Rescuing the little puppy

The rescue of the little puppy I found out in my mountain home was not very easy.

In China, it is not possible to take a pet on a train.  It may be possible to take a pet on an intra city bus, however, that is something that sounds too hellish to imagine.  There are "sleeper" buses that allow you to have a sort of bed space, but I can only imagine the chaos of an incontinent puppy on such a trip.

So, as I grew more and more committed to rescue of puppy, I started to think of ways of getting him back to Wuhan.  I thought about taking the train and of hiding him in a bag, and then locking myself in a bathroom until I got to Wuhan.  This would not work if someone noticed him during the pat down you get entering the train station.

The train was out, so I cast about trying to find someone to give me a ride.  I emailed a service that purports to handle moving of pets within China and around the world.  The person at that service quoted me a rate of 3,000 RMB for a one way drive.  

The trip is about 5.5 hours each way.  Hubei is a pretty big old province.  The driver would therefore have to travel 11 hours total.

3000 RMB is about 500.00.  This is ALOT in China.  

I ended up hiring a guy for 2,000 rmb.  That included gas.  However, this was also kind of a high rate.  I subsequently found out that the cost to hire a driver for 10 hours is about 500 rmb.  That is about 80 USD.

I figured that, with gas, I could have bargained my way down to maybe 1200 rmb.  

My driver seemed nice enough.  I had him meet me in the mountain town around the same time I was scheduled to take the train.  he drove up to my apartments at the school and away we went.

The puppy was pretty good in the car.  He is mouthy when he gets excited, and I really cannot train him while he sitting in a car, especially as I had no treats or toys handy.

The highways in China are pretty much up to standards of US highways.  The rest areas feel alot less hospitable than rest areas in the USA (imagine that if you can).

When we got to Wuhan, I asked the driver to stop by a local KFC.  He obliged and I paid him the 2000 rmb I had agreed to pay.

The girlfriend than told me that I had only paid 1900 rmb, and owed another 100 rmb.  WIthout question, I forked over another hundred and went into get something to eat.

Inside the KFC, I counted my money.  I was 100 rmb short.


Hmmmm.....

I grabbed my food and headed back to the car.  I berated them both for lying and stealing money.

I know that they knew they had done it because, after I laid into them, they did not say I was crazy or nuts.  They sat in stone silence.

When I got back to my apartment, the driver sheepishly asked me how much I owed him.  I crisply took my 100 rmb from him and said "good bye".  I could have explained that Auf Wiedersehen means "see you again", and that was why I was saying good bye, but I doubt he would have understood.

Not hiring those people again, I think.

The Puppy is now recuperating at my apartment and my friends house.

My friend has a 3 year old poodle female who has had puppies and has done a good job of training lil Puppy how to be a better dog.  Lil puppy has alot to learn.



As I got out of the car, the girls
On my way in, the girldfriend 

Trip to Jingzhou (Part 4)

Finally posting about Jingzhou.

In may last post, I discussed stumbling upon one of the best and tastiest dishes I have eaten lifetime.

After that, I still had to find a hotel.  I decided I would wander around and find a place.  I did not count on being a little spice and beer tipsy by this point.

I wandered back towards the east gate.  It was now late.  There were alot of people out, as it was the weekend before a national holiday (May Day).

I ended up buying too cheap bottles of wine after I made it out of the city gate.  I then hopped in a taxi and asked to be taken to a hotel listed in my guide book.

The taxi driver was very nice and took me directly there, but the hotels were full or did not want a laowai waking in drenched in sweat and smelling of beer and crawfish.

Somehow, I managed to drop the two bottles of wine I bought directly in the middle of the street.  This was a wierd sort of offering to the unclean gods of this ancient and cool town.

I got another taxi, picked another hotel from my guide book and was whisked about 200 yards to adjacent street where the hotel was located.

No, far be it for me to suggest that my drinking was appropriate this evening, but after checking into the hotel (100 rmb for the night or 15.00 USD), I had a hankering for some wine.  What good boy wouldn't?

So I nipped out of the hotel and grabbed two more bottles of wine.  These cost about 10.00 USD a piece.

