La Chine Hong Kong Friday, August 6, 2010
I'm in Hong Kong, alarm clock and breakfast in a real coffee. I send a package to France with some clothes and business that will lessen my backpack and I go get my visa agency, visa ca famous too hard to get directly to the Chinese embassy, while the agency does not require that a photo and a few dollars.
I took a train to Guangzhou, former city 2h Hong Kong, China, and starting point to several possible destinations.
arrived at the station, customs formalities, scrupulous checking of passports and visas. I book a train to immediately Chengdu, a city on the border of Tibet, or I would try to obtain a special permit to enter and do my little way. Departure is tomorrow at 18h, there is no possible start earlier, and I have no idea how long the journey, one day? 2 days? I do not know if it's a place in bed, a chair, a bench to share in the economy class. The girl's desk does not speak a word of English and did not want to bother to make themselves understood. Inch allah I could see.
I take the subway in Guangzhou to a place where I had spotted a cheap hotel on my copy of Lonely Planet which I use rarely, but it is full. I try hard with my questions gestural people to the streets because nobody speaks English, the other 5 hotels are full, too.
I finished not find one, after 2 hours of search the backpack, straps firmly in my shoulders is a room for 15 euros and I'm not difficult for just one night Almost all the hotels here are at least at this price, because they all offer some comfort that I gladly spend, TV with 5 channels or manga series Chinese passing loop, bathroom with mechanical ventilation, air conditioning , electronic card to access a room, and with all that, the hotel is in constant renovation, development, work, bags of cement in the carpeted corridors, wall construction to seal another corridor leading to the vacuum, the same image that I have China which is growing very, too fast.
Saturday, August 7, 2008 I take the train tonight and I'm going to tour the surrounding streets. I buy a game of Go (Weiqi, Baduk, Igo) Cell for 3 times nothing, if I meet a Chinese player in this game, it would be a pleasure, may be tomorrow on the train. A saleswoman
covers for iPhone, trying to accommodate my copy and eventually split the screen by pressing it. Too bad because this handy gadget for internet only had 2 days ^ ^.
I find the little shop that the saleswoman told me, a simple small room full of phones used in the window all more or less patched up, 5 or 6 vendors behind the counter who are to catch with all customers, I am changing the screen for 200 RMB (20 €), in just one hour, what could be better!? Wonder they have all parts in this greasy spoon that has everything to repair the phones, and even to change a front view of the iPhone!
Photos of Guangzhou, some amazing! I queue at the station, immense. The boarding lounge is just as huge and full of travelers, it is impressive.
My car has rows of 5 seats on the width, 110 people, uncomfortable seats in the record there too pointed to doze while sitting, and I'm aisle, no window to keep me if I fall asleep, I have one small corner of this half-table hanging on the wall to bend the arms, and lay his head. My neighbor across speaks 3 words of English, he was a soldier in Tibet for 8 years.
Very little exchange, person speak English and we have already reached our limits of conversation with my neighbor, many eyes fixed on me, and I'd end up embarrassing myself do. A group forms around us when my neighbor translated a few words in Chinese that will help me during the trip, basic words like "hello", "thank you", and also the numbers, indicates that here with the hand without needing to say, just the fingers of 1 to 5, then a few different positions of fingers for the numbers 6-10.
After the list of words that I asked him, he insists that I add a word to my list, "money". It reminds me of what someone told me that I met in Hong Kong: "The Chinese are very strong in business and if the negotiation is not enough, they also invented gunpowder ^ ^."
During these early hours, many passengers are moving around me, just to watch me. Stares, curious, many tourists come to see who travels in economy class. It's really frustrating not being able to share the simplest words, annoying to have all the looks and comments are incomprehensible, and after a few hours I resign myself and get used to pass for the ride, with my hair my blue eyes and blond.
A guy who works in the company's train arrived in the car, and during half time, we sold as a market, sets necklace + bracelet designed to reduce the bad vibes around us from what I understood Photo packaging. He sold a dozen in this car for a good price. It will resume Sunday morning selling a set of toothbrushes and toothpaste for a good price too, and his colleague, has two other times, will have less success or sales experience for green stone pendants, or later Gaming plastic. Passengers are each a listen to the salesman who speaks so loudly that it can do nothing else but to hear, and so people are listening and buying it is tempting to do so, to pass the time during those long hours of travel and for just a few RMB.
