China impressions Dec2023

China impressions Dec2023
A detailed description of my trip to China 7-20dec2023 is beyond the scope of my blog, but here some short impressions.

Sightseeing
A lot of world-class, but little known outside China, sightseeing. Mountains that eclipse everything I have seen before. My trip was Chengdu, Emei, Leshan, Chongqing, Fengdu. Few foreign tourists. In my two weeks, I spotted 4 other Whites. In Thailand, stopping in Lotus Prasart (Surin province) for lunch, I spotted 4 Whites. But local tourists, even in low season: people, people, everywhere people!

Leshan Buddha, source: internet.

Emei mountain, source: internet.

Language
Very little English spoken. But I have been studying Chinese for some years. Without Chinese, it would have been difficult to get around. Geographical situation is similar to South America (an entire continent where no English is spoken). Both have a large domestic market and far/long/expensive to get from from three sides. South America has Antarctica in the south and oceans east and west, only to the north other countries, and they speak Spanish as well. China has vast empty land north and west and ocean east, only to the south and Japan other countries.

Recent interesting articles on the subject of language learning:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/dec/27/english-world-power-language-linguistic-justice
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/dec/29/the-costs-and-benefits-of-english-as-a-lingua-franca

Money
Money exchange in bank and withdrawing money from ATM works the same as elsewhere. They use banknotes and coins, but you can get around easily without using coins. Many ticket machines are for digital payment only, but still some that take cash. Elsewhere as well, cash can be used everywhere to pay, and digital in many places.

Infrastructure
Great infrastructure. Especially the high-speed trains are cheap, fast, run frequently, on time, clean. Applies to subway and mono rail as well. Puts German railway services to shame. A trip from Chongqing Shapingba to Chengdu East is 250 km by air, cost about 20 USD and took 1 h 10 min with a maximum speed of 346 km/h. Amazing!

Hotels
Decent hotels, bookable on western platforms (agoda, trip.com), even cheaper than elsewhere in SEAsia. I set a new record for best value for money.

The Great Chinese Firewall
Accessible websites: tripadvisor, checkfelix, skyscanner, onwardticket, thetaiger, pattayamail, irrawaddy.com, gayguides, sawatdeenetwork, shamelessmack, stickmanbangkok, hornet, blued, gayromeo. Search on internet with bing.com, use bing maps and mapcarta. Bing is a Microsoft service, why is this allowed, whereas google is blocked? Agoda app works but when I want to make a booking, a Chinese note appears and I have to “register to book”. When I use WeChat to register, I get into a loop. Instead, I did my hotel bookings with trip.com.

Blocked websites: all google services (googlemail, googlemaps), wikipedia international (Chinese version works), Facebook, Instagram, Facebook messenger, Twitter (now X), Line. Bangkokpost, christianpfc.blogspot.com (not personal, blogger is a google service), Utopia Asia, archive.org, grindr. I used ExpressVPN, it didn't work to get around the firewall.

Maps
Worldwide except China I do all my navigation with google maps. Google maps is blocked in China, and in addition coverage is poor, and road network is misaligned by about 500 m from satellite image. Three good reasons to use the Chinese equivalent Amap = gaode.

Amap has all bus and train schedules and current location as well. Whereas google maps does not fully cover public transport in Thailand and Vietnam, and doesn't have bus lines in Phnom Penh at all. Wherever I go, I download local apps for buses.

Only drawback of Amap, there is no English version (not a problem for me, I can read Chinese) and satellite image is poor. Here the same area on google maps and Amap:

To get a better satellite picture, I use mapcarta or bing maps. Mapcarta has better elevation lines than google maps. AllTrails app has hiking trails in China, and some in Thailand that I didn't know of.

Climate
I misjudged the climate. I thought it would be 10-15 C, but it was 5-10 C. A bit cold for me, and next time I will plan better according to climate. The same day, temperature could be – 30 C in Harbin and + 30 C in Hainan.

Expenses
My general formula for SEAsia works here as well. Per day I spend on average 15 USD on accommodation, 10 USD on food and 10 USD on travel and sightseeing. That can be one day a 20 USD train ride or entry fee, and another day walking around in town for free.