I then spent the rest of the evening and morning listening to songs on my iPad and dreaming of ancient Jingzhou outside my hotel.

I somehow managed to wake up before checkout, took a cold shower, stumbled down and out into the street.

The day before, I had purchased some oranges from a grocer.  It was afterdark, and he was playing checkers and smoking with his pal outside.  He greeted me profusely as I walked past, so I grabbed some oranges from him.

I was glad for the oranges.  The morning was quite warm.  By the time I left the hotel it was around 11:00 AM.

I traced my way to the city wall.  I wandered down very very narrow streets.

I could see the people I passed in their shops and houses in the same configuration as they have probably cohabited there in ages past.

Chickens, dogs, a all manner of professions; butchers, bakers, TV repairmen, advertising consultants, you name it, they all lined the streets of Jingzhous narrow lanes.

I found my way to the wall.  The gates were impressive.

I noticed what I believe are bullet holes along sections of the wall.  These holes were not on the exterior.  I would surmise that individuals were summarily lined up against the walls and shot.  Needless to say, the walls were impressive in alot of ways.

During the cultural revolution, there was a big push to obliterate historical landmarks.  The grand and ornate city wall that encircled Beijing was leveled.

There was a plan, at one point, to preserve 78 of the 8000 historical sites in Beijing.  Luckily this preservation system was not adhered to.

I walked along the side of the wall, and then found I could scale up the inside wall.  The stroll along the top of the wall was very quiet.  Very few fellow travelers.  I was accompanied by birds and ghosts.

I made it around to several towers and gates.  In one of the towers, I noticed laundry hanging.  Upon closer inspection, a guardian or custodian of the wall was inside the tower watching television on a tiny portable analog set with bunny ears.  He also had a hotplate.  Kind of an austere life, living in a centuries old fortification with the portable bunny ear TV and a hotplate.

I kept on my perambulation of the wall.  As I got further along, the wall got more and more overgrown.  It started to resemble a walk along a ledge in the woods.

I could look down to the moat surrounding the wall, and the farms that came right up to the moat.

Towards the north side, I went down and through a narrow gate and crossed into what had the distinct feeling of a medieval town.  I felt like I could blink and be in a fantasy RPG.

There was a christian church along a winding lane, barbers with chairs outside the wall offering shaves, ancient old men offering to predict your fortune, people selling pets and livestock, luggage sales people, a french bakery, a book shop, an optician, and hoards of sweating heaving humanity.

A young boy on a motorcycle made eye contact with me and started at me as he slowly outpaced me on the scooter and disappeared several hundred yards ahead around a corner.

Near one gate, I discovered a temple to Guan Gong.  Guan Gong is a sort of protector divinity.  He was a real person during the fabled three kingdoms period in China.

Guan Gong is venerated by Buddhists as a sort of protector and remover of obstacles.  There are many stories of him and his battles against other historical figures such as Cao Cao and others.

After I found the first temple to Guan Gong, I wandered around further and found a second temple to him.  At this temple, there were very large buddhist statutes.

Both temples also have a statute of Guan Gong's horse.  In one of them, there is a stone watering trough  so the statute can take a sip should he feel parched.

Guan Gong temple was attended by buddhist monks.  In one temple, there was a recording of worshippers chanting "Nam Guan Gong; Nam Guan Gong: Nam Guan Gong; Nam Guan Gong".  This is basically praising the name of Guan Gong.  "Nam" is a part of the word "Namaste", which means to bow before or give respect to.

A plaque describes how the Japanese obliterated the temple during WWII.  The first temple I visited had been rebuilt within the past ten years.

There were alot of miniature trees, sculpted, in pots all around the Guan Gong temple.

By the time I had made it around to the second Guan Gong temple, I was getting tired and needed to start thinking about getting back to Wuhan.  It was only 1.5 hours, but train seats are not assured during the holiday season.

Luckily, I passed a railway ticket agency.  You can buy tickets at the station, online, or at a convenient railway ticket agency.  I got a ticket and proceeded to acquire a new T shirt, because I was soaked with sweat and had neglected to take a very good shower during the morning of drunkenness.

