Last Stop and Travel Tips: Beijing and Home

The Great Wall, Chinese acrobatics, scorpions on a stick, frozen lakes, Hooters, dancing, my new best friend from London, firecrackers non-stop, hoards of Chinese tourists (thanks to the New Year holiday), mastering the metro, and losing my debit card pretty much sums up my experience in Beijing.  Ten days flew by (I never even went to the Forbidden City or the Summer Palace or the Olympic Park...), and it was really the other travelers I met in the hostel that made it wonderful! I was pleasantly surprised by Beijing in general - besides the touristy areas, the city did have a somewhat calm vibe.

Now that I'm back home and have had some time to reflect on my overall experience, I've compiled "Tracey's Travel Tips: Do's and Dont's": 

1. Don't plan too much. 

2. Do volunteer - it's a great way to get involved with the local community (teaching English, on a farm, etc.)

3. Do try and master at least these three key phrases in any foreign language: Thank-You, Hello, and Do You Speak English?

4. Don't fall asleep on the night tram in Prague. 

5. Don't buy bracelets from children in Cambodia (it just keeps them on the street.) Instead, support an organization such as the Cambodian Chilren Painting Project. 

6. Don't take too many pictures of buildings, when you get home you're not going to remember what they are. 

7. Do take advantage of hostel kitchens (especially in Europe where eating out is pricey!)

8. Do believe that people are inherently good. It's easy to automatically mistrust people (obviously listen to your instincts), but I think the world would be a much better place if we all saw the good in others first. 

9. Don't stress out too much if you miss your bus, train, or plane. You can always catch the next one (or just change your plans and go somewhere else!)

10. Don't drink a bottle of wine in a park in Seville an hour before you have to catch a plane to Rome (I'm surprised they let me through security!)

11. Do try the cheap/public modes of transportation vs. the tourist modes. You might end up sitting next to someone that offers you fried crickets. 

12. Do smile - when you're haggling, chatting with the tuk-tuk driver, trying to convince the airport check-in lady that your bag is under 7 kilograms (yeah, right, it was more like 12) so you can carry it on, or meeting new people. A smile is universal. 

13. Don't be afraid of squat toilets - they're more sanitary. 

14. Do follow your heart and your adventure will unfold in a way that's unique to you. 

15. Do stay or travel with friends/family whenever possible. I found some of the best times I had were with friends from home - Katie in Paris, Sydney in London, Gretchen in Garrucha, Pete in Portugal, Keelin and Ian in Thailand/Cambodia, and Wen's family in Changzhou. 

It's hard to believe that five months ago, going back to my first blog post, I was freaking out about being homeless for five months and wondering why nobody told me I was crazy. After about a month the thoughts of "What the hell am I doing here?" became fewer and farther between, and over time (especially within the last six weeks), a contentment set in and I know I would have been crazy not to travel. 

Walking the (freezing cold) streets on my last day in Beijing

It's All About the Guanxi: Changzhou

Guanxi definition: the interplay of a complex network of personal and social relationships. It can be understood in terms of it not being just what you know, but also whom you know. This is still a central concept in Chinese society.

Staying with Wen's family in Changzhou was a great experience - her parents, brother, sister-in-law and nephew all live in the same apartment. Learning the little intricacies of Chinese lifestyle was fun - slippers, drinking hot water, how insanely spoiled kids are (thanks to the one-child policy, I presume?), showering at night, the food, etc. I spent most of my time with Wen's mom (a professional Chinese opera singer/actress) who speaks the Shanghai dialect. Combine that with my terrible Chinese and it could have led to disaster. Luckily with patience and hand gestures we were able to have (limited) conversations.

I also spent some time with friends of my dad and Wen's, discussing possibilities of an import/export business - we'll see if anything comes of it - I know absolutely nothing about business, not to mention starting one.  One of the friends introduced me to a TCM doctor in Changzhou, and I got to spend some time shadowing her at a hospital and asked loads of questions.  The biggest difference between acupuncture in China and the US? PAIN. The acupuncture I watched was nothing like the pleasant and relaxing experiences I've had back home.  Other than that, I spent my time in Changzhou taking long walks, eating dumplings, volunteering at an English learning center, and watching terrible Chinese soap-opera.

Also thanks to guanxi, I was able to get a train ticket to Beijing in this crazy Chinese New Year travel period (I'm just one of the 230 million people currently traveling, mostly by train) thanks to Wen's family's connections with a police-officer. Corrupt? Maybe.

Maybe it's because I can speak a little of the language, or because I'm a Lao Wai (foreigner) girl traveling alone, but people have been extremely helpful. Thanks to the TCM doctor I met on the bus in Huaihua who helped me pick out cold medicine, bought me lunch, and made sure I made it on the train safely. Thanks to the woman I met on the train who helped me navigate Shanghai's metro system, also bought me lunch, and called Wen's family for me to give them details about when my train to Changzhou would be arriving. It's these little things - the kindness of strangers (and friends and family) that has really made my trip amazing.

