Thursday, October 31, 2013
Sunday, October 20, 2013
We survived our first month...kind of...
We've passed the one month mark China. Here's a quick outline of where we've been to date and some photo highlights...including Brian getting his anti-rabies shot thanks to a monkey. We'd share a pic of the bite, but the monkey got him where the sun doesn't shine and I actually want y'all to keep reading!
We just got to Chongqing today (10/20) where we'll get round 2 of Brian's post-monkey bite shots ... And hopefully have some other adventures, too!!
Where we've been:
1. Nanjing
2. Xi'an
3. Linxia & Bing Ling Si
4. Dahejia
5. Xiahe
6. Langmusi
7. Jiuzhaigou
8. Songpan
9. Chengdu
10. Emei Shan
11. Leshan
12. Zigong
What our adventures in some of these places look like:
Two weeks in and we were dressing the same. On accident.
A Tibetan woman spinning prayer wheels at Labrang Monastery in Xiahe.
The view during a bus ride. Not bad, eh?
Hiking in Langmusi.
Yes, the water is really this color! Jiuzhaigou National Park is unreal.
You aren't cool in Chengdu unless you get your ears cleaned while chilling in a tea house.
Brian and our hero, David Ma, who served as our interpreter at the clinic in Emei Shan. Coincidence that Brian was born in the year of the monkey and gets bit by one?
Even the world's biggest Buddha (in Leshan) needs some love.
Despite everything we've seen and done, Brian was ecstatic about visiting the salt well in Zigong. Here he's giving me a history lecture about the importance of salt.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Stopping to smell the roses (or the Chinese countryside)
Brian and I had planned to spend a few days in Lanzhou and to take some day trips from there, but then we met Eugene.
We had boarded the sleeper train and were laughing at our adorable bunkmate (she was a couple months old and trying to stand up on the pillows) when we heard southern accents. Not only were the only other white people on the train in the berth next to ours, but two from the small group - Jerry and Lehman - were from Virginia! Talk about a small world.
Within minutes of introducing himself to the Virginians, Brian met the group's leader, Lehman's son Eugene. Eugene has lived in China for the last ten years. In addition to being fluent in Chinese, he knows the nuances of the area very well. So well, in fact, that he contributed to the Lonely Planet's guidebook for China (we highly recommend Lonely Planet guidebooks, by the way!). As Brian told him our travel plans for the next few days, Eugene pointed out that it would be cheaper and easier to use his town, Linxia, as a base for our day trips. He also suggested that we visit Dahejia, home to one of China's ethnic minorities - the Bao'ans - and situated in between beautiful red cliffs and the Yellow River.
Before I go any further, let me explain what I mean when I say Brian and I planned to stay in Lanzhou. We had a train ticket there and that was it. No hotel reservations, no booked trips, etc. While traveling this way requires a lot of patience when we first arrive somewhere (especially when you've been on the road for hours), it also affords us the flexibility to change our plans at a moment's notice. And that makes it all worth it in the end.
We nixed staying in Lanzhou and joined Eugene's caravan to Linxia. The two hour ride there was stunning. The road wound up and down burnt orange mountains and through valleys of terraced farms. We also got our first glimpse of Muslim China as we passed several mosques along the way. Before that drive, I was fairly ignorant about China's Muslim population.
Tuesday, October 1 we left Linxia for Dahejia. Again, another amazing ride. This time, we saw snow covered mountains. Not as vast as our beloved Rockies, but breathtaking nonetheless. As we climbed out of the microbus onto the main street in Dahejia (there were four paved roads in the town of 4,500) , it was pretty clear we were on the road less traveled. Brian's blue eyes, my uncovered head with blondish hair, and both of our skin tones elicited open-mouthed stares and we almost caused an accident or two as people swerved their scooters when they turned to look at us again.
After getting some noodle soup for lunch, I went to our hotel to drop off my jacket. When I walked back outside 2 minutes later, Brian had already made friends and got invited to join in on tea with a group of ladies. It was quite a sight - all these petite Muslim women sipping tea and knitting and Brian sitting there with his knees up to his chest and a little cup in hand.
Although only one of them spoke some English and we only know four words in Chinese, we spent a good hour drinking tea, chewing seeds, taking pictures, teaching phrases, and just laughing. Their kindness and hospitality is something I will not soon forget.
We spent the next day and a half just enjoying the countryside and the company (naturally we joined our new friends for another spot of tea). We hiked through the meadow alongside the Yellow River and also got to see the handmade knives for which the area is famous. After being in massive cities, it so was refreshing to almost get run over by sheep instead of scooters, to see cornfields in place of buildings, and to have silence replace the city's nightly cacophony.
While we are just a few weeks into our adventure, I have no doubts that Dahejia will be one of the highlights. So, the moral of the story - stop to smell the roses, whatever your "roses" may be.
