China's daily news offering - some cherry picked delights

When I sit down for breakfast with my host family and start the day eating whatever Chinese delight awaits me (sometimes dumplings, sometimes those steamed buns, and sometimes just plain bread with qiaokeli, chocolate) I also like to indulge in some China Daily and see what China's English-speaking newspaper (unfortunately my Chinese is a long way off newspaper standard) has to offer.

Then after class I'll invest 15 RMB in the paper version to get a little bit extra and be able to awkwardly turn pages on the bus.

However I read it, it always gets the cogs in my head turning. 'Well, that was expected' 'Oh, that's crazy' 'Hmmm, actually maybe they have a point'.

They say History is written by the victors but who writes the news? Here I offer you some of the articles that have caught my eye from the Chinese-speaking part of the world.

'Judicial move aims at online rumours'
New guidelines issued by the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate have got me thinking about free speech v. truth-based publications.

'Official calls for improved elevator safety'
I might start taking the stairs.

'Taking Chinese culture to the world'
Hello Joseph Nye but then again China's millennia-old history, culture, philosophy, economy, language... are all pretty interesting so there's a lot to take in.

'Silk Road to take on a new look'
There's more to trade than the European single market. This is a very interesting proposal from President Xi Jinping which uses historic ties to tap into a potentially massive market.

More to come soon.

Park Life - What are they playing?

As I get out the subway on the way to my hostel, as I head down the road to grab some supplies and most definitely when I’m heading out for dinner in the evening, I see groups of Chinese men huddled around, enthusiastically commentating on what’s going on in the middle of the group.

In Beijing, the centre of attention is usually two elderly men playing a board game with lines within two large square perimeters. The game pieces are large and round, each punctuated with their own Chinese character.

The game is Xianqi, a game based on military strategy. Translated loosely it means ‘Elephant game’ but it’s often known as Chinese Chess and the object of the game is to capture your opponent's General/Marshall. Dividing the two players is the river which is often marked with 楚河 (Chu River) and 漢界 (Han border) referring to the Chu-Han War, an interregnum conflict between the Qin and Han Dynasty.


For me this game represents so much. It seems to highlight a deep social link where communities enjoy supporting and watching their friends battle head-to-head with strategic moves. It represents a peoples who still hold onto the physical rather than the digital. (For better and worse). Finally it represents a deep link to China’s history (intellectual, militaristic and social). 

Let's clear the air

It’s imperative we do so. Honestly, it really can’t go on like this…

After spending the early hours of the morning in the baggage area of Beijing international airport (I was waiting for the first metro and this was the most comfortable place – honestly) I then make it through customs, grab a coffee and wait for the sun to rise. I finish my coffee and read a bit more of my book, before checking the time. Looking out at 6 am, I suspect the sun should have risen but I can’t see much light. I look out again and glance around. I realise that the dimly glowing grey matter that’s sprawled across the sky was a sign that the day had begun. Well.. I thought… I think this is as much light as we’re gonna get, better head into town.

Unfortunately, I was right. I didn’t see a patch of real sky for two and a half days. The fog and pollution had descended into Beijing creating an all-encompassing substance that filled up the sky. There is grey everywhere you look. It gets in your eyes, your nose, your lungs and, if you’re not careful, your soul.

They’ve got to get this cleared up and they know it but it’s going to take a lot of effort and a lot of consideration. We’re talking about the capital city of the world’s factory here.


For me, and my time here, it was however time to sleep through the grey. I was exhausted and jetlagged. 

China

An exploration of Beijing and beyond. http://www.flickr.com/photos/98261674@N06/sets/72157635302978582

Questions in Qatar

Flying into Doha, the grumbling woman beside me started to ask me if I’d ever seen any graveyards in Qatar. The strange question was an opening into a conversation on the “controlling” politics and society of Qatar. I didn’t delve much further as her conversation became more bizarre but it had given me food for thought as we landed.

After landing I then stepped off the plane hit by mother nature’s reminder that this was not home. It was 18:45, pure night sky, and the temperature was in its high-30s. Catching my breath for a moment, I readjust to the incredible heat of the desert.

At Passport control, I was confronted with half of Nepal which gave me even more to contemplate. According to the mumbling expat voices around me and the comments of my friend, these Nepalese workers were a common site. I later find out they have arrived in their thousands(there was a population of 70,000 in 2009)^1. They carry out hard manual labour in Qatar, employed mostly in unqualified construction work and their safety is under question.

Officially allowed on Qatari soil, I then pass through arrivals to meet a friend. To respect the local customs I have covered my shoulders and knees and consider the role of women in this gas-rich patriarchal society. Qatar was indeed the first country among the Arab States of the Persian Gulf to allow women to vote, and they can run for public office, but I still have many questions.

