If you're into a bike trip, check out this site.Dazzling said:
www.ferriswheels.com.au
They have a trip to Bhutan that I want to do.
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- Thread starter Simon
- Start date
www.ferriswheels.com.au
They have a trip to Bhutan that I want to do.
Have a great time Simon!
I love backpacking and did a lot of it in my 20s.
We have only managed a month a year in the last two (to Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia) because of the age of our kids & other commitments.
But we did manage to get the kids (5 & 7 at the time) to walk through the himalayas for 5 days, six-eight hours a day...including a day walking through ice and snow.
They should be ripe for bigger trips in a few years.
Cheers,
Aceyducey
I love backpacking and did a lot of it in my 20s.
We have only managed a month a year in the last two (to Nepal, Thailand and Malaysia) because of the age of our kids & other commitments.
But we did manage to get the kids (5 & 7 at the time) to walk through the himalayas for 5 days, six-eight hours a day...including a day walking through ice and snow.
They should be ripe for bigger trips in a few years.
Cheers,
Aceyducey
It reminds me of my back pack trip in China where I couldn't find a cheap foreigner accommodation and pretended that I was an ethnic Korean married to a Chinese and my friend (a red-haired white aussie) also pretended that she was married to a Chinese and we got into this chinese motel at chinese price. My friend wasn't even old enough to marry by Chinese standards!!!! (Depending on the region men have to be over 25 and women over 23. And before you are allowed to have a child the combined age of a couple has to be over 50 because if you reproduce at average age of 20 there will be 5 generations in 100 years, but if you reproduce at average age of 25 there will be only 4 generations- part of their population policy)
After we bargained, and took our Australian passports out, I couldn't forget the stunned look. They were conned but let us stay for 2 nights. They asked what they had to and we answered except that we couldn't produce the paper supporting our claims.
This marriage tactic works for a woman most of the time but not vice versa. Chinese think that you are Chinese if you are married to one of their men regardless of your passport nationality or appearance.
After we bargained, and took our Australian passports out, I couldn't forget the stunned look. They were conned but let us stay for 2 nights. They asked what they had to and we answered except that we couldn't produce the paper supporting our claims.
This marriage tactic works for a woman most of the time but not vice versa. Chinese think that you are Chinese if you are married to one of their men regardless of your passport nationality or appearance.
Just hanging around Coogee beach waiting for my flight tonight. I gave myself 2 days for the visa but they were amazingly efficient so I got a spare day.
I will try to answer some questions but I am no expert on the subect.
I have no Chinese language skills except for Hello. i am not worried I will find my way around and get lost and confused. If that worried me then I would be at home watching telly. I wil comunicate with smiles and gestures and my boyish good looks. When that fails me I will just try again with someone else or go find a beer. beer has enhanced my social skils for more than 20 years now.
I am travelling alone but fully expect to meet other backpackers and share days traveling with others on and off. That is how it has worked in other Asian countries I have visited.
y flight was $1200 with Air Malaysia and I have $1000 in my wallet. I will probably draw another $1000 from my Visa at some point as I intend buying a few gifts and DVDs etc. I am also hoping to find a supplier for some stuff I can eBay - should cover my costs easily enough if I buy memory or something else small and saleable.
Dazzling - I am planning on researching buying some bikes over there and doing a trip next year with a mate - maybe. Depending on whether I get a leave pass and if I think my back will be up to it. Apparently when the Soviets ransacked Germany's industry at the end of the war they took the BMW plant back to the Urals. They have been producing some fantastic 1940s bikes since. They gave the plans to the Chinese and you can buy a new one for $3000 and a reconditioned one for $1800. The new ones have been packed in oil in the PLA war stores for years and have under 50km on the clock. If I decide to try it I will let you know. Plus they have sidecars for your baggage and extra stability!! I think the weaponry is not included but probably unneccesary. Do a few searches and you will find the info - these bikes are exported to the US where collectors and racers love them. Some of the embassy guys own them.
I am not concerned about the health risks. I am innoculated and have lived in other Asian countries - they say most fear is based on ignorance. I fully expect a tummy ache or two as I wil be eating street food. But I honestly believe a freshly cooked street meal is probably safer than a Hotel reheated meal anyway that has been sitting in a bay marie for god knows how long. I caught an intestinal parasite swimming in the Mekong once in Laos. I miss him. I lost about 10kg in three months but have since regained it. Would be happy to lose it again.
Sue - I love backpackersfor the same reason. I have even stayed in the Sydney one on occassion and found myself out socialising with all sorts of Europeans. Everyone treats you like a friend and it is a fabulous way to learn what is worth seeing and what is a rip off as you meet folks coming from where you are going.
