After a little more than 2 months on the road, I've made it back to Hong Kong completely intact. Although HK is still technically part of the trip, in my mind, the trip is over. The next six days in Hong Kong are just going to be days of relaxation and reccuperation. No travel plans to arrange, no pressing schedule to meet. The only things on the agenda are: 1. Get a LONG needed haircut; 2. See my friend Eunice (aka Eu-Eu); 3. Do some hiking on some of Hong Kong's fabulous trails, and maybe hit the beach; 4. Hang out with my grandma.
It's bittersweet to be back here....I know I last wrote about being exhausted both mentally and physically, but at the same time, there's nothing quite like the high that you get from traveling. I've learned a lot in the last nine weeks, both about the art of travel, and also, a lot having to do with the difficulties of conducting field research. If anything, traveling in China has definitely taught me patience!
China is a really fascinating place to visit. It hasn't been an easy travel destination, a la Europe, but it has been a rewarding one. It requires a lot of work and effort to get around alone (as opposed to being on a tour), especially if you don't have the language skills. A lot of the stereotypes about China and Chinese people carry a grain of truth, but a lot of them don't hold any water whatsoever. I've been the beneficiary of a lot of generosity and patience from many Chinese people along the way.
I'm happy to report that I've also picked up quite a bit of Mandarin, which is fantastic, because that was definitely a goal. I've always complained that one of the weaknesses of language instruction at UofT is the strong emphasis on reading and grammar, and not nearly enough attention on actual speaking and listening, which I feel is the most important aspect of learning a language. I think that the next few days here in HK will be difficult, because whatever little Cantonese I ever spoke has been completely replaced by Mandarin. Thank goodness English is so widely spoken here....
My last two days in China were quite pleasant. The actual bus ride from Shangri-La to Kunming was a bit of a butt-breaker, but Kunming itself was a surprisingly nice city. It's the only Chinese city I visited where the sky was actually clear and blue. Kunming doesn't have a whole lot to offer in terms of tourist sites, but it has a sweet urban culture that makes it a nice city to walk around. The hostel I stayed at was great. My roommates for the night were two Israelis who turned out to be a lot of fun, and more importantly, didn't snore!
And so the adventure has come to an end....
Monday, August 20, 2007
One More Thing
An interesting article published by the New York Times that is actually very closely related to what I'm studying....
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/world/asia/16tibet.html?_r=1&ref=asia&oref=slogin
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/16/world/asia/16tibet.html?_r=1&ref=asia&oref=slogin
Alright boys and girls, this is probably it for posts from Mainland China. I'm leaving Shangri-La in a couple of hours, heading to Kunming by bus (a nice, short 13 hours away), and will then hop on a plane bound for Shenzen, and then will taking the KCR or turbojet back to Hong Kong...total travel time is probably around 2 days. I
'm exhausted....for the last two nights, my roommate has been a Chinese guy who just doesn't seem to have an off button. From the moment you walk into the room, it's just chatter chatter chatter. I probably only understand half of what he's saying, but that seems to be enough to encourage him to keep talking. The only way to get him to shut up is to say "wo shui jiao" (I'm going to sleep)....and then cover my head with the blanket, and secretly put on my headphones and listen to music for the rest of the night, enjoying the relative peace and silence.
In any case, chatty roommate notwithstanding, I think I'm reaching the point of traveler's burnout. It's only been a little over two months, but I'm just mentally and physically exhausted. I've met a bunch of people who have been traveling for several months, and I'm in awe of their seemingly boundless energy. I feel like such a bad traveler.
China highlights?
1. Horse trekking in Sichuan
2. Beijing...finally climbing the Great Wall, and also meeting a couple of really interesting and inspiring Americans.
3. Cheap food....delicious food...spicy food....cheap food....giant bowls of steaming hot soup noodles for 3 yuan (less than 50 cents!!)?? Unheard of!
4. Bus/train rides through some really beautiful parts of the country, especially Sichuan and Yunnan.
5. Playing with a baby panda in Chengdu.
6. Meeting super friendly and kind Chinese people.
China lowlights?
1. Getting puked on.
2. Dealing with the ridiculousness that can be China...long "line ups" that are really just crowds of pushing and shoving people (especially at train/bus stations/post office)....really really grumpy customer service....etc, etc...
