Two Retired Boomers Go Trekking

The Defence (Feb 22 – Mar 13)

2011-03-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

The most exciting event in this period is that Alanna has “passed” her Capstone. This was a 100 page research paper she did on the public interest in decisions made by regulatory tribunals. She successfully defended her paper in front of a small audience on Friday (March 11) morning. It was very exciting to see her present….but also extremely nerve racking and emotional. I was only “watching” so, I can’t imagine how nervous she must have been! We are very proud of what she has achieved and I am sure she is extremely relieved to have this completed.

She still has some minor revisions to make before she can close the door on it. She only has one more course to finish, and then she will be working full time (she is currently working 2 days a week) with the BCUC (British Columbia Utilities Commission) – first as Acting Commission Secretary for 14 months, then as a regulatory analyst. A very exciting time in her life. In the evening the three of us had a lovely “celebratory” dinner at Cardero’s in Coal Harbour.

Our stay in our “home away from home” ended on March 7. Then we spent 5 days with our friends Cindy and Murray in North Van, and are now spending our final few days with Alanna in the West End. Our life has been spent just living. We entertained our few friends in Vancouver, went over to their place for dinner, ran, shopped, and generally had a lovely time. I went to a Corporations Canada presentation on the new Not for Profit Corporations Act and connected with many people that I used to work with but some of whom I had never actually met in person. Ray and I also explored Furry Creek some more and an area just outside West Van called Seascape, both gorgeous areas built up the side of the mountainous cliffs and overlooking the Salish Sea. Our most recent excursion was to an area in East Vancouver called Strathcona or Mount Pleasant. This is an area of eclectic, brightly coloured homes, a Buddhist temple, a Ukranian Church, and other interesting cultural buildings on the edge of China Town.

Ray and I joined a bootcamp, with the compliments of our daughter! This is a “first-time experience” for Ray and we were both pretty “sore” after the first couple of times. However, we did manage to run 16 km this morning. I don’t imagine tomorrow at bootcamp will be very pretty!!

Along with the rest of the world we have watched the events unroll in Egypt and now in Libya, and the devastating earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan plus the effects of the sunami in Japan. The world seems like a very turbulent place these days. During our visit to Torres del Paine in Chile, I remember saying to Ray that it was such an inhospitable place because it didn’t want humans to go there and destroy its beauty. It’s almost as if that is what the whole world is telling us right now. Sort of like its saying to man: “you have had your opportunity on this planet and you have screwed it up with your human excesses – now its pay back time!” Somewhere along the line I think we have missed the point of the battle between good and evil when the world can stand by and watch someone like Gaddafi committing mass murder, and taking his revenge on his country’s people and their resources. It feels as if we are watching the “unravelling” of the world as we know it. Anyway, that’s my view of the world today!!

Meanwhile, life rolls along. Our cat Chloe is on holiday in Toronto and has a Jack Russell for a house mate. We’re waiting to hear the latest episode from Sherry. Hopefully no flying fur, scraped noses, or tails between the leg!!! Relationship counselling as its wildest!!!

From beautiful Vancouver…..see you again soon!

Vancouver - Jan 22 to Feb 21 2011

2011-02-21T23:03:00.000-08:00

Ray and I continue to enjoy ourselves here in Vancouver. I got my exam over with on Jan 31 and am still waiting for the results. I got my essay in a week before the exam and according to the mark I got, did OK. Now I am free to plan outings without the guilt of feeling I should be studying. On the other hand, what do I do in those moments when we are not out exploring the BC lower mainland….beginning to sound like a regular Vancouverite!! Alanna has submitted the first draft of her Capstone project, has received feed back from her advisor, and is closing in on the second draft which gets sent to the reviewers in preparation for her defence on March 11. She is looking forward to starting full time work in May. Ray and I have done an edit of the first draft of the paper (100 pages) and one of the Appendices (40 pages). Ray has been golfing several times on various public courses, has re-connected with the gang of people he worked with here in BC, and has generally been plotting and planning the economies of reality living in BC.

Overlooking Fraser River from Marine Drive

We have continued our visits to different parts in and close to Vancouver. One day we drove down to Crescent Beach and White Rock then all around Lower Surrey and back through Richmond, Westminster, and Burnaby. Crescent Beach is a small seaside town which must be a tourist trap in summer. White Rock is bigger, has an interesting main street with the railway separating the restaurants from the Ocean. We also checked out a few town house complexes on the way. White Rock is not far from the American border, and certainly the weather is much warmer down there. It is about an hour’s drive from the City of Vancouver. Apart from the White Rock and Crescent Beach area, the other parts we travelled through were mainly residential burbs. We also took a drive south on Granville, and west along Marine Drive to UBC. Marine Drive is like the Post Road Area of Toronto with the added feature of the large homes on extensive properties having ocean views.

Sunset on the Fraser River from Marine Drice

Another day we drove across the Lion’s Gate Bridge and along Marine Drive to Horseshoe Bay, then on to the Sea to Sky Highway and up to Squamish. Now this was a much more interesting trip. The scenery was absolutely stunning as you can see from some of the photos. The cove at Horseshoe Bay was delightful, and the communities along the way at Lion’s Bay, and Furry Creek just gorgeous. This is an area where the mountains drop steeply into the ocean, and the mountain faces are overgrown with fir trees. Turning up a fiord like fingerling in the Salish Sea to Squamish, continued to offer magnificent scenery. Squamish itself was a bit of a mixture; a nice-enough town controlled by the Chief – ( Sawamus Chieftain) a massive rock face that is popular with climbers. We experienced local life in a small café which provided Ray with insight into “just every day life” and me to a determination never to be in the position of saying to my friends: “So, what did you do today to pass your time?”

The Chief, from Squamish

Horseshoe Bay

Salish Sea from Sea to Sky Highway

Both Alanna and Ray have celebrated birthdays. Alanna (Jan 26) held a small get together at her place with her SFU friends….and her parents. This was our first glass of wine in about a month, and it slid down very nicely!! Have to admit I enjoyed the weight loss as much as the not drinking. Alas, I can’t say that has continued!! Alanna and I then took Ray out for dinner in a small restaurant here in Kerrisdale (Feb 12). We had a lovely evening together and after dinner, and wine, we rolled back down the street, enjoying the walk in the fresh air. I think it is in SuperFreakanomics where someone says it is more dangerous to walk drunk then drive drunk!! We managed to make it safely!! Alanna, Ray and I also had a lovely dinner out last Thursday night with Christine and Tom who are moving to West Van in May.

Alanna on her Birthday

Alanna's Birthday Party

Ray's Birthday - Ray, Alanna and Liz

I selected a Taiwanese hair salon to have a cut and colour on my hair, with even better results than in China; spent an afternoon shopping with Alanna for “office” clothes downtown Vancouver; spent a day “window shopping” with my friend Cindy, and lunch out - it is a treat to spend time “chatting” with good friends, don’t you think?; and another day I went for coffee with my co-author and poured over the latest volume of federal corporate legal procedures that is just being published. Thursday evening we had some friends over for dinner; and Saturday evening we went out for dinner to Cindy and Murray’s in North Vancouver.

Ray and I also run: Tuesday evenings, Wednesday evenings, Friday mornings, and Sunday mornings. This weekend (we did Saturday not Sunday because we were out Saturday night) we ran 11.5 km. And, we love to go on walks and explore.

We are living in one of the most beautiful cities in Canada. So, how much do you know about Vancouver? Situated with the Burrard Inlet to the North, the mouth of the Fraser River to the South, the Strait of Georgia to the west shielded from the Pacific Ocean by Vancouver Island. Travelling up the north coast with islands and fjords, and the high North Shore Mountains flanking the coast, the views are magnificent. The economy is supported by the lumber industry, tourism, and the film industry. It has a compact urban core that has gained international recognition for its "high amenity and 'livable' development." Not only is Vancouver aesthetically attractive, but Canada provides a safety net of security from both a personal security aspect, a health aspect, and security from wars and to a degree terrorism. The population is about 642,843 (2010) in Vancouver itself and 2,328,000 (2009) in Greater Vancouver. Immigration occurs from around the world and the city has a rich multi-cultural population from all over the globe. A love affair with Vancouver, and BC may break down when it comes to crime. Listening to the News,it seems that there are many more gun shot deaths than in Toronto, and when I check out the statistics, this is correct. It has the highest rate of gun related violent crime in any major metropolitan region in Canada and its property crime rates are among the highest in North America.

So, I think I have contributed a little to all the questions I get asked: (i) how do you pass your time on a daily basis; (ii) what are the social problems Vancouver faces; and (iii) are you enjoying yourselves. If you have any other questions, just leave me a comment on the blog. But seriously, who wouldn’t want to live here?

PS - Sorry for the mis-placement of the photos - I can't seem to get them in the right place!!

Small Things Make You Happy

2011-01-21T12:33:00.000-08:00

We are always looking for the “big” things in life; the big moments that will make an impact, but this morning when the book that I ordered through AbeBooks.com arrived from The Book Brothers in Chatham, ON, in the mail, I realized that it is the small things that can make you the most happy. I am excited. I can’t wait to read it. This is my treat to myself after my exam is over. The book is called “The Gypsies”, by Jan Yoors. http://www.janyoors.com/life.html and for the front cover of the book http://www.amazon.com/Gypsies-Jan-Yoors/dp/0881333050#reader_0881333050

It is the story of the author who, at the age of 12, ran away from his privileged home in Belgium to live with the Gypsies. I have chosen the book as one of our book-club reads. This is the reason I gave my fellow book-club members: “Maybe those of you have ties with Europe will know more than others about the Gypsies. Coming from Britain, we saw the “Tinkers” and “Gypsies” regularly, but they were always described negatively…..naturally, as a child, to me they were “mysterious” and “fascinating” and although we would try to get close to see who they were, we didn’t want to get too close because there was that “fear” about them spread by the “adults” in our life. I am looking forward to reading the book and to learning a little more of the true facts about the Gypsies.” I think we have a choice about the way we live our lives. We can live in isolation of the realities around us, or we can embrace life and the many diversities that make up our “community”. Neither way is right or wrong, but I choose to do the latter. It gives me deeper “perspective”, and “compassion”, and “tolerance” which gives my life more meaning.….I think!

Pole Dancing in Vancouver (Dec 30 - Jan 16, 2011)

2011-01-16T18:44:00.000-08:00

Our Run this Morning around the Sea Wall at False Creek

Our life in Vancouver is not dull! Yesterday afternoon I went to a shower for a young friend of mine who is getting married in March. Apart from seeing the beautiful gifts she received, eating the delicious food her mother provided, and envying the pink, green, and white martini’s that the tall, dark and handsome young man made (he was the only man present), we also pole danced…and had a lesson in lap dancing! It was so much fun!! I managed the pole dancing reasonably well (so I’m told)but I am not sure I managed the sultry, sexy attitude that the PT demonstrated; and when it came to lap dancing, I knew I was beat. My body just didn’t seem to arch as arrogantly, or bend as flexibly, or look as enticing as the younger guests!! I couldn’t quite manage to undo my bra while executing a backward bend over my silently-absent, seated partner! But, nonetheless, it was a terrific afternoon and Nicola received a lot of tips for a romantic evening with her new husband!!! Ladies, if you want to “rekindle” the eroticism of your marriage I strongly recommend trying it…..along with the martini’s!! The young barman was a great sport and did try the pole dancing, but was nowhere to be seen when the lap dancing started!! And....the reason I was "envying" the martinis...well first of all I was driving, but secondly and more importantly, we are all on an alcohol-free month - Jan 2 to Jan 26. It's actually doable, and quite nice....restaurant bills are cheaper, general cost of "stuff" is less, and you feel great....don't miss it one little bit. But, no doubt we will all go back to our pre-2011 habits once Alanna's birthday hits on the 26th.
On a more serious note, I joined the half-marathon clinic at the Running Room on West Broadway. First class was January 4. We have started out with a slow 7 km on Sunday mornings and today just completed an 8 km run. The only hook is the hills. There are hills everywhere. So our “easy” runs are usually done half up hill and half down hill. Still managed a respectable 6.4 mins/km; but I don’t think I can keep that up for 21.1 km and certainly not over a hilly course. It’s a fun group of people, “Kitsilano” people, I’m told, as if that gives them some immediate identity….which of course is totally lost on me! Ray is joining me at the run club on Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings. Then we try and fit in a fourth morning on Fridays. So that is certainly giving us some “schedule” to our life. Otherwise there is not much!

I am trying to do my reading and REMEMBER IT for my course. I thought someone said that running was good for the memory. I remember to go running….but not much else!! I have done a first draft of my essay and am now waiting to do a telephone interview with a charity that I am going to use as a cases study. Can’t wait for Jan 31 when it will all be over, and I shall be a free women again!!

Alanna joins us on Wednesdays and stays till Sunday when we drive her back to the West End (about 15minutes). The kilometre scale here is liberating. Instead of having to drive for half an hour to get anywhere, in 15 minutes we are practically at the other side of town….well, that is if the traffic is co-operating! We’ve had a few journeys over the Lion’s Gate Bridge that have taken a little longer than one would like. And we study (that's Alanna and I)………. Last night one of her class mates came for dinner and that was nice. I have also spent a couple of days with Alanna studying in the library at the Simon Fraser campus downtown. The atmosphere there is very congenial to studying for blocks of time without interruption. Bliss!

When Ray and I are on our own, I study (are you getting the picture???); Ray busies himself with listing our Collingwood Condo and the house for sale. We like to walk; so in between our runs, we try to fit in a walk, and of course we can walk to the “high street” in Kerrisdale to do our produce shopping. We walked "up" (note, yet another hill) there last Friday evening and had dinner in a neat little family owned restaurant called Suvai which was recommended to us by the owners’ of the house we are staying in. During the week, Ray had an outing to visit some business associates in Burnaby. Last Tuesday night it snowed, quite a bit actually, so Ray had to clear the front steps and the pavement in front of the house, and did the same for our neighbour. But by late afternoon the snow had turned to slush in the warm temperatures. We didn’t run that night because none of the side streets Otherwise, temperatures have been up and down - low was -4 or -5C at the beginning of the month; today it was 12C; and it has been up to 13/14C. By the end of Thursday, you would hardly have known there was snow. On Friday, I took the bus downtown to go “lingerie” shopping and spent a fun hour or so in Scarlet’s choosing some sexy lingerie for a shower gift.

Ray has also been checking out the real-estate in Vancouver. Most of it is totally out of anything that makes sense. I haven’t a clue how young people will ever buy a house here and since travel into the city is so restricted, I can’t imagine what the future for Vancouver looks like. The price of houses is just not in line with salaries. If your mortgage is $100,000 per annum, that means $200,000 earnings before tax; and if that is 50% of your salary, that means a salary of around $400,000. Unrealistic for the many. Of course figures for “affordability” are much higher and the average in Vancouver is more like 65% of salary.

We had a quiet hogmanay, and then on New Year’s Day our friends Cindy and Murray came for drinks. For those of you who don’t know Cindy, we lived together in a house on Davisville Avenue in Toronto “pre-marriage” together with Suzie, who lives in Sydney in Australia. These were my two cohorts on my August visit to Vancouver.

We made a trip today over the Second Narrow’s Bridge to Deep Cove on the north shore of the Indian Arm of the Burrard Inlet. It was a spectacular setting. The forested mountain slopes came right down to the shore line and there was a beautiful little hamlet right in the cove with a yacht club and piers for kayaking and other water sports. We had a tasty lunch in the Arms Reach Bistro looking over the water to the mountains on the other side of the Arm. It wasn’t raining but the skies were very gray and a white mist hung sulkily in between the mountain peaks so that the whole effect was very dramatic and very stunning. We ran out of road just past the houses in Deep Cove and so turned around and headed back to Vancouver over the Lion’s Gate Bridge. A really beautiful afternoon’s drive.

These have been our “highlights” to date, and sorry for not having more pictures…will try and remember to take my camera with me... stay tuned for more….

Mi Casa Su Casa - Musings on Living in Vancouver - Dec 26 - Dec 30

2010-12-29T17:20:00.000-08:00

We are slowly becoming accustomed to our temporary home. Some things we have had to get over include the feeling of “guilt” when we open drawers and cupboards in the kitchen to find various kitchen utensils, etc.; getting used to sleeping in a strange house (you would think we are used to that with all the different beds we have slept in over the past 4 years); and just generally being on high alert not to damage anything. But, the house is perfect, the location is central, and the view over to the mountains beautiful. I have attached a couple of pictures taken from the front garden.

Although we have had a couple of rainy days, and some cloudy days, the past two days have been sunny with blue skies. The temperature has generally been between 7 and 10 although it dropped down last night and tonight I believe there is threat of frost. But, we feel lucky to be out of the extreme cold and snow. After all, we can still “see” the snow, but we just don’t have to suffer it’s negative consequences.

While on the road, I talked about coming through areas with “avalanche” warning signs. Last night on the news, we heard about an avalanche just outside Hope which sadly killed a snowmobiler. It wasn’t a “high alert” area, but most areas in that vicinity are subject to avalanches.

Another new sensation, is the feeling of size. The greater Vancouver area is about 2.1 million in population I believe compared to the greater Toronto area of 5.6 million (2006 figures). You notice it! It doesn’t take as long to get from one place to the next, you can actually conceptualize the city and surrounding area fairly quickly, and you don’t get so much of the feeling of “urban sprawl”. I like it. I think it creates more of a feeling of community – although, I doubt that my friends living in North Vancouver would feel that way. Not sure if this feeling is caused by treks through larger world cities such as Mumbai (14 million), Buenos Aires (13 million) Delhi (12.25 million) and New York (8.4 million), but in any event you probably have to “visit” here to consider the macro view.

Ray got a new Garmin for Christmas, and so yesterday, after taking a day or two to learn how to work it, we went for a 50 minute run to test it out. Actually, we did an hour's run the day before but he couldn't get it to start. Running from the house will soon get us fit. There are hills in every direction, and even if we start out downhill, we soon have to go up hill!! There is a nice shopping area about 10 mins walk from the house which I can’t wait to investigate. Looks like some nice Chinese greengrocers, a few interesting looking restaurants, and some dress and furniture stores worth visiting. The houses around here are beautiful; some very small; some quite large; all very expensive. The feeling is very much of Edinburgh, or parts of England and the UK, and given that some of the names of the roads that we ran on or by included MacKenzie, Balaclava, Dunbar, and Blenheim, that is where the original influence came from. Try $3.8 million for a corner lot and a renovated house. We read an article in the Globe that Australia is the country with the most expensive real estate but Vancouver as a city tops the rest of the world. Now, I know it’s a great city, but I think something is out of whack. You have to wonder how long the real estate market will sustain itself here. How do young people here afford a home? Someone was telling us about a house he is renovating which should really be pulled down because the construction is so poor. The couple paid over $800,000 for it. Haven’t discovered yet what all the people do who own these homes. Wages are said to be much lower than Toronto, for example. Is it really all the Chinese affect resulting from the influx from Hong Kong in the 1980s?

Yesterday we drove down to Richmond (about 6 – 7 km south) and went to Costco. It was bedlam….massive…..tons and tons of shoppers, but efficient. Everyone was working very hard and curiously enough there was no line up to exit. We also went into a Great Canadian Superstore, and once again, another huge premises. Richmond is just south west of Vancouver, is located on tons of little islands and has a population of around 200,000.

The rest of my time has been spent working on my course material. Alanna is coming over tomorrow and we are going to have a really riotous time……studying!! Poor Ray, not sure what he will find to find to do to occupy himself, but he is pretty industrious and I am sure will come up with something useful....

If I don't get the opportunity to post another blog before the new year, a "very guid new year to one and a'."

December 23 2010 - Christmas Eve in Vancouver

2010-12-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

It’s funny spending Christmas without any snow and at 10C! But it feels wonderful to be here and to be close to Alanna. We haven’t done much since we got here: walked Robson Street a few times looking at the shops; ran in Stanley Park and on the Sea Wall; went grocery shopping for Christmas; and generally lazed around Alanna’s flat in the West End. Everyone is walking around with “purpose” and many are smiling and saying “Merry Christmas”. I think the shop attendants will be very glad when they close the doors at 6:00 p.m. but generally the atmosphere is very friendly. I won’t say that there is a lot of Christmas decoration around, or even Christmas music, but just more of the Christmas spirit.

Last night we went to dinner with Lee and Tom whose house we are baby-sitting. The house is lovely and it is in a really nice neighbourhood. We are looking forward to investigating the park, shops, library, community centre with swimming pool and gym, and of course the local restaurants which are within walking distance of the house. This is all a wonderful new experience for us….to be able to walk to shops, restaurants, etc.! Tomorrow we are spending Christmas day with Alanna, and she has invited another couple who are here from South Africa and their 6-month old daughter to join us for Christmas dinner in the evening. Alanna is already cooking; she has made the turkey stuffing with bulgar and hazelnuts, and is busy making an apple crumble for desert. Mom is sitting back looking up recipe information on the WWW, when requested!! It is a very pleasant difference. So……here is wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas wherever you are.

Monday December 20 - Safely in Vancouver

2010-12-20T19:52:00.000-08:00

Neither Ray nor I slept much last night and we were both awake, lying in bed, and listening to our IPods early morning. When we left the motel for breakfast we realized that Hope is nestled at the base of the mountains. Everywhere you look there are mountains all around you....as you can see from the two pictures of Hope. It was -2.5C and the owner of the motel was complaining about the "frost". Yesterday morning when we left Golden it was about -20C! We weren't complaining. We had about an hour and a half's drive down through the mountains, along the banks of the Fraser River into Vancouver. There was a slight drizzle when we arrived and the temperature on the car read "10C" .....(note, that is PLUS!). We arrived at 12:30. We were all very excited to be together again.

We went out for lunch and it all felt so familiar to be here again. Nice and warm, not a drop of snow! So, now we begin our stay in Vancouver. I won't promise to write something every day, but I will certainly update you on the blog as to what we are doing. Thanks for following along and hope you enjoyed the journey.

Sunday, December 19 – On the Road Again – Golden to Hope, BC

2010-12-20T08:40:00.000-08:00

True to his word, Ryan called us this morning just after 10:00. Ray, still concerned that the car wouldn’t start, set out on his 1 km journey to the garage. About an hour later, he arrived back with the Audi in good working order. We loaded up and set off on our way just after midday. If you haven’t travelled east to west in Canada, or vice versa, I don’t think you can say you are Canadian!!! The journey we have made over the past few days has been through the typical scenery that we learned about Canada in geography lessons in the 1960s. Canada is a beautiful country. The scenery in the Rocky Mountains and other mountain ranges in the west of Alberta and the east of BC is absolutely stunning and a match to the Andes, the Himalayas, and the Alps. We are still in it. We are spending the night in Hope, before driving the last 150 km into Vancouver tomorrow. Alanna is so excited…..so are we!!

The last part of the journey although beautiful, was snowy and once again through the mountains. Up over mountain passes in the gentle snow, and down through the valleys, then up again and finally down to Hope. The journey from Kamloops was made in dusk. It is taking a little to get used to the diminishing daylight hours. Darkness descends around 4 p.m. and daylight does not really start until after 8:00 a.m. We saw several accidents, which made us really cautious. Also Ryan, and another couple we met in Golden warned us about certain parts of the road so we were double cautious.

You know you are in the wilderness when there are Avalanche Warnings posted along the highway….and Avalanche Courses offered in Golden. In fact this morning, we heard them “blasting” to unsettle the snow this morning in Golden. So, I have a new addition to my bucket list. Spending a month in the Rocky’s either in winter or summer or both! It is so beautiful and walking, hiking, biking, etc. would be wonderful…..except for the bears. Mmmmm, we would have to learn how to cope with them. We didn’t see any on the journey this time, and no mountain goats, or sheep…and no moose! Actually, we really didn’t see any wild life except the deer. They are so gracious and elegant.

So our journey is almost over…not quite…and we will complete the final stage tomorrow….stay tuned…

Saturday December 18 - Grounded in Golden, BC

2010-12-18T21:17:00.000-08:00

We were up early this morning and Ray was in touch with Ryan at Selkirk Service. He was all set to deal with the problem. Fortunately, the Audi started and Ray was able to drive it the kilometre to the garage. Ryan discovered that although the serpentine belt had become detached, it was actually the belt tensioner that had blown apart. Between the time of Ray's phone call and getting to the garage, Ryan sourced a replacement belt. But it looks like it won't be needed. Once discovering that it was the "tensioner" Ryan set about connecting with his contacts to see if he could source a replacement. So....the part will be arriving by bus from Calgary this afternoon around 3:00 p.m. It shouldn't be a difficult job to replace it and we hope it will be fixed this afternoon. Then we will leave tomorrow morning for Vancouver.

Ryan has been extremely helpful. He took the initiative to book us into the Super 8 Hotel when he found out we were paying $116 at the Best Western....and now I think it is about $76 a night instead!! We thanked him profusely for taking the initiative and made the move! The room, although not as large as at the Best Western, is quite comfortable, clean and warm. The couple who own it are very welcoming. In fact everyone in town is friendly and chatty. It's a nice place.

So, what can I say about Golden. It is situated in the south eastern part of BC at the junction of the Columbia River and the Kicking Horse River and lies between the Rocky Mountains and the Purcell Mountains; so that all you see are mountains all the way around you. The current population seems to be about 4000 with another 3000+ in the surrounding area. I get the feeling it is one of these unique places somewhat like El Chalten in Argentina - a very natural hub for hiking and all kinds of sports activities. There are lots of young people around, the energy is high, and it is totally unpretentious. Very much our sort of town! It is about an hour from Banff, two and a half hours from Jasper, and one and a half hours from Revelstoke.

The town was founded around 1807 when the explorer David Thompson, an explorer and fur trader crossed the Rocky's. Then in 1885 when the Canadian Pacific Railway was completed, Golden became an important railway stop. It's economy is probably connected to the forest industry.

After we had sorted out the car, had breakfast, and moved, we took a walk into town. Probably close to a 3 or 4 km walk one way to get there. The weather is absolutely gorgeous with bright sun, blue skies, but freezing cold - I think it was around -15C when we started warming up to around -12C - but we wrapped up well and thoroughly enjoyed the walk. The town is not huge, and we didn't get to do too much investigation; stopped and had a coffee and then made our way back. You can see some of the pictures I took on the walk.

