Younger sister of Vegas, poorer cousin of Hong Kong (Macau)

This post is written just after my arrival from Macau where I spent this day. Any post about Hong Kong will be written after my arrival to Shanghai. It is solely due to the fact that I need to digest all I went through and have seen here. In other words unless you want to read pretty inconsistent blabber you have to wait till my thoughts stop spinning as I bang my head on each wall I pass by. Read on.

Macau is circa one hour ride (by ferry) away from Hong Kong. The cost differs according the time you take the ferry. My ride there by the morning ferry cost me 134HKD (Hong Kong dollars - c. 1 kuai equals 1HKD) and ride back by evening ferry could cost 175MOP (Macau Pataca - c. 1 HKD equals 1 MOP). You should buy your ticket upon your arrival or you could end up stranded on this peninsula as tickets are easily sold out*. This might not be as problematic as it seems - hotel space is abundant and gambling is going on 24/7.

Macau is in fact very small peninsula just next to Guangdong province of mainland China. It also includes small island where new casinos are being built on the reclaimed land (from sea). Unless you plan to gamble your life savings here, one day for a visit is sufficient enough. You can easily walk all around the place and criss-cross the streets of old town as well as stride along boulevards were big casinos are. The fact that in Macau you can find both; historical buildings included on UNESCO World Heritage List and ultramodern temples of mammon is the main reason which I think this place does not have a it's own identity. Of the above mentioned two parts of Macau history is loosing lately.

Unlike Vegas' Strip were you can see the gambling culture in its purest form, Macau does not have dominant street where the casinos are concentrated. You rather find them spread all over southern half of the peninsula (Gran Lisboa, MGM Grand, Wynn etc.) and over the islands of Taipa and Coloane - or rather reclaimed land between them (Venetian). Also unlike Vegas, which sold its soul entirely and went for 'kitsch' of fake Parisian, Venetian, Ceasar's and so on, Macau does not present you with Eiffel Tower, Pirates' Bay, Roman palace or pyramid. Only outrageously crazy thing is Gran Lisboa's tulip like tower which dominates city landscape (small Chinese fortress or some Egyptian looking complex does not count). One thing is not enough to push the city towards the 'beauty-of-the-beast' thing seen in Vegas. Maybe after completion of ongoing projects** (which momentarily stand idle due to financial crisis) Macau will receive face lift which put it out of the shadow of its bigger brother.

Of course I did not have opportunity to see Macau by the night (only from ferry terminal and the whole promenade was dominated by big neon sign of Sands) and it could have entirely changed my perception, which I really doubt, as Vegas was hideously beautiful also during the day.

Further, I was perplexed by combination of skyscrapers with history. It really does not go well (at least for me) to see tall-rises spread all over the horizon disrupting view of the historical town center. What is even worse is Gran Lisboa golden tulip which can be seen from any viewpoint in the city (literally). This is currently the tallest point in the city besides Macau tower, rising even above the level of hills within city limits. Although city accepted UNESCO charter on preservation of cultural heritage, it was too-little-too-late to save the views :)

Old town is on the other hand something very Portugese and out of place and time here in Asia :) Although little over-churched it fully deserves to be thronged by Asian tourists.

Anyway, I have returned to Hong Kong, where all buildings, with exception of Legislative building, are at least 30 storeys high and still do not reach over Victoria peak.

Note: * Turbojet company is the one with the most frequent schedule. It connects Hong Kong island with Macau. You should check out other companies as well. Although they are not cheaper, they might offer better times. They link Macau with other parts of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (e.g. Kowloon).

** believe me there are plenty of ongoing projects. Most of them seems to be put into rest and conserved while waiting for financing. It looks odd to see buildings with cranes on top of them but no movement or construction work going on.

In the land of dogs

Past two days I spent in Guangzhou (formerly Canton), capital of Guangdong province and center of world famous cuisine. All of you eating 'Chinese' food back home are in fact eating Cantonese dishes because it was exactly this cuisine that was exported over past two centuries into western countries. Mainly this is due to the fact that Guangzhou was first only and later main port in contact with colonial powers engaged in trade with China. Bellow you can find summary of my experience with this city and it's past.

After my arrival to Guangzhou I walked through early morning streets to my hostel. If possible I prefer to walk to the place I am supposed to stay as I think that you can get to know the city most during early morning walk when streets wake up (I never get lost in the city I have walked in the morning - not for a long time :) ) - you can experience spirit of the city as during the sunrise nothing is hidden under the veil of hurried people. Anyone can easily spot that Guangzhou is different from the other Chinese cities. It actually has some spirit (for the suspense purposes it will be described later).

I stay at Shamian island, which is one of the Pearl river islands, in particular, one ceeded to Britain and later France after first opium war. On this island you can find buildings built in colonial style (similar to any other buildings found in colonies) with plenty of trees and wonderful park / street going across the middle of it. I have to admit that compared to busy downtown (crazy busy) and overcrowded streets it is pleasure to walk the quite Shamian DaiJie (the street) on your way back to the hostel ('location location location' is true more than anywhere else).

