I must start with an apology... so much has happened since I last updated. To say it has been a fantastic week would be a gross understatement.
We arrived in the strangely modern city of Lhasa, the *cough* semi-autonomous capital of the Tibet region graciously looked after by Big Brother China about a week and a half ago. The Tibetan people with their dark skin and wide smiles captivated us from the start. Their grasp of English was surprisingly better than their Chinese counterparts we met in Beijing, and we quickly struck up some conversations with random Tibetan monks and other randoms on the streets.
We left for Everest after a few days, and of course after we had purchased warm jackets by such designer brands as Aididas and Niike. I don't understand why their goods are so cheap in China!! :-) We boarded our Toyota Land Cruiser and began the five-day jeep excursion to Mount Everest, known as Qomolongma inTibetan. Despite the recent completion of the Beijing-Tibet railway, the excursion to Everest already has its fair share of tourists, as well as tourists hotels and eateries charging way more than they should. Fortunately, prices were not too bad.
We made it to Everest and began the rather unchallenging 16 kilometer round-trip hike to the Base Camp, first used by Sir Edmund Hilary in 1953. The view was incredible, the weather pristine (see the video on the link to the right), and we saw the summit when the clouds cleared for a few minutes of ecstasy. Just seeing that peak may be enough to let me die happy... but it gets better.
We returned to Beijing on the same 48-hour train I so dearly described in my last entry. Instead of checking into a hostel we spent a crazy four hours talking to over ten diffe
rent ticket sales people, agents, police men, and information booths trying to purchase a ticket to Hanoi, Vietnam. My visa which I had to purchase for Vietnama few months ago only had one week until it expired, so I had to get into the country to renew it or face a long wait and $100 charge for a new one. After finally purchasing a ticket, we hopped a bus to a city located near the Great Wall.
As the sun was setting we began climbing a path leading to the Wall that was temporarily closed for reconstruction. Conveniently, when we arrived at the top we had brought our sleeping bags... so of course we had to sleep there. The guard on the wall was quickly placated with a beer, and we enjoyed his company as we stared at the stars from the incredible wall.
We woke to the sunrise and scaled about a mile of the wall with the workers just getting to the job. No tourists, no entrance fee
, just pure unadulterated history underneath our feet. Incredible. We made it back to Beijing for our 4 pm, 40 hour train to Hanoi, Vietnam.
When I woke up this morning (after a long night of customs at 3 am) I looked out the grimy train window and was entranced. The Vietnam I have pictured for years of old French colonial buildings, workers with pointy hats in flooded fields of rice, and palm fronds circled by old ladies selling bananas was right before my eyes. The breakfast this morning at the Little Hanoi cafe was marvelous, french toast with syrup and strong Vietnamese coffee. In all honesty, I was frequenting a coffee stand more than three times today... (Dad and Nick, you would have been proud).
That's all for now, check out the new pictures and videos on the link to the right. Also, check the number at the bottom of the page, over 1,200 people have viewed this blog. Maybe I'll start advertising...
I've also added a new photo section, "Worst bathrooms in the world..." Enjoy.
We caught the brand-spanking new train in the evening and found our six-bed-berth, settling in for the long haul. To be honest, China spent a LOT of money on the entire project, billions and billions of dollars. From this large expenditure, you would expect a level of quality including various elements. Our first impression was positive, beautiful clean hallways and bathrooms, nice rooms, etc. Once the train started moving is when things got interesting.
As we adjusted to our home for the next 48 hours, we began realizing that things were missing. Such as cabin doors... and light switches. Well, in the truly communal Communist spirit, the good old Politburo decided that cabin doors and light switches were too bougois for their trains... so each cabin shared a dim light controlled by the conductor, who turned the light on at 7 am and off at 10 pm. The lack of a door was a whole other matter. Missing the door presented a few security questions, but nothing that couldn't be handled. The larger problem was the blasting of obnoxious Chinese music from a speaker all night directly outside our berth. Of all the things missing on the train, of course we had the only functioning speaker in our car!! On the plus side (check the "our videos" link to the right), the cabins did contain oxygen hookups with free hoses for the high altitudes (over 16,000 feet in spots).
Add to this exciting train ride our three Chinese cabin mates. Three businessmen from the looks of them... at least while they kept their clothes on. Hanging out in the cabin in their formerly-white whitey-tighties, our Chinese counterparts spoke on their cellphones at all hours of the night. Overall, I'm a pretty relaxed person, it takes a lot to annoy me. But I do have this one pet peeve; when people eat loudly. Not mouth open chewing kind of stuff, but slurpy sucky sticky noises. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to convey this pet peeve in Mandarin, but to be frank, when the Chinese eat they sound like children sucking up noodles through a straw with their nose. It was a fun 48 hours!
