  The palace is essentially that... one large museum.  Nan taught us that the reason the brick tiles of the entry are black, is because that area is "forbidden"/restricted.  Regular people weren't allowed in these areas, which is fairly intense once you think about it.  Strangely enough, this is where most of the crowds congregated, so we took the peasants path; which, consequently, is also the must unkept paths.  Clearly the black stone tiles have been restored and well kept, the other tiles were broken and jagged, and one could seriously twist an ankle trying to brave these jagged rocks... but we did.

This was also the first time I've ever eaten duck.  Unless I'm mistaken, I don't believe I've ever eaten duck as a child, and eating duck since has always felt strange to me.  I've just never associated the pretty water birds at Mill Lake with food.  However, given that the Peking Duck is the local signature dish, I had to try it.  I must admit, it was quite delicious!  Very fatty, but also succulant and moist.  Frank, you would love the way they serve the duck... I took pictures of it all.  They cook the duck in a fire oven (hanging-style), and carve it table-side.  First they cut off this one particular part (I didn't catch which, maybe the butt), it was just skin.  They'd put that on the table first, just a small morsel, which you dip in sugar first, then in the sauce.  It was so juicy and sweet, and crispy.  It was excellent.  Then they'd continue to carve the rest of the meat off the duck.  Those pieces also came with "lotus wraps".  You'd take a few pieces of duck, dip them in sauce, with a few pieces of leeks, also dipped in sauce, and a few pieces of cucumber... of course, dipped in sauce- wrap it all up, and enjoy.  While you're doing that, they take the carcus of the duck and steam it, add a few vegetables (winter squash?) and serve you the broth/soup.  I beleive they recooked the carcus afterwards (because it was crisp again), cut it up, and serve the remains.  They didn't waste a single bit.  I was thinking of you Frank.  (They don't waste much of anything come to think of it.  In the windows of the street vendors, you can pretty much get any piece of pig you could conceive of: snout, hooves, tail, etc.)

Another first, and probably the strangest... was the first time I've ever been felt up by a girl.  Don't worry, it's not quite as it sounds, and yet it is.  Contrary to my every instinct, I didn't bring an actual bra with me to China, just sports bras, and I've been complaining about it ever since.  I've been putting off buying one for a while, and now I had the time.  The problem is, that the chest width is different here (I think it's in centimeters).  Anyway, we went into a bra shop (with Darren and Nan) and I figured I'd get measured to be on the safe side.  For all the woman, you know that back home, this usually consists of a measuring tape around the bust and around the rib cage, so I was expecting something fairly simple and quick.  Well, as I usually am with assumptions around here, I was wrong.  She took me into the dressing room, put her hands around my rib cage, and then cupped my breasts.  I was a little shocked, but okay, they do things different here.  She left and came back with a bra.  I was actually a little impressed that she could figure out my size just by feel, I don't think I could do that.  But then it got weird.  There was a language barrier of course, so when she gestured for me to take off my clothes I was a little unsure of just how much of my clothes I was going to take off.  I took off my camera (which is almost always slung over my shoulder), then my coat, and then my shirt.  When I stopped, she started helping me take off my bra.  Okay :S  She then helped me put on the bra.  Okay ladies, you know when you put on a push up bra and you gotta pull the ladies up and out to get maxium effect... ya, she did this for me aswell.  She grabbed me from the armput and pushed me up and out.  On both sides.  She then pinched that little bit of back that sticks out ever so slightly (because I don't have a lot of it) from above the back, and gestured for me to lean over an pull it forward as well (at least she let me do this part on my own).  She then started pressing down on my new and improved "cleavage" saying, "very nice, very bigger".  She then left, and came back with some other strange garment of sorts.  It was like a bra, but without the cups.  It was apparently designed to help pull back your shoulders and help your posture.  I had apparently walked into some strange posture correcting, therapeutic bra parlor.  She came back with another bra afterwards and did it all over again, which was followed by a piece of paper with with her practiced phrases on it in both characters and English.  She kept saying it was healthier for me, and pointed to my little sports bra and said "no good".  You'd think after all that I would've purchased one of these life changing, posture enhancing, miracle bras, but I did not.  For 500 RMB (= $80), it just wasn't what I wanted for six months of backpacking.  (I ended up buying two bras for 100 RMB from another store.)  Though I left with no bra, it was the first time I've ever been felt up by another woman... needless to say, probably the last.

Other firsts included more eating; we had crawfish later that night for dinner, which we ate with gloves.  They were pretty delicious, and a little spicy.  It was a Schezuan restaurant; and, today we ate at a Russian restuarant. 

We also went to the Temple of Heaven today.  Darren wanted to sacrifice me at the Hall of Absitence, but unfortunately I'm not a goat or a sheep and it would do nothing for next year's crops/harvest.

It was a otherwise a fairly mellow day. We've been eating a lot which, in the heat and humidity, makes us tired... and fat... but we've got some shopping and entertainment ahead of us... and the Great Wall for my birthday which I'm really excited for! Yay! Hope everyone is safe and sound! Zai jian!

Hit by a train! Lesson Learned!

We're in Beijing.  Finally.  Hmmm... where do I begin?

So, Darren and I hadn't planned on booking our tickets to Beijing last minute, but since we did decide there was nothing else to see in Suzhou, it kinda worked out that way.  Unfortunately, there weren't any sleepers left, soft or hard, and there weren't any soft seats left either.  So, of course, we ended up buying hard seats, for a fourteen hour train.

