Yangtze River

We have had daily excursions . One involved taking a ferry up a tributary-Danning River-. We passed more cliffs, saw rhesus monkeys and a few goats. The paths up to the occasional village are nearly vertical. The villagers walk down to the river sometimes taking 4 hours to catch the water boats to Wuhan, the city. we saw caves hundreds of feet up the cliffs, two of which had 2000 year old hanging coffins sticking out of them. How did they get them up there? Who knows?
Another day we stopped at Feng Du. As this city was in the path of the rising water, every inhabitant- over a million- had to move. Noy unlike what was proposed for New Orleans following Katrina. Different governments different responses. What was undisturbed in Feng Du was the Ghost City. Basically a walk up a mountain following a soul through his life to the afterlife- choosing hell or heaven. Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian temples. Lots of wonderful superstitions, full length grotesque gargoyles. Lots of fun including a chairlift ride.
Tomorrow we disembark in Chongqing for a 5 hour bus ride to Chengdu- home of the pandas.

Chengdu April2-3

Chengdu is in Sichuan province, home of the spicy food.Hotel Xin Hua is in the center of the city. This is about 100 miles from the epicenter of the massive earthquake last May which killed tens of thousands. Some damage here. Many western factory outlets- Nike, Adidas etc. The sky is generally cloudy due to the pollution from all the factories. What a price to pay! We walked to the central park where we danced with the women, visited a tea house where we saw local men who clean out people's ears using a tuning fork and a stick with a wad of cotton for 10 yuan. We got so involved that we were late for our dinner and needed a bus. Crammed like sardines for 20 minutes, the locals were delighted to see us. Indeed wherever we go we are stared at or approached by those eager to speak to us. They mob us as if we were celebrities.
On April 3 we visited the Chengdu Panda Breeding Center. They 48 of the world's 1000 pandas, every age including 19 babies from the last year. We were fortunate enough to be present as the keeper used a long stick with a hook to feed 3 three yr olds. It quite possibly was the best animal encounter that I can remember. Watching them push each other and crawl and tumble around was worth the trip. Either I'm tired or the pollution has me or just extremely sentimental but I would have given anything for Brit to be there and I got a little teary. There were many school aged 7 yr olds on a class trip eager to interact and pose for pictures. Consummate experience. Brenda from our group paid 1000 yuan- $150- to hold a 6 month old panda named Bei Bei. for about 5 minutes. A dream come true for her. The pandas seem to enjoy the interaction. The 200 acre park is pristine with walkways, bamboo forests everywhere, flowers and an intro movie.
After lunch we visited the Tibetan areas of the city and met a couple on the street who were kind enough to pose for us and answer our questions. Quite proud that they own 100 yaks. They took the bus 17 hours to the big city. Middle aged, 4 children. The wife was fascinated by the viewfinder on my camera and wanted the picture immediately. She only spoke Tibetan though her husband also spoke Chinese. Told our guide to send the print though he has no address and so remote no mail service. This evening we are on Sichuan Air for an hour flight to Lijiang further south nearer Tibet.
LiJiang
We are staying in the old town of Lichiang near the foothills of the Himalayas. This section is over 800 years old consisting of ancient wooden buildings with curved roofs, pedestrian only with a stream and canals running through much of it. Now mostly artisans and hotels it is nonetheless unbelievably picturesque. The town sits at 7000 feet under the Jade Dragon Snow Mtn which is over 20,000 ft altitude with perpetual snow. Indeed the whole town is on a high plain surrounded 360 degrees by mountains. The sky is blue- no pollution. This is the first time my throat has not felt raw. As we walked the streets we saw the chickens and fish live outside the restaurants waiting to be picked out. There was a strong temptation to save them before supper. Our day excursion took us to a Tibetan village and the home of Joseph Rock who settled here as a botanist and taught the local people different skills. The village is quite unique. The houses are fairly similar , made of huge stones, first floor animals, the second for the family. The doors are ornately carved wood- teak I think or mahogany. The people are of different ethnic groups mostly Nazi and Tibetan with also Yee. Their native dress is distinctive and easy to identify each group. the Nazi are blue and have large bows which look like wheels on their back. The children loved the little things we brought.
