As promised (or threatened?) by Norman, our day trip to Mozambique began promptly at 7am. All 6 of us piled into their Ssang Yong Rexton, a Korean SUV with a Mercedes-built engine. This car has a 100 liter diesel gas tank, so we were able to drive all the way to Maputo and back on one tank. We were joined by Norman and Faith's youngest daughter, Naomi, who is twelve years old. Her older sister Johanna stayed behind as she had to work at the pharmacy.
We drove through Ezulwini and then through Manzini, the industrial capital (such as it is) of Swaziland and then headed out further east towards the border. We passed an enormous sugar cane plantation with cane in various stages of readiness for harvest. When the cane is cut, it is first burned to get rid of the extra vegetation that is not needed for the processing portion. When the cane fires are lit, apparently all manner of creepy crawlies come dashing out of the plants, including many snakes such as the deadly black mamba! We could smell the sugar cane plant long before we could see it--the stench reminded me of the International Paper mill in Ft. Henry, NY. It stunk!
We reached the Swazi border with Mozambique after about an hour of driving and duly had our passports stamped for exit with no problem. However, we ran into a spot of trouble at the gate that officially let us out of Swaziland and into the Mozambique side of the border station. The Swazi guard didn't want to let us out because Norman only had the title of the Ssang Yong car, and not the registration. Norman argued in Swazi very agilely with the guard but he seemed adamant. I was quite stressed, as I definitely wanted to get to Mozambique, and it was so close! Finally the guard let us through, claiming that my father with his gray hair was too old to be kept waiting. Faith later explained that Swazis revere the elderly. I'm quite sure my dad was none too pleased to be counted among the elderly, but at least we got across the border!
The Mozambique side was considerably less organized than the Swazi side. Illegal money changers swarmed our car trying to get us to exchange for the Mozambique currency, the metical, but their rates were too low for our taste (4.2 to 1 SA rand). There were also hawkers advertising Mozambican car insurance. Norman bought some from a guy he knew as he explained that South African insurance companies often took a long time to process your claim, and you might have to spend the night in Mozambican jail, whereas if you got a local insurance company to handle it, your claim would be processed much quicker. I guess it is very much like driving your car into Mexico!
We all had to fill out embarkation forms, even Faith and Naomi who were traveling on Swazi passports, and our US passports were taken away so they could check to see if we were on Interpol and to issue the visas. They were very cheap at this crossing, only 130 Rand. Had we gone to the embassy in Pretoria we would have paid over $100, as they base the cost of the visa on what it would cost for a Mozambican to go to the US. What a deal! After waiting about 10 minutes, the guard came back with our passports newly stickered and stamped. We piled back into the car and headed out into Mozambique!
We took the road down towards Maputo and the coast that used to be called the "Hell Run" during the days of the civil war. Armed brigands would hide by the road and attack cars with RPG weapons. Norman said that sometimes he would hear that friends had gone to Mozambique for the day and just wouldn't come back as they had been killed. Cars would travel through this corridor in a caravan with armed escorts. It was mostly deserted and peaceful so it was hard to imagine such things happening. Norman also mentioned that once he was driving on this road and his bodyguard at the time pulled over to pee and stepped on a land mine. The explosion resulted in a leg amputation. Much of Mozambique is still peppered with mines and travelers must take caution when venturing off roads.
The drive to Maputo was very interesting. The land flattened out and we headed down towards the Indian Ocean. We saw a lot of flourishing business but also signs of the old Communist regime--statues of stars, hammers and sickles, ugly utilitarian buildings and even some bombed out buildings left over from the war. We also stopped for breakfast at a hotel near the border where I had some truly delicious coffee and a sort of cheese egg sandwich on a fluffy bread.
When we got to Maputo the early start caught up with me; I napped while we got stuck in a traffic jam. I missed our trip through the southern part of Maputo and awoke when we reached the ferry dock for Catembe Island. The ferry dock was an utter madhouse, as you can imagine. Our car was swarmed with vendors offering shoes, jewelry, clothing, watches, wallets, belts, CDs and DVDs. I smartly negotiated for a nifty pair of flip flop sandals with the Mozambican flag on the footbed as I had only brought my sneakers. Faith bought three counterfeit Bafana Bafana jerseys for her family and Norman insisted on a Timex watch that we were pretty sure had been stolen.
We waited in the ferry queue for about 30 minutes for the ferry to arrive, it seemed to take much longer loading on the other side than it did crossing the channel from the island. This would prove to be prophetic. I have traveled on car ferries before, but they are the kind where you drive into the cargo area and then the upper decks are passenger areas, such as the Jadrolina ferries that depart from Split to other Croatian Islands. Well, in Mozambique you get probably a 4th or 5th hand ferry that has been through the wars, literally, where 14 vehicles are crammed like the world's most busy parking lot along with as many passengers that could squeeze on while the ferry operators are performing their remarkable conducting dance to get all the cars fit onto the deck. We were amazed that so many cars could fit in so small a space! At last, a huge cement truck lumbered into the center space and we were off. The ferry tilted somewhat precipitously when the truck drove on, but I tried not to think about what would happen if we were to sink. Luckily, the channel between Maputo and Catembe is relatively narrow, and I promised my mom that I would help her swim to shore if it was necessary.
We climbed up to the deck next to the bridge for a nice breeze and a good view of the madness below. In order to access the top deck, we had to climb up into the passenger area and go through a door marked "Authorized Personnel Only." The "authorized personnel" in the bridge didn't bat an eyelash when I climbed up in there, so I just went out the side door and enjoyed the fresh air. We got a great view of some traditional fishing dhows, with their bright paint and colorful sails, as well as the smaller water taxis that ferry pedestrians who don't care to wait for the car ferry to fiddle about with loading and maneuvering.
When we got to Catembe the unloading process was slightly less chaotic, although the passengers just streamed off the ferry with little regard for the cars so we moved at a snail's pace. The island seemed very untouched by the modern world, with small bungalows, sandy roads and tons of fruit trees everywhere. We drove around enjoying the view and tried to get to the opposite side of the island, but missed the turn off, so we ended up at Hotel Marina on the beach to get a late lunch. The hotel had a gorgeous view of the Maputo skyline (which is nice as it is on a peninsula) so we sat on the veranda enjoying a drink and the sunshine.
I climbed down to the beach, which had a fine sand and clean water. There were plenty of neat shells to poke through and even some ghost crabs scuttling about. Except for an old fisherman mending an enormous net and a young boy herding goats, I was the only one on the beach. A dhow looked to be making land just in front of me, and I wanted to see what they had caught, but then the wind changed so they had to make for another area of the beach to land. I went back up to the veranda of the restaurant just as much large order of buttery, lemony, spicy prawns arrived. Bliss! The restaurant also had some funny stray cats who hung around obviously expecting the scraps from our seafood feast. Eventually they were rewarded with some snapper from Naomi and some fish skin from me.
We got back in the car to try to make the 6pm ferry back to Maputo and we did make it, although there was quite a bit of excitement with the loading as there were several light trucks gumming up the works as well as a bakkie overloaded with furniture and a trailer. Eventually we made it across and were back in downtown Maputo just as the sun set. Norman gave us a great tour of the city, showing us Embassy Row, the fancier houses, the fish market, the coastal road, the Costa del Sol hotel and even a stop at a patisserie where we got some snacks for the long drive home.
We made the border with Swaziland around 10pm and had to rouse Naomi from the nest she had made in the far back seat of the Rexton. We all trooped into the border station where we had to fill out the exact same embarkation card we had in the morning. On the way out I found someone's Mozambican passport on the ground. Alas, I did not resemble the person at all (named Ignacio something or other) so I gave it to the man in the border station. He seemed peeved that I had potentially created extra work for him.
The Swazi side was of course much friendlier and they joked that we were guest of the king. I must give them credit, they noted that my father had driven in with a car registered in South Africa and why did we not have it with us now? Norman explained that he had driven us and that the car was still in the house in Ezulwini. We paid our 50 rand road tax and headed back into the night.
