Mon 9th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day
'Hello' - Nǐ hǎo (knee how)
'How are you? Nǐ hǎo ma (knee how ma)
We begin our journey in Xi'an, the start of the Silk Road. When we were standing at the other end in Istanbul last year, wondering at the endeavour of the people who worked in trade in those ancient times, we had no idea we would so soon find ourselves at the other end of that amazing route of exchange in not only trade but knowledge, religion and spiritualism.
We virtually spent the whole day travelling. Plane was late arriving in Shanghai and we were whisked through transit with a guide. The plane was late leaving for Xi'an and it was dark by the time we landed. We arranged a driver and got chatting with Kurt, a businessman from the Netherlands, so ended up sharing the ride with him. As we walked to the car we were assaulted by the filthy air pollution. We dropped Kurt at the Sofitel which looked very impressive, then the search began for our hotel. All we knew was that it was close to the Bell Tower, apparently the address on our paper wasn't much help to the driver. Eric eventually found the sign and we entered our premises which are conveniently located but depressingly damp. Although the hotel welcomes foreign tourists there is no English spoken and no wifi available so we cannot use a translator. Should have bought cards at the airport, mistake No1. There was water damage in the foyer and along our corridor on the fourth floor. That can be overlooked but not so when the floor of the bathroom becomes flooded when you use a bathroom tap. We went to bed anyway because we were too tired to hassle with language. The bed was so hard! We went to sleep wondering what would be worse - mould and mildew or walking the streets looking for a new hotel at this hour. The advertising board below is not to be believed.
Tue 10th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day
'yes' - shi (sher) , 'no' - bu shi (boo sher)
'Thank you' - Xièxiè (Shea she air)
In the morning we managed to explain our problem with lots of charades and the help of a student who happened to be in the foyer. They organised another room for us. We found soup and mantou (steamed buns) for breakfast at the hotel uninviting so went looking on the street. I couldn't talk Eric into the street hawker pancake rolls that looked yummy so we ended up at McDonalds I'm ashamed to say. It was even worse than I expected, the cheese was orange and gluggy, the meat very suspicious. Did I just eat my first mouthful of dog? I wouldn't be surprised. We had arranged a tour to the Terracotta Warriors and our guide collected us just before 9am. It was one of those tour groups that collect from all the different hotels then separate the people according to which tour they chose. We ended up driving around in the old centre and passing our hotel 4 times before getting going. Chelsea was our guide and we shared the minivan with a German girl who has been living in Wickham, WA for the last 3 years, an Israeli couple and their teenage daughter and a Frenchman and his Chinese wife living in the UK. It was a very harmonious group and we all enjoyed visiting the 1st Qin Emperor's tomb and Terracotta Warriors at the Mausoleum site Museum. We also visited the only official replica factory who use clay from the same site as the originals. The army was discovered in 1974 when local farmers were drilling a series of wells in search of water. All up there are nearly 8,000 armed warriors accompanied by horses and chariots.
The real thing
The 'hospital' where they are pieced together.
Pit 1, the largest of 3.
Showing some of the individual variations in all the warriors.
Then we visited the 4th Han Emperor's tomb at Hanyangling Museum which was only excavated in 2006. It was amazing to see the differences though both were amazing in themselves. These were dressed in silk robes when buried and apparently had wooden arms. Rather than all warriors, these pits hold many utensils and objects from daily life needed to keep the army sheltered, fed and clothed. Apart from the figures, many of which were female, there were domestic animals, cooking utensils, and chariots.
The day remained very hazy, most probably due to the coal powered electricity generators we passed while driving up the valley. Chelsea described the Feng Shui principles that all the Emperors' tombs adhere to; positioned in relation to the mountain and the river but Li Mountain, where the clay was sourced for all the statues, was hard to discern through the haze.
