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Okay…run down…Putuo Shan was awesome. Clear sky, nice soft beaches, cool Buddhist temples. Everything that makes a Marc happy. From Putuo Shan I took a bus to Shanghai. Bus was stopped at the entrance to the Ningbo Expressway for at least an hour. Developed a gnarly cough in Shanghai and a fever that kept me in bed for almost two days (okay…between my own bed and the couches in the common area). Ate nothing but three pears and cough drops those days and finally fainted while chatting with Mike after some lady lit up a cig. Got a soda from a guy from Australia and started to feel better. A bowl of noodles and I was further on the mend.

Shanghai was loud. Especially the hostel I was staying in. I swear, most of the people there treated it like it was a college dorm. I had about one good day in Shanghai though with the company of my friend Forgetter before hopping on a train to Beijing. In Beijing I spent a week in a suburb absorbing the fresh air before moving into a cheap hotel in a touristy neighborhood downtown.

Had fun in BJ. Saw Tiananmen, the Forbidden City, Chairman Mao’s dead body (looked like he had too much makeup on, if you ask me). A few days ago I hopped off to the Great Wall. Was crazy beautiful with a bank of fog teasing the view. Ended up climbing up the Steps of Heaven and Eagle’s Point plus a few cliff faces. Got a little hairy in some places, but I lived to type this post (in no small part thanks to the efforts of a Hunanese girl and a fellow from who knows where).

Went off to Tianjin for a few days. Interesting neighborhoods but I’m glad to be back in Beijing on my way to Shanghai. I figure a few days there before heading back to Wuhan. Another few days there, then Guangzhou. HK for a week maybe then start work in Taiwan.

On my way South, Baby ^_^

It took me a week, but I finally got out of Guangzhou. After a week in Hongkong I decided to continue my route north and get into China proper. After a night in Guangzhou, I felt I was good to move on but was told at the train station that because of all the rain they’d been getting, the rail ways north had been damaged and would be out of service for at least a few days. Feeling the need to get out of Guangzhou, I asked the ticket seller where I could go. She checked her computer, briefly dangled Fujian infront of me, and told me the only place available was Hainan Island. I passed and took a late train back to Kow Loon. A train and bus later and I was surprising Max by showing back up at his door.

After a few more days in Hongkong they had the rail lines fixed and I returned to Guangzhou where I learned a lesson about booking tickets in advance; I could get a ticket, but I’d have to wait two days. The first hostel I checked into was not pleasant. Their hostel section was booked and I had to rent a double. The plus side was that with two beds in the room I could pick the one with less bugs. I was able to sleep without them bothering (or getting on) me but it was still a hard night’s sleep and I was frequently visited by feelings of homesickness for California, Taiwan, and Hongkong. Places where I could feel comfortable and knew people. The following day I checked out early and spent a few hours wandering the city looking for a better hostel only to end up at the place I spent the night the previous week before heading back to Hongkong. My room mates were a German fellow and a Taiwanese guy, both experienced backpackers.

When the time had come for me to board the train, I had the fun of trying to work the conductor for an upgrade to a sleeper instead of the seat that I had. For a 12-hour train ride, I think it was worth it. While waiting for a conductor to be free, I made friends with some of the others waiting in the vestibule. One who eventually showed up spoke better English than I spoke Mandarin and was kind enough to help me get a sleeper. A long train ride later and I’m now in a nice hostel in Wuhan. Next stop is going to be Anhui for a mountain and then, depending on where I can go, either Huangzhou or Shanghai.

Stories and pictures from Wuhan and pictures from Guangzhou soon (I hope). Most of my TW and HK pix are up here.

I’ve been in Hongkong for four days now. Had I come here before Taipei, I probably wouldn’t have been so impressed by what Taipei has going on at night. There seems to be a perpetual daylight through most of the island; enough light spills out of buildings, stores, and street lamps to make it easy to reed in the middle of a multiple lane road. So many of the people I see are young that I wonder where the power behind this economic dynamo lies. Can that youthful population that puts such a high priority on play house the creativity to keep the economy bouncing?

Play can take a few forms. Clubs, bars, and lounges each have specific uses. Karoake too is popular. Nighttime eating and drinking are always available. Beaches and BBQ is there, but that seems to be more enjoyed by the New Territories crowd than HK Island night-youth. The island’s nightbclub district, Koo Lam Fong seems to be a glowing, alcohol moist mecca with no closing time and a reputation so widely known that it might actually be more filled with foreigners than Cantonese.

FIFA is big business over here. In Taiwan I was told that I looked like a German soccer player and in
Hongkong I had a waiter come up to me and say “go Italia!.” From the celing of the HK metro one sees gold-and-white soccer balls hanging and a giant ball adorns the courtyard of Hongkong’s Time Square building.

Max has told me that people of Hongkong take nearly opportunity to celebrate, even importing St. Patric’s Day. I have to wonder what wil replace the World Cup as an excuse for play now that Italy has won.

