The fast disappearing Hutongs of Beijing

I am not going to dwell on my experience of Beijing. I believe there is plenty of more informed opinion out there. I stayed in Shanglin Hostel/Leo 2 Hostel. It was great. The people were really friendly, I am a sucker for free wifi, and it was nice to have a Hutong courtyard experience. I returned to stay there a total of 4 times.

Beijing seems to be in the grips of frantic preparation for the Olympic games which kick off in 2 months time. In my numerous trip to Beijing spanning a 4 weeks, I would see buildings torn down and new ones erected. I snuck behind a few barriers and spent some time walking around the old hutongs of Beijing. Many of these building have what appear to be demolition orders plastered to their walls and people remain living in these half demolished buildings. I have been told that the current inhabitants of these hutongs are being expropriated and no longer live in the rebuilt modern buildings that are fast replacing them.

I found the people in Beijing very friendly and encountered students who, looking to practice their English, would happily act as an impromptu tour guide for hours on end. I also happened upon other with less altruistic motives.

For a great Eng lish/American breakfast I recommend Grandma's Kitchen. They have a few location peppered around Beijing. Their great western food comes with free wifi. The nearby tiny Poet's Cafe serves great dumplings (not on the menu) and although the tea is quite price,y the proprietors, a young couple, are very friendly and also offer free Internet. My favourite place however, is the somewhat pricey, but always bustling Sakura cafe at the entrance to 365 Inn.

Draft 29 Days on my visa and its time to leave China: Relections on train travel in China.

Its 7:50 and I have just departed on the K23 to Ulan Bator. This brings my 4 week stay in China to a close and once again, I am greeted with an unexpected surprise this morning. My train compartment has a power outlet which affords me plenty of opportunity to catch up on the writing that I haven't done since I first arrived in China.

My time in China has been chiefly punctuated by the devastating Sichuan Earthquake on May 12, at 2:28am. This needs a special mention and I have dealt with my experiences and thoughts surrounding this natural catastrophe in this post.

I have spent most of my time in China in Beijing, Shanghai, Urumqi and Kashgar and, by the time I arrive at the border town of Elian at 12:00 tonight, I will have clocked a total of 7000+ kilometers by train. Train travel in China has been delightfully comfortable and easy and I highly recommend it. It gives you the opportunity to see so much of the countryside and plently of time to meet locals. Overnight trains save on the cost of accommodation, and in many respects I find it a lot easier than air travel. Lastly, for the green travelers amongst you, it offers a more environmentally conscious way to travel.

My first train trip was a 87 RMB 12 hour soft sleeper trip from Suifenhe to Harbin in which I gripped by fever at the end of what was my worst day of the year (This is the best day of my year!). My time in Harbin was clouded by illness and a dampened spirit. I regret not making it to Sun Island.

From Harbin I travelled on the Z16 to Beijing (at a cost of RMB 466) where I once again shared a 4 birth soft sleeper compartment with 3 locals. This train, like the k23 I am now on, had individual TV screens with remote controls. Whoever would have thought!

I later traveled the short 2 hour journey from Beijing to Jixian county to watch friends partake in the Great Wall Marathon and there had my first experience at travelling by hard seat with the People! Although I had reserved a seat, it was taken by the time I boarded. I was left standing in an aisle for about 15 minutes until a conductor arrived and shouted at the offending sqautor, presumably for making me stand. It was otherwise an uneventful trip.

My trip to Shanghai and back was made on the 14 hour  Z1/Z2 which I presumed, given the low number of the train, would be my most luxurious. I was mistaken. No individual TV screens in my compartment here. We did however have roses in our compartment. It is worth noting that the first train station you stop at on the morning of your arrival in Shanghai is not actually Shanghai train station. I was tempted to disembark as I was the only person that remained in my carriage, but my instincts were correct and Shanghai proper was still a further hour away. I have subsequently learnt that it makes sense to study your timetable so that you know exactly when to get off because some carriage attendants are rather inattentive at keeping you informed.

On a whim, I decided to travel by train to Urumqi from Beijing. The change over from the Winter to Summer timetable of the K23 meant that no train ran to Ulan Bator for more than a week and I was left stranded in Beijing. As much as I have enjoyed Beijing, I had grown bored of it and the idea of camping out waiting to leave did not appeal to me. The idea of traveling cross country by train was suggested to me by a friend in Urumqi and after she told me that she would be jealous that I would see the breadth of China during this 45 hour, 3768 km journey out west to the Xinjiang, the New Frontier, I was completely captivated by the idea. I found this article relating to this journey in the opposite direction and I decided I had to go. This rather expensive soft sleeper cost me RMB 966, which made this no less expensive than an air ticket on the same day, but I would make this journey again and again if I had the time.