Returning to town we found ourselves in a nightmarish traffic jam that would also be contributing to the haze. We certainly wouldn't consider driving here. We headed out for dinner in the Islamic Quarter but first we climbed the Drum Tower for evening views of down town Xi'an and then got sidetracked down a market lane. Eventually we found what we were looking for and enjoyed a sumptuous meal at a very reasonable price. Blew that good deal though by stopping in at Haagen Dazs for an ice cream on the way home.
Xi'an Drum Tower
One of the many drums
Muslim Street
bread
dates and nuts
milliner's stall
A brief history of China follows, mostly to help me put all that we see into perspective. Alternately, just skip to the next date.
Xi'an's history dates back to the Zhou Dynasty when China was really 7 different territories. This ended in the 5th Century BC with the Qin Dynasty following and under its first emperor a unified China was achieved under a powerful but very strict central govt whose headquarters were also in Xi'an. While he is respected for his intelligence and leadership qualities it is also understood that in order to achieve unification he did some dreadful things like killing off all Confucian scholars. Edicts to build the Great Wall and official decrees to standardise weights and measures, axil length and coinage were written here. It was this same emperor, Qinshi Huangdi that conscripted hundreds of thousands of his subjects to construct a suitably impressive tomb which we know of today as the Terracotta Warriors.
The Han Dynasty followed and they standardised currency and established global trade along the Silk Road in the 5th generation. The university opened in the Capital Xi'an and free thinking and creativity were encouraged. All good things must come to an end though and after the 11th generation the Han Dynasty ended in about 220AD in anarchy and a power struggle that continued for almost 400 yrs with the brief exception of the Sui Dynasty (581-618AD) who rebuilt Xi'an and began work on a grand canal which was an amazing engineering achievement that rivals the Great Wall.
The Tang Dynasty was founded in 618 AD. In the period that followed scholars, poets, artists and Buddhism flourished. The last Tang monarchs abdicated in 907 AD when they lost their control to rebellious forces and dwindling revenue.
The Song Dynasty was founded in 960AD which lasted for the next 300 years. Development of cities increased in the Yangzi Valley and in the Southeast. Knowledge and culture spread with them and expanded into science and mathematics. Their downfall were the foreign invaders who kept chipping away until eventually the Mongols, lead by Genghis Khan, brought the country under foreign rule for the first time in 1279.
Genghis' grandson, Kublai Khan, who lead the Yuan Dynasty was an open minded ruler who appointed Chinese diplomats and scholars. This was the period where the capital moved from Xi'an to Beijing. The death of Kublai Khan brought with it a lack of vision and after only 100 years a new Chinese Dynasty emerged, the Ming.
The Ming period is highly regarded for architecture, sculpture and decorative arts but saw literature, philosophy and science sadly neglected. It was during this dynasty that the historic City Walls of Xi'an were constructed (620 yrs ago), yet in terms of the city itself they are quite modern. In their capital in Beijing they built the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven but also oversaw further construction and renovation of sections of the Great Wall to defend themselves against Manchurian invasion.
Eventually the Manchus took power in Beijing and later the country to establish the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). While they adopted many of the refinements of the Chinese culture the one feature they imposed was the wearing of pigtails. It was a dynamic and prosperous empire, a time when China believed it was the centre of the world, it had nothing to learn or gain from the so called foreign devils.
With the increasing demand in Europe for Chinese tea, porcelain and silk came a trade imbalance where Britain was forced to exchange only silver bullion, China refused to trade in anything else as they had no need for foreign commodities. In the early 1800's the foreign traders began paying in opium, tons of it were shipped in from India. It caused widespread addiction and associated problems so the Chinese terminated trade with Britain. Retaliation followed with the first of the Opium Wars and then the signing of Treaties in which the powerless Manchus agreed to handing over Hong Kong to the British and opening ports to trade in 1842. While this was devastating to the proud people of Middle Kingdom, what was even costlier in terms of human life was the Taiping Rebellion which began in 1850 as a peasant revolt. It lasted for 14 years and more lives were lost than in WW1. The Qing regime won but it paid a huge price. Only 30 years later there was war with Japan which resulted in the dismantling of the Chinese Empire by Japan and Western powers. The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 against foreign influence failed when the foreign powers formed an unprecedented alliance and China lost huge 'face' not to mention control. Civil unrest and foreign threats prevailed at a time when the heir apparent was a 2 yr old boy. Less than 3 yrs later a revolutionary army uprising won widespread support which surprised even its leader Dr Sun Yat-Sen who accepted Presidency of the Chinese Republic in 1911 with his 3 principles -Nationalism, Democracy and People's Livelihood. Puyi, the child emperor continued to live on in the Imperial City (Forbidden City) but the Manchu Dynasty had ended.