Sunday, August 8, 2010 I have not slept all night, not even sitting on the floor head on the seat of the chair, I can not fit under the chair, the little place has been taken before, and lay his head on his arms outstretched on the corner table is not possible more than half an hour, a real-nighter.
My neighbor pays me a soup in the morning, well spiced, it helps to emerge from I do not know what state muddy ... It would take me to Tibet, but it is impossible to explain that to get in, I must have a permit, follow a group, have an official guide, permits, reservations and the whole shebang asked by Chinese police ...
No TV in our car is the cheapest class. The TV is in the following car a class above, but it was still the sound of the movie passes, issued in the speakers of our car.
I discovered the Chinese, they seem harsh, direct, does not interfere with ways to talk, to live at their ease, when they want to do something, they do it without waiting or hesitation. And I started to appreciate this mentality simple, straightforward and responsive to life (or survival) here.
It is 11am, already two hours late and I'm starting to understand that the arrival in Chengdu is not for today but for tomorrow. I dream of a bed, true, or even just a place to lie down and unfortunately it is impossible under the seats for already filled, as on the luggage rail above us. The car was cold that night and I had to put the only clothes I have, 3 tee shirts over each other, the air conditioning is set too cold and many people trying to sleep holding his idly. On arrival tomorrow morning, many people coughing, air conditioning is often set too high.
The scenery is excellent and reminiscent of Ninh Binh, south of Hanoi in Vietnam, these mounds emerging from rocky flat ground all around, like a Halong Bay on land. I pay a bunch of cakes at a station during a stop to change their attitude spiced rice, and I discovered lots of little mushrooms on the cakes when I open the package expired. Even a sale made by an employee of the train tonight, a pendant with our Chinese zodiac animal of only 5 RMB a bargain! I devoured half of the book "Corto Maltese" It is adventurous, lucky, enigmatic, who travels the Pacific, easy to dive into this story!
An employee of the train passes the brushes 5 or 6 times over the 30 hour journey, each with many picking up trash on the ground that the passengers do not bother to put trash in the small table, a stainless steel tray taking half of this small table on which I try sometimes to rest a failure to sleep, her head on my arms crossed. In the evening, another small group of around 15 people Peng Cheng Yang, my neighbor and I who are still trying to understand us and share 3 words, too difficult, but once a day is already a great effort, and it's a good show full of comments, smiles, laughs, looks of listeners, in addition to their looks Retailers me, which I get used to strength -:)
Monday 9 August 2010 I still have not slept all night and ... Finally! My seatmate arrives at its destination and leaves the ship at 6am, me releasing the seat of a meter wide in the 4 hour trip remaining, and what a start! I was not expecting to enjoy as much comfort at this point so narrow, hard, noisy, under constant surveillance glances of my neighbors, in short, the foot!
We arrive at 10am, my friend woke Travel it also strongly activates normal. It landed in the largest station in Chengdu, 4 million. We take a lunch, a simple dish of spicy noodles well, hopefully will cross again, even if unlikely, and I can not explain with our few common words, I can not leave freely visit Tibet with him because of the requirement of a permit official APC + group + guide + bookings etc. .. mandatory. It helps me find a bus that will take me to a neighborhood where I would look for a guesthouse.
The bus driver is pretty stressed out, sometimes he cries or howls to the passengers to go push themselves to the bottom so that others can go, he gives major boost to startups that everyone is pushed to the back of the bus, not effective enough, then he starts on every boot, he hoots without interrupt each vehicle before him, thinking that the vehicle will disappear thanks to his magic horn, and he kindly tells me my stop ^ ^.
I found a guesthouse where I have a bed at a good price in small dorm, no need to search in 5 or 6 different hotels in Chengdu as this time. Upon my arrival, I learn, as I foresaw, that Tibet is too complicated to access. I was hoping from group to Lhasa, then leave the group on their way to join another to a place I want to visit, a place quite remote in the mountains. The only possibility to reach Tibet: the chick from the guesthouse tells me the price of the ticket I had already found, it adds the price of the tour hosts that I am compelled to join them for 6 days in Lhasa in order to then obtain an access permit to Tibet, and finally she told me that I have to decide immediately because officials are on vacation for 10 days from tomorrow and it will be impossible to obtain a permit APCs, which allows enter Tibet. After too many calculations and attempts, I I resign.
then I go see 2 or 3 clothes shops mountain, the prices of jackets and sleeping bags, ladies, then I'll put in a park with a game of go (Weik game) in my bag, sometimes I might invite a Chinese player has a game. No go players here, especially Chinese chess, with some notes on the table. A guy cleans my ears in the park with thin stems not reassuring and I am a nice downpour before returning to the hotel, change of season.
