The circle

And so I find myself in the same place I set off from, thousands of miles and twenty months lagging behind me reminding me that yes, I have been away. Now I'm back my adventures seem so far behind me already that at times in the last week I seriously wonder whether it actually happened! Nice in a way that everything remains in essence the same. The same faces, some with different jobs, different partners, different houses, but the same people just 20 months older. Many people have peered at me before exclaiming with what could be a snort of relief, "Oh, you're exactly the same!".  I think whatever they were expecting I was also expecting. Some kind of significant change, everyone always remarks that travel is a life-changing experience. Well yes, my life has changed in that now I have to build a new one out of the rubble and ideas and lessons of the last one I had, but Hana as a person has happily remained pretty much identical to the Hana that left the UK 20 months ago. 

I've had such a great time abroad and I learnt so much, about other cultures, my job, myself, but now its over, the circle has completed itself. Its time for a new beginning. After focusing so long on the end of my journey from New Zealand, through Thailand, Vietnam, China, Mongolia, Russia, Belaruse, Germany, France, London and finally to Devon, the destination of destinations, now I'm here there's a gap. Like floating around at zero gravity, or walking into the fridge at work to get something only to find you have forgotten what it is and have to go all the way back to remember. What now for Hana and her adventures? That's the question.

The last leg of my journey through Europe was really smooth and easy and lovely. It felt like a visiting expedition, seeing my old friends Katie, Tia and Paris, and making a new friend called Berlin. Berlin - the one city (other than Wellington) I visited that I would love to live in. I would have to learn German (which frankly is off putting) but other than that its my sort of place. Interesting, grungy culture, lots going on, lots of green and water. Berlin, it was a pleasure to meet you.

I do believe that this is Blog number 100! A fine number to sign off on, although I find myself a little sad not to have somewhere to write now, I've really enjoying putting my little life of travel and new experiences into words. Who knows what adventures the next 20 months hold? Whatever they are my feet are staying firmly in the UK, on my search for a garden, a yoga class and a nice organic cafe to work in (if you are a town and fit these specifications I'd be happy/delighted to make your acquaintance, please send applications via the comments page).

A massive thank you to everyone who has been reading this during my time away, it was an absolute pleasure! 

Moscow

Three days in Moscow! I was sceptical, most people tell me 'just go to St Peters', but you know what, it's a great city. The centre is clean, safe feeling, and full of magic buildings carefully lit up and on display. It's trying hard, and I was pleasantly surprised. The Kremlin buildings, the Red Square - wow! Certainly worth a couple of looks I'd say. Especially St. Basils Cathedral with all the ice-cream cones/onions on the building. Looks like some crazyfied circus tent.

Having Tanyaer meet me for the evening and show me her city was fantastic. I learnt lots of details and saw the city in its full glory with the help of a local. There are musicians and street performers on every corner and in every underpass - from classical to full-on punk, take your pick. We went up to the bikers hot spot, where hundreds and hundreds of bikers come to hang out and socialise with the best view of the city. Magnificent!

The city has a real cosmopolitan feel to it, its much more European than Russian, and I'm really glad I also saw Irkutsk to provide a comparison. Massively different to Siberia. A lovely interesting city where you can buy Russian dolls til your hearts content!

And now to the last, bar one, city on the hit list - Berlin. I arrive with no knowledge and no expectations....

It strikes me that last night was the final customs malarkey I have to go through! Yippeeee. My 27 hour train Moscow to Berlin went without hitch with the help of one of my all time favorites - Pride and Prejudice. Thank you Jane (after reading that 15 times we are now on first name terms).

The Transmongolian - the train journey of all train journey

I sit here thinking, one week and I'm home! One week out of 18 (or is it more now, I lost count) months of being away. One week...so soon! I remember one month ago - one month and I'll be back, and all this to see in the meantime. Now China and the Transmongolian have been and gone - not in a blur of course but rather calmly, in sharp focus. All that amazing contrast and sights and experiences once alien are now swimming around my brain, jostling for a place in my memory bank, hoping they are not the ones who fall off the edge. So many stories, I just hope my dodgy memory will be able to keep up. Tanyaer said to me last night that I will have to be a great grandmother for all the stories I have collected on this trip. Ah well, Babuska-dom here I come. Maybe I'll collect a few more first though...

The train journey was everything I thought it would be. The last part of my trip, from the land crossing into China, I ceased to form expectations of what was to come, I only thought that I must enjoy and make the most of it. The end was in sight, my only responsibility was now to enjoy the filling! With expectation invariably comes disappointment or perhaps that mild confusion when the picture of that town in your mind does not resemble the picture of the town right in front of you. Did I come to the wrong town? you think. A blank canvas really helps!
I had the guide books, but towards the end they mostly lay inactive in my bag, weighing me down with countless information I didn't read and advice/opinions I didn't follow. Well, it was better! Better to take them exactly as they are, a Guide, than as the Bible that some seem to follow relentlessly.
For example, Bryn Thomas, your guide to the Transiberian may be perfectly suited to your and many peoples tastes but frankly it bored me and your map drawing skills are somewhat lacking (to put it nicely). However many many many people proclaimed this as the MOST excellent thing to have on the Transiberian train. Personally I would have preferred a chess set.

