Alex's Asian Adventure

Today was Lhasa Day for Alex, for sure. I headed over to the Potala (poe-tah-la) Palace with Julien, for an investigation of how the Dalai Lamas lived. Admission: 100 kwai. WTF MATE!

The wonderful thing about the Potala is its size and grandeur. This place is incredible. Think, Tibetan Versailles. Huge. Massive. And on a hill. The Potala overlooks the city - you really cannot miss it. To get to the entrance you need to hike up 150m, and for a barely-acclimatized bloke like myself that is no mean feat. A little uphill walk like that would be no trouble at sea level. At 3700m, it's a little different. More on altitude later.

Anyway, the Potala itself is big, white, and gorgeous. Google yourself some pictures, or wait for me to get back if you're patient. Inside, you walk through a maze of corridors, steep steps and tiny rooms exhibiting all manner of sacred jewels of Tibet. I'd like to make some points about that now:

1. How on earth did the Tibetans get this much gold?
2. How on earth did the poor, hard-living Tibetans manage to build the Potala in the 17th century? It took 50 years to build the whole thing. On a hill. At altitude.
3. The place is filled with the coffins of past Dalai Lamas. Each coffin is made of gold. I find it curious that the Dalai Lamas did not receive a sky burial, and instead have a big sarcophagus in the middle of this huge, elevated temple.
4. I hate tour groups that wander around the narrow corridors, such away the precious oxygen (it's quite stuffy already, and made worse by hordes of 30-ish Chinese yammering away....). I'm glad I am not taking a Potala Tour.

In the afternoon, I met up with Murray again and we went for a hike up Pumbo Ri, a mountain on the other side of the Lhasa River. I was strangely comfortable walking uphill on scree/prayer flags/dirt/crap at altitude. That's a good sign. It was a great hike, including some intriguing conversation.

I should disclose that Murray is a devoted Christian, of the type that is not afraid to ask about one's religious beliefs. I am... not a devoted Christian. We had some fairly stimulating conversation about topics like Truth, Science, Intelligent Design, and the notion of Divine Omnipotence. I can't say he swayed my view, but at least my brain got stimulated. I suppose that overcomes the hypoxia that comes with altitude.

Speaking of altitude, it's a weird thing. Your body doesn't like the change in air pressure and oxygen content. 3700m is quite low by mountaineering standards, but it's hardly a small jump from Chengdu (say, 1000m) to Lhasa (3700m). There are three things you can do:

1. Rest
2. Drink lots of water
3. Take Diamox, which accelerates your breathing.

I am doing 2 & 3. Julien was doing some of 2. Door 1 was out of the question. I think the Diamox is working (my fingers & toes tingle from time to time!) and I didn't have excessive trouble sleeping. No headaches, no nausea, no vomiting. I did, however, dream that I set off a nuke in New York and then had to apologize to the world over a PA system.... I don't know why I set off the nuke, but I think I could see myself apologizing about it. I was in the midst of screwing up the apology as I was waking up in a weird daze.

At the end of this week, I am looking to charter a jeep (shared with 3 other people, who I have yet to find) and make a 4-5 day trip to Everest Base Camp. 5 days should be pretty good. The elevation gain is a further 1400-ish meters, and doing it in 5 days rather than 4 will help with acclimitization. The last thing I need in life is pulminary edema (look that one up if you want to read about a life-threatening condition!). I would leave on Friday, since I really think it's worth being in town for the Buddha's birthday on Thursday. Apparently there ought to be some celebrations.

Anyway. Jokhang Temple and Sera Monastery tomorrow. Samye on Tuesday/Wednesday. Buddha Birthday on Thursday. Quomolungma on Friday-Tuesday.. and then maybe a day in Lhasa for some SHOPPING!! and back to Chengdu. Tell me if you want some specific Tibetan knick-knack. If you want a rug, tell me how much you want to spend and I'll broker a transaction (though you have to trust my sense of aesthetics!). Anyway, this schedule is subject to change.

This morning I flew to Lhasa.

The flight was scheduled to leave at 8:20 AM. It took off at 9:20 AM. I am a bit irritated.

Here's the difference between, say, British Airways and Air China. If a BA flight is delayed on takeoff for whatever reason, an announcement is made saying "we are loading more fuel" or "there's some extra baggage on the plane, and looks like a bomb, so we'll take it off. Please be patient" or "our pilot is hung over." If an Air China flight is delayed on takeoff... you get nothing. The cabin crew didn't know anything about anything. They looked confused. Say "we definitely leave this morning, maybe wait 2, 3 hours". WHAAAAAAAAAAT!!!

Anyway, it was all worth it - the vista of mountains on the way made my heart melt in many ways.

The Lhasa airport is quite small, and situated in a valley about an hour's drive from the city itself. I was met by a smiling Tibetan with great English (Renzing) and his driver (Incognito). On the way, I picked up another traveller, a Frenchman named Julien, who's on his May Day holidays (works in Shanghai) and went to Lhasa with no real plans of accomodation. He's staying at the hotel (which is a nice 3-star affair. If anything, too nice for me).

About Lhasa. Lhasa is situated at roughly 3700m elevation. That means that when you get here, you should expect altitude sickness. Lhasa is the capital of Tibet, is home to around 200,000 people. It's not clear how many are Tibetan: Renzing says 95%, Murray (my prof friend here) says more like 50%. It's a touchy subject.

The Tibetans are the sweetest people in the world. Julien and I went out to wander the streets a bit and wandered into a school where they were holding some track & field festivities. I'd like to make three points:

• The fact that these people can sprint (nevermind run) at this altitude astounds me. I'm a fast walker most of the time - not here, not now.
• The children seem to be eager to practice their English (no idea where they picked it up). First thing I hear: "hello!!!! how are you!!!!" They're full of smiles and really - REALLY - sweet.
• All the kids are dying for attention from a foreigner like me - they were more than eager to pose for pictures and seem very excited to see us.

These people are incredibly friendly. Really wonderful to interact with.

After wandering the streets, I met up with Murray and his family and went to another track & field event, this time at Tibet University. Again, how these people can run a 3000m race at altitude is beyond me. We spent a bit of time walking around the campus (slowly!) and ended up at dinner.

Dinner. Near the Barkhor (the pilgrim circuit around the Jokhang, and also a big market). At a tourist-oriented restaurant. That serves yak steak. Yes, that's right, I ate a rare, bloody piece of cooked dead yak. Covered with butter. Served with potatoes and veggies. And chinese tea. It was a Sino-Tibetan-Canadian meal of the highest order. And the steak is so tender! Like eating a filet mignon at Ruth's Chris, except it doesn't cost $45/plate.

Mmmmm.

Lhasa is very scenic, very picturesque, and quite small. To compare, Beijing is apparently the size of Belgium. Xi'an has 8mm people. Chengdu has 11mm people. Sprawling, urban metropoli. This is the first city I visit where I can actually walk from one end of town to the other in a reasonable amount of time. It's refreshing!

The air here is clean, pure, and lacking in oxygen. The mountains around here are big and snow-capped. Unlike BC mountains, they're brown and have no vegitation. This is a high-altitude desert: not much percipitation, not much grows.

