First Part

Day 468
I was up at 5:30 and in no time I was out the door and at the train station. I got confused about which security line to go thru so first I went thru the metro line one and then I went to the train station. I think that I just like going thru security. I got there in plenty of time and ate some breakfast while I waited for the train.

Once I got on I fell asleep almost right away. There really isn't much else to do. I did have a book and read that for some time. However, I don't think that makes for a very interesting blog entry.

Instead I've decided to write about the Chinese people. Some things really really weird and gross. People spit all the time, and worse than that they would often expel the flem in their noses on the floor. Lastly the children don't wear diapers, but instead just go on the streets or on the floor of a train. It's just gross. Then at restaurants all the dishes will be sealed in plastic and people will cover their moths with their hands if they need to use a toothpick! There is also a general lack of consideration for others. Young people on the metro's just don't get up for the people who need their seats more. When I've gotten up I've gotten a look of shock and then once a young person took it instead of the woman with a cane. That was just crazy! Also, if your on a plane and need the toilet people won't get up, you have to sqeeze by them. My ass is just way too big for that! The bargining is also insane here. People would ask me for 100 Y for something and I'd get them down to 10 Y with little trouble.

Not everything is bad though. It's quite safe and I can be out after dark alone without worrying. Also the people working at the hostels are very kind and have bent over backwards to help me out. I was starred at, but it wasn't the rude stare like in India, it was more courious. This was especially true when it came to eating. They wanted to see if I could use chopsticks. It is really funny to watch westerners try them out for the first time.

I think that it was around 8 pm that we stopped at the boarder. Everyone got out and went to the shop. I sat with a couple of people chatting and having beers while they changed the size of the wheels. We were entertained by loud speaker music that ranged from communist to Mozart and the wedding waltz.

After getting back on the train and getting my passport back we rode a bit further to the Mongolian boarder. I had checked online several times and I had thought that I didn't need a visa. It was just rather disconcerning that all of the other people, non Americans, had visas. When passport control came it wasn't a problem and soon I was in country number 50. At this point I fell asleep.

Travel in the Time of Swine Flu

Day 467
My alarm went off at 9 and I packed my things. I was a bit sad to be leaving, but my time was done here. After one last bagel I took the bus to the airport.

Checkin and security were easy. I spent the last of my won on a mocha and a donut. Before the plane was boarded every passanger had their tempature checked. The flight was shrot and we landed in Beijing in just over an hour. Some people came on board to check everyones tempatures again. They had a problem with one guy and called someone to come and look at him further. We were all held on the plane for about an hour while this happened. It was quite annoying.

Immigration wasn't a problem and soon I had my things and was in a cab on the way to the hostel. After checking in I headed right back out to the internet cafe. I managed to type a bit but mostly just watched tv online.

When it grew dark I headed back to the hostel. I was really nervous about missing my train and didn't sleep well. I was invited out to a club but I declined. I think I woke up and checked the time every time someone walked in the door. I didn't sleep very well.

For the First Time

Day 462
I woke up at 7:30 with a start, my train left in 15 minutes. There was no way I could get to the train station and thru security in that amount of time. I went into a panic that hasn't happened yet on this trip. At first it was the money and the second was that I had never missed anything like this before. The third part was visa panic, there was only one day left on my visa.

I had a very strong desire to talk to someone from home. After a lot of emailing and calls I finally got in touch with Rose. Talking to her helped me get over my panic attack. Rose assured me that this had happened for a reason. I wonder if I panic because of homesickness and not just because of the ticket. After hanging up with Rose I called my parents. I'd left them a panicky voicemail earlier and I was sure that they were worried and had to let them know that everything was fine.

Now calm and rational I called the ticket office to find out my options. There weren't any trains for another 5 days, but I could get my money back. I hopped in a cab and went right to the office. Once I was there I found out what all of my options were. I could 1. get a partial refund and fly to Mongolia in the morning, 2. overstay my Chinese via (not a hot one), or 3. fly elsewhere for a few days and change my ticket for the following week. From the begining 2 was out so it was dependent on how much 1 and 3 cost, three was the cheapest. I changed my ticket and then bought another plane ticket.

