Nothing much to write about here. We visited camellia nurseries by day and had a farewell party that night.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2506670120991.95998.1680191390&type=1&l=c873166b54
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Busy Day in Chuxiong
The photos attached to this post were all taken February 7. The events depicted in these photos have been described in the blog post entitled “Big in China.” This was one of the most active and varied days on the tour and between us Nancy and I took over 100 photos that day. I have tried to par them down to a manageable amount but it was difficult. If you find this album a bit much I apologize.
(A note to the Camilla enthusiasts: The morning tour was of a famous camellia garden located here in Chuxiong. I have included only a couple of the flower photos but Nancy is working on assembling an all-camellias all the time blog post and photo album so stay tuned.)
So, brief description of the photos. We start with a couple of Nancy’s camellia shots just to whet the appetite of the camellia lovers in the crowd.
Next is the entryway to the park. It was to the right of this entry that we spotted the folk doing t’ai chi. There follows one shot of the first group we spotted, one shot of me following along with them and then a third shot of yet another group practicing a few minutes later a short distance away.
Then we have kids at their folks flower stand, the ornate ceiling of one building at the museum followed by a shot of one of the complete dinosaur skeletons on display at the museum. More detailed descriptions of both the area and the museum can be accessed at the links below.
There follow two aerial views of Chuxiong taken from a building we visited for a reason I can no longer recall. The rest of the photos were taken by me when, accompanied by world’s best student guide Jason, I wandered around Chuxiong all afternoon while Nancy attended the ICS conference.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2502468855962.95910.1680191390&type=1&l=8aeac3bd90
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/yunnan/chuxiong/
http://www.chinadiscover.net/china-tour/yunnanguide/yunnan-chuxiong.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuxiong_Yi_Autonomous_Prefecture
(A note to the Camilla enthusiasts: The morning tour was of a famous camellia garden located here in Chuxiong. I have included only a couple of the flower photos but Nancy is working on assembling an all-camellias all the time blog post and photo album so stay tuned.)
So, brief description of the photos. We start with a couple of Nancy’s camellia shots just to whet the appetite of the camellia lovers in the crowd.
Next is the entryway to the park. It was to the right of this entry that we spotted the folk doing t’ai chi. There follows one shot of the first group we spotted, one shot of me following along with them and then a third shot of yet another group practicing a few minutes later a short distance away.
Then we have kids at their folks flower stand, the ornate ceiling of one building at the museum followed by a shot of one of the complete dinosaur skeletons on display at the museum. More detailed descriptions of both the area and the museum can be accessed at the links below.
There follow two aerial views of Chuxiong taken from a building we visited for a reason I can no longer recall. The rest of the photos were taken by me when, accompanied by world’s best student guide Jason, I wandered around Chuxiong all afternoon while Nancy attended the ICS conference.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2502468855962.95910.1680191390&type=1&l=8aeac3bd90
http://www.travelchinaguide.com/cityguides/yunnan/chuxiong/
http://www.chinadiscover.net/china-tour/yunnanguide/yunnan-chuxiong.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuxiong_Yi_Autonomous_Prefecture
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Opening Day
Here are some photos taken February 5, the opening day of the ICS convention. The ceremonies began with a long walk down a city street to arrive at the reviewing area where a stage had been erected and folding chairs arranged for the audience. Various Chinese dignitaries and the ICS President made speeches. Flags were raised, fireworks were set off, music was played and dances were performed. Quite the spectacle as they pulled out all the stops to welcome the visiting camellia enthusiasts. The fourth picture in from the left in the first row attempts to capture the incredible enormity of the welcoming committee. Colorfully costumed locals lined both sides of the street for what seemed like miles. In this photo the line behind us (off camera) was at least as long as the one before us that you can (sort of) see.
Quick notes on the last three photos:
First is Nancy with the artist who painted the scroll you see behind them. We found his shop touring the mall during the time allotted for wandering around. We purchased one of his paintings and plan to frame it to hang in our downstairs room.
Second is Nancy being interviewed for Chinese TV. This interview was broadcast but we missed it because we were at the theater seeing a show of local traditional song and dance.
The last photo is the actors and actresses at the show pulling visitors on stage at the close of the show. Northern California camellia enthusiasts should be able to spot a familiar face.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2482309872000.95261.1680191390&type=1&l=9579b9ab64
Quick notes on the last three photos:
First is Nancy with the artist who painted the scroll you see behind them. We found his shop touring the mall during the time allotted for wandering around. We purchased one of his paintings and plan to frame it to hang in our downstairs room.
Second is Nancy being interviewed for Chinese TV. This interview was broadcast but we missed it because we were at the theater seeing a show of local traditional song and dance.
The last photo is the actors and actresses at the show pulling visitors on stage at the close of the show. Northern California camellia enthusiasts should be able to spot a familiar face.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2482309872000.95261.1680191390&type=1&l=9579b9ab64
Monday, February 20, 2012
More photos
No words today. This was a travel day from Kunming to Chuxiong. Hopefully, the pictures will be enough.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2467497061689.94924.1680191390&type=1&l=349897a6fd
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2467497061689.94924.1680191390&type=1&l=349897a6fd
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Speaking of stereotypes
New photos: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2459758628233.94773.1680191390&type=1&l=81a6c87569
Warning. This is not a real blog entry. If this were a real blog entry I would have something intelligent to say. Haven’t noticed anything intelligent in previous entries? Well, you have a point.
While we are on the subject of dumb stuff allow me to wax eloquent in the one area I excel – namely, dumb stuff.
One of the things that struck me most about China was the extreme lack of organization. No one seemed to be in charge and the schedule was changed every day, more than once. Contrast that to Japan where a mere three individuals were in charge during the entire tour and the schedule was only changed twice, once due to weather conditions beyond the control of the tour guides.
