♫ Sunshine, sunshine, it's fine
I feel it in my skin, warming up my mind,
Sometimes you gotta give in to win,
I love the days when it shines, whoa let it shine...♫
Yesterday was a wonderful travel day. No hassle, totally simple. Such a nice change from everything that went wrong in China.
We got up early (which was a bit hard after the many large Changs I had the night before...oops) and argued with taxi men until we got one that would use the meter. We arrived at the bus terminal within minutes of the bus leaving. Had a pleasant ride.
We met Norm. A man that I approached after seeing the shirt we had on. It was a teal shirt with the best hockey emblem on the front of it.
"I know that this is probably super weird and I don't want you to think that I'm crazy but I had to tell you that I think your shirt is awesome. Can I have a picture with you to show everyone back home that Sharks hockey is now becoming global?!" It was awesome. Go Sharks (hopefully, next season will be better...)
We found a place to stay...since it's low season right now, we are paying about $14 for two people for a nice bungalow on the ocean with gorgeous views. I know, y'all can be jealous now.
After a large Singha beer and 4 hours of laying in a hammock reading 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (in which I learned the logistics of how to fly), we headed to a nearby bar and sat on cushions and had more beer. Played card games and board games until it was proper time to head back down to the bungalow.
Thinking about renting a motorbike and cruising around the island now. I don't expect I'll have much to blog about being here though...it's going to be lazy days with my book and possibly some Jack Johnson tunes to relax and chill...
Ciao for now. Much love
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
China was well...and Thailand is...
Hey everyone!
So, here is the first blog from the trip thus far.
We landed in China full of hope and excitement.
Boy, we're we wrong.
Here's the list:
1. Maps are REALLY not to scale. Not just by a little, but you will be walking for hours to go what looks like 3 blocks on a map.
2. Parks do NOT exist for people to enjoy. They just don't do parks.
3. Tea? What tea? The only tea shops are for tourists and they charge an arm and a leg.
4. Everyone wears heels. And no one wears sun glasses.
5. KFC is way popular and they don't sell chicken; they sell burgers, like McDonalds (which are as common as anything).
6. Bus line number 5 from Qianmen station does not exist; therefore, it cannot take you to the Great Wall.
7. EVERYONE stares and blatantly so.
Day 1: We landed and took the airport express line into the city. Then we walked. It's about 85 or 90 and then add in the humidity and you will lose pounds by sweating just by being outside, much more if you are walking with a massive pack on. We find a place to crash for the night and check in. Shower, change and head out for somthing to eat. Then-it starts pouring! I get completely soaked, like I never stepped out of the shower. Seeking shelter under and umbrella, there is food. A lady said 'hodge podge' and so we quickly dug in. Things on skewers that you put on a plate and add sauces to. Pay by how many skewers you eat. 1 yuan each (6 Yuan to a dollar). Yay cheap food! We passed out by 730PM that evening...yeah, I know,...
Day 2: Since falling asleep so early, we were up by 4AM. We left the hostel at 7 in search of food. We found this older lady serving dim sum right out on the side of the street. We sat down outside and, not knowing much (or any really) Chinese, we pointed at what the other table was eating and she promptly brought up steam buns filled with garlic and green onions. Then dumplings filled with pork-we had seconds of these. YUM! Then we checked out, and proceeded to walk about the city for about 3 hours trying to find another place to stay. I was startingt to get cranky because it was too hot and humid to be doing this. We checked into another place and headed for the Forbidden Palace.
Now, this place (way not to scale on the maps-getting there or the sheer size of the thing) was MASSIVE! It took nearly 4 hours to get through the thing. Treasure room and buildings after buildings. They all start to look the same after a while so, of course, we got a bit lost inside. We managed to make it out and head over to Tian'anmen Square. We walked some more. And walked and walked and walked...you get the idea.
