Oh, China. Here we are at our last day together.
This morning I only had a few hours to get things together. We're leaving at Noon for the airport, so whatever I did today had to be close. So what does one do? Why, line up with the rest of the Chinese to see the Great Leader, the one and only Chairman Mao. Mao died back in 1976, but through careful preservation, it is still possible to line up and file past his carefully embalmed body to pay your final respects. I have to tell you, for being dead for almost 35 years, Mao doesn't look too bad, but he doesn't look too real either! It took about an hour and a half to complete this process. For hopefully the last time I got to experience Chinese line cutting and pushing (this is a hope against hopes - I still have to get through the airport). Security was really tight. No bags, no sunglasses, no cameras. I just took my passport and some money. After standing in line for about a half hour, the line began to slowly move, but consistently move, which was nice. The normally loud and boisterous Chinese fell deadly silent upon entering the Memorial Hall. There was a large marble statue of Mao in the room with an altar for putting white flowers on. Then, you moved slowly into the hall with Mao's body. You had to keep walking, but you did get pretty close to him. He was in a glass coffin, wearing a Maoist suit and covered with the Chinese flag. Then, you exited, and went right into a gift shop. God love the Chinese. There is always a gift shop.
I took the subway back to the hotel and finished packing, and am now killing time until it is time to go to the airport. This trip has been fantastic and a dream come true, but I am EXHAUSTED. I cannot wait to get home!!
So, for now, goodbye from China!
Location: Lobby, Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Tooth is craving a steak. I can't say I blame it any.
Weather Update: A glorious day in Beijing. There's a blue sky! A blue sky!!!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
The Beijing Boogie
Last Day in Beijing
Today I got to sleep in!!! I got up at 8:00, and had a nice lazy breakfast before heading out to the Pearl Market. One of our tour leaders, Kimberly, had lived in China for several years, and she knew a jewelry dealer in the Pearl Market where we could get good prices on some jewelry. And, we did! I got some gorgeous pieces, and paid very little for it. The Pearl Market was crazy though! There were vendors all over the place, and they wanted you to buy from THEM! They would grab your elbow and pull you to their stand. It was such a pain, but I learned to tell them no pretty strongly and to jerk my arm away. It was pure and utter craziness!!
We went for lunch after that, where we had a cold noodle dish and some sour plum juice. It was good, but it was loud in there! But, it was definitely authentic! It was a fun last lunch in China, but let me tell you, I am tired of big group meals! I am definitely dining solo for a while when I get home!
After lunch Mona and I went back to the Pearl Market to finish up a couple of deals, to fight off a lot of vendors, and just to make sure we had bought everything we needed for home. Then, I persuaded Mona to go to the zoo with me because I HAD to see the panda bears. Yes, I have seen pandas before, but not in their native country, so I had to go. I had heard mixed things about the Beijing Zoo, such as that their exhibits are pretty bad with the exception of the pandas, so we decided to not go to any of the exhibits other than the panda bears. It was fun to see them! I was so glad about going to the zoo, and I had a great time!
My job finished in Beijing, we came back to the hotel and had a rest before heading out for one last meal in China. And what did I pick for my last meal? PIZZA HUT!!! Yeah, I know, what a choice, but as I have told you before, Pizza Hut in China is amazing. I am pretty burned out on Chinese food, and I really wanted one more of those rose lichee drinks!
Tonight's blog is being written on the third floor of our hotel, where Cindy, Shari and I were kicked off of a table (it sounds worse than what it is), so we are sitting on the floor listening to Chinese folk music being played in the lobby. Finally, a slow and relaxing, yet humorous way to end our last full day in China.
Location: Third floor, Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Tooth is planning on making a full trip home, missing a little bit of temporary filling. It is also planning on packing a grain or two of rice in its gaping hole as a souvenir.
Weather Update: Rainy! I actually had to use an umbrella - what?!?! But it cleared up the air, and was very nice.
Today I got to sleep in!!! I got up at 8:00, and had a nice lazy breakfast before heading out to the Pearl Market. One of our tour leaders, Kimberly, had lived in China for several years, and she knew a jewelry dealer in the Pearl Market where we could get good prices on some jewelry. And, we did! I got some gorgeous pieces, and paid very little for it. The Pearl Market was crazy though! There were vendors all over the place, and they wanted you to buy from THEM! They would grab your elbow and pull you to their stand. It was such a pain, but I learned to tell them no pretty strongly and to jerk my arm away. It was pure and utter craziness!!
We went for lunch after that, where we had a cold noodle dish and some sour plum juice. It was good, but it was loud in there! But, it was definitely authentic! It was a fun last lunch in China, but let me tell you, I am tired of big group meals! I am definitely dining solo for a while when I get home!
After lunch Mona and I went back to the Pearl Market to finish up a couple of deals, to fight off a lot of vendors, and just to make sure we had bought everything we needed for home. Then, I persuaded Mona to go to the zoo with me because I HAD to see the panda bears. Yes, I have seen pandas before, but not in their native country, so I had to go. I had heard mixed things about the Beijing Zoo, such as that their exhibits are pretty bad with the exception of the pandas, so we decided to not go to any of the exhibits other than the panda bears. It was fun to see them! I was so glad about going to the zoo, and I had a great time!
My job finished in Beijing, we came back to the hotel and had a rest before heading out for one last meal in China. And what did I pick for my last meal? PIZZA HUT!!! Yeah, I know, what a choice, but as I have told you before, Pizza Hut in China is amazing. I am pretty burned out on Chinese food, and I really wanted one more of those rose lichee drinks!
Tonight's blog is being written on the third floor of our hotel, where Cindy, Shari and I were kicked off of a table (it sounds worse than what it is), so we are sitting on the floor listening to Chinese folk music being played in the lobby. Finally, a slow and relaxing, yet humorous way to end our last full day in China.
Location: Third floor, Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Tooth is planning on making a full trip home, missing a little bit of temporary filling. It is also planning on packing a grain or two of rice in its gaping hole as a souvenir.
Weather Update: Rainy! I actually had to use an umbrella - what?!?! But it cleared up the air, and was very nice.
Beijing, Baby!
Wednesday, June 30
Today was a big day of the trip - in fact, one might even call it a great day, because today was the day that we visited the most famous of China's many historical places - the Great Wall. Of course, with all things, we couldn't go straight to the Wall - we had a factory visit. In fact, this would be the first of three, count 'em, three factory tours that we would make today. If there is anything tour companies love more than getting your money for the tour (which I didn't pay - yay!), it's dropping you off in a factory so that your local guide can get a commission from you buying stuff. Our fist stop today was at a jade factory. The factory consisted of watching a guy behind a piece of glass carving some jade. Yawn. Of course, there was the requisite shop at the end. The pieces were beautiful, but outrageous in their prices. I felt that I could get a better deal elsewhere, so I didn't buy anything there.
We finally got to the Great Wall. The day was hazy, which made for some bad photography, but I was at the Great Wall! The Great Wall! It was AMAZING!!! I climbed as high as I could, breaking out in a full sweat on the way with my knees begging for mercy, but I climbed that wall!! I even bought a shirt to prove it. To top that, I dressed up as a Chinese empress and had my picture taken because, well, that's what I do. Climbing the Great Wall was definitely what I needed to get my batteries recharged. I had been feeling down and a little disgusted at how some things were going, but seeing something as magnificent as that Wall, and being able to climb around on it, is an experience that I will never forget. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go there. Great Wall indeed.
Our next stop was - you guessed it - Factory Tour #2!! Woo hoo! This one was kind of interesting though. It was a cloisonne factory, and it actually looked like a factory instead of the cheesy setups that we have experienced up to this point. See the process of making cloisonne was very interesting, and very involved, which explains why the prices were out of control. Some of the pieces were truly amazing, but I would have had to sell my liver or a kidney to buy them, so they remain on the shelves of the factory showroom for others to enjoy. Sigh. Our lunch was at the factory, another routine Chinese meal, this time complete with French fries! When we got done, we had even more time to shop. Woo. Hoo. I think that I am getting tired of shopping. We keep seeing the same things for sale over and over. In the factory shops, you can't bargain, so it just isn't fun to shop there.
After this second factory tour of the day, we headed to the Ming Tombs. Thirteen of the sixteen emperors from the Ming Dynasty are buried here. We walked along the ceremonial path to the tombs. Each side had matching pairs of stone animals and court officials to watch over the emperor in the afterlife and to pay homage to him. The walkway was shaded with willow trees and a nice breeze was blowing, and most of all, the path was on flat ground, so it was really an enjoyable experience. I was really looking forward to the tombs area. Three of the tombs are open for tourists to have a peek inside (there are no bodies there - those were looted out long ago), but our local guide told us that there was nothing to see as the tombs had been burned out. WRONG. I know good and well that you can go into these tombs, because many guidebooks have told us so. But, we had Factory Tour #3 coming up, and time was getting away from us, and I truly believe that she wanted us to get to the factory because she gets a commission anytime we buy something on these factory tours. Needless to say, I was pretty put out, as were many others, but there really wasn't anything that we could do about it except pledge to not buy anything at the next stop. Not that I would have anyway...
Our next stop was a Chinese Herbal Institute. Our guidebook (Lonely Planet - outstanding) said specifically to avoid any tours that would take you to herbal institutes that would give you free check-ups and then try to sell you stuff. And that is exactly where our tour company took us. Talk about annoying. Again, there was nothing we could do, and I knew that my doctor (Hi, John!) would kick my rear end if I bought anything there, so I sat back and minded my own business. What a scam. It was pretty upsetting to be wasting time there when I could have been experiencing history. Only one person in our group bought anything. From what I hear the prices were outrageous, but I can't confirm that.
Our last official function of the day, and our last official of the trip, was to have our farewell banquet. We had it in the restaurant downstairs where we normally have breakfast. This time though, instead of breakfast food, was a fantastic East/West buffet. Prime rib! Salad at dinner instead of breakfast! Bread! And we all went crazy over the desserts, which proved to be fatal for many of us as we aren't used to sweets (the Chinese don't eat a lot of sweets, and when they do, it's frankly not that good, and usually involves red bean paste). Many upset stomachs ended the night.
Faced with such a problem, Mona, Cindy, Shari and I decided to go out for a walk. We were looking for the Silk Market, but settled for Starbucks. Sometimes it's the little things that make you happy.
Location: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Held onto a piece of rice for most of the day and was really annoying. It must be punished.
Weather Update: Overcast but humid humid humid. Big hair day!
Tuesday, June 29
Today was certainly a busy day, and one that showed me that I am definitely more tired than I thought. If you know me well, you know that the more tired I get, the crankier I get. Let me explain.
Our morning started with a trip to another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is the site where the emperor of China gave thanks to the gods for good harvests and also prayed for good harvests. The park surrounding the area is quite busy in the morning with mostly senior citizens practicing their exercises. There were all kinds of activities going on! We saw dancing lessons, badminton, a kind of human ring toss (your partner would thrown large round rings at you, and you would catch them around your neck), and of course, tai chi. There are several different types of tai chi that were practiced - one with just hands, one with paddles and a ball, and another with a sword. Tai chi is very peaceful and beautiful to watch, and we had the opportunity to practice with a tai chi master. It was kind of hard to see her (for me, anyway - that tree in front of me may have been to blame), but it was very cool in the park, so it was enjoyable. I was itching to get up to the Temple of Heaven though, which was on top of the hill overlooking the park. I was afraid that we were spending too much time in the park to allow us ample time to see things in the Temple area, and I was unfortunately right. We got about 15 minutes to explore the area, which was extremely frustrating. Several of the group walked off while our guide was speaking to go look at more things before we were released out on our own, and I can't say that I blame them. If I wasn't so insistent on following the rules, and if I hadn't done something similar yesterday, I would have done it myself. It was good that I didn't though as those who left were eventually spoken to about leaving the group.
The next stop was a lot of fun, but I am still worrying about my poor rickshaw driver. We had a tour of a traditional Beijing hutong by rickshaw. A rickshaw is simply a cart that was traditionally pulled by a man on foot. Now, they are pulled by bicycle. Mona and I were in a rickshaw together, and we worried about our poor rickshaw driver having to power the rickshaw with us on it, but this guy had calves of steel and it didn't seem to bother him. A hutong is a traditional housing area in Beijing. It is a collection of single story structures organized around a square courtyard. These courtyards date back hundreds of years, and they are in danger of disappearing in Beijing as the city continues to develop. Luckily, the city government has stepped in to protect these structures. There were many shopping areas in the hutongs, from actual stores to people on the street, and of course many of us took part in the traditional bargaining process. My favorite part of the hutong experience was lunch. We ate at a resident's house, where a nice and simple lunch was prepared for us. The food was so flavorful, and was really enjoyable. IT was a relaxing change of pace.
After lunch we headed to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was the retreat of the Chinese imperial family, and is most directly connected with Cixi, the Dowager Empress of China who is most commonly known in China as the Dragon Lady. Needless to say, she is not very well liked or respected in China today! Cixi largely controlled the later years of the Qing Dynasty in China through her ability to act shrewdly and decisively when it came to serving as regent for her son, then her nephew, and then another family member, who eventually became the last emperor of China, Pu Yi. Cixi is notorious for many reasons in China, but one that sticks out dramatically is the amount of money that she spent on the Summer Palace to renovate it to fit her tastes. This even included the construction of a large (non-floating) marble barge that was supposedly built with money that was originally appropriated for the building and maintenance of China's navy. Our tour at the Summer Palace started in the residential courtyards, including the one were Cixi's son, the Emperor, was imprisoned so that Cixi could pull the strings of government (see? I told you that she was controversial)! We even saw Cixi's bedroom and the courtyard of her chief eunuch. Eunuchs are court servants. They are males who have had certain body parts removed so that they can never father children, thus removing them as a threat to the throne. We also walked along the covered pavilion that was on the bank of the lake before taking a boat tour. The most aggravating part of the trip to the Summer Palace was that we didn't get to see the marble barge. I am not sure why this happened, but it was definitely frustrating. The barge is important because its construction left the navy in shambles, thus allowing China to be weak. Somehow our trip has started to sacrifice historical experiences. It's a good thing that there is a free day coming up so that I can possibly go back to see these things!
Our next stop was to view the Olympic Park. We saw the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, as well as the broadcasting area. We didn't tour the areas, but the bus stopped so that we could step out and get a good picture.
Dinner tonight was a disaster. This is where I discovered that I am emotionally and physically exhausted. Our dinner was a Mongolian hot pot. This style dates back to the time of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian army. The Mongols were known for eating large elaborate meals, but at one point, the Great Khan (that's Genghis) decided that there wasn't time for an elaborate feast - the army needed to move NOW. The chef was at a loss, so he told the soldiers to hold their helmets upside down, which he filled with boiling water, and then threw in the meat and vegetables. Voila. Instant meal. The problem at the restaurant, however, was that we didn't have our own helmet. Instead, we had a large copper hot pot in the center of a table set for 10. You had to stand up to cook your food. Well, you've heard the expression of too many cooks in the kitchen, right? Same problem here. People kept throwing in food without waiting for the food in the pot to cook, so you weren't getting consistently cooked food. I was so irritable about this! I finally spoke up - loudly, I guess, as I do when I am angry - and asked why we couldn't throw stuff in, wait for it to cook, then get it all out and put more in. Richard agreed with me. I think it angered some people, but I didn't care. I barely got any food as it was because people were being very piggy about getting food. Dave got mad enough about it that he left and went to the McDonald's down the street. It was a very uncivilized meal. I was steaming. When we finally got back to the hotel, Mona and I went to the Pizza Hut down the street and had a very civilized meal of cheese pizza and that amazing rose lychee drink. It's a shame that I didn't enjoy the hot pot meal, but people are just getting crazy. Everyone is tired, and I think that we are all ready to go home. Tomorrow is a big day, though. We'll be visiting the Great Wall. Hopefully we will have enough time to fully enjoy it, and our meals will be more civilized!
Before you comment though - I am having a great time, and I realize that I am in the middle of a fantastic opportunity. But, three weeks is a long time to travel, and I am blogging the feelings that I am experiencing. Documenting my frustration and exhaustion is important to chronicle the effects of a long trip to China! Thanks!
Location: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Tooth and I saw a dentist office today, and felt no desire to go inside! Victory!
Weather Update: Hot and a little humid. Feels like home!
Monday, June 28
Today started VERY early. I got up at 4:30 to prepare for our departure from Xi'an at 5:40. Oh, these early mornings are killer! We had breakfast on the bus again since we were up WAY before breakfast was served in the hotel restaurant. Today was our last domestic flight in China, and my string of having all window seats on every flight was broken - I got a middle seat. Middle seats are not cool. You never seem to have enough space and you end up being the go-between between the person with the window seat and the flight attendant. Kind of annoying, but I got some sleep so it wasn't that bad.
We were all exhausted, so our guide had luckily checked us in early, and we had about an hour to rest in our rooms before we started our day. That was a fantastic move, because we really needed it! Everybody was cranky, and a short nap was definitely in order. I am glad that we got that chance. After the rest period, we went to lunch, which was one of the famous foods of Beijing, Peking Roast Duck. You may be asking what the difference is between the uses of Beijing and Peking, as both names describe the same city. Peking uses the old translation, while Beijing is much more modern. The word "bei" means "northern" and "jing" means "capital." Beijing is simply the Northern Capital. Peking is used today to denote anything historic or traditional. Hence, Peking duck. Peking duck is pretty good, but not something I would eat all of the time. Luckily, Beijingers don't eat it all of the time either - it is a luxury.
After lunch, we headed to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We know Tian'anmen Square for the protests staged there several years ago. In China, it's just the largest square, where one can find the People's Congress building, the State Museum, and of course, Mao's Mausoleum (which I have referred to as the Mao-soleum for most of the trip). Here is where you can find the famous portrait of Mao that hangs over the square from the Tian'anmen Gate, one of the main gateways to the Forbidden City. I took tons of pictures, and then got to go into one of the highlights of the trip for me.
I have wanted to go to the Forbidden City (officially called "The Palace Museum") since I saw "The Last Emperor" many years ago. That movie, which I strongly recommend that you watch, is about the last emperor of China, Pu Yi. He had a very sad life, though he was emperor. He eventually had to give up his throne, leave the Forbidden City which he had never before been allowed to leave, became the puppet emperor of Manchukuo (the Japanese-occupied state of Manchuria), wind up in prison, and then die a regular Chinese. The movie is one of the very few, if not only, Western movies to be filmed in the Forbidden City, and I was so excited to be able to walk through the palace. Of course, I could have spent hours there, but I was really pressed for time. Pesky group tours! I did manage to get to a gift shop, which was very important for me as I wanted a book on the Forbidden City. Although I wish I could have had hours more time there, it was definitely a highlight for me.
