real china

well i know i promised to let everyone know that i got to beijing safely, but from the very moment i got there there was literally no time to do anything but sightsee, eat, and sleep (not much at that), so i apologize. in any case, beijing was not at all what i expected. i guess what i had expected was a city somewhat resembling tokyo; modern, clean, cosmopolitan, etc. while beijing is definitely quickly modernizing and developing (as evidenced by the great number of cranes all over the city), it is far from being anything like tokyo. i am not saying that this is all bad, however, as it would be a great shame to see all of the traditional neighborhoods and buildings disappear. because of the olympics, these neighborhoods are being replaced by large, sterile apartment buildings which is making the city lose its character very quickly.

the first thing that anybody will notice when arriving in beijing in july is the intense humidity. now this isn't any humidity i have ever felt and this is perhaps because of the fact that it is coupled with overwhelming pollution. the moment i stepped out of the airport i felt as if my skin was caked with a layer of sweat and dirt that could be peeled off layer-by-layer. even in the evening hours the air feel so thick that you can hardly breathe. this coupled with the fragrant smells of sewer and sweat so prevalent in china and you have a recipe for nausea.

our hotel was incredible to say the least. i would have to say that it is one of the nicest hotels i have ever been in. the shark tank in the lobby and the women dressed in geisha outfits made the whole thing kind of trashy touristy and disneyland-like, but that is what a lot of china feels like - random, kitschy, and not much unlike a theme park. breakfast the next morning proved the be my first test in adventure (see picture).


chicken and duck feet, spicy turnip, and beef noodles are not exactly my idea of a well-balanced breakfast. the rest of the day was spent hiking the great wall. now before i had seen the great wall, i had thought that it was just like any other normal wall - straight and flat. well, this is anything but what the wall is actually like. parts of the wall seem as if you are scaling a vertical cliff while being pushed and yelled at in chinese the whole way up. it was at this point that i realized just how many people live in china and their complete lack of value in personal space - not to mention that it seemed as if the entire country had decided to hike along with us. i ended the day sweaty, sunburned, with a total feeling of demoralization after having been scolded on multiple occasions by irate chinese women (angry about who the hell knows).


oh lunch was also interesting, as we ate in what can only be called a communist mess hall. it was a large room about the size of 3 gyms, consisted of many tables, and people shared food served in large metal pots being slopped onto metal dishes. if i could picture how people ate back in the day in soviet russia, this would have been it.

dinners in china are always a very interesting affair. during any dinner in which a host is hosting an esteemed guest(s), the custom is for the host to offer a toast to the guests. this does not consist, however, of just one toast as would suffice in the US. every dinner involves no less than 20-30 individual toasts in which the guests are to finish their glass of beer after each toast. well, after about 10 chugging sessions dinner becomes more of a debaucherous bacchanalian occasion than a dinner. i, of course, have no complaints about this, but it is one the elements of chinese culture that i find pleasantly humorous.

the second day in beijing was filled with trips to the summer palace, tian'men square, and the forbidden city. the summer palace is one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. situated within one of the largest and most populous cities in the world, this place has a massive lake and tranquil gardens that make you forget that you are in the middle of a city. tian'men square was an eerie place to visit as i could not forget what happened there in the past and yet i had to remind myself how far china has come since then. china is after all the future and something like tian'men square would hopefully never happen again. our tour guide, however, made it clear to us that he was not permitted to talk about the events at tian'men square when we asked him about it - progress takes time, i guess. the forbidden city was also very impressive. it spans for what seems forever, but is again so overwhelmed with tourists that it is difficult to see any of the interiors of the buildings. the architecture and art, however, make for a very beautiful setting.




immediately after visiting these various sites we were hurried to the train station in order to catch our 14 hour train to tongliao. 14 hours in a train may not sound that bad, but try 14 hours in a train without air conditioning, having to sleep in bunk beds stacked three high. needless to say, we got drunk with our boss going shot for shot with this nasty chinese liquor called "baijiu" made from sorghum. the night was spent in a perfect stupor despite the heat and odors. the next morning was not at all pleasant waking up at 4:30 sweaty, hungover, and smelling of a barnyard, but at least i slept well.


well that is it for now. i will post another blog perhaps tomorrow with some tales from tongliao. inner monglia is proving to be an adventure in itself. stories of bikes, "baijiu", and beef will come in the future. until then, ni hao and bai-bai . . .