The road was foggy as it was so late and we had gone back up into the mountains. It was noticeably cooler as well. We passed the checkpoint for hoof and mouth disease where a soldier is supposed to check your car for illegal bush meat, but due to a recent incident where a disgruntled citizen put laxatives in the meat, which was then grilled and eaten by the inspectors who then had quite a bad night of it, the inspection has become much more cursory.
We made it back to the house quite late, around 11:30, and all tumbled into bed exhausted after a long day. I made sure to grab a quick bite in the main house, however, as Johanna had made a delicious creamy broccoli bake and some fabulous, spicy fried chicken. I'm normally not a big night eater, but the chicken smelled so good and I wanted to make sure I got some of it before it disappeared!
Showing posts with label TRAVEL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label TRAVEL. Show all posts
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
A Drive to Swaziland
My dad has made friends with a South African/Swazi couple named Norman and Faith. Norman used to be CEO of a guarantee fund who was one of USAID's local partners for my dad's project, and he and my dad got to be friendly. Norman was always inviting our family to visit their home in Swaziland, so we were lucky enough to be able to go this weekend now that I was in Africa as well.
Swaziland is a small kingdom, one of the world's few remaining absolute monarchies, located on the eastern edge of South Africa and bordering Mozambique. The kingdom is a small part of the ancestral Swazi land holdings, which used to reach through Mpumalanga province and part of Kwa-Zulu Natal as well. Even Maputo and the surrounding area used to be part of Swaziland. Now King Mswate III rules and famously has 14 wives, the youngest of which was 17 when they wed and the wedding took place during a 5 year sex ban for younger people in the country, in an attempt to lower the shockingly high AIDS infection rate.
I had a meeting in Sandton on Friday morning, so we left around 9:30am, and of course got stuck in morning traffic heading to Pretoria (after getting stuck in hideous traffic getting to Sandton, which resulted in me and my boss being late for our meeting). Once we got on the N1 towards eMahelene (can't they just say EAST??) traffic thinned out and we were treated to a long drive of rolling wheat fields and power lines. Yup, that's Gauteng province. Eventually we passed into Mpumalanga (my favorite province name!) and left the highway for two lane local roads. The last 50k or so before crossing the border into Swazi takes you through an enormous tree farm with acres and acres of pine trees and sawmills. It's pretty country, despite the uniform lines of trees marching across the horizon.
The South Africa-Swazi border is a pain in the ass to cross, mainly because the South African side of the border station is a pathetically crappy and depressing low-ceilinged corridor with not enough windows open. The line goes down the hall, out the door and into the road. Commercial truckers are mixed in with regular passenger cars and there is only one customs window open for SARS declarations, hence the long line. We had to declare our car and show the registration number as well as any electronics we brought in. I didn't feel like looking up the serial numbers of our cameras so I just made them up. Yeah, I'm a scofflaw!
Then, once your vehicles and electronics are declared, you then must shove into the masses at the immigration windows. The woman who handled our passports simply could not find my parents' long-term residency permits in their passports and had to call over her supervisor, who of course found them immediately. I guess she was confused by the Slovak and Croatian long-term residency permits which were also in their passports, as well as the multiple passport pages extensions. Once we cleared South African customs, we then had to get back in the car and drive across the no-mans land to clear Swazi customs, which were much simpler. The Swazi border station is a bright and airy room with friendly employees and only a 50 rand road tax, which seems fair. There is no visa fee to enter Swaziland and we all had our passports stamped with no issues.
We were pleased to note that the Swazi road system was excellent, with a large, divided multi-lane highway as well as well-maintained local two-lane roads. My only grump is that people tend to drive extremely slowly, 60km even in 120km sections. Even the minibus taxis drive slowly! After playing Gran Turismo: Johannesburg edition for so long, it was refreshing.
Central South Africa, including Johannesburg, is located on a high plateau. Swaziland is where that plateau begins to head down to the sea, although the country is decorated with many picturesque mountain ranges. Our hosts' house is in a down called Ezulwini, which means heaven. It is an apt name, as it is located in a mountain valley with two impressive mountain ranges on either side. They have a clear view of Execution Rock, which is where the old king used to push offenders off, including political activists who wished to do away with the monarchy!
Our drive took us six hours, so we were quite tired when we arrived. After a chance to nap and freshen up, Faith and Norman took us to their friend's Portuguese/Mozambiquan restaurant for dinner. We had a fabulous meal of prawns, fish, chicken, livers, pork sausage and spicy, spicy curries. We met the proprietress, Auntie Nan, a dynamic, hilarious woman who was wearing a very glamorous caftan sewn by King Mswate III's tailor himself and her enormous and quiet husband, Justin. Her restaurant was hopping with locals who all stopped by our table to say hello as well as plenty of out of towners who were in Swazi for the big mountain bike race to be held on Saturday. Faith and Norman call Swaziland "Smallville" because everyone knows everyone else with the population under 1 million citizens.
After our long dinner, fueled by much sangria consumption, we rolled off to bed with the warning that the day trip to Mozambique would start at 7am and we had to be ready and well rested!
Swaziland is a small kingdom, one of the world's few remaining absolute monarchies, located on the eastern edge of South Africa and bordering Mozambique. The kingdom is a small part of the ancestral Swazi land holdings, which used to reach through Mpumalanga province and part of Kwa-Zulu Natal as well. Even Maputo and the surrounding area used to be part of Swaziland. Now King Mswate III rules and famously has 14 wives, the youngest of which was 17 when they wed and the wedding took place during a 5 year sex ban for younger people in the country, in an attempt to lower the shockingly high AIDS infection rate.
I had a meeting in Sandton on Friday morning, so we left around 9:30am, and of course got stuck in morning traffic heading to Pretoria (after getting stuck in hideous traffic getting to Sandton, which resulted in me and my boss being late for our meeting). Once we got on the N1 towards eMahelene (can't they just say EAST??) traffic thinned out and we were treated to a long drive of rolling wheat fields and power lines. Yup, that's Gauteng province. Eventually we passed into Mpumalanga (my favorite province name!) and left the highway for two lane local roads. The last 50k or so before crossing the border into Swazi takes you through an enormous tree farm with acres and acres of pine trees and sawmills. It's pretty country, despite the uniform lines of trees marching across the horizon.
The South Africa-Swazi border is a pain in the ass to cross, mainly because the South African side of the border station is a pathetically crappy and depressing low-ceilinged corridor with not enough windows open. The line goes down the hall, out the door and into the road. Commercial truckers are mixed in with regular passenger cars and there is only one customs window open for SARS declarations, hence the long line. We had to declare our car and show the registration number as well as any electronics we brought in. I didn't feel like looking up the serial numbers of our cameras so I just made them up. Yeah, I'm a scofflaw!
Then, once your vehicles and electronics are declared, you then must shove into the masses at the immigration windows. The woman who handled our passports simply could not find my parents' long-term residency permits in their passports and had to call over her supervisor, who of course found them immediately. I guess she was confused by the Slovak and Croatian long-term residency permits which were also in their passports, as well as the multiple passport pages extensions. Once we cleared South African customs, we then had to get back in the car and drive across the no-mans land to clear Swazi customs, which were much simpler. The Swazi border station is a bright and airy room with friendly employees and only a 50 rand road tax, which seems fair. There is no visa fee to enter Swaziland and we all had our passports stamped with no issues.
We were pleased to note that the Swazi road system was excellent, with a large, divided multi-lane highway as well as well-maintained local two-lane roads. My only grump is that people tend to drive extremely slowly, 60km even in 120km sections. Even the minibus taxis drive slowly! After playing Gran Turismo: Johannesburg edition for so long, it was refreshing.
Central South Africa, including Johannesburg, is located on a high plateau. Swaziland is where that plateau begins to head down to the sea, although the country is decorated with many picturesque mountain ranges. Our hosts' house is in a down called Ezulwini, which means heaven. It is an apt name, as it is located in a mountain valley with two impressive mountain ranges on either side. They have a clear view of Execution Rock, which is where the old king used to push offenders off, including political activists who wished to do away with the monarchy!
