Week 14 - China

We stopped at Leshan on our way to George's home town, Mt Emei, to see the giant Buddha. This is apparently the largest standing Buddha in China and it was enormous. Fortunately we got there early and it was  pleasant walking down the steps looking at this Buddha which had been carved into the cliff. The walk past the Buddha's feet and back alongside the lake was lovely and peaceful and the gardens were beautiful with waterfalls, exquisite gardens and lakes with little pagodas on them. As we came to leave, we could see the queues of people waiting to walk down by the side of the Buddha and for once were grateful that CJ had insisted on an early start. Sandra led the way back through the crowds waving her fan in the air and saying in a very British loud voice "excuse me".

With a friend in Giant Buddha Park

The Giant Buddha carved into side of cliff

A group of us in pagoda in Giant Buddha Park

In the temple

At Mt. Emei, after a cooling shower, I headed to Teddy Bear's cafe where Teddy, the puppy sat on my lap and eventually fell asleep. There seems to be a special breed of dog in China which look rather like a poodle but have very soft fur and are chocolate brown. They are adorable and I would have loved to pop Teddy in my backpack (if there was room!). Later in the evening I walked up the Cultural Corridor of Ru Shi Dao along a little river. It was a delightful walk with very few people around, just the babbling brook and extremely noisy cicadas. In fact everything in China is noisy. The people shout, car horns are repeatedly sounded and tour guides use megaphones even if they are only talking to a group of five so it is hardly surprising that the cicadas are noisy to make themselves heard. My walk ended up at the Monastery where I shamelessly attached myself to a party of Italians who had an English speaking Chinese guide. They were more interested in me and my trip than in the Monastery although I liked hearing about the life there. Apparently there was an Intrepid Travel Group staying there but I didn't meet any of them. It was a lovely chilled out place and I could just imagine going on a retreat there for a few days - or maybe not.

Bridge over river on way to Monastery

Inside the Monastery

The elephant with six tusks

The following day was over dreadful roads. The Chinese office that we use that given bad information and instead of the highway we were expecting it was more like a dirt track. However, the scenery was stunning as we made our way along a gorge with long bridges being built. The road building effort in China is amazing and the bridges which are replacing the narrow mountain roads are airborne feats of engineering. Unfortunately we were looking up at them as we bumped along the cart track! We reached the town of Xichang at about 9.00 p.m. It was a Las Vegas type town with enormous hotels and many flashing lights. Against my better judgment, we went out for dinner and had the worst meal ever. The food was so hot and spicy and there were nasty looking feet and beaks in it. It was also full of Sichuan pepper which numbs your mouth and leaves a very strange after taste.

On road to Xichang

Our breakfast was in a dumpling shop next to the hotel and whilst we did not know the system we ended up with rather nice dumplings filled with a sweetish soya bean paste. Our destination was Panzhihua where there was a Walmart. We all rushed off there to buy Western supplies of food and in my case two new teeshirts. Coming back was interesting as there were four hotels of the same name in the town. Fortunately Melissa and I were with Colin and Wendy otherwise we would still be there trying to find our way back.  Breakfast was in the hotel and the most disgusting dumplings in a cockroach infested dining room. Needless to say not many were eaten. It was a long day past beautiful rice paddies, vines and interesting villages. We stopped at lunch for noodles (60 p.). George, our guide, has been wonderful organising our meals and everything else. He is a lovely person and has enhanced our Chinese experience no end.

On road to Lijiang

On road to Lijiang

Traffic accident on road to Lijiang - the Odyssey men
got out there and organised it all!

Our hotel in Lijiang had seen better days and for the first time we experienced grumpy hotel staff who were not very helpful. The rooms were damp and dark and some extremely small. Sylvia and Russ’s door did not shut and there were various other problems. The town, however, looked really interesting and we were looking forward to exploring when we weren’t so tired.

Lijiang

In Lijiang

View from my seat in cafe in Lijiang

Making candy in Lijiang

 Breakfast in the hotel cost 30 yuan and sounded like it would be good. Scrambled egg, bacon, hashbrowns etc. The reality, however, was that it was cold and there was hardly anything left so we had to complain again and again to get any action. No-one was planning to repeat the experience the following day. Walked with Sandra and Keith into town and saw the restaurant where they ate the previous night and looked in amazement at their breakfast – going there tomorrow!


