Reading the Blog for the First Time

Now that the journey is over, for those that are new to reading this blog, please note that the blog itself is in reverse chronological order. For better enjoyment, read the oldest posts first. You can access these via the blog archive list on the left side of the home page.

New Pictures Added

I have added more pictures to each post.  I have also added a few comments here and there.  For those new to my blog, please feel free to leave me a comment.  If you wish to be included on the distribution list when a new post or blog is issued, please send me your email address and I will add you.

Good-bye and Thanks

Five short months ago as I was heading into back surgery, I wondered if I was really going to be able to climb the Great Wall.  I had such a hard time walking let alone climbing stairs and steep walkways.  I had great pain with every step I took or even standing.  Everything I did took great effort and concentration to physically make my body perform even when it wasn’t willing.  But Dr. Hsiang assured me that I would be ready to go.  Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I could do some of the things I have done since the surgery.  I CLIMBED THE GREAT WALL!

As I write this tears are in my eyes.  I have my life back.  No, everything isn’t perfect and I still get really tired after these exhausting excursion days, but who wouldn’t?  I am so thankful to my surgeon and his team for performing a successful surgery.  But most importantly I couldn’t have done any of this without the help and support of the most wonderful man a woman could have – my husband, Michael.  As I reflect on this latest adventure, I am overcome with emotion.  I have been around the world, and seen and done so many incredible places and things. What a charmed and lucky life I lead. 

So stay tuned.  Who knows what will be coming this way.

The Great Wall of China

Today, it is over 4,400 miles long, but this is only the parts you can see and hike on -- rising in the west out the Gobi Desert and ending in the sea in the east.  The Great Wall is actually made up of sections of earlier fortifications which were then joined together to form a united defense system against invasions from the north. It was built over 2,500 years ago, by Qin Shi Huangdi, the first emperor of China during the Qin (Ch'in) Dynasty (221 B.C - 206 B.C.).  He connected and extended four old fortification walls along the north of China that originated about 700 B.C.

It was over 3,107 miles long.  Its thickness ranged from about 15 to 30 feet and was up to 25 feet tall. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the Great Wall was enlarged to 4,000 miles and renovated over a 200 year period, with watch-towers and cannons added.  It is constructed of masonry, rocks and packed-earth.  Stones from the mountains were used over mountain ranges, while rammed earth was used for construction in the plains. It is estimated that over one million workers died building the wall and it is rumored that many of the dead were buried in the wall.

We rode about 1 ½ hours north out of Beijing to view The Great Wall at Badaling.  The weather was clear, sunny and there was a chilly wind blowing.  Time to trot out the winter wear to climb the wall.  There is a visitor plaza and pay station at the base of one of the towers.  We entered and took the stairs up on to the top of the wall.  The stone floor was lumpy and uneven, worn down by human feet and the elements.  The first section we walked was at a pretty steep angle; after that, the stairs became very steep.  Michael made it to the top guard tower and I decided caution was the better part of valor as I was told to avoid steep inclines so I only went as far as the first guard tower.  It was exhilarating to be here where so much history occurred.

We met back at the tourist shop and had to buy a souvenir shirt to remember this occasion (as if the memories and pictures aren’t enough!).  We had plenty of yuan (Chinese currency) left so we had to do something with it. 

We headed down the mountain for lunch at the Dragon Palace.  Can you guess what we had to eat?  I am about ready for a McDonald’s hamburger about now; Michael is still in food heaven.  However, this was no regular restaurant.  This was a state-owned jade workshop and a great big retail store which just happened to have a humongous restaurant in the back.  Jade is the national stone and is an integral part of the culture.  Every Chinese person has some jade trinket, charm or piece of jewelry that they carry with them at all times.  We watched a demonstration of how the jade is cut and after another huge lunch served on the lazy susan, there was time for some retail therapy.

At this point, everyone was exhausted and very few people wanted to see the Ming tombs.  Most of the group went back to the hotel for some R&R and to pack.  My cold reached its zenith today and I felt absolutely horrible (and I was running out of tissues).  The adrenaline rush from walking on The Great Wall had worn off and I just wanted to collapse into bed, which I did.

Michael went off for the Peking duck dinner and enjoyed watching the chef carve the duck into 108 pieces.  Seriously, the tradition here is exactly 108 pieces.  He reported back that the Peking duck was served in a traditional style best described as Moo Shu Duck, slices of duck served on a pancake, with some vegetables and sauce added and then eaten like a burrito.

