Hong Kong Finale

All good things must come to an end and our finale involved two days in Hong Kong. This city has the energy of Shanghai but is not quite as organized. It exhibits the messiness of the individual freedom that's not available on the mainland.

Luck always comes into play when traveling and Hong Kong became our lucky city. In the days approaching our arrival in HK, the weather did not look like it would cooperate. As it turned out, on our travel day to HK, we were delayed two hours leaving Shanghai because of bad weather in HK.

Not to worry. As the next morning dawned, the sky was cloudy, but there was no rain in sight. We were able to board our open topped bus and tour Hong Kong island. At the end of our tram ride to the top of Victoria Peak, all of the city was visible below. We later traveled in our bus to the ferry pier and rode the famous Star Ferry across Hong Kong Harbor.

Things got even more interesting and exciting after lunch. While searching for an ATM, I discovered that after switching to my prescription sunglasses, I somehow managed to lose my regular glasses from the case that I carry. We carefully retraced our steps from the hotel but they were not to be found. That's ok, I figured. I could just look cool wearing my sunglasses at all times.  I didn't count on being able to see anything.

We headed to the jewelry emporium that the lady who now wants to chain my glasses to my head had intended to visit. I noticed an optical shop next door and dropped in to see if they might help me. And helped me they did. The optician, Pierre Chan, said he could make me a pair of bifocals with my necessary prism lenses in 24 hours for less than half of what they would cost me at home. He was able to copy my prescription from my dark glasses. That's the kind of service you get from a French Chinese optician.

So, continuing our Hong Kong experience, the lady who made out like a bandit at the jewelry emporium and I headed to the tailor shop of Mister Simpson Sin. I had already decided that I was not going to buy anything, just look. The jewelry lady convinced me otherwise so I was measured from stem-to-stern for a new sport coat and trousers. But I paid her back by convincing her to purchase a most regal silk embroidered jacket which, when she wears it, I'll have to walk at least three steps behind her. I mentioned to her that she should start practicing her royal hand wave.

Later that evening we attended a farewell dinner with the members of our tour group. For a group of 33, we turned out to be remarkably compatible. Over the course of the last 17 days, we had the opportunity to visit and get to know everyone and enjoy them immensely.

Today is our bonus day and we spent it planning our re-entry into the real world while finishing a bit of sight seeing. We joined some of our new friends for a tour the Hong Kong history museum. Our friend Ken struck out like he know where he was going and all was well until an hour later we were far away from the site of the museum we had intended to visit. No problem. Eagle Scout Jim and his trusty iPhone got us back on track and we were able to reach and visit the museum. The history of Hong Kong and its relationship with the British was fascinating. We followed it from the Opium Wars to the 1997 return of HK to China.

Later, we picked up my new glasses, went back to the tailor for a fitting of our new duds and strolled around the shopping area near our hotel. The weather was even better today than yesterday.

We both leave this part of Asia with a new appreciation of the Chinese people. Our wish is that everyone might have an opportunity to experience this part of the world. The people of mainland China and Hong Kong are a force to be reckoned with, but we have found that they are friendly, energetic, creative and driven. We can only hope our leaders can develop a cooperative model that will allow us all to prosper together.

Impressions of Shanghai

Bottom line: I'm impressed with Shanghai. This city, which is compared to New York City in terms of modernity, is clean as a pin, organized almost to perfection, and is beautiful to boot.

We arrived at the domestic airport and had about an hour bus ride into the city. The expressway system is well designed and seems very new. I will say that driving is not for the faint of heart nor is crossing the street as a pedestrian. There is no such thing as pedestrian rights.

One of the benefits of traveling with Tauck are things like baggage service. We place our bags outside our room and proceed with our travel for the day. At the end of our trips, the bags magically appear in our new hotel room. This is the way to travel.

In Shanghai, we were ensconced in the Waldorf Astoria. And ensconced is the best way to describe it. The hotel is located on the famous streetcape called the Bund and the view from our 14th story room was directly across the river from the iconic TV tower. The term 'lap of luxury' comes to mind. The bathroom also contained the famous electric TOTO toilet, the controls of which rival a modern airliner. I'm not usually intimidated by any kind of technology, but this device made me a bit nervous. The heated seat was very nice, though.

The Bund has a promenade that stretches more than two miles along the river and each evening, thousands of locals and tourists stroll along this area and enjoy the lights of the Pudong section of the city across the river. It was magical. 

