MY NOTEBOOK

Another great infographic by FastCo Design on how biking can solve our biggest problems. #bikeinparis.

The first leg of the trans-mongolian, the train line that would eventually help us cross Asia through three of the world’s largest countries, left Beijing around 9am from the main train station. Next stop: Ulaanbaatar, capital of the state of Mongolia. 

Given the illustrious history of Mongolia’s Genghis Khan and his famous conquests of both Asia and Eastern Europe, one would expect Ulaanbaatar to be an equally great capital. Instead, we entered a city with little to see and less to do. Luckily, we’d planned our travel to arrive on the last day of Nadaam, the annual national festival. The greatest celebration in the country, Nadaam gathers the fiercest wrestlers, the most talented archers and the best riders of the country for three days of games and inebriated celebrations. We were fortunate enough to obtain seats in the National Stadium for a few euros––we had been told it was impossible!––and were able to assist to the last ceremonies, supposedly the wrestling matches of the highest quality. Clueless about wrestling rules, we contented ourselves with soaking in the euphoric crowds as they cheered on winning fighters and followed each victory with the Eagle Dance, a trans-like movement whereby winners run in circles with their arms stretched like to imitate the national bird.

After a day in the capital, we left for the countryside for four days of trekking and horseback riding. I’d underestimated just how big the country is and wish we’d stayed longer to be able to go further as we did not have enough time to visit the famous Gobi desert or the notorious steppes. Nevertheless, the landscapes we saw were breathtaking and the people we met were some of the most welcoming people I’d ever met. On one most memorable night, the tents we were supposed to sleep in broke and we didn’t have any cover. We drove to a random ger-–what the Russians call a yurt––on the side of the road, explained our situation and asked if we could perhaps stay in one of their gers. The owners welcomed us with open arms, gave us beds, a roof to sleep under and food for our starving stomachs, without asking anything. This touching hospitality will remain engraved in my mind forever. We spent two of our days riding horses in the Mongolia mountains, which surprisingly reminded me very much of Switzerland (so much so that the Edelweiss, the Swiss national symbol, is present everywhere) and another day in the Semi-Gobi, a unique semi-desert with sand dunes covered in sparse vegetation. For me, though, the highlights of those few days in the countryside were by far the gorgeous sunsets that graced all of our evenings. 

After this peaceful and relaxing week in Mongolia, we left the country and traveled to Russia by bus. We arrived in Irkutsk, the Paris of Siberia as it is called, and after a day walking around the city, headed for Lake Baikal. The lake is not any ordinary lake. Not only is it the largest and deepest lake in the world, but it also comprises 1/5 of drinkable water resources on planet Earth! We took a ferry and crossed the smaller estuary to go to Olkhon Island, famous for its sensational landscapes, and it certainly lived up to its reputation. One one most memorable day, we rented bikes and decided to head to the north of the island for the day and back, some 40 odd kilometers one way. I thought we would make it easy, but soon realized there was no way we would reach the northern cliffs. Nevertheless, the landscape was stunning and the trip, though definitely an adventure, was well worth it. If we were thirsty, we would just bike down to the beach and fill our water bottles in the lake, and if we were hungry, we’d just shoot a bird and roast it. Okay, the last part isn’t true, but we did drink lake water. The water is so clear that you can see straight through it, even if you swim a dozen meters off. We heard that on sunny days, some people get vertigo when they swim away because you can see up to 30 or 40 meters deep! 

Leaving Olkhon was difficult as we could definitely have used a few more days of rest there. But time was running out and we needed to leave Siberia. We embarked once again aboard a train but fell this time in a train that had left from Vladivostok rather than Beijing or Ulaanbaatar. Four days later, we would arrive in Moscow. The train was an out-of-time experience. Coupes––small 4-person compartments––were too expensive so we went with Platskarny, or large 40-bed dorms in one wagon. We were the only ones in our wagon to speak English and ended up with four separated beds in the middle of Russia families, grandmothers with their grandchildren and drunken middle-aged men. There is nothing to do but read, sleep, play cards and look out the window. And yet the ride was strangely enjoyable. I’d never had the opportunity to just sit back and do nothing––literally nothing!––for four days, and I have to say, it’s quite a unique experience. I don’t know that I’ll do it again anytime soon, but having so much time to oneself was very enriching. Nevertheless, I think I speak for everyone when I say that we were happy to reach Mokba, or Moscow. 

The capital of the great state of Russia came as a very pleasant surprise. We had heard from so many backpackers that Moscow was not worth it, that there was only very little to see and that we should go to St Petersburg directly that we were not expecting much. After having spent two days there, a day before and a day after St Petersburg, I will attest to the contrary––Moscow is a very charming city where, unlike St. Petersburg, majestic in its own right, one can witness the community of the Kremlin and its influence on the imperial past. St Basil’s cathedral, the symbol of Russia and of its capital, is as visually stunning as it is on postcards; and the Kremlin is as impressive as history allows. As we discovered a few days later, the rest of the city is also worth a visit and a few days, with old orthodox monasteries spread out across the city center and a few pleasant river walks (or runs).

