TravelStream™ news feed for member jdhermann on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/jdhermann en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:08:53 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207890480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207890480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207890480/tpod.html Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:08:53 -0400 Asian Adventure, beginning in China

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Chiang Rai, Thailand

Naysayers... they said it couldn't be done. The tour companies in Pai said, that due to the New Year Holiday, the minibuses and buses were full or not running back to Chiang Mai for several days. That we were stuck in Pai, which is an okay place to get stuck in, but we wanted to move along.

So it was yesterday that we were getting negative answers from the tour agencies. While "moving along" to the bus station to check to see if there were either buses or minibuses going to Chiang Mai, we were sprayed with water. This again is in celebration of the Thai New Year. The wetter you become, the more luck you will have in the coming year.

We were already getting lucky, as the bus station said there was room on a minibus leaving (today, 4/11) to return to Chiang Mai. The bus system just doesn't go from Pai to Chiang Rai. But we felt ourselves "lucky" and booked passage back to Chiang Mai. The driver was very reasonable in that we didn't often careen around the hairpin turns. He played it safe, thank goodness. The scenery was beautiful, heavily forested, small villages, many motorbikes, some with women and children riding in their laps, and several wats or temples.

We stopped half way for bathroom break in a small village. They did have a gas station that was out of the stone age, like the Flintstones. There were three clear tanks with different gasoline type fluids and clear hoses to fill yer up with. Check out the photo.

Arriving at the Chiang Mai bus station at 1000, we were able to book our next passage on to Chiang Rai, leaving at 1330. Hadn't eaten breakfast , so bought some cashews at the "7-Eleven." It was very hot waiting outside the bus terminal for 3 1/2 hours, but we were happy to have transportation onward. We had hopes of reaching Chiang Kong, the Thai/Laos border today.

About 3 hours later, we arrived in Chiang Rai. Took a Tuk Tuk to the hotel we had chosen, along the river, away from the village. Again, the New Year came into play again, we were doused with water while traveling in the Tuk Tuk. I was feeling lucky again. We paid 200 Thai Baht for the hotel room, fan, hot water, private bath. This is about $7.00. Right next to the hotel, I mean right next to, within a few feet, there is currently construction going on to build a bridge and freeway across the river. Evidently, the hotel had more bungalows that the government bought out, they were demolished, making way for progress and construction.

This was an odd place to land in. We walked over to the minimal restaurant on the premises. Sat down, it was dark by this time. The guy who was working there, was sitting in a chair, watching Kung Fu movies on the TV, totally ignoring or oblivious to the fact we were there to eat or drink. We got the hint, but before returning to our room, Fred pulled a water out of their fridge and left baht on the counter.

A while later, Fred went back out and the place seemed open. There was a charming gentleman who was really a very good hustler, talking to Fred about how he could book our passage, with "no problem, 100%," to the border, cross the border into Laos, get visas, and our passage on the two day "slow boat" to Luang Prabang, Laos. We took him up on the deal, and it turned out pretty well. It's never exactly how they portray it, but we were happy.

A day ago we were being told there was no transportation out of Pai. Now we are a couple days river boat ride from Luang Prabang, Laos, who by the way, also participates in the Lao New Year Celebration, with water fights.

So let's see, we took a mini bus from Pai to Chiang Mai, air conditioned bus from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, a Tuk Tuk (water-cooled ha ha) to our hotel, a truck with expanded cab to the tour agency to complete visa forms, which then took us to the border an hour away. We then took a ferry boat ride (long skinny open boat) across the Mekong to Huay Xai, Laos where we obtain or Laotian visas, walked down to the "slow boat" waiting to take us on our 2 day journey on the Mekong River to Luang Prabang.

We were one of the last ones in line to board the slow boat (I had to buy munchies for the ride) so when we arrive, we saw the boat was essentially full, very full. The seats were 1 x 8" in planks with the same for straight backs. We did purchase cushions for $1.25 and now we knew why we would need them. However, remember the luck I knew we would have since we were doused with water? Just as I was stepping into the boat, a native guy was getting out of his seat and walking across into the next slow boat tied up next to ours. Well, I saw where this boat had bus like seats, comfy, cushiony, with soft high backs, and there was a snack bar too. I just followed him and grabbed a comfy bus seat. We were only the second ones on this boat. Then everyone else came on board too.