We finished packing.  Tomorrow is the long journey home.

China has been Delayed

I try, I really do, to write every night.  But this trip has left little time for blogging (which can take me up to 2 or 3 hours to do each day, depending on how much information I acquired) and in total exhaustion as well as being sick (thanks to Yolanda who gave it to Michael who gave it to me).  I have seen so much and have taken copious notes on what we have seen and where we have been.  It will take me sometime to sort it all out and get pictures to go with the words.  I plan on using airplane time to start, but where to start?

I hope you will read about China as this trip has been incredible and I learned and saw so much worth reporting to you. 

Day 3 -- Xi'an

The nights are short or the mornings come too early now.  We were up and out by 8:30am to see the old city of Xi’an and some museums before flying back to Beijing.  We finally saw some sun today.  Xi’an is located in a basin and unlike Beijing which gets a lot of wind it wasn’t windy for a change.A

s I described before, the old city is encircled by a wall that is 10 miles in circumference.  The wall is 600 years old and is wider than the Great Wall.  It is 36 feet wide at the top, 180 feet wide at the bottom, and 54 feet high.  It is made up of pounded earth covered by a layer of brick.  That is a lot of dirt.  We had a brief visit to the East Gate and negotiated a steep 70 stair climb to get to the top.  Thank goodness my legs are now strong enough to do all this stair climbing!  We had an excellent view of the old city.

Next stop was a folk art museum and a demonstration of Chinese calligraphy.  Calligraphy brushes are made out of all kinds of hairs such as horse, goat, and even baby hair.  But the best brushes are made using mouse hair!  I don’t know how they can keep the precious ancient art as the place is not climate controlled.  It was cold and damp in the museum, and in the summer time, temperatures can run as high as 105 degrees.

This was followed by a stop at the History Museum.  I do not like museums.  This was another place where there were too many people to get up close to the exhibits and no place to sit down.  Do the Chinese ever sit??  There were lots of jade sculptures, bronze items, terra cotta warriors, coins, and artifacts from the beginning of Chinese culture.  I managed to walk the two floors and see everything and still have time to browse in the gift shop all in an hour!

Time to eat again.  We went to a large plaza and it was amazing how the bus could maneuver and fit the narrow roads without wiping out the nearby cars.  People were out walking, shopping and eating lunch in the park.  It was a lovely place.  Red lanterns were hung in front of all the restaurants and were gently swaying in the breeze.  We had way too much food again; one fellow sitting next to me didn’t eat anything but rice, complaining about eating Chinese food again. Ah duh, we are in China what do you expect – to eat at McDonald’s?

The drive to the airport was quite interesting.  The traffic was very heavy and I was wondering if we would make it on time.  The driver weaved in and out of traffic playing commando chicken.  It amazes me that there weren’t more car accidents.

We had no organized dinner plans so the group voted to have the guide take us to the silk market.  We had a lesson in how the worms spin the cocoon and how they process the silk thread.  Then the real fun began:  SHOPPING.  We haven’t had much shopping time and money was burning a hole in my pocket.  The recipient of my labor of love was Isabelle.  I bought her a Mandarin collar dress and matching silk shoes, in pink of course.  I had a scroll made with her name in Chinese characters and I even got something for myself (a chop with my name – it’s like a rubber stamp but is made from jade).  I was amazed at the skill and precision it took to carve Beverly and my birth year sign in such clarity on a ½ square surface.

We decided to skip dinner tonight.

Back in Beijing

It looks like my real blog will be postponed again.  I may have to write it on the airplane ride home as I am TOTALLY exhausted.  Our days have been very long, driving to the airport, flying to Xian touring all day, dinner show at night, hotel overnight, tour again in the morning, lunch, drive to airport, fly back to Beijing, drive to city, and shopping as we decided to forget dinner as we had enough for lunch.  I am zonked.  Tomorrow we do an all day trip to the great wall.

I promise to write about my observations and more details when my mind isn't so foggy and tired.  I think you will enjoy it.  After all, this is what the trip has been about, getting to the foreign countries that play a prominent role in our lives.  I will leave you with a teaser... China is nothing like you thought it would be when you contrast the old versus the new.

Day 2 -- Xi'an

Xi'an is the original capital of China and is the founding place of Chinese history. It is also one of her best preserved cities and is located in north central China along the Yellow River, the life blood of the Chinese culture.  The name Xi'an (pronounced cee-ann) means western capital.  A perfectly square 10 mile long wall with a moat surrounds the old city.  This was also the starting point for the Silk Road, which also became a cultural road.  Marco Polo brought silk to the Western world via this route. 

