Day 16 Our Final Thoughts

We wrote this at Beijing airport:

Carol:


C
culture, cuisine, customs, canola, clean, colossally charming companions.
H  
history, hoards of highrises, hutongs, hawkers. 
I 
interesting signs, informative guides, insight into lifestyle, INCREDIBLE!
N  
never ending traffic, nerves of steel for crossing streets and being Passengers in vehicles, nature preserved. 
A  
ancient artifacts, agriculture, an ABSOULUTELY AMAZING ADVENTURE.




Barbara: The past 2 weeks have been an incredibly steep learning curve for me. When we left, I basically knew nothing about China except for the Buddhas, temples & Great Wall. Now after 2 weeks of touring 4 very different parts of the country I appreciate so much more of the culture; the friendly people (staring, shyly saying “hello”, breaking into big smiles when we say “hello” and “nee hao”); wonderful food and beautiful nature.

Our guides were SO proud to share with us their love of city, culture and country. They were patient with our many questions. Rebecca even went home one night to research the Latin name of a fruit so that we might discover the English word.

I won’t miss the constant traffic jams…Hwy 401 through Toronto will seem like a breeze, even at rush hour…and smog. However, Asia may beckon for future travels now that I have become a little bit acquainted with this part of the world.

Maureen: What I learned in China can be amusingly described in 3 words- “Just A Suggestion“. After years of strict Communist rule, the Chinese “pendulum” is swinging back the other way. Rules are apparently made to be broken. These are some of the things that are “just a suggestion” to some Chinese.

Crosswalks, helmets, seatbelts, no smoking signs, dotted lines that signify lanes on a road, left turn lanes and pedestrian walk/don’t walk signs.

I will miss the beautiful ancient architecture and culture, the friendly people practicing their English, the hospitality and knowledge of our local guides, (David in Beijing, Lena in Xi’an, Rebecca in Longji, Yangshuo and Guilin, and Jason in Chengdu and Leshan) the incredible food and the ever changing landscape.

I will not miss the traffic (Richmond is nothing compared to this!), Chinese pit toilets, trying to cross the street, the constant blaring of car horns, the smog and living out of a suitcase for 2 weeks.

CHINA, shay - shay (thank you) for an awesome and eye-opening experience.

Pam: This tour has been incredible….SNA was well organized from beginning to end. We had friendly enthusiastic local tour guides who answered all our questions patiently. We walked, we hiked up the mountains, visited many different sites, saw the pandas and walked the Great Wall.

When I came I worried most about the food….but our guides took us to wonderful restaurants and ordered us a delicious array of foods for each meal…and of course with western friendly bathrooms. Each area we visited had their own cuisine. I found the people friendly and helpful even if they had limited English. The streets were clean….people sweeping all the time, even the freeways! Hotels in each area were clean and comfortable. Each area we went to Beijing, Xian, Guilin, Yangshuo and Chengdu was unique in architecture and sites.

I came to China with cutlery from home that I never used…I have kind of figured out the chopsticks. And leave with many wonderful, fun , experiences (and geocaches of course.)

Thanks to SNA and all the tour guides and my traveling companions Maureen, Carol and Barb for a wonderful trip.

and home again

Day 15 A Drive in the Country Sunshine

Our last full day in China, we set off a little later today, 9am….it is Saturday today so the traffic was a bit better. We left Chengdu and headed south on our way to the Buddha at Leshan, which is a little more mountainous. Pam was excited as there was an earth cache there….a bonus.

It is about 110 kms from Chengdu and took about 2 hours. The weather was beautiful today, we had sunshine and warm weather. We stopped at a little rest stop so the driver and Jason could have a smoke break and we could stretch our legs. It turned out to be a delightful little place with clean bathrooms and a little park with tea bushes on the hill. As we were wandering down a group of parents and kids were heading up with baskets to pick their own tea….a Saturday family field trip!

Tea Garden

We arrived at Leshan, a small town of only 3 million people, compared with Chengdu’s 13 million!!! It was a mixture of old stores and homes and large modern highrises …..many being built. We had lunch in a small restaurant owned by a friend of our driver, one of the best lunches yet.

