After getting back to life I checked out of my room, left my luggage and went out for some gift shopping. When getting back I got my luggage and made a run for the bus and arrived nicely at 3.55 pm. with a scheduled departure of 4 pm. The ride to Luang Prabang was expected to be a though one because of possible bad roads in Laos.
Expectations can be very wrong.. This bus was a sleeper; meaning that it did not have any seats just beds sized for a small Asian. There where 3 rows of beds and 2 levels, my bed was at the second line on top at the left window side. The upper middle beds even had seat belts. After getting in I first had to argue in Mandarin to get some space to store my backpack, after some serious effort I managed to put it away somewhere. My position was one arm hanging in the path and the other one out of the window, this way I was planning to endure this 30 hour ride. One of the Chinese guys with an annoying ring tone and smoking an occasional cigarette in the bus was funny enough to complain about my open window. So I closed it for about 2 seconds..
The next morning we had a stop, most probably for breakfast. There was a girl coming up to me to change some money, the rate (1:1240) was ok. So I let her convert the amount and let her do it again and asked her to multiply it with 1240 instead of 1200 as she told me. Sometimes people make an 'accidental' mistake in their favor.. After hanging around for some more minutes the driver came up to me slamming his hand with his fist. Apparently I needed to get my passport stamped, down the road and had just 30 minutes left. So I went for a walk and by the time I found the boarder I found it would open in 10 minutes. While I needed to have my passport stamped I went through without any luggage just my wallet, money belt, passport and phone and no bags on me. After checking out in China and expecting the bus to follow later I walked to the Laos border and applied for another visa. Apparently they preferred to receive USD while the conversion to Laos Kip was really bad, but what can you say when you NEED a visa. So I covert the loss with some of my left over USD. After that, once again I declared to be healthy and entered Laos.
By then I had found some of the other passengers and we waited for the bus, so we could get back in. We drove for about 1km until another unexplained stop of at least one hour. The roads through the mountains of Northern Laos turned out to be level and short on potholes which was a unexpected relieve, while I remembered some bumpy rides in the country. Now I could just enjoy the mountainous scenery, laying down in my bed with my head dangling out of the window. It was a similar experience as I had in Mongolia, while it was very cloudy, however when the clouds moved away the landscape showed it's true beauty, decorated with houses on poles (in case of mudslides and the cattle seems to seek shelter there) traditional dresses and loads of hard working people joined by kids playing around.
Around 10 pm the driver was yelling something that to me sounded like Luang Prabang, so I checked and got out. I asked one of the tuk-tuk drivers to take me to a certain guesthouse, which was full and moved to the neighbours.
The next morning I found out about the huge baguette like sandwiches Laos turned out to be famous about, thanks to the French. I searched for a boat connection to Vientiane, which unfortunately wasn't present. So I just enjoyed the city, the temples and was invited to view the local boat races. I joined some guys on a boat to move down the river to find the riversides crowded with people. They parked the boat and went up to get some local snacks and drinks. It was a nice experience to see the boats racing by.
The following day I went for a walk to find a reasonable deal to some waterfalls, the past few days of rain seemed like a proper investment for some nice waterfalls. I ended up with a Polish photographer an older British guy with blue striped hair and a friendly French couple. All stages of the waterfall turned out to be a total of 50/60 meters. First we went for a swim, used a rope to swing in and jumped from one of the stages 3/4 meters in the pool underneath. Simple pleasure is all I need.. After trying to make up for my lack of beach time we walked up and ended up at the top of the waterfall looking down on various plateaus of water running down.
Friday 4 September 2009
Saturday 22 August 2009
Kunming
After arriving by raft halfway through Guilin I jumped into the bus to the main road where the bus to Guilin would pass by. I rejected some offers for minivans and tuk-tuk's and after about half an hour this bus did turn-up. While it was kind of full; all seats taken, all improvised chairs taken, the only spot left was next to the bus driver on the floor. So I enjoyed the ride from that position. (I was offered a chair, but when you're travelling cheap you sometimes have to suffer the consequences.) After arriving in Guilin I dumped my bags at the train station and did some seightseeing in the city. It is a nice city with mountains in the middle and next to the main river is a good place to relax, even though I made my way back soon, after seeing something I did not want to see.
The train was comfortable a hard-sleeper jammed between a bunch of kids (14-16) coming back from a holliday, a Chinese family and a French family. With my basic knowledge of Mandarin I managed to fool around for a bit and enjoyed another night in the train.
After arriving in Kunming I found the bus to my preffered guesthouse. Soon I noticed they could arrange bus tickets to Laos, leaving me with one worry less. The first day I went to the so called muslim corner and enjoyed some kebab skewers. That night I played some pool with my roommates and this time I ended up playing a Danish drinking game (7 or less).
The next day me and my Danish roommate (Per) went to the park next to the lake. The park was nice and the lake was green, green as paint, the surface even was as thick as paint. Therefor I decided not to eat any seafood in this city. While walking around we saw a go-kart circuit and went for an irresponsible spin, looking at the people before us it was allowed to hit each other.
That night we went out with a nice mixed group of people; Per, an American, A Canadian, An Indian, an Afghan, some other European and me. We did some bar hopping, in the first club we noticed that some dancing foreigners are a good way to gather a crowd. At the following club a girl invited me to join her for a dance on stage. Next we where jumping around with a police officer. It is good to be a tall blond foreigner in China...
The train was comfortable a hard-sleeper jammed between a bunch of kids (14-16) coming back from a holliday, a Chinese family and a French family. With my basic knowledge of Mandarin I managed to fool around for a bit and enjoyed another night in the train.
After arriving in Kunming I found the bus to my preffered guesthouse. Soon I noticed they could arrange bus tickets to Laos, leaving me with one worry less. The first day I went to the so called muslim corner and enjoyed some kebab skewers. That night I played some pool with my roommates and this time I ended up playing a Danish drinking game (7 or less).
