Stones that Rock

Most people use Kunming and her international airport as a gateway to the rest of Yunnan Province. Our initial thought was to head out of Kunming as soon as possible, but we decided to give it twenty-four hours. The big attraction in Kunming is the Stone Forest which is half an hour away by bus. The Stone Forest has a well-deserved reputation as being a tourist trap. The conventional wisdom is that it is (was) beautiful, but it has been cemented over with parking lots and footpaths.

The Stone Forest is hundreds of acres in central Yunnan covered in karst rock formations. The columns and pillars and boulders all seem to point heaven-ward. They are craggy and immense and they are an artist’s dream. Over the centuries, paths and alleyways emerged. They rise, twist, turn, and descend through the rock formation. A person could easily get lost in their wanderings through the Stone Forest.

According to Chinese legend, the gods carved this amazing labyrinth out of the mountains so that star-struck lover could seek solitude among the rocks.

But it didn’t appear as though visitors –star-struck lovers or anyone else- were going to have a modicum of privacy on this particular day. As promised, the place was overrun with tourists. They had been arriving by the bus load all morning.

Long ago, the Stone Forest with it uneven paths and blind turns had been made tourist-friendly. A huge parking lot handled all the incoming traffic. Restaurants, souvenir stands, and shops offering sunscreen and umbrellas lined the avenue leading up to the entrance. We had to go through turnstiles to enter the Forest.

A friend had tipped us off that the Stone Forest can be an enjoyable experience; you just need move toward the less densely peopled areas. So at every fork in the path, we looked to see which path had the most people down it and then we went in the opposite direction. Ten minutes later we found ourselves alone in a remote part of the Stone Forest. For the next hour, we wandered around and managed to not bump into another soul.

It was wonderful.

We hiked, we climbed, we scrambled. We explored the nooks and crannies of the ancient Stone Forest of Kunming. And when we had had enough, we started to wonder back in the general direction from which we had come. Eventually, we perked up our ears and use the noise from of the crowds to navigate our way back to civilization.

We blended in with the crowd and queued up to make our way to the gazebo that sat atop one of the highest points in the forest. It was absolutely packed with people. It was popular for a reason; the views of the Stone Forest were magnificent. Even I had an urge to find a canvas and brush and start painting. But instead of painting pictures, we were in them. We stood for what would be the first of many photo sessions over the course of our trip at the behest of our fellow Chinese travelers. We were happy to do so –it was hard to be anything by gracious in such a picture-perfect setting.

It was great day and we were glad that we had stuck around Kunming.

My advice: The Stone Forest can be an enjoyable experience; you just need move toward the less densely peopled areas.

We Should be so Lucky

In retrospect, closing up my classroom including grades, packing up and moving out of our apartment, and leaving for a seventeen-day jaunt through mainland China all in a five-day period may have been a bit overly ambitious. But we survived and we were on our way.

Up to this point Annika had only been to the mainland three times. Elise just once. In August we will be moving back to Chicago, so this is our family’s one big shot at seeing China.

When we originally put together our itinerary, we had four major regions that we wanted to visit: Yunnan province, The Yangtze River and the Three Gorges, Xian and the Terra Cotta Warriors, and Beijing and the Great Wall. But the more we went over our proposed itinerary, the more we realized it was just too much for seventeen days. After some agonizing, the three-day Three Gorges Yangtze River cruise ended up on the edited room floor. How could I live in China for two years and not see the fabled Yangtze River before I left? Oh well, I would just have to get over it.

I handed each of the girls their small-ish school backpacks and told them that we were traveling light this time. When the backpacks were full, they were done packing. Choose wisely.

We started by flying into Kunming, a major city in Yunnan province in southwest China. When we landed, we strapped on our packs, walked off the plane, and smirked as we walked past the baggage claim carousal in the airport.

