Day 4 - Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven

Breakfast was as fun for us as it was for the waitresses. They didn't speak any English and what little Chinese was going to get us any food. My favorite was when I asked what was in the serving dish, she showed me the sign in Chinese. I just looked at her and she realized that wasn't going to help me. She giggled and walked away. The waitresses followed us around and helped us. I think it was exciting for them to have a Westerner in their restaurant.

Sherry and Mr Yu met us in the lobby and we were on our way to the Forbidden City. Last night when Mr Yu took over the driving, I could tell that something was different. Today I know what it was. He was very assertive behind the wheel. Nobody was going to cut in front of him and he would cut into traffic any place he wanted. There were a few times I was sure we were going to scrape another car. His excellent driving skills got us through every encounter. I think I shall rename him Mr Yu Andretti!

Sherry was invaluable today. Although we would have gotten by without an interpreter, she made everything go smoothly. The coordination with Mr Yu on times and pick-ups was easy. I had been to the Forbidden City twice. Both times I was disappointed with the tour. I don't think either guide was happy with our group. Sherry's tour was the best. In the past we would go right down the center. This time we went into some areas that I hadn't seen before. The Forbidden City got its name because common people were forbidden to enter. It was a huge area that included Tiananmen Square where the emperor lived and conducted governmental affairs. As you will see in the pictures, the Forbidden City is very beautiful. I was happy to see renovations being done. One of the reasons I liked this place is the colors of the buildings. Now that some are renovated, the colors are brighter. I made sure I got a picture of the Starbucks for Brian.

Forbidden City 

Kim, Jon, and Chairman Mao 

We then went to the National Museum beside Tiananmen Square. We liked the displays of pottery and bronzes. I was yelled at by a guard when I tried to take a picture inside one of the exhibitions. The had an exhibition on the Incas as well.

On the way to the Temple of Heaven we stopped for lunch. I expected to have lunch in the main dining room of the restaurant. Instead we were taken upstairs to a private room. Sherry and Mr Yu helped us pick out a nice lunch. Since we got homemade dumplings at the wall, Kim wanted to get them again.

At the Temple of Heaven, we had another great tour. The Temple of Heaven was another huge complex of buildings. The buildings are extremely ornate and each building had a designated purpose. The temple of Heaven was visited three times yearly by the emperor to pray for the harvest and adequate amounts of timely rain and good weather.

Temple of Heaven 

Sherry suggested that we go to the Drum and Bell towers next. When we got there, Sherry turned us over to Sonya for the tour. We did the Drum Tower first. There were 69 steep steps to climb. At the top was a room full of drums. Before clocks, the only way for the emperor to tell time was the beating of the drums at certain times during the day. We got there at the right time. There was a performance of drum beating. I told Kim to leave the video camera in the car right before we went on this tour. Now I'm kicking myself. Sonya kept talking about 25 hours of the day. I must have missed something. The Bell Tower had 70 steps as steep as the Drum Tower. When we exited the tower, we took a rickshaw ride around the local neighborhood. We were looking at houses that were a few hundred years old. We even got to tour a house and talk to the owner. He was very proud of his humble home and in the Chinese tradition served us Jasmine tea and candies. Outside of his home he had several cages of colorful birds and stacks of small cages each housing a large colorful crickets.

Drum Tower 

Traditional Chinese Home 

I always have to drive her everywhere! 

We went to supper with Sherry and had Beijing Duck. It was delicious.

Kim and Sherry 

Day 3 - Waking up on the Wall and Summer Palace (Our 1 year anniversary!)

The Wall Coming out of the Fog

Although we could not see the sun rise, the fog rise was almost as sweet. As it got lighter out, more of the Wall and watch towers could be seen. At 4:00 in the morning, the wall looked like it disappeared into nowhere. I was just awestruck by the experience of watching the Wall emerge out of the darkness and fog. At first, I was unhappy that we did not have clear weather, but I think this experience was as cool as experiencing a sun rise. We could hear people talking and moving around, but we didn't know where they were. I tried to take a few pictures, but they didn't come out very well. I was up for a half hour before Kim. Except for a few people moving around us, it was very quiet. Between last night walking on the Wall in the dark and watching the Wall this morning, it was an experience that I will never forget.