Natmarie - My wife did vietnam and cambodia alone for three weeks. She was never fearful and felt as safe as she would here. She is 5'2" and weighs 45kg wringing wet. Don't be too worried. As I mentioned earlier, once you enter the backpacker stream you never see to be alone as you share buses and hostels with the same faces over and over again.
Springtime - thanks for the tip - I wil get in touch with Ting. But my family lives at the embassy in Beijing and I am sure they wil all know exactly where to see the wall. I am thinking of walking a section for 2-3 days and just roughing it in whatever towns I find.
I arrive in Shanghai at 1600 local time fri. Will be riding the maglev which is the worlds fastest train. Covers 36 miles in 8 minutes and costs under $10. I might even do a few trips... Apparently the cruising speed (which it only reaches for 3 minutes - the rest is acceleration and deceleration just like a space mission!) is 460 mph. Awesome! How cool is that!
Do a search for it online under Mag Lev or Maglev and Shanghai. I even watched an 8 min video online someone made of the trip!
So I will be out of touch for a few days. Will try to give you an update and see if I can post some pics. Seems a few folks are interested in my trip.
If anyone of you feels I am doing something they cannot then think again. i have two prolapsed disks in my back and take a cocktail of pills just to walk around each morning. If I can do this then anyone can. I am not special in anyway.
Cheers,
I will try to answer some questions but I am no expert on the subect.
I have no Chinese language skills except for Hello. i am not worried I will find my way around and get lost and confused. If that worried me then I would be at home watching telly. I wil comunicate with smiles and gestures and my boyish good looks. When that fails me I will just try again with someone else or go find a beer. beer has enhanced my social skils for more than 20 years now.
I am travelling alone but fully expect to meet other backpackers and share days traveling with others on and off. That is how it has worked in other Asian countries I have visited.
y flight was $1200 with Air Malaysia and I have $1000 in my wallet. I will probably draw another $1000 from my Visa at some point as I intend buying a few gifts and DVDs etc. I am also hoping to find a supplier for some stuff I can eBay - should cover my costs easily enough if I buy memory or something else small and saleable.
Dazzling - I am planning on researching buying some bikes over there and doing a trip next year with a mate - maybe. Depending on whether I get a leave pass and if I think my back will be up to it. Apparently when the Soviets ransacked Germany's industry at the end of the war they took the BMW plant back to the Urals. They have been producing some fantastic 1940s bikes since. They gave the plans to the Chinese and you can buy a new one for $3000 and a reconditioned one for $1800. The new ones have been packed in oil in the PLA war stores for years and have under 50km on the clock. If I decide to try it I will let you know. Plus they have sidecars for your baggage and extra stability!! I think the weaponry is not included but probably unneccesary. Do a few searches and you will find the info - these bikes are exported to the US where collectors and racers love them. Some of the embassy guys own them.
I am not concerned about the health risks. I am innoculated and have lived in other Asian countries - they say most fear is based on ignorance. I fully expect a tummy ache or two as I wil be eating street food. But I honestly believe a freshly cooked street meal is probably safer than a Hotel reheated meal anyway that has been sitting in a bay marie for god knows how long. I caught an intestinal parasite swimming in the Mekong once in Laos. I miss him. I lost about 10kg in three months but have since regained it. Would be happy to lose it again.
Sue - I love backpackersfor the same reason. I have even stayed in the Sydney one on occassion and found myself out socialising with all sorts of Europeans. Everyone treats you like a friend and it is a fabulous way to learn what is worth seeing and what is a rip off as you meet folks coming from where you are going.
Natmarie - My wife did vietnam and cambodia alone for three weeks. She was never fearful and felt as safe as she would here. She is 5'2" and weighs 45kg wringing wet. Don't be too worried. As I mentioned earlier, once you enter the backpacker stream you never see to be alone as you share buses and hostels with the same faces over and over again.
Springtime - thanks for the tip - I wil get in touch with Ting. But my family lives at the embassy in Beijing and I am sure they wil all know exactly where to see the wall. I am thinking of walking a section for 2-3 days and just roughing it in whatever towns I find.
I arrive in Shanghai at 1600 local time fri. Will be riding the maglev which is the worlds fastest train. Covers 36 miles in 8 minutes and costs under $10. I might even do a few trips... Apparently the cruising speed (which it only reaches for 3 minutes - the rest is acceleration and deceleration just like a space mission!) is 460 mph. Awesome! How cool is that!
Do a search for it online under Mag Lev or Maglev and Shanghai. I even watched an 8 min video online someone made of the trip!
