Last weekend in China

First off, it appears we can no longer see our blog... again.

Got back recently from two days in Suzhou, with half a day in Tongli thrown in there. It was described as Chinas venice, but it was slightly misleading. Yes, they have water and canals in the city, but it wasnt very spectacular. It was ok, but in the end it was just another small chinese town (meaning 6 million people).

The Hostel in Suzhou was by far the worst. We got locked in a "room", with no window, measuring 2x2 meters. The hostel was very noisy and the walls paper thin, so if you were easily disturbed you'd get no sleep. Sophie also got bitten by some nasty bugs on her arm, probably bed bugs. Yums! Sophie is also having a cold. Bu-hu.

Checked out some gardens in Suzhou and the silk museeum. It was ok, but once again its good to be back in a real city.

Tonight we are planning on going to see some local chinese rock bands play at a place called Ark House. Hopefully it is open, hopefully there is a band, and hopefully it will rock.

Tomorrow is the last day so we will probably spend the day relaxing, some last minute shopping, and then having a drink in the evening by the bund. Flight leaves 8:20 so we'll have to get up at ... uhmm... 5? Crap thats early.

So, in case we wont get a chance at the internet on the hostel again (the internet stations here are always occupied), here is a brief summary of China:
First of all, see the top 13 wonders of china... some additions are:

• Pea, corn and red bean ice cream... what the hell is up with that?
• All, and we seriously mean all, super markets (normally for food), only have snacks, toilet paper and drinks. No food. Nowhere. Nada. Zip. Nothing.
• The measurments on the various bottled drinks varies from 588 ml, 533, 788, 601 and so on. Why?
• A queue is not respected. People just go from the back to the front of the desk... even if someone is standing there having his ticket purchased, they think that it is their right to have it before.

Probably more... but well... time is short. City by city:

Beijing

The only reason for going here is the Wall and the Forbidden city. The city in itself is nothing really. Its just a chinese small town scaled up a couple of times. Its dusty, its noisy, no beautiful buildings... no skyline... no water...

Hostel was great.

Xian

Xian was ok... the city wall made it feel smaller than it actually was. There were a lot of nice chinese style houses, that made it feel real homely.

Hostel was good.

Chengdu

Felt a bit more like a big city (maybe because the lack of a city wall). Two days is enough if you just want to stop there before tibet. There were some nice things outside of Chengdu to see though.

Hostel again great.

Tibet

Smelly, noisy, dirty, and cool to have been to. Potala palace, Mt Everest and Yamdrok Tso lake are definately highlights of this trip. However, for anyone going, it is advicable to take the train from Xian to Lhasa. It takes 2 days, but you acclimatize to the altitude faster. Otherwise, you seriously feel like shit for six days.

Shanghai

Great city, wonderful skyline. Cheap shopping. Sophie is a real kick ass at haggling prices. No mercy, no remorse, just a tenth of the original price and she's satisfied (not really, but sorta) :)

Hostel again great!

Things we leave behind

• Snot paper en masse... everywhere
• Three towels
• Three pair of shoes
• One tshirt and two tops and one hoody
• Spitting people
• Publicly peeing babies
• Innumerable encrusted socks
• 40 used wet tissues
• Momos
• Stares
• Various bites
• Gelupas
• Stupas
• Sakyamuni
• Buddhas
• Lamas
• Llamas
• High Llamas

Things we will miss

Cheap food. Shanghai skyline. A cute dog by the road in Suzhou... we'll come back for you next time.

Getting around in china by yourself proved less hard than we thought. The key was staying at hostels, where everyone speaks good english, and have them write notes for you in chinese. So, then, like a mute couple you just grunt at people and hand them a note. Food wise, it is good to have a book with you so you dont end up eating weird shit. We had pig intestines, that we know of, and probably some other things that we dont know of.

Its really been an experience, and definately worth it... we really like back packing in developing countries, and next year we will do what we like to call our "Great STAN tour", visiting all the -stan countries. Starting in Kyrgizistan we will work our way, during 6 months to afghanistan wearing nothing but burqas and maybe one or two gelupas.

Or, well, maybe not... next time Aussie/NZ... wuiiiiiiii :)

Until next time, tadaaaaa

/s and j