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Posts Tagged ‘bus’

Tour of Jiujiang

17 Apr

I had to get up early on Saturday morning to head back to the hotel and begin our trip. I paid 10RMB for my share of the taxi.

Breakfast was free and delicious. Buffet-style with western food (baked beans!) and Chinese specialties (baozi and something similar to a donut).

Our first stop was historic Hukou. We saw the pagoda perched on a cliff over the Chang Jiang and took a one-hour boat tour of China’s most famous river. There were lots of funny little insects on the surface the water- they had two tails and wings, and seemed to be um….partying.

There were about a half dozen Chinese photographers taking pictures of us. I tried to look cool.

I read a depressing sign about how during the “War against Japanese aggression” the invading soldiers would bundle up prisoners and drop them into the river. A bit of a downer. Interestingly, no Japanese foreigners were invited on the trip.

We had a fancy lunch, met the mayor (?) of Hukou, and had many more photos taken. Then we were off to a “new countryside”! We had no idea what to expect. Many of us expected our organs to be harvested.

After about a two hour bus ride, the “new countryside” turned out to be a giant orange-farming cooperative. The locals were obviously quite well-off and very generous, and their oranges were delicious. They proudly displayed a picture of Wen Jiabao visiting their farm on the twentieth of April, 2007.

We headed to a “four star” hotel on Lu Shan Xi Hai lake for dinner and a rest. Not only did I get a bunch of food,  free transportation, and free accommodation, I also got a towel, some soap, and two razors out of the bargain. How I love to be a token barbarian!

Daily Expenditure- 10RMB

Total Expenditure (Twenty-six days) 2,248.4 RMB

The next day was raining. Heavily. Our tour to the top of LuShan was canceled, but we did get a boat tour around the scenic islands in LuShan Xi Hai lake.

The “one-size-fits-all” poncho was too small for me.

After lunch we were divided into two groups. A big bus was to head back to Nanchang and a “special” small bus took my friends and I to Jiujiang. I was exhausted and the weather was rough, even by local standards. I bought a 5RMB “capu” and retreated to my room for mindless television and pasta and sandwiches.

Daily Expenditure- 5RMB

Total Expenditure (Twenty-seven days) 2,253.4 RMB

 
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Wild Wuhan

29 Mar

On Friday Ben and I took the bus to Wuhan, a large city in Hubei province to the northeast of Jiujiang. We were invited by Lei, a Chinese friend from the city who knew of a birthday celebration for her employee.

In the morning I bought Ben a 1.5RMB ice tea. For my lunch I ate three veggie baozi for 1.5RMB and 2RMB‘s worth of sesame flatbread. I paid 14RMB to take a taxi to the long-distance bus station and we were off!

Once in Wuhan I again treated my friends to a small taxy fare- 10RMB to get to a nearby university, where lived Jemima, the birthday girl and our host. I bought her two bottles of jinjou for 14RMB as a birthday present.

The street food in Wuhan is great. 3.5RMB for chow mein with egg, tofu, and a bunch of veggies.

Jemima showed us our quarters in her apartment. She gets paid less than we do, but she also gets a much better free apartment than us. She has a living room, a proper kitchen, two bathrooms, and four (!) bedrooms. In Jiujiang we are granted a living room/ kitchen, a bathroom, and two rooms which can function as offices or bedrooms.

After a rest we headed off to go dancing. I bought two cans of redbull- one for myself, one for Ben (10RMB). Additionally, I purchased some delicious roti flatbread for 2RMB.

Then we were off dancing. Ben bought my ticket for the club (50RMB, which we then calculated into a mutual debt which we figured out later). There was lots of good music (some of it live), many Wuahanren, and many many foreigners. Most were from America. I spent 20RMB on beverages. Later in the night I also bought an additional 10RMB worth of street food. We went back to Jemima’s for a much-needed rest with happy memories of partying in Wuhan.

Daily Expenditure- 98.5 RMB

Total Expenditure (Eleven days)- 769 RMB

The next morning we were up and ready to go at the crack of eleven. Ben and I had a streetfood feast for breakfast. I bought 2.5RMB of potatos, and 3RMB for two ice teas.

Then we hopped in a taxi to Carrefour- a supermarket that sells Western food! Wuham is quite spread out- it cost 39RMB and forty minutes of our time to get where we were going. Once there I spent the ridiculous sum of 135.5RMB on couscous, pasta, cheddar cheese (there is no real cheese in Jiujiang), goldfish crackers, nacho cheese dorritos, and a Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf carrying bag (look them up).

It could be worse- Ben spent more than 300 yuan.

We then spent 2RMB each to get to the train station. We both wanted to be back “home” that night. Unfortunately, all the trains were booked, so we wandered around until I found a somewhat sketchy looking guy who said we could take us to a bus to Jiujiang. My Chinese is poor, but good enough to get around apparently. We followed him for a bit until he passed us off to two other people who then flagged down a mini bus with the beautiful Chinese characters ”Nine Rivers” on it! Magical. I had a long and spirited “negotiation” with these touts, and ended up paying 200RMB for both our tickets. The price for the locals was 90yuan each, so I don’t feel so bad.

Once in Jiujiang we took a taxi to the university. I bought a 2.5RMB peanut-burrito and a 7.5RMB toy pig for my friend. It feels great to be home. Wuhan is nice, but it is too big and hard to traverse. Additionall, I feel like a minor celebrity here on account of my honkeytude.

Ben gave me [60RMB] for the bus tickets and taxi minus expenses he paid for.

Daily Expenditure- 332 RMB

Total Expenditure (Twelve Days)-1101 RMB

 
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Witless Title Wednesday

28 Mar

Sorry for the lack of recent updates. I have been rather busy.

On Wednesday I took a Chinese friend out to eat at “English Menu”. She told me the actual name in Chinese- it means something like “Musical Restaurant”. No matter, it will remain English menu to me for all time.

Rice, tofu, xi hong shi chow dan (eggs with tomato), cucumber in sauce, and sweet-and-sour cabbage for 23RMB. My friend was not very hungry, so I got abosultely stuffed before my afternoon class.

I also bought 5RMB worth of bread.

After class Ben and I took a 1 RMB local bus to the long-distance bus station to buy tickets to Wuhan. A friend had invited us to the birthday of her English employee. Ben and I decided to go to the big city for the celebration, and to see if we could acquire some Western food and possibly shoes (hard to find my size here in the Middle Country). Our tickets to Wuhan for Friday cost 80RMB apiece.

I bought once more the 5RMB “capu” for much-needed caffeine and deliciousness.

We decided to go to a foot massage while we were downtown. Tried a new place, wasin’t that great, paid the standard 30RMB.

After our 1RMB bus ride home I bought a 2.5RMB “peanut-burrito” and then had a blissful sleep.

Daily Expenditure- 147.5 RMB

Total Expenditure (Nine Days)- 565.5RMB

 
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