Training Log Archive: Nadim

Xian, China.  After a morning of traveling by plane (the very dry mountainous landscape we flew over was rugged; we flew over the wall segment I'd climbed yesterday.  For the first hourI didn't seen any of the large buildings like in Beijing.) we got introduced to Xian (pronounced Shian) by going to the southeast corner tower of the 600 year old City Wall.  Getting to the City Wall from the airport, the pollution was evident but it didn't choke me like in Egypt we arrived on a good day. The main industries are government/military, information technology (said to be their Silicon Valley), coal mining, and tourism. A coating of dust was on everything. 

The City Wall is pretty incredible. Made of kilned bricks, it's 12 m high, about the same width or more, and 14 km around the perimeter.  That's not not the same scale as The Great Wall of China but it's taller and wider, and also bigger than any other ancient city wall that I know of.  

After the short intro we got shuttled inside for an education on Feung Shuey architecture. This was like a one of those real estate deals where they invite you over for a free gift if you listen to their pitch except it was much more subtle. The gift was the education and the time spent was not so voluntary. They claim that it's a museum to get you in then shut the thin sliding door.  A partner even waits at the exit and that gave me the feeling that it wasn't the way to leave.  The lecture did educate me (they told me that Feung Shuey started in Xian) so that part was tolerable.  They had some interesting examples, one of which included our Beijing hotel, which showed how the architects tried to channel good and bad energy. The showed how building desire with sharp corners were 'selfish' or aggressively directed at competitors and how others used holes and mirrors in buildings that were being shown the sharp edge.  It ended 45 minutes later with a little story about how one can ritually rub a pichu (a marble dragon)to get good luck. The shuttled us upstairs to a shop next to give us a chance to buy a small one.  Though the real one was marble, I think the museum guide slipped by saying that the pichus like the ones they were selling, had to be jade.  I suppose it's to be expected since after all we were on the famed Silk Road.  It seems to have parallels with the pilgrims who made their way to Cantebury--that's even another walled city that I've been to and this is all part of traveling.  

Xian is where the Chinese or should I say one in particular called the traveler in ancient times, brought Buddhism out of India.  The traveler acquired 647(?) Sanskrit roles and brought them home; he also managed to convince the emperor (Xian was the Capital city at the time and the cradle of Chinese civilization) to build a big pagoda to house them.  We visited the pagoda next, The Wild Goose Pagoda. We were told that the pagoda grounds had been off limits until recently. The grounds it was on were outside the city wall and lovely. These were surrounded by a $200 m equivalent investment in a modern town attraction of restaurants-like in Bethesda, MD.  The history we learned this time was much more interesting this time.  It still ended at a gift shop but with a much less directed sales pitch.  

After dinner i went for a run from the hotel.  From Huongcheng Dulong and Xixan Street (Renmin Square). To and through the east City Wall, then north to the next gate, then back inside the City Wall, then south back to Xixan Street, then to Huongcheng Dulong. I was tired and my stomach still wasn't normal.  I snaked through some construction by going into the road like the Chinese do.  Once outside the gate I was on unpack trail but it was lively. I passed ten pool tables under a tent with lights with a crowd around them playing. In another spot there was some amplified traditional singing going on with another crowd.  Inside the wall I passed a guy in a dark spot who was smoking pot. People were friendly and many said hello. I was glad to be in a warmer city again. 

Balding (Yeng Chiem west of Bejing a bit over an hour by car?), China. From the parking lot, I climbed The Great Wall of China to Signal Station 13, and went back. I started with my mother and one of my sisters. My oldest sister was greatly disapoimted having been bed riddden with the flu--she'd looked forward to this part of our trip for along while. My dad was happy to stay in our hotel too since he had virtually no chance of making it out of the parking lot.

Today was less windy but our forecasted sunshine and 54 F for Beijing did not happen in these mountains. It was overcast and hazy and probably never made it out of the 40's F. Since I first picked up a stomach virus that evolved into a cold, the temperatures wore on me through the day.

