http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Diane-and-Dave-Z/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Diane and Dave Z en-us Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:36:02 +0000 Fri, 13 Nov 2009 07:36:02 +0000 Our last day we went up to the Drepung Monastery. It dates back to the early 15th century 1416 and was at one time the largest Tibetan community. Drepung means rice heap. Up until the Cultural Revolution they estimate 7000 monks lived in residence. There are a lot less now. We took the public bus through some very poor neighborhoods. Down some dirt roads and area that reminded me very much of th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-255619.html Hello to you all I have not been on in a while. I apologize. China has made access to some websites really difficult over the last year Travelblog.org being one. Now that the Olympics are over they seem to be backing off a bit. I hope soon that I will bring myself back up to date with all my travels. I did want to put this on tonight. It is something that for me needs to be remembered.. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Shanghai/blog-353870.html I removed my last 3 blogs out of respect and solidarity and to maintain access to my account. I had difficulty yesterday trying to get in. When things settle in the western region I will put them back on.AND NOW that I am back in the US I can publish the Tibet blogs and some others. It was frustrating having my internet work sporadically. I don't think I was ever targeted specifically b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/blog-256502.html One other thing about these blogs...there were places where pictures were not permitted or you had to pay for the privilege. I did this in one temple but not all. The next day we had a tour guide to take us to Jokhang Temple and Potala Palace. In the book I was reading Joyce Rupp wrote about feeling called to the the hum of humanity. The book is called Walk in a Relaxed Manner Life Lesso http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-244427.html We spent 3 days in Lhasa. Thank God for dating digital pictures. It is helping me keep track of what we did when. One thing to let you know about the next few blogs. I did take pictures of monks praying but tried to be very respectful. I will be very selective about the pictures that I am putting on the internet out of respect for their privacy.We stayed at home that was set up as a hostel. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-244418.html Before I completely forget my Christmas vacation here is a description of the last days...These few days were pretty tame and not much happened but here it is.After giving the sailing charter company another 12 hours to charge us for damages we hired a taxi to take us to Phuket town. We stayed at the Sino Hotel. It had a Chinese theme. The room had two single beds but it had a lot of room a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-128620.html Okay I'm back After several months of family emergencies and such I finally am making myself sit down and blog the past 6 months.This is the first installment of a very multipart blog. This way I get myself up to date with you all. We did a lot in 10 days. It will be easier to break up it up.I got to go to TIBET When Mario asked me I could not say no. I did not think I would ever g http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tibet/Lhasa/blog-244403.html China really only has 3 holidayshellipNational Day which is part of the Fall Festival. Chinese New Year and Spring Festival and May 1 with a week off for the May holiday. For May holiday we chose to leave China and go to the Phillipines. ldquoAnother beach holiday rdquo you say Of course. It is Dave. He must have water or he goes nuts. Dave has been wanting to go the Phillipines since http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Philippines/Manila/blog-175326.html First thank you all for your patience. I have been a bit behind in updating my blog. I seem to let other things get in the way of writinghelliplike going out with friends coffees shopping and of course travelling. I have resolved this week to bring everything up to date. The other problem has been the pictures. For now I think the problem is resolved. Now if I can figure out how to get yo http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/The-Great-Wall/blog-175314.html Chinese New Year This is entry is going to be very simplehellipChinese New Year in Northern China is about getting together with family making dumplings jiao zi watching TV and shooting off mass quantities of fireworks. I honestly thought there would be parades and celebrating in the streets. I think there was something in Beijing but I am not sure. We went to a local pub that advertise http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tianjin/blog-162363.html My apologies. In the interest of getting something on the blog I have decided to skip putting pictures on for now. I will get them on in a few weeks. Now for some party info Most of you know ushellipWe canrsquot go a year without our Mardi Gras party. I know I promised a few of you that I would come back to have it in Austin. I apologize. We thought it might be fun to share our Mardi Gra http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tianjin/blog-162355.html These all seem long but they are stories that are worth telling. That is why they are broken down into relatively bite size chunks. We arrive in Phuket several hours prior to our acquisition time of the boat. No problem wersquoll go and see if it is ready and if not just hang out until it is. They were ready for us only problem was that we could not leave until the next morning because o http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-123648.html I was concerned about getting into the Grand Palace and was not sure if the clothes I had were appropriate enough. I put on the one pair of travel pants I had and we went in search of a shirt. I ended up buying a yellow polo shirt with the seal of the king on it. There is significance there. It is a favorite color of the king. Most people in Thailand wear yellow on Mondays in honor of the ki http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-123633.html Once again I apologize for not getting this out sooner. There was an earthquake in Taiwan around Christmas time that caused havok for the internet in Asia. In Tianjin we are just now being able to get onto the internet beyond google email. I have not been able to access this site for awhile. That is also why there are not pictures. It is taking too long. Hopefully in another week or so I' http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-114598.html I thought I put this one earlier this week. Sorry. New Yearrsquos Eve morning we flew back to Bangkok. After much waiting because of large crowds we finally checked into our room at the Asia Hotel. It is located near a newer area of Bangkok. We settled in and then went out to wander around a little bit. I found some great shoes to wear with my dress and to got a pedicure. We came back to the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/Central-Thailand/Bangkok/blog-162367.html I am having trouble accessing my gmail account. I just want to let everyone know that we survived our sailing in the Sea of Phuket and the Andaman Sea. I look forward to sharing pictures and our exciting story. I will email more details as soon as I can find a faster computer. Merry Christmas and Happy New YearLove to allDave and DianePS. It is later in the day and I am still having trou http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Thailand/South-West-Thailand/Phuket/blog-113901.html We have been told that Hainan Island is the ldquoHawaii of China.rdquo I have never been to Hawaii but based on the pictures I would have to say it is pretty darn close. We stayed at the Sanya Marriott Resort. It was a great recommendation from several friends. Our week pretty much consisted of laying on the beach or by the pool and ordering lunch. After learning to live in an urban setti http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hainan/blog-111250.html Before we run off on another adventure here is the latest. I have been delinquent in my blogs but only because the life of an expat wife is sooooooo hectic. All those craft days coffees and the inevitable shopping take so much time So here is the latest from Dave and Dianehellip.I am going to break this into two blogs. I can put more pictures and it is easier to read.We felt that we http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangdong/Shenzhen/blog-111238.html I am back after a length of time. We actually have had some internet problems the last couple of day. I have actually been waiting for good stuff. I am going to start with something that happened about a month ago. It is called the Melbourne Cup. It really is the Australians excuse to take a 35 minute horse race and turn it into an all day party. Here is an excerpt that describes the race. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Tianjin/blog-109785.html Today is Joy's Birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAYWe have been in our apartment for 3 weeks now. It is nice to be settled in. I admit that we are a bit spoiled. Part of our lease includes housekeeping services and breakfast. The housekeeper comes 2x per week. It really is nice because of the dust. In fact she just left and there is still a layer of dust on everything. Breakfast is nice for Dave. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-100165.html