Unearthing Ancient China in Xi'an

With only two weeks remaining of our stay in China, Jerel and I visited Xi'an, China's (first) ancient capital, and the nearby Terracotta Warriors (8th Wonder of the World?). On Saturday, we toured Xi'an itself, ambling around the well-preserved city wall. While the excursion provided ample exercise and fresh air, the sights were...underwhelming. The best word to describe the landscape is "grey" - block after block of dusty, grey concrete streets and buildings.

In contrast, the city's Muslim quarter, with its lively alleys was a welcome pocket of colour. Sporting traditional headgear and in some cases, long beards, the Muslim Chinese sell everything from live sheep, to animal pelts, to animal carcasses. More appealing (to me) were the many stalls offering interesting nuts, spices and pastries.

The highlight of the weekend was Sunday's visit to the Terracotta Warriors. Approximately 2200 years ago, China's 13-year-old emperor Qin envisioned a large army protecting his tomb. He is reported to have employed 700,000 men over more than 30 years to build this army of clay, complete with life-size soliders and accompanying horses, chariots, and weapons. The exhibit consisted of three excavated pits, containing hundreds to thousands of terracotta warrior figures, some well restored and many others still buried and broken, resembling poor humpty-dumpty.

The vast collection of unique, life-like warriors provided a vivid illustration of of the dozens of ethnic minorities united under the Chinese empire. The early advances of the Chinese civilization evident in the sculptures and weapons were clearly a source of pride for our enthusiastic local guide and our many fellow (Chinese) tourists.

For more photos of our weekend in Xi'an click here.

Jungle Trekking in Chiang Mai

Maria and I followed up our beach days with a short trip to Chiang Mai (northern Thailand), where, unlike Phuket, the locals outnumber the tourists. We signed up immediately for a ‘jungle trek’, which promised visits to several hill tribes, elephant riding, bamboo rafting, white water rafting, and more... all in a mere 2 days. Day one began with a few inevitable tourist stops (butterfly farm, orchid farm), ended with campfire games in a remote jungle village, and epic hiking in between. Our group included four pre-army Israelis, two spirited young ladies - Sylvia (Dutch) and Mariana (Mexican) - and an exceedingly spry tour guide. Not long into our hike, it became clear where the ‘hill tribes’ got their name – I don’t think there was a single flat stretch all afternoon! The four Israelis in our ‘platoon’ breezed up the hills with their huge packs while Maria, Sylvia, Mariana and I, struggled to keep up the pace. Our guide did indulge us in the odd break, including a stop for fresh papaya right off the tree- deeelicous!

We were all a tad disappointed upon reaching the ‘village’ at sunset. We had been hoping to dine and carouse with the long-neck tribe, but it seems we had bad timing as the long-necks had taken a day off on account of a new baby. Hmmm….Interestingly, the 'abandoned' camp accommodated our group quite nicely. For dinner, we were served an attempt at curry and pickled vegetables, along with an apology that there were no spices (not even salt)…it’s a good thing we were all starving! Maria and I shared a cabin with Sylvia and Mariana, complete with paper-thin ‘mattresses’, old, smelly blankets, and a few ant farms on the dirt floor. Needless to say, we were all relieved when a diligent rooster signaled the end of a long night.

Day two was considerably more fun for us non-masochists. After a 'short' (two hour) hike, we reached the elephant camp, where the rest of the afternoon’s activities were based. We quickly went through the checklist of tour highlights - elephant riding, visiting the long-necks (follow the road sign and look for scarf stalls!), bamboo rafting, white-water rafting, and bathing in a waterfall (a natural waterslide which I don’t recommend trying if you value the skin on your tailbone!). We wrapped up our adventure with a painfully long and bumpy ride in the back of a truck back to town. Now that it's over, we're glad we signed up!

