A Travesty that Happened
Feb. 22, 2004
The ordeals of the last few weeks will be remembered as the last great challenge of escaping asia. (If you are as lazy as I and just want to know the culmination of our great adventure, please read the last paragraph)
The Chinese are cheekier than they appear.
My brother arrived to Beijing about 2 weeks ago. Starting upon arrival and not ending until his departure, he was in state of constant awe. After four days inBeijing Guilin
What feels like 3 weeks on this train, we arrive to our destination and board a bus to go to Yangshou. A groovy small village which is nestled in between towering pillars of lime stone, this tropical bastion is a stop over point for any weary traveler. Not only does everyone speak English but every restaurant has pizza and a plethora of other western cuisine.
The next day after arrival, my brother and I depart on what was supposed to be a 3 hour bike tour of the surrounding country side. Awe struck by the beauty of the landscape and hearts beating fast with the feeling of reckless freedom in the rural country side of southern China, we decided to get off the beaten path and explore some surrounding villages. Eight hours later we returned back to town sun burned, weary and bikes ready to fall to pieces. In that time span, I guess we took a wrong turn which led us along ancient broken roads, through dry river beds and down treacherous hills. Knowing my luck with bikes, my chain broke off which left us stranded in a small village where my limited mandarin did very little. However, the villages we passed through were rarely frequented by foreigners and we had an interesting look into the life of a farming peasant. My conclusion is that I would not like to be one. Luckily, we found a small school filled with hundreds of childre
n all shouting "hello" and "your welcome", whose teachers pointed us in the correct direction.
Two days later, we left Yang Shou and took an 8 hour bus ride (I still have bad dreams from this ride. Who decides to watch "Wind Talkers" at 12pm?) toGuangzhou Hong Kong .
We arrived into Hong Kong by business class train and we were met at the station by my dear friend Ellie who found us a place to stay and has helped us become true blue blood expats in a city that can be explained as a place perched in the clouds that has the most mercedes I have ever seen in my life. Not only that but they all drive on the wrong side of the road which makes crossing the street very perilous. It is definitely a city that is the result of good ole fashioned British imperialism--and thank heavens for that because I was getting tired of the Chinese style toilets.
Well it was hie time for my brother to head back to the states and like a good brother, I accompied him to the airport. Three hours later, peacefully taking a nap, I receive a call from Ellie informing me that my brother had been ARRESTED and was being detained by airport police. I mean what the fuck. For 14 days that I have been with my brother there has been relatively no trouble. I leave him for 2 hours, and he gets arrested. I return back to the airport and am escorted to the police station where I meet the detective who was in charge of my brothers case. He told me that my brother was arrested because he stole a bottle of perfume from a duty free shop. After 6 hours sitting in a jail cell, I put up the $2000 HK in bail money, and my brother is released. Now, I don't believe that my brother is stupid. What he told me was that a Korean girl had slipped the perfume in his backpack pocket. The next day because he is still considered a minor, my brother is let off with a stern warning. However, the interesting thing was that the detective believed that it would be the best for my brother if he admitted to stealing the perfume. In the end, to get out of Hong Kong, my brother lied to the police cheif and promised never to do it again.
Wow, well I am glad that is over with. Now I am off to Shang Hai for hopefully some less stressful times.
Sincerely close to calamity,
Jason
The ordeals of the last few weeks will be remembered as the last great challenge of escaping asia. (If you are as lazy as I and just want to know the culmination of our great adventure, please read the last paragraph)
The Chinese are cheekier than they appear.
My brother arrived to Beijing about 2 weeks ago. Starting upon arrival and not ending until his departure, he was in state of constant awe. After four days in
What feels like 3 weeks on this train, we arrive to our destination and board a bus to go to Yangshou. A groovy small village which is nestled in between towering pillars of lime stone, this tropical bastion is a stop over point for any weary traveler. Not only does everyone speak English but every restaurant has pizza and a plethora of other western cuisine.
The next day after arrival, my brother and I depart on what was supposed to be a 3 hour bike tour of the surrounding country side. Awe struck by the beauty of the landscape and hearts beating fast with the feeling of reckless freedom in the rural country side of southern China, we decided to get off the beaten path and explore some surrounding villages. Eight hours later we returned back to town sun burned, weary and bikes ready to fall to pieces. In that time span, I guess we took a wrong turn which led us along ancient broken roads, through dry river beds and down treacherous hills. Knowing my luck with bikes, my chain broke off which left us stranded in a small village where my limited mandarin did very little. However, the villages we passed through were rarely frequented by foreigners and we had an interesting look into the life of a farming peasant. My conclusion is that I would not like to be one. Luckily, we found a small school filled with hundreds of childre
n all shouting "hello" and "your welcome", whose teachers pointed us in the correct direction.
Two days later, we left Yang Shou and took an 8 hour bus ride (I still have bad dreams from this ride. Who decides to watch "Wind Talkers" at 12pm?) to
We arrived into Hong Kong by business class train and we were met at the station by my dear friend Ellie who found us a place to stay and has helped us become true blue blood expats in a city that can be explained as a place perched in the clouds that has the most mercedes I have ever seen in my life. Not only that but they all drive on the wrong side of the road which makes crossing the street very perilous. It is definitely a city that is the result of good ole fashioned British imperialism--and thank heavens for that because I was getting tired of the Chinese style toilets.
Well it was hie time for my brother to head back to the states and like a good brother, I accompied him to the airport. Three hours later, peacefully taking a nap, I receive a call from Ellie informing me that my brother had been ARRESTED and was being detained by airport police. I mean what the fuck. For 14 days that I have been with my brother there has been relatively no trouble. I leave him for 2 hours, and he gets arrested. I return back to the airport and am escorted to the police station where I meet the detective who was in charge of my brothers case. He told me that my brother was arrested because he stole a bottle of perfume from a duty free shop. After 6 hours sitting in a jail cell, I put up the $2000 HK in bail money, and my brother is released. Now, I don't believe that my brother is stupid. What he told me was that a Korean girl had slipped the perfume in his backpack pocket. The next day because he is still considered a minor, my brother is let off with a stern warning. However, the interesting thing was that the detective believed that it would be the best for my brother if he admitted to stealing the perfume. In the end, to get out of Hong Kong, my brother lied to the police cheif and promised never to do it again.
Wow, well I am glad that is over with. Now I am off to Shang Hai for hopefully some less stressful times.
Sincerely close to calamity,
Jason
posted by Jason | 2:17 PM
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