So I will be out of touch for a few days. Will try to give you an update and see if I can post some pics. Seems a few folks are interested in my trip.
If anyone of you feels I am doing something they cannot then think again. i have two prolapsed disks in my back and take a cocktail of pills just to walk around each morning. If I can do this then anyone can. I am not special in anyway.
Cheers,
Quick mandarin lesson for you
ni = you, wo = I
ni hao = Hello
ni hao ma = How are you?, wo hen hao = i'm well
wo ai ni = I love you (remember that you have a wife at home tho
)
wo lai zhi = Im from, then, au da li ya = Australia
si = number 4, say it with the wrong tone means death, so be careful. You'll notice theres no level 4 in the hospitals.
Hope that helps.
ni = you, wo = I
ni hao = Hello
ni hao ma = How are you?, wo hen hao = i'm well
wo ai ni = I love you (remember that you have a wife at home tho
)wo lai zhi = Im from, then, au da li ya = Australia
si = number 4, say it with the wrong tone means death, so be careful. You'll notice theres no level 4 in the hospitals.
Hope that helps.
Well I have finally found an internet cafe with a decent speed connection and hotmail etc comes up in english. For some reason the other times I used it was all in chinese and I couldn't find how to make it english.
i am in Yongshou which is south west of Shanghai. It is famous for the scenery - lots of very tall limestone hills and a big river. It is very hot and humid here but absolutely stunning scenery and friendly people.
I flew into Shanghai and spent two days seeing the sights. It is an enormous city. In Sydney you can see the high rise buildings that mark the cbd. In Shanghai they seem to be all the way too the horizon - even from a lookout tower that was 300m tall we could see city as far as the horizon.
Rode the MagLev train which was pretty cool. Tops speed is 460 kmh but we got up to 431kmh. Didn't feel fast - you could stand and not even hold on. Was smoother than a Sydney train. It banked around the sweeping bends very easily. I met a few taxi drivers here that probably could have got another 100kmh out of it tho. Traffic here, whilst not as bad as Vietnam is still pretty hairy. red lights and zebra crossings are just for decoration. i nearly got run over this morning by a van and I was on the footpath - so was he. Horns are not only for emergencies but also a form of self expression.
As you can imagine it was too busy for me and I decided to go to this place. The train trip was 28 hours so I decided to fly - was less than $200 and I am glad I did. I am staying at a youth hostel but tomorrow I am moving to an english school. They have offered me free food and board in exchange for a 45 min speech about Australia and my attendance at English Corner where expats sit with the students for two hours and chat over a cold drink or a beer on Wed nights. I think that having the westerners there gives them more credibility with the students. If anyone goes to China then you need to come here.
This afternoon I am climbing a huge hill with some of the english guys from the school and tomorrow I am going rafting. Luckily I saw Dr Lilly this morning who is a Chinese medicine Dr and she gave me an amazing massage for $10. I reckon I will need another tomorrow.
So in a few days I will fly to Xian which is where the terracotta warriors are, then onto Beijing. I will do a trip to the wall and maybe another trip somewhere else if I need a break from Beijing. The people here are so friendly. They all want to practise english with me.
So far I have done a lot of walking and a lot of just relaxing and people watching from backpackers cafes. As I said I am getting more adventurous tomorrow with the rafting and maybe some caving. they also do a lot of rock cflimbing and abseiling here as well on the limestone hills. Some pictures here.
http://www.guilinchina.net/photo/yangshuo.htm
I have been eating mostly in local cafes and roadstalls. An amazing feed of ten dumplings and a plate of stirfried veges with a 600ml was just over $2. Food isn't expensive here if you eat locally. Most tourists are paying 5 times as much and still think it cheap! but I prefer the local food than the backpacker meals of banana pancakes and pizza etc
I will try and post again from Xian. Will definately be able to do so from the Australian Embassy in Beijing where I will be staying for a week or so.
Cheers
i am in Yongshou which is south west of Shanghai. It is famous for the scenery - lots of very tall limestone hills and a big river. It is very hot and humid here but absolutely stunning scenery and friendly people.
I flew into Shanghai and spent two days seeing the sights. It is an enormous city. In Sydney you can see the high rise buildings that mark the cbd. In Shanghai they seem to be all the way too the horizon - even from a lookout tower that was 300m tall we could see city as far as the horizon.
Rode the MagLev train which was pretty cool. Tops speed is 460 kmh but we got up to 431kmh. Didn't feel fast - you could stand and not even hold on. Was smoother than a Sydney train. It banked around the sweeping bends very easily. I met a few taxi drivers here that probably could have got another 100kmh out of it tho. Traffic here, whilst not as bad as Vietnam is still pretty hairy. red lights and zebra crossings are just for decoration. i nearly got run over this morning by a van and I was on the footpath - so was he. Horns are not only for emergencies but also a form of self expression.
