Beijing Used to Be Peking

How do I love thee, Beijing? Let me count the ways: I love your food, your beautiful parks and green expanses, I love your smiling faces, your funny tasting popsicles, I love your tranquility and gentleness, your pride, I love your shiny subway, your kindness, I love your old temples and rose gardens....

I could go on and on. Beijing is a historic city that transcends time. A walk through Tianamen Square and see you the bold, stoic buildings of Communism on one end and the magnificent, ancient Forbidden City on the other. We wait with the long line of Chinese people in the rain to see Chairman Mao resting in his crystal coffin. The locals lay roses at a marble statue of him in the entrance, paying their respects. I take a moment to admire the People's Monument, a grandiose sculpture, standing out in the middle of it all. I think of the Time magazine cover of the young man in 70's that rose up against the army in this square. It's such a large place.

We take a walk across the street to the Forbidden City, crossing through the massive doors, over the mote, to the temples with names like "Eternal Happiness," "Tranquility," and "Hall of Contentment." I start naming the smaller buildings after movies (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Temple of Doom). We go up and down stairs weaving through the massive city/palace losing our way. All the while I keep looking for the Starbucks (it's closed). But the Forbidden City isn't even the best thing to see, in my opinion. I liked walking the Temple of Heaven and the massive lakes/gardens of the Summer Palace. The Temple of Heaven is filled with locals doing Tai Chi, swing dancing, playing music, picnicking....its such a wonderful place to just sit and watch or to jump up and join in (which I HAD to do). The Summer Palace is filled with bridges and peach trees and lily pads...I love every second we are here.
Now, what you all have been waiting for...drum roll please.....THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! It's even cooler than I thought would be. Our driver takes us to the Mutianyu portion of the great wall where you can ride a tram up to the top instead of walking. But we're young, eh? We can walk. Exhausted at the top, we realize maybe we should have saved our energy. But first I order a beer. Feeling refreshed, we literally scale, rock climb, and in some cases hang on for dear life as we walk the entire stretch of the wall to the unrestored section ( no sides, trees growing in the middle----don't go near that edge). Looking to one side is China, and to the other the old Mongolian side. For all that work, there is not a moment of disappointment. I wonder what the Mongolians thought when approaching this monster, or how tiring it must have been to walk up to your post in armor on this thing. I think about the millions of lives that were lost building it, buried in it, and now, here I am, standing on it and them. In the moments that we take a rest, we are quiet, not really knowing how to express the feelings this place can bring up in you. We (I) decide we cannot possible walk down. My legs are shaking uncontrollably, I'm hot and cold with sweat, and now it has started raining a bit. But there is an alternative to riding down in a tram. You can, at your own risk, fly down the thing in a one man luge. The haphazard metal track winds from the great wall down to where you started. Trust me, this thing would never pass an OSHA standard. Obviously, we chose to risk our life. We have to wait for the rain to stop, then we say a prayer that the brakes will work and GO! No sides, big drops, fast, and exciting I luge my way to the bottom. What a ride! All I can think is, I love Beijing!

The Ancient City of Xian

This is the China I have come to see! Secret tombs, pleasure palaces, ancient relics, ahhh... History! I only wish we would have had more time here. After a very long delay at Shanghai airport...we made it in late to Xian, missing our chance to see anything on the first day. In reality we only had one full day in this amazing city. We hired a driver (Mr D) who took us to see the Terracotta Warriors, The Mound Tomb, Silk Factory, and Hot Springs Pleasure Palace.

The terra cotta warriors were jaw dropping. With our trusty guide, Helen, we went into the three "pits" they have begun to unearth. In total there are 600 pits they have found! In the three pits they have for viewing, there are a total of some 8,000 warriors all ready dug out, each one taking nearly 6 months to put together. They are life size ranging from 5'5" to 6'5" with each face and hairstyle different. There are flank soilders, archers, kneeling archers.....it goes on and on. They have stopped digging them up because soon after being exposed them to the air, the color fades completely away. In some of the new pits they are finding bronze animals, acrobats, lawyers, civil officials, and human remains (so far more than 10,000 people). This in one reason why the tomb had gone undiscovered for so long....He killed everyone who knew about it. His family, the artists who bulit the warriors, army, everyone! The tomb was discovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well. We actually met one of them while visiting the tomb mound.....