Of course, there was a ton of haggling with vendors outside the gates. You name it, you could have bought it there. Oodles of fun. I hope that Wal-Mart is ready for me to come back and try to bargain with them!
We had another traditional Chinese meal, and then everyone looked about ready to crash. It was definitely time to get some sleep. I was out by about 9:30 or so. I've never had a better night's sleep!
Location: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: It's still in my mouth without pain, so that must be good.
Weather Update: Oh, it's a little warm, and a little humid! I miss Xi'an's weather already!!!
Today was a big day of the trip - in fact, one might even call it a great day, because today was the day that we visited the most famous of China's many historical places - the Great Wall. Of course, with all things, we couldn't go straight to the Wall - we had a factory visit. In fact, this would be the first of three, count 'em, three factory tours that we would make today. If there is anything tour companies love more than getting your money for the tour (which I didn't pay - yay!), it's dropping you off in a factory so that your local guide can get a commission from you buying stuff. Our fist stop today was at a jade factory. The factory consisted of watching a guy behind a piece of glass carving some jade. Yawn. Of course, there was the requisite shop at the end. The pieces were beautiful, but outrageous in their prices. I felt that I could get a better deal elsewhere, so I didn't buy anything there.
We finally got to the Great Wall. The day was hazy, which made for some bad photography, but I was at the Great Wall! The Great Wall! It was AMAZING!!! I climbed as high as I could, breaking out in a full sweat on the way with my knees begging for mercy, but I climbed that wall!! I even bought a shirt to prove it. To top that, I dressed up as a Chinese empress and had my picture taken because, well, that's what I do. Climbing the Great Wall was definitely what I needed to get my batteries recharged. I had been feeling down and a little disgusted at how some things were going, but seeing something as magnificent as that Wall, and being able to climb around on it, is an experience that I will never forget. I am so glad that I had the opportunity to go there. Great Wall indeed.
Our next stop was - you guessed it - Factory Tour #2!! Woo hoo! This one was kind of interesting though. It was a cloisonne factory, and it actually looked like a factory instead of the cheesy setups that we have experienced up to this point. See the process of making cloisonne was very interesting, and very involved, which explains why the prices were out of control. Some of the pieces were truly amazing, but I would have had to sell my liver or a kidney to buy them, so they remain on the shelves of the factory showroom for others to enjoy. Sigh. Our lunch was at the factory, another routine Chinese meal, this time complete with French fries! When we got done, we had even more time to shop. Woo. Hoo. I think that I am getting tired of shopping. We keep seeing the same things for sale over and over. In the factory shops, you can't bargain, so it just isn't fun to shop there.
After this second factory tour of the day, we headed to the Ming Tombs. Thirteen of the sixteen emperors from the Ming Dynasty are buried here. We walked along the ceremonial path to the tombs. Each side had matching pairs of stone animals and court officials to watch over the emperor in the afterlife and to pay homage to him. The walkway was shaded with willow trees and a nice breeze was blowing, and most of all, the path was on flat ground, so it was really an enjoyable experience. I was really looking forward to the tombs area. Three of the tombs are open for tourists to have a peek inside (there are no bodies there - those were looted out long ago), but our local guide told us that there was nothing to see as the tombs had been burned out. WRONG. I know good and well that you can go into these tombs, because many guidebooks have told us so. But, we had Factory Tour #3 coming up, and time was getting away from us, and I truly believe that she wanted us to get to the factory because she gets a commission anytime we buy something on these factory tours. Needless to say, I was pretty put out, as were many others, but there really wasn't anything that we could do about it except pledge to not buy anything at the next stop. Not that I would have anyway...
Our next stop was a Chinese Herbal Institute. Our guidebook (Lonely Planet - outstanding) said specifically to avoid any tours that would take you to herbal institutes that would give you free check-ups and then try to sell you stuff. And that is exactly where our tour company took us. Talk about annoying. Again, there was nothing we could do, and I knew that my doctor (Hi, John!) would kick my rear end if I bought anything there, so I sat back and minded my own business. What a scam. It was pretty upsetting to be wasting time there when I could have been experiencing history. Only one person in our group bought anything. From what I hear the prices were outrageous, but I can't confirm that.
Our last official function of the day, and our last official of the trip, was to have our farewell banquet. We had it in the restaurant downstairs where we normally have breakfast. This time though, instead of breakfast food, was a fantastic East/West buffet. Prime rib! Salad at dinner instead of breakfast! Bread! And we all went crazy over the desserts, which proved to be fatal for many of us as we aren't used to sweets (the Chinese don't eat a lot of sweets, and when they do, it's frankly not that good, and usually involves red bean paste). Many upset stomachs ended the night.
Faced with such a problem, Mona, Cindy, Shari and I decided to go out for a walk. We were looking for the Silk Market, but settled for Starbucks. Sometimes it's the little things that make you happy.
Location: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Held onto a piece of rice for most of the day and was really annoying. It must be punished.
Weather Update: Overcast but humid humid humid. Big hair day!
Tuesday, June 29
Today was certainly a busy day, and one that showed me that I am definitely more tired than I thought. If you know me well, you know that the more tired I get, the crankier I get. Let me explain.
Our morning started with a trip to another UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven is the site where the emperor of China gave thanks to the gods for good harvests and also prayed for good harvests. The park surrounding the area is quite busy in the morning with mostly senior citizens practicing their exercises. There were all kinds of activities going on! We saw dancing lessons, badminton, a kind of human ring toss (your partner would thrown large round rings at you, and you would catch them around your neck), and of course, tai chi. There are several different types of tai chi that were practiced - one with just hands, one with paddles and a ball, and another with a sword. Tai chi is very peaceful and beautiful to watch, and we had the opportunity to practice with a tai chi master. It was kind of hard to see her (for me, anyway - that tree in front of me may have been to blame), but it was very cool in the park, so it was enjoyable. I was itching to get up to the Temple of Heaven though, which was on top of the hill overlooking the park. I was afraid that we were spending too much time in the park to allow us ample time to see things in the Temple area, and I was unfortunately right. We got about 15 minutes to explore the area, which was extremely frustrating. Several of the group walked off while our guide was speaking to go look at more things before we were released out on our own, and I can't say that I blame them. If I wasn't so insistent on following the rules, and if I hadn't done something similar yesterday, I would have done it myself. It was good that I didn't though as those who left were eventually spoken to about leaving the group.
The next stop was a lot of fun, but I am still worrying about my poor rickshaw driver. We had a tour of a traditional Beijing hutong by rickshaw. A rickshaw is simply a cart that was traditionally pulled by a man on foot. Now, they are pulled by bicycle. Mona and I were in a rickshaw together, and we worried about our poor rickshaw driver having to power the rickshaw with us on it, but this guy had calves of steel and it didn't seem to bother him. A hutong is a traditional housing area in Beijing. It is a collection of single story structures organized around a square courtyard. These courtyards date back hundreds of years, and they are in danger of disappearing in Beijing as the city continues to develop. Luckily, the city government has stepped in to protect these structures. There were many shopping areas in the hutongs, from actual stores to people on the street, and of course many of us took part in the traditional bargaining process. My favorite part of the hutong experience was lunch. We ate at a resident's house, where a nice and simple lunch was prepared for us. The food was so flavorful, and was really enjoyable. IT was a relaxing change of pace.
After lunch we headed to the Summer Palace. The Summer Palace was the retreat of the Chinese imperial family, and is most directly connected with Cixi, the Dowager Empress of China who is most commonly known in China as the Dragon Lady. Needless to say, she is not very well liked or respected in China today! Cixi largely controlled the later years of the Qing Dynasty in China through her ability to act shrewdly and decisively when it came to serving as regent for her son, then her nephew, and then another family member, who eventually became the last emperor of China, Pu Yi. Cixi is notorious for many reasons in China, but one that sticks out dramatically is the amount of money that she spent on the Summer Palace to renovate it to fit her tastes. This even included the construction of a large (non-floating) marble barge that was supposedly built with money that was originally appropriated for the building and maintenance of China's navy. Our tour at the Summer Palace started in the residential courtyards, including the one were Cixi's son, the Emperor, was imprisoned so that Cixi could pull the strings of government (see? I told you that she was controversial)! We even saw Cixi's bedroom and the courtyard of her chief eunuch. Eunuchs are court servants. They are males who have had certain body parts removed so that they can never father children, thus removing them as a threat to the throne. We also walked along the covered pavilion that was on the bank of the lake before taking a boat tour. The most aggravating part of the trip to the Summer Palace was that we didn't get to see the marble barge. I am not sure why this happened, but it was definitely frustrating. The barge is important because its construction left the navy in shambles, thus allowing China to be weak. Somehow our trip has started to sacrifice historical experiences. It's a good thing that there is a free day coming up so that I can possibly go back to see these things!
Our next stop was to view the Olympic Park. We saw the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube, as well as the broadcasting area. We didn't tour the areas, but the bus stopped so that we could step out and get a good picture.
Dinner tonight was a disaster. This is where I discovered that I am emotionally and physically exhausted. Our dinner was a Mongolian hot pot. This style dates back to the time of Genghis Khan and the Mongolian army. The Mongols were known for eating large elaborate meals, but at one point, the Great Khan (that's Genghis) decided that there wasn't time for an elaborate feast - the army needed to move NOW. The chef was at a loss, so he told the soldiers to hold their helmets upside down, which he filled with boiling water, and then threw in the meat and vegetables. Voila. Instant meal. The problem at the restaurant, however, was that we didn't have our own helmet. Instead, we had a large copper hot pot in the center of a table set for 10. You had to stand up to cook your food. Well, you've heard the expression of too many cooks in the kitchen, right? Same problem here. People kept throwing in food without waiting for the food in the pot to cook, so you weren't getting consistently cooked food. I was so irritable about this! I finally spoke up - loudly, I guess, as I do when I am angry - and asked why we couldn't throw stuff in, wait for it to cook, then get it all out and put more in. Richard agreed with me. I think it angered some people, but I didn't care. I barely got any food as it was because people were being very piggy about getting food. Dave got mad enough about it that he left and went to the McDonald's down the street. It was a very uncivilized meal. I was steaming. When we finally got back to the hotel, Mona and I went to the Pizza Hut down the street and had a very civilized meal of cheese pizza and that amazing rose lychee drink. It's a shame that I didn't enjoy the hot pot meal, but people are just getting crazy. Everyone is tired, and I think that we are all ready to go home. Tomorrow is a big day, though. We'll be visiting the Great Wall. Hopefully we will have enough time to fully enjoy it, and our meals will be more civilized!
Before you comment though - I am having a great time, and I realize that I am in the middle of a fantastic opportunity. But, three weeks is a long time to travel, and I am blogging the feelings that I am experiencing. Documenting my frustration and exhaustion is important to chronicle the effects of a long trip to China! Thanks!
Location: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: Tooth and I saw a dentist office today, and felt no desire to go inside! Victory!
Weather Update: Hot and a little humid. Feels like home!
Monday, June 28
Today started VERY early. I got up at 4:30 to prepare for our departure from Xi'an at 5:40. Oh, these early mornings are killer! We had breakfast on the bus again since we were up WAY before breakfast was served in the hotel restaurant. Today was our last domestic flight in China, and my string of having all window seats on every flight was broken - I got a middle seat. Middle seats are not cool. You never seem to have enough space and you end up being the go-between between the person with the window seat and the flight attendant. Kind of annoying, but I got some sleep so it wasn't that bad.
We were all exhausted, so our guide had luckily checked us in early, and we had about an hour to rest in our rooms before we started our day. That was a fantastic move, because we really needed it! Everybody was cranky, and a short nap was definitely in order. I am glad that we got that chance. After the rest period, we went to lunch, which was one of the famous foods of Beijing, Peking Roast Duck. You may be asking what the difference is between the uses of Beijing and Peking, as both names describe the same city. Peking uses the old translation, while Beijing is much more modern. The word "bei" means "northern" and "jing" means "capital." Beijing is simply the Northern Capital. Peking is used today to denote anything historic or traditional. Hence, Peking duck. Peking duck is pretty good, but not something I would eat all of the time. Luckily, Beijingers don't eat it all of the time either - it is a luxury.
After lunch, we headed to Tian'anmen Square and the Forbidden City. We know Tian'anmen Square for the protests staged there several years ago. In China, it's just the largest square, where one can find the People's Congress building, the State Museum, and of course, Mao's Mausoleum (which I have referred to as the Mao-soleum for most of the trip). Here is where you can find the famous portrait of Mao that hangs over the square from the Tian'anmen Gate, one of the main gateways to the Forbidden City. I took tons of pictures, and then got to go into one of the highlights of the trip for me.
I have wanted to go to the Forbidden City (officially called "The Palace Museum") since I saw "The Last Emperor" many years ago. That movie, which I strongly recommend that you watch, is about the last emperor of China, Pu Yi. He had a very sad life, though he was emperor. He eventually had to give up his throne, leave the Forbidden City which he had never before been allowed to leave, became the puppet emperor of Manchukuo (the Japanese-occupied state of Manchuria), wind up in prison, and then die a regular Chinese. The movie is one of the very few, if not only, Western movies to be filmed in the Forbidden City, and I was so excited to be able to walk through the palace. Of course, I could have spent hours there, but I was really pressed for time. Pesky group tours! I did manage to get to a gift shop, which was very important for me as I wanted a book on the Forbidden City. Although I wish I could have had hours more time there, it was definitely a highlight for me.
Of course, there was a ton of haggling with vendors outside the gates. You name it, you could have bought it there. Oodles of fun. I hope that Wal-Mart is ready for me to come back and try to bargain with them!
We had another traditional Chinese meal, and then everyone looked about ready to crash. It was definitely time to get some sleep. I was out by about 9:30 or so. I've never had a better night's sleep!
Location: Jianguo Garden Hotel, Beijing
Tooth Update: It's still in my mouth without pain, so that must be good.
Weather Update: Oh, it's a little warm, and a little humid! I miss Xi'an's weather already!!!
Sunday, June 27, 2010
I really am not kidding about moving here...
So today was another wonderful day in Xi'an. We started the day off at the Shaanxi Province History Museum. It is an extremely nice museum, considered to be one of the best museums in China - in fact, I have heard that it is one of the four best museums in the country! It truly was a great place, except for the multitude of Chinese tourists in the place! The Chinese are kind of funny when they travel in groups. If you happen to be taking a picture of something, the odds of a Chinese bumping you or jumping in front of your camera to get a closer look at whatever you are trying to take a picture of are VERY high. So, it can be really annoying. As long as you can work through it, you're okay.
The second stop was to the Grand Mosque. This mosque dates back to the 700s, and survived the Cultural Revolution by some quick talking by the mosque's imam. (For future reference - the Cultural Revolution is when Mao made an attempt to purge the country of anything that violated his principles. A very scary time in Chinese history. Anything religious was just one of his many targets). We weren't allowed to go inside the prayer hall, but as Mona is Muslim, she was allowed in, and she had a very nice experience. She was able to talk to the imam, and afterwards we had a FANTASTIC meal. For one, it was very cheap, and two, it tasted amazing. It was a mutton soup, and it tasted like Stove Top stuffing soup. I am not kidding, it was phenomenal. After the lunch, we wandered through the Muslim Quarter for more shopping, and then made a trip to the Daoist temple, the Temple of the Eight Immortals.
Some of us came back to the hotel early and headed back across the street for another killer foot massage. I think I may have grown addicted. Luckily for me, we are leaving Xi'an bright and early in the morning, so my foot massage addiction will come to an end. You can get foot massages throughout China, Beijing included (our next stop), but apparently Xi'an has quite the reputation for foot massages. Let me tell you, it is well warranted.
Tomorrow morning is another early wake-up call to get ready to fly to our final stop - Beijing. I have always wanted to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, and feel lucky and overjoyed to have this experience coming up.
For future reference - I am really not planning on moving to Xi'an. But that mutton soup and the foot massages are enough to convert just about anyone!
Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Will miss dumplings and mutton soup.
Weather Update: A little hotter today, but still very nice!
The second stop was to the Grand Mosque. This mosque dates back to the 700s, and survived the Cultural Revolution by some quick talking by the mosque's imam. (For future reference - the Cultural Revolution is when Mao made an attempt to purge the country of anything that violated his principles. A very scary time in Chinese history. Anything religious was just one of his many targets). We weren't allowed to go inside the prayer hall, but as Mona is Muslim, she was allowed in, and she had a very nice experience. She was able to talk to the imam, and afterwards we had a FANTASTIC meal. For one, it was very cheap, and two, it tasted amazing. It was a mutton soup, and it tasted like Stove Top stuffing soup. I am not kidding, it was phenomenal. After the lunch, we wandered through the Muslim Quarter for more shopping, and then made a trip to the Daoist temple, the Temple of the Eight Immortals.
Some of us came back to the hotel early and headed back across the street for another killer foot massage. I think I may have grown addicted. Luckily for me, we are leaving Xi'an bright and early in the morning, so my foot massage addiction will come to an end. You can get foot massages throughout China, Beijing included (our next stop), but apparently Xi'an has quite the reputation for foot massages. Let me tell you, it is well warranted.
Tomorrow morning is another early wake-up call to get ready to fly to our final stop - Beijing. I have always wanted to see the Forbidden City and the Great Wall, and feel lucky and overjoyed to have this experience coming up.
For future reference - I am really not planning on moving to Xi'an. But that mutton soup and the foot massages are enough to convert just about anyone!
Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Will miss dumplings and mutton soup.
Weather Update: A little hotter today, but still very nice!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Can I Move to Xi'an?
Saturday, June 26
This has been my favorite day of the trip so far. I think I may move to Xi'an if tomorrow is anything like this. I am not kidding - this place is amazing. People who come to China without visiting Xi'an need to have their heads examined.
We started our day at 8:30. My stomach was upset this morning, and I was worried about it affecting the other parts of my day, so I had a very light breakfast and a couple Pepto Bismol tablets. It was tasty and refreshing! Our first stop was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It was originally built during the Tang Dynasty, around 652 AD. It was very peaceful, and there was a light rain falling, which just added to the atmosphere. It was nice to be able to walk around and check out the many structures inside the temple. It was a thousand times more peaceful than the Jade Buddha Temple that we visited in Shanghai.