Beijing to Urumqi: A XYZ carbon cred

This train ride ticks a lot of boxes. Its almost as far as you can travel in China. It takes you on a 45 hours journey that totals 3768 km. It takes you to the place in the world that is furthest from any coast line. It takes you pretty close to the second lowest depression in the world after the dead sea. It takes you through desert and snow capped peaks to the fabled Silk Road. And most importantly for me, it takes you to the region of China in which I had the most fun.

This is the same journey, albeit in the opposite direction, that has been written about in this article. My experience was a little more tame as I had the fortune to travel by soft sleeper.

He has already done a great job writing about this journey. I will share with you some pictures:

BeinjingXi (west) Train station is massive. It is certainly the biggest train station building I have ever seen!

I was surprised how in a 45 hour trip along the breadth of China, it was almost impossible not to see evidence of Man's hand for every single part of the journey.

Although quite difficult to do when you are traveling at 140 km/h, I think I did a reasonable job of capturing these wild camels.

There are plenty of new railway lines being installed along this route. There is also a new gas/oil pipeline which straddles the train tracks for much of the 3rd day of this journey.

As someone that is quite environmentally aware, I decided to do a few calculations. Having in the past calculated my own personal carbon footprint, I am aware that of all my behaviours, my penchant for travel alone accounts for most of my personal footprint. I am interested to see how much of a difference making this journey by train makes. The price of this ticket was just less than RMB 1000, which is not so different from the USD 152 flight I saw advertised on the same day for a flight. I have calculated and valued the difference between these two forms of transport based on the information at www.carbonfootprint.com

Firstly I have dismissed the argument that both the train and the plane were flying anyway and therefore my decision, ultimately has no impact on the amount of carbon emissions. Although I recognise its verity in the short term, I instead believe that, although my individual decision making is at this time is immaterial, similar collective decision making over time would result in emptier flights, fuller trains and ultimately less of the former and more of the later hence bringing about a reduction in carbon emissions. In order to get to that point, something has to be done now and can't be dismissed with such reasoning.

According to carbonfootprint.com, based on the length of this journey, I would be responsible for 0.343 tonnes of CO2 if I travel by air and 0.000 if I make the same journey of 3768 kms traveling by train. The is same website gives me the option to offset this amount by contributing towards the Clean Energy Fund, towards Reforestation in Kenya or towards UK Tree Planting. If I were to responsibly offset the emissions that I am responsible for, this might cost me as much as $24.

If you are interested in doing the same, go to www.carbonfootprint.com or this offline calculator might also prove useful: http://timeforchange.org/offline-carbon-footprint-calculator

The many faces of Kashgar

I have romantic images of the fabled Ancient Silk Road which I think has long since vanished. Most of central Kashgar, although sporting a Mosque built in 1422, looks like it has gone up in the last 30 years. There is the old town, but you need to go looking for it. It is not immediately apparent and some parts charge an entry fee!!!!  If there is one aspect of Kashgar the met my expectation of the ancient Silk Road, it was people's faces and their variety. The faces of Kashgar and their variety speak of a time when people from many far flung places passed though these parts, perhaps settled, or simply left their progeny. Ethnic Han Chinese are in the minority and the influence of Russians, Kazakhstanis, Indians, Pakistanis and are evident in this crossroads of Central Asia.

Karakal Lake - I might make an exception and return to this remote place

I don't often return to far flung travel destinations. My experience of travelling the world has taught me that there are always new and interesting places worth discovering. I have always thought the opportunity cost of returning to the same place is perhaps a little too high. I have so far made only a few exceptions, and I think Karakal lake might be one of them. I would like however to return as part of a ski touring party in the winter. I was there in early June and the snowcapped peaks beckoned. I am not sure about the logistical arrangements to getting into and camping out in this mountainous border region, access to which remains very tight,  but I will certainly be researching it in the coming months and put this one on my extreme skiing/ boarding destination radar for possible future trips. Let me know if you're interested! Karakal in Winter 2009/2010 anyone?

Here are some of my favourtire snaps:

I spent a night in a ger for RMB 50 and quite disappointingly our hosts were not as friendly as I might have hoped. In a nearby ger inhabited by a German we met, my travelling companion came across this remarkable local that happily strummed away and sang a song taught to him by earlier French guests.

