China & Tibet

I get asked alot - "why China?"
I was absolutely fascinated with the Chinese culture as recounted in James Clavell's "Asian Saga". The more I read, the more I wanted to experience China. Although I didn't make it to Hong Kong (where Tai-pan and Noble House are set), it's on the radar for the next trip across the Pacific (2009?).

April 1 & 2

I flew out of Vancouver to Beijing. Took 11 hours - 3 movies worth! We flew along the Alaskan coast. Fascinating watching the giant ice floes. Pretty uneventful flight, except at the end when someone fell ill, and they called for a doctor over the intercom.
My first glimpse of Asia was a range of jagged, jutting rocky mountains piercing through mist - seemed majical! Customs was a breeze to go through...
I grabbed a cab to the Marriot - all speed and all horn. This city is huge... Had a delicious supper: rice, duck, squid and veggies.

April 3

Figured out that it's Monday. Outside my window in a courtyard, I watched about 20 people practicing Tai-Chi. Looks like a morning ritual before going to work!
Spent the day at the Summer Palace - magnificent!
Weather was great, although it was smoggy. This picture is a pavillion beside the 17-arch bridge in the Summer Palace. The arcitechture is just beautiful... It took about 3 hours to walk around the grounds open to the public. I bought a small scroll that depicts life at the Summer Palace in its hey-day.

Pictured to the right is the 17-arch bridge. There were several immaculate gardens throughout the grounds. Plum & cherry trees, and huge magnolias dotted the area. I then went to check out the Hutongs. These areas are narrow roads winding endlessly through short buildings. There are shops, restaurants, and housing. The hutongs are famous for their "street food". Delicious! I ended up in a restaurant where George Bush Senior had eaten.

Traffic is unbelievable! Apparently, to help lighten traffic, the Beijing authorities are flirting with several different options. One of them is to grant access to all roadways to odd numbered licence plates one day, and even numbered the next...

April 4

Hostel is great! I've got my own bathroom, and breakfast is included. I'm about two kilometers from Tiananmen Square, an there's tons of shopping around this area. Gonna spend the day figuring out which tours I'd like to take tomorrow and Thursday. I wandered through the hutongs of this area and picked up some silk outfits for the twins (my nephews). Pictured to the right is a typical hutong. The food is unbelievable. Found a gem of a spot just down the road. Muslim Chinese shishkabobs. Good stuff!

Booked a tour of the Great Wall at Jinshanling and Simatai. It's a 10km hike along a portion of the wall that has been partially restored, and a portion that hasn't been touched at all. Can't wait!


April 5

We drove about an hour and half north of Beijing to a tiny farming community. The drive was an experience - we were travelling in a bus, overtaking on a hill around blind corners... Yikes! Seems like they have their own code of conduct on the roads: honk if you are turning, honk if you are cutting someone off, or just honk to wave hello to whoever you are passing! Insha Allah (in God's hands), I guess. This pictures shows Simatai. I walked through 30 guard towers in various degrees of deterioration.
So we were dropped off in this tiny village, and accompanied by some of the locals along the path to the wall. They were selling t-shirts, books, post-cards etc... One of them kept up with me - a middle aged lady. She appointed herself my guide! So after this short hike to the wall, we entered through the base of one of the pill-boxes onto the Jinshanling portion. There were steep steps sometimes 18 inches or so high. At times, it looked like a 70 degree climb! Absolutely breathtaking views...
The weather cooperated again - sunny all day! The guide kept up really well - I guess this is what she does for a living, so she's in fantastic shape! I bought a panoramic picture of Jinshanling from her and tipped well for her picture taking. It took about 4 hours with stops to do the 10km. A smile from ear-to-ear all day! The drive home was nauseating... full speed ahead, slam brakes, stop, race, slam breaks... But all and all, an experience I'll never forget.


April 6

Looks like it's going to rain - hoping it'll hold up so's I can make my way to Beihai Park. Well, it ended up hailing today, so I did some laundry and went shopping. Found two items that really want... The first is a vase that is painted from the inside using very fine brushes. An excellent gift for the folks! My father first introduced me to this art form a few years ago when he purchased Christmas ornaments of that nature. Beautiful! The second items I found are a bit more expensive... but absolutely exquisite. Two large red vases with gold leaf insets... (Upon returning to Canada, I ended up purchasing the pair. Could not resist)
Got back to the hostel and bought a plane ticket to Xi'an. 720 quai! (about 120 bucks) Sweet! Using the Lonely Planet book as a guide, I did well on the price.