Showing posts with label Henan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henan. Show all posts

Monday, February 29, 2016

Hell

Trip Date: May 10, 2008

All Pictures

The Gates of Hell
I’m Back!
On this trip I visited Chongqing for the second time. The last time I didn’t get a chance to see the Ghost City in Fengdu, so I had to go back. Lucky for me, Chongqing is almost on the way from Beijing to Hanoi.

Ghost Pirate?
A Really Great Place to Stay
I took a business card from the hostel in Beijing for another hostel in Chongqing. It had the directions on the back, but I still had a little trouble finding the place. It was great and the people there were very nice. Since I was the only female guess at the time, I got a room all to myself for about 5 USD a night!
On the train I managed to rip my backpack. When I asked at the front desk about a place where I could get it repaired they told me to leave the bag at the hostel and they would take care of it. When I got back from my day trip the hole was gone. The lady at the desk had fixed it herself and she didn’t charge me anything.

The mountain next to 丰都鬼城
The next day I went to see Taoist Hell. The bus ride to Fengdu is supposed to take 4 hours. Since this is China, you have to add in the extra time needed to wait for extra passengers to show up and for construction delays. It actually took about 5 hours to get there and 6 to return.
There was a rest stop along the way, but I didn’t know that. I thought that I had reached Fengdu. That is when I met the lady that saved my day. She showed me where the bathroom was then urged me to get back on the bus. She spoke very little English and I had forgotten my phrase book back in the hostel in Chongqing.
When we got back on the bus she sat beside me. She asked me where I was from, where I was going, and all the other standard questions. When she found out that I was going to the ghost city, she polled everyone on the bus until she found someone who lived near there to make sure I got to hell safely.
It was a bit difficult communicating where I was going. I drew several pictures of ghosts which didn’t communicate “City of the dead” very well. Either Chinese ghosts don’t look like western ghosts or I just have no artistic talent whatsoever.

What are they afraid of?
The Ghost City is very beautiful and there were only a few people visiting when I went. The gates of hell are up a mountain with a wonderful view of the Yangtze. I walked all the way up and took the ski lift down. I recommend doing the opposite.
I also recommend reading all the wonderful, not-so-good-English signs along the way. You will have to read some a couple of times before you understand what they are trying to say. Others you will never understand.
There were many statues and pictures of demons torturing souls. The painted demons were very beautiful. The tortured souls were very expressive. The view of the river was exquisite. It all made hell such a wonderful place.

Life in Hell
Let’s face it, it’s just the two of us.
When I was done I found only one taxi driver waiting at the entrance. He was just walking around in circles like he really wanted something to do. He seemed so happy to see me and asked me if I wanted to go to the dock.
This is a common cruise stop, so if you do not look Chinese the taxi drivers will assume that you are from a cruise and will take you to the dock unless you tell him otherwise.
I had the girl who brought me to hell write in Chinese on a piece of paper, “I would like to go to the Fengdu bus station and buy tickets to Chongqing.” I handed him the paper and got into his van. I talked him down from his original price, but I think we both knew that I would end up riding in his taxi. I had no other taxis to choose from and he had no other passengers to carry.
All Pictures 
China 
(中国)
How to get there:
  • You can enter by plane, train, boat, or bus
  • Make sure to get a visa before going to China.
  • Visas to China are expensive for people of some nationalities.
  • Getting a Chinese visa is not a quick process. Apply as soon as you can.


Phone:
Website:
There is a long list of websites that cannot be accessed while in China. Facebook, youtube, and parts of Wikipedia are just some of them. As with everything, there are ways around it. There are sites that will let you get to Facebook and other sites for free for about 15 minutes, then you will have to pay.
My advice is to find a few of them and use them for free. Then use them again on a different computer. If you are in China for a long time, then you might want to invest in paying for the service. Ask friends living in China for the best deals.
Videos:
Books:
*These books are banned in China. But I highly recommend reading Mao: The Unknown Story before going to Beijing.