Our drive took us six hours, so we were quite tired when we arrived. After a chance to nap and freshen up, Faith and Norman took us to their friend's Portuguese/Mozambiquan restaurant for dinner. We had a fabulous meal of prawns, fish, chicken, livers, pork sausage and spicy, spicy curries. We met the proprietress, Auntie Nan, a dynamic, hilarious woman who was wearing a very glamorous caftan sewn by King Mswate III's tailor himself and her enormous and quiet husband, Justin. Her restaurant was hopping with locals who all stopped by our table to say hello as well as plenty of out of towners who were in Swazi for the big mountain bike race to be held on Saturday. Faith and Norman call Swaziland "Smallville" because everyone knows everyone else with the population under 1 million citizens.
After our long dinner, fueled by much sangria consumption, we rolled off to bed with the warning that the day trip to Mozambique would start at 7am and we had to be ready and well rested!
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Africa the Long Way
I flew out of Burlington "International" airport after having a nice brunch with my good friend from forever ago, Jon, who was kind enough to drive me to the airport (and drop off Pete the cat at my aunties' house). I was on Delta through Detroit and then Amsterdam, so it was a little less convenient than flying direct from JFK like the last time.
I got to Detroit around 5pm and went to my gate and found they had another flight leaving for Amsterdam right then. They asked me if I wanted to go, but I told them I'd only go if they could put me in business class. "Sure!" says the guy. Um, YES PLEASE. As you might imagine, business class is wonderful! Lie-flat beds, personal entertainment screen, delicious food and space. I opted not to sleep, since I had napped on the Detroit flight and I didn't want to miss a minute of my luxurious time in the air.
I landed in Amsterdam around 7am local time, so I had about two hours to kill before my flight to Johannesburg. I stopped by the transfer desk and asked if I could get an emergency exit row seat for the flight and they said sure, no problem! So, I got the seat I wanted. I then went into the first class lounge, which was quiet, and just read some books on my new iPad. As a reader I like it, but some people don't. Not my problem.
I found some eyedrops and my favorite Stabilo pens at the shopping area and then went to my gate. Amsterdam-Schipol has this stupid system where you have to go through another security check before you get on the plane, even though you've already gone through airport security to get to the concourse. It means that just before boarding, you have to queue in a long line, go through security again and be stressed.
Before you can even sit down in the gate area, they scan your ticket. When mine scanned, they said, "Oh, your seat has been changed to 31D." I explained that I had asked for Emergency exit row and I wanted to make sure that seat hadn't been taken away from me. I had to wait for the supervisor to check and he was a nasty little man who clearly had woken up on the wrong side of the dyke this morning. He interrogated me as to why I hadn't paid 50 euros for the seat, which made me defensive and stabby. He told me that I didn't have a good enough excuse to get emergency exit row and I asked him if he'd care to measure my inseam to check the length or if he'd like to have an arm wrestling contest to see how strong I was. He told me that he'd seen people who were taller and stronger. What a jerk! I'm sure something very unpleasant, such as a bird pooping on his head, will happen to him soon. Anyway, I got my (free) emergency exit row and swanned onto the plane with as much dignity as yoga pants and a Tyrannosaurus Text shirt will allow.
It has been a long time since I flew KLM and let me tell you, they have really gone downhill. The plane was shabby and worn. My seat had a weird lump on it. The food was crappy and the flight attendants more indifferent than normal. I was very tired so I slept for most of the flight, missing my kosher meal and awaking in time for the snack before landing.
As expected, my bag did not make it on the flight from Amsterdam to Joburg, so I exited customs since I didn't see a bag check desk, but unfortunately it was in a different section of the baggage claim area, so I had to go back inside through the employee entrance (which was rather terrifyingly easy) and then make a claim. They had a printout with my name on it showing that they knew in advance that my bag was on the flight (jerks!) so it was coming on tonight's flight, which meant that I wouldn't get it until Wednesday morning. Awesome. This is Africa!
Anyway, after a rather eventful drive home where the entrance to the N3 north was completely blocked off with no warning, necessitating a short trip on N3 south with an unmarked exit to cross over to the other side, we made it back to Cedar Lakes and I slept for about 12 hours. When I woke up this morning, I had spent about 18 of the past 24 hours asleep.
This weekend we hit Swaziland and Mozambique, can't wait!
I got to Detroit around 5pm and went to my gate and found they had another flight leaving for Amsterdam right then. They asked me if I wanted to go, but I told them I'd only go if they could put me in business class. "Sure!" says the guy. Um, YES PLEASE. As you might imagine, business class is wonderful! Lie-flat beds, personal entertainment screen, delicious food and space. I opted not to sleep, since I had napped on the Detroit flight and I didn't want to miss a minute of my luxurious time in the air.
I landed in Amsterdam around 7am local time, so I had about two hours to kill before my flight to Johannesburg. I stopped by the transfer desk and asked if I could get an emergency exit row seat for the flight and they said sure, no problem! So, I got the seat I wanted. I then went into the first class lounge, which was quiet, and just read some books on my new iPad. As a reader I like it, but some people don't. Not my problem.
I found some eyedrops and my favorite Stabilo pens at the shopping area and then went to my gate. Amsterdam-Schipol has this stupid system where you have to go through another security check before you get on the plane, even though you've already gone through airport security to get to the concourse. It means that just before boarding, you have to queue in a long line, go through security again and be stressed.
Before you can even sit down in the gate area, they scan your ticket. When mine scanned, they said, "Oh, your seat has been changed to 31D." I explained that I had asked for Emergency exit row and I wanted to make sure that seat hadn't been taken away from me. I had to wait for the supervisor to check and he was a nasty little man who clearly had woken up on the wrong side of the dyke this morning. He interrogated me as to why I hadn't paid 50 euros for the seat, which made me defensive and stabby. He told me that I didn't have a good enough excuse to get emergency exit row and I asked him if he'd care to measure my inseam to check the length or if he'd like to have an arm wrestling contest to see how strong I was. He told me that he'd seen people who were taller and stronger. What a jerk! I'm sure something very unpleasant, such as a bird pooping on his head, will happen to him soon. Anyway, I got my (free) emergency exit row and swanned onto the plane with as much dignity as yoga pants and a Tyrannosaurus Text shirt will allow.
It has been a long time since I flew KLM and let me tell you, they have really gone downhill. The plane was shabby and worn. My seat had a weird lump on it. The food was crappy and the flight attendants more indifferent than normal. I was very tired so I slept for most of the flight, missing my kosher meal and awaking in time for the snack before landing.
As expected, my bag did not make it on the flight from Amsterdam to Joburg, so I exited customs since I didn't see a bag check desk, but unfortunately it was in a different section of the baggage claim area, so I had to go back inside through the employee entrance (which was rather terrifyingly easy) and then make a claim. They had a printout with my name on it showing that they knew in advance that my bag was on the flight (jerks!) so it was coming on tonight's flight, which meant that I wouldn't get it until Wednesday morning. Awesome. This is Africa!
Anyway, after a rather eventful drive home where the entrance to the N3 north was completely blocked off with no warning, necessitating a short trip on N3 south with an unmarked exit to cross over to the other side, we made it back to Cedar Lakes and I slept for about 12 hours. When I woke up this morning, I had spent about 18 of the past 24 hours asleep.
This weekend we hit Swaziland and Mozambique, can't wait!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Africa Kickoff
Today I depart for Johannesburg, South Africa. I will be there for five weeks, working for WIZZIT Bank again as well as attending World Cup matches! I have tickets to USA vs. Slovenia and USA vs. Algeria. Look for me on ESPN waving a giant American flag!
I also have a lot of travel planned; I am for sure going to Swaziland and Mozambique as well as tentative plans for Angola, Tanzania/Zanzibar and Zimbabwe/Zambia. Stay tuned!
I just got a new iPad so I am excited to keep my attention occupied on my horrible flight itinerary from Burlington to Detroit to Amsterdam to Joburg. I am almost hoping my flight out of Detroit is delayed enough that I get to spend the day in Amsterdam and not have to jump right on another flight. We'll see!
