Saturday, 29 September 2007
Wednesday, 26 September 2007
Chengdu...PANDAS
I'm in the province of Sichuan and in the city of Chengdu. At first, and I guess even now, and especially coming from beautiful Tibet, this place seems so dull with the constant smog or low cloud, and the miserable, expressionless faces. But, I guess like any city in China, you observe what's on the surface, because there is absolutely so much to see and then slowly you begin to dig a little deeper and find beauty in small amounts. As soon as I enetered Chengdu, I was bombarded with the images that we all see on TV. But it's never the same in reality. What you see here is much more intense becasue I guess on some level you're there watching it or being a part of it and here in china it is really important to be here otherwise all the detail would be lost in the big picture. Traffic for example, there are separate lanes for cars and those for bicycles and mopeds and all other such vehicles which have less than 4 wheels (because there is a huge variation of such vehicles, used to transport not just people but absolutely everything). However when it's time to cross an intersection, even ones with traffic lights, it's a sight in itself. Literally hundreds of bicycles and mopeds and pedestrians all gather at the pedestrain crossing side, long, long queues of cars wait on the 3 or 4 lanes and in the opposite direction it's the same. And so the light changes and everyone goes everywhere and you've got to cross at least a minimum of 6 lanes dodging bicycles loaded with all sorts, mopeds at full speed, and cars zooming by. It's an absolute skill and I must have crossed at least 10 of these intersections today and even then i don't think I have yet mastered the skill of crossing the road here in chengdu. But it's a crazy experience and after this you walk along the pavement an you pass restaurants where they have frogs and pigs ears in basins outside...what would you choose?.....or friends just pulling up a few bamboo chairs outside the shop and lunching on noodles in the middle of the pavement. Lunch time is a sight, everywhere you look, outside restaurants, on pavements, in shops, outside shops, everywhere...everyone stops and there is rice and noodles and little white bowls and chopsticks everywhere. Being a veggie, most of the time I don't even wanna think what they are eating, but the smells are delicious and lunch from the women selling the noodles on the street with some really hot sichuan style sauce, was just as delicious.
Today we also saw the PANDAS. We saw giant pandas, baby pandas, and red pandas and they were just adorable, so cute and cuddly. Wanted to hold one and take a picture with it but it cost 1000yuan and that sort of money could keep me going for a few more weeks in china if not buy me a panda so we settled for just looking at them and taking photos of them without us. It was nice though, a bit different...animals instead of landscapes. And then we walked all around Chengdu for hours, found a great indian restaurant and a traditional street which has now been turned into a tourist bazaar..but it was pretty anyway.
One more day in Chengdu and then to Yunnan and near Tibet and the mountains again.
Today we also saw the PANDAS. We saw giant pandas, baby pandas, and red pandas and they were just adorable, so cute and cuddly. Wanted to hold one and take a picture with it but it cost 1000yuan and that sort of money could keep me going for a few more weeks in china if not buy me a panda so we settled for just looking at them and taking photos of them without us. It was nice though, a bit different...animals instead of landscapes. And then we walked all around Chengdu for hours, found a great indian restaurant and a traditional street which has now been turned into a tourist bazaar..but it was pretty anyway.
One more day in Chengdu and then to Yunnan and near Tibet and the mountains again.
Tuesday, 25 September 2007
Back in China - Chengdu
I got a soft sleeper on the train this time, what luxury, even a TV with american movies, unfortunately all dubbed in Chinese. Anyway, arriving in Chengdu was just a huge shock. No more fresh air and clear blue skies, instead your eyes hurt because you cannot see clearly through the smog, it's constantly humid and occassionally raining and just plain depresssing. I have to wait day before I meet up with my spanish friend and since my Visa runs out in 2 days I thought I'd go get an extension. What a crazy day I had, but it just reminded me how much I can get done in a day. I got off the train at 8:30 in the morning, came to the hostel and left my bag, went to the bus station, took a 2 hour bus to Leshan and went to find the Entry and Exit office, waited for it to open, handed in my passport for a visa extension, went next door for a passport photo, went 2 doors down to pay the fee (location!location!location!) and then had to wait till 4p.m so I took another bus and then a boat ride to see the huge cliff Buddha of Leshan (Luzma, thought of you all the way), went back to pick up my passport, took the local bus to the bus station and got a bus back to chengdu, had a shower, finally after 3 days, ate dinner and booked our train tickets to the next destination....Kunming...near Tibet and in the mountais....all in a days' work. How did you guys spend your Monday?
Final days in Lhasa
In Lhasa we met up with Johnny again and along with Ingrid, me and the boys...all a big happy family now:) We went and ate a traditional chinese hot pot one night, spent another day just drinking coffee and writing postcards and recovering from alcohol with the local tibetans and then I went on one last adventure with the boys. We were told that we could not go to one of the oldest monasteries, Samye, without a permit, but we wanted to go there and see it. So we did. We were up, 5:30 in the morning, to take the local bus from Barkhor square. And the driver without any fuss took us on and drove us all the way to Samye without any mention of the magic word 'pemit'. Anyway, once again we had breathtaking landscapes all the way, this time huge sand dunes and beautiful turquoise rivers. At Samye we managed to catch the lunch time ceremony where all the monks gather in the main hall and chant and play the tibetan drums and horns and the atmosphere is just like being in another world. I could just have sat there for hours listening to the monks in the monastery and we did because we were able to stay at the monastery.
That afternoon we took a rough and very bumpy jeep ride up to the caves but instead of the meditational caves we found a nunnery and talked to the nuns there. We sat with the girls selling prayer flags, learnt a little tibetan, listened to their songs echo in the mountains and valley around us and learnt from them how to eat sunflower seeds properly.
Back at the monastery we sat on the roof, watching the sky filled with stars and making wishes at the shooting stars that crossed the sky every so often. Next day we were able to catch a ferry back and then a hitch a ride back to Lhasa. We could not take the bus back because this time it would stop at other monasteries where controls were tight and the drivers would not risk it.
I met the boys for one last dinner and wanted to cry when I said goodbye. It was so easy to travel with them. It's funny how when i'm travelling, and i guess it's the same for everyone, that a short amount of time spent with someone is so intense that it's very easy and quick to get attatched easily to people you only met a couple of days ago. We had so much fun with the boys and so many adventures and we spent so much time together, I really miss them.
