July 29 - The Trip Home

July 29:  Headed Home In Style!

Typically a travel day home is not "worthy" of a full web page, but for Kim and I we looked forward to today's travel day almost like another excursion. Why? Because when we made the decision to add China to our original plan of Vietnam-Cambodia we were unable to book our flights through either Avalon or Viking. So we went through Expedia. I put into the search engine preferences that I wanted "Economy Premium" seats. And for some reason the flight that was put together for us included Business Class seats home and then FIRST Class on the final leg from Chicago. Yet, these top notch seats almost didn't happen! What????? 

We enjoyed the last several days in China ribbing several of our new friends in our "Sticky Rice Family" who were on the same flight home from Beijing to Chicago that we'd wave to them through the curtain separating the "upper class" flyers like us from the "commoners" in the "steerage" of Economy class. So there were about eight of us who arrived smoothy at the Beijing International Airport about 7 am and Kim and I were acftually third in line to get boarding passes. We were early enough that the American Airlines workers were just arriving. But soon after we knew something was up as it was obvious that the computer system was down. To make a long story short the entire system was down and we waited for nearly two hours before the process began MANUALLY! We got up to the counter and the gal was filling out the boarding pass then passed me a form asking for my signature agreeing that we were not carrying anything illegal. And at the top there was a box that said, "Seats 29 E/F." I asked if those were our seats, she said yes and I emphatically said NO - we have "Business Class." And we had to have new boarding passes made out. Otherwise we'd have been back with the "riff raff" :) with all our pals. Because of the long boarding process we left about 90 minutes late. Not bad, but we only had 1 hour and fifty minutes between flights in Chicago so we were going to miss our connection. I was "concerned" about losing our first class seats, but my main concern was getting home as soon as possible. But when we got to Chicago everyone who had missed connections had their tickets wiating for them.....the good news we still had first class, the bad news was a six hour layover. Finally got home at about 10:30 pm. A long day but boy we enjoyed the Business Class flight - Kim literally slept for nearly eight of the twelve hours!

We mix with with some of the "regular passengers" and show our new pal Wilbert our accomodations :)

July 28 - The Forbidden City

July 28:  Final Day Of The Trip - The Forbidden City

It's hard to believe that we've been gone nearly a full month now since we left Fort Lauderdale for Saigon and our initial SE Asia cruise, but today marks the final day of the Viking "Imperial Jewels of China" adventure. We left the hotel around 8:15 am with our destination just up the road - the historic Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. We arrived within twenty minutes and it was already SOOOO crowded. Very much like our stop at the museum in Shanghai the lines for individuals visiting were just unbelievable...but for us, as guests of Viking River Cruises we were through the gates, passed security and on the square within minutes. I get the whole "explore on your own" concept, but we've been soooo many places that if you were not with a tour you either would have missed what was truly significant and/or would have had such a long wait to see the sites. So happy to be so well taken care of by our favorite cruise line! As we walked around Tianamen Square and our guide Iowa was pointing out the various buildings, I just couldn't help but think of all that had happened RIGHT HERE in the past fifty years, and here we are! (Below is our name in Chinese characters as written by our guide in our Great Wall of China book)

And as I looked at the spot on the square where the students had protested in the eighties, our guide began telling us about he WAS one of those students as an 18-year-old. Made it seem even more significant to us. The square itself was surrounded by buildings of note, including Chairman Mao's masoleum, but we just walked from one end to the other while listening to commentary. The real highlight of the day would be walking from one end to the other of the Forbidden City. Several of us were chatting as we were waiting for a brief "free time" period to end and we remarked who amazing it was that in OUR lifetime no Westerner would have been permitted where we were about to go - AND as one of the gals remarked (Mary), even if we could have come then we would never have wanted to put ourselves at risk like that. And yet, here we were on the brink of walking through the gate to the Forbidden City, right underneath the huge portrait of Chairman Mao where he'd proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China and changed the face of history for this huge nation.