Talk to you all on the flip side of the world!
I also have a lot of travel planned; I am for sure going to Swaziland and Mozambique as well as tentative plans for Angola, Tanzania/Zanzibar and Zimbabwe/Zambia. Stay tuned!
I just got a new iPad so I am excited to keep my attention occupied on my horrible flight itinerary from Burlington to Detroit to Amsterdam to Joburg. I am almost hoping my flight out of Detroit is delayed enough that I get to spend the day in Amsterdam and not have to jump right on another flight. We'll see!
Talk to you all on the flip side of the world!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Living in a Post-Galapagan World
When I came back from Ecuador I fell into a minor depression for several days. The stark reality of life in Glendale, AZ was such a contrast to the vibrancy of the islands where I had been just hours before. My friend Yulia came back yesterday from two weeks in Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong, and we have the same problem: we close our eyes are are someone else, but we don't want to open then because when we do, we know we'll still be stuck in Glendale.
As trite as it sounds, the trip was a life-changing experience for me. I know that right now, in my life, I won't be happy in one place. I won't be happy tied down to one company, going from day to day at the same grind. I need excitement, variety and travel to stay happy. I want to see new places and experience new things as much possible. As a result, I have a quasi plan for the next few months, which is to pursue short term consulting work overseas, and to travel in the interim. I have the travel bug bad right now!
Some upcoming trips include: driving cross country from Arizona to Vermont, with stops in New Orleans for sure, South Africa for World Cup (staying with my parents, of course), Swaziland, Mozambique and hopefully Angola to visit a fellow Tbird.
As trite as it sounds, the trip was a life-changing experience for me. I know that right now, in my life, I won't be happy in one place. I won't be happy tied down to one company, going from day to day at the same grind. I need excitement, variety and travel to stay happy. I want to see new places and experience new things as much possible. As a result, I have a quasi plan for the next few months, which is to pursue short term consulting work overseas, and to travel in the interim. I have the travel bug bad right now!
Some upcoming trips include: driving cross country from Arizona to Vermont, with stops in New Orleans for sure, South Africa for World Cup (staying with my parents, of course), Swaziland, Mozambique and hopefully Angola to visit a fellow Tbird.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Land of Darwin: Islas Galapagos
Our flight from Quito to Isla Baltra, Galapagos, departed at 8:30, but we stopped in Guayaquil for 40 minutes. Most of the Ecuadorians on the plane got off at Guyaquil, and the whities stayed on the plane. The majority of Ecuador´s population cannot afford the trip to the islands, so most of the visitors are foreign. Visitors must pay a $10 arrival tax, involving a long form that is officially stamped, as well as a $100 park fee. Ecuadorians only pay $50.
The flight from Guayaquil to Isla Baltra is about an hour and a half. I slept until our descent, where I got a view of some whales as well as an island that looked completely surrounded by cliffs. The airport is your typical open island affair with some hawkers but nothing ridiculous like I have seen in other places. Lee and I decided that we would try to stay at the Red Mangrove Adventure Lodge, which had a good recommendation in Lonely Planet as well as the highest ranking on TripAdvisor.com for the Galapagos Islands. When we deplaned, we saw that Red Mango had a little booth set up at the airport so we went over to talk to them. We were shown an ´Island Hopper´ tour itinerary that featured three islands as well as all inclusive stays on Red Mangrove lodges on all those islands. We were offered the price of a single person stay, but for both of us. The itinerary included airport transfer, snorkel equipment, all meals, guide service, etc. We did the math and it was $850 per person, a great deal. We decided to do it! Things worked out so well for us, since that was the place we wanted to stay anyway, and we´d get to see three different islands, but would not be stuck on a boat with people we might not get along with.
The Red Mangrove is a top class operation and I recommend it to anyone traveling to the Galapagos. Even if you are looking for a mid-range option, traveling in the off season such as we are yields some good deals!
Isla Baltra is uninhabited and is separated from Isla Cristobal by a narrow channel. When you exit the airport, a free bus takes you to the ferry that connects the two islands. The bus ride takes about 10 minutes and is utterly packed. The ferry seats about 50 people and luggage goes on top. The channel crosing takes another 10 minutes. We were then driven in a private truck to the town of Puerto Ayora, which is on the south side of the island. We crossed through the highlands, which were cloudy. The drive took about 30 minutes. We saw some small villages of people, which were tidy and well kept, with lots of banana plants. Our driver wanted to drive as fast as possible (muy macho!) but for most of the drive a police car was behind us so he stayed at a calmer rate of speed.
The town of Puerto Ayora is charming and relaxed. It´s the largest town in the Galapagos islands and has most of the hotels. All of the Red Mangrove staff we chatted with were all born on the islands. The girl who transferred us from the airport to the hotel said she learned English in high school and attended college in Cuerca, a town on the mainland.
The Red Mangrove is located in a stand of mangrove trees and is designed to blend in with the scenery. It´s quiet, secluded and completely relaxing. I never want to leave this place! We enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch while sitting on a dock overlooking the azure water in the bay. We were visted by some pelicans, marine iguanas and some seals! The food was very tasty.
Our itinerary kicked off at 2pm with a boat trip to Tortuga Beach with snorkeling and sunning on the beach. Tortuga Beach is about 20 minutes via boat from the harbor. The boat seated 12 people comfortably. It had benches down either side and a canvas sun cover with twin 85mph Yamaha engines (I checked). The other folks in our tour featured a Luxemborgian couple, an Irish couple and a Scottish couple who seem to be close to our age. There´s also an elderly Italian couple who don´t appear to speak any English. Our guide, George, speaks Italian as well so everything is repeated twice.
The seas were quite rough so those of us on the windward side got sprayed on the boat trip over. Tortuga beach is not accessible via road, only dirt track, so it was very pleasantly secluded. There are two parts, a windward and a leeward side that are separated by a rocky spit with giant cacti and mangroves. We got dropped off near the tip of the point and snorkeled all the way to the beach. We had flippers, masks and snorkels and I would say it was about a mile. I saw plenty of marine life, including tons of fish, an octopus and several varieties of rays. The octopus´ body was about the side of my fist, it had a big yellow eyeball and changed colors! The top of the body also had these feathery bits that let it blend in perfectly with the coral vegetation. I didn´t even realize it was an octopus until I saw some tentacles move. It also changed colors as I watched! We saw a blue ray, a spotted ray and some sort of GIANT ray that was at least 4´ in diameter. I´m not kidding. It was crazy! I wasn´t scared, though, as giant rays aren´t dangerous. They glide quickly, but flap their massive wings slowly. The water clarity was not amazing, and as we got closer to the beach it got a bit murky. Not dirty, just murky.
The leeward beach where we landed was perfect, powder white sand and nice warm sun. We walked over to the windward side which has large waves and swimming is not allowed due to rip tides. We saw some huge marine iguanas sunning themselves on the sand. The beach was almost completely deserted and I felt like I was in a dream. I took some pictures, but I don´t think they do the scene justice.
We spent a few pleasant hours whiling around on the two beaches, snacking, and then piled back in the boat for the trip back to the hotel. I cleverly sat on the leeward side this time and did not get soaked. Lee was not so lucky! Hah!
Our room is charming and is on the second floor, so it´s quiet and has plenty of light. We are off to dinner now, tomorrow we have a tour of the highlands to see giant tortoises and then we go to Isla Floreana, which does not have any official human inhabitants. I love this place and I never want to leave!
The flight from Guayaquil to Isla Baltra is about an hour and a half. I slept until our descent, where I got a view of some whales as well as an island that looked completely surrounded by cliffs. The airport is your typical open island affair with some hawkers but nothing ridiculous like I have seen in other places. Lee and I decided that we would try to stay at the Red Mangrove Adventure Lodge, which had a good recommendation in Lonely Planet as well as the highest ranking on TripAdvisor.com for the Galapagos Islands. When we deplaned, we saw that Red Mango had a little booth set up at the airport so we went over to talk to them. We were shown an ´Island Hopper´ tour itinerary that featured three islands as well as all inclusive stays on Red Mangrove lodges on all those islands. We were offered the price of a single person stay, but for both of us. The itinerary included airport transfer, snorkel equipment, all meals, guide service, etc. We did the math and it was $850 per person, a great deal. We decided to do it! Things worked out so well for us, since that was the place we wanted to stay anyway, and we´d get to see three different islands, but would not be stuck on a boat with people we might not get along with.
