Tianmen and the Avatar Mountains

Dreams Come True

Unbelievable. 

When you have had the undeserved privilege of seeing a lot of beautiful things, you realize your pool of adjectives is inadequate. Or maybe that's just me. I'm settling on 'unbelievable' for this trip.

Taking full advantage of my 2-week winter break, I began by traveling to Hunan province. The trickiest part of this 4 day trip was keeping all the names straight. The names of towns, mountains and scenic areas seemed to overlap and be used interchangeably. The travel included a short flight and a 4 hour bus ride. Each of the 3 destinations I wanted to reach were about an hour apart from each other, as well.  Luckily China is pretty easy to get around and very well visited by locals and foreigners, so the travel 'infrastructure' though not flawless, is pretty well established.  

Tianzi Mountains- Day 1.

We had a clear day to see Zhangjiajie National Forest which, I think officially, has been renamed The Avatar mountains.  If that is true, it is sad. The Hollywood movie was man-made but the mountains are not. And the mountains existed long before the movie. Perhaps we should edit the name of the film if we are name changing. Whatever the name, the mountains are unbelievably beautiful. This was a place I started dreaming about after I accepted my job in China. We went during the off-peak season, so it wasn't as crowded and the tickets were cheaper. After entering the park, we took the world's tallest outdoor elevator up (the description is more exciting than the elevator itself) and we did a little hiking. 

Unbelievable.

Tianmen Mountain- Day 2.

I have already been searching for cheap flights for my return visit.  Tianmen, which is translated Heaven's Gate, was exquisite. I took, arguably, the world's longest cable car ride up to the mountain, and back down. On the return journey, I got a car all to myself.  That will probably never happen again. You're usually sardined with 7 other people, from what I hear. I, giddily, ran back and forth in the little car the entire ride. 

There was so much fog in some places that I couldn't see everything, but it was still amazing. I can only imagine what it's like on a clear day. Thus the hoped for return visit. They had stomach-dropping glass walkways that were unimaginably attached to the sides of the mountain. They were my favorite, but it was all unbelievable. The day was wet and cold, but possibly my favorite. 

Grand Canyon Glass Bridge- Day 3.

I had such high expectations for the bridge that I was slightly disappointed. Possibly the scenery, which we could never fully see, was breathtaking, but I'm not sure. Getting to the bridge was complicated and the bridge was shorter than I expected, though it is the world's longest glass bridge. I am still glad we made it there! I had a lot of fun "skating" on the wet bridge and I think my pictures are pretty. 

We also got to see another amazing show and I got to eat authentic Hunan food.  Though Sichuan food(the home of the pandas) may be more famous worldwide, in my home town, Hunan food is. The cuisines of both provinces are delicious. 

Though the weather conditions were not always what I would have picked for this Zhangjiajie adventure, I think they ended up being perfect. It was a dream come true.

Cheng-DO!

I took a personal day in early December and went on another solo trip. One short, inexpensive flight and I landed in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. 
*personal day- we get 2 days to use at our discretion, each year

 

I went with 2 goals, 1.) to see the pandas (CHECK) and hold one if possible,  and 2.) to see that huge Buddha in Leshan- a short train ride away (CHECK).

I found Chengdu extremely easy to maneuver and very inexpensive. Each bus ride cost the equivalent of 15 American cents and my 45 minute taxi ride from, and to, the airport cost less than 10 dollars, each way. 

Interesting Things
People in Chengdu found me very interesting. More so than in Xiamen and that is saying something, because in Xiamen I feel pretty special. At one point, I realized I was walking into a group of pre-teens and, thinking twice about that, I tried to discreetly change course. (I find that especially that age likes to try out their limited English on foreigners, when in groups.) Before I could turn around, roughly 6 of them saw me and collectively moved towards me shouting, "Hello, How are you?".  It was a little creepy. Especially after the crowds I had just faced at the cool Giant Buddha. 

Other things I took note of (Gotta get my random in): all the women in Chengdu wear shiny black pants and even though it was pretty darn cold, no one wore gloves. 

The Giant Buddha 

This grand statue is the world's largest stone carving of Buddha. It is from 713 AD!

