La Tomatina (Tomato Throwing) Festival - Craziest Festival Ever

La Tomatina (2011)

I can still hear the endless chants rumbling from the sides of my head like a sacrificial tribal encantation...tomatina...Tomatina...TOMatina...TOMATINA...TOMAATINAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! And that it was. I still cannot believe it's almost been a year since my Europe trip (and I've obviously failed in blogging) but I need to get this entry down...for Tomatina at least. Because this was one of those unforgettable, once-in-a-lifetime memories that will forever be etched in the confines of my mind. Although it has already been nearly a year now and many of those minute details have already been erased...I still do remember the majority of how it went (for now) and I must write it down for preservation purposes (because we will forget the smaller things, albeit very important, sooner or later in life). 

So...as I remember it...I remember hearing and seeing this "Tomatina" festival as a kid watching MTV in the good old days when they showed those crazy Spring Break videos and the Tomatina festival was one of them. It was literally one of the craziest things I'd ever seen because you'd just see a sea of RED and people going crazy like they were all on Ecstasy or something. Who would've thought that in 10+ years time...I would have the opportunity to partake in this massive festival of craziness as well? Well...it just so happened that my Study Abroad trip in Spain coincided with the timing of the Festival as well. And this is something that you just have to do once in your lifetime...especially when the opportunity is right beneath your nose...even if you have a Final Exam the NEXT DAY. And yes...those of us who decided to go to Tomatina did indeed have a Final Exam the next morning...but it's Tomatina...even if aliens were invading Earth and vaporizing the face of mankind, I would still be there in Bunol holding a tomato in one hand and a beer in the other. 

Originally, a bunch of people from our program were planning on going to Tomatina but that number got sliced in half when we found out that there was a Final Exam the next morning. And the professor said he was going to offer a "review session" the day of Tomatina where students would also get "extra credit points" for attending so that made people question the idea of going to Tomatina even more. Eventually, the brave last standers ended up being the older folks (4th and 3rd years) who "cared" about their grades but not as much as the 1st or 2nd years. To put it out truthfully, we could've cared less about some "review" or "extra credit" (although I'm Chinese and I'd kill for extra credit), but this was the Tomatina Festival and when else would we get the opportunity to do something as crazy as this? Probably never. And plus, the Final Exam was "open book" and our grades were already pretty good at that point. So in the end, the Tomatina crew ended up consisting of : Me, Johnson, Peggy, Winnie, Jimson, and Lisa.

But there was also another problem...how do we get there? It was actually pretty complicated because we planned it so last minute and getting there was a bit difficult as well. I just remember spending hours researching possible methods of getting there but there wasn't that much detailed information online. A lot of people actually take a tour bus that brings you to Bunol (where the festival takes place) just for the Festival and picks you up again, but that was a bit too expensive for our college budgets. A few nights before Bunol, we actually found a "Tomatina tour bus" that would pick us up a few blocks from our hotel in Madrid and drive us all the way to Bunol...and it was pretty cheap. The hotel receptionist (I forget her name but she was the nicest ever) called this company for us at 1AM in the morning, and they said we would have to do a "cash wire transfer" to one of their bank accounts. Oh hell no. Especially not in Spain. Actually, we were hella stupid because we actually thought about doing it at first...and then we slapped ourselves and decided not to. After countless hours of more research, we found out there was a bus that goes to Valencia from Madrid (by a legit bus company). So that was what we did (and because tickets were limited, we had to split up and meet up in Valencia). We basically took a taxi at around 11PM to the Madrid bus station...tried sleeping on a 5 hour bus ride to Valencia but failed because the bus driver blasted and was singing along to some Spanish oldies...then took a cab to one of the Valencia train stations and waited there for a few hours until 6am...boarded a train packed of Tomatina'ers...and we finally arrived in Bunol at about 7AM.

Outside the Valencia Train Station ~ 6AM

On our way to Bunol...crazy tired but met a bunch of cool random people

Finally arriving in Bunol ~ 7AM.

TOMATINAA!!!! Well...not quite...by the time we arrived to Bunol at around 730AM, we were mad tired a nd in no mood to shower ourselves in tomatoes. I wanted a nap. Rather, I wanted to SLEEP, but as the sun crept up and people started filing into the city...there was no time nor room for sleep and we just wandered around in our zombie-like moods. But that all changed as the start of the festival started getting nearer and nearer and we got more excited by the minute. After storing all our clothes and valuables in a ghetto storage locker, we proceeded to follow the crowd downtown to where the festival was held. Now, just a quick background information on Bunol...it's a city of about 9000 people but it jumps to around 50000 for that one Tomatina day. You could see people from all over Europe...all over the world...speaking in their own respective languages. But we all had one common goal: throwing and chucking tomatoes at each other for that one hour of madness.

