山西之旅, Part 1 -平遥古城

This weekend backpacking trip had not only been physically taxing, it was spiritually challenging.

“Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.” - Hebrews 12:3

We didn’t manage to purchase the berth tickets, and had to settle with the 70rmb seats for the 11 hours journey.



























Photos are deceiving. Our happy faces can, in no way, express the condition of the hard seat section of the train from Beijing to Pingyao. Sobz…

It was fairly cosy at the beginning, but when you attempt to sleep, you realise that you need to come to a compromise with the person sitting opposite you as to how both of you will position your legs. Then, you have the problem with where to lie your head. After much struggling, when you finally doze off for 3 minutes, some excited guy behind you starts chattering about the card game he and his friends are playing. You force yourself to shut your eyes, but are awakened by a young man’s mobile phone that went TOOT with every number he presses. In between, whiffs of cigarette smoke make you wonder about the damage done to your lungs.














Anyhow, we survived till daybreak, and had breakfast!














Arrival around 07 00 on 15th April 2006, Saturday














1rmb ride each from the train station to the reknown 平遥古城














平遥古城






















































Beef - 土产


















Commercialisation and the Impact of Tourism














Traditional paper cutting kept the rest hooked for an hour or so…































Guess what those buckets contain…*sniff sniff*


















Famous Chinese snack 麻花


















While the rest were still in the 剪纸店, Zhiqing and I walked on and these two signs caught our attention. How interesting…




























Having noticed our amusement, the storekeeper asked if there were any mistakes with the signs when we entered. She then asked for correction that really put my translation skills to test!













Please believe me, I gave my best, and managed, according to what she wanted: “An Eye-Opener! Exquisite Silk Embroidery” and “Liven up your mood! Intricate Hair Embroidery”
SIGHHHHHH… I know they don’t sound like the best advertising lines, but sobz…I tried. And for my effort, when I bought a framed embroidery at 25rmb...















...she thanked me with another! Awwww…















The kind lady... ;)


















Walking back to meet up with the rest, we found them playing pool! 1rmb per game. It seemed that they have been at the same game for time sufficient for the small boys behind them to finish a few rounds. Hee.














The backyard of where we had lunch.



































Traditional heated beds














We were curious when we saw on the menu: Sir-fried Cats’ Ears














Ha…this was it. Looked and tasted like macaroni








































To Be Continued...

gRacE =)