Ian Hartsoe Travel Blog

Flash Back 2

2012-02-12T11:15:00.004-05:00

Xian to Kunming

I traveled a lot by train; the average time I spent in one go was about 14 hours overnight sleeping in a bed that was a little to small for my height. This was the last train ride I took in China, and it was also the longest train ride I have ever taken anywhere. From beginning to end it took over 36 hours to complete.

Now you might be asking what someone does for 36 hours of constant motion, and confined spaces. Luckily I spent about half of the trip sleeping, a quarter of my time was spent staring out of the window looking at the ever changing passing country side. The last quarter was spent talking to people on the train, be it fellow travelers or native Chinese practicing English, or me practicing Mandarin.

Flash Back

2012-01-19T15:30:00.006-05:00

Welcome the to the first of many "flash backs" I will be presenting for your reading pleasure. The flash back is just going to be a way for me to recount travel experiences that I haven't posted before because I was lazy while traveling and stopped posting about two months in.

The first flashback is going to start where I left off in the blog.

July 4Th 2010:
I had finished visiting the Terra-cotta Warriors with an Israeli named Sid the day before, and really didn't have anything to the on the day of American Independence. So after breakfast Sid and I went out into the Muslim district of Xian to explore and maybe barter down some things that we needed/wanted. On the way back to the hostel we found a supermarket with cheese in it. This was the first time in two months that I had seen cheese for sale in any store. So we bought about 20 dollars worth of cheese, some bread, wine, and beer.

I celebrated 4Th of July eating spreaded cheese on bread with tomatoes, drinking weak beer, and talking to anyone that wanted to listen about the American holiday.

Long Over Due

2012-01-14T12:51:00.004-05:00

A new posting has been long over due! Over the last year and a half I have been a lot less traveling and a lot more working in the retail industry. I haven't been spending this time stagnet though, oh no! I have been pushing to show my travel work to a broader audience, as well as working on my fine art photography.

List of accomplishments:

-Land back home after seven months traveling, surprising my parents during the holiday season.
-Getting my old job back at Hunts Photo and Video.
-Reconnecting with old friends that I hadn't seen in months.
-Editing down the photos from Asia.
-Getting my website up and running. http://www.ianhartsoe.com/
-Having my work shown in galleries across the country.
-Getting an Apartment in East Boston
-Helping to start the Rochester Museum of Fine Arts, in Rochester NH. http://www.rochestermfa.org/

The traveling bug has hit me again, and the back pack is going to get the dust brushed off of it soon! I am planning a trip to travel around the Iceland Ring Road sometime in the middle of year. Check back for updates on the planning process and the final itinerary!

Terra-cotta Warriors

2010-07-18T04:00:00.000-04:00

Like the Eiffel tower in Paris, and Big Ben in London the Terra-cotta warriors are something that can't be missed whenever you travel to China.

Where they a highlight on the trip? I would say not. To be honest I was actually a little disappointed without the whole experience.

The most exciting thing that I got to see was a pair of handmade marionettes sponsored be Johnson and Johnson

Way creeper in person. The little girl was about five meters tall if memory serves me right.

Xian

2010-07-18T03:55:00.000-04:00

Due to some timing issues I ended up staying in this city for five days, which was about two days longer then originally planned, but ended up being just the right amount of time to spend their.

Xian is one of the last cities to have a Ming wall still in tact and standing, so for about five hours one day I spent my time walking around the whole top of it. At a certain point on the wall there where cloth and metal figures placed along the sides for about a kilometer in length.
The rest of my time was spent walking around the Muslim district, and visiting the sights around the city.

Harbin

2010-07-16T07:23:00.000-04:00

Located in the northern most part of the country, Harbin was a place of vas differences to the rest of China that I had been to beforehand. It is a relatively new city compared to the rest of China only really beginning to grow and expend in the beginning of the twentieth century. Through the course of it's hundred years it has seen a lot of changes over greater China as well as itself. In the thirties it was taken over by Japan until the end of the WWII. Before that there where huge immigrations of Russian Jews into the city, eventually becoming the largest immigrant population in China. Even though these two events don't hold true today you can still see he heavy influences of both, but mostly from the Russian Jews. A lot of the architecture has a very distinct Russian look about it, with the use of domes on buildings, and stones in the streets.

