China

Instagram: #littlebutterflyinchina

"You will never be completely home again, because part of your heart will be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place" - Unknown

Shanghai:

Very nervous, some sort of anxious and scared yet super excited I got on the plane out of breath after running halfway across the airport. I kind of misjudged the size of Incheon Airport a little. Im on my way to Shanghai, the first stop of my first ever solo trip and that for 3 months. Backpack on the back feeling a little more like a turtle than a little butterfly, I'm ready to take Southeast Asia by storm. I'm a little spaced out since there is a trillion things crossing my mind at this very moment. 

I landed at the airport followed all the signs to the train to make my way to my hostel in Shanghai which was really close to The Bund. The Bund is a really famous canal splitting the french buildings from the skyscrapers and it's also one of the main water transportation canals in Shanghai. The Bund was also the first thing I saw in Shanghai. Like a little overly excited child I put my backpack down in my room and headed out to see the famous Bund. Even though Shanghai was a little smoggy I felt like I could've been in France. The buildings had beautiful french architecture and a lovely bell clock giving the time every 15 minutes starting at 7 in the morning and ending at 10pm. I walked around for a good two hours probably taking selfies, having my first encounter with the Chinese wanting to take photo's with me and somehow also trying to gather my thoughts. Getting mentally ready for a big trip is as much part of the process as doing research about the places you want to visit or should visit. Not really understanding the Yuan ¥ (Chinese currency) exchange rate and how much street food is suppose to cost I grabbed dinner in a SUPER expensive restaurant. I do love Chinese food. But damn paying to much doesn't suit the backpackers salary. 

I met 3 Germans in my hostel and hung out with them drinking wine and beer and listening how much of their german I could figure out. I had german in school for two years but that didn't prepare me much. I can't speak it at all although I catch words. Anyway luckily we all understood english so english it was. Together we saw the Bund (again), ate delicious unknown signature Chinese foods, explored the old chinatown and the French concession. They were all master exchange students in China for a year and one of them could actually speak a little Chinese which was perfect and made a lot of things certainly a lot easier. Our hostel had a bar on the sixth floor of the building with a marvelous view of the Bund at night. But since drinks at the bar had a mark up price of almost 200% we bought beer at the convenience store and sat in the room discussing our next activity and chilled. One thing about backpacking and a backpackers budget is knowing how to save money rather than budgeting for the most expensive.  

As Shanghai didn't have much more that really interested me I decided to head to Beijing one day earlier than planned. Beijing has so many magnificent places to see that you best need to take your time and explore each of the destinations properly. And I was way to excited to see the Great Wall. 

Beijing:

After a lovely 5 hour train trip to Beijing spending at least half the time on the train sleeping I arrived in Beijing and set on the quest to find my hostel. I must say having a Maps App and a sim card really made things a lot easier. I walked into the old town of Beijing and my first thoughts were "Where the hell did you book a hostel??" The area almost looked somewhat like shack houses stacked on top of each other with a small shop or restaurant here and there. This in itself was quite an experience. I got to the hostel, booked in and went to my room. It looked really nice and clean and the hostel had wifi. Wifi is of utmost importance although Google, Facebook, Youtube and many more sites are blocked in China. This was somewhat frustrating as I still see all the Facebook notifications but it's not viewable. Eventually I fixed this problem by downloading a VPN called Betternet.

The first day I walked out of the hostel to find some breakfast and head out to the Forbidden city and Tiananmen square when I met a guy, Tijmen from the Netherlands. Using a huge pancake, the biggest I've ever seen with a radius of about 30 cm, as a conversation starter I somehow convinced him to join me. Very keen to join me we walked off towards the very famous temples of the Forbidden city. From that moment I couldn't stop laughing.We bought an audio-guide to get some insights into the history of this gigantic palace. We were eager to learn. Not only did it enlighten us with information but also with some humor. We only had one earpiece between the two of us so one of us listened for the teacher to lecture us and as soon as he started talking we had to run to a spot that's shielded from the wind so both of us can hear. We thought that we would be able to do the city in 4 hours but I think we ended up spending around 7 hours in the city. Not because it's so big, although it is, but because of all the selfies we took and running for corners with the audio guide. Everywhere you hear about the smog of Beijing but that day we had blue skies. My whole chest actually burned rose pink. We headed up a little hill in a park on the north side of the city. Being pretty tired and Tijmen being a typical man, quiet when he's hungry, we challenged eachother for a run to the top. He obviously won. The view from the top was breath taking. We had a panoramic view of the whole city. It was spectacular. With no smog in the air we had a really great view and lots of craziness added that. We took some pictures in traditional clothing, danced and swung ribbons around and headed out for dinner. A mans gotta eat. 

