In Hikone

I am typing this as I sit upstairs in Mr. Uno's bedroom in his home. Here's how it happened (have I piqued your interest? :)

Three stops ago we met Dasi at a guest house in Kanazawa up north. She persuaded us to visit her town of Hikone north of Kyoto on the largest lake in Japan. She said her house was too small (and she has a rabbit!) but we could stay at her friend's house, Mr. Uno. So yesterday we arrived around 10:30 at the station and she was there to meet us. She's a former teacher so she had the day planned. We walked to a temple dedicated to a woman monk (nun) who had died 33 years ago. She was in a reclining position (her statue) and you could put a coin on the body part of her that YOU wanted healed (I put coins on her knees which are hurting from over 30 days of constant touring!) Betty is having a problem with one leg that keeps her awake at night and aches so she put her coin there. We met and took a picture with the monk in charge of this small temple who had been a monk for 40 years. He had not met this nun but heard about her. It was a lovely little temple.

We then continued to walk to the main attraction - the castle that had been moved here in the 1500s and set up as a home for a samurai warlord, it sounded like. The area used to have more water around it but had been filled in around the castle to make more farmland. There was a strange "cat" who was a mascot of Hikone (and you saw dolls and pictures of him everywhere in town) who would appear at 1:30 in the courtyard outside the castle. I was expecting a real cat, I guess. But this guy in a cat suit with a Japanese battle helmet with red and orange, the Ii family's colors, and two horns, appeared. People, mostly adults, waved and laughed and took hundreds of photos of this guy. Dasi said since his adoption as the mascot of Hikone, tourists have increased by 200,000 at this site.

We then climbed the 3 levels of the castle. No tatami mates in sight. She said it was because it was a samurai  family home so they always had armor, etc. on wide wooden floorboards, huge ceiling beams that looked like tree trunks and VERY steep stairs up and down. We told Dasi that in America they wouldn't even allow tourists in such a place for fear of lawsuits if someone fell. I have to catch the train to the station to get our stored luggage, then another train to Maibara to catch the bullet train for Tokyo.

So I'll have to finish the story of Mr. Uno later! Stay tuned!

Last day in Kyoto

Today Betty tested her map skills on the bus system here. We got a one day bus pass and we used it thoroughly. She had me up and out by 7 or so so we could get to this Zen garden way on the northwest corner of K. by opening at 8. After a couple of bus switches and some walking we got there before the tour buses. It was neat! a garden with 15 rocks and while pebbles (I've got plans for my zen garden at home now!). The rocks represent mountains and the pebbles, the sea. It was raked to perfection and mostly silent! We enjoyed it. Then on to the Golden Temple - not so quiet and peaceful with the tourists moving in, plus lots of school groups. 5 girls took pictures with us and asked us questions. They go out on these field trips but they always have a list of questions to practice their English. We've run into it a few times. Nice students! On to one more temple/garden - that has a bamboo forest we wanted to see. I really love the Japanese gardens. The trees are hand picked for the dead needles (on the pines). The stones are raked each day, leaves picked up. Hoards of workers maintaining them. Really lovely! And the Japanese people are going NUTS over the beautiful maple trees. Today we had some sunlight finally so could see the brilliant colors. They said it was a exceptionally warm fall so the colors are really late. But now people are out traveling and looking. We rode the train back and then a bus to our hostel and had some Thai food for lunch. We were back here for a free 3 p.m. 90 minute tour by one of the workers at the desk here (we think so she can practice her English). There were 5 Australians and Brett from NY and the two of us. We went to the Gion district where the geisha (here called Geiko and Maiko (geisha in training) work. She explained that girls at around 13, 14 decide if they want to be a maiko. They are interviewed with their family (they don't get to see their family during their couple of years training). Once they are accepted, it's very rigorous dance, musical instrument, tea ceremony, etc. training. they live in one of the houses together with other trainees and have their expenses paid for them by a patroness/housemother/former geiko. they get no pay during this training. Their real hair is used and done in the winter to last about 10 days, in the summer 4 days. Very elaborate hairdos. they have to sleep on hard propped up pillow things, with rice scattered on the floor around so they can be found out if their head slips! All part of the rigorous training! At about age 20 they can decide if they want to continue as a geiko and earn money. they then have to pay back their patroness. then they can earn money on their own working at places in 5 different areas of Kyoto. We glimpsed a couple hustling to work around 6 p.m. but we weren't to hassle them or stop them for pictures. Other women were dressed as geiko without the makeup and just walk around the area for fun. We then opted to go to Gion Corner, to see a show, for Y3,150 that showed tea ceremony, dancing, lute playing, a comedy sketch, classical music from old Japan, etc. It was interesting! Not as elaborate as Chinese shows but interesting. Only way we would get to see a geisha of any sort. Our tour guide also took us to a Shinto shrine and showed us the proper way to pray, ring the bell, etc. She also showed us an elaborate restaurant where only previous customers can get in (so their needs are met perfectly) and geishas perform. It cost about Y100,000 to arrange an evening! We hoped to see some customers or geisha going in but didn't. Back in the hostel Betty and I are finishing her bottle of saki and head to Hikone tomorrow for one night. Winding down! Getting tired sooner each day. Will be really ready for a break! Sayonara!

Biking around Kyoto

We arrived yesterday afternoon by train through the mountains from Takayama to Kyoto, for 1000 years the capital of Japan. Apparently Kyoto was on the list of possible targets for the A-bomb in 1945 but I'm very glad it was spared! It would have been a shame to destroy so much history. We found Kyoto's hostel, a very modern one, with kitchen, big common areas, even a rooftop terrace very near the Kyoto Station. We went out to see one of the temples Betty had heard about from a traveller. It was UP, and UP and UP!!! It was a Shinto shrine with a long tunnel of orange painted (we learned today that was to keep evil spirits away, similar to the red color in China), torii gates - on and on and on, up a mountain. We never made it to the top. After climbing steps and walkways for over an hour, a couple told us there was another hour to go. I'd had enough! It was dedicated to the fox and there were statues of foxes everywhere. It was neat and almost dark when we came down. But my knees and feet hurt. I told Betty I couldn't do all that walking today so we rented bikes. After a great breakfast at the next door cafe, off we went. We needed to get a ticket (it was free but you had to register) to get an English tour at 10 a.m. of the Imperial Palace. It was where the emperor lived and was crowned until 1860s or so when capital was moved to Edo (Tokyo) The current emperor, Akito who is in his 70s, lives in Tokyo. We were able to take backroads up there and so avoid most of the a.m. traffic. My map skills served me well today. We got tickets for the tour and also tickets for a 1:30 tour of an Imperial villa and gardens NE of Kyoto. The tour was interesting. Our guide showed us a sketch of all the buildings that had been removed in anticipation of WWII bombings so only a few remained. The amazing cypress bark roofs have to be replaced every 30 years. They strip thin layers off the trees without damaging the tree and the bark grows back in 10 years. They are very thick roof tiles held together with little bamboo picks. The guide said it takes 25 years to replace all the roofs and then it's time to start all over! The gardens of the emperor's private area were gorgeous and the Japanese maple trees are in full color. In fact later on our way back, we followed this huge crowd going to a temple. There was a very long queue waiting to pay Y1000 to walk through this garden that is lit up to see the lights through these wonderfully colored maple and ginkgo trees. We just took a few pictures over the wall and biked on. We biked along a river out to the Imperial Villa that one of the emperors had built after he retired. It was a design for gardens that uses the landscape views and combines with plantings. It was pretty amazing, at the foothills of nearby mountains. There are maybe l35 acres with these 3 building areas, and a lake. In between the Imperial Household Agency has purchased the land and has it planted in rice fields and vegetables, farmed by local people. Before we went into these gardens, we had lunch at a real local place, delicious bowl of rice with shrimp tempura for me and soba noodles and veggies for Betty. I had borrowed, leaving Y1000 deposit here, a Rough Guide book that we were looking at during lunch. About a 1/2 hour bike back to town, when  we stopped to read about the Silver Temple, I realized I'd left the guide book at the restaurant. Betty very kindly biked back with me to get it! Luckily there it was!! Aargh!! So then we were riding home to K's in the dark, getting kind of lost and into touristy areas. But FINALLY we got back and had a great little pizza and beer next door for dinner. Another wonderful, tiring day! I think tomorrow we will get the all day bus pass! Notes about Japan:  Very rarely do you hear, in all this traffic, a horn honking. In China it's a way of speaking, I think!!! It is constant! Big difference! The drivers are very considerate of bikers. They are an incredibly courteous people. It's so cute on the train when the conductor enters and leaves the car, to take tickets, he stops and bows and says something and then enters. We've gotten into the bowing habit. That's all for tonight! Got some clean laundry yesterday, too, so life is good!!

