TravelStream™ news feed for member easymarc123 on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/easymarc123 en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:19:32 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1184363280/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1184363280/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1184363280/tpod.html Thu, 22 Jan 2009 18:19:32 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Chengdu, Sichuan, China

And I have arrived. Relatively unscathed. At least physically. Aside from the agony of the hard seat, squashed between the Chinese family and noodle slurping youth, with not enough juice in the pod and the knowledge that, were it not for Station Bitch, I would be feeling rested after a lovely day of sleeping my way to Chengdu. But it's the trials in life that make us stronger. And make for better blog entries.   I step off the train and look for my new Dutch friends, not least because I'm in a rather large city that my friend the Lonely Planet doesn't know too much about. After the last 2 days I do not need testing further. Follow the Dutchies. It's late after all.   So we locate a taxi and head to one of the recommendations and, after a few wrong turns, the taxi driver finds it. "Down there? Really?" as the driver stops at the end of a none too appealing alleyway and points with the look of many a China man, which is neither a smile nor a scowl. But if you had to choose whether he liked or loathed you from that look, you'd guess the latter. But what the hay? There are 3 of us. So we head down there and it turns out the hostel there looks really quite nice. There's a bar. And boy, if there's one thing I need it's a beer. But alas, no room at the inn. Requiring us to jump in taxi again and head to the partner hostel. Much better. They're still building the place but that's a small obstacle; aside from that it is pure bliss.   It doesn't have quite the all round friendliness and ancient Chinese charm of Mama Naxi's but let me tell you; it is certainly a step up from Pan Zhan Hua train station. A beer. And another. Then off to sleep like it's 1999.   I arise at a sensible enough hour, enjoy a long, lingering, hot shower and then head downstairs to reception. Lots of computers here so I'll grab one. I might even write my Philippines blog entry (!). And as I do this a familiarly large blonde uncouth looking fella walks my way. "Alex?????" Now this is pretty weird. So I meet this guy in Siem Reap, Cambodia, who is push-biking through South East Asia, then I meet him again a week later in Si Phan Don, Laos, and we plan to buy a longboat and row up the Mekong to Vientiane (but it doesn't come to fruition for one reason or another), and now, me having visited 4 towns in Laos, travelled through Thailand, met Debby, headed to Malaysia and then spent 10 days in the Shangri La of, well, the Shangri-La hotel in Manilla, flown through Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok and headed through Southern China, I then run into the same guy, and he doesn't bat an eyelid. Good to see a friendly face though.   So what do you do when this happens? Well, you spend most of the day on the internet and then go for Szechuan Hotpot and far too much alcohol. Obviously.   I leave tomorrow afternoon to meet Jon in Shanghai, which gives me plenty of time to visit the famous panda sanctuary just outside Chengdu. The trip leaves at 7am so will be easy as owt to get up for. So long as I don't get too drunk tonight...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1185097560/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1185097560/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1185097560/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:55:32 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Chengdu, China

