Vacation Part 2: Xi'an, Weihai
We arrived in Xi'an exhausted after a delayed flight and one-hour+ check-in nightmare at the hostel, but we did manage to find our first too-expensive restaurant in Xi'an, hotpot place that was double what it should have been. Xi'an itself is pretty impressive, with the largest intact city walls in China and the magnificent Bell Tower, which anchor's the city's center within the walls.
Xi'an also has its share of kitsch, as we would find out the next day as we visited the Terra Cotta Soldiers, known in China as the Eighth Wonder of the World. As it has done with many other (previously) attractive tourist destinations, China has over-indulged in an effort to make every last buck, and the result is less than desirable. We passed this Egyptian (theme) park on the way to the Soldiers, which alone should be enough of a draw, and once there we had to walk through a literal tourist city with countless shops and people paid to dance for about half an hour before we reached the actual pits containing the soldiers.
Once we got there and paid the enormous entrance fee, we realized that we could visit a museum commemorating the building of the museum, but not one actually detailing the discover and uncovering of the soldiers. This is also where we had our most expensive dinner, where we paid four times the typical rate for food and ended up with much less. To ease the frustration, and to poke fun at the crazy pictures that Chinese people take that usually involve only people in ridiculous poses and none of the scenery or circumstance that would warrant a picture being taken in the first place. Thus, when you look at a Chinese person's photo album (and I have), it's difficult to tall whether a picture was taken in a prison cell or at the Great Wall, because all you can see is a person's face and a few peace signs.
The Terra Cotta Soldiers were fairly impressive, but I kept thinking that very little had been done in the thirty years since the soldiers were first unearthed. It looks like no archaeological work has been done in twenty years, as huge sections of each pit remain hidden, so the overall effect was substantially reduced and a little disappointing.
We had another expensive dinner that night in the Muslim quarter, though it was much better. What's really annoying is not so much the price, as it's still cheap by western standards, but by the inconsistencies in service provided to Western and Chinese patrons. Chinese often assume that all Westerners are wealthy, but in reality, many make more money than I do, at least ones that would eat at a night market instead of cooking. It's not like we charge tourists in America more money just because they;re tourists (unless they really have it coming).
The next day might have turned out to be my favorite of the vacation. We left early again to take a bus to the base of Huashan, considered the most dangerous of China's five holy mountains and featuring a 6km trail and 2100 meter peak. The second half of the trail is completely steps; the ones shown below are pretty much the steepest ones we encountered, though. Still, thousands of steps can be exhausting.
After 4-5 hours we were at the top of the north peak, a good 500 meters short in altitude of the other four, higher peaks. People tie red ribbons and place engraved locks on the railings at each peak.
An hour later we had hiked to the higher peaks and found a place to stay for about 6 dollars a night each, which was expensive even by our standards and became even more so when you saw the hole/bathroom and realized you had very little water to use for any purpose, drinking and bathing included.
After sunset we had another expensive dinner, even though we ate only cold noodles and a plate of fried rice. It's understandable that food would be more expensive at the top of a mountain, though, because it is relatively inaccessible. Men like those below transport food, garbage, and recyclables up and down the mountain several times each day.
We intended to wake up the next morning for sunrise, and we even arrived at our destination, the East Peak, early, at 6:15, though we had clearly missed sunrise by at least 30 minutes before we got there. Crazy China and its one time zone. Still, the views were beautiful, and the temples hanging onto the sides of cliffs looked even more spectacular.
Because we had a late afternoon flight to catch, and because the mountain was a good couple of hours away from Xi'an, we started our descent early and took the more direct path, which meant that almost the entire path consisted on steep and very shallow steps. We made it down in super speed however, only to be slowed by an insane bus driver who was fond of using the entire road. Famished, we hoped to fill our bellies and avoid expensive airport food, but unfortunately, we stumbled upon a Sichuan restaurant, and I didn't notice until it was too late. Sichuan cuisine is known all across China for its searing heat, and it did not disappoint. This was simply the spiciest food I have ever had. Look at all those peppers! Every dish was unbearable until I ordered a plate of broccoli and demanded that any peppers be kept far away while cooking. Too bad it also cost us a fortune. And don't believe Andrew's smile in the picture; we were finished with peppers by that point.