Freedom in China: Doing exactly what I want in Urumqi and Turpan

I can't tell you much about Urumqi as my stay there was brief. No sooner had I arrived in Urumqi and I was whisked away to Turpan/Tulufan and went in search of Aiding Lake. This is meant to be the second lowest depression in the world and the highest recorded temperature in China of 49,6 degrees is said to be recorded here. While we drove around the desert looking for this lake (I think it has dried up as we were only able to find salt pans) the thermometer in our SUV edged up to, and eventually past 49 degrees and my altimeter edged down to -159 meters. I think both might need to be recalibrating.

Failing to find this lake, we eventually resorted to swimming in the only water we could find - a storm water drain!

After asking our driver to abandon us in the middle of nowhere, I spent my first night sleeping under the stars, sheltered by grape vines. Its was an unforgettable experience.

On my second day in Turpan we finally gave in to seeing a few of the tourist sites before taking the old road back to Urumqi and swimming in whatever water we could find.

Turpan is the birthplace of Islam in China which I believe arrived in the 10th century AD. Prior to this is was Buddhist and the remains of Buddhas are still evident in the mud walls of the temples in....

Fubar is a place in Urumqi worth mentioning. It serves delightful Chicken burgers and has wifi. The proprietors are very friendly and happily acted as translator for our driver over the course of our two days gallivant around Urumqi and Turpan. Given how insane some of our requests must have seemed, we needed constant clarification from Simon.

Train travel advice when travelling in China

I am a novice when it comes to train travel but with now more than 7000 kilometers of train travel in China, let me share my practical thoughts with you.

Top or bottom bunk? There is no easy answer here. I believe that if the journey is an overnight journey, where most of it is likely spent asleep, I would definitely take the top bunk. There you have more privacy, can sleep in later as you aren't disturbed by your cabin partners when they decide to climb down, and your personal space isn't invaded when someone decides to sit on YOUR bed! On the other hand (Darren!), if your journey is significantly longer than a 12 hour overnight trip, you may find the top bunk a little cramped, and if you yourself don't want to invade the lower bunk when you need to sit, you have to head out into the corridor to take a seat. The corridor can be quite a busy place if you want to eat or read. If you are a keen photographer, as I am, the top bunk does not leave you a comfortable vantage point from which to take photos. On longer trips I have opted for the lower birth.

Some advice for taking pictures: Its sometime difficult to find a window that you can open. On my 45 hour trip from Beijing to Urumqi I watched the windows become progressively dirtier and dirtier. I suggest you take a rag and make short trips outside at each stop to wipe your window. Also, make sure it is dry as it will pick up dust pretty quickly if it is wet. (If you are sleeping on the top bunk you will struggle to clean the top half of the window). Lastly, take along a circular polarizing filter as it will enable you get rid of some of the internal reflection on the windows.

Purchasing tickets: You have a number of options which range from doing it yourself, having your hotel /hostel purchase them on your behalf for a commission of usually RMB20 or the most expensive option getting them online from CITS or in Chinatripadvisor. I did all (except chinatriadvisor  as I found them to be slow, they often provided me with incorrect information and their site was sometimes inaccessible) without ever hearing the dreaded "Mei you" (No have). For trips that I was making on short notice on busy routes or my international booking to Ulan Bator, I booked through CITS (2nd floor Beijing International Hotel - they sent me there when I went to the head office). In Shanghai I purchased a ticket from the ticket office at the train station. There is a booth marked "English speaking" and it was true to its word and was entirely hassle free. I had however arrived prepared, in the same way as I had done when purchasing ticket from non English speaking ticket offices. I had written out a note in Chinese script (which took some time) which detailed my destination, the train number (which I found on the Internet at ), my date of travel, the class of travel, the number of tickets I required, and which birth in a soft sleeper compartment I required. I have copied an example below.

I also believe it is worthwhile to print a copy of the train timetable before you leave. I was almost caught out... twice. On my trip to Harbin my guide book noted that you should not get off your train when you first get into Harbin as this is train station is Harbin North and after another 15 minutes your train arrives in Harbin Central. My first stop was Harbin Central although I didn't know this at the time. I could not bring myself to stay on the train after I watched absolutely everyone else get off and fortunately I joined them as I have no idea where I might otherwise have ended up. A similar thing happened on my journey to Shanghai although in this case I resisted the temptation to join the masses that disembarked when we first stopped and since Shanghai North train station remained another hour away, I am glad I stayed on the train.

