Tibet
Hong Kong
Thailand
Bali
Vietnam
Cambodia
Sydney
Philippines
Israel
London
Japan
Peru
Nepal
Chile
Brazil
Columbia
New York City
Cairo to Cape Town 4x4 tour
Greece
Paris
Burma
India
Thursday, 27 September 2012
Saturday, 22 September 2012
Buddhas, mafia monkeys and impromptu photo shoots - a good way to spend a birthday
Namaste from Chengdu China.
It was undeniably the most sober birthday I have had in some time but defiantly one of the more unique ones. Not quite topping the Knysna Pirate scavenger hunts but coming close. I started my birthday morning like any other…in need of a strong coffee… Mari and I waited at the bus stop during rush hour. Now, I am sure I have told you how full the buses can get, sorry there is no other way of saying this, but they get foking full. People are packed into that thing until some granny (the Chinese name for Grandmother is Nai-Nai…so from now on we will refer to granny as Nai Nai – laugh, its funny!). So they full the bus until some Nai-nai (hahahhahaha that doesn't get old...but nai nai does…hahahaha) is sitting on the drivers lap and people are closer together than at a Justin Beiber concert (or so I can imagine). But that morning the buses where so full that no one was getting on. I am talking arms out windows and squashed faces against the door. Dude, this princess was not going in there! So us two foreigners stood at the bus stop with our little travel bag for 20 minutes, found a not so full bus and hit the road to Starbucks!
After meeting Lin and having a delicious vanilla coffee, some weird sandwich and taking advantage of a western toilet… We marched down through town. The city centre was littered with police and army men hanging around in case some angry Chinese people tried to loot a Japanese restaurant (probably Chinese owned but apparently that doesn’t matter) or attack a Japanese made car because Japan wants to buy (not take or steal but buy) an Island. I don’t pretend to understand but it did make for exciting walking. Although I expected more drama than two army men fighting over a cig and a sleeping policeman but then this is not Africa. We got to the bus station and in 10 minutes were on a bus heading for Emei Mountain. So easy despite the hundreds of people. They don’t mess around with transport, that is for sure. Side Note: The bus ticket there and Back was equivalent to R150 – which is cheaper than two double brandy and cokes and a bottle of water, or so I hear)
The more I travel the more I realise how beautiful South Africa is! The road there was pretty boring but with all three of us, armed with IPods and excitement, we sure made the best of it. Five years ago it would have been three of us and a bottle of vodka…this time it was no liquids at all in the fear that we would need the loo on the way and have to use Chinese toilets… Touch wood, I have avoided that until now and believe me; I will need vodka to be at peace with peeing on my shoes. Anyway 2.5 hours later we arrived at The Teddy Bear hotel - http://www.teddybear.com.cn/. This is a strange hostel type hotel that has soft beds, en-suit bathrooms and western toilets and teddy bears (der). We didn’t get to spend much time here but note to anyone going…bring your own booze if you don’t want to drink turps. Bring your own toilet paper because they give you one square per day and don’t eat their food – rather go Chinese.
So after the worst burgers ever but still filled with excitement, we grabbed out camera’s and explored the town at the foot of the Emei mountain. Wood carvings, Buddha’s. Waterfalls, museums, trees, rivers, temples. Stunning! Three photographers on one trip – not too much is left to be discovered and there wasn’t a second without the sound of a shutter speed. Emei mountain is said to be the second holiest place for Buddhists and the town is a buzzing holiday Mecca filled with Chinese and foreign tourists alike. I didn’t get a chance to find out a lot but I know this. From the amount of stray puppies and kittens (and I know this because Mari nearly brought all of them home) it’s safe to say that Dog and cat is not on the menu there. I do know they like their food fresh as half the restaurants and all sorts of things live that you could choose to eat. I must say the bunnies were super heartbreaking and there was talk of sneaking in the middle of the night to break all the food out.