I somehow walked all the way back out to the train station  It was a few kilometers.  I bought alot of water along the way.

I had an excellent trip and slept well when I made it back to my chambers in Wuhan.

Blog Interruptus

My blogging has been kind of upset by some circumstances.  For those readers who have checked in on my facebook posting, I have become involved with a lil puppy.  This lil fella has taken up most of my spare time.

Lil Puppy is likely a Bichon Frise.  They are a european breed that derives from the French Barbet Water Spaniel and the Poodle.  They are very small dogs, but are not in the Toy Class according to the AKC.  They are technically gun dogs.

These pups are primarily known as companion animals.  They have a very merry demeanor and were used as barter goods by Spanish sailors in the past.   The breed is about 700 years old.

At different times, they have drifted in and out of popularity,  They were favored by the French aristocracy in the 18th century.  They frequently accompanied organ grinders.  At various times they have been wild street dogs in places like Paris.

Lil puppy certainly is a wild dog.  He is very mouthy and nips far too much for my liking.  He also has a bad humping problem.  Despite these behavioral problems, I have undertaken to get him trained.

He walks very well on leash, especially considering he is tiny.  He also is pretty good about potty outside.

I know he had some tough times.  These are not dogs to be kept in a cage in a parking lot.

His doctor check was clean.  The doctor did say that they think he has anemia, which is probably because he was being fed rice and human food.  I have him on a diet of US made puppy food.  Oddly, his puppy food is far more expensive than the fare I usually dine on.

I have a friend who is helping me take care of him.  When I go to my mountain home, lil puppy stays at an apartment with a three year old poodle.  The poodle has what I would call an avant garde haircut that is very ornate.  My friend takes good care of him, and has alot of patience and experience working with young kids.  Perfect skills or experiencing a rather rude but sweet lil puppy.

I ended up taking lil puppy because he was not being well cared for.  When he was with me, he never wanted to go back to the apartments where he "lived".  He follows me everywhere; to the bathroom, to the bedroom, etc.

He has separation anxiety in abundance.  He is somewhat crate trained, but when I have put him in the bathroom he barks and makes an odd sort of sobbing whimper.  It is odd, and I have not heard a dog make that sound before.

I estimate his age to be maybe four months.  He still has some coordination problems, and seems kind of weak.  He is getting stronger and has ALOT of energy.  He can take a two mile walk (on his tiny legs) and then romp around the apartment for an hour or so before he falls asleep.

I have learned that taking a dog back to the USA is not that difficult.  I just need a rabies certificate.

Lil Puppy is definitely coming back to the USA if I have any say about it!

Trip to Jingzhou (Part 3)

After my visit to the Museum, I headed back to the Hankou train station.  My train left at 6:20, and the Museum had closed at around 5:00, so I had some time to kill.

I have started to play Baldur's Gate, a role playing video game based on my old-time favorite game Dungeons and Dragons.

The Three Kingdoms Period in China has the same myth and folk lore as a D&D game.  There are lots of battles between swordsmen, tales of magic, evil creatures, the whole panoply of characters and myth that you find in D&D.

Jingzhou is a city that played an important role in the 3 Kingdoms period.  It was the ancient Chu capital and is one of a very small number of cities in China to retain their ancient character intact.

I got to the Jingzhou train station after dark.  It was kind of a shock to walk out o fthe station into darkness, rather than some heavily populated city.

Based entirely only a short peek at a map the day before, I started walking in what I believed to be a southernly direction.

In the large square adjacent to the train station, there were several hundred people dancing.  This is common in China.  You see people dancing on street corners and public areas.  It is a sort of early evening enjoyment of middle age people.  There are young people too, but it seems to be the stomping ground of the middle aged folk.  They dance to a variety of music.  I have heard people dancing to old Chinese songs, disco and various other melodies.

The walk south took about twenty minutes.  I could see what I perceived to be a long line of lights that seemed to be on a wall, so I felt I was going in the right direction.

It was warm and the air was filled with sounds of frogs and crickets.