We hopped in a taxi and communicated as best as we could that we wanted to go to the budget hotel that Julie had reserved for us. Twenty-five minutes later, the taxi pulled up in front of the Yunnan International hotel. It was quite luxurious. The girls surveyed the spacious lobby with it chandelier and granite everything. Elise declared, “I like it better when Mommy makes the hotel reservations.” Apparently my daughters haven’t forgiven me for that whole “Home Sweet Home” debacle in Cambodia.

We handed our email confirmation to the desk clerk. He looked it over and handed it back to “This is not our hotel. This is Yunnan International Hotel. Maybe try next door.” We hoisted our packs backs onto our shoulders and tromped next door. Sure enough, there was the Yunnan Kingworld International Hotel. Easily mistake to make; I can see why the taxi driver confused the two. And so, just like that we were down-graded from a five stat hotel down to a two-star hotel where we belonged.

Elise turned to her sister and I overheard her say, “It’s still a lot nicer than the Home Sweet Home.”

Star Trekker part 3 of 3

If you are really hardcore and you not only want to be a trekker but you also want to look the part so that no one accidently mistakes you for just another run-of-the-mill, camera-toting tourist, or if you really aren’t interested in being a trekker because it all sounds too ambitious, but you still want to look one, you can do the following.

Start by buying a pair of light-weight, baggy pants. They are available in every open air market in every destination-town in southeast Asia. Get them in a solid color or a vaguely “ethnic” print. Alternatively, buy a pair of cargo shorts. Make sure they are well-worn before you debut them. Sport either a sleeveless shirt or a really threadbare t-shirt. Get yourself either a stylish floppy, wide-brim hat or better yet, get yourself a tight-fitting, knit skullcap in the colors of the Jamaican flag: black, yellow, and green. While the Ramones patch sewn onto your pack is optional, the multiple woven friendship bracelets around your ankle are not. Ditto for the hemp necklace. But feel free to get one either with or without pukka shells.

And with that, not only should you be all-set to forego the five-star hotels, their swimming pools, and their fastidiously clean sheets, but you will look the part.

Happy trekking.

And don’t forget the toilet paper

Star Trekker part 2 of 3

Bring your cell phone. One of the first things you should do when you land in the country you’ll be trekking through is to get yourself to a cell-phone store –trust me, they will be everywhere. Buy a sim card. You probably only need one with about thirty minutes on it. Pop out your current sim card, put it in a ziplock baggie, and tuck it into a secure pocket in your pack.

Sandals. Get yourself one pair of decent sport sandals. Tevas and Keens seem to be popular among the trekking set. Resist the urge to wear them with socks. Also bring a pair of lightweight flip flops to wear on short jaunts and in the evening while you are hanging out with other expats in the courtyard of your hostel.

Bring a small back pack. Use this for your day trips.

Bring one or two paperbacks. The thicker and the smaller the print, the better. What’s awesome is if you can bring a novel or auto/biography which is set in the country you are traveling through. Don’t bring a book that a friend has loaned you. It’s going to get pretty beat up over the course of your travels. (Sorry about your copy of Rivertown Kathie, I’ll buy you a new one.)

You will be staying in hostels or guests houses. Many of them are owner-operated and almost all of them are run by people who speak surprising excellent English. You can either stay in a private room with or without your own bath or you can stay in a dorm-style room that holds anywhere from four to twelve people. A bed for the night can range anywhere from $8 - $20 for the night. The hostels will all have computers you can use to access the internet for free or for a small fee. Almost all the hostels have a paperback exchange where you can drop off the book you just finished and pick up a new title.

The staff at the guest house will be happy to help you arrange any side-trips you want to take. In fact, most of them have large posters hanging on the wall promoting all the offerings. Even the smallest hostels have a kitchen and will offer food. Muesli and yogurt and fruit smoothies seem to be universal offerings. All the hostels will have a common area where you can hang out in the evenings and unwinding from all of your wanderings. It’s also a great place to meet other travelers and exchange tales of conquest, tips, and horror stories.

You should probably train yourself to get some sleep whenever and wherever possible because there will be times when you are a running very short on sleep and a bed is a long ways off. Learning to curl up and grab an hour’s sleep on the carpeted floor of the Saigon train station while hugging your backpack is a useful skill.

