The “Kissing Fish” Spa

I know this isn’t totally unique to China, but the thought of it freaked Mom out enough for me to blog about it.

A few days ago, I visited the “Kissing Fish Spa” in Yangshuo for a pedicure. Why did this disturb my Mom?

Because you stick your feet into a basin filled with hundreds of tiny fish that eat the dead skin off your feet. 

It really tickles for the first minute or so, but after that it just feels a bit like the tingling you get when your foot falls asleep. I actually really enjoyed it…It makes your feet feel very soft and was quite relaxing. I’m definitely a fan of the fish pedicure.

Yangshuo in Pictures

I came to Yangshuo via a lovely 5 hour cruise down the Li River from Guilin. Yangshuo is probably one of the most beautiful places on earth. I’ve probably taken 193,848,402,934,023,948 pictures of mountains and trees and nature since I’ve been here. Most of them look pretty similar, but it’s just so pretty I can’t help myself. These pictures are some of my favorites from the past week.

My next plan is to put my pistols up and imma let my hair down.

On Friday, I took a tour to see the Longji rice terraces just outside of Guilin. Which was beautiful and a lovely hike if you’re into that kind of thing.

One of the stops on the tour was to see the “Long Hair Village” of the Yao ethnic people.

I think I may be a bit burnt out on “culture” because the only thing I could think of was a vulgar rap song by the Last Mr. Bigg called “Long Hair.” If you haven’t heard it, the chorus goes like this… “I got long hair. I gotta pocket full of stones. Them bad ho’s wanna play on my phone…” then proceeds to get more and more explicit.

So there I am, watching a show that celebrates the ancient history of this fascinating minority Chinese people and I’m rapping in my head about being a pimp to a song written by a guy that just got out of prison.

Nice, Julie. Very nice.

The worst part is that there was nobody around me that would know what I was talking about if I started rapping that song, so I had to keep it to myself. Until now. Come to think of it, I probably should continue keeping it to myself instead of broadcasting my insanity it to the whole Internet, but I’m sure someone will find this entertaining so…

Once I got myself to focus, it was actually really cool and interesting. There are about 400 people in this village that is supported by tourism and farming. The average length of the women’s hair is 1.8 meters long, and they are only allowed to cut it once in their lifetime. There are three different ways that they can style their hair based upon whether they are single, married without children, or married with children. There’s probably a lot more that I missed while I was busy being gangsta, but it was pretty cool to see some ancient minority Chinese traditions. (If you’re having trouble imagining minority Chinese, think Navajo in the USA… but Chinese.)

 

After that, I spent the day hiking through the Longji or Dragon’s Backbone Rice Terraces which offered some pretty spectacular views of the mountains and the rice terraces that are cut into the hills. It was beautiful. And an excellent work-out.

Xi’an in Pictures.

Xi’an was a pretty cool place. Why? The Terracotta Warriors. I’ve wanted to see them for ages and I finally got to! Yay!

The Terracotta Warriors were discovered in 1974 by a farmer digging around in his field.

Side note: The farmer that discovered the soldiers now sits in a building next to the Terracotta museum and signs books. I saw the dude. He looked bored as hell. Some of the others on my tour thought that he must be pissed he’s forced to sit there day in and day out…

Personally, I think that they have 3 or 4 guys who look alike to play “The Farmer” so the original guy doesn’t have to sit there 10 hrs a day, 7 days a week.

Anyways…In case you have no interest in history or cool things to see in other parts of the world and haven’t heard of the warriors here’s a brief summary:

The Terracotta Army is a collection of clay statues of warriors and horses that were built to protect the Emperor after his death around 210 B.C. 

Current estimates suggest that there are over 8,000 soldiers. The coolest thing? Each soldier has a different face. No two ‘people’ are the same.  Over 97% of the army remains buried underground, so you can only see the small portion that has been excavated. I could really go on and on about them, so if you’re interested, look them up. It’s pretty cool.

But it was still very cool. It brought me right back to my childhood dreams of being an archaeologist.

Backpacking in Gucci

It was pointed out to me by a fellow back-packer today that I’m a creature of beguiling contradictions. His words, not mine. The hostel that I’m staying in costs 35Y per night to stay in a 10 bed dorm. That is about $5.50 USD. I just walked into the hostel carrying a Grande Mocha Coconut Frappuccino from Starbucks that cost 33Y.

Side note: I’m actually a Starbucks China Rewards Card gold level member, but that’s neither here nor there. The thing about Starbucks is, well, I need it to live… It’s all about priorities. Also, I’m not the only crazy Starbucks groupie. The other day I met a teacher who was about to head back to the United States. His suitcase was full of Starbucks mugs from every city he visited in China... Literally a 90% Starbucks mugs to 10% clothing ratio.

The irony of backpacking around China wearing Seven jeans and Gucci sunglasses is not lost on me, but I find that there are a lot of advantages to staying in $5 per night hostels.