I think I'll spend well over a week in Lhasa and the surrounding areas. I'd like to visit a more remote place. Candidates include Rongbuk & Everest Base Camp (4-day trip), and an idea pitched to me last night by a trekker in Chengdu to go for a 6-day trip to Eastern Tibet, to see some high-altitude lakes and gorgeous alpine scenery. Not sure what I'll do yet - it largely depends on whether I can find suitable travel companions, since these trips involve hiring a private Toyota Landcruiser and its driver.

Ineed to leave this cybercafe. The Chinese girl behind me is smoking a foul-smelling Chinese cigarette and playing some stupid computer game not unlike DDR, with none of the physical exercise. More later.

Yesterday was spent exploring more of Xi'an's Muslim Quarter, the shopping areas there, and a lot of little streets. The night before I walked on the city walls with Leticia, who was leaving the next morning. This calls for a story.

At around 7 or 7:30 PM, we were back from an excursion to the Big Goose Pagoda (a big buddhist temple, with very nice grounds). We decided to look for dinner in the Muslim Quarter because there's lots of street food, little restaurants etc. We'd walk on the city walls on the way.

Apparently, admission fee to the walls is 40 kwai normally, 20 kwai for students. Quite expensive, really. Anyway, we get to the gate, I notice two prices. I say "shueshung!!" and hear some incoherent babbling. I raise two fingers. Pull out my student ID. Leticia is not a student, doesn't have student ID, but plays it cool. They try to sell me a normal ticket and a student ticket.

I get overwhelingly irritated at this because, well, 40 kwai is a lot to pay for a stroll on the city walls. I point at the student ticket, hold up two fingers, keep saying "shueshung!! shuesung!" and pointing at the two of us. The poor ticket girl looked a bit overwhelmed. She deferred to the local security guard (a 17 year old in uniform, as Lee describes them) who clearly wanted to get us out of his hair. They relented and sold two student tickets.

It's not that the extra 20 kwai is a lot of money - it's less than $3 CAD. It's the principle of it!

Oh, and that night I did my first "randomly point at a menu" meal-selection. It worked out not bad.

Anyway, the next day was more walking streets, this time with Guani. She's a very experienced traveller and a great companion for wandering the streets. More haggling. More shopping (mostly on her part). More great food.

This brings me to the point I'd actually like to make here. One of the most satisfying things about travelling has been, so far, the incredible variety of people I've met. These backpacker-oriented hotels I'm staying at are absolutely indispensibe for meeting like-minded travellers. If I was staying at normal expat or tourist hotels, I'd be pretty lonely.

Some of the very memorable people I've shared my travels with so far have included:

• The Danish girls (Sofie and Maria) and Dutch girls (Elisa and Nina) who were great company for the Great Wall hike.
• The multitude of fine people at Beijing's Far East Hotel, like the guy who "befrended" the masseuse there and constantly seemed to be plotting something vaguely illicit...
• Leticia, the French work-holiday traveller who I met in Xi'an, and who I spent a day with exploring the Muslim Quarter. We sort of spoke the same language - and it wasn't Chinese!
• Guani, the half-Dutch, half-Peruvian long-term traveller in search of her sanity, who showed me how to stand my ground at restaurants (but I think learned something from my negotiating skills with street vendors!). Her story is a fascinating one.
• Stefan and Rob, the two random guys I met at the Xi'an hostel and ended up discussing political issues with, quite heatedly, over a few beers. Good fun!
• And, last but most certainly not least Katie, the American NGO worker, who helped make a day and a half in Beijing ever-so-memorable and seems to be following an eerily-similar itinerary to mine... Tibetan areas followed by Northern India. I hope to see her again in Delhi.

These people are a big part of what makes this trip such a powerful experience. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone is from somewhere different. But we all share something and there seems to be a pretty strong bond between travellers. Especially young, university-age travellers - although being young at heart is really what counts.

I am currently in Chengdu (took an overnight soft sleeper train from Xi'an - most boring 17 hours of my life). Tomorrow I am on my way to Lhasa, for a week or so (possibly more). I'm meeting Murray Sherk, a professor who taught at UW briefly a few years ago. This is the power of networking.

This morning I finally got to speak with my Tibetan travel agent, Lobsang. My flight is at 7:45 AM or so on Saturday, which means I absolutely, positively, need to be in Chengdu this friday. I bought a ticket for tomorrow night - this time, a 'soft sleeper', and for less what it cost me Beijing -> Xi'an. Leticia (from Paris) came along, and we proceeded to see the sights in the city.

Sight #1: Bell Tower. The most distinguishing characteristic is, I think, the display of alcohol inside. The Chinese are drunks, and have been for a thousand years. On display is a glass bottle of some sort of green swill (maybe absynth?) that the inscription claims to be 2100 years old. They say it's wine. Even France doesn't have wine that old.

Sight #2: Drum Tower. I could have done without.

North of the Drum Tower is the Muslim Quarter of Xi'an, which is home to the ethnic Hui population (numbering about 30,000 according to my guidebook). Hidden among the hutongs is the so-called Great Mosque, and is apparently the largest mosque in China (and Leticia says it's the second oldest - she has different guidebooks!). The whole thing is pretty interesting - Chinese-looking muslims praying in Chinese-looking buildings that are, nonetheless, a muslim temple. The minaret in the centre looks like a pagoda!

Beside the mosque is long, winding hutong filled with shops. Small shops, selling small trinkets of various kinds. They also sell knockoff Gucci, Louis Vuitton and North Face gear. And silk items of various sorts. If you seem interested in anything, they'll quote you an outrageous price. A sucker will pay it, but a sharp trader will bargain.

For example, I bought an item that was originally asking 120 kwai for 40 kwai. How? Let me illustrate:

Vendor: says 120 (or rather, they write it down on a piece of paper to avoid confusion).
Alex: What! No, too expensive. Me shueishung (student, and that's not proper pinyin either).
Vendor: how much? give best price!!
Alex: 20 kwai!
Vendor: oh, no, 20 kwai low!! I lose money!
Alex: no, no, you no lose money
Vendor: Okay okay 80 kwai!
Alex: too expensive! 25!

Eventually if you hold your ground you can get whatever they're selling for a fraction of what they asked. A few times, Leticia was looking at things and I negotiated on her behalf - I think she bought a purse for 15 kwai when the vendor was asking for 40 or 50. After a while, you get to enjoy this activity.

We also checked out the stone tablets museum, which is impressive for the sole reason that it's enormous and the tablets are very, very old. You can see the evolution of Chinese writing, although I find it hard to appreciate it fully because I don't read or write or speak or understand any form of Chinese. However, the fact that there are so many huge stone tablets full of writing says something about the state of the Chinese society and economy at a time when Rome was gone, western Europe was nowhere, and Byzantium was really the only game in town in the West (if you can call it that).

Tonight, more sights in Xi'an and I leave for Chengdu tomorrow night, on another overnight train. Flying to Lhasa on Saturday morning!!

Because of the Great Firewall of China I can't read my own blog. I can post, but not read.

