Dishui Hotel Changzhi

... Tiger Leaping Something movie. Where else can you play with weapons one day and then the next climb an ancient city wall that was actually still functional in protecting the city? I can't take credit for this find of a town though. A fellow traveler named Alistair whom I met this past February while traveling in Burma contacted me on Facebook and told me to check it out... so I did and was sooo happy we did. Thanks Alli!!

... I had a shot if I acted swiftly before my window of opportunity closed. With that, I quickly grabbed two double broadswords and put them in her hand... it was like giving candy to a baby and before you new it, it was photo op after photo op. I was so proud of her!!

And by the way we were told that it was in one of Pingyao's historic courtyard homes that the movie "Raise the Red Lantern" was filmed. Cool!

... complete, the clerk promptly closes her window for the day...which is *exactly* the moment my fledgling Chinese reading skills kick in and I notice that our tickets are for the wrong berths. Dennis immediately flags the clerk, who slides her window open to talk to him and then closes TWO windows to discuss our request extensively with another staff member. Egad. Thirty minutes later, our transaction is complete ...

... to find out what monstrous job could need all those shovels - even going as far as walking in line with them for several blocks, subjecting myself to their stares and more giggles - but the conversation goes no further. I've exhausted their English.

It's cold here, everywhere. The old buildings lack any sort of insulation, and to their credit the Chinese like to conserve heat, so indoors is hardly warmer than out. I hadn't showered in three days because of the cold, so I ...

... October 18-october 22 arrange some fun and private activities for us.

October 22, 2009 or October 23, 2009 6.10(batam time) by ferry form batam center to Singapore,for catch the return flight(take off time 9:30) to back china Beijing.

Emergency ...

... we know why the stars hate paparazzi. We would be sitting in a restaurant and several photographers would have their big lenses plastered against the window to take pictures of us. Go figure. Jackson got tired of it and wanted to start charging. Not much to say at this point. I'm in Hanoi Vietnam so Pingyao is fading ........... Enjoy a few pictures

3:00pm So this morning I walked around town pretty early and saw most of the sites in Pingyao that I hadn't seen yet. Among them was the first bank of China, the first money escort service, and a Taoist temple. The temple was pretty nice. one of the guys, though, by the main altar, did some type of supposed good luck blessing and then (of course) tried to make me give a donation "for the temple." I immediately told him I wasn't having ...

... and some chocolate (of course), so I look forward to getting into town and getting something to eat. I'll try to book my tickets as soon as I get there, since I hear it's a lot harder to get tickets from the smaller towns. 11:00am I've been in Pingyao for a couple of hours now. I went walking around for a bit. It definitely has a pretty charming, small town feel to it. I got the 2 day pass (for 120 RMB, about 15 or ...

Pingyao was sweet. We stayed at the Pingyao International Financiers' Club, which was expensive (about $100 US, but hey, I was with my parents and they're not into backpacker joints) but worth it. My room had a kang bed that would have fit about 8 people, plus really cool old Chinese furniture and a flat-screen TV. The Qing dynasty courtyards here were really well preserved and had tables and chairs for you to sit and have tea and whatnot. The restaurant had ...

The route to Pingyao was on a hard sleeper train from Beijing. It left at midnight, so we just got on board and tried to go to sleep. Our beds were the highest of three bunks, and there wasn't much room to sit up, let alone stretch out up there. Poor Dave, all 6 feet and three inches of him crammed up into a space our luggage wouldn't fit into. I don't know if anyone got much sleep on this train, cos we didn't. Though the Chinese seem ...