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From Magic City Morning Star R.P. BenDedek
True to my word, Saturday 9th May 2009 saw me on a bus to Suzhou, accompanied as usual by my lifetime partner - 'Mr. Murphy', of 'Murphy's Law' Fame. (Not the Theatre production Dummy!) How often I wish I could leave home without Murphy, but the little bugger sticks to me like glue. I am positive that one of my ancestors at sometime in the past, kicked a leprechaun (leipreachan), and I have been chosen as the receipient of his wrath. How else can you explain that from go to woe, every possible thing that could stuff up did stuff up on my weekend away. (Not to mention every other day, week, month and year of my life!) But before I get on to my myriad of complaints, I first had better let you know something about Tiger Hill; the location of all the photographs in this article. I only went to SuZhou because my friends wanted to see me, so to make the trip worthwhile, I insisted on taking them to Tiger Hill.
Anyway, paraphrasing a sign within the complex, allow me to give you some background information on this Pagoda. Yunyansi pagoda is called Tiger Hill pagoda in English, and is also called 'Hu Qiu'. It was commenced in the Later Zhou Dynasty and finished in the Song Dynasty. (c. 959-961 A.D.) It is a brick pagoda with seven floors and eight sides, and is said (at least in the French Version of the sign) to look like it is made of wood. It is 47.7 meters high, and leans 2.34 metres (in the French Sign) to the northeast at 3.59 degrees. It weighs about 6000 tons.
(Wikipedia - Later Zhou Dynasty will provide you with some historical information about the 7 year old Emperor under whose reign the pagoda was built.) OK, now you know something of the details about the Pagoda. The kingscalendar file which contains other larger and different photographs, also provides text from some of the other signs around the place. Those signs related to small buildings with rather funny names (at least in English); such as: Five Sages Hall, Yulan Magnolia Villa, Room Leading to Seclusion, Three-Fear House and Green-Embracing Pavilion. It certainly is worth a visit to the complex, and I'm sure that as long as you don't turn up on a public holiday, you will thoroughly enjoy yourself there. Unfortunately, when I turned up, SuZhou was celebrating some special holiday - don't know what - and everything was expensive and everywhere was crowded. But that's my luck! Yours is bound to be better.
Firstly let me say, that I had cancelled my trip to Suzhou on May First, just so as to keep my friends in YanCheng company. They ended up abandoning me, leaving me to my own devices. I should not have given them the slightest consideration. I should have gone to Suzhou that weekend instead. I didn't even really want to go to Suzhou, because I am watching my pennies at the moment, but one thing you learn in China, is that if you want to have real Chinese friends, then you have to follow at least some Chinese Customs. Part of the Custom is travelling long distances to visit good friends, and this is what I did. On Friday May 8th, I telephoned Chen Rongmei in Suzhou to tell her that I had just purchased my bus ticket. That conversation of course was in Chinese. Chen Rongmei does not speak any English. She asked me when I would arrive, so I told her that the bus would leave next morning (Saturday) at 9am from Yancheng, and would arrive in Suzhou somewhere around 1pm.
I informed her that in the Evening (Saturday) I was inviting her and her husband to dinner, and on the following day, (Sunday), I was inviting her to accompany me to Tiger Hill. She asked me what time I wanted to go to Tiger Hill, and I told her that I wanted to go in the morning. She said: 'I am not free in the morning'. So I replied: 'Not a problem! We can go in the afternoon!'
I told her that I didn't know whether the bus would arrive at the North or South Suzhou Bus Stations, but that by 2pm or so, I would have arrived at the Fuma Hotel, around the corner from her home. The first thing I should have done when I arrived at the South Bus Station in Suzhou, was buy the ticket I would need to return to Yancheng. You see in China it is nigh on impossible to buy a return ticket from your starting point. It doesn't make sense to anyone. Why would you want to buy a 'return' ticket? How do you know when you will return? So as I say, 'I should have bought' my ticket at the South Station, but I simply forgot. I jumped off the bus, went the 'loo' (W.C. - Toilet - Washroom), and headed outside, down the road, across the crossing and up to the bus stop to catch a 933 down to Xiyuan Lu where the hotel (and my former school) is located. As I was boarding the 933 it occurred to me that because I had not stopped to buy the return ticket to Yancheng, that I would now have to make a trip to the North Bus Station. With some time up my sleeve, I decided to head down to Shi Lu (the small walking street - not the big one - Guanqianjie), go to Macdonalds, eat lunch, and then hop a taxi over to North Station and get that ticket. It was at this point that my plans slowly began to unravel.
