China and Hong Kong have been on our bucket list for some time - this is the year to travel there!
Friday, October 13
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| Our guides, Tom and Melinda |
The
alarm rang at 3:30 am. We quickly rolled out of bed and downed some
coffee. Off we were to Ft Myers Airport to catch our long flights to
Shanghai, China. Two hours to Houston, wait – then 4 hours to San
Francisco, wait, and then wait some more because smoke was on the
runways due to wildfires, and then 13 hours to Shanghai. We arrived
at 8:30 at night and after clearing Customs, were met by our Gate 1
representatives.
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| Shanghai Skyline |
Our
first impression of Shanghai at night was it is HUGE and all lit up.
Shanghai has 24 million people in its limits and there are tall
buildings everywhere. We crossed over a gorgeous lighted bridge of
many colors and reached the Marriott. By the time we got to bed, it
was 11:30 p.m. Perfect timing for sleep and everything was
comfortable.
We
woke up refreshed and ready to set out by ourselves to explore the
city center. After a wonderful breakfast, we took the subway to the
People's Park and observed ladies learning to do a Fan Dance. The
park is well used and pretty. We then decided to go to the Shanghai
Museum. This place was free, but we did pay a token fee for some
audio guides, which helped explain the exhibits. What a great
museum! I liked the Bronze section and Jade Gallery. Richard took
pictures of the interesting pottery and unique bells.
After
spending many hours there, jet lag got to us. We took the subway
back and enjoyed a snack of eggrolls in a little restaurant near the
hotel. Tonight we had h dinner with our traveling companions, Magda
and Ford Cooper. We met some very nice college students who are
learning English. They gave us some Moon Cakes. Apparently, there
was a recent feast day to celebrate elders – and I guess we
qualified!
Saturday, October 14
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| Friends, Ford & Magda, tour with us |
Today
we gathered in the lobby area to meet our fellow Gate 1 Travelers and
hear from our guide, Melinda, about our itinerary for the trip.
There are 37 in our group: 4 Canadians from Toronto area, 2
Australian ladies from Melbourne, and the rest Americans from many
states – New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Illinois, California and
there is even a solo younger man, a District Attorney from Phoenix,
Arizona.
We
headed off to view the famous Bund area, a walkway along the river
area featuring one one side, the older famous British buildings home
of banks and other businesses and on the other side, the modern
skyscrapers all built in the last 25 years after the Cultural
Revolution. We snapped pictures of the busy harbor area and admired
the views. Afterward, we boarded the tour bus and took a short
journey to visit the Jade Buddha Temple, one of the few remaining
Buddhist shrines that were not destroyed by Mao's Red Guards. It was
a gorgeous place and we enjoyed seeing the variety of Buddhas and the
reverence of the visitors. Our guide explained some of the
ceremonies such as the burning of the incense and some of the
beliefs. We were amazed when we viewed the 2-ton jade Buddha. I
have to say it was gorgeous and had a serene face. It was surrounded
by 666 small carved wooden Buddhas along with other decorative
features such as gorgeous jade jewelry and shells. The guide
explained that the numbers 666 were very lucky and also the
significance of the many steps and curved roofs which are believed to
drive away evil spirits.
The
afternoon ended with a sumptuous lunch. We were seated around round
tables with large lazy susans. We tried a dozen dishes of steamed
rice, beef, pork, fish, veggies, soups. Very delicious. We watched
amazing contortionists tonight at a Chinese Acrobat show and met
lovely couples, Melanie and her husband from Two Sisters, Oregon and
another group of four from northern Idaho.
Sunday, October 15
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| Sampans on the canal |
The
ancient city, Suzhou, (a suburb of Shanghai) was on our agenda. We
boarded the modern bus and enjoyed the 1-1/2 hour ride past high
rises and factory centers. Melinda, our guide, explained that Suzhou
is a good place to enjoy the “old” China experience, and we did,
especially when we rode sampans (small wooden boats) down the
Venice-like canals. Our boatman even sang old Chinese folk songs to
us as she steered us through the light rain. Later we enjoyed
strolling down the alleyways and window shopping. A short while later
after lunch we visited the Garden of the Master of the Nets, a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. This place contained a large pool of water that
was framed by pavilions and walkways. A flutist played a haunting
melody as we strolled along admiring the view. Tomorrow is our last
day in Shanghai before we take a flight to to Yichang where we board
our cruise.
