China

October 23^rd 1993

Slept wonderful – got up - & found a clean new t-shirt & threw the other out. (We got a deal – if we buy something – something else has to be dumped – that’s why we hardly travel with anything of our own favorite clothes – only something strange we buy cheap in a 2^nd hand shop)

Today was the day we were going to meet the rest of the group on Tiananmen Square & see if they still remembered us.

First I wanted to brush my teeth – opened the door to the bathroom & found Mette. (A big hello & hugs.) Ate breakfast with her & Frederik - & used them as our guides – cause they knew anything about Beijing now – all these things we were about to learn. Like riding the busses – a special thing - & where to cash traveler checks & were to get good cheap street kitchen food. Up at the square we waited for the rest to show up – while Chinese couple placed their little one (child) in front of us & took photos (does it bring any good luck to have a “ferlang” in the photo???)

Finally the others arrived – Tina – Anette – Hasse – Rune – Sussi & the entire Høng gang. It was cool to see them again. We decided to meet them back at the same spot at 5pm & to dinner with them all (except for the Høng gang they had other plans).

Tina – Sussi & the Swedes took us down to their hotel where we could change “tourist money” to “people’s money” for a good rate. (At those days there were 2 kind of money in China – the tourist money looked like something from a monopoly game – when we cashed travelers checks we always got tourist money & had to change them to “peoples money” - I think the peoples money were called FEC’s & the tourist money RMB’s ) I liked their area – it was messy & there were good restaurants – like the Pink House - & loads of money changers.

Took a mini van up to Tiananmen square & met Mette & Frederik – they all wanted to eat Peking Duck but it took a while before we found a restaurant which served it. Annemette & I ate veggie – it was good.

Now we are back in our room & are planning our stay here in China. We decided to skip Xian & the Terracotta army & travel directly to Kunming after Beijing – it’s an awful long train ride but we’ll survive. After Kunming we’ll go up to Dali & then down to the border to hopefully cross over to Vietnam.

October 24^th 1993

We had planned to se the summer palace today – but I had stomach ache. So we ended up exploring Beijing instead. It’s huge & very confusing. It’s so full of people .On bikes – pressing themselves into busses or out of busses. So many taxi’s & no traffic rules as far as we can see. Dust & rubbish everywhere. We took the bus up to hotel Beijing & walked down to the International General Post Office. Where we picked up Poste Restante letters – it was so good to here news from home. I got 3 from “P’nølle” & 1 from Tins – they seems to be so far away (& they are I know) – we sad out in the sunshine & read the letters loud for each other. Then we took bus 20 down to Pink House & sad there & wrote letters until the others came back from the Palace. Tina & Sussi told us we could order tickets through the “change money man” & we did that. (He’ll pay somebody to go to the train station & buy tickets for us – so we don’t had to spend a whole day up there not understanding what they say – that’s cool & easy) Home in our hotel we met Frederik - & we invited him & Mette in for a cup of tea & some liquorice – we decided to take a trip out to the Great Wall tomorrow.

October 25^th 1993

Woke up & got dressed & met Frederik & Mette – had some street kitchen food (a huge pancake with chili & spring onion & herbs) – found the bus & drove up to Tiananmen Square – thought it would be funny to see the wall with a bunch of local tourists & lined up for a tour. They thought it was odd to see us there & said we could go on a Ferlang trip instead – but we insisted on staying where we were. So now we’re here in a mini bus with 17 Chinese tourists – they’re from all over the country & we’re having fun. 3 of them speak English & translate & explain to the others & we’re laughing & chatting in Danish – English & Chinese. We are their private Ferlangs (ferlang means long noses – that’s what we are)

I deserve my “I climbed the great Wall” t-shirt – there are 1700 steps from the parking area up to the wall – my condition is lower than low - & I almost needed oxygen when I finally made it to the top.

WOW!!! What a view – the distance blue mountains – the soft hills dressed in autumn colors & the wall endlessly clinging to the hilltop. Our private general & his 2 wives took photos of us & we took photos of him & each other & the view – it was something else.

Down again we were told that we would be taken to the future Olympic city – bought some postcards & headed back to Beijing. The O.L. city looked ragged – but they were all very proud of it - so we only said what we thought about it in Danish to each other. Then we all got dropped of by a metro station out in the middle of no where & Verse & Jennifer guided us back to civilization.