So, I arrived at the train station, thoroughly bewildered and trying to remember any Chinese at all in order to buy my train ticket. Te ticket office consists of 6 windows with queuing bars - more necessary and less effective than you might think due to the lack of ability of Asians to grasp the concept of queuing - and one dour faced young cow behind window #4. It is 1am now after all. I ask, in my best Chinese, which I think is not that bad, for a Hard Sleeper. I get thrust a piece of paper with the ominous inscription "12.01""Next train?" I beg, pointing at the numbers scrawled. A nod, a scowl, and then she feels, apparently, that she can pretend I don't exist."Err. Excuse me. Can I have a ticket please?" I point to the relevant phrase in my 'Just Enough Chinese' phrasebook. I'm sure what I've said is in no way offensive but she looked at me once, I guess presumed I was actually invisible and that she was hearing things, and promptly returned to her previous state of doing fuck all.Up step 2 locals, ask a question, get a response and wander off."Err. Excuse me. Hard Sleeper on this?" In Chinese, pointing again at my scrap of paper."No!""O-o-o-kay. (Chinese) Soft Sleeper on this?""No!""(Chinese) Hard Seat?""Ony haar see (Translation: Only Hard Seat)" and again I cease to exist. After 2 minutes of standing staring at the apparently retarded clerk she musters up the courage to glance in my general direction, with a look of "what the fuck are you doing standing at my window? You want something?". "Err. Well. Sorry. Err. Can I buy it?" Two pieces of paper literally thrown at me:1) Another scrap of paper with Y103 written on it. 2) My ticket.At last. Great. I'm on the train. Only problem: I have 11 hours to wait until it leaves, the city is dodgy as Hell, and I have no money. I thus have 11 hours to kill in a train station offering only chairs that are actually designed to be uncomfortable, filthy floors, and a healthy spattering of unsavoury looking homeless local fellows. As it turns out, I think the fellows just look unsavoury due to their massively oversized suits worn over dirty white tee-shirts by all men in Southern China. Think the hobo in The Simpsons for an idea of the general look. As if this wasn't quite luxury enough, the train station appears to be some kind of breeding centre for all kinds of winged insect. The types of winged insect that like sitting on human arms and faces, flying away and then landing in the same spot. So I managed - ooh wait, there's a weird guy in uniform singing and exclaiming in my carriage. Eyes down. Ok he's gone past now. Where was I? Oh yeah - about an hour of very shaky shut eye indeed, and awoke a sweating, shivering, very tired unimpressed mess. Breakfast time. The highlight of the journey so far - a tray of Rou Baozi (steamed dumplings) for Y3 from a café across the street. In China, you get used to locals staring at you a lot. Pan Zhan Hua is something else. One guy pushing a cart actually did a Stacey from Wayne's World as he was staring back at me 10 yards after passing me and hit a lamp post. Much to my amusement. And sometimes you can only stare at them. Some things just aren't normal.One of the next things I saw was an interesting variation on the oversized suit jacket, pants and shabby t-shirt look, which comprised, in fact, only of the oversized jacket. Undone. Yes, ONLY a jacket on. Pardon me. He had shoes on as well. As he staggered toward me like a cast member from Dawn of the Dead, jacket open, bits a-dangling, I could think only 1 thing: "Get me the hell out of this place". Bear in mind if you will that I have literally just finished my breakfast. I do not need to see old scruffy men's bits - or any men's bits come to think of it - swinging along in the rain. And so, eventually, after meeting 2 lovely Dutch people who had just arrived at the train station and had promptly been sold 2 Hard Sleeper tickets for the same train as me literally 5 minutes ago (Only Hard Seats huh love? You dour faced minion of Lucifer!), I am riding out of Hell, sorry, Pan Zhan Hua, on a Hard Seat, and toward the, hopefully, relative bliss of Chengdu. They breed Pandas there instead of weirdos...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1185010860/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1185010860/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1185010860/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:50:42 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Pan Zhan Hua, China