Day in Takayama

Last night we slept in our temple. It`s very quiet! Not many people staying here. We went to a grocery store and bought some things to cook breakfast in this huge kitchen. So we had a great veggie omelet and toast and jelly with juice! Great start! Our only complaint is the heater in our room smells of kerosene but it shut off part of the night and we kept one of the shoji open so we wouldn`t get asphyxiated!
We were  invited so we attended the 15 minute ceremony in the temple at 9:30 which we thought would be attended by some monks. But it was just the young girl/woman who works in the office who lit candles and invited the bell, a wooden drum and a metal drum while she was chanting. she thanked us for coming.
Off we went by bus for about 10 minutes to this reconstructed village like it was in the 1700-1800s. It was really cool! They get so much snow here they have specially designed shingled roofs with rocks (to protect from the wind). Some of the earlier houses had hugely thatched roofs with big overhangs. We could see snow on the distant peaks they call Japan`s Alps. I think Nagano, where some Olympics were held, is on the other side of those mountains. This area specializes in carpentry, as men were sent to the capital, Edo (now Tokyo) to work on the castle there. They came back and taught the locals the skills they learned. They also do lacquerware. I didn`t realize there were lacquer trees that they drain the sap like maple trees, and then paint the lacquer on wood in layers to make these beautiful dishes. No room to buy anything!!
We had a beautiful sunny day so came back to change camera batteries and buy some sushi for lunch and chicken and veggies to cook our dinner. Food in restaurants is very expensive so we`re trying to be frugal. We cooked a great dinner of cabbage, peas, rice and chicken in a wok and had Kirin beer with it and a shared pear for dessert! That was $10 about for the two of us, buying it in the grocery store and cooking it! Last night`s dinner, which wasn`t as good, was over $20 for us.
We walked around town and found a lovely very modern museum (that was free! not much is here) that had artifacts from the local history and some art. Then we walked on this Walkway passing a dozen shrines along the outskirts of town. Our legs and feet were really hurting by this time. We had earlier passed a local town foot bath with maybe a dozen people soaking in a hot spring! But it was too far to walk back so we just came home.
On to Kyoto tomorrow, the former capital, supposed the most beautiful town in Japan, and I`m sure, TONS of walking!! I`m wishing for another onsen experience!

Practice makes perfect!

Our little ladies practicing to be English tour guides.  They used us!  They were delightful!

Thanksgiving Day

We found a lovely little guesthouse called Pongyi (monk, in Burmese! to stay in in Kanagawa. What a coincidence! Masaki, our host and owner of the place, had been a monk for awhile in Burma (Myanmar) but said there were too many rules - no laughing, no smiling, eat whatever people put in your bowl even if it`s meat, etc. So he came back to Japan and started over (he had given everything away) and now owns this little place. He, Yu and Mara bought and cooked two huge pots of veggies, chicken and broth with noodles for our Thanksgiving feast. There were 3 other 25+ year old women there traveling. One works as a river guide in summer and ski instructor in winter in Nagano. The other one works for Ikea. and the third was a design student in school. We all had a really fun festive time. We played rock, scissors, paper to decide who got to pick which Mister Donut treat at the end of the meal. We took lots of pictures.
When we left the next day, Yu and Mara had made these little cut paper envelopes for us to take, to put money in for New Year`s for kids. They carried our bags outside, gave us hugs and waved us off! You never get that in a hotel!! Oh, and our picture will be up on their Facebook page - Pongyi.  We`ll have to look! He had a beautiful Buddhist altar in the dining room with an unusual walking Buddha with hand down, which I`d never seen. He said his Burmese master monk had given it to him. Very peaceful place!
AND I got to talk with Jackson and Sarah on Skype and say hi to everyone in New Hampshire gathered for Thanksgiving! Only 2 more weeks of travel! It`s been 29 straight days of constantly on the go each day packed full!  It will be nice to get home!
Tonight we are staying at a temple inn in Takayama kind of in the mountains. On the train ride here we saw snow up high - just a dusting! It was cold walking around this evening. But we have a lovely two room suite - tatami mats, futons and duvets so it should be warm. Outside our shoji (the sliding wall) is a lovely garden. So far Betty has picked excellent places.

Soggy day in Kanazawa!

Yesterday we arrived by train from Kirasaki in the north (remember wandering around town from onsen to onsen in our Yakata)? The train ride was smooth and uneventful through mountainous towns down to Kyoto and then switch trains (only 5 minutes to do it but we made it) and then north for a couple of hours to Kanazawa. We found our way to our little guesthouse Ponji. Everything is in miniature! This 300 year old house on a canal used to be a kimono shop and down the way a bit with red Japanese lanterns hanging out front where we had dinner last night also belonged to the same owner. Now it`s a little guest house that has 4 bunk beds (the bottom bunk that I`m in is a futon on the floor). It`s a bit bigger than my walk in closet at home. But again There is a lovely duvet cover, a pretty hard pillow but I`m getting used to them, and a nifty curtain that you pull around the bed for privacy. Very cozy and I slept great! We had one roommate, a Japanese retired teacher who is now researching to try to start her own guesthouse outside Kyoto. She has invited us to come and stay for a couple of days and see her town. We have to figure out our schedule in Kyoto and see if it fits in. She wanted to practice her English so we went together to a pub that serves pub food - meat on sticks, veggies on sticks, etc. We had great draft beer and she helped us order. I had chicken and pork on sticks, asparagus wrapped in ham and cheese wrapped in ham and some green peppers. It was delicious! We had great fun with the cook and server and took their pictures with us. Today Betty and I set out in the pouring rain with umbrellas from Ponji and bought a loop bus one day ticket for Y500. It`s an on-off deal so it worked out great. We started at one of the three most beautiful gardens in Japan - built by one of the shoguns back in the day. It was really lovely, even in the pouring rain. I can imagine it when the plum trees and cherry trees bloom in the spring. But I`m sure the hoards of tourists then would spoil it. Usually this is a big leaf-peeking season but the fall has been unusually warm and very little color is showing in the mountains yet. We had some hail as we were walking through the garden. We then crossed the bridge to the Castle remains (it had burned down after only 20 years) and is now being reconstructed somewhat. We found another senior volunteer English speaking guide to walk us around but only a couple of storage of weapons houses were original and the walls. It`s amazing how they built these huge walls, cutting huge stones, fitting smaller stones sort of as mortar. This area wasn`t of military significance so had little damage during WWII. The owner, Masaki-san told us we will all prepare a Japanese hot pot/Thanksgiving feast tonight for us. He was a Buddhist monk in Myanmar for a couple of years, I think, and then changed his mind and wanted to lead a normal life. He`d given away everything to become a monk so he said he started at the bottom, working at an onsen and restaurant, and now owns this little place. Very kind lovely man! And Yu and Maru, two young girls who share a flat down the way work here as well. Yu taught us to fold paper cranes last night (I`ve already forgotten) and has a whole bag of them, I think to take to the Peace Park in Hiroshima to burn for World Peace. We were all going shopping in the market for the food for dinner but when we returned to Ponji Mara said they already went in a car because of the rain. So I guess we`ll cook later. It`s very quiet and peaceful here, but we`re having a hard time with all this sitting on the floor. My knees just don`t bend that way any more. Tomorrow on to Takayam, a couple of hours train ride away. We`ll be staying in a temple there. We`re hoping it`s not freezing cold and on bare floors!  It`ll be an experience we haven`t had! Happy Turkey Day to all!

Glorious onsen!

