China: KTV

A big part of Chinese culture is KTV or karaoke. One night after I was feeling better we got together with Ana and Jason (a fellow American) and went to a KTV at the university. We sung our hearts out to tunes from various American pop artists. They even had some Michael Jackson. We got our groove on and sang until our lungs burned. Great night.

China: Beijing

Dayton and I scored some first class tickets to Beijing on an overnight train. Compared the trains in Thailand, we were in heaven. We were assigned a compartment with 4 beds that had a closing door. This was a luxury because on other trains it's usually open compartments with 6 beds (3 to a bunk) and you can hear everyone in the same car as you. We sat comfy in our compartment and we got two businessmen for bunk-mates. After a long night on the train we arrived in Beijing early in the morning. Our hostel that was recommended to us by Ana was located on the opposite end of the city. Beijing has an incredible metro system that is super cheap to use. One trip costs 2 yuan or about 30 cents USD. We bought a ticket for our station and made our way to the platform to await our train. The trains arrive every 2 minutes or so in Beijing so you never have to wait long. The problem however was cramming onto a train. We happened to arrive right in the middle of rush hour so every train was packed with people. There are workers on the platform who's soul job is to push people onto the train and make sure the doors shut all the way. They were literally shoving each other to get on the train. Dayton and I decided to wait for a train without so many people, especially since we had our packs with us. So there we waited, on the platform, for another hour. We really enjoyed watching people try and squeeze onto the trains and the look on their faces when they made it on was as though they had accomplished something great! Sheer disappointment came over them if they didn't make it on. We finally got tired of waiting and decided to just go for it. We found a car at the end of the train with fewer people and we pushed and shoved our way through the doors onto the train. After making a transfer we soon got to our stop at the Llama Temple. Our hostel was somewhere in the back alleys behind the temple so we did the only thing we could do, we just started walking around looking for it. We finally happened upon it and got our room. I was so happy to finally have somewhere quiet to lay my head down for a little bit. This hostel became our home for the next few days. We first started out in a private room with two beds and our own bath but we decided to save some money and go into the shared room. There is a hostel organization throughout China that a traveler can become a member of and with their membership card saves a lot of money on rooms. I got the card so to stay there was really cheap. In Beijing we went to Tian An Men Square and to the Forbidden City. These are both places I had been to before but it was really cool to go back and see them again. Everywhere we went Dayton would be asked by local Chinese if they could take a picture with him. His light hair and light colored eyes melted hearts of the young and old everywhere we went. One evening while making our way to the McDonald's downtown for some soft-serve we ran into some girls that started talking with Dayton. They wanted to "practice English" with us. I was pretty skeptical and tried to shake them off but they were persistent and asked us if we would have some tea with them. Dayton was pretty stoked about the idea and I decided to follow. We sat down in a fancy tea house and the girls ordered the tea. We watched as the waitress performed a small tea ceremony and then we sat together and talked while sipping the tea. After some good conversation the waitress brought the bill which totaled (if I remember correctly) about $300. It was as thought he veil had been lifted from my eyes and I saw exactly what had taken place. These girls had coerced us to this tea shop to give them business. I looked at Dayton who obviously felt horrible, as did I. I started thinking of solutions. Option A: We could make a run for it. Option B: We could just fork over the money and be done with it. Option C: We all pool money together. I told the girls that Dayton and I didn't have enough money to pay for it and we would not be paying for all of it. It was their fault for ordering such expensive tea. They looked just as upset as we were but part of me believes it's all part of the show. The girls took the better part of the bill with whatever cash they had on them. Dayton and I pooled about $50 or so between the two of us but the girls weren't satisfied. They said there was an ATM around the corner where I could get more cash. I looked at Dayton and Option A was sounding pretty good. The way were were seated at the table though, Dayton would have had to crawl over a girl to get to the door. Then I was afraid we'd become wanted as criminals so Option A was no longer an option. I went with one of the girls to the ATM. As soon as we walked out the door I let her have it. In Chinese I told her that what her and her friend were doing is evil, disrespectful to her and to her country. That foreigners come to China expecting hospitality and warmth and she is giving a bad face to the entire country by doing what she does. (These are all things that really matter to the Chinese)It worked. She was on the verge of tears and hopefully that conversation helped her decide to quit taking advantage of foreigners. I got the extra cash, paid the bill and we left. On the train ride back to the hostel I felt so angry, I felt like I could never trust anyone again but then this strange feeling came over me. I realized that not everyone is that way, that I needed this experience to learn forgiveness and tolerance. Even when people deliberately take advantage of us we ought to forgive them. Moral cultivation isn't a part of worldly society anymore. People are often at eachother's throats trying to get ahead. Those of us who know that taking advantage of others is wrong out to change the world through example. The anger left me by the time we got to our stop for out hostel and now Dayton and I only laugh about the situation because we learned a valuable lesson that day. Next stop: The Great Wall

China: Xiangtan

Dayton and I left Guangzhou for an extremely long and slow train ride to Changsha where we planned to transfer to Xiangtan where I had taught English for 5 months in 2008. On the train we sort of huddled together because it was really cold, especially coming from hot weather in Thailand. After a few hours on the train some people got curious about who we were and started talking to us. Some college girls practiced a bit of English with us and asked us what our plans were. We started discussing things in Chinese and they said that the train station that we were headed to had been closed down and suggested that we get off a station earlier and get a taxi instead. So with their help we found a taxi and were soon on our way to Xiangtan. Once we arrived at the university we had to wait a while before my friend Sara would be done teaching classes. I met Sara while I was teaching there and she was still there and offered us her extra bedroom. She had a roommate Ana and they both welcomed us to their apartment and were super kind to us. We had a great time staying with them but after a few days when we had planned to leave I became very ill. For the next week I was in bed battling a cough and fever which seemed to never want to go away. After about a week though I was feeling quite a bit better and Dayton and I went roller skating together. As soon as we walked in a guy on roller skates about our age came up to us and asked Dayton (in chinese) if he wanted to roller skate with him. Dayton agreed, thinking they would just hang out on the rink and was surprised when this guy grabbed his hand! I wish I had my camera so I could have gotten a photo.
The week in Xiangtan was a very humbling experience for me. I was really stoked to follow our plan and see a lot of China but 1 week in bed taught me to be patient and reminded me that I'm human. After I felt a little better we got our packs and went to the train station to buy tickets to Jiang Jia Jie, a national park. When I was almost to the window I had a distinct feeling that we should board a train to Beijing instead. I talked to Dayton and he agreed, the next thing we knew we were on a first-class overnight train to one of the largest cities in the world. Next stop: Beijing.

Almost forgot this...

Dayton took this photo at our hostel in Bangkok. The picture says it all. HAHAHA!

China: Guangzhou

After another night in Bangkok we boarded yet another flight to Guangzhou, China. Guangzhou is a hub for international trade and business. It's main purpose is to serve as port for mainland China. There isn't much to do in Guangzhou but flying there then taking trains in China was our cheapest option. We arrived pretty late at night without any idea where we would spend the night. We were stopped by a guy offering hotel rooms and the cost was decent so we decided to take it. He put us in a van and we soon arrived at a hotel. (By now my sense of direction was so thrown off, I wasn't really sure where we were exactly) I was really looking forward to a bed to sleep in. One thing about Guangzhou that we noticed quickly was the temperature change. We went from 95 in Bangkok to much much colder in Guangzhou. This came as quite a shock to me but I didn't mind too much. Our hotel was the nicest place we stayed in during our whole vacation. (Besides the Bobzien's) The next morning we woke up early for a van ride back to the airport where we caught a bus into the main part of the city. It was now Sunday morning and we were looking for a place to go to church. I knew of a small foreigner's only branch in Guangzhou but I wasn't sure where it was. I had an address but nobody knew where that road was. Our bus dropped us off somewhere amidst tall buildings. I was completely at a loss of where we were. Trying to keep my cool, we went to a convenience store to ask for directions but that wasn't much help either. The next best thing was to get in a taxi and tell the driver where we were heading. Luckily, after stopping a couple taxis, we found one that seemed to know the area. We got it and started moving. I was completely turned around and it seemed like we were driving in circles. I knew we were looking for a bridge and the place we were headed was right next to it. I showed our driver the map that I had but he decided to cross the bridge when we didn't need to. After feeling a bit frustrated he finally dropped us off in the general vicinity of where we wanted to be. Not really knowing what to look for (the church wasn't an actual church but a rented floor of a high-rise) we just started walking. For whatever reason we found ourselves inside a building and we realized that we were in the right place. When the elevator doors opened up and I looked down the hall to see a bunch of white people in Sunday dress I couldn't help but be amazed that we had actually found it. We threw down our huge packs in the back and everyone was super curious about who we were. They were as surprised as we were that we had actually found it. After talking to a few people I asked a guy if he knew a place where we could stay and he offered his own place. It was perfect, great people and a free place to stay. China was really treating us well. That night the YSA of that branch had planned a dinner and invited Dayton and I to come along. They guy that was hosting it works for the U.S. State Department so we went to his house inside the old embassy. We had a great time hanging out with our new friends. David (the guy that offered us a place to stay) even took us to the train station to get our train tickets for our next destination. We were so stoked to have met such great people and have a free place to stay. It's incredible that having the same faith as someone else automatically creates friendship and trust. We woke up really early Monday morning and boarded a train bound for Changsha.

One Night In Bangkok... again.

After our most excellent adventures in Chiang Mai we boarded a train that would take us back to Bangkok for our flight out. The train quite small but it did well. We each had a seat facing one another with a table between us then when it started to get late a guy came around and folded up everyone's seat and it created a bed. Then the overhead compartment was let down and there was another bed. Dayton took the top which he later explained was like sleeping in a coffin. I slept so great that night except I woke up with bug bites all over my legs. They itched incredibly bad and would for days. It was a good thing that all the 7-11's in Thailand carry a great product called Tiger Balm. This stuff works miracles although it only lasts a short time until the itching comes back. We got back to Bangkok after nearly 20 hours on the train and I couldn't wait to leave again for the airport. Bangkok didn't really leave a good taste in my mouth the last time we were there. I don't really even remember much of what happened that second time back there, I seemed to have blocked it from my memory. One thing I must mention though is at the night market we were strolling around and we heard a guy playing Johnny Cash on the guitar. A Thai guy was all dressed up like a cowboy and was busting out some old school country. We were so stoked that we stopped to tap our toes and slap our knees. He eventually invited us to actually sit down at one of the tables that was set up and we were immediately asked to order our drinks. We each got a Coke and drank it slowly. After a few more songs we were told we had to order more drinks (specifically alcohol) or else move along. So we got up and left but not before hearing our Thai Cowboy friend singing "you got me on my knees rayra!" Not sure if he knew we were laughing at him or not. The night ended well but I was really excited to move along on our journey and start exploring China! Next Stop: Guang Zhou

Who Reads This?

I've spent quite a bit of time writing about some of my adventures for this blog and I know a few people out there have been loyal readers. First off, thanks to those of you who have talked to me about the blog and have said positive things about it. These compliments motivate me to keep posting. I'd like all those who do read it, or have read it, to post a comment here so I can get an idea of how many people are reading it. I'm sure I'll keep posting regardless, but I'm just curious. Thanks everyone! Posts about the final month of my trip will be coming soon. Train rides, illness, mountain climbing, the great wall and much much more!