Wednesday, October 24, 2007

lack of sleep from insomnia...and i am off to hanzhou

we awoke around 7:30 to catch the 9:30 bullet train. after a long night of tossing and turning...anxiety ranging from what to do after this trip, to grad school, to arranging a trip to see parents in different states, to paying my credit cards on time.

taking the subway in shanghai during rush hour sucks. worst than ny because no one has the idea to get out of the way of the doors or to step out. and since i am a human giant here, with lack of sleep, and just bulldoze through without a care or worry. lugging a large canvas bag, a backpack of photo equipment, and a tripod. it was about a 15 minute subway ride to the train station, we were coming very close to missing our train.

the train station is about 4 levels high, resembles a nice airport, like JFK's JetBlue station. lots of glass and steel, what shanghai loves - right?

we run to our train and get our seats. jason translates to me that the loudspeaker asks that you do not sleep in the overhead luggage compartments. in the aisle over from me a young man pulls down his shade. the man behind him, taps him on his head to let him know he wants to watch the scenery out the window. so, for about 10 minutes they struggle with the damn curtain, trying to balance it on these silver nubs. of course all i can think is, "you damn morons, have you ever used a window shade before" - yes, lack of sleep, cranky. jason and i consult later how ridiculous this spectacle was.

the bullet train was introduced to shanghai only this April, and is designed to run at a top speed of 200 km per hour. the train leaves on time, its clean, and has amazing leg room...for 54 RMB - though it was different on the way back.

the scenery just upon leaving the station was breathtaking once again. the chinese country side. harvesting, homes, huts, shacks, pagodas, the apartment buildings, trash piles on fire...some sites are so warm and wonderful and others sad and depressing.

apartment buildings are all grey, khaki, and the occasional blue. you really feel and get the sense of communist rule. completely utilitarian, drab, blending all into one another. closer to shanghai, the sites are a bit more depressing, more piles of trash, more fires, more shacks/huts, and the country side sometimes resembles small garbage dumps. you see housing around the piles of garbage, and even closer are fathers with their children - this is life. lots of plastics...lots and lots of plastic.

the train in only minutes hits 160 km/hr and the ride is extremely smooth. i feel myself being rocked to sleep almost instantaneously - must stay awake, must enjoy the view. jason is out.

about 15-20 minutes out things get a bit more appealing to a sensitive american. the apartment complexes are clean, though all buildings remain there greyish/khaki color but now their are streams, and small stone bridges, with dam's (that resemble large guillotine) in the small waterways. the ones closer to shanghai, had the dams blocking garbage and somtimes you would see someone with a large fish net catching the garbage out.

further into the countryside, we are traveling southwest, things are greener, i begin to see mountains in the far distance. there are flowers, i can see harvesting in the fields...men and women. occassionally the lonely bicycle in the middle of a green field. at one moment, i see a man walking in front of a group of children, over a small foot bridge towards their clean yards and clean grey buildings, the children are hopping and give me the impression they are very happy. this man appears to be an elder. i see pagodas, temples, waiting to see the buddha himself. beautiful, i close my eyes to rest for the rest of the way.

hangzou is the #1 tourist city of China. there are wetlands nearby, a very large lake, many many monuments and national treasures, and beautiful scenery.

we awake at the station. the station reminds me of the train we have to take to the beach in NY - whatever that line is...LIRR i believe - the one that takes you to the Hampton's or whatever. either way, its simple, old, and there is a lot of noise and commotion. i can see the other trains in the station, not as modern at all, and mostly all colored of a red rust - i think, "old timey".

walk down the platform, people lugging their belongings, girls making boys carry all the bags and such. we get downstairs, and there is a very large man in a green uniform shouting...jeeez, did they get me tickets to the concentration camps...

upon exiting the station we walk outside and there are hundreds of people sitting around, eating, watching over children, napping on their duffel bags, children in wicker baskets strapped to womens backs. it all reminds me of a chinese version of images from the FSA, i.e. Dorthea Lange's migrant workers...you know, the dust bowl, workers in there orchards towards the west...you must know what I am talking about - the Farm Security Administration - look it up on Wikipedia if you must.

the sky is hazing, foggy? i don't know, we have no idea whats going on. we step inside to try to call someone about getting to the hotel i am suppose to photograph and we are to stay in for the next 2 days.

there is some arguing between jason and i. his phone won't charge, we can't figure out how to call a number, and i am directed to talk to the women at this fancy hotel lobby. wait, i can't speak chinese..."they speak english, they have too" and on and on. still, after all this, we can't get a hold of whoever we are suppose to call when we get there. we catch a taxi, after trying to grab one off the road, no, we have to go get one at the taxi stand. we manage to get down there, where we just were, and we hop into a cab. jason directs him to just take us to the lake, we will have to figure out something there.

as we approach, bill calls, and through discussion, the taxi driver knows where the "99 RMB" hotel is. we go.

it's a bit further out than the main part of the city. we pass some older areas, typical chinese, we head towards an area of construction and there in the distance is a hotel about 20 floors high, resembles a gian Lego Block building, with large "99 (symbol for RMB)" on the top of the building. it is blocks of Yellow, White, Green, and Black..........

No comments: