socalgalopenwallet

Little Petra

2012-01-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

A few kilometres away is Little Petra, dubbed Little Petra because it is a smaller version of Petra. The main Petra is a huge area but Little Petra is a much smaller area and takes just one hour to view everything. There's no entrance fee except one does need to hire a taxi to take you there and wait for you and then take you back. We left Amman very early on our first day. While there are mini buses that can take you to Petra, we opted for the JETT bus that leaves its Amman depot at 6.30 am every morning and returns to Amman everyday at 4pm. So it is possible to visit Petra as a daytrip, we stayed 3 days. We arrived at 9.30 am and decided to go to Little Petra. When we finished we realised we still have time for Petra. So we hurried back to the village, had lunch, bought a three day pass for Petra and started our afternoon in Petra. The cost of a one day pass is 50JD, 55JD for a 2 days and 60JD for a three day pass. JD is for Jordanian Dinar as opposed to the Saudi Dinar. The JD is stronger than our US dollar. It's 1JD to US$1.45. While it takes more US$, the costs of living in Jordan is much lower and your JD's do go further. We met another traveling duo, a father and daughter and we sort of traveled with them the whole 3 days.

Bedouins

2012-01-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Ever since the discovery of Petra, visitors have traveled to the area with Bible in hand. So much in Genesis happened in and around that area. Jordan is also called 'the other Holy land', mostly because a lot of the events mentioned in the Bible happened on this side of the river Jordan and the Dead sea. Aaron, Moses' brother is supposed to be buried here. Moses was supposed to have struck the rock for water on this side. The Edomites who lived here were later replaced by the Nabataeans and it was the Nabataeans who built most if not all the beautiful monuments that we see today. The Bedouins of Arabia began migrating into this area and today they are found all over Petra. Also known as 'Bedu' or nomads, today, most of them have more or less settled. Their 'goat hair' woven tents are mostly for display. They live in ramshackle huts all over the rocky area, they ply their goods and services to the tourists. Some still tend to their animals, the rest just sell kitsch, hire themselves out as guides, offer donkey, horse or camel rides. They can be aggressive in plying their wares and services but mostly they are friendly and hospitable. The invitation to have tea is always there. One cannot walk or hike or climb anywhere in Petra without bumping into a Bedouin family. I'm almost glad because some parts are so deserted that it feels good to know that someone is always close by, whether it be women and their children or this lone old lady.

Petra, Jordan

2012-01-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

A land, harsh and inhospitable but was settled from very early times. The land of 'Seir' as indentified in the Bible. Deuteronomy Chapter 2 : 4 ' You (the Israelites) are about to pass through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir.' The descendants of Esau were also identified as the Edomites. The Horites lived here first but were replaced by the Edomites. Deuteronomy Chapter 2 : 12 'Horites used to live in Seir but the descendants of Esau drove them out.' Esau was the older brother of Jacob. The biblical name is Seir but its Greek name is 'Petra'.

I'm back

2012-01-24T17:07:00.000-08:00

This was a nice little hotel, close to the entrance to Petra. One needs to stay near the entrance. It's a long walk from the entrance to the 'siq' and the 'siq' is another long walk into the whole area. At the end of the days, the track back to the hotel is long and arduous. I've just arrived back from the airport after having travelled a whole 24 hours. We spent 5 days in Jordan. Our Cairo trip a few years ago was 5 days also. That's all the time I have and we managed to squeeze a lot in. It was cold and wet, raining almost every days. I wasn't dressed quite warm enough but I didn't care. The first hotel in Amman had no heat and no hot water. That was tough. The next hotel in Amman had both heat and reliable hot water and a lot more services and cheap too. Jordanians are a very warm and friendly people. We met a lot of tourists while there, even in this kind of weather. That was quite heartening to know.

Whistlestop

2012-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

I shall be away in Petra, Jordan for a very short visit.

Lots of eggs

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

Lots of local farm eggs and a ton of butter from Brittany or Normandy goes into the making of the very delicious omelettes at the restaurant La Mere Poulard.

Lunch @ La Mere Poulard

2012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

The restaurant, La Mere Poulard in Mont St Michel, their famous omelette with lobster and potatoes with truffles. Mmmmmm it was so good but Sophie had intestinal problems after eating lunch here for days. It wasn't a good memory for her. The lobster wasn't fresh and wasn't reheated through. The picture is pretty though.

French pastry

2012-01-15T04:41:00.000-08:00

We arrived on a rainey morning at Mont St Michel. After looking at pictures of the fabled church for so many years, we were finally at its foot. The bottom of the place was a shopping mecca with most visitors staying here longer than at the top where the church and abbey is. It's no wonder because of the tantalising display of foods and kitsch they have for sale. Here is a peek into a pastry shop window. I think I see some of the famous French pastry called 'kouign-amann'.

Orange blossoms

2012-01-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

Orange juice, orange blossoms...... memories of both keep flooding back. In winter, there is nothing interesting in the market. Soon the Orange blossoms will come back and we will enjoy fresh oranges again. The grapefruit tree in Sophie's backyard is clean of fruit. Over the holidays we raided the tree and turned all the fruit into juice. It tasted so good. I am reminded of the incredibly sweet orange juice so readily available all over Morocco. It's worth it just to be in Morocco to drink its orange juice. These orange blossoms were at a stand in Fes. We bought some just to smell it.

Breakfast on the rooftop

2012-01-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

This wasn't some 4 star hotel or the Hilton. It was a local family run place, they were new and eager to please. I promised I'd write a good review on them in Tripadviser which I did. I forgot the name of this place. Breakfast consisted of freshly squeezed orange juice, the OJ in Morocco is legendary, it is so sweet and cheap and available at every corner in the country. There's the hard boiled egg, local bread, local jam and honey. I think we got coffee as well.

Fish and chips? Not!