The Red Mangrove is a top class operation and I recommend it to anyone traveling to the Galapagos. Even if you are looking for a mid-range option, traveling in the off season such as we are yields some good deals!
Isla Baltra is uninhabited and is separated from Isla Cristobal by a narrow channel. When you exit the airport, a free bus takes you to the ferry that connects the two islands. The bus ride takes about 10 minutes and is utterly packed. The ferry seats about 50 people and luggage goes on top. The channel crosing takes another 10 minutes. We were then driven in a private truck to the town of Puerto Ayora, which is on the south side of the island. We crossed through the highlands, which were cloudy. The drive took about 30 minutes. We saw some small villages of people, which were tidy and well kept, with lots of banana plants. Our driver wanted to drive as fast as possible (muy macho!) but for most of the drive a police car was behind us so he stayed at a calmer rate of speed.
The town of Puerto Ayora is charming and relaxed. It´s the largest town in the Galapagos islands and has most of the hotels. All of the Red Mangrove staff we chatted with were all born on the islands. The girl who transferred us from the airport to the hotel said she learned English in high school and attended college in Cuerca, a town on the mainland.
The Red Mangrove is located in a stand of mangrove trees and is designed to blend in with the scenery. It´s quiet, secluded and completely relaxing. I never want to leave this place! We enjoyed a delicious buffet lunch while sitting on a dock overlooking the azure water in the bay. We were visted by some pelicans, marine iguanas and some seals! The food was very tasty.
Our itinerary kicked off at 2pm with a boat trip to Tortuga Beach with snorkeling and sunning on the beach. Tortuga Beach is about 20 minutes via boat from the harbor. The boat seated 12 people comfortably. It had benches down either side and a canvas sun cover with twin 85mph Yamaha engines (I checked). The other folks in our tour featured a Luxemborgian couple, an Irish couple and a Scottish couple who seem to be close to our age. There´s also an elderly Italian couple who don´t appear to speak any English. Our guide, George, speaks Italian as well so everything is repeated twice.
The seas were quite rough so those of us on the windward side got sprayed on the boat trip over. Tortuga beach is not accessible via road, only dirt track, so it was very pleasantly secluded. There are two parts, a windward and a leeward side that are separated by a rocky spit with giant cacti and mangroves. We got dropped off near the tip of the point and snorkeled all the way to the beach. We had flippers, masks and snorkels and I would say it was about a mile. I saw plenty of marine life, including tons of fish, an octopus and several varieties of rays. The octopus´ body was about the side of my fist, it had a big yellow eyeball and changed colors! The top of the body also had these feathery bits that let it blend in perfectly with the coral vegetation. I didn´t even realize it was an octopus until I saw some tentacles move. It also changed colors as I watched! We saw a blue ray, a spotted ray and some sort of GIANT ray that was at least 4´ in diameter. I´m not kidding. It was crazy! I wasn´t scared, though, as giant rays aren´t dangerous. They glide quickly, but flap their massive wings slowly. The water clarity was not amazing, and as we got closer to the beach it got a bit murky. Not dirty, just murky.
The leeward beach where we landed was perfect, powder white sand and nice warm sun. We walked over to the windward side which has large waves and swimming is not allowed due to rip tides. We saw some huge marine iguanas sunning themselves on the sand. The beach was almost completely deserted and I felt like I was in a dream. I took some pictures, but I don´t think they do the scene justice.
We spent a few pleasant hours whiling around on the two beaches, snacking, and then piled back in the boat for the trip back to the hotel. I cleverly sat on the leeward side this time and did not get soaked. Lee was not so lucky! Hah!
Our room is charming and is on the second floor, so it´s quiet and has plenty of light. We are off to dinner now, tomorrow we have a tour of the highlands to see giant tortoises and then we go to Isla Floreana, which does not have any official human inhabitants. I love this place and I never want to leave!
South America, Here I Come!
Just a few days ago I was invited to join a friend on a whirlwind, last minute trip to Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands. Since I have never been to South America and have always wanted to go (it is the last continent besides Antarctica that I had not yet visited) I jumped at the chance to join.
We flew from Phoenix to Miami, where we ate at a delicious Cuban restaurant in the airport. I was told that the restaurant is the only good thing about the Miami airport and I have to agree--it's pretty pathetic otherwise. I had the yuca frita (fries) and the sweet plantains and they were amazing.
Our layover was pretty long, 4 hours, and then our aircraft landed late coming in from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, so we took off late as well. The flight to Quito was only 3 hours and 45 minutes long, but we got to fly over Cuba just as the sun was setting! It looked dark and ominous. I waved hola to Fidel, even though I expect he is muerte.
We landed in Quito at 10:30pm and were met by the kind folks from the Sheraton, which is a great hotel. We were starving, so we headed out via cab to the Plaza Foch, which is full of fun restaurants and bars. We had tapas style dishes at Azuca Beach with the most delicious mojitos I've ever had in my life. It was almost 2am by the time we made it back to the hotel but I was glad we made it out before hitting the sack.
We flew from Phoenix to Miami, where we ate at a delicious Cuban restaurant in the airport. I was told that the restaurant is the only good thing about the Miami airport and I have to agree--it's pretty pathetic otherwise. I had the yuca frita (fries) and the sweet plantains and they were amazing.
Our layover was pretty long, 4 hours, and then our aircraft landed late coming in from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, so we took off late as well. The flight to Quito was only 3 hours and 45 minutes long, but we got to fly over Cuba just as the sun was setting! It looked dark and ominous. I waved hola to Fidel, even though I expect he is muerte.
We landed in Quito at 10:30pm and were met by the kind folks from the Sheraton, which is a great hotel. We were starving, so we headed out via cab to the Plaza Foch, which is full of fun restaurants and bars. We had tapas style dishes at Azuca Beach with the most delicious mojitos I've ever had in my life. It was almost 2am by the time we made it back to the hotel but I was glad we made it out before hitting the sack.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
All the King's Horses and All the King's Men
Xi'an, according to the guidebook, is "firmly on the tourist itinerary" and I have to say for tourists their public transportation is very handy. To get out to the terracotta warriors of Qin Shi Huang Di (the first emperor of a united China in 221BCE) one only need step off the overnight train and head to the east side of the train station plaza, where minibuses and tourist public buses depart for these destinations regularly. Xi'an's imposing city walls were the first thing we saw when we got off the train and we wanted to walk around them, but at 13km in circumference we didn't have time--the best way is to rent bikes and bike around.
The tourist bus #307 runs right out to the terracotta warrior complex, about 20k outside of town, via some city streets and other attractions such as the Taoist holy mountain Li Shan and various museums and whatnot along the way. The cost is only 7 yuan, which makes it a much better deal than the minibuses that take you straight to the warriors for 26 yuan. Jessica and I hopped onto the tourist bus and it took us about one hour to arrive. The bus was very nice, though, more like a long distance coach, and was air conditioned.
The terracotta army is actually adjacent to the grave of the Qin emperor, which has not been excavated, and was not mentioned in extant historical texts. The army features thousands of life-sized warrior figurines with unique facial features, different poses and uniforms. Horses, chariots, weaponry and other artifacts were also found with the army. It was discovered in 1975 by a peasant sinking a well and has been nicely excavated and was well presented. According to the ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian, the tomb of the Qin emperor has rivers of mercury and treasures untold... as well as booby traps full of spears and arrows waiting to shoot any who trespass. Sounds like a case for Indiana Jones!
The army is housed in three vaults, all partially excavated and roofed. The 1st vault is the largest, with 8000 or so figures arranged in neat rows. The vault is the size of an aircraft hanger, so the scale is immense. Ignoring the throngs of tourists taking photos and posing in front of the figures, Jess and I tried to capture the scope of the view with photos but they don't really do it justice. You can't wander around the figures (since they are fragile terracotta and additionally sections are still under construction) but there are walkways around the entire area so you can get a closer look.
