Monday, July 11, 2011
Monday... Breakfast at 7 at the hotel was our first Chinese meal - fried rice, some sort of jelly filled dumpling, rice soup, hard boiled eggs - some other things I wasn't willing to venture. We has some difficulty figuring out whether we'd paid in advance, but eventually determined we had not - so paid about $3 per.
Drove to Hangzhou - about 12 mi SW of Shanghai - going from a city of about 23 million people to another city of about 8 m. 2 hours - landscape flat - either taken up by housing or agriculture - rice farming or other things. As we get near Hangzhou the housed are very pretty brick with ornate tile roofs and high tech lightning rods.
As we cross Hangzhou, it takes another hour because traffic is slow/crazy/scary. It is kind of like an odd dance - cars inches away from each other / cutting in front of each other. If there is a break in oncoming traffic at all many cars will dive across a double yellow (all rules are only suggestions) to make ground and then cut back in. The driver and guide and others seem to be very confident nothing will happen as no one is wearing seat belts.
I agree with Carolyn, our guide, Lemon (a choice of name that has a back story) is very good - she is suggesting changes to our itinerary that she thinks we will enjoy more - some add modest cost but we take her suggestions.
We arrive at a 1100 year old pagoda overlooking West Lake - which we get out to climb. The lake is surrounded by steep hills - all very beautiful. The inside of the pagoda has very steep stairs - its warm and humid but overcast - so comfortable.
We drive to a park on the lake where we get out to walk out on a causeway which crosses the lake. Lots and lots of Chinese tourists here. We go from creating a curiosity to a spectacle and back again as people alternately stare at Allie, Jenna and Emmi, or take pics, or stop us and ask us to take pics with their children.
The lake has a backstory /legend - sort of a Romeo and Juliet thing except R/J end up as butterflies instead of dead. I am not able to catch all of it as there is a steady flow of info from Lemon about the city, the lake and the story. Her English, while excellent, is still accented.
We go out to an island by boat - there are 3 stone statues in the water - and then gardens on the island which are again very beautiful - and a place where you can view / feed the fish (gold coy). We return again by boat - creating a scene pretty much everywhere we go.
After walking out of the park we drive to a late lunch - about 2 pm - a place whose name translates to Red Clay - and part is served in terracotta. Some of it is their local specialty - and Lemo orders for us as we tell her our preferences. We have a privat glassed in room (which all rooms are). There are many dishes on a glass lazy susan - the centers are Szechuan chicken with tofu and a kind of pork ribs / corn. And dim sam - kind of a funnel cake wraped in a fried shell. All is wonderful / very fun. I'm glad we have a guide to order for us - she knows the specialties and recommends well.
drive up into the hills - where they grow tea. We stop at a tea plantation where they speak English. The tour is much like much like a Napa wine tasting experience - our guide is warm, friendly and has excellent E0nglish. She takes us through the making of tea and then a tasting and opportunity to buy - which we do a small amount. The countryside and the buildings themselves are all beautiful - this is a charmed experience.
We start back tired - but have the 3 hour drive - traffic in Hangzhou is still bad - but we're tired so it's not so entertaining this time. VW, Audi, GM (Buick & Chevy), Toyota, BMW, Mercedes and Hyundai/Kia all have a big presence in China. We are in a weathy area so you see an occasional Porsche. Interesting.
We return to Shanghai tired and crash without dinner. So Monday is over. I think I will post this and then put the pics in separately so lose what I've typed - getting tired again.
Thank you Jesus for a fun and safe day,
D
Drove to Hangzhou - about 12 mi SW of Shanghai - going from a city of about 23 million people to another city of about 8 m. 2 hours - landscape flat - either taken up by housing or agriculture - rice farming or other things. As we get near Hangzhou the housed are very pretty brick with ornate tile roofs and high tech lightning rods.
As we cross Hangzhou, it takes another hour because traffic is slow/crazy/scary. It is kind of like an odd dance - cars inches away from each other / cutting in front of each other. If there is a break in oncoming traffic at all many cars will dive across a double yellow (all rules are only suggestions) to make ground and then cut back in. The driver and guide and others seem to be very confident nothing will happen as no one is wearing seat belts.
I agree with Carolyn, our guide, Lemon (a choice of name that has a back story) is very good - she is suggesting changes to our itinerary that she thinks we will enjoy more - some add modest cost but we take her suggestions.
We arrive at a 1100 year old pagoda overlooking West Lake - which we get out to climb. The lake is surrounded by steep hills - all very beautiful. The inside of the pagoda has very steep stairs - its warm and humid but overcast - so comfortable.