Toilets in China are an experience and I was pleasantly surprised by the trains. That isn't to say that they aren't sometimes an adventure, but I expected worse. Most trains I traveled on where equipped with a squat toilet at one end of each carriage and a western toilet at the other end. I also discovered on my longer trips, where avoiding toilet altogether was unavoidable, that toilets are often cleaned at scheduled stops so I soon learned to schedule my toilet trips after scheduled stop. On the K23 I am traveling in style! I have a spotless toilet attached to my compartment which I share with my neighbouring compartment. Upon entering you need to latch the other door closed so that you don't have an embarrassing visitor. I recently heard to toilet flush and looked to see if my neighbour had closed my latch (indicated by a red "occupied" indicator). He hadn't. I hope I don't have the misfortune of interrupting him.

The rest I think is common sense. Don't stress about provisions. There has always been a restaurant car on the trains I have traveled on and there are always vendors selling drinks and snacks on the train, and at every stop. Take along wet wipes. Smile a lot, even if you don't speak Mandarin. I have found all the people I have met on the train, both passengers and attendants, to be delightfully helpful and courteous.

The Sechaun Earthquake: A nation grieves

I first learnt about the quake in China's Sichuan province when I received messages from friends asking if I was fine. I was miles away and, being unable to follow Chinese media, I was totally unaware about what had happened. Learning of the earthquake answered many of the questions I had had. I had seen crowds of people staring at public TV's and wondered why everyone was so still so concerned about the tropical storm in Myanmar that had taken place almost 2 weeks earlier.

Whilst taking the train out to Jixian county, a week after the quake, I sat opposite a young Chinese girl reading the newspapers. As she read story after story of tragedy and heroism in the days that followed the quake, she sat with tears streaming down her face. For a nation that is portrayed by the West as lacking emotion, I have been had cause to challenge my preconceptions about China and the Chinese. I have watched an entire nation of 1.4 billion people pour out their emotions and mourn the victims of this quake. The bright neon lights that normally light up the night time cityscape of Shanghai were switched off upon my arrival, people everywhere have donated generously, the media has remained absolutely captivated by this story, train schedules have been interrupted as resources have been redirected towards post disaster recovery, and I have already seen advertisements in English for Expressions of Interests for international contractors that would like to tender for the reconstruction of many of the devastated areas.

China is not a country with one homogenous culture. Many of those injured in this quake were in fact Tibetan. Nonetheless, I have only witnessed blanket concern for all Chinese injured in this quake. Against the backdrop of this, I was absolutely horrified to see Sharon Stone's interview at the Cannes film festival. Given the advantage that her life has afforded her, I am blown away by her lack of compassion for the innocent victims of this quake and her ill informed opinion. I wish there were harsher consequences for her than simply being pulled from the Dior campaign in China. Likewise I was disturbed by the coverage that CNN gave of this incident. Rather than dwelling on the fact that the Chinese government's official that commented on Sharon Stone's slur, mispronunciation of her name, I think the content of what he was saying is most important. If mainstream foreign press decides that a tongue tied government official is newsworthy, I would expect we would have a sound bite a day from president Bush. Although subtle, I think such reporting is what paints such horrible and inaccurate portrayals of China and the Chinese.

Back to Sharon Stone who is friends with the Dalai Lama... Sharon, I have a few messages for you: Firstly your knowledge of Buddhism is seriously lacking. As the close friend of the Dalai Lama that you purport to be, make the effort to understand his religion a little better. You, like most of the western world are captivated by a vague and somewhat appealing notion of instant Karma. Karma, if you are to believe in it, doesn't work like that. Karma revisits one's soul in a subsequent lifetime. Think before you open your mouth. Secondly, many of the effected where Tibetan. You should make an effort to be better informed when you decide to make political statements. Lastly, ignoring all of this, you should at least know that China is not a democracy, the people have not voted in the government, and just like I wouldn't blame you for the many evil's of your government, I can't understand how you can hold a belief that it is good for innocent people to suffer and lose their lives on an horrendously grand scale, because of the violence purportedly carried out by their government. Have a little compassion for the people of the world!

Perhaps when real Karma plays out in your next lifetime, should you be enlightened enough to be reincarnated as a human which, in my personal opinion, I doubt, you too might have the experience of being on the receiving end of such insensitive comments whilst you mourn lost loved ones and the death of what looks like may amount to 85'000+ people.

The fast disappearing Hutongs of Beijing

I am not going to dwell on my experience of Beijing. I believe there is plenty of more informed opinion out there. I stayed in Shanglin Hostel/Leo 2 Hostel. It was great. The people were really friendly, I am a sucker for free wifi, and it was nice to have a Hutong courtyard experience. I returned to stay there a total of 4 times.

