http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Asia , China , Hubei en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:05:25 BST Sat, 26 Jul 2008 21:05:25 BST No it is never a dull moment hereI have been seeing an eye doctor at the local hospital. We went to the hospital the other day for a followup eye exam for myself. We also decided it would be a good opportunity to get our eyes examined and buy glasses which we both desperately need. It is easy since all this takes place in the same general area of the hospital including purchasing glasses. Whe http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-292221.html Hetvegere 2 napos kirandulast terveztunk a Pekingtol kb. 100 kmnyire delnyugatra talalhato Shi Duhoz. Annyi szepet hallottunk mar errol a helyrol hogy muszaj volt megneznunk A nev jelentese tiz gazlo ugyanis az itt kanyargo Juma folyo 10 termeszetes kikotot formalt a Taihang hegy volgyeben. A terulet oriasi 300 nkm. Odajutas termeszetesen 917es busszal... Persze most is rosszra szal http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/blog-291071.html On a bit of a whim we decided to stop off at the townmountain of Wudang Shan on the way to Xi'an. It proved to be a rather difficult and stressful diversion. Firstly the convenient travel arrangements which I'd researched were scuppered by the recent earthquake in Sichuan province the line we needed was being used as a supply route so passenger services were reduced. We thus arrived at 1 in http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/blog-287594.html We safely arrived in Yichang a fairly nondescript town with what seemed a disproportionately large Red Light District we were looking for an internet cafe honest. Our plan was to book a Yangzi river cruise to Chongqing but in the end we opted for one which would return us to Yichang. The main reason was that this was considerably cheaper by a factor of three in fact. The disadvantage was th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Yichang/Three-Gorges-Dam/blog-287588.html Its hard to believe we have only been here four months. It's feeling more like home every week and we have done so much without even leaving Wuhan during that period. Next year we will have a whole country to explore now that we have settled in and are feeling more comfortable getting around.In two weeks we will be heading back to Canada for our summer traveling adventure. We leave here on Jun http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-286897.html Rumour has it that there are people reading this blog that will be arriving in Wuhan in the new school year. I thought I would give a little rundown on the cost of living here for their information as well as those friends and family who are keeping in touch with our adventures. I have made references to various things over the last few months in previous entries but will try to cover a few are http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-283909.html Our final Saturday night show of Robin Hood was once again a great success apart from a few last minute technical difficulties. Most students were present and many parents as well. The afternoon began with singing performances reading theatre and short skits by the winners of the English Arts Festival. The play was the grand finale of the afternoon. The kids did great and the parents were i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-283264.html Once upon a time we decided to treat our students to an American cultural experience outside of the classroom. We decided to throw them a prom. After watching Back to the Future one night we settled on ldquoEnchantment Under the Seardquo as our theme and we went from there. Alexes painted a backdrop Dan put together a kickinrsquo playlist and we had a student help us book a large room http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/Huazhong-University/blog-282552.html We have both been so busy this past week I haven't had time to write much in here. I thought I better make a small update for those who are going through blog withdrawal.Last Friday night we hosted our first party at our apartment. We had about twenty people and put on a little spread for everyone. I bought a BBQ and set it up on the balcony. It wouldn't be that much of a deal anywhere else bu http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-281004.html Air raid sirens and car train and ship horns wailed and people stood for three minutes in silence on Monday to mourn the tens of thousands who died in last week's earthquake. The moment of grief was observed across the vast country of 1.3 billion people at 228 pm exactly a week after the devastating magnitude8 quake struck Sichuan. The death toll is estimated to be above 50000. The silen http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-278137.html We thought a bit of a female perspective might be a good idea so I took the camera with me for one of my times walking around Wuhan getting lost and finding new and interesting places. I did however begin my trek on the bus. I started my morning at 9 am by getting on our normal bus the 586. I hopped off at the wonderful little park with the windmill that was in earlier entries. This left me w http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-276915.html The numbers are still mounting quickly as more villages and towns near the epicenter are being reached. I have been getting a lot of my information from the cbc website which is interesting. Of course it is all over the papers here and the television but all most of us here can understand is the pictures. I think we probably know about as much as anyone else in the world does at the moment.Th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-276020.html Now the news is starting to emerge we realize how bad yesterday's quake was. We didn't feel anything here at the school but other friends at home in their apartments at the time have mentioned that a little rocking and rolling did occur. Interestingly enough the students at the huge public school across the street did really notice it...go figure. And apparently parts of Wuhan were shaking en http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-275625.html This is just a short note to say to everyone that the earthquake today had no effect on our immediate area as far as we know. I did not even take it seriously until Pat called a few minutes ago to see if we are OK I thought this would be the fastest way to inform everyone in one step. Will keep you posted. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-275424.html Today Saturday found me heading off to Mo Mountain with 7 others from our group of teachers and friends. The group probably would have been bigger if it hadn't been for a birthday party we all attended last night till 1 in the morning Nancy decided to stay at home and send me off on my own for a change. Mo Mountain is on the side of East Lake and one of the top scenic destination parks in th http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-274770.html This is one entry I probably shouldn't publish but what the heck I spent the day recovering from a night out on the town experiencing some of Wuhan's nightlife for the first time since we have been here. The place never sleeps as far as I can tell so farWe spent the day walking along one of the main streets fairly close to where we live. I'm sure we walked several miles and the new dinner pla http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-273826.html Three Gorges trip for May break. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Yichang/blog-273712.html Some photos around Wuhan. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-273685.html Well I am feeling guilty for not posting anything for awhile. We are in the middle of a week off school but Nancy was writing her endofterm final paper for the course she is taking at the moment so we haven't done much except truck around the area and vegetate. After getting up at 600am to start teaching at 730 for the last few months I haven't minded having a good break Not to mention i http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-273019.html We had a long weekend at the beginning of May for Labor Day. We decided to go on another ldquofamily vacationrdquo to get out of Wuhan and see another part of China. The final verdict was to go check out the Three Gorges Dam. For those of you unfamiliar with the Three Gorges project Irsquoll give a brief introduction. The dam itself is one of Chinarsquos most expansive and expensive http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Yichang/Three-Gorges-Dam/blog-272646.html As much as we would like to travel to other locations in China we are saving our money for our summer trip across Canada knowing we will have lots of opportunities in the next two or three years to travel to other parts of this country and other nearby Asian locations. Wuhan is quite central and most places we would like to go to are two hours or less by air. Xian the location of the uncovere http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-270330.html Well we spent the night in Yichang after our cruise up the Yangtze but it was fairly uneventful and not that interesting...until we left Yichang on a sleeper bus to Xi'an. First we get on and think it may be a pretty good deal since it's not too crowded and we each get a nifty little lounge type seatbed bedding included. The timing was better than the train as well so it seemed like a no b http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Yichang/Three-Gorges-Dam/blog-268636.html The thunder is crashing the lightning is flashing and the rain is pouring down outside as I write this. The pattern for this last week has been very hot humid and beautiful during the day with torrential downpours in the later afternoon and early evening. The plant life outside the apartment is taking on a new life as it soaks up the heat and huge amounts of water every afternoon. More color http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-267961.html Sitting by the picturesque East Lake of Wuhan the 70hectare Wuhan Botanical Garden was established in 1956 for the study of plant resources in central China and water plants in inland China. The garden is divided into a dozen or so special gardens for the cultivation of 4000 or so kinds of plants. It is the largest center in central China for the preservation of plants. It only took about a ha http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-265604.html This week Maple Leaf School held its first recruitment ldquoshow and tellrdquo for parents interested in enrolling their children in the school for the upcoming year. A small busload of us traveled to yet another part of the city to a nice hotelconference center for the presentation. Craig the principal his wife Wendy ESL director myself and two other teachers were the staff members http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-265500.html Several people have asked me how China differs from where we were. Well in my after dinner reflecting mood here goes.Definitely the first thing that stands out is the air quality. Let's get that over with at the beginning. We have got used to it but it is always there. The sun is rarely bright when it is low in the sky clear blue skies are few and far between but they do occur on occasion. http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-262639.html Has it really been over five weeks since we moved here It has seemed like a flurry of activity since the day we set foot in our new home. This past weekend was a throwback to the land across the pond. We shopped for a few more household items at WalMart had coffee and snacks at Starbucks lunch at KFC and pizza delivered a couple of nights ago. So I guess we are not that far from North Americ http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-261552.html it has definitely been a weird few days.when i wrote the last entry we'd just played our gigs in chengdu and were headed to changsha the next day. alas that was not to be cos we missed the train due to an unusual amount of traffic on the roads. luckily there was a ticketlady who spoke english and let us change the tickets to the next day free of charge.as we drove to the train station the c http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-259158.html Today found us travelling into another part of Wuhan to visit the Guiyuan Budhist Temple. Covering an area of about 46900 square meters approx. 55812 square yards Guiyuan Buddhist Temple is situated in the west section of Hanyang district in Wuhan City. Being one of the four best temples in Wuhan the temple which was originally established in 1658 in the Qing Dynasty 16441911 was init http://www.travelblog.org/Asia/China/Hubei/Wuhan/blog-258575.html