We walked around the entire zoo and finally came to the pandas!

We also saw the bad part of the zoo:

Here are some other photos that are better:

Here's one that resembles the aforementioned Jason:

We also went to the aquarium and the dolphin show but that's when the batteries died in my camera. It was a short show. In any case, no one puts on a water mammal show like Sea World. This was the minor leagues compared to Sea World.

We're winding down our stay. These next days will be filled with eating foods that were not meant to be eaten by people (ay least in the west). I am still having major stomach problems so eating insects, arachnids, and God knows what else shouldn't make it any worse. More tomorrow...
]]> Sun, 20 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=130191 0 39.9288889 116.3883333 We woke up fairly early today. It's another scorcher today (about 97) and so the walking turns out to be a good workout, especially when you get as lost as frequently as we do!

We sat around for a while this morning as we are about traveled out. We left about 2:30 PM and actually got to our target (Hard Rock Cafe) in just under two hours (applause applause applause)! Here is proof we got there:

The food was hugely overpriced as we paid American equivalents for our meal and drinks. The only other Hard Rock I've been to is in Los Angeles (or somewhere in Orange County where my sister used to live). I knew it would be expensive but the shock was a little greater because we have been paying, on average, about $4.00 each meal. This one was over $40 bucks! It was good to go though and of course I bought the t-shirt but not the black one.

We then headed down the street about two Miles with the intent of watching the World Cup at a Sports Bar/Restaurant. However, the place was absolutely packed and there wasn't a seat available outside. As we looked around to see if another place had the first match on, lo and behold there is a Hooters right above us! So we went in and watched the first match. Just like only reading the articles in Playboy, we only watched the soccer match. Honest.

The past two days, we have walked well over 20 Miles. Exactly how much I don't know but I'm sure it is the most I've walked on consecutive days.

Tomorrow is the Beijing Zoo. I'm not a fan of zoos but they do have Pandas.

Until tomorrow....]]> Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=130180 0 39.9288889 116.3883333 Today (Friday), we went back to Tian'amen Square. So, we left the hostel and started walking thinking that making two lefts would be easy and therefor, allow us to walk due south and right to the square. That was our first mistake. We stopped at a store:

As we walked, and walked, and walked a bit further, we came across embassy row (this is where we figured out we had to have made three left turns instead of two because we were walking way to the east and north of the square!). We never did find the US Embassy. I'm kicking myself for not taking the Swedish Embassy's picture but we were pretty tired by then since we essentially ened up further away from Mao and Co. then when we were at the hostel. We decided to find the first train that we could since we had walked for more than two hours and on the way, we found these soldiers practicing marching:

On the way back to the hostel (we walked since we thought we had the left-turn problem taken care of; wrong), we passed a Catholic Church:

As I mentioned before we walked for a while. We left at about 11:30 AM, took the train to Tian'amen Square and got off at 1:50 PM, and then proceeded to walk until after 6:00 PM. Conservatively speaking, we walk between 3-4 miles an hour. So that means, for the roughly five hours we were walking, we had to have walked close to 15 miles. We never stopped walking! It was 99 today so I figure we lost any bloating problems as well.

Tomorrow, we go to the Hard Rock Cafe, Hooters, and maybe a nightclub. Should be an adventure in walking again as we refuse to admit defeat to the poorly written maps!]]> Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=129929 0 39.9288889 116.3883333 The overnight train is the way to go when traveling here. Leaving at night and arriving whether it be in the morning or early afternoon is a great way to avoid wasting days if you are here for a limited schedule/time. This is what I have learned regrading train-travel in China (hard sleeper only):

1. If you are nimble or even in fair shape, the top bunk is the way to go. It's the cheapest and you don't have to worry about anyone stepping on you. The middle bunk isn't bad (medium price) but if you have a person above you that gets up a lot, you will undoubtedly wake up every time they need to do whatever they do in the night. The bottom bunk is the most expensive and unless you are unable to climb a small ladder, I would stay away from it.
2. Bring a good book to read. If you are traveling with a friend/mate/spouse, bring a deck of cards or a small game like Yahtzee. Backgammon even works. These are great time killers. If you are not Chinese, everyone will stop and eye you over. Don't take it personally. Chinese are fascinated at western people, especially if you have blond or red hair (NATURAL, not bottle). The greater the difference between your appearance and their's, the longer and more detailed the look will be. Smiling (important when greeting others here), saying Ni Hao (nee how with the accent on nee), waiting, and if no comment then throwing in a 'hello' usually entices a reply at most and a look elswhere at the least. Bring a booklight as well since the lights turn off at 10:00PM sharp.
3. Find out as much info about your ticket as possible if someone from the hotel/hostel gets it for you. Find out the length of the trip, which bunk you are in, and what type of transportation you will be taking to get to your final destination after arriving in the city. It is sometimes easier to jump on the subway then it is to take a taxi or bus. The subway system is very easy in most metro places and there is usually at least one 'Chinglish' speaker at each station to help you get your ticket
4. This now leads us to the train station. This will be your most interesting experience of the trip. The staging areas are easily identifiable as the have the train letter/number posted on a large board in the front of the station. When you get to your 'area', look to see where the entrance to the platform or door you will go through to get to the platform is located. Get as close to the front of the line as possible BEFORE the train begins boarding. I recommend at least 60 minutes before departure time (boarding begins 30 minutes prior to departure). When boarding is announced, you will know this becuase everyone will stand up and try to get to the front of the line. They will walk through you, around you, and by you if you give an inch. I am not kidding here. There is no such thing as turn-taking here or maintaining an orderly line. You literally fight for every inch you make. The best piece of advice is to get as close to the person in front of you (not to your side as that changes too much) and walking as much in lock-step with them as possible. This is the time where all your valuables better be locked into your most secure bag or place. You will be pushed and bumped and possibly have your feet stepped on but that is how they do it here. If you want to get through the gate, you need to be prepared to do the same. You must have your train ticket in hand as there is a person that will punch a small hole out of it to allow you access to the platform. After you pass this ticket-checker, the line thins a bit but that's only because the area to the platform has enlarged again. Now, you should make your way to the train as fast as possible. Look up at the board and see how the carriages are organized. If you are in carriage 12 or higher, you will usually go the right. Anything lower and you will probably go to the left. But double-check anyway. The carriage numbers are in small numbers (English) on the side of the train but if you are walking fast you may miss them. Find your carriage and be prepared to show the lady your ticket once more in order to make sure you are getting into the right carriage. If you are on a top or middle bunk, make sure you stake your overhead space as soon as you get there. This is what you have been fighting for ever since you arrived at the station! Have your book, board game, water, snacks, TP, and toothbrush easily available from a bag. However, do not have them out yet. Leave them in the bag/suitcase you have and put them up top so you don't lose your precious space. If you are on the bottom bunk, stow what you can underneath your bunk and put the rest up top.
5. Bring your own toilet paper. MOST public places do not provide toilet paper. To go one step farther, carry TP with you in your bag or in your pocket wherever you go since when the need arises, you do not want to be environmental and paperless!
6. Bring a few snacks with you on the train and a quart of water (at least). The running water they have on the train is not drinkable so you must brush your teeth using bottled water. Meals are not necessary since they have a constant flow of vendors going up and down the aisles offering decent meals (rice, beef or chicken, and veggies for 10-20 Yuan ($1'25 - $2.50). You ight want to have your own spoon/fork if you haven't a clue about chopsticks). You can get these easily at Cabellas or any decent sporting goods store.
7. Bring earplugs!
8. If you are asthma sensitive, make sure you have your inhalers packed. Plan on using one each week here as the pollution and smokers here are beyond anything you can imagine (unless you have visited India or Gary, Indiana). If you are really sensitive, bring a mask. You will see many people wearing masks so don't think you'll stick out any more than you already do.