Really I could have stayed here for a week. The town of Shangri-la is about an hour away. The park is covered in flowering trees and today is the day that the Chinese come to sweep the tombs of their ancestors. It is a holiday throughout the country and we are so fortunate as they are dressed locally here in their finest costumes.
We have determined that Bert and I will leave the group to go to Tibet on our own. We have had to pay separately for the airfare and hotel and for a guide. OAT has gotten the permits. the border has been closed for a month to forestall any unrest over the 50th anniversary of the takeover by them of Tibet and the flight of the Dali Lama. we will fly with our group to Kunming and have dinner with them then head back to the airport to fly back to Chengdu and then onto Llasa the next morning. We will have 3 days there and then fly back through Chengdu to Hong Kong and hook up with the group for the last night before our flight back to the States. This is all pretty ambitious for 2 people who know no Chinese except Ni Hao and Mei Li. We have no tickets and will be met at Chengdu just before that AM flight by a young girl named Vicky Lee who has the documents. We are to meet near a vegetable stand at 6AM. Yeah right!
So there we were landing back in Chengdu at 2AM. We knew we had to wait until 6 for Vicky and looked around for a chair. There were none. Not one. Finally I slid down the side of a window and Bert found a high stool used by a guard during the day. That lasted 20 minutes at which time we were rousted by the police and thrown outside in the street! No one knew a word of English and had no pity on us. Some huckster came up to me and wrote 5 Yuan on his hand and offered to take me somewhere in his car. Can you imagine? Luckily the weather had broken a little and it was not truly freezing. We put on all the clothes we could find and scrunched next to the terminal with all our luggage. Bert even found a piece of cardboard to put under him. Funnily enough some old lady came along and he ended up fending her off as she tried to steal it from him!. I kept thinking, what has happened to me? How did I end up homeless in China on the streets. Me ,a 57 year old , grandmother from Rhode Island. It just made me laugh.
Finally we were allowed back in around 5:30AM to the warm terminal and Vicky showed up right on time. A lovely young 22 year old Chinese girl with excellent English. She spent some time with us as we talked about her life in Chengdu. I wish I could have brought her home.
Tibet
Eventually we boarded our flight to Tibet. We were so conspicuous as we were the only Westerner on the flight. The border had only opened that day and we were the first foreigners to be allowed in. Everyone stared at us when we got to Tibet. The 2 hour flight took us over the tallest mountains I have ever seen. Absolutely desolate and stunning with the snow and rocky peaks. Not a road or sign of habitation to be seen. It was absolutely mesmerizing and the time flew by. The airport for the country is located about 60 miles from Lhasa. This is because it is the closest flat area to the city.
We decided to take the bus to the city which caused further consternation by the locals as foreigners usually take cabs. the bus cost the equivalent of a dollar, the cab around $30- no contest. The funny thing is that our guide who met us there had to come with us leaving his friend who now lost out on his fare. we had to promise that we would stay with our guide- really a guard and not say or do anything political. the tour people were really adamant about that.
Tibet has been a lifelong goal of mine and if it took keeping my opinions to myself for a few days- amen.