A phrase remembered from my youth kept popping into my head. “Chinese fire drill.” According to dictionary.com this is a noun, which is “informal” and “sometimes offensive.” (Gosh, you think?) I have no desire to offend anyone but I will beg your indulgence here briefly to explain. Dictionary.com says the phrase means, “A state of chaotic, often clamorous disorder.” Such a state recurred repeatedly on our trip.
One example: When going to Shangri-la, which is located at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, one of our group requested and received bottled oxygen (readily available in small shops in Shangri-la). This request, however, set off great waves of consternation among our hosts. A group consisting of our bus’ assigned guide, a doctor, a local government official and various other unidentified individuals, spent some time trying to convince the oxygen user to stay behind. No deal. This group then conferred with a larger group in the parking lot in full view of the bus. The aforementioned delegation re-entered our bus to let the individual in question know that he/she (I am protecting identity here) would be allowed to continue only if the individual signed a waiver letting China off the hook for any responsibility for whatever damages might ensue. This was readily agreed to but then another hasty confab was held in the parking lot following which we were informed that every single passenger on each bus had to sign an identical waiver. We all agreed and off we set about one hour behind schedule.
Having aired these comments let me hasten to assure you that, despite bureaucratic rules that made the USA look all loosey-goosey the vast majority of the folk we met, both official, commercial and just plain ordinary were friendly and charming.
Footnote #1: “Chinese fire drill” also took on a second meaning in the late 60’s or early 70’s when it began to refer to a game played by college students (male undoubtedly). The game worked like this: Once a carload of students was stopped at a red light someone in the car would yell “Chinese fire drill.” At this point everyone had to exit the car and get back in again sitting in a different seat. This was all to be accomplished before the light changed to green. Many of those self same students are today in their fifties and sixties, leaders of government and industry. Go figure.
http://www.word-detective.com/back-x.html
Footnote #2: While on the subject of racial stereotypes I, being a lifelong basketball fan freshly returned from China, find the current enthusiasm over second year NBA player and Palo Alto native Jeremy Lin fascinating. Stereotypes are meant to be shattered. "Lin-sanity." I love it.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/02/17/sports/s003849S55.DTL
http://blog.sfgate.com/wwong/2012/02/15/linsanity-2-redefining-american/
Warning. This is not a real blog entry. If this were a real blog entry I would have something intelligent to say. Haven’t noticed anything intelligent in previous entries? Well, you have a point.
While we are on the subject of dumb stuff allow me to wax eloquent in the one area I excel – namely, dumb stuff.
One of the things that struck me most about China was the extreme lack of organization. No one seemed to be in charge and the schedule was changed every day, more than once. Contrast that to Japan where a mere three individuals were in charge during the entire tour and the schedule was only changed twice, once due to weather conditions beyond the control of the tour guides.
A phrase remembered from my youth kept popping into my head. “Chinese fire drill.” According to dictionary.com this is a noun, which is “informal” and “sometimes offensive.” (Gosh, you think?) I have no desire to offend anyone but I will beg your indulgence here briefly to explain. Dictionary.com says the phrase means, “A state of chaotic, often clamorous disorder.” Such a state recurred repeatedly on our trip.
One example: When going to Shangri-la, which is located at an altitude of over 10,000 feet, one of our group requested and received bottled oxygen (readily available in small shops in Shangri-la). This request, however, set off great waves of consternation among our hosts. A group consisting of our bus’ assigned guide, a doctor, a local government official and various other unidentified individuals, spent some time trying to convince the oxygen user to stay behind. No deal. This group then conferred with a larger group in the parking lot in full view of the bus. The aforementioned delegation re-entered our bus to let the individual in question know that he/she (I am protecting identity here) would be allowed to continue only if the individual signed a waiver letting China off the hook for any responsibility for whatever damages might ensue. This was readily agreed to but then another hasty confab was held in the parking lot following which we were informed that every single passenger on each bus had to sign an identical waiver. We all agreed and off we set about one hour behind schedule.
Having aired these comments let me hasten to assure you that, despite bureaucratic rules that made the USA look all loosey-goosey the vast majority of the folk we met, both official, commercial and just plain ordinary were friendly and charming.
Footnote #1: “Chinese fire drill” also took on a second meaning in the late 60’s or early 70’s when it began to refer to a game played by college students (male undoubtedly). The game worked like this: Once a carload of students was stopped at a red light someone in the car would yell “Chinese fire drill.” At this point everyone had to exit the car and get back in again sitting in a different seat. This was all to be accomplished before the light changed to green. Many of those self same students are today in their fifties and sixties, leaders of government and industry. Go figure.
http://www.word-detective.com/back-x.html
Footnote #2: While on the subject of racial stereotypes I, being a lifelong basketball fan freshly returned from China, find the current enthusiasm over second year NBA player and Palo Alto native Jeremy Lin fascinating. Stereotypes are meant to be shattered. "Lin-sanity." I love it.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2012/02/17/sports/s003849S55.DTL
http://blog.sfgate.com/wwong/2012/02/15/linsanity-2-redefining-american/
Sunday, February 12, 2012
A Chinese Quickie
Today was largely the long drive from Lijian to Shangri-la, several hours. We made one stop at Leaping Tiger Gorge. An absolutely fabulous scenic one hour hike along the side of a rock cliff above a raging river brings you to the spot from whence the name is derived. The hike in is about one mile on a path literally carved out of the rock cliff. Leaping Tiger Gorge got its name from a spot where the river narrows and there is a huge rock in midstream which the water diverts around on two sides. The legend is that the tigers would cross the river by leaping from the shore to the rock to the opposite shore. A statue of a tiger has been erected there to mark the spot.
As usual words cannot describe this adequately so you are required to wait until I can post the photos.
When we arrived in Shangri-la I (for the fourth time this trip) left my camera on the bus. When I went down to retrieve it our guide Nora told me that either I or Nancy could sit at the head table with the local dignitaries. I told her Nancy would be glad to (she is the president of the Napa Valley Camellia Club after all). So Nancy, the Chinese TV star, sat with the dignitaries and I hung with the Aussies where I managed to remain reasonably sober. No mean trick while drinking with Aussies at 10,000 feet elevation.