Although Xi'an has a population of 8 million people, it is not one of the larger cities we visited.  Beijing has 16 million people but Shanghai has 18 million. They don’t fool around with small cities!  The old city of Xi'an is so important that the government is “encouraging” people to move out of the walled city to preserve the historic buildings.  Like Beijing and the surrounding areas, mega apartment building complexes are being built to resettle these people.  The government is upgrading the infrastructure by building high speed trains and expanding subways lines to move people from the apartment complexes into the city to work.  Hey, we are kicking you out, inconveniencing you, but you get to work just the same.  Forget about the convenience of your friends, neighborhood grocery and restaurants.  Go live in the sticks where there is nowhere to go and nothing around; at least we are giving you more living space to move around in. 

The day was an early call for a bus ride (oh I am getting sick of bus rides) to the Beijing airport.  Upon arrival at the airport, we were dropped off at the terminal with our luggage (remember light, carry on).  We assembled in a group and were given our boarding passes.  No line to stand in and those who wanted to check their bags just handed them over to an aide.  Is this service or what?  The guides arranged everything.  However, we did have to go through security; it was crowded but organized, no shouting or shoving.  We showed our documents, scanned our stuff, walked through the metal scanner, and then were wanded.  It was a two hour flight with meal service to Xi'an.

It was another long bus ride from the airport to see the Terra Cotta Warriors museum.  The day was grey, cold and drizzly and the windows in the bus were all fogged up and “raining” inside and we had to keep wiping them so we could see out, although there wasn’t much to see.  The countryside was bleak and flat.  There were small clusters of brick and tin roofed houses with what I would call a large garden rather than a farm.  These were very old looking and didn’t even look inhabitable, but there was laundry hanging out so you know someone lives there. 

People in this region don’t eat much rice.  What, no rice in Chinese food?  No, that’s not the case:  it is too cold and dry for rice to grow here, but they do grow winter wheat, which means noodles and dumplings and lots of dim sum (Michael was in food heaven eating here).  What do you think our first stop was in Xi'an?  A Chinese restaurant for MORE food.  Oy vey, did they feed us.  Nonstop platters of assorted dim sum plus soup plus appetizers!  There were 12 dim sum courses that I counted.  How can we function with all the food they are throwing at us?  I know the Chinese don’t eat like we have been eating because if they did, they would look like balls, short and round.

We finally got underway for the prime purpose of going to Xi'an – to see the world famous Terra Cotta Warriors, considered to be the 8^th wonder of the world.  When we arrived, it was snowing!! and cold.  We had to bundle up again as this is more or less an outdoor museum.  Being a tourist, especially in China, is hard work because everything is soooo big with lots of stairs and no place to sit and rest.  I am getting tired, I am getting sick and my foot hurts.  But I press on because I am there to view something so grand you cannot comprehend it unless you have seen it. 

So far over 8,000 life-sized warriors, horses and chariots have been uncovered.  Every face is different.  Emperor Qin (Chin) had this army made to go into his tomb so that in the afterlife, which is important in Chinese culture (they believe in reincarnation), he and his family would be protected.  He was kind enough not to kill real people for this purpose although he had no compunction about burying alive 300 students of Confucius, whom he hated.

This 2,000 year old discovery was made by accident when a farmer was digging for a well.  Three pits have been uncovered so far.  What they found were tunnels with a roof made of bamboo mats, covered over with earth about 15 feet underground.  The different classes of soldiers were lined up and battle ready with real weapons.  The detail in the sculptures was without a doubt intricate and incredibly detailed, right down to the treads on the bottom of the shoes and the fingernails.  Over the years, the roof collapsed and broke a majority of the clay pieces.  Grave robbers added insult to the damage by smashing the figures and setting them on fire after stealing the weapons.

Today, there is a continued ongoing massive restoration project in process.  It is a pain staking process and takes years to put the pieces of one figure back together.  Parts of the pit have been left undisturbed so you can see what it looked like in its original condition.  This is such a massive area and it would not be feasible to recreate the pit in a museum that they decided to build the museum over the pits.  This has to be one of the top five historical sites I have ever seen.

Whew, how do we top this one?

Our day was not complete unless we ate more Chinese food.  Dragging fanny, we had a brief 45 minute respite at another five star hotel before heading out to dinner and a show.  No more food… please.  The food was so so, but the entertainment was dazzling.  The Chinese National Song and Dance Troupe performed in a Las Vegas style showroom.  The costumes were elaborate and colorful, and the performance was professional and entertaining.

