One Year On....

It was exactly a year back, this day we travelled to China.

It did feel quite odd when people whom told of our vacation found the choice of China a bit funny. People travel to Europe, to the Gulf, to the South East, but why China, was the common refrain. We used to hear people advise us on food - we were advised to carry MTR packets. The usual stereotypes were at work - language problems, odd food - snake and insects and what not, and, yes, lots of bicycles..... 

But we are glad we got an opportunity to visit China and meet our family there. This was an incredible opportunity to dispel whatever stereotypes we had in our minds. The experiences we had in China were incredible and amazing. It was interesting to see, first hand, the transition that the billion-plus people are in the throes of.

While in Beijing and Shanghai we blended in, into the crowd, and enjoyed the sights and sounds of an incredible blend of tradition and ultra-modernity, we were spellbound by the natural wonders at Zhangjiajie. Here we were the first Yindus that a few locals had seen.

Contrary to the suggestions we got, the trip was a culinary delight. We enjoyed and devoured local fare, downed endless green teas and our MTR packets remained unconsumed. Neeti too enjoyed local fare and that was a  real surprise for me too! Surely, our addiction to oolong, green and white tea began after this sojourn.

The people we met on our travel there were no different from us Indians - fun-loving and forward-looking. They seemed to be close-knit, moved around in family groups, were boisterous and enjoyed eating out! 

Indeed Chinese women have incredible and flawless skin, something that I kept appreciating throughout the trip, much to Neeti's chagrin! And their kids, little babies were a massive overdose of cuteness! What I found a bit amusing was that the baby dresses had "strategically" located holes for cleaning their bums after they were done with their potty!

And Ni-Hao and Xie-Xie made an entry into our everyday vocabulary and that made a near amusing incident when we thanked the immigration officer with a Xie-Xie on our return into Mumbai, and she was bewildered!

The sounds of Kevin Kendle that we heard on our way there and later on our way back will always ring in my mind when I think of the trip.

It is indeed a sum total of all such experiences that shape one's life! And I would look forward to visiting China again (what we had seen was barely a tip of the iceberg), along with lots of other amazing places that are on my bucket-list! As someone very wisely said: "Take vacations, go as many places as you. You can always make money, you can't always make memories!"

Reliving The Exotic Taste of The Orient!!!

They say one's experiences define one's personality, one's outlook to the world. For me, travel is one such defining experience.

Neeti and my trip to China was one such defining experience for me. That experience made us try the "untried", and for me that definitely meant food....

One of the places that was more like a Mecca for me in the heart of Beijing was the Guo Shu Hao supermarket in Chaoyang District, from where we had picked up a colourful, succulent, rather strange looking fruit resembling a fat cacti - the Dragonfruit....

The mildly sweet flesh of the fruit, with crunchy seeds was rather appealing...

Later during our trip we headed to Zhangjiajie, in the heartland of the Middle Kingdom, Hunan province, we again enjoyed this unique fruit there....

Just when we thought our tryst with this exotic fruit had ended, Lady Luck smiled on us. We found this fruit available here, in Mumbai....

Our happiness knew no bounds.... we promptly bought it, even though it was a tad pricey. I was quite eager to relive the taste we had enjoyed in China, nearly a year back. The urge to enjoy the exotic taste again made the price literally insignificant.

So, finally this evening, we cut up the succulent and fresh Dragonfruit and enjoyed each bite! The melange of sweet-crunch took us back to the memorable trip we made....!

Xie xie!

Xie Xie Zhangjiajie - 谢谢张家界!

From Baofeng Lake, we headed to the Zixia Taoist Temple. Zixia is a 500 year old temple complex which had recently been restored by the local government to attract visitors. The sprawling complex is built on a hill side and has over 30 buildings - halls, temples, minor shrines etc.

It turned out the temple closes at 5 PM. We reached at about 5.15 PM and missed getting in.

Despite the disappointment, we spent a few moments appreciating the sculptures.

A layout of the Zixia Temple complex!

An interesting chair.... And a poster promoting health and wellness in Hunan...

Next we proceeded to a teahouse, called Dr. Tea!

Sadly photography wasn't permitted.

Two pretty girls attired in traditional dresses very deftly and prepared small quantities of tea for us to sample.... We liked the oolong tea and the rose petal tea....

The green we tasted here was awesomely fresh....

We picked up a pack of oolong tea. And then we sampled black tea, which had been aged for 20 years.... We were told that was as expensive as RMB 2000 for a few hundred grams.

As the tea ages, a fungus grows on it that gives it unique health benefits - lowering cholesterol, controlling blood pressure, keeping blood sugar in check and aiding digestion.

A block of black that was aged for 13 years was available for RMB 800, which was quite pricey.