After dinner one of the Japanese camellia lovers performed magic tricks for us. He was quite good and very funny.
It is, by the way, colder than a well digger’s backside in Idaho here complete with snow on the ground and the whole nine yards. (That enough clichés for you?)
Bed calls. More later.
As usual words cannot describe this adequately so you are required to wait until I can post the photos.
When we arrived in Shangri-la I (for the fourth time this trip) left my camera on the bus. When I went down to retrieve it our guide Nora told me that either I or Nancy could sit at the head table with the local dignitaries. I told her Nancy would be glad to (she is the president of the Napa Valley Camellia Club after all). So Nancy, the Chinese TV star, sat with the dignitaries and I hung with the Aussies where I managed to remain reasonably sober. No mean trick while drinking with Aussies at 10,000 feet elevation.
After dinner one of the Japanese camellia lovers performed magic tricks for us. He was quite good and very funny.
It is, by the way, colder than a well digger’s backside in Idaho here complete with snow on the ground and the whole nine yards. (That enough clichés for you?)
Bed calls. More later.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Random Stuff
IMPORTANT! Some hacker either here in China or elsewhere has broken my password and accessed my email accounts. If you have received an email from me that diverts you to Canadian drug ads, Viagra sales or that informs you we are stranded and need money please ignore them. Hopefully the problem is fixed now but I have done all I can do from here.
We are now pretty high in the mountains. The scenery is gorgeous, snow capped peaks, etc., and the weather cold especially after dark. Tomorrow we go even higher when we move to Shangri-la at about 10,000 feet. Most of what we saw today will make much more sense and require less verbiage when it can be accompanied by photos. For this reason I am going to abstain from long winded explanations (like this one) and just write about some random stuff I have noticed that either does not require photos or for which photos are hard to come by.
For example, on that latter point one of the interesting aspects here is the wide range of clothing styles. Older Chinese seem to prefer the drab utilitarian clothing that was ubiquitous some years ago. The youth are more westernized. Jeans are everywhere. Sneakers are also very popular and the current fashion seems to favor bright colors; red, green, yellow, electric blue and so on. Among young women short (mid-calf) high heeled boots with faux fur around the top seem to be the in thing. Short skirts are matched with those boots and dark colored stockings in a heavier, presumably warmer, material. Young men favor tight jeans, the aforementioned brightly colored sneakers and logo tee shirts (the Rolling Stones is the only thing this old geezer recognized).
Hair styles embody a similar generation gap. Older women have plain, modest relatively short styles. Most men have crew cuts or Western businessman styles. Young women have more fashionable cuts with some perms and reddish dye jobs. The boys seem to favor punk styles involving excessive goo to comb the hair straight up or razor cut short hair on the sides.
The only things missing that one would expect in the US are tattoos and piercings. We have spotted one or two here and there but nowhere near the numbers you would see at home.
Another Chinese oddity for which no photos will do justice is the glass walled shower stalls. Understand, the glass wall is not in the bathroom but rather is the whole wall that separates the bathroom from the bedroom/living area of the hotel room. Kinky, eh? A waterproof curtain can be pulled down but I am left wondering who came up with this idea in the first place. Or how it is utilized. “Hey baby, why don’t you take a shower?” The mysterious East indeed.
Construction is another fascinating item here. Every town we have stayed in or past through has at least one enormous apartment complex under construction. Several of the hotels in which we have stayed appear to have been built yesterday. Our current lodging features the key card door entry now becoming common in the US, the aforementioned glass bathroom wall and a heating system controlled by what we thought at first was the remote control for the TV set.
A brief note for the winos both in California and New Jersey (hey old buddy). Some authentic Chinese red wine was served at the banquet tonight (this town is hosting the camellia shindig in 2016 so they wanted to make a good impression). Imagine the worst Pinot Noir you have ever had and you will have some idea of what it was like.
One last item, you have to love the place names here when translated into English. Today we visited Snow Dragon Mountain and Jade Water Village.
On to new digs tomorrow so I am not sure when I will write again. Be safe.
We are now pretty high in the mountains. The scenery is gorgeous, snow capped peaks, etc., and the weather cold especially after dark. Tomorrow we go even higher when we move to Shangri-la at about 10,000 feet. Most of what we saw today will make much more sense and require less verbiage when it can be accompanied by photos. For this reason I am going to abstain from long winded explanations (like this one) and just write about some random stuff I have noticed that either does not require photos or for which photos are hard to come by.
For example, on that latter point one of the interesting aspects here is the wide range of clothing styles. Older Chinese seem to prefer the drab utilitarian clothing that was ubiquitous some years ago. The youth are more westernized. Jeans are everywhere. Sneakers are also very popular and the current fashion seems to favor bright colors; red, green, yellow, electric blue and so on. Among young women short (mid-calf) high heeled boots with faux fur around the top seem to be the in thing. Short skirts are matched with those boots and dark colored stockings in a heavier, presumably warmer, material. Young men favor tight jeans, the aforementioned brightly colored sneakers and logo tee shirts (the Rolling Stones is the only thing this old geezer recognized).
Hair styles embody a similar generation gap. Older women have plain, modest relatively short styles. Most men have crew cuts or Western businessman styles. Young women have more fashionable cuts with some perms and reddish dye jobs. The boys seem to favor punk styles involving excessive goo to comb the hair straight up or razor cut short hair on the sides.
The only things missing that one would expect in the US are tattoos and piercings. We have spotted one or two here and there but nowhere near the numbers you would see at home.
Another Chinese oddity for which no photos will do justice is the glass walled shower stalls. Understand, the glass wall is not in the bathroom but rather is the whole wall that separates the bathroom from the bedroom/living area of the hotel room. Kinky, eh? A waterproof curtain can be pulled down but I am left wondering who came up with this idea in the first place. Or how it is utilized. “Hey baby, why don’t you take a shower?” The mysterious East indeed.
Construction is another fascinating item here. Every town we have stayed in or past through has at least one enormous apartment complex under construction. Several of the hotels in which we have stayed appear to have been built yesterday. Our current lodging features the key card door entry now becoming common in the US, the aforementioned glass bathroom wall and a heating system controlled by what we thought at first was the remote control for the TV set.
A brief note for the winos both in California and New Jersey (hey old buddy). Some authentic Chinese red wine was served at the banquet tonight (this town is hosting the camellia shindig in 2016 so they wanted to make a good impression). Imagine the worst Pinot Noir you have ever had and you will have some idea of what it was like.
One last item, you have to love the place names here when translated into English. Today we visited Snow Dragon Mountain and Jade Water Village.
On to new digs tomorrow so I am not sure when I will write again. Be safe.
Friday, February 10, 2012
On the Move
The camellia conference is officially over. The closing banquet was last night. The hosts served a type of Asian liquor that comes in very fancy red bottles and is 57% alcohol. In her inimitable (albeit charming) style Nancy got the party rolling and then graciously exited just after 9 p.m. Some of the crowd she had assembled was Aussies (who are undoubtedly the world’s champion partiers). One of them told us today that the party did not break up until after midnight. Fortunately for all concerned today was largely a travel day with lots of time to sleep on the bus.
Travel like that does not create much to write about. We saw a variety of countryside and stopped to tour one magnificent estate. It was an ancient and (to my surprise) privately owned estate open to the public. A written description cannot possibly do it justice. Even the numerous photos we took will be inadequate. The place contained art work, scrolls, sculptures, numerous types of potted plants (including, of course, camellias in full bloom) and even (to my great disgust) peacocks. When we are back home I will post a photo album dedicated to this place alone.
One thing that was emphasized again by rolling through the countryside for over three hours is the astonishing contrasts. Poverty and filth cheek by jowl with wealth and luxury. Just one example: Our bus convoy often passes other vehicles on the road as we have the police escort. However, the roads are narrow and the oncoming traffic is forced to pull over and often to stop. At one point today our driver leaned on the horn as we passed an ancient beat up old cart being wheeled along the road side by an older man in traditional work clothes. This forced a brand new Mercedes coming in the opposite direction to pull over and stop while we went around.
On that same note we arrived at our current lodging (the Guan Guang Hotel in the town of Lijian) which is brand new and ultra modern after driving through a scruffy obviously poorer section of town. The style of these older, poorer areas seems to involve a ground floor where garage doors are lined up one after another. When the doors are rolled up the shop inside (everything from food stalls to DVD shops to auto repair facilities, you name it) is open. Presumably the family that owns and operates the business lives on the second floor above the commercial establishment.
We are here and touring the local sights (I have lost track of what they are) all day tomorrow. Then on to Shangri-la the next day. If you thought Shangri-la was a fictional place you are correct. Apparently, however, several places began capitalizing on this name to promote tourism until earlier this century when they got together and settled on who got to be the Shangri-la. If you are curious the story is on the Internet or can be found in the material I posted about this trip earlier on the blog.
Good night.
Travel like that does not create much to write about. We saw a variety of countryside and stopped to tour one magnificent estate. It was an ancient and (to my surprise) privately owned estate open to the public. A written description cannot possibly do it justice. Even the numerous photos we took will be inadequate. The place contained art work, scrolls, sculptures, numerous types of potted plants (including, of course, camellias in full bloom) and even (to my great disgust) peacocks. When we are back home I will post a photo album dedicated to this place alone.
One thing that was emphasized again by rolling through the countryside for over three hours is the astonishing contrasts. Poverty and filth cheek by jowl with wealth and luxury. Just one example: Our bus convoy often passes other vehicles on the road as we have the police escort. However, the roads are narrow and the oncoming traffic is forced to pull over and often to stop. At one point today our driver leaned on the horn as we passed an ancient beat up old cart being wheeled along the road side by an older man in traditional work clothes. This forced a brand new Mercedes coming in the opposite direction to pull over and stop while we went around.
On that same note we arrived at our current lodging (the Guan Guang Hotel in the town of Lijian) which is brand new and ultra modern after driving through a scruffy obviously poorer section of town. The style of these older, poorer areas seems to involve a ground floor where garage doors are lined up one after another. When the doors are rolled up the shop inside (everything from food stalls to DVD shops to auto repair facilities, you name it) is open. Presumably the family that owns and operates the business lives on the second floor above the commercial establishment.
We are here and touring the local sights (I have lost track of what they are) all day tomorrow. Then on to Shangri-la the next day. If you thought Shangri-la was a fictional place you are correct. Apparently, however, several places began capitalizing on this name to promote tourism until earlier this century when they got together and settled on who got to be the Shangri-la. If you are curious the story is on the Internet or can be found in the material I posted about this trip earlier on the blog.
Good night.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Big in China
When I last communicated I reported that Nancy and I had been interviewed for Chinese TV twice. Once together and once Nancy by herself. Naturally the footage containing my ugly mug hit the cutting room floor. Nancy’s solo interview, however, was actually broadcast on TV along with two other interviews of camellia enthusiasts; our buddy Steve from England and an individual we have not yet met from Switzerland. Yesterdays joke is today’s reality – Nancy is big in China. We did not actually see the footage ourselves but Steve did not feel well last night, thus did not attend the performance that we were at, and so caught the show. (We were at a song and dance show based on the history and legends of the Yi people, this area’s first inhabitants).
Due to the constant activity I have not had the luxury of time to sit at the computer and tap out some blog entries so, with apologies, what follows will be somewhat random and not strictly linear.
Big news for my fellow t’ai chi enthusiasts, I finally got to practice t’ai chi with some Chinese practitioners. This morning we were taken early to a large (with a capital L) camellia garden. As we were walking to the entrance Nancy spotted some folk doing t’ai chi in a good sized paved area to the right of the garden entrance. I told Nancy I would catch up later and, with my new buddy “Jason” (one of the volunteer student guides who seems to like us and has attached himself to us), I walked over. I stood discreetly in the corner (as discrete as one can be when you are the only Caucasian face in a crowd of Chinese) and watched them practice. When they stopped I went to a far corner and began doing my form. Turns out, however, they were not done. The instructor started the music (yes, dear purists they did it to music) and started again. Their form is short and took less time than mine so they finished before I did. When I was done they approached me and asked me, through Jason, if I would like to join them. I certainly would! So the music was started again and I “monkey seed, monkey dood” my way along. Afterwards they crowded around and, through Jason, asked questions about what style I practiced and such, just like any group in the States would do. At that point I noticed that only the leader/teacher was male and that the others were all females from middle aged to elderly. After the chat when I was walking back to the park entrance I passed another group doing a different style of t’ai chi. This group was also predominantly female. I took lots of photos of both groups and Jason took photos of me practicing with the first group so they will get posted when I am home again.
Now that the convention is in full swing our bus convoy numbers at least 17 and everywhere we go we are preceded by not one but two police cars with red bubbles flashing. Side streets are blocked by uniformed police and curious crowds watch us roll by, some smiling and waving. Our most memorable journey to date was a long drive up an incredibly twisty mountain road to a Taoist monastery which features an ancient Camilla tree in the front courtyard. The road climbing the side of the mountain was so narrow and twisty that on occasion the buses would have to try once, back up and try again to negotiate the curves. With 17 buses this took some time as you can imagine. When we arrived the locals, dressed in traditional garb, staged a recreation of a traditional welcoming ceremony which included the beheading of a live chicken. Since a large crowd was gathered some of us, those with no burning desire to watch a chicken take it in the neck (as it were) hung back. The chicken put up quite a fuss so we discussed its attitude, awareness and whether or not it was a virgin. Not the most reverent group.
Here is a smooth segue from the subject of chickens to the subject of food. Having been a fan of Chinese food (as found Stateside) all my life I have been shocked and dismayed to discover that the food here, well . . . sucks. At first my attitude as the intrepid adventurer had me trying everything. Now there are a large number of dishes I simply pass by. The greasiest, fattiest portions of the animal seem to be preferred. Seasoning is mostly non-existent or would do the spiciest Mexican restaurant in California proud. Wine, when it is served, is thin and weak. The beer is served warm and tastes as though they had taken Bud or Miller then cut it fifty-fifty with water. Needless to say we are not drinking much.
On a cheerier alcohol note our restaurant last night was located in the same shopping village which we had visited two days earlier where I had stumbled upon the wine shop. After dinner was another performance of ancient dancing which we skipped and, accompanied by one of our new friends from Britain and world’s best guide Jason, we returned to the wine shop. The California wine he had wanted our opinion on was gone but we chose an Italian Sangiovase-Merlot blend that was a C+ but tasted pretty darn good after a week of deprivation.
There were no formal activities this afternoon so Nancy boarded the shopping bus with some of her new girlfriends while I, accompanied by Jason, wandered around taking photos and gawking (not necessarily in that order). I let Jason lead the way since he knew the area. We strolled through a park that ran along the river for several blocks. One of the things that is overwhelming here sometimes is the sheer mass of humanity. We walked for several blocks passing group after group of card players, musicians, kite flyers, readers and just plain lounging in the sun-ers. Jason explained that most of these folk were retired seniors who preferred to be outdoors in the mild, sunny weather. There were also a few mothers with small children and one group of teenagers on the lone basketball court engaged in an enthusiastic pickup game. Then we wandered into a more commercial area arranged by merchandise. The animal area with puppies, birds and fish (still no cats). The live plant area. The food court (but totally unlike the image I realize that may create in your mind). The used book and magazine booths. There were also these odd booths where small children used fishing pools attempting to catch plastic fish floating in a kiddie swimming pool. As they were crowded I guess this is quite popular.
Enough for now. The bed is calling me.
Due to the constant activity I have not had the luxury of time to sit at the computer and tap out some blog entries so, with apologies, what follows will be somewhat random and not strictly linear.
Big news for my fellow t’ai chi enthusiasts, I finally got to practice t’ai chi with some Chinese practitioners. This morning we were taken early to a large (with a capital L) camellia garden. As we were walking to the entrance Nancy spotted some folk doing t’ai chi in a good sized paved area to the right of the garden entrance. I told Nancy I would catch up later and, with my new buddy “Jason” (one of the volunteer student guides who seems to like us and has attached himself to us), I walked over. I stood discreetly in the corner (as discrete as one can be when you are the only Caucasian face in a crowd of Chinese) and watched them practice. When they stopped I went to a far corner and began doing my form. Turns out, however, they were not done. The instructor started the music (yes, dear purists they did it to music) and started again. Their form is short and took less time than mine so they finished before I did. When I was done they approached me and asked me, through Jason, if I would like to join them. I certainly would! So the music was started again and I “monkey seed, monkey dood” my way along. Afterwards they crowded around and, through Jason, asked questions about what style I practiced and such, just like any group in the States would do. At that point I noticed that only the leader/teacher was male and that the others were all females from middle aged to elderly. After the chat when I was walking back to the park entrance I passed another group doing a different style of t’ai chi. This group was also predominantly female. I took lots of photos of both groups and Jason took photos of me practicing with the first group so they will get posted when I am home again.
