16June2008
Posted by zachnyc under: 7.Tongli; 0. Home China Page.
The transfer by taxi from Suzhou to >Tongli< took about 45 minutes. While I knew the Lakeview Hotel was a five star hotel, I was not expecting a sprawling resort, set among numerous three story buildings and acres of beautiful grounds, all surrounding a large lake, a small tributary, and fields for farming.
We had some difficulties checking in as this was the only hotel during our trip that tried to overcharge us on our reservation, and attempted to downgrade us to a smaller room. After much insistence and interaction with the manager, I actually got us upgraded to a lake view room. The room was gorgeous, as traditionally elegant as the Hotel One was dramatically modern. The public areas inside the hotel were decorated with dozens of ancient relics from different dynasties, including Buddhas, dragons, vases and other sculpture and ceramics.
Tongli is a traditional Chinese water village. The 1000-year-old Tongli is one of the most beautiful water towns in the Yangtze River Delta. As the locals put it, leaving South China without visiting at least one of them is tantamount to going to Beijing without climbing the Great Wall. Whether Called the Little Venice of China for its water canals (as the main traffic arteries), overhead stone bridges, and the gray/black buildings which exude simple elegance, Tongli is an amazing unique destination. Interestingly this traditional Chinese village also houses the highly informative Sexual Cultural Museum where more than 6.000 years of sexual history is documented. It features some 3,500 pieces of erotic artworks and objects pertaining to sex.
As we had not had our laundry done in almost a week, and were literally running out of underwear and shirts, we inquired about facilities to have it done for us in town. After many people were asked, it was ascertained that there was a laundry in town, on the way to the Old Town. I left Andrew and Reggie at the gorgeous pool, and set upon my mission for clean clothes!
Well, long story short: the woman at the laundry spoke no English nor did our cab driver. She kept pointing to the calendar for two days later, presumably when it would be ready. I tried to explain repeatedly that I wanted laundry, not dry cleaning. She kept laughing and refused to do it. I called the hotel, borrowing the cab drivers cell phone, and had the manager negotiate a special rate for her to do laundry for us and for it to be ready in about four hours at 7pm. She, the cab driver and I, all counted out our dirty underwear, socks, etc. since she was charging by the piece. It came to 36 pieces (a pair of socks counted as one item) at 5 RMB each for a total of 180 RMB, or about $25, expensive, but we were out of options.
We enjoyed the pool and grounds for the afternoon, desperately in need of some down time before heading out in the evening to enjoy the water town of Tongli. We were again told that the laundry was on the way, and that there was only one street in town. Nevertheless, we could not find the laundry, and I had somehow managed to lose the slip (no tickie, no laundry) during the afternoons travails. We decided we would retry it the next morning, on our way to Shanghai, and enjoyed the evening in town. Reggie tried his hand at bargaining again, and scored a very good deal on convincing copies of Armani and Gucci belts. We bought lots of souvenirs, including a beautiful landscape of a Chinese pagoda carved out of bamboo, an ankle bracelet for Zach with his Chinese zodiac, the rat, among many other things. Dinner was enjoyed on the canals, with the famous three bridges shinning on the still water, and despite the rather unappealing looking kitchen, it was delicious.
The following morning the laundry scavenger hunt resumed, and was even more confusing. The manager at the hotel admitted he had no idea where it was, and that he had sent us where only the taxi driver from the afternoon before knew the location. We drove and drove, found another laundress who refused to tell us where the other place was, drove in circles, and finally, to great relief, were reunited with our underwear. It probably would have been cheaper, and certainly less stressful to have it done at the hotel as Reggie did!
We went to the famous Sex Museum, which was quite interesting and was set among beautiful ancient gardens. It is also the only place in all of China where homosexuality is openly discussed and acknowledged. We also toured the Tunxi garden, and some ancient homes that had been transformed into local bed and breakfasts.
With laundry in tow, we returned to the Tongli Lakeview Hotel and had lunch at the Japanese buffet. An amazing, delicious and bounteous lunch of sushi, hand rolls, tempura, unusual Japanese delicacies and dessert for a total of $13 each, including tip.