Food
Delicious local oranges, kumquat, radish, Lay's with lime flavor. In Chengdu and Chongqing, there are a few high-priced Italian restaurants, but no middle-class as you find dozens elsewhere in SEAsia. I spent the full two weeks without pizza or pasta.

Here a menu. Everything in red (I don't like chilly) and brown (a lot of meat, I don't like that either) is unsuitable for me. But the boiled leek and pork dumplings (with garlic and leek dipping sauce) are delicious!

There is no tea in China
In Myanmar it is standard that free hot tea is served in restaurants, and it's delicious! I could get drunk on that tea. In Thailand it's rare, and during my stay in China I haven't seen tea served for free anywhere. 

Gay venues and encounters
Search on bing in English leads to https://www.travelgay.com/chengdu-gay-bars MC Pub 1F Haicheng Dasha, 6 Tianxianqiao N Rd, Jinjiang, Chengdu, China. Marked as “closed” on travelgay, but in walking distance to my hotel, so I went there and a local told me it (bar and only gay sauna in Chengdu) closed years ago.

Search on baidu in Chinese 成都同志 gave only few results either.
https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/381402019?utm_id=0
No.2 Tata 地址：一环路东五段87号阳光新业5楼橙天嘉禾影院旁
Picture looks promising. I find the address on Amap, can easily walk from my hotel. However at that address there is another business (SINTA), closed when I'm there about 9 pm.

If search on a Chinese website in Chinese doesn't give anything useful, there is nothing more I can do. I give up.

Online dating doesn't work either. Grindr is blocked. Hornet and blued only few profiles. Blued is from China, and works well in SEAsia, so I thought that would be the app. But within 300 km from Chengdu, that would cover a population of over 30 m, there are only 30 profiles. And scrolling a bit further, I get: "There are no more guys, please check it later." 

I have scrolled to the end of blued!

In some way, my approach is completely wrong. Is there an international version of blued that I'm using and a local version they are using? Ask on gay forums and that is confirmed.
https://www.gayguides.com/forums/topic/40403-chengdu-and-chongqing/
https://sawatdeenetwork.com/v4/showthread.php?23162-Chengdu-and-Chongqing

On the other hand, in 2021 in Cambodia I met two Chinese who didn't speak any English and were using the international version of blued.

Summary
Good reasons to come again. Sightseeing (Danxia Mountain in Shaoguan, Fanjingshan, Zhangjiajie, each of them alone worth a trip to China any season, and in summer Bejing and Shanghai would suit me by climate) and continue my search for gay life in China.

Copyright 2023 ChristianPFC

Kampong Speu attractions

Kampong Speu attractions
Places we went to on a weekend trip (from Phnom Penh, two days and one night in Kampong Speu = Krong Chbar Mon), not comprehensive.

1. Phnom Chas National Park
2. "The Great Wall of Cambodia"
3. Te Teuk Pus Hot Spring
4. Phnom Preah Pagoda
5. Institut Bouddhique Preah Sihanouk Dhammadhiraj
6. Details about traveling

1. Phnom Chas National Park
On google maps: PHNOM CHAS NATIONAL PARK រមណីយដ្ឋាន ភ្នំចាស់ 11.6159, 104.2487.

Free entry, parking on the grounds of the temple of same name. Start of stairway, concrete statues of turtles and a frog.

Stairway through caves and religious sites (like elsewhere, no pictures). On top of mountain rocks and a viewpoint.

2. "The Great Wall of Cambodia"
There are several quarries around, which you can only see from above because they operate as an open pit. One of them is next to road and NP, and they built a wall of stone blocks along the road, which I call “The Great Wall of Cambodia”.

3. Te Teuk Pus Hot Spring
On google maps: Te Teuk Pus Hot Spring (ទេទឹកពុះ) ទេទឹកពុះ 11.7239, 104.0552.

The only hot spring I know of in Cambodia (and internet and friends say this is the only one). Actually it’s a cluster of hot springs, one open to public and another hot spring is being developed into a resort. 9.5 km from Oral town roundabout, but this part of hwy44 is a dirt track and took us half an hour by car.

All that matter you see on the bottom (except at the lowest part where the hot water is coming out) is not mineral deposit as I thought, but organic matter (spongy, probably algae). The wind ripples the water surface, else you would have a clear view to the bottom.

