Produce Market and Chinese Firewater

May 2, Sunday, Beijing, Continued - Vegetable market and lunch

Another of the laudable practices of Odysseys Unlimited is that when they do take us to a "retail therapy opportunity" (some tourists NEED to shop every so often), Chen quietly also lets us know that as soon as someone is "done" with the shopping - that he has an alternate activity available to keep the men (usually it is the men who tire of shopping - first) interested and keep us from grumbling about how long the *shopping* is taking. In this case, Kathy and I are pretty-much the last to finish and the rest of our group has been walked down the street a few blocks to a farmers market. And that's where Vivian escorts us now. No pressure to hurry - just catching us up with the group.

It is wonderful. Huge piles of beautiful, fresh, weird-looking fruit and vegetables - mixed in with the familiar-looking. Unfortunately, in the spirit of avoiding gastrointestinal distress, we've been warned not to *eat* anything which we don't first peel or cook - so we don't buy anything, but the colors, smells, and sounds are a feast for the senses. Dumplings, noodles, pastries... We thread our way through the market and at one point, we pass a booth which has something that looks vaguely like small American hamburgers - stacked up. I ask Vivian if they *are* hamburgers and she immediately just *buys* 3 of them - with her own money - for us to try. They are *not* hamburgers. Kind of the same color, but more of a kind of crispy-fried dough - thing. Since it's been cooked, it's OK to eat - so we sample and have another "interesting experience". I have no idea what it was. Thanks to Vivian for being so sweet and buying that experience for us.

We emerge into a big open room and wander around. Fish. Gorgeous strawberries - carefully arranged. And we find some Dragon Fruit - so we can see the *outside* of the "white with black spots" fruit that we had for breakfast. The vivid colors make it obvious why it is called "Dragon Fruit": Something interesting everywhere we look.

But it's time to go to lunch so we're walked down the street another few blocks and to a restaurant. Another note here: the group-tour experience is, again, an advantage here: Odysseys has set things up so we have a Pearl Factory, a produce market, and lunch - all within a comfortable walk. It all just flows and we get 3 experiences in a compact timeframe so that we ultimately get to see and do *so* much more than we would have if we tried to arrange it all on our own. In addition, they have "in's" with the places so we are quickly shown to a private dining room - no waiting - and we are seated around the familiar Lazy-Susan and get plied with the multiple plates of "dining opportunities". Chen notes that Chinese people tend to take *one* thing at a time onto their individual small plate - and finish it - while we Westerners try to take "a little of everything" and fit it all onto our plate before eating anything.

Chen also is a good host and pours me a treat: Chinese Fire Water. I explain that I don't drink alcohol, but - like most Americans - I don't think he believes me - he just assumes that I'm being polite - and he explains that it is a treat - 100 proof (50% alcohol) - if I remember correctly - which I probably don't - because I decide to be a sport and down the shot. Wow! Firewater is right. Clear, colorless fire. Things get a bit fuzzy for awhile.

But we're only halfway through the day. Next up: Tinanmen Square and the Forbidden City.

Pearls and Pearls of Wisdom about Toilets

May 2, Sunday, Beijing, Continued, Pearls

We all collect again and walk back through the greenery of the park - to our bus and off to a Pearl Factory tour. OK, it's a thinly-disguised ploy to get us to buy pearl jewelry. We've been quietly told that the government *requires* tour operators to expose their tourists to a certain number of local-specialty "buying opportunities", but that Odysseys choices are carefully picked for high quality and reasonable prices - and we're coached on what level of discount is *really* reasonable - as opposed to the first offers of the vendors. In this case, we're told 30% is good, 40% MIGHT be possible. And, yes, I suspect that we're being coached to pay *more* than we really could, but every buyer needs to exercise their *own* level of skepticism and caution. Kathy and I have reached a point in our lives where we finally realize that collecting more *things* is really actually *burdening* ourselves: we want memories and photos, but after moving 3 times recently - and moving all of our *stuff* time and again - we understand that it just becomes a millstone around our necks. So we will enjoy the views, but we're certainly not going to *buy* anything.