So our hustler told us there were life preservers (not! none!) and that we had the new boat which only carried 20 people (not! they all carried 60-80 people), but Fred and I, both, really enjoyed every minute of the ride down the Mekong River. The price for all this was 1600 baht per person. This is about $50 per person. We did not eat the rice, banana lunch they provided. Just didn't think it was safe.

Oh the scenery was spectacular. Volcanic rock formations were in the river and along the banks. There were bamboo fishing poles, propped in the volcanic rock with fishing nets attached. The fisherman would check their nets when they saw that their bamboo poles were bent over from the weight of the fish. There were fisherman. with conical hats shading them from the intense sun, poling their long boats along. Women doing laundry. Also quite often we saw people with conical shaped pans, panning for gold along the shores. We saw huge, Mac-like trucks hold fishing nets and helping to reel them in. The speed boats the Lonely Planet Guide Book warned us about went zipping by. There are reportedly 10 times more dangerous to ride in. However they have helmets and life preservers? Well, I prefer the slowness of our boat so I can soak in the gorgeous scenery and the people.

We had a cool breeze and could sit in the open window seals. There was big evidence of slash and burn agriculture. Several hillsides were ablaze with fire and we cruised by. Smoke was in the air. At one point ash was coming down. Young naked children were playing in the water. Small wooden shacks or huts dotted the hillsides. Water buffalo, both black and red buffalo, gathered at their watering holes along the shore. Goats, with their babies trotting behind them, also came down for a drink from the mighty Mekong. This river represents life for both human and animal inhabitants. Laotian people on the boat were eating their lunch, steamed rice wrapped up in a banana leaf. There was evidence of capitalism, as when we stopped along shore, and young village school children came aboard with their baskets of sodas and snacks, chanting "chips and coke, chips and coke...."

I took a picture of a Laotian woman riding in our boat. She was wearing a T-shirt which states "Women of Youth." She looked to be mid 80s. I just found it ironic.

Due to not really eating in 2 days, just due to circumstance, I found myself with a blazing migraine.Was able to take my migraine medicine, and it eased up. After about 7 hours, we arrived at our half way point, Pak Beng, where we stayed the night. We had pre-booked for 400 baht the guest house we stayed in. We had booked it with the hustler's travel agency. As we disembarked, new touts were saying we could stay in the same hotel for 300 baht. Oh well that's only about $3 difference. We ended up paying about $13.50 for the room which was okay, but very noisy.

We strolled the short main street and ended up eating at the Indian restaurant. The owner was the chef, the waiter, and the cashier. He had his hands full. The food was okay and our stomachs were finally full. To bed for me.

Let see how tomorrow's cruise down the Mighty Mekong goes....
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207647300/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207647300/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207647300/tpod.html Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:15:56 -0400 Asian Adventure, beginning in China

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Pai, Thailand

It has been a whole week since I have had access to the internet to blog. So this will be catch up for me.

After a very windy road journey on a bus, we arrived in Pai, pronounced Pie, like apple pie. It's a wonderful little village of 3000 people situated high in the mountains northwest of Chiang Mai. There is a variety of ethnicities here such as Shan, Thai, and Muslim Chinese. It is situated along a river and we found a nice A-framed bungalow along the river shore to stay in. We stayed 3 nights.

Fred and I went to Thom's Elephant Camp and rode an elephant. We were both on one elephant and another younger couple were on the second elephant. We initial fed bananas to befriend our elephant. Then we crawled up on its leg to the back. It was a fair distance. We road bare back to be closer to the animal. The mahouts (elephant trainers) walked along side the elephants grunting commands to the huge grey thick bristly haired skinned pachederms. It was a 2 hour tour. The initial portion was traveling through the jungle. But my favorite part was going down to the river and playing in the water. The trainers would grunt their commands and the elephants would spray water on us with their trunks. Next the elephants would lay down and roll over in the water, trying to "buck" us off. Or they would just turn there head wildly side to side. I didn't last long and soon found myself in the river, wondering what type of germs I just injested. Fred also got bucked off, but just got right back on. After our rides, the elephants delivered us back to Thom's Elephant camp where we took a dip in the hotspring fed pools.
All in all, a memorable fun time.