From the history of Guangzhou you can see that it was prime contact point of Chinese empire (throughout various dynasties and periods) with western world. Besides starting point of maritime silk road it was also used for trade with Southeast Asian islands. For some time it also held monopoly on this trade. After opium wars it lost it's sole status (another harbours were opened to foreigners - among them certain fishermen village of name Shanghai) but still was superior to others regarding its riches. Unlike in other Chinese cities, center of the city (old town) consists of narrow (really narrow) streets. These streets were not built for cars or other motorized vehicles but for pedicabs and horse drawn trailers, in the days when Guangzhou's harbor was main source of income of the emperor. Actually, for the first time I have feeling that this city exists for more than two centuries and did not suddenly sprung out of nowhere (e.g. Shanghai developed into a world metropolis in mere 20 years).*

With this goes the spirit of the city which is positively European. If in Changsha you had a feeling somewhere in the back of your brain that people are as nice to each other as anywhere in western world, here in Guangzhou you can actually see it. People are polite, do not spit on the ground (of course there are exceptions but I like to call them tourists :) ) and most importantly; people know how to wait in line. Furthermore, western civilization influence is visible also in their behavior and customs. They have dinners much later than is common in China; after 8.00pm it is absolutely common to see people wait to get seated in the restaurant, whilst in Changsha restaurants by that time were already closing. They also go out. I have yet to see busier center of the city in China. Even more disturbing; in the capital of Guangdong province you can see some real sculptures. In Renmin park (one of city's many parks) I saw not one, not two but at least four sculptures that did not look like early cubist lion / dragon / work (someone else might have called them physically disfigured or even degenerated from four generations of inbreeding, but lets be politically correct :) ).

All the above mentioned, together with English subtitles in the half empty train (positively European like :) ), might be attributed to the influence of nearby Hong Kong (waiting to get on the bus in line is probably copied from the custom of Hong Kong citizens who allegedly love to wait in line) or the location of the city which is so far south that it might require little late dinning due to hot summers (this is pure speculation as anything in this blog :) ). What can not be attributed to anything else but the western influence is the fact that brides are wearing white for the wedding (traditional Chinese color of choice for such occasion is red) - fact confirmed by sighting of at least 15 soon-to-be married couples taking their wedding pictures in the park of Shamian island.** Building on the previous paragraphs I can conclude / speculate that interaction of Guangzhou with the west have profound influence on the city and made it not only one of the richest cities in China but also the one that is more 'civilized'.

My activities during the past two days included visiting of the local museums (I had my half-year dose of impressionists in Guangdong Museum of Art where they currently show selected works from collection of Perez Simon :) ) and sights. I feel I have completed my 'red' reeducation by visiting Martyr's memorial, Dr. Sun Yatsen memorial and Peasant institute ('where Mao taught' for one year) and can enter the capitalistic Hong Kong without being afraid of giving in :)

Regarding the cuisine I am unfortunate again as Guangzhou is so civilized now that the dogs are hard to find (luckily I have a back up back in Shanghai - one restaurant where we were promised last time that 'gou rou' - dog meat - will be provided :) ). On the other hand I was fortunate enough to find secret corner and back alley full of seafood restaurants (rather street stalls). In this place (just north of pedestrian part of XiaJiu Lu) I ate so much mussels, oysters, scallops octopuses and sepias that my satisfaction almost erased any bad feelings preserved from previous day when I took advice (once again, but this time certainly for the last time) from Lonely Planet. If anything is incorrect, not precise or not good in Lonely Planet it is the restaurant listings. I always paid up much more or had the food of dubious quality. It is much more enjoyable to follow your own advice and search for restaurant by yourself.

Tomorrow awaits me transfer to Shenzen (not decided yet how much time I want to spent in this city) and Hong Kong. Next post will be from Hong Kong island hopefully written while looking on Victoria Harbour :)

Note on Chinese culture / soul
Looking and comparing Guangzhou with Shanghai and Changsha (both major cities and provincial capitals) I think that by trying to balance the wealth distribution across China more evenly and thus ignoring Guangzhou as a potential special economic zone (both Changsha and Shanghai have these) was in some way a blessing for this city. Unlike Shanghai and Changsha it preserved the spirit from it's past. Although the development is visibly less explosive than in Shanghai and Changsha, still Guangzhou retains upper hand with the people patiently waiting in line to get on the bus (what a difference from the fighting and running for their lives to get one last free seat on Shanghai's subway) and small bakeries spread allover the city. My hypothesis which I kindly propose and make available for your critical tests (lets play Popper for a moment) is that assigning status of special development / economic zone enhances growth of the city but destroys its spirit. The influx of migrant workers from rural areas will cause decivilisation of the city and end up in the ultracapitalistic attitude and environment. The question is whether it will be possible to spread Guangzhou culture and export it to other Chinese cities or other cities will overrun this island.

Note: * of course main roads and streets are wide and fit for any truck, what I mean here is the fact that if you wonder of the 'map' you will find true treasure. There are no enclosed apartment complexes as in other cities.

** in two days I saw 15 couples having their pictures taken, one wedding ceremony and one wedding gowns fashion show. I am not sure what is wrong with this city or whether somebody is trying to suggest something to me but this is absolutely crazy.

