Day 11 May 18th: Three Gorges Dam

It was fabulous to finally be able to RELAX!!!  We could see the beautiful scenery of the gorge from our balcony.  Charlie warned us NOT to open the doors at night because we'd be inviting insects into the room.

Our bed was two double beds stuck together which made it bigger than a King.  Such luxury!  Again... hint to American hotels?  Why not provide clean, washable duvet covers instead of bedspreads?

In the past, the Chinese flag looked more like an enemy flag.  Now we knew that it was the flag of the country that our Charlie loved.

The buffet on the President Prime was lovely.  Not great, but certainly good enough.

The river cruise ship is not as big as the ocean cruise ships, but still very large.

We went up on the deck, but it was a little chilly and pretty hazy.  I don't know if it was smog or fog.

We could barely make out villagers repairing a wall using sledge hammers.  I had to use my telescopic lens to see them breaking the rocks and then carrying them one by one to the wall along the mountainside.

We were traveling up river to the left and were at the Three Gorges Dam.

We were at the first gorge, Xiling and could see temples and other ancient looking structures on the mountains.

Our afternoon outing would be to see the famous Three Gorges Dam.

From Wikipedia:

The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River by the town of Sandouping,  located in Yiling District, Yichang, Hubei province, China. The Three Gorges Dam is the world's largest power station in terms of installed capacity (22,500 MW).

There was security screening before we were allowed onto the dam site.  I was really grateful for the two long escalators up!

I was enjoying the flowers around us, but of course Art had to find something high to climb which he did.

However, I'm really glad he was able to get this photo which showed the entire area.

And then we walked down to see the dam itself.

If there is ever an uneven surface anywhere, I WILL find it!  I managed to wrench my ankle where two tiles were missing. I missed one, but the other one came up and grabbed me.  I've done this twice before on tree roots and ended up in the ER and exiting on crutches.

When I heard that little painful click on my ankle joint, my heart sank!

We got back to the ship and watched how boats were being raised through the locks.  We were awfully close to the side of the canal.  (Don't tell Art because he found it all so fascinating, but for me it was like watching a water kettle and waiting for it to boil.)

For the rest of the afternoon, Charlie sent a large bag of ice to our room and insisted I ice my foot, which I did. (Bert, my physical therapist told me later when I returned to Hawaii that it was the best thing I did.)

I was even able to enjoy the evening entertainment by our ship's crew after dinner.

You can see our lovely Chocolate here in red.

Once the show was over, I was back in the room icing my foot.

My fingers were crossed when I went to sleep that night hoping all would be well the following morning.

Day 10 May 17th: Shanghai to Wuhan to Yangtze River

6:00 Woke up and had breakfast
7:00 Set luggage outside door
8:00 Met in lobby for 1 hour bus ride to airport
(Half of our tour group had already left the hotel for another tour package before we came down. We felt the loss of their company.)

That's Charlie #2 in the middle along with Richard and Janet.

Janet is a retired first grade teacher like me.  Teachers are always drawn to each other.


When I mentioned to Charlie about the Chinese herbalist saying Art and I both needed herbs for our kidneys and liver he explained that the term kidney or liver in Chinese medicine is different from Western medicine.  It was good to learn that because it didn't make sense when we were at that Chinese Pharmacy.

We said good bye to Charlie #2 and headed out to the airport where we caught a two hour flight to Wuhan on China Eastern Airlines. 

At Wuhan a three hour bus ride with another city guide named Nancy took us to Yichang.  Nancy told us that Yichang is the center of China.  The Yangtze starts in Tibet and ends at the ocean.

Many farmers burning wheat stalks were really adding to the air pollution.

Just as Charlie told us, the food in this area was spicy.  He said that because of the hot and humid weather, people like spicier food which would make you sweat and cool your body.

We boarded our President Prime cruise ship at Yichang and met our ship's director, Daisy as well as our pretty meal server, Chocolate.

That was the most original name we'd heard yet.  I could certainly remember it.

There were about 100 passengers for a ship that was supposed to hold 350. There were 170 crew members on board. We were told the low passenger number was due to the bird flu concern in the west and the declining local Chinese economy.