Electricity is a problem in Pai. Sometimes it's on and sometimes it's off. It is still in the high 90s, I would guess, even at night. One night the electricity went off early evening, but we still went out for dinner. There were candles at each vendor or outdoor restaurant along the way. They cook with propane, so many many people were strolling about and having dinner. Really good curry, spring rolls and fried rice.

Thai New Year celebration was going on. The tour operators said there were no more buses or minibuses leaving for a few days. Well, we got it worked out on our own. See where we go next on the next blog.

Jane
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Chang Mai, Thailand

Some people collect stuff animals, I like to be different and "collect" treatments from foreign medical clinics or hospitals. Not by choice though. I have been treated for allergic reactions in the Red Cross Hospital in Hermosillo, Mexico and for pneumonia in the International Clinic in Kathmandu.

Now I can add Chiang Mai Hospital (International Hospital so English is spoken by everyone) to my list. I am just fine so not to be concerned. The worst case scenario was that I thought I may possible have a bowel obstruction, but the best case turned out to be true. No obstruction, but strained abdominal wall muscle, which feels like a big lump near my umbilicus (belly button) and is very tender. Won't go into all the yucky details, but my symptoms started a week ago while in China. I give the hospital an A+ for efficiency and professionalism. I think we could learn something from them. Walked into the hospital and went to information desk. They copied my passport, not my insurance card, had be fill out one paper. Asked my main symptom. Directed me to an elevator to the 4th floor to the Gastro Clinic. So no sitting in a ER waiting room. Got to the 4th floor - Gastro Clinic. Checked in with the Triage Nurse, who was dressed crisply in her white uniform, complete with starched white nursing cap and black stripe on the cap. She did an intake. A medical assistant walked me down the hall, checked by weight, temp (oral disposable paper thermometer), BP and pulse in both arms. I sat for 2 minutes and the Gastro nurse called me into the doctor's office, where he was waiting at at desk. He had me lie on the exam table, and palpated my tummy. He hit the tender spot and I jumped. He said then that he did not think it was an obstruction, but muscle wall pain. However, he was going to order an U/S to check my uterus. That's when I told him there wouldn't be any female parts to see. I asked about a flat plate of the abdomen, so he ordered one. The medical assistant walked me down to Xray. I was in and out of Xray in 5 minutes. Everyone was very professional and called me Mrs. Hermann. Back on the 4th floor, the medical assistant said to go to room 7 and it may be 30 minutes before the doctor would see me again. It was only 10 minutes at the most. Room 7 was a huge waiting room with TV and aquarium and there was only one other person in the room. Back to see the doctor who had a printed in English report of my Xray. Unremarkable abdomen with multiple phleboliths on the left side of the pelvic cavity. He said it was calcifications on the blood vessels which is normal for a women of my years. The medical assistant gave me a copy of my Xray report with out being asked, and then I asked her for a copy of the doctor's note, which just took a couple of minutes for him to write out for me in English. Guided down to first floor, to pick up RX for NSAID. He said this is a new one as he doesn't like ibuprofen, due to stomach upset. When the MA gave the RX to the pharmacist, she printed out a number (que line number) and printed on it was that it would be a 10 minute wait. My number came up and I went to the window, which was actually the cashier window. I had previously told them I had insurance, probably should have said I didn't have insurance, because then we would have been given a discount. But I am thinking 300-400 American dollars. It came, including Rx, to 1013 Thai Baht, which is about $33. Not enough to contact LHP about, especially since I would have paid $20 for a copay anyway. The cashier lady directed me to window 7 and my Rx was waiting for me. I tell you it was all very slick and efficient and professional. The bill was itemized and it included a Nursing Charge! Way to go Thai nurses make money, although her charge was 50 Baht which is $1.75, less than $2. So that's it. I am okay, we will be leaving Chiang Mai tomorrow to go to northwestern corner of Thailand, to a small town named Pai. I may even ride an elephant in to the jungle. My tummy is still very tender, but I feel reassured there isn't anything serious that I would have to catch a flight home.

We have been in Chiang Mai for several days now, cruising throught the Night Bazaar and taking in at least one massage a day. Hey at $1.75 for a 1/2 foot massage and $3.50 for a one hour Thai massage and $7.00 for a one hour oil massage, why not! At least two days of my time was spent in the internet uploading pictures. I am hoping to figure out Flickr soon and be upload all my photos so you all will have a slide show available. I'll keep you posted. Fred, went to an old Thai Buddhist temple in the middle of the old walled city yesterday and took some photos I hope to upload on a different blog.