2012-01-13T05:42:00.000-08:00

One of the greatest thing about traveling is the food, not the Michelin starred restaurants but the local cafes. The places where the locals eat offer the best food in town and at prices not seen in this country. I remember the hole-in-wall restaurants near the train station in Naples, the grilled seafood was the best I've ever eaten. I remember the local restaurants in Catania, that's another dream, the food was so incredible. No famous food critic ever darken their doors and that's a shame. In the Far East, in Singapore and Malaysia, one eat out at the night markets where the food is unsurpassed by any famous restaurant. We had fish fry in Essaouira, Morocco, here in the picture. The local fishermen brings in their catch throughout the day, the cook dredged the catch in a little flour and fries it up and here we were picking the meat off the little fish with our fingers. The bones were just dropped on the floor where a bunch of local cats have been waiting throughout the meal. Talk about fat cats, these were some fat ones! We don't drink soda at home but do indulge in the occasional Coca Cola while abroad.

Guy and motorcycle

2012-01-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

We live or I live in a civilised world where we don't have animals on our freeways. Our motorcycles carry only people and not goods. In so many of the places we've been to, there are still horse and cart or donkey and cart on their paved roads and in the city. We see motorcycles laden with stuff. It is an education to see the contrast. I appreciate both worlds.

Empty streets

2012-01-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

The old city of Marrakech is an enclosed city with high city walls. Inside is the medina, a maze of narrow alleys. In the daytime it teems with people, locals and visitors, mingle. In the early hours of the morning, the alleys are empty. This was the view from the rooftop of our hotel where we were having breakfast. This was a trip taken 2 years ago. I just saw Rick Steves' old TV program when he went to Tangiers. I want to revisit Morocco again, this time going to the North.

Front row seat

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

From this vantage point of the tea shop, we had a front row seat to watch the action in Jema Efna in Marrakech. As the sun goes down, and as the light begin to fade, the pace picks up, more and more people begin to fill the square. The vendors start to set up business and by the time the sun sets completely, the action is full swing. The food people are rustling up people to sit and to partake of their fare, the dancers dance to the rhythm of drums, people come out in droves and mingle. It's an incredible festive atmosphere and it goes on every night.

New car

2012-01-08T10:38:00.000-08:00

I took delivery of my new car yesterday. It's a Subaru Outback. I am so happy.

Too many pictures of flowers

2012-01-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

My nephew said that I took too many pictures of flowers during our trip to Eastern Turkey. I do agree that I took many pictures and a lot are of the incredible display of wild flowers. I always take a lot of pictures of everything. What am I going to do if there are wild flowers everywhere? Some people travel for the xplicit reason of seeing wild flowers and taking pictures of them. No, Ari, one never have enough pictures of flowers, nor one take too many pictures of them.

the joy of ruins

2012-01-07T08:34:00.000-08:00

Today's traveler walk through physical ruins of past civilizations, of past empires, whether it be the Byzantine or the Ottoman empires and others. These empires left their 'carcasses' strewn all over the world. And I have a great time visiting and learning about them. It's an incredible pastime.Sometimes they leave writing which illuminates their states of mind and that can be enlightening. Where no written record is left, the modern traveler is left to conjecturing what was.

Moroccan fisherman

2012-01-06T06:00:00.001-08:00

He wanted us to have this shrimp. That was so sweet of him but what were we going to do with it. It'll spoil and stink. It was the thought that counted.

Octopus

2012-01-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

We had octopus salad this Christmas. It was pretty good. Octopus is not a popular dish in the USA. I remember eating it in Northern Spain, in Santiago de Compostela to be exact. It was quite good. But most if not all Mediterranean countries have an Octopus dish or two. We met this Moroccan fisherman on the plage de Rabat in Rabat and he showed us his catch that day.

Mt Etna

2012-01-05T19:27:00.001-08:00

Years ago, we took the little train, the Circumetnea, around the foot of Mt Etna. In March it is still covered in snow. It was so beautiful. Mt Etna was quiet then. I just saw images of Mt Etna spewing lava. I've always wanted to be there when this happens. Looks like I'm going to miss another chance.

Snails, anyone?

2012-01-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

There were things we ate when we were young that can't be mentioned in polite company. We were so poor. But today we are still eating weird things like snails. We never ate snails when we were growing up, the snails in Borneo are huge, slimy and nasty. We just smash and kill them because they will get into the vegetable garden and devour everything. In Morocco, we ate a lot of snails. We were walking around the cemetery in Rabat and came upon this colony of snails and I thought to myself, 'this is one of the many places where the vendors get their snails for their soup pot on the streets in Morocco.

What's behind that door?

2012-01-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

Why is that door locked shut? Do you have any locked areas in your life? Throw open those locked doors, those taboos and live life to the fullest. The time is quite late, for me, anyway. There are no locked doors, no taboos. I want to make 2012 an incredible year. Many have asked, 'where did the year go? I don't know about them, I lived every day of it. I will live every day of 2012 and not ask, 'where did the year go?'

Memories of the road less travelled

2012-01-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

I guess the beginning of a new year is one when we reflect on where we've been and where we are going. Not just for places but also for experiences. What are we going to do in the new year that is different, that is far reaching than the year before. Or is it going to the same?

We thought we were alone

2012-01-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

Here we were in Cappadocia, looking for the hidden churches. From a distance we saw a huge group. All of us ended up meeting in this cave church and this group were some French people. It's wonderful to know that there are like minded people in the world. People from all over the world are descending on Cappadocia to see its wonder and marvels. It was a life changing trip.

Jesus Christ, Pantocrator

2012-01-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

It's barely visible, Jesus, holding a Bible in one arm and the other hand is raised to bless. This is a fresco from one of the cave churches in Cappadocia. I pray this year is one full of the Lord's blessings.

Byzantine architecture

2011-12-31T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am fickle. I used to be so deep into Baroque architecture. But now I'm into Byzantine architecture. I'm into the Byzantine empire and all things Byzantine.

It's almost time to be on the road again

2011-12-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's almost time to leave on another trip. Another long flight, some more flea pit motels.... it's just the ticket to get me up. Really! I have to make reservations for anothe flea pit motel in Amman, Jordan. Sigh! How else would I be able to travel? It's a small price to pay. And so I continue.... to do what I've done the past over 10 years. This is a hostel room in Catania, Sicily. I've used this picture many times. Maybe I'll use it in a book that I'll one day write.

Keiko Oikawa

2011-12-29T22:49:00.000-08:00

I've always wondered how to use other people's pictures. This is a test, its only a test. I can't resist being a kleptomaniac in this test. I've always admired Keiko Oikawa's photography. She does such an incredible job for Petershamm Nurseries. Her work is so phenomenally beautiful, I could cry seeing it. Sorry, Keiko, for not asking permission but at least I didn't pretend these were my work.

