Ah, my third visit to the beautiful land of kimchi has begun.
We arrived on the boat from Dalian and disembarked into a different world, where we truly felt like foreigners. With no language skills and little chance to develop much cultural understanding, we relied on the kindness of Koreans to help us reach our destination. The general good manners in Korea are a welcome change after so long in the etiquette wilderness of China. But after feeling fluent in the language of your present country, it was challenging to be totally incompetent in the language of this one. Even the simplest tasks, which we would take for granted in China, became a complicated issue in Korea. Nevertheless, we successfully and smoothly navigated our way from Incheon Port to a bus station containing buses that would take us to our final destination: Jinju City. Four hours and some beautiful Dunkin' Donuts later, we'd arrived in Jinju. A tricky taxi ride took us onto campus and we landed up outside our dorm room. The campus of Gyeongsang National University reminds me a bit of Exeter Uni; clean, green and pleasant. But GNU has a exciting special feature, WiFi everywhere! I was able to use Skype to call China from the middle of the grounds. Korea is rightly known as one of the most wired countries on the planet.
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Zaijian
Today is my penultimate day in China. I'm surrounded by the accumulated remnants of my time in Dalian. It's chaotic, but gradually becoming more organised as I get brutal and throw out/give away even more of my stuff. Soon I'll have very little left, but it will still be more than enough. The value of travelling light is not truly appreciated until you find yourself comfortably and easily transporting your luggage from airport to train station, ferry to bus stop, without breaking sweat, viciously kicking the suitcase, or slipping a disc. I get a smug feeling of being an experienced and smart traveller when I can move my own luggage with ease. I bought a new suitcase yesterday to replace the old black behemoth with the dodgy wheels. That thing is so cumbersome and really makes me mad every time I have to deal with it. It will be staying in China this time.
As the time of departure draws nearer, I'm feeling quite sad and am thinking of my favourite places in Dalian, thinking that it's the last time I'll see them. Leaving friends behind is even worse, especially Chinese friends who can't easily travel and visit me in Belgium or elsewhere.
Part 2:
The last day in Dalian has been and gone. I said goodbye to the last of my friends, packed up the remains of the apartment and handed the keys back to the landlord. There's one person I'll especially miss, but he'll be going to my country soon and may even be there when I arrive home. This melancholy feeling about leaving people/places behind seems to increase as I get older, this semi-transient lifestyle is painful at times, but I know that I'm happier this way than I would be with some of the alternatives. I've been very lucky to meet some fascinating people and live in some great places. That's going to continue for a few more years yet!
I'm off to Korea on a ship.
As the time of departure draws nearer, I'm feeling quite sad and am thinking of my favourite places in Dalian, thinking that it's the last time I'll see them. Leaving friends behind is even worse, especially Chinese friends who can't easily travel and visit me in Belgium or elsewhere.
Part 2:
The last day in Dalian has been and gone. I said goodbye to the last of my friends, packed up the remains of the apartment and handed the keys back to the landlord. There's one person I'll especially miss, but he'll be going to my country soon and may even be there when I arrive home. This melancholy feeling about leaving people/places behind seems to increase as I get older, this semi-transient lifestyle is painful at times, but I know that I'm happier this way than I would be with some of the alternatives. I've been very lucky to meet some fascinating people and live in some great places. That's going to continue for a few more years yet!
I'm off to Korea on a ship.
Friday, 10 July 2009
Diplomatic Mission
It was a Sunday afternoon and a motley bunch of travellers were meeting outside Dalian railway station. A South African, a Pakistani, one American and one Brit. Together they boarded a sleeper bus bound for Beijing. After a restless and bumpy night in the small bunks, and 13 hours later, they staggered off the bus into the early hours of a Beijing morning. The city was quiet at 5am and the air felt unusually fresh.
