From Japan to China to Saigon

Trip Start Jan 10, 2008
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19
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Trip End Apr 22, 2008


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Friday, March 7, 2008

Last time I wrote, I was in Japan. On Mar. 2nd, we arrived in Shanghai, China. I spent a few hours roaming around Shanghai, then flew to Beijing with 140 other passengers for an overland tour.
We toured the Forbidden City, home to the emperors in the Ming & Quing dynasties & a 250 acre complex of pavilions, halls, courtyards & gates. We also visited the Temple of Heaven, built in 1420. This is where emperors worshipped heaven & prayed for good harvest. Also visited Tian'anmen Square where many important moments in history took place (you may recall the student uprising in 1989 where 1000 were killed).
We also walked along the Sacred Way to the Ming Tombs where life size stone animals & figures line both sides of the walkway. Of course, the highlight was seeing & walking on the Great Wall of China, built over 2000 yrs. ago to ward off the Northern Nomads. A delicious Peking duck dinner concluded this fabulous tour.
Beijing is very modern & busy preparing for the Olympics, Aug. 2008. Our tour guide, one of 39, said his co. hired 1100 just for the Olympics. He was very candid about life in a Communist country & answered all our questions. Most interesting is their one child per family policy. I learned some new Mandarin Chinese words & used them often:

Thank you "she she"
Good Morning "knee how"
Yes "shoe"
No "busher"
Goodbye "sigh chin"

All of my new Chinese was useless though when we flew to Hong Kong on Mar. 5th, as they speak Cantonese Chinese.

Hong Kong has changed immensely since I was there 19 yrs. ago. I took the Star ferry to Kowloon & caught the bus to Aberdeen, where I expected to see the hundreds of sampans linked together. The sampans are now gone, replaced by small boats whose owners hustle you constantly to take a harbor tour with them. Hong Kong is very modern & a monument to capitalism. I made a contribution to the economy by buying a wide angle lens for my new camera & self focusing Bushnell mini binoculars.
We are currently cruising on the Saigon River & will arrive in Saigon in about 6 hrs. I'll spend a few hours trying to avoid the street hawkers, honking horns, bikes, motorcycles & autos which fly down the streets at dizzying speeds. Late afternoon, I'll join 160 other passengers on a flight to Cambodia to see the unbelievable Angkor Wat.
Until then, Linda
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