Unlike the warrior pits, the mound was in much need of some care. Things here were falling

apart and gardens have been left untended. Jeff and I did some wandering around, sneakily. We climbed to the top of the mound and read that the king's tomb (which has not been opened) is full of mercury. And they suspect booby trapped! Sounds like a job for Indiana Jones....This is the tomb (including the terracotta warriors) of the first Emperor to unite China. He was also the one who comissioned the Great Wall. But, he was a brutal and ruthless ruler. In his time, he ordered all books be destroyed. And many of the people buried at the tomb were bound, suspecting they were actually buried alive.

The hot springs palace was massive, and beautiful. It was also the the sight of the Xian incident if any of you have seen "The Last Emperor of China." You could take a bath or a shower in the springs (uhhh-no, and you wouldn't want to either if you saw the bath tub), but mostly it was best enjoyed by simply wandering about.

I'm sad to have to leave Xian, there is so much more to explore. I try to wrap my head around all we have seen here and am still blown away. Even driving into this city was impressive, the massive wall that surrounds the now thriving downtown is 3 car lengths deep and carries secrets of the past. So a note to all: Give yourself 3 days here! I hope that when we spend our next weekend in Beijing it will just as breathtaking.

Hello Shanghai!

Shanghai is a city with its own vibe. The traffic moves rythmically yet sporadically through the street. Various shades of Volkswagen taxis vroom in and out and over. There are bus lanes, moped lanes, bike lanes and car lanes all of them coming and going and turning and, yes, even reversing. If you are not careful, any one of these could be the last thing you ever see. Yet for all its chaos, it works. Traffic here is like a living thing, ebbing and flowing as if it were alive. And once you become part of it, whether by taxi or your own two feet, you can start to feel the rythm of Shanghai.
Everyone here has there own sense of style. There is no particular brand of cool. But they will try to sell you American cool. "You like baggie???? Watchie??? Tag Huer??? I show you....You follow me..." Nothing runs in a straight line here. Everything is zig zagging in and out of your vision. It can all be very disorienting. (Is that the place we had good dumplings? No, I don't remember that building....maybe its over there by the guy selling faucets....") I feel like half the time in I'm in the way (please don't run me over!) and the other half just lost! It is a city I could stay in maybe forever, happily. But one that, truly, I am not all that sad to leave. There are wonderful, wonderful things here: Silk markets, fun subway shopping, nice monuments and parks.... Yet, maybe like the great knockoffs everywhere, it somehow falls just a little short of the real thing for me.

Seoul of Asia

As our time in Seoul nears an end I'm finally ready to reflect on our short stay in this amazing metropolis. I'll start with some demographics to give a picture: There is more than 10 million people living in Seoul (more than New York City!), 28 bridges that intertwine the city (almost as many as Paris), and the N Seoul Tower is 777ft high (towering over Seattle's Needle). To give you a more vivid picture: 1/2 the city is in English (some of which translates: "Buy the Way" convience store and others not: its a "Happy Worry" and "Big Tall Man Club"), 99.9% of the cars here are black, gray or white, the older men wear fishing vests everywhere, there is a cartoon to go with everything here (Hello Kitty is a particular favorite), and all the women wear sky high heels. The toliets have been especially surprising...they are computerized to massage you, heat the seat, air your booty and many many more things we are all bit too shy to try.
We have had an excellent time trying the local fare: yes to the jellyfish, no to the deep fried silk larve. They must love coffee because its everywhere, surprisingly Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf's far outnumber the Starbucks. I also spotted a Costco today on the way to Seoul Grand Park. We have also been blessed with an excellent guide, Tracie. She has shown us some simply amazing places to eat, my favorite being Anna Bini's. It's a flower shop, bakery, and amazing Italian eatery all in one! With the most amazing Coconut Sorbet which I have dubbed "Miss Hawaiian Tropic 2008." She's also given us a great tip on the Great Wall which you'll just have to check back to find out!
Next stop Shanghai!

10 days til takeoff!

We are packing the bags and prepping for our journey. I can't believe we are out of here in only a few more days! My stomach is all gnarly and arms sore (thanks vaccinations) and anticipation is high. Our passports are still on vacation at the Russian embassy due back just in time (literally) for our departure (June 13th--Friday the 13th-oooooohhhhhh). So no stress there.... In any case be sure to check back often as we will be posting pics and writing all about our travels here, and let you know of any emergencies :) NEXT STOP SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA....