China...March, 2007

We have left the Olympic madness (and great expectorations) of Beijing, and are presently in an Internet cafe in Lhasa... an incredible place...Tibetan women are strikingly beautiful, with hesitant smiles (children, however, are eager to laugh...) the Sera Monastery with plazas filled with debating monks (some clearly amused with us touri watching intently) the summer palace of the Dalai Lama, which he inhabited for a few paltry years before his escape to India... a wonderful guide who shared his perspective on the 'liberation' of Tibet (more on that when we are back having a wine or two on our balcony)... breakfast at Hard Yak Cafe (yes. sorry.) lunch at a restaurant with kittens crawling on our laps.... tomorrow the Potala Palace and Barkhor market...
We sent no e-mails earlier due to the sparse availability of internet cafes... clearly way too dangerous to allow too much of the outside world in... but we began in Narita and took the express train into the Ginza area of Tokyo - riding around the subway, eating the absolute best yaki soba, spotless sidewalks (unlike Singapore, we think, where cleanliness in more out of fear of reprisal...in Japan it seems intentional) elegant, kimono-clad young women with flawless skin... more neon than Las Vegas (maybe...)
Beijing changing...two years ago there were tons of bicycles, now more cars. yech.
Must go, cigarette smoke permeating our good nature...

The Terra Cotta Warriors...just as spectacular as before... such a feat. Riding around in a van (replete with upholstery covered in "I love you"s in both Chinese and English, encased in lovely hearts...) we covered Xi'an in two days... guided surely by an offspring of former Red Guards... one intriguing remark: the 4 major religions of the world include Buddhism, Taoism, Islam and Christianity. The Tang Art Museum, showcasing the perfect woman (plump with double chins and a pot belly... am seriously considering that era when reincarnating...) offered up a wonderful tour - the guide: "concubines ate well, dined well and lived well, but with empty minds... they were blonde." Then a delightful grin....
We sadly left Tibet two days previously (we endured a bit of high altitude malaise, but minimal...). What an incredible place. Prostraters spilling out into the temple plaza by the market, jostling pilgrims eyeing goods...and us. (Standing around our Tibetan, and fabulous, guide... we would suddenly find...or feel, rather... a chin millimeters above our shoulders, gazing in fascination at both our little group of four and the mouth of our guide, listening to his melodic English. Locals breaking into broad smiles as we greeted them. Buddha, manifestations, Buddha, offerings, incense, protectors, Buddha, yak butter floating in bowls (come to find that there is no such thing as yak butter... 'yaks' are male... an amusing aside from our guide...) tan, weathered faces in glorious ethnic dress and turquoise earrings... braids woven with silk, babies slung across backs with long cloths..... so much to tell.

Off to Guilin and the Li River.

We are moving to Guilin. A sea of multi-colored, brightly lit palm trees greeted us as we exited the airport.... a short drive to the city to a laid back river-hugging community set in a forest of staunchly vertical, craggy hills... mist tucked into the crevices (a rock climber's dream)... a scene so often depicted in those ubiquitous Chinese brush paintings...a too quick night and whisked off onto a boat heading down the Li River to Yongshuo.
Bend after bend of magnificent skyscraper cliffs, fishermen with cormorants tethered to their rafts to assist in fish catching, ropes neatly tied around their necks so as to share their bounty rather than selfishly swallow... quaint villages, water buffalo grazing lazily in the fields.... we were in the midsection of a slew of boats, giving us a way too clear view of the cooks in the vessel just ahead, kneading chicken parts in huge bowls, floors scattered with leftovers. Breakfast suddenly seemed SO filling....
Docked in Yangshuo, we found a bargainer’s paradise... alley after alley of kiosks rivals those in the huge markets of the big cities. 18 well-stashed, not yet released in the U.S. dvds later we ambled into an Aussie bar and played cards, enjoying happy hour and indulging in cheesy garlic bread and spring rolls. A bit more shopping followed (unavoidable with sellers swarming, sticking to one like opihi if the slightest interest was evident... this is where sunglasses come in quite handy....).
The next morning, not feeling particularly suicidal, we opted out of renting bicycles and wandered for two hours through the local, non-touristy section of Yangshuo to the famed, albeit elusive, Big Banyan Tree. Along the way: cakes decorated in snake decorations, recycled cooking oil, shelves of centipede wine, squat toilets for sale (we envisioned purchasing one for our guest bathroom, but fear we would become pariah dinner hosts...).
We came upon a trio of pet monkeys in a park, ludicrously dressed, their owner commanding 5 yuan (about 60 cents) for posing with said monkeys as a photo opp... if you ask nicely we will share this wincingly amusing pic.
Off to Chengdu and the Panda center...

Coffins visible in cliff wall caves... steep walls with scattered vegetation...occasional signs marking the final 175 meter water level once the dam is complete.... monkeys barely visible as they scamper off on the sides slightly above the water... a foursome a la barbershop quartet serenading us from a boat anchored on the side as we drift down a tributary on a saipan.... back on board the Victoria Queen for yet another buffet western/chinese lunch and looking forward to happy hour...
Several days ago a stop in Chengdu, another overcrowded industrial city... if only we could have smuggled a baby panda into our bags; there were a total of nine wee ones at the research base. We watched a rather interesting film while there... including a short snippet we can only categorize as panda porn (the research base, working feverishly to expand the panda population both for zoos around the world and to repopulate the wild, wanted to demo their successes...). From there a visit to People's Park: ballroom dancing, karaoke voices screaming from different podiums, different sellers with unique items (rooster lollipops created from spun sugar...) those toddler split pants everywhere.... we were clearly somewhat of a novelty as evidenced by the stares (one daddy asked if he could take a photo of us with his son...) That evening our local guide here offered to show us a hot pot restaurant (the second 'must do' on the list for Chengdu...third is the teahouse....) so we asked him to join us with his significant other... what a night! A boiling pot with both a spicy and regular side (in the shape of yin and yang) and Kevin and Java (her nickname from college is 'coffee') ordered all kinds of delicacies, some of which they suggested we eat sans knowledge of what the bits were... sage advice, as we discovered...the trick was to grab a tidbit and wave it around in the liquid for a few minutes without losing it, until cooked... all this chased down with beer. Kevin and Java live together and will get married once they get enough money to have a blowout wedding... she claims he's addicted to mahjong, and he claims she's addicted to shopping - they are both tour guides and very funny :0) We had a very entertaining eve... we also visited a fabulous museum encasing, and showcasing, a 3-4,000 year old culture discovered recently via artifacts. Incredible architecture with copper and gilding, wide spaces and polished parquet floors. Then we went to use the restroom, and lo and behold, a trough going down the long side with partitions, no doors... cultural priorities certainly evident in that one quick moment. Once outside we waved to a bride and bridegroom and they beckoned us over to be in their professional photos... under her dress, bluejeans, and when not hidden by her carefully placed train, he sported athletic shoes...
From Chengdu to Chonqing by train (with piped in, knock off Kenny G music... which we appreciated ever so much more once that changed to Chinese opera...) across from our seats a gaggle of women who wanted to share all of their mountainous snacks.... Chonqing an even bigger industrial city ...and then this Victoria Cruises segment.
Shanghai tomorrow -- a fabulously fun city on our last visit --for a few days, then home.