After saying goodbye to Ingrid and then the boys, I went to the nunnery in Lhasa. I guess this was now the best time to spend in one place and theyhad mentioned before when I went with the boys that they would take me in and I could teach them english which they really were keen to learn. So I made my way there and spent 2 nights with them before the local police arrived and sent me back to the hostel. Once again I needed a permit! I guess it was time to leave Tibet and i was told that in no uncertain terms so i caught the first train I could find and am now back in China.
That afternoon we took a rough and very bumpy jeep ride up to the caves but instead of the meditational caves we found a nunnery and talked to the nuns there. We sat with the girls selling prayer flags, learnt a little tibetan, listened to their songs echo in the mountains and valley around us and learnt from them how to eat sunflower seeds properly.
Back at the monastery we sat on the roof, watching the sky filled with stars and making wishes at the shooting stars that crossed the sky every so often. Next day we were able to catch a ferry back and then a hitch a ride back to Lhasa. We could not take the bus back because this time it would stop at other monasteries where controls were tight and the drivers would not risk it.
I met the boys for one last dinner and wanted to cry when I said goodbye. It was so easy to travel with them. It's funny how when i'm travelling, and i guess it's the same for everyone, that a short amount of time spent with someone is so intense that it's very easy and quick to get attatched easily to people you only met a couple of days ago. We had so much fun with the boys and so many adventures and we spent so much time together, I really miss them.
After saying goodbye to Ingrid and then the boys, I went to the nunnery in Lhasa. I guess this was now the best time to spend in one place and theyhad mentioned before when I went with the boys that they would take me in and I could teach them english which they really were keen to learn. So I made my way there and spent 2 nights with them before the local police arrived and sent me back to the hostel. Once again I needed a permit! I guess it was time to leave Tibet and i was told that in no uncertain terms so i caught the first train I could find and am now back in China.
Back in Lhasa
Hey guys,
I have fallen so far behind on my blog, I don't even know where to start. So we managed to get to Everest Base Camp and back without a permit. It is still such a big deal for me. I think it was out highlighting moment in Tibet the minute we saw Everest in a cloudless, clear blue sky. Back in Shigatse, the boys wanted to try to see if they could get to Mt. Kailash next. Obviously too far to hitch in the limited time they had and talking to the local Tibetan guides at the FIT agency(Foreign and Independent travel), the reality of Tibet hit us once again. He talked about the anger and the frustration in his heart. How it was impossible for local Tibetans to show their own country off and work as guides until they learnt to speak Chinese. He told us of how money from tourism went straight out of Tibet and how everyday there were more and more chinese guides with tour groups and permits. The permits were a huge hassle not only to us as tourists and foreigners but also to the guides and drivers too. Even the chinese driver who gave us a lift back to Shigatse could not help but swear at the control posts and police checks every so often. It seems like just another money making scheme but also a way of controlling who sees what, I guess.
Anyway, once back in Shigatse we went to celebrate and ended up dancing to music outside a supermarket with some local chinese girls. It's funny how Tibet seems to go to sleep so early. After a couple of beers we went to bed, happy but exhausted from our adventures and all the emotions of the past few days.
Next morning, we went to see the beautiful mask ceremony at the monastery and since it was a weekend, every Tibetan in Shigatse had turned up with alcohol and a picnic. It was a stunning sight. We couldn't help but stare at all the amazing faces and costumes, return the warm beautiful smiles, share a glass or two of butter milk or fermented milk, whatever they offered us. It was a great way to end our stay in Shigatse after which Ingrid and I took the bus back to Lhasa.
We were tired and a little pissed off at all the chinese police checkpoints and the chinese in general so the bus ride back to Lhasa seemed to take forever. But wouldn't you know it. There is no need to feel hate in Tibet. We met Kiyoi on our bus. The friendliest, funniest and warmest chinese girl and we were staying at the same hostel. We decided to share a room at the Yak hostel and follow her to Drepung monastery the next day and spend her last day in Tibet with her.
After a shower we went looking for food and found the boys at our doorstep instead. Dinner and an early night and we said goodnight to the boys and next morning were off to Drepung monastery. Here we met a spanish couple who gave us a timed ticket into the Potala, so after a rushed visit at the monastery Ingrid and I decided to see if we could blag it into the Potala and we did. Normally, we'd have to get up at 7 in the morning, queue outside the potala ticket office till it opens and starts selling tickets at 9:30 a.m and then hope that we did get tickets before they got sold out. Luckily for us, all we did was be nice and friendly to the spanish couple and in return we got tickets into the Potala. Good Karma everywhere here:) Unfortunately, not as impressed with the very small area of the Potala we got to see and there was no history at all. All the labels were just that, labels of objects found in the Potala. Some beautiful objects like the 3D mandala but we were rushed along by the chinese guards, didn't even get to chat to the monks who looked more like cleaners, they're not allowed to wear their robes, and so we walked out of the Potala feeling we hadn't really got a picture in our head that we were expecting.
I have fallen so far behind on my blog, I don't even know where to start. So we managed to get to Everest Base Camp and back without a permit. It is still such a big deal for me. I think it was out highlighting moment in Tibet the minute we saw Everest in a cloudless, clear blue sky. Back in Shigatse, the boys wanted to try to see if they could get to Mt. Kailash next. Obviously too far to hitch in the limited time they had and talking to the local Tibetan guides at the FIT agency(Foreign and Independent travel), the reality of Tibet hit us once again. He talked about the anger and the frustration in his heart. How it was impossible for local Tibetans to show their own country off and work as guides until they learnt to speak Chinese. He told us of how money from tourism went straight out of Tibet and how everyday there were more and more chinese guides with tour groups and permits. The permits were a huge hassle not only to us as tourists and foreigners but also to the guides and drivers too. Even the chinese driver who gave us a lift back to Shigatse could not help but swear at the control posts and police checks every so often. It seems like just another money making scheme but also a way of controlling who sees what, I guess.
Anyway, once back in Shigatse we went to celebrate and ended up dancing to music outside a supermarket with some local chinese girls. It's funny how Tibet seems to go to sleep so early. After a couple of beers we went to bed, happy but exhausted from our adventures and all the emotions of the past few days.
Next morning, we went to see the beautiful mask ceremony at the monastery and since it was a weekend, every Tibetan in Shigatse had turned up with alcohol and a picnic. It was a stunning sight. We couldn't help but stare at all the amazing faces and costumes, return the warm beautiful smiles, share a glass or two of butter milk or fermented milk, whatever they offered us. It was a great way to end our stay in Shigatse after which Ingrid and I took the bus back to Lhasa.
