5 posts tagged “china”

 

Top Five Signs we saw while we were in China

 

I must admit that most of the humor in this is just from bad translation. But still. Some of it totally cracked me up. And a lot of these signs are kind of cute. Well, not the first one. But the others are somehow adorable. (Um, not to be condescending or anything... ahem.)

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Top Five Reasons NOT to go on a tour in China

 

I will not elaborate much in this top five list. No need to, and I don't want to sound negative or anything. I mean, after all, I just got back from a trip to China, for Pete's Sake! How lucky was that?!

However...Neither Kevin nor I had ever been on a tour before. We both kind of like winging it. That is part of the fun. For our honeymoon five years ago, the only thing we had planned during our three weeks in Mexico and Central America, was when our flight landed and took off in Mexico. Other than that, we just figured it out when we got to it. And that was terrific. But we had a grasp of the Spanish language (and could read the signs) and had some knowledge of the countries we visited. Also, we had a whole three weeks. So, that was nice. And we felt like we could handle it.

For our trip to China, we didn't feel so competent. We had never met any people who had really done it on their own (without being able to speak Chinese...) And, Kevin only has limited vacation time now. No three entire weeks to jetset around the world anymore! So -- we were worried. But let me tell you something. We totally could have done it. And will do it. If we ever go back to China again.

And you -- you could do it, too. But if you were to decide you wanted to go on a tour...let me just warn you of a few little things that I wish someone has told us about before we went...

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1) Early Morning Wake up Calls

The early bird catches the worm and all that jazz...yeah, yeah. But we were on vacation! And we had wake up calls at 6:30 am every morning. And one time there was one at 5:30! Which is just WRONG. To be fair, one time we had a 7:30 wake up call. But that just offsets the 5:30 one, so, it doesn't count, in my opinion.  

Sure, we had a lot to see and do, and not enough time to do it, but sheesh! Sometimes I was so tired going to all of the sights, I had a hard time enjoying them. Sometimes people on the tour would forego the sights, just to stay on the airconditioned bus and sleep.

 

2) Government Mandated Shopping Trips

Now, I don't know if this is a uniquely Chinese thing, or a tour thing, or what, but these shopping sidetrips really drove me crazy! Neither Kevin nor I are much for shopping. We like to go to local markets (as seen from the previous photos) and we like to shop for food. But these shopping trips that we were forced to attend were sometimes agony!

You know, we had freakin' gotten up at 6:30 am, eaten breakfast, and headed out the door to ostensibly make it to whatever famous sight we were going to see, Great Wall, Forbidden Palace, etc...but on the way, the bus would inevitably make a detour (at least once a day) to go to a "government controlled" shop selling whatever the "local specialty" was. One day it was silk, one day jade, another day clay soldiers, another day, pearls. Blah blah. And we would be there, for like, TWO HOURS. Two hours of us just milling around. Two hours when we could have been sleeping in our five star hotel beds.Usually a few people would buy something. But not much. The thing was, the tour group gets a kick back for everything we buy. And that makes it worth their while. But I had not gotten up to buy some stupid silk pajamas that I could find in China Town in San Francisco! I had gotten up to see the Great Wall. Arghhhh. By the end, everyone on the tour was sick of it and was ready to kill someone. As you can imagine.

 

3) Group Mentality

Do you need to pee? No? Well, one of the 29 people has to pee. So let's all stand around and wait for her. Okay, lets go, she's back...what? Now Mr. Somebody has snuck off to buy a soda? Okay, well, let's mill around and wait for him to get back. Right. Okay. Now it is, let's see, 5pm. Time for dinner. What? No one is hungry? You all ate lunch at the dumpling place at 2pm, and stuffed yourselves full of bland, tasteless dumplings and are too full to eat for the rest of the day? Oh well, too bad. We made reservations at a touristy place at 5:30. Time's a wasting. Gotta Go! Follow my embarrassing green flag. Come on now. Back to the bus.

Wait, where did Mrs. Whoozit go? The bathroom? Everyone. Stop. We need to wait! There is no way a grown woman could ever find her way back to the bus on her own. We will all just have to wait together.

 

4) Go go go

Okay, this could probably be filed under the "wake up calls" but I think it must be addressed again. Going on a tour was exhausting. We were out and about all the time! There was no time to sit and reflect. Anyone who has ever traveled with me knows that I like to write in a journal when I travel. There was no time for that. No time to sit and write long, ridiculous e-mails to friends and family. No time to sit by the river and watch local people walk by, no time to do anything unstructured or unplanned. And Kevin and I enjoy that part of traveling the most.

