Quindao

Yangshau & Shanghai

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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To Bob
When I sent e-mail had not seen your messages. Your place sounds great–will spend a couple more days here before moving on–would like to access your place. gonna run back to hotel to see more of election results.

B
Well, last night I went to Hilton to find CNN..no luck so I circled back to Huaihai via Huanshan. By the time I had turned a few corners I got turned around and then turned the wrong way on Huaihai. Turns out that the hotel is off a section of Huaihai called Central Huaihai…further west it becomes West Huaihai…I walked until I got to the very end of Huaihai…but at least the street was varied and interesting. Walking any of these streets is fun unlike around the other hotel. The Brasil Steak House serving meat like the restaurant in Nairobi is recommended by Lonely Planet is right across the street from the Library…
E

hi again–
Am still in Yangshau and am enjoying it–many canals, shady streets, and less hussle/bussle. Will stay another couple of days then will probably make a short hop to Nanjing for a couple of days–anticipate Shanghai probably Monday–depends on train schedule but suspect there are many–or may take a bus.

We can look into flying to your next stop–do not think we will miss too much unless there is some stop you have in mind en route. I would like to do +/- 5 days in Shanghai if you are up to that much more. Gonna mail another package tomorrow–not much accumulated but I am near a post office and have no room to spare–all this luggage is getting tiring–in BKK I will store much of it. My camcorder screen is almost a total goner- -difficult to take shots–and I cannot review to edit –so less pics– hope you have many. Will check in again manana.
b

B
I don’t have any pics…just enjoyed my stay in Quindao without being Ms. tourist. And second day here my little camera got picked out of my jacket pocket…I know because my pen and reading glasses were in same pocket and they all came up missing later…it happened late at night…was walking all around the area of the Hilton Hotel looking for that little country inn I saw advertised in the China newspaper…never did find it. Guess I better get out the video camera…

Have you heard from Josh…I have emailed him but haven’t heard from him for weeks…

I now have hi speed internet in my room…was worthwhile asking…4 yuan an hour.
E

E
Sat Nov 6
good morning
Last night while doing my email chores was hit with an overwhelming feeling of fatigue–then chills and sweats thru the night–had diarrhea much of yesterday so suspect GI is the focus–not doing too well–diarrhea about every third day with cramps–had a couple of close calls while on buses–such are the battles!!! At any rate had planned on leaving here (yangshou) today but have apprehension about getting on a bus for 3-4 hrs–so will hang out here today and see how things are tomorrow–always feel there is some sort of a deadline but that is due to years of conditioning–have to stop and readjust to fact that there is no hurry getting anywhere. Better to smell the roses…

Sorry about your camera–it also was insured but may not be worth hassle of police reports etc–you decide. Room rate at Admiral in BKK must be for one of the more upscale rooms– cheaper not available? Also at this time of year rates go up in Thailand. At http://www.asiatravel.com there are many serviced apartments but I never know re location–but take a look. I will be knocking on your door sometime Mon. afternoon unless catastrophe strikes–may not have email access between now and then…
see ya soon
B

Lao Shan Mountain Climb

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Spent 3 days in Quin Dao…one in new part of town, one in old town and one on a mountain north of town called Lao Shan–subsequently took train to Tai’an and climbed Tai Shan–one of the 5 holy mountains in China–it was an all day effort but not that difficult–more like a hard day hike in the Columbia Gorge in Oregon–spent the night on the top–accomodation somewhat less than basic but inexpensive–then was awakened a 5 a.m. to join the rest of the Chinese tourists to a lookout point to see the sunrise–it was quite impressive–took a tram down and now am south of Qufu–tomorrow have an “offer” to see the countryside so will probably see what that entails–do not know whether it is an overnight or what.

Have found that the Chinese usually have the best of intentions but something gets lost in the communication/language gap–on the mountain had people wanting to carry my backback–don’t think it was for financial gain but they just wanted to take care of an “older” foreigner–when I refused it often became a tug-of-war. On my way south and plan to stop in Nanjing and Langshou–there is another shan south of Shanghai that the guide book said is thee mountain to climb in China–but would like to meet up in Shanghai–probably +/- one week from now.

Had another couple of days of diarrhea with a near miss experience on Lao Shan–am sorry to hear that the upper respiratories have reached you again–but am glad that you are not proximate as the cold you gave to me in Russia took 3-4 weeks to resolve. Keep me updated–each time I get to an internet access I will forward to a word or two.
l. B

Kindred Spirits in Quindao

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Walking by the Foreign Language Bookstore in Quindao, just up the street from my comfy clean hotel room that a tout from the railroad station led me to…80 yuan she says..that’s about $10..I look in to see what they have in English. Most of the books are in Chinese…the English selection is tiny with dreadful choices and high prices. Just then I see the first westerners I have seen in Quindao walk in…where are you from, I ask…from the Gold Coast of Australia…oh, I find Australians everywhere…yes, she laughed…we manage to find our way all over the world! These women have just arrived from Shanghai where they participated in the masters section of an international dragon boat competition. One, Tye, is a nurse…the other, Leah, a school janitor. Dragon boat racing, they said, originated in China but is very popular in Australia.

Are you alone, they ask. When I say yes, their eyes light up…oh good, then would you like to come with us? Of course I jump at the chance. I show them where the internet cafe is that I had walked all over town looking for and finally found that morning by accident as there was no sign on the outside of the building. And I give them a card for the hostel I stayed at in Beijing which delighted them no end.