Betty and I had a wonderful splurge in the northern part of Honshu (the main island in Japan). She booked us at the "best onsen experience in Japan". We rode the train to Kinosake to a very small town to the Mikuniya ryokan. This included a gourmet dinner and breakfast, a massage and unlimited use of the 7 public onsens (public bathing pools) in town. When we arrived, our own private tutor instructed us on how to put on the cotton kimono-like dress called yukata and geta (the wooden sandals. We could then walk around town with just this on around town between the onsens. We had tea in our private room with tatami mats and a table (I'm NOT getting used to sitting on the floor! My knees just won' cooperate! I'm sitting at this computer on top of piles of pillows and trying to type!)  We then dressed in our yukata and geta and off we went to our first onsen. Okay, I'm not real comfortable walking around a bunch of strangers totally NAKED! But after the first one, who cares? You take only a little towel (that you store on your head) and first go to the sinks and soap down and rinse off. Then you go to the big pool and soak in really hot water! The first one they sent us to they said was the most beautiful, and it was. There was an outside portion with lovely rocks and waterfalls. We soaked for awhile and then dressed and headed to the next one, throwing only our yukata and geta on (not bothering with underwear!). We realized we didn't have time for another before our dinner would be served at 6:30. So back to our ryokan and our room.  Many dishes, with a lot of crab, both raw, grilled and boiled (at our table) were on the menu - crab being a specialty in this seaside town (it's near the Sea of Japan but it must have been over the hill as we didn' t see it). Next was our oil massage in the same ryokan. LOVELY but too short and didn't include a foot massage which I really missed! _Then back to our room  where our futon bed was laid out on the floor with comfy duvet coverlet. Betty opted to back to the ryokan's own onsen room that she had for herself. I was tired and went to bed. In the morning the onsens opened at 7 and we were at the door of another one. We took in 2 of them for about 1/2 hour each before our breakfast was served in a common room at 8:00. Can' say I am wild about Japanese breakfast and had fish breath in the morning until I found an ice cream cone to take it away! But it was an interesting experience, albeit an expensive one. We think we each paid about $300 for the whole one night experience.  It was interesting to see all the people, lots of couples, wandering around town in the evening and morning in their yukatas from the different ryokans. I did mention, I hope, that these pools were segregated - the men went in one area and the women in the other. All very healthful and relaxing! When we've seen so many Japanese businessmen in black suits (would like to have stock in THAT company!) rushing too and from work, they need to relax on the weekends or some time! When we mentioned them to some Japanese women who were practicing on us their tour guide English, she said the men had relaxed some - they even wear SHORT-SLEEVES sometimes now! Wow! ;) We wandered around this little canal town the next morning while waiting for our train back to Kyoto and on to Kanazawa where we are now. Must stop as Yu (one of the lovely hostesses here) is going to teach us how to make a Peace crane of origami that can then have a message written inside and then burned to send the messages up to the gods! These are like the peace cranes we saw in Hiroshima at the Peace Park memorial. More later!

Passing on the right, not the left! - Things I've noticed about Japan

It is an incredibly clean place! We walked behind a business woman going to work today and she picked up 3 pieces of trash from the sidewalk as she went and put it in her snack bag as she went along. Does everyone do this? We have yet to find an old beat up car (do they buy a new one every few years?) and NONE with any dirt on them. Is it required to wash your car every night when you come home? It's incredible! There's a boxy looking car that Betty likes - she calls it a bento box on wheels! (bento box is a little box of Japanese food you can buy a lot of places to take for lunch. We haven't tried them yet.) Everyone bows! The conductress entered the train car and bowed and then went down the aisle. Entering and leaving Mister Donut or any store, you give a slight bow in and out. Asking for help, you bow. It's nice! I think all school children must wear uniforms - some version of the British school girl pleated skirt, all navy blue, with a little variation on the top, knee socks. Haven't seen many boys that seem dressed the same. Japanese men seem very courteous and deferential to women, their wives or any other. Frequently we've been given a seat on a bus, train, tram. People have a sense of personal space and NEVER cut a line! We think we goofed getting on a train in Osaka when this woman told us where to line up, and there was a line of people standing back in line, waiting for the door to open. Oops! Not intended! Things are very quiet here. You don't hear loud groups of men in a train station shouting at each other, etc. I forgot traffic moves on the left here, people walk to the left! it's hard to remember.

Rainy day in Osaka

The daughter of the couple running this CaminoRo is just standing in the rice cooker sitting on the floor! She keeps saying Nana! Nana!  I know she:s not talking to me as when I look at her, she cries! She`s 13 months and almost ready to walk. So cute! Makes me very lonesome for Sarah but if I try to hug this little one, she`d scream, I know! Anyway, met Shirley last night - traveling from New Zealand for a week here. She talks very fast and it was hard to understand her. I think she`s from Auckland. She left for home today after buying a sweatshirt. We had more oatmeal and nuts for breakfast and headed out with our plastic see-through umbrella`s loaned from our place. It was POURING all day! Made me appreciate what could have happened but didn`t in China! We took the circle route so we could use our JRPass. We were going to purchase a day pass for all the subways and buses here in Osaka but at the information office this lovely woman told us most of the sites we`d get into for free with the pass were free today anyway (it`s a Saturday). And she said using the circle line for free with our pass, it wouldn`t be much of a walk to get to the sites we wanted to see. So we saved 2000Y and headed off. First was Osaka Castle, a drippy 15 minute walk. and up many steps. The outside walls around and between the moats was pretty amazing. It was built in 1500s, then burned down within the first 100 years. A guy named Hidori or something became somewhat of a hero in Japan here and many legends grew up around him. The castle was restored twice and then bombed in 1945 (by us, I`m guessing!) so not much to see inside except large screens showing battles.  We then headed back and really had to do some climbing around walls to avoid rivers of water (by this time our feet were completely soaked!) and then got back on the train. This time headed for the Museum of homestyles of old Osaka. We were wandering lost when this lovely couple ended up walking us down a LONG covered shopping area into a building and pointed us to the 8th floor. We never would have found it!  It turned out to be delightful, with reconstructed village with rooms you could walk through, a worker there who grabbed Betty and I and a guy to do this tricks with stick-like mat that did the neatest things. Made a fishing line, two flags she said were American and Japanese, a water fall. It was fun! Afterwards she gave each of us this little box made out of origami folds with two cranes and a top inside, all made out of the tiniest folded paper. Amazing! It almost seemed like it was a Children`s Museum as lots of families with kids were there. _There was a light show that is hard to describe.  By this time, I was ready to go back to room and get a hot shower. We picked up some food from the vendors out front and had a meal at home of what we thought was like an omelet but wasn`t eggs. and some noodles with a bit of pork, and a bun shaped like a fish with bean paste. The beer we shared was the best part of the meal! Off to Hiroshima tomorrow!

First full day in Japan

Osaka After a great night`s sleep and a lovely shower, Betty and I headed to the JR station to activate our JR Pass (think Eurail Pass for Japan. )  Then we headed out for Nara, about 40 minutes away to visit the Giant Buddha and other temples in this much smaller city. We WALKED and WALKED and WALKED! My feet are hurting and I`d love to spend tomorrow relaxing at an onsen (Japanese hot spring). There were a few school groups around and one of them stopped us to ask what were our names, where were we from, what did we like - sounded like a school assignment. Each temple we washed our hands with ladles of water. Some girls also drank but we didn`t risk that. Nara was the first capital (but only for 75 years) back in the 700s AD. The first Japanese emperors came from here. Then when a priest seduced an empress, they moved the capital far away to Kyoto.  We found a restaurant to have dinner (we are using up the oatmeal I brought - thank you, Michelle - with some added nut and tangerines for breakfast) and had a bowl of rice, with tempura shrimp and veggies on top - and of course a beer! It was delicious, albeit expensive! We may try to cook here at our CaminoRo guesthouse tomorrow.  The young couple who apparently live here and run it have an 18 month old little girl - so cute! I`ll have to show them Sarah`s picture!  In for the night and ready to relax!