But, of course, if we had traveled like that,  we never ever in a million years could have seen all that we did in the short amount of time that we were there. I mean, we saw a lot! And it was a good overview of the country. But at what cost? We only saw the clean parts, the touristy parts, and of course, the government shops. Somehow, I feel like we might have missed out on a lot of what there really was to see in China. I'm not sure, though. We will have to go back to find out.

 

5) Tipping

This is going to sound ridiculous, but this drove me insane! I am not a person who uses bell boys or valets or any kind of help unless it is really necessary (like the sky cap people at the airport...sometimes, when you have toddler, and a carseat, and a stroller and lots and lots of luggage and a plane to catch, they really are necessary.) But I can carry my carry on size luggage up to the hotel room by myself, thank you very much! And I really would RATHER do that, than wait for the bellboys to deliver all 29 pieces of everyone elses luggage before getting to my room. Especially when you arrive at a hotel at midnight and you know you will have a freakin' 6:30 am wake up call, and all you want to do is get your bag, brush your teeth and go to SLEEP!

No -- I do not want to wait around with an American dollar in my hand, waiting for the bellboys to take their sweet time delivering my suitcase, when I could have DONE IT MYSELF! Arghhhh.

Also? We had to put our suitcases out early for the bellboys to pick them up! Which meant that we couldn't return to our room to get dressed, get ready, etc, after our 6:45 breakfasts, because the bellboys needed to load all of our luggage into the bus, so that we could head out to our next location across the country. So annoying.

Plus -- I didn't bring nearly enough American one dollar bills to satisfy said bell boys. And by the end, I was giving them Yuan coins that would roll out of their white gloved hands into the street, and which I would be forced to chase out into oncoming traffic, while my cheeks were  burning bright red( because WHO tips a bellboy in coins? ) and hope that I didn't get killed by a bus or a bicycle or something. What a way to go.

Not only did we have to tip the bellboys, but we also had to tip the bus drivers (We had several different ones. One for each new city) And also we had to tip our National Guide. Oh, and don't forget the local guides! By the end, I was just following the herd, handing over the envelopes full of cash, mutely following protocol.  Vaguely annoyed by the whole process, but unable to do anything about it.

So. If you go on a tour in China. Or a tour anywhere, I guess, have plenty of one dollar bills on hand. Don't spend them. Except on tips. You might want to take about 100 of those little suckers. At least.

 

Top Five Reasons to go on a tour in China

 

 

1) Transportation

We went to China for 10 days. We saw six different towns during that time. SIX. And you know, China is big. Really Big. Like, USA big. It was like someone going to America and saying "um, okay, let's see...I want to see L.A., New York, Miami and Chicago. Oh, and I have 10 days....!"

We were all over the map. Beijing, Shanghai, Guilin, Xian. Lots of different places. And to get there, we had to take all sorts of domestic flights. And use buses, too. Ughhhh. To try and do that in a foreign  country, where we don't speak the language? That would have been really tough. We could have done it. I realize that now. But we would have needed at least two more weeks. And Kevin doesn't have that much vacation time.

 Also -- I had a hard enough time trying to cross the street just to get to my bus. If I had had to do this, day in and day out, in order to get around, I would probably perish. Or I would just still be standing on the curb of the Shanghai airport, waiting for a chance to cross the street. Traffic in China was INSANE!

2) Entrance Lines

We never ever once had to wait in a line at a touristy place. Not once. So, that was nice. (Ahhhh, visions of waiting in line in Paris at the Musee D'Orsay for two hours. In the rain. Man. Where was my tour group then?!)

 

3) Food.

Okay, this was good and it was not so good. We always always always had food. There were huge buffet breakfasts at the hotels where we stayed. And enormous banquet meals for lunch and dinner. We would sit at tables set for ten people and plate after plate of special local dishes would be piled up for our group. The lazy susan in the center of the table would bow under the weight of all that food.

 It was a good time to get to know the people we were touring with. Also -- a really really cool part of the tour we were on, was that most of the 29 people were Chinese American. So they could translate everything for us. And we didn't look like a whole busload of "ugly Americans" I mean, we were...but we weren't quite so pale and fat as the usual bus load of Americans... 

 

But really, it was too much food. And lots of it was just, ehhhh. We had a dumpling dinner in Xian that was so hyped, my head almost exploded in anticipation. And the truth was -- whatever, it was like, raviolis. Minus the sauce. Of course, just because it was blah, didn't mean that I didn't totally stuff myself.

 

And this was not a good feeling. Especially by the end of the trip, when I was sure that I had gained 400 pounds, and since we were on buses or planes all day, we didn't exercise AT ALL.

