jiuzhaigou/huanglong
the accident happened at about 9.00am. the ipod had time-stamped REM's 'bad day' (hah!) at 8.56am and it was about two-thirds through all saints' 'never ever,' which clocks in at 6min25s.
“Never ever”
we swerve off the road.
“have I felt so low”
the car is spinning…
“When you gonna”
and spinning…
“take me out of”
and spinning…
“this black hole”
and judders to a stop.
i take off my earphones.
the car had slammed into a barrier of bushes with its wheels wedged between loose rock. there hadn’t been time to panic and we were just lucky no one was hurt. we couldn’t even blame the driver, who was driving very slowly (too slow, i had thought) and had even chain-linked the front tires.
things to ruminate on standing by the side of the road waiting for a replacement vehicle to arrive – 80s pop songs which transcended the era’s cheesiness to emerge as classics.
missed our 10am flight out of jiuzhaigou, which, annoyingly enough, took off on time. as the other two flights were fully booked, had to wait until everyone else had checked in for the next flight. which we got seats for, which was then delayed, and was the last flight out of jiuzhaigou that day.
plans to have a good sichuan meal in chengdu were dashed. but the food at the airport was pretty good, in particular the mapo tofu, a drier, more robust version of the dish that one normally finds. even the basic tomato egg soup tasted good. guess the flavours were enhanced by the fact that we were out of jiuzhai’s chilly airport, and were safe and sound on lower ice-free ground.
Sunday, February 26, 2006
jiuzhaigou/huanglong
since jzg was covered in a day, decided to go to huanglong for the day. wu shifu's quote was 550rmb, while ma shifu's was 300rmb. it sounded too good to be true, which it was. guess it was his thick sichuan accent that led to the miscommunication. first thing he asked when he saw us was where our bags were. when he realised that we were planning to return to jiuzhai paradise, kept harping on the fact that we should have stayed in chuanzhusi, which was much closer to the airport. ok, so maybe he was right, but i wasn't about to concede that. so what if i like being ensconced in paradise? after the cab trundled reluctantly for a while, we struck a deal. told ma that we should compromise at 400rmb, which he tacitly accepted by picking up speed.
enroute to huanglong, we stopped at a scenic lookout for a glimpse of xuebaoding, which topped out at 5580m. was more excited to see a thick sea of clouds (yunhai) which ma claimed was the thickest he'd ever seen as well. we had to dip below the yunhai to reach huanglong, but as the sun rose, the clouds dissipated.
c had remarked that there didn't seem to be any vehicles on the road (which was helpfully bisected by chunks of ice down the middle), not even tour buses. reached huanglong at 9.30 am to find it completely deserted, the ticket booth closed, the visitors centre shut. !!??@#$ was about to enter the park gratis when a minivan came by and casually coughed up a couple of park workers. so we got our tickets after all, 60rmb (off-peak, 200rmb otherwise.) we even ended up with a guide of sorts, a park worker who walked ahead of us, waited when we fell behind and answered our queries. learnt that the mountain was actually closed from 15 nov to 15 mar. which explained a lot. but he added that they would not turn anyone away if they had come all the way to huanglong in the winter months. began to wonder at some point if he would ask for money, but he didn’t. felt small and mean when saying thanks and waving goodbye when leaving the park.
which turned out to be a very pleasant experience. we were wandering in a winter wonderland, with all manner of frosted trees and plants, with the lightly-sugared conifers looking good enough to eat from a distance. in contrast to jiuzhaigou, most of the water remained frozen, including a waterfall or two. but narnia was thawing and the highest pool we reached, multi-coloured pool (wucaichi), was filled with limpid water. except for 2 other tourists, we had the park to ourselves. lunch comprised of desiccated granola bars and biscuits at a pavilion; our guide refused to take anything.