Despite its history, however, Moscow paled in comparison to the grandeur of St Petersburg. Imperial in past and in nature, St Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited. Colorful 19th and early 20th century mansions line the banks of the many canals that cross the city. The main river that flows into the gulf of Finland is lined by the old medieval fort one one side––inside of which are buried the remains of the Romanovs–– and the majestic Hermitage on the other, remnant of glorious times when the Czar rules over all of Russia and much of Eastern Europe from the city. Briefly renamed Leningrad after the Second World War, St Petersburg also stands out as a very European city, with delicious and relatively affordable restaurants and a cosmopolitan and healthy mix of the wealthier classes with a developed and growing underground art and music scene. Unfortunately, three days were not enough to explore the city as we should have, but we did get a chance to walk around, visit the unique and extremely rich collection of the Hermitage museum, a collection that contains some of the most beautiful paintings I have seen in my life, and attend a performance of the world-famous Kirov ballet in majestic Mariinski Theatre. Wanting to attend a Bolshoi performance a few days earlier in Moscow, we’d settled for the Ballet of the city of Moscow because the Bolshoi was on tour in London, and were seriously disappointed by the quality of the show. What a relief and a delight to see the Kirov a few days later; and what a stark contrast! 

This stay in St Petersburg and a last day in Moscow concluded what was an incredible two-month journey that took me from Bangkok to Moscow and served as the perfect break between college and real life. I’d recommend such a break to anyone. 

After a flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong, a bus from Hong Kong to Guangzhou, another flight from Guangzhou to Guilin and a minibus ride from Guilin to Yangshuo, my cousin Therese, her friend Elina and I finally arrived in one of China’s most distinct and famous landscapes. Yangshuo is a little town nestled between countless abrupt limestone formations covered in dense jungles. The landscapes resembles Avatar’s and parts of the movie were apparently filmed there. Most visitors take a bamboo raft down the river that flows between the rocks but, along with a group from our hostel, we decided to tube down. Blessed with gorgeous weather, the experience was stunning. As we slowly floated down the river, the impressive vertical structures rose up along the river banks and offered some of the most memorable views of the trip. After a couple of days in Yangshuo, we embarked on an epic 22-hour train ride from Guilin to Shanghai. All the hard sleepers were sold out and, not ready to dish out for the soft sleepers, we ended up with hard seats. I had seen trains that were more crowded in India, but the experience of taking a chinese train in the lowest class for such a long time was unforgettable. Because they have no concept of personal space, the Chinese do not hesitate to nudge you along so that they can get a spot on your seat. Several times during the trip, we ended up sitting at three or four on two seats for hours on end. The most striking aspect of the trip, however, was the trash disposal system: instead of using trash bags or bins, everyone just throws their trash on the floor and waits for the train attendants to pick it up. As a result, you end up with a floor littered in wasted noodles, orange and banana peals, used plastic bottles, plastic bags by the dozen, cookie wrappers and, of course, spit. We didn’t realize how dirty the train gets when we were sitting, but, as we discovered when we finally arrived, there was barely any space on the train that wasn’t covered in garbage. Shanghai proved to be a much more spacious city than I had imagined and I could definitely see myself living there for a few years. It rivals large American cities in terms of modernity and offers all the amenities of a western metropolis. The brand new metro and the streets are very clean and shops abound. The first evening we spent walking along the Bund, the riverside opposite the business quarter. It offered stunning views of the famous Shanghai skyline at night, a skyline we would discover up close the next day when we went up to the top floor of the World Financial Center, the third tallest building in the world (493m). After a day walking around the city, during which we visited the building where Mao created the communist party and saw part of the old town, we lined up to enter the elevator of the towering building. Catered to the swarms of Chinese tourists who come every day, the elevator experience strives to make you feel as though you are entering a spaceship and reminded me of the spaceship simulator at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. After a 60 second rid, we reached the top around 6pm and were fortunate to witness a gorgeous sunset on the city. The top floor, also called the Sky Walk, is designed so that you can see beneath your feet when you stand the edge, providing an exhilarating rush of adrenaline as the tiny cars, roads and the tops of other buildings materialize far beneath you. Little by little, buildings around us lit up and the Shanghai night life, described by a fellow traveler in our hostel as the ‘craziest’ he’d ever seen, began to take form. After a couple of days in Shanghai, we took the high speed train down south for 45 minutes and reached Hangzhou, a small town of 6 million inhabitants settled on the ask of the famous and revered west lake. Adored by poets and emperors, the west lake provided the perfect getaway after a few days of intense traveling. We did not stay long but spent an evening soaking in the gorgeous views of the surrounding hills and occasional temples. The next day, we took off for Putuoshan, a small island off the coast of China that is forever enshrined as a sacred land. Atop of it sit a collection of large and small temples that proved a great introduction to the Chinese interpretation of Buddhism. As opposed to other kinds of Buddhism that encourage self reflection and personal prayers, the form of Buddhism practiced in China apparently pushes for believers to repeat a set of prayers and movements without inserting much personal touch. Sure enough, in this most sacred island, we found ourselves in the midst of thousands of Chinese pilgrims, some of who come every year, who simply repeated movement after movement without achieving any kind of spiritual calm or fulfillment. Many repeated their prayers while looking around, their eyes wondering from tourist to pilgrim to bird but rarely ever focusing on their actual prayer. Of course, not everyone followed the same meaningless gestures and we also found many pilgrims who were deeply engaged in their prayers. Nonetheless, this unexpected scenario reminded me of the decaying importance of religion that also happens in our own home countries, especially in the old continent. After a short day back in Shanghai, where we walked around the old town, we took the brand new high speed railway to Beijing. The train, which travels the 1378km between the two cities in 4:45 hours and cost $34 billion to build is truly impressive. Its spaceship-like design, record-breaking speed and simple modernity will stand out in my trip as a symbol of the incredible pace at which China is outpacing the western world. After Shanghai and this surreal trail ride, Beijing and its surroundings proved a pleasant return in China’s glorious past. We were fortunate enough to find a small hostel located in old wooden Beijing houses right next to Tianamen square, a perfect setting from which to explore the ancient capital. Tianamen square, the largest open public place in the world, is truly impressive, especially in light of its dramatic history. In the middle of it stands a monument to Mao and swarms of chinese tourists line up for hours for a chance to see his body on show in the monument. After shanghai, a city that breathes capitalism, it was surprising to see how present communism is in Beijing. As illustrated by his monument and more literally by his massive poster hanging over Tianamen square, the chairman’s shadow still flies high. As opposed to Tianamen, the forbidden city was a bit of a disappointment. The impressive setting and imposing size we breathtaking, but I thought the Chinese government did a poor job of explaining the rich history that led to the creation of such a complex of monuments. I left glad I’d seen it, but disappointed by my lack of understanding of its symbolism and significance. In contrast, the stunning Great Wall needed very little explanation. One of those mythical sites that you need to see at some point in life, the Great Wall will definitely stand out as one of the highlights of the trip, along with places like Bagan in Myanmar. We were fortunate enough to visit a location with very few tourists and trekked for up to twenty minutes without seeing anyone. Impressive in both its size and its beauty, the wall’s windy structure stretches atop the hilly Chinese landscapes and walking on it is a bit of a surreal and magical experience.