We were tired and a little pissed off at all the chinese police checkpoints and the chinese in general so the bus ride back to Lhasa seemed to take forever. But wouldn't you know it. There is no need to feel hate in Tibet. We met Kiyoi on our bus. The friendliest, funniest and warmest chinese girl and we were staying at the same hostel. We decided to share a room at the Yak hostel and follow her to Drepung monastery the next day and spend her last day in Tibet with her.
After a shower we went looking for food and found the boys at our doorstep instead. Dinner and an early night and we said goodnight to the boys and next morning were off to Drepung monastery. Here we met a spanish couple who gave us a timed ticket into the Potala, so after a rushed visit at the monastery Ingrid and I decided to see if we could blag it into the Potala and we did. Normally, we'd have to get up at 7 in the morning, queue outside the potala ticket office till it opens and starts selling tickets at 9:30 a.m and then hope that we did get tickets before they got sold out. Luckily for us, all we did was be nice and friendly to the spanish couple and in return we got tickets into the Potala. Good Karma everywhere here:) Unfortunately, not as impressed with the very small area of the Potala we got to see and there was no history at all. All the labels were just that, labels of objects found in the Potala. Some beautiful objects like the 3D mandala but we were rushed along by the chinese guards, didn't even get to chat to the monks who looked more like cleaners, they're not allowed to wear their robes, and so we walked out of the Potala feeling we hadn't really got a picture in our head that we were expecting.
Sunday, 16 September 2007
Back in Shigatse and the reality of TIbet..follow the link for a few photos
From Shegar we got a ride straight back to Shigatse. We wanted to stay in the town of old Tingri but our driver would not even consider going there because of the police and military presence.
In Shigatse we saw, along with all the local tibetan who had even brought a picnic along, the beautiful mask ceremony at the monastery. We went back to the agency as the boys wanted to find out how to get to Kailash, but it was impossible. 10 days to get a permit alone and here one of the guides poured his heart out to us. Before coming here and reading all about Tibet I thought maybe that it was all a bit exaggerated and the reality might not be so bad. BUT it is. The tibetans only get jobs as guides if they speak chinese, everyday more and more chinese guides come in leaving no jobs for the tibetans, the permits create endless amounts of hassle and as the guide said 'there is anger and frustration' in their hearts. We were so sad, and ready to kick the next chinese we saw but obvioulsy it is not the people. Most chinese people are very nice but the government needs a bick kick up the backside i guess.
Taking the bus back to Lhasa we met Kioyi, a lovely chinese girl which just reconfirmed our thoughts. She is absolutely wonderful, warm and friendly and we spent the day with her yesterday. We went to Drepung monastery and then into the Potala in the afternoon after Ingrid blaggged us a ticket. But once again, we were allowed to visit only a small section and even there there was no history, all the information that we read along the way was more like labels for what was in the different rooms. The chinese soldiers rushed us through and made sure that we did not secretly take any photos. It was impressive to see all the tombs of the previous Dalai lamas but disappointing to know that the reality and the history behind the Potala had just been washed away completely.
In Shigatse we saw, along with all the local tibetan who had even brought a picnic along, the beautiful mask ceremony at the monastery. We went back to the agency as the boys wanted to find out how to get to Kailash, but it was impossible. 10 days to get a permit alone and here one of the guides poured his heart out to us. Before coming here and reading all about Tibet I thought maybe that it was all a bit exaggerated and the reality might not be so bad. BUT it is. The tibetans only get jobs as guides if they speak chinese, everyday more and more chinese guides come in leaving no jobs for the tibetans, the permits create endless amounts of hassle and as the guide said 'there is anger and frustration' in their hearts. We were so sad, and ready to kick the next chinese we saw but obvioulsy it is not the people. Most chinese people are very nice but the government needs a bick kick up the backside i guess.
Taking the bus back to Lhasa we met Kioyi, a lovely chinese girl which just reconfirmed our thoughts. She is absolutely wonderful, warm and friendly and we spent the day with her yesterday. We went to Drepung monastery and then into the Potala in the afternoon after Ingrid blaggged us a ticket. But once again, we were allowed to visit only a small section and even there there was no history, all the information that we read along the way was more like labels for what was in the different rooms. The chinese soldiers rushed us through and made sure that we did not secretly take any photos. It was impressive to see all the tombs of the previous Dalai lamas but disappointing to know that the reality and the history behind the Potala had just been washed away completely.
Hitching to EBC
The first part of the trip was easy. Michael, Benny, Ingrid and I took the local bus to Shigatse. This used to be the capital city, "the birmingham of Tibet'. As soon as we were near the buses that left for Shigatse, we were grabbed by our bags, by the arms and pushed around in lots of different directions... all the conductors wanted us on their bus (nothing to do with the money:)) but we decided to go to the empty, green bus across the street and it was a great decision. With our 3 new tibetan friends we had the whole back area to ourselves. We shared food, cigarrettes (for those that smoked...you can smoke on buses here, unlike London) and stories and so the bus ride to Shigatse was really fun. Benny and Michael are just great. They are so funny and friendly we felt like we had been travelling with them for ages and not just a few hours.
As soon as we got to Shigatse we saw Ian (from the train) at our hotel. He was travelling in a jeep with 2 other peopel and a guide who didn't speak English or couldn't be bothered to show them around. So instead he decided that he was gonna hang around with us and that was great.
First stop in Shigatse after lunch in a local restaurant was the travel agency. We wanted to get to the next town of Tingri but here is where things got tricky. We needed a permit but we didn't really wanna pay for one as we were pretty sure no one checked. Little did we know.
The tibetan guy at the FIT agency was great. He warned us that they would not sell us tickets at the bus station and our best bet was to ask the drivers themselves. Would they take the risk and take us all the way to Tingri?
So we went to the bus station but there were no buses and no bus drivers going to Tingri, so stupidly enough we went to the ticket office. The chinese guy there just looked at us and said no and when we insisted he wrote NO in big letters on our piece of paper that had Tingri written on it in Chinese and Tibetan. Instead we were sent to a local chinese travel agent who just pointed at cards of 4x4's and jeeps.
Back at the FIT agency we looked at the different options we had. We could take a taxi for 800 yuan o we could get up early and wait at a petrol station 1km outside of town and hope that someone would give us a ride to Tingri.
That's exactly what we did. We got up early and were outside town at the petrol station asking every vehicle that went buy and we did get lucky and a small bus going to Tingri was willing to take us. Ingrid, Benni and I got a seat at the back while Michael sat on a sack of potatoes in the aisle. Next to him on the seats were two chinese officials in full uniform:) It was a pretty easy rie till we got to the police checkpoint and then the local passengers started to draw curtains and the driver got a little nervous. Benni pretended to sleep on my lap and I tried to hide the blonde hair with his jumper but Michael was in full view in the aisle so it was hopeless. The police officer came on board, checked a few id cards, we had our passports ready but without looking at them, all of a sudden he was gone and we were driving on. The relief, our hearts could finally beat at a normal pace. It was a moment of pure joy.
