Two weeks in China! Oh, the amazing things we have seen–and eaten! Mr. Folkie’s daughter, the Professional Foreigner (see link to her blog under Favorites), has been our indispensible companion. We traveled hundreds of miles by train because Mr. Folkie wanted to see pandas (you can have your photo taken with one on your lap if you want) and eat Sichuan food in Sichuan. We bought tickets for sleeping compartments on our train trips. I can’t tell you how exciting it is to wake up on a train and find views like people working the rice paddies by hand outside the window, just as it has been done for millenia. Above, a lady makes noodles at the bazaar in the Muslim Quarter of Xi’an.
What I miss most from home:
Cold drinks. Many Chinese believe that drinking cold things is bad for your system. Ironically, blazing hot drinks are just fine.
Washcloths. I finally stole one from the only hotel we stayed in the supplied them.
A soft bed. The beds in Chinese hotels are without exception hard as slabs.
What I don’t miss: Forks. I am even better with chopsticks now than I was before the trip.
Best places to stay: Youth hostels. While rather basic, our hostels in Beijing and in Chengdu have been more economical, more honest, and more accommodating than either of the fancier hotels we stayed in. I recommend them to any traveler in China who can’t afford a 5-star western-style hotel. The one we stayed at in Chengdu especially has a lot of character.
Saddest thing I’ve seen personally: what were obviously cat and dog pelts sold at souvenir stands at the Terra Cotta Army site in Xi’an. I took photos, but I don’t intend to publish them because it is upsetting to those of us who have pets. What I really don’t understand is who buys them. I didn’t see a single person, Chinese or otherwise, purchase one.
We have so many photos, I will have to write separate posts on food, funny signs and t-shirts, and the performance we attended that included Sichuan opera and the unique Sichuan art of face-changing.
The Incredible String Band: Chinese White from Nebulous Nearnesses (2004)
MySpace | Website | Buy
Marco Mahler: Orange Chinese Car from Design In Quick Rotation (2007)
Website | Buy
The Pretenders: Boots of Chinese Plastic from Break Up the Concrete (2008)
MySpace | Website | Buy 
- alt-gramma (371)
- indie.mom (395)
- Uncle T (7)
Oh, this is so exciting!!! I can’t wait to hear about the food. ALways with the food!!
Glad your trip is going well, and rest assured, your softer mattress awaits at home.
May 29th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
i’m curious about the bathrooms! always one of my main concerns.
i have a good friend who leaves for china tomorrow. she’s traveling with her husband’s college choir and it’s still up in the air whether they’ll let them perform any of their scheduled concerts. seems they had/have a ban on large public performances, i guess in fear of the h1n1 flu.
safe travels home!
May 29th, 2009 at 7:48 pm
There is a lot of fear of the flu here. It is common to see people wearing surgical-type masks, however these people are not in the majority. All service workers, especially those who come in contact with many people in their jobs, wear masks and latex gloves. I don’t blame them.
Restrooms: I forgot to write in this post that I got over squatty-potties really fast. They are the default in any public restroom. Also, public restrooms do not smell as nice as westerners are accustomed to, and they frequently do not have toilet paper. Hotel room bathrooms are what we would normally expect except for the washcloth issue.
The best thing for a traveler to China to do is visit a regular grocery store soon after arrival and pick up a package of little packs of tissues that will fit in a pocket and packs of wetwipes. There is no reason to bring these from the States. The Chinese products are good and super-cheap, and in fact the wetwipes smell better than the ones I have bought in the US. A 10-pack of wetwipes or a pack of 10 packages of tissues costs about the equivalent of 45 cents.
Drink only bottled water or water that has been boiled and is identified for drinking. The first new phrase I learned to say, after “Ni hao” (hello) and “sye sye” (thank you), was “Yi ping shui” (pronouned: ee PING shway), which means “a bottle of water.” I have been able to go a long way with those three phrases!
May 29th, 2009 at 10:20 pm