Paul Theroux’s Riding the Iron Rooster, which details his travels throughout China by train, was written almost 20 years ago but most of it’s observations about China are still mostly dead on. Although one reason why it remains so insightful is because a lot of the problems and hassles of traveling in China have not gone away with the rise in economic power. Here is an excellent observation about tourist destinations:

Sight-seeing is one of the more doubtful aspects of travel, and in China it is one of the least rewarding things a traveler can do - primarily a distraction and seldom even an amusement, It has all the boredom and ritual of a pilgrimage and none of the spiritual benefits.

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We had taken the train from Nanjing to Beijing the night before, which was both longer and more unpleasant then expected. There is a express train that runs between the two cities, leaving around 10:30 and getting in at about 8:30. And while certainly not high class, by taking the hard sleeper you are guaranteed at least a few hours sleep. However, even though we attempted to buy tickets 10 days in advance, the hard sleeper tickets for that train were all sold out, leaving only the expensive soft sleeper and the hard seats. As either one is not a great option, we were forced to take an earlier non-express train, that left 8 hours earlier and arrived at the same time. And since it was non-express that means that people were getting on and off all night, and of course being inconsiderate bastards about it.

So needless to say that we arrived in Beijing exhausted and angry. We struggled with out large suitcases, including my cheap Chinese suitcase with was falling apart more and more by the second. Fighting through the crowds we approached the Beijing train station taxi stand. Now at most train stations I have been to in China they try to organize people and cabs into a semi-efficient method, probably one of the most organized things that you will encounter in China. The exception being in Beijing where it is a gigantic free-for-all.

Eventually we we made our way to a cab. The driver, instead of helping us with our massive baggage, continually demanded to know where we were going (什么地方). I had the address in my pocket, and repeatedly told him that I would give him the address after we had loaded everything into his cab. As I was struggling to fit our luggage into his trunk that was already crammed with garbage, Jenn loaded our small suitcase into the backseat, and in the process got some mud on his seat covers. At this point the driver flips out, screaming at us that we need to give him 200 RMB to have his seat covers cleaned. Obviously this is a ridiculously high fee, and he is trying to get money out of us because we are foreigners. Other cab drivers come over, and as Jenn is screaming at him about the price, I am yelling at him to open the trunk, because I was afraid he would try to drive away with our stuff.

Finally an older driver came over, who I believe felt bad for us, and told the driver that 20 RMB is a fair amount to get everything cleaned. Which then lead the old guy and the driver into an argument, as the greedy bastard said that he needed at least 50. Between the two of them came to a price of 40 RMB as the lowest they would go. Insert 10 more minutes of yelling into this debacle, and we had to pay this asshole 40 RMB, twice as much as it will cost to actually clean his cab. And we had to take the subway, with 3 20 pound suitcases and two hiking backpacks, because all the other drivers at the station refused to take us.

I realize that we did in fact get his cab dirty, and would have paid the extra 20 RMB to have it cleaned. But I also know that he will not bother to get his seat covers dry cleaned, and will just pocket the money. And this is also another example of how something that should be easy to accomplish, taking a cab, turns into a terrible ordeal. And worst part is that we had almost no money left, and this forced us to eat very little for our last few meals in China.

Does Beijing plan on doing something about these problems before the Olympics? I don’t know if their public service advertisements are getting through, as Beijing remains the most frustrating place that I have traveled to in China.

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Today I was going through my large stack of flashcards that have been sitting on a shelf in our bedroom, deciding what ones, if any, I would take back with me to the United States. It is interesting to glance back through these cards to see how far I have progressed. Certain flashcards are still useful, ones that have words that are low frequency that I have since forgotten. Others are not so useful, like those that were made during the time that I decided (wrongly) that I would learn all Chinese verbs, and along that path would be mastery of the language. But today, buried underneath some old books and folders, was my very first flash card book that I had made, exactly one week into our stay here in Nanjing. The characters were a little blocky and misshapen, but surprisingly not to bad. The first word that was listed was 知道, to know.

Forgive me for that short anecdote, but this week we will be leaving Nanjing to head back to the United States, and I am a bit wistful. It is a strange habit of memory to distort time, but certainly our stay here has flown by. I can barely remember all that has happened to me at this point, and as Jenn suggests, some time will be needed to digest all of these experiences. That was, and always has been partially what this blog is for, an external memory system for myself, to remember things that I have done and seen, news I have read and people encountered. Sort of like a bookmarking system. I know, some was boring, most poorly written, but through this time I hope that you have enjoyed this site.

I will not be taking this site down. I fully intend to return to the People’s Republic in a little more then one years time. There is graduate school to be taken care, and that takes top priority at the moment. And frankly I don’t want to be here during the giant clusterfuck that will be the Olympics. Then I will return, in what capacity I have no idea. As frustrating and infuriating as this country can be, on the best days it is the most interesting place I can think of. In the meantime I will continue to study Chinese, mostly by ponying up the money for advanced Chinesepod features (including the Spanishpod addition, I swear I will learn that language!). I will keep updating this site with Chinese internet research, gaming and dog stories that I comb the internet for and display for your viewing enjoyment. I will also be writing up and posting some of my experiences that I have had not previously featured. And any other projects that I can muster up along the way.

So thanks to everyone who has read this blog, Chinese friends who have been awesome to us, and my neighborhood dogs and their owners who think we are insane for giving them treats everyday. I thank you all for the support, and hope you will continue to check every now and then to see how things are post China.

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We just arrived in Hangzhou today after a 22 hour train ride from Xiamen. Overall, Xiamen is one of the best places that I have been to in China. And if your favorite activity at a beach is climbing on big rocks, as mine is, Xiamen is heaven. Here some of the events of note from our time there. Hopefully you can gain something useful from my experiences.

