Li Shumin has always told us that there is a major difference in the people that live in the east and the people from the west. I am afraid that yesterday we discovered that difference for ourselves.
Mike and I tried to go to Mt. Hua Shan using the same system that we did to go to the Terra Cottas. We found a bus that was 33 yuan and hopped on. After 5 hours we arrived at this hotel near the Hua Shan mountain area, then the guy began explaining the Mountain to us and we realized that we were not where we wanted to be. In fact, we were near Dengfeng, which Mike and I are visiting in a few weeks. The guy was saying that you can only hike the mountain at night (our friends told us it was BETTER at night, but not required) AND that this hotel was the one we could stay at. As a funny side story, there was a German that was on the same bus as us, and he was really confused because he didn’t speak any Chinese, and he thought it was just a bus that drove you around for an hour! We explained to the Chinese guy that we all needed to go back very soon and we couldn’t stay but they took us to see a room and in the meantime our German friend left (wherever he went, I hope he is okay). After explaining again that we couldn’t stay (mind you all of this is in Chinese) they told us to eat lunch and then the bus would come back and we could go back to Xi’an. Mike and I ordered 3 dishes… fish, vegetables, and soup but this meal was the most expensive meal we have ever eaten in China.. totaling 179 yuan! This was outrageous for a Chinese meal, in fact it is the most expensive meal we have EVER had in China. We asked why it was that much, and she said that you buy fish by the jin (Chinese measurement, 1 jin is ½ a kilogram), and we had 4 jins…. More like they gave us 4 jins, they never even asked how many we wanted, nor did the menu say “per jin.”
In a situation like this.. in a rural area of China, it is best not to argue- just pay and leave. We left with most of our fish still on the table and decided to do some walking and find the train to take back instead of that bus.
We walked around the base of the mountain range and then asked some people how far away the train station is, they said we would have to hire a taxi. Since this is a small town, there were not any real taxis, but just people you have to bargain with to drive you somewhere (Yes, a black taxi; only ours was silver). This driver said 20 yuan, and Mike talked him down to 15 and we got in and went to the train station. On the way, the road was blocked by police and the driver automatically decided to play this crazy English CD. I am not sure if it was because of the police, or us, but none the less we listened to some crazy music. Upon arriving at the train station, we were ripped off AGAIN! We handed the driver 15 yuan and he told us it was 15 yuan per PERSON! A real taxi would have only cost about 12 yuan.. but there were none, and we just had to hand over our money and leave. We were just happy to be at the train station by 2:00 P.M.! We bought our tickets which were 60 yuan per person and had to wait until 8:00 P.M. so we decided to go to this temple that I saw while we were in the taxi. It is called Xi Yu and it looks very much like the Forbidden City, only there were not very many people there. Mike and I decided that this was the only good part of the trip, and we were happy that no one ripped us off there; in fact, we had a student discount making it only 10 yuan to go!
After the temple, we didn’t want to get ripped off again, so we just bought ramen and ate at the train station. Then, it took us an hour to get back by bullet train
By the way, the difference between east and west China… (incase you didn’t catch on)
People have to be careful of being ripped off. In the east, people are better cultured but as you get farther west, the people are more likely to be farmers struggling to make it by. Most Chinese people would have known to ask “Do I pay for this per jin?” or “how much for 2 people?” Not only did we get ripped off because we are white, but also because it’s just what they do. All in all, the day didn’t cost us to much money (to go to the mountain with the hostel would cost 400 yuan per person). We will also have the chance to go to the mountain when we visit Deng Feng. From a different entrance, same mountain.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Friday, June 11, 2010
First half of Xi'an
Yesterday we arrived in Xi’an. We are staying at the Shuyuan hostel for 6 days, and it is a very nice place to stay. It is cheap and they have pets. Since we have arrived it has been raining, so yesterday we just walked around the hostel and checked out the bar since it has free snacks
The hostel charged 190 kuai (per person) for the Terra Cotta Warrior tour. Since Michael and I know enough Chinese to have an adventure.. so we decided to wing it and go on our own (it cost Mike and I 162 for both of us, plus 90 more for a souvenir) . We took the bus to the train station and just looked until we found a bus that had a picture of the warriors on it and then asked how much it would cost. It was only 7 yuan.. so we decided to get on. We were not sure which stop to get off on since the bus goes to many places… and we were the only foreigners on the bus, but we were quick to make friends with some Chinese that spoke broken English. With their broken English and our broken Chinese, we decided to go to a different museum first, and then to the underground pits. From the museum we took a taxi for one yuan per person (7 people), but it required a pit stop to look at souvenirs.. I think the driver was a little angry that we didn’t buy anything because that is how he makes money! Nevertheless, we finally ended up at the Warrior Pits, it was very interesting and we got to know our new Chinese friends very well… Well enough that Mike and I are preparing to go to dinner and maybe the bar with them tonight