But our adventures were not over yet. We were dropped off on a main junction in the county of Tingri and not the town itself. And from here no one, absolutely no one was willing to give us a lift and take us further on into the town. Like everything here, there is never any clear information and we didn't even know which direction tingri was in or which road went towards EBC. The only direction we knew was the one we came on. Once again we started stopping every vehicle that passed us by and the immediate answer we got every time was NO. Even a monk travelling on a truck, who lived at the Rongphu monastery near EBC apologised that he could not give us a lift as there were police around.
Finally Ingrid and Benni, after a four hour hopeless wait in the burning sun, at the roadside of a big junction, they managed to convinve a local with a traditionally decorated!! and run down small jeep to take us all the way to EBC and back. He'd try and get us there and if he couldn't we'd only pay half. Sounded reasonable so we set off. Only after driving for a few kilometers did we realise why we couldn't get a ride. There was a big, main checkpoint where there was a queue of trucks and 4x4's and inside another queue of foreigners with their guides and permits. We thought for sure we are f****d and the panic was clear on all our faces no matter how hard we tried to appear cool and in control. But it was like magic, we walked in with our drive who went staright to the desk, one by one handed in passports, visa numbers and etc were written down and then we were in the car again being asked to pass to the other side. As we left the queue's of tourists behing us wondering, we laughed and jumped for joy at passing the checkpoint without a guide or a permit.
Our luck continued as we had our first sight of Everest, majestically looming in a clear, cloudless blue sky. And as if the heavens hadn't finished smiling on us, we were given a big Tibetan tent with a stove in the middle and a cook to stay in for tne next two nights. Tears of joy flowed as we realised we had made it, seen Everest in a clear sky, had great company and a cozy place to stay in at the foot of Mt. Everest.
After sleeping under the entire galaxy of stars, the next morning we had pancakes for breakfast and began our walk to the foot of Everest. We were told that if we passed the official brick building of EBC, then we would have to pay $100 each, which just seemed ridiculous. So we walked around and over and had breathtaking views of Everest and when we came back down walked right past base camp not having to pay a single penny.
It was just an amazing day. We came back, slept from exhaustion, had a late lunch, played cards, sang and just enjoyed the fact that we were at Everest. As we were getting ready for bed, a local policeman paid us a visit and asked us for our permit and guide. We told him our driver was in another tent and he should ask him, so he promised to return the next morning to check our permit.
Next morning, we said goodbye to Nawa, who had kept us warm and cooked for us, and left early in the morningon our way back to Shegar (the junction where we had been dropped off and stranded). I wonder if the local policeman ever returned to check our permits:)
As soon as we got to Shigatse we saw Ian (from the train) at our hotel. He was travelling in a jeep with 2 other peopel and a guide who didn't speak English or couldn't be bothered to show them around. So instead he decided that he was gonna hang around with us and that was great.
First stop in Shigatse after lunch in a local restaurant was the travel agency. We wanted to get to the next town of Tingri but here is where things got tricky. We needed a permit but we didn't really wanna pay for one as we were pretty sure no one checked. Little did we know.
The tibetan guy at the FIT agency was great. He warned us that they would not sell us tickets at the bus station and our best bet was to ask the drivers themselves. Would they take the risk and take us all the way to Tingri?
So we went to the bus station but there were no buses and no bus drivers going to Tingri, so stupidly enough we went to the ticket office. The chinese guy there just looked at us and said no and when we insisted he wrote NO in big letters on our piece of paper that had Tingri written on it in Chinese and Tibetan. Instead we were sent to a local chinese travel agent who just pointed at cards of 4x4's and jeeps.
Back at the FIT agency we looked at the different options we had. We could take a taxi for 800 yuan o we could get up early and wait at a petrol station 1km outside of town and hope that someone would give us a ride to Tingri.
That's exactly what we did. We got up early and were outside town at the petrol station asking every vehicle that went buy and we did get lucky and a small bus going to Tingri was willing to take us. Ingrid, Benni and I got a seat at the back while Michael sat on a sack of potatoes in the aisle. Next to him on the seats were two chinese officials in full uniform:) It was a pretty easy rie till we got to the police checkpoint and then the local passengers started to draw curtains and the driver got a little nervous. Benni pretended to sleep on my lap and I tried to hide the blonde hair with his jumper but Michael was in full view in the aisle so it was hopeless. The police officer came on board, checked a few id cards, we had our passports ready but without looking at them, all of a sudden he was gone and we were driving on. The relief, our hearts could finally beat at a normal pace. It was a moment of pure joy.
But our adventures were not over yet. We were dropped off on a main junction in the county of Tingri and not the town itself. And from here no one, absolutely no one was willing to give us a lift and take us further on into the town. Like everything here, there is never any clear information and we didn't even know which direction tingri was in or which road went towards EBC. The only direction we knew was the one we came on. Once again we started stopping every vehicle that passed us by and the immediate answer we got every time was NO. Even a monk travelling on a truck, who lived at the Rongphu monastery near EBC apologised that he could not give us a lift as there were police around.
Finally Ingrid and Benni, after a four hour hopeless wait in the burning sun, at the roadside of a big junction, they managed to convinve a local with a traditionally decorated!! and run down small jeep to take us all the way to EBC and back. He'd try and get us there and if he couldn't we'd only pay half. Sounded reasonable so we set off. Only after driving for a few kilometers did we realise why we couldn't get a ride. There was a big, main checkpoint where there was a queue of trucks and 4x4's and inside another queue of foreigners with their guides and permits. We thought for sure we are f****d and the panic was clear on all our faces no matter how hard we tried to appear cool and in control. But it was like magic, we walked in with our drive who went staright to the desk, one by one handed in passports, visa numbers and etc were written down and then we were in the car again being asked to pass to the other side. As we left the queue's of tourists behing us wondering, we laughed and jumped for joy at passing the checkpoint without a guide or a permit.
Our luck continued as we had our first sight of Everest, majestically looming in a clear, cloudless blue sky. And as if the heavens hadn't finished smiling on us, we were given a big Tibetan tent with a stove in the middle and a cook to stay in for tne next two nights. Tears of joy flowed as we realised we had made it, seen Everest in a clear sky, had great company and a cozy place to stay in at the foot of Mt. Everest.
