5 Cities, 5 Days

Whew! Back in Guyuan and IN our apartment with no trouble this time! So, here is the travel log you all have been waiting for (yeah, right):

So, half awake we stumbled out of our apartment to get out to the train station to catch our train. We had to wake up the caretakers at our apartment complex to unlock the gate so we could try to hail a cab at this time of morning/night. We got to the station, handed over our tickets and boarded our train to Zhongwei at 5:43 AM Saturday morning.

We're ready to continue our night's sleep when we realize that our tickets are standing room only, no seat. So, we try to find a semi-empty spot at the end of one of the cars. This time we pack light so we don't wake everyone up on our little walk down the aisle with a harsh slap to the face with a pack strap. So, like the lucky cats we are, we find a nice spot - IN THE SMOKING CAR! Bleck! Nothing like sleeping standing up while getting ash flicked on you, burned by careless smokers trying to snub out a cigarette (missing the ash tray because they are too busy staring at the big white guy) and people blowing smoke directly in your face because they want to stare at you up close. At least we have a little nook, and were sharing it with a little old man with a facial deformity. He was probably the only one who didn't really stare at Matt - I guess he was relieved that people found someone else to stare out.

After about an hour another man and child came and decided to wake up the old man, shove me out of the way and completely take over the entire space in the nook. The nerve of this guy! Now I can't even really stand comfortably without stepping on him or his daughter, who are now down, splayed out (as much as one can be) on the floor of the nook. Then, to make the situation even more comfortable the man keeps on moving around and kicking my feet when my STANDING got in his way. Then he kept on leaving and coming back, to let me know he wanted me to let him out or back in he would just shove me. Not the push, push that I have become accustomed to, but a shove. Apparently, like father like daughter. I was in a half snooze when she gave my leg a good shove and my knee buckled.

After a little while, Matt and I tried to see if the conditions might be better in the aisle of the car. I decide to hang out near an empty seat near the front of the car. In the group of seats I was standing next to was a group of Chinese business men and one of them offered the empty seat to me. I was so thankful! We tried to chat, they, in whatever English they knew and I in my (less than a) smattering of Chinese. The guy who paid for the seat I was in happily sat on the edge of another seat, next to one of his co-workers. They were delighted that I was Korean and that Matt was American and we were teachers in Guyuan. Later on, a different man who was listening in on our clumsy conversation piped up in broken English, "Hello! You come sit here!" He packed up all of his things and gave me his seat. He went to go stand at the end of the car. I thought that he was getting off at the next stop, only to find out that he was getting off when we were - 2 hours away! Matt was able to share an edge of a seat for a little bit, but he decided to go stand in the end because of his damn long legs (he had to get up every time someone wanted to get by, so like, every 10 seconds). So, even though my trip started with quite a bit of discomfort and annoyance, it ended quite pleasantly. When we arrived at our stop, all of the businessmen stood up and said goodbye when I passed by, I thanked the man who gave me his seat and he said that he was happy to, and the man with the facial deformity gave me a big smile and waved as we got off the train.

Next, Zhongwei. We weren't prepared for the temperature here or for what the city looked like. It was hot and not at all like Guyuan! When something is described in the guide book as a "small country town" we picture something like Guyuan or possibly a little less than what we have here. But this city had big buildings, many traffic lights AND a separate lane for bikes. Made us think that we really must be a little more remote than we thought we were if this is a small country town and fuelled our suspicion that none of the writers of the books had actually visited these places.

So anyway, we found a hotel and quickly ditched our extra clothing and went out to explore a little bit. The big site here is an interesting temple, Gao Miao. Why is it interesting, you may ask? Let's say you are a Buddhist and don't know where to go, no problem, Gao Miao. Confucian? Gao Miao. Taoist? Gao Miao. Even, Christian? Yup, Gao Miao. It was an interesting place to look around and offered great views of the city. After, we grabbed a bite to eat at Dico's and headed back to the hotel.