Wednesday June 9th
Since Mike and I were hanging out with new friends until late last night, we decided to sleep in today. It rained off and on all day so Michael and I decided to go to the Bell and Drum Towers as well as some shopping (only a little, we really hope we can bring everything home). Tonight we are going to the Tang Dynasty show! It should be very exciting and there is a buffet that comes with the show (the show cost 168 kuai per person through our hostel)
The hostel charged 190 kuai (per person) for the Terra Cotta Warrior tour. Since Michael and I know enough Chinese to have an adventure.. so we decided to wing it and go on our own (it cost Mike and I 162 for both of us, plus 90 more for a souvenir) . We took the bus to the train station and just looked until we found a bus that had a picture of the warriors on it and then asked how much it would cost. It was only 7 yuan.. so we decided to get on. We were not sure which stop to get off on since the bus goes to many places… and we were the only foreigners on the bus, but we were quick to make friends with some Chinese that spoke broken English. With their broken English and our broken Chinese, we decided to go to a different museum first, and then to the underground pits. From the museum we took a taxi for one yuan per person (7 people), but it required a pit stop to look at souvenirs.. I think the driver was a little angry that we didn’t buy anything because that is how he makes money! Nevertheless, we finally ended up at the Warrior Pits, it was very interesting and we got to know our new Chinese friends very well… Well enough that Mike and I are preparing to go to dinner and maybe the bar with them tonight
Wednesday June 9th
Since Mike and I were hanging out with new friends until late last night, we decided to sleep in today. It rained off and on all day so Michael and I decided to go to the Bell and Drum Towers as well as some shopping (only a little, we really hope we can bring everything home). Tonight we are going to the Tang Dynasty show! It should be very exciting and there is a buffet that comes with the show (the show cost 168 kuai per person through our hostel)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Central College is out for the summer.. finally
After struggling to finish a final paper for Modern Chinese Literature, I am happy to say that I am ready for some traveling! On Sunday Michael and I will leave to start 6 weeks of traveling.. We have decided to go to: Xi’an, Lhasa (Tibet), Huangshan, and Dengfeng.
Last night our Chinese language class had a dinner and then went out for a night on the town. It was good to see everyone again and we really enjoyed ourselves. As much as I am sad to leave them, I am happy that I have made connections and I now have an excuse to travel all over the world to meet up with old friends
Last night our Chinese language class had a dinner and then went out for a night on the town. It was good to see everyone again and we really enjoyed ourselves. As much as I am sad to leave them, I am happy that I have made connections and I now have an excuse to travel all over the world to meet up with old friends
Thursday, June 3, 2010
... and alas I find my love, twice
Today I am torn between two lovers. One of them told me that my hair and eyebrows are both very beautiful, and the other gave me a hug because it was the last day of my internship. As Pony hugged me and said “I love you much Ashley,” which is not an English phrase that I taught them.. but I replied “我也爱你“ (I also love you) which was the first time any of the kids have ever heard me speak Chinese. Literally, all of the kids stopped and started asking me a ton of questions in Chinese because they were shocked! As for the ages.. one boy (the first) is probably 3 and the other is 5.. but I don’t know which one to pick. I know that I have to stuff children in my suitcase to bring back for my friends.. but I think I will bring them all back for me. Sorry everyone, I decided to keep all of the boys for myself!
Monday, May 24, 2010
11 wonderful days in Beijing
Sorry, I couldn't post my blog because the website was blocked on public internet.. but I still wrote.. Enjoy!
Our Central College group took a trip to China’s capital- Beijing for 5 days. In those five days we saw The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The relic Summer Palace, a Kung Fu show, and many other things that are special to Beijing, I wish that I could have blogged everyday, but the days were really long. On the day that we went to the Great Wall we walked along one of the most rugged parts- for about 7 miles! That day was by far the most breathtaking day I have ever had… not just because of the sight, but also because of the walk! Thank goodness we had a nice hotel with a BATHTUB!! (which I was too tired to use)
Other highlights from the Central trip:
I bought a Columbia coat for really cheap and it is the kind with the sweater inside
The Great Wall gave me a sunburn… which gave me blisters. I went to the pharmacy and Chinese medicine made them go away in one day
I have bought so many things in Beijing that I don’t want to take a train back
After the Central College group left to come home Michael and I planned to stay 6 days longer (many people ask “what else is there to see?” and my there is a lot!). Today was Michael and my first day alone, and we have successfully traveled to 3 random, beautiful places and managed to get caught in the hardest rain that I have seen. (Thank goodness it only rained for 5 minutes!)
The first place we went to was the China Art Museum, which is a new place that is still under construction... I wish I could come back in 5 years when it is done being built! They had so many historic and art displays that this took us about 4 hours. After that we found a random park that cost 2 yuan (30 cents) so we walked through the park until we saw this huge tower. Michael kept taking pictures of it so we decided to walk toward it until we figured out what it was. As we approached we realized that it was the “Pearl Tower of Beijing” or in other words the TV station tower... which you can go to the top (400 meters) and overlook the entire city and then eat lunch on a revolving floor (which was too expensive and Chinese for my taste.. they were serving Goose Liver). After taking pictures and looking at the city we left and got lost looking for the subway.. that’s when it started pouring down rain! Luckily we found a bank and needed money anyway so we just asked the bankers how to get to the metro. By the time we arrived at the metro, it stopped raining!
Saturday May 22, 2010
I can honestly say that Michael and I have seen so many things in Beijing that I can’t keep the days straight anymore! In addition to all of the major tourist attractions that Beijing offers Mike and I have visited many other “Chinese favorites” including the Beijing Zoo, the Planetarium, and even Happy Valley- an amusement park!! The amusement park is most likely one of the best things that I have done! It was a great way to get away from other tourists and it was so fun to wait in line for a ride that you had no idea about! Mike and I found this one ride that is much like the Ninja at Six Flags (dad that’s the one that held you upside down that the line was too long for). It was so awesome that Mike and I rode on it 2 times! The second time we decided to “photo bomb” the picture that the roller coaster takes.. but I guess the two Chinese people (the car holds 4 people) also decided to bomb it by looking at the 2 foreigners next to them! We ended up buying this picture of Mike and I making crazy faces and two Chinese people starting at us (they also bought one)! It was a really great day to go to the park, and there weren’t that many people by the end of the day, so it was great to not have long lines (it was funny because the park has workers to make sure that the Chinese people stay in line).
What is on the agenda for today? A Planetarium and hopefully the Olympic Stadium!
May 24th, 2010
Last night we boarded the train and left to come back to Hangzhou! I am excited to be back in Hangzhou, but things are much quieter here. The train ride was about 13 hours and it was interesting to get home with a huge suitcase that Michael and I bought to bring home some paintings. The suitcase was too big to fit in the compartment, so we had to hope the people wouldn’t mind it being in their way! The first couple rooming in the sleeper with us looked quite surprised.. at the suitcase AND the foreigners. They ended up asking two people to switch with them, and these two people were working on their PHD in English! Hurrah for being able to communicate! Other than that, for our last day in Beijing we were able to leave our luggage at the front desk of the hostel, so Michael and I just wandered around to waste 6 hours before we had to board the train.
Our Central College group took a trip to China’s capital- Beijing for 5 days. In those five days we saw The Great Wall, The Summer Palace, The relic Summer Palace, a Kung Fu show, and many other things that are special to Beijing, I wish that I could have blogged everyday, but the days were really long. On the day that we went to the Great Wall we walked along one of the most rugged parts- for about 7 miles! That day was by far the most breathtaking day I have ever had… not just because of the sight, but also because of the walk! Thank goodness we had a nice hotel with a BATHTUB!! (which I was too tired to use)
Other highlights from the Central trip:
I bought a Columbia coat for really cheap and it is the kind with the sweater inside
The Great Wall gave me a sunburn… which gave me blisters. I went to the pharmacy and Chinese medicine made them go away in one day
I have bought so many things in Beijing that I don’t want to take a train back
After the Central College group left to come home Michael and I planned to stay 6 days longer (many people ask “what else is there to see?” and my there is a lot!). Today was Michael and my first day alone, and we have successfully traveled to 3 random, beautiful places and managed to get caught in the hardest rain that I have seen. (Thank goodness it only rained for 5 minutes!)