The ride in from the airport was beautiful. mountains everywhere punctuated by the occasional village. Everywhere you see flags of all different colors as streamers. We call them pennants. They are for luck here. Lhasa was kind of a surprise and not really a good one. Over the past 50 years the Chinese have slowly started to take away the culture of the Tibetans. They have moved in the Han Chinese who now pretty much outnumber the native Tibetans. The Tibetan houses have been demolished and replaced with typical rather cheap Chinese buildings.The Chinese get the better jobs as well. Our hotel the Shang Bala is in the Tibetan section in the Bakour market. This is more like it. There are pedicabs if we choose not to walk. The altitude is a little dizzying and I realized that many, if not most of our group, would have been herd pressed to tour here.
Our guide, Joe, is Han Chinese and has lived here from Shanghai for 20 years. He asks us very politely not to go out with out him and we agree so he leaves. When we are sure he is gone we go out. Everyone knows who we are. We are interviewed and photographed for Tibet Daily as we are the first outsiders for months. People stare st us but we are captivated by the sounds and sights of the market. We are near the Jokang Temple which is the holiest site in Tibet. Kind of their St Peter's . The women wear colorful wraps and have braids nearly to their feet. The men wear leather wide hats and both carry prayer wheels which they spin as they are walking. Cool way to pray. They walk round and round the Temple. Some people lay prostate on the ground and propel themselves forward like an inchworm. You can smell incense everywhere as well as yak butter. That is what they use to burn as candles. The buildings surrounding the open square with the market are about 2 stories high and on the top are armed soldiers keeping watch. Indeed everywhere we look are the soldiers. There must be 10,000 in the city. It is a little unnerving.
On the way back to the hotel we meet a young man from Ohio who lives here and has founded the Tibet equivalent of Starbucks. He knew who we were of course and it was so interesting to speak with him. From him we learned kind of the inside scoop on the Tibetan -Chinese problems. He will only hire Tibetans though he is married to a Chinese woman. He also has the only internet cafe in Lhasa. He looked like he should be surfing instead of fighting for Tibetan rights. Good for him!
Our 3 days were filled with visits to the monasteries and Potala Palace. I loved Drepung Monastery set way up on a hill past a herd of yaks. The weather turned from bright sunshine to snow within a span of 2 minutes. the mountains were literally breath-taking. Touring inside the monastery, now home to 700 maroon clad monks, we climbed steps which were really ladders. Room after room of Buddhas. A little overwhelming really.
The next day the Potala winter home of the Dali Lama has 1000 rooms. It overlooks and dominates the city and is blinding white with a red roof. I cannot recall how many stairs and ladders we climbed. I was speechless at the amount of gold and silver in the funereal tombs of the many lamas. Literally there were tons of it. The quarters are very close with no windows and the ubiquitous smell of the burning incense and yak butter.
We ate Yak for lunch which was delicious. Joe was an excellent guide. We visited the summer palace- a long walk and then the Jokang Temple near our hotel.
On the roof were gold prayer wheels and excellent vantage points to take pictures down onto the market place. It was here that a police man grabbed my camera and deleted some of my pictures claiming in Chinese- as translated by Joe- that I had taken pictures of the guards on the surrounding buildings. I was kind of scared as he was yelling at me. Then he told me to go stand next to the edge of the wall and motioned to Bert to join me. I didn't know if he was going to shoot us or what. But he did shoot us - with my camera!
We also toured the Sera Monastery which is known for its arguing monks though we did not see that. All in all I was so glad that we went. In a sense it was disappointing that Lhasa has been so decimated but I learned so much.
On the fourth day we headed back to the airport to repeat that spectacular flight. From chengdu we headed on to hong Kong arriving at night. We took a bus to the hotel and met our group while they were at dinner. Our hotel room overlooked the famous harbor and we stayed up as late as we could watching. Looks like a great city and we will come back some day to do it justice. In all we had 12 flights both to and within china. Every one was superb and left on time. I loved our visit to China. I loved the people. I know they show us what they want us to see but it was so worth going.