Learn to eat baked beans for breakfast. Every backpacker’s hotel seems to think that baked beans are part of a western breakfast. I think it’s a British thing. Also, develop a penchant for banana pancakes. They seem to be a staple of every hostel.

Star Trekker part 1 of 3

Nobody wants to think of themselves as a tourist. Better to think of yourself as a traveler. Or better yet, a trekker.

Much cooler to be able to say you trekked across the country of your choice rather than to say that you went sightseeing through said country.

But if you aspire to be a trekker, you are going to have to do a little prep work. But, if all else fails, you can at least look like one.

First, you are going to have to trade in your oversized, Burberry-plaid rolling suitcase for a backpack. Don’t get one that’s too big. Thirty to 40 liters should do the trick. No more checked luggage at the airport. You only get to bring along what you can carry on your back. The gold-standard for light packing was set by my younger brother who did a six-week, around- the-world, five-country trek with just one small, school-sized backpack.

Pack light. You only need to bring clothes for about a four- or five-day cycle. The places where you are going to be staying will offer relatively cheap laundry service. And the clothes items that you do bring; make them older items. At the end of your trip, you can either give them away or throw them out. This will create space in your pack for your souvenirs –oops, I mean cultural talismans- that you will be bringing back from your sojourn.

Pack a small towel. It will serve a host of purposes. In addition to using it to towel off, you can fold it up to create a make-shift pillow. Roll it and use it for a neck cushion on long flights. Tuck it under the back of your hat to keep the sun off your neck. Use it to block out the light when you are trying to grab some sleep in the middle of the day.

Pack a hefty amount of trail mix. There will be times when you are deep in the hinterlands and don’t have access to a restaurant. Or there will be times when you are dashing out of your guesthouse and you won’t have time for breakfast. You can buy ready-made trail mix, but it’s cheaper to buy ingredients, mix your own, and put them in single-serve plastic sandwich bags. If you don’t overdo it on the M&Ms, trail mix is actually a pretty healthy food: dried fruit, nuts, and seeds.

Ziplock baggies are your friend. They are cheap, disposable, see-through, and water-resistant. Leave the fancy, leather cosmetic bag at home. Put your toiletries in a Ziplock baggie. Put your passport(s) in a ziplock baggie. Bring several extras. You will be surprised at how many uses you will find for them.

Pack an umbrella not so much to fend off the rain as to fend off the sun. Just because you are using it to block the sun, don’t ever refer to it as a parasol. You’re trying to be a trekker here, not a lady-in-waiting. Also, don’t forget the sunscreen. Bring a good hat, the floppier the better.

Bring a plastic grocery bag for dirty laundry and wet clothes.

Bring a roll or two of toilet paper. You will be schlepping across third-world countries. Nuff said.

Off to the Mainland

I will be away from the computer for two weeks, but will resume posting after the first of July.

-Jack

Transitioning to Summer part 2 of 2

Today, the seventh floor was abuzz with activity as all the first- and second-year teachers are moving off campus into their own apartments and simultaneously prepping to scatter to the four corners of the earth for the summer.

Both at the banquet and on the seventh floor this afternoon, we have had to start saying goodbyes. Our eyes tend to glass over at the drop of a hat these days. These last few days, it feels like the last hour of summer camp with people’s possessions piled everywhere and all the goodbyes. And just like summer camp, there are promises to stay in touch and invitations to come and visit.

With just a few more suitcases left to fill, our apartment is essentially all packed up. The rugs have been rolled up and the pictures have been taken off the wall. We had a massive moving sale last week and were able to get rid of everything except for a bunch of small items. We have the advantage of living on campus, so fellow staff members could just come up and browse during their free period. We sold our crock pot, desk lamps, bike helmets, the three-foot Christmas tree, Julie’s hair dryer, the fish tank, our plastic porch furniture, and our clothes drying rack. The few things that didn’t sell went onto the freecycle table in the teachers’ lounge. I kind of feel like I just hit “control/z” on our life. Two years ago, we arrived with our eight suitcases and built a life for ourselves here and accumulate all the necessary material goods to make that possible. Now we have just liquidated everything. We’re back down to eight suitcases.

