Archive for January, 2009

Gansu & Qinghai – Part 2

Ajeet January 12th, 2009

 

map of gansu

map of gansu

Ok, here comes the much delayed part 2 of our Qinghai Gansu trip. Here’s a recap: We did this trip in late August trying to retrace a part of the ancient Silk Route through Shaanxi and Gansu provinces, and a bit of Qinghai. Our route included famous cities such as Xi’an, Lanzhou, Dun Huang and Xining. Part 1 of this travelogue saw us on top of the Lan Shan Mountain overlooking the city of Lanzhou on the banks of the Huang He (Yellow River).

Lanzhou to Dunhuang

Long queues of travelers were snaking up to the entrance of Lanzhou train station, thanks to the ramped up security checks due to the Olympics and the militant activities in this region. After half an hour of jostling, we made it in to the waiting room, for the overnight train to the desert oasis of Dunhuang. It sure was crowded, and we were probably very lucky to have gotten our sleeper tickets the night before.

As our train made its way westward into the setting sun, we caught fleeting glimpses of tiny settlements, corn fields and gushing rivers carrying the red silt that made up most of the soil here. A dinner cart came along and we bought a simple meal. Shortly afterwards, it began to drizzle and then pour.

We awoke the next morning to a dazzling red sunrise, the reddest I’d seen at least! Few shrubs survived the vast expanse of sand that lay on both sides of the track. Dun Huang (meaning Blazing Beacon) – Lonely Planet guide best describes it: “ After traveling for hours, the monotonous desert landscape gives way to lush, green cultivated fields with mountainous rolling sand dunes as a backdrop.”  The new train station was an impressive stone structure, and about 30mins from town by bus.

We decided to hop on a mini-bus and head straight to the main attraction of Dunhuang – the Mogao Caves. Said to be one of the greatest repositories of Buddhist Art in the world, the Caves were the last stop on the desert where wealthy merchants and caravans offered prayers before the arduous journey to the West. Almost 500 in number, these caves were carved into the side of a canyon wall stretching 1.7km. Thousands of murals & paintings line the walls inside, the ‘paint’ mainly derived out of expensive minerals imported from Central Asia – Malachite(green), Cinnabar(red) and Lapis Lazuli(blue). Earliest caves dated to AD366, and others were added along as the Wei, Zhou, Sui and Tang dynasties successively ruled the area. To preserve the precious paintings, cameras were not allowed and we had to follow a guide as he showed us around 10 selected caves. As we stood in the dark hollow of the caves and followed the beam of our guide’s torchlight on the walls, we were transported into worlds long gone, but which really did exist. Quite an experience, that. If you do visit, do also spare some time for the newly built Dunhuang Research Centre, opposite the caves.

On the mini-bus again, we reached town and checked into a hotel. In the evening, we got on a local bus and headed for the MingSha Shan (Singing Sands Mountain), where the Oasis ended and the desert began. And yes, as with any tourist attraction in China, you can expect to pay a hefty entrance fee! The winds had picked up and we needed masks to protect ourselves from the blowing sand. After half an hour of trudging through the sand, we reached the crescent moon lake at the base of the enormous sand dunes. Even though wooden footholds were planted into the slope of the dune to help people get to the top, it was tough climbing. The view at the top was worth it though, with more dunes meandering as far as the eye could see. After a few minutes braving the wind and sand in it, we chose the expeditious route down and raced to the bottom on a terrifying wooden sled! The capsize rate was 70% that day, but both of us just about made it… phew! Our legs too shaky from the experience, the only way back was a camel ride to the entrance.

By nightfall we were back in town and in the middle of the night market. Local artists and peddlers sold some amazing pieces, and we just had to buy some. Some delicious street food wrapped up an eventful day for us in Dun Huang, and we made our way back to the hotel.

Dunhuang to Jiayuguan

Post-lunch the next day, we got on a train back to the east. Six hours later, we’d arrived in Jiayuguan, a fortress town on the Silk Route, at the mouth of the Hexi corridor. A smallish town, it’s home to a Ming dynasty fort and a few sections of the Great Wall. It was supposed to be the last civilized stronghold of imperial China guarding against the barbarians of Central Asia and the deserts. We got on a local bus the next day and were one of very few visitors at the fort. It offered spectacular views of the snow capped Qilian Shan range against a brilliant blue sky. The Great Wall museum adjoining the fort is definitely worth visiting. After hanging around a local market for a few hours, we headed into town for dinner and the train ride back to Lanzhou.

Lanzhou again

After what had turned out to be the most uncomfortable journey of the trip (sitting tickets on a packed overnight train for 9 hours), we were back in Lanzhou, at our favorite hotel, for some well earned sleep. In the evening we made our way to the South Bus Station to try and buy some tickets to the Tibetan monastery town of Xiahe famous for the Labrang Monastery. To our surprise, the ticket lady refused to sell us any and told us off. Subsequently, a friendlier staff at the station explained that it was a temporary directive from the central government, barring all foreign visitors to this Tibetan town in light of the ongoing unrest in Lhasa.

Lanzhou to Xining

After a pleasant evening along the banks of the HuangHe, we set off the next day on a bus ride to Xining, the capital of Qinghai province. Perched on the edge of the Tibetan plateau, Xining is the only large city in Qinghai. A surprisingly modern-looking and clean city, it’s a stark contrast with the rest of the mostly nomadic towns and villages in the province.