Waiting for the subway to open, they went into a McDonald's to eat and freshen up. Some of the McD's customers that morning were a little strange. They stared at the foreigners and made obnoxious remarks in Chinese, not knowing that most of us could understand perfectly. When the remarks turned into insults the foreigners began to reply, utilising a few of the prime Mandarin curses taught in good humour by friends in Dalian. It is said in China that a foreigner can only speak Mandarin when he can be understood in Beijing. I'm proud to say that we've finally achieved that lofty linguistic level. The waitress came to us and explained that these three dressed-up girls were drunk and had 'brain problems' (her exact words...) Soon after this we left the restaurant and headed on our way.
Sanlitun:
This is the bar and embassy area of Beijing and the place to find a LOT of other foreigners. We booked a dorm room at the Sanlitun Youth Hostel, which I'd highly recommend for its prime location, good service and comfort/cleanliness. Great if, like us, you come to Beijing on a mission for visas. The hostel is within easy walking distance of many embassies, though we relied on taxis for convenience sake.
Most of us had our own missions, but the first part of my personal one was to get the Korean work visa. I went to the Korean embassy and although I was missing two important documents, they were happy to accept copies sent by email from Korea. The girl behind the desk was helpful and we spoke in Chinese throughout. I successfully submitted my visa by Monday afternoon and was told it would take four days to process. 'Can it be sent to Dalian by post?' - No. 'Can a friend in Beijing collect it for me?' - No. The only option was to wait in Beijing. Bad news for someone with a full-time job, fortunately not me at the moment.
My friends had varying luck with their missions to the Spanish and Canadian embassies. Getting visas can be an extremely frustrating and uncertain process, even for citizens of the UK and USA. There seem to be no central set of requirements, meaning that different embassies are free to insist on seeing documents that you never knew were needed. It's almost impossible to contact an embassy worker by phone to get advice, they rarely answer emails promptly if at all, and have many rules seemingly designed to irritate and inconvenience honest people who are simply trying to travel. I could talk about embassies for a while, there are so many things about their workings that simply don't make sense to an outsider like me. Suffice to say, by the end of the week some of us had done as much as we could for our applications.
In between all the panicking and rushing around, we managed to relax and eat out at some cool places. We found Pakistani, Mexican and Vietnamese places, making a pleasant change from Dalian's rather limited selection of cuisines. One evening I met a potential classmate from the course at HU Brussels, Eva, and her friend Belinda. They're both Beijingers and were very nice company that evening.
My week had been going smoothly until Thursday when I was due to collect my Korean visa. Actually, the visa was no problem and I picked up my passport on time. After collecting it, I went to buy my ticket for the Trans-Manchurian train to Moscow in August. The ticket cost 4400 RMB, but my overseas bank account stopped after withdrawing 3000 and declined my card. Panic! Luckily my South African friend saved the day by loaning me the rest of the cash, but it was a tight squeeze as I raced to the ticket office and bought the ticket with 15 minutes to spare before closing. We'd already booked a train out of Beijing that night, so missing the ticket office would mean delaying my departure from Beijing or coming back again next week, neither option would be cool.
It was a great relief to have both passport and train ticket in hand, and to know that we were leaving Beijing that night. By this point, my other two friends has returned to Dalian, so the American and Brit were left to manage alone. Which they did very well, settling down to wait for the night train with burritos and margheritas on Sanlitun bar street. A quirky Belgian guy with crazy hair joined our table, seemed quite excited when I told him I was going to Brussels, then gave me his parents' number saying I could live with them. Rather odd guy, but it was nice of him to buy us a mango margherita.
Later we headed back to the hostel one final time, showered (you should try to shower as much as possible before getting on overnight transport in China...) and left for the train station. One comfortable night on the train later, we landed in 'beautiful' Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province and a place I usually get out of asap. I left my friend to continue her embassy mission there and got on a bus to Dalian, where I arrived four hours later feeling relieved to be home.
Waiting for the subway to open, they went into a McDonald's to eat and freshen up. Some of the McD's customers that morning were a little strange. They stared at the foreigners and made obnoxious remarks in Chinese, not knowing that most of us could understand perfectly. When the remarks turned into insults the foreigners began to reply, utilising a few of the prime Mandarin curses taught in good humour by friends in Dalian. It is said in China that a foreigner can only speak Mandarin when he can be understood in Beijing. I'm proud to say that we've finally achieved that lofty linguistic level. The waitress came to us and explained that these three dressed-up girls were drunk and had 'brain problems' (her exact words...) Soon after this we left the restaurant and headed on our way.