The next day me and my Danish roommate (Per) went to the park next to the lake. The park was nice and the lake was green, green as paint, the surface even was as thick as paint. Therefor I decided not to eat any seafood in this city. While walking around we saw a go-kart circuit and went for an irresponsible spin, looking at the people before us it was allowed to hit each other.
That night we went out with a nice mixed group of people; Per, an American, A Canadian, An Indian, an Afghan, some other European and me. We did some bar hopping, in the first club we noticed that some dancing foreigners are a good way to gather a crowd. At the following club a girl invited me to join her for a dance on stage. Next we where jumping around with a police officer. It is good to be a tall blond foreigner in China...
Monday 17 August 2009
Yangshuo
The next morning I woke up, cleaned up, made a run for a taxi and arrived at a huge train station. The train ride was good; I found out that I had booked a soft sleeper. During the ride I got my picture taken a few times again, posing with different people and in between I practiced my Mandarin. After arriving in Guilin, I asked for a ticket to Xi’an and they only had hard-seats available (27 hours). Not knowing whether I could easily get a ticket to Kunming from Xi’an and while running short on time, I decided to leave this one open.
Next, I figured out how to get a bus to Yangshuo, I had been told it is even better. When getting there I bargained for a big room, went for a walk and enjoyed the mountains spread around town. At night I went for a drink, ended up in a bar and was challenged for a Chinese drinking game with dices. I count myself blessed that I soon figured out how to bluff my way through. One of the girls I was playing with went to the stage, grabbed the microphone and I was told that she would sing a song for me. So I sat down near the stage and enjoyed the moment (never been more confident). One of her friends set me up with a rose, so I could thank her afterwards. The applause was ours, while she was the one that deserved it!
The next day I rented a bicycle, cycled my way through the rice fields, steered away from the water buffalos and enjoyed the round shaped mountains, huge mountainous rocks and various green colors. Along the riverside there was a small restaurant serving fresh lobster, so I paid 35RMB and enjoyed a plate full of fresh lobster. My last stop was at the riverside and I ended my day with a swim in the river, while the water buffalos passed by. The next day I decided to repeat this on a different route. Halfway through when trying to get my camera out for a picture, it slipped out of my hands and broke in the grind. Later on about 20kms out of town I had a flat tire, so I hitchhiked in a truck to the nearest town. Had my tire repaired and was off again. This wasn’t my most successful day.
The day before I left I biked my way to a water cave. We went in by boat, walked around, enjoyed the beauty of the dripping stalagmites and went for a swim in the river passing through, had a mud bath and cleaned ourselves up in the hot springs, deep enough to dive in.
For my return to Guilin, I had booked a bamboo raft to cover some of the distance. When floating down the river, I saw the scenery that made it to the 20RMB bill.
Next, I figured out how to get a bus to Yangshuo, I had been told it is even better. When getting there I bargained for a big room, went for a walk and enjoyed the mountains spread around town. At night I went for a drink, ended up in a bar and was challenged for a Chinese drinking game with dices. I count myself blessed that I soon figured out how to bluff my way through. One of the girls I was playing with went to the stage, grabbed the microphone and I was told that she would sing a song for me. So I sat down near the stage and enjoyed the moment (never been more confident). One of her friends set me up with a rose, so I could thank her afterwards. The applause was ours, while she was the one that deserved it!
The next day I rented a bicycle, cycled my way through the rice fields, steered away from the water buffalos and enjoyed the round shaped mountains, huge mountainous rocks and various green colors. Along the riverside there was a small restaurant serving fresh lobster, so I paid 35RMB and enjoyed a plate full of fresh lobster. My last stop was at the riverside and I ended my day with a swim in the river, while the water buffalos passed by. The next day I decided to repeat this on a different route. Halfway through when trying to get my camera out for a picture, it slipped out of my hands and broke in the grind. Later on about 20kms out of town I had a flat tire, so I hitchhiked in a truck to the nearest town. Had my tire repaired and was off again. This wasn’t my most successful day.
The day before I left I biked my way to a water cave. We went in by boat, walked around, enjoyed the beauty of the dripping stalagmites and went for a swim in the river passing through, had a mud bath and cleaned ourselves up in the hot springs, deep enough to dive in.
For my return to Guilin, I had booked a bamboo raft to cover some of the distance. When floating down the river, I saw the scenery that made it to the 20RMB bill.
Friday 14 August 2009
Beijing
I have to think hard about this one, while it has been two weeks since my last story. I could not post anything before, because Blogspot and Facebook are on one of China's infamous black lists.
After getting back to UB, I walked around in the city for a bit and made my last tours around town. Luckily survived the streets again and paid 5 cents to check my weight with one of the people with a scale on the side of the street, no changes there.
The day to depart for Beijing was coming up. I felt a bit lazy and decided to take a taxi to the station. Better be save then sorry, (haven't really been living up to that one). I found a taxi at the end of the street and had to smile when I opened his door. This one I met before, when I took the taxi to the bus stop, when going to Kharkorin, I had to pick up my train ticket first. This had caused some confusion, so I had tipped the driver 1,000T at the first stop. When arriving at the bus station I had to give him another 5,000T, what we agreed upon. I only had 10,000T and he didn't feel like giving me any change, because he wanted me to pay for the way back as well... That would be a first. After some discussion, I managed to get my 10,000T back, bought a bottle of water and gave him 5,000T. He wasn't really happy and with the use of my dictionary we had a lively discussing about this. I didn't feel like giving in and giving him any ct., T or pence more and walked away, to my bus. So it was a weird surprise to meet him again. I asked him his rate; 5,000T, offered; 1,000T (one way), which he refused. Walked to the next driver he asked for 2,000T and I was happy to pay.