Beijing seems to be in the grips of frantic preparation for the Olympic games which kick off in 2 months time. In my numerous trip to Beijing spanning a 4 weeks, I would see buildings torn down and new ones erected. I snuck behind a few barriers and spent some time walking around the old hutongs of Beijing. Many of these building have what appear to be demolition orders plastered to their walls and people remain living in these half demolished buildings. I have been told that the current inhabitants of these hutongs are being expropriated and no longer live in the rebuilt modern buildings that are fast replacing them.

I found the people in Beijing very friendly and encountered students who, looking to practice their English, would happily act as an impromptu tour guide for hours on end. I also happened upon other with less altruistic motives.

For a great Eng lish/American breakfast I recommend Grandma's Kitchen. They have a few location peppered around Beijing. Their great western food comes with free wifi. The nearby tiny Poet's Cafe serves great dumplings (not on the menu) and although the tea is quite price,y the proprietors, a young couple, are very friendly and also offer free Internet. My favourite place however, is the somewhat pricey, but always bustling Sakura cafe at the entrance to 365 Inn.

Spectating the Great Wall Marathon 2008

A few friends of mine happened to be in China during my visit as they were running the Great Wall marathon, organised by Albatros Travel who have similar races across the globe. I decided to join them in Jixian county to watch them race.

There was a part of me that, in watching them conquer the wall, wished that I had known about this race months before and had had the opportunity to train. There was absolutely no running it with out adequate training. This is more of an adventure race than a marathon and even the front runners walk parts of the wall and run the flats. I had the opportunity to explore some of the steeper sections of the wall as I looked for a vantage point to take photos and was overwhelmed by the terrain. I take my hat off to everyone that took part in this race and respect all those who completed it.

In one of those small world experiences that leaves you pondering the nature of the universe, I ran into someone that I had earlier met in Gulmarg in Kashmir in March. She was then writing a piece on Gulmarg and was now running the Great wall marathon and writing about it for cnn.com. For more about the race, take a look at her article here.

A quick update

I know I haven't posted in some time. I have written a number of updates and as soon as I can connect my laptop to the internet I will be updating this blog. In the interim, here are a few pictures from the last week of mine spent in the Xinjiang province, the New Frontier of China.

The delights of Zhongyang Dajie in Harbin

Today I decided to hunt out the internet and I discovered the delightful Zhong Yang Dajie street mall. I am currently sitting in Cezanne Coffee in the Euro Plaza, sipping a latte, listening to strains of fur elize in the background, watching young affluent chinese consumers with their laps dogs (definitely pets, not their dinner) breezing in and out of Belgian Chocalatiers while I browse free wifi internet. If I had to do it all again, I wouldn’t have stayed at Bei Bei hotel opposite the railway station but would have rather booked myself into the Holiday Inn at the top of Zhong Yang Dajie for Y300 per night. If only I had known.

If I wasn’t so concerned about the weight of my bags, I too would be in the shops. I am surrounded by every luxury goods store you could imagine, from IWC and Armani to Hugo Boss and Louis Vuitton. I have been to few malls that compete with this one, and none have taken me by such surprise

Into Opium’s Den

I don’t have much to say about Harbin. The people seem quite friendly, but after my travel nightmare of the last few days and with being sick, I am trying to shut out the world rather than curiously inviting it in.

I tried to solicit help from the hotel staff to aid me in buying a train ticket. Although I got lots of smiles and giggles from the female staff, all they could do for me was point me to the train station across the square. Thanks.

I am in staying in the Hotel. For 180 Yuan I checked in at 6 am this morning and the room is old, reasonably clean and the perfect sanctuary in which to recuperate from flu and my travel nightmare of the last three days.

There is a Californian Beef Noodle next door and a KFC across the road. There are plenty of food stalls next to the station, on the right as you exit, so my immediate needs are all taken care of. About 15 minutes walk away on Jihong Jie I saw a place called English First. I went in and spoke to a teacher, Casey who is a Nigerian English teacher that has lived in China for 5 years and loves the place. It was great to speak to someone in English. I think it has been more than a week since I have had a conversation rather than struggled simply to make myself understood.

I found it really easy to get myself a train ticket today. I managed to scrawl down a few phrases onto paper and made my way off to the ticket booth. I had the ticket I wanted in no time at all. Wait a second, I am getting ahead of myself. I think I have the ticket I wanted. Only once I get on the overnight train to Beijing tomorrow I will know if I have got the ticket I wanted!

Engrish, Engrish, anyone Engrish?