To me the figures were certainly imposing, but also a little sad. They are just standing, waiting for their master who will never come. Some were reassembled but others are lying smashed.
The second vault is fully of mostly broken horses and cavalrymen. This vault also has a fine museum with a close up view of one horse and cavalryman (the detail on both is exquisite, down to the individual lines of hair on both as well as the notched bolts that hold the warrior's armor together. There are also archer figures and a spectacular general, with a fancy hairdo, scarves of glory and a bushy handlebar mustache. You can see the fingernails on all the figures, really impressive.
The third vault is mostly empty, but it does house six beautiful horse figures that came with a chariot, which is being restored. There is also a separate museum that shows two 1/5 scale war chariots with horses and driver, all made of bronze. The museum also features two marionettes that were used in the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies, which are kind of the most creepy things I've ever seen.
Having had our fill of history, Jess and I caught the bus back to Xi'an and got back on the internet. Unfortunately, the flight was now 200 yuan more expensive! Fighting over the phone with Air China proved fruitless, so we caught the airport bus (which we discovered by luck while wandering around looking for the internet cafe). The bus took about an hour, and it rained heavily. We got quite damp walking over to take the bus.
At the airport, the one staff member at the Air China ticket booking desk was spectacularly unhelpful, raising her voice and interrupting us when we tried to explain our story. We asked to speak to her boss, and she made a phone call, then said "Boss not coming. I no help you." She then proceeded to ignore us and read the paper. No amount of talking loudly in English or Chinese would rouse her. Jessica was so furious she could barely speak. Unfortunately, Air China's flight that I was already booked on was the cheapest. We decided to book the flight, but used a private ticket booking desk provided by the airport itself, which was just 2 booths down from the Air China satan's spawn. Ironically they quoted us a cheaper rate on the Eastern China flight that left a little earlier compared to what we were told when we asked the official Eastern China Airlines ticket booking staff, but Jess opted for Air China so we could fly together. OOPS.
We made it through security and went and sat in a cafe until boarding time... when an announcement was promptly made that our flight was delayed until 10:45 due to "maintenance of the aircraft." To us that sounded like "we're bull$hitting you because we're incompetent idiots." As you can tell we were really down on Air China right now. In what was not a shocker, they delayed the flight again to midnight, and then once more to 12:45. I was not the only person who was infuriated with Air China, local Chinese citizens were arguing with the ground staff and receiving the same crappy service (which made me a little bit perversely pleased).
Finally, another plane arrived around 12:20am and we boarded at 12:45am. They gave us 100 yuan refund, which is about US$12. Thanks a lot, way to rub salt on an open wound! The flight was uneventful, except for a minor altercation with a flight attendant who told me to turn off my iPhone (which was in airplane mode) because it "wasn't allowed in China" which is complete BS because I used it on the Air China flight we took from Guilin to Chengdu AND it's basically an iPod when it is on airplane mode. I stuck to my guns because there was no way I wasn't going to have music and my games during the flight. Eventually another flight attendant came over and knocked some sense into the one berating me. This entire exchange was in a mixture of English and Chinese, all of it probably ruder than I would like but I was at my last straw.
We landed at Beijing Capital Airport at 2:20am, but we had to taxi forever and then once we got off the gate I think we walked about a kilometer to get out. Jessica and I were not happy with the fact that Terminal 3 at Beijing Captial Airport is the world's second largest terminal after Dubai! We took a cab to the Mariott and got to our room at 4am. Thanks a lot, Air China. I'm going to tell everyone I possibly can about how crappy your customer service is.
The tourist bus #307 runs right out to the terracotta warrior complex, about 20k outside of town, via some city streets and other attractions such as the Taoist holy mountain Li Shan and various museums and whatnot along the way. The cost is only 7 yuan, which makes it a much better deal than the minibuses that take you straight to the warriors for 26 yuan. Jessica and I hopped onto the tourist bus and it took us about one hour to arrive. The bus was very nice, though, more like a long distance coach, and was air conditioned.
The terracotta army is actually adjacent to the grave of the Qin emperor, which has not been excavated, and was not mentioned in extant historical texts. The army features thousands of life-sized warrior figurines with unique facial features, different poses and uniforms. Horses, chariots, weaponry and other artifacts were also found with the army. It was discovered in 1975 by a peasant sinking a well and has been nicely excavated and was well presented. According to the ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian, the tomb of the Qin emperor has rivers of mercury and treasures untold... as well as booby traps full of spears and arrows waiting to shoot any who trespass. Sounds like a case for Indiana Jones!
The army is housed in three vaults, all partially excavated and roofed. The 1st vault is the largest, with 8000 or so figures arranged in neat rows. The vault is the size of an aircraft hanger, so the scale is immense. Ignoring the throngs of tourists taking photos and posing in front of the figures, Jess and I tried to capture the scope of the view with photos but they don't really do it justice. You can't wander around the figures (since they are fragile terracotta and additionally sections are still under construction) but there are walkways around the entire area so you can get a closer look.
To me the figures were certainly imposing, but also a little sad. They are just standing, waiting for their master who will never come. Some were reassembled but others are lying smashed.
The second vault is fully of mostly broken horses and cavalrymen. This vault also has a fine museum with a close up view of one horse and cavalryman (the detail on both is exquisite, down to the individual lines of hair on both as well as the notched bolts that hold the warrior's armor together. There are also archer figures and a spectacular general, with a fancy hairdo, scarves of glory and a bushy handlebar mustache. You can see the fingernails on all the figures, really impressive.
The third vault is mostly empty, but it does house six beautiful horse figures that came with a chariot, which is being restored. There is also a separate museum that shows two 1/5 scale war chariots with horses and driver, all made of bronze. The museum also features two marionettes that were used in the Beijing Olympic opening ceremonies, which are kind of the most creepy things I've ever seen.
Having had our fill of history, Jess and I caught the bus back to Xi'an and got back on the internet. Unfortunately, the flight was now 200 yuan more expensive! Fighting over the phone with Air China proved fruitless, so we caught the airport bus (which we discovered by luck while wandering around looking for the internet cafe). The bus took about an hour, and it rained heavily. We got quite damp walking over to take the bus.
At the airport, the one staff member at the Air China ticket booking desk was spectacularly unhelpful, raising her voice and interrupting us when we tried to explain our story. We asked to speak to her boss, and she made a phone call, then said "Boss not coming. I no help you." She then proceeded to ignore us and read the paper. No amount of talking loudly in English or Chinese would rouse her. Jessica was so furious she could barely speak. Unfortunately, Air China's flight that I was already booked on was the cheapest. We decided to book the flight, but used a private ticket booking desk provided by the airport itself, which was just 2 booths down from the Air China satan's spawn. Ironically they quoted us a cheaper rate on the Eastern China flight that left a little earlier compared to what we were told when we asked the official Eastern China Airlines ticket booking staff, but Jess opted for Air China so we could fly together. OOPS.
We made it through security and went and sat in a cafe until boarding time... when an announcement was promptly made that our flight was delayed until 10:45 due to "maintenance of the aircraft." To us that sounded like "we're bull$hitting you because we're incompetent idiots." As you can tell we were really down on Air China right now. In what was not a shocker, they delayed the flight again to midnight, and then once more to 12:45. I was not the only person who was infuriated with Air China, local Chinese citizens were arguing with the ground staff and receiving the same crappy service (which made me a little bit perversely pleased).
Finally, another plane arrived around 12:20am and we boarded at 12:45am. They gave us 100 yuan refund, which is about US$12. Thanks a lot, way to rub salt on an open wound! The flight was uneventful, except for a minor altercation with a flight attendant who told me to turn off my iPhone (which was in airplane mode) because it "wasn't allowed in China" which is complete BS because I used it on the Air China flight we took from Guilin to Chengdu AND it's basically an iPod when it is on airplane mode. I stuck to my guns because there was no way I wasn't going to have music and my games during the flight. Eventually another flight attendant came over and knocked some sense into the one berating me. This entire exchange was in a mixture of English and Chinese, all of it probably ruder than I would like but I was at my last straw.
