The Ultimate Trip - Has ended

Warning!! Parents and those people concerned with our saftey should read at their own risk!!

Last week while Patrick was sick, I decided to visit the Museum of Ethnography, which is a little outside of Hanoi. The museum itself is really well done, with interesting artifacts from many of the minority groups in Vietnam. However, it is not the easiest place to get to without a taxi. Since hiring a regular taxi would have been quite expensive for one person, I settled on riding on the back of a motorbike taxi for the 14 km round trip. The owner of our hotel found a guy who would drive my out to the museum, wait while I wandered through, and then bring me back to the hotel for 30,000 dong, the equivalent of about $2.
I jumped on to the back of the motorbike and off we went. Of course, since no one in Hanoi wears helmets, I was not given one either. My driver seemed to think that I was in a hurry, and so we sped through the little, windy streets of old town like we were escaping from something. I was even surprised when he chose to stop for the few stop lights on the way. We weaved in and out of traffic, around large trucks, and he managed to get the motorbike up to 60 km/hr at some points on these back streets - I really thought that I was going to fly off the back of the bike. My heart was beating like crazy, and starting to have a panic attack thinking "what have I done? I'm going to get killed by this maniac". Luckily, when we made it out onto the main 4-lane road, he was unsure where to go, so he slowed down to a snails pace. I swore that if we made it to the museum in one piece that I would absolutely find someone who spoke English to tell him to slow down on the return trip.
When I was ready to go, I pointed to the speedometer, indicating that he should not go above 40 km/hr - I don't know where I got the idea that this was a good speed. It took a bit of pantomiming, but he got the idea. As we were driving off, another driver standing by, said something to me in Vietnamese and then winked. Uh oh, I took this as a bad sign that he was going to "scare" the poor foriegner. But, no, my driver was truely a gem, and slowed right down, not daring to go above 40km (I saw him check his speed more than a few times). He also stopped driving like a maniac, and even drove me past some beautiful sights that I would not have otherwise seen. On our way, we saw a man laying in the road up ahead. At first, I thought he had fallen off of his motorbike, but then realized that there was no bike in sight. As we got closer I thought for sure that he must have been hit by a car, but when we passed my driver made beer drinking motions. They guy was a drunk who was trying to crawl across the road!
I decided that if my driver managed to drive safely the whole way back, that I would give him a 10,000 dong tip (about $0.70). But, when I tried to hand him the note, the owner of my hotel would not let me give it to him. I don't know what the issue was - maybe they just discourage tipping??
Although the museum was very nice, I will never forget my ride on the motorbike taxi.