  Notes:
  • If you want an internet cafe look for this (网吧) on a sign.
Fengdu (丰都县) &
the Ghost City (丰都鬼城)
  • 29°53’03.5″N 107°43’23.5″E
From Chongqing go to the Hongqing Ying Bin Bus Station (重庆港迎宾汽车站) near Chaotianmen Gate (朝天门).
Buy a ticket on a bus to Fengdu. One ticket one-way costs 66 Yuan. When you get to Fengdu you have to a take a minivan/taxi to the Ghost city. The cost of the taxi ride will depend on your negotiation skills.
Website:
Cost:
  • The Ghost city itself will cost 80 Yuan.
  •  If you don’t want to walk up or down the mountain it will cost 15 Yuan extra each way to use the ski lift.
Videos:
Notes:
  • I recommend using the ski lift up and walking down. You will definitely want to see the crazy stuff on the walk to/ from hell’s gate.
  • There are 2 sections of the Ghost City. The more interesting part is up the hill.
  • If you are visiting during the non-peak season you should make sure your taxi driver will come back to get you.
Map:

Click for Google maps
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Location: Fengdu, Chongqing, China

Thursday, February 11, 2016

The Longmen Grottoes

Trip date: February 9, 2008

A Fine Angel
I’ll take a hotel if that’s all there is.
The town I spent the next night in was Luoyang (洛阳). It’s known for its grottoes. I stayed in a semi-fancy hotel. The room even had its own sauna. In China fancy hotels are very cheap at about 30~40 USD per night. Although I only stayed in hotels on this trip I recommend staying in hostels in China whenever possible. This was my first real solo trip, and I was still a novice.
“Why stay in a hostel rather than a hotel?” you might ask.
Because, hotels cater more to Chinese travelers who usually travel for business. They tend not the have any information about touristy things. Some don’t even have English-speaking employees. English is the international language of international traveling.

Longmen Grottoes
Hostels, on the other hand, all cater to sightseeing travelers. They usually have at least one half decent English, French, or German speaker employed. There are tons of pamphlets, in English and other languages, about all the great stuff there is to do in town and nearby. Most have information on sister hostels in other towns across China, making it easy to find your next hostel.
You can book tours at a hostel and meet other travelers. But most importantly, you can buy train tickets at any hostel in China. Whereas at a hotel, they will look at you as if you are spirit-catching mad when you ask to buy train tickets at their front desk.
You  might be thinking, “But I’m not interested in sharing a room with hippy-smelling backpackers or snoring German tourists!” That’s okay. Most hostels have single  rooms with an en suite bathroom. You don’t have to share a room.

The other side of the Grotto
That evening when I checked in, I wanted to have food brought up to my room, but there was some problem. I don’t remember what it was now, but one of the staff ladies walked me through the hotel to see the custodian. He was the only one at the hotel who could speak English.
The matter was quickly cleared up and I spent a long time talking to Mr. Handyman. He used to live in the states and he wanted to go back, but he also didn’t want to leave China. “When I’m here I miss America. When I’m there, I miss China,” he told me.
He helped me buy my first ticket on a Chinese train. It was for the 12:37 am train to Xi’an (西安) in a hard sleeper the following night. I was so excited. He also told me how to get to the Longmen Grottoes. “But,” he warned, “there is not much else to do in this town.”
From downtown Louyang I took public bus number 81 to the Longmen Grottoes. It took about one hour to get there. This was where I saw my first unashamed peeing on a city bus.

Lucky Fish!
Brrrrr
It was freezing that day. I remembered passing a steaming pond of fat koi fish. I wanted more than anything else in the world to jump in and warm up. I had never been so jealous of fish in all my life.
China in the winter is cold. No, not just cold… It’s a level of freezing that I have never felt before or since. No one has the heater turned on. It is cold outdoors, indoors, in fancy hotel lobbies, in internet cafes, in restaurants, in train stations, on buses, everywhere!