Sanlitun:
This is the bar and embassy area of Beijing and the place to find a LOT of other foreigners. We booked a dorm room at the Sanlitun Youth Hostel, which I'd highly recommend for its prime location, good service and comfort/cleanliness. Great if, like us, you come to Beijing on a mission for visas. The hostel is within easy walking distance of many embassies, though we relied on taxis for convenience sake.
Most of us had our own missions, but the first part of my personal one was to get the Korean work visa. I went to the Korean embassy and although I was missing two important documents, they were happy to accept copies sent by email from Korea. The girl behind the desk was helpful and we spoke in Chinese throughout. I successfully submitted my visa by Monday afternoon and was told it would take four days to process. 'Can it be sent to Dalian by post?' - No. 'Can a friend in Beijing collect it for me?' - No. The only option was to wait in Beijing. Bad news for someone with a full-time job, fortunately not me at the moment.
My friends had varying luck with their missions to the Spanish and Canadian embassies. Getting visas can be an extremely frustrating and uncertain process, even for citizens of the UK and USA. There seem to be no central set of requirements, meaning that different embassies are free to insist on seeing documents that you never knew were needed. It's almost impossible to contact an embassy worker by phone to get advice, they rarely answer emails promptly if at all, and have many rules seemingly designed to irritate and inconvenience honest people who are simply trying to travel. I could talk about embassies for a while, there are so many things about their workings that simply don't make sense to an outsider like me. Suffice to say, by the end of the week some of us had done as much as we could for our applications.
In between all the panicking and rushing around, we managed to relax and eat out at some cool places. We found Pakistani, Mexican and Vietnamese places, making a pleasant change from Dalian's rather limited selection of cuisines. One evening I met a potential classmate from the course at HU Brussels, Eva, and her friend Belinda. They're both Beijingers and were very nice company that evening.
My week had been going smoothly until Thursday when I was due to collect my Korean visa. Actually, the visa was no problem and I picked up my passport on time. After collecting it, I went to buy my ticket for the Trans-Manchurian train to Moscow in August. The ticket cost 4400 RMB, but my overseas bank account stopped after withdrawing 3000 and declined my card. Panic! Luckily my South African friend saved the day by loaning me the rest of the cash, but it was a tight squeeze as I raced to the ticket office and bought the ticket with 15 minutes to spare before closing. We'd already booked a train out of Beijing that night, so missing the ticket office would mean delaying my departure from Beijing or coming back again next week, neither option would be cool.
It was a great relief to have both passport and train ticket in hand, and to know that we were leaving Beijing that night. By this point, my other two friends has returned to Dalian, so the American and Brit were left to manage alone. Which they did very well, settling down to wait for the night train with burritos and margheritas on Sanlitun bar street. A quirky Belgian guy with crazy hair joined our table, seemed quite excited when I told him I was going to Brussels, then gave me his parents' number saying I could live with them. Rather odd guy, but it was nice of him to buy us a mango margherita.
Later we headed back to the hostel one final time, showered (you should try to shower as much as possible before getting on overnight transport in China...) and left for the train station. One comfortable night on the train later, we landed in 'beautiful' Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province and a place I usually get out of asap. I left my friend to continue her embassy mission there and got on a bus to Dalian, where I arrived four hours later feeling relieved to be home.
Saturday, 4 July 2009
Beijing by bus
In general, public transport in China is pretty damn good.
Dalian has a comprehensive network of buses and trams, plentiful taxis, and even a few ferries. Prices are cheap and service adequate, if not luxurious. I greatly admire the national train system. Most of China is well-covered by trains, there is even a train to Tibet. Considering the huge distances travelled, prices are very reasonable and certainly compared to the UK, where a trip hour trip from Exeter to Reading can cost over one hundred pounds. Ordinary people can afford the train in China, indeed, it's usually their preferred form of travel. I was looking forward to a nice overnight train trip to Beijing tomorrow, safely perched on a top hard-sleeper bunk. But the trains are so popular, and the Chinese people so many, that tickets often sell out days in advance. There were no tickets left for Beijing this evening, so my three friends and I had to resort to another form of transport - sleeper bus.
