I started the day in Shenzhen.  Okay, here's one small picture:

I took one of the new high speed trains to Guangzhou.  I bought a ticket to the "wrong" station and took a taxi across town to my departure station ($5 for some sight-seeing).  Here's a small pic from outside Guangzhou East station, which was much less crowded than the one I arrived at.

As it turns out, I'd have to come to Guangzhou anyway.  The Shenzhen-Shanghai tickets were all sold out.  After arriving in Guangzhou, I wanted to check if by some miracle someone had returned a soft-sleeper ticket I could buy.  I checked the board ... and of course not.  The train was sold out.  And there was even a column for "no seat" tickets, with none left.  At first, I thought that column was just for other lines on the board and "none" meant there were never any ... I mean "no seat" ticket for a 17 hour trip?  C'mon.  And I checked the other dates to Shanghai ....... and there were some "no seat" tickets available, and usually the only thing available.  Oh jeez.  After knowing my train was completely booked - even with people with no seat - I knew this wouldn't be fun.

From here, the post may get long.  I've written it over and over in my head hundreds of times.  You do that when you're by yourself for 17 hours on a train.  I guess in general, I can use a lot of nots to describe it.  It was not a horrible experience, it was not terribly unpleasant, but it's also something I do not plan on doing ever again.  I've done it once and now I'll buy the damn plane ticket.  I would not recommend China-skeptic friends or family members to travel this way as it doesn't really give show to the better qualities of the Chinese.  But $30 for a 1800 km trip ... hard to complain too much.  It also saves the cost of a night at a hotel.  Still, though, next time I think I'll splurge on the plane if I can't get the bed.

First, thank whatever deity you believe in it was air-conditioned.  That helped.  While waiting to depart, it wasn't - and the guy next to me was seriously crowding me and Guangzhou was hot.  He had one of his bags at his side, deciding that was more important than giving me my full seat.  The car is arranged in a 3x2 format, seats facing each other, with maybe 2 feet between them and each having a small table.  Many added a person, so there are 4 sitting in 3 or 3 sitting in 2.  As night rolls around, you find whatever position you can to get some sleep.  The people on inside can use the wall or the table.  The middle people can also sometimes use the table, but it's a bit awkward.  The outside people do whatever.  The people in the aisles do whatever.  Being a bad seat-sleeper myself, I got about an hour the whole trip (usually in a position similar to the guy in black above).  Be prepared to be woken up often as people need to get past you.  A couple traveling together have the huge advantage of doing the mutual lean.  Or as one near me did, what I call the BJ position (put some books on the floor, sit on them facing the seat and put your head in the lap while the receiver leans forward resting on you).  However, where to get the room for this?  This only works if...

You may notice some legs in the bottom-right of my picture and think "Hey, wait, isn't that guy lying down?  Sure looks like there's room to me."  Yeah, he got lucky.  Around midnight, his traveling companion pulled out a sheet, and climbed under the seats.  Just a few minutes before I was recalling a story where someone said another person got on the luggage rack to sleep.  Here that was impossible as space for luggage was nearly as rare as space for humans.  And then I thought it was good everyone had luggage under their seats, or there'd be people all over the place.  Apparently this guy was able to  clear some room, though ...  so, his friend got the extra seat and the couple got the space between the chairs.  Which was good all around because that side was already in the 4 people, 3 seat mode.

I was the only foreigner I saw on this end of the train.  I felt uncomfortable due to the basic nature of the situation, but being "alone" doesn't bother me much anymore.  Good thing, too, as it may have been too overwhelming otherwise.  I occasionally talked to my neighbors, but generally just listened to music and ignored it all.  Most were people I just have no interest in conversing with.  I don't want to be mean about it ... but ... well  ... they lack 素质.  I spent a long time thinking of how to say it, but I can only come up with the chinese.  It's not that they're uncivilized, disgusting, rude, obnoxious, uncultured, or uneducated, but they're not not those either.  They just don't know different.  Picking your nose for ten minutes, constantly examining and flicking it is just something you do (and make sure your fingernails are half an inch long and unclean) as the guy in red liked to do.  Crowding, kicking or using your neighbor as a pillow is just what you have to do to get some sleep.  If you have no seat, and no one offers you a 4 in 3 or 3 in 2, then you have to sleep in the aisle and just wake up when someone needs past.  Smoking a cigarette in non-smoking cars is something that you just have to do (fortunately, no one near me).  They're the people other people use to represent the entire country when they criticize the Chinese as a race.  And granted, there are a lot - there's bound to be with 1.3 bazillion people that have only recently seen economic growth.  The other Chinese (well, those that foreigners are more likely to interact with) aren't thrilled with them either, though.  It's just one of those things you have to accept.  After all, the people like this grew up in significantly different circumstances than I did and it is getting better.

