Bye bye China

So, amazingly it's my last day in China today. It's been 9 weeks since I left the UK and I get the Trans-Siberian (or more accurately the Trans-Mongolian) tomorrow to go to Russia, via a 2 night stop-over in Ulan-Bator.

Scary stuff really - in some ways the time has gone very quickly but in other ways it feels like a long time since I was back in the UK. It feels like ages since I saw Cath so I'm really looking forward to seeing her in Poland in a week or so.

Anyway, last time I wrote I was in Kunming which turned out to probably be my favourite city in China. There were lots of parks and trees and it wasn't as crowded or as manic as everywhere else that I've been, plus the climate was quite nice - not too hot and not cold, although it did pour with rain for a couple of days while I was there. There wasn't anything specifically outstanding to go and visit but it was a nice place to spend a bit of time wandering around the city and visiting the parks and things.

After Kunming I flew up to Xi'an to see the Terracotta Warriors. Xi'an was massive - much bigger than I expected (although I should have expected it to be large since it was the capital of China at one time) and it was really very hot indeed - too hot for me.

I took the chance to visit my friend Marc who is currently lecturing at a university outside Xi'an (somehow he's been made an Associate Professor!) and he showed me around Yangling and then his wife cooked us a very nice dinner. It was good to catch up with him and I think he enjoyed the chance to speak with another westerner since there are only around 10 westerners in the town in total!

The Terracotta Warriors were great although our tour did spend around 4 hours there which was a bit too long and I ended up being a bit bored - I think maybe an hour or two would have been enough time. It was great to see them though and although I was a bit worried that I might be disappointed when I finally saw them in the flesh I shouldn't have worried. Perhaps they could have made a bit more effort to make them presentable so that you could get up close to see them but it's basically an archeological dig site that's still in progress so I won't complain too much!

There wasn't really too much else to see in Xi'an so I took the overnight train to Beijing which was going to be my last stop in China before I set off back to Europe.

It was good to be back somewhere I was familiar with but I still had a few places that I wanted to visit. I went to the Great Hall of the People which I suppose is the Chinese parliament building. It looked very grand from the outside but inside it was a bit underwhelming with frayed carpets and generally a tired feel to it. It was nice, but there was nothing grand or impressive about it. I suppose the Chinese Communist Party make all their decisions in darkened, smoky rooms so they have no real need for a parliament building...

The next day I went to the Military Museum and spent a fantastic few hours looking at tanks and missiles and rifles and things. It was great. They had missiles cut in half so you could see how they worked and they also had a massive selection of handguns and machine guns and revolvers and basically all the kinds of toys that you wanted when you were a kid. The rest of the museum was dedicated to Chinese conflicts of the past but it was all in Chinese so I didn't have much of a clue what was going on. I had a brief sortie around the place looking at the pictures but after all the weapons and stuff it was a bit dull. I totally recommend a visit though if you're a big kid.

I finally got around to seeing the Great Wall as well. I'd been meaning to see it ever since I first landed in Beijing in mid-April but somehow never got around to it so yesterday I joined a tour out to one of the restored sections of the wall. I was expecting to be disappointed but I absolutely wasn't. It's just so impressive and the scale of the achievement of building it is there to see. It must have been a massive undertaking.

We took a cable car up the hill (about 1000 metres up - we could have walked but our guide told us we were short of time) and at the top you could see hills into the far distance and the wall perched along the top of them. The pictures don't do it justice (and nor do they show the steepness of the bit that I climbed - I was mildly out of breath by the time I got to the top - thank goodness for my Olympian fitness). I was glad that I'd finally seen it and I should get another chance tomorrow since the Trans-Siberian goes under the wall before we reach Mongolia.

And so that's China for me!

I'm not sure when I'll next get the chance to post - probably when I'm back in the UK so I hope you'll all manage to keep a meaningful life going in the interim.

All the best,
Gregor

More photos

Just a quick note to say that I've updated my photo site with the pictures I took in Tibet. They're available here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorontour

From Tibet to Kunming

Hello!

This is getting to be a bit of a habit us bumping into each other like this. So how have you been?