One final word: taking a soft-sleeper is an option but getting tickets are pretty difficult. Ask the person at the desk to inquire when the earliest date you can have a soft-sleeper for your destination. They do not have one 'central' booking center to get reservations. You usually must get the tickets at the city in which you are visiting. For example, if you are traveling from Beijing to Xi'an and then three days later will travel from 'Xi'an to Chongqing, you can only purchase the Beijing to Xi'an ticket. You will have to wait until you get to Xi'an to buy your Xi'an to Chongqing ticket. Go to theses website to find excellent info on train travel in China:
http://www.seat61.com/china
This website is great! It explains all of the different types of trains as well other useful info.
http://www.chinatravelguide.com/ctgwiki/Special:CNTrainSearch?method=1
This site supplies exact train info as well as current cost and length of travel from city-to-city. Note: you MUST include the 'Special:CNTrainSearch?method=1' into the url at the end. I'm not sure why the website here has not highlighted that part as well.

With the soft-sleeper, the advantages are the following:
1. Only four per sleeping unit (basically bunkbeds)
2. You have a door that you can close. This may be an advantage if your asthma is really bad or you have a very sensitive nose.
3. The bed is a bit softer with about a three-inch pad vs the one-inch pad on the hard-sleeper.

The cost difference between hard-sleeper and soft-sleeper is fairly significant so if you are on a more constricted or tight budget, hard-sleeper is the way to go.

The weather here in Beijing is T-storms right now. Hoepfully it will clear overnight. We're going to see Mao tomorrow in his mausoleum as well as a repeat of Tian'amen Square and maybe another site or two. The weather calls for more rain so we'll see if we get to where we want to go. Next week we will hit the Beijing Zoo. I'll be looking up a few other places to go before we leave China on Thursday.

Until then....]]> Thu, 17 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=129554 0 39.9288889 116.3883333

The moat in the picture below surrounds the entire wall and stands as a barrier to invading soldiers:

Eric and I decided to go back in the evening so we could bike the entire wall. The top of the wall where we began our bike ride looks like this:

Here is the bike I used:

That's Eric in the background:

This picture:

And the wall just keeps on going and going....

Here is an area that actually connects the wall with the other side of the moat:

Here's a shot from one of the sentry points:

This is a shot of the train station that we arrived through and will leave through this afternoon on our way to Beijing:

There are many people that beg for donations by either coming right up to you or, more passively, singing or playing an instrument. We caught this woman singing below near the train station:

These next two pictures show what traffic is like here in Xi'an:

If you look carefully, there is nothing but chaos. It's a battle to cross the street and frequently cars and taxis are passing by you with inches to spare. We have gotten pretty good at stepping in front of busses and cars and hoping they slow down enough to allow us to cross. I've found that more often than not, if the driver makes eye contact with you, you're 'safe'. But if he doesn't, then it's much wiser to wait to step in front of the next vehicle behind him. It's quite maddening to be honest with you but it is also a little fun playing the ultimate game of chicken.

Here is a picture of the small road leading into the area of our hostel as well as a picture from the outside of the hostel itself:

This is a very large hostel with three floors, a restaurant, and a bar. They also have several washing machines that cost 10 Yuan per load which includes soap (about $1.50). They have drying racks but they were all full so I had to hang my clothes on the railings overnight. Traveling by hostel is the most affordable (ok, cheapest) way to travel and the people are usually very friendly and honest. As long as you don't leave things laying around (money and electronics) you're things are safe. That includes my shorts, pants, and undies hanging on the rail all night. Everything was nice and dry this morning!