Yangtze River March 30

We are now on the Katarina Victoria, a 210 passenger riverboat having embarked inYichang just below the great Three Gorges Dam. Our staterooms are compact but have a balcony. The wall between the cabins however are paper thin with bunks on each outer wall. This AM Joan, one of our women remarked that she was sleeping closer to Jim next door than she was to John her S.O. who was across the cabin. We were howling as she recounted how she could hear Jim snoring and she was dying to whisper through the wall to turn over. Jim, travelling solo for his part said he went into his closet and swore there was someone in there until he realized it was John and Joan next door. Honestly nearly every day we laugh until there are tears in our eyes. Such a fun group.
This mornig we visited the dam built over the last 17 years and just about complete. Massive in size with 5 locks to raise and lower river traffic 350 feet. The govt does not charge for this. The 26 generators supply 3%f China's power. The upshot of the damm, of course, is that it raises the river upstream displacing ancient villages and towns- in all about 1.3 million people have been moved to higher ground. For many this is wonderful. They have indoor plumbing for the first time. For the seniors, however it is the end of a way of life to which they cannot reconcile. The mountains along the banks are undulating and mysterious looking in the fog we have today.

March 29

Today a short plane trip with China Southern from Xi'an to Wuhan followed by a 5 hour bus ride to Lichang to meet our river cruise ship. The countryside here is quite flat with many lakes and rice paddies. The farmers plow with water buffalo just as their ancestors did. The fields are bright yellow with canola flowers, mile after mile as far as they eye can see. Sometimes there are pagoda tombstones in the middle of the yellow. Bert says that probably marks the spot the farmer dropped. The small villages are similar to those you see anywhere with a big difference. In other countries that I have visited the center of each village is always the Church or Mosque or some house of worship. Religion here is nearly nonexistent. People will go to a temple and leave offerings but it seems more a superstitious ritual than anything else.
We are looking forward to the Yangtze cruise. the pace of the rip is almost frenetic and we need to recharge for the 2nd half. Nothing has been said about Tibet so we are assuming we won't be able to go. What a shame!

Xi'an pt 2

On Saturday the rain stopped and we climbed the city wall of Xi'an. Forty ft high and 30 ft wide, it encircles the inner city for a length of 11 miles. There are turrets and pagodas all along it. Beautifully preserved. In the afternoon we drove an hour to Hu Xian- a mode village of farmers. We separated into 3 groups to stay with a local family. Madame Gao was a lovely sweet 32 yr old with a husband, 11 yo son who lives with her inlaws. Our room was primitive, the bathroom even more so. After a nice dinner in which we used a lot of sign and body language, she took us to the town square where we were given ornate costumes- yellow for the men and red for the women- and we danced with the villagers for an hour. It was a little surreal to do the bunny hop, macarena and hokey pokey with 100 Chinese women. Kathy, our guide, explains so much about present Chinese life. I feel as though we have learned so much this trip.

Xi'an

The countryside ranges from mountains to terraced plots carved out with tombstones honoring ancestors overlooking the crops. Most of the cultivation seems done by hand here- no animals other than a few goats. houses are small, brick and grouped together.
Xi'an is a city of 8 million with an intact city wall. We are staying st the Xi'an Garden Hotel in a room overlooking a lagoon with a bridge and pagoda patrolled by 2 gorgeous peacocks who call out intermittently during the night. The Wild Goose Pagoda is an area of parks with temples and drum towers dedicated to a monk who went to India and brought back the concepts of Buddhism.
The main attraction here are the terra Cotta Warriors. These were discovered in 1974 by a local farmer who now sits in the gift shop charging 20 yuan per picture. The soldiers stand in 3 different pits, row upon row, nearly 6000 strong with their horses and chariots. All are different. They serve as an army in the afterlife to the Emperor of the Qin dynasty of 200BC. There are a few generals as well as archers, cavalrymen,etc. Everyone is unique. Fabulous! Was a highlight of the tour marred only by the fact that it's pouring and rather cold. The Chinese turn off the heat on March 15 by law so we're out of luck. No heat even on the bus. The sad thing about the warriors is that when they are found- and this is ongoingg, they are beautifully painted in many colors. The air oxydizes the paint and in a short time it fades away. They should find a way to preserve them