So I ducked into MacDonalds, and I am sitting downstairs in a secluded corner facing a wall (I was too hot and tired to bother looking at anyone - it only encourages them to talk to you), and while eating, turned my head slightly just enough to see a flashbulb go off. I looked up to see this guy taking my photo. I turned to my left, unzipped my backpack, pulled out my camera, set it up, and then yelled out: 'Hey!'. Everyone turned around to look at me, including this guy. I then took his photo! (Superstars should learn from me! They should do this!) You could see the look on this guy's face. It said: 'Why is he taking a photo of me?' Why indeed? 'Look everyone! I have a photo of a Chinese man!' he he he!
My Chinese friends thought it impolite of me to take this girl's photo (look right!) while she was posing for her boyfriend. But Hey! - at least I did it on zoom lens from a distance. Anyway, back to my story. I finished my lunch and headed off to the North Bus Station where I requested a ticket for the next afternoon (Sunday) as late as possible. [Remember? Chen Rongmei said she was not free in the morning, so we would have to go to Tiger hill in the afternoon.] "The last bus leaves at 5:30pm" said the attendant. 'Great! One Ticket Please!' say I. "That will be 93 RMB please!" she says. "93 RMB? It only cost me 63 rmb to get here!" I think to myself as I hand over the money. 'Maybe it is just because it is the last bus?' I checked the ticket to make sure she had heard me right, and it was for the right destination. Yes that was right! I couldn't for the life of me work out why it cost so much. Anyway, with that done and so so many people on the streets around the bus station, I caught another taxi and headed off to my hotel.
Eventually it was decided that we would dine at the Muslim Restaurant up in Shi Lu. Whilst she and her sister have dined with me there previously, it would be the first time for her husband. Rather than meet me at the hotel and travel together to Shi Lu, Chen Rongmei suggested that I take the bus to Shi Lu while she takes her bike; and that we meet at about 5:30pm. Not a problem! Well as luck would have it, despite my tiredness, I could not sleep, and so headed off at about 4pm to go look for some Movies up at Shi Lu. This place used to be a great place to buy (pirated) movies, but the police had done a crack down and the shops were all empty the last time I was there. Not so this time! I bought quite a few movies, including Hugh Jackman's 'Wolverine' Origins movie. That turned out to be a blast actually. The pirates had knocked it off before all the computer graphics were finished. There were these great fight scenes in front of white screens with drawings all over them, and of course the special effects tricks had not yet been edited out. Anyway, the one thing I could not get over was the number of people up at Shi Lu. There were people everywhere, not to mention all these makeshift market stalls, and a ton of police. I figured something was up!
At the appropriate hour, when I met up with Chen Rongmei at the Muslim Restaurant, she explained to me that there was a special festival on, and it was somehow connected to the name of one of the streets at Shi Lu. Don't ask me - I really don't know, but it explained why my bus ticket from SuZhou to Yancheng was marked up 50%, as was also (as I would discover on the morrow) - the entrance fee to HuQiu!
'Where is your husband?' I ask Chen Rongmei. 'He is busy! He can't come!' she replies. 'Mmm! Just you an' me for dinner?' 'Yes!' (Smiles!) OK! Just the two of us means less cost to me for dinner! So in we go! Now the funny thing is that I have eaten in this restaurant many many times and I love eating there. The staff are wonderful! The food is great! The price is reasonable! and I always leave a tip for the waitresses who are dressed in Brown 'Hijabs'. On this occasion however, we had a really surly girl serving us, who, being from Xinjiang, apparently (I would even say 'obviously') didn't like Han Chinese. To add insult to injury, neither Chen Rongmei nor I could understand her Chinese. And so the fun began. We had problems with meals, with equipment, with drinks etc.
Anyway, we had ordered far too much food; thanks to the waitress who kept telling us that these were small dishes and we would starve to death if that was all we were going to order. Eventually Chen Rongmei called her sister to join us. Although I knew her, I actually don't know her real name - she is just 'Meimei' (Little Sister) to me.
