April 14, 2004
Day 12-14: Last Stand in Beijing
If you're gonna be sick in Beijing, the best place to be sick is Haoyuan Binguan. It is seriously comfy (the hands-down best bed I've slept on in 3 years), the courtyard is a tranquil haven of blossoms and wind chimes and the hospitality is superb. We encountered the sweetest, most helpful people at Haoyuan.
I stayed in bed. For two days. On the afternoon of our last day (Thursday) I put my aching lungs to the test and dragged myself to the Summer Palace. If we'd been to the Summer Palace on the first day of our travels then no doubt we would have been rendered dumbstruck. As it stood, we'd already seen so many awe-inspiring sites, it was all a bit ho-hum. Although the artwork on the roof of the corridor encircling the palace was damn cool...
I love that there is no such thing as hands-off branding in China...
McJade
McHome
Finger Lickin' dim sum
Everything is up for grabs. Chaos. I love it.
Friday morning we left Beijing. I was sorry to bid it farewell but half relieved that soon I'd be in nice, clean, efficient Tokyo. The two cities may be Far East bastions but they couldn't be more different in so many ways.
And we left without succumbing to the dreaded "squits" that our charmingly paranoid Japanese friends told us was a dead cert. We didn't drink any of the water (bottled water is available everywhere) and all the food was great. We had a bit of an "episode" with the Beijing Duck but it wasn't the bird's fault. Eating a kilogram of duck fat would do that to anybody.
Tokyo from the air
Kinki's Daily Dose... Transport
OK, so it's no Shinkansen. Trains in China are fairly reliable (at least out of Beijing) and damn they're cheap! They rarely run on time, the toilets inevitably flow over and the beverage cart-lady doesn't bow as she leaves the carriage, but my god. It's s.o c.h.e.a.p.
For a sleeper train to Datong you pay 90 yuan for a hard sleeper (140 for a soft), equal to A$15. You can also save a lot by taking sleeper trains so you save on accommodation. They do take it out of you, though. Although we slept, we were inevitably buggered the next day.
And you never want for a taxi, rickshaw or cycle to take you anywhere you want to go for next to nix. There are people clamouring to lighten you of your yuan.
Kinki's Tip for the Vacation
Do yourself a favour and go to China! Not only are the sights breathtaking, the people and culture are an extraordinary pot of kindness, eccentricity, candour, curiosity and earthiness. Blend that with some eye of the opportunist, and top with a cocktail olive. It's cheap. With a westerner's wallet, it's too cheap not to take advantage of this varied and peculiar country.
I wouldn't even be so sure about the bottled water Kim, I heard some stories about it. Trust me, there is NOTHING that isn't that little bit dodgy in China.
Well, you gotta check that the seal's not broken on the water bottle, but if it's not your're pretty safe. Man, has China made you paranoid?
also, I've got a chapter of my book dedicated to what the entire population calls a "mistake" Did the person you ask immediately look over her shoulder to check if the ghost of Mao had been listening? It's like a pre-recorded message built into every Chinese person ready for when a foreigner asks them the question. In fairness to the young people though, they hate talking about the past more through embarrassment of the last generations stupidity against what their brainwashed parents try to feed them, against their own conscience which is still open. the young people are the only hope for preventing China falling completely on its ass, and the only way is to get them away from their parents...
hey! you musta been on at the same time as me! What time is it over there? (Shouldn't you be packing? Matt! Matt! Your missus has just ducked out into the computer room again! I'm dobbing!)
Yeah, just the bottled water in CHina is dodgy, not everywhere. I heard a story (I've got it written down it in a note book somewhere) that a whole heap of people died from contaminated bottled water a couple of years ago, Coco's parents had one of those bottled water machines at home, but they stopped using it after this happened. It doesn't worry most of the CHinese coz they all drink hot water anyway! (another long and strange story! It doesn't end, you guys are lucky you didn't stay longer than you did, before you know it you're getting 1.3 billion stories a day!)
Nick - our computer room *is* our room. One of only two rooms. Much as I love Japan, I can't wait to move out of this shoebox.
And I suspected her response was an automated reaction - I initially thought it was fear of Big Brother and that she really had other thoughts on the matter, but Matt reckons it was authentic brainwashing and that she really did believe it was a "mistake". Maybe a bit of both. Hard to say.
also TV as well. what they say is word for word what they're being told on the tv. A Chinese persons day involves 3 things 1.eat 2. make money 3. watch Tv
It's a very effective political tool, even more than in the past because everyone's at home silently being brainwashed whilst mum's feeding them dumplings, you don't need big marches on the street any more, and it doesn't attract the attention of other countries. The 'little red book' has been replaced by a 'little red box'