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English Version 22
Thursday 23.04.08
Xi’an 21.30 o’clock
It’s hard work being on the road, but it’s also hard work to be in town.
What have I done today? Nothing much I think.
But I’ve been both inside and outside the city wall – and the city is
BIG.
I’ve been searching for sunglasses, but they were too expensive and
didn’t fit me well. I’ve bought a pair of trousers. They adjusted them
for me. Fine Chinese fashion trousers with nice pockets.
I’ve been to visit the Temple of eight Immortals. There’s a blessed
peace in the courtyards when you think of the noise and the fuzz outside.
At last I made contact with my PDA, so I spent a couple of hours in
front of the computer, doing back-up and working with a programme for
pictures, so hopefully you’ll soon get some pictures. But there are
still some problems.
At last I went to find a spare tyre (easy) and a spare tube (hard). The
Chinese tube have an auto valve. A tube for MTB’s was only available in
the other end of the city.
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| Trad. chinese architecture | At the temple of the 8 immortals |
When I was on my way, I suddenly wondered if I’d gone too far. In
such case some Chinese words are worth gold: women zai nar? Where are we?
You point at the map and ask where we are? But it’s good to have your
own opinion.
In this case the young man points at a spot where it obviously ISN’T,
because the road not is ending in a T, but continues across the
intersection. And if you’ve managed to stop one Chinese, there are more
to come in seconds. They love to help and a good discussion. And if
someone nearby is able to speak 6 English words, she’ll arrive too.
After several minutes discussion and talk, they reach a result. We are
just where I thought we were, I merely wanted to be sure, because I
wasn’t QUITE sure, and now I have no problems finding out how to move on.
But helpful THEY ARE.
Except once. I’m quite close to the target. I end up saying “Excuse me”
instead of “Duibuqi”, and am at once told that he doesn’t speak English.
No, pal, but I just want to show you something written in Chinese. The
girl in the bike shop have written down the name of the shop I’m looking
for, where they’ve got the tube I want (She’s phoned them!). He looks at
it reluctantly. He doesn’t know, and besides he doesn’t speak English!
Just after my eye catches the shop, it’s on the other side of the street.
She’s put the dot on the wrong side.
When I after a couple of hours return to my hostel from this excursion,
I’m spoken to by a girl, who shows to be another university English
student. (This time former student) who wants to practise. And I want to
practise my Chinese with a teacher, so we stand talking, while it gets
dark, and her girlfriend first stands, later sits on the bench at the
bus stop looking sour.
So now I have an appointment tomorrow evening at 19 o’clock with Carly.
When I get into the hostel there’s no longer room for my bike on the
first floor, a Japanese guy has arrived and put his bike there. He’s
come from Chengdu, where I’m going! It shows to be from Qingdao instead,
not far from Japan. But we have a long conversation about China and
staying for the night and food and roads etc. We could have met in the
road, if I’d been one day late, because the last 50 km we’ve been
following the same road.
So it’s 21.40 before I have a chance to try my dish I bought in Beijing
after Angelas
recommendation. It’s a noodle dish in which you only have to add boiling
water and 3 small bags, which are in the package plus a folded plastic
fork, that has to be clicked ready. I’m lucky also to have a smoked
chickens leg and a Harbin canned beer I bought long ago. It’s not a
great meal.
I have to describe the traffic here. That’s why a quiet day like this
gets so exhausting.
You’re always allowed to turn right no matter the colour of light. You
normally turns left just before the green light, so you can do it before
those going straight from the other direction have started. And when one
is turning 2 or 3 follows. When you being a cyclist have been waiting at
the red light and starts to move, you have to interlace with those
turning right and at the same time look for and interlace with those
turning left from the front. Plus look for the pedestrians which didn’t
make it to the other side before the lights changed. And if you are
going in the shielded lane for bicycles and cars who are to park, you
have to look out for cars and cyclists going in the opposite direction
which should be somewhere else but for practical reasons have decided to
go against the traffic. And the worst spots are where there are busses
too. They squeeze you at the bus stops because the stop is in the
bicycling lane. Not to mention all the pedestrians who, although there
IS a path for them, have chosen to walk in the cycling lane. And if they
all just kept there positions. They often do, and then you just overtake
to the right or to the left if that’s more adequent. But not always. And
when one is going outwards all those overtaking follows. Luckily. Or
more would get hurt. I have ONCE heard a man – not shout – but grouse
because of traffical rudeness. But mostly you take it as it comes,
that’s the way it works here.
They don’t use the horn much in the city. It’s actually forbidden, but
no one cares about that – like in so many other cases.
The traffic in the roads – you’ll have that another time.
When I sit here at the computer sending this last report, it’s 23.45
o’clock.
So good night.