A water analysis was published in: Bulletin of Cambodian Chemical Society 10 (2019): 30-37. Online here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340163677_Assessing_Water_Quality_of_Te_Teuk_Pus_Hot_Spring_in_Kampong_Speu_Province_of_Cambodia

My observations: There is a weak smell when you get 5 m near the water. The water has a slightly soapy feeling on my fingers. Where it comes out of the ground, the water is too hot to touch (but not hot enough to shrink PET bottles), but on the sides you can shortly dip your hand in. I took a sample of 0.5 L and drank it (no particular taste) after cooling to room temperature.

The stream has comfortable temperature for bathing. I lay down in the stream, but that was not a good idea as only half of my body was in water, and the ground is muddy. Better just to dip your feet in.

4. Phnom Preah Pagoda
On google maps: Phnom Preah Pagoda វត្តវរៈបព្វតារាម (ហៅ ភ្នំព្រះ) 11.6705, 104.3258.

From Kampong Speu Market 40 km by car. Best access according to locals not via hwy44, but hwy1440 and then dirt track, passing shrine at 11.6604, 104.3600. Including about 10 minutes stop at shrine took us 1 hour 20 minutes.

Temple and mountain behind (made up of boulders with some vegetation, I have not seen such a huge pile of boulders elsewhere).

There is an un-marked trail (without my friends asking locals for directions, I would not have found it) that leads through forest to a way up the boulders. We are like ants going over gravel! The boulders are weathered granite, rough surface easy to grab.

We get up a few hundred meters but then come to a point where there is no obvious/easy way to continue. But I would love to go up all the way with a guide!

Pagoda erected on naturally stacked boulders.

Other interesting places on the temple grounds. A bridge over a stream. (And religious buildings in similar style, no pictures.)

Grassland with interesting boulders. One looks like an elephant and the other is as big as a house. They all have smooth surface, must be much younger than those we climbed.

Standing Buddha (the tallest I know of in Cambodia) and platform erected over two boulders.

Gold painted religious buildings and another view of the mountain made up of boulders.

5. Institut Bouddhique Preah Sihanouk Dhammadhiraj
Google maps: ពុទ្ធសាសនមណ្ឌលព្រះសីហនុធម្មាធិរាជ 11.4775, 104.5637.
 
I drove past this pink gate several times on public transport, now is the occasion to stop and have a look. The lawn is kept well, but the buildings are not in regular use. I spot some people further inside.

Diagonally across is Noreak Borei Museum សារមន្ទីរ​នរបុរី (about history, art, religion), worth a visit another day.

6. Details about traveling
After an okay trip https://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2021/10/kampong-chhnang-attractions.html with B two weeks ago, I suggested we go to Kampong Speu and told him my points of interest. I told B he can bring up to 5 friends and I will pay for car, accommodation and food. B suggested we rent a van (with automatic and manual gear shift?) which would be easier to drive on the dirt roads (or did he already have in mind to bring more people?).

Sat25sep2021 Phnom Penh to Kampong Speu
I get up in the morning and find B’s friends rented the room next to mine for an early start. When I go out to hallway there are 2 men and 5 women waiting for me. That’s not what I had in mind! In the end we would be 12 in the van, only three of them I know. I pay 200 USD for car (80 USD rental for one day and 40 USD deposit).

Without my knowledge, B had arranged a police escort for us from Kampong Speu. The police escort is free of charge, but after hiking in the National Park, B has arranged a lunch for us (12 in our group and 8 police/rangers) that cost me 95 USD! Later I have some words with him to stop organizing things without consulting me.

At night stay in a hotel in Kampong Speu for 14 USD/night. They allow only 5 guests in a room with double bed. I pay for two rooms and they pay for the third room. 

Kampong Speu is only 50 km from Phnom Penh, you could argue if it’s worth staying over night or going back and everyone sleeps at their own place.

Sun26sep2021 Kampong Speu to Phnom Penh
The girls have gone home, now it’s just us 7 men. Police/Rangers escort us to Phnom Preah Pagoda. Free lunch at temple (either the temple hands out free food or the boys paid for it?). Evening return to Phnom Penh.

The first trip I did with B and his friend got out of hands time-wise (two days instead of day trip) and subsequently money-wise (car rental for three days instead of one). This trip got out of hand by number of people and money-wise. I will give us one more chance.