As we headed downhill towards the epicenter of Tomatina, you could see people selling beer from every street corner and everywhere else. People usually come the night before (to Valencia) to party and drink before the main festivities, so we decided to buy a few beers to sip on before everything started (turned out to be a bad idea...explanation later to come). So as 9AM approached, a horn blows (I think) which signifies the start of the event. Firstly, before the trucks full of tomatoes come charging into town, a piece of ham needs to be retrieved atop a pole. But it's not as easy as it sounds because that pole is 50 feet tall and is GREASED UP. We watched from about 50 feet away as guys (and some gals) attempted to climb the pole and failed miserably time and time again. There was one guy who almost reached the top but was a stupidass and tried to get a picture in and in the process, fell all the way back down. It's pretty interesting for the first 30 minutes, but it gets kind of tiring as you're just anxiously waiting for someone to get the damn ham so the "real festival" actually starts. In the end, I think 2010 Tomatina was an epic fail for the "Ham" because no one actually fetched it. After about an hour and a half, the Tomatina committee just gave up on us and released the trucks anyway. 

One of many ghetto "Storage Facilities"

Failllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll

It did take the trucks quite a while to reach us, but part of the fun was the "wait" and the crowd and atmosphere. We were literally squished like a can of sardines...there was no movement and you had to fight your way to get through the crowds. And let me refer back to the "beer" comment because you don't want to drink that much beer because you'll need to use the restroom.My friend Jimson whose bladder was about to explode needed to use the restroom right before the trucks came and so he frantically left us to go look for a toilet (he eventually and miraculously came back to find us just as the trucks started to roll in). The reality is that...because you literally cannot find a restroom nearby and you can't move around anywhere...people resort to just pissing on themselves or on the ground. No one notices in that crowd, especially when the trucks full of tomatoes come rolling in and chaos reigns...It is definitely sick because you'll see people "bathing" in the tomato-soaked streets afterwards...which is mixed with a combination of tomatoes, piss, spit, and other nasty things.

But onto more fun and less sickening ideas...the atmosphere is just CRAZY. Most people have been drinking and really get into the "moment," especially the Aussie crowds. You'll hear people chanting like they do at soccer games and screaming at the top of their lungs as gallons of water are sprayed onto the crowd from a fire hose (it was almost like a water park at the same time as well). And if you're a girl and you are sitting on some dude's shoulders...there is a 100% chance that the crowd will pinpoint you and ask you to FLASH them. So even before the tomatoes came...it is already a crazy party in itself...but when the trucks did come...all that I remember was TOTAL CHAOS...

You could just hear the trucks coming from a distance...as evidenced by the majestic roar of the crowd and the frequent blowing of the trucks' horns...just imagine the big fight scene in the movie "300" and replace the Persian Army with the Tomato Trucks and Spartans with Us. And just imagine the epic 300 soundtrack playing in the background with slow-mo action as tomatoes are flying from left and right. EPICNESS. Truck after truck after truck would pile down the streets as people raided and climbed onto the trucks like savages...and the fight was ON. And let me tell you something...TOMATOES HURT! Imagine throwing an orange at someone (not as hard as an orange) but they do hurt like crazy. And I just want to warn you if you're a small asian girl (like my one friend) girl, you will be pushed and shoved around like a beanbag in this war between men versus tomatoes...it will not be friendly. In a matter of seconds...you could see the entire street change from clear to crimson red...just like a bloodbath. Actually, that is a pretty good way to put it...we were all almost like zombie savages in need for blood and the only way we would be able to get it was from chucking tomatoes at each other and the end result was a street full of weary and half-dead people drenched in red...looking for a way out. Good analogy, David. It was only an hour long but it seemed like a decade. Thank god it was only an hour long because any longer and I think there would've been serious injuries and possibly, the Tomato Disease. 

We walked to the end of the street to find public showers awaiting us as we quickly rinsed off and tried to locate the rest of the group (because some of us got split up). And that walk back up the hill was the longest walk of my life. Baking in the hot sun and still with bits of tomato in our ears, we became the definition of Sun Dried Tomatoes. 