I had been dreading our flight from Xi'an, as there were no direct flights to Weihai or Yantai, which are the closest airports, and we instead had to fly to Qingdao, which is a good 3-4 hours (normally) away from Weihai. Unfortunately, since we wouldn't arrive in Qingdao until 8pm, there would be no more buses to Weihai, and we'd have to hire a car for the trip. This turned out to be disastrous. I thought we were doing well at first, because I talked the guy down to 500 yuan (I was quoted 700-800 by drivers before I left), but about 15 minutes after we left the airport, the driver flagged down another motorist who apparently had a Yantai license plate. Since our driver clearly didn't want to take us, he worked out a deal with the Yantai driver and in the process received 350 of the 500 yuan he would have received had he taken us the whole way. Not bad for a 15-minute drive. Clearly, our new Yantai driver was not the brightest, as he paid 350 yuan for the privilege to take us to Weihai, and would only receive himself an extra 150yuan for completing the trip. Thus, he paid 350 yuan to the man who drove us 15 minutes, but would only net 150 yuan for the entire journey. Stupid. Unfortunately (again), he already had a passenger that wanted to go to Yantai, so I was pretty certain we were going to get screwed and end up having to go to Yantai first. I was right, but I had also decided to only give the guy 400 yuan, since we never wanted to go to Yantai in the first place. Unfortunately (yet again), our new driver decided once we got to Yantai that he no longer wanted to go to Weihai, because it wasn't worth the 150 yuan he was set to receive (which I wasn't going to pay him in the first place because the trip took so long). DUHHHHH ! MAYBE SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE AGREEING TO TAKE US! So, he proposed flagging down another car for us at the expressway to Weihai, which I naturally opposed as that would increase the cost of the trip (and make us even later). However, as I said earlier, our driver was a complete moron and just sat in the car and whined for the better part of an hour about how he was tired and it wasn't worth the money to go toWeiha . At this point it was all I could do to keep from punching him, and I'm not even violent. This guy was that stupid. He eventually conceded he'd make the trip for an extra 50 yuan which isn't even that much money (an extra 6 dollars), but this left me more fuming. You don;t negotiate a contract after you've already agreed to an original one and are in the process of fulfilling it. Can you imagine agreeing cutsomeone's hair for three dollars, then realizing it's not worth the money, then leaving the hair half-dyed for two hours while arguing for more money, then suggesting the customer find another stylist and still pay the original one the original amount, then whining a little more and asking for a raise, then finally completing the job, and then having the nerve to ask for money? NO.
We eventually made it back to Weihai at 1am (the first of three times it it took more than five hours for that 120 mile stretch). Matt had only two days in Weihai, so we had to make the most of them. The weather was colder and generally less pleasant, but we still managed to spend some time outside at the beach and explore downtown. The moment I had anticipated most upon our return to Weihai was karaoke, however, and Matt and Andrew didn't disappoint. While I generally struggle through songs (but still proudly sing my heart out), Matt and Andrew actually managed to harmonize. I'm pretty sure they;re the best karaoke singers the world has ever known. Even when singing Bon Jovi and Puddle of Mud.
The next night (Wednesday, Matt's last) we ventured out to the club (see videos from previous posts), but before that we had another giant Xinjiang dinner with lots of friends in Weihai.
Xi'an also has its share of kitsch, as we would find out the next day as we visited the Terra Cotta Soldiers, known in China as the Eighth Wonder of the World. As it has done with many other (previously) attractive tourist destinations, China has over-indulged in an effort to make every last buck, and the result is less than desirable. We passed this Egyptian (theme) park on the way to the Soldiers, which alone should be enough of a draw, and once there we had to walk through a literal tourist city with countless shops and people paid to dance for about half an hour before we reached the actual pits containing the soldiers.
Once we got there and paid the enormous entrance fee, we realized that we could visit a museum commemorating the building of the museum, but not one actually detailing the discover and uncovering of the soldiers. This is also where we had our most expensive dinner, where we paid four times the typical rate for food and ended up with much less. To ease the frustration, and to poke fun at the crazy pictures that Chinese people take that usually involve only people in ridiculous poses and none of the scenery or circumstance that would warrant a picture being taken in the first place. Thus, when you look at a Chinese person's photo album (and I have), it's difficult to tall whether a picture was taken in a prison cell or at the Great Wall, because all you can see is a person's face and a few peace signs.
The Terra Cotta Soldiers were fairly impressive, but I kept thinking that very little had been done in the thirty years since the soldiers were first unearthed. It looks like no archaeological work has been done in twenty years, as huge sections of each pit remain hidden, so the overall effect was substantially reduced and a little disappointing.
We had another expensive dinner that night in the Muslim quarter, though it was much better. What's really annoying is not so much the price, as it's still cheap by western standards, but by the inconsistencies in service provided to Western and Chinese patrons. Chinese often assume that all Westerners are wealthy, but in reality, many make more money than I do, at least ones that would eat at a night market instead of cooking. It's not like we charge tourists in America more money just because they;re tourists (unless they really have it coming).
The next day might have turned out to be my favorite of the vacation. We left early again to take a bus to the base of Huashan, considered the most dangerous of China's five holy mountains and featuring a 6km trail and 2100 meter peak. The second half of the trail is completely steps; the ones shown below are pretty much the steepest ones we encountered, though. Still, thousands of steps can be exhausting.
After 4-5 hours we were at the top of the north peak, a good 500 meters short in altitude of the other four, higher peaks. People tie red ribbons and place engraved locks on the railings at each peak.
