We have been one week in Xining, the Chinese provincial capital of Qinghai. Our 30 day visas are out of date and due to the 8 days public holidays in celebration of the Chinese 60th anniversary, we've had to stay in this city. But Xining has been very, very good to us. We have stayed at the Lete hostel. Its made up of four penthouses on the 15 floor of a tower block. Real modern, cool views and even my 'impossible to please' musical tastes are been pleasantly surprised. In a cafe down the road, we met an American guy who has lived in China for 3 years. Hutch (although here he goes by his Chinese name, Haqi) is an extraordinary man. 69 years of age and its not only what he has already accomplished in life, but his massive plans for the future. He has worked in television in Hollywood for 15 years, being involved in 3 Olympic games and even got to hold the Olympic torch for the recent Chinese games. He has cycled all over China and age is never seen as any kind of barrier in following his dreams. He plans to go on a guided cycling tour through Tibet next year and then to independently cycle around the perimeter of Australia, then New Zealand and then to find some across the South Pacific Ocean to Chile in South America. From here he plans to venture north maybe as far as Ecuador. This is an epic trip by any standards, but when you consider the man's age and the fact that he plans to get around mainly by bicycle, it gives you an indication of his great strength of character. He now has a company here in Xining which helps to spot peoples' talents, motivate them and then direct them through the correct channels to help them in different medias. A very interesting guy to be around. Markus and I have called up to see him in his flat everyday that we have been here. His Chinese secretary, Amily, who speaks very good english, has brought us out to some of Haqis' favourite restaurants. Up till now, Markus and I had generally just pointed at other peoples dishes in busy restaurants, or else just pointed at random things on menus of Chinese script. It didn't really matter to us, as the food was always delicious and we were always hungry enough to eat anything put on front of us. But with Amily's help we got to choose the best of food, the chef's recommendations and we were able to request to level of hot spices used in the dish. There's nothing worse than been real hungry and trying to consume a dish made primarily of chillies.When the PSB (Public Security Bureau), who are responsible for visa extensions, finally opened yesterday after the 8 day public holidays, Amily joined us to make sure everything went smoothly. She showed the police a picture of Haji holding the Olympic torch in one hand and the Chinese flag in the other. She pointed at us, saying the Chinese equivalent of "These guys are his friends and they need a 30 day visa extension". The visa was approved on the spot. It was a Saturday and we collect our visa extension on Monday.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
XINING
We have been one week in Xining, the Chinese provincial capital of Qinghai. Our 30 day visas are out of date and due to the 8 days public holidays in celebration of the Chinese 60th anniversary, we've had to stay in this city. But Xining has been very, very good to us. We have stayed at the Lete hostel. Its made up of four penthouses on the 15 floor of a tower block. Real modern, cool views and even my 'impossible to please' musical tastes are been pleasantly surprised. In a cafe down the road, we met an American guy who has lived in China for 3 years. Hutch (although here he goes by his Chinese name, Haqi) is an extraordinary man. 69 years of age and its not only what he has already accomplished in life, but his massive plans for the future. He has worked in television in Hollywood for 15 years, being involved in 3 Olympic games and even got to hold the Olympic torch for the recent Chinese games. He has cycled all over China and age is never seen as any kind of barrier in following his dreams. He plans to go on a guided cycling tour through Tibet next year and then to independently cycle around the perimeter of Australia, then New Zealand and then to find some across the South Pacific Ocean to Chile in South America. From here he plans to venture north maybe as far as Ecuador. This is an epic trip by any standards, but when you consider the man's age and the fact that he plans to get around mainly by bicycle, it gives you an indication of his great strength of character. He now has a company here in Xining which helps to spot peoples' talents, motivate them and then direct them through the correct channels to help them in different medias. A very interesting guy to be around. Markus and I have called up to see him in his flat everyday that we have been here. His Chinese secretary, Amily, who speaks very good english, has brought us out to some of Haqis' favourite restaurants. Up till now, Markus and I had generally just pointed at other peoples dishes in busy restaurants, or else just pointed at random things on menus of Chinese script. It didn't really matter to us, as the food was always delicious and we were always hungry enough to eat anything put on front of us. But with Amily's help we got to choose the best of food, the chef's recommendations and we were able to request to level of hot spices used in the dish. There's nothing worse than been real hungry and trying to consume a dish made primarily of chillies.When the PSB (Public Security Bureau), who are responsible for visa extensions, finally opened yesterday after the 8 day public holidays, Amily joined us to make sure everything went smoothly. She showed the police a picture of Haji holding the Olympic torch in one hand and the Chinese flag in the other. She pointed at us, saying the Chinese equivalent of "These guys are his friends and they need a 30 day visa extension". The visa was approved on the spot. It was a Saturday and we collect our visa extension on Monday.
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