Then, my favorite-PEARLS! We managed to figure out the subway and headed to the Hongquiao Pearl Market. Let's just say it's a miracle I didn't walk out with the entire market. I was getting real pearl earrings for about $1.50 a set. Holla! It was awesome. Yay for pearls.Dinner and beer (of course) and then decided to go to the Bar streets. Of course the first bar I happen upon is called, 'The Box'. On the sign is a hockey playing moose and the interior is decked to the nines with hockey jerseys and hockey apparel. Brilliant! It made me think of the Brittons and how sad they must be that the Bruins won the Cup... awe. More beer and a snack then bed.
Day 3: We woke up determined to get to the Great Wall. According to the Frommer's book Andrew had on his Kindle, we took the directions to get figure out how to get there. We went to the station and proceeded to walk around for 3 hours trying to find the queue for the bus number 5 to get to Juyongguan Pass (the less touristy part of the Wall compared to Badaling). We asked directions from the Tourist information booth (who didn't speak ANY English-you'd think being a tourist info center they'd at least be able to help a bit...) adnd followed their directions to no avail. Next, the bus man at the long distance terminal. Followed those directions. Fail. Asked the same guy again, got different directions and still failed. At this point, it was after noon. We got a couple of popsicles, sat down on the curb in the shade and tried to cool off. How about a park? We could get some tea, have some lunch and then go sit under a tree and take a nap or read or something. As we were getting up to leave, a crazy man with a cane starting doing high kicks and weilding his cane as though a weapon (which it could have been) towards me. Luckily there was a tree right in front of me that I hid behind. Seconds later, he hit the tree...better it than me though....
Well, no one really drinks tea unless it's out of a bottle (like Nestea or Lipton) and if you do find a tea house, it's a huge tourist trap. Way over priced just for decent tea. Park? We looked for the park areas on the map and proceeded to spend countless minutes (up to about an hour total) gettting to the area. There are parks. Just not ones that you can lie under a tree in. The park we did find was park of a residence-you had to have a house there to accesss it and even then it was blocked off. You can only look at the green grassy areas, not sit in them. Fail again. Defeated, we sat down in the planter bow of a tree on the side of the road. We said Ni hao to all that passed. They were staring anyway, might as well say something to them...I believe that they have never seen a redhead before (kind of like Pish Taco in Peru)...and all the Asian girls giggle at Andrew and then want pictures with him. It's hilariously funny.
Feeling dejected, we head back to the hostel...this was the beginning to the awful end of China.
Day 4: We're getting to the Great Wall today. But first, we should probably get tickets to Shanghai so we can get out of this country. We go to the Railway station (after first attempting a different one-fail already; isn't it too early for this?!) and get in line 16 for the foreigners. We wait in line for about a half hour. As soon as we get to the front, 2 gents in line 17 start punching and kicking each other and yelling loudly.
I want to take the time to tell those who don't know that in China, and in most Southeast Asian countries as well, it is not proper or kosher to 'lose face' You are supposed to maintain composure in every situation. So, to see people loosing face twice in two days has been very surprising...
Now, we tried to book tickets to Shanghai. The board with all the rail info showed 11 tickets left for the train that evening. When we got to the front, the lady said, "No." No more tickets. But the board says..."No." Tomorrow? "Sleeper-no. None available. Only fast train. 1420 Yuan" What?! Anything cheaper? "No." Fine, we just want out of this country none. We pull out our card, we certainly do not have that much cash on us. "No card. Cash only." Screw it. We got out of line and headed to the hostel across the street. We just acted like we had a room there and headed to the internet. We researched ways to get out of Beijing. We decided to try to just get to Hong Kong instead. When down to massively large Beijing beers and braved the lady again. Hong Kong? "No, never." DO YOU SAY ANYTHING ELSE?! "No." Shanghai, then, we're getting out of here. We booked it for the next night. By the time we had finished all of this, it was well into the afternoon and we decided to flip the coin to decide where to get some grub (Andrew had an old Chinese coin that we use when we can't decide between options). Near the Zoo is wherewe decided to go. We had delcious food again and then headed for the zoo.
The pandas were about the cutest things I've ever seen. I just wanted to cuddle with them. As I was taking a picture of Andrew with a panda statue, an Asian girl got on the other side, Really? And as Andy started to move away, the friend who was taking a picture for the girl, told Andrew to stay put. Apparently, we was about as interesting as the other animals in the zoo....very odd. Very funny. I could not stop laughing.
