Big Trouble in Little China

DAY 6

 Well today may have been our most relaxing day yet, and it also may have quite possibly been my favorite day so.  First off we didn’t have to use the sun rising as a back up alarm clock and were able to sleep in a little bit,  so right from the start I knew it was going to be a good day.  And right I was, because they day only got better from there.  With out wasting any time after breakfast, we loaded up our bus and headed to the airport for our flight to Shanghai.  This experience for me was very similar to what I described yesterday, with the addition of what I could only call “China’s Funniest Home Videos” as the in-flight entertainment.  And since I’ve already talked about what it’s like to fly domestically in China, I won’t bore you by repeating myself. And since I’ve already talked about what it’s like to fly domestically in China, I won’t bore you by repeating myself.  Instead I will tell you one of my favorite anecdotes from the trip.

 As I mentioned in another post it seems that at every tourist location we go to there are vendors that bombard you trying to sell you anything from a fake Rolex to a book of postcards. And much like in the states, the vendors commonly use the Billy Mayes approach of selling two for the price of one to reel in their customer.  So far my best stand off with a vendor is getting him to go from 1 book of ten postcards for a dollar to four books of post cards for a dollar. I have to assume I won on that, but then again I don’t really need forty postcards to send home so maybe it was lose-lose. I guess I could have taken the approach of one person in our group who was desperately looking to buy a particular Chinese toy one person was selling.  But as any good shopper knows you can’t look desperate, so the student (who I won’t name but can only say it wasn’t me) went steadfast up to the vendor and began to negotiate in a conversation that went something like this:

            Vendor: One for 30.

            Student:  No that’s not a good deal; I want one for a better price than that.

Vendor (trying to unload the toy he probably paid 50 cents for): Okay, two for 20.

Student (trying to negotiate a deal better than the original): No, I don’t want two give me one for 20 or I’m walking.

To say the vendor was in shock would be an understatement, but luckily the student realized their mistake before the vendor jumped on the opportunity.  Unfortunately a deal was never made between the student and the vendor, but fortunately they only had to wait mere minutes before another vendor came up selling the same thing for a cheaper price.

            And so that brings me to the rest of our day.  We arrived in Xi’an slightly before dinner time, which gave us just enough time to settle in our hotel before we headed off to dinner.  Our hotel is very nice (funny side story relating to last night’s post: we did get a room upgrade, but when we opened our mouths about it the hotel realized it made a mistake and we were bumped back to a regular room), and the nicest part is its location near West Lake.  West Lake is a beautiful scenic lake that I’m told is actually more beautiful in the morning when people come to do tai chi, exercise, and socialize.  It is almost surreal that there is such a peaceful lake in the middle of this busy city.  I am definitely going to wake up early to try and learn some tai chi, and so I guess that’s it for today.  I have a very busy day of meeting Chinese college students, and now have just added to it by deciding to wake up for sunrise at West Lake.  Wish me luck.

wǎn ān,

Kevin

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The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

This place had Pork Dumplings, Chicken Dumplings, Fried Dumplings, Apple Dumpling Gangs, any kind of Dumpling you would like.

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Day 5

Well we just spent our first (and last) day in Xi’an, and quite possibly it was my favorite day of the trip so far.  Today we got up early so that we could take a flight from Beijing to Xi’an and still be able to have a full day in Xi’an.  How early did we get up?  Well so early that it was before the start of the hotel’s continental breakfast.  And you know you got up early if you’re awake before the sun is up in china, the first place the sunrises in the world.  Flying domestically within China has actually been quite an experience, because there are subtle differences between US airplanes and Chinese flights.  For example in the US you are lucky to get a cup of soda and a pack of peanuts on a short flight, but here in China on our less than an hour flight we not only got a drink but also a hot meal.  And the other big difference I noticed between Chinese and US flights is the service.  The flight attendants were super friendly and the TSA agents (or whatever the Chinese equivalent is) were beyond helpful. After walking through the metal detector, the employees went just short of repacking my carryon and putting my shoes, sweatshirts and jackets back on (that’s not a typo, the checked luggage weight limit on Chinese domestic flights is about 12 pounds lighter than the US, so to make room in my bag I wore layers on the plane). I have to assume it was to encourage tourism into China but if this kind of the hospitality is the norm, I’m all for it. I cannot remember the last time I was treated that kindly in an airport.