Muslim China:
We had boarded the sleeper train and were laughing at our adorable bunkmate (she was a couple months old and trying to stand up on the pillows) when we heard southern accents. Not only were the only other white people on the train in the berth next to ours, but two from the small group - Jerry and Lehman - were from Virginia! Talk about a small world.
Within minutes of introducing himself to the Virginians, Brian met the group's leader, Lehman's son Eugene. Eugene has lived in China for the last ten years. In addition to being fluent in Chinese, he knows the nuances of the area very well. So well, in fact, that he contributed to the Lonely Planet's guidebook for China (we highly recommend Lonely Planet guidebooks, by the way!). As Brian told him our travel plans for the next few days, Eugene pointed out that it would be cheaper and easier to use his town, Linxia, as a base for our day trips. He also suggested that we visit Dahejia, home to one of China's ethnic minorities - the Bao'ans - and situated in between beautiful red cliffs and the Yellow River.
Before I go any further, let me explain what I mean when I say Brian and I planned to stay in Lanzhou. We had a train ticket there and that was it. No hotel reservations, no booked trips, etc. While traveling this way requires a lot of patience when we first arrive somewhere (especially when you've been on the road for hours), it also affords us the flexibility to change our plans at a moment's notice. And that makes it all worth it in the end.
We nixed staying in Lanzhou and joined Eugene's caravan to Linxia. The two hour ride there was stunning. The road wound up and down burnt orange mountains and through valleys of terraced farms. We also got our first glimpse of Muslim China as we passed several mosques along the way. Before that drive, I was fairly ignorant about China's Muslim population.
Tuesday, October 1 we left Linxia for Dahejia. Again, another amazing ride. This time, we saw snow covered mountains. Not as vast as our beloved Rockies, but breathtaking nonetheless. As we climbed out of the microbus onto the main street in Dahejia (there were four paved roads in the town of 4,500) , it was pretty clear we were on the road less traveled. Brian's blue eyes, my uncovered head with blondish hair, and both of our skin tones elicited open-mouthed stares and we almost caused an accident or two as people swerved their scooters when they turned to look at us again.
After getting some noodle soup for lunch, I went to our hotel to drop off my jacket. When I walked back outside 2 minutes later, Brian had already made friends and got invited to join in on tea with a group of ladies. It was quite a sight - all these petite Muslim women sipping tea and knitting and Brian sitting there with his knees up to his chest and a little cup in hand.
Although only one of them spoke some English and we only know four words in Chinese, we spent a good hour drinking tea, chewing seeds, taking pictures, teaching phrases, and just laughing. Their kindness and hospitality is something I will not soon forget.
We spent the next day and a half just enjoying the countryside and the company (naturally we joined our new friends for another spot of tea). We hiked through the meadow alongside the Yellow River and also got to see the handmade knives for which the area is famous. After being in massive cities, it so was refreshing to almost get run over by sheep instead of scooters, to see cornfields in place of buildings, and to have silence replace the city's nightly cacophony.
While we are just a few weeks into our adventure, I have no doubts that Dahejia will be one of the highlights. So, the moral of the story - stop to smell the roses, whatever your "roses" may be.
Muslim China:
Brian enjoying tea with the ladies:
Sharing the road with some sheep:
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Our first ten days in China
Hello again!
Here's what we've been up to this past week and a half when not working on our chopstick skills (i.e., eating).
We arrived in Shanghai and traveled on the world's fastest trains to Nanjing, where Brian's friend from high school now lives. Andrew and his family helped us get our bearings and took us to Purple Mountain and Confucius' temple.
When the Crooks' went back to work and school, Brian and I tried our hand at navigating the city. Nanjing is where the Nanking Massacre occurred during WWII. It was a horrendous event during which Japanese soldiers brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of citizens. There's an amazing memorial/museum honoring the victims, survivors, and allies on the site where 10,000 victims were "buried." We spent several hours there and then went to Ming Xiaoling's tomb that afternoon, which was surrounded by beautiful gardens and statues. He was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty and the only Ming emperor buried outside of Beijing.
Next, we took the overnight train to Xi'an. (Thank goodness for www.seat61.com. I took a picture on my phone of a sample ticket on the site and pointed out what we wanted since the customer service rep didn't speak any English and we don't speak any Chinese.) Xi'an is China's oldest city and just a short bus ride from the Terracotta Warriors. Each figure represents an actual warrior and archaeologists believe it took three years to complete each likeness. There are thousands of warriors, so it should come as no surprise that it took forty years to complete the Terracotta Army for Win Shi Huang's mausoleum.
