A couple of non-spoilery highlights
Okay, well, it seems like some people want a travel journal (Jenni!) so I think I will do one. (Jenni, I want more of Japan! All I remember is Jack being chased by deer.) I was trying to figure out what I could post in the meantime that wouldn't end up spoiling the travel journal while still answering some of the questions that popped up in the last post. I think this should be non spoilery enough ...
The Passport Situation
Everyone seems to be curious about that. ;) It's not very flattering on my part. Short form of the story is that I lost it at the Sichuan Opera. I think I dropped it (that and my little security pouch) on the floor by accident. Well, afterwards, we go to the hotel and they need the passport to check us in. Well .... crap. We RUN back to the Opera. Gone. On the bus? Nope. Then we get to encounter the bureaucracy that is China. Our local guide is with me at this time, Little Bear, and he calls the police. Wait, they say. We'll send a car out to meet you. So we do and so they come and drive us back to their station. The situation is explained and then ... oh wait, you're in the wrong district. Then they stare at us like we're the stupidest people around and tell us that we need to go back to the other district's station. Bye. I seem to remember that in the US, the police would help you out and drive you if it wasn't too far. This was all of 5 minutes away, and they didn't want to budge an inch. So off we went to the other station. (All done by taxi, by the way). They filled out some useless form and sent us on our way. Then it's sleep time, since nobody is open at midnight. Morning comes, and with it, angry phone calls from parents (along the lines of YOU ARE SO STUPID). I print out all the necessary stuff (photocopies of passport, visa, and birth certificate) sent from my parents and set off to the US Consulate. Oh wait. Chatting with them on the phone brings about 3 more forms we need. Back to the Police Station. Then to the Chengdu Exit/Entry Administration Building. Then finally to the US Consulate, where they speedily print out my new passport. All don-- wait, I need a visa. Chengdu says they can have it done by Tuesday. It's Thursday. No, I'm not waiting five days in Chengdu, screw that. So I get my butt to Shanghai with my new passport and first thing Friday morning, my Uncle and I end up at Shanghai's Exit and Entry Administration Building for a new visa. Police Chief says normally it's a week, but fine, for you, Tuesday the 6th (my return ticket is the 7th). Oh, but you need this other form. So off we go to this other building, also named Exit and Entry Administration - but with an appendage of POLICE STATION to the end. I don't really get it, but we get some other form signed there. Tuesday morning, bright and early, I receive my new passport with my new visa. Whew!
(and psst - this is the quick version. There's more for the travel journal entries, believe it or not.)
Yaks
No China post is complete without a mention of yaks, since that's all I was inundated with for two weeks straight. So, here's a yak!
This yak stalked us in the Jiaju Tibetan Village (which is a WHOLE nother story all by itself.)
For Nina
Jiuzhaigou actually lives up to it's pictures. My mom saw them and kept commenting that someone must be sneaking in at night and dumping chemicals into the water to make it so pretty. We got lucky and it was brilliantly clear and sunny when we went. Here's a preview:
五彩池, Five Color Pond
And just for you ... a kitty!
Ten Thousand Year's Temple, Emeishan
For Erika and Kristen, since KFC seems to be a popular subject.
Chinese KFC! This is just supremely awesome. Quick version is that the chicken meat is just a lot more flavorful in China. In the US, it just tastes like bland soggy white meat. I assume it's because China probably has more lax rules about food safety, so the chicken is probably freshly killed somewhere just around the block and shipped fresh to a nearby KFC.
KFC in LeShan, China
For Jenni
Air China's domestic breakfast was horrible. Yes, I have pictures! You too, can experience the horror for yourself.
Flying somewhere over China, Air China Flight 1947, Shanghai to Chengdu
L-R: Broccoli and carrots, which were decent, but is not breakfast food. Top is a sausage ball with a hole filled with egg. The sausage was spongy and nasty. Below, is a big orange thing. To this day, I still don't know what it is. The closest we could guess was a fish cake, but the texture seemed all wrong. It was also spongy and soft and I really wasn't brave enough to eat more than 2 bites. Finally, crappy fried potatoes. They were crappy.
Since that brings up such horrible memories in my mind, how about something more pleasant? I took this picture just for you, Jenni. Chinese bakeries!
A Chinese Bakery in Westgate Mall, Shanghai, China
For Me
Best Breakfast Ever. Big Chinese vegetable wontons, with a chicken egg. Freshly made on the spot, all for 5RMB. Mmmmmmmmmm.
