Travelog

This diary tracks our progress along the Silk Roads, with episodes appearing in date order, most recent first.  You can get to earlier entries by turning pages at the bottom of the screen.

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Category: Travelog

After the Temple of Heaven we went to the Pearl Market nearby. This a tourist market full of Westerners, but also full of some very yummy stuff. We were under strict instructions not to buy much stuff, as Yingwei planned to take us to a much cheaper local market after. We did buy a few things that we wouldn't be able to get elsewhere, but as I was learning a new way of doing my hair from one of the stall holders (selling hairtoys of course) Andy muttered something and disappeared.

After some time, I was getting worried, but eventually he returned and, with a big Andy grin, handed me a small box. I was pretty stunned to find a beautiful string of black pearls inside, glowing with a multicoloured sheen. Actual, apparently, really real pearls.

As a haggling technique (a must here) and in true Andy style, he had apparently picked what he wanted, named his price (about 1/25th of the marked price) and kept on without budging, until they gave in!

I am feeling very pleased, slightly smug, but somewhat unveggie. Oops.

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Category: Travelog
Typical conversation with taxi driver etc. 
Them: American?
Us: Englando (alternatively Engrando in Japan)
Them: Aah!  David Beckham!
Us (with varying degres of enthusiasm): Manchester United.
Them: Aah! - lapse into companionable silence.
We left Korea at last after a lovely stay in the centre of Seoul with a French Canadian teacher.  Due to some mis-information (yes, really.)  we were a bit late arriving to check in for the ferry.  We arrived by taxi and a harrassed looking official with a walkie-talkie collared us immediately (lunky forn types with big backpacks...noticable? moi?) and dragged us off to check in.  If there is one way to get through the formalities quickly, it is definately to be the only western passengers and late for an Asian ferry!  Within a few minutes, and only a mild scolding later,  we had joined the last of the passengers on the transfer bus, and were soon settled in our almost luxurious cabin - double bed, en-suite shower room, vanity console, comfy seating, and best - a DVD system!
After watching the absorbing spectacle of our large ferry being tugged and pushed into the narrow sea lock (due to tidal variation) we settled down to 24hours of serious slobbing.  We ate in the canteen, we planned, we saw a bit of the East China Sea, and we watched Bridget Jones 2, Casanova and the Da Vinci Code.  Almost always in English.  Lovely.  I suspect we might be the type of people who end up on cruises.  Aaargh!
We arrived in China later than expected, docking in Tenjin 2 hours later than we thought.  We toddled onto the shuttle bus and were sanguine as the supposedly 2 hour journey to Beijing took about 5 hours.  When the bus started to arrange who wanted to be dropped where, I showed the name of our subway stop the unofficial hostess lady (I say unofficial, because she hid in the stairwell when we went through the motoway toll barrier.) and she took over from there.  As with everwhere else of the trip, people have been endlessly accomodating where ever we have been off the usual tourist trail.  Even the taxi driver was given our hosts phone no. to make sure they we on the kerb to meet us!

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We're here, we've made it, we are in China!  Beijing to be precise, home to the finest roast duck (and therefore the finest food) in the world.  I have waited many years to come to China and being here is overwhelming; although it is still very early days (day 3) I can report excellent first impressions.

We arrived by ferry from Incheon (Korea) to Tianjin, about 3 hours south and east of the capital.  Conveniently there was a shuttle bus waiting to take us to Beijing and after a bracing afternoon in the hands of one of china's many insane drivers (kept alive only but the speed-limiting high volume of traffic, I'm sure) we arrived - somewhere.  We didn't know where we were and we didn't know where our hosts lived.  We didn't know how to get from one location to the other once we did find out, or indeed how to do anything at all - this is certainly the most alien culture we have experienced to date by some way.  Luckily it is also one of the friendliest, and us not having a clue didn't matter a jot becuase everyone else seemed to have things well under control.  taking our notebook that contained the one phone number (our host) upon which everything depended, a combination of passengers, hostess and driver conspired to ignore us totally, plan things amongst themselves, make phone calls, herd us from bus to taxi, and eventually deliver us into the arms of our new hosts.  Our input into events was not only nor required, but positively discouraged, illustrating that no only are the Chinese immensely kind, energtetic, funny, load, exuberant and open but also that they are great judges of character!  We couldn't have hoped for a better introduction to this place that seems to get such bad press that, at least on first inspection, seems so unwarranted.

