*choke*

[camwyn]

Was looking for information on train travel to Wuhan. HK and Beijing v. easily accessible by air or train, but most tour agencies don't talk about Wuhan. Turns out the place is like Detroit, only economically much better off and environmentally scary - during the summer they call it one of China's "Three Furnaces" because it gets THAT DAMN HOT. Anyway, a train line runs from Beijing to HK and back again, with stops in several cities including Wuhan. Price for the whole train ride is around $190. I shall have to ask Sunshine Tours (they're located in the Empire State Building) what the price would be to do the on-again-off-again thing, but this is at least reassuring. I really don't fancy the idea of domestic air in a country where my understanding of the written language is less than splendid. ("Um... sir... the lady at the airport told me to get on this plane, but... I could be really wrong, but this looks like Mongolia.") At least with trains you have a chance of figuring things out over time, or getting off at the next stop if there is a problem.

Further research into Wuhan itself revealed that there are other cities in the area considered much more appropriate for tourists. It's just that Wuhan is terribly central and right smack on the Yangtze, plus the whole industrial powerhouse thing. (Think Detroit at its height. Now give it the population of modern-day New York City.) Lots of business stuff, but not all that much tourism. I found a site that was willing to give me the lowdown on the place and started scanning through the attractions. I was nodding at the bit about pavilions with great river views and Buddhist temples, and then I saw this line:

"Surprisingly enough, there are some pleasant little streets and backwaters to be discovered around here and the area around Zhanghan Lu (good for shopping) was apparently the spot where Bladerunner was filmed."

!!

Memo to self: get cardboard cutout of Harrison Ford before trip... *ahem* Anyway. I did find one other thing about the city that made me choke. There was a link in the 'sights' navigation bar that seemed odd, because all it said was 'Chibi'. Y'all know me, you know cadhla; if you're like me and you know her, then your natural thought is 'what does a big-ass industrial Chinese city have to do with weird Japanese art styles?'. Turns out that's not what it means - thank God. Not at all. No, it's this, instead:

"If you don't know the history of Chibi (Red Cliff), the place won't look much more than a village to you..."

I got as far as the words "Red Cliff" before I choked. Red Cliff, or Red Bluffs if you ever read Larry Gonick's Cartoon History of the Universe 2, is the site of the single most climactic battle in all of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. I'm not sure exactly how to compare it to stuff in Western epic literature, as it hasn't exactly the mythic significance of Arthur's battle at Mount Badon- I suppose the use of intelligence, trickery, Taoist magic, and a handful of skilled warriors against an enormous if not exactly well-finessed fleet makes it the equivalent of the battle of Helm's Deep, only no Rohirrim or swishy elves and the explosives would have been used from the fortress against the Uruk-hai instead of the other way around.

Dude. I have to go. Even if it is only a moderately attractive city and Chibi (mostly just a village now, but there's a monument outside town) is eighty km away. ctrips.com says it's a 2.5 hour train ride to Chibi. I can live with that. I'll bring a camera, I'll bring a sketch pad, I'll scare my penpal.

... Christ, I really AM Carrot, aren't I? Some of the most gorgeous scenery in the country lies in other cities along this river, and what gets me excited? The place of historical significance in a work of ancient literature. I wonder if they've got an interesting bit of iron bollard.

Oh, and ctrips.com reports that most of the accommodations in the city of Wuhan are upscale, because it's business travelers. Cheap hotels don't like renting to foreigners. The universities, on the other hand, rent dorm beds to foreign students. I'm looking at a rate between $3 and $16 American (30 RMB to 140 RMB) a night, with the current exchange rate.

I am so easy to please sometimes.

Comments

You're getting ripped off.

[mtr1966.livejournal.com]

There is not a single train trip on any train anywhere in China that costs 1520RMB (which is what your $190 amounts to). Whoever wants to sell you that ticket is a consummate rip-off artist. (It would be cheaper for you to FLY to Wuhan at that fare!) I recommend that you come to China using your travel agent and then travel yourself using local resources and your own initiative. It's not as difficult as it may seem and you'll be much better off for it. Travel agencies targetting foreigners are complete scams here. They'll give you the same trip they give locals (or even lamer trips) for a whole lot more money.

If you're going to Wuhan, let me know when. I have a friend there I could tap for a favour and, if it's over a weekend, I could even drop by there myself. If you need to talk to someone who can actually speak unaccented English at full speed, give me a call as well: (+86) 1366 792 5140. Having a friend on the scene--especially if that friend has connections (even only minor ones)--can make a huge difference in costs.

And whatever you do, DON'T EVERY BUY ANYTHING TOURIST-ORIENTED WITHOUT HAGGLING! You damned tourists make it tough for we expats to buy things at reasonable prices. ;-D

Re: You're getting ripped off.

[camwyn]

There is not a single train trip on any train anywhere in China that costs 1520RMB (which is what your $190 amounts to).

I was picking out prices based on 'what's the worst they could possibly charge me' for most of my figures - the $190 price quoted is for a deluxe soft sleeper berth, but as I said, that's the travel agency here in the states. It gets even more annoying when you look at their fine print, as they want to add an extra $10 booking fee/handling charge. This, despite the following from their web page:

"Reservation is made by New York office, but the ticket can only be issued by our local office in Hong Kong and China. The ticket will be picked up at local office by yourself before departure. Or, we can deliver the ticket to your hotel at additional service charge of $25 for per delivery/service."

Yeesh. I think Ticketmaster is their business model.

I still have to talk to my penpals about what part of September would be best for them, since they're the folks I'd be visiting in HK and Wuhan. Most likely mid-month or late month, for what that's worth. Once I have dates settled, I'll let you know.

Now what remains is to find airfare, and save the money for it. Right now Malaysia Airlines has a deal out - for $999 I can fly round trip to HK or any of about 24 other southeast Asian cities, as long as I leave from Newark and fly into Kuala Lumpur. (It's actually $899 if I do it right now, but it goes up to $1,399 in a few months and then down to $999 on August 15th.) That's my current benchmark on price. The lower I can drop it without flying on Pop's Airline ("Pop speaking!"), the happier I'll be.

[dormouse-in-tea.livejournal.com]

*laughs*

Cheap date!

No, seriously, this is why we love you. Because you are not like the other kid.

[camwyn]

Cheap date!

Yup. Only I think most dates carry a somewhat greater expectation of privacy than what I'm willing to put up with in my vacations.

Because you are not like the other kid.

Suppressing urge to say 'his name is Melvin, and he plays soccer' now... sorry. *grin*