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Dubai Airport
Yes, we went to Dubai! Not the wisest thing we did. FF Miles, possibility of seeing the Strohmeyer's and the Entertainment options were the main attraction. We flew right over Bangalore while coming back from China.The blog is still a work in progress and was published by mistake. Sorry!!
We went to China during Maya's Spring break. We had originally planned on going to Egypt but the Arab spring of 2011 happened and later we settled on Japan but the tsunami happened. When we changed to China we feared something bad would happen but luckily we made the trip. We visited 4 places - Beijing, Xian, Guilin and Shanghai. We took Emirates which was not a very smart thing to do. We flew right over Bangalore on the way back 😊).
Beijing (Peking)
Our first stop was Beijing which is the capital of China and is directly controlled by the central government. The capital has shifted many times in the past. Beijing has been the capital since the Mongol Yuan dynasty. It is surrounded by water on one side and mountains on three others which is very good Feng Shui. This according to our guide has been the reason for making it the capital. The Mandarin spoken here (Beijinghua) is considered to be the standard. There were 5 dynasties that ruled Beijing, Ming (Han) being the only Chinese one. Some of
Company loyalty!
Pays the bills after all the others were Mongols (yuan), Qing (Manchu- also known as the last dynasty).
We were told that there are far fewer bicycles in Beijing today when compared to a few years ago when there were more factories in Beijing. Because of the pollution level, the factories were relocated and people bought cars to commute to work.
We were put up in a hotel called King Wing, which was clean, and in the city center. However, the hotel staff did not speak any English at all. Also, Sunjay who needs cereal or oatmeal in the morning, was not happy with the breakfast spread since it was an all Chinese menu.
The weather did not cooperate with us in Beijing. It was rainy and cold. I also had a case of food poisoning here. Fortunately, it cleared up within a day. I also made the mistake of trusting our guide completely and not referring to the Lonely Planet book at all. On the bright side, we met our friend Namee and her family and ate at an awesome restaurant called Da Dong (the Peking duck here is to die for). Namee's family is moving to Beijing in May. They had their first
visitors even before moving to Beijing!!
Our first stop was
Temple of Heaven. The Ming and Qing emperors came here to pray for a good harvest. Built in the 14th century during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (constructed the Forbidden City as well), it is decorated in blue, the color of Heavens.
Next stop,
Tiananmen Square , the biggest city square in the world covering 44 hectares. The local guides could not answer questions about the protest since this information was censored from the local people.
Forbidden City was next on the list. The Imperial Palace built in the 14th century for 24 emperors during the Ming and Qing dynasties was off limits to everyone except the emperor, empress, concubines, eunuchs and children of the emperor (boys below the age of 12). Records were kept of every little detail such as the emperor's meal, costume and the concubine visited. It's good to be the emperor!! Forbidden City was built in 15 years with a million workers. The name plates are both in Mandarin (wider characters) and Manchu.
The Hutong (pronounced Hutung) tour in a cycle rickshaw was next on the itinerary. The narrow streets of old Beijing are
known as Hutongs. Houses are very old, passed on from generation to generation and follow strict guidelines for any changes to the exterior. Beijing is in the form of a rectangle which is divided into smaller rectangles. It is very expensive to live in the inner rectangles. Hutong is in the 2nd inner rectangle. We visited a family of a man who is a Kung Fu instructor. His son teaches Kung Fu in Houston, TX . The people that live here displayed their status based on the number of beams the above the front door. They could only be even numbers though since odd numbers were reserved for kings and high ranking officials. I liked the idea of the exercise equipment installed for elders here and in Children's parks.
Lunch was at a
Noodle house that our guide claimed was safe to eat in. I was not so sure about this when I saw the contents I had eaten in the sink a few hours later. I don't think it was the noodle house though since both Maya and Sunjay were okay, but I cannot stand the sight of noodles in a bowl anymore.