Don't know if we will have internet available in the small town of Pai, so until then, no worries.

Jane and Fred
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Chang Mai, Thailand

Fred and I made our way through the Bangkok airport to the departure floor. After checking the flight board, we bought tickets to Chang Mai on Thai Asian Airlines. I think it was a 3 1/2 hour flight and we even had to pay for a bottle of water.

After we picked up our baggage, we saw a stand for hotel reservations in the airport. As it was about 10 pm, we made a reservation so a taxi could take us straight there. We are staying at t he Night Bazaar Place which is on the street with, you guessed it, the Night Bazaar.

One would think we would just go to our room and crash, but noooo. We dumped our packs and walked out in the Night Bazaar. Chang Mai, you need to know, is the center for massage schools in Thailand. Many people from other countries come here for massage training. The massuse (sp) I had in Macchu Picchu had trained in Chang Mai, and that was the very best massage I have ever had. Hence we made our way to an outside foot massage place. We each relaxed with a half hour foot massage for 50 baht/about $1.70. We didn't stop with a foot massage, noooooo. We continued with our same massuse for a total body (clothes on) massage for 100 baht. The total for Fred and I, for both foot and body massages, came to about $7 dollars. We will be back.

Tomorrow, try to catch up on China blog and upload photos.

In Thailand,
Jane and Fred
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207233600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207233600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1207233600/tpod.html Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:58:09 -0400 Asian Adventure, beginning in China

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Bangkok, Thailand

Today I say good-bye to China, to Lily our tour guide, to the tour group - bus yellow 5, to Shanghai, and more importantly to my Dad and family.

But first, one more exciting event. We take the Electro-Magnetic train to the airport. It is much faster than the bullet train in Germany. It flies above the rails at 431 km/hour which is about 270 miles per hour! No seat belts either! Wheeeee!

Gathered our luggage and all made it to the China Eastern Airline check-in counter. We all say good-bye to Lily as she has an incoming tour group to pick up. Fred and I get in a separate, much shorter line, and check in for our flight to Bangkok, with just our two backpacks. My Dad, his wife, her daughter and son-in-law are in the Disneyland like line for the group check-in for LAX. I assured my Dad that I would pay for any weight overages as he was kind enough to agree to take home two bags for us. Guess what? The airline didn't even weigh the bags. Whew!

We went to the gate for the LA flight and I did my last visiting with my family. Fred and I had a wonderful, whirlwind trip. We really enjoyed it and never could have facilitated seeing everything we saw on our own, and not for the great price either. Although I think everyone did their part to increase China's economy, which was partially the point for this economical trip.

We said hugged and said our good-byes and made our way to the Bangkok gate. We would be flying in another direction.

Where will Fred and I end up tonight? Will Bangkok be our final destination?
Find out next blog entry.

Jane and Fred
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Shanghai, China

Shanghai, Shanghai, Shanghai - Wow, Wow, Wow!!!

We saw hundreds of cranes, the erecting machine, not the bird, everywhere. Multiple, mulitple high, high rise buildings, cars, cars, cars, neon signs flashing, concrete, an elevated second level round a bout on the freeway, more concrete, people, people, people. New York City doesn't even come close in many ways to Shanghai.
The Bund, along the river, has hundreds of year old buildings on one side, while "Jetson" like ultra modern buildings crowd the opposite bank. The water front promenade, or more realistic, the "gauntlet" was overrun with in your face - hawkers, selling anything from kites to throw on the ground silly putty type toys. Many, many people were walking through the crowds. It was good to have Lily with her "Bus 5" sign to act like a beacon to guide us back. Given all that, it was still awe inspiring.

We toured a silk rug factory - no purchases there. On to a Mongolian BBQ for lunch, which was very fun. You would dish up your meat, veggies, sauce and take it to the glassed walled kitchen, where 3 chefs would BBQ (actually cook on a large flat wok like surface) your food. The first chef would stir-fry your food choosings for a minute and pass along to the second chef, who would again stir-fry for a moment, and would pass the food to the 3rd chef who would chop it up a bit and literally toss it in a bowl for you. There was also salad, bread, and cookies for the taking. "Very tasty. Very delicious," as Lily, our guide, would say.