Throughout my time in Doha however I am met with smiles, politeness, respect and good service. I see some interesting sights and eat good food in a Souq not far from the Corniche. I saw falcons, coloured mice, ate good food and even get an impromptu tour of stables near the Emiri Diwan.

This desert country, one of the world’s top Liquefied Natural Gas producers, with a population of just over 2 million and a GDP of over 170 billion² has certainly got me thinking. This is a culture, a country, which is ever-more present in my every day life in Europe. In Paris they have bought the Longchamp Races and will supposedly buy Le Primtemps. In London, they famously bought Harrods, the American Embassy and more recently heavily financed the Shard (Western Europe’s tallest building). This is a country with different faces, many of which they are still defining. It will have me asking questions for a while yet.

Next stop China: 1.3 billion GDP: more than 7 trillion

Travel notes:
- When you arrive at Doha International Airport you’ll be taken on a bus to arrivals. Depending on your luck it can take anywhere from 5 minutes to a few hours.
- There is free Wi-Fi at the airport
- Do go to a souq and enjoy good local food.
1. http://www.inf.org/map/diaspora

2. http://databank.worldbank.org/data/views/reports/tableview.aspx

Frankfurt

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98261674@N06/sets/72157634968348124

Graz

http://www.flickr.com/photos/98261674@N06/sets/72157634944467849

Train

Train shots http://www.flickr.com/photos/98261674@N06/sets/72157634789709495

InterRail 6–“Won’t they try and sell you” Salzburg–Budapest–Belgrade

After confronting my loss, and rethinking the possibility of walking back through the streets of Salzburg to get my hat back, I gave up and I got on a train to Budapest.

After several hours reading Deception Point (it was getting quite Hollywood now) I soon arrive in Budapest-Keleti Railway Terminal. With an hour between trains I have plenty of time to sort myself out and buy a ticket… or not. The international ticket sales area was rammed and although a kind man offers me train times, this talk took a lot longer than expected. Finally I manage to buy my ticket to Belgrade, unable to buy one from Belgrade to Sofia, and rush to the departure board only to see my train to Belgrade is delayed. This wouldn’t be a problem but I only have 1 hour and 1 minute to get  off, find Serbian money, buy my reservation (and possibly food supplies) and find my train.

I grow weary as the delay increases. 10 minutes grows into 20 and I’m praying to the train gods that’s the limit. I know that delays can build and build and one leads to another. The clock ticks and I start thinking of alternative plans. Maybe I can spend a night in Budapest or Belgrade. Belgrade may be interesting, although arriving around midnight it may not be so easy to find somewhere. Eventually, the train gods hear my cry and it arrive and departs with 30 minutes to spare.

I think I end up in a carriage of six other girls because survival instincts bring us together. Four others were ‘travellers ‘ like myself and the other two seemed more accustomed to the trains and the language.

The scenery rolled out before us as, it was flat for miles. It started off as natural landscape with no real order and soon becomes agricultural as the train slowed to a snails pace. It felt like we could see deer hopping across the landscape at a faster pace.

Continual stops for passport control and the glacial pace of the train was dissipated by discussions with my fellow passengers. A Czech journalist and a German student of medicine. We discussed the stereotypes of Serbia: “Won’t they sell you” said the mother of Petra, the Czech journalist when she discovered that she was meeting friends in Belgrade. We talked about travelling, friends, ancient Greeks and Berlin hipsters as well as the general concept of trying to be cool. We finished with some key, and handy, phrases from Petra’s Serbian guidebook “Can I kiss you” – “No thanks, not tonight”, “Please don’t touch me” and extra vocabulary such as a love bite. Key phrases were learnt just in time to arrive in Belgrade and fortunately, or unfortunately, just in time for me to catch my next train…

My Tripbod / Skyscanner article

For a little bit of self publishing and because it is indeed linked to my time in Paris here is my article of the 10 best things to do in the city of lights.

http://www.skyscanner.net/news/10-best-things-do-paris-local-s-guide

Hope you enjoy

V

InterRail 5b - A day of mourning

“Wednesday 8 August. I have made it to the train safe and sound but at 4:15am I must report a lost partner. My hat lies somewhere between here and the YoHo Hostel. Although I battled with my priorities the train comes first. I try to see it like this, in the cycle of things objects are made to be passed on. Now it’s time for a new travel hat. Goodbye old friend".