Beijing- Xi'an March 26

Yesterday we walked through the "Hutong" which are the original small alleys of old Beijing. They are rapidly disappearing as "progress" comes to China. The government has started to preserve them however which is fine with the citizens. the houses are 1 story high with a small kitchen, sitting room and bedroom. There are no bathrooms. Though they have electricity and running water the toilet facilities are located on the street about the middle of each block. Must be interesting in the winter. They have always lived like this and the seniors love their homes and resist govt attemts to move them to apartments in the suburbs away from their friends. As many as 1/3 of the population of Beijing livie in the hutong. It is exactly as I pictured Beijing to look. We had lunch with a local woman who makes money on the side hosting small groups in her home. What impressed me was how clean the alleys were and no smell despite the limited sanitary facilities. There are many many small dogs beloved by their owners- many wear coats- and still no droppings anywhere.
At nightfall we got on out train to Xian- 800 miles and 11 hours. each compartment was a 6 by 6 with 4 berthss- toilet at the end of the car. About 10 compartments to a car, so potentially 40 people for one toilet. We had just 2 to a room thenk goodness as I have no idea how we could fit 2 more. Eacg berth had a flat screen TV though only 2 channels and in chinese. Big picture window. This is a vert rowdy group and we all piled into 1 compartment to see how many we could fit in. We were laughing so loudly that a teenage girl came to tell us to be quiet. we then split a bottle of chinese firewater which didn't help the sound level. We settled down around 11. It was hard to sleep but certainly an experience. More soon. Staying in a village the next few days, no internet.

Beijing part 2

Every AM , indded at any time I can look out the hotal window from the 12th floor and watch the action in the little strip of park across the street. Last night as Chinese opera blared on a loudspeaker a group of women did a fan and ribbon dance in unison for over an hour in near darkness. this AM the ping pong games started at 6AM and continued- women replacing men around 8AM. Meanwhile the metal exercise machines are in constant use and motion.
This morning we struck out on our own. Taking the subway was quite easy. The cars were very modern and only a bit crowded at times. We were the only Caucasians the whole hour causing many to stare. As much of the ride was elevated we saw a bit more of the city. We have yet to see any slums or rundown sections.
Our destination was the Temple of Heaven. A huge park containing a temple to the good harvest 125 ft high- a tall circular building featured in many pictures of China. There were many smaller temples all used by the Emperor to pray for the crops. Sacrifices of animals were done in large green ceramic ovens. The park itself was about a mile square, filled with ancient cypress trees and paths. We saw many magpies- large black and white birds with dark blue heads and very loud cries. Tjhere thousands of people enjoying the cold but clear day. We watched fan dancers, couples dancing to all kiinds of music, ribbon dancers and people who just burst into song as they walked. These people are fascinating to watch. They sometimes will just start waving their arms as the walk or even begin to walk backwards. I greet them with "Ni Hao"- Hello and they are thrilled. Frequently they will ask us to pose with them for a picture. Apparently this is an honor for them.
Tomorrow after a visit to the Hutong- the old Beijing shanty town, we leave on an overnight train to Xi'an. This should be an experience. they are tiny berths, 4 to a section with bathroom (read that as hole in the floor) down the hall. We are hoping to have just the two of us in our section but that may not be possible.
I am glad we got to see Beijing. Yesterday we passed the Olympic venues- the bird's nest and ice cube. They looked more impressive on TV. Beijing was so proud to host the Olympics. It really is a world class city and we have enjoyed our visit.

