hilt hilt hilt hilt!

view from the roof of the dorm building



Train stations in China are a crazy mess I've decided. It's pretty much a free-for-all and the only way I could figure out how to get to my train was by following a small sign with what I assumed was my train number through the swarms of travelers shuffling through the smokey halls of communist construction. Small miracles like this make me laugh because no matter how confusing and insane it seems, magic happens and I find myself in the right carriage on the right train to the right place.13 hours of pretty much overnight boredom, with a bit of broken Mandarin thrown in trying to make friends with the other people in my booth. Getting to Nanning at 6am in the dark and having no clue where anything is, I was a great target for a classic rip-off. I point to the address, get told Y20 before getting in the cab and when I get just a few blocks down the road, hey presto! I arrive and should have settled on a meter fare of only Y8...ah well. Gotta happen at least once I say.

When Joel meets me at the door its still dark so a few hours kip and its off to meet everyone staying in this building, which by the way, is like a clean budget hotel on the Uni campus. Big room, TV, kettle, clean sheets....luxury compared to the moldy sock room I just left behind. I find that everyone here is studying acupuncture and after a few hours already suggestions are being flung my way about going in for a treatment....hmmmmm.

It turns out that almost everyone has bought a bicycle to get around from the 'black market' ranging from Y60-120 (AU$15-30) all stolen of course, and furthermore, they almost got busted by the cops because Joel was browsing for too long and had attracted too much attention. He also ended up with the shittest bike. I had to go, no way I was missing out on this. So that night with a translator and one of the other Aussies, Kate, we head into the darkness in search of a steal...haha, steal. It was quite uneventful for us, but after a few turn-downs on really small or shit bikes, I ended up with a nice Y85 black beauty named Betty, my new steed. The next few days are spent just exploring the city and getting to know my way around then on Wednesday I decide the time has come for some acupuncture.

I'd heard from all the guys that here their style is really different and that the practicioners show no mercy when it comes to needling. In Australia the needle usually only just breaks the skin, is inserted just a little to stimulate the muscle and nerves then left for a while. Here in China, they insert it all the way to the hilt and this has become the quiet chant for Joel, Heather and Dave (all the students are in learing groups of three with a translater) "Hilt, hilt, hilt, hilt." Imagine a 25-35mm needle inserted into your temple or bridge of your nose all the way to the hilt....where do you think it goes? You reckon I was a bit hesitant? I ride in with the guys through the mayhem of Nanning traffic (more on that another day) and get to the hospital bright and early. I've decided to get some work done on my right knee to try to fix up the torn ligaments and constant ache on the area. While I'm on the bed going through the symptoms of my 'disease' the professor is prodding and rubbing the knee, somewhat oblivious to my 'ahhs' and 'oohhs' when he hits the tender bits. "Yes" he says, "we will do four to five treatments and insert here, here and here" then out come the needles. Joel busts out his camera, and then fun begins. I've never felt that kind of uncomfortable pain before in my life. Jabs and shots of fire through my leg and knee and when they ask if it hurts, its almost like a joke. Are you for real?!?! YES IT HURTS! These needles, I'm told later, were pretty much tickling the bone. Right through the ligament and into the 'Chi' locations all the way to the hilt. Oh man, four days of this? Then they hook up the electrodes. Now before I continue, picture this: a Chinese medicine hospital is not like any Western hospital. Just erase that image right now. It does not have squeaky clean floors and walls, it does not smell of disinfectant and it certainly does not give one the impression of a sterile environment. The floors are dirty, the ward that I'm in is just one of the many acupuncture wards and the room is filled with smoke from the moxa (a medicinal mixture burning to create heat for treatments), the bed I'm in has a stain that looks like blood drop, but I'm hoping that its betadine. The building looks that wings have been added in in different periods of time with no regard for continuity and I'm told that there is a hall where the floor has a slow incline, but the ceiling stays the same height, so when you get to the end, the doorway is about 2/3 the size of a normal one.

So back to the electrodes. They're hooked up to a couple of the needles to stimulate, I dunno, stuff. Just crank it up till you can barely stand it then we'll leave you there for about an hour, unplug it all and you can go home to repeat it all tomorrow. Now I know this shounds outrageously painful and barbaric, but its not that bad. Everyone is super friendly, I trust that they know what they're doing and after 4 treatments, my knee is actually feeling pretty good. Now I won't be running back for a treatment straight away, but in a few weeks I wouldn't rule out another one.

In one week here I've managed to get a traditional Chinese treatment, buy a cheap stolen bicycle, figured out my way around the city and just last weekend went for a hike in the mountains. More on that in another post, but at least I'll throw on some pictures of some of the stuff so far.


the crew out on the town happy camper