Tera,

I went by hard sleeper - it was certainly fine and Ｉ had no trouble at all. And yeah, the $460 thing stings a bit - my TD Student Line of Credit, and my future earnings，ａｒｅ　funding this trip, so I'm afraid you can't get in on this. Unless, that is, you'd like to switch careers with me...

And yeah Beijing seems pretty dirty compared to Toronto and London, but maybe I should reserve my judgement until I visit some other unsavoury places, like Hanoi, perhaps?

I arrived in Xi'an at around 7 AM. I was met at the train station by a Chinese man bearing a sign saying "Alespeyel" which I assumed is me. He took me to the hostel, Xi'an Shuyuan

I must say, this place has a lot of soul and personality. The location is great: right next to the South Gate of Xian, which means it's literally a stone throw away from the Ming-era city walls. The building is very old and features two courtyards, a cafe, etc. The rooms are basic but adequate. My single room here is also 120 kwai cheaper than the single room I had at the Far East Hotel, Beijing. I'm content here.

As soon as I arrived, I was informed that if I wanted to see the Terracotta Army today, I could. 160 kwai. Breakfast included. English tour guide. Blah blah. I hummed and haad and went to the bank and unpacked a little and decided that life's too short and I can have a rest day tomorrow (which is definitely in the cards). 160 kwai later, and after some bus-related confusion, we were on our way on this tour.

First Stop: Terracotta Figure Manufacturing Centre, where they make knock-off warriors. The actual figurines are quite nice: very detailed, and make a great gift. I bought two decent-sized ones. Now I need to find China Post & ship this stuff to Canada.

Second Stop: museum of some sort, containing Qin dinasty relics and otherwise very little of note. However, it bears saying that the Terracotta Army was built by Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor or China and the founder of the Qin dynasty. Also, note that "q" is pronounced "ch" as in "cheese".

Third Stop: Lunch at a Chinese eatery place that does not deserve my business. If I wanted to eat at a Toronto-style huge Chinese restaurant, I would. But c'est la vie.

Fourth Stop: Terracotta Army.

Now, this place is impressive for a few reasons:

• The scale of it is enormous. Really very huge.
• The fact that it was built in 2200 BC says a lot about the society at the time. These people clearly had an artisan class that could enjoy patronage from the rich and was free to focus on crafts and self-development rather than on growing food. Having such a class of "idle" artists & thinkers is associated with the development of science and culture, since people have time on their hands and can afford to develop such things.
• Every soldier has its own expression. Every soldier is unique. Plus, they are all in a battle formation!
• Most of the soldiers were reassembled from a thousand pieces each, or maybe more.

So yes. This place is cool. Unfortunately, the major hall, "Pit 1", is housed in what resembles a big airplane hanger and not a museum. It's huge and cavernous, and kinda ulgy. The other buildsings are much better built, although I still smell Soviet architecture in this place.

Also, the peasant who found the warriors in 1974 is still alive and kicking. In fact, he's on display at the venue, and will autograph a book if you buy one. Unfortunately, the only thing he knows how to write is his name: I guess primary education wasn't quite so widespread under Mao. This dude had to be specially trained by some experts from Beijing.

After the Terracotta Army, a group of six of us (myself and five girls) ended up going for a Chinese.... foot massage. Now, if you are tempted to crack jokes about being less than a man's man, please kindly bugger off. This was a good time, and a cheap time at that. No complaints at all.

Dinner: I receive a demonstration in haggling. Our dinner crew was Aida (Ozzie), Leticia (France) and Guani (Holland). We ate at some small street restaurant not far from the hotel. The food was good as usual. The bill comes. 86 kwai. HUH?!? WTF mate! Guani takes matters into her own hands, being a worldly person. She wants an itemized bill. What did this cost? What did that cost? That's too expensive!

Eventually she wrote the prices she expects to pay for each dish on the bill. It came to 40 kwai. 10 each. We get the bills, put them on the table, and leave without cracking a smile or laughing about this too much. In Canada, a stunt like that would get me shot. Here, it's par for the course.

Also, Xi'an appears to have a vibrant street night life. At 9 PM or so, there is live music, dancing, story telling and public revelry just outside the South Gate. The Chinese just jump in, dance as a group, sing, or listen to the local bard. It's quite an amazing sense of community, one that you would certainly not see in North America.

Right. So the UPS saga took up the first half of the day. The second half involved being brave twice in a row:

Accomplishment #1: I found the Beijing Photo Mall
Accomplishment #2: I managed to catch the correct train to Xi'an

The Beijing Photo Mall is by far the most incredible place to buy photography gear I've ever seen. This place is huge: a big building packed with small photo gear shops. Moreover, everything is dirt cheap. The Fuji Reala I bought (in good quantity!) was about 1/3 of what it costs in Canada. 'nuff said.

Riding a Chinese train, on the other hand, is a memorable experience. My ticket was a so-called "hard sleeper" ticket, the best value in town. What this buys you is a bunk with a suitably hard mattress, in a more or less open train wagon. I took the ubiquitous internet advice and bought a ticket for a middle bunk, since the bottom is used for sitting and the top is dangerously close to a big ugly loudspeaker.

The Beijing West train station, like most things in China, is enormous. Think of Union Station and multiply by six. Of course, this makes sense given that Beijing holds 13mm people and train is by far the most economic way to travel around China. Once inside the cavernous building, things are simple: the waiting rooms are well-marked (by train number) and there's food around in case you want to buy something.

I found my bunk on the train. As soon as I get there, a Chinese man with broken english asks politely if he can exchange his ticket for a nearby middle bunk for mine. I think "hmm" and accept the trade. It turns out it was for the better. My bunk-neighbors were:

• One fat super-loud Chinese guy who wanted to broadcast his cell phone conversations to the entire wagon
• Four mid-30s-looking Chinese professionals, at least two of whom work at a chemical company of some sort in Shanghai. I got Terry Wang's business card, which claims that he's an engineer, and yet he claims to be in marketing management.. Hmmm

Anyway. I stick out like a sore thumb in a Chinese train. To be more precise, I stick out like a white backpacker with a giant amount of gear (and my "dead sexy piolet") on a train full of Chinese middle class. I'm a curiousity more than anything. The guys I was sharing the train with were incredibly eager to practice their English and teach me Chinese words. Do I remember these words? Somewhat. Not really. I need to write them down, I think. Also, it seems like the Chinese are hugely intrigued by my Rough Guide to China - it was immensely popular and a real ice-breaker.

Peculiar things about Chinese trains:

• Every so often one of a seemingly endless number of attendants will come by with a shopping cart and loudly advertise whatever they are hawking.
• The public announcements by the PA system are in both English and Mandarin. Unfortunately, the English version is much shorter. I feel like they're holding out on me.
• Train bathrooms are not Western-style bathrooms. They are Turkish-style squatting toilets. I've never imagined I'd want to squat down in a moving train... but what can you do? There is also no toilet paper in the bathrooms.

However, all in all the train ride was pretty good. I passed out like a light at 10 PM, only to be woken up periodically by the loud snoring from the middle bunk opposite mine. GRRR!!!!!!!! I finally hauled myself out of bed at around 6 AM, as the train was coming in towards Xi'an.

The final weirdness: as we arrived in Xi'an, I heard the loudspeakers play a Chinese version of a song from the Sound of Music. And I can assure you that it wasn't Julie Andrews singing it....

