China

China was very different to what I had originally imagined. A place rapidly changing, I think it was a good time to go - before the quirky little streets (Hutongs) are bull-dozed for vast sterile shopping areas and China (Beijing in particular) just becomes another place where you can shop at the Gap and have a latte at Starbucks. Although, parts of Beijing already feel like Piccadilly Circus and Times Square - expanses of neon lights and designer logos.

Anyway, on with the blog...

Beijing - I really like Beijing. It is a really cool city. Lots to see and do and pretty inexpensive. We had planned to stay here for five nights total, but ended up staying here for eight! Which was no bad thing. We ended up going to the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the only Lama Temple outside of Tibet plus stayed in one of the coolest areas ever! The hostel was down a little alleyway, which are known as Hutongs in Chinese. But this was no ordinary alley. From the outside all the buildings looked more like grey, small army barracks (doesn't sound very appealing I know!). But as you walked along the street and peered through the windows it was a completely different story - quaint little shops selling clothes and bits and pieces, small little cafes with sofas and armchairs, or cool restaurants with little beer gardens tucked away. To add to this the beer and food was really cheap - 20 yen for a large bottle of beer anyone?

So as you can imagine having been living in Asahi through the winter of discontent, my senses were on overload somewhat. Great, great food, drink and atmosphere. One night as Sophie and I were having a beer in one of these small little cafes, a Mongolian folk band arrived and started playing. The lead singer looked very similar to the Mongolian Sumo wrestler Asashoryu, and to his right there was a man who could make the freakiest sound with his voice. It was kind of a low and high wail/drone. It was the weirdest thing! He was singing low and high simultaneously!!! I imagine back in ze good 'ole days it was the equivalent of human beatboxing.

The only problem were the crowds. Unlike Japan, Golden Week in China really is a week. Everyone works on the Saturday and Sunday before and then has the following seven days off. When I say everyone, I mean everyone!! Luckily we had managed to see the Great Wall and the Forbidden City the week before, but on our return to Beijing for the second time everywhere was packed. I don't know if this is true or not, but I assume that for many it might have been the first time they had been on holiday. China is changing so fast, and more and more people are getting rich by the day, so tourism seems to be really taking off. It won't be long until the Chinese holiday-maker will be as prevalent as the Japanese holiday-maker in countries around the world.

The train from Beijing - Xi'an
Train journeys are usually not worth mentioning, but this one was different. Our tickets arrived the day before we travelled, and it turned out that we had bought a 'soft-sleeper deluxe' carriage. It was more than a 12 hour overnight train ride, so we needed a bed. But we were not expecting this:

It was the most luxurious train journey I have ever been on! As you can see we had a sofa, ensuite bathroom and TV making it the most pimped-up carriage ever. But we did feel alittle guilty having a stroll along the train and seeing loads of people just sleeping in the corridors, or leaning against the walls.

Xi'an

Xi'an was not at all what I expected. The guidebooks had me imagining an ancient capital full of impressive old buildings, contained within an ancient city wall. The city wall did exist, but it encircled a modern Xi'an full of posh shops like Gucci and Christian Dior. Surprisingly, it seemed that Xi'an had already 'modernised', whilst Beijing whilst still in the process.

It was also extremely touristy. The Army of the Terracotta being the sole reason for the hordes of sight-seeing tourists. We had decided to go on a one day tour of Xi'an to maximise on the sight-seeing. So were whisked around, taking in an old Pagoda (Big Goose Pagoda), a garden (can't remember why it was there but think it was where an Emperor went to hang out with his concubines and take a bath), a terracotta army factory, and the terracotta army itself. But have to say that the best thing had been the lunch. It was a mass of Chinese food of all sorts and was just what was needed after trawling around in a tour bus.

Like in Japan, it seems that a lot of the tourist areas are being seriously renovated. Going around the garden in Xi'an was like going round a theme park - immaculate paved concrete, huge fountains, shops and long queues for the cultural sights. Not what I had been expecting at all.

Back to Beijing

Sophie and I were both quite happy to be going back to Beijing and spending more time there. The one regret though was that I didn't manage to see the pickled remains of Chairman Mao housed in his very own Mausoleum in the centre of Tianamen Square. I did try, going along relatively early in the morning to be confronted with the longest line of people I have seen, queueing to pay their respects to the man. Maybe next time.

Already planning my next trip back there next month. Hong Kong this time.