Face Changing Opera

My time at the Face Changing Opera was really fun because I had no idea what was happening! I wanted to try to catch a theatrical production as it is a 'thing' in most touristy locations in China. It was one of the listed tours at the hostel, so I signed up. Turns out I was the only person that signed up, so I got my own personal Mandarin speaking opera expert. In short, I received first class .service. And it turns out, face changing is impressive, but not as scary as I imagined. Phew. 

Pandas, Pandas, Pandas

I got to see a lot of these adorable creatures. Panda's natural habitat is the mountains of western China, but most of these endangered animals now live in sanctuaries in that part of the country, mainly in Sichuan province. Sigh. I love them. Unfortunately, I did not get to hold one. It is currently, and I think/ hope temporarily, outlawed because an animal somewhere, maybe a panda, hurt someone. I don't know the details. This sanctuary is a research and breeding sanctuary. Panda babies (the whole thing is, evidently, pretty monitored) are born in early fall so I want to go back at that time  There were young pandas but no babies when I went.

 

For a 14 dollar donation, I received an official stuffed panda toy and an official certificate saying I donated to the World Wildlife Fund. So worth it.  

I really enjoyed my time in Chengdu and I highly recommend visiting it. So, if someone ever asks you, "DO you want to go to Cheng-DO? you reply, "Yes, I DO!"

Hong Kong, Shanghai and the I-Don't-Know-What-You-Are-Saying-Face

Hong Kong hop.

Hong Kong is just a hop away so I knew I'd go back. 

Traveling solo.
Combine a small English speaking community and people's different working schedules and what you get is, the need to be able to do things alone. The traveling opportunities are vast so if I want to take full advantage of them, I need to travel by myself. And I CAN do that. Really! I think...

Okay, I admit it still takes a little courage. Courage: When you are scared, but do. it. anyway.

I decided to practice this with an Independence Trip. It was also a kick-off-my-new-year (October birthday girl here). My thinking was I'd start with a place I didn't know well, but that wasn't completely foreign either. Hong Kong seemed fitting. The trip required a few 'firsts'. I picked up my train ticket from the intimidating Chinese train station, took the train by myself, transferred to the metro, went through customs and the border crossing(from mainland China to Hong Kong). I even chose to stay in a shared room hostel(females only) for the first time. It all went smoothly. I took a refreshing hike, went to church (my 2 high points), but decided, overall, Hong Kong is a bit too shopping and people heavy for me. Not that I won't go back. There are other great hikes and food establishments for me to explore. I haven't even been to the top of Victoria Peak yet!

SHanghai SHannon.
SHanghai kinda sound like SHannon. I had such a nice time this past weekend in Shanghai. Foremost, because of the people. I met up with an American friend, working there, from my time in Budapest. I had not seen her for several years. At that time, I was a volunteer with a non-profit organization and she was teaching in an international school. Meeting her in Hungary actually got me contemplating this path of international teaching. The idea was new, since I was planning to be a volunteer for the rest of my life. Sometimes, I miss that more simple, idealistic me. It was great to reconnect and experience a bit of her Shanghai life. I also traveled with a friend from Xiamen and met lots of new folks.

Imagine if our planet was really polluted.

I love dystopian novels, of which I have read my fair share. I felt like I was in one of those novels, during my time in Shanghai. Imagine the opening of one such novel.

One crazy man enters, or maybe not so crazy, it is still too early in the novel to determine. Picture him approaching the main character, perhaps a seemingly typical, but actually courageously above average, boy of about 14 years old. Imagine him telling the protagonist about a time, in the past, when people could look out from the western bank of the Huangpu River and actually see the Pearl on the other side (famous locations in Shanghai, where the novel, of course, takes place). Perhaps Crazy Man would even claim the sky used to be... blue! At which the boy would scoff. Imagine that, a BLUE sky!

It was dreamlike. Unreal. 
The pollution in Shanghai was pretty bad. It can fluctuate, though typically, it is not great and the fall and winter are the worst seasons for it.

In Shanghai I also got to eat fried dumplings and cake donuts (old fashioned doughnuts even), go to Old Navy (happiness), check out a 200 year old tea house, and visit my friend's fancy international school. I was a little jealous of their metro and the variety of churches (we visited one) available in the city of 26 million, even with the pollution. 