Background: I have (or, I should say, had) a duffel full of climbing & trekking gear that I intended to ship to Hong Kong, pick up there, and take with me to Delhi.

Friday, April 21: UPS tells me they can only hold it in Hong Kong for about a week. I say FUCKKITY FUCK! DAMMIT! I DON'T NEED THIS CRAP!

Friday, April 21: Alex, with the assistance of Kim @ Project Himalaya, resolves the quandry by arranging for the travel agents in Delhi to hold the stuff for a little while. Alex will ship the gear on Monday morning.

Monday April 24: The Adventure Begins.

This morning, Katie (see previous post) & I went to the UPS office, her with an envelope, me with a big duffel of stuff. Katie needed to urgently send something to the US. That was no problem. My turn at the counter comes.

UPS Girl look at my bag, says "oh very big, need box" and points to the biggest box in the house. The size-weight of the box is 30kg, and she says it'll cost me about $511 CAD to ship this to Delhi in "Indoo". My jaw drops. She says "go to China Post" & gives directions.

At China Post, they give me a slightly smaller box, but my duffel's dimensions are such that it won't quite fit. I take out Ice Axe of Trotskyification, and creatively compress the duffel using my two pieces of webbing. Ice Axe of Trotskyification will come with me through China. I figure it'll frighten anyone who gets the idea of robbing me. Besides, it's really light.

Anyway, I get the package ready & sealed up. I fill out paperwork. I take everything to the counter where they tell me "too big" - apparently it's oversized for these guys. I don't know what that means, but frankly shipping this stuff with China Post already frightened me a little bit and by this point I was ready to throttle someone. The fact that I was with a very nice girl was a moderating influence on my state of mind. I said "FUCKIT! I'm paying UPS, at least I can trust them"

So, back to UPS. The box is smaller. We figure it'll save me $150-200 off the $511 bill. UPS Girl is surprised to see us again. She rifles through her paperwork, does some calculating and measuring and comes up with a bill amount of....... $461. AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have no choice in the matter anymore. I can't haul this stuff around without losing my sanity. I bite the bullet.

Total operation: 3 taxi rides, 1 subway ride, three cups of coffee from Starbucks (including a double espresso for me, thank you Katie!), and a big UPS bill. At least I can be more or less confident that UPS won't fuck this one up too badly. Still, I'm ready to Trotsky someone.

Oh, and to add insult to injury, I missed my checkout deadline at the hotel by an hour and they said they can't override their computer. I call bullshit but you can't argue with these people. I spend another 140 kuai (about $20) for a late checkout.

Oh, and this afternoon I'm planning to make my way (by subway, which is dirt cheap here) to the Beijing Photo Mall to buy film for the trip. Then I catch an overnight train to Xi'an. I think I'll sleep with my ice axe cradled lovingly in my arms.

This morning I stumbled out into the courtyard looking for a computer (to check my email - I'm prone to email withdrawals) and ended up meeting Katie, an American girl working for an NGO. She's on a mission to report on some projects the NGO is running in this country. Katie Chapman, if you are reading this, you should know that I verified that you do not have the same last name.

Anyway, Katie & I were both looking for food, and ended up going out to the Forbidden City together. She was gung-ho to see Mao's embalmed, lifeless body. The great leader rests in a big, imposing, scary-looking building on the south end of Tiannanment Square. It is said that some important people in China regretted putting the building there in the first place (for instance, Deng Xiaoping lamented about it in 1980), but it'll never go away since no one dares get rid of it. Visiting Mao's body seems to be the Chinese equivalent of going to Mecca. Katie wanted to check it out. I didn't disagree. When else do I get to see an embalmed communist?

The Chinese love Mao. They buy flowers on the way in, leave them inside, and I am thinking that the entrepreneurial Chinese recycle the flowers the next day for the next batch of pilgrims. Mao himself is a creepy sight. He's mostly covered up - all you see is a lifeless, waxy face. The whole thing is a bit surreal (though I quietly used the word "romantic" at the venue itself, causing much laughter). I feel closer to some sort of communist deity now that I've seen the stony cold cadaver of a dictator. However, I would have preferred to see him not covered up, but instead wearing the classic Mao suit. The ultimate fashion statement for a dead commie.

Mao himself is flanked by two guards, standing ramrod straight (probably for hours). These guys looked about 20 years old and I wonder what sort of army favours they have to give to guard this particular relic. I'm sure they feel very special doing it. The envy of all their army friends.

Oh, and apparently the people who embalmed Mao were the same people who embalmed Ho Chi Minh (another wonderful specimen of a benevolent, peace-loving leader). There's also a rumour (in my guidebook) that during the embalming of Mao's ears fell off and had to be glued on. MmmmmMao!

Anyway, just north of there is Tiannanmen Square, aka. Tanks vs. Students, 1989. North of there still is Tiannanmen Gate, with a gorgeous picture of the very sex Mao looking at the world lovingly, with his two eyes and gigantic mole. North still is the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City was the home of Chinese emperors for hundreds of years, and was indeed forbidden to ordinary peasantry. Today, it is effectively a museum of Ming and Qing ("Ching") Dynasty relics. They say you should spend a whole day here: I say, nonsense. We did it in three and I don't think we missed out on very much. The whole place is massively crowded with tourists and a bit painful in that way. At least they have nice bathrooms: the plaques say they're four-star. I inspected: there was music and it was unnaturally clean for Chinese public toilets.

Sometime later that afternoon Katie went back to the hotel and I went to Yonghe Gong, Beijing's largest buddhist temple. Like the Forbidden City, it feels more like a museum than a temple, although it's physically much more beautiful. There are tourists everywhere, but at least there's burning incense and actual Buddhas and things. There's a Buddha that is 18m tall! Not bad. Still, it left me vaguely unsatisfied; it's a bit too commercialized for a temple if you ask me. I think it's something of a washed down Chinese Communist Party version of a real buddhist temple. I realize that it was built ages ago, and it managed to (miraculously) survive the Cultural Revolution, and there's tons of history there. It's just that the souvenier shops and the toll booths and display cases and things bother me. I'm hoping the temples in Lhasa and in northern Yunnan are better.

In the evening, I was hoping to check out the Red Capital Club, a communist-styled bar recommended by one Robert F. Madden JD. I was hoping to check this bar out with Katie, or Lee Bowman (of Batman & Robin fame). Unfortunately, Lee cancelled on me ("too much studying to do" - hah!) and Katie came back from her evening shindig with other people a bit too late and was tired. I'm hoping we check it out tomorrow. Also, tomorrow night I'm taking an overnight train to Xi'an. It would have been nice to spend at least another full day in Beijing, but sadly it is not meant to be. I'll have to come back another time and check out the rest of the sights. Beijing is a pretty cool city.

Also, people have been asking about pictures. Unfortunately, Internet access here is pretty piss-poor and uploading photos will take a million years. For now, pictures will have to wait - but have faith, I am taking plenty.

Breaking News: The Great Wall really is pretty Great.