I reached a moat around the old city wall and again guessed that a turn east would be good.  Soon I was in a sort of walking park.  I passed through a large rock garden with some of the rocks 10 meters high.  Parks in China are not full of illumination.  As I walked, there seemed to be someone keeping my pace, on the other side of the moat.  They kept clapping as they walked.

I reached a gate, which had more dancing people, kids on roller blades, and some fair ground type of amusements.

I headed in through the city wall's gate.  The inside of the walled city has rather narrow streets.  There are main boulevards, but the side streets are much narrower.

I made my way onwards, in hopes of finding a restaurant and hotel.  I had no map and no idea where I was heading.

After about a half hour of circling along what seemed to be main thoroughfares, I found a busy restaurant.

I was seated and then made a fumbling effort to order food.  I asked for soup, and then pointed at what I thought were clams.  Fortunately, I did not get clams, but something much better.

In the spring time, around Wuhan, you see many restaurants offering large fresh water prawns.  I had not been observant and had not noticed the many signs with prawns on them.

I was served some dumplings and then some very good chicken soup.  The soup here is excellent and they are not afraid of leaving you some bones,  These folks are fond of bones in food.

I was then brought a huge bowl of large red freshwater prawns.  These are called lobster in the Chinese.

I can honestly say that the preparation and taste of these lobsters is one of the best dishes I have eaten.  Maybe it was hunger or relief that I was not given chilled monkey brains, but the flavor of the seasonings and the taste of the prawns was among the top twenty culinary experiences of my life.

After I finished my meal, I again wandered around looking for a hotel.  I ended up finding one after going in and out of several.

There ended my first day in Jingzhou.

The wall and one of the old towers are illuminated at night.  You can walk around the city wall.  Some areas are kind of crumbling, but the entire area is very pretty with alot of trees, birds and quietude.

 Very delicious long xis.  The seasoning of this was like eating some kind of curry.  Very very tasty.

 The many husks of the vanquished long xis.

 Beer served in something thta looks like a sort of mortar shell.  Nice and cold and tasty!

Come for the lobster, stay for the soup.

Trip to Jingzhou (Part 2)

So after I got my ticket, I made my way to what I thought was a park, but which was actually the Wuhan museum.  This was a different museum than the Hubei provincial museum.

The collection was less impressive, but still well presented and very nice.  It was actually more eclectic and included a traveling American exhibit of "The Art of Quilting".  The Quilting exhibit was a production of the United States Embassy.

It is in a smaller and less impressive location than the provincial museum.  The first floor had a wing that contained numerous ancient handicrafts.

There were the ancient bronze ware, ancient jade, some interesting carvings in bamboo, some nice lacquer work, a good collection of porcelain, and myriad other items.  

The porcelain exhibit was pretty interesting because it included neolithic pottery that is very ancient.  This pottery was much less finished than the exquisite porcelain that you can see in subsequent dynasties.  

There was an exhibit of the history of Wuhan, which had an english translation that left alot to be desired.  It did explain that at some early date, men came to Hanyan and had to make a very big effort to clear all of the brambles and brush from the river side in order to live there.  These first settlers to Hanyan were thus noted for their grounds keeping skills.

Wuhan is actually a conglomeration of three cities: Hankou, Wuchan, and Hanyan.  The modern "Wuhan" did not exist until 1927.

I have seen WWII era maps that name Wuhan as "Hankou".

There was an ancient battle fought in Wuhan by the general Liu Bei and Sun Quan on one side and Cao Cao on the other.  This was during the classical, San Guo or Three Kingdoms period.

The battle is known in English as the Battle of Red Cliffs (In Chinese it is called Chibi). Basically, Liu Bei and Sun Quan frustrated the army of Cao Cao which allowed for the creation of two different kingdoms.

This was a very romantic period that alot of Chinese people think fondly about.  It is a classical period.

There was an exhibit about the famous poet Li Bai.  He is the famous poet who wrote alot about wine.  It is said, that many poets have written about wine, but no poet has written more about wine.  As I have stated previously, I feel Li Bai and myself would have gotten along quite well with one another.