I remember hearing on CNN a few years ago that “there are currently more people learning English in China that there are living in the United States.” I am now beginning to suspect that this statement is just fear mongering propaganda against China.

I think your jobs won’t be taken by billions of English speaking Chinese any time soon.
Although I was impressed by the English spoken by the Chinese Immigrations and Customs officials, I think that it is an island of English in the China that I have so far experienced.

I found my non-existent Russian got me a lot further than English. After being deserted at the border, I managed to get a ride into Suifenhe with some Russian women and after they got out, our taxi driver suddenly produced a piece of paper with three places written on it in English: “train station”, “bus station” and “hotel”. I indicated that I wanted the bus station and told him the I wanted to go to Harbin. I then realised that I had no money. This being his problem as well as my own, he was very quick to work out that I needed to exchange money and within meters of me showing him that I needed to exchange money, there was someone sitting in the front seat of the car with wads of Yuan and we soon parked in a dark alley. Oops!

I didn’t even know what the official exchange rate was yet. Does it really matter? I knew I was on a hiding for nothing. All my dollars and rubles got me 750 yuan. It was 850 and then the guy took back 100. Knowing enough to know that I was getting ripped off, I demanded my money back upon which he handed me 10 yuan and stepped out of the car.

I also know I got ripped off by the taxi driver. I didnt know how much exactly I was paying him, but I know that at the rate I just got, it was far too many dollars or rubles! I was only so relieved to see a few buses, and I have never been so pleased to see a hoard of Russians.

Unfortunately, as far as I could ascertain, none of the buses were headed for Harbin, and when I entered the nearby railway station, I was greeted by my familiar friends; Chinese Immigrations and Customs. I made a quick U-turn. This was the train station for departures back to Russia. Before I managed to get out of the building, I did have someone in a uniform snatch a book of mine out of my hand to see what I was reading. It was my useless guide book. What guide books starts with “The phrases below aim to give you some assistance but a phrase book really is a necessity”. If you are going to include phrases, why don’t you add a few pages to the book and make it equally as comprehensive as the Russian and Mongolian part of the book?

I am starting to feel like an illiterate deaf mute, completely unable to communicate with the outside world!

Before I go any further, I would like to say this. I have always felt that English speaking people are generally terrible travelers as they expect others to be able to speak to them in English. It is for this reason that I have made an effort to learn German while I have lived in Switzerland despite the fact that I could quite easily live without it. I knew that in coming to China I would have a little difficulty, but it is also one of the reasons that I decided I wanted to travel by train. It makes it relatively straight forward as I could stick to major cities where I expected it to be easier. I had no intention of being stuck in Suifenhe without an onward ticket.

My struggle continued. I eventually understood that I needed to be at another railway station and I was pointed in the correct direction. Convinced that if I walked along the tracks I would eventually get there, I set out on foot. After about an hour of getting nowhere near to anything resembling a train station, and heading into a rather industrial looking area, all the time being stared at and pointed at, I turned around and decided to head off to a police station that I had seen. That was not entirely fruitful, but not pointless either. Although no one spoke English, across the road I saw a building that said “Harbin Railway Company” or something like that. I made my way over there and although I still got no one who spoke English, I managed to find three teenagers that, with my basic Russian, a little Engrish, and a lot of charades and drawing of pictures were able to take me to the correct station, and buy me a ticket to Harbin, for only 80 Yuan. I will forever be grateful to those strangers.


I had a 10 hour wait in the cold of Suifenhe and by the time my train rolled at in at 19:58 I new I was getting sick. I was so pleased to find a hotel this morning in Harbin about 30 minutes after I arrived at 5:30 am and I have spent the day in the grips of flu. I hope I don’t have SARS or something! I miss Vladivostok!

One other thing. My guide book told me not to get off the train when it arrives in Harbin as you will be in Harbin North but you actually want to be in Central Harbin. But when there was not a sole person left in my carriage, I couldn’t bring myself to stay on the train for another 20 minutes and I am so glad I didn’t. Who knows where I would be now. The first stop of mine was Harbin Central. If anyone reading this wants to make there way from Vladivostok to Harbin, there is a lot of mis-information out there. Feel free to send me a comment and I will tell you what I know, and what I have learnt. Although I think it isn’t the quickest, I think you have the greatest degree of certainty of getting to Harbin if you take the 3 day (40 hours and 10 minutes), 780 kilometre train (No 351) from Vladivostok to Harbin.