Back in the exhausting city of Hanoi, after a wonderful trip to Ha Long Bay, and we are ready to head south quickly! Even just a few days away from the noise and pollution here were enough to soften us again. I honestly have to say that, although the Vietnamese are some of the kindest people we have met, I really do not like Hanoi. It is too crazy for me. Maybe there is just too much country mouse in me, but having to listen to bike horns, loud speakers, squealing breaks, construction and just plain loud people, in every corner of the city starting at about 6:00am until well after 10:00pm is making me CRAZY! There is always so much going on and you just can't get away from it. I am also really sick of everyone trying to sell me donuts and postcards and cyclo rides and motorbike rides and fruit and....... You are really in trouble if you make eye contact, because that is their invitation to start harassing you for money. And everyone is yelling "hello" and "would you like a ....." to the point that you have to just ignore everyone on the street. It really goes against my need to be polite.
I am yearning for a little beach hut, away from everyone, where we can just relax and read for at least a week. I think I would even take a hotel with soundproof walls ;-)
Needless to say we are leaving tonight on the overnight train for Hoi An.
We did have a great time in Ha Long Bay. In fact, it was like a little slice of heaven! We were lucky enough to be able to tour with Handspan - a great company that I highly recommend - on their new Dragons Pearl boat. Our first day involved getting to the boat and then cruising through the bay while we had lunch. The boat was a beatiful Chinese Junk, with 19 perfectly appointed cabins on two decks, a formal dining room with linen table cloths and napkins, a deck with cocktail tables and another with lounge chairs. It was almost like being on a large yacht. Everything in our room was teak, from floor to ceiling, we had a queen sized bed, and even a working shower with hot water - the best shower we have had in Vietnam! We really felt like we were in the lap of luxury. In the evening, we dined on fresh seafood Vietnamese style and then relaxed on the deck under the stars listening to live traditional Vietnamese music.
The following morning we were woken up extreamly early to transfer to our stay at their beach basecamp. We were surprised to find perfect little two person huts set up on a miniature beach on one of the small islands. This beach was just large enough for the sleeping cabins for 14 customers and 4 employees, a kitchen and dining area, and a western toilet and hot shower. A perfect escape from the tourist attractions in the bay. After dropping off our bags, we went out to explore the bay in sea kayaks! This was probably the best part of the whole Ha Long Bay experience and is really the only way to explore the islands. There are hundreds of little islands and much of the bay is too shallow for the tourist boats to get to. Kayaking allowed us to paddle through arches, go into bays used for breeding fish, and just get nice and close to the islands. At midday, we met another small boat for a large lunch, and kept exploring until late in the day. All in all, we were out in the boats for about 5 hours. Patrick and I shared a tandem kayak, a real test of our ability to work together :-)
Unfortunately, our trip ended the next morning, with a transport back to a midsized boat for the motor back to Ha Long city and then on to Hanoi. We really felt as if we could have spent at least a week out there exploring and kayaking.
Aside from the beauty of this unique UNESCO site, we really enjoyed, and were surprised by, the people that were on the trip with us. In fact, one of the best aspects of world travel is the people that you meet. On the boat, we spent much of our time with a Japanese couple who live in New York city. They are both American correspondants for a Japanese news program. They have traveled the U.S. more than most Americans we know and have even taken a 2 week rafting trip down the Colorado, making Patrick extreamly jealous.
Also with us on our trip were an Australian family of four, traveling in both Vietnam and Cambodia on their summer break; a Dutch couple in their mid 30s who sold their house and business to travel through SE Asia and Australia for a year; a Canadian family of four who live and work in Malaysia; and a German couple from Austria who travel as much as my parents! It is so much fun to meet all these varied people, exchange ideas, and in many cases receive invitations to stay when we arrive in their part of the world.

Wishing you all the very best holidays where ever you are in the world. If only you could be with us in this very unusual spot for Christmas!
Even though most Vietnamese are Buddhist, they take every opportunity they can to throw a party. In Hanoi, santas abound, as well as plenty of Christmas trees, decorations, strings of lights and toys, toys, toys.
There are hawkers on every corner trying to get you to buy their carnival prizes.
Leaving dinner tonight, we encountered the worst traffic jam we have ever seen - millions of motorbikes packed the streets such that even the walkers could not get through. All traffic was at a standstill as every resident of Hanoi, including all the tourists, were out walking, ridings bikes and motorbikes, and driving in cars. An impromptu parade formed around the lake, and many people were even in costume! You would think that crossing streets would become easier, but it is not true. Even with all the traffic jams, the crazy motorbike drivers managed to find spaces to squeeze by and get up to amazing speeds in very short distances. There is obviously no helmet law here, as only about 1 person in 100 ever wears one. And forget about road rules! All vehicles can drive on either side of the road, swerve in and out of traffic, go at any speed they feel is apropriate, obstruct pedestrians and other traffic however they please, and even drive down one way streets the wrong way. I swear that people in Asia have absolutely no fear of death!

Tomorrow we go to see Ho Chi Minh, after which we will have our traditional Christmas Day dinner at the cooking school in Hanoi! On the 26th of December it is off for a cruise on Ha Long Bay with a little bit of kayaking thrown in for good measure.

Sorry for the cheesy title on my last blog......
Haven't posted for a while because the net was unbelievably slow in Sa Pa. Not that it is any better in Hanoi, but it has to be done! By the way, feel free to write comments to our guestbook (on the right side of the page). Thought some people may have an easier time accessing it than the comments.