On our last day in Chiang Mai, we finally visited a handful of Thailand’s countless wats (temples), where we mingled with the monks, then spent the afternoon spoiling ourselves at the spa. At long last, we headed back to Shanghai via Bangkok. We were short on time so didn't get to see the heart of the city, although we did have a memorable walk at the park where we fed fish and turtles with a kind family that shared their fish food (bread). Apparently we timed our trip well as the airport was closed amidst political protests just a few days after our return!

For more photos from Thailand click here.

Sand, Sun, Surf and Scuba in Phuket

Maria and I are both ocean buffs so Phuket was a great fit for a vacation for the two of us. Our four days were spent entirely at the beach or on a boat (with the exception of time spent on essential activities -sleeping, eating, and getting massages). Life's rough, I know!

Maria joined the growing scuba diving contingent of the family and completed her her certification in the warm waters of Phuket (apparently much more pleasant than Vancouver's freezing, murky waters). We spent our first diving day at scenic 'Bungalow Bay', and on the second, explored a coral reef, a passenger ferry wreck and 'Shark Point' (no luck, depending on how you look at it!).

A memorable episode from our beach days is our swim to a tiny rugged island that beckoned us from the beach. Upon reaching the island, we marveled at the many creepy crawly creatures inhabiting the rocks, then embarked on a mission to find fresh fruit, hoping for a papaya or mango. Alas, all we could find were coconuts, which, despite our best efforts, stubbornly refused to share their juices. We eventually gave up and swam back, arriving tired and hungry and just a touch sun-kissed (sorry, Mom!) but exhilerated from the adventure.

A Tour of "My Shanghai"

My sister Maria, the intrepid traveler, braved a few days in Shanghai en route to Thailand. Her visit prompted me to create a tour of 'my Shanghai', which mixes real Shanghai and refuge from it.

SIGHTSEEING
· The Bund Promenade - admire the dramatic skyline, witness countless vendors selling identical souvenirs, and have your photo taken covertly by Chinese tourists
· Yu Garden - marvel at the lineup for dumplings and the sheer density of tourists packed into this 'old Shanghai' area
· People's Park - enjoy the greenery and check out the weekend gathering of 'live' personals hosted by "helpful" parents
· Fuxing Park - watch tai-chi practicers of all ages, lively group card games, or a suprising show

SHOPPING

· Random alleys - get lost in the many lanes lined with tiny shops selling everything from plump pomelos to flopping fish, to chirping crickets; see residents sharing a street-side meal or hanging laundry out the window.
· Nanjing Dong Lu shopping street - soundtrack: "watch? bag?" (repeat)
· 'Copy mart' (Nanjing Xi Lu) - struggle to fend off aggressive vendors that literally drag you into their store, and test your bargaining skills
· South Bund Fabric Market - try your hand at designing your own clothing - suits, dresses, coats...you name it!
· DVDs - who can resist stocking up at 1 dollar apiece!

FOOD/DRINK
· 'Wet' Food Market - practice your Mandarin while buying super fresh (and cheap) produce.

· Wujiang Lu food street- spectate in awe or dare to sample the myriad mystery meat dumplings and kebabs

· Cloud Nine lounge - sip a drink and enjoy a rare moment of silence, while overlooking the madness from the 87th floor
· Wagas, Element Fresh, Otto's Restaurants- temporarily escape China in these oases of Western food (salads, pasta, cheese....yum!)

INDULGENCE
· Massage - treat yourself! The massage industry is thriving in Shanghai thanks to us indulgent expats ... be careful, this can be addictive! Jerel recommends the unusually quiet Dagu Lu.

Maria gave the tour thumbs up, but was more than ready for a few days at the beach by the end of the weekend. I realize now just how accustomed I've become to the incessant noise, relentless vendors, insane driving, and general chaos of this wild and crazy city!

For more photos of Maria's weekend in Shanghai click here.

Peeking at Beijing

It's silly, really. Our six months in Asia have included trips to Moscow, London, Barcelona, and the Philippines as well as to lesser know places in China like Hangzhou and Guilin….but somehow we have never made it to BEIJING! We finally ran out of excuses…




Chana decided to get a head start and *chose* to take the overnight train to Beijing on Thursday night. She is becoming a more robust traveler than I ever imagined! I had already seen the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square in 2001, so it worked out well for Chana to take in these formidable sights during her solo day.