The amazing thing about this city are the hidden surprises. Our early morning tour on Day 2 took us to Chinatown. Now, you might think that every part of Shanghai is Chinatown, but not so much. There is one area which harkens back to the old days and look like the Chinatowns we have in our big U.S. cities.





Tucked inside Shanghai's Chinatown are the Yuyan Gardens, one of a number of peaceful oasis we saw throughout the city. These gardens typified the serene spaces of oriental design with vistas enhanced by the principles of Feng Shui. You could almost forget that you were in the midst of one of the busiest cities in the world.

While in Chinatown we also visited a state run store that specializes in silk. We learned about silk production all the way from the worm to the duvet, and the tie, and the dress, and the shirt. And, of course, purchases were made.

In the evening of our second day we attended a performance of a Chinese acrobatic team. The troop amazed us with twists and turns and leaps and jumps that humans should not be able to do. The finale found seven motorcycle riders speeding around the inside of a wire sphere which was only about 25 feet diameter. Yes, I said seven motorcyclists, speeding motorcyclists. But, now that I think about it, having seen the drivers in Shanghai, maybe those skills are more common than I first thought. Perhaps the most graceful act was a man/woman team that soared around the arena on forty-foot long ribbons of cloth. Enchanting. It was a splendid evening.

The morning of our third day, we visited the Shanghai Planning Exhibition. This five story building contained, among other things,  a three-dimensional scale model of the city's inner ring showing every single building that exists today.

This model took up an entire floor. The other floors contained exhibits about the city's history. At one time, the city included French, British and American sections, called Concessions. We ended our touring for the day in an area of the former French Concession that has been converted into a dining and shopping area. We had lunch at Starbucks, one of several American brands that we discovered are staples of the economies of major Chinese cities. Other are Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds.

After lunch, we joined some of our new friends on a shopping expedition down Nanjing Road just a few blocks from our hotel. The highlight for me was a visit to yet another Apple Store, where I purchased a Shanghai-themed cover for my iPhone.

We also went shopping for extra luggage to contain the many things we discovered that we just had to bring home with us. I have learned to bargain and was please to purchases a small rolling case for 310 yuan which started at 350 yuan.

We've joked a great deal about how much we eat on the tour. It seems like we are eating about every twenty minutes or so. Now there's eating and then there's EATING. Such was the case our last evening in Shanghai. Tauck had made reservations at the famous Jean George restaurant -- again just a few steps away from our hotel. From the Mushroom Dumplings to the Crumb Coated Asparagus to the Sea Bass to the Warm Chocolate Cake, we were enthralled to be eating yet again. And to finish the day, we strolled along the BUND and once again enjoyed the crowds and the lights of Pudong.

Day three in Shanghai unfortunately was mostly a travel day, but it turned out to have an exciting element. We made our way to the International Airport from downtown via the MagLev train. For those of you not familiar with this technology, the monorail like train levitates above the track on a strong magnetic field. Once the train floats, it is propelled by alternating magnetic pulses. The twenty-mile trip took only about 7 minutes. At one point we were traveling at 267 miles per hour and when we passed the training returning from the airport to downtown, we passed in the blink of an eye.

Reality returned as we sat on the tarmac waiting for our flight to Hong Kong to be cleared. Bad weather delayed us for about two hours. In a very unAmerican like way, the China Eastern flight attendant crew first served us all ice cream, and when it became evident that we would have to wait a while more, they served us a hot lunch. We had a choice of Pork Rice or Seafood Noodles.

We are in the final stretch of our trip with the last three days in Hong Kong. I visited this city in the late 1990's but am looking forward to seeing it again and experiencing the changes that have occurred since its return to greater China. More tomorrow.

Day three on the Yangtze

Around 9pm last night our riverboat began its trip through the five locks of the Three Gorges Dam. Most of our tour group assembled on the upper deck to witness our passage through the first lock.  It's an interesting process but might be compared to watching paint dry unless you can imagine all the things that are going on behind the scenes to make it happen. Everything seems to move in slow motion. It is, however, very exciting once the ship has dropped and the massive steel doors open revealing the next lock chamber. Then the process starts all over again.

We passed on direct observation of Locks, 2.3.4 & 5, preferring to sleep instead. It's terrible when you get so blasé about these technological miracles.

This morning after breakfast we proceeded through our 4th gorge. Also quite beautiful, it was interesting because, being below the dam, it's natural state has not been changed. It is an area of immense solitude and beauty.

