Rollin' on a River...

Yangtze River-Three Gorges Cruise
From Wuhan to Chongquing

After a remarkable Dam day we actually boarded our Cruise Ship/Boat. We shared a cabin with a retired Chinese couple who live right near Andy in Yinchuan! Of course it took us three days to figure that out. The quarters were tight and but the company was pleasant. I learned how to really flush a chinese style toilet using the shower hose. Basically you just hosed down the whole room.

There were four other Westerners on the boat. Two friends, John & Emma from England and a Dutch couple, Barth & Ineke. We enjoyed their company throughout the 'cruise'. John & Andrew supplied our translations. The first thing we discovered was we were not given keys to our cabins... We locked when we left the boat in the morning and found them opened when we returned... So we carried our passports and our billions of RMB (renminbi) on us...

Each day we disembarked at a new place and climbed a million stairs to visit a new site. One site was the Ghost City. It was odd to say the least. The place itself has a serious history involving ghosts & ancestors. Aside from a series of wonderful sculptures the rest that we saw was somewhat tacky... Well, very tacky. Imagine a spooky Halloween fun house with oversize sculptures of Chinese ghosts made from styrofoam...


Check out this site:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3084374.stm


The Question Is: Is this buddah like structure a hotel with a parking garage?

A real ghost sculptue.

Styrofoam sculptures.

Guided By Strangers

On Saturday, July 25, we gave ourselves over to a series of strangers. We arranged at our hostel in Wuhan for a Yangtse River Cruise. We knew we would be transfered by bus to the cruise 'ship' via the Three Gorges Dam and that we would have a guide. The 'a guide' turned into a 'series of strangers' as the day progressed. Guide #1 arrived at the hostel around 7 am. He led us to the street, hailed a cab and took us to Bus #1. We were turned over to Guide #2.

We boarded the Bus #1 just in front of the man with the bamboo pole and 2 giant bags of some chemical. Guide #2 did not come with us. We rode for one hour to where we were to catch the bus to the Dam. Here we were met by Guide # 3.

She took us to the ticket office where we were told to wait. As we waited we watched the entire office staff eat 'take out' Chinese. As we seemed destined to be there for a while Andy went out and bought us some black vacum packed eggs. They were delicious. Finally Guide #4 announced himself. We boarded Bus #2 and spent the next hour going from location to location picking up Chinese tourists. When the bus was finally full we began our four hour journey to the Three Gorges Dam. The entire trip was narrated in detail in Chinese...

The ride actually went fast. I was listening to an audio book, The Golden Mountain, that I 'borrowed' from the library. The book appropriately followed several generations of a Chinese/American family.

When we arrived at the Dam we transfered to Dam Park Buses #3, #4, & #5, as we were shuttled around the Dam Park. The sights were awesome. At the end of the Dam tour we boarded Bus #6 and were dropped off at a very fancy hotel. We were told that Guide #5 would be along soon to take us to the boat. Oh, I mean cruise ship...

This was the first time Andy & I began to sweat! Every other hand-over that day took place in a sketchy location. This was too nice. It couldn't be right. Also, every guide told us a different departure time for the boat. So we had no idea if we would make it. The worst was we would check into the fancy hotel and deal with it all in the morning.

Finally guide #5 and bus #7 arrived! We hopped aboard and rode about a half and hour to the dock. Here we were met by Guide #6 who stayed with us throughout the river trip.

Traveling like this worked as we were the only westerners traveling on the Chinese tours that day. As Andy said over and over is was a great Dam day!

Harry Potter &The Great Wall of China

7/23 The Great Wall was like a dream! We walked for several miles up and down past many sentry towers - through rolling mist. The mist made it seem very remote from the rest of the world. I thought of the workers entombed there. Why are so many of our 'Great Achievements' built on the bones of our fathers & mothers?

The spell was broken in an instant when we hopped aboard our personal sled to toboggan down the mountain! Imagine a metal water slide without the water and a vehicle with a break lever. I sat facing forward and went slow to start. The track was so long that I was able to get used to it and then really let go and fly!

Back in Beijing we went to see Harry Potter in English (with Chinese Subtitles). In the dark of the theatre we smuggled in a McDonald's take out dinner. When the lights came up at the end of the movie we noticed that everyone else had enjoyed a deluxe take-out dinner also!

