Blogs from China, Asia - page 2317

Asia » China » Sichuan » Chengdu October 14th 2005

Right folks, The last time we left off we were heading on a train overnight to chengdu, that was about a week ago. Or was it 10 days? No Idea anymore, just faint recollections of temples and steps. You'll soon learn why. Sitting in an internet cafe trying to kill 3hrs before our bus leaves. (so You's know what that means) Already been on a bus today for 5hrs, China is huge, and starting to piss me off. Why do they have buses that leave at 7 in the eve and take 8hrs? Leaving you at your next destination at some ungodly hr of the morning when nothing is open and no-one around? Whats the point? Anyway, our train from xi'an to Chengdu did much the same, it left late in the evening on ... read more

Leaping Tiger, Hidden Midget

Asia » China » Yunnan » Dali October 14th 2005

Taking a snooze on grandma's back

longwayhome

Feet blistered and scabbing....three days through the gorge ended in success! On a wet, gray morning we left Margo's cafe - bellies full of muesli, fruit and yogurt and a spring in our steps. Gerry recruited 3 British travelers to join us in our trek the night before. Clair, a 28 year old failed entrepreneur (in the nightclub business), and Dave and Andy, two young guys who just completed a 3 month expedition through Borneo, completed our 5 man hiking crew. Our packs weighed down with strange Chinese snacks and water, we tackled the gorge ferociously...errmmm..everyone but me. As it turned out I was the weak link; struggling behind the team trying my hardest to catch my breath as we ascended. Yes, I said ascended..up, up, up we climbed into the clouds. We watched the villages ... read more

Shigatse

Asia » China » Tibet » Friendship Highway October 14th 2005

E&M at Gyantse

Edmichel

On our return from EBC we spent several days in Shigatse which allowed us to tour the town and enjoy the monastery. We also spent a day in Gyantse which had a beautiful fort and chorten.... read more

Mt Everest

Asia » China » Tibet » Friendship Highway October 13th 2005

Mt Everest view from the Monastery

Edmichel

I don't even know where to start! We have spent over an hour just reviewing our 250 photos, now narrowed down to about 50. I feel as though this should just be photos as I don't know words can do it justice. I don't know that I had an expectation, but we were at the monastery for 24 hours and it is mesmerizing to just stare at this awesome mountain! The view from the monastery shows just the mamouth size of the mountain. 5 miles further in you are at Base camp which is just a series of Army size tents, most selling tea and then some people who have choosen to camp there. The path into the mountain continues to be flat and barren, but they do not let you walk any further. At base ... read more

From Lhasa to Kathmandu

Asia » China » Tibet » Friendship Highway October 13th 2005

Praying Wheel

GigiyOmar

WARNING: THIS IS A LOOONG ONE 13 days ago Omar and I left Shanghai decided to have a different vacation; a vacation where we will have to wake up early in the morning to jump into a dusty 4X4, drive for hours only to find a tiny village once in a while where we would have lunch (usually rice and some sort of curry), feel cold even under layers and layers of t-shirts and sweaters, walk and hike, have headaches because of the altitude sickness and sleep in rooms crowded with people we did not even know. While in China, we had decided not to miss this once in a lifetime adventure of driving from Lhasa to Kathmandu, we would stop at the Everest Case Camp to spend one night, hike for hours, drive for more ... read more

Ming Tombs/Sacred Way/Great Wall

Asia » China » Beijing October 13th 2005

Bunny on the Great Wall

serendipity

Well at least I got one day done and now since I know I won't be able to get my act together to truly document the rest of the trip... here's what everybody wants anyways - the pictures from the trip out to the Great Wall. ... read more

First Day in China

Asia » China » Shanghai October 13th 2005

Hangzhou Johnny

Hi Friends - After lots of delays, many cheers and a few tears, I’ve arrived in Shanghai. Right now, I am sitting among the staff at Y+ in our office where the director, the head of teachers, the program manager, the marketing manager and sales manager are each sitting on the tatami mat floor, tapping away at laptops. There’s not a chair in the place. To recap the day, morning broke around 5 and I soon discovered the toilet in my apartment backs up into the shower stall. Ick. Luckily, I have a second WC so after a little cleaning, I was strolling in a nearby park with dozens of old folks, each stretching in their own way. Three groups were busy with Tai Chi. Others walked in loops, some even walked backwards. A few others ... read more

Favorite Photos

Asia » China October 13th 2005

Dreprung Monastery

Edmichel

I will update this site as I add (and probably delete) some of my favorite photos.... read more

Kashgar - an oasis in the Gobi desert

Asia » China » Xinjiang » Kashgar October 13th 2005

Idgah mosque in Kashgar

Rags

Oct 1990. Kashgar is the biggest oasis in the Gobi desert in Xinjiang. The town its people, the market, the mosques and the back streets have earned it the rightful expression of 'the cross roads of Central Asia'. The streets and the surrounding fields are lined with tall poplar and eucalyptus trees giving shade and checking the advance of the sandy desert on the outside. Donkey carts, bicycles and the colourful Uighur people fill the streets. Most of the population here is Islamic, belonging to both the Sunni and the Shiite sects as well as the Shafee sect which is mostly found amongst the Uzbek and the Uighur people. The family planning programme of one child per couple does not apply to the Uighur minorities and so one can see lots of kids wherever you walk ... read more

Good bye China

Asia » China » Shanghai October 13th 2005

speak

Well we are packed and fed and about to check out and head to the Airport.We wil take the subway and then the Magnetic levitation train to whoooooosh us to the airport.Plane leaves at 13:10 (1:10 am Ottawa time) and we arrive in Ottawa after 21:00 so a very long day.We are ready to come home in some ways and regret leaving in others.China is a wonder and a marvel and wil be missed.I think that we will be back one day to check up on this eautiful world. Thanks to all our hosts and guides and friendly curious smiling faces. Bye from China... read more

Brief history of China

For centuries China stood as a leading civilization, outpacing the rest of the world in the arts and sciences, but in the 19th and early 20th centuries, the country was beset by civil unrest, major famines, military defeats, and foreign occupation. A...more history

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