Fifteen hours in - that is, 2 hours left to go, you think that we're practically there!  And then you think, hmmm.... had I taken the plane, it'd have only been two hours.  It'd also have more room.  And the staff wouldn't try several times to sell you absolute crap (a flashlight that doesn't need a battery, some magical toothbrush that in a store would be twice as expensive, and in the morning, some toys).

You may also ask about some of the bodily requirements.  Seventeen hours is a long time and, well, how'd that go?  Fortunately, I have very, very good control over my functions.  Combined with intentionally eating and drinking less to ensure an uninterrupted trip, I successfully made it all the way here.  So I can't comment on the facilities.  Probably a very good thing as there weren't many toilets for a whole heckuva lot of people.

In summary, this one of those experiences that once it's over with it immediately gets better.  Now I can say I've done it as if hasn't any ex-pat in China worth their salt done the overnight like this?! and that I'll never do it again if possible.  Also, in the end, I'm here again in Shanghai.

Hi.

I haven't been too resolved about anything in 2009.  Where to go next was certainly another one that I took my time deciding.  Short story: Shanghai here I come.  Probably.  The leading contenders were/are Hong Kong and Shanghai, but Beijing and home were possibilities, too (especially after the computer issue, home sounded very easy ... the simple way out ... the abort button).

Traveling won't be fun and part of me wants to cancel it.  By putting off the decision, I possibly set myself up for an annoying (but "authentic"!) experience.  I'm taking the train to Shanghai from nearby Guangzhou tomorrow.  It's an overnight train, all told 17ish hours.  And I'll be in one of the "hard seats."  All the beds, even the "hard beds" were filled.  I don't mind the seat, actually.  If there was the "soft seat" option, I may even take that.  But the "hard seat" (I think) means there are three across.  And I'll be with ... uh ... well, let's be nice and say it's the cheapest form of transport.

I've only taken one other overnight train in China - from Shanghai to Beijing.  I got a total of 10 minutes of sleep.  There was an extremely loud snoring and cell-phone talking roommate.  I also had a terrible headache that day and was going to struggle to sleep regardless.  So, who knows?  Maybe the hard seat will be good.  Um,  yeah.  And I'll win the lottery tomorrow.

I, for now, plan on staying in Shanghai for a bit.  But there's the huge questions of finding a place to stay and the visa.  The visa extension shouldn't be a huge question, however it's not cheap (we Americans get charged the most by the Chinese).  That's for later, though ... time to pack up, again, and research where to stay, again.  Yeah, this is getting old.

I'll admit I'm absolutely completely spoiled.  I don't need luxury, but I certainly need a basic level of comfort, privacy and convenience.  As such, I planned on relying on my computer to make the coming days, weeks, and months as cheap as possible while reaching that level.  The internet is a wonderful thing.

I got the hotel and the computer was bust.  Its lights blinked when you hit the on button and that was it.  I thought it either finally died, had something jostled loose on the trip, or maybe a moisture issue (my parents keep the room waaaaayyy too cold).  To find out, I wanted to take it to a repair shop.  I asked where I could find one and then set out.  All the hotel staff knew was the area it was probably in.  I consider myself reasonably versed in China now, so I set out to look for this random place.  I was pretty sure I knew what I was looking for and I was pretty sure it wasn't going to be fun.

I found the place.  Huge electronics market, people outside selling fake receipts, DVDs, etc. etc. etc.  Head for a dell store.  No one approaches me, but I can see some of the staff hesitate.  I eventually ask about getting it fixed.    They send me off to the building next door.  The first shop I could access from outside, which was great.  I avoided the mass of small stores trying to lure in the rich white guy.  The next one was inside .... oh boy ... well, here we go.  No other choice.  I go in, and I get looks but no verbal or physical assaults.  I guess none speak English and that suits me just fine.  I hated and dreaded going to the one in Beijing.  Anyway - I find the dell store and the guy there eventually sends me back to the other building, but to an office that specializes in repairs.  It's on the 20th floor.  I get to the elevator and there are masses waiting ... and the elevators are basically stopping on every floor.  I'm so not looking forward to being crammed in with a bunch of chinese all staring at me wondering what the foreigner is doing there for 20 floors.  So, I take the stairs.  I find the office, and the guy says I'd have to leave it a week.  That's basically not a choice - especially since I just want it opened and told if it's dead or it's a simple fix.  He says there is a more specialized place in another building ... ask there.  So, I head off.  It's on the 17th floor.  I get to the elevator there, and it's the same damn thing.  Nuts to this, I'm going home.  I'd probably end up getting ripped off anyway, and this old machine doesn't need any more money spent on it (yes - I do still have that new small one I bought a little while ago.  But it is still at a secure, undisclosed location somewhere else in China waiting to be shipped back to me when I have a semi-stable address).

After getting it back home, I took it apart myself to see if I could do something.  It started up a couple of times, but would shut down pretty quick.  I cleaned it, I un- and re-plugged all the innards, I pleaded with it.  Eventually it started up and stayed on.  According to what I've read on line about this problem, though, I shouldn't ever plan on it starting up at any specific time ...  it may take a day or two to feel like working again.  So, once it's on.  It stays on.