Day 1 -- Beijing

The bus ride from Tianjin, the port closest to Beijing, was a little over two hours of boredom as the landscape was flat and barren.  As I previously wrote, we rode over reclaimed land that was covered in hundreds of thousands of newly planted trees that will later be used for windbreaks against the Gobi Desert winds.  There were brand new freeways that looked like they had never been used.  The driver turned off at one ramp to another freeway and stopped dead in his tracks, pulling over to the side of the road.  Did we have a flat, was the bus broken?  No, there were vehicles coming at us from the opposite direction!  The driver was yelling (and I think cussing).  He started backing up off the ramp back onto the other freeway we just left.  He stopped again and made a phone call.  He was LOST!  Well, I guess he figured it out because he went forward again.  We made it safely into Beijing.

Our first stop was to a very nice restaurant – Chinese of course.  This place could seat hundreds it was so large.  Throughout our eating excursions, the food came fast and there was one course after another placed on the lazy susan in the middle of the table.  Michael was in heaven as Chinese food is his favorite.  We were spinning and using our chopsticks to grab morsels of stuff that was familiar or some we had no idea what it was.  One of our group said he did not like Chinese food and would not eat it; well, we challenged him and he found out it wasn’t so bad.  You can only eat so much rice and if you don’t want to be hungry you better figure out that you get Chinese food in China.

The weather was not so good.  It was cold, windy and haze blanketed the sky casting a flat look on everything.  Visability was awful.  Picture taking in this light was awful.  On our first official outing we dressed up ready to walk Tiananmen Square.  I thought it was warmer than it actually was so I left my gloves and my newly knit alpaca scarf on the bus.  Boy, was that a mistake.  By the time I realized it, the bus had already taken off.  The wind was biting and Michael was freezing (he refused to pack a jack or coat for the trip). 

Tiananmen means “gate of heavenly peace.”  This is the largest public square in the world.  Remember, I said everything in China was huge.  Mao’s crystal coffin was housed in the mausoleum but we could not go in to see it.  There were huge bronze statues celebrating the four occupational categories:  workers, farmers, scholars and soldiers (scholars seemed to be pariahs).  There were spy cameras facing every direction, covering every square inch of the plaza (I am guessing this because there were soooooo many pointed every which way).  We learned a lot about the history while we stood there freezing on this vast square of concrete.  Our guide reluctantly mentioned about the student uprising on June 4, 1989 when student protestors were killed.  Sensitive subject, eh?

Now it was time to go to the Forbidden City.  I have a picture of the gate that we thought was the entrance to FC.  Oh, us naïve tourists.  Everything is big and there are gates to the gates.  To cross the street we used an underground tunnel.  I am so thankful that my legs are working as this was the first of many, and I mean many, stairs to climb. 

The FC was built from 1406-20 during the Ming Dynasty.  Emperor Ju-di built all of the great landmarks that you see in Beijing today.  The FC was only for the emperor, his concubines, servants, guards and eunuchs.  Surrounding the FC is the Royal City where the princes, princesses and other relatives lived.  Sons of emperors had to move out of the FC when they reached puberty.  It was built in a perfect square.  The last emperor to live here was in 1911.  The FC is now a museum.

We kept walking through one gate after another, over thresholds where the woman stepped over with the right foot and the man stepped using the left.  Traditions are very important here.  Dragons are a legendary animal in Chinese history and we saw many carvings with the image.  Lions are also central to the history, seen in pairs guarding gates.  The male lion is on the left hand side and has his right paw on a ball; the female is on the right with her left paw on a lion cub.  This is seen in many of the places we have visited.

This was one overwhelming place.  The vastness, the immense size of the outer walls, the decorations, the moat … Most of the façade was refurbished for the Olympics.  Color is important to the Chinese.  Red is for happiness; yellow for royalty; blue represents heaven; and green the earth.  The colors were so bright and vivid.  The areas that had not been refurbished were faded and peeling, it was such a sad sight that something so incredibly beautiful and old was not properly taken care of.

We spent approximately two hours exploring the many buildings, walking the alleyways, and viewing the breathtaking gardens all the while listening to our guide regal us with stories from Chinese history.  I had my handy little notebook with me so I could take notes, but my hands were freezing.  I could barely read my handwriting.