Our river journey now complete we boarded our bus for an hour's ride to the airport. There we boarded a Shanghai Airlines Boeing 737 for the hour and twenty minute flight to Shanghai. I can't fail to mention that on this flight, just like all the others we have taken, we were served a hot meal. This time it was fish with rice and vegetables and was quite tasty. Pay attention: a one hour and twenty minute flight were everyone on the plane was served both a meal and a drink. Hello --- cheap U.S. Airlines.

We landed at the Shanghai domestic airport and had about an hour bus ride into the city. Shanghai is the financial capital of China and is also described as the far East's version of New York City --  on steroids. We are staying at the Waldorf Astoria hotel and it is truly everything you can imagine that famous brand would be. 

The contrast on this day is again quite remarkable. Going from a most rural part of China to its most urban is eye opening. This trip has dramatically change my preconceived notions of that China is all about.  More tomorrow.

Day two on the Yangtze

So, the truth is I really am a boy scout at heart and the lady who sleeps next to me is a good sport.

Today we went on what would be a typical scout outing. We left the main body of the Yangtze river and traveled upstream into the surrounding mountains. We first took a ferry for about an hour ride into increasingly narrower and shallow gorges. Then we transferred to "pea pod" boats paddled by mountain villagers called "trackers."  Trackers are an ancient profession. These rugged people pulled boats upstream on the Yangtze in the days before there were powered vessels. They often walked on treacherous paths hundreds of feet above the river and many did not survive to an old age. To protect clothing which was scarce and valuable, they normally did this job naked.

On our trip upstream today when the depth of the stream got below 1 meter, our trackers got out of the boat and using a rope made of bamboo fibers pulled us along the stream for another quarter mile. It was an amazing experience. Our local guide sang a traditional love song of the trackers as we made our way back toward the Yantze. Oh yea, our trackers did not perform their duties au natural.

From the most crowded cities in the world to a mountain landscape with no one in evidence is an incredible contrast. The beauty of this part of China is worlds away from the Hutongs of Beijing. To have the opportunity to experience them both within a matter of days is thrilling.

Now about the lady who is a good sport. She is definitely not a water person. When we are on the deck of a ship, she usually stands as close to the middle as possible. But there she was, in that "pea pod" boat inches from the water. What a gal.

Our trip upstream came mid morning after we had made our way through the first two of the famous Three Gorges. After we returned from our mountain stream adventure, we passed through the final gorge. 

Today, these narrow channels have been tamed by the rising water behind the Three Gorges Dam. But it was easy to see how perilous travel up and down this river was in the past. 

We are now anchored near the Three Gorges Dam waiting for our slot to use the five locks adjacent to the dam to lower ourselves to the Yantze below the dam. We are scheduled to enter the locks at about9pm.

Tomorrow we end our Yantzee adventure and head back to the modern day hustle and bustle of Shanghai.

On the Yangtze

Our first day on the Yangtze was also our first really bad weather day. We awoke fully fog bound and although the fog lifted a bit, it was replace by a steady rain.

Undeterred, we headed out after breakfast for a tour of Fengdu. This is a relocation city. The old city had to be destroyed due to the rising water from the Three Gorges Dam. Because the water level behind the dam is being lowered in anticipation of the spring rains, we had to climb 120 steps from our boat to reach our tour bus.

Fengdu, it was explained to us, is a ghost city. That means that all souls from around the world come here first before being despatched either to heaven or hell. If you die on a foggy day like today, good luck finding this place.

We visited a local market and by that I mean the market where all the locals shop for food on a daily basis. The fruits and vegetables were beautiful and the meats impressive. We were told that you could buy every part of the pig except the squeal. We also learned that the meat we saw was slaughtered this morning and would all be sold, even if it requires a steep discount late in the day.

Our next stop was just down the hill at a private kindergarten. The children, all 50 of them were precious. They sang for us and generally exuded major cuteness. As we were leaving, they all wanted to hi-five with us. This was great fun.

We then visited a home originally built in the 1850's which had been disassembled and reassembled as a cultural exhibit.

Once back on the boat we continued to sail the Yangtze and through the rain, fog and mist, we could see city after city with the ubiquitous construction cranes ever in evidence.

This evening after dinner, the ship's crew presented a show with a number of traditional ethnic dances. It was fun to see them having some time-off fun.