I had never seen sleeper buses before coming to China. They're strange and somewhat dangerous, with their three-bunk high interior they're prone to tipping over when driven in strong winds or by careless, reckless drivers. I've ridden Chinese sleeper buses before though, and it's a tolerable if not desirable way to travel. I much prefer lying down to sitting upright for long periods, especially overnight as I can't sleep in an upright position. Fellow travellers on sleeper buses can be rowdy and raucous, drinking baijiu and smoking, taking their clothes off and walking around with beer bellies on display. Smelly feet and lack of on-board toilet also present problems for the hygiene sensitive western traveller. Luckily, many years living in China have hardened me to these situations.
Dalian has a comprehensive network of buses and trams, plentiful taxis, and even a few ferries. Prices are cheap and service adequate, if not luxurious. I greatly admire the national train system. Most of China is well-covered by trains, there is even a train to Tibet. Considering the huge distances travelled, prices are very reasonable and certainly compared to the UK, where a trip hour trip from Exeter to Reading can cost over one hundred pounds. Ordinary people can afford the train in China, indeed, it's usually their preferred form of travel. I was looking forward to a nice overnight train trip to Beijing tomorrow, safely perched on a top hard-sleeper bunk. But the trains are so popular, and the Chinese people so many, that tickets often sell out days in advance. There were no tickets left for Beijing this evening, so my three friends and I had to resort to another form of transport - sleeper bus.
I had never seen sleeper buses before coming to China. They're strange and somewhat dangerous, with their three-bunk high interior they're prone to tipping over when driven in strong winds or by careless, reckless drivers. I've ridden Chinese sleeper buses before though, and it's a tolerable if not desirable way to travel. I much prefer lying down to sitting upright for long periods, especially overnight as I can't sleep in an upright position. Fellow travellers on sleeper buses can be rowdy and raucous, drinking baijiu and smoking, taking their clothes off and walking around with beer bellies on display. Smelly feet and lack of on-board toilet also present problems for the hygiene sensitive western traveller. Luckily, many years living in China have hardened me to these situations.
Friday, 26 June 2009
Juice Feast - Day 3 - Breaking the Juice Feast
I woke up on day 3 again feeling fine. I made three bottles of juice; 1# bananas, water, honey, ginger. 2# watermelon and honeydew melon. 3# Chinese pears, green leaves, ginger, lemon. I felt very irritable this morning, but that could be hormonal as I'm due to start menstruating next week.
The first juice was a good choice for breakfast, as the bananas and glucose will give me an energy boost and I can burn them off throughout the morning. I went down to the harbour to buy a ticket to Korea and didn't take any juice supplies with me, so needed something that would keep me satisfied for a few hours, backed up with lots of water. I got hungry again pretty soon, and with a whole party schedule ahead of me this weekend, I decided to break the juice feast. This has to be done gradually, so I started off by drinking a pulpy juice, then eating a whole raw carrot. Later on, at the beach, I had some naan bread from the Xinjiang BBQ stand.
Tonight there's a Mexican all-you-can-eat networking buffet at the Swisshotel, free of charge! It'll be the last time I can attend, sooooo...you can see the decision was made for me. Over the weekend various friends are holding leaving and birthday celebrations, which won't be any fun if I have to carry around juice bottles and can't join in with the tasty food. This mini-juice feast was an interesting experience, one which I'll probably try again in the future. At the very least, over the last 2.5 days I've taken in a huge amount of fruit and veg - which certainly can't be bad.
The first juice was a good choice for breakfast, as the bananas and glucose will give me an energy boost and I can burn them off throughout the morning. I went down to the harbour to buy a ticket to Korea and didn't take any juice supplies with me, so needed something that would keep me satisfied for a few hours, backed up with lots of water. I got hungry again pretty soon, and with a whole party schedule ahead of me this weekend, I decided to break the juice feast. This has to be done gradually, so I started off by drinking a pulpy juice, then eating a whole raw carrot. Later on, at the beach, I had some naan bread from the Xinjiang BBQ stand.