As much fun as the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was, I couldn't wait to get on the road to our final destination of the day - the Terra Cotta Army. But, there were many side trips along the way. First we had to visit another factory. This one made reproductions of the terra cotta soldiers. Honestly, these factory visits are getting out of hand. I refuse to believe that a factory consists of four ladies working by themselves. Where's the sweat shop? It's really just a lead in for the multitude of shopping experiences at the end of the "factory tour." Many of us ended up on the bus early in a bit of silent protest! Mom, I was one of them! Can you believe I got out of there without buying anything?!?! Amazing!!
Lunch was next. This was interesting, to say the least. Right outside the restaurant was a replica of the Great Pyramid in Egypt with the Sphinx right beside it. The draw of this lunch was that we were going to have a noodle making performance. Pretty cool! WRONG. That lasted approximately 30 seconds, after which they gave a sales pitch for the noodles - 3 yuan a bowl. Seriously? Anyway, I didn't get any noodles because there was more than enough food on the table. After that we visited a Chinese family's home. This was definitely not a tourist stop. This family has a house and then behind it, rooms carved into a hillside. These are called cave homes. They stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The family was extremely nice. Many of us bought some crafts that they had for sale. I bought a handmade wall hanging that is done in the shape of Chinese zodiac symbols. It was very cheap, and I didn't haggle over the price. It just seemed to be the right thing to do for invading someone's home. This very beautiful piece cost me the equivalent of $3. It's one of my favorite things bought on the trip.
Last official stop of the day finally came, the Terra Cotta Soldiers and Horses Museum. This is another World Heritage Site, and it is easily seen why. This place was amazing! This is the terra cotta army ordered built by China's first emperor Qin Shihuang to protect and serve him in the afterlife. It was very busy in there, but just amazing to see. I bought a book signed by one of the farmers who had discovered the site back in 1974. Books are cheap in China as they are subsidized by the government in order to make reading accessible to more people. I love it here!!!! We were given plenty of free time to move through the museum at our own pace. This was definitely a highlight of the trip.
After our ride back to the city, we had the choice of going back to the hotel or going to the Muslim Quarter for shopping and dinner. I chose to go into the city. After a free day of not doing much in Shanghai, I wasn't going to let any more opportunities pass me by. Cindy and I struck out on our own, meandering through the stalls of the Muslim Quarter. I did a lot of my souvenir shopping tonight! The prices were fantastic, the bargaining was fun, and it was just a good time! We tried our best to find an authentic Chinese restaurant to eat it, but they were all packed since it was a Saturday night. We settled on a less busy Chinese restaurant, McDonald's. The food looked different - my Big Mac was a different color, seriously - but it tasted SOOO good!! Great choice!
Upon returning to the hotel, we decided that our feet had been mistreated far too long, so it was time to search out a foot massage. Our hotel didn't offer them, so we decided to hit the front desk and ask where the closest place was. We ran into David on the elevator and convinced him to go with us. It was across the street, and cost us 100 yuan for 70 minutes. Let me tell you - that was the best $15 dollars ever spent. It was pure bliss. I may have to go again tomorrow! Needless to say, a very relaxed Micky fell peacefully into bed that night. Best day yet!
Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Tooth is wondering if tooth massages are available in China...
Weather Update: Glorious. Slight falling rain periodically. Lower temperatures than normal and great breezes. Heavenly, in a word.
Friday, June 25
Today started EARLY! I got up at 4:00 to get ready to leave to catch a flight to Xi'an, one of China's ancient capitals and the site of the famous Terra Cotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. We had a boxed breakfast on the bus because we left the hotel too early to eat breakfast there. It was an interesting breakfast! I had a ham and cheese sandwich, a croissant, and a banana. I didn't drink the warm soymilk or eat the boiled egg. Best of all, it came in a reusable shopping bag! Woo hoo!
It took a while to get us all checked in, but I did have time to check my internet for free in the airport (best part about Chinese airports). I can't say that I am upset to be leaving Shanghai. It was busy and hectic, and for a person like me who gets anxious around crowds, a bit of a nightmare. I was definitely looking forward to arriving in Xi'an.
When we landed in Xi'an we were met with a different kind of weather - hot and dry, rather than the hot and humid that we had been experiencing. We met our city guide Rose who told us that the temperature yesterday had been around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Today they were expecting rain, so the temperature was much lower.
We were able to check into our hotel early because we had to change into our professional attire for our school visit in the afternoon. First though was lunch - another big banquet affair. I am telling you, a mountain of food is placed on our table at every meal, and we never eat it all. It's pretty wasteful, and I feel badly about it, but there is nothing that I can do to remedy the situation except eat more, and I am definitely not doing that. We did have some really good pickled melon today that was out of this world!
Our school visit was at the Bodi International School, a private boarding school in Xi'an. We were first given an introduction to the school, and then divided into two groups. I luckily got in the group that visited the art and music classes. The first class was a class of girls who were learning to play the chang, a stringed instrument. The second class was my favorite! It was a group of boys who were learning to play the erhu. This is a traditional two-stringed instrument played with a bow. It has a very pretty melodic sound, and it was fun to see the boys learning it. Our next class was a painting class. The teacher came back and taught us how to paint a fish. Mine were disastrous, but it was still fun! Probably the most interesting thing about the school visit was talking to students who told us that students had volunteered to go to classes that we were observing, and that they were just wearing their uniforms for our visit. Hmm! It was kind of funny!
After the school visit, we paid a visit to the Ancient City Wall. Xi'an's city wall dates to the Ming Dynasty, roughly around 1300 AD. It is supposedly the most complete city wall to be found in China, and I believe it! It fully surrounds the central "Old City" of Xi'an. We climbed to the top of the wall and were able to walk around a bit. This place was huge!!! It's roughly 8.5 miles to do a complete loop on top. Needless to say, I didn't do one! Besides, we only had about 20 minutes!
Next stop was a street market, where I felt completely in the way. This definitely wasn't a tourist stop - it's where the Chinese shop. We got a lot of interesting stares! Luckily we weren't there long, and we headed to the evening's highlight - a dinner show. These can be EXTREMELY cheesy, but this was actually great! Xi'an is known for its dumplings - jiaozi in Mandarin Chinese - and they were amazing!! Dad, you would have loved these! These are Chinese gyoza! We had around 20 different types, and they were amazing. Best meal in China so far. There simply aren't enough words to describe how amazing this was. The meal was followed by a Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show, which was surprisingly really good! But, by this point, many of us were dragging - we had been up way too long and it was nearing 9:30. We're such party animals, I know. It was so nice to get back onto the bus and come back to the extra plush surroundings of our hotel - and I do mean plush. We have a sitting room that features a purple velour couch. If that isn't plush, I don't know what is! Sleep came VERY easy tonight!
Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Just hurts when flying.
Weather Update: Dry and hot. We brought some rain with us, which hasn't been a problem. Just sprinkles!
This has been my favorite day of the trip so far. I think I may move to Xi'an if tomorrow is anything like this. I am not kidding - this place is amazing. People who come to China without visiting Xi'an need to have their heads examined.
We started our day at 8:30. My stomach was upset this morning, and I was worried about it affecting the other parts of my day, so I had a very light breakfast and a couple Pepto Bismol tablets. It was tasty and refreshing! Our first stop was the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. It was originally built during the Tang Dynasty, around 652 AD. It was very peaceful, and there was a light rain falling, which just added to the atmosphere. It was nice to be able to walk around and check out the many structures inside the temple. It was a thousand times more peaceful than the Jade Buddha Temple that we visited in Shanghai.
As much fun as the Big Wild Goose Pagoda was, I couldn't wait to get on the road to our final destination of the day - the Terra Cotta Army. But, there were many side trips along the way. First we had to visit another factory. This one made reproductions of the terra cotta soldiers. Honestly, these factory visits are getting out of hand. I refuse to believe that a factory consists of four ladies working by themselves. Where's the sweat shop? It's really just a lead in for the multitude of shopping experiences at the end of the "factory tour." Many of us ended up on the bus early in a bit of silent protest! Mom, I was one of them! Can you believe I got out of there without buying anything?!?! Amazing!!
Lunch was next. This was interesting, to say the least. Right outside the restaurant was a replica of the Great Pyramid in Egypt with the Sphinx right beside it. The draw of this lunch was that we were going to have a noodle making performance. Pretty cool! WRONG. That lasted approximately 30 seconds, after which they gave a sales pitch for the noodles - 3 yuan a bowl. Seriously? Anyway, I didn't get any noodles because there was more than enough food on the table. After that we visited a Chinese family's home. This was definitely not a tourist stop. This family has a house and then behind it, rooms carved into a hillside. These are called cave homes. They stay cool in the summer and warm in the winter. The family was extremely nice. Many of us bought some crafts that they had for sale. I bought a handmade wall hanging that is done in the shape of Chinese zodiac symbols. It was very cheap, and I didn't haggle over the price. It just seemed to be the right thing to do for invading someone's home. This very beautiful piece cost me the equivalent of $3. It's one of my favorite things bought on the trip.
Last official stop of the day finally came, the Terra Cotta Soldiers and Horses Museum. This is another World Heritage Site, and it is easily seen why. This place was amazing! This is the terra cotta army ordered built by China's first emperor Qin Shihuang to protect and serve him in the afterlife. It was very busy in there, but just amazing to see. I bought a book signed by one of the farmers who had discovered the site back in 1974. Books are cheap in China as they are subsidized by the government in order to make reading accessible to more people. I love it here!!!! We were given plenty of free time to move through the museum at our own pace. This was definitely a highlight of the trip.
After our ride back to the city, we had the choice of going back to the hotel or going to the Muslim Quarter for shopping and dinner. I chose to go into the city. After a free day of not doing much in Shanghai, I wasn't going to let any more opportunities pass me by. Cindy and I struck out on our own, meandering through the stalls of the Muslim Quarter. I did a lot of my souvenir shopping tonight! The prices were fantastic, the bargaining was fun, and it was just a good time! We tried our best to find an authentic Chinese restaurant to eat it, but they were all packed since it was a Saturday night. We settled on a less busy Chinese restaurant, McDonald's. The food looked different - my Big Mac was a different color, seriously - but it tasted SOOO good!! Great choice!
Upon returning to the hotel, we decided that our feet had been mistreated far too long, so it was time to search out a foot massage. Our hotel didn't offer them, so we decided to hit the front desk and ask where the closest place was. We ran into David on the elevator and convinced him to go with us. It was across the street, and cost us 100 yuan for 70 minutes. Let me tell you - that was the best $15 dollars ever spent. It was pure bliss. I may have to go again tomorrow! Needless to say, a very relaxed Micky fell peacefully into bed that night. Best day yet!
Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Tooth is wondering if tooth massages are available in China...
Weather Update: Glorious. Slight falling rain periodically. Lower temperatures than normal and great breezes. Heavenly, in a word.
Friday, June 25
Today started EARLY! I got up at 4:00 to get ready to leave to catch a flight to Xi'an, one of China's ancient capitals and the site of the famous Terra Cotta Army of Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. We had a boxed breakfast on the bus because we left the hotel too early to eat breakfast there. It was an interesting breakfast! I had a ham and cheese sandwich, a croissant, and a banana. I didn't drink the warm soymilk or eat the boiled egg. Best of all, it came in a reusable shopping bag! Woo hoo!
It took a while to get us all checked in, but I did have time to check my internet for free in the airport (best part about Chinese airports). I can't say that I am upset to be leaving Shanghai. It was busy and hectic, and for a person like me who gets anxious around crowds, a bit of a nightmare. I was definitely looking forward to arriving in Xi'an.
When we landed in Xi'an we were met with a different kind of weather - hot and dry, rather than the hot and humid that we had been experiencing. We met our city guide Rose who told us that the temperature yesterday had been around 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Today they were expecting rain, so the temperature was much lower.
We were able to check into our hotel early because we had to change into our professional attire for our school visit in the afternoon. First though was lunch - another big banquet affair. I am telling you, a mountain of food is placed on our table at every meal, and we never eat it all. It's pretty wasteful, and I feel badly about it, but there is nothing that I can do to remedy the situation except eat more, and I am definitely not doing that. We did have some really good pickled melon today that was out of this world!
Our school visit was at the Bodi International School, a private boarding school in Xi'an. We were first given an introduction to the school, and then divided into two groups. I luckily got in the group that visited the art and music classes. The first class was a class of girls who were learning to play the chang, a stringed instrument. The second class was my favorite! It was a group of boys who were learning to play the erhu. This is a traditional two-stringed instrument played with a bow. It has a very pretty melodic sound, and it was fun to see the boys learning it. Our next class was a painting class. The teacher came back and taught us how to paint a fish. Mine were disastrous, but it was still fun! Probably the most interesting thing about the school visit was talking to students who told us that students had volunteered to go to classes that we were observing, and that they were just wearing their uniforms for our visit. Hmm! It was kind of funny!
After the school visit, we paid a visit to the Ancient City Wall. Xi'an's city wall dates to the Ming Dynasty, roughly around 1300 AD. It is supposedly the most complete city wall to be found in China, and I believe it! It fully surrounds the central "Old City" of Xi'an. We climbed to the top of the wall and were able to walk around a bit. This place was huge!!! It's roughly 8.5 miles to do a complete loop on top. Needless to say, I didn't do one! Besides, we only had about 20 minutes!
Next stop was a street market, where I felt completely in the way. This definitely wasn't a tourist stop - it's where the Chinese shop. We got a lot of interesting stares! Luckily we weren't there long, and we headed to the evening's highlight - a dinner show. These can be EXTREMELY cheesy, but this was actually great! Xi'an is known for its dumplings - jiaozi in Mandarin Chinese - and they were amazing!! Dad, you would have loved these! These are Chinese gyoza! We had around 20 different types, and they were amazing. Best meal in China so far. There simply aren't enough words to describe how amazing this was. The meal was followed by a Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show, which was surprisingly really good! But, by this point, many of us were dragging - we had been up way too long and it was nearing 9:30. We're such party animals, I know. It was so nice to get back onto the bus and come back to the extra plush surroundings of our hotel - and I do mean plush. We have a sitting room that features a purple velour couch. If that isn't plush, I don't know what is! Sleep came VERY easy tonight!
Location: Titan Times Hotel, Xi'an
Tooth Update: Just hurts when flying.
Weather Update: Dry and hot. We brought some rain with us, which hasn't been a problem. Just sprinkles!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Shanghai'ed and Other Stories
Thursday, June 24
Today was our free day in Shanghai. Since one of my two items on my free day list was crossed off on Tuesday, I only had one destination to really hit today, and that was the Propaganda Poster Art Center. After a morning of sleeping in late and a later breakfast, we headed out to the French Concession. This required the use of a cab, my first such experience in China! Of course the cabbie didn't speak English (not that I expected him to), so we pretty much had to trust that he would get us there with no issues. Which, he did! As long as you ignore the fact that he tried to mow down a street full of people. You just have to love the Chinese and their driving! My alarm clock this morning was actually the honks of cars outside on the street!
The poster museum was hard to find, but so worth it. It was in the basement of an apartment building. It was definitely confusing. There were posters from the 1940s to the 1970s, and you really got an idea of the brainwashing that was taking place. It was interesting to see the United States depicted as a soldier with green skin and talons for fingers. What I was really surprised to see was a poster asking the Chinese to support the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 60s. I had hoped to buy a copy of that poster, but unfortunately they didn't have it for sale in the gift shop. I did pick up a copy of one poster for a cool $15. It will be a nice addition to the classroom.
After the museum several of us decided to head back to the hotel because of a light falling rain that we were afraid would ruin our posters. After a short rest, Mona, Jennifer and I went over to Nanjing Road to grab some lunch and to look around a bit. We even found a Dunkin Donuts where we sat for a while and just enjoyed a relaxed pace instead of our usual frantic one. We have an early morning tomorrow, so we all turned in early to get our bags packed and get some sleep. That 5:00 meeting time is going to come awful early in the morning. Tomorrow it is off to Xi'an!
Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: Still no issues. That's a good thing!
Weather Update: Slight rain, but nice low temperatures. Good day overall!
Wednesday, June 23
Today we headed off to a once in a lifetime event - the 2010 World Expo. The World Expo is essentially the world's fair, without the deep fried Oreos, Spandex, and mullets. We were dropped off at the MASSIVE site, at one of the eight gates where busses were allowed to park. I had no idea how many people I would be running into over the course of the day, but if the parking lot was any indicator at all, it would be a few hundred thousand.
We got to the Expo site at 10:00, and we were told that if we wanted to take the bus back to meet at 6:00. Not really knowing what would be in store for me, I didn't know if eight hours was going to be enough, or was going to be too much. I paired up with Amy and we set out with a common goal - just do whatever hits us!
The World Expo has pavilions from many countries around the world. Each country uses the Expo as a showcase for itself, and how it is fitting in with the Expo's main theme of "Better City, Better World." Amy and I decided that we would just go to the pavilions with little to no line. Some pavilions such as Saudi Arabia and Japan had wait lines of up to five hours! So, needless to say, we didn't see the most popular pavilions, but it was still nice. The Chinese did an excellent job with the logistics of the event, from having many benches available, fan misters for cooling, and bathrooms that gave you the choice of squat toilets or REAL toilets! Score!
When we got back on the bus, our guide Tony told us that the temperature at noon was 95 degrees, and that at 4:00 the estimated crowd was 370,000. There was a lot of pushing and shoving (pretty much the only thing about the Chinese that has been making me crazy - that, and I keep having my picture taken). It was a long day, and my feet were killing me by the time we made it back to the hotel. It was nice to be able to sit down, put my feet up, and relax!
Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: No issues!
Weather Update: As stated, hot. But not too humid, so not killer!
Tuesday, June 22
Well, today we arrived in Shanghai, and the first impression? Crowded. Really really crowded. Shanghai is a relatively small city with a massive population - at least 17 million people, though unofficial counts right now put the number at around 25 million people. Add to that the massive amount of people here for the World Expo, plus the fact that Shanghai is a major banking and business center for Asia, and you have a LOT of people in one location. If you know anything about me, you know that crowds make me crazy (crazier?). Shanghai is going to be a sheer feat of strength for me to get through.