We pull up and we're encouraged to take advantage of the clean, Western-style toilets available there. OK. Perhaps you don't want to read about toilet stops, but another of the things that we *did* appreciate about Odysseys - is that they included planning for convenient breaks - and for clean places to take those breaks. Annnd now we get into a bit of a discussion about "East vs West" again. Particularly for the ladies. Bear with me. I do have a bigger point to make. Chinese facilities traditionally consist of a porcelain base surrounding a hole in the floor. Essentially just a place to put your feet - and squat. No "throne" like Western-style toilets. And that can be pretty disconcerting for Westerners when we first walk in and wonder "where did the toilet go???" And, perhaps-understandably, the women were *quite* happy to be directed to *Western*-style facilities and, while not making a big deal of it, Odysseys is commended for getting us to bathrooms which were mostly of Western style. But it *did* eventually make me think about "comfort levels" again. Well over 2 *billion* people deal with the "hole in the floor" system (personally estimating - between China, India, and others - at least), so it clearly *does* work. And, particularly for ladies, when you think about it, it is more *clean* to *not* sit on a public seat. Just squat. So ultimately our Western squeamishness is kind of backward: we *should* be more reluctant to use *Western* facilities. While most of us continued to wait in line for "the one Western toilet" in some places, I began to think about this as yet another place to challenge our comfort zones: "If something totally foreign works well for *one third of the people on the planet* then maybe I should at least give it a fair try". Food, customs, clothing, dances, toilets... There. I made my point. Thank you for your indulgence. A "pearl of wisdom", perhaps, and back to literal pearls.

One of our group is asked to pick an oyster out of a collection and we are all encouraged to guess how many pearls will be inside. How many? I figure that "one" is a good find, but we are encouraged to guess higher. Then it is opened and the guide shows us all of the little cultured pearls inside. ***Twenty Three*** if I recall correctly. Wow! See all of the little bumps near the edge of the shell?


We're schooled a bit on how to tell really-good pearls from lesser ones and she extracts a pearl or two and passes them around.

Then she explains that these are not at all of jewelry quality: that these pearls will be crushed and ground up into the delightful "pearl cream" that was in the afore-mentioned ladies room.

Then we're paraded through the showroom to the "special quality" showroom where we're shown the cases full of the "really good stuff". Beautiful. Different shades of pearls - pearl (of course), but also a kind of rose and a grey-ish hue. Beautiful and lustrous. Everybody begins to drift out into the main area as we're told that the room we're in is the "wife" room - while the main showroom is the "girlfriend" room - and the racks on the wall are the "mother in law" collection - purely costume jewelry.

Annnd Kathy and I browse the beautiful pearls in the "wife" room and I ask the fateful question: "Is there anything in particular that you like?".

Ahem. Kathy is *not* someone who gets things for herself. So when she points out a necklace with just *2* Pearls on it of different shades - carefully matched for shape and size - I take notice. And so does the sales girl who has been discreetly following us. Soooo we ask to see it. And it looks really nice. And it looks really nice *on* Kathy. So I ask how much. Wow. THAT much? OK. Well. We aren't buying anything anyway. They ask "So how much *can* you offer?" So I offer what I am willing to pay for jewelry (even with Kathy standing beside me) - which I'm sure is a complete insult. Far lower, even, than our guides told us was a good price. They frown and shake their heads, so we thank them and exit the "wife" room - and our local guide Vivian skips out of the "wife" room and tells us not to be so hasty. That the manager has asked us to come back and talk. Hmmmm... Okay. They counter offer 25% more than my offer - which is exactly *50%* of the original price. Really? Uhhh... OK. Done. And then, of course, we have to get matching earrings - and they help us find a nice set quickly - and I go pay for both transactions. And we smile. I have a happy wife. Which makes *me* happy. And we've got a small, light, beautiful memory of China to take home and remember each time Kathy wears them. But we *certainly* aren't going to *buy* anything. Maybe our guides are really VERY smart.... (smile).

Beijing Temple of Heaven, People meeting people

May 2, Sunday, Beijing - Continued

We finally make it to the actual Temple. Beautiful. Colorful. Interesting in its architecture since it is ultimately held up solely by 8 massive pillars. Set in a medium-sized raised platform overlooking Beijing. We wander around and peek inside the temple and the surrounding area, but there's actually not much to see: we can't go in and there's not really anything *in* the Temple anyway.

But it *is* nice to stroll around the square. Looking out over Beijing. It *does* again highlight the poor air quality, but we're not *feeling* any ill effects. The visibility isn't helped by the substantial *pollen* which is constantly floating around. Literally, it looks like it is constantly *snowing* - white, fluffy pollen drifting down and actually "piling up" on the street - the entire time we're in Beijing. Pretty, actually.

The associated carvings and filigrees show a lot of detail and work but eventually the "star of the show" again becomes the *people* - here on their "Labor Day Weekend" - visiting the Temple with their families. We stroll around and see a young couple taking "fashion" photos - the woman jumping up into the air and doing "catwalk" poses - with the Temple as background. And actually, I'm struck by how young Chinese women just *do* seem to automatically fall into "high fashion" poses whenever a camera is pointed at them.

I find a pair of grandparents - PROUDLY taking a photo of their son who is holding their grandson (all of this is assumed, but it sure seemed likely): I offer to take a photo of *all* of them - with their camera - and they pose and seem delighted with the offer. And I'm delighted to have made a contact - with no common words between us. But everybody understands a smile.

Ultimately, we wind up compulsively taking photos of Chinese people: the old ones have such *character* in their faces. The little ones are just SOOoo cute! We just can't help ourselves, and the Chinese people are always SO proud of and happy for their "Little Princesses / Emperors". We had been warned that some older people would NOT want us to photograph them - superstitious hold-overs, but we find *very* few who object - and most of *those* object only because they want to be *paid* to be photographed. West meets East. Capitalism meets Socialism.

But mostly, people meet people.

Temple of Heaven

May 2, Sunday, Beijing

Up early again: combination of adjusting to the 12-hour time change - and getting old (smile)... we're the youngest people in our tour group and we're being reminded that we're *not* unusual in *not* looking for "night life": we head to bed by 10PM so getting up at 6AM is no problem.

As we enjoy our extensive buffet breakfast in the hotel again (I'm getting to finally understand that there is NOTHING which is "not breakfast food" to *someone*: steak, squid, dumplings, congee, everything is fair game), I muse again that, so far, China doesn't really *feel* that "foreign". What I've seen of clothes and cars - and WalMart and KFC - doesn't look terribly different than the US. Of course, I don't have a Central Government telling me what my career will be - or rationing meat, but I also don't have a career *at all* right now. And even the "one child per family" rule which is VERY real - and which has now been in force for 40(?) years - is seeming like a difficult-but-necessary governing decision. American family sizes have been plummeting over the last few generations - as *we* move off the farms and realize that we don't need farm hands anymore - and that paying for college for 13 children - is *tough*. China has also altered the "one child" policy as it gets to 2nd - and 3rd-generation offspring of that policy: if a couple now forms and *both* people are "only" children, then the *couple* is allowed *2* children - to begin to move back to "replacement level" of births. At least 2 of our guides were "only" children - whose partners were also "only" children - so they were anticipating *2*-children families. Heck... *that* sounds much like mainstream America, too. Of course, to be fair, it was only 21 years ago that dissenters were *shot* in Tinanmen Square - and I don't recall that kind of thing in the US lately... though there are some who would argue with me on *that* point.

Down to the lobby and into the bus for the short trip to the "Temple of Heaven". On the way, I see a hatchback car with the hatchback wide open - with a videographer hanging out the back of the car, videotaping the long line of *RED* cars behind him. Uhhh... What? I ask Vivian, our local guide and she tells us that, yes, that's a wedding procession and it is traditional to rent a whole bunch of red (good luck) or black cars (NOT white) - to parade the wedding party around town before bringing them to the wedding. Apparently, the actual wedding affairs haven't blossomed to the level of American blow-outs, but the photography, dresses, and processions have - as the "single children" mature and the "Little Princesses" and "Little Emperors" are wed. Cool to see.

