Moped postulation

While in Phuket town (Thailand) Greg and I decided to rent mopeds. We also rented mopeds when we traveled to Cuba a little over a year ago. In both countries we had something (s) go wrong. In Cuba we rode together, Greg driving, me… holding on and taking pictures.  In Phuket we decided it would be fun to each drive our own bike. I now feel like, having learned from our mistakes, we are moped renting pro’s we may someday be able to rent, and ride a moped without difficulty.

Here is a list of do’s and don’ts pertaining to renting mopeds outside of the motherland.

Do: … rent mopeds. Renting a moped is a fun, cheap, easy way to explore wherever it is you are traveling. You have ample opportunities to see things that you may not otherwise have found if you were walking, getting driven somewhere by taxi, or taking a subway/sky train. I highly recommend looking into renting when you are traveling if not only for the sake of exploration purposes (just make sure you have a map).

Don’t: … wait to fill up. Most times when you rent a moped it will have very little gas in it. You are usually expected to pay for your own gas. Chances are there will be enough gas in the tank to get you to the gas station, and that’s it. When we were in Phuket, Greg and I decided to test out our bikes and drive around a little bit before filling up. When we did finally decide to make our way to the gas station my bike had run out of juice, in the middle of an intersection. Which left me having to walk my bike to the gas station. Luckily the roads were not too busy, and we were very close. In Thailand and in Cuba gas was stupid cheap. Fill yourself right up.

Do: … shop around. Moped renting tends to be a popular tourist activity. And the locals are quite conscious of this. If you let them, the locals will rip you off. And, good for them if you aren’t smart enough to shop around. In Thailand (at least in Phuket) there is a stand renting out mopeds probably on every street. Even when you think you’ve found you’re ideal price bracket, haggle it down.
Don’t: … “forget” to wear a helmet. I’m not trying to sound like anyone’s mom. But, seriously, wear a freakin’ helmet. It has absolutely saved us from any potential brain injuries. I know it looks silly, and that neck strap is a pain. But, whatever. There is no good reason why you should not be wearing a helmet. Anything can happen (trust me).

Do: … observe traffic before getting on your bike and going. In Thailand people drive on the the left side of the road. Different from what we’re used to in Canada. It can be difficult to get used to, but as long as you are always thinking, you should be fine.

Don’t: …drive your moped if anything is not working properly. You would think that this is a given. I mean, duh, why would someone drive something that doesn’t completely work? Well. We are those genius’ who thought that we could magically make a broken bike run, we are just that special. In our defense, we didn’t realize that our Cuba bike was pretty much, crap, until we were on a very busy road. We did not realize that it would break down so far away from where we were staying. We also did not anticipate it sputtering, holding onto it’s final breath of existence all the way down a main road, in the rain. We just didn’t know OK?!

But, I guess I diddddd  know that the brakes of my Phuket bike weren’t working.  I mean, I supposeeeee  I found out within 15 minutes of our renting it. Why didn’t I go back and just make a quick exchange? Because I’m stubborn, OK! Though, I wish I had. It would have prevented various injuries. Do me a favor, and please please please do not drive a moped that is not in perfect working condition.

Do: … make a lot of stops. In both Phuket and Varadero we had a final destination in mind when we began our ride, but we also made sure to make a few stops on the way. In Varadero, we made a stop on our way to the downtown market in a run down area overrun with chickens, stray dogs and children. We watched a little bit of a local pick up baseball game. And we saw some of the biggest ocean waves I have ever seen. In Phuket our final destination was the aquarium (where we would meet Ryan and Dan), we made a stop at the marines camp harbor. We sat and looked out at the beautiful scenery in solitude.

Don’t: … get into an accident. Luckily (and I do mean “luckily”) we did not get into an accident in Cuba. I cannot say the same for Phuket. Within about 6 seconds of each other Greg and myself both got in an accident (that’s gotta be love, right?). Like I mentioned earlier, my brakes were just not reliable. They would work. And then, they wouldn’t work. But then, they would work. And…. then they wouldn’t. We were driving along happy as clams when we decided to turn around to check out a side street. All we had to do was turn around and make a right turn. I turned around. Check. But then noticed that the strap of my helmet was loose. I decided to pull over to the side of the road to fix it. Unfortunately here is where my brakes decide not to work. I was given the option to either drive straight into an oncoming car, or drive straight into a very large, very concrete pole. I chose the pole. My bike and me went head on into the pole, busting up my bike, scratching my leg, and hurting my knee. My head snapped sideways and hit the pole on the way through (thankful for that helmet!). At this point the bike is sideways on the ground getting caught in plants. I get it in an upright position, only to look up and see Greg collide with another moped. Greg wiped out huge and with his bike were sliding on their side across the pavement (go team helmet!). I don’t think I’ve ever been so nervous. I limpily ran over to see if Greg was OK. He was completely fine other than a few scratches and forming bruises. His bike also looked good as new (I was a little jealous about this actually). Turns out a local Thai kid (15 years old) was driving a little recklessly and smoked Greg. The kid with the help of a local Thai man tried to get Greg to pay for the damages of the kids bike (which were hefty– his tire also popped while we were standing there). Greg refused and we made the decision to flee. If the cops got involved we knew whose side they would take. I was pretty shaken by our dual accidents and just wanted to return the bikes. So, we did. And I paid 900 baht (about $30 CAD) for my damages, which honestly is not bad considering what I managed to do to the bike.

Do: … it all again (without the accidents). Like I said before, renting mopeds in a foreign land is a lot of fun and probably worth what you will be paying. The exploring and adventures that you will have from something so simple is well worth it.