It was time for the Temple of Heaven and Hutong city walk. The Temple of Heaven had gorgeous gardens with scattered platforms where groups of the older generation of Chinese people gathered for joyous dancing. Different dances were danced everywhere. Tijmen and I through my "scarf" on the floor and enjoyed some people watching. When we decided to continue walking through the park he grabbed me and started dancing with me as if we knew what we were doing. The chinese loved this. Strolling or skipping through the park, stopping to do some yoga, handstands, cartwheels and just being super silly we enjoyed being in nature. I felt like a kid again, literally. Sometimes you just need to be silly and young again to feel free in this world where responsibility and routine are expected. Having someone to join in makes it all the more normal and fun. We went to see the main Echo pavilion, screamed to test if it echoed and also went to the prayer room for good harvest used in the Qing and Ming Dynasty times. pretty lazy, tired and almost hungry but dragging it out we ended up chilling on the green grass soaking up some sun and listening to the birds singing melodies. The chinese took pictures of us, stared at us and discussed our obscure behaviours. Completely abnormal to chill on the grass, it's dirty.

Hungry and thirsty we headed to Hutong. In the Lonely planet book they suggested a very unique city walk. And that it was indeed. When we arrived in Hutong we started at the bell and drum tower courtyard. There was almost no one but as we walked down the streets towards the main should I say area or more canal the whole street started lighting up with lights, people and music. All the buildings still had the old look to them, most with big red Chinese doors, lion head door knobs and little passages in between. We bought some beer (drinking on the streets are allowed) and went to sit down next to some fishermen fishing in the disgusting water and looked at the town lights listening to random music mixes from the clubs around. Best way to end a good day of laughter and fun would be with beer, a romantic atmosphere and great company.

Before leaving Beijing for the Terracotta Army in Xi'an we had to go skip through the summer palace built by 100,000 laborers during the Ming and Qing dynasty. Being extremely jolly and child-like we walked the gardens around the lake in so many fashions.  We were kings and queens, tourists, kids, and just normal at times as well although that didn't happen to often. This beautiful park has a very relaxing feel with at least 2km of paths for leisurely walks. Even though it was a public holiday and we shared the park with Chinese in the thousands it was great for people watching. People can be so interesting at times and amusing as well. We also got asked a few times for photos. They love the blonde hair and blue eyes. I must say we both like the attention but sometimes it got a little out of hand especially when parents push their kids into our hands. It's terrifying for the kids. 

Great Wall:

So awesome it needs its own heading.

I must say hanging out with someone full of life is fantastic. After mentioning the Great Wall and the trips provided by the hostel, which costed about 260¥(super expensive) Tijmen mentioned camping and I was convinced. We started planning our own trip to the wall. Tijmen had a tent, sleeping bag, mattress the works and the only thing we needed was food, water, warm clothes and tissues (for obvious reasons) which was all doable. We emptied our backpacks, left all the unnecessary things at the hostel, laptops, ipads etc. to make space for 8L of water, coke for that sugar boost in the morning and when we needed it and food, mostly little huge pancakes, noodles and biscuits, oh and of course all the warm clothes we have which in our case wasn't much. We headed to the wall on the Friday, took 2 busses and 4 hours later we started hiking up a invisible path to the wall. The first day we hiked up Zhuang Dao Kou for a good 2 hours. It might have been more. This part of the wall was all beautifully restored with the old rocks used hundreds of years ago. We ended up in a majestic watch tower on the ridge of the mountain with water flowing in the valley. Tired and super unfit and cold we set up camp in a decent corner shielded from the wind. Finding a clean watch tower was a little bit of a mission as it takes a nice solid hike between the towers. I was pretty surprised by the amount of rubbish people just leave behind in these towers. As soon as the sun set it was like a ice blanket covered the mountain tops. The wind was freezing. We chilled in the tent, drank our beer, ate some food and went to sleep pretty early. Little did we know how cold things on the wall will get. It was absolutely bone chilling. We were probably awake majority of the night shivering, tossing and turning. 