The gardens were unlike anything I have ever seen before.  Chinese gardens always have three components:  rock, water and trees.  These were not rocks, but carved boulders with interesting designs made by Mother Nature herself.  Moats of water, bridges, and twisted and knurled tree trunks made this the highlight of the FC for both of us.  I will let the pictures tell the story.

We returned to the Regent Hotel and were we delightfully surprised.  No standing in line to check in; our guides had done all the legwork and just handed each of us a room key.  All of our luggage from the ship was waiting there in the room.  Did I say this is the only way to go?  The room was beautiful and well equipped, and very luxurious.  We were on our own for dinner tonight, and after having a huge lunch we decided to eat a light meal.  I also wanted to get a large soft and collapsible storage bag so we could just easily move stuff around without having to repack everything as we checkout of the hotel tomorrow and head to Xian.  The hotel will store all the rest of our belongings and we only need to take an overnight bag (hahaha, you should see the size of the Walker’s overnight bag compared to everyone else’s).

We walked two blocks to the nearest mall where we encountered our first crosswalk near miss adventure and locals approaching us on the street to talk and visit (I described this in China – an Overview).  The mall was huge, bright and had trendy stores.  I mostly saw young people probably because there was a university nearby and frankly, there is nothing for a “regular” adult to buy that they would wear or could even fit into.  Most Chinese people are on the small side and not too terribly tall.  There was so much designer stuff (mostly knock-offs) that still were expensive and I wondered how they could afford the clothing, shoes and handbags.

We couldn’t bring ourselves to eat Chinese again, so we found a Pizza Hut and had a small pizza and beer.  Boy, I miss my caffeine free diet coke.  The menu was interesting in that there were all kinds of Chinese foods on it in addition to the pizza and pasta.

We returned to the hotel with our coveted soft sided bag and managed to pack our overnight bag before collapsing in bed.

China -- an Overview

Ni-how.  That’s Chinese for hello and greetings.  This was one hell of an adventure and I have got to say that Regent did this five day post cruise excursion in a first class way.  We never had to lug our bags, stand in long lines or wait to get our boarding passes.  All we had to do was show up at the appointed time and everything was taken care of.  Hotel accommodations were five star and our guides did an outstanding job of arranging everything and teaching us all about China.  This is the only way to travel.

Everything in China is BIG and CROWDED.  The density in the cities is mindboggling. The first notable item of interest was the highrise apartment buildings.  These behemoth-like cities, with buildings that went on for as far as the eye could see representing millions of new living units, were being built where farmland used to be (we couldn't get a good picture of these as the haze was just too thick).  As soon as one cluster of buildings is done, they move in thousands of people.  You can now buy an apartment, but they are often out of the reach of the young or newly married, so many children still live with their parents.  When you buy an apartment, you get the bare walls and floors – no toilets, floors, cabinets – no nothing.  One has to be careful of corrupt contractors when “decorating” their units.

The cities are so crowded that the government is actually forcing people to move out of the central business area into these “suburbs.”  If they refuse to accept a reasonable compensation to do so, the government forces them out by shutting off the electricity and water, and if necessary, tricking them out of their house by saying a family member was in an accident and is in the hospital.  When they return home to find this was a ruse, the house has already been demolished.  Yes, they do things in a brutish way sometimes, and the fact that the state owns 100% of the land makes it a lot easier to gravitate to the highest and best use of that land no matter the consequences to the individual. 

Everywhere we went in the cities we saw new construction:  airports, apartment buildings, offices, subways, freeways, stadiums, museums, and SHOPPING.   Lots of high end shopping.   We did not have any trouble navigating in the cities and on the freeways as there was English on so much of the signage.  In Beijing, all industry was moved out of the city before the Olympics to prevent pollution.  And speaking of pollution, they have a really serious problem with it.  People have discovered cars.  There are still over seven million bicycles and five million cars in Beijing alone.  Motorbikes have been banned due to their polluting effects, but motorscooters are allowed.  There are so many cars in Beijing that the average speed on Beijing roads is only 17 miles per hour. You cannot go to the car dealership and just buy a car.  You have to enter a lottery for a chance to get a car.  To cut down on the congestion, the government has mandated that on one day of the week you cannot drive your car; if you get caught by the police or the traffic cameras you get a fine of 100 yuan ($17) for each time you are cited. If you need to go somewhere important on your day of no driving, you can take public transportation or a taxi; however, most people find it cheaper to pay the fine.