Then off to see the Buddha….it is a World Heritage site, the Buddha is carved into a cliffside of sandstone and is 72 meters tall…the largest Buddha in China. First we visited a temple on the top of the hill (lots of steps) similar to the Lama Temple in Beijing but this had more of a Tibetan flair. The we joined the line up to head down the cliff to the foot of the Buddha (many stairs again)….it only took 1 1/12 hours to get down (Pam figured it would take 4 hours!). Our presence was the entertainment for the local people, there was only one other Caucasian in line and he was from Seattle. The people (especially the children) love to say hello, practising the few English words they know and marvel at Barb’s white hair and Carol’s red hair. After getting down 214 steps (Jason’s count) we took pictures and got the information for the earthcache and then headed back up the cliffs…..slowly.

The Buddah

We arrived back in Chengdu about 6pm and guess what….it was dinner time! After another good dinner we got back to the hotel about 7 to repack and take turns sitting on the suitcases to get them closed again!

We are blogging in Carol and Barb’s room before we go down to have a last glass of wine….we are listening to the weather and have heard that Beijing has been hit by a big storm closing some airports and trains…..we are leaving here tomorrow for Beijing at 9:00am, and leave Beijing for home about 4pm….we hope!

Day 14 Pandas, Artifacts and Spice

Enjoyed a wonderful breakfast in the Tibetan influenced restaurant in the hotel…serenaded with western elevator music.

Then we met Jason for a long ride through the crazy Chengdu traffic to the Chengdu Panda Research Centre. What a wonderful place….so different from the pandas that we saw at the Beijing zoo. This place is one big park with large panda friendly enclosures, trees for them to climb, structures to sit on and play on, they were happier, healthier and cleaner. Paved pathways through groves of bamboo, ponds and flowers and other vegetation, peacocks were in between the different enclosures. We stood and watched the group of three and four year olds for a long time playing and eating, they are like typical adolescents teasing each other and eating non stop. Then we watched a mom and baby playing. We took lots of pictures to make up for the fact that it was so expensive ($250)to get your picture taken holding one. (which we didn’t do) We also spent time watching the red pandas, who reminded us of racoons. We didn’t see all the pandas that they have there, they are housing the pandas that came from another research centre that was destroyed by the earthquake in 2008. We also got a cache here!

With the pandas

Lunch was next after a long ride out into the country, passing by lots of huge modern highrises. It looked like a new family run restaurant, we were the first foreigners that some of them had seen. This was our first taste of the Sichuan food which is way spicier than the regular Chinese food we have been enjoying. Pam is not too happy about this but the others are enjoying it more, especially Barb. We also had stir fried canola greens as one of our dishes which was very good.

Across the road was our next stop, the Sanxingdui Museum, “the Three Stars Ruins” which is an archaeological find that dates back between 3000 and 4000 years ago. The site was first discovered in 1929 by a farmer and worked on for 10 days by archaeologists(during which time they found 600 artifacts) and then because of political influences was not worked on again until the 1980’s after which they have made more discoveries. The museum itself is a beautiful building and the collection is well presented. Our favourite piece was the money tree.

The Money Tree

Then back to the city…a drive that was supposed to be about 1 ½ hours turned out to be 2 ½ hours….the traffic was horrendous…we covered our eyes a lot! Supper was at a fancy restaurant, dinner was okay and spicier than lunch. But we learned a tip from Jason, to use vinegar to cut the heat. Jason took us for a little walk to Jinli Old Street, kind of like a Gastown walk.

Our driver dropped us off at the local firestation so Maureen could take a picture of the Chinese firetrucks,…..Jason asked but we were not allowed to and when you are in a Communist country you do not question.

Wine was next on the list on our way back the hotel, by this time it was near 10:00pm!

Day 13 We’re off to see the Pandas

Was a free day….after breakfast we said goodbye to Joyce and Val and Jim who were leaving for home today. Then the 4 of us set off for a walk by ourselves to Fu Bo Hill (Football Hill Cache). We felt like little kids as this is the first time we have really gone anywhere by ourselves making our way through the maze of streets and even crossing the busy streets was an adventure without a guide leading us. Fu Bo Hill was about 2 kms as the crow flies from the hotel, it is a karst on the banks of the Li River in the middle of Guilin. It would have had a beautiful view had it been a sunny day but today was foggy and cloudy and misty but not cold. It was a pleasant walk to the hill and a rigorous stair climb to the top of the hill (about 300 stairs). We walked there past the downtown shops which are very much like ours at home and walked back along the river. We made it there and back in a little more than 2 hours.

We met Marg and Bryan, the couple that was left of the group and our local guide Rebecca at 1pm after we checked out of the hotel and walked to a local restaurant for lunch. Rebecca ordered a lot of things that we hadn’t had before like a shredded beef that you could make into a wrap, tempura pumpkin, fried dumplings, a sweet and sour short ribs and a barbeque pork dish. Then it was off to the airport.