Trying to get some sleep after Part 1 of China's Worst Journeys when I see one of the strangest things I've ever seen. Only wish I'd had chance to get the camera out in time. On the train riding along the beautiful green valley along the riverside - your typical Asian brown water - when we come upon a dam. A very ugly Dam. In the true modern Chinese style, not fitting in even slightly with the surroundings, pale blue and white striped cement with square aluminium window panes lined sentry like along the square front edge, amidst the backdrop of a glorious bottle green and emerald valley of mountains and rice fields. As we pass this, however, the reservoir somehow separates into two distinct channels. One part your regular brown murk, whilst the other part - separated by some kind of sub-marine wall - is that of a mountain lake, still, dark, crystal clear. Reflecting the mountainous backdrop like a mirror. The division runs halfway across the reservoir and dissects the railway bridge which runs atop. With the valley and mountains in the background it forms quite spectacle. If only the 22 hours of my journey had been half as spectacular. Actually, I shouldn't say that since the first 4 hours were stupendously spectacular, winding round mountain passes, circumnavigating valleys of 10 miles across, flat bottomed like those of a vast caldera, weaving back and forth across green mountain faces dotted with old Chinese villages built in traditional style of old stone and dark brown adobe.And then in one of the most spectacular spots, with vistas across a mountain range and many villages of varying altitudes, we stop. A man alights. "Lucky Bastard" I think to myself as I ponder waking up to this view every morning. Then "Huh?" as the driver follows him from the bus. "Maybe he's just stopping so people can take photos." However unlikely this scenario appears in a country where beauty is appreciated so much that blue and white cement monstrosities are erected in the middle of glorious valleys, and not to mention Three-Gorges Dam (Google it). Turns out all thoughts were far misplaced as we had, in fact, broken down. I took this time to wander a little farther toward the top of the mountain, i-pod in tow and began to sing along. I felt somewhat like I was starring in a particularly cheesy rock ballad video, standing on the edge of a mountain singing as it began to rain. Though I'm yet to see the one with the singer atop a mountain singing in the rain before a Chinese Tour Bus. Food for thought for any budding directors. So, the breakdown lasts about an hour, in a now fully fledged thunderstorm (which put paid to my singing), as untrained Chinese men take apart the bus' engine and endeavour to reassemble it in a preferable manner. I guess they knew what they were doing as, eventually; we were back on the road. Briefly. And then we stopped again. The male population of the bus (myself of course excluded) alighted to poke around in the engine. All being satisfactory to the untrained eye we once again continue our journey. Two hours later and all seems well, until we pull into a mechanic's shop. It is now 10pm. Our ETA upon leaving was 9pm. Bugger.So once again the men race to the rear of the bus to watch another man weld stuff for a good hour and a half - without face mask mind - while I ate a pot noodle and continued my way through my Oasis anthology. One similarity between Chinese and Motors. I understand neither in equal proportions. Were someone to explain to me in English what was going on, I would have probably raised my shoulders, palms open in front and sheepishly uttered "Solly. No speek Chinee". Ok. Third, or is it fourth, time lucky. We make it! Pan Zha Hua. Tiny place in the middle of nowhere with a bus station, train station and not much else. Hell, it's not even mentioned in the Lonely Planet, it must be small. Bollocks. It's massive. And if anyone can explain to me - I have raised this point before - why Asians deem it necessary to locate complementary transit portals fucking miles away from each other, I would offer them my eternal gratitude. They must be stupid. This town is actually 2 towns I think, and spans 25kms. Know how I know this? The Lonely Planet doesn't even mention this place... I know because the Long Distance Bus Station and the Long Distance Train Station are 25km apart. You need a long distance bus to get between the two. Stupid, stupid people.Continued in next entry...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186326960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186326960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186326960/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:18:16 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Beijing, China

Barca 3 - 0 Beijing FCHe's fat. He's round. He bounces on the ground... Thierry Henry
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186825020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186825020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186825020/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:16:19 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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London, United Kingdom

The beginning of the end of the beginning. Which is the beginning of the end.What? Is this...? Huh?He went home?I thought he was never going back?I don't...But...If he goes home what hope is there for the rest of us?It's ok. I figured quite recently the best way to be able to afford to carry on travelling is to earn the big £ in the mighty shitey then head off again.So that be the plan. I've spoken to the lovely folk at reed.co.uk and sorted myself out a nifty little job. Sweet as. They are good to me!And so I head out of Beijing. A very very emotional farewell to Zoe, to China, and to the most amazing part of my life (so far... a new beginning?!?).On the midnight flight to Dubai. Late. Cos there's a baby flying who needs an incubator, which also need lots of staff and preparation. This travelling thing hasn't made me any more patient! I'm tired. I'm emotional. I want to get on with it and I WANT IT NOW.Oh well. At least no matter what time I get in I have a bottle of Johnny Walker Black to keep me company when I get there.WRONGApparently the words "Even though I have to change flights in Dubai, can I still take this bottle through because I've bought it in Duty Free" actually mean "Will you say 'Yes sir da cowec' to anything I ask you?" and so, 3 arguments, no sleep and a whole heap of wasted money later, I arrive on my Dubai to London flight <i>sans whisky. It's a condition. And it blows.Chatting to a girl all the way back on the London flight. Don't remember her name but she hasn't emailed me yet, despite out plans to go to Mean Fiddler. Oh well.And here we arrive. Heathrow tube station. What a crock of shit.£4 for a ticket to Hammersmith. Do you know how much the last tube I got cost? In Beijing - which is NOT a cheap city in Asian standards - the tube cost me 50p for a DAY PASS. £4 for a single ticket. Fuck me. I'm home.So it ended with a whinge. Well.. After all, it is me. What can you expect?As I wander out of Hammersmith Tube Station and, on auto-pilot, cross the road and walk past the Edwards pub, catch a glance of myself in the glass and, with some surprise, see long hair and a back pack. And I think to myself:"Maybe it wasn't all a dream after all..."
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186499580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186499580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186499580/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:14:24 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Beijing, China

