Tibet - an overview

We have now arrived safely and well in Nepal after ten days in Tibet, with limited internet access and no access to facebook and blogging, etc, due to the Chinese internet restrictions.  There is so much to say about Tibet that I do not know where to start, so for the time being I will have to stick to a few highlights... We flew into Lhasa and spent 4 days there, before moving West to the border with Nepal via Gyangtse, Shigatse, Sakya, Shelkar, Everest National Park and base camp and Zhangmu (the miserable border town).

 

1. Tibet is intensely spiritual and everywhere you go there are people actively practising Buddhism - spinning prayer wheels as they go about their everyday business, adding colourful prayer flags to every possible location, prostrating themselves in front of temples and in the middle of main roads as part of their pilgrimage.* We were both in awe of Potala Palace in particular, strikingly red and white and set above Lhasa, and still very much an active spiritual centre for Tibetan Buddhism.

 

2. As it's quite difficult to get the Tibet permits for each area of the 'country' and the 'political situation is so uncertain, there were hardly any tourists in Tibet, and most of those we saw or met were staying in Lhasa only (on a cheap package deal from Chengdu in China).  We appreciated this most at Everest base camp (an awe-inspiring experience under normal circumstances) and for sunrise there, as we were literally the only tourists there.  How may great places in the world can you watch the sunrise alone these days? (See picture!)

 

3. The scenery is spectacular - the mountains are ENORMOUS and the skies were bright blue throughout our ten days there, with the exception of a light snowfall one afternoon in Lhasa, which coated the mountains around the city and made it even more beautiful.

 

4. The people are so friendly and welcoming, and this is in part because they are aware of the support in the West in the plight for Tibetan autonomy.  This extends from the city centres to the rural villages, and across all age groups.

 

5. Many things are unexpected - including caving with a monk who has lived alone for 18 years in a tiny monastery at the base of Everest, which is usually closed to the public by the Chinese military.  We were lucky on the day we were there in that the military had not turned up, and so the monk led us on a spiritual journey through TINY nooks and crevices underground, with the aim partly being to help us appreciate the natural beauty of the world - which we definitely did after emerging from 20 uncomfortable, dirty, cramped minutes in the dark into the bright lights at the foot of the greatest mountain on earth.

 

Low points included the food, the cold temperatures, the altitude sickness and the general lethargy we felt as a result of these!  Also, the Chinese government is continuing to stamp its mark over the Tibetan culture and cityscapes, for example by placing a Chinese flag in amongst each collection of prayer flags, and banning young people from joining the monastery without paying sufficient funds and collecting many government stamps and approvals.  This extent of this is really very upsetting when you hear about it from within Tibet itself and from Tibetans.

 

*Not sure if 'pilgramage'is religious-ly correct, but you get the idea...

Traditional medicine

Ben has unfortunately been struck down with altitude sickness in Lhasa.  Due to a lack of Western doctors, we visited the Tibetan hospital and picked up an exciting array of traditional medicines to combat this - black pellets and a grassy ball to make tea out of something that looks suspiciously like the panda dung on display in Chengdu last week... Bahaha!

What's in a name?

Over the last 5 years I have acquired three separate Chinese names, and various interpretations of each, and am not entirely happy with any of them.  It's quite difficult to choose a name that has the significance and meaning that you intend it to, and also one that sounds like an actual Chinese name and not some botch anglo-version.  It's common to base your Chinese name on the sounds in your own name and this can be a good starting point, though it can also be a curse - Ben's name translates quite easily to Ji Ben, with one unfortunate possible translation of... 'stupid chicken'!  Another friend's name, with one vowel sound slightly mispronounced, translated to 'Olympic Games', providing endless entertainment to taxi drivers in advance of the summer 2008 games in Beijing.

 

The comedy is frequently mirrored in Chinese people's choices of English names - for example, today there are many Enids, Gwynnies and Maudes - and it's always great to meet someone called Cherry, Dirk, or even better - Smile, who was my language partner in 2007.  We discussed business English - but even at that stage in his English learning, he was completely unaware of the unsuitability of his name - unfortunately I did not have the heart to break it to him, and I've felt slightly guilty ever since...