Byzantine architecture

2011-12-29T20:07:00.001-08:00

Cicekler, the wild flowers of Turkey

2011-12-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

The wild flowers of Turkey is legendary. Visitng the Eastern part in June I didn't think I'll see anything. I thought every flower would have dried up but not so, the wild flower season was at its height and oh so glorious. I didn't miss anything. I dared not exhale for fear it was a dream but it wasn't.

Me and him

2011-12-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

In Lijiang, a little village in Yunnan province, China, the streets are always teeming with tourists but in the early hours of the morning, you virtually have the place to yourself. Well, I thought I was alone until I spotted him. We both have the same idea, visit the village before the tourists fininsh breakfast and we'll have the place to ourselves.

Lijiang, China 2

2011-12-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

Maybe it means something in Chinese but the English translation sure don't make sense. I guess it could be advertising rooms for the lonely traveler or the traveler traveling by himself.

The cinque terre

2011-12-26T19:35:00.000-08:00

We stayed in Manorola at a private apartment and this was the view.

Sophie walking one of the trails.

This is Montorosso, one of the villages devastated by the floods. To see the ravages of the water and mud was hard. The cinque terre is so beautiful, every village perched against cliffside, it is amazing they survived all these years.The cinque terre is a true marvel, a Unesco World Heritage site.

The floods in the cinque terre

2011-12-26T19:29:00.001-08:00

I just saw the floods in the cinque terre that happened last October. It was so bad. I hear of so many natural disasters but it doesn't affect me as bad as when I have been to these places. I have been to the cinque terre and love the cinque terre. I read in Rick Steves' newsletter they are back in business and are welcoming visitors again.

Lijiang, China

2011-12-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

Riding alone for thousands of miles? I don't know what that mean. Maybe its about our lives, we are alone. We need to live our own lives ourselves.

Christmas dinner was a resounding success

2011-12-25T20:46:00.000-08:00

I cooked a lot, I thought I'll have a lot more leftovers which would mean I don't have to cook for the next few days. It doesn't looked like it because my guests ate almost everything.

Santa was here and left a lot of happy people. No one was disappointed.

There were birthday celebrations too, mine and my niece, Karin's. We had a great time, there were 20 of us.

A hive of activity

2011-12-24T12:23:00.000-08:00

The smell of mince meat pies permeating from the kitchen is a clear reminder that the season is upon us. I'm cooking for 20 people and my trusty old commercial stove can handle any task. It is big enough for 2 turkeys to be cooked side by side. I love this old thing but I still want to replace it one day. It is the best time of the year with family gathering, especially those who made the great trip out West from the East coast. I pray that your Christmas is as joyous as mine.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

I wish you an incredibly happy Christmas and New Year.

A day in the park

2011-12-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

On Sundays, the locals in Kunming all came to the park. Some groups would play musical intruments together, some would sing, some would take out their expensive cameras and tripods and photograph the water lilies, some would just mill around and enjoy the park. There are a few big groups that would do group dancing, everyone dressed in their ethnic finery. There is this lovely older lady all decked out that I was following with my camera. She looked so delightful. They would dance in a circle when the music played. Then I saw this tall Chinese man teaching a group to do the cha cha cha. It was so fun. The unfortunate thing was there was a cloud burst and we all scattered and that was the end of my day in the park, in Green park, Kunming.

Restoration of a temple

2011-12-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

I guess the ancient beams have rotted and they are now making new ones to replace the old. The ancient tiled roofs were all saved to be reused later including the dragons that would grace the flying tips pf the roofs. These were a happy bunch of workers.

Baby carriers

2011-12-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

While many of the baby carriages may have been made in China, one is hardpressed to see any Chinese pushing their kids in them. Chinese still carry their infants in pouches like these. These are beautifully embroidered. All one does is stick the baby in one of these and carry them around like in a backpack. Neat!

Gorgeous embroidery

2011-12-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

The Chinese wear this drab indigo dyed clothing that is very traditional. It's the same pattern I remember my paternal grandmother wearing these clothes. Today they can dress up their drab clothing with gorgeous and intricately embroidered patches. Here they are being sold in the Sunday market. Looking back I should have bought some to embellish some of my clothes. It would have been fun. Someone once wrote, 'we regret not the trips we've taken but the ones we didn't' or put in another way 'we regret not the things we bought but the ones we didn't'.

Another China

2011-12-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

We did live like this growing up but will I be able to live like this again? I don't think so. It's just too primitive. It's fun to visit and see how other people live. All week long these folks are probably working alone in the fields. The Sunday market is a time to socialise and catch up with friends and neighbors. It's probably something to look forward to all week.

The other China

2011-12-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

The difference between the haves and the have nots in China is a growing gap. On our trips we meet Chinese from the big cities like Beijing or Shanghai, they have money to travel. They have the 2,000 yuan to fly around the country. Elsewhere there is another group who has never seen 2,000 yuan in their lives. They live in rural China and eke out very meager living from what they produce. Here one is hardpressed to see more motorized transportation. They use charcoal to cook with and horses to pull their carts.

A market in South China

2011-12-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

The markets especially in rural countries are such a fascinating place. I remember markets in rural Morocco. I read about the incredible Sunday market in Kashgar which is a must see soon on my list. This was a Sunday market an hour's drive outside Kunming, the capital of Yunnan province in South China. It was so primitive and so wonderful. It was crowded and I must have been the only foreigner there.

Lunch time in China

2011-12-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

While there are restaurants and even Western hamburger chains all over China, this scene is repeated every where all over the country. People sitting on low stools, slurping noodles with 2 little sticks. I recently found out that those little disposable chopsticks are mostly made in the USA. We have a lot of soft woods because of reforestation and we make most if not all the world's disposable chopsticks.

Preserved eggs

2011-12-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

I think they are duck eggs that has been preserved by wrapping them in ash or lime, I am not sure. I eat them sometimes. I served this to a friend once, she didn't have any opinion, either good or bad. She's very adventurous when it comes to food. It's an acquired taste. It's kind of strong smelling and creamy, it takes some getting used to. We eat them with rice to cut down the smell and the taste. So as a condiment, they are edible.