When arriving at the train I found out that I was once again stuck between Dutch people and on top of that had two Belgian in my coupe. (This is what you get when you wait to long with posting your stories, Irkutsk - UB).
Even though I was stuck again between the Dutchies, with two of them in my coupe and a French guy. As well, I met another Dutch guy, I had met waiting in line in front of the Russian embassy in the Hague. His and his fathers 'roommates' where a Danish couple I met a few days ago out in Tsetserleg. -What are the odds...-
At the end I was hanging out with some crazy French, showing up with salmon caviar and vodka. So I pulled a bottle of vodka out of my bag as well, a nice one with peppers inside of it. We where joined by some of the other Dutch around and where having vodka in the no man's land between Mongolia and China. In China, among other forms, we had to fill-in a declaration of health and they put down our temperature, which ranged between 34.5 and 35.2. We crossed the boarder and now I know Chinese are very cold-blooded..
When getting to Beijing I figured out how to take the metro to my hostel. Before getting into the metro station they scan your bags, safety is a priority. I think this was the best check I had for my luggage since I left Holland.
The next day my elder brother (Erik) would arrive with a mutual friend (Koen), they just came back from Shanghai. After some confusion about when, where and if we would meet (I misread some text messages), we met in front of the famous bird's nest. During some unplanned showers we got back to the hostel and I gave my friend (Angela), living in Beijing, a call. This was already somewhere in the evening and Erik and Koen where cleaning-up upstairs and I was showing Angela where I was staying. She had brought a bunch of candy a metro card and a simcard. While having a chat we heard a lot of noise in the hallway and we had a look and saw a guy with a severe bump on his head. I had met him before, a friend of my brother. He and some friends where harassed by some drunken Chinese when they wanted to take a taxi to catch their flight home. Later on the noise came back and when looking outside I saw a Chinese guy getting a serious beating by another Chinese guy (thought they where two of the three drunken Chinese), meanwhile at the other end someone was calling the police. Later on when one policeman had arrived following the fights and the Chinese trashing the place. One of them was challenging the already bumped foreigner to hit him, I didn't want another beating to happen, so decided to step in between and tried to make the Chinese guy loosen his grip. Which ended up in me wrestling the Chinese to the ground. After being jumped by another guy Erik pulled me away and send me to his room not wanting me to get involved. After half an hour of noise outside, even after more policemen had turned up. I went outside again to have a look and we where all summoned to bring out our passports, because I was a witness seeing someone getting a beating and was wearing a torn t-shirt I had to come with the police, my brother and Angela went along. We sat down in an empty room and Angela translated my side of the story. After writing down my contact information we where free to go. That was our first intended night out.
The next day we went to the Great Wall and went for a stroll to experience the greatness of the Great Wall. After getting back we met again with Angela, whom had invited us for dinner. We went to a 5 story restaurant to try the famous Beijing Duck. Which lived up to it's reputation. Next, we went for a drink and learned a Chinese drinking game. Did some bar hopping afterwards and went back to the hostel, met a bunch of people hanging out and sat there till the early morning. The day after Erik and Koen had to catch their flight home, luckily I was the only one that overslept..
After being angry with myself for not being able to greet my brother and friend in the morning, I went out to buy a train ticket. Next one up, Xi'an. Meiyou! Another day? Meiyou! Ok, Guilin first and from there try and buy a ticket to Xi'an. Just a detour of about 1,000km. The day continued with some more famous sights, Temple of Heaven, Tianamen square and the Forbidden city. Unfortunately closed by the time I got there, at least I have one more excuse to return to China some day.. Angela showed me another famous dish, the hotpot, again no complains. We ended the day with some souvenir shopping and I practised my bargaining skills.
After getting back to UB, I walked around in the city for a bit and made my last tours around town. Luckily survived the streets again and paid 5 cents to check my weight with one of the people with a scale on the side of the street, no changes there.
The day to depart for Beijing was coming up. I felt a bit lazy and decided to take a taxi to the station. Better be save then sorry, (haven't really been living up to that one). I found a taxi at the end of the street and had to smile when I opened his door. This one I met before, when I took the taxi to the bus stop, when going to Kharkorin, I had to pick up my train ticket first. This had caused some confusion, so I had tipped the driver 1,000T at the first stop. When arriving at the bus station I had to give him another 5,000T, what we agreed upon. I only had 10,000T and he didn't feel like giving me any change, because he wanted me to pay for the way back as well... That would be a first. After some discussion, I managed to get my 10,000T back, bought a bottle of water and gave him 5,000T. He wasn't really happy and with the use of my dictionary we had a lively discussing about this. I didn't feel like giving in and giving him any ct., T or pence more and walked away, to my bus. So it was a weird surprise to meet him again. I asked him his rate; 5,000T, offered; 1,000T (one way), which he refused. Walked to the next driver he asked for 2,000T and I was happy to pay.
When arriving at the train I found out that I was once again stuck between Dutch people and on top of that had two Belgian in my coupe. (This is what you get when you wait to long with posting your stories, Irkutsk - UB).
Even though I was stuck again between the Dutchies, with two of them in my coupe and a French guy. As well, I met another Dutch guy, I had met waiting in line in front of the Russian embassy in the Hague. His and his fathers 'roommates' where a Danish couple I met a few days ago out in Tsetserleg. -What are the odds...-
At the end I was hanging out with some crazy French, showing up with salmon caviar and vodka. So I pulled a bottle of vodka out of my bag as well, a nice one with peppers inside of it. We where joined by some of the other Dutch around and where having vodka in the no man's land between Mongolia and China. In China, among other forms, we had to fill-in a declaration of health and they put down our temperature, which ranged between 34.5 and 35.2. We crossed the boarder and now I know Chinese are very cold-blooded..
