Inner Mongolia

I took a train to Hohhot from Datong. Online I happened to find a youth hostel in Hohhot. It looked really nice and there were reviews posted from just the day before.

I like to stay in youth hostels because not only can I meet other travelers, youth hostels have great services that Chinese hotels don't have like, oh, I don't know, clean bedding and bathrooms! I can also do laundry and get online at youth hostels.

Anyway, I had the address of this youth hostel as well as some rough directions from the website. When I left the train station in Hohhot, I got a taxi and told the driver the address. We started driving, and it was a good sign that he was going along with the directions I had from the website.

But that address didn't exist.

The driver was really nice and asked some shopkeepers nearby about the hostel and the address, but it really wasn't there. I don't know where it actually is.

I was disappointed and ended up staying in an expensive hotel (ok, it was cheap but not compared to a youth hostel!).

Maybe it was this incident with the hostel, or maybe I truly didn't like Hohhot, but my stay there was pretty lame. I walked around and talked to some Mongolians about their culture and language and I visited the Inner Mongolia Museum. Both of these were fascinating, but I really just wanted to leave. I felt ready to stop traveling and go home to my family and friends.

When I went to the train station to buy a ticket out of Inner Mongolia, I remembered on my way in that I had seen a ton of trains coming from a city called Baotou, also in Inner Mongolia. On a whim I bought a ticket to Baotou.

It was raining when I left Hohhot and when I arrived in Baotou, the air was fresh and clean. The streets of Baotou are wide, and so are the sidewalks. I have never before seen streets like this in China. And, the population of Baotou is low, so it's not so crowded. Buildings aren't so close together, I didn't get shoved around on the buses, and people were more friendly and personal.

And the sky was blue. It would be a lie to say that the skies in China aren't blue, but it brought tears to my eyes because I had forgotten that blue skies could really be that blue.



While in Baotou I went to a Lamasery about 60 kilometers outside the city. It was gorgeous and colorful, and the landscape reminded me of home. (And, it was a Tibetan site; aren't those off-limits to foreigners? I had no problem getting there. What are you going to do about that, China?)



Anyway, tomorrow I'm leaving Baotou for another city in Inner Mongolia, Tongliao. It's small, and I can't find any travel information on it online. I like places like this because I can truly learn about the people who live there; they want to talk because they don't often see foreigners. (In fact, I haven't seen a foreigner since I was in Datong!)

I'm really glad I didn't leave Inner Mongolia after Hohhot. I think I was getting burnt-out, but the reminders of home in Baotou have brightened things up for me, and I'm ready to face these last two weeks in China and get everything out of them that I can.

Coal

On my way from Taiyuan to Datong, my seat on the train was by the window. It's hot on trains and there are so many people, so I opened the window wide and stuck my head out the whole five hours. The scenery was great, and it felt like the other 134 people in my car weren't even there.

When the train was close to Datong, I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My entire face was black from coal. You can imagine how dirty my clothes were. I tried to wash my face in the little sink on the train, but I think I just spread the coal around some more. There was really nothing I could do.

I talked to my mom on the phone later that night and I told her what happened. I said, "But I took a shower and washed my clothes, so it's ok."

And she said, "But what about your lungs, which you can't wash?"

Oh snap. Thank you, China.

Travel Update

It's hard to get online while traveling! Here's a quick update of what I've been up to and where I plan to go:

After staying with my friend Bei, I took a bus to Yulin where there is a cool section of the Great Wall as well as some rock gorges that have Buddhist temples in them. From Yulin I took a bus to Taiyuan where my friend Lei lives. We visited the ancient city of Pingyao together.

From Taiyuan I took a train to Datong and saw the "hanging temples" on a mountainside as well as more Buddhist caves. I arrived in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, where I am currently, by train from Datong yesterday afternoon.

This afternoon I'm taking a train to Baotou, also in Inner Mongolia. From Baotou I would like to take a train overnight to Tongliao, then on to Shenyang, and then to Dandong. Dandong is on the border with North Korea and seems like a very interesting city. After Dandong, I plan to go to Beijing and stay for a few days before flying home!

