Living the Dream in China

Ladies and gents,

It has been a long time since my last update. This is because of inregular (or very slow) Internet access, lack of time, but most important, my laptop broke down, so I'm very dependent on pc's in hostels etc. Anyway, tomorrow I will be leaving China already, after spending nearly 4 weeks here. And it has been absolutely amazing! Soooo, I will try to keep it short this time and to fill you in with the major things that happened during my stay here in China. The pics will follow later!

BEIJING!

In the train from Mongolia to Beijing I met 2 dutch girls. Two awesome chicks, Hanneke and Tamara. Up to this moment we are still traveling together. We're a match made in heaven the 3 of us! And the way it looks now, we will keep continuing traveling for the next few weeks as well!

In Beijing I spent 10 awesome days. I can not even describe how it was! But I will try nevertheless. It was my very first experience with China. The minute I walked off the train platform and set foot on the streets of Beijing, I walked into a whole new world! Unbelieveble busy, crowded and completely confusing. Nothing made any sense to me. Every sign, shop, advertisement etc. was written in Chinese. From that minute I realized I would be completely dependent of others helping me out. I mean, I couldnt even order a coke in a simple polite way! Luckily for me, I stayed with a dutch dude who has been living here for quite some years now. He picked me up from the trainstation (although it was already an adventure to meet him in the insane crowd). The first couple of days he was able to help me out perfectly! I stayed in his kickass apartment, 30 minutes outside of the 'centre', where I quickly met some other dudes who were staying there as well. All dutchies, all entrepeneurs and they were all awesome! Some legendary clubnights were held with these fella's I can tell!

The first night in town I met a girl in a bar named Gauri. She was from India. We hitted it off quite well and she told me she stayed with a classmate and friend (also a dutch dude) somewhere in Beijing. We decided to hang out together that week. With these people and also the dutch girls, I did the most awesome things in Beijing. Highlight was - of course - the Chinese Wall. An experience of a lifetime. It was so amazing. Especially since we ignored the 'forbidden for tourist' signs along the wall, and kept on walking. This way, we came on the 'non touristic' area of the wall, which basicly meant, only ruins, no people and lot of nature and stunning views! Take a look at the pics and you'll understand what I mean. The last few days of my visit in Beijing I stayed in a hostel, where the girls where staying as well. The hostel kicked ass. Amazingly cheap beers, clean dorms and great service! From there we booked our trip by train to the next major city! Shanghai!

Shanghai

The most 'futuristic' city I've ever seen. The skyline near 'the Bunt' could easily fit in a sci-fi movie. It's like alien architecture! Incredible but stunning. Shanghai was extreme expensive however. The girls and me stayed in a hostel for 2 days. However, I already contacted a girl through couchsurfing, back in Beijing. It turned out she was able to host me and the girls in her beautiful apartment in city centre Shanghai! Damn her apartment was huge!! Plenty of room for the 3 of us. We stayed at her place for another 2 days. She was awesome! Meg... Thanx again for the best time! Of course we visited the World Expo during our 4 day stay in Shanghai! We were prepared for insane crowds, longs ques and lots of waiting. But we had luck... it turned out, we visited the expo on the LEAST BUSY DAY SO FAR. How cool... hardly no ques, and we were able to visit the Holland Stand without any waiting! Awesome. Funny thing, we ate kroketten en friet there :D. Other than that, Shanghai has little to offer to tourists, so we already planned the next move upon arrival at the city!!! NEXT STOP WOULD BE

Yangshuo - BACKPACKERS HEAVEN

Tears in my eye (figure of speech ofcourse) while writing about this place. It was amaaaaazing. Very small town up in the west of China (30 hours of travel from Shanghai) but man was it worth it. The town was very cosy and small. LOTS AND LOTS of hostels, bars, clubs and shops, but the best part, it was in the middle of the Pointy LIME MOUNTAINS. The view we had from our roof-terrace in the hostel was breathtaking! Check the pics for that! This place kept us busy for almost a week. Were it not for the insane alcohol consumption (happy hour 24/7 - 1,5L beer for 1,5 euro, double whiskey, Jameson, 2,5 euro) we did the most adventurous things so far!

The list!

- Biking through the nature

- Caving, including mudbaths (girls in bikini and mud - muhahahaha), hot springs and cave swimming pools (froze my ass off)

- Rock climbing!!!!!!

- DRIFTING - which i thought was something like 'rafting'. But I couldnt be more wrong. Instead you got yourself a small rubber boat and you were trown off an insane fierce river! The pics will say enough!

- Renting scooters for an awesome trip through the mountain area with peepz from the hostel. Highlight was the 'dragon bridge'. I jumped from it, 10 meters high!!! WHAT A KICK!

- Hiking up to moon Hill, for amazing viewpoints!

- EATING SNAKE. We got ourselves a living snake for dinner. After playing with it first, a lady came and cut off the head with a pair of siccors. I was the 'lucky' one to eat the snake's heart (still beating in your hand) and drink some of the blood! The rest of the snake went into the kitchen for some 'bone soup' and 'snake meat with rice'! NICE!

The best part however, is the fact that I met 2 awesome scottish dudes there. They will go to vietnam the same date as I was planning to. We have decided to get ourselves some motorbikes and drive along the coast for 2 weeks from Hanoi to Saigon. The girls will join too... I CANT WAIT FOR THIS.

And now here I am. The last place in China, before we're heading to LAOS! It's called Lijiang. Very touristic, but incredible pitoresque. From here we did the famous TIGER LEAPING GORGE. A hike which is described as 'the mother of all hikes'. It even claimed a few deaths in the past. (google on tiger leaping gorge). THIS WAS A WORKOUT like I had never experienced before, but man was it worth it. 2 days hiking through the mountains, litteraly with my head in the clouds, and descents of 100's of meters with no fences around to protect you! The girls and I took the hike in the 'worst case scenario'. Lots of rain and on our sneakers! BUT WE MADE IT. It was incredible! It was almost unbearable at some times (soaking wet of the rain, covered in mud, swearing my ass off) but in the end, it was all worht it!

Alright, this was a brief update of my adventures so far. Tomorrow we'll heading for Laos. First thing on the to-do list is the famous 'Gibbon Experience'. Which means we will live in the rain forest in treehouses for a few days, finding our way from treetop to treetop by ziplines! We are warned tho! Some peepz who we met in the hostel here, told us there will be spiders larger than your hand in Laos! And the best part is! There are hardly any hospitals nor doctors in Laos! SWEEET! LOOKING FORWARD TO IT!

PEACE OUT Bert

ps. The pics of Beijing and Shanghai are from the girls, since my pics were stored on my laptop :(. My pics will follow later!

click here for pics

The Yak and other Mongolian stories!

Ok people, live from Shanghai - China, I bring you my update about my Mongolian adventure! The story has been written in Beijing, but I had so much fun there, I simply had not the time to update my blog sooner :D. I hope the stories about Beijing will be on the air soon as well :P. Enjoy!

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In grannies apartment (still in Irkutsk Russia), I woke up around 4 am that morning by my alarm clock. My transfer to the trainstation would be around 4.30. One of the grannies woke up as well and handed me a small plastic bag, and said something like ‘breakfast’. The bag contained a small piece of bread, 2 boiled eggs and a tomato! What a sweet lady! I handed her 150 rubbles (around 5 euro) to show my appreciation and her effort. Ít means little money to me, but it means a few days food to her! She just smiled to me as I went downstairs, to my driver who was waiting for me!

When dropped off at the train station I met Wouter and Linda again, the Dutch couple I ran into one day earlier when I was in the Internet café. It turned out they had the same carriage as me, so that was cool! The next 1,5 day I would spend in the train again. Next destination, the capital of Mongolia, Ulan-Batar. However this 1,5 day in the train were like a ‘walk in the park’ compared to the first 4 days I had to spent in the train. Especially since we travelled over night as well, which meant I could sleep basically half of my journey. When I was awake, I had a good time with Wouter and Linda, we played some games and watched a movie on my laptop (The Hangover) and talked a lot.

