Having left Harbin already, I'm a bit sorry I missed the swedish reporting in Aftonbladet on the animal parks there. According to the report, it is possible to pay buy a cow that is then let in to the tigers that will promptly shred it to pieces. Other options is buying cats or ducks and send to smaller animals. That would have been nice, as I never got to visit the germ warfare base there (see more in my swedish report on this).
My guide book is 4 years old, which gives me some problems. The reason is that I found a pirate copy of lonely planet in Hong Kong, but lost it in Beijing. After some futile searching in bookstores for a newer copy, I found out that they aren't sold in China. Why not? Because their map suggests that Taiwan is not a part of china. Instead, I managed to buy an old copy of Rough Guide at my hostel.
The problem with Rough Guide is that it is very proud of its reputation of having the clearest maps of all guide books. Because of this, they don't like to clutter down their maps with pointless information such as street names or locations of internet cafes, travel agents or such. This gives me some problem, as the information on buildings is mostly chinese (apart from some misspelled english).
In Chengde, Mr. Cthulhu & I found some great statues of copulating gods that I weren't allowed to photograph. Also, they had a great phallic rock, 20 m high, that supposedly enhances the virility of all citizens. Photos uploaded later.
Now in Danton, where I've been viewing the Hanging Temple and the Yungang Caves. Mr. Cthulhu found a pair of new red shoes that seems to fit ok. He likes to think that they look like monsters, but that I'm a bit more skeptic. Both of us are getting a heap big dose of Temple Fatigue. It is a bit like going around Europe and take a look at every church that exists. Most of them look a like, same kind of ornaments, same kind of statues.
Sweden rock festival in one week... We will miss you, you scallywag!
Posted by: Mats Fällman | May 31, 2007 at 08:46