We have dinner together…the women pass up tubs of all kinds of shellfish to choose from on the sidewalk in front of tiny restaurants with only two or three tables…and finally choose to have “hot pot” that sits on top of a flame with your choice of all kinds of fish from the sea…a dozen different kinds of clams, little crab, shellfish we have never seen before, various unknown kibbles and bits, leafy vegetables, thin sliced mutton or pork, as much as you could eat for 29 yuan or about $6. One of the women is a bit nervous about all the unknown bits…but we laugh it off and make a complete mess on the table…the big Chinese group at the next table finding our clumsy adventure quite funny.

The next evening they showed up at my hotel door….we just showed the Chinese girls at the desk downstairs “big hair” they said…and the girls immediately knew who they were looking for…besides the fact of course, that we were all westerners…we must all know each other! They shared some wonderful chewy sweetened dried fish with me and needed me to show them how to do email so off we went out into the evening again.

My last evening in Quindao, at a 4 star hotel coffee shop, I invite the friendly waiter who has been letting me use the hotel’s free WIFI with my laptop to have dinner with me…seafood soup and jousa (dumplings)… before he has to go to his university classes at 7pm. Jack is his English name given to him by his English teacher and I find myself wishing Chinese English teachers would get a little up-to date with the English names they hand out. Jack, Han Chinese, is from Urumqi in the largest and most western province in China…Xinjiang…which has a majority of muslim Turkic speaking people. His family still lives there. He is 23 but says he is not a good student. I ask why and he says he likes sports…he would rather play American football! I say, what!! He says it’s a sport young people like but his parents don’t. I say, yes, I understand! I ask if he plays basketball and mention Yao Ming’s name…he dismisses Yao…”oh, if I were 7 feet tall I would be famous too!”

I let Jack order…he is anticipating a soup with “all kinds of shellfish from the sea” but when it comes it’s basically an eggflower soup with only a few little bits of shrimp and clam. He looks disappointed and I realize he has never done this before. The soup is only 6 yuan…less than a dollar. But Jack only makes $200 a month and I wonder what this skinny kid eats every day. At his bus stop we shake hands with lingering looks and he invites me to come back to Quindao again.

I have a hard sleeper booked on the train today at 1:30. I will arrive in Shanghai tomorrow about 9 am when I will book a dorm bed for 100 yuan…about $12. Right now this hotel I am in is celebrating a wedding with drums and a funky dragon made of balloons. The dragon lies down and the groom carries her over it and into the elevator…the ceremony will continue downstairs.

Pissing Match & Fast Food

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Yesterday, off the train in Quin Dao, the station workers weigh by bags and want to charge me money…for having my baggage on the train! I get my back up and refuse the scam. The guard slams the gate so I can’t leave the station so shaking my head no, I turn around and take my luggage back down the platform from when I came…not knowing where I’m headed but hoping there is another way out. They relent…probably to keep from having a scene with a foreigner…thankfully.

This seaside “small” city of 7 million used to be controlled by the Germans who started the TsingDao Brewery here and there are some early turn of the century German architecture mixed in with glass and steel standing against the beautiful beaches of the Yellow Sea that I can see from my $10 a night hotel window. I see an English sign, “New Era Book Supermarket” high above a McDonalds and if I want I can round the corner and satisfy my craving for greasy chicken at the KFC, although there is no more greasy food in the world than in China.

These fast food places are ubiquitous in Asia and filled with locals who love them…not because they are American but because of the food….no different than at home. I never could figure out why at home a meat patty on a plate with some lettuce and tomatoes with salad dressing with a roll on the side is ok but let McDonalds put it all together and call it a big mac and you would think the sky was falling in. Besides, without McDonalds in China where would all the westerners go for a clean sit-down toilet?

I am in an internet cafe with at least a couple hundred computer terminals about a half a block up from the railroad station…with mostly young well-dressed Chinese guys playing video games. Don’t they have a job? Last night I left my leather jacket here and figured it was toast but when I came in this morning the friendly internet lady handed me my coat with a smile. I profusely thanked her with bowed head and folded hands. Today is cold but the sky is clear and I think I’m going to take a tour bus to see what there is to see.

Overnight Train to Xuindao

Posted on by Laughingnomad

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Xuindao is also spelled Quindao

From Beijing, I take an overnight train alone to Quindao. Quindao is a weekend getaway for well-to-do Communist party cadres and the train is brand spanking shiny new. As I struggle to get my heavy baggage up to the ceiling storage area, I hear a compassionate “help” over my shoulder from one of my travel companions who otherwise seems to speak no English. He thankfully comes to my rescue.

I am in a “soft sleeper” with four beds…the only beds left in the cheaper “hard sleeper” with six beds were on the top bunks and it’s hard enough for me to negotiate the second bunk let alone a third that gives you only a nose full of room to breath. My three impeccably dressed compartment travelers are friendly and gracious…no strong-smelling instant noodles and piles of snacks, sunflower seed shells and chicken bones to litter the room one end to the other…no hacking and spitting…even a flat screen tv monitor showing cartoons.

When I figure out how to tell them I am from America (no one ever knows what I’m talking about when I say I’m from the States or the U.S.) A vail falls ever so slightly over the eyes…they don’t want to admit they don’t know where I am from.