| walls and firewalls |
[Jan. 16th, 2008|11:00 pm] |
Since Livejournal is a danger to the Party, it is blocked here, which is just plain annoying. I can post using proxy sites, but I haven't found any proxy that will actually get me all the way to viewing friend's pages. So for now, I hope you are all doing well, I'll catch up on your various adventures in a month when I make it to India.
I came straight to Beijing from Hong Kong, on a 24 hour overnight sleeper train. My passport was stamped out of Hong Kong in the station, I boarded the train with the rest, and then we were locked into the cars for the duration of the trip. Only on reaching Beijing station were we herded through passport control. My wan salmon-colored visa for China has a picture of the Great Wall on it. It's the best symbol to welcome a visitor, don't you think?
My first impression of China proper is simply that it is cold. And vast. And full of people. The train station teems with thousands dressed in drab blacks and greys, occasionally punctuated by women in red quilted coats reaching below their knees. Even rarer is the yellow winter jacket. Children are the last bastion of color, nestled snug in thick bright wraps so that they can barely toddle along. For convenience, many toddlers sport split pants, so they can easily squat without taking off any clothing. Consequently it is not uncommon to see a babe in arms with their little bum-cheeks peeking out from their pants as rosily as their smiling faces from their hats.
My first day and a half were spent frantically shopping for winter clothing to protect me from the -5 degree (C) weather. Now I am in possession of wool long underwear, wool socks, a winter jacket, wool sweater, gloves, hat, and scarf. So now it takes about 10 minutes before my fingers are numb, instead of one! Things are looking up. :) |
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