Bagan has been described to me by a friend as the most beautiful plce he’d ever been to. ‘Take the balloon trip’, he’d recommended, ‘you’ll never forget it’. Unfortunately, it was not the right season for the balloon trip, but Bagan, the thousand-year old land of kings, did not disappoint. Our bus reached Nyuang U, the little town close to the olden city, around 4am; after a few minutes on the back of a horse carriage, we reached a guesthouse which our driver assured us was the cheapest in town. A short negotiation meant that we could stay for $5 a head. As a side note, we’ve found Myanmar to be quit expensive for a country with such poor living standards — finding accomodation under $5 a night is difficult and a dinner often costs more than $2.

The next day, we set off to explore Bagan’s 26-square miles by bike. As we pedaled from along the main roads of the dirt paths, one of Bagan’s 4,000 temples would suddenly emerge to our side, as if to remind us where we were. Tired from our previous trip, we spent the afternoon lazing around in the closest temples and got a taste of the place’s soothing character.

As we discovered the next day, Bagan is the world’s secret 8th wonder. Built between the years 1,000 and 1,300, and at the peak of its power around 1,200, the city is made of thousands of temples and stupas of varying sizes and styles, surrounded by palm trees and other exotic vegetation. Partly because this is the low season, partly because there just aren’t that many tourists in Myanmar, we were alone most of the time, hopping from temple to temple and marveling at the landscape before us. The contrast between the rich green of the trees and hills and the crimson brick of the temples, sometimes topped with golden htis, is particularly striking. Bagan rivals other world wonders I have visited such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia but what makes it so unique is just how isolated and peaceful it is.

By mid-afternoon, we’d seen around thirty or forty temples and decide to head to a small village called Myinkaba where artisans specilialize in Lacquerware. As one artisan explained, 14-layer lacquerware, the village’s traditional technique, takes a long time to make. After each coating, the object has to be placed in a hot cave for a week to ten days for the lacquerware to dry. Only then can the next layer be applied. The result is a gorgeous shiny black color, often decorated with other layers and motifs in red, green, blue, yellow or even gold leaf.

As we were paying, a typically-Burmese moment took place: the artisan asked us to exchange the dollar bills we’d given him for some that were writing-free, crisp and brand new. Much of the money exchange here happens on the black market, where the running rate is between 770-790 Burmese Chats to a dollar, depending on the quality and size of your bills — larger bills will get you a better exchange rate. Changing cash at the airport or in any official money exchanger will cost you since the government-controled rates hover around 50% of the black market rates. We still have not really figured out why Burmese want such clean and crisp bills, as opposed to used dollar bills, but our assumptions are two-fold: either it is hard for them to change those back to Burmese Chats and the few banks that exist in Myanmar accept only clean bills, or everyone is somehow involved in a wild money-laundering or drug-related scheme — turns out Myanmar is the second biggest producer of heroine after Afghanistan — that only accepts new dollar bills!