As a general rule, hostels are:

-       Cheap! Also, rooms are generally nicer and cleaner than at budget hotels. This means more money for sightseeing. And Mocha Coconut Frappuccinos.

-       Designed for backpackers. They have all the things you need when you are on the road for a long period of time. Laundry facilities, tour desks, a bar!, a common area to meet fellow travelers, all at a very low price, in an awesome location

-       Lively. Hostels have atmosphere appealing to individuals. Hotels are for families, groups, and business people. Hostels are ideal for people traveling alone. While it’s possible to make friends to travel with while staying at a hotel, you generally don’t have to try as hard at a hostel.

That being said, I’m definitely not opposed to the “Ritz Carlton” tour of the world. (Honestly, I’d almost certainly prefer it…) In fact, if you’re willing to fund my research comparing youth hostels to five star hotels in cities around the globe, please contact me immediately. I’m particularly interested in researching beach front resorts.

But overall, the $5 hostel tour of China isn’t too bad.

Tablet of Cow-Bezoar for Cold Trouble

As it was bound to happen, while running myself ragged backpacking through China, I’m sick with a sinus infection. I now have the opportunity (yay!) to try some more interesting Chinese medicine.

Note. You can just walk into a pharmacy and ask for medication that in the USA would require a prescription… But there is also no Tylenol or Motrin that you can just pick up at a CVS – so every medicine buying trip is an adventure. And a game of charades.

Pharmacy #1. Beijing. Went in and asked for antibiotics. Left with some weird antibiotics from Bangladesh. Helped a bit. Possibly.

Pharmacy #2. Beijing. By some miracle found an English speaking doctor/ pharmacist and acquired what I believe to be some kind of decongestant. Also helped a bit. Possibly.

Pharmacy #3. Xi’an. Found Azithromycin Tablets and something that comes up in Google as “Tablet of Cow-bezoar for Cold Trouble”. It was either that or some sort of odd liquid that said “Infusion of Fragrant Solomonseal and Hawthorn Fruit” Research indicates that it appears to be similar to a Tylenol Cold tablet. I'm sure it's legit though. And old Chinese woman in a lab coat, who spoke no English, sold it to me with the antibiotics for the equivalent of $5 USD.

As I have not had any adverse symptoms, I’m feeling optimistic about my cow–bezoar.

At the very least, I feel like I’ve stepped into a potion’s class in a Harry Potter novel with all this talk of bezoars and infusions of hawthorn extract. If I’m going to be sick, at least I feel like I’m a wizard.

Hopefully that with the combination of some good rest will make me feel better.

1, 2, 3, Chairman Mao!!

So, Beijing was large. And by large, I mean freaking enormous.

Of course I did all the requisite sightseeing – Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, Wangfujing, Sanlitun… It was pretty cool, but also quite exhausting. The entire city was FLOODED with tourists and everywhere you go, you have to fight your way through 83,847,784,949 people.

 

I woke up early to see Tiananmen Square and was astounded by the sheer number of people there. The line to see Mao’s mausoleum was truly more than one mile long. No exaggeration. 

Maybe it’s just one of those things that I’ll never understand because I’m not Chinese, but there is nothing on Earth that I want to see that badly. The only thing that I’d get in a line that long for would be if they were handing out money at the end. At least $1,000. And I still might hesitate at that price. It was really hot outside. $5,000, sure…

But my favorite part of Beijing was the trip to the Great Wall. It was absolutely beautiful. I visited a lesser-known segment called Mutianyu, which is famous for its guard towers. It also has really steep stairs. You know when people say, “I climbed the Great Wall!” but the really mean that they walked up and down a few rebuilt stairs with a handrail at Badaling… Yeah, I climbed the Great Wall. Well, kind of. I took a cable car up to the wall and then did some climbing. There were segments where you had to use your hands to climb… It was an excellent workout. The view wasn’t bad either.

On the way down, there was the option to take the toboggan – basically a plastic seat with four wheels and a hand break that you ride down a narrow metal slide. This was, of course, up to the usual Chinese safety standards, aka, completely dangerous, but promising to be really fun. Unfortunately, (or fortunately, if you’re my mother) I got stuck behind an older woman who was terrified of the toboggan and insisted on driving slowly and responsibly. Thus, my adrenaline rush was cut short, but I made it to the bottom in one piece.

 

To sum up Beijing, it’s one of those places that you HAVE to visit when you’re in China… but not necessarily somewhere that you want to visit often.

Hermes and Scorpion Shish Kabobs

I’m in Beijing – the only city on earth that you can buy a $10,000 Hermes handbag and a bamboo skewer of deep fried scorpions on the same block.

You can’t make this stuff up. One minute, I’m walking down the street window-shopping, and a lady saunters out of Hermes with a new Birkin.