Next day, we booked a local tour to the iconic Qinghai lake (Blue Sea Lake), a huge saline lake 100km to the west of Xining. Located 10,500 feet above sea level, the mini-bus had to climb through some breathtaking valleys and grasslands to get there. If the journey was breathtaking, the beauty of the lake would leave you gasping… and its not coz of the altitude! Ok, maybe I am getting carried away a bit…  Serene and untouched, one felt humbled by this huge expanse of blue. It is no wonder they named the province after this lake! If you looked at a map of this province, it is said to resemble a rabbit, with Qinghai lake being the eye of the rabbit. The tour also included other interesting sites such as the Riyue Shan (Sun Moon pass), Jade factory, dried Yak meat market and some grassland and desert views. It was a whole day trip, and definitely worth the price.

From Xining, we ventured out again the next day to the small Tibetan town of Tongren (Repkong in Tibetan), a mid-sized monastery town. It is home to small monasteries and temples, and we spent a night here. Apart from an interesting conversation with a Tibetan tour guide-turned-aspiring monk, and a walk around the local market, it was an uneventful stay. The journey there and back was more interesting than the place itself!

The last day in Xining involved a short trek up Beishan Si (North Mountain Temple), a 1700-year-old cliff-face temple. In the evening, we treated ourselves to a delicious hotpot dinner. At the crack of dawn the next morning, we were onboard a Hainan airlines flight winging our way home back to Shanghai.

It was a memorable trip. Lots of traveling by buses and trains really helped us to sample the diverse ways of life in north western China. For the next travelogue, we will probably change the presentation style and have more pictures and fewer words. It’s probably faster that way, and easier on the keyboard!

Useful Links:
Silk Route – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_road
International Dunhuang Project – http://idp.bl.uk/
Dunhuang Art – http://www.silk-road.com/dunhuang/dhcaves.html
Jiayuguan Fort – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiayuguan_(pass)
Qinghai Lake – http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/19Scenery475.html

Trip to Singapore and India

Ping January 4th, 2009

In the last two weeks of December 2008, Ajeet and I spent some time in Singapore and India visiting our families. We spent two nights in Singapore first before we left for India. On the night we arrived in Singapore, we had a family dinner followed by a game of ‘Taboo’. The sisters were against the husbands and it was great fun! The sisters won the game eventually-I guess we have the advantage of having some common knowledge in our growing years that helped to make some guesswork easier.

We left for Chennai 2 days later and took a pleasant overnight train to the little town of Chipurupalli. We shared the train cabin with a very friendly Indian family who had lived in Kenya for fours years. After about 16 hours on the train, we finally reached our destination and were warmly welcomed by my parents-in -law.

Since we visited India only once a year, my mother-in-law made sure that we were well-fed. Every meal was a feast of curries, rice and Indian sweets! So by the end of one week in India, both of us definitely gained some weight. Ajeet’s brother, Ashok and his family joined us for 2 nights and it was nice being amused by our niece of 1 year and 4 months. Her comical imitations of her parents and grandparents just made everyone laugh. Apart from catching up on each other’s lives and visiting family friends, we made a few trips to the nearest town to buy some things and also visited a reservoir. On some evenings, we would take short walks around the neighbourhood before heading home for a sumptuous dinner. Time passed quickly and before we knew it, it was time to board the train back to Chennai to catch our flight back to Singapore.

After a week of enjoying Indian food, we were ready to enjoy Chinese food in Singapore. Before taking our return flight to Shanghai, my mum, ajeet and I had lunch at Changi Airport. We had ‘Chicken Rice’,'Fish Slice Soup’, ‘Char Kway Teow’ and ‘Cheng Teng’. It was definitely a satisfying meal. 

We returned to Shanghai on the 30th of December in time to bid goodbye to 2008 and welcome the New Year. On New Year’s Eve, We had a yummy Cantonese dinner with one of Ajeet’s colleague and his family, followed by a quiet count down for Ajeet and me.

We are happy to be back in Shanghai-our home for the past 1 year and 7 months. Although the weather  here is much colder than what we had experienced in Singapore and India, we are cherishing these winter memories before we head back to Singpore in April this year.

Happy New Year!

Ajeet January 1st, 2009

Goodbye 2008! To say that we are living through historic times, would be quite an understatement. It was a year of many crises and few victories.  As hurricane Ike swept across coastal United States resulting in tremendous losses, a storm of a different nature was unfolding in the financial world. The dam that was barely holding the raging financial storm in 2007, broke and unleashed its full fury on everything in its path. Amidst these crises, there was the historic US election where for the first time an African-American made it to the top post. China, the host to the spectacular Beijing Olympics was also not spared, as the devastating Sichuan earthquake took its toll. Neighbouring Mynamar bore the brunt of the deadly cyclone Nargis. Terrorism reared its ugly head once again with attacks in Pakistan and India, escalating tensions between the nuclear armed neighbours. Phew!

The financial turmoil in the world will probably continue in 2009 – cascading into more bankruptcies, job losses, etc –  like the lingering aftershocks of a dying earthquake. When it does subside this year or the next, we would have a far healthier world relieved of its excesses. Obama as the new president of the United States will probably try and reverse some of the unilateral military policies of the previous administration. That would definitely help to constrain the fuel feeding the fire of hatred & terrorism.

Here we are yet again… at the doorstep of a brand new year! Jan 1 2009 – Of course its just a date, just another moment in cosmic history. Mankind has been through terrible tragedies before, and it will in the future. We have always evolved to be a stronger and better lot, as we learned from our collective mistakes. So lets pick up where we left off, and walk into the future with two indispensable items – Hope and Faith – the enablers of our survival and progress!

All the best, and may Love, Health and Happiness be yours in the year ahead. Happy 2009 from the both of us!