since jzg was covered in a day, decided to go to huanglong for the day. wu shifu's quote was 550rmb, while ma shifu's was 300rmb. it sounded too good to be true, which it was. guess it was his thick sichuan accent that led to the miscommunication. first thing he asked when he saw us was where our bags were. when he realised that we were planning to return to jiuzhai paradise, kept harping on the fact that we should have stayed in chuanzhusi, which was much closer to the airport. ok, so maybe he was right, but i wasn't about to concede that. so what if i like being ensconced in paradise? after the cab trundled reluctantly for a while, we struck a deal. told ma that we should compromise at 400rmb, which he tacitly accepted by picking up speed.
enroute to huanglong, we stopped at a scenic lookout for a glimpse of xuebaoding, which topped out at 5580m. was more excited to see a thick sea of clouds (yunhai) which ma claimed was the thickest he'd ever seen as well. we had to dip below the yunhai to reach huanglong, but as the sun rose, the clouds dissipated.
c had remarked that there didn't seem to be any vehicles on the road (which was helpfully bisected by chunks of ice down the middle), not even tour buses. reached huanglong at 9.30 am to find it completely deserted, the ticket booth closed, the visitors centre shut. !!??@#$ was about to enter the park gratis when a minivan came by and casually coughed up a couple of park workers. so we got our tickets after all, 60rmb (off-peak, 200rmb otherwise.) we even ended up with a guide of sorts, a park worker who walked ahead of us, waited when we fell behind and answered our queries. learnt that the mountain was actually closed from 15 nov to 15 mar. which explained a lot. but he added that they would not turn anyone away if they had come all the way to huanglong in the winter months. began to wonder at some point if he would ask for money, but he didn’t. felt small and mean when saying thanks and waving goodbye when leaving the park.
which turned out to be a very pleasant experience. we were wandering in a winter wonderland, with all manner of frosted trees and plants, with the lightly-sugared conifers looking good enough to eat from a distance. in contrast to jiuzhaigou, most of the water remained frozen, including a waterfall or two. but narnia was thawing and the highest pool we reached, multi-coloured pool (wucaichi), was filled with limpid water. except for 2 other tourists, we had the park to ourselves. lunch comprised of desiccated granola bars and biscuits at a pavilion; our guide refused to take anything.
given my first night's experience and ma's scare-mongering, had ended up buying two cans of oxygen for 100rmb, just in case. (they were sold at 20rmb a can at the airport.) ended up not using them on huanglong, though after the trip and the twisty-winding 2hr journey back to jiuzhai paradise, the headache rolled in again. happily, shooting up with oxygen (c's tank appeared to be filled with nitrous oxide instead) and downing a panadol worked.
after a nap, had an early dinner at about 5.30pm. no problems this time as the tour group masses weren't scheduled to be fed yet. 140rmb for hotplate black pepper yak, which was tender, vegetables, soup (bland), and dandan noodles in clear soup. the abysmal food situation in paradise was definitely a drawback. presumably it was less dire during tourist season with more restaurants open, but venturing out of paradise for meals would be both inconvenient and costly given that cabs were the primary means of transport.
Saturday, February 25, 2006
jiuzhaigou/huanglong
up at 6.30 am. didn't sleep well. decided the altitude was responsible. mercifully, the headache did not reappear and my appetite was back. breakfast (included) was a full buffet spread but since i couldn't stomach a full chinese meal at 7 in the morning, appetite or no, ended up with sausages, an egg, bread and tepid coffeewater.
no cabs waiting outside so asked the hotel for help and wu shifu was duly produced. 120rmb to and from the entrance to jzg. seemed to be a fixed price structure in place, albeit one that was fixed high. the fact that it was off-peak season meant no real options either. wu told us later that his wife worked at the hotel and that he was staying there as well. promised us lowest possible rates and even rooms in peak season if we contacted him.
paid 160rmb for the entrance ticket, which could be used for a second day if your mug is scanned onto the ticket at the point of purchase. this was only valid during the off-peak season (16 nov to 31 mar), as was the discounted ticket price (310rmb otherwise).
happily, jzg lived up to its reputation and was beautiful, with its clear crystalline pools of blue and aquamarine and gorgeous waterfalls of impressive breadth. and still, everyone kept saying it would be even more spectacular in spring, and especially in the fall, when the riot of colours are in full bloom. but the thought of crowds in multiples of what we encountered was not an enticing one.