Tonight there's a Mexican all-you-can-eat networking buffet at the Swisshotel, free of charge! It'll be the last time I can attend, sooooo...you can see the decision was made for me. Over the weekend various friends are holding leaving and birthday celebrations, which won't be any fun if I have to carry around juice bottles and can't join in with the tasty food. This mini-juice feast was an interesting experience, one which I'll probably try again in the future. At the very least, over the last 2.5 days I've taken in a huge amount of fruit and veg - which certainly can't be bad.
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Juice Feast - Day 2
So far it's only day 2 and I've already been struggling to maintain my discipline.
I woke up at 7am and drank some juice from yesterday (watermelon, banana, ginger, mango, kiwi). I didn't notice any change in sleep patterns, nor any strange dreams. I had plenty of energy for a morning game of tennis, but the 35 degree heat, not the juice feast, soon sapped it. Yesterday's sunburn didn't help either. I have been drinking a lot of water because of the heat but also to keep my stomach feeling full. Quite often I think I'm hungry when actually I'm just thirsty, also want to avoid possible dehydration in this heat.
Around lunchtime I was out shopping when hunger pangs suddenly struck. I had to buy juice on the street, so they may have added sugar syrup to it. I had two glasses; one honeydew melon, the other watermelon. Throughout the day it got increasingly harder to control my food cravings and even the nastiest stuff began to look appealing. I felt like grabbing Portia's Big Mac out of her hand and gobbling it down.
Now it's 5pm and I've just beaten back more hunger pangs with three juiced bananas with honey. I already had a mix of Chinese pears and green leaves, so that was my first green juice! It was quite palatable thanks to the sweet pears. I also made one with carrots, mango and orange, which I stored up for later use. It smelt pretty good and should be palatable, maybe even tasty.
So far, I haven't experienced any notable side effects. I had sudden diarrhoea this afternoon, but more in the sense of things being cleared straight out, no stomach pains etc. I've been feeling a little irritable, but that's probably more due to the heat and the food cravings.
I woke up at 7am and drank some juice from yesterday (watermelon, banana, ginger, mango, kiwi). I didn't notice any change in sleep patterns, nor any strange dreams. I had plenty of energy for a morning game of tennis, but the 35 degree heat, not the juice feast, soon sapped it. Yesterday's sunburn didn't help either. I have been drinking a lot of water because of the heat but also to keep my stomach feeling full. Quite often I think I'm hungry when actually I'm just thirsty, also want to avoid possible dehydration in this heat.
Around lunchtime I was out shopping when hunger pangs suddenly struck. I had to buy juice on the street, so they may have added sugar syrup to it. I had two glasses; one honeydew melon, the other watermelon. Throughout the day it got increasingly harder to control my food cravings and even the nastiest stuff began to look appealing. I felt like grabbing Portia's Big Mac out of her hand and gobbling it down.
Now it's 5pm and I've just beaten back more hunger pangs with three juiced bananas with honey. I already had a mix of Chinese pears and green leaves, so that was my first green juice! It was quite palatable thanks to the sweet pears. I also made one with carrots, mango and orange, which I stored up for later use. It smelt pretty good and should be palatable, maybe even tasty.
So far, I haven't experienced any notable side effects. I had sudden diarrhoea this afternoon, but more in the sense of things being cleared straight out, no stomach pains etc. I've been feeling a little irritable, but that's probably more due to the heat and the food cravings.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Juice Feast - Day 1
I woke up at 4.30AM feeling very energetic and lively in anticipation of the first juice feast day.