Sick....you have no idea what's in that "Tomato Sauce."

See you later Tomatina!

Tired...drained..and .wrenched of "Sun Dried Tomatoes"

As we regrouped at around 3PM...we each bought a Tomatina t-shirt for memories and headed out of Bunol. We decided to take the train back (as there were no buses) and the only thing I remember from that train ride was getting on...and getting off...because I just KNOCKED THE CRAZY OUT. We all got back to Madrid on time...still wrenching of tomatoes and wearing the same set of clothes...and then proceeded to take the best showers of our lives when we got back to the hotel...and finally began studying for our final we had the next day.

Yangshuo, China (阳朔), Part II

 So where did I leave off...yes on our way to Yangshuo from Guilin...

So now that you've met the cast of Showbiz Inn, the adventure began the minute we checked into Showbiz Inn and we were DAMN HUNGRY. So we roamed around West Street...the most infamous street on the South Side of China. It is probably the only street you'll ever set foot on in Yangshuo and the only one you need to be on as it contains the both the quintessential Chinese souvenirs for the daily tourist (day) and seemingly endless night clubs for those young party goers. I don't know if we were being cheap or it seemed delicious (because we were so damn hungry), but we saw a huge sign with a bowl of noodles that led us into some local's house. This could've been dangerous as we walked up the pebbled walkway towards the "restaurant," but a nice old lady came to greet us at the door. And so we sat down and looked at each other like "What the crazy are we doing here?" But hey...if you want the full Yangshuo experience...you better eat in a Yangshuonian's household. We ordered a bowl of noodles, two lamb buns, and another bowl of mother-trucking-100%-salt noodles. I am a Yelper, so I would've given this place two stars...one star for the cheapness and one star for the nice, old lady. The food was...let's just say we were hungry and it filled us up (although it did give me some stomach troubles later on...).

Homemade Noodles from Local's House

I think eating in some local's house was the most interesting part of Day 1 as Aston went back and knocked out afterwards, while I went exploring...in circles...taking pictures of Chinese trash cans and chickens. Not that interesting, so we'll fast forward to the night.

So if you're ever around the Guangxi province, you should definitely check out the Liu Sanjie Impression show at night. It's a live light show with the largest "natural theater" set on the backdrop of the Li River. We bought our ticket from the Showbiz Inn Hostel for around 200RMB (30USD) and we were seated at the very very top. But because the security really isn't that tight and the show is situated in the dark, you really can move around if you want to (if there are open seats). Now what is the story about? I can't really tell you that because I was confused myself (maybe you can wiki it). What I got out of it was several different stories (love, hardship, and bamboo rafts). Aston said it best, "this would probably be the coolest rave in the world." 

Anyone want to rent a telescope to watch the show?

So as we left the stadium, it was a mad dash to the exit as Chinese people always want to be the first to leave. None of that waiting around and reminiscing over how great the show was. JUST GET ME HOME NOW. And so we tried to look for our driver. He looked Chinese. And that was all we could remember. I can't remember how we tracked down our driver as everyone looked the same, but I think we found this Jamaican girl who was on our bus and thank god she was on our bus or we wouldn't of been able to find our way back.

As soon as we got back to the hostel, we were mad tired as we had done a lot of traveling earlier on in the day, but we decided to check out the rooftop bar...oh that so famous rooftop bar they were raving about...And so we checked it out and from that night, our real Yangshuo experience would begin. 

And before I proceed onto the latter part of the night, I just want to mention our dorm mates (who I never got a picture with or remember their names) as we lived in a 6-bed dorm room. There was a 24-year old girl who bunked on top fo me and was coincidentally from San Francisco as well and attended UC Davis. There were two other British girls who were party animals and great to chat with. There would also be an older white American dude who would later join us. Oh and I almost forgot (because she was a ghost) this other American girl who only stayed for one night, but she probably only said 4 words to us : I am from America. She kind of looked like a younger version of the nanny from the Brady Brunch, and I think Aston had a crush on her?

But yes...back to our night atop Yangshuo at the rooftop bar. After the light show (it was about 10PM), we unenthusiastically walked upstairs to be greeted by a few people playing pool and a hippie bartender who didn't seem to belong. We headed straight to the bar for a few drinks to loosen up and it was awkward for the first 20 minutes until the bartender suggested we play beer pong. And from that point and a few drinks later, we all became as close as friends could be in Yangshuo. I think we ended up playing only one or two games of beer pong, but we definitely had rounds and rounds of shots. So they had this drink called "Death Shot" which is basically a shot of Chinese white liquor (二锅头erguotou) for 5 yuan. There was this guy from Beijing (we named him erguotou) who demanded we drink with him because he thought he was a hot shot from Beijing and so we bought a whole bottle of it and killed it. This stuff, as cheap as it is, will give you the worst hangover ever; you literally get what you pay for. We ended up playing darts and pool the entire night until about 4AM and then we called it a night. We had a long day ahead the next day, so sleeping at 4AM was definitely not the best idea in the world.

The next morning (5 hours later), I had to drag Aston's drunkass out of bed because we had planned a long day to see the "real" Yangshuo. And I had told Tong Tong to meet us downstairs in the lobby at 10AM. After a brief and miserable lunch to rid ourselves of that "erguotou," we rented our bikes from our hostel and rode off into the beautiful countryside. And might I say...riding in the Yangshuo countryside is probably the nicest

bike riding experience you will ever get. Luckily for me, I didn't have much of a hangover, but Aston's day was marred by the aftermath of ERGUOTOU. We rode for hours...bypassing several small villages...venturing into unrideable paths...enjoying the sound of wind and the endless fields filled with yellow flower...and eventually taking a 2-hour bamboo raft down the Yulong River. My ass was swollen for the next few days, but it was worth it.

Later that night, it became the norm (even though it had only been one day) to head up to the rooftop bar expecting to see the original cast of people. And we did. Another friend popped up too (our new dorm mate), who was an MBA student from the States. Aston ended up talking to him the entire night and by the night was over, he was knocked out in bed. Tong Tong really wanted to go clubbing and I guess we did too (but we were so tired), and so we ventured into the infamous West Street at 2AM only to find a few clubs still open. And so we entered the remaining club open in a street filled with darkness at 2AM to find a few European dudes and a gang of wasted middle-aged Chinese men. It seemed pretty lame at the beginning but it turned out to be pretty fun. We met this guy from Switzerland (Swiss Eminem), who insisted on having a rap battle with me and Aston. And that is what we gave him. The worst rap battles in the history of Rap, live from Yangshuo. It consisted of a lot of head waddling and tough looking faces, while words came out in incomprehensible English and some bad Chinese as well. And what was worse...there were only about 4 songs on the DJ's playlist...as the Black Eyed Peas' "Time of my Life" kept playing on repeat for the next hour. But hey...it was the only place open at 3AM. And this was Tong Tong's last night, so we wanted to spend it with her. And so as the night died and 4AM came around the corner once more, we said our goodbyes and told Tong Tong we'd say good-bye in the morning before she left. And the next morning would be quite a surprise...

Swiss Eminem + Tong Tong

The next morning was very similar to the one beforehand. Hungover and did not want to wake up. When we finally woke up, we decided to go look for and say good-bye to our good friend, Tong Tong. But the problem was that she was not picking up her phone, and she wasn't waiting for us in the lobby like usual. After about an hour of unsuccessful searching, we had lunch at a nearby restaurant hoping to spot her walking by. When that didn't work out, we decided to check her hotel (where we dropped her off last night). The hotel manager told us that she was STILL in her room and so we went up and knocked on her door (well Aston did). Expecting to see a hungover Tong Tong answer unresponsively to the knock on the door, instead we see Michael's (the hostel owner) bright and shining face answer the door. The next 7 seconds reigned of extreme awkwardness and silence and you could see Michael's usual smile turn upside down into an oval-shaped "oh my god, what are you doing here" type of smile. We told him we just wanted to say bye to Tong Tong before she left...but what was he doing there?! Needless to say, we did not suspect anything between them two but we were a bit shocked. It was just awkward and so we hurriedly made up some excuse to bounce. It was awkward, confusing, and funny at the same time. We definitely had some good conversations about it afterwards...