As you can imagine it was too busy for me and I decided to go to this place. The train trip was 28 hours so I decided to fly - was less than $200 and I am glad I did. I am staying at a youth hostel but tomorrow I am moving to an english school. They have offered me free food and board in exchange for a 45 min speech about Australia and my attendance at English Corner where expats sit with the students for two hours and chat over a cold drink or a beer on Wed nights. I think that having the westerners there gives them more credibility with the students. If anyone goes to China then you need to come here.
This afternoon I am climbing a huge hill with some of the english guys from the school and tomorrow I am going rafting. Luckily I saw Dr Lilly this morning who is a Chinese medicine Dr and she gave me an amazing massage for $10. I reckon I will need another tomorrow.
So in a few days I will fly to Xian which is where the terracotta warriors are, then onto Beijing. I will do a trip to the wall and maybe another trip somewhere else if I need a break from Beijing. The people here are so friendly. They all want to practise english with me.
So far I have done a lot of walking and a lot of just relaxing and people watching from backpackers cafes. As I said I am getting more adventurous tomorrow with the rafting and maybe some caving. they also do a lot of rock cflimbing and abseiling here as well on the limestone hills. Some pictures here.
http://www.guilinchina.net/photo/yangshuo.htm
I have been eating mostly in local cafes and roadstalls. An amazing feed of ten dumplings and a plate of stirfried veges with a 600ml was just over $2. Food isn't expensive here if you eat locally. Most tourists are paying 5 times as much and still think it cheap! but I prefer the local food than the backpacker meals of banana pancakes and pizza etc
I will try and post again from Xian. Will definately be able to do so from the Australian Embassy in Beijing where I will be staying for a week or so.
Cheers
Last edited:
Sitting in a cafe enjoying my $1 beer and free internet. Playing some pool later...
Michael - that was the Pearl Tower.
Just tried to climb a mountain with two chinese friends I have met. Six years of good civilian life saw me quit halfway and nurse my sorry **** back to the hostel for a shower and little lie down. Got chased by two chinese dogs. like Dingos with six inch legs. All bark and no bite - much like myself.
Just bought myself a ticket to Xian on Friday to see the Terracotta warriors then off to Beijing.
Had a massage today with Dr Lilly who is a proper Dr of Chinese medicine. Was feeling a bit sore after travelling and sleeping in dodgy beds. She was amazing. Was like Roger Ramjet popping a proton pill (aplogies to the younger readers).
Not much else to report. Maybe some observations of day to day things.
Just went to the local markets. Saw baskets of live eels, ducks, fish, frogs etc. Saw a lady order a frog meal and the stall owner fished out something that was more cane toad than frog (in Aust frogs are cute and loveable symbols of enviroment - not here) dash it onto the concrete then dismember and stir fried it. Doesn't get fresher than that. I did try frog in Shanghai - was Ok but the little bones put me off ordering it again. Also tried sea cucumber which tasted like flavourless jelly - lucky the sauce was nice.
Some of the local agricultural vehicles are odd. Like a 1920s tuck with an engine mounted on the front wheel. looks like the front wheel, steering and engine are just bolted onto the truck. In Thailand they disconnect them and use them to pull ploughs etc. A very handy bit of kit.
Not as many bikes as I expected. lots of postie scooters - many are electric so you have no warning they are upon you until nearly too late. Buses are electric too in the big towns with tram cables which they use for power. Was amazed at how clear the skies were in Shanghai which is the world's biggest city apparently.
This beer tastes good.... got a game of pool soon against Andreas from Austria. he has a shirt which says :there are no kangaroos in austria" he tells me he is sick of explaining that Austria is its own country and much older than us colonials...
Going rafting tomorrow along some picturesque river. Will let you all know how it goes. I should be a tour guide and bring a bunch of you fat rich investors out for an adventure!
Cheers for now.
Michael - that was the Pearl Tower.
Just tried to climb a mountain with two chinese friends I have met. Six years of good civilian life saw me quit halfway and nurse my sorry **** back to the hostel for a shower and little lie down. Got chased by two chinese dogs. like Dingos with six inch legs. All bark and no bite - much like myself.
Just bought myself a ticket to Xian on Friday to see the Terracotta warriors then off to Beijing.
