Divine Detours

Now it's time for the second installment of Darin's travel horror stories. Buckle up, it might take a bit. The group and I had just finished a great day at the Stone Forest and we all had a good night's sleep. When Peter went online to book a hostel, he also checked his email. He received a note from his mom that recent terror threats had occurred at the Bangkok airport and that American citizens should not travel into Thailand. If they do, they should use extreme caution and contact the embassy. This is the good news that started off our day. Since we had been pretty disconnected to the news and current events, we didn't know how serious these threats were or if the attacks had been carried out. Apparently, they caught the first guy who planned to set off a bomb, but the second guy was still on the loose. Our plane tickets were booked and we took the note of caution, but continued with our plans to Thailand. (I kept this story from my mother until now for various reasons.)

When it was time to depart the hostel and say farewell to the big group, Peter, Andy, and I continued on with our massive, heavy bags to hail a taxi and start our short jog to the airport. We planned to leave the hostel 3 hours before our flight's departure time to leave us plenty of time at the airport just in case anything went wrong. Oh, it definitely was not according to plan from here to Bangkok.

The airport was about a half-hour away by taxi and we were in the downtown of Kunming so finding a taxi would be easy, right? Wrong. Every taxi we saw was occupied and every free taxi was picking up people who shoved their way in front of us or could easily run to the taxi without huge bags on their backs. Yes, we were running after taxis. We tried different streets, splitting up, but after 45 minutes we still had no taxi. Kunming is not that large of a city, but it was now beginning to be rush-hour. Our next option was the bus system. The three of us have become professionals in Wuhan, so with a phone call to our friends still at the hostel we asked for a bus number and stop info. They had local knowledge from the hostel check-in desk.

We got on the bus and figured out at which stop to get off and transfer to the next bus line which would take us to the airport. At this point I will thank Him for technology, the capability to text Chinese characters, and friends with exceptional language skills to get things right. After serveral texts and phone calls, we got off at the right stop. Now we just had to transfer to the next line, go three stops, and then go into the airport. It was now about 5:45, our flight left the runway at 7 pm, we were still doing alright. It would be close, but the traffic was better on the outskirts of town and we were almost there.

COMMERCIAL: Check out Peter's blog (on the left) to read about the 16 hour train ride from another perspective. He includes a video which might help you visualize our adventure.

We ran into traffic again: construction. After three stops we got off and looked around, but it didn't look like the airport at all. In fact, it looked a lot like the street and building where we got on this bus. It was the same building and the same street only, we were on the exact opposite side of the street. We had just got on a bus, gone three stops to the airport stop like the bus maps said, but we got off on the other side of the street where we just got on in the first place! We pointed to the bus sign with the list of stops showing concerned and confused looks. We pleaded with the Kunmingers around us to tell us how to get to the airport stop by a series of points, arms thrown up in the air, and broken Chinese words. They pointed to the other side of the street and back in the direction from which we had just come. This road which we were on was like a major interstate/highway in America. This means that there was no real "legal" way of crossing safely. The slender Chinese citizens could fit through the fence sideways, but our "stronger" builds could not fit and it was a bit too tall and unreliable to jump.

We had to go down the road a bit and cross through a break in the fence line. We threw our luggage over and played Frogger among the traffic to get to the bus stop we arrived at 20 minutes ago. It was now just after 6 pm and we were within an hour of our international flight leaving the airport! We got back on the same bus and found out it was only one stop and not three. This bus just happened to say the English name of the stop too.

The three of us hustled to the check-in desk, which was empty, scrambled through customs and security, which was empty, and made it to our gate at the scheduled boarding time for the flight. 10 minutes later we found out that our flight was delayed until 9:30 pm. Now it was two hours of waiting instead of immediate boarding. The Father has a sense of humor and reminds us who is in control at all times. We finally got off the runway around 10 pm en route to Hong Kong to make our connection. The original flight plan had us spending two hours in the Hong Kong airport, but that time had evaporated in Kunming while we waited for the HK flight. As we went along, I did the math in my head and the connecting flight in Hong Kong was scheduled to depart before our estimated time of arrival in Hong Kong. If we missed our connecting flight in HK, we would miss our flight the next morning to Phuket from Bangkok. The connecting flight was crucial.

I informed the flight attendants and they assured me that we would be first off the plane and escorted right to our gate for quick departure. We were the first off the plane and we did get escorted to our gate, but that flight was delayed too. We sat for another 20 minutes to catch our breath before departing from HK to Bangkok. It was now about 1 am. Do you see how this is all working out no matter how bad it seems to get for us?