And so our final day in Yangshuo would continue...without Tong Tong. We decided to rent bikes again (SO PAINFUL but cheapest option) to get to this Water Cave. I've seen a bunch of caves in Guilin before so I my expectations for this "Water Cave" wasn't too high, but those expectations changed as well even before we entered the cave. In order to get to the cave, we took a 30 minute van ride that was probably the bumpiest ride of my life. And in addition to that, we were squeezed in a mini-sized van filled with about 10 people; I felt like a clown in the circus riding in one of those clown cars. During the ride there, we befriended another group  of Americans who were also heading towards the Water Cave. It was two dudes (one of them looked like Chuck Norris) and their 3 adopted sons. And the entire time, the dad was trying to politely tell Aston to stop cussing in front of the kids. But they were very cool about it. The cave itself was very different than other caves I had seen before (where they are all lit up and illuminated by colored lights), but this one was all natural and seemed to go on forever. We took a small boat into the cave through an opening that barely fit us as bats swooped in and out. Once we got in, we got a grand tour of the entire cave, and the tour guide would randomly point out that this section looks like an elephant or this piece of rock looks like a T-Rex or something. And we would all stare at it for a few seconds and then say...WOW I SEE IT (even though some were kind of BS)!. After the tour ended, we changed into our swimsuits to relax in their natural hot springs. A much needed break from the craziness of the past few days...

Chuck Norris to the Right.

I forget what that is supposed to be...some Alien nest egg I think...

And so we did a bunch of other things like hiking up the Moon-Hill cave only to reach the top and see nothing and we did go back to the rooftop bar once more...only to see TONG TONG there AGAIN (because she missed her train). There are a million more things I could say about this trip to Yangshuo that would match the length of the Odyssey itself, but I will leave it at that. Yangshuo, for me in retrospect, was one of the best trips I've ever had. Everything fell into place and the things to do there are countless but I enjoyed it so much mainly because of the people I was there with. I write this lengthy blog entry as a reminder of the happiness and joy that came from this trip and hopefully many years down the line, I will still be able to relive those few days in Yangshuo as vividly as I can now.

Yangshuo, China（阳朔）: Part I

Yang what? 

Yangshuo fool.

No comprendo. You talking about Yan Can Cook? 

Who has ever even heard of the name Yangshuo? What about Guilin? You’ve probably heard of Guilin before and associate it with the majestic mountains and karst scenery that is seen in so many Chinese paintings. But if you’ve never been, then you just won’t know. Guilin is a tourist trap where as Yangshuo is truly the land in which both ancient and modern artists write and marvel about.

During our last night in Guangzhou, we (my cousin, my cousin-in-law, Aston, and me) had a deep and personal talk about family and clash of cultures, in which we ended up staying up until about 4AM. And that began a week in which we would never sleep before 3AM. Our 3 alarm clocks woke us up at 6AM as we sloppily and hurriedly moved around to pack as our flight was at 920AM. Half awake and hungry, we hastily took the subway to the Guangzhou airport, which was super convenient because it drops you right inside the airport and will get you there in about 40 minutes.

Holy shit was I tired. If you ever travel with Aston, you will never go to sleep before 4AM.  And the only way is…to get him piss-drunk so he’ll just flop onto bed and wake up hella late the next morning. JK JK, he’ll provide some good (and sometimes awkward) conversations, but I miss it. But yeah, we basically KTFO’d on that 1 hour plane ride to the Guilin…

Guilin Airport...built in 1600.

Ticket stand - on our way to Yangshuo.

Now the Guilin airport probably isn’t the smallest airport in the world but it’s pretty small and run-down. The baggage claim was probably made from Lego pieces and painted brown or something. Our plan was to go straight to Yangshuo from Guilin for about 3 days…Longji Rice Terraces for 1 day…and Guilin for 1 day. So we took the Airport shuttle from the airport (20yuan) to the Guilin railway station which took about 45 minutes. We then boarded a bus from Guilin to Yangshuo (25yuan). The thing about these buses which is both annoying and amazingly interesting at the same time is that they need to fill up the bus before departing to Yangshuo (and anywhere else). For example, they’ll just randomly drive around and stop at these random stops (in the middle of the streets some times) and people will just hop on (and hop off).

View from the rooftop bar atop our Hostel.

So the next two hours was kind of a blur because I pretty much just knocked out. I read online that the bus ride from Guilin to Yangshuo would provide you with “priceless and imposing views of nature’s glory.” The only cool things I saw was a dog barking at a water buffalo and old men burning trash. Hmmmmmmmmm. Well all those “imposing views of nature’s glory” would come in a matter of hours.

We arrived at the Yangshuo bus station at around 230PM. As soon as we got off the bus, around 15 middle-aged women rushed and tussled to get to the front of the bus to await us. Now this kind of scene isn’t new to me as middle-aged women scuffle and brawl for me all the time, but they were actually just trying to sell us a hotel room. 不用啦! Favorite phrase to say in Yangshuo….”不用啦 (Do Not Need),” as there are people constantly bombarding you with a tour of the Lijiang river or “the best room in Yangshuo!” Nah…BU YAO LA…we already got Showbiz Inn fools (Aston, yamean?).