Had a massage today with Dr Lilly who is a proper Dr of Chinese medicine. Was feeling a bit sore after travelling and sleeping in dodgy beds. She was amazing. Was like Roger Ramjet popping a proton pill (aplogies to the younger readers).
Not much else to report. Maybe some observations of day to day things.
Just went to the local markets. Saw baskets of live eels, ducks, fish, frogs etc. Saw a lady order a frog meal and the stall owner fished out something that was more cane toad than frog (in Aust frogs are cute and loveable symbols of enviroment - not here) dash it onto the concrete then dismember and stir fried it. Doesn't get fresher than that. I did try frog in Shanghai - was Ok but the little bones put me off ordering it again. Also tried sea cucumber which tasted like flavourless jelly - lucky the sauce was nice.
Some of the local agricultural vehicles are odd. Like a 1920s tuck with an engine mounted on the front wheel. looks like the front wheel, steering and engine are just bolted onto the truck. In Thailand they disconnect them and use them to pull ploughs etc. A very handy bit of kit.
Not as many bikes as I expected. lots of postie scooters - many are electric so you have no warning they are upon you until nearly too late. Buses are electric too in the big towns with tram cables which they use for power. Was amazed at how clear the skies were in Shanghai which is the world's biggest city apparently.
This beer tastes good.... got a game of pool soon against Andreas from Austria. he has a shirt which says :there are no kangaroos in austria" he tells me he is sick of explaining that Austria is its own country and much older than us colonials...
Going rafting tomorrow along some picturesque river. Will let you all know how it goes. I should be a tour guide and bring a bunch of you fat rich investors out for an adventure!
Cheers for now.
Here I am in Beijing relaxing in a four bedroom apartment inside the Australian Embassy. Nice setup here. When you enter the gate it is like you have been transported to another land. Not quite Australia but eerily close...
Since I wrote I have done some white water rafting in Yongshou. I will try to share the experience.
Imagine 100 people all being dropped by a multitude of assorted vehicles at a spot in the countryside. We are each issued with a helmet, a life jacket and socks with no ends to wear over our knees and elbows. Do you remember at primary school making helmets out of ice cream containers? That's what these were like.
We were then bussed again to a point in the river where a crudely built dam was built with a chute closed off by planks.
We were paired off and sat in rafts - not pro white water rafts but better than KMart kiddies blow up boats... I will just add that this seems to be run by villagers with a tenuous grasp on OH+S and general water safety.
With no briefings, the planks were hoisted out of the chute and one by one we were sent down a slide dropping about 6 metres. Did I mention that I was the only foreigner? Chinese do a lot of internal tourism.
The chute was exciting but not rough enough to dampen the ubiquitous cigarettes that everyone kept producing from their sodden clothing.
From there we experienced normal white water conditions with the added attraction of homemade concrete and stone walls to channel the water into greater speeds. We had no paddles either. If a rock proved too sharp and piece of ply was tied over it as a cushion. Tied with clothesline string that seemd to hold up.
About every 10 minutes we would reach another artificial dam. They would wait until all 50 boats rafted up together then haul out the planks and set us off again.
All along the course were enterprising villagers with digital cameras snapping shots of everyone hoping to sell them to us at the end. With the same helmets and lifejackets I couldn't pick my white face from the 99 tanned faces and I reckon the locals just bought the most exciting looking shots and claimed they were in them.
Eventually we ended up back at the kit issue point and dragged our sore arses from the water and stripped of our kit. Elderly ladies with thermos's and kettles produced a warming sweet ginger tea for 1 yuan (20cents) and we were mobbed by photo selling touts. I bought some peanuts and fruit and took a break to help a dozen of the braver souls to practice their english. i practised my hello and winning smile.
To those who were concerned about my lack of language skills - it hasn't been a problem. My lost looks seem to always attract a good samaritan to come and translate for me or point out the right bus or tell me what I am eating. It kinda makes me ashamed of how we don't warmly welcome tourists - especially Asian ones. I have had meals thrust upon me, drinks bought for me and rides offered. I know that back home I have fed the odd European backpacker but not on this scale I have experienced.
Did I mention that the river was littered with smashed helmets? I saw no injuries on my trip but I bet they happen...
So that night I saw Dr Lilley for a sorely needed massage and wandered off to English Conrner at the local English School for a feed and a chat.
next day saw me hire a guide for the day and a pushbike. ($5 and $1 respectively). We rode about 300 km and this bike had certainly seen better days. Maybe about 10 km actually but it felt longer. It seemed to be a decent mountain bike with suspension but that suspension didn't handle my 85 kilos of twisted steel and sex appeal and my back wheel kept rubbing the guard the whole trip - that and it changed gears at the most innoportune moments.
julie was my guide and you couldn't meet a sweeter 19 year old girl. She rode a bike that resembled the old lady's bike from the Wizard of Oz with one speed and looked effotless as she led my puffing and sweating mass through the traffic.