Yin, Yang, Trains and Snow: Kunming and Huaihua

Woke up this morning to a few inches of snow! It's hard to imagine that a week and a half ago I was swimming in a waterfall in Laos.  After a 30 hour bus ride to Kunming, I spent a few days adjusting to China and have realized two things - my Chinese sucks and good coffee is hard to come by.

Luckily I got a train ticket to Huaihua (Chinese New Year is right around the corner and this time of year is the largest mass migration in the world). So traveling (especially by train) is utter insanity. I did manage to get a sleeper bed, but it was the top bunk (you can't even sit up), right next to the speaker, and also right next to the smoking cabin (it wasn't the smoking that bothered me - but the Chinese men who seem to deliberately make as much noise as possible hacking up phlegm). The speaker was only a problem at 6:30am when they started playing a terrible version of "My Heart Will Go On", followed by an instrumental version of "Hi-Ho" from Snow White, then the Kenny G. Christmas album (which I didn't mind as much). Seriously where do they get their soundtracks?

Currently I am sitting in a freezing cold room (buildings generally aren't heated in China) at Zhongfang International Red Cross Hospital. I'm taking a week-long course on Traditional Chinese Medicine, focusing on basic theory and acupuncture. I'm the only student. It's really interesting and I look forward to my "classes" everyday. There is loads of information to take in and it's somewhat overwhelming, but at the same time it has made me realize that pursuing acupuncture/Chinese medicine really is my path.  The doctor teaches in Chinese, which I can vaguely follow, but there is a translator as well.  The hardest part for me so far has been trying to shed my Western medicine view of the body/physiology - in Chinese medicine, organs have more holistic functions, and everything is more interconnected. 

Dr. Lili, my teacher, and I at the hospital (and an acupuncture doll)

Huaihua, as a city, is pretty much a dump. Luckily the hospital is really nice (and new), my room has a heater, and all the doctors/translators/administrators I've met so far have been extremely friendly and helpful. And there's even an exercise room! It's quite a walk to the nearest store (I made the venture yesterday), and there aren't really sidewalks (combine that with a busy highway, snow/ice, and crazy drivers), so I think my ventures off hospital grounds will be few and far between. So pretty much I'll be living off of Nescafe, oatmeal, instant noodles, bananas and apples for the next five days.

After Huaihua I will head to Changzhou to spend Chinese New Year (or part of it) with Wen's family. 

{Note Tracey went to login to her blogspot account from China and found it was blocked. Therefore I'm (Brooke) posting for her from Seattle. Yea censorship!} 

Journey up the Mekong: Luang Prabang

It would be really easy to get stuck here. Really easy. I've already been here for six? eight? no...nine days. And I could stay a few more weeks. Or months. And in all honesty, I haven't really been doing much.  I did bike 40 miles out to a waterfall (for some reason I thought it was going to be flat...but no), so I think that makes up for my eight days of not doing anything.

Excellent coffee, magnificent views, baguettes, real cheese...but the real gem is the people. So far, people in Laos (I suppose I'm generalizing - people in Luang Prabang) have been the most welcoming, friendliest, and kindest I have ever met. 

Swimming here was awesome. Especially after the longest bike ride of my entire life. 

The wall between foreigner and local seems to be a little shorter here. I celebrated New Years with the family that runs the guesthouse (and they refused to let me compensate them for the copious amounts of beer I drank), spent the day yesterday exploring caves and temples across the river with a local student I met while volunteering at an English conversation center, and even bargaining at the night market is always done with a chuckle.  The tuk-tuk drivers are not as aggressive - maybe they're all stoned? (They sell much more than just tuk-tuk rides).  The other day I accidentally gave 1000 kip (about 12 cents) too much for a bottle of water to a woman who runs a small shop outside of her home - and she came running down the street after me to hand me my 12 cents. Again, I'm generalizing, but I don't think that happens much in Thailand (or China).

Only one more full day in Luang Prabang. I really wish I had more time to explore more of Laos - obviously my view is limited being in this touristy, ex-French colonial town (hence the baguettes) - but without a doubt I am returning.

Goodbye good food, friendly faces and people not trying to rip you off at every opportunity. Hello, China.

Forgot to mention the 10,000 kip ($1.20) vegetarian buffet at the night market. Best. Thing. Ever.

A Green Christmas: Northern Thailand

Wat exploring with hostel friends in Chiang Mai,
Sharing mentos with a monk on the minibus to Pai,
Barbecued duck and searching for the perfect tree,
It wasn't quite Christmas like home but still filled with glee.
After parting ways with my Danish travel buddy,
Hopped a bumpy bus to the border and slept quite ruddy,
Thanks to the karaoke bar next door.

Floating lanterns on Christmas Eve