            After landing in Xi’an we immediately went to a museum about the Terracotta Warriors.  Considered to be one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20^th century (just slightly behind Dr. Jones discovery of the Lost Ark and Holy Grail), The Terracotta Warriors were constructer in the 3rd century BC by the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty: Qin Shi Huang.  The emperor built the army with the belief that these warriors were supposed to protect him in the afterlife. Although they have not been completely excavated, it is believed that there could be over 10,000 different man sized statues buried under ground. The most important thing I learned at this museum is that these were statues and not sarcophaguses, as that information made the next part of our trip much less creepy.  Maybe I’ve seen the Sesame Street where Bert and Ernie visit a pyramid too many times, but I don’t think I could have walked amongst these things if I continued to think there were corpses inside. But that is a moot point now, because after the museum we took a short bus ride to the actual location of the Terracotta warriors, where we were able to stand within throwing distance of these marvelous artifacts.  Seeing these statues in person is just jaw dropping.  If I had to suggest one place in China to see: it would be the Great Wall.  But if I had to suggest two places in China to see: it would be the Great Wall and the Terracotta Warriors.  Much like with snowflakes, no two terracotta warriors are alike. Although, like with snowflakes, I think that’s just an educated guess.  Either way, seeing these statues in person is quite a thrill and just another thing I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

            In between the museum and the excavation site, we took a quick detour for lunch.  Normally on this trip I have passed on lunch, as our breakfast portions have been big enough to appease a dragon, but today I decided to partake in lunch as it was a special sixteen course dumpling sampling.  Now I know what you’re thinking, “How can there be 16 different kinds of dumplings”?  Well I’m not really sure about everything I ate (I was too hungry to take notes), but I know it included beef, chicken, pork, walnut  (yes walnut), duck, vegetables, amongst their many other varieties.  Besides each dumpling having a unique taste, a lot of them had a unique shape.  My favorite was the duck shaped duck filled dumpling.  You may not be able to tell from the pictures but the display case featured dumplings shaped like rabbits, flowers, and other interesting shapes.  Much was discussed at lunch of how a theme family restaurant (like Chili’s) serving a Dumpling sampling would make a killing in the US.   You heard it here first folks so I want credit when” YUMplings” becomes the next Olive Garden.  

            And while I realize I have gone out of order, this brings us to the end of the day.  I’m not sure if we won a contest for an upgrade or just got lucky in booking our rooms, but tonight’s hotel room is 10 times nicer than our one in Beijing.  It’s a shame we are only here for one night, but hopefully this is a pattern and our next hotel room will be even bigger, and by the time we’re in Shanghai they’ll be giving us the Rain Man suite.  But something tells me it’s all downhill from here. And so that’s it for today as I plan on calling it an early night and thoroughly enjoying my luxury bed.  Up next tomorrow: A day of travel featuring a flight to Shanghai and a bus trip to Hangzhou, with a little site seeing springled in the mix.

wǎn ān,

Kevin

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The Non-Primate 8th Wonder Of The World

Kung Fu Panda

THIS SENTENCE IS ONLY A PUN IF YOU READ THE TEXT BEFORE PEKING AT THE PICTURES.

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Day 4

Well it’s the third full day in Beijing, and quite honestly it was my favorite day so far. Today was the first day we were allowed to break away from the group, as the Education majors were on a side tour to visit a local elementary school.   So the rest of us in the Media and Film department decided to visit the part of Beijing that I can best compare to time square in New York. It is probably three or four blocks of outlet and department stores that features clothing that doesn’t go bigger than a medium and shoes that don’t go past 8 ½.  Other than the fabulous deals, the most notable part of the area is that it is closed off to vehicular traffic.  Unfortunately, that is all I remember as the rest of the morning in the area is just a blur, starting with me accidently wandering into a Nike Store and getting  stuck in a labyrinth of connected stores where every exit led to the entrance of another store, and finishing with me trying to be lured into a “student art show”.  But all things considered this was a pretty interesting part of the trip as I experienced the local lifestyle instead of the typical tourist location.