Dancing on the streets at night

2010-07-02T21:36:00.000-04:00

In a lot of the major cities and towns in china they would at certainties during the day have group dancing sessions, and lessons for the, and out in the public. Some a small with only a few people participating in it, but once you get to the major cities you will a lot of time see huge groups sometimes a hundred strong. This group was ballroom dancing, another smaller one a little ways away was learning how to tango.

Naive Bear Paradise

2010-07-02T21:35:00.000-04:00

While in China I have gotten used to seeing the English language used in interesting ways. But when I came upon a sign labeled naive bear paradise I had no idea of what to make of it.

So I decided that the only thing to do was follow were it lead me and figure it out for myself.

My original thought was it had something to do with beer. But then that doesn't make sense either. Why would the beer be naive.

After following a little longer, it came to me that it could have been "native" bear paradise. I was in northern China, only about a five hour ride from the Russian border. So having an exhibition of bear native to the area made absolute sense.

But I was wrong still the same. Naive Bear Paradise was in fact an...

Amusement park.

Beijing

2010-07-02T21:28:00.000-04:00

The country capital, and one of the haziest and smoggiest cities I have ever been in. Was all in all a lot of fun! Great wall, tian mien square, the forbidden city, summer palace, and miles of maze like hutongs to explore. Being pulled around scenic ponds in bike power carts.

Like all of the cities that I have been to in china, the food was amazing and very distinct to the region. On the suggestion of a girl I meet who is a budding travel food journalist, the Aussies and I went to a place that was a little bit more on the beaten path then I normally head to.

Granted you cant see any of the food that we had, belief me when I say it was good. Not the best in China nut still good all of the same. The most peculiar thing we has was a pitted bitter melon, with a ball of pork stuffed into the middle of it.

On my last full day in Beijing I went to see the 2008 Olympic stadium and park.

You can see the characteristic grayness that is Beijing, it was a sunny day then too.

The building housing the swimming pool in which Michel Phelps owned every event he was in.

Great Wall of China

2010-06-26T22:28:00.000-04:00

The tour of the Great Wall that a group of people in the dorm took was awesome! We went to a section of the great wall that wasn't fully restored. The only reason way some places of it were restored was to allow people to keep walking along without having to get off.

It took us about two hours, leaving at 8:30am, to get to the section of the wall that we would be trekking. The weather outside was beautiful with the sun shining through and burning off the little bit of haze in the atmosphere. The temperature was a hot 35 degrees; but there was a breeze constantly going, and plenty of watch towers to go in an cool off in the shade for a little bit.

There was about a hundred foot drop behind me!

All of us from the hostel
Left to right
Lloyd, Jordan, John, and me.

Pictures!

2010-06-26T22:11:00.000-04:00

Hangzhou

Train ride

Nanjing

Shanghai

Party at the Expo

2010-06-22T09:34:00.000-04:00

Through networking and luck I was able to attend a party hosted by the Angola pavilion. There was only supposed to be expo employees at the party, but by the time we got there no one was checking for badges anymore and I don't think anyone would have cared anyway. But the party was just like any other partying a club, only there was people from all over the world having the time of a lifetime.

USA Pavilion Review

2010-06-16T12:38:00.000-04:00

I went to the USA pavilion a little ambivalent, having heard from foreigners and Americans alike that it wasn't so good. I say nay to the nay sayers of the USA pavilion. It was one of the best that I had seen up to this point, not because I am an American (which certainly doesn't hurt my appreciation of it) but because it was one of the few that I felt stuck with the theme of the expo "Better City, Better Life". It wasn't an ad for tourism or trying to showcase why moving their or building up industry would be beneficial to ones self.
It was welcoming to all that came to the pavilion, and tried to showcase what it has done to improve the way people in America live, and how to create a sense of community. The underlying theme of the expo was green technology, and how to keep expanding while improving the environment around us. The USA did this with through the use of three videos that all gave examples of green technologies, and the conservation of resources.