Now that the convention is in full swing our bus convoy numbers at least 17 and everywhere we go we are preceded by not one but two police cars with red bubbles flashing. Side streets are blocked by uniformed police and curious crowds watch us roll by, some smiling and waving. Our most memorable journey to date was a long drive up an incredibly twisty mountain road to a Taoist monastery which features an ancient Camilla tree in the front courtyard. The road climbing the side of the mountain was so narrow and twisty that on occasion the buses would have to try once, back up and try again to negotiate the curves. With 17 buses this took some time as you can imagine. When we arrived the locals, dressed in traditional garb, staged a recreation of a traditional welcoming ceremony which included the beheading of a live chicken. Since a large crowd was gathered some of us, those with no burning desire to watch a chicken take it in the neck (as it were) hung back. The chicken put up quite a fuss so we discussed its attitude, awareness and whether or not it was a virgin. Not the most reverent group.
Here is a smooth segue from the subject of chickens to the subject of food. Having been a fan of Chinese food (as found Stateside) all my life I have been shocked and dismayed to discover that the food here, well . . . sucks. At first my attitude as the intrepid adventurer had me trying everything. Now there are a large number of dishes I simply pass by. The greasiest, fattiest portions of the animal seem to be preferred. Seasoning is mostly non-existent or would do the spiciest Mexican restaurant in California proud. Wine, when it is served, is thin and weak. The beer is served warm and tastes as though they had taken Bud or Miller then cut it fifty-fifty with water. Needless to say we are not drinking much.
On a cheerier alcohol note our restaurant last night was located in the same shopping village which we had visited two days earlier where I had stumbled upon the wine shop. After dinner was another performance of ancient dancing which we skipped and, accompanied by one of our new friends from Britain and world’s best guide Jason, we returned to the wine shop. The California wine he had wanted our opinion on was gone but we chose an Italian Sangiovase-Merlot blend that was a C+ but tasted pretty darn good after a week of deprivation.
There were no formal activities this afternoon so Nancy boarded the shopping bus with some of her new girlfriends while I, accompanied by Jason, wandered around taking photos and gawking (not necessarily in that order). I let Jason lead the way since he knew the area. We strolled through a park that ran along the river for several blocks. One of the things that is overwhelming here sometimes is the sheer mass of humanity. We walked for several blocks passing group after group of card players, musicians, kite flyers, readers and just plain lounging in the sun-ers. Jason explained that most of these folk were retired seniors who preferred to be outdoors in the mild, sunny weather. There were also a few mothers with small children and one group of teenagers on the lone basketball court engaged in an enthusiastic pickup game. Then we wandered into a more commercial area arranged by merchandise. The animal area with puppies, birds and fish (still no cats). The live plant area. The food court (but totally unlike the image I realize that may create in your mind). The used book and magazine booths. There were also these odd booths where small children used fishing pools attempting to catch plastic fish floating in a kiddie swimming pool. As they were crowded I guess this is quite popular.
Enough for now. The bed is calling me.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Getting in Step
Greetings. By now you have deduced that we have surmounted the technical difficulties. We had help but the names will not be revealed.
As I write this we are in Chuxiong and the camellia conference is under way. The opening ceremonies this morning were absolutely mind blowing. We were driven to what appeared to be a large shopping plaza. To get to the area where a stage and chairs had been set up for the welcome and opening ceremonies we had to walk a distance approximately equivalent to going from the Sonoma County courthouse to the Santa Rosa Junior College. (For you out-of-towners I am guessing between one-fourth to one-third mile). Both sides of the literally red carpet were lined with colorfully costumed singers, dancers and musicians. The stroll from bus to assembly area took just shy of one-half hour.
At the reviewing area we were given Camilla conference baseball caps and treated (if that is the right word) to welcoming speeches by local politicians. Following the obligatory hot air there was some very cool music and folk dancing by some of the colorfully costumed greeters. This was capped with a small but very impressive fireworks display. (It is a shame that photos will not be available for awhile but in truth the photos will be a very pale imitation of the real thing).
Following the opening ceremonies we got to wander through the shopping center which was laid out like a small town about eight blocks long and six blocks wide. We were allowed to walk the length of it but restricted to only one-half the width. Potted camellias in full bloom, literally hundreds of them, lined the entire walkway. At one point, having wandered ahead of Nancy who was oo-ing and ah-ing over the camellias with her fellow enthusiasts I discovered a small art shop with Chinese style scroll paintings of camellia blooms. I went back and collected Nancy. She found one she liked and one of the student volunteers helped us to communicate with the shopkeeper. After the deal was struck we learned that the shopkeeper was also the artist. Nancy wanted photos of herself with the artist and the artist asked if we would download the photos to his in shop computer. Done.
At another point, having wandered off by myself again, I discovered a wine shop. There was a young blonde woman sitting out front and I chatted her up (old habits die hard). Turned out she was from Indiana and she and her husband ran the shop. I met him as well and when he learned I was from California and a wine drinker he brought out the only bottle of California wine he sold. It was a Merlot from Paso Robles. I gave him a stern lecture (kidding) and he invited us to return at 8 p.m. when he would open the bottle so we could give him our sophisticated (stop giggling) opinion. Unfortunately, the area was way too far from our hotel to walk so we were forced to take a rain check.
Sandwiched in here and there were two television interviews. At the first one both Nancy and I were interviewed for a local TV station. The second one was Nancy only (get the ugly dude off camera). I fully expect that if we were to return next year we would find Nancy’s face adorning billboards advertising cars or Internet providers or clothing, all of which are billboards we have seen.
On that subject China so far seems a strange mash up of the utterly alien (no toilet paper in the public restrooms, huge platters of food but no serving utensils at the meals) and the familiar (billboards, television advertising). As many folk far more articulate than I have noted China is a land of striking contrasts. The city we are in now is ultra modern, everything we have seen is post WW II construction and very clean. The city we were in yesterday was ancient and filthy.
Our bus ride yesterday took us to several historic and/or natural wonder stops. The best was a park where we hiked around through rock formations similar to what is found in Pinnacles National Monument or Bryce Canyon in Utah.