                From “Time Square” we decided to be adventurous and ride the Beijing subway.  They wouldn’t take our Metro cards, but other than that the ride was pretty similar to New York City transit, except for being 100 times more crowded.  We went during a non-rush hour time but it still was shoulder to shoulder.  The other thing of interest was how smooth the ride was.  It could have been a mechanical difference, but my theory was that in America our tracks are curved and aren’t just in a straight line, while in Beijing the tracks are set up more like an underground monorail, with all the stops set up in a relatively straight line.  This experience was neat, because before I left the states, I learned about the underground tunnels and walk ways in Beijing. I learned that not many westerners know about them, so it was pretty cool to actually experience them first hand.

                I guess you could say that we were on the panda express, because we got off the train and immediately headed over to the Beijing Zoo.  Words can’t describe how adorable these pandas were, so below I’ve attached a slide show of some of the pictures.  I didn’t really see the non-panda part of the zoo, because the other animals reminded me of the Pop Corn Park Zoo, and just paled in comparison to how cute the pandas were.  My personal favorite was the one that climbed up to the top of a tree.  My least favorite was the one that was on lunch break and wouldn’t give us the time of the day.

                After the zoo, we took a short bus ride to the Temple of Heaven.  Two days ago, I thought the biggest place I would ever see was the grounds of the Forbidden City, and then today I learned that the Temple of Heaven was four times as big as the Forbidden City.  One of the coolest parts of the whole place was its design and how it used sound.   There was a spot called the whispering wall, where you could say something at one wall and someone hundreds of feet away could hear it.  I don’t know if they designed it for that purpose or if it was just a positive side effect, but either way it was pretty cool.  Also there was a certain place that if you stood in one spot and clapped it would echo once, and if you stood one step to the right and clapped it would echo twice, and one more step it would echo three times.  It was too crowded while I was there to try it, but after the place closed one of the students went missing (don’t worry we found her) and someone in the search party tried it and said the echo was quite noticeable.  But for me, the nicest part about the Temple of Heaven, was the air quality. There were many cypress trees on the premise and so compared to the rest of the city, the temple of heaven was a breath of fresh air.

                The last thing we did today was try an authentic Peking Duck meal.  The nice part of the restaurant we went to, aside from being “famous for Peking Duck” (although I have a feeling that is the Beijing equivalent to “World’s Best Coffee”) was how they carved the duck right in front of you.  Not only that, but they also taught you a little tutorial on the correct way to eat it.  I found this dinner to be delicious, and because dinner was the show, very entertaining.  I don’t know if they do Peking Duck meals like this in the states, but I would definitely recommend trying this back home.

                Well that’s it for today, and sadly that’s it for Beijing, as today was our final day in the city.  But there’s no time to sulk on this trip as we get up bright and early tomorrow for a short flight to Xi’an. I’m pretty excited, because up next:  Terra cotta warriors and a dumpling feast.

wǎn ān,

Kevin

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WHAT DO PANDAS EAT FOR LUNCH? 

YEAH THEY EAT BAMBOO.

Empire of the Sun

GOODNESS GREATNESS GREAT WALL OF CHINA

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DAY 3-

Well its day three, and quite honestly, it was my favorite day so far.  After a full day of walking around the 68,000 mile Beijing, our tour guide Daniel let us sleep in until 5:30.  So we had that going for us, which was nice. But it was all in our best interest as we had to get an early start on THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA (Badaling edition).  The best way to describe the initial impact of seeing The Great Wall is to quote Richard Nixon about the wall, “It really is great”.   The thing that about The Great Wall that you really can’t sense from seeing National Geographic pictures is how difficult it is to walk along.  It is very uneven terrain slanting left and right and any given notice, and at some points along the wall, it seems as if it is a vertical climb.  But once you get to the higher points of the wall, the view makes you forget all the hard work it was…but then again once you get back to the hotel the sore legs make you remember.  What set The Great Wall apart from the rest of the places we visited so far, is how much it still feels like when it was first built.  Even though the section we walked had been repaired recently, and you were surrounded by thousands of tourists, it still looked and felt like you were walking around in the Ming Dynasty. 