Tuesday, August 10, 2010 Wake late, and the worst mood, asking me if I continue my trip to the mountains to Tibet, or if I stop everything. I take the bus to go to walk and discover the Chinese shopping, a mall filled with shops full of shirts, then another filled with jeans, shops overflowing into the hallways, vendors are sleeping on their desks because too few clients come to disturb them.
I eat a bowl of noodle soup accompanies excellent among other small pieces of celery, which adds that little tart taste delicious. The toilet, the toilet door did not Turkish. I finally find a room big enough and internet ay am preparing to spend 2 hours to write a lot of blog content, but the girl at home who do not speak English I am reading a message in English prepared to show it to foreigners: "The Chinese government prohibits providing Internet foreigners," the dark side of openness and communication Chinese ^ ^. Returning to the hotel, I discovered the area behind my hotel, a Tibetan district where there are tons of small shops selling clothes, Tibetan and Buddhist objects, statues, paintings of deities, jewelry.
A sleeping bag for 10 euros and a warm jacket, these warm jackets trimmed with Tibetan wig inside the sleeves are too long and that can cover your hands in cold weather, 12 euros, easy to choose compared to copies North Face EUR 40 minimum. Dinner for 0.60 euros an excellent vegetarian dish of various vegetables, soy, and rice in a small shop filled with some Tibetan Buddhist monks to the prying eyes and welcoming smiles.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010 Day tasting, breakfast excellent and huge plate of rice and tomatoes, pork and beans dish, large bowl of vegetable soup and noodles and a bowl of rice , which the waitress adds milk drink and apple syrup, I'm sated. And the d ine, I discovered the Hot Pot, a specialty of Chengdu, two broth seasoned with various spices, herbs, and cut of meat, including a well tucked into peppers on a gas fire in the center of the table, where I dipped vegetables and pieces of meat that was ordered, I filled clear ^ ^
Thursday, August 12, 2010 I met a small group of Buddhists who returned from a village called Dzogchen, 3 days transportation here, a place they describe me in the middle of the mountain, full of temples and monks. An acknowledged master in the West, who lives in Belgium Now, there are two temples built among many others, he was recognized by the Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of a certain Patrul Rinpoche.
excellent dinner in the evening again with a Chinese friend.
When I asked him his opinion on China installed in Tibet, the discussion becomes difficult, I wonder if my English is perfect, if I fully understood what a friend told me the Tibetan Tashi on his flight from Tibet and the difficulties he encountered, and when Tashi was also perfect English, without adding that otherwise I might not understand correctly what he said. One way clever to doubt my criticism of the control of Tibet by China.
Tibet remained an independent province administered by the Dalai Lama until 1949.
Ballad evening in a small park of Chinese dance, a little animation surely this neighborhood daily, most are elderly and I enjoy a waltz with all granny happy.
I buy my bus ticket to take the road to Kangding tomorrow, on the road from the small village of Dzogchen.
Photos of Chengdu Friday, August 13, 2010 I leave for Tibet. 8am bus sitting next to a smiling Chinese who speak English As far as I can speak Chinese. Lunch in a snack or I feast of crisp apples.
Landscape increasingly has followed a wide mountain river, which becomes a rushing river in this valley steep, narrow passages can still pull off a wide road to access fast enough to Kangding. Tunnels, construction sites whenever there is some ground deposits which are not yet, the Chinese settled yet, everywhere, and firmly.
arrived in Kangding, 19h, where I have to strongly negotiate a room facing the bus station where I'm leaving early tomorrow morning for Ganze.
A small room or I touch the ceiling of my head, and the bed takes up the entire "room", thankfully the bed with a 2 seater to be able to put my bag.