It was interesting as we approached the gate that very often Chinese families, especially teens and or families with small children would run up to us and pose for photos either in front of us or with us. I put two such pictures above - one with a group of our fellow guests & Kim, and a set of Chinese twin sisters we encountered. I asked Iowa what was the big deal because obviously this place was just full of tourists. And he explained that most of the Chinese here were NOT from Beijing, but were from the outer countryside and we were probably the FIRST foreigners they'd ever seen in person. We were all instant celebrities! As we walked through the first gate I mistakenly thought, "Here we are, inside the Forbidden City!" But as I was soon to find out, there are NINE gates to this historic site, not just one. And after walking virtually non-stop for the next hour and a half we were only halfway through the complex! I took well over 80 shots today but I narrowed it down to very few because no matter how many photos I put on this page you simply cannot imagine how impressive and huge the Forbidden City was. And to think this was the home to one man, the Emporer of China. AND it wasn't until 1925 that anyone other than the Emporer, his family and court had ever set foot inside here.....and not until the 1970s that any Westerner had ever been permitted in here. Just wow. It was truly a breath-taking experience to see the architecture and to imagine who'd walked in the very spot we were walking today. We had heard the stories while we were here of "The Dragon Lady" who virtually ran the country from behind the scenes through three different young emporers, and we got to walk around the courtyard that was her residence. Just a couple of noteworthy things from the photos below and then I'll encourage you to watch the highlight videos from today, especially "Part 4" of the series which is an extended video, to get some idea of what we saw. The group shot below was on a bridge over a small canal within the third layer of the Forbidden City that our guide Iowa was THE ideal photo op. So the three couples that have become such fast friends posed together. On the collage below this photo, the lower left shows the corner of one of the buildings - I took this because it has seven sculpted animals. This is significant because the animals were believed to bring good luck to whoever and whatever happened inside this building. But there are "only seven" because it was only an "official court building." Twelve characters were on the corners of only one building, the official residence of the emporer! The next photo is characteristic of most of the wooden structures within the complext. Note all the yellow roof tiles on all the buildings. Yellow is the symbol of earth to the ancient Chinese and the most sacred center of the universe was earth, so all of the buildings with the Forbidden City - where the emporer lived - would have yellow roofs. The next picture is from the garden, the final stop at the back of the city as we walked through it; and the final photo shows Kim and I about midway through the city along with a stone carving. It's difficult to tell from the photo, but this is the largest single stone carving within the city and it's of the most revered being, the dragon, THE symbol of China! Today was just an amazing day and a great way to end the trip!

July 27 - The Great Wall

July 27:  Climbing The Great Wall of China

There were three stops on the "Imperial Jewels of China" Viking Cruise adventure that I had circled

as MUST HAVE photo ops. The first was the Shibaozhai Temple, the second was the Terra Cotta Warriors, and the third, and most obvious was the Great Wall of China. Anticipation ran high among our group today as everyone wanted to climb the wall and have their photo taken. We were scheduled to leave the hotel before 7 am to beat as much of the morning traffic as possible and still it would be a ninety minute drive. As we approached The Wall we got a glimpse of it from afar and soon there after we came to a newly renovated section of The Wall the bus slowed and you could see the very steep incline to climb up. Our guide Iowa told us that they did NOT want to take us to this section because it was NOT STEEP ENOUGH! I am sure that most people on the bus had the same feeling that I had that this looked pretty steep. Despite our early departure there was a lot of traffic congestion at the wall itself once we arrived. But we were soon there. We got a real treat as Iowa led us to a photo spot and we posed for a group picture taken by a professional photographer. Better yet we were offered the opportunity to buy the photo and it would come in a photo book with many pages of shots of the Great Wall for a minimum price. The group photo is below with the wall in the background. At that point we were given 1 1/2 hour to explore the wall in either (or both) directions and climb as high as we wanted. 

Honestly from watching videos on the Viking website and others on YouTube and from having read travel blogs etc. my impression was that you could climb high up The Wall but that the majority of your exploration along The Wall was relatively level. Oh no my friends. An initial section was at a fairly good, but not so bad incline. And then you went up the first steep incline. You came to a platform / observation area and when the video is posted you'll see I did a 360 degree panoramic shot. Then we began the ascent. The initial section we did was a really, REALLY steep incline and the traction was not the best. In addition the views through the ramparts let you know you were HIGH above the ground. We came to a relatively level area and then even more steep steps led the way even higher (see at right). These steps were very difficult to climb and they were well over a foot to a foot and a half high. Then another section of very steep inclined walk. At that point my heart was racing and I was really short of breath and with my "condition" I decided enough was enough. Kim went on a little higher and had an adventure - she came across a guy who had either collapsed or tripped and she helped stablize him until paramedics arrived. While I sat on an inclined portion of the wall trying to recover and catch my breath I met three Chinese teens. We tried to talk and take a photo but it was very difficult to communicate, so we largely laughed with and at each other :) About twenty minutes passed before Kim came and we began the descent. As difficult as going up the stairs and incline had been the going down was worse. It was very difficult to go down the steep steps without holding the rail, and the drop from one to the other seemed even higher going down. Then the inclined part, if you didn't hold the rail you could hardly stop yourself from breaking into a jog! We soon were at the bottom and we were oh-so-proud of ourselves for having climbed the Great Wall of China! Once we sat down at the bottom I checked my pulse because I knew it was still elevated....typically I hover at a very low 56-60 rate - after having "calmed down" my pulse registered at 102! It had been a great exercise! 

