Blogs from Xining, China, Asia

We fly to Hefei today. I am so looking forward to seeing the area were Lizzie was born 13 years ago. We fly out about 3:30 PM. Check out time is not till 1 PM at the hotel and it is an hour ride to the airport. I got up early and went for a nice walk. I think I will make getting up early and going for a walk a regular routine here in China. Latter in the day it gets very hot and crowded with people. Yesterday I also found an excellent web site on travel to Hefei. The city has sure grown. Lizzie’s orphanage was in a town 20-30 miles outside of Hefei on the northshore of Chao Lake. It is now part of the City. http://wikitravel.org/en/Hefei... read more

We are getting ready to take the train to Xi’an. We had a bit of a change in plans. We take the train to Xi’an but then we are staying at a hotel. Rather than take the overnight, 3rd class (hard seat) from Xi’an to Hefei we will fly. Ah, back to civilized sightseeing, thank you, Kate. I don’t know if she is changing plans for Lizzie or I but thank you Kate. The fast train is unbelievable. They post your speed on a constant basis. We were usually going 295 kph (196 mph) but got up to 305 kph. The thing I most enjoyed was seeing the country side. It is beautiful. I think the track for the new fast train was built so it did not go through too many cities and the train ... read more

I woke up gasping for breath in the middle of the night, as the train went through a pass at about 5,500 meters high. Why couldn’t I have gone to a beach I chanted to myself a few times before I slipped off my rails of consciousness. Not much happened today… as most of it was spent on the train. We got out at the main train station in the afternoon, met our guide and headed for the hotel. Attempted to walk around, but the lack of oxygen was really getting to me and to my head. So I did what was most appropriate, and slept. However, there were two things that caught my attention in between arriving and heading for bed, all the while fighting for the most basic of human privileges… breathing. Firstly, witnessing ... read more

I woke up at least 5 times last night, with a feeling in-between jet lag and what I’d imagine being choked to death is like. So not the most pleasant of starts to my day. I must mention that I heard as an urban myth by my Beijing pengyou’s that Tibetans don’t shower…. I rubbished these suggestions until to my surprise had full confirmation from a Tibetan that they can go a week without showering, and even highly recommended I don’t shower. I had a nice bath that morning. Tibet has this rule that any foreign tourist needs to have a guide to accompany them ‘everywhere’. Not really my style…. But was fine. Anyhow, we headed to the Potala palace this morning. To my understanding it’s this palace where all these kings and Dali Lamas used ... read more

家庭和朋友 (Family & Friends), Buddhist Buddies: Winding through the streets of Xining, we weaved in and out of traffic. Our morning run seemed to be a novelty among the locals as stares and an occasional thumbs up came from passing cabbies, which reminded me of the marathon. Along its route, the village kids had either lined the streets, with hands outstretched, awaiting a high five or had taken it upon themselves to race along side the contestants before returning to their friends. However, today we headed away from the city streets and into the surrounding hills for some fresh air. We meandered; skirting fences lined with razor wire, until we had happened upon someplace that I am sure was off limits to us. Following the contour of the hills, we searched for the best view of ... read more