4th of July Chinese Style

Since we missed the Fourth of July back home, we had our own. Actully, our tour guide didn't just guide us in the local customs and history, he seemed to have also guided Anthony, of all people, to a place they sell firecrackers. Intrestingly enough, you can light these off just about any where and nobody cares. They even gather around to watch. I caught this video too late to see Bryan run away from the very start, but here is what I did catch. Enjoy.

And We are Off

So, it all comes to a close. We flew from the Shanghai airport to Beijing airport (where you can buy beer in the soda machine), then directly to SFO. Long, uneventful flight. We are home safe. Thanks you all for your prayers and for following us on our trip.

Next stop: Madrid

Before our final shopping spree, we visit the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai. It is so beautiful in this serene get away. This private garden is situated right in town. When you are in the garden, you forget you are in the middle of a bustling city. We truly didn't get enough time in this peaceful oasis.

Our last hoorah in Shanghai and China, for that matter, was the Shanghai Acrobat performance. What an incredible display of talent and strength. Some of the things we saw were mind boggling; some even creepy. The contortionist had me squirming in my seat. Tomorrow morning we have to be out by 7am to catch our flight home. Not looking forward to the long ride, but I guess we have to come home some time or another.

China was a wonderful experience! I could have stayed on much longer. There was sooooooo much more to see. Maybe next time. Bon Voyage.

Silken Treasures

Part of the tour in Shanghai took us to a silk factory. Here you can see the machines they use to unravel the fine silk strands from the silkworm coccoons and how they are combined to create a silk thread. After the tour, you get the opportunity to purchase the beautiful products.

Walking the Bund

Our first stop in Shanghai is the Bund, an Indian word meaning water source. It is similar to a boardwalk. The Huangpu River snakes it's way through Shanghai, splitting the city into two sides. One side of the river has traditional European architecture and the other side has tall and very modern skyscrapers that were built in the past 30 years.

Just Scootin' Around...

This photo is typical transportation for many Chinese people. Families would ride together on similar scooters too. Seriously, I saw a family of five riding on a scooter. Dad steering (with a baby in front like this one,) mom holding an infant and a young child sqished between mom and dad; no joke! The scary thing is, you got it, no helmets. Oh, it gets better, no training or licence is required to drive a scooter. They drive on the sidewals and against traffic and make their way in between cars and pedestrians. We even saw them on the shoulder riding along the freeway. Many of the babies we saw standing like this oner were only toddler agae and couldn't even see over the handle bars.

More Adventures in Guilin

Our day began visiting a small tea plantation. Upon arrival, we were all issued very stylish hats and were taught how to pick the perfect tea leaf.

Our hats soon turned into baskets as we raced around trying to pick the most tea leaves. They told us later that we could have stumbled upon snakes. I had a feeling...

We then were shown the process of the tea leaf and we sampled a few flavors, including the local osmanthus flower tea.

Our next stop was Elephant Trunk Hill. Use your imagination when looking at the photo on the left.

Note to self: When deciding to dress in the traditional dress and have my pic taken by the local photographer, make sure your guide is around to help you get out of buying 5 photos at 20 yuan each (sorry, photo can't be uploaded, it was a cute shot of me and Kerry.)

Most of the crew are here.

The last stop was at the Reed Flute Caves. A cool 66 degrees (or so they say, it felt warmer in there, but still a lot cooler than outside.) I tried to take pics in there, but the flash ruined the beautiful and colorful lights they used to light up the stalagtites and stalagmites. The workers inside were wearing winter coats and I even saw one with a mini portable heater. I suppose working an eight hour shift could get cold after a while...maybe?

Visiting Langchou

Wow, what a day. The weather is sweltering hot and sticky. Mon morning took us on a river cruise down the Li River. The rock formations were amazing and beautiful. The haze gave depth perception to what we were looking at and made some of the formations look like ghosts The cruise ended in the town of Langshou where we wandered through the marketplace. There was so much to see there. From there the party broke up into three groups. Mike, the kids and I went on a country tour. I am so glad we did that.

We traveled down dirt roads into the farm lands. We stopped at a home and discovered what traditional living in Langshou was like. Somewhat primitive with a few modern conveniences.

Upon arriving back at the meeting point, we walked to an alley to enjoy a very loud display of fire crackers. It was like being a little kid again.

We continued on our way to see a 1400 year old banyan tree and then to see moon rock. Moon rock was neat to see, but the big attraction was the monkey that would pose with us to take pictures.

We closed the evening with a show. Unlike any I have ever seen before. The show was on a lake with bamboo boats, singers, dancers and a beautiful display of lights. Very unique.

It's been a long busy day. Time for bed. It's almost midnight here which would be 9 am Mon for you all in CA. We'll be home soon. I'll share more adventures when I get home. Stay tuned.

Reminder to self: download photos every other day or the memory card gets full.

My New Friend

Meet Shmoo (I named her.) Shmoo is a friend I picked up in Xian. She will be traveling with me for the rest of the trip.

Good Bye to Xian

Today, Sunday, began with a stop at the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Here we walked around a garden like park. We took pictures with some of the Buddhist monks and learned a little about their beliefs.

Next stop was the government arts and craft center to learn about jade with a showroom full of jewelry, statues and carved jade. We also saw some incredible embroidery. The pictures looked like they were painted, but they were actually embroidered.

The last stop in Xian was to the Shaanxi Historic Museum. There were a lot of ancient artifacts to see. One third of Chinese history comes from Xian.

Traffic in Xian was unbelievable! CHP would have a field day! The food was pretty good.

But, now off to catch a flight to Guilin. We have an early, jam packed day ahead of us.

Greetings from Xian

Today we spent most of the morning at the ancient site of the Terra-Cotta soldiers. These clay soldiers (as seen behind the boys) were discovered by a farmer digging a well in 1974. 4000+ soldiers were found in all. Next we visited the Hua Qin Hot Springs famous for housing the bath that the Empress from the Tang Dynasty would use.

Dinner was a treat as we sampled at least ten different kinds of Chinese dumplings. We laughed a lot trying to order ice cubes. We finally learned how to say ice cubes in Mandarin.

We finished our evening with a stage show of ancient music and dance from the Tang Dynasty. The costumes were colorful and beautiful.

Tomorrow, we have some more sight seeing in the morning before we leave for Guilin in the evening.

Oh yeah, didn't think the traffic could get worse, but it did in Xian, truly a scary experience, yet comical at the same time. Picture two lanes with four rows of cars...

Test

Please let me know if this test worked. I forgot about my blog, but I think I can update here with picks daily.

"What do you long for?"
-Jesus of Nazareth