But the moment we arrived at the border, I had a nervous moment. Official guards with guns and ‘drug’ dogs (German Sheppards) arrived and looked quite serious and I immediately figured these were not some people to mess with. When one (lady) guard asked for my passport, I handed it to her. When she asked for my ‘immigration card’ I just looked at her. Puzzled! ‘immigration card’? I repeated. I didn’t get an immigration card, where the f*ck should I have got an immigration card from?? I looked at Wouter and Linda, who where holding their immigration card in their hands already! Obviously I was supposed to have an immigration card, which seems logical, ‘cause usual you get those things upon arrival at the airport. But I couldn’t remember I got one, and I even if would have got one, I would be sure to have put it with my official documents and tickets, like usual! Either way… I didn’t have one, and the lady began to stare at me, waiting for the card!

Then… I just did what works usual. I flashed a smile! Saying with my sweetest voice I didn’t have a card, ‘cause I didn’t receive one at the airport! She looked at me, (little angry) and walked off. The next few hours I was a little nervous. I didn’t wanted to get off the train for some stupid questions, or having the guards checking my luggage. And not because I had some prohibited items in my bag, but because of the fact it’s a real challenge to fit everything in perfectly (I really brought too much shit). It takes me about 30 minutes every time to pack :P! And I was quite sure that the lady in official uniform with angry dog, would certainly not say ‘let me pack you bag for you again, sweet innocent Dutch boy, I’m sorry for the misunderstanding’.



Train friends!



When we went off on the platform (the passport checks would take several hours at the border) we joked a little about my situation. In the mean time a nice Swiss couple was standing with me and Wouter and Linda, and together (with me) we had some good laughs about how I would be facing some serious jail time, sharing a cell with ‘Ivan the Terrible’ who would make me his bitch in no time!

Anyway… in the end, the lady came to our cabine again, offered me my passport and walked off. No questions asked! I was so happy and relieved! (The minute we arrived at the Mongolian border (yeah it sounds crazy, but apparently its necessary to check your passports twice) I got an ‘new’ immigration card (this time for Mongolia). I kissed it, I hugged it and treated it as a national treasure for the next few days. (this wouldn’t happen to me again I thought).

So, besides the few nervous hours at the border, the 1,5 day in the train went by in a flash. I made it to Ulan-Batar. After I said goodbye to the peepz I met, I found my guide, a Mongolian man named ‘Bade’ (at least I think it was his name, ‘cause I kept calling him this way haha) who would drive me to my first destination. The Ger-camp somewhere in a national park (Terelij) up in the mountains, 90 minutes outside of the big city!

And man, what a trip was that. I thought the scenery of Irkutsk was nice, but compared to the landscapes of Mongolia, Irkutsk seemed like an ordinary park! For every minute we kept driving, the temperature dropped and the mountains got higher, but still it was (again) awesome weather. Blue sky, bright sun and no breeze. It was amazing to be in an environment like that. After an hour driving through the mountains and ‘no mans land’ I arrived at my park. The park consisted of a few Ger-Tents for the guests, a big ‘restaurant’ tent in the middle and a simple house where the toilets and (nice and warm) showers were. It was absolutely amazing to spend my next two days there. I was all alone, after 2 weeks of travelling and being social with people wherever I came. I spoke to people maybe 30 minutes those 2 days, nothing more. I loved it to the max. In the nights I had a fantastic view on thousands of stars, with nothing but the sound of some insects and an occasional bark of a dog. The perfect place to get rest and thinking over my sins! :-D! I spent the days with some music, some reading, some walking, keeping my old fashioned ‘fire heater’ running by throwing wood on it (and of course play with the fire gnagnagna – Im still a boy) and by eating the most delicious food I got on my trip so far (all included – nothing to pay). Easily one of the best parts of my trip so-far. But rather than trying to describe how it was, just have a look at the pictures. It will say enough!

After my 2 days in the Ger-Camp, my guide – Bade, picked me up again. I already made a deal with him to pay him 50.000 of “whatever you call the currency in Mongolia” (25 euro’s) and for that he would spend a day showing me around in both the mountain area and the city! This became some money well spend, ‘cause he was my guide for 10 hours that day and showed me some fantastic spots and things I wouldn’t have seen if I were by myself. I went to a ‘famous’ rock called ‘the turtle rock’ a massive piece of rock shaped as a turtle. He brought me to a nomad family where I got my first cup (and last LOL) of warm Yak milk!