Now on to "China Town" for free time shopping. Okay, I know what you're thinking..."China Town" in a Chinese town. Really, it's true. Lots of shops, a few hawkers, McDonalds, Starbucks, restaurants, ponds, etc. I brought back a Mahjong game. (Okay Marie, I know you are out there. I will ask your assistance to learn the game.) I like the computer version, but wanted the traditional game. Other people brought back wooden or bronze laughing, pot-bellied Buddhas. We had dinner in a restaurant across the street from China Town.

Tomorrow we say good bye and go back home. Wait...Fred and I don't go home with the group, as we are staying in Asia for a few months to travel. I have to say Oliver, and especially Lily, our tour guides helped us get separate travel arrangements to depart from the tour group here in Shanghai. Lily diciphered that because we had group tour airline tickets, there would not be any credit toward an onward Asian airline ticket. That was what we expected, but hey, it didn't hurt to ask. Inside our Shanghai hotel there was a China Southern Airline agent, who didn't speak English, but long story short, between a Chinese - English speaking tourist and Lily and the hotel assistant manager, we were able to get China Eastern Airline ticket from Shanghai to Bangkok, leaving within 20 minutes of the tour group's China Eastern Airline flight to LAX. I love it when a plan comes together. Without all their help, the language barrier would have been more than a challenge. We also appreciated the tour group's support, as all were asking how our travel plan progess was. A big thank you to all.

Jane
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Hangzhou, China

Amazing, spectacular, deeply moving, wonder, incredulous...what other words can I use to describe the long rock wall full of carvings of various Buddhas if different poses? There were also caves and writings within the walls. This Buddhist pagoda area is 1600 years old!!! How many monks spent their lives here? How many hours of meditation has transpired here? How many pilgrimages? More questions than answers for sure.

Fred and I could have spent hours and hours, days exploring the pathways and caves, but only had time for a taste. In one building, our tour guide said there were many, maybe 300, Buddhas. What we saw when we entered were large bronze castings of beings that Fred thought were not Buddhas, but rather a lineage of teachers, perhaps the Mahasiddies that held the teachings in northern India, from the time of the historic Buddha (about 500 BC) to about 1000 AD, when the teachings crossed the Himalayas.

Other hight lights were a 12 meter sandal wood Buddha and chanting saffron robed monks. Some people with no connection to Buddhism commented on the peaceful atmosphere. No time to sit and meditate, on to West Lake.

West Lake - A large lake, that was formed when the river changed course. There are surrounding gardens, flowers, peacocks, pagodas, pathways...People out strolling, having a picnic, children playing... We took a covered boat ride and went past the place with the 3 pagodas that are shown on the back of the 1 yuan paper bill. During a full moon, between the shadows of the 3 pagodas and the reflection of the full moon itself, it is said there are 8 moons. Very, very enjoyable. After the boat ride we were able to stroll about ourselves. Took pictures of strutting peacocks, including white ones. Young, friendly Chinese students would come up to us to practice their English.

I am sure we went to some factory in here as well - oh I remember... a tea plantation. This was actually very interesting. On the way to the small village of Mai (everyone who lives in the village has the last name of Mai), you could see tea plantations, with women in conical hats harvesting the tea. We were given a tour of the tea plantation. We saw up close the tiny, new leaves the women were picking for the best, "Emperor's Tea." Once the leaves were picked, they would then be dried by hand, with tea oil, inside a wok-like pot. The man would use his hand to stir and lift the tea leaves to get an even, light dried effect. We samples a pinch of leaves and they were crunchy like a potato chip. Green tea is not fermented, black tea is fermented, and oolong tea is half fermented.
Inside, a young native Mai village girl showed us how to make green tea. A pinch (3 finger pinch) of leaves in a clear glass. Water at 180 degrees, (wait 3 minutes after water has boiled before pouring) poured into the glass. The best time to have tea is 30 minutes after eating to aid digestion. You can use the same tea leaves, keep adding water, for 4-5 times. So the Chinese take a clear tea thermos to work each day, and drink green tea all day long. We actually brought home a couple of tea thermos. We had the opportunity to buy different qualities of green tea, including the Emperor's tea, which they do not export.

