-I-
Wang Ni Hao ang pangalan ng tour guide namin.
Apat na grupo kami sa tour van: tatlong mag-anak na Intsik mula Shanghai, dalawang Swedish na napagkamalan kong mag-syota pero hindi naman pala, isang matandang Belgian at ang jowa niyang inglesarang Intsik, 'tsaka ako.
Suot ko pa din ang slacks mula kahapon [ika-day 4 na niya], batik na polo na minsan ko nang naisuot sa Stockholm, at panibagong pares ng gamit na ding medyas.
Pero at least, bagong laba ang brief ko kahit medyo basa pa.
Napansin ko agad 'yung nakadungaw na tato ng ulo ng dragon sa dibdib n'ung seksi pero may edad na ding kasama n'ung Belgian na ang buntot ay nakalaylay na sa may malapit sa singit niya.
Mahaba ang pasakalye ni Wang Ni Hao habang pabiyahe kami papunta sa Ming Dynasty Tombs.
Flawless ang Ingles niya.
Patango-tango lang ang mag-anak na Instik.
Hanggang sa makarating kami sa Ming Tombs.
Flawless pa din ang Ingles ni Wang Ni Hao.
Pero pagdating namin ng Ling'en Gate ay nagwala na 'yung mamang Instik.
Matagal silang nag-Intsikan ni Wang Ni Hao.
Mayamaya ay lumapit sa amin ang tour guide.
Eka niya ay kailangan na din niyang mag-Intsik mula sa puntong 'yun dahil hindi nakakaintindi ng Ingles 'yung asawa n'ung mama.
Wala namang naging problema mula noon hanggang sa matapos ang tour namin sa Changling Tomb at mananghali kami sa jade factory.
'Yung aleng hindi nakakaintindi ng Ingles pa ang nagbuhos ng mga tsaa namin.
At nakadungaw pa din ang dragon sa dibdib n'ung seksing Instsik.
-II-
Tumuloy kami sa Badaling.
Malaking bagay sa akin ito dahil labis pa din ang aking pagsisi na hindi ko pinatulan ang Great Wall tour noong 2010 sa Tianjin.
At dahil lamang sa paghihinayang sa punyetang $100 tour fee [RMB200 lang ang ibinayad ko sa tour na ito, kasama ang pagkain].
Pumila kami sa pagsakay sa cable car habang bumibili si Wang Ni Hao ng mga ticket namin.
Flawless pa din ang Ingles niya.
At sa wakas, narating ko din ang Great Wall of China...
Mainit, walang masisilungan, at tumatagas na ang pigil na ihi sa bagong laba kong brief.
Kaya bumaba na ako at tumambay sa ilalim ng mga cherry tree habang kumakain ng ice cream [popsicle ang tawag sa atin].
Mayamaya ay dumating na din ang Belgian at si aleng seksi.
Napagod yata ang dragon dahil hindi na makita sa dibdib ni aleng seksi.
Dumating si Wang Ni Hao.
Flawless pa din ang Ingles niya.
Pabalik ay dumaan kami sa Olympic Park.
Huminto kami sa Dong Wu Silk Museum at matapos mamili ay inihatid na kami sa aming mga hotel.
Flawless pa din ang Ingles ni Wang Ni Hao pero 'yung ulo ng dragon ay sa singit na ni aleng seksi nakadungaw.
Typhoon Maring + LPA sa Pilipinas + masungit na immigration officer sa Beijing = cancelled flight.
Sabi ng PAL representative, bahala na daw muna si Batman sa amin.
[Fast forward to Kang Ming Hotel]
Wala daw express laundry service ang hotel.
Kaya twice used slacks + once used socks + new souvenir t-shirt = attire of the day.
Brief-less din kaya presko.
[Forbidden City]
Hapon na ako nakarating.
Buti na lang at tinuruan akong sumakay sa Bus No. 2 n'ung kahero sa convenience store na binilhan ko ng tubig at napagtanungan.
Buti na lang at ibinaba ako n'ung konduktor ng Bus No. 2 sa tamang lugar.
Pero exit ang nasuot ko kaya na-"No come back" ako ng bantay.
Buti na lang at naituro niya sa akin na sumakay ulit ng Bus No. 1 or 2 at bumaba sa third stop.
Pumasok ako sa Tiananmen Gate at nakarating hanggang East Glorious gate pero hindi na ako umabot.
Sarado na ang Meridian Gate na siyang tanging lagusan patungo sa Inner Court.
[Tiananmen Square]
Mahigpit ang security.
May x-ray machine at random ID checks.
Madami ding nakakakalat na security forces.
Nagpa-pityur ako sa isang photographer.
[Bus No. 2]
Akala ko kabisado ko na ang daan pabalik.
Sumakay ulit ako sa Bus No. 2.
Sa last stop ko na nalaman na mukhang naligaw ako.
Ang intindi ko sa sinabi ng konduktor ay bumalik ako at sumakay ulit ng Bus No. 2.
Bumalik nga ako, naghanap ng bus stop, nagtanong, kumabila sa highway, naglakad pa ulit, kumabila ulit sa highway, bumalik sa una kong binabaan.
Walang Bus No. 2 at wala ding bus stop.
May itinatanong sa akin 'yung mamang binilhan ko ng tubig pero di ko maintindihan.
