Xian - Terracotta Warriors anyone?

Saturday, December 27

I have been so excited for this day - the Terracotta Warriors are considered the 8th wonder of the world and I fly to Xian to spend the day with them! I booked a tour so we headed out around 8:30 for a day of adventure. The terracotta warriors were found by a local farmer in 1974. They have unearthed 2,700 of the believed to be a total of 8,000. The warriors were constructed 2,200 years ago by the Emperor who wanted to protect his tomb in the afterlife. Hello ego-maniac! It took over four decades to construct. We visited Pit 1,2 and 3.

We then visited the Hot Springs which was a place that the Emperor visited and frankly felt like a little waste of time.

We then headed out to the Golden Goose Pagoda where I determined I was born in the year of the Earth Rooster. This means that I tend to prefer motion to stillness, I like to travel and make new friends and we try our best to establish our reputations so we can get others' trust. We have imperatorial demeanors which is where I got lost in the description since those are really big words so I bought the book to learn all about me, the Earth Rooster! However, I did review how this interacts with the Aquarius symbol and learned that we are the wisest people in the 12 constellations. Good enough for me...I bought the book for $12 US and plan to use it at my next review with my boss...."but see here, it says that I am wise...."

Oh, and remember the 2 women I met at the Italian restaurant...I ran into them at the Golden Goose Pagoda...of course I did. It really is a small world out there.

I spent 20 yuan to burn incense and 2 candles to Buddha. I made a wish and got down on my knees...I hope it works!

We then went to the city wall which is about 7 miles wrapped around the city and gives you a nice shot of how bad the smog really is....

Lastly, we visited the Drum Tower which was just silly so back to our hotel we go!

Sunday, December 28

I head to the Xian airport at 6am and after we are on the road for about 20 minutes, I realize there is NO WAY we are making it as I am sure we are going to run out of gas. I stare at the gauge the entire trip and realize that I need to have more faith in the smart taxi drivers as we do make it. It also dawns on me as I am traveling to Beijing to pick up my "trip around the world" main flight to fly to Hong Kong that in the past 8 days I have flown Seattle-Norita-Beijing-Shanghai-Xian-Beijing-Hong Kong and I feel better that I have had every right to feel like a complete lunatic over the past eight days. I am looking forward to being in Hong Kong for 5 days straight!

Oh...so did I mention that when I land in Hong Kong I decide to take the train to my hotel. I actually found the MTR without a problem and take the 20 minute train ride to a bus station. So for those of you that have seen Nightmare on Elm Street where the opening scene has Freddy driving the kids around like a crazy person. Yep, that was my driver....I am telling you that I cannot make this stuff up!!!! I am thinking about buying a car in Thailand to avoid all this craziness.....

Thanks for the comments on the blog - I am enjoying hearing from you!!

Kel

Bridge to Airport

Friday, December 26 Shanghai to Xian.

This is a bridge on the way to the airport. The taxi driver was sweet and slowed down so I could take the photo. He was very nice - I don't want anyone thinking I am after all taxi drivers!!

Merry Christmas!!

Thursday, December 25 - Merry Christmas!

Yu Gardens and Bazaar - This is a photo of the Huxingting Teahouse which was built in 1784 by cotton merchants, only became a teahouse in the late 19th century. The zig-zag bridge behind me protects the structure, as evil spirits can't turn corners (who knew?).

December 24, 2008 Shanghai - The Bund/Huangpu River/Pudong

So I had to pay a guy $2 to take this photo of me. It is about 4pm but because of the smog/polution it looks later. There was no sun that day but it did eventually come out on my trip. I am standing on the Bund side and this is a view of the river and Pudong. The weather is a little warmer but still chilly.

Beijing - Inside the Birds Nest. I was able to go down on the field and "celebrate" with the Olympic mascots. You will have to see the video to understand! I also toured the Water Cube before heading to the airport as I am off to Shanghai!

Beijing - Summer Palace but not feeling much like summer! The Tower of Fragrance of the Buddha dominates this slope in the summer palace. The lake is frozen over so we will be unable to take a boat ride. I bought the jacket for $60 US in a street market and with three layers underneath I am still COLD!!

Rafael and I are walking to the top peak on the right hand side of the photo. Lots of tiny stairs with snow on the ground. It was cold and windy!

I'm not sure...I think I might be a celebrity!

Thursday, December 25
Merry Christmas! My hotel staff is so sweet..."Santa" visited me last night and gave me cookies and an ornament. It was interesting seeing an Asian Santa but I loved the jesture.

So, I am feeling better about venturing out on my own so I grab a cab and head to the Yu Gardens. I toured around and even bought a new bag as the one I brought is not big enough for the video and digital camera. The gardens were very pretty and serene and the and shopping area was strange in that there was a street shop in a real dumpy area next to nice department stores. I took lots of photos and some video so hoping to get those downloaded tonight.
I then took a cab to the People's Park and Square and just as I was about to walk into the Shanghai Museum, I am approach by two Chinese young adults who ask to take my picture with them. This becomes a recurring theme as I am approached on a regular basis with "kids" wanting to take a photo with me. I am starting to feel like a celebrity....anywho....these two nice kids ask if I would like to join them at a tea tasting party so I figure what the heck?? I think it may have been a set up as we went tea tasting for about an hour and I got stuck with half the bill which equated to about $100 US. Not sure how that happened as I don't even like tea! But I learned a lot especially to ask how much things cost before i say yes!
I then walked down the Nanjing Lu shopping street which is six miles of a shoppers paradise. I did not buy anything but kept getting approached to buy purses....smart to go after the American tourist!
I headed to the Bund and signed up for a sunset cruise and met 4 semi-english speaking friends (2 from Russia and 2 from Germany). We went to dinner at of all places, an Italian place where I met 2 ladies from Kansas City. They invited me to join them but I declined as I was working the international relations piece! I then headed back to the hotel to pack and sleep!

Friday, December 26
Woke up early for me (at 5:30am which tends to be my normal time as I still adjusting to the time change) and headed to the airport. I departed Shanghai for Xian and grabbed a cab to the Shangri-la hotel. Of course, I have a story since I am in cab and they tend to make me mad. So we are on the freeway and my cab driver is going 20 mph and wants to negotiate the rate to the hotel. I am starting to get worried that we are going to get run over by a truck so I say fine and tell him my hotel. He tells me there are two Shangri-la hotels in Xian (uh-oh) and I tell him and show him which one is mine.....yep, we end up at the wrong one and we are 20 minutes from the one I want to go to. Luckily, the cabs are so inexpensive that I now have to pay $22 dollars vs $20 but I am not having good luck with this cab thing. I make it to my hotel and the staff just takes over and grabs my bags and starts putting stamps on my postcards and I have tears in my eyes as I feel they have saved my life! I stayed in my room that night and watched TV and slept for 12 hours. Apparently, I needed to sleep!

Things I find fascinating...
1. Cars do not stay in their lanes at all - they drive in the middle of the road
2. I have about 10 people a day ask me to take a photo with them.
3. The polution is ruining my great photos as the air to so smoggy
4. How loud people eat and spit a lot when they are done eating or just walking down the street....

Let the Games Begin!

Oh lordy, where to begin?

December 20
So I met my new best friend, Teck, on the flight from Seattle to Norita. Teck is from Singapore, has a business in Bangkok and now lives in Bellevue with his family. So, Teck and I spent about 3 hours of the 10 hour flight planning my trip to China and Thailand. What a huge help!! Thank you Teck!

I landed in Japan with a 25 minute layover (due to a late start and massive headwinds) and I was met at the plane and we ran to the gate. So my seasoned traveler friends are laughing right now because they know there is no way my luggage is making that flight but this has not dawned on me yet. Needless to say, my luggage did not make it when I landed but was delivered the next day around 5pm to the hotel.

I get in the cab and hand my driver my hotel name translated however, the women that did the translation was actually giving me the name of her car/driver business so the cab driver tried to kick me out. Then I show him the name of the hotel (which by the way is the North Garden Hotel) and after chatting with some other cabbies proceeds to take me to the Regent. Huh? How is that lost in translation? The nice valet called my hotel and they gave directions to the cabbie. This will be the first of many "lost in translation" issues with the cabbies but I am finding ways to get it right.

Sunday, December 21
I ate breakfast right across the street from my hotel at McDonald's (yes there is a god) and had the best Sausage McMuffin with Egg and OJ. I then went on a tour of the Great Wall! I met Rafael from Equador who now lives in Miami helping out with the family business. He is in a number of photos and was nice enough to take some pics of me as we climbed to the highest point possible. I am hoping I can write comments on the pictures I post so I will not be writing too much about each experience but will let the photos guide me through the day.

It was cold and windy at the Great Wall and there was quite a bit of snow on the wall. It was not very crowded as I am obviously here off season which I think made it that much more serene...

Monday, December 22
I walked across the street and ate breakfast at McDonald's. I gave my card to the manager and took some photos with the crew. I then went on a tour of the Summer Palace, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. There was a college couple from Michigan whose families are both from China so they spoke Mandarian, a gentleman from Vietnam, a couple living in Paris who are both originally from China and another gentleman from China. So I was the only English-speaking-dumb-American-who-did-not-learn-the-language-for-her-trip-tourist. But we all smiled a lot and the Michigan couple translated for me which helped maintain internationally relations!

Tuesday, December 23
My last day in Beijing and I am starting to get my bearings so I grab a cab and head to the Olympic venues. I only had about an hour so I spent most of my time at the Bird's Nest and Water Cube which was quite frankly, very cool. I watched the Olympics every night this year and I really enjoyed visiting the stadiums. I then grabbed a cab back to the hotel to run to the airport to fly to Shanghai. I asked the cab driver to drive by Tiananmen Square which after a few tries, we got there and my camera memory chip fills up just as we are passing it!! Oh well, I got a few shots at least.

Landed in Shanghai and once again give my cabbie the translated name of my hotel, The Bund Garden Hotel and he proceeds to take me to The Bund Hotel (oops, no Garden in that translation). We eventually make it and the cab driver yells at the hotel staff about something for about 5 minutes. I checked in and went to sleep for about 12 hours.

Wednesday, December 24
Happy Christmas Eve!! There are lots of cheesy decoarations all over the city but I get the feeling that no one here is very into it. I headed out on my own since I could not determine if there are any tours available since the hotel staff does not speak a lot of English. No worries as the Bund is just down the street so I walked around the area for about three hours and then headed to the Nanjing Lu shopping street which is 6 miles long! There are huge department stores and small street vendors where you can buy anything. I did not buy one thing but had lots of folks approach me since I was the American girl who had to love shopping. I then came back to my room and have spent some time downloading pictures and doing the blog. It took me a while to get the blog page in English so it is interesting the challenges that come up unexpected.

Well, here are a few things that I find fascinating:
- Workers have badges with a number and not their name on it
- I am surprised by the number of men that smoke in public non-stop but I have yet to see a woman smoking
- The number of bikes on the road as a lot of folks use this as their main mode of transportation
- How tremendously cold it was in Beijing. I bought a funny looking coat for $50 that has saved my life
- How little talking I have done in the past five days. I am listening to a lot of music on my ipod and talking to myself non-stop!!!!

Well, that is it for now. I am going to attempt to post my photos! Thanks for the comments - it is helping me feel attached to the other end!
Kelly

Getting Ready for the Big Trip

Hi,
I am new to blogging so this will be a work in progress to learn how to download photos and video of my trip. If you have any tips, please share!!

So I am leaving Seattle on Friday, December 19 and plan to visit China, Thailand, South Africa and Egypt before I return home on February 23.

I am so excited but also very nervous. Most of the trip will be by myself, however, my mom is working fast and furiously to find flights to meet me in Thailand and South Africa. I am also hopeful that a few friends will join me if their schedules allow.

I am selfishly doing this blog to help me journal and remember everything I do over the next two months. If in the meantime, you are entertained, then we both gain something from this experience.

Happy Holidays and here's to a great 2009!
Kel