Blogs from Henan, China, Asia - page 7

Today we got up and had our breakfast again in the hotel. We checked out but had the hotel hold our bags since we were going out for the day. We got a cab to the Longman Caves. It was a long hot walk from the cab drop off to the ticket booth. Vendors line the sidewalks to sell you things on the way in and out. You don't realize the size of the caves and statues until you see them for yourself. The time and energy it must have taken to carve all of these buddha's in the walls and create the statues was impressive. It was great to see the statues up close but the best view was from the other bank of the river. You can leave the side with the most caves, ... read more

The high speed train (Gxxxx) from Xi'an North to Luoyang-Longmen is now available many times a day, starting 7am. The distance of 400km took about 1.5 hours. The fast train last stop is in Zhengzhou. The new few month-old fast-train station is located about 10km north from the Xi'an north gate (do not get mix up with the Xi'an North gate train station). The last train returns around 7pm. Schedules may change, so it is best to check it out at the station or website at: http://www.cnvol.com/ We took a taxi (rmb 32) from Xi'an city to the North train station. You could do so with public buses which required a bus change at WeiYang Lu (but not advisable as this is too troublesome and time consuming). We were there on a Sunday 8.20am and had ... read more

Knowing how much of a Dunkin' Donuts coffee addict I am, most of you will not be surprised at the first part of this entry. I first heard that there was a DD here in Zhengzhou a few weeks ago. It is in a part of town I was unfamiliar with so I knew it would be an adventure to find. I’m sure I could have had another one of the foreigners send me the address in Chinese and just taken a cab to it but where’s the fun in that? Anyway, walking there would allow me to justify eating the donuts.  On a free afternoon this week, I decided I would set out to find this elusive DD. I got the basic directions (“go to this intersection and it’s like right there”) from another ... read more

I had gotten here at roughly 6:00 am. the train ride was rather uneventful. Although it was at night. i had left the train station and proceeded to my hotel. The Ramada Inn, although, a little expensive but worth it. When i stayed at the Ramada Inn ZhengZhou the cost of a single night was about 450 rmb per night. The rooms were well prepared, and most of the people that worked here spoke relatively good English. They were very polite, and knowledgeable about the area. Also they have a Western style restaurant in the hotel. Which was very good and reasonably priced. The information you would need at the Ramada Inn, Weisan Road and Jingliu Road ZhengZhou, Henan, China tel (86 371) 69170666 email: sales@ramadaplaza-zhengzhou.com In Zhengzhou and surrounding area, there are many things to ... read more

Went to the registration and notary office this morning. Everything is now official. Well, we still need to wait for the final document from the notary office, but the documents have been signed and she is officially ours. She slept for ten hours last night. Awoke at 6:00am and drank a bottle for Mommy and her brothers to see. I later took her down stairs and gave her two and a half bowls of congee. I started with half a bowl to see how she ate it. She cried when I stopped giving it to her. This was the first time I saw crying with tears. She fussed a few times in the middle of the night. But that was just a fuss and back to sleep. This was a "you took away my happiness" cry. ... read more