tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68817623980659751122024-03-08T05:15:15.385-08:00PENNY AND BRUCE GO AROUND THE WORLD 2008Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-4066669736516642142011-02-02T14:44:00.000-08:002012-05-19T08:56:16.099-07:00Around the World in 106 DaysIn 2008, Penny and I went around the world. One goal was to avoid aircraft. The most important goals were to meet interesting people, see interesting places, and to have a good time. We did those.<br />
<br />
I kept a handwritten journal throughout the trip, and this is that journal entered as though it were an ongoing blog. I have added illustrations, and some comments that came to mind later.<br />
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The pictures here are like a book cover, and are some of my favorites from the trip. We hope you enjoy this blog and perhaps find some of the contents to be useful in your own travel plans! Because blogs work in reverse chronological order, you might want to start at the end to do the trip the way we did.<br />
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<br /></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-86510733413355471022011-02-02T13:49:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:49:46.495-08:00September 29 Long Beach<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnQ9M3DbLI/AAAAAAAAAT8/0fIGUhcWgek/s1600/P1100787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnQ9M3DbLI/AAAAAAAAAT8/0fIGUhcWgek/s320/P1100787.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here we are, off Ventura, 106 days after leaving San Francisco.<br />
Penny deserves an unbounded amount of credit for putting this trip together.<br />
She worked on the preparations seemingly without end, for months and<br />
months. It is hard to do her justice, so all I will say is:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b>“WOW! WHAT A TRIP!”</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnRJpGxdZI/AAAAAAAAAUA/Qx6u3sU_D9w/s1600/P1100810.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnRJpGxdZI/AAAAAAAAAUA/Qx6u3sU_D9w/s400/P1100810.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br />
</b></span></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-34619794203198707612011-02-02T13:44:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:44:36.089-08:00September 25-29 Pacific Ocean TransitMore days at sea. I did not have a birthday card for Penny. She said<br />
that was, of course, understandable given the circumstances. Because we<br />
had turned over our passports upon boarding the ship, the crew all knew that<br />
it was her birthday and went out of their way to wish her well.<br />
<br />
<br />
They had a fire drill on one of the afternoons. As passengers, our sole<br />
function was to show up at the muster station by the starboard lifeboat<br />
carrying immersions suits and wearing warm clothes, kapok life jackets, and<br />
orange hard hats. This we did. The “fire” was in one of the A.B. seamen’s<br />
rooms. The hose did not reach all the way, so they had to get a second<br />
length and recouple everything. Oh well!! With the obvious exceptions of<br />
the galley and the engineroom, there is practically nothing flammable aboard<br />
the ship anyway. Of course, this is as it should be, and just as well when one<br />
considers all things. Shipboard firefighting is not their specialty.<br />
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<br />
On September 27, the ship had a barbecue and luau in honor of Penny<br />
and me. They don’t get many passengers on the long trans-Pacific crossings.<br />
The captain had bought two suckling pigs for the occasion. There was<br />
something of a cooking contest. The chief mate comes from a family in the<br />
restaurant business, and his wife is Filipina. He prepared one of the pigs<br />
himself, including a marinade with which he basted the skin during the three<br />
hours on the open pit rotisserie. The other pig was prepared by Filipino<br />
crewmen in a traditional style. Both were very good, but I must say that the<br />
chief mate’s pig tasted a little better. There were also steaks, chicken,<br />
sausage, and pork chops. No place for a vegetarian! I took the camera with<br />
me to the luau, but forgot to actually use it! Bummer!! I did get a few<br />
photos earlier of the pigs being roasted.<br />
<br />
We have decided to declare our round-the-world journey over when<br />
we arrive in Long Beach. The longitude there is east of the meridian in San<br />
Francisco. It will ease logistics matters a great deal if I fly to San Francisco<br />
as early as possible, get our car, and drive back to Gary and Ann Moore’s<br />
home in Redondo Beach. It will be much cheaper than any of the car rental<br />
options. We hope to get in touch with Charlie and go visit him in Las Vegas.<br />
Then we must to go San Diego to take care of some legal matters before<br />
arriving home on October 10.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnP6kL77aI/AAAAAAAAAT4/YMiVrXLOceo/s1600/P1100761.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnP6kL77aI/AAAAAAAAAT4/YMiVrXLOceo/s320/P1100761.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-10904147263064367632011-02-02T13:35:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:37:04.682-08:00September 19-24 Pacific Ocean TransitOne day has been pretty much the same as another. Once the officers<br />
got their paperwork done after leaving port, they too have little to do besides<br />
standing watch. Engineering officers perform routine maintenance, and<br />
corrective maintenance if need be. The engineroom is automatically<br />
operated, and there are no designated watchstanders in the propulsion plant.<br />
Captain Pschonder chose to go east from Okinawa and pass halfway<br />
between Alaska and Hawaii. He meant to avoid heavy weather that was<br />
farther north, along the actual great circle route. The normal track is to the<br />
north, passing through either La Perouse or the Tsugaru Straits, through the<br />
Sea of Japan, and down to Xiamen, China. Or the reverse track from<br />
Yantian.<br />
<br />
The chief engineer gave me a tour of the engineroom. As I never<br />
served in a Diesel ship, this was a somewhat different experience for me.<br />
The one engine, twelve cylinder, in-line, 90000 horsepower Diesel with a<br />
single rudder and two steering engines. There are five Diesel generators,<br />
output voltage is 6000V, and the largest one is rated at 2800KW. Only one<br />
generator is in operation now. The large electric plant capacity is to power<br />
refrigerated containers if there are any onboard, but there are none on this<br />
trip. There is a waste-heat boiler, and an auxiliary boiler which is used in<br />
port. Fresh water is manufactured by a single-stage flash distilling plant.<br />
The ship holds 7800 containers. She was built in Ulsan, Korea, in 2004. Six<br />
months were required to build her.<br />
<br />
<br />
On September 24, we crossed the International Date Line. So we<br />
have come halfway around the world since July 17, when we left London<br />
and crossed the Prime Meridian.<br />
<br />
Life aboard this container ship is very routine. The track is<br />
programmed, monitored by GPS (Global Positioning Satellite), and the helm<br />
is on automatic pilot. Meals go on time. 0730 breakfast, 1130 lunch, and<br />
1730 dinner. Coffee at 0900 and 1500. Ship’s work begins at 0800 and<br />
ends at 1600. The German officers eat in the officers’ messroom, where a<br />
separate passenger table also exists. Penny and I eat at that table. One table<br />
for four has appointed places for the master, chief engineer, and chief mate.<br />
The fourth place at that table is never set, although I gather that if there were<br />
only one passenger on board, that place would be used.<br />
<br />
I have never seen the Finnish second mate or the two Filipino officers<br />
in the officers’ messroom at all. Kim Axberg does not even speak German.<br />
There are separate menus for the two messrooms, but only one galley and<br />
only one cook. The messrooms are located to port and starboard,<br />
respectively, of the galley. Penny and I often choose the Filipino entrees<br />
from “the other side.”<br />
<br />
There is a gymnasium, a sauna, and a seawater swimming pool. I use<br />
the exercise bike twice a day for thirty minute periods, and do a little bit<br />
with the weight machine. This has been very good for the diet…especially<br />
after all the beer beginning in Poland. They have ice cream after dinner on<br />
Sundays.<br />
<br />
The chief mate tells me that we arrive off Point Concepción at 0900<br />
on Monday, September 29, and the Long Beach pilot is scheduled to board<br />
at 1500 that day.<br />
<br />
Here is an interesting bit about the cargo ship business. CMA CGM<br />
does not own the Hugo. A German bank does, and the French company<br />
CMA CGM charters the ship from the owners. CMA CGM hires a German<br />
company, NSB, to operate this and other ships. NSB provides crews and<br />
operates more than one hundred ships for six or seven charterers, of which<br />
CMA CGM is one. Evergreen is another, as is Hanjin.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-65699253116991657442011-02-02T13:27:00.000-08:002011-02-02T13:27:01.322-08:00September 18 Underway for CaliforniaThey finished handling the containers in the afternoon and<br />
immediately got underway. Yantian is an easy harbor. The pilot’s English<br />
was not as good as had been the Hong Kong pilot’s. The mates assured me<br />
that such was usually the case, and that the pilots in the People’s Republic of<br />
China could be difficult to work with because of the language barrier.<br />
We received a safety brief from Second Mate Kim Axberg, and off<br />