The path of the new republic was not easy. A local warlord seized power in Beijing, China joined the Allies in WW1 but was bitterly disappointed when the former German holdings in Shandong Province were ceded to Japan. Anger at foreign ownership and control continued. The Communist Party held its first congress in 1921. Dr Sun Yat-Sen died in 1925. His successor Chiang Kai-Shek turned on the communists who retreated on the long march to north west China, a distance of 10,000 kms, during which they raised awareness, joined up members and elected their leader Mao Zedong. Chiang was so busy tracking the Communists they were not paying much attention to the Japanese who had overpowered Manchuria and were making inroads in the northern provinces. Then WW11 was thrown into the mix. The US had already been supporting the Nationaliststo fend off the Japanese but they were often left wondering if the supplies were being used in the civil war instead. With the Japanese surrender Chiang Kai-Shek could celebrate with the Allies but he was loosing control of his home turf. The Communist armies were an overwhelming force, greeted as liberators. The Nationalists fled to Taiwan and in 1949 Chairman Mao proclaimed the People's Republic of China.
Wed 11th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day
'I don't understand' - Wǒ bù míngbái (woe boo ming bye)
We are due at the airport for our flight to Beijing at 2pm so in the morning we made our way to the South City Wall Gate and hired bicycles to cover the 14 km circuit. We only had to pay 80 Yuen for the bikes but another 400 deposit which luckily we could just scrape together. We thoroughly enjoyed the next 100 minutes, taking lots of pictures of interesting building facades and roof-lines as well as vegetables being delivered to restaurants, busy market places and people doing early morning exercise in the parks. We saw modern dancing, table tennis and badminton, exercise to music and on static stations. It was interesting to see the aged park their scooters and use the stations to maintain arm strength and they also congregated to play music on traditional instruments. We arrived back at the South Gate just in time to watch the end of a warriors and drumming ceremony before returning the bikes with 10 mins to spare. After a quick shower we caught the shuttle bus service to the airport. Xi'an has been wonderful, plenty to do and see but communicating in English very difficult except with official guides. Must get a SIM card at the airport so we can use a translator. Even trying to locate an outlet that sells one of them in town proved too difficult.
We arrived in Beijing but did not find the expected greeting party although apparently he was there. We eventually arranged our own hotel transfer and I'm pleased to say the
Beijing Kai Sheng Xing Feng was a pleasant surprise. Very modern and spacious, all crisply efficient at the front desk and gleaming clean. I had to stifle a laugh when I handed our confirmation to the desk attendant who visibly balked when he discovered it was printed in English. That was the same reaction I had displayed when we first received the hotel reservation a few weeks ago printed in Chinese. We wandered up the street to find something for dinner, thought we ordered chicken but I think (hope) it was pork. Our pillows have an insert of buckwheat hulls which seems to be preferred as filling because the hulls are durable and do not conduct or reflect heat as much as synthetic fills. A cool sleep is important for the chi, the emperors used a jade neck roll I am told.