We arrive at the Temple of Heaven. A large "Central Park" with the Temple at the center, but which has become a meeting place for the people of Beijing. Particularly the retirees congregate here to dance, exercise, do Tai Chi, play Hacky-Sack and badmitton, sing, play cards and dominoes - and to *live*. It is *full* of activity and gentle, caring interaction. They don't sit home in front of the TV - rotting. OK... at least the ones we're seeing don't. And they bring their grandchildren. And they are VERY proud of their little grandchildren - very happy to have us make a fuss over the little cuties and take gobs of photos. The merging of East and West is quite clear: Disney Babies clothes at the Temple of Heaven.

We watch a large group of people ballroom-dancing and they invite our group to join them. The other couple from Florida (very active newly-wed octogenarians) and a couple of our other ladies - wind up dancing while we all cheer. We move a little further in toward the Temple and a group of people engage us in a kind of a Hacky-sack badminton (Kathy was pretty good at it!) , and a kind of combined Tai Chi with "balance a ball on a moving badminton racquet" (Linda showed talent) , and we are given the opportunity to *buy* corresponding equipment before we move on. I don't think that any of us tried the "sword Tai Chi" - .

And then we have a really wonderful experience. Vivian and Chen herd us onto a patio section and we slowly thread our way thru the crowd. Watching dominoes (where the men make every play dramatically and loudly) and traditional Chinese-instrument performances. Singing. Dancing. Literally "rubbing shoulders" with the Chinese. It takes awhile for us to traverse the 100 yards, but the point is not to "get where we were going" - but, rather, to *be* with the very-real, very open and sincere Chinese people. Just magical.

I always wind up as one of the last people to progress and I find myself rather behind, so as I make an effort to catch up to my group, I nudge my way between 2 people - and find myself literally face-to-face with a little boy. Maybe only a year old. In his mother's arms. We all just freeze - and *look* at each other. The little boy's face is full of wonder - his eyes dark, round, and huge. He reaches out and touches my arm - totally unafraid of this odd stranger. I say "Hello" gently, not realizing that my English probably means nothing to him - or his mother. But he responds: "Hello" and keeps looking at me. His mother prompts him to wave at me and I wave back. I wish that I had my camera ready - or that I wasn't already so far behind my group - so that I could savor this moment - but I have to move on, so I say "Bye Bye" and his mother smiles as he responds - in English - "Bye Bye" and smiles while still staring at me. Just... utterly magical.

I guess that this *is* the "Temple of Heaven".

Beijing (Peking) Duck

Back thru heavy traffic to Beijing - but still not to our hotel yet. We pull up to a restaurant known for Beijing (Peking) Duck: we are in for a feast: eating the city's namesake.

We all trek into a reserved room and find seats around the large round tables with lazy-susan's in the middle. Tsing Tao beer is poured, but I select tea instead. Not surprisingly, the tea in China is very good - without bothering with sugar or milk - and we usually even get our choice of black tea or green tea.

Then the stream of dishes begins. Plate after plate after plate is added to the lazy-susan and a quick explanation made as to what *this* delight is: Lotus root, Bok Choi, Prawns encased in creamy-cheesy covering and crispy stuff and, of course, the Beijing Duck - carefully sliced and provided on duck dishes. You then take a slice or two of duck, some dark red sauce, and a "wrap", fold it all together, and pop it into your mouth.

It lives up to its billing. Subtle but WOW. Tender, juicy, moist, crisp, tangy. Worth the effort. Very nice.

We stuff ourselves and I top the whole thing off with (blush) "Magnum Ice Cream Bars". A guilty pleasure. Our daughter *loved* them when she toured Europe - and they've found their way to China as well. Typically, Chinese dessert is slices of watermelon and/or oranges - and I have a way bigger sweet tooth than that, so I enjoy the Western-style dessert instead.

