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Ni Hao!

As you are likely enjoying your weekend, the good weather (for a change in NL?), hopefully still having a means of income after reading all the crisis news (otherwise just travel! ;0), perhaps seeing if FCT can become champions or when Barca will be.. we have been in a different world while travelling through China, where the adventure has really started..

Well, that we had left Hong Kong and entered 'the real China' became apparent right away from the moment we crossed the customs.. the duty-free was a bit more dusty, finding our way not as easy and we right away got lost in translation.. As we had to switch bus we apparently got into the wrong one..! As I was just admiring the great sleeping-beds on the bus, Zayde was fighting for our seats.. which apparently were not ours.. oops! Then some hours later, being on the right bus now, we suddenly stopped in the middle of the night and got dropped in the middle of nowhere... really nobody understanding one word of English and the body and hand gesture communication started. If you have ever seen 'Peking Express', that is way we felt.. being on our way to Beijing and not knowing where and how we ended up there... but in the end of the chapter we made it.

The funny thing of communicating is that they start to speak more slowly in Chinese, so after repeating it, we just nod - they smile, we smile back, they feel communication has been established and we have no clue what we just confirmed to..

So our adventure in China had started.. first arriving in the studenttown of 'Xianmen'; easygoing and at a relaxing pace.. Also nice for a change and not having to do too much, even if we wanted too, so we just strolled around, took a ferry to a nearby island and watching the Chinese.. well, them watching us really... as we were one of the few foreigners; they even asked to take pictures with us several times! Yep, getting celebrity allures already :)

And while most of you were looking possibly for Easter eggs, we did so as well but in China they mostly are rotten and black.. which they consider a real treat! Yep the food definitely is different, we right away noticed.. We bravely thought we'll try some genuine Chinese restaurant but of course no Menu is in English so we had to point at the pictures on the wall.. and to depend on the photographer for your meal is not such a smart idea! We had no clue what unrecognizable thing we ordered, probably did not want to know either, so mainly sticking to the 'flied lice'. But for the next days we chickened out and preferred the more familiar fastfood-chains (as the song: 'a pizza-hut, a pizza-hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken and a pizza-hut, McDonalds..' :)). Although soon we discovered a great Chinese chain, 'Ajisen Ramen', which was great tasty, recognizable Chinese/ Japanese food which we decided to make our lunch and diner.

Next on the itinerary was Shanghai; an amazing bustling, high-growing city with a fun blend of both traditional Chinese and supermodern Skyscrapers. Zayde was flabbergasted by the change, as she had been there 10 years ago, and especially the cleanliness. Not as many people were spitting anymore, although the occasional 'rye' ('roggelen') is surely still heard everywhere (great to guess what they just ate..) and once you get off the more touristy roads you still discover the old China.. With stalls selling animals, meat out in the open, buckets with fish, unrecognizable vegetables and of course the great smell of the rotten eggs!

We first stayed at a neat, clean Hostel, in the deluxe room, which was centrally located for the shopping and city-walk. We followed our personal guide, Mr. Lonely Planet, once again and strolled along 'the Bund' riverside, watching both the historical buildings and the skyline of this 18 million-inhabitant city..; a great contrast of the old and new world. We visited the typical Chinese Gardens and towards the evening we went up to the highest office-building in the world (at least currently), at 470 meters, and enjoyed our drinks with a great view.

Also nice was the little break from staying in Hotels when we met the friendly friends - through Zayde's (ex-)business-companion Juanra - Arild and Lars (great name!) from Norway, who work and live in Shanghai. We had a great time and it was also nice not having to wonder where you get your morning coffee for a change, as well as enjoy the luxury of eating in, a washing machine and people knowing their way around. So we lived a bit of the Expat live in China for some days, visiting great restaurants and shopping at the cheap markets.

One of the highlights was also the Propaganda Museum, which both as a figure of speech and literally is underground. It demonstrated the various propaganda posters through Mao's ruling time and gave a great insight in how the Government was brainwashing and indoctrinating their political view on the Chinese people. I actually may hope that this blog does not get read as it might be censored out ;0. Actually it's not really a joke, as interestingly enough sites like Youtube and even Hyves (!) are blocked and show up as 'no result'... (Rilana I could not see any baby-pics!). So although the propaganda posters have stopped, the communist censorship is definitely still vivid today!

From Shanghai we did a daytrip to the city where Zayde had lived 10 years ago, Hangzhou. Zayde did not recognize anything! I was wondering if she had really lived there (or she simply did not remember her life before meeting me :0). Although the University she remembered, with the huge Mao sculpture which you could not overlook, and also the huge Lake. We rented some bikes and got our Dutch feeling a bit back while biking around the lake and enjoying some fresh air.

After another day in Shanghai, seeing a great Acrobat-show, but also arranging our travelplans, we decided to skip the train to Beijing and instead first fly to the ancient capital of China: Xi-ha. Interestingly enough in China, as many things, transport is the other way around than we are used to.. The bus is faster than the train.. and by plane is cheaper than both!

So easy choice and for 43 euros each we fly the 1500km to the city in the middle of China, famous for the Terracotta Warriors! With good luck we booked a stay in a supernice ancient Chinese style Hostel. That is actually surprisingly well arranged in China, all very clean, super friendly staff (the Chinese love to meet foreigners, treat you like kings and practice their 'Chinglish').

The daytrip to Terracotta the next day was very impressive and informative - there are over 8000 man-made, life-size figures which were buried to 'defend' the tomb of the first Emperor of China 'Qin'. Almost impossible to comprehend, especially if you consider that each one is unique! The rumour goes that all 700.000 workers(!) were killed, as all figures were kept secretive buried for thousands of years and were only discovered in 1974! Amongst them are Generals, soldiers, chariots and horses ('Hoe geht met Perd? Perd geht en lopt nie mehr'! ;0).

Afterwards we decided to leave the city for what it was, as we were both a bit exhausted, and joined in the drinks, and laughter, with our fellow Swedish, English and Dutch travelers, before we were off on the nighttrain to Beijing..

And that's where we are now, and after another night of little sleep (although the softsleeper on the Train was definitely not bad), I decided to take a (well-deserved) break first before discovering all that Beijing has to offer.. While Zayde, as we know her, with endless energy is carrying on her 'arrastre', and is visiting the markets... Also the first day apart since the start of the trip!

Yeah, it might sound a bit odd or too much... but I needed a break from the holiday! :0. Well actually not that strange considering our very high travel-tempo (6 countries in the last 2 months, thousands of kilometers of travel and all the impressions! ... well, you could have seen from our photo-albums). Also here in China there are people everywhere! (roughly 1.3 billion, and I am not counting the unregistered.. or doubles! ;0)), so I'll have a break from it all..

So while I enjoy a green tea, perhaps a massage later on, I hope you enjoy your relaxing weekend as well (I just checked and realized its Sunday.. ;0) and we be in touch!

Saludos de Beijing,

Zayde & Luuk