Our hosts have been magnificent - Xuemei, Yinghui, Jianping and Xumei's daughter Shell.  Its brilliant to be able to stay with a Chinese family, to experience real Beijing life at first hand and to have assistance in orientating ourselves in a culture so different from the one we are used to.  And the family are really great to be with too - Xuemei is a pearl wholesaler with an excellent sense of humour, Jianping produces beautiful traditional calligraphy as a hobby and is a big fan of different Chinese teas, and Yinghui speaks really good English and has been so kind to us, spending lots of her time showing us around markets and areas of Beijing.

The city is huge, and packed full of treasures  - too many probably!  We are struggling to work out what to see in the week we have allowed ourselves here before we head off on a circuitous route towards Shanghai, where we meet up with Ellen's sister on 4th November.  We spent the first day cycling around the centre of town near to the Forbidden City, sticking mostly to old, quiet winding hutongs (alley-ways) that snake across the city away from the main roads; this proved to be a great introduction as we could cover much more distance than on foot, and the hutongs were incredibly interesting and evocative of centuries past.

Since then we have visited the very impressive Temple of Heaven (takes at least half a day and is a brilliant example of Ming architecture), pearl markets, local markets, eaten duck in a really swanky duck restaurant, eaten very weird but nice things in local restaurants, and had a glimpse of the imposing Tianeman Square as well as the Gate of Heavenly Peace famous for containing a gigantic picture of Mao, right at the entrace to Forbidden City.  Today was particularly amazing as we visited White Cloud Temple, a little-visited but very special Taoist temple in the south-west of the city.The whole complex radiated calm in the middle of an otherwise hectic city, and as we trundled through the maze of temples buildings and huge open-air insense burners we became immersed in a strange blend of serenity and vibrant smells and colours.  I'll say this for the taoists-  they like their gods strange: there was a huge variety of really really weird gods and demons and immortal beings of all colours shapes and flavours, brimming over with mystical concepts and magic in a way that, well, you wouldn't get it in a C of E joint that's for sure.  A very groovy place and probably the highlight for me so far, although we have so much more to explore before we go...

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We are back in Seoul.  We took the ferry back from Jeju to Incheon which is the port about an hour away from Seoul, and then went back to Songghil's to collect all the useless things we left there when we skipped off around the countryside with backpacks weighing about half an ounce.

After we did a 6 month major repack, turning out all sorts of nooks and crevices in our bags, and then weighed our packs and ourselves.  My pack is 19kg, according to the scales, and Andy's 17kg; but he has just posted a load of stuff home  - sleeping bag, walking boots etc, and he did offer to take some of mine, but he might post that home too!

We sallied off to central Seoul to an area called I'taewon, to sell the collection of books I have built up.  The area is near the US Army base, mosque and lots of embassies and is very cosmopolitan, with nary a Korean face to be seen on the main street, except hawkers.  I felt slightly uncomfortable in the colonial atmosphere there, the shops all seemed to exist to cater to/extract money from the ex-pat community. 

We found a bookshop and I sold the books for what seemed to me to be a fair price, until we got a way down the street.  Andy asked how much and did some mental arithmatic (never my strong suit) and pointed out that we had been paid just over 25 quid for 3 books, and someone had probably mistakenly added an extra zero to the price.  Oops!  It paid for a slap up lunch at a local restaurant though, so we consoled ourselved that at least some of the profit went straight back into the local community, rather than the American who owned the bookstore.

After wandering around the backstreets for a bit, past small market stalls and the mosque, we decided to go to Dongdaemun, which is apparently the largest outdoor market in Asia, although Korea seems to have a penchant for claiming 'largest thingy in Asia', without too much conviction.  Andy was on the trail of some new walking sandals, his own having been worn down to nubbins by 6 months on the road.  Although it was evening, some of the market was still open, and Andy spent some time inspecting a selection of goods in a variety of shops without quite finding the ideal footwear. 

We cut our losses and headed to one of the huge high rise shopping malls to experience a 'real' Korean dinner - i.e. how the masses eat on a Friday night.  On the way up to the 9th floor I discovered that there was an entire floor given over to accessories - mainly hair ornaments.  These are big business in Asia, with an astounding variety in shops and stalls all over the place, and browsing often slows me done going anywhere.  Honestly though, I am being really restrained, at least until I get to China, where I am hoping they will be even cheaper!  Still, I succumbed to a huge dragonfly clip with a waggly tail.  It's lovely.

After dinner we legged it along Cheonggyecheon stream to pick up our packs and meet up with our new host; a lovely French Canadian teacher living in Sincheon.  I am impressed that we now have the energy to go for a brisk walk for an hour or so at the end of the day, and according to Songghil's scales, I have lost 2 1/2 stone on the trip so far.  From what to what I am not saying, but believe me, there's plenty to go yet!

