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Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs

a travel blog by phileasdogg

I'm travelling to some places, taking some photos, eating and drinking local stuff, trying to keep it down, talking to people then travelling somewhere else. Oh, and writing about it. Maybe. If I remember.

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Garden gnomes

Xi'an, China

Took the overnight train from Beijing to Xi'an last night and already the group has divided into two halves - the Fun Gang and the No Fun Gang. Thankfully I'm in the former supported by a British couple, Jo and Jay, Aussie Jodie and American Richard. So we did the beer and cards thing while the others read and slept and generally looked on disapprovingly. But the beer is only about 3.3% ABV here so the chances of us getting up to any alcohol-fuelled high jinx was fairly limited.

Anyway, got to the very nice city of Xi'an which was once China's capital city, and went to see the Terracotta Warriors, a vast underground network of 6000 lifesize soldiers protecting the tomb of the first Emperor of China in about 200BC I think, but only discovered in 1974. The scale of it is immense and must have taken tens of thousands of men to complete. Each individual piece is unique and manufactured to a very high standard, probably because if the craftsmanship wasn't up to scratch then the poor craftsman risked having his head lopped off. Anyway, all very impressive and worthy of its "Eighth Wonder of the World" tag.

Also went for a bike ride around the 14km city wall surrounding Xi'an. Nice city, shame we've only got one night here really.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on October 27, 2008 from Xi'an, China
from the travel blog: Planes, Trains & Taxiwallahs
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Aaaahhhh

Chengdu, China

Baby pandas. Bless. Had another overnight train ride from Xi'an to Chengdu (similar activities to the last one) then went to visit the Panda Breeding Centre nearby the following morning. I thought they would just sit there in their enclosures munching on bamboo but they were quite active - two of them had climbed up a tree and were trying their best to displace each other from the top perch. Needless to say the 6 babies in the panda incubator were very cute. Apparently pandas aren't the most maternal creatures so the cubs often need to be taken away from their mothers for their own safety until they're a bit older.

Slight issue within the tour group emerging. The female half of the Canadian couple is a feisty little one and as she keeps reminding us all, has done 12 trips with this tour company before. Anyway, she reckons a couple of the entry fees that we've been charged for should be included within the overall cost but the way she puts this to our Chinese tour leader David has all the subtlety of a knee in the crotch. It says in our tour notes that one of the worst things you can do to a Chinese person is disrespect them in public, but that doesn't stop her from shouting her mouth off to him in front of the rest of us. He seems a pretty easy going guy but I wouldn't blame him for slipping some superstrength laxative into her noodles.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on October 29, 2008 from Chengdu, China
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Back to basics

Leshan, China

So after the pandas we took a bus on to Leshan, which is most famous for having a great big Buddha carved into a cliff face, Mt Rushmore style. Quite who thought that was a good idea I don't know, but it seems like a lot of hard work for something that actually looks more comic than anything else. But it doesn't stop busloads of Chinese rocking up for a quick pray and to get their mugshots taken in front of it. Anyway, from there it was on to Emeishan, where the rural leg of the tour really starts. We're staying in a working monastery at the foot of Mt Emei, one of the four sacred Buddhist mountains in China. It's a stunning setting, and makes a nice change from the blandness of most hotel rooms. The monks, as you would expect, have the stereotyped shaved heads and robes, but less expectedly most of them seem to have state of the art mobiles clamped to their ears most of the day. And I'm having doubts about the old adage of "cleanliness is close to godliness". The toilet facilities in the monastery are, erm, rudimentary. The smell is on a whole new level from what I got in India. Thankfully Jo has fashioned a poo scarf, consisting of a standard scarf scented with perfume, to be wrapped around the face before entering said facilities.

Anyway, we climbed up Mt Emei today, where we were promised spectacular views from the summit. Sadly, we could barely see each other by then, thanks to the persistent rain and mist. Hey ho. All good training for a longer 2-day trek next week.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 2, 2008 from Leshan, China
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Noodles and Absolut

Kunming, China

Yet another overnight train down to Kunming in Yunnan province. More beers, more cards but the novelty of sleeper trains has definitely worn off. Particularly when you're woken at 7am by some Chinese dude giving a rasping hawk and gobbing into the bin in your cabin! Hawking and spitting is an ever-present in China but it doesn't matter how much you hear/see it, it doesn't get any better.