Based on the past few weeks of traveling, I'm sure these plans will change!

At Bei's House

Right now I am in Fugu, Shaanxi, China at the home of my friend Bei. In just a few days, I hope to travel to Yulin, just south of Fugu, and see a few things there. Yulin has some unreconstructed sections of the Great Wall as well as some Buddhist caves. From Yulin I want to take a train back to Xi'an so that I can take a train to my friend Lei's hometown.

Fugu is not quite as I remembered it from when I came in February. The local government has been working hard to improve the conditions here. Fugu has new parks along the Yellow River, new apartment buildings, plans to build a bridge, and the city seems a little cleaner.

It is great to be with Bei's family again. They are so kind to me. The last time I was here, I of course could not speak any Chinese. But even though I can now, they won't let me speak it. I understand when her mother says to Bei, "Tell Caiti in English that..." and Bei tells me in English. It's slightly frustrating. Bei's family does speak a local dialect, but it is similar enough to standard speech for me to understand.

When I leave Bei's home, I hope it's not the last time I see her and her family.

Hua Shan

When I flew into Xi'An on Sunday, I met up with Dustin who I studied with in Lanzhou. His brother flew out here from Canada, and the three of us spent two days climbing a mountain. Hua Shan is about a two-hour bus ride east of Xi'An and is a beautiful rocky and tree-covered mountain.



We started climbing at about 8 a.m. on Monday morning, and we reached the top that evening. At the bottom, we walked up an incline, which turned into stairs, which turned into footholds in the rock with a chain to hold on to. The precipices were almost vertical.



We spent the night at a monastary at the top of the mountain. After climbing all five of the highest peaks and using harnesses to traverse some difficult parts, we headed back down the mountain to take a bus back to Xi'An.



Hua Shan is beautiful. When we were climbing the mountain, we were practically the only ones around. But we discovered that there is a gondola from the very bottom of the mountain to the very top. So after a day of rough climbing, we were tired and looking forward to enjoying the scenery. But it was difficult with throngs of Chinese tourists in high heels, dresses, and parasols, yelling on their cell phones. I think the gondola was a bad idea. Also, the beauty of the mountain was partly destroyed by litter. These same make-up clad tourists threw their custard pie wrappers where ever they pleased. It's slightly upsetting.



Even still, I enjoyed Hua Shan and the company of my Canadian friends. But my legs are extremely sore...

A Whole New World

I couldn't get train tickets from Chengdu to Kunming like I had wanted. I contacted some of my Chinese friends and was invited to return to my friend Bei's home, so my traveling is looking a lot different than it did a few days ago.

I flew from Chengdu to Xi'an on Sunday. Flying in China, for me, is not preferable. Because China is so diverse, it is shocking to step off an airplane into what seems like another world. By train, I can watch the countryside change and I have a day or two to get used to the differences in the regions.

In fact, staying in Chengdu made me truly realize how diverse China is. Some example are the food, the spoken language, and the habits and customs of the people. When I first came to China, I liked the food, but it was so different that I didn't want to eat much. When I arrived in Sichuan, it was the same. The food is so different from the Lanzhou food I am used to that I didn't have much of an appetite for the first few days, even though the food was delicious. The spoken language in Chengdu was difficult to get used to as well. For instance, the "sh" sound is pronounced more like a simple "s" which caused much confusion for me. And, in Chengdu, the people are more relaxed and laid back. They are more wealthy than in Lanzhou, their city is more western, and they are more concerned with safety and sanitation. The differences between the provinces are enormous, and traveling is very eye-opening and educating.

As for Xi'An, I not only have been here before, but it is fairly similar to Lanzhou. It feels more like home! Going to Bei's home will be like home as well; when I first came to China, I stayed with Bei and her familiy. At that time, I was unable to verbally communicate with them. Now that I can speak Chinese, I will be able to truly express to them how grateful I am for their kindness to me.

...Still in Chengdu

I'm still in Chengdu, but I did go to Leshan and Emei Shan like I wanted.

When I arrived in Leshan, I met a high school girl who showed me a place to see the giant Buddha from the city. So I didn't go to the park. Suckers, haha.