Had dinner in a fancy restaurant, still "lazy susan" style. After eating you could wander about viewing the amazing embroidery. Yesterday, we toured an embroidery factory in Suzhou, but weren't allowed to take photos, so I snapped a couple of photos here. At the embroidery factory, they showed us double sided embroidery of a cat. On one side the cat way grey and white and the other side the same cat was orange and white. Amazing. Even more incredulous was the double sided embroidery of a lion and on the other side it was a tiger. They use 2 needles to do this. Would have loved to have one of those in my home. Maybe when I am rich and famous...right!

Tomorrow - Shanghai!
Jane
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Suzhou, China

3/30/08 We flew on China Eastern Airlines to Shanghai and was met by our tour guide, Lily. Her home town is Suzhou so she will be our tour guide for the remainder of the trip. Suzhou is reknown for its silk factory, which we will tour. The silk culture is 4000 years old. Embroidery is also a main artisty.
Suzhou is 2500 years old and has an older history than Shanghai, which is 80 km away. There are 2 million people in the city and 6 million in the suburbs. Suzhou has the 3rd biggest lake in China, so there is plenty of fresh water fish. It is a major agricultural area, so rice and vegetables are grown here. Marco Polo named Suzhou the Oriental Venice due to all the canals here. The Grand Canal is 1300 years old and runs from Beijing to Hanghou. There 4 seasons, and 200 days of rain. There is a long winter.

Okay, this is where my memory gets a bit sketchy as I stopped taking notes about now. We toured the silk factory and saw the process for making silk starting with the silk worm. We were in a silk factory where they made silk comforters, similar to down comforters, but better, lighter. They also made 100% silk duvets. We indulged ourselves and bought a lightweight and medium weight comforters, along with a red, embroidered (birds) duvet cover. Thank you to my Dad for taking these home with him. It would be a bit bulky and heavy in our backpacks.

We also visited a Buddhist temple. Tomorrow we visit a 1600 year old Buddhist temple.

(I think I have my days mixed up as we visited Lingering Gardens 3/31, but I just uploaded the pics on this date. Oh well, after blogging for 6 1/2 hours I am getting a bit tired and slap happy so please forgive me being out of order, I guess in more ways than one!)

Jane
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Beijing, China

Sat 3/29.
Today we visit the Summer Palace, Pearl Factory, Forbidden City, Chinese Traditional Medicine Center, and Tian an men Square. Another whirlwind day ahead...

Summer Palace
Has the longest and most beautiful corridor in the world. There are 14,000 3-D paintings on the corridor. Cixi, was the Empress during the Quing Dynasty. Her nick name was "Dragon Lady." She was not so nice of a lady. Her saying, "If you make me unhappy for ahile, I will make you unhappy for life," gives you a clue to her personality.

Pearl Factory
China is famous for both fresh water and salt water pearls of many colors. Again we were given an introduction to pearls and then had the opportunity to purchase some. As I was fortunate to be given my mother's pearls, I declined to add to the Chinese economy at the Pearl Factory, although there were many beautiful pearls to choose from.

Forbidden City
Trudy (sounds like Trudy - don't know who to spell it), an emperor built the Forbidden City during the Ming and Quing Dynasties. Ordinary people could not go in - hence the term "Forbidden" City. Inside lived approximately 5000 people of which 500-3000 were concubines and 200-2000 were eunechs. It took between 1402 - 1420 to build the Forbidden City with 1 million laborers and 100,000 skilled craftsmen. "Trudy" moved into the Forbidden City in 1420.
24 Emperors lived in the Forbidden City, 14 during the Mind Dynasty and 10 during the Quing. It covers 72 hectares which is equal to about 100 soccer fields and has 8000 rooms.

The Forbidden City was absolutely spectacular. We would walk through a gate and see a big decorative building, then through another gate, with large grounds and building, and through another gate, etc. It was amazing. I really could have spent much more time here. But on to the Chinese Traditional Medicine Center.

Hutong Tour
Our whole tour group chose to do the optional Hutong tour. We went two by two, in rickshaws, traveling through the streets and alleyways of Hutong, the old Beijing neighborhood. It culmulnated in a home cooked lunch in someone's home. It was very enjoyable.

Chinese Traditional Medicine Center
This was actually fairly interesting. The "doctors" came to each of us, after an introductory lecture, and "examined" us. This examination included looking at our tongues, looking into our eyes, and feeling our pulse on both wrists. Then came the diagnosis, and the recommended "prescription" of Chinese Medicine, that you of course were to buy right then. My diagnosis was that I had slow blood (low blood pressure- which I do) and digestive problems. They say my migraines are caused by the slow blood, so that my brain doesn't get enough oxygen. I took their prescription paper, but did not buy the medicine.