I got my first ornament for the trip-a small fan with pandas painted on it! Woowoo! We ate dinner at a restaurant with some really rude servers and hit the hay. Hopefully the Great Wall tomorrow....
Day 5: We decided to re-visit the older lady with the delicious dim sum. We knew a few words now but we were experts at charades and she created a motion for the types of things she remembered we had.We nodded approvingly and get the dumplings and steamed buns again. Tasty!
We managed to get to Longze station where we were trying to catch the bus to Juyongguan Pass. We walked around trying to find bus 68. It was nowhere in sight and there were any signs saying it even existed. Defeated again, I sat down on the sidewalk. As we were about to leave to just say f*** it, I saw it! There down a bit aways on the road.We ran over and missed it but now we knew where to stand. I blew some bubbles to calm me down and then got on the next #68 bus that came along. I had written on a piece of paper where we wanted to go and it worked. We got on and were on our way to the Great Wall, FINALLY!!! It took about an hour and a half (we got stuck behind a train for about a half hour) in a bus with no air conditioning but we finally made it.
The stairs were about 2 feet steep and it was practically straight up. It was a great experience but Ithink I'll only ever do it that once. We made it to the top and met a ladt who took a picture for us. She asked us where we were from and we told her. Upon asking her, she replied with, 'Minnesooooooota" I had to turn around in order to giggle like a little girl. Bahaha! Minnesota of all places!!! Made me think of Meags and Aisha and all those wonderful greeting of "Hey toots" and "Hey tits" :)
Going down was much harder than going up. My thighs got a nice work out and are still a bit sore but overall, it was awesome. At the shops down below, I bought my first thing for my bohemian room! I wall hanging-a painting of the Great Wall on a silk scroll. Gorgeous. I know, I have great taste.
We helped a couple from LA on how to get back to central Beijing and we then gathered our things and headed tothe Rail Station. By 10PM, we were settle in our sleeper car, and at a table writing postcards to all you lovely people who are reading this blog!
Day 6: We arrived in Shanghai in the early morning. We gathered our things and headed to the first line we could find in order to get the soonest train ticket to Hong Kong. We waited in line. Again. Lots of lines here in China...another argument broke out...another, really?! We got to the front and were told to go upstairs to a different line. We walked the mile or so to the other line and were told that all the tickets were booked-through the rest of the month. I was not staying in that country until the end of the month...Long distance bus? I guess that from Shanghai to Hong Kong is too long of a distance because there aren't any buses that go that far.
Again, feeling defeated, I sat on the floor. Thailand it is! We then spent the next few hours trying to figure out a way out of that god forsakken country and get to a beach. We managed it but it wasn't until the next afternoon. We got some beer and some chips ahoy (the only thing available at 4 in the afternoon at the airport hotel) and read Harry Potter (gotsta prepare for when the movie comes out next month). Crap dinner and then a very long shower.
Day 7: After a very lazy morning, we checked in for our flight. We boarded and the proceeded to have a 3 hour delay on the tarmack. But holy hell, we were getting out of the country. We landed in Bangkok last night around 930PM. After many hours of trying to find a hostel, we eventually did and changed. It was midnight, and it was 85 degrees out. Shorts and beer weather. So, as such, we headed to a place for just that. A very flaming man served us and we had our first Thai food in Thailand with our liter Chang beers. After not eating very much all day, the beer hit me pretty hard and I was feeling nice and buzzed as we headed back to the hostel.
Day 8: Today. It's been barely a week of traveling and I pretty much did not care for China and am already in love with Thailand (and we're only in Bangkok). We headed to the Prantum market this morning and got lost in it for hours. I bought some purple Ray Bans and, of course, some new awesome bohemian pants! (Serene, if you are reading this, just you wait to see these; they're so wicked!) Fresh coconut water and a thai iced tea. Delicious! Lunch and then happy hour for more beer. And now I'm sitting at the computer writing to you all to update you on everything that has happened this last week. Miss you all very dearly.