Financial summary: car rental 160 USD, fuel 93, hotel 28 (two rooms, and third room 14 they paid), breakfast (for 12) 25, lunch (for 20) 92, dinner (for 12) 25, breakfast (for 7) 16, lunch free, dinner (for 7) 28. Sum 467 USD. Technically I would get 40 deposit back, I told B to keep the money for me, but I guess he has long spent it, so I will not mention it again. Total cost 507 USD.

But I use to say "Money can be replaced, time cannot." and recently in a bar I saw a less elegant variation (even incorrect: money does not "return", you have work for it or have other sources of income; and how does time return?):

Travel while you can!

Copyright 2021 ChristianPFC except memes

Kampong Chhnang attractions

Kampong Chhnang attractions
Places we went to on a weekend trip (from Phnom Penh, two days and one night in Kampong Chhnang), not comprehensive.

1. Bardez stupa (assassination site 1925)
2. Abandoned airport
3. Ferry across Tonle Sap river
4. Phnom Kong Rei
5. Details about travelling

1. Bardez stupa (assassination site 1925).
On google maps only in Khmer as ចេតីយ ប៉ាដេស ភូមិក្រាំងលាវ in front of Wat Balang Reangsey (highway 145, dust road). Coordinates 12.2344, 104.557.

Stupa erected to commemorate the assassination of French ambassador while collecting taxes. I was not aware of this bit of history, and there is only little literature in English on the internet, e.g.

Stupefying tale behind the ‘Beast People’ August 30, 2019
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/638658/stupefying-tale-behind-the-beast-people/

Nearly a century after the bloody murder of a French colonial official, a village still bears the mark of the ‘beast’ 19 January 2018
https://www.phnompenhpost.com/post-life/nearly-century-after-bloody-murder-french-colonial-official-village-still-bears-mark-beast

And an article on Wikipedia, but only in Polish:
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felix_Louis_Bardez 

It seems no maintenance since erection, it is in a beautiful state of abandonment/decay:

There are flowers growing on the stupa:

Statue of the woman who assassinated Bardez is a later addition:

2. Abandoned airport
South entrance at 12.2436, 104.5666 blocked for cars, mocy would be able to pass on the grassland. My friend translated from farmers living nearby: access blocked to prevent locals from racing on the runway and leaving a mess. For more (history of construction during Red Khmer, how other tourists managed to get to control tower) read here:

https://www.kathmanduandbeyond.com/abandoned-cambodia-former-khmer-rouge-airport-kampong-chhnang/ They managed to get in. At that time grey weathered concrete, now painted yellow.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kampong-chhnang-airport
Recent pictures (yellow painted tower)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kampong_Chhnang_Airport

Concrete runway looks like new. Farmers and security keep everything in good condition.





3. Ferry across Tonle Sap river
It’s rare that I take a ferry, even rarer with car, so this is worth mentioning. The ferry leaves about every 30 minutes from “Kampong Leng Ferry Dock” (the blue dotted line on google maps ends at a place that is not the ferry port), and takes the shortest route to “Kampong Leaeng Ferry” (not the longer route blue dotted line on google maps). Just twenty years ago, most crossings of rivers in Cambodia were by ferry. Now this is one of the few left, and probably will remain as the river is wide at this spot and there is not much on the other side.

There are two ferries. On going upper passenger deck open, on return upper passenger deck with roof.

.

4. Phnom Kong Rei
For details (folktale story) read e.g. here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phnom_Kong_Rei It took us about 1 hour to get up, with ample rests. Start of stairway (with car park and shelter and an old man who will tell the story of the mountain and a kind of map) at 12.3073, 104.7145.
.
View of mountain from pier (West side of Tonle Sap River):
.

.

From there it's 244 steps to a level place with shrine. The man who built the stairway ? (T suggested a donation of 5 USD for  maintenance work and to buy more concrete to continue construction) lives there. It's a few 100 m detour to the East to a well. The man who lives there drinks this water all the time, and after B had a glass, I had a glass of water from the well as well.

40 more steps, then path on soil or rock. I continued counting estimated steps and it would be 965 steps to the top. On google maps it's 280 m vertical distance from parking to top. End of stairway:

About halfway up, a rock with a shrine and view West over Tonle Sap River to Kampong Chhnang town and Aoral mountain in background.

