Ukulele: My New Random Obsession
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010 in: News
In Xingtai, Dan and I happened upon a music shop and decided to take a peak inside. They had the usual selection but for one thing: amidst the guitars hung up neatly on the rack was one that looked like it had been shrunk in the wash. “Oh crap, is that a ukulele? How much is it?” Yes it was, and it was 100 yuan, about 15 dollars. Considering my slow progress with the guitar and my inability to carry anything quite so large with me on my travels, I bought the uke and started pouring over tab charts online. It really is an interesting instrument, easily dismissed for its diminutive stature, but has a beautiful voice that shines through even when someone as clumsy as myself stumbles through a song. No one demonstrates the beauty and versatility of this instrument quite like Jake Shimabukuro.
Here’s a high quality video of him talking and performing at a TEDxTokyo event, including a some experimental “Ukulele flamenco,” a haunting rendition of “Ava Maria,” and some beautiful Beatles covers. My favorite is his version of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.” All the best things are on TED!
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVb-_14ZXeE
As with all my new-found hobbies/obsessions, I have a long way to go!
Goodbye Urumqi, Hello Xi’an!
Thursday, August 26th, 2010 in: News
If I’ve talked to you before about my desire to travel to China, I’ve probably mentioned Huashan, the crazy mountain hike that is google’s number 1 hit for “China Death Trail.” The soaring, sheer cliffs and steep paths carving their way through one of Taoism’s five sacred mountains is one of the few (read: only) things I managed to research before I left home this year, and said “I’m definitely doing that!”
In order to get to Huashan, I had to go to Xi’an, starting point for the Silk Road and one of the few remaining Chinese cities with the distinction of still maintaining its original walls used to protect it, although the city itself had long since outgrown the boundaries of the wall, which was mostly just a large landmark. It made sense for us to fly straight from Urumqi to Xi’an, saving ourselves a day on the road. Our luck with the trains had proven shaky at best, so one of the first things we did was buy tickets out. Our plan was to stay two nights in the hostel, with one night on Huashan in between, then take a night train back to Beijing. We did just that, but it didn’t all go according to plan… (more…)
A Nice, Relaxing Massage?
Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 in: News
It was still mid-afternoon when we arrived back at the hostel. Madina’s friend, Vira, was on her first day of work at the counter. We briefly retold our tale and showed her some photos before Dan retired to the shower and the comforts of our bunk bed. Strangely energized, I remained in the guest lounge and caught up on my internet usage, and started to tap out an outline for these entries.
Before I knew it, it was pushing 7pm and Dan came sauntering down the stairs. Vira told us where the local massage parlors where, and we wandered out into the park behind the hostel. The weather was quite gorgeous, with puffy rolling clouds lit up by the evening sun. The air was the perfect temperature, the kind of weather where you hardly notice it at all, except to comment on how nice it is, and how you wish it could be like this everywhere you go. Throngs of people were swarming around the park, some playing music, some dancing, some playing. We saw our first affectionate couple in Urumqi, and wondered if that sort of behavior would be tolerated on the Uighyr side of town.
After grabbing some recharge cards for our phones, which frustratingly didn’t seem to work at first, we made our way to the large spa Vira had pointed out for us. The facade was an attempt to recreate the architecture of a Japanese inn, but the entrance hall was distinctly Chinese in its garish decorations and statues. The doorman led us to a side counter where some service folk spoke to Dan in Russian. When he corrected them, they apologized in Chinese, saying they get a lot of Russian customers and he looked it so they just assumed. It wouldn’t be the last time he would be confused for a Russian during our stay in Xinjiang. (more…)
Tianshan Hike Day 3: Pack it Out
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: News
It’s amazing what a night on flat ground can do for you. Dan and I woke up and downed the last of our coffee reserves, skipping our customary oatmeal breakfast and breaking camp before the sun rose too high in the sky. Our trip had taken a new turn; whereas our hikes were solely up to our will and abilities, our return would rely on our ability to charm others into doing us a favor with no explicit reward: we were going to hitchhike back to town.
We followed the road as it wound its way down the valley. Several cars and trucks passed, but none were going in the right direction. One car headed toward the hills stopped and a few Chinese guys got out and greeted us as fellow outdoorsmen. They gestured to the our backpacks and asked if we’d just come from the mountains. Their goal was to find the emerald lake we spotted on our descent and return before nightfall. We asked if they had a map, which of course they didn’t. We did our best to describe the landscape to them, and said we weren’t sure if a dayhike to the lake was in the cards. They were determined to try, so we wished them well and saw them off. (more…)
Tianshan Hike Day 2: A Leisurely Stroll
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: News
The morning found us in only slightly better shape than the previous night. I rolled out of the tent to see Dan stoicly upright, sitting by our boiling coffee reserves on the side of the hill. Our run-in with altitude sickness had convinced us we probably weren’t going to see what was beyond the mountain pass we’d set as our goal, so we grabbed a couple snickers bars and a bottle of water and set ourselves upon the hill that had defeated us the day before, just to get a better view of the rest of the hike. After a grueling 20 minutes of trudging up the slope, the land leveled out into an expansive green meadow, starkly contrasting the stone cliffs reaching for the rolling clouds floating by. Nestled at the base of one rocky outcroppings was a small hovel surrounded by grazing horses. We admired their location, flat and sheltered from the harsh mountain wind, and climbed ever further to get a better lay of the land.