Okay. If you ever had any doubt, bowling alleys in hotels are not a good idea. Especially if the bowling alley is located one floor above or below the floors where guests want to sleep and there is no sound proofing. Yeah, I was lulled to sleep with the low rumble of a bowling ball rolling down a lane punctuated by the sound of the pins getting knocked down. Also, a miscalculation on our part, getting a hotel next to the train station has its benefits like location, but also its drawbacks, i.e. said location - the blasting train whistles as the train rolls in and out of town. Not the little pleasant "choo-choo" whistle I remember staying up for when I slept over at my grandma's house. But the loudest, most obnoxious air horn ever created by mankind. I admit, I exaggerate, a little, but it was LOUD and l o n g. They laid on the horn. Ohmygod. So between the bowling alley and the train, my hopes of a good night's rest were fading fast. During one of the pauses of the night time sounds, I hear through the wall, some, um, "noises". For the next 4 hours I had the pleasure of listening to our neighbor manage his gases. Yup. Gases. Loud bodily emissions, followed up with the Chinese equivalent of "OOOOOOH, YEAH!" So, me no sleepy.

Next day, off to the bus station to Shapotou. To be honest, I didn't have very high expectations of this resort area - described as a playground for the Chinese. I was sort of picturing the Wisconsin Dells in the desert. So, it turned out to be a little better than what I was picturing. We got a pleasant room that had that "cabin smell" and headed out right away to check out the activities. Dune slide - Check, Camel ride - Check, adequately ripped off - check. We paid to go out for a 2 hour camel ride in the desert - hopefully to see the remains of the Great Wall in this area.

So, well, about 45 minutes later, some of which was spent with us just walking on the pavement sans camel. We were heading back at the base. No Wall. The foreigners thoroughly disappointed. Matt bargains with one of the camel ladies. We pay a little more to take some horses out to see the remains of The Wall. Part way through the journey we both get a feeling that this "trip" was not a resort sanctioned activity - the tip off? Leaving the resort area completely, the complete lack of tourist pomp, and having to be cleared for entrance at a PLA check point. Hmmmm...any how, we were glad that we were able to get out the see the big earthen wall (the Great Wall was earthen - ahem, dirt - in these parts).

On the way back, Matt decided to walk (the stirrups were not long enough for him) so he got some color (that color would be bright red). Eventually, a scooter came and picked him up and brought him back. I was still on horseback, all of a sudden one of the women motions for me to grab the horn of the saddle, she took my horses reigns and we took off galloping. Remember that scene from Hildago during the sandstorm when he was being chased down by the approaching sand? Well, it was nothing like that. But I was riding horseback at full gallop racing down the streets of this small town, retreating from The Great Wall. It was quite a rush - must be my Mongolian/Korean blood. Genghis Khan launched several campaigns against the Western Xia (kingdom from these parts) all of which failed. It was an exhilarating experience, but I am still suffering from the consequences - saddle sore. The saddle was metal with a blanket over the top and the stirrups not well fitted. So, well, sitting it still not too comfortable.

After, we got a great dinner (some of the best Chinese food I have tasted here) and got to fall asleep in one of the softest beds we have had here in China. Unfortunately, the bar was right outside of our window and the bad music and even worse karaoke was blastin' until the wee hours.

Oh, and I got spit on by three different species of animals! You guess which ones!

Next, on to Sha Hu! We had been really lucky with transportation throughout this trip so far, especially as so much is done on the day of travel. We had to go back up to Zhongwei and catch a minibus to Sha Hu - another Chinese resort. We found the bus without much difficulty. After a long time, they tell us that there aren't enough people to go, so to try again tomorrow. The other couple on the bus then arranged for all of us to share a cab up to the resort. We didn't have high expectations for this place either and rightly so. Not that great. You have to pay to enter the park to see the lake OR as we discovered we could just take a walk around the side of the hotel and see it for free. A lot more organized fun. Both Matt and I were feeling like we had an ample supply of Chinese fun and decided to pass on the activities. So, we basically chilled out and tried to recover from the sun (Matt) and the horse (Me). Again, sleep wasn't easy to come by. People as late as 2 AM were yelling in the hallways and also, right in front of our door. Not talking loudly, but, rather, yelling, screaming and singing.

Early the next morning I woke up to a buzzing sound and a strange sensation. The resident pair of mosquitoes in our room went to town on my upper lip. It was super swollen and numb. I try to get back to sleep only to have them hit it a couple more times as well as my eye and forehead. In the morning I get a proper look of my lip - the right side is at least double the normal size. Looks like a collagen accident.

Yeesh!

Alright, so the three of us (my lip, in my opinion, qualified as another entity) decide to head to Yinchuan for a little R & R from our travels.

To be continued....