That's the story.  You may find it boring ... it may be one of those "you had to be there things."  You may have had to be in my mindset ("Well, I'm back in China, but is this really where I want to be?  Hong Kong was nice ....... and just a subway away ...... if only it was cheaper......") Or maybe just knowing about those damned electronics markets will be enough.  I don't get why they're so popular.  Do the people like having to worry about being ripped off, buying fake goods, and being constantly yelled at to buy something?  I'll stick to buying my computers online, thank you very much.

At the end of the subway from Hong Kong, Shenzhen (wikipedia entry) is one of the leading symbols of the Chinese economic miracle.  It also shows how far the country still has to come.

Thirty years ago, before the opening of China, Shenzhen was just a collection of fishing villages (though far from small by American standards, still tiny by Chinese).  Deng Xiaoping then declared it the first Special Economic Zone in China and there's been no looking back.  The city now rivals any of the large ones of the west and hosts one of the major stock exchanges in China.  The municipal area now covers 8.6 million people (and according to wiki, 2.1 million are 'legal' residents - meaning all the rest migrated here).

I have some pictures, but I'm too lazy to put them up.  Honestly, all these boom cities start to look the same.  Although I get the feeling they like round buildings here.

And now... the other side.  I'm generally in a bad mood, so of course I'll be more negative about things.  First, the contrast with Hong Kong was expected, and yet still startling.  I had been used to a certain level of discomfort due to being different by living in Beijing.  That all but disappeared once I landed in Hong Kong.  I immediately felt comfortable and 'accepted' there.  People everywhere were polite, nice and generally obeyed the social contract.  Once I crossed the border line, it changed.  There was a urine smell, people spitting, smoking, and line-cutting, and generally watching out only for themselves.  Granted it could just be my paranoia, but people were staring at me more.  I was once again an outsider, and much more so than Beijing.

I ate at Little Sheep - a hotpot place I took my parents to in Hong Kong.  I wanted to compare.  The price was about half, but the quality was significantly lower.  That there sums up a lot of the experience here - cheaper, but you may not be thrilled about that.

The subway system has some catching up to do.  It's now just two lines, but many more are being built.  One street was completely ripped up with only a little space for pedestrians for the new line construction.  Not surprisingly, many of the store fronts on that street were vacant.

I'll put my first day experience with my computer in another post since it may get long.

There's a large building on fire in Beijing.  According to one report I just read, the preliminary suspect is fireworks.  That would have been my bet, too.  Today is "yuanxiao jie" ... basically the last day of the Spring Festival.  It's the 2nd most crazy day when it comes to fireworks during the celebrations.  To give you an idea, here's a video from this year's New Year's day outside my apartment (which you can see on the right at the end of the video).  This goes on all up and down the street, every street, every neighborhood.  It was taken with my camera which doesn't have sound ... a shame, because it's madness.  If you're a fireworks fan, this is for you.  My building's security guards all have fire extinguishers, and run around putting out the grass/shrub fires that inevitably arise.  (There were at least 6 this past year, with one becoming a decent sized shrub fire, which hilariously resulted in the first-responding guard getting completely 'extinguished' by the 2nd and 3rd arrivers.  That must have been freaking cold).

There was a story this past year of an ex-pat in Shanghai.  A father of four, he moved his family to the city to take a job with Dow Chemicals.  During a night out for some drinks with his wife and friends, he took leave early.  He went home and hung himself.  One of the lines in his suicide note: "I've felt so alone since we moved here."

(Don't get scared anyone, just an example)

Obviously this is a rare occurrence, but all ex-pats can understand what he must have been feeling.  Especially in some countries, you'll always be an outsider.  You may feel 100% comfortable and you friends accept you as "one of them," but you're always a foreigner with strangers.  You may have a nice apartment or house, and a place to return to in your home country, but those are only places to sleep.  You don't really have a home.  You don't have the right to be where you are, you are just making use of the privilege.  It could disappear at any time for any reason.  Anything you do, it all costs money and energy.

Recently, I've been trying to figure out where to live - long-term what city, and short-term where in Hong Kong.  I don't plan on being in Hong Kong too long, but more than two weeks.  The balance between comfort and cost is difficult for that time frame, with comfort/convenience seeming to have the edge, though cost adding to the stress.

So, anyway, while calculating costs and benefits of certain options, I decided to see just how fast I could possibly have my passport and visa applications finished.  I check the HK Chinese consulate page.  And there, right in front, is a note from April saying because the lines are too long you can only get a tourist visa in HK now if you are a permanent resident there, otherwise go back to your home country.  I never thought to check this ... the Hong Kong visa vacation is common among foreigners in China.  It was just what you did.  Things got tighter around the Olympics, but I knew people that had no problem in Hong Kong.  But there it was - on all the pages related to the visa on their website.  Is this how my Asian life ends?  With a whimper?  I ran off to the Chinese Travel Services building here to confirm, half thinking this can't be true, the other half already planning the return home.