She showed me a 1400 year old Banyan Tree, lots of lovely river spots and a big cave system. Unfortunately my camera died and every shot is bright blue - I think it is the humidity.
The cave was incredible - but for all the wrong reasons.
Firstly we were led through in groups of about 60. All local tourists and me. They shouted to be heard and the guide used his megaphone like it was his badge of office. His english was similar to my chinese as it was limited to hello and No. or at least that is all he said to me. people smoked all the way through and would have souveniered bits of stalagmites had any been left. Eventually I slipped away and found myslef and icy clear pool and stripped off and sat in it. noone missed me for about 30 minutes until Mr megaphone came looking. he explained vigorously, through his megaphone at a range of 6 inches, all my shortcomings and, I suspect, the shortcomings of my ancestors. I rejoined the group and he seemed mollified.
Eventually I got out of the cave system and rejoined Julie for a ride home. She just didn't want to stop. i paid her a 50% tip and still felt cheap - but as she explained she was doing it for the english practice. I bought her some cold water and I noticed that she rubbed the bottle against her face but put the bottle unopened in her bag. I suspect she would resell it later.
left Youngshou that night for Guilin and a flight to Xian the following morning.
Xian has some amazing historical sites to see. The rest is a very hot, hazy and grubby city - the worst I have seen.
i booked a tour - conscious of my caving adventure I asked for an english guide and was promised a small group of 6-10 people in a minibus with an english speaking guide and be picked up at 8am.
At 8.50 am a girl named shy came tearing into the lobby and dragged me to a huge bus. She apologised for being late as she had 35 tourists to fetch from different hotels. It went downhill from there.
Highlights were the terracotta Warriors, A hill that was actually a man made tomb for an Emporer and then an underground chamber decorated as his summer palace. it was underground as summer that day was pushing 40 degrees.
I left the next morning for Beijing and here I am. Taking a break whilst washing all my clothes and sleeping on a decent bed.
Plan to do some sightseeing tomorrow and arrange a tour to the wall. I am also chatting to my brother and friends about perhaps visiting a town along the coast before I head home via KL.
More to follow...
Since I wrote I have done some white water rafting in Yongshou. I will try to share the experience.
Imagine 100 people all being dropped by a multitude of assorted vehicles at a spot in the countryside. We are each issued with a helmet, a life jacket and socks with no ends to wear over our knees and elbows. Do you remember at primary school making helmets out of ice cream containers? That's what these were like.
We were then bussed again to a point in the river where a crudely built dam was built with a chute closed off by planks.
We were paired off and sat in rafts - not pro white water rafts but better than KMart kiddies blow up boats... I will just add that this seems to be run by villagers with a tenuous grasp on OH+S and general water safety.
With no briefings, the planks were hoisted out of the chute and one by one we were sent down a slide dropping about 6 metres. Did I mention that I was the only foreigner? Chinese do a lot of internal tourism.
The chute was exciting but not rough enough to dampen the ubiquitous cigarettes that everyone kept producing from their sodden clothing.
From there we experienced normal white water conditions with the added attraction of homemade concrete and stone walls to channel the water into greater speeds. We had no paddles either. If a rock proved too sharp and piece of ply was tied over it as a cushion. Tied with clothesline string that seemd to hold up.
About every 10 minutes we would reach another artificial dam. They would wait until all 50 boats rafted up together then haul out the planks and set us off again.
All along the course were enterprising villagers with digital cameras snapping shots of everyone hoping to sell them to us at the end. With the same helmets and lifejackets I couldn't pick my white face from the 99 tanned faces and I reckon the locals just bought the most exciting looking shots and claimed they were in them.
Eventually we ended up back at the kit issue point and dragged our sore arses from the water and stripped of our kit. Elderly ladies with thermos's and kettles produced a warming sweet ginger tea for 1 yuan (20cents) and we were mobbed by photo selling touts. I bought some peanuts and fruit and took a break to help a dozen of the braver souls to practice their english. i practised my hello and winning smile.
To those who were concerned about my lack of language skills - it hasn't been a problem. My lost looks seem to always attract a good samaritan to come and translate for me or point out the right bus or tell me what I am eating. It kinda makes me ashamed of how we don't warmly welcome tourists - especially Asian ones. I have had meals thrust upon me, drinks bought for me and rides offered. I know that back home I have fed the odd European backpacker but not on this scale I have experienced.