The weather has been very accommodating. Clear, dry, very cold at night but warm (around 70) during the day. Since I now find myself writing about the weather it is clearly time to stop. We will be sitting at this hotel for the next couple of days while the camellia conference continues so hopefully I can blog a bit more before we are on the road again.
Zai jian.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2499391059019.95821.1680191390&type=1&l=383747103c
As I write this we are in Chuxiong and the camellia conference is under way. The opening ceremonies this morning were absolutely mind blowing. We were driven to what appeared to be a large shopping plaza. To get to the area where a stage and chairs had been set up for the welcome and opening ceremonies we had to walk a distance approximately equivalent to going from the Sonoma County courthouse to the Santa Rosa Junior College. (For you out-of-towners I am guessing between one-fourth to one-third mile). Both sides of the literally red carpet were lined with colorfully costumed singers, dancers and musicians. The stroll from bus to assembly area took just shy of one-half hour.
At the reviewing area we were given Camilla conference baseball caps and treated (if that is the right word) to welcoming speeches by local politicians. Following the obligatory hot air there was some very cool music and folk dancing by some of the colorfully costumed greeters. This was capped with a small but very impressive fireworks display. (It is a shame that photos will not be available for awhile but in truth the photos will be a very pale imitation of the real thing).
Following the opening ceremonies we got to wander through the shopping center which was laid out like a small town about eight blocks long and six blocks wide. We were allowed to walk the length of it but restricted to only one-half the width. Potted camellias in full bloom, literally hundreds of them, lined the entire walkway. At one point, having wandered ahead of Nancy who was oo-ing and ah-ing over the camellias with her fellow enthusiasts I discovered a small art shop with Chinese style scroll paintings of camellia blooms. I went back and collected Nancy. She found one she liked and one of the student volunteers helped us to communicate with the shopkeeper. After the deal was struck we learned that the shopkeeper was also the artist. Nancy wanted photos of herself with the artist and the artist asked if we would download the photos to his in shop computer. Done.
At another point, having wandered off by myself again, I discovered a wine shop. There was a young blonde woman sitting out front and I chatted her up (old habits die hard). Turned out she was from Indiana and she and her husband ran the shop. I met him as well and when he learned I was from California and a wine drinker he brought out the only bottle of California wine he sold. It was a Merlot from Paso Robles. I gave him a stern lecture (kidding) and he invited us to return at 8 p.m. when he would open the bottle so we could give him our sophisticated (stop giggling) opinion. Unfortunately, the area was way too far from our hotel to walk so we were forced to take a rain check.
Sandwiched in here and there were two television interviews. At the first one both Nancy and I were interviewed for a local TV station. The second one was Nancy only (get the ugly dude off camera). I fully expect that if we were to return next year we would find Nancy’s face adorning billboards advertising cars or Internet providers or clothing, all of which are billboards we have seen.
On that subject China so far seems a strange mash up of the utterly alien (no toilet paper in the public restrooms, huge platters of food but no serving utensils at the meals) and the familiar (billboards, television advertising). As many folk far more articulate than I have noted China is a land of striking contrasts. The city we are in now is ultra modern, everything we have seen is post WW II construction and very clean. The city we were in yesterday was ancient and filthy.
Our bus ride yesterday took us to several historic and/or natural wonder stops. The best was a park where we hiked around through rock formations similar to what is found in Pinnacles National Monument or Bryce Canyon in Utah.
The weather has been very accommodating. Clear, dry, very cold at night but warm (around 70) during the day. Since I now find myself writing about the weather it is clearly time to stop. We will be sitting at this hotel for the next couple of days while the camellia conference continues so hopefully I can blog a bit more before we are on the road again.
Zai jian.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2499391059019.95821.1680191390&type=1&l=383747103c
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Idiots Abroad
In bidding farewell a few days ago I quoted one of my favorite authors, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., to the effect that unusual travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God. Since then I have discovered, painfully, that when the couple doing the dancing have approximately three and one-half left feet the performance is not destined for a featured spot on “Dancing With the Stars.”
We departed from San Francisco Monday afternoon (January 30). We arrived in Beijing approximately 22 hours later. As you may well imagine we were pretty well jet lagged at that point. So you can probably understand our shock and dismay when we were told that we would not be allowed to enter China because we lacked the proper paperwork. Apparently, unlike the countries we had previously visited, a visa is required to enter China. Somehow this fact was never communicated to us either by the sponsors, the airline or anyone else. Apparently all assumed that we knew this. As none of our previous overseas adventures had required a visa our ignorance was quite innocent and genuine but it was ignorance nonetheless.
Now you might imagine that the Chinese, who must encounter this type of blunder on a somewhat regular basis, would have some sort of procedure in place to deal with it. You would be wrong. Instead we were taken to see an officious policewoman who bluntly informed us we now had two choices – go home or go to Hong Kong where, unlike on the mainland, a visa can be obtained in a little over 24 hours. Hong Kong it was. We sat in the restricted area of the Beijing airport for about 10 hours. We were then escorted by a policeman to the van that ferried passengers from the arrival building to the departure point for the plane to Hong Kong. Nancy confessed later that she was sorely tempted to ask the cop to pose with me but thought better of it.
Our sole companion during this extended wait was a young woman from Taiwan who had arrived in Beijing for the sole purpose of changing planes from the one bringing her in from a visit to the USA to one for Taiwan. For some reason the authorities objected to her passport and would not allow her to enter China, even for the purpose of changing planes. She was there when we arrived and, although arrangements had been finally made for her to depart; she was still waiting when we left.
The flight to Hong Kong took about three hours. During the flight Nancy related the reason for our visit to Hong Kong to one of the stewardesses. We were concerned that we would be unable to begin the process of obtaining the necessary visa as our arrival in Hong Kong was to happen at about 5 p.m. their time. The stewardess took pity on us and arranged for us to get off the airplane first and had someone to meet us and escort us to the office where we could apply for the necessary visa. When we arrived at that location we were amazed to discover that there was a thriving industry generating visas for entry into the mainland. Whether the customers of the over one half dozen businesses located there were other individuals who found themselves in our situation or just people who were in Hong Kong for other reasons but had decided to visit the mainland on the spur of the moment we had no way to determine.