Tian an men Square
We walked the length of Tinamen Square, but unfortunately, could not get close to the building with Mao. This was blocked off and there were a line of people, waiting for the Olympic torch to pass through in a couple of days. The hawkers were everywhere selling scarves, kites, "Rolex" watches, Olympic ball caps, postcards etc for $1.00, $1.00, $1.00... Somewhere along the lines Fred bought me a red Olympic hat.

Peking Duck Dinner
We had a traditional Peking Duck dinner. When we first walked into the restaurant, the kitchen had an open area where all the ducks were hanging, complete with head, waiting to be roasted. The chef comes to the table and carves the duck into thin slices, still with the fat on. You then put the slices in a thin, "tortilla" along with sauce, onions, and cucumbers and have a little "Peking Duck Taco" of sorts. I tried one slice, just to say I had Peking Duck, as I am not much of a meat eater.

Well tomorrow we fly to Shanghai and take a bus to Suzhou. Oliver was a wonderful tour guide, full of information and humor.

Jane


]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1206698400/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1206698400/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/jdhermann/3/1206698400/tpod.html Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:23:35 -0400 Asian Adventure, beginning in China

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Beijing, China

Nihao (Chinese Greeting),

(Disclaimer: Today is 4/5 and we are currently in Chang Mai, Thailand. China was an absolute blur, going from 6 am to 10 pm most days/nights. As such, there was absolutely no time for internet and blogging. I also sent my China itinerary home with my Dad, so my China details are from memory. For those of you on the trip with me, feel free to fill in any highlights, I may have left out. Also, I am having a difficult time with photos. My 1 gb card, mostly from Panama has a virus on it, but a nice Thai gentleman worked diligently to get the photos and copy to a DVD. He also burned my pictures from China. However, now that I put the DVD in the computer, it doesn't read it, so will try again to get the photos on to CDs to see if I can upload. Otherwise, it may be blogging without pictures for a while. He thinks my card reader has a virus, so will need to look for and buy a new card reader. Very frustrating. So below is the account of China from memory):

After a very, very long day, we all arrived in Beijing. Fred and I had gotten up at 0500 on 3/26, flew to LA, then to Shanghai, then to Beijing and arrived on 3/27 at 11:30 pm local time. Our China tour group was met by our tour guide, Oliver - that is his English name. He is a twenty something and learned English in middle school. In 1980, the Chinese government made the ruling of one child/one birth per family. Twins are okay, as it is one birth, per family. If the woman divorces and marries again, she may have another baby. Oliver has a couple of siblings, as the rule had not been in effect.

Each day we ate breakfast in the hotel. A huge, buffet with a large variety of food, from omelets and pancakes, to fruit, peanuts, salad, rice with egg, chicken feet, and unidentifiable food. We would stop for lunch and dinner each day outside of the hotel. For lunch and dinner, we would be set at a group table with a giant glass lazy susan. The waitress would bring out many Chinese dishes and the lazy susan would spin to the next person to help themselves to the dishes. Some yummy, some okay. Too many different types of foods to list. Drinks were one glass of beer, coke, sprite, or water or tea.

Oliver gave us an overview of Chinese history, which includes 3 Dynasties: Yuan Dynasty - Peasants uprised and went into Ming Dynasty -"Brightness" and then Quing Dynasty. Quing Dynasty was ruled by the Manturian (sp) people. The dynasties were from 1644-1911. The film "The Last Emperor," was filmed in the Forbidden City. The Last Emperor was 3 years old and his reign ended in 1912. China was a republic. Then came Chang Kai Chek (sp) 1912-1949, and he was a Nationalist. Next was Chairman Mao tse Tung (sp) who represented The People's Republic of China.

Oliver took us to our 5 star hotel, (just don't drink the water), which was a welcome respite after 3 airflights. Wake up call at 0600 and leave the hotel by 0730. We will see the Temple of Heaven, Great Wall of China, and Ming Tombs, along with Jade and Pearl Factories.