Thurs 12th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day
'toilet broken' - Mǎtǒng huàile (mar tong whaler)
We had a leisurely morning as more of the group are arriving later this am. Can you believe it? The toilet in our room is blocked! One thing we did manage to achieve was having a wireless access point put into our room so now at least we have access from there. Before that the signal was too weak to send and receive. Our tour guide William met us in the lobby after 11am and we collected the rest of the group who all arrived from either Singapore or Malaysia. We began with a banquet lunch that included Peking Duck rolls that you roll yourself a little like fresh Vietnamese rolls. Then we walked by one of the reconstructed hutongs (villages) they are building quite close to Tiananmen Sq where you can live in the same style as during the Ming Dynasty but with modern plumbing and sanitation if you are prepared to pay out a cool million yuen. We wandered around in one of the few remaining Hutong where the small houses are square, single-storey and are built around a central courtyard with few outward facing windows and one wooden gate. Hutongs once dominated the city, but in recent years many have been levelled in the name of modernisation.
About half the group
in the hutong
anything goes here
Next we visited the Temple of Heaven, literally the Altar of Heaven, a complex of religious buildings situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. The complex was visited by the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for annual ceremonies of prayer to Heaven for good harvest. It has been regarded as a Taoist temple, although Chinese Heaven worship, especially by the reigning monarch of the day, pre-dates Taoism. Sitting on top, like a crowning glory, is the prayer hall and the symmetry of the circular structure is beautiful. It was restored in 2005 and is in wonderful condition. Making your way there you first have to pass by a long verandah which is a popular place for elderly folk to play cards, Go and checkers. Of course there are hawkers trying to tempt you with all manner of items too.
As many in the group have flown overnight to join the tour we had an early banquet for dinner then returned to the hotel so they could check in. That's a buffet and 2 banquets today, not going to go hungry. We have managed to have the toilet serviced so all is in order now for the rest of our stay. A flushing toilet and connectivity, can it get any better?
traffic going home
Fri 13th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day
'chicken' - Jī (gee), 'porkmeat' - Zhūròu (shoro) beef meat - Niúròu (Nero), 'duck' - Yā (yar)
William arranged early morning wake-up calls for us all at 6am. The first one we have ever had in Chinese. We left the hotel after breakfast at 7:15 but as expected found ourselves in the daily traffic jam to get into the city centre. In preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games they built 6 ring roads to alleviate the traffic jams so I can't imagine how bad it was before that. It must have rained overnight as the leaves of the trees are greener, washed of the dusty, grey coating that covered them all yesterday. It looks like they can breath a bit easier until our exhaust coats them again.
Our tour began with a look at the National Opera Theatre and then a walk to Tiananmen Square which took us along Chang'an Avenue. You instantly recognise this avenue since it has been associated with events like the Tian'anmen Square protests of 1989 (including the famous confrontation of the Tank Man) and military parades for National Day. Trucks and freight vehicles are banned day and night, and no commercial advertising is allowed on the avenue which cuts through the city in a straight line for more than 40kms. Crowds filled the square which is home to the Monument to the People's Heroes. There are also two huge LED screens which in tandem advertise tourism beyond Beijing. The square is bordered by the National Museum, the Central Govt Building and one of the Palace Gates that gives entry to The Forbidden City.
Meridian gate to Forbidden City
beautiful gardens
our full group
This imperial palace of the Ming and Qing dynasties, is a huge complex on 74 hectares with of over 8,000 rooms built in the 1400s. After the 1911 revolution and the later expulsion of the young emperor Puyi in 1924, the palace was established as a museum for the people, holding almost 2 million artifacts. It took us 2 hrs to walk through and we really just took a direct line from the south to north gate without looking in any of the galleries. I cant remember ever being in a crowd like this, it attracts more than 7 million visitors a year and Eric estimates at least 40,000 would be here today. We finished in the Imperial Gardens which are the first formal gardens we have seen so far. Funny, I've seen more in Aust and Sg than here.
After another banquet for lunch, this time traditional old-style Beijing, we went to a tea house for sampling and the inevitable sales. We didn't get away without a deal you can't refuse on oolong. It came with a cute thermometer as it is important to make Chinese tea at 80C. A short bus trip took us to Qianmen Main Street Mall to browse yet another tourist walk which we found pretty sterile. We did find a coffee shop though and had a fix of caffeine.