We booked a 6-bed dorm in Showbiz Inn for the next 3 nights and it would be the best decision we made on that trip. Showbiz Inn will forever be the “model” hostel in which I will compare all my other hostel visits against. It was probably the people I met at there, but it was storybook perfect in its own awkward kind of way. I seriously did not feel like I was on vacation until I stepped foot in that hostel and from that point on, Yangshuo would be a life-changer. OK, well I’m making it sound like I needed help or something but yeah…it was 3 mothertrucking fun-arse days and nights.

So…let me introduce to you the cast of Showbiz Inn…

Aston

We have Aston Tsui who reigns from Dodgerville in the States and has been teaching English in Japan for the past two years. He is no longer a fatass Buddha and has lost a lot of weight. He brought a 10-pound band from Japan in an effort to stay in shape. He never used it once – failure. He isn’t afraid to say what’s on his mind and sometimes he is too blunt and direct, but that is what makes him the way he is.

Erguotou

“Erguotou.” This guy is a fucking character. The guy is about 25 years old and comes from Beijing. He’s currently in Yangshuo to take English classes, but I don’t think he’s ever attended one single class. I asked him the first night, “What are you studying here?” He responded, “I am here to study drinking.” We had a one hour long drunk conversation that contained about two phrases he kept repeating over and over again in his strong Beijing accent. He kept telling me that no matter where I am from, I am still Chinese and that we are brothers and if I ever needed a place to stay or anything in Beijing, he’d hook it up. And every 10 minutes or whenever there was an awkward silence, he would loudly say in his heavily-accented English, “WELCOME TO BEIJING” and shake my hand. WE’RE IN YANGSHUO FOOL LOL. LOVE THIS GUY. Also, his name is “erguotou” (Chinese white wine) because he kept trying to get me and Aston fucked up by buying us “erguotou.” He obviously failed…

15-year old Kid

Next we got this guy who looks like he’s about our age but in fact, he’s 15 years old. And he drinks and smokes and stays out at rooftop bars. Oh yeah, he’s also learning English but I don’t think he goes to class either. We later found out that his mother is 29 years old (which means his mother had him at the age of 14). Maybe that is why he is so messed up. But the funny thing is that…on the last night when we came back from dinner, there was this really cute girl that we bumped into going up to our room. She was on her way up to the rooftop bar and asked us (in this teasing/flirting manner) to go up and "hang out." We later found out that this “cutie" is in fact the 15 year old’s mother. HAHAHAHA.

Fen

“AH FEN!” is this girl who works the front desk and also bartends at night. Now, she is quite the character and I still don’t know if the things she said was true or not, but I believe her. She’s basically this lesbian who has had three wives in the past and she says all of these things OPENLY…in CHINA. You would think homosexuality would be such a taboo subject in China (and it is), but she jokes around and flaunts it like she has no care in the world. She also loves talking and can go on talking forever (while we listen). Very interesting girl…don’t know if its bull or not, but I believe her.

Michael is the bald guy to the left.

Michael is the Showbiz Inn Owner and we immediately made a connection with him because he is also Cantonese. He’s probably one of the coolest guys you’ll ever meet and very 老实(honest). He would stay up at the bar until 3-4AM with us just because we still wanted to drink and chill. He’s also married apparently his wife is one of the receptionist girls) and has a daughter. Although he is very cool on the outside, we don’t really know him from the inside.

Tong Tong

And lastly, oh Tong Tong! She’s a 5’9 – 5’10, 22 year old model from Heilongjiang who moved to Shenzhen as a child. She is currently a model in Guangzhou for one of the biggest modeling agencies in China. She’s unique in the fact that her native tongue is Mandarin, but she can also understand and speak (mainly when she’s drunk) Cantonese as well. Her English is also not bad, but she is trying to work on it. What makes it interesting is that she can probably have whatever she wants because she is a model and is pretty smoking hot but yet, she is in Yangshuo by herself (to visit her friend Michael). We had a lot of talks and she told me as a child, she was constantly bullied and not accepted. Perfect example of the ugly duckling (she probably wasn’t ugly) turned Swan? Perhaps. Another thing is that even though she is a model, she is super sweet and caring. When we did bamboo rafting and kind of got ripped off (in her mind), she apologized to us and paid for the entire ride. She too is a mystery and too bad we only had a few days.

