Alright, after five okay-ish days in Hong Kong, I'm packing up my bags and heading towards the Motherland...a.k.a. the red monster called China. Starting today, I'm going to be living out of my backpack for abou two months, which I think will be fun for about two weeks before it begins to get really old.
Hong Kong, for the most part, has been a nice week of not doing much of anything. I'm not a big Hong Kong person...the heat, the humidity, the insane congestion, the frequent drip of air conditioner window units hitting poor, unsuspecting pedestrians...it's not for everyone. I'm quite excited about the China leg of my trip, although the same issues of heat/humidity/peeing air conditioners and congestion all apply. Since I arrived in Hong Kong, just about every hong konger I've met has had some sort of ominous warning about travels through China. I find that there is a real prejudice among HKers about mainland China and the people. Some of it is well warranted, but I definitely think that quite a lot of it is unfair. There's a real sense that China is uncivilized and just a jungle of blood-thirsty subhumans who are looking to screw you over. After spending six weeks in China, perhaps I will feel the same way, but at the moment, I'm feeling optimistic.
Okay, I should get back to packing, so this is it for now. In fact, depending on whether or not I can access this site in China, this could be it for quite awhile. If that's the case, I'll try to post updates and photos on Facebook. Zai jian!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Mongolia, PLEASE Let Me In!!!!!
I have been in Hong Kong for four days now. It's been a fairly quiet few days, just getting adjusted to the time difference, and learning how to deal with the incredibly oppressive humidity. I don't wanna spend a lot of time bitching and moaning about the weather, but I would like to say that I've come to accept that if the humidity is this bad everywhere I go, I can pretty much bank on not having a single good hair day between now and September.
I spent most of the weekend with my mom, just walking around Kowloon and part of the New Territories. I've only been to Hong Kong with my mother once, and it was back in 1994, so it's been quite a different experience being here with her as an adult. I am a little taken aback by how at home and in her element she appears to be. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting my mother, she's not what I would describe as being somebody who is very good with directions or finding her way around. She has been living in a relatively small and compact suburb of Vancouver for about three years, but still manages to get lost if she's more than a block or two away from home; however, in Hong Kong (a gigantic city that she hasn't lived in for more than thirty years, and only visits at most for a few weeks a year) she seems to know every single bus route and MTR (the subway system) station by heart! It's sort of amazing how she's still very much a "local".
My mother is going to be coming with me to mainland China for two weeks before I head off for Mongolia. We're leaving for Shanghai on Wednesday evening. I have a cousin from Canada who has been working there for the last few years, so I'm quite looking forward to seeing her again. I visited her during the summer of 2005, and it was great to be able to see Shanghai with someone who knows the city both as a local, but also as a foreigner. As a local, she knows of great restaurants/bars/lounges that aren't total tourist traps, and as a foreigner, she appreciates some of the touristy places. In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing my cousin, and hopefully enjoying some of the Shanghai contemporary art scene and nightlife.
Tomorrow morning I have to go to the Mongolian Consulate in Hong Kong to hopefully sort out once and for all my visa problems. As of now, I still don't have the necessary documentation to get into Mongolia, which is pretty frustrating, seeing that i'm pretty much on a first name basis with every employee of the Mongolian Embassy in Ottawa after having called them every other day for the last month. If I don't get this damn visa, it looks like I'm going to have to seriously modify (i.e. completely tear apart and start from scratch) my research plan....... something I'm hoping to avoid.
Tuesday is a public holiday in Hong Kong for the Dragon Boat Festival. I don't really know what the deal is with Dragon Boat racing, but hopefully I'll find out on Tuesday. Okay, I think that's all for now. I better go practice my best "please-give-me-a-visa-because-i'm-a-very-sweet-girl" face in the mirror. Wish me luck!
Steph
I spent most of the weekend with my mom, just walking around Kowloon and part of the New Territories. I've only been to Hong Kong with my mother once, and it was back in 1994, so it's been quite a different experience being here with her as an adult. I am a little taken aback by how at home and in her element she appears to be. For those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting my mother, she's not what I would describe as being somebody who is very good with directions or finding her way around. She has been living in a relatively small and compact suburb of Vancouver for about three years, but still manages to get lost if she's more than a block or two away from home; however, in Hong Kong (a gigantic city that she hasn't lived in for more than thirty years, and only visits at most for a few weeks a year) she seems to know every single bus route and MTR (the subway system) station by heart! It's sort of amazing how she's still very much a "local".