We have had a great time in Vietnam so far. Ok, so the food isn't as good as in China and the merchants are a bit annoying, but the country is spectacular! Much of our time in Sa Pa was spent trekking to nearby villages or putting around on a little motorbike. Our trek took us past green misty mountains and beatifully terraced rice paddies, over swaying bridges that crossed a rushing river, into minority hill tribe villages and through farms of water buffalo, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and black pigs. At night, we slept in the home of a Zai family, where our guide cooked over their open pit, wood fire. We were lucky to have two dry days with bright sunshine, so we were fairly warm while hiking and we were able to see the stars in the sky at night. Although the trekking was great, it was disturbing to deal with the young girls of the local Black Hmong minority. These girls are kept out of school because they can earn money for the family by using their looks to sell handicrafts to the tourists. They will follow you for miles saying "buy from me" and "why you no buy from me" and "you pay me more because I am pretty". It gets tiring and very depressing. Perhaps we should have gone on a less touristed route.
Sa Pa itself is a fairly boring town that is in the process of a boom. Everywhere you turn there is construction, from the new road being built for big tour busses, to hotels, to expat cafes. In fact, as you walk down the street you move from cafe to souvenir shop to hotel. Most of the food is pretty boring and overpriced, because they cater to the western tourist crowd that is afraid to try "different" food. As anyone who travels can tell you, local people can cook their own food quite well, but do a horrible job at trying to imitate foreign foods. Besides, Vietnam is pretty much the capital of poor imitations. Best to stick to the real Vietnamese food! My advice is that if you are going to Sa Pa do it soon, or spend most of your time out of town trekking on the less popular routes (if you can find one).
For one day, Patrick and I rented a motorbike (Patrick drove and I just held on) and we traveled over the mountains into the valley to the West of Sa Pa. Only 20 Km from Sa Pa the weather changed and we were in a pocket of sunny, warm and humid weather. It was great to feel a bit of warmth! The route over the mountains was beautiful and we passed very few vehicles on our way. Actually, we were a bit surprised that there were so few tourists on that side of the mountains, but thankful to have a bit of peace and quiet. We rode to the nearest village, about 50 Km away and wandered a bit around their market. The local woman were intrigued by my North Face down jacket, and at one point I had 5 women around my pinching at my arms! They were all very impressed and I'm sure that I could have traded it for some nice pig carcass.
On our way back we drove past interesting thatched roof houses and saw the local people drying hemp to weave into clothing. As we drove back into the mountains our bike started to sputter and die. Every couple of kilometers, it would just stop running and we would have to sit a minute before it would start again. We limped all the way back to the top of the pass, but only another kilometer down the road it died completely. Even though the owner had given us his phone number in case of an emergency, we were in the middle of nowhere and had no way to call him. So, we started pushing the bike back toward Sa Pa, which was another 10 Km down the desolate road. Not 30 seconds later, a guy came running up to us and asked if he could help. We were very impressed with this good samaritan, but a little embarrassed when he pointed out that our tank was empty. The gauge read half a tank, we insisted, but he just laughed at our ignorance. Of course it says half a tank, in Vietnam that means empty! Well, ever the enterprising Vietnamese, he sold us a gallon of gas for $2, a 100% mark-up because of our desperate situation. But, we made it back to Sa Pa in one piece and still in good humor.
Our final day in the North was spent at the Bac Ha market, a place where local people come from all around to trade in livestock, handicrafts, fabrics, tobacco, and produce, drink lots of alcohol, and for the young, to possibly meet their future spouses. It was interesting to see the livestock market, but the handicrafts market was a dissapointment and overall it was much too crowded. It is another place where there are too many tourists, all bused in for the day and taking the exact same tours. Have we learned our lesson yet??

We are now in Hanoi and loving the speed and excitement of everything! We were able to bargain for a very nice room in the center of the old town and will spend the next few days checking out the city and its surroundings!