After sleeping under the entire galaxy of stars, the next morning we had pancakes for breakfast and began our walk to the foot of Everest. We were told that if we passed the official brick building of EBC, then we would have to pay $100 each, which just seemed ridiculous. So we walked around and over and had breathtaking views of Everest and when we came back down walked right past base camp not having to pay a single penny.
It was just an amazing day. We came back, slept from exhaustion, had a late lunch, played cards, sang and just enjoyed the fact that we were at Everest. As we were getting ready for bed, a local policeman paid us a visit and asked us for our permit and guide. We told him our driver was in another tent and he should ask him, so he promised to return the next morning to check our permit.
Next morning, we said goodbye to Nawa, who had kept us warm and cooked for us, and left early in the morningon our way back to Shegar (the junction where we had been dropped off and stranded). I wonder if the local policeman ever returned to check our permits:)
Lhasa and around
Unfortunately the internet here in China will not allow me to check my blog so I have no idea where I last left you guys. But I will go back to when we got to Lhasa. We have been so busy here and have seen and heard so much, I don't even know where to start.
When the train first pulled into the newly built Lhasa station, it was 8:30 at night, dark, rainy and very miserable. As we drove to the Yak hotel, I couldn't help but feel the disappointment. It wasn't the Tibet I was expecting.
But next morning as I walked around with my two new friends Amanda and Ingrid, I felt like I was on top of the world.....I was on the roof of the woorld:) The tibetan quarter outside just across the street from our hotel seemed like a whole different world and it felt that here time had stood still even though there are signs of 'civilization' creeping in. The are near the Jokhang and with all the pilgrims walking the kora or prostrating in front of the kora was just an absolutely inspiring sight. Why anyone woul want to modernise or change the rhythm of life in this place I just cannot understand.
The next day we ventured out of the tibetan area and went further out and we almost felt like crying. All our joy and amazement came crashing down as we rode throuh what looked like another suburb of beijing IN TIBET. We didn't want to believe it and went straight back to the tibetan area where we were blessed by a lama during morning prayers...but even his water could not wash away the anger we felt towards people who wanted to destroy such a beautiful culture and way of life.
In the next few days we visited the monasteries of Sera ,where we saw the monks debating, and we walked the Kora around Ganden monastery and got absolutely amazing views. Ganden stands at an altitude of 3,800 meters (12,467 feet) above sea level!
After our visits to Sera and Ganden we went on an organised tour for a night at Namtso Lake. In Tibetan it means 'Heavenly Lake' and the views there and all the way there were just stunning. It is on of the largest salt water lakes and sits at an altitude of 4720m above sea level. After 3:00pm the tourist buses left and we had the whole place to ourselves. Climbng up we had breathtaking views of the lake all around us. So beautiful is the scenery here that we even managed to catch on camera chineses crews and models come to shoot adverts here.
Coming back from Namtso we had to say good bye to Amanda the next day as Ingrid and I were going to try to hitch to Everest Base Camp and see how far we could get without a permit. It was great that we had Benny and Michael (2 of the warmest, funniest and friendliest swiss guys i've ever met) coming along with us.
When the train first pulled into the newly built Lhasa station, it was 8:30 at night, dark, rainy and very miserable. As we drove to the Yak hotel, I couldn't help but feel the disappointment. It wasn't the Tibet I was expecting.
But next morning as I walked around with my two new friends Amanda and Ingrid, I felt like I was on top of the world.....I was on the roof of the woorld:) The tibetan quarter outside just across the street from our hotel seemed like a whole different world and it felt that here time had stood still even though there are signs of 'civilization' creeping in. The are near the Jokhang and with all the pilgrims walking the kora or prostrating in front of the kora was just an absolutely inspiring sight. Why anyone woul want to modernise or change the rhythm of life in this place I just cannot understand.
The next day we ventured out of the tibetan area and went further out and we almost felt like crying. All our joy and amazement came crashing down as we rode throuh what looked like another suburb of beijing IN TIBET. We didn't want to believe it and went straight back to the tibetan area where we were blessed by a lama during morning prayers...but even his water could not wash away the anger we felt towards people who wanted to destroy such a beautiful culture and way of life.
In the next few days we visited the monasteries of Sera ,where we saw the monks debating, and we walked the Kora around Ganden monastery and got absolutely amazing views. Ganden stands at an altitude of 3,800 meters (12,467 feet) above sea level!
After our visits to Sera and Ganden we went on an organised tour for a night at Namtso Lake. In Tibetan it means 'Heavenly Lake' and the views there and all the way there were just stunning. It is on of the largest salt water lakes and sits at an altitude of 4720m above sea level. After 3:00pm the tourist buses left and we had the whole place to ourselves. Climbng up we had breathtaking views of the lake all around us. So beautiful is the scenery here that we even managed to catch on camera chineses crews and models come to shoot adverts here.
Coming back from Namtso we had to say good bye to Amanda the next day as Ingrid and I were going to try to hitch to Everest Base Camp and see how far we could get without a permit. It was great that we had Benny and Michael (2 of the warmest, funniest and friendliest swiss guys i've ever met) coming along with us.
Wednesday, 5 September 2007
On the Beijing- Lhasa train
The train, T27 departed from Beijing Xi railway station at at 21:30 and I was in carriage 2 and on the top bunk in berth 19. We left on the 2nd of September and arrived at the newly built Lhasa train station on the 4th at around 20:15. We had travelled an amazing 4,064km through the most breathtaking scenery and passing major such as Shijiazhuang, Xi'an, Lanzhou, Xining.
The 1,956-km-long Qinghai-Tibet railway stretches from Xining to Lhasa. It is the world's highest and longest plateau railroad and also the first railway to connect Tibet with the rest of China. The 4,064-kilometer trip took us about 47 hours and 28 minutes some 960 kilometers of the new line's tracks are 4,000 meters above sea level, and the loftiest point is 5,072 meters, at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes, which was formerly the world's highest altitude railway.
We entered the train and everything was spotless and absolutely beautiful. There was even toilet paper in the toilets and the ends were even folded into a triangle. Unfortunately, after 2 days when we left, the train was absolutely disgusting and has put me off train travel in china a bit. Unlike the Russians who are so clean, the chinese seem to have no sense of hygiene. They spit everywhere (the hard sleepers had no spitting signs where as in the soft sleepers this sign was ommited) and food is thrown all over the place and the toilets..let's just not go there.
