A Few Pictures

The Gobi Desert













Horses and Rider in Mongolia














Gary Powers' Pressure Suit














Dragon in the Forbidden City

The Greatest Destination on Earth

home.

I made it back to Westborough safe and sound yesterday after flying from London. While watching the news this morning about foiled terrorist attempts was a bit disturbing, it didn't affect my travel plans at all and things yesterday went very smoothly.

There really isn't a whole lot to say about the last few days. After I arrived in London I spent my one day there exploring the British Museum which is home to the Rosetta Stone, one of the Easter Island heads, and a lot of other really impressive historical and artistic pieces. My flight home was without problem, and after meeting Amanda at the airport I took the shuttle bus out to Framingham where my dad picked us up. I showed everyone my pictures, souvenirs and suntan (yes, I actually have something that looks like a tan) and ate a great meal.

I am going to keep this post short, but will try to put up one more in the next few days with some overall thoughts and impressions from my trip.

In the meantime, I want to thank everyone who read this blog while I was on my trip. It was a constant source of joy and inspiration to know that people were interested in where I was, and what I was doing. I had so much fun not only living the experiences of the past 7 weeks, but also writing down these accounts and I'm thrilled to have this compilation of writings as the ultimate souvenir to what was truly the trip of a lifetime.

Thank you,
Andrew

I was just in a country that borders a country that borders a country that my brother is in

And for the record, Dubai is in the United Arab Emirates, not India (see the comments for the Dubai post if you want to know why I said that - sorry katie, but hey, it made me laugh). With respect to the title of this post, both Iraq (where my brother Eddie is currently stationed with the US Marines) and the UAE border Saudi Arabia. I only realized while I was flying from Dubai to London (where I am currently) that I was so close to Eddie. In fact, my plane barely skirted the edge of Iraq as we flew over Iran and Turkey on our way to Heathrow.

After my post from Dubai yesterday I made good on my words to go out and explore town. While I sadly did not get a chance to see the Burj Al Arab hotel that Dubai is so famous for, I did get a chance to walk around, get a sunburn, explore the gold souq, and buy some safron at the spice souq. All in all Dubai was a nice place to visit, but I can't really see myself yearning to go back (unlike China, to where I'm already planning my next trip).

The one thing that really did stick out in my mind (besides the heat, god it was hot) was the ultra-conservative manner in which women are treated. I had to be careful to wear long pants since showing one's knees is a faux-pas but that in no way compares to the Emirati women who walked around covered from head to toe in black cloth. In some cases, only their eyes were visible, and in other cases they wore a mesh screen in front of their eyes. This pretty much meant that they were transformed into moving black blobs - not a way that anyone should have to live. I understand that it's a different culture than the west, but this is something I really can't come to fathom on any level.

On a side note, I'll never fail to appreciate the luxury of a cold shower again. The hotel I had in Dubai only had hot water. In fact, I managed to burn (yes, burn) my hand with the cold water tap. Since the pipes run underground, which is made of hot sand, all water is heated. It's a good thing I took that last shower in Hong Kong before my flight, because, well, I couldn't bring myself to get into hot water in a place where the daytime temperature averaged 110 F. In the words of my British compratiots, I was mingin'.

Today was pretty uneventful as I went to the Dubai airport and flew to London. The only real development was that I realized about 1/2 an hour before my flight took off that I had left my debit card at the hotel. I was able to call and have the desk attendant cut it up, so theres little security risk and I'll just cancel it when I get home in two days. It's a good thing I have both US dollars cash, and some travellers check (and another credit card).

Jet lag is kickin in, and I'm about to pass out.

night,
Andrew

In Retrospect, Hong Kong Wasn't That Hot

and Dubai is waaayyy hotter. The daytime average temperature in July/August is around 110. Everything here is air-conditioned, so people rarely leave the comfort of their hotels/apartments/cars/malls.

My last day in Hong Kong was spent mostly hanging around the island of Hong Kong and finding good food to eat. I picked up my custom made shirt, which fits really well (go figure) and at around 7 pm I left for the airport.

My flight on Emirates was really nice, and I can see what everyone raves about for their service for. Aside from hundreds of choices of movies to watch, they had a myriad of TV shows at the click of a button. Family Guy over the Indian Ocean in the middle of the night at 30,000 feet. brilliant.

I arrived this morning at around 5 am local time (four hours off from HK) and took a cab to my hotel. After sleeping for a while (something I failed to remember to do last night) I'm awake, hungry, and eager to see the city (the insides of the buildings at least)

cheers,
Andrew

Answers to The Quiz!

Sorry this took so long, I forgot about the quiz! Be sure to read the new post (below) that I wrote about 10 minutes ago.

Bird - an attractive female

Mingin' - general word for "disgusting". Fermented Mare's Milk is mingin'.