In addition to the local history and handicraft exhibits, there was an exhibit of "exotic currency".  This exhibit included examples of the "Amero" which is not supposed to exist, but somehow is on display in China.  Unfortunately, I had no translation of what the curators thought about the Amero.

I stayed at the museum for about two hours, and then went to catch my train around 5:00.  I can certainly think of worse ways to waste a couple of hours waiting for a train.

 This is a neolithic Jade piece.  It is called a Bi and is one of the most ancient forms of Human art.  This design has been found in the earliest excavations.  This particular Bi was about about two feet in diameter and is dated to a very ancient period.

 I believe this is a Hu wine vessel.

 This is a Jue it is another ancient Chinese Bronze artifact.  It is thought that this vessel was used to heat wine or liquids for serving.

 This is a Dingi, it is a common ancient bronze item from chine.  The Ding has three legs, a cauldron, and some sort of lid.  This is one of the classical items of Chinese bronze.

 This is a bronze bell.  At the Hubei Provincial musem, there was an excavated tomb that contained a set of mammoth bells that were played as part of a set.  This bell had several others on display with it.

 The dreaded "Amero" currency on display in Wuhan.

I wish I had a translation.  It could be these notes were offered as a hypothetical scenario.  Perhaps, the curators know more than I do???

Trip to Jingzhou (Part 1)

Last week, I took a trip to a small city near Wuhan.  Jingzhou is the ancient capital of the Chu dynasty.

The city still has an intact stone wall encircling the old city.  You can walk around the entire city on the wall, and visit a number of intact Chinese temples to different Chinese divinities.

I actually had planned to go to Jingzhou the week before, but it had rained.  Instead, I had spent a coulpe of days resting.

I am glad that I waited, because they day I went was very clear and warm.  

Jingzhou is a much smaller city than Wuhan.  The air is alot cleaner and, at least in the old city, they seem to have tried to prevent over building.

I initially had planned to take a train to Jingzhou in the morning and return in the evening.  However, I over slept.  Hard to believe, I know.

It was Saturday, so I decided to sleep late.  I have been feeling a little funky lately, but I rallied in the afternoon and headed to the train station in Hankou.

Buying a train ticket close to a national holiday can be a major life event in China.  I had several men cut the line in front of me.  When you see the lines that there are to get a ticket, you can understand why this often becomes a contentious issue.

Anyway, I waited patiently for about a half hour in line for my ticket to Jingzhou.  While in line, I practiced how to buy my ticket. "Hankou dao Jingzhou" and "Toudeng chou Jipiao" and "Via Yi Ban Houche".

When I finally got to the ticket window, I was politely told, with a smile, that I needed to go to the neighboring window to get my ticket.

Now I was foist into the hapless position of a line cutter!  I was not shy in jostling against the neighboring line to get to the window.  I did, however, let the first 4 or 5 people in line get their tickets.

I finally got my ticket, which left on a train about 3 and half hours later.  This gave me some time.

I sauntered out of the train station, and headed towards what I perceived to be a nearby park, where, perhaps, I could zou lou amongst the trees and stretch my legs.

I was delighted to find that the Wuhan museum (not the provincial museum visited earlier) was only a block or two away.

So to the museum I headed.  More about that in a future post.

 On the days before national holidays, it is pandemonium in the ticket office at the train station!

 People are like dumplings bobbing in hot water!

As you can see the lanes are conveniently marked in Chinese.  Train times are clearly marked on the big board in flashing red Chinese characters.  It is very friendly to foreigners!  (Actually, the staff of the China Rail System are exceptionally friendly and helpful to Laowai.)

Been a while since I posted

Unfortunately, it has been a while since I posted to this blog.  I have been kind of busy and not very keen on writing.  That is not to say that nothing has been happening.

My last post was about two weeks ago, on April 20th.  Since then, I have continued to work and try to keep my act together.

Living overseas is not easy.  It can get very draining.  There are constant pressures that don't exist when you speak the language and know your way around.

I am definitely going to update with alot more pictures and stories.  I am hoping to get alot more uploaded today.