My mother is going to be coming with me to mainland China for two weeks before I head off for Mongolia. We're leaving for Shanghai on Wednesday evening. I have a cousin from Canada who has been working there for the last few years, so I'm quite looking forward to seeing her again. I visited her during the summer of 2005, and it was great to be able to see Shanghai with someone who knows the city both as a local, but also as a foreigner. As a local, she knows of great restaurants/bars/lounges that aren't total tourist traps, and as a foreigner, she appreciates some of the touristy places. In any case, I'm looking forward to seeing my cousin, and hopefully enjoying some of the Shanghai contemporary art scene and nightlife.
Tomorrow morning I have to go to the Mongolian Consulate in Hong Kong to hopefully sort out once and for all my visa problems. As of now, I still don't have the necessary documentation to get into Mongolia, which is pretty frustrating, seeing that i'm pretty much on a first name basis with every employee of the Mongolian Embassy in Ottawa after having called them every other day for the last month. If I don't get this damn visa, it looks like I'm going to have to seriously modify (i.e. completely tear apart and start from scratch) my research plan....... something I'm hoping to avoid.
Tuesday is a public holiday in Hong Kong for the Dragon Boat Festival. I don't really know what the deal is with Dragon Boat racing, but hopefully I'll find out on Tuesday. Okay, I think that's all for now. I better go practice my best "please-give-me-a-visa-because-i'm-a-very-sweet-girl" face in the mirror. Wish me luck!
Steph
Friday, June 15, 2007
Hong Kong
I have arrived in Hong Kong in one piece, and thankfully, so has my luggage. I left my apartment in Toronto at 4AM on Thursday morning, and landed in Hong Kong at 7PM Friday night, which basically means it took about 24 hours to get here. For the most part, the trip over was uneventful. I flew from Toronto to Vancouver, had a quick sushi lunch with my brother, and then hopped on the plane for the 13 hour ride to Hong Kong. While getting to Hong Kong proved to be straight forward and simple enough, finding my mother in the Hong Kong Airport was like a game of cat and mouse! Without getting into the details, it basically took an hour to find my mom, which was just enough time to begin to feel slightly abandoned and panicky....
Since arriving at the family house a couple of hours ago, I've done nothing except for attempt to unpack (i.e. unfurl some wrinkled clothing and throw them over the back of a chair), and let my grandmother peel and feed me lychees. I'm pretty pooped, but I'm trying to hold of sleep for another hour or two, hoping that it'll help beat the jetlag. The weekend is looking to be relatively low key. I think that I might go to visit some of the walled villages in the New Territories area of Hong Kong tomorrow, and maybe hit the beach on Sunday. Most people don't realize it, but Hong Kong actually has some really beautiful beaches and hiking trails, so I'm going to try to take some of it in before jumping over the border into China. Anyhow, there's really nothing else to write about right now.... Oh, I will mention that the air in Hong Kong is pretty nauseating. As the plane was coming down through the clouds towards the airport, the clouds weren't your typical white-grey; instead, they're a delightful blend of purple and brown. The pollution combined with the heat and humidity makes walking through Hong Kong feel a little bit like you're having a picnic in a dumpster. And on that cheerful note, I bid you goodnight.
Steph
Since arriving at the family house a couple of hours ago, I've done nothing except for attempt to unpack (i.e. unfurl some wrinkled clothing and throw them over the back of a chair), and let my grandmother peel and feed me lychees. I'm pretty pooped, but I'm trying to hold of sleep for another hour or two, hoping that it'll help beat the jetlag. The weekend is looking to be relatively low key. I think that I might go to visit some of the walled villages in the New Territories area of Hong Kong tomorrow, and maybe hit the beach on Sunday. Most people don't realize it, but Hong Kong actually has some really beautiful beaches and hiking trails, so I'm going to try to take some of it in before jumping over the border into China. Anyhow, there's really nothing else to write about right now.... Oh, I will mention that the air in Hong Kong is pretty nauseating. As the plane was coming down through the clouds towards the airport, the clouds weren't your typical white-grey; instead, they're a delightful blend of purple and brown. The pollution combined with the heat and humidity makes walking through Hong Kong feel a little bit like you're having a picnic in a dumpster. And on that cheerful note, I bid you goodnight.
Steph
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Packing Up
With something like 29 hours between now and when I'll be hopping into cab bound for Pearson International, I'm beginning to feel the stress of departure looming upon me. I feel like I've spent the last two weeks in permanent preparation mode, and yet there is still much to be done. I've got to finish packing my bags and my apartment, turn my keys over to my apartment sitter, sort out some final work related details, finalize my course selection for September, pick up an assortment of bug sprays and mosquito netting, say farewell to some departing friends who will no longer be in Toronto this fall, and make a dozen phone calls.