We have often been asked about how we pass our time in the car on our various journeys. It is easy really, and we never seem to get bored. I mentioned earlier that we discussed various issues. One of the issues we discussed to some degree along the way was the pros and cons of wind power. This was after passing a small wind farm in Manitoba. I was checking out a web site for my not-for-profit governance course and somehow or other ended up on a site discussing this very same issue. Interesting to note that the research that has been conducted on wind turbine syndrome is flawed and there is no argument strong enough to cause us to stop production. Even the argument that bird migrations are interrupted is being dealt with by the production of systems such as radar to counteract this. In summary, wind power remains one of the most environmentally friendly methods of producing energy we have; it has been around for over 5000 years, and !no matter how much we use, it will never run out! Some of the other hot topics we have discussed include whether or not Julian Assange should have leaked the material on covert operations or not. It seems he has a lot of supporters. We realized we really didn't know exactly what he had leaked but were aware only that it jeopardized troops in Afghanistan and maybe Iraq.....and who knows whether he is a sex criminal or not. Anyway, he has certainly created some interesting discussions if nothing else......and I will not dare to give my opinion one way or other in a blog....I've already had some interesting comments over the years and don't wish to encourage any more!!

I spent the rest of the day working on the material for my course. Ray read through the 166 emails he had, mainly regarding his position on the board of Mountain Springs. He has only been gone a week! We had a lovely dinner this evening and are now back in our hotel unit and set to get an early night.

Incidentally, the part didn't arrive at 3:30 but came in from Vernon BC on the 6:30 bus. Ryan is all set to work on it tomorrow morning around 10 a.m. He thinks it will take around half and hour. So, we are hopeful to be on our way around mid-day.We will aim for Kamloops, stay the night there and drive into Vancouver on Monday - arriving probably in the mid afternoon. Can't wait!!!

Friday , December 17 - A Magical World - Swift Current, AB to Golden, BC

2010-12-17T21:45:00.000-08:00

If you have never driven across Canada, you should add it to your "bucket list". Canada is a most beautiful country with some amazing scenery. The "culture" in each province is so different and we are blessed to have such diversity within our own country.

This morning when we left Swift Current it was about -15C and freezing fog. It was like driving through a magical world of a black and white movie. The trees were all encrusted with snow and ice, there was no colour, visibility was low, and it seemed as if a light snow was falling although it never seemed to accumate....the freezing fog, This continued until we reached Calgary. Then, out of nowhere, the foot hills of the Rockies appeared through the fog. And so very quickly we were surrounded by mountains. The sun came out and outlined the jagged tops of the mountains. Then the moon appeared .....it was all such a beautiful day. Soon the light started to dissipate as we travelled towards Radium Jct and the hot springs between the Kootenay River and the Columbia River. The route was so beautiful I just don't know the words to describe it. As we approached Radium Jct the road went between two granite walls of rock.. so very impressive. Our original route took us through Kicking Horse Pass but as we neared Lake Louise signs told us that the Pass was closed. So we had to take a diversion which was probably an extra 100 km. It was so well worth it.This route down 93 and up 95 was truly wonderful.

Unfortunately, half way up the Columbia River Valley about 87 km from golden, Ray suddenly said: "What's happening.....something is wrong, I don't have any power steering...the car has quit...." but in fact it hadn't quit....although there was no power steering - and the battery generator sign came on and we assumed it was the alternator or something else affecting the battery. We weren't sure that we would make it to Golden. It was sort of lonely, as it was almost dark and we were travelling up a river valley between two imposing mountaint ranges. We both had wild images of being stuck in the middle of the mountains. Fortunately, it is only about -12C ...so not too cold and conditions were good. Anyway, we have made it safely to Golden, and are holed up in the Best Western which is quite passable and we have a lovely big room. Had dinner in a barbecue grill which was lots of fun and the most energy we have experienced on the trip. Tomorrow we will have to see about getting the car fixed. The entire Serpentine Belt has ripped apart and Ray is hoping nothing else has caused it to happen....we contacted a garage and they were not certain they would have a part to fit the Audi...but we are keeping our fingers crossed. Not sure if we will need a tow in the morning but we have that lined up too. The car might start. It is all wrapped up in its blanket and hopefully.....we can drive the very short distance to the garage. It really couldn't have happened at a better point in the journey. We are about 700+ km from Vancouver.....and there is a Greyhound Bus service there.....so we know we can always get to Van for Christmas! There is also a ski hill right behind the hotel....so......we'll keep you posted.

Today, I plugged in the Ipod and we listened to Tony Blair's book...it is really inspiring and it is so obvious how intelligent he is and also what a good person he has been. It is a book everyone who is driven to achieve something should read. We have only listened to about 3 hours,but I am looking forward to hearing more about his political life.

I have attached some pictures. I think they will give you some idea of the scenery. I am sorry about the quality of the pictures, but it is really hard to get good ones as there is no place to stop along the highway and we really aren't in the right mood for "sight seeing"...we just want to get the journey done! You may have to "click" on the picture to enlarge it so see all the detail.

I have replaced the picture I mentioned yesterday ....it is the one that says: Tourist Information. It just struck us as funny as we were literally in the middle of nowhere and couldn't see a tourist attraction for miles around!

Anyway, I'll report tomorrow night as to our status....

December 16 - Winnipeg,Manitoba to Swift Current, Saskatchewan

2010-12-16T21:34:00.000-08:00

The Gods are with us!! Yesterday evening, as we were feeling really good driving along a snow free highway, Ray asked the question whether we should push it through to Brandon, Manitoba, as opposed to stopping at Winnipeg as we had earlier planned. After some consideration, I suggested that we not do so, because taking the extra two hours at night, would mean leaving later in the morning, and therefore we really wouldn't gain distance, and we would be driving more tired at night. So we stopped in Winnepeg. When I opened my email, Randall was advising that there was a storm moving east through Manitoba. I looked at the Manitoba road information on line and we discovered that the roads past Portage La Praerie were closed, and further the roads past that that were not closed were "ice covered". We were very happy that we had stopped.

We left Winnepeg this morning just before nine o'clock - once again it was a beautiful morning. The sun was out, the skies were blue, and although it was -15C when we left it warmed up to -9C when we arrived at Swift Current. So what happened that was interesting along the way? first, we missed our turn off from the ring route around Winnepeg. We began to wonder why the sun was on our right hand side when we were supposed to be heading West. Mmmmmm, found we had driven about 10 mins past our turn off and were heading back towards the east. Fixed that and had a wonderful drive along the highway. The previous two days we talked about the lake view, the forest lined roads, and today it was the prairies.....flat, flat, flat!! But beautiful! The trees and bushes were frozen white, and on either side of us the white bed of snow stretched far into the horizon. There was one stretch of road before Brandon that was a little ice packed, but the rest were fairly clear. Ray was chatting with some guy in Brandon who told us about the storm last night. He said there were 67 cars in the ditch and so the police decided to close the road. Regina was shrouded in fog and driving conditions were generally dreadful. Even this morning we saw about 10 cars in the ditch and one truck rolled over. There is much more snow past Portage La Prairie than earlier. Our second "interesting" moment occurred as we were about an hour and a half outside Regina. Ray was having his aftenoon nap, then suddenly he woke up, looked over and said: "do you only have 60 km of gas left?". As I answered "yes", this figure changed to "50". Since everywhere we looked we could only see snow covered fields (look at the pictures!!), we were definitely becoming a little worried. The GPS was saying that the nearest gas station was 68 km away. I was all for turning back to the last town; or calling the CAA and asking where the nearest gas was. But we kept going confident we would find something.......and we did. We rolled into an Esso Gas Station with about 40km left on the tank.To say we were were thankful, was putting it mildly. So, obviously, one of the pictures is the gas station! There was a also a sign outside the gas station that left us a little perplexed.....maybe it all looks different in the summer time!

So, all in all it was a good day. We didn't make it as far as Medicine Hat - that would have been another 2 hours driving. We are not driving manically, but making sure we get sufficient rest and are fresh for driving. You just never know what you might meet next!

You might think that the drive is boring, but it is not at all. We talk lots; discuss every issue that arises including gun control, the problems on the reserves, polar bears, etc. I have been reading some of my notes on "Not for Profit Governance" and then we discuss various issues arising from the text. And so far, we have not been bored, and haven't had any "disagreements"!! The quiet time is nice. There is not much radio to listen to and I haven't yet hooked up the Ipod with some audio books. There is always something interesting to see. Even in the Prairies. It really isn't so bleak, there is always something on the horizon. And there are all sorts of communities, probably about every 20 km. The roads have been quiet, but not at all today. Lots of trucks always, and today more cars and SUVs and pick up trucks. We are taking each day as it comes, so let's see where we end up tomorrow. We are also marvelling at the capacity of our country to cope so efficiently with keeping the roads open and safe. It's been a divided highway all the way from Manitoba and most of the road has been clear with only some parts where it's been a little slower with packed ice conditions. Pretty marvellous I'd say and the people responsible for all this organization certainly deserve recognition. Thanks for the comments....keep them coming.....and check back tomorrow!

Thunder Bay to Winnipeg - Wednesday Dec 15, 2010

2010-12-15T19:47:00.000-08:00

So......when we woke up this morning, it was -29C.....our first thought was: "Will the car start". We weren't able to get a heater inserted because Audi assured us, their cars don't need one. We weren't really convinced about that remark, but it did start, so all was well. Ray actually tucked it up with a blanket the night before, but we were still very happy it started!

We left around 9:45 a.m.. It truly was a magnificent day with lots of sun, cloudless blue skies, and the temperatures slowly warmed up throughout the day to -9C when we arrived in Winnipeg. The first part of the drive through Ontario was magnificent. Where yesterday the scenery was all about the lake, today the scenery was all about the beautiful forests of evergreens that lined the road as it rolled through undulating countryside.And the aromatic, sweet smell of the trees was divine! You really got the impression of vastness. Just miles and miles of trees as far as you could see. We entered into the Arctic Watershed where all rivers flowed north to the Arctic. This whole area is one of lakes and everywhere you turn there is a small frozen lake covered with white snow.

We were almost out of Ontario - had just stopped in Kenora for a snack and a tea and were speeding down the wide, straight, highway, when "zap", we were caught on radar. Fortunately, I think the officer took pity on us when he looked in the car and saw how stacked it was. He came from Toronto, and very politely told us to slow down, and that the police in Manitoba were fiends for speed. Sometimes you need a little lesson like that just to make you realize you are not vulnerable! And when you are treated with respect, it makes far more of an impact than if we had been left criticizing the officer for being "abrupt" or "threatening" or whatever. Oh, and I forgot to mention that yesterday, just after White River we were stopped in a ride program at 2:30 in the afternoon. Again the officer was so polite and friendly. She routinely asked us where we were going, and when I answered "Vancouver", there was an almost indiscernible pause, before she responded "oh"....."have a good journey"! I guess she realized that there was no way we would have been drinking with that vast a drive ahead of us! So now we have been stopped in 2 ride programs, and once for speeding. I hope our stint with the OPP is over!

Once we crossed the border into Manitoba, the land straightened out, and the temperature warmed up. It's only -9C in Winnipeg. We are staying in a Comfort Inn which is very comfortable, had dinner in Michael Pi's; had a very nice chat with a DataValet technical assistant and now my email is working.....world wide I am told! Kudos to him. Xplornet isn't a patch on Shaw! So......we're off to bed. Randall warned us that there is a storm approaching Winnipeg, and we noted that roads west of us were closed to night.....so we will see what the morning brings! Pauleen: Thank you for the lovely biscuits/cakes: we had some with our morning "coffee" today ....and yesterday, and thoroughly enjoyed them!

The Soo to Thunderbay - Tuesday Dec 14

2010-12-14T20:11:00.000-08:00

After trying to sort out our computer problems, we set off from the Soo in bright sun and blue skies. The drive through to Thunder Bay was sooo beautiful. Typical Canadian scenery. The road was clear, and wound its way, up and down the craggy lake coastline, around smaller lakes hidden in crevices, and through forests of evergreen trees. Earlier in the day Lake Superior was covered with rain-mist, caused by the wind whipping up the water to form a shallow cloud floating across the Lake. But later, the sun came out to stay. We travelled through Pukaskwa Provincial Park and wondered if there had been a fire there some years ago. The best part was after Marathon and particularly around and after Terrance Bay. What a beautiful part of Canada this is. It seemed truly remote, and we noticed all the signs saying "Closed for the Season" including the "rest areas" along the highway! We waved to the Wawa Goose, Pooh Bear and Terry Fox....sites that we spent time at during our last trip in 2009. Sunset was stunning but unfortunately I couldn't get any pictures because there just wasn't an appropriate spot in the road. I have uploaded a few pictures though which will let you see the type of country we are passing through. There's not much snow and I suspect that in Central Ontario you have more snow than there is up here. We have been watching the news this evening and conditions really have been quite challenging around home. Thunder Bay is just a little smaller than Barrie and seems quite lively. Now we are cosily tucked up in our hotel room while the coldness settles on the outside world. It was about -18C when we came in. Not sure what the forecast is. Not sure where we will get to tomorrow. We will play it by ear!

Winter - 2010

2010-12-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

When we announced we were driving out to Vancouver in December, our friends immediately divided into two camps. The first camp thought we were crazy, had lost our minds, and weren't fit to make decisions about our life. The second camp thought that we were about to embark on a great adventure and offered up all kinds of safety advice like take lots of candles and matches, and if you have to stop keep the engine running; and another....if your engine is running make sure your exhaust is not burried in a snow bank otherwise you will die from carbon monoxide poisoning. All very positive coments. Which camp is right, remains to be seen!!

We set off today around 11:30 this morning ....-14C ....and at the tail end of probably the season's first major snow storm in our area. Needless to say, driving up through Barrie and on to Sudbury was not much fun. Can you imagine being in a tub heaving in the rough ocean? This is what our drive was like. The ice packed rutty road, the snow streamers blowing over it, and the gale force wind made it tough to keep the car on the road. We were held up half way between Parry Sound and Sudbury while a tow truck pulled a car out of the ditch. But we did manage to keep the car on the road, and after Sudbury, it all started to smooth out. Around Massey, we spotted an enormous red triangle in front of us,then another in front of that....can you think what it was? It was two Mennonite horses and carriages. I just can't imagine how the passengers were keeping warm. At this point, the temperature was -18C and with the wind chill it felt like -29C....according to the local weather station. Now, you can blame the wind chill factor on our friend Randall since he invented it....but you can't deny the coldness of the weather. IT WAS FREEZING!! Tam - thanks for the chocolates. We ate some around tea time and they were delicious! We decided to keep driving and around 8:30 p.m. headed into Sault Ste Marie. This is a town of about 75,000 and we are staying close to the water front (St. Mary's River I believe). We had a lovely dinner in The Docks, a unique restaurant overlooking the river and the bridge to the US.

Before we left home our Internet had been down for 2 days....Xplornet....so we cursed and swore, and finally got over being frustrated as we knew we would be on the road and a pre-requisite of a hotel for the night was WiFi. Can you believe when we got into the room and tore our computers out of their bags and plugged them in and turned them on.....that the Internet wasn't working ....this time it was Shaw....so ....maybe Xplornet isn't alone in trying to tackle the weather conditions in winter Canada.....but really guys......you know where we live......it snows, it rains, it gets cold..... Anyway, it seems to be working now, so hopefully I will get this posted. We will take tomorrow as it comes and plough on as best we can. I note that in the summer, our first night was spent in Wawa. No idea how far that is from Sault Ste Marie, but let me tell you the winter is a whole different story. The country side is still pretty flat and uninteresting, but now the side of the highways are covered with dirty brown snow, and the granite shield is highlighted by the waterfalls of pecan coloured frozen water. Some, but not many, of the houses are lit up with Christmas lights, and the towns are adorned with santas, and bright stars, and manger scenes. I am looking forward to seing Sault Ste Marie tomorrow before we head off to our next destination.

Thursday August 20 -

2009-08-20T22:34:00.000-07:00

Thursday was another beautifully warm day with sunny, blue, cloudless skies. We chilled in Banff in the morning; walked around the town; did some shopping; and took some photos. It was a typical holiday town, but in a beautiful setting, and really quite pleasant.

Our target today was Kamloops which we reckoned would be around a 6 hour drive. The scenery was absolutely spectacular; especially the drive through Kicking Horse Canyon. Tall rugged mountains all around us as we drove along the valley floor. We stopped at some of the sights along the way including the Spiral Tunnels. These tunnels were built for the trains that chugged up and sped down the steep incline of Kicking Horse Pass. Because of the steepness, numerous accidents occurred, so in 1909 the tunnels were built to improve the safety of train travel. Each tunnel makes a spiralling turn and trains actually cross over themselves. So, you might see an engine emergy from the upper tunnel while 15m below it, carriages are still entering the lower tunnel. Once we hit Revelstoke, the land flattened out, although here in Kamloops, we are still surrounded by beautiful mountains. Sunset brought a beautiful red sun reflected in the river water making it bright scarlet too. No doubt about it, the scenery is spectacular. We also saw a little black bear cross the highway in front of us, and we saw some mountain goats up the side of one of the rock faces as we passed on the road below.

Tonight we are staying in Kamloops and tomorrow we will hit Vancouver. Alanna is excited, and happy to be back in BC. Cass unfortunately, has caught Alanna's cold and is feeling really rotten!

Wednesday August 19

2009-08-19T22:28:00.000-07:00

We were up early and on the road by 8:30 am. It was a beautiful, sunny day with blue cloudless skies, and warm temperatures. When we left Hinton, the Rockies rose up in front of us like a solid wall of granite. We passed a group of mountain sheep and took tons of pictures. By the time we reached Jasper, we were surrounded by high, grey mountains, richly vegetated with fir trees three quarters of the way up. We took a quick walk around Jasper and enjoyed its relaxed atmosphere and beautiful location. The drive down Highway 93 to Lake Louise was truly stunning and quite compares with other mountain ranges in the world. I think it is the vastness of the Rockies that consumes you. The mountains are all around, and the snow peaks peep up above the grey granite rock and make you shiver. The lakes are a beautiful aquamarine colour, but freezing cold, and I doubt you would last too long in them. In fact, they say it would only be minutes before you died of hypothermia if you fell into some of the rapids and waterfalls. We stopped at the Athabasca Falls and saw the 23-metre waterfall powering over the rocks and into the swirling river below. It is said to have the most powerful flow anywhere in the mountain parks. We drove down the Icefields Parkway and saw the Columbia Icefields; I must admit to being a little disappointed, but then you can only see 3 of the 7 icefields from the road. They looked grey and dirty and crawling with caterpillar-like sight-seeing vehicles. We stopped at lookouts for the high peaks and the glaciers, and amazed at the intense aqua colour of Peyto Lake and Bow Lake. Passing through all the splendour makes you realize just how insignificant humans are in the natural world, and yet at the same time, we can do so much harm. We stopped at Lake Louise and took too many pictures; then drove on to Banff where we arrived around 7:30 pm. Its a fun town, established, commercialized, but nonetheless alive. Our hostel is about a 5 minute walk from all the shops and restaurants which is perfect and we had a great dinner before walking back over the bridge for the night. When we arrived, before we even got our stuff out of the car, we saw a deer grazing along the edge of the river about 10 feet from the car. Later, the same deer had bedded down for the night under a tree in the garden of the hostel. How neat is that!

Monday August 17 and Tuesday August 18 – 4 Canadian Provinces

2009-08-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

On Monday morning we rolled out of Kenora and on to Highway 17. It was raining. We passed roadworks, rural communities, and the border into Manitoba. The area around Winnipeg was a rich agricultural area but as a we drove north on 16, the Yellowhead Highway, we passed huge fields of barley, canola, and rye and rolled on through Manitoba’s bright green, golden yellow, and wheaten fields. We crossed the border into Saskatchewan and stopped for lunch in a tiny fast-food restaurant in Gladstone, the town of the “Happy Rock”! Get it…? Prairie wit, I guess!! We walked in to the restaurant and were greeted by a couple of old codgers one of whom had a broken arm which didn’t look as if it had been properly set, and who was eating a cup of ice-cream. They had some appreciative local comments which they addressed to the girls, without too much reaction. I don’t think they, the girls, totally understood the local jargon! We passed through Neepawa where Margaret Laurence was born. It was a neat little town with a beautiful four lane avenue lined with overhanging trees on both sides. We saw silver-grey silos, white grain elevators, and plump seagulls feeding on the dark brown ploughed fields. There was a lot of flooding in the fields which made the tiny ducks happy as they floated in the water picking up flies and other bugs and edibles as they went. The road ran parallel to the trainless-railway for miles but eventually in the evening we saw three freight trains moving sleepily along the tracks with a large number of carriages which would eventually be filled with the grain and other produce from the area. We eventually arrived at Saskatoon, found a motel, had a very late dinner, and crawled into bed. We were tired. We had driven about 1000 kilometers over the course of the day.
Tuesday started out raining and 15C. The long straight roads wound across the Saskatchewan prairies; pieces of blown truck tyres littered the highway. The odd straw bale found its way into the median in between the two parts of the divided highway. Yellow flowers lined both sides of the dual carriageway and separated the road from the fields of bright yellow canola which stretched into the horizon. Along the highway were lily filed watering ponds, and the land was undulating, and lush with trees acting as wind and snow breaks in the vast fields. We entered into Alberta, and stopped to take pictures at the “Welcome to Alberta” sign. Not much changed in the scenery until we passed through Edmonton, and reached a small town called Edson about 207 kms west of Edmonton. Then the landscape became more undulating and filled with fir trees. The Rockies tantalized us. They appeared in the distance at a high point on the highway, then disappeared. They appeared again as we passed the highest point on the highway, and disappeared, and then finally as we neared Hinton, they appeared and remained an omnipresence on the highway. You know you are approaching something that will consume you when you see them. We stopped for the night in Hinton located in the foothills of the Rockies. The town has about 10,000 inhabitants, a pulp mill, and tons of hotels. It is about 45 minutes from Jasper and we are looking forward to being right in the Rockies tomorrow.

The journey is long and tiring. The girls read magazines, listen to their i-Pods, play games on their cell phones, do crosswords, and word searches, sleep, and watch videos on the laptops. We all take it in turns to drive. But although we are appreciative of the scenery and the journey there is not much that is exciting and there is not much time for "fun". So far!

Sunday August 16 - Wawa to Kenora

2009-08-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

The intellectual level in the car dropped dramatically this morning as we re-invented our childhood’s perspective of life. First, we stopped at the Wawa Goose on our way out of town to take pictures. This was constructed in 1960 to celebrate the opening of the Lake Superior Section of the Trans-Canada Highway. Until then the main access to Wawa was from steam boat on Lake Superior until 1941, or by railway after 1921. Next came the statue of “Winnie” in White River. This is a lovely story about the background to Winnie the Pooh. Apparently on August 24, 1914, Captain Harry Colebourn, a Canadian Army Veterinarian, purchased a black bear cub for $20 in White River, Ontario. The bear was named “Winnie” after Colebourn’s hometown Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnie journeyed overseas and was left at the London Zoo for safekeeping when the troops went to France for active duty. Becoming the Zoo’s feature attraction Winnie captivated many, especially young Christopher Robin, son of the author A.A. Milne. Inspired by the bear and his son’s enthrallment, A.A. Milne began the stories of Winnie the Pooh. Although, Winnie went to that “great Hunny Pot in the Sky” in May 1934 at the age of 20, Milne’s books kept the Canadian bear alive through several generations. In 1988, a local resident discovered that Winnie the Pooh is originally from White River, and White River proudly proclaims its status as the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh by celebrating with Winnie’s Hometown Festival held the third weekend in August every year.
Beside the Winnie statue was a playground and our two “wannabe young again” 28/30 year olds had fun playing on the shute and having their pictures taken. Talking to dogs has also featured high in the trip. Already Cassandra and Alanna have made friends with a 9 month old Rotweiller and her handsome father, a Husky/Sheppard puppy and her four legged Husky friend, and a long haired golden retriever and Pyranese Mountain Dog who just about lept out of the back of the Toyota SUV they were travelling in to greet the girls.
We had lunch in Nipigon and back on the road again. We travelled along the shores of Superior and had some lovely views which were unfortunately marred by the haze hanging heavily over the water. The rain came just as we headed into Thunder Bay. Our spirits sobered when we visited the Terry Fox Memorial and we thought of the arduous journey young Terry undertook and the money his memory has amassed for the fight against cancer.
25 km outside Thunder Bay, we went into the Kakebeka Provincial Park to look at the Kakebeka Falls. The Falls are spectacular with the extra tons of water cascading over them from all the recent rainfalls.From there we had a fairly intense drive through some pretty, forested scenery, a heavy rainstorm, and moose/deer/bear infested country into Kenora where we are staying our second night.

Saturday August 15 - Off to Vancouver

2009-08-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

I slept in on Saturday morning – the day we left for our trip to drive Alanna 4500 km to school in Vancouver. It could have been the late night previously, or that I didn’t sleep well, or simply that if I didn’t wake up, I didn’t have to start the journey. It’s not as if she is a kid; she is 28; it’s not as if she hasn’t lived away from home before, but somehow, Vancouver seems such a long way away.
The day was sunny and bright, and we locked up the house and were on our way. Ray and I had made the trip about 36 years ago and we wondered how much we would remember. Alanna has never made the trip.
The first part of the journey by-passing Parry Sound, Sudbury and Espanola was fairly typical Ontario countryside: rocky, lush vegetation, and not particularly memorable. From Spanish we travelled along the N orth Channel of Georgian Bay. It was undulating, craggy shorelines with beautiful views from the Highway 17 over the lake. We drove through lake-side towns of Blind River, Thessalon, and on to Sault Ste. Marie.
The film “One Week” will give you a much better description of the Toronto/Vancouver route. Our journey is completed with time restrictions and without much time to investigate points of interest along the way. But we did, and will, see some of the sights.
The beauty in the trip started at Sault Ste. Marie where Lake Huron and Lake Superior meet. We made the journey from the Soo to Wawa at sunset and loved the beautiful Canadian settings with views over the lake and fir trees peeping up in the foreground around the blazing orange ball of the sun. Driving at dusk kept us alert for moose, deer, and bears on the road!We spent the night in the Sportsman Motel with dinner first at the Viking. The Viking offered an eclectic mix of tourists and loud, colourful, boisterous locals, and a varied menu at just off Toronto prices.