Playing with cats

Our second day in Bangkok will be put down in my books as perhaps one of my favorite afternoons of travel in Thailand. That’s some big accolades. The day started off with Dan, Ryan. Greg and myself rushing around at a somewhat early hour trying to make sure our things were together for Phuket (we were flying out that night with Derek and Jeff), finish up paying for our hostel/making sure that while all of us will be gone for the day our things will be safe, and our regular morning routines. With no time for breakfast we were picked up, early, by our driver for the day named, Pon. The four of us piled into the back of his van and were ready to start the day. We requested one stop at McDonalds and then we started our day.

First stop, the war graves. This was our shortest and probably our most uninteresting stop of the day. We met up with our tour guide for the day. She gave us a quick education about the war graves, then we wandering the graves. Honestly I hardly remember what she said. The graveyard was full of graves honoring Australia, Dutch and English soldiers. From the graves we made our second stop, the death railway. This was very cool. We were at the Burma Thai Railway over the river Kwai. The history behind the railway was really interesting. We spent a little bit of time here walking along the railway looking out to the river Kwai. We ended the morning portion of tour by eating at a beautiful floating restaurant.

Now starts the real fun.

When Ryan told us that he had one, and only one thing that he wanted to do while in Thailand, I immediately thought “well, duh, we’ll have to do it”. It works out that his one thing, is also something that I was quite interested in. When Greg and I travel, usually to smaller towns, we like to incorporate animal interaction. So, when Ryan said “I need to walk a tiger”, Greg scoured the internet to find the best excursion for us. Insert, The Tiger Temple Tour (brought to us by Animal Planet).

We arrived at the temple after a long drive (about three hours away from Bangkok). The tigers are trained by monks at the Tiger Temple, so women need to be quite covered up. Unfortunately for me, on this scorching hot day I was covered wearing a flannel shirt and leggings. As soon as we walked in we were greeted by horses roaming, and a pit of water full of water buffalo-who would occasionally walk around. Various other animals were also roaming. We were instructed of rules and ways to keep safe while around the tigers. Our first stop was to an area full of tigers chained to the ground. Here we got to go up and pet the tigers, and have our pictures taken. It was somewhat bitter sweet. It was really cool that we got to be thatclose to the tigers (I think these tigers must have been teenagers), but it was also unnerving seeing them chained to the ground like that.

We paid a little bit extra to play with baby tigers. We took off our shoes and entered a room with baby tigers running around. We got to feed and play with them for about 45 mins. In this time we were all so smitten (and also bitten…). I would regularly forget that we weren’t just playing with kittens or dogs, these were baby tigers. Only after my first bite did I think “oy vey, this is a wild cat!” It was amazing, fun, and worth it.

After playing with the tiger cubs, we went onto walk a full grown tiger. We didn’t get to walk with it for long, but it was still so cool. And something I won’t forget. Before leaving for the day Ryan and I went to an area full of really big full grown tigers. The staff at the temple walks you around to different tigers (again, chained to the ground) and takes your picture. While kneeling down petting the biggest tiger I have ever been in contact with I could feel his inner growl tremble through his back and up through my hand. If this dude was hungry, I’d be dead. His tail whipped me in the back and it felt like a horse whip.

All in all it was a really reallly cool day. There isn’t too much I can say to describe the experience other, cool. It was definitely well worth it.
We had the chance to hang out with some other pretty rad animals. But, I’ll tell you about them another time.

24 hours of Bangkok

We only spent three full days in Bangkok, two at the beginning and one at the end of our trip. My expectations of Bangkok were not high. I thought of Bangkok as layover land. We would be here for the sole purpose and connecting flights to Phuket. I had imagined Bangkok either to be an industrial land crowded with business men, or you know, exactly how it is shown in The Hangover II. I was incorrect on both accounts.

While Bangkok is fairly industrial in comparison to the rest of Thailand, it also encompasses a different sort of modern laid back urban feel. Bangkok is a busy (understatement) metropolis. The city is full of beautiful Thai people (and an abundance of tourists), rushing streets with cars, and tuk tuks, lined with so many little shops and restaurants. It’s great.

Our first full day in Bangkok felt a little surreal. Stepping outside of our hostel to see what resembled remnants of jungle just outside our door was nice. Dogs were roaming the streets, lizards.. everywhere. We went for breakfast at this little outdoor place next to an auto shop. It was definitely apparent how laid back the culture is right from the start. I mean, how could you not be laid back living in Thailand? The atmosphere, and social interaction reminded me a lot of Cuba. We quickly learned that Thai food is ah-maze-ing. Everything is fresh and healthy and delicious.

Our first day was spent exploring. We took the sky train to the last stop Phaya Thai and just started roaming around with no agenda. I like the way we decided to tackle the day.

Markets & haggling: All throughout town there are markets, just everywhere. The weather is beautiful so everything is outdoors. Most of the markets we saw cater to females, so while it was great for me to buzz around from stand to stand, shop to shop, the boys were not having as much fun. The markets were certainly interesting though, and it’s fun just to haggle with people. We learned that heckling is a developed art form. Some people are good, and some people, just aren’t.  I consider myself to be a self proclaimed haggling pro. All six of us have very different approaches to haggling. Ranging from me who takes the overly friendlypatheticnicegirl approach, to Ryan and Dan who take the zerohagglingi’llacceptanypriceyougiveme approach to Derek who prefers the imgoingtotalkyourearoffevenifyoucantunderstandme approach to Greg’s approach where he just likes to see how low he can get a price… most times he isn’t even interested in buying anything. We all had moments of success, and moments where we were yelled at. All in fun.

Thai massage: Getting a Thai massage anywhere in Thailand is pretty hilarious. Women sit outside the parlors and will slowly drawl “Thai massaaaaaaageeee, want  Thai masaggeeeee”. The women yell at the guys in your group, and sometimes will get up and grab them. During the day the massage parlors are regular massage parlors, but at night they double at happy ending emporiums. We went in for an afternoon massage. It was a lot different from a Chinese massage. A lot more, painful. I’m sure when people think “massage” you think of a relaxing experience to loosen up your muscles. However, a Thai massage is a whole different experience. The job of a Thai masseuse is pretty much to ultimately pummel, prod and punch you. It’s a game of painful chicken. How much can the masseuse hurt you before you say “uh, no thanks”. It was an all around good experience, I think. But didn’t leave me feeling too wonderful.

Tuk tuk: A tuk tuk is pretty much a motorcycle covered in a big metal box type thing, and runs on three wheels. Our first experience with a tuck tuck was, interesting. I think tuk tuks are meant to fit only about 3 people. We were now at 6 people (Jeff met us in Thailand). We agreed on a price, and all just jumped in. Ryan, Greg and I were sitting on the main bench (actually Greg was hanging out the back). Derek and Jeff were squished on the floor. And, Dan sat in the front with the driver, on the battery… half falling out. It was pretty wild. If anyone hit us we’d be in trouble. I think it was a good first tuk tuk experience. The others may not agree though.

Muay Thai : Jeff, Derek, Ryan and myself decided to go to a Muay Thai match. I’m glad we got a chance to do be witness to such a cultural activity. In the crowds there was a lot of yelling and betting. Honestly I didn’t understand what was going on most of the time. And, I clearly do not understand the Muay Thai. I was usually wrong in my guessing of who was going to win. It was really cool.

 Another highlight of day one in Bangkok was getting my hands on some A&W! I never would have guessed A&W would be in Thailand. So happy.

Home is where the poutine is

We have now lived in China for  just over six months.

WHAT?!
I know.

Weifang has been, in a word, fresh. Living here is comparable to what I imagine living on Saturn would be like. The language is foreign. And despite somewhat best efforts, the dialect is always different from what you expect from person to person. You are an alien. And, don’t think that buying lenseless glasses, a panda hat, ear muffs, and pants with reindeer on them will help you fit in. Been there. It doesn’t.

After living in Barrhaven for 23 years, living somewhere like Fangzi is a big shock to the system. Everything is new. The smells, the people, the experiences. It’s amazing. Refreshing, inviting… just what I want traveling to be like. I hope to be this engulfed into the culture anywhere else we choose to live later in life.

While I’ve never considered myself to be patriotic, in almost any way. Besides celebrating Canada Day on the hill, and cheering for Team Canada in the Olympics. I must say I show very little Canadian pride (my bad). Though,  I keep hearing this little annoying voice in my head saying:

“Eh! Danica. Where ya at girl?”
And, that voice is me. (not that I speak like that).

It wasn’t until a few days ago where I realized that, even though I’m still soaking in the experience, lately my mind has been elsewhere. In Canada. In Ottawa. Believe it or not, in Barrhaven. (gasp!). Yep. Never did I ever think that I would miss Barrhaven. Never. Why am I mourning Barrhaven, why? I just don’t understand. I had wanted to high tail it out of there since sixth grade. Why and how is it that I could miss a place so much? I know I’m not keen on living in Barrhaven again, ever. But that is not to take away that I can’t wait to get a big ol’ dose of B-haven in the summer.

I miss my family and my friends, of course. But there are also a lot of things about Ottawa that I guess I took for granted. First and foremost I miss the luxury of getting pizza delivered to your home (oh what I would give!). I also miss: the Bytowne theatre, the Works, Chapters, Clock Tower (specifically with RGB Sr.), The Turning Point record store, Booster Juice, Pure Gelato, Rideau street shopping,the market, the homeless weirdos, Miss. Vickie’s chips, Tim Hortons (Apple Cinnamon tea!), Caesars, outdoor rinks,and… I miss poutine – more than I think is normal.

I am loving living in China. But, uh, I’m so stoked to be back in my city. And, to (temporarily) live walking distance from Riocan.

Pathetic? Yea, maybe.

An ode to street meat

Within this post I am going to try not to simply gush over my two latest Chinese culinary faves; street sandwiches.

The Sketchy Wrap

I had my first experience with the SW way back in October. Jen and Gini took Lizzie and myself to a very large indoor market that sold anything and everything. Outside the market the streets are lined with vendors selling bags, cleaning supplies, bedding, and other such trinkets. There are also vendors selling different varieties of street "delicacies". Jen and Gini being veterans knew the ideal vendor to stop at for a wrap. Had we not been with Jen and Gini I would never would have guessed that something like a sandwich or wrap was made at these stands. They look like the rusted, dirty, grimy, China version of Dickie Dee stands, though bigger and situated, with no fun little jingle to get you excited. There is a case full of veggies on sticks; eggplant, peppers (hot and sweet), tofu, lettuce, cabbage, bok choy, mushrooms, green onion etc. Beneath the case is a vat of boiling oil, a small table with a cutting board, and two bowls of sauce (one hot, and one peanut). You have the option of either chicken or sausage. You make your choices, the “chef” adds everything to the oil and uses scissors to chop it all up. It takes mere minutes to make. Everything is thrown into a large tortilla style wrap, sauce is added and you’re good to go.

Trying street meat, street anything in China is nerve wracking. The cleanliness is questionable. In fact, saying that it is questionable at all is really just to comfort myself. It is fact that it is not clean in any way. Everything is made so quickly so there is a chance that unwelcome bacteria will take over your body at any moment, and you’re day will be over with you on the toilet. This all being said, though, the SW is really, really good. AND cheap cheap! Only 7 yuan, and it’s a hefty portion. I’ve realized now that there are wrap stands just about everywhere. I suppose I just never knew what they were before. A couple months ago Greg and I found one right outside the main grocery store in Fangzi. win.


Street Sandwich (formerly referred to as Seth’s Sandwich)

In town there is a small stand (much more credible than the  Sketchy Wrap stand) that sells snacks, gum, drinks etc. We had noticed that it also advertised some weird, unappetizing looking sandwich. Seth was the first to try to the sandwich on his own in town one day and shared his discovery with us. Amazingly delicious, and only 4 yuan for one. The picture does not make the sandwich look tasty or inviting at all. So, I put off trying it for awhile until out of poorness Greg and I needed to take the plunge and get our hands on these warlocks. Possibly one of the best food discoveries in Weifang. This ridiculously good, flavorful sandwich is overstuffed with chicken chunks, topped with lettuce and marinated in some scrumptious brown sauce and hot sauce all in the nice package of a deep fried flat bun. Ohmygod makes my mouth water just thinking about it. When the guys came to visit we ate our fair share these sandwiches.

And, to make our lives of street sandwich love that much more exciting is, there is a stand near the grocery store in Fangzi. These sandwiches are only 3 yuan, and not as delicious as the originals in town. But, they are still good.
I enjoy that eating in China is affordable, and delicious. Especially when you least expect it.

 I’m hungry.

The good, the bad, the China

While we were only away from China for two weeks, the return felt comparable to how I imagine Dorothy actually felt upon leaving technicolor Oz and returning to Kansas. There are so many things that I like about living in China. But, leaving for a little while made me notice certain unfavorable China traits that the country (well, the very small portion that I’ve seen) possess.

1. Lack of color. True the overwhelming grey in Weifang is due to the extensive smog. Though, it seems that even beyond the skies the country is experiencing pigment deficiency. China is generally pretty dry (at least where we are) so it seems there is a thin layer of dust covering, well, everything. This doesn’t help the “color” problem.

2. Seeing green, or, not. The most welcome, wonderful thing for me (besides the warmth) in Thailand was the abundance of green. It is nearing the end of winter, so granted most trees don’t have any leaves right now. But, even during lovelier times, China is lacking in green. Even in Bangkok, Thailand there were examples of flora everywhere. Living in China I find myself mourning, nature.

3. The stares. Uh, yep, I’m foreign. I’m not from here. So, obviously I need to be stared at uncomfortably as if I were from Mars. Beijing is touristy so the “stares” we receive aren’t as noticeable, or quite as much. Weifang though, and Fangzi, oh jesus! Thailand is so touristy. Like, so so so touristy. I was nothing special. I had forgotten about the stares until one instance when Greg and I were at the grocery store in Fangzi where we noticed an older woman so uncouthly staring at me, bug eyed, and nervous. I don’t bite. Promise.

4. Smoke… cigarette smoke… in the face. Neither Greg or I are cigarette smokers. I don’t mind if people smoke around me generally. It’s really not something that bothers me. Living in my old apartment, for those who know… I mean, comman… you would need a tolerance for smoke.  In China though, it’s a whole other story. Even the most lenient of people could have a problem with the smoke. Most people are quite rude about it, and have no problem smoking anywhere and everywhere, and blowing their smoke right in your face. What’s worse is this multiplied by dozens of people in a crowd. No matter where you turn, you will have smoke all up in your business.

5. Don’t push. I have a difficult time being too too angry about the pushing and shoving of Chinese people. The only reason is because it is merely a cultural thing. It’s not meant to be rude at all. Everyone pushes and shoves. Everyone. We were reminded of this at the airport. We were waiting to board our plane back to China, and for the first time in two weeks were surrounded by Chinese people. Our gate was different from the other gates at the airport. The other gates had orderly lines full of patient people waiting to board. Our gate was a sector of impatient pushers throwing their bows all over the place (unintentionally of course). Unless you join in the brigade of thrusting and shoulder rubbing, you will be left behind.

6. Dirty. It’s no secret that China is very dirty. Walking down the street I’m pretty sure we ingest various ailments. It was nice to breath in fresh air in Thailand. It was nice to blow my nose and not have dust come out. It was also nice to not have some strange cough uncaused by sickness, but by pollution for two weeks.

I do enjoy living in China. But, there are some annoying things that come with the culture. Unfortunately.

Sliding down the Great Wall

Again, I would like to stress that everything seemed to be closed during our time in Beijing. Well, most Chinese, touristy types things at least. When we arrived back in Beijing from Xi’An, after checking back into the Hai Inn, we made an attempt to go to the Pearl Market. I had heard so many good things about the Pearl Market, it was probably one of the places I was most excited to visit. But due to our unfortunate timing, it was closed. From what I’ve heard the Pearl Market has all types of things. It’s a building full of vendors selling knock off, everything! My hecklers game face was on, I was so ready to get some cheap, fake stuff. But, oh well, next time.  The five us split up for the afternoon, Greg and I decided we would try to find the Silk Market (even though we knew it would probably be closed) and the other three guys went to the Olympic park. We had seen parts of it when we arrived in August, and didn’t have much interest in going back.

Of course the Silk Market was also closed. Lizzie was back from India and had been in Beijing for a few days with her parents. We were hoping to meet up with her so she could meet Derek, Dan and Ryan but realized that it probably just wouldn’t happen. We were leaving on Thursday and had plans for Wednesday and it was already Tuesday. After realizing that the Silk Market wasn’t going to happen Greg suggested just sitting in Starbucks. I could feel my mood going down. We only had a little time left in Beijing and my frustration with Chinese New Year was becoming apparent. In attempts to cheer myself up with biscotti and and Iced Shaken lemon tea who walks into Starbucks? I look over and see a white person who looks so familiar. I was Lizzie’s mom, with Lizzie and her dad following closely behind. We had no idea but their hotel was pretty much right beside that Starbucks. We sat with Lizzie and her parents for a little while before heading back to her (swanky) hotel for a bit. We texted the other guys and got them to meet at our part of town. I was mostly happy that Lizzie was able to meet our friends from home, and happy they could put a face to the many stories. I think Dan was happiest to meet her. We went to Pizza Hut, before parting ways with Lizzie. We did have a pretty big day on Wednesday.