The USA pavilion did stile a cord with me, as a person, as tourist, and as an American.

Nanjing

2010-06-16T12:17:00.000-04:00

A city of great historic significance throughout China's long existence. It was the capital of China twice during two different dynasties. As well as being the capital for a short time of the rebel Taiping government in the 1800s. The father of modern China, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, was placed to rest here with a huge mausoleum built in his honour. Also one of the biggest displays of wartime brutality happened here when it was occupied by the Japanese during WWII, with the Nanjing massacre.
But aside from all of the history that surrounds Nanjing it still had a really interesting, and fun night life. I went through a couple of different night markets, and also had some awesome food at more then one street stall. While there I also re-meet a Danish couple that I had last seen about a thousand miles away in the south. What else is cool is I am supposed to meet them again sometime soon in Shanghai!

Hongzhou

2010-06-13T20:22:00.000-04:00

With it's giant lake in the middle and old time tea houses, it was certainly a place not to miss. I spent three days in the city of over 6 million people which sadly was a mixed bag of wants. The first full day I was there I spent walking around the lake and visiting some of the pedestrianized streets. But around 4 in the afternoon it started to rain, and didn't let up until the next morning. But even after al of that it was still off and on rain the rest of the time I was there. So I wished I had spent less time there, because the rain hindered a lot of the outdoor activities that the city had to offer.

So what do you do when it is raining in a city that doesn't have a lot to do inside? You play cards with new friends and enjoy $.50 local beer.

A fast definition of Chinese traffic laws

2010-06-09T01:14:00.000-04:00

One ways: Haven't seen any; but I have a feeling that they would still be multidirectional.

Single doted line: Play chicken. Bigger vehicle always wins.

Single solid line: Same as above.

Double solid yellow line: Stay on your side, unless your a bus, then pass whoever is going to slow even with incoming traffic.

Stop lights: Ah if the road looks clear, go for it!

Yangshou

2010-06-07T09:16:00.000-04:00

One of the most touristy places in China for westerners, was by far one of the most fun places I have been to so far. There isn't a lot in the way of museums, or cultural happenings. But the outdoor activities where amazing.

On the first full day there, a group of us went on an all day bike ride focusing around the rivers and small villages. We biked between 15-20 miles over smooth, rocky, and paved roads.

The second full day I went on an all day hike between two of the major villages that where close to where we were staying. The hike took a out 5 hours and we walked a little over 9 miles.

Yangshou is one place that if I had allowed it I would have stayed longer then four nights.

Late night train to Guilin

2010-06-02T02:35:00.000-04:00

Riding a night train was a new experience for me. What was great about it was it only cost me $27 dollars! Something completely unheard of in the States. The "room" held six passengers stacked three high, and two across. The reason at I call it a "room" is there wasn't a door into the hallway or really a divider of any kind.
While I was in the train station waiting, another Chinese kid helped me to make sure I made it on the proper train. He also taught me how to read the ticket so I would know where I was going to be sleeping.

Guangzhou

2010-05-30T03:36:00.000-04:00

Guangzhou has been a interesting place to visit. Before I left for China everyone I talked to said "Guangzhou is what China is really like" with it's industry, and little tourist economy. Every where I would go there is constant construction and cleaning going on. Guangzhou is being honored by hosting the up coming Asian Games, so the government decided it was high time that it got a face lift.

Everywhere you go, you will see people working on building exteriors, or ripping up part or all of the sidewalk to give it a cleaner look. But while this is all going on the residents of Guangzhou are keeping about there daily lives as if nothing was happening.

The best example of this is along both sides of the river, you will see people fishing using nets instead of rods. They just stand or sit along the other side of the barrier looking, waiting, and catching all sorts of river life. One guy had a net big to catch a full grown man if he had wanted to.

Another interesting thing is that Guangzhou apparently is the last stop for parents wanting to adopt children from China. My second morning here I was eating at lunch at a little deli on the island that I was staying at. In the span of a half hour there were at least 5 western families with Asian children. So after I was finished eating I walked up to a family that had just sat down, and wasn't eating yet, why there where so many of them there, and that was what they told me. All of them have been of waiting list for 2 to 5 years before they where finally able to come and take one home.