                While we were at The Great Wall, I began to notice that several locals were taking pictures of our group.  I must look like Michael Phelps or something, because every ten minutes some comes up and tries to take a picture with me or slyly use the camera phone when they think I’m not looking.  Tour guide Daniel said that for them, seeing an American was a big deal and so they like to take a picture of us to show their friends and family.  He said that it’s like a little child taking a picture with the President, and then hanging the picture up and using it as motivation to study hard. I have no problem with this, because it makes you feel like a rock star as you travel throughout the country. 

                After The Wall we took a break from our busy schedule for a lovely tea ceremony.  At the tea ceremony we not only learned how to make and prepare tea, but we also learned which kind of tea was drank for what purpose.  This stop of the tour was not only educational but also delicious.

                From the tea ceremony we went to a very exciting part of our tour, a ride in an authentic rickshaw.  Our rickshaw ride was through and around the glorious Huntong part of Beijing.  This was very exciting as it wasn’t your typical tourist destination.  It really felt like we were amongst the locals, right amongst their everyday lives.  The most fascinating part was when we stopped and toured an actual person’s house interrupting their everyday life.  While this was interesting and beneficial from an educational standpoint t, it was also very weird and voyeuristic learning about a stranger’s culture while sitting in their kitchen.

                And finally at the end of our day, we went to another family style restaurant.  I didn’t explain what I meant by this in the last post, so I guess I’ll take the time to do that here.  In the center of the table is a round lazy Susan like contraption in which the food is placed.  One at a time the waitresses  bring out a dish and place it on the lazy Susan, then once the food spins it’s way around to in front of you, you serve yourself and put a portion on your plate.   Then you spin it, to get to the next dish.  Quite honestly I wouldn’t mind eating all my meals like this, because it has all the elements of an American buffet, which I like, without all the walking.  So far all of our dinners have been this way, so I have to believe this is a common Chinese practice, either that or they want the tourists to believe it is.

wǎn ān,

Kevin

Enter The Dragon

HOW MANY PICTURES OF A RED WALL GOLD ROOF BUILDING CAN YOU HAVE? 

NOT ENOUGH AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED

Day 2

Well today was our first full day in Beijing, and too be honest it was probably one of my favorite so far.  We woke up bright and early, and after a delicious breakfast of east meets west cuisine (waffles, noodles, pottato wedges and kiwi juice) we imediately set sail for our first destination of the day, Tiananmen square.

Built by the Ming Dynasty in 1417, Tieneman Square acts as the front door to the Forbidden City.  It is also were large ceremonies and gatherings are held for the people (like when a new emperor is named).  My best description of what it's like to walk through Tiananmen Square today is that it is like walking through a concert parking lot that takes place next to a historic monument.  Vendors come up to you every six feet trying to sell you a t-shirt or postcards out of their backpack, and if you stop too long to look at something they swarm at you like a grist of bees.  But I will say, if I learned anything from watching these vendors haggle prices, I learned the greatest scam in the world. When you pay for something to them it is in Yuan,  and when they give you change for what you bought it is conterfeit yuan.  But to a tourist the money looks exactly the same, so you don't even question it. Unfortunately a few members of our group fell victim to this, as our tour guide warned us before it was too late.

From their we went to the Forbidden City and walked through a palace that seemed like it was one hundred quare miles.  The most interesting thing I found about the palace was that it was entirely made of wood.  Mid way through our tour, I realized that no matter where on the premise I stood, every picture I took of the buildings looked exactly the same.  But then again you can never have too many picture of a red walls gold roof building.

After the forbidden city we went to a pearl factory, where we learned all about pearl jewlery.  After not buying any thing there for friends and family (wink wink), I then had a fascinating conversation with their employees about their love of Yao Ming, Yi Jialian, Kobe Bryant, and all things NBA in general. Nothing against the emperor, but this probably was my favorite part of the day.