Saturday, August 14, 2010 survey at 5am, I buy 3 cakes at a grocery store, spend my baggage scanner to the bus station, the same apparatus as in airports, surely put in place after the events of the rebellion Tibet. The minibus was already full, but 3 guys eventually leave because they had no ticket and tried to directly pay the driver a few notes of the hand hand like this is often done. We start at 6am, but I'm not comfortable motivated to join Dzogchen. Breaks are rare, 2 or 3 on the 14 hour trip (against 9 hours announced in the Lonely Planet), the driver runs slowly, one of the rear axle double tires was punctured in the passages in the work and we changes on a roadside.
A wooden hut and a family is here for, to inflate the tire change or other cons that are not punctured but just as smooth as those of the minibus, reassuring for the future journey on this bumpy road which is rather a muddy track in the rain that we take you to spend a few passes through small narrow lanes and equally dangerous. China rebuilt the road, and for now it's a bad track on one of two ways and the other lane strip of asphalt that extends 20 cm in height under the efforts of Tibetan workers and workers who dump their wheelbarrows of concrete on this road truly made by hand, as one would sink the slab of a house. Along the "road" dangerous areas of the sites are marked with these colorful Buddhist prayers flags you see everywhere here.
During the first 10-hour trip, slalom between this track and some length of the new road, then the last 4 hours on the old road full of traps deep enough to take the minibus down the ravine, the driver deftly avoids driving by shots alive despite his long hours away and his eyes red, his gourd does not contain the tea he starts to talk and laugh all alone in the past 2 hours away.
Ganze has arrived, a lot of work here as China landscape roads, small shops are dusty and remind me of India and Nepal. The people, mostly Tibetans, monks, many women in traditional dress and men with the red tape that holds their long brown hair.
I could get a room facing the bus, dear, while a grandmother offered me a room even more expensive as a small 2 bedroom apartments. Dinner omelet rice and tomatoes as I like and I eat as much to improve a few vegetables added to the usual plate of rice every meal. I buy a waterproof jacket to cover my warm jacket Tibetan cons rain tomorrow because I joined the small village of Dzogchen, another 1000 feet higher.
Sunday, August 15, 2010 careful with sensitive souls ... A quick tour of the infamous toilets that stink the whole corridor for this hotel they are 2 Turkish toilet, already filled to the brim, no separation between the two, the door does not close, it's easy ^ ^. Breakfast after these adventures (you get used to everything ^ ^) in the gray street, wet starts, a bowl of boiled rice bathed in fresh water and milky cooking, steam the vegetable momos and small portion of spicy cabbage, 2nd slap after the WC ... There is no bus to Dzogchen. I think from a taxi driver to stop but I negotiated the price to 400 RMB and we leave.
There is a cap on that road, or rather this track that runs along the other lane of a highway under construction, trucks loaded too heavily must maneuver in cramped and chaotic to release the track.
After 1 / 2 hour ride, the driver tries to change the price of the trip and asked me more money at the beginning. I go down the taxi, just as pissed as him, which means, in addition to a trip paid more, I also pay for my broken seat he accused of having damaged a seat that is I do not know how in his car already rotten and he should try to pay reparations to all the tourists it brings. It is limited to slug it out but it finally calmed down. I begin to hitchhiking, little traffic at that hour, and my old driver is still not left his side, I feel good where he realizes that his twisted suddenly will not work and he just lost a customer . 10 minutes later he comes back to me trying again to negotiate and eventually reduce the price by taking 2 other passengers, Chinese soldiers joined a garrison that controls access to Tibet, after which access requires a permit ( and many other things) for tourists.
The road is a track, 4 hours, a landscape reminiscent of Nepal, after a neck, a large valley, small villages with beautiful stone house and wood, painted and decorated,
large spaces with these giant inscriptions on the sides of hills and mountains, above the villages, the Buddhist mantra "Om Mani EEP Houng" recited by all Tibetans, large fields of prayer flags, arranged according to their colors, a few large black tents of nomadic yak herders, riding the plains with their Mustangs to join their camps,
all that with the last rays of sun of summer is good, at 4500 meters, just below the clouds, the sky is so low here! A final Pass with views of emerald lakes hidden among the mountains,
then we arrive at Dzogchen (pronounced "Tsoutchi).
Dzogchen is a small village in the valley at the foot of a glacier. I lunched in a small restaurant run by a Chinese couple in this Tibetan village, then I continue my way through the village and am the little road that goes behind in a small valley sheltered from the wind by the mountains surrounding . There are tons of temples, a Buddhist university, monks and nuns of all ages, I would spend two weeks ....
photos of the trip to China