Trouble and Strife - Wife

Sky Rockets - Pockets

-Andrew

The Trains May Run on Time....

but the buses sure as hell don't. Two days ago I had my last day in Yangshuo before leaving for Hong Kong. I spent the day in town where it was about 97 F with practically 100% humidity. I went for a short bike ride in the afternoon, being very sure I knew where I was going the whole time so that I wouldn't get lost again! This time my shifter broke when I was about a mile from town (on the way back fortunately) and I had to peddle the whole way back in a very low gear (lots of peddling, not a lot of progress).

After a cold shower, some dinner, and a bad Kung Fu movie (the god of cookery) someone had purchased along the way, it was time to get on my sleeper bus to Shenzen. I was due to arrive in Shenzen around 10 am and from there cross the border into Hong Kong and take the train down to Kowloon where my hostel is.

If anyone ever tries to sell you a sleeper bus ticket, run away. fast.

First of all, the "bed" is about 4 inches too short for any normal height western male. Also, since the bed is raised towards the head, your only option is to lie on your back (I can't sleep on my back). The silver lining is that they showed about 2 hours of Mr Bean reruns on the TV's, but its not like an airline where the sound is optional. You will watch (and hear) Mr Bean, and you will like it.

The bus was scheduled to arrive at 10 am, so it only makes sense that I arrived in Shenzen at 3 pm. Throughout the day I was wondering, "did I get on the right bus?" Well I'm sure I did. Wei, the hostel owner, put me on the bus himself.

"did I miss my stop?" Nope - I've been awake the whole time, and there were no stops.

"can a bus really be 5 hours late?" bingo.

One of the other western travellers actually illuminated the situation for me, with information he had gotten in Yangshuo before leaving. Since the Chinese government had decided to build a road between Guilin and Shenzen, the journey was supposed to take 5 hours less than it used to. And of course, since projects in Communist China never fall behind schedule, the road had been completed! (hooray!) Does this mean there is a new road? NOOOOOOO!!!!!

So, the bus schedules were updated for a road that hasn't been built. I'm still trying to wrap my head around this one.

Anyway, once I got to Shenzen it was a quick walk to the Hong Kong border, a short jaunt through officialdome and on to the glitz and glam of Hong Kong.

THIS PLACE RULES!

It's Asian, but it's also Western. I think I'll call it "fusion". Most of the people are obviously Chinese, but there is such a foreign influence that you can't really categorize Hong Kong as anything other than the most international city in the world (London may rival it).

My guesthouse is in a Times Square like neighborhood full of fake DVD and electronic stores called Tsim Sha Tsui. I was a bit hesitant when I first walked into the building (its decrepid) but the hostel upstairs was fine, very well secured, and one of the cleaner places I've seen.

After a delicious Cantonese dinner I went for a walk around town and took the subway across the harbor to Hong Kong Island where I ascended Victoria Peak, in the historic tram. The view from the top of the peak over Hong Kong Island, the harbor and into Kowloon and beyond into the New Territories and China is one of the most famous in the world - and a very triumphant place for me to end my journey. It would have been a lot more triumphant if there weren't a class 3 typhoon pounding me the whole time - but the feeling was incredible all the same.

Today I decided to explore town and started off by taking the historic star ferry across the harbor to Hong Kong Island (I'm in Kowloon). The views, which are looking at the skyline, and to Victoria Peak in the background are also amazing. After taking a ride up the longest escalator in the world (and no, the handrail doesn't go the same speed as the stairs) I spent the morning going through a bunch of side streets and riding the tram.

For lunch I found an everyman sort of cafeteria, where there were no other westerners. I almost left myself when I realized there was no English on the menu but something compelled me to stay. In a bold move, I did something I had wanted to do since I arrived i China, which is to sit down to lunch and ask the waitor to bring me his favorite dish, no matter what it was. What I got wasn't gross at all (contrary to my prediction) - it was roast goose, and it was delicious.

After lunch I spent some time in the glitzier part of town, and ordered a custom tailored shirt for myself. The tailors in Hong Kong are world famous for producing handmade, custom tailored, top-quality garments for a fraction of the price you pay in the west. While the shirt was still expensive, I think it will make a great souvenir!

As always, I'm writing on an empty stomach and it's time to fix that.

Andrew

PS: Thanks for all the comments on the last post! Now that I'm in Hong Kong, which enjoys special autonomy from the mainland, I can actually view my own blog again.

The Final Leg

Tonight I'm leaving Yangshuo on a sleeper bus to Shenzen, which is the border crossing into Hong Kong. To me, Hong Kong represents the end of my epic overland journey even though it will be another week before I return to the US. I'm a little apprehensive about taking a sleeper bus since I didn't even know they existed before this trip, and from what I hear, the beds are really short (1.6 meters). We'll see if I actually sleep at all...

Things here are living up to their tropical climate - its been between 95 and 100 since I've been here with practically 100% humidity. It's raining right now which is helping to cool things down a bit, but I'd still rather have some good AC. I've heard that Hong Kong is a little more bearable since it's on the water and you can get a good breeze - the air here is completely stagnant.