Monday, October 16
Today,
our last day in Shanghai flew by. We toured a silk art and carpet
studio where Richard bought a lovely little treasure, a fishing boat
scene of the Yangtze done in silk thread. You would never know it!
The patience and talent of the artists to create such work was
impressive. Afterward, we enjoyed a lovely late lunch or early
dinner.
A
little about the food. Since we are a large group of 37, Gate One
books 4 round tables in the restaurants seating 9 or 10 people. Each
has a large lazy susan. Waiters bring huge steaming plates of sticky
rice, beef sprinkled with unsweetened coconut, or in gravy with
veggies, chicken dishes, duck, eggplant (very very good, one of my
favorites); it always ends with a huge bowl of soup. I have really
enjoyed it all. It all agrees with both of us. We also like the
steamed dumplings filled with fragrant bits of meat. Drinks are
mostly water or hot green tea or coffee. They also have a watered
down beer in bottles. Soft drinks (sprite and coke) are available,
too. Our fellow travel companions are a great group; however, there
is always one in every group. Since we've had to deal with
unseasonable rain, one man is complaining about the weather. Oh
well!
We
flew in the late afternoon about 2 hours to Yichang, the city where
we pick up the large river boat to cruise down the Yangtze. We are
in a nice cabin!
Tuesday, October 17
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| Our cruise ship |
It was
an early wake-up call to light and chilly rain. We watched from the
upper deck as the boat traversed the first of the beautiful gorges on
our cruise of the Yangtze River and Three Gorges Dams. After a
wonderful breakfast, I attended the ship doctor's lecture. The
subject, Chinese Medicine! Volunteer subject required! Up went my
hand as my right knee has been bothering me. Into my leg went four
thin needles: acupuncture accomplished and pain relieved. The
needles could hardly be felt. A day later my knee still feels a
whole lot better! He also did a maneuver on my neck and I can now
move it a lot better. Those long plane rides take their toll!
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| Narrow part of the gorge |
Today
we toured the Three Gorges Dam area. It is an amazing feat of human
engineering. The dam tamed the Yangtze River's annual flooding,
sometimes severe that brought misery to twelve million downstream.
Generators also provide many megawatts of carbon free electricity.
The cost was $37 billion dollars. The project required relocation of
1.3 million people. Our guide was one of them. Our cruise director
was another.
Our
guided kidded us that we could take 260 steps to reach a viewing area
but recently installed escalators made the “climb' easy. Of
course, Richard snapped lots of pictures. Fortunately, the rain let
up for better views.
Wednesday, October 18
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| Goddess Stream Boat |
We
strolled off our big ship and followed our day guide, Lily, through a
maze of docks making frequent turns and detours through the crowds.
We were on our way to a small quaint yellow-roofed boat that took us
up the picturesque gorges. The views were breathtaking as we passed
by waterfalls and rocky cliffs. This journey is called the Goddess
Stream. Lily entertained us with stories about the local villages
high on the cliffs. Apparently, the people here are known for their
longevity. The farms grow herbs on the mountains such as gingko and
other roots. We landed at a man-made spot and the local young people
entertained us with dancing and folk songs.
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| Us posing in paradise |
On the
way back, Lily told us that marriages are still arranged by parents.
When a child is born, parents plant a camphor tree and nurture it
along with their child. When the child is married, the tree is cut
down and furniture constructed for the bride and groom. Lily was a
good student and luckily received a scholarship to attend the
university. Her future husband was a school mate. He, too, went to
university, but one that was far from hers. They kept up their long
distance relationship and only last year married. She said that the
custom is that a good daughter is expected to cry for 3 days before
leaving her beloved parents and go to the family of her new husband.