up at 6.30 am. didn't sleep well. decided the altitude was responsible. mercifully, the headache did not reappear and my appetite was back. breakfast (included) was a full buffet spread but since i couldn't stomach a full chinese meal at 7 in the morning, appetite or no, ended up with sausages, an egg, bread and tepid coffeewater.
no cabs waiting outside so asked the hotel for help and wu shifu was duly produced. 120rmb to and from the entrance to jzg. seemed to be a fixed price structure in place, albeit one that was fixed high. the fact that it was off-peak season meant no real options either. wu told us later that his wife worked at the hotel and that he was staying there as well. promised us lowest possible rates and even rooms in peak season if we contacted him.
paid 160rmb for the entrance ticket, which could be used for a second day if your mug is scanned onto the ticket at the point of purchase. this was only valid during the off-peak season (16 nov to 31 mar), as was the discounted ticket price (310rmb otherwise).
happily, jzg lived up to its reputation and was beautiful, with its clear crystalline pools of blue and aquamarine and gorgeous waterfalls of impressive breadth. and still, everyone kept saying it would be even more spectacular in spring, and especially in the fall, when the riot of colours are in full bloom. but the thought of crowds in multiples of what we encountered was not an enticing one.
there was a structured route within the park and one hopped off and on the minivans at the designated vistas, though it was entirely possible to walk as well. still, the days of staying overnight in the park area in the tibetan villages (or zhai) were long gone.
lunch was 25rmb at the main rest stop-cum-indoor shopping bazaar. decided no point forking out extra for the 40rmb VIP buffet. 25rmb meant no meat. well, there were purportedly meat dishes but they vanished quickly and refills were not forthcoming, while the soup tasted of no natural flavour known to man.
was out of the park by about 3, somewhat to the surprise of our driver.
no more hotpot given its long-lasting lingering smell so the only other option was to order dishes at the main chinese restaurant. traipsed up to the second floor only to be asked to order on the first floor as they were tied up with tour groups; patience tried when first floor tried to shunt us back to second. eventually accommodated in yet another cavernous dining area. helped that there was an irate couple behind us who wanted to order dishes as well. 84rmb for salted fish brinjal claypot, which came swimming in oil though it did go well with rice, and veggies in soup, which was too salty.
Friday, February 24, 2006
jiuzhaigou/huanglong
a journey of a thousand li begins... through the jerkways additional gates, ie the terminal for flights within chengdu. there was time for lunch before the connecting flight to jiuzhai, 39rmb for bear palm tofu (exotic name for a simple dish; no bears involved) and yuxiang rousi (fish sauce pork strips).
arrived at jiuzhaigou to find that the bus option to jiuzhai paradise was out as the people manning the counter had “left for the day.” this was 2 in the afternoon. ended up taking a cab for 200rmb. the listed price was 180rmb, the 20rmb top-up was due to icy roads.
enroute to the hotel, ma shifu whipped out a disc and the front right flap rotated downwards to reveal a screen. he was pushing huanglong for some reason but we weren't sure if we had enough time to go but i nodded along, hoping he would keep his attention on the road instead.
it snowed twice during the car journey. once for a brief spell, the other time growing steadily heavier with hail getting into the mix.
the journey to jiuzhai paradise took abt an hour. entered into a freezing atrium where the reception was located, dotted by the occasional brazier. c proclaimed it vegasy. perhaps the tibetan stone buildings, the ponds crisscrossed with wooden walkways and replete with swans and ducks and egrets would have been right at home on the strip. unusually for me, had decided to splurge on accommodations and be pampered at a five-star resort. a rave from e, who had just been, certainly helped. at any rate, 690rmb a night for a standard room seemed reasonable. since it was the lull season, we were bumped up to a mountain-view room, which featured tibetan motifs mixed with lampshades with beaded fringes and a mock fireplace. the overall effect was actually quite pleasant instead of bewildering as unfortunate mix-n-matches were. the mountain view was bracing and the mock fireplace alcove with a thoughtful configuration of a sofa and a lounge chair was perfect for reading/watching tv/snacking/napping.