This morning, I dragged myself out of bed at the princely hour of 5 AM to get myself together before the trip to the Great Wall at Jinshanling and Simatai. The transport would take us to Jinshanling, and we'd walk along the wall for 10km, to end up at Simatai. The two places are different sections.

From everything I hear, this particular trip is the trip for the actively-minded, not-quite-a-cripple traveller. I don't think I'm a cripple, so this trip was for me. And, I'm happy to say that I was not disappointed.

Random facts about the Great Wall (from memory - so this might be wrong!):

• The earliest section, at Badaling, was built around 200 BC. Badaling was rebuilt by the Ming dynasty around 400 years ago.
• Jinshanling is the most recent section of the wall to be built - also by the Ming dynasty. They have gun turrets suitable for cannons on the Mongolia side of the wall.
• Even if you're going to a fairly non-commercialized section like Jinshanling, you can still expect some entrepreneurial Chinese to try to make a buck by selling you stuff.

Anyway, after breakfast (25 Yuan for a Western-style all-you-can-eat buffet - call it $3.50 CAD) we hopped on a minibus for the 3-hour trip to Jinshanling. Now, somewhere I read that it's only about 120 km away. Why does it take 3 hours? I have no idea. We were on highways most of the time. I think it's only 120km away if you're a helicopter, and Chinese roads don't go straight.

Our driver was typically Chinese in the sense that his driving was "pragmatic" (read: opportunistic). That is to say, he was using the right shoulder as a passing lane on multiple occasions, and at one point drag-raced a big truck that was trying to pass him. All this while talking on his mobile phone.

For the trip, we formed an imprompty group of six, consisting of Denver (from the Philippines), Elisa and Nina (from Holland) and Sofie and Maria (from Denmark). Denver took off to Xi'an in the evening, Elisa and Nina are going back to Holland on Monday, and Sofie & Maria are going to loiter in Beijing for a while longer before heading off on their next destination, whatever that is.

The Wall itself is.... pretty cool. I don't think the Chinese know how to do anything on a small scale. The wall itself is wide, the towers are big etc. The Jinshanling side is a bit more authentic than the Simatai side since less of it is restored. For much of the way you are walking on broken down old stone and there are a few places where you have to get off the wall & walk around since there's no actual way to negotiate a path. It's definitely impressive. Also, Jinshanling wasn't very crowded at all. Plus, we got really lucky with the weather - perfect day for a hike.

When you get to the site, as you begin to go down the trail to the wall, you somehow pick up a tail. This would be an older Chinese man or woman (mine was a Chinese woman, though a few of them said they were Mongolian so maybe she was too). I didn't want to buy anything from her. I decided it'd be fun to wear her out, so I bolted ahead at whatever breakneck pace I could manage (which I think was pretty fast) and at one point the poor woman groaned "sir... not so fast!" Unfortunately, she caught up once I got on the wall and waited for the other 5 in our group. Eventually, she conned me into buying a book about the wall, mostly consisting of photos.
Oh, and there are entrepreneurial types all along the wall (typically old Chinese men & women with their teeth looking sparse) selling water, coke & beer. I'm a little surprised at the beer thing, but maybe that's because I'm used to Canada, where drinking in public is a non-starter. I wouldn't want to drink

The Simatai section of the wall, while I hear it's better than Badaling for crowds & commercialism, disappointed compared to Jinshanling - which is not to say it was bad! However, the crowding was a bit nuts, with groups running around in coloured t-shirts racing up & down the wall or something. Very surreal, and more than a little annoying: "GET OUT OF MY SHOT YOU @#%*@(#%*!(@)*%!)*!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Oh yes, speaking of shots, I shot lots of both film & digital and photos will be up as some point. I need to find a place where I can offload them from my digicam.

So yes, the Wall is awesome, everyone should go.

Tomorrow, I'm off to the Yonghe Dong buddhist monastery, the Confuscian Temple, and the Forbidden City. Then, I'll try to act on the advice of one Robert Madden and visit a place called the Red Capital Club for a drink. Maybe the Long March? Or the Dream of Red Capital? I'm intrigued by these coctails. On Monday night, I'm off on an overnight train to Xi'an.

An update on my first day in Beijing.

I did as planned and napped until 11:30 or so. The idea was to spend the afternoon doing some important errands in Beijing, such as sending my trekking gear on to Hong Kong (so that I don't have to carry the damn duffel) and renting a cell phone.

Well, the person at the UPS office in Beijing was genuinely unhelpful. I also discovered that my local calling card doesn't make calls to Hong Kong. Duh. Fine. I went off to find a cell phone, to a place called Xidan Market.

Now, can you imagine the Eaton Centre, only bigger, flasheir and outside? Now, add a horde of smoking Chinese people. Put it at the side of a road with absolutely nutty traffic. Add the stench of smog. You get Xidan Market.

I eventually found a place that sells cell phones. It not only sells cell phones, it sells nearly any kind of phone you can imagine. The obsession with cell phones I observed among the Chinese-Canadian crowd in Waterloo has deep roots. It's kinda mental actually. Anyway, the conversation with the clerk went something like this:

Alex: Do you speak English?
Clerk: A little.
Alex: I want your cheapest phone.
Clerk: huhgh??/
Alex: starts pointing
Clerk: unintelligible gibberish. Starts discussing something with another clerk.
Alex: Points to cell phone costing roughly 1000 yuan (~$140 CAD).
Clerk: Oh! (gets a calculator to type in a discounted price)
Alex: nodding vigorously (I just want the damn phone)
...
Eventually we figured out that I needed a SIM card, too - I could have told her that. Then, we figured out that I have to pay for this! Evidently they don't get Visa payments often, since the visa machine was in a box, unplugged, and dusty. Anyway, I now have a cell phone. Number available upon request.

Cell phone in hand, I decided to see something of Beijing, starting with the White Pagoda (in a park whose name escapes me at the moment). The pagoda is situated on a hill, surrounded by water, with two narrow channels to the "mainland". Apparently this park was built by the Ming dynasty, and the lake is entirely artificial. For that matter, so is the island (the excavated land had to go somewhere). Anyway, the whole thing is quite stunning - not only the pagoda, but the surrounding buildings and weird structures like at 25m long, tall, ornamental stone screen. One spot on the grounds was a Garden of Serenity (I'm paraphasing here) - stone pathways, trees, seclusion. In a word, gorgeous. Unfortunately, many of the buildings were closed and I couldn't get the most out of this place.

Next, my plan was to visit Yonghe Gong, a buddhist monastery in Beijing. Oops: the moment I left the pagoda grounds, I was hit up by a young guy with good Engrish who was touting rickshaw tours of Beijing's hutongs. A "hutong" is a residential area with tiny little streets and very central. I get the impression that they are not "slums" since the residences were quite prestigious. Anyway, I got a 45-minute rickshaw tour of the way important Chinese men & their families lived until quite recently. One of the residences belonged to the teacher of Mao himself.

I never did make it to Yonghe Gong. I'll go there..... soon.

Anyway, the UPS-gear-shipping plan exploded when UPS Hong Kong told me that they can't hold my stuff for more than a week. Bastards. Instead, it looks like I'll be shipping it to my trekking guides and their agents in India. Just as well for me.