We drive to a park on the lake where we get out to walk out on a causeway which crosses the lake. Lots and lots of Chinese tourists here. We go from creating a curiosity to a spectacle and back again as people alternately stare at Allie, Jenna and Emmi, or take pics, or stop us and ask us to take pics with their children.
The lake has a backstory /legend - sort of a Romeo and Juliet thing except R/J end up as butterflies instead of dead. I am not able to catch all of it as there is a steady flow of info from Lemon about the city, the lake and the story. Her English, while excellent, is still accented.
We go out to an island by boat - there are 3 stone statues in the water - and then gardens on the island which are again very beautiful - and a place where you can view / feed the fish (gold coy). We return again by boat - creating a scene pretty much everywhere we go.
After walking out of the park we drive to a late lunch - about 2 pm - a place whose name translates to Red Clay - and part is served in terracotta. Some of it is their local specialty - and Lemo orders for us as we tell her our preferences. We have a privat glassed in room (which all rooms are). There are many dishes on a glass lazy susan - the centers are Szechuan chicken with tofu and a kind of pork ribs / corn. And dim sam - kind of a funnel cake wraped in a fried shell. All is wonderful / very fun. I'm glad we have a guide to order for us - she knows the specialties and recommends well.
drive up into the hills - where they grow tea. We stop at a tea plantation where they speak English. The tour is much like much like a Napa wine tasting experience - our guide is warm, friendly and has excellent E0nglish. She takes us through the making of tea and then a tasting and opportunity to buy - which we do a small amount. The countryside and the buildings themselves are all beautiful - this is a charmed experience.
We start back tired - but have the 3 hour drive - traffic in Hangzhou is still bad - but we're tired so it's not so entertaining this time. VW, Audi, GM (Buick & Chevy), Toyota, BMW, Mercedes and Hyundai/Kia all have a big presence in China. We are in a weathy area so you see an occasional Porsche. Interesting.
We return to Shanghai tired and crash without dinner. So Monday is over. I think I will post this and then put the pics in separately so lose what I've typed - getting tired again.
Thank you Jesus for a fun and safe day,
D
My turn part 3
No jet lag yet. Oh wait. Except for the part where everyone is asleep except me. Doug and I woke up last night between 1 and 3am. We discussed our day. I was just totally spazzy. At one point Doug said, "are you really this hyper or are you just trying to annoy me?" Isn't he funny?
The highlight of the day for me was our meal in Hangzhou. At an exquisite restaurant called Hong Ni. We rode up to the 4th floor and were taken to a private room in the corner with windows across 2 sides. Glass doors were closed behind us and we had the place to ourselves. The 5 of us sat around a table that could have seated 10, with a huge glass lazy-susan in the middle. The server came and poured tea, then a succession of servers came in with 6 different dishes: beef and onions, pork and corn, something green, rice and peas, egg drop soup and dim sum. It was heaven. We (most of us) ate with chopstix, and I must say we dined in style! The person who didn't eat with chopstix had brought his own plastic fork just in case, so the meal was pretty much magical.
Gotta put in a word for breakfast. Not a breakfasty thing in sight. Well, ok, there were brown hard-boiled eggs. Didn't know if they were chicken, so I was one and passed by. I had fried rice and a red bean bun. I could get into that for breakfast every day. Hey! What a great coincidence! I get to!
By the way, the destination of Hangzhou (small town population of 8,000,000) was because of a very historic lake - West Lake. Emperors for centuries have visited West Lake as a retreat. There were gondolas all over it. We took a wooden boat out to an island that was created out of the dredged-out bottom. The island was a paradise of gardens. One photo-op after another. Stunning. Doug will get the photos off the camera tomorrow.
Oh, and on the way out to West Lake, we stopped at a 1,000 year old pagoda called the 6 harmonies Pagoda. The 6 harmonies are N,S,W,E,heaven,earth. There is an amazing tidal wave that occurs there and 1,000 years ago, they thought it was evil spirits causing it, so they built the pagoda to ward them off. It is 13 levels high on the outside and 6 levels high on the inside. We climbed to inside level 3. SO COOL!! And incredibly beautiful.
Hey, who says Chinese food doesn't stay with you? We got back to our hotel at 8pm without dinner and dropped into bed.
OH MY GOODNESS - you're probably dying to know whether we experience squatty potties today aren't you??!! How could I forget? Actually, you could sell me on these. No yucky seat to worry about. Of course, you'll want complete confidence in your leg joints and muscles. Squat pot + trick knee = disaster. Not speaking from experience, but it's amazing what can occur to you in the moment. So yes, we experienced squatty potties today. No big deal.