On the first night we were treated to an awesome fireworks display, arranged by Jackie Siebrits or the tourism office – there is still some debate ;). But it was awesome. Big, bright, noisy! Pink sparkles and yellow twirly things. Some hanging low, some shooting up and half way through one display, another started on the other side of the hotel. We watched from the roof of the hotel and it felt like the whole of China was celebrating my birthday (No that's not narcissistic at all!)
On the second day, we took a bus 2.5 hours up the mountain. In the bus were two monks whose phones kept ringing…some Chinese tourist and hikers and a few worshipers. It was a winding road and I don’t mean that metaphorically, and I am sure we nearly fell off the cliff in that buss more than once but the scenery was awesome. At the top we walked up many stairs along the mountain side – food and curio stalls on one side, cute looking monkey savages on the other. I watched the one bugger steal some Nai-nai’s purse from her hand and then started unpacking it looking for food. Out came shirts and all sorts of things a monkey cannot eat. I don’t like monkeys – just saying. At the top of the stairs we took a cable car to the summit. From there you can see the four headed Buddha which is like a three story building and is coated in real gold – I kid you not. And the view from the top is over the surrounding mountains and clouds. Unfortunately we went on a misty day and didn’t get to see blue skies and enjoy the view fully but it was still fun.
I will admit, we spent most of the time taking pictures of each other but then we are HOT and who wouldn’t want to. I managed to get sunburnt through the clouds and came home with a red nose. I would take the opportunity to go into the spiritual feeling of the place and the history and all that but I have been rambling a lot and there is no humour in that. So I will take you to the bus trip down the mountain in a bus made for midgets. My knees were practically at my chest and Mari who was in the back middle seat, kept sliding off the narrow chair that she had to put on her seatbelt for fear of getting stuck in the narrow passage face down and needing the jaws of life to get her out. So super funny now. Not so funny then. After a long day, we showered, ate a good Chinese meal and watched half a movie about things in the mist with octopus tentacles – I stopped concentrating. Then a bus back to the busy city armed with iPods and chocolate chips cookies and my red nose.
There is so much more to tell but my fingers are sore and I should have poured some wine before writing this to get me through the home stretch… But have a look at my pictures, if you haven’t already. I have loaded them on Facebook.
But here are links for you:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?
set=a.10151021616230806.423600.708510805&type=3&l=25b0b154ea
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151022586330806.423812.708510805&type=1&l=abe537ef64
It was undeniably the most sober birthday I have had in some time but defiantly one of the more unique ones. Not quite topping the Knysna Pirate scavenger hunts but coming close. I started my birthday morning like any other…in need of a strong coffee… Mari and I waited at the bus stop during rush hour. Now, I am sure I have told you how full the buses can get, sorry there is no other way of saying this, but they get foking full. People are packed into that thing until some granny (the Chinese name for Grandmother is Nai-Nai…so from now on we will refer to granny as Nai Nai – laugh, its funny!). So they full the bus until some Nai-nai (hahahhahaha that doesn't get old...but nai nai does…hahahaha) is sitting on the drivers lap and people are closer together than at a Justin Beiber concert (or so I can imagine). But that morning the buses where so full that no one was getting on. I am talking arms out windows and squashed faces against the door. Dude, this princess was not going in there! So us two foreigners stood at the bus stop with our little travel bag for 20 minutes, found a not so full bus and hit the road to Starbucks!
After meeting Lin and having a delicious vanilla coffee, some weird sandwich and taking advantage of a western toilet… We marched down through town. The city centre was littered with police and army men hanging around in case some angry Chinese people tried to loot a Japanese restaurant (probably Chinese owned but apparently that doesn’t matter) or attack a Japanese made car because Japan wants to buy (not take or steal but buy) an Island. I don’t pretend to understand but it did make for exciting walking. Although I expected more drama than two army men fighting over a cig and a sleeping policeman but then this is not Africa. We got to the bus station and in 10 minutes were on a bus heading for Emei Mountain. So easy despite the hundreds of people. They don’t mess around with transport, that is for sure. Side Note: The bus ticket there and Back was equivalent to R150 – which is cheaper than two double brandy and cokes and a bottle of water, or so I hear)
The more I travel the more I realise how beautiful South Africa is! The road there was pretty boring but with all three of us, armed with IPods and excitement, we sure made the best of it. Five years ago it would have been three of us and a bottle of vodka…this time it was no liquids at all in the fear that we would need the loo on the way and have to use Chinese toilets… Touch wood, I have avoided that until now and believe me; I will need vodka to be at peace with peeing on my shoes. Anyway 2.5 hours later we arrived at The Teddy Bear hotel - http://www.teddybear.com.cn/. This is a strange hostel type hotel that has soft beds, en-suit bathrooms and western toilets and teddy bears (der). We didn’t get to spend much time here but note to anyone going…bring your own booze if you don’t want to drink turps. Bring your own toilet paper because they give you one square per day and don’t eat their food – rather go Chinese.