went the ship. The track went through the Taiwan Strait and meant to pass<br />
north of Okinawa.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-42952781717400160812011-02-02T12:58:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:58:47.134-08:00September 17 Hong Kong to Yantian<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnFPGfr0jI/AAAAAAAAATs/EWz_BDV1wq4/s1600/P1100635.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnFPGfr0jI/AAAAAAAAATs/EWz_BDV1wq4/s320/P1100635.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Captain Pschonder and the Yantian pilot on the starboard wing.</div><br />
Leonard is the steward who looks after us, and after everyone else as<br />
well. We also met Joe, who is the cook, and is the former chef in a Manila<br />
hotel. “Everyone else” adds up to very few people. Counting ourselves,<br />
there are twenty-six persons on board. The regular complement on this fiveyear<br />
old, highly automated ship is twenty-two. There is an extra electrician<br />
along for the ride to the U.S., and there is a fourth mate who is a trainee<br />
watch officer under the normal complement of three watchstanding deck<br />
officers. All of the unlicensed crew are Filipinos, and so are the third mate<br />
and the third engineer. The second mate is Finnish, and the rest of the<br />
officers are German. In the afternoon, the container handling finished and<br />
the ship got underway.<br />
<br />
Captain Pschonder kindly invited me to the bridge. Quite a different<br />
deal than a Navy bridge. Well, not really that different, but there were far<br />
fewer people in the pilot house. Or “wheel house” as they called it. Piloting<br />
was done by electronic chart and GPS. The Hong Kong pilot had the conn<br />
and gave orders directly to the helmsman. The ship went out between<br />
Lamma and Hong Kong islands, and then passed Aberdeen and Stanley.<br />
Passing by Aberdeen, I noticed a ship on the starboard bow whose bearing<br />
appeared not to be changing. Trying to be surreptitious, I looked over at the<br />
GPS harbor chart plot to see how much maneuvering room there was. Not<br />
much, but I thought to myself that I would alter course to starboard ten<br />
degrees. At exactly the same time as I thought that, the pilot ordered the<br />
helmsman to come right ten degrees! It was nice to know that I still have<br />
some seaman’s eye left!<br />
<br />
<br />
The ship then headed up to Yantian which is just north of Sha Tau<br />
Kok, on the eastern end of the border between the Hong Kong<br />
Special Administrative Region and the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone.<br />
Yantian is another large container facility, and it seemed larger than the one<br />
at Stonecutter’s Island. Many of the containers brought on at Hong Kong<br />
were empty ones destined for Yantian. Container handling commenced as<br />
soon as the mooring was complete, and continued throughout the night.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-23795238371564474722011-02-02T12:53:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:53:57.212-08:00September 16 Leaving Hong Kong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnDnjlFxyI/AAAAAAAAATk/nLo5oFGh_94/s1600/P1100615a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnDnjlFxyI/AAAAAAAAATk/nLo5oFGh_94/s320/P1100615a.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">This morning we checked out of the Ramada Hong Kong Hotel, and</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">did our best to end up with as little Hong Kong currency as possible. We</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">made our last internet and e-mail check, and then went to buy a few things</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">for the ship voyage. In the early afternoon, a shipping agent representative</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">came with a driver to collect us and our luggage. We went to the big</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">containers facility located just north of Stonecutter’s Island. Which, by the</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">way, is no longer an island. Driving among the containers was like a jungle</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">in itself, and we finally pulled up to the berth where MV CMA CGM Hugo</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">was moored.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The crew kindly carried aboard our luggage, and we were escorted</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">aboard by Chief Mate Bruno Brockmann. The owner’s cabin is located high</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">in the deckhouse superstructure. We had dinner, which was a mashed potato</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">and corned beef mixture. This is, after all, a German-flagged ship! After</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">meeting Captain Pschonder and turning over to him the requisite documents,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">we settled into the commodious cabin. They continued to handle containers</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">throughout the night.</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnD0CbT4AI/AAAAAAAAATo/oR1IdIRlNvs/s1600/P1100621.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnD0CbT4AI/AAAAAAAAATo/oR1IdIRlNvs/s320/P1100621.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-21196340259211433482011-02-02T12:48:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:48:17.581-08:00September 11-15 Hong Kong<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnBoCoU1dI/AAAAAAAAATg/SRL8QFy71Uw/s1600/P1100589.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnBoCoU1dI/AAAAAAAAATg/SRL8QFy71Uw/s320/P1100589.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
After breakfast, we went to the shipping agent’s office in Kowloon to<br />
check in with them and to give them our whereabouts. We then took a cab<br />
to the Ramada Inn Hong Kong, located in the Sheung Wan district of Hong<br />
Kong Island. They gave us a suite upgrade, and so we have a sitting room as<br />
well as a bedroom! Since we will be here for a long time, this is a welcome<br />
surprise. The shipping agent called back and said that we may be leaving a<br />
day early, because MV Hugo is ahead of schedule. We set 1400 on 15<br />
September as the time certain to arrange the transfer by telephone.<br />
<br />
September 12<br />
A slow day indeed. We are both a bit tired after such a long trip. This<br />
is Penny’s third visit to Hong Kong, and it is my seventh one. So we ate<br />
breakfast downstairs. I went out to find some Listerine and some floss picks.<br />
I found the former but not the latter, and gave up after walking all the way to<br />
Central. I rode back on the double-decker tram that runs along Des Veoux<br />
Road Central and West. We ordered room service for dinner and watched<br />
movies on television.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnBk1e6cMI/AAAAAAAAATY/hWZ0zzO4DDQ/s1600/P1100580.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnBk1e6cMI/AAAAAAAAATY/hWZ0zzO4DDQ/s320/P1100580.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our suite in the Ramada.</div><br />
<br />
September 13-15<br />
These were more slow days, and for all intents and purposes, we are<br />
only waiting for the Hugo to arrive. I went to the Sunday morning Eucharist<br />
service at St. John’s Cathedral, which is the cathedral of the Anglican<br />
province of Hong Kong. We went by bus to Victoria Peak, and then took<br />
the tram back down. Another time, we took a bus to Stanley Market, bought<br />
a few souvenirs and some presents for Annie and Charlie Schwartz. Dinner<br />
at the Indian restaurant at Stanley waterfront was really good. We noticed<br />
that there seem to be a large number of Filipina women living homeless in<br />
the streets. The gather in large groups in public places that afford some<br />
shelter such as parks and the covered walkways around the Central district.<br />
Perhaps they have been unable to find work?<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnBm1iTRSI/AAAAAAAAATc/wvfCtndunJw/s1600/P1100585.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnBm1iTRSI/AAAAAAAAATc/wvfCtndunJw/s320/P1100585.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If you say "Hong Kong" to me, the Star Ferry comes immediately to mind.</div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-89460870184708666832011-02-02T12:38:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:38:15.073-08:00September 10 Guangzhou to Hong Kong<br />
We arrived in Guangzhou in the morning. There were some problems<br />
in hooking up with the local driver, but Bill finally managed after several<br />
mobile phone calls. We did have to double back to find the van, which did<br />
seem to have been parked by the easily visible KFC for some time. Not to<br />
our particular surprise, it turned out that Bill, himself, was the Guangzhou<br />
local guide. Alaine had said back in Beijing that she had been told he had<br />
been a local guide for Sundowners groups before.<br />
We had a very informative tour of the Chen family compound, which<br />
is now a museum of local artwork. An artist there was making amazing<br />
“hand paintings.” Kind of like finger painting, but using the whole hand and<br />
a black, water-based ink. We bought two paintings to have framed when we<br />
get home.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnAZApyiLI/AAAAAAAAATQ/LvrBhZdqFQU/s1600/P1100567.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnAZApyiLI/AAAAAAAAATQ/LvrBhZdqFQU/s320/P1100567.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnAk_P6XnI/AAAAAAAAATU/ZCmgXHgL_5Q/s1600/P1100568.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUnAk_P6XnI/AAAAAAAAATU/ZCmgXHgL_5Q/s320/P1100568.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The Chen family compound in Guangzhou.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div>After that, Bill took us to a depressing market place with many caged<br />