Did I mention that the river was littered with smashed helmets? I saw no injuries on my trip but I bet they happen...
So that night I saw Dr Lilley for a sorely needed massage and wandered off to English Conrner at the local English School for a feed and a chat.
next day saw me hire a guide for the day and a pushbike. ($5 and $1 respectively). We rode about 300 km and this bike had certainly seen better days. Maybe about 10 km actually but it felt longer. It seemed to be a decent mountain bike with suspension but that suspension didn't handle my 85 kilos of twisted steel and sex appeal and my back wheel kept rubbing the guard the whole trip - that and it changed gears at the most innoportune moments.
julie was my guide and you couldn't meet a sweeter 19 year old girl. She rode a bike that resembled the old lady's bike from the Wizard of Oz with one speed and looked effotless as she led my puffing and sweating mass through the traffic.
She showed me a 1400 year old Banyan Tree, lots of lovely river spots and a big cave system. Unfortunately my camera died and every shot is bright blue - I think it is the humidity.
The cave was incredible - but for all the wrong reasons.
Firstly we were led through in groups of about 60. All local tourists and me. They shouted to be heard and the guide used his megaphone like it was his badge of office. His english was similar to my chinese as it was limited to hello and No. or at least that is all he said to me. people smoked all the way through and would have souveniered bits of stalagmites had any been left. Eventually I slipped away and found myslef and icy clear pool and stripped off and sat in it. noone missed me for about 30 minutes until Mr megaphone came looking. he explained vigorously, through his megaphone at a range of 6 inches, all my shortcomings and, I suspect, the shortcomings of my ancestors. I rejoined the group and he seemed mollified.
Eventually I got out of the cave system and rejoined Julie for a ride home. She just didn't want to stop. i paid her a 50% tip and still felt cheap - but as she explained she was doing it for the english practice. I bought her some cold water and I noticed that she rubbed the bottle against her face but put the bottle unopened in her bag. I suspect she would resell it later.
left Youngshou that night for Guilin and a flight to Xian the following morning.
Xian has some amazing historical sites to see. The rest is a very hot, hazy and grubby city - the worst I have seen.
i booked a tour - conscious of my caving adventure I asked for an english guide and was promised a small group of 6-10 people in a minibus with an english speaking guide and be picked up at 8am.
At 8.50 am a girl named shy came tearing into the lobby and dragged me to a huge bus. She apologised for being late as she had 35 tourists to fetch from different hotels. It went downhill from there.
Highlights were the terracotta Warriors, A hill that was actually a man made tomb for an Emporer and then an underground chamber decorated as his summer palace. it was underground as summer that day was pushing 40 degrees.
I left the next morning for Beijing and here I am. Taking a break whilst washing all my clothes and sleeping on a decent bed.
Plan to do some sightseeing tomorrow and arrange a tour to the wall. I am also chatting to my brother and friends about perhaps visiting a town along the coast before I head home via KL.
More to follow...
I visited Tianamen Square this morning followed by the Forbidden city.
T Square is a big public area with some communist inspired statues of workers and soldiers and the odd flagpole. No sign at all of the infamous student suppression days.
Wandered across to the Forbidden City. Was talked into hiring a guide - as she explained it was a oncve in a lifetime experience and to go cheap was to rob myself of decent meories. She seemed articulate and enthusiastic. So off we went. Unfortunately her english seemed limited to stories of her farming origins and how she was working this job to get her siblings and herself through university - given the one child policy here she seemed to have many needy brothers and sisters. her boss was very rich but paid her little and she depended on big tips from tourists like myself. We wandered past several buildings which she told me weren't interesting as they were offices for minor palace administrators. At some point we were seperated in the crowd of local tourists and she couldn't find me again. I suspect she gathered that as an Aussie I was prob not a big tipper and she cut her losses and went looking for an American tourist or she genuinely lost me. Either way it seemed more enjoyable without her whining and I spent a couple of hours exploring the old palace and grounds. Unfortunately this area is visited by thousands of locals and tourists each day and every exhibit was a crush of people. Once I would get to a glassed in door to look inside a building I would be pushed and shoved away from it by all manner of people. Didn't worry me too much as the windows were filthy from a thousand grubby fingers and reflected the sunlight so much it was hard to see inside the dark buildings. but I did enjoy the gardens and statues etc.
wandered out the backdoor and was accosted by an army of rickshaw drivers wanting to ride me through the hutongs which are the older style housing areas with narrow winding shady streets and interesting sights. Unfortunately whole blocks of these are being bulldozed and replaced with new apartments. I have been told the younger generation enjoy the new apartments with the older generation preferring the community feel of the Hutongs. A saying here is "A close neighbour is better than a distant relative". Seems a shame to lose these places. Imagine the terrace streets in Sydney being demolished for unimaginative apartments.