An hour later we had hiked to the higher peaks and found a place to stay for about 6 dollars a night each, which was expensive even by our standards and became even more so when you saw the hole/bathroom and realized you had very little water to use for any purpose, drinking and bathing included.
After sunset we had another expensive dinner, even though we ate only cold noodles and a plate of fried rice. It's understandable that food would be more expensive at the top of a mountain, though, because it is relatively inaccessible. Men like those below transport food, garbage, and recyclables up and down the mountain several times each day.
We intended to wake up the next morning for sunrise, and we even arrived at our destination, the East Peak, early, at 6:15, though we had clearly missed sunrise by at least 30 minutes before we got there. Crazy China and its one time zone. Still, the views were beautiful, and the temples hanging onto the sides of cliffs looked even more spectacular.
Because we had a late afternoon flight to catch, and because the mountain was a good couple of hours away from Xi'an, we started our descent early and took the more direct path, which meant that almost the entire path consisted on steep and very shallow steps. We made it down in super speed however, only to be slowed by an insane bus driver who was fond of using the entire road. Famished, we hoped to fill our bellies and avoid expensive airport food, but unfortunately, we stumbled upon a Sichuan restaurant, and I didn't notice until it was too late. Sichuan cuisine is known all across China for its searing heat, and it did not disappoint. This was simply the spiciest food I have ever had. Look at all those peppers! Every dish was unbearable until I ordered a plate of broccoli and demanded that any peppers be kept far away while cooking. Too bad it also cost us a fortune. And don't believe Andrew's smile in the picture; we were finished with peppers by that point.
I had been dreading our flight from Xi'an, as there were no direct flights to Weihai or Yantai, which are the closest airports, and we instead had to fly to Qingdao, which is a good 3-4 hours (normally) away from Weihai. Unfortunately, since we wouldn't arrive in Qingdao until 8pm, there would be no more buses to Weihai, and we'd have to hire a car for the trip. This turned out to be disastrous. I thought we were doing well at first, because I talked the guy down to 500 yuan (I was quoted 700-800 by drivers before I left), but about 15 minutes after we left the airport, the driver flagged down another motorist who apparently had a Yantai license plate. Since our driver clearly didn't want to take us, he worked out a deal with the Yantai driver and in the process received 350 of the 500 yuan he would have received had he taken us the whole way. Not bad for a 15-minute drive. Clearly, our new Yantai driver was not the brightest, as he paid 350 yuan for the privilege to take us to Weihai, and would only receive himself an extra 150yuan for completing the trip. Thus, he paid 350 yuan to the man who drove us 15 minutes, but would only net 150 yuan for the entire journey. Stupid. Unfortunately (again), he already had a passenger that wanted to go to Yantai, so I was pretty certain we were going to get screwed and end up having to go to Yantai first. I was right, but I had also decided to only give the guy 400 yuan, since we never wanted to go to Yantai in the first place. Unfortunately (yet again), our new driver decided once we got to Yantai that he no longer wanted to go to Weihai, because it wasn't worth the 150 yuan he was set to receive (which I wasn't going to pay him in the first place because the trip took so long). DUHHHHH ! MAYBE SHOULD HAVE THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE AGREEING TO TAKE US! So, he proposed flagging down another car for us at the expressway to Weihai, which I naturally opposed as that would increase the cost of the trip (and make us even later). However, as I said earlier, our driver was a complete moron and just sat in the car and whined for the better part of an hour about how he was tired and it wasn't worth the money to go toWeiha . At this point it was all I could do to keep from punching him, and I'm not even violent. This guy was that stupid. He eventually conceded he'd make the trip for an extra 50 yuan which isn't even that much money (an extra 6 dollars), but this left me more fuming. You don;t negotiate a contract after you've already agreed to an original one and are in the process of fulfilling it. Can you imagine agreeing cutsomeone's hair for three dollars, then realizing it's not worth the money, then leaving the hair half-dyed for two hours while arguing for more money, then suggesting the customer find another stylist and still pay the original one the original amount, then whining a little more and asking for a raise, then finally completing the job, and then having the nerve to ask for money? NO.
We eventually made it back to Weihai at 1am (the first of three times it it took more than five hours for that 120 mile stretch). Matt had only two days in Weihai, so we had to make the most of them. The weather was colder and generally less pleasant, but we still managed to spend some time outside at the beach and explore downtown. The moment I had anticipated most upon our return to Weihai was karaoke, however, and Matt and Andrew didn't disappoint. While I generally struggle through songs (but still proudly sing my heart out), Matt and Andrew actually managed to harmonize. I'm pretty sure they;re the best karaoke singers the world has ever known. Even when singing Bon Jovi and Puddle of Mud.
The next night (Wednesday, Matt's last) we ventured out to the club (see videos from previous posts), but before that we had another giant Xinjiang dinner with lots of friends in Weihai.
posted by Mysteries of The Orient at 5:50 AM
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