http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Pat-and-Jim/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Pat and Jim en-us Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:18:03 +0000 Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:18:03 +0000 Last Day in ChinaNever underestimate the entertainment value of a middleaged white woman taking her first ride on a motorbike in a crowded intersection of downtown Yangshuo. A crowd quickly gathered to witness my maiden voyage as I struggled coordinating the hand throttle and hand brakes and dodging the unlucky pedestrians who wandered into my path. The crowd shouted words of encouragement and http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-270086.html YangshuoThe river boats carrying tourists on the famous Li River Cruise from Guillin to Yangshuo pass just beneath our deck every morning between 1030 and noon. A cacophony of boat horns of varying pitch and volume announce their arrival at the Yangshou dock just a mile downriver from us. I am reminded of sitting near the Ballard Bridge one Sunday afternoon when the large lock emptied out it http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Guangxi/Yangshuo/blog-269273.html Leaving LijiangWe arrived in Lijiang in the dark but left this morning at 7 AM on a warm day with the sun just starting to rise above the mountains. This is a beautiful spot with nearperfect weather and I can see why the Naxi settled in this mountain valley some 500 years ago. The kids were all heading off to school when we walked out of town with our baggage in tow no cars allowed in the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-268599.html What's stuck in my mind after a week away from Beijing....Wudaokou station on the subway line lies astride Chengfu Road a broad and busy boulevard that stretches through the sprawl of northwest suburban Beijing. Much of the area is taken up with universities 8 or 9 of them one after the other with what must be hundreds of thousands of students. Departing the Wudaokou station you can walk in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/Wudaokou/blog-268325.html We have settled in to this bipolar town and are loving it. The up side is the ancient architecture good food alpine scenery warm weatherand the glimpses into everyday life of the Naxi. The down side is the daily arrival of the tour buses from which quite literally thousands of people are disgorged and descend upon town like bees to the hive. EVERY ONE has a camera phone and photo op http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-267911.html We arrived in Lijiang late last night after a short flight from Chendu. Lijiang is in southwest China near Tibet and the town has an elevation of 7800 ft. It is nestled in a bowl surrounded by mountains. The highest peak nearby Snow Jade Mountain reaches well past 15000 feet and you can take a chair lift ride up to 1400 feet. The travel guide says local vendors will sell you oxygen up http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-267365.html The Coffee BuzzJim and I finally succumbed to our urge for a cup of joe and ended up in the local Starbucks. This shop in the heart of Chengdu is indistinguishable from my local Mercer Island version. Same warm dcor same pretty glass pendant lights same tall grande and vente. Funny how the earthy color of paint on the wall and that wooden menu board can conjure up a bit of security in a http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Chengdu/blog-267355.html ChengduWe are now in the city of Chengdu in Sichuan Province. This is a ldquomoderaterdquo size town of nearly 9 million people. Chengdu has the look and feel of a western industrial cityhellip.a welcome change from the frenetic pace and minutetominute challenge of holding on to life limb and sanity in Beijing. We are staying a few blocks from the center of town near the city squar http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Sichuan/Chengdu/blog-266592.html Xi'anTerra Cotta WarriorsOn Sunday Jim Doug and I visited the Terra Cotta Warriors archeologic site near Xirsquoan. Here in 1974 a couple of farmers digging a well discovered the 2000yearold remains of an entire Chinese army division sculpted in clay and carefully arranged in appropriate formations. Each figure is different and accurately represents the uniforms weapons chariots http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-266579.html Doug Jim and I are flying from Beijing to Xirsquoan aboard Shanghai Airlines. Itrsquos been a busy 3 days in Beijinghellipamazing how the time flies.On Wednesday we visited the Summer Palace a vast enclave that was built in the late 1700rsquos during the Ming Empire for the pleasure of the emperor. It covers about 3 sq km and includes a large lake an opera house Buddhist temple m http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-265671.html It's Tuesday morning the beginning of our 3rd day in Beijing. With Doug as our travel guide and translator we have been to several of the mustsee sights already The Forbidden City forboding Tian'amen Square lovely at night some upscale hutongs. We're also experiencing the life of a young teacher in the city chinese breakfast of stirfried veggies porridge and steamed soy milk the http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Beijing/blog-264169.html Here we are in the wilds of ....San Francisco. We have an overnight layover here before taking off for Tokyo and Bejiing in the morning.Just testing out the site and seeing if we can upload photos.We elected NOT to do China Town tonight....saving this experience for the real thing.So we walked the waterfront from the Embarcadaro to Fisherman's Wharf teetered up and down the hills on the cable c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/blog-262833.html