I was in Shangri-La (almost)

Although momentarily stationed in Guangzhou here follows account of my days spent in Yangshuo and surrounding area. Last two days I spent hiking and cycling all over the place (my back side still hurts as a result).

My hiking trip took place on Christmas Eve as I took a bus ride to Yangdi and hiked by Li river to Xingping, from where I took another bus to Yangshuo. Initially I planned to hike all the way to Yangshuo, which is previously mentioned 44 km long trip, but I was delayed. Main reasons for the delay were absolute beauty of the area and river banks and my unsatisfiable appetite for making pictures. This hike momentarily belongs to my top three must see things to visit in China (others being Himalayas and Great wall). Altogether, I made c. 200 pictures which brought my memory card free space on the brink of extinction (I had to start deleting process as Hong Kong is coming).

Xingping is a small village down the river with some remarkably old streets and falling apart houses. It is also end station for the bamboo rafts starting from Yangdi (for those who are lazy to hike and have some money to shed). Area between Yangdi and Xingping is labeled as some national protection area or some sort of park and as such development is fairly limited. On the other hand entrance fee of 16 kuai does not include additional payments for crossing the river. There are two crossings but I paid only for one as in the first case I got across the river for free on the raft of some girls I met on the river bank (there is plenty of good people going down the river so do not hesitate to wait for a moment and look as lost as you can).

After my return I went for magnificent Christmas Eve dinner consisting of local specialty - beer fish. It is very easy to cook dish as you basically kill the fish in front of the customer, chop it a little, throw it on hot pan with oil, add herbs, veggies and spices, stew it on beer for a short time and serve it with rice and side dishes. I do not dare to say that is as good as the Christmas style carp my mom prepares (she would not let me in the country otherwise) but it is delicious:) I recommend everyone to go to the local farmers' market which is hidden behind the archway on Pantao Lu. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from and you can bargain your price (English menu is for orientation purposes only - what they actually offer :) ). Be aware that if you pick one restaurant the owners of others will remember that and make you suffer next time you show up (own experience). I picked my dinner of course by price but did not realized that in the process I rejected only restaurant selling the dried rats. Dowager of the rat place would than hike up the prices for my insolence and ask 50 kuai for the mouse dish. Her anger would preserve for following days until my departure. As a consolation price I decided to try snails a'la China (I honestly prefer French style snails).

Next day I got up early an went to watch sunrise over Li river (nowhere near the magnificence of Huangshan sunrise but still it is nice), hired bike and went on to Yulong river. Yulong river should by its scenery measure up to Li river (described above) and should be more comfortable as this is allegedly bikers paradise. I have to admit that I prefer Li river as it is more a back country and still undeveloped area. Yulong river is too civilized for me with villages and orange plantations, fish ponds and rice fields all over the place. Yulong bridge (built in 1412 - old school) is the final stop of the journey for most of the bikers but as I was there a little too early I cycled further along the main road to the village of Shangri-La. This is small village with out-door museum showing past life in China. I bet that it applies to most of the rural areas even today but why not ask 50 kuai entrance fee from naive city people coming in organized tours :) Anyway I did not dare to pay the fee and rather bought myself dried oranges on the way back.

Guilin area is renowned for it's touristic drive and as a 'must visit' destination for Chinese tourists. On the other hand it's smaller sister town of Yangshuo was described in Lonely Planet and by other people visiting it before me as a backpackers paradise. Unfortunately my experience is to the contrary. Yangshuo is changed and it is not to good. There are tourists all over the place (and December is supposed to be low season) and boats go up and down Li river in frequency I have not seen nowhere else (do not want to see this place in peak season). According to some locals my new acquittance talked with, Yangshuo is experiencing explosive development and growth of tourist oriented bars, restaurants, hotels and other touts.

After my return to Yangshuo I took bus to Guilin and from there the night train to Guangzhou, where my journey continues. I leave rural areas with orange and tangerine plantations (I proudly hold on to single orange I took from one of them) scattered all over the country side, where people grow sugar cane and other plants all year round, to spent my final week of travel in cities which were extensively exposed to western influence (Guangzhou is historical Canton).

Note on Chinese culture / soul
As I leave rural areas it will be even harder for me to discover and understand Chinese soul. Even until now I traveled through touristically popular areas (with exception of Changsha - attractive for Mao's pilgrims mostly) and I had to walk (literally) great lengths to see some original Chinese life and meet local people untouched by different cultures (e.g. Miao minority would have almost skipped past me if I did not apply 'strictly hard seater' policy for my train travels). What I saw so far, is the fact that Chinese people are nice, fun loving (of course exception of eastern provinces still apply) and talkative. They are eager to meet and create new acquittance (not only with westerners but also between themselves). For example during 50minutes bus ride they are able to talk with total strangers without problem and by the end of the journey whole minibus know each other. On the other hand Chinese people have utter disregard for environment and they living conditions (note to all travelers - never ever sit on the floor in Chinese trains - I saw mothers taking their little toddlers to take a leak on it without hesitation and without being reprimanded by anybody). They are prepared to throw away any packaging, peels or other on the spot. No matter that all the trash cans have separate parts for recyclable and non-recyclable trash and no matter that streets are constantly swept, nobody actually does separation and streets are instantly repopulated by tangerine peels, plastic bags etc. What worries me the most is that throwing away garbage continues also outside of the city where there is nobody to sweep it. Of course this way was alright until China started to use plastic packaging. Nowadays wherever you go you see trash and China is quickly becoming one large dumping ground. Unless people will change they habits, this might become unbearable.