Lijiang is a lovely town. Maybe a little touristy but very well done with lots of interesting little shops. We walked higher and higher and ended up in a café where a young man was playing a stringed instrument like a vertical harp. It was lovely sitting there looking over the roofs of Lijiang, drinking green tea and listening to the music.

Listening to music in cafe overlooking the town of Leijing

One of the alleys I went and explored

Later we came across John’s massage parlour. It was a surprise to discover that John was a woman. Melissa had a body massage while I went and had a coffee in the One Hundred Years Lane. The café was on a little river with bridges over it. The town is called the Venice of China and whilst you would have trouble sailing a gondola down the little canals, it was very picturesque. I then went back for my foot massage which was wonderful – I would like a few more of them. The town was filled with people in native Naxi costumes and there seemed to be a holiday atmosphere.
The following morning went for the biggest English breakfast which I was unable to finish. It was delicious with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushroom, hashbrown and baked beans. I pottered about the shops buying a few souvenirs. My backpack is definitely getting heavier and more difficult to close but everyone has the same problem!

Our next stop was Dali where the hotel was clean, dry and comfortable! Dinner was beautiful fresh vegetables cooked just right with no fiery spices. As usual there was far too much but it was very enjoyable.

Little girl playing in the waterways of Dali

Dali

Interesting sign!

West Gate at night

The town had a decidedly western area with café offering banana pancakes, milkshakes etc but we also walked through the very Chinese area. We booked to have a roast dinner in the Bad Monkey bar which turned out to be excellent even if they bizarrely gave you yorkshire pudding with roast chicken. The town did not have the same appeal as Lijiang and it was easy to see the sights in half a day so we headed back to hotel, collected our laptops and spent the afternoon in the GoGo Bar drinking milkshakes and emailing and skyping until it was time to have our roast dinner which was an hour late due to the oven blowing up! It was interesting to sit and watch the hippie types who seem to have invaded the town.

Week 13 - China

On leaving Lanzhou, we drove alongside the Yellow River and past very neat and productive market gardens. Every square inch of arable land seems to be used and it has been wonderful to see the fields with the corn growing in such profusion.

The Yellow River at Lanzhou

Market gardens outside Lanzhou

 It was another long day but our hotel in Xi'an was lovely with comfy beds and good clean bathrooms. We were all hot and tired but headed straight out to McDonalds for a well deserved Western meal! It was probably my first McDonalds for 10 years and boy did it taste good. The younger ones on the trip planned to work their way through KFC, Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks and all the other American chains that were in town.

Arriving in Xi'an



Dinner at McDonalds


The Warriors, the Terracotta Warriors were our destination for the day. We were not the only people with that plan in mind and it was crowded and hot with many pushy Chinese tourists. They have not learnt the lesson of orderly queuing but we are gradually getting better with our elbows and I find that the Australian Rules hip and shoulder tackle comes in quite handy. It is probably blasthemous for me to say that I enjoyed seeing the Warriors more at the British Museum. Of course, it was great to see them marching in their legions and to get an idea of the scale of the whole place but you could not closely see the detail on them and at the British Museum you were so close it was easy to see the lines on their faces and the folds of their garments. Again the carriages and horses were behind glass cases and it was hard to see them clearly. What I had not realised was that the Warriors had mostly been destroyed and what we could see was the result of painstaking restoration. Each warrior took on average six months to restore and there were hundreds of them. The bronze horses and chariots took six years to restore. The farmer who found the warriors on his land was signing books - life has probably become a little easier for him!

Farmer who discovered the Warriors

The Warriors

Horses and Warriors

Partially restored Warriors

The following day Wendy, Colin and I took the Hop On Hop Off bus round Xi'an. Xi'an is a huge city and it was a good way of orientating ourselves. We stopped at the Big Goose Pagoda and watched the fountain and music display.