It's still light out as we board the bus back to our hotel - and drive past the burned-out "CCTV" building I mentioned before - the one that looks like a couple of legs with a bridge across them . Next to that building is another - which is all burned out. Perhaps you saw mention of the fire in the news a couple of years ago. They were celebrating the "topping off" of the brand-new building and were using fireworks (which, in China, is really *not* unusual). We're told that they were a bit egotistical about the celebration - telling the local police to mind their own business when people complained about the noise and long celebration and flaunting of some safety laws. So. A sky rocket accidentally landed on the 14th floor and caught the building on fire. And the building hadn't had the fire-control system installed yet. And the whole building burned up. OOps! It was considered "too bad", but some people weren't as sorry as they might have otherwise been - given the cavalier attitude that the building owners had shown. The second building is being slowly gutted and rebuilt, but it took some time to make the plan as to what to do: it shares the same huge concrete-slab foundation with the "legs" building and it was feared that if they simply tore down the burned one - that the whole slab would tip from the weight distribution - so they're having to carefully do the reconstruction "in place".

Back to the hotel and time to do some more computer stuff - and I consciously note that the electrical outlets in China seem to be designed to accommodate "whatever" kind of electricity you need: 50Hz, 60Hz, 110VAC, 220VAC - it's a "combination plug" that automatically supplies the right kind of juice just by what plug holes you use. It isn't obvious that there *is* a "standard Western 2-prong plug hole", but it's there. In addition, our new camera's battery charger specifically warned us that it has it's *own* transformer and such - to accommodate anything from 110 to 220 - so that we should *not* use a separate converter or it will burn out the charger(!!). Kathy had carefully obtained converters and plug adapters - but we don't ever need them. Perhaps this is only because we're staying in 5-star hotels, but it sure makes things easier. .

And to bed.

And this is only our *first* full day!

Great Wall of China - photos

May 1, 2010

We marvel at the beauty and power of the Wall - stretching in both directions - and branching to guard towers and side offshoots - and begin the walk along the wall. I can see another Cable Car in the distance so we decide to walk down to it - and take the other cable car down. The wall is - challenging - to walk. Steps vary in height from perhaps an inch each - to over foot-high clips - to sections which are flat - or ramped smoothly. The angle gets *quite* steep - particularly in the warm May sun and I'm glad that I'm heading significantly *down* as I pass others climbing laboriously *up* past me.

It's dry and dusty - quite the contrast to seaside Florida where I was just a day ago.

Periodically, I have to make a point of mentally "pinching myself". I'm *on* the Great Wall of China. It is *massive*. A "highway along the mountain peak". Inconceivable amounts of human energy expended to mound up the earth (and dead bodies), then top it with stones. And we've all seen it in movies and pictures and documentaries, but I'm here really, truly, *on* the wall. It is beautiful and massive and daunting and inspiring - reminding what humans can accomplish - for better or for worse.

We explore the guard houses - massive square 2-story blocks in the wall, but it seems that every opportunity to just sit and look out a window - is taken by someone who has decided to just "adopt" the spot with no intention of moving, so we peek out, then move on. Down and down and down.

We walk thru a low arch doorway and look down to find a *donkey* just standing peacefully. Just *standing* there. Kathy suggests that he carried the drinks and snacks being hawked by enterprising entrepreneurs: "You buy beer!? Hat? Hat for lady?"

An offshoot extends 100 yards - leading to another guard tower and I run down to it - thinking to have the tower to myself as Kathy stays back to take a photo - but as soon as I head down the wall, I have attracted attention to the empty tower and suddenly others are interested as well, so I don't really get the tower to myself. It has a whole second floor - like the others, and I REALLY want to shinny up through one of the holes in the roof - to get to stand on the *top* - but I see no way to get there without a ladder (the roofs are probably 8 feet up) - and I'm not carrying a ladder with me, so I trudge back up (not a run this time) to the main section. Reminding me again that I've been going *down* a lot and that *up* is a lot harder.

And then we catch up with another of the couples on our tour - who let us know that we are *not* allowed to take the other cable car down. We have to get back up to the original one. And time is running out.

OOps! Back UP!!! to the original spot.

So we turn around - perhaps halfway to the 2nd cable car - and begin the trudge back *up*. And I find that it is like climbing straight up - as far as my heart is concerned. My thighs are holding out - for the most part, but my heart begins to POUND - maybe a pulse of 150 - so I have to sit for awhile and let my heart slow down again - knowing that time is ticking away while I do. Kathy is doing fine: she's been exercising regularly for years now - but my heart is letting me know that I've missed too many days of Nintendo Wii FIT exercise.