Our bus to Shanghai awaited, and we were on to our final stop of our trip, the modern and cosmopolitan Shanghai!
12June2008
Posted by zachnyc under: 6. Suzhou; 0. Home China Page.
Well, we finally arrived in Suzhou after our long airport ordeal. The airline that took such good care of us in Huangshan City (Tunxi) got us on a 9am flight and we were in Shanghai by 10:30a. (Suzhou does not have an airport). Then we caught a bus from the airport, which while comfortable, took almost 2 and a half hours to get to Suzhou. We got off the bus at the wrong stop, assuming that our hotel was on the east side of the city, while in fact it was on the west side!
After a long and relatively expensive taxi ride (about 70 RMB or $10 but driven by who we think may have been a lesbian) we finally arrived at the Hotel One, which had been written up on tripadvisor.com as the “coolest hotel in China” and one of the best modern design examples in Asia. Indeed, our room was beautiful and spacious and the hotel had many neat features including Wii, great WiFi internet service, a cool lounge, iMacs in the lobby and bar, and a wonderful German guest relations manager, Malwine.
It was 3:30 pm when we were ready to hit Suzhou’s famous gardens and we had hoped to first visit the I. M. Pei designed Suzhou museum. The famous New York City-based architect’s family has lived in Suzhou since the 15th century. The Pei family’s ancestral residence is in a renowned garden in Suzhou, now part of the World Heritage Site listed in the Classical Gardens of Suzhou. The house was called the Garden of the Lion Forest and consisted of many rock sculptures carved naturally by water. Pei loved how the buildings and the nature were combined and especially liked the way light and shadow mixed. In 2006, Pei designed the new wing of the Suzhou museum on part of the garden’s grounds. Unfortunately the last entrance to the Museum is at 4 pm and our taxi took much longer than expected due to traffic so we proceeded directly to the Humble Administrator’s Garden.
Outside we accepted the services of an attractive English-speaking guide, Michelle, who explained the historic and aesthetic aspects of the Garden to us. This is another World Heritage site and the largest and most impressive garden among Suzhou’s many gardens. Dating to the early 1500s, its five hectares contain bridges, pavilions, bamboo groves, and fragrant lotus plants. Afterwards, we did a bit of shopping (Reggie, have you mastered those amazing card tricks yet?) and Michelle offered to drive us to a local restaurant that she recommended. She even escorted us, helped us order and secured a private and well air-conditioned banquet room for us, where we enjoyed another great and very reasonably priced meal (about $12 per person for 7 shared courses, and several large Tsing Tao pijiu). For an interesting history of Chinese beer, check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_beer.
Then it was back to the Hotel One where we enjoyed the lounge and some competitive tennis Wii matches before retiring to enjoy our fab rooms: http://suzhou.hotelone.landishotelsresorts.com/
See our pictures > here <.
9June2008
Posted by Andrew under: 0. Home China Page.
But we have three more cities to blog about! We had a fantastic journey and no one got sick or hurt (ok, I rolled off my bike in Yangshou but those were superficial scrapes - it was either roll or fall into a rice field!). We’ll continue the blog because we won’t see everyone for awhile so please come back to see more pix.
We’ll eventually put ALL the pictures on one whole page so that you can view all the best pix, umm, out of 5,000 or so total, we found that at least 500 were worth showing. Did I mention how impressed we are with the Panasonic Lumix LZ (we got it for safari and it is a great regular travel/trip camera? I found a new setting that I started using to catch movement that I wasn’t aware of before so I think overall my shots are better.
Additional China musings:
- great people, everyone we met was helpful, even when we weren’t directly asking for it
- we had no idea that we were even in a Communist country, they have a lot more freedom than we realize - just don’t write about dissent or publicly avow your anti-government views
- they certainly know a lot of English, enough that we could have broken English-Chinese conversations
- the signs, in pinyin and Chinese, are everywhere so I could learn both the written and pronunciation
- cleaner than expected, people get paid for recyclable items so they descend on the garbage and it’s taken away
- both the Peking Duck and the crispy roast pork are better in China
- more bikes in Beijing than Shanghai (and they can’t stand each other, lol!)