No wait, the tea house. Forgot about that too. We were taken to quite the tea plantation. Tea plants terraced up and down steep hillsides. Gorgeous. The peace and stunning natural beauty reminded us of the atmosphere you feel in Napa. We were escorted into what in Beijing would be called a Hutong - a courtyard surrounded by apartments. We passed through the first courtyard that had a pond with a giant teapot fountain and through an archway into another courtyard. We went into a tea room off the 2nd courtyard and given a lesson in tea. Specifically green tea. It is grown there in 3 qualities. The highest quality they don't export, and in fact is only available to political leaders and dignitaries. It was shown to us (we were invited to sniff it) but we tasted the 2nd grade. It doesn't taste AT ALL like any green tea I've ever had. What the heck happens to it on it's way to the US? This stuff smelled like SPINACH! Our tea teacher even said so! I'm not sure I like it. In fact I was pretty sure I didn't like it. But hey, are you kidding? Tea in China??! Of course we bought some to bring home. You all need to taste it too!
All right gotta go. This is just . . . wow.
The highlight of the day for me was our meal in Hangzhou. At an exquisite restaurant called Hong Ni. We rode up to the 4th floor and were taken to a private room in the corner with windows across 2 sides. Glass doors were closed behind us and we had the place to ourselves. The 5 of us sat around a table that could have seated 10, with a huge glass lazy-susan in the middle. The server came and poured tea, then a succession of servers came in with 6 different dishes: beef and onions, pork and corn, something green, rice and peas, egg drop soup and dim sum. It was heaven. We (most of us) ate with chopstix, and I must say we dined in style! The person who didn't eat with chopstix had brought his own plastic fork just in case, so the meal was pretty much magical.
Gotta put in a word for breakfast. Not a breakfasty thing in sight. Well, ok, there were brown hard-boiled eggs. Didn't know if they were chicken, so I was one and passed by. I had fried rice and a red bean bun. I could get into that for breakfast every day. Hey! What a great coincidence! I get to!
By the way, the destination of Hangzhou (small town population of 8,000,000) was because of a very historic lake - West Lake. Emperors for centuries have visited West Lake as a retreat. There were gondolas all over it. We took a wooden boat out to an island that was created out of the dredged-out bottom. The island was a paradise of gardens. One photo-op after another. Stunning. Doug will get the photos off the camera tomorrow.
Oh, and on the way out to West Lake, we stopped at a 1,000 year old pagoda called the 6 harmonies Pagoda. The 6 harmonies are N,S,W,E,heaven,earth. There is an amazing tidal wave that occurs there and 1,000 years ago, they thought it was evil spirits causing it, so they built the pagoda to ward them off. It is 13 levels high on the outside and 6 levels high on the inside. We climbed to inside level 3. SO COOL!! And incredibly beautiful.
Hey, who says Chinese food doesn't stay with you? We got back to our hotel at 8pm without dinner and dropped into bed.
OH MY GOODNESS - you're probably dying to know whether we experience squatty potties today aren't you??!! How could I forget? Actually, you could sell me on these. No yucky seat to worry about. Of course, you'll want complete confidence in your leg joints and muscles. Squat pot + trick knee = disaster. Not speaking from experience, but it's amazing what can occur to you in the moment. So yes, we experienced squatty potties today. No big deal.
No wait, the tea house. Forgot about that too. We were taken to quite the tea plantation. Tea plants terraced up and down steep hillsides. Gorgeous. The peace and stunning natural beauty reminded us of the atmosphere you feel in Napa. We were escorted into what in Beijing would be called a Hutong - a courtyard surrounded by apartments. We passed through the first courtyard that had a pond with a giant teapot fountain and through an archway into another courtyard. We went into a tea room off the 2nd courtyard and given a lesson in tea. Specifically green tea. It is grown there in 3 qualities. The highest quality they don't export, and in fact is only available to political leaders and dignitaries. It was shown to us (we were invited to sniff it) but we tasted the 2nd grade. It doesn't taste AT ALL like any green tea I've ever had. What the heck happens to it on it's way to the US? This stuff smelled like SPINACH! Our tea teacher even said so! I'm not sure I like it. In fact I was pretty sure I didn't like it. But hey, are you kidding? Tea in China??! Of course we bought some to bring home. You all need to taste it too!
All right gotta go. This is just . . . wow.
My turn part 2
A few times, we'll be typing away, and all of a sudden, everything just disappears. So I want to go ahead and finish off a post once in awhile before it disappears!
Anyway, I've never been very interested in big cities, and Shanghai is the biggest of the big cities in my book. It's just too big to take in. So I don't try very hard.
