Beijing: Better Late Than Never

Sunday, September 11th

We finally touched down in Beijing... Fourteen hours after we were supposed to, but we're here!!  The airport is about an hour outside the city so we jumped on the subway to avoid the traffic congestion.

Our hotel is beautiful... and clean.  We are in heaven after last night's experience.  And we have a room with a view of the Forbidden City!

 Not being able to afford any more wasted time, we headed out to begin exploring, starting at the Temple of Heaven.  This was where the emperors once performed rites and made imperial sacrifices meant to please the gods so they would generate plentiful harvests.  A stroll through the magnificent grounds gives you perspective on the power and spiritual depth of the ancient Chinese empire.

We headed to the Silk Street Market for a quick browse of designer hand bags, shoes, luggage, sunglasses, belts, etc.  But we didn't have time to shop, so we didn't get to have the necessary relentless bargaining experience.

Then it was off to Chaoyang Theater to see one of Beijing's popular acrobatic shows.  We've heard the troops in this city are known to be some of the best in the world and they did not disappoint.  They performed all kinds of gravity defying tricks with their bodies and then added bikes, catapults and swings, making you sit on the edge of your seat holding your breathe.  I'm just amazed they are able to do some of these stunts where the room for error and injury is so great.  A lot of performers appeared to be very young, so I'm wondering if they get their training here and then go on to become part of the famous Cirque Du Soleil troops.

Well, we hate to be boring, but we're running on less than an hour and a half of sleep, so unfortunately we're calling it an early night to catch up. It's a room service dinner while showering and packing for our Great Wall excursion tomorrow!!

Airport Hell... I mean Airport Hotel. Ok, Maybe Both

Sometime between Saturday, September 10th and Sunday September 11th

I'm not quite sure where Saturday night ended and Sunday morning started... The lines are a little blurred, as are my eyes from lack of sleep.  Listen to this fiasco...

We were in the airport waiting for our flight to Beijing and our 8:45 boarding time came and went.  Our 9:25 departure time came and went.  At 10:30, it was announced that our flight was delayed with a new departure time of 1am.  We are so exhausted, our phones are almost dead and our adapters are in our checked luggage so we have no way to charge them.  At 12:30am, we were moved to a new gate and everyone appeared to think that meant we were boarding, but shortly after the gate change, they announced our flight was delayed again until 2:55am.

With that announcement, the crowds grew restless.  People were yelling and screaming at the airline attendant, reaching across the counter and at one point, they pushed through onto the jetway.  We were starting to get worried a riot would break out.  Security and Police came over to quiet the rebel rousers and at this point, we were the only people left in the dark, empty airport.

This is a nightmare... I know this stuff happens, but I've never experienced this magnitude of a delay in the states and the worst part about this is we can't communicate to find out what is going on or what our options are.  Luckily there was a couple from the states and the woman is Chinese and fluent in the language, so her husband continued to keep us updated in English.  There's also another couple from the states who we've been commiserating with and I'm thankful we're not the only English speaking people on this flight left to fend for ourselves.

At 3am, they announced our flight had been cancelled and that we were going to be put up in a hotel.  They are going to try to reschedule our flight for tomorrow morning, but there's no guarantee it will happen.  We heard several reasons for the delay and eventual cancellation, from weather to air traffic congestion.  We were all herded downstairs to claim our baggage and then filed back upstairs and onto several different buses.  We had no idea where we were going or when we needed to be back at the airport, so we tried to stay close to our new friends to have access to a translator.