So basically, to recap, China not so much and Thailand, HELLS YES! Oh, and I uploaded pictures from the Wine Tasting as well as some from the trip so far. Click the link on the top of the page and it should take you right to them. I'll write more when I can. Tomorrow I'm headed to Ko Chang for the white sandy beaches and cocktails. Ciao for now. Love to you all!
So, here is the first blog from the trip thus far.
We landed in China full of hope and excitement.
Boy, we're we wrong.
Here's the list:
1. Maps are REALLY not to scale. Not just by a little, but you will be walking for hours to go what looks like 3 blocks on a map.
2. Parks do NOT exist for people to enjoy. They just don't do parks.
3. Tea? What tea? The only tea shops are for tourists and they charge an arm and a leg.
4. Everyone wears heels. And no one wears sun glasses.
5. KFC is way popular and they don't sell chicken; they sell burgers, like McDonalds (which are as common as anything).
6. Bus line number 5 from Qianmen station does not exist; therefore, it cannot take you to the Great Wall.
7. EVERYONE stares and blatantly so.
Day 1: We landed and took the airport express line into the city. Then we walked. It's about 85 or 90 and then add in the humidity and you will lose pounds by sweating just by being outside, much more if you are walking with a massive pack on. We find a place to crash for the night and check in. Shower, change and head out for somthing to eat. Then-it starts pouring! I get completely soaked, like I never stepped out of the shower. Seeking shelter under and umbrella, there is food. A lady said 'hodge podge' and so we quickly dug in. Things on skewers that you put on a plate and add sauces to. Pay by how many skewers you eat. 1 yuan each (6 Yuan to a dollar). Yay cheap food! We passed out by 730PM that evening...yeah, I know,...
Day 2: Since falling asleep so early, we were up by 4AM. We left the hostel at 7 in search of food. We found this older lady serving dim sum right out on the side of the street. We sat down outside and, not knowing much (or any really) Chinese, we pointed at what the other table was eating and she promptly brought up steam buns filled with garlic and green onions. Then dumplings filled with pork-we had seconds of these. YUM! Then we checked out, and proceeded to walk about the city for about 3 hours trying to find another place to stay. I was startingt to get cranky because it was too hot and humid to be doing this. We checked into another place and headed for the Forbidden Palace.
Now, this place (way not to scale on the maps-getting there or the sheer size of the thing) was MASSIVE! It took nearly 4 hours to get through the thing. Treasure room and buildings after buildings. They all start to look the same after a while so, of course, we got a bit lost inside. We managed to make it out and head over to Tian'anmen Square. We walked some more. And walked and walked and walked...you get the idea.
Then, my favorite-PEARLS! We managed to figure out the subway and headed to the Hongquiao Pearl Market. Let's just say it's a miracle I didn't walk out with the entire market. I was getting real pearl earrings for about $1.50 a set. Holla! It was awesome. Yay for pearls.Dinner and beer (of course) and then decided to go to the Bar streets. Of course the first bar I happen upon is called, 'The Box'. On the sign is a hockey playing moose and the interior is decked to the nines with hockey jerseys and hockey apparel. Brilliant! It made me think of the Brittons and how sad they must be that the Bruins won the Cup... awe. More beer and a snack then bed.
Day 3: We woke up determined to get to the Great Wall. According to the Frommer's book Andrew had on his Kindle, we took the directions to get figure out how to get there. We went to the station and proceeded to walk around for 3 hours trying to find the queue for the bus number 5 to get to Juyongguan Pass (the less touristy part of the Wall compared to Badaling). We asked directions from the Tourist information booth (who didn't speak ANY English-you'd think being a tourist info center they'd at least be able to help a bit...) adnd followed their directions to no avail. Next, the bus man at the long distance terminal. Followed those directions. Fail. Asked the same guy again, got different directions and still failed. At this point, it was after noon. We got a couple of popsicles, sat down on the curb in the shade and tried to cool off. How about a park? We could get some tea, have some lunch and then go sit under a tree and take a nap or read or something. As we were getting up to leave, a crazy man with a cane starting doing high kicks and weilding his cane as though a weapon (which it could have been) towards me. Luckily there was a tree right in front of me that I hid behind. Seconds later, he hit the tree...better it than me though....
