BillBlog

Slide Show of China2008

Hi Folks:

Been working on web photos for China. Organizing on one page at:
http://www.billhowe.org/China2008.htm
work in progress.

China2008 Update - Wed. June 11 from Guilin

Today we do the famous Li River Cruise. The river is very high and they have had to delay the annual international Dragon Boat Festival Race. The trip is about 3-4 hours past the most beautiful scnery in China. When we get off we stay at a tropical hotel wih outdoor pools overlooking the mountains. People have been enjoying being so close to the rice paddies here. WE bought fresh lychees from a street vendor yesterday. Some of the guys had little girls running up to them rubbing their stomachs saying Happy Buddha belly - hoping for money. We are right in front of the Li River and the scenery is gorgeous. Fran, our local guide is very pretty and very good at languages. She says she is a local girl.

From beautiful Guilin– Tues, June 10, 2008

Sunday, June 8.

We started our day with a trip to the Ancient Wall of Xi’an. My brother Bob and his wife Maria arrived at the hotel after a 9 hour train ride from the city where they are studying Hanyu (Chinese people) and teaching English part-time. Maria was thrilled to see a bathtub. They both loved the AC in my room. At the wall many of us rented bikes to do the 9 mile ride around the city on the wall. Others walked and others used a golf cart. Bette and I rented a tandem bike but half way around the chain fell off after we hot a bump going up/down a ramp. Luckily Leonard had given me a cell phone and I used it to get help. A guy came with a replacement bike. Scott and Chris in the meantime had been able to make a partial repair. We finished the ride in very hot, humid weather. I bought an orgnge soda and drank most of it right away.

After that we had lunch and then visited the Muslim market and Mosque. There are many Chinese Muslims living here. That night was the Tang Dynasty dinner. Food was terrific and show very traditional.

 Mon. June 9, 2008.

Today was our professional visit. THe hospital we went too went all out for our visit. We met in a big lecture hall. They had bowls of fruit and water for us. THe president of the hospital came and had invited anyone who wanted to come to haer hte lecture, About 50 doctors and nurses showed  up. Dr. Yoy Maderazo gave a great lecture on Hep B and there was an exchange of questions with the staff. It was my first medical lecture to attend and very fascinating. A tour of the hospital followed. The first stop was massage therapy and once they found out Norm had a back problem, one of the doctors gave him a treatment.

Tues, June 10.

Hard getting time to get online. So much to do. Arrived Guilin yesterday and went for Foot Massage - fantastic - and then supper. Today we went to the Damio Primary School to present them with a new computer and printer plus the gang brought tons of gifts. We were able to raise almost $1000 for the computer and had enough to give them cash for more software. The computer teacher said he only had one computer. I have tons of pictures but will not be able to load them until I get home - they will be at www.billhowe.org.

We miss Gerard our guide in Xi’an but Fran our Gulin guide is wonderful also - a local girl. She asked us to help her learn American slang. The Reed Flute Cave was another stop. Tonight was open dinner night. Will hear what trouble everybody got into tomroow.

China2008 -update JUne 7 from Xi’an

Well, we have been on the go so much that it has been too exhausting trying to get online. tHe last hotel took me almost an hour to load 4 pictures. Leaving Beijing and Duan, our female local guide was hard. She was so sweet to us, but we have Leonard to watch over us. Fligh was delayed but we got there in two hours and mer Gerard, our old buddy local tour guide. He took us to the hotel for a quick change and then to the Dumpling Dinner Banquet, the best in Xi’an. This city has a different feel than Beijing. Saw people living in tents. They felt the after shockthough noting fell, many moved into tents. More povery here and poor kids. Hotel is great as usual, right downtown near all the action. The Dumpling place is famous and we stuffed ourselves. Gerard brought us two bottles of Fire water because he knows how much Bette and I like it. WE had two tables and the one I was at we toasted 9 times (Norm kept count). The others only had two toasts so guess we were the rowdier group. OUr guides surprised us by announcing that it was Norma/s birthday and then Karla had one flying over and Sara was coming up. THe staff brought in a big cake and we all sang Happy Birthday in Chinese (Leonard had taught us this). Yesterday WE saw the Terracotta Warriors. - amazing and had a rare photo taken with one of the farmers who discovered it. After we went to an Herbal market and were more fascinated with te little kids playing. THen we all had a free night to eat. Nine of us, including my brother Bob and his wife Maria, who study here, went out to a great local restaurant. - toady we do the City wall. Will try later to get pictures. up.