We were offered a $130 upgrade for five days.  The regular rooms were just fine, but when we saw the upgrade we just couldn't pass it up.  It was about as big as our hotel rooms.  I doubt we'll ever get anything like this again on a ship.

Although it reminded me a little of the Titanic, I could already tell this was a wonderful start to another adventure.  I was just happy we still had Charlie.

Day 9 May 16: Suzhou to Shanghai

I think I managed to sleep until 6:00 AM.  Success!  By 7:00 we had to put our two suitcases outside of our door again to be collected for the airport. 

We left the hotel by 8:00 when it was raining pretty hard.

We'd had good weather so far so it was OK to have a downpour while we were traveling.

I was glad I'd bitten the bullet and bought the rather pricey North Face raincoat in Hawaii.  It would come in very handy during this trip!

Charlie #2 said Shanghai used to have AM and PM rush hours.  Now it has 1 DAY rush hour.

That ball like structure is actually a TV station.

On the left side is an EXTRA fancy hotel.

Charlie #1 sent us in a few at a time to ahem... sing a song.  (Use the facilities?)

Yes, there was a downpour on the Bund.  The following is from Wikipedia:

"The word "bund" means an embankment or an embanked quay. The word comes from the Persian word band, through Hindustani, meaning an embankment, levee or dam (a cognate of English terms "bind", "bond" and "band", and the German word "Bund", etc.). It is thus named after the bunds/levees in Baghdad along the Tigris, when the Baghdadi Jews such as the prominent Sassoon family settled their business in Shanghai in the 19th century and built heavily on the bund on the Huangpo."

Charlie #2 said in British colonial times there were hundreds of opium dens and brothels in the area.  The communists came in and closed them in 1949.

After a lovely lunch at Fortune Restaurant we were taken to a Tea Shop.


This young woman taught us how the Chinese drink tea.  I was surprised to learn that they throw out the first batch of tea to get rid of the impurities.  She was then able to make three or four more small pots of tea with the leaves.

We got to try Ginseng/Oolong and Pu'erh tea.

These teas were pricey too so we only bought three small boxes.

We walked about this shopping district in the rain, but didn't buy much.  I really HATE haggling and couldn't figure out what was good or bad quality or worth the price.

We were left to our own devices for a quick dinner so we went to Burger King.  One of our dear tour friends (that would be you, Guy) was tired of Chinese food and wanted a quick fix of American cuisine.

At 7:30 we went to an acrobatic show which was a lot of fun.  Some of those acrobats looked like kids!

We stayed this evening at the Swissotel Grand Shanghai.  You can see that peek through window to the bathroom again.  The room was very, very lovely, luxurious and huge.  It's going to be hard to go back to Motel 6.

Day 8 May 15th: Suzhou

I woke up at 5:00.  Darn!

It was smoggy outside.  It looked like bad Hawaiian vog.

Since we did get up early we went right down to breakfast and then was able to do a little ironing.

The Chinese serve a LOT of watermelon which suited Art just fine.  It's his favorite fruit.

Charlie #2 took us to a government Silk Factory.  He knew a lot about silk since his grandparents used to raise silkworms.  He told us:

• Silkworms are good for menopausal women because they contain estrogen and antigen which keep calcium in their bones. (I don't think I have a great desire to eat them though.)  Silk is a protein.
• Silkworms only eat mulberry leaves which need to be constantly cleaned with a towel.  They've tried using other food sources, but the silkworms seem to only prefer mulberry leaves.
• You can tell real silk from polyester (fake) silk by how they burn.  He didn't recommend trying to burn material to test them at a store though.
• There are usually four silk worm crops a year.  
• You can get one mile of fiber from one cocoon.

 
Our tour group learned how to pull and spread the silk for the comforter batting.

