So moe for Makoto it's funny.
Gender: Male
Location: NC, NJ, MN
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Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 4:24 am
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Shaolin Hacky-Sack EditionDay 7:
Wake up as usual, class as usual, nothing particularly new there. After class, I did a bit of snack shopping, because we’d be taking a 9-hour train ride to Luoyang that night, and it’d be nice to have some munches and drinks. We met up in the lobby at three and took a bus to the Nanjing Train Station. It’s pretty big, but since there were a lot of people there, it’s also very crowded. The big rooms where people sit were pretty dirty, and China certainly manages to have some of the more unique odors I’ve ever experienced in my life. Still, it’s the authentic Chinese experience, so I don’t suppose I can complain.
We wait for about an hour, and I don’t know why we got there so early (perhaps our train was delayed?). When it comes time to board, there’s a massive rush… the Chinese really don’t have a concept of a line, really. It’s more of a suggestion than anything else. After the mass chaos of many people trying to squeeze through a small chokepoint, we finally get onto the train. It’s pretty much identical to the one I rode from Chengdu to Beijing; not very nice but not the pits, either. I have the bottom bunk for once, so everyone’s sitting on my bed and chatting.
We talk and talk, about various things—not much else to do on the train. I listen to music, I loan my DS to Lindsey so she can play Phoenix Wright, we chat and yap and get to know each other better. There are cool people on this trip.
Not much to say about the train ride other than it’s long but not intolerable. I try to get a bit of sleep and don’t entirely succeed before we’re at Luoyang, it’s 1:30 AM, and we get off. We meet our tour guide (who stays with us for the entire time, interestingly enough)… she’s in her mid-twenties, and absolutely ADORABLE. Seriously, she’s just wonderful and cute and all of that good stuff.
Our hotel is pretty nice, though there’s difficulty figuring out how to turn the lights on. The beds are slightly nicer than the dorms, but I’m so tired I don’t really care.
Day 8:
Wake-up call comes at 8. It’s me and Jim in the room, he uses the bathroom first while I catch a few more moments of sleep. He’s done, he can’t figure out how to make the bathtub turn into the shower, and after a few minutes of trying, neither can I. I feel sort of grody from the train, though, so there’s always improvisation. Meaning, in this case, squatting below the bathtub faucet and having it act like a shower.
We eat a pretty good breakfast before heading out on a decently long bus ride to Bai Ma Shi, or White Horse Temple… the first Buddhist temple in all of China. It’s named so because of the white Arabian horse that bore the scriptures there in the first place. It’s really beautiful, with some gorgeous sculptures of Buddha, wonderful classic Chinese architecture, and just a really pervading feeling of serenity. There’s also the oldest pagoda in all of China, which is pretty cool.
Afterwards, we check out a greenhouse, which has lots of pretty flowers but is otherwise rather boring. Then, it’s lunchtime, at a nearby restaurant. Gotta say, not a fan of squid. Not the taste so much as the texture—it feels like eating hard bubble gum. It’s still a yummy lunch (as is the standard, so it seems) and is quite filling. After that, we head to the other side of Luoyang, where we check out these old Buddhist shrine-caves carved into a cliff-side.
It’s cold, but we’re doing a lot of walking so you don’t really notice. The caves are really impressive especially considering their age, but the most mindboggling thing is the gigantic Buddha in this large recess in the cliff. There had to have been an immense amount of stone removed just to create the large alcove it’s in, let alone carving the actual sculptures themselves. It’s absolutely massive, and you can see it easily from the other side of the river. We do pictures, Stephen and Damon have a race up the steps (crazy track people, they are), and then we go eat dinner. Again, good food. It’s starting to rain, though. We head back to the hotel for some free time.
Since it’s Friday night, and the hotel has a Karaoke bar, it’s party time. We rent a big room (for about 40Y a person, which considering the fact that it gets us a giant room and a good supply of beer (two/three apiece for ten or so people)) and go to town. Lots of singing, is very fun. They don’t have many good American songs, but we make do with what we have—singing with Theron, Diana, and Lindsey to “I Will Always Love You” was certainly fun.
Stephen, having a few shots of tequila in him, decides to see if any of the girls at the bar want to come hang out with us. Only one comes in, and by how friendly she’s being, we start to get a bit suspicious. Until we call Pingping and she confirms that the woman is, in fact, actually a prostitute. Stephen is bummed that she didn’t just think he was charming. There will be much teasing for a very long time.
