Day 13: Last night in Chengdu

We are leaving for Kanding tomorrow morning - the start of our back-road to Yunnan. We plan to visit a few Tibetan villages (Danba, Bamei, Tagong, Litang) before arriving in Zhongdian, a.k.a. the Shangrilla. During this time (around two weeks), we will likely have no Internet access.

We will leave you with these two photos:

Roberto, remember your old friend?

It is coming to visit you in Vancouver in 11 months...

Day 11: Xi'an

On the taxi ride from our nightmare sleeper bus to our hostel, the taxi driver proudly told us that “all public toilets are free in Xi'an”. Oh, great – exactly what we need to recover from the awful bus ride.

Xi'an (西安), the capital of Shaanxi province, had been the capital of 13 dynasties. Its history is rich from the Silk Road to the Terra Cotta Army. Unlike Beijing, we decided to take it easy on Xi'an, no alarm clock and not cramming too much into our schedule.

Next to our hostel is the Muslim Quarter. It was our daily must-visit place because of its proximity to our hostel and the lively atmosphere. We went there to get our breakfast (soy milk and Chinese donuts) and dinner (BBQ skewers, lamb paomo, fried rice). Our breakfast for two rarely cost more than US$1. What a deal.

The Terra Cotta Army (兵馬俑) was the main reason why we came to Xi'an. Emperor Qing Sihuang was known for his unification of China as well as his brutality. Hoping to live a good after-life, he ordered the construction of a huge underground palace (not excavated due to concern about damage to the artifacts) and the Terra Cotta Army guarding the palace walls. The size of the three pits of the Terra Cotta Army is spectacular (majority is still not excavated), so try to imagine how big the underground palace must be.

Another highlight was riding around the City Wall of Xi'an. The wall was really long, so long that it took us an hour and half to ride our rented bicycle around the four walls. It was interesting to look at the city from top of the wall and watch the traffic go by.

Tonight we are boarding our first “hard sleeper” to Chengdu, and will share our experience in the next entry.

Check out the latest cheerleading team for the Beijing Olympics. They are all in their 50's.

How to get to the Terra Cotta Army: Take tourist bus 306 from the main train station outside the north gate (1 hour, 7RMB). It is the terminal stop. You can visit other attractions along the way, but we did not enjoy those sights (Underground Palace & Tomb of Qin Sihuang) as much.

Day7: Pingyao and “Operation Xi'an”

The old city of Pingyao was founded 2,000 years ago. It was a prosperous city, having the first commercial bank as well as the first armored transport service in Northern China. It was an interesting experience to actually live inside the old city. Everything you see is very well restored.

As usual, the UNESCO World Heritage designation is a boom to the tourist industry in Pingyao. When we arrived on Saturday night, streets were packed with tourists and auto-rickshaws. We were not too thrilled. But on Sunday afternoon after most of tourists had left, it was very pleasant to walk the streets. We had dinner right on the street. With the cool summer breeze and the ancient buildings with red lanterns lit, it was a surreal feeling.

Getting out of Pingyao proved to be more challenging than getting in. All transports heading to Xi'an do not originate from Pingyao, only passing through. In addition, we were at the start of the summer break. Therefore all train and bus tickets were fully booked at Taiyuan, the origin station, for the next two days. With help from our hostel (Yamen), we managed to book two seats on a sleeper bus coming from Taiyuan. This ride to Xi'an was even more “interesting” than the hard seat to Datong or the mini-bus to Pingyao. That is why we call it Operation Xi'an.

We were dropped off at the toll booth by the highway because the sleeper bus would not exit the highway to pick us up and the auto-rickshaw could not drive onto the highway (minimum 60km/h). So there we were, seven foreigners walking through the toll booth onto the highway entrance around 9:30pm, feeling like illegal aliens crossing the border. Our hostel staff was busy calling the driver to inform him of our whereabout. Like magic, a bus appeared from distance and started slowing down.

Things really started to get interesting once we got on the bus. There were seven of us, all paid for the sleeper seat, but some seats were occupied already. The ticket lady on the bus had to wake people up and ask them to move. People were sleeping or sitting on the aisle. There was one Spanish lady on the bottom bunk and had to “share” her bed with a Chinese lady, who would not move away.

Throughout the night, people were dropped off and picked up. At one toll booth, many people were rushed off the bus because there was a security check point to see if the bus was overloaded (a fine of RMB10,000 if caught). Those people walked through the check point and were picked up later.

So here we are now in Xi'an. Seven hours later. Both very tired, sleepy and smoky, still waiting for a room at Hang Tang Inn...

(Photo from left to right: 1. local girl with nunchucks, 2. locals having dinner by the street, 3. us waiting for our sleeper bus by the highway)

Day 6: Yungang Caves and our trip to Pingyao

Today would be a busy day. We wanted to visit Yungang caves in the morning and take a bus to Pingyao via Taiyuan.

Around 5am, we got a call from the front desk, asking if we requested a wake-up call and if we knew which room requested the wake-up call. We did not. Since we had a busy day ahead of us, we decided to get up anyway.

The bus ride to Yungang Caves was convenient. We boarded at the origin station and got off at the terminal station. No transfer. What can be easier. An interesting side story. While lining up at the ticket counter, some guy came up with an idea of pooling enough people for a group discount of RMB10 each. When the counter opened at 8:30am, he learned that there was no group discount. Then about a dozen people rushed to get their cash back and started arguing. It was funny scene. Thank God we did not sign up.

The caves are impressive, the best preserved Buddhist grottoes in China. There are 45 caves in total dating back 1,500 years. Many carvings have suffered erosion due to wind. There was a river flowing in front of the caves, but was relocated 400 meters away because a general thought the river might flood the caves.