When getting to Beijing I figured out how to take the metro to my hostel. Before getting into the metro station they scan your bags, safety is a priority. I think this was the best check I had for my luggage since I left Holland.
The next day my elder brother (Erik) would arrive with a mutual friend (Koen), they just came back from Shanghai. After some confusion about when, where and if we would meet (I misread some text messages), we met in front of the famous bird's nest. During some unplanned showers we got back to the hostel and I gave my friend (Angela), living in Beijing, a call. This was already somewhere in the evening and Erik and Koen where cleaning-up upstairs and I was showing Angela where I was staying. She had brought a bunch of candy a metro card and a simcard. While having a chat we heard a lot of noise in the hallway and we had a look and saw a guy with a severe bump on his head. I had met him before, a friend of my brother. He and some friends where harassed by some drunken Chinese when they wanted to take a taxi to catch their flight home. Later on the noise came back and when looking outside I saw a Chinese guy getting a serious beating by another Chinese guy (thought they where two of the three drunken Chinese), meanwhile at the other end someone was calling the police. Later on when one policeman had arrived following the fights and the Chinese trashing the place. One of them was challenging the already bumped foreigner to hit him, I didn't want another beating to happen, so decided to step in between and tried to make the Chinese guy loosen his grip. Which ended up in me wrestling the Chinese to the ground. After being jumped by another guy Erik pulled me away and send me to his room not wanting me to get involved. After half an hour of noise outside, even after more policemen had turned up. I went outside again to have a look and we where all summoned to bring out our passports, because I was a witness seeing someone getting a beating and was wearing a torn t-shirt I had to come with the police, my brother and Angela went along. We sat down in an empty room and Angela translated my side of the story. After writing down my contact information we where free to go. That was our first intended night out.
The next day we went to the Great Wall and went for a stroll to experience the greatness of the Great Wall. After getting back we met again with Angela, whom had invited us for dinner. We went to a 5 story restaurant to try the famous Beijing Duck. Which lived up to it's reputation. Next, we went for a drink and learned a Chinese drinking game. Did some bar hopping afterwards and went back to the hostel, met a bunch of people hanging out and sat there till the early morning. The day after Erik and Koen had to catch their flight home, luckily I was the only one that overslept..
After being angry with myself for not being able to greet my brother and friend in the morning, I went out to buy a train ticket. Next one up, Xi'an. Meiyou! Another day? Meiyou! Ok, Guilin first and from there try and buy a ticket to Xi'an. Just a detour of about 1,000km. The day continued with some more famous sights, Temple of Heaven, Tianamen square and the Forbidden city. Unfortunately closed by the time I got there, at least I have one more excuse to return to China some day.. Angela showed me another famous dish, the hotpot, again no complains. We ended the day with some souvenir shopping and I practised my bargaining skills.
Wednesday 29 July 2009
10,000+
My last post ended with the relieve of passing the Russian boarder without any hassle. Next one up; the Mongolian boarder. We received multiple forms to have stamped checked and examined, among them a declaration of health. I guess the pigs haven't been cured yet.
We had to tick boxes whether we had any symptoms;
Cold, yes: I swam in lake Baikal;
Running nose, yes: same cause;
38+ , probably: It was pretty hot in the train;
Rash, yes: Damn thistles
Vomiting, no;
Nausea, no;
Been around any pigs the past 2 weeks, no;
Countries visited in the past 2 weeks, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia.
Here I decided to be my own doctor; obvious symptoms: running nose.
The next morning 7.55 a.m. sharp I arrived in Ulaan-Bator, Mongolia. First things first grab a meal and find an internet cafe to look for a hostel. Meal could be found and paid for with USD. Internet cafes again not visibly available. This time I had a back-up option and checked my guidebook for Mongolia and after walking around for a bit I found a place recommended in my guidebook, turned out to be full, however they had a second building, so they drove me there and I finally found, at ease, a place to stay. Next priority shower for an hour and crash.
My second day in UB I spent walking around doing some sightseeing and I bought a bus ticket to Kharkorin (370km West). Other options where various tours, but what kind of traveler books tours, when you can create your own.. Later on I met a Swiss lady that warned me about the roads and I told her that I would remember her advise, but reckoned that it couldn't be worse than the roads I experienced in Cambodia.
The next morning I hopped on the bus for an expected 6 hour ride. Soon I found out that I had to go all the way to Mongolia to have my first delay. The bus left 30 minutes late and in the first street the driver crushed the right mirror driving the bus into a truck. After completely removing the mirror we left for Kharkorin. The traffic is a story on it’s own you have some flashy poles with red, orange and green colors trying to indicate something. In Mongolia it is recommended to cross the streets when the light is red, at least than you can be sure cars will drive on. When finally leaving the city I found out that the other two foreigners on the bus where Dutch (we are not to be avoided). These 2 girls where on their way with 2 Mongolians that would show them around in the area and they would be staying with their family. There turned out to be another foreigner on the bus a Mongolian guy that grew up near L.A., US, he was being accompanied by his Mongolian cousin that would show him around during his first visit to Mongolia. They happened to be staying in a ger whereof the owner happened to be sitting next to me. After finding out about this it didn’t take much longer until my accommodation had been sorted. With the magnificent scenery of the round shaped Mongolian mountains passing by I was invited to join the 2 Mongolians for a day of horseback riding the day after. This turned out to be a great way to discover the area and find out about some muscles that didn’t seem to have existed before. We ended the day with more ayrak (fermented milk), some beers and I presented one of the bottles of vodka I brought from Russia.
