Trip of a lifetime

here's a favourite poem of mine:

Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

Constantine P. Cavafy (1911)

 

 

Last week I turned 41. In a typically generous move, my typically generous husband did not so much as raise an eyebrow when I told him I hoped to spend my birthday weekend hiking in middle China with my girlfriend Janne.

This much anticipated trip was a short one. We left Thursday afternoon. We travelled light, and ironically, almost identically. If we had conferenced beforehand, we would have been able to agree that ONE of us bring the medical kit and the OTHER pack torches. But better safe than sorry. We each carried one backpack and a bag. And headed for the train station.

We did last minute wees, and got in line for the train to Guangzhou. We had great seats, and even though everybody and their cousin smoked, we were off. for an adventure.

One of the reasons I have been wanting to take this trip so badly is because I have been feeling like I haven't done an adventure lately. I travelled to India by myself. Charles and I went to Nepal. I went to Costa Rica and found my cousin, even though I only knew the city she lived in.I love my life now

but I loved that life too.

And now we were going on adventure. Hiking in Hunan. We had a few arrangements, but this was inner China, and we knew we would be "roughing it". We couldn't wait.

Guangzhou was easy to get into, except my friend's criminal tendencies (OH THOSE DANISH) were revealed as she was stopped at the border for trying to smuggle in contraband items - three apples. The guard confiscated them and we reckon took them home. He certainly didn't dump them into the bin.

Our next move was to transfer train stations.  The subway is Guangzhou is easy to understand, clean and we had a map. We bought tokens no problem and were on our way. We had to transfer trains, and while we exited charmingly, we couldn't quite figure out which train to get on. We decided to ask a guard, who didn't speak English, but pointed to the other train. That doesn't count as getting lost does it?

We jumped on the train, made friends with a toothless old lady who wanted us to sit beside her, and a few stops later, we were at our new station.

Our train didn't leave until 8.20 and it was barely 6.50. What were we going to do? Sit in another smoky waiting room? HARDLY. We decided to take a little walk. We darted past the barrier and stepped into the massive square that many cross to head to the trains ticketing barriers.

Shenzhen is the chinese city i visit the most, and it is a bit of a truman show there. It is a massive city, but the parts I visit aren't really local. You get to Guangzhou and you do feel like you are in China. There were people carrying babies on carriers made of bamboo and cane. The babies were thrilled. And everyone was carrying a bucket. This was our mystery. Why is everyone carrying a bucket? But I suppose it makes sense. It can carry stuff, and you can turn it over and sit on it.

In the square, there were people selling food, plush toys, electronic yappy dogs, and many people just hanging around. Others were moving swiftly, headed to the train station, others were exiting from it.

Janne and I saw four fast food restaurants: two McDonalds, a KFC and a "kung Fu". She said, "this might be kenneth's favourite McDonalds!" Which one? One was very close. The other was past the impromptu food stalls and was across the freeway. We'd have to figure out how to get there. We could get lost, and we did have a train to catch.

"Well, we already know where this other one is, incase we can't find that one," I said, gesturing to the far away McDonalds. And she smiled, and replied, "I love it when you think like me."

We set off, and decided we were looking for a subway or overpass. As we were wending our way through the square, a delicious smell hit our nose. It was a type of flat bread, seasoned with coriander or sesame seeds. There were many such stalls. The sellers appeared to be originally from SErbia or Khazakstan.

We went under the Subway, across a street, and into the McDonalds, where my persuasive friend talked me into having my first Big Mac in years. If I eat at McDonalds I normally hoover up the kids nuggets. The McDonalds was massive and filled with the rising middle classes. Women in flowing robes, many african women, and obvious "office workers" with double layers of false lashes surrounded us, as did two teenage boys playing video games.

We visited the bathrooms (squatter again) and headed over to the train station. But first we bought the fantastic flat bread (with sesame street). Six massive pieces (about the size of a medium pizza base) were 4RMB, and included a bottle of water and a smaller sample bread. It was dark now, and it was getting interesting. Smells, sounds, everything. Even languages.

At the station, there were huge lineups, but since we already held tickets, we thought we were exempt from the queues, and so we just went to where a train was advertising our destination.

We approached a fellow, and handed him our ticket.

He shook his head.

And pointed. And then walked with us outside the terminal to the queues.

Fair enough. We retraced our steps and I began wondering what in my bag was so heavy.

We joined a random queue and when we got to the front, we smiled and were let through. The guard said, "Where from?" and I replied, "Canada!" and Janne said "Denmark". Very good! We were informed.

We sat in the massive hallway that had signs declaring that there was no smoking allowed and watched as everyone around us smoked.

Finally it was time for the train to board.

So many people pushing into a tiny gate. Thankfully, we are pretty pushy when necessary.

We made it through, went down an escalator, down a long hallway, then turned left and there was our train.

We found our car, and stepped on board. Then we found our compartment, set our bags down, and looked at our home for the next 12 hours.

All we had to do was wait for our roommates to arrive.

We had booked the two bottom berths of a four sleeper. Our pajama party pals could be....anyone!

Suddenly it was five minutes before the train left....and we had no roommates. Janne and I looked at each other. Was there the possibility that we would be the only people in our compartment?

Suddenly our door handle jiggled. But the door didn't open.

I looked out the window. Our train should have left. This was agony.

To pass the time I looked around me. The room was about 1 meter and a half wide, and eight feet tall, six feet deep. We had a large window. The beds were 3/4 of a meter, and although firm, comfortable. There was a quilt! Perhaps Janne and I wouldn't need the sleeping bags we had brought!

And the train started moving! Not only were we free of roommates, but we were on our way.

I am smiling as i write this.

Comments

[Jill Swann]

And?......And?.............?

I'm getting itchy feet to travel again - and this just makes it come alive......

[edebock]

Can't wait to read about the rest of your adventure!

[Maureen Lyons]

Great first part of your story, Tess! Itching for the second installment. M xox

[Boulder]

I'm so terribly THRILLED that you decided on an adventure for you birthday, and did it up true ADVENTURE-style!! Life is too short to miss chances to do and see amazing things in this world.
xoxo