- Western-style toilet - perfect for homes but unsanitary outside - they’d rather squat!
- yes, the Chinese are hardworking and things moved more efficiently than here in the U.S.
6June2008
Posted by Andrew under: 5. Huangshan Mountains; 0. Home China Page.
After about three and a half hours and five TsingTao beers and three ice coffees later at the airport, we proceeded to check in. Our unopened bottle of vodka had to be “tested” and we thought security was going to drink it. The security checks in China are actually quite thorough and they will open and smell your vials of liquids if they can’t tell what it is by sight. Reggie had his bottle of hairspray taken from him but they allowed him to recheck it - they took him to the baggage area and the heavy metal door slammed shut behind him as if he was being lead away by the Oompah Loompahs; we wondered if we were going to see him again for the rest of the trip. (Fortunately, he rejoined us in the waiting area.) What’s surprising is how nice they are about it, no attitude and they take extreme care in removing items from your bag as well as insure that everything is put back as neatly as possible. You can tell we are no longer in America.
With some time to spare we had to look for outlets for our laptops and the only place was alongside the TVs scattered throughout the waiting area, about 5 TVs in all. I chose mine away from most people and had to move the TV plug to accommodate my fat adapter but quickly plugged the TV back in for the one lady watching a soap opera. (Reggie, however, with his Mac completely knocked out a TV’s multi-plug while a number of people were watching a sporting event.)
About 45 minutes before we are to board, we hear a rumble and sounds of rain all around us; multiple flashes of lightning and more thunder. The rains get heavier and drown out the ambient noises. Every ten minutes they announce that our flight is delayed but no further information is given. Unfortunately this keeps up to way pass our scheduled departure time. In fact, our plane is suppose to arrive from Shanghai, an hour away, but has not even left the airport. By 11:30 we hear a new message in Chinese that did not sound like the ones before and Zach nodded to me that our flight will be canceled and sure enough it is. The people on duty for the airline immediately gather all of us, about 40 or so, so that we can collect our luggage while they bring around two buses - one for us and another for our luggage.
Though no one is happy, no one is complaining either. We arrive at a hotel about 10 minutes away to find everyone surrounding the woman that called us together initially to find out what we need to do. At this point she takes everyones’ boarding pass and directs us to go to the fifth floor of the hotel by way of the one small elevator that holds six people, luggage and all, where she proceeds to assign the rooms. The only real confusion we had was what time we were suppose to meet for breakfast and what time we were being picked up: either 7a or 6a. We got to the room, showered and set our alarm for 6:25, just in case. Amazingly, they had taken the precaution of giving all of us a wake up call at 6:30, without our knowledge.
We could not believe how well thought out and how smoothly this transition went. The airport personnel took immediate action and had us in our rooms within two hours of our scheduled flight time. No one complained, well, we did because our room was hot but that’s not the airline’s fault. A wake up call was placed for each traveler and a full buffet breakfast made available and ready by 7am. You can tell we are no longer in America.
Start Slide Show 
5June2008
Posted by Andrew under: 5. Huangshan Mountains; 0. Home China Page.
… and a challenge and an epiphany for the Chinateers.
I had read and heard so much about Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) that I presumed it could never match my expectations. The trip there was long and confusing, and this after dozens of emails trying to pinpoint the best route there with Ellyse, our Singapore-cum-Shanghai Internet helpline. Getting there involved three taxis, two buses, several long walks hauling all our luggage, finding the proper place to check the majority of it-including our laptops at the bus station (with a grain of trust that all would be there when we returned the next day and that we would make it back by 5 pm when they closed-all this explained to us in Chinese)-an amazing cable ride covering over 7500m in 8 minutes, and an almost 2 hour hike to find our hotel before sunset.
We were generously rewarded for our efforts: Huangshan is nothing less than magical. An enormous amalgamation of dozens of jagged mountain peaks and ridges, strange and mysterous stone figures and pine tress popping out of every crack and crevice, and the ever changing canvas of clouds, some above, some floating by, enveloping our bodies and faces, and some below to be gazed out from above.