Then came back home for another onslaught on the local DVD fellow. A new release movie costs about $1.30 and most seem to be of top quality. I have found that, like Malaysia, new releases such as Superman Returns etc are filmed with a camcorder on a tripod inside a cinema and are of dubious quality. But sooner or later the pirates get the master disks and pump out perfect replicas.
Am trying to find Mr Ting for my trip to see the Great Wall, as recommended in an earlier thread but to date he hasn't answered his phone or replied to my emails. I am so loathe to go on a randomly selected tour so I will keep trying to get ahold of him.
Thanks for the Kudo's - I am glad some of you seem to be enjoying my ramblings.
My brother's Chinese maid makes killer dumplings so I am now off to sweet talk her for some .....
Cheers,
T Square is a big public area with some communist inspired statues of workers and soldiers and the odd flagpole. No sign at all of the infamous student suppression days.
Wandered across to the Forbidden City. Was talked into hiring a guide - as she explained it was a oncve in a lifetime experience and to go cheap was to rob myself of decent meories. She seemed articulate and enthusiastic. So off we went. Unfortunately her english seemed limited to stories of her farming origins and how she was working this job to get her siblings and herself through university - given the one child policy here she seemed to have many needy brothers and sisters. her boss was very rich but paid her little and she depended on big tips from tourists like myself. We wandered past several buildings which she told me weren't interesting as they were offices for minor palace administrators. At some point we were seperated in the crowd of local tourists and she couldn't find me again. I suspect she gathered that as an Aussie I was prob not a big tipper and she cut her losses and went looking for an American tourist or she genuinely lost me. Either way it seemed more enjoyable without her whining and I spent a couple of hours exploring the old palace and grounds. Unfortunately this area is visited by thousands of locals and tourists each day and every exhibit was a crush of people. Once I would get to a glassed in door to look inside a building I would be pushed and shoved away from it by all manner of people. Didn't worry me too much as the windows were filthy from a thousand grubby fingers and reflected the sunlight so much it was hard to see inside the dark buildings. but I did enjoy the gardens and statues etc.
wandered out the backdoor and was accosted by an army of rickshaw drivers wanting to ride me through the hutongs which are the older style housing areas with narrow winding shady streets and interesting sights. Unfortunately whole blocks of these are being bulldozed and replaced with new apartments. I have been told the younger generation enjoy the new apartments with the older generation preferring the community feel of the Hutongs. A saying here is "A close neighbour is better than a distant relative". Seems a shame to lose these places. Imagine the terrace streets in Sydney being demolished for unimaginative apartments.
Then came back home for another onslaught on the local DVD fellow. A new release movie costs about $1.30 and most seem to be of top quality. I have found that, like Malaysia, new releases such as Superman Returns etc are filmed with a camcorder on a tripod inside a cinema and are of dubious quality. But sooner or later the pirates get the master disks and pump out perfect replicas.
Am trying to find Mr Ting for my trip to see the Great Wall, as recommended in an earlier thread but to date he hasn't answered his phone or replied to my emails. I am so loathe to go on a randomly selected tour so I will keep trying to get ahold of him.
Thanks for the Kudo's - I am glad some of you seem to be enjoying my ramblings.
My brother's Chinese maid makes killer dumplings so I am now off to sweet talk her for some .....
Cheers,
Simon said:
When I was in China about three years ago, I thought the same thing. How could they have so many brothers and sisters, considering that Chinese strictly implement one child policy.
Then much later I realised that they called their cousins "brother" and "sister" as well, especially the cousins on paternal(father's brothers kids only because they have the same surname) side. I guess because most of them don't have a brother or a sister, they probably assume that you know they are referring to their cousins.
Even when they are speaking Chinese they say "my brother" and "my sister", confusing listeners like me, who diifferenciates own siblings from cousins.
Just think of this as cultural difference and they are directly translating how they perceive and think in Chinese.
In my case, my vocabulary dramatically reduced in English regarding my family relations when I came here because English did not differenciate Older from Younger siblings, Aunts and/or Uncles from father's side and mother's side etc. No word for parent's cousins etc. Initially when I first spoke about family instead of saying aunt, I used to say my mother's sister, my father's sister etc, and describe the whole relation because referring to them as just an aunt did not feel right.
Now even when I speak Korean, I tend to generalise all the family relation words in beause I haven't used it for yonks and get into heaps of trouble, especially when referring to elders in family, for lack of respect.