 

Our guide in Tibet is called Sting - another classic name - and he is proving to be possibly the most interesting 26 year old I have ever met.  As a young child, he escaped from Tibet with his mother to Dharamsala in Northern India, where he studied the teachings of the Dalai Llama.  Twelve years later, he returned to Tibet, as his grandfather was unwell and needed him here.  Without any Chinese registration permits, birth certificate or official documents of any kind (which is apparently quite common in rural China), he was classed as a political threat and spent six months in jail.  After paying a large amount of money, he managed to acquire the necessary registration documents and has spent the last six or seven years working as a guide in Tibet.  He is fiercely proud of his culture and the Tibetan people, and very knowledgeable.  Sadly, the fact that he was a political prisoner means that he has a black stamp against his name in the government books, so will never be granted a passport, and will not see his mother again unless Tibet gains independence and she could return here, or he would be allowed to travel abroad.

Tibet - we have arrived!

After so many emails, some stress and several changes to flights we have finally arrived in Tibet - and on our preferred day in the end!  We have been knocked for six by the altitude as we have flown in to 3650m directly, but we have a very sweet and informative guide and are staying in comparative luxury after a rash decision back in London to upgrade our Tibetan accommodation for the trip!  It's pretty sunny and the fleece and thermals are finally seeing some action.

 

The flight was fantastic with incredible panoramic views of the tops of snowy mountains (see pictures). Less pleasant was the aeroplane breakfast that we were subjected to this morning - cold congee, tomatoes, pickled egg and preserved radish and even the 'bread roll' did not escape the Chinese treatment, with an unidentifiable and unpleasant red meat-like paste in the centre.  We made up for this at lunchtime with a fantastic, hearty Tibetan noodle soup for 40p.  Delicious!

Chengdu and its giant pandas

Ben and I spent a few days in Chengdu while we wait for our Tibetan permits to come through, and I was quite excited about this as it's the main tourist destinations in China that I had not yet visited.  Despite being a major tourist attraction (at least, according to my guidebook....), we got a lot of attention from the locals and have not seen any other waiguoren around town - so much that we began to feela bit like celebrities with a wave and smile here and there!  We are finding everyone to be very friendly and unusually helpful - even proffering directions when we have not asked for any, hailing cabs for us and shouting 'hello' in the streets!  However, the dialect is quite confusing (the pronunciation of EI and AI and SH as A being just the tip of the iceberg) and the city (despite the population of 13 million) was SO quiet - China, but not as we know it... a disorienting experience!

 

We spent the first day eating Gong Bao Ji Ding* (see picture!**) and wandering around the temples and parks.  As it was a Sunday, the locals were out in force - dancing, doing taiqi, singing, flying kites etc, and it was really fun just to observe the community in action.  Of particular note was the Green Ram Taoist temple, which had several unusual bronze figures - the eponymous ram, and another figure which has characteristics of each of the four Chinese mystical animals - these figures are then rubbed for luck and to remove life's troubles, and after rubbing a part of the animal, you are supposed to rub the corresponding part of yourself.  This is all done very vigorously!

 

On our first evening we went out for hotpot (another Sichuan speciality, and renowned for being very spicy).  OBVIOUSLY we ordered a non-spicy soup, and although we were assured that it was not spicy we were greeted by a dark red, chili-filled, bubbling angry-looking broth - see picture for the evidence!  Our bright red, sweating faces caused the waitresses and the rest of the diners much amusement - but we enjoyed ourselves, and took respite in the tiny section of plain broth in the centre!

 

On our second (and last) day in Chengdu, we headed to the main tourist attraction - the Giant Panda Research and Breeding Centre, which involved an early start to get there for the morning feeding session and avoid only seeing the pandas asleep.  We saw LOTS of pandas and they are SO CUTE! The younger ones (about 2 years old) spent the morning playing and play-fighting on wooden climbing frames, and the older ones were mainly sleeping or eating - Ben has taken a particular liking to this lazy lifestyle, and is hoping to adopt the lounging, laid back eating position himself.... In terms of food, pandas eat a lot of bamboo of course - what is less documented is that they are also partial to a specially formulated 'panda bread' which was available for us to try.... it looks like a cross between oatcakes and the panda dung that was on display, and needless to say did not taste good to us!

