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Hi again. For those who may've found our last post (about Japan) a tad rich to digest, this meal will be lighter fare. Korea was a blast but, after all the courtesy of Japan, it was a bit more like the world we're used to, with yelling and pushing and things we'd had a break from in the land of the rising sun. Nonetheless, Seoul was fun, and it was great to catch up with our friends Bee and Luna, and to get to know Bee's girlfriend Caitlin, while we were there. It was also awe-inspiring to see the rapid progress going on there which did contrast with the more sedate pace in Japan (e.g. department stores open until 4:30a.m. in Seoul).
As you'd imagine, things continued in the same vein in going gangbusters China, where we saw more bridges, freeways and buildings being built in one week than collectively in the rest of our lives so far. Other things were less awe-inspiring. The Chinese are loud but less gregarious than the Koreans, and, without turning this blog into a global comparison of toilets, seem to fall far short of either Korea or Japan on the personal hygiene stakes. Gi was a bit horrified from the outset when she went to the toilet at Beijing airport and found just a hole in the floor. Her opinion didn't improve when she saw a mother holding her infant boy up to a rubbish bin at Xian airport so he could pee in it. And even Geoff, who claims to be robust about these matters, was a bit shocked when he saw a man squatting in a bathroom to do number twos with the cubicle door (which did exist) wide open. Let's just say in China you are far from the land of bidets and buttblowdryers. There are phenomenal things to see there though, and these inconveniences are well worth it for the experience.
We started off in Xian, to see the entombed warriors, pits containing thousands of terra-cotta figurines ordered to be buried near his mausoleum by Qin Shi Huang, an emperor so nuts his story makes Mad King Ludwig's seem prosaic. It's a huge site supposedly containing 60 sq km of buried stuff in his honor (some of it, including humans, was alive), only a small portion of which has been unearthed so far. He was apparently obsessed with immortality and clearly not short of self-esteem (or cash). How all this worked to make him immortal in his mind is beyond current comprehension, but it certainly makes for a spectacular tourist attraction. Xian too is a pretty city with a fortified old town and, outside that, literally hundreds of apartment blocks being built right now.
We then did a three day Three Gorges cruise on the Yangtze River, which was stunning and blessedly relaxing in the thank God we're off road for a while sense (the driving in China leaves a gargantuan amount to be desired! More on that later…) The beauty of the Gorges remains breathtaking (even though the dam there has raised the river level 20m, causing relocation of millions of people) and seeing the way the rural people still live there (in small pockets) was cool - we were canooed up a tributary at one point.
We finished up in China with a warm stay with friends Jim and Inga (and their adorable infant daughter Mia) in Beijing. Beijing is a cosmopolitan city with incredible attractions (we spent one day at the Forbidden City and one day at the Great Wall) and is definitely worth a visit. But even it ain't kansas toto! While there we got into a significant confrontation with the tour operator for the Great Wall tour who tried to insist we stay for forty minutes at each of several shops on the route. This led to our early exit from the tour, but not before the Great Wall (which as amazing, perched high on the ridges of a steep mountain range) and not before we'd spent some time explaining that a driver who fights with his girlfriend on his cellphone, shaves, and cleans his ears with an earbud, all while driving into several near accidents, is not of a reasonable standard.....
Chinese food in China, and this admittedly is perhaps our failing, is also for these Western palates generally unappealing (e.g. meat often floats in tasteless broth) and often confronting (in Xian we went to a Cantonese restaurant where the fare (shown in a menu with photos and english translation) included turtle soup (with the whole baby turtle floating in broth), and soup with the smell of urine (we checked with a guide and this is the right translation), as well as the usual favourites of pigs ear, chicken feet and various other organs and body parts - perhaps they were delectable, we weren't brave enough to try them (to our knowledge anyway!)).
For balance, we did also have a great lunch and dinner in Beijing. And meet lovely people there such as tour guides George and Angela (their English names). And the staff on the Yangtze river cruise were charming.
But in summary, China (and Korea) are intense experiences we are happy to have had and are ready for a break from. Geoff is particularly pleased to pass up for a while the chance of being slapped again in the dong, as happened at Yichang Airport courtesy of a Chinese misandrist with a vicious security wand….Yet we've had many memorable moments and loved seeing friends. Particular thanks to Jim and Inga for their warm hospitality; amongst the chaos, it was nice to have a home to go to for a while. Until next we post….
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