From Xi'an we took a quick trip to Hua Shan, home to one of China's five sacred mountains. Before we got to the trail we had to walk through a group of about 40 women doing their morning exercises (sort of resembled prancersizing) and a Daoist/Taoist monastery! The mountain's white stones combined with the fog made the three hour climb the most peaceful hike I've ever done. It was incredible to actually see the clouds below us once we reached the top. Brian also became a local hero when he climbed down into a dry river bed to retrieve a girl's cell phone. As a thank you, she and her friends serenaded us with songs in Chinese.
And now we're back in Xi'an and getting ready to depart for Lanzhou. As soon as I can figure out how to get pictures off my camera and onto my kindle or phone, I'll make a photo album. We warned you that we're technologically challenged!!
Here's what we've been up to this past week and a half when not working on our chopstick skills (i.e., eating).
We arrived in Shanghai and traveled on the world's fastest trains to Nanjing, where Brian's friend from high school now lives. Andrew and his family helped us get our bearings and took us to Purple Mountain and Confucius' temple.
When the Crooks' went back to work and school, Brian and I tried our hand at navigating the city. Nanjing is where the Nanking Massacre occurred during WWII. It was a horrendous event during which Japanese soldiers brutally murdered hundreds of thousands of citizens. There's an amazing memorial/museum honoring the victims, survivors, and allies on the site where 10,000 victims were "buried." We spent several hours there and then went to Ming Xiaoling's tomb that afternoon, which was surrounded by beautiful gardens and statues. He was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty and the only Ming emperor buried outside of Beijing.
Next, we took the overnight train to Xi'an. (Thank goodness for www.seat61.com. I took a picture on my phone of a sample ticket on the site and pointed out what we wanted since the customer service rep didn't speak any English and we don't speak any Chinese.) Xi'an is China's oldest city and just a short bus ride from the Terracotta Warriors. Each figure represents an actual warrior and archaeologists believe it took three years to complete each likeness. There are thousands of warriors, so it should come as no surprise that it took forty years to complete the Terracotta Army for Win Shi Huang's mausoleum.
From Xi'an we took a quick trip to Hua Shan, home to one of China's five sacred mountains. Before we got to the trail we had to walk through a group of about 40 women doing their morning exercises (sort of resembled prancersizing) and a Daoist/Taoist monastery! The mountain's white stones combined with the fog made the three hour climb the most peaceful hike I've ever done. It was incredible to actually see the clouds below us once we reached the top. Brian also became a local hero when he climbed down into a dry river bed to retrieve a girl's cell phone. As a thank you, she and her friends serenaded us with songs in Chinese.
And now we're back in Xi'an and getting ready to depart for Lanzhou. As soon as I can figure out how to get pictures off my camera and onto my kindle or phone, I'll make a photo album. We warned you that we're technologically challenged!!
Ni hao!
Yep, we learned to say hello in Chinese. We've also gotten pretty good
at saying thank you (xie xie... it's A LOT harder than it looks).
China's been a great host (more to come), but there are some things about the world's most populous country that we're still not use to yet.
1. LIMITED INTERNET ACCESS. So, our website is blocked from China (hence why you haven't heard from us in almost two weeks). And we can't log on Facebook either. Should've done a little more research before we left. Oops. A huge thanks to my bro who's helping us out.
2. INTERPRETING ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS. Thankfully, a lot of signs are in both English and Chinese. However, the translations aren't always colloquial, so it can take us a moment (or two...or three) to understand things. Case in point:
3. LOOKING BOTH WAYS 10 TIMES BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET. Traffic patterns here are nothing like we've seen anywhere and scooters dominate the sidewalks. Imagine being in a live game of Frogger. We've had a couple close calls, but the fact that we don't blend in with everyone and people slow down to stare at us has probably saved our lives.
We'll post more about what we've actually been up to, but for now - bye! (We don't know how to say goodbye in Chinese yet.)
China's been a great host (more to come), but there are some things about the world's most populous country that we're still not use to yet.
1. LIMITED INTERNET ACCESS. So, our website is blocked from China (hence why you haven't heard from us in almost two weeks). And we can't log on Facebook either. Should've done a little more research before we left. Oops. A huge thanks to my bro who's helping us out.
2. INTERPRETING ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS. Thankfully, a lot of signs are in both English and Chinese. However, the translations aren't always colloquial, so it can take us a moment (or two...or three) to understand things. Case in point:
3. LOOKING BOTH WAYS 10 TIMES BEFORE CROSSING THE STREET. Traffic patterns here are nothing like we've seen anywhere and scooters dominate the sidewalks. Imagine being in a live game of Frogger. We've had a couple close calls, but the fact that we don't blend in with everyone and people slow down to stare at us has probably saved our lives.
We'll post more about what we've actually been up to, but for now - bye! (We don't know how to say goodbye in Chinese yet.)
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