Maybe the note was just for the Olympics and they never updated it after.  Maybe it's just to scare people.  Maybe it doesn't apply to Americans (btw - being an American - huge advantage.  You definitely should appreciate it).  The lady at CTS said it was no problem and didn't know about the note.  Also thought it could have been for the Olympics.  And being an American, I also don't need hotel reservations or the return ticket home (score!  Because I don't have, nor do I want either of those yet).  I won't be fully confident until the visa is in hand - you never can be overseas, something can always come up - but that certainly scared me for a few hours today.  Tomorrow morning is the passport renewal commencement, the first major matter to be dealt with here.  I hope to hell it goes well.

Update your bookmarks ... kidding.

I have arrived uneventfully.  My first impression of the city is that while playing SimCity, you have a difficult terrain map filled with rivers and mountains, and yet still manage to build a bitchin' city (some photos).

However, once again I'm surrounded by a language and city I don't understand.  Even my go to skill - reading - takes a huge hit because many of the characters are different** (more below if you're interested).  It's of course no where near the culture shock on arriving the first time in Beijing, and I already feel reasonably comfortable here, but it's still frustrating feeling like you don't belong.

The hotel - Island Pacific Hotel - is pretty decent, a little out of the way, but nice.  Some of the reviews wrote that it's in a "slum" and that the "smell is horrible."  Admittedly it's not the richest of areas and yeah, there's a harbor smell ... but those few people who wrote about these draw backs need a frickin' clue.  (Most people, especially those you could tell have traveled, had only good things to say and weren't bothered by the area at all.  Indeed, it's quite normal).

On checking in, I heard a mainlander speaking mandarin to a receptionist and another westerner also using it (though worse than mine, heh heh).  So, I figured, screw this - I'm speaking mandarin as well.  And sure enough, my worker also spoke mandarin.  That probably means all of them can speak three languages ... very impressive.  Maybe I'll get some chance to continue practicing here.  Actually, out of four of us checking in, only a young Asian guy used English.

To get a non-smoking room, I'd have to wait a few hours.  I decided I didn't really care and took what was available.  It turns out, I'm on the highest floor (26) of the cheap rooms.  Since it is a cheap room, I don't get a harbor view, but I do get this:

The room is tiny, as expected.  Everything else seems pretty good, though.  Oh, and I have some american tv stations --- yay Discovery!  I missed you.  Anyone have any requests of pictures or suggestions on what I should do while here?

** There are currently two sets of Chinese characters: traditional and simplified.  Around the 50's and 60's, the mainland began to reform the character system.  In some cases they made 'official' the often used writing shortcuts.  In others, characters were altered so the sound was more in line with the character components.  However, the reforms only took place on the mainland.  Hong Kong and Taiwan still use the traditional method, though the simplified versions are gaining in power in line with the mainland.  They truly are more simple, but they also lose the history.  As a foreigner, I'm happy for them, but I completely understand people that may be upset by the changes.

Whoops, typo.  Should read Hong Kong Bound.  Hope no one got excited.

A suitcase full of non-necessities is already on its way to southern China where it will remain in an undisclosed location until further notice.  The total cost was less then $25usd for 14kgs, boxing, and some insurance.  I hope it makes it there as I had to do the writing myself (on 3 different forms).  Don't even ask my about my English penmanship, let alone Chinese.  I noticed a couple of times people looking at me while I was writing  ... if they have a problem with my characters, they can bite me!

Tomorrow brings an early morning "international" flight.  I should arrive in Hong Kong around noonish.  When I get settled in and find some internets, I'll be back in touch.

Bye bye, Beijing.  I won't miss you like I miss New York, but it's been enjoyable.  Maybe I'll be back to visit someday - or buy a little villa in your suburbs for getaways (this is actually a serious consideration.  They aren't too expensive to begin with and if the place experiences a nasty price correction - not unlikely - I may look to scoop something up).

Numbers are an important part of Chinese culture and these days certain cell phone numbers are valued for their good luck as others are shunned.  I've always thought it'd be neat to have one of those evil (and cheap!) numbers, but never bothered to switch.  After recently seeing a nifty and probably reasonably valuable number, I thought more about mine.  Actually, it's already pretty crappy.  Knocking off the first three numbers, which are based on the company, mine can translate as (making use of homophones and near-homophones):  Dad will die.  Me?  I die and "yow!"

Thought you might like to know.

So, I realized I don't talk a lot about the Chinese culture for you guys.  If you're interested, here are a couple of movies you can watch.  First of all, the standard bearer for understanding China's recent history is Farewell, My Concubine.  It's kind of long, but allows you to witness just how much China experienced in 20th century, before even the rapid changes of recent decades.