She then said that she had made a mistake, and that she meant that it was Saturday morning (that very day) on which she was not free, but that she was able to go to HuQiu Sunday morning. Well was that a lovely surprise! Not! I had booked a return bus ticket to Yancheng for 5:30pm, and was now being asked to go to Tiger hill in the morning, leaving me with the whole afternoon in which to kill time, with no place to sleep or wash. I was not too amused. Meimei suggested however that I should remain in my hotel till check out (midday) and that Chen Rongmei and I should then take a leisurely lunch up at Tiger Hill, and then as the heat of the day passes, we could walk around and sightsee. I could then (as departure time drew close), take a taxi to the bus station. This was indeed a very good, wise, and comfortable suggestion. Another thing that Meimei suggested during our prolonged dinner, was that after dinner we go to the local 'GeWuTing' (Dance Hall). I had never been to one before (despite having received invitations from others), and gladly agreed to go. We had a marvellous time! But as this is a 'misery' story, I'm not about to tell you all the great things that happened at the Dance Hall. Anyway.....
By the End of the night it was decided that there would be three of us going to Tiger Hill next day, and that by my hotel checkout time, Chen Rongmei would be at my hotel with her bicycle so that I could ride to Tiger Hill, whilst her friend (somebody or other) would double her on the motorbike. I smiled and said 'Ok' but wasn't happy about having to ride the pushbike in the middle of the day. Next morning I am getting dressed to go to Tiger Hill when I realise that I had forgotten to pack my shorts. That meant that I would have to wear my 'dress trousers', something which was sure to heat things up a little. When Chen Rongmei arrived at my hotel, she informed me that her friend couldn't make it, and that she would ride her bike and I would have to take a bus to Tiger Hill. "Not a problem!" I thought to myself. 'I'll take the Travel bus No. 3. Done that before!' And I did! But bloody Murphy just had to have his finger in the pie. Because of the new Highway, the No.3 bus route has been changed. It went completely past the street that used to take it to Tiger Hill. At first I thought 'Fair Enough! It will turn off a little further up!' Well it didn't. Additionally, it began to head away from Tiger Hill toward the Railway station. So, having some common sense, I got off the bus, intent on completing the journey by taxi. Ha! Murphy certainly knew how to put that boot into me! When I got off the bus, I found that that street had a barricade so that I could not get across to the other side of the street, so as to hail a taxi. My only choice seemed to be to walk 'against the traffic' on the enclosed footpath, until I could cross the street.
In the meantime I am on the phone to Chen Rongmei and I could not even tell her where I was, because what signs I could see were only in Chinese characters which I cannot read. After about 15 minutes of walking, and being able to see Tiger Hill across the highway to my right (but with no way to get over there) I spotted a set of stairs that took me down to an 'underpass'. That got me to the other side of the Highway, and from there, I actually knew that I was on the right street, but couldn't work out how far away I was. Well to cut a long story short, I walked all the bloody way to Tiger Hill. With Sweat pouring off me, I finally met up with Chen Rongmei who had telephoned 'Meimei' to come and help look for me. The two of them had apparently been driving all over the place looking for me. Hot and exhausted, the three of us sat down in a little cafe, under an airconditioner, and cooled off while we ate a very nice 'overpriced' lunch. After lunch the three of us did the tour of HuQiu, and while I really loved the place, the heat of the day combined with all that walking (before and during sightseeing) gave me an awful headache. All I wanted to do was rest. I even considered booking back into my hotel!
Eventually, I left the women and caught a Taxi to the Bus Station. You would think that there was nothing else left to happen now - wouldn't you? Wrong! The bus had only just left the station when I got a call from one of my students to tell me that because of sports day, all the classes were rearranged, and that my next teaching class was to be held on Wednesday. This was Sunday! I could have stayed another 2 nights in a hotel! I could have done the Tiger hill Trip the next morning in the cool of the day! No matter! I was in the bus on the way home! The air conditioning was on! I was beginning to feel better, and everything was just - - oh Damn! Yes! Murphy still had one trick left up his sleeve. The airconditioning blew up! I spent more than three hours on that stinking hot bus. There were no windows and no airconditioning, and it was the hottest day of the month! By the time we arrived in YanCheng, (about 9.30pm) just about every male on the bus had his shirt off! That's how hot it was! So there you go! That was how I spent the weekend. Anyone know how to lift a Leprechaun's curse? R.P.BenDedek Email: rpbendedek@hotmail.com More, Different and Larger photos at kingscalendar See also: HanShan Temple
Stories from China at Magic City "The King's Calendar" is a chronological study of the historical books of the Bible (Kings and Chronicles), Josephus, Seder Olam Rabbah, and the (Essene) Damascus Document of The Dead Sea Scrolls. © Copyright 2002-2008 by Magic City Morning Star |