In the land of rats

Another post from dimly lighted internet cafe - this time in Yangshuo. This, together with the fact that posts are written after whole day activity usually at 11.00pm, might affect quality of spelling (especially Chinese names) - as some of you kindly pointed out* :) Still continuing my exploration of the karst country in Guangxi province I entered expats heaven. Although Lonely Planet calls Yangshuo backpackers paradise I think more appropriate would be the name mentioned above. Density of plain people trashes even Shanghai. You can find European style cafe's, hotels, hostels, restaurants etc. wherever you go.

On last day in Guilin weather forecast showed true and visibility improved markedly. On the other hand temperature drop of c. 17 degrees within 24 hours was aggressively resembling those I run away from in Shanghai. Besides almost freezing in 3 degrees extremely windy weather, I saw my first panda. Of course only in captivity but still, these big fat fluffy eating machines are not that common to see. Note for all the animal lovers; if possible avoid Chinese zoo's as much as you can. Conditions of animals living there are terrible (this is coming from person who does not care) - imagine 30 deers crammed in the 10mx30m yard or black bears locked in 3mx4m cages - they literally cried for help or else...

Last night in Backstreet Hostel in Guilin was the TICiest night so far on my trip. Allow me to tell you a story - it is not a fairy tale, rather typical Chinese legend. First, there was shower. This shower required 25 minutes of solid water clearing flow till the warm water started trickling down the tubes. Truly to it's land of origin it was leaking all over the hose. Upon discovery of this fact by hostel staff it was promptly changed with an assistance of Slovak plumber (we go east while Poles go west). To get actually hot water flowing out of the shower, the sink tap had to be turned on on maximum. Exactly how this was possible (usually is simultaneous flow reducing the amount of hot water in the shower) remains mystery to this day.

Second, there was a Chinese monk (not sure whether it was monk but let's call him that). This monk shared the room with five other people from all over the world (Canada, Germany, Norway and Slovakia). According to the account of those poor souls the monk make Guantanamo sound like five star hotel. He terrorized them with cacophony of sounds you would never imagine homo sapiens can make. Only solace his roommates could find was in wagering whether he is actually choking or snoring and in documenting his sounds on their cellphones (proof will be provided later). End of story.

Upon successful transfer and establishing of my presence in Yangshuo I decided to explore the city and take a small (10miles / 16km) hike to Moon Hill. Views are magnificent and river banks are exactly as they describe them (both word of mouth and internet) - awesome. Unfortunately, I visit the place in it's dry season - spring is allegedly the best time for visit - and thus colors are little sad. Furthermore, I'm in some strange kind of sense used to the beauty of the place. This means that although I am not blown away I still enjoy scenery very much.

Tomorrow I will undertake main attraction in the area - hike along Li river. This c. 27 miles (44km) hike would be hopefully concluded by Christmas Eve dinner of local specials (dried fried rat, dried fried squirrel and beer fish).

As tomorrow is Christmas Eve, let me wish you all MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Especially to my mom, dad and little brother as this will be the first Christmas we do not celebrate together.

Note on Chinese culture / soul (will be elaborated on later - I hope)
As an accountant (unfortunately I am) I was always told that substance is more important than the form. This is not true in China. Form is all over substance. Everything is done in order to impress and to show you in better light. But if you dig deeper and look under the cover you see that it is all one big mess. For example; people care about their hair and you can see hair studios on each street (sometimes every fifty meters) but if you read the book in the train or in the subway they look at you as you are mental case. Physical appearance is important but your mental health and development not at all. People were suits but they do not hesitate to sleep on the floor in them. Potemkin villages are not built - they are walking the streets :)

Note: * as a budget traveller and more importantly extremely lazy person I am refusing to read the text and correct the spelling mistakes :)

Adijo Hunan! Hello Guangxi!

Hereafter follows account of my last day and supper in Hunan and description of my early impressions from Guangxi. They might seem incoherent as I do not have time to think at all (like I do... - anyway it hurts therefore it is advisable not to perform such activity) but they are first hand and as such are more reliable :)

Last day in Hunan confirmed old truth I found out earlier in the trip - in China nothing is perfect, something is always missing or is wrong and improvisation is required. Although I spent little longer than planned pacing up and down halls of Yuelu Academy and adjoining park, my day plan was eventually blown up to pieces by delay at Hunan Provincial Museum.

Surprisingly what is for free is very popular and thus are the museums in Changsha :) Due to heavy traffic tickets at Hunan Provincial Museum are issued for certain period of entry in order to keep the flow of visitors at bearable level. This delay cost me valuable time which looking back would be probably better used in exploration of Yueyang (I spent there only two hours - one hour for dinner and one hour waiting at trainstation :) ). That does not mean that Museum exhibition was not worth the price (every mao of it :) ). It means that I have seen more interesting and entertaining (more detail on it in the note below).