Unfortunately, I went for my final round of travel vaccinations this morning, and so I'm feeling a little dopey and can't move my right arm above shoulder level. On the bright side, I can sleep easy knowing that I'm probably not going to be getting yellow fever, typhoid, hep. A, or hep. B....although rabies, malaria and japanese encephalitis remain in the realm of possibility. Oh well, if I get bitten by a rabid dog we'll just call it a cultural experience. I've never seen the inside of a Mongolian hospital, I'm sure it could be interesting....
I was with a dear friend this evening discussing my expectations for the coming ten weeks, and it suddenly dawned upon me that I haven't really considered what I'm hoping to get out of the experience. I've thought an awful lot about the research side (for those of you who have been lucky enough to avoid talking to me about it, I'm doing field research on the politicization of ethnicity), but beyond that... I'm keeping it pretty low key in terms of expectations.
My rough travel route is as followed:
1.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Huangshan/Tunxi, Xian, Beijing. (China)
2.Mongolia, starting in Ulan Bator, and working my way to the Gobi Desert
3.Back to Beijing, and either taking the train up to Lhasa (Tibet), or flying to Chengdu in the Sichuan province. Getting to Tibet could prove to be a real challenge, as you need a special permit from the Chinese government; unfortunately, there were some recent American protests at the Everest Base Camp over the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and the Chinese government has stopped issuing permits to foreigners.
4. Depending on whether or not I get to Tibet, I'll come down through the Sichuan province, work through Yunnan, Guizhou, Guanxi and back to Guangzhou, which is the Chinese province closest to Hong Kong. If I don't get to Tibet, I'll have more time, and I might try to swing through Northern Vietnam (from the Yunnan province) to Halong Bay. If I do get to Tibet, I'd be interested in taking the Friendship Highway from Lhasa to Kathmandu (Nepal), but realistically, I think I might be hard pressed for time.
Ten weeks feels like a long time, but I'm thinking that already this is a fairly charged schedule. I'm sad to know that I won't be able to make it to the Xinjiang province in China (it borders Pakistan, home to more ethnic minorities than Han Chinese, and makes up approximately 1/6th of China's territory), but it's quite far and difficult to get to, and not necessarily the safest place to be traveling alone as a female traveler. If any one of you well-weathered travelers has recommendations of interesting places to visit or things to do, drop me a line. With the exception of Mongolia and a couple of stops in China where I have a certain research schedule commitments to follow, my path is quite flexible and open to change.
I'll try to post regularly, but I warn you now that as I encounter keyboards with different key layouts, you can expect the quality of grammar and spelling control to go down significantly.
Next time I write, I will be enjoying the stinking hot heat, pollution and humidity of Hong Kong, catching up with some friends and family, and hopefully indulging in several bowls of mango/sago/pomelo soup!
Peace and love!
Steph
Unfortunately, I went for my final round of travel vaccinations this morning, and so I'm feeling a little dopey and can't move my right arm above shoulder level. On the bright side, I can sleep easy knowing that I'm probably not going to be getting yellow fever, typhoid, hep. A, or hep. B....although rabies, malaria and japanese encephalitis remain in the realm of possibility. Oh well, if I get bitten by a rabid dog we'll just call it a cultural experience. I've never seen the inside of a Mongolian hospital, I'm sure it could be interesting....
I was with a dear friend this evening discussing my expectations for the coming ten weeks, and it suddenly dawned upon me that I haven't really considered what I'm hoping to get out of the experience. I've thought an awful lot about the research side (for those of you who have been lucky enough to avoid talking to me about it, I'm doing field research on the politicization of ethnicity), but beyond that... I'm keeping it pretty low key in terms of expectations.
My rough travel route is as followed:
1.Hong Kong, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Suzhou, Nanjing, Huangshan/Tunxi, Xian, Beijing. (China)
2.Mongolia, starting in Ulan Bator, and working my way to the Gobi Desert
3.Back to Beijing, and either taking the train up to Lhasa (Tibet), or flying to Chengdu in the Sichuan province. Getting to Tibet could prove to be a real challenge, as you need a special permit from the Chinese government; unfortunately, there were some recent American protests at the Everest Base Camp over the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the upcoming Beijing Olympics, and the Chinese government has stopped issuing permits to foreigners.