She told her folks that she was not going to cry – and thus, did
not receive her dowry of the camphor-tree furniture. Lily said that
was all right with her because with her education, she could now
obtain a good job and buy her own furniture! Everyone on our tour
loved Lily. She was very inspiring and personable.
Later,
I attended a Hot Pot cooking class. This region is known for its
hot spicy food. The chef put 2 inches of vegetable oil in a large
pot and heated it to a high temperature. He then added 1 cup of hot
red pepper roots and 1 cup of hot pepper corns. That's not all! Some
of the other ingredients were star anice, bay leaves, red bean
paste, cardeman, beef fat strips and other special spices.
Eventually an equal amount of hot water was added to the pot and
heated. Finally, the concoction was ready. The cook added
cauliflower, soy noodles, dumplings, cucumber spears, lotus bulb
strips and cooked them for about 5 minutes. A slotted spoon was used
and the delicacies scooped out on plates for us to enjoy. It was
spicy-hot, but I did enjoy most of the hot pot. Tonight, after
dinner, is a Crew Cabaret Show.
Thursday, October 19
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| Famous Red Pagota |
Ophelia,
our lovely day guide, led our group over the Drunken Bridge to the
Red Pagoda, an ancient Buddhist temple, built in the early 17th
century. It was only 8 am in the morning and we were off to an
start. Even so, there were crowds of people angling to get a chance
to climb the 99 steep steps to the top of this picturesque monument
to the Emperor King of the Ming Dynasty. This 100 ft high pagoda is
sometimes referred to as one of the eight construction wonders of the
world, built into the side of a rocky cliff face and constructed
without use of nails. We enjoyed the climb because at each floor
there was a surprise – either round porthole windows to view the
landscape below or interesting statues and figures. At the top, we
toured the temple and enjoyed viewing the goddess statues.
Afterward, we strolled through the local town and enjoyed a peek of
the vegetable gardens.
Once
we were back on the boat, we received a lesson on Mahjong game
playing as well as a tour of the Bridge of the boat and a documentary
on the 3-Gorges Dam. Sadly, our river boat tour ends tomorrow
morning and we will catch a flight to Xian, home of the terracotta
warriors.
Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21
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| With the locals in the park |
Early
wake up call and we were off the boat and on our way via Capital
Airways from the populus town of 37 million, Chongqing, to Xian on an
hour flight. We were absolutely blown away by the brand new HUGE
Chongqing Airport that opened recently. The entry halls looked to be
made of a shiny marble and we noticed workers whose sole job seemed
to be to “keep the floors polished.” We also noticed hightened
security with multiple checks by authorities, even for flights within
the country.
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| Richard dances with the ladies |
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| Terracotta Warriors and me |
The
guide filled us in on the history of the ancient “old” capital of
Xian. It was the location of eleven dynasties and is an
archaeological treasure trove, home of the Terracotta Army. The day
was spent visiting a really neat colorful Muslim market that has been
in the city for 6 centuries. Apparently Muslims came here on the
Silk Road, a route first established by one of the emperors as a way
to import his magnificent Manchurian horses. We were amazed by the
exotic foods that were being prepared and sold in this market. We
tried freshly prepared pomagranite juice and persimmon cakes. There
were homemade noodles and squid on a stick among other oddities.
Later that evening we enjoyed a dinner theater that served us a
6-course dinner and featured a dance performance by the Tang Dynasty
Troupe.
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Huge pits were found of broken warriors.
Now they are being glued back together. An ancient wonder of the world! |
Up
again on an early wake up call for a full day tour of the city. We
started off in Xingping Park, where we joined the locals in their
morning TaiChi exercises and dancing. The highlight was listening to
them sing their patriotic songs. They were very welcoming to us –
we were asked to stand in the center stage area while they sang to us
– very nice!
We
were off to see the 8th Wonder of the World, the
Terracotta Army, a vast collection of life-size soldiers, horses and
chariots that were entombed with China's first emperor. It was
discovered by a local farmer in 1974 and is still being excavated.