Tuesday I will formally check out of my classroom and hand over my classroom keys. Wednesday, the four of us head to the mainland for a final whirlwind tour of China. Our first stop will be in Yunnan province near the border of Myanmar (Burma). Then we head up Xi’an for several days to see the terra cotta warriors. From Xi’an, we will take an overnight sleeper train to Beijing.

On July 1, we will fly back to Hong Kong. A week later we will put the girls on a plane to fly back to the States. Julie and I will be staying in Hong Kong for the month of July to teach summer school. She and I will fly out for Chicago the first of August just in time for me to start teaching in Lake Zurich. After teaching sixth grade math for the last fifteen years, I will be moving up to seventh grade in the fall. I will also be teaching one section of world cultures.

Transitioning to Summer part 1 of 2

In violation of my own self-imposed rules for blogging, it is time for a newsy update.

The school year is over. Elise had her fifth-grade graduation ceremony a few days ago. Each fifth-grade teacher identified a character trait that exemplified each child as her or she received his or her diploma. Elise’s teacher recognized Elise for her integrity.

Annika has finished up all her ninth grade exams –passed them all- and has been hanging out with friends non-stop ever since. Most nights I sit down at the dinner table only to realize that Annika’s seat is empty. Again.

The nurse’s office is officially closed for the school year. I am done seeing kids, but I have to finish up writing up my comments that go out to every student on his or her report card.

After students were dismissed at 11:30 on Friday, we had the end-of-the-year banquet for staff at a local hotel. Highlight of the afternoon were the skits, speeches and videos to honor all the teachers who were leaving. This year, we had seven middle school teachers leaving –the perils of an international school. The skits and tributes tend to be pretty funny and border on roasts.

For the seven middle school teachers who are leaving this year, our principal spent the last six or seven weeks going around with his video camera and recording student tributes to the various teachers. They were narrowed down to the 40 or so best clips and then edited into one fourteen-minute presentation. My daughter Annika –as my former student from last year- was part of the video. “He’s funny, he really knows his material, he’s very inspirational. He’s really a great father . . . oh, what? This is supposed to be about Mr. VanNoord? I thought we were talking about Mr. Paine.” Brought the house down. Roasted by my own daughter. I couldn’t be more proud.

Macau

Holy, MaCow

With one forty-minute boat ride, I was able to scratch three cities off my list. Last weekend, we took the high-speed ferry from Hong Kong to Macau.

Macau is a sister city to Hong Kong. Well, kind off. They were both colonies of European powers until they were each handed back to China a few years ago.

But, the similarities stop there. Macau’s history goes back almost 400 years, instead of Hong Kong’s 150. Also, Macau was colonized by the Portuguese, not the British, so it has a slightly different vibe to it. Macau is a fraction of Hong Kong’s size.

And most significantly, Hong Kong has limited its gambling to two large horse tracks and a scattering of Off Track Betting establishments while Macau has decided to go for broke. Macau is attempting to make itself the destination for gambling. So far, its’ working. Macau now surpasses Las Vegas in annual earnings.

The most famous casino in Macau is probably The Venetian. The exterior evokes Venice and comes complete with a full-size Campanile from St. Mark’s Square. But it is the interior of The Venetian that makes it a must-see destination. The casino is a large, multi-level building -it is actually the fifth largest building in the world if measured by square footage. Snaking it’s it way through the interior of the whole complex is an artificial waterway with multiple arched bridges, gondolas, and gondoliers in striped shirts and flat straw hats. For an exorbitant amount, you can actually take a twenty-minute gondola ride through The Venetian.

We settled for some pictures.

Macau: check.
Vegas: check. (ah, close enough)
Venice: check. (my pictures are a little fuzzy -no one will be able to tell the difference)

-Jack

How much did I gamble during our one-day visit to Macau? Not a single pataca.