At dusk we fell asleep and had a decent 2 hours only to be woken by one of the watchers of the wall. We packed up and headed to the bus station to catch a bus to Mutianyu. Mutianyu is another part of the wall, more touristy and also restored but close by in the direction of Jiankou there is a whole unrestored part of the wall. One thing we said on the bus while heading to our next destination is how impractical the wall was built. The whole wall was built along the mountain ridges. It's pretty amazing but we have absolutely no idea how people built the wall. The way up the mountain is not a easy hike and carrying all the bricks/ slabs to build the wall is pretty impressive.

The unrestored part of the wall was incredible. I don't like new things as much as I like old things. I prefer old, there is just way more story in old things. With backpacks on our backs, a little off balance and uneasy we climbed down and up cliffs, over boulders and through woods. The wall was covered by nature, had a lot of loose stones and sand making it slippery but oh, so beautiful. We had fun. We arrived at the mountain pretty late and still had to walk a stretch to find the perfect place to sleep. We heard there were people camping at the bottom of the mountain and decided to go check it out but as soon as we realized it was Chinese people we went elsewhere. Or actually just on the other side of the wall. Listening to Chinese people gets tiring after a little while as you have no idea what they saying and they just keep talking as if you understand everything. Learning from the previous night's shivers we camped on a bed of leaves and not bricks, also completely out of the wind. But this didn't really stop the cold from attacking our bones. Once again it was all shivers, little sleep, tossing and turning. At one point we decided to take off our rain jackets we slept in to allow more body heat to warm each other. I must say the cuddling was super nice although we didn't have much of a choice in that regard.

Day 3 came and being not only physically tired but mentally tired as well made the course quite a challenge as we had to really concentrate on this part of wall. One wrong step could have you falling right on your back at the bottom of the cliff or on your face, whichever way you want to see it. We got some help from day visitors and somehow with the language barrier we understood what the messages was. We also took some selfies with some of the Chinese. Both being all blonde blue eyed europeans we got some attention. All in a positive fashion. Climbing the great wall has been on my bucket list and ticking it off by camping on the wall with dutch company, has been an unreal experience. 

My awesome, crazy travel buddy decided to join me to my next destination. 

It's time to go drink some tea with the Terracotta Warriors. We bought our tickets the night after returning from the Great wall, got me a hostel and went for dinner. I didn't book a bed in the hostel I stayed at before leaving for the wall but it always work out. I guess if it didn't Tijmen and I would've camped in the street somewhere. We were pros at it by now. I ended up in a super nice hostel and met some new people.

Xi'an:

We hopped on the train the Monday evening. We took a night train to Xi'an. The top attractions in Xi'an was the Muslim quarters which is the place we went first because they had the best food ever. So much to choose from and oh so delicious. We went there 3 times in 4 days for food. And of course Terracotta Warriors was on the list as well. We were in Xi'an for 3 four days and 3 nights staying in a great hostel and added to the to-do list everyday. 

The Terracotta Warriors was located about an hour outside the city. So day 2 in Xi'an we missioned there by bus. This place was amazing. Discovered in 1974 the history behind the whole army was impressive and the fact that they are still discovering the warriors, digging them up, reassembling them and working with these man made men to create the original scene is marvelous to see. What was astonishing to me is that every single warrior had an unique face, unique folds in their clothing and held their weapons in a unique fashion as if they mimicked an original soldier. The original colour of all the warriors are faded but the fact that each piece were decorated with colours about 210 B.C is unbelievable. With 8000 men in 3 pits with pit 1 as the biggest one and the one still uncovered by archaeologists this was surely a site we couldn't miss.