But I HAD to -- I was in China. Where else could I ever in a million years find Chinese food in the Bay Area? Where I ask you, where?!

 

 

The Peking Duck was also a highly anticipated event. Not sure what the whoop dee doo was about. It was duck. With sauce. In a wrap. But check out all these people documenting the event!

Here is more of the manna from heaven:

 This Peking Duck meal was eaten in a restaurant with five floors. FIVE. With at least 200 people on each floor. What the? I like food as much the next person.

 More, even!

But the touristy restaurants left me a little cold.

 

 

 

 

 

 

HOWEVER...I was never ever ever hungry. Not for one little instant. And sometimes, when I am traveling on my own, without a plan ahead of time, I do get hungry. And the search for a delicious meal gets to be exhausting.

4) The Hotels

The hotels that were a part of this tour were over the top gorgeous. They were freakin' FIVE STAR hotels! I don't know about you, but when I stay in a hotel in America, I am excited if they have a coffee maker in the room! And when I travel in a country other than America, I feel lucky to have a bathroom connected to the room. Honestly. That is a big deal. But with these hotels, everything was fancy schmancy. Chandeliers in the foyers, someone playing a baby grand piano  upon arrival, fitness rooms, swimming pools, robes and slippers waiting for you on your bed, soaps, shampoos, loofa pads for you to take home with you...Good lord. It was all a little overwhelming. Sadly, though, we never had time to actually enjoy the rooms. We had to go go go ! In order to see six cities in 10 days. Arghhhhhh

 

Although this hotel looks swanky, when Kevin took a shower, the plumbing backed up, and water flooded out of the drain on the floor behind the toilet, and this is what we got   ------->

The poor little housemaid, when we called for her help, walked in the door of our room, saw the flood, screamed in fright, and RAN down the hall for backup. Nice.  

Then when the plumber arrived and plunged the drain, they sopped up all of the water with our bath towels and left them in big, soggy, dripping piles all over our bathroom floor. Not quite up to American 5 star standards...but, whatever, we were happy to have a toilet within walking distance (even if it was in the middle of a swampy, towel covered bog....)

Wait, here is a day that we really enjoyed. We were rebels and decided to not join the group. Instead we stayed at the hotel for a few hours. Kevin got a massage, I read my book, and then we both went swimming at the fancy pool. 

 

 

No, we are not trying to start a new fashion trend. We had to buy the swim caps in order to swim. 

Also, Kevin is not drunk. But it was good to know that the hotel staff was aware of such behavior, and was not likely to tolerate it!

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5) Cost

I honestly do not know how our tour was so cheap. But it was. I guess because it was China. And China is not that expensive. But honestly, we paid very little for this trip. It was 12 days away from home. The round trip international airline ticket, the visas, the hotels, all of the food in the world you could ever hope to eat, all of the transportation in country, and entry fees to everything. Plus tour guides --so we knew what in the hell we were seeing. And it all cost less -- much less -- than our week long trip to Paris two years ago. Huh? Don't know how it happened. But it did. And for that, I am thankful for the tour.

Top Five Sights

 

1) The Great Wall

I know, I know. It is so predictable to choose the Great Wall. But, I gotta say, it was pretty, well, great... You couldn't see the end of it. It just went on and on over the craggy mountains. We got a beautiful day to walk on the wall. And we chose the more rugged, steep direction to climb. After we went a certain distance, the throngs of tourists fell away, and we were alone. Well, except for the ever present vendors. We captured all of their sing song sales pitches on our audio tape. It should be fun to listen to later.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2) Guilin

Okay. This was pretty much the most gorgeous place I have ever been. But you know -- I had never really even heard of it before -- which amazes me! Have you heard about it? It is in Southern China. The rock formations (called "karst") are made from limestone mountains that have been worn away by wind and rain. They create these crazy magical hills and outcroppings. And they are green green green. Plus, they rise up on either side of the Li River, so when you go down the river on a boat, it is the best way to see the mountains. When it is misty, it looks like every single Chinese brush painting you have ever seen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) The Forbidden Palace in Beijing

When we went, most of the main buildings were closed for restoration. They are getting ready for the Olympics, big time! I think the whole world will be amazed by China in 2008. I was. Anyway, the Forbidden Palace is where centuries of Emperors lived. Pretty impressive. Very grand and imperial. Plus there was a great big picture of Mao on the outside. I mean, BIG.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4) Suzhou and Hangzhou

 So, there is this Chinese saying (we heard it repeated about 40 billion times and any Chinese person we met who heard we were going to these places repeated this saying to us) It goes like this: "Paradise in Heaven...Suzhou and Hangzhou on Earth".  And yeah, these two towns really were pretty gorgeous. Now, I must admit --they were the first two places we visited on the first two days in China, and I was pretty jet lagged and exhausted. However, upon looking at the photos later, I must concur with that old Chinese saying. C'mon. You know the one!

