Some more Beijing pictures including our guide Vivian

Day Four

This was our shopping day. Although every day is a shopping day for tourists in Beijing! Everywhere you go you are approached by people trying to sell you everything from postcards to knockoff Rolex watches.

With the US dollar being equal to eight Chinese Yuan’s, there are lots of bargains. But the dickering can become tiresome and, with the exception of government-run stores, products are all knock-offs. “Buyer beware”, to say the least!

Some final observations:
1) Chinese food is better in the US.
2) There is some kind of magical force surrounding Chinese drivers and bicyclists. Otherwise there is absolutely no explanation for why they never run into and over each other.
3) Make sure the taxi driver turns on the meter.
4) Try not to go where the tour buses go.
5) Don’t drink the water.
6) If you’re female, beware of gropers.
7) Unless you’re in the hotel, assume that the toilet is a hole in the floor.
8) The three favorite places for Chinese to eat—McDonalds, KFC, and Pizza Hut.

9) Resist the allure of cheap watch knockoffs-- unless you don't want to keep track of the time.

10) Why did we see so few children?

Day Three

This was our first day on our own, and we were very anxious to see the “real” Beijing. That meant the hutong, or old neighborhoods. We chose a hutong just north of the Forbidden City. The area was full of rickshaws looking to provide tourists a ride through the neighborhood. Most were ridden by young men who were very aggressive in trying to get us aboard. We decided instead to explore on foot-- until we met “Captain Cao” that is.

Cao Yu Yue looked different as we passed him. Long white beard, traditional silk clothing, big dragon belt. But when he approached us for a ride, we turned him down like the many others who had approached us. Unlike the others, however, he pulled a shopping bag from his handlebars and showed us, one after another, articles about him in newspapers and magazines. “Is me” he would say each time he pointed at his own smiling face in the accompanying photo.

Before long we were squeezed into Captain Cao’s fancy rickshaw bouncing through the narrow streets; the Beijing that has barely changed in centuries. After an hour of showing us neighborhood sites he stopped in front of an entry gate that led to several old adjoining stone-walled homes. As he unlocked the gate, he proudly said “Is my home.”

For the next two hours we were the lunch guests of Cao and his wife. What better way to discover a bit of what life is really like in Beijing! During our lunch of noodles, cucumbers, and jasmine tea we were shown a DVD of a story done on Captain Cao on Beijing’s Channel 7. As he watched it (for probably the umpteenth time) he was as engrossed as if it was the first time.
After lunch Cao pulled out his photo album. As he turned each page and pointed at the photos, he would name the country of his lunch guests; “Canada, Germany, USA, Norway”

A few pictures and goodbyes later, we were back in the rickshaw and bouncing again through the streets. The Captain dropped us at an ancient bridge, and was off to pick up his next passengers. As we watched him peddle away, we knew we had gained more from those few hours than from all the shrines and palaces of the great dynasties.

Day Two

This was the day we’d most anticipated. It was the trip to the Great Wall. The van ride was the first time we’d left the city and were able to see the countryside. The rolling hills reminded us somewhat of Eastern Washington State. Our factory stops today were the jade factory and the painted ceramic vases factory.

Finally we saw portions of the Wall as it snaked across the rolling hills. Our stop was in a section reserved for huge numbers of tourists, but we didn’t let that lessen the awe we felt on the immensity and splendor and of this ancient structure.

Most of the tourists we saw in China were Chinese. We guessed maybe 10% of us were from other parts of the world. We received lots of stares. Two blonds, one quite tall in comparison to the average Chinese, were oddities. While we were on the Wall a Chinese family took turns having their picture taken with John.

Day One

Our schedule for the first day included a visit to Tiananmen Square, Mao’s Tomb, Hall of the People, and The Forbidden City. It was a beautiful day and the culture and history shared by Vivian, our guide, was very interesting. (Some Chinese people have chosen to have an English name in addition their Chinese name. Sometimes they’ll change it weekly.)

During tours in China, there are always visits to government factories. The purpose is to see the making of traditional Chinese products and hear “a lecture”. The lecture is usually an interesting tour of a small factory obviously created for tourists. Shortly however, you are escorted into a very large store selling the products. This day we toured a silk factory (it’s very cool how silk is made) and succumbed to purchasing a pure silk comforter. Even the stuffing is silk. The positive thing is that the US dollar goes a loooooong way in China!

Our last stop was the wondrous Summer Palace, containing beautiful architecture and the largest imperial gardens in China. After a ride on a dragon boat across Kunming Lake, we took off on our own to explore the nearby shopping district. It was our first taste of being alone in this strange and enchanting place.

Menus in China are most interesting. The menu at the restaurant on the first day included Fried Pork Stomach, Boiled Lamb Head, Fried Sea Cucumber, and Stir-Fried Intestines. Culinarily, we weren’t yet feeling that adventuresome! On our third day, we encountered what turned out to be our favorite item on the menu-- Camel with Cow Penis. No, we didn’t try it!

John took a lot of pictures of the ancient buildings as the architecture was very unique. The tiled rooflines and pagoda shapes were very beautiful against the blue sky. We were very lucky on this day, as the normal brown polluted air had been cleared away by the winds of the previous day.

Our Trip to Beijing

Our recent trip to Beijing was quite an adventure! We decided we’d like to visit the country where our adopted daughter will be from, and Pamela was able to find us a great deal on the trip. We decided a tour would be best for our first trip there, which turned out to be a good decision. Very few Chinese speak English (although many people are learning in preparation for the Olympics in 2008) and there were a number of tourist traps waiting for us.

The trip is a long one—two hours to San Francisco and then 12 hours to Beijing. The first place of business we saw was a Starbucks in the Beijing Airport. (A Seattle landmark halfway around the world!) Right next to it was a KFC.

The city is huge. Almost 15 million people live there. The city is in the midst of a staggering building boom, and a seemingly mad rush to modernize and westernize. They are determined to make a very positive impression during the Olympics next year. The amount of construction still to go is tremendous, but as our tour guide kept saying, “It will be finished.” It was her way of telling us that the Chinese government will do whatever it takes and they have the control to do it.

One example of an incomplete, but very striking, structure is the Olympic Stadium they call the Birds Nest.

Cleaning the Boat

Boating has many upsides, but there is an underside too. Pamela decided to clean the hull. Then she decided John needed to clean the hull.

Pamela worked as hard as John on

completing the boat cleaning. Lots of work and two coats of wax later the boat is ready for the season!

Opening Day Boating in Seattle

May 5 was Opening Day for boating in Seattle. we and friend Tim Babbitt joined other hundreds of boaters to watch the parade of boats through the Montlake Cut. The winner of the parade (in our opinion)) was the Elvis boat.

Pamela packed a great lunch. After the day of fun, Tim helped us pull the Cobalt out of the water for the first time since last summer. It's in need of a cleaning!