The drivers and pedestrians play a nerves of steel game of chicken.  It’s take no prisoners, no holds barred.  Crosswalks are not safe and pedestrians are fair game; even if you have a green walk sign the drivers don’t pay any attention to it so you have to play dodge car when crossing the street (we learned this first hand the hard way and almost got mowed down).  There were rush hour bus wars and even the bicycles with boxes piled high over the back wheel got into the fracas by turning right into the way of oncoming buses.  Driving here is not for the faint of heart.  I envision a great new video game of Driving in Rush Hour Beijing, where one bus challenges the bus coming up on his right, cutting him off and then making a right hand turn right in front of the cut off bus.  Woo wee, what a ride we had.

After so many wars, including the Japanese occupation of China, the population was decimated.  The population started to boom uncontrollably and the government, under Mao, put the one child law into effect in 1978.  The only exception to this law is if you were an only child and your spouse was an only child, then you could have two children.  If you had more than the allotted amount of children, you are fined up to three years’ salary – but you could keep the kid.  This applies to the Han people, which comprise 93% of the population.  The rest of the 7% of the population is made up of 55 different minorities and this policy does not apply to them.  China considers Tibet, Mongolia and Manchuria to be a part of China.  Our guide was hesitant to discuss the Tibetan issue.

Some people have wondered why the name of Peking was changed to Beijing.  According to our guide, the city was always called Beijing.  In the Hong Kong dialect, it was called Peking.  Remember, China was a closed to the western world and until recently, the only news of China came out of Hong Kong.  When China opened its doors to the west, the proper name of Beijing was then used.  The past ten years of so has seen the Chinese economy go from a rural agrigarian society to a capitalist –type of economy.  Private business has a strong relationship with the government (can you say kick-backs and corruption).  However, the Communist government does not use the word capitalism; they prefer to call it “communism with special Chinese characteristics.”  Whatever…. They are surely embracing the entrepreneurial spirit!  By the year 2030, it is predicted that 70% of the population will be urbanized. 

What we witnessed here is truly an economic miracle.  They are advancing their society at a pace every year that takes the western world ten.  If you look close, the chocolate cake was decorated beautifully, but inside it tasted awful.  Things look good, but they are not concerned with craftsmanship.  The Olympics was an incredible motivator to modernize for the world to see, yet the Cube (the swimming venue) is falling apart.  The Bird’s Nest Stadium has gone to seed and the seats are falling apart. 

The truth is, as big as China may be, they really don’t have enough land, so they make more!  As we road from Tianjin to Beijing, we travelled over several thousand acres of land that had been reclaimed from the sea.  Had we been here six months earlier, we would have been in the ocean.  We passed miles and miles of tens of thousands of newly planted trees along the freeway that was really a nursery; the trees are destined for Beijing for planting as a windbreak for the fierce sand storms from the Gobi Desert that occur in the springtime. 

How are they going to feed everyone?  With the farmers and rural people moving to the cities and agricultural land being used for development, food is getting expensive.  Even street vendors selling food are disappearing as there is no room for them because of too many cars and pollution.  The emergency lanes (for police and ambulances) have been taken over by traffic.  If you are rushing to the hospital to have a baby, you probably won’t make it.

Wherever we went (we were a group of 52), locals would stare at us. It was quite unnerving at first.  They would come up to one or two of us and ask to take OUR picture.  They would strike several poses with us in the middle surrounded by three or four Chinese.  I held onto my passport and wallet as I didn’t know if they were trying to pickpocket while taking the pictures or not.  They seem to be really interested in us.  Several times both Michael and I were approached by mostly students who would walk up to us on the street or at the mall and start a conversation.  They wanted to practice their English and ask all kinds of questions about America and what we thought of China.  I was “invited” to come with them to see their homes, art galleries, etc.  No way was I going to go somewhere with a perfect stranger.

This history of China is so big, long and complicated that I could never hope to capture it in a few sentences or paragraphs.  The history goes back 3,500 years, with the cradle of civilization starting in the Northwest of the country along the Yellow River.  There are 1.4 BILLION people in China.  There have been 13 dynasties, with the last emperor living in the Forbidden Palace until 1911.  The Chinese invented gun powder, paper, printing, and the compass among other things.  In 1949, China underwent a social revolution becoming a communist country, and is now known as the People’s Republic of China.  I’ll refer to more history when I describe our excursions.

There is no DIET COKE or diet anything.  We had to drink and brush teeth with only bottled water, even in the hotel.  I could not bring myself to drink regular coke, so I drank beer.  Yeah, me.  I drank more beer in these five days than I have in the last ten years.  I might even get to like it someday. 