During the journey to Yueyang, my perception of Hunanese people was further cemented when I met Sandy and Cathy (student and teacher of English respectively). They are nice and much more friendly than those I have met in Shanghai (even bus drivers are up for a laugh with passengers). Their explanation was that people in Shanghai are much more busier earning money and thus do not have time to smile. I am inclined to agree with this but than I need explanation or the reasons which; a) lead Hunan people to stand up in public buses and automatically (like in Prague) release their seat to the elders (not quite common in Shanghai), b) lead bus drivers to wait for the late comers and even stop outside of bus stop limits to let people in - possible explanation is that it is usually nice lady :) - thing not at all seen in Shanghai, and last but not least c) standing in line like civilized people and not fighting and bulking together (this is common way in mainland China). All the above mentioned makes Hunan my favorite province so far (out of all five I have visited).

Transfer to Guilin took me 11 hours in train where I was supposed to stand (due to seats and sleepers being outsold) but ended up first three hours switching one seat with teenage boys of Guangxi origin. The frequency of switches was in accordance with their cigarette breaks stoically overseen by their parents. Although not confirmed I am willing to bet cold Pilsner that they were below 15 years old, which makes me worried about future of rural China (on the other hand, this might be the solution for population problems of today's China). The train journey was notable also for amount of trash conductor pushed each hour in order to make the aisle passable and Chinese people utter disregard about their clothing. How otherwise you can explain people sleeping on the floor of the train in suits?

Arrival and first day at Guilin was pretty much without problems. I will stay next two days in local hostel (member of Hosteling International) were I write this post. Walking through Guilin I can say that it is truly tourist destination with hotels springing up all over the place and that it truly deserves it's place in UNESCO World Heritage list. For the first time in long time I was truly blown away by something - this time by the views you have from the top of some Bright Moon peak (one of many karst peaks spread all over the city). Imagine city of London but instead of man-made skyscrapers, natural peaks sticking out of the plain of homes. Absolute beauty and something unimaginable for me up until now (I still do not get the process how these karst peak showed up). Hopefully, sky will clear itself in next few days and I will be able to document it on the appropriate level.

Projections for blue sky is little better as the heat wave (consider 23 degrees at 1.30pm on 20 December) I enjoyed in past few days is gone and days will get colder. Next post will be from Yangshuo where I am planning to go after two days spent in Guilin exploring karst and caves within reach.

Note on Chinese culture / soul
After visits to Yuelu Academy and Hunan Provincial Museum I understand the drive of China to improve economically a little better. These were my first encounters with Chinese history (true history). As I was explained, upon change of dynasty or regime, new rulers took great pains in eliminating anything visible which could remind people of those before them. Yuelu Academy was established in 976 and was de facto predecessor of Hunan University. Hunan museum exhibition presented objects of more than 2100 years old which were discovered in tombs in Changsha district. Both encounters proved that China was indeed long long ago sophisticated and civilised country. Unfortunately, the haydays are over and reality kicked in (great leaps into greater unknown sent the country back into stone age). From what I see China is the only country which is truly trying to recover it's former glory (unlike other great past civilisation) and also the only one with a chance of success (US is still trying to prevent its decline but...). Combination of this drive and potential might be the ultimate reason for the fact that we might soon see two hump camel in the flock of one hump nations.

Switching Tao for Mao

After two days of heavy brainwashing I needed some change and thus I decided to visit one of the five holy peaks of Taoism - Heng shan or Nanyue. Waking up at 6.00am and walking through the campus at 7.00am you would hardly believe that from the public speaking system blasts lesson in English instead of comrades songs. At least for me this was an absolutely surreal experience. Why would you play anything at 7.00am in the morning and why would you choose lessons in English rather than some song? Whoever comes up with the satisfactory answer will receive 30 kuai credit for fake market from me :)

Village of Nanyue (three hours bus ride south from Changsha) is located at the bottom of the mountain and includes one of the biggest Taoism temples in China (I think so). Architecturally it is pleasure for your eyes. Although slim and tall shapes of European cathedrals cannot be found, vaulted roofs and colored reliefs have their beauty as well. Surroundings of the temple are focused on selling of religious objects to Taoist's pilgrims.

Ascent to the mountain should take four hours according to the Lonely Planet (c. 12 km). It took me only two and a half but I was in great hurry to catch the last bus leaving at 4.00pm. Of course against my great effort (sweating through two T-shirts, loosing another kilo of weight, not paying for cable car on my way back - I was waived Taoistically by the conductor - and paying 25 kuai for minibus ride of last 4 km) I arrived at the bottom of the mountain at 3.54pm. Running through the city like crazy I might have caught the bus, but my better judgment lead me to ask for a ride to bus station of group of people returning with me from the mountain in the minibus.

They not only offered their help, but as they were heading to Changsha as well they offered me a ride with them. Therefore through this channel I would like to again express my gratitude to Sarah and Julio who were today (Nov. 19) on a trip at Heng shan. I wish you safe travel home and Merry Christmas :)

The whole day was pleasantly finished in the traditional Hunanese restaurant with pictures of Mao all over the place and me eating Mao's favorite dish (I just do not get it how he could survive for so long if his favorite dish is swimming in fat - I guess that the saying about bad plants dying hard is right :).

