I was in kunming it is a really nice city really nothing special about it... at all. they do have a "best buy" though which is kind of cool but not really since you can buy shrek 9 DVD's on the streets already for $1... So I left there and I am in Chongqing right now.
So I am just chilling in Chongqing getting ready to take a 4 day cruise down the Yangtze river. Chongqing is like hong Kong looks in old movies. i maze of streets lots of massive cramped buildings with laundry hanging out every window. i have spent the past 2 days soo lost i keep having to take little 50 cent taxi rides to get to landmarks. its embarrassing. Another interesting thing I am starting to get annoyed with is not being able to read chinese. my chinese is now good enough where i can tell a taxi driver where i want to go or buy tickets or something. I am proud becasue the boat ticket guy tried to tell me to "come back later because I don't speak english" which would have meant fuck all to me if i didn't speak chinese and couldn't understand him anyways i was able to say "no problem, i want a 3rd class ticket for the 4 day cruise. how much you crazy old bastard". the other thing is walking around i cant tell what half the shops are in chingching. its not as clear. and the signs mean nothing most storefronts just have people sittting around playing cards. are they insurance salemen, real estate, dentists, tatoo parlors... i cant figure it out. The ones with the 50 year old ladies in knee high white go-go boots with the look that says "I want too love you long time" those are clearly chinese language schools. but the rest ellude me. they all have big neon signs i guess the next step is to just learn to read.
tonight i leave for the cruise though. the Yangtze river cruise used to be something special because you pass through the 3 gorges but those are all filled up now due to the massive dam that china built in it. I always wanted to do the cruise so i will do it anyways.
I did go to the Chongqing 3 gorges dam museum which had cool videos and photos of all the villages that were flooded for the dam it also had exhibits of all the cultural stuff that is now under water. as well as a cool wildlife exhibit of all the species that are now drowned and or extinct. In fact recently the Yangtze river dolphin one of like 3 species of freshwater dolphin is now officially extinct. it is the first endangered species to become extinct in like 20 years or something. its a real shame because i heard they were delicious.
Anyway I am on a boat for the next 3 days contemplating my future because when i return to Beijing next week i am officially broke. if anyone has any career advice or job opportunities for me I am all ears.
i really wish i got on the ball with that pay pal donation button.
Friday, November 23, 2007
thanksgiving chinese style
I completely forgot it was thanksgiving. Thank you to troop 5 scout leader john "okie" o'conner for reminding. I had a delicious mexican chicken wrap for dinner. salsa is the new cranberry sauce.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
tiger leaping gorge.
I just got back from hiking tiger leaping gorge it was 20 km at around 2800meters.
and me and this engish guy did it in around 7 hours. Then we drank about 12 beers and I
slept for about 12 hours.
here are some photos i got of google images.
random quote
So I walk into a cafe in Dali and next to me next to me I see a couple of guys talking and I hear one say in a thick french accent:
"we french might be gay but we fuck your wife"
this just struck me as really funny.
"we french might be gay but we fuck your wife"
this just struck me as really funny.
Friday, November 16, 2007
dali
n 25.69208
e 100.15671
Its been a while. i have been in dali....
Dali is basically the bermuda triangle for backpackers. It is and old villiage next to a lake and srrounded by mountains. It also has all the pleasures of south east asia such as tons of little cafes and burritos.
I basically realized i have been here 2 weeks and need to escape. I am eagerly waiting for the bus now.
not really sure what to say. I originally came here met up with a group of australians that i met in urumuqi and stalked ever since. they came played some musc and moved on and then i never left. i have basically been hanging in cafes drinking tea and reading "100 years of solitude", at night been hanging out drinking absinthe and playing jenga with the locals. I have also gone for hikes in the mountains and some amazing trips around the lake to villages.