Top of the mountain another rock with shrine and great views. Picture is view to the South.

5. Details about travelling
A friend B suggested we go to Kampong Chhnang for sightseeing on the weekend, i.e. he had some ideas where to go, I have the money to pay for a rented car, and I added some places I wanted to see.

Sat11sep2021 Phnom Penh to Kampong Chhnang
Everyone (B who will drive, his friends T and J, car from car rental delivered to my hotel) is ready in the morning for departure 8 am. I pay 200 USD for car (Lexus 300, 60 USD rental for one day and 140 USD deposit, there are probably cheaper options but I left all planning to B).

Car dashboard was in non-metric units (MPH, MPG, deg F). No USB charger. Fuel pointer not working/disabled points to Empty all the time, because car converted to CNG/LPG, with an indicator lamp not visible from passenger front seat, but B says there is an indicator lamp that shows low fuel level.

Delays in Oudong due to construction work on road. This has been going on for months and it takes about 1 hour to pass 10 km (Oudong town and construction site).

Bardez Stupa and abandoned airport to plan. But then B tells me we are going to J’s grandpa’s house for lunch. They want to have lunch there to save me money. Next time have to tell them that not money, but daylight is my limiting factor. When we pass a hotel, he mentions “This is the hotel.” (What hotel? This is a daytrip!). I ask about ferry: It takes one hour and the last will be soon, we can’t do it today (ferry crossing and Phnom Kong Rei). I have nothing important for tomorrow, so I resign on an unplanned overnight stay in Kampong Chhnang (just like in Thailand, I plan to overnight in every province anyway).

Arrive at grandpa’s house. They have fish, but I don’t eat fish during sightseeing trips because I’m afraid of fish bone and it takes me long to eat, wasting daylight time. They would buy a chicken for me, but preparation would take at least 30min. We drive back to town to get food for me and back to grandpa’s house. It starts to rain, so the afternoon is lost for sightseeing anyway, but watch out for the future: no family reunion, utterly boring and waste of daylight!

At Rama Hotel, they don’t have a room for 4 people, so I pay for two double rooms (15 USD each). There are more hotels we could check, but it’s 5 pm and I still have one hour of daylight for walking around in town and taking pictures, every delay would greatly reduce this time.

Sun12sep2021 Kampong Chhnang to Phnom Penh
For lunch after climbing the mountain, the boys want to go to nearby restaurant that has turtle for 8 USD. We have a look at the live turtles, but it turns out the price for a turtle dish would be 20 USD, which I refuse to pay. We have lunch for 4 from menu for 25 USD (I pay).

The boys talk about going to Kep tomorrow and ask me to join. No way! Kep is a bit far for a daytrip, and too close to this trip which was supposed to be a daytrip, but turned out to be over night. Then I learn that the car has to be returned before 5 pm, else another day is charged. Too late already (would take 4 hours to get back to Phnom Penh). Earlier talk about going to Kep tomorrow was based on renting the car one day longer! That makes 3 days x 60 USD/day = 180 USD for car rental.

That leaves 20 USD change, which T wants to share with B as tip for translation and driving, I agree. Kind of: if I have 200 USD (proven by putting it as deposit), I can as well spend it.

T asks about dinner, I say I will eat in my room. “How can we eat?” so I invite them to streetside restaurant. But then I see what the problem is: “You mean you don’t have money for dinner?” – “Yes.” So I give him 5 USD. Get out of here before they ask for money for petrol and food for tomorrow trip to Kep.

Twice as long (overnight instead of daytrip) and three times (car rental three days instead of one) as expensive than I had planned.

When I had a trip with Thai friends https://christianpfc.blogspot.com/2015/11/trip-to-nakon-nayok-with-some-thai.html it was a disaster, a complete waste of time and money (I could have gone cheaper and more comfortable alone). 

This trip with Khmer friends did not go to plan (my plan, but maybe they had another plan and it went to their plan?) either, but I saw interesting places that I didn’t even know about, and with some adjustments I would do another trip with them. 

Addendum:

Meme flammable house
"assassination of French ambassador while collecting taxes"

The airport was my change of plan (I did not know we would drive past the airport), taking at least one hour.

Way more expensive than I had planned, but: Money returns, time does not.

Copyright 2021 ChristianPFC