So no expectations and many surprises lay in wait. As I boarded my train from Irkutsk to Moscow I put the thought out there that maybe it was time I met some Russians on my train. 10 minutes later my wish was in its physical form - The Russian Army in my cabin. A General Alexis, his wife Tatyana, and a junior lieutenant. We communicated in my favorite non-lingual ways - gestures, the odd word, and pictures of places, friends, family. And of course with food!! Alexis knew some words of English - EAT and DRINK were among his favorite. I got seated in the place of honour in our tiny cabin (next to the food) and was encouraged/forced to eat eat eat and drink drink drink VODKA. And so goes my vodka experience on the Transiberian. The men got gradually worse for wear and started fighting in my honour (the Lieutenant was sitting on my bed, and suddenly the General deemed this inappropriate and throw him off across the cabin!). I promptly left and rallied the troops - the only other foreigner on the Russian carriage, Lo and we joined forces. One night in the Russian carriage was actually enough and we both moved up into the Chinese carriages where there were a few more foreigners, and made some friends to spend the remaining days with.

It was a magnificent experience of a train journey. Highly recommended.

Smacking fish, Vodka and the wonders of Lake Baikal

Lake Baikal, a sacred place of Shamans and the deepest purest waters. It is the deepest oldest lake on planet earth with 25% of the worlds fresh water! You have to go there to believe it. I arrived, the lake is mostly frozen, three days later its changed colour, pure deep icy melting waters.
Home to the Burat people, there are shrines and sacred places everywhere, poles tied with bright cloth and coins and vodka scattered to ask for guidance from the spirits of their ancestors. The nearest village to Olkon village, where I was staying, is KHARANZI meaning 'seeing place'.
We went on a big tour of the island, so much raw natural power. Icy cold to cosy warm in a day, a thick cap of ice disappearing so fast, overnight even.

I'll remember the cutting wind, the overwhelming presence of Baikal, the clear air and beautiful sunsets over the cliff tops. I'll remember the huge kindness of Lyuda, the Vodka celebrations ( a different something to celebrate every night, a different cheers with every shot), the many many legends and stories, the Russian 'jokes', the many tales. For example, step in cow poo = lucky in love, lose at cards = lucky in love. Remarks from Lyudas Grandmother - Boys are not dogs, they do not like bones (ie, eat eat eat some more).

The trans-Mongolian from Beijing to Irkutsk was BRILLIANT. I saw Yaks, Camels - all colours, Yurts everywhere, hours of forest, hours of the Gobi dessert, hours of grassland dotted with the occasional lone person or Yurt. I found good company to pass the tedious border crossings with, good beer and nibbles and cards to while away the hours. The splendor of the Mongolian dining carriage compared to the stark grey of the Chinese one with elated prices to match.

And well....I am so pleased and proud that I am doing this train journey. It really is an epic.

THIS is a GREAT wall

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Today I did the classic! The climbing and long march of the GREAT WALL OF CHINA! It really truly is a feat of human(han)kind. Well, actually the great emperor Chi (who China takes her name from) started it...then it just got longer and rebuilt and rebuilt for thousands of km, thousands. I got to see a part of the unrenovated wall where there was NO OTHER tourists, and believe me that is an achievement on Labour weekend. We walked up to the wall and along it for a few hours, just taking in the endurance and bodies of men that went into it (literally, some say the exhausted dead were simply buried within the wall as extra mortar!). The scale of it is just...breathtaking. It never really served its purpose as defense against the marauding neighbours, but it did provide a safe trade route facilitating the exchange of goods and ideas from the middle east and India.

Not only did I see the GREAT WALL, but also took the mandatory culinary experience of Beijing today too. Peking Duck! I am stuffed as a stuffed duck. Delicious.

Beijing, like China in general, is a confusing mix of old and new, of frantic rebuilding, breakneck speed development and remnants of an old way of life. You've got the traditional Hutongs, where many people live, next to just-built shiny complexes. It would have been interesting to see Beijing before the Olympics, you can almost see the Huge effort that's gone in to try and Westernise the city. The subway is 10 times better, cleaner, more efficient than the London underground, some streets are so clean (forgetting air pollution of course) its like walking through a model village. Then you turn a corner and the streets a mess of mud, dirt, rubbish and workmen. I've had a few people say in perfect English "Hellooo, Welcome to China" whilst giggling with the excitement of being able to speak their one English phrase! A mix is what it is.