Yesterday, our four-bed (two bunks) room was filled by a couple from Belgium. She is a research psychologist who was here for a conference in Beijing and then had her boyfriend meet her after it's completion. They had a poor experience on the train from Beijing and so were a little tired last night. They each can't be more than 25 or so. What this Kyle lacks in age he more than compensates with his snoring. I started with ear plugs but that was no match for his accoustical tremors (he literally rattled the bunks and he wasn't even in mine!). So, I had to put my MP3 in to try and counter his noise. My volume maxes out at 20 which is very loud and probably ear-damaging if done so frequently. I finally settled on a setting of 16. I am very tired today but since our trip to Beijing is a little over 12 hours and all at night (we leave here at 6:42 PM), I imagine I will sleep like a rock and arrive in Beijing ready to go. Weather is iffy for Thursday and Friday with rain predicted and highs in the 70's. After this heat, however, I welcome the change.

I'll write more Friday (Thursday to you guys). We will be staying at the same hostel I stayed at when first arriving in China. They were great there and instead of rolling the dice with another hostel, we are going to stay there instead.

Hope all is well. More later....]]> Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=129402 0 34.2622222 108.9377778 So we are driving in this rickshaw when it dawns on us that this guy is playing Chicken with every car, bus, and motorized vehicle on the road. He goes the wrong way on the highway, pulls u-turns right in front of busses, and drives straight for cars expecting (knowing?) that they will honk but eventually move. If we had them, it would have been smart to change into a pair of Huggies before getting on this motorized suicide machine. He has to stop three times to ask other rickshaw drivers where our hostel is, one time pulling directly into the path of a police car. The police car honks and then drives by close enough to my side that I do not think I could have fit my thumb between his side door and the tire on our rickshaw. We get to the hostel in one piece but have found that our exhaustion has been replaced by an overdose of adrenaline. We are up for the next three hours and go to bed at 3:00 AM.]]> Sun, 13 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=129288 0 34.2622222 108.9377778

Here is a pit that contains the remains of a woman (top) as well as some clay pots. The pots are believed to have been buried at the same so she could use them in her next life:

Here is another burial site with the same idea with the pots:

This is what the inside of the building looks like as they have preserved the site:

It was pretty hot yesterday. Our tour guide said that, "It's only 35 C today." Yeah, well 95 F is pretty dang hot for a couple of guys from Alaska. It's even hotter today. I suppose that it's only 38 C today (100.4 F) so I probably shouldn't complain!

After we visited the old settlement, we were taken to a site that shows what the inside of the Emperor Qin's tomb looks like. It's a reproduction as they have not officially opened that to the public. It's pretty tacky looking so I didn't take any pictures.

To read about the terra cottas themselves, this is a good website to visit:
http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_museum/2003-09/24/content_30784.htm

After we visited the tacky 'museum', we went to lunch. We were trying to figure out if we were going to ACTUALLY SEE the terra cottas or not. Our guide spoke English well but it was still not certain (at least that was the consensus inside the van) whether we were actually going to see them or not. So after lunch, the seven of us piled back into the van and headed through traffic to the drop-off point. The drop-off point is probably a half mile or so from the actual statues. It is common here for the tours to start well in advance of the actual place you are visiting. They do this so that you have to walk through a labrynth of shops and vendors. Neat marketing ploy but it does get bothersome.

In any case, we have to take an electric cart that holds about nine people to the actual museum. Here is a picture of what the line looked like:

Just like with traffic and the train station, there are no 'lanes' to follow. You just pack yourself into the crowd and fight for position as you move forward. I was a little testy yesterday as the heat was frying my patience. Plus, all those darn umbrellas kept hitting me in the face. When it was time for our group to get on the cart, people were pushing me from behind so they could get on the cart themselves. I'd had enough by then and so I blocked the left side of the line as these two guys are saying 'GO! GO!' I replied in my best Chinese, 'NO!' It was crazy just to get on the cart.

We finally make it to the site where the statues are being excavated.

These next pictures show chariots that were excavated and then displayed on the main floor of the museum.

These next shots show what the warriors looked like back then.They had archers:

Here is a kneeling archer:

These next pictures turned out dark. I tried to fix them with a program I have on the computer but they didn't turn out real well:

This next one:

Here's a bunch more:

This next picture shows a lady spraying water on the statues:

Here's more:

This last picture is with a Japanese student and new friend that was with our tour:

This museum was very cool. Seeing how distinct each face and body of every statue is quite amazing. All of this was done 2200 years ago and so that makes it even more impressive. This was an awesome experience!

Tonight we ride around on a bike on the top of the wall that surrounds this city. Xi'an (zhe ann) is one of the first capitals in China. They built a wall around the city as well as a moat in order to keep enemies out. The wall is about 14 kilometers long (though shaped in a square) or about 9 miles. We'll do this in the evening when it cools down to ONLY 30 C or so. I hope we get some good pictures.

]]> Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=129286 0 34.2622222 108.9377778 No pictures from yesterday. I went out to just observe. We leave this afternoon for Xian and so this is likely to be the last post until Monday your time. The train ride is 27 hours and so we don't get in until Sunday evening at about 8:00 PM if all goes well. On Monday we head to the terra cotta statues. I'm sure I will have a lot of pictures from their and from within Xian.

I saw a car wreck happen last night. Actually, I didn't really see it happen straight away but I caught it happening out of the corner of my eye as well as with my ears. A cab driver wasn't watching when he was making a right turn from the middle lane and so he got struck by another taxi. They weren't happy with each other. There were a lot of gestures and probably bad words but I can't be sure. The one taxi driver couldn't get out his door and so he is climbing over the middle console and yelling at top volume while trying to get out the passenger-side door. His passenger gets out of the taxi, walks over to the other taxi (while he is yelling as well) and then spits on the windshield. I stood there and just watched but needed to get out of the street because cars were honking at me to move. So I moved.