But that's famous, and most people have already heard of it.  A more recent one that I like is 落叶归根  (Luo Ye Gui Gen, or Getting Home according to IMDB).  It's a semi-dark comedy starring one of the most famous Chinese actors Zhao Benshan.  He plays a migrant worker who's carrying his friend's corpse home to be buried.  Being buried in your home village is very important in Chinese culture - the title is a common expression that means one often returns home later on in life.  You'll laugh, possibly you'll cry, you may get a bit angry, but in general, I think it's a feel good story.  You'll also get to see a bit more of how China is today. [I heard the premise is based on a true story, though haven't confirmed that]

I'm not sure if it's available in the US, though a pretty clear version is here.  The subtitling is pretty good, and I think captures the humor pretty well.

If you watch it, let me know what you think.

So instead of taking things easy in life, I've always made silly, rash major decisions.  On the small decisions, I'm conservative, on the large ones I go nutters.  I have to ... I can't help myself.  And really, I'm always stopped out on a place to stay with home-cooked meals if things every really hit the fan, so it's not like I'm putting my livelihood at risk, only a sense of "security."  But while I sometimes get trapped in the lull of familiarity and stability, I always eventually snap and go looking for another direction.  Why am I not just heading home right now and cheaply riding out this financial crisis?  Very good question.  I tried to convince myself to do that, and it never really had a prayer.  Life's too short and the world's too interesting to not go after it.  Also, I'm still not sure I want to return to the financial field.

So, I'm off to Hong Kong.  Admittedly much/some of the hassle is due to my laziness/procrastination/vacillation, but I have a lodging problem.  First, to avoid unnecessary worry, let me state right now I have a hotel booked for five nights in Hong Kong ... apparently a pretty decent one, too.  Also, I will find a place.  It's just now I'm a bit used to certain comforts (privacy, cleanliness, etc) and I'm also lugging around all my stuff.  This is no backpacking trip.  However, the plan is to return to China, though, and I'll need at least a month in Hong Kong (I have to renew the passport first, then get a new visa).  I thought I had a place in a hotel for a  month, but all their internet-wired rooms are already booked.  Egads!  Can you imagine a month without the internet in your room?!  (Especially since I'm hoping to play some poker with my free time to allay the costs).  So, I canceled it.  Instead, the hotel I'm staying at is the one I wanted to stay at, but didn't have any long-term discounts and going by the day was more than I wanted to spend.  Now, instead of getting there and relaxing right away, I'll have to spend the time finding longer-term arrangements (Anyone want to donate disney points?  maybe I can stay there ........ hint, hint).

By the way, as much as I can't control my city hopping urge, it still gets stressful when the day you head off to a completely new place actually approaches.  So if any of you out there ever finally decide to take advantage of my already being in a cool place to make your travel to that destination that much more comfortable, I'm so charging you pain&suffering fees.  And they'll be high.

Had I left last summer as initially planned, there's not much I'd miss about Beijing aside from the familiarity factor.  That's not to say it's a bad place, just that it was nothing special.  There are better areas of the city to live in, but I wasn't there ... and it's not the most convenient city to travel in.

That's changed now.  This fall I discovered an absolutely fantastic hobby.  Get on the bike, head out to the outer areas and climb or explore something.  I did it any weekend that the weather allowed and almost never came up empty on a good experience.  This year had the additional benefit of the Olympic-inspired anti-pollution measures.  This fall the problem was noticeably better than '07 and the season itself, the best time in Beijing but notorious for its fleeting appearance, was longer as well.

Here's a selection of the photos I took, including I think my favorite of the entire stay at the end of this post.

As a note - the haze you see in many of the pictures is mist, not pollution.  China's many regions are like this and eventually you learn to tell the difference (if you're skeptical, look at old Chinese art ... most of the nature scenes have this mist and it's beautiful).  I do also have some pictures with pollution; it's obvious.

I rarely met other people on the climbing portions and I don't know why.  There are usually trails though sometimes they disappear.  I believe some were built for when they terraced trees on the mountain side and those can get rough, but others take you nicely to the peak.  In the winter, it's possible you aren't allowed as to prevent fires - I got denied at one place by locals guarding it.  But usually, you can find a place to enter that only has a warning sign and no guard (ready excuse: huh?  is that what that said?  I'm sorry, I'm just a stupid foreigner, my reading skill is very weak.)

Not just the view, but getting away from the crowds of Beijing is incredibly relaxing.  I'm still amazed there aren't more people out there.  And the biking is pretty good, too, once you get outside the city traffic.  (I'm going to miss that bike ... I still haven't decided what to do with it.  I guess lock it up downstairs and maybe someday ... someday I'll be back for it).