3. Hidden fees, getting ripped off because you're a foreigner.
4. The total non-existence of personal space....is this your seat? good, cause you're sharing it with me!
5. Endless rain...it is, after all, the rainy season here.
6. Snoring roommates...obnoxious roommates....
Alright, farewell from the Motherland...when next I write, it'll probably be from censor-free HK!
'm exhausted....for the last two nights, my roommate has been a Chinese guy who just doesn't seem to have an off button. From the moment you walk into the room, it's just chatter chatter chatter. I probably only understand half of what he's saying, but that seems to be enough to encourage him to keep talking. The only way to get him to shut up is to say "wo shui jiao" (I'm going to sleep)....and then cover my head with the blanket, and secretly put on my headphones and listen to music for the rest of the night, enjoying the relative peace and silence.
In any case, chatty roommate notwithstanding, I think I'm reaching the point of traveler's burnout. It's only been a little over two months, but I'm just mentally and physically exhausted. I've met a bunch of people who have been traveling for several months, and I'm in awe of their seemingly boundless energy. I feel like such a bad traveler.
China highlights?
1. Horse trekking in Sichuan
2. Beijing...finally climbing the Great Wall, and also meeting a couple of really interesting and inspiring Americans.
3. Cheap food....delicious food...spicy food....cheap food....giant bowls of steaming hot soup noodles for 3 yuan (less than 50 cents!!)?? Unheard of!
4. Bus/train rides through some really beautiful parts of the country, especially Sichuan and Yunnan.
5. Playing with a baby panda in Chengdu.
6. Meeting super friendly and kind Chinese people.
China lowlights?
1. Getting puked on.
2. Dealing with the ridiculousness that can be China...long "line ups" that are really just crowds of pushing and shoving people (especially at train/bus stations/post office)....really really grumpy customer service....etc, etc...
3. Hidden fees, getting ripped off because you're a foreigner.
4. The total non-existence of personal space....is this your seat? good, cause you're sharing it with me!
5. Endless rain...it is, after all, the rainy season here.
6. Snoring roommates...obnoxious roommates....
Alright, farewell from the Motherland...when next I write, it'll probably be from censor-free HK!
AARRGGHHHHH!!!!!!!
Damn it! I just wrote a rather lengthy note about China's ethnic minorities cultures, and the myths about Canadian nationalism.....and then the internet went dead, and my note was forever lost...I don't have the energy to write it out again, so....yeah....that's that.
Chillin' With the Locals
Today, I spent the day in Baisha, a small Naxi village located about 20 km outside of Lijiang. It was a great little day trip, and I highly recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in this part of the world. As I was wandering around the muddy little streets, a little old lady approached me and started chatting me up...at first, I was absolutely suspicious and thought that she was definitely after money, but it turns out that she was just a sweet woman, looking for a little company. I wound up chilling with her for a couple of hours, sitting in her garden, drinking tea and eating peanuts and sunflower seeds.... she even brought out a traditional Naxi outfit and insisted that I try it on! She didn't speak any English, and her Mandarin was more like a local dialect, so communication was a little tough, but it was a lot of fun.
Baisha is actually a bit of a mecca for practioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). There's a world-famous doctor named Dr. Ho (He, in pinyin), who runs a private clinic there. If you get a chance, you should look him up on Google, because his story really is quite interesting. I was walking down the street, when suddenly, out of no where, a smiley old man popped out of a building, and said to me, in perfect English, "Hello, I'm Dr. Ho!"....it was Dr. Ho in the flesh! My first Chinese celebrity! He took me to his office and gave me some "healthy tea", and we wound up chatting for a while about the difference between Western medicine and TCM...well, he chatted, and I listened. He also showed me a bunch of articles written about him in the Western press...all very interesting. Before I left, he insisted that i take some "healthy tea" back with me, for free! I couldn't leave without offering anything, so I wound up making a donation to the clinic.
Hehehe...this is SO typical of me, it's not even funny. I actually forgot when I was supposed to fly home, and for the last two months, I'd been planning to head back to HK on a specific date at the end of August...well, yesterday I recieved a friendly email reminder from United Air, telling me that my flight to San Francisco actually leaves several days earlier than I had thought! Holy smokes...thank goodness they sent me that email, otherwise I would not have been back in HK in time for my flight home!
