Xi'an and Sick

Dear Tony!

I am sick! Well. Still sick. But it’s coming back for another round! Because anytime I’m close to getting well, I insist on pushing my body. There’s too many opportunities and adventures everytime I step out that door. So instead of taking the extra recovery, I just stumble my half failing body outside; ignore the signs of fatigue, and use my recklessly optimistic mindset to push until I rebreak.

It started in Kyoto. A sleepless night gave way to a full day to another sleepless night, both with too much drinking. I knew I had pushed it. I knew I needed rest. But our itinerary did not allow it.

Hiroshima and Kagoshima were flurries to make Yakoshima [Princess Mononoke Forest Blog Link]

From there Fukuoka was strictly rest days. Two days of drinking endless tea and not moving helped a lot. But I wasn’t quite cured.

Then a 14hr layover in Macao, sleeping for a few hours on an airport floor, before making Mainland China.

Arriving in Shanghai, Auntie wanted to make sure I had a good time. We climbed mountains, visited parks, saw the grandparents. With energy and gusto that matched my mother; she marched me from event to event, before convincing me to make it to Hefei before the school year ended. Before the students flooded the tourist sites and things got crowded and more expensive.

I was all for it. Save money, and better experiences? Hell yeah. Plus the ease of being with family, a decent workout in Shanghai, on top of resting in Fukuoka all had buoyed my strength.

Or so I thought.

In Hefei I really broke down. 48 hours of sweaty fever and no appetite. But the morning I broke that fever, I went out to meet an ex-pat I was couchsurfing with. More late nights. More activities.

I knew I was fatigued. I could feel it in my bones.

I knew I was hurting. My head hurt and I hadn’t exercised properly in weeks.

Yet here I am, after 14 hour hardsleeper train ride, in Xi’an. Because adventure. And I needed to get moving. I had seen enough of Hefei and I was anxious to see somewhere else.

I arrived at my hostel just in time for coffee, breakfast, and to join on the Hostel guided tour to the Terra Cotta Warriors. Now, was there any chance I would miss an opportunity to see the most famous archaeological site in China? The tomb of the First Emperor, who united Tribal China, standardized modern Chinese, implemented its civil service exams that resonates today in the Gaokao, built the Great Wall, and made an entire army of clay to march him into the afterlife? Hell no!

The tour was fun. It rained hard, so the park was a quick walk as opposed to a gentle exploration. But it also kept the crowds down, so we got quite close to the displays. The clay warriors were impressive individuals. They were decorated with unique markings for rank and position; details like shoe patterns and individual faces; not to mention some crafters would sneakily etch their names into the insides of some of the pieces.

The tomb was cool; and to see Bronze age history so plainly was very cool. The tomb itself is still under lots of anthropological excavation and therefore, at parts, looked like a worksite.

The tour group went back to the hostel after a meal. We ate lamb dumpling noodle soup. It was more delicious than I thought it would be. The broth was flavorful and deep. The little bread dumplings were satisfying. And the lamb gave a rich depth to the soup. It came with pickled garlic cloves that were also amazing. The raw garlic taste was cut by the pickling process and sweet from the brine. It excellent to nibble on in-between bites of soup and our table finished without a single clove left.

Besides the food, Muslim culture influenced the clothing, the buildings, the feel of the city. Like the use of lamb instead of pork. Also the use of spices like cumin and cardamom and breads and roasts. Being Han Chinese and seeing China on repeat trips made me really appreciate and enjoy the fusion for it’s distinction.

After dinner, we drank and partied until 2am. I spent way too much money and I should not have. I just shouldn’t have. But I got caught driving the bus, I wanted to get food, and then we went to the bars.

The next morning; hungover as shit, I was able to walk around the Muslim district. It was such a fascinating combination of cultures I had never experienced. It was undoubtedly Chinese, but the Muslim flair made it so interesting. Lamb carcasses were being butchered. Chinese women in headwraps. Men in robes and headwear. Arabic on the walls, Mosques in the streets, it was an awesome, strange culture blend that I was super happy to see.

I rested that night, asleep at 9pm and rose early to greet the day with a run. I had determined that I needed some more physical activity because it had been a few days so I ran approximately 4 miles to the Temple of the 8 Immortals, a Taoist place of worship. I was not allowed in, because I wasn’t wearing a shirt, but peeking around the temple was pretty cool. The run felt good. I enjoyed sweating and the activity. It gave me enough energy to wander into the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower; other relics from hundreds of years ago. I watched a traditional musical performance that is surprisingly great, even if it was only 10 minutes long. Then I make my way to the wall that surrounds the ancient city center. You can rent a bike to circle the perimeter, and though I am upset I do not have a friend to tandem bike with me, I take a single and make my way around. It’s sort of a foggy day, but the wall is still impressive with fun displays at the main gates.

I get back, assured I’m sick but optimistic that once again, a few days of rest will get me back on my feet. After all. I worked out!

To which my body says “Fuck you! You don’t control me! Look. I am captain now.”

The next four days involve me sleeping, trying to force water down my dry as desert throat, trying to eat anything. All throat motions, including sucking dick, is literal fire, all down my esophagus and the pinging pain in my right ear.

It was as exhausting as it was unpleasant; and after day two, I realized it was not going to get better fast; and it definitely wasn’t going to go away without real rest.

I surrendered. Much like the half Ironman, I surrendered. My plans to hitchhike to Chengdu, eat delicious Szechuan food, ogle at the beautiful Szechuan women, and try to see some pandas were gone. I had wanted to see Zhangjaijie, tall rock spires covered in trees. Also not a thing in my immediate future.

So I vowed to recover. I’m headed back to Shanghai, two full weeks of nothing in front of me until I fly out of China to Thailand.

I’ll be back for more tours of China. It’s hard, this country is very difficult to navigate and I am repulsed by it’s totalitarian leanings. But there’s many things left to explore and I plan to see as many as I can.

In the meanwhile, Shanghai has plenty of secrets itself, so I will be exploring that myself.

But the first priority, as it should have been, is to take care of my own health. After that, I can continue to travel. Lesson learned.

I hope heaven doesn’t have sore throats.

Love,

Winston