Once on the bus, the drive seemed to take forever and for a second, I wondered if they were driving us to Beijing.  Finally, twenty minutes plus later, we arrived at a dark, dilapidated, smoky hotel.  It was an absolute free-for-all at the counter trying to get a room.  I was able to push my way past everyone at the desk... I'm learning what needs to be done here in Asia to get what you need and if you aren't aggressive, you'll be left behind.  The girls behind the desk didn't speak English, so I was handed a room key but wasn't able to ask any details.  Another fellow passenger spoke English and told us they would be calling our rooms when it was time to go back to the airport and that could be at 7am or 10am... No one had any additional details yet.  It's now 5am but at least we can take a shower, charge our phones and catch an hour power nap.  Although I'm not sure I want to put my head on this pillow, but I'm that tired so it's happening.  Oh and there's a gambling table under a silk cover with four chairs in our room... Did we score a suite?  Maybe this was the luck brought by rubbing Happy Buddha's belly because he sure hasn't brought us any other good fortune today with this situation.  Thank you, I guess???

At just before 7am, the phone rang but the message was in Chinese and the caller didn't speak English.  So we had no idea if we needed to be downstairs in five minutes or thirty minutes.  But we weren't taking any chances on getting stuck here and missing our flight, so we hurried to get ready and downstairs.  And to be honest, I think both of us just wanted to get out of that gross room anyway, but the lobby isn't much better.

We found our English speaking friends sitting in the dining room carefully eating some of the options on the free breakfast buffet.  We didn't have it in us to give it a try and decided to hold out until we got back to the airport... If we're going back.  The new rumor is that there was an earthquake outside of Beijing which is causing all the delays.  There is no new information about our flight, if it has been rescheduled, if we're going to be stuck at this hotel for hours, etc.  I don't know what to do.  Should we just go to the train station and forget about the flight?  But it's a six hour train ride and we have no idea if we'll even be able to get on the train.  I don't have wifi at this grunge pit, so I can't do any research to determine what other options we have.

Our new translator friend confirmed there was no earthquake outside of Beijing and that a few people left the hotel earlier this morning and went back to the airport on their own getting seats on the 8am flight, which already took off with no delays.  Now we're thinking those people started the rumor about the earthquake so they could jet off and get the last available seats leaving us thinking all flights are delayed and cancelled.  Sucks for us, but genius on their part... Jerks!

We were just about to hop in a cab with one of the other English speaking couples and get ourselves back to the airport on our own to deal with this situation, when one of the fellow travelers in our group called the airline and was able to determine that our flight had been rescheduled for 11am. They started boarding the bus and we decided to go back with the group.

As we pulled up to the airport, everyone started pushing to get off first so they could be the first ones in line at the counter.  I told my mom to go and I'd grab our bags.  There was no such thing as a line though... It was more of a mob with everyone throwing elbows and pushing to get to the front.  We were able to box out a few eager travelers to get ourselves to the counter without much of a wait, but it did result in my mom getting slapped by an older Chinese man.  I do feel bad about our behavior, but everyone else was doing it and desperate times call for desperate measures.  Two boarding passes for the 11am departure confirmed.

I was relieved once we boarded the plane and took off.  And by the way, apparently it didn't even rain in Beijing last night, which was another excuse they had given us at one point.  So who knows what actually happened, but I'm convinced it was something specific to our airline or plane because every other flight to Beijing took off last night.

I'm starting to think my mom and I shouldn't be rubbing that Happy Buddha anymore... Clearly it's the opposite of luck for us.  The adventures of traveling.  This has been quite an experience.  Maybe not quite the one we asked for, but an interesting one nonetheless.

Who Will Watch Over My Tomb?

Saturday, September 10th

We booked a private guide to see the Terracotta Warriors because we thought it would be a lot more meaningful to understand the history and significance from a knowledgable local.  Our guide Rocky, with a driver, picked us up and gave us some background information on Xi'an as we drove to our first destination, the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

This is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China, a UNESCO World Heritage site attracting Buddhist worshippers from all over Asia.  It was originally constructed by the Tang Dynasty in the 7th century to house scriptures monk Xuan Zang brought back from India.  It's been rebuilt several times since then, most recently during the Qing Dynasty in Ming Style.  We learned a lot about Buddhism from Rocky and listened to the monks chanting as they performed a religious ceremony.

We were introduced to Happy Buddha and the custom of rubbing his big belly for good luck.  We may be exempt from this luck since we're not Buddhist, but of course we couldn't resist rubbing his belly anyway.  We also got to see the popular water fountain show in the square, which is the largest music fountain show in Asia.

One thing I have noticed in our travels throughout China, is that a lot of the babies don't wear diapers.  They only wear pants with a slit in the crouch leaving everything exposed.  We're trying to figure out how exactly that works before the child is potty-trained, but Rocky assured us that the mom and/or grandma just know when it's time for their kid to go.

I also haven't commented on the bathroom situation yet, which to be honest, hasn't been that bad.  I guess four days on the Inca Trail was good preparation.  But here's a little tip if you ever come to Asia and aren't a fan of squatting... The handicap stalls have western toilets.  Boom!


Then we headed an hour east to the town of Lintong, home to the infamous Terracotta Warriors.  But before going to the museum, Rocky took us to an authentic restaurant popular with the locals.  He helped us order, selecting classic dishes from this region.  We tried the Biangbiang Noodles, arguably the Shaanxi region's most famous dish composed of one long thick noodle in a savory broth of black mushrooms, tomatoes, egg, green onion and garlic. Trying to eat these never ending noodles with chopsticks wasn't so easy, but it was worth the effort.  We also enjoyed the Sizzling Beef with onions and hot peppers and the Ma Hua Xia, a unique dish of deep fried prawns, peppers and wheat flour rods with peppercorns, peanuts, sesame seeds, chili peppers and garlic.  The crispy potato pancake flatbread was really good as well.

After completely stuffing ourselves, it was off to witness the life-size army of soldiers standing guard over the tomb of China's first emperor, Qin Shihuang, protecting him in the afterlife.  This archaeological goldmine was discovered by local farmers digging a well in 1974 and since then the site has been excavated to unearth 8,000 charioteers, cavalrymen, archers and infantrymen, all unique in height and body shape with different facial features.  2,000 of these warriors have been restored, pieced back together to stand guard.  Rocky explained that it takes four people nine months to complete the puzzle of restoring one warrior.  Each of the warriors were hand painted, but the colored lacquer disappears when exposed to oxygen, so archaeologists re-buried a section of warriors, waiting to excavate until they are able to come up with a method to preserve the color.  It is fascinating to realize how much time and effort it took to create each individual warrior, let alone thousands.  And by the way, prior to this army being created to stand guard over the emperor's tomb, the previous tradition was to bury people alive who were expected to do the same job.  I'd be curious to come back in another forty years to see how the army has multiplied from the excavation.

Rocky took us to the airport and helped us check-in for our flight, which was much appreciated.  We have some time to kill before our 9:25pm flight to Beijing, arriving just after 11pm.  It's going to be a late night but we wanted to travel tonight so we would be able to wake up and start sightseeing on Sunday morning.  We have a lot to see and only three short days in China's capital!

An Ancient Capital Still Reigns

Friday, September 9th

This morning we said good-bye to the Guangxi region and southwest China to head 630 miles north to Xi'an, a city ranked as one of the top four ancient capitals in the world, alongside Rome, Cairo and Athens.  It's also the start of the famed Silk Road and while it's no longer the bustling trade route of years past, the city still retains the influences and culture from its connection to the Middle East.

We lost a bit of time due to our flight out of Guilin being delayed an hour and a half, but as soon as we touched down in Xi'an, we grabbed our bags and a taxi for the hour drive into the city.  Both of our suitcases wouldn't fit in the trunk, so I sat up front with the driver.  I know I have previously commented on the traffic here in China, but now is a good time to go into details.  Let's just say that front row seat was one of the most intense thrill rides I've ever been on, and I'm always up for a good roller coaster or jump out of a plane.  I've been to other countries where the driving is aggressive and fast... And it's also all of these things in China.  But there is another element here as well... Insanity.  I've never seen anything like this.  Cars just pull out in front of other cars.  They turn left across four lanes of moving traffic.  They come speeding up behind scooters, pedestrians and bikers honking incessantly expecting them to move out of the way or they'll be part of the pavement.  Intersections are complete chaos with cars coming from every direction fighting for positioning to dart through the maze of competing traffic to get where they need to go.  It's really something to see, but nothing I'd want to attempt from behind the wheel.  This is all part of traveling though... experiencing the cultural differences and embracing them.  So I held my breathe and told myself if this is how I'm meant to go, then so be it.

Still alive to experience another day, we arrived at our hotel.  (Phew, because I would hate to miss out on the rest of this trip).  We checked in and hit the road to start exploring, trying to make up for lost time.  The air is much cooler here and we are relieved to have a break from the intense heat and humidity.

Xi'an is considered a medium sized city by China standards but is home to 8.46 million people... That's medium?!??  The city center is surrounded by one of the oldest walls in China, built under the Ming Dynasty in the 14th century.  The wall stands thirty-nine feet high, is made of tamped earth and rice, then later encased in brick.  There's a moat that encircles the wall in its entirety and with limited entrances in, plus the watchtowers and flanking towers, it was almost impossible to invade this ancient city.

A popular evening activity is to bike the top of the wall, a 13.7 km loop.  So after we went up into the Bell Tower, a well-known Xi'an landmark once determining the geographical center of the ancient capital, we headed to the wall's South Gate, climbed to the top, rented our bikes and off we went.  Our timing couldn't have been more perfect as the sun had just set and the city started to light up.  It was an enjoyable ride and fascinating to stop and think about the history of these walls, their purpose and the dynasty they protected.

After working up an appetite, we opted for a cultural culinary stroll through the Muslim Quarter sampling the famous dishes sold at food stalls lining the pedestrian-only street.  We tried the Chinese version of a hamburger - a mixture of hand chopped beef and lamb, stewed for hours in broth with over twenty spices and then stuffed into a crispy flatbread... Delicious!  We also tried the friend potatoes and the chip skewers, but weren't brave enough to try some of the other interesting meat options... Especially after seeing the animal skeletons hanging from hooks with the meat spread out on the table below being prepared.  This is definitely not the place for vegetarians.

With Xi'an being the starting point for the Silk Road one thousand years ago, this neighborhood attracted merchants and students from Arabic countries, who came here for business or studies and ended up settling down.  They are known as the Hui people and after generations of multiplying, their population has reached over 60,000.  It was a nice glimpse into China's Muslim culture and fun to imagine the excitement in the height of the Silk Road's existence.

Bike and Bamboo Tour Through China's Countryside Villages

Thursday, September 8th

In planning this 18-day China adventure, today was one of the days we were most looking forward to.  We booked a private bike tour of the Yangshuo countryside through Bike Asia and the entire experience far exceeded our expectations.  It was a memory we'll always reflect back on.  

We met Yuan, our private guide, at the Bike Asia office, picked out our bikes and helmets and were off.  Once again, the heat is oppressive.  The locals keep telling us this is cooler temperatures, that they have already started their fall season.  If this is true, I can not imagine what the heat feels like in the summer months... And that's coming from a chica who spent two summers living in the middle of the desert.  It's like biking thirty kilometers in a steam room!

But as we biked through the picturesque countryside along the Yulong River, the beauty of the landscape minimized the uncomfortableness of the heat.  The collection of karst mountain peaks in every direction continues to stun as their reflection shimmers on the water.  This was our backdrop for the entire day as we cycled through small villages passing locals working in the fields, washing laundry in the creek, playing with their kids in the street or just hanging in the shade.  It was an authentic snapshot of what life is like in the small countryside villages of southwest China.

Three hours into our adventure, we arrived at Dragon Bridge, where we handed our bikes over to Yuan and boarded a bamboo raft for a relaxing hour and a half float down the Yulong River.  It was a perfect break to rest and recharge mid-way through our bike ride.  In full disclosure, I need to add that the water was more of a greenish brown color than a clean blue, but the culture and way of life here is different than what we are used to in the states.  If you are prepared for these differences, it allows you to appreciate the beauty of the area for what it is through non-judgemental eyes.  If it's this beautiful now despite generations of human influence, I can only imagine what it looked like hundreds of years ago in its pristine state.

We went down several small waterfalls, splashing down onto the lower water below.  Yuan was waiting for us with the bikes when we got to the dock and we pedaled to the nearby village of Jiuxian for a late lunch.  She ordered for us, choosing local specialities such as young bamboo shoots with chicken, rice noodles with vegetables and squash with duck eggs.  And then she disappeared into the kitchen to help cook our meal.  We are really enjoying our time with her and appreciate her desire to share the local culture and customs with us.  And she's a great cook... The food was delicious!!

After lunch, we strolled through the village, home to just two families, but in China extended families live together, so home to more people than you're thinking.  On the bike ride back to Yangshuo, we went by several primary schools letting out for the day and after spending forty-four years as an elementary school teacher, my mom was really excited to see what a school looks like here in China and to watch the children with their backpacks fill the streets at the end of the school day.  We saw moms and dads on their scooters picking up their kids, packing as many as four people onto the same bike.  Pretty impressive. 

We came into town in the middle of rush hour and traffic was intense... Cars, scooters, fellow bikers and pedestrians coming at you from every angle, in every direction.  It was nerve racking trying to navigate a bike through the chaos, but we stayed close behind Yuan and followed her lead.  We managed to survive to tell you about it, but I'm guessing there has to be a lot of accidents here.

We decided reflexology and a beer would be a great way to end the day and after our hour session, we were wondering why we hadn't done this every night since we arrived.  It was exactly what our feet needed after all of the biking, hiking and sightseeing we've done in the last week.  The beers hit the spot too... Well deserved after a full day on bikes!!

Cruising South To Yangshuo

Wednesday, September 7th

We're saying good-bye to Guilin this morning and moving south to a popular town on the Southeast Asia backpacker circuit, Yangshuo.  The town is known for its beautiful surrounding scenery of rivers and karst mountains, so outdoor sports such as biking, hiking and rock climbing have become the thing to do when in town.

Jason, the private guide we booked for today's travel, met us in the hotel lobby and was very excited when he saw us.  He said we were the most beautiful customers he has ever worked with... I'm guessing this had a lot to do with our blonde hair.  

We drove forty minutes outside of downtown to the pier, where we're boarding our river boat for the four-hour journey south on the Li River.  What a business they do!  I couldn't begin to count all the boats lined up, ready to escort eager passengers on this scenic adventure.  Apparently the Clinton's did this exact same cruise when Bill was in office.  Many claim this is the most beautiful region of China.

I can't contribute to that claim because I haven't seen much of China yet, but I can say the scenery was absolutely stunning as we cruised south.  Fang shaped mountain peaks of all different dimensions lined the shores in every direction.  Each turn in the river brought us a postcard view better than the last.

And Jason was fantastic! My mom and I wanted to be outside on the upper deck to enjoy the scenery and take pictures, but it was extremely hot and the sun was finally shining, so Jason stayed inside but would come find us to provide commentary when appropriate.  We learned a lot about this region of China and their culture through his eyes.  He brought us a "western" lunch, which included bananas, grapes, crackers, croissants, potato chips and yogurt.  I was really excited to try their yogurt, which was a lot thinner than even our traditional yogurt in the States.  I told him I worked for Dannon and he recognized the name, said they have Dannon yogurt in China and that he feeds this brand to his son.  Always working people, always working.

When we arrived in Yangshuo, Jason walked with us to our hotel... A twenty minute walk, fifteen of those minutes which was through a pop-up market capitalizing on the impending tourists infiltrating town.  Some of the items are worth purchasing, like scarves, jewelry and clothing, but others I really wonder who buys this stuff.  I guess someone must or they wouldn't be selling it, right?!?

We said good-bye to Jason, checked in and grabbed a taxi to Moon Hill, a huge slice of rock eight kilometers outside of town, named after the large hole in the center resembling a full moon.  We hiked up the 800 steps, struggling in the oppressive heat.  But we made it and it was well worth the sweat for an elevated scenic view of the countryside.

After hiking down, we made our way back into town and explored the famous West street, a pedestrian only main drag through town with restaurants, shops and nightclubs.  It was packed already at 7pm!  We didn't walk more than two minutes until we were approached for pictures by a bunch of teenage girls. We obliged, said good bye, walked another two minutes and then it happened again.  And again.  And again.  We don't want to be rude, but now it's starting to get annoying.  We're starving and just want to eat dinner without having to stand around and sign autographs.  Seriously, a new appreciation for famous people. We were able to escape the paparazzi long enough to sit down for dinner, which was on a balcony overlooking West street and we watched the town transition from the busy dinner hours to serious party.  But we have a serious day of athletic activity ahead of us tomorrow, so no partying for us tonight.

Rice of the Region

Tuesday, September 6th

Today we had to be up and out the door early for our trip to the Longji rice terraces, a two-hour drive north of Guilin into the countryside.  Our guide, Hill, picked us up at the hotel and we got to experience morning rush hour as we drove through the city to pick up the one other guest who would be joining us for the day.  Scooters are a popular mode of transportation here and there doesn't seem to be much order when it comes to driving.  It was fascinating to watch the scooters criss-cross going all different directions as they darted around each other and the moving cars... Pure chaos!

The woman joining our tour is from Estonia and speaks very good English, so we enjoyed learning more about her country, as well as the scenery, during our drive north.  

Our first stop was the village of Huangluo Yao, known for the Yao tribe women who have the longest hair in the world (apparently it is in the Guinness Book of World Records).  We watched their folk-custom show, in Chinese, which seemed a bit touristy... But then again, if you're one of seven westerners in the audience, I think it counts as a cultural experience, right?  They demonstrated how they wrap and unwrap their hair, showing its full length, which was interesting to see.  

Before leaving the village, we had an authentic lunch featuring rice cooked in a bamboo stalk, local bacon with green beans, eggplant and potatoes.  Everything was delicious!  Then Hill drove us up the hill (sorry, couldn't help myself)... He navigated hair pin turns on the edge of steep cliffs as we climbed 885 meters to the top of the mountain. For those of you who know Dawn, you know this was her favorite part, lol... But I have to say, she handled it like a pro!  Hill dropped us at the Nine Dragon's and Five Tigers scenic area and gave us directions on how to navigate ourselves down through the village below where he would be waiting for us.

We were nervous we wouldn't be able to see much because a misty haze of white blanketed the mountainous scenery, but no need to worry.  It was a stunning view looking out over the green terraces and the Ping'an Zhuang village spread out below.  We walked the narrow path along the top of the terraces to the second lookout point of Seven Stars with the Moon, before heading down the mountain through the village. It's fascinating to think people live here... How simple life must be.

Two and a half hours later, we arrived at the parking lot where Hill was waiting to drive us back to Guilin.  Once back, we hurried out to grab a quick bite to eat before our boat cruise of the city's four lakes.  We stumbled upon the first lake last night, but had no idea they were all connected and didn't realize how far they meander through the city.  We cruised under beautiful bridges, each a different style reminding me of iconic bridges from around the world and lit in bright colors.  Illuminated pagodas and colorful tree lined paths ran along the edge of the lake and we saw several musicians and street performers attracting audiences.  This city is charming!  I'm so glad we had the opportunity to visit, especially because most people just use Guilin as a jumping off point to explore the beautiful scenic areas in the surrounding countryside.