 

 

 

Did you know that China had a town that is made up of canals? Uh huh. Like a Chinese Venice. No Kidding! That was Suzhou. Nice. I had no idea it even existed.

 

 

  

And it had gorgeous gardens, too. I swear to God, I was so groggy, it is all a fog. But check out these photos!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 And Hangzhou was nice, too. There were caves and grottoes. We went to a lake called West Lake that, if you must know, I thought was kind of boring. Sort of foggy and "ehhh". But then I looked at the photos and found it to be lovely! (Perhaps I should have just bought some postcards and stayed home that day...Maybe caught up on a little sleep)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5) Night Markets

The Night Markets were so much fun to visit. Because there was so much to see and do. Almost more than there was to see at the actual tourist sights!

The first one we visited was in Beijing. It was just a block from our hotel, and we sort of stumbled on it. Kevin was going to stay in our hotel room (we were EXHAUSTED from a day of touring with our group, and I sort of wanted to stay in, too, but felt like we had to go do something besides seeing all of the safe touristy spots provided by our tour guide!) So, I convinced him. And he was so glad I did. Check it out, it was crazy!

 

Since Beijing was on the silk route and was influenced by Middle Eastern countries, there were a lot shish kabob foods that arrived here. Oh boy. You can't believe all the things that can be skewered! If I were brave, I would have tried the beetles.

 

 

 

 

We did have some of these wonderful fruits on a stick. They were dipped in caramelized sugar. Like a candy apple, I guess.

 Then Kevin got the snake. It was icky. I've had snake before that was quite tasty. Not this. But apparently it is an aphrodesiac.Or so said the vendors. (We were told this not in English, but through much pointing and pantomiming. As you can imagine, it was a bit mortifying...)

Although this photo does not seem to show it, I really like grasshoppers. I had them before in Thailand. They are like popcorn. And really, anything fried up like that (with some salt and spices) will be delicious.

The second Market we enjoyed was in Xian. That town is the very beginning of the Silk Road. It has a sizable population of Muslim Chinese. The night market had piles and piles of kites, embroidery, a billion miniature terra cotta soldiers (the "8th wonder of the world" which is what most people visit Xian to see. I, personally, was underwhelmed), and, of course, Kevin and my favorite, unique dried fruits and snacks from the region...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we went to a market in Guilin and that was really fun. It was really less of a touristy market, and more of a place where the locals shopped for their dinner. And oooh, boy, what a dinner that would be...

 

Apparently chicken feet are on the menu.

 

 

 

 

        And also? Pig feet.

 

 

 

And of course, one mustn't forget amphibians in the meal. Oh no, that would just be tragic. Well, not to worry, we have plenty to pick from. Nice and fresh.

 

 

 

 

Alright. That is all I have time to write, for now. Tune in later for more China Top Five lists. I have about a gazillion photos to work from, so consider yourself warned....

Kevin and I are going to China! Wheeeee hooooo. Yep. It's official. I didn't want to write about it until we actually GOT our tickets, passports and visas. They were stuck in the goopy mess of bureaucracy and Travel Agency snafus until just yesterday -- that was the 16th.  And we are leaving at 6am on Monday the 21st. Gulp. Yeah, I was freaking out just a little. Mmmm hmmm, a  teeny tiny bit.

But now, we can all breathe a sigh of relief. (and sleep through the night without waking up in a sweaty panic for the first time in weeks) It is really going to happen! And now I can move on to my next freak out session...

Two weeks without Maggie. Holy crap. What was I thinking? My parents are here. They arrived this morning. And they will be with her the whole time we are gone. Maggie is extremely excited about the entire thing. They are going camping -- in a pop up camper -- while we are gone. And Grandmommy and Granddaddy have all kinds of activities planned.

But...ummmm. What if I get SARS? Or, oh my God, totally forgot about it until just this second...what about the Bird Flu?!

Traveling post kids is just not as spontaneous and free wheeling as it was before I had responsibilites. Akkkk.

Okay, well, if I don't get the bird flu, our itinerary is as follows: Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangshou, Beijing, Xian, Guilin. Don't know a damn thing about those places except that Beijing is having the Olympics next year? Me neither! Hopefully I will return from this trip with some sort of handle on the country that is poised to become the World's Next Super Power.

And, if not, I hear that the Peking duck is really tasty. So. That is something.