The Wanderings of busman7

The first thing I noticed about China (I do NOT recognize China’s claim to Tibet) was upon awakening in the morning on the train from Lhasa to drab, dreary, mud colored shacks of the Chinese rural population. This was in direct contrast to the colorful houses I had been accustomed to seeing during the past week in Tibet, or the Siberian houses that might not be painted but at least had brightly colored shutters showing pride in the house. Actually they were the most sad sorrowful residences I have ever seen in my travels including the dirt-floored thatch-roofed houses of rural India.

The following day my arrival in Beijing which I have documented was the high point although the tour to the great wall was fine with a small group of 2 arranged by the concierge desk not the tourist desk at the Novotel. We were warned to buy only at government stores to avoid scams involving over priced fake products. Seems that scamming tourists is the biggest industry in Beijing.

For the past 2 years Jerry at Great Lakes College in Toronto has been telling me that when I get to Beijing just call the school there & some one would be happy to show me around.

HORSEFEATHERS

I called Jerry from Lhasa letting him know when I would be arriving in Beijing but disappointingly though not unexpectedly, never heard boo from anyone. However this is not just a Chinese thing it’s endemic all over. Give good service at good rates & all the thanks you get, even in Canada is “so long sucker!!!”

Did email one of the teachers but her reply came 3 days later on the morning I was to fly to the Philippines, too late.

So I won’t recommend China for anyone’s bucket list unless they have a bit of a sadistic streak & enjoy arguing with scammers or a death wish then they can go to Tibet & start a political argument!

That said on the tour to the great wall my companion mentioned that he had a skin condition that ordinary medicine was at a loss to cure or even relieve & wondered if Chinese traditional medicine might offer relief. Now the tour guide said that it was early enough in the day that should be able to get an appointment at the clinic that day. Dream on Canadians. She got on the phone & made 2, one for each of us, consultation is free.

After our tour we stopped at the clinic where first our temperature was taken (Almighty WHO & their pandemic) then he had a consultation where the doctor said he would send for the specialist, who arrived in less than 10 minutes (yes Canadians 10 MINUTES NOT months!!!!). 5 minutes later diagnosis done & prescription written.

As I have no doctor in Crapanada & little chance of finding one at my age & was there anyway & cost was zilch figured what’s to loose. The diagnosis covered the minor symptoms I have (Crapadian licensed quack couldn’t even diagnose stroke symptoms HMMMM!!!) so I spent the approx $100 on a 3 month supply on natural meds that’s supposed to be all I need. Scam???? Not knowing. Will let you know in 3 months. Any way less than 1/2 hr for 2 diagnosis’, prescriptions filled & out the door. Definitely NOT Canada!!!!! Maybe Cuba or India!!!

At least I kept my promise to the policeman at the border who stole my Lonely Planet, I got to Beijing saw the wall & got the first plane out of Dodge with no plans to return EVER!!!

Trivia & food for thought, hmmm might be time to start those courses in Mandarin if you plan on remaining in Canada. The combined population of Beijing + Shanghi is greater than all of Canada!

Not impressed with the seamier side of Manila but was warned about that & have cheap flight booked to Borocay in the morning. Hello beach & DHL winter clothes home, never again caca blanca LOL!!!!

Firstly I want to bring my readers up to date on the status of my mother, my children took charge & rescued her from incarceration in the bowels of Brockville General Hospital where she was serving time in purgatory due to Ontario’s UNcaring Health UNcare system. Any one without mega bucks or a family to go to bat for them in Crapanada is “SCREWED”!!!

She is now in a nice new assisted retirement home in near the family, thanks in part to my daughters SIL who works there who managed to pull some strings. Guess I did some thing right in bringing them up.

The only thing left to say about Nepal is it’s only 3 1/2 hrs away from the border with Tibet & the 1st 1 1/2 hr leaving KTM is on roads under construction that are the worst I have seen. The infrastructure problems apparently stem from being set up for around 350,000 people but population now is 3 – 4 million (depending on who you ask) with a corrupt government that funnels the money away from where it’s needed.

That Nepal is an interesting small country where one can enjoy the jungle’s wildlife in Chitwan National Park, climb Mt Everest or do various treks, shouldn’t be missed if in the area but it is best not to stay in the Thamel area. IMHO

After the bone shaking bus ride to the border it,s off the bus & walk up the hill to Nepal immigration then uphill some more & across the bridge where first thing you do is go through medical screening for swine flu (thanks loads WHO for the asinine level 5 pandemic alert) then immigration & customs baggage X-ray & check then the same process with the police where all they are interested in is stealing your Lonely Planet China guide book because Taiwan on the map. Naturally I put up a bit of a fuss about this so have to be careful what I write here while still traveling in China.

A warm & fuzzy welcome to China!!! NOT

My plans for a 25 day stay that my visa allows have changed, think when I reach Beijing it will be a trip out to the wall then the 1st flight I can get to Manila, or not depending on whether or not Great Lakes College comes through on their promise to show me around?

So far Tibet has lived up to it’s mystic of being “The roof of the world” & just seeing Mt Everest, all be it from afar was just an out of this world experience that all 4 of us in the jeep expressed together “WOW!! Mt Everest I never really believed I would actually see it!”