We arrived safely in Bangkok around 3 am and slept until our check-in time of 6:30 am. We slept in the airport; the same airport which just days earlier was dubbed a terrorist threat and dangerous for American travelers. When has He ever left you? When will he forsake you? Our Father and Brother are always with us, guiding, protecting, and guarding our lives. And when harm befalls us, we look to him for help and he saves us. That is why He came, that is why he will come back: to save us. Wherever we are, He is always with us, now and forever.

Kunming

Our hostel in Chengdu helped us book some cheap plane tickets. We really didn't want to deal with trains for a while. We got in pretty early and checked out our rooms. We ate an area specialty for lunch: under-the-bridge noodles. They bring out a large personal bowl of hot broth and you throw in a combo platter of your choice. I got a couple strips of meat, veggies, and a healthy portion of noodles. It's kind of like a hot pot. You mix it all in and let it sit for a minute, then enjoy.

After lunch Brian, Andy, Peter, and I went to the Dwarf Empire. Peter found this on the top 10 weirdest places in the world to visit. This just happened to be a half hour drive outside of Kunming, China. It was also in the list of top 10 things to do while in Kunming. We didn't know what to expect. I saw some picture that Peter showed me online, but the whole thing sounded like a strange adventure. The scenery out there was beautiful (above). The story behind this special village is that a millionaire wanted to do something good with his money, so he created a place where dwarfed people could live and have a livelihood. If they lived elsewhere in the cities, they probably would not have jobs and they would be severely discriminated against. They showcase their talents for visitors, but the whole experience was very odd. They had a lot of odd things in their show too. Part of it felt like a circus, but part of it felt like these people are doing the best with what they have been given. It was a most awkward experience. (The king is pictured).

After catching up on sleep and talking about dwarfs a lot, we spent most of the next day at the Stone Forest. It was about 90 minutes outside of the city, but it was well worth it. The weather was beautiful and the sky was very blue - a change from the dirty, smoggy cities. This forest was special because it was made by the Creator. Has anyone ever gone into the effects of what massive amounts of water might do to the earth and large amounts of stone? This site remains a mystery as to just how all of it came about, but water seems to be involved, and I believe it is another visible evidence of the Almighty's power and plan for this earth. What beauty and majesty he shows us! Some of us came to the conclusion that we would just camp out for a couple days, sleeping by the rocks and climbing around trying to find the next gorge or crevice to crawl through. If only we had the time. We had fun walking off the beaten path. We found a lot of Chinese tourists on the path next to the "highlights" of the park, but the more interesting things were away from that, where things were quiet and we felt like the whole forest was ours. Take in the sites and give thanks to Him for his amazing creation!

There were plenty of other things to do in Kunming, but a lot of them were outside the city and usually required more than one day to see. We enjoyed the beautiful surroundings and the nice weather, but what travel journey isn't complete without a RAT. I never saw it, but as we ate our last meal in Kunming at a mediocre pizza buffet, Peter came back with a plate of food and a giggle in his throat. "A huge rat just ran from there to there right after I filled up my cup!" Or at least it went something like that. "Not just any rat," he said, "a fat ugly rat." And it had to be in our restaurant! Once again, the phrase that reminds us why we see, smell, taste, hear, and bump into the things we do comes into play: "This is China." And now it's time for another horrifying travel story. Stayed tuned for the next blog post!

Chengdu

After the marathon endurance test of a train ride, we checked into the hostel and did a little exploring. We set up a massage appointment to work out some of the aches and pains from the trip. This gave us comfort and we also found comfort in our food for dinner. Chengdu is located in the Sichuan province of China. The province is famous for its spicy food and hot pot. You go to a restaurant and order plates of meat and vegetables Then you throw them in the giant pot in the middle of the table which is filled with seasonings and spices. It cooks the food in a few minutes and it's ready to eat. The spicy was spicy and the non-spicy was flavorful. I love Sichuanese hot pot!

The next morning we took a trip to see the famous Chengdu panda institute and research center. They house the largest population of pandas and they breed them in order to keep their population from dying out. We saw old pandas and we saw young pandas. Most of the time they just hang out and eat bamboo, but we caught them in the morning when they are more active. . . eating bamboo. After the pandas, we walked around town during the afternoon to take in the sites and then after supper we attended another staple for the Sichuan province: the opera. Have you ever seen an opera with fancy costumes, lots of makeup, and fast changing faces? That is also a famous Sichuan thing. Not only did they sing and dance, but they included some other variety acts. The evening had a Chinese opera singer, an Erhu solo (look it up), shadow puppets, a marionette, a flute and horn solo (Chinese style), a comedy act which included fire, and the changing faces. All of the dialogue was in Chinese, so some of it was lost in translation.