After all this adventure, I met up with Lee Bowman (of UW fame) who's in town studying Chinese and being a crazy goofball. How crazy? He's off to a party tonight, and him & his buddy Stefano (also studying Chinese here) dressed up as Batman & Robin from the old Adam West days to make a statement at this party. Yeah. Homemade costumes. The reaction of random chinese girls to the sight of these two becostumed white guys running at them screaming "NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA BATMAN!!!!!!!!" was priceless. Priceless!!!

So far this trip is marked by Random Adventure, and this is not a probabalistic statement.

Tomorrow I am off to Jinshanling & Simatai, for a hike along the top of the Great Wall.

Beijing is really polluted. The whole place reeks of smog. It's disgusting and filthy. It's now April, there's no beaming sunshine and stifling heat to make the smog worse. It's just bad already. I was wondering "is that smell me??" but realized it's just the air.

Ugh. No wonder people wear face masks.

The other thing is that the driving is outrageous. If you thought Toronto drivers were aggressive, then you'd find London scary. If you think London is bad enough, Beijing will make you defecate a piece of construction equipment. It's awful.

Today (Friday the 21st), I spent some time in taxis. I think my cabbies nearly killed a dozen or more cyclists, but failed to actually close a deal with any of them. So close... but so far. We also nearly sideswiped, or were sideswiped by, another three dozen or so vehicles. If you don't like something, honk. If the person doesn't react (and they never seem to) flash your lights & keep honking. Whatever happens, just keep driving as you were before. "Buzzing" pedestrians is allowed (although it was scarier in London since it'd happen faster). Cutting off other cars is encouraged. Cutting off a bus merits extra points for style.

On the receiving end of this, it's scary. If you want to cross a road, think twice and try to be in a crowd. If you're in a rickshaw, hold on for dear life. If you're a taxi passenger not used to this madness, you should remember that the guy to your left holds your life in his hands.

The good news is that taxis are very cheap here, and I have zero incentive to learn how to use the Beijing public transit system.

Last night, at around 1 PM I boarded BA 1039 Heathrow to Beijing. I got somewhat lucky with the flight, because I ended up sitting with two backpackers from northern England (Manchester-area) who were going on a 6-month tour of China, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and the US.

I must compliment BA, since the flight not only ran on time but also got to Beijing a bit early. The adventure begins now.

We'll call these two backpacking dudes Phill and Lee, since those are their names. We disembarked from the plane and walked through the compeletely deserted airport to the baggage area, by way of the quarantine check & immigration checks, which were the smoothest customs people I've ever seen in my life - probably because they don't speak english.

Observations about the airport:

• It is huge and deserted.
• It is well-decorated, with fancy Chinese artwork
• The security people are all young-looking (20-ish?) and all look like they have a brick up their asses. Probably because they do.

Anyway. We get to the luggage carousel. I get my bags. Lee gets his bag. Phill.... doesn't. So now Phill is a backpacker with no backpack, and the backpack will likely come to MY hotel because these guys didn't know the address of theirs. Pretty weird. Anyway, as a thank you I bummed a ride on their hotel transportation car thing, and their hostel seems to be up teh street from my own. Good enough.

I don't know how people survive in this place. The drivers are RIDICULOUSLY aggressive. If you think Toronto is bad, you'll find London worse. And if you think London is bad, you'll find Beijing frightening as all hell. Apparently pedestrians do not have the right of way. Ever. Example: we were driving out of the airport parking lot, down a laneway, with people crossing to get to or from their car. Our driver honks MERCILESLLY! GET OUT OF MY WAY YOU BASTARDS! I'M IMPORTANT AND VEHICLE-ARMED!!!

Holy hell. On the way here, we nearly ran over a cyclist. If you think being a pedestrian is bad, being a cyclist must be worse - you're with these psychodrviers in traffic!

Other observations about Beijing:

• It looks like the outskirts of Beijing were built in the Mao era and look like soviet construction, super-ugly concrete highrise hideosity. Unreal.
• When you get closer to the city centre and go through the business area, everything looks very modern.
• Where I am, near Tiannanmen Square, is largely a dump with the exception of this hotel. It's all small alleyways with people everywhere, lots of them cooking food in stackable devices of some sort. I'm going to investigate.
• The place is quite polluted. The whole city is covered in a grey haze, and some people wear face masks. Hmmm....

The good news is that my hotel is quite nice - hot running water for the shower & everything! I splurged and reserved TWO beds in one room, so that I have my own room. I'm thinking that's not a bad idea until I get my bearings and figure my shyte out. It's now 8 AM here, I'm going to buy some food, take a nap, and head out in the afternoon to rent a cell phone, find the UPS location to ship my stuff, and maybe locate the super-fancy photo mall where apparently I can get good film for not very much money.

Another day of walking around town. We got up lazily, got breakfast and Marks & Spencer, and went over to Hyde Park.

Last time I was in Londres was 12 years ago. At that time, Marks & Spencer was this super high-end clothing shop for the criminally rich. Now... it's moving in the Walmart direction, only a LOT nicer. It's something of a blend of the good foods at Fortinos and the reasonably-priced clothing at The Bay. The food selection is quite nice, and it's reasonably priced by London standards. I was moderately impressed.

Anyway, Hyde Park is a park. Some of the residential neighborhoods appear to be mind-blowingly expensive. A 3-bedroom apartment goes for half a million pounds. Madness!

We were in search of adventure, and since dodging traffic isn't enough of an adventure we went to.... the Museum of Natural History. Why? Because apparently this place has some jarks of formaldehyde that contain animals collected by Charles Darwin. The Dahmer-fan in me is always interested in jars of formaldehyde. Unfortunatey, the exhibit was closed. Plus, the place was packed and there's only so much time I can spend looking at animal remains.

Instead we ended up the London Science Museum, which is free, huge, and awesome. It also had nowhere near the number of people as the Natural History museum. We somehow managed to spend a few hours wandering around the place and looking at fun stuff. It's a bit like an up-end version of the Ontario Science Centre, with more emphasis on things adults would appreciate, like tanks and missiles and cars and things.

Probably the neatest exhibit was this Vicker's Vimy biplane. This is the reconstruction of the plane that first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, back in 1919. Apparently, the two brilliant guys who did this took the plane apart, shipped it to Newfoundland, reassembled it on a field, knocked a wall down & cut some trees to make a runway, and decided to fly the plane back to England.

That is to say, they built the plane, and flew straight back to England without so much as a test flight first.

My theory: they were in Newfoundland and were drinking some screech before the flight. What other reason could there be for these guys to take a rickety little biplane bomber across the Atlantic, having just assembled it on a field?

Doing something tonight, not sure what. Time to stop writing inane commentary and go out.

Yes, I realize I am posting this on the 19th. But I was tired last night. So deal! The story goes as this:

I met Mark at his apartment sometime around 8:30 AM, after hauling my rather ridiculous load of backpack, daypack and duffel down a busy London street for about 15 minutes. Mark was on his way to work for some meeting, and I took this opportunity to take a brief nap on the couch. Those who know me know that I never nap, which means hell's frozen over. But I digress...