kittens and puppies for sale. Then, we had a very nice lunch. Bill seems to<br />
have ordered it all in advance, because no input was requested from us. I<br />
don’t like shrimp, and one of the courses was a shrimp dish. He should have<br />
checked with us in advance. This annoyance typifies the way he acts as<br />
group leader. I am glad we only have him from Kunming onward. It would<br />
have been just awful to put up with him all the way from Beijing.<br />
<br />
We then headed off to the other Guangzhou station, which serves the<br />
Kowloon-Canton Railway. We did the Chinese departure formalities and<br />
then boarded the train for Hung Hom Station in Kowloon. What used to be<br />
the British Crown Colony is now a Special Administrative Region. When<br />
entering it from the rest of China, or vice versa, all must clear immigration<br />
and customs. The train was late, but we were met as scheduled and taken to<br />
the Stanford Hotel in the Mong Kok section of Kowloon. Nice hotel, but a<br />
very small room.<br />
<br />
After we checked in, Bill asked if there was anything else for which<br />
we needed him. He seemed quite pleased when we assured him that there<br />
was nothing. He made a quick exit.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-66897127533961296362011-02-02T12:32:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:32:15.061-08:00September 9 Li Jiang Cruise<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm9otWScII/AAAAAAAAAS4/EQrSFcRoQsA/s1600/P1100456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm9otWScII/AAAAAAAAAS4/EQrSFcRoQsA/s400/P1100456.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Today we packed up and checked out of the hotel. There was a large<br />
tour group of Scandinavians that arrived the night before, and so the hotel<br />
set the Western breakfast on a buffet basis, instead of a la carte as it had<br />
been yesterday. A van took us out of town to the starting point for the Li<br />
River Cruise. This cruise passes by many areas with tall limestone<br />
outcroppings that have been the inspiration for countless paintings, prints,<br />
and scrolls. One scene from the river also appears on the reverse of the<br />
twenty yuan note. The tour was mostly foreigners, from a variety of<br />
countries. The Li Jiang is nowhere near as large as the Chong Jiang<br />
(Yangtze) but the gorges here did evoke in my mind the photographs I have<br />
seen of Yangtze cruising in the “old days.” The cruise ended in the town of<br />
Yangshuo. Sue suggested some local activities, each one carrying a rather<br />
high price tag. Again, Bill sought no input on this. We decided against any<br />
of them, and so we returned to Guilin. Penny and I went out to play cards on<br />
a bench in the river promenade. Many people stopped to watch us.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm9fgPcOGI/AAAAAAAAAS0/fZFCIJXuRmk/s1600/P1100326.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm9fgPcOGI/AAAAAAAAAS0/fZFCIJXuRmk/s320/P1100326.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Picturesque river scene.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm9z0hRkoI/AAAAAAAAAS8/HbWFLjD-R2A/s1600/P1100495.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm9z0hRkoI/AAAAAAAAAS8/HbWFLjD-R2A/s320/P1100495.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Water buffalo in her habitat.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm99zZqq_I/AAAAAAAAATA/769640ydPKg/s1600/P1100542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm99zZqq_I/AAAAAAAAATA/769640ydPKg/s320/P1100542.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Another look at the Li river.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm-I8Pin2I/AAAAAAAAATE/1SEELtF-ks4/s1600/P1100553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm-I8Pin2I/AAAAAAAAATE/1SEELtF-ks4/s320/P1100553.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Don't you just love it when translations go slightly awry?</div><br />
We took the sleeper train to Guangzhou (Canton). Our soft sleeper<br />
berths were quite nice, and the car was as nice as the one in which we rode<br />
from Beijing to Xi’an. We are not sure just who bought the tickets, but one<br />
was in a different cabin. Bill roomed with some Polish tourists, while Penny<br />
and I had the next cabin to ourselves.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm-R3hDM8I/AAAAAAAAATI/Io_XRJf-urU/s1600/P1100556.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm-R3hDM8I/AAAAAAAAATI/Io_XRJf-urU/s320/P1100556.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm-bmnCpxI/AAAAAAAAATM/y9Ac-HwhDyI/s1600/P1100557.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm-bmnCpxI/AAAAAAAAATM/y9Ac-HwhDyI/s320/P1100557.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-25144016976116479682011-02-02T12:21:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:21:08.897-08:00September 8 Guilin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm7j54fjYI/AAAAAAAAASg/bYRGVnFmJtk/s1600/P1100033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm7j54fjYI/AAAAAAAAASg/bYRGVnFmJtk/s320/P1100033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm7YwND6EI/AAAAAAAAASc/sC8P9-8tloE/s1600/P1090969.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm7YwND6EI/AAAAAAAAASc/sC8P9-8tloE/s320/P1090969.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Reed Flute Cave lighting.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm7we7GLUI/AAAAAAAAASk/iynETaASBBI/s1600/P1100111.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm7we7GLUI/AAAAAAAAASk/iynETaASBBI/s320/P1100111.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mom, are we there yet?</div><br />
Today we visited the Reed Flute Cave, which is located some distance<br />
from Guilin. It is a very large limestone cave, and has been developed for<br />
tourists with colored lights, safe stairways and floors, and so on. Sue told<br />
that the cave’s existence was kept secret for centuries by villagers until 1959.<br />
We had free time after we got back to town. Neither Penny nor I are finding<br />
Bill’s company to be very pleasant. He is very self-centered, and even said<br />
on the first day we met that he was excluded from an intramural basketball<br />
team for being an “arrogant ball hog.” His words, not mine, and he did not<br />
take exception to his friends’ characterizing as such. Any way, he seems to<br />
prefer to go his own way, and we prefer it that way. The problem with that,<br />
of course, is that as a Sundowners group leader, he is supposed to be on the<br />
lookout for our interests. We did a boat tour by night of the Guilin city<br />
lights, all suggested and arranged by Sue.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm76KgROvI/AAAAAAAAASo/KTKglO-DEV4/s1600/P1100117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm76KgROvI/AAAAAAAAASo/KTKglO-DEV4/s320/P1100117.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm8DR3fTmI/AAAAAAAAASs/lDh31J9F6ys/s1600/P1100143.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm8DR3fTmI/AAAAAAAAASs/lDh31J9F6ys/s320/P1100143.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm8McLgnQI/AAAAAAAAASw/LqNbD4xrHYU/s1600/P1100234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm8McLgnQI/AAAAAAAAASw/LqNbD4xrHYU/s320/P1100234.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-41290731475015334562011-02-02T12:12:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:12:02.302-08:00September 7 Guilin<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm5sxEEgDI/AAAAAAAAASQ/0hmNUXy9ddI/s1600/P1090904.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm5sxEEgDI/AAAAAAAAASQ/0hmNUXy9ddI/s400/P1090904.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We seem to have slept pretty well on our penultimate train night. The<br />
train went through Nanning and on to Guilin. Once again, our local guide<br />
Sue was there to meet us and we checked into the Hotel Universal Guilin. It<br />
is easily the best hotel so far on the Sundowners package deal. Like the Hai<br />
Tian Hotel in Kunming, this one has free internet connections in each room.<br />
Ours did not work, and so we were immediately moved to a room where the<br />
connection was good. We went out with Bill and had lunch on the<br />
pedestrian mall. It was okay, and then we headed off to see some of the<br />
town. Guilin has only 650,000 people. It has a great river walk promenade,<br />
and a couple of small lakes in a park. In Shunshu Lake, there are two large<br />
pagodas, a nine-storied copper one and a seven-storied one with glazed<br />
eaves. This is simply one of the most picturesque places I have ever seen.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm532A04HI/AAAAAAAAASU/V3t2slQ6fmE/s1600/P1090933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm532A04HI/AAAAAAAAASU/V3t2slQ6fmE/s320/P1090933.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Along the lakefront park.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm6B9gKdGI/AAAAAAAAASY/EMuOCHqkrhk/s1600/P1090953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm6B9gKdGI/AAAAAAAAASY/EMuOCHqkrhk/s320/P1090953.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View from our hotel room.</div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-76029468316277246712011-02-02T12:02:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:02:10.790-08:00September 6 Kunming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm2jI9JyBI/AAAAAAAAAR8/Q2tR0n_ZE00/s1600/P1090847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm2jI9JyBI/AAAAAAAAAR8/Q2tR0n_ZE00/s400/P1090847.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Double Gates of Kunming.</div><br />