Our itinerary contained a compulsory combination of events we must attend at our added expense of an extra 70 Yuen Sg$14. Turns out it includes the 'Legend of KungFu' performed in the Red Theatre, the Panda House and a Peking Duck Dinner. Tonight we attended the Kungfu Performance and it had everything; the story told in dance and acrobatic feats to explain the origins of the discipline, action packed showmanship and English interpretation for each act. Well worth the extra cost considering this show travels the globe and to see it in Sg last year it cost about 10 times this price. We had time to drop into a convenience store for little extras people were looking for before another banquet dinner featuring Peking Duck before going home, driving through rain. Tomorrow's forecast is hot and sunny though, would be nice to see sunshine.
Sat 14th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day
'very good' - Tǐng hǎo (ching how)
Another 6am start, today we are heading out of town. We haven't missed the binoculars to now as all we have seen are sparrows, doves, crows and magpies. Perhaps today at the Great Wall will be different. William talks incessantly on the hour-long bus trips. Fortunately the timbre of his voice is conversational rather than shouting lecture style as I've heard other guides do in the crowds. He often lulls me to sleep while Eric manages to read. We can't understand a word of it. After the hour long dialogue we ask him for a brief translation and he usually gets through it in a sentence or two. Others onboard have been really helpful filling in the details for us.
Our first stop along the way was to the Beijing Dragon Land Superior Jade Factory, one of our sponsors you could say. It claims to be one of the biggest galleries in Asia and I'm happy to believe it after seeing the artisans at work and the rooms of exhibits. A pair of earrings later we thanked our sponsors and moved on. A mesh of jade beads, used as a pillow overlay was a popular purchase chosen by many of the others. It was 9.30 by then and the sky is definitely bluer than previous days, we see shadows for the first time. Juyongguan or Juyong Pass is a mountain pass located in the Guangou Valley, over 50 kms from Central Beijing. The Great Wall of China passes through, and the Cloud Platform gate was built here in 1342 CE. The pass is one of the three greatest mountain passes of the Great Wall of China. We were advised to tackle the climb to the right as it is not so dangerous (steep I think he meant), so we did that first but then looking across to the other side we could see a loop up to the first tower and back that looked achievable, and we did that next. I'm very happy with the way my knees stood up to it as it was very steep in some sections and we really worked hard for close to the full hour and a half we were allowed. What a thrill, we never thought we would get to do that! And just look at that blue sky.
Climb to the left
Climb to the right
near the top of the left side
almost on hands and knees
After lunch back at our Jade sponsors we moved on to the next, the Beijing Bao Shu Tang Chinese Herbal Medicine Co. It is famous for a camphor cream which apparently can cure almost any kind of skin disease, gives relief for scalds, insect bites, skin hypersensitivity and muscular pains. It removes the dark shadow under tired eyes (panda eyes) and tinea (Hong Kong foot). But it doesn't stop there, it is useful as a skin whitener and just the thing for hemorrhoids too apparently, external use only be advised. It must be very well known as many on the bus purchased it and it was not cheap. Interestingly, we later found out from one of the passengers, it is banned from sale in Sg because of one of it's prohibited ingredients.
We drove on to get a close look at the 2008 Olympic site featuring the Bird's Nest stadium and Water Cube. Groups of tourists stroll the promenade trying to avoid the insistent hawkers selling kites, key rings and other trash. No athletes or competition noticeboards in site, the place now sadly seems little more than a white elephant but there are lots of interesting sculptures. Returning to the bus we were accosted by a dreadful smell that lingered and seemed to follow us. I was worried I had stepped in dog shit. Turns out, as my fellow passengers explained, it is stinky tofu. The stronger the smell the better the flavour they insisted. I think I have discovered something worse than durian.