We headed back and arrived in the city center after dawn. We grabbed some beers from the corner cafe and got some food at a local street food restaurant. Being pretty far from the hostel and knowing there is a public park nearby we had to go check it out. To our surprise there was rollerblades we could hire. Now what kid doesn't like to rollerblade through a park in the middle of the night? We certainly did. The woman gave each of us 2 plastic bags to put over our feet before putting on the blades. At first i had to find my rhythm and my balance. I haven't rollerbladed since my size 1 rubber green wheels became to small. For the dutchie with me it was like second nature. We rode around for at least an hour maybe more doing tricks and turns, trying to jump, moonwalking, dragging eachother and being spontaneously young. Both fell at least once. I never thought I'd be in China in a town I've never been in with a total stranger who became a fantastic friend reliving my childhood, rollerblading and having a ball. I still think it's a pretty insane thing to do.

Thursday we hired bikes and rode on the city walls of Xi'an. Seeing the city from the walls is something different. It was great fun. I tried to ride the bicycle with no hands but for some reason I just couldn't get it right. I lost control of the steering all the time. Quite irritating when you know you did something before and all of a sudden you can't do it anymore. We stopped at one of the halfway houses on the wall and took pictures all around. Tijmen tried making one of the chandeliers, hanging everywhere around the wall, a hat. He parked his bike against the pole and climbed to the top. It works perfectly if you are tall but if you are as short as me it doesn't work as perfectly. So Tijmens solution to the problem was to carry me on his shoulders so I can also put a "hat" on and take a picture. Not only was it funny to sit on his shoulders but the faces of the Chinese people were priceless. It was a spectacle. We raced each other, tried to do double bicycle tricks, later with no hands driving, yes I eventually got it right, almost as if a switch went off allowing me to, we shared ice cream, sang the "Brother bear" theme song and found ourselves in moments of constant laughter. I became a dutchie. 

"Tell everybody I'm on my way, new faces and places to see, blue skies ahead, yes I'm on my way now. There's nowhere else that I'd rather be." - Brother Bear

The hostel (facebook hostel) we stayed at was also super nice. Before parting ways and joining our fellow genders in the dorm rooms we ended the nights with a cup of delicious tea. Buying your own tea is cheaper than buying tea at the hostel, like you would expect, so I bought a jasmine, green tea mix. Talking, joking and recalling the highlights of each day and taking silly selfies was according to me one of the best ways to end each day. I slept like a baby with a smile on my face and a happy heart. There was also a 13 day old kitten we took care of feeding it milk and love. We bonded around this little kitten. A little ball of fur is just way to cute to leave alone. The little kitten was quite weak as the mother didn't provide the feed and was a pretty lousy mother. Both having a love for animals we had to be pretty civil and give each other the chance to cuddle this furry ball. I can be selfish at times. 

Even though we were pretty much hopping between all the touristy things we did manage to go out one night. The last night in Xi'an we headed to a party street eager to dance. Being a thursday night it was pretty empty and looking at the prices of beer it wasn't the place for us to be either. Corner cafe it was. We followed the music of street performers and got carried away. Dancing and singing in the streets, getting asked for photos and getting loads of stares have never been more fun. We ended up in a park only to spot a rooftop bar still open at 2am, headed over there and ended up spending the night with chinese performers from one of the biggest shows in Xi'an. Eventually I also got to convince my awesome travel buddy to join me to Chengdu. I'm not sure what I did but he eagerly agreed.

Chengdu:

Panda shananagance...

Only being in Chengdu for 2 days we had to pack in as much as possible. With the Pandas being the only reason I wanted to go and Tijmen not having any agenda either there was no agenda. But Chengdu delivered. In cuteness, fun, stares, photos, skipping around and much, much more. 

The day we arrived the pandas waited for us at the sanctuary. Neither of us have seen these teddy bears before and we were super excited. From the first bear to the last bear we saw we were in awe. These creatures are something else. Each of them have their own personality and goodness are they lazy. We arrived just after they were fed so they were still busy eating when we arrived. The pandas would sit on their butts search for the perfect piece of bamboo and then role back on their backs as if they are lying on a couch watching TV and eat the bamboo. This laziness was so cute. They also had 11 little baby pandas all eating, playing and sleeping. There was one little panda who really wanted to play but his friends were eating and sleeping. This little guy then decided well if you are sleeping I'm going to climb on top of you and make myself comfortable and bite your ears. Even though these animals are so darn cute people are not. At the sanctuary they have multiple signs saying to keep quiet and not to scream at the pandas preserving the animals peace. I almost lost my temper with on of the old men. He clapped at the beasts, screamed and made a lot of weird noises. Tijmen had to grab me and take me away. Things like that especially when it involves animals in a country rather uneducated around animals pisses me off really quickly. 