After The Wall we went for lunch, did some shopping at a jade jewelry shop and visited the Ming Dynasty tombs "Sacred Way." We did not get back to the hotel until nearly 3 pm where Iowa signed all the books and wrote each of our names in Chinese!

July 26 - Arrive in Beijing

July 25:  Dinner Show / July 26:  Rickshaw Tour of Beijing

July 25:  Xian Dinner Show

After I'd posted photos yesterday we had the Tang Dynasty Dinner Show, and I thought I might mention it in today's posting, but it is SO worthy of more than a mention. What a great evening it was - the dinner was good and the show was superb! We all agreed that this kind of show was worthy of a Broadway kind of ticket, but our cost was about $20 US Dollars - and that included dinner and drinks! We had dinner with four new friends of ours (see photo at right - Wilbert, Mary, Steve, and Jeannie). But the highlight of the evening came just before the start of the show. Yesterday was the birthday of one of the most amazing guests in our group, Sy, who turned 85. He is sharp as a tack, plays tennis several times a week, and is such a great guy. So several of us mentioned this to our guide Iowa about singing him a song. But he said to wait because Viking had something planned for him today. So as we were finishing dinner the lead actress of the show came out and the spotlight hit her and she started singing "Happy Birthday." The spotlight shifted to Sy's table (right behind ours) and they brought out a nice cake with candles and the entire place sang him happy birthday. We all congratulated him and he was so surprised and appreciative. Below is a picture I got of him and one of Kim - note our table number....."43" - her number throughout her sports career. 

Then the show started. And while it was all in Chinese there was a synopsis on a big screen before each act and it wasn't difficult to follow the story which told of how the ONLY Empress of China had risen from a member of the Emporer's concubine to the ruler of the country. But the sets were so very elaborate and the rear-projection special effects were stunning. But most of all the colors of the costumes - just breath-taking. It was a wonderful and very special evening!

July 26:  Arrival in Beijing - "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!"

Today can best be described best as Gomer Pyle used to say, "Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!" The planned itinerary for today was after breakfast we were to be on the bus around 8:30 am to go to the airport; fly to Beijing and check into our hotel early in the afternoon. That's it. So when we were all on the bus our guide Iowa said he had a surprise for us. Viking was going to take us to the Hutong District of Beijing - which as it turns out is the "Old City" which is still where it has been for thousands of years in the middle of the city.....no new buildings, businesses, etc. are allowed to go up there. And we would take a tour by rickshaw! As part of the tour we were stopping at the historic Bell Tower and Drum Tower where we'd have a Formal Tea Tasting; and as part of the tour in the District we'd stop in and spend some time with a local resident of the area. ALL provided free of charge to us to enrich our experience. Only Viking......The second of the "Gomer Pyle surprises" came when Iowa told us the weather forecast.....while it had been 107 yesterday when we toured the Terra Cotta Warriors, the high today in Beijing was only in the low 70s! OH MY! And the third of the surprises happened at the airport......unlike our previous intra-China flights, we left right on time! WOW! And when we landed they announced the temperature as only 68 degrees. The forecast had called for rain, but when we got here it had already rained so we got the cool weather and no sun, just overcast skies. We met our local guide after about a 45 minture trip from the airport and we arrived at the towers (see

