May 29th

It is 8:52am and I am sipping a small green bottle of 56% Chinese alcohol (translated Red Star) for my cough.  I look outside the window as I’m typing from the 15th floor of this apartment building. The buildings across the street are wrapped in a shawl of white gauze.  Behind them, a grayish nothingness.  My first morning in Beijing.

May 24th: The mask

You know those Chinese tourists in big American cities who wear the surgical masks on the streets?  You do a double take and wonder ‘if China is so polluted, just how bad could Denver be?’  Truth is, they’re wearing the facemasks because the air outside of China is too clean.  

I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum.  I think I may be allergic to China. The pollution from the cars, factories and construction is palpable.  It has a chalky taste.  Couple the pollution with the incessant smoking – every Chinese man lights up at least a pack a day in small enclosed spaces – and my throat is feeling pretty rough. 

So yesterday I broke down and bought a facemask. Yes, that’s right — I wore it for three hours on the smoke filled train today and it was a godsend.  I’m holding out for Beijing to find a hello kitty, american flag or camo-loving facemask and then I will take glamour shots.  Rob says that the one I have now looks like I’m prepping for surgery in the 50s. It’s white, bulky and fashioned from thick layers of gauze.  I may have lost all self-respect, but hopefully I’ll sleep through the night soon. 

May 20th: Fu you!

Last I wrote Rob and I were headed up the mountain for a week of kung fu (Rob) and tai chi (Jenny).  It was a great experience.  Another guy describes the daily routine in his blog (http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Yunnan/Dali/blog-489895.html).  He does a good job, so I won’t rehash the details. 

We practiced with some wonderful people.  Including us, there were nearly a dozen foreigners staying at the monastery.  The young monks were our teachers and during the five hours of practice a day it was ‘no pain no gain’ (which was funny coming from a monk who speaks little English).

The monks may have been trained warriors, but there was a tenderness about them.  They are very special.  One day I gave basic English lessons to a few of the younger monks during their school time (our nap time – they never stopped working).  At the end of the lesson, one of the monks snuck me something like a Chinese moonpie from his stash to say thank you. 

The monks were hard on each other, but they looked out for each other too.  Rob joked with a couple that their kung fu was lazy and all of them sprang to their defense.  He had to learn how to say ‘your kung fu is very good’ in Chinese very quickly.

We were lucky to have the flexibility to spend the week in such a beautiful place.  The monastery was tucked into the mountainside, overlooking Dali and Erhai lake.  Most of the food we had was grown in their gardens.  We could drink the spring water straight from the tap.  It was such a luxury – we’ve been living on the bottled stuff for a long time.

May 22nd: Tiger Leaping Gorge

After our week at the monastery, Rob and I left to hike what many call the most beautiful hike in China – Tiger Leaping Gorge.  It did not disappoint.  You’re hiking the sides of mountains, so the views up and down were spectacular for the whole eight hours.

We met another nice Canadian (man, they really get around China) and a very friendly couple from the UK at our first guesthouse at the start of the trail and hiked together the morning.  It was good to have the company.  The trail is peppered with guesthouses and places to eat, so we did the bulk of the hike on the first day and then stayed at a place with a wonderful view (even from the squat toilet, which helps to take your mind off things).

The trip back to the start of the trail was a whole other adventure, since the road is under construction and technically not open.  We took a minivan partway, then got out to walk a couple miles (run at one point in intervals as rocks slid down the mountain), and then took another van the rest of the way.

May 24th: Back to where we started

Rob and I took a van from the Gorge to Lijiang.  The streets were so crowded with tourists that you can’t lift your arms.  This morning we took the new train back to Dali, a much quieter, cuter version of Lijiang, with windy stone streets and early morning steamed dumplings.  We will stay here til we return to Kunming for the train to Beijing.

Today again: Beijing

The train was a wash really.  We thought the two day trip would be a great way to see the countryside on our limited schedule.  It rained the first day and the rain brought fog, so we didn’t see much past the landscape immediately outside the window.  The next day as we inched closer to Beijing, we riding through cities and the pollution blocked the view in the same way. 

The view wasn’t as much of a let down as the smoking.  The attendants rolled metal carts down the aisles, selling whole cartons for the two day trip.  Even the facemask couldn’t live up to the challenge. By the end of the trip, you could roll my t-shirt and light one up. 

Rob and I had gone to the grocery store before boarding and stocked up on instant noodle soups, fruit, fragrant teas and treats.  Our compartment had a hot water thermos, a tablecloth and a vase with a red rose, which was a funny touch.  No plug though to watch kung fu movies on the laptop, so we did crossword puzzles for about 20 waking hours. 

…and now we’re in Beijing, “couchsurfing” with another awesome Canadian (seriously, more Canadians than Europeans in China).  Rob will wake up in a bit and we have plans to see the Forbidden City and then tomorrow, we’re off to hike the Great Wall, where I may be the only hiker carrying my medication in a green bottle about the size of my palm.

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