We were originally scheduled to visit another garden this morning, but for whatever reason, we didn't. Instead we visited a Buddhist temple. It of course was packed, but it was still possible to view the beauty of the place. I did get upset at the temple though. It was overrun with tourists, and you have to remember that this is a temple, an active place of worship. People were coming in trying to pray and here we were (as well as a bunch of other people) just standing around listening to guides tell us about each room. It really disturbed me to think that I was interfering with someone who was trying to follow their beliefs. Maybe I was just being compassionate. Maybe the crowds were just overwhelming me. I don't know. The statues inside were amazing though, especially the Buddha carved out of a single piece to white jade (white jade is the rarest - and most expensive - of all).
After the tour, we had tea at a tea house inside the temple. There were 10 different types of tea to try. All of the teas here were medicinal teas. Each one targeted a specific area of the body. For example, there was one to help with arthritis. One to give you energy. One to help with headaches. Most of them were really tasty. It was nice to be able to sample so many different teas, and I have to admit that they were gorgeous in the glasses.
After the teas we went to lunch in this weird Chinese-Thai fusion place. It was truly bizarre. The food was good, but what was really strange was the stage show. Some of the Chinese workers got up in Thai traditional costumes and danced. The place was so touristy! It honestly felt like being in a second-rate Epcot pavilion. But, lunch was definitely needed for the next stop of our tour, which was a whirlwind trip through the Shanghai Museum. This museum is definitely world class. It covers Chinese history, and that is a lot to cover. Thousands of years of artifacts are contained within the walls of the museum, and I spent my time trying to get a quick look at everything inside. Chinese furniture, jade, bronze sculptures...all kinds of stuff. It was really interesting and I wish that I had more time to go through it. Oh well. Guess I will just have to hit that up on the next trip!
Our next stop was in the former French Concession. This was the part of Shanghai given over to the control of the French after the Opium Wars and the Treaty of Nanjing. We toured the museum that covered the creation of the Communist Party in Shanghai. This was a place that I had actually listed as something to do on my free day, so I am kind of glad that I was able to have the chance to tour it today so that I have time to do other things on the free day. It would have been nice to spend more time here as I felt a little rushed, but that tends to happen when you travel in groups - I am definitely not complaining, just stating a fact.
The next stop was just annoying - that's a complaint. We got dropped off on Nanjing Road, which is the major shopping street in Shanghai. You know, if you wanted to go to Cartier or buy a Rolex, this was the area for you. I'm getting kind of tired of all of the shopping time. Mona and I decided to just cross the street over to the Bund, the embankment of the Huangpo River, and just have a seat. Again, it was packed. You would be shocked at all of the stares that we get as Americans. I have had my picture taken so many times that it is starting to get ridiculous. Sitting at the Bund was no different. It was a relief to get back on the bus and head to the restaurant for dinner.
After dinner we got tied up on the pier waiting for our boat cruise on the Huangpo River. This place was PACKED!!! Luckily once on board the boat some of us were able to score some deckside seats. The weather was fantastic! The smog, unfortunately, was pretty horrible. Since we're now getting into the huge cities, smog is going to be more and more of a problem. It was hard to get good nighttime shots of the skyline due to the smog, but I did try! There we also had people taking our pictures. One lady got about three feet away from me (if that) and stuck her camera in my face and I had to tell her "no" repeatedly. It definitely isn't fun when you're the animal having your picture taken. It just felt really weird! People would get arrested for that kind of behavior in the States! After the boat docked we finally got to check into our hotel. It was another long day, and one that left me kind of agitated, but hey, I'm still in China. No reason to get too upset!
Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: Better today.
Weather Update: Gorgeous day, but smoggy!
Today was our free day in Shanghai. Since one of my two items on my free day list was crossed off on Tuesday, I only had one destination to really hit today, and that was the Propaganda Poster Art Center. After a morning of sleeping in late and a later breakfast, we headed out to the French Concession. This required the use of a cab, my first such experience in China! Of course the cabbie didn't speak English (not that I expected him to), so we pretty much had to trust that he would get us there with no issues. Which, he did! As long as you ignore the fact that he tried to mow down a street full of people. You just have to love the Chinese and their driving! My alarm clock this morning was actually the honks of cars outside on the street!
The poster museum was hard to find, but so worth it. It was in the basement of an apartment building. It was definitely confusing. There were posters from the 1940s to the 1970s, and you really got an idea of the brainwashing that was taking place. It was interesting to see the United States depicted as a soldier with green skin and talons for fingers. What I was really surprised to see was a poster asking the Chinese to support the civil rights movement in the U.S. in the 60s. I had hoped to buy a copy of that poster, but unfortunately they didn't have it for sale in the gift shop. I did pick up a copy of one poster for a cool $15. It will be a nice addition to the classroom.
After the museum several of us decided to head back to the hotel because of a light falling rain that we were afraid would ruin our posters. After a short rest, Mona, Jennifer and I went over to Nanjing Road to grab some lunch and to look around a bit. We even found a Dunkin Donuts where we sat for a while and just enjoyed a relaxed pace instead of our usual frantic one. We have an early morning tomorrow, so we all turned in early to get our bags packed and get some sleep. That 5:00 meeting time is going to come awful early in the morning. Tomorrow it is off to Xi'an!
Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: Still no issues. That's a good thing!
Weather Update: Slight rain, but nice low temperatures. Good day overall!
Wednesday, June 23
Today we headed off to a once in a lifetime event - the 2010 World Expo. The World Expo is essentially the world's fair, without the deep fried Oreos, Spandex, and mullets. We were dropped off at the MASSIVE site, at one of the eight gates where busses were allowed to park. I had no idea how many people I would be running into over the course of the day, but if the parking lot was any indicator at all, it would be a few hundred thousand.
We got to the Expo site at 10:00, and we were told that if we wanted to take the bus back to meet at 6:00. Not really knowing what would be in store for me, I didn't know if eight hours was going to be enough, or was going to be too much. I paired up with Amy and we set out with a common goal - just do whatever hits us!
The World Expo has pavilions from many countries around the world. Each country uses the Expo as a showcase for itself, and how it is fitting in with the Expo's main theme of "Better City, Better World." Amy and I decided that we would just go to the pavilions with little to no line. Some pavilions such as Saudi Arabia and Japan had wait lines of up to five hours! So, needless to say, we didn't see the most popular pavilions, but it was still nice. The Chinese did an excellent job with the logistics of the event, from having many benches available, fan misters for cooling, and bathrooms that gave you the choice of squat toilets or REAL toilets! Score!
When we got back on the bus, our guide Tony told us that the temperature at noon was 95 degrees, and that at 4:00 the estimated crowd was 370,000. There was a lot of pushing and shoving (pretty much the only thing about the Chinese that has been making me crazy - that, and I keep having my picture taken). It was a long day, and my feet were killing me by the time we made it back to the hotel. It was nice to be able to sit down, put my feet up, and relax!
Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: No issues!
Weather Update: As stated, hot. But not too humid, so not killer!
Tuesday, June 22
Well, today we arrived in Shanghai, and the first impression? Crowded. Really really crowded. Shanghai is a relatively small city with a massive population - at least 17 million people, though unofficial counts right now put the number at around 25 million people. Add to that the massive amount of people here for the World Expo, plus the fact that Shanghai is a major banking and business center for Asia, and you have a LOT of people in one location. If you know anything about me, you know that crowds make me crazy (crazier?). Shanghai is going to be a sheer feat of strength for me to get through.
We were originally scheduled to visit another garden this morning, but for whatever reason, we didn't. Instead we visited a Buddhist temple. It of course was packed, but it was still possible to view the beauty of the place. I did get upset at the temple though. It was overrun with tourists, and you have to remember that this is a temple, an active place of worship. People were coming in trying to pray and here we were (as well as a bunch of other people) just standing around listening to guides tell us about each room. It really disturbed me to think that I was interfering with someone who was trying to follow their beliefs. Maybe I was just being compassionate. Maybe the crowds were just overwhelming me. I don't know. The statues inside were amazing though, especially the Buddha carved out of a single piece to white jade (white jade is the rarest - and most expensive - of all).
After the tour, we had tea at a tea house inside the temple. There were 10 different types of tea to try. All of the teas here were medicinal teas. Each one targeted a specific area of the body. For example, there was one to help with arthritis. One to give you energy. One to help with headaches. Most of them were really tasty. It was nice to be able to sample so many different teas, and I have to admit that they were gorgeous in the glasses.
After the teas we went to lunch in this weird Chinese-Thai fusion place. It was truly bizarre. The food was good, but what was really strange was the stage show. Some of the Chinese workers got up in Thai traditional costumes and danced. The place was so touristy! It honestly felt like being in a second-rate Epcot pavilion. But, lunch was definitely needed for the next stop of our tour, which was a whirlwind trip through the Shanghai Museum. This museum is definitely world class. It covers Chinese history, and that is a lot to cover. Thousands of years of artifacts are contained within the walls of the museum, and I spent my time trying to get a quick look at everything inside. Chinese furniture, jade, bronze sculptures...all kinds of stuff. It was really interesting and I wish that I had more time to go through it. Oh well. Guess I will just have to hit that up on the next trip!
Our next stop was in the former French Concession. This was the part of Shanghai given over to the control of the French after the Opium Wars and the Treaty of Nanjing. We toured the museum that covered the creation of the Communist Party in Shanghai. This was a place that I had actually listed as something to do on my free day, so I am kind of glad that I was able to have the chance to tour it today so that I have time to do other things on the free day. It would have been nice to spend more time here as I felt a little rushed, but that tends to happen when you travel in groups - I am definitely not complaining, just stating a fact.
The next stop was just annoying - that's a complaint. We got dropped off on Nanjing Road, which is the major shopping street in Shanghai. You know, if you wanted to go to Cartier or buy a Rolex, this was the area for you. I'm getting kind of tired of all of the shopping time. Mona and I decided to just cross the street over to the Bund, the embankment of the Huangpo River, and just have a seat. Again, it was packed. You would be shocked at all of the stares that we get as Americans. I have had my picture taken so many times that it is starting to get ridiculous. Sitting at the Bund was no different. It was a relief to get back on the bus and head to the restaurant for dinner.
After dinner we got tied up on the pier waiting for our boat cruise on the Huangpo River. This place was PACKED!!! Luckily once on board the boat some of us were able to score some deckside seats. The weather was fantastic! The smog, unfortunately, was pretty horrible. Since we're now getting into the huge cities, smog is going to be more and more of a problem. It was hard to get good nighttime shots of the skyline due to the smog, but I did try! There we also had people taking our pictures. One lady got about three feet away from me (if that) and stuck her camera in my face and I had to tell her "no" repeatedly. It definitely isn't fun when you're the animal having your picture taken. It just felt really weird! People would get arrested for that kind of behavior in the States! After the boat docked we finally got to check into our hotel. It was another long day, and one that left me kind of agitated, but hey, I'm still in China. No reason to get too upset!
Location: The Bund Riverside Hotel, Shanghai
Tooth Update: Better today.
Weather Update: Gorgeous day, but smoggy!
Monday, June 21, 2010
Shopping in Suzhou
Today was spent going from site to site in Suzhou, the so-called "Venice of the East." Our day started at the Lingering Garden, a very famous classical garden. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and it was truly gorgeous. The garden dates back to around 1600. The garden is divided into four distinctly themed sections: East, Central, West, and North. There were a couple of gingko trees that were over 300 years old!
Our guide Jessica then took us to a silk factory. We learned all kinds of things about silk production from her, from the growth of the silk worm to the cocoon, to the eating of the pupa (believed to promote strength in men and beauty in women). I even volunteered to eat a silk worm pupa! It was kind of nasty - tasted fishy with a popping outside shell and a squishy center. It was WAY too much like eating a bean to be enjoyable. Probably the funniest moment was when we were ushered into a "Silk Fashion Show" where the first song played was Michael Jackson's "Heal the World." I admit to laughing out loud. The silk factory was cool, but definitely a marketing extravaganza. Our lunch was even at the silk factory. The most interesting thing about that place was that they had the snake wine, where snakes are infused into rice wine or grain alcohol. I swear to you that I even saw a jar with a turtle in it. Some of the guys had tried it on a previous night and said it tasted horrible, and Cindy said the stuff was called "Death" so before you ask, no, I didn't try any!
The next stop was very brief. We went to a teahouse where we drank - you guessed it - tea and listened to Suzhou opera. You might recognize the style from some music played in Chinese restaurants. After the tea break, we had a paddleboat tour of one of the canals. It took us through some neighborhoods and we were able to see how some regular people in Suzhou live - hanging clothes out to dry, the beautiful plants growing on steps leading down to the canal - but I will also tell you that the area seemed really poor by our standards in the US.
We then visited an embroidery institute. Suzhou is famous for it sembroidery, especially its double sided embroidery where the picture can be seen on both sides of the material. It was gorgeous stuff, but EXTREMELY expensive. Had I had several thousand dollars just lying around I would have bought something, but I didn't, so I am coming home empty handed!
We then got dropped off at Guan Qain Street for some shopping. SOme of us were shopped out though, and felt that it was in our best interests to look for dinner. Since we were on our own for dinner tonight, we got to pick, and we chose - PIZZA HUT!!! Let me tell you, this was the most amazing Pizza Hut I have ever been in. This Pizza Hut served steak, escargot, slushies...it was off the charts. I got this really good rose lychee frozen drink. We then kind of ambled around for a while until it was time to hop back onto the bus and go back to the amazing hotel that are living in for one last night.
Location: Gusu Jinjiang Hotel, Suzhou
Tooth Update: A little sore today. Just some pressure. It may be time to start the antibiotics again.
Weather Update: Absolutely GLORIOUS! Sunny, breezy, and just amazing.
Our guide Jessica then took us to a silk factory. We learned all kinds of things about silk production from her, from the growth of the silk worm to the cocoon, to the eating of the pupa (believed to promote strength in men and beauty in women). I even volunteered to eat a silk worm pupa! It was kind of nasty - tasted fishy with a popping outside shell and a squishy center. It was WAY too much like eating a bean to be enjoyable. Probably the funniest moment was when we were ushered into a "Silk Fashion Show" where the first song played was Michael Jackson's "Heal the World." I admit to laughing out loud. The silk factory was cool, but definitely a marketing extravaganza. Our lunch was even at the silk factory. The most interesting thing about that place was that they had the snake wine, where snakes are infused into rice wine or grain alcohol. I swear to you that I even saw a jar with a turtle in it. Some of the guys had tried it on a previous night and said it tasted horrible, and Cindy said the stuff was called "Death" so before you ask, no, I didn't try any!
The next stop was very brief. We went to a teahouse where we drank - you guessed it - tea and listened to Suzhou opera. You might recognize the style from some music played in Chinese restaurants. After the tea break, we had a paddleboat tour of one of the canals. It took us through some neighborhoods and we were able to see how some regular people in Suzhou live - hanging clothes out to dry, the beautiful plants growing on steps leading down to the canal - but I will also tell you that the area seemed really poor by our standards in the US.
We then visited an embroidery institute. Suzhou is famous for it sembroidery, especially its double sided embroidery where the picture can be seen on both sides of the material. It was gorgeous stuff, but EXTREMELY expensive. Had I had several thousand dollars just lying around I would have bought something, but I didn't, so I am coming home empty handed!
We then got dropped off at Guan Qain Street for some shopping. SOme of us were shopped out though, and felt that it was in our best interests to look for dinner. Since we were on our own for dinner tonight, we got to pick, and we chose - PIZZA HUT!!! Let me tell you, this was the most amazing Pizza Hut I have ever been in. This Pizza Hut served steak, escargot, slushies...it was off the charts. I got this really good rose lychee frozen drink. We then kind of ambled around for a while until it was time to hop back onto the bus and go back to the amazing hotel that are living in for one last night.
Location: Gusu Jinjiang Hotel, Suzhou
Tooth Update: A little sore today. Just some pressure. It may be time to start the antibiotics again.
Weather Update: Absolutely GLORIOUS! Sunny, breezy, and just amazing.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
A Day in Nanjing
Today started off with another fantastic breakfast. Let me tell you, the Chinese really know how to throw a breakfast buffet together. You have your Western food, your Asian foods, and some fruit and breads thrown in just for kicks. I absolutely love it!
We met our new local city guide, Helen, who took us to our first stop of the day. It was definitely a very somber stop, and really the only emotional downer of the trip - thus far, anyway. We went to the Memorial Hall for Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. If you don't know what this is, here is a quick lesson. In 1937, Japanese forces took control of the city of Nanking. For six weeks between December and January 1938, approximately 300,000 Chinese were killed. Thousands were raped. It is a major stumbling block still between Japan and China as many in Japan deny that this event ever occured. This Memorial Hall was erected in part to document the evidence of these horrible acts. It is kind of hard to deny things that hit you right in the face, you know? It's kind of like those who deny the Holocaust. Once you see it, you know it happened. Same thing here. It was very somber, but I have to admit to being a little perplexed by the actions of many Chinese there. Our group was repeatedly reminded - perhaps one too many times - to be quiet. The Chinese here were very loud, especially in the mass grave area where you could view the skeletal remains of the massacre victims. I would have thought that they would be more somber, but I guess I was wrong.
Our next stop was the Presidential Palace, where Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the creator of Modern China, and Chiang Kai-shek officiated over the government. This was a very nice collection of buildings and offices. Wow, what a dry sentence. But, there is really no other way to put it! The place was crowded - it is the weekend - but it was still relatively easy to get around in.
After lunch, we visited the Confucius Temple area. I say area because the Temple is no longer there in operation. My lesson plan that I am doing for the trip is on Confucius, so I was a little disappointed. The area was really more for shopping. I did manage to get a McDonald's ice cream cone (I'm living large over here) for a whopping 37 cents in US money. Again, have I mentioned how much I love it here?
We then said goodbye to Helen - short stay in Nanjing! - and headed for Suzhou, a good two hour drive. On the way we stopped at a Chinese rest area where we got to experience the squatty potty. It's kind of fun being in China sometimes. I swear to you that sometimes we get so many stares. Kim, one of our guides, said that in many cases we may be the first Caucasians that some of the Chinese have seen. We've been filmed, had our pictures taken - and the rest area was no different. Definitely funny!
Upon arriving in Suzhou, we ate dinner - all we do sometimes is eat - and then arrived at the most amazing hotel yet. It is LARGE. My room is crazy - I'll have to post pictures because there aren't words appropriate enough. Suzhou seems cool so far - lots of lights (think Vegas) and water. I'm looking forward to touring it tomorrow!
