The Rents Report

Our Beijing Adventures 2011
A guest post by Kevin's 'rents

After returning from our 2 week trip with Kevin to Southern & Western China (previously documented by Kevin), we had another 12 days to tour Beijing on our own. So with tour book in hand, and directions from Kevin, we ventured out by taxi, bus, and subway.

We found Beijing to be a beautiful and fascinating city. Bus 107 took us to the Drum Tower, where we then took a taxi to Prince Gong’s Residence. We spent 2 hours wandering the garden paths which wound around a reflecting pool and through dozens of “rockeries” and decorated walkways.

The next day, we took bus 24 to a small park where we found an 8 piece band playing and lots of people singing along. We watched from the back of the crowd until the conductor spotted the 2 foreigners and came straight for us. He brought us in front of the crowd for everyone to see. We stood there with him, clapping and dancing and slowly turning so everybody could see us. Then the band started playing Jingle Bells to a polka beat. We figured – Why Not? So we did the polka in front of about 400 cheering Chinese fans. Afterwards, nearly everyone came up to shake our hands or smile at us. Our brief embarrassment quickly disappeared due to their genuine hospitality.

Another day we took Bus 107 again to the Bell and Drum Towers. Traffic that day was awful and there were hundreds of police and soldiers everywhere in that area. But nobody could tell us why. We soon discovered that the Drum Tower was closed for the day, but we were able to tour and climb the adjacent Bell Tower – lots of steps, by the way. The bell was used to tell the time of day. It was erected in 1272 is 23 feet tall and weighs 63 tons. It’s a Big Bell!


As we exited the Bell Tower, we saw even more police and soldiers, plus maybe 40 or so vehicles... all parked very carefully where cars are not normally allowed. We finally found a U.S. Army officer who whispered to us that Joe Biden was touring the Drum Tower and would be leaving soon. That’s when we noticed all the Secret Service guys with sunglasses and the Big Black Chevy Suburbans with diplomatic plates. Traffic was stopped in all directions except for busses. We were both very tired, so we opted for beating the crowd and hopped on Bus 107 (our favorite!) and headed back to Kevin’s. It was fascinating to see hundreds of Chinese watching with great respect and interest, hoping to get a glimpse or photo of an important U.S. leader. 

Another adventure occurred much closer to home... inside Kevin’s apartment actually. The sink drain in his bathroom sprouted a leak, so the apartment owner sent over a repairman. Not only did he fix the leak, but he showed Kevin how to turn on the a/c (simply switch it to “summer” instead of “winter”). WOW! What a difference! We had sweated thru 6 days of 90° days and 80° nights – and suddenly we had cool air for the next 10!

On our last day we took the subway (line 5) to the Temple of Heaven, a huge park with buildings dating back to the Ming Dynasty around 1420 AD. We arrived at 7:50 AM and spent several hours roaming the spacious tree-lined walkways and courtyards. Even at that early hour, there were thousands of people doing all sorts of exercise routines on a variety of equipment. We saw a dozen groups doing various dance routines to music. Other activities included small groups playing a form of Hacky Sack with a large badminton shuttlecock, men playing with a gyroscopic top spinning on a string, and men playing cards or Chinese chess. There were men hanging bird cages in the trees, bands playing, and people singing. We saw people painting, playing Chinese violins, and flying kites. It was a delight to behold. Anyone heading to Beijing should definitely include an Early Morning visit to this magnificent park.

Benches: There are few chairs or benches in the Malls & Parks. People often carry their own small stools on bikes (& even a folding table to play cards), or they will sit on a concrete wall, or even seem comfortable squatting.

Random Observations:

Money: Chinese money is RMB (People’s Currency, commonly called yuan or kuai.). You really get your money’s worth! A bus trip costs 1 kuai ($.15) and the Subway is 2 kuai ($.30).
A taxi costs 10-20 kuai ($1.50-$3) and the custom is no tipping.
The largest bill is 100 kuai, and sometimes the driver can’t break a 100 RMB bill ($15).

Children: They are instant icebreakers. Parents want their children to say “Hello” & wave & are proud of them when they do this. We focused on the kids because we think it’s important to give a positive & friendly impression of Americans. They wanted photos taken with us, and were often surprised when we also asked for a photo with them.

Traffic: While walking on the sidewalk, if you hear a horn you assume it’s from the street, but it could be a motorcycle... behind you on the sidewalk! We quickly learned to look in ALL directions.

Stools: We’d seen stools chained to trees along the sidewalk. Finally, one morning we saw women walking around with red or green arm bands, with some of them sitting in these chairs. Maybe it’s like a neighborhood watch?

Restaurants: Many leave the dirty dishes outside in blue plastic cartons to be picked up by a service which will wash/sterilize them & then bring them back, each place setting sealed in plastic. Restaurants charge you 1 RMB extra for these dishes wrapped in plastic.

Food: At a breakfast buffet in Dali, some of the dishes were labeled “Fried Oil Powder”, “Red Pepper White Food”, and “Fried Rice Lines.” All of these were good. (Food Translations: Flour & Oil gravy base, Red peppers & cauliflower, Rice Noodles).

Bus to Dali: Kevin described the bus in his Dali post. Another bus parked next to ours, & the driver got a hose & attached it under his bus. We were told that’s to cool off the engine, because they don’t use coolant in the radiators.

Boats: While on the island of the Bai people in Kevin’s post about Dali, we discovered they made boats, constructed mainly of Styrofoam packing peanuts and discarded pants. Very creative!