We landed at Beijing Capital Airport at 2:20am, but we had to taxi forever and then once we got off the gate I think we walked about a kilometer to get out. Jessica and I were not happy with the fact that Terminal 3 at Beijing Captial Airport is the world's second largest terminal after Dubai! We took a cab to the Mariott and got to our room at 4am. Thanks a lot, Air China. I'm going to tell everyone I possibly can about how crappy your customer service is.
This is Not the Hogwarts Express
Jessica and I were pretty excited to take the overnight train to Xi'an, until we sat down in our 4 bunk soft sleeper compartment and realized we might have to share with two strangers. We also discovered we had been given a top and bottom bunk but on diagonal sides of the compartment (i.e. top bunk not over the bottom bunk). Additionally, after some quick mental calculations, we realized the train was about 16 hours. Luckily, I had a pack of cards.
Our train departed Chengdu exactly on time to the minute. The conductor in charge of our soft sleeper car came and checked our tickets, and then switched them out for a plastic red tag (which we had to return at the end of the train ride, in order to have our original paper tickets handed back to us--not sure why this rigmarole was necessary). She also recorded our passport numbers (all foreigners must register all the time in China!) and asked if we had the swine flu. We of course said, "mei you!" (which means don't have!). Really, why would you ever say "Yes, I have the swine flu!" You'd probably get carted off somewhere never to return. Upon our departure from Chengdu, our compartment was still empty, however we realized that someone might still get on the train at a subsequent stop.
We looked out the window, which was pretty gray and dreary as it was raining in Chengdu, and then played cards. After a while we got hungry and visited the dining car. They didn't have a picture menu, but they did have pinyin next to the characters. After a lot of back and forth where I explained again and again that Jessica did not eat meat (and was Buddhist), the waitress finally recommended a stir fried tomato dish. I got a pork belly fried rice dish that was really yummy. It had these light green peppers (reminded me of like Slovak papriky) that were a tiny bit spicy, but not too much to detract from enjoyment of the dish. Jessica's tomato dish was actually really yummy, I don't know what they do to the eggs here to make them so good but this was quite tasty.
We got back to our car and played more cards. Around 7:30pm, our compartment door was opened by a Chinese gentleman, who looked like he was about 45-50 years old. He had the bottom bunk and seemed a little surprised, but not in a bad way, to find two young white girls in his compartment. Jessica was very surprised to find a man sharing our compartment, so I had a quick chat with the conductor (who was also female). She understood our predicament, and offered us the chance to switch into a compartment with a young couple traveling with a toddler. That seemed worse than sharing with an unknown man, so I asked if I could just take the top bunk in our compartment. She said the last stop for the night was at 10pm, so she could tell me if that bunk was taken then.
As it turned out, the guy in our compartment was pretty cool, we had some chats in Chinese (with me translating). He was an engineer working for Ericsson in Baoji, which is about 2 hours outside of Xi'an. He said he had many German friends through work, but didn't speak any English. We talked a little about what Jess and I were doing in Chengdu and Xi'an and how we were at Beida. He endeared himself to Jessica by commenting that Chinese are terrible drivers. He also at one point got into bed and removed his pants (which scared the crap out of both of us), but was wearing a pair of flesh tone and white striped long johns for modesty's sake, which we certainly appreciated.
At the 10pm stop the conductor told me it was fine to sleep in the top bunk, so we all got into our respective bunks. Our companion went to sleep, as his stop was at 7am, and Jessica and I continued to play cards until around midnight. Sleeping on the train took a little getting used to, as you are swaying and bumping a little, but I did get to sleep eventually, waking up early in the morning, perhaps 6am. The bunk was just long enough for me to sleep, but anyone else taller would have to curl up on their side like a shrimp.
Our train arrived in Xi'an just on time as well, but Jess and I were a little grumpy after being in a small space for 16 hours with a stranger. We decided to find an internet cafe so we could check flights from Xi'an to Beijing. Emerging from the train station was a bit of a shock too, as it was typically packed with peasants staring, the city was cloudy and grimy and it was humid and warm. We wandered around fruitlessly looking for an internet cafe, getting directions from people who kept saying we were near one, but we just couldn't find it. Finally we stopped in a hotel and I kept asking them to draw a map until they sent a bellhop to show us the place. As it turned out, the sign (I know the characters for internet cafe) was wayyyy up top and you couldn't see it from eye level.
As it turned out, the tickets for the plane trip were only 100 yuan more expensive than the overnight train, so we decided to book the tickets through Air China. This is where things got really, really messy.
Online reservation services in China appear to be unable to handle US credit cards, so the purchaser must go through a ridiculous rigmarole of sending copies of both sides of the credit card, a copy of your passport and a signed authorization form authorizing the agent to use your credit card. Luckily Jess and I had all the copies of everything in our emails from purchasing our flights on eLong a couple of days before. When we tried to book the tickets online, I got an error message from Air China so I called their online booking service. The booking service told me that I had to send in the above information, which I did. I had Jessica do the same. They then sent me a new authorization form, because the one I wrote myself (which they told me to do) was not good enough. We resent. My ticket was confirmed, however, they didn't process Jessica's because of various conflicting and stonewalling stories. The two versions we got the most were 1) we took more than 30 minutes to send in the payment information (this information is not posted anywhere of course) or 2) they don't accept debit cards; since Jessica's card is a debit/credit card that says debit on the front they rejected it outright.
We didn't find out that they canceled her reservation until we were on the bus heading to the terracotta warriors, which are about 20 km outside of town. We tried fighting with them on the phone but we were stonewalled with typical crappy communist customer service (or lack thereof). We decided to check back at the internet cafe after getting back from the warriors.
Our train departed Chengdu exactly on time to the minute. The conductor in charge of our soft sleeper car came and checked our tickets, and then switched them out for a plastic red tag (which we had to return at the end of the train ride, in order to have our original paper tickets handed back to us--not sure why this rigmarole was necessary). She also recorded our passport numbers (all foreigners must register all the time in China!) and asked if we had the swine flu. We of course said, "mei you!" (which means don't have!). Really, why would you ever say "Yes, I have the swine flu!" You'd probably get carted off somewhere never to return. Upon our departure from Chengdu, our compartment was still empty, however we realized that someone might still get on the train at a subsequent stop.
We looked out the window, which was pretty gray and dreary as it was raining in Chengdu, and then played cards. After a while we got hungry and visited the dining car. They didn't have a picture menu, but they did have pinyin next to the characters. After a lot of back and forth where I explained again and again that Jessica did not eat meat (and was Buddhist), the waitress finally recommended a stir fried tomato dish. I got a pork belly fried rice dish that was really yummy. It had these light green peppers (reminded me of like Slovak papriky) that were a tiny bit spicy, but not too much to detract from enjoyment of the dish. Jessica's tomato dish was actually really yummy, I don't know what they do to the eggs here to make them so good but this was quite tasty.
We got back to our car and played more cards. Around 7:30pm, our compartment door was opened by a Chinese gentleman, who looked like he was about 45-50 years old. He had the bottom bunk and seemed a little surprised, but not in a bad way, to find two young white girls in his compartment. Jessica was very surprised to find a man sharing our compartment, so I had a quick chat with the conductor (who was also female). She understood our predicament, and offered us the chance to switch into a compartment with a young couple traveling with a toddler. That seemed worse than sharing with an unknown man, so I asked if I could just take the top bunk in our compartment. She said the last stop for the night was at 10pm, so she could tell me if that bunk was taken then.
As it turned out, the guy in our compartment was pretty cool, we had some chats in Chinese (with me translating). He was an engineer working for Ericsson in Baoji, which is about 2 hours outside of Xi'an. He said he had many German friends through work, but didn't speak any English. We talked a little about what Jess and I were doing in Chengdu and Xi'an and how we were at Beida. He endeared himself to Jessica by commenting that Chinese are terrible drivers. He also at one point got into bed and removed his pants (which scared the crap out of both of us), but was wearing a pair of flesh tone and white striped long johns for modesty's sake, which we certainly appreciated.