Tomorrow I will leave Changsha and head to Yueyang (city of sublime tea) and afterward to Guilin (Guanxi province) with its karst peaks. Hopefully I will have an opportunity to post news on this blog along the way and even more I hope I will have more time to think them through :)

Note on Chinese culture / soul
In Nanyue I saw Taoist temples next to the Budhist one in the same single temple complex. Considering that Hunan is stronghold of communism I admire the ability to coexist as well as tolerance of Chinese people. I wish this was the case all around the world and hope that I will live through the day that similar peaceful atmosphere would be felt in Jerusalem.

In Mao's footsteps

Writing from the dark dungeons of China's original internet cafe (clouds of smoke are hoovering above the heads of gamers and gamblers), I will try to describe what I went through in the last three days after my arrival to Changsha. This post has to be posted by my collaborator (brother) as blogs and other selected pages do not work (reasons are to be filled by the reader). Altogether the journey from Huang shan shi was c. 11 hours ride through boredom enlivened only by argument of two brothers who shouted until 2.00am while the whole carriage wanted to sleep. Afterward one of the brothers started to feed himself (I honestly cannot call his activity otherwise) with such an acoustic background that even dead man would start walking.

To sum up my impressions about Changsha with three words - awesome but dirty. I am happy to report that there are happy people in China too. Trying to elaborate; Hunan people are nice and smiling, Hunan girls are on average the most beautiful I have seen in China (although there are some exceptions even in Shanghai which will make your head spin and I have heard that Hangzhou girls are also renowned for their beauty - cannot confirm this one), people here are actually still in love with their Mao and finally, these same people are relaxed and actually willing to help you without expecting something in return or inviting you for tea ritual where you end up paying 400 kuai for worthless tea. On the other hand, nothing is perfect, nor Changsha is. The air polution is so strong that even I with three months of Shanghai experience had problem breathing.

After my arrival to Shifan Daxue (local university - Hunan Normal University) I was assisted by local student who just happen to have some time between the classes and helped me find accommodation in local dorms. Afternoon I spent wandering around the city from museum to museum and around local parks. Changsha City Museum has impressive exhibition celebrating the 30 years of reforms in China brought to you by no one else but yours truly "crescent and hammer" (started by Deng Xiao Ping in 1978 after Mao's death...) - call it cultural heritage :D Hunan Provincial Museum which should have extensive collection of Chinese historical objects was closed due to the facts that all tickets for the day were given out (Hunan is the same as London - all museums are for free).

The next day was THE DAY - I went to visit Mao's birthplace - Shao shan. It is a rather small village c. 2 hours by bus from Changsha south bus station. In the bus I met another waiguo ren (foreigner) - Thomas from Germany - with the same goal. We ended up spending the whole day together (it is more comfortable to face the pressure of ideology not alone) exploring home of the great helmsman, museum dedicated to him, and tombs of his family. In all cases we were somehow disappointed. Mao's home was really big for China (see also note for further details) even though it was used by two families. Museum was disappointingly showing only heroic period and 30 years of human experiments were kindly omitted, and tombs of his parents we almost overlooked. Shortly - really lot of shouting about nothing:)

After return to Changsha we lost again at the bus station and met Alex (true Shaoshan local) with whom we ended up having dinner and he ended up paying for us. Although it classifies as foreigners ripping off Chinese guys, which is the worst kind of ripping that can happen to you* it was purely unintentional. Maybe this happened due to the fact that in some way people in Hunan are more naive and more relaxed than those living on eastern coast. Maybe this is why Changsha looks much more European than Shanghai (spirit-wise) and maybe this is the reason I would prefer Changsha over Shanghai (all other things equal - which are not of course :). Unfortunately, money (in Shanghai) and air pollution (in Changsha) are strongly in favor of the former :)

Note on Chinese culture / soul
[still need to think it through - might be updated later]

Note: * Ripping off or getting undue amount of money from the guy on the other side of the transaction has several categories. These are classified as follows:

- Foreigners being ripped off by Chinese - the lowest level as it is the easiest way to gain profit. Basically self explanatory as foreigners are either only tourists staying for a couple of days and / or do not have time and experience to bargain.

- Chinese being ripped off by Chinese - although this happens very rarely. It is due to naivete of Chinese people being ripped off, or due to the fact that locals price-discriminate also other Chinese provinces (this form is especially applicable when locals speak in special dialect - e.g. Shanghai).

- Chinese being ripped off by Foreigners - this is the rarest form of ripping off as it can happen only unintentionally when foreigners do not know local customs (e.g. that even if host pays and initially refuses, we should include our share of dinner)

Huang shan

Easily the best thing (mountain-wise) I experienced in China so far. Although it is pretty cold up on the top (I saw my first solid ice in China - not including the one at the skating ring) it is well worth every mao you pay (of course during the off-season in December :) ). More detailed description follows below.