Next we took a trishaw ride through Lingdang Hutong, located right by the base of Beijing's Bell Tower and as in Xi'an the Drum Tower is very close by. Beijing's oldest hutongs have been identified as cultural and historical protection areas since 1990. This is a more traditional hutong with typical neighbourhood activities as you might expect but with the advantage of new public conveniences. The locals pay the price of having nosy tourists watching their every move but at least have public toilets should the need arise. We saw people in the streets of the hutong washing, having haircuts, chatting with neighbours, playing mahjong and a game something of a cross between sepak takraw but with a pateka.
Speaking of public toilets, recommendation is still to avoid them if at all possible, though apparently they are so much better than pre 2008. I've noticed that the young children wear trousers without the crotch seam sewn and no undies. Every so often they just squat and relieve themselves in the street.
note the open seam
public toilet sign, no smoking
Our next visit was to a traditional Chinese Foot Massage Centre where the doctor was also available to explain the origins of this treatment and how it developed as far back as the days of the Emperors; the centre is just beyond the Imperial Palace Garden. He took our pulse and studied our palms. According to him I have poor circulation and Eric has cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Nothing that can't be fixed if we are prepared to spend the money. Despite us deferring on the offer we were provided with a very good foot massage which was just what our feet needed after those steps on the Great Wall. Tǐng hǎo! One more sponsor ticked off the list of 7.
Shichahai Lake is one of a chain of 3 man-made lakes, the whole area locally known as “Water Town in Northern China”. Skirting the lakes are elegant courtyard residences, the prince’s mansion, temples, drum & bell towers and the Yinding bridge. At night, as we discovered, the lakeside sparkles with the lights from cafes and bars, the courtyards full of touts and street performers.
After dinner we had time to wander in Wangfujing Street, the most well-known modern fashion shopping street. To get to it from the restaurant we were directed to walk along the well known food street where you will find everything you ever thought of eating and much more. They are famous for grilled or deep fried skewers of scorpion, cricket, grasshoppers and starfish. We also found goat stomach lining if you are still peckish. Thankfully, we had just finished another banquet so couldn't eat another thing! Wangfujing St had lots of upmarket labels like Gap, Dunhill, Prada and many glittering shopping plazas but we came away with nothing more than hats.
small scorpions
chickens with heads
grasshoppers
big scorpions
He was so entertaining
Remember toffee apples?
On the way home we drove up Chang'an Avenue to see it, Tiananmen Square and the Palace all beautifully lit up. There were plenty of people taking the opportunity to stroll in the cool night air after quite a hot day. We also drove by The Place, Beijing’s funkiest new mall with the biggest LED screen in Asia providing a digital canopy that sweeps over its central outdoor plaza. It has been a long, long day and I write this up as we are stuck in the inevitable traffic jam at 10pm. No surprise bird sightings despite getting out of the urban environment for awhile today.
Sun 15th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day 'how much'- Duōshǎo (dua shou) 'too much' - Tài duō (tie dua)
Slept very well and no residual knee pain from yesterday so that is pleasing. Could have had more sleep though. Another early start, our first stop today is the Panda House at the Beijing Zoo. It is no surprise these cute animals deserve the honour of being the national icon but surely they deserve a better enclosure to match. I found everything I saw in this small section of the zoo quite depressing. We have been spoilt by the excellent design of enclosures in Australia and Sg.
too cute
We visited Dibao Silk Products next where they specialise in bedding. According to the wall panels the silk is both warming and cooling, has qualities that help you sleep better and bed bugs don't like it. Our group bought up big time, apparently William explained on the way that we have not been spending enough to make the commission he needs to cover his expenses. He has to cover the cost for our trip from his own savings if we don't spend enough. Believe it if you want to, I'm not convinced, but since he didn't bother to translate that bit of info for us anyway we don't feel obliged. Even so we came out with silk long johns for me and Eric has 2 new shirts.
We had another banquet for lunch and then next stop was Beijing Banner Jadeware City where we were shown pearls, but more importantly the pearl cream and pearl powder which you can use for beautiful, white skin. We contributed a little to Williams coffers with the purchase of some black pearl jewellery on special offer.