October 26^th 1993 

Met up with Verse on Tiananmen Square. First we needed some real western food & took Verse to the McDonald – on the way we met Jennifer & her family (out of 12 million people) we gave her a hair clips (she had long hair) as a memory of us. Then we ate some burgers & used their “eastern styled” toilet – a hole in the floor & 2 raised platforms to stand on. Then we walked over to “McDonald Street” (we call it that – cause McDonalds is on the corner of it & another street). I bought a maroon colored silk shirt for 98yuan (that’s 9$) & a green one for my mum for 48 Yuan – Annemette bought 2 jackets – we spend a lot of time looking – but ended up meeting with the other Danes & had a goodbye coke – for Tina & Sussi were leaving. (Sussi & I tried a public toilet – but hurried out when we saw 2 rats as big as cats!) Verse – Annemette & I decided to meet up tomorrow & see the Forbidden City together. Then we took a taxi with the Swedes back to backpack area - Rune & the taxi driver had a discussion about football – children & OL. in Lillehammer one speaking Chinese the other Norwegian – Anette – Hasse – Annemette & I almost died laughing listening to it. At Pink House they told us we could get a train ticket out on Friday – we had hoped for Thursday.

October 27^th 1993

Got up at 10.00 – had a shower & went up to find Verse – outside the gate to the Forbidden City – where the emperor of China used to live. It was huge - & beautiful – one temple after another. We walked & walked & almost got lost – it’s a mega complex. After a lot of hours – we got out & took a bus to McD. To meet Mette & Frederik – Verse said goodbye – but the 4 of us waked out to the GPO to send a package home. It took ages - first we had to fill out a form (in Chinese writing) a helpful Israeli guy helped us (he had just been through it). Then we had to fold the box & glue it together & fill it up & send it – a lot of giggling. Then we picked up our Poste Restante letters. Finally we could take a bus back to Pink House. Had dinner with Mette – Frederik – Berry & Ilse (from Mongolia)

October 28^th 1993

Took a bus up to the train station to see if the train WAS leaving Friday – met 2 Swedish guys who wanted to know where to cash traveler checks – they didn’t have a room jet – so we let them put their backpacks in our room & took them along to hotel Beijing – then we brought them out to Pink House area & showed them how to change money. The girls who use to wait at Pink House had been fired – so we showed the guys another restaurant – where we had some really good food – fried noodles – then we walked them back to our hotel & they got a room. After that Annemette & I walked back to Pink House area (it’s a 30 min. walk) to pick up our tickets – Mr. Wang gave us a drawing so we couldn’t get lost up a the train station – then we bought cracker & noodle soup for our 57 hour train ride from the friendly lady next to Mr. Wang – we told her we were leaving tomorrow & she gave us a big hug each. Ate dinner with Mette & Frederik – Berry & Ilse came also & we all said goodbye.

October 29^th 1993

Got up at 8:30 – there were no pressure at the shower – so we had some real bath tub baths. Packed & went down to check out – Mette & Frederik came down to say goodbye. Took a yellow cab up to the train station – what a nightmare there was. We just lined up in a queue. Everybody stared at us. A few smiled – a beggar got a dumpling Annemette had in her pocket – that made everybody laughing incl. The beggar - then one guy decided to help us – he showed us out to the right train & we could board it. We were the only Ferlangs on the whole train. (That made the rest of the locals not spitting inside the train – Chinese got a spitting habit) Goodbye Beijing – we rolled out into the real China.

We just left Shijiazhuang – we slept for a while – we got a very active 5 year old here in our compartment – he’s everywhere. I gave him some cool Go Cards - & he loves them. Everybody is looking at us & our writing & how we eat (& do we eat with chopsticks – yes we do) The nature out side is changing – trees & green paddy fields – the train got a loudspeaker with western music turned into Chinese songs – Viva España in Chinese is very special I’ll tell you!

Slept for about 10 hours – it’s cold here – Annemette is coughing & so is the action kid. Though his parents feed him 1 bottle Chinese beer before he goes to sleep – a little old lady came down & gave Annemette some blue pills to take for the coughing. (I think they like us.)

Outside the windows the nature changes again. Mountains & little villages – I think we must have crossed the Yangtze River while we slept. We have crossed so many rivers – I can’t tell them apart. We need more food than we brought along. We’d been given sweet potatoes & we bought some rice & veggies from the conductor.