First leg of my trip started at 7.28am when I left comfortable and english apeaking Shanghai on the bus for Tunxi in Anhui province. We arrived short after noon. I was dropped at Tunxi coach station but I am sure you can ask the driver to be dropped at Huanshan shi train station (Huangshan shi is the locals' name for Tunxi and is shorter - which goes very well with Chinese people). From both places there is no problem to get a ride to Tangkou (village at the foot of the mountain) by local minibus (18 kuai today - nonnegotiable upticked price from 10 kuai mentioned in Lonely planet).

Tangkou is typical mountain village whose architecture distincts it from European counterparts. From there you have to take another bus (14 kuai) or taxi (negotiable but only advantageous for group of people) to get to the bottom of the trails leading up to huang shan (cable car is option for disabled :) ).

I took eastern steps - shorter way - in order to get up as quickly as possible to be able to book accommodation. As already mentioned, the time of the year makes it very easy for budget travellers as everything is discounted by huge amounts (entrance to the park - 100 kuai instead of 200, accommodation - 60 kuai without negotiation). The whole point in staying at the top of the mountain is to watch the sunrise over the Northern sea. I have to admit it is well worth it (even if you get up only for the half of it as I did :) ).

Way back, which for me was via western steps, is more photogenic with the stellar views. It is at least twice as long as the way up (it offers plenty of bypasses and optional prolongations for the strong ones). During my visit two of the highest peaks (Lotus and Jade peak) were closed which is often the case according to Lonely planet and flegmatic responses of the domestic tourists.

Getting back from the park gates to Tunxi (city with available train and long distance bus connections) you have to go through ordeal of transfers again. As Tunxi is not famous for anything I bought the next ticket for Changsha immediately after the drop off from the minibus. Only problem is that if there is no direct connection available you have to go from city to city and hope for available seats at the trains (therefore I'm taking overnight train to Zhuzhou only). Ticket counters are able to sell tickets only for direct connections from their city - TIC.

Unfortunately, I had to abandon my planned visit of Sanqing shan as it seems nobody knows about this mountain (included in the UNESCO list only this year) or is not able to understand my pronounciation. I believe this is not the case as on occassion I can speak in simple Chinese with other people - e.g. I got to the point to understand questions such as "where are you from?", "how old are you?", "what do you do?" and similar. Of course it is more due to the fact that they speak with me as with an imbecile and virtually everyone on the trails is asking above mentioned questions (sightings of foreigners are not so often this tim eof the year). Anyway, I will try to visit Sanqing shan in spring and I will bring some chinese friend as a help.

Next stage of the journey will therefore take me to Changsha - epicentre of the Hunan cuisine (one of the spiciest in China - I am so happy - I want to cry :) ) and Mao culture. Hope there will be more opportunities along the way to post some news and to upload some pictures. This post is written from the lobby of Tunxi hostel where they kindly let me and fulfilled all my requests - of course for appropriate charge :)

Note on Chinese culture / soul
So far what I have learned is that virtually everyone is in for a buck - meaning the buck for himself. The good thing is that it means that you can buy anything. The bad thing is that you have to beware as first price is substantially marked up to the price sellers / services providers are ready to accept. You have to bargain and you have to bargain hard. If you do not know it or you do not have the stomach to do it, take knowledgeable person with you or just avoid China :) The system works to such an extent that there is a chain of cooperation between self made man (i.e. shadow / off-the-books economy) which completely bypasses anything in uniform. For example, taxi drivers cooperate with minibus drivers and drop their passengers at the preagreed sites (meaning at the door of the minibus) - which is kind of comfortable for the customers :) Even more so, official park service bus drivers cooperate with taxi drivers because they are lazy / it is inefficient to drive nearly empty bus down. It is very funny to watch taxi drivers taking all the potential customers from the official buses ticket sale window (literally) and seeing employees just watch the opportunity of actually selling some tickets walk by. And I'm completely omitting cooperation of restaurant and accommodation enterpreneurs with the above mentioned. Strangely, it helps customers to get the best service. Although only for the money you are able / willing to pay. This is more capitalistic system than the one developed oversees and celebrated by everyone (although not lately :) ). Invisible hand has never been so visible.

In search of soul of China

As some of you already know, today I am starting my "epic" journey in search of soul of China. This journey will last until Jan. 02, 2009 when I am supposed to return to Shanghai. Below you can find overview of presupposed stops and assumed program of the journey.

Although main goal of the journey is to "better understand" Chinese people (basically to be able to explain why they wear pyjamas on the street), I have to admit that if I will not eat dog or something which sounds similarly disgusting, this journey will be waste of time. According to information there is a great chance that both my goals would be fulfilled. I will leave European-like Shanghai and visit "old-school / hard-line" places such as Shaoshan in Hunan (birth place of Mao) and Guangdong province (allegedly people there can eat anything what moves or even stopped its movement).

Due to Chinese system of booking or better not-booking trains upfront I will rely on hope and good chance that seats and tickets will be available - luckily this is a low season for travel in China as everybody works and ignores Christmas and New Year.