But apart from this the train journey was worth every cent...there were breathtaking landscapes every second of the journey. So this is how the train is mostly organised, the tibetans on the hard seats, the chinese in the hard sleepers and the foreigners in the soft sleepers where they have western toilets and 4 beds in a cabin with closed doors. However, most of us foreigners seemed to be in hard sleepers and a couple of crazy ones even in the hard seats,
It didn't matter though as we spent most of our time in the dining cart watching the views go by and just swapping stories again. There are people who have been travelling in Asia for years and I wonder why it has taken me so long to get here.
Anyway, among the many other tourists, I met Amanda and Ingrid and we are now travelling companions for a while, all staying in the same hsotel. Arriving into Lhasa, it was really dark and raining and I just felt a huge sense of disappointment as we drove to the hostel and saw neon lights and shoping malls and chinese restaurants. This was not the Tibet I was expecting at all.
But this morning we walked out of the hostel and crossed the street and were just absolutely amazed. Just spending a few minutes here and I knew I was meant to come here and i know that I want to spend as much time here as I possibly can. Do you remember, Sam and Luzma, you told me about that special feeling you guys had when you went into the Ngorogoro crater, well when I entered this street, I felt like that. Tibetans walking around with their prayer wheels chanting Om Mani Padme Hum, monks, nuns, tibetans with traditional clothes and beautiful faces, prostrating to gain merit, the smells of yak butter and insence everywhere.,..i haven't got enough words to describe the scenes that unfolded before us as we turned each corner. So we spent our day walking among the devotees and just getting used to the altitude. Bought some jewelry made from yak bones, ate some chips on the street and then dinner in a local restaurant and just sat gazing at teh amazing faces that kept passing us by. Unable to help myself I just kept clicking away with my camera and I just cannot wait to show you the little but of Lhasa that we have seen today.
The 1,956-km-long Qinghai-Tibet railway stretches from Xining to Lhasa. It is the world's highest and longest plateau railroad and also the first railway to connect Tibet with the rest of China. The 4,064-kilometer trip took us about 47 hours and 28 minutes some 960 kilometers of the new line's tracks are 4,000 meters above sea level, and the loftiest point is 5,072 meters, at least 200 meters higher than the Peruvian railway in the Andes, which was formerly the world's highest altitude railway.
We entered the train and everything was spotless and absolutely beautiful. There was even toilet paper in the toilets and the ends were even folded into a triangle. Unfortunately, after 2 days when we left, the train was absolutely disgusting and has put me off train travel in china a bit. Unlike the Russians who are so clean, the chinese seem to have no sense of hygiene. They spit everywhere (the hard sleepers had no spitting signs where as in the soft sleepers this sign was ommited) and food is thrown all over the place and the toilets..let's just not go there.
But apart from this the train journey was worth every cent...there were breathtaking landscapes every second of the journey. So this is how the train is mostly organised, the tibetans on the hard seats, the chinese in the hard sleepers and the foreigners in the soft sleepers where they have western toilets and 4 beds in a cabin with closed doors. However, most of us foreigners seemed to be in hard sleepers and a couple of crazy ones even in the hard seats,
It didn't matter though as we spent most of our time in the dining cart watching the views go by and just swapping stories again. There are people who have been travelling in Asia for years and I wonder why it has taken me so long to get here.
Anyway, among the many other tourists, I met Amanda and Ingrid and we are now travelling companions for a while, all staying in the same hsotel. Arriving into Lhasa, it was really dark and raining and I just felt a huge sense of disappointment as we drove to the hostel and saw neon lights and shoping malls and chinese restaurants. This was not the Tibet I was expecting at all.
But this morning we walked out of the hostel and crossed the street and were just absolutely amazed. Just spending a few minutes here and I knew I was meant to come here and i know that I want to spend as much time here as I possibly can. Do you remember, Sam and Luzma, you told me about that special feeling you guys had when you went into the Ngorogoro crater, well when I entered this street, I felt like that. Tibetans walking around with their prayer wheels chanting Om Mani Padme Hum, monks, nuns, tibetans with traditional clothes and beautiful faces, prostrating to gain merit, the smells of yak butter and insence everywhere.,..i haven't got enough words to describe the scenes that unfolded before us as we turned each corner. So we spent our day walking among the devotees and just getting used to the altitude. Bought some jewelry made from yak bones, ate some chips on the street and then dinner in a local restaurant and just sat gazing at teh amazing faces that kept passing us by. Unable to help myself I just kept clicking away with my camera and I just cannot wait to show you the little but of Lhasa that we have seen today.
Beijing
When I got back to Beijing most of the people I had left there were still there waiting to find out if Datong was worth a visit. Definitely. I also met Avishai again and we arranged to go visit the Lama temple the next day and then take the taxi to the station together as we both had trains at the same time..him to Xian and me to TIBET:) So on our way to the Lama temple we got a little distracted. In the Hu Tong where our hostel is there are many people from the North west region of China..a mainly muslim region and since initially I couldn't get tickets to Lhasa I was going to go to this region. It seems a fascinating region and no one seems to be going there. In fact I still think I will be going there...I already have 2 good reasons to go there. I sound like most tourists...ironic..all of us want to see the touristic sights and yet I keep hearing 'which bit of the wall has no tourists so I can go there' or 'I wanna go where there are not hoards of tourists' and yet we all seem to end up in the same youth hostels following each other on the Backpackers TOURIST trail. But 'I' am going to be different:) hehe..I really wanna see Kashgar and see how China has kept buddhism and Islam alive together in such harmony. They have just built a new railway there so I should get there before all the tourists flock here...hehehe
Anyway, back to our detour...so this guy from Kashgar in our Hutong who was there every morning selling deliciously sweet melons..we asked him where he was from and where he went to pray and we ended up in a mosque where the Quran was translated from Arabic into chinese, A chinese muslim showed us around and asked Avishai to translate all the arabic on the walls. It was a great experience.
Two religious places in a day...the gods can't do anything else but look after me:) Next we took the subway and got off at the Lama temple. A beautiful temple where they practise Tibetan Buddhism. It is the largest and most perfectly preserved lamasery in present day China.
After seeing huge Buddha statues and just enjoying the calm and holy atmosphere of the temple where throngs of Buddhists came to light insence and say their prayers, we went out and walked around the Hutongs nearby. It was great to just sit in the compound of the temple and absorb the smells and sounds that just heal the soul.
We had a lovely lunch in a local restaurant, where as foreigners we got to sit in the air conditioned section, and then walked and walked just enjoying Beijing. We walked back to the hostel, had showers, talked a bit to Florence, who is constantly a wealth of helpful information, and then made our way to the train station.