Wednesday July 29 – Homecoming

2009-07-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

Neither of us slept very well; we were both excited at the prospect of being with Alanna today. Ray, I think more so than me, is also looking forward to getting back home to familiar surroundings and Canada. Don’t get me wrong, I too am looking forward to coming home; more so to get back into doing something more “meaningful" than the stress-free travel environment. I am searching for a way to put my knowledge and experiences to good use.

When you travel the world, and see different cultures and ways of life, it helps you to understand “existence” on a broader basis. The world over, life is about survival. As humans we all need the same things to be fundamentally satisfied. That is all the majority want: food, shelter, and community. Why then do we refuse to respect that in each other and enter into war, violent disputes, and political mayhem? It doesn’t matter how much land you have, if it’s not arable you won’t get food, or if there are no resources, you won’t have resources. To strive for the bigger picture of a “supportive and co-dependent” existence might be an answer to finding a peaceful world solution. I don't mean by this that the only answer is "democracy". It may well not be, or it may be that each country needs its own unique form of government. We might also be forced into that scenario if bugs and diseases such as H1N1 become the pandemic that many predict it will. Cool and intelligent minds, co-operation among governments, and creative science for cures and preventatives are what will get us through such an event should it come to that. I don’t know the answer to a better world order, but I know I will support those who have a viable suggestion versus those who manipulate populations through power and superiority.

So, I know you will want to know (1) did we have a good trip; (2) what were the highlights and the lowlights; (3) what it did for us; and (4) where are we going next! Give me a few days to contemplate all of that, and I’ll post a “Post-Trip Summary”.

We were up around 7 am this morning to catch the Hoppa bus back to Terminal 5 at Heathrow. We had breakfast in “Giraffe" at the airport; then I went duty-free shopping. The London airports are so exciting to shop in, and it’s one of the few times I’ve had on the trip to “shop”. So, Ray sat and waited, and I took off with my credit card!!

Security checks at the airport take forever, and I wonder how effective they are against “terrorists” as opposed to catching the forgetful tourist who has packed his pen knife or nail clippers in his/her checked luggage.

Our flight on a British Airways Boeing 747 left about 45 minutes late. Once again it was quite smooth with the exception of one part as we neared Canada which got a little bumpy from the turbulence. The skies were bright blue, and we floated on our bed of white clouds for about 7 hours. We were so excited when we landed at Toronto that my stomach was churning with impatience at the thought of seeing Alanna again. We are not sure what was happening at the airport, but as soon as we stepped off the plane a customs officer was checking everyone’s passport, so you can imagine the back up of passengers de-loading. As with everyone else, he took my passport, read the information, stared at me directly in the eyes, and then handed the passport back and allowed me to go forward. When we got to the customs hall, there was a team of four customs officers searching the crowd. One had a dog and he together with the dog walked very briskly and purposely up and down the rows of the passengers waiting to go through the customs desks into the baggage pick-up area. The dog sat down three or four times in front of one guy who was probably off the Caribbean Air flight that had landed just before ours. Poor guy must have been sweating, but obviously he was not the one whom the team was looking for.
While waiting for our baggage, we saw the team questioning passengers randomly in the baggage hall. Never saw them take anyone away, so haven’t a clue what it was all about.

Finally we exited into the Arrivals area, and there was our lovely daughter, full of smiles and as happy to see us as we were to see her. We are soooo lucky to have such a beautiful and kind daughter! Then, as we were all hugging each other intensely, our good friend Randall Osczevski appeared with a huge grin on his face. It was the most wonderful surprise and means an awful lot to us that he would leave his office and come over to the airport to welcome us home.

And, that is it! We went home with Alanna, ate dinner, chatted and chatted, drank too much wine and finally after being up for about 25 hours, we collapsed into bed for our first night’s sleep at home since March 11.

Tuesday July 28 – Farewell St. Petersburg

2009-07-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

The worst thing about travelling is the “waiting”. We got to the airport in lots of time for our flight (even had time to check the Internet in the morning before we left the hotel). We hung around the airport waiting to go through security, customs, etc. and check in for the flight. We have had lots of time for reflection and discussion on the various events we have experienced over the past 4 ½ months.

St. Petersburg was a treat to visit. Where Moscow was energized, colourful, and “in your face”, St. Petersburg is serene, grey, and reserved. It has a beautiful city centre, friendly people, and a rich and colourful history. That said, the Navy Day celebrations were a “joyous affair”, and one shouldn’t be lulled into thinking that St. Petersburg is a pristine city. As mentioned before, you can walk around drinking beer, many people do, so there are often empty beer bottles lining the canals and river embankments, and you can certainly meet your fair share of those who have imbibed a little too heavily! However, this is all cleaned up very quickly and the city is generally quite clean.

Our three-hour flight from St. Petersburg to London on a BA A331 was smooth and comfortable, left and arrived on time, and posed no problems to our now “used-to-overcoming-challenges” attitude. Several times we looked out of the window and over the white layer of clouds we were flying over to see another plane literally “whiz” past us in the opposite direction at a combined speed of about 1000 to 1200 miles per hour. Of course, although they seemed awfully close, I am sure there was plenty of room between us!! Once at Heathrow we took the Heathrow Hoppa to our AAA-graded 3-star hotel where we arrived around 7 pm. The hotel was very active with lots of business groups, and we enjoyed dinner in the dining room with a much appreciated glass of wine before retiring to bed and enjoying two shots of CSI: CSI Miami, and CSI New York which were luxury entertainment to our English-TV starved minds, before turning out the light.

Monday July 27 – The End of the Our Journey: Last Day in St Petersburg

2009-07-27T09:20:00.000-07:00

Our travel is drawing to a close, but we managed to fit in one last historic site: The Fortress of Peter and Paul on the north banks of the Neva River. The fortress was built in 1703/04 during the Great Northern War against Sweden, but apparently it was never used for its intended purpose as the war was won before it became active. The main purpose of the fort ended up being a prison, mainly political prisoners, and it was eerie to walk through the corridors, cell by cell, and read the stories of the people who had been imprisoned there. It all sounded very “comfortable”, but I have no doubt the heavy block walls have many different stories to tell as men and women lived out their last moments before passing through the Neva Gate on the way to their execution. Many of the stories we read were about the People’s Will, a group of terrorists who murdered Alexander II in 1881. Other stories included those of Leon Trotsky and Maxim Gorky from the 1905 revolution and stories of the Bolsheviks right up to 1921 when the last prisoners were held there. The other big attraction in the Fort is the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul built in 1712 to 1733 and designed by Trezzini and later embellished by Rastrelli, both of whom have been a huge part of the architecture in St. Petersburg. The church both inside and outside is stunning with lots of gold gild in the true Baroque style. We listened again to some Russian choral singing in the Grand Ducal Crypt which was so mournful it tore my heartstrings. Two of the guys in this group had appeared in the group at St. Catherine’s Palace yesterday, and one of those two had appeared in the Russian Song and Dance Show we went to.
There are several other interesting parts to the Fort such as a museum and the mint, but to be quite honest with you I am absolutely overloaded with information. It’s time to go home!! Ray found me sitting on the steps outside the door of the museum staring into space and waiting for him. Usually, it is the other way around and he is dragging me out!

We wandered back to the hotel in the warm gently falling rain, along the University Embankment, past statutes, bridges, and finely architectured buildings that are famous the world over. It was a fitting “good bye” to a majestic city.

In the evening, we had dinner in a small Russian restaurant, bought a couple of bottles of vodka to bring back to Canada with us on the way back to the hotel, packed up our stuff and collapsed in bed around midnight dreaming of returning home and seeing our daughter and our friends.

Sunday July 26 – Pushkin

2009-07-26T09:13:00.000-07:00

We walked out of our hotel this morning to be verbally abused by a mad woman with a beautiful cocker spaniel. She had a wooden stick in her hands so we were a little careful of her! Tatiana, our St. Petersburg guide appeared, and steered us back into our hotel. After a few minutes, Arpana, Ray and I together with Tatiana, carefully stepped outside again, and seeing the way clear and the van parked by the side of the road, headed directly into it. Don’t know what was up, just a random wacko!! Tatiana though seemed quite upset by it. I guess she understood what the woman was saying; we could only guess!

We travelled about an hour (24 km) to the town of Pushkin on the outskirts of St. Petersburg, population about 100,000. It wasn’t an interesting drive though, as St. Petersburg is built on a swamp, which accounts for the mosquitoes we have been battling in our bedroom because I left the windows open one night. The attraction in Pushkin is the summer palace of the royal family “Catherine Palace”. It was originally built in Baroque style around 1752 by Catherine the Great. However, it was substantially destroyed by the Germans in WWII, and then by the Soviet government who destroyed the internal structure. In 1979 the Soviet government started restoring the Palace and this continued for 25 years. Today, the palace is stunning. The outside is painted blue and gold and surrounded by gilded black-iron gates. The first few rooms are heavily decorated in what was gold-gild and what is now gold paint. Then, because Catherine didn’t like all the baroque gold, the next few rooms are pained in classic blue and green, with white moldings ornately carved. Access to the palace is closely controlled. You have a “time slot” and move through with hundreds of other visitors in controlled groups. It’s certainly not the most pleasant experience, but I guess if you want to see historic sites of this caliber, this seems to have become an accepted method of controlling the crowds (remember our visit to the Potala Palace in Tibet?)

After our “controlled” viewing inside the palace, we walked through the beautiful Catherine Park with its English and French gardens, large pond where the reflections of the buildings glistened in the sunlight, and other out buildings. When we left the town of Pushkin, our driver had an unfortunate accident and managed to wrap the back end of the Mercedes van around a lamp-post and shatter the large window at the rear left side of the van. His van had been squeezed in by a car in front leaving him no room to maneuver, however, he kind of didn’t help himself because when the first grating sound came, he just kept reversing harder into the pole as opposed to stopping and checking out the circumstances. Anyway, we finally got out of the tight spot but the back-end was quite damaged. As we turned out of the parking spot, we were almost hit broadside by a vehicle travelling about 100 km down the road! I am sure our driver was “harassed” at the whole scrunching deal, but after jamming on the brakes to avoid being hit by the flying car, I am sure he was even more harassed. We hadn’t driven very far when someone said: “Oh, is there an accident?” I turned to look out the window and saw an elderly grey-haired woman lying prostrate on the road on her back and a highly distraught younger women standing by her car about 6 feet away from her on the telephone, but our van squeezed past and we were gone. It was a “traumatic” moment that left an indelible image in my mind. I don’t usually look when there is an accident; I don’t like to see injuries. Tatiana turned to us and said: “That’s been three things today: the verbal abuse by the mad woman, the van incident, and now the accident with the old lady.” I am glad to say, the rest of the day was good!!

When we got back to St. Petersburg, we had a great walk across the city by the canal from the Church of Resurrection to the Church of St. Nicholas which unfortunately is closed for renovation. We went into the Mariinsky Theatre which is the second most important theatre for ballet and discovered there were no seats available for Monday’s performance of “Giselle”. We were a little disappointed until we discovered the price which was about $150 to $165. By the time we arrived back to the hotel it was 7:00 pm.

Today was also “Navy Day: so there was lots of activity along the embankments of the Neva River. A lot of drinking too!! It amazes us that Russians don’t consider beer to be alcohol! This despite the fact I have noticed that their beers are quite potent and range between 4.7 per cent alcohol to 5.7 per cent alcohol. You can walk around the streets with a beer in your hand – not that we have done that – but all along the embankments are tons of empty beer bottles. Someone comes along and collects them all but to us, it’s a really weird concept.

We met Arpana, around 8 pm and went to dinner in the same Russian restaurant we went to two nights ago. Then it was back to the hotel and a very much needed bed around midnight.

Saturday July 25 – Russian Art

2009-07-25T09:11:00.000-07:00

It was raining when we set out this morning for The State Museum of Russian Art or more colloquially, The Russian Museum. This is one of the most important museums in Russia. We walked in the drizzle for about an hour along the University Embankment of the Neva River, across the Dvortsovy Bridge and along Nevsky Prospekt to the museum. It is housed in the majestic neoclassical Mikhailovsky Palace which was built 1819-1825. I am not at all familiar with the Russian artists but we really enjoyed following the Russian art from the early 500/600s right up to the current day. We took an audio guide so learned a little about concepts, philosophies, and changes throughout the ages. The late 1700s early 1800s involved a lot of portraiture and it was great to see portraits of all the people our guides have been talking about and the artists themselves. I also fell in love with Serov and his beautiful ladies. After being in the Museum for four to five hours, we took a lovely walk through the peaceful and beautiful gardens then back out on to the busy Nevsky Prospekt which is the main street in the city centre, and about an hour’s walk back to the hotel. We walked back over the Blagoveschenskly most and up the pedestrian street on the 5th Line in Vasilyevskiy. We were looking for an Internet which we haven’t found yet and were happy to find one not too far from the hotel. We grabbed a quick dinner on the way and collapsed into our hotel room around 9 pm. We relaxed lying on the bed, watching Russian TV or the BBC News, and writing my journal while giving our feet a well earned rest.

Friday July 24 – Boat Tour on the Canals and Rivers of St. Petersburg

2009-07-24T09:07:00.000-07:00

Our “trans-Siberian tour” officially ended at breakfast this morning and we said goodbye to our tour leader Chris. Jon, Ray and I headed out around 11:00 am for the Anichkov most (bridge) where we hoped to find a boat tour in the rivers and canals in the city centre with an English guide. Walking anywhere in the city centre is like walking through an art gallery and museum combined. Progress is slow. On top of that, Navy Day is on Sunday, and there are about six ships and one submarine in the Neva River. The ships have to slink in at night as that is when the draw bridges are open, so each morning has exposed one or two new ships in the river. This morning, the crew was lined up on deck of the ships on the opposite side of the River, and suddenly a huge “boom” resonated out over the whole area. In fact, I think there were 9 or 10 canon’s fired. It took us about 1 ½ hrs to walk to our destination, but we saw, and photographed so much! We found the boat tour, had about 25 minutes to wait and then boarded. The trip was about an hour. The weather was perfect; hot – 18C – sunny and bright blue skies. It was fun to see the city from the water – a different perspective – we travelled on the Fontanka River, the Moyka River, the Winter Canal and the Neva River and saw many of the historical buildings we are slowly becoming familiar with.

After our boat tour, we stopped in a bakery and had some delicious, but decadent, cakes and coffee/coke/fanta. Jon left us at this point to do some last minute shopping.

Ray and I took a slow walk back to the hotel. We had intended to go to The State Museum of Russian Art but when we got there at 4 pm we decided it was so huge we wouldn’t really have time to do much. Instead we went into Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. It is an amazing ornate church both inside and outside. Tons of tourists though!! We also passed and went into the Kazan Cathedral. This was a complete contrast to the previous church. Where the Church of the Saviour was brightly coloured and Old Russian style, the Kazan is graceful, elegant and absolutely stunning. The altar was beautiful and we had the wonderful opportunity to be present at a wedding. There was a small choir way up in the balcony and their singing was so lovely it brought tears to our eyes. So once again, we ended up hurrying back to the hotel to meet Jon and Arpana, a new friend we have met in the hotel who is just starting a Sundowner’s trip on the 28th, for dinner.

We went to another little inexpensive Russian restaurant on Bolshoi Prospekt just around the corner from the hotel. The owner was there and embraced us with complimentary vodka, so it was a merry affair and a good send off for Jon who leaves tomorrow at 6:30 am and welcome for Arpana. After dinner it was back to the hotel and bed, in the half-light of the night.

Thursday July 23 – The Hermitage

2009-07-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Today we visited the famous, State Hermitage Museum with its fine architecture, gilded halls, and decorative wooden floors. It’s attached to, and includes, the Winter Palace, home of the Tsars. The Hermitage was developed around 1764/1773 as the result of Catherine the Great’s love of art. She collected some of the world’s finest. Today, the museum owns around 3 million pieces of art, some of which are displayed over three floors in the Winter Place, The Old Hermitage and the Small Hermitage. All of the art collected in the museum was confiscated along with numerous private collections by the Soviet government after the 1917 revolution. Also interesting, and a bit of juxtaposition is the story behind the “Hidden Treasure exhibition. This is a beautiful collection of paintings by the great masters that the Russian soldiers rescued from the Germans during WWII. It was kept in storage for over 50 years before it was opened and put on display in 1995. It was discovered at that time that this was artwork “stolen” by the German government from private collections in Germany, many of them owned by Jewish families. Our guide indicated that the German government had tried to get the artwork back, but that no claims had ever been made by any of the families. The Russians have kept the art. As we spent the day wandering through the various 400 exhibit halls and gilded salons we saw paintings, sculptures, and historical artifacts from Russia, Europe and Asia including artists such as Leonardo da Vince, Michelangelo, Raphael, Carravagio, Picasso, Van Dyk, Rubens, Rembrandt, Monet, Matisse, Gauguin, Degas, Sisley, Renoir, Van Gogh and tons of others. But of everything we saw, one of the true delights and my absolute favourite was “The Peacock Clock”. This is a clock that was probably made by an Englishman named James Cox pre 1781. It consists of a gilded peacock on a branch, a rooster, an owl in a cage, a mushroom with a tiny dragon fly sitting on it and several other smaller animals such as squirrels. The mechanism is contained in the mushroom, and the movement process is started with the dragon fly. It activates once a week and then the peacock raises its head, spreads its tail, turns around, turns back, and closes its tail; the rooster crows 3 or 4 times; and the owl moves its head, blinks its eyes and moves its paws. It is absolutely delightful. The whole building with its elaborate central staircase is an amazing and splendid architectural and interior design feat. It is so elegant it is easy to imagine what life must have been like in the times when it was in use. You also realize the incredible wealth that must have existed amongst the elete in Russia and I think you can understand why the Bolsheviks revolted against the tsars. We just about made it to closing time at 6 pm and then walked back to our hotel past elegant buildings, over ornate bridges, and through small, lush green parks. I wanted to stop so many times to take pictures of everything I saw but we had to hurry as we were meeting Chris and Jon for our final dinner together.

We arrived back in time to change quickly before setting off in the opposite direction across another bridge into Petrograd Island and a small typically Russian restaurant. We had a good evening, then back to the hotel and bed around midnight.

Wednesday July 22 – Arriving in St. Petersburg

2009-07-22T08:53:00.000-07:00

Our night on the rails passed smoothly but with a lot of snoring emanating from our railway carriage. It seems even young people snore, although I think years add to volume and consistency! We rolled into St. Petersburg dead on time at 9 am and met our St. Petersburg guide Tatiana for transfer to our hotel “The Shelfort”. It is a unique boutique style of hotel on Vasilievsky Island, a central location for the city centre and has a distinctive “old European” feel about it. The rooms are simple, but tasteful and comfortable.

After a quick shower and a cup of coffee, we set off in our luxury Mercedes van to see the city. It takes time at first to assimilate yourself into St. Petersburg. The city centre is an amazing museum of architecture, art, and religious treasures that continue to intrigue from street to street, square to square, and building to building. I’m sure you’ll remember that St. Petersburg is built on a series of islands. There used to be 119 islands but many of these are reclaimed and now there are only about 41, so you are constantly crossing Venice-style bridges over canals and rivers. It feels like a mix of the banks of the River Seine and the River Thames but with its own quietly demure attitude. The bridges of the Neva River are all drawbridges and are raised at night to let big ships through. You need to make sure you don’t get stuck on the wrong side at closing time as they don't open till about 5 am in the morning!! We travelled all around the various sections of the city centre including Palace Square and the Hermitage, Admiralteisky and Vasilievsky Island, Upper Nevsky Prospekt, Vladimir Skaya and Liteiny Smolny, Petrograd and the Field of Mars. The many palaces are beautifully built and some are redone so that they are quite stunning. Gold colour onion domes on top of churches abound, and the art work around the city covers everything from a beautiful bronze horseman with only 2 contact points to ornate lamp-posts, and lighthouses. It is a beautiful city centre. There are tons of tourists, many Russian, and some parts are really cheesy. I guess that’s the price you pay today to see popular areas. Fortunately, it’s all in such a wide area that even off the beaten path visual treats abound. After the tour we went for lunch in a “blini” café on 5th Line which is a pedestrian mall two blocks west of our hotel. After lunch, Ray and I went for a short walk and explored the food market area. Then we went back to the hotel and relaxed for a couple of hours while we planned our next six days.

In the evening we went to Nikolayevsky Palace to see a folk show of typical Russian song and dance “Feel Yourself Russian” (www.folkshow.ru/en.htm). It was fun and exciting to see the dancing but the singing was nowhere near the quality that we experienced in Moscow. Then we went to dinner at a well known “ex-pat” restaurant called “The Idiot” which was very close to the famous St. Isaac’s Cathedral. It was really cosy, had delicious food, and the additional attraction was that Dostoyevsky used to go there! Then it was back to the hotel and bed around midnight.

As St. Petersburg is situated at about 59 degrees north latitude, it never really gets dark in July and therefore there is always an ethereal glow in the sky. To put it into perspective it's in the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska.

Tuesday July 21 – Moscow’s Metro

2009-07-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

We had a free day today so we took our time in the morning and checked out by noon with our baggage and left it in lock-up in the hotel.

First on our agenda was a tour of the metro stations. Muscovites scurry pass beautiful artwork, sculptures, and chandeliers each day without the time to appreciate the immense “museum” their city has. We took a look at several stations. My favourite is the Ploshchad Revolyutsii where beautiful sculptures of people in action appear at the side of every archway onto the platform. We were really moved when we watched the locals stroke the nose of a brass dog statue, some lingering with emotion, as they walked past it to the train. Other items were stroked too such as the barrel of a gun of the soldiers. You could tell which ones by the shininess of the metal. I think this is done to bring good luck but nonetheless it was touching to see men, women, the old and the young patting the dog. And yes…of course we did too!! Another station, Novoslobodskaya, had beautiful stain glass panels and others had paintings, carvings, and beautiful chandeliers.

We continued on the metro to Park Pobedy and came out at the Triumphal Arch. We walked back up through Victory Park, took a quick moment in the beautiful Church of St. George, and reached the Great Patriotic War Museum. This was a huge, elaborate building built to commemorate the 1941-45 war in which Russia lost 27 million people, more than the rest of the allied countries combined. The displays were moving, tender, and artistic. The Hall of Memory and Sorrow was particularly moving. This was a darkened room with a highlighted statue of a woman holding a dying man. It represents all mothers, daughters, wives, etc. who suffered the loss of a man in the war. Hanging from the ceiling are 2.6 million crystals suspended from fine wire chains to represent 26 million tear drops. Are you crying yet? I was. Then there were the huge battle dioramas that take you right into the midst of the battle fields in the battles of Moscow, Leningrad, and other major cities. They are beautifully done and very effective. The second floor contained all sorts of war memorabilia and the third floorwas an art gallery of Russian war paintings. All very beautiful and tastefully displayed. Other interesting exhibits included one on the holocaust and also one on Hitler’s vengeance against the gypsies which wiped out many communities entirely.

On our way back to the metro, we sat in the sun in Victory Park drinking a coke and reflecting on the dreadful sadnesses caused by wars.

We got back to the hotel, checked e-mail, called Alanna, had dinner, and headed to the station to board our train to Moscow. Amazingly, we saw one of the men from the Intrepid trip that we met in the ger camp on the platform. He is also on the train!

Monday July 20 – The Kremlin, St. Basil’s, and Russian Singing

2009-07-20T08:30:00.000-07:00

I grew up in the age of communism and The Cold War. The Kremlin was always a destination held in awe. Somewhere unreachable, somewhere which didn’t quite fit into the “rest of the world”; and somewhere rather ominous. But in my young world, “Russia” was a country of great poets, music, and art. The Moscow that we have seen still has the juxtaposition of two separate worlds, but none of the “ominous”.

We took the metro from Partizanskaya to Ploshchad Revolyutsii on Line 3, and walked through Alexander Gardens to the entrance to the Kremlin. We had to check our back pack, but cameras were OK. Not really much security given the x-ray machines and air-puff detectors in other tourist sites around the world. The Kremlin is where Putin’s residence is. It was originally constructed in the 1100s as a walled fortress. It is a conglomeration of palaces, churches, and other buildings. As Russia grew, by the 15th Century the Kremlin represented the “power” of Moscow. Tsars were crowned and buried there. In the Soviet era, became the centre of politics. Today, you cannot cross the “white line” in the middle of the road because the “other side” belongs to the government, and you are only allowed to visit the “tourist” area. Still a total mystery. But it is an amazingly impressive area. We visited the area of the churches; saw the Annunciation Cathedral which was the private chapel of the Royal Family. It’s splendid, very different from our protestant churches. We were surrounded by, but didn’t go into, the Assumption Cathedral, the oldest and most important church in the Kremlin; the Cathedral of the Archangel, dedicated to the war-mongering Archangel Michael, this church became the final resting place for the rulers of medieval Russia; Church of the Deposition of the Robe; Ivan the Great Bell Tower, which is the Kremlin’s tallest building; Cathedral of the Twelve Apostles of the Patriarch’s Palace; and the Church of the Nativity with its distinctive gold coloured cupolas with the cross on top of each one. All the cathedrals are built in a different style depending on who had them built. The hardest part is trying to figure it all out. Our guide gives us so much information, and then when it is all over, you can’t remember all the details, and being a detail sort of a person, I really get frustrated by this!!

After the churches we went into the Armoury Palace. We were “allotted” a time from noon to 1:30 pm. It was really interesting seeing the exhibits of Russian dress for the Tsars, Empresses, religious leaders, etc; the armour for the soldiers and horses; and various gifts to Russia; beautiful carriages and sledges; and of course the beautiful Faberge eggs created for the tsarist family in the 19th C by the jeweller Carl Faberge. I think you either need to spend an enormous amount of time studying Russian history, or spend more than 3 days in Moscow to get a full understanding. But all I can really say is that it is all fascinating, beautiful, and so interesting; but we haven’t even scratched the surface of the intrigue.