Wednesday was a great day. The day started off right with an American breakfast (…with bacon!) before we were picked up by a pretty cool old Chinese guy. Our tour guide. We hopped on a van of about 10 other people and began our journey to the Great Wall of China. The Great Wall (is not actually directly in Beijing) is actually accessible by bus. The city bus will take you to Ba Da Ling. This area of the wall, being the most accessible, is the most touristy. Though, cheapest way to see the wall. We chose not to do this. We figure if we’re going to see the Great Wall of freakin’ China, we should do it right. So, we paid a bit extra and took the van. The van took us to a further area. We left around 8am and arrived around 9. We were surprisingly the first people at the wall. We started our climb. Which consisted of many trees, and crooked steps. It was a pretty cold day, and we were all bundled up real well. But, I started peeling off clothing before we even reached our main descent. I was already amazed looked out at the ground we had already covered, thinking “oh wow, oh wow we’re about to climb the Great Wall of China”. This feeling was in no comparison to how I felt when we actually got to the steps taking us to the wall. When we reached the mountain the five of us were just in complete awe, no one spoke a whole lot for the first few moments. Just looking out and seeing the length of the wall, a length so long that you cannot see the end. Seeing first hand what we had all seen a million times on TV, in books. We continued to climb the wall, not letting the steep (and I mean STEEP), crooked, gnarly, jagged steps kick our ass. No joke steps go from mini, to the size of my thigh. There was a constant changing in climbing technique; side step, crawling like a baby, running and skipping a step. The view was just phenomenal. And, just knowing that we were on the Great Wall of China was the coolest thing. Around 10 we started to head back to meet our group. Derek and I decided to grab a Great Wall beer for the walk back.

The Great Wall, so untraditionally, offers a luge type slide down to the bottom. I doubt this is what the Chinese had in mind when they were thinking about keeping the Mongolians out. The slide was sweeeeeeet! It was pretty long, sometimes steep with tight curves and the option to go fast. Worth the 80 yuan or whatever it was. So fun. We spent the rest of the time at the wall brushing off vendors.

We left the wall and were taken to a Jade factory which was surprisingly interesting. I had about,uh, zero interest in Jade prior to this trip. But, I left having spent a good chunk of money on souvenirs for my family. We got to see how different Jade sculptures were made and learned how to differentiate Jade from, well, not Jade. We ate lunch at the factory and spoke with a family from Michigan who are now also living in China (in a small town near Harbin–cold!). After the factory we were then taken to the Underground palace. I had actually never even heard of this place before, but I’m glad it was offered in our tour. It deemed a lot more interesting than I thought (worth googling, do it). After the Underground Palace we were teased. Our guide told us that he was taking us to the Silk Market. This got me all kinds of excited since we missed the markets the day before because they were closed. But, this Silk Market was actually just that, a Silk… market. A factory where they sell silk bedding and clothing. They teach you about the silk, which would have been much cooler if I didn’t spend a chunk of my childhood playing ‘Where in the World is Carmen San Diego’ on the computer and already knew its origin. Then, after teaching you about the silk (really, it is all a sales pitch) they try to uncomfortably coax you into buying their silk bedding. I was cornered (but didn’t buy any).

The five of us were bored by this and spent our time sitting on the floor of the nice building waiting to leave. All in all, though, it was a great day. We returned to our hostel and spent our final night drinking beers and chatting with a ton of other young travelers. I enjoy this part of traveling. Meeting people from all over the world, and hearing their story is so enjoyable for me. Hearing about where people have gone and what they are doing. What their dreams are makes me reflect on my own, and inspires me to want to travel more.
We left for Thailand the next morning, which is a whole other story.

The gypsies

Our second, and full day in Beijing was a day full of, meandering mostly. Being Chinese new year most things had started shutting down for the holiday. Which was really inconvenient for our plans while in Beijing.

The day started with checking out of the Hai Inn. Meaning that for the rest of the day Derek, Dan, Ryan and myself were going to be lugging around our fairly heavy travelers backpacks. Greg was smart and packed EXTRA light (maybe too light). I was dumb and packed a tad way too freakin’ much.

Anyways. We started the day off right with American breakfast (….with bacon!) then took the subway to Tiananmen Square. Getting out of the subway and looking up at what I had seen so many times before in books was surreal. We stood there looking around for a few minutes, and I remember just thinking so cool, sooooo cool (this also would not have been the last time I had this thought while in Beijing). We walked up and through (the free) parts of Forbidden City. Which was, nice. While the overall splendor of the Forbidden City was impressive and all fine and dandy. It quickly became, like much else in China, a former beautiful imperial palace turned tourist stomping ground and money maker. Good thing we took the cheap route. Despite my “naysaying” the Forbidden City is pretty majestic. As read in Frommer’s it is the most intricate palace in all of China. The rest of our day was spent wandering. Like I previously said, a lot was closed because of it was the eve of Chinese New Year (a family holiday). We made a strong attempt to see the Sumer Palace. We did see it, I guess. We saw the roof and the gate to get in. But, not the interior because it, like everything else, was closed. We walked nearly an hour to get to the Summer Palace from the subway stop that we got out at. At this point in the day, it was getting late. Most of us were getting tired, and pretty hungry. After our failed Summer Palace attempt we decided it would be best to just head to the train station.