To be perfectly honest we were hoping to buy a silk duvet cover.  Several of Art's friends had mentioned buying a cover or a comforter.  The silk batting is supposed to keep you warmer when it's cold and cooler when it's warm.  The silk duvet cover is supposed to be better too.  HOWEVER, none of the designs appealed to us.  Maybe that's just an excuse for us not paying so much more than we expected it to be.  Whatever the case, I bought silk face cream for mom and a scarf for me.  Cheap?  Who me?

The next stop was the Garden for Lingering In.  Our tour group all had radios with ear buds.  The Charlies would speak into a mike and we'd be able to hear them no matter where we were without bothering any other tourist in the vicinity.  Unfortunately, not all tour groups were as courteous and were too loud and pushy.

The Chinese gardens had many similar qualities to the Japanese, but there were definite differences.  The Chinese seemed to like large rocks with spaces, ridges, holes, strength and rhythm.  The Japanese seem to lean more toward smooth and quiet.

• This Lingering Garden was established in the mid-Ming dynasty period, around 1560.  
• The owner had one wife and six concubines.  The wife chose who got to sleep with the master.
• Concubines were required to call the wife "Older Sister" and would need to curry favor with her to be able to have time with the master. (Did she pick the homeliest one?)
• Children of the wife would inherit property.  Children of concubines have very low status.   An equivalent to "Son of a Bitch" is "Son of a Concubine".
• Rich men had to have large or separate houses to keep peace among his women.

Perhaps that final reason is why this fellow needed a garden to linger in.

The window lattices and doorways are meant to frame scenery or ... people?

Remember how we were told that our Charlie would remind us of Kung Fu Panda?  We were being careful not to let him know that we'd been told that.  However, it turned out that he knew and struck a pose to show us.

We had another lavish lunch, this time at Lu Cheng Jia Yan.  They did tell us in advance that Shanghai would have food similar to the Chinese food we get in Hawaii.  It's true.

Though the air was hazy (smoggy), we took a walk along the waterfront of the Jinji Lake.

The next stop was at the Suzhou Museum designed by I. M. Pei.  We saw a lot of Chinese artifacts, old and more modern.  Those are beautiful sycamore trees on the roadside.

This ceramic pillow just didn't look very comfortable!

The King's Palace was lovely, but not too extravagant.  I forgot to ask what kind of rank a king had since I know the Emperor was the top guy.

This would be our last evening together as a group of fifteen.  Three couples would be going on to another city while nine of us would continue with Charlie #1 to the Yangtze riverboat cruise.

Charlie ordered the most incredible birthday cake for Marilyn with the most ingenious candle lighting display I've ever seen.

Our stand-up comedian of the group, Guy gave the funniest and most loving speech for our dear Charlie #1.

Meanwhile Charlie #2 brought us some wonderful electronics that he got for us at ultra low prices too good to pass up.

Charlie #2 is actually a doctor of Western medicine and a general practitioner for 10 months out of the year.  He does the tour guiding to keep his English current.  I will have more to write about this interesting man later.

As the evening came to a close we knew that the following day would be our last time together for a while.  It was sad, but we were really happy to have had this time to become happy friends.

Day 7 May 14th: Xian to Shanghai to Suzhou

It was very smoggy in Xian on the day we were to leave. Charlie warned us to eat a good breakfast at the hotel because the airplane food to Shanghai would not be wonderful. We caught our bus to the airport at 8:30.

We were sad to say good bye to Catherine.  She was a very sweet and charming young tour guide.  They do that V for Victory sign in China just like they do in Japan.

Charlie was right.   The airline food was just passable, but I  liked those apple chips.

Landing in Shanghai we met another Charlie so he became Charlie #2.  Sometimes you'd call Charlie and they'd both look at you.

Charlie #1 told us a joke that if a UFO landed anywhere else in China, people would wonder how they could turn it into a some kind of noodle to eat.  If it landed in Shanghai they would wonder how they could sell it.

Shanghai air was not very good.  It was extremely smoggy.