realised the paintings in the sprawling 1200 room hotel could all have been by the same artist. with 3 in each room and a couple lining the hallways, sometimes even in pairs, that must have worked out to a really sweet deal. the paintings themselves featured a yellow and green background marked with random chinese ink brushstrokes. inoffensive enough for a few thousand pieces to congregate in one location i guess.
was alas affected by the altitude - had a headache, mild nausea and zero appetite come dinner time. good thing the panadol helped. listened to some music before going to sleep and found an unexpected beat - the pounding of blood in my head.
a journey of a thousand li begins... through the jerkways additional gates, ie the terminal for flights within chengdu. there was time for lunch before the connecting flight to jiuzhai, 39rmb for bear palm tofu (exotic name for a simple dish; no bears involved) and yuxiang rousi (fish sauce pork strips).
arrived at jiuzhaigou to find that the bus option to jiuzhai paradise was out as the people manning the counter had “left for the day.” this was 2 in the afternoon. ended up taking a cab for 200rmb. the listed price was 180rmb, the 20rmb top-up was due to icy roads.
enroute to the hotel, ma shifu whipped out a disc and the front right flap rotated downwards to reveal a screen. he was pushing huanglong for some reason but we weren't sure if we had enough time to go but i nodded along, hoping he would keep his attention on the road instead.
it snowed twice during the car journey. once for a brief spell, the other time growing steadily heavier with hail getting into the mix.
the journey to jiuzhai paradise took abt an hour. entered into a freezing atrium where the reception was located, dotted by the occasional brazier. c proclaimed it vegasy. perhaps the tibetan stone buildings, the ponds crisscrossed with wooden walkways and replete with swans and ducks and egrets would have been right at home on the strip. unusually for me, had decided to splurge on accommodations and be pampered at a five-star resort. a rave from e, who had just been, certainly helped. at any rate, 690rmb a night for a standard room seemed reasonable. since it was the lull season, we were bumped up to a mountain-view room, which featured tibetan motifs mixed with lampshades with beaded fringes and a mock fireplace. the overall effect was actually quite pleasant instead of bewildering as unfortunate mix-n-matches were. the mountain view was bracing and the mock fireplace alcove with a thoughtful configuration of a sofa and a lounge chair was perfect for reading/watching tv/snacking/napping.
realised the paintings in the sprawling 1200 room hotel could all have been by the same artist. with 3 in each room and a couple lining the hallways, sometimes even in pairs, that must have worked out to a really sweet deal. the paintings themselves featured a yellow and green background marked with random chinese ink brushstrokes. inoffensive enough for a few thousand pieces to congregate in one location i guess.
was alas affected by the altitude - had a headache, mild nausea and zero appetite come dinner time. good thing the panadol helped. listened to some music before going to sleep and found an unexpected beat - the pounding of blood in my head.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
at first listen, Death Cab for Cutie's 'marching bands of manhattan' wasn't particularly distinctive. there was a definite pop-sheen to it, perhaps courtesy of the major-label debut, but the chorus seemed a little too direct, banal even. the simplicity of the lyrics however, turns out to be perfectly mirrored in the music. each repetition of 'it slowly rises, your love is gonna drown' is accompanied by a greater swell of music until the final 'drown' is choked off. the music stops; you're completely submerged.
also check out DCfC's Ben Gibbard's side project, Postal Service. more specifically, their perfect single 'such great heights.'
current song that i can't get out of my head, beyonce's 'check on it.' don't really care what she's singing and as it turns out, the lyrics are suitably generic. it's all about the rhythm, the beat, the music, and the boobs and ass video.
it's the music i notice first. good lyrics wrapped in lousy music would be better off as poetry. but there's also the start that u sometimes get when u realise that the words aren't quite up to the music (eg, james blunt's 'you're beautiful.' not.) it can be more fun figuring out what u think Kings of Leon are singing about (try 'the bucket') than the actual lyrics themselves. the perfect marriage of music and lyrics is rare, and all the more satisfying for it. travis' driftwood in which the circular structure of the song brings to mind the swirling eddies of the river is one such song for me.