The next day we flew to Wuhan and checked into Youth Hostel # 2, The Pathfinder YH. We shared a room with a Korean man. Traveling this way is very surreal and very rewarding. In Wuhan we visited a picturesque pagoda in a lovely park. We were ready to walk to the top when we were directed to an elevator! We were suprised to see it retrofitted with a central elevator. Then more suprised to find out that the pagoda was built in 2003!

This is China...

Day One - The People's Republic of China

OK... Beijing is very hot, very humid, very smoggy. The air quality is poor but I am in China and I am with Andy! We travel easily together. The hostel we are staying in is actually better then most hotels! Our room has ac, it's own bathroom, a western toilet and very firm beds. Did I tell you that it has very firm beds? Also, wifi and computers to use free. They can't do enough to help us!

Yesterday we were in the Forbidden City (very big) and at the Water Cube (very big). You can pay to swim laps there. Last night we saw an Opera... Or at least an excuse for one. I'll explain later.

Andy's Chinese is impressive. We get around fairly easily. I now recognize at least 10 symbols.


The iTouch in invaluable, particularly with language acquisition.

I am adjusting to the time sort of. I just have to watch out for the first few days blues... This is all much easier then doing it while juggling another 20 tired people!

I sent a text about the camera to iPod transfer devise I left at home. Probably in the drawer where my phone and keys are. It is either a cable with camera fitting on one end and iPod on the other or a block like device with two usb ports. I also seemed to have left the talc powder in the car! But I did manage to get the blue cheese dressing packets at the last food counter by the gate in JFK!

We are off to see the Great Wall today.We are taking a tour.Tomorrow we fly to Whuhan to start a journey on the Yangtze maybe...

So you need a Visa for China?

Cindy, Natalie, Bob and I had a sleep over on Wednesday night! Then it was up at 4:30 am and off to New York City. Just Cindy & I. What a pair. Twins separated by date of birth! ...The ride down was easy as we were accompanied by our own personal GPS devise. It made me want an iPhone even more. It really is magic! The signs and the GPS matched word-for-word the entire trip.

New York, New York...
All I could think of was cockroaches in the apartments.
And how dirty the streets are...
Other then that I love the city.






















The Chinese Embassy is directly across the street from the Intrepid Museum. The moment I saw the stealth fighter on top of the carrier I knew my journey was under way. Getting the Visa offered my first taste of lining up Chinese style. First we stood in a snake-like line guided by ropes. The we sat in a snake-line moving ahead like it was musical chairs! Many people jumped the line...


















Times Square closed traffic and set up like a beach was very odd. How could anyone relax in this 'China Town' (the movie) set? There were hundreds of moving advertising signs. The dancing visual imagery complete with sound track was anything but relaxing.


















Here is me digging into my bag for the flimsy yellow receipt that I received in exchange for my US Passport and Visa application. It looked like a dry cleaning ticket. The time of pick-up wasn't on it! Nor was there information in any language that I could understand. But there was a bar code on it. How trusting we are.
When we arrived back at the Chinese Embassy I scanned the bar code on the 'ticket' and discovered that my Visa was ready. So I stood in line #9 to get a token that told me to stand in line #8. Eight was the magic number. With Visa in hand we headed home!

ab's New Great Adventure

In 12 days I am off to China to see Andrew.
Ten days later to Israel to see Ruthie, Danielle and Omri...

I am ready! In a surreal sort of way... I have done no planning for this trip. I just have flight reservations... no paper ticket... just reservations. I have no maps. I am planning to pack lighter then ever so I will be really mobile. I'm not taking a tour book (too heavy). I will take photos. I won't record where they were taken. It doesn't matter. I will try to find ways to update this blog. Connectivity as I travel might be a challenge.

I have no idea what we will be doing in China. Andy is in charge of our tour there. I plan to be open and ready for anything! In Israel I get to be Grandma Bonnie to Danielle and Omri. There I will go with the rhythms of the children.

Right now my big question is: Do I take mosquito nets with me? This is very serious... Mosquito bites make me insane. They itch as bad as the healing of surgery. I could get a net to go over my hat, one to cover my bed, or just a big net suit to walk around in?

If this remains my worst problem then I am in good shape.