At about 9:30 that night we were taking the train to Xi’An. While our ride to Xi’An would last about 15 hours over night, our stay in Xi’An would be a mere 8 hours (or so). We were going with one stop in mind, The Terra Cotta Warriors. We get to the train station (Beijing West) and are all snapping pictures in awe of it’s exterior size and beauty. Of course, this is where the beauty ends. Inside the station it was packed! We nestled ourselves into a hallway near a McDonalds until boarding. The place was absolutely disgusting inside… though, I guess most of China is pretty disgusting (dirt and grime absolutely everywhere). Excited to get on our train, we wait in a long line of pushing and shoving Chinese people, this is standard China behavior, only to board the most hectic, repulsive, cramped area I have ever been in (excluding the outhouses at Bonnaroo). It had seemed as though we entered a train full of traveling gypsies. Not the loveable Esmeralda types either. The weathered, smelly, pushy, in your face types. The gypsies added to the initial disgustingness of the train by smoking, ashing, throwing garbage and chicken bones on the ground. There were countless gypsy babies too. Babies who were left by their sleeping gypsy parents to crawl in the dirt, eat chicken bones off the ground and meander about without being watched by their parents.

We had paid for the cheapest train, yes. But, oh wow. 15 hours of this garbage. I figured as long as I could nestle in a small spot and get some rest I’d be OK. Which I was. The other guys were not as lucky. Ryan, being a pro at falling asleep in any position was good. Derek was however left with no room for his tall self and was crammed in a “booth” with Dan, some lady, and two men. Dan, in an even worse position was squished between Derek and some lady. And, Greg, was left alone in a separate seat. Left to sit next to a hobo gypsy seat snatcher. Greg adjusted his position, and before he knew it she had moved in and was sprawled spread eagle across their shared bench. We soon started referring to this hat wearing, absent toothed, wrinkly bag of gypsy unaffectionately as, Toquey. Luckily Greg is a good sport, and cut his losses by falling asleep whilst leaning against Toquey’s legs. Not something many people could, or would want to do. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I was squished between a wall and Ryan… which was probably the best seat of us all. Other than the teenage Chinese girls seating across from us. They decided to sing, loudly, for the majority of the ride. I was happy when they got off at a stop about 7 hours before ours. Thinking back on this train, I feel like we were acting out a scene from a mid century film. Homeless, freeloading gypsies sleeping where they please. Probably robbing us as we close our eyes. Carrying bags upon bags upon bags of who knows what. The gypsies were, gross. But it was definitely an experience.

The train, and diseases we all probably inhaled was well worth it though. The Terra Cotta Warriors were awesome! I had vaguely heard of the warriors prior to traveling to China, but did not know too much. But, at the Ottawa airport when Greg and I were getting our money changed the woman working there said that we had to go. She even had a book and showed us pictures. It was so worth it. The history behind the Warriors is so interesting. Worth googling I’d say (finish reading this blog first though).

After a few hours of hanging around the Warriors we heading back to the train station, where we waited in McDonalds for our train back to Beijing. Xi’An didn’t seem to offer a whole lot in the winter. In the spring and summer it would have been nice to do a bike tour. There is a wall where you can bike, pretty much, around the whole city. But, it was snowing when we went, and biking with backpacks would not be very enjoyable.

We got on a 13 hour train back to Beijing. It needs to be noted that this train was substantially cleaner, and lacking in homeless gypsies… which really made it much more enjoyable.

When we returned to Beijing with much excitement knowing that we had a lot more to look forward to in the upcoming days.

Backpacking - the first day in Beijing

When Dan, Derek and Ryan came to visit Weifang, honestly, Greg and I weren’t quite sure what we would show them or what would be exciting to do. All three of their personalities are very different.

We were only staying in Weifang for about one week before heading off on travels. During the week the guys were able to see our town of Fangzi. We ate at the BGR (countless times), we went for three massages–each one including new and funny stories, they were introduced to a few Chinese friends as well as most of the foreign teachers, we played “Cocaine”, we walked around exploring parts of the city, we went to markets, we went to Mbox and two new bars (Muse and new SoHo– old Soho is closed!) and mostly just caught  up. We still needed to plan the next leg of our time together; Beijing, Xi’an, Beijing again, Thailand.

Also, I’m so impressed at how quickly the three guys got over their jetlag. Crazy fast. And, Derek and Ryan even picked up some of the language in a short time!

I think, speaking for Greg and myself, the week with our friends in our new town was more than a little a lot welcome. We appreciate it so so SO much!!
On Sat Jan 21st we left Weifang for Beijing. The night before Dan, Derek, Ryan and myself had drank (Ryan not so much), leaving us feeling not so wonderful.. The train ride was pretty nice though with no complications. We got to Beijing after a four hour ride. The five of us, feeling cheap, and still hostile towards Beijing after our last experience with the place were looking for a feasible way of getting around.

Thank you Beijing subway system.

The Beijing Subway is the most immaculately run mode of transportation. For the low price of  2 yuan you can ride the subway, with an many connections as you need. It’s clean, safe, and quite reliable.
We found that we could take the subway from the Beijing South station right to Yonghegong street stop next to Lama Temple, which just so happened to be about a 500m walk from our first hostel.

When we arrived we walked the wrong way, and were confused which meant we missed the tiny side street leading to our hostel. We stopped in a convenient store (difference from Weifang #1…) and were lucky to meet a few expats (difference #2…) who spoke English directing us in the right direction. Beijing is fairly touristy, so at times I felt I was experiencing reverse culture shock. So many white people! So much English!

