Hangzhou

After spending 48 comfortable hours in Shanghai, spoiled by Aymeric and Celine, I left to Hangzhou , a town I had been advised to go to. I received there the shock that I had been fearing and that had been delayed by my friends in Shanghai. I arrived at the beginning of the evening, under heavy rain and in dark obscurity. As soon as I left the train station I was literally assaulted by a swarm of hotel advertisers. And as the China guide (a guide made by the Chinese government and conveying a lot of funny ideas...) I had bought didn't give me the single start of a hint of where I ought to sleep, I was quite defenseless. I ended up in an ugly, over-expensive hotel lost in a district near the train station. No one in my entourage could speak English, I didn't speak a work of Chinese and I needed to eat and find an internet cafe (I found only to discover this blog and most of the sites I used to consult were censored in China). A really bad start for this town... and it was only the beginning !

A glimpse of the atmosphere near my hotel

In fact, I discovered in this town the real meaning of the two words "Chinese Tourists" (the 's' is very important). This denomination represents a group of people, at least 30, noisy, inconsiderate of the places and the other people and shameless. And they are so many, that I had the impression of being the only westerner in site. My peak of anger was reached when as I was queuing to buy a ticket, a couple passed me, the man throwing a kind of you-lowlife-glance (this gives a good idea of how I was angry) at me and his girlfriend looking slightly embarrassed.

So, even if some of the wonders of Hangzhou were real, I didn't like this town at all and my only thought as I was leaving it for Guilin was "Laos the sooner, the better". An impression so much funnier, my friend Raphael found in Hangzhou a good point for China...

Hangzhou's lake

Another view

A hungry dragon

Russian

Window (some of my comments are quite useless, aren't they ?)

Shanghai

As promised, here are some comments and pictures about my stay in Shanghai, the most non-Chinese city of China.

During my stay, I was hosted by Aymeric and Celine two friends of my years in Centrale who are working in Shanghai. Enjoying the expatriated way of life, with their help, the shock between Japan and China was reduced and I was able to survive... Thank you !

No, I wasn't hosted by a giant bottle

Shanghai is a mix between high buildings and poor districts, huge streets and small paths. You can walk 50m and have a vision of wealth and poverty. Such contrasts exist in most big cities but it's the first time that they are so clear.

They built the Tintin's moon rocket. Proof !

Poorer districts

Once again, Pudong skyline

Sometimes they mix everything

I also seized this occasion to visit a Chinese museum in Shanghai to learn more about the history of arts in Shanghai. It's easily summarized. Thousands years ago, the Chinese culture was magnificent. This lasted until the colonialism of the 18th century. Starting from this era, because of western invaders (British, French...) or communism, the Chinese arts became very poor. I base this assumption in the real vacuum observed in art products for this era. Astonishing compared to the richness of the old Chinese cultures !

The origin of Kanjis

A magnificent... 'bottle' of wine in copper

It was also the occasion to behave like good expatriated living in a country with cheap living costs, and to enjoy activities that I would never dare to in France...

Ritz, Hyatt... I don't remember but it certainly was tasty

Along with quite a correct view

Classy ?!

Heaven's door

Finally, I also visited a Chinese garden. And their trip is to have strange stones with holes all over. I don't know why but it's like that (according to the French guide I met during my visit).

Beautiful ?!

Shanghai will also be the host of the next Universal Exposition. As a consequence, there is construction yard everywhere ! I don't remember the accurate numbers but in 4 years they have built more than 5 subway lines. That gives you an idea of the change pace of this city.

The flying worker... a consequence of such a high pace

But I am not a professional guide, so I will stop with this crap. Shanghai is I think one of the most enjoyable Chinese city in that it's really westernized, and... there is a Burger King ! And one of the big discovery of this stay... the Norean bath ! It's some kind of a huge bath complex (the same for Aquaboulevard and a simple pool) where you can bath, do ping-pong (ok it is still the same as onsen..), have massages, sleep, have your hair cut, eat... it's endless ! Something really worth trying !

B-B-B-B-Burger King !!!!!

Korean bath...

I certainly forgot some nice pictures... fortunately ! If not, I would have nothing to tell you at my return ;)

A new start

I finally decided to drop the idea of going back home with the trans-Siberian railway. The reasons ? Difficulties forgetting the needed visas, high price (the plane ticket for Ulan Bator costs as much as the one for Paris) and tight schedule that would prevent me from truly enjoying Mongolia.

So, instead, I will go to the South Hemisphere !
This time no visa problem, a lot of islands and sun. On the schedule a bit of the north of Thailand, a bit of Malaysia, of Indonesia to finally fly back to Paris from Singapore (or Kuala Lumpur).

And as I need some time to book my plane ticket and re-schedule all this, maybe at the same time I will finally start posting some articles on this blog to tell you about the first part of my trip...

In deep...

The verdict has been given...
Without round trip air plane tickets, I can't get a Chinese visa at the Chinese embassy in Bangkok !

This changes my trip a lot as it seems more and more sure that I will have to hop on a plane to finish this trip. Three possibilities:
- Trying to get the Chinese visa in Laos (after having made the Russian one in Bangkok) as the officer in Bangkok told me that without air plane tickets this was the only way for me to get the Chinese visa (an assumption contradicted by all travel forums).
- Flying directly to Ulanbator after getting in Bangkok the Mongolian and Russian visa (for approximately 400 euros)
- Going on visiting southeast Asia (Malaysia, Singapour, Indonesia) and going back to Paris directly by plane (for also approximately 400 euros)

The choice is difficult between money issues and administration issues. I still haven't decided so any advice is more than welcome !

Antoine regretting its visa-free UE

Cambodia's sky

As I finally arrived in a place with a good internet connection, here are some pictures I took in Cambodia. By the way, have a look at my itinerary as I try to update it frequently (http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=fr&msa=0&msid=116169824604136133032.000436b8039694f49a955&ll=45.828799,68.90625&spn=85.76851,185.625&z=3)

An expatriated friend is always useful as he shows you the good bar.


And even the photos to take.


And I didn't even use the sunset mode.


See you next time...

Lazy

Too much to find the inspiration and write interesting articles. But I have an excuse.

I still do not find the time to publish my pictures and as my narrative is mostly based on it... (this is the real advantage of writing... can't hear any complaint)

Here is at least a little on my last trip related decisions:

I had decided to go to Tibet... I think we can say it's screwed.
Not giving up my idea of not taking the plane, and after realizing that the first part of my trip had been done on a hellish speed, I had decided to give up on India and Nepal (for another time of course ;) ) to go instead to Myanmar, when... I also gave up on this idea. To this day, I will go to Malaysia and Singapour (unless some other disaster occurs) before going to Mongolia (if I finally manage to get the Chinese and Russian visas !).
To cut a long story short, I am quite annoyed actually !

Yes, I really am alive and well (and so are Lun Dy, Mom and Jay)