I resume my climb and finally - Finally - make it back to the summit and the cable car. Kathy and I find a table to sit at and eat the Subway sandwiches that our tour provided - and gulp a bottle - or two - of water - and cool down - while looking at yet-another donkey quietly standing near the wall. Then we board the cable car for the ride back down. And another *extended* "gauntlet" of vendors to negotiate. The cry of "One Dolla! One Dolla" turn to "Two for dolla!!! TWO for dolla!" as we shake our heads and pass by: nothing here we need to take with us - but photos and memories.

It is over too soon, and we load back onto the bus for another extended ride - and talk with our guides - as we drive back to Beijing.

Enjoy the whole set of 68 photos on "The Great Wall of China" HERE - and remember that all of these are available as 12Megapixel photos so if you want to zoom in to see something closer, download the big versions and zoom away.

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall was built primarily to try to control attacks from the North - so the wall extends East-West along Northern China - for over 5500 miles - which is coincidentally pretty-much the same distance as the US/Canadian border - so imagine building a stone wall the entire length of that border (though I don't know WHY we would want to isolate ourselves from the Canadians - since they're so nice!). The wall is often built in mountainous terrain to make it *more* difficult to assault - but, of course, that also made it more difficult to build - and "interesting" to get to. For more background, refer to Wikipedia's entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China

Odysseys Unlimited has chosen to take us to the "Mu Tian Yu" section which is a little further from Beijing and a little less commercial. Nice choice. There is quite an elevation rise from Beijing: Beijing is essentially at sea level while the Mu Tian Yu section of the Great Wall is at nearly 2000 feet. The bus parks, and we all begin the *walk* up to the Cable Car. The pathway is utterly lined with vendors hawking everything from copies of Chairman Mao's little red book to Camel rides to T-shirts saying "I climbed the Great Wall" - but we negotiate the gamut and board the Cable Car. Our guide smilingly tells us that the cars were intended for 6 *Chinese* people, but only *4* of us will fit.


The ride up makes me ponder the mind of an Emperor who looked at this terrain and decided that "Yeah... I can build a 20-foot-high, 20-foot-wide stone wall here - with no power tools or equipment." I don't think that I could even just *hike* up to the top - let alone haul up massive stones after mounding up earth as the base.

Now. Granted. The work was largely done by forced labor from people who had been conquered - and we're told that it is estimated that over 1 *million* people *died* while constructing the wall - and that they were simply added to the "fill dirt" to compose the wall. And, by the way, this was all going on at the same time that the "Terra Cotta Army" was being constructed and buried - and *that* took over 700,000 people to accomplish (and I'll be blogging about *that* since we do visit that site in Xian). Perhaps this is no different from "Crazy Ludwig" - the German King who was responsible for the creation of opulent castles like "Neuschwanstein" - and who nearly bankrupted Germany in the process. And I'm torn: do you *have* to be crazy and irresponsible to leave something truly amazing behind you? I can't admire the motivation, but here is something that has lasted far longer than all of Western Civilization - and you *have* to admire *that*. In retrospect, Emperor Qin is still dead and gone, but should I, nonetheless, admire what was created?

We arrive at the top, and climb the stairs - and it's impossible not to admire the beauty, accomplishment, and power of the Wall. Wide. Tall. Gorgeous scenery. Stretching as far as you can see - along the ridge of the mountains.




We walk down the steep, uneven steps, through the massive guard towers. Breathtaking. And very demanding to climb. I have to stop to let my heart pound - regularly.

More to come.

Beijing - People and Hard Times and Easier Times

Saturday, May 1, 2010 - Beijing, China

We're still processing a 12-hour time-change jetlag, so we woke in Beijing at 5AM and decided that was "late enough" and got up to work on our Blog. Except that I couldnt' connect to Facebook and this site. There were comments that Google's blogspot and Facebook are *blocked* here in China. Weird since AOL and Gmail are fine. And it could just be a weak connection rather than something conscious.