As negative as my post sounds, the trip was fantastic. Carson, Topher, and I had a great time hanging out, eating, reading, and relaxing, as well as learning a few Chinese words. We are even getting in the habit of hawking up loogies all day long on any type of flooring, similar to our new Chinese friends. For more interesting habits refer to the classic travel book "Riding the Iron Rooster."
We have arrived in Tibet... and it is mesmerizing. But you'll have to wait for that next installment, I'm tired of typing.
And now it's time for another round of find that non-Asian kid. This week we'll be examining a caucasian kid transplanted from California into the depths of Beijing, China. Watch the video above by clicking the play button and then waiting for it to load. Laugh with delight as this white kid tries to dance with the local natives performing a traditional dance in the park near the Forbidden City.
In the picture below, see if you can fin
d "Andrew" the non-Asian as he watches the crowd of singing Chinese mid-day in a park on Sunday. I'll give you a hint, at five foot ten he is distinctly taller than the rest of the people in the picture.
And our final exhibit, Andrew standing in Tianamanen Square in front of a picture of former chairmen Mao. Although not a Communist, Andrew and Mao have a 
striking resemblance to eachother, possibly distant cousins (Andrew has a self-hating Asian sister named Staci).
Stay tuned next week for another edition of "Where's Andrew?" He'll be exploring the Tibetan Plateau and hiking to the Everest Base Camp with his two non-Asian friends.
Currently sitting in an internet cafe in Ulan-Bataar, the capital city of Mongolia; it is a hideously built concrete bohemoth. Despite the urban monstrosity, it has some amazing food... Let me back up a bit.
It was a cloudy morning in Siberia as I woke up on my top bunk 30 hours into my 41 hour train from Moscow to the central Siberian city of Omsk. As I wearily made my way to the train bathroom at the end of the department car, the conductor emerged from his room. "Nyet, nye _______." With some work, I deduced that he was locking the bathroom because the train was stopping, and as the toilets empty directly onto the track, they don't want passengers using the bathroom while stopped.
I clenched my bladder, made my way back to my berth and stared out the window trying not to think about waterfalls, oceans, or coffee. The train starts moving again, I wait in line for the bathroom, an old lady *hurry up*, a woman with two kids *great diaper change*, finally, it is my turn. I run in, decide to clear all the systems, and sit down. Right as I am finishing my business, I hear the screech of the brakes. "Oh no!! I can't flush, but I can't leave it there!!"
What to do? Let's just say if I broke the rules, some grandma crossing the tracks at the station would have an unpleasant surprise on her shoes. Conversely, I don't want the conductor to yell at me in Russian again... so I wait. I wash my hair, my face, brush my teeth.... still stopped. Put on deoderant... wait... At this point, I know there is a line of people outside waiting to use the toilet when the train resumes motion... so I can't just leave my handywork there without flushing...
After a few more minutes of contemplation, I decide to make a break for it. I open the door... and the wheels start moving. I quickly lock myself back in by pretending I forgot something, flush the toilet when I'm sure it will splatter when it hits the tracks, wash my hands and continue on my way.
As a warning to you all, do not poop when the train is stopped!
After those words of wisdom, Carson and I arrived in the very cold and rainy city of Omsk in the middle of Siberia near the Kazakhastan border. We arrived around 9 pm, bought our tickets with relative (relative meaning only 15 minutes of mixed English, Polish, and Russian with a grumpy Russian ticket woman) ease and hopped on a bus with a cheerful ticket lady.
This morning, after a really good buffet breakfast fortunately included in the price, I ask about the rule, they discuss it for awhile and tell me that it does not apply to us because we were only there one night. I argue for awhile, because it says nothing of the sort, they insist it only applies after staying more than 2 nights... however, that defeats the purpose because you can't stay less than 12 hours, if you are not checking out... They disagree with my firm logic and send me away. I'm annoyed, but I get over it quickly. Not ALL strangers in Russia are as generous as the few we have met so far...
Despite our adventures, misadventures, good times, and bad, the trip so far has been spectacular. It is always incredible to put yourself in situations where you must rely on yourself, your instincts, your prayers, and a little luck. It will, however, be great to get to the warm weather of Beijing, after our quick jaunt through Lake Baikal and Mongolia.
Thanks for your prayers and love.
Пака
Moscow has been a fast-paced blur of site-seeing, eating, drinking coffee, and trying to figure out the endless metro system. This city of 12 million people seems to not sleep, has worse traffic than Los Angeles, and is starting to get rather chilly.