I climbed part-way up Emei Shan and stayed overnight with a family who lives on the mountain. The mountain is full of bamboo, waterfalls, animals, and insects. The noise is almost deafening and the insects are huge. For example, the butterflies are as big as birds. The next morning, it was pouring rain. I was obviously soaked from head to toe as the climbed the mountain, but the worst part of the rain was that the monkeys didn't come out. I was pretty disappointed that I didn't get to see any. I even had a bamboo stick to hit them with in case they attacked me, which apparently is what they do to mountain climbers.

I came back to Chengdu hoping to immediately go to the city of Kunming, to the south of Chengdu. I found out that there are no train tickets to Kunming for ten days. I'm working on a plan involving air travel, but traveling by plane in China is no fun and is expensive.

Chengdu

I have been in Chengdu for a few days now. My first two days here were great. I walked around the city, ate Sichuan food, went to a tea house, visited a Buddhist monastery where I made friends with a monk, and hung out with the other students staying in the hostel I'm staying at. But on Monday I got really sick and couldn't even leave the hostel. So for the past few days I've been reading books. When I get better, I want to go to Leshan where I can see a giant Buddha statue, and then go to Emei. Emei is a holy Buddhist mountain that takes two or three days to climb. And there are monkeys there!

Independence Day

My plans with Dustin fell through. We were stopped by the police from going to our intended destination and had to return to Lanzhou.

It's Independence Day so I'm exercising my independence by traveling to Chengdu this afternoon.

Goodbye Lanzhou, goodbye friends, goodbye studying and classes... I'm on my own.

Almost a Plan

Here’s the closest thing to a plan that I have: I leave Lanzhou on Thursday with my friend Dustin. We’re not sure yet where we’re going. Dustin is meeting his brother back in Lanzhou after that, so from wherever we go, I’m going to travel by myself.

I don’t know where exactly, but I’ll go south first (Chengdu? Kunming?), then head east (Guangzhou?) and work my way up the coast. I’m avoiding Beijing, but will end up there in August. Dustin and another American friend, Ellen, are flying out of Beijing within a few days of when I do, so we’re planning to meet up and see each other off.

I know you’re probably thinking it’s not a good idea for me to travel alone, but I want to and I feel safe. Plus, I know I won’t be alone. Every foreign student in China will be traveling like me, so I’ll meet other westerners in the hostels, on the trains, and in the cities. And, wherever I go, I never have any problem meeting Chinese students.

Also, I’m going to keep in close contact with my Chinese friends. I hope to meet up with several of them, and their families all want me to stay with them for a few days.

I’m so excited to travel…

Goodbye, Aidana

My roommate Aidana and I know that we have to say goodbye soon. After exams this week I’m leaving Lanzhou to travel, and Aidana is going back to Kazakhstan.

It always takes me a while to open up to people. I think of myself as outgoing and extroverted, but for me to share with others about my personal life is a different matter. I like my space and I make sure I have it. I feel like I’ve finally opened up to Aidana, though, and now I have to leave.

This past month we’ve had more fun than ever. We’ve had crazy dance parties in our room, we took funny pictures, we went shopping and out to eat together, and sometimes we would just talk.

Aidana is more than just my roommate; she’s my close friend.




“Things are changing/ It seems strange and I need to figure this out/ Yesterday we were laughing/ Today I’m left here asking/ ‘Where has all the time gone now?’/ I’m left alone somehow/ Growing up and getting older/ I don’t want to believe it’s over/ Don’t say goodbye/ ‘Cause I don’t want to hear those words tonight/ Maybe it’s not the end for you and I/ And although we knew this time would come for me and you/ Don’t say anything tonight if you’re going to say goodbye/ I wish we could be laughing/ Instead I’m standing here asking/ ‘Do we have to end this now?/ Can we make it last somehow?’/ We both know what we gotta say/ Not today/ ‘Cause I don’t want to leave this way/ And if it’s over/ It hurts but I’m giving you my word:/ I hope that you’re always happy like we were/ Happy like we were...”

~Skillet, Say Goodbye