People mover

2011-12-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

While a lot of big Chinese cities are thoroughly modern, with Western shops, cars and other modern amenities, there is a Chinese, just yards away, which is rural and backward. Backward in a good way, not a bad way. For me, it is this backward China that I come to see and to enjoy. The capital of Yunnan province is Kunming and is very modern, they have Pizza huts, McDonalds, and Dolce & Gabbana and more cars than there's room on the roads for. Just an hour away are little villages where people lived like they did 100 years ago. The best time to visit is on a Sunday, every villager would have come to town, bringing their surplus and buying whatever else they needed. It is a fascinating spectacle and most likely you would be the only foreigner in town.

Door gods

2011-12-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

As a child , our grandmother would always be chiding us, 'don't make the gods angry.' For some reason the gods are easily offended and you do not want to offend them. There is a god for everything and you always have to ask permission or else they will be angry and the outcome is not good. I remember being afraid all the time until I went to Sunday school in church where I was taught to pray and this God of the Christians would hear, be sympathetic and correct the injustice. I remember as a child adopting the good God of the Christians as my God and forsaking my grandmother's many gods. In my travels in China I see reminders of my grandmother's gods. I wish for them (the Chinese) that they too will adopt the God of the Christians.

Chinese New Year

2011-12-11T06:00:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year is very early this year. I just discovered the first day is going to be January 23, 2012. I also discovered it's going to be the year of the dragon. Wow! That's my year, I was born in the year of the dragon. I must make 2012 a banner year and that is my Chinese New Year resolution!

And so we come to the end of this trip

2011-12-10T07:49:00.001-08:00

Here we are trying to get in to see Prince Gong's house. I was tired and didn't feel like fighting the crowds so I sat outside. There was this cute old man next to me and I took his picture. I'll be going to Petra next month and in the mean time will post old pictures and stories.

The Great wall of China @ Badaling

2011-12-09T22:01:00.001-08:00

The culmination of our trip to China was a visit to the Great Wall of China. This was at the Badaling section, the section that every tourists goes to. We couldn't find transportation to the other parts, so we had to make do with this. It was impressive. For a time it did keep out the Mongol hordes from the North but even these walls were breached. The Mongols were a mighty fighting machine but their expertise were limited to battle on the steppes of Mongolia and Central Asia. It wasnt' when they conquered another rival tribe who were great engineers and knew about seige warfare that they had the knowledge on how to breach the walls of China. These stretch for miles and miles in the North of China.

On our way to the great wall

2011-12-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

It was a Sunday but the traffic was horrendous. We took the bus to the Badaling section of the great wall. Even before we got there we could sections of it wending its way through the mountainous terrain. It was a terrific sight, the object of our desire and we are finally close to it.

This was a rather awakening, to see this KFC restaurant at the entrance. It was magnificent and crowded. This was the famous great wall of China, this section has been restored and one could walk and climb for miles. My leg was hurting and I tried not to be too ambitious. I wish I had more time. We wanted to go to the other more rugged sections of the wall but couldn't find transportation there.

Peking duck

2011-12-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

Of course, one has to eat Peking duck in Beijing. Here the condiments are laid out. Peking duck is available outside of China, in Southern California, we find some of the world's best Peking duck. One has to reserve the dish one day ahead. It takes a lot of preparation. The duck is pumped full of air and hung out to dry for a day. This makes the skin to separate from the meat and when roasted the skin takes on this beautiful mahogany color. The skin is crisp and is taken off and cut into small pieces. Then the meat is also cut inot small pieces.

In this restaurant they use steamed pancakes but in most other places that I've eaten in they use steamed rice dumplings. I much prefer the steamed rice dumplings.

The pancake is smeared with some Hoisin sauce, the meat is placed over it, then the vegetables....

The pancake is rolled up and eaten..

The bones are taken back into the kitchen and dumped into a soup pot. When you have consumed all the meat, the soup is brought to the table. Now you drink the duck soup.

I love duck. They serve duck on China Airlines.I love the Cantonese roast duck, the ones you see hanging in restaurant windows. Here was my experience of eating Peking duck in Beijing.

A Baroque church in Beijing

2011-12-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

It's very unusual to see a church in China. This one sits right next to the fancy shopping street of Wangfujing. I'm surprised the Chinese hasn't bulldozed it to make room for more fancy shops. Wangfujing is the pedestrainized street that has all the Western shops. It's full of people all the time.

Another night market

2011-12-05T06:00:00.000-08:00

From the bus we can see another night market in full swing, the Chinese buying their own stuff. The Chinese buying up made in China. We didn't buy anything. I noticed on the flight home, we, the Americans did not come home with tons of stuff. But going to China, I noticed that the Chinese did buy tons of American stuff like Coach and Ralph Lauren. Here we are, going to our Walmart, fighting to get into stores on Black Friday just to buy the junk that they ship here from China. Why? This Christmas, do not shop, if you can't find made in America, walk away! I like to give money, pure cash. I hate gift cards, they have so many restrictions that $100 end up being $80. It's the biggest rip off! Just put a nice crisp 'benny' in the envelop for me, it doesn't have to be a crisp one, rumpled is OK too!

Donkey meat

2011-12-04T06:00:00.000-08:00

They are selling donkey meat. This is a restaurant that sells donkey meat. If people eat camels, horses, yaks, snakes and whatever else, it's not an unusual that there'll be restaurants selling donkey meat. When we were young and poor, we ate some strange stuff, too strange to mention here in polite company. Anyway that was the past. Today these things are strange to me.

rickshaws

2011-12-03T06:00:00.000-08:00

City folks and Westerners get a kick from riding on a rickshaw. The whole area is teeming with rickshaws. Talk about pedal power, this is it. This form of transportation is so old and it has not shown any signs of going extinct. In fact it is more necessary today as ever before.

Courtyard houses

2011-12-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the frenzy of city life in Beijing, there are pockets of rustic surburbia. There are constant stories of the disappearance of the hutongs or courtyard homes in Beijing. They are still found, albeit, not in their original quantities, a lot has been bulldozed to make room for tall and modern buildings.

We met a guy who lived here and asked to be allowed in to photograph the place. This was the China we came to see. There are still provinces in China left out by the crazy development of the last 30 years and they still retain the life in China of a hundred years ago.

