12 January 2011
Traveling in the developing world can be disorienting business. Every few days you're dropped into unknown territory with little more guidance than the poorly photo copied map in your pirated guide book which doesn't even cover the part of town you're in anyway. As most of the denizens were born in your new environs there's been little emphasis in the signage department. Such was the case with my arrival in Fenghuang. My guide book bills Fenghuang as a fairly well preserved 16th century era riverine town. Included is a nice map of the town. I guess I glossed over the fact that it is surrounded by a sprawling, modern city in the midst of which I was deposited yesterday afternoon. Finding the river easily enough I furtively examined my compass to determine which direction to follow it. 45 minutes later I was on the map. Bearings acquired I hoofed it another half hour to a youth hostel where I splashed out* for the dorm room with the view.
Besides shelter and sustenance I also spend a good deal of my time traveling, looking for things of a mundane nature. Because I am a romantic and it makes it feel less annoying I like to call it questing. I quested for popcorn kernels in Katelios and Skala. There was the quest for chapstick in Laos and a bakery in Hoi An. Hanoi was so rife with quests that King Arthur would have wet his chain mail. There was the Chinese visa hunt and quests for trousers, shoes, and thermal underwear to name a few. Yesterday, in Fenghuang, I went questing for the internet.
It's funny how you feel like you see something everywhere until you're actually looking for it. Internet cafes have been a regular part of the scenery over the past six months. They are easily distinguished by the droves of adolescent boys and young men packed shoulder to shoulder in front of computer screens that make up 99% of the clientele. These customers usually come in two varieties:
- Quietly absorbed in playing some kind of weird puzzle game with red, blue and green gems.
- Screaming at the top of his lungs as he unleashes the might of his virtual chain machine gun on the avatars of his friends in a virtual world.
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| The "Fenghuang" |
Internet cafes can also be identified by the blue, smoky haze formed from a ready supply of lit but under utilized cigarettes propped on the edges of ash trays, forgotten by their 13 year old owners who are busy car jacking an ambulance or playing that weird gem game. With lodging secured and bag unloaded I went questing for just such an establishment.
It was late afternoon and the sun was still shining brightly. I wandered around the streets and alleyways assuming I'd find something sooner or later. I found the statue of phoenix from which Fenghuang is named and some interesting accoutrement like cured and dried pig faces drawing forth simultaneous mental images of both Hannibal Lecter and Miss Piggy. Hmmm, there could be something there. I'll talk it over with my agent.
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| Flattened pig faces |
The day gave way to evening and I stopped at a restaurant for dinner and used the old "point at something on the menu in the desired price range and hope it's palatable" trick. I continued my search after a meal of hashed beef and rice. I ventured down a wide thoroughfare in the modern part of the city. It was lively and there were loads of shops on both side of the street. Surely, I thought there must be an internet cafe around here somewhere.
There were none. However, a few times I noticed small groups of young men turning down dark alley ways or heading up rickety stairs passing under signs with glowing red characters. The first of these characters looked like "XX." The figures I saw disappearing down those passages certainly fit the demographic I was looking for. However, thinking they were off to pursuits of ill repute I steered away from the establishments and returned to my hostel unsuccessful.
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| Of course, thumbing through language section of the LP that evening I discovered those are precisely the characters for denoting an internet cafe. Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids! |
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| Fenghuang by night |
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| * The view from my premium dorm for which I paid the equivalent of $7 |
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| The Phoenix by day |
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| Washing day |
Traveling in the developing world can be disorienting business. Every few days you're dropped into unknown territory with little more guidance than the poorly photo copied map in your pirated guide book which doesn't even cover the part of town you're in anyway. As most of the denizens were born in your new environs there's been little emphasis in the signage department. Such was the case with my arrival in Fenghuang. My guide book bills Fenghuang as a fairly well preserved 16th century era riverine town. Included is a nice map of the town. I guess I glossed over the fact that it is surrounded by a sprawling, modern city in the midst of which I was deposited yesterday afternoon. Finding the river easily enough I furtively examined my compass to determine which direction to follow it. 45 minutes later I was on the map. Bearings acquired I hoofed it another half hour to a youth hostel where I splashed out* for the dorm room with the view.
Comments
Debbie
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12541769