The drive to Hangzhou today took 3 hours. Lemon said it was a waste of time (she's very blunt) but who doesn't love a road trip in a foreign country?? It took 1 hour just to get out of Shanghai. Then another hour to go across the "countryside". Um. Not a single moment of open land. EVERYwhere you look there are buildings. Even when there are rice paddies everywhere, there are buildings among them. It may take getting WAY out of the cities to see what we would think of as a "farm house". The farmers here live in high-rise apartments.
Two observations while driving: no screens on windows, but windows open. Yikes. And, expanding clothes racks outside every apartment, all the way up 20-30 floors!! Clothes flapping in the breeze everywhere. I liked it! But man, clip on that pair of undies or you'll never see it again!
A couple scary moments in driving: stopping suddenly on the freeway, pondering a left turn. Bus, then car, then truck bearing down. Pupils dilating. Mouths hanging open in silent panic. Also, merging is an art form. We likened it to a dance. But as Jenna said, "it would be better choreographed". It's how-you-say? Improv!
We taught our guide a few words today: tandem. Missouri.
And a few phrases: "Not for all the tea in China" and "No, Bill Clinton is from Arkansas"
Anyway, I've never been very interested in big cities, and Shanghai is the biggest of the big cities in my book. It's just too big to take in. So I don't try very hard.
The drive to Hangzhou today took 3 hours. Lemon said it was a waste of time (she's very blunt) but who doesn't love a road trip in a foreign country?? It took 1 hour just to get out of Shanghai. Then another hour to go across the "countryside". Um. Not a single moment of open land. EVERYwhere you look there are buildings. Even when there are rice paddies everywhere, there are buildings among them. It may take getting WAY out of the cities to see what we would think of as a "farm house". The farmers here live in high-rise apartments.
Two observations while driving: no screens on windows, but windows open. Yikes. And, expanding clothes racks outside every apartment, all the way up 20-30 floors!! Clothes flapping in the breeze everywhere. I liked it! But man, clip on that pair of undies or you'll never see it again!
A couple scary moments in driving: stopping suddenly on the freeway, pondering a left turn. Bus, then car, then truck bearing down. Pupils dilating. Mouths hanging open in silent panic. Also, merging is an art form. We likened it to a dance. But as Jenna said, "it would be better choreographed". It's how-you-say? Improv!
We taught our guide a few words today: tandem. Missouri.
And a few phrases: "Not for all the tea in China" and "No, Bill Clinton is from Arkansas"
My turn
First Impressions:
The flight was pretty much amazing - I took Doug's advice to live in the moment - plus, having our wills updated gave me confidence to relax and enjoy the ride. Actually SEEING the surface of the Arctic Ocean was incredible!! Couldn't believe it at 38,000 feet up. The ice floes must have been huge!! Then awhile later looking down and realizing we were looking at Siberia was a trip! Another thrill was that we were headed right for MeiLi's city and looked like we flew right over it. We blew her a kiss.
Shanghai is pretty much a frenzy.
Our guide, Lemon, is fascinating. She's very versed in politics, economy, of course culture and history. She's a steady stream of info.
Our driver, Mr. Leo, doesn't seem to speak English. He's very nice and amazing at navigating through chaotic local streets, alleys and freeways. Just like you hear about, pedestrians, bikes, scooters, rickshaws, cars and buses everywhere, jockeying for position but rarely ever coming into physical contact. Doug found the makes and models of cars the most interesting - I loved the rickshaws. We saw hand-pulled, bicyle-pulled and scooter-pulled varieties. The hand-pulled ones look rural. Saw 8-foot stack of mattresses on one!
The flight was pretty much amazing - I took Doug's advice to live in the moment - plus, having our wills updated gave me confidence to relax and enjoy the ride. Actually SEEING the surface of the Arctic Ocean was incredible!! Couldn't believe it at 38,000 feet up. The ice floes must have been huge!! Then awhile later looking down and realizing we were looking at Siberia was a trip! Another thrill was that we were headed right for MeiLi's city and looked like we flew right over it. We blew her a kiss.
Shanghai is pretty much a frenzy.
Our guide, Lemon, is fascinating. She's very versed in politics, economy, of course culture and history. She's a steady stream of info.
Our driver, Mr. Leo, doesn't seem to speak English. He's very nice and amazing at navigating through chaotic local streets, alleys and freeways. Just like you hear about, pedestrians, bikes, scooters, rickshaws, cars and buses everywhere, jockeying for position but rarely ever coming into physical contact. Doug found the makes and models of cars the most interesting - I loved the rickshaws. We saw hand-pulled, bicyle-pulled and scooter-pulled varieties. The hand-pulled ones look rural. Saw 8-foot stack of mattresses on one!