Today was a free day. Bill negotiated an extra hour in the checkout<br />
time. So after breakfast, we walked around a bit. We went to the twin gates,<br />
and then along the market street running north from there. Kunming is a<br />
very pleasant city, and the six thousand foot altitude mitigates the Southeast<br />
Asian climate quite a lot. We got back, showered one last time before the<br />
train, and checked out of the hotel. We said good-bye to Alaine, and then<br />
went out for a walk while she and Bill conducted turnover on administrative<br />
matters. We walked a ways east of the hotel, and then went north one block<br />
through a traditional market street. Penny finally found a small electronic<br />
calculator to replace the one we lost several weeks ago. We came out of the<br />
market street and then headed back to the west. We found a large, local<br />
restaurant. More than twenty tables, but with no windows and completely<br />
open to the street. The tables were low to the ground, and the seats were<br />
wicker stools with cloth covers. I got out my Barron’s Mandarin phrase<br />
book and we managed to order chicken, pork, mixed vegetables, and beer.<br />
The dishes came kung pao style. Very spicy, and very good! We headed<br />
out again.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm3QeWrGDI/AAAAAAAAASE/DViQj6ATE8A/s1600/P1090844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm3QeWrGDI/AAAAAAAAASE/DViQj6ATE8A/s320/P1090844.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">View of Kunming from our hotel window.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm2xMnYf7I/AAAAAAAAASA/4UyCHq4X2qo/s1600/P1090862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm2xMnYf7I/AAAAAAAAASA/4UyCHq4X2qo/s320/P1090862.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This huge jade boat was in our hotel lobby.</div><br />
Alaine had left for the airport by the time we got back to the hotel<br />
lobby. What a small world! A man in the lobby was wearing a University<br />
of Oregon ball cap. Penny went to chat about the University of Oregon vs.<br />
Oregon State University “Civil War” football game. He turned out to have<br />
played on the golf team at the same high school as did Jeff Blum, Penny’s<br />
younger brother. We were promptly collected as advertised by Gail and the<br />
driver, and we left for the Kunming train station.<br />
<br />
The berth on the K394 to Guilin (Kweilin) was nice, and there seemed<br />
to be a little more space to maneuver the suitcases around. We got lucky<br />
again because there was no fourth person in the room. In fact, most of the<br />
soft-berth cabins were empty, which makes me wonder all the more about<br />
why we could not get a two-person supplement in China.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm3bkd1NII/AAAAAAAAASI/MhaAaRid3mE/s1600/P1090902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm3bkd1NII/AAAAAAAAASI/MhaAaRid3mE/s320/P1090902.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>We met up with two Americans from Utah, and also an Israel-born<br />
American. We went to the restaurant car for a good time spent talking and<br />
drinking beer. Bill and I drank the beer, that is to say. Not so the Utahans.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-26476941702858585622011-02-02T11:49:00.000-08:002011-02-02T12:04:24.660-08:00September 5 Kunming<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0WBtI18I/AAAAAAAAARo/-MujLpIhVSA/s1600/P1090719.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0WBtI18I/AAAAAAAAARo/-MujLpIhVSA/s320/P1090719.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bruce and Penny in the Stone Forest.</div><br />
After a second night on the train, we arrived in Kunming in the<br />
mornig. Kunming is the capital of Yunnan province, which borders with<br />
Vietnam, Laos, and Burma (Myanmar). Yunnan is home to fifty-two ethnic<br />
minorities. Gail, the local guide, met us at the train station and got us<br />
checked into the Hai Tian Hotel. It is very nice, and has free internet in the<br />
room! Alaine will be leaving us tomorrow, and she will be replaced by Bill,<br />
who will take us the rest of the way to Hong Kong. Bill seems like a very<br />
nice young man. He is from Guangdong Province.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0irx_a_I/AAAAAAAAARs/Nw6i_TY4-7w/s1600/P1090767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0irx_a_I/AAAAAAAAARs/Nw6i_TY4-7w/s320/P1090767.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This was our final tour with Alaine.</div><br />
We cleaned up and went to the Stone Forest, located about two hours<br />
away from Kunming by expressway. A very nice park has been built around<br />
the stone formations. As the pictures show, we had a very nice visit. First<br />
we had a great lunch at a restaurant out there. Catering to the tourism at the<br />
Stone Forest were many people wearing traditional Yi nationality costumes.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm4s4wfIpI/AAAAAAAAASM/ep1E7k0yHhA/s1600/P1090818.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm4s4wfIpI/AAAAAAAAASM/ep1E7k0yHhA/s320/P1090818.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Having eaten quite a lot in the past few days, we skipped dinner and<br />
took in the “Dynamic Yunnan” show. It consisted mostly of traditional song<br />
and dance, with a few modern elements and arrangements. Unlike any show<br />
I have ever seen.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0J3PxJbI/AAAAAAAAARk/1IAnprO-vZs/s1600/P1090690.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0J3PxJbI/AAAAAAAAARk/1IAnprO-vZs/s320/P1090690.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0uxwTGtI/AAAAAAAAARw/EoklmfjNC34/s1600/P1090807.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm0uxwTGtI/AAAAAAAAARw/EoklmfjNC34/s320/P1090807.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm06OE1zxI/AAAAAAAAAR0/-3UMP6DQJXw/s1600/P1090822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUm06OE1zxI/AAAAAAAAAR0/-3UMP6DQJXw/s320/P1090822.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-13406171608366482652011-02-02T10:47:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:47:18.627-08:00September 4 Xi’an to KunmingWe slept reasonably well on the train, and got lucky because the<br />
fourth berth in our cabin was never occupied. This train was quite as fancy<br />
as the one from Beijing to Xi’an, but the cabin was still comfortable. This<br />
wagon also had a Western toilet at one end, a “squat” one at the other end,<br />
and also a three-sink washroom. Unfortunately, there was no water service<br />
in the Western toilet which was right next to our cabin. The good news was<br />
that the food in the restaurant car was actually quite decent. We all spent a<br />
good day resting, reading, and playing cards.<br />
<br />
Chongqing (Chungking) was one of the stops, and right afterwards the<br />
train crossed the Yangtze River. It was just fantastic actually to see it after<br />
reading so much about it for so many years. Even though we only got a<br />
short glimpse as the train continued south.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-48883754673145236632011-02-02T10:44:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:44:23.613-08:00September 3 Xi’an<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmlALoESvI/AAAAAAAAARg/g0XVeG-rz1M/s1600/P1090672.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmlALoESvI/AAAAAAAAARg/g0XVeG-rz1M/s400/P1090672.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bell Tower at night.</div><br />
Happy thirty-first anniversary to us!<br />
<br />
Today was a free day in Xi’an. Alaine, Penny, and I got on the K610<br />
bus and headed off toward to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Local transport<br />
again! Our first stop was at the Shaanxi history museum. It was a very good<br />
combination of actual artifacts and informative displays. Mostly about the<br />
Tang Period when Chang’an (Xi’an) was the imperial capital as well as the<br />
gateway to the Silk Road. We walked the rest of the way to the pagoda,<br />
located south of the Ming-era city walls, as is the Shaanxi museum. First,<br />
we stopped for lunch at a Korean restaurant. The pagoda itself is located in<br />
a large public park and shopping mall complex. The whole complex is in<br />
modern buildings, but with Tang-style roofs and eaves. They are much<br />
simpler than later designs and look very much like traditional Japanese<br />
buildings. On our way back to the hotel, Penny and I toured the Bell Tower.<br />
We went out for a very nice dumpling dinner, and then headed to the railway<br />
station to catch the K165 train to Kunming.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmkgIHEAMI/AAAAAAAAARU/ysQ2Vpv0OoE/s1600/P1090602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmkgIHEAMI/AAAAAAAAARU/ysQ2Vpv0OoE/s320/P1090602.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Big Wild Goose Pagoda.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmkrxy81wI/AAAAAAAAARY/bPr_HVcnHFc/s1600/P1090631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmkrxy81wI/AAAAAAAAARY/bPr_HVcnHFc/s320/P1090631.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Xi'an shopping and park plaza.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmk3DhKrjI/AAAAAAAAARc/pcBVt241mw0/s1600/P1090668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmk3DhKrjI/AAAAAAAAARc/pcBVt241mw0/s320/P1090668.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This building seems a nice use of traditional influences on modern architecture.</div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-41755894483806468772011-02-02T10:30:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:32:02.974-08:00September 2 Xi’an<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmiHuF5RjI/AAAAAAAAARI/iuJ8Mh55OS0/s1600/P1090201.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmiHuF5RjI/AAAAAAAAARI/iuJ8Mh55OS0/s400/P1090201.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
