Traveling in China With the In-Laws
Trip Start
Aug 25, 2003
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39
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Trip End
Jul 18, 2004
Hong Kong,
Hong Kong
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Beijing. The train ride was relaxing and we arrived with some daylight left. The walk from the train station to the youth hostel allowed us (OK maybe just me) to enjoy the brisk weather (a nice change for me), the tree lined streets were somehow reminiscent of Boston to me. It was a nice treat to get a good meal at a decent price - we were still reeling from the cost of living in Hong Kong.
On our first full day in Beijing we headed off through Tiana'men Square to the Forbidden City
Guess Who?
. It was another cold day, but the stone tiled ground and brick walls made the day seem even colder. Except for one small area of the walled city, there was no plant life to be found. This was not a place to get a cozy feel for Chinese culture, however I could see how the formality of the Emperor's court would fit in here. The next day we did what almost all tourists do at some point - head for the great wall. There are many sections near Beijing, we opted for a hike through a mountainous section between Jinshanling to Simitai. This was a 10k hike but it the terrain it was made on was nothing but steep up and downs; at one point there was even 70 deg gradient - this made it more like crawling than walking.Eating in China is usually "family style" meaning that three or four dishes are fair game for anyone to eat at the table, usually with rice. So typically we tried to each pick something that at least someone else would like. On one of our last days in Beijing I ordered prawns and the waitress, not speaking much English, asked if I wanted just one order of prawns. As everyone else had some other dish in mind to order I said yes, just one. She took Sarah's order next and seemed to stifle some laughter at what Sarah ordered, so we were waiting to see what oddity Sarah had ordered. Sarah and everyone else's order came with with nothing seeming to be amiss. We started to eat as the dishes came, my "prawns" came out last, as if to be the meal topper
Peg and Dave in Beijing
. Only there was just one prawn. I do what I can to entertain...From Beijing we headed to the land of wise words such as: "To make egg roll, push it" or "he who eats too many prunes, sits on toilet many moons." That's right we headed next to Qufu, home of Confuscious. The Qufu cemetery was nice to wander around but the rest of the area didn't seem to have much to offer. Peg and Dave's whirlwind tour of Eastern China took us next to Xian, where centuries old terra cotta warriors were discovered. The warriors all had different faces and clothing, and when face to face with one they were an impressive seven feet tall. Most of the warriors dig sites looked like the effort to unearth them had only just started, anyone interested in archaeology would definitely have a high appreciation of the work going on there.
Our final destination in mainland China with Peg and Dave was the area known as Wulingyuan. I can only imagine the name translates into something like "beautiful scenic areas of craggy cliffs full of greenery." On our first day through the park Sarah, Peg, Dave, and I all hiked up one of the peaks in the area to get a glimpse of the impressive scenery. The climb was tough but well worth it. On day two Sarah and I gave Peg and Dave a break from us and headed off on an ungroomed train in the park (like many tourist attractions in China, there are well manicured trails for tour groups to follow). This was a great hike we got to see the more natural side of Wulingyuan.
Our final stop was back in Hong Kong to see Peg and Dave off. I think I need to take a moment to better describe the area we stayed in in Hong Kong
Scenic Wulingyuan 1
. Kowloon looks like you might expect a part of Hong Kong to look like, lots of Neon and skyscrapers. The cheaper lodging, which gets you a room the size of a closet that is not actually that cheap, can be found near the southern tip of the Kowloon area. The streets in this area are full of people: people selling suits, people pushing their restaurants, people selling fake rolex watches, and even a few people selling drugs. These are everywhere and they are persistant. I had one person ask me so many times if I wanted drugs that I finally turned around and told him in words he could clearly understand that no, I did not want any. He responded with equally strong words. This confused me and I reminded him that he was the one bothering me. His response was classic: "I'm just doing my job." Right. 