Anyway, Kunming is an intermediate stop before getting into some of the prettier, more traditional Chinese towns and villages in southern China. Everyone was starving by the time we arrived at 2pm, so tour leader David took us to a local restaurant for cross-the-bridge noodles - you get a big bowl of boiling chicken soup and then raw noodles, meat and veg, stick it all together, and get busy with your chopsticks. It was pretty good. But then we had 5 new members join the tour today so did the sociable thing and went for a group meal about 4 hours later. David took us to a different place and we told him we just wanted something light, so he rabbited away at the waitress in Mandarin and what should turn up 5 minutes later but exactly the same dish we were still digesting. You can have too much of a good thing. There was also some weird performance going on while we were eating which appeared to consist of Chinese people dressing in different world costumes (cowboy, Mexican etc.) and singing badly. So we repaired to a nearby bar and got stuck into a bottle of Absolut vodka. Everything seemed much better then.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 3, 2008 from Kunming, China
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Another post

Dali, China

Another bus ride on to Dali, a very agreeable little town nestled between a mountain and a lake. Went up the mountain on day 1, then got on the bikes and went around some local villages on day 2. Saw some great local markets and had a taste of Chinese pizza from a street vendor - that should definitely be imported. Sadly the weather took a turn for the worse by midday. There's been loads of rain here the last few weeks and there was evidence of flooding everywhere. There was a landslide in a nearby village yesterday that killed 40 people. So the journey home wasn't much fun - think a grey, drizzly November day in England and that's about it. They don't really do heating in China it seems, so took quite a while to warm up again. Needless to say the process was aided by some alcohol. It's a beautiful town though, and really feels like proper China, complete with centuries old buildings, narrow little streets, outdoor food vendors and traditional craftsmen. Apparently the next stop Lijiang is even more beautiful, so just hoping for better weather there.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 4, 2008 from Dali, China
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Climb every mountain

Lijiang, China

Lijiang is beautiful. It's like a picture postcard Chinese town, nestled in the mountains with streams coming straight down off the mountain and running through the maze of cobbled streets, lined with traditional craft shops, guesthouses and Chinese and Tibetan restaurants. We're staying in a brilliant little guesthouse built around a courtyard and although it gets distinctly cold at night, the days have been clear and sunny.

Lijiang was the base for our 2-day trek through Tiger Leaping Gorge, about 2 hours away by bus. As its name would suggest, the Yangtze River surges through a Canyon in the mountainous terrain, and we trekked high above it along mountain paths for about 17kms, overnighting in a guesthouse halfway along. The views were spectacular, and it felt a bit surreal playing cards and having a couple of beers as the sun set on that landscape, with a couple of the Danish boys in our group playing their harmonicas. Think Sound of Music meets Deliverance!

All in all a very enjoyable few days. In fact the last week has been great, and it really feels like we're seeing proper China now. Yangshuo is our next stop, and promises more of the same, so fingers crossed.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 8, 2008 from Lijiang, China
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Final port

Yangshuo, China

I was sorry to leave Lijiang, it was a beautiful town in a great setting, but all good things must come to an end. So we took a couple of local flights to Guilin then a bus to Yangshuo, the last stop in China. The weather has been getting progressively better the further south we've come (the Beijing fleece has long since been discarded) and it was a distinctly balmy 25 degrees in Yangshuo. It's another beautiful landscape, one unlike anything I've seen before. There are about 20,000 karsts dotted across the region, cylindrical or steep pyramid limestone formations ranging from 100m to 300m tall. They give the landscape a magical, ethereal feel, particularly in the early morning mist. We went out for a bike ride a couple of days ago which was just great - unlike the one in Dali, this was proper off-road biking, through little villages and paddy fields being harvested (all by non-mechanical means). Then in the evening we went to see a light show at one of the lakes in town, choreographed by the guy who designed the light show at the opening ceremony of the Olympics. It featured a cast of hundreds, many of whom were local fishermen or farmers, and was highly impressive, aided by the stunning backdrop.

Then yesterday a few of us went kayaking down the Li River which was good fun and a nice peaceful way to appreciate the landscape. It's been good to have 3 full days here - the town itself is not as pretty as Lijiang but is still a very enjoyable place to stay (in spite of a rat running across the floor of our restaurant yesterday!) In fact the last week or so has been brilliant - I'll be sorry to leave China when I get on the overnight train to Hong Kong tonight.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 13, 2008 from Yangshuo, China
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Another colony

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Honkers. Yet another ex-colony. With one of the more interesting stories behind it. China was a net exporter via HK in the mid-19th century thanks to the spice trade, but that soon changed once the British started importing opium from India, which the Chinese took to with some relish. Due to the adverse effect this had on both the economy and the workforce, the Chinese attacked and destroyed a British shipment of opium, the British retaliated and the first opium war was started, which resulted in the Chinese ceding Hong Kong to Her Maj "in perpetuity". 50-odd years later we got hold of the New Territories (Kowloon etc) as well on a 99-year lease. When that expired in 1997, Britain decided it was probably right to hand back Honkers as well. Anyway, that started a 50 year period where Hong Kong is treated as a special economic and political zone (though still controlled by central Chinese government) before being fully reintegrated in 2047. Here endeth the history lesson.