Sleeping in for a morning and heading out for some western foods for brunch seemed like an awesome idea. We left for people's park. The older generation of Chinese people love their dancing and in every park so far I came across a group of people dancing. What made this park a little different was the amount of these groups everywhere. There was decibel meters everywhere to control the noise levels in the park. As Tijmen and I strolled through the park and along the lake in the park we saw some rowing boats on the river and decided to hire one for an hour of fun. And was this fun. Once again we were celebrities and pictures were taking from all sides of the lake. Then there was this 4 year old with a water gun, wetting us and laughing as we played along and made him a superhero or something. The weather was gorgeous and sitting in a boat under a tree rooftop rowing underneath little bridges was just too romantic. They also had a bonsai garden which didn't impress me much but it was still green and beautiful. There were so many people in the park that it brought the whole park alive. 

When we left the park we headed to the culture street of Chengdu. Being pretty expensive and us looking like backpackers we didn't exactly fit in and when it started raining even less so. We were soaked. But that didn't stop us from having a ball. In China most or actually the majority of people walk around in sneakers or closed shoes. You don't see people wearing sandals or flip flops which is what we wore as it's hot. The rain made my shoes and the floor so slippery but still bearable but Tijmen took his shoes off. Goodness the amount of stairs became a game between us. People would start looking at our feet and then up and down scanning us as if we aren't normal. But I guess in their case we aren't normal at all.

The evening I packed my bag had a lovely cup of tea and the two of us started taking way to many selfies for the last time. Having such a ball with somebody you hardly know makes it really hard to part ways and continue with your planned tour. This past 2 weeks was so memorable in so many ways and I think my dutch also improved a little.

Guilin:

Guilin is known for the Li- river and natural attractions around the city. I arrived and being tired as hell as Tijmen kept me up till late and catching a super early plane to Guilin I just wanted to get into bed and sleep. But obviously that's not how it works. I got to the hostel really early and my bed wasn't ready yet so I had to wait in the living room. Whilst waiting I met two lads from Leicester, England (Simon and Angelo). They were on their way to the Reed flute caves I hopped aboard and joined. It was on my list of things to do and I can sleep when I'm dead. I got the directions to the cave and in doing so I got the name Map girl. Little did they know it would cost them at the end. I like using maps on my phone but sometimes maps disappoints. The reed flute caves were beautiful, they have a 1300 year old turtle but still boggles my mind still today. I'll have to do some research on this when Google becomes my friend again. 

The next day the guys and I headed out to Yangshuo, a small town outside Guilin. We got there by bus and hired bicycles for the day. I asked for a map as I had no idea where we are going. Again map girl, looking at the map and riding at the same time wasn't such a great idea. I'm good at multitasking but I'm no super woman yet. In China people just drive, there is no civilized way of driving and it's cars, busses, scooters, bicycles and more all together in a mixed mess. So in doing this I took us down the wring road. Well sort of just the long way around to Moon hill. About 9km later we got to Moon hill. I must say I didn't mind the 9km between the mountains. I kind of feel a little dutch on the bicycles probably also because I spent two weeks hanging with a dutchie. It was such a scenic route to ride. There after we headed to the road we should've taken in the first place. Very prominently you could see that it's a tourist hub. With restaurants everywhere and a few other attractions such and the  2000 year old Banyan tree it was a pleasant way to return to the city to catch a bus and be in time for the lid up pagodas in a lake in Guilin. 

I wandered the streets on my own the next day and went to see where this very famous Elephant trunk hill was that I read about everywhere. It was pretty beautiful. I think I enjoyed walking through the forest on the mountain more than I enjoyed starring at the hole in the rock on the island. There was a show at 2pm I went to watch which was part of the parks entertainment. First there was a drumming show and then a clown show. I got called to the front on stage as the clowns assistant in a magic trick. First he asked me if I had a boyfriend and when I said no he handed me two hearts to put in each hand. I had to squeeze the hearts. Then he took one heart and magically without touching my hand the heart he took disappeared in the hand that already had a heart in. No idea how he got it right. There after I got a balloon heart as a present from the clown.