We visited the Summer Palace next and I hired an interpreter service because I found that we were not told a lot of what we passed by in the Forbidden City. This complex is 4 times larger than the Forbidden City and you could spend the whole day here, it looks like many families from the regions are doing just that, enjoying the lake and walking in the gardens. It was started in 1750 as a luxurious royal garden for royal families to rest and entertain but later became the main residence of royal members at the end of the Qing Dynasty when the Empress Dowager Cixi was actually holding power over her young sons. One tree that we walked beside had the best perfume. It is called O. Fragrans jin'gui. Need to find an English translation.
I felt we didn't stay there long enough, there was so much more to explore but too soon we moved on to another banquet for dinner then we visited 798 Art factory, a disused and converted electronics factory which is Běijīng’s leading precinct of contemporary art galleries. There was a mix of textiles, ceramics, visual arts and nick knacks in galleries interspersed with cafes and bookshops. One collection we both really liked was by ceramic artist Zheng Yukui. His works just bring a smile to your face don't they?
We were weary travellers by now and by 7:30 we were heading back to the hotel. Good news, William has announced that we have collectively spent enough to reach his required commission quota. Rumour has it this is estimated at Yuen 3000 each so Eric and I have let the team down. Thank goodness for the big spending Singaporeans onboard.
Mon 16th Sept
Word/Phrase of the Day 'Quickly' - Hěn kuài (ha kwai)
Checked out and left the hotel by 7:30, we were on the way to our last sponsor, precious stones and pearls. The first presenter offered some English translation and was very good at engaging an audience who had already seen the same presentation at the last pearl specialists. Then she was replaced by the sales manager who ignored us completely. It was so tiresome as we were quite weary of these showrooms by now. Good thing it was the last one. Nobody showed any interest in purchasing pearls or jade until they brought out the super specials and then it was every man for himself. Another spending frenzy! We spent so long there William suggested we skip lunch and just use whatever time was left at the Silk Street Shopping Mall. This is what all the shoppers were really looking for; genuine copy shoes, bags, luggage, clothing.....this market mall has 10 floors and I can't tell you how many times we were asked if we wanted to buy. But, we were able to get the trekking pants and scarves we were after so very happy and our bags are bursting. We were dropped at the domestic airport for the first leg of our journey which takes us to Kunming in Yunnan Province, just above Laos and Vietnam. Coincidentally, if we ever return to China this is the province I would like to visit. On this trip 'Gadget Man' Gary, who even has a clip-on wide angle lens for his mobile phone camera, has shared lots of his travel experiences with us and he speaks very highly of the sights to be seen in this quite remote location. Once there we expected to have a 2 hr wait for the final connection to Sg.
Joining a tour group was definitely the best way to tackle China for the first time. While we had to contend with the visits to sponsors, the trip was amazingly cheap (Sg$38 ea for 4N/5D). We saw many incredible sites and got a feel for the traditions and culture of the people. The others on our tour were wonderfully supportive to the 'Ang Mo' couple on board and kept us continually updated on what was going on.
Our flight from Beijing was only briefly delayed leaving the terminal but it was in a long queue for the runway. Unfortunately our bags couldn't be checked all the way through to Sg so we had a frantic dash to get to international departures and check in only to find we couldn't sit together. However, we found we were in the exit rows so that was a stroke of luck. While we walked to the departure lounge we came across Emily, a lovely Chinese woman from Lijiang who trained and is now nursing at Sg University Hospital. She had so much carry-on luggage she couldn't manage so we offered to assist and then chattered with her for the next hour which helped pass the time. Strange as it may seem, we have interacted more with local Singaporeans on this trip than we ever get the chance to when we are at home. That in itself has been a great experience.
initial stages
after our contributions
Fort Canning
it was a hot afternoon
In the afternoon glow
thirsty work
love that helix bridge
beautiful sunset on the Marina Bay
bumped into Sam, ex teacher from Milikapiti