Location: Gusu Jinjiang Tower Hotel, Suzhou
Tooth Update: Lots of pressure today. Not sure what is up with that.
Weather Update: We had been told to expect killer hot temps in Nanjing, but it was actually pleasant. Temps in the upper 70s, low 80s with SUNLIGHT. I even got a bit of a sunburn. Lucky me!
We met our new local city guide, Helen, who took us to our first stop of the day. It was definitely a very somber stop, and really the only emotional downer of the trip - thus far, anyway. We went to the Memorial Hall for Victims of the Nanjing Massacre. If you don't know what this is, here is a quick lesson. In 1937, Japanese forces took control of the city of Nanking. For six weeks between December and January 1938, approximately 300,000 Chinese were killed. Thousands were raped. It is a major stumbling block still between Japan and China as many in Japan deny that this event ever occured. This Memorial Hall was erected in part to document the evidence of these horrible acts. It is kind of hard to deny things that hit you right in the face, you know? It's kind of like those who deny the Holocaust. Once you see it, you know it happened. Same thing here. It was very somber, but I have to admit to being a little perplexed by the actions of many Chinese there. Our group was repeatedly reminded - perhaps one too many times - to be quiet. The Chinese here were very loud, especially in the mass grave area where you could view the skeletal remains of the massacre victims. I would have thought that they would be more somber, but I guess I was wrong.
Our next stop was the Presidential Palace, where Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the creator of Modern China, and Chiang Kai-shek officiated over the government. This was a very nice collection of buildings and offices. Wow, what a dry sentence. But, there is really no other way to put it! The place was crowded - it is the weekend - but it was still relatively easy to get around in.
After lunch, we visited the Confucius Temple area. I say area because the Temple is no longer there in operation. My lesson plan that I am doing for the trip is on Confucius, so I was a little disappointed. The area was really more for shopping. I did manage to get a McDonald's ice cream cone (I'm living large over here) for a whopping 37 cents in US money. Again, have I mentioned how much I love it here?
We then said goodbye to Helen - short stay in Nanjing! - and headed for Suzhou, a good two hour drive. On the way we stopped at a Chinese rest area where we got to experience the squatty potty. It's kind of fun being in China sometimes. I swear to you that sometimes we get so many stares. Kim, one of our guides, said that in many cases we may be the first Caucasians that some of the Chinese have seen. We've been filmed, had our pictures taken - and the rest area was no different. Definitely funny!
Upon arriving in Suzhou, we ate dinner - all we do sometimes is eat - and then arrived at the most amazing hotel yet. It is LARGE. My room is crazy - I'll have to post pictures because there aren't words appropriate enough. Suzhou seems cool so far - lots of lights (think Vegas) and water. I'm looking forward to touring it tomorrow!
Location: Gusu Jinjiang Tower Hotel, Suzhou
Tooth Update: Lots of pressure today. Not sure what is up with that.
Weather Update: We had been told to expect killer hot temps in Nanjing, but it was actually pleasant. Temps in the upper 70s, low 80s with SUNLIGHT. I even got a bit of a sunburn. Lucky me!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Did You Miss Me?
One of the group members was able to find a proxy server for us, so I can now blog! Woo hoo!!!
It's a lot to read. But it's good!!
Saturday - June 19
This morning I got up early and went out with Cindy to check out Yangshuo while it was relatively cool and less crowded. We stopped in a local supermarket where Cindy was able to buy a giant Coke (maybe 1.5 liter?) for around 75 cents. We then found a cave entrance that had a large statue of Kwan Yin outside. My Indian mythology is pretty bad, but I believe that she is a goddess of mercy that has been adopted by many Buddhists in China.
Our first - and really only - stop today was the village of Xingping. We got REALLY lucky today as boat tours were allowed on the Li River. We went out for maybe an hour or so. The original plan was to disembark at the Xingping fishing village, but the water was still way too high to make that a safe idea. It was still a great cruise though! Beautiful scenery through the karst limestone mountains. A man boated up to our boat with his comorant birds and we could have our picture taken with them for 2 yuan (45 cents or so). It was fun and a relaxing boat trip.
The rest of the day was kind of boring as it was spent in transit. We rode back to Yangshuo, had lunch at the hotel, then bussed up to Guilin to the airport. We hung around there for several hours until our two hour flight to Nanjing.
Location: Ramada Plaza, Nanjing
Tooth Update: No issues.
Weather Update: Today wasn't bad - and the sun finally came out!
Friday - June 18
Today started a bit earlier than yesterday - 8:20, but I didn't mind much because I was really excited about the boat trip that we were going to take from Guilin to Yangshuo. When we got to the lobby, we got some good news and some bad news. For the good, it looked like it wasn't going to rain today. For the bad, because of all of the rain, the Li River was excessively high, and even if its depth wasn't a problem, the speed of its current would be. It just wouldn't be safe to go out on the river. I admit to being a little bummed. Last night we found out that the light show that we were supposed to see on the river tonight was cancelled because of the flooding, and I was worried that we would be left to do things on our own today. Luckily, we had a good twist of luck!
We visited the Guilin Art Museum where we were able to watch a demonstration of Chinese water painting. It was pretty cool! I had a chance to watch the artist paint a piece for me, and then purchase it, of course! It took him all of five minutes to create a lovely bamboo painting. I was impressed! I then had another chop made. I chose a round shape this time - the last was square - and this time I just had the Chinese symbols carved, without the English added. I recorded the guy carving the chop. So cool!!!
We then settled in for a 1.5 hour bus ride to Yangshuo. Our ride took us through some pretty stunning landscapes. Our driver pulled over so that we could get some pictures. The mountains here are very old and are karst, which gives them a very distinctive shape. Before I knew it, we had arrived in Yangshuo and then we checked into the New Century Hotel. Our lunch, which we were supposed to eat on the boat, was substituted with a fantastic meal at the hotel, which featured these AMAZING deep fried sweet potato dumplings. Seriously, one of the best things I have eaten so far! It was just like eating candy.
Our only appointment for the day was a visit to the Omeida Language School, which required us to change into our "nice" clothes. We had a tour of the school. It was so hot and humid today that the stairs were a special challenge. Both the steps and the banisters were slick, and in some places even the walls were wet! We then went to the classrooms in small groups. I went to a Basic Business Communications class. The students in this class had been learning English for a while, and were very good at conversing. The teacher led them through a 20-minute review, and then Wayne and I led a 20-minute Q&A period about life in the US. After that, we headed to the rooftop cafeteria to meet in small groups with the students. I spent a long time talking to a student named Jenny. She was VERY interested in the United States, and she had done her research! It was a lot of fun talking to her, and I gave her my e-mail address so that we can hopefully write back and forth.
After the school visit, it was back to the hotel to change, and then we had a free evening ahead of us. Mona, Edith, Dave and I stopped for pizza. Shocking that I would eat pizza out somewhere, I know. As I have mentioned before, the prices here are ridiculous, and dinner was no different. I wish the US was this cheap! After dinner we wandered up and down West Street, a pretty busy shopping avenue. It was very touristy, but fun and exciting at the same time. Another good day down!
Location: New Century Hotel, Yangshuo
Tooth Update: A bit of pressure today. Not sure what is up with that.
Weather Update: Sunny at last! The humidity must be at 99% though. It is sticky nasty out.
Thursday - June 17
Today we got to sleep in a bit considering that we had been up late the night before - what a bunch of partiers we are! While at breakfast, I saw a teenage boy wearing an Indiana basketball t-shirt. Weird, so I went up and asked him where he was from. He told me Louisville, I told him that I was from Corydon. His mom then came up to me and told me that they were actually from Sellersburg! Imagine going halfway around the world to find people from Sellersburg at your hotel breakfast! It doesn't stop there - it turned out that they were there as part of a large group of young men from St. X High School in Louisville. The lobby was practically swarming with these guys! They were really helpful in telling me how to get onto the internet and were just really nice overall. So, a big shout out to Rick Ayers and the guys from St. X!!
We left at 10:00 this morning to head out to the Longji Rice Terraces. The weather was MISERABLE. Considerable downpours, and we had heard that there had been deaths in the part of China that I am currently in due to mudslides caused by the rain. So what did we do? That's right - head right into the belly of the beast, as Longji is located at the top of a mountain. The road was crazy getting there - all kinds of hairpin turns and small rockslides over the road. It was a white knuckle ride, I can tell you that! We stopped at the Zhuang minority village for a bathroom break, where people came out and tried to sell us stuff, and then later on at the Yao village. We stopped here to transfer to a smaller bus (easier to get up the road), and I made friends with a Yao woman who desperately wanted to sell me some postcards. I kept telling her no, and she kept saying "Maybe later." She gestured that she would have her eyes on me when I came back down the mountain. She cracked me up. Yao women are known for their long hair, which can be two meters long, and how it is knotted on their heads. Google it. It was very interesting. When we got a little further up, the road ended, and we then had to take the steps.
I'm not sure how many steps I climbed, but it had to easily have been 1,000. I'm not kidding. No handrails, slick with rain...people, I could have died at any moment. But back to the sheer number of stairs...I was HURTING. The village was spread up the mountain path, so there were plenty of people around trying to sell me things. The size and length of the climb really surprised me - in fact, I had no idea that this was going to happen. But let me tell you, I am so glad that I did it. The view at the top was absolutely stunning, even on a rainy foggy day. I drank some herbal Long Ji tea at the top, was able to haggle with shoppers on the way down the mountain, have an excellent lunch halfway down the hill. It was so much fun. I bought some pretty amazing things and had a whole bag of stuff for which I only paid about $22 USD. Isn't that crazy?! But I have to admit - I was exhausted, and glad to get back on the bus. When we transferred, my new Yao friend was there and I bought postcards from her as promised.
When we got back to Guilin, Mona and I decided that all of that climbing had taken a toll on us, and that a massage was in order. We could have left the hotel to do this, and it probably would have been cheaper, but the chance to get a full body massage for 60 minutes at the bargain basement price of just under $30 doesn't happen much. The massage was extremely painful but felt SOOOOO fantastic. Definitely a good investment and one that I am glad that I made!
Today has been an excellent day. I'm a pretty lucky girl.
Location: Guilin Bravo Hotel, Guilin
Tooth Update: Felt some pressure on the mountain, but subsided when I came out of the clouds.
Weather Update: Rainy this morning, but cleared up. Sun stayed away but the temperature was fantastic.
Wednesday - June 16
This morning we left Hong Kong to go to the border. Yes, that's right - the border. You see, even though Hong Kong is in China, it is a special region (technically a Special Administration Region), and you have to have special permission to go back and forth across the border. Tricky stuff, isn't it? To be quite honest, it surprised me quite a bit. I figured that when Hong Kong reverted back to China after the British handed it over in 1997 that it would be China, period. Not the case. Immigration was surprisingly easy though. It was interesting to step over the line in the building that marked administration by Hong Kong and administration by China.
We met Michael Gallagher when we arrived in Shenzhen, the first new locale of the day. We had talked with Michael via Skype during our orientation in Bloomington, and he arranged a tour for us in Shenzhen. We first met him at the Urban Planning Building where he gave us a brief overview of the city and how it has grown since being declared a Special Economic Zone in China. The room was HOT, but since I had my special $1 fan from yesterday, I was able to be the envy of everyone in the room. We then checked out a computer simulation room where urban planners can digitize potential building plans and put them into a digital map of Shenzhen. It allows them to see what it would look like in the end. It was pretty cool! Michael then took us on a bus tour of Shenzhen. We saw some urban minority villages - don't let the word "village" mislead you though. These are pockets in the city where minority villages were once located, but now they are a collection of high rise apartment building where minorities and migrant workers live. The closest thing that we would have to those are what we would call tenement houses or slums. They were pretty sad. Michael's tour was heavy on urban planning and architecture, but we did manage to see some other places. We visited the Green Oasis school, an international school in Shenzhen. We also visited the Dafen Oil Painting Village, which was interesting. We saw an art exhibit there, but overall I was a little disappointed in Dafen. I thought that we were going to be able to visit some artist studios, but apparently what Dafen is known for has been outsourced to the surrounding area. Art here was ridiculously overpriced. Needless to say, I didn't buy any!
Our lunch stop today was chosen especially by Michael in light of the fact that we would not be visiting the Szechuan region of China. So, we went to a Szechuan restaurant! VERY good food, and very spicy. Definitely the best meal of the trip so far, but that seems to keep happening with each and every day. However, I can't say the same for dinner. We had a long day that kept getting longer, and we got to the airport to fly to Guilin a bit later than expected. By the time that we got checked in, we only had an hour before boarding and 25 people to feed. Where does a person go when faced with this dilemma in China? That's right - you go to KFC! I had chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes with gravy - and a desire to NEVER eat mashed potatoes in an Asian country ever again! Blech! After wolfing that down and getting through security, we got to our gate only to find out that our flight had been postponed from 9:30 to 11:00. Since there was a delay, the airline promptly handed out a meal and water. Can you believe that?!?! I didn't eat it since I had just scarfed down my KFC, but I was blown away by an airline making amends for creating an inconvenience for their customers. Once aboard the flight, I immediately conked out. The flight seemed like it was 5 minutes long! We finally got to our hotel in Guilin around 2, and I was out by 2:15. A definite long day in China!
Location: Guilin Bravo Hotel, Guilin
Tooth Update: Loves Szechuan food.
Weather Update:: Hot and steamy in Shenzhen, but no rain!
Tuesday - June 15
3:30 am. Most people are asleep. Most aren't experiencing jet lag. Amy, my roommate and I, are wide awake then. We finally said to heck with it, and just got up. I was able to finish up typing out yesterday's blog, and as I did so, was worried the entire time about how I was going to feel later on that evening. I read a little bit and managed to get another hour of sleep. Around 7:00 I went down to breakfast - oh, breakfast! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Asian breakfasts! Yes, there was standard Western fare - bacon, eggs, and the like - but there was miso soup! And shark fin dumplings! And wonderfully tasty noodles! I am actually looking forward to tomorrow for the sole reason of eating breakfast - okay, wait. That could be extreme, but if you'd had one of the steamed custard buns, you'd understand.
Walking outside I was met with a sure sign that today was going to be a muggy Wonderland of Fun - my glasses fogged up. This was at 8:30. The weather card left in the room predicted 95% humidity today, and I don't think that was too high of an estimate at all. In fact, throughout the day, it looked like the sky could open up at any moment and just unleash a torrential downpour of rain. Luckily, that never happened. It did, however, create a very overcast and foggy environment. Part of me wonders how Hong Kong would have looked in sunshine, but since it was so stinking hot as it was, maybe it was better off foggy!
Our first stop was Victoria Peak, which is the highest natural point in Hong Kong. We took a cable car to the top of the peak. Unfortunately, the view of the Hong Kong skyline was less than desirable because of the massive amount of fog, but I did have the opportunity to do a little souvenir shopping. Using Hong Kong dollars is crazy. I had only exchanged $50, since we are going to be here for such a short time. That netted me $375 Hong Kong dollars. For whatever reason I kept thinking that things cost WAY more than what they did! For example, I decided to buy a cheap folding fan. The price was $7 HKD. I thought it was ridiculous to pay that much for a cheap folding fan until I remembered that it was only around $1 US. This may be the first time in my life that I am having trouble spending money! I am actually going to have Hong Kong dollars to exchange into the Chinese renminbi. Very strange. I was able to score some Hong Kong velvet wall art for my classroom as well. All in all, great time!
We next traveled tons of windy roads to drive past Repulse Bay and its beaches to the Stanley Market. The Stanley Market is full of all kinds of little stands. I would say that it is definitely oriented to tourists, but that's not always a bad thing. One of the things that I wanted to get in China was my own chop, or signature stamp. Our faculty adviser, Richard Bohr, is fluent in Cantonese (the language spoken in Hong Kong) and was able to negotiate a special price for us, and I ended up getting my chop with my name carved in it, with the phonetic Chinese symbol for "Emily", some red ink, and a box to keep it in for a ridiculously low price of around $13 US. The name on the stamp says "Michelle" instead of "Micky" or "Emily" but it's just so cool that they carved it there today, on my own little stamp with my Chinese zodiac sign of the rabbit on it, that I really don't mind that much.
There are a couple of times on the tour that we have to make "factory visits." Apparently the tour company that we are using gets some kickbacks if we buy something there, so they are scheduled throughout. We were just told to grin and bear them. Today's special visit was to a jewelry factory. The introduction took about five minutes, the "tour" all of one minute as we passed by two workers, and then we were taken into a large showroom where we could buy the goods. I bought nothing as the jewelry was outrageous in price, but I did manage to find a machine where you could get a free cup of soft drink. Woo hoo! Yay for freebies! Too bad it wasn't the jewelry!
We then took the bus to another harbor, and had a sanpan boat tour of the Aberdeen Fishing Village, the only floating fishing village left in Hong Kong. If you've seen pictures of the "junk" boats all ti4ed up next to each other, you've seen what I saw today. To me it felt a little intrusive, like I was spying on these people, but it appears that tours of this area are a good industry, so maybe in some way they benefited from it. After the tour, which took around 25 minutes or so, we ate at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant and had a Cantonese Dim Sum lunch. This was SOOOOO good! All kinds of dumplings, rice, and soup, and a fantastic mango pudding at the end. I absolutely loved it. It was nice also to sit for a while and talk to members of the group and just hang out. There are some really cool people in the group!
Lunch was definitely filling, and the next part of our day brought nap time to many - a 40-minute drive to Lanpau Island to see the Giant Buddha. We took a cable car (!!!) to get there, which was a 25-minute ride. It was AMAZING!!!! Up at the top, we walked through the Ngong Ping village to the Giant Buddha, which like everything else today, was wrapped in fog. You had to climb the 300+ steps to get up to it, which was intense due to the altitude and the fact that I am fat, but it was pretty cool up at the top. Had the sun been shining I surely would have died, but it was nice to be up there. My pictures aren't great at all because of the fog, but I still know that I was there. Before getting back on the cable car to go down the mountain, I bought a bottle of Pocari Sweat, my favorite drink from Japan, and was able to sit on a bench and do some people watching.
After arriving back at the hotel, Mona and I decided to walk along the harbor front to the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars - think of Hollywood's Walk of Fame and you have its American equivalent. I took a picture of Bruce Lee's statue against the Hong Kong skyline, and then we walked around a bit more to find some food. We ended up in a French deli across the street from the hotel. It was really tasty, and cheap! It felt good to sit down in air conditioning and relax for a bit. It was a perfect way to end a very jam-packed day!
