GREAT WALL OF CHINA AND THE SUMMER PALACE

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AT SEA DAY ONE FROM SHANGHAI TO XINGANG (BEIJING) - Woke up and took a shower this morning, but today I set up the shower with my glasses on, discovered that I was washing my body with shampoo and washing my hair with body soap. The Mariner Society was treated with a champagne brunch. I sat at a table of ten, the lady next to me from Texas was celebrating her 70^thbirthday, a male couple from Honolulu and me; the rest were from Australia

Anticipated Mass for Palm Sunday was well attended and after that I went to the Ocean Bar for a Philippine and a Japanese beer. I had to get dressed for dinner at the Canaletto Restaurant, an Italian restaurant with a limited menu but well done. I was beginning to dine alone when a gentleman with a lady friend came over to invite me to join them. I gratefully accepted their offer and had great conversation that lasted for nearly three hours. Oh, by the way, they were from Adelaide, Australia.

After the show, which was pretty good, with three tenors, a soprano and a violinist along with great staging, I went up to the Crow’s nest where four Australians, a Dutchman and I solved the problems of the world in about an hour. The Yellow Sea was smooth today and the sky was generally clear, but late at night the sea became rough. It is cold out on deck.

AT SEA DAY TWO - I saw the movie Lincoln, this time I didn’t fall asleep during it. Bars are quiet, maybe everyone is resting up for the shore excursions coming up in Beijing. There are early starts because of the driving distances from the port. Sea was smooth, sky was sunny, but the cold is still with us.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA AND THE SUMMER PALACE - Early start, sunny but cold. We stopped for a bathroom break at a highway rest stop. Western style hotels and many restaurants catering to visitors have bathroom facilities westerners are accustomed to, but facilities mainly used by natives are challenges, especially for women. To put it simply, even in the men’s’ room (and believe in the ladies’ room as well), there is nothing to sit on, you squat.

The traffic was OK until we got about 15 miles away from Beijing, then major traffic tie-ups began. After we cleared the metropolitan area the traffic eased and we made good time again. It is early spring and the trees were just starting to bud which exposed many large bird nests in the trees. I asked our guide, an articulate and knowledgeable young man, what kind of birds they were; magpies. I was surprised to see quite a few sheep on the trip. We passed by a funeral and witnessed the fireworks display as part of the ritual. The guide, Lee, told us that one strategy in Peking city to reduce some of the traffic is to reduce access on week days by 20%!e(MISSING)ach work day by restricting access to the highways based upon the license plate number. Weekends there are no restrictions so any vehicle can use the road six days a week. Lots of bicycles and motor scooters too. We were getting closer to our destination when, all of a sudden, huge mountains appeared! Construction on the Great Wall began as early as the 8^th century BC. Construction reached its highest under the Ming Dynasty and eventually stretched 3,600 miles. The section I visited was wide enough to allow cavalry and chariots to pass. It was very steep and the stairs were treacherous in spots. I made it half way to the top and then listened to my inner psychiatrist and turned around, but what an experience it was. How cold was it? There was still snow where the sun did not directly hit. Then we headed to another good restaurant, this time with Mandarin food but still the lazy Susan delivery system.

After lunch we traveled to the Summer Palace and the Garden of Cultivated Harmony. Built in the Qing Dynasty, the Summer Palace’s most notorious resident was the Empress Dowager Cixi. The crowds were very large and most of the tour groups were Chinese from the outlying provinces. Back to the ship after 12 hours of bus travel and touring. The tracks for the “bullet train” paralleled the roadway in some areas; we were passed by one of the trains - very fast! Another early start tomorrow to Tian’anmen Square and the Forbidden City.

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Comments

[Elly]

Fabulous!!!!
Great pictures Chuck. Thoroughly am enjoying your trip. Thanks.

[Wendy]

Great Wall of China
I am so enjoying your pictures.