Our hotel, the Baiyun (White Cloud) was two star at best, but the location was key. We were within a 15 minute hike of one of the revered sunrise spots on the mountain next to the weather observatory. After the arduous hike with about 15 pounds each of our most-precious-can’t-live-without-even-for-one-night possessions, we made out on our “first” hike after checking in to our triple room for sunset (without 15 lbs on our backs) - approximately 2 miles of especially well maintained but steep steps.
Along the way we regularly passed the infamous porters: rail thin but sinewy men carrying all sorts of cargo on their backs (from food, concrete and marble, 12-foot plumbing pieces, and of course, the stereotypical lazy, overweight American with the help of walking and balancing sticks). Although they did not like to be photographed, they would often smile through broken yellowed teeth if you greeted them with a simple “Ni Hao” (hello). Three hours later, and dripping with sweat, we were rewarded with the most amazing photographs and memories that we are inequipped to described (in both Chinese and English).
Dinner at the hotel was a challenge, as the menu was Chinese-only (something we are finding is more the norm than not). Fortunately, we found a Taiwanese fellow guest who did his best to translate and order for us. Word to the wise: apparently “tomato” is “potato” in Chinese-Dan Quayle take note! Luckily, he ordered us the most delicious scrambled eggs we have ever had (though we asked for eggplant). After dinner, he insisted on buying Zach a pijiu (beer) in an attempt to make him his drinking buddy as he proceeded to sweet talk the ladies behind the bar. We can only imagine how he made out as we were already in bed and asleep, getting ready for the following morning sunrise hike.
The alarm went off as scheduled though I was awake way before the alarm. As much as I love watching bugs, I cannot abide sleeping with them. Did I mention the entire mountainside is overrun with flying weevils this time of year? At least they don’t bite but I’d rather not have them crawl on me while sleeping. Reggie has noted how fanatical I am about bugs in the room. (We all have our neuroses, thanks, Doreen.) We made our way to “Bright Summit” to hopefully catch the sunrise. Though the air was comfortable enough, no need for a jacket, the summit was quite blustery and I was glad I brought the windbreaker anyway. We were the second group to make it to the meterology/observatory center at Bright Summit and we were treated to a cloudy and overcast view so we never caught a sunrise but still enjoyed the mist blowing across the mountain and visited a different viewing platform we had not seen on the earlier hike. Without our baggage, the hike was much more pleasant though we know we’d have to hike back to catch the cable cars with our baggage. There aren’t words to describe what we saw, perhaps we should just quote a poet on the beauty that is Huang Shan: <quote here>
After the sunrise hike, we spent the rest of the morning taking a nap and preparing ourselves mentally for the hike back to the cable cars. Though I have never backpacked anywhere, I now can appreciate what others have done before me. Both Reg and I are glad we followed Zach’s insistence to do leg workouts before we left. (I cheated by doing step aerobics with Reg’s friend Suzy.) Reg opted for a full breakfast while Zach and I ate “ramen” noodles, a leftover bun from an earlier plane ride (thanks, Mom, for making me save anything wrapped up that I can eat later!) and instant coffee. Almost all the hotels have pots to boil water so we can make it the night before and fill our water bottles for the next day. So far none of us have caught any intestinal bugs!
At first we had planned to be at a different section of the mountains and work our way down the mountain for the full day but because we had to pick up our luggage from the bus station before 5pm (which meant negotiating the buses and cabs that take over four hours in total), we had to rearrange our plans and to our dismay, basically hike back the way we came, seeing nothing new. Fortunately, the trails are well marked and we found a new trail that would take us to the cable cars via a different route. This turned out to be spectacular and the most fabulous portion of the trail. (Click on the pix below!)
We negotiated the way back and inadvertently were sent to a train station (one of the many vocabulary words I learned ahead of time!) instead of the bus station! We finally made our way to the airport, albeit seven hours early. (Zach’s mom, please note: he is at last early for something and you know how much he hates waiting!) Both Reg and I also opted to be at the airport rather than tour Tongxi with all our luggage in tow. We were the only people at the airport and had VIP service at the restaurant, and yes, paid for it. A wonderful woman named Ashley, a college senior, helped us with the menu and was sweet as can be. They love to practice their English and stare at Zach and his arms, which he doesn’t mind either. Reggie and I seem to blend which is fine with us though I am sometimes mistaken for Singaporean or Japanese.