We chose the booth with the name recommended to us by the young man who had met us at the plane. After completing some forms and forking over a fairly large sum we were informed that we could pick up our visas the next day after 7:30 p.m. Having a day to kill in Hong Kong we signed up the next morning for a tour of the island. It was great fun and we met some interesting folk from around the world. Then, while returning to our hotel which was walking distance from the visa supermarket, the van broke down. More tension ensued but we finally got to visa world and obtained the necessary paperwork.
The next day we flew to Kunming and joined the camellia group expecting to be the laughing stock of the tour. To our amazement others had encountered the same problem. The only difference was that their situation was diagnosed before they left North America. In fact they were not allowed to board the plane. One individual simply flew directly to Hong Kong and pulled our maneuver. The other couple was already in Canada so obtained the necessary visas there. Others in the group had used travel agents to book their flights and were thus saved the agony and the humiliation. Apparently the whole visa required rule is only about three years old.
Once here and able to log on we discovered that neither Facebook nor our blog site can be entered from China. Censored. If you are reading this you have probably deduced that I have figured a way around that problem. Photos are a bit trickier and will probably be posted after the fact.
Rest assured that all is well now. Nancy is renewing acquaintance with some of her fellow camellia enthusiasts that we met in Japan two years ago while I stumble around taking photos and tasting exotic food. Due to the technical difficulties these posts may not be as frequent as I would like but if you are reading this one hopefully the technical difficulties have been overcome and there will be more to follow. If we are not home as scheduled by February 15 please, in the immortal words of Warren Zevon, “Send lawyers, guns and money.”
/Users/dwightrussell/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2012/Hong Kong/IMG_2068.JPG
We departed from San Francisco Monday afternoon (January 30). We arrived in Beijing approximately 22 hours later. As you may well imagine we were pretty well jet lagged at that point. So you can probably understand our shock and dismay when we were told that we would not be allowed to enter China because we lacked the proper paperwork. Apparently, unlike the countries we had previously visited, a visa is required to enter China. Somehow this fact was never communicated to us either by the sponsors, the airline or anyone else. Apparently all assumed that we knew this. As none of our previous overseas adventures had required a visa our ignorance was quite innocent and genuine but it was ignorance nonetheless.
Now you might imagine that the Chinese, who must encounter this type of blunder on a somewhat regular basis, would have some sort of procedure in place to deal with it. You would be wrong. Instead we were taken to see an officious policewoman who bluntly informed us we now had two choices – go home or go to Hong Kong where, unlike on the mainland, a visa can be obtained in a little over 24 hours. Hong Kong it was. We sat in the restricted area of the Beijing airport for about 10 hours. We were then escorted by a policeman to the van that ferried passengers from the arrival building to the departure point for the plane to Hong Kong. Nancy confessed later that she was sorely tempted to ask the cop to pose with me but thought better of it.
Our sole companion during this extended wait was a young woman from Taiwan who had arrived in Beijing for the sole purpose of changing planes from the one bringing her in from a visit to the USA to one for Taiwan. For some reason the authorities objected to her passport and would not allow her to enter China, even for the purpose of changing planes. She was there when we arrived and, although arrangements had been finally made for her to depart; she was still waiting when we left.
The flight to Hong Kong took about three hours. During the flight Nancy related the reason for our visit to Hong Kong to one of the stewardesses. We were concerned that we would be unable to begin the process of obtaining the necessary visa as our arrival in Hong Kong was to happen at about 5 p.m. their time. The stewardess took pity on us and arranged for us to get off the airplane first and had someone to meet us and escort us to the office where we could apply for the necessary visa. When we arrived at that location we were amazed to discover that there was a thriving industry generating visas for entry into the mainland. Whether the customers of the over one half dozen businesses located there were other individuals who found themselves in our situation or just people who were in Hong Kong for other reasons but had decided to visit the mainland on the spur of the moment we had no way to determine.
We chose the booth with the name recommended to us by the young man who had met us at the plane. After completing some forms and forking over a fairly large sum we were informed that we could pick up our visas the next day after 7:30 p.m. Having a day to kill in Hong Kong we signed up the next morning for a tour of the island. It was great fun and we met some interesting folk from around the world. Then, while returning to our hotel which was walking distance from the visa supermarket, the van broke down. More tension ensued but we finally got to visa world and obtained the necessary paperwork.
The next day we flew to Kunming and joined the camellia group expecting to be the laughing stock of the tour. To our amazement others had encountered the same problem. The only difference was that their situation was diagnosed before they left North America. In fact they were not allowed to board the plane. One individual simply flew directly to Hong Kong and pulled our maneuver. The other couple was already in Canada so obtained the necessary visas there. Others in the group had used travel agents to book their flights and were thus saved the agony and the humiliation. Apparently the whole visa required rule is only about three years old.
Once here and able to log on we discovered that neither Facebook nor our blog site can be entered from China. Censored. If you are reading this you have probably deduced that I have figured a way around that problem. Photos are a bit trickier and will probably be posted after the fact.
Rest assured that all is well now. Nancy is renewing acquaintance with some of her fellow camellia enthusiasts that we met in Japan two years ago while I stumble around taking photos and tasting exotic food. Due to the technical difficulties these posts may not be as frequent as I would like but if you are reading this one hopefully the technical difficulties have been overcome and there will be more to follow. If we are not home as scheduled by February 15 please, in the immortal words of Warren Zevon, “Send lawyers, guns and money.”
/Users/dwightrussell/Pictures/iPhoto Library/Originals/2012/Hong Kong/IMG_2068.JPG
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