Me?? Well, as you know I'm faffing around in China and generally poking my nose into other people's business. I was in Tibet last week you know? Yes, it was quite nice but pretty different to China.

In fact, whilst it's part of China officially it's really quite different culturally, even after over 50 years of Chinese rule. Seeing the Chinese flag flying seems to be awfully out of place because the people look different, they still use their own language (despite Chinese efforts to wipe it out) alongside mandarin and their culture seems to be a million miles removed from the Chinese. Having said that, it's not all good. The hygiene there is even worth than in China and they seem to be completely averse to washing. Some of the people in Tibet, especially outside Lhasa haven't washed for ages (I think I read somewhere that they take a bath once a year) and so they have a particular fragrance that isn't overly nice. It's not totally surprising though because in my week there I didn't manage to have one hot shower. I had plenty of cold showers but considering that they don't seem to have heating either then it was a fairly uncomfortable week.

Anyway, when I was in Chengdu my airport taxi guy picked up two other people from other hostels on their way to Tibet - once was a English woman who'd started travelling after her partner had died and had been on the road for 8 months and the other was an American/South Korean guy who lived in Tokyo. We got chatting and when we arrived in Tibet we decided to hire a 4x4 and driver to take us to Everest Base Camp in Tibet (there are two base camps - one for the north face in Tibet and one for the south face in Nepal - I was meant to be trekking to the Nepalese one but of course it was cancelled). So we paid our money, met our driver who spoke no English and checked out our Land Cruiser which had no seatbelts and had 4 tyres that may have once had tread but certainly didn't now. Our driver was happy enough to drive us there and most of the other Land Cruisers looked pretty similar so I decided that we wouldn't get a much better option.

I spent the rest of the day at the Potala Palace which I found pretty dull but I'm not a Buddhist and so didn't have a clue what it was all about, and walking around generally experiencing Lhasa. It's quite a place. They have no issues whatsoever about begging for anything so they're always pestering you and there were loads of pilgrims prostrating themselves in front of the Potala Palace and while walking round the Jodphur Temple. It's a very holy site for Buddhists and they believe that if you walk clockwise round it a number of times then you'll be healed of some of your ills or you'll increasing your chance of reaching nirvana or something- I didn't really understand it. But they were well into it with their prayer wheels and chanting and sliding along the ground and stuff. I'm not making fun of it but it did seem a little odd. However, the whole reason for me to go travelling is to see how other people live and experience their culture (and not just to get 6 months off work - although that's nice too).

I had a headache from the altitude (Lhasa is around 3700m) but by the time the driver picked us up at 7:30am the next day it'd gone. We set off for a place called Shigatse where we would stop for lunch. The drive was very pleasant along a nice smooth road with some fantastic hills and glacial rivers although it was a bit cloudy and we were a bit worried that it would be like this all the way to base camp (or EBC as I'm now going to call it). EBC looked like the same distance again from Shigatse and I couldn't quite understand why it would take 4 days to get there and back on such a smooth road when we were making so much time but I was soon to find out.

We had lunch and jumped back in the car to go to a place called Latse where we scheduled to spend the night. The road was a little bit worse but nothing major and we got there around 5pm. Eager to make as much time as possible, our driver asked if we wanted to spend the night in Tingri which would make the journey quicker the next day. Apparently it would take 2 hours so after checking the maps and things we decided that we would since there didn't look like there was much in Latse.

At this point the road appeared to cease to exist and we spent two hours driving through what can only be described as a muddy building site and quarry where they seemed to be doing constant work on the 'road' which was just a track that had been flattened through the mud. At one point there was a traffic jam behind a lorry which had left the road and got stuck in a muddy ditch, blocking the road. Somehow we managed to squeeze past and be on our way but a little further down there was another lorry which had completely left the road and rolled over onto it's roof. There was nobody around so it must have happened a while ago and the cab looked intact so I guess everyone was OK. Still, I fastened my imaginary seatbelt and felt much safer.

The road was like this all the way to the Qomolangma National Park (Qomolangma is the Tibetan name for Mount Everest) where we reached 5200m and continued like this until we descended to around 4200m and to Latse.