It's May Day. Which is a 3-day Holiday here (like Labor Day in the US), so our guide at Odysseys Unlimited decided to re-arrange our tour schedule to accommodate the crowds of *Chinese* tourists likely to be at the spots we will visit. Very good of our guide, Chen, to think ahead that way.

Breakfast in the Hotel (Sofitel Wanda) - an amazing selection available at the buffet - including "Dragon Fruit": a white melon with black spots in it: tasty, but not really hugely different from honeydew in flavor.


We were very happy to see that our breakfast was included in the tour price - since the ultimate bill was 455 RMB - which is roughly $60. For breakfast for 2. Ouch. But this is "big city / fancy hotel" price - not necessarily an indication of "China" or "Beijing" price.

We still had time before our bus left, so we headed downstairs and just walked around the block and down the street and back. Very pleasant.

Kathy captured some of the beautiful flowers growing by the street.


Don't forget that you can click on any of the photos to see a bigger version of them.

As we walked down the street of Beijing, it almost seemed *too* "familiar": the clothing of all of the Chinese - making their way to their daily activities - looks just like ours - except they're more fashionable. They seem to avoid bright colors: everything seems to be white, black, or gray, but there are no "Chairman Mao" suits or "pajamas", but jeans, sneakers, suits, etc. When I think about it, it isn't surprising since *our* clothes are all made in China these days. In addition, the cars all look familiar: they are either American brands or look like the same cars we see at home. Most of the familiar brands are manufactured here, too: GM, Volkswagen, BMW, Ford... So while I want it to feel exotic, it feels like New York City - except that signs are in Mandarin and English. Lots of English - not that it would be easy to get around without knowing any Chinese.

We head downstairs to meet the rest of the people on our tour. 24 people in all - and we get an overall "China" briefing from our guide, Chen, then load into the bus for the ride out to the Great Wall. We're warned that the traffic is bad with "Labor Day Weekend" traffic, so it may take 90 minutes to get there, but our local Beijing guide, Vivian, trades off with Chen to frankly discuss any aspect of China and Chinese living that we care to pose - so we get a real exposure to "The Chinese" rather than just a traffic delay.

The 90-minute trip ultimately takes *3 hours* for us to get from Beijing out to the chosen section of the Great Wall, but that's OK. We pass "fishing ponds" along the way: tourist ponds heavily stocked with trout - so that city folk can come out and fish and catch their lunch/dinner. GOBS of families standing around pond after pond as we drive.

Lots of rural areas that make it clear that China has seen hard times - for a long time now - but that nobody is complaining. Chen matter-of-factly tells us that when he finished University - he had no exposure to tourism - but the Central Government assigned him to be a guide - so that's what he is. And he's very good at it. Later, he did also tell us that the influence of the Central Government has waned and he now can seek his own career. He's married and has a daughter - yet he will accompany us on our entire 20-day tour. He tells us that when he was a boy, that the government would allocate one pound of meat per person per *month*. But he is not complaining. That is just the way life is.

And then we arrive at the Great Wall.

*THE* Great Wall of China.

Coming up next.

Arrival in Beijing, China

Wellll... the Beijing internet connection is weak, so I can't get to this website - or even Facebook, so the posts are delayed. But we now have an excellent connection - in Shanghai - so I'll start catching up.

April 29, 2010, Thursday morning. We actually got into Chicago about 10 minutes *early*. I'd been sweating it out - since we only had a 90-minute layover for an International flite - so was quite happy that we were early. Then we got off the plane and figured we'd need to sprint to another terminal - only to find out that our departure terminal was *right across the hall*. Oh. We're here. Cool. We checked the lounge which was (surprise!!!) full of Chinese people, then grabbed some lunch and walked around a little until time to board. We did manage to bump into one other couple on our tour - from Indiana. Found them by looking for the "Odyssey's International" luggage tags. Then we shuffled onto a *very* full 777. It *is* a wide-body, but it was crammed full and I was quite surprised that they were using it for a 14-hour flite: pretty tight. I started getting really worried about how I'd do. We were in a group of 5-across: Kathy, me, "Mike" - a Chinese-looking guy who actually is from Canada, another Canadian, and a Chinese woman. Poor Mike was *really* squished in.