As we stood their checking our tickets for the platforms we realised we were both on the same train. So I could delay this goodbye till the next morning.
Anyway, back to our detour...so this guy from Kashgar in our Hutong who was there every morning selling deliciously sweet melons..we asked him where he was from and where he went to pray and we ended up in a mosque where the Quran was translated from Arabic into chinese, A chinese muslim showed us around and asked Avishai to translate all the arabic on the walls. It was a great experience.
Two religious places in a day...the gods can't do anything else but look after me:) Next we took the subway and got off at the Lama temple. A beautiful temple where they practise Tibetan Buddhism. It is the largest and most perfectly preserved lamasery in present day China.
After seeing huge Buddha statues and just enjoying the calm and holy atmosphere of the temple where throngs of Buddhists came to light insence and say their prayers, we went out and walked around the Hutongs nearby. It was great to just sit in the compound of the temple and absorb the smells and sounds that just heal the soul.
We had a lovely lunch in a local restaurant, where as foreigners we got to sit in the air conditioned section, and then walked and walked just enjoying Beijing. We walked back to the hostel, had showers, talked a bit to Florence, who is constantly a wealth of helpful information, and then made our way to the train station.
As we stood their checking our tickets for the platforms we realised we were both on the same train. So I could delay this goodbye till the next morning.
Beijing - Datong - Beijing
I'm now in Lhasa but I have seen sop much in the last few days I have to backtrack. I want to write about Tibet and Lhasa as I have just spent the most amazing day here but I guess it's unfair to the all the other beautiful places and they deserve just as much attention as they were absolutely stunning too.
Anyway so Yana, Rojelho and I took our first ever hard seater train to Datong (a 7 hour train ride away from Beijing) and I don't know about the other two but in my head I had images of from indian movies of the train rides where people are sitting on top of each other and the animals on top of them. There were no sleeper seats availabe so I had to take the hard seater. The train set off at 10:15 in the morning and it was actually another great train ride. The other two were in a different carriage and when I first went to my carriage the looks and gestures I got made me feel like I didn't belong there. They were all gesturing to me that I really should be in the sleeper carriage and not in 3rd class seats. And actually it was not as I had imagined at all but actually quite civilized. Instead of wooden seats we had kind of a 'soft' cushion and there was a table in between and a woman sat next to me and an elderly couple on the opposite side. So i had enough space and amazing scenery (parts of the great wall, and everyday village life) to keep me occupied. Then slowly yana and Rojelho moved to my cabin and since he could speak a little bit of chinese he translated. The initial feelings of discomfort were all based on a false sense on my part. The old man sitting opposite me thought I was a 19 year old girl travelling on my own and was just concerned for me. Since then he kept giving me food and staring at me coz 'I was so beautiful':) He even gave a little poke in the arm to check that I was real hehehe.. Anyway as soon as they found out that we spoke English they found the only guy on the whole seater carriages who speke English, brought him to us and the whole carriage gathered around us and listened to the occasional translations and the English that they did not understand.
It was amazing talking to him as he spoke quite good English. He went to a school near the coast where there were many foreign teachers (beach = english teachers:) and he told us that for these foreign teachers who found it too hard to use their chinese names (or couldn't be bothered) all the students had second English names too. His was Peter .....others were Lydia? Mariah? Madona:):) But he wanted to be a tour guide and so he felt quite priviledges that his family was able to pay 8000yuan for him to attend this school. Like most young people he was on his way back to school from his home town...hence the impossible task of buying train tickets in china at the end of August.
So we arrived at Datong in the evening and while we were exiting we walked into a representative for the CITS (China International Travel Service) who was kind of fishing out all the western tourists that were being carried past in the surging crowd. He showed us a tour which would take in the two sights that we came to see. We organised everything with the gent, he even showed us where to stay, a hotel right next to the station. We walked around Datong in the evening, had roasted yam on the street and hot chocolate from Mcdonalds:) and then went back for an early night. We had great views of the city from our room and it was nice just to chill. Yana and Rojelo were so easy to travel with.
Next morning we were at the CITS office at nine in the morning and there was a whole van load of tourists waiting. It was great though coz we met some really nice guys. It's always the same..a whole group of a hundered different nationalities...south africa, turkey, france, italy... and I always love exchanging the thousands of different travel stories. But before that we had a real chinese breakfast at the hotel...dumplings with a yellow, wattery soup, boiled egg, salad and fried bread...wierd but filling.
We set off (not promptly, unlike the trains which are impeccably efficient) towards the Hanging Monastery, this lies 75km southeast of Datong and took a couple of hours. This monastery is built perilously on sheer cliffs above Jinlong Canyon. It used to reside 100m above the river bed but over time the river has deposited silt, soil and rocks in the canyon (before being dammed) so now the monastery is only 50m up. The monastery dates back more than 1400 years (pretty old) and is resting on beams that are drilled 2/3 of the way into the cliff face with the rest sticking out supporting the buildings. The buildings contain bronze, iron and stone statues of Gods and Buddha’s from Chinas three principal religions/philosophies, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. We walked and climbed all over the monastery following our tour group leader as she described the meaning behind a lot of the statues and artefacts within the different rooms. I was a little disappointed to find out that the monastery literally hangs out on the cliff edge as I thought maybe they would have excavated within the cliff, the part that we see being a front for a much bigger structure within. After a quick lunch we hopped back aboard the minibus and headed back towards the town. Yungang Caves lie 16km west of Datong. These caves have been cut into the cliffs and contain over 50,000 Buddhist statues (also carved out of the cliffs); they also stretch for about 1km. Our tour guide showed us around the best caves (~caves 5-20) and described the treasures within each. The first one we entered had sitting carved from the stone a colossal seated Buddha over 17m high. Also every wall within the cave was also intricately carved leaving no blank stone anywhere. This pretty much set the tone for every cave we entered. Each had its own story to tell, some were better preserved than others but all were amazing. As expected the light within the caves was quite dim and trying to take pictures of huge statues when you’re standing at their feet in the gloom is quite difficult so no photos could really do them justice. Luckily one of the caves further down had completely eroded away leaving the huge carved Buddha out in the open, just perfect for taking photos. Our tour guide joked that they called him China's foreign minister as there were photos of him everywhere, in China and abroad. After the caves we made our way back to the bus and were dropped back off at the train station.
It was great coz all of us went out to a local restaurant and had a great meal for only a pound each. We were stuffed and tired and ready for bed.