When we got to our appointed hotel (which didn't happen to be in Tingri but in a place called Shegar - long story but we were basically misled by our crafty driver) we were taken to this room which could really only be described as filthy. I had no doubt that we would be sharing the room with various other rabid and diseased occupants and while I would have stayed there if we had no other choice, we left to find another hotel. We found one that was happy to rip us off since they were basically the only other deal in town. But it was OK, if rather cold (in fact it was freezing cold) and I slept in my clothes that night. Of course, there was no heating or hot water - oh how glad I was to experience the authentic Tibeten way of living.

The next day we paid an extortionate sum for our breakfast and then set off to EBC. The weather was fantastic and the sky as clear as could be. The road itself was spectacular. We basically drove up a never ending series of hairpin bends until we reached the top of this hill, again around 5200m and as we drove round the corner at the summit we saw Everest majestically towering over all the other mountains in the vicinity. It was dramatic and it was breathtaking - what a fantastic view and what an exceptional mountain. It had the familiar stream of snow blowing from the summit (apparently because the summit just manages to peak into the jetstream) and was surrounded by other snowcapped peaks (including the 4th and 7th largest mountains in the world). Of course, I went camera crazy and shot loads of pictures and a little video too. The fact that you just drive round a corner after being surrounded by brown dusty hills and are then faced with this incredible view makes it all the more spectacular. We jumped back in the car exhilarated and keen to get to EBC.

Unfortunately our driver somehow managed to get into some kind of race with one of the other Land Cruisers and took off down the mountain in pursuit of the guy. He managed to overtake him on one of the bends but then the other guy came off the road and tanked straight down the hill, missing out the road for a bit. Our driver found this to be an excellent idea and followed suit as his passengers all explored the upper-range of their voices with various involuntary squeaks and screams - much to his amusement.

In all honesty, it was great fun and I didn't feel that scared - he was actually a very good driver and tyre tread wouldn't have been much use on this terrain anyway since it was just a dusty track. All the same, I was quite glad when we stopped for the loo and the other guy got away.

The bad side of the trip was that it was a bit of a tourist trap and they used as many ways to get as much money out of you as possible. From the inflated hotel prices to having to buy a permit to leave Lhasa, a permit enter the park, a permit for a vehicle to enter the park and then having to take a bus instead of your car to the Rongbhuk Monastery (the highest monastery in the world, just 6km from EBC and where there was a guest house where we would be spending the night) - it was all designed to get as much money out of tourists as possible.

Anyway, we piled on the tourist bus for the 45 minute drive to the monastery but by this time the cloud had come in and view wasn't so great and it was getting pretty cold. When we arrived we got a room at the guest house (which, if I may be so bold, was a dump and exceptionally cold) and dumped our stuff. The guesthouse was clean but draughty and the lights came on and went off whenever the owner decided - much like in a prison. Of course there were no showers and there was no heating either. By the way, Michael Palin in his book 'Himalaya' said that the toilets at the guest house were the worst he's ever used and while I don't have the experience he does, I'd have to agree with him. Let me just say that you had to be careful where you stepped and I'll leave it at that.

Getting to base camp was yet another way of getting money from us since you could walk it (not a great idea when you've just arrived at 4900m but not impossible - I was actually quite keen but my partners weren't) or you could get a donkey cart (the so-called 'Eco Bus') for a fiver. We chose the latter and my goodness if it wasn't the most painful thing I've done in China. The cart jarred and bumped its way up the road sending the contours of the road up my spine - I tried not to scream but I couldn't be sure as my body was starting to shut down with the pain. I took it like a man though and didn't cry. I was very glad when we arrived at base camp though.

Now, everybody told me that base camp was a dump and they were spot on. Base camp is a dump. I didn't exactly expect hotels with swimming pools and restaurants and stuff - in fact I expected it to be barren with just a few tents, but it was full of souvenir sellers and stupid little tea houses in big tents and stuff. A little further on were the small tents of the various expeditions that were either planning to tackle the mountain or were on it at the moment. It wasn't a let down, since we got a fantastic view of a (cloudy) Everest but I was distracted every now and again as I had to slap a few touts trying to sell me junk.

