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An old blog entry of mine from 2010 and Shanghai Shibohui A previous ID laogui32 from Japan friend finder 10/3/2010 12:30 am Travel Notes Shanghai first time Arrive shanghai via Beijing late having slept very very little... meetings re jiujiang lu. The opera house opens for the first time thursday 22nd. Thursday: To Expo... saw India Russia Australia South Africa and that's enough of queuing for me Queue for Saudi 8 hours? And why? 'Because the queue is long it must be good'. The young Shanghai woman flaunting her completed Expo passport, over two hundred pavilions and exhibitions all stamped, tells me it took 24 days - of constant queuing I guess. Both days were overcast which is great, it would be barely tolerable in a blazing sun and two days of Expo is quite enough, as is once in a lifetime. Transport inside and outside has been excellent - the Shanghai 地铁 Dìtiě is terrific (but forget about a seat you need to carry your starting blocks to get near an empty seat). Ningbo first time By car to Ningbo late Friday - wow! The Hangzhou bay bridge 杭州湾大桥 Hángzhōu wān dàqiáo joining Jiaxing and Ningbo is amazing; 36 km and saves soooo much time on the old 4-hour journey. Saturday raining most of the day, and Sunday too; Yunnan forecast is for rain all next week but I can't change tickets and go to Guilin instead. 24 dish banquet last night and some of the vegetable dishes and vegetable liang cai were really nice. I couldn't get a copy of the order so I could see what all the dishes were unfortunately. Shengjianbao and Doufu nao for breakfast was exactly what I wanted; good chilli is hard to find though, I need to carry my own. Just wandering around streets and markets mostly. Tomorrow to wet cold Kunming. Last nights banquet featured Duck tongue, goose web and stewed turtle. Bingtang Jiayu 冰糖甲鱼(Steamed Turtle in Crystal Sugar Soup) takes first place in the ten famous Ningbo dishes - maybe so but I found it very difficult to eat!!! . 鸭舌 Yā shé was no problem just a little flesh wrapping surprisingly bony cartilage, but no great delicacy either, and goose web (or duck web?) 鸭掌, 鹅掌 é zhǎng yā zhǎng I have always enjoyed. The 凉菜 liángcài are all great, and again the vegetable dishes are terrific. The after dinner event was a surprise - driving in the back lanes, unlit on a rainy night, the driver took a wrong turn, well a non-turn, and we ended up (nearly upside down) nose down in the river, which luckily was only 1m deep - noone hurt, but the car looked rather sad in the steady rain. No barrier posts or railings between the edge of the road and the straight drop into the river. I guess that's a fact of life in China if you walk back a few blocks from the main streets. To the post office 邮局 in the rain to mail off some information on the Chinese ancestry. 20101025 Seems I'm the only laowai in this suburban area. Still raining and slippery and having to look everywhere because you can never quite tell where a 3-wheeler or a motorbike or a lorry or bus is coming from. Every pedestrian crossing is a battle of wills it seems 'will this guy dare to walk in front of me - lets see!' Every small business here seems to operate in half light at best or even ambient street light. Flight to Kunming 4pm. Yunnan Arrive Kunming - no buses and a long slow taxi queue, so outside to hail a taxi which proceeds to loop the same road twice while I laugh openly and he claims its a Kunming regulation Hotel is ok, but I can never get a shower quite warm enough. 20101026 Cold and raining - trying to find a compass and magnifying glass (1) because there is no sun and (2) because the tiny chinese characters are a big challenge in low light A long 44 bus ride to DianChe in the drizzling rain; here the suburbs are very modern the street wide and planted with shrubs and flowers, this is really lovely part of town. The lake on a fine day would be very beautiful - bigger by far and nicer than Xihu - but everything is shrouded in mist. Lunch is really nice; barbequed fish and doufu and mixed vegetables and ever present huajiao dodging the raindrops under the tarpaulin. Again I am the only laowai here, but there are few people walking in the misty cold wet day. There is a large grove of Eucalypts here, one of them is enormous... something of a surprise! Waiting until the 10pm train to Lijiang. The mix of cultures here is evident everywhere you look, fascinating place. Visit the ethnic museum. 