After purchasing our tickets, we realized that there were no seat numbers, unlike our previous tickets, so we inquired at our hostel reception.  Apparently, what we got, was basically stand by seating.  And by stand by, I mean you stand by, in and around the isles until someone vacates their seat at one of the stops.  The catch however, is that if someone gets on the train with a ticket with a seat number, you have to give it up to them.  So, I suppose we were fortunate in that, being the token "white" people in the hard seat section, one of the families gave up a seat for us.  The unfortunate part, well one of the unforunate parts, is that was the only seat we were able to maintain.  For maybe a half hour, we had two seats, but otherwise, for the other thirteen and a half hours, Darren and I shared a seat; either, rotating who stood and who sat, or trying to squish onto one seat, or me sitting on his lap.

It was hell; but, but that wasn't even the worst of it.  The family who so graciously gave up a seat for us (which was nice mostly because it guaranteed a seat for the entire trip), was also incredibly abnoxious at the same time.  The son was nice, who we paid our dues to and took a random photo with (this has happened more than once mind you, when strangers ask to have pictures taken with us).  The wife however, was taking up three seats when we got on the train, and even after we woke her up, she still took up two seats to herself.  She also spread her nasty, smelly, sour feet across the seats onto her husband's lap (who was sitting right beside us), and I'm pretty sure I puked in my mouth a bit.  It was gross.  The husband as well was no picnic.  The guy was a chain smoker who dropped ash on our feet numerous times and would hold his cigarette right in front of your face.  To top it off, he too had horribly smelly feet which, at times almost ended up in our laps.  He was also a walking pustule!  He would go to the washroom (don't even get me started on that one, we held our pee for 14 hours), and come back with bloody, pussing sores that he clearly just spent the last twenty minutes popping.  They were moist and shimmering in the smoke filled air.  It was sick.

On top of it all, the train car was overpacked, and people were constantly walking past you, so you couldn't even stretch out into the isle (people were sleeping on the floor of the isle though).  Not to mention the food carts that came by every five minutes.  It's like being on a plane, except, instead of your elbow, it's your ankle, or your leg, or your whole freaking body... and the ladies are sweet like stewardesses.  They yell at you and just keep ramming you until you move.

It was the slowest ride ever and I'm pretty sure the amount of second hand smoke alone aged me ten years.  I smell bad, I look like I've been hit by a train, and neither Darren nor I have eaten more than a muffin since last night's dinner (it's almost 2pm).  Not to mention that accumulated, we've probably totaled two hours of sleep.

We're in Beijing.  We hate line ups, and for the first time I think we actually missed home.  I need a shower, a lot of beer, and some sleep.  Hope you're all well... and that you don't stink like a drunk, oily man's ash tray!  Have a good one!

A Conundrum Wrapped in an Enigma....

Hello Faithful Followers of The Noodle Diaries!

It is Tanya, once again.  Those pesky Chinese censors are back at it.  Auria has not been having much success with her blog, especially the uploading of jpgs and mpgs and such.  As a result, Auria has resorted to emailing me her pictures and asking me to load them on her blog.  I'm thrilled that Auria has entrusted me with THE ULTIMATE POWER of Administrative rights to her blog!  But here's the rub...she sent a bunch of pictures yesterday but they were unaccompanied with any stories or explanations.  So, do I post the pictures as is or should I wait for her reply as to what I should do?  I don't know when she will respond to my e-query.  What say you, Faithful Followers?

Disclaimer...this issue might not be so dramatic and overacted as Jim Carrey as "The Joker", but I like the saying..."a conundrum wrapped in an enigma" and the man looks kinda hilarious in green spandex...am I lying?

Walking Waterways in Zhouzhuang

Today, we went to Zhouzhang.  It was about an hour bus ride from Suzhou, and is one of what we now are multiple "Venices of the Orient".  I believe it is one of the more well reknown; however, it is also one of the most commercialized.

It was a very beautiful town of old buildings and canals; but, because of "historical preservation" and other such things, we each had to pay 100 RMB to get into the "old city", and meals of course within the "old city" were two to three times more than what you pay outside of the old city.  Though expensive, it was pretty.


The beauty of the city I did find hard to enjoy with the constant soliciting from the vendors whose shops line every inch of the main paths.  We did manage to find a very talented water colour artist tucked away into a hidden corner who did some beautiful artwork.  Most of the vendors were for knick knacks and trinkets (combs, tea pots, toys, purses, etc.), so we thought our little artist was quiet a find.  He pointed out to us that the other "water colours" were basically painted prints.  He gave us a magnifying loop to compare his work with a sample of some of the others' work.  You could definitely see the difference.  The other paintings are printed black and white sheets with various water colours added to them.  Under the loop you could actually see the dpi (dots per square inch).  By looking at his paintings under the loop, it was clear that his were all done by hand.  I had never thought to look for such a thing before, but it was interesting and did explain a lot.

We also tried our hand at bargaining once more... we did okay.  Later, after we were done eating, we talked (communicated through broken language, hand signals, and a calculator) with the women running the restaurant we ate at, to see if the prices we paid were too high or too low.  We did okay.  Maybe five to ten percent more than they would have paid we figured.  Not too bad considering.

All in all, it was a day of spending money, riding buses, and repeatedly saying "Wo bu yao" (I don't want).  We are going to attempt to head off for Beijing tomorrow night, which should promise some more intriguing posts.