5/1/09: Shaolin Temple

Well, I had pretty much the worst day of travelling I've ever had in China, but for some reason, I'm not in a bad mood right now, because I came back alright, and tomorrow, I'm back in Kunming, so the horizon is in view. Right now, I'm feeling kind of low on the concept of doing any more travelling in China, but who knows, maybe I'll plan another grand tour in the next few weeks for my last week or so in the country.

Today was supposed to go pretty smoothly, since the hostel owner showed me exactly where I could buy the tickets, and I was ready to go. I went confidently up to the window, bought a ticket for Shaolin Temple (later than I wanted to go, but I also got up later than I should have). I stumbled into the parking lot after I realized that this bus depot didn't at all resemble the orderly one in Lijiang, and was ushered on to a bus by someone in an official uniform. The only seat was in the way back, next to a family with little kids, but I was confident at least that I'd get there.

I fell asleep, and woke up just in time to see us pass Shaolin Temple. Ok, I figured, maybe the parking lot is a ways away. But when we finally stopped, I was told that we had an hour, and I was hustled into buying a ticket at the booth of a place that was definitely not Shaolin Temple. This place was a very old Confucian academy, distinguished by very old and impressive cypress trees, but nowhere I particularly wanted to be. Pissed off at being yoked into what seemed to be a tour, I stomped around for about thirty minutes, which was really more time than anyone needed in that place, and then got on the bus, where the hustler calmed me down, said we were going to Shaolin Temple next, and I stupidly bought a return ticket.

Well, the next stop wasn't Shaolin Temple. It was a perfectly undistinguished Buddhist temple I had absolutely no interest in seeing. At this point, with half my day gone, I was positively steaming. I still don't really understand what the incentive was to lie to me, since he didn't actually make any money from decieving me (other than me buying a return ticket, but I might have done that anyhow, since I wasn't sure how I was going to get back). And I was pissed because I definitely didn't request any ticket other than the one to Shaolin Temple, and went through an official broker, not a street tout. The next stop wasn't even Shaolin Temple. They stopped for food for forty minutes. Meanwhile, the kids next to me were getting antsy. The genius parents bought them sticks of incense for some reason, and they proceeded to wack me in the face with them, because, obviously, as a foreigner, I'm basically furniture. Pleasant.

By the time we finally got to Shaolin Temple, it was 3:40, and we only had two odd hours there. The driver explained that I should rush to see the show with the group, but I lost the group, and then stayed and watched a show which was not the real show, I later found out. It was kind of neat, but not overly impressive. I really like the idea of the Shaolin Monks, and kung fu in general, on a very adolescent level. I like the idea that through enough hard work, you can train your body and mind to do superhuman things. I also like the idea of a band of monks fighting for justice.

Shaolin temple, unfortunately, at least when I visited, was a miserable place. Zen Buddhism started there, but with throngs of people (probably not helped by the fact that today is a Chinese national holiday), it's the least zen place you can imagine. Also, every landmark is a good kilometer away from every other one, so I spent most of my time walking, and when I wasn't walking, I was wrestling with the crowds. Already pissed off and in no mood to deal with throngs of Chinese tourists, I saw pretty much none of what I had planned to see. I tried to see the next kung fu demonstration, but I missed that one too, and at that point, I calculated that I wouldn't be able to see anything else and catch my bus back. So I went back early, thoroughly disappointed, and just read Records of The Historian for a while. The reading helped calm me down, proving that what it really might have been was that I was just sick of travelling. As a last little irritation, the tour leader hustled me on another bus that was going back earlier. Except there wasn't actually a seat for me on that bus, and I sat uncomfortably hunched over near the front of the bus for two hours. Luckily, I had a solid dinner when I got back, which always helps things.

Well, tomorrow is the end of this journey, but it's gonna be a nuts day of travelling tomorrow. An early morning five hour train ride, and then a semi-mad dash to Xi'an Airport. I'll start at 7 tomorrow morning and hopefully get back to the dorms around 11 in the evening. And my ticket says that I have an assigned car, but no seat, so, that should be interesting. Hopefully, I'll write you from Kunming tomorrow, wish me luck.