Tomorrow we begin our trip through the three gorges. We will traverse the first gorge before breakfast, the second and third during the late morning and early afternoon. By dinner time we will reach the dam and will travel through 5 locks to be lowered to the Yangtze past the dam. For those of you who followed my blog on the Danube last year, you know how excited it get when there are locks involved. Tomorrow will be a great day.

Chongquing

Today we were in the world's largest city. About an hour flight from Guilin, this city is larger than Beijing or Shanghai and is the fastest growing city in China. It is a forest of construction cranes.

After lunch at the JW Marriott we headed to the Chongquing Zoo where we spent up close and personal time with the giant pandas. There were at least a half dozen pandas in the zoo habitat and they looked like they enjoyed all the attention.

After the zoo  we took a ride on the city's monorail system. I think this is what Disney envisioned when he created the ride at Disneyland. It was fast and smooth.

We're now on our riverboat for our voyage through the three gorges. We will be on the boat for the next three days ending up at the famous Three Gorges Dam. I'm not sure how good my Internet connection will be so you may not see posts during this time.

I continue to be surprised how modern Chinese cities are and how capitalist they seem. Communism may be here but it's not the Communism I learned about in school. This is a fascinating country.

Guilin

Today we visited South China and the difference was dramatic. We flew from Xi'an about an hour and fifteen minutes south to Guilin.

Guilin was described to us as a village, since it only has about 700,000 residents. Yeah, small town China. It is also major humid here. Can you say 'sweat in place.' 

However, the payoff is in the limestone cliffs that dominate the countryside.  We cruised the Li River for about two and a half hours and the scenery was magnificent. This is the rainy season now so the sky was cloudy and the views were hazy. Still, the shapes of this hills were dramatic and the lush greenery was a welcome contrast to the dusty vision of Beijing and Xi'an. It also helped that we seem to have left behind several million of our newest friends.

But I have a problem to report. The lady who helps me buy souvenirs can become attached to the strangest things. We were served a box lunch on the boat and she liked the box more than the lunch. This becomes packing challenge #1 of the trip. But, as she points out, it does have a really nifty handle.

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped the bus and explored a rice field. They grow two rice crops a year here each taking about 100 days to produce. Right now, though, rice is plentiful and the price for farmers is low. So many of the farmers in this area are growing fruits such as oranges and grapefruit to supplement their income.

Back at the hotel, I passed on the reflexology foot massage. They would have to put me to sleep to mess with my feet. Our guide described one of the minority groups in this area who are said to bathe only three times in their lives: at birth, at marriage and at death. They do however, bathe their feet regularly and their average age is over 100. I may have to reconsider the foot thing.

Dinner was in the hotel restaurant with a very large buffet. Now buffets are great except when you are in a foreign country and none of the dishes are labeled. I know I have eaten things that had they been identified, I probably would have stayed miles away. Eventually, though, hunger wins out and you just start piling things on your plate, close you eyes, hold your nose and chomp away. Except, the lady who eats mostly green things marched around until she found someone who could speak English and then led them around the room requiring an explanation of this and that.  Those that know her, know she will not be denied.

Tomorrow its on to Chongquing where we hope to see the giant Pandas. We also will board our ship for the three day cruise through the Three Gorges on the Yangzi River.

Xi'an - Day 2

Fun China fact: This country which is about the size of the U.S. has only one time zone. Pretty convenient if you think about it. If its 2:00pm in the far West, it's 2:00pm in the far East.

We had an early morning today. We left the hotel at 7:30am so we could get to the site of the Terra-cotta Warriors when it opened at 8:30 am.

This ancient wonder was only discovered in 1974 by a farmer who was digging a well. His discovery led to the unearthing of three different pits and hundreds of these life-size figures. None were discovered intact but rather pieces that had to be reassemble like jigsaw puzzles. The photos that you see of the figures standing in the trenches are the ones that have been reassembled and then placed in rows for display. 

Originally, the figures were placed in rows and then a wooden roof built over them. In one of the pits you can see the outline of the roof timbers.

The warriors are located about a mile from the tomb of the emperor for whom they were constructed. His intention was to enter eternal life with these warriors to protect him from the evil spirits. It seems that the evil spirits won.

It's a fascinating venue. Just another testament to what happens when a crazy leader gets a lot of power. 