Location: Royal Garden Hotel, Hong Kong
Tooth Update: Other than my tongue continuously playing with it, nothing to report.
Weather Update: Foggy, muggy, hot, hot, hot.
Monday Evening, Having Lost a Day - June 14
Today was LONG. IT was the flight out of Chicago, in all of its 15.5 hour wonder. For some reason I thought that the flight would lift off at 4:30, but it turns out that we were to leave around 12:45 or so. I am not sure at all where I got that time. Nevertheless, it finally was clear why we had to meet downstairs at 8:30. We walked off and did a group check-in for the flight, which was very speedy, and then to security. I've been through security at O'Hare, and let me tell you - it isn't pretty. But for whatever reason, it was a BREEZE! INSANE! I was in and out of there in no time at all. The biggest excitement of the day came when I went to check my luggage, featuring my new rolling duffle bag. I was allowed up to 50 pounds, and my luggage came in at 30.9 pounds! EXCELLENT! I must have finally learned how to pack, or I have forgotten something drastically important.
Upon arriving at our gate at Concourse C, I had a meeting the others who had arrived late because of weather. The remainder of the time was spent getting to know others in the group. So far it looks like a really fun group, maybe just one or two that will keep lagging behind (I figure if you can't get to where you need to be on the first day, we're going to have issues - I really hope that I am wrong). The biggest crack-up of the pre-boarding time was listening to Alan, a teacher from Indy, describe in detail the numerous diseases that we could contract while in China. It sounds like many of the teachers went out and fully armed themselves with every immunization known to man. I didn't. I believe that I will be fine, but if I am not, that's why I bought extra trip insurance! I may be acting a bit too loosely with this, but life is too short to worry all of the time!
We boarded out 747 jumbo jet for our non-stop to Hong Kong. I shared a row with Mona (my roommate from Bloomington) and Shari. It was nice to have a row with people from the group. I hate asking strangers to move so that I can get up, and when you have a window seat such as I did, you have to ask often. I actually felt a little motion sickness from time to time, which is weird for me as I usually have no trouble flying. But, it was long, and very turbulent, so there's my excuse! Lots of TV shows, lots of movies, and lots of bad airline food later (with the exception of the ramen noodle snack - pretty tasty!), we finally landed in Hong Kong. The only real highlights of the trip for me was being able to see the Arctic Ocean and Russia. I was sad and disappointed that I couldn't read SkyMall - one of these days I'll remember that you don't find those on international flights - duty free catalog, yes, but definitely not to Sky Mall.
Getting through Immigration was a piece of cake, and through Customs the icing on that cake. Hong Kong seems laid back! One of the signs in the airport said that it is the 4th busiest international airport in the world. Not hard to believe. I did get to see the Chinese health officials whose job is to check you for fever when you come into the country. I didn't see any of the laser guns that I had heard about - I think it was just a large general area that we walked through. We met Linda, our city guide, who escorted us to our bus. We had about a 40-minute drive to the part of the city that we are staying in. We drove past Hong Kong Disneyland, but I didn't get to see it. Very sad. When we arrived at the hotel, we jumped off, and I was hit with a blasting wave of heat and humidity. The hair grew, people. It grew. We got our room keys, and were able to freshen up very quickly before we met downstairs in the lobby to walk to dinner. We ate at a Cantonese restaurant, one of those places where the dishes keep coming and coming. I really have no idea what I ate, but my favorite was the steamed spicy eggplant. My goal is to try everything that is put in front of me, even the dessert...and you may be questioning why I would ever question dessert. Well, kids, it's really simple...an old nemesis of mine is back...
The Red Bean.
When I was in Japan, the red bean was everywhere. It showed up in dumplings, pastries, you name it! Well, it showed up at my dinner...in the form of red bean soup. I tried it. I didn't like it. But I tried it, and that is all that matters! For a girl who doesn't like beans, the red bean in any form is a force to be reckoned with, and I defeated it again!
We were divided into two groups for dinner, and most of my group had left prior to the red bean soup. I would have joined the other group but everyone was still there. Part of me wanted to go out and walk to the waterfront to take pictures, but I felt kind of weird waiting for people to finish their meal. Cindy was the last person at my table besides myself, and she wanted to hit the 7-11 to buy a bottle of water, so we did that. That was a bit of culture shock - the bottle of water cost me about $7.50. Insane, right? But that is in Hong Kong dollars - it was really right around $1. I only changed over around $50 US dollars here since we will be in Hong Kong such a short time. We'll see how it all works out! I then came back to the hotel room, got things ready for the next day of touring, and fell immediately asleep.
Location: Hong Kong, Royal Garden Hotel
Tooth Update: Some pressure on the flight, but nothing painful. Hates red bean as much as I do.
Weather Update: Like someone keeps slapping you with a hot wet towel. And that's at night.
Saturday Evening
So, I FINALLY made it to Chicago. It took forever. My flight lifted off at around 7:45, but because of the thunderstorms, we had to reroute around St. Louis and come up from that direction. That added about an hour onto our flight. The only thing good that I can say about this is that United was very thoughtful when it added fuel to our tank so that we wouldn't run out midair. It's the little reassuring things that make flying so fun, you know?
Unfortunately, I had to miss the meeting, and by the time I ran from Terminal B to Terminal A to get my luggage and then back to Terminal B to check into the O'Hare Hilton, I almost missed dinner. To be honest, dinner was pretty much over, and people were getting up and leaving, but I was encouraged to go ahead and get some dinner. I was starving - famished, really - but I felt bad at the group leaders having to wait on me, so I ordered a salad. It was a good one though! Field greens with strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, and feta cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette. I did manage to get a little dressing on my shirt, so the first Shout wipe came out. Sigh.
I think I need sleep as I am starting to feel violent. Wait, I've felt like that all day!!
Location: Chicago O'Hare Hilton
Tooth Update: Enjoyed salad greatly. The gritting of me teeth in frustration throughout the day was probably a bad idea.
Weather Update: Haven't been outside, but I did see a puddle, so I guess the storms were real.
It's a lot to read. But it's good!!
Saturday - June 19
This morning I got up early and went out with Cindy to check out Yangshuo while it was relatively cool and less crowded. We stopped in a local supermarket where Cindy was able to buy a giant Coke (maybe 1.5 liter?) for around 75 cents. We then found a cave entrance that had a large statue of Kwan Yin outside. My Indian mythology is pretty bad, but I believe that she is a goddess of mercy that has been adopted by many Buddhists in China.
Our first - and really only - stop today was the village of Xingping. We got REALLY lucky today as boat tours were allowed on the Li River. We went out for maybe an hour or so. The original plan was to disembark at the Xingping fishing village, but the water was still way too high to make that a safe idea. It was still a great cruise though! Beautiful scenery through the karst limestone mountains. A man boated up to our boat with his comorant birds and we could have our picture taken with them for 2 yuan (45 cents or so). It was fun and a relaxing boat trip.
The rest of the day was kind of boring as it was spent in transit. We rode back to Yangshuo, had lunch at the hotel, then bussed up to Guilin to the airport. We hung around there for several hours until our two hour flight to Nanjing.
Location: Ramada Plaza, Nanjing
Tooth Update: No issues.
Weather Update: Today wasn't bad - and the sun finally came out!
Friday - June 18
Today started a bit earlier than yesterday - 8:20, but I didn't mind much because I was really excited about the boat trip that we were going to take from Guilin to Yangshuo. When we got to the lobby, we got some good news and some bad news. For the good, it looked like it wasn't going to rain today. For the bad, because of all of the rain, the Li River was excessively high, and even if its depth wasn't a problem, the speed of its current would be. It just wouldn't be safe to go out on the river. I admit to being a little bummed. Last night we found out that the light show that we were supposed to see on the river tonight was cancelled because of the flooding, and I was worried that we would be left to do things on our own today. Luckily, we had a good twist of luck!
We visited the Guilin Art Museum where we were able to watch a demonstration of Chinese water painting. It was pretty cool! I had a chance to watch the artist paint a piece for me, and then purchase it, of course! It took him all of five minutes to create a lovely bamboo painting. I was impressed! I then had another chop made. I chose a round shape this time - the last was square - and this time I just had the Chinese symbols carved, without the English added. I recorded the guy carving the chop. So cool!!!
We then settled in for a 1.5 hour bus ride to Yangshuo. Our ride took us through some pretty stunning landscapes. Our driver pulled over so that we could get some pictures. The mountains here are very old and are karst, which gives them a very distinctive shape. Before I knew it, we had arrived in Yangshuo and then we checked into the New Century Hotel. Our lunch, which we were supposed to eat on the boat, was substituted with a fantastic meal at the hotel, which featured these AMAZING deep fried sweet potato dumplings. Seriously, one of the best things I have eaten so far! It was just like eating candy.
Our only appointment for the day was a visit to the Omeida Language School, which required us to change into our "nice" clothes. We had a tour of the school. It was so hot and humid today that the stairs were a special challenge. Both the steps and the banisters were slick, and in some places even the walls were wet! We then went to the classrooms in small groups. I went to a Basic Business Communications class. The students in this class had been learning English for a while, and were very good at conversing. The teacher led them through a 20-minute review, and then Wayne and I led a 20-minute Q&A period about life in the US. After that, we headed to the rooftop cafeteria to meet in small groups with the students. I spent a long time talking to a student named Jenny. She was VERY interested in the United States, and she had done her research! It was a lot of fun talking to her, and I gave her my e-mail address so that we can hopefully write back and forth.
After the school visit, it was back to the hotel to change, and then we had a free evening ahead of us. Mona, Edith, Dave and I stopped for pizza. Shocking that I would eat pizza out somewhere, I know. As I have mentioned before, the prices here are ridiculous, and dinner was no different. I wish the US was this cheap! After dinner we wandered up and down West Street, a pretty busy shopping avenue. It was very touristy, but fun and exciting at the same time. Another good day down!
Location: New Century Hotel, Yangshuo
Tooth Update: A bit of pressure today. Not sure what is up with that.
Weather Update: Sunny at last! The humidity must be at 99% though. It is sticky nasty out.
Thursday - June 17
Today we got to sleep in a bit considering that we had been up late the night before - what a bunch of partiers we are! While at breakfast, I saw a teenage boy wearing an Indiana basketball t-shirt. Weird, so I went up and asked him where he was from. He told me Louisville, I told him that I was from Corydon. His mom then came up to me and told me that they were actually from Sellersburg! Imagine going halfway around the world to find people from Sellersburg at your hotel breakfast! It doesn't stop there - it turned out that they were there as part of a large group of young men from St. X High School in Louisville. The lobby was practically swarming with these guys! They were really helpful in telling me how to get onto the internet and were just really nice overall. So, a big shout out to Rick Ayers and the guys from St. X!!
We left at 10:00 this morning to head out to the Longji Rice Terraces. The weather was MISERABLE. Considerable downpours, and we had heard that there had been deaths in the part of China that I am currently in due to mudslides caused by the rain. So what did we do? That's right - head right into the belly of the beast, as Longji is located at the top of a mountain. The road was crazy getting there - all kinds of hairpin turns and small rockslides over the road. It was a white knuckle ride, I can tell you that! We stopped at the Zhuang minority village for a bathroom break, where people came out and tried to sell us stuff, and then later on at the Yao village. We stopped here to transfer to a smaller bus (easier to get up the road), and I made friends with a Yao woman who desperately wanted to sell me some postcards. I kept telling her no, and she kept saying "Maybe later." She gestured that she would have her eyes on me when I came back down the mountain. She cracked me up. Yao women are known for their long hair, which can be two meters long, and how it is knotted on their heads. Google it. It was very interesting. When we got a little further up, the road ended, and we then had to take the steps.
I'm not sure how many steps I climbed, but it had to easily have been 1,000. I'm not kidding. No handrails, slick with rain...people, I could have died at any moment. But back to the sheer number of stairs...I was HURTING. The village was spread up the mountain path, so there were plenty of people around trying to sell me things. The size and length of the climb really surprised me - in fact, I had no idea that this was going to happen. But let me tell you, I am so glad that I did it. The view at the top was absolutely stunning, even on a rainy foggy day. I drank some herbal Long Ji tea at the top, was able to haggle with shoppers on the way down the mountain, have an excellent lunch halfway down the hill. It was so much fun. I bought some pretty amazing things and had a whole bag of stuff for which I only paid about $22 USD. Isn't that crazy?! But I have to admit - I was exhausted, and glad to get back on the bus. When we transferred, my new Yao friend was there and I bought postcards from her as promised.
When we got back to Guilin, Mona and I decided that all of that climbing had taken a toll on us, and that a massage was in order. We could have left the hotel to do this, and it probably would have been cheaper, but the chance to get a full body massage for 60 minutes at the bargain basement price of just under $30 doesn't happen much. The massage was extremely painful but felt SOOOOO fantastic. Definitely a good investment and one that I am glad that I made!
Today has been an excellent day. I'm a pretty lucky girl.
Location: Guilin Bravo Hotel, Guilin
Tooth Update: Felt some pressure on the mountain, but subsided when I came out of the clouds.
Weather Update: Rainy this morning, but cleared up. Sun stayed away but the temperature was fantastic.
Wednesday - June 16
This morning we left Hong Kong to go to the border. Yes, that's right - the border. You see, even though Hong Kong is in China, it is a special region (technically a Special Administration Region), and you have to have special permission to go back and forth across the border. Tricky stuff, isn't it? To be quite honest, it surprised me quite a bit. I figured that when Hong Kong reverted back to China after the British handed it over in 1997 that it would be China, period. Not the case. Immigration was surprisingly easy though. It was interesting to step over the line in the building that marked administration by Hong Kong and administration by China.
We met Michael Gallagher when we arrived in Shenzhen, the first new locale of the day. We had talked with Michael via Skype during our orientation in Bloomington, and he arranged a tour for us in Shenzhen. We first met him at the Urban Planning Building where he gave us a brief overview of the city and how it has grown since being declared a Special Economic Zone in China. The room was HOT, but since I had my special $1 fan from yesterday, I was able to be the envy of everyone in the room. We then checked out a computer simulation room where urban planners can digitize potential building plans and put them into a digital map of Shenzhen. It allows them to see what it would look like in the end. It was pretty cool! Michael then took us on a bus tour of Shenzhen. We saw some urban minority villages - don't let the word "village" mislead you though. These are pockets in the city where minority villages were once located, but now they are a collection of high rise apartment building where minorities and migrant workers live. The closest thing that we would have to those are what we would call tenement houses or slums. They were pretty sad. Michael's tour was heavy on urban planning and architecture, but we did manage to see some other places. We visited the Green Oasis school, an international school in Shenzhen. We also visited the Dafen Oil Painting Village, which was interesting. We saw an art exhibit there, but overall I was a little disappointed in Dafen. I thought that we were going to be able to visit some artist studios, but apparently what Dafen is known for has been outsourced to the surrounding area. Art here was ridiculously overpriced. Needless to say, I didn't buy any!
Our lunch stop today was chosen especially by Michael in light of the fact that we would not be visiting the Szechuan region of China. So, we went to a Szechuan restaurant! VERY good food, and very spicy. Definitely the best meal of the trip so far, but that seems to keep happening with each and every day. However, I can't say the same for dinner. We had a long day that kept getting longer, and we got to the airport to fly to Guilin a bit later than expected. By the time that we got checked in, we only had an hour before boarding and 25 people to feed. Where does a person go when faced with this dilemma in China? That's right - you go to KFC! I had chicken nuggets and mashed potatoes with gravy - and a desire to NEVER eat mashed potatoes in an Asian country ever again! Blech! After wolfing that down and getting through security, we got to our gate only to find out that our flight had been postponed from 9:30 to 11:00. Since there was a delay, the airline promptly handed out a meal and water. Can you believe that?!?! I didn't eat it since I had just scarfed down my KFC, but I was blown away by an airline making amends for creating an inconvenience for their customers. Once aboard the flight, I immediately conked out. The flight seemed like it was 5 minutes long! We finally got to our hotel in Guilin around 2, and I was out by 2:15. A definite long day in China!
Location: Guilin Bravo Hotel, Guilin
Tooth Update: Loves Szechuan food.
Weather Update:: Hot and steamy in Shenzhen, but no rain!
Tuesday - June 15
3:30 am. Most people are asleep. Most aren't experiencing jet lag. Amy, my roommate and I, are wide awake then. We finally said to heck with it, and just got up. I was able to finish up typing out yesterday's blog, and as I did so, was worried the entire time about how I was going to feel later on that evening. I read a little bit and managed to get another hour of sleep. Around 7:00 I went down to breakfast - oh, breakfast! I had forgotten how much I enjoyed Asian breakfasts! Yes, there was standard Western fare - bacon, eggs, and the like - but there was miso soup! And shark fin dumplings! And wonderfully tasty noodles! I am actually looking forward to tomorrow for the sole reason of eating breakfast - okay, wait. That could be extreme, but if you'd had one of the steamed custard buns, you'd understand.
Walking outside I was met with a sure sign that today was going to be a muggy Wonderland of Fun - my glasses fogged up. This was at 8:30. The weather card left in the room predicted 95% humidity today, and I don't think that was too high of an estimate at all. In fact, throughout the day, it looked like the sky could open up at any moment and just unleash a torrential downpour of rain. Luckily, that never happened. It did, however, create a very overcast and foggy environment. Part of me wonders how Hong Kong would have looked in sunshine, but since it was so stinking hot as it was, maybe it was better off foggy!
Our first stop was Victoria Peak, which is the highest natural point in Hong Kong. We took a cable car to the top of the peak. Unfortunately, the view of the Hong Kong skyline was less than desirable because of the massive amount of fog, but I did have the opportunity to do a little souvenir shopping. Using Hong Kong dollars is crazy. I had only exchanged $50, since we are going to be here for such a short time. That netted me $375 Hong Kong dollars. For whatever reason I kept thinking that things cost WAY more than what they did! For example, I decided to buy a cheap folding fan. The price was $7 HKD. I thought it was ridiculous to pay that much for a cheap folding fan until I remembered that it was only around $1 US. This may be the first time in my life that I am having trouble spending money! I am actually going to have Hong Kong dollars to exchange into the Chinese renminbi. Very strange. I was able to score some Hong Kong velvet wall art for my classroom as well. All in all, great time!