I have pretty much been hanging with the locals since i got here and got to go on an amazing trips across the lake to a famous chinese designers mansion. It is his show case piece of art. words cannot describe. I also have gotten off the beaten path to some special scenic spots.
another interesting fact is dali is the jamaica of china. there is ganja EVERYWHERE. little 60 year old ladies harass you wherever you go they chase after you saying "ganja, ganja, you want smokey some ganja". the bars have ganja cocktails, its growing wild everwhere. i was at some locals house and there where boxes of ganja everywhere and a whole room full of it. it is surreal like something out of a cheech and chong movie.
I am currently contemplating buying a bar/cafe and moving here forever.
next i am off to lijiang to hike tiger leaping gorge.
e 100.15671
Its been a while. i have been in dali....
Dali is basically the bermuda triangle for backpackers. It is and old villiage next to a lake and srrounded by mountains. It also has all the pleasures of south east asia such as tons of little cafes and burritos.
I basically realized i have been here 2 weeks and need to escape. I am eagerly waiting for the bus now.
not really sure what to say. I originally came here met up with a group of australians that i met in urumuqi and stalked ever since. they came played some musc and moved on and then i never left. i have basically been hanging in cafes drinking tea and reading "100 years of solitude", at night been hanging out drinking absinthe and playing jenga with the locals. I have also gone for hikes in the mountains and some amazing trips around the lake to villages.
I have pretty much been hanging with the locals since i got here and got to go on an amazing trips across the lake to a famous chinese designers mansion. It is his show case piece of art. words cannot describe. I also have gotten off the beaten path to some special scenic spots.
another interesting fact is dali is the jamaica of china. there is ganja EVERYWHERE. little 60 year old ladies harass you wherever you go they chase after you saying "ganja, ganja, you want smokey some ganja". the bars have ganja cocktails, its growing wild everwhere. i was at some locals house and there where boxes of ganja everywhere and a whole room full of it. it is surreal like something out of a cheech and chong movie.
I am currently contemplating buying a bar/cafe and moving here forever.
next i am off to lijiang to hike tiger leaping gorge.
Monday, November 5, 2007
chendu wrap up
So there was that saying come to chengdu when your young.....
I planned on passing through for 3 days and then ended up staying 2 weeks. Chengdu is like the austin texas of china. I can't say there was anything special everyday something just came up.
I spent my days reading books in the tea houses while the chinese people gambled. At night i would peruse the various evening refreshment facilities which were plentiful.
panda breeding center- paid like $10 to go to the panda breeding center it was very cool. pandas are just very cool animals. the tour got there around 8am the pandas came out frolicked a bit ate some bamboo and by 9 am they were back in there little house sleeping. leaving me to wander around a panda park for 2 hours until the tour bus brought me back to my hostel. On the tour with me was another american roughly 40 years old. major hippie in fact not only was he a major hippie but he spends most of the time travelling because he is the very successful owner of a head-shop called space cowboy in breckinridge colorado. He also told me the story of how he was arrested in thailand for possession of pot and had to buy his way out of prison and the country. which was possible because hi aunt apparently worked in the state department or something. scary shit.
hemp house - very mellow reggae-esque bar. the bar was owned by a couple got into some crazy adventures there. One incident involved me leaving at the end of the night and someone giving me a chunk of hash and telling me in chinese it was to help me sleep. I tried to reject the offer explaining that I'm an american we don't have hash and i don't really want it or know what to do with it. he forced me to take it then i jumped in a cab fell asleep woke up early and hit and internet cafe only to remember i had a chunk of hash in my pants pocket. then i remembered the story of the other guy getting arrested in thailand I started to have these paranoid fantasies. for one i text a friend saying how some random chinese guy gave me the chunk of hash and then i was even more paranoid because of those stupid bourne movies I was convinced the chinese government was tracking my cellphone. I kept thinking of that shitty ass movie whre vince vaugn wewnt to malaysia and then had to go back to share a prison sentence for possessing hash so that his buddy didn't get hanged. I kept thinking about doing life in a chinese prison with vince vaughn in the next cell saying "VEGAS BABY, VEGAS". anyways needless to say i went back to the hostel and chucked the hash and lived to tell the tale.
