Managing time

Can't say I flooded you with news lately. It's because the internet wasn't working in the last three days... Was on the road.

I made the ambitious choice  to spend one day in Huangshan, 6,5 hours away from Shanghai, before going back to the metropolis to take a train for Xi'an. Why Huangshan? Because it seems its mountains are a must-see.

So I flipped things around to make it fit my schedule and make sure I could get there.

Step 1 : Night train between Shanghai and Tunxi. On a hard sleeper. Nothing too bad, but light sleep only.

Step 2 : Get directions. I got in Tunxi at around 9 in the morning. Just enough time to leave my luggage in the hostel and tell the guy who works there that I wanted to get to the mountain. He said I wouldn't have time. Well, I must have, because it's the only day I got.

Step 3 : Get to the bottom of the mountain. While searching for a bus to the mountain, a woman grabbed me and told me to get in a van... After looking at how people behaved around there, I got in, not knowing if that mode of transportation was "legit". They dropped me one hour later at a bus stop where I needed to buy another ticket. There again, I was told I wouldn't have time to see the mountain. What they didn't know is managing time is my job. Let me do what I want to do.

After three hours on the mountain (look at that, I succeeded... even if it was short), I got down and had to go through two hours on the bus again. The next day : going back to Shanghai. Again, a van was used as a shuttle. They dropped me on the corner of a street where I boarded a bus that was almost full. Something tells me some people get some money out of something they souldn't, taking it out of tourists not bright enough to go directly to the bus station...

The same night, after 6 hours on a bus, I took another night train, that time on a soft sleeper that is soft only in its name. Same as hard sleeper if you want my opinion.

There I am, in Xi'an for one more day, before I get on two more night trains in two nights, heading to Pingyao and Beijing. In all the noise of the train station and the difficulty to get train tickets, I decided not to go to Luoyang and Datong, which were on my original list. On the other hand, I'll spend eight long days in Beijing. Enough to settle down and explore. At least I hope so. After all, managing time is my job...

Simple entertainment

Andreas is working hard to get that picture.

It was already established that a big share of traveling is about people we meet. In that way, the best memories are not always the one we make by visiting well known places.

Couple of days ago, I spent the evening with another backpacker who stayed in my hostel for one night only. No time to see Shanghai for him. So we took a walk to the Bund, the walkway along the Huangpu river. The beauty of going out at night with other people is to stop in unexpected places. It is to spend less time at your destination than everywhere else you stop on the way.

In this case, we had fun taking night pictures without a tripod. We needed to be smart, so we used a paper cup we found on the ground and a lighter to take a picture of... a bike. The Chinese walking by, after midnight, wondered what two white guys could find interesting about that old bike. The question marks in their eyes shed more light than the lampposts. They couldn't understand. But I will remember. I didn't count the number of attempts, but there was a lot. So like it or not, here is the result.

Made in China

I got in China. The "real" China. Got in Shanghai at the end of the afternoon. I survived my flight on a low cost company : Spring Airlines. Low cost : no meal, no comfort, but a cheap link between Hong Kong and Shanghai. The seats felt like they were made of cardboard and were not reclining at all...

Surrounded by Chinese, I discovered that the stewardess of that company, on top of giving the security tips, were guiding the passengers through some exercises before landing. It was funny to see everybody raise their arms to shake their hands...

It was easy to go through immigration. No questions. Or almost. A stamp in the passport. There you go : set to go. 

I decided to board the Maglev to get in town, before using the metro. It wasn't long before a woman took me for a walking ATM. A white guy coming from the airport : kaching!

While I was trying to understand how to buy a metro ticket, she was asking for money, saying thank you all the time. She kept on trying. She added very much. And when I was saying no, she was putting on a sad face. She followed me everywhere. Until I got in the metro. The begging Chinese really follow us like seagulls searching for french fries. They stick with us.

In the big city, with people asking us stuff all around, touching us, it was the first time I felt like I needed to watch my wallet, my passport and my other belongings.

Scam
At least, they won't get me with the Tea Ceremony scam I heard about. Some people act like tourists or strangers and invite you to a tea ceremony. But the price is ridiculously high. When you know it, you stay aware.

Tomorrow, I'm seeking adventure in that big city... with Gilly, of course.