Once again I am overwhelmed by the kindness and trust of our HC host, who gives us a key and settles us in wih all the necessary info to operate her appartment, including the fridge were the maple syrup is!  Roll on breakfast!

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Yesterday we toured a couple of the main palaces of Seoul, Changdeokgung and Gyeongbokgung in the north of the city.  We were definately 'on planet' (Lonely Planet that is) as we decided to do one of their walking tours as well. 

First we spent a happy couple of hours being herded round a huge compound of impressive and prettily painted buildings with an assortment of other humanity, duely admiring all the venerable old buildings, which have only been burnt to the ground about 41 times, the last time being approximately yesterday.  I did enjoy it and am not half so cynical as I affect, but I do dislike guided tours.  It was our only option for seeing the place however. 

The gardens were interesting, but Korean style is very different to European and takes a bit of getting used to.  Koreans don't use earth, grass or underplanting.  So, once you remember the stuff between the trees is not 'boring dust' but a pure backdrop of white grit to enhance a meditative effect, and the square pond stuck in the middle of nothing in particular is designed to reflect the harmony of the natural surroundings, then you're pretty much there.  Western eyes need to work a bit harder to appreciate what is there, as opposed to missing what isn't, as they are not as obviously 'pretty' with flowers, at least not at this time of year.  I was amused to see their iris, paeony and hostas look every bit as tatty this time of year as I am sure mine do at home.

We walked to the next palace, Gyeongbokgong, which was immense.  There was some some sort of archery show going on in the front courtyard, but to be honest, no one was doing anything when we got there, so we wandered on.  The main courtyard was a bit Forbidden Palace stylee, with a big throne hall at the back and stone markers where courtiers of different ranks would have lined up.  One of the most impressive things were the colonnades at the sides, which were 2 kan (the distance between pillars and standard unit of ancient Korean architecture, about 12 feet) deep and maybe a hundred yards long.  It was easy to imagine them bustling with horses, guards, servants, courtiers and general hangers-on.

We explored little courtyards and innumerable detached wooden buildings with curved tiles roofs, quite different to European style palaces.  I think as Korea is so hot in the summer, each building is built to catch the slightest of breezes with wide door/windows making up most of each long side, giving a lovely sense of openness and glimpses the distant mountains.  We didn't go in the next-door Korean Folk museum, but had a great few minutes exploring the outdoor exhibition of traditional buildings and rude shamanic stone carvings.

Although it was getting on we decided to go on the LP walk, and headed off up the road.  Although not particularly special, we did find our way to the main art gallery district of Seoul, oozing money and jostling with flouncy boutiques and restaurants.  We puttered up the hill to an area described as having traditional style houses, and sure enough, there was a small area of swooping rooftops and tiny enclosed courtyards staggering down the hillside. 

I was taking a picute of a lovely house with bamboo outside when an expensively dressed lady passed me and said to come down the road a little.  Her neighbours were preparing for a party and had decorated the house, so she kindly asked if I could go in an take some photos.  The owners were busy with preparing for the party (at least watching over the caterers) but their friend from New York showed us around. 

It was a traditional Korean house, mainly consisting of a series of 6 open rooms in a line ended with two short 'wings' - one the dining room, and one the garden room.  All were open to the deep veranda and candlelit courtyard.  The walls and roofbeams were made of beautiful round timbers, all polished to a rich amber, and the rooms were laid out similar to Japanese style, without any tall furniture, just low tables and cushions, except for the European style kitchen and dining rooms.  The view was lovely over the traditional roofs to the city beyond.  There was a lower floor, with the 3rd bedroom and bathroom, laundry and large living room with a huge TV/entertainment centre discreetly hidden behind large doors. 

Although traditional style, I have no idea how old the house was as it all looked recently refurbished to a very high standard (think glossy magazine), but as there seems to be a lack of everyday clutter, I asked if it was where the family lived.  Oh, no, came the reply, this is just their guest house, they live in a condo in the city centre, it's more convenient.

After departing with a bottle of Perrier each, we made sure our host, Linda, could get back into her appartment, due to a funny locking system, and reassured, headed to one of the nearby Italian restaurants for Risotto al' Funghi.

Back at Linda's after retiring to bed we discovered that one of the TV channels was showing both parts of the scary Dr Who episode where there is a child with a gas mask on who keeps says 'Are you my mummy?" Great!