the little bar - this bar was cool it is a famous indie rock music bar in chengdu but looks more like a east coast pub. it was a regular pub which is rare in china because chinese people likey themselves shiny lights and karaoke. What made it more interesting was that it was fool of chinese hipsters. which were actually kind of hip. i went there one night to see a band ended up showing up late and chatting in chinese with the locals. I tended to go there every evening to meet up with the crew and chat. they taught me more chinese in 2 weeks then i learned in 6 months in beijing.
the jia bar - this was another reggae bar on the river. it ha a bunch of musical instruments and every night locals would go there to jam. it was very cool and one of the coolest hangouts i ever been to travelling. one night we were there and around 2-3ish the owner was telling us he was closing and tries to kick everyone out then ended up playing the drums him self until around 5.
I must also mention the australians i have been stalking. Way back when in urumqi these 2 australian girls offered me a free book and i then gave them a copy of for whom the bell tolls. after that i bumped into them every step along the way. and then one day i was walking along the river i heard my name called and there they were outside of the jia bar. prior to travelling in china they had been working in ocean park as musicians. their friend mickey meet up with them in chengdu so they played every night at the jia bar. They are probably the most famous people on the road right now. everywhere i went in chengdu people would ask me "where are your friends" where i would steal my friend tim's line but in chinese "wo mei you peng you" ( i dont have friends ) after which they would ask for the Australians i would say i dont know and people would shrug and turn away.
another funny australians story is from hip hop night at the hemp house. there was some american who came to chengdu and apparently decided he wanted to be the next eminem. at best he was mama-huhu. then after he was done KT started beatboxing and mickey started rapping totally on a whole higher level then then main event. the wannabe eminem just sat silently and watched with a sad look in his eye and a single tear rolling down one cheek. his dream to be a white rap superstar in china was dashed.
afterwards we went next store to a bar called the queen bee where the sign said ladies only but i got to go in because i was translater for one of the australian. I worked more magic for here than i ever worked for myslef in my whole life. we went back over to the hemp house to meet her boyfriend???? anyways he sat across from her we were on either side of her as the australian girl held he hand and stroked her hair. she kept telling me how shy she was so i was busting out in chinese shit like " your hair is beautiful it smells like flowers." and crazy shit like that. I love the fact she was all over this dudes girlfriend while right in front of him while the whole time telling me how shy she is.... right. i tried to work more magic but she said her boyfriend was there so I told her in chinese "no problem it will be our secret" and then she gave the australian girl her number.
I am like some fucked up poor chinese version of Cyrano.
I planned on passing through for 3 days and then ended up staying 2 weeks. Chengdu is like the austin texas of china. I can't say there was anything special everyday something just came up.
I spent my days reading books in the tea houses while the chinese people gambled. At night i would peruse the various evening refreshment facilities which were plentiful.
panda breeding center- paid like $10 to go to the panda breeding center it was very cool. pandas are just very cool animals. the tour got there around 8am the pandas came out frolicked a bit ate some bamboo and by 9 am they were back in there little house sleeping. leaving me to wander around a panda park for 2 hours until the tour bus brought me back to my hostel. On the tour with me was another american roughly 40 years old. major hippie in fact not only was he a major hippie but he spends most of the time travelling because he is the very successful owner of a head-shop called space cowboy in breckinridge colorado. He also told me the story of how he was arrested in thailand for possession of pot and had to buy his way out of prison and the country. which was possible because hi aunt apparently worked in the state department or something. scary shit.