also check out DCfC's Ben Gibbard's side project, Postal Service. more specifically, their perfect single 'such great heights.'
current song that i can't get out of my head, beyonce's 'check on it.' don't really care what she's singing and as it turns out, the lyrics are suitably generic. it's all about the rhythm, the beat, the music, and the boobs and ass video.
it's the music i notice first. good lyrics wrapped in lousy music would be better off as poetry. but there's also the start that u sometimes get when u realise that the words aren't quite up to the music (eg, james blunt's 'you're beautiful.' not.) it can be more fun figuring out what u think Kings of Leon are singing about (try 'the bucket') than the actual lyrics themselves. the perfect marriage of music and lyrics is rare, and all the more satisfying for it. travis' driftwood in which the circular structure of the song brings to mind the swirling eddies of the river is one such song for me.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
hangzhou
hitting major attractions today. first stop, lingyin temple, temple of secluded inspiration, built in AD 326, which would mean the info on the back of the ticket is wrong. and which was already thronging with tourists, devotees and peddlers at 8.30 in the morning. "During the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) celebrations, about 70,000 people per day come to the temple to worship." good to know. temples are not generally my thing, think I overdosed on the ones in and around beijing, but lingyinsi does have its attractions: the "traditional depiction of guanyin and the 500 arhats at vulture peak" with its detailed rendition of heaven, earth and sea, as well as a 20-m high statue of Sikamoni, the 'second largest indoor one.' (more info at www.orientalarchitecture.com/hangzhou/LINGYIN.htm)
took 35 rmb to get into the attraction area and another 30 rmb to get into the temple grounds. the area also features the flying-from-afar-peak, with sculpted figures from the 10th to 14th centuries. both the peak and the temple had escaped largely unscathed from the cultural revolution due to the intervention of premier zhou enlai. the peak was also home to ‘a slit of sky’ which can only be viewed from one particular spot (helpfully marked by a daub of paint) in a cave. more like ‘a speck of sky’ though it certainly wasn’t helped by the overcast sky. soon got disgruntled by the crowds at the temple of inspired seclusion. it was even more crowded when I left, with the road to the temple backed up for a ways.
took Y2 (one of the tourist bus routes) to the ‘broken bridge’ for 3 rmb. timed it for an early lunch at louwailou, a dining institution dating back to 1848 located on an islet (though linked to the bank) in West Lake. ordered the hangzhou specialties: west lake carp in sweet and sour sauce (38 rmb), longjing shrimp (98 rmb), fish soup (13.5 rmb) and a glass of longjing tea (3 rmb). the carp’s vinegary sauce grew rather monotonous, though it was true that the grass carp did not taste of mud. which meant that they were usually full of muddy crap? failed to detect any delicate longjing fragrance in the shrimp, though it could have been masked by the vinegar I was dunking it in. a couple who came in at abt the same time I did grew irate waiting for their soup, which arrived as I was getting my check. left the lunchtime melee to find an irritable line of hungry folk waiting.
paid 45 rmb for a boat ride to two of west lake’s islets: huxinting (mid lake pavilion) and sanyueyintan (3 pools reflecting the moon). the vistas were invariably disappointing and i soon tired of yet another ‘fantastic scene.’ the Chinese signs are decidedly less grating, if no less lofty in their descriptions.
decided not to go up leifeng tower, though of all the monuments and attractions, this was the one with the greatest immediacy since it was where Lady White Snake of legend was imprisoned. still, the 40 rmb entry was a put-off. besides, the best views of the tower were not from the tower itself, a fact that was grasped by many. perhaps realizing that getting people to climb up a newly-constructed structure would be an uphill battle, the leifeng tower featured a superior marketing campaign complete with glossy posters on the ‘mystery’ of the tower.