 

On our return to the hostel we discovered that our Tibet permits had arrived, and we are all set to fly to Lhasa on 30th March.  I am REALLY excited about this, as Tibet has always been near the top of my 'to-go-to' list, but due to the difficulties in actually getting there, the expense and travel restrictions, I did not expect to have the opportunity.  

 

*Ben's - and most foreigner's - favourite Chinese dish, and a speciality of Sichuan province, where we are now.

 

** Apologies for the random order of the photos - it's the email blogging again...

Welcome to China!

We took a 7am bus lasting 8 hours across the pretty hectic border between Vietnam and China, where we handed our passports over into a massive scrum for a good half hour, and spent that time craning our necks to try and keep sight of them.

 

After the border crossing, we were asked where in Nanning we wanted to get off, so I tried our luck by asking for the airport, seeing as we had an 8.30pm flight to Chengdu. "Airport? Sure!" came the reply, and we dutifully put our bags in the appropriate section of the bus.  Two hours later we stopped on the motorway, and the man in charge shouted "Airport!" - so we got off, with about 12 other people - all of whom got into fancy cars awaiting their arrival for transfer to the airport.  Hmmm..... Of course, we had not made any such arrangement, so spotted a plane taking off in the distance and walked towards it, along the hard shoulder of the motorway for half an hour - with all our luggage - until we saw the exit for the airport, which we took (see picture of Ben above!).  Welome to China, people!

 

We arrived at about 11pm at the Loft hostel in Chengdu, where we have a room with a shared bathroom for Y100 per night.  It is essentially a cell, with hard beds, a stone floor and 'trendy' exposed brickwork walls.  The showers have mould on them and the bathrooms are an outside flight of stairs away.  I thought we had left discomforts like this behind when we got proper jobs - aparently this trip is not an extended holiday, but back to 'travelling'... *sigh*  In any event, we are stuck here for the time being as our Tibet permits are being sent to this address - so we had better get used to it and MTFU (as Rob would say..).

再见!

So, the time has come to leave Beijing (for the time being at least) and I am terribly sad to go. Every time I leave I have this sinking feeling, but I know deep down that I'll be back! Especially now that Ben has been bitten by the proverbial Beijing bug, and would not be averse to spending some of our (married - eek!) life together out here… so I'll have to hold him to that!

 

We had a lovely last weekend here, involving, manicures, massages, Xiao Wang Fu's duck and a dose of KTV - can't get much better than that!

I'll be keeping up the blog as and when I can over the next 7 weeks, as we embark on our trip round Cambodia, Vietnam, Tibet and Nepal.  Until then, 再见!

Beijing explodes for CNY

After a fantastic dinner at the Ritan park branch of everyone's favourite restaurant, Xiao Wang Fu, we headed to the area around Nanluoguxiang and the Drum and Bell towers to observe the complete chaos and craziness of Chinese New Year's eve.

 

Unlike in most countries, there do not seem to be any safety regulations that govern the purchase or use of fireworks and firecrackers, or at least none that are heeded to by the general public.  Therefore, everyone who's anyone takes it upon themselves to buy hundreds of fireworks, and let them off across the city 24/7 (yes, even in daylight) for the duration of the holiday period.

These fireworks are set off (see above pics) on every street, by children and adults alike, with no regard whatsoever for nearby people, buildings, or even police cars...!  The noise is incredible, and made for plenty of amusing shouts of 'take cover!' and corresponding dives behind lampposts, etc.  But fear not, 'fire engines' are on hand should anything get out of control...

For midnight itself, we went to the bar on the 86th floor of the Park Hyatt, from which we could see the entire city exploding with fireworks.  It was amazing, and very surreal to see so many fireworks going off in every direction from a height.  The fireworks began in earnest at dusk, and peaked at midnight, but continued well into the morning, when there was a pause for a few hour's sleep, before they were resumed at about 6am - and so this pattern continued!