But we did OK. The seats had individual entertainment units in them - so I watched "Sherlock Holmes" about 3 times - and think I caught a lot of nuances that I hadn't before - and enjoyed "Young Frankenstein" a couple of times - and we got fed 3 times (Raman noodles once) - and it was OK. Yeah, the 13-hour flite dragged by the end, but we were a little early getting in - and the 6700 miles went pretty easily. Up over Canada and Alaska. Bering Strait. Most of the time we couldn't see anything: we weren't near any windows - but the flite was in daylight the whole way and when we got up to walk around, we looked out and saw the ice floes and mountains in Alaska and the Bering Strait. And for anybody who ever played "Risk" - we flew right over "Ka-Match-Ka" and on down into Beijing. We followed the whole flite on the moving map choice of the video display - and watched as we crossed the International Date Line - and moved us to Friday instead of Thursday - but we ultimately have decided not to bother to change our watches at all: we're exactly 12 hours off, so I just swap AM for PM - and we're done. So. We arrived at about 2:30PM Friday afternoon - Beijing time - and really didn't have any trouble finding our luggage or our guide. We were on the bus by 3:30PM - and rode to downtown Beijing - past lots of traffic. Chen, our guide, said that the Beijing car show is going on right now and that Beijing is adding 2000 cars *per day* to the roads. Also said that a 700-sq-foot high-rise apartment goes for about $400/month - and most residents only *make* $400/month - so that a small apartment will be shared by 5 or 6 people - even mixing gender in the same room.

The temperature was delightful: 72 degrees - and it's been a beautiful sunny day. In contrast to the flite - where it said it got all the way down to MINUS 74 degrees F - while we were at 34,000 feet over the Bering Strait.

At this point, we checked into our rooms - really nice, but odd in some ways: the wall between the bedroom and the bathroom - is glass. You can pull down a curtain, but the "default" is to have a clear view from the desk where I'm writing - right on into the shower.



The view from our room looks right out over the tallest building in Beijing: the "stubbed off" one - the "China World Trade Center" - at 1083 ft. And the CCTV building - the oddly-shaped one to the right. That's the one that caught *fire* while they were celebrating the opening (a firework landed on the 14th floor and started a fire - and the building wasn't finished - so no sprinkler system). The "legs" building is OK - but the one next to it is still burned and rusted. Photos of that another time.



We were pretty wrung out: we'd left home about 24 hours earlier, but we knew that we should force ourselves to stay up.

So I checked out the computer connection: really cool to see Firefox bring up it's home page in *Chinese*.



And we walked over next door to (wait for it) - WalMart!!! Yup. A HUGE WalMart is right next door to our hotel. Down in the basement of a high-rise building - probably bigger than most Super Wal-Marts at home.



So we wandered around admiring all of the interesting-looking foods. Including *live* eel. The place was quite busy - clearly the Chinese have no problem buying at Wal-Mart. I suppose that makes sense: everything Wal-Mart sells is made in China anyway. We bot a 12-pack of bottled water (they warned us to NOT drink any tap water) - and were glad that Kathy had been smart enough to change $100 before we left home. Yuan - or "RMB"'s are about 6.71 to the dollar. Our total bill for water, Oreo's, and Chips a-hoy - was only 22 RMB - or about $7. We also enjoyed finding Pringles in some odd flavors: Clam, Shrimp, and Spicy Chicken - though we didn't try them.

Back to our "Sofitel Wanda" hotel for dinner. A very-interesting buffet with lots of choices - but I was quite suprised when they brought the bill: 661 RMB - or about $100 for the 2 of us. No tipping, but - *ouch*. We took a little-bit-each of a bunch of new-looking things - and haven't yet found anything that didn't taste good!



Then back to the room to *Crash* at 8PM. We woke up a couple of times overnite, but we slept soundly and pretty well in our king-sized bed.

We're in *China*!!!

We've been told that our schedule has already been altered: May 1 is a huge holiday here, so they're taking us to the Great Wall tomorrow - instead of the next day - to avoid the crowds that are expected at the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.