We next traveled tons of windy roads to drive past Repulse Bay and its beaches to the Stanley Market. The Stanley Market is full of all kinds of little stands. I would say that it is definitely oriented to tourists, but that's not always a bad thing. One of the things that I wanted to get in China was my own chop, or signature stamp. Our faculty adviser, Richard Bohr, is fluent in Cantonese (the language spoken in Hong Kong) and was able to negotiate a special price for us, and I ended up getting my chop with my name carved in it, with the phonetic Chinese symbol for "Emily", some red ink, and a box to keep it in for a ridiculously low price of around $13 US. The name on the stamp says "Michelle" instead of "Micky" or "Emily" but it's just so cool that they carved it there today, on my own little stamp with my Chinese zodiac sign of the rabbit on it, that I really don't mind that much.
There are a couple of times on the tour that we have to make "factory visits." Apparently the tour company that we are using gets some kickbacks if we buy something there, so they are scheduled throughout. We were just told to grin and bear them. Today's special visit was to a jewelry factory. The introduction took about five minutes, the "tour" all of one minute as we passed by two workers, and then we were taken into a large showroom where we could buy the goods. I bought nothing as the jewelry was outrageous in price, but I did manage to find a machine where you could get a free cup of soft drink. Woo hoo! Yay for freebies! Too bad it wasn't the jewelry!
We then took the bus to another harbor, and had a sanpan boat tour of the Aberdeen Fishing Village, the only floating fishing village left in Hong Kong. If you've seen pictures of the "junk" boats all ti4ed up next to each other, you've seen what I saw today. To me it felt a little intrusive, like I was spying on these people, but it appears that tours of this area are a good industry, so maybe in some way they benefited from it. After the tour, which took around 25 minutes or so, we ate at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant and had a Cantonese Dim Sum lunch. This was SOOOOO good! All kinds of dumplings, rice, and soup, and a fantastic mango pudding at the end. I absolutely loved it. It was nice also to sit for a while and talk to members of the group and just hang out. There are some really cool people in the group!
Lunch was definitely filling, and the next part of our day brought nap time to many - a 40-minute drive to Lanpau Island to see the Giant Buddha. We took a cable car (!!!) to get there, which was a 25-minute ride. It was AMAZING!!!! Up at the top, we walked through the Ngong Ping village to the Giant Buddha, which like everything else today, was wrapped in fog. You had to climb the 300+ steps to get up to it, which was intense due to the altitude and the fact that I am fat, but it was pretty cool up at the top. Had the sun been shining I surely would have died, but it was nice to be up there. My pictures aren't great at all because of the fog, but I still know that I was there. Before getting back on the cable car to go down the mountain, I bought a bottle of Pocari Sweat, my favorite drink from Japan, and was able to sit on a bench and do some people watching.
After arriving back at the hotel, Mona and I decided to walk along the harbor front to the Hong Kong Avenue of Stars - think of Hollywood's Walk of Fame and you have its American equivalent. I took a picture of Bruce Lee's statue against the Hong Kong skyline, and then we walked around a bit more to find some food. We ended up in a French deli across the street from the hotel. It was really tasty, and cheap! It felt good to sit down in air conditioning and relax for a bit. It was a perfect way to end a very jam-packed day!
Location: Royal Garden Hotel, Hong Kong
Tooth Update: Other than my tongue continuously playing with it, nothing to report.
Weather Update: Foggy, muggy, hot, hot, hot.
Monday Evening, Having Lost a Day - June 14
Today was LONG. IT was the flight out of Chicago, in all of its 15.5 hour wonder. For some reason I thought that the flight would lift off at 4:30, but it turns out that we were to leave around 12:45 or so. I am not sure at all where I got that time. Nevertheless, it finally was clear why we had to meet downstairs at 8:30. We walked off and did a group check-in for the flight, which was very speedy, and then to security. I've been through security at O'Hare, and let me tell you - it isn't pretty. But for whatever reason, it was a BREEZE! INSANE! I was in and out of there in no time at all. The biggest excitement of the day came when I went to check my luggage, featuring my new rolling duffle bag. I was allowed up to 50 pounds, and my luggage came in at 30.9 pounds! EXCELLENT! I must have finally learned how to pack, or I have forgotten something drastically important.
Upon arriving at our gate at Concourse C, I had a meeting the others who had arrived late because of weather. The remainder of the time was spent getting to know others in the group. So far it looks like a really fun group, maybe just one or two that will keep lagging behind (I figure if you can't get to where you need to be on the first day, we're going to have issues - I really hope that I am wrong). The biggest crack-up of the pre-boarding time was listening to Alan, a teacher from Indy, describe in detail the numerous diseases that we could contract while in China. It sounds like many of the teachers went out and fully armed themselves with every immunization known to man. I didn't. I believe that I will be fine, but if I am not, that's why I bought extra trip insurance! I may be acting a bit too loosely with this, but life is too short to worry all of the time!
We boarded out 747 jumbo jet for our non-stop to Hong Kong. I shared a row with Mona (my roommate from Bloomington) and Shari. It was nice to have a row with people from the group. I hate asking strangers to move so that I can get up, and when you have a window seat such as I did, you have to ask often. I actually felt a little motion sickness from time to time, which is weird for me as I usually have no trouble flying. But, it was long, and very turbulent, so there's my excuse! Lots of TV shows, lots of movies, and lots of bad airline food later (with the exception of the ramen noodle snack - pretty tasty!), we finally landed in Hong Kong. The only real highlights of the trip for me was being able to see the Arctic Ocean and Russia. I was sad and disappointed that I couldn't read SkyMall - one of these days I'll remember that you don't find those on international flights - duty free catalog, yes, but definitely not to Sky Mall.
Getting through Immigration was a piece of cake, and through Customs the icing on that cake. Hong Kong seems laid back! One of the signs in the airport said that it is the 4th busiest international airport in the world. Not hard to believe. I did get to see the Chinese health officials whose job is to check you for fever when you come into the country. I didn't see any of the laser guns that I had heard about - I think it was just a large general area that we walked through. We met Linda, our city guide, who escorted us to our bus. We had about a 40-minute drive to the part of the city that we are staying in. We drove past Hong Kong Disneyland, but I didn't get to see it. Very sad. When we arrived at the hotel, we jumped off, and I was hit with a blasting wave of heat and humidity. The hair grew, people. It grew. We got our room keys, and were able to freshen up very quickly before we met downstairs in the lobby to walk to dinner. We ate at a Cantonese restaurant, one of those places where the dishes keep coming and coming. I really have no idea what I ate, but my favorite was the steamed spicy eggplant. My goal is to try everything that is put in front of me, even the dessert...and you may be questioning why I would ever question dessert. Well, kids, it's really simple...an old nemesis of mine is back...
The Red Bean.
When I was in Japan, the red bean was everywhere. It showed up in dumplings, pastries, you name it! Well, it showed up at my dinner...in the form of red bean soup. I tried it. I didn't like it. But I tried it, and that is all that matters! For a girl who doesn't like beans, the red bean in any form is a force to be reckoned with, and I defeated it again!
We were divided into two groups for dinner, and most of my group had left prior to the red bean soup. I would have joined the other group but everyone was still there. Part of me wanted to go out and walk to the waterfront to take pictures, but I felt kind of weird waiting for people to finish their meal. Cindy was the last person at my table besides myself, and she wanted to hit the 7-11 to buy a bottle of water, so we did that. That was a bit of culture shock - the bottle of water cost me about $7.50. Insane, right? But that is in Hong Kong dollars - it was really right around $1. I only changed over around $50 US dollars here since we will be in Hong Kong such a short time. We'll see how it all works out! I then came back to the hotel room, got things ready for the next day of touring, and fell immediately asleep.
Location: Hong Kong, Royal Garden Hotel
Tooth Update: Some pressure on the flight, but nothing painful. Hates red bean as much as I do.
Weather Update: Like someone keeps slapping you with a hot wet towel. And that's at night.
Saturday Evening
So, I FINALLY made it to Chicago. It took forever. My flight lifted off at around 7:45, but because of the thunderstorms, we had to reroute around St. Louis and come up from that direction. That added about an hour onto our flight. The only thing good that I can say about this is that United was very thoughtful when it added fuel to our tank so that we wouldn't run out midair. It's the little reassuring things that make flying so fun, you know?
Unfortunately, I had to miss the meeting, and by the time I ran from Terminal B to Terminal A to get my luggage and then back to Terminal B to check into the O'Hare Hilton, I almost missed dinner. To be honest, dinner was pretty much over, and people were getting up and leaving, but I was encouraged to go ahead and get some dinner. I was starving - famished, really - but I felt bad at the group leaders having to wait on me, so I ordered a salad. It was a good one though! Field greens with strawberries, oranges, tomatoes, and feta cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette. I did manage to get a little dressing on my shirt, so the first Shout wipe came out. Sigh.
I think I need sleep as I am starting to feel violent. Wait, I've felt like that all day!!
Location: Chicago O'Hare Hilton
Tooth Update: Enjoyed salad greatly. The gritting of me teeth in frustration throughout the day was probably a bad idea.
Weather Update: Haven't been outside, but I did see a puddle, so I guess the storms were real.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Seriously?!?!
It's 4:00. I'm in Louisville. At the airport. Which is bad considering that my flight to Chicago was supposed to leave at 3:12. NOT a happy camper at the moment. There is one, count her, one agent working a MULTITUDE of flights that have been delayed due to thunderstorms in Chicago. The weird thing is that the screens listed my flight as being on time, United's website listed it as on time, and when I called the United toll free line, the guy wondered why I wasn't on the plane. But he helpfully told me that I was due to land in Chicago at 7:11 pm CST. (Just heard that my flight is leaving at 7:44 EST). Interesting. The bad news is that I am going to miss the group orientation, and even more importantly, the group orientation dinner. The good news is that anyone flying into Chicago right now is facing the same problem, so I am sure that I won't be alone once I get to the airport. It just REALLY frustrates me that I can't get any information as to what is going on. I do, however, have a tiny piece of paper with the numer "34" on it, given to me by one of the policemen patrolling the area (there are MANY angry people). The agent is working with person with the number 4 for about an hour now, so I figure I'll get to talk to her sometime on Monday.
Location: Louisville International Airport
Tooth Update: Who cares. My head hurts more than the tooth ever did. It's still there with no danger of being hurt as I am not eating anything.
Weather Update: Clear and hot here. Thunderstormy in Chicago.
Location: Louisville International Airport
Tooth Update: Who cares. My head hurts more than the tooth ever did. It's still there with no danger of being hurt as I am not eating anything.
Weather Update: Clear and hot here. Thunderstormy in Chicago.
Luggage Update!
Last night around 2:00 in the morning I decided that my suitcase was ridiculous, and I repacked it! Goodbye, coat! I have a wrap, and one of those cheap pocket ponchos, so I am set there. I chucked three shirts, so expect to see pics of me wearing the same clothes over and over again. I cut back on the samples (go me!), repacked my backpack into another pack (MUCH more comfortable), and now my suitcase feels much better. Well, at least I feel better!
I had a hard time sleeping last night - just excited about the trip and getting going. I'm reading a HILARIOUS book right now called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles which is about the Americanization of Chinese food. I'm only halfway through, and it's not going with me. Kind of makes me sad, but I'll have it to read when I get home. Check it out! I found my copy at Half Price Books. Love that place.
Location: Corydon, IN
Tooth Update: Still hanging in there. Literally. It's a top molar.
Weather Update: No idea. Have yet to go outside.
I had a hard time sleeping last night - just excited about the trip and getting going. I'm reading a HILARIOUS book right now called The Fortune Cookie Chronicles which is about the Americanization of Chinese food. I'm only halfway through, and it's not going with me. Kind of makes me sad, but I'll have it to read when I get home. Check it out! I found my copy at Half Price Books. Love that place.
Location: Corydon, IN
Tooth Update: Still hanging in there. Literally. It's a top molar.
Weather Update: No idea. Have yet to go outside.
Friday, June 11, 2010
Whaddya mean there's only one more day?
Seriously. Somehow time just managed to slip right on by me. I thought that I had everything taken care of, and all of a sudden today shows up and rears its ugly head. Yes, boys and girls, it's time for another round of "Oh Crap! I Leave Tomorrow!"
School FINALLY ended (Am I going out on a limb here by saying that this has been the most trying year of my teaching career? Probably. Oh well. It's the truth). I decided that the best possible way to end such a perfect year was by busting up a tooth at lunch on the very last work day. LOTS of pain later, I had a partial root canal which will hopefully get me through the next three weeks without any problems. That was Monday. Yesterday (Thursday, for those of you keeping track) I busted the side out of the same tooth and had to go have it sanded down. This trip may become known as the Trip of the Tooth. I will be obsessing about said tooth for the next four weeks (three in China, one in Philadelphia) until I can get back here and have it fully fixed. Until then, expect updates on the tooth as the trip progresses.
For some odd reason, the same bag that I packed and took to Bloomington over a month ago has suddenly become heavier. I know I am under the 50lb mark, but this is ridiculous. My luggage can't exceed 44lbs in China. I am wondering how much my underwear really weighs and how much it will reduce suitcase weight by (as in all other trips, the underwear gets left behind) as I go, how badly I really need to take a coat when I am going to one of the four "furnaces" of China (hello, Nanjing!), and why I feel the need to bring a sample size of everything. Luckily, I can chuck most of this as I go, but things are getting out of hand. So it made perfect sense that I would try to repack the suitcase into a smaller unit. Whatever. That was a good 25 minutes I'll never get back!
For the most part, I am relaxed about the trip. I do admit to being a bit apprehensive though, which shocks me quite a bit. I'm all about travel - I'd pretty much go anywhere on someone else's dime. But this trip worries me a bit. How will I be perceived as an American? Friend or foe? Am I a target? These are worries that get to anyone traveling, and I know from experience that I will be fine, but this is China for crying out loud. I am excited and thrilled to be going, but part of me is a little worried. I am sure I will be fine once I get there. Maybe I am just worried about the water!!
I leave tomorrow at 3:30 for Chicago, where I will conveniently land at 3:35 (oh, the power of time zone changes...). I have a group meeting at 5:00 and then a group dinner. I don't actually leave for Hong Kong until Sunday. Not sure how much connection charges are at the grand O'Hare Hilton or in O'Hare itself, so be prepared for a lenghty bit of time without word from yours truly.
Wish me luck!
Location: Corydon, IN
Tooth Update: Still there. Tongue won't leave it alone. Envision it to have strange iceberg shape.
Weather Update: Unhappily hot and humid. I actually turned on the AC today.
School FINALLY ended (Am I going out on a limb here by saying that this has been the most trying year of my teaching career? Probably. Oh well. It's the truth). I decided that the best possible way to end such a perfect year was by busting up a tooth at lunch on the very last work day. LOTS of pain later, I had a partial root canal which will hopefully get me through the next three weeks without any problems. That was Monday. Yesterday (Thursday, for those of you keeping track) I busted the side out of the same tooth and had to go have it sanded down. This trip may become known as the Trip of the Tooth. I will be obsessing about said tooth for the next four weeks (three in China, one in Philadelphia) until I can get back here and have it fully fixed. Until then, expect updates on the tooth as the trip progresses.
For some odd reason, the same bag that I packed and took to Bloomington over a month ago has suddenly become heavier. I know I am under the 50lb mark, but this is ridiculous. My luggage can't exceed 44lbs in China. I am wondering how much my underwear really weighs and how much it will reduce suitcase weight by (as in all other trips, the underwear gets left behind) as I go, how badly I really need to take a coat when I am going to one of the four "furnaces" of China (hello, Nanjing!), and why I feel the need to bring a sample size of everything. Luckily, I can chuck most of this as I go, but things are getting out of hand. So it made perfect sense that I would try to repack the suitcase into a smaller unit. Whatever. That was a good 25 minutes I'll never get back!
For the most part, I am relaxed about the trip. I do admit to being a bit apprehensive though, which shocks me quite a bit. I'm all about travel - I'd pretty much go anywhere on someone else's dime. But this trip worries me a bit. How will I be perceived as an American? Friend or foe? Am I a target? These are worries that get to anyone traveling, and I know from experience that I will be fine, but this is China for crying out loud. I am excited and thrilled to be going, but part of me is a little worried. I am sure I will be fine once I get there. Maybe I am just worried about the water!!
I leave tomorrow at 3:30 for Chicago, where I will conveniently land at 3:35 (oh, the power of time zone changes...). I have a group meeting at 5:00 and then a group dinner. I don't actually leave for Hong Kong until Sunday. Not sure how much connection charges are at the grand O'Hare Hilton or in O'Hare itself, so be prepared for a lenghty bit of time without word from yours truly.
Wish me luck!
Location: Corydon, IN
Tooth Update: Still there. Tongue won't leave it alone. Envision it to have strange iceberg shape.
Weather Update: Unhappily hot and humid. I actually turned on the AC today.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Bloomington Orientation
Well, the big pull for me to the orientation was to get the itinerary. I've been dying to know where we will be going, and was THRILLED to find out that we were going to places other than Shanghai, Xi'an, and Beijing. I admit to being a little bummed that there is no time for Hong Kong Disneyland (a girl can dream), but there are SOOOOOO many fun things to do that the disappointment quickly left. I'm extremely lucky to be going on this trip, and no Disney park is going to stand in my way, darn it!
The orientation was a lot of fun. I met all of the trip participants, and I think that we are going to be a good group. My roommate for the night Mona was a blast, and I am sure that we will have fun in China. We had lectures about the Great Wall, education in China, a brief (very brief) introduction to Chinese, a look at Chinese history, and some videoconferencing with people in Xi'an and Shenzhen. We had a group dinner at the Chow Bar in Bloomington, which has some SERIOUSLY good Chinese food. I'm not a huge tofu eater, but the Szechuan tofu there was killer! I also grabbed a bubble tea (you have to try it). We watched a movie Saturday night called Please Vote for Me, which was about a democratic election held in the second grade in China for class monitor. Very enlightening. Sunday we took our luggage on a tour of the Student Union to see how weel we could manage our luggage. I consider myself a packing pro now, so it was no problem at all. We also got some packing tips and an introduction to our curriculum project.
It was a fun weekend, and I am definitely looking forward to leaving! I've bought my plane ticket to Chicago, secured my seats on that flight and the ones to/from China, and have nothing to do now but wait!