The chaos got me wondering about fires and accidents caused by the the Spring Festival celebrations, and I'm pleased to report (see this article) that the number was down by almost 50% since last year (when the half0built Mandarin Oriental near the CCTV tower was set on fire by a 'stray firework').  However, according to the Ministry of Public Security, that's still 7,480 fires across the country, which killed 35 people and led to direct losses worth 28.5 million yuan (c. GBP 2.7 million).  Perhaps it's time for those health and safety regulations after all....?!

新年快乐!

Chinese New Year's day fell on 14 February 2010, welcoming the year of the tiger - for all of your born in 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986 or 1998, this is your year,  so best get out your red undies!*

 

On 13th February, and after a big dim sum brunch, we decided to hit Ditan Park temple fair, the biggest and busiest new year temple fair in Beijing, during which the entire park is decorated with red lanterns.

 

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting, but it certainly was not the hilarious tack-fest that was in store!  The main attraction at the temple fair, at least early on, was about 1,500 stalls selling a multitude of zodiac-related tack.  Items were mainly centered on the tiger (tiger ears, masks, costumes, toys, muffs, giant paws, etc...) but also included things clearly left over from previous years (mouse ears, toy dogs, ram memorabilia and dragon paraphernalia, etc).  We spotted a prime opportunity for comedy, and set ourselves a Y25 budget each for acquiring accessories for the day (see above pics...).  On our way around the park later, I splashed an extra Y15 on a comedy all-(Barbie Girl)-singing, all-flashing, all-dancing white and pink ram, which was worth every penny...

 

Later in the day, there were performances by dancers, people on stilts, dragon/tiger dancing etc, and a huge selection of fairground games (on which we won a red tiger toy) - so all in all, a funny and pleasant way to while away the new year's eve.  新年快乐, everyone!

 

* Traditionally, those whose zodiac year it is should wear red every day, all year long, though practically speaking some opt for red underwear in order to protect yourself against the hazards of benming nian (meeting your zodiac year)...

Common taxi advert.....

"Enjoy the luxury experience of breast augmentation....."

This chap has a microphone and all the power at the dim sum restaurant at the South gate of Ditan Park. This was taken on the morning of the first day of the Temple fair for Chinese New Year, so he had his work cut out!

Spotted at CNY: an unusual bus traveller!

How I've managed to avoid this hilarity is beyond me....

Celebrations - a word of warning...

When everything is going swimmingly, it's easy to get carried away.  With this in mind, here is a fable from our weekend from which several lessons can be learned.

We celebrated with (yet another) champagne brunch on Sunday.  Ben and I left our suitcase with the concierge, who asked for our phone number, because "sometimes people go champagne brunch, drinks champagne, more champagne, go 'woooh' (*crazy action with hands*) 'woooh' and forget their luggage! hahahahahaaaaa"  Oh, how we laughed with this charming man!  'What idiots,' we thought, 'would do that?'

As predicted, there was excessive champagne and huge gluttony (see above), combined with much laughter at 'those idiots' who 'woooooh forget their luggage'.... Then, still laughing and joking, we collected our luggage and headed back to the apartment.  Up in the lift we went, and what fun we were having!  Until... 

"who's got the luggage?"

"Erm, not me - I was carrying the flowers and champagne!"

"Erm, not me either" 

*moment of realisation* "THE TAXI!!!"  

Yes, that's right, we'd left the luggage in the taxi... which was long gone... in a city with c. 70,000 taxis.  That's the luggage that included our laptop, my passport with all the painstakingly acquired visas for our upcoming trip, my brand spanking new electronic Chinese dictionary.... and more.  By way of a few phone calls and a large dose of luck, we retrieved the luggage, and all of its contents.  So, what can we learn from this? 

1. Take heed of the concierge!  He is a wise man.

2. Always hold on to all scraps of paper - you never know, one might have the taxi numberplate on it!

3. Don't put your passport in your suitcase, even if you think it's safer there than in your handbag while you are testing your liver's capacity for bubbly....

KTV kraziness

Lo and behold, on Friday lunchtime I was invited to a work KTV session. That evening.*  At 7.30pm.  Straight from the office.  Being British, and a strong advocate of a few drinks before taking to the mic, I was a little confused but decided to go with it.  On arrival at our old favourite, Cashbox Party World, it was complete chaos (see above), with early evening being the prime time for KTV and hoards of people fighting for a  room...  Who'd have thought it?