Last Day in China

I think this will be posted out of order but I can:t figure out all the Japanese language on this computer. Michelle, maybe you can switch it around, thanks!
I am writing this in the CaminoRo in Osaka, Japan. I got e-mails from Pat and Joyce that they have made it home - Joyce with my extra suitcase filled with things I didn:t need and things I bought in China (I still have things NOT opened from China 7 years ago! But I will organize everything, give it away, etc. when I get home over the winter) Joyce said my angel was still watching out for me and she didn:t even have to pay extra for the extra checked bag, since she`d bought her ticket before July 5th. It still would have been worth the $70 NOT to carry 2 bags now!
We had another wonderful breakfast at the Dongling Resort (check out their website in Yangshuo and you can see how lovely it really was! Haven`t figured out posting pictures yet). The day previously our van had stopped at an ATM in town so we all could get money. Then off we went for our float down the Li.
The next morning as we were packing up all our things, Pat couldn`t find her credit card (used to get the mone). After multiple searches, she took the receipts from the ATM to the office to have Jan call the bank to see if a card had been left in the machine (Joyce had done this in Xi`an and a guy had come running after her with the card! That guardian angel again!)
Anyway, Jan said her husband would take Pat down to the bank, with her passport to check. Qin, our guide would meet them there to help. To Pat`s surprise (would have LOVED to see her face! but I wasn`t present) the husband showed up on a motorscooter. Remember that LOOONG downhill driveway? Pat said she wrapped her arms around the husband`s chest, pressed her head against his back and closed her eyes for most of the trip. She said the driveway was much less bumpy on a scooter, she remembers. She never opened her eyes to look at the weaving in and out of traffic. Arriving in one piece, she showed her identity and it turns out the bank attendant found the card in the back of the machine. When the screen came up to say, Take Card, Pat had just walked away and NOT pressed it so it stayed in the machine. Relief!!
Later our guide Qin picked us up, with all our luggage in this very comfortable van with a driver. Off we went, first to stop at Silver Caves, discovered in the area in 1996 and made into a tourist site. It was a 2 KM walk up and down steps through caverns with huge stalagtites and stalagmites, pools of water with colored lights to display all the imagined creatures somebody came up with in the limestone formations.
Then Qin found a wonderful restaurant near the river before we finally left this beautiful area with the unusual karst formations for the airport. We were the only ones in the restaurant (it was early). We walked through the nearby strawberry fields where workers were laying black plastic over the beds and cutting holes to bring up the lush plants through the holes. This was while our fish was being killed for our lunch! I tried, as a good Buddhist, not to think about this! The fish was wonderfully tasty, with big bones that stayed on the plate! This had been an issue on my last trip and I generally just said I didn`t eat fish! Couldn`t deal with all the bones as the Chinese do- it seemed easier that way. Another delicious meal and off we went.
We had a smooth drive to the airport, Qin came in and helped us through the ticketing, to the security gate where we said goodbye. She was delightful and a great find. We will all go on Trip Adviser to recommend her as she and her husband are trying to do their own little startup side tour business. She was going to stay the night in Guilin with her husband. It`s so convenient with whole family living where she can just go off and leave her son with Auntie and Grandma and not worry!
Our flight back to Shanghai was uneventful and then we struggled a big dragging our bags to find the DaZhong hotel between the two terminals at Pudong airport. Here we ran into the rudest Chinese we had come across. The non-English speakers at the desk were pretty unhelpful but we settled into our double rooms. _They reminded me of those hotels I`ve heard about that are almost a drawer with just a bed. But we squeezed in, the beds were comfortable (albeit hard as the usual Chinese bed, and it turns out Japanese as well! I like them) The shower, however, was terrific with a square rain shower head and a handle as well. EXCEPT the side wall of the shower was opaque and visible to the bed area! Pat wanted no more mooning so we pulled the shade down! :)
In the morning Joyce warned us before we paid that the Chinese breakfast was not worth the 30Y so the other 3 of us went over to the airport (very convenient, all inside to the terminals) to a food court and found breakfast sandwiches. We picked up Joyce and they all we`re going to find a business office to print out their boarding passes, said goodbye to me and I went off to my earlier flight to Osaka..
Everything was smooth and I was soon waiting at the gate for a couple of hours early for my flight. It was China Eastern again and I had only a carryon (that conveniently zips apart into two pieces so it will fit in the overhead). It was about 1 hr and 40 minutes until we landed at Kansai Airport in Osaka. I changed money at the ATM which gave me 3 10,0000 yen bills!! When I asked at a travel counter where I could get change for the bus (Betty had sent me directions on how to get to our hotel) they said do you have a bus ticket? NO! and they sold me one and gave me change! Probleｍ solved! Off I went for an hour busride into downtown Osaka, followed the directions, with help from a lovely man who helped me buy a train ticket from the machine, then took me to a service office where they guided me to the right train, with everyone bowing at me! It:s hard to switch to arrigato from xie xie!!! Again Betty had provided me with a map to the hotel as I got out of the station (unfortunately she had misplace that map when she arrived the day before and she wandered around for awhile before she found the lovely covered street with shops on both sides leading to our upstairs hotel). But I came along straight there and she came down the steep stairs behind M. our proprietess who runs this with her husband and  15 month old daughter. It`s squeaky clean, shoes left at bottom of the stairs, lovely kitchen to cook in, computer free here in the common area, and a 4 bed dorm room for us.
I already did an entry for yesterday. Today is raining so we don`t have a plan yet. I think we will leave for towards Hiroshima tomorrow stopping at this canal town overnight to see some recommended sites. That`s all for now. Sayonara!

Mooning over the Li River!

We will be really nostalgic to leave this wonderful place! We can't wait to get on Trip Adviser and highly recommend this hotel here in Yangshuo. I paid up my bill this a.m. and it was about 600RMB for 3 wonderful nights, 3 great breakfast and two loads of laundry (plus free Internet mostly available! we think they shut the router down at night!) which is under $100 American dollars!! So yesterday Qin (Gao's wife - he was working in Guilin yesterday) picked us up with a very comfortable van to drive us to our bamboo rafting trip. No putt-putting for us! We bought flower wreaths from old ladies as we got there to wear as we floated down a branch of the Li River. Pat and I were on one raft with a woman poler (punter, whatever) and Marilynn and Joyce on the other. Reclining rattan seats with an umbrella and off we went! Very peaceful, lots of "Ni hao!"s from passing boats - didn't see any other foreigners on the water. Qin had told us we would stop for pictures but we didn't quite know what that meant. Turns out there was a wall dam where we exited the raft and waited while they rolled it up onto the wall. We then sat back down and slid off onto the upstream side for maybe 15 more minutes of floating. Very peaceful, gorgeous scenery! We turned around and got back to the dam. Same procedure only this time as we slid down, both Pat and I got soaked! at least the bottoms of us! There were stands where photographers were taking our picture many times and then soaking wet we were led onto the stand to purchase pictures. We each bought 3 and they were laminated (they got Joyce and Marilynn for maybe 6 or 7 each!) and off we went. Pat had on knit pants that weren't going to dry so she stood on the raft with her bum facing the sun, backwards (to the hilarity of our punters!). My cargo pants are nylon so I did the same position for a bit (of course, we had to take pictures of this ridiculous position that will be posted when the other 3 ladies get home, I hope!) as we rode along. Qin was there to greet us with the van driver after our 1.5 hr. float. We headed off for a neighboring village to see "Moon Rock", a karst with a big hole moon-shaped and more markets to buy things! and pose for pictures.  Then we headed to her village, where we shopped for dinner in the local market. We had Qin there now to tell us what some of the bizarre things were! We were all a little freaked out by the "butcher shop" area with big pieces of animal hanging. Pat had a close encounter with a heart of some animal! The chickens were all in cages and villagers going home with one dangling from their hand, wings flapping! And of course, all kinds of fish still swimming around in tubs! We took the scenic short cut through the rice paddies and fields on narrow walkways from the village to Qin's family home. We met her auntie, mom and dad and later her 5 year old son whom the auntie picked up at school at 5 - he's in kindergarten. She showed us his sheet of homework of math and how he would learn to do it on an abacus. I didn't get it!! Not smarter than a Chinese 5 year old, I'm NOT! We went out to pick beans (looked like BIG lima beans! I'm not a fan!) and some oranges from a nearby grove. We sampled one right by the tree and then she had us bury the peels! We assumed this was someone else's grove but she explained if people see the peelings, they'll know the oranges are ripe and would take some. This was her family's plot. The government divided up the land and gave each family plots in different areas, so they would have a wet one for certain crops and dryer one for others. We saw lotus plants waiting for the roots to be dug up, various kinds of "lettuce" which is what they seem to call ALL greens that we've been eating, rice that had mostly been harvest (with bundles of stalks drying for animal fodder in winter), strawberry fields (she said they are ready from February at New Year to April). The father and uncle were busy constructing and repairing a side house for the upcoming wedding of Qin's brother - big event with feeding over 100 people, 3 times a day over a 2 day celebration. But the couple will live in Guilin. I thought it was unusual for Qin to be living with her mother and father, with her son (3 women all share one bedroom, and it looked like one bed!), father across the living room in another room. Gao, the husband lives and works in Guilin. It seems he works for a tour company but does these other tours on the side. He and Qin, it sounds like, are trying to create their own business, having home stays on the farm, the home dinner, etc. So she quit her job at a hotel here when her son was a year or so and she has been working with Gao on this for awhile. Her English was excellent and she was so helpful! Gao had built this separate building that was a dining hall with big round table, and two bathrooms (Eastern, of course) off it. I think this is in anticipation of more tourists coming. We helped in the kitchen peeling the peas and beans, Mama cooked in this gigantic wok, rice cooker was going, several greens dishes and we had a lovely spread. Oh, we each helped stuffing the fried tofu balls with a pork, onion mixture that was later deep fried! We ate, had oranges and pomelo for dessert and walked through the fields out to the main road to meet our driver again. Off we went to the magnificent sound and light show! It was put together by John someone who did the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics. There must have been 500+ there in the outside theater (and a second showing at 9:15 p.m. - in the summer they do 3 performances a night!). Over 600 mostly minority Chinese participate in the show, floating in boats and platforms over the water, with the gorgeously lit karsts in the background! It was breathtaking! Fortunately there was a guard going up and down the aisles making the men put out their stinky cigarettes!! Very helpful! The show was about an hour with the finale of about 200 people, in silvery lit up costumes seeming to "float" - we think there was a submerged platform raised up) over the water towards us. It was worth every penny, we all agreed! After a great night's sleep, warm shower and terrific breakfast, we paid up and that's when disaster struck! Pat, so organized and efficient with her little black tie-on purse in the front where she keeps everything, couldn't find her credit card. We backtracked in our minds and had stopped the day before starting out at a bank. We looked at the slips from the bank and concluded she must have left it there. Maybe a good Samaritan had turned it in! Jan called Gao who gave her Qin's phone #. She got the info on which bank and decided Pat should go with her husband down to the bank. Qin would meet them there. Off she went! When she returned, she showed me the mode of transport - a MOTORCYLE! Pat, a bit China-traffic-phobic! - said she got on, grabbed him around and closed her eyes most of the time, through the tunnel, over the bridge where they met Qin. There is a question at the end of getting money that says "Take Card" and apparently she had just walked away. The guards checked her passport, another bank officer opened the back of the machine, and there was the card!! Our angel is watching out for us!! Soon Qin will take us to Silver Caves here and then to the airport for our last night at the airport in Shanghai. Zai jian!