Feng Shui
Oliver explained the importance of Feng Shui in Chinese tradition. Feng Shui creates harmony between ourselves and our surroundings. Ying/Yang Ying=female; Yang=male. Ying represents small, dark, rivers, motion, night, moon, even numbers, blood, flesh. Yang represents big, mountain, sun, day, odd numbers, bones. The number 9 is supreme masculine power and only used by the emperors. A good example of Feng Shui is having a hill behind your house (stability) and water in the front (moving). Balance/harmony.

There are 5 elements
Fire-Red; protextsus from evil spirits.
Earth-Yellow; all earth belongs to emperor
Wood-Green; Life
Metal-White; Hard
Water-Black; Soft
Then there is Heaven which is blue.

Only the roof of the Emperor's palace is Yellow.

Temple of Heaven
Built in 1421 during the Ming and Quing Dynasties, it is where the Emperor would pray for a good harvest. No ordinary people were allowed inside. There are no nails in the construction and it is built of wood. This was the first of many building and temples we would see and I found it quite impressive.

Animals/Dragon on the roof protect from evil spirits. The more animals, the more important the building is. The Hall of Supreme Harmony is the only building with 11 animals.

Olympics - Beijing - 8/08 at 8 pm in the evening
There are 5 mascots: fish, panda, fire, antelope,and kite. When you put each of their Chinese names together, it says "Beijing welcomes you." The Gold Olympic medal will have white Jade inlade in it and the Silver/Bronze medals will have green Jade.

Jade Factory - "Gold has a price but Jade is priceless."
Jade was a symbol of wealth and social position and could only be worn by the royal family. We toured a Jade Factory, and was first given an introduction on the characters and qualities of the various jade. They say a good piece of jade is living because as you wear it against your skin, it will turn color over time. There are many diferent colors of jade - yellow, pink black, white, red, purple, but green is the best per the Chinese. Then we walked into a showroom where they tried on jade bangles onto the left wrist of the women in the group, such as myself. I am not much of a bangle person, so Fred bought me a multi-colored jade traditional circular pendant, suspended with a red silk necklace. I have black jade from Guatemala and a dark green jade from Mexico.

Asides -
The army soldiers we see on the street carry guns, but do not have bullets. The guns are just for show! Traffic cops do not carry guns at all.
Every year approximately 3 million people tour China.
In 2007, every month real estate increased by 5-6%. Homes cost about 10,000 Yuan/square meter. You can only own the building, all land is owned by the Chinese government. An average cost for a 2 bedroom apartment is $140,000. Average income is 3000-4000 Yuan a month. They say you have to work for 2 months to buy one square meter of home.
There are 1.3 Billion people in China.


Ming Tombs
13 Emperors are buried here. White is the funeral color. The first through fourth emperors (Ming Dynasty) had their concumbines buried alive with them. In 1956-57, the Chinese opened one emperor's tomb and there were treasures that had been buried for 600 years. The main building was built in 1420.

Cloisonnes Factory
Toured the Cloisonnes Factory and saw the process for how these are made.

Great Wall of China
It was cold and snowing hard when we arrived at the Great Wall. Initially, I thought oh no, but the snow and the cloud cover gave the Wall a magical feeling. I hope the pictures capture the essence of that day. The steps are very unven, some short and some very tall. The snow really made the steps slick and it was snowing so hard that on the return, Fred and I couldn't see anyone's footprints. We were naturally the last to get back, as we both thoroughly enjoyed walking the Wall and didn't want to get back. I kept snapping photos.
The Great Wall was built 2000 years ago and is over 6000km or 3000 miles long. The purpose was to keep out enemies, such as the Mongels. After the Quing Dynasty, the Great Wall lost its function. Now it is China's largest tourist attraction and it is the only man-made object that can be seen from space.
Chairman Mao wrote a poem about the Great Wall - "The one who has never been to the Great Wall; you are not a hero." So we were all Super Heros as we traversed the Great Wall in blowing, cold, snow!

We ate dinner at the Chinese Acrobat Show. Those acrobats were amazing as they jump through hoops, literally. And oh their flexibility and strength were something else. Very cool to watch. However, after a day like we have had, after 3 air plane rides yesterday, we are exhausted. Wait...we ordered an in-room Chinese massage for both Fred and I tonight. Thought we would get back to the hotel about 9:00, but due to the heavy traffic it was at least an hour late. Still had the massage and it was well worth it.

Tomorrow - Summer Palace, Pearl Factory, Forbidden City, Tinamen Square, Chinese Traditional Medicine Center.

Jane/Fred





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