 

* I have already noted the apparent lack of need to plan anything in advance over here, but here is another example of it in action....

China Daily

I have been reasonably quiet at work recently, so have taken the chance to catch up on current affairs.  So far, China Daily, on of the major state-run newspapers, has been coming up with the goods.

 

First, with this article about the world's tallest and shortest men, who met in Turkey recently.  Classic photo op!

 

Secondly, there has been a lot of coverage recently about China Mobile's policy to cut off mobile phone users who send text messages containing 'bad words' - for example, pornographic suggestions - and despite the fact that China Mobile has received 'thousands' of complaints, every day, it has continued this policy for over 10 years!

 

There has also been a lot of interesting coverage of the Google-China scandal, and it will be interesting to see where that ends up.  For the time being though, I have discovered google.cn's free and legal music download service, and am bolstering my collection of Rolling Stone's top 500 albums, one by one...

Chilling in China World: a very modern family indeed...

Just when I had got used to wearing an apron while I eat hotpot, and having my coat and bag covered by a pseudo-dustcloth in restaurants, at dim sum this weekend I was provided with a mini plastic bag to protect my phone.  Seeing as I promptly then dropped a prawn dumpling in the vinegar, this was  greatly appreciated!

Kodak - beautifying the billions

I have to apply for various visas for mine and Ben's upcoming trip, and needed to get some passport photos done - always a traumatic experience.  *sigh*

I duly headed for my local Kodak shop, where I was shown to a mirror and hairbrush, before being led to a seat in front of a big white screen.  The shop attendant used a DSLR with a soft flash to take 6 pictures, which I then got to analyse on a large TV screen.  So far, so good.  I eventually opted for the one in which I looked least suspicious (here, suspicious of the camera holder, not suspicious serial killer as per my UK photo) and in which she had coerced a faint (albeit confused) smile out of me.  Then, lo and behold, she arranged for me to collect them the next day - allowing her time to photoshop the results!*  Amazing.

And if any further proof were necessary, yesterday I got it.  I went to the Vietnamese embassy and handed over two photos, as per the requirements on its website.  Whereas the three people before me in the queue  had had one photo returned at this point, the man behind the counter instead requested to keep mine for 'personal use'.  Ahem, thanks and I'm flattered - but no!  Nice one, Kodak - can we have this in London please?

* NB: this is common practice, not just for me - thanks, people.

A Chinese fairground on ice: chair-skating, ice-biking and sheep-sleighs...

We took a trip to Houhai at the weekend, to see what the Beijingers get up to when the lakes are frozen solid - and what an icy wonderland awaited!  We set about hiring some skates, but instead were tempted by the other imaginative delights on offer - ice bikes, chairs with blades, carriages pulled by life size, mechanical dolls, ice dodgems and - - - a sleigh pulled by a sheep!  Yes, a giant, real-life sheep, wearing little hoof-protectors, giving rides around the ice in a small 'sleigh'.  It had to be seen to be believed, but take a look at the pictures below for an indication....

We had a lot of fun on our bikes, even though - unsurprisingly - the steering was a bit skew-whiff (and God forbid you got a wheel or blade stuck in an ice rut!) and the brakes a little ineffective.  Despite the vast range of things on offer, many people chose to brave the ice simply in their shoes, slipping all over the place but getting stuck in with the hoopla and sausages on a stick nonetheless.... a dangerous decision considering the speed everyone is careering around at!  

 

After an hour of racing around, we decided to try the chairs - definitely one of the safer ways to hit the ice, even taking into account the accompanying pair of 2-foot long spikes with handles for pushing yourself around at pace.  Of course, some bright spark had the idea of forming as long a chain as possible on the ice, led by a brave man on a bike - Cue: chaos!  Then, as if it's not enough entertainment for one afternoon, a crazy man stripped down to his speedos, sang for 10 minutes in the -6 degrees and dived right in (to the special area cordoned off for swimmers in winter, natch...).

Just another afternoon in China!  If only we had proper winters in the UK - and fewer safety regulations...