Learning Chinese and the I-have-no-idea-what-you-are-saying-face.

I love studying languages, but I'm not so great at learning them because I don't enjoy it when toddlers can speak better than me. And who wants to see the 'I have no idea what you are saying' face. Again and again.

Right now Mandarin is my favorite. I meet with my private tutor, at my favorite coffeehouse, twice a week, for an hour and a half each time.

Learning to read Chinese characters. 

I. can. read. some. characters!! And I think it is the coolest thing. Ever. I know so, so little in the whole scheme of the language, but I am giddy that I can recognize over 100 common characters. I am preparing to take the standardized proficiency tests for Chinese. These exams (there are 6) are recognized by public universities and such but I just like having goals. I'd like to pass 2 levels a year, but I'm not going to stress about it.

Teaching first graders is great. They are adorable and they learn and grow right. in. front. of. my. eyes. They are learning to read and they think it is the coolest thing! So do I. Since I am also learning to read it makes it even richer.

I can relate to the processes they are going through. I hear my choppy reading and how I guess at words that have the same parts as other characters. Like my students, I need to go back and reread. Sometimes I read a whole sentence and get praised for it only to admit I have no idea what those words actually mean when combined together. I laugh out loud because I sound just like my first graders. It's awesome. I have never had this experience before. I have only studied languages with latin characters, besides Arabic. And let's be honest, I didn't learn a lot of Arabic. Learning how to read and write the Arabic characters was amazing, but I didn't learn how to communicate in the language much. I think I know more Chinese after 4 months than Arabic, after 2 years. It is motivational that what I learn is useful to my daily life.

Settling In.
My apartment is comfortable, if not cozy. I have a treadmill for if I don't want to fight the crowds or face the pollution (we have some bad days in that area, too). I even attained a toaster oven this week. Typically homes don't come with ovens.

Slowly I'm building a community around myself. I have a supportive work environment, kind colleagues, I've been attending a church(even teaching sunday school this week), helping lead a small group at an English Corner (I say club, you say corner), and meeting new people here and there.

Happy Thanks and Giving Reminder Day.

Thanksgiving went by almost without recognition. The school I am teaching at is not "American", like in Kuwait, (it's International) and many of my colleagues from other countries and don't celebrate American Thanksgiving (imagine that). A couple of us did gather, shared what we were thankful for and ate our fill of traditional food. Turkey, stuffing and pumpkin cheesecake. Oh my!

National Week's Top 6

Last Week was China's National Day and I had a week off of work because of it. I did what I was told to do. "Do not visit anything in China, during any national holiday!" Okay, okay.

So here are the highlights from my excursion to Hong Kong and Cebu, Philippines.

1. The Bullet Train
My first time on one of these. It went 200 miles an hour, though it didn't seem like it, and it still had to make several stops. It was comfortable enough, and only 30 dollars for the 4-hour jaunt to the Chinese border.  Unfortunately, from there, it was another 2 hours of border crossing and other transportation into Hong Kong- which is, yes technically, still China. Officially it is called the "Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China." 

2. The Skyline of Hong Kong
Nicest from the mainland, and also pretty when you are on the ferry. 

5. The Big Buddha View
Surprised by delight. This is only my second huge one but, I like visiting the enormous statues(the other was the reclining Buddha in Bangkok). I loved the beautiful, affordable bus ride to the remote site and uh-mazing view from the top of the many STAIRS (I like stairs, as well!) up to the carved figure. It was also strikingly quieter than the city.

3. The Tarsiers
These little monkey-looking creatures!  They are endangered, rare and simply cute. We saw them at a sanctuary in Bohol, Cebu.

4. The Beach
Wow. Could not believe my eyes. Overwhelmed to be in such a place. Jealous of whoever is at this Anda, Cebu, Philippines' seaside now. 

6. Chocolate Hills
I wish is was clearer and that I could have hiked or rode around IN them, but still happy to have seen them. They are the main reason I decided to head to the country comprised of more than 7,000 islands.

How could I not like a trip with these 6 amazing highlights?!?
I won't go into detail about the raincheck-needing weather, the closed port, the crowds, the long lines, the beggars, nor the crazy amount of time traveling. :) These highlights are outstanding; zenith even, so all in all- a great trip to Hong Kong and number 4-0.