Most of my comments so far are general to China and specific to cities.  We saw people of all ages doing yoga or other exercise in unhosted groups in city parks and squares.  It was cold outside and there they were, working out.  It seemed as though most of these were elderly folks.  Since the retirement age for women is 50 and for men its 55, I guess that is considered elderly.  We also saw store employees in uniform lined up outside on the sidewalk for their daily pep talk and exercise.  Since they have taken physical education out of our schools, this seems like a great idea. 

And now… ta da … the girls bathrooms.  All the places we went to had two feet and a hole pictured on the outside of the door.  They would have one or two handicap stalls with toilets that were so low to the ground you might as well have been squatting; some didn’t have a seat, just the rim.  Sometimes there were seat protectors and toilet paper.  The public rest rooms were not that clean and smelled.  There were times when we had to bring the TP with us as not all bathrooms had some.  The hotels had western style bathrooms, but the TP was like wiping with a stick of wood.  Where is the Charmin??

Most of the public buildings we went to were not heated.  We had to wear coats in the museums and the lobby of the hotels we stayed at were also cold.  And one other generalization:  there was nowhere to sit wherever we went.  Standing in one spot while the guide lectured was sometimes torture and the distances we walked were quite vast:  walk, stand/talk, walk, stand/talk… and to think that my little walking chair is being enjoyed by someone in Taiwan.

To look at the cities with just a cursory examination, things look pleasant and very western.  Many of the shopping areas and restaurants we visited were state run and I think there was a make work program going on because there were way too many workers and clerks for the amount of business we saw.  And I have to tell you, they were on the pushy side, following you around the store spotting any weakness they could capitalize on.  Pause too long and look at one thing and they were in your face, albeit very nicely. 

The old sections, both rural and urban, were ancient brick and tin structures looking like something from feudal times.  Old was old and not maintained, much of it falling down.  We saw men on tricycles with bushels of straw mounted on the little wagon riding alongside the modern cars.  Tiny store fronts along the old section looked tired and worn while store fronts in the rehabilitated areas looked fresh and western.   The contrast between the old and new was so stark that one wonders how the culture can accept these rapid changes.

Seoul, S Korea

Today was a long day of touring trying to find the soul in Seoul.  Also, today was the last excursion on this cruise for us so there was a bit of sadness.   All good things must come to an end, but I don’t think we are really ready for it.  We are thinking about packing tomorrow and will have to say our good-byes.  At least we have five days touring in China, so that will ease the transition of having to leave the ship, our home for the past 66 days.

Seoul seemed to be a drab place to me.  It might be because there were no leaves on the trees, or there weren’t any flowers planted in the parks.  But I don’t think that is the case.  The metropolitan area has no color.  All the buildings, and there are plenty, are the same color – shades of tan or beige.  Their favorite color of cars is white, black and grey, although the buses were colorful; the color of the bus indicated where the service area was.

This is a very dense and crowded city, with a population of 12 million people in the city itself and 25 million in the metropolitan area.  Most people use public transportation as driving and parking is too expensive relative to the salary the average person makes ($2,500 per month).  Gas costs around $8 per gallon and daily parking downtown is $40-50 per day.  There are modern freeways (which we had the pleasure to ride on for several hours – really, not bad because there are bus lanes just for buses so no traffic).  Yes, the bus and subway is the way to go.

Housing is in identical highrise apartment buildings that look like “the projects.”  They all look alike and the only way to tell them apart is with the number and a company name high up on the side of the building.  These blocks of highrise buildings dominate the skyline and you can see construction all over the city.  At one point, 80% of the population was farmers; today only 20% are and the rest are moving to the cities for jobs. They can house a lot of people in each building as there is no room for urban sprawl.  Korean families tend to be very small, usually with just one child.  Many grown children live with their parents because they cannot afford to rent or buy an apartment. 

Most people learn English in school, but unfortunately, don’t get a chance to practice it.  Therefore, parents send their kids away to school so they can learn to be proficient in English, thus ensuring a competitive edge to getting a good job in the city.  Speaking of jobs, Samsung is the largest employer making computer chips, and most everything else.  Hyundai is by far the biggest automaker here with Kia as it’s biggest, but still much smaller competitor.  The two of them make up 90% of the market share.  LG Electronics is here, too.

The most common surnames are Kim, Lee, and Park.  If you look in the phone book, 50% of the population has one of these names.  If you page Mr. Kim at the airport, half of the people will answer.  Parents hire a “professional name maker” and will pay $100-300 to ensure a distinctive name for their offspring.