It was great to be there though, even if I did cheat by driving there but after a while we were ready to go down so we got back into our donkey pain device and made our way back (although we jumped out before the end and walked the last 2km because it was just too painful!).

At bedtime I put on all the clothes I had, strategically wrapped myself in all the blankets I could find and prepared for a very very cold night. In the end it wasn't too bad at all except that I needed the toilet during the night but couldn't unravel myself enough to get up and couldn't summon the motivation to get out into the cold so I just waited until morning.

The next morning I woke up with a cracking headache - presumably from the altitude and general tiredness but once I was up and had drunk loads of water it started to disappear - just as well because I felt pretty dreadful. I was up early though to see the sun rising on Everest and what a sight it was. The monastery had a fantastic view of the mountain so I took a walk and took loads of photos - aren't digital cameras great???

It was time to leave though, so we waited for the bus and when it arrived we were herded on cattle along with the other tourists back to our waiting Land Cruiser and driver (and let me just say what an impressive vehicle the Land Cruiser is - it took so much punishment and didn't miss a beat at all).

Once back in the car our driver took off again and we made out way back to Shigatse where we were due to spend the night. At one point we encountered a Land Cruiser that had crashed into a lorry (at low speed) and was blocking the road. On one side was a cliff going up and on the other was a cliff going a long long way down to the river below. At the side of the road were some concrete blocks stuck into the ground to stop traffic plummeting to their doom. If it was a normal country then they'd just move the vehicles, perhaps taking a few photos but of course in China/Tibet it's never simple and they had to wait for the police to arrive (which would take hours since we were seriously in the middle of nowhere).

However, our clever drivers (and by this time there was a tailback of Land Cruisers) decided that if they demolished the concrete blocks then they could squeeze by so they set to work with tyre irons breaking the blocks to pieces. Our driver would be the first to try and get by so I surrepitiously liberated my passport and essentials from the car so that if he plunged to his death I would still have my passport and might even get a few exciting pictures too!

Unbelievably though, once they'd demolished the concrete blocks (an impressive achievement) the lorry driver jumped in and reversed his lorry out of the way and they pushed the Land Cruiser out of the way too. Don't ask me where the logic was because I don't have a clue. We were very very perplexed. I think they just wanted to break some stuff up and that was a good excuse for them to do it. Who knows?

The rest of our journey to Shigatse was uneventful and I had a lovely cold shower in a lovely cold room in an extremely cold town. But I felt clean and even managed to have a cold shave so I looked a bit more human.

The next day was on the nice smooth road back to Lhasa where I got a room in a youth hostel with no hot water and no heating. I'd started to get used to it by this point so it was no great hardship. I was ready to come back to China though so the day after I booked my flight to Kunming and did my souvenir shopping - buying all sorts of weird stuff.

So my impressions of Tibet? Well, Lhasa isn't really very Tibetan - there's a massive Chinese influence there but the Barkhor area, around the Jodphur temple is still quite Tibetan, even if it is a tourist trap. The rest of it is a bit of a ghastly Chinese import so best avoided. As for the rest of Tibet that I saw, it's very beautiful and less touched by the interfering Chinese (take a look here for more info on Tibet and the Chinese http://www.atc.org.au/ - naturally the site is banned in China). The scenery is incredible although there isn't much greenery. Hygiene isn't at the top of their list of priorities so you see absolutely filthy people but the country is so dusty and hot water so scarce that it's not great surprise that they've given up on washing. Also, the country is just so tough to live in with extreme weather and difficult farming that they're a very very tough and hardy people.

Anyway, I'm in Kunming now which seems really very nice - probably the nicest city I've been to in China. It's very green, not too big and not to crowded and with lots of comforts for me! I'm here for a few more days and then off to Xi'an.

Hope you're all well and keep the emails coming - it's great to hear what you're all up to.

All the best,
Gregor

From Beijing to Tibet

Hello!

I arrived in Tibet today so thought I should update you on what I've been up to the last couple of weeks.