After our tour ended, we met Chris and went into Red Square and had lunch in the GUM. This is truly a “high end” shopping mall. Splendid in its layout, three stories and three separate aisles joined by intricate bridges and containing all the well known labels. You know when de Beers has a store there, its “up-scale”!

My favourite site in Moscow has been St. Basil’s Cathedral which was commissioned in 1558/60 by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate his conquest of the Tatar city of Kazan in 1552. It consists of 9 separate churches in one building each topped with a colourful onion dome and is based on the concept of Jerusalem. It is an absolute treat. It is rich in paintings, architecture, and icons. You wind your way through narrow passage ways from one chapel to the next in total awe of the beauty.

We met up with Chris and Jon and walked for about 20 minutes to Arbat Street. This is an attractive cobbled pedestrian street with gift shops, restaurants, and street artist such as musicians, and artists.

We continued our Moscow Tour with an evening concert in the Geological Museum. This was put on by Zlatoust (www.zlatvocal.com), a group of highly gifted men and women that moved me to tears with their soulful church music and rousing Russian folk songs. How I would love to see this group perform in Toronto. They are so professional and talented!

Then it was back on the metro to the hotel where we arrived shortly after 9. Ray and I went for dinner in one of the “tents” outside the hotel. While we were there, the skies opened, and there was a tremendous thunderstorm storm with heavy rain and wind. But inside the tent, all were dry. One group had a guitar player and he entertained us with Russian folk songs. Then it was time for bed. Another long day, tiring, but thrilling.

Sunday July 19 – Moscow – City Tour

2009-07-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

It didn’t seem as if we had had nearly enough sleep when it was time to get up. We headed to breakfast in the enormous dining room and were amazed at the huge selection of food. There was everything available. A far cry from China. There was: fruit; hot and cold cereals; cheese and pickles; cold meat and hot dishes; salads; potatoes; rice; eggs; bread; cakes; and deserts. I said to Ray that they must have been catering for a typical breakfast for every country in the world!! And, there was a pianist playing soft classical music to wake everyone up.

Jon, Ray and I met our Russian guide at 10 am and set off on our tour of the city. It was exciting; the beauty of the city was not what either of us had expected, as we were certain that St. Petersburg would be the prize, but it is spectacular and Moscow has become a real favourite. There are about 12 million people in Moscow; it has a huge population of billionaires; it has been the most expensive city for foreign employees in the world for 3 years and has only just been surpassed by Tokyo and Osaka this year; and its subway is the busiest in the world with 9 million users a day.

We saw so many beautiful sights, but unfortunately the Red Square area was closed because of the Formula One race in the afternoon so we didn’t get into any of the sights in that area. By the way, did I mention that the Russians like to drive fast…very fast? We have also seen more varieties of luxury cars (Ferrari, Maseratti, Lamborghini, Rolls, Aston Martin, etc.) here than I’ve seen in a day in Toronto! The roads fortunately are wide and in great condition. Drivers obey the rules, unlike India; there is no frenetic honking of horns!

The centre area is magnificent. The architecture is unique and colourful, there are many beautiful gardens, and the city is rich with statues and other artwork. We saw some beautiful churches, for example Church of St. George, Church of Christ the Saviour and my favorite, the Church of the Trinity which stands on the top of Swallow Hill. Painted with white trim it has five green cupolas and is decorated with beautiful paintings. Some of my favourite sites that we saw were: Gorky Park (did you see the movie or read the book? I gave up on the audio book, it was just a little too strange!)alive with roller coasters and Ferris wheels and people and kids all enjoying the hot summer weather; Peter the Great statute in the Moscow River which is riddled with controversy about its existence; the Park of the Sculptures; Gallery Street; The New Maiden Convent and the huge pond in front of the convent which inspired Tchaikovsky to write “Swan Lake”, and the park across from the convent where the bronze ducks which were donated by Barbara Bush to the children of Moscow from the children of the US are on display; and finally Victory Park with the huge obelisk of St. George and the Dragon (that was my high school in Edinburgh’s logo), and at the far end by the Triumphal Arch, the volley ball competitions.
When we got back from our tour, we met Chris and went into the Izmailovsky Market, an eclectic market for antiques, paintings, carpets; and souvenirs. The buildings around the market are unique but empty and we can’t help but think either tourism is really down or the venture has not yet come into its own. After this we had a quick moment on the Internet to check e-mail, time to change and freshen up, then dinner in one of the outdoor cafes around the hotel. By the time we crawled into bed, we were exhausted but what a wonderful and exciting day we had; we learned so much about Russian history, and saw so many beautiful sites.

Saturday July 18 – On the Rails – Day 3

2009-07-18T08:13:00.000-07:00

This is our final day on the train and we arrive in Moscow just before 5 pm. I am excited! When I started out my life during the “Cold War”, I never imagined I would end up in Moscow – but it always held an immense attraction. So much has happened during my lifetime. I would never have suspected the breakup of the Soviet Union, and yet, now I have learned, nothing is permanent. Things change, personalities change, and ways of life change. Things never stand still.

It has been an amazing experience so far, seeing this vast country through its changing moods. The beauty of rail travel is that it is reality. You feel the distance; feel the ground you are covering bump by bump. It not like being in a plane where 5 hours later you are on a different continent, thrown into a new culture, and way of life. Train travel takes you into it layer by layer, like making your way through a dark jungle and coming out into a sun lit place on the other side.

So now I’m using Moscow time and it is 9:37 am and we are pulling into Nizhnynovgarod on the Volga River, one of the largest cities we have come to so far. Nothing much on the platform, get out and stretch our legs. Ate breakfast back on the train, porridge with pieces of strawberry. Later we go to the dining car – for an egg and potato and a coffee. Met Gareth Browne who knew the first King of Redonda - our neighbour's father is the current "King of Redonda". Redonda is a small uninhabited island near Antigua. There is quite a story here which I shall elaborate on in a separate email when I get the whole story from Bob on Sunday, August 2 - it's his 79th birthday. Small world! Wandered back to the carriage, and then another 20 minute stop at Vladimir, walk on the platform see Soviet era engine, and back on to the train. Sit and listen to an audio book. Lots of Russians walk on the woodland paths, or swim in their bikinis and bathing suits in the ponds along the side of the railway. The countryside becomes city, and five minutes after the scheduled time we arrive in Moscow.

We pack up our stuff, and sadly leave the train. We are surprised how hot it is. We make our way out of the station. Our Moscow Russian guide, Zoya, has not arrived. There has been a mix up in times. About 45/50 minutes later she arrives. We drive to our hotel “Alfa” which is in the hotel complex on the 1980 Olympic grounds near the Izmailovsky Market. This is a huge hotel, but it's really very nice. There is a concierge on each floor and you check in and out with her. She has all kinds of “stuff” available for sale that you might need, like shampoo, toothpaste, etc.. Quite a neat idea!! But one thing, it doesn’t have is the flasks of hot water that we have become accustomed to throughout the rest of our journey for tea, coffee, noodles, soup, etc.

We had a very quick shower and met back downstairs in an hour and set off with Chris our guide and Jon on the metro to Red Square. The metro is deep, and not quite as quiet and new as in Beijing. But the artwork in the stations is outstanding. According to Fodor’s, the first line opened in 1935 and the earliest stations were built as public palaces. We arrived in Red Square in daylight, and our breath was taken away from us as we entered through the arches by the History Museum at the Resurrection Gate and straight in front of us was the colourful structure of St. Basil’s Cathedral or The Church of the Intercession with its eight colourful onion domes; on our right stretching almost the whole length of the square is the wall of the Kremlin and Lenin’s Mausoleum; on our left the GUM or State Department store built in 1889-1893, a stunning building, all surrounding a cobble stone square where many of us will recall seeing the many military parades of the communist era. It was all an incredible sight and we walked around stunned by the beauty and the significance of the sights before us. In the square, we met two groups of people we had met on the train and in the ger camp, the Intrepid group and the Vodka Train group.

We ate dinner on a side street just off the square and opposite the GUM. By the time we had finished, the buildings in Red Square, including the GUM were lit up with thousands of lights and once again we were drawn back to the square to walk around it and gape at the lights and take more pictures. It was like a fairyland, which, given some of the history of events in the square, seemed like a bit of a juxtaposition.

Eventually, we dragged ourselves away, took a walk through Alexander Gardens in front of the Kremlin, and caught the metro back to the hotel, getting to bed just after midnight.

Friday July 17 – On the Rails – Day 2

2009-07-17T08:09:00.000-07:00

Another peaceful night on the rail and depending on what “clock” you are on either a late, or an early morning. We passed through stations such as Barabinsk, Omsk where Dostoevsky was exiled to in 1849, Nazyvaerskaya, Ishim, Tobolsk, and Tyumen. The scenery is not the most exciting; semi-taiga, farmland, and marsh.

We wandered the platform for 15/20 minutes at Tyumen, but there was nothing really eye-catching or exciting, except perhaps the odd drunk from the train. During the day we talked, ate lunch and several snacks, snoozed, and generally allowed ourselves the luxury of staring blankly out of the train window. It rained on and off, but the platform stops were generally warm, mid 20s I’d say.

The passengers on the train change as we go along, but we haven’t spoken to too many, due to language mainly and the fact that all the Russians around us have their doors closed. What are they doing inside….or maybe, they are just avoiding tourists like us!!

Around 16:47 or 14:47, not sure what time, we stopped at Yekaterinburg for 20 minutes. The station was quite beautiful, but a train drew in just as we arrived and I wasn’t able to get a proper picture. There were some food vendors on the platform, and I bought a large plastic glassful of fresh cherries and apricots. Delicious! Otherwise, it’s just a big modern city.

The train rolled slowly on through the mixed countryside with its non-descript scenery, small communities with wooden homes, and larger towns with grey soviet-style buildings. We had a couple of beers then the four of us went down to the dining car for dinner. It says it closes at 2300 hours, but since there is 7 hours difference from beginning to end of this journey, it’s not always possible to know the “local time of the moment". Anyway, we decided to go for Moscow time so that next day wouldn’t be too much of a shock when we arrived in Moscow and put our clocks back.

Dinner was very tasty, chicken with tomato, cheese and some string-fried potatoes. The Russians love potatoes! The servings were small, which was perfect for me, but not really enough for the guys. After dinner we drank some vodka, sat and chatted with our group and the English speaking neighbours waiting for it to be dark enough to go to sleep …whatever time that was. Just before bed, we had one more stop at a rather dull station for about 20 minutes, so it was simply a leg stretch before curling up in bed and sleep.

Thursday July 16 – On the Rails

2009-07-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

We weren’t awake and up early but with the change of the clock, by an hour, it didn’t seem too bad!! We had our yoghourt, banana, and coffee/tea which we had bought in the supermarket yesterday and then visited the toilet for a quick wash, brush of the teeth, and freshen up. Must say, the washrooms have been kept exceptionally clean, and if they are not, you simply tell the provodnista and she attends to it….or has it attended to! I did mention that all trains have lots of boiling hot water available for drinks, noodles, etc. didn’t I? I slept in my pajamas because I hate sleeping in my clothes if I don’t have to. It just delineates the day and night better. Such a creature of habit and I hate compromising my comforts.

The landscape is totally changed. The vast, empty, areas of countryside are now heavily treed with birch, pine, and other trees I can’t identify. There are beautiful, peaceful meadows, covered with white, yellow, and purple wild flowers. We crossed the 1km long bridge over the River Yenisey.

At 9:16 am we stopped at Krasnoyarsk for half an hour and Ray and I got off the train. The station building was huge and painted white with a rusty, sandy colour on the bottom. The platform was lined with vendors with big plastic bags filled with fruit, bread, smoked fish, and all sorts of other foods. Two little kiosks sold “carbonated” water, juice, and beer. The platform was bustling with passengers buying food, taking photos, and stretching their legs. We even saw a couple “running” laps up and down the platform. Now that is too anal!! Then a few moments before the train leaves, the provodnistas give the nod, and everyone scurries back on board.

I had a nice chat with the English couple next door then a lady came around cleaning the carriage. She removed the runner over the carpet in the corridor, hoovered in the corridor and in the cabins, then came around and dusted all around the windows in the corridor and in the compartments. I could also smell bleach and she had washed the toilet out leaving everything spotlessly clean. The next hour I spent writing up my diary.

Shortly after 12:30, we decided to have lunch. We had bought some cheese and pumpernickel bread. It was really good and filled us up for quite a while. I had a 3:in:one coffee then settled down to read about Moscow and start an audio book – “Gorky Park” by Martin Cruz-Smith. I thought this would prepare me for any eventuality in Moscow!!

Around 5:30 p.m. we arrived at Mariinsk and a 20 minute stop. Once again we got on the platform and bought some meat and potato pies, some cucumbers and tomatoes, and some strawberries for dinner. Oh, and I bought 2 hot caramel pastries. They were each about 6 inches long and consisted of a chewy pastry filled with hot caramel and rolled up. They were scrumptious. When the English guy in the compartment next door saw them, he went to find the vendor, but didn’t have enough time to buy one. I gallantly gave him my second one but the truth was, I knew one would be quite sufficient for me!! He thought they were amazing too!! Why are some of the good things in life so bad for you!!

Once back on the train, Ray went for a beer with the couple next door, and I sat and listened to Gorky Park. In case you don’t know, this is a murder mystery set in Moscow. Round 7 pm we had “dinner” out of our platform purchases.

The train continues steadily on its journey. You ask: “How can you sit for so long in the train doing nothing?” It’s easy. You know how rocking a baby is soothing? That’s what being in the train is like. The gentle rocking motion as it moves along the tracks lulls you into a comatose state. You daydream as you stare out of the window watching the country go by. Maybe you dream about getting back home, maybe it’s about what do with your life next; maybe it’s about everything you’ve seen and done; and maybe it’s about all of that and more. There is no anxiety, no worry, and no stress. You can’t go anywhere, you can’t do anything, and there are no time expectations. Life is lived in the moment, not the future or the past. You roll along hypnotized by the motion; taking each thought calmly, dealing with it, and either discarding it or tucking it into its box for future attention. I think that is what the journey is about. Examining all the things that are around you in a peaceful and relaxed manner; the scenery, the history, and the politics, the people, your thoughts, and yourself. To a degree, that’s what travel is about too. It’s about learning more of yourself and the world around you to put you in a better position to earn your “merit” as the Buddhists would say. It’s a “Cora”, a pilgrimage.

Anyway, so here are my latest thoughts on the differences between the old and the young: (1) the old like to party as much as the young, but can’t do it as long; (2) the old generally move a little slower than the young; and (3) the old talk about the things they have done, while the young talk about doing them.

After dinner we sat and chatted, got our beds ready and Ray went to bed to listen to a story on his I-pod. Around 10:30 p.m. we stopped at Novosibirsk for 15 or 20 minutes. At this point we were running about 40 minutes late. The station is supposed to have a fabulous interior, but we didn’t dare take the time to go over, because of being late, we were not sure if the stop would be shortened. The Intrepid group was out on the platform playing football, while new people joined us and others left.

After that stop, I climbed into bed to listen to “Cover Up” by John Franco on my I-pod.

Wednesday July 15 - Back to Irkutsk and Train to Moscow

2009-07-15T01:07:00.000-07:00

We left Listvyanka after breakfast for a quick 70 km drive over the roller coaster highway to Irkutsk. It’s the administrative centre and one of the largest cities in Siberia with a population of around 500,900. It was founded in 1651 as a Cossack garrison to control the indegenouis Buryat peoples. We had a lovely drive around Irkutsk and noted many very fine and interesting looking buildings and also loved the smaller streets and wooden homes of the older part of the city. We could have done with more time in Irkutsk on our own to investigate, even just half a day, and less time in Listvyanka. I think we have decided we are definitely not "tour" people; it's a little too restricting because they think you have to be entertained all the time!! We much prefer to wander on our own taking our own time do do things and going where we find intresting . The "overland" trips are better at this. However, having said that, it makes it so much easier if you have someone who speaks the language with you. Nonetheless, its far more exciting figuring things out for yourself.

We spent a few moments on the banks of the Angara River and saw the statue of Alexander III one of the Tsars responsible for establishing public education and promoting the building of the Trans Siberian railway. The Angara runs through Irkutsk from Lake Baikal to the Arctic Ocean. It’s quite wide in Irkutsk and we were able to look over it to the railway station on the other side. We went into the Irkutsk Regional Museum located in a delightful building which had been rebuilt after the massive fire which destroyed three-quarters of the city of Irkutsk in 1879. We had a quick walk through the bottom floor which supplemented the information we gained at the Open Air Museum of Wooden Architecture the previous day and gave us insights into some of the indigenous peoples who still inhabit Siberia. Leaving there we drove to a hotel, passing the two Dutch boys we had met in the chalet in Listvyanka standing at the side of one of the city streets and exchanged big waves and smiles as we whizzed by. Small world. I hope they are travelling safe!! We went into a pizzeria and had a quick slice of pizza for lunch before heading off to the railway station. The station is a truly outstanding wooden building, recently renovated, and painted yellow with green and white trim. I went off with Olga to look for a notepad as I didn’t want to run out of paper on the train and ruin the opportunity to capture our inner thoughts and feelings. We found the perfect pad with vivid green leaves and a bright red flower on the cover and graph paper inside instead of lines, which I love, for 20 rubles. Ray and I then had a little wander around the busy station, taking some pictures, buying some water, etc. before loading on the train at 3:50 pm for a 4:20 pm departure. True to Russian precision, Train 9, The Baikal, started to move out of the station at exactly 4:20 pm.

There is 5 hours difference between here and Moscow, and so we travel through various time zones. We changed our clocks the first time when we entered Russia from Mongolia and will do so several more times as we travel through. The train time though is always posted based on Moscow time, so it’s all very confusing to know exactly what the correct time is, and which time everyone is referring to!!

The total train journey from Irkutsk to Moscow is about 5,185 km and about 100 hours of train time. The first part crosses fairly uninteresting scenery, flat, lush, grasslands and small Siberian communities with typical wooden houses. The train stops regularly, maybe every hour or half hour, and usually for two minutes with every so often a longer stop of 20/30 minutes. Our fellow travelers are Russian with one or two English speaking tourists in the compartment next door who are currently teaching at an international school in Bangkok. Its times like these that I would love to have an opportunity to live another life, at least one other, because there are so many interesting options for living it. It’s easy to become tied to the 9 – 5 option, working in your local area, struggling to make enough money to have a house, a car, educate your kids, buy nice clothes, etc. Then you meet so many people doing things differently, contributing to society in meaningful ways that you either never thought of, or never had the courage to pursue. I have learned though, that even at our age, there are still many opportunities available. You just have to seek them out.

Around 8 pm, Jon, Ray, and I went along the train, stepping tentatively over the metal floor panel joining the carriages. It’s fun staggering down the corridors to the sway of the train, passing all types and nationalities of people tucked away in their compartments, or standing out in the corridors chatting, or gazing laconically at the countryside rolling by, or smoking between carriages. Crossing between the carriages usually results in an extra violent stagger of both the body and the heart as you catch a quick glimpse of the rails speeding past underneath you. The dining car wasn’t too busy, and had a mix of English and Russian speaking characters. The ladies there didn’t speak English. The menu was partly translated, but still a little hard to figure out. Then when we chose something, a few minutes later we were told it was “not possible”. Ray ordered a cheese sandwich and when it came it was a half a piece of rye bread about 1” x 3” with a thin slice of cheese – hardly enough to sustain him! I first ordered some chicken which after a 10 minute wait turned out to be “not possible”. Next I ordered some solyanka soup with bread and got the same size of bread without the cheese. The soup was steaming hot and delicious; smoked ham, sausage, potatoes, onion, an olive and a slice of lemon. Jon had the hardest time. The first dish he ordered was unavailable. He waited then for a potato pie, which never came and on follow up the pie was “not available”. So, to be safe he ordered solyanka soup – which never came. So we asked where it was and eventually it came! I think we were in the dining room about 2 hours!

Around 11:15 pm, the last vestiges of daylight were dying, and we made up our train-bed and settled down to sleep.

Today I finished reading “The Stone Monkey” by Jeffery Deaver, the author of “The Bone Collector”. It was a quick, easy, and fun read; thrilling plot, good character development and full of interesting explanations about Chinese cultures.

Tuesday July 14 - Listvyanka, Lake Baikal

2009-07-14T00:47:00.000-07:00

What bliss! We had a lovely long lie this morning with breakfast at 9:30 pm. It was good one too!! Egg, sauseage, delicious tomatoes, cheese, rye bread, fresly squeezed apriocot/prune juice, coffee and a delicious little cinnamon cake!

After breakfast we went for a casual walk around town; down the main paved road around the lake, past the harbour and the tour boats, up towards the hills on a dirt road past tons of pretty little wooden homes with colourful and ornate window frames and shutters of different shades of blue, green, pink - and white, ornate roof styles. Then we arrived at the unique art gallery of Vladimir Plamenevsky (www.museum.ru/M2568). It is a quaint, and charming, wooden building showing the eclectic, and in some cases startling, works of about 50 Siberian artists. We walked back over the little stream rolling down to the lake, and on to some paths that took us to the Sryato-Nikolskaya Church. Very different from our churches, but small and sinmple and charming. I had to don a skirt and headscarf to go in, so I felt a little silly, but was totally moved by one young man in there praying who was sobbing so hard that his sadness filled the church. I felt my own eyes fill with tears, and was so consumed with his emotion I had to leave the church. No idea who he was, but I imagined that maybe he had lived there and either his parents/or wife's death, or some other life sadness was totally over-whelming him. We walked back to the main road and into a small cafe for coffee/tea and apple strudel. Ray and I went on and into the Mayak Hotel to use the deadly slow Internet to check our e-mail for an hour. We slowing walked back to the small fish market. We were passed by a guy and a young girl gallopping their horses carelessly down the paved main street, among many cars and Russian holiday makers. Seemed a little irresponsible to us!! In the market we had some barbecued skewers of chicken wings and pork with sour dough bread. Then we slowly walked back to the guest house and sat on the deck overlook the lake reading our books for a quiet afternoon. In the meantime, Chris, our tour leader took off to do some business in Irkutsk. We will meet him tomorrow in the train station.

At 7:30 pm we met Jon and walked down the narrow road leading from our guest house to the main road around the lake, turned right past a new aquarium with a seal show, and on to the harbour and a small cafe for dinner. It was really quiet, not much action at all, but the food was OK.

When we finished in the restaurant we strolled back to the guest house. Part of the way along the lake, a young girl (maybee 27/30) came up to us enthusiastically and asked if were tourists. At first, I thought this was a "pick-up" for Jon, but as she asked us to join her father in one of the wooden booths on the beach, I figured she was either completely innocent, or they were going to try and rob us!! Anyway, we walked down on to the pebbly beach and joined her father and 3 other young, rather strong looking men, one of whom looked really shifty! We declined a beer and some grilled fish and said we could only stay 5 minutes as we were meeting someone. I think it was all quite innocent and that she really only wanted to make contact with us and practice her English. It turned out that her boyfriend was a biathlete in cross country ski-ing and shooting. I think they had some sort of interior design business somewhere around. Anyway, they wanted to take us around etc. but of course we had no free time. We said our goodbyes, and went on our way to the chalet; sat outside for a short while with a tea/coffee and then went off to bed. It was still daylight at 10 pm and only just getting dark around 10:30/11:00 pm.

Monday July 13 - Irkutsk

2009-07-13T07:06:00.000-07:00

We were awakened by the Provodnista this morning around 6:30 am and made ourslves ready for Irkutsk. There was a beautiful stretch of rail along the side of Lake Baikal and then we were in town. Our Russian guide, Olga, met us at the station, and we went for a pancake (blinis) breakfast just at the main square in town; then to "register" our passports with the officials; and finally to change some money before heading south out of the town to the lake.

After about an hour's drive we stopped at The Taltsy Museum of Wooden Architectue, a unique collection of wooden buildings that were rescued from the Lake Baikal area prior to a dam in the area being constructed for hydroelectric purposes. We got a quick but effective introduction into the settlement of the area by the Kossachs from southwest Russia and their traditional lives in Siberia.

Leaving the museum around 3 pm we drove into the village of Listvyanka on the shores of Lake Baikal. The town has a population of about 2500 and is Siberia's "nouveau-riche" play ground. We had a quick lunch then checked into the Listvyanka Chalet where we were staying. This is a neat log home built on the hill side with fabulous lake views. After settling in and a quick shower, we left to visit the Limnological Museum which gave us all the statistics re Lake Baikal which contains about 20% of the world's water supply and which puts Lake Superior in the shade. We also saw the seals that inhabit the lake and a display of the lake's fish. Very interesting, and a "must see if you are in the area.

We chose to be dropped off the van on the main street with our Russian guide; she went for a one minute 10 second swim in the frigid 12C waters of the lake, while we dipped our feet in for the same time. Freezing, freezing, absolutely freezing!! Then Ray and I walkd around the fish market; walked along the pebble beach; and then walked back to the guest house.

It seemed to us that this was definitely not a holiday ground for the rich; but its OK. The lake is charming, but I can't quite put my finger on the atmosphere. We met a couple of Dutch guys staying at the same guest house - one of them was stung by a bee and his arm was swelling up quite badly, so the Gillis medical team was consulted for advice - or chose to offer it!!. They can't wait to get out of Russia!! We gather they have seen both the "good" and the "bad" sides of Russia. So, at this point, the jury is still out! Scenery wise, it's vrey like Canada; the road we are on is somewhat like the higglety pigglety houses around some of the lakes in Qubec; the hills around us bordring the lake could b the Muskoka's; and the Lake stretches for miles like oun of the Great Lakes.

We had dinner in the guest house (not much else around); food was excellent - Ray had the local "omur" fish; chatted with Chris and Jon and ourselves; and went to bed.