hemp house - very mellow reggae-esque bar. the bar was owned by a couple got into some crazy adventures there. One incident involved me leaving at the end of the night and someone giving me a chunk of hash and telling me in chinese it was to help me sleep. I tried to reject the offer explaining that I'm an american we don't have hash and i don't really want it or know what to do with it. he forced me to take it then i jumped in a cab fell asleep woke up early and hit and internet cafe only to remember i had a chunk of hash in my pants pocket. then i remembered the story of the other guy getting arrested in thailand I started to have these paranoid fantasies. for one i text a friend saying how some random chinese guy gave me the chunk of hash and then i was even more paranoid because of those stupid bourne movies I was convinced the chinese government was tracking my cellphone. I kept thinking of that shitty ass movie whre vince vaugn wewnt to malaysia and then had to go back to share a prison sentence for possessing hash so that his buddy didn't get hanged. I kept thinking about doing life in a chinese prison with vince vaughn in the next cell saying "VEGAS BABY, VEGAS". anyways needless to say i went back to the hostel and chucked the hash and lived to tell the tale.
the little bar - this bar was cool it is a famous indie rock music bar in chengdu but looks more like a east coast pub. it was a regular pub which is rare in china because chinese people likey themselves shiny lights and karaoke. What made it more interesting was that it was fool of chinese hipsters. which were actually kind of hip. i went there one night to see a band ended up showing up late and chatting in chinese with the locals. I tended to go there every evening to meet up with the crew and chat. they taught me more chinese in 2 weeks then i learned in 6 months in beijing.
the jia bar - this was another reggae bar on the river. it ha a bunch of musical instruments and every night locals would go there to jam. it was very cool and one of the coolest hangouts i ever been to travelling. one night we were there and around 2-3ish the owner was telling us he was closing and tries to kick everyone out then ended up playing the drums him self until around 5.
I must also mention the australians i have been stalking. Way back when in urumqi these 2 australian girls offered me a free book and i then gave them a copy of for whom the bell tolls. after that i bumped into them every step along the way. and then one day i was walking along the river i heard my name called and there they were outside of the jia bar. prior to travelling in china they had been working in ocean park as musicians. their friend mickey meet up with them in chengdu so they played every night at the jia bar. They are probably the most famous people on the road right now. everywhere i went in chengdu people would ask me "where are your friends" where i would steal my friend tim's line but in chinese "wo mei you peng you" ( i dont have friends ) after which they would ask for the Australians i would say i dont know and people would shrug and turn away.
another funny australians story is from hip hop night at the hemp house. there was some american who came to chengdu and apparently decided he wanted to be the next eminem. at best he was mama-huhu. then after he was done KT started beatboxing and mickey started rapping totally on a whole higher level then then main event. the wannabe eminem just sat silently and watched with a sad look in his eye and a single tear rolling down one cheek. his dream to be a white rap superstar in china was dashed.
afterwards we went next store to a bar called the queen bee where the sign said ladies only but i got to go in because i was translater for one of the australian. I worked more magic for here than i ever worked for myslef in my whole life. we went back over to the hemp house to meet her boyfriend???? anyways he sat across from her we were on either side of her as the australian girl held he hand and stroked her hair. she kept telling me how shy she was so i was busting out in chinese shit like " your hair is beautiful it smells like flowers." and crazy shit like that. I love the fact she was all over this dudes girlfriend while right in front of him while the whole time telling me how shy she is.... right. i tried to work more magic but she said her boyfriend was there so I told her in chinese "no problem it will be our secret" and then she gave the australian girl her number.
I am like some fucked up poor chinese version of Cyrano.
08-08-2008
The lottery is over and i got notice for my 2008 Olympics tickets. I signed up for 10 events but only got 5.
they are as follows:
08-10-2008 Basketball 2 tickets
08-12-2008 Wrestling 2 tickets
08-14-2008 Table Tennis 2 tickets
08-16-2008 Basketball 4 tickets
08-23-2008 Taekwondo 2 tickets.
Apparently the was a large demand for womens judo because i was notable to get tickets for that.
Anyone out there want to come help me watch olympic ping pong?
they are as follows:
08-10-2008 Basketball 2 tickets
08-12-2008 Wrestling 2 tickets
08-14-2008 Table Tennis 2 tickets
08-16-2008 Basketball 4 tickets
08-23-2008 Taekwondo 2 tickets.
Apparently the was a large demand for womens judo because i was notable to get tickets for that.
Anyone out there want to come help me watch olympic ping pong?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