We crossed the border first thing this morning, and what great fun to be in a new country! After a long bus ride yesterday, we made it to the Chinese border town of Hekou without a place to stay. No problem, because a tout accosted us and took us to his adequite room only 2 minutes away. He promised to take us to a "good and cheap" restaurant that he knew, but then wanted us to "tip" him in dollars. We just wouldn't do it, so he took us anyway. But, the "cheap" place was actually 3 times as expensive as what we were paying in the rest of China, so we decided to leave. Because we didn't eat anything, the owner decided to charge us 10 yuan for a 4 yuan tea, but we really couldn't refuse. We did have a bit of an argument with him, but in the end just paid it an left.
This morning was a new day, so after changing some yuan into dong, we headed for the border. Crossing entailed going through all the normal rigamarole that you would in an airport (exit stamp and customs on both sides) and additionally walking across the bridge between the two contries. We were there right along with all the Chinese orange sellers who were peddling their wares across. I guess sometime people actually get stuck on the bridge if their exit and entry visas are not correct. Luckily, we did not have to spend the night on the bridge.
We caught the first bus from Lao Cai (Vietnamese border town) to Sa Pa in the mountains and are no interred here in a very nice hotel. This is low season, so there are plenty of rooms to be had and we found one with a glassed in balcony, overlooking the valley and a big double bed!

I was just thinking that I might share a little story that happened to me in Lijiang.......
All throughout China I have been admiring a particular wall hanging that comes from Tibet. Since we are not able to get to Tibet on this trip, I have been checking out the prices whenever I see a nice one. Usually, these items cost between $100 and $400, way out of my price range! One night while wandering around Lijiang I stumbled upon yet another one of these wall hangings, and thought I would check one more time. The woman tending the shop promised to give me a good price on whichever one I chose, but when I finally settled on one she wanted me to pay 950 yuan (about $115)! Of course I wasn't ready to pay that much, so just for kicks I offered her 100 yuan (about $12). Not unexpectedly, she absolutely refused my offer, but when I went to walk away she called me right back to counter with 850 yuan. As much as I really wanted one of these wall hangings, I couldn't afford more than the 100 yuan that I originally offered so I began to walk away again. Again she called me back and countered with 400 yuan and again I said it was too much. At this point she turned her back on me (as they do often) and started angrily speaking in Chinese, so I again left. When I was about half a block away, she called to me and said "OK, OK, come back". Back I went, with my 100 yuan in hand ready to make the transaction. But, when I got to her store she was complaining that 100 was too little, I should pay her 150 instead. I pointed out that she had already made a deal with me, but that just angered her more. She continued to yell at me that I was taking food out of her children's mouth and how could she feed her family if I didn't pay more. She kept begging and begging me to pay just a little more, and I really started to feel badly for taking advantage. However, she continued to wrap the texile up, while cursing me under her breath. Then we made the transaction.
The funniest thing was that when all was said and done, she started to smile and give me the thumbs up! As I walked away she called after me that I got a good deal, and that I should return and she would make sure to give me a good price! She was all smiles.
Do you think that means I still payed too much?

Even though our first impression of Dali was not the greatest, we decided to give it a couple of days, and we were greatly rewarded! Dali is definitely a place where foreigners go to unwind and relax, either from teaching English in other parts of China or just from too much traveling. And you can really understand why! The town in surrounded by mountains, and has a large lake (where people spend time cormorant fishing), so there is plenty of opportunity for outdoor activities. People in Dali are very laid back, and there is always someone around who can point you in a good direction for a trek. Yesterday we decided to take advantage of the close mountains, and spent about 7 hours hiking towards the summit of the hills with an American girl, Liza, who we met at Jim's Cafe. The trails in China, like the trails in Iceland, all seem to go straight up the mountain. It is as if no one has ever heard of switch backs! We did have a bit of a running start by catching a chair lift part of the way up, but it didn't help enough. Even after the lift and 5 hours of hiking we weren't able to make it to the summit. At that point we thought it best to turn around, and it was dark by the time we made it back to the bottom. We did get splendid views of the valley and lake below, and lots of excersize! It was great to feel my heart pounding in my chest again as more than two months on the road has definitely made us soft. We realized how great it is to get out and stretch our legs a bit, and have resolved to do it more often.
Although we would have liked to spend more time in Dali, biking around the lake and spending more time in the mountains, we are now really too short on time. So today we took the day train to Kunming, where we will stay two nights, before heading to the Vietnam border for our crossing on Tuesday. It turns out that the trains south of Kunming into Vietnam are not running due to some problem with the tracks. That means we will have take a bus the border town and walk across to Vietnam, before finding more transportation to our final destination of Sa Pa. It is all well and good, except that by the time the bus arrives at the border, it will be closed for the night. All of this wouldn't be too big of a problem, except that we managed to get visas for Vietnam, which begin the same day that our Chinese visas end. No room for error!