Died and gone to Heaven (called Yangshuo!)

I was so frustrated last night! I wrote for an hour and the Internet cut off and nothing was sent. So I'm trying again!

After our wonderful day in the rice terraces (climbing hundreds of steps!), we ate dinner at our hostel and schlepped our heavy backpacks and one rolling suitcase each out to the bus stop, hopped (yea, right! more like dragged) it all onto a crowded rush hour bus for 2 stops to the bus station (we were told a taxi wouldn't take us that short distance but it was way too far to walk!). It was an adventure crossing double lanes of traffic (that the Chinese make into 6 lanes each!) with this luggage to get to the long distance bus station for our bus ride to Yangshuo. A couple of us are rather skittish in the traffic so it was a real challenge. But we made it without losing anyone, got our tickets and were on the bus. It was a bumpy hour and a half ride to Yangshuo in the dark, trying not to look at the headlights coming at us when our bus would pass others. I couldn't find the reservation slip for our hotel but remembered the name. A kind English speaking Chinese wrote it for me on a card to show the taxi driver. We negotiated 30 Y to take us (most we've EVER paid for a taxi!) and drove down the road, through a tunnel, over a bridge and then turned up a gravel driveway, a LOOOONG driveway! It got rather silent in the back seat as we drove up, up and someone mentioned maybe this was a campground. We finally arrived and a paved entry and then walked up with the driver to find the office (everyone else just stayed in the taxi - they were afraid to let him go!) Jan was sitting outside the office and not expecting us until the next day (the girl at the hostel who called for me confused the arrival time and day!) but all was well, they had rooms ready for us (it was Sunday night and I think they had many people over the weekend but they were all gone).

Our rooms (NOT a hostel) are spacious, with a gorgeous view out the window of the moon over the karsts (see previous entry). The shower still floods the bathroom and toilet (have the Chinese NOT heard of shower curtains?) but is clean and spacious. The difference between anxious, confused, exhausted and adventurous, clear-headed and ready to go is a GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP!

In the morning a wonderful, one of the best, Chinese breakfast was waiting on our veranda outside our room, surrounded by beautiful yellow and red flowers! Jan was ever so helpful to take away our laundry and guide us down to the river and into town. Away we went, back down that hill and across the street and walked along the Li River with many bamboo boats with 6 or so seats putt-putting along the River. We passed newly planted gardens (they have 2 seasons here as it's so tropical - was about 80 degrees F. yesterday walking around). Water buffalo were drinking at the river, we passed a woman with 2 harnessed monkeys. Marilynn paid to hold one and feed it and get a photo. She also had two cormorants with the bands that you could pose and get your photo taken. We passed a young woman taking a photo of her 80 year old parents. She asked if we would pose with them (I wonder what the Chinese do with all these photos of us with them!!) and then Mama wanted a picture of each of us with just her!

There were stalls of tourist ware (the boats must stop along here) and we browsed and bought a few things. We finally made it and climbed up to the Yangshuo bridge (before the tunnel). We were going to flag a bus down but two women there indicated, no, we should wait for the cheaper 1Y tuk-tuk, I call them - that's what they were called in Thailand. Little open air buses with 3 bench seats. We hopped on with them, showed them our West Street (the pedestrian shopping street in Y.) paper Jan had written on for us in Chinese (the WHOLE key to traveling in China is get things written in Chinese, pin yin - if you want to pronounce them- and English to show taxi drivers, etc.) We got off and wandered and shopped, had a great lunch, order chops for grand kids - a seal with their name on the bottom in English and Chinese - for them to stamp with.

Then came the highlight - a one hour full body and 1/2 hour foot massage!! We had to wait 1/2 an hour for 3 guys available but it was well worth it - 138Y. This averages us about one massage a week since we've been here! A highlight for me! and I think Marilynn and Pat are converts! They were painful especially our calf muscles from all that climbing but we felt great after!

The tuk-tuk ride in rush hour at the end of the day wasn't quite as smooth but we made it to the bottom of that driveway with two different vehicles and headed up.

We had dinner in a lovely private room - we were told no chicken soup because the chicken was still running around! None of us like the thought of ending his life for our supper! The pig, on the other hand, was already dead! Vegetables, pumpkin slices, soup with veggies, pork and snow peas, and beer topped our evening.

We still had time for Pat to break out the mah jongg cards (easier to travel with than tiles!) and we taught Marilynn and Joyce how to play. It worked quite well with each of them winning a game. Then Pat and my type-A personalities came out and it was every man (woman!) for themselves! Pat won that game and we retired for the night.

 I forgot to mention when we arrived the night before an Israeli couple were just returning from a wonderful day on a bamboo raft trip, going with their guide to the market, garden, and then his home to help prepare dinner and eat with his family, and then go to the wonderful sound and light show on the River. We got the guide's name (he was driving them to the airport the next day) and met him the next morning at breakfast. He is booked for our day today, same agenda! It's the kind of experience you can't duplicate on a regular tour. So we're waiting after our most wonderful breakfast on the veranda, where we met Caroline, from Singapore on a holiday with a couple of friends and we compared notes on what we had done here and in Guilin. We passed on Gao's name (our guide) to her for them to use later in the week.

Life is so good! We're coming to the end of a wonderful time together! We've become friends (we only knew each other before in pairs - Pat and I and Joyce and Marilynn - and had only gotten together once before the trip! It's been amazingly smooth and fun!

Up, Up and Up!!

We left on a tour van this a.m. after a great breakfast (eggs,bacon, toast, tomatoes and FRESH SQUEEZED OJ!!) with an Australian guy, and two German girls and a Finnish girl who are studying business in Hong Kong for the Longi Terraced rice fields up in the mountains around here. First we stopped at a village of the Long Haired Women and wandered through (and over two swinging bridges!) their village with 3 storied wooden houses: first story for animals, second for family and top floor for the food stores (and the rats!!) They reminded me of the Naxi houses in Yunnan province. The women have exceedingly long hair worn in 3 styles. Covered up if they are unmarried (only when they marry and their husband is the first to see their hair); twisted in a coil smoothly around their head if married but no babies, and coiled with a knot thing in front if married and had baby. At the end of our visit they did a show with lots of singing and showing their tools and instruments: plow, looms, cooking things. Our guide Harry said men look for 3 things when choosing a wife:  big butt, so they are good child bearers, loud voice so they can call over the fields, and big feet, so they are sturdy in the fields. He also mentioned small hands so they could do the delicate handwork and weaving. They had two Chinese guys and two westerners on the stage to reenact the courting ceremony. Pretty funny! They each sang a love song! To show they care, the women pinch the men's bum!  We were pinched on our way out of the program - a way to show affection! The men are to tap the women's toes! Very ethnic, with colorful costumes!

We then drove high up and then climbed steps for over an hour to the top, for a fantastic view of another Zhong village with the rice fields that were terraced in the Tang dynasty (600 AD) and been planted twice a year since! Amazing! they look like a contour map of mountains in 3 D!

The knees held out on the long way down and then a hair raising ride (no such thing as NOT passing on a curve or anytime they feel like it!!) down the mountain for an hour and a half back to the hostel. We're eating here (more OJ!!!) before dragging our luggage to a bus for an hour and a half trip to Yangshuo, on the beautiful Li river for a relaxing final 3 days here!

Looking forward to it!! Not a hostel, it's called Dongling Resort overlooking the river and mountains! We have hopes!!

Quieter Guilin

Yesterday was an adventure in taxi riding - trying to get all our luggage into a taxi. Pat took some great pictures of us crammed in with our luggage on top of us! I ended up in sort of business class on the plane to Guilin because I had to pay more for my ticket when we were hassling with Ctrip, just to get on the plane! No different service, just more money! Oh, well! We're averaging about $18/night for lodging so whatever!