The climb was very steep. Most of the way there were steps to climb that had curves worn into them. I moved quickly except for tourist bottleneck jambs and the last quarter of the way. It took me jut under half an hour to make it to the turnaround. I had been disappointed by the haze and steepness but more disappointed by not being able to go further--after all, the wall is 4,300 miles long and I started in the middle. It just seemed to end at Station 13. I guess I was on a spur segment. across he valley, two wall segments were visible merging and there was one fork on the way down.

The rock was black/ grey and some surrounding natural rock cliffs were tan. I dont know how they built it but it must have been incredibly hard work. Our guide had informed us that it was built to protect against the Mongols but the Emperors must have been incredibly callous. The blood of many a conscripted peasant went in to it and when they died, their bodies were said to be buried inside.

Hiking the Great Wall was still fun. On the way down I stopped a bunch to photograph things but I also did climb up the station houses. I bought a souvenir shirt half way from the top--there were several vendors I'm different locals.

At the bottom I donned a Mongol warrior's leather armour and posed with my sister (as another warrior) and mom (as a princess). I must have looked good because other tourists were snapping or even posing with us.

We had lunch later and were dragged into a jade factory for education and some sales pitches before lunch. Lunch was in the factory. The guides seem to have to do this but they try to be subtle about it. We played along in deference to our guide whom we like.

We saw the Ming Tombs next or really just the first Ming emperor's tomb. There were structures like in the Forbidden City but also a humongous earthen burial mound too where the emperor's body lies hidden.

Lastly, we saw the 2008 Olympic village. The village and the suroumdimg buildings were huge like everything in this country. We walked past the Swimming Cube and the press building going toward the Bird's Nest. It was getting dark but then fortunate to see the Cube getting lit-up.

C • Dhaka 1

C • great wall 1

Beijing, China. After a day of seeing the Temple of Heavan, walking across Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace, I got out for a short run. From the Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel, I got to Jiangomen Inner Street, then to Zhengyi Rd. back to Dongdan St., then to Beijing Station West St. and to the Paragon again. This was on some wide sidewalks and boulevards. It was 43 F out and rather breezy. I was expecting some nice square blocks but without a map I completed an irregular polygon without mishap in the dark.

Like Bangladesh, I got a bunch of stares. I did feel wierder being in shorts because of the cold but that was just what I was willing to pack. There was probably a wisecrack or two too but this was less at me than between others on the street.

This city of 20 million people looks new and about as well planned as it could be while still being alive. There is lots of bold architecture everywhere. The new buildings, accomplishments of the last 30 years, replace the hundred year old hutongs, the 4m x 4m homes that used to exist. It is very clean for it's size. With the wind, I saw none of the bad air that worried Olympic planners. The traffic was nice, except at rush hour. As is to be expected, there are some parts better than others. The temples my sisters and I saw were fascinating for their beauty and history. The scale itself was impressive. They came a long way in the 3,000 years that Beijing has been a city.

C • so cool! 1

Dhaka, Bangladesh. Baridhara. From Road No. 8 to United Nations Rd. then to the park trail along the lake, past Madani Ave to where the park was interuptrd by an apartment tower, then back to Madini Ave., then around the lake on the path to Road No. 13 to Road No. 12, to United Nations Rd. to Road No. 8. This morning I tried to follow the seasonal river further upstream but I was interrupted. I triedd to get around the apartment building but was confronted by some dicey alleys and what appeared to be a road too busy to fool with. I turned back to do the usual loop but along the way I sw what looked like a rag along the road. Only when close in could I tell that it was an old man sprawled across the edge of a road; probably asleep. Passage-by dropped bills beside him in a disorganized scatter. After getting over the surprise that it was a person, I had to get over seeing that no one stole his assistance. Elsewhere driving around, I'd seen plenty of beggars in all sorts of deformity and need. They have their rmorales even in their desperation. I did try to give some money to a few but I was advised not to least we be hounded by the many quick eyes.

The rest of the day was for travel. We made it to Beijing, China, after midnight. The trip was hard on my dad who is wheelchair bound. There were only two flight legs but it was difficult navigating through customs and the airline rules on taking wheelchairs.