And I'll end with a simple story ... I had high hopes for the trip I was denied on.  It was a longish bike ride that would take me through some tiny villages and then hopefully to a place I wanted to climb (as judged by Google Earth).  Unfortunately, I eventually ran into the road block.  I wanted to find another place to go, but we had a terrible time conversing.  The residents of Beijing's suburbs often have extremely strong accents ... and I'm pretty sure I do, too.  So, I dejectedly turned around.  It was too late to randomly head somewhere else, so I just went back to the last village and found a little trail to take.  It turns out, there was a guy tending the recently planted trees there.  I though I approached loud enough, but I was wrong.  I scared the crap out of him.  I asked him if I was allowed to climb here and he said yes, and pointed the direction to take, but that it wasn't much.  So, I went up a bit further, took some pictures, and decided to accept the semi-skunking that was the day.  On the way down, though, he was taking a break so I joined him.  We sat and talked and ate together (his accent wasn't so bad).  There I was, sitting there, not knowing what life held for me in the coming year, chatting casually with a guy who's lived his whole life in a tiny village just outside of Beijing and now contentedly tends the trees on a hill side in his advancing age.  Bu cuo, bu cuo.  I can't help but smile.

Well, it's official.  I purchased a plane ticket to Hong Kong for this Saturday and I'm only waiting on it's delivery for now.  Unfortunately, unlike Ricky Nelson* I have no China doll waiting for me there, because I sure could use a place to sleep.**

* Yes, I had to google who sang it, I'm not that much of an oldies expert.  Video here

** Note to family (Mom): Do not panic.  I'll find a place to sleep.  I was just hoping to do it without spending a fortune ... which having spent a long time unemployed and in Beijing, my standards have significantly dropped.  I may have a heart attack the next time I eat out in New York ...... or even just buy one beer.

Remember me?

In less than two weeks, my visa is up and I must leave the country.  I keep telling myself that the destination for now is Hong Kong, but I haven't been able to make myself buy the plane ticket yet and I'm not quite sure why.  Even if I plan on returning to the mainland, I still need about a month out of the country - I'll have to renew the passport, too, before I can get a new visa.

The main problem is finding a reasonable place in Hong Kong for a short-term rental that doesn't break the bank.  (Anyone got any connections?  I'm quiet, pretty clean if a bit cluttered, <insert other good things here> etc. etc.)  After a month or two or whatever there, it looks like I'm being drawn to Shanghai.  My English and somewhat-respectable Mandarin may be a better asset there and it would also allow me to further develop my Chinese.

The prospects don't look so good and I'm preparing for the long-haul of unemployment here.  But since I'll probably be doing some relatively interesting things, it may be worthwhile posting again.  In the meantime, I may gather some of my favorite un-posted photos and reminisce about some of the stories from Beijing as I prepare to leave.  Or... I may get completely lazy and spend all my time thinking "I can't believe it's over!  This is soooooo what life should be like ... and now it's done!  Unfair, unfair!"

The internet is ubiquitous these days, so I don't think I'll have problems maintaining contact.  But just in case, I'll make an effort to get on during the adventures and post here to at least let everyone know I still live.  It may be in the hills of Hong Kong, but I still live.

In terms of equalness, that is, according to the United Nations.  Out of 120 major cities, Beijing placed at the top while New York came in a the-revolution-is-just-days-away112th.

I don't know how to respond to this kind of absurdity.  Is there a lot of wealth concentrated among "the few" in New York?  Sure.  People are drawn to it because of it.  In practicality is it more unequal than Beijing?  To even entertain that thought is completely ridiculous, let alone say Beijing is the top while New York is nearly the worst.

I first found the news on a Chinese sight and began reading the comments.  Most Chinese aren't fooled by this inanity either, but apparently the report authors are.  Did they never think to go and take a walk through the cities?  I recommend the 10 minute bike ride I have to school as a start and can offer better examples from there.  Unbelievable ... I propose the UN lessen New York's class-struggle strain by donating the land of its headquarters for more housing.

Sorry, just had to complain to someone about this.   I have pictures from another weekend bike trip that I'll get up sometime soon.

Beijing in the fall is simply splendid and this year has the added bonus of cleaner air left over from the Olympic measures.  Unfortunately, it's also by far the shortest season.  However, there was at least  one more weekend of nearly perfect weather, so back on the bike it was.  Destination was the Ming Tombs, near the Juyongguan Great Wall but closer and doesn't end in a hill.

As I was approaching it, I saw a tower on the top of a mountain in the distance.  I've heard the Ming Tombs weren't that interesting and it was only serving as a destination.  So I kept going past them, to see if I could get to that tower.  Eventually, I found myself in a mostly dried out reservoir.

The area had horseback riding, some off-road paths, people flying kites, and others fishing in some of the remaining water.  At the far end was a para-sailing field (may be something to try eventually).  I took the long route through the grass, rocks, and water - finally removing the American SUV label from my bike (built for off-road, never seen dirt).

On the other side, I got back on the road and saw I may have a chance to reach that tower, so I continued my search.  In this area, there is also a golf course and the Olympic triathlon venue.