The day after they where planning to go back to UB, so I decided to move on to Tsetserleg another 130km West. I was told I could get on that day's bus when it would stop at the gas station at the entrance of the city. I found out it didn’t stop at the gas station and I wasn’t bold enough to jump on the road and try to pull it over. Plan B: I had read hitchhiking in Mongolia is no problem, while there are many Mongolians moving around in trucks. After failing to get a ride in the first few vehicles, I managed to clinch a seat in a truck that already seemed packed to the limit. Most of the stuff behind the front couch + my backpack and daypack was tied on the roof and this created a gap, where one of the 4 people already on the truck laid down. This left 3 seats on the front couch and the kid could sat down on the lap of the driver's wife. Ok, I shouldn’t dare to complain during this ride, and with a need for some support of the so called black doctor (Coke) I didn’t dare to offer to sit back there either. During this ride I started to recall the words of the Swiss lady I met before. I didn’t know that you could get seasick by car. The road (if any) had potholes, mud, pools, rocks and it was never leveled. After a few ger visits along the way we approached Tsetserleg to hear a sudden sizzling sound. A few km from our destination is a nice spot to have a flat tire, on the other hand I was feeling blessed this was the only serious problem we had along the road, I did not know a truck like that could endure that much. So after a 30 minute pit stop we got on our way again and I was dropped of in front of the local ‘hotel’. Checked in, got a meal, got lost, found my way again and passed out. The next day I rested (again), did some sightseeing, just like the day after and the third day around I decided to climb one of the mountains/hills/rocks. It was a rainy day and I was disappointed about the clouds in the country of the clear sky. When closing into the top of the mountain I sat down to enjoy the view. I looked right which looked beautiful, I looked left which looked more beautiful, I looked right again which looked even more beautiful, I looked straight ahead which looked magnificent. The clouds started to disperse, revealing the real beauty of Mongolia. A picture can not describe the view, let alone words. It is just a moment to enjoy and overlook the waves in the mountains. I remember the Inuit having dozens of names for snow, so do the Mongolians for grass.
After being fully relaxed I made it to the peak and climbed down at the other end. When nearing the city I was summoned by some locals to come over. So I sat down for a chat (English-Mongolian), I did not feel like bringing my dictionary out, so I could leave when I wanted to. Even though, we had a conversation. At some point one of the guys wanted to arm wrestle me. To bad, I lost that one, but I did manage to beat the other guy. Next, they wanted to show me the Mongolian wrestling, so I had a look and enjoyed. However, I was challenged again I could take on the guy I had beaten arm wrestling and I managed to beat him again. Of course, I had to wrestle the other guy as well.. When he tried to trap me I pulled back and somehow managed to throw him to the ground, ending in an unexpected victory. I don’t think he was very pleased with that, he was probably to far ahead on the vodka. After meeting some of their friends I found it time to head home.
The next morning at 6.40 am the driver of the minivan to UB knocked on my door. I had met him the day before when looking for a bus ticket. All what we had discussed was the price and he had told me the time, while I had informed him about which hotel I was staying. I guess that gave him enough information to find my room. To my surprise we drove away from the city with only 4 people including the driver, I had expected a jammed van. It was a good thing that I had put my mind to just enjoying the moment, because after a few stops at some hidden gers I ended up with 13 companions including 3 kids and on top of that a bunch of luggage, most stuffed into boxes depending by size on their availability. With a speeding driver it was another fun ride of about 500 km lasting for another 11 hours back to Ulaan-Bator.
We had to tick boxes whether we had any symptoms;
Cold, yes: I swam in lake Baikal;
Running nose, yes: same cause;
38+ , probably: It was pretty hot in the train;
Rash, yes: Damn thistles
Vomiting, no;
Nausea, no;
Been around any pigs the past 2 weeks, no;
Countries visited in the past 2 weeks, Holland, Belgium, Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia.
Here I decided to be my own doctor; obvious symptoms: running nose.
The next morning 7.55 a.m. sharp I arrived in Ulaan-Bator, Mongolia. First things first grab a meal and find an internet cafe to look for a hostel. Meal could be found and paid for with USD. Internet cafes again not visibly available. This time I had a back-up option and checked my guidebook for Mongolia and after walking around for a bit I found a place recommended in my guidebook, turned out to be full, however they had a second building, so they drove me there and I finally found, at ease, a place to stay. Next priority shower for an hour and crash.
My second day in UB I spent walking around doing some sightseeing and I bought a bus ticket to Kharkorin (370km West). Other options where various tours, but what kind of traveler books tours, when you can create your own.. Later on I met a Swiss lady that warned me about the roads and I told her that I would remember her advise, but reckoned that it couldn't be worse than the roads I experienced in Cambodia.
The next morning I hopped on the bus for an expected 6 hour ride. Soon I found out that I had to go all the way to Mongolia to have my first delay. The bus left 30 minutes late and in the first street the driver crushed the right mirror driving the bus into a truck. After completely removing the mirror we left for Kharkorin. The traffic is a story on it’s own you have some flashy poles with red, orange and green colors trying to indicate something. In Mongolia it is recommended to cross the streets when the light is red, at least than you can be sure cars will drive on. When finally leaving the city I found out that the other two foreigners on the bus where Dutch (we are not to be avoided). These 2 girls where on their way with 2 Mongolians that would show them around in the area and they would be staying with their family. There turned out to be another foreigner on the bus a Mongolian guy that grew up near L.A., US, he was being accompanied by his Mongolian cousin that would show him around during his first visit to Mongolia. They happened to be staying in a ger whereof the owner happened to be sitting next to me. After finding out about this it didn’t take much longer until my accommodation had been sorted. With the magnificent scenery of the round shaped Mongolian mountains passing by I was invited to join the 2 Mongolians for a day of horseback riding the day after. This turned out to be a great way to discover the area and find out about some muscles that didn’t seem to have existed before. We ended the day with more ayrak (fermented milk), some beers and I presented one of the bottles of vodka I brought from Russia.