I have met three people here at the hostel in the past two days. Here they are:

This is Tom from Wales:

It amazes me almost daily the variety of people that I meet in hostels. It's a different blend of people but most are free-spirited and have a zest for life and exploring that we don't normally see in the US. There are no worries and no time-tables for most of them to meet. We have sat downstairs here in the hostel for many hours the past few days just talking. No poitical talk but just life and travel experiences. Talk about no stress! This entire trip so far, with staying in hostels, has been like a big dose of Xanax but with only positive side effects. Being married and having children would preclude you from this lifestyle unless all your kids were out of the house. At the same time, though, I have seen families (one from Germany and another from Canada) with kids traveling here and enjoying the hostel experience. If you want to travel for a good price and don't mind sharing a bathroom and paying 1/10 the price of a hotel room, hostelling is the way to go. My room here costs my 30 Yuan a night. That's $4.41 each night. the beds are comfortable, the public areas are all very clean, and each serves authentic and western food. What more do you need?

Well, it's off to the train station for our 27 hour ride. We are going to head to the department and grocery store before going to the train. Might pick up a dice game of some sort or a regular deck of cards to help pass the time. We also need to have munchies and water. Each carriage has a hot water (drinkable of course) station and so with tea and noodles packed, we should be set for the journey to Xian.

I'll be in touch as soon as I can. If any of you can download Skype onto your computer (you need a camera and microphone), I would love to talk to you! My username is akstoltzy. Look me up and give me a ring!

Until Monday....]]> Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=128851 0 25.2819444 110.2863889 OK, now to some travel news and the real reason we are here. It's been a rainy few days here in Guilin. Let me back up a bit. We found our hostel in Wuhan after a little trouble. First off, the bus driver dropped us off in downtown Wuhan. He said something in Chinese and after trying to tell him we didn't understand, he obviously felt that if he said the same thing but 100 decibels LOUDER that we would understand him. So, we shook our heads yes and said thank you. We found a young lady who said we needed to find a cab. I think that's what she said because she immediately started trying to flag down a taxi. It is raining buckets and she is standing under her umbrella and is unsuccessful for about 15 minutes. We 'She uh She uh her (thank you) and decide to flag a cab ourselves. We felt bad that she was trying to help us but was standing in the rain (though she did have the umbrella) and probably had better things to do than flag a taxi for a couple of Americans. So, after another 15 or so minutes in the monsoon, we are finally able to flag a cab. The card we had for the hostel had instructions for the driver written in Chinese. It helped but not exactly. He drops us off on the other side of the street and starts pointing and saying something. We obviously have a dumb look on our face because for the second time in less than an hour he begins hollering in Chinese what he just said at conversation levels. The rain had lightened a little but it was still raining pretty good. We see the sign for the hostel but can't figure out how to get into the building where the sign is. We walk back and forth and then out of the blue, an elderly Chinese man looks at us, says something at deafening tones, and points to a different building. We obviously looked like we were staying at a hostel. As it turned out, he was the only person we never talked to first who actually could tell us where to go. Very ironic. Most of the hostels are tucked into little alleys and way back off the main road where only scooters and bikes can get through. The same was true of this one. After a zig here and a zag there, we found it
When we zigged the first time, we were left with this site:

This is the scene at the train station in Wuhan:

All of the people are not going onto our train. Six stayed back (at least it seemed that way). The line forms to walk to the platform and people will run you over if you don't move forward. Leave an inch between you and the person in front of you and there will be three people fighting for the space. It's like one gigantic mosh pit. Anyway, Eric and I each are in the same carriage and in the middle bunk on either side of each other. Eric is probably 6'3 and a pretty big guy. The middle bunk is probably the worst one he could have. Neither of us slept well. It was a long 14 hour ride between the old guy below me vibrating my bunk with his snoring and the eight plus hours of the guy above me and the guy above Eric talking. Honestly, those two talked non-stop for more than EIGHT agonizing hours. It was like an all day Kung Fu movie with only audio listening to these two. If they had been Americans, I would have sworn they were on crack. Instead, over here, they must have been on tea. A LOT of tea. It was unbelievable.

When we arrived in Guilin at 5:40 AM, I looked at the map on the hostel's card and can see we are very close. We decide to walk and we are glad we did. The hostel, Flowers (peace, maaaaaan), is tucked back, around and then up a few flight of stairs. Here is the sequence of how to get there from the main street in front of the station. Each picture represents either a turn, bend, or flight of stairs:

Now follow the arrow:

Go through the ivy-vine thingy (don't know how to spell trellace or trelice or, well, you get the picture:

Go down the long entryway:

You've made it!

Now to the room:
Go up the stairs and follow the signs:

So here we are. We are heading to Xian on Saturday (a lovely 27 hour train ride through central China; it will be a ride anyway with middle bunks again) to see the terra cottas and then go on a tour of the wall that was built around the city for protection some eons ago. I'll get more accurate info when we get there.

Both Eric and I ate something that did not agree with us and so all day today and last night we have been alternating using the bathroom. We don't have one in our room. It's shared with the whole floor. Eric is upstairs now with a little worse case than I have. I'm eating a monster plate of rice and hope that will help.

Don't know what's happening tomorrow. Hopefully our bellies will let us stray more than 10 yards from a working bathroom.

Until then...
]]> Thu, 10 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=128696 0 25.2819444 110.2863889 The largest yellow star represents the Communist party and the smaller yellow stars represent the four social classes: peaseants, workers, bourgeoisie, and capitalists.

School is now out for summer. Have fun.]]> Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=128492 0 25.2819444 110.2863889 The following picture is of a new community that the government needed to provide for those affected by the construction of the dam:

During the construction of the dam, more than one million people were displaced from their homes. The reason: they are all under water now. The construction of the dam caused the Yangtze to rise more than 70 meters from it's previous height. For all the metrically-impaired out there including my life-time membership, that's about 230 feet. We passed several of these communities as we continued down stream.

This next picture shows us entering the narrower portion of the gorge:

We had to transfer to a smaller boat due to the depth of this river decreasing the further we went up river. This is not part of the Three Gorges Dam itself. This is a tributary of the Yangtze River but whose water level also rose.

As you can see, the fog is not conducive to photography.

This next picture shows a little bit more visually the river's depth change:

This body of land is now an island. Previous to the dam being built, it was part of the mainland (a peninsula actually). Now, you can only access this by boat.

