Getting Back To Earth
Xianyang, Shanxi, China
May 31, 2009
We were awake at 6:30. I slept OK last night, I was awake for a while at one point. I don't think that I can handle these hard beds.
We showered and packed and ate breakfast at 7:30. I was able to get fried eggs today, toast, cereal and peanut butter (they kept my soy milk for me), dried up apple and tea. Bill had tea, juice, scrambled eggs, bread and bacon.
We used the internet for a 1/2 hour. Bill booked a new hotel in Beijing as the Holiday Inn is a 3 km walk to the subway. We are going to stay at the Park Plaza instead which is close to a subway line and the Forbidden City.
We walked through the Muslim area and took some photos. I like the leg of yak with fur still on it. We joined the pilgrimage crowd and headed through the alleys and back onto the street where our hotel is located. We stayed with them until the market, then we headed toward Johkang Temple. There is a lot of yak butter for sale at this time of the morning. Some of the stalls are just setting up now.
We walked into some shops, but did not buy anything. So, we headed to the park in front of Potala for some final daytime photos. Bill bought some sunglasses for 10 yuan ($1.75) instead of the original asking price of 120. We walked all the way around Potala. We were going counter clockwise, so we were against the walking traffic the whole time. Many people were walking their dogs, but only one person was walking their lamb. Yep, I said lamb!
We went past the 2 golden yak statues. One yak faces Potala and the other yak faces the museum. We headed toward the museum and turned too soon. I think it took us an additional 20 minutes, Bill thinks it was only an additional 10 minutes. It did not matter in the end because the museum is closed except for a small history exhibit from prehistoric times until the present. It was mostly signage with a little English. There were few artifacts such as a camel stamp, a tea pot, some shackles and other Tibetan serf torture devices and and a few documents.
The museum depicts a history of poverty for the Tibetan people. There were a few lords and many serfs that all served the Dalai Lamas. In present times the Tibetan people are much more prosperous and are thriving thanks to the aid of China. Of course, the museum has been presented from a Chinese perspective.
On our way to the bookstore we crossed through the park again. We were mangled by 5 Mongolians. The young lady wanted her picture taken with Bill and the four young guys had their picture taken with me. We also had a few "hellos" from some of the Tibetan children. They are almost as cute as the Myanmar children.
We bought two books - one has photos inside Potala and the other has pictures from inside Jokhang. We also bought a set of postcards for 46 yuan ($8).
We returned to the spot where we had lunch the first day, Tibetan Kitchen. I had the yak salad again and masala tea. Bill had yak curry, naan and Lhasa Beer. It was 65 yuan ($11.50) for lunch.
We walked around the North side of the temple to find a silver coloured bracelet that I found the other day. It has flowers and prayer wheels on it. I was able to buy it for 5 yuan ($1), the asking price was 15 yuan. Bill bought the red protector god mask for 90 yuan ($15) instead of the 250 yuan they were asking.
We rushed back to the hotel and checked out at 1:00. We were taken to the airport by the two Fridays (Pasang). Pasang II is picking up some Aussies at the airport. We were able to stop along the way to get some pics of yaks and sand on the mountains.
We learned some things from Pasang II. From April 1 - 15 in the Tibetan calendar (it is April 5th today) it is Tibetan celebration called the Sakadawa Festival. Tibetan Buddhists to commemorate the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death. It is one of the times of the year when pilgrims perform the prostration all around the old city (it takes 1/2 day).
During the summer there not as many pilgrims as they are mostly farmers and have to work during the summer. The number of pilgrims increase during the winter. This time of year is about average for the number of pilgrims in Lhasa.
Pasang II feels that Lhasa will change a lot over the next 5 - 10 years. There is a lot of construction in the area and it is Hon architecture and not in the Tibetan style. He thinks that there will be a loss of traditions here, but many good things (progress) has and will be made. An example is his farming family (5 boys and 1 girl) who lives in a small village. He said that his parents only had green vegetables once a month when they purchased them from Lhasa. In the past 5 years they have learned from the Chinese that they can use green houses. Now his parents can have green vegetables on a regular basis. Pasang II jokes that he grew up on a farm, but was the youngest and the naughtiest, so he does not know how to farm. Bill thinks it sounds like me and I can not disagree!
People still live quite simply, but are able to grow enough to support themselves and their families. Farmers grow barley, rapeseed, wheat and canola. They also grow fruit and veggies in the green houses. The cows are smaller here because they are free range animals.
Pasang II told a story that the buffalo and yak are the same. He said that the yak decided to take a journey and the buffalo gave him extra fur for his long trip. The yak ended up in Tibet. The buffalo always keeps his head up because he is looking for the yak to return.
We also learned that the most visitors to Lhasa are mainland Chinese, then Americans, then Europeans and then Australians.