Right away we could tell getting off the plane we were in a more tropical climate - the palm trees, more humidity, bright sun! We could see some of the rice terraces that contour the hills here as we landed. Today we are schedule for a 3 hour tour up into the hills and rice fields and to visit some minority villages. Can't remember if I said this before: there are 56 ethnic groups here in China - with their own language, dress, traditions, etc. The main one is Han, and that's the group you mostly think of when you think "Chinese."  They make up 95% of Chinese (don't know if it's related to the Han dynasty from about 200 BCE to 200 AD). Anyway, the other 55 groups make up the other 5%. They are allowed to have 2 children, rather than one! (I guess to increase and keep the group from dying out). We saw up in Datong, the Mongolian group, with higher noses, smaller eyes (to protect fromthe cold - This was explained by Michelle, our Mongolian looking local guide there). In Xi'an we saw the Hui group, Muslim Chinese, who wear white caps,or head coverings, there was a mosque there, and different foods in the Muslim quarter. We should see some Miao and Dong people here when we go outside the city. The Han mostly live and lived in eastern more developed China. The minorities are in the countryside and their cultures developed because of lack of transportation before all the train lines were built and mountains surrounding their villages. The most of the groups live in the SW in Yunnan province, where I spent time when traveling those 5 weeks in Feb/March in 2005 with Betty and Virginia. We saw many and varied, colorful minority groups. A Taxi guide took us around for a day in Lijiang and we saw a wide variety. I bought about 40 little dolls dressed in their minority clothing back then that are on my bookshelves at home. I will give them to Sarah when she is a bit older (so they don't get undressed!!)

Today we are going to see a group called "Long Haired Women". Haven't heard about them.

Last night we didn't have a lot of time but we taxied over to Solitary Peak - paid 65Y (they haven't heard of Senior discounts here!) to walk around this park with pavilions - crowded with people but not sure what exactly it was. But in the center was this huge karst (limestone hill that looks like an upside-down NOT sharp-pointed ice cream cone). Pat, Marilynn and I climbed the MANY difficult stairs (with lots of rests!) to the top, fighting the groups coming down! But the views of the entire town with the karsts shooting up all around was worth it.

When we came down, Joyce had befriend 3 70+ ladies and a couple of guys doing tai chi. One spoke a little English and so could translate a bit for us - at least our ages - which they are always so interested in. They showed us their 5 layers of clothing (looking like wool sweaters!) they had on and long woolen underwear under their pants. I remember hearing Nov. 1 Chinese put on their long underwear and keep it on until April 1. We, on the other hand, shed our layers when we arrived and had on short-sleeves and single layer pants! We shared our amazement at each other's dress.

We then walked to try to find the Li River that runs through town and down through the karsts to Yangshuo where we will stay for the next 3 days. On the way we passed another hostel so we stopped there for dinner of pork, vegetables and rice, along with Tsingtao! We opted for a cab back to our hostel.

Zai jian!

Notes from Susan - Xi'an

We spent the morning with our "angel" Angelina from CA. She's 23, hasn't traveled much except with her family to Japan when her sister graduated from high school recently. She studied biology and I think is deciding what to do next. In the meantime she took off and came to stay with a family in Beijing on her own taking Chinese classes. Really gutsy, I thought! She speaks pretty good Mandarin, it seems, and was very helpful to us on the bus (she prevented us from getting on bus 601 going the WRONG way and guiding the taxi driver back to our hostel). She had biked with us on the wall the day before and then asked if she could accompany us to the museum and the pagoda. She has been here since May and this is her only side trip. We encouraged her to contact the China Culture Club when she goes back today on the train to Beijing. She will go home mid-December.  Very lovely young woman!

We are off to Guilin today. As we walked around yesterday afternoon looking for an ATM to get cash and also an Internet cafe or some place to get our pictures and movies burned to a DVD, Joyce had a great find! While I waited at the ATM, she found this little hole in the wall with no English spoken but she saw a writing up on the wall with CD and DVD. When I inquired, they took me upstairs  and a helpful Chinese man downloaded my pictures off the camera stick,including the movies (think I got great shots of the dancing fountains Pat mentioned  below). I then had him burn 4 copies so we each go away from here with all my pictures up to now. Then I came back and rested before the show and Pat and Marilynn went back to the place. BTW, when I went with the man downstairs to pay, I only had 70 Y instead of the 80Y. He said to the girl "She was an English teacher here, make it only 70Y"  They are SOOO nice and helpful here! It's so contradictory to their seeming rudeness and shoving and cutting in front when going somewhere, driving, etc.

The hostel arranged for our driver to take us to the Tang Dynasty variety show - 10 musical performances - dancing and instruments - from the period of high culture here in Xi'an around 600-700 AD.  We had Tsingtao beer (3 of us) and popcorn for dinner!!! I remember this from 2004 when Virginia, Gail and I were here for the weekend and went to this show. There were tables all around with a lot of Westerners (big tour buses outside). The show was a bit over an hour - we dressed up in our "best" outfits and had a great time! Our driver was there to bring us back at the end and Pat had one more close-your-eyes ride through traffic through Xi'an. She did say even though she usually doesn't care for cities she's like all of the ones we've visited. We will be more in the countryside in Guilin and Yangshuo  before returning to Shanghai.

On to another adventure! Zai jian!

Letter from Pat - Xi'an

From: Pat Bartlett

Hi, Everyone,

Sorry my messages have been so irregular. I've lost a few emails, and some days I haven't had time to write on the computer, so I have just written in my journal. Yesterday I wrote for an hour and then lost the email. So this is only part.

Today was another wonderful day. Three of us with Angelina went to the Museum here and had a fantastic history lesson on the various dynasties here, starting with early man. It is mind-boggling how much information goes back 7000 years and how advanced they were even then.  I am so impressed by the fact that even then they were not only interested in functional items, but they also wanted to decorate them and make them attractive, i.e. their creativity was impressive. We learned about the King Zhou and how he conquered some of the tribes. Then, Qin Shi Huong really conquered all the warring tribes and unified China as a result. He is credited with being the first Emperor about 225 BC. Shortly after he took the throne at about age 13, he started preparing his mausoleum. Apparently, he was quite afraid of death and wanted to be certain he would be taken care of in the afterlife. That is the reason he had the 8000+ warriors, charioteers, archers, and generals made. The three vaults at the original site were discovered in 1974-76, but in the mid 1990's another farmer was digging a well and found another site, closer to the actual grave. This site contained a bunch of animals and birds, which are supposed to be protective to the Emperor, plus there are figures of various musicians and acrobats, who, presumably were supposed to amuse the emperor. Those things are in the process of excavation now, so we didn't see them.  Emperor Qin also gave China its official language - Mandarin- and standardized weights and measures through the country and created roads. He was good in those ways, but he was also a ruthless despot, who killed the workers on his burial ground, so that they would keep the secret of it. He died at age 51, so it was fortunate that he had planned ahead, but all the things he did which were supposed to increase longevity, obviously weren't that successful. The Qin Dynasty was followed by the Han and then the Tang, the ultimate in culture and creativity. Supposedly, if you ask Chinese citizens which Dynasty they might like to have lived in, most will say the Tang Dynasty. The museum certainly showed beautiful examples of their work. The museum did an excellent job showing the evolution of culture and abilities throughout the centuries, so that one could form comparisons.

On the way to the Goose Pagoda across and down the square, we went by a huge area of fountains.  I had just said that I had heard the dancing waters here are fantastic.  Just then, the fountains sprang forth to Tchaikovky and other music. It went on for about 20 minutes and was really beautiful. We decided someone was definitely watching out for us.

Then on to the Goose Pagoda, a many layered thing that was founded by a man called Zhoung who was one of Buddha's disciples. We walked through the expansive grounds and went into the many small places of worship. The one that was most impressive to me had a mural entirely made of naturally colored jade, depicting the life of Buddha, from conception by an elephant, birth from his mother's armpit to his asceticism and then enlightenment. The jade was in all shades of green, white, orange, yellow, etc. and the sculpturing was extraordinary, really detailed.

After that, we came back to the Hostel and had lunch. Then I took upon myself the task of organizing my suitcase. Things are getting really tight, so I tried to put the heavy things in my suitcase for checking tomorrow, and the lighter things in my tote bag and backpack. It seems to have worked, although it is a pain to have three things to carry. Tonight we go to a Tang Dynasty show.

Tomorrow, we leave for Guilin by plane.  That is our last stop before heading for Shanghai on the day before we fly home. The pace will be more relaxed after this, which should be nice, although I have loved seeing everything that we have.  