The next two pictures just prove that Eric and I were here:

Here are a few pictures from the front of the ship:

Again, detail is difficult because of the type of camera I have and the fog. The peaks of these mountains range from 1000-2000 feet in height.

The tributary/river we are entering actually has a name but I can't say or spell it so you'll just have to take my word for it.

We passed this lady who is either coming or going:

Here is Grand View Peak (the little point in the top left of the picture):

This is the highest peak in the gorge at a little over 1000 meters (3900 ft):

If you look at the picture, you can see high-water marks on the walls of the gorge. This happens every summer. In the winter, the water is allowed to rise to the top water-mark. In the Spring/Summer, the water is lowered to allow flood waters a place to go rather than all over the land. The water-level depth that you can see from level to high-water mark is about 50 meters (more than 150 ft).

This cave is pretty cool (though the photography is not):

It's 100 meters high and about 30 meters wide. It's called Swallow Cave because that's where swallows nest. It is considered bad luck in this area of China to disturb the nests for eggs and so any swallows that nest here are safe from being the main ingredient in soup.

The next few pictures show traditional Chinese culture in these shallow areas of the river(s). We transferred from our smaller boat to these traditional wooden boats that have been used for over 2000 years:

Only 17 or so people can get on one of these boats:

Here is our guide who speaks Chinese first and then gives us two Americans the short version:

They are rowed/paddled by up to six men and a captain. We were rowed about ¾ of a mile up the river. The depth of the river continuously became more shallow.

When we arrived at a point where it was too shallow to paddle, the men hopped out of the boat, grabbed lengths of 'rope' made from bamboo, and pulled us up the river:

That is how it has been done for thousands of years in this area of China!

In this next picture, the man is 75 years old and has been doing this his whole life:

This guy is the only chubby guy among the men.

Don't know why I took this picture:

It's China's flag and hopefully I'll learn soon what the four smaller stars around the big star represent.

As we headed back to our ship, we passed the city of Badong (bow dong):

That's what they told us. There must be another Golden Gate Bridge because I do not see much of a resemblance.

We made it back to the ship and immediately set sail for the Three Gorges Dam. This picture is of our main guide Stephen:

The show in the bar/ballroom that night consisted of more traditional Chinese dancing as well as crowd participation. The little girl in this picture:

Eric decided to go up on stage and show his coordination and MJ moves. Yes, MJ is dead and Eric proved that rather well! The staff had 6-foot long bamboo poles that they would rhythmically slap together or slap on the ground. Eric never quite got it and almost broke his ankles when he should have been in the air (when the poles slapped together) instead of on the ground. Here is a sequence of pictures:
Getting Directions:

Trying with a helper:

On his own:

I was called up to play musical chairs with three other guests. The idea was to 'dance' (I also proved the MJ is dead) around a group of chairs until Stephan stopped the music and announced something that we had to get from the audience. I did well the first round, ripping a shoe off an elderly gentleman. However, the second round required a sock. I went back to the traumatized man whose shoe I had just stolen only to find out he wasn't wearing socks. I then jumped over he and his wife and started ripping off the sock of a Japanese man. I almost took his lower leg with me but when I turned around and saw that the other two had already found their magic sock, I left his leg alone. I apologized to the man as a tourniquet was applied to slow the bleeding. I won a map of the Three Gorges Dam so all in all it was quite fun! I may need a little forgiveness, too.

We hit the Three Gorges Dam at about midnight. The pictures all turned out black due to the rain, fog, and lack of a manly flash on my camera. What I can tell you is that it is ENORMOUS. The Grand Coulee Dam in the US is pretty big, putting out about 800 K-Watts of power through it's four or five turbines. This dam? 22 turbines and 18,000 K-watts of power. I have no idea what I just typed because I don't know anything about electricity. What I do know is that the Grand Coulee Dam is big. This dam is like comparing an elephant and a gerbil. Here is proof that I was there:

Here are pictures from Monday morning right before the cruise ended:

I only wish that the pictures would have been more clear. I learned that if we took the cruise from Yi Chang to Chongqing (the opposite run), we would have gone through the five locks during the daytime. Oh well, maybe next time. This was the highlight so far of the trip and yet I can't show you visually how cool it was. In any case, I highly recommend the cruise if ever coming here. It is worth the money!

After the cruise, we boarded a bus for a 5-hour ride to a hostel in Wuhan (woo h on). We stayed overnight and then caught a train to Guilin. Guess what the metal buckets are for on the floor:

]]> Mon, 07 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=128444 0 30.7144444 111.2847222

And please everyone, do not play your trumpet here in the park:

They also have statues all around that are related to Christianity and the ten commandments. Thou shalt not kill, covet thy neighbors wife, and so on. Here is one that relates to what happens if you do not listen to your parents:

People are encouraged to 'spank' the statue.

My batteries in the camera were dying so I could not take pictures of all the statues.

This picture show a hotel they are building that is roughly one mile away:

It's not real clear because I had to max out the zoom but you can see that there will be a Buddha's face on the front of it. Reminds me a bit of Mt. Rushmore and the ongoing construction in South Dakota of the Crazy Horse monument being carved out of the side of a hill.

We spent about three hours on this excursion. I had many more pictures but I couldn't remember what they were pictures of. I suppose I could have just put them up but without an explanation of each, it would have been like going on an art gallery excursion without an interpreter. OH WAIT! That's exactly what we were doing!

Tonight, we went to the bar/ballroom for a little show and some games. The staff did some dancing:

Since Eric and I were the only two westerners on board, we were picked out of the crowd to participate in all of the fun and games. No matter how hard we try, we stick out a little bit like albino pandas without round eyes. In any case, Eric tried to shake his booty with a box tied to his hind end. Inside the box were ping pong balls. There was a little hole on the bottom of the box for the ping pong balls to fall through into a basket. It was hilarious! Eric did poorly, ending up 3rd and winning a map of the Yangtze River. Here are a few shots:

I went up to play a version of a game on The Price Is Right. There were cards spread in rows on a board. I had to pick 4 cards and if I picked an ace of any suit, I would win a t-shirt. Well, the t-shirt is in my bag. I also won three beers to go with it and so I made three new friends in the crowd!