We all loved our hostel and would recommend it to anyone traveling to Beijing (hint hint, Gabby and Alanna). It’s called 1 Hai Inn or also called the Candy Inn. The girl at the front desks name is Roxie and she speaks incredible English. Oh, also they serve American breakfast… with bacon. Greg and I lucked out during our time here and managed to get rooms with just us in the them. Dan, Derek and Ryan shared a room with a guy named Max traveling around by himself, from Quebec and three British girl currently attending University in Shanghai.
Our first night was fairly low key, unintentionally. After accepting our free beer upon arrival we went to eat. We found a place across the street from the Lama Temple to eat. It was alright, no BGR, but pretty good. We returned to the Candy Inn and were trying to figure out our plan for the night… we knew that we wanted to go out. We had heard that if you get into a taxi and say “Sanlitun” street you will be taken to the bar street. So, we tried this. And, were a little mistaken. Everything was crazy expensive! Foreigners were everywhere. I quickly realized that in Beijing foreigners are nothing special like in Weifang, and all prices are inflated. When we finally settled on a bar, after a long time of searching, we go in and sit down only to find out that just to sit in the booth will cost us 500 yuan. We could stand… but just left. The majority of the bars were pretty deserted. Apparently there is a bar street… with a bar called “Sanlitun”. We just weren’t there.

We headed back to the hostel, giving up on our night out, ate some noodles and drank some beer. We met a couple guys from Alberta. One of them named Andy is an Engineer who has been living in China looking for work. His buddy Steven came over to see him. They were nice guys. Mostly just exchanged China stories with Andy and Chinese slang we’ve learned. We took a shot of Bai Jiu and headed to bed.

Spring festival and sketchy times in Beijing

To preface this post, I would just like to take a moment to apologize. Apologize for not only neglecting this blog but for updating it quickly and without much thought. Since before Christmas, life has seemed slightly whirlwindish (more on that later). And, as I sit here in my bottom bunk of the Sunwest Guesthouse hostel in Thailand (I’ll get to that later), I can’t help but feel the pull to recount my tales to you, reader. Thank you for taking the time to read about mine and Greg’s life there and for taking an interest in us until we are back again.
Onto the happenings.

Spring Festival is a yearly holiday. It happens every year around Chinese New Year. Greg and I, being the lucky little foreigners we are, get a six week vacation during this time. Our last day of teaching was December 31st, and we are off of work until February 13th.

Our Spring Festival started off with New Years eve on Saturday. That morning all teachers from Beihei gathered in the cafeteria for lunch and some teacher appreciation (each staff member received a gift of 100 yuan). For the most part we just mingled, and ate and “gala-ed”. In the afternoon the teachers at Beihei (not including the foreign teachers) put on a show. It was hilarious (from what I saw). It was all in Chinese. I didn’t actually stay for the whole thing because I wasn’t feeling too well, but Greg did and said it was good… from what he could understand.

2012 started off great. The foreign teachers, Greg and I went out for dinner at the Mayflower restaurant. It’s a fancier restaurant in Weifang, but definitely worth the money. My mom and dad had sent Greg and I Christmas crackers from Canada that we hadn’t used yet, so I brought them along to the dinner. Of course, we followed dinner with a trip to SoHo, and ofcourse, I had the time of my life. Everyone seemed to have a great time actually. If you looked around at any of us, you would see a huge smile covering everyone’s faces. Everyone was dancing, and drinking, and singing and having a wonderful time. At one point just after midnight, I had a “my god! I can’t believe I live in China and this is my life”. I looked over at Greg’s smiley face, and looked at my new Chinese friends, Lizzie and Seth and felt so happy. It’s a shame that we could not also be surrounded by Ottawa friends, and have the ability to call our families at midnight. Never the less, the year started off on a good foot.
The beginning of Spring Festival was spent mostly hanging around with my new Chinese friends, Lizzie, Greg, and Seth. Our friends from SoHo were to be leaving soon and I wanted to get in as much time as possible with them as I could. All was well worth it, and goodbyes were said. I know I have made a good friend in Maymay, who happens to be one of the sweetest people I know. And, I don’t doubt that Greg and Slos will keep in contact. I regularly miss them along with Jerry and his hilarity, Rita and her loving demeanor, and Hyde’s coolness. Lizzie, Greg and I were most said to say goodbye I think. But, all three of us are so happy to have been able to be apart of their lives.

On Wednesday January 11th, I took the train to Beijing to pick up three (amazing) pals from the airport– arriving from Ottawa. Ryan, Dan, and Derek were to arrive between 5 and 11 that night. I could not be more excited. From when I arrived in Beijing things were not going quite as smoothly as they could have been. Lizzie (who accompanied me because she was flying to India from Beijing) and I took a cab from the train station to the airport. Which lasted over an hour long. We watched at the meter kept rising and rising. Ending in a 130+ yuan fee. Also, the driver tried not to give us our change. No matter, we went in, Lizzie found her gate and she was off. I was on a mission to find out which terminals the boys would be arriving in, which was simple enough. And, the wait started. Ryan and Dan were on the same delayed flight so I ended up waiting a little longer that I had anticipated, but it was worth it. Seeing Ryan’s Sens hat poke out behind the entrance and Dan’s smiling face made me feel so happy! Derek’s flight was coming in later so we found our way to his terminal and waited. Again, seeing Derek made me so happy! Familiar faces!!! Upon being with them for no longer than 10minutes I forgot I was in China. It was as if I had never been away at all. The jokes were the same. Felt good.

Here is where the “fun” begins.

We waiting in a taxi line at the airport for a cab. A woman working at the airport motions for us to go to a taxi. So, we do. The taxi, though looking different from the other taxi’s, has a “Taxi” sign on it. We get in, tell him where we are going (the train station in hopes of getting a train at our late hour) and we go. After about 25 minutes we arrive at Beijing South train station, the cab driver lifts a card covering the meter and displays the price, 460 yuan. This ride should have cost us no more than 80 yuan (at the absolute most). He shows an airport card with fees on it. In the words of Derek, we were fleeced! None of us were happy to have been obviously fooled. I was particularly angry because I knew for a fact that it should not be that price, and had been trying to catch a glimpse of the meter for part of the ride.