> Click on the inspiring views here <
Start Slide Show
28May2008
Posted by Andrew under: 0. Home China Page.
All is well though we spent about 15 hours for a 1 hour flight but more on that later (those hard rains in southern China probably affected us). We finally got to a place that had decent WiFi and speed. We have two new posts for Yangshuo and Hangzhou (the beautiful West Lake). We have so many pictures it’s hard to cull so I’ll add some soon!
28May2008
Posted by Andrew under: 3. Yangshuo; 0. Home China Page.
We started the trip to Yangshuo by flying into Guilin and driving to the town for about an hour and a half. The humidity was apparent the moment we stepped off the plane. And even more impressively, the gorgeous pinnacles like karsts in the distance.We started off our Yangshuo experience in the local town with a quick bite and drinks and had to drop off our luggage at Kelly’s Cafe because the single road leading to our Li River Retreat would be over-run with market sellers and tourists, making it inaccesable until after 5, which I would get to know firsthand the following day. We had a little time to explore the nearby scenary and talk to a travel agent regarding our future travel plans to Hangzhou, since the sleeper car we were hoping to book was no longer available.
A beautiful young woman, Phiona, came to collect us for our authentic cooking class with a trip to the fresh market - here we got to see where all the local produce and meat supply both the restaurant and locals. Growing up in Chinatown, many items were quite familiar: roast duck and chickens hanging on hooks (including live ducks, chickens and rabbit), squid and octopus, as well as whole roasted pig, fish of many varieties, frogs and turtles. We were then led carefully and with warning that no photographs were permitted, to the display of whole dogs hanging in the distance. Although we had been warned that this was a staple of Chinese cuising, it was still shocking and upsetting to see, although we tried to accept the cultural differences and not be too judgmnetal. Nevertheless, Zach, who has trouble eating whole cooked chicken, wondered aloud how he would consume any meat, two legs or four, for the remainer of the trip. Phiona, herself, acknowledged that she never ate dog either.
Of note was the hugest cucumber we ever saw (see the normal sized meat cleaver next to it), larger than any watermelon I’ve seen with my own eyes. There were pails and pails of eels and other squirmy things in freshwater; hard and soft varieties of tofu; lots of dried peppers and chillies; rows of leafy green vegetables and lettuce stalk (what’s suppose to be in chicken and cashews but is replaced by celery). But no bugs or fried insects, seems like the rural life is quite civilized really.
After the market tour, we were herded to a class with about 12 others from New Zealand and Brisbane, Australia. One woman was also an “overseas” Chinese. A young lady lead our class while the Phiona assisted us in prepping and cooking. Our menu consisted of: steamed stuffed vegetables, chicken and cashews, eggplant, beer fish (local specialty) and stir-fried vegetables. Very simple to make as she instructed us on how to cut, chop, and dice. Zach has learned the art of using a cleaver without cutting himself now. All the menu items were great but the steamed stuffed vegetables were a stand out. We got to sit down and have our dinner with a few bottles of local beer and a view of the adjoining farm: oxen, chickens and all.
After class, we met our guide for the next two days, Lilly Lu. At first she struck us as superhyper, but over the two days to follow we came to love her, and to call her, much to her chagrin, Mama Lu, because she was so maternal to the three of us (and learned the phrase “mamma mia” from Italian visitors). The Li River Retreat is like any hotel situated in the woods, quite buggy but functional; hardly the tough lifestyle we were experiencing at the Commune on the Great Wall or the Holiday Inn in Beijing. There were no phones or TVs and wifi was spotty at best. The restaurant food was quite good and they walk it to the outdoor seating area from the kitchen beyond the reception area, though there was only a single chef and food was exceptionally slow coming out. However, the location, riverside and away from the hustle and bustle of West Street, was charming and peaceful.