A morning walk round Labour Park kick-started me for the day ahead, watching the usual fan dancers, joggers and tai chi enthusiasts. I bought a large amount of mixed produce from the street vendors and headed home to juice it up. Before starting with the juice, I made a bottle of 'Master Cleanser' which is hot water with honey, pepper (I substituted cayenne for black) and lemon juice. Drinking this will start the flushing out process, getting a head start on those tasty buckwheat noodles I ate last night at the Japanese place. Then I checked out the fridge and yesterday's stored juices. The carrot one looked and smelt pretty bad, but the watermelon one seemed ok, so I drank about half of that. Then it was time to make some new juice. This morning's breakfast recipe was: 3 Chinese pears, 1 apple, ginger and celery. After blending it together I was left with the usual pulpy mass. The juice feasting websites often mentioned using a 'nut milk bag' to strain out the pulp. I tried straining pulp through a tea towel, which surprisingly worked perfectly (although messy). I was left with a lovely bowlful of clear juice. This one tasted deliciously refreshing and went down smoothly. I feel really good now, and am going to spend at least two hours today lying on the beach listening to podcasts and working on my tan. Life in China does have occasional moments of luxury.
In the afternoon things weren't quite so rosy. I had a sunburn for starters. Then I made my first veggie juice for lunch (carrots, green leaves, ginger, celery) but it smelt foul. I even added some watermelon in an attempt to improve matters, but it didn't work and now this juice is sitting in the fridge while I'm still building up the courage to drink it. I met a friend at Starbucks and by this point was craving FOOD, any food at all as long as it was solid. Even grease-ridden Chinese dishes were immensely appealing. I temporarily suppressed the cravings with a cup of herbal tea. When I got home, four bananas with honey soon fixed the problem. Now my stomach feels peaceful and relaxed, like it's in hibernation. It's a very comfortable feeling which I hope will last. I'm going to meet friends and go to a massage place now. I need to be distracted from possible thoughts of food. Tomorrow should be interesting, as many experienced juice feasters report that the second day is the most uncomfortable because the body starts pushing out all the toxins, which may cause some side-effects like headaches or nausea. I really hope I'll have enough energy for an early morning tennis game.
I'll see what happens tomorrow, and post another update.
A morning walk round Labour Park kick-started me for the day ahead, watching the usual fan dancers, joggers and tai chi enthusiasts. I bought a large amount of mixed produce from the street vendors and headed home to juice it up. Before starting with the juice, I made a bottle of 'Master Cleanser' which is hot water with honey, pepper (I substituted cayenne for black) and lemon juice. Drinking this will start the flushing out process, getting a head start on those tasty buckwheat noodles I ate last night at the Japanese place. Then I checked out the fridge and yesterday's stored juices. The carrot one looked and smelt pretty bad, but the watermelon one seemed ok, so I drank about half of that. Then it was time to make some new juice. This morning's breakfast recipe was: 3 Chinese pears, 1 apple, ginger and celery. After blending it together I was left with the usual pulpy mass. The juice feasting websites often mentioned using a 'nut milk bag' to strain out the pulp. I tried straining pulp through a tea towel, which surprisingly worked perfectly (although messy). I was left with a lovely bowlful of clear juice. This one tasted deliciously refreshing and went down smoothly. I feel really good now, and am going to spend at least two hours today lying on the beach listening to podcasts and working on my tan. Life in China does have occasional moments of luxury.
In the afternoon things weren't quite so rosy. I had a sunburn for starters. Then I made my first veggie juice for lunch (carrots, green leaves, ginger, celery) but it smelt foul. I even added some watermelon in an attempt to improve matters, but it didn't work and now this juice is sitting in the fridge while I'm still building up the courage to drink it. I met a friend at Starbucks and by this point was craving FOOD, any food at all as long as it was solid. Even grease-ridden Chinese dishes were immensely appealing. I temporarily suppressed the cravings with a cup of herbal tea. When I got home, four bananas with honey soon fixed the problem. Now my stomach feels peaceful and relaxed, like it's in hibernation. It's a very comfortable feeling which I hope will last. I'm going to meet friends and go to a massage place now. I need to be distracted from possible thoughts of food. Tomorrow should be interesting, as many experienced juice feasters report that the second day is the most uncomfortable because the body starts pushing out all the toxins, which may cause some side-effects like headaches or nausea. I really hope I'll have enough energy for an early morning tennis game.
I'll see what happens tomorrow, and post another update.
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