4. Depending on whether or not I get to Tibet, I'll come down through the Sichuan province, work through Yunnan, Guizhou, Guanxi and back to Guangzhou, which is the Chinese province closest to Hong Kong. If I don't get to Tibet, I'll have more time, and I might try to swing through Northern Vietnam (from the Yunnan province) to Halong Bay. If I do get to Tibet, I'd be interested in taking the Friendship Highway from Lhasa to Kathmandu (Nepal), but realistically, I think I might be hard pressed for time.
Ten weeks feels like a long time, but I'm thinking that already this is a fairly charged schedule. I'm sad to know that I won't be able to make it to the Xinjiang province in China (it borders Pakistan, home to more ethnic minorities than Han Chinese, and makes up approximately 1/6th of China's territory), but it's quite far and difficult to get to, and not necessarily the safest place to be traveling alone as a female traveler. If any one of you well-weathered travelers has recommendations of interesting places to visit or things to do, drop me a line. With the exception of Mongolia and a couple of stops in China where I have a certain research schedule commitments to follow, my path is quite flexible and open to change.
I'll try to post regularly, but I warn you now that as I encounter keyboards with different key layouts, you can expect the quality of grammar and spelling control to go down significantly.
Next time I write, I will be enjoying the stinking hot heat, pollution and humidity of Hong Kong, catching up with some friends and family, and hopefully indulging in several bowls of mango/sago/pomelo soup!
Peace and love!
Steph
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Oh, how embarassing!
I'm so ashamed! I always thought that "traveling" was spelled with two 'l's, but apparently I was wrong. To the spelling police out there, my sincere apologies.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
The Inaugural Blog
Rather than flood your email inboxes with stories and photos that you may or may not be interested in reading/seeing, I've decided that it would be far more efficient to set up a travel blog that you can choose to visit at your own volition.
For those of you who are not aware, I am exactly one week away from departure from Toronto Pearson International Airport, bound for Asia! I'll be hitting Hong Kong temporarily, but I'll be spending most of July and August travelling through China, Mongolia, Tibet, and (hopefully) Nepal or Vietnam. The purpose of the trip is twofold: it's part personal 'vacation' (although sometimes travelling doesn't seem like vacation), and part research. I'm super pumped to go, but I will admit that I'm feeling some stress over the thought of sleeping in hostels and being on the road non-stop for almost three months.
Before departure, I have three critical tasks to complete. If anyone has any recommendations for any or all of these categories, let me know.
1. Find cute and comfortable shoes for the trip (in a moment of temporary insanity, I almost seriously considered those hideous"crocs", but I just can't bring myself to be seen in public and immortalized in photo wearing them).
2. Stock my iPod with new music and podcasts for the road.
3. Choose some books to take for the LONG plane and train rides.
One last thing, I should explain the title of the blog. "Chasing Chinggis" is my homage to Genghis Khan, who is known as Chinggis Khan, the great ruler/warrior in Mongolia. Since the Mongole Empire under his rule covered huge parts of where I'll be travelling, it seems only appropriate.
I don't have much to say right now, but to those of you who I don't see before departure, or potentially won't be seeing in September, have a great summer, and please keep in touch!
Steph
For those of you who are not aware, I am exactly one week away from departure from Toronto Pearson International Airport, bound for Asia! I'll be hitting Hong Kong temporarily, but I'll be spending most of July and August travelling through China, Mongolia, Tibet, and (hopefully) Nepal or Vietnam. The purpose of the trip is twofold: it's part personal 'vacation' (although sometimes travelling doesn't seem like vacation), and part research. I'm super pumped to go, but I will admit that I'm feeling some stress over the thought of sleeping in hostels and being on the road non-stop for almost three months.
Before departure, I have three critical tasks to complete. If anyone has any recommendations for any or all of these categories, let me know.
1. Find cute and comfortable shoes for the trip (in a moment of temporary insanity, I almost seriously considered those hideous"crocs", but I just can't bring myself to be seen in public and immortalized in photo wearing them).
2. Stock my iPod with new music and podcasts for the road.
3. Choose some books to take for the LONG plane and train rides.
One last thing, I should explain the title of the blog. "Chasing Chinggis" is my homage to Genghis Khan, who is known as Chinggis Khan, the great ruler/warrior in Mongolia. Since the Mongole Empire under his rule covered huge parts of where I'll be travelling, it seems only appropriate.
I don't have much to say right now, but to those of you who I don't see before departure, or potentially won't be seeing in September, have a great summer, and please keep in touch!
Steph
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