At the 10pm stop the conductor told me it was fine to sleep in the top bunk, so we all got into our respective bunks. Our companion went to sleep, as his stop was at 7am, and Jessica and I continued to play cards until around midnight. Sleeping on the train took a little getting used to, as you are swaying and bumping a little, but I did get to sleep eventually, waking up early in the morning, perhaps 6am. The bunk was just long enough for me to sleep, but anyone else taller would have to curl up on their side like a shrimp.
Our train arrived in Xi'an just on time as well, but Jess and I were a little grumpy after being in a small space for 16 hours with a stranger. We decided to find an internet cafe so we could check flights from Xi'an to Beijing. Emerging from the train station was a bit of a shock too, as it was typically packed with peasants staring, the city was cloudy and grimy and it was humid and warm. We wandered around fruitlessly looking for an internet cafe, getting directions from people who kept saying we were near one, but we just couldn't find it. Finally we stopped in a hotel and I kept asking them to draw a map until they sent a bellhop to show us the place. As it turned out, the sign (I know the characters for internet cafe) was wayyyy up top and you couldn't see it from eye level.
As it turned out, the tickets for the plane trip were only 100 yuan more expensive than the overnight train, so we decided to book the tickets through Air China. This is where things got really, really messy.
Online reservation services in China appear to be unable to handle US credit cards, so the purchaser must go through a ridiculous rigmarole of sending copies of both sides of the credit card, a copy of your passport and a signed authorization form authorizing the agent to use your credit card. Luckily Jess and I had all the copies of everything in our emails from purchasing our flights on eLong a couple of days before. When we tried to book the tickets online, I got an error message from Air China so I called their online booking service. The booking service told me that I had to send in the above information, which I did. I had Jessica do the same. They then sent me a new authorization form, because the one I wrote myself (which they told me to do) was not good enough. We resent. My ticket was confirmed, however, they didn't process Jessica's because of various conflicting and stonewalling stories. The two versions we got the most were 1) we took more than 30 minutes to send in the payment information (this information is not posted anywhere of course) or 2) they don't accept debit cards; since Jessica's card is a debit/credit card that says debit on the front they rejected it outright.
We didn't find out that they canceled her reservation until we were on the bus heading to the terracotta warriors, which are about 20 km outside of town. We tried fighting with them on the phone but we were stonewalled with typical crappy communist customer service (or lack thereof). We decided to check back at the internet cafe after getting back from the warriors.
Friday, May 1, 2009
The Most Inconvenient Online Travel Company in the World
Now that our semester has wound down in Beijing, Jessica and I have some time to travel around China before we go back to the US. We had planned to spend a couple of days in Beijing with our friends before taking the overnight train to Xi'an, then the overnight train to Chengdu, then flying to Guilin and then flying back to Beijing. Unfortunately, this weekend is "Worker's Holiday", so EVERYONE in China (all 1.4 billion of them) is trying to take the train to go back to their country village and the train station is a complete nut house. I went by last night to purchase tickets and there were mobs of people running around, waiting, squatting and sleeping outside. Since there are a lot of real peasanty types taking the train, everyone cuts in line and you have to be really aggressive. Several people asked me to help them purchase tickets to get home, I said no thanks. I noticed that they pestered other local Chinese too, not just me, so I guess I don't mind as much. I would have been more annoyed had they targeted the only foreigner in the train station.
There were only soft sleeper tickets available on Monday night to go to Xi'an, so I elected not to purchase. We are checking out of our hotel on Sunday so we didn't want to extend for another day--we've been in Beijing for 7 weeks and wanted to get out of town! Jessica was back in the hotel and is out of minutes on her phone (Again! She and her boyfriend talk so much she goes through a 100RMB card every two days. Yes. Two days!) so I couldn't call her to confirm. Soft sleeper from Beijing to Xi'an is about 420RMB.
I went back to the hotel and suggested to Jessica that we go the opposite way, and fly straight from Beijing to Guilin. I looked up the tickets using an online reservation site, www.elong.net. They have searchable functions in English and allow you to book online (some Chinese websites don't, you have to come and pay for the tickets in person). We had looked at flights earlier in the week and they were a little pricey, about 1000RMB for the flight from Guilin to Beijing. As it turned out, the flights were now half the price! Beijing to Guilin was only 540RMB and Guilin to Chengdu (to see the pandas) was only 510RMB! What a deal! We booked the tickets immediately, planning to buy the train tickets when we get to Chengdu.
Elong has quite possibly one of the worst systems for buying tickets online: you input your credit card and hit confirm, but then you have to scan or fax a signed credit card use authorization form AND copies of front and back of your credit card AND a copy of your passport (if you are a foreign credit card holder). What a pain! Jess and I spent about 2 hours taking photos of our passports and credit cards and emailing them, and elong kept calling us back saying stuff like "your electronic authorization is not good enough, we need fax" and "we cannot see the signature on the back of Miss Tartell's credit card". We finally solved the problems by sending out electronic authorizations to Jessica's boyfriend in the US, and having him e-fax the authorizations back to elong. They were insistent that they needed either a scanned copy or a fax--which was ridiculous because it's the SAME goddamn thing. Anyway, right about midnight we got everything sorted out, which was annoying because Panos and Ben came over to our hotel room to have a drink before we went out. We had planned to go to Fez Bar, which is this cool outdoor bar overlooking the city, but it closes at 1pm so we couldn't go at midnight. Instead, I had a better idea...
There were only soft sleeper tickets available on Monday night to go to Xi'an, so I elected not to purchase. We are checking out of our hotel on Sunday so we didn't want to extend for another day--we've been in Beijing for 7 weeks and wanted to get out of town! Jessica was back in the hotel and is out of minutes on her phone (Again! She and her boyfriend talk so much she goes through a 100RMB card every two days. Yes. Two days!) so I couldn't call her to confirm. Soft sleeper from Beijing to Xi'an is about 420RMB.
I went back to the hotel and suggested to Jessica that we go the opposite way, and fly straight from Beijing to Guilin. I looked up the tickets using an online reservation site, www.elong.net. They have searchable functions in English and allow you to book online (some Chinese websites don't, you have to come and pay for the tickets in person). We had looked at flights earlier in the week and they were a little pricey, about 1000RMB for the flight from Guilin to Beijing. As it turned out, the flights were now half the price! Beijing to Guilin was only 540RMB and Guilin to Chengdu (to see the pandas) was only 510RMB! What a deal! We booked the tickets immediately, planning to buy the train tickets when we get to Chengdu.
Elong has quite possibly one of the worst systems for buying tickets online: you input your credit card and hit confirm, but then you have to scan or fax a signed credit card use authorization form AND copies of front and back of your credit card AND a copy of your passport (if you are a foreign credit card holder). What a pain! Jess and I spent about 2 hours taking photos of our passports and credit cards and emailing them, and elong kept calling us back saying stuff like "your electronic authorization is not good enough, we need fax" and "we cannot see the signature on the back of Miss Tartell's credit card". We finally solved the problems by sending out electronic authorizations to Jessica's boyfriend in the US, and having him e-fax the authorizations back to elong. They were insistent that they needed either a scanned copy or a fax--which was ridiculous because it's the SAME goddamn thing. Anyway, right about midnight we got everything sorted out, which was annoying because Panos and Ben came over to our hotel room to have a drink before we went out. We had planned to go to Fez Bar, which is this cool outdoor bar overlooking the city, but it closes at 1pm so we couldn't go at midnight. Instead, I had a better idea...
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Set Up
I decided to start a blog so that I could share my travels and experiences with a wider range of folks. I'll be abroad in China for the next few weeks studying abroad at Beijing Daxue, aka Beida, aka Peking University and then I'll be off to South Africa for the summer to intern with Wizzit, a microfinance institution that uses cellular phones for banking. It's gonna be wild! Welcome, and hang on tight--this one goes to 11.
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