After that visit, it was back to reality, the reality of the traffic choked streets of modern Beijing. We met another guy who is from Hong Kong and we stopped and had coffee in his shop. A few other young people has also set up shop here. It was very refreshing to meet young Western looking Chinese people.

The shops outside

2011-12-01T06:00:00.000-08:00

The jewel in the lotus, 'om mani padme hum'.

I love the idea of prayer flags and prayer wheels. Prayers are written on the flags and as they flap away these prayers are being sent heavenward. Just in the same way, prayers are written in rotating drums and with each turn, prayers are being sent heavenward. So this action magnifies the number of prayers being made heavenward. Isn't it a great idea? When we pray, we just make one prayer at a time.

There's always time for lunch of rustic pulled noodles.

You can buy your favorite deity.

This is Tibetan writing.

Of course there are those beautiful silk clothing. The shops across the street from the Tibetan temple was quite interesting. I love all things Tibetan, for some reason they are more colorful and much more lively. I long to go to Tibet soon to see the real thing.

Yonghee Gong Lama temple

2011-11-30T06:00:00.000-08:00

The only Tibetan temple in Beijing but it still doesn't look very authentic.

I noticed a few mixed couples where the Westerner has adopted the religion of their spouses.

It was a Sunday and the place was busy and the cauldrons of joss sticks were burning non stop.

Their deities are fierce looking. Don't ask me who they are. I have no clue.

He is motioning to us not to take his picture but we didn't care.

This was the closest I've been to a Tibetan temple, the next time, I will be at a real one.

To worship the dead

2011-11-29T06:00:00.000-08:00

Can anything be done to the dead, for the dead, with the dead? Apparently the Buddhists think they can. One can buy paper money, paper Mercedes, paper mansions and burn these things and the dead could receive them. I remember the elaborate funerals of rich people while I was going to college in Singapore. The vigil lasts for days and the relatives would be camped with the deceased just as long. There was a huge procession of people coming and going until the actual day of the funeral, then the professional mourners come, the funeral band play, the Buddhist priests started their chants and they burn all kinds of funeral paraphernalia to send off with the dead. It was an expensive and elaborate affair.

A courtyard house

2011-11-28T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hanging out near a Tibetan temple, we happened upon this courtyard home. We asked a man there is we could come and take some pictures. He said, yes and here we were. This one is really pretty and authentic. It hasn't been donw up. Real people lives here, not some fat cat expatriate.

The Imperial garden

2011-11-27T06:00:00.000-08:00

From the entrance of the Forbidden city we walked past a series of halls which has different functions. Most of them are empty, the contents have been looted over the years by all the upheavals in China. A lot has been removed by the fleeing Revolutionary people when the Communists came into power. These were taken across the sea to the island of Formosa, which today is called Taiwan. To the end of these halls is the Imperial garden, another huge and immense area. The buildings that houses the residents are to the left and right side. In its heyday it is a city unto itself, with the Royal families, the concubines, their families, the kitchen staff, and the 1200 eunuchs and palace guards. The best information given about life in the Forbidden city was of course still the last resident of the place, the last Emperor of China, Henry Pu Yi.

The Forbidden city 2

2011-11-26T06:00:00.000-08:00

The lion, a symbol of strength.

The throng of people visiting the Forbidden city, it was called Forbidden because no ordinary people was allowed in there only the Royal family and their workers. Not only that, during the reign of the last Emperor, because the Royal family were pure Manchus, only people of Manchurian descent were allowed in.

The yellow roof tiles, that Henry Pu Yi wrote about in his memoir.

For a long time I was baffled, where was Manchuria? The area just to the North and East of Beijing was Manchuria and the people from there were Manchurians. Manchuria does not exists anymore. Their people were sinicized years ago, they adopted the Chinese language and culture and therefore became indistinguishable from the the Han Chinese. In those days the Manchurian men wore a pigtail and they imposed this on the Han Chinese when they ruled over them. So when the Chinese men started to dispersed all over the world, they still wore their pigtails. My grandfather wore his pigtail when he landed in Borneo. He always told us, he brought his chain with him, the chain that bounded him in China, he brought to the new world.

O Holy night, a carol

2011-11-25T16:13:00.001-08:00

my most favorite carol sung by a seven year old. Amazing!

A heart rendering video

2011-11-25T16:10:00.001-08:00

I sobbed as I watched this video. A little girl touched by family tragedy but found her voice and sings so amazingly.

The Forbidden city

2011-11-25T06:00:00.000-08:00

This was the famed Forbidden city that we were finally allowed in to see. It is a whole city in and of itself, the scale is just immense. I have a confession, it is the most boring place I've ever visited. As the excitement mounts after we purchased our tickets to get in, once inside all I saw was every building looks the same. While they may have different function but they were built and decorated in the same way, therefore it lacked any charm. It was a huge anti climax. Sometimes as travelers, we may be guilty of hyping certain places because others before us have thought of them highly. Not for me, if I didn't care for anything, I'll express it.

Henry Puyi, the last emperor of China, in his memoir, wrote of the yellow tiled roofs and the red buildings that he was surrounded with all the time he lived in the Forbidden city.

Yellow is the color of the Emperor. The Chinese word, 'hwang' means yellow and also king. King and yellow are the same word in Chinese. In ' the last Emperor of China', Henry Puyi wrote, 'his cousin, one of his companions while he was young wore yellow in court one day, he was given a very severe beating...' Only the Emperor wore yellow!

Hutong

2011-11-24T06:00:00.000-08:00

Hutong or a courtyard home. The Chinese style of home is a series of rooms enclosing a central courtyard. A rich person may own the whole compound but today many of the existing hutongs have been subdivided into a few separate homes but still enclosing a central courtyard which may house a garden. A few of these old places exists in Beijing, the majority have been bulldozed and replaced by spanking new high rises.

A Chinese garden

2011-11-23T06:00:00.000-08:00

Next to the Forbidden city is this wonderful Chinese garden, quiet and peaceful. I prefer a garden with lots of colorful flowers quite like that of an English country garden. While a lot of the world's flowers originated from China, it is surprising that one find very few of these flowers in any Chinese garden. Where are the roses, the Rhododendrons, the Peonies?