Turns out the tower is located in a park.  I asked the ticket seller if I was allowed to bike inside, and she said yes.  As I was entering, the ticket taker told me to park my bike.  When I said I wanted to ride it, she let me go, but I believe she thought I was either crazy or stupid.  Turns out, the latter is the correct answer.

I was getting tired, and this was steep.  I almost parked the bike, especially since I think stairs are the only way to eventually make it to the top, but I wanted to see how far I could go.  It was too much, though, so I started walking the bike after a while.  Couple of minutes later, I noticed the front tire was completely flat.

The trip was over.  I knew I was far from any repair station - even though guys are stationed everywhere usually.  I started walking towards the nearby suburb - about 4 or 5 km away.  I didn't want to waste money on a van yet, in case I took one all the way home.  I also knew they'd try to take advantage of me, and it would already be a reasonably expensive trip.  I was a little nervous about visiting a repair station this far out - not just the potential pricing issue, but also the accent.  It's not an exaggeration to say even other Chinese have a difficult time understanding some Beijingers.  I knew my Chinese would be sufficient, but I feel like I give Americans a good name when people hear my Chinese (I've also been told my pronunciation is pretty decent - when I'm tired, though, that point disappears).  With a native Beijinger, though, I might as well try out the old Japanese.

After a kilometer or so, a guy came up from behind me to get my attention.  He told me there was a repair guy on the side street I had just passed and took me back there.  On the way, he said it was 2 kuai to add air (30 cents) there ... that's quite expensive for that, but like I cared.  I asked him how much it would be if the inner-tube was bad, and he didn't know.  Well ... whatever.  When I got there, the guy got right to work.  Popped off the tread, found the leak and repaired it pretty quickly.  We chatted a little during it and that part went smoother than I feared.  Before he started, I didn't bring up price.  That was dangerous, but unless he got ridiculous, I wasn't going to cause a fuss.

When it was done, he said it was 2 kuai, "the same price as for Chinese."  2 kuai?!  I guess that's what the first guy meant (but he did say add air).  For 10 or so minutes of labor, though?  Yeah, okay, I know that isn't bad for him ... but I was impressed he didn't take advantage of the situation at all.  I was honest and said I was from the city (like he'd believe anything else), so he knew I was a long way from home.  I gave him 10 kuai and asked to take his picture.  I'd have been okay giving more, but I didn't want to risk insulting him (there's no tipping in China).  Here he is - like an idiot, though, I forgot to ask his name.

Thank you, Beijingren.  I despise getting ridiculous starting prices because I'm a foreigner, but in a rather vulnerable situation, you were unbelievably honest.  I wish the best for you.

There was still time in the day, so I eventually figured out where I was and headed back to the Ming Tombs site.  Turns out, it's just a Heavenly Way or something leading to the area where the different tombs are located, scattered throughout the valley.

If it's like this again tomorrow, I may try searching for some of those specific tombs.  Maybe this gets better with the audio tour, but for the regular ticket price, it wasn't all that worth it.  That may be why more than half the people inside were foreigners with tour groups - or maybe the Chinese ones just show up earlier.

Full album here (21 pics).  Ha!  This time I made you read it before the link.

The ups and downs of the market don't really bother me as I'm investing for the long-term.  However, seeing my account value fall each day by more than I spent for the extra five months of rent in Beijing isn't something that easily rolls off the back.  It's not affecting my sleep, though, as I obeyed one of the main rules of the stock market: money you need has absolutely no business being in it.  I still have enough in cash to last for a while.  However, things are starting to take a toll.  I'm back in classes, and I really don't want to be there anymore.  Studying just the language is getting dull and any progress at this level is difficult and frustrating.  So - what's there to look forward to?

Well - the ultimate goal is to eventually find a job overseas.  Difficult in normal times, it's going to be daunting if not impossible with the disaster that is Wall Street right now.  Also, I'll probably be trying to find a job by going to the city and searching - even more difficult if not even technically illegal in some countries.

So, yeah, I'd be lying if I said I'm not starting to feel the pressure.  It'd be one thing if I had acquired a definite language skill ... but I still have a long, long way to go on that front.  I refuse to teach English, but I don't know what options that leaves me with at this point.  For now - wouldn't this be a better representative of the bear market?  At least why you're losing money, you can have an "aaawwwww" moment.

Can I start posting again with talking about Chinese football?  Well, I didn't plan on it at first.  I don't think anyone really cares, but I can't help it.  It's such a train wreck, I just have to post about it.

One of the teams (Wuhan) in the top division just pulled out of the league complaining that they were being unfairly treated (a player was suspended for 8 games).  The ironic ... or maybe relevant ... thing is in that the game the foul occurred, their opponent - Beijing - initially complained about the game circumstances (ref changed just before, and Beijing felt the new ref - from a rival city - was biased against them.  "If the football association doesn't want us, they should just tell us.")  Theories, excuses, exaggerations, ridiculousness and stupidity are plentiful.