Speaking of Yaks. I mentioned to Bade, that the minute he spotted a Yak, I wanted to take a picture of it. Of course we passed a Yak which was somewhere grazing in the grass. I asked Bade if a Yak was dangerous (like a bull) or friendly (like a cow). I believe the exact words of Bade were “no no… friendly animal… very calm, you go there… I take picture”. Although I believed him, the fence around the Yak kind of said the contrary. I mean, every animal in the park, (horses, cows (even camels)) were roaming free, with no fences around it and basically free to approach. But the Yak… not so much. A large fence was guarding it. But, I still wanted a picture of me and the Yak, so I jumped the fence, ready for an awesome pic! I thought a movie would be nice as well… so I instructed Bade to make a record of my action which I would call ‘Bart approaching the Yak’. When I was doing my ‘Steve Erwin vs. Crocodile Dundee’ imitation (I WILL NOW APPROACH THE YAK) I sneaked up to him, in a circle motion. When I was a few meters away of the Yak, it suddenly stopped grazing… lifted it’s head up… and we stared to each other for a few seconds. (Damn it’s huge). And at that moment, The Yak made a sudden move and made a LOUD noise in my direction like he was RUNNING TOWARDS me. I RAN LIKE A BIG SISSY hahahahaha. I really thought the Yak was coming after me. ‘cause it was really like the CHARGE motion a bull would have done! But clearly the Yak didn’t. It was just a ‘warning’ movement, which I think meant something like… “back off stupid Dutch boy, or you will become famous as the first dumb shit who has been eaten alive by a Yak”. Anyway, no picture with me and the Yak. But I DO HAVE a classic movie of me running like a bitch, and Bade laughing his ass of while he was recording me! I hope I’m able to upload it soon! Its hilarious!

The rest of the day I spend time in the city for some sightseeing. Also I visited the national museum (which was awesome) with all kind of Mongolian history, 100’s of small and big stuffed animals, and the highlight, a skeleton of a giant T-REX look-a-like-dinosaur. When I was a little boy I was crazy of dinosaurs, so it was so cool to see it. Unfortunately I was not allowed to take a picture of it.

When I left the museum I heard ‘Hiiii Baaaart’. I turned around and there I saw Sarah and her dad David again, the two Irish people I spent my 4 days with, during the train trip from Moscow to Irkutsk. What a coincidence. We chatted a little and we decided to meet up later that day for dinner and a beer together. After that I took Bade (who waited for me all that time) for a beer, before he would take me to the view point, which would give me a great view of the city. Bade told me Mongolia has somewhere around 2 million residents, but 1 million where living in Ulan-Batar. Quite crowded you can say.

My last stop after the viewpoint was some sort of ‘national’ folk dance and throat singing event, for which Mongolia is well known. I paid around 6 euro’s to get in, and it was absolutely amazing. Typical Mongolian dances and music (with some very cool instruments I had never seen before) and some very extraordinary dressed people dancing and singing. It was so cool to see it.

Bade finally dropped me off at a ‘Mongolian BBQ’ all you can eat restaurant. David and Sarah joined me and after I thanked Bade 100 times and gave him his money and a tip, the 3 of us had a massive meal in the restaurant. All kind of meat and different kinds of salads and side dishes were available in ‘buffet style’. You walked to the buffet, got your raw meat on a plate, and walked to the 2 Mongolian cooks, who would prepare it for you on the spot. Including some awesome tricks like ‘flambéing the food’, ‘juggling’ with the knives and flipping pieces of meat from the hot cooking plate right on your plate. Awesome dinner, eating as much a I could, for less than 10 euro’s! 

And with that dinner as the last activity of the day, I said goodbye again to my friends again and started walking towards my hostel. Which was somewhere ‘down that direction’ Bade told me before he left! Well… I didn’t mind. I would manage…. After all, it’s one great experience so far. It would turn out fine… as it always does!

< to be continued >

ps. click here for pictures