It was our one year wedding anniversary. It is hard to believe its been a year already. For weeks, I was trying to come up with an idea for a surprise. When the time was right, I gave her a "Pearl Necklace". Boy was she surprised and yes they were real pearls! I brought them with me and was always afraid that Kim would see them at the security check-points at the airport. My original plan was to put them around my neck and hide them with my shirt. However, I couldn't open the clasp and had to put them around my arm. [Note from Kim: I was very surprised with my pearls. I thought I knew all his hiding places for his gifts to me. In the past, he used an old box of diarrhea medicine to hide a diamond ring]

Pearl Necklace 

After we were awake for a while, Hailong came up and made a breakfast of noodles and tea. We then went for a mile hike on the east side of the Wall. It wasn't long before we came to the unrestored section of the wall. I'm not sure which I liked better. The restored sections showed how it looked when it was new. The unrestored sections are the original work. We were going to go further, but it started to rain. At that point we turned back and decided to get an early start back to Beijing.

Hotel Room 

Hailong and his Family 

Before we left, we took a bathroom break. After a few minutes I heard Kim cough. I figured her side was as disgusting as mine. A minute later I heard her gag. At that point I thought she was going to loose the noodles we had for breakfast. She managed to keep her noodles. (Another note from Kim: It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen or smelled. There was no privacy, just row after row of rectangular openings in the ground. I now have a new respect for the American Standard Company).

Best Toilet at the Wall 

We went directly to the Summer Palace from the Wall. It was a long trip. Our driver dropped us off at the entrance. While we were getting a handle on how to get the tickets, several tour guides came around and asked if we needed their services. At first, we planned on self touring with the tour book we brought with us. After the second guide approached, Kim and I talked and thought maybe it would be a good idea for this palace. I had been here only once before and the tour wasn't very good. Maybe with a good guide we would get more history and information. One guide came back a second time and caught us at the right time. We decided to go with her. Her name was Sherry. She bought our tickets and ushered us into the Summer Palace.

Once inside, Sherry immediately started to talk about the palace and give us a history. The Summer Palace was the home for various emperors and their families to stay during the summer months. The emperor did not travel lightly, it was common for him to have 3000 concubines and many, many trusted eunuchs.

The palace consisted of many building that were often only used once or twice a year for various occasions or ceremonies. One of the largest and ornate buildings was built by Emperess Cixi (Sissy) to celebrate her birthday. The building was only used on this day. We were impressed with Sherry's knowledge and professionalism. It was an enjoyable tour and well worth the 200 yuan we payed. At the end of the tour, she offered to guide us through the next day's sights. It was an easy decision.

Since Sherry understood some of my Chinese, I again tried to use some of my Chinese skills with our driver again to get to a bank. At first, I didn't think I was getting through, but a little later we appeared in front of a bank. Finally some success. Maybe I'm getting the hang of this language!

Summer Palace 

Summer Palace 

We were met at our hotel, at the Office of the Sichuan Provence, by Mr Yu. Although he didn't speak any English, he made sure that everything was set. When Mr Yu needed to give me some information, he would call someone who spoke some English and she relayed it to me. We had our first shower in two days. When we were freshened up, Mr Yu took us to the Silk Market. Kim is still not used to the high pressure tactics of the sellers. ( Note: high pressure doesn't even come close to describing how the sales people would call out to you, thrust their products into your hands, or literally pull you into their stalls) We got through all of the floors and only bought a few items. We are waiting for Tibet before buying a lot of stuff.

We had reservations at the restaurant at the hotel. It is famous for its Sichuan food. We were told that we would get food that was not too hot. So we decided to go for it. Mr Yu came and helped. We didn't realize when we said the food looked OK that we were actually ordering it. We were just looking at that point. When we settled on something, we thought it was the only thing coming out. Before we knew it, the table was full! The food was spicy, but not burning hot. That changed when the Hot and Sour soup arrived. I got a bowl down, but it burned.

Day 2 - The Longest Flight and the Great Wall

If God had meant man to fly, he would have made friendlier flight attendants. I have never been on a flight where the flight attendants tried to hurry through meals and drinks so fast. They would demand the people standing in line for the bathroom to go back to their seats whenever the pilot turned on the "Fasten Seat Belt" sign. From the time we woke up in Buffalo and landed in Beijing, it was 22 hours of traveling.

Here we are at the start of the trip 

It was a nice flight even though the flight attendants were a bit bossy. Here are a few interesting facts about our flight. We left in the daylight and traveled for 22 hours without ever seeing any darkness. We crossed Alaska, the Arctic Ocean and Siberia. The plane we flew over in was a large 747. The outside temperature was a comfortable -60 deg F. At top speed we flew almost 600 MPH and at an altitude of almost 36,000 feet. (Here is a math question for you, Alex and Mary. Approximately how many miles high did the plane fly?)

We were met at the airport by a driver that did not speak a word of English. He took us on a hair raising ride which lasted almost 3 hours. The Chinese people love to use their horns and they love speed. Apparently, the lines painted on the road are merely a suggestion as to what side of the road you should drive on.