Guilin was fun but different without my crazy dutchie being around. I had to get used to traveling on my own again. 

Guangzhou:

Guangzhou was next as a stop over between china and Hong Kong. I had my first bad experience with the language barrier in Guangzhou and it cracked me. Alone, tired and with a sprained ankle I was honestly not in the mood to struggle. I booked a hostel and when I arrived at Guangzhou South Station I typed the address given on booking.com in. In the process of typing and not concentrating where I'm going I mis-stepped a step and fell on the stairs spraining my ankle. Raining outside After an hour searching for the hostel I called the hostel searching for direction. When the woman said she can't explain she is busy I canceled my booking and searched for another hostel. Generally I have the world of patience but not that day. After having a bad experience I decided to head to Hong Kong as soon as possible. I booked myself a dolphin encounter and needed to get to my dolphins. 

My general thoughts of Guangzhou is somewhat negative. It's just a big city with nothing much to off besides shopping. Having the world's factory stores you can get designer clothing, shoes, handbags for pretty cheap. I didn't go to that area as I'm not on a shopping budget. I guess when I return I'll go just for the shopping. 

Hong Kong:

Hong Kong blew my mind. I don't know what I expected but I didn't expect what I saw. It s expensive but even though expensive I never thought there will be so many foreigners. There are more foreigners that asian people. It's astonishing. I arrived the Saturday afternoon and with a growling stomach I asked one of the guys in the hostel to go have dinner with me and explore the city a little. We ended up taking a ferry to Hong Kong island and spending the night in a cocktail bar till late. Late enough to miss the last ferry and train home, having to take a taxi to the hostel. As I'm on a pretty strict budget my drinks were all paid for by my Aussie friend. 

The main reason I went to Hong Kong besides to see where my cousin stayed for 8 years was to pursue a childhood dream of mine. Since I knew what a dolphin was and what the colour of the ocean was, liking both, I wanted to swim with a dolphin. Although this dream is not yet achieved I did have an encounter with a dolphin and if I'll never be able to swim with these magnificent creatures I am satisfied. My knowledge around these animals goes far and beyond the basics. I've been reading about these creatures for a decade.

I went to Ocean Park research and breeding sanctuary to get closer to this beauty. I got there and first received an informational session on dolphins in general but since I already did know all the answers I asked them to tell me more about the work they do there. There was a few questions I had of which one was "Where did the dolphins originally come from?" Not to my surprize no one could answer me. Normally I don't support animal captivity but since this was a research sanctuary and not a zoo I went. The actual encounter with the dolphins were priceless. Touching them, splashing and getting splashed by them, feeding them and dancing with them was excellent. 

Here is my opinion about the dolphins at the park though. Even though the dolphins currently in the park were born in the park and doesn't show signs of depression or distressed they are still not in the ocean but in swimming pool tanks. This is not the natural habitat for bottlenose dolphins which angers me a little. These dolphins generally dances in the waves of the South African Coast and other coastal lines as well. Breeding them in captivity and not setting them free defeats the point of breeding them in the first place. And breeding them to keep the numbers up as an attraction to the park is also wrong. Secondly, breeding them for research is also a flawed reason as this is not the natural habitat of the dolphins and thus the research results will not be applicable to save those in the wild. Thirdly, as with humans dolphins have sex for pleasure. What I have gathered from the the trainers and researchers these dolphins don't have sex for pleasure as a way to control the numbers of dolphins in the park. I asked the park to forward me research material and answer a few questions that was unanswered the day. I'm still waiting for a reply. As with many things in our lives today and the way people see animals I'm solely surprised by the ignorance and stupidity of the human race.

Being super tired the evening I went to bed pretty early and stood up late again. Being the end of my China trip and having a long trip to Hanoi in the near future I was tired. Mentally tired of meeting and greeting people, having to constantly organise things and doing things. I didn't allow for much time to chill in between the things I did and although I really like this it got to me. So I decided to spend more time in Hanoi and just chill for the first 2 days.