Big Goose Pagoda

Having fun in fountains at Big Goose Pagoda

In Big Goose Pagoda Park

Stall in Big Goose Pagoda Park

At the South Gate we left the bus and walked on the City Walls to the West Gate which is apparently the start of the Silk Route. In the evening I walked through the Muslim market and was greatly tempted by the food in Snack Bar Street but only ate a flat bread as my stomach has definitely had enough spices for the time being!

Dustbin on City Walls

View from City Walls

Chengdu was our next city and the Giant Pandas a very worthwhile attraction. They are maybe a little more energetic than koalas but not much and we were seeing them early in the day at feeding time when they are most active. Apparently for the rest of the day they perform their favourite pasttime, sleeping! I spent ages watching a mother and her 8 month old offspring. They were rolling around and playing together. The infant kept falling through the slats of the platform but happily got up and played on. Eventually the mother had had enough and retired to a bed of bamboo where she lay on her back and chewed at a bamboo shoot.

How Cute!

Even cuter!

With George, our guide's little daughter, Nicky

Mother with her 8 month old offspring

The Red Pandas were a lot more active and were climbing trees and playing around. They are much smaller and very cuddly. The whole place was very well run and maintained and a credit to the Chinese Government.



Red Pandas

 Back in town we asked to be dropped off so that we could explore but we were given rather dodgy directions and walked for miles seeing nothing interesting and eventually caught a taxi which took forever to get back to hotel.

The following morning George took me to the hospital as my "problem" was still giving me troubles. Now that is an experience I do not wish to repeat. The doctor wanted me to have liver and blood tests but I had walked past the place where they were drawing blood and there was no way I was going to have my blood taken in those unsanitary conditions so we settled on me giving a sample. I will leave you to imagine how that was - actually even if you did it probably wouldn't be nearly as bad as it was! They decided I had an infection - I could have told them that! So more antibiotics and other pills to restore the balance of my gut.


The next morning I was feeling better and a few of us went to the Narrow Lanes which are restored Chinese lanes with old Merchants' houses now used as shops and restaurants. We stopped at Starbucks for a delicious coffee frappe and Steve and I continued to walk ending up at a wide modern Chinese street with extremely expensive gold and silver shops. There were two lovely parks near this street and we watched people doing Tai Chi and dancing. There were picturesque pagodas, children fishing for goldfish and families walking. The trees, plants and ponds all combined to make it a haven of rest and tranquillity.


Another piece of Western culture



Food in the Narrow Lanes

Great decorating idea

It is hard life for a cat in China

Pagoda in the park

Week 12 - China

After breakfast at John’s Café, we headed out to the Ancient Ruins of Jiaohe. It was extremely hot and the ruins did not really interest me that much as they were mostly dried sand mounds and it was difficult to imagine anyone had ever lived there. The area was inhabited 2000 years ago. I am afraid I remain a Turkophile and no other ruins match up for me! Coming back down from the site it was hard not to get stabbed by all the umbrellas on their way up. It is obviously a very popular Chinese tourist spot but we were the only Westerners around.

The Ancient Ruins at Jiaohe

George our lovely Chinese guide posing

The Chinese find us extremely interesting and stop, turn round and stare at us. When we arrive in town in the truck, we stop the traffic with people rushing out to take photos and they line up waiting for us to get out. I now know how the Queen feels.

After a lunchbreak back in Turpan, we were off again through the desert. Our camp site was another gravel pit and just as we had set up camp, the lorries started returning for the end of day’s work. The puzzled drivers all waved and tooted and later came back, stopped and chatted. They bought up watermelons and cantaloupe and a couple appeared from heavens knows where with bread. They were all very interested in us and Denis had a long discussion with the drivers about trucks. Must have been interesting as his Cantonese is limited to hello and their English was non existent.

The cook group creating something delicious

Gravel pit camping

Denis entertaining the Chinese lorry drivers - what is he saying
and can they understand?

Another long day through dry, dusty desert. Our toilet stops hit an all time low with new modern service stations but indescribable toilets. The local population just went behind the building. Jen said it had scarred her for life. Lunch was in a very grotty lorry drivers café but the pork in green beans was delicious. Our hotel in Dunhuang looked good although the beds were like concrete and the pillows filled either with gravel or ping pong balls.