headed back to the hostel to pick up my bag before leaving for the airport. the thing about staying in a youth hostel is that whenever you ask for advice, you get the cheap option. query about what time to leave for the airport meandered into calculating the time to get to the bus stop and then the journey time for the shuttle itself. had to somewhat sheepishly tell them I was just planning to catch a cab. the attempt to bargain with the cabbie down to 70 rmb failed, so it was meter on, which came to 82 rmb in the end. the out-of-the-way location of the airport in xiaoshan had apparently brought down one mayor as it was the result of bribery.
tried the airport express in beijing for the first time. 16 rmb and it reached dongzhimen in under 30 min. sweet.
hitting major attractions today. first stop, lingyin temple, temple of secluded inspiration, built in AD 326, which would mean the info on the back of the ticket is wrong. and which was already thronging with tourists, devotees and peddlers at 8.30 in the morning. "During the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) celebrations, about 70,000 people per day come to the temple to worship." good to know. temples are not generally my thing, think I overdosed on the ones in and around beijing, but lingyinsi does have its attractions: the "traditional depiction of guanyin and the 500 arhats at vulture peak" with its detailed rendition of heaven, earth and sea, as well as a 20-m high statue of Sikamoni, the 'second largest indoor one.' (more info at www.orientalarchitecture.com/hangzhou/LINGYIN.htm)
took 35 rmb to get into the attraction area and another 30 rmb to get into the temple grounds. the area also features the flying-from-afar-peak, with sculpted figures from the 10th to 14th centuries. both the peak and the temple had escaped largely unscathed from the cultural revolution due to the intervention of premier zhou enlai. the peak was also home to ‘a slit of sky’ which can only be viewed from one particular spot (helpfully marked by a daub of paint) in a cave. more like ‘a speck of sky’ though it certainly wasn’t helped by the overcast sky. soon got disgruntled by the crowds at the temple of inspired seclusion. it was even more crowded when I left, with the road to the temple backed up for a ways.
took Y2 (one of the tourist bus routes) to the ‘broken bridge’ for 3 rmb. timed it for an early lunch at louwailou, a dining institution dating back to 1848 located on an islet (though linked to the bank) in West Lake. ordered the hangzhou specialties: west lake carp in sweet and sour sauce (38 rmb), longjing shrimp (98 rmb), fish soup (13.5 rmb) and a glass of longjing tea (3 rmb). the carp’s vinegary sauce grew rather monotonous, though it was true that the grass carp did not taste of mud. which meant that they were usually full of muddy crap? failed to detect any delicate longjing fragrance in the shrimp, though it could have been masked by the vinegar I was dunking it in. a couple who came in at abt the same time I did grew irate waiting for their soup, which arrived as I was getting my check. left the lunchtime melee to find an irritable line of hungry folk waiting.
paid 45 rmb for a boat ride to two of west lake’s islets: huxinting (mid lake pavilion) and sanyueyintan (3 pools reflecting the moon). the vistas were invariably disappointing and i soon tired of yet another ‘fantastic scene.’ the Chinese signs are decidedly less grating, if no less lofty in their descriptions.
decided not to go up leifeng tower, though of all the monuments and attractions, this was the one with the greatest immediacy since it was where Lady White Snake of legend was imprisoned. still, the 40 rmb entry was a put-off. besides, the best views of the tower were not from the tower itself, a fact that was grasped by many. perhaps realizing that getting people to climb up a newly-constructed structure would be an uphill battle, the leifeng tower featured a superior marketing campaign complete with glossy posters on the ‘mystery’ of the tower.
headed back to the hostel to pick up my bag before leaving for the airport. the thing about staying in a youth hostel is that whenever you ask for advice, you get the cheap option. query about what time to leave for the airport meandered into calculating the time to get to the bus stop and then the journey time for the shuttle itself. had to somewhat sheepishly tell them I was just planning to catch a cab. the attempt to bargain with the cabbie down to 70 rmb failed, so it was meter on, which came to 82 rmb in the end. the out-of-the-way location of the airport in xiaoshan had apparently brought down one mayor as it was the result of bribery.
tried the airport express in beijing for the first time. 16 rmb and it reached dongzhimen in under 30 min. sweet.
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