Marg and Bryan were going to Hong Kong and we were off to Chengdu. We flew China Southern airlines which was a pleasant flight except for some turbulence. They served us food which didn’t compare with what we have become accustomed to!

We arrived in Chengdu and were met by Jason our new local guide. We thought it was a small city but it has 12 million people living in the city and the surrounding area…not so little. We are now in Sichuan province which is the most populated province.

We are now being driven in a small 6 seat minivan, a far cry from our 40 seat bus that we started with in Beijing. Our hotel rooms are great….except that Maureen and Pam have a pint sized room compared with the spacious accommodations that Barb and Carol have. Then we went to a delicious supper in the swanky hotel café…Carol, Maureen and Pam had a chef salad and Barb had a herbed chicken dinner. We even got delicious mushroom soup to begin our meal. Then off to write the blog in the bigger suite! We are just now being reminded of home - it is pouring rain, hopefully it will stop before the morning as we’re off to see the Giant Panda. 

PS Happy Birthday Curtis!

Day 12 Guilin

Got up early to have breakfast and walk the pedestrian market area of Yangshou without getting hassled by the vendors. Met up with the rest of the group at 10 to start our day of touring.

First, the drive back to Guilin, on the backroad not the highway we came down on, passing fruit groves more than the rice paddies that we had seen south of Yangshou. Oranges (large and small) and pomelos are ripe now, kumquats are just about ready, and the apple, cherry and peach trees are all in bloom. The road was full of potholes so it was a lot of bumping up and down. The drive took about an hour.

 

We stopped at a gallery-art school to see how Chinese paintings are created. A young artist demonstrated with ink and brushes. There are 3 kinds of painting…portraits, landscapes and flowers and birds. The bamboo is a favourite subject because it means longevity. Then we toured the gallery, browsing through the beautiful paintings and of course we walked out with some purchases….some of us more than others!

 

Then on to lunch at a local hotel in Guilin. We tried an interesting tea that was made from a local fruit that we don’t know the name of in English, that is used as an artificial sweetener.

Elephant Trunk Hill was next on the agenda, a park where the Li River and Peach Blossom River meet, with a hill that looks like an elephant. It looks like Los Arcos, in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and several formations along the Great Ocean Road in Australia. Then on to the Reed Flute Cave, an amazing cave….one of the largest natural caves in the world. There were little scenes of stalagmites and stalagtites that were given names as to what they looked like….. A Snowman, Mountain Sunrise over Jungle Lion and Bumper Harvest of Melons and Vegetables.

Dragon Eggplant

Bamboo raft and boatman

YingYang soup

There was one big open area called the Crystal Palace that featured a short light/music program.

 

By this time we were ready to see our new hotel…the Guilin Bravo Hotel, on one of the four lakes in the city. We have been put on the 4^th floor….there is never a 4^th floor in China as it is a bad luck number…so we figure they only put “round eyes” there! (we have just had some drunk young Asian gentlemen rattling the door trying to get in. Maureen scared them when she opened the door and said “wrong room!”)

 

Dinner was next on the agenda, our last dinner with this group…tomorrow 3 are heading back home and 2 are heading to Hong Kong and we 4 will continue on to our last stop…Chengdu. Well, this meal was the best yet….in the Long Zhe Tea House….first course was the Ying Yang soup (see picture) and then a vegetable, nut, chicken dish shaped like Elephant Trunk Hill complete with a carved raw carrot pagoda on top, then a veggie dish shaped like a heart and then a bamboo raft with rice wrap basket appetizers and a little boatman. Then tempura eggplant shaped like a dragon with a sauce on the side. Then several more delicious dishes ending with water chestnuts coated with a sweet sticky batter…..all very yummy. All this in a bookstore/restaurant with a woman playing a pipa zither in the background, Auld Lang Syne and Red River Valley were some of her songs along with traditional Chinese songs.

 

Then back to the hotel and a quick trip to the local supermarket for a bottle of Great Wall white wine. We have decided that we like Guilin the best so far….a very pretty city, it’s very green and not as smoggy as the others we have been to and “smaller”, only a million people! At night all along the river and on the lakes it is lit up.