Train to Guangzhou

2010-05-28T09:19:00.000-04:00

I took the train thinking I would be able to catch up on some reading and writing. But I was wrong, I spent the almost two hour train ride talking to a Chinese kid the same age as me. He told me about some places that I should go to after Guangzhou that are very beautiful to see, with cleaner better landscape that hasn't been changed as much by modernization. I haven't decided if I will be going there, but everyone I talk to say it is definitely something to consider.
After the train he helped me to get to my hotel, which as it turned out wasn't the easiest thing to do. I had written address down wrong, and didn't have access to the Internet. I was surprised when he payed for my subway fair a couple of times, and was wondering the whole time if he was going to try and scam me in some way or another, or worse yet kidnap me like in the movie "Taken" except I don't think I would fetch a whole lot on the sex slave black market, but then again who knows red hair might be a luxury item.
After checking in we went to eat at a little local place across the street. I bought the meal, my way of saying thanks for all of the help he had been giving me throughout the past couple of hours.

Hong Kong 2.0

2010-05-25T21:49:00.001-04:00

Admittedly the city is still great, with every day seeming to get better and better! I have seen a lot of interesting things, and also gone to a lot of swanky places. One of my favorite parts of the city, and something I think everyone should see at least once in their lives, is the city skyline along the harbor at night. All the lights reflecting off the water, and the boats becoming floating light shows in there own right.
So far I have also meet some awesome people from all around the world, including England, Indonesia, and the States. I was hanging out with a girl from Indonesia a couple of days ago, and we went to the peak on Hong Kong island at night. There you are above the cities tallest buildings looking down upon them, and across the harbor. We went at night making the experience as a whole that much better!

Word of apology

2010-05-24T07:40:00.000-04:00

I am sending this apology to anyone who was expecting pictures to be posted on the blog almost right away. I wasn't able to find the right adapter in stores before I left and had to order one from apple direct. It will not be in the U.S. for about another three week, which afterwards it will have to be shipped back to China for me to receive it.
But expect lots of photos to come in the upcoming weeks, when I have all of the equipment squared away.

Hong Kong

2010-05-20T10:59:00.001-04:00

So far it looks like Hong Kong was the right place to start my journey. The people have been very friendly, getting around has been very easy, and figuring out what I will be doing seems to have been almost already planned. The "culture shock" has been minimal with really only one thing that I would mention; in the airport terminal before I went through customs were thermal sensors to see if I possibly had SARS. I passed through without any delays, but none the less it was still amusing in a chilling way.

Trip to JFK

2010-05-18T21:49:00.000-04:00

Okay, so after a four hour bus ride and one hour subway ride I am here, sitting in the terminal waiting to board my plane in about an hour and a half. It was a long and tiring trip; even though I was sitting the whole time (being 6ft 3in in cramped bus seats will do that to you). I meet some interesting
people on the way down and saw a lot of your teams (inside joke). I want to thank all the people who wished me a safe and fun trip, love you all, and will see you all again soon. (but not to soon)

Preperations

2010-04-22T11:31:00.008-04:00

You never realize all of the little automated services in life until you plan on leaving for 6 months; car and health insurance, cell phone, and credit cards. Leaving the two jobs I have had since college, and moving... Like everyone else in the world I hate moving, a lot. I think I just really dislike packing everything up, after thats done the rest is a cake walk.

Creation of the blog.

2010-04-14T13:12:00.000-04:00

In 32 days of starting this blog I will be sitting in JFK International terminal holding a one way ticket to China. While there I hope to experience things that will forever change the way I look at the world and people around me. A lot of people call me crazy for wanting to go... To be honest I have been preparing for this trip for as long as I can remember. Maybe not the locations, but the ideas and experiences I will receive from taking this blind leap of faith. No one wants to look back on their life and think it was ordinary and boring; this first step forward is my way of making sure I can never be one of those people.