The day after they where planning to go back to UB, so I decided to move on to Tsetserleg another 130km West. I was told I could get on that day's bus when it would stop at the gas station at the entrance of the city. I found out it didn’t stop at the gas station and I wasn’t bold enough to jump on the road and try to pull it over. Plan B: I had read hitchhiking in Mongolia is no problem, while there are many Mongolians moving around in trucks. After failing to get a ride in the first few vehicles, I managed to clinch a seat in a truck that already seemed packed to the limit. Most of the stuff behind the front couch + my backpack and daypack was tied on the roof and this created a gap, where one of the 4 people already on the truck laid down. This left 3 seats on the front couch and the kid could sat down on the lap of the driver's wife. Ok, I shouldn’t dare to complain during this ride, and with a need for some support of the so called black doctor (Coke) I didn’t dare to offer to sit back there either. During this ride I started to recall the words of the Swiss lady I met before. I didn’t know that you could get seasick by car. The road (if any) had potholes, mud, pools, rocks and it was never leveled. After a few ger visits along the way we approached Tsetserleg to hear a sudden sizzling sound. A few km from our destination is a nice spot to have a flat tire, on the other hand I was feeling blessed this was the only serious problem we had along the road, I did not know a truck like that could endure that much. So after a 30 minute pit stop we got on our way again and I was dropped of in front of the local ‘hotel’. Checked in, got a meal, got lost, found my way again and passed out. The next day I rested (again), did some sightseeing, just like the day after and the third day around I decided to climb one of the mountains/hills/rocks. It was a rainy day and I was disappointed about the clouds in the country of the clear sky. When closing into the top of the mountain I sat down to enjoy the view. I looked right which looked beautiful, I looked left which looked more beautiful, I looked right again which looked even more beautiful, I looked straight ahead which looked magnificent. The clouds started to disperse, revealing the real beauty of Mongolia. A picture can not describe the view, let alone words. It is just a moment to enjoy and overlook the waves in the mountains. I remember the Inuit having dozens of names for snow, so do the Mongolians for grass.
After being fully relaxed I made it to the peak and climbed down at the other end. When nearing the city I was summoned by some locals to come over. So I sat down for a chat (English-Mongolian), I did not feel like bringing my dictionary out, so I could leave when I wanted to. Even though, we had a conversation. At some point one of the guys wanted to arm wrestle me. To bad, I lost that one, but I did manage to beat the other guy. Next, they wanted to show me the Mongolian wrestling, so I had a look and enjoyed. However, I was challenged again I could take on the guy I had beaten arm wrestling and I managed to beat him again. Of course, I had to wrestle the other guy as well.. When he tried to trap me I pulled back and somehow managed to throw him to the ground, ending in an unexpected victory. I don’t think he was very pleased with that, he was probably to far ahead on the vodka. After meeting some of their friends I found it time to head home.
The next morning at 6.40 am the driver of the minivan to UB knocked on my door. I had met him the day before when looking for a bus ticket. All what we had discussed was the price and he had told me the time, while I had informed him about which hotel I was staying. I guess that gave him enough information to find my room. To my surprise we drove away from the city with only 4 people including the driver, I had expected a jammed van. It was a good thing that I had put my mind to just enjoying the moment, because after a few stops at some hidden gers I ended up with 13 companions including 3 kids and on top of that a bunch of luggage, most stuffed into boxes depending by size on their availability. With a speeding driver it was another fun ride of about 500 km lasting for another 11 hours back to Ulaan-Bator.
Tuesday 21 July 2009
Playing the odds
After arrival in Irkutsk the first thing on my mind was a proper shower, however I needed to look for a hostel first. Visited an internet shop to find out that the places listed on the internet where fully booked. Next option, move to lake Baikal and find something there. I met a French group travelling the world who informed me about the option to take a boat over the river to lake Baikal. So I decided to tag along to the boat and have a nice trip getting there. French-English and Dutch-English don't go together very well, so I just chilled on the deck on my own and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Just to meet a group of Russians crowding the deck and have a chat in English - Russian, as long as you use gestures you can sort of understand each other. After being offered a few beers there was a guy (Sergey) that did speak English and he invited me on behalf of the group to join them to their stop somewhere down lake Baikal where they would stay at a bungalow.
Decisions, decisions, I had no place to stay yet, I wasn't sure whether I could find something suiting my budget and wandering the streets in an foreign city isn't recommended either, as well they where very friendly and seemed reliable. So there I found myself on the next boat at an unknown stop accompanying a mixed group of 19 Russians. We arrived at a beautiful location just on the side of the lake moving to a few well furnished bungalows surrounded by trees and fields. However, there was one disappointment.. there was no shower anywhere. So I went bathing in lake Baikal to sort of clean myself up and join the crowd. This was followed by a game of volleyball on a Russian off-road volleyball field. Meaning thistles where just cut short and presented the lines. Dinner was great, the BBQ was better and the accompanying party was the best. My safety measure was not to drink any vodka, the one shot I did drink as a sort of courtesy I put half of it in my beer, when no one was looking. I wasn't planning to loose my consciousness out there.
The next morning I was worried about getting to the post office in time, my registration had been faxed over there and the post office would close at 5 pm. Unfortunately the boat to the first stop would not leave until 3 pm, making it a close call. We arrived at the first stop at 4 pm, making me optimistic of reaching the post office in Irkutsk (70km) before 5 pm. With Sergey's help I found a minivan to Irkutsk. I was considering asking the driver to speed up, but decided not to. This was a wise decision, there was one Russian lady that tumbled out of the van at a requested stop, she could not take it anymore. It was a straight but extremely hilly road, a roller coaster ride without request. The driver dropped us off at the center of Irkutsk, when asking him about the railway station he did not speak any English and I found I had left my Russian-English dictionary with my bags at the luggage storage at the railway station. (My bad)
It was already passed 5 pm, but even though I wanted to try and get to the post office just next to the railway station, to try my luck. Asking people in English did not work out, so for the fun of it I tried Mandarin (Huoche). This created a lot of laughs, but after bringing out a map we found a taxi driver to take me to the railway station. Correction; a railway station. I had pointed out the wrong stop, so from that station I had to take the train to the main station to find out that there was no way of getting into the post office.