Sunday July 12 - Entering Russia

2009-07-12T06:47:00.000-07:00

It was difficult to sleep overnight. The train stopped so many times, maybe 10, 15, no-one knows for sure. We also discovered in the morning that we didn't have the lower bunks properly set up for sleeping, consquently I kept feeling as if I would fall off and picking up the sheet and blanket off the floor. But it was the little house fly/flies that caused the most trouble as I kept feeling it land on a shoulder, or a bare leg. Evryone else said the same, so I gather he/she had a grand time flitting from body to body!! We pulled into Sukhbaatar around 5:30/6 am and when we de-trained shortly after that to use the station loo and brush our teeth, we discovered that the 2 engines had literally pulled us into the station,dropped off four cariages, and departed! It was a beautifully warm, sunny, morning with blue skies and hardly any clouds. We paid our 150 tugruk to go to the bathroom, washed up as best we could, and sat outside in the sun until the customs guys came along and "herded" us back on to the train to collect our passports. That was about 9:45 am. Our scheduled departure was 10:45 am and we started to move exactly on time. We moved through no man's land and about 25 minutes later came to the statue and "welcome to Russia" sign. We pulled into the Russian border town about 11:25 and sat on the train for what seemed like ages before they finally took our passports, processd them and returned them to us. Aftr that we went for a walk to the river and sat and ate our "picnic" lunch on the rickety wooden bridge, saying "hello" to the people who passed by and watching cows and kids in the river below. After lunch we wandered around town; saw the 1944-45 war memorial, and the vandalized artwork in the central park. Then it was back to the train and at 4:30 pm sharp we left.

The first part of the journey continued with the undulating hills and grass land, but slowly the countryside started to become more treed. Chris bought some vodka and we toastd our arrival in Russia, Chris and Jon in true Russian style; me with a vodka/orange; and Ray with a beer. It is apparently illegal to drink Vodka on the train, but if you do it discreetly, no-one objects. If you get too rowdy however, be prepared to be thrown off the train!! Chris had warned us that there may not be a dining car on the train, but when we found out there was, Ray and I decided to go and get some "proper food" instead of the snacks. We had a lovely stroganoff, but it wasn't cheap and dinner cost us about $25 each. Also, the dining car was empty, so I am not sure about the social life on the train that is so talked about. Shortly after dinner, the train stopped at Ulaan Ude for 20 mins or so, and we were able to get off and wander the platform, go to the ATM machine, buy some water, etc., then back on to the train and settled ourslves down for the night.

Saturday July 11 - Nadaam Festival

2009-07-11T06:24:00.000-07:00

Our fire stoker came into the ger again at 5:15 am to light our fire and I got up shortly thereafter after a peaceful night's sleep. We left after breakfast to head back to Ulaanbaatar and the opening ceremonies of the National Naadam Festival celebrating the 803rd anniversary of the Great Mongolian State, and the 88th Anniversaryof the People's Revolution. Thankgoodness we arrived early as although the stadium was quiet when we arrived, it was absolutely packed when the ceremonies started at 11 am. It was exciting to be part of the colourful Mongolian traditions. The main arena filled with wrestlers and archers in national dress; dancing men and women in flamboyant costumes; a fashion parade of men and women's traditional dress; and military and cultural bands.

The event was opened by the President of Mongolia, Mr. Tsakhia Elbegdor, amidst a swirl of horses and military, and the crowd swelled with pride to the playing of the national anthem. Horses play a large part in life in Mongolia and thre were masses of them in the arna. It was like a mix of cirque du soleil acrobatics and the RCMP musical ride. To be able to experience this important event was spell binding.

After the opening ceremonies, we watched the first round of the wrestling. This is nothing like our hyped up North-American wrestling, but simply pure sport. There was no rink, and at least 4 couples were wrestling on the grass in the arena at one time. Events lasted anything from a couple of seconds to a couple of minutes. The goal is to get your opponent on the ground. Matches were drawn out of a hat, and partners were often mismatched; large strong men were matched with small lightweights, and generally there was no "match". Even kids participated matched up to bigger men. On the big screen in the stadium we watched the horse racing. Again quite different from our own format. Horses, often ridden bare back, and often ridden by young boys, take off on a cross country course for different distances and arranged by sex, The Stallion Race, or by age group, Two Year Olds. It was fabulous watching them gallop across the Mongolian countryside flat out!

After the wrestling we left the large arena and wandered through the numerous food stalls ending up eating some typical dumplings which were delicious. Then we wandered into the archery. It all seemed very casual with all the men lined up in one row ready to shoot and the women in the next row, like golf with the women shooting from a tee closer to the pin. We watched two female archers who we sat and ate with in the food stall and then wandered out of the archery stadium to watch the ankle bone shooting. This was really different with a chap aiming a dominoe like chip towards two ankle bones sitting on a shelf in a rectangular box about ten feet away by a flick of his finger. Quite fascinating. After that we wandered around the various stalls; watched the kids getting pony rides, wondered at all the different costumes and generally enjoyed ourselves. Then it was time to meet the other 2 in our group and head back to the hotel. We had a shower, dinner, and quickly checked our email before leaving for the station to catch the train to Irkutsk.

This train is very similar to the Beijing/Ulaanbaatar train except that our carriage is newer and we are sharing it with Jon and Chris. It left the station dead on time with Russian precision. It took quite a bit to organize our carriage and put all our stuff away, but we did it and then settled down for the journey which we knew would be interrupted around 5:30 am for the start of the elongated border crossing into Russia.

Friday July 10 - The Guru Ger Camp

2009-07-10T07:30:00.000-07:00

Someone came into our ger about 5 am this morning light the fire, but I think it was 7:30/8:00 am when we got up. After breakfast, around 10 am, we set off trekking across a couple of valleys with Flower to see a rock called Turtle Rock, because it looks like a giant turtle! The walk was fantastic; such beautiful countryside. We trekked up and down two valleys to the third one. There are a myriad of wild flowers; horses, cows, yaks, sheep and goat graze freely in the wide open, fencelss land. When we got to Turtle Rock, we climbed up the face of it, a little scary for me because of the height, then down inside it and squeezed ourselves through a fissure to get a fabulous view of the valley on the other side.

On the way back to our ger, we stopped off to visit a Mongolian family living in a ger and were greeted with a bowl of hot cow's milk, some fermented mare's milk ( a type of Mongolian alcohol...ugh!), and some delicious yoghourt and biscuits. We went outside and talked with some of the kids and animals and then went back to our own ger for lunch.

After lunch I settled down to write my journal, but was soon called away to go horseback riding. No resistance there!! We had a simply fantastic ride, trotting, and cantering over the grasslands. The fact that it started to rain didn't dampen our spirits at all. Ray had an unfortunate meeting with the ground as his horse stumbled and Ray lost his seat. His landing was quite soft so no major damage was done, although he may be a little stiff tomorrow. We were absolutely soaked when we got back, and as it continued to pour with rain, we sat in our ger, lit the fire to dry out the clothes, and sat around reading, journal writing, blackbrrying (Jon) and genrally relaxing and whiling away the time till dinner.

What a great surprise we got when we walked into the dining ger and saw Renate with a group of people. You remember that she travelled with us from Kathmandu to Shian? She left us there and went to the Philippines to spend two or three weeks with her friend there. She loved it - had a wonderful time; got her diving licence, lazed on the beach, and relaxed. She is on the Vodka Train, another Sundowner's trip. It was a rather sedate evening but we did have fun playing ankle bone games. This was a couple of games played with sheep's or goat's anke bones. There are 4 sides to each ankle bone: camel, horse, goat, and sheep; all different. In the first game for example, we had 19 fences to jump to win the race. Our "horses" lined up at the beginning. We threw 6 ankle bones as dice. If we threw a horse, we advanced one fence. Great fun!! Then it was bed really early - 10:30 pm. I think our guide thinks we need a lot of rest, or something, anyway, it's all good!!

Thursday July 9 - Sightseeing in Ulaanbaator

2009-07-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

Our city tour of Ulaanbaator began around 8:30 am when Flower, our Mongolian guide picked us up in the grey van. She was as lovely as her name! We drove out of UB to the south of the city. First stop was the Zaisan Memorial. This is a stunning memorial built by the Russians on the top of a hill to commemorate unknown soldiers and other heros from various wars. There is a tall, thin, statue to the side of which is a circle of paintings depicting various stones of Russian soldiers surrounding a pedestal in the middle, probably built for a flame. The views of the city are marvellous as you look down on ger homes, apartment buildings, schools, and the River Tuul. On the way down the hill from the memorial we stopped at the huge statue of Buddha, turned the prayer bells, and made three times around the statue for luck.

Ulaanbaatar is an eclectic mixture of buildings. As I said previously, it is not over all an attractive city but there are many attractive parts about it. The buildings are a mix of old and new; good condition and bad condition; and a variety of styles that would keep an architecture buff busy for days. There are soviet style high-rises and western style houses with pink, blue, and peach rooves; white gers with colourful patterns on the rooves; modern glass buildings and old-style historical buildings. Restaurants serve a variety of foods including Korean, Mongolian (of course) and Europpean, and there are bars galore including at least one or two Irish bars. The people are stylish and friendly but crossing the ceaselessly busy roads is a nightmare as drivers seem to aim straight for you and our guide assures us, will hit us if we don't move out the way. The language is closer to Turkish than anything else and is soft and whispery to listen to.

We drove back into town, along Peace Avenue (the main road) to the centre of the city at Sukhbaatar Square, named after the hero of the 1921 revolution which resulted in Mongolia becoming communist. A statue of Damdin Sukhbaatar on horseback stands in the middle of the square. At the north end of the square is an enormous bronze statue of Chinggis Khan and his son and grandson, as well as the Parliament building. Other beautiful buildings around the square include the City Hall, a hotel, the post office, a bank, and on the east side, the National Modern Art Gallery.

We walked across the square to The National Museum of Mongolia. The museum contains ten halls with displays from the ancient history of Mongolia, to traditional clothing, jewellery, and culture to socialist Mongolia and finishes in the 10th Hall with a current day display on democratic Mongolia. It was an excellent and well arranged introduction to Mongolia, with everything in English as well as Mongolian (see www.nationalmuseum.mn).

Our next stop was the Gandantegehenling Monastery. The Monastery was built in 1838 and is the home of the spirtual head of Mongolia. Over the years the Monastery grew to include several
dastans, a library, and over 5000 monks. During the communist era (1921 - 1990), the communists suppressed religion. They killed or jailed the monks or forced them into the army. They destroyed five temples in the Monastery, and Russian officials used the remaining temples as accommodation or barns for their horses. The large statue of a golden Buddha was removed and taken to Russia to be melted down. It was only replaced in 1996. In 1990, after Mongolia went through the Democratic Revolution, Buddhism has once again flourished.

The Monastery now only has about 800 monks. It is quite small and not in as good repair as some of the others we have seen, but it was still lovely to see the beautiful statues, artwork, and chanting of the monks. Our city tour was then over and we returned to the hotel to pick up Chris and head out to the Guru Ger Camp in Tereij National Park via the supermarket for snacks. The drive was busy, bumpy, and exciting. We arrived around 3 pm and had some lunch, after which Ray and I went for a walk around the area. It is absolutely fabulous scenery. I had no idea Mongolia was this beautiful. The ger camp is nestled at the base of a rock formation and overlooks a taiga valley and the hills and rocks surrounding the valley. The grasslands are like velvet and it truly is stunning, peaceful, and beautiful.

We ate dinner around 8 and because it was Flower's 20th birthday, Chris had bought a cake and bottle of wine to celebrate it with. After that we watched a Mongolian documentary "The Weeping Camel" which was the story of a camel in a ger community who abandoned her baby because it was "white" but then after some months came back to feed it.....then bed. A really busy but extremely interesting day.

Wednesday July 8 - Ulaanbaator

2009-07-08T09:21:00.000-07:00

I awoke around 8:30 am to a brilliant sunny day in the Gobi Desert. Looking out of the train window there was nothing except sand for miles and miles; flat, endless, sand. I made myself a cup of the 3:in:1 coffee I had bought for the train in Beijing and stood outside the cabin drinking it and chatting with others as Ray and Nary were still asleep. We were due to stop in Choyr at 9:04 for 15 minutes but it was closer to mid-day when we eventually did stop. The station building was lovely in blue and white, and a bunch of young kids were selling stones on the platform along with 2 or 3 vendors selling snacks. Then we were back on the train hurtling towards Ulaanbaator. As the scenery became more undulating grassland, peoples' energy levels rose, and many passengers got up out of their cabins and lined the corridor windows taking pictures of the front of the train as it wound around the bends ahead of us.

We arrived in Ulaanbaator around 4:00 pm, packed up our stuff, and transferred to our hotel, Kharaa Hotel, by van. UB (as Ulaanbaator is affectionately referred to by tourists) has a population of about 800,000. It's not a particuarly attractive city, but it is busy! It's Nadaam Festival time, and energy levels are high!!

We hurried into the hotel, took a quick shower, and scuttled along the road on foot to a small theatre to see a traditional Mongolian song and dance show - The Blue Sky Melody of Great Mongolia by the Moon Stone. It was quite different; it included throat singing which we had last seen in Labrador pereformed by an Inuit girl. The style of dance and movement also reminded us of the Native bands in Canada. Costumes were amazing and I got to see the "horse fiddle" played!

After the show, we went to a Mongolian restaurant for a Mongolian barbecue. We chose our food and watched it cooked on a huge round plate by a very skilled chef whose showmanship with the knives was eye-catching. Then it was back to the hotel, internet, and bed.

Tuesday July 7 – The Trans-Mongolian Railway

2009-07-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

On Monday evening we sat around the table with a couple of beers discussing what motivated each of us to spend 21 days hurtling across China, Mongolia, and Russia in a train, including 8 days and 7 nights on the train. For some it was the “mystery” of train travel, for others the anticipation of unknown places, and for still others, the special cultures of China, Mongolia, and Russia. We talked about how to spend your time; ideas such as reading, writing, and taking pictures came easily. Our group leader advised us on security issues for personal belongings, train schedules and the need to “stay close” to the train when we disembarked at the frequent stops; food on the train and snacks from station vendors; toilet and shower facilities or the lack of; and how to tell how many kilometers you are from Beijing. So when Tuesday morning at 6:15 am came, and we made our way to the station, we were all fresh with excitement, loaded down with snacks, and eager to embark on our epic 7865 km journey.

The journey to the train station was frenetic. Chris, our tour leader, was obviously concerned about time. We flew across Beijing in two taxis which dropped us across the street opposite the station and we had to get ourselves across a 6 lane divided highway with our backpacks and all our luggage. Fortunately there was an over pass. We made it into the station, had time to stop at McDonalds for some coffees, then loaded on to the train. When I dumped my bags and went back out to the platform to take some pictures, we had 15 minutes to spare. Perfect timing!

The building of the railway line from Moscow to Beijing started in 1882 at Chelyabinsk and continued along the rail from then until the opening of the 2880 km section from Beijing to Ulan-Ude in 1956. Our 21 day trip is going to be broken up into several section the first of which is from Beijing to Ulan bator.

There were about 16 carriages on the train. The carriage we are in is a long corridor with separate apartments each containing 4 berths, 2 upper and 2 lower. The Attendant gives you sheets and a pillow case and at night you simply spread the sheets over the berths and turn them into beds. It makes for really comfy sitting during the day! There are no showers. The toilet is shared. It is a European style toilet that flushes directly on to the track and every time I went I couldn’t help thinking of all the pee, poop, and paper being spewed out on to the track. One long latrine! There is a hole in the middle of the floor that you can look through on to the track, so your imagination does not have to work overtime! The loo got pretty grungy after a while; floor was wet, toilet paper and seat covers ran out, however, the water supply was good and it never really got too smelly!! You have to remember not to go to the loo just before or after entering a station as the attendants lock the door about 10 mins before arrival and 10 mins after departure.

Leaving Beijing we travelled through the dramatic mountainous regions of China crossing the San Gan River at 99 km, into and across the grasslands of Inner Mongolia near to where we had previously travelled; and on to the border at Erlian/Zamiin Ud. Between kilometer 80 and 50 we passed a series of tunnels and although we didn’t see it, you can also see the Great Wall at several spots along the way. We passed through empty stations where station guards in blue denim shirts and dark blue pants stand to attention on the deserted platform as the train hurtles past. There are lots of tourists on the train partly because it is the start of the Nadaam Festival in Ulan Bator. Early in the journey, westerners are reserved, pushing past you in the corridors determined not to make eye contact, but later on, conversations are struck up, new friendships are made, and addresses are exchanged.

Exhausted from our 8 hectic days in Beijing we are content to snooze, read, write, and quietly visit with other passengers exchanging travel stories, learning about new places, and discussing customs, culture and politics about places we had been to. We lunched with a US chap who is coaching tennis at the provincial level for the Chinese government, and a young Chinese chap who is in the military. Our companion in the compartment was a young Mongolian girl, Nary, from Ulan Bator who is studying medicine in Shanghai. She was lovely, and gave us her phone numbers in case we have time to get together in Ulan Bator.

We arrived at the Chinese border at around 8:37 pm only to be hauled off the train by the customs official because he couldn’t understand how we had gotten into China as there was no stamp in our passport because of our group entry into Tibet. That took a little bit of explaining, but fortunately their English is much better than our Chinese! The customs guys were really sweet, kind and gently, and it all got sorted. We had a 3 hour lay-over and all the passengers were “locked” into the Customs Hall and the platform. There was a neat supermarket where we got snacks as a replacement for dinner (the dining car was closed), and then stood or sat out on the platform under the station lights enjoying the warm, balmy evening. The reason for the long stop is to change the bogie wheels to match the Mongolian rail gauge. When this was all finished, we got back on the train and travelled about 25 minutes through no man’s land to Zamiin Ud to enter Mongolia. We stopped again for about 1 ¼ hours and about 1:40 am we set off across the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. We spread our sheets on the berths, closed and locked the compartment door, and settled down to sleep. It was a good night; the regular beat of the train’s wheels lulled us all into a deep sleep within minutes which lasted until early morning.

Monday July 6 - Last Day in Beijing

2009-07-06T11:08:00.000-07:00

Today is our last day in Beijing. Tomorrow we meet at 6:15 am to board the train for the first part of our 21 day journey to St. Petersburg. I am not sure if I will have an opportunity to update the blog before arriving home on the 29th July, but will obviously do my best. We met at 8 am after a typical Chinese/American breakfast and went off to see the Temple of Heaven. This is where the emperors went to pray to the God of Good Harvest..for a good harvest.. and to the Heaven God. As usual, the structures were outstanding, and it was really interesting walking around and learning the various processes of paying homage to these Gods. Next we went back to Tian'Anmen Square, this time having a proper walk around. Then Jon left us to go and see the Forbidden City and Chris took us to a supermarket to stock up on snacks for our train journey and lunch at a neat cafe. The Internet in the cafe is free, and I am quickly catching up on my blog before hitting the Trans Mongolian train tomorrow. This evening we are going to a Kongfu performance.....haven't a clue what to expect....then it will be to bed early to be ready to leave tomorrow. Ray and I have loved Beijing. Its a calm city, but fun and exciting. Safe to travel around, fantastic subway system, and very friendly and helpful people. It has totally changed our opinions about China, Chinese people, and the future. Keep checking for further updates.....in the meantime, we are really looking forward to getting back home and seeing Alanna, Chloe and all our friends.....and putting some pictures up on the blog!!

Sunday July 5 - The 2008 Olympic Grounds

2009-07-05T11:06:00.000-07:00

Ray's pick for the day was to visit the "Olympic Green", the huge development that was constructed for the 2008 Olympics. The area includes a large landscaped park, an Olympic village, and various stadia including the National Olympic Stadium (affectionately known as the "Bird's Nest") and the Swimming Centre (affectionately known as the "Water Cube". There were other buildings as well such as the National Indoor Stadium which we did not pay to go in but passed by. Always game for an adventure, we decided to travel by metro. We left our hotel on Line 1 at the Wanshou Lu metro stop; changed to Line 5 at Dongden; changed to Line 8; then changed to line 10 to take us up into the Olympic Green about an hour later. When we stepped out of the metro station, the immensity of the area was overwhelming and we literally didn't have a clue where to go. There seemed to be a central road area with a beautiful water and park area, complete with pretty wild flowers, and then we spotted the Bird's Nest and headed for that. On the way, we found a map, and were able to somewhat orientate ourselves. One of the things we, or maybe I, have found confusing about site-seeing in China is the lack of written information and maps. The areas are usually huge, and its difficult to know where exactly you are and the best way of viewing the site. Anyway, we paid our Y50 each and went inside. As a stadium, I didn't think that it was as fantastic a structure as Toronto's Rogers Dome, but the stadium vibrated with the emotions that were experienced there: the nerves of the competition; the despair of losing; and the thrill of winning your event and taking your place on the podium in front of the thousands of peple there. We walked around in awe listening to the inspiring Olympic music and watching the Olympic replays on the huge video screen. Opposite the Bird's Nest is the Water Cube and we crossed over the wide concrete avenue and lined up to buy our tickets for that. Although nothing much to look at on the outside, inside the main pool area and diving board was very colourful with all the flags of the various countries competing around the ceiling and the beatiful blue colour of the water and the blues and yellows of the colourful diving boards. The day was really hot and muggy and very hazy, so we were quite happy when we made it back to the subway. We stopped at Xidan for a late lunch and to see if I could find the bookshop mentioned in the Lonely Planet, but, couldn't. So we came back to the hotel for a couple of hours before heading back out to meet the two guys at the Night Market on Donganmen Street just off Wanfujing Street. We left a little early because I knew there was another bookstore there. We found an even bigger bookstore, the "Wanfujing Bookstore", and went to the third floor (as directed by LP for the other book shop) and found all kinds of books in English. Ended up buying two in a big hurry and went on our way to meet the guys. About 5 mins later, as we were walking through the Wanfujing Pedestrian Street, the heavens opened and we were in the middle of a dramatic thunderstorm; lightening, loud peels of thunder, and torrential rain. Everyone rushed for cover through the instantly accumulated inches of rain, and we ran to the doorway of a department store to seek shelter from the driving rain. The umbrellas came out in huge numbers: people in yellow rain ware were running up and down the street selling new ones. All the "parasols" of the sunny afternoon suddenly became umbrellas, many of them turned inside out, and we looked out of our shelter over a sea of pouring rain dotted with colourful umbrellas. The rain lasted abut half an hour and eventually Ray went off to buy an umbrella! I imagined walking down the street with a pretty blue or pink umbrella, but he came back with some sort of blue plaid!! Oh well, it served a purpose. We walked up to where we were meeting the guys and of course they had gone. So, had most of the people at the Night Market. All the vendors were still there with various lamb, scorpions, intestines, etc. on sticks waiting to be barbecued. But the fun was out of it all; we were a little chilly, a little wet; and a little tired. We looked for a restaurant to eat in but it was all very weird food. We ended up in a rather grotty restaurant about 9:30; had some chicken, celery. and rice. We ate quickly, and caught the subway about 7 or 8 stops back to our hotel. Chris and Jon were waiting for us on the way in. They got soaked too and decided just to go and eat as well. By this time it was just after 11 so it was straight to bed.

Saturday July 4 - Relaxing in Beijing

2009-07-04T11:03:00.000-07:00

Today was real relax day as we transitioned from our hotel Huguosi Hotel on Huguosi Jie to the Tian Tian Jia Ri Hotel on Wanshou Road in Wanshoulu District. We had breakfast and on the way back to the old hotel stopped into a store, Semir, or something like that. We had a great time spending about $35.00 on four t-shirts and two pairs of pants. The shop assistants and the patrons all had a great laugh - especially as the assistants were obviously telling us they had a two/for/one sale. The delightful young woman who was assisting us was "running" around the store getting us other colours, other styles, and other sizes. When did you last see an assistant in a Canadian shop with such energy? At one stage she was yelling to a couple of the other assistants with such glee, it seemed more than even double our purchase was worth. In fact, all the assistants were in on it, and the men took as active a part in checking out the clothes I was trying on as did the girls, and I think vice versa with Ray. It was quite an experience!! The shoppping is so fantastic here! So much choice. You would just love it!! The only downer, I needed an "XL"...shhhhh!! We are now settled in our new hotel. Its a little more luxurious than the previous one, but the area is really dull and boring. Its a beautiful residential area with high rises and flats, lots of trees, and every second shop sells only cigarettes and bottles of booze, I know, some might say: "That's not boring!!"; a few fruit stalls, and one or two shops selling water, soft drinks, ice-cream and snacks. Sort of reminds me of the Eglinton/Mount Pleasant area in Toronto without the eclectic shops on Mnt. Pleasant or Yonge St. We met our Sundowners guid, an Aussie called Chris and the one other passenger, an English guy currently living in Australia called Jon! Both young - it seems a really nice group, so we are hoping to have fun. Dinner in the hotel was a very civilized and expensive affair. Y70 each. We are used to half that! The food was good though: Peking Duck. After dinner, Ray and I took a quiet walk around the block, then back to the hotel about 10:15 p.m.