Our next destination is Pingyao, an ancient city with the UNESCO World Heritage designation. We boarded a VIP bus to Taiyuan and transferred to a mini-bus to Pingyao. The VIP bus was nice, wide leather seat with air conditioning, but the mini-bus to Pingyao was a different story. The driver overloaded the bus, so people without seats were sitting on up-side-down buckets in the aisle. Just like the train, some people started chain-smoking during the whole ride. It was unbearable.

Day 5: Leaving Beijing for the Coal Country

Yesterday we visited the Summer Palace, our last tourist stop in Beijing. The Summer Palace is very grand. It is difficult to imagine Dowager Cixi's (慈禧太后) lifestyle during her reign.

This morning we packed our bags and headed to the train station for our K613 train to Datong, a key coal mining town in Shanxi. It was our first time on the “hard seat”, and it was quite an experience. Although most people had assigned seats, many people had only standing tickets. So it was very crowded. The 2-seater across from us seated three people, and the 3-seater across the aisle seated four people. The precious aisle space was not wasted at all as people were standing or squatting. On top of that, the fan above us did not work and some people were smoking and drinking like there was no tomorrow. Picture yourself in that confined space for six and a half hours. Yup, that was our train ride to Datong.

According to Rough Guide, Datong produces a third of all China's coal, thus making it one of the most polluted city in China. Ironically it was our first time seeing the blue sky in China when we exited the train station in Datong. The air was not as bad as we expected. We actually thought the air was slightly better than Beijing. In Beijing, you can tell that the weather was hot (32+ degrees Celsius) and the sun was out there, but you just could not see it through the thick haze. The sky was shaded in permanent gray.

What drew us to the Coal Country is the Yungang Caves, a series of 45 Buddhist grottoes carved into the side of a sandstone cliff. More about the caves in our next entry.

Before we leave you, check out this popcorn vendor in Datong, making popcorn the traditional way. It was a great snack for our ride to Pingyao.

Day 3: Ever done this on the Great Wall?

This acrobatic shot was taken at Mutianyu Great Wall (慕田峪). The condition was perfect - cloudy sky, not too hot, and no tourists in sight. So we could not resist the temptation to perform this acrobatic jump.

Getting to Mutianyu was quite an adventure. According to the Rough Guide, there is a daily tourist bus #6 that goes directly to Mutianyu from Beijing at 7-8:30am. When I phoned the tourist office, I was told that bus #6 runs only on weekends and holidays. According to Rough Guie, the alternative is to take a local express bus to Huairo (怀柔) and change for a tourist bus. When we arrived at Huairo, there was no tourist bus to Mutianyu in sight. We ended up hiring a car to get to Mutianyu.

Katy was at Badaling Great Wall (八达岭) many years ago, and she was not fond of it. At certain sections of the wall, it got so crowded that she could barely move her arms without hitting someone. When we arrived at Mutianyu, we were surprised to find so few tourists. Sometimes we were the only people on the wall, a pleasant treat after downtown Beijing. The Great Wall is indeed impressive. You can see watch towers peeking through the cloud miles away on the ridges of the mountains. The specular scene is occasionally disrupted by the screams from the toboggan run. Yes, they put a toboggan run on the Great Wall. A nice marketing gimmick to draw in more tourists, but quite out of place in my opinion.

After walking down the trail to the entrance of the Great Wall (good job on not taking the cable car, Katy), we were negotiating with a few drivers for a ride down to Huairou. Then I met a Chinese lady from Sichuan, who offered us a free ride to Beijing since they have a few empty seats on their vehicle. Later I learned that she was accompanying her Swiss husband and friends from St. Gallen. After a few Grüezi ("hello" in Swiss German), we were invited to have lunch with them. Unfortunately their bus had a flat tire and had to go into town for a repair (90 minutes wait), and we had to rush back to Beijing to arrange our train tickets for our next destinations. So we bused back to Beijing on our own. Thank you, the Swiss people (and especially the lady from Sichuan). You guys are an amazing crowd. I always enjoy meeting people from Switzerland - reminding me of the three years I spent there.

How to get to Mutianyu: Take bus #916 (RMB11) from Dongzhimen Station (1 hr). Get off at Bei Da Jie (or just ask the driver when to get off for Mutianyu), you will be approached by drivers for hire to Mutianyu (RMB35 to 40 & takes 15 minutes).

Day 1: Hello from Beijing

Before starting this blog entry, I must apologize for making Katy's parents drive us to the airport at 4am this morning. Sorry.

3000km and 12 hours later, Katy and I arrived at the Red Lantern Hostel in downtown Beijing. Everything worked as planned. No flight delay. In fact, we were offered a business-class upgrade on Taoyuan-Hong Kong flight and were also given the emergency exit row seats on Hong Kong-Beijing flight. What a good way to start the trip. Must be a good sign.

First impression of Beijing is good and BIG. The streets and traffic are more orderly than expected. The size of the city is just unbelievable. Some guy at the hostel told me that Beijing is about half the size of Taiwan!

Photos will come in a few days...

(Photo: Katy and I getting our "before" photo of the trip at Beijing Capital Airport. Let's wait and see the "after" photo when we arrive in Vancouver next year.)

Chilling out in Yilan

The last few days were hectic. Katy and I packed and moved most of our belongings from Hsinchu to Yilan and Taoyuan. This move was complicated by the fact that we needed to pack for three different places: 1) things to ship to Canada, 2) things to keep in Taiwan, and most importantly 3) things we need during our trip.

Thank God, it's all done now. We are resting at Katy's parents' place in Yilan to soak in the country side tranquility. The two huge backpacks will be our companions for the next year. Four more days to go...