Vladivostock to Sui Fen He (Suifenhe)

As I stood waiting for the victory parade to start in Moscow and I watched the bored soldiers puffing away in the cold, I thought to myself to get a pack of cigarettes to try offer to boarder officials to help alleviate their boaredom, should they decide to pick on me on my way out of Russia and into China.

I was up at 3am, had checked out by 3:30 and was waiting for the 4am bus at Vladivostok station by 3:45am. By 4:10 there was no sign of said bus and I was getting a little worried. With much relief it arrived at 4:30. As I stepped on I handed my proof of payment and thanked the women who took it in Russian. “I speak English you know” she replied in perfect English. Brilliant!

Anne was leading a group to Beijing and had been put on the bus with her group to travel as far as Suifenhe where she would direct me to a bus that would take me to Harbin, or that was my understanding at least.

I was woken when we arrived in Pogrinitsa (I think) and Anne asked me for my ticket to Suifenhe. What ticket? I only had one ticket and I had given that to her. I made her problem mine and she went into some office, came running out with my passport and had soon sorted me out and told me to stay on her bus to Suifenhe as planned.

As we approached the boarder, I stashed all currency I had in my camera bag as I had heard that a strict interpretation of Russian Customs regulations entitles official to confiscate it. I had read terrible things about the Russian side of this boarder crossing, which was apparently in stark contrast to the efficient and friendly Chinese immigrations and customs. My experience couldn’t have been more different. Although every page of my passport was examined thoroughly under UV light, I breezed through Russian immigrations, and customs didn’t even ask to look in my bags.

In the queue of Chinese immigrations I was singled out three times to open my bag and show the contents to bored officials. Once I got to the front of the queue and presented my passport, I was instructed to join another queue. Once again, as soon as I presented my passport, I was asked what country I was from and sent off to go and sit on a chair.

A more senior official came and took a look at my passport, then my visa, and then disappeared muttering something about India (I had obtained my Visa in New Delhi). Another official sidled up to me for a chat. Although he was being friendly, all his questions were very leading and I was clearly being interviewed.

Eventually the older, more stern official returned with my passport open on one page and pointed at it. It was a page with an entry stamp to Ecuador. I was a little surprised as I didn’t realise China poor diplomatic relations with Ecuador. “Ecuador?” I asked. “No!” he scoffed and pointed at a little tear in the page and turned around and stormed off.

After a 10 minute wait I was told that I could pass through immigrations, a younger official filled in my arrival card for me, and the friendly women behind the desk then chatted to me about all the stamps in my passport and whether I intended to stay to watch the olympics. I thought it might be a trick question as I new my visa doesn’t extend that long so I told that I unfortunately wouldn’t be.

Customs! For the fourth time I had to unpack my bag, but this time it was done pretty thoroughly. The were mostly interested in DVDs I had and all my reading material.

By the time I had cleared customs and emerged from the building, my bus and savior Anne were gone. I had been deserted in the middle of no where. What now????

Dulce Et Decorum Est, Pro Patria Mori?

Having stayed specifically for the victory parade in Vladivostok, I haven’t been disappointed. The only irritation were the throngs of people trying to get in front of me to witness the marching soldiers and the procession of tanks.




I was up a little earlier this morning to get down to the parade ground for what I had heard would be a 9 May victory parade of the likes that haven’t been seen since Soviet times. I have never seen one before so I have nothing to compare it with. I spoke to a few sailors from the USS Strethem which is currently docked in Vladivostok and they seemed to think that it was quite a show with some impressive artillery on display. I am not particularly knowledgeable about killing machines so I can’t tell you what I saw. Here are a few pictures of the marching, flag waving and elaborate killing machines.






It was on 9 May 1945 that the Russian Army marched into Berlin and declared victory over Germany (I don’t think it any coincidence that Saving Private Ryan was on TV last night). Judging by the turnout of both young and old at today’s parade, it is clearly a day of great significance in Russia. What is also evidenced is that it is not just the teary-eyed war veterans that are strongly patriotic of Russia

As the celebrations and parades spread west as the sun rises over Russia, I have retired to my hotel room to prepare for my trip to China tomorrow. I hope to make my way out tonight to catch some of the fireworks.

Studio Coffee and other great places in Vladivostok

I’ve settled into a routine in Vladivostok. Its an easy thing to do. This is a great city, very refined, and sophisticated. How my opinion of it has changed during my longer than planned stay here.


Studio coffee is one place that features in my routine. I have studied the menu long enough to decipher a few familiar dishes and I have worked out my waitress Aleksandra's name (Александpа). She has served me for each of the last 3 days. She doesn’t speak English but we have a good understanding. We have only had one misunderstanding.