The next day was exciting: we toured the countryside on bikes and took two river raft tours. The first river tour was beautiful but overall not as inspiring as the second one, which was on the Li River with huge mountains rising up all around you in shapes of animals lumbering through the woods or with a facade of 9 horses, racing across the mountainface. Like Thailand, on the smaller raft ride, there were platforms in the river where they sold beer and snacks or photos they took of you in your raft. One thing about digital photography is that there is probably less waste - they don’t need to print up the pictures anymore and can just delete the ones they don’t sell and save in production costs!
Along our bike tour I spied Red Cross tents and wondered why they were there. Lilly told us that they were still helping the people affected by the snowsotrms this past winter. Gosh, China has been hit with quite a few problems and as auspicious as 8/8/08 is for the Olympics, the Gods are not completely happy.
We arrived at Moon Hill, this wondrous small mountain with a hole naturally carved through it and over looking the entire valley. The experience was quite something as it took about hundreds of steep steps to reach the partial summit (under the hole) and another 5-10 minutes to climb to the top (above the hole). As with any tourist spot, there are people selling trinkets and libations but here they are elderly woman, as old as 60, who climb the summit with you the entire way! Three followed us (one for each of us) and we were amazed at the feistiness and fitness of these women though one did drop out after a quarter of the way through. Water is Y10 ($1.40) at the bottom and Y20 as you reach the top. Lilly, our guide stayed below but told us that they would follow us and that we really couldn’t do anything about it. Sometimes these women make the trip 4 or more times a day! Still, they were quite friendly and we learned a little about them and their family (in our broken Chinese and English way) and in the end we bought postcards and water from them. Zach and Andrew’s private “guide” fanned him the entire way up and down Moon Hill (poor Reg). Unfortunately my battery ran out and no one else carried their cameras that day so we have no pictures of these ladies.
Afterwards, Lilly took us to a great local restaurant that served a hot pot, specifically a duck dish that was absolutely delicious - spicy with an amazing broth. We would repeat that experience with fish at a different place the next day. The difference would be that we’d have “normal” sized chairs instead of the pre-school sized ones at the first place! PS. You think Chinese restaurants in NYC are dirty? DO NOT go behind the “curtain” at these places! Lunch for four at each place cost 60 to 80 Yuan, approximately $9 to $11, tip included!
In order to replace my camera battery, I had to bike my way from town back up the mountain to our Retreat but through the day market, which fills up with tourists that are deposited there by the large river boats. You cannot cross the path by car or bike and must make your way on foot. We were warned about this and hence our cooking class when we first arrive in town. It’s amazing how crowded it truly was and how the tourists couldn’t care less that you are trying to make your way.
The next was our last full day in Yangshuo and we took a cave tour that had a mud river running through it and a crawl space that we’d have to cross, which made us a little apprehensive and we decided on the smaller tour (1-1/2 versues 3 hrs). We switched out of our shoes and into these plastic slippers that seemed flimsy but worked great and even more importantly, a hard hat. It’s amazing how cool the cave was and how much work it was climbing through it was. The cave had beautiful stalagmites/tites in all sorts of amazing shapes: donuts, breasts, hands, feet, a throne, etc. Zach and I endulged in a mud fight worthy of Alexis and Krystal! Reggie opted out, claiming he “didn’t like cold water.” (Yeah, right! but if it was a mud facial at the Canyon Ranch Spa …)
Finally, we were off for our final challange, rock climbing on the amazing karsts of Yangshuo. We had selected a small Chinese outfitter, Black Rock, and were pleased that we had one-on-one support for the most part for our training and climbs. We attempted three climbs, each progressively more difficult, ranging from 15 M to 30 M, which none of us completed but successfully and proudly attempted. There were a few scrapes and bruises along the way, lots of laughter and comraderie with our Chinese guides and fellow climbers (two girls and a guy from China), and lots of mosquitoes and dirt. Evertyhing needed to make a man feel like a young boy again - fantastic!!
After rejoining Lilly for celebratory drinks and a Chinese pizza, while watching sunset over the Karsts and a “Live Aid” style concert in support of Earthquake Relief that we made donations to; then we shopped for buns for our early morming trip to the airport ( 6:15 pickup) and said a sad but affectionate goodbye to Mamma Lu and exhausted farewell to Yangshuo.