Of coarse no one was prepared for the state of oppression caused by the presence of the occupying Chinese army + the police force made up almost entirely of Chinese or the fact that our guide warned us about political discussion or taking pictures of the occupying forces. This presence was evident in all towns we passed through on the way to Lhasa where it was extreme! Therefore I didn’t feel safe in writing these remarks in the draft of my blog where they were on my computer visible to any one who chose to look as one has no rights in China.

Our tour group of 33 + another small group is traveling in a loose convoy of 12 Toyota Land Cruiser’s 4 people each, stayed at a fairly primitive guest house in Nyalam with 4 bed dorms the 1st night. Each jeep’s passengers to a dorm. Our group consists of a 30 something Brit girl + a Polish girl a bit younger & a 22 yr old guy from Maryland who get along well.

The 1st day we only traveled an hour or so from the border then had to stop until dark as the road was closed for construction during daylight hours then another 3 hrs to the guest house.

Second day we crossed the highest pass at 5200 meters then later on got our sight of Everest which stayed in sight on & off for the next couple hours & was the highlight of the day. We then spent the night at Lhaste a bit higher class with only 2/room.

Third day we only traveled 3 hours, with a stop for some good photo’s of the local domestic animals including Yak’s, to Shigaste where we are staying in a hotel with real western style toilets en suite + hot water showers (Ah paradise!! as anything where you don’t have to walk outside to a squat toilet is 5* Royal treatment LOL) & even one English channel on CCTV 9, no decadent CNN!

Fourth day was a short hop to Gyantse to visit the Khumbula stupa & the Phalkhor Monastery & stay at the Everest Hotel which lacked the hot water shower. Although did manage to locate some Chinese peanut butter in the local market along with fresh oranges & bananas not bad for the last week of Oct but this whole journey in Tibet has been amazing & no one on it really believes we are here, it will take some time for it to sink in that we are actually traveling on the roof of the world.

Day 5 saw us drive the final 200+ km to Lhasa with a couple photo stops for the incredible views. So yes Dorothy Lhasa really exists but it’s NOT in Kansas & this farm boy from the Townships is sitting in the Mandala Hotel updating busman’s blog (providing this isn’t one big dream)!!

Day 6 & 7 spent visiting local monasteries, prowling the Barkhor St market adjacent to the Mandela Hotel & watching the worshippers at the Jokhang temple which “is the busiest place in the center of old city “ the Roof of the world” Lhasa city” so says the hotel brochure. Our hotel was in a super location providing access to a fantastic market area with ATM & internet only a short walk away, even got a much needed haircut along with a massage just down the street.

Now the occupying army presence in Lhasa was taken from the extreme to the ridiculous with kids in “clown” suits & riot gear carrying BIG guns strutting through groups praying before the stuka just showing off how macho they thought they were. That along with the persistent rumors of a country road outside of town where dissenters were taken & used for target practice kind of left one with a not nice warm feeling for the Chinese which wasn’t alleviated in Beijing!

Day 8 & 9 train to Beijing arriving the morning of day 10.

Met some interesting people the first day of the train trip including an ex-pat Canadian working for the 4th largest Chinese cement company which alone does business equivalent to all North American companies (food for thought!) however most got off the next morning leaving the train quiet most of the day, then filling up once again as we neared Beijing.

Not sure if the design of the train cars was Bombardier’s or the Chinese but the old hard-sleeper cars on the Chinese Trans-Mongolian are preferable (IMHO) to the soft-sleeper ones on this train. A combination of little things adding up to making the 2 day trip more an endurance test than the enjoyable adventure of the 6 day trip from Moscow to Beijing.

So the busman arrives in Beijing after a 48 hr train ride on the piece of crap Bombardier built train from Lhasa at 08:30 (rush hour on a Monday morning) with no hotel reservation. As warned, practically no one in ... [Continue reading this entry]

Just to let all know that I am in Lhasa Tibet & won't be updating blog until I leave China also can't access facebook here.

Those words from Laxmi, my guide at The Jungle Lodge pretty much sum up the Bharatpur district of Nepal which encompasses Chitwan National Park or as an American with a house near there said on the bus ride down from ... [Continue reading this entry]

For the fourth time so far this trip my Capitol One Master Card that I carry as a backup saved the day when my fancy new BMO chip credit & debit cards “that work at any ATM in the world ... [Continue reading this entry]

The biggest day is apparently today with some streets blocked off & others nearly impassible but the whole city having a grand party & they really love their fire crackers. However some are still working as I managed to submit ... [Continue reading this entry]

OK once again my preconceived North American views on India proved completely erroneous!!

Firstly one can not judge India by North American standards & get an accurate reading on the country. Sure you can go staying at the 5* ... [Continue reading this entry]

As I expected Japan does not have the same atmosphere I experienced in Korea, as soon as you stepped off the ferry you could feel a different vibe. In the couple days I spent there it seems the major difference ... [Continue reading this entry]

My gamble paid off, got on the 11 am bus to Busan no problem then the subway leaves from the Express Bus Station & 21 stops later get off & only a 10 min walk to the International Ferry Terminal ... [Continue reading this entry]