Friday July 3 - Beijing - Hutongs

2009-07-03T09:25:00.000-07:00

We were awakened this morning by a phone call from Anying who was the Chinese lady we met in Datong. We agreed to meet for dinner. We had a leisurely shower and breakfast, and went to the bike rental shop to pick up two bikes. I have dreamed of riding a bike in China since we decided to come on the trip,and Beijing seemed the place to do it. As well, Lonely Planet (LP) said it was a good way to see the hutongs. "Hutongs" are "narrow alleyways". According to LP, after Genghis Khan obliterated Beijing, the City was rebuilt with hutong. At their height there were about 6000, by the 1980s. Now there are only about 2000 remaining as most of them are torn down to make way for modern highrises. They are the life and soul of Beijing. You see them in movies. We had so much fun driving through them, connecting from one series to another by riding on the busy roads and mixing it up with buses, taxis, and private cars, let alone all the other bicycles, rickshaws, and scooters. Never once did I feel threatened by any vehicle. The cars and the buses all gave us a wide berth. Maybe they looked and saw two tourists and thought they had better keep well out of way! The hutongs varied greatly. Some were renovated and turned into little boutique shops and restaurants and frequented by the tourists, both Chinese and Western. Others were the old genuine hutongs, little courtyard communities with roof gardens, some spruced up as up-scale living area, others a bit messy but full of character; some of the lanes were paved, others dirt, and yet others cobbled. We passed all sorts of activities from men playing chess, to little stores selling fruit and drinks, and others just talking, smoking, and generally living their life. It was all fascinating. We passed many historic sites such as beautiful gardens and temples, the first Roman Catholic university, sports centres, schools, etc. One highlight was driving along the wide boulevard between Chairman Mao's picture, and Tianaman Square. We stopped in the middle and have a wonderful picture of Ray and his bike with the Chairman smiling in the background. Eventually our bums got really sore on the not too padded bicycle seats and after about 4 hours, we headed back to the shop to return the bikes. I might add that the weather is sweltering hot - 36 to 40C! So we consumed quantities of water, and when we got back, quantities of beer. We barely had time to have a shower before Anying was calling us to say she was in the hotel lobby. So, off we went with her to continue our educational tour of Beijing. She took us to The Silk Market, a 6 storey building packed and stacked with everything from nick-knacks, to clothes, to jewelery, to suit material, silk goods, cashmere goods, etc. etc. An absolutely amazing place abuzz with the sound of people advertising their goods and trying their hardest to get you to buy from them - many of them spoke English - the prices started high, for example, I started off at Y890 (the fool price!) and ended up paying Y140!! So you really have to love haggling over the price! After this we caught a bus up to Wangfujing where we wandered through an outstanding mall in order to reach the Wangfujing Snack Street behind it. We took the bus from the Silk Market and passed beautifully highlighted buildings including the Beijing Hotel and the Beijing Railway Station magnificently lit among the stacks of elegant high rises, tree-lined boulevards and the most beautiful modern downtown environment. Of course, it could have been anywhere in the world too, but the neon signs gave our location away with their bright, exciting colours and lively videos. We had a simply delicious dinner in a quiet and serene restaurant; then we saw Anying onto her bus heading for home, and Ray and I caught a cab back to the hotel; grabbed a night-cap in a loud and noisy Chinese restaurant opposite the hotel, and headed for bed around midnight after another full and fun-filled day.

Thursday July 2 - Beijing

2009-07-02T09:23:00.000-07:00

Our second free day in Beijing. We succesfully got two boxes of our camping stuff and some heavy winter clothes mailed off to Canada - one box was 10kg+ and the other 8kg+ for Y1054. China Post is so efficient. They wrapped it all up, and it looks in good shape for the journey. We will see how long it takes. We chose the SAL service - so not the slowest ocean going service. Then we headed to Xidan Square for breakfast and back to the hotel by bus. Went to the Internet next door, then headed out for the Embassy District to pick up our visa; found the Bank of China - the right branch this time, paid our fee; walked over to the Mongolian Embassy; learned that all other tourists had the same problems; got our visas!!!....yeah!!; made the suggestion they advise people of the correct bank to go to! To celebrate we went into the Parisian Bakery and had a cafe latte, a tea, a cream cheese danish and a cinnamon bun while listening to delicate Parisian music, and looking out at tree lined boulevards and modern high rises that could have easily been in the business centre of any city in the world!! Too civilized!! I think the cost of this was more any dinner we have had on the trip! We also took a few minutes to think of our friends John and Pauleen who have just spent 2 weeks in Paris! W arrived back at the hotel at 6 pm; went for a beer with the same group as last night and sadly said goodbye to Olivia, (off to Shanghai) and Mike and Rachel (off to England to get married on July 18). Then we went off to the Internet; called Alanna; went back to the restaurant for some dinner 2 hours later and found the group minus those we had said goodbye to, still there. Ray and I were in bed by midnight.

Wednesday July 1 - Free Time in Beijing

2009-07-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Our first free day in Beijing. We had 2 goals today! First, to submit our application to the Mongolian embassy for a visa, and second to post our camping stuff back to Canada. Easy? Not so easy! We set off early for the Mongolian Embasy; walked towards the subway (about 25 minutes); had breakfast on the way; got the subway to the Embassy District; found our way to the Mongolian Embassy; handed in our application; all easy! The subway is fabulous! Clean, air/con, comfy, smooth, silent, high-teck! In particular we loved the ad videos on the tunnel walls that flashed images to your brain as you flew by in the train; and we loved the electronic map that lit up the subway stop you were arriving at - in addition to an audio route info and to a visual route info. At the Embassy, we received a "ticket" for the visa costs, Y990 for both, which we had to take to The Bank of China for pyament. So we decided to head back to our hotel, regroup, and find a bank. All easy! Not so! The first branch of the bank couldn't accept payment; the second branch couldn't accept payment; and we were directed to go to the Head Office, which we did, and they couldn't accept payment and directed us back to a branch in the Embassy District. So, by that time we were exhausted, disappointed, and frustrated with the embassy for not telling us that we had to go to one particular branch of the Bank of China to make payment. Now it was time to visit a post ofice to find out about mailing our stuff, so we took a bus back to the road the post office was on and walked and walked to the PO; got all the info and arrived back at the hotel about 5 pm; collapsed in a small restaurant opposite the hotel and downed a cold beer and lunch; made a quick visit to the Internet to read email. Then it was back to the hotel to meet 4 of our group (John, Emily, Mike and Rachel) at 6:30 pm to go and meet Leon and Nat who were stayin at hostel near Tianamen Sq. for drinks and dinner.

When we checked email, I had an email from Alanna which read: " Guess who decided to jump out of the woods while I was sitting on the deck reading? Philthy, starving (uber skinny), and talking like crazy....but in-the-flesh (not my head)real...and breathing (had to pick her up to make sure)...Amazing. Wonder where she has been all this time??!! "

Chloe!!! So, as you can imagine, we are over the moon!! The little rascal. I can't imagine what must have happened to her. Perhaps she was trapped somewhere, was frightened by our grass cutting crew and ran away and got lost and just found her way back. I guess as Ray says, we will never know. We are just so happy to have her back. The way I have reasoned it is that it is a "gift" for the stance I took re the poor kitten in the fish pool! You never know!!!

We had a great evening with everyone in the Leo Hostel. It was fun geting there too. The street in front of the hostel was completely dug up and the few parts of what was left of the pavement (side-walk) was about 3 feet above the level of the excavated road - we litterally walked over planks, narrow shelves, wooden boards, dirt, boulders, etc.in order to get there. As usual Ray and I left around 11 am and the others around 2 am. As we walked out to catch a cab the roads were deserted and moments after were closed behind us. Can you believe that in all of this we actually met Ant, Adam, Stormi and Olivia trying to make their way to the hostel.

Tuesday June 30 - Beijing

2009-06-30T09:20:00.000-07:00

Life on the road is a continuous series of events with hardly a breath in between. So, true to form, we were up and off to see the Summer Palace, leaving the hotel around 8 am. The Summer Palace is a huge parkland attachd to a series of palace temples, gardens, pavillions, lakes, bridges, and corridors which were the summer home of the emperors and originally started as an imperial garden in 1750. It's 290 hectares is nestled at the foot of the hills in the nothwest suburbs of Beijing. For a city that has little water, the park provides a pleasant playground. There are pleasure boats and paddle boats crossing the lake which takes up about three quarters of the total area of the park. The lake was deepened and expanded by Emperor Qianlong in the 18th C who organized 100,000 labourers to work on it. The palace has suffered many attacks; the English and French troops damaged it in the Second Opium Wars; and foreign troops again ransacked it during the Boxer Rebellion in 1900. It was given a major overhaul in 1949. We walked down the long Corridor on Longevity Hill and visited the various palaces and temples and climbed the many steps up to the magnificent Tower of Buddhist Incense with beautiful views over the lake. We saw the Clear and Peaceful Boat which was first built in 1775 and is cared out of a "shadowy blue stone", marble. From here we took a boat across the lake to Southlake Island and the Dragon King Temple. Then we walked across the Seventeen-Arch Bridge with its balustrades carved with 544 lions, all in different positions. And we walked past more pavillions and the Bronze Ox which is made to keep the water under control. Then we had a completed our circle. We bought an icecream and sat in the shade of a tree facing out on the majestic lake before exiting through the Grand Theatre and the Hall of Benevolence and Longetivity where the courtyard was decorated with bronze animal sculptures, including the mythical "qilin". It was unfortunate many buildings are "barricaded" so you can only "peer in" through the nose-smudged windows like a guilty child trying to get a glimpse of some fairyland through a glass window. We took the Truck back into Beijing and to the Forbidden City. We, along with Will and Aussie John, decided to walk around the City to Tianamen Square and enter the Forbidden City at the south gate. As our time was short, we took a little train-like vehicle around to the Square. Tiananmen Square was a little anti-climatical. Its just one huge square in the true centre of Beijing. The main attraction is Chairman Mao's portrait which stares imploringly down on you with the intent of encouraging everyone who sees it to believe in him....and some still do. In the middle of the square is a tall obelisk which is a memorial to the People's Heroes, and then there are stately buildings such as museums surrounding the square. The whole area is massive, and its all sealed off, and I think closed at night time. In order to access the Square you have to go though a security check including the metal detector and x-ray machine. In the Square Ray and I were asked to have our pictures taken with a group of Chinese then a little girl came up to me and asked if her father could take a picture of her and me. I think we visit the Square again with Sundowners so may have a better description then. Otherwise, it wasn't very busy; but it was a weird feeling to realize where we were. We walked through the large arches leading from Tianamen into the Forbidden City. I don't think there can be another site in the world the size or magnificence of The Forbidden City, the home of the emperors in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is a truly amazing site. It is designed in the traditional Chinese style and is named because it was "off limits" to the common people for over 500 years. The huge area contains highly ornamental halls, or palaces facing north/south with courtyards and gardens in between. The west and east side buildings are living quarters, including libraries, temples, theatres and gardens, but these are now mainly exhibitions of various Chinese cutural or historical treasures. Some of the main halls are barricaded but you can peer in to see period furniture and other ornaments. It is all spectacular. Unfortunately, by the end of it all, we were suffering badly from information overload. You definitely can't do it all at one time to do it justice. Depending on your interest in Chinese history, several short visits are definitely best. But it is truly a magnificent feat that must cost a ton to maintain. As we walked around we tried to imagine the staff the emperor must have had to keep it in working order, thousands, I would think. I said previously that overland trips are constant motion. We caught a taxi back from the Forbidden City to the hotel, showered and refreshed quickly, and met everyone in the lobby of the hotel for our departure dinner. We walked to a Korean restaurant and had delicious barbecued meat, Korean style, with some rather sparse vegetables all of which we cooked ourselves on a small barbequeue in the centre of our table. Fun! Then Ray and I came back to the hotel, but I gather the group went to some rather expensive spots and ended up back at the hotel sitting on the steps outside of the lobby drinking beer. Its marvellous the way you can freely move around with your drink, sit outside, etc. I think a beer costs Y2 in the store to buy, and anywhere from Y4 to Y12 in restaurants. There really aren't any "bars" as such, mainly all restaurants, in this area anyway.

Monday June 29 - Cruelty to Animals - Qing Feng Hotel

2009-06-29T09:16:00.000-07:00

Today we had an experience that so upset me, it deserves a separate post. We were sitting enjoying lunch in the hotel's restaurant when someone said: "They've thrown a cat in the water." I looked outside and saw a pool of murky, green, water, which looked like a swimming pool, but was probably a fish tank because of the colour of the water, but I don't really know what it was, and there, sure enough, was a tiny little cat swimming frantically around the edges trying desperately to crawl up the shier concrete sides. A group of women and men were watching and laughing. At first, I didn't realize what was going on; then I realized they were keeping the cat in the pool. I went out of the restaurant and found the door to the pool of water. Of course, no one spoke English and I didn't speak any form of Chinese, but through sign language I confirmed they had thrown the cat in and weren't about to let it out. Angrily, I told the women they were being cruel, and how would they like it if I threw them in the water. They laughed heartily thinking it was all a big joke. I went back to the restaurant and spoke with our guide. I asked him: "Why did they throw the cat in?" He said he didn't know, he didn't understand it, and he didn't want to know why. I sat down. Then I watched one of the men deliberately push the cat down as it tried to climb up the steps out of the water. Incensed, I went back out to the laughing, joking, group around the pool. Again, really angry, I told them how cruel they were being, and to pull the cat out. I understood the cat had eaten a fish. I think the fish was probably meant for cooking, not sure, there were a bunch of these sleek, blue, fish in an aquarium at one end of the pool. I went back in to the restaurant and asked our guide if there were any superstitions, cultural issues, etc. about a cat eating a fish. He said "No", and Sue Mei said "No". I sat down. I was very aware of being in a foreign country with very different cultures, etc. I reasoned all this through in my head. Then I couldn't stand it. How could a group of 10 westerners sit and watch this happening and do nothing. If I didn't react, I would be so hypacritical, apathetic, and all the worst adjectives I criticize others for being. I spoke again to our guide. I knew I was putting him in an awkward position, but he got up and went out to the pool and got the people to "fish" the cat out in a tadpole net. I relaxed. Then, as I watched, the man who pulled the cat out, took the net and trapped the cat inside it. I was up, out of my chair and heading out towards him when Ray said disbelievingly: "He's strangled the cat!" I couldn't look, I couldn't stand being anywhere near these cruel people, and I stormed out of the dining room and went back to the Truck. Eventually Ant came out and said: "The cat's alive", and Ray told me the cat did get up after a while and slink behind a bush. I have no idea whether the cat lived or died. I just know that these people, all of them, who were laughing around the pool, were being totally cruel, and from what I could fathom, for no purpose other than the cat ate a fish. Feed the cat properly and perhaps it wouldn't be so keen to eat the fish!! As you can imagine, I was really, really, upset, and whether I acted rightly or wrongly I don't care. I just care that a poor little cat was being treated most cruelly by a bunch of anger-ridden Chinese who were taking their own problems out on it. When we arrived in Beijing and were listening to the English news on CCTV9, I heard that someone has just introduced legislation for "Animal Protection" in China. So...I'm not that far out. PS: I heard another story about this hotel that turned my stomach. I crossed the parking lot at one point and saw a dwarf sweeping up. I smiled at him. He gave me a puzzled look and I thought to myself: "This person hasn't had many people smile at him." Afterwards, Olivia and I were discussing the cat episode and she told me she had seen the dwarf sweeping as well, then the next thing she saw was someone come up to him and start beating him because it seemed that he wasn't sweeping correctly....or something. Anyway, apparently someone did come out of the hotel and stop this. It seems as if there is a little pocket of cruelty around that hotel.

Monday June 29 - The Eastern Qing Tombs

2009-06-29T09:12:00.000-07:00

Today we are visiting the Eastern Qing Tombs, but first breakfast in the hotel. It was Y10 for dumplings. Not our favourite, so we decided to investigate the small village beside the hotel. Just outside the hotel grounds we met Su Mei and Emily who were also looking for something exciting to eat for breakfast. It was Su Mei who noticed the street food; and we ended up eating a delicious breakfast. We bought it from a woman who had a circular propane burner attached to the back of a scooter in a small 3-sided hut thing. She cooked something like a pancake mix spread circularly over the hot plate, then she broke 2 eggs over that; once that cooked she turned the pancake over and painted a sauce mix on the pancake; then she sprinkled chillies, onions, coriander, and a tasty crispy biscuit thing over the pancake, folded it up, put it in a light small plastic bag, and off we went, munching on the pancake/omellette like mixture, changing it from hand to hand because it was so hot. It was also so good! We sold a couple of the other Truck group on it too before we left to visit our first tomb. The Eastern Qing Tombs are a royal graveyard containing the tombs of 5 emperors, 74 empresses, and 136 concubines. We saw 3 or 4 of the tomb sites in the area including Cixi's. This maybe wasn't as elaborate as some of the emperorors' tombs but the floral displays at the tomb were beautiful. Some of the tombs were plundered by the military and others around the 1920s. Also interesting was the avenue leading to the tombs which was lined with stately lions, elephants, horses, and camels as well as various Chinese military personnel. The underground "palaces" or "tombs" were spectacular and I think everyone really enjoyed the morning. We ate lunch at the hotel, then set off for Beijing, stopping outside one of the gates of the tombs for Truck pictures. Then it was a serious drive into the chaos of Beijing. We noticed a number of "dump trucks' racing down the streets of the towns just as crazy as they do in Uxbridge; and we noticed crazy drivers driving on the inside lane, the opposite way, on a wide 4-lane road! We also noticed numerous "fender-benders". To say the Chinese are horrible drivers, is an understatement!! They are, generally speaking "awful". The energy level in the Truck picked up as we neared the city centre. Beijing, on a "drive in" impression is a fantastic, modern city with huge highrise apartment blocks, wide treed avenues, and colourful shop signs and billboards. Our hotel, the Huguosi Hotel is fabulous, and as we discovered when we went out investigating, in a fabulous area which abounds with musical instrument shops, hair dressers, and restaurants. It's off a tiny narrow street (hutong) with metal tracks where the cars ride (I think they are doing work on a subway line underneath the street), and is buzzing with activity. We had dinner in a neat little restaurant just around the corner on the main road for Y42 for both, about $6 or $7, and were in our bed, sweating profusely, despite the A/C by 10:30 p.m.

Sunday June 28 - The Great Wall - Mutianyu

2009-06-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

This morning we drove about 2 hours to The Great Wall at Mutianyu. The climb up the steep and long steps to the Wall seemed like the million steps to Heaven. Three quarters of the way up there were speakers playing music. Was this the "Welcome to Heaven" signature tune? Finally, after much huffing and puffing were were once again back up on the Wall and all the splendid views it offers. This section of the Wall was much more modern and fixed up ....and touristy.... probably because we are just outside Beijing. Yesterday it seemed as if we were in the middle of nowhere, except for the vendors at the beginning. Today the vendors were stationd on the Wall and there were tons and tons of tourists, both Asian and Western. We only walked two or three gates, which was easier than yesterday, and then we turned off to take the Toboggen down. This was fun and much easier and quicker than walking! The Toboggen is a little sled which hurtles down the mountain side in a metal shute. You have a leaver in the middle which is both the brake and accelerator - forward for the accelerator, and back for the brake - and your legs go on either side. You lean into the turns like a bike racer. I am very cautious but, still couldn't get much speed out of it; on some of the steeper parts I had the brake on but mostly it was quite mangaeable. A second time down would have been perfect because you would know what to expect and could really let it go. After the Wall, we drove till 12:36; had lunch; then drove for 3 hours to our hotel in Qingdengling, the Qing Feng Hotel, probably the cleanest hotel on the trip. Shortly after we arrived Mike knocked at our door and told us they were going over to the square outside the tombs where they had found a nice spot to sit and have a beer, so we joined them shortly after and enjoyed the sunset, the historic site, the ponies, the goats and the goat herder, and just the ambience it all created. I came back for a shower, then went to dinner in the hotel restaurant with Su Mei and the rest of the group quickly joined us. Dinner was excellent and then it was time for bed.

Saturday June 27 - The Great Wall - Jin Shan Ling to Simatai

2009-06-27T09:09:00.000-07:00

We were up early, breakfast, and off in the Truck to The Great Wall. It was about a 2 hour drive from Chengde before we reached the beginning of our 4 hour trek at Jin Shan Ling. We had a short fairly easy climb up to the first Gate (I think its the 12th Gate) on the Wall through the trees and when we got on to the Wall the views were absolutely stunning! The Wall snakes its way along the mountain ridge amongst the lush, treed, conical mountains. This is the Wall of all the pictures you see. It is truly gripping, I just couldn't take my eyes of the views. I wanted each second on the Wall to be 3 times as long. The trek is about 10.5 km and you go up and down the steep, sometimes restored, sometimes unrestored, sections of the Wall for about 25-30 Gates, I lost count! The unrestored, gravel-strewn parts can be quite dangerous and I wouldn't suggest you tackle the wall at this section unless you are fairly fit. The climbs up to each gate were typically around 120 steep stone steps straight up into the heavens, then down 120 steep steps on the other side. It seems to me that you always have to work to see the more amazing feats in the world and this was no exception. The feeling of awe is right up there with Machu Picchu. Others compared it's impact to Petra, and Anchor Wat. A Spanish couple we met told us this is one of the easier sections of the Wall mainly because you walk a little way in between the gates which gives you time to recover. At other parts, construction was in progress and then we had to clamber down off the Wall and walk along the narrow mountain paths beside it. The temperature was about 36C, hazy-sun, and hot, so we were sweating buckets. We had taken a picnic lunch with us and Ray and I stopped to eat it in the shade of one of the Gatehouses. One of the annoyances were the people who tried to follow us along the Wall selling " iced-water, coke, beer"! They literally followed us despite us trying to ignore them, they would tell us to "BE careful!", "Take it slowly", etc. and grab my arm and try to help me up some of the steep parts as I scrambled up the stones and rocks. Eventually, I had a melt-down and Ray gave them Y10 each and told them to leave us alone. It worked. They left us, and then we were all alone with the Wall and its ghosts and memories, apart from the few tourists we met along the way. I have to admit though, the vendors were very fit!! I kept thinking of the Great Wall Marathon and wondered where it was run and if it would be as hard as the trek! At the end we crossed a hanging bridge over a beautiful green Lake, took a last steep climb half way up to the next Gate and turned off to the car park at Simatai to meet the Truck. We had a well earned beer in the restaurant before driving in the Truck to Huariou and the Demyeng Seong Holiday Hotel. Probably had/would be a nice hotel;, but definitely felt like a mauseleum - there was just no-one there. Then we discovered the restaurant was closed! So we ended up getting a cab down to the local village and eating street food. A lot of meat, the vegetables came too late! Then it was back to the hotel in a cab and bed.

Friday June 26 - Chengde - Free Time!

2009-06-26T05:52:00.000-07:00

Today was free to do as we wished, so we were up at 8:00 am and off down to KFC for breakfast - a bacon and egg crispy sesame bun and coffee and tea! After that we strolled back along the street looking for a hairdresser's. We found one, in a back street and much to the amusement of the hairdressers went in. Ray wanted a hair cut, and I, bravely, wanted to have my hair coloured and cut. So, without the ability of any Chinese or English, we managed it. There must have been about 15 people around us in the shop, all helping us explain what it was we wanted. Ray's was quite easy. Mine was a little harder. I wanted a cut, an overall colour, and highlights. I walked up to their storage cupboards, opened them, and looked around until I found a tube of colour! Then the light went on, and one of the girls brought a colour chart. We picked out two colours, then I had to try and explain that I wanted an overall colour with the darker one, and highlights with the lighter one. A hoot!! Great laughs all around. But I have been reasonably successful. My hair is a little darker than I would have chosen, but with my tan, it doesn't look too bad; and the highlights are not as light or as many as I would have done at home. The "cut" has a slight "Chinese" flair, a little wispy, not too much though. But its OK. Ray is still happy to have me along side him; and Rachel, who just sat down beside me still recognized me! So, no doubt the colour will wash out fairly quickly. We paid Y210 for both; about $25/30! At home in Canada I would pay at least $150 to have it done. After that we came to the Internet, and finally, I have been able to catch up with my blog. Still no pictures. If you can believe it, there must be about 200 computers in the room and they don't have one that reads a DVD - which is where our pictures are. In the alternative, I can access my camera pictures, 1300 on one flash card, but the pics are so small I can't really make them out and am too nervous to leave the camera hooked up for too long in case anything happens to the flash card! Such has been our problem all along. We are hoping that when we get to Beijing, we will be able to find somewhere that reads DVDs. This evening we are going for a beer in the square, then to dinner. Hopefully, it will be an early night. The last two were a little late! Tomorrow we leave Chengde for Huairou and a 4 hour hike on The Great Wall. We have seen it already in the distance, and it looks just like all the photos you see. I can't wait to do the hike, hot as it might be! The temperature is around 35C. The following day we drive to Qingdongling and then on the 29th into Beijing. Our next tour starts on the 4th and we leave Beijing on the morning of the 7th July. Doubt we will have any acess to Internet while on the 21 day train trip. Then we are home on July 29!! Looking forward to seeing you again then. It has been a long, but mind-stretching time!!

Thursday June 25 - Bishu Shanzhuang - Chengde

2009-06-25T05:51:00.000-07:00

We had a lovely lazy morning before hitting the streets for brunch. Then it was off to visit Bishu Shanzhuang, litterally a 10 minute walk from the hotel. Bishu Shanzhuang is the summer resort of the Qing emperors. It was started in 1703 by Emperor Kangxi as a hunting lodge and gradually grew into a summer palace. It used to take 7 days to get here from Beijing and the Emperor would bring 10,000 people with him. The palace was eventually abandoned in 1820 after Emperor Jiaqing died there - supposedly struck by lightening. You enter the main gate and then go through a series of 9 pine-treed courtyards containing 5 halls. The wings on either side of the halls contain various exhibits such as pottery from the Ming Dynasty - fantastic; clocks - a really interesting collection of old Chinese and Europpean clocks; and glass ware. The halls include the Emperor's Study, and the living quarters, poetically called the Hall of Refreshing Mists and Waves. One part of this latter hall is the emperor's bedroom. On either side is the Pine Crane Palace for the empress dowager and on the other the apartments where the concubines lived. Then when you walk through that you enter a huge parkland containing gardens, a deer forest where the deer are so tame they pose for you to take their pictures and will allow you to go up to them and almost touch them; a lake, various temples, pagodas, all surrounded by a 10 km long wall. There were some pretty sites, but time has taken its toll on the buildings and the maintenance of the park. Nonetheless, if you stretch your imagination back in time, it would have been absolutely magnificent. When we finished there Ray came back for a nap and I went to the Internet for an hour, unfortunately mistaking the time because I actually had 2 hours not one!! On our way back a truck working at a roadworks site suddenly lurchd in front of us into a big hole in the road and almost toppled over, coming to rest with its hind left wheel up to the axle in the hole. I thought it was going to topple over, but it didn't although the two outer wheels on the opposite side were off the road. The workers quickly emptied all the earth out of the Truck and we didn't wait around to see what happened then! But it wasn't there next time we looked. We had a group dinner at 7:00 p.m. and went for a "steamboat". This is the Chinese equivalent of a "fondue". You have a propane fired burner in the middle of the table containing two types of "soup", one spicey hot, and one spicey cool. Then you choose dishes of food such as beef, lamb, vegetables, prawns, chipalatta sauceages, spam, mushrooms, etc. and they are cooked in the sauce as you sit around and chat. I can't say it was my favorite meal, but no doubt if I had had the opportunity to choose my own dishes to put in the soup, I would have chosen differently and would probably have enjoyed it a lot more. Nonetheless, the concept is terrific. After dinner we strolled back as a group and ended up in a KTV place (karaoke). What a dump - I haven't been in anything like it for a long time! Nothing like the one we were in in Lanzhou. It was all private rooms, filled with drunken Chinese (oops and westerners!), consuming vast quantities of liquor, and supposedly singing along to knock off hit songs. The atmosphere was rank with the smell of cigarette smoke, and the bathroom was putrid - so much so I walked in, then walked out again. I saw all the rooms when I went in search of a bottle of water. What chaos some of them were in! It was an "eye-opening" experience, and not one we needed to participate in, so after a beer, we left and walked back to the hotel ...and bed.

