Dark Tourism…

Something struck me about the oddity of war and death memorials on this trip - in particular with the tourism of them.  Now, I’m all for education, if only to prevent these from ever happening again.  But, something struck me oddly while touring Vietnam and Cambodia’s historical places.  The number of people photographing these horrors and posing in front of them.  I was a little dumbstruck.  I didn’t snap a picture of the girls posing below, but moments before they had been enacting all kinds of faces photographing themselves in front of a gun.

There is something gruesome about posing with elements of war.  Cutesy asian and anglo tourists would strike poses, smile with doubled fingers, in front of these killing machines and horrific displays.  I found myself fascinated by this strange display.   They guy photographing the Killing Fields memorial kept trying for different angles, moving around to capture that perfect shot. Is the guy photographing those skulls going to go home and show them off to friends and family?  What conversation will they have after that?  The girls jumping for a photograph in front of a gun that killed thousands will post it to facebook, a delightful capturing of their excursion to Vietnam.  Just, odd odd odd.

But then, my photographing them is odd too.

The last picture is a sign at most of the sites we visited.  Intially, I thought it strange to need to post a ‘no laughing or smiling’ sign but as I toured I saw a lot of examples of people laughing and playing around on the sites.  Part of me feels it is just a reaction to such a horror to see, not really knowing what to do – you laugh.

I remember reading or hearing about something a while back on the recent rise of  ‘dark tourism,’ where people go to disaster or war torn areas for vacation.  Sometimes they go to help out with a relief effort or offer aid, but sometimes they go just to see it.  I’m not sure how I feel about this.  Many writers, such as Orwell or Hemingway, joined military groups and war efforts to get experience for their writings; yet, something seems odd about purposefully traveling to a location out of simple curiosity with no real humanitarian spirit or conviction of belief in a cause.  Or, perhaps I’m just making too much out of people taking vacation pictures. 

Beijing – 798

Even though we hadn’t hit up every temple in town, we decided that taking in some art would be up our alley. The resulting trip was the coolest ‘out of the ordinary’ thing we did in Beijing. The very industrial and modern 798 Art District houses some impressive art which was more subversive, political, and counter-culture than anything I expected to find in China.

The area is a converted abandoned Industrial sector. The buildings are old warehouses and factories, which now house sculptures, cafes, and art spaces. We spent a morning and afternoon here, but didn’t manage to see everything. If you get to Beijing, I suggest finding this little block of goodness. Again, pictures are often better [or at least more pleasing to you and easier on me].  I have tons more, but here are some goodies:

Beijing – The Great Wall

Simply put – it’s great! After our fiasco with the 919 bus, everything seemed to settle out as we reached the wall. The bus ride afforded some views of old towers and sections of the wall. Once we got to the wall, there are plenty of kiosks offering meat on a stick – my favorite treat – so we were in good position.

We opted to do Badaling because it is the most visited and touristy section of the wall – which we read as easiest to get to and to walk. Beijing had gotten fairly cold, Shu Lan was definitely not prepared for a major hike, and I wasn’t in the mood to fight piercing winds as we scaled 70 degree inclines. I think we chose wisely.

The most “touristy part” of the wall was surprisingly emptier than we expected. Few hawkers were on the wall, since it was so cold. Oh man, was it cold! Wind blew so hard that I nearly fell over two or three times. I once grabbed Shu Lan as she floated up into the air! Ok, I’m exaggerating – but I did feel that I could occasionally be blown off the wall to the great below.

It is hard to capture the wall in words or pictures. I could give you hundreds of pictures of the wall but it is something that you simply have to experience. Impressive, never ending, and making you feel small – the Great Wall is just one of those things you have to go stand on to fully understand it.  That said, it would be a shame if I didn’t share any pictures:

Watch Your Bag

Upon arriving in Shanghai and venturing out to a shopping district, a kind young gentleman said, ‘Sir, watch your bag!’ I, surprised, thanked him as we walked away. Odd but polite and always a good reminder in a city, right? But, I had heard stories of people saying, ‘Watch your wallet!’ and foolish tourists reach for their wallet – immediately letting the pickpocket know where the prize was located. But, you can see my bag, what is the point of telling me to watch my bag?

A full day and more people told me to watch my bag than I have had in my entire life. Coupled with the ever present sign posts to protect your belongings, I thought, ‘Wow, this is the most thoughtful city I think I’ve been in.’ Finally, this all came crashing down. Along with these ‘watch your bags’ there are ever present people with cards who want you to buy what they are pushing – purses, jewelry, and other fine goods. On the second day, I finally understood one of them as they carefully pronounced, ‘Watch or bag?’ and shoved the card toward me.

Hm… ‘or’….. ‘your’….

My brain clicked. All of these warnings and advice! Not one of them had probably said, ‘Watch your bag!’ Each of them had probably said, ‘Watch or bag,’ trying to get me to buy items. The thickly accented English had led me to believe that they were offering friendly advice. Shu Lan laughed as I told her and it made sense. “No wonder they looked so confused as you said thanks and walked away!”

The Road to Shanghai

After leaving Sichuan [actually after leaving Luzhou], my official work duties were over. So, I flew to Shanghai and met up with Shu Lan for our China holiday extravaganza. First up on our list was to hit up the town of Shanghai. We only had a night and two full days, so we had to pack it in. Thankfully, Shanghai seems to be Hong Kong lite. Since I can shop till I drop at home – and Shu Lan was planning to be in Shanghai for several days after I left for HK – we were able to skip out on the shopping.

Well… almost skip out. Turns out China gets cold and yours truly needed a coat. Let me tell you, finding a decent jacket in Shanghai is no problem. Finding one that won’t 1) cost you an arm and leg and 2) fits when you are built like a tank, now that takes work. We must have been to 20 shops all up and down Shanghai. Turns out, in China, my shoulders make me a XXL. That’s right kiddos – all you people who say ‘OMG Bryan you are so skinny!’ ‘You’ve lost SO much weight!’ ‘What’s your secret?’ Well, the secret is to move where people are super tiny apparently.

So, here are my Shanghai highlights:

The Bund – A big tourist destination that at first looks like a miniature of the Hong Kong skyline. A closer look, though, reveals a beautiful array of historic buildings. You can take a boat here [we didn’t]. Close by is also a corridor-like street [leads to Renmin Ave.], which has more cool buildings, good eats, and plenty of shopping.

Yu Yuan Gardens – located in the ‘old center’ of Shanghai, this Chinese garden. While there are some plants, the focus seems to be on elaborate rockery pieces, water, and cool looking buildings. Very picaresque. Strategically, if you head here you can also hit the ‘Old Shanghai’ areas. The buildings look cool, you can get some soup dumplings, and buy stuff till you are satiated.

Duolun Street – In the 1930s if you were an artist or a revolutionary – you were at Duolun street. There are some cool statues, the oldest [or maybe only] Chinese style Christian church, and a cool scene. Again, shopping on this street – primarily from vendors and artisans. It can be tricky to get to and you might find yourself on some alleys of Shanghai. This was interesting too, though, as we saw a part of Shanghai that a lot of tourists don’t make it to.

We saw other things in Shanghai, but like I said our time was limited. So, if you have only a day, I suggest those three. I didn’t take a ton of pictures, but the city has a 1920s feel with art deco buildings. It feels like a city removed from time.