That all gives it a very different feel to the rest of China, but the disappointing thing (apart from the cost of everything) is that if you're not into shopping, there doesn't seem to be a great deal to do here. Once you've been down to the harbour and admired the skyscraper-laden vista, and been up Victoria Peak, there doesn't seem to be much left. And at 6 quid a pint, even drinking doesn't hold the same appeal as it did on the mainland! Though that didn't stop a few of us going into Soho on HK Island to celebrate Richard's upcoming 50th birthday with several long island iced teas at a live jazz club. Nice.

Anyway, overall I've really enjoyed China. It still has some major political and social issues to sort out but as a visitor I've found it to be a country with a proud and fascinating history, the food has been great, the scenery beautiful and the people hospitable. If they would just stop spitting everywhere it would be even better! My tour group have been great for the most part too, with the exception of the demanding Canadian and the slightly spooky guy from the Isle of Man. So it's with a slightly heavy heart that I move on, lightened by the fact that my next stop is in Penang where I'm meeting my mum and her husband Bob for a few days of R&R in a 5-star hotel.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 17, 2008 from Hong Kong, Hong Kong
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Feet up

Batu Feringgi, Malaysia

Ah. A bit of 5-star comfort after the trials of India and China. (Actually the accommodation in China was very good). But still nice to be at a beach in Malaysia with nothing to do for 4 nights. And good to catch up with my mum and Bob.

There isn't actually a huge amount to do in Penang, and the weather has been a bit variable, so 4 nights is probably enough. Did a tour of the island a couple of days ago, and then took the ferry over to Langkawi yesterday and toured around there. Well I say toured, the guide was bloody useless, preferring to use gestures to words (obviously a fan of legendary 80s quiz show Give Us A Clue), and opted not to take us to Underwater World because "it's school holidays and it will be too busy" (in mime) so took us to the Malaysian version of TK Maxx instead. Thanks, I really sat on a ferry for 2 hours to buy a discounted pair of socks.

Anyway, nice hotel, though between Hong Kong and Penang I've now spanked more cash than I did in 7 weeks in India. Possibly.

Oh, and as a footnote, I think my parents have started regressing in age since hitting 60. My mum went parasailing today and I got an email from my dad saying he'd been to a Madonna concert in Vegas! Whatever happened to knitting needles and Werthers Originals?

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 20, 2008 from Batu Feringgi, Malaysia
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Defective aircraft

Christchurch, New Zealand

What a sodding journey that was. Let me take you through it...

Friday 10am - leave hotel in Penang
1pm - flight to Singapore
3pm - arrive Singapore
8pm - flight to Sydney
Saturday 6am - arrive Sydney, for 9am flight to Christchurch (so far, so good)
9am - announcement that there's a problem with our plane's engine, and they need to find another aircraft. Should take 4 hours.
1pm - board new aircraft and taxi to runway. Pilot then announces there's a problem with the take-off flaps and we need to go back to the gate and get it checked
3pm - told that the flight is cancelled and we'll overnight in Sydney and catch the 9am flight tomorrow
Sunday 9am - taxi to runway. Pilot announces there's a problem with the flaps and we need to go back to the gate and get it checked (seriously)
11.30am - not a major problem (thank god) and we finally take-off
4pm - arrive in Christchurch

So that was fun. Thanks Qantas. They were all very nice with free food vouchers and use of their lounge etc. but what they really need is to get some planes that aren't held together with sticky tape.

Anyway, finally on NZ soil. Christchurch is a very nice city, with a substantial English feel to it. And I don't mean it's full of hoodlums spilling out of pubs and vomiting in the gutter, or 15-year-old girls smacking their crisp-wielding offspring. It's green, has a charming punt-filled river running through it, and has statues of Captains Cook & Scott and Queen Victoria. Quite right too. And the weather is distinctly English, with the suggestion of rain at any time, though the heavens haven't opened yet. But I'm not staying here long. Got a bus ride to Dunedin in the morning then going to do a 150km bike ride towards Queenstown over the next 2 days. It's along a disused railway line and is supposed to offer some beautiful scenery. So fingers crossed the rain holds off.

permalink written by  phileasdogg on November 22, 2008 from Christchurch, New Zealand
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