I’ve started to upload pictures to http://blog.marcwiesner.com/albums . None from HK yet, but I’ll fix that when I can ^_^

Oh how I love spare the air days. I was able to get up to Berkeley (with my bike) and back for the low low price of nothing. Yep…free mass transit today and Friday b/c most Californians can’t live w/o A/C. Pansies.

I’m sooo tempted to take Caltrain up to SF for the hell of it and just bike around snapping pictures. Why not? Oh…this to-do list…..right. Hehe…I’m sure I can get an International Student ID in SF ^_^.

Something about riding trains for four hours, mostly standing with my bike, that seems to have left a touch on my equilibrium; I’ve still got a swaying sensation with me. Best to get used to it, I’ll be on train far longer going through China, I’m sure.

I made a LOT of progress today. FINALLY I got my visa. Ninety-days! ^__^ I’m going to China, BABY! One week from today almost to the minute I’ll be on a plane flying west. Flying foreword about 28 hours on an almost 12 hour flight, after which I’d set my watch, if I wore a watch, foreword only four hours.

After the relief of getting my visa, I got to spend the day in SF with my dear Longman. Visited St. Mary’s Cathedral (my first time in a Cathedral). It was amazing inside; the ceiling literally challenges my sense of depth and dimension. I was grateful for the opportunity to offer a prayer. Before a journey that will introduce me to so many new people and new ways, it felt proper to take a few minutes and pray for all who would benefit from an infusion of tolerance and faith. Once outside I took some pictures of the amazing outside of the Cathedral (promise to post soon).

Afterwords, took care of some computer stuff. Had an amazing Vietnamese lunch. Met an awesome ex-marine who’s travel experience boggles the mind (and she was so kind to give me a book on East Asian art). Her collection of…things covers most of Asia (and I mean ASIA; West, South, South-East, and East) and North Africa. Found a great shoulder bag to bring with me on my travels on Height St (where I also found an AMAZING Turkish coffee). Preston was kind enough to celebrate my visa with a Lonely Planet for China. Reading through it on the train, I feel much more comfortable about the world I’ll be stepping into. I’ve got placed to stay most of the way, I’ll have a paper guide, to get me around the alien environment, I’ve got traveler’s insurance to see me through any bumps in the road, and I’ve got a fair ability to communicate that will thrive under necessity.

My enthusiasm was bolstered this evening while bowling with the fams. Mid-way through our second game, a trio started on the lane next to us. I correctly guessed that they were Israeli from the way their Hebrew sounded and was introduced to their party, who was in the Bay Area on vacation. Meeting a group of foreigners who so melded into the atmosphere and befriending them gave my already strong faith in our inter-connectedness a timely infusion.

Every thing’s going to be just fine (and even if it isn’t exactly, I’ll have great stories ^_^)

What’d I get done today? Research, makeup session, dinner, fixed computer. Makeup? Oh yeah. Took a couple hours out of my day to do research in a hotel and get well painted for a friend.

I look so pretty ^_^. I think I could get into that eye-liner .

For the first time in about two years I was able to enjoy one of my classic favorites, a toasted bagel with cream cheese, onion, tomato, salt and pepper. All of it thanks to the beautiful people at Tofutti. I found a lil tub of vegan, imitation cream cheese at TraderJoes and oh my…if I can’t tell the difference between it and what seem to remember the real stuff tasting like.

Thank you Tofutti!

This year’s Fanime Convention in San Jose will be jam-packed with anime fun for all ages, and 41 hours of fun for fans 18 and over ^_- .

How can they fit 41 hours of cartoon porn in a three evening event? That’s the best part….it’ll be playing on up to three screens between midnight and 6am.

Fanime coordinators…..I salute you!

Oh….and yours truly might be there working freelance. ^_^

I’ve been looking in to the cosplay culture in anticipation of the event and I wanted to throw up a link to Yaya Han’s site. Her work is amazingly detailed. Looking at the work she’s done one cannot help but be amazed at the skill and detail that she’s put into her craft.

UPDATE: Looks like my math was off…it’s more than 41 hours. Silly me didn’t realize Yaoi Con Bingo was also for “mature audiences.” This brings the total to 46 hours of ID-required animated love.

Found a baby hummingbird yesterday while I was out with Lisa. Read about it and see the little guy here

So I was on my way to my Chinese class this morning. Just a few buildings over from my Greek Hist class. Weaving in and out of people and groups trying to get there quickly (for what? I don’t know).

I take a quick left around a cluster of people and see a skateboarder coming at me (he’d taken a right to get around the same cluster). We collide. I go down on my left-side. Left ankle, knee, elbow, wrist, and the middle toes of my right foot take impact. When I’m getting up he’s still up, I think he was able to jump off his board before impact maybe, but it’s good that he didn’t hit the ground too.

I’m fine from it….thankful I didn’t have my camera with me ’cause my bag hit the ground pretty well. Bike’s fine. Even better, my phone didn’t crack this time ^_^

Blog’s all fixed and set up again. RSS, images, permalinks, redirects, rainwashingsubliminalmessagesthatwillturnallintomyunwittingslaves^^ , all set (as far as I can tell).

Studying this weekend. Yippy.