On to
Dr. Tea's Tea House. This was a bad idea. It was one of those tours where we are coerced into buying something after a dog and pony show. The good thing about this visit was our introduction to the Pee-pee boy who pees when the water is at the correct temperature for tea. There was also a tea cup which changes color from black to red when hot tea is poured in. We were also introduced to Puer tea which comes from a tree unlike other teas that come from bush. The benefits of each variety of tea was discussed. The one that sounded most useful was the Jasmine tea which reduces dark eye circles!
I spent the rest of the day in bed and in the toilet while Sunjay spent a good, frustrating 10 minutes trying to explain what he wanted to order from the kitchen downstairs.
Day 2, first stop,
Great Wall of China . I still did not feel like eating anything. However, the fruits sold by the farmers along the way were hard to resist. They were sweet and juicy. I was on a (mostly) fruit diet for a couple of days after this. The Great Wall
was built for protection. The Qin dynasty rulers connected the different sections of the wall. The current one was rebuilt by the Ming dynasty. Many people died during the construction of the Great Wall.
Next stop,
Ming Tombs where the Ming Emperors, Empresses and select concubines were buried. The drive to and from the Great Wall of China was very nice.
We met Namee that evening and watched an excellent, acrobat show. Dinner was at a place called Da Dong's which had excellent, lean roast duck. We found out later that it had won many laurels and was also recommended by the Lonely Planet guide. Namee took Maya under her wing and shared some of her experiences of living in a metro. We took the subway and went to the area that Namee's family plans to live in. After seeing many monuments and dealing with our hotel staff that didn't speak any English at all, we got to see a very different side of Beijing. It was a really nice evening.
Xian
Day 1, arrival in Xian (Shaanxi province), the home of the Terracota Warriors. Xian, especially the area near the Big Goose Pagoda
Temple of Heaven
This is where the emperor prayed. Only the emperor was allowed to use the number 9. So there are multiples of 9 stones in each circle reminded of the Tanasbourne area in PDX. The city was preparing for a flower show. There were pictures of the city flower (pomegranate flower baby) everywhere. It is a University town with close to one hundred universities.
The hotel, Le Garden, was far away from the city center, not close to any good restaurants and we did not have a very helpful guide. However, I am grateful to our guide for teaching us an easy way to remember the important dynasties in Xian - Qin (pronounced chin, responsible for the Terracota warriors) the Han (remember Hand - silk route) and Tang (pronounced Tongue - spread Buddhism). Our guide was raised on a farm outside Xian. She said they had little to eat and so everything tasted delicious as a kid. She could not stand looking at sweet potatoes since that is all they ate all winter long, three times a day. She asked me if I was a teacher based on the number of underlined and highlighted books I was passing to her about the things we wanted to do in Xian.
After checking in to the hotel, we visited the
Shaanxi History Museum which houses artifacts from the dynasties
that ruled Shaanxi. This is where we first got a glimpse of the Terracota Warriors. Each warrior has different characteristics and so it is believed that the warriors were based on real people.
Second stop in Xian,
Big Goose Pagoda built in 652 during the Tang dynasty. Xuanzang, came to India from China and the Emperor built the Big Goose Pagoda based on the Pagoda Xuanzang saw in India. It was used to house the relics brought back from India by the monk. His journey has been fictionalized in the "Journey to the West" in which the monk is protected by 3 disciples, the best loved of them being a monkey.
Our guide would not take us to the restaurant recommended by the travel book. We walked a long distance and went to a place frequented by tourists, but with unpalatable food since we didn't know what we were ordering. They had an English menu which meant that the names of the Chinese dishes were spelled in English. We didn't know what we were ordering. So our record streak of eating at Mc Donald's continued. We bought some fruits on the way back and they were delicious.
Day 2 in Xian, first stop
City wall which was built in 1370 during the Ming dynasty and is surrounded by a moat. It is now possible to walk the entire area of the city wall since most of it is restored.
Next stop, the
Terracota Warriors. who were discovered by 5 peasants in 1974 while digging a well. Two of the farmers are now dead. The other three are available in different parts of the park making money by signing books and getting photographed.