China 2008 update #2 - June 3, 2008

Uploading pictures may be hard from here. Will load all when I get back. Yoy bought a $5 watch off a street vendor and he keeps asking us every five minutes what time it is. Norm shopping for pants. Mitchele got a cute shirt right in the hotel.  Took lots of photos at Forbidden City. Others are anxious to spend money but we are working hard. Tomorrow is Peking Duck dinner and I am going to try to get all to eat the fried scorpion. Also raised enough money to but rural school a good computer and printer. I think they will be happy. Group is getting along really. Well. Took my first photos of Ed beside and inside a police vehicle today. If he gets arrested we may not bail him out.

Hello from China - Tues, June 3, 2008

I think it is Tuesday. Our flight from JFK was fine - arrived same time as the other group. New airport is huge and gorgeous. No problem at customs. Leonard was waiting for us with Duan, our local guide and Tom, our driver in great bus. Hotel is terrific. Good location. Rooms are better than most in US. Fresh ASian pears in room each day. We left Sunda, June 1, arrived Mon June 2. Had buffet supper in hotel wher we met up with Seattle group. Tues am we have a briefing on China plus great medical lecture. Guests went on tour. Pam & Judy had education briefing. Lunch at local restaurant and then tour of Forbidden City which was one of the best for me. It had just stopped raining - Seattle weather - and temp was great. Back to hotel for quick change and then to eat AGAIN.. and then Peking Opera. The Opra is an acquired taste. Now almost 10 pm. Kids went out for night life - Chris, Scott, Katy, Sara and Mitchele. The old folks are back at hotel sleeping it off. Will try to post some pictures on my web at www.billhowe.org.

Tips on Bargaining in Beijing

I thought this was a helpful site with tips on bargaining in Beijing –

http://www.beijingtraveltips.com/tips/shopping_1/bargaining_howto.htm

Note to Beijing Travelers

The new airport in Beijing is huge and very clean. Once you arrive in the terminal you will walk for some ways until you get to customs. On the plane they will have given you a two part Arrival / Departure card. Fill that out before hand (include your name exactly as it on your passport). You wait in a “Foreigner’s Line” until called. Hand the agent your passport and the Arrival / Departure card. He’ll stamp everything, tear off the Arrival portion, and return your passport and departure card. The entire process takes all of 30 seconds. This is the first and last customs area you will have to deal with.

If you are arriving in the new terminal you will take a light rail train to the baggage claim terminal. The train only makes one stop, only heads in one direction. You can’t screw it up. Grab your bags from baggage claim and the you are on your way. Easy.

The traffic can be quite bad, you’ll probably be 45 minutes until you arrive at Hotel Kunlun. They’ve planted lots of trees along the expressway, returning visitors will really notice the difference.

The Hotel is located on in the Chaoyang district, the northeast corner of the city, in between the 2nd and 3rd ring road. If you want to find it on the map look for the intersection of XinYuan Nan Lu (parallel to the river) and the 3rd ring road (DongSanHuan BeiLu).

It is a nice area. The hotel is great, enormous, with nine really fancy themed-restaurants, a cigar bar, and more. You can exchange money easily at the front desk, there are also two ATMs and a huge Citibank next door.

There is high speed internet in the room (about $12 USD for 24 hours). Breakfast starts at 6:30am and is buffet style with a mix of American, Chinese, and Korean cuisine. It is great. The coffee is drinkable.

The hotel rooms are nice. There are no dressers. There is a nice TV, tons of amenities in the bathroom (including a scale, blow-dryer, and bath salts). Each room has a huge umbrella to use if needed. They had fresh Asian pears waiting in the room for us. They also give each room two bottles of water a day.

-Chris

China2008 - getting around

The hotels we stay in will have special business cards at the concierge desk and registration which gives the hotel information in English and Chinese. It will list major attractions like the Forbidden City in both languages. Pick up some cards and carry with you. If you get lost or want to get around on your own, just point to the words on the card. Taxis are plentiful and inexpensive but there are unscrupulous drivers like anywhere. Ask that they start the meter when you get in and ask for a receipt.

Currency Converter - a cheat sheet

If you go to this site - http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic
yuo can create a conversion chart from Chinese Yuan to US Dollars and reverse. Then you can create traveler’s cheat sheets to print out to carry with you. The cost of living has increased in China - cooking oil, meats, vegetables, fuel etc have increased just like in the US. Hotel costs are higher because of the Olympics but are expected to go down.