The night ended at about 11:30. We have to be up early tomorrow because we are approaching the gorges and we're going to go on another excursion where we will have to transfer two times to smaller and smaller boats. Tomorrow night we see the Three Gorges Dam. Hopefully it is lit up since it will be dark.]]> Sat, 05 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=128367 0 30.7144444 111.2847222 We left our hostel in Chongqing on Friday afternoon at about 5:30 PM. The manager, Li (lee) made all of our travel arrangements from Chongqing back to Beijing. Here is Li:

I almost forgot to mention that I have been looking for postcards everywhere we walk (believe me, that's a lot of looking with all the walking we have been doing). I have not been able to find ONE store that sells any. I don't get it. That would be a cash-cow for these guys. I'm still looking and so for those I promised a postcard to, please be patient.

Until Next Time....]]> Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=127725 0 29.5627778 106.5527778

Here is what happens when you outlive your cage-life:

Does anybody need a leg? How about a neck? Got those? Ok then, have a few feet then:

Now this last one is even a bit much for me. I wonder if you serve this with mustard or steak sauce?

We settled on yogurt, bananas, and noodles. Vegan sounded better last night.]]> Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=127722 0 29.5627778 106.5527778 Chicken and ask for 2 cokes. The girl behind the counter says, 'No! No! No Chicken today.' I wonder if it's all a bad dream. I point again and she says the same thing. So we left.

We walked a little while longer and found a restaurant. It was down a whole bunch of stairs. Since the escalator wasn't working, we had our doubts. When we get to the basement, six or seven people stand up, start laughing at us, and guide us into the restaurant. There was not a single person eating in this fairly large restaurant. It reminded us of the ballroom in The Shining. Great food that filled me up silly. Total cost, $4.50.

Eric and I will not be going to Tibet or Mongolia. There is too much to see in both places and so those two should be combined together for one nice vacation. We leave Friday for a 4D/3N cruise on the Yangzte to see some sites as well as the largest dam in the world, the environmentally wrecking Three Gorges Dam. From there, we will bus and train it to Guilin for a few days. Then we will train it up to Xian for another few days to see the terra cotta statues and other historical things associated with the city. From there we will head to Beijing for the rest of the vacation.

Will be in touch....]]> Wed, 02 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=127540 0 29.5627778 106.5527778 Anyway, the carvings are incredible! The second best tour to date so far! Until we have 3-D cameras, it will always be difficult to capture in a picture what you are truly seeing. These carvings go back over 800 years! I like to take pictures of description stones to help remind me of what it is I am seeing since I suffer from permanent CRS (can't remember s*it). So, here is the first description stone that tells about the entire area:

The carvings were made under the supervision of a monk by the name of Zhao Zhifeng. He probably looked better in person:

These carvings have a mixture of Buddhism, Confucianism, and some theories of Taoism (Greg and Teresa: You'll Love These!).

Here is the first one as you walk into the site:

I don't have descriptions for all of them but I will post them below as they come up on my queue. As a history freak, looking at these articulate and precise carvings made more than 400 years before America was discovered by foreigners is particulary interesting. The preservation is also amazing. There are a few missing faces, toes, or other parts, but most are in excellent condition. These are carved right out of the sides of hills! They obviously had an idea about preservation because each is either inside a cave or has an outcrop above that extends past the carvings themselves in order to prevent rain and drainage from higher elevations from creating erosion and damage. You really have to see this to believe it. Pay attention to the dimensions of the statues (on the description stones). This will also help to give you an idea of their enormity.

In Alaska Eskimo/Indian Culture, the 'Circle of Life' is a dominant theme. For those who haven't come across this cultural value, it basically states that everything on earth is intertwined not only from people-people, but also between the earth, animals, and spiritual entities/beliefs. This has been a consistent theme in almost all cultures from way back when to the present. It is obviously true in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism as well. Here are the photos of this important but seemingly presently overlooked way of life:

Their are six basic principles of this theory starting with being reincarnated/born in the top wedge (if a clock, think 11:00 - 1:00) to leaving earthly life in the last wedge (9:00-11:00).

The next photos talk/show three people practicing Buddhism:

This is a neat one:

Here are a few more:

Can't remember the story on this one but their are nine dragons which represent power and good fortune:

Here is one to show filial piety:

And the last of them:

Here's one of me Eric took. Yes, the spot on the bridge is me:

So, we finish the tour and then head back to the right to get to Chongqing (shung sheeng). I think I have mentioned the driving here in a previous blog. Let's just say that if any of us drove as they do here, we would have enough points in a day against our driver's license to have it suspended for years. On our return, we hit rush hour. That's a misnomer because the entire day is nothing but a rush-minute. So, we get about half way up a clover-leaf exit ramp so we can join the main expressway. About half way up is when you can see what the traffic is like on the merging expressway. In this case, our driver decided we were not going to join that expressway. So, he decides to stop and proceed in reverse back down the UP ramp so as to take the previous exit. Many others decided to do the same thing as you can see by these pictures I took:

More people getting the same idea:

We were fortunate to meet a young lady and her mom who both live in a Detroit suburb. They are both Chinese. The daughter was born here but moved with her family when she was six (she is 22 now). They helped to explain any important stuff the guides were saying. However, they didn't start helping us until after Eric and I walked through a door (I now call it the No-No Door). Apparently, the guide just finished saying that we should all go through a particular door on the right. Instead, because we were hanging back looking at the architecture because we had no clue what they were saying (we declined the heavy cost of having an English interpreter), we decided to go through the door on the left. That would be the No-No Door. Everyone started laughing, pointing at us, and saying something. Because we entered through that door, in two years Eric and I will begin studying in China to become monks. I can't wait. That's the pitfalls of going without an interpreter.