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Huangpu River
Hey,
I'll try to process some feelings first. The first is congratulations Rachel and Jake. I am so sorry we missed your wedding. Rachel, I know you were the most beautiful bride / I am so happy for you both. Please know that we love you and that we're praying for you. Not being there is one of those times in life when one (that is, I) acutely feels their own limitations. I pray that the God of all Comforts makes up for our lack. Please know that I thought of you and prayed for you on the flight / and that are hearts are there with you.
So - getting here is quite long - 22 hrs from our door to hotel - I think my nails grew a half an inch. Nice that the plane has a GPS option in the little entertainment / info system - so you can track your progress.
Then suddenly YOU'RE HERE. And flooded with information as well as things to do. Get through security, hand in your arrival card, don't lose your departure card, nothing to declare / find the luggage / everything here - trade some currency - find our ride. All went very smoothly / traffic not too bad to hotel - made plans with the guide to meet back at 5:30 for the evening.
Allie, Emmi and I went out for a walk. We found a Pizza Hut - I know - not venturing out too much yet on food - don't want to risk getting sick while trying to keep up with this. Started to observe / experience Asian traffic - moms and dads carrying infants on scooters - turning left with no right of way. Lots of people. Got back to the room with a pizza with 10 min to go before going downtown.
Took a cruise on the HuangPu river downtown between Pudong and the Bund. Very beautiful -high tech / modern on one side - older / traditional on the other. People everywhere. The river traffic was much like the street traffic - lots of cruise boats and barges / very close together but not actually making contact.
All fun, back to the room - jet lag hitting - crash.
Thanks all for your prayers and continued support during this.
D
Hello from Shanghai
I guess uneventful is a great report - all flights were on time - and 22 hours from our door to hotel, we are here. The VPN is working so we can get to the blog and FB.
Attached is a pic over the Arctic Ocean. The flight from Chicago goes north over Canada, north of Alaska, then down over Siberia to China. Smooth and good weather all the way.
Here now - feeling very surreal. D
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Getting my thoughts in order
As I read blogs from others packing and organizing for their trips to China, I wondered, "why on earth take time out of your obviously frenzied day to post on your blogs?? Seriously??"
But here's what I think. I think that it's a way to settle down a bit. To collect and organize thoughts. Those of you who know me, know I'm a bit hyper - love to keep moving, love to talk, love to spaz out - but add a whopping dose of anxiety on top of the frenzy, and I'm Hammy on caffeine. So here I am with a cuppa to blather on about a few things, just to catch my breath. (So few links left on our paper-link-a-day chain that it's scary.)
The home team here (Allie, Jenna, Emmi and I) is getting so much done it's unbelievable. I don't know how moms with little ones do this. Kudos to you, super-women!! At times my girls are better at plowing through than I am!
But it's fun. Beyond fun. It's incredible.
Speaking of fun, google "China's New Bullet Train". China debuted this thing one week ago. Got called by our travel agent that our train trip from Shanghai to Beijing had been cancelled and now we "have to" travel The Bullet. Oh my giddy aunt.
Thank you again, each one of you who are following along with us. It means so much!! Keep praying for MeiLi please! And that we stay safe.
But here's what I think. I think that it's a way to settle down a bit. To collect and organize thoughts. Those of you who know me, know I'm a bit hyper - love to keep moving, love to talk, love to spaz out - but add a whopping dose of anxiety on top of the frenzy, and I'm Hammy on caffeine. So here I am with a cuppa to blather on about a few things, just to catch my breath. (So few links left on our paper-link-a-day chain that it's scary.)
The home team here (Allie, Jenna, Emmi and I) is getting so much done it's unbelievable. I don't know how moms with little ones do this. Kudos to you, super-women!! At times my girls are better at plowing through than I am!
But it's fun. Beyond fun. It's incredible.
Speaking of fun, google "China's New Bullet Train". China debuted this thing one week ago. Got called by our travel agent that our train trip from Shanghai to Beijing had been cancelled and now we "have to" travel The Bullet. Oh my giddy aunt.
Thank you again, each one of you who are following along with us. It means so much!! Keep praying for MeiLi please! And that we stay safe.
Friday, July 1, 2011
Sneak peek!
We've been careful, at Holt International's advice, to protect MeiLi's identity and our process by not publishing too many details until she's legally ours, but we're very close, and we just got a few more pictures today. We wanted to share one - she's such a little doll!!
We love you MeiLi! We're coming soon!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)