We had a mediocre breakfast before setting out. I have to say that I<br />
think the Bell and Drum Tower Hotel has been a bit of a disappointment. It<br />
is a little rundown as compared with other places we have stayed. It is, I do<br />
concede, more what I thought Sundowners meant in their dossier statement<br />
that the tour groups will be staying in “simple hotels.”<br />
<br />
Today we went out to see the famous terra cotta army of<br />
Qinshihuangdi, the first Qin emperor. It is every bit as fantastic as we have<br />
always heard. Cynthia gave us a good description of the restoration works.<br />
Several pits have been discovered within a short distance of the emperor’s<br />
mausoleum. Three contain the soldiers of clay. Many figures have been<br />
restored, and many, many more remain to be done.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmiRzxay2I/AAAAAAAAARM/YouSHZWpgDA/s1600/P1090244.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmiRzxay2I/AAAAAAAAARM/YouSHZWpgDA/s320/P1090244.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmicBs3KHI/AAAAAAAAARQ/4Q74LBOk7fQ/s1600/P1090249.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmicBs3KHI/AAAAAAAAARQ/4Q74LBOk7fQ/s320/P1090249.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Also on today’s itinerary were the first two sales-oriented stops on</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">this entire group journey. The first was a factory that made terra cotta</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">soldier figures for sale. They also had quite a bit of furniture for sale. They</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">claimed to be the only government-authorized terra cotta soldier factory,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">although I did notice on the highway another place with life-size terra cotta</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">soldiers in full view. If the claim of the factory that we visited is correct,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">then the soldier figure that we bought years ago in San Diego would have</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">been made there.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The terra cotta soldier factory also sells furniture items made in the vicinity.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">On the way back to Xi’an, we stopped at a silk factory. It included a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">free lunch that was decidedly mediocre. One of those places that substitutes</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">salt for flavor. Having these sales detours in the tour package is</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">disappointing, and hopefully there won’t be more of them in Kunming or</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Guilin. We had planned to visit the Bell Tower after returning to Xi’an, but</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">it began to rain and shows no signs of letting up.</div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-45349491566847747582011-02-02T10:24:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:24:35.157-08:00September 1 Xi’an<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmg6FWNvbI/AAAAAAAAARE/VBy6O9YogUQ/s1600/P1090135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmg6FWNvbI/AAAAAAAAARE/VBy6O9YogUQ/s400/P1090135.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Xi'an's Bell Tower.</div><br />
Our overnight train to Xi’an was smooth and arrived on time. The<br />
equipment was superior to the Russian trains that we saw. The car was quite<br />
comfortable. The only problem was that the cabin crew did not keep the<br />
lavatory facilities as clean as did the Russian and Mongolian povodnitsas.<br />
This was our first experience with a four-passenger room on a railway car.<br />
It was what is called a “soft seat” on Chinese railways. Soft seat? Perhaps!<br />
But a hard bed! The fourth person in our cabin was Mei, on her way home<br />
to Xi’an for a fifteen day vacation. She is an auditor in the Beijing office of<br />
KPMG. Xi’an Station was a mob scene! We eventually hooked up with<br />
Cynthia, our local tour guide. Fortunately, our rooms at the Bell and Drum<br />
Tower Hotel were available immediately upon our arrival.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmguUXn4PI/AAAAAAAAARA/5PBJuKnrjkI/s1600/P1090029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmguUXn4PI/AAAAAAAAARA/5PBJuKnrjkI/s320/P1090029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Penny and I did laundry in the room. We then met up with Alaine and<br />
walked to the Muslim Quarter. We had a great lunch of spicy barbecued<br />
lamb and beef, mixed vegetables, and what was billed as “Chinese bread”<br />
but looked rather like a Boboli pizza crust from the grocery store. It all<br />
tasted good, but it was definitely a two-Coke lunch! The three of us then<br />
shopped around some more. I bought a pack of post cards which I later<br />
mailed. Penny and I went to see the Drum tower, where we took in the drum<br />
performance that was soon to start. We got a surprise bonus when we<br />
discovered a display of Qing Dynasty furniture on the second floor.<br />
Beautiful stuff!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmgh_GFLeI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/VIPRZs8075U/s1600/P1090022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmgh_GFLeI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/VIPRZs8075U/s320/P1090022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Muslim Quarter street scene.</div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-15958062620002245492011-02-02T10:14:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:14:52.243-08:00August 31 Beijing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmeBKU4PWI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/5NdVJFuapQs/s1600/P1080878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmeBKU4PWI/AAAAAAAAAQ0/5NdVJFuapQs/s400/P1080878.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
Today we went to the Great Wall of China. Words do not exist to<br />
describe what a phenomenal thing it is. This is the Ming wall, built to<br />
prevent a return of the Mongols. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.<br />
We used public transport to get there: Taxi from the Xiao Xi’ang to the<br />
Arrow Temple, from which departs the 919 bus. That goes along the<br />
Badaling expressway to the wall. Penny and I both love going places on<br />
local transport with local people, so this also was a treat! We were<br />
especially lucky about the weather. The rain of the previous days had<br />
washed down the air pollutants and so we had a bright and beautiful day. It<br />
was so clear that we could see Beijing in the distance from atop the wall.<br />
We were also lucky in that Phil and Dy had to leave a day early. They<br />
gave their de luxe room in the Novotel Peace Hotel to Butch and Del, who<br />
themselves are leaving tomorrow and had booked an extra day at the Xiao<br />
Xi’ang through Sundowners. So Alaine, Penny, and I were able to use that<br />
latter one as a day room while awaiting the departure of the overnight train<br />
to Xi’an.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmdmNjh4SI/AAAAAAAAAQs/laZ_z5tgp2I/s1600/P1080829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmdmNjh4SI/AAAAAAAAAQs/laZ_z5tgp2I/s320/P1080829.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmd0EQP9OI/AAAAAAAAAQw/wuA5TEqRI9s/s1600/P1080860.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmd0EQP9OI/AAAAAAAAAQw/wuA5TEqRI9s/s320/P1080860.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I noticed in the lobby that another company, Explore Adventure<br />
Holidays www.explore.co.uk, also uses the Xiao Xi’ang Hotel. There is a<br />
Trans-Siberian group and a China tour group of theirs here. The latter group<br />
is traveling by air.<br />
<br />
Alaine met with the Beijing district manager of Sundowners. She will<br />
stay with us through Kunming where she will be replaced by a fellow named<br />
Bill. He is Chinese, and so of course, does speak the language. Also, it<br />
seems that our squawking about the arrangements in Yekaterinburg had<br />
some positive results. Sundowners plans to add another day in<br />
Yekaterinburg to the Grand Trans-Mongolian Tour, or alternatively to leave<br />
earlier in the morning and to go to Omsk, with a one-day visit with hotel<br />
night stop there. The second option seems to me to be a better one.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmeLuTgkvI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/WwvoYJAi9kA/s1600/P1080977.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmeLuTgkvI/AAAAAAAAAQ4/WwvoYJAi9kA/s320/P1080977.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Olympics theme was very much in evidence.</div><br />
Our train to Xi’an left in the evening. Like most domestic trains in<br />
Beijing, this one left from Beijing West Station instead of the central station<br />
where we arrived from Mongolia. The place was huge…the biggest train<br />
station I have ever seen. At least I think so. I have been to Tokyo Station<br />
and to Shinjuku Station, and they might be as big, but I doubt it. There was<br />
<br />
a crush of people, and each track had a very long passenger train standing on<br />
it. Gary was very helpful in getting us and our luggage through the chaos<br />