I sure made a mess of this one, my train would depart that night. Staying another day would require me to register in Irkutsk as well and I would need to buy a new ticket to Ulan-Baator. I consulted the owner of the hostel I stayed with in Moscow, telling me not to worry to much, act like I did not understand them and just speak Dutch to the boarder police to avoid a 'fine'.
The last evening in Irkutsk I wandered around the city listening to some bands playing on the street, admiring the sunset and trying some local sweets. Irkutsk is a weird place, the contradiction between rich and poor is huge, represented in a beautiful boulevard and constructions seriously falling to pieces.
At five in the morning I hopped in the train, to find myself in a carriage with about 10 dutch people and I shared my room with 2 Belgian and a Russian. Somehow Belgian and Dutch people don't go together very well, even when I tried to restrict my comments and jokes.. Around midnight we found ourselves at the Russian boarder for a stop of 272 minutes. Let's wait and see... First we had to hand our passport.. After waiting for about 2 hours we received the next document from the custom office. At some point the provodnik asked me to walk with her, making me seriously wonder about what was up.. Apparently she needed a tall Dutch guy to open a shutter.. (I guess that one was on her). After waiting for about 250 minutes the boarder police returned with the passports, including mine.. I thoroughly checked it and found the required stamp for departure. Russia I'm off....
Russia is a free country; the government is free to register everything you do..
Decisions, decisions, I had no place to stay yet, I wasn't sure whether I could find something suiting my budget and wandering the streets in an foreign city isn't recommended either, as well they where very friendly and seemed reliable. So there I found myself on the next boat at an unknown stop accompanying a mixed group of 19 Russians. We arrived at a beautiful location just on the side of the lake moving to a few well furnished bungalows surrounded by trees and fields. However, there was one disappointment.. there was no shower anywhere. So I went bathing in lake Baikal to sort of clean myself up and join the crowd. This was followed by a game of volleyball on a Russian off-road volleyball field. Meaning thistles where just cut short and presented the lines. Dinner was great, the BBQ was better and the accompanying party was the best. My safety measure was not to drink any vodka, the one shot I did drink as a sort of courtesy I put half of it in my beer, when no one was looking. I wasn't planning to loose my consciousness out there.
The next morning I was worried about getting to the post office in time, my registration had been faxed over there and the post office would close at 5 pm. Unfortunately the boat to the first stop would not leave until 3 pm, making it a close call. We arrived at the first stop at 4 pm, making me optimistic of reaching the post office in Irkutsk (70km) before 5 pm. With Sergey's help I found a minivan to Irkutsk. I was considering asking the driver to speed up, but decided not to. This was a wise decision, there was one Russian lady that tumbled out of the van at a requested stop, she could not take it anymore. It was a straight but extremely hilly road, a roller coaster ride without request. The driver dropped us off at the center of Irkutsk, when asking him about the railway station he did not speak any English and I found I had left my Russian-English dictionary with my bags at the luggage storage at the railway station. (My bad)
It was already passed 5 pm, but even though I wanted to try and get to the post office just next to the railway station, to try my luck. Asking people in English did not work out, so for the fun of it I tried Mandarin (Huoche). This created a lot of laughs, but after bringing out a map we found a taxi driver to take me to the railway station. Correction; a railway station. I had pointed out the wrong stop, so from that station I had to take the train to the main station to find out that there was no way of getting into the post office.
I sure made a mess of this one, my train would depart that night. Staying another day would require me to register in Irkutsk as well and I would need to buy a new ticket to Ulan-Baator. I consulted the owner of the hostel I stayed with in Moscow, telling me not to worry to much, act like I did not understand them and just speak Dutch to the boarder police to avoid a 'fine'.
The last evening in Irkutsk I wandered around the city listening to some bands playing on the street, admiring the sunset and trying some local sweets. Irkutsk is a weird place, the contradiction between rich and poor is huge, represented in a beautiful boulevard and constructions seriously falling to pieces.
At five in the morning I hopped in the train, to find myself in a carriage with about 10 dutch people and I shared my room with 2 Belgian and a Russian. Somehow Belgian and Dutch people don't go together very well, even when I tried to restrict my comments and jokes.. Around midnight we found ourselves at the Russian boarder for a stop of 272 minutes. Let's wait and see... First we had to hand our passport.. After waiting for about 2 hours we received the next document from the custom office. At some point the provodnik asked me to walk with her, making me seriously wonder about what was up.. Apparently she needed a tall Dutch guy to open a shutter.. (I guess that one was on her). After waiting for about 250 minutes the boarder police returned with the passports, including mine.. I thoroughly checked it and found the required stamp for departure. Russia I'm off....
Russia is a free country; the government is free to register everything you do..
Saturday 18 July 2009
Moscow - Irkutsk
After 4 days in the train I arrived in Irkutsk, at 5 am local time, 12 pm Moscow time and 10 pm Amsterdam time. My system has been seriously mixed up. At the second day in the train I was already thinking that I would arrive the day after. What about a bad surprise.. Who would have thought that you could get a jet lag by travelling by train.
Even though the ride has been great fun, just meeting a lot of people from across the globe. At the moment I am hanging out with 2 Scottish. During the ride, I played a lot of card games, I like to find out about new games and tried a lot of snacks and stuff. This caused me an arguing stomach, but that should be alright at the end of the day. Luckily there was medication available (Coca-Cola). I remember that being suggested by a colleague someday, she has been proven right up to now (Thanks for that).
