to the blog except through email - sorry about the formatting!
We crossed the border to China late last night, after a much briefer
process than Russia/Mongolia... some official green and brass, and
then we were into the shed for the changing of the bogies, which took
a few hours: Chinese rails run at a different width than Russian and
Mongolian, so someone came up with the brilliant idea that the train
cars be separated, lifted on hydraulic jacks, and the entire wheel
setup (I don't know how else to describe it) be exchanged for the
smaller size. I was in a compartment with a Mongolian couple, who
kindly shared some goat pastries and could have cared less about the
whole thing. The rest of us tourists were sticking our heads out the
one open window, trying to photograph this bizarre scene.
After a day watching the bleak Gobi Desert go by, I woke up this
morning to the extravagance and cultivation of China, with brick and
mud courtyard villages, people harvesting their small plots of corn
and hay mostly by hand, trees and dramatic mountain landscapes,
including the last few hours before Beijing where I think we went
through no fewer than 30 tunnels as we were winding through an
impressively steep river valley. I'm a little sad that this was my
last train ride of the trip, the official end of the Trans-Siberian
(or the Trans Mongolian, as the case may be). I really, really love
traveling by train!
I am also in love with Beijing. The excitement of the one night I had
here on the way to Moscow is back - this is a truly great city. I am
staying in a hostel near the center of the city, a few blocks from
Tianmen Square - but I am in a "courtyard" hostel, which is located in
one of the hutongs - the old parts of the city that are all narrow
alleyways and, although they are becoming more touristy, sport a lot
of the old classical China feel - old men playing what I think is
mah-jong (sp?) on the streets, people taking their songbirds for a
walk, streetfood everywhere, labyrinths of courtyards and small
passages. I walked into a tea shop this evening and was invited to
sit at a table where an elegant woman was pouring herself tea in an
elaborate process of tiny pot, glass with filter, and then finally
tiny cup. She used to manage the store, but now just teaches all
about tea with the same company, and comes in on weekends to taste the
store's tea. We sat and she poured several brews of different green
teas, and then suggested I should try a "champagne oolong" tea, made
from young leaves instead of the "adult" oolong leaves. It was a very
relaxing and insightful way to unwind from the train trip. I love the
hutong where I am at: there are more tea shops than I know what to do
with, an entire street that just sells caligraphy supplies and
paintings, and plenty of storefronts with a variety of massages
advertised. Not only that, but as previously discovered, I think BJ
is just one enormous foodie haven. I intend to stuff my face for the
next 5 days. Tonight, spicy chicken and green pepper stir fry in the
Sichuan style for less than $2 at a boisterous little hole in the
wall. LOVE IT.
On another interesting note, the city is still in the grips of their
week long holiday that started on October 1, the 60th anniversary of
Mao's declaration of the People's Republic from Tianmen Square. I was
told that the 1st and 2nd are possibly the worst time to visit China,
since the entire country picks up and moves around and the pomp and
circumstance in the center of Beijing is out of control... definitely
saw evidence of this at the train station today. But, I think for the
most part, daily life has resumed. Ironically, I have been reading a
fantastic book, "Wild Swans", which is a memoir by Jung Chan about her
grandmother, mother, and herself set in the context of 20th century
Chinese history. HIGHLY recommended. It is gripping- her grandmother
was concubine to a warlord and suffered through the series of civil
wars at the beginning of the century, and her mother was an idealistic
young communist at the rise of Mao, both her and her husband became
very high ranking party officials, and then went through the
atrocities of Mao and the family suffered incredible persecution. The
last half of the book details the Maoist period in great detail -
events that I was abstractly aware of, but now I can't walk down these
streets without seeing stooped elderly people and wondering about
their history here. The book is still banned in China, and I was a
little nervous when my bag was searched at the border, but they didn't
look in my backpack :) I think I will go to Tianmen early tomorrow
morning, which will be a little surreal after this reading. I still
have a few things I wanted to add about Mongolia as well, but will try
for more later!
No comments:
Post a Comment