Baozi

2011-11-22T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dumplings or Baozi are very popular street food. There are people hawking these everywhere in Beijing. We were too early for the opening of the Forbidden city. We hung around and found a vendor. Here we are on a Beijing street eating dumplings and tea eggs.

Tian An Men square

2011-11-21T06:00:00.000-08:00

Right in front of the Forbidden palace is Tian An Men square. It's just an ordinary large boulevard and square, nothing spectacular. The only thing spectacular about it is the history associated with it. As with most Communist countries there is the need of this wide boulevard in which to parade their military might on the first of May each year. We don't celebrate the first of May in the USA, we don't have a need of wide boulevards. We never display our military might in public. We've seen the making of history in the uprising of the Chinese people during the Tian An Men riots and the riots in the middle East is a clear reminder. But the Chinese uprising did not end well and the people got nothing out of it. China is still a communist country. But it took me a while to get here. Finally I'm in Beijing and in front of the Forbidden palace. I have shivers in my spine. The air in Beijing is always like this, smoggy. The air over the major cities in China are always like this too.

Our hotel

2011-11-19T06:00:00.001-08:00

This is the area near our hotel. We arrived with no reservations and an old guide book. Never use an old guide book for China. Things are changing so fast in China that a guide book written a year ago could be outdated. The hotel we wanted was fully booked and another went out of business. We started walking away from Wangfujing into what looked like the old quarter and found this new hostel. It was new, clean and cheap, unheard of in Beijing. It was an easy walk and easy bus ride to the major sights. There's another problem to Beijing, all the major sights are scattered far apart and it becomes difficult to see many things in one day. It's more like one major sight a day and it takes many days to see everything. It's not the place to shop either because all the shops are the Western chains like the Gap.

Wangfujing

2011-11-19T06:00:00.000-08:00

This is pedestrianized area, a huge area of mega shops, mostly Western chains. It is next to Tian An Men square and the Forbidden palace. We chose to stay in this area because of the close proximity to the major sights. Beijing is very modern and therefore very boring. The old part is slowly disappearing but one can still find some old Hutongs that are rustic and interesting. The old capital mentioned in books as Zhongdu is non existent. I'm reading a book, 'the Mongols, from Genghis Khan to Tamerlane' and it writes about the siege of the old capital of China, Zhongdu.

Dinner in Beijing

2011-11-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

We did end up eating those smelly tofu and the intestines. They were pretty good, only they were too heavy on the salt. The night market was a lot of fun and we only happened upon it. It was right next to the big and fancy shopping street, called 'Wangfujing'. Everybody knows this street, its the 'Rodeo drive' of Beijing where all the fancy Western shops are.

Beijing, next stop

2011-11-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Beijing with no hotel reservations, just some names of hotels from an old guide book. We quickly realised that some of the hotels have gone out of business and the one we wanted was fully booked. So we walked and found this great hostel, new, clean, cheap and close to everything just a little off the main street. What a find. I don't remember the name but I can find it again. It wasn't mentioned in any guide book and that's probably why they still have rooms. It's now my secret in case I should return to Beijing. Right off I'm going to say, I don't like Beijing, it's too modern. But surprisingly in spite of its sheer size, it's pretty easy to navigate.

There is a suburban rail system that takes you from the airport to Central Beijing where you can connect with the rest of the subway system. After taking care of housekeeping we dawdle around and found this night market in full swing. This is where they sell all kinds of weird food.

Strange looking crabs...

The famous crickets and scorpions on skewers, some are still alive..... ughhhh..

Smelly tofu with chili sauce...

Fried crabs...

They tell us these are cooked silk worms....ughhhh.....

Intestines of all sorts....mmmmmmm?

Cuttle fish on skewers... phew... what a selection. The Chinese do eat everything. It's just great that we didn't have to go far to see authentic Beijing life. The whole country operates on Beijing time, even far off Xinjiang province. It takes a little getting use to. I know its the same in Turkey, the whole country operates on Istanbul time. China is much bigger than Turkey.

The Mogao caves

2011-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Visitors to the Mogao caves are mostly Han Chinese from other parts of China. It's not easy to travel independently in China because of the language though there are a sprinkling of intrepid foreigners. We met another American from Seattle who was traveling alone and don't speak a word of Mandarin. Dunhuang is a sleepy oasis town sitting right smack on the silk road. A few hundred years ago a monk traveling in that area began to carve out a cave in the desert rock just outside Dunhuang. It is a quiet place that is so inaccessible and ideal for meditating and safe from the marauding Xiongnu tribe who ruled this area during the early days. After being exposed to Buddhism brought in by traders from India, early Chinese monks began to go to India to learn more about the faith. Over the next few centuries, more caves became to carved, frescoes added, sculptures added, sutras being translated, the number of caves grew and the also the number of monks. These caves became a fully fledged Buddhist monastery and after the decline of the silk road, they were forgotten until scavenging explorers from the West came and started carting off whatever they can to their home countries. A lot of caves were destroyed by the Communists during the cultural revolution, they didn't tolerate religion. But today there remains some seven hundred caves with precious frescoes and sculptures.

Buddhist frescoes

2011-11-15T06:00:00.000-08:00

The unfortunate thing is photography wasn't allowed in the Mogao caves. Each cave is painted with elaborate scenes from Buddhist fables, the whole cave is painted with thousand Buddhas like wall paper. In the centre there would be Buddhist sculptures of their deities. It is fascinating. Numerous foreign explorers would come in the early days to take away the frescoes. They would carved them out of their rock surface. There used to be tens of thousands of sutras or religious writings. A greedy monk sold a lot of them to these explorers, chief among them, a German, Aurel Stein who carted away museum size trove back to Dresden which was bombed by the Allies. All the stuff he took from Dunhuang was incinerated by the bombing. An early convert to Buddhism went to India to study the religion and came home to translate everything he learned into Chinese and hence this trove of sutras. Over the years more and more monks joined and painted and sculpted and then you have the Mogao caves sitting at a very strategic position along the ancient Silk road. While this picture is not from the Dunhuang caves but from a temple in Yunnan. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures but I did take this one and was reprimanded for doing so. I'm glad I did.

Dunhuang Mogao caves

2011-11-14T06:00:00.000-08:00

I'm into frescoes but these are Buddhist frescoes. Fascinating!