I'll try and start the travel entries soon. I have 1300+ photos to wade through, so not sure how fast I'll be.
The Passport Situation
Everyone seems to be curious about that. ;) It's not very flattering on my part. Short form of the story is that I lost it at the Sichuan Opera. I think I dropped it (that and my little security pouch) on the floor by accident. Well, afterwards, we go to the hotel and they need the passport to check us in. Well .... crap. We RUN back to the Opera. Gone. On the bus? Nope. Then we get to encounter the bureaucracy that is China. Our local guide is with me at this time, Little Bear, and he calls the police. Wait, they say. We'll send a car out to meet you. So we do and so they come and drive us back to their station. The situation is explained and then ... oh wait, you're in the wrong district. Then they stare at us like we're the stupidest people around and tell us that we need to go back to the other district's station. Bye. I seem to remember that in the US, the police would help you out and drive you if it wasn't too far. This was all of 5 minutes away, and they didn't want to budge an inch. So off we went to the other station. (All done by taxi, by the way). They filled out some useless form and sent us on our way. Then it's sleep time, since nobody is open at midnight. Morning comes, and with it, angry phone calls from parents (along the lines of YOU ARE SO STUPID). I print out all the necessary stuff (photocopies of passport, visa, and birth certificate) sent from my parents and set off to the US Consulate. Oh wait. Chatting with them on the phone brings about 3 more forms we need. Back to the Police Station. Then to the Chengdu Exit/Entry Administration Building. Then finally to the US Consulate, where they speedily print out my new passport. All don-- wait, I need a visa. Chengdu says they can have it done by Tuesday. It's Thursday. No, I'm not waiting five days in Chengdu, screw that. So I get my butt to Shanghai with my new passport and first thing Friday morning, my Uncle and I end up at Shanghai's Exit and Entry Administration Building for a new visa. Police Chief says normally it's a week, but fine, for you, Tuesday the 6th (my return ticket is the 7th). Oh, but you need this other form. So off we go to this other building, also named Exit and Entry Administration - but with an appendage of POLICE STATION to the end. I don't really get it, but we get some other form signed there. Tuesday morning, bright and early, I receive my new passport with my new visa. Whew!
(and psst - this is the quick version. There's more for the travel journal entries, believe it or not.)
Yaks
No China post is complete without a mention of yaks, since that's all I was inundated with for two weeks straight. So, here's a yak!
This yak stalked us in the Jiaju Tibetan Village (which is a WHOLE nother story all by itself.)
For Nina
Jiuzhaigou actually lives up to it's pictures. My mom saw them and kept commenting that someone must be sneaking in at night and dumping chemicals into the water to make it so pretty. We got lucky and it was brilliantly clear and sunny when we went. Here's a preview:
五彩池, Five Color Pond
And just for you ... a kitty!
Ten Thousand Year's Temple, Emeishan
For Erika and Kristen, since KFC seems to be a popular subject.
Chinese KFC! This is just supremely awesome. Quick version is that the chicken meat is just a lot more flavorful in China. In the US, it just tastes like bland soggy white meat. I assume it's because China probably has more lax rules about food safety, so the chicken is probably freshly killed somewhere just around the block and shipped fresh to a nearby KFC.
KFC in LeShan, China
For Jenni
Air China's domestic breakfast was horrible. Yes, I have pictures! You too, can experience the horror for yourself.
Flying somewhere over China, Air China Flight 1947, Shanghai to Chengdu
L-R: Broccoli and carrots, which were decent, but is not breakfast food. Top is a sausage ball with a hole filled with egg. The sausage was spongy and nasty. Below, is a big orange thing. To this day, I still don't know what it is. The closest we could guess was a fish cake, but the texture seemed all wrong. It was also spongy and soft and I really wasn't brave enough to eat more than 2 bites. Finally, crappy fried potatoes. They were crappy.
Since that brings up such horrible memories in my mind, how about something more pleasant? I took this picture just for you, Jenni. Chinese bakeries!
A Chinese Bakery in Westgate Mall, Shanghai, China
For Me
Best Breakfast Ever. Big Chinese vegetable wontons, with a chicken egg. Freshly made on the spot, all for 5RMB. Mmmmmmmmmm.
I'll try and start the travel entries soon. I have 1300+ photos to wade through, so not sure how fast I'll be.