To follow...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186497840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186497840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186497840/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:13:12 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Beijing, China

...And it is fighting with Mitchell Falls, Kata Tjuta and&nbsp;Mount Bromo&nbsp;for the best things I've ever seen. It may well be The One.What can I say?3 Hour journey from the hostel in town. Which was a one hour journey from Zoe's appartment by taxi. Which should have been a half hour max journey, but took us half an hour to find a taxi who would take us into downtown. Strange. We were told by 5 taxi drivers that they were "too tired" to drive us there. Furry muff. Weird Chinese.Eventually we found one that would take us. And he didn't know the way. It's good when you have to give a taxi driver directions in a city you've never been to before. In fact, sounds familiar... Sydney?But we got there, that's the important thing.We got off the bus and not one person knew where we were supposed to go. No instructions except "We will meet you at the other end". Yeah but how do we get there? It's a big wall, great you might say, I don't fancy going the wrong way.But we muddled through eventually and, after loitering around the hot Swedish girls for a while, Jon and I charged off way in front.It's hot.Really hot.Let's slow down/stop.But Oh My God Wow.Walking and walking and walking up and down and up and down. Can't we just have a flat bit? No. Pleeeeeeeeeeease? No.I can't really describe how awesome this was.This was the original reason I wanted to come to China. The whole reason I've spent the last 6 months in Asia. The reason I haven't gone to the USA to stay with all my friends over there.And it is worth it. Awesome.And, oh yeah. I Climbed the Great Wall of China!
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186240200/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186240200/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186240200/tpod.html Fri, 28 Dec 2007 11:12:17 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Beijing, China

To follow...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186093500/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186093500/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186093500/tpod.html Thu, 27 Dec 2007 10:37:54 -0500 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Beijing, China

Finally, after much pining and building up, Jon and I met Zoe in Beijing. Absolutely knackered after the previous few days absolute rushed madness, and bloody hot and sweaty after carrying our kuggage about 10 yards, we exit Beijing West train station to see Zoe waiting for us.She masterfully guides us through Beijing's under... ground rail network - though Underworld would have sounded more intriguing - and back to her amazing appartment. As Jon and I stand amazed at the place we'll be staying for the next week or so, Zoe runs out to uni and leaves us to get a bit of kip.So we need something to do in the afternoon except sleep and miss Beijing, like we did in Shanghai. Jon has 1 week, I have a few days more. Let's get doing something...Summer Palace!It's on the list of places to go and it's the closest to Zoe's appartment. And it's summery(ish). It's bleedin hot anyway. Sold.Our first solo taxi experience in Beijing. And it goes relatively without hitch. We get there anyway. Thanks to our (now) beloved Lying Planet.Let's get an ice cream. Word of advice. Trying new foods is NOT always the fun experience it's cracked up to be. Especially when you get dished up what can only be described as a Baked Bean flavour Ice Cream. We are not amused.But we enter the Summer Palace, opting for the cheapo ticket which gets us into enough of the places inside that we're gonna wanna see. And have the energy to see.The place is fantastic. Apparently this place is the Emperor's, well, Summer Palace. What explanation is needed? Not a bad place to Summer darling. Huge amazing buildings everywhere, a ship made of marble, and acres and acres of gorgeous gardens.Not bad.Many photos, much leg ache, and a fair bit of sweat later, we emerge from the Summer Palace having hardly touched the surface, but content with what we have seen, and, oh yeah, absolutely knackered. Turns out the pollution in Beijing is an absolute killer (literally), making everything super stuffy and just plain knackers you.So Beijing item number 1 - check. Only a million other sights to see now!And Zoe still won't let anyone pay for anything. Seriously. Nothing.I like Beijing. Bring on day 2...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186292580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186292580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/easymarc123/world06/1186292580/tpod.html Sun, 05 Aug 2007 00:53:00 -0400 Round the world in 15 months (and hopefully more) for Marco and his biatches

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Beijing, China

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