The ride itself has been very interesting. The first day was most difficult when realising that you're stuck in the train for a few days and that you can only get out for a few minutes at the occasional stops. As well, the landscape remained more or less the same. When hopping on the train 10 minutes before departure (I was stuck in Moscow for a second), I had a good laugh about 2 Scottish guys being asked for their tickets by some drunk Russian woman. It was like a jammed tape: Tickets please, tickets. Tickets please, tickets. Nobody knew who she was, including the Russians. So the poor lady was being sort of ignored.
The next morning when I opened the door to leave my 'room' for a moment I had to go through the same procedure. Then I/we found out it was the steward (provodnik). She still sounded like a bad DJ: Tickets please, tickets. Tickets please, tickets. When trying to explain to her that I already handed my ticket to the other provodnik, she just increased her volume mixing it with some Russian lines. After about thirty minutes of this 'conversation' I understood that my ticket was wrong. Apparently I did not have a ticket for a foreigner (I was lucky enough that a friend in Russia was willing to buy my ticket in Moscow). It was weird because my name and passport number was noted on the reservation. So the woman demanded my booklet with tickets (including the one to Ulaan-Bator) and walked of, leaving me confused. She told me I would get everything back in Irkutsk. So I decided to cross my fingers and find out..
The next day my interview started by my Russian roommates, trying to find out about me in Russian-English. Signs and gestures worked well during the ride. I had brought a small pocket dictionary and had picked up on some basic words to maintain a sort of courtesy. After a few swops of roommates, people getting on and of, I was accompanied by a Russian-Ukraine-France-Mongolian girl and a Russian guy. The girl was able to speak some English and the guy knew as much English as I knew Russian.. So the girl was doing a lot of translating, a few beers and some shots of vodka helped to get the conversation flowing..
The night before getting of the train the provodnik came up to me and to my relief returned my tickets. Therewith one worry was over. The only worry I have left is my registration in Moscow. When staying in a Russian city for more than 3 days you need to register. I had asked at the hostel whether they where able to arrange this for me. Because if you don't you get harassed by the police and they might give you some difficulty at the boarder. After frequently asking about my confirmation of registration 2 hours before departure I found out it had not been picked up yet. So after trowing my stuff together I had to wait for the guy (Dan) to return, but he didn't.. So I asked the manager and he found out he was still busy arranging everything. We agreed to meet at the train station with 40 minutes left, while I only knew the name of the metro station and just learned how to use the metros. I also had to find out which of the 2 stations I had to get in order to get to my train and meet Dan before the train. Because, I was down to 40 minutes I could not make any mistakes and luckily I didn't, however Dan did not turn up..
Even though the ride has been great fun, just meeting a lot of people from across the globe. At the moment I am hanging out with 2 Scottish. During the ride, I played a lot of card games, I like to find out about new games and tried a lot of snacks and stuff. This caused me an arguing stomach, but that should be alright at the end of the day. Luckily there was medication available (Coca-Cola). I remember that being suggested by a colleague someday, she has been proven right up to now (Thanks for that).
The ride itself has been very interesting. The first day was most difficult when realising that you're stuck in the train for a few days and that you can only get out for a few minutes at the occasional stops. As well, the landscape remained more or less the same. When hopping on the train 10 minutes before departure (I was stuck in Moscow for a second), I had a good laugh about 2 Scottish guys being asked for their tickets by some drunk Russian woman. It was like a jammed tape: Tickets please, tickets. Tickets please, tickets. Nobody knew who she was, including the Russians. So the poor lady was being sort of ignored.
The next morning when I opened the door to leave my 'room' for a moment I had to go through the same procedure. Then I/we found out it was the steward (provodnik). She still sounded like a bad DJ: Tickets please, tickets. Tickets please, tickets. When trying to explain to her that I already handed my ticket to the other provodnik, she just increased her volume mixing it with some Russian lines. After about thirty minutes of this 'conversation' I understood that my ticket was wrong. Apparently I did not have a ticket for a foreigner (I was lucky enough that a friend in Russia was willing to buy my ticket in Moscow). It was weird because my name and passport number was noted on the reservation. So the woman demanded my booklet with tickets (including the one to Ulaan-Bator) and walked of, leaving me confused. She told me I would get everything back in Irkutsk. So I decided to cross my fingers and find out..
The next day my interview started by my Russian roommates, trying to find out about me in Russian-English. Signs and gestures worked well during the ride. I had brought a small pocket dictionary and had picked up on some basic words to maintain a sort of courtesy. After a few swops of roommates, people getting on and of, I was accompanied by a Russian-Ukraine-France-Mongolian girl and a Russian guy. The girl was able to speak some English and the guy knew as much English as I knew Russian.. So the girl was doing a lot of translating, a few beers and some shots of vodka helped to get the conversation flowing..
The night before getting of the train the provodnik came up to me and to my relief returned my tickets. Therewith one worry was over. The only worry I have left is my registration in Moscow. When staying in a Russian city for more than 3 days you need to register. I had asked at the hostel whether they where able to arrange this for me. Because if you don't you get harassed by the police and they might give you some difficulty at the boarder. After frequently asking about my confirmation of registration 2 hours before departure I found out it had not been picked up yet. So after trowing my stuff together I had to wait for the guy (Dan) to return, but he didn't.. So I asked the manager and he found out he was still busy arranging everything. We agreed to meet at the train station with 40 minutes left, while I only knew the name of the metro station and just learned how to use the metros. I also had to find out which of the 2 stations I had to get in order to get to my train and meet Dan before the train. Because, I was down to 40 minutes I could not make any mistakes and luckily I didn't, however Dan did not turn up..
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