Our last day was spent looking for a pizza place that sounded really good. The problem was our source was almost ten years old. Doesn't a place called Redbrick Pub and Pizzeria sound delicious for lunch? We didn't find it, so we went to a place that sold a mean burger and some awesome ice cream desserts. What a nice place to stumble into. We splurged a little bit, but we remembered the train ride that got us to this city and we justified our pricey lunch. Next, we headed toward the Tibetan part of town. There were lots of monks and lots of Buddhas and I heard a different language too. These mini cities really show the cultural history and complexity of China. The area was decorated for the upcoming new year. We went back to the hostel and relaxed after a day full of walking. Our next stop was Kunming and this time there would be no train!

Sleepless without a seat

If I had a hard time sleeping on a soft seat, I hadn't experienced standing room. When we arrived in Xi'an we had to book train tickets right away. The only problem was everyone goes home for the new year. No trains had seats. What happens with the most populated country when there aren't any train seats left? You fit as many people on the train as possible by charging them to stand in the aisle for the entire length of the train ride. Our trip from Xi'an to Chengdu just happened to last almost 16 hours.

This was an experience that made me say, "I am thankful for soft seats." Our train left Xi'an later in the day and we even bought tiny stools on which to sit in the aisle during the train ride. If you sit in the aisle, people will walk up the aisle to go to the bathroom, to refill their water, or simply to walk up the aisle. Service carts with food and other trinkets also come through every 10 minutes or less. Whenever I sat on my little stool it may be for a matter of 1-2 minutes. Then I had to stand up, collapse the tiny stool, and let whomever was walking through to squeeze by my fat American body.

If this hasn't peaked your interest yet, within the first hour 2 of our 6 stools broke. We feared for the others and began to sleep in shifts. Of course, my stool was one of them to go. Just before the stool broke, I enjoyed the company of the gentlemen around me as they lit up their cigarettes in the cabin instead of going to the end of the cabin by the doors in between cars. (Can you hear the sarcasm?) These men were 37 going on 4 and they also made this trip enjoyable.

I spent most of the night leaning against a seat trying to sleep while standing and jostling as the train bounced up and down and yanked back and forth. Thankfully, the next morning some passengers got off at one of the many stops we made on the way from Xi'an to Chengdu. A few seats opened up and as people walked around the train cars, I got to sit down from time to time. I caught 15 minutes of sleep here, 5 there, and 3 in another seat. About 2 hours from Chengdu, 3 of us made it to the dining car just to sit down from as long as we could. The lady wanted us to buy something of course, but it was a small price to pay in order to sit down.

This is one of my travel horror stories. Standing room on a slow train from Xi'an to Chengdu = character building. I have so much more to be thankful for now. May you never complain about the leg room on planes again.

Xi'an

How does someone start out the biggest journey of his life? You get on the wrong train, of course. Peter, Andy, and I had a soft seat train to Xi'an, but just after we got settled in to our seats with lots of leg room and plenty of space, a gentleman walks up and tells me that I'm in the wrong seat. I was in the right seat, but on the wrong train. The train was just across the walkway (the red one). His train was leaving in 60 seconds, so they held the door which had just closed and reopened for the dumb foreigners who didn't know which train to board. As soon as I left the train, the doors closed and it left for Shanghai (the complete opposite direction). Our train was the usual crowded space with the struggle for sleep - see previous post.

The first stop in Xi'an was the famous Terracotta Warriors site. This ancient burial site was uncovered and is still being worked on to reveal an emperor's thoughts about the afterlife. He set up all these warriors to guard his "kingdom" after he passed away. They uncovered 3 different sites, but these pictures came from the biggest one. The rest of the day was spent in the Muslim Quarter. There is a big influence there and a long history of Islamic influence in the city. Xi'an used to be the capital city of China during several ancient dynasties. It was also the end of the Silk Road - fun fact.

Day 2 in Xi'an brought some disappointment, we went to see a museum and a pagoda, but they were closed that day. So we went to a different pagoda, the Giant Wild Goose Pagoda. It was a foggy/smoggy day so the picture isn't too clear, but you get the idea. It is a Buddhist temple area and we did not go up to the top because it was foggy/smoggy and too expensive. We also spent some time at the House of Helen. She has a shop in the downtown area and she sells Chinese scrolls with passages on them from the Book. She takes requests and writes them out on the spot. I will tell you her full story when I get back.

Our last day in Xi'an was a hike up Mount Li. We wanted to go up Mount Hua (check out pictures online to see why) which is one of the most famous mountain peaks in China. This also makes it one of the most expensive to climb. We saved a lot of money and climbed the smaller one which was still very difficult (see the stairs). It took us a couple hours and we braved the cold and wind just to catch a hazy picture of below. At least we had a nice relaxing train ride to look forward to on the way to Chengdu, right? If I complained about being sleepless in a soft seat, just wait until I tell you about the train ride from Xi'an to Chengdu!