"Saan daw ba ako pupunta", eka ng translation ng celfone ng dalagang duling sa tanong n'ung mama sa akin.
Ipinakita ko ang tarheta ng hotel, muling nagpipindot ang dalagang duling sa kanyang celfone.
Tapos ay hinila niya ako at dinala sa bus terminal na tapat lang pala ng unang binabaan ko.
Sa pamamagitan ng sign language ay nalaman kong kailangan ko ngang sumakay sa Bus No. 2.
Nalaman ko sa konduktor kung saan ako dapat bumaba.
Malapit na pala sa hotel ko ang last stop ng Bus No. 2.
[Kang Ming Hotel]
Hindi kami magkaintindihan ng waitress.
Nakatingin lang siya sa akin, nakangiti, mukhang nagpapakyut.
"Sige, dumplings na lang at Chinese beer."
'Yun ang unang hapunan ko sa Beijing: sangkatutak na dumplings na may sawsawang suka na lasang basi at dalawang bote ng beer.
Pagkatapos ay nilabahan ko 'yung t-shirt at jogging pants na suot ko pa kahapon 'tsaka tig-dalawang medyas at brief.
Natulog ako nang naka-burles.
Chris Sabian (aka as Kevin Spacey) is a baby compared to those negotiating an international treaty on climate change. And Danny Roman (aka as Samuel Jackson) is peanuts compared to the challenges of negotiating that treaty.
Me is just another NGO bureaucrat trying to make sense of the nonsense that’s going on. It’s amazing how diplomats can be so nice amidst all the sell-off and reneging and blackmailing.
In the end, the real culprits were the Niebaums, Argentos, and Hellmans. They get all the goodies while the good guys like Danny Roman get all the blame.
In Tianjin, the Niebaums and Argentos and Hellmans are pretty much around. Sometimes I ride the bus with them too on my way to my small hotel and them to their huge 5-star one. The United Nations is supposed to be the Chris Sabians but…
Perhaps it may be better just to walk away from all this madness. But Danny Roman must prove his case. We are him. We will survive and triumph. And that hope alone deserves a bowl of the tastiest and delicious-est bowl of noodles I’ve ever had in my whole life.
Our hotel serves breakfast in an Italian restaurant. So it’s not unusual to have fried Chinese noodles and greens with European bacon and sausages. I wonder about the cheese and was on this contemplation mode when I decided to take a quick side trip to what is indicated in the map as a sightseeing street.
Some 2,000 buildings of European architecture built between the 1920s until the 1930s are showcased in Tianjin's Wu Da Dao District (aka The Five main Venues) and serves as reminders of the city's colonial past. In 1858, British and French gunboats induced the signing of the Treaties of Tianjin that opened the city to foreign trade. In 1900 as an aftermath of the Boxer Rebellion, an eight-nation alliance composed of Russia, Britain, Japan, Germany, France, the United States, Austro-Hungary, and Italy occupied and governed Tianjin. The city was effectively under foreign occupation until the end of World War II with Japan's surrender in 1945.
I have to follow a tight schedule and was only able to sneak out 3 times during my 8 days in Tianjin. The first was an attempt to find a church to pair with my first noodle shots. I did find one at the banks of the Haihe River. And right in front of it is what I thought to be a monument to the Chinese socialist revolution which seemed to remind those who pass by with that Marxist idiom: “Religion is the opium of the people”.
Across the church is a pedestrians’ bridge that leads to the Ancient Culture Street where remnants of Tianjin's ancient past is showcased for curious tourists. This 600 meter long pedestrian street bursts with Tianjin's cultural traditions and feature buildings from the Qing dynasty. It used to be the site of the earliest boat docks of Tianjin which was then one of the most important cities of China in terms of trade and commerce. The street was rebuilt and transformed as a tourist spot in the 1980s.
And right in the center of the street is the ancient Tianhou Palace that was first built in 1326 and one of only 3 Mazu Temples in the world. Mazu according to Wikipedia literally means Goddess of the Sea who is protects the fishermen and sailors.
I rushed back to the UNFCCC intersessional at the Meijiang Convention Center and was just in time for the day’s first session after which I treated myself to a traditional Tianjin lunch of Goubuli Baozi (steamed stuffed bun/dumpling/siopao), a bowl of what may be dan dan noodles with a piece of something like a century egg, and fried dough.
I thought Tianjin is almost not China. It seems a first world city with its wide streets and high rises.
Then the frequency of the red flags with the yellow stars matched that of the countless street lights.
A nice smile and sign language became the medium of communication.
We were moved to another hotel because that which we have been booked is not allowed to take in foreigners. I was told that came from the police who immediately installed detection devices and a 24-hour security detail in our new hotel.
I am in China. And this is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
FOOTNOTE: According to Wikipedia, Tianjin was once known as Zhigu which means “Straight Port”. It was in 1404 that it became known as “the Heavenly Ford”. The top photo was the first image I shot of Tianjin as our plane touched down at the Binhai International Airport. The bottom photo is my first Tianjin dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant just below our hotel.
Thank God for the unlimited wifi access. The 4-hour lay-over at Hong Kong's International Airport passed by unnoticed. Which was my last chance of flickring and Facebooking I would found out later. Lots of noodle shops too. But later, after Tianjin...
Photo shows one of Hong Kong International's Chinese noodle shops.