I've now been in Asia for just over two months; I've been having a fantastic time, but I won't lie....I'm beginning to really feel the wear and tear of living out of a backpack. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm home sick, but I'm certainly looking forward to going back to my little apartment, having regular access to laundry, and sleeping in my own bed again. Also, I'm REALLY looking forward to having access to English-language newspapers again! Due to censorship, it's all but impossible to get any English newspapers here except for the "China Daily", which is China's English-language propaganda machine. The other day, I found a two week old copy of the International Herald Tribune, and almost died of joy....it's pathetic...I know....F
inally, thanks to those of you who sent me updates on Harper's new cabinet... partisanship aside, Peter Fuckin' MacKay for Defense? Oh dear....
Baisha is actually a bit of a mecca for practioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). There's a world-famous doctor named Dr. Ho (He, in pinyin), who runs a private clinic there. If you get a chance, you should look him up on Google, because his story really is quite interesting. I was walking down the street, when suddenly, out of no where, a smiley old man popped out of a building, and said to me, in perfect English, "Hello, I'm Dr. Ho!"....it was Dr. Ho in the flesh! My first Chinese celebrity! He took me to his office and gave me some "healthy tea", and we wound up chatting for a while about the difference between Western medicine and TCM...well, he chatted, and I listened. He also showed me a bunch of articles written about him in the Western press...all very interesting. Before I left, he insisted that i take some "healthy tea" back with me, for free! I couldn't leave without offering anything, so I wound up making a donation to the clinic.
Hehehe...this is SO typical of me, it's not even funny. I actually forgot when I was supposed to fly home, and for the last two months, I'd been planning to head back to HK on a specific date at the end of August...well, yesterday I recieved a friendly email reminder from United Air, telling me that my flight to San Francisco actually leaves several days earlier than I had thought! Holy smokes...thank goodness they sent me that email, otherwise I would not have been back in HK in time for my flight home!
I've now been in Asia for just over two months; I've been having a fantastic time, but I won't lie....I'm beginning to really feel the wear and tear of living out of a backpack. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I'm home sick, but I'm certainly looking forward to going back to my little apartment, having regular access to laundry, and sleeping in my own bed again. Also, I'm REALLY looking forward to having access to English-language newspapers again! Due to censorship, it's all but impossible to get any English newspapers here except for the "China Daily", which is China's English-language propaganda machine. The other day, I found a two week old copy of the International Herald Tribune, and almost died of joy....it's pathetic...I know....F
inally, thanks to those of you who sent me updates on Harper's new cabinet... partisanship aside, Peter Fuckin' MacKay for Defense? Oh dear....
I Was a Five-Year-Old Communist
Due to bus ticket availability, it turns out that I've had to stay in Chengdu for an extra day, and will be leaving for Lijiang tomorrow instead of today. This is actually sort of a blessing, as it allowed me to fullfill a childhood dream of seeing a live panda for the first time ever! Sichuan is home to China's panda population, and Chengdu is the site of a major Panda Breeding Research Centre. This morning, I made the pilgrimage over to the centre, and did what everyone does when they first see a flesh and blood baby panda...completely melted and fell apart. I totally lost control of my adult self, and couldn't stop "awwing" and cooing. What can I say...pandas have always had a special place in my heart, ever since my fifth birthday, when my uncle gave me a stuffed panda bear as a gift. His name was "Gong Gong", and he was just about the most fabulous gift I had ever received...I now realize that Gong Gong was a communist bear! He wore a red star pin and a typical commie hat....I loved that bear so much...I would occassionally take the hat off the bear and put it on my head....I was a five-year-old Communist...
Queen of the Throne
In most areas of life, I feel like I'm a relatively low maintenance lady. That being said, if there's one thing I really miss about North America, it's the throne-style toilet. Call me lazy/uncoordinated/picky/prissy/whatever, but the squatters that are all the rage here suck ass. They're especially difficult to use when you're feeling tired/drunk, as their use requires meticulous balance, direct aim, and a precise stance, otherwise, you risk getting *stuff* everywhere. Oh the luxury of the throne....
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