Towards the end of the tour, we ended up inside a room where there was a wise monk speaking in Chinese. Again Eric and I were in the back by ourselves sitting on bench seats. As he was obviously expousing the Buddhist religion and then half-bowing, both Eric and I half-bowed as well out of respect. In the next few minutes, the monk had a group of people (6 or so) stand and dismissed them through the same door we came through on entering. Next, he had a group of 2-3 stand. He said something important I guess because after he gave them something, he dismissed them through a side door. The first group received nothing from this monk. He did this with one other group and they too went through the door on the left. At this point, Eric and look at each other and wonder where he is going to send us. Will we be stoned to death? Will we be taken directly to monastery school? Maybe he'll just ignore us and he will leave and Eric and I will make a beeline back to the van. So here we are, the last two people with the monk and we have no idea what the heck he's saying. He motions for us to stand and come up to his alter (oh shit.....), begins saying something more (double shit......) and then hands us a medallion in a red case and then points to the entrance we came through and dismissed us. When we walked back out, we were guided outside and to the van. We made it without crushed skulls, burned body limbs, and all of the parts we walked in with were still with us! YES!!!! Oh wait, shhhhh. I keep forgetting to keep my comments to myself for fear of arrest.

As it turns out, the first group that was dismissed were non-believers of Buddhism, Confucianism, and/or Taoism. No 'good left door' for them to exit through. The other groups were believers and were allowed to exit through the 'good left door'. Eric and I have a chance one day to walk through the left door but we must commit to becomming believers. I showed the medalions to the desk staff here as well as 'The Believers' on the bus and they were surprised we received anything. Here is a picture of the front of the medallion:

Here is the back:

I now expect that you would like a translation? Ohhhhh, you make me laugh! I have no idea what it says. I did ask the girl working downstairs but she couldn't find the English words to interpret. She used a few though, Good Fortune, Peace, and Prosperity. The medallion itself is maybe 2" high and 1" wide. It was hard to get a good picture so I hope you can make out a little of it. The shiny-ness of it makes it hard to photograph as well.

Eric and I are going to try and go to see the pandas tomorrow. Apparently, the prima donna bears feel it is too chilly out for them to come out of their dwelling. Maybe it will be warmer tomorrow.

Eric and I are also seriously considering a quick (3-4 days) trip to Tibet, return to Chongqing and take a river cruise for another 3-4 days, take the train to Guilin then on to Xian to see the terra cotta statues and all the history there and then on to Beijing so Eric can get to see the Great Staircase (Wall), Tian'amen Square, and whatever else floats his boat. I'll know more later tonight which will be when you are waking up.

I hope you enjoyed this blog. This was a great tour/trip. Also, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sign your first and last name to the blog. I think it's getting hacked because there are some comments from I don't know who. I've blocked two that have tried to leave comments but their are 3 others I don't know about for sure. I have figured out Doug's (thanks for the nice comments!) but their are others I am not sure about. I don't have anyone I know that would sign their name as 'Sis'. Yes, I have two sisters but we never spent the end of the night turning lights off as we said good-night to everyone. No, we were definitely not the Waltons. The other two I don't know about so please leave a name that I can identify easily. Thanks!]]> Tue, 01 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=127463 0 29.5627778 106.5527778

It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen! All these little girls singing something but performing on stage was hilarious. What was even better was that their performance was simultaneously shown on this huge screen over the square.

It was easily the highlight of the day!

We then returned to the hostel for a four hour nap in the afternoon. I was able to get the correct stomach medicine while we were out and so I was feeling better when I awoke. In fact, I think I am going to send this medicine to BP because I am thoroughly convinced that a few hundred of these capsules will stop the oil leak in the gulf (that's how good and fast this worked).

Eric and I decided to skip the hot pot and I instead ate something generic at the hostel. We then wanted to see how the Chinese party and so we went to '88', a nightclub fairly close to the hostel. They know how to have a good time! There was a male singer that would stand up on stages located throughout the club. I have no idea what he was singing but he had a great voice. We left shortly after arriving because of the smoke and how loud it was. It was nice to go to a club though and see how the younger folks have fun. Jack Daniels is huge here. They were drinking a concoction of tea mixed with JD while playing a dice game. I never figured out the dice game but I did figure out that the ones losing were getting hammered. Every time they lost, they drank a 4-6 oz glass of this stuff. My stomach turned watching them drink this like water. There are a few Chinese that must not be feeling well today! I didn't think of bringing my camera and I am now very disappointed that I didn't. We will hit another club in the next few days and I will be sure to capture some 'Chinese Fun' and post it here.

More tomorrow...

]]> Sun, 30 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=127395 0 22.5333333 114.1333333 Before I checked out of my hotel today, I was awakened by a whole bunch of people yelling something in unison. It's just after 7 AM and I'm still trying to sleep. I get up to see what the ruckus is all about and I see the following below me:

It took almost an hour to get there. So, when we pull up, there are three exits, International, A, and B. I say to him 'A'. Should have said 'B'. Not a big deal because the walk wasn't so long to the B terminal. I go to the check-in counter and hand over my passport with a smile and say, 'Ni Hao' (nee how) which means hello. Once he punches some keys on the computer I see my bag tag coming out and know I am home free and that I have been successful with this part of the trip. So I say to myself but apparently out loud, 'YES'! The guy looks at me and I say again,' YES! I made it this far!' He looks at me funny. He gets up from behind his desk and walks away. I'm thinking maybe he's going to get a tray for my backpack that every airport uses that I have gone to. The straps on my bag are numerous and so they always put the pack in a tray so the straps don't get tangled or stuck in the luggage escalator thingy. So I wait a few minutes and I see him return with a policeman. I'm thinking really scary things now (waterboarding, jumper cables to all parts of my body, dirt floor jail cell, rice and water, CNN, etc). The policeman asks me in very good English, “Is there a problem here. This gentleman says you are saying things that has him concerned'. I'm thinking this is the same guy that can't understand me and now he is concerned? So I tell the policeman about my journey for the day and the problems I had communicating the past few days and say that I am just relieved that things turned out ok today. He starts laughing while Mr. Ticket Counter Man keeps looking from me to the policeman wondering why we are the only two people laughing in the whole terminal. Policeman says something to Mr Ticket Counter Man and now everyone is laughing!