So after the worst burgers ever but still filled with excitement, we grabbed out camera’s and explored the town at the foot of the Emei mountain. Wood carvings, Buddha’s. Waterfalls, museums, trees, rivers, temples. Stunning! Three photographers on one trip – not too much is left to be discovered and there wasn’t a second without the sound of a shutter speed. Emei mountain is said to be the second holiest place for Buddhists and the town is a buzzing holiday Mecca filled with Chinese and foreign tourists alike. I didn’t get a chance to find out a lot but I know this. From the amount of stray puppies and kittens (and I know this because Mari nearly brought all of them home) it’s safe to say that Dog and cat is not on the menu there. I do know they like their food fresh as half the restaurants and all sorts of things live that you could choose to eat. I must say the bunnies were super heartbreaking and there was talk of sneaking in the middle of the night to break all the food out.
On the first night we were treated to an awesome fireworks display, arranged by Jackie Siebrits or the tourism office – there is still some debate ;). But it was awesome. Big, bright, noisy! Pink sparkles and yellow twirly things. Some hanging low, some shooting up and half way through one display, another started on the other side of the hotel. We watched from the roof of the hotel and it felt like the whole of China was celebrating my birthday (No that's not narcissistic at all!)
On the second day, we took a bus 2.5 hours up the mountain. In the bus were two monks whose phones kept ringing…some Chinese tourist and hikers and a few worshipers. It was a winding road and I don’t mean that metaphorically, and I am sure we nearly fell off the cliff in that buss more than once but the scenery was awesome. At the top we walked up many stairs along the mountain side – food and curio stalls on one side, cute looking monkey savages on the other. I watched the one bugger steal some Nai-nai’s purse from her hand and then started unpacking it looking for food. Out came shirts and all sorts of things a monkey cannot eat. I don’t like monkeys – just saying. At the top of the stairs we took a cable car to the summit. From there you can see the four headed Buddha which is like a three story building and is coated in real gold – I kid you not. And the view from the top is over the surrounding mountains and clouds. Unfortunately we went on a misty day and didn’t get to see blue skies and enjoy the view fully but it was still fun.
I will admit, we spent most of the time taking pictures of each other but then we are HOT and who wouldn’t want to. I managed to get sunburnt through the clouds and came home with a red nose. I would take the opportunity to go into the spiritual feeling of the place and the history and all that but I have been rambling a lot and there is no humour in that. So I will take you to the bus trip down the mountain in a bus made for midgets. My knees were practically at my chest and Mari who was in the back middle seat, kept sliding off the narrow chair that she had to put on her seatbelt for fear of getting stuck in the narrow passage face down and needing the jaws of life to get her out. So super funny now. Not so funny then. After a long day, we showered, ate a good Chinese meal and watched half a movie about things in the mist with octopus tentacles – I stopped concentrating. Then a bus back to the busy city armed with iPods and chocolate chips cookies and my red nose.
There is so much more to tell but my fingers are sore and I should have poured some wine before writing this to get me through the home stretch… But have a look at my pictures, if you haven’t already. I have loaded them on Facebook.
But here are links for you:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?
set=a.10151021616230806.423600.708510805&type=3&l=25b0b154ea
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151022586330806.423812.708510805&type=1&l=abe537ef64
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)