Yesterday I took it pretty easy after the huge bicycle ride I described in the last post. In the morning I went into town and explored a bit and had a bite to eat at one of the many touristy cafes. Yangshuo is a hugely popular tourist stop for both independant and group travellers. While this doesn't appeal to some people, I think it's a fun place and theres certainly no lack of tourist trap experiences.

On that note, a bunch of us from the hostel went to go on a river cruise last night to see the Cormorant Fisherman. Pretty much these guys have trained birds that normally dive for food to instead dive for food, and then cough it up into the boat. I'm not sure why the birds go along with it, but it was really neat to see and I have a great picture of me holding a cormorant (they're pretty big!).

On the way back to our hostel we passed through a large outdoor market area where there are numerous stalls set up to cook all varieties of foods - the ingredients tend to be alive and in front of the wok where they inevitably meet their demise. My favorites stalls turned out to be the ones where they grill meet on a stick. I had been sticking to things like lamb, and beef but I decided to take the plung and try chicken feet! There's not a lot of meet on a chicken foot, but its fun (and tasty) to gnaw on it and try to eat the skin and little bit of meat on the bones.

Today I mostly spent bumming around Yangshuo and doing some souvenir shopping. This evening I'm going to help make dinner for everyone at 5:30, and hopefully pick up a few good authentic chinese recipes.

I would appreciate if people would leave some comments so that I know these pages are being posted - since the Chinese government censors web content, I can't view the blog homepage myself!

Take care, and I'll see you all soon,
Andrew

What an Adventure!

I can very vividly remember about 10 years ago seeing a place on a PBS travel show where people live in a surreal landscape of tropical rain forest, float down the many rivers in bamboo rafts, and drink a very uniqe oil tea. I'm glad to say that I've arrived.

I'm posting from the internet room of the Yangshuo Culture House, a very small hostel in Yangshuo China run by a guy named Wei (with 4.5 fingers on his right hand) and his family. Things here are really great and this is definitly one of the best places I've been on my trip so far. The scenery is absolutely incredible (go to images.google.com and search "yangshuo" or "guilin" which is another city nearby) and I feel more like I'm in Vietnam or Cambodia than China. Even the people look different than they did in northern china.

Two days ago I travelled from Xi'an to Yangshuo by catching a flight from Xi'an to Guilin, then a taxi into town, and a minibus to Yangshuo (about an hours ride). Once I arrived in Yangshuo I gave Wei a call and he came to pick me up. After handing me a helmet and taking my small bag to carry himself, we were off on his motorbike! (I was still carrying my big backpack!) We were quite a sight to the locals.

Once we arrived, dinner was served to everyone staying there (about 10 in total). Everything seemed to be of local origin and featured a lot of chili peppers, bamboo, eggplant, and a little meat - needless to say it was delicious.

The next day was probably the biggest adventure I've had since I left. Five of us from the hostel - A welsh couple, two australians, and I decided to take a bike ride around the countryside with the goal of going to a large cave outside of town. Things started off smoothly enough with us renting some mountain bikes for around $1.25/day and making our way to the trail head.

The ride through the countryside was absolutely amazing. All around Yangshuo are large limestone peaks that fade off into the distant mist. Between all of these are farmers who use water buffalos to pull the plows through their rice paddies. I would generally have to say that this is the most incredible scenery I've ever seen in my life. I simply wouldn' have believed it unless I hadn't seen it for myself. Simply mindblowing.

After about an hour on our ride we came to the point where we thought there should have been a bridge. Since our map was really no more than someones idea of what the bike paths might/should look like we weren't suprised when no bridge stood there. The only option? Hire a few rafts and have the locals ferry us across the river. We continued biking and came to the main road a little while later (did I mention I'm in the tropics in August, riding a bike through the countryside? It's a little warm by this point).

At this point things got bad - we first took a left and rode for about 2 miles. Then we realized that we should have gone right, so we turned around and went back those 2 miles PLUS another 3 miles. At this point we decided to confer with some locals who made it clear (even though they spoke no English) that we were somewhere completely different than we believed! We figure in retrospect that we had screwed up pretty early on and that we were just going back and forth for nothing (grrr!)

Once we realized where we were, our options were to bike all the way back to Yangshuo (about 10 miles at this point) or hire some locals to float us down the river on their rafts for an hour and a half (and a lot of money). Both of these woudl have meant missing the spelunking expidition we had already paid for. Then, I had a brilliant idea. We went across the street to where some covered trucks were parked and convinced one of the locals to load the of us, along with our bikes into the back of the truck and drive us to the cave. This wasn't any sort of normal human transport - in fact this truck was used to transport livestock (literally). After half our hour of bone jarring riding we arrived and went through the cave. I can't say the cave was my favorite, but it was a good time and the others seemed to really enjoy it.

The ride home was pretty uneventful and we soon found ourselves back in Wei's house where we devoured dinner (we had missed lunch). Soon afterwards we all passed out.

Today I'm going to buy another pair of shorts in town, and get a haircut.

Thanks for reading,
Andrew