When we lived in Houston, we did see an traveling exhibit of the
warriors and never dreamed we'd actually be able to see the actual
site. It was Saturday and very crowded. We were surprised to see
that 3 huge buildings have been built over the pits. You can
actually see the pieces of soldiers that are being reconstructed.
After a full day, we headed back to the town for a dinner of
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| This guy looks familiar! |
many
kinds of dumplings. Xian is absolutely gorgeous at night – all lit
up. There is an ancient town wall built around the original city.
Everything is illuminated! There are temples and high high rises
everywhere. This is supposed to be a small Chinese city, but the
size and scope is amazing.
Sunday, October 22
We
headed off to the Xian Airport at 6:30 a.m. To catch our flight to
Beijing on China East Airways. It was a quick 1-1/2 hours and before
we knew it we were on our way to a lovely Chinese lunch. Following
the meal we toured the old section of Beijing, shopped a little and
spoke to a family in the old historic district. He was retired, a
bit younger than us, and we asked him questions about his life and
the Cultural Revolution. His close family was sent to the Gobi
Desert Region for “reeducation” and he said his father was
penniless after giving up family home they had owned for generations.
They survived on rationing coupons for food, clothing, heating fuel
and both men and women wore gray/brown clothing dictated by the
government. He did not seem at all resentful, rather, he was now
appreciative because after Mao his family home was returned to him.
He did have to follow “the one child” program and was
disappointed when his wife gave birth to a girl. But now, he is
appreciative of her because of the attention that a girl gives to her
parents. (Now, the government allows families to have 2 children.)
The day ended with a rickshaw ride and we are now in a nice hotel
called the Park Plaza in downtown Beijing. Weather is colder here –
in low 60's because we are further north.
Monday, October 23 and Tuesday, October
24
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| The guys on our tour buy genuine Great Wall hats! They pose with street vendor. |
Today
was the BIG day to drive to the Great Wall of China. Traffic is
really heavy on the roads here. Even though there are massive subway
systems, the population of 22 million is a challenge in getting
around the city. The closest I've been to this much traffic is the
LA Freeway. You have to close your eyes as cars squeeze into lanes
barely avoiding hitting one another. After 2 hrs of traffic, we
pulled into a Jade Factory to hear the pitch about how jade is
carved, the quality of the jade, etc. I have always though of jade
as green, but I was surprised to see many colors of white, beige,
many greens and even purple. One of the ladies on the tour bought a
magnificent jade ring trimmed in silver. Very unusual and nice!
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| We did it! We climbed the Great Wall of China! |
Another
2 hours on the road and we were at the Great Wall of China entrance.
Of course the Great Wall was build across thousands of miles of
mountain passes to keep invaders out of the Middle Kingdom of China.
The tour company chose one of the more picturesque places for our
access. There were many many uneven steps up to the top of the wall
with guard shacks along the way. Before I knew it, Richard bounded
up the steps to the top as I was huffing and puffing. I made it
about one half way to the top, but I still had a lovely view in the
section I traversed. The fall leaves were just starting to turn and
fortunately, the air pollution wasn't too bad. We had great views of
the temples and landscape.
Afterward,
we enjoyed a lovely lunch at a local restaurant.
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| Panda at Beijing Zoo |
On the
way back to the city of Beijing, we stopped at the Beijing Zoo to
glimpse the panda bears. They were really cute and are endangered in
the wild. Many of the people on our tour caught a cold; and
unfortunately, I have the bug. It seemed to settle in my chest and I
have a cough. People are sharing meds and I got a bunch of Musinex
from our Oregon friend. That is really helping.
I had
decided to skip dinner and crash in the hotel room, but our guide
Melinda, phoned our room to tell us that Tienaman Square would be
closed tomorrow. Apparently, the government meets once every 5 years
to elect a new party. The person in charge in the communist party is
well liked and should be reelected. However, there is security all
around the city and the square is only available for viewing tonight.