Dhaka, Bangladesh. Baridhara. From Road No. 8 to United Nations Rd. then to the park trail along the lake, to Madini Ave., then around the lake on the path to Road No. 13 to Road No. 12, to United Nations Rd. to Road No. 8. I didn't think running was going to work after the pull yesterday but I the sleep made me feel better and I stretched enough to get started. I didn't know my pace but with less pedestrian traffic one the trail I could move better. Sometimes I felt like I was sprinting in between the walking groups on the narrow brick trail. Even the stretched on the roads, dangerous by western standards where people and cars are only a foot apart going in opposite directions, I was able to squeeze through well. There was one kid throwing a slur today but I got a salute from a guard or two. My female cousin had explained how verbal harassment or 'eve teasing' as it's called here is something the poor and uneducated women have to deal with. For them these aggressions are the beginning of what can lead to unwanted marriage proposals. In a culture, not a religion, that gives men more power, a marriage proposal can result and only has to be witnessed by two others. The woman can signal agreement or not but if she spurns it, social isolation or much worse can result.

We didn't make it shopping yesterday but did have a Thai dinner and an evening boat ride at sunset. The boat ride was great. We all sat on the roof of a small craft making it top heavy enough to tip when one of us shifted. There were some traditional fisherman tilting their wooden levered nets to catch what probably would hav served as bait fish elsewhere. The waters flowing from the Himalaya are somewhat seasonal and bring mud and rocks. The mud is just the right stuff for making bricks so it's collected and kilned for the ever growing 16 million person city nearby. There must have been 20 to 30 150 foot tall smoke stacks scattered about but currently deluged making it very much like a place for a rock album cover shot; a.k.a. The Who, Who Are You. However, as sumsets are, the sunset was gogeous; then the stars came out.

C • interesting cultural observations 4

Dhaka, Bangladesh. Baridhara. From Road No. 8 to United Nations Rd. then to the park trail along the lake, to Madini Ave., then around the lake on the path to Road No. 13 to Road No. 12, to United Nations Rd. to Road No. 8. It was only 77 F out but the humidity was probably around 70 % too. I started off just when a bicycle rickshaw was passing. It turned where I did and I started to pull ahead. I felt okay and found the park entrance. The park was overgrown with a brick paved trail in need of maintenance. It was busy with people traffic but least there were no cars. I practised my weaving through the crowd like the cars on the streets do but I was out of step. The British setup of driving on the left seemed to be part of it but people just have a smaller sense of personal space too. Being in the western garb of shorts and a t-shirt I got a few looks. There was what sounded like a crack comment leveled toward me as I passed a group of men but altogether I was comfortable. I was partly in a diplomatic area where there were probably lots of westerners and Bangladeshi's are fairly tolerant people. My cousin had tried to explain that there was some history of that in my family along with some need to be independent. On the run a bit past halfway I had felt my left calf tighten, then the one soft step in which the exact moment of a pull was noticeable but slow. There was pain and a need to slow my pace more but it wasn't too bad.

Later we tried to go to see a school which was setup as a charity by a family friend. My sister sponsors two kids there. The traffic was bad and our attempt to shortcut across a military zone failed probably because I was too easy to spot as a foreigner. We had to abort. My sisters and I are going on a shopping excursion with my mom next. Later we'll try a boat ride and a dinner with relatives.

Dhaka, Bangladesh. I didnt wake up early enough to think I had time to try a run so I waited and waited and waited for my sisters and parents to get ready. As it turned out my sisters and I spent most of the day with a well-to-do cousin. He showed us his office which included businesses in the telecommunications imternational voice gateways, sewing factories, and travel agency. We drove out to a sewing factory where the make name brand jeans for export to the U.S. The drive through the traffic seenig the people alng the way was fascinating alone, but the tour was perfect in showing us the way people live in this city. I felt that my cousin was genuinely trying to improve the lives of the people bit there are no simple answers. We also went to a Raddison for lunch and saw how the lucky ge t to experience life. In the evening we saw other family including my dad's oldest sister. I came back to the hotel to do 45 sit-ups once again.