Pasang II wanted to know our thoughts about Lhasa. We love it! There is no place like it on earth. The culture is incredible. We think that Potala Palace is comparable to the Vatican.
We arrived at the airport and said good-bye to the Fridays and Shingsure. The guys confirmed that the mask is the Red Protector.
We checked in and went through security without shoes (I really don't like that). A security lady wanted to take off my bracelets before I went through, but she could not undo one and waved me through in disgust. We were both manhandled by another female security guard and set free.
I was looking around for snacks and water, but could not find any water and they did not have a very wide/good selection of snacks. The only things available are cup o'noodles, jerky, cream filled pastries, Dove chocolates, coke, pepsi, iced tea with sugar and some other unknown beverages.
I tried eating some of the jerky we bought in Lijiang, but dumped it on the floor. I said a four letter word that meant something like Dang in front of a young English girl (oops, sorry!)! I ate some pistachios instead while Bill slurped down a Coke.
I ended up buying some expensive yak jerky (50 yuan, $8.50), I hope it is good. I ate some of my crackers for a snack and will try the jerky later.
We stood in line for the gate and when we were called to board people jumped in line ahead of us. A white guy in front of us did not like it either. We laughed and I said "I will never get used to that". He motioned to a couple of people and asked them to get to the back of the line.
Our lunch on the flight was chicken with rice or beef with noodles. It came with a bun and cold green veggies. I had tea and Bill had Coke. The flight was good, a bit of turbulence, but nothing too bad.
We arrived on time in Xian at 6:00. It is a balmy 31 degrees! I won't need my sweatshirt and long pants for the rest of the trip.
The tourist information lady was quite helpful. She gave us a map with ENGLISH! Hurray! She told us that the #1 bus goes to the Drum Tower in Old Xian.
The luggage took longer than usual, so there was not a stampede. It was amusing to watch people yank on the luggage carts though. You have to hold the handle down to "unlock" the brake and some people could not figure that out.
We went outside to catch the bus. I ended up shoving money in the ticket lady's face like everyone else to get a spot on the bus that had just arrived. It cost 25 yuan each ($9) for the bus ride to the Drum Tower.
Less than an hour later we entered the massive old city gate. They are incredibly impressive, as are some of the buildings. Everything is huge!
We hailed a cab and we thought he was taking us on the scenic route, but he did not. He took us straight to our hotel (we came in the West Gate instead of the North Gate on the bus).
As soon as we enter the lobby, I am ready to stay here forever! It is a massive, sleek, good smelling lobby! I was greeted by a lady who handed me a card with the address of the Sofitel, Chinese phrases, tourist sites (English and Chinese) and a number so that the cab driver recognizes which hotel to bring us to. How lovely!
We were given an upgrade to a premiere room. I am not going to argue with that! Our room has 2 closets in the foyer. There is also a large vase in the foyer. The room is carpeted (clean and modern) and has a cabinet with tea, a kettle, an ice bucket and a fridge. We have 2 sofas and a desk with 2 chairs. There are cushions in the bay windows. The bed is 8 feet wide and has a chaise lounge on one side. The television swivels to face the living area and the bed. The shower has a rain head and a detachable head and is surrounded by glass. The toilet is separated by glass too. There is a separate tub which deep and looks really good!
There are some nice little extras like shaving cream, a volume control for the TV in the bathroom, tissue, make up mirror, a flashlight by the bed and a scale. According to this scale Bill is 188 lbs and I am 139 lbs (I think it is off, I am in the 140s for sure).
We tried to put the F1 race on our TV, it is supposed to be on a channel that we have, but no such luck. We headed out of the hotel to the Remin Square area. There did not appear to be any bars, restaurants or hotels with the race on (or any TVs at all). So, we bought some Gatorade, coke and water and went back to our hotel. We checked the restaurants and lounges at our hotel (yes there are multiple ones) and no such luck.
We went back to our room. The blinds have been closed, we have chocolates on our pillows, they brought a newspaper to the room, closed the blinds to the bathroom, laid out bath mats beside the bed and put water on our beside stands. That is some kinda service!
We went to Cafe Ren at the hotel and selected a cheese platter - brie, swiss, soft blue cheese and 2 others with dried kiwi, dried cherry tomatoes infused with sugar and walnuts. It came with some good bread and soup crackers (a bit odd). YUM! We also had the mini canapes platter - tuna, smoked meat, salami, prosciutto, brie and smoked salmon. It was also very good. We selected the white wine sampler - sauvignon blancs from US, Chile and New Zealand. Two were very good and one was just OK. The wine would have been better if it had been a larger portion!!
After our late night snack/dinner we headed to our lovely, comfy, massive bed! It is divine!