I then had to head back to the hostel to eat and get my things together. I had about 2 hours to wait until I went to the airport. At the airport I ran into the Texan school group I had met on the Great Wall. They were on a flight to Newark, I was still feeling rather homesick and was sorley tempted to get on it myself. I resisted the urge and waited for my own flight.

The flight was only 2 hours and the food was actually edible. Immigration was easy, in just minutes I was stamped in. I had randomly come to a country that I had never even thought of visiting before, I was in Seoul, Korea. After gathering up my things I waiting a bit for my bus. The guy at the bus stop made sure that I got on the right one and then the bus driver made sure that I got off at the right stop. I know that I was right next to my hostel but I couldn't find it. Finally I popped into an internet cafe and one of the men working there took me to the hostel, it was just a minutes walk away. Once there I dropped off my things and went to grab something to eat. I eat. I ended up with dumplings that were so good that they must have been sent down from heaven.

That night I had a lot of trouble falling asleep. I was still in a bit of shock over missing my train as well as my snap decision to come to Korea. I just couldn't believe that I was there.

Goodbye China

Day 462
Today was my last day in China and I had wanted to go to the Summer Palace. When I woke up I hurt all over, I was just way too beat up from the day before to spend a day walking around. After breakfast I headed to the post office to send some things home. They wrapped up everything individually. It was crazy.

I then went to the internet cafe for a while. I wanted to blog, but couldn't use my usb so I just watched tv online for a while. After dinner I headed back to the hostel.

I spent the last bit of my yuan on some beers before calling it a night.

Great Expectations

Day 460
I was up at 6 am and was picked up half an hour later. I sat next to Sarah from Texas, who was also headed to Mongolia in a few days. Most of the bus was filled with a high school group from Texas. I don't think I've been around this many American's since I left the country.

Now, I've seen pictures of the Great Wall, but I figured that a 10 km (6 mile) walk would be nothing. If anyone tells you that they are lying. Luckily there are a lot of people around and everyone is chatty and friendly. I spent some time with Sarah, but she was too fast for me and we were soon separated. Several of the high school kids seemed to be racing to the end. Tyler was slower though and I spent quite a bit of time chatting with him. Still I fell behind. It wasn't because I am terribly out of shape, but because I was taking a lot of pictures, yea, that's it.

Parts of the wall had been restored, but they were still very steep. Other bits were crumbling away. I fell on a pile of dirt and landed on my butt. A few minutes later my right leg went out from under me. I ended up with a lot of scratches and a pretty nasty cut on my toe, but I was lucky. One of the people who saw me fall said that my leg went at such an odd angle he thought I had broken it. Several people helped me up and helped me get cleaned up. For the rest of the trek an English couple stuck to my pace to make sure I didn't hurt myself again. It was very nice of them.

At the end of the trek I found Tyler waiting for his teacher. I had thought I was the last one and was happy to know that I wasn't. To get off the wall you can either walk down a hill or take a zip line across a small river. I went with the latter. It was brilliant. My legs felt like jelly as well and I don't think that I could have walked any more.

On the three hour ride back I sat next to a Parisian who was studying in China. We chatted until we got to Beijing and I went back to my hostel.

That evening I had some well deserved drinks before calling it a night.

No. 2 Check!

Day 459
I was up early and headed right back to Tienanmen Square after some breakfast.

Mao Zedong was China's communist leader. He died in 1976 and a year later went on display. He can only be seen for a few hours in the morning and I had just missed him the day before. Prior to the Olympics last year there was a rather strong movement to bury him in his home town. Some people felt that it was just downright creepy to keep him on display. Thankfully this didn't happen and I got to visit my second dead communist leader. After locking up my things I moved quickly thru the line. When I got into the chamber I didn't have a lot of time to look, the guards really hurried us along. He looked more like a wax figure than a dead man.

