After a long week of not getting much sleep we awoke at 6am on a SATURDAY to catch a bus for the 4 hour journey to Putian. Not much is said on the way to the bus station as both Phil and I are zombies only wanting to get onto the bus so that we can return to our slumber. After little trouble we are soon on the bus and my ipod is helping me get back to sleep. After a short sleep I awake to the bus slowing down and realize that we are in some sort of traffic jam, Phil also wakes up to see whats going on. Having not been awake for more than 5 minutes the driver turns to us (we are in the front seats) and starts yelling for us to do something. I turn to Phil to ask him what is being said but he says nothing, instead looking rather puzzled himself. The driver is motioning us off of the bus so I follow Phil off while everyone else stays put. Phil then explains to me that the driver wants us to direct traffic because cars are coming on the off-ramp that we need to take. Just as Phil finishes saying this two semi trucks come around the corner right at us and we just start waving our hands trying to get them to turn around. Phil approaches one driver and I go to the other and just repeat mei-you (may-yo), roughly meaning no, unable to give a further explanation to the driver. Luckily this suffices for the driver and he starts to turn around after he sees the traffic jam ahead. Pretty soon we see the driver of the bus running down the off-ramp toward us yelling at the trucks to turn around. Its pretty obvious he is loving the situation as am I, and that its the most adventure he has seen in a while. We board the bus again and are quickly on our way, what an adventure! Needless to say it was pretty hard to get back to sleep.
We arrive in Putian around 1 and get off the bus and immediately I am reminded of my trip to Africa, the smell, the atmosphere and the HEAT! The smell being one of automobile exhaust and burning brush, very distinct to Africa and apparently Putian. The feel of Putian is much more rural and not as modern as Xiamen, despite being roughly equal in size. As we exit to the bus station we see about two dozen motorcycle taxis waiting, all of which get excited at the sight of a white face and begin to compete for our business. We both hop on one and speed off to downtown ignoring all traffic laws on our way, I think that the driver felt he had to show off for the laowei (foreigner). We arrive at Phil's house and have dinner with his mother and grandpa and head off to the mountain, only after Phil's mom expresses some worry and tells us to be careful, mothers don't change too much with culture I guess.
The walk to the mountain from Phil's house is an amazing exposure to a side of China that I had missed being in Xiamen and I love taking in the sights and sounds of it all. We stop to ask an old woman for directions and after an attempt Phil tells me that she could not understand him. He is a bit disheartened as the local dialect he is speaking cannot be understood, too much time in Xiamen I guess. We get directions from another person and continue on our way. The hike up begins with a discussion on some Chinese history. Having limited knowledge I am eager to get Phil's perspective on things from the Nanjing massacre to China's current position in the world. I chime in a bit on US history and we are able to relate after I mention Pearl harbor. The conversation soon fades as the hike gets harder and we are both simply trying to gather some mental toughness to get to a spot to stop for the night. We decide on a spot on the side of a road we come to about 3/4 of the way to the top (and no it was not road the whole way up, just the last quarter). After a fire and a dinner of mostly junk food (cookies, chips, sausage) we head to bed. Morning comes way too early and we pack up and get to the top around 9AM. After a brief chat with the 3 guys running a radio tower at the top we make our way down to a temple that is about 1/4 of the way down. Phil finds someone who is heading down the mountain so we hop in. It amazes me how the message even comes across, between the local dialect sounding almost like donald duck and the cigarette in Phil's mouth, but what do I know. We pay the driver and make our way to a local lake for a swim before our bus trip back to Xiamen. The swim hits the spot, and we even do some fishing with a group of locals at the lake who join us for the swim. After a bite to eat and a shower at Phil's house we are soon on the bus back to Xiamen and are both passed out, exhausted from the weekend. Luckily there is no traffic directing this time and we make is back to Xiamen slightly refreshed.
1 comment:
Awesome story! Phil sounds like a fun friend to have. i saw all the pictures of your adventure, pretty cool. Wow, it's so funny - I remember before you left, you thought you'd be missing out on summer time here with us, but now I feel like im missing out on China's summer with you! haha. sounds like youre having an wild and awesome experience, and hey- if the engineering path doesnt work out, it sounds like you'd be great at directing traffic! haha. i miss you!
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