and onto the train.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-39847387340478032252011-02-02T10:04:00.000-08:002011-02-02T10:04:58.531-08:00August 30 Beijing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmWCzQSloI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/L-KEVfLnt2Q/s1600/P1080551.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmWCzQSloI/AAAAAAAAAQQ/L-KEVfLnt2Q/s400/P1080551.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Bruce stands at the center of the Chinese universe.</div><br />
Today was a rainy day in Beijing. The Xiao Xi’ang breakfast buffet<br />
was very nice, and certainly a cut above what we have had in Russia and<br />
Mongolia. It was the city sightseeing day. Our tour included the Temple of<br />
Heaven, as well as the surrounding park and gardens. That was beautiful.<br />
After we left the Temple of Heaven, we went to Tiananmen Square which<br />
was still decorated for the Olympics. They were picking up the potted<br />
flowers while we were there. Unfortunately, the National Museum of China<br />
and the Museum of the Chinese Revolution were closed. As it turned out,<br />
we would not have had time to visit them anyway. We learned that the area<br />
just to the east of the current square is the Legation Quarter established after<br />
the Boxer Rebellion. The Beijing Railway Museum is located kitty-corner<br />
to the southeast corner of Tiananmen Square. (Here, I am making notes for<br />
a future, return visit.) We all went through the Mao Zedong mausoleum,<br />
and that concluded the official part of our tour.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmVcNdm2uI/AAAAAAAAAQA/7CgAShOgGR0/s1600/P1080486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmVcNdm2uI/AAAAAAAAAQA/7CgAShOgGR0/s320/P1080486.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmV4ek9-zI/AAAAAAAAAQM/NB9AmmBvYSU/s1600/P1080550.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmV4ek9-zI/AAAAAAAAAQM/NB9AmmBvYSU/s320/P1080550.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmVu_vtq9I/AAAAAAAAAQI/R2hHDB2NKwU/s1600/P1080505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmVu_vtq9I/AAAAAAAAAQI/R2hHDB2NKwU/s320/P1080505.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmVlaM6yPI/AAAAAAAAAQE/zo87iDEwHm0/s1600/P1080488.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmVlaM6yPI/AAAAAAAAAQE/zo87iDEwHm0/s320/P1080488.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Scenes of the Temple of Heaven.</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Penny and I went on to the Forbidden City, which took the rest of the<br />
afternoon. It was as magnificent as the Temple of Heaven is beautiful. We<br />
entered from the south, and the palaces and courtyards seemed never to end.<br />
There were several pavilions displaying artifacts and history. One of these<br />
was about palace officials. It was interesting to see the comments in English<br />
about Yuan Shi-kai. It listed the governorships he had held and outlined his<br />
career in the imperial military. There was no mention whatsoever of his role<br />
in the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty in 1911! Not one word!<br />
<br />
We had a nice lunch inside the palace, where we ran into Karina and<br />
Andreas. They were enjoying Beijing, and Andreas assured us that he was<br />
now cooperating with the program. We toured around some more, saw the<br />
exhibit about Pu-yi (the last emperor) and then left via the north gate some<br />
time after three in the afternoon.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmW6o9SN9I/AAAAAAAAAQo/dOvxf68Ly6E/s1600/P1080995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmW6o9SN9I/AAAAAAAAAQo/dOvxf68Ly6E/s320/P1080995.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Penny’s back was hurting her very much and we also needed to use<br />
the hotel internet access. So we skipped Jingshan Park and went back. We<br />
got our essential business taken care of, and then our group rejoined as we<br />
went to see the Beijing Acrobatic Troupe perform. Alaine did another great<br />
job in procuring the tickets for that show. They were difficult to come by,<br />
although there were plenty of empty seats available at the theater itself.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmWuldCElI/AAAAAAAAAQk/tcTUOtT1zXQ/s1600/P1080789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmWuldCElI/AAAAAAAAAQk/tcTUOtT1zXQ/s320/P1080789.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmWmmYNBnI/AAAAAAAAAQg/dE77nBtPzuY/s1600/P1080751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmWmmYNBnI/AAAAAAAAAQg/dE77nBtPzuY/s320/P1080751.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-8213703901839065342011-02-02T09:25:00.000-08:002011-03-08T07:56:54.471-08:00August 29 To Beijing Central Station<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmRZbXrBLI/AAAAAAAAAP0/i-MZ4mH528o/s1600/P1080431.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmRZbXrBLI/AAAAAAAAAP0/i-MZ4mH528o/s320/P1080431.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Our train made up the schedule by going faster. The ride on the<br />
Chinese rails was much smoother than in either Mongolia or in Russia.<br />
Penny, Butch, and I went up the restaurant car and had breakfast. The<br />
Mongolian car had come off at the border and was replaced by a Chinese<br />
one. The restaurant cars are concession-operated in both countries, just the<br />
same as on the Russian railways. We each had a two-egg omelette, tea or<br />
coffee, and two slices of bread with butter and jam for Y125 (yuan), or about four<br />
dollars. Butch found a fifty Euro note under an adjoining table. I spent a<br />
good while chatting with Andreas and Karina. As we approached Beijing,<br />
the scenery became quite dramatic. Penny and I took pictures of the gorges<br />
<br />
<br />
and reservoirs. We arrived in Beijing on time and were collected by Gary,<br />
our local guide. We freshened up after checking into the Xiao Xi’ang Hotel.<br />
Penny and I went out to stroll around, get some money from an ATM, and to<br />
buy some water.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmRCeuhCSI/AAAAAAAAAPs/TgTZfq8Yas8/s1600/P1080347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmRCeuhCSI/AAAAAAAAAPs/TgTZfq8Yas8/s320/P1080347.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmRlA_XRKI/AAAAAAAAAP4/JgFojTsNxBg/s1600/P1080447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmRlA_XRKI/AAAAAAAAAP4/JgFojTsNxBg/s320/P1080447.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Beijing Central was the first station we had seen in a long time where the platform comes up to the train door.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ji6yGvyMlds/TXZRPLaHPCI/AAAAAAAAAV0/va0OChQuZVc/s1600/Peking+Duck+in+Beijing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Ji6yGvyMlds/TXZRPLaHPCI/AAAAAAAAAV0/va0OChQuZVc/s320/Peking+Duck+in+Beijing.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Back: Bruce, Penny, Butch Sly. Middle: Phil Godfrey, Peta Godfrey, Alaine Green, Jadon Lavington. Front: Di Godfrey, Dellie Sly.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>We went with Alaine to her favorite restaurant, a perfect sort of<br />
neighborhood place that served superb Peking Duck. (What else?) Butch<br />
and Del went, of course, and we were joined by Phil, Dy, Jaden, and Peda.<br />
Afterward, Alaine took us on a tour of some of the few remaining hutongs in<br />
Beijing. There were once 30,000 of them. Three thousand currently exist,<br />
and that number is dwindling fast as the government knocks them down.<br />
These are neighborhoods of interconnecting alleys, each one self-sufficient,<br />
or at least formerly so. Lots of evening street activity there! People were<br />
certainly friendly, but I could not escape the discomforting feeling that we<br />
were on a sort of zoo tour.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-62741678321213130562011-02-02T09:10:00.000-08:002011-02-02T09:10:18.828-08:00August 28 Across the Gobi Desert<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNaTpTnUI/AAAAAAAAAPY/AICczl794Bk/s1600/P1080298.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNaTpTnUI/AAAAAAAAAPY/AICczl794Bk/s320/P1080298.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We left the hotel at 0700 and returned to the Ulan Bataar railway<br />
station. We arrived so early that we just sat in the mini-van for about a<br />
quarter-hour, and then we boarded train number 24 for Beijing. This was a<br />
Mongolian Railways train. The equipment was quite new, and of Chinese<br />
construction. Most Mongolian Railways equipment appears to be of Russian<br />
manufacture. We had a nice room for two with a head shared with the<br />
adjacent cabin. That one turned out to be occupied by Alex and Susan from<br />
the other Sundowners group. We had been their neighbors on other trains.<br />
So we had quite a nice ride.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNPtAuCBI/AAAAAAAAAPU/QZYianJdjGk/s1600/P1080296.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNPtAuCBI/AAAAAAAAAPU/QZYianJdjGk/s320/P1080296.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Butch and Del’s experience was not so good. Their two big suitcases<br />
did not fit into their four-berth cabin, and so Alaine had them place the bags<br />
into the shower compartment at the end of their coach. Within half an hour<br />
after departure, they found their suitcases soaking wet! They believe that<br />
one of the Mongolian povodnitsas hosed them down in retaliation for putting<br />
them there. I think it is possible that at the end of the previous trip, the<br />
shower was left open at the faucet. When the water system was energized as<br />
part of the train startup procedure, water immediately flooded out and<br />
doused everything in the shower compartment. My answer to this question<br />
would perhaps shift some of the blame to Alaine for having them put there<br />