Well, no one really drinks tea unless it's out of a bottle (like Nestea or Lipton) and if you do find a tea house, it's a huge tourist trap. Way over priced just for decent tea. Park? We looked for the park areas on the map and proceeded to spend countless minutes (up to about an hour total) gettting to the area. There are parks. Just not ones that you can lie under a tree in. The park we did find was park of a residence-you had to have a house there to accesss it and even then it was blocked off. You can only look at the green grassy areas, not sit in them. Fail again. Defeated, we sat down in the planter bow of a tree on the side of the road. We said Ni hao to all that passed. They were staring anyway, might as well say something to them...I believe that they have never seen a redhead before (kind of like Pish Taco in Peru)...and all the Asian girls giggle at Andrew and then want pictures with him. It's hilariously funny.
Feeling dejected, we head back to the hostel...this was the beginning to the awful end of China.
Day 4: We're getting to the Great Wall today. But first, we should probably get tickets to Shanghai so we can get out of this country. We go to the Railway station (after first attempting a different one-fail already; isn't it too early for this?!) and get in line 16 for the foreigners. We wait in line for about a half hour. As soon as we get to the front, 2 gents in line 17 start punching and kicking each other and yelling loudly.
I want to take the time to tell those who don't know that in China, and in most Southeast Asian countries as well, it is not proper or kosher to 'lose face' You are supposed to maintain composure in every situation. So, to see people loosing face twice in two days has been very surprising...
Now, we tried to book tickets to Shanghai. The board with all the rail info showed 11 tickets left for the train that evening. When we got to the front, the lady said, "No." No more tickets. But the board says..."No." Tomorrow? "Sleeper-no. None available. Only fast train. 1420 Yuan" What?! Anything cheaper? "No." Fine, we just want out of this country none. We pull out our card, we certainly do not have that much cash on us. "No card. Cash only." Screw it. We got out of line and headed to the hostel across the street. We just acted like we had a room there and headed to the internet. We researched ways to get out of Beijing. We decided to try to just get to Hong Kong instead. When down to massively large Beijing beers and braved the lady again. Hong Kong? "No, never." DO YOU SAY ANYTHING ELSE?! "No." Shanghai, then, we're getting out of here. We booked it for the next night. By the time we had finished all of this, it was well into the afternoon and we decided to flip the coin to decide where to get some grub (Andrew had an old Chinese coin that we use when we can't decide between options). Near the Zoo is wherewe decided to go. We had delcious food again and then headed for the zoo.
The pandas were about the cutest things I've ever seen. I just wanted to cuddle with them. As I was taking a picture of Andrew with a panda statue, an Asian girl got on the other side, Really? And as Andy started to move away, the friend who was taking a picture for the girl, told Andrew to stay put. Apparently, we was about as interesting as the other animals in the zoo....very odd. Very funny. I could not stop laughing.
I got my first ornament for the trip-a small fan with pandas painted on it! Woowoo! We ate dinner at a restaurant with some really rude servers and hit the hay. Hopefully the Great Wall tomorrow....
Day 5: We decided to re-visit the older lady with the delicious dim sum. We knew a few words now but we were experts at charades and she created a motion for the types of things she remembered we had.We nodded approvingly and get the dumplings and steamed buns again. Tasty!
We managed to get to Longze station where we were trying to catch the bus to Juyongguan Pass. We walked around trying to find bus 68. It was nowhere in sight and there were any signs saying it even existed. Defeated again, I sat down on the sidewalk. As we were about to leave to just say f*** it, I saw it! There down a bit aways on the road.We ran over and missed it but now we knew where to stand. I blew some bubbles to calm me down and then got on the next #68 bus that came along. I had written on a piece of paper where we wanted to go and it worked. We got on and were on our way to the Great Wall, FINALLY!!! It took about an hour and a half (we got stuck behind a train for about a half hour) in a bus with no air conditioning but we finally made it.