Pulling out of a league.  Nice.  Let the entertainment continue.

Starting October 26 and going through April 30th, every Chinese student will have to do daily long-distance running (article here, in Chinese).

The gist - elementary students will run 1km every day, middle school 1.5km, high school and above will be 2km.  Results will go on their record.

I'm all in favor of exercise.  In general, I think people are way too lazy and then complain about things that would be alleviated by general exercise.  But there are too many aspects I find wrong with this program that instead of listing them, I'll just say "I'm 100% opposed."

After receiving the disks and doing a partial re-install, my computer is back on life-support.  That's an upgrade from stuck-in-the-closet.  Actually, it's running pretty well, but it blows up every now and then.

So, in celebration of having all the software again, here's a post - with pictures! - on today's adventures (click here to go straight to the pics and skip the post).  I've been wanting to do it for a while, though I've been too lazy when it comes to set out.  The plan was to bike to the closest part of the Great Wall, climb it, and return.  Today, I once again chose to sleep in and be lazy.  However, around 12:30, I realized today was too nice - perfect temperature and remarkably clear - and I had to go.  So, I got on the bike and went.  I wasn't sure of the distance, but it looks to be about 50 km away.  Most of the ride is pretty decent and took a little more than 2 hours.  The end, though, is all uphill.  Not a Tour de France hill, but I'm also not in shape.

Upon arrival, finding a safe place for the bike was key.  Otherwise I was resting, and returning home.  After talking to a cop, he eventually took me to a special place where I secured the bike.  However, he gave me a time restriction, which meant I had about 1.5 hours.  I also didn't realize just what I'd be climbing... the view I had of this area from the bus on my trips to a different portion is probably less than half the size of the "real" Juyongguan on the other side of the road (picture of what I thought it was on the left).

It's a big holiday week in China and the tourists are out in force.  I read that this year Chinese tourists to Beijing were up 14% from the same time last year (to visit the Olympic venues, etc).  My experiences this week completely back that up.  This portion usually isn't famous with the tourists, but I guess there weren't many other places to go.  It became a standstill occasionally, but I can't say the forced period of resting was unneeded.

The climb certainly wasn't easy.  On my way up, I hear "Long legs certainly help, don't they?" and began chatting with a couple of American guys teaching English in Wuhan now.  At one of the few flat parts, he let out a swear word, and we both heard "Oooh, I understand that word! Ha ha!"  It was a family from Texas taking a rest.  We also stopped to take a break and speak some English.  The guys were on a tighter schedule and weren't going to make the top, but I was determined to make it.  The last portion was kind of funny - only the intrepid made it this far so there was plenty of space.  And even then, you could see people stop in mid-stride and rest (I was one).  Technically I didn't make the "top" - you can go the roof of the last guard post.  Since there was a line for it and I had to get going, I didn't climb up.  As far as I'm concerned, though, I made the damned top.  Proof (the one on the left is another view of what I had thought I'd be climbing.  As you can see, much, much easier):

The one on the right I think is a picture of the Badaling portion - click to view larger version (previous Badaling album here), though I'm not positive.  If so, it's about 7-10 km away, I believe.  Especially if you click on those Badaling pictures, you can see why I felt the need to visit the Great Wall on a day as clear as this.  At the top, I really began to feel it.  My quads starting cramping and it made for a difficult descent, let alone the ride home

At the bottom, it was time to get on the bike again.  I was looking forward to resting while going down the hill and then taking it easy the rest of the way.  I thought it was basically flat.  I was wrong.  It's an ever-so-gentle, slight uphill most of the way.  Normally I wouldn't notice (I didn't notice it was downhill on the way there), but when your lazy, out-of-shape legs are screaming for mercy, the "climb" isn't about to offer you any.  After arriving home, I don't know what hurt worse - my legs, my back, my headache, or my butt.  Will I do something similar again?  ... I already have destinations in mind for next weekend.

Full album, once again, here.  Worth a look, I think.

Some random add-ons - On my bike, I got a lot of looks and a lot of hellos.  I doubt some of these areas get many foreigners on bikes.  Some are annoying or sarcastic, I think - tends to be adult men and they use strange voices.  Others you can tell are geniune, and I try to answer them.  However, if I'm flying by you on my bike, don't except a response.  My favorite hello from today was on the hill approaching the Wall.  The side road passes through some not-entirely well off neighborhoods.  There were too older ladies sitting outside having a chat.  The one saw me, got a weird look on her face as she tried process the sight, then got a huge smile and said "Hello!"  She got a nice one back and made me smile, too.  At the Wall itself, there were at least several sneaky pictures taken of me, but only one direct request - a young boy of about 12 years.

There was essentially a bike path the entire way there, except for that final climb.  But that was through a neighborhood and had plenty of other bikers anyway.  Bravo to Beijing for providing the service.