Lunch today was a special treat. We ate at a dumpling restaurant. We were served tray after tray of dumplings, some shaped like the food inside, like chickens, ducks and walnuts. Our waitress attempted to tell us in English what she was serving  -- with varying degrees of success. So usually, one hearty soul would try one and report to the rest of us what is seemed to be. The lady who eats only vegetables had it easier. They served her separately and most of the things she got looked green.

We spent a couple of hours after lunch in a museum dedicated to the dynasties associated with the time of the Terra-cotta Warriors. Although interesting, I'd seen about all the old stuff I could take. So thankfully, the visit was mercifully brief.

Our dissident tour guide believes that China will change in the next ten years and that the change will probably come from within the Communist Party. He commented that China, rather than having a governing ideology, is more like a large corporation. The governmental rulers are a well paid elite. They are the ones who visit the Bentley and Rolls Royce dealerships as well as the expensive Malls in every city. Nowhere have we seen what one might imagine a workers paradise   would look like.  At times is seems more western than the west.

Tomorrow is a disgustingly early day for a vacation. We have to leave for the airport at 5:50am. Can you say sleep walking. We are headed to Guilin which we understand is one of the most beautiful areas in China. After enduring several days of the worst pollution I have ever experienced, I'm ready for some beauty.

Xi'an - Day 1

We traveled this morning on a 1.5 hour flight from Beijing to Xi'an. 

They served a meal even to those of us in steerage. Not bad either: hot shrimp with noodles, ham sandwich, crackers and apple juice. Pepsi after.

Brand new airport terminal in Xi'an but we had to walk almost a mile to our bus. Some kind of government corruption prevents commercial buses from directly accessing the terminal area. Our guide, Tiger, is a genuine dissident so I'm sure we'll hear more abut this.

We went directly from the airport to the Han Yang Ling Tombs and toured excavations of trenches leading to the Emperor's tomb. Each palace department had its own trench which were sized based on their number of employees. Each trench had pottery figurines representing those workers.

Tomorrow we see the famous Terracotta Warriors.

Beijing - Final Day

Since there were several million Beijing-ers we had not had time to visit with yet, we set out on our last day to rectify that. 

We started our touring day at the Temple of Heaven. This area, built about the same time as the Forbidden City, is a major park attraction for those living in and around Beijing.  We found what seemed to be a million or so folks wandering around in the park and we did our best to tell them each hello.

The tour company had arranged for us to have a Tai Chi lesson while we were there. With a series of graceful moves, I Tai-ed my way Chi-ing right and left in such a spectacular fashion as to leave my fellow tourists in awe. Once I mastered the bare hands routine, I was allowed to pick up a red fan and the results can only be described as truly something to behold.

Having mastered Tai Chi, we moved on to visit the main tower in the temple area. This structure is all the more amazing when you realize it was constructed with out the use of a single nail. All the wood is joined perfectly together without modern fasteners.

From there we moved to the activity where were we all excelled -- eating lunch. During lunch, our tour director presented all the ladies with a rose in honor of Mother's Day.

Next stop after lunch was the Emperor's Summer Palace. Located beside a beautiful man-made lake, this area contained the last half-million or so Beijing-ites we had not seen. We toured the grounds of the palace and took a ride on a dragon boat around the lake greeting all our new friends as we went. We also saw the building where the first telephone line in China was installed and where the first phone conversation took place.

Having greeted the last few residents of Beijing, we returned quietly to our hotel to prepare for our trip to Xi'an tomorrow.

Over the last several days we have crisscrossed this city which is nearly 25 miles wide. It's like New York City on steroids and holds an enormous amount of eastern culture and history. In spite of all the crowds, the city is amazingly clean, if a bit dusty. It is a place that has to be experienced to be believed.

Beijing - Day 3

We started our touring today in Tiananmen Square followed by the Forbidden City. All of the people that were with us at the Great Wall yesterday were here and brought a couple of friends. Can you say monster crowds.

Altogether this morning we walked about three miles and heard lots of information about concubines. I'm not sure my mother would have approved of me hearing about that. Add to that the fact that the temperature was 95F today and you can really see we had a hot time.

Although we didn't queue up for it, we learned that Chairman Mao rides up from his tomb each morning and works the crowd until about noon and then drops back below. Creepy but interesting.

We had a lovely leisurely lunch in the Red Wall cafe at the Grand Beijing Hotel.. Nice compensation for the long morning walk. After lunch we went to the balcony on the 10th floor where during the Tiananmen Square incident the CNN camera was located that took the famous shot of the person staring down the military tank.