When I got done with the mausoleum I went to a never used Cold War bunker. A few tuk tuk drivers kept trying to charge me about $5 to go there, but I knew I was close. Eventually I found a guy who told me that it was closed for the time being. Those tuk tuk drivers were a bunch of wankers.

Instead I hopped in a cab and headed to the weekend market. After some shopping I grabbed a rather yummy lunch before heading back to my hostel. I was surprised to see Alicia there, she had taken a Chinese language Great Wall tour and I hadn't expected her until the evening. We ended up grabbing an early dinner and then chatting with some people at the hostel before calling it an early night.

Forbidden No More

Day 459
After lunch I took the ultra efficient subway to Tienanmen Square.

The square was conceived by Mao to show thee enormity of the communist power. On June 4, 1989 forced pro-democracy demonstrators were violently forced out of the square. It is certain that many people died and more were injured, but China has yet to release the real numbers. The government just sort of pretends that it didn't happen. The 20th anniversary was just a week and a bit ago. I heard that the square was closed that day. It would be easy to do as you have to go to security just to get in it.

It was huge and lined with rather ugly communist buildings as well as a large picture of Mao opposite his mausoleum. I wandered around and took pictures of the monuments while I tried to figure out who was actually an undercover cop and not a tourist. After checking out the square I headed across the street.

I think that everyone has heard of the Forbidden City. It is the largest and best preserved collection of ancient buildings in China. I had heard from friends that the speaker on the audio guide was Roger Moore, a former James Bond. I was highly disappointed to see that he had been retired. Instead I had a woman who paused for way too long between words. The guide was also electronically controlled. I couldn't pause or replay things. Also, it just sort of went off when I was in the area and I wasn't always sure what I was meant to be looking at, sometimes it wouldn't go off at all.

The palace was just stunning. The guide told more stories than facts. The first born sons were often taken away from their mothers, who seemed to always cry themselves blind. It's odd that the same story was so often repeated. There was one structure that was unfinished, but the plans had called for glass walls with fish tanks inside of them.

Some of the palaces had furniture, others clocks and porcelain. Several were about the concubines. In the garden I ran into Neils and Belen who I had met in Yangshou. It seemed like a world away.

As it grew closer to closing time I became more frustrated with my guide and getting it to work. After five hours I had only knocked off about half of the little red dots. If you go to the Forbidden City just skip the guide, its not worth it.

On the way back to the hostel I grabbed some dinner. After cleaning myself up I spent some more time with Alicia before calling it an early night.

It Lives

Day 458
I had a leisurely breakfast before heading to the internet cafe. I then went to get my camera, they asked for another hour. An hour later I got it back, it seemed to be working. However, they wanted more money, I bargained them down and they promised me that if I was unhappy with how it was working by the time I left China that I could have a refund.

I then had to dart over to the Silk Market, I was meeting Sandra from Xi'an. I waited for some time for her but she didn't show, I found out later that she got stuck in traffic. I spent a bit of time checking out the Silk Market and picking up a few things on my China souvenir list before heading back.

At the hostel I found Alicia and spent the evening with her.

Feeling Naked

Day 457

I couldn't find the bus I needed so I ended up taking a cab to my hostel. Once there I dropped off my things and had some breakfast. I also got the name of the place that could fix my camera. It took some time, but I eventually made it there. The guys working there were quite nice but didn't speak any English. We used an online translator to communicate. They assured me that they could fix my camera. I talked them into fixing it over night instead of in a few days before heading out.

Without my camera I really didn't have much on my plate. I spent a few hours on the internet before heading to the train station. I had to book my ticket to Mongolia. The place to do this is not at the train station though, its at a hotel. No one spoke English well enough to tell me where it was so it took me a while to find it. Once I got there I had a ticket in minutes.

I then picked up some books before heading back to the hostel. I had planned on writing in my journal, but ended up watching some movies and then playing some drinking games with other people at the hostel, including Alicia from Texas.