What a lovely welcome!

The following morning we were up and off to Mogao Caves where we had the services of an excellent guide who spoke wonderful English. The caves were hollowed out from 366AD and there were 735 caves in the area all dedicated to Buddha in one form or another. It seemed a miracle to me that they survived the Cultural Revolution but apparently they were locked up and nothing was damaged. The caves were very impressive, many of them having 1000 Buddhas painted in them. There was the largest indoor Buddha, the largest reclining indoor Buddha and many other firsts!

The Magao Caves

The Magao Caves

Back in Dunhuang, I went exploring and was very impressed by the well ordered clean town with the lovely friendly people. I wandered through the food market where everyone was pressing food on me. Later in the evening, a group of us went to the night market which was buzzing and really lovely. I could have spent a fortune but limited myself to a pair of silver earings.


The next morning was a bit of a debacle as we all got up early to discover that Sandra had gone to hospital with an ongoing complaint and when she and Keith returned it was decided that they would fly to Xi’an. Then George, our guide, had his backpack stolen and instead of leaving at 7.00, we got away at 11.30. I had had a terrible night with a re-occurrence of my problem and would have loved the extra four hours in bed instead of at John’s Café drinking weak green tea. In case you are wondering why I keep mentioning John’s Café, there are three hotels that we stayed at with the same café, same menu but not the same standard of food.

Our destination that night was Jiayuguan and the Overhanging Great Wall which was constructed in 1539 and reconstructed in 1987. It was a steepish climb up and the renovation had removed a lot of the character but it was good to actually be on the Wall.



Me on the Great Wall at Jiayuguan



The Great Wall at Jiayuguan



On one of the towers



The camp site at Jiayuguan

Our camp site was next to a rather stagnant looking pond which was remarkably mosquito free. Later in the evening the police turned up. They were interested in us and friendly. However, not long afterwards the heavy brigade came with flashing lights and trousers tucked into jackboots who were not so friendly and they made it very clear that we were not welcome to camp there. So some very rapid packing up took place and we were escorted with lights flashing to an extremely smart looking hotel. CJ went into hotel to negotiate price and then came storming out! This was repeated a couple of times until he had got them to agree to a price of 150 yuan (£15) per room from the starting price of £750.


The next morning we headed out to Jiayuguan Fort which was built in 1372 and was christened "Impregnable Defile under Heaven". This Fort was built at the end of the civilised world for the Chinese and beyond it lived only desert demons and the barbarian armies of Central Asia. It was a fascinating place to spend a couple of hours.

Jiayuguan Fort

With a dusty Buddha in Jiayuguan Fort

We only spent the one night in Zhangye but there was time to visit the largest reclining Buddha in China. It certainly was huge and had the most compelling eyes which seemed to follow you. He was wonderfully serene and it would have been good to spend some time just staring at him but an overlanders work is never done and we had to get going for our next destination, Wuwei.

Welcoming committee

With a friendly Buddha

Pagoda at Zhangye

Wuwei was a good looking town with a famous Flying Horse statue and a rather magnificent pagoda. Getting lost on our way back to the hotel, Melissa and I ended up walking through an animal market where I really hoped that the dogs, guinea pigs and rabbits were destined to be pets. Melissa has now named me back alley Sally as she always ends up walking down these rather seedy back alleys when she is with me and again this was the case. Even I was glad to turn a corner and see the main street. Later in the evening our guide, George, took us out for Chinese hamburgers which were experience but I don't McDonalds needs to be too worried.

Wuwei Landscape

The Flying Horse Statue at Wuwei

Concert in park.  Audience was more interested
in watching us than the concert

The road was great until just before lunch when it disintegrated into a pot-holed, unmade, dusty mess. The town we stopped for lunch in was being completely rebuilt and the traffic was awful. In fact the whole place was awful and things did not improve after lunch when there was a solid traffic jam due to the fact that trees were being cut down. Instead of getting to Lanzhou at 2.30 we arrived at 7.30 but did have time to eat a bowl of extremely hot noodles and meat which were delicious before crashing into bed.