China coast to the deepest interior

FROM THE BEACHES OF QUINGDAO, PUTUOSHAN, TO THE DESERT OF URUMQI

a de-brief on the excitement of these last two weeks....

friends Reid, Isabelle, and I were on a mission to find a nice beach to hang out on, and fulfill our nostalgic memories of good times in Cali.  Thus we were hoping on and off buses along the coastline searching for a nice nook where we could do some serious chillin'.  China is becoming rapidly a tourist wonderland though (95% of which are chinese tourists) so most places have some authoritarian scheme of tickets, passes, tours, whatever... which we attempt to avoid at all costs.  the best move we made was to buy an old tarp off some fishermen, which meant that suddenly we had shelter, given we could find a few long sturdy sticks.  this the local chinese always found very amusing, whole hordes would congregate and watch our operation, trying to figure out what these foreigners were up to.


we were setting off one fine morning to a hike, got talking to some Korean lady, and ended up getting dragged up to her restaurant for lunch.  this was a serious gourmet chef that had decided to set up on this beach here in China - gastronomical wonders, a whole bunch of beer - these Koreans were a rowdy bunch.  we tried to bail after lunch without losing too much face, given we could never hope to pay for the meal (they were treating us) but instead they insisted we all go together and do some karaoke - the favorite pasttime of these people.  very odd dynamic, them singing in korean, we in english, communicating with one another in chinese.  more beer was had.  so yeah, basically we ended up sleeping in their restaurant that night.

at some stage we arrived in this cool place called Yang Kou, a long beach surrounded by mountains, kind of a touristy/fisher village.  figured this was the spot to be, set up camp and went out for dinner, leaving some of our gear behind.  had felt a weird vibe from some characters hanging around our camp before, but didn't pay attention - there's always chinese hanging around checking out what you are up to, there is no such thing as privacy in china.  anyway back from dinner our bags were missing!!  the full moon was out and we saw them scattered around the beach.... very very bummed.   not much stuff was stolen after all, but we are over it, find an overnight security guard nearby and crash on his doorstep. 

back in Qingdao we are in the endless struggle to try and get money.  It's really curious, each of us has a 'Bank of China' account in beijing but aparently all the other 'Bank of China' building around the country are somehow... different.  meaning they don't have a clue as to how we can access our money, with our Bank of China ATM cards, or other means.  The most ironic moment was when this one bank representative told us to go to the Construction and Communication Bank, they might be able to help us; which obviously resulted in us getting laughed at when we got there - feel helpless.  The most wonderful thing though was when i happened to notice a random little Bank of China ATM inside a department store - we knew the department store at least would have it together, they want our money after all.  so that scabby little ATM worked, but the main bank branch accross the street couldn't deal with us.  don't ask me how this country functions financially, it's beyond me.

ran through Shanghai one day on the way to some islands - crazy building everywhere, kind of cool eastern twist on modernity but people are mean capitalist bastards compared to the relaxed feeling in Beijing.  but it was worth checking out i guess - the best part actually was leaving Shanghai by boat, steaming our way through the old ports with super glittery building on either side, humongous billboards in chinese and english, a funky cargo boat chugs by.  was all kind of cool.

our beach explorations culminating in the islands southeast of shanghai.  the first destination was supposedly the less touristy option, but they had strict tickets to get into the beach, we were fooled.  we clearly didn't pay a dime, but managed to get sunburnt and wet anyway.  that night a massive tropical rainstorm hit.  crazy lightning cutting the skies, fatty rain pouring down.  the outdoor restaurant we were at refused to see us huddle under our tarp and absolutely insisted that we sleep in their room inside.  Reid and I really wanted to watch the storm so we managed to leave after a long time convincing these people that we would not die.  Was amazing how much they felt obliged to take us in though, Isabelle really had no option i think they would have tackled her and dragged her in before allowing her to go out and watch the storm with us.

so then we head to the more touristy island, which was super cool, it's one of the 4 Buddhist sacred sites in china.  Stayed in this lady's house, who hijacked us as soon as we were off the boat, was a nice mellow setup.  Sneaked into beaches during the day and night.  found big old ruins that the army used ten years ago - we were going to stay there one night but got freaked out and ran back to the beach to camp, tails between legs.  too scary, thunderstorms in the distance don't do much to help.  On the way back to Shanghai on the boat, these wild chinese from the north decided they wanted to toast a drink with us, which turned out the be a 2hour drinking ordeal straight from hell.  bad news since we are on a boat, no where to escape to.  alcohol is a serious part of chinese culture, i remember on our trip to Inner Mongolia our teachers told us to at least 'fake' drinking the god awful white liquor to not offend our hosts.

So....   

now Isabelle went back to Beijing, she starts school earlier than Reid or I.  we decide to throw a 180 degree twist on our vacation, get on a train heading northwest for a long, long time.  51 hours later, Xinjiang province, city of Urumqi, the world's furthest metropolitan area from the ocean, who would have thought Kristian Beadle would arrive here one day.  I wish i had a world map just to see where i am.  The air is fresh and dry though, and there are all sorts of Uygurs, Kazahks, Chinese, Pakistanis around.  Arabic and Chinese script everywhere.  hope to find some nice lakes and mountains, hike around. 