Qin She Huang

Yesterday we had a great breakfast here at the hostel, scrambled eggs, muesli, fruit, toast. Off we went on our tour with Zza-Zza our pretty fair English speaking guide, in a van with Angelina, a Chinese-American from California volunteering in a medical center in Beijing for the past 6 months, and a French couple who are here for their 5th time, from the Provence area of France. We drove out and then walked, walked, walked until we entered Pit 2, the least interesting and developed of the excavations at the Terra Cotta Warriors. Back in 250 BCE there was a guy who declared himself First Emperor - Qin She Huang - who was either a bad guy or good guy depending on how you look at it. Good:  He unified the 6 areas of China into one unit (lots of warfare for that! and I'm sure millions killed!); established a common currency; standardized the Mandarin language; connected the individual pieces of wall into the Great Wall (anyone who died during this got buried right in the wall - no big ceremony!).  Bad:  He declared himself First Emperor (hence, Chin, his surname, became China), prepared his tomb by conscripting 8000 artisans to mold, paint thousands of warriors, chariots, horses for the afterlife - and then wanted to keep them secret so he killed the artists when they were finished. They knew it so they painted the faces as each other and sometimes inscribed their names on the shoulders or somewhere of the warrior they were creating. They were created of terracotta clay in 3 parts, bottom, midsection and head and then assembled later. They were hollow, fired and then painted brilliant colors (all of which has faded within 1/2 hour of being exposed to air 2000+ years later!) They were arranged in front of his hill/pyramid shaped tomb (it hasn't been opened since he surrounded it with a moat of mercury - they are thinking of opening it in 20 years or so). Walls divided the rows of 4 abreast soldiers - archers, generals, infantry , charioteers. Pit 2 has some of the horses but many are on loan to various museums around the world. And you could see the broken pieces lying askew as they were found. Many German artisans especially work at night on restoring more. It will take another 50 years or so. BTW, in 1976 a Chinese peasant was digging a well and punched through to the first horse that was found! He was at Pit 1 and, for a price, you could buy his heavy book, and get an autograph. We sneaked a picture (last trip he wanted to charge me just to take his picture) and passed on the book. He made his fortune with that digging, although he was paid only 10Y by the government but later relocated to another farm, given a house, and has spent his time autographing at the site! Pit 1 was the piece d'resistance - rows and rows of upright restored (but not colorful) warriors in position, each face completely different. She said they painted all 56 minority group warriors in the mix. We took lots of pictures.

Anyway, these clay soldiers were buried under grass mats, and then soil to hide them. During one of his inspections Qin She Huang died (at 55) because he thought mercury would give him longevity - instead it killed him early! So some of the warriors were missing heads! Then his successor wasn't successful, the warriors were plundered and knocked over (but not the tomb because of the mercury moat), and then covered up for centuries into grassland, farms, etc. Until 1976! So this has now surpassed the Great Wall as top tourist destination (trap!) in China! Considered the 8th wonder of the world, said Zza-Zza.

Oh, another bad: Qin destroyed ancient texts telling history prior to this, killed 450 scholars who disagreed with him on this, and was generally a despot!

So you decide!!

But China remains endlessly fascinating!

Our bus let Pat, Marilynn, Angelina and me off at the East gate of the city wall, used to surround a palace, like the Forbidden City. We rented bikes there to bike around the top of the wall and look down on both the old and outside the new. Marilynn and Pat hadn't biked in years but since there was no traffic and it was flat, albeit bumpy, they did great! After about an hour or so, we reached the South Gate and descended to what looked like a reenactment of a Tang Dynasty (the one where Xi'an was capital and seems like the apogee of Chinese civilization - around 600 AD) changing of the guards, with soldiers in costume doing marching routines. There were some drummers performing as well. Little unexpected perk!

We walked with Angelina to the Starbucks by the Bell Tower where we were to meet Joyce at 5:30. The 4 of us then wandered to the Muslim quarter and ordered dinner of lamb veggies, etc. Then shopped along the way, buying more turtles (I'm up to 4 now for Jackson!) heading for the Great Mosque (it was closed so back tomorrow maybe).

Today after breakfast we head for the Shaanxi Museum and the Big Goose Pagoda by local bus. Another adventure!

Boogered! - our new verb

Joyce, first, and now me have come down with a cold. So when we're passing around shared nuts, eating off common plates with chopsticks, our new word, thanks to Pat! is "Is it boogered already?"  :)  That means did you put it in your mouth or put your hands on it already so it's filled with your germs!!! It reminds me of the cootie thing we used to pass around! It makes us laugh when we all say, "Oh, you boogered that!!"

Pat's entry

Hi, all,

We left Beijing today and had an uneventful trip to Xian. Because of Ctrip foulups, we had to take two different flights an hour apart, but we rendez-voused successfully. My old black polartec pulled off my backpack and got left on the plane, so we wasted at least an hour trying to retrieve it. It was one of the end of school CCA rejects of about 10 or more years ago, and the only thing in the pockets were hand gel, wet ones, and toilet paper, so it was hardly worth the effort, but it is warm and useful, and replacing it would have been a pain. We took shuttle bus and then walked to the Hun Tang Inn, which is a very nice hostel with very new, clean rooms and good food. It is near the main Bell Tower square and the Muslim district, which is a lively place. It was sad to leave Beijing, because our Hostel had such a wonderful location--near to everything.

Yesterday we had a fantastic day on a private tour to the old Beijing streets by pedicab and then visited the house of an 82 year old woman. Then we toured the Forbidden City, the home extensive home of the Emperors. It was awesome.

Tomorrow we take a tour to see the Terra Cotta warriors and some emperor's tomb. The warriors are the thing I have most anticipated, so I hope I am not disappointed.

Shopping for pearls....

Hired driver Lee again and he showed up right on time at 9 at the hostel. He took us in the traffic to Hongqoia (sp?) market, the Pearl Market. I was amazed I remember where Sandy's place was on the 4th floor. She wasn't there (has had a new baby boy) but the girls took good care of us. I was there to buy a couple of pair of pearl earrings, but all 4 of us ended up buying several things. I first heard about Sandy on my way to China the first time from a stewardess who gave me her name and location. She would buy pearls and take them home and sell them for huge profits. On the Datong trip, I spoke with Derrick who worked at the American Embassy in Beijing for a couple of months. His mom was a stewardess and he said many of them would do it. They don't have to go through customs. So it's hugely profitable, they frequently make more money selling pearls than in their regular job.

Lee then was waiting for us as we came out. No time for lunch, but we gave thanks quickly at the Temple of Heaven for our wonderful trip so far and headed to the airport. No luck trying to change our tickets to all be on the same flight. So Joyce and Marilynn headed off together on the first flight and were waiting for us at the baggage area when we arrived. Non eventful flight, weren't sure if we were looking at pieces of the Great Wall from the air but it was a pretty clear flight, so maybe.

Great sweet and sour chicken for dinner at the hostel with a draft Tsingtao! Walked around, got cash at ATM to pay for Terracotta Warriors trip today. Good night's sleep!

Last day in Beijing

We have decided a guardian angel is watching over all of us on this trip! Things have been so terrific and fallen into place, even though sometimes we're making it up as we go along.

Yesterday we met Andy, one of the guides from CCC and the last weekend Datong trip, at the KFC for our tour. It was a private one, just the four of us, for the group price! We started out in pedicabs touring through the hutong area that is being preserved by the government (it's actually OWNED by the government but the woman whose house we visited has lived there for 63 years - she is 82.)  These narrow streets show the really active life of older Beijing. Pat and I rode together and I wondered whether the old guy pedaling would be able to move us, but it turns out there was a little electric motor he switched on as he went along so he didn't do much of the work.

They let us off and we spent about an hour with this lady in her 2 room plus bath home. It was about 625 sq. ft. and she pays about 500 RMB ($75/month) including elec., water, heat, gas. She has a son and a daughter - we asked her which of her children visit her, spend more time with her - she says definitely the daughter! The daughter had done a beautiful looked like a painting of peonies but was really a cross stitch hanging, given her a big flat screen TV, digital picture frame, etc. The daughter has a son, who is currently studying in a California state school, and the son has a daughter. The woman had worked as an accountant for the government and been given a chance to rent this home. It can pass to her children with no increase in rent and she doesn't have to worry about being displaced by urban renewal, like so many had been to get ready for the Olympics. We asked her how she kept in such good condition and she showed us some of the exercises older people do (she used to do tai chi but her knees aren't good enough, she said). She loves living in her old neighborhood where all of her friends live, even though probably her children could set her up in a high-rise flat!

We then walked around the neighborhood, trying lotus root (yummy!), peanuts, and a delicious kind of egg/veggies pattie. We had Andy write the names down in Mandarin and pin yin (our alphabet to help pronounce!). We passed several children and of course stopped to take their pictures, always making their grandparents (usually the caretaker) proud!

Then the pedicabs picked us up and dropped us near a main street near Tianamen Square. Andy added to our tour by taking us to this very old but updated and famous in China pharmacy, where many people were filling prescriptions. He inquired and I purchased two medicines, one for my drippy nose and one for general (to help my sore throat). We then walked down the newly renovated pedestrian way, with an old trolley (used to be many of them in B.) running down the middle. All this area (near our hostel) has been completely renovated since my 2005 visit. It is such a great location to be staying!