No trip to Korea would be complete without the telling of the story of Kim Chee.  This must be the national food along with rice.  Ewww, the smell is awful, but they eat it morning, noon, and night as a side dish or over rice or noodles.  What is this delicacy?  Pickled cabbage!  (although you can make it using other vegetables).  It takes a whole lot of time to make and today, they just buy it.  They used to make it, and then seal it in large clay jars which they buried in the ground.  They would build a straw shed over the burial area.  This was a way to control the temperature while the cabbage fermented.  It also ensured produce for the winter months.

The last bit of trivia is that 70% of the public toilets use the squat over a hole instead of a porcelain throne.  I, for one, did not conduct a firsthand investigation into this matter.  I am also consciously avoiding the subject of the Korean War as I think most of you know about it, especially if you used to watch MASH.

So what did I get to do today?  It was COLD and I had to wear gloves as I had an outdoor excursion.  I went to a 19^th century recreation of a rural Korean farm village.  Life was tough, but you already knew that anything before electricity and flush toilets was hell.  We saw a dance troupe who beat drums and symbols, and had hats with a long ribbon attached to a springy thing on the top that would swirl the ribbon around as they would swing their heads. 

Next, we saw a tightrope walker.  What does this have to do with a 19^th century village?  I dunno.  He would talk for awhile and then walk across the rope.  We did not understand anything he said and we received no translation.  So we made up some comments he may have said:

“Ow, that hurts the nuts.”

“Oh, I’ve broken that leg 4 times.”

“I must be crazy to do this for people who have no idea what I am saying.”

We then had a typical Korean lunch.  The rice was good and I drank a beer.  Kim Chee – icky, stinky, no way!  That’s all I am saying about it. 

Our final stop was the Namdaedum Market.  Woo hoo, shop til you drop extravaganza!  It was the wholesale market for the retail stores, and did they have stuff!  I walked the maze of streets and searched and searched and couldn’t find anything to buy.  I will admit the whole scene was a bit overwhelming.  Stores with food items I could never hope to identify, huge jars of ginger root, vendors cooking foreign looking and smelling food, and clothing and accessories.  There was a factory right in the middle of the market that made and decorated hair and jewelry accessories.  I knew Michael was coming to the market, so using the handy dandy walkie talkies, we actually met up with each other and walked around the market.  Michael had some Korean money left over, so I actually purchased a box of jewelry storage bags. 




 


  


Then the long ride back to Inchon where the ship was located, did some laundry, and dined with a friend.  All in a day’s work.  Tomorrow is our last sea day before arriving in Beijing.

Michael’s turn:

I escorted the “Grand Tour of Seoul” today and it was a most enjoyable experience. 

Did you know that all Koreans are born with the exact same birthmark?  This is true.  All Korean babies, boys as well as girls, are born with a blue bruise on their butts.  Fortunately these disappear by age four. It is known as the “Mongolian Spot,” so named as all Koreans are descended from the Mongolians who all had this genetic characteristic.

Our first stop was the New National Museum of Korea, opened only three years ago.  It is the world’s sixth largest museum and we could only touch the surface of its 11,000 items.  We did get to see the fabled golden crown, a few striking Buddhas, Caledon pottery and some paintings.  I bought my first coffee mug of this entire cruise in the museum’s gift store.  From the museum we went to lunch at the Chon Korean BBQ restaurant and I was in heaven.  I love Korean food, particularly Kim Chee, and I ate a lot of it.  The BBQ beef wrapped in lettuce and spiced with chili sauce and garlic was wonderful.  By the way, Kim Chee is very good for you as it kills the germs in your stomach.  If you read the above you know that Beverly and I have a different read on this delicacy!

After lunch we drove by the Blue House, the presidential residence, which is actually teal colored.  We were not allowed to take photographs, even from the bus, for security reasons.  We then proceeded on to the Deoksugung Palace for a guided tour.  Located at the corner of the busiest intersection of downtown Seoul, this palace is noted for its elegant stone-walled road as well as for standing alongside western styled buildings.  It was an amazing contrast.  Our next stop was Insadong, one of Seoul’s premier shopping districts.  I walked down “Mary’s Alley” and watched them make these spun honey confections that were out of this world.  We then drove to the Namdaedum Market, Korea’s biggest traditional market for clothing, dairy goods, and I think everything else.  It was something to see!  It was then back to the ship for some R&R.