The new China

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-08:00

The fringes of China is so much more fascinating. Unfortunately photography wasn't allowed in the Mogao caves in Dunhuang. Here there are some 1000 caves caved in the desert rock but some 700 plus still survive. This is a repository of Buddhist art, sculpture and writing. Visits can be made with an official guide who will show you only 8 caves. The caves shown are rotated every 2 years. We met people who come every 2 years, locals of course, just so they will eventually see more caves.

Breakfast in China

2011-11-12T06:00:00.000-08:00

This was a very busy breakfast place in Dunhuang across the street from our hotel. They sell steamed vegetable dumplings, soya bean milk, fried dough and tea eggs. It is crowded every morning and the food sell out fast. This is not your typical Western breakfast. This is very Chinese. The Chinese, me included, are lactose intolerance and don't drink dairy milk or eat cheese.

Sophie loves these fried dough, I don't care for it.

These are just hard boiled eggs but most places sell tea eggs. Tea eggs are hard boiled eggs which are cracked slightly and reboiled in some smoky tea so the tea infuses the egg and flavor it. They are tastier than plain hard boiled eggs.

Dunhuang night market

2011-11-11T06:30:00.000-08:00

They eat the same thing in Germany. I remember seeing the huge pork knuckles in restaurants in Germany.

Mapo tofu, a very typical Chinese dish that is found in every restaurant.

We had dinner at the huge night market in Dunhuang. It was very atmospheric. Sophie was more delighted, this being her first trip to China. I was more jaded, this was my second trip to China. I was in the Yunnan province in the south a few years ago. That was a more memorable visit, Yunnan being much more beautiful. But I was in Dunhuang to see the Mogao caves and its frescoes and that we will soon see.

Making the desert bloom

2011-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

There's an aquifer in the desert sand, water in the midst of this barren desert. There is some vegetation and a temple. This was the closest I got to it, I couldn't walk since I popped my right knee that morning. I can't believe the desert could be such a delight and could give pleasure to so many visitors. Dunhuang was at the very heart of the ancient Silk road and there are many reminders of it. This desert is a reminder of what the traders have to deal with, a vast tract of desert.

There could have camel caravans of several hundreds camels each time crossing this desert to get to Europe and to get back from Europe. I can't imagine doing it the way they did. For us, the distance was just too great and the time constraints means we need to fly. I'm reading a book on Genghis Khan right now, 'The Mongols, from Genghis Khan to Tamarlane'. They rode horses to get to Europe and to fight there. Today it is called 'insanity'.

The Bactrain camels

2011-11-09T06:00:00.000-08:00

In the singing hills desert, one can hire camels and ride them which was what a lot of visitors did. These camels have 2 humps and are smaller than their Arabian cousins. They are found mainly in Central Asia and was the main mode of transportation during the early days of the silk road. They were found to be wild back in the early days but these days they have all been domesticated.

The singing sands desert

2011-11-08T06:00:00.001-08:00

What's happening here is we have to wear these covers to prevent the sand from getting into our shoes when we walked on the desert sand.

There's an entrance fee for entering into the desert area. It's a park.

The desert was crowded with Han Chinese visitors. They were riding camels and walking around. It was pretty fun. These sand dunes shifts all the time and when the wind blows, the shifting sand makes a whistling sound and that's why it is called the 'singing sands'. Dunhaung is an oasis in the midst of a vast desert. The desert is just at the edge of town, we took a cab, took about 5 minutes.

Dunhuang

2011-11-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

We asked for a spoon but they wouldn't give us any. For soupy noodles, you are supposed to pick up the noodles with the chopsticks and slurp. Then you are to hold the bowl to your mouth and drink the soup.

Chinese women like fair skin and they are usually all covered up. It's not a religious thing. They are all covered up even during the hottest summer days.

We are here in the oasis town of Dunhuang to see the Mogao caves. The whole area is desert but in a small section there is a slightly elevated area which has been pockmarked with some 800 caves which are filled with Buddhist frescoes and sculptures. This was an important intersection during the active days of the Silk road. Here a Chinese monk went to India to learn about Buddhism and came back and started a monastery in Dunhuang which was among the most active in recorded history. It is as interesting as the cave churches in Cappadocia, Turkey. The town, Dunhuang is a sleepy outpost with nothing much going on. There are huge organised tours visiting the caves but everyday on the small main street, minibuses takes people out there for very little money. They take you back too. We flew into Dunhuang from Urumqi. One can also take the sleeper buses. I popped my knee in Urumqi airport and was in pain the whole trip. It was a good thing I recovered enough to climb up and down the stairs connecting all the caves.

Erdaoqiao

2011-11-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, we are still in China. This is the Uighur section of Urumqi. The only Han people are the tourists like us. One can never tell if not for the Mandarin writing on the billboards. It is interesting to see minarets filling the skyline. It looked more like a bazaar in Central Asia, indeed, it is a bazaar in Central Asia.

Lunch in Erdaoqiao

2011-11-05T06:00:00.000-07:00

I had a delicious lunch of roast lamb.

After the visit to the museum we hopped into a taxi and were in Erdaoqiao, the predominantly Uighur area. This was the hotspot during the recent riot. The Uighurs went after the Han Chinese because of some dispute at a local factory. Then the Hans, seeing the inaction of the police went with knives and sticks to Erdaoqiao and there was the ensuing bloodshed. The Chinese army came, quelled the unrest and arrested a few Uighurs. Most of the people hurt were Han Chinese. Here the predominant smell are from roasted lamb and chicken. Of course I had to have lamb.

Minorities

2011-11-04T06:00:00.000-07:00

The Kazakhs

The two hump Bactrain camel that is only found in Gobi desert and the desrts of Central Asia. They are smaller than their Arabian counterparts.

Most if not all of the minorities use the yurt as dwelling places.

The Hui

The Tajiks

These and a few more form the majority of the minorities in Xinjiang. The province of Xinjiang borders eight different countries. We met a guy from Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and there were a few Pakistani traders in our hotel.It looked like the whole of Central Asia is in Xinjiang. One night as we were having dinner at the night market, we shared a table with some Han people. They were really nice when they realised we were actually foreigners. They shared their food with us, it was so unexpected. We told them we are Americans. The guy said, he's never seen an American banknote before. I showed him a dollar note and gave it to him as a gift. He was going to give me ten yuan for it. Of course I refused. It was a very pleasant conversational exchange.