Yangshuo, we came, we cooked, we biked, we hiked, we crawled, we climbed and we rocked!
I have so many great pix that I decided to make them available here:
>Yangshuo pix<
Quiz: The road to the Yangshuo airport is paved with:
A] copious amounts of cow dung
B] one-lane, two-way road
C] not paved at all
D] good intentions
E] all of the above
UPDATE: Zach has yet to use a squat toilet on this trip! (Amazing what chanting “I’m not there yet” can do to your GI system.)
28May2008
Posted by Reggie under: 4. Hangzhou; 0. Home China Page.
On Saturday morning, we arrived at Hangzhou via a 3 hour flight. This was an opportunity to smooth out the calluses we earned in Yangshuo. This was truly a “City of Heaven.” There were 2 distinct rings around the lake. The first dating back to 221 BC which included palaces, pagodas and temples. The second ring was a more modern haven denoted by Starbucks, Armani, Ferrari, Hermes and Gucci.
The Hyatt was equally decadent. It met my expectations of a 5-star establishment. Our rooms were tastefully furnished. The bathroom was equipped with both a glass enclosed shower and a sizeable soaking tub. (It always seems more difficult when you have choices!)
Earlier on the trip, I came to realize that one of Andrew and Zach’s favorite rituals was surveying the bathroom amenities. In fact, Zach and Andrew seemed very satisfied after they raped and pillaged reviewed the offerings provided by the “spoils” box. This scene was akin to having warriors emerging victoriously from battle. Too cute, guys! [AC: I don’t know what he’s talking about.]
Next, we attended a champagne brunch at the Hyatt Café. The food was impressive and fresh. It offered western and eastern delicacies (sushi, lamb, steak, dumplings, noodle soup and dessert). The chefs were more than happy to cook for us at their respective stations.
After shamelessly engorging ourselves, we strolled around Westlake. The weather was 85 F and very humid. The lake was situated in a row of hills wrapped in green forest. Our four hour excursion was relaxing. Many young couples get away to
Westlake, and to this end, it was easy to appreciate the romance in the lake air.There were two minor disappointments later that night.
Zach purchased a bottle of clear alcohol anticipating a vodka-like liquor-unfortunately, it was akin to drinking Glade air freshener.
Our second disappointment occurred when we visited the only gay bar in the area.
Inside, we found 3 young men singing karaoke.
There were more bartenders than patrons at the establishment. Luckily however, the night was marked by a well-deserved sleep in our comfortable beds.
On our second day here, we purchased a ferry ticket to explore the islands and inner lakes within Westlake. We could only begin to appreciate the beauty and sanctity that Marco Polo witnessed centuries before. The scenic views provided for a plethora of opportunity for landscape photography.
After 3 hours, my desire to sightsee abated. So I left my Chinateers to return to the hotel spa and rejuvenate for the next leg of the trip. The hotel offered me a memorable 1.5 hour foot massage and pedicure. This was such a perfect combination for pampering oneself in nature and shopping. Perhaps this was one degree short of heaven.
22May2008
Posted by Reggie under: 1. Beijing.
This is the fourth day with my fellow Chinateers. To date, every moment of this trip has been marked by rich experiences via a busy itinerary. As a result, I decided to leave my fellow travelers to seek a restorative measure. So, I decided to return to our hotel for a full body massage.
The Holiday Inn Spa had a limited massage menu of 4 available services (Thai, Traditional, Back, Hand and Foot). However, the clerk guaranteed that I would be very happy with their service and it would be performed in the privacy of my room.
I proceeded to my room in anticipation of a 90 minute Thai massage. Minutes later, my masseuse Lilly, knocked at my door. She was a petite and very attractive young woman who spoke broken English. At first, she appeared bashful. She blushed as I undressed down to my underwear.
She began my massage on my bed, as I laid on my stomach. I felt her skills were mediocre at best. Then, Lilly offered me, what she thought, was a better one. She said, “you give me tip and I play with this (penis).” I declined politely. Nevertheless, she proceeded with her massage as she straddled my buttocks. At this point, she decided to take out the body oil and began rubbing it over my body. Suddenly, she stopped and said, “You wait moment.” So, I kept my eyes closed as I focused on the soothing music.