So, instead of resting, we headed out into the cool night air (upper
40's). I have to say the Chinese really like their buildings
illuminated. There were flowers everywhere in honor of the election
and beautiful lights. Mao's picture looks retouched and is hanging
prominently. We saw his huge tomb with a gigantic flower vase in
front of it. There were plain clothes police everywhere and we went
through multiple security checks. They obviously, don't want any
problems around here during the big election. It was very pretty and
striking and I'm glad I got to see the big production at night.
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| Flower basket on meridian of Tianamon Square |
The
next day was a full one. On tap, was visiting the Summer Palace and
then the Forbidden City. We got an early start – everyone on the
bus by 8:30 a.m. I was really dragging, but I figured I only get to
see all of this once, so I persisted. We walked over 18000 steps
(one of our fellow tour friends counted!) I really enjoyed the
Summer Palace. The palace surrounded a gorgeous lake and we got to
ride a boat on it. The Forbidden City is a place that could take
weeks to see and we only
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| Marble boat in Summer Palace Lake |
scratched the surface. It's amazing that
the emperor could build all of this for himself and his concubines.
There were palaces and pagotas and gorgeous buildings everywhere with
treasures in them. It was a feast for our eyes and hard to take it
all in. It reminded me a visiting the frescos in Italy. Just
overwhelming and beautiful.
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| Walls of Forbidden City |
Tonight
we had a lovely farewell dinner featuring Peking Duck. It really was
delicious. They slice the duck on platters and gave us what they
call “pancakes” to wrap the slice of meat into with soy sauce,
strips of celery and onion. The courses went on and on. Chinese
wine is not too good – but their food makes up for it. Richard
enjoyed their beer. Desserts are not great either – I am saving
all the dessert calories for Europe! Tomorrow off to Hong Kong!
Wednesday, October 25 and Thursday,
October 26
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| Morning view of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak with harbor |
It was
another early wakeup call and then a bus to the airport to fly out of
Beijing into Hong Kong Airport. The security is extensive here.
There are multiple checks of passports and lines to wait to get
through security checks. Everyone is pulled aside and frisked and
bags xrayed many times. I thought it would be a quick flight, but it
would up being 3 hours in the air. Then we had to re-enter Hong Kong
like it is another country. Hey, I thought the Chinese owned Hong
Kong? By the time we got to the hotel it was past 4:30 p.m. Our
experienced guide, Maria (20 plus years working for Gate 1) met us
and gave us a little talk to orient us to the city. My first
impression was “WOW” - gorgeous bridges, highrises, busseling
city by the bay. Our hotel is in Kowloon, the shopping area, so
after check in we took a hotel shuttle to the downtown restaurant
street. The Coopers found a little Morrocian place called
appropriately, Casablanca. We were taken a few flights up from the
street to a cute little place. Their speciality was “mixed grill,”
beef, chicken and lamb grilled on our own little grill brought to the
table. We could wrap in in homemade pitas. We also ordered a lentil
soup, their specialty with lamb and veggies. Everything was
excellent and a welcome respite from all the Chinese food we've eaten
lately. The downtown was hoppin' – it reminded me of New York City
with crowded streets and colorful lights everywhere. We took a cab
back to our room because by this time, we all maxed out for the day.
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| Colorful boat on harbor |
Next
morning we slept in and at 7:45 went down to the lovely breakfast
buffet. Our tour of the city began at 9:00 a.m. We were whisked to
Victoria Peak, the highest point for fabulous views of the harbor and
skyline. The real estate enjoying this view is some of the most
expensive in the world. We were told that apartments of 1,000 sq ft
go for millions. Later we were taken on a sampan ride, tour of a
jewelry place, lunch at Stanley Park with shopping and finally
tonight is a seafood feast and boat ride on the harbor. We are
packing it all in here – wish we could stay longer.
Friday, October 27 and Saturday,
October 28
The
cruise of spectacular Hong Kong Harbor is definitely a highlight of
our trip. I've never seen a harbor so lit up – the tall
skyscrapers, buildings with designs and colored lights rival NYC and
Paris. We were treated to a long harbor journey both back and forth
to the restaurant. My favorite light show was a building that turned
into a mermaid and then a few minutes later, it was a panda! Such a
feast for your eyes! So many colors in the night sky! We
disembarked for a group dinner at the fresh seafood market. But
first, we got a tour of the docks. There were huge crabs,
cuttlefish, and shrimp varieties from all over the world in their
tanks. The lobsters were HUGE. We sat at round tables furnished
with huge lazy susans. The restaurant brought out platters full of
shrimp, squid, fish, you name it -with their fried rice, noodles and
home made soups. Just delicious!