We spent the afternoon walking around London, starting from Covent Garden (by tube) and over to Charing Cross, the Embankment, the City over towards London Bridge and St. Pauls and a bunch of other places. This list is definitely not in order other than the fact that we started at Covent Garden. I think there's no better way to learn what a city is like than by walking the streets, and that's what Mark & I did. There are some very ugly buildings in London, including the new Lloyd's of London building, and some phallic-looking building that is occupied by a bank that clearly sees itself as very important:


One of the cool places we visited was the War Cabinet Rooms museum, which is one of the non-free museums in London. You might think admission is $8.50 CAD. But no! Admission is £8.50 GBP, or £6 GBP if you're unemployed. That's right: if you're unemployed, you should be going to museums at discounted prices and not looking for work. Hmmm....

Anyway, the War Cabinet Rooms is pretty cool. You get to see where Churchill spent his days during the war, plotting convoys on a map and eating sausage and yelling at his subordinates. You can listen to recorded commentary using a doo-hickey that looks like a cross between a telephone and a TV remote. The museum has things like this:



We finished off the evening by paying a visit to Bricklane, which is nothing more than an alley of brick-buildings all of which house Indian restaurants. Since they all serve the same food, competition is fierce. You can't walk by a restaurant and pause for a minute without someone running up to you saying (unintelligibly) "muhhwahhuh 10% off hgwwjjhh" and when you look like you want to run away follow up (equally unintelligibly) with "hrrumahh 20% off and free round of drinks rraahhigghera" or something. We ended up eating at the least seedy-looking place in the joint, and in all fairness the food was great. The problem? 20% discount does't get the prices to a reasonable level and "free round of drinks" doesn't mean "your two beers are on the house" - in fact, I don't know what it means. I know, however, that our beers ended up on the tab.

At night time, I was trying to drag Mark to a local arabic smoke-parlour, but we never ended up out and instead spent a few hours at his apartment, cracking joke with his roommate Jody. Good times were had by all, possibly except for Mark and Jody.

There are more pictures here.

This will be a boring entry. I am now in London. Nothing has happened yet (except for a morning nap). Currently waiting for Mark to come back from work, and we hit the town!!

Things are already "different" here. For example:

1. The ceilings in this place are hugely tall. And the windows are huge, too!
   
2. The kitchen in this apartment is a separate room, with a door
3. The shower does't have a full screen door or shower curtain. I sense the distinct risk of serious shower water spillage.
   
4. There is a washer but no dryer...

Oh, and everything is^)"*(!*&"$! expensive. Think of what you'd expect to pay for something in Toronto, add 50%, and then realize the number you're arriving at is actually denominated in pounds. So, for example, taking the Heathrow Express from the airport (to save an hour or more of pain & misery on the tube) cost somewhere over $50 CAD. "WTF MATE?" In Toronto, that's what an airport taxi would charge to take me nearly anywhere in the city. Not a soddin' commuter train!

I'm done ranting. Time to rave. British Airways rocks. The airplane was immaculate, the service was great, and the food was pretty tasty. Can't complain. This is in stark contrast to, say, American Airlines, that adds misery to the flying process by charging you $6 USD for a a sandwich that you'd feel guilty giving to a starving kid in Somalia, since even they deserve to eat well from time to time.

More later.

I hope I don't forget anything.

Post a comment with what you think I might forget.

I recently discovered something else cool to do in Yunnan. Apparently, near Kunming is a place called Shilin, aka "the Stone Forest." And it looks AMAAAAAAAAZING.


I was originally planning to go to Yunnan for the sake of the Tiger Leaping Gorge (image below). Kunming is on the way to Lijiang, which is the city closes to the Tiger Leaping Gorge. However, the more I read the more it seems like Yunnan has a lot to offer.

Long time no post. Busy. Exams.

The good news: I'm done university!
The bad news: well.... there's no bad news.

I leave Monday. I'm starting to get progressively more nervous, since after all I am going to a third-world country (China) entirely on my own, for six weeks. I hope I'm reasonably well prepared with the exception of not speaking any Mandarin. That doesn't change the fact that I'm going to a foreign land to travel on my own for a while.

I'm ramping up on last-minute trip preparations. Today's adventures included:

• Acquiring the ABS plates for my crampons (to avoid slippage on snow!)
• Acquiring two more pairs of trekking socks
• Acquiring $4000 USD worth of travellers cheques. This might be too much. Maybe not. I don't know. I'm going for a while...

I checked into the status of my financing, and realized that this trip appears to be costing me more than I anticipated. This is largely due to the fact that I've spent a substantial amount of money on flights and gear and things. Oh well. I never really budgeted in the first place, I'm solvent, and I have a job to come back to. So everything's fine.

I'm also trying to arrange flights into Lhasa for April 29th, and my travel agent for that part, Lobsang, says he needs a copy of my passport to get me the permit - that's great, but too bad I'm in Canada. And it doesn't help that he responds with a 1-2 day delay. Sigh. I suppose I shouldn't expect people on the other side of the world to bend over backwards to work according to my schedule, although it'd be nice. All I want is confirmation that yes, I have a flight and a guesthouse booked in Lhasa.

Oh yes, and since I'm currently a little bit bored in the aftermath of being done my undergrad (I should pack. Hmm) I decided to try on my new boot-crampon-gaiter combination and take a picture with my newly-acquired digital camera. Results are presented here as evidence of my looneyness.

I want to visit Tibet. That's not a secret.

Last night I received an email from my Lhasa-professor-friend, Murray, who said in no uncertain terms that it'd be best if I managed to make it to Lhasa before the May 1 holiday. Apparently, May 1st is a big celebration for the Chinese, lasts a week, and tens of millions of people go here, there, and everywhere. Flights are tight and hotels are hard to book.

With this alarming development, the tentative plan for visiting Lhasa has moved up in the schedule. The new schedule is:

April 21st: Arrive in Beijing
April 24th: take an overnight train to Xian
April 25th: morning arrival in Xian, spend a three days in Xian
April 27th: take an overnight train from Xian to Chengdu
April 28th: morning arrival in Chengdu, and spend a day there
April 29th: fly to Lhasa

I've contacted my Tibetan travel agent, Lobsang, and asked him to figure out a way to get me to Lhasa on the 29th of April, although I think the 30th would work also.

I want to spend a bit of time in Lhasa, certainly until May 5th. According to Wikipedia, May 5th is the Buddha's birthday, and I can think of no better place to observe Siddhartha's birthday than the Jokhang (right) in Lhasa. Clearly, Wikipedia knows everything, is totally free from bias, and never has a factual error.

Anyway, after I spend a bit of time in Lhasa (and perhaps the immediate surroundings) I'll look into trying to organize a landcruiser transport to Rongbuk. Whether or not that happens depends on weather, time, cost and the availability of a suitable travel companion. I'm sure I won't be the only backpacker in Lhasa at the time.

People keep asking me "do you have your axe yet?" Well, after a bit of impatient waiting, I now have my ice axe. The website describes it as a "dead-sexy piolet."

Hmm. Tonight Krysta informed me that I shop for gear the way girls shop for wedding dresses. I might have a problem.

I'm killing time before an exam. May as well write an entry. This might be boring.