Charlie #2 had a wealth of information:

• Shanghai means to kidnap someone and hold them for ransom. 
• A lot of Jewish people found sanctuary in Shanghai and began banking businesses from which the Chinese learned.
• There are lots of high rises in Shanghai where laundry is put out on balconies to dry.
• In 240 years, Shanghai is expected to be like Venice because it was built on coastal wetlands and the weight of all the skyscrapers is weighing the land down.
• The real name for China is Zhonguo which means Middle Kingdom.  It is called China because of the porcelain it exported.  Charlie #2 didn't like the name China because china is easily broken.

Charlie #2 took us from Shanghai to Suzhou which is known as Venice of the East.

We boarded a little boat and got to ride down the canal.  Charlie #2 mentioned that at one time the canal was pretty gross.  People used it for their bathroom, laundry, kitchen sink and whatever else that I'm forgetting.  We could still see someone cleaning his pans in the canal waters.

The marketplace was fun and interesting.  I remember being nervous in Hawaii about going into a Chinese marketplace, but once here none of us were concerned.

We saw frogs, eels, turtles, shrimps, etc. being sold for someone's dinner.  These children were playing with a shrimp.

Dinner at Tanxiangshan Restaurant was great and more like the sort of food we get in Hawaii.  We tried a little of Charlie #2's 50% proof moonshine and could barely get it down.  I had to add a whole lot of Sprite to make it palatable and still felt a little dizzy.

The Holiday Inn in Suzhou was equally wonderful.  I love how the Chinese stuff their comforters into duvet covers which are washed and sanitary.  You can sit or lie on it without worrying about its cleanliness unlike the American hotels which usually have unwashed bedspreads.

I stayed in that evening to back up our photos onto the iPad and catch up on my trip journal. I was exhausted!

Art went out with the rest of the group to check out the Suzhou night life.

Tomorrow:

Silk Factory
Lingering Garden
Suzhou Museum
King's Palace

Charlie #1 told us all that we should be wearing comfortable gym shoes EVERYDAY because we'd be doing a lot of walking!

Day 6 May 13th: Terracotta Warriors

I woke up at 5 AM pretty pleased with myself.  Art woke up at 6 AM, and I was jealous of his extra hour.

With his extra energy Art managed to do some laundry before we went for our fancy breakfast at 7:00.

By 8:30 we were in the bus heading out to see the Wild Goose Pagoda at Temple Park.  There were a lot of Xian senior citizens doing Tai chi (they call it Taiji) or Senior Disco which looked a lot like our Zumba Gold. 

We saw pretty birds in cages.  By this time we weren't very paranoid about the bird life, not much anyway.

I spotted what looked like a magpie.  There were a lot of different birds in China.

We saw an older gentleman writing calligraphy on the walkway with a water paintbrush.  We were sorry to walk over it.

Another building had folk paintings done by farmers so of course, we had to buy one.

I imagine the frame will cost more than what we paid for the painting... again.

Our Xian city tour guide, Catherine told us a lot about her wonderful city and Chinese life.

The one child policy is still pretty strictly enforced.  However if you're a farmer with a daughter, you can try again for a son. If you're a member of a minority group, you're also allowed to have another child.  Hospitals are not allowed to disclose the sex of an unborn child.

Education is compulsory for 9 years:  6 years elementary, 3 years of Junior High

Cost of High School is about $800 a year.

DINK stands for Double Income No Kids

Our next stop was a Terracotta factory store.

We bought one of those round flutes called Xun for our granddaughter, KC. It was discovered here and thought to be 6,000 years old.  I have a feeling her dad will have to help her with it.  It's rather difficult to play although the fellow playing Scarborough Fair on it made it look easy.

These snuff bottles were pretty, but gosh...

What would I do with it?

In 1974, in the village of Lintong, east of Xian some farmers were trying to dig a well to get water.  Instead what they found were shards of pottery and frightening human bones.  They thought it was bad luck.

What they'd found was one of the most important archeological finds of the century, the terracotta soldiers.

However, before we started our tour through the huge buildings, Charlie wanted us to have a hearty lunch at the Terracotta Museum restaurant.

We had stretch and shaved noodles with vegetables and fruits.

Charlie reminded us to go to the bathroom.  His code was to tell us, "Don't forget to sing a song."