Washers & dryers: Most apartments do not have dryers, but the washers spin the clothes almost dry. At Kevin’s, there is a sun room off the bedroom with drying racks, where everything dries amazingly quickly.

Wheel protectors: This apparently confuses the dogs!

This visit was quite different from our trip two years ago, and it was also somewhat spontaneous. China is a fascinating country. We also enjoyed seeing Kevin's friends again. We thank all of them for their help and hospitality. We have many good memories.

~The Rents

... And last but not least, the final installment of beardmageddon, day 27:

~Kev

Dali

The final stop on our tour was Dali, the small backpacker-friendly city on the road from Lijiang to Kunming. Let us recap the journey with a few maps to put it all in perspective. As always, click on them for a larger version.

For the 6 hour journey to Dali, we took an ordinary bus for about $10 each. It was packed full with un-assigned seats, chain smoking passengers, and boasted no A/C. And apparently, there aren't any other options. You flag down a bus heading to your destination, hope there are seats available, and pay the driver. Luckily, there were exactly four people getting off when we got on. Here's our van taking a break, with mom reading in the back seat.

Dali is flanked by mountains on all sides and shares the valley with an ear-shaped lake. It is called Ear Lake. Activities in the area include hiking, boating, biking, strolling the old town, and visiting the small villages along the lake, home to the Bai minority.

Dali's old town itself, while not so striking, was really pleasant to walk around in. It's loaded with cafes restaurants, shops, and friendly people. We passed the time enjoying the weather and playing games. My parents had their first positive experience with Indian food (you're welcome Mike and Joan!).

Lijiang and Dali both have an unusual fascination with hand drums, djembes, in particular. I've been playing them for years and even had a band in college, KJ and the Pit Mac Attack, with my friend Will Norris. We played at Starbucks sometimes. We were pretty great.

Anyway! The drummers in these towns were surprisingly amateur. I made a game out of walking into the shop where five people were pounding out non-beats together. I'd pick up a drum, stare at it quizzically for a moment, then start playing awkwardly for about ten seconds. Then, i'd slowly build it into a crushing wall of awesome sound, ripping through grooves and solos at breakneck speed, bending the drum to my will. Dozens of people would gather to watch my 60 second jam, and i could sense video cameras pointed at me and the flashes of photography. Then, as humbly as possible, i would place the drum down, stand up, and walk out. A few times i received applause.

One time i was goaded by esther and the rents into joining a guitarist on the street who was trying to earn money for Tibet. I sat in on maybe five songs, and again, gathered a huge crowd. I wasn't sure if it was because i was a foreigner, or because i was apparently one of the few competent hand percussionists around, but i always seemed to get a crowd.

With our one full day there, we decided on a morning boat tour of the lake. It was pretty touristy and underwhelming, but nice enough. Most notable was a stop at a market loaded with local Bai people hawking goods. They basically just followed us around and tried to sell us stuff. I used the opportunity to take photos of them.

I also had a fun discussion with a friendly old guy. We talked about politics. He said USA loves war, and that is bad. I replied, our government loves war, but i think the majority of United Statesians do not. I agree war is bad. I glanced at esther, who was amused by the conversation, to see if my point made sense. She nodded in approval. Then the old man took my sunglasses and studied them intently. Later, he gave them back.

On our last night, esther and i went to an Open Mic at Bad Monkey Bar. I played about five songs on drum kit with many different musicians, and was generally impressed by the talent there. Esther took a few videos, here's the best one.

Esther, as always, looking wonderful.

And lastly, by popular demand, let us check in with beardapalooza, day 16.  It's fuzzy! (...the photo and the faces.)

~Kev

Tiger Leaping Gorge

Our next stop on our Yunnanese tour was Tiger Leaping Gorge. We hired a private car to drive us 60 km and three hours north from Lijiang. There's no real town here, but there are a dozen or so guesthouses along the road. The real attraction is nature. You are halfway up a valley with steep, gnarly mountains on each side. At the bottom is a raging river, the Yangtze, which at this point is called the Golden Sands River. Legend says that, while fleeing from a hunter, the tiger jumped across the river three times at it's narrowest points (still 25m wide), which also happen to be where the rapids are most powerful.

We stayed at Sean's Guesthouse, which boasted a stunning location, clean rooms and excellent food. 

Esther liked the noodles.

The typical route for backpackers is to hike 22km from one end of the gorge to the other, stopping at various guesthouses along the way. The rents would not be able to hike this area, but we were able to go early morning horseback (and muleback) riding for a 3 hour trek up the mountain.

Our guides walked our horses the whole way, except for esther's guide, who frequently left her all alone. This was brought to our attention when we heard esther, often the last in the pack, shouting, "Hello? I'm all alone back here!".

We really only had one full day and were determined to make the most of it. We learned the best hike 3 hours down to Middle Tiger Leaping Rapids, the most powerful rapids in the area and also the least developed. Esther and i hired a guide and we set off after lunch. The hike down was easy and beautiful, though in some places, you can't help but wonder how many people slipped and fell to the roaring rapids 150 feet below. Probably none, what with the twig-fences and rickety little bridges and all.

Sometimes the journey is more exciting than the destination. Other times, the destination is a rock jutting out into intense Class 5 rapids, with a huge wall of water dropping 10 feet from you, deafening deep percussion, and, like 4 other tourists.

Middle Tiger Leaping Rapids

Best. Scenic. Vista. EVER!

~Kev