The controversial Emperor Qin Shi Huang who unified China built the Terracota army since he was terrified of spirits in the after life. No two soldier's faces are alike. Farmers had to leave their homes and work here for 6 months of the year building the warriors. So when the Emperor died, the angry farmers set it fire on fire. So the wooden chariots buried with the warriors have not survived.
There are 3 pits, the smallest one being the meeting room of high ranking officials, the other two for the army itself. the different ranks are identified by the hair style and armor. Archeologists are still working in the three pits piecing together the giant Temple of Heaven
Burning of paper money puzzle. It is expected that close to 8000 warriors will be unearthed here.
On the way back, we got conned into a factory visit to the making of modern day terracota warriors. These days overseas Chinese like to buy these and have them shipped to places like Canada, US and Australia. You can have life size terracota warrior made with your own likeness. We should have known better than to fall for this. We realized later that we could have bargained with them. So we have a few overpriced items from this visit. It is amazing how over priced these items are. As an experiment, I bargained (uncomfortably) with a sales lady in a shop outside the Terracota Warriors. She started off by telling me that the price of a very simple bracelet was 200Yuan. By the end, she was willing to give me 4 for 20 Yuan!!!???? I cannot possibly be that good a bargainer.
We wanted to see the Muslim Quarter in Xian which was recommended by Lonely Planet. We really enjoyed this. Hui (Chinese Muslims) have lived in this area since Ming dynasty although Muslims have been in China since 7th century. Some of the people
that lived here covered their heads. The market was filled with barbecue and spice places. It was very colorful.
After the visit to the Muslim quarter we went to watch the Tang dynasty show with Dim Sum Dinner. The show was nice with colorful costumes and live music. The theme was history of China through dances. It was no doubt a tourist trap but it was still tastefully done and enjoyable. Dim sum was okay since our choice was somewhat limited because we eschewed from eating beef and pork. Chicken is still not frequently found in Chinese menus.
Guilin
We said goodbye to Xian and headed south towards the Vietnamese border to Guilin. Guilin is the jumping off point to cruise along the tranquil Li river. It is famous for the outer worldly landscape of the river flowing between lime stone hills. If you have ever been to a Chinese restaurant, you are bound to have seen a painting of a tranquil landscape of the Li river flowing along these lime stone hills. There are 4 types of landscapes in Guilin - rivers, mountains, caves and lime stones. There are 2 rivers (Oleandar and Li) and
4 lakes. Streets are lined with Osmanthus trees.
Our hotel Guilin Plaza was not bad compared to Xian. Our guide Sharon was the best. She was unusually tall for a Chinese woman, was very helpful and went the extra mile.
Our first stop in Guilin was the Reed Flute Cave. The cave houses fantastic stalactites and stalagmites. There is a separate entrance for foreigners. The reeds at the entrance of the cave are used to make musical instruments.
Our next stop was Elephant Trunk Hill. This is a rock formation along the Li river that is shaped like an elephant's head with a trunk. There is a park around it. Many bamboo rafts take you on a ride to see the Elephant Hill which we skipped. However, we noticed that many of the rafts had Cormorants tied to them. Apparently, they are trained to catch fish.
After an excellent claypot lunch on West Street, we took a ski lift up the tallest hill behind the city to get a view of the city and the limestone mountains surrounding it.
We got dressed in the evening to go see the Sun and Moon Twin Pagoda which
is in the center of a lake with a walkway around it. The pagodas are connected by an underwater bridge. The sun pagoda is made of copper and has a lift. We waited for the sun to set to see the change of colors of the pagoda and the illumination. There was a nice Chinese orchestra playing music nearby which made the evening sounds lovely and yet again Sunjay commented about the lack of such places in India. We were warned to keep our belongings safe several times in this area.
Sharon joined us for dinner at an okay restaurant where we had Kung Pao chicken. We could see the several mile long Friday marke from here and also had a good view of the river. Shopping had been an issue in Beijing and Xian because of our inability to communicate with the staff. This problem was solved in Guilin since Sharon was patient and kind enough to hang out with us as we shopped.
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