Saturday was consumed by a terrific all-day adventure along the Great Wall. We trekked 10k from Jinshanling to Simatai atop the wall on a tortuous and hilly route. Remarkably, even at km 6 there were still vendors pushing the cold beer and T-shirts that they had sherpa-ed up there…I'm still not sure who decides to buy a T-shirt 6 km into a trek!

Over the course of the weekend we also saw the Temple of Heaven and Jing Shan Park. To my delight, in the central temple of Jiang Shan, we stumbled upon an 8 foot, monolithic sculpture of Chana's namesake, Vairochana. The worshippers of the giant Buddha seemed unphased by the mob of tourists or the incessant flashing of cameras...

Beijing’s many ornate, ancient buildings and wide, sprawling plazas stand in stark contrast to the skyscrapers of Shanghai. It is the stuff of Kungfu movies. Sunday evening, we both felt a bit reluctant to leave behind what seemed to be the "real China", and return so soon to our glass and cement metropolis.

For more photos from our trip to Beijing click here.

A Taste of Guanxi Province

Once again, last weekend's themes were escaping the city and exploring China. Two hours by plane south of Shanghai, in Guanxi province, lies Yangshuo, known for its scenic rivers and dramatic "karst" mountains. Our adventure began with a 90 minute hair-raising late-night taxi ride from Guilin airport to Yangshuo, along narrow, winding, dimly-lit roads.

We awoke to find ourselves ideally situated on the Yulong river, with front row seats to the procession of bamboo boats carrying pairs of (mostly Chinese) tourists perched on bamboo chairs under brightly coloured umbrellas. We spent our first afternoon cycling alongside the river, a popular passtime in Yangshuo. As we wound our way through the quiet villages, Jerel enjoyed cheering me on in my feeble attempt to overtake a little old lady in a pink blouse on a one-gear clunker...she was quick! The following afternoon we intended to take a short countryside stroll, but thanks to a wrong turn, ended up on a several hour trek in the hot sun on a deserted road with nary a vendor in site (imagine that!).

That night, we attended Yangshuo's must-see show: "Impressions of Liu Sanjie", created by renowned Chinese director Zhang Yimou. The show is set literally ON the river, against a backdrop of mountains, and involves a cast of 600, and plenty of spectacular lights, music, singing and dancing. We had planned to wrap up our trip with a kayak outing, but something in our last dinner changed our plans for the worse...an inauspicious ending to an auspicious weekend.

For more photos of Yangshuo click here.

Hangzhou Getaway

After a solid month of urban living, Jerel and I were both feeling a strong desire to escape the relentless crowds, traffic, and lights of Shanghai. So, last weekend, we prescribed ourselves a getaway to the ancient city of Hangzhou, renowned for its natural beauty (and easily accessible by train). We stayed at a historical state guesthouse set on the famous West Lake, and featuring expansive, impeccable gardens as well as unique landmarks such as “the spot where Mao Zedong practiced English”. We found ourselves acutely aware and very appreciative of the fresh air and of the sounds and sights of nature – birds chirping, crickets singing, chipmunks scurrying…

We wiled away our time strolling around the lake, deliberately avoiding the bustling city that lurked a short distance away. One memorable episode from our stroll is our stop at a lakeside tea house where we enjoyed the local Longjing tea and some novel snacks. To our embarrassment, when the the bill arrived, we were a few dollars short. Eventually, after much ‘discussion’ with the non-English speaking staff, Jerel was sent off on one of their small, brakeless scooter to find the nearest ATM.

Westerners are even more of a rarity in Hangzhou than they are in Shanghai. Consequently, we noticed more than a few fellow lake-strollers inconspicuously snapping photos of us as we passed by, and once, when I was distracted, a young lady leapt at the chance to ask Jerel to pose with her for a photo!

For more photos from our visit to Hangzhou click here.