Beer fest and robbery

last time i did let you people know i was heading down to Qing Dao, where the Tsing Tao beer fest was taking place- we never actually took part in that wonderful event, since it looked so tacky and cheesy, and ended up on the beach camping.  been doing it ever since, many misadventures, such as being treated by Koreans to great food and karaoke, having some of our gear stolen while we were out eating, getting blasted by a tropical rainstorm.  so far so good.  Currently in an island south east of Shanghai - will fill in on more details later....

The relationship between beer and massage

massage is the key to life in China.  there's five hundred hair dressers on every street, for $1.50 they wash your hair and give you a head/face/back rub for 45 minutes.  but that is not enough.  Bathhouses are where it's at, a bit more expensive but it's full on.  first you strip your clothes and are thrown in this big communal shower - you need to have consumed at least 2 beers beforehand to feel comfortable.  next they give you a miniscule excuse for a hand towel which is the only thing to cover your vital organs and plomp you on this table and work you for an hour and a half.  many innovative technique are used, including some salt like substance which exfoliates your body like no other.  then you're given a robe and thrown into this room with couchs and beds, everyone is chilling watching TV.  at this point one of two things have happened.   1, women come up to you aggressively and offer to give you the "big airplane", otherwise known as the great ride., usually combined with suggestive hand gestures.  2, bunch of interested blokes come up and talk to you, and the only english word the know is 'gay'.  that's right, at that point we usually leave.  the funny thing is that my buddy Nick, who just so happens to be Buddhist, and very down to earth and righteous lad, is most often the main instigator of our late night massage pursuits.

leaving today with my buddies to go to this coastal city where the country's largest brewery is.  they're having a 'beer fest' this weekend, all tickets by train are sold out but this afternoon we'll go to the train station and figure it out.

The post-11pm happenings

BEIJING NIGHTLIFE

some of the more nightlife-conscious people out there are wondering what Kristian gets up in the wee hours of the day.  so quick word on the chinese night club is due...

on arrival they're playing some slow dance, oldies music, and you're wondering "did I just pay 10 kuai for this?!" but you want to be culturally flexible and decide to sit down and talk to some people, see what happens.  not a problem for two white boys to spark up conversation, although communicating in broken chinese over the loud music can be a problem at times.  you notice people are drinking...  juice.  beer is approximately 10 times more expensive than outside, so the chinese (budget conscious people they are) chill with their little fruit juice boxes, no worries.

the slow music stops and some trendy looking character speaks in the microfone for who know how long - i have no idea what is being said the whole time, but suddenly he starts calling numbers up, and people come up to the stage: a raffle!!  people walk out with all sorts of stuff, cd players, shoes whatever.  realize that is why there were funny little numbers on the ticket they gave you at the door. 

when it's over, the lights dim and absolutely crazy bumping techno hits, rocking the house... everyone flocks to the floor and dance till the end of the night. 

good times at the chinese club, never know what'll come next.

The bathroom situation in China

so what they don't tell us in the orientation for study in China is that the toilets over here are a bit funky.  as a matter of fact majority of bathroom don't have toilet seats - there's a low lying hole type toilet which you just squat over.  There's a technique and everything, something our parents never taught us, you've got to squat with your heels on the ground, instead of all your weight on the balls of your feet.  You should try it!!!  it's amazing the stability one attains in this wonderful position.  as a matter of fact you can see chinese squatting out on the street (they don't poo on the street by the way), just hanging out talking on the cel phone or to another girl that's squatting there too - peculiar stuff.

an odd thing is that there is absolutely NO toilet paper anywhere you go - people carry it around and stuff.  can be an issue at times.  last weekend I was at a club, waiting to go to the bathroom and the poo stalls didn't even have doors, but the funny thing was this guy was staring at me while taking a shit, very intimidating.  he made some motion, and then offered me toilet paper, figuring I was an unprepared foreigner.  the communal environment over here is very open.

in the second week of school (after all standard topics of conversation had been exhausted) people primarily talked about how well their bowels were working- seriously a major topic of discussion.  constipation, diarrhea, anything in between. the food is so greasy and heavy it works the internal systems.  everyone knows how long it's been since your last poo.  maybe i'm exaggerating a bit, ok, but we just about had a party when my buddy down the hall finally cleared his system after a week long stint of stagnation.  the things one takes for granted in the modern west.

i've finally got the situation under control though, buy a bunch of fruit, watermelons by the dozen ($.50 a watermelon), minimizing on the baozi and jiaozi greasy but yummy dumpling things.  you've got to be seriously conscious about diet and stuff - at least food is cheaper than water over here.  oh yeah this weekend i bought a 600ml (quart) bottle of beer for one sixth of a dollar.  no kidding.........   it's a key ingredient to destroy those germs, they say. 

