Blogs from Shenyang, Liaoning, China, Asia - page 4

We said goodbye to our very wonderful hosts in Tiefa this morning and headed to Shenyang. It was pouring, a good day to tour the BMW plant here. We had lunch at a Korean Restaurwnant, we didn't order DOG, but we did have Squid, which was excellent. The hotel is the Sheraton, Nora Mike and I were tired so we decided after checking into this fabulous hotel to take advantage of the pool, hot tub and wonderful spa facilities. We spent all afternoon pampering ourselves. This is the way to travel, thank you ANDREW and HAIHONG!! We are off to Xian tomorrow. I am not sure of internet connections, so it may be a while before I blog, or you might get a note from me tomorrow. I just don't know what to expect. Nora, Mike ... read more

A monster storm hit Beijing last night, all Tiefa got was a lot of rain. We woke to rain, so Tai Chi was cancelled. Instead, Nora, Mike and I ventured to the Farmers market to try our hand at shopping. We purchased melons, lichee, nectarines and stuffed donuts. We gathered a crowd, everyone helping to translate what we wanted and how much. I think we made the merchant's day! We forgot that the guide books said to bargain, thank goodness, because Haihong said that they all gave us a good price. The lack of tourists makes a difference, the merchants do not get jaded.... read more

We attended a festival celebrating the companies achievement of one year without a death. Americans are rare in this part of the world, so they immediately came up and asked us to sign the banner. Trust me, we are no Angelina and Brad, but we were asked anyway. They also asked us for pictures with them. These dancers are all over 55, that is worth celebrating too! The male chorus was wonderful!... read more

The first leg of our journey begins here in Tiefa, a small city of 250,000 close to Shenyang in the north. We are the guests of HaiHong's sister Haiyan and her family. The Chinese show extraordinary hospitality. The apartment is quite comfortable and Hayan's cooking is wonderful with liberal use of fresh vegetables even for breakfast. We have had surprising little jet lag and have been starting our days around 5:30 accompanying HaiHong to TaiChi. There are several groups that meet each morning. Many people are in their 60's and perform with ease. We stood in the back row trying to iimitate the moves. On the second morning we were given a few pointers and it was a little easier, although to them we no doubt looked ridiculous. We were treated to a demonstration by the ... read more

Don't ever take two sleeping pills! The upside is the plane ride goes really, really fast, the down side is it is hard to get out of the stooper! We left Chicago, stopped in Washington, Dulles, for breakfast. I will never diss a travel lounge again, what luzury to sit in the VIP lounge. We flew over Canada, saw ice floating in St. George Bay, and then sleep. Arrived Bejing on time and caught a plane to Shenyang. We were picked up there by van with a friend of Haihong and arrived to alovely apartment. The first day was busy, Tai Chi in the morning, breakfast with the best friend mushrooms ever, a hike up to the temple, lunch,and nap and then .... a massage by 3 blind masseuse, I kid you not, it was wonderful. ... read more