The view was dazzling, but another hill stood in out way of getting a full view of the upper valley. We turned around to see someone emerge from the hut, dressed in army fatigues with the distinct flat cap often worn by Uighyr or Kazakh men. I wasn’t quite sure how he would respond to two outsiders traipsing about the land he lived on, but there was no ignoring him. I turned to Dan and lightly suggested that if he shot me or something, to just run for it. (more…)
Tianshan Hike Day 1: 天山徒步旅行开始
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: News
When I asked Dan why we stopped before the quarry, he had a historical reason to be wary. “For years, people weren’t allowed to move freely in China; you were put where you were needed and that’s where you stayed. Even though that’s changed nowadays, that sentiment still runs strong in the collective consciousness. When you’re wandering around in a place you don’t have expressed permission to be, you’re better off not encountering people who are ‘officially’ supposed to be there. Odds are they just won’t understand, and will give you grief for your intrusion.” It was sound advice, but shortly after we circumvented the quarry we ran up against several fenced fields. It seemed that we were trespassing more by avoiding the roadway than walking along it, and we made our way back to the pavement. It seems our paranoia was unnecessary–the steady stream of trucks running up the mountains to collect stones were filled with smiles and waves. Some would point questioningly at the mountains, to which we’d nod and point, soliciting broader smiles and a thumbs-up. The longer we walked, the more relaxed we felt about our chosen path. (more…)
The Right Baiyanggou
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: News
The man with the golf cart asked for 20 RMB each for a ride back to the entrance, but when we started to walk he quickly dropped to 30 for the both of us. I wasn’t sure what lay ahead for us, so I was grateful for the respite as he shot down the road, shaving a lot of time and effort off our backs, and a bus going back to Urumqi was waiting for us near the yurts, where obvious tourists were milling around in high heels and tight jeans, looking very out of place in contrast to the local conservative, practical attire. (more…)
The Wrong Baiyanggou
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: News
Our main goal for going to Xinjiang was to do a little exploring in the mountains, camping in a river valley, then hiking a mountain pass and walking to Heaven Lake (天池), a popular tourist attraction not far from Urumqi. I didn’t have that much experience backpacking to begin with, but I couldn’t deny the allure of backpacking in uncharted territory in China. We set about making our plans a reality, asking Madina and her friends how feasible it was. Our starting point was a village called Baiyanggou, and it turns out there’s a bus that runs there directly from Urumqi. We were a bit surprised both that people knew about the place and that there was a bus there, since it looked like a very small collection of houses on Google maps. So far, we had every reason to be optimistic about our journey.
That morning, we cabbed to the Uyghur side of town to go to the bookstore for a map of the area. After a nice breakfast of Polo (rice pilaf) and baked meat dumplings, we went to the bookstore only to be disappointed; it seems that there are no good terrain maps of the Tianshan range, or any part of Xinjiang for that reason… We decided to go to a Wang-ba (internet cafe) and get some print-outs from google maps… better than nothing.
In China, nothing is that simple. Whereas you couldn’t throw a handful of beans without hitting an internet cafe in Beijing or Xingtai, we had to wander and ask around for 20 minutes before we found one tucked away on the 5th floor of a hotel, which required a deposit and a photocopy of Dan’s passport (which they checked again three times). They gave us a card we had to insert into the computer for it to even turn on, and they didn’t have a printer, so we had to take photos of the maps with our phones and cameras. All of this hassle ended up costing us 1 yuan.
Finally armed with some reassurance that we knew the terrain, we cabbed to the bus station and waited for the next departure. The person at the ticket counter didn’t blink twice when we said we were going to Baiyanggou, and issued us tickets. The name was right. Dan and I settled into our seats and smiled. “I can’t believe this is happening, it seems too easy.”
In China, nothing is that simple. (more…)
Urumqi or Wulumuchi?
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: News
Any traveler should be familiar with Couchsurfing, an awesome website that hooks travelers up with locals and other visitors to better get to know the place. People can meet up just to chat, or even host travelers on their couch if possible. In Xingtai it had occurred to me to check CS for members, and was surprised to find quite an active community in Urumqi. I sent out a few requests… (more…)
Red Orchestra’s stirring rendition of Beat It
Tuesday, August 17th, 2010 in: Current Events
And now for something completely different.
A while back, a video of the Red Orchestra synced to K’naan’s world cup song surfaced, and it quickly developed into a meme, inspiring a multitude of spin-offs and remixes. The best, by far, is this version of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Check it out, especially the rockin electric Erhu solo @ 2:48
via ChinaSMACK, where you can see the Red Orchestra perform other popular songs. Viva la revolucion!