The first place we went to was the China Art Museum, which is a new place that is still under construction... I wish I could come back in 5 years when it is done being built! They had so many historic and art displays that this took us about 4 hours. After that we found a random park that cost 2 yuan (30 cents) so we walked through the park until we saw this huge tower. Michael kept taking pictures of it so we decided to walk toward it until we figured out what it was. As we approached we realized that it was the “Pearl Tower of Beijing” or in other words the TV station tower... which you can go to the top (400 meters) and overlook the entire city and then eat lunch on a revolving floor (which was too expensive and Chinese for my taste.. they were serving Goose Liver). After taking pictures and looking at the city we left and got lost looking for the subway.. that’s when it started pouring down rain! Luckily we found a bank and needed money anyway so we just asked the bankers how to get to the metro. By the time we arrived at the metro, it stopped raining!
Saturday May 22, 2010
I can honestly say that Michael and I have seen so many things in Beijing that I can’t keep the days straight anymore! In addition to all of the major tourist attractions that Beijing offers Mike and I have visited many other “Chinese favorites” including the Beijing Zoo, the Planetarium, and even Happy Valley- an amusement park!! The amusement park is most likely one of the best things that I have done! It was a great way to get away from other tourists and it was so fun to wait in line for a ride that you had no idea about! Mike and I found this one ride that is much like the Ninja at Six Flags (dad that’s the one that held you upside down that the line was too long for). It was so awesome that Mike and I rode on it 2 times! The second time we decided to “photo bomb” the picture that the roller coaster takes.. but I guess the two Chinese people (the car holds 4 people) also decided to bomb it by looking at the 2 foreigners next to them! We ended up buying this picture of Mike and I making crazy faces and two Chinese people starting at us (they also bought one)! It was a really great day to go to the park, and there weren’t that many people by the end of the day, so it was great to not have long lines (it was funny because the park has workers to make sure that the Chinese people stay in line).
What is on the agenda for today? A Planetarium and hopefully the Olympic Stadium!
May 24th, 2010
Last night we boarded the train and left to come back to Hangzhou! I am excited to be back in Hangzhou, but things are much quieter here. The train ride was about 13 hours and it was interesting to get home with a huge suitcase that Michael and I bought to bring home some paintings. The suitcase was too big to fit in the compartment, so we had to hope the people wouldn’t mind it being in their way! The first couple rooming in the sleeper with us looked quite surprised.. at the suitcase AND the foreigners. They ended up asking two people to switch with them, and these two people were working on their PHD in English! Hurrah for being able to communicate! Other than that, for our last day in Beijing we were able to leave our luggage at the front desk of the hostel, so Michael and I just wandered around to waste 6 hours before we had to board the train.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
food, food and more food
This past week has been full of more wonderful, rather lazy days in Hangzhou. I have enjoyed eating at some nice restaurants, one of which is an Italian restaurant with unlimited pastries and Italian ice cream That was basically an entire day, and I am sure that the waiters thought Michael and I had quite the sweet-tooth!
I don’t want everyone to think that I have just been eating, but the food here is interesting, and I am ready for some food at home.. so I have to inform everyone when I eat something new Yesterday, Michael went with the guy that is teaching him how to paint (I think I mentioned this earlier), and about 3 hours later I received a phone call saying to meet them uptown. The man who makes the pictures is very nice, he bought Mike and I McDonalds and then took us to the other side of town where he sells his paintings at night. His girlfriend (who doesn’t speak English) came along, as well as her friend and we ended up going shopping while the boys “sold” paintings. I was looking at some necklaces and she offered to help me bargain.. (sometimes Chinese people rip-off foreigners). I agreed, and the next thing I knew she said, “wo son gei ni..” which means “I am giving these to you, and you can’t pay me back!” (That’s not the literal translation, but it’s what it means. As the night went on, this happened with 2 necklaces, 2 bottles of nail polish, and dinner. I can honestly say that I was SCARED to shop for once! After my stay in China, I think that I want to start giving people things all the time.. It’s so different in China. If you say “What a beautiful Umbrella..” chances are you will OWN that umbrella. I think that it is one of those “unwritten Chinese rules” where you owe them a favor later, but it’s always hard to tell!
This Thursday we are leaving for our class trip to Beijing, which is 5 days, and Michael and I are staying for an extra 5 days, so my next blog should be more exciting! Thanks for reading!