We walked the largest square in the world (Mao had to make it bigger than Red Square!) as Andy pointed out the Hall of Justice, different reconstructed old gates where the original city wall had been (was torn down by Mao to make the first ring road) and headed toward the Gate of Heavenly Peace, with Chang'an Rd. going by. Huge picture of Mao hanging (you've all seen the picture)  We went in the first of many gates to the Forbidden City (built by the Ming dynasty  around 1500s and continued to be lived in by Qing, the last, dynasty from 1700 - 1900s. Pu Yi was the last emperor (see the film The Last Emperor) to come there at 3 and lived there until about 26, when he was pushed out, by the warlords around the time of Dr. Sun Yat Sen, revolutionary leader around 1920s. Pu Yi was lucky he wasn't just done away with. In the meantime, the powerful eunuchs, who were the workers in the FC, had squirreled away most of the treasures. Then they set a fire to cover up their theft. So mostly the FC had been stripped by the time WWII came around and no one lived there. Many of the buildings have been beautifully restored!

We went to a side restaurant where CCC had ordered another delicious banquet for us - sweet and sour chicken, chicken and peanuts, pork shredded, etc. When you see our pictures you will swear we ate our way through China! On my first trip here that year I always told people (not here, of course, but at home) that the food and the banquets were my LEAST favorite thing about China but that has changed. It was all been delicious!

Of course, the generous, helpful, cheerful people still continue to be my FAVORITE thing about this country!

After lunch Andy gave us the history and took us to a couple of side museums (ceramic and jade) that I'd never seen, and then the standard Hall of Harmony, etc., etc. It wasn't near as crowded as when I'd been here two other times. Andy agreed.

Outside almost at 4:30 cab drivers and pedicabs were waiting to rip off tourists to get back to the start of Qianmen stop but we hopped a bus with Andy for 2 quai (said instead of Yuan) and we left him back at our subway stop, with lots of hugs, promises to visit us in America, and a huge tip!! Well earned!

Marilynn went with me BACK to Ctrip (5 subway stops and then a bit of wandering but we found it) and paid for my PauPal-cancelled flight from Guilin to Shanghai. I THINK we are finally all set. The girls from before at the desk saw us walk in and I was sure they would grimace, after our long, and sometimes loud sojourn there when we arrived in Beijing trying to straighten our flights out). But they were charming and helpful and we got back in time to meet up with Cecily Deng, my Chinese "daughter" - Lily is her mother and one of the gracious hostesses in Yangzhou, and I tutored her for an English speaking contest in Nanjing my first year here. She is a grad student here and working an internship at CCTV. She wants to be a journalist, but is now job hunting for any kind of a job come September. She will go to Geneva in January for an internship with the UN. She had spent last July and June in DC at Georgetown and an internship but we had only spoken on the phone on her way home from Chicago in August. We visited for a couple of hours (she had already been visiting with Pat and Joyce before we got back). It was lovely to see her, and she went on her way (Qin Hong had called her to try to help me with the ticket thing! She hasn't seen her former teacher for 6 years but that doesn't stop Qin Hong!!! They take such great care of me!!!)

I tried the Chinese medicine but I think Pat's Mucinex was the best help for my sleep. We are packed and ready for Lee (our driver from 2 days ago -Pat called Peter to make arrangements for today) to take us at 9 to the Pearl Market and then the airport - on our way to Xi'an. Marilynn and Pat went out early to see the changing of the guard in T. Square. I've seen it twice so didn't need to go again.

More from Xi'an, the former capital during the Tang dynasty and a Muslim (the Uighur minority group) area of China with the terracotta warriors!

We made the local paper!!

Learning Taichi from Ding's father

http://www.yznews.com.cn/yzwb/html/2011-11/04/node_380.htm

China Culture Club

This is a little digression about the China Culture Club, harking back to 2004-2005 when I was teaching in Yangzhou. I would take the Thursday night train overnight to Beijing to visit Virginia from Texas who was also in the same program teaching spoken English. She had an apartment on the 18th floor of a big high rise and room for me on the couch. I spent maybe 15 weekends here with her. I would get a soft sleeper, like the one we just rode from Y. to B. - comfy compartment with a door (shuts out the smoke from the smoker in the corridor!) with 4 beds. I would always get a lower bunk (more expensive) so I didn't have to climb down during the night. This time I had an upper bunk but managed. Anyway, it was usually me and 3 Chinese guys! Never had a female compartment-mate on all those trips. The train was smooth, no stops between Y and B. Jiang Zemin, the previous president of China, was from Y. and went to Y. Middle School where I taught. Before Hu Jintao took over, J. Z. made sure this Y. train station got built and this beautiful train was running!

When I would arrive in B. it was 6:30 a.m. and Virginia would be busy teaching that day. So I would take my suitcase to this bike rental place south of Tianamen Square and leave it for the day, taking off around B. on a bike. Wandering the hutongs (the narrow, one story home areas around central B. - many of which were torn down for the Olympics!) was one of my favorite things to do here. Then I would meet Virginia in her apartment at the end of the day.

She discovered the China Culture Club, an organization started by a Chinese guy named Feng Cheng whom we traveled with several times. It's purpose is to provide activities with local guides to help ex-patriots living in B. various elements of Chinese life, like classes in feng shui or foot massage, etc. Or take you on guided trips locally or away from B. Our first trip with them was to the ice festival in January of that year. We would travel both ways by train, overnight, stay a couple of nights in a hotel, see the magnificent creations out of ice with colored lights inside - from the pyramids, to the Great Wall, done to scale and big enough to slide down or walk inside! Amazing! Check it out on google - Harbin Ice Festival! We also saw a huge swimming pool cut in the ice of the river, with an ice diving board and crazy Chinese diving in the freezing water. There was also a side trip to a Russian dining room (it's very close to Russian border), Russian cathedral, and a nearby Siberian tiger reserve - where you could buy a live chicken to throw off the bus to them!! I opted out of that!!!

Anyway, Feng Cheng had given us 2 train tickets in B. and said don't lose them!  Of course, the day before our return, I couldn't find my ticket! I told him and Rex, the other guy in charge. Rex spent a 1/2 day at the station trying to get me another ticket. No luck! But I'd paid already for the bunk! so Feng Cheng's plan was to give me HIS ticket, he bought a 2 yuan boarding pass - where you could come aboard to help someone get settled and then get off. Then he stayed on and spent the night avoiding the conductress (is that the female name?) who stopped everyone for their tickets! I was SOOOO nervous all night, couldn't sleep! I knew in the a.m. you had to show your ticket before leaving the station. I had nightmares about Chinese jails, etc.! In the morning Rex had the plan. He gathered the tickets from 10 of us, put us in a group and herded us out the gate by holding up the tickets and saying this tour group was with him. Of course, for the 10 tickets, there were 11 of us! I was sweating bullets!! Afterward, Feng Cheng said I would make a HORRIBLE criminal because I looked and acted so guilty!!

So on the trip to Datong this weekend, where Feng Cheng didn't go, because he is busy with a new baby girl, I was telling this story to Andy one of our guides. He laughed (since he knows FC and Rex) and said I should write a book. Andy was to meet with us today for our scheduled hutong/Forbidden City day trip. So we were looking forward to seeing him again as he was a delightful, bubbly guy, working for CCC for 3 years since being out of University. And his English is excellent!

When we returned yesterday from our trip to the Great Wall/Ming Tombs and around the Olympic venues with Lee, our hired driver, there was a message saying our trip today had been cancelled due to lack of registration (I guess it was only the 4 of us). I immediately wrote CCC an e-mail asking for Andy's e-mail to contact him directly and maybe hire him anyway. Marilynn called (at the desk through one of the girls there) CCC and was told it would be 2800 RMB ( a LOT more) to hire a private guide! So we were wondering what to do when Marilynn got a call from CCC at the desk from Andy saying, because I knew Feng Cheng, they were making an exception and they would do the trip just for us, for 400 RMB apiece! This is the way China runs - on guangxi (not sure of spelling!). It means you do for me, I do for you, basically! You run into it over and over. You can't just PAY someone for things, it has to be arranged with a series of obligations back and forth!! At least that 's what I think happened!

So we'll see! It's 5:30 a.m. and it's my chance to write on the internet so I'm an early riser anyway. We're supposed to meet CCC at the local KFC for our tour!

Oh, and I STILL have to go back to Ctrip office today to pay in person for my flight from Guilin-Shanghai on the 16th!! It was cancelled because I still couldn't straighten out PayPal. DO NOT recomment PP for anything!!!! Aargh!

Hugs to all!