Damon, also three sheets to the wind, decides to make a bunch of new friends, asking the karaoke bar staff to come sing with us. They do, and fun times are had by all.
Afterwards, though, we decide we want to go out, and Pingping shows us to a nearby bar. It’s empty other than a few Chinese women (having learned his lesson, Stephen refrains from hitting on them) and a pretty nice young French guy. We play some pool, talk a bit, have a bit more to drink, and it’s just a very good, fun bonding experience. We learn a lot about each other, and it’s quite a good time.
We head back to the hotel in the rain and call it a night.
Day 9:
Wake up. Not feeling too well, wonder if I’ve got a cold. I definitely underestimated how cold it was going to be in Luoyang. Take some Ibuprofen, start to feel better. It’s a long bus ride, about an hour and a half, but we finally arrive near the Shaolin Temple (for those who don’t know, the temple where they created kung fu in the first place). However, we’re not going to the temple, we’re going to the school where they educate the young monks.
They put on a pretty awesome show for us, with acrobatics and nifty weapon use and rather ludicrous feats of durability, like breaking a brick on a stack of bricks against someone’s back (while he’s holding himself up by a pair of dulled spears against his chest). Quite impressive, and we actually had no idea it was coming. Afterwards, a pair of them teach us a form, though not-loose black jeans are rather hard to do kung fu in.
One of them had had volunteers out of us punch him in the stomach as hard as we could without feeling a thing. Stephen, always the clown, asks one of the monks to punch him, just so he can see what it’s like. At only about 40% strength, he knocks him back with a very funny noise. These guys are tough.
Also, they’re pretty good at hacky-sack. At least, they got pretty good pretty quickly after a rather rough start. How many people can say they’ve played hackysack with an authentic, real-life Shaolin kung-fu monk?
Afterwards, it’s time for lunch at a nearby restaurant for the monks… all vegetarian. They do some absolutely CRAZY stuff with tofu and vegetables, to the point where we’re all “there is no way this isn’t meat.” Still, it’s not all that appetizing.
We go to the ACTUAL Shaolin Temple itself, a bunch of us rent warm black jackets because it’s raining and freakin’ cold. We see another demonstration, though this one is more touristy and feels a bit less authentic. Theron does get up for a little “monkey see, monkey do” bit, and he does damn well—better than the others, so he gets a little picture of himself and the monk.
The Shaolin Temple, as one would expect, is absolutely gorgeous. It just feels very serene, and it’s so bizarre thinking that there are actually people who live here and study martial arts (there’s a video showing some of their exercises, damn impressive). Nearby, there’s the Pagoda Forest, where they have pagodas for all the important monks who have died. That’s one hell of a graveyard, I can tell you that.
Once more, back to Luoyang, once more dinner (At the same restaurant we’d been to the previous night). After that, we go to the Luoyang train station (our adorable guide sings some of her favorite songs using the mic on the bus, she’s freakin’ cute). We’re doing first class this time around because we’ll all be sleeping (11 PM to 11 AM train)… certainly much nicer. There are rooms with doors and everything. It’s me, Lindsey, Tang-Laoshi and Pingping in the room. Lindsey and I chat for a while, she’s pretty much becoming my best friend here so far. She plays a bit more Phoenix Wright, but we’re all exhausted, so I go up to the top bunk and call it a night. Not the best sleep I’ve had, but I’ve also had worse.
Day 10:
We get into Nanjing at just before noon, get off the train, get onto the waiting bus, and it’s a relief to be “home” again. At around one-ish, me and Lindsey go get some lunch, first changing money at the Bank of China, and then just walking and exploring. We end up in this little bank of houses, totally lost, but an adorable old Chinese woman gives us directions back to Shanghailu (the main street by NanDa).
We duck into a clothing store, try some stuff on. I get a really awesome white windbreaker/runner’s jacket… thing… for only 15Y. Lindsey picks up a nifty leather jacket for 50Y. Good prices (especially mine. Sometimes China is really awesome!). We end up just going to the Skyway’s bakery even if it IS foreigner central, because sometimes it’s just nice to have a little slice of home and we weren’t in the mood for McDonalds.
Back to the dorm, do homework, nothing too groundbreaking. Tomorrow is Monday, more classes, and finally meeting my roommate. I have to clean the place up, then…
(Awesome sig art by Axl99!)