Sleepless in a Soft Seat

What do you do with a full week off before you travel on the biggest journey of your life? Travel, of course. In order to break in our walking shoes and navigational skills, Peter, Andy, and I went east to visit some friends and check out some of the other cities with teachers working in the harvest fields. Shaoxing was our first stop. Our overnight train from Sunday night to Monday morning was about 9 hours. We had soft seats to sit on and attempt some sort of sleep for the train ride. A few problems exist when sitting on a soft seat. They never shut the lights off in the train cabin. The leg room is made for Chinese legs. 6 people face each other with the leg space just mentioned. The back angle is a perfect 90 degrees taking away any lower lumbar support. I was smashed up against the window where the heater was also located and I had Peter's body heat right next to me. I was dressed for cold winter weather, not a sauna. I got maybe 4 hours of sleep total. Time passed by so slowly. I was sleepless in a soft seat.

Thankfully, things like train rides are only temporary. I was greeted with smiles and hugs by Shaoxing friends. We checked out stuff like a market, a pagoda (pictured), Shaoxing's famous winery (some samples too), and then we relaxed for the second part of the day. The whole crew in Shaoxing got together for supper and we gave thanks for the blessings of food and fellowship. Part of our reason for coming so far from "home" was to see a classmate visiting China over his Christmas break in the States. He and his girlfriend joined our triumvirate and the next day we spent in Hangzhou.


Before we could get out of Shaoxing, I first had to get out of the bathroom. The door I closed behind me was a little broken when I went in and a lot broken when I tried to get out. The bolt had disconnected from the handle and was just resting in the door frame as it should when it locks. But when I turned the handle or unlocked it, the bolt didn't move from between the handle and the door frame. It was almost a half hour or so until just the right connection from both sides of the handle set the bolt back in place and we turned the handle to get me safely out. Phew! We were contemplating breaking the door, climbing out windows, and breaking a fake window on the door just to free me.


Our group of 5 took a morning bus to Hangzhou and met up with the shepherd there to drop our stuff and get some info on the city. We ate lunch together and explored the area around West Lake. It is one of the most famous things to see in China. Hangzhou is a beautiful city and the park surrounding West Lake is nice and green. I surmise that things are more pleasant in the spring and summer months. One of the shopping streets we went down had a street show with various acts: a boy spinning some bowls around everywhere, a girl with a whip, and a guy who caught metal balls in a cup on his head after throwing them into the air. The girl used the whip to cut a cigarette in half while it was in a guy's mouth and other cool stuff. Our time in Hangzhou was pretty limited, but we enjoyed the upscale and green city. It was a nice change from Wuhan. 5 became 3 again and we took the bullet train to Shanghai that night, reaching speeds of almost 190 mph.

We just explored the downtown area of Shanghai the next day. The famous Bund along the river gave us good photo opportunities. Their architecture is stark contrast from the modern buildings across the river. The big thing we did that day was to go up to the 100th floor of the Shanghai World Financial Center. (It's the tall one with the open square at the top.) I stood 1,555 feet off the ground. It is the tallest observation deck in the world. We left the Bund area until the lights came on and took some more pictures before catching our return train home. Luckily no soft seats for the return trip.

A Hidden Getaway

Happy New Year! What a joy to know that He is the same yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever! I have taken a bit of a Christmas/New Year break from the blogging. I thank you for your continued support, thoughts, and talks with the Father as we await the day of His return. Last week, Peter and I decided to visit Chairman Mao's Wuhan villa. We had 2 days off from school and instead of sitting around, watching movies, and eating sweets, we explored what this massive city has to offer.

When the infamous leader used to visit Wuhan he stayed at his villa located on East Lake. As we tried to locate the exact location of his villa, we found no address . All we had to go on was a location on East Lake. We tried Google this and that, but all we found were descriptions, no address. We took a bus to East Lake and hailed a taxi. When we told him where to go in simple Chinese, he drove around for a little while as he tried to call his boss. He also got on the taxi radio to see if the other drivers knew how to get there. As he was driving around a very secluded neighborhood, a Chinese friend of ours also called and talked to the taxi driver. So it took three different sources to help in this hunt for the villa. The taxi driver also asked three or four different groups of people walking along the road if we were close.

We found it and ended up being a little disappointed with our search. We took numerous pictures from outside two of the three buildings at the compound. They were locked up because now one of the buildings hosts government meetings. We also walked around the grounds trying as many doors as possible. No luck. It was a nice place. Mao came here to think, write some poetry, relax, swim, and meet with other diplomats to impress them. I included a few pictures of the sights I saw that morning.