in the first place. It seems that Butch went ballistic and upbraided the<br />
povodnitsa, who simply shut the door in his face and waved him away.<br />
Either way, it seems to me that they should never have put their things in<br />
there without first checking that it was okay. The shower compartment is<br />
for the common use of that carriage’s passengers. (Recall that Butch and<br />
Del did not buy the rail supplement.) There is no baggage area in any of<br />
these carriages at the end of the car.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNmctyfQI/AAAAAAAAAPc/2iSmR361jdk/s1600/P1080301.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNmctyfQI/AAAAAAAAAPc/2iSmR361jdk/s320/P1080301.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This Mongolian Railways car was the most comfortable one of our entire trip.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNv5Dy3bI/AAAAAAAAAPg/D17MZfmL0RQ/s1600/P1080307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNv5Dy3bI/AAAAAAAAAPg/D17MZfmL0RQ/s320/P1080307.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Mix of traditional gers with fixed buildings on the outskirts of Ulan Bataar.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmN5vs2MjI/AAAAAAAAAPk/G9vNyRVtXGQ/s1600/P1080333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmN5vs2MjI/AAAAAAAAAPk/G9vNyRVtXGQ/s320/P1080333.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The town of Choir once had a Soviet air base.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmODVwIzOI/AAAAAAAAAPo/2rVzVv2wwL4/s1600/P1080342.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmODVwIzOI/AAAAAAAAAPo/2rVzVv2wwL4/s320/P1080342.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Gobi Desert scene.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
The trip was quite scenic, and the terrain changed as we approached<br />
the Gobi Desert. We arrived late into Zanin-Uud, the Mongolian border<br />
station. We all cleared Mongolian passport and customs without difficulty.<br />
The train proceeded across to Erlian on the Chinese side of the border. The<br />
station building was brightly lighted and martial music played on the station<br />
loudspeakers as our Mongolian train arrived at the platform. The customs<br />
check here was rather more thorough. We were asked about each book that<br />
we were carrying.<br />
<br />
Some of our fellow travelers had a rougher time. Andreas Schick and<br />
Karina von Baer are a Chilean couple of German descent. Andreas had a<br />
book by <i>Der Spiegel</i> about China: current day statutes, some history, some<br />
customs, and the like. The customs official spotted a picture of the Dalai<br />
Lama. He confiscated the book and conducted a brief interrogation of<br />
Andreas. The official left and then a more senior one arrived. This new<br />
inspector spoke better English. He told Andreas that he and Karina were the<br />
“first Chile people” he had ever met at Erlian. Andreas continued to object<br />
to the confiscation of his book and argued that it only praised China. The<br />
official replied forcefully to Andreas, “You are not cooperating with the<br />
program!” Andreas later said that at that point the light came on, and he<br />
backed down with an apology. Karina said it was because she kicked him<br />
under the table at that point. We all had to remain in our rooms until the car<br />
cleared immigration and customs, and at this point we were cleared.<br />
<br />
I could no longer resist temptation and so I peeked into<br />
the passageway in the direction of Andreas and Karina. The official looked<br />
at me and I quickly pulled my head back into the room. He walked by and<br />
asked me, “Are you enjoying your trip?” I replied, “Yes, very much, thank<br />
you.!” He left the car. We later learned from Andreas and Karina that he<br />
took them off the train to an office for an interview with yet a third official.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNEJzNByI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/2VhkGvvZYto/s1600/Andreas+and+Karina.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmNEJzNByI/AAAAAAAAAPQ/2VhkGvvZYto/s320/Andreas+and+Karina.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Andreas and Karina on the Great Wall.</div><br />
At Erlian, the train had to be converted from Russian gauge to<br />
standard gauge. This refers to the spacing between the right and left tracks<br />
and wheels. Each car was jacked up on hydraulic lifts, and the bogeys<br />
detached and replaced with different ones. The crew was quicker than<br />
average about this, we were told, and the passport officials came back<br />
aboard during the bogey change to return our passports. Alaine tells us that<br />
neither is normally the case. But we made up about thirty of the sixty<br />
minutes that we were behind schedule, and we moved off into China.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-1021675207996975502011-02-02T08:51:00.000-08:002011-02-02T08:51:04.602-08:00August 26-27 Ger Camp in the Terelj Forest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIKg2IZdI/AAAAAAAAAO8/-JvXHPsrpXg/s1600/P1080179.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIKg2IZdI/AAAAAAAAAO8/-JvXHPsrpXg/s400/P1080179.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<br />
We left in the morning from Ulan Bataar and headed out to Terelj<br />
National Forest. There are several ger (or “guru”) camps out there. One of<br />
them even has putting greens, but fortunately that one was not ours. There<br />
are a few tourist attractions by the side of the road, including an eagle which<br />
Penny held on her arm. That bird had very large talons. There were also<br />
camels to ride, but we were in a bit of a hurry and so I just had Penny take a<br />
picture of me petting one. The sleeping gers in our camp had solid floors<br />
and the traditional felt tent superstructure, but with electric lights. There<br />
was a three-ger restaurant attached to a kitchen building, and a shower and<br />
head facility in another building.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHRJYU0QI/AAAAAAAAAOo/TnJ7p6_4FPs/s1600/P1080085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHRJYU0QI/AAAAAAAAAOo/TnJ7p6_4FPs/s320/P1080085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHcnVHMBI/AAAAAAAAAOs/oFJoCxsgvZM/s1600/P1080108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHcnVHMBI/AAAAAAAAAOs/oFJoCxsgvZM/s320/P1080108.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The terrain looked just like the big sky country of Wyoming and<br />
Montana, which is to say it was just beautiful. We walked along the hills<br />
and valleys and enjoyed the scenery. Penny realized one of her longest-held<br />
wishes and rode a Mongolian pony. Sundowners had arranged with a nomad<br />
family for us to visit a “real” ger. It was occupied by a woman and her<br />
grandson. Grandpa was off in the pasture with their animals. A few years<br />
ago, they got solar power and so they had satellite television, lights, and a<br />
refrigerator-freezer. They split their year between this summer ger and a<br />
winter one a few miles away. Their children all live in the city, and the<br />
couple themselves are retired schoolteachers who were born in the<br />
countryside but who worked in Ulan Bataar.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHz3I6JDI/AAAAAAAAAO0/5x1WnYqPMSk/s1600/P1080133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHz3I6JDI/AAAAAAAAAO0/5x1WnYqPMSk/s320/P1080133.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHo4run2I/AAAAAAAAAOw/K_zpuCTu534/s1600/P1080132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmHo4run2I/AAAAAAAAAOw/K_zpuCTu534/s320/P1080132.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmH95ohDzI/AAAAAAAAAO4/w9NxmzTfdx4/s1600/P1080164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmH95ohDzI/AAAAAAAAAO4/w9NxmzTfdx4/s320/P1080164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
<br />
After dinner, we watched an interesting BBC video about Chinggis<br />
Khan. We turned into our gers for a night’s rest, warmed by heavy blankets<br />
and a fairly reliable wood-burning stove.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIYcQwdiI/AAAAAAAAAPA/idntx3qZiDE/s1600/P1080267.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIYcQwdiI/AAAAAAAAAPA/idntx3qZiDE/s320/P1080267.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is a long walk up to Arpayala Datsan...</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIkLPvqHI/AAAAAAAAAPE/bBgrRQ-EvUw/s1600/P1080276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIkLPvqHI/AAAAAAAAAPE/bBgrRQ-EvUw/s320/P1080276.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> but the view is worth it!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIvy0ul5I/AAAAAAAAAPI/IPGeN9aVn9s/s1600/P1080285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmIvy0ul5I/AAAAAAAAAPI/IPGeN9aVn9s/s320/P1080285.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A concept of punishment for doing bad things in this life.</div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmI81yZ2ZI/AAAAAAAAAPM/3_ucbYCfues/s1600/P1080290.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmI81yZ2ZI/AAAAAAAAAPM/3_ucbYCfues/s320/P1080290.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Arpayala Datsan is a sizeable complex.</div><br />
The next morning was clear and warm. We visited Turtle Rock and a<br />
meditation point at Arpayala Datsan with a stunning view of the valley below. Then we<br />
returned to Ulan Bataar and the Hotel Kharaa. We did a large bit of laundry<br />
which we hung out in the room. We went back to B.D.’s Mongolian<br />
Barbecue to prepare for tomorrow’s overnight rail journey to Beijing. It was<br />