Carson and I have spent two days here now with our friends Boris and Geni, who we met on the over night train from Kiev. They have driven us to all their favorite spots around the city, gave us a tour of the Red Square at night, and much much more.
Boris is a doctor working in the local hospital. He has been extremely generous and paid nearly every bill so far. Just last night, we found out that as a doctor he only makes $500 a month... needless to say, he wants to immigrate to the U.S. to make a fair bit more.
Last night as he got off work, he took us to a restaurant called Sky Lounge 22, situated atop the International Science Laboratory in downtown Moscow. His friend is the owner. As we sit in this beautiful restaurant, the owner comes over, a 30-something year old named Alek, and has dinner with us. Let's just say I ordered one of the cheapest meals at $30, and it was by no means the most expensive thing on the menu. Well of course, Alek was so happy to have young Americans there that he gave us the whole meal for free. Oh, I forgot to mention, it is rated the 5th best restaurant in all of Moscow... I love mother Russia!!
Tonight, after calling my Mother of course, Carson and I will be hopping on a 40-hour overnight train to Omsk, located in the infamous Siberia. As long as my passport doesn't fall apart, and we stay away from the Gulags, we should be okay.
*Some new photos are added too!*
Never underestimate the generosity of strangers (except customs officers)
Carson and I had a fantastic time with our friends in Poland. They are two missionary couples living outside Katowice and Krakow working with youth groups through local churches. Their ministry has been incredibly blessed, and has grown throughout ten countries in Eastern Europe. If you’re curious, go to their website, http://www.josiahventure.com/. They were unbelievably hospitable, opening up their home, food pantries, and use of their cars.
Friday night, us two vagabonds boarded an overnight train to Kiev, the capital in eastern Ukraine. Although whether I would make it on the train was up in question for a bit… You see my passport has had its fair share of wear and tear over the 6 years I have had it. Unfortunately, it started to tear quite a bit over the last few weeks, leading the Polish customs officer to tsk at me like a little child for about 20 minutes as he told me to get a new passport and that he couldn’t accept it. Easy for him to say when we are 8 hours by train from the American embassy, in a border town at ten in the evening. After smiling quite a bit (and considering whether to bribe him or not), he let me through with a stern “Nowy passport!!!”
That night, we shared a sleeper train with two Ukrainian businessmen. My polish translated well enough to their Ukrainian, and we shared a meal of bread, sausage, tuna, and… just to confirm the stereotype, vodka. Carson and I increasingly did a good job of telling them it was really strong, and that we didn’t want any more… but they sure are pushy!
We made it to Kiev in the morning, without a place to stay, thinking it would be similar to Krakow, with hostels trying to get you to stay there. Stepping out of the train station, I felt as if I had gone back 10 years in time. English was no where to be found… anywhere! We wandered around with our bags before finally finding an internet café where we looked up a hostel on the outskirts of the city.
That night we watched a concert in Freedom Square, the place where Ukraine held its Orange Revolution just a few years ago, and toured St. Sophia’s Cathedral. Despite our initial impression, the city really grew on me, it has a very unique feel to it. We slept well in our hostel, except for the *cough* noise disruptions *cough* coming from the other room; ear plugs are amazing.
Last night we managed to somehow buy the right train tickets on the overnight train to Moscow. Apparently many Americans do not casually take a train from Kiev to Moscow, because two Ukrainian FBI-equivalent agents entered with customs to inquire as to why we were there. Our very friendly Russian roommates helped us through the night.
In another show of amazing Eastern European hospitality, our two new Russian friends, offered to rent us a room in their friend’s apartment. When we inquired how much, they stated “Free, of course! Us, Russians are very friendly!” Boris, the one who speaks English well, is a doctor at the hospital in Russia.
And here I am now, enjoying the city of Moscow. The city I have read about in spy novels and history while growing up. In all honesty it fits my stereotypes well, large imposing buildings, stars, hammers, and sickles adorning buildings, monuments, and other misc. goods, as well as a dreary overcast sky and chilly weather. I love it!
I went to the Embassy today to try and repair my passport… apparently a “mutilated” passport is actually illegal to use, but it takes a week to get a new one, and my visas for Russia, China, and Vietnam would not transfer… so cross your fingers and pray that the customs officials at the Russian, Mongolian, and Chinese borders are friendly, or bribe-able. If I can make it to Beijing, they can repair my passport there.
Da-shve-dania my dear readers, more pictures will be posted soon of Poland, Ukraine, and Moscow.