Wednesday June 24 - Datong to Chengde (537 km)

2009-06-24T05:50:00.000-07:00

Today we travel from Datong to Chengde which is slightly north east of Beijing. It is sad, we have left the agricultural areas and the small communities behind and entered the greater Beijing industrial belt. The major item monopolizing conversation on the Truck is the pollution. All around us is a mushroom haze or fog ("chog" I think its called), and the atmosphere has a distinctly "coal" smell to it. The industrial installations are enormous, and smoke rolls out of factory stacks all around. The road is saturated wtih elongated lorries whose cargoes are hidden by the canvas blankets securing the load in the trailer, or returning empty from the city. I am currently reading "The Coming China Wars" by Peter Nevarro. It is a very chilling discussion about the major problems China faces and the threats they pose to the global environment. If the information is only partly true, it is a frightening thought as to what the next 25/30 years will bring. However, it is only one "angle" to a multi-faceted problem. There is another book called "The Bad Samaritans" which has another angle on the same problems. The Coming China Wars lists the following as some of the problems China has to face which not only affect them but also affect the rest of the world: (1) the huge counterfeit and piracy trade due to disregard of IP laws; (2) being the largest dope dealer in the world; (3) the air pollution and its affects on global warming or climate change and the huge natural disasters their policies are stimulating; (4) their thirst and need, for oil and their policies to ensure they get it; (5) their Imperialist wars, i.e. the way they are manipulating other countries such as Africa, not by helping them grow but by taking all of their resources back to China for manufacturing; (6) their huge dam projects and the fact that they are running out of water and how they are affecting other countries such as Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia with their water policies; (7) their disruption and riots from within the country; and finally (8) their internal problems such as aging, and sicknesses. It is the author's view that it will be our children who will end up having to fight these "wars". On top of this, as I was writing my journal, I was also watching a TV program on CCTV, Channel 9, an English program, called "Dialogue" which was discussing a book "Why is China Not Happy" written by 5 Chinese guys. It was an interesting discussion and hearing the panel's views on how China should face its problems and the rest of the world was quite heartening. However, what matters is if they stick to their ideologies, or take the easy way out. I suppose the bottom line is, that the 8 problems mentioned above seem to be accepted as a short-list of problems China will have to face in the coming years not only by westerners, but by the Chinese themselves. Another minor problem we and the Truck may have to face is that the government allocates which trucks can use the road system around Beijing according to number plates. On one day certain #s are allowed on the toll roads into Beijing, on the next day, certain other numbers are permitted access to the city. Ant assures us that somehow, we will make it to Chengde even if there is a "number plate" issue!! In one of the farming areas we drove through, we saw lots of little donkeys pulling carts in the fields. They are such troopers and like the working ponies and horses have big hearts. In another area we noticed wind-mills on the horizon around a body of water. Not sure of their widespread use here, haven't seen any so far, but have seen tons of solar panels. And trains with their long convoy of retangular coal cars. The mountaineous areas have been fascinating. Heaps of red mud gouged wtih deep weather lines. Quite weird to look at. We entered into a hilly region as we neard Chengde; the typically treed, conical hills one associates with China. Chengde is set in a river valley bordered by these hills in Hebei Province. Its population is about 700,000 and it was the location of the Mongol Emperors' summer palace and dates from the first half of the Ming dynasty. It is modern, but not as new as Xi'an. Our hotel Sa Bei Hotel seems to be right in the centre so location is good. We arrived around 6 p.m. cleaned up and went out to wander around to look for somewhere for dinner. We came across the remainder of the group and ended up in a tiny up-stairs restaurant where dinner cost us about Y26, thanks to the good advice of Su-Mei. We are lucky to have her on our trip. She helps us out quite a bit with language and eating issues when our guide is not around. You can really eat cheaply here if you eat Chinese. Afterwards we went looking for a place to have a drink, but ended up buying a bottle of beer and sitting in the main square drinking it. Everything was happening in the Square. Kids were roller blading, playing football, and kicking around large shuttlecocks. Su-Mei and Ray joined two Chinese guys doing the shuttlecock thing; soon there was a group of 8. It was fabulous. Everyone just moved around the square joining in where they wanted and then moving on. All of a sudden at 10:30 pm, the lights went out....and people disappared. Sort of like Cinderalla! So we came back and went to bed.

Tuesday June 23 - Yungang Grottoes, and The Hanging Monastery - Datong Area

2009-06-23T05:50:00.000-07:00

Still no water or hydro - so we packed our bags (actually, we had never unpacked them) and took them with us to the Truck. We knew we were moving regardless of what the group did, but our leader and Chinese guide had made the same decision. The hotel cost Y160 a night and they rebated Y30 for the conditions. Considering we didn't eat breakfast, which was included, I don't think they suffered at all from the appalling state of their accommodation. Couldn't find anything to eat for breakfast so ended up with a packet of lemon swiss-rolls which filled a little corner, but how I am missing good food. Chinese food is good for dinner, but its so the same....at least as Ray says, it appears that way to us. We left at 7:30 am to drive to the Yungang Grottoes (www.yungang.org), a UNESCO Heritage Site, which were carved in the Northen Wei Dynasty around 460-525 on the demand of the Emperor. They are about 1 km long, contain 254 niches and 51,000 statues. They include a variety of religious figures such as the Buddha, several Bodhisattivas, and disciples and protectors of the Buddha. The vivid sculptures tell the Buddhist stories. Very touristy, but worth a visit. Then it was to Datong and breakfast/lunch. The rest of the group went for noodles, which are the mainstay in China, but neither Ray nor I are keen on them. I find the "soup" they are served in too greasy and somehow the concept of pasta floating around in juice turns my stomach. I am fine when they are dry and quite enjoy them then. So, we hunted out a typical little restaurant on one of the side strets and ordered by picture. Of course it wasn't what we thought we were getting, but it was good all the same!! Now we heading to The Hanging Monastery. Its a Buddhist Monastery on Taoism's sacred mountain Heng Shan, about 65 km from Datong. When you first see the temple literally "hanging" from the side of perpendicular rocks, it is hard to comprehend how it was built way back in the Northern Wei Dynasty. At first, it appears as if it is supported by "stilts" stretching from the base of the Monastery and anchoring in the rock below. But these "stilts" are actually loose to the touch when you shake them as you go by. The Monastery is cantilevered on strong wooden beams bored into the rock. It is a picturesque and absolutely charming array of tiny temples and statues built up the cliff. You wind your way along narrow wooden connecting passages, and climb up and down steep, narrow staircases to the various levels. It really was an absolute treat to see it. Sad though that there are no longer any monks there and it seems to be now only a "showpiece" of the Buddhist religion. The Monastery is about 1 1/2 hrs drive from Datong and we got back around 6:00 pm. Our new hotel: "Shanxi Sheng Jun Qulu Yuan Hotel" is much, much, nicer than our previous one and in a much nicer area - only Y28 a night more. After a wonderfully hot shower, we went out for dinner, then to the Internet, whre we managed to call Alanna. It was so great speaking to her. We do have some sad news. Our little black and white cat Chloe has gone missing after 8 almost 9 years with us. Alanna let her out one morning and she hasn't come back. Needless to say, we are all devastated. She was so much a part of the family; always with us when were around, slept on our bed, and cuddled up with us to keep warm on cold winter nights. Alanna will be lonely without her. We will all miss her dreadfully. The house will seem so empty. Lets hope that wherever she has ended up, she is happy.

Monday June 22 - Hohhot

2009-06-22T05:48:00.000-07:00

I'm in the dog-box! Mistook departure time for 8:30 am instead of 8:00 am this morning, but still had time to pay the toilet-man another yuen!! We headed back through the grasslands to civilization in Hohhot, population 1.14 million people. The city was founded by one of the Mongol leaders in the 16th Century. It is very modern, and although industrious appears more prosperous than BaoTou. We took a taxi with Mike and Rachel to McDonalds for breakfast/lunch and back to the Da Zhao Lamasery/temple. Haven't quite figured out if there is a difference between a "monastery" and a "lamasery" yet or whether it is like stupa/chorten/pagoda. This has to be one of the most exquisite monastery/temples we have seen. In quality right up there with the hill-top monastery we took the roof-top bus ride to in Nepal, but older, and therefore all the art work is completed. Th temple was built in the Ming period and has been exquisitely maintained, and is still undergoing extensive renovation. Divided into 3 main sections each with its separate courtyards and prayer halls, the statues, artwork, and colours of green, blue, red and orange are stunning. Our visit culminated with the opportunity of one loud beat of the drum which resonated over the courtyard and the drum tower. The square adjoining the temple contained an array of little shops selling everything you need for and from the temples. Touristy, but nonetheless, quite attractively built. Now, we are back in the Truck and off to Datong. The scenery is changing again back to a weather-beaten mountaineous region, no trees, but there are agricultural terraces in the lower foothills. We passed some industrial areas and trains carrying coal to a power plant. Tons of highrises which are probably where the workers live. The scenery deteriorated and the pollution increased as we drove into Datong. Then we ran out of paved road and spent half an hour lurching and bumping along on the dirt street through town in an area where houses were knockd down and the old road dug up, all to make way for the new. Absolutely horrible! As we drove through Datong, we realized this was not one of China's highlights. But all the same, has to be seen to fully understand the very diverse country we are in. So far, the cities we have seen have mainly been quite modern and attractive. Datong, population about 580,000, is grimy, industrialized, dirty, and badly beaten up. Some of the rows of old shops/houses/buildings are slums, probably the reason they are being pulled down. We arrived at the hotel and it was simply the worst we have had on the trip. It was crap, shabby, dirty, and dark. The power had supposedly "just gone out", but as Ray said, the auxilliary lighting had also gone out so- either batteries not tested, or the power had been off longer than they were saying! As luck would have it, our bedroom was on the 6th floor, so we huffed, and we puffed, our way up the stairs with our backpacks. The room was livable, the bed at least had clean white sheets, but the bathroom was sub-standard, old, dirty, and smelly. When I opened one of the cupboards in the bedroom, three little cockroaches scurried to hide from the light under the spare blankets. Plus, there was no water! Anyway, we ended up changing rooms, but nothing improved except that I did not "see" the cockroaches, but of course, I knew they were there!! We met the others for a beer in an outdoor seating area across in the square. While we were chatting a couple joined us: a Canadian guy from Thomson, Manitoba married to a Chinese doctor from Beijing. I might add that we were also joined by about 6 or 8 men who were hanging off our every word, reading our exchange of email addresses, and looking at the pictures on our cameras as we exchanged them amongst ourselves. As I said before, the Chinese are very spontaneous, and none of this seemed odd to them. I guess we are tourists, and fair game!! All of us ended up going for dinner, including the Canadian guy and Chinese woman, to one of the hotels. It was great and only cost Y26 each. We thought about moving over to this hotel for Y260 a night, but decided to suck it up and see what the situation was in the morning.

Sunday June 21 - Father's Day and The Inner Mongolian Steppes

2009-06-21T05:47:00.000-07:00

Breakfast in the hotel was the standard Chinese affair - which we haven't yet taken to - soup, pickles, dumplings, and rice, mmmmm, may all be good......but not for breakfast!! So, Ray and I beetled off on a 20 minute walk to.......oh no, KFC! Had a lovely egg/cheese muffin and two cups of coffee, then back to the Truck ready for 8:30 a.m. departure. Today we are "exploring". As we have a spare day, we are heading to explore the Mongolian Grasslands. This is uncharted territory for Dragoman, but we are hoping that since it is a tourist area, we won't be stopped/turned back by the police. The Chinese government strictly controls where we go. Permits are issued to the Truck and our progress is monitored. We are not allowed to visit certain cities and areas. Don't know exact reasons: "political" hot-spots, for example Xiahe due to Tibtan discontent; other not sure. According to the Lonely Planet Guide, China has suffered from increasing rural protests in recent years (74000 riots or demonstrations in 2004) due mainly to land confiscations, environmental pollution, and high taxes extracted by corrupt officials. LP says that "Beijing plans to install special police units in 36 Chinese cities, specifically targetted at quelling riots and disturbances." I guess this is what we experienced in Lhasa and may be the reason tourists are blockd from certain cities/areas. Despite this, we haven't "felt" any of this unrest, and the economic achievement of China, and its flirtation with capitalism is very evident. If it all holds together there is no doubt China will be an incredible force to reckon with - and a "force" that might be fun to be part of. Books such as "The Coming China Wars" succintly outline the author's perception of the "hot-spots", but more of that later. Our route followed through the flat grassland bordered on our left by a ridge of unusual looking hills. They look sandy/muddy, lightly grassy, with scatterings of darker green clumps of vegetation. Frequent service centres, and toll booths. We climbed up on to what looks like a huge "moorland". Probably the true Mongolian Steppe; passed some modern industrial areas spewing pollution into the air. Along the Truck journey, Will opened his "father's day card" which his two daughters had tucked away in his luggage and we all shared his emotion as he read it. As we roll along surrounded by wanton, rolling, grasslands, herds of sheep and little communities of mud houses and terra cotta tiled rooves, I realize that although I am excited by the hustle and bustle, and glitz and glamour of the cities, it is the desolation of some of the rural areas that captures my soul. I day-dream of gallopping across the fields and up onto the crest of the hills on my sturdy Mongolian pony, racing the wind. I think it is the feeling of freedom, abandonment, that mesmerizes me. We arrive at a tourist yurt camp north of Hohot at Cxi Liia Mu Ren Grassland. An amazing open space of rolling grass filled with white yurts. The yurts are rounded huts made of canvas-like material and set up with a low table for eating or sitting at cross-legged on comfy floor mats. Even has electricity for a light. The toilet tent is a concrete structure with smelly squat toilets guarded by the toilet-man who charges Y1 and then gives you a big hand shake after you have been to the loo, and washed your hands. One way of drying your hands, I guess!! He closes up at 7 pm, locks, the door, and disappears. So, talk about "shit"; there is plenty around but I think its mostly horse pooh. The mangy-looking horses wander around free - everywhere, tons of them - some were tied up but most wandered around - with their saddles on. This seems to be a very popular "tourist" area for the Chinese. We went out on the steppe for an hour on horseback; but it was an anti-climax. We walked along sedately, with my knees up to my waist, jockey-style, because they couldn't lengthen the stirrups, totally unable to make our horses do anything we wanted despite a wide range of equestrian ability amonst us. But if the Mongolian leader came up behind your horse, its ears went up, and its whole body became alert. Ant suggested because we were "westerners" they didn't want anything to happen to us. Every other group we passed was "running" along at a good pace, but when we motioned to our guide to allow us to "quicken-up the pace", he seemed either asleep, or trying hard to ignore our pleas. The other Chinese riders were fascinated to see us however, and gave us big waves, and "hellos", as they trotted past us! Very disappointing, but nonetheless, it was fabulous to be out there on the Inner Mongolian grasslands, in the fresh, rather chilly air. The saddles were weird, rather small, uncomfortable wooden structures with a metal semi circular bar as a handle and English style stirrups. The bridles were made of rope and included a bit. We ate dinner in the dining tent around 7 pm, consumed large quantities of beer and even wine which the "women" had finally broken down and bought bored of drinking beer - Y38 a bottle! After dinner, we sat and chatted and listened to music, and some of us wrote our journals, sat taking photos, etc., and finally rolled into our sleeping bags in our yurts.

Saturday June 20 - Yin Chuen to BaoTou (624 km)

2009-06-20T05:46:00.000-07:00

Up early today for a big drive through the Inner Mongolian Grasslands to BaoTou. Scenery-wise it has truly been one of the most dreary days. We started with flat fertile lands which changed into rocky-hills and lots of mining (including smelly old coal) and industry. At one point we could barely see any distance because of the mushroom pollution-haze over the large factories, mines and other industrial sites. Even the atmosphre had an acrid industrialized smell about it. As we entered the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region (established in 1947) we entered the rolling steppes. Apparently only about 15% of the population is Mongolian, the rest mainly Han Chinese (85%), and a smattering of Hui, Manchu, Daur, and Ewenki. The traditional nomadic life where the Mongol herders move with the seasons in search of pasture for their herds, and life in circular tents called "yurts", is fading out fast and is mainly retained for tourist purposes. We stopped for lunch in a small non-descript town called Linhe. I had an egg and tomoato rice dish which once loaded with soy and hot chilli sauce was delicious for Y7. Ray had a lamb and rice dish which was apparently very good too. Since this was a Musim area, we were happy to eat lamb. Outside the restaurant, in a tractor-drawn cart, we saw a poor sheep standing in the cart probably awaiting its fate. BaTou is the largest city in Inner Mongolia (population 2.08 million). It is very industrialized and rather grim. Other than that, I don't think it has much claim to fame. Apparently one of the traditional Mongolian instruments is a "matouqin" which today has its 2 strings made of horsehair and the top is carved into the shape of a horse's head. I am hoping somewhere in our travels to see this. After we arrived we went wandering around BaoTou. It really is quite dirty, and not as nice as the other towns we have ben in. We all went for dinner in a typical restaurant. It was full, very noisy, and loads of fun. The food was good too! Then Ray and I went to the Internet to try and phone Alanna but we couldn't get Skype to work. We eventually found the Internet on the 4th floor of a building which we reached by way of a glass elevator on the outside of the building. We'll try again tomorrow in another city for Skype. On the way back to the hotel we sat and had a quiet beer at a little street vendor. It is amazing the number of people who spoke to us. One young chap said "Welcome to China" in his best English. Westerners are really greeted very welcomingly. Today I finished reading Huruki Murakami "What I talk about when I talk about running". A neat little book, less than 200 pages, that talks about the author's "recreational" running career and his philosophy on how running has inspired his writing. Just lots of little comments that I can certainly relate to about why we run, and what our achivement means in the big scheme of things. I am now inspired to read more of his books.

Friday June 19 - Zhongwei to Yinchuen (217 km)

2009-06-19T05:45:00.000-07:00

A lovely long lie, a relaxed morning just puttering around the play-park watching people zip line, sand-tobagan, the camels and the horses....and of course the Yellow River. Had lunch around 12:30 pm and left. The day started out chilly and hazy but by the time we left it had warmed considerably, the sky cleared, and the sun was strong and warm. The desert park is just outside Zhongwei on the edge of the Tengger Desert where the dunes, the river, and the fertile plains meet. It is based around the Sho Po Tou Desert Research Centre which was established in 1956 to fight against "desertification", a big problem for China, in China's northwest. It has now become a desert amusement park and is very commercialised. The rafting was quite gross. For centuries apparently, the main mode of transport on the Yellow River was the "yangpi fazi" or leather raft made from sheep or cattle skins soaked in oil and brine and inflated. About 14 hides are tied together under a wooden framework making a raft that can carry 4 people. I was happy to give that a miss, it just seemed somewhat grotesque to me! We drove into Zhongwei located between the Yellow River and the sand dunes. It seemed a very modern town built for the future. The road system was massive, with wide avenues and separated highways that would put an American city to shame, but no cars....yet!! The potential for car sales in China is huge and giving the car manufacturers enormous appetites. They do have some electric cars here, but it is said that dealing with the batteries causes more pollution than using petrol!! The same thing is true of some of the highways, huge, modern, but no traffic. Also beautiful big modern service centres, but no gas, and many centres were all locked up. We are suspecting, but not sure, that government has built these facilities, but because there are no "users" they don't have the money to maintain them - at least to a standard we would consider acceptable. Its really a shame. Beautiful structures, roads, plazas, buildings, not maintained and soon they are falling apart. You are tripping over loose tiles in the pavements, and stumbling in the pot holes. Not sure what the city's liability insurance would be like!! In Zhongwei we visited the Gao Temple. This was originally built in the Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1655) to serve Buddhists, Confuscians, and Taoists. Now it seems more Buddhist, but it is still a mix of styles; small temples joined by narrow wooden stairs and passageways, in part very quaint and picturesque. Then there is the old bomb shelter which was built during the cultural revolution and converted into a Buddhist "hell/haunted" house containing a series of dark, barely lit tunnels off which there are little chappels of ghoulish Buddhist figures on sensor lights which come on as you approach complete with sound effectsand haunting screams. You want to believe the temple is religious because it is so picturesque, but you are left with an uncomfortable feeling of where you could end up if you don't gather the right "merit" in your life. We drove along fantastic highways into Yinchuen. We passed through desert where it is obvious that great attempts are being made to "solidify" the sand by planting grasses and trees. Then gradually, the terrain changed to flat and fertile. As we drove into Yinchuen I was struck by how clean everything was, and the city itself is quite beautiful. The Chinese cities are truly amazing. They are huge, modern, colourful, and full of life. The sad part is that generally things don't seem to be maintained. Can't quite grasp whether the old has been pulled down to make room for the new, a little like some of Canada's cities, or whether there never was any old. I read an article in an English Chinese paper that says that for the first time the "majority" of Chinese live in urban areas. But, there is enormous disparity between the country and the cities. I guess this is true for all countries. We arrived at the Hotel Royal around 6:30 pm. It is quite acceptable, one of the largest rooms we have had, and a bathroom that has glass walls. We had a room like this in another city whose name I can't remember. We immediately went out to the Internet, then back for dinner. Although we didn't know it, we saw Ant and Adam in a restaurant, went in, and realized it was the hotel restaurant. Chinese food is truly delicious. How healthy, I'm not sure. Although there are lots of vegetables, also lots of fat and MSG. I had a lovely spicy pork dish with peppers and chillis and Ray had a slightly calmer beef dish with broccoli. After dinner we were pulled into a private room with a group of Chinese celebrating someone's birthday. It was a merry affair. We toasted the birthday boy with some Chinese wine that tasted quite good but a bit like neat vodka; had pictures taken all around, then left before it became too rowdy! I know I keep mentioning this, but I am truly overwhelmed by the very positive reception we have had every where. Throughout our whole trip, we have been "fetted" most places. Never have we felt uncomfortable or threatened. As I write my journal, I am lying in bed watching Chinese TV and Chinese English TV. Oh, I forgot to mention, that we nearly had to go to hospital before being allowed into the hotel because of the swine flu. Fortunately, our guide was able to persuade the hotel we are fine. Apparently, the PFB has advised all hotels to have their guests check in with the hospitals for a temperature check. Hope this doesn't affect us elsewhere.

Thursday June 18 - Ping Liang to Sho Po Tou (350 km)

2009-06-18T05:44:00.000-07:00

Up around 7 am, English breakfast: baked beans, mushrooms, chipalatta sauseages, eggs, and bread with marmite! On our way around 8:30 am. The countryside on the drive was the typical grassy mountains with terraced slopes and fertile valleys. The communities are larger now and more established. The roads are pretty good, many of them toll roads. We stopped for noodles/fried rice in a typical little restaurant in a small town. The food was quite mediocre but since it only cost $1 each, I guess we couldn't expect much. We ran out of pretty mountain scenery and into flat fertile valleys which eventually turned into desert. We arrived into Zhongwei and Sho Po Tou Hotel around 3:30 to 4 pm. The hotel is in a sand park, Sho Po Tou, where there are all sorts of activities including camel rides, horseback rides, sand board, rafting on the Yellow River, ziplining across the river and bungee jumping. All a little cheesy, but its a typical Chinese entertainment park and fun to be in. Temperature is very warm and dry. I can't say we did a lot after we arrived. Cleaned up a bit and then went out with the intention of going for a walk, but never got passed the patio bar. There is a long walkway along the Yellow River, and the hotel restaurant has a patio there. We walked around a bit and when we came upon the patio and some of our group were there, we just sat down and didn't go any further. Then it was dinner time and bed early.

Wednesday June 17 - Xi'an to Ping Pliang - or .... Ping Pliang Revisited (400 km)

2009-06-17T05:42:00.000-07:00

We are on "Gertie" now, our new Truck with Anthony (Ant) as leader and Adam as lead driver. Our Chinese guide is John. Six of us from Daphne continued (Emily, Rachel, Mike, John, Ray and I) and 4 new people joined us (Sui May, Stormy, Olivia and Will, a professional travel photographer from England. Did I tell you about Globebusters? We met a guy last night in our hotel in Xi'an who is working with them. They do motorbike tours similar to the truck tours. They re on their last week of an exploratory trip London/Beijing. Can you imagine what fun that would be! They also do a trip Alaska to Ushiaia. So, if you are a bike lover, check it out!! And you are right...we are heading BACK to Ping Pliang and the Tao Mountain. Not sure what happened there, but I think our previous leader was hard pressed to find somewhere to go when we were denied entry to Xiahe. Anyway, we were supposed to spend 2 nights there, and Ant has promised we will only do one night and put in an extra night elsewhere. Despite being upset at retracing our steps we loved Mt. Kontong. Kongton Shan is on the border of Ningxia in the Linpan Shan range. It is the most famous mountain in the Tao religion. It was first referred to around 399 - 295 BC. The mountain has various paths that lead up and down over the hilltop past dozens of picturesque, small, temples. As well, we climbed the Ladder to Heaven which must be a million stairs that lead up to the Tian Shi Temple, and the Yu Huang Palace perched almost at the summit of the mountain, then we came back down by Thundering Peak and through a series of three old minute temples, with rickety, worn, stone steps right in the middle of the mountain. We visited temples with names like Dragon Kings Temple. I lit incense sticks in one temple, and received a blessing from the diminutive Taoist monk. We bought bright red ribbons which we were told to tie around our heads and did - didn't know what they read and hoped it was something nice. On the way up the extremely steep and unending steps, we got looks of amazement, words of encouragement, and requests to stop for pictures with old and young Chinese, male and female. On the way down, one handsome, young, Chinese man coming up, looked up, saw Ray and immediately piled our hands full of delicious red dates. I reckon he thought Ray must be 110 with his white hair and must therefore be in need of energy!! Actually, he was just being incredibly kind. The spontaneity of the people is both refreshing and intriguing to us inhibited westerners. Instead of taking the mini bus back down, Ray and I walked down the switch back road, about 36 minutes. It was peaceful, pretty, and gave us some much needed exercise. Incidentally, did I mention that the ride up in the mini van was a thrill ride at break neck speed up the switch-back bends narrowly avoiding hitting the trees so awkwardly placed in the road itself! Back at the camp site (same one as last time here), over looking the "Zhang-plucking Lake", Ant and Adam cooked a delicious meal: leg of lamb, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, carrots and broccoli, and we ate it sitting around a glowing camp fire. No Chinese fire crackers this time!!