The train is a bit odd – the wagons are more or less open – with an isle in the right side & partitions to the left – each got 6 bunks – I’m in the lowest & Annemette in the top – mine supposed to be used for everybody to sit on during day time – but I’m too “stupid” to know that – so they use the other side.

We are going through tunnels & over bridges – passing paddy fields & here’s another strange thing about Chinese people – somehow they love everything packed in Styrofoam – that’s not a bad thing – the terrible thing is that they throw it everywhere – here they throw it out of the windows – so the paddy fields are rimmed with it. (After China I call small Styrofoam pieces – one use for packing = Chinese marshmallow)

October 31st 1993

It’s Halloween today & the landscape we pass suits it very well. The view shows us rocky mountains – coal mining towns – fog & loneliness. The green paddy fields are gone – life up here – is tougher than tough.

We’re drinking green tea & I hate it – but it must be good for something – colds maybe??!!!

Then we passed through 5 tunnels in a row. Got out of the last on 500 meters up over a pretty valley – then there were paddy fields again. The train got a very strange way of slowing down. It blocks some of its wheels – result - the green tea leaves its cubs all by itself.

The villages cling to the mountain sides – the world is so pretty – with all its differences.

Finally we arrived in Kunming – elevation 5000 meters above sea level. It looks modern – we walked up Beijing Lu Street – to hotel Kunhu where we got a shared room with 2 guys. One Austrian & one French. I had a shower - & then we got hungry & walked down the street to a café & met Lisbeth & Jacob ( they came from Gørlev in Denmark – Lisbeth knew Dan & Morten ) A bit later 2 other Danes came along (Jacob & Jeppe) they told us that hotel Camellia was a much better hotel & they had dormitories. We move tomorrow.

November 1st 1993

Woke up with stomach ache. Not funny - the toilets or whatever you’ll call them are a bit odd. One sits sideways over a drain while you shit – there are no doors – just sides – fell like a cattle in a box. Well we got up & packed our belongings & checked out again. Walked up to the other hotel & booked a bed each in a dorm room. So here we are together with a lot of Japanese guys (about 15) 2 Japanese girls – 1 guy from Singapore & Erik from Vejle (tell me are all young people from Vejle in Asia now???) After checking in we tried to get a travel agency to book us train tickets for Hanoi – no way would they. Then we tried to find CITS (China? Tourist?) At Kunming hotel they send us down to Dragon hotel (a 5 star hotel) it wasn’t there but we used their fancy toilets – we got hungry of all that walk about – so we had a yogurt at Lius café – then we tried finding that stupid CITS again – found it in a side alley – but it was closed for lunch – walked back to Lius & ate some more - & wrote post cards – there was a bill board on the wall with info from traveler to traveler – it was handy. Back at CITS they wouldn’t or couldn’t help us & told us to find the north train station 6 kilometers away. So we did! The area was terrible - & of course they didn’t understood what we wanted. What a day – we walked home to the hotel & met a very helpful Chinese guy who promised he would try to figure out what to do tomorrow. Us - we’re booked a tour to the Stone forest tomorrow.

November 2^nd 1993

Got up at 7am – had a quick wash & went down to the bus – took off - like the devil followed us. First we went to a cave full of green – blue & red lights – it looked like a cheap discotheque in Greece. I didn’t go in very far – I have NO intensions of becoming a miner – so I stayed out side with a rat & some locals in funny local outfits. (The rat didn’t wear a local outfit)

Then the others came out & we headed towards the Stone Forest. It’s not a forest at all – but the area is full of strange rocks looking somehow a bit like trees – at least some of them do – the rest is full of caves & temples. The formations got funny names – like: Elephant on a platform – Two birds feeding each other & Woman waiting for her husband. We tried to get lost – (Erik – Annemette – Sue – Orit & me) but the local guides – guiding local tourists around were everywhere. But we had fun – talking – climbing – laughing & taking photos. Finally we walked back to the bus – but it wasn’t there – it was broke somewhere else. Erik was in panic – he was going up to Dali later in the evening. After 2 hours – the bus driver & the bus arrived & we could “fly” home & wave Erik goodbye. Sad down in Sue’s dorm &am! p; talked to some other travelers – had fun with an “Aussie” named Mark – he’d been going to the bank at least 3 times to cash checks but kept finding “dried plants” one could smoke & completely forgot about the bank & getting some money. Sue – Annemette & I plus 5 Japanese guys from the dorm went out to dinner. It was a funny evening. Haven’t heard from the Camellia tourist guy.