Well, for the first time on our long trip I am really experiencing some home sickness. I have begun to dream about being somewhere stable, living in a house and having my friends and family around. Luckily, Patrick is still enjoying the trail, so he is keeping my spirits up! Don't worry, we aren't coming back any time soon. :-)

Seems like we have done so much since I last posted! Let's see, we explored the cobbled streets of Lijiang, visited the Tiger Leaping Gorge, spent too many hours on buses, moved on to Dali, had some new interesting local foods, and have separated from our "family" again.
Lijiang was a cute town, but a little too touristy for our liking, so we headed out almost immediately to visit the famous Tiger Leaping Gorge. This is a place where the Yangtze river meets the Himalayas, for me a much more interesting place to see the river than down in the more touristed parts. The gorge is said to be the deepest in the world, and I wouldn't doubt it after seeing the steep mountain walls that reach something like 3000-4000 meters above the river below! The highest peak in the area is about 5200 meters tall (but not on the river), the highest mountain I have ever seen. I can't even express how thrilling it was to look up at the sides of these cliffs all around.
Usually, people go there for a 2 to 4 day trek in the mountains along the gorge itself. It is one of those places where you can trek from guesthouse to guesthouse, so you can carry very little supplies. Even with our limited time, we decided we had to give it a try. Our first stop was Daju, downstream from the usual starting point of the trek. The 3 hour bus ride, and 80 yuan park entrance fee, was well worth it, since we were rewarded with outstanding views of the towering snow-capped peaks all around. The tallest mountain in the area, Jade Dragon Snow Mountain at 5200 meters, is said to have never been summited - does anyone know if this is true? We were driven right to the entrance to the new ferry, which is really just a shallow motor boat that takes you across the Yangtze to the start of the trek. Our sights were set on making it to the Halfway Guest House for our first night, and then meeting our friend Clem at another guest house on the second night. The day was absolutely beautiful - clear, sunny and about 75 degrees F (26C) - a great day for a hike! However, when we stopped for a break at Tina's guest house, the warm sun on her patio, and the confortable rooms in her in (20 yuan for the nicest double bed we have seen yet), made us reconsider. So, we spent the rest of the afternoon, lounging in her garden, drinking cold beer, and admiring the excellent views of the cliffs around us. Dinner in Tina's cafe was fantastic, and we fell asleep planning for an early rise to continue our hike. Unfortunately, our hiking partner, Julie, became extreamly ill, and spent the whole night in the bathroom. Since we couldn't really force her to move the next morning, while Julie slept, Patrick and I spent the day hiking around Tina's guest house, eating her food, playing cards, and just generally enjoying a relaxing day in the best place imaginable! We were truely lucky to find this gem of a guest house - good food, good beds, hot water - and all told we only spent $5/person/day for our room, all our meals, and beer!
The following morning, we hired a car to drive us to Qiao Tou, an interesting Naxi town, and also the usual start of the trek. Sadly, we were unable to finish the trek due to our limited time left in China. But, we definitely were still able to enjoy our time in Tiger Leaping Gorge, and will someday return for a much longer time.
Even after the 2.5 hour bus ride back to Lijiang, we were so raring to keep moving, that we gathered our belongings, and our other friend Clem, and made the 3 hour journey to Dali. Dali is a town similar to Lijiang, maybe a little less yuppified, but with a concentration of the Bai minority people. The one thing that keeps it from being really interesting is "foreigner street", the place that all the ex-pats hang out. This is where it seems that all the Westerners spend their time, sleeping, eating and hanging out. We were really turned off last night when we walked into a bar, only to find that everyone in it, including the staff, were Westerners. Needless to say, we have moved to another part of town, where the Chinese hang out and play Mah jongg.
Looks like we will be spending our last few days in China in Dali, and then the border town to Vietnam!