Tuesday June 16 - Xi'An

2009-06-16T05:41:00.000-07:00

A blissful lie in, then breakfast. This is by far the best hotel breakfast we have had! After breakfast, I spent 3 hours on the Internet, updating the blog. Sorry its not up to date, but just finding the time is very hard. As for pictures, we keep hoping for the appropriate circumstances, i.e. DVD reader, or somewhere where we can access pictures on the camera, and a reasonably fast and consistent Internet. We visited the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower, both close to the hotel. It ws fascinating learning all about the "drum culture" and how significant it is in Chinese history. The towers were first built ein 1301 but have been renewed many times since then. The Bell Tower holds a large bell which was originally rung in the morning and the Drum Tower has a series of drums which were sounded in the evening and 4 times through the night for different purposes. At each of the Towers we listened to a 10 minute concert using typical old Chinese musical instruments. It was quite lovely. Other than that we just wandered locally; went to Walmart to buy tomorrow's lunch (its interesting how places we don't frequent at home suddenly take on new meaning and become attractive because of their familiarity; had dinner in a Chinese restaurant; and finished the day with a beer at the Youth Hostel with the group. Xi'an is a large city, about 7 million population, and sits in a fertile plain of the River Wei. It has a large Muslim population, hence the Muslim Quarter. Although its been historically rich, the current city is new and reasonably clean on the streets, but pollution is huge. Our hotel was in the city centre and we could have been in a brashy US city except that the Chinese exude high energy and the sound of chatter increases exponentially in the underground subways (underpass tunnels for crossing under the roads - although a subway is being built). The thing that hit me is the variety of goods for sale. Advertising is bold; colours of packaged goods strong; and the variety endless. Clothes shops, shoe shops, cell phones, and restaurants are the most common. The young Chinese are very fashion conscious and girls wear high heels everywhere! However, we have all agreed (the girls at least) that the Chinese men's "fad" of rolling their t-shirts up to just below their nipples, thus exposing their lower chest and bellies, is a passion-killer!!

Monday June 15 - The Terra Cotta Warriors

2009-06-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

Ever since I first read about the Terra Cotta Warriors many years ago I have wanted to see them. They are located about an hour's drive from Xi'an and Ian took us there on the Truck first thing on Monday morning. Some background info on the "Warriors". Qin Shihuang was the King of the Qin State and the First Emperor of China. When he came to the throne in 238 BC, as was custom, Qin Shihuang began building his mausoleum. Because he wished to live for ever, he attempted to move his earthly empire to heaven. This is the reason that he built an "underground empire" that was as glorious as the empire he ruled on earth. The area covered by the Qin Mausoleum Garden, according to current exploration, is about 56.75 square kilometers. It contains the tumulus, an underground palace and auxilliary buildings, and the ruins of an outer wall containing 4 gates, and an inner city wall containing 6 gates. Some of the main discoveries include the valuts of the warriors in 1974, vaults of bronze charriots and horses, vaults of stone armour and helmets, vaults of terra cotta acrobatic figures, vaults of civil officials, vaults of rare birds and unfamiliar animals, pits of bronze water birds, and lots of other cultural relics. The tomb itself has not been opened for a number of reasons including the suspicion of large quantitites of mercury being present as well as the fact that the appropriate technology is not available to properly protect the contents once opened up. It is said that over 700,000 artisans worked on construction of the project over a period of 38 years and it was not completed when the Emperior died. There are 3 vaults of warriors that have been excavated and a 4th vault that work has not yet been started on. Vault 1 is the largest. It contains about 45 charriots and over 6000 infantry and was the main force of the terracotta army. Vault II was discovered in 1976 and is divided into 4 arrays: Array 1 contains 174 standing archers and 164 kneeling archers. Array 2, 64 charriots with 3 warriors each. Array 3 contains charriots, infantry men and cavalry. Array 4 contains 6 charriots and 124 saddled horses and cavalry men. Valut III contains a horse stable, a charriot, some warriors, horses, and weapons. To be there and see them is an overwhelming experience, When discovered they were not in good condition and have required a lot of painstaking work to put them back into their original positions. Not all of the warriors etc. are completed, and many are still lying broken on the ground. Just looking at the rows and rows of infantrymen you can really imagine meeting them on some grassy knoll in China. Its just so interesting learning all about the different levels of warrior, the formatioo, the charriotts, and of course the horses. The whole complex is a huge tourist site complete with souvenior shops, hawkers, restaurants...and KFC. None the less, this does not detract one little bit from the immensity of the project. In the evening we met our new truck group and leaders and went into the Muslim Quarter for dinner. This area of Xi'an was fabulous!! Colourful market scene with outdoor food tables and indoor restaurants. We ate skewered lamb and chicken, goats arteries, pickled cucumber, a raw peanut dish, and a green bean dish. I loved it, not so sure about Ray! Then it was to the Youth Hostel where the guys played pool and the girls chatted before turning in for the night.

Sunday June 14 - Ping Liang to Xi'an

2009-06-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

Tamar woke us at 6 am by walking around our camp-site and banging on some pots and pans with an old wooden spoon. There is a feeling of excitement and sadness on the Truck today as we near Xi'an and the end of our 4 1/2 week segment Kathmandu/Xi'an. We have been through a lot together: the tough cold times of Everest, the breaking down of the Truck, and the health struggles with altitude. The group in its entirety has at all times been cohesive, supportive, fun-loving, and great companions. We wish them all well with their lives and their further travels from Xi'an to Beijing, Shanghai, HongKong, S. America, the US, Norway, etc etc. The road to Xi'an was paved, straight and fast - of course, it still had the odd patch of dirt over a bridge, or where there had ben a mud/rock slide on the road. As we neared Xi'an, it became less mountainous and we ended up in a fertile valley approaching the city. We had one stop in a gas station; a brand, new, huge, building for a shop, restaurant, and badmington court but absolutely no one it it....and the snacks were stacked on the shelves minimally, and in perfect order. We arrived in Xi'an around 1:30/2:pm and checked into an amazing hotel right in the centre of the walled city. First thing we did was to go and eat, then we walked down all the little streets around the area, ostensibly looking for a laundry and internet but also just enjoying the ambience created by the energy of the people. Its hard to believe this is a communist country; its almost a "US-wannabe" atmosphere. Consumerism at its height; a lot of ads show Western people, fashion is huge, both for men and women But there's a contrast. The wide avenues, shopping malls etc. are frequented by fashion-conscious young people driven by the glitz and glamour and the manipulative advertisements. The tiny lanes behind the main avenues, where the vendors shops are tiny - or on the street, are inhabited by another world more intent on survival. We eventually came across The Bell Tower Youth Hostel and went in there to check on Internet and laundry; seemed an obvious source to us...and it was. Laundry Y25 a bag and Internet Y6 an hour. Perfect! Also, fabulous atmosphere, pub, dining, and general relax area. Typical hostel - like some we had stayed in in South America. We are amazed that most of the "tourists" are Chinese from other parts of the country, and the kids in the hostel were largely young Chinese. We reported back to our group who were delighted to find beer at Y10 as opposed to Y44 at the hotel The hostel became our "tryst". We had our group dinner in the evening meeting around 7:30 pm. Myles, our Chinese guide took us to a fabulous restaurant specializing in Peking duck. The food was fabulous: red pork, a beef dish, chicken and peanuts (a little hot spice!), a fish dish, an aubergine/vegetable mix, rice, all delicious and very similar to what we would find in a good Chinese restaurant in Canada. I've even mastered using chopsticks, so all is good! After dinner, we wandered around looking for some where to go for a drink. We ended up in a few unsavoury joints before 4 of us left the group and sat down at one of the street tables where the chap had the beer on the table before we had time to hit the bench seat! Much more fun!!

Saturday June 13 - Kontong Shan

2009-06-13T05:37:00.000-07:00

We drove about 60 km through the clay, teraced hills and wondered at the number of people who would be required to establish and maintain all the terraces. It is a labour intensive agriculture. The houses and communities all snuggle into the rocks and crannies of the hills unnoticed because they are camaflauged by their mud brick construction which matches the colour of the ground. Most of the roads in this part of China seem to wind up and over mountain passes or around gorges and canyons. Inevitably there are road works somewhere which can delay travel times from a few minues to a few hours. The road we travelled this morning had all of the foregoing. Around lunch time we reachd Ping Liang, population 105,300. The city appears modern and economically sound, although for a Saturday we found it quiet. It is located in the hill and ravine region on Loess Plateau - whatever that is!~ with rivers, mountains, valleys, plains and tablelands. It used to be the second key post on the Silk Road. The city is split into many nationalities including 73.4% Han Chinese, 25.5% Hui, and the rest including Mongolian, and Tibetan and tons of others. We spent a couple of hours in town wandering around the streets and market. The makets are always fun, and here there were all kinds of food stalls with exciting things to eat - mainly fried, or at least containig a lot of fat/oil. The two fun dishes were all the skewars of meat, potatoes and veg that you can select from the various stalls to have stir fried, and the steam boat containing pieces of ham, broccoli, noodles, sweet peas, crevettes, etc. simmering over a table burner in a pot of water. The highlight of this area is Kontong Shan which is an important mountain peak in the Taoist religion. The hilltop has dozens of picturesque temples to the summit of over 2100m. Unfortunately we arrived there about 3:30 allowing only 3 hours till closing. Access was ridiculously expensive having increased only recently, It was Y120 entrance, minibus Y15 or cable car Y90. We chose not to do the climb because it was hot and we felt that including the hike yup we would once again be rushing ! One person from the group went and seemed to enjoy it. In restrospect, we probably should have gone, "seized the moment" and all that!! While John went off up the mountain the truck drove to the reservoir at the bottom of the mountain and our Chinese guide managed to convince the officials to let us camp up in a picnic site overlooking the reservoir, and Kontong Shan. The view was spectacular and we sat along the edge of the retaining wall with our legs dangling over the road below drinking beer and taking in the beautiful scenery including the breathless gondola ride over the reservoir and up the mountain. 4 of the group (Dave, Jack, Maeve, and Renate) were brave and walked down to the Reservoir, braved the cold water and swam over to the opposite bank. We had a visit from a very smart gentleman, his wife, and daughter. They were all mezmerized by the Truck ,the tents, the fire making, and the food preparation. It turned out that our visitor was the chief of the cable car operation! We had a great dinner of pork kebabs and rice (Ray was on cook duty) in the daylight for once. Around 9 pm (its dark now then) Dave set off some Chinese crackers. They were fun especially since they are illegal in Canada - I was concerned the Chinese army would come rushing up to find out what was going on -- a strip of sparkle and fizzle, and lots of noise. After that most of us retired to our tents although I am sure some remained up.

Friday June 12, 2009 - Lanzhou

2009-06-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

Friday June 12 - Lanzhou We had most of the day free in Lanzhou. Ray and I got up late - 9 am and hunted for something for breakfast other than rice, noodles, etc. Mmm, difficult. We ended up in KFC eating mini chicken burgers and tea and coffee. It was excellent!! Another couple from the Truck wandered in too!! You can't believe how popular KFC seems to be here. We saw so many outlets!! Lanzjou is fairly big, 2,800,000 people. In the 1990s it was considered the world's most polluted city. Its built in the valley floor surrounded by mountains. What we saw was fairly modern and typically Chinese. Tons and tons of residential high rises. The downtown was fun. Chinese people love to eat out. We went to the HezhengLu night market, a collection of food stalls on either side of the street all making up fresh dishes of goats head soup, steamed snails, mutton pitas, stir fry, etc. Ian had goat's artery kebabs. Each stall had its own table around which all the stall patrons sat. It was an exciting place. Other than that - not much was unique. After breakfast Ray had some passport photos taken. He waited patiently while the girl went out on her bicycle to get the prints. I went to the Internet - it was a huge room tucked away on the 2nd floor above the shops and must have held about 50 - 100 computers set up classroom style. Still can't access my blog though!! After that we went into one of the restaurants and picked a dish by pointing to the picture. It was delicious!! What I thought was green and red pepper turned out to be chilli peppers, so poor Ray had quite a time with the hotness. But it was really good. Then it was back to the hotel and on to the Truck and off on our way. We didn't drive far (about 2 1/2 hrs) and made a rough camp on the ridge of a hill looking down over all the terraces. It was a spectacular view, and very unique.

Thursday June 11, 2009 – Liujiaxia Reservoir, Yellow River

2009-06-11T06:08:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning I vaguely heard the alarm, then Ray saying: “don’t go back to sleep.” So I got up, had a lovely hot shower, in the bug infested bathroom, and we went for breakfast. A buffet for Y10 each consisting of shredded carrots, cucumber and garlic pickles, bean sprouts, and noodles – all flavoured; with a little dough-ball and some sort of porridge….mmm! We ate our small quantity quickly and went out the hotel to look for some passport pictures which we needed so that our Chinese group visa could be split into individual visas. What a palava all the Chinese visa rules have caused, enough to dissuade anyone from coming here ..and sooo expensive! Its not even as if China is a highly threatened country. Anyway, across the road from the hotel a big sign said “Cake”, so we went in and managed to buy a currant bun, a coffee (hallejuah!)…haven’t had a coffee for ages, and a coke – no tea unfortunately. We left around 10 am. To catch the boat for our ride on the Lixjiaaxia Dam, a major dam along the middle-upper part of the Yellow River forming the Liujiaxia Reservoir. The dam is located down river from where the Tao River meets the Yellow River . The dam and hydro-electric facility are near Yongjian about 70 km southwest of Lanzhou .

The boat ride on the reservoir lasted about 3 1/2 hours each way and was quite pleasant. It wasn’t too cold and the rock formations of the gorge were quite stunning. The Bing Ling Temple Grottoes qre said to be one of the finest Buddist grottoes in China and because of their remoteness, they have been able to survive and also remain void of tourists. Over a period of 1600 years sculptors hanging from ropes down the steep porous canyon walls, carved 152 niches in the rock and sculpted statues into them. There is a walkway all around making viewing access easy. The art work was sponsored by the wealthy merchants who passed along the Silk Road . There was a magnificent 27 meter high statue of the future Buddha on one side of the canyon and on the other an enormous sleeping Buddha tucked inside a cave. We were also offered a jeep ride up the canyon to see a small Tibetan monastery but due to our time limit didn’t have time. We couldn’t believe that after such a long boat ride we would be limited to 1 hour to see the carvings. It was nowhere near enough time to absorb everything and we felt as if we were rushing around as if we had a boat to catch.. which of course we did…All in all, it was a pleasant boat ride, but the carvings were not really that exciting. All in all, it was another Chinese tourist attraction that left you feeling short of value for the money and effort expended in getting there.

After we got back off the boat around 8 pm we drove to Lanzhou (2 hours), had a late dinner, and checked into the hotel. A group of about 10 of us went out to a Karaoke Bar which is all the rave here. It ended up we were the only ones in the club, but the manager seemed happy to have us. Leon and some others learned how to use the computer and we listened to the songs, danced a bit, chatted, Maeve sang a little, Ian tried to pole dance and al in all a ton of fun was had. We left around 2 am and some others shortly after us. The remainder we hear (4 people) made it through to about 6 am, so not much sleep for them!!

Wednesday June 10, 2009 - Tongren to LuiJiaxia

2009-06-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday morning we left the campsite around 8:25 am and went straight to the Rongwo Gonchen Gompa. Admission to this monastery was only Y18, the cheapest by half that we have been charged so far, and the monastary was so special. Definitely one of the highlights. Tongren itself is a new town and there is a Muslim area and a Tibetan area. We drove all through it and it was clean and comfortable and the people all very friendly and congenial. The Monastery was a maze of passages, temples, chapels, and monks residences dating back to 1301. It seemed that a lot had been destroyed in the cultural revolution, and/or slowly deteriorated over the years and a lot of the temples had recently been rebuilt and a lot were in the process of being rebuilt. The monks were so friendly and relaxed, there were no other tourists, and if a temple was locked and there was a monk around he unlocked it and showed us over. The temples were stunning. The art work, the treasures, the Buddhist statues, all beautiful colours, intricate designs, and telling passionate stories. The lack of military and police presence was noticeable and probably added to the relaxed charm of the monastery.

By 11 am we were on our way once again heading to Lanzhou . We actually had a great opportunity to see the town and surrounding area twice, as our Chinese guide made a mistake and we did a complete circle around town! It was a pretty drive on tree-lined roads, flanked by canola fields and beehives and passing monasteries, chortens, and mud brick homes mixed among the cultivated terraces and flanked by Sedona-looking hill formations. We wove our way up and down mountain passes dwarfed by the grass covered peaks all around us. Sheep and goats swarmed over the hills….and road… and were magnificent with their wide horns, and sandy-white wool coats. Landslides were abundant as could be seen by the piles of rubble lying by the side of the road. Some cars passed us., VW Passat was common. Donkeys stood idly by in the scrub at the side of the road. We passed through some small communities. This area is a mix of cultures including Muslim and we ate lunch in Xunhua Salarzu Zizhixian, noodles again, but not nearly as nice as yesterday. Also, the restaurant was quite dirty with food shoved underneath the table as we hear is customary all over China . We made a quick trip to the supermarket for ice-cream and potatoe chips. I did mention before the food on this trip was definitely not nutritious. In fact, although we buy fruit and eat lots of veg, I still feel starved of good fruit, salad, fibre and protein – there is lots of fat, and carbs in the local foods. The cramp has eased off so I must be back to the right level of electrolytes. How we take eating a nourishing diet for granted. My other bleat for the day is about poo. I am sick of pee and poo – seeing people peeing, seeing other people’s poo in the gross toilets, and then camping in fields of cow patties, yak poop, and little black poop pellets probably sheep and goats. I am sure all my MON friends will appreciate what I’m saying!!

This afternoon’s drive taxed our list of the worst roads we’ve been on, but the drive was utterly spectacular. We crossed the mountains from Yun Hua to Naisigou and LinXia and the scenery was exactly the way I imagined parts of China to be - high grassy mountain ranges and deep gorges. In the first part, we only saw sheep/goats/yaks, but as we came more into the fertile valley we started to see more people, and farming, and right down in the valley you could see the cultivated terraces on the other side. The whole area is dominated by the Hui Muslims mixed in with the Tibetans and Chinese. The Chinese looking Mosques were really sweet, but there were still Mosques with the middle eastern onion look. At the top of the high pass we passed into Gansu Province , and of course the road was dirt. Pat and Richard will remember the Corduroy Road outside Collingwood. Well, multiply that by 10, add in the switchback bends and the ascent up a steep mountain on a dirt road, and you might have an inkling of what the 100 kms we traveled through the mountains was like. Just spectacular though, and everything around us was so interesting and the people just as curious and friendly! The Muslims do not appear as fundamental as some of the Middle East Muslims in that the women wear hijib but not burka’s and seem more integrated with the men.

LinXia used to be an important terminus on the Silk Road but now its an important centre for the Hui Muslims with their while skull caps and wispy beards. It’s a big market town and we drove the length of the market as we passed through.

We thought our climbing was over and that the last 100 km would be civilized, at least I’m sure that is what Sarah was hoping, as she gets very motion sick. But no, after LinXia we once again climbed up into the terraced mountains, this time on a paved switchback road. Just incredible country side. The green fertile terraces built into the sides of the mountains stood out from the mud colour of the clay. We climbed up and up until finally we were driving along the top of a narrow ridge, looking down on either side to small communities built on the valley floors beneath us. We travelled on after dark around 10 pm until we came to the ferry across the Yellow River where we had visions of making a bush camp overnight because the ferryman had stopped working for the day. But….we are in China , and our Chinese guide was able to persuade, for a little extra money, the ferryman to take us across. After that it was another 5 km drive over a small mountain and down ino Liujiaxia.

Gansu Province is one of China ’s most rugged provinces and also about the 5th poorest. The Silk Route ran right through the long narrow province.

The hotel in Liujiaxia left a lot to be desired. We walked in to be met by little cockroach-looking bugs darting out from under the skirting boards, and one managed to make it up to the washbasin and eyed me as I sat on the toilet. I checked out the bed, it seemed clean and bug free, and I was so tired, I climbed in with all my dirt from 4 nights of bush caps and went soundly asleep leaving Ray pottering around showering and shaving, and the bugs to have free rein in the room once again.

Tuesday June 9, 2009 - Golmud to Tongren – The Tibetan Plateau II

2009-06-09T06:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday morning we were up at 7:30 am again and off just after 8:30 am. We continued our drive along the lake and passed an area of huge sand-dunes which was quite unique in the generally grassland area. We are heading to Tongren, or Repkong, at least that is what we hope and are also hoping that there are no police checks along the way which may refuse us access. Tongren is a monastery town of Tibetan monks and Hui shop-owners. The area around Tongren is famous for its thangkas and painted statues and it’s inhabitants are a mixture of Tibetan and Tu, who bear some relationship to the Monguls.

Slowly we descended from the Tibetan Plateau and it seemed that all of a sudden we were back below the tree line. The land became much more green and fertile and things started to look more Chinese than Tibetan. We pulled into Xining (population 770,000) and were struck by the high rise apartments. Xining, at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau, is the capital of the Province and the only large city. It is a Han Chinese outpost, a military garrison, and a trading centre since the 16th Century. Being on cook group we explored the massive Shuijing Xian market for lamb and ended up with beef – 32 yuen a kilo, chopped into bite size stewing pieces and the fat removed. The mutton was the same price, pork a little cheaper. We bought potatoes, carrots, onions, chillis, red pepper and cabbage for 21 and it cost 42 yuen. Once the shopping was done, I went into a typical restaurant with John and had lunch for 4.5 yuen – a cup of green tea and a bowl of vegetable noodles cooked in a sauce with a comfortable bite, shredded fresh carrots, fresh coriander leaves, and something else we couldn’t place. They were delicious!

The last part of our day’s drive followed the Gahe River, a tributary of the Yellow River, along the sides of an impressive gorge. The rocky sides rose perpendicular out of the water bed and were dotted all over with hardy, sure footed, mountain goats. The paved two lane road wound its way, corner by corner, through short tunnels, along the course of the river. You could see pack ponies winding their way along the narrow path on the opposite side of the canyon wall. We came across a Buddhist religious site where a suspension bridge draped with prayer flags crossed the roaring water below to a huge painting of a Buddha on the rocks.

In one stretch we paralleled an aquaduct along the opposite side into a min power station. Making full use of the arable land along the roadside, much like we had seen in Newfoundland last summer, people had planted patches of bright yellow canola and other vegetables, and of course we saw the inevitable road repairs where patches of the beautifully smooth road became rocky challenges that jettisoned those in the back seat of the Truck up to meet the Truck roof high above them. It was an extraordinary area but scarred in places with power dams and gravel works and pipelines although areas of reforestration attempted to cover up the severity of the rocky mountains as we drove out of the canyon into the valley.

As we neared Tongren we saw 3-wheeled cart loads of monks who smiled and waved at us enthusiastically as we drove by them. We saw Chortens (stupas) built at strategic points in the valley; we passed the 400 year old Gomar Gompa with its Gasar Gompa distinctive by its 8 chortens and in the village of Sengeshong there are 2 monasteries famous for their thangka art which is commissioned from as far away as Lhasa. The Lower (Mango) Monastery also has 8 chortens. We camped on the terraces overlooking the town about 7:30 pm and had a pleasant evening chatting around the campfire. I was on cook duty and we hurried to have dinner ready around 10 pm; beef stew “a la Chinese”, mashed potatoes and cabbage.

Monday June 8, 2009 - Golmud to Tongren – The Tibetan Plateau II

2009-06-08T06:03:00.000-07:00

We were on our way by 9 am on Monday morning – the first part was a little scary. We decided to walk out to the road, and Ian our driver chased us.with the Truck! That was good for a rush of adrenaline! We rolled speedily along the highway through the vast sandy plains about 2500 – 3000 meters above sea level passing through the few dirty grimy communities which seemed to be more like truck shops than anything else.

Our original itinerary was to visit a town called Xiahe which was supposed to be very beautiful, typically Tibetan, but a politically controversial area. Despite it all being a go a month ago, the Chinese Government has now decided not to allow us to visit that area – no reason given! So, we are headed to Lake Qinghai, a saline lake situated in the Province of Qinghai. It’s about 3205 m in a depression in the Tibetan Plateau. It is the largest lake in China. Our travel in China is fairly restricted. Our guide has to get permits for each area and the government is at liberty to prevent us going anywhere it chooses. We haven’t “felt” any restrictions personally, but in one of the little towns Ray was hunting behind the main street for a loo and a policeman came up to him and wanted to know what he was doing.

As we started to climb into the mountains, the road startaed to deteriorate and in one section there were large patches of diret road probably where frost has heaved the road and it is now waiting to be fixed. The mountains are pretty desolate and bleak; lots of loose rock and stone covered with a mossy layer of grass. As we approached the lake, the countryside smoothed out into large grasslands littered with sheep, yaks, herders, a team building a pipe line, and tents, probably for nomadic Tibetans.
We drove into Heimahe which a melting pot of different cultures: Mongol, Tibetan Muslim (Hui) and Han