November 3^rd 1993

Went down to the travel man at 8am – he wasn’t there – another jerk told us what they couldn’t help us. At 9 o’clock our man came & told us that there was no train all the way to Hanoi – but he would take us up to the North Station & fix us a train ticket to the border. But not until the day before - we wanted to leave. Okay! Then we walked down to meet Sue & sat in the dorm. &  talk with 2 guys – one of them had been down to the border & been refused to cross over – cause he had a “flight in visa “ to Hanoi International Airport – so had we !!! What now – maybe we could buy a ticket from Nanning to Hanoi.

In the meantime Annemette’s giardia had started to regain itself. (& smart as she is not – she forgot her medicine back home) we needed some pills for it – took a walk around town – but nobody understood what we needed. We also tried to ask CITIS (another travel agency) if we could buy a ticket from Nanning to Hanoi – but we came into their office 5 min. before their lunch break was over – so they refused to help us – that route didn’t exist at all – though we could see it on a map behind them. F… Chinese officials. Back at Camellia hotel we met an American guy who had a medical pocket book & we found a name to a cure – that brand we had seen in one of the pharmacies we had been in. We ran downtown again & bought the pills & Annemette swallowed some – she was burping rotten eggs now.

Said goodbye to Sue & got our packs & went down to the bus terminal to wait for the bus to Dali.

November 4^th 1993

Didn’t sleep an awful lot – they got horrible streets here in China – full of big holes. At 07:05am we drove through the town wall & VOILA we were in another world. Narrow streets – crocked houses – smiling faces – shops with dyed clothes – cafés – like a very small Katmandu.

Checked in at hotel no.2 – we got a nice big room with 3 beds – had a quick wash – couldn’t sleep – so we took a walk around town – here are 1000s of things to look at & buy. The hill tribe people are wearing beautiful headdresses & are laughing & full of smiles & wants to change money – we got a Tibetan café right across the street where they serve wonderful food. Here we sit right now together with a bunch of Danes – Brits & French people.

Later I went shopping – it’s so dead cheap – a pair of pants 18yuan – a 2 in one jacket & 2 meters pretty material (dyed) for my sister. In another café we met 3 “Aussies” & they had been in Phnom Penh - Cambodia & think we should travel there instead of Vientiane – we’ll see – we might do that after Vietnam. I’m so sure my mum will go in sane when I tell her that.

Spend the evening at Jacks together with Vince (from Alaska) & Mark Spencer whom we already met in Kunmimg & listened to Jimmie Hendrix & drank herb tea & talked we’re having a great time. This is not like China at all. Had a real hot shower before we went to bed.

November 5^th 1993

We are sitting in Jims Peace café & are listening to Shubidua (a Danish pop group) & their “Står på en Alpetop” (Standing on an Alp top”) somebody left a tape – could be a guy we have heard so much about lately Carsten is his name – he’s from somewhere in Denmark – we have ordered a Muslim pizza & is drinking Dali beer while we wait.

We took a long walk today – down to the pretty lake Erhai – we took a lot of photos of it & the houses we passed & the town when we got back. The lake is east of town & the mountains are west of it. We can see the rain & fog over the mountaintops – but it seldom rains down here.

November 6^th 1993

We’re so soar. To day we rented bikes & headed north out of town. (40 kilometers we drove all in all) we drove out to the 3 pagodas & there we met Jan (he’s from Randers – a town in Denmark) he also had a bike & the 3 of us drove out to a local marked in Xizhouzhen – to see what they sold. A man bought a pig – it was tied inside a basked – looked like something you use for fishing – he loaded the basked with the pig up on his bike & drove home. On the way back we took a local cobblestone road but only for 11 kilometers then we drove pass the paddy fields to the main road – with soar buns. Home in Dali – Jan was going back to Kunming – but he was ill – from too much sun & heart ache (he’s in love with a local beauty) – so we told him to sleep in our extra bed while we went up to Jims to eat. Here we met Sean from Iowa! – he hadn’t been home for 3 years & kept calling us his “Wild Mountain Flowers” – I told him that Iowa was awful flooded (we had read that in a newspaper) & kept referring to it as Lake Iowa – in the end of the evening he had become so home-sick for Iowa & his dads farm – so he wanted to go home right away.

