Blogs from Henan, China, Asia - page 5

the lovly village is famous for its fully man made tunal at the cliff... read more

We are celebrating the first month of life for Baby Eris and a banquet is on the calendar. Well actually it’s a little less than a month so Julie could attend before our departure. The baby is officially presented to the extended family and friends at a party. When we arrive, Julie is given a beautiful silk scarf and she wears it for the rest of the event. Round tables are decorated and already have appetizers available for all the arriving guests. A table at the front door is dressed with bright red cloth and littered with packs of cigarettes for the male invitees. Monetary gifts in lucky red envelopes are being offered from every guest that arrives. Xiao Xiao has great patience letting her baby be passed around in the crowd of friends and family. ... read more

We are tourists again as we make our way to Longmen Grottoes. Chinese Grandfather borrows his brother’s car to take us. We meet our newest interpreter, Sherry, and depart on our expedition. Longman Grottoes is one of those places that make you realize how ancient the Chinese culture is. Thousands of sculptures are carved into a giant rock hillside. It’s saddening to see the obvious defacing that has occurred over the years. It’s clear to see which vandalism was from foreigners stealing or the Cultural Revolution just simply disfiguring out of simultaneous rage and courage to make change. To climb the stairs to see many of the sculptures also makes you realize how hard it must have been to traverse the rock in ancient times to get to the works of art that were in progress. ... read more

We have received several questions about the apartment where Julie and I are staying. This post is dedicated to Chris and Xiao Xiao's apartment. Xiao Xiao and baby Eris are staying at her father's (Chinese Grandfather). Chris is back and forth staying with Xiao Xiao and sometimes sleeping here. Julie and I have been sleeping in the master bedroom where there is a space heater. The building has central heat with radiators throughout. However the tenants and owners have not been able to agree to share the expense of turning on the system. Chris has two dogs so we also have to be mindful of which areas of the apartment are doggie-proof. Our travelers’ bags and items are littered throughout the picture of the master bedroom. Usually all those items wouldn’t be on the floor for ... read more

We are planning and preparing for our journey to Xi'an. After sleeping in again (yeah!), Chris takes us for lunch. This place has a great menu for us since there are large, color pictures. Chris orders his favorite pork and pepper dish. We also get some stir-fried cabbage and a clear noodle dish. Julie gets her regular craving for ice cream. We make a quick visit to McDonald's. I'm not an ice cream fan, but maybe I will get an apple pie. Even though the burgers are exact, the fries look perfect, apple pies are not available. There's pineapple and taro only. We head to baby central to get our mandatory Eris time. We (well mostly Chris) work on an itinerary for our jam-packed touring day. It’s a tight schedule and we are hoping there's enough ... read more