After I got back from North Korea I had a few days to spend until my pre-booked flight to Nepal so I did all the Beijing touristy things. I missed the sandstorm on the Monday (shame - it sounded quite impressive) but the city was still covered with a light layer of it when I arrived back on Tuesday. I sorted out my accomodation for the next few days and was staying in one of Beijing's many Hutons which was fun but a bit chaotic when you had cars and bikes trying to squeeze down the narrow lanes. I then spent a bit of time sorting out all of my North Korean purchases, catching up with some of the North Korean tour group in Beijing and generally just winding down after a busy week in the DPRK.

The next day I visited Tiananmen Square (it's very very big) and the Forbidden City (a bit of an anti-climax since it's all pretty much the same inside) and went to see my second embalmed corpse of the week when I went to see Chairman Mao. Interestingly, for someone who was responsible for the death of tens of millions, he still manages to command lots of respect and there were many people from all generations bowing at his statue and queueing to see his body.

One day I hired a bicycle which must have been about 300 years old and weighed about 10 tonnes and went off on a cycle around Beijing - not a task to be taken lightly considering the volume and quality of Beijing traffic. But it was actually lots of fun - bicycles have right of way so the cars have to swerve to avoid your erratic moves - and I took a trip up to the Lama Temple in the northern part of the city. It was pretty much like any other temple but it was good to see it and tick it off the list. That evening I went to see the Chinese Acrobatic Troupe who were really good - extremely talented but some of the girls were quite awfully ugly which ruined it a bit...

Another day I made an attempt to go to the Summer Palace but I was feeling a bit off colour that day so I abandoned it and just went back to the hostel to relax (plus I couldn't find the bus to take me there!). In the back of my mind was the Nepal trip and the would it/wouldn't it happen scenario. The tour company were to decide whether to cancel or not the day before I was supposed to fly to Chengdu (and then on to Kathmandu) so it was a bit of a nervous time. In the end they decided to abandon it which was probably the best move but I decided I would go to Chengdu anyway and perhaps go to Tibet or somewhere.

I ran out of time to do all the Beijing stuff so I still have to do the Great Wall and the Summer Palace. I get back to Beijing a few days early so that I can do the Trans-Siberian so I'll squeeze them in then.

Unfortunately the next day I woke up and didn't feel at all well. I had what turned out to be a bladder infection which wasn't very pleasant and I wasn't too keen on flying. But I decided to go anyway and once I'd go to Chengdu and found a place to stay, I took a couple of days to sweat it out (and sweat I did - it was quite disgusting). I thought it'd gone but it hadn't so I've started to take the antibiotics that I have with me and they seem to be doing the job.

Chengdu was a pretty decent place to just relax for a while and the hostel was quite easy going. It was very very hot though - around the 32-35C mark so I was forced to dig out my shorts and scare the locals. I met up with a friend of Cath's who was living nearby and looking after rescued bears - she was pretty sick of Chengdu though and counting the days until she could leave. I can understand that though - the Chinese could quite easily wear you down so we spent and evening complaining about all of the bad things in China.

I also visited the Giant Panda Breeding Research Centre and took lots of pictures of Giant Pandas chilling around and eating bamboo and stuff. It was quite cool and if you wanted you could get your picture taken with a panda but they wanted 50 quid so I didn't bother.

And so today I arrived in Tibet. I was up at 4:30am to get the flight and arrived here at 10:30am. I'm already sunburned and have a headache from the altitude but it's not too bad so I'm quite relieved really. I've met up with some people and we've booked a trip to Tibetan Everest Base Camp which might make up for the disappointment of not making it to the Nepalese Base Camp.

Tibet seems really nice but Lhasa is a bit of a mix. Parts of it (the Barkor area) are just like I expected Tibet to be and other parts are just like China, which is very sad because the Chinese are just forcing their culture upon the Tibetans. It was sad to see the Potala Palace with a Chinese Flag flying on top but that's just the way it is at the moment and nobody at government level seems to be too concerned about the Chinese attitude to Tibet.

Anyway, I'll let you know more about Tibet as I find it - I'm away for 4 days while I do base camp so don't cry if I don't respond to your emails!

All the best,
Gregor