November 7^th 1993

Met Sean today he had packed his belongings & was heading back to Kunming to buy a ticket home to Gods own Iowa. He’ll never forget me – I broke off his everlasting holiday. The rest of the day was spent on eating & drinking & laughing with friends. Talked with Mark & Darren (from U.K) & told the shoe shine boy that my boots are beyond help & they need to stay dirty to hold themselves together. We walked around & looked at all the clothes you could buy – but didn’t buy anything – we got enough now.

November 8^th 1993

It’s our last day in Dali. We have taking a lot of photos – behind the hotel is a huge house & every morning the yard is full of old people doing Tai chi – it looks so relaxing. The waitress in the Ying Yang café got a pair of earrings & a flower for her hair. The owner decided she should dress in a local homemade outfit – she hates it. We walked over to Yunnan Book Cafe & swapped books with them (That’s a super idea – you bring some books along for your travel – in English – then some places you can swap them with other books – 2 for 1 or so - & you always have something new to read)

We bought an apple pie & some brown bread to bring along on the bus ride & are now waiting for it to leave – Jan will go with us.

November 9^th 1993

Goodbye everybody – the bus was an old one full of spitting Chinese (where did they come from?) It was a long cold ride back to Kunming. Walked back up to Camellia & checked in again. We went down to the post office & send a huge package home – it took a while to close it – it’s so full. We bought some books in Chinese & English. (2 languages in the same book)

November 10^th 1993

Here we go again. Got up at 4:30am – pulled the backpacks on & walked over to the airport bus- it took 15 min. to go out there – our flight was delayed until 12:30 – so we walked over to check in & told them a semi white lie about a connecting flight to Hong Kong & then they changed our tickets to 9:20am – NICE !!!

Then we went up to eat some breakfast – spring rolls & boiled eggs & green tea – yuck! Then we took a walk around & bumped into a young guy who spoke Danish & was Søren (from Virum) & who also was going to Hong Kong. Now we’re airborne - & Canton is waiting out in the horizon.

Later!

It’s so hot here – the humidity is high & we spend some time finding a mini bus which agreed to bring us to Canton central station. There we tried to find CITS – hopefully they were helpful this time – Søren went over & talked to them – came back & said we could travel to Hong Kong with a Hovercraft – went over to buy tickets – but they had sold out. The square outside the Train Station is full of beggars & dust & people & cars - & it was warm & we got dizzy & irritably & a poor beggar who hold on to me nearly got scared to death when I yelled at her – to let me go. Bought train tickets to Shenzhen – there we’ll cross over the border by foot & on the other side get a train to Kowloon.

We’re in the first train now – Annemette & Søren went down to eat – I’m enjoying the “loneliness” – I got a very comfy seat – it can turn around – if I care to ride backward & it got big spaces for my legs. The view is green & dusty. There are orange & banana plantations – mountains & villages. We have been gone for a month – but with all we have seen – it feels like a year. AND we got more adventures waiting for us I’m sure.

Got to Shenzhen – Søren bought cigarettes for the last RMB’s – the we walked into “No mans Land” over a creek – up some stairs – change our FEC’s to Hong Kong $’s got stamped out of China – then over to a nice officer who stamped me into Hong Kong & I jumped over the line & into H.K. (he laughed & asked if I was that tired of China! – OHHH YES!)

After a fast train ride we were right in the middle of it. It was like coming from a dusty small-town in the middle of no- where to Las Vegas – neon lights – double-decker busses - signs & fancy boutiques – nice & expensive.

A guy asked us if we had a place to sleep (we must have looked awful confused) – he knew a good place right in the middle of city center – we followed him – through an arcade up a stairway – over a plateau up with a lift to 9^th floor – around a gallery & into Mr. & Mrs. New Delhi’s apartment. We ended in 2 rooms – Annemette & I share ours with Bettina (from Switzerland) – Roland (from Germany) an Israeli girl & 2 guys from Bolivia & 2 British guy.

We went down to a telephone center & called collect – none of my family was home.