I've made arrangements to climb a peak at the end of my Zanskar Spring trek. Why? Because I'm there, they're there, and I just wanna. The mountain is Stok Kangri, located near Leh, and stands at 6121m. Picture on the right.

My Trekking in Ladakh book says the mountain is 6153m, and the climb takes 4 days. From what Joel tells me, we'll be doing it in three. I believe Joel over the book.

Everything I read tells me that the mountain is not technical, in the sense that it doesn't require fixed lines, or belaying or what have you. Definitely no vertical ice climbing and for sure no oxygen. However, lets not lose sight of the fact that the summit stands at over 6k, and walking at altitude isn't supposed to be easy.

Basically, this adds a couple of days to my trip - I'll be back in Delhi on July 4th instead of July 2nd. After that, I'm planning to make a pilgrimage to the Taj Mahal, since it's close and I may as well make the trip. Flying back to Canada on July 7th.

The only gear technical gear I need, and bringing, is a pair of crampons and an ice axe. I have the crampons. The ice axe is still in a shipment, probably held up in customs, and should be here any day now.

This is not about my trip per se, but involves travel so I'll discuss it.

Today is my birthday. I am officially in my mid-twenties, only a stone throw away from my Carlsberg years and inching ever-closer to a mid-life crisis. To celebrate my passage into further bitterness, my good friends Krysta & Anilisa convinced me that it's in my best interest to let them take me out for dinner.

The timeline of events is roughly as follows:

7:05 PM: Anilisa, Krysta & Alex get into Anilisa's car to determine where we'll go.
7:06 PM: We are all at a loss because Alex doesn't want to decide (cause surprise is good) and the ladies were suggesting two places where I've recently gone.
7:10 PM: Alex suggests checking out the restaurants near Sportsworld. In the process, the idea of going to Toronto gets thrown around.
7:36 PM: Sportsworld-area is a bust. Dim sum in Mississauga becomes a credible option. The 401 is right there. Anilisa claims she can get us there in half an hour. We hit the road in search for dim sum dinner in Mississauga.
8:10 PM: We discover that dim sum is not something you can buy in the evening.
8:20 PM: We discover that The Host in Mississauga is open and serves good food.

So. The original idea was to have a quick dinner and get back to studying for the three finals I have in the next 4 days. But noooooo! We decided to travel! Have adventure! And eat excellent Indian food in Mississauga! And all in the name of Dim Sum.

Oh yes, and the waitress at The Host is probably the most intense person in the world, if you exclude people named Alex. Not just type A, but type A-A. She took charge. She said things like "oh, no, that won't be enough for you, get this instead" and "yeah, what you really want with this is some rice. I'll get you some rice, and you some nan" and "We close at 10, so don't take forever making up your mind". She's so intense, I think I'm in love.

My productivity is going to zero. Must... avoid... failure...

I leave in 13 days.

I have almost all my gear. I am missing a bunch of odds and ends, with a notable exception: my ice axe is still not here. I want my axe. I want it now!

Ahem.

My immediate plans for the early part of the trip are taking shape. I have made arrangements with Mark for what I'm doing in London. I know where I'm staying in Beijing. I have gotten in touch with Murray, a professor I met some time ago, who now teaches in Lhasa. Things are falling into place, although I'm sure they'll just fall out of place in no time at all.

I also got the strange idea of visiting the Rongbuk Monastery, where the view is something spectacular. For those not familiar with the profile of this planet's major peaks, the mountain in the picture is Everest.

Another attraction to Rongbuk is that the base camp for climbing Everest from the Tibet side (IE, the North East Ridge route) is about 8km from Rongbuk Monastery, further up the Rongbuk Valley. Visiting the base camp isn't really something I absolutely, positively must do - but I think it'd be cool regardless. I won't be heartbroken if I don't go, but if I'm there I may as well go the extra 8km, no?

Rongbuk is roughly 3 days' travel (overland, by jeep) from Lhasa. It might be doable. It might be hard, but it'll definitely be an adventure. A big issue is altitude. Lhasa is at 3600m, Shigatse at 3900, Shegar at 4300, and Rongbuk at almost 5000. Gaining 1400m in three days is probably going to hard on the body - and I have no idea how my body handles altitude. If I make the trip to Rongbuk, I'll have to be careful and watch for symptoms of altitude sickness. And, I have Diamox, and I'm not afraid to use it.

I know some people with altitude experience are reading this. If you're one of them (Kevin, I'm looking at YOU!) you should speak up and tell me what you think. Soon.

To understand this India trek idea that I'm pursuing, I'll explain how this came about, first.

A few years ago, I was at my ex-girlfriend's house for Christmas dinner. I met her family friend Pierre, who it turns out is an accomplished traveller and worldly man. We got to talking about interesting places to visit. He made up a short list of worldwide destinations that an adventure-seeking young person like me would appreciate. The list included Kailash, Ladakh, Zanskar, Snow Lake, Mustang and maybe a few others.

A few months later, I started thinking about what would be a good way to celebrate being done university, an event that was two years away at the time, and is less than two weeks away right now. I looked into the various destinations, and the one that caught my eye was Kailash.


Kailash is a mountain. A big, holy mountain. It's really, really beautiful - picture on the right, see for yourself. Buddhists consider it a representation of Mount Meru, the centre of the universe. Hindus claim it is the home of Shiva. It's also very important to Jains and Bonpo.

It is said that walking around the mountain clenses the sins of a lifetime. This is very appealing, especially if it's prospective as well as retroactive: I'll probably do a fair bit of sinning in this lifetime.

The downside to Kailash is that it is really, really far. It's located in far Western Tibet and there's nothing around there except for a few villages. The only way to get there short of parachuting in is by bouncing around in a jeep for a while.

Anyway, I found that Project Himalaya ran some pretty cool treks to the area. They also have a very comprehensive website with all kinds of interesting travelogues and pictures and things. I made a mental note of this and obsessed about it for a while.

A year rolled by, and I contacted Project Himalaya last May to see what the're doing this spring. I heard nothing for a while, until this email came in:

From: jamie on expedition
Subject: RE: interest in trekking - April-May-June '06

Hi Alex
Thanks for your enquiry and apologies for the delayed reply, I was thinking Joel might have replied to you, but perhaps he hasn't?

He is now in the UK and should be in touch soon; I am on Everest using satellite email hence the intermittent communication. We are about to begin our summit push...
...

I thought getting an email from Everest was Pretty Cool.

Anyway. It looked like the dates for the trek they were running to Kailash wouldn't work with my school & work schedule very well, and besides, I came to the realization that bouncing around in a jeep for a week or two might be a bit painful. The Everest High Passes, which looked like it was going to fit into my schedule, turned out to be moved up to the beginning of April (it's going on right now) and thus wouldn't work.

The suggestion from Kim & Joel at Project Himalaya was for me to go to Ladakh, and in particular on the Zanskar Spring. Both "Ladakh" and "Zanskar" are on Pierre's infamous list of destinations. I thought "hmm, why not?"

Trek itinerary

The upshot is that this works well from a timing perspective - I'll be in China (hopefully) before it becomes stiflingly hot, and I'll get to spend a month trekking in India, instead of Nepal or Tibet.

Maybe more on the trek later.