I know I've been rambling on and on about the people instead of the actual place, but it is the people that make up the "place." This applies for wherever your travels may take you...the people will make up your experience.

Now what did we actually do? I'll leave that up for another night...

The Bernese Oberland

Lauterbrunnen

So I discontinued blogging for a while because things have been quite hectic but the very thought of Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland just made me want to blog and relive my experiences again...it is THAT amazing.

If you were to ask me, "David, what is the most beautiful place you've ever been to?"

Without hesitation, I'd tell you, "Switzerland and the Bernese Oberland."

Now what the hell is the Bernese Oberland? It's not a city or country but rather a region in Switzerland that encompasses the world's greenest valleys situated right below the Swiss Alps. Winter or summer, rain or shine, it truly is a summer and winter wonderland year all around. As I am typing this blog post, I am still at a lost for words and speechless as no words can describe the beauty of this place. Ok, I'm being a little too corny but it's beautiful, alright?

But one thing is true...I've never seen grass so green, the air that fresh, and the surroundings so peaceful and quiet. Coming from hustle and bustle and stress of the city life, this was definitely the perfect escape for me. The Bernese Oberland is huge and I've only ventured into a small region of it, so here is my story...

Ok, so me and my friend Johnson just left Italy just as our friends, Ling and Christine, departed back to the USA. So after being in Spain for about a month and backpacking for another 2 weeks, we needed a damn break from everything. After Ling and Christine left, we both felt homesick and tired and wanted to go home...but we still had about 5 days in Switzerland. Even though I was tired and drained, I had previously done A LOT of research on Switzerland so WE HAD TO GO...

So we headed towards the Rome main train station at 8AM for our departure towards Lauterbrunnen. In order to get to Lauterbrunnen, we had to switch trains several times. You have to take the train from Rome to Milan. Then get off and switch to a train heading towards Spiez. Then from Spiez, you switch another time to a train heading towards Interlaken OST (West). You then get off at Interlaken and transfer to another train (your eurail pass will not work but 25% off) towards Lauterbrunnen. Yeah, it's a bit complicated but well worth the trip. The ride towards Spiez and Interlaken offers GREAT views; you'll see people whipping our their cameras to take pictures.

So to sum it up...Rome->Milan->Spiez->Interlaken->Lauterbrunnen. And I think we got there around 3PM so it took about 7-8 hours total in travel time.

But yeah, I pretty much knocked out during the first half of the train ride up to Italy (there wasn't much to see anyway) but woke up just in time for the good stuff. There's nothing like seeing great contrasts of green and blue to wake you up. On the way to Spiez and Interlaken, you'll pass by Lake Thun, which is probably the nicest lake I've ever seen (well I haven't seen too many lakes...Lake Tahoe...Lake Merced LOL). 

So the ride "into" Lauterbrunnen is kind of fun itself (there's a reason you have to pay extra for the ticket), it's sort of like venturing into some mysterious, mystical land in Lord of the Rings. The train ride offers pretty stunning views of the area and windows open all the way so you can stick you head out the window. You don't know where you are going as the train goes up and into the mountains and then you finally arrive in the Valley of Lauterbrunnen, the most beautiful little town in the World. 

Lauterbrunnen sits at the base of Lauterbrunnen Valley and is surrounded by waterfalls all around and the Swiss Alps in the near distance. It's a small little town, which you can walk through in about 20 minutes. FYI: JRR Tolkien got his idea for Rivendell from Lauterbrunnen Valley. And I would recommend anyone heading over to the Bernese Oberland to stay in Lauterbrunnen as it's the base for wherever you want to go (Jungfrau or Schilthorn). 

I booked our stay at Camping Jungfrau, which is about a 15-20 minute walk from the train station (pretty much at the end of town). And I just remember walking through the town and just admiring everything around me...it was simply beautiful (I literally said "beautiful" 100+ times during those few days). When we arrived at Camping Jungfrau, we didn't know what to expect in terms of housing but the staff there was extremely nice and kindly walked us to our CABINS! Holy crap, I thought it was going to be a hostel but we got an entire mini-cabin to ourselves....NAYCE!. That was the life pretty much...living in a cabin, eating Swiss chocolate smack dead in the middle of the Valley with a 900foot waterfall right beside us. It seems like something out of a storybook...and it was...and I was living it. Damn thinking about it just makes me write hella corny shit...gotta add some HMPHHHH OK I'M GOOOOOD AITE SHIETTTTT.