15-16 Dec. 2008 - Tunxi and Huang shan, Anhui province (sleeping at the summit)
17 Dec. 2008 - Sanqing shan, Jiangxi province (one day trip from Tunxi)
18-20 Dec. 2008 - Changsha, Hunan province (one day trips in the surrounding area)
21-25 Dec. 2008 - Guilin and Yangshuo, Guanxi province (allegedly one of the most beautiful parts of China)
26-27 Dec. 2008 - Guangzhou, Guangdong province (a.k.a. Canton)
28 Dec. 2008-01 Jan. 2009 - Hong Kong and Macau

If possible I will post news about my progress. If there is no opportunity to do so later, let me wish you merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :)

Suzhou, Olympics and life beyond... (November highlights)

This post shortly summarizes interesting events of past two months in Shanghai and surrounding area. It includes trip to Suzhou, SHUFE Olympics, visits to Shanghai botanical garden and certain high school and SHUFE International day. Enjoy the reading!

SHUFE Olympics (Nov. 4)
This exceptional sporting event took place at our campus' athletic track. Competition was preceded by opening ceremony during which students from all SHUFE schools and teachers tried to show what they are capable of. International students also presented short, 30 second act. Although the dance routine was nowhere near breathtaking, we tried our best and got free jacket for it :)

Competitions can be summed up by:
- running suits (fake of course) provided to participants by the school - free of charge
- lunch in cafeteria although provided with "free lunch" coupon - 5 kuai
- winning six silver medals by single French guy - couple of painful laps on track
- watching late entrant Tommi from Finland stealing gold medal in short put by last attempt in whole competition from the guy who led throughout six rounds - priceless

Silkiness of Suzhou (Nov. 14)
During November our "beloved" university offered us organized trip to Suzhou or Zhouzhuang (I think). As Zhouzhuang was labeled by more experienced travelers as a stinky dump (originally meant as Venice of the East), most of us decided to visit Suzhou (allegedly silk capital of Eastern China). For mere 100 kuai (11 EUR) we got bus ride, guide tour around some of the coveted sights, lunch and visit to silk factory (which I think would be for free anyway :) ).

Suzhou is famous across China for its picturesque gardens (see pictures gallery) and silk industry. We visited "garden to linger in" which although not the biggest or the most famous, is offering for visitors all pleasures (including bonsai kindergarten and tea house) garden is supposed to have. Of course in line with perception of western tourists we spent the biggest portion of our time sipping tea in the tea house - arguing which tea is better (more expensive or the less expensive) and what exactly are we drinking.

The highlight of this trip (at least for me) was visit to silk factory where we were shown the process of producing silk. It all starts with maggots and goes through cocoons of mulberry silkworm which are after careful selection unwounded on the mills into silk threads (one cocoon produces c. one mile of filament). Interesting think is that these "things" are cultivated and bred to the extent of perfect efficiency (they live altogether c. two months in which they are able to go through the whole life cycle and "plant seeds of the future generations"). Larvas are blind eating machines which in 35 days grow into full extent ready to hatch. Eight filaments are combined into one thread which is than used in clothes production. Even more interesting is the production of bedsheets. These are not weaved but manufactured by stretching of moistened cocoons one by one and pressing them together. Quality and price of the bedsheets depends on the number of cocoons used for them (ranging from 100 up to whatever you want).

Botanical garden and "daddy" of all high schools (Nov. 16)
Shanghai's botanical garden is huge and includes some of plants I have not seen in such size (ficus) or at all (no clue about the names). It is nice place to kill an afternoon but it does not differ substantially from the one back home or in Prague (only in size). Part of the problem might be that your faitful narator has no clue about the plants and species of plants and thus does not enjoy botanical gardens as much as people more affluent in the area (I noticed occassional cries of enthusiasm from my companions).

On the other hand, Shanghai High School no. 1, which we visited on the same day, took the breath away of all of us. This is prime example of duality of China. On one side you have extremely poor infrastructure and living condition (e.g. rural areas described in Wugong Shan post) and on the other you have this high school which has by far better facilities than any other high school I have ever seen (US included). Imagine indoor swimming pool, athletic track, huge parks and alleys, watter pool with fountains etc etc. Unfortunately, I have to admit that living standards at SHUFE (for everyone) and Fudan University (for Chinese students) are worse than what we saw here. (More on the duality of China and living in the extremes in future blog posts)

International day (Nov. 28)
On this day we were supposed to present our countries and try to introduce them to Chinese students (meaning provide national food and drink). Also some of us elected to prepare short presentation their national traditions (highlights are provided in Photos section). The whole program was anchored by our Chinese teachers who sung for us traditional Chinese songs. If judged by the interest of Chinese students attending the countries presentations, they are mostly interested in free drink and food (preferable alcoholic). Whichever stall / country run out of beverages or food the interest quickly vaporized.

Half-Marathon (Nov. 30)
As mentioned earlier, I run a half-marathon on Nov. 30. As of today, I am looking for other opportunities to run (Hong Kong anyone?). On the other hand, next two months will be very challenging for my practice regiment as I plan to travel all over this part of the world :)

I did it, I did it, I did it!!! :)

Finally after three years of almost running I run my first official half marathon this Sunday. After c. 6 weeks of not so serious training I was able to finish in 1:46:03 on 723rd place (consolation prize included cap and sweatband). Hopefully I will not have to wait for the next opportunity to participate in half marathon as long as for this one :)