The stairs were about 2 feet steep and it was practically straight up. It was a great experience but Ithink I'll only ever do it that once. We made it to the top and met a ladt who took a picture for us. She asked us where we were from and we told her. Upon asking her, she replied with, 'Minnesooooooota" I had to turn around in order to giggle like a little girl. Bahaha! Minnesota of all places!!! Made me think of Meags and Aisha and all those wonderful greeting of "Hey toots" and "Hey tits" :)
Going down was much harder than going up. My thighs got a nice work out and are still a bit sore but overall, it was awesome. At the shops down below, I bought my first thing for my bohemian room! I wall hanging-a painting of the Great Wall on a silk scroll. Gorgeous. I know, I have great taste.
We helped a couple from LA on how to get back to central Beijing and we then gathered our things and headed tothe Rail Station. By 10PM, we were settle in our sleeper car, and at a table writing postcards to all you lovely people who are reading this blog!
Day 6: We arrived in Shanghai in the early morning. We gathered our things and headed to the first line we could find in order to get the soonest train ticket to Hong Kong. We waited in line. Again. Lots of lines here in China...another argument broke out...another, really?! We got to the front and were told to go upstairs to a different line. We walked the mile or so to the other line and were told that all the tickets were booked-through the rest of the month. I was not staying in that country until the end of the month...Long distance bus? I guess that from Shanghai to Hong Kong is too long of a distance because there aren't any buses that go that far.
Again, feeling defeated, I sat on the floor. Thailand it is! We then spent the next few hours trying to figure out a way out of that god forsakken country and get to a beach. We managed it but it wasn't until the next afternoon. We got some beer and some chips ahoy (the only thing available at 4 in the afternoon at the airport hotel) and read Harry Potter (gotsta prepare for when the movie comes out next month). Crap dinner and then a very long shower.
Day 7: After a very lazy morning, we checked in for our flight. We boarded and the proceeded to have a 3 hour delay on the tarmack. But holy hell, we were getting out of the country. We landed in Bangkok last night around 930PM. After many hours of trying to find a hostel, we eventually did and changed. It was midnight, and it was 85 degrees out. Shorts and beer weather. So, as such, we headed to a place for just that. A very flaming man served us and we had our first Thai food in Thailand with our liter Chang beers. After not eating very much all day, the beer hit me pretty hard and I was feeling nice and buzzed as we headed back to the hostel.
Day 8: Today. It's been barely a week of traveling and I pretty much did not care for China and am already in love with Thailand (and we're only in Bangkok). We headed to the Prantum market this morning and got lost in it for hours. I bought some purple Ray Bans and, of course, some new awesome bohemian pants! (Serene, if you are reading this, just you wait to see these; they're so wicked!) Fresh coconut water and a thai iced tea. Delicious! Lunch and then happy hour for more beer. And now I'm sitting at the computer writing to you all to update you on everything that has happened this last week. Miss you all very dearly.
So basically, to recap, China not so much and Thailand, HELLS YES! Oh, and I uploaded pictures from the Wine Tasting as well as some from the trip so far. Click the link on the top of the page and it should take you right to them. I'll write more when I can. Tomorrow I'm headed to Ko Chang for the white sandy beaches and cocktails. Ciao for now. Love to you all!
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Just 12 more
Today I woke up early and battled the rain to the China Embassy in San Francisco to get the last big thing before the jet set-the China visa. And boy, even after only being open for a about a half hour, it was packed. Lines everywhere, EVERYWHERE!!! Andrew will pick them up next week when they are ready.
Today was also a sad day; for most of my Oaxacan friends, today was the last day I will see them until I come home in September. To Angela, Serene Bean, Dana, and Linda-I will miss you all and can't wait to see you when I get back. As for Trieu-hopefully, I will get to see you in Vietnam! Woowoo! They are always very bittersweet those Oaxacan goodbyes...
This next week means finals and moving out of my lovely apartment.
It's almost go time...
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