China

Here we are in china in our quest to see all the world's wonders. Brit obligingly dropped us at the Providence train station- thanksBrit. Always good to start a trip with a train ride. We flew United from Boston to Dulles to Beijing- about 22 hours with the stops. We are again travelling with OAT along with 11 other passengers- 22 days - home by Easter. we received an email informing us that the border with Tibet has been closed. It is the 50th anniversary of the takeover by China and there has been some unrest. We are still hoping to get in as we are scheduled to go there on April 2. We will have an overnight train, several internal flights, overnight in a farmer's house and a panda sanctuary visit.
We finally got into Beijing about 3 hours late. Our plane had mechanical problems in DC and after a long delay we had to get off, switch terminals and reboard another plane. Luckily the plane was 3/4 full. We'd upgraded to economy plus so we had a little extra room and extra seats near us to stretch out. Passed the 14 hours reading, watching movies and snoozing. Worst airplane food I've ever had.
Beijing airport is just a year old due to the Olympics. It was clean, modern and efficient. Though it was just 4:30 when we arrived, it was nearly dark- pollution. Quite honestly I've never seen anything like it. The air appears greenish gray and not just in the sky. It is pervasive. Stephen, our local guide met us at the airport and told us to pray for wind.
We're staying at a Chinese businessman's hotel- the Inlodge. The room is also clean, efficient and modern. So is Beijing for that matter. Our window overlooks a park where we watch the locals do Tai Chi,play ping pong and sing, exercise and rollerblade. Beijing is not what I expected. It is really a nice city. Many new buildings,quiet traffic, friendly people.. If they can just clean their air.
Sunday March 21, 2008
Trying to adjust to a 12 hour time change, we slept well and this AM met the rest of our group.13 in all- age range 57 (me) to mid 70s. Mostly single, 8 woman, 5 male. Our tour leader is Kathy, real name Wong something in Chinese.
We spent the morning in Tian an Men square. It is much like Red Square in Moscow- government buildings, memorials,Chairman Mao's tomb- closed for renovation. didn't get to see him! Acroos the street is the Forbidden City. So named because it was the home of the Emperors from the 14th to the 20th century and the commoners were never allowed. It consists of acres of low slung red brick buildings with yellow tile roofs. It is laid out in a pattern of squares "rings". You enter each through an ornately painted building gate with 5 entrances- the middle only used by the Emperor himself. It was interesting but not as impressive as I thought it would be. Obviously spruced up for the Olympics, there are nointeriors to visit. In the concubine section you could look through windows at very dusty furniture and beds. There are no trees except fpr the Imperial Garden which was very eerie with its limestone figures and ancient cypresses and dragon trees.
We finished the day with a Peking duck dinner served at a huge round table with an equally huge lazy susan. It is a bit hard to serve yourself as someone seems to move the susan just as you are grabbing your food. Especially difficult since we are just getting to know eacg other. the group, though, is quite fun and boisterous at times which is great.
March 22 Beijing
We started our day with a visit to a cloissonne factory. Fascinating to watch these women add strips of copper to a copper vase, then add pigments and paints. then they are fired up to 6 times and sanded for hours. We had a chance top try our hand. Herbie, our guide deemed mine one of the best- a bird in a tree- and I won a pair of cloissonne chopsticks.
A further half hour drive took us to the Great Wall in the north in the mountains. The Badaling section is a gigantic tourist trap with hundreds of busses and many thousands of tourists jostling each other for their trip. To avoid this the OAT people took us further to another section which is not developed as yet. We were vitually the only ones there. Climbed over a thousand steps to the top. Everyone in our original group made it to the top, apparently a first. It was really strenuous but we were proud of ourselves and took lots of pictures. Goi ng back down was hard on the knees. theweather was beautiful. the wind had cleard the air and we couls see very clearly for miles. The wall just goes on forever- 4000 miles in fact. Most of it is undeveloped and unrestored.
We had lunch in the village with a local farmers wife. I am getting good eating with chopsticks. In fact I did not use my fork at all. Lunch consisted of rice, cabbage soup, beans, garlic sprouts, tofu, peanuts, sugar glazed potatoes. I am missing meat but the Chinese rarely eat meat.

Yucatan

We have taken 6 months off from of our seemingly endless traveling. Not sure if Egypt nearly did us in- I never finished posting the end of the trip- or , more likely, we celebrated the arrivals of our 2 beautiful granddaughters, Riley and Tessa. Anyway tomorrow we are off to Mexico, more precisely the Yucatan to explore the Mayan Ruins. We land in Cancun and set off immediately along the coast towards the west, ultimately to see the newly discovered city of Calakmul. Am looking forward to the warm weather as we in the Northeast seem to have had nothing but snow and cold and ice for a month.