InterRail 5–Salzburg is even better than the Sound of Music

Next stop Salzburg via Zurich. Greeted by a disastrously grey day, I wander across Wiener Strasse to find my “Strawberry Hostel”, then, after deciding to explore, left the safety of cover to walk along the river.
The heavens opened up but the trees protected me and like an oasis in a desert, a brasserie in a storm revealed itself. The Café am Kai was the perfect answer to my dreary-weather woes, with a covered veranda, cheap frankfurter and good beer, not including the great view a long the river to the castle. My prayers had been answered.
On top of all that the friendly clientele at the next table, Salzbergians, help me to decipher the menu, order what I needed, and left by warmly saying “I hope everything will be ok now you’re two servants have left”, one of them returning wearing a blue cagoule adding “and now you can remember me as the blue crazy man. Have a nice trip".
And, I did indeed have a nice trip. Feeling energised in the morning I decide to no longer suppress my love for the Sound of Music and Google key areas. (I wasn’t going to pay 37€ for a two-hour tour.) I walk to the Mullner-steg¹ via the Allee der Gerechten2, in commemoration of those who saved or tried to save Jews during the occupation, and arrived at the Mirabellgarten. Apparently part of the Do Rei Mi scene from the sound of music, it offers a picturesque view of well-kept gardens.
In continual pursuit of my musical adventure, I make it over to the Hofstallgasse (The Festival Hall) where the end concert scenes were performed and then up to the Nonnberg nunnery. Sound of Music fan or not, this little nunnery is worth a visit. A small spiritual oasis surrounded by mountains and dominated by the Schloss² it still manages to stand out in its own distinctive charm.
Now that my spiritual health had been dealt with and key scenes from my favourite childhood film had been visited (well third favourite after Mary Poppins and Beauty and the Beast). Well after that, I deliberate over Schloss or back to the Hoftsallegasse. Feeling this overwhelming desire to a) not climb up to the castle and b) get more involved in the musical culture Salzburg exuberated at every corner, Hoftstallegasse it was. Here I learn more about the annual Salzburg festival (I may sign up for Gold Membership at a mere 50,000€ -  or not)but I may at least return for the festival.
After this, I stare up at the Schloss one more time to be convinced that Café Tomaselli was more for me. As the oldest “Viennese coffee house” in Austria, with a waitress who carried cakes to my table and a waiter who guessed I was from Newcastle, it was the perfect place to eliminate writer’s block. It was also the perfect filler before ending my night in Salzburg at the Dom for a Mozart concert.
3:30 am however and the dream is broken. Time to move on to the next destination.
<sup>1. Bridge
2. Castle</sup>

InterRail 4–It’s true what they say about Switzerland

Auf wiedersehen Heidelberg and back on my “Orient Express” this time an S1 Train to Mannheim and then Freiberg. Here I discovered a charming little town with narrow man-made streams filled with wooden boats from children of all ages, understated gothic architecture and little squares and straßes to get lost in. A small rest in a peaceful square, while indulging in my intellectual read “Deception Point”, was a nice way to end my afternoon in Freiburg. Next stop Basel.

Surviving an aggressive passport check on my way into Switzerland I was greeted by a friend at Basel SBB. Our first adventure was to the Coop Supermarket, which included a tour of the chocolate isle and a lesson in economic differences. *Note to self: next time try not to look so terrified when walking around a Swiss Supermarket staring at prices. Must close mouth in public.

So, yes, Switzerland is expensive. Prices are at least double the price I’m used to in Paris. (Looking at the Big Mac Index you can see that Paris’s Big Macs are supplied at 3.60€ and their Swiss counterparts are 6.50 Francs which is about 5.20€^1.) In the Basel Coop however my friend kindly bared the brunt of this or I may have had a cardiac arrest.

I managed to recover from the shock and we made it to the Rhine for a river-side concert. Whizzing down on the back of a bike (first time) we then topped it off with an excursion across the current-driven ferry. (Now this was the kind of 19th Century travelling adventure I’d imagined.) Finally we had drinks at a bar under the shadow of Basel Cathedral who’s plastic chairs and coloured lights were a sure sign of its understated chic…

The next day’s activities were open for discussion, or that’s one way of describing our tired apathy. Swimming in the Rhine had been ruled out given a large lack of swimming abilities added to the harrowing Rhine experiences of a previous guest. Walking in the mountains was a no-go as I’d managed to bring only my best flip slops (I didn’t think about much beyond my hat). Eventually time and inefficient communication led us to Lucerne/Luzern and a boat trip around the lake. (More of that 19th Century travel I’d been longing for.)

Back in Basel we returned to see the real sights, “All bar one” and “Paddy’s” the Irish bar on on Cinema Street. The trip could have ended there but the next day I was provided with a bespoke guide of the “Altstadt” -  the Minster, the Rathaus, the burial place of Erasmus (one of my favourite historical characters), the Historical Museum and finally the Kunstmuseum (free on the first Sunday of the month.) NB. The sofas on the first floor are a great place to fall asleep oh and there is of course a great collection of Holbein the Younger (including that famous portrait of Erasmus). Returning back to base I had one final night before returning to Basel SBB and continuing my InterRail journey.

Overall, a great stop in the country of expensive prices punctuated with beautiful landscapes, chocolate and a long history not forgetting a strict application of Schengen rules.

1. http://www.economist.com/content/big-mac-index