The sauna in my hotel room: The only place I could warm up.
I was ready to get on my 12:37 am train by 9:30 pm. I shivered in that train station for hours. I was so tired by the time the train came I didn’t even take any pictures of my epic first Chinese train ride.
I boarded the train and asked a lady in uniform to help me find my bed. She took my ticket to looked at it and showed me to my berth. There was a man fast asleep in it already and she slapped him to wake him up and told him to leave. I wondered for a few seconds how clean the sheets were since they were obviously used, but I was too tired to keep that thought for long. I put my backpack at the head of my bed and then I collapsed next to it. I was completely unconscious for the whole ride. I didn’t even get up to use the bathroom during the night.
The next morning someone woke me up in time for me to get off at Xi’an and handed me my ticket. That was when I realized that I had not even bothered to find out how to know when I’d reached my stop. I put on my shoes utterly amazed at my carelessness, and got off the train.
Later I learned that in China, in the sleeper cars at least, a train official comes by and takes the tickets of passengers who have just boarded. Passengers get their tickets back about ten to twenty minutes before the train gets to their stop. That’s when the person in charge of the car goes around and wakes up all those who are to get off at the next stop. This gives the riders plenty of time to get dressed and be ready to disembark.
I guess the lady who showed me to my bunk, kept my ticket so that she could wake me up later on. I didn’t even notice that she didn’t give the ticket back after showing me to my berth.
China 
(中国)
How to get there:
  • You can enter by plane, train, boat, or bus
  • Make sure to get a visa before going to China.
  • Visas to China are expensive for people of some nationalities.
  • Getting a Chinese visa is not a quick process. Apply as soon as you can.
Phone:
Website:
There is a long list of websites that cannot be accessed while in China. Facebook, youtube, and parts of Wikipedia are just some of them. As with everything, there are ways around it. There are sites that will let you get to Facebook and other sites for free for about 15 minutes, then you will have to pay.
My advice is to find a few of them and use them for free. Then use them again on a different computer. If you are in China for a long time, then you might want to invest in paying for the service. Ask friends living in China for the best deals.
Videos:
Books:
*These books are banned in China. But I highly recommend reading Mao: The Unknown Story before going to Beijing.


   Notes:
  • If you want an internet cafe look for this (网吧) on a sign.
The Longmen Grottoes
(龙门石窟)
Use the map below to ask for bus stops.
  • Take either the #81, #60, or #53 bus.
  • 34°33’33.9″N 112°28’04.6″E
Address:

13 Long Men Zhong Jie, Luolong, Luoyang, Henan, China

Phone:
  • +86 379 6598 0972
Websites:
Cost:
Videos:
  • Clip from a travel show
Notes:
The website for the grotto is a bit hard to understand. The English there may have been the result of using an electronic translator.
  • The website seems to be down. Maybe it will be working again in the future.
Map:
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Location: Luoyang, Henan, China

Tuesday, February 9, 2016

The Shaolin Temple

Trip date: February 8, 2009

The Gate to the Shaolin Temple
The Birth Place of Kung-Fu
Before heading off to bed, my one and only night in Zhengzhou (郑州), I asked the helpful English teacher how to get to the bus station. I told her that I wanted to see the Shaolin Temple. She drew me a little map on a napkin and told me to get there as early as possible.

POW!
The next day I woke up bright and early… and got lost. I had to ask a cop for directions. He started talking to some family that happened to be walking by and asked them where they were headed. It turned out that they were on their way to the bus station too. He told me to follow them.
I just wanted to go to the Shaolin Temple. Generally I don’t like temples. In Korea they are usually up steep mountains. People hike all day to see them. In Japan they’re everywhere and all basically look alike.
But, the Shaolin Temple was different. This temple was famous. This temple had fighting monks. This temple was the birth place of Kung-fu, or so some people think. So I wasn’t interested in the surrounding temples, just the Shaolin Temple.