Next day, I said goodbye to Yana and Rojelho...the trouble with travelling with different people...too many goodbyes...went to see the famous 9 dragon wall which was built for the prince and then bought some chinese paintbrushes. It was time to head back to Beijing and this time I had a hard sleeper...6 beds in a cabin, 3 on each side and I had the lower one so I didn't have to climb up and down all the time. Unlike the Russian trains though, these cabins have no doors so there is a much more communal feel and atmosphere to them. Gao Bei (returning to her university) and Helen (returning to her teaching job) both lived in Datong and had been visiting families and were on their way back at the end of their holiday. Both spoke great English and again fed me and looked after me and wanted to take me home. But I had my big back pack at the hostel and mypermit for tibet to pick up so i promised them that when I returned to Beijing I'd definitely go stay with them. Helen has even invited me to go to her place and stay during the Olympics next year...guess that's my next visit to China sorted.
Anyway so Yana, Rojelho and I took our first ever hard seater train to Datong (a 7 hour train ride away from Beijing) and I don't know about the other two but in my head I had images of from indian movies of the train rides where people are sitting on top of each other and the animals on top of them. There were no sleeper seats availabe so I had to take the hard seater. The train set off at 10:15 in the morning and it was actually another great train ride. The other two were in a different carriage and when I first went to my carriage the looks and gestures I got made me feel like I didn't belong there. They were all gesturing to me that I really should be in the sleeper carriage and not in 3rd class seats. And actually it was not as I had imagined at all but actually quite civilized. Instead of wooden seats we had kind of a 'soft' cushion and there was a table in between and a woman sat next to me and an elderly couple on the opposite side. So i had enough space and amazing scenery (parts of the great wall, and everyday village life) to keep me occupied. Then slowly yana and Rojelho moved to my cabin and since he could speak a little bit of chinese he translated. The initial feelings of discomfort were all based on a false sense on my part. The old man sitting opposite me thought I was a 19 year old girl travelling on my own and was just concerned for me. Since then he kept giving me food and staring at me coz 'I was so beautiful':) He even gave a little poke in the arm to check that I was real hehehe.. Anyway as soon as they found out that we spoke English they found the only guy on the whole seater carriages who speke English, brought him to us and the whole carriage gathered around us and listened to the occasional translations and the English that they did not understand.
It was amazing talking to him as he spoke quite good English. He went to a school near the coast where there were many foreign teachers (beach = english teachers:) and he told us that for these foreign teachers who found it too hard to use their chinese names (or couldn't be bothered) all the students had second English names too. His was Peter .....others were Lydia? Mariah? Madona:):) But he wanted to be a tour guide and so he felt quite priviledges that his family was able to pay 8000yuan for him to attend this school. Like most young people he was on his way back to school from his home town...hence the impossible task of buying train tickets in china at the end of August.
So we arrived at Datong in the evening and while we were exiting we walked into a representative for the CITS (China International Travel Service) who was kind of fishing out all the western tourists that were being carried past in the surging crowd. He showed us a tour which would take in the two sights that we came to see. We organised everything with the gent, he even showed us where to stay, a hotel right next to the station. We walked around Datong in the evening, had roasted yam on the street and hot chocolate from Mcdonalds:) and then went back for an early night. We had great views of the city from our room and it was nice just to chill. Yana and Rojelo were so easy to travel with.
Next morning we were at the CITS office at nine in the morning and there was a whole van load of tourists waiting. It was great though coz we met some really nice guys. It's always the same..a whole group of a hundered different nationalities...south africa, turkey, france, italy... and I always love exchanging the thousands of different travel stories. But before that we had a real chinese breakfast at the hotel...dumplings with a yellow, wattery soup, boiled egg, salad and fried bread...wierd but filling.
We set off (not promptly, unlike the trains which are impeccably efficient) towards the Hanging Monastery, this lies 75km southeast of Datong and took a couple of hours. This monastery is built perilously on sheer cliffs above Jinlong Canyon. It used to reside 100m above the river bed but over time the river has deposited silt, soil and rocks in the canyon (before being dammed) so now the monastery is only 50m up. The monastery dates back more than 1400 years (pretty old) and is resting on beams that are drilled 2/3 of the way into the cliff face with the rest sticking out supporting the buildings. The buildings contain bronze, iron and stone statues of Gods and Buddha’s from Chinas three principal religions/philosophies, Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. We walked and climbed all over the monastery following our tour group leader as she described the meaning behind a lot of the statues and artefacts within the different rooms. I was a little disappointed to find out that the monastery literally hangs out on the cliff edge as I thought maybe they would have excavated within the cliff, the part that we see being a front for a much bigger structure within. After a quick lunch we hopped back aboard the minibus and headed back towards the town. Yungang Caves lie 16km west of Datong. These caves have been cut into the cliffs and contain over 50,000 Buddhist statues (also carved out of the cliffs); they also stretch for about 1km. Our tour guide showed us around the best caves (~caves 5-20) and described the treasures within each. The first one we entered had sitting carved from the stone a colossal seated Buddha over 17m high. Also every wall within the cave was also intricately carved leaving no blank stone anywhere. This pretty much set the tone for every cave we entered. Each had its own story to tell, some were better preserved than others but all were amazing. As expected the light within the caves was quite dim and trying to take pictures of huge statues when you’re standing at their feet in the gloom is quite difficult so no photos could really do them justice. Luckily one of the caves further down had completely eroded away leaving the huge carved Buddha out in the open, just perfect for taking photos. Our tour guide joked that they called him China's foreign minister as there were photos of him everywhere, in China and abroad. After the caves we made our way back to the bus and were dropped back off at the train station.
It was great coz all of us went out to a local restaurant and had a great meal for only a pound each. We were stuffed and tired and ready for bed.
Next day, I said goodbye to Yana and Rojelho...the trouble with travelling with different people...too many goodbyes...went to see the famous 9 dragon wall which was built for the prince and then bought some chinese paintbrushes. It was time to head back to Beijing and this time I had a hard sleeper...6 beds in a cabin, 3 on each side and I had the lower one so I didn't have to climb up and down all the time. Unlike the Russian trains though, these cabins have no doors so there is a much more communal feel and atmosphere to them. Gao Bei (returning to her university) and Helen (returning to her teaching job) both lived in Datong and had been visiting families and were on their way back at the end of their holiday. Both spoke great English and again fed me and looked after me and wanted to take me home. But I had my big back pack at the hostel and mypermit for tibet to pick up so i promised them that when I returned to Beijing I'd definitely go stay with them. Helen has even invited me to go to her place and stay during the Olympics next year...guess that's my next visit to China sorted.
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