After a 13 hour train ride, followed immediately by an 8 hour bus ride, we arrived safely, if a bit tired, in Lijiang yesterday. Peeling ourselves from our seats at the back of the bus, we were extreamly glad to be moving only at the pace our feet could take us.
Actually, the bus ride was spectacular. We rode West toward Tibet along mountains with sheer drop-off on one side and a sharp wall on the other. In true Chinese fashion, our bus driver let nothing stand in the way of getting here on time. We beeped our way around trucks carrying full loads of coal, people on bicycles, other buses, farmers with their various animals, donkeys carrying sticks... you name it, they jumped out of the way! Even when the road seemed far too narrow for two vehicles to pass, we managed. There were plenty of stops to use the loo, eat some lunch, and buy fresh fruit from street vendors (only the peeling kind ;-). It is great to get away from the cities and all their pollution! Did you know that there is some blue sky and sun in China after all?
Lijiang is great! It is a Naxi (pronounced Nashee) minority village in North Western Yunnan. The old town is really quaint, with cobblestone streets, wooden houses, and bubbling canals - and vehicle traffic is prohibited. Last night we happened upon an impromptu celebration, with a flute player and about 100 local people dancing around in a big cirlce. Combined with the sound of the flowing canals and the muted lights from the cities lanterns, it made for a very romantic evening. Too bad Patrick went to bed early.... We are also enjoying the beautiful mix of peoples here, from many different minority cultures. There are plenty of interesting traditional costumes and many new hand made souveniers to bring home. Although the town is a bit touristy, it is still peaceful and a nice change from the large cities.
We are hoping to get out on bikes tomorrow to see some surrounding villages!

We are on our way tonight to the Yunnan province town of Lijiang. We are hoping that heading south will bring some sun and warmer weather.
Chengdu has been an interesting town to spend a few days in and the highlights have definitely been the giant pandas, the Wenshu monestary and the huge sitting buddha in Leshan.
Two mornings ago we arose quite early to catch our lift out to the Giant Panda Research Center. Unfortunately, we had to do this as a tour through our hostel because it is almost impossible to get there on your own, but it was worth it! There were very few tourists while we were there and we were lucky enough to catch one young panda doing summersaults over and over. Actually, we saw almost all of the pandas, about 16, either eating or just lazing about. There were even two baby pandas in the nursery! We chose not to pay to have our pictures taken with the pandas - it just felt a little weird and unnatural. As with all places of the sort, it is hard to see such beautiful creatures in such artificial surroundings, but I kept trying to reassure myself that it was for a good reason. The Giant Panda is an endangered species which doesn't seem to be doing a good job of reproducing in the wild, even in protected areas. The center was set up with the goal of helping along the process. Unfortunately, very few pandas in captivity have reproduced successfully, even with artificial help. The Chinese have had the best luck in helping pandas reproduce so far, and they continue to research how to help the population. My understanding is that this is why the center was set up, although one can never tell the underlying motives in a country like this. For more information go to http://www.panda.org.cn/english/english.htm

That evening, I was surprised to see Clem sitting in the common room! It was so great to see her again, just like a family reunion. The attachments you make when you are so far away from home are unbelievably strong! So we are again traveling with her.
Yesterday, we again rose early to see the world's largest sitting Buddha in Leshan. It was a two hour trip by bus each way, with the last bus from Leshan to Chengdu leaving at 5:30pm. Even getting up early, we had to rush through the buddha park. You can not even imagine the size of this statue, carved into the side of a mountain along a river! The nail on the little toe is almost as big as I am! We wisely chose not to take one of the expensive river cruises, and instead spent our time wandering around the tranquil park after seeing the buddha. By the time we left the park, we were pretty short on time to catch the last bus. Instead of taking a taxi, we chanced a public bus. They took us to the place I pointed to on the map, but this turned out to be a different station than where our morning bus had dropped us off! Fortunately, there was a bus running to Chengdu, but when we arrived in Chengdu we had no idea where we were! Hopped into a taxi to get back to the original bus station (all these towns seem to have many bus stations and many train stations), only to have him stop for gas - natural gas! When we got back on the road we decided to head for the train station instead to buy tickets for the next day. But the cabbie had other things in mind. He drove us all around, never arriving at the train station. So, we jumped out near the Mao statue, counting our blessings that we now knew where we were, and walked the rest of the way back to the hostel. Unfortunately, I was feeling pretty ill (for the first time on this trip) for most of the day, so I just collapsed into bed. But Patrick was craving a burger and a good beer, so what do you think happened?? Clem went out to the grocery and cooked up a feast, including burgers with tomato and grilled onion, sweet potatoe fries and a Boddingtons for Patrick! She even made a bland version for sicky Shula, which was great and managed to stay down. We really have been lucky to meet such wonderful people along the way!

We have spent more than 2 months traveling by train now, and it still hasn't lost it's appeal! Maybe it is the romance of slowly working your way across all the miles. Maybe it is meeting people who share their lives, and their freshly smoked fish, with you even though you can't speak a word of each others language. Maybe it is the lazy days spent doing nothing but reading in your bed as you feel like you are getting somewhere. Probably it is all these things rolled up together and so much more!
We just stepped off the train from Xi'an to Chengdu, after 16 hours of rolling along. Mostly the ride was at night while we slept - hard sleeper: tiers of 3 bunks in an open carriage - although we didn't get to Chengdu until 2pm. Sometimes it was hard to sleep with the guy snoring in the bunk next to you, people talking and smoking all around, and all the heat from 66 people cramped into such a small space, but I can usually sleep through anything. Lights are out at 10pm and back on by 7am - you are on a regimented schedule. It is when the lights come on that the circus starts. Everyone jumps up from their beds to "cook" their breakfast of pot noodles. But don't worry, if you forgot to bring yours, a loud guy, pushing a cart full of - fruit or noodles or hot food or .... - will come by every 20 minutes trying to sell his wares. If you can't stand the thought of ordering food on the train, you can always jump off at a station where there are people selling plenty of good food on the platforms. When one of the cart pushers came by with mysterious styrofoam boxes, I asked her what she was selling. Her response? "Chinese food". I would have never guessed ;-)
This morning, we had a guy come around trying to sell those toy gyroscopes and socks. He plopped down across from me and held a complete demonstration using me as his assistant. We showed all the great things you can do with a light-up, gyroscope that plays "happy birthday" repeatedly, and the ability of his "special" socks to withstand the fire from a lighter and the blade of a knife! Amazing objects! The whole carraige was laughing, although whether they were enjoying his show, or the fact that he used a unaware foreigner to assist, I will never be sure. Nobody bought anything.

Thankfully, our hostel sent people to meet us at the train station. We were pleasantly surprised to find out that a double room costs about the same as two dorm beds - $7.50 ($3.75 each). After checking in, we wandered over to the Wenshu Temple. This is definitely worth a visit, if you are coming to Chengdu. It is the largest Buddhist temple in Chengdu and there are still plenty of worshippers still flocking here. We were lucky to arrive at the temple in time to see the chanting start, and then had plenty of time to wander the tranquil grounds. It is always hard to believe that these places exist within these huge Chinese cities.

We spent 2 days and one night running through Xi'an on our way south to warmer climes. Xi'an is an interesting city, but probably the biggest draw is the world famous terracotta army from the Qin dynasty (221 - 206 BC). We spent half a day wandering the soldiers, which are absolutely beautiful. The biggest dissapointment was not being able to get very close to soldiers. It is understandable, though, because they are very suseptable to the elements and vandalism.
Sadly, we left our adopted family in Xi'an to travel south to Chengdu. We will surely miss Marion, Matt and Clem!