The East is red

2011-11-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

I found these propaganda posters at the Xinjiang museum. I don't know what they say but they look interesting. I'm reminded that it wasn't that long ago that Mao was alive and the Cultural revolution was in full swing. After Mao, Premier Deng was instrumental in pushing China out into the world and into a more capitalist economy and today we have this economic powerhouse called China. Today even Europe is asking China to buy its bonds. The Americans have been to China numerous times doing the same thing. How things have changed and I'm witnessing it in my lifetime.

My Uncle Jude

2011-11-02T07:02:00.001-07:00

I just found out on Facebook from my cousin Rebecca that our Uncle Jude passed away yesterday in Borneo. It's morning in America but evening in Sri Lanka where Rebecca is. She was on 'chat' and we chatted. Our Uncle Jude was born in China but the family moved to Tahiti. Somehow he ended up in Borneo where he stayed after marrying our Aunt. He was a French citizen and spoke fluent French. I wish to extend my deepest condolences to his family. Uncle Jude and my family haven't never been close but I still mourn his passing.

North of Xinjiang

2011-11-02T06:00:00.000-07:00

In the Northern part of Xinjiang, the feel is more of Alpine meadows and forests. Here the Kazakhs live. They used to be nomadic, they have no borders, they roam the open plains and hills. These days, with the establishment of the Republic of Kazakhstan, they are more semi nomadic. I went on YouTube to view a few videos of this lovely people. Their heritage is truly magnificent, their playing polo with a live sheep, their skill with the hawk is truly impressive. The real Kazakhs are really remarkable.

A Chinese Royal court

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

There are similar paintings in the Louvre of royal courts, of the crowning of Napoleon. There's the similar parade of dignitaries dressed in ceremonial robes. Similarities are interesting, so are differences. At my age, I'm in my dotage, I'm still discovering and still being enthralled by the varied cultures of the world. Even in my own backyard, in Southern California, I am still excited about the varied cultures in the population that I serve. Once in a while I have to break out in Spanish, in Chinese, and when an European visitor comes in, I have to try to decipher French, Italian or German. I can stay at home and still feel like I'm traveling or travel ans still feel at home in the world.

The story of silk

2011-10-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

What's this? A picture of a Roman senator wearing a robe made from Chinese silk. Imagine the talk in the senate in ancient Rome, not of the state of affairs in the Empire but of the robe made from this mysterious fiber from the Far East. From then on the buzz became of how to get hold of more so that every nobile and/or rich person would be clothed in this new fiber called silk.

Peter Schiff visits OWS

2011-10-30T17:52:00.001-07:00

Peter Schiff says...'I'm the 1%, lets talk'. Its about 19 minutes long but well worth listening, its very very interesting.

All Saints' day

2011-10-30T15:00:00.001-07:00

Halloween or the day of the dead is very popular in Central and South America. For that reason and because we have a huge population that comes from Central America, it's become a significant celebration. The markets are full of paraphernalia for remembering the dead. But I celebrate the saints, all the saints who having labored and now have entered their rest. I remember their example.

Chinese robes

2011-10-30T06:00:00.000-07:00

Do you see traces of Missoni here? I wonder where he got his inspiration from? Instead of having the stripes straight he made them into a zigzag pattern. I have similar style robes worn by the Ottoman Sultans. I wonder where they got the idea?

The mummies of the Tarim Basin

2011-10-29T06:00:00.000-07:00

As I wrote before, the Heavenly mountain range divides Xinjiang into two, the lush Northern part and the South which is a large swathe of desert. The olden inhabitants just bury their dead in the desert and after thousands of years, some has been discovered, in very well preserved states of mummification. The Pharaohs in Egypt has been chemically mummified but not these in the desert of the Tarim Basin. They were just wrapped up and buried. One of them which archaeologists called 'LouLan' was carefully studied, they did a digital reconstruction of her and found that she was an Indo-Eurasian looking woman and very attractive. She was a beauty and the name given her stuck, she became known as 'LouLan beauty.' The Australian couple, having seen a documentary about the discovery of 'LouLan beauty' decided to come to Urumqi to see her. This was what they and we found, 'LouLan beauty' was not where she was supposed to be. She's traveling, on loan to a museum in Shenzhen in the South.

LouLan beauty would be in repose here except she's traveling. She wasn't home at the time of our visit.

The corpse of a Chinese General, they covered his genital area out of respect.

The mummies were in this terrific state of preservatio, hair and skin being intact. Their woolen blanket was like it was thousands of years ago, the color is still intact. One can still see the tattoos on the face of the old lady in the red blanket. This is truly amazing.

Urumqi museum

2011-10-28T06:00:00.000-07:00

We waited a few hours before we could get in. There were visiting Chinese dignitaries in there and they forbade entry into the museum until these goons left. To me, politicians will always be goons especially those despotic ones from third world countries though our own are not very different these days. The great thing about this delay was we met a few people from other parts of the world, 2 Turkish men who were in Urumqi for a conference, a local Uighur guide, a couple from Australia and 2 women from New Zealand. The Australian, 'don't miss the biggest piece of jade'... we almost did, it was at the entrance, a 2 ton piece of black jade. They found an English speaking guide and invited us to join them which we did. It wasn't a big museum, it showcased mostly the lives of the different minorities in Xinjiang.

They make the most fantastic tapestries and carpets, absolutely beautiful and stunning. The most important exhibit in this museum are the Tarim basin mummies.

Meanwhile at the market in Urumqi

2011-10-27T06:00:00.000-07:00

As usual, these tours are subsidised by merchants. Part of the tour experience is the shopping. For this tour we were taken to a jade factory where there were jade of every color and ornamentation being offered for sale. They took their time and most of our tour group bought jade of some form or other. The rest of us were outside tasting whatever delicacies the market had to offer. We had these skewers of some vegetarian stuff for .50 yuan a piece. They were cooked in a hot and spicy broth and really tasty. We ate a lot and finally the bus took off after a long jade buying spree. The mini van (bus) broke down when we were almost at our hotel. The driver was cussing. We left him and a few of us who were staying at the same hotel took the bus back.