Here's my taxi:

Just like the train station, they have one 'Monster' board with all the flight information like departure and gate numbers. Here is Shenzhen's board:

The plane ride was nice and I arrived 2 hours later in Chongqing. Now the next adventure begins. I get outside and jump into a taxi. To my absolute surprise (not), the guy doesn't understand a lick of English. So, I show him the directions to the hostel and he obviously has no idea where to go. He knows the district it is in (kind of like in Chicago where you have Lincoln Park, Wrigley-ville, Gold Coast etc) but anything specific is out of the question. So in about 40 minutes, we arrive in the district. I ask to use his mobile phone because I have the number and I know they speak english at the hostel. So after another, 'Ni Hao', I ask the lady if she can explain to the driver how to get to the hostel. I think she does this based on the guy and his repeated head nods. Nope. We end up in an alleyway and he starts asking the locals where the place is. Finally, he calls the hostel back and they say to leave me there and they will be over in a minute to pick me up. So I'm standing there for 20 minutes and the locals come up and look at my map and one person gestures to go one way, another grabs his arm and throws it down and I think is saying, 'No No No, you go this way' and while I watch these people arguing with each other on where I should go, I start laughing. You know the kind, the one where you're in church or at a funeral and all of a sudden you can't stop type of laughing. They all get quiet and look at me and I'm trying to pull out my translation book so I can tell them that I am not laughing at them but with them. Thank God the girl from the hostel arrives just then. Even though I was blending in well (yeah, right) she was able to figure out right away that it was me she was looking for. Smart girl. We walk about two blocks in and out of alleys and voila, we are at Tina's Hostel.

People wonder why I stay at hostels when traveling overseas. The answer is easy: there is always someone working that speaks English. Plus, there is no better place to meet people.

The girl takes me to my room and I see that it is a 4-bed room; two bunk beds. Very cheap, 30 Yuan each night or about $4.75. Can't beat that with a stick! It's a nice enough place and I am glad to be here. Here is my bunk (lower):

I haven't figured out yet what I will write on the wall before I leave but I will share if I remember.

Eric and I decide to go for a walk a few minutes after I am checked-in. We look at buildings to find landmarks so we can get back later. The problem is it was still light out. When we attempt to return, it is dark and that's where some difficulties arise. More on that later.

We walk up the street to find an area where people are dancing.

We then proceed to walk to the city center. Here is the Rolex clock tower that signifies the center of the center of the city (no, I did not stutter):

We also saw meals in the near future in cages:

Yes. those are rabbits. We also saw larger rabbits and hens in cages as well. In fact, if you got the grocery store, you can get your fish 'live'. That's right. They fish the one out of the tank you want and put it into your shopping cart. So, as you go down the aisle, you have a fish flopping in your cart. I'm not joking.

There are more shops here in this area than I have ever seen. With all the lights, it's almost like day-time. After walking for a while and getting pretty warm from the humidity, we stopped into a restaurant where, surprise surprise, no one spoke english. Except for one man. A customer. So he helps us order. I tell him to surprise us but to order enough where both Eric and I would be full because we are terribly hungry. The restaurant we are at is called a hot-pot restaurant. They bring out this huge metal octagonal pot and put it in the middle of the table. In the table there is a hole where there is a butane lighter thing in it. The pot is full of hot (spicy) oil. Once they light the fire, it doesn't take long to get the oil boiling. Our food arrives with each meat and vegatable on its own dish. We pour the beef, fish, and beef into the oil as well as the cabbage, some noodles, and some other god knows what plants. It takes a very short time to cook. Here's what it looks like:

Eric and I use our chopsticks to start digging food out of the boiling oil. The meat is fairly easy to grab minus the fish. The vegetables are another story. I finally get a piece of cabbage out, dip it into some ginger sauce, and place it in my mouth. Has anyone ever had their teeth and mouth cleaned with an acetylene torch? Holy Mary Mother Of God! It was like eating fire! People at other tables (not a one of them western) are looking at us and start laughing. I am ignoring them because I am afraid the flames will spread from my mouth to my clothes and really cause a problem. I have water flowing from my eyes but unfortunately it evaporates as soon as it gets close to my mouth. I am chugging water and tea and finally the flames are extinguished. No more cabbage for me. I don't know what it is about the cabbage but it absorbs all the spicy hot stuff. That was easily the hottest thing I have ever had in my mouth. I know that didn't help the stomach situation but since my intestines were already on 'Full Steam Ahead' I figured I would just keep eating. The pork and beef may have been good. It may have been bad. Since all the nerve endings on my tongue were already incinerated, I can't tell you what it tasted like. I hope it was good.

On the way back to the hostel, it was obvious we stuck out. It was dark by now and so we had little idea of exactly where we were. We were going to ask a few people how to get back but since our mouths no longer worked and we couldn't control our drooling (think of the dentist and trying to drink something through a straw with your mouth novacained), we just continued walking. We finally made it back about an hour later. By this time, our speech was approaching normalcy and the drooling had stopped. It was an eventful evening. I slept off and on because the hot food as well as the intestinal diuretic I had taken made continuous sleep impossible.

More later!]]> Sun, 30 May 2010 00:00:00 GMT http://www.blogabond.com/TripView.aspx?tripID=14323 http://www.blogabond.com/CommentView.aspx?commentID=127366 0 29.5627778 106.5527778