But drove a hard bargain and managed to get two packs of oolong teas, a 13 year black tea and a pack of green tea for barely RMB 200...... 

That's what you would call driving a stiff bargain.... Thanks to Neeti for that!

Our next stop was Hehua Airport. We had 3 hours to kill.... Our flight to Shanghai Pudong was on China Eastern Airlines MU 5372, an Airbus A320, scheduled for 9.40 PM.

And we were in no mood to eat or drink.... Sam's lousy meal was still rumbling around in our tummies. We had planned to relax a bit at the airport before catching a meal on the flight.

Despite Zhangjiajie being a small city, the airport was fairly busy - there were quite a few flights to Beijing, Xian, Shenzen, Tianjin, Chengdu and Shanghai....

The airport was bustling with people - there were no other foreigners besides us.

Flights were running late that day - you could blame it on the weather, but in China, the military controls  most of the airspace leaving commercial flights with smaller slots for operations.... 

The reverse of the boarding pass showed an impression of the swanky new terminal being planned at Hehua Airport. Hehua is in the process of being upgraded to handle flights from abroad - Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong....

That's where China scores over India - if you create capacity, demand will follow. On the other hand if you wait for demand to pick up to justify creation of capacity, you'll be condemned to being a mediocre economy....

We took off from Zhangjiajie's Hehua Airport after 10.30PM - a delay of nearly an hour.

Boarding was chaotic - Indian carriers, no matter how vilified are much better.

The aircraft was clean, but airconditioning was poor and they had no blankets on board....

And you won't believe what we got for dinner on board - a paperbox with two dinner rolls with a small glass of water - nothing else! There was no option to buy anything onboard....

I was thoroughly disappointed.... Even our desi SpiceJet is better - at least you can buy a cold but delicious sandwich!

We finally landed at Shanghai's massive and swanky Pudong Airport. It was well past 1 AM then...

After collecting our bags, we were met by our guide Shaun who had come to receive us....

And began the 40 minute, 60 kilometer drive to the Bund in the Puxi area of Shanghai... And yes we were drooling thinking of a much awaited meal of our MTR packets, which would have otherwise been quite unappetizing....

Despite the horrible journey into Shanghai, we felt blessed we had visited Zhangjiajie, a wondrous and unique experience in the heart of China. That experience left us richer with memories, experiences, and sights that will forever be etched in our hearts. 

I suppose Neeti would agree with me when I say Xie Xie Zhangjiajie 谢谢张家界! That simply means Thank You Zhangjiajie!

The Magical Baofeng Lake!

After paying our obeisance to the Yellow Dragon in the Belly of the Earth, it was time to move forward. 

Sam, our guide, was famished and he talked us into visiting a very touristy restaurant, and we had a tough time choosing stuff from the menu, which was full of exotic meats - snake, partridge, wolf, bear, wild boar, salamander and what not....For a change I was not in an "experimentive" mood this afternoon, as my lovely breakfast was still getting digested.

I let Neeti do the ordering....

Neeti asked for a bowl of fried noodles with vegetables and look this is what got (sic!) - a tasteless noodle soup with a few spinach leaves thrown in....
That left me infuriated with Sam's translation........

The omelette was quite yummy....

Shredded chicken with onion shoots and Sichuan peppers was fiery and nice!
During the meal, Sam sensed our irritation and started talking of Bollywood, yes of all things Bollywood!
Sam went off on Hrithik Roshan and the way he "lovingly" spoke made me wonder he was a gay!
He showed us a clip of Hrithik from the movie Kites that he had on his cellphone!
And then it had to come to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and 3 Idiots - Sam claimed to have seen the movies umpteen times!
Indeed Bollywood is a potent weapon in India's soft power that does thrive in alien lands, especially in Zhangjiajie, where we were the first Indians for many locals!

Our next stop was Baofeng Lake. Nestled in the midst of mountains, this lake is surreal, green waters and has an indescribable calm

Is that why Baofeng is called the abode of immortals....?

The area was pristine - lush green and misty!

We had to climb up a steep slope, along the mountainside and then descend to the lake side...

We took a ride in one of such boats

The boat guide - the chirpy young girl in blue gave a sing-song description of the lake and its surroundings that enraptured our fellow passengers...

Sam's unenthusiastic description meant a lot was lost in translation!

The pretty Miao girl in the boat behind us sang to all the men in our boat, leaving the old man blushing away to glory!

Misty, mystical and magical!

I would love to live and die for this amazing scene each day of my life!

There she is again! Enthusiastic and energetic!

That's my newest Chinese friend.... He kept looking at me.... 

Placid!

After the boat ride, we descended some thirty - forty metres from the pavilion on top....

Back to the base, from where we were to head to the Zixia Taoist Temple and then to the airport to head to Shanghai!