My first attempt at speaking Chinese was a resounding failure. I tried to ask if it was going to rain tonight. He immediately pulled over and put all of the windows down. When I kind of indicated that this was not what I wanted, he started to turn the air-conditioning down. I guess I must work on my pronunciation!

When we finally got to The Great Wall of China we did not quite know what to expect. We met our guide, Sun Hailong at the Jinsanling Gate. We were taken to his home, a small building in which the front room has been converted to a small tourist shop. We were escorted to the Wall and started to hike west for a mile or so. It was difficult walking at times since the steps were deceptively uneven. We turned around when it started to rain.

Our First View of the Wall 

Hailong took us back to his home where his wife prepared us a delicious meal. A few stools and a table were pulled out of the shop and we ate along the roadside. The meal began with large bottles of pijiu (beer). Jon was a happy man. The first dish was green beans with small bits of beef. Five minutes later a steaming bowl of garlic shoots were carried out. We were satisfied with this simple, yet tasty meal. Little did we know that the dishes just kept on coming and coming and coming. We both loved the pork and vegetable filled dumplings which were served with your choice of three sauces.

Dinner 

It was dark by the time we finished dinner and started to hike back up the Wall. Armed only with flashlights, a bottle of water and our day packs we started up the historic 500 year old wall. It took us about 20 minutes to walk to the tower that we would be sleeping in. Hailong tried to make us comfortable. He laid one inch thick pieces of styrofoam on the stone floor along with two layers of sleeping bags. He covered the whole area with mosquito netting and our bed was complete. Before he left he showed us our toilet. It was a bank on the side of the mountain scattered with a few bushes and suspicious looking small brownish mounds. I was not impressed, Jon, on the other hand was almost giddy with the idea that he would soon be able to mark his territory.

It will be hard to top what happened after we got to the watch tower. It is a shame that this couldn't have been at the end of the trip. When Hailong left us, we took our flashlights and walked to the next two towers. Just the fact that we were walking the Wall at night was awesome. With the clouds, there was almost no light at night. The wall looked different when bathed by the light from the flashlights. The only lights visible were one light several miles away and from the farming village. Other than that, there were no lights we could see. I cannot find the words to describe how it looked. I have been to many places in the world. I think it was that sense of excitement of being there and seeing the sights that have made it one of the best things that I have ever done.

The Wall at Night 

The evening was quite warm and humid. We decided to sleep with the door open as this let a small amount of cooler air into the room. Our only light was a single candle since the flashlights that we carried along with us had long since died. We both worried a bit about our safety and the safety of our possessions, but as we had only about four hours of sleep in the last 38 hours, our concerns didn't last long. Although we had the occasional bat looking for some insects, we did end up having one earthly visitor in the middle of the night. A mouse scampered into the tower for a few minutes before being chased back out by Jon. I slept through the whole event. Jon claims that he was awake due to the fact that I was snoring so loudly. What is that man talking about? I don't snore.

We were up by 4:00 AM

Day 1 - Buffalo,NY

Twas the night before the trip and all through the house (actually, it is a hotel), not a creature was stirring. Not even a cockroach, a lice, or a big hungry bed bug. With me in my bed clothes and my wife asleep, I set down to start this tale. When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter. I sprung from my bed to see what was the matter. I opened the curtain and to my amazement I saw the under belly of a big jumbo jet liner. It rocketed past the house so close I could almost touch the wheels. We are just at the end of the runway!

Since we have to be at the airport so early, we decided to get a hotel by the airport. Next time we may pick a hotel that is further away. We already made two trips to the store to pick up some supplies we left behind.

We have a 4:15 wake-up call. So this post will be short. We are in the air most of tomorrow, so there will be no new posts.

Day minus 2 Packing

Who would have thought that an impromptu visit to a San Francisco museum would have sparked the idea for a trip to Tibet. They had an exhibit on Tibet complete with decorated skulls. They also had some movies of the monasteries. I was hooked immediately. It took a few months of clever convincing to get Kim on board. At first she was interested. But after looking at an early itinerary and cost, she lost interest. This was her first international trip, other than a few Caribbean countries. I think she had her heart set on Europe this summer. By November or December, she was starting to buy into the trip.

We found a tour operator that returned our emails and offered an interesting itinerary. I feel we must be the worst kind of customers. We started reading about Tibet. Before we put any money down, we made a few changes and asked many questions. We have been tweaking the trip ever since.

The trip is going to be 18 days. We have 3 days in Beijing, 10 days in Tibet, 3 days in Kathmandu, and a day in Bangkok. This will be the longest trip we have ever made. I have been telling my wife that this trip will either strengthen our marriage or end it. She doesn’t seem to see the humor in that statement. Will we still be together? Follow along to see how this adventure unfolds.