She remounted my buttocks. However, she felt different. There was a moment of silence. I turned my head to realize that she was nude. I remarked, “that really isn’t necessary.” She said smiling, “I no want oil on me…understand?” “Barking up the wrong tree,” is such an understatement.
I felt her unabated determination to complete a cash and carnal transaction. She continued my massage and intermittently, proposed more if I promised to tip her generously. I chuckled and declined. Forty minutes later, I began to get worried that Andrew, an avid photographer, would walk in and capture this encounter for our blog. To this end I said, “Honey you can put to your clothes on now.” She left disappointed.
Seconds later, the boys arrived. Zach denoted her lingering perfume, so I explained what had happened. Later that night, my Chinateers were speaking with our guest relations representative and asked for a recommendation for a good massage establishment.
I asked him what he thought about his hotel spa services. His response was, “The massages here no good…only good for “some” men. I looked at Andrew and Zach and we laughed hysterically.
22May2008
Posted by Andrew under: 1. Beijing.
Yesterday was our last full day in Beijing and we spent the day visiting the Summer Palace and the Temple of Heaven. The latter was not a Buddhist temple but in fact a way for the emperor to pay homage to the god(s) and prepare sacrifices (such as ox and other animals). Both sites are way larger than the Forbidden City and no less grand.
While flying to Guilin, here are a few of our observations of Beijing:
- Smoking is not as prevalent as we thought and even the airport has a smoking room; there are also “green” cabs where smoking is not allowed
- Clean streets, dusty hazy skies
- The smog and haze is quite strong but not as sooty and black as I read in other travel bloggers
- No one was pushy - the only time we experienced it was at the Temple of Heaven: these three elderly ladies were pushing and talking their way in line though there was only space for two lines. When we got to glimpse the emperor’s chair, turns out they did not even bother to look at the exhibit and continued on walking, talking and pushing …
- Still a biking city though the cars do outnumber them but the bikers really pay no mind at all to the cars - our taxi driver had to swerve multiple times to avoid hitting any of them
- Apartment complexes are built in sets of at least three duplicate buildings - you often see multiple buildings dotting the skyline
- Beijingers are quite free to comment about their government in the open without concern that someone can overhear
- Zach will get stares (but the plus is that you are allowed to stare back) and because he has large arms, they want to touch him - one soldier asked if Zach was in the American Army. (Zach asked me to tell him that “he was too old to be in the army.” Sorry but I didn’t learn that in any of my dialogues. I must be using an outdated lesson …) some thought I was Singaporean.
- Excellent opportunity to supply toilet paper vending machines!
- Learning to bargain from an expert - pay no more than 10% of the starting price
- I knew more Chinese than I realized and started to recognize more phrases, though hardly fluent they do seem to understand me. Now if only they’d stop speaking to me in Chinese!
- Surprising number of English signage throughout the city, I guess all in prep for the Olympics.
- Sharks (boys/men hanging off their male peers), pandas (people with poofy hairdos), scorpions (women with long wisps of hair hanging down from each side of their face to their shoulders)
Funny story, the concierge told us how to take bus #10 to get to the closest train station where we can then travel to another part of the city. After some sightseeing in the central part of Beijing, we see a #10 bus that we can take back the way we came. Once we get on, I tell Zach that we take this bus for another 5 stops to that same train station and ask the bus attendent to let us know when we get there. I’m feeling smug that I was able to “read” (recognize) the bus stops and pinpoint that we were going in the right direction. Zach turns to me and asks, “Why would we get off the #10 bus at the train station to only reboard the same #10 bus to take us back to the hotel?!” D’oh!
Here is a picture of us with Qing, our Beijing guide, and her husband Chen, who drove us to the Commune and back. If anyone needs a guide in Beijing, she was the best and we’ll let you know how to get in touch with her. (When we first heard about the ‘quake and not knowing exactly where it occurred, we e-mailed her to see if she was okay. She had no idea that it had happened until she saw the flood of e-mails in her inbox!)
Start Slide Show