I don’t want everyone to think that I have just been eating, but the food here is interesting, and I am ready for some food at home.. so I have to inform everyone when I eat something new Yesterday, Michael went with the guy that is teaching him how to paint (I think I mentioned this earlier), and about 3 hours later I received a phone call saying to meet them uptown. The man who makes the pictures is very nice, he bought Mike and I McDonalds and then took us to the other side of town where he sells his paintings at night. His girlfriend (who doesn’t speak English) came along, as well as her friend and we ended up going shopping while the boys “sold” paintings. I was looking at some necklaces and she offered to help me bargain.. (sometimes Chinese people rip-off foreigners). I agreed, and the next thing I knew she said, “wo son gei ni..” which means “I am giving these to you, and you can’t pay me back!” (That’s not the literal translation, but it’s what it means. As the night went on, this happened with 2 necklaces, 2 bottles of nail polish, and dinner. I can honestly say that I was SCARED to shop for once! After my stay in China, I think that I want to start giving people things all the time.. It’s so different in China. If you say “What a beautiful Umbrella..” chances are you will OWN that umbrella. I think that it is one of those “unwritten Chinese rules” where you owe them a favor later, but it’s always hard to tell!
This Thursday we are leaving for our class trip to Beijing, which is 5 days, and Michael and I are staying for an extra 5 days, so my next blog should be more exciting! Thanks for reading!
Monday, May 3, 2010
I knew I brought makeup remover for some reason... Michael
I think that this is the latest that I have stayed up all semester! Hurrah for not having language class at 8AM anymore! In other exciting news, this weekend was quite wonderful. On Sunday, it was Michael’s Birthday. We didn’t make any big plans, we just decided to take a random bus and get lost in the city! Getting lost was quite successful, and finding expensive REAL American food was also successful! In the heat of the day, we stumbled upon “C. straits Café” and decided it was worth a try for Mike’s birthday lunch (To his parents- I know that you usually do a Birthday Dinner.. this meal was big enough to satisfy both). Mike ordered a steak which came with salad, soup, fruit salad, bread and vegetables with Coffee. My meal was a pork cordon bleu (REAL pork) with soup, salad and bread. All together the meal was 208 yuan, which is maybe $40.00. Trying to find our way back to the bus stop was really rough with full bellies so we caught a taxi
Monday was an even more interesting day. A couple of months ago, we received a gift card for a photo shoot. (it’s a long story) The gift card was worth 1000 yuan for one person, but the amazing Li Shumin helped us get two people (Mike and I) a photo shoot together.. However, we had to let them us the pictures for publicity! We are pretty famous in China! Anyway, today was the big photo shoot!
As we were leaving, Mike couldn’t find the card, so we almost didn’t get to go until I remembered that Mike showed his Mom the card on skype the other night. We grabbed the card and took the bus to the picture place. Upon arriving we were asking a question that we only understood half of… “Would you like happy pictures or… (we didn’t know).” They called someone into the room and she asked “You like sexy pictures?” and we said “We want everyday pictures.” So I found a dress that I liked, and they took Mike and found him these AWESOME checkered pants that barely fit. The women then started to put makeup on us, but they said that we were too beautiful to wear much makeup… They ended up asking me for my number and asking me to maybe come back and model.
The whole situation was very confusing because neither Mike or I know ANY words for makeup or hair styles…. But we made it through! In the middle of the shoot the electricity went out, so we had to finish the shoot outside, I am excited to get those pictures back!
After I thought we were done, we went to change and the people decided to give us another outfit to wear… I asked the woman who did my makeup which one would be her favorite (after all she did give us a free shoot) and she chose…
Well, for more details you will just have to talk to me…
Monday was an even more interesting day. A couple of months ago, we received a gift card for a photo shoot. (it’s a long story) The gift card was worth 1000 yuan for one person, but the amazing Li Shumin helped us get two people (Mike and I) a photo shoot together.. However, we had to let them us the pictures for publicity! We are pretty famous in China! Anyway, today was the big photo shoot!
As we were leaving, Mike couldn’t find the card, so we almost didn’t get to go until I remembered that Mike showed his Mom the card on skype the other night. We grabbed the card and took the bus to the picture place. Upon arriving we were asking a question that we only understood half of… “Would you like happy pictures or… (we didn’t know).” They called someone into the room and she asked “You like sexy pictures?” and we said “We want everyday pictures.” So I found a dress that I liked, and they took Mike and found him these AWESOME checkered pants that barely fit. The women then started to put makeup on us, but they said that we were too beautiful to wear much makeup… They ended up asking me for my number and asking me to maybe come back and model.
The whole situation was very confusing because neither Mike or I know ANY words for makeup or hair styles…. But we made it through! In the middle of the shoot the electricity went out, so we had to finish the shoot outside, I am excited to get those pictures back!
After I thought we were done, we went to change and the people decided to give us another outfit to wear… I asked the woman who did my makeup which one would be her favorite (after all she did give us a free shoot) and she chose…
Well, for more details you will just have to talk to me…
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