Anyways, we dropped off our luggage and after settling down, we went to go check out Stabbauch Falls (the 900ft waterfall) that was right beside our camp. It wasn't that long of a climb/hike up as weren't able to go all the way up, but it was pretty cool just being under a waterfall overlooking the Valley during our first few hours in Lauterbrunnen. There isn't much of a "nightlife" and I didn't expect one, so we just returned to our cabin and ate chocolate for the rest of the night. Sweetness.

The next morning started at around 630AM and we were in store for a long, long day. Our hostel helped us book tickets to the Schilthorn and so we walked 15 minutes back to beginning of the town to take the cable car up. From there, you have to switch to a train that'll take you to Murren, but we decided to hike and walk over there (took about an hour or so). The own of Murren is a pretty cool situated a few thousand feet above the Valley base. We found this one Chinese restaurant that served beef fried rice for $18...yes Switzerland is that expensive.

Once at the end of Murren, you finally take 360-degree revolving cable car up to the Schilthorn, but it was FOGGY AND CLOUDY. But we hoped that by the time we got up there (10000ft) that the clouds would clear up...but it was F'in cloudy and foggy and all we could see was WHITE. I could see that crap in San Francisco damnit. Paid like $100 bucks to ride up there. So now what? 100 BUCKS...better make the most out of it, so we decided to venture into the Abyss. Usually, people hike when the weather is sunny and nice. We asked the lady up there if it is advisable to hike, but she said it was super dangerous and someone had actually got airlifted out the other day. BUT I DID NOT PAY 100 BUCKS TO RIDE UP AND SEE FOG. And so we descended the mountain and hiked our stupidasses into the unknown. Now to be honest with you, it was pretty dangerous (one wrong step and we'd plummet thousands of feet to our deaths) but mothertrucking FUN. We almost got lost (that would've been BAD), but we managed to find our way back after an hour or so.

It was about 12PM and we started our hike down into the Valley and beyond. Our first stop was Gimmelwald, which is a small little town just below Murren. The sun was up, the skies were blue, and the air oh so mothertrucking fresh. There are places where you pay for clean oxygen, but the oxygen is free here...so I think the price of the fresh air actually paid for my entire trip (I'd like to think that since I spent so much money).

The thing I loved most was just being in nature and away from EVERYTHING. And it wasn't touristy like Rome or Paris. You look to your right...to your left...and its just green and blue everywhere. No one but you, nature, and COWS.

From Gimmelwald, we hiked down towards Stechelberg, which is pretty much close to the base of the valley (on the other side of Lauterbrunnen). By that time, it was nearing 5PM and we wanted reach Trummelbach Falls before it closed (I mean it IS the "highlight" of Lauterbrunnen). Trummelbach Falls is a series of ten glacier-waterfalls inside the mountain that is made accessible by tunnel lifts. So from Stechelberg we ran and walked extremely fast for about a few miles. "TRUMMELBACH FALLS! TRUMMELBACH FALLS! TRUMMELBACH FALLS!" And damn...that's when I knew I was really out of shape...damn all those tapas and sangrias in Spain...

So...we managed to reach Trummelbach Falls just in time before it closed...WHEW. But I gotta say...TRUMMELBACH FALLS WAS SUCH A DISAPPOINTMENT. I mean...it was cool and all seeing all those waterfalls inside, but I think I had too high of expectations. I was expecting like giant waterfalls with rainbows and mermaids and horses underneath, but it's nothing like that. It's kind of dark and it's just water falling out of rocks...but yeah...still go check it out if you're in Lauterbrunnen.

After leaving disappointed, we decided to make our way back to Lauterbrunnen. That was when I started feeling a bit sad since we were going to leave the next day. So I said my goodbyes to the trees and blew a kiss towards the Swiss Alps in the far distance. Well, no I didn't do that but you get the point.

It was about 7PM when we got back to town, and we decided to try their $20 "rosti" and sausage, which is basically hash browns. But yeah, then I looked around the restaurant and everyone was like 30 years older than us. Actually when I think about it, we were probably the youngest people there the entire day...yes...if you're in retirement, Lauterbrunnen is the perfect place for you.

I've yet to see a prettier place than the Bernese Oberland, but then again I have not seen everything yet. It has the greenest grass, the cleanest air, the bluest skies, the cleanest water, and the nicest people. You have to go venture into the Bernese Oberland once in your lifetime...you will not be disappointed.