first photo below). In ancient times, because obviously no one had watches, they would ring the bell in the Bell Tower to get everyone up and going - let them know the city gates were opened and businesses should be open. Then at the end of the the drums in the Drum Tower would sound to indicate the day was over and the gates were closing. Interestingly there were twenty-five huge drums in the tower with two drummers on each drum! So we went inside the Bell Tower and were ushered into a tea room where our Chinese guide explained five of the main teas served in China. This was quite an entertaining hour we spent here, and the cause of a great deal of the entertainment turned out to be me! I just happened to be at the end of the table where she was demonstrating and she used me as an example of what the tea could do for you. The first she indicated was good for removing wrinkles, then she turned to me and said, "But it's too late for you." EVERYONE howled and clapped as I raised him arms in a "what's up with that" expression. Then the next tea she indicated was good helping you lose weight; and she turned to me and said, like this be good for you to lose belly.....I had belly like this man until I drink tea and now I'm very thin. Again the uproar. But I got my highlight when she explained another tea was good for improving your looks - "....makes woman very beautiful, and man more handsome than ever...." at this point she turned to me - and Kim captured this moment on film (at right) and she continued by saying, "....but this not necessary for you because you are very, very handsome!" :) Awwww shucks :) We left the Bell Tower and walked through the narrow alleys before we arrived at the home & courtyard of a local gentleman who opened his house to us and talked to us. His great grandfather had worked for the last emporer of China! We were there about a half an hour and then we took a short tour of the area before being picked up by the rickshaws. We were driven around for about fifteen minutes and arrived back at our bus. We were taken to dinner and then to our hotel, The Regent Beijing, another five-star accomdation. By now it was nearly 8 pm and we were done for the day. We're up and on the bus by 6:50 am tomorrow to head to the Great Wall of China!

July 25 - Xian

July 25:  The Terra Cotta Warriors

One of the most highly anticipated days of the entire China experience was today. We awoke in our beautiful suite in the Wyndam Grand in Xian and after a light breakfast we were on board the bus for the one hour trip to the Terra Cotta Warriors museum and dig site. I had seen a video in preparation for this trip where a woman was standing in front of the thousands of warriors and she remarked that she'd read about and seen photos of it, but until you were actually here you just could not imagine the enormity of it all. And she was right on the money. There are literally thousands (eight thousand in the front section alone) of warriors that were buried with the emporer Qin Shi Huang. His statute sits outside the museum and I did not know until today that he not only is known for having all these warriors buried with him, but he is also the emporer who had the Great Wall of China constructed! The panoramic photo above of "Pit Number 1" is a great shot of all the warriors lined up in battle formation, but it just doesn't do the scope of it justice. They are all life-sized and it just goes on forever. AND behind them (you see photos below) they are still actively finding more and more of them! Another very interesting fact is that nearly NONE of them were found intact! Archeologists have had to piece them back together again! They were destroyed thousands of years ago by Chinese people who hated the emporer and stole the weapons that were buried with the warriors! As we walked down the side of the pit we eventually came to archeologists digging and piecing together more warriors.....just amazing. 

And here's another ironic fact is how they were discovered. In the 1970s the region was going through a terrible drought so four farmers began digging for a well. They came across a piece of what turned out to be one of the warriors, but tossed it aside and contined digging. When they continued to come across more and more pieces they knew they'd found something of significance. A journalist just happened to be in the area and the government officials were alerted. And here is THE most ironic part.....the third photo below the one of Kim and I you see the actual well. It sits just on the edge of the first pit. Now if these four farmers had dug just about three feet to the side they NEVER would have discovered this site! WOW. Check out the close-up of the warriors at right......hey, what's with the warrior in the shades? LOL :) A little photo shop magic - we stopped at a workshop where they recreate the warriors and outside you could have your picture taken with one of the headless (and hollowed-out) statutes :) See the original photos below! 

Below the well you come to photos of warriors that appear to be wrapped in plastic and have numbers on them. These are warriors that they are still finding all the pieces of and are in the process of piecing the puzzle together still!

Unlike all the warriors above, the three below are in the building where "Pit #3" is being worked on. The first warrior below  is "The Archer" and he's the ONLY one that was discovered nearly intact! Note his ceremonal hair knot is on the left - all archers had this .... why? So they could draw their arrows over their right shoulder. What if you were left-handed? You were not an archer! The sec ond pic below is notable because (a) he has two hair knots and (b) he's obviously well-fed with a bit of a belly. He's a general! And the third is a commoner who is attending to his horse.

I had Kim take this photo because I - as well as most guests - carried an umbrella. NOT because of the possibility of participation but because it was 107 degrees out. Yes, one HUNDRED and seven degrees. Even our guide was carrying and umbrella and he told us afterwards it was the first time in 24 years of being a guide he'd done so!

These next three photos are of the two bronze chariots found in the pits. There are two photos of the second one, one from the side and one from the back. Note the open door - there is also a window on the side which you can't see and they both still work!

Last stop before lunch at the workshop, Kim and I with all the recreated terra cotta warriors. You could have a life-sized warrior sent to your home for $1500 (total price of the warrior and shipping!). They even had an area where an artist would take a portrait of you with a camera and then fashion a "terra cotta bust" of you as a warrior! Only three to five thousand :) We passed on that opportunity!