Xi'an

After a bout of joyous posts below, here is the ugly side of life overseas.
Sure, the independence is great. If you live in somewhere huge like China, ever so often you would get the chance to run off to another part without burning too big a hole in your poor wallet.
But what happens when you are vulnerable, alone with your room-mate, and at the moment-inexperienced?

In Xi'an,

- Our hostel booked before hand, refused to accept us. At 4am, we were left without a place to stay during China's golden week. (For those who do not know, golden week is one of China's major holidays. The entire country flocks to tourist destinations during this week. The crowds are choking and accommodation... what a funny word!-it does not exist.)

-The taxi driver that finally found us a place to stay-note that it was the Presidential suite in some dingy hotel. Demanded an extra 100rmb on top of the taxi fare.

-Our money was repeatedly extorted by numerous kinds of transport. Cheating, refusing to run the meter, you name it, we probably went through it.

-In order to get to a waterfall on a mountain 6-7 hours by coach away from Xi'an, we had to buy illegal tickets as the ticket people refused to sell us tickets to seats on a HALF EMPTY BUS. The man who sold us illegal tickets was in cahoots with the bus driver. Together, they took our 100rmb note and exchanged it for a fake one. This unfortunate incident was only reported to us after we were about 30mins away.

-At the mountain, we were told that without enough people, they would not take us back down. We had to wait till the next morning. Note-once again, no accommodation.

-The bus driver then sent us to a dingy motel far from civilization, next to a construction site where they were taking mud out of the yellow river. 150rmb was the cheapest room. It should have been 50rmb in a place like that. Once again, cahoots.

-Stuck on the mountain, we lost the use of our 280rmb room back in the city. Why 280rmb room you ask? Once again, as it was golden week, we could not get train tickets back to Shanghai. Illegal ticket vendors refused to sell us our HARD SEAT tickets unless we paid for the 280rmb room.

-More more, so much more. I can't begin to describe the horror and dismay that engulfed us throughout the journey.

I would apologize for the lack of craft when writing this entry. However, this was exactly what it is. Ugly, brutal, matter of fact. Cheating.

I have come out of this a different traveler. One that does not trust. No one, anyone, everyone. Walking down the mountain road at night to our dingy motel, my greatest fear wasn't the impenetrable darkness or the chance of rocks tumbling down. No. It was the sound of human voices. A whisper, the flicker of light, even a footstep gripped me with fear. I was scared. Scared of people. People. My own kind. So scared of the very people i put on a pedestal and sought after.

But photos are never ugly are they? Now see the beauty that this country does not deserve.
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I tried to find photos. I can't. The beauty is tainted.