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| Beautiful skyline |
The
next day, sadly our last tour day, began with a ride to Lantau
Island. Hong Kong has many islands surrounding it (it looks volcanic
like the South Pacific). I was surprised by the pretty beaches and
our guide stopped the bus so that we could all stick our feet into
the South China Sea. The water was probably in the high 80's and I
collected a few shells to bring back to add to my shell tree. Lantau
Island is an old island that was used by the native fisherman. Then,
Hong Kong decided to move its international airport there and in the
early 1990's it was developed. Cars and buses are limited on Lantau
because they want to keep the remainder of it in it native state.
Our destination was the
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| Dipping feet in South China Sea |
largest brass Buddah Statue in the world. We
drove up to it and like the Statue of Liberty, you can go inside.
The monks had beautiful calligraphy and paintings on the second
floor. Some were painted with the monk's own blood! There were also
shrines and memorials to believers with their pictures on little
marble name plates throughout. We had a vegetarian lunch at the
monastery and had free time to look at the temple and other
artifacts. At the conclusion, we took a cable car ride over the
island with more extraordinary views. What a great way to finish the
tour!
To
backtrack a little, earlier in the tour our guide, Maria, told us
about her life growing up in Hong Kong. Maria looked to be in her
early 50's and shared with us that her husband had recently passed
away from cancer this past April. She said that they had decided not
to have children. This loss is very painful for her and she is
trying to go on and be happy in her own life.
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| The Big Buddah |
Growing
up, she was the oldest in her family. She described that they were
working class people. When her parents married, they qualified for
government housing, which was a 200 sq ft room in a huge apartment
walk-up – they were on the 6th or 7th floor.
In that room, lived her parents, herself, her auntie, and her
grandparents. On her floor in all the apartments resided about 200
people. For those 200, there was one female toilet on one side of
the floor and one male toilet on the other side! Showers were family
affairs. One per week, you rode your bike with your parents to a
shower house and washed after waiting on a long line. When she was
born, they put their name on a list for family housing. Finally,
after 9 years, an apartment (now about 600 sq ft) with its own
toilet, shower, refrigerator and washing machine opened up. She said
she hugged the new toilet bowl crying in joy, when they finally got
to move in! Her story really gave us a perspective of what the
Chinese went through and still to this day, they live in tiny places
in huge highrises.
Our
trip is over and we are on the long plane ride home – 14 hours from
Hong Kong to Newark, a long layover and then about 3 hours down to Ft
Myers.
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| Cable Car Ride of the city |
On our
last night, we took a taxi with our friends over to the Royal Hong
Kong Yacht Club to “live it up” in style. We had a fabulous meal
in their Compass Room with overlooks the skyline and gives a 360
degree view. We discussed the trip and agreed that we had a
wonderful time. Our fondest memories occurred with the retired
people in the park. Every morning they do their Tai Chi and are so
welcoming to visitors. We joined in their exercise class and also
participated in dancing and singing with them. It was very special!
We agreed that Gate 1 Travel was a terrific tour company with
reasonable prices and value for the money. The accommodations,
meals, guides and events were well done. We enjoyed the cruise down
the Yangtze and felt that the pace really picked up after that. We
cannot imagine them squeezing anything more into the trip. We hit
the major sites and much much more.
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| Dinner at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club |
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| Holding IYC burgee at Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club |
It was
eye opening to see the strides that China is making in the world. It
is a super power on steriods. When you see it for yourself, you
begin to get a glimpse into their success over the past 25 years.
The country is massive and with 1.4 billion people, they are a force
to be reckoned with. Its history and culture are amazing and we feel
lucky to have traveled there.
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