20101027 Lijiang is very comfortable although there is nothing to see - arrive and disembark at 7am and there is a small coach to the hotel. I spend the day in suhe guzhen. Although it is a tourist area, the locals really live and work here so it is a curious mix of fake and authentic that has it's own charm. I cannot yet distinguish the various ethnic groups. Tried the Yunnan coffee and it is quite fine; mist remember to try the huangpu wines Shilin forest (Chinese: 石林 literally "Stone Forest") is a notable set of karst formations in Shilin Yi Autonomous County, in the Yunnan province of southwest China, approximately 85 km from the city of Kunming. The tall rocks seem to emanate from the ground in the manner of stalagmites, with many looking like trees made of stone, creating the illusion of a forest made of stone. http://asiafriendfinder.com#return 20101028 In Lijiang ancient city - it is supposed to be crawling with tourists but in fact at this precise time of year there seem to be very few, and it is pleasant and enjoyable, an easy stroll through these old streets lined as they are by small shop after shop selling the local ethnic products. I did buy a Naxi t-shirt because the pictographs are fascinating, and I'll buy some more when I see how the price is outside. Friday night (is it?) and Lijiang really comes alive, the riverside taverns are seething with people and singing and dancing, Naxi and Zangzu, great fun. Beer or rice wine seem to be the only options; the local bai jiu tastes fierce but seems not at all potent. 20101030 To leaping tiger gorge and a tibetan buddhist temple (first for this trip - I've managed to avoid them sofar) then to shangelila township for overnight. 20101031 Xianggelila, walking around the lake - not a patch on Jiuzhaigou but China is making a lovely job of preservation of its natural wonders, and of the 'greening' of China - their efforts far outstrip Australia's I think. Back to Lijiang. I'll spend today in the third ancient city of Lijiang - a myriad of small shops I guess. Tonight overnight back to Kunming, no time for Yuanyang? rice terraces I think. 20101102 Arrive kunming and find a great army illuminated magnifying glass in one of the many markets, wander the streets and visit the ethnic bowuguan which is really interesting (for me0 with an exhibition of yunnan ethnic accounting/accounting history plus the lijiashan tomb excavation bronze findings (to follow up on google). Dandan mian and guo qiao mi xien have been useful standby meals here. 20101102 Arrive kunming and find a great army illuminated magnifying glass in one of the many markets, wander the streets and visit the ethnic bowuguan which is really interesting (for me) with an exhibition of yunnan ethnic accounting/accounting history plus the lijiashan tomb excavation bronze findings (to follow up on google). Dandan mian and guo qiao mi xien have been useful standby meals here. 20101103 Overnight train to Guilin (17 hrs), and spend afternoon rambling - Qixing gongyuan is very nice; scenery from the train and all around Guilin is amazing. No crowds at all - great season for this travel. Bus to Yangshuo in the dark is thrilling heart in mouth ride - par for Chinese road travel perhaps. Dinner in Yangshuo is Lijiang pijiu yu which is very good but way too much; everywhere I eat I leave half untouched - goes with travelling alone. Yangshuo main market is very lively, many more laowai than i have seen elsewhere. 201011006 Yangshuo - yuhong river Yangshuo - Lijiang rafting Guilin 20101107 Overnight to Hangzhou Hangzhou 20101109 Fast train to Ningbo Went up in the local mountains to Xuedou and turned around when I found out the entry fees - Jiang Jieshe's house is not worth Y120 and this local temple is not worth Y90 but the mountains lakes dams tea plantations and wil bushlands and birds have been way worth the effort 20101110-11 Nothing to report today - sunny but I'm down all day with a stomach bug and no eating till a light meal tonight; a little local Bei Lun shopping Last day then return to Shanghai tomorrow 20101112 Across Hangzhou bay by bus to Shanghai Meeting with builders and agents and lawyers 20101113 Back to Sydney via BJ ------------------------------------------- Chinese Putonghua Guoyu English 国语 英文 Random Phrases from travels 上海世博会 人海人山 使山出了小丘 - to make a mountain out of a molehill 生煎馒头/生煎包 (outside Shanghai) Shanghai xiaolongbao originated in Nanxiang, a suburb of Shanghai in the Jiading District 豆腐脑 doufu nao 'brain tofu' 乡下人，外地人 xiang xia ren, wai di ren Bai Hao Yinzhen 白毫銀針 Silver needle Bai Mu Dan 白牡丹 White Peony Gong Mei 貢眉 Tribute Eyebrow 柚子 yòuzi - pomelo - great for travelling on the train 甲鱼 jiǎyú 鸭舌 yā shé 鸭掌, 鹅掌 é zhǎng yā zhǎng 邮票 yóupiào 插队 Chāduì jump-queue 滑 Huá slippery 20101101 保险 Bǎoxiǎn insurance. 保险政策 Bǎoxiǎn zhèngcè insurance policy. 旅游保险 Lǚyóu bǎoxiǎn travel insurance. 封锁下沉 Fēngsuǒ xià chén blocked sink. 马桶堵塞 Mǎtǒng dǔsè blocked toilet bowl. 一种挫折感 Yī zhǒng cuòzhé gǎn a feeling of frustration. 满意 Mǎnyì satisfaction. 包括 Bāokuò includes, including. 夹杂物 Jiázá wù. inclusions. 利润 Lìrùn profit. 有利可图 Yǒulì kě tú profitable. Recreational Maths Reading and Study Lonely Planet Guide - China (surprise surprise) Kinshu (Autumn Brocade) - Teru Miyamoto 宮本輝 1982 |
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Interesting and bring back a lot of my memories. Thanks
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