Day 11 Mountains and Music

Up with the roosters (literally), fog enveloped our mountain hotel as we got ready and ate breakfast before we made our way down the hill. It was busy by 8:30am, traffic of people and horses making their way up and down the narrow path. We all made it through the market to the bus down without spending any money! Then after a 30 minute ride to our own bus that held all our luggage, we started for Yangshou.

This is a totally different landscape than what we have seen northern parts of China. On this first day of spring there is even some blossoms on the trees and the fields are green unlike the brown grass of Beijing and Xian.

The trip was about 2 hours, by then we were into a new landscape of the karst hills. (just like in Tikki Tikki Tembo!) (see pictures and google for more info) We saw orchards of kumquats and flooded rice patties. Then we stopped for lunch outside Yangshou. Of course it was another wonderful feast.

After lunch, off we went to the Li river for a boat ride on a “bamboo” raft. The Li river is wide and slow moving……in summer we think it would be full of these little rafts and larger cruise boat and kayaks and the traffic on the water would be as bad as the traffic in the streets complete with horns. Our big “highlight“, besides the beautiful scenery, was when we stopped at a little outcropping of gravel shoreline where we were accosted by a swarm of “river fishermen” who plunked hats on our heads and a large bamboo pole with 2 large real cormorants on either end as soon as our feet hit the ground. Then demanded payment after the fact and quickly produced already printed and laminated pictures of each of us who had been “assaulted”. This was way more than the usual market tactics and even our guide was annoyed and gave them hell (or so we thought because we couldn’t understand what she was saying!) The second stop was a little island that had a photo shoot spot of the karst mountains that are used for the 20 yuan note.

Pam and the Cormorants

Karst hills

Then finally off to our hotel to be reaquainted with our luggage and a quick rest before dinner (do you get the idea we are being well fed?). After dinner we were taken to a spectacular light and sound show right on the river with the mountains as a backdrop. It is the largest amphitheatre in the world, holding up to 3500 people. The director of the production was the man who put together the Beijing Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. Then back to the hotel to pack for our trip to Guilin.

Day 10 Four Chicks and Two Yao

Up before the sun rose this morning….alarm set for 5 and downstairs by 5:30am and on the bus clutching our box/bagged breakfast…We checked in and got through security with no problem….we said good-bye to David, our wonderful tour guide for the last 9 days, and with Cathy (the SNA person from the Richmond office) we made our way on to the plane for Guilin. A 2 hour flight.

As soon as we landed in Guilin, we could feel the temperature and the humidity was a lot higher than the first of the trip, as Guilin in the south of China. It is a lot greener in this area than anywhere we have been. Spring has come here first. We were met at the airport by our local guide, Rebecca. We then set our for a 2 hour bus ride to Haunglo for lunch. Another delicious meal served at a family home/restaurant. The owners are Yao people and served us dressed in local clothing. At the end of the meal we were given a thimbleful of homemade rice wine and they serenaded as they served us

Then back on the bus for another 20 minutes…….have you ever driven that little road past Kapalua on the north coast of Maui, a one lane road with a cliff up on one side and a cliff down on the other side, with switchbacks and you have to honk before you get of each curve…..well this one is worse going up in a bus with a crazy lady driver, switch back after switchback the white people at the back of the bus squealing and laughing at each turn.

We finally got to our destination, Ping An, a little village tucked in the mountains surrounded by terraced rice paddies. This is Dragonback Rice Terraces. So armed with the overnight backpacks we started up the “700 steps” to our hotel the Star Wish. The paving stoned path we were on is all lined with local vendor….all selling the same things and all trying to get our attention. It took us about a half hour to get up to the village and our hotel……A real surprise in this out of the way location….beautiful rooms with lots of wooden features, a real bathroom, a tv and a balcony with a dynamite view of the terraces.

Hotel on the Mountains

After swabbing the sweat from us with wet ones and resting for a bit (remember we have been up since 5am and now it is 4pm) our guide took us on a 2 hour hike up to 2 different view points overlooking the terraces.

The Yao women have very long long hair….the only cut their hair once in their lives when they are 16.…..they keep the hair that they cut. To style it each day they twist their hair (their real hair and the cut hair) into a kind of knot on their head. Two of these women “accosted us” along the narrow mountain path wanting to show us their hair (for a price of course!) they followed us for a long time until we said yes….hence the picture below…Four Chicks and two Yao.

4 Chicks & 2 Yao

The hike was tiring after the initial hike up the hill but worth every step….the scenery was fabulous.

Back at the hotel we socialized for a while then had another fantastic meal. Then everyone headed for the showers and bed.