It was an awesome sight.  Catherine said the first building holding the terracotta warriors was the size of four football fields.

Each terracotta warrior is fashioned after an individual warrior and are all different.

Another building held some of the warriors that were found still in tact.  The details on each warrior were impressive.

After Emperor Qin died at 50 years of age, his dynasty fell apart.  Later enemies came in and tried to destroy all of his funerary artifacts.

Emperor Qin's remains are probably still in his tomb but technology is not yet available to safely investigate and preserve them.

Our evening meal was a Hot Pot dinner.

Charlie had to first show us how to mix the dipping sauce for our hot pot ingredients.  It was amazing to see how many different things we'd be putting into our bowls.

We then went back to our tables where a hot pot of broth was waiting.  We dropped in vegetables and meat, cooked it and dipped it into the sauce to eat.

It was a different and fun experience.

By now our group had gelled into a family and we were constantly laughing together and caring for each other throughout the day and night.

There was a standing joke going with Charlie calling Guy his father, and Allwyn his grandfather. 

That's what I've loved most about tours.  You get to really know and love the people you're with.  It's also fabulous to not have to worry about anything.  Charlie was doing all the worrying without letting us know if he was.

And you know what?  I'm missing my tour family now.

Day 5 (Part 2) May 12th: Xi'an

It was amazing to think we'd be flying again to a different part of China.  I had to remind myself that it IS a big country.

Here's Charlie giving us our day's instructions and telling us to be sure to use the bathrooms when we can.  We really appreciated his efforts toward having a bathroom almost every two hours or less.  At this point I was getting used to the squat toilet and felt they were a bit more sanitary unless the flush is too strong and your shoes are not safely out of the way.  Another thing:  You're NOT supposed to throw your toilet tissues into the toilet, but into that little trash can.  That was gross and rather smelly.

That's me at the airport for the flight to Xian which took about two hours.

The Shangri-la Hotel may not have been quite as fancy as the Westin but still wonderful.  And yes, Art did our laundry before we boarded a giant bus again.

Xian was the ancient capital of China and has the oldest and best preserved city wall.  Xian has a 3,100 year history.

From Wikipedia:

The fortifications of Xi'an (Chinese: 西安城墙)is an ancient capital of China, represent one of the oldest and best preserved Chinese City Walls. Construction of the first city wall of Chang'an began in 194 BCE and lasted for four years. That wall measured 25.7 kilometres (16.0 mi) in length, 12–16 metres (39–52 ft) in thickness at the base. The area within the wall was c. 36 square kilometres (14 sq mi). The existing wall was started by the Ming Dynasty in 1370. It encircles a much smaller city of 14 square kilometres (5.4 sq mi). The wall measures 13.7 kilometres (8.5 mi) in circumference, 12 metres (39 ft) in height, and 15–18 metres (49–59 ft) in thickness at the base.

It was explained to us that Xian is the root of  the Chinese tree.  Beijing is the trunk and Shanghai is the branches.

We met our city guide, Catherine who explained that Xian is known for its friendly people.

Catherine also told us:

China is divided into three parts:
North:  People are closer to Russia and Mongolia and therefore tend to be taller.

Middle:  (Xian) Mid range height, square faced, baby faced women, Mandarin is spoken

South: People are shorter. 

Xian is pronounced Shee-yan and is the heart of China and the cradle of Chinese civilization.  Beijing is the throat.  Shanghai is the stomach.

Catherine and her friends all love Starbucks and it is the prime young people hang-out.

 Dinner was at the Tang Palace where we would be served 18 dumplings.   Charlie warned us to eat only the fillings or we wouldn't be able to finish all 18.

Well... the dumplings weren't all that big and often in the shape of the filling, but we listened to Charlie and removed most of the outer shell.

The dancing was lovely, but we were so tired.

Charlie was worried that we were looking rather tired and could get sick.  He'd bought some herbs at the pharmacy so he asked us all to drink it.

We did.

You know what?  Art and I were healthy for the entire trip.

And nobody caught what Charlie referred to as "Chicken Flu."

Tomorrow:  Terra cotta soldiers!