The afternoon tour was of the Olympic Park. We ventured into both the Birds Nest stadium and the Water Cube.  Even five years after the Olympics, this is still a big tourist draw. A lot of the people that were with us this morning couldn't make it but there were still lots of people to share the adventure.

I just looked over and the lady who carries my water bottle is nodding to sleep. I promised not to close my eyes because we don't want to miss our special dinner tonight at the hotel's Italian restaurant. I'm not sure what Chinese Italian cuisine is like, but it should be fun. After dinner we plan to walk down the street the the Night Market where we understand you can see every item imaginable skewered on a stick and offered up fried. We have been warned several times to look and take photos but under no circumstance are we to eat anything.

Tomorrow is our last day in Beijing and we will visit the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace. Don't spread this info around because I'm hoping we can lose a few hundred thousand of the folks that are following us around.

Beijing - Day 2

One advantage of being in a new country is the opportunity to learn a new language. China is like that.

Today, I learned that Bejing means "millions of people and millions of cars." They need to invite about half of these people to move and to take a couple of cars with them. It is rumored that be 2030 at the rate people are bringing cars to the city that there won't be any open pavement on which to drive. Of course, as Americans, we felt right at home. We only have I-285. They have six ring roads. Overachievers.

We headed out of the city (very slowly) to visit the Great Wall. We were told that 65% of visitors to China want to see the Great Wall. They were there today.

The weather cooperated beautifully. It was in the low 70's with a great breeze and most of the haze was whisked away. The wall was China's attempt to keep out the Mongrel immigrants, which you might have guessed was ultimately not all that successful. The section we saw was built during the Ming Dynasty and by built I mean for the entire 270 years of the Ming. They took their time to insure that no two steps were the same height. We only saw two people who fell and had to be carted off the Wall on a stretcher (neither of whom were Denise, she wanted me to point out).

We had lunch at the Commune Restaurant whose name was intended to be very tongue-in-cheek. Who says there's no humor here.

It was then back to town and a visit to an intown courtyard home call a Hutong. We reached the Hutong via a pedal powered rickshaw ride. 

These private residences used to dominate the city but now are only about 15%. Each Hutong had three buildings around a courtyard and the one we visited was owned by a calligraphy artist. We had tea and were able to hear about the traditions of the Hutong and their daily life. It gave us a sense of the real people who live here.

We returned to the hotel around 5:30, laid down for a tiny nap, and promptly fell asleep and awoke at 9:45 pm, completely missing dinner. Jet lag, anyone. 

Tomorrow its on to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

Day One in Beijing

Ok loyal fans, this is going to be painful. I'm having to post using my iPhone since computer wifi using the bl@g word seems to get blocked. Photos may be a challenge as well.

Most of our first day has been spent getting Chinese cash. Neither of our credit cards would work since we didn't have a pin. Amex finally came through with a one time use pin over the phone. VISA would only issue the pin via US snail mail.

Life is good. We did find the Beijing Apple Store and I bought a Beijing case for my iPhone. My world tour of Apple stores continues.

Not to be outdone, the lady who tries to keep me from being run over by Chinese maniac drivers managed to steer me into several stores in search of the perfect Christmas decoration from Beijing. This was just a first look, you see, so I have even more fun to anticipate.

Our Tauck Tour officially begins this evening although we've already met a few of our tourmates wandering around the hotel. Exterior of our hotel is shown below.

Tomorrow is the trip to the Great Wall so stay tuned.

On the road to China

From all I hear, China is an interesting place. Trouble is, its a long, long, long way from Norcross.

And don't believe those that tell you the getting there is half the fun. It's fun all right, if you enjoy feeling like you've been run over by a train.

Enough, says the lady who checks my packing list. This is FUN, and don't you forget it.

So, I'm typing this to you from the Delta Lounge at Narita Airport in Japan. Delta swears that Bejing is just down the road. It's only taken 14 hours to get here so pardon me if I don't believe Delta.

A quick check of the schedule shows that 'down the road' is another 5 hour flight and while my body knows that it's nearly 5am, Japan seems to think its about 5pm. At the end of the road is an hour bus ride into Bejing and hopefully a comfy place to crash.

So it begins, loyal readers. I hope you will enjoy being along for the ride as we explore the ins and outs of China. If the internet and hotel wi-fi cooperates, I'll post daily and if you sign up for the blog you will be notified when another rash of breathless prose is available. Otherwise you just need to check in at the address to see what is going on.