Yunnan times

Who'd of thought that a month ago I never even wanted to come to China, and now here I am just in one tiny part of it, Yunnan, commiserating that I can only see a small part of the province. What about Shangri-la and all the small Tibetan villages, what about Dali music festival, starting the day after I have to leave for Beijing, what about all the various Yak products I'm yet to try. There is simply never enough time to do everything. So in all of China's vastness I will only experience a part of Yunnan, and Beijing. I am thinking that a return trip some day is a must.

The China of my imagination a few weeks ago doesn't exist. True, the language is hard. I learn a phrase off by heart then try and use it...blank looks. Its the tones, I can mimic them but I can't remember them just so. One word can mean five things using the five different tones. Its tricky, and coming from a foreign mouth with a foreign accent the Chinese just don't understand me.
I have taken to another form of communication - someone is talking, instead of concentrating on the words you let them all blur together and just listen for the tones, the sounds that make up the general sense of what they are saying, the body language, the language of smiling and hand gestures. Even if you have no idea what each other have said, you have still had a nice conversation. Yesterday I climbed a mountain with a man and his horse for my guide. Neither of us spoke the others language but at the top I brought us both beers and we chatted, each taking turns to say something or laugh at something. Funny!

Travelling in China you meet a very different crowd of people than in SE Asia. Travellers here a more discerning, more interested in the local character and history than in finding a beach to drink cocktails on. I have now met many people who have travelled or will travel across Russia by train. I meet people every day on their way to Tibet, or coming from Burma. Places that are hard to travel in, places most people wouldn't see the point of going to for so much effort. But people who go there want to see for themselves, take a look. You can never know what awaits you in a place, or what you will personally experience, until you go for yourself. You cannot experience the worst and best moments of life vicariously. You cannot experience a place through any persons words, although they can take you closer. I met many a moaner in Vietnam who hated the people and found it horrible "good riddance Vietnam" they said. But this was not my experience at all. Sometimes the person and their attitude creates the experience they have.
It is inspiring to meet travellers from all over the world, all with different tales to tell and takes on life. And people who have been to those far fetched places most of us would never dream of going like the Middle East. Last night at dinner a Norwegian fellow announced that Syria and Iran were absolutely his most favorite places on the planet. The people so delighted that someone was coming to see the country, the beautiful architecture and rich history. It makes me realise that what I'm doing is not scary at all, its pretty tame compared to most people here!!

Tiger Leaping Gorgeous

I did it! I trekked the magnificent Tiger Leaping Gorge. A really stunning experience, a two day hike up the mountainous paths through Naxi territory ending at the legendary spot where the tiger leaped roaring waters to escape the hunter. This was somewhere I had seen in magazines, a place people rave about, somewhere I assumed I wouldn't make it to. But make it I did! As we were getting on the bus there were the usual trekking sorts with their Hi-tech equipment - fleece, poles, the best boots, the works - and me in my knackered trainers and floaty trousers. I got a look up and down from one girl like "you're going to walk in that?" At the end of the day my trainers held out, as did my legs and energy levels and we reached the guesthouse 2 hours before the Outdoor Shop Expo Girl!! Ha!

Tiger Leaping Gorge is in the Northern part of the Yunnan province, near the Tibetan border. Naxi people (pronounced Nashi, like the pear) who originated from Tibet live here. It really feels like a part of the old China that I wanted to see, it has a special feel to it. The river itself was pounding with energy, mesmerising. We sat down there staring into the roaring white water an hour before the long steep climb back up.

I feel really lucky/happy to be here. Finding a travel companion was almost too easy - "oh you're going this way too? Great! " Its nice to share the journey with someone else, who is chilled out and enjoying the journey. We part ways in a day or two, such is the way of travel! The gorgeous gorge would have been somewhat daunting alone. Its a big climb up and has proved a lethal trail for many a trekker.

I have many many many pictures from this walk, however I seem to have deleted the DCIM folder when I plug it into the computer - the pics are still on the camera...how to get them off? Any advice welcome!!

I remain in Lijiang, in the beautiful old part of town full of winding streets and bridges across streams and Naxi stalls. The town is very touristy but then theres a reason for that! Its lovely. Its a fine town to get lost in, wandering the cobbled streets for hours, drinking Yaks yogurt, eating dried Yak, and drinking Yunnan coffee. We stay at a place called Mama Naxi's. Impossible to find but if you get lost you just phone Mama and she says "Mama come pick you up now". She cooks delicious feasts every night for the small price of 15 yuan (1 pound 50p!).
I decided that clearly I could only see a very very small area of China in my 20 days and so I stay in this province until May 1st when I hop up to Beijing!

All is well xx

PS- Having an AMAZING time in China! The people are really very nice, they can't speak English but they do their utmost to help you out. It feels very safe, and rarely do I think someone is trying to rip me off. The only thing I can't get used to is.....drum roll....the hacking and spitting. Urrrgg makes me retch! Even nice pretty girls do it. Gross gross gross.