The orientation was a lot of fun. I met all of the trip participants, and I think that we are going to be a good group. My roommate for the night Mona was a blast, and I am sure that we will have fun in China. We had lectures about the Great Wall, education in China, a brief (very brief) introduction to Chinese, a look at Chinese history, and some videoconferencing with people in Xi'an and Shenzhen. We had a group dinner at the Chow Bar in Bloomington, which has some SERIOUSLY good Chinese food. I'm not a huge tofu eater, but the Szechuan tofu there was killer! I also grabbed a bubble tea (you have to try it). We watched a movie Saturday night called Please Vote for Me, which was about a democratic election held in the second grade in China for class monitor. Very enlightening. Sunday we took our luggage on a tour of the Student Union to see how weel we could manage our luggage. I consider myself a packing pro now, so it was no problem at all. We also got some packing tips and an introduction to our curriculum project.
It was a fun weekend, and I am definitely looking forward to leaving! I've bought my plane ticket to Chicago, secured my seats on that flight and the ones to/from China, and have nothing to do now but wait!
Itinerary
Read it and revel in my happiness...this trip is going to kick some serious booty. This is all tentative, of course, but gives a pretty decent idea of what I will be up to!
June 12 Chicago
Depart for Chicago and attend pre-departure orientation. Spend the night at the fab Hilton Chicago O’Hare. Group dinner with my trip peeps.
June 13 Chicago to Hong Kong
Nothing says fun like ~15.5 hours on a plane! Long endurance baby!
June 14 Hong Kong
Arrive in Hong Kong via time travel. Suddenly, it’s Monday!
June 15 Hong Kong
Sightseeing – check out Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, Aberdeen
Fishing Village, and the Giant Buddha
June 16 Bus to Shenzhen, fly to Giulin
Visit to the Planning Building, Xiasha Urban Village, the Central Business District, Overseas China Town, Dafen Oil Painting Village, and Dongmen
June 17 Giulin
Longji Terraced Field (yes!!!) and the Zhang and Yao Minority Villages
June 18 Giulin to Yangshuo
Boat cruise, West Street, and a school visit
June 19 Yangshuo to Giulin (by bus), fly to Nanjing
Check out the Xingping fishing village
June 20 Nanjing to Suzhou by bus
Gate of China, Memorial Hall to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Confucius Temple, Qinhuai River
June 21 Suzhou
Lingering Garden, local tea house and folk music, Silk Institute Museum, paddle-wood-boat tour (any bets on me falling out of the boat?), silk factory and a silk fashion show, Guan-qian Street
June 22 Suzhou to Shanghai by bus
Shanghai Museum, Bund, Ming Dynasty Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road, Night cruise in the Huangpu River
June 23 Shanghai
2010 Shanghai World Expo, baby!
June 24 Shanghai
School visit in the morning, free day in the afternoon! First free day of the trip…what to do, what to do…
June 25 Shanghai to Xi’an via plane
School visit in Xi’an, Ancient City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Mosque, Imperial Dumpling Banquet Dinner, Traditional Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show
June 26 Xi’an
Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum (I could pee my pants in excitement about this), Hing Jia village, Noodle-making performance, art ceramics factory
June 27 Xi’an
Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum and another free afternoon
June 28 Xi’an to Beijing by plane
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Peking roast duck banquet dinner
June 29 Beijing
Temple of Heaven, practice taichi, Summer Palace, Olympic Park, Hot pot dinner
June 30 Beijing
Largest jade center of Asia, Great Wall (!!!), Ming Tombs/Changling Exhibition Hall, farewell dinner
July 1 Beijing
Free study day (AKA get last minute shopping done!)
July 2 Flying home
This time, only around 13.5 hours! It’s a miracle!
June 12 Chicago
Depart for Chicago and attend pre-departure orientation. Spend the night at the fab Hilton Chicago O’Hare. Group dinner with my trip peeps.
June 13 Chicago to Hong Kong
Nothing says fun like ~15.5 hours on a plane! Long endurance baby!
June 14 Hong Kong
Arrive in Hong Kong via time travel. Suddenly, it’s Monday!
June 15 Hong Kong
Sightseeing – check out Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay, Stanley Market, Aberdeen
Fishing Village, and the Giant Buddha
June 16 Bus to Shenzhen, fly to Giulin
Visit to the Planning Building, Xiasha Urban Village, the Central Business District, Overseas China Town, Dafen Oil Painting Village, and Dongmen
June 17 Giulin
Longji Terraced Field (yes!!!) and the Zhang and Yao Minority Villages
June 18 Giulin to Yangshuo
Boat cruise, West Street, and a school visit
June 19 Yangshuo to Giulin (by bus), fly to Nanjing
Check out the Xingping fishing village
June 20 Nanjing to Suzhou by bus
Gate of China, Memorial Hall to the victims of the Nanjing Massacre, Confucius Temple, Qinhuai River
June 21 Suzhou
Lingering Garden, local tea house and folk music, Silk Institute Museum, paddle-wood-boat tour (any bets on me falling out of the boat?), silk factory and a silk fashion show, Guan-qian Street
June 22 Suzhou to Shanghai by bus
Shanghai Museum, Bund, Ming Dynasty Yuyuan Garden, Nanjing Road, Night cruise in the Huangpu River
June 23 Shanghai
2010 Shanghai World Expo, baby!
June 24 Shanghai
School visit in the morning, free day in the afternoon! First free day of the trip…what to do, what to do…
June 25 Shanghai to Xi’an via plane
School visit in Xi’an, Ancient City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Grand Mosque, Imperial Dumpling Banquet Dinner, Traditional Tang Dynasty singing and dancing show
June 26 Xi’an
Terracotta Warriors and Horses Museum (I could pee my pants in excitement about this), Hing Jia village, Noodle-making performance, art ceramics factory
June 27 Xi’an
Shanxi Provincial Historical Museum and another free afternoon
June 28 Xi’an to Beijing by plane
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Peking roast duck banquet dinner
June 29 Beijing
Temple of Heaven, practice taichi, Summer Palace, Olympic Park, Hot pot dinner
June 30 Beijing
Largest jade center of Asia, Great Wall (!!!), Ming Tombs/Changling Exhibition Hall, farewell dinner
July 1 Beijing
Free study day (AKA get last minute shopping done!)
July 2 Flying home
This time, only around 13.5 hours! It’s a miracle!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
HI FACEBOOK FRIENDS!!!
We're at 47 days to go - I have just announced my trip to my facebook peeps, so howdy to all of you!
I'm really excited about next weekend. That's Orientation Weekend in Bloomington. Time to meet all of the people going on the trip, and hopefully finding out the itinerary. Woo hoo!! Really looking forward to this next step as I know it brings me a bit closer to leaving. Oh, China...hurry up and get here!
Here's a funny moment - I got an e-mail from Cathy Gao at the EASC asking me to fill out my Chinese visa application and to send it along with my passport and a passport picture to them. I got up this past Saturday and got out to Walgreens to have a pic taken. Someone had loaded what had to be 1,012 pictures on the machine, so I had to wait. Worst part of all of this was the fact that it was 11:45 and I needed to get to teh post office by 12! FINALLY I managed to get out of there, and got to eh post office just in time to have them lock the door right when I had my hand on the handle. Yep. That's right. There was no one behind me, no one around, one person still inside at the counter, and I was burned and spurned the US Postal Service. Grr. Guess I will be heading back down there tomorrow. And the post office wonders why they are losing money...
The EASC sent me some books to read before the trip. I am midway through the second. Here's a list, in case you're looking for some Chinese literature to read (and you are, right?):
The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese School Girl
by Ma Yan and Pierre Haskel
This book is set in NW China, and is about a student who is a Hui. Essentially, that means that she is a Chinese Muslim. We will be traveling to Xi'An, which has a large Hui population. This was a quick and easy read. It definitely shed some light on the poverty problem in China. Recommended!
Postcards from Tomorrow Square
by James Fallows
I am currently in the middle of this one. It is a collection of essays written by the author when he moved to China with his wife. I like what I have read so far - little snippets on the life of the Chinese, and it looks at China's perception of itself, ans well as the world's perception of China. SO far, so good!
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
by Peter Hessler
I haven't touched this one yet. Thicker than the other two, but still pretty interesting looking. I am sure it will focus on China's economics some. Econ is not my favorite area of study, but if this has some historical and cultural info in it, I am sure I will get through it. Check back for updates!
Lonely Planet: China
Oh, travel guide books...how I love thee. This is the Mack Daddy of travel books - if you want info, Lonely Planet has it. Definitely not something you read to cover to cover, but it has kept me entertained for days now.
All for now - must get back to obsessive list making.
I'm really excited about next weekend. That's Orientation Weekend in Bloomington. Time to meet all of the people going on the trip, and hopefully finding out the itinerary. Woo hoo!! Really looking forward to this next step as I know it brings me a bit closer to leaving. Oh, China...hurry up and get here!
Here's a funny moment - I got an e-mail from Cathy Gao at the EASC asking me to fill out my Chinese visa application and to send it along with my passport and a passport picture to them. I got up this past Saturday and got out to Walgreens to have a pic taken. Someone had loaded what had to be 1,012 pictures on the machine, so I had to wait. Worst part of all of this was the fact that it was 11:45 and I needed to get to teh post office by 12! FINALLY I managed to get out of there, and got to eh post office just in time to have them lock the door right when I had my hand on the handle. Yep. That's right. There was no one behind me, no one around, one person still inside at the counter, and I was burned and spurned the US Postal Service. Grr. Guess I will be heading back down there tomorrow. And the post office wonders why they are losing money...
The EASC sent me some books to read before the trip. I am midway through the second. Here's a list, in case you're looking for some Chinese literature to read (and you are, right?):
The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese School Girl
by Ma Yan and Pierre Haskel
This book is set in NW China, and is about a student who is a Hui. Essentially, that means that she is a Chinese Muslim. We will be traveling to Xi'An, which has a large Hui population. This was a quick and easy read. It definitely shed some light on the poverty problem in China. Recommended!
Postcards from Tomorrow Square
by James Fallows
I am currently in the middle of this one. It is a collection of essays written by the author when he moved to China with his wife. I like what I have read so far - little snippets on the life of the Chinese, and it looks at China's perception of itself, ans well as the world's perception of China. SO far, so good!
Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory
by Peter Hessler
I haven't touched this one yet. Thicker than the other two, but still pretty interesting looking. I am sure it will focus on China's economics some. Econ is not my favorite area of study, but if this has some historical and cultural info in it, I am sure I will get through it. Check back for updates!
Lonely Planet: China
Oh, travel guide books...how I love thee. This is the Mack Daddy of travel books - if you want info, Lonely Planet has it. Definitely not something you read to cover to cover, but it has kept me entertained for days now.
All for now - must get back to obsessive list making.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Preppin'!
I would like to take this opportunity to inform you that I have 60 days remaining until I leave for China. Ahhh....
I know it is just two months away (just barely!), but I am already back to my obsessive/complusive ways, and have already started getting things ready for the trip. I have all of my forms in with the exception of my physical form, which is currently at the doctor's office waiting to be filled out. I still need to buy my plane ticket for Chicago, but I have to wait until I receive final notification from the EASC at IU of the final dates for the trip. Lastly, I still have the orientation coming up in Bloomington over Derby Weekend (for those of you outside the greater Louisville area, that's May 1-2). I'm getting so excited!!
My suitcase bit the dust in Germany. The telescoping handle was used to lift the (heavy) suitcase at one point, and in order to get it to go back into the suitcase, you have to beat it into submission. Also, one of the stabilizing feet broke off at some point, so the suitcase awkwardly tipped to one side, making it a potential hazard. And, the darn thing was heavy! So, while at the outlet mall last week, I ran across an excellent deal on a Columbia rolling duffel bag. It is much lighter than the suitcase, and I can fit just as much stuff in it. Woo hoo! And, as another bonus, it is orange - no more searching more my suitcase in a sea of other black suitcases! I'll be taking that duffel with my trusty backpack Eddie...I should have plenty of room to stash things away!
I've also been picking up various travel sized goodies to take with me, including toilet paper, of all things. No, it is not smaller toilet paper, just a smaller role. From my reading I have discovered that many Chinese public restrooms do not have toilet paper - I am DEFINITELY not cool with that, so I am packing my own!
One of the things I am currently working on is ensuring that I will be able to post to my blog while in China. China is very strict with its internet use, so I need to find a way to get things posted while there in the case that my blog site is inaccessible. Hopefully I won't have any problems!
I am looking forward to the orienatation in Bloomington! I cannot wait to find out where we're going and what we are going to be doing!
I know it is just two months away (just barely!), but I am already back to my obsessive/complusive ways, and have already started getting things ready for the trip. I have all of my forms in with the exception of my physical form, which is currently at the doctor's office waiting to be filled out. I still need to buy my plane ticket for Chicago, but I have to wait until I receive final notification from the EASC at IU of the final dates for the trip. Lastly, I still have the orientation coming up in Bloomington over Derby Weekend (for those of you outside the greater Louisville area, that's May 1-2). I'm getting so excited!!
My suitcase bit the dust in Germany. The telescoping handle was used to lift the (heavy) suitcase at one point, and in order to get it to go back into the suitcase, you have to beat it into submission. Also, one of the stabilizing feet broke off at some point, so the suitcase awkwardly tipped to one side, making it a potential hazard. And, the darn thing was heavy! So, while at the outlet mall last week, I ran across an excellent deal on a Columbia rolling duffel bag. It is much lighter than the suitcase, and I can fit just as much stuff in it. Woo hoo! And, as another bonus, it is orange - no more searching more my suitcase in a sea of other black suitcases! I'll be taking that duffel with my trusty backpack Eddie...I should have plenty of room to stash things away!
I've also been picking up various travel sized goodies to take with me, including toilet paper, of all things. No, it is not smaller toilet paper, just a smaller role. From my reading I have discovered that many Chinese public restrooms do not have toilet paper - I am DEFINITELY not cool with that, so I am packing my own!
One of the things I am currently working on is ensuring that I will be able to post to my blog while in China. China is very strict with its internet use, so I need to find a way to get things posted while there in the case that my blog site is inaccessible. Hopefully I won't have any problems!
I am looking forward to the orienatation in Bloomington! I cannot wait to find out where we're going and what we are going to be doing!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
China, baby! Woo hoo!
Sooo....here's the rundown. Several years ago I attended an amazing workshop at IU. It was sponsored by the National Consortium for Teaching About Asia, and it introduced me to all kinds of things, including a very much enjoyed trip to Japan in October 2008. Had it not been for that workshop, none of this would have happened, including this trip to China. One of the things available to completers of the workshop is the opportunity of travel to Japan, Korea, and China.
The trips go in rotations; one year it may be Japan and Korea, the next year may be China. Since I have been to Japan, even though I loved it so much and want to go back at some point, I thought I would hold out and try for the trip in a few years. I anticipated at least waiting for three years to do this. Well, back in January, I got an e-mail form the East Asian Studies Center at IU informing me that this would be the last trip of this kind to be funded by the Freeman Foundation. My chances of a trip to China were now greatly reduced! I hurriedly put together an application packet, and sent it off to Bloomington with a wish and a prayer that I would receive good news. I would know by the end of February!
February came, and with it came jangled nerves and a burnign desire to find out something - anything - about my staus for the trip. An e-mail arrived...and I waited to open it. I was afraid that I didn't get it! Upon finally getting the nerve up to open the document, I found out that I had made it to the next round, and that I would be doing a phone interview with Qiong Jiang, one of the Outreach Coordinators at the EASC and a leader of the trip. I set up my time for the interview, and then reviewed my intent and purpose for the trip. I felt like the interview went very well, and now all I had to do was sit back and wait.
Finally on March 18, I got an e-mail from Qiong saying that I had been selected for the trip! YAY!!!! I am so excited about this trip! Here is what I know at this point!
The trip will include visits to three main cities: Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai.
I will see:
The Great Wall, Beijing
The Forbidden City, Beijing
The Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Eat Peking Duck!, Beijing
Terra Cotta Soldiers, Xi'an
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an
Old Town, Shanghai
City Skyline, Shanghai
and all kinds of other historical and cultural landmarks, as well as educational sites, in China!!
I'll have a pre-trip orientation (May) and post-trip meeting (September) in Bloomington, and a very brief orientation in Chicago right before we leave. The trip's projected dates right now are June 12th through July 2nd, so I am looking at three weeks of good travel fun and learning!
Keep checking back for more updates as I prepare for this amazing opportunity!
The trips go in rotations; one year it may be Japan and Korea, the next year may be China. Since I have been to Japan, even though I loved it so much and want to go back at some point, I thought I would hold out and try for the trip in a few years. I anticipated at least waiting for three years to do this. Well, back in January, I got an e-mail form the East Asian Studies Center at IU informing me that this would be the last trip of this kind to be funded by the Freeman Foundation. My chances of a trip to China were now greatly reduced! I hurriedly put together an application packet, and sent it off to Bloomington with a wish and a prayer that I would receive good news. I would know by the end of February!
February came, and with it came jangled nerves and a burnign desire to find out something - anything - about my staus for the trip. An e-mail arrived...and I waited to open it. I was afraid that I didn't get it! Upon finally getting the nerve up to open the document, I found out that I had made it to the next round, and that I would be doing a phone interview with Qiong Jiang, one of the Outreach Coordinators at the EASC and a leader of the trip. I set up my time for the interview, and then reviewed my intent and purpose for the trip. I felt like the interview went very well, and now all I had to do was sit back and wait.
Finally on March 18, I got an e-mail from Qiong saying that I had been selected for the trip! YAY!!!! I am so excited about this trip! Here is what I know at this point!
The trip will include visits to three main cities: Beijing, Xi'an, and Shanghai.
I will see:
The Great Wall, Beijing
The Forbidden City, Beijing
The Temple of Heaven, Beijing
Eat Peking Duck!, Beijing
Terra Cotta Soldiers, Xi'an
Big Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an
Old Town, Shanghai
City Skyline, Shanghai
and all kinds of other historical and cultural landmarks, as well as educational sites, in China!!
I'll have a pre-trip orientation (May) and post-trip meeting (September) in Bloomington, and a very brief orientation in Chicago right before we leave. The trip's projected dates right now are June 12th through July 2nd, so I am looking at three weeks of good travel fun and learning!
Keep checking back for more updates as I prepare for this amazing opportunity!
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