good fun and good food at B.D.’s.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-12257540601510067092011-02-02T08:27:00.000-08:002011-02-02T08:29:42.229-08:00August 25 Ulan Bataar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmEcBF49sI/AAAAAAAAAOk/behFf39Gzq8/s1600/P1080299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmEcBF49sI/AAAAAAAAAOk/behFf39Gzq8/s400/P1080299.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ulan Bataar Railway Station.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
We had a bit of confusion in the morning. There was some<br />
misunderstanding on our part about the arrival time in Ulan Bataar. We<br />
thought it would be around ten in the morning, but it turned out to be at six!<br />
Once the train leaves Russia, it no longer runs on Moscow time. But, we<br />
packed up and disembarked just fine. Fortunately, there was no confusion<br />
on the part of our local guide, and she was at the station with the mini-van<br />
driver to meet us on time. We went to the Hotel Kharaa to freshen up before<br />
the city tour. To our surprise, they shifted us downstairs to a nicer room<br />
after breakfast. The first one was just fine, if a bit small. The second one<br />
had a very nice bathroom. The internet connection was good and we were<br />
able to catch up on our e-mail and send everyone our first progress report<br />
since leaving Moscow.<br />
<br />
Coming into Ulan Bataar (called Urga in pre-Communist days) on the<br />
train from the north, one sees row after row of Stalinist style apartment<br />
blocks. Lots of them around the city in general, and they leave no doubt as<br />
to the identity of their urban planning consultant.<br />
<br />
Our tour began with the Gandantegchinlen Datsan, a large lamaist<br />
monastery. It is not the biggest one in Mongolia, as there is a much bigger<br />
one in the western part of the country. It is much bigger than the Ivolginsk<br />
Datsan in Ulan Ude. A large part of it was rebuilt after the fall of<br />
communism, including the large standing Buddha inside one of the temples.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmDf5VXDzI/AAAAAAAAAOM/7cGEFQEduLU/s1600/P1070476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmDf5VXDzI/AAAAAAAAAOM/7cGEFQEduLU/s320/P1070476.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmDpLucvsI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/spRIbHDfCHo/s1600/P1070483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmDpLucvsI/AAAAAAAAAOQ/spRIbHDfCHo/s320/P1070483.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Our tour continued on to the Mongolian history museum, which<br />
shows the country’s history in chronological fashion. Needless to say,<br />
Chinggis, Ogadei, and Kubilai Khan get a great deal of coverage. There was<br />
a great diorama of Karakorum, the Mongol capital. The basis for the city<br />
layout as shown, was not clear, but it was believable at first glance and it<br />
certainly conveyed the grandeur and nature of Karakorum. There were<br />
examples of Mongol armor and weapons, as well as a collection of<br />
mannequins dressed in the costumes of the various local ethnic groups of<br />
Mongolia. The years as part of Qing dynasty China are also covered in the<br />
displays, as is the period of domination by Russian Communists. That’s<br />
why the Cyrillic letters are now used to write the Mongolian language.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmDyFA22SI/AAAAAAAAAOU/BbnKrLVDn1k/s1600/P1070612.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmDyFA22SI/AAAAAAAAAOU/BbnKrLVDn1k/s320/P1070612.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmD7A1m0TI/AAAAAAAAAOY/fJxvxFzYMiw/s1600/P1070613.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmD7A1m0TI/AAAAAAAAAOY/fJxvxFzYMiw/s320/P1070613.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
<br />
Our guide, Aggie, is a university languages student. Her English is excellent<br />
and she has been studying for only four years. Her pronunciation is just<br />
superb.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
In the evening, we went to a folkloric music and dance show.<br />
Mongolian throat singing was a new experience to our ears! We bought the<br />
DVD of the performing troupe. Afterwards, the five of us all went to B.D.’s<br />
Mongolian Barbecue for a great meal. Free refills on fountain sodas!<br />
Haven’t seen that for a couple of months!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmEGMmFlmI/AAAAAAAAAOc/CWnF65yp5l0/s1600/P1070795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUmEGMmFlmI/AAAAAAAAAOc/CWnF65yp5l0/s320/P1070795.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Sukhbataar Square</div><br />
Another great day on the grand tour! Tomorrow, we go out to the ger<br />
camp.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6881762398065975112.post-15936348459471047682011-02-02T08:07:00.000-08:002011-02-02T08:07:22.049-08:00August 24 Ulan Ude to Ulan Bataar<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_UetuuWI/AAAAAAAAAN0/cA6hybAkr6c/s1600/P1070447.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_UetuuWI/AAAAAAAAAN0/cA6hybAkr6c/s320/P1070447.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Naushkii station.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><br />
Happy Birthday, Charlie!<br />
<br />
We left the Hotel Geser at 0600 sharp for the train station. The train<br />
from Irkutsk arrived early, and so we got right on board. We got lucky on<br />
the coach assignment. The second class coach was either brand new or<br />
extensively renovated. It belonged to the RZD, the Russian railway system.<br />
The next coach back was a Mongolian railways one and it was much older.<br />
The trip down to Naushkii was quick and we arrived at just about one in the<br />
afternoon.<br />
<br />
Our povodnitsa told us that the passport people would not be along<br />
until four o’clock. So we had three hours to kill. Had she not been able to<br />
tell us that, we would have waited in the train all that time. So we went out<br />
to the produkti store which had a reasonable supply of cold beer. We were<br />
accompanied by an Australian family of four traveling in the next cabin, and<br />
a group of young Frenchmen who seemed to be a (somewhat) organized tour<br />
group. More about these other folks later, but we had assistance in the<br />
important and pressing matter of beer consumption.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_fkhwnvI/AAAAAAAAAN4/GBaC6Mc-uS0/s1600/P1070448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_fkhwnvI/AAAAAAAAAN4/GBaC6Mc-uS0/s320/P1070448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_pT8yLAI/AAAAAAAAAN8/EHAWhKPLQZA/s1600/P1070454.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_pT8yLAI/AAAAAAAAAN8/EHAWhKPLQZA/s320/P1070454.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Not much to Naushkii at all.</div><br />
Naushkii seems to exist only as a border crossing. We had to turn<br />
over our passports, along with the entry document, and also to prepare a<br />
Russian customs document in duplicate. We were fortunate to receive one<br />
copy back, because Alaine tells us that the Mongolian customs people will<br />
check the one given to them against the Russian one. No fewer than eight<br />
uniformed officials were required to process the passports of two passenger<br />
cars!<br />
<br />
A train came northbound from Ulan Bataar, and the Mongolian<br />
passengers were celebrating the two gold medals, in boxing and judo, their<br />
national team had won in the Beijing Olympics. Their first Olympic medals<br />
ever, I believe. Two of them ran up and down the largely empty platform<br />
waving Mongolian flags. We all toasted Mongolia, and everyone was happy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_zlxMxzI/AAAAAAAAAOA/JCSRpBgjpa4/s1600/P1070462.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_zlxMxzI/AAAAAAAAAOA/JCSRpBgjpa4/s320/P1070462.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
After we had been on the station for a while, a few more new<br />
acquaintances drifted into the group. Two women traveling together, one a<br />
Londoner and the other from Nelson, New Zealand. Also, there was an<br />
American woman from Roseburg, Oregon, and her Swiss husband. The<br />
Australian family consisted of a couple around our age, their daughter, and<br />
their son-in-law: Phil, Di, Jaden, and Peda. The parents, Phil and Di, had<br />
made the Trans-Siberian trip in 1979, and they said there had been many<br />
changes in the intervening years.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_-wXAQHI/AAAAAAAAAOE/Lv76NPmFNQo/s1600/P1070472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_PuA0_xnjsIE/TUl_-wXAQHI/AAAAAAAAAOE/Lv76NPmFNQo/s320/P1070472.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Once we were cleared out of Russia, several bottles of vodka appeared<br />
and a big party followed. At the Mongolian border checkpoint, the coach’s<br />
toilets were closed but an Australian passenger went in anyway. Somehow,<br />
the border guard knew. One came aboard and hassled the povodnitsa. Much<br />
hand-waving and some excited conversation, all resulting in a one-hundred<br />
ruble find paid to the border guard. Our train then proceeded on to<br />
Sukhbataar where we cleared Mongolian passport control and customs<br />
without incident. It did seem to take a long time, perhaps because we had to<br />
remain aboard the train. The Sukhbataar train station has two duty-free<br />
shops, with neon-lighted signs…in English! A moot point as far as Penny<br />
and I were concerned. Several individuals came through the cars trying to<br />
change money, but we did not take “advantage” of that either.<br />
We then made a night journey to Ulan Bataar while the party<br />
continued in the car.Brucehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10543292702746876430noreply@blogger.com1