Day Zero 11/16/97
In the airport right now. We're on a Canadian airline. We fly up to Vancuver,
then to Hong Kong.
If we get to Hong Kong early enough and get through customs we;ll take
an overnight ferry to Guangzhou (Canton). If not we'll stay in Chung King
mansions and take a train in the morning. In the afternoon we fly form
Canton to ChongQing. Catch a boat. Go to a town called Yichang. Then
take the train back to Hong Kong. If time we'll go to Yangshou.
We're basically winging it once we get to ChongQing. We'll see if we can
catch a boat, etc. If not, um, well. . .we'll see. =) I guess I should
be extremely excited @ this point, but I'm not, exactly. I mean, I know
that this is a chance most poeple will never have. Everyone keeps telling
me how truely lucky I am and that they wish that they could have taken a
trip like this when they were my age. But Orion and I have both known about
this trip for a while, so we are far past the jumping-up-and-down-we're-going-to-China
phase. The trip sort of slowly materialized. "We could got to China."
"We might go to China." "If you can get the $ together
you can go." So we basically got the money together and here we are,
in the airport, with an hour until we take off. ["We're on a mission
from God." - Blues Brother quip on the telly.] Long flight, but hey,
we'll survive I'm sure.
****
2:00 - We just took off from Vancuver. Didn't even have time to leave the
airport. But the veiw formt he plane as we were taking off was magnificant.
The flat land seemed to stretch out forever in front of us, but as my eyes
focused closer I noted the outline of mountains almost hidden in the fog
on the horizen. Once we hit the skies the mountain below us came in full
veiw. More like hills, I would imagine, and tiny islands. A large river,
the Powel I hear, with smooth water and a few boats. The hills and islands
are covered in trees, and the look like something out of a storybook. Peter
Pan comes to mind for some reason. Now we are above the clouds all billowy
and white. They look as if you could jump off the wings of the plane and
frolic in them. Soft enough to jump and roll and tumble, but they do not
look as though one could fall right through them. More like feather castles
than clouds. "Bows & flows of angel's hair & ice cream castles
in the air, & feather canyons everywhere, I've looked @ clouds that
way." [Joni Mitchell] =) ["So how does it feel to be in another
country?" Dad asks as we hit Canada. Ha ha ha.]
The music on the plane is, well, being difficult. It is amusing for me
to listen to music in other languiges, but trying to find songs that I recognize.
So mostly I settle for the country station, or the kids one, if I feel
like laughing. Wait, I think I just found the 80's channel. =) oooh,
heaven. Like I always say, I should have been a teenager in teh 80's.
The music was so much better then. Orion doesn't agree with me, and turns
back to the country station with a discusted look on his face. And usually
he hates country.
Even if we were below the clouds right now I wouldn't have much of a veiw.
I have a window sear, but we're dead center of the wing. I just pray no
little grey gremblin comes into veiw.
Uh-oh. All the music died except the narative for the adds on the telly.
Hmmm. Hope this isn't something permanent.
On the flight to Vancuver Orion and I attempted to get those little plastic
wing pins but to no avail. They didn't have any. =( But they did have
peanuts. For the first time on any flight that I've been on. I always
got a baggie of pretzles instead. I got lucky this itme. =)
I can't help but hope that everyone back home misses me already. I'm really
happy that I got to see my friend Liz before I left. She came down from
Eureka on Friday, so I went to a movie [Starship Troopers] with her on Friday
night and spent a few hours before I left with her on Saterday.
The first inflight movie is Fathers Day , so I'm going to torture
myself and watch it.
****
4:15 pm We past over Alaska, or more accurately are still flying oner
Alaska. You can see the peaks of the white mountains (snow covered, I assume)
protruding thoguhg the blanket of clouds. The clouds look odd right now.
Some are flat and look as smooth as glass, as if you could skate across
it, forming figure eights as you glide. It almost looks like water. Only
white. Other parts of the cloud blanket are puffy like a pile of pillows.
On the "radio" Matchbox 20 is on, playing what we call the wifebeater
sone. I think it's called "Push."
Once we get to China it will be 16 hours later. So right now [Sarah McLouthlin
is on the "radio". Yes!] it is now 8:24 am there tomorrow morning.
Hmm. This is going to be some jet lag, but the advice I've been given
by friends is to just jump into the time that it is there. Easier to handle
it that way I would assume.
Here comes that new Oasis song on the radio that Czenzsia played me. I
don't really have an opinion either way on Oasis. They don't have much
talent. Just catchy lyrics, good looks, and accents. They basically know
one or two chords on the guitar, but her, they're not doing so bad I guess.
The clouds are thinning and I can see theoutline of rivers that curve like
snakes. Nothing terribly exciting. Lots of blue sky and grey clouds mainly.
Not even an interesting color contrast. Some crap on the "radio"
so I am going to read.
****
Day 1?
9pm Monday - China time 11/17/17
5am Monday - Rose time
We arrived @ 2:30 am, well, 6pm here in Hong Kong. But the time hasn't
struck me as odd. I'm not tired yet. But I am ready for bed.
Lodgings here are oss. We took a bus to nearby the Chung King Mansions.
As soon as we stepped off of the bus two people approached us. "Stay
with us" Then haggled a price a bit on the street, but insisted that
we proceed to see the rooms before deciding on the price. So we did. The
hallways were small & stuffy. The rooms were the manner. They are
hard to describe but are very vivid. I guess that this is the place the
traveler on a budget stays. It's not horrible. The room is near the center
of the building so we cannot hear the sound of the busy streets below us.
We are on the tenth floor. The air outside (and inside as well, but not
nearly so bad) has a singeing oder to it. I can almost feel my nose hairs
burning. It smells like a compulation of all smells on earth, rising form
the streets and eminationf off the people here. The smell is everywhere
you turn here. I hope once we leave Hong Kong the smell will dissappear,
or @ least thin out.
It shall be an odd night tonight, and I ownder how I shall feel in the
morning. The Chinese moring, that is. I have been up for almost 24 hours
now, seeing as I woke up @ 5:50 this (yesterday?) morning.
This city is well, overwhelming to the scences, the sites, smelss, noises.
As we landed in the plane you could see the lights on the buildings. They
were not just one color, but a rainbow of pale blues, reds, oranges, greens,
and more. It was beautiful..
If not fo rthe people or the languige this city could easily be mistaken
for San Francisco. But somehow it seems more vibrant. After living here
one must assume that all the sensed would be dulled. Your nose would grow
accustomed to the smell, and would dull because of that. Bright colors
and neon signs would become normal, average. There to the sight would be
dulled in a sense. The sounds, well, in any city one grows accustomed to
the noise. How wonderful the country would be for someone who lives in
a city, this city. But still the country could not be enjoyed to its full
extent because of the dulled sensed. It takes a certain type of person,
who can hanndle the speed of a hummingbird, to live in a place like this.
My poor nose shall thank me when we are both rid of this place. I would
be weary of it soon anyhow.
I guess this is sort of day one of the trip, seeing as Day Zero was yesterday.
We flew over the international date line, so time gets confusing.
Tomorrow will be Day Two, then, but really the first leg of the journey.
Not saying that tonight wasn't a journey in itself, but it was short lived
and we shall soon be asleep and ride of it.