Then BAM!, I turn the corner and there’s an entire street of food vendors selling a bizarre, but mostly delicious, assortment of food. Including live scorpions on a skewer, just waiting to be fried up and eaten. Tasty.

Scorpion not your thing? How about a starfish or an innocent baby seahorse? 

People actually eat these too. I watched a Chinese kid down three deep fried scorpions that we alive just seconds before. Granted, it appeared to be on a dare, but he still ate them - he said they were crunchy.

I’m not that adventurous in my food consumption, but I did try some candied grapes and some chicken kabobs.

C’mon Ride the Train…

I'm very impressed with train travel in China. I took the bullet train
from Shanghai to Beijing the other day, and buying the ticket was
actually the most difficult part. The Hongqiao Railway station is HUGE
and all of the ticket signs are in Chinese. After I'd worked out which
of the 40,000 ticket counters I needed to go to everything went very

Shanghai Hongqiao Railway Station

smoothly.

My train boarded at 6:45 am and left the station promptly at 7:00 am. The train travels at a swift 300 km per hour making the journey last just under 5 hours.

With railway travel in China there's no need to arrive at the train station hours early, no undressing for airport security, and you can bring real bottle of shampoo in your bag! The train was very clean and
comfortable.

I'm looking forward to comparing that train with some of the other train rides that are in my future.

Realizations

Yesterday, while walking around Shanghai, I came to three conclusions.

First, I must look like I know what I’m doing and where I’m going. Over the past few weeks of traveling, I’ve found that most places I go, I get little groups of tourists (both Western and Chinese) discretely following me around, looking for what to do… through the subway, when I go to get in line to buy tickets, through a museum, etc.

I have no idea why. I live in a near constant state of confusion here in China… I think it’s because I walk quickly and with purpose. And I read signs. Most tourists stand around with a map out, spinning in circles… I try not to do that.

Second, I must look like I want to buy stuff. I would estimate that I get approached three times more than the average person on the street about buying fake watches, or roller blade wheels for my shoes, or whatever bizarre crap people are peddling that day. Admittedly, I generally am in the market to buy something, but why on earth would I want some weird light up bird that makes annoying noises and flies around on a plastic string?

 

Finally, and most significantly, I’m not nearly aggressive enough to compete with the Chinese tourists. For some reason I’m uncomfortable with shoving the elderly, children, and women holding babies aside, just to get to the front of the line… or close enough to the glass of the aquarium to see the fish, for example…

I thought I was in for a leisurely day of viewing some lovely marine wildlife at the Shanghai Ocean Aquarium.

Not so much.

 I was literally herded from exhibit to exhibit, trying to avoid getting trampled by families. It was still pretty cool though. The aquarium part, not the part where I was being body checked out of the way so that parents could get pictures of their children in front of every type of fish known to mankind.

I find this to be such a paradox, because if you get on the subway, people become civilized again. An old man gets on, three people get up so that he can have a seat. Pregnant woman? Never has to stand up on the subway. But at tourist destinations, all rules, and apparently manners, are gone. It’s survival of the fittest… And I don’t have the evolutionary drive to want to see any tourist attraction that badly.

Oh, China…

Fasten Your Seatbelt!

The bus ride from Tongli to Shanghai is not a long one, but it was interesting.

If you’re afraid of flying, you’ve probably heard that saying, “Look at the flight attendants, if they look scared, then it’s time to panic.” So when you hit some turbulence, if the flight attendants are still serving drinks, it's no big deal...

Which really is decent advice. When in an unfamiliar situation, look to someone who is familiar with what is happening, and imitate them.

So when you’re on a bus in China, and everyone around you starts fastening seatbelts that you didn’t know existed, you begin to feel a bit uneasy.

Buses have been my primary form of transportation up until this point and I’ve never seen ANYONE with a seatbelt. Until now.

The moment of panic turned out to be unnecessary. 

It was actually one of the smoother bus rides I’ve had in China. Granted, the driver would probably give Dale Earnhardt Jr. a run for his money (even in the bus), but he was in total control of the vehicle. Or so I keep telling myself.

Tongli in Pictures

Yesterday I spend the day wandering around Tongli, a ancient water village complete with canals, bridges, winding alleyways, and crumbling building with ancient white washed walls.  It is a very small town, so it is possible to walk all around the village in a day, which was a nice change of pace from sprawling Suzhou. 

 

It is absolutely adorable and a great place to experience traditional Chinese culture. This is the most “Chinese” city I’ve visited. There are only about 30,000 people here so I got a fair bit of attention as the token white girl.

 

It is also a fantastic place for photographers. There were people all over with their Nikkon 1093949 SLR Super Cameras… and then there was me walking around snapping pics with my iPhone. 

But hey, thanks to technology, anyone with an iPhone and the Instagram app is an instant pro. I think my pictures are pretty legit looking.