From there we visited the summer palace, which is home to the worlds longest corridor.  Not really sure what the purpose of a corridor, but I'm guessing its to make your guests walk in a straight line for a long distance while staring at the same pattern on the ceiling.  It was very breezy in the corridor, when compared with the rest of the premise, so I guess in the summer the palace would be a very relaxing place for an emperor (but to be fair It seems like the emperor's entire life is one big vacation. Also on the premise was the "Marble Boat". Now I know what your thinking: A marble boat, how does it float?. Well in fact, it doesn't. It is actually just a statue in the shape of a boat in the water.  But Tour Guide Daniel pointed it out, so I figured it was worth mentioning. 

After the summer palace we took a quick detour to the olympic venues The Bird's Nest and The Water Cube. I spent most of my time filming my section of the class travel film, so I did not get to explore too much, but it was still amazing to look at.  I learned that for a small fee you can actually swim in the Water Cube, "Just like Michael Phelps!" (the locals say that frequently when trying to hype up an activity or tourist attraction.    Hopefully well have enough time later in the trip to be like Mike, but alas not today.

Shortly following the olympic plaza, we went out to dinner and then took our chances at Beijing night life.  The area we went to reminded me of Myrtle Beach in it's set up, but what was really unique about it was it's variety.  Most places had live music, that was either American songs, or Chinese songs, or American songs sung in Chinese.  My personal favorite was the chinese dance version of "The Sound of Silence".  It really made you want to hit the dance floor, while also contemplate the societal view of a lack of communication.

And lastly, to get back from the club area we were at we had to ride in a taxi.  And quite honestly, I don't think you can truly value your life until you ride in a Beijing taxi. It's like they beleive that cars were in the city first, and that pedestrians and bicyclists are invading their habitat.  I haven't seen any accidents in the city yet, so I guess their must be some sort of organized chaos to it that I don't see.  I'm sure it won't be my last cab ride ever, but while in that car I frequently wondered if it would be my last day alive. 

Well that was it for today. Up tomorrow: the Great Wall, a Rickshaw Ride, and a lovely Tea Party.

wǎn ān,

Kevin

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AFTER SEEING THIS SIGN, WE NEW WE WERE IN THE WRONG PLACE AND IMEDIATELY LEFT

High Road To China

JUDGING FROM OUR FLIGHT PLAN, APPARENTLY THE SHORTEST DISTANCE BETWEEN TWO POINTS IS NOT A STRAIGHT LINE.

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Day 1

Well we just flew into Beijing, and boy are my arms tired. Actually, it wasn't too bad of a flight.  We left Kean University at aprox. 5:15 Thursday morning, flew out of Laguardia at 9:30 A.M., and after a brief lay over in Washington D.C., we arrived in Beijing China at 2:45ish P.M. Friday afternoon. But if you realy would like to know what it feels like to fly to China, then try this for a comparison: Sit in a chair and stare at this blog for the next fifteen hours, then have someone bump into you every twenty minutes on their way to the bathroom. Throw in 3 meals and a snack and you pretty much have the jist of it. 

Even before we got off the plane we had arrived at a historic landmark, as Beijing International Airport is the largest in the world (according to our tour guide Daniel, who hasn't lied to me yet).  From there, we went straight to our rooms at the Dongfang Hotel, which has sections that are over one hundred years old (that may not seem that signifigant of an accomplishment compared to the 1000 year old trees and several thousand year old temples in Beijing, but the city is undergoing massive renovations and so this hotel is considered to have been here a "long time").

Then, imediately after checking in, we went to a local restaraunt for a family style Chinese meal.  The food was delicious, and I have accomplished goal number one: succesfully using chopsticks.  Next on the list is adjusting to the 12 hour time difference.  So on that note I think I'll call it a day, and try to sleep off the jet lag. On schedule for tomorrow: Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace.

wǎn ān,

Kevin Lutz

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I MADE THIS GOAL NUMBER ONE, BECAUSE I FIGURED IT WOULD BE A PRETTY LONG WEEK IF I DIDN'T LEARN HOW TO EAT.