Blogs from Chongqing, Chongqing, China, Asia
March 23rd 2012
parker It was our second day in Chongqing today. Today we went to visit Fuling, where Payton spent her first 13 months. It was a long car ride. When we got there we asked if we could see the gate keeper because Payton really liked him when she was a baby. He remembered her, and seemed very glad to see her. After that the director took us to the old orphanage.Now it is a kindergarden school. We then took the director back to the new orphanage and when we were leaving we saw the gatekeeper again. We asked him some questions about Payton but I will let Payton tell that part of the story. He said he went for a walk in hopes that he would see Payton again. We then headed back to Chongqing and ... read more
March 22nd 2012
Hey everyone it's me(again)!! I read all of the comments, I really liked the =) Can't wait to see everyone when I get back and all of my pets :) Today was our first day in Chongqing. We left the Victoria Katarina and we went to learn a litttle bit of the history of Chongqing. The Quin(Chin) dinesty was around in the 17 centery(I think). Quin was the king. He didn't rule all of China, but a small part of China. An empror ruled all of China. There is a difference. We saw some figures on how the people lived. The rich people made medicine and gave free education to the kids. They also helped them with life, they gave them money too. Also during world war 2 people had burried porcelain and other precious belongings ... read more
March 22nd 2012
Parker Today we got up and went for breakfast. We are in Chongqing today. It was time for us to leave the cruise. When we walked off the boat there was a band playing. Our guide Jerry then took us to an old home where people used to live. We took lots of pictures. After that we went to the Chongqing zoo. There were lots of animals there and the ones I liked the most were the sharks, the alligator, the black panther and the panda. The mother panda accidentally pushed her baby off the platform. We saw two pandas eating bamboo. There were lots of other animals. We then went for a hotpot lunch. Me and Payton had lots of tofu. After lunch we bought icecream. We then went to People's Square. There were lots ... read more
October 3rd 2011
The wedding was more wonderful than we expected for so many reasons. The bride was more than beautiful, in both of her dresses. Jacob, handsome and confident in his dragon coat, made the perfect groom. The young attendants were a great support team for the couple, and we really enjoyed getting to know them. We also met many members of Lynn's extended family from Chengdu and from a small town in northern Sichuan province. And Kathy and I were so proud to be in our Chinese outfits up front in seats of honor with the bride's parents. Jacob pulled off his song to open the ceremony without a hitch, singing into the mike held by the wedding MC as he walked down the aisle, strumming a guitar, to retrieve Lynn from her father. Our performance of ... read more
October 3rd 2011
We spent the last four days on a ‘luxurious’, ‘all expenses paid’, ‘peaceful cruise’ down the Yangzi river with some ‘extremely courteous’ fellow passengers. Ok so yes the boat and chaotic manner in which all activities were undertaken on board did feel like being in our very own ‘Holidays from Hell’ TV episode but all in all we had a great time! The first day consisted of us getting a bus from our hostel in Chengdu at an extremely early hour, spending a good period of time not really knowing what was going on as we hauled our heavy bags through a grid locked and manic port area in Chongqing and then finally at about 8 O’clock finding our quarters aboard. Once we had paid for access all area VIP passes for the boat we spent ... read more
An evening with our Chongqing family
Published: September 30th 2011Asia » China » Chongqing » Chongqing
September 30th 2011
It's raining and we are at various stages of fighting colds, hoping we will all be healthy for the wedding on Sunday. Still, the great experiences continue. Last night we were invited to Lynn's parents' home for dinner and to rehearse one part of the wedding ceremony. Kathy and I had enjoyed their hospitality before when Jacob was staying with them last summer in their apartment on the third floor of a 32-story high rise in a the northern part of the city (see “Arrival in Chongqing” post from last year's trip). They are wonderfully friendly, open people, and they clearly love our son. On the wall in the apartment entryway we saw our photo, taken with them when we were there last summer, along with pictures of Lynn and her parents over the years and ... read more
September 29th 2011
We managed to persuade Jim to abandon the pleasures of the subway in time to board the train from Beijing to Chongqing. The masses in China travel by train and tickets are not available online or through a central system. Therefore we needed Jacob with his connections to score us "soft sleeper" tickets which are the equivalent of first class in this classless society. We walked by the standard waiting room at the train station, jammed with people sprawled over huge bags and packages held together with string and tape, to find the special waiting room for people with tickets like us. This is communism at its best. Our train compartment had four berths, not especially soft but not too hard either, a place for luggage, and a little table complete with a cloth carnation in ... read more
September 29th 2011
Chongqing tea market. After the vows are exchanged, toasts made and the lives of Jacob and Lynn joined until 'death do they part', we will be heading out to explore the sacred tea mountains, the birthplace and only home to Pu'er tea, and the beginning of the ancient tea horse road to Tibet. There can be no better place to start our journey than the tea markets of Chongqing. We begin here to explore the pleasures of Pu'er tea and the rituals sorrounding it. Jacob and Lynn take us to the area of the city devoted to tea. We pass shop after shop dedicated to tea and the implements used to prepare and serve it. We are looking for a shop that specializes in Pu'er; a unique fermented tea grown only in Yunnan along the Burmese ... read more
git along (ENGLISH TITLE: train travel in china)
Published: September 28th 2011Asia » China » Chongqing » Chongqing
September 28th 2011
So far we've survived our travels without any major snafus. Not got off at the wrong stop. Not been separated getting on and off. Not been hopelessly lost or even anything remotely like that. It's been good. Not to say that we haven't been anxious. We have. Day one at the Beijing Airport. Giant place with tons of people and not a lot of English spoken. Karen, Kathy and I struggle to keep up with Kit. He leads us to the correct platform. Up whooshes the train. We rush in. Of course, the subway car is already full and our entrance makes it even more full. We are really crammed in. But, we're here. We're in China and we're on our way. We have quite a ways to go before coming to the stop for ... read more
July 6th 2011
Hi All, So our journey to South-West China has begun and our first stop is here in Chongqing and another ex-capital of China ticked off the list. We can't have many left to visit! We left Shaoyang Monday luchtime on a sleeper coach. First time we've travelled on one of those. It was more comfortable than a normal coach although the bunk was Chinese size ie small. A 13 hour journey from Shaoyang to Chongqing. The first of many bus trips to come. We've enjoyed our short stay here. Well I say we, Dany had to spend a day in bed yesterday with a dodgy stomach. Yesterday flying solo I went to Ciqikou Ancient Town. It was OK but very touristy with the buildings down the main drag being heavily restored and all the shops selling ... read more