No destination in mind

we've been doing plenty of group excursion, dozens of students running amok in pseudo touristy areas, so i'm branching off this weekend and going on a mission.  My buddy Reid and I are getting on some sort of train, and charge out to a random destination.  figure it can't be too bad whatever we do, since a quart of beer costs $0.25.  seriously it is cheaper than water - people say that beer is more plentiful than water in isla vista but i've never been seriously offered beer for breakfast.  we have found, however, that it is the most effective way to kill off excess germs that are hanging out in the food - a good quart of Yang jing pijiu.  still hope to one day be able to order food...  or at least know what we order.  it is usully no worries though, a solid dinner will be $1.50 per person....  and there's a tsan guanr selling food every 100 feet in beijing  So it is not a problem to remain stuffed and inebriated in constant hedonism around here - so much for spiritual enlightenment we seek to gain from Eastern wisdom. 

We're going to head out on Friday, with no particular destination in mind; we'll let the train schedules make the decision for us. in search of a less touristy destination, a nice hike with pretty views, maybe a low key temple in a valley, some chinese folks to talk to. it's funny this last weekend i'd go to these places with my friends, and instead of actually making it to the 'sightseeing' area, we'd get stuck somewhere along the line hanging out with people, or taking in the surroundings. not so important to see the particular 'attractions' anymore, talking to a 5 year old is enough (if not more interesting!!!)

don't think i've said much about my living situation - we basically live in a hotel, very much pampered, bathrooms in each room, hot water for tea down the hall. my roommate and I are a very good match, have made our room extremely livable, plants and tapestries and such. he's super hard working student but will go out and party/dance, do random things. it's a good balance.

already starting to look for a place to live in fall though, as prices range from $100-$500 a month depending on whether you get a 'legal' place or not. 'Legal' being government approved housing for foreigners, so the landlords jack up the price It seems to me that about half the foreigners live in illegal housing, and half don't, but it is a matter i am looking into.

Excursions outside the city

THE GREAT WALL & CHENGDE WITH 100 OTHER STUDENTS
4 buses of 30 people each, we travel to a non-touristy part of the Great Wall.  We are dropped off at Simatai and hike to the next town, 6 miles away. The hike is very intense - no one is expecting how tough it'll be.  We climb and drop steep mountain ridges, millions of steps in various stages of decay provide unsure footing.

The sun is hot and a few consider going back. So we trudge onwards, the desperate among us buying overpriced bottled water that the chinese have carted up here.

The views are impressive - the Great Wall winding along endless valleys, providing relief to the vast green countryside. The engineers of the Great Wall managed to build to the top of every peak, no matter how steep and inaccesible it might be. Although it is very impressive to look at, when it comes time to climb the vertical stone steps in the midday sun, we wonder at the crazy ambitions which drove this project.

On the 2nd day we stayed in a village, a very odd experience.  This was the attempt to give students a 'genuine' view of village life, but pre-packaging such an experience is clearly a lost cause.  The village and inhabitants were choreographed to carry out our stay, which basically centered on eating food.

We had three meals at the village: lunch, dinner, then the following morning breakfast, each in a different household. Each time the hosts piled a ton of food in our face (which is standard chinese custom) but strangely enough, all three meals were exactly the same. We had sugar tomatos, fried chicken, and hard boiled eggs for all three meals, all heavily laden in MSG flavoring. Everything had been bought in bulk, and by the time breakfast came along no one even wanted to look at the piles of food we were supposed to eat.
 
After the village, we went to the old imperial town of Chengde, surrounded by wonderful mountains.  I was grossly tired of our tourist excursions, so I tried to escape from the group as much as possible. The tour guides would go up to the famous temple and I'd slink off to the corner, then strike up conversation with random Chinese. 

They are exceedingly friendly, and will talk for 2 hours about the most basic things (the limitation of my language skills).  There are so few foreigners, and even fewer who actually speak Mandarin, that the novelty of connecting with a "white devil" is an exciting opportunity. I pull out my language textbooks, and a half dozen Chinese will huddle around and try to help me. They have absolutely no sense of privacy, but this only speeds my learning process, as I often have to deal with small crowds asking questions, laughing, watching. Occasionally I feel exhausted but just keep going, speaking this funny tongue of theirs.

Getting ready for 6 months in China

Studying for my Chinese language final tomorrow.  Then after that, I'll have Religion and Anthropology finals, all about China.  I'm all Chinesed out!  But I don't think that I'm quite psychologically prepared for my move - in 2 weeks I'll be in Beijing.  I have such a comfortable existence here in Santa Barbara, that it is hard to fathom a place with no ocean at my doorstep, mountains in my backyard, and multiple board sports to choose from.  At least I'll take my trusty skateboard - and represent the classic stereotype Californian, cruising around in boardshorts and sandals.  Plus my blonde hair is fairly long and ragged, some would say borderline "feral", which should create a stir. In a sea of black hair, there's no way I'll fit in, so I may as well have fun with it.