I spent ages examining the menu and found what I thought I was looking for: . Unfortunately I got a chocolate milkshake instead of a hot chocolate but it was a good milkshake anyway. My knowledge of the alphabet is fast improving. Pizza, Latte, Miller Pivo and California Rolls have been other tasty successes that I have had.

A few other places I recommend in Vladivostok are:

I also found a few English books. There are English set works for Russian students of English but they are better than nothing. I even found an Russian-English phrase book. Unfortunately its for Russians trying to get by in English so I don’t have any reference phonetic reference and it doesn’t help me much with my only a rudimentary understanding of cyrillics.

I am staying for Victory Day Celebrations in Vladivostok

I now have a map of the city. Its in Russian but my Russian spelling is fast improving. I managed to find a travel agency I looked up and it looks like I once again have a plan.


I also happens that I found a travel agency with some rather competent English speakers. Evgenya at DALINTOURIST Travel Agency has been able to help me out with getting to Harbin. Apparently the train is full and she has suggested that I catch a 4am bus across the boarder to Suifenhe in China and then catch a local bus to Harbin. It costs me about the same but the trip is two days quicker.


With that in mind, I have now decided that I will stay on in Vladivostok for a little longer. I think it worthwhile to stay for the 9 May Victory day celebrations, which, according to Evgenya, is the most important holiday in Russia. I also have heard that this year these celebrations are likely to be a show of military force, the likes of which haven’t been see since Soviet times.

My changing thoughts on Vladivostok

Unlike most people who do this trip, I am starting out in the East and heading West. That makes my travels a little more difficult I think. I certainly think that I could get things done a little easier in Moscow than it appears I can in Vladivostok. I also think most independent travelers are a little more fluent in Russian by the time they get this far. I finally made my way to the Service Centre at the Vladivostok train station which apparently offers translation services. I had no such luck. It seems that I am having little luck getting on the train I had hoped to. Its a bi-weekly service to Harbin in China. Its meant to be a killer of a journey. It takes 3 days to cover 780 kms at an average speed of 22 kph. My guide book, which I have decided is not particularly accurate, suggests not taking this route. Other sources I have seen say it is altogether impossible.

So far my experience of this afternoon seems to indicate that this is the case despite the schedule I was able to pull off the internet. I know it exists. It is train number 351 and it departs at 16h00 local time every Monday and Thursday (9am Moscow time).


I transcribed a Russian note in Cyrillic indicating I wanted a ticket on this train and was told in no uncertain terms that it is not available, ever. I didn’t understand a word, but it was made abundantly clear to me that I couldn’t have this ticket. I was however told that it would cost 2150 Roubles. Are you as confused as me?


Tomorrow I am heading to the university to enlist the help of some students who will, I hope, be able to speak some English.


I have asked for help from my hotel but they only suggesting writing out what I want in Russian. I have managed to do that myself already, so it is of little help to me now.


One of the many consolations however, is the great places that I am finding Vladivostok to be. My initial impressions weren’t too good. Other than a few monuments and churches there didn’t seem much to the place. Getting an English Map of the city has proved impossible (Its not even on google maps) and I have found little about the place on tripadvisor or other internet resources.


Having walked the streets, I have now found a couple of fabulous places. Studio Coffee just off Svetlanskaya street is just one such gem. Although there is no English on the menus, I am now able to work out enough of the alphabet to order a latte and Californian Rolls. It also has free wifi!!


Vladivostok was a closed city until 1995. It is now a very cosmopolitan city boasts numerous boutique fashion stores, every conceivable designer label, and is teaming with beautiful ladies, and the air of the crowds on the Forkina street mall are filled with the sweet smells of perfume and at times I have even felt rather underdressed.


I am quite enjoying camping out here until I sort out my travel arrangements.


I have had no luck finding anything resembling an English bookstore. I was hoping to pick up some new literature, preferably Tolstoy, before I board my first train, but it appears unlikely.

Held up in Vladivostok

I am an independant traveler that likes to do things my own way. Its for this reason that I flew into Vladivostok from Kamchatka without a hotel booking, or a plan beyond clearing the departure hall.


I travel like this because I find the challenge interesting, and I have an innate belief in the good of humanity, or more specifically, my common man.


It seems however that a plan, and the ability to speak a modicum of Russian would have served me a little better. I didn’t even make the arrivals hall of Vladivostok airport. I got on the wrong bus out of the plane and find myself in the transit hall. “Nyet Transit...ski” and showing enough security officials my plane ticket finally had me escorted to the arrivals hall where my baggage was fortunately still waiting for me.