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In a previous post I had been professing my love for 7 Days Inn, when in the comments someone had mentioned that they preferred the hotel chain Home Inn. I had heard of these hotels before, but never had stayed in one. So based upon this recommendation I decided that on my upcoming trip to Xiamen I would try it out and see how the two compared.

After arriving after a 30 hour train ride from Nanjing (243 RMB hard sleeper), I have to say that I am quite impressed. It is almost exactly like 7 Days Inn in every way, down to the customer discount cards and predominately yellow color. Only my room here in Xiamen is gigantic, with a huge shower and free water jug machine thing (I am losing my English vocabulary). The only problem is the price, as it is about 40 RMB more then 7 Days.

Of course this is only based upon my experience in one city, but it is quite a positive experience. I would recommend either place to any traveller to China, as long as you speak some Chinese. It is better then staying in a dirty, rat infested den of prostitution as I have done before. Unless that is what you are looking for.

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While riding on an 11 hour hard seat overnight train from Beijing to Nanjing two days ago I had a lot of time to think in between trying to find a position where my ass didn’t fall asleep and keeping an eye on my bags as there were being stared at by some truly sketchy people. Thus I came up with ideas on how to make these train rides a better experience.

This seems like an easy solution to the problem of seating on these trains. Rather then the cramped nature of the standard two rows of seats facing each other, this way would increase legroom and hopefully with the addition of armrests would prevent people from sleeping on you. Of course the hard seats could not keep their “hard seat” distinction if converted to airline seats, but I think just arranging them school bus style would be an improvement.

A one person one seat policy would get rid of the people sleeping between cars and on sinks that seems to happen on these trains. May not be possible to do during Spring Festival or other holidays.

Easier said then done, I know. But, like in so many other situations, if the rules were actually enforced life would be so much better for everyone.

Not as bad as some of the other problems, but still annoying. I don’t need to be woken up at 7 o’clock by Kenny G music or be reminded that I am on a train by the train noises between announcements.

While Chinese bathrooms are almost always covered in urine, train bathrooms are generally worse then usual. I guess some people have trouble aiming with the motion of the train, although I never seem to have a problem. But an easy solution to this is to replace the solid floor with a metal grate, allowing everything to drain directly down into the septic tank or directly onto the tracks. Then you would never have to deal with puddles or piles ever again!

A more retched hive of scum and villainy I can’t not think of. For one thing they don’t check tickets on the way in, which allows a wide variety of beggars, hoodlums and ne’er do wells to enter. Not to mention the filth levels of the place are off the chart. And as a finally insult as I was using a urinal the automatic flushing sensor went off, spraying a fine mist of disgusting urinal water all over my area. The best part was knowing that I could not take a shower for the next 14 hours. The Western station is apparently nicer, but I don’t know if I believe it.

Most of these are related to seats on trains, as that is where I have had my most uncomfortable experiences and the sleeper cars seems like a heavenly dream in comparison. I think that this is a good start, but I would like to hear what additions you would make to this list. And I don’t even want to mention trying to buy tickets, which can be one of the most frustrating experiences in China.

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I have just gotten back from a pretty successful 3 day trip to Beijing, and now have a much better impression of the city then my previous journey. A lot of this has to do with our great experience at a 7 Days Inn. 7 Days Inn is a hotel chain that has multiple locations in most major cities in China, and is both cheap and clean. We got a twin bed room that comfortably slept four people, and it only cost 197 a night total, about 50 RMB a person. And based on the two 7 Days Inn hotels that I have stayed at, in Beijing and Guangzhou, it is a overall pleasant experience. And service staff is quite nice, but speak little to no English. If you decide go I would suggest applying for one of their costumer customer cards, which gives you an additional 20 RMB off room prices.

I swear this is not a sponsored post or am I getting anything in return for talking up this hotel chain (although I would gladly accept free rooms if offered). I just think they are a good value, and like to pass on any useful information I have. It is hard enough to travel in China, I’m just trying to make it easier.

And the new Beijing Capital Museum, 省部博物馆， is impressive.

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As we have lived in Nanjing for about 8 months now, we decided that while we had some people visiting us that we would finally make the trip to see the Nanjing Massacre Museum. We hadn’t gone yet since it was closed for repairs when we arrived, but had read online that it was only closed until January or February and that it would be reopened after that. Unfortunately after taking the cab ride there we were greeted by a closed gate and written on red pain on a piece of bare plywood “Closed until December 17th 2007″.

I decided to post this online in case anyone else who travels to Nanjing planned on visiting the museum. And to wonder why it takes more than a year to complete these renovations, and why it has to be completely closed during this time. Although the reopening time is obvious, as it coincides with the 70th anniversary. For those interested in the massacre, for now you can go to the online museum.

Related RedKemp:
The 70th Anniversary of the Massacre of Nanjing/Nanking

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A basic lack of Internet has keep me from posting the past week or so. I went to an internet cafe the other night but the space bar on the keyboard didn’t work, allowing me only to be able to moderate comments. But overall Sanya is a beautiful place, minus the scorching heat at this time of year and the high ticket prices. Some initial questions that I have come to mind while here and that I don’t have the proper time to research.

1. Why are there so many Russians here? Most of the signs are in Chinese and Russian, and we have been mistaken for Russians multiple times.

2. Why are Hainan cab companies so corrupt? I even saw an ad on television about it. Why is the problem so bad here?

Next it is off to Guangzhou, and then making my way further North.

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Traveling around for a couple of weeks, so posting with be intermittent or nonexistent. Enjoy this kitten!

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