Statue of a Monk at the Shaolin Temple
This Bus?
I thought I had bought a ticket for a long distance bus to Dengfeng (登封), the town where the Shaolin monks live. But it turned out to be a Chinese tour bus. All the information was in Chinese, so it did me no good. But at least I found transportation.
On the bus I sat next to a really sick kid. He threw up during the whole ride. His dad just kept changing the little plastic baggy that the boy threw up in.
“Here’s a new one, son. I’ll just toss this old one out the window.”
  • Note: Never travel long distances in China by motorbike or convertible.
I was completely amazed when at a lunch stop the boy’s parents forced him to eat all his noodles even though the boy didn’t want anything to eat. He went through four more baggies before we got to the Shaolin Temple.

Monk phone
Not Shaolin Yet
I don’t remember how many temples we stopped to see before getting to the Shaolin Temple. They all looked alike and people kept trying to get me to buy prayers and luck for my ancestors. I don’t even remember most of my uncles’ names much less my ancestors. I did pray for them, the ones whose names I knew, and my Mom and aunt Audrey. I could afford one or two prayers on their behalf.

Fighting monks
Finally!
By the time we got to the Shaolin Temple I was T-I-R-E-D. I paid some vendor outside to watch my backpack while I went in to see some monks. I just walked into one of the little shops by the gate and got the vendor’s attention. I took off my backpack and mimed my handing the pack over to him. I did a two finger point to my eyes then moved my fingers to the backpack. Then I pointed to my change purse. The man nodded, took the pack, then pointed to the six on his clock. “Mister, I plan to be in bed by that time,” I said in my head. I smiled and he waved me off wishing me a good visit.

Walkway at the Shaolin Temple
I walked around, took pictures, and was amazed by the beauty of the landscape and the lack of cleanliness of the tourists. People who ate cup-noodles would just drop their garbage wherever they finished eating and moved on. It seemed like no one ever cleaned the street leading up to the temple. This was how most of China was in my eyes — beauty under garbage.
There were no monks performing at that time. I would have had to wait until evening to see the monks in action. I was tired, cold, hungry, and I just couldn’t look at the beautiful surrounds with piles of trash everywhere any longer.
I picked up my backpack way before the 6:00 pm deadline, skipped out on my tour group, and took a taxi to the next town of Louyang (洛阳).
China 
(中国)
How to get there:
  • You can enter by plane, train, boat, or bus
  • Make sure to get a visa before going to China.
  • Visas to China are expensive for people of some nationalities.
  • Getting a Chinese visa is not a quick process. Apply as soon as you can.


Phone:
Website:
There is a long list of websites that cannot be accessed while in China. Facebook, youtube, and parts of Wikipedia are just some of them. As with everything, there are ways around it. There are sites that will let you get to Facebook and other sites for free for about 15 minutes, then you will have to pay.
My advice is to find a few of them and use them for free. Then use them again on a different computer. If you are in China for a long time, then you might want to invest in paying for the service. Ask friends living in China for the best deals.
Videos:
Books:
*These books are banned in China. But I highly recommend reading Mao: The Unknown Story before going to Beijing.


  Notes:
  • If you want an internet cafe look for this (网吧) on a sign.

The Shaolin Temple
(少林寺)
From Zhengzhou’s Long Distance Bus Station:
  • Take the bus to Dengfeng City which is approximately 15 kilometers away from the Shaolin Temple.
  • Get off at the Dengfeng East Long Distance Bus Station
  • Take Bus No. 1 which links the Dengfeng East Long Distance Bus Station to the Shaolin Temple
There are also tour buses that will go to the Shaolin Temple. The tours are usually in Chinese and stop at many, many temples.
Phone:
  • (+86) 0371-6274-9305
  • (+86) 0371-6558-2651
(Why do the phone numbers have so many digits? I don’t know. But, they do.)
Website:

e-mail:
  • Editorial Office – shaolinchanlu@yahoo.com.cn
Videos:
Map:
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Location: Dengfeng, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
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