Trying to brush off the unfortunate cab price, we go into the train station. The deserted, bereft of warmth, very closed train station. I had asked my boss earlier in the day if train ran most of the night, he said yes. He was wrong. We walked around trying to figure out what to do. We would need to stay in a hotel because it felt sketchy to sleep in the station. Also, it would freezing. So, we tried to find an exit. An easy enough task. Wrong. We were locked in. Locked in the train station! Eventually we had found someone who worked there, a guard I presume, who walked us outside. We tried asking him for help to find a taxi or where we could get a hotel. But, despite his best efforts, he was of no real help. Luckily, a white dude happened to walk by us as we were pacing the outside of the station. The French native, immaculate speaking English guy, just so happened to also be fluent in Chinese. He helped us find a taxi AND a hotel, sort of.

A grey van on the cusp of breaking down drives up. Our ride. The four of us climb in. Derek and Ryan get actual seats in the back while Dan is left to sit on the floor. I took the front seat in hopes that my very small amount of Chinese could help (it didn’t). The driver and the white guy are chatting away in Chinese, both on their phones calling other people, talking in …. Chinese. The whole situation began to feel very uncomfortable, and all around sketchy. We all had our guard up. I had a death grip on my belongings, with my passport and money zipped tight in my  pocket, and cell phone in my hand. The white guy tells us that the driver will take us to a hotel not far from the station. We thank him a bunch of times and leave. All four of us thinking the same thing, are we about to live a scene out of the movie Taken? Am I going to die tonight? Where in the hell is this dude taking us?

We arrive at some sleezy hotel. And, of course are overcharged for two rooms (one room was not an option, and we were all hesitant to argue with the men handling our dealings at this point). We get our rooms; Dan and Derek in one, Ryan and I in another. The cab driver walks into mine and Ryans room, and holds out his hand for money. I assumed the ride would cost no more than maybe, maybeeeeee 30 yuan. In my mind I had planned to give him a little extra for taking us to the hotel at such a late hour and what not. he demands 200 yuan. 200! At this point, as a person who rarely feels scared, I felt highly uncomfortable. These men were dealing with us just did not make me feel as ease. We paid him the 200, and that was that. I called Greg who was in Weifang to help make me feel better. At this point it was almost 3 in the morning and we wanted to be awake at 6:30 to get a 7:45 train. I slept for a total of maybe 30minutes that night.

Thursday did not introduce an effortlessness. We woke up and scoured the streets for a taxi. After about 10 mins we get one, get inside and I type into my translator Beijing Train Station South. He says OK, and away we go. The night before we were all tired, but were awake enough to know that the ride to the station should take no more than 10 mins, which is why were were confused when it took us nearly half an hour to get there. BUT the main said yes when we told him where to go, so we were trusting him. We arrive at a train station, that doesn’t really look familiar, except for the sign that says “Beijing Railway”. At this point we’ve missed the 7:45 train to Weifang. This day is was freezing. The guys were saying it felt colder than Ottawa. After moving from line to line (outside), and waiting in various lines for nearly an hour we come to the obvious conclusion that we are probably at the wrong train station. Oh, and right we were. We got the name of the correct station written for us in Chinese and found a gypsy cab.

Another 50 yuan later, and we are at our destination. AND bought tickets to Weifang. I was honestly elated! The stress associated with the previous 12 hours was enough to make me feel like I had been away from home, and from Greg forever. I could not wait to get back, to introduce the guys to Weifang and get away from Beijing.

After a 4-5 hour train ride, we arrived.

More on Ryan, Derek and Dan’s visit to come.

Merry Christmarrrsss Part 3: Christmas with Grenica!

Christmas in China turned out to be quite successful, and less stressful than I had initially anticipated.

Greg and I started the day in a Christmas spirit stupor! Despite being on the other side of the world my affection for the holiday did not waver. We exchanged gifts. I skped with my family, and it was down to business. As quickly as I could I tried to tidy the apartment that Greg and I worked hard to clean the day before, get ready for our many guests, and start to cook!

Lizzie and Seth came over early in the afternoon to help with everything. We exchanged gifts and stocking stuffers. I was getting excited for Christmas dinner and our new friends who would be joining us to arrive, but, was still nervous as shit that I would screw up the cooking. I’ve never made dinner for this many people, Christmas dinner no less. Greg, Seth, Lizzie and I worked as a well oiled machine, and I think it all turned all pretty fricken great. I ended up making: a pot roast, butter chicken, shrimp/pork/broccoli curry, mashed potatoes (which were a group effort between Greg, Lizzie and I), salad (made by Greg), rice, and a stew thing with beef and carrots (it was originally supposed to be gravy but I messed it up a bit and made a last minute decision), Lizzie also made brownies that we forgot to eat at dinner… but I wasn’t complaining. The four of us ate them when everyone left, and they were damn good!

Our friends started to show up around 5:30. Slos and Maymay, Rita and Hyde, Jerry, Gangzai, Kamen and his girlfriend whose name I don’t know. The majority of them said they absolutely loved the food and were so gratuitous!! It made me feel so great (even if they were lying). Jerry walked in like he owned the place, so excited to be there. He brought us bottles of wine and champagne, and Angry Bird piggy banks for gifts. Slos, Maymay, Rita and Hyde kept telling us how amazing they thought everything was and how much they appreciated the four of us and how we invited them over. Though, really, it was our treat.

They brought tequila, and so the girls did a Christmas shot (or two). Our friends had to leave to go to work (at SoHo). And, while Seth, Lizzie and I were pretty much ready to go, Greg needed a little convincing. Maymay and Hyde made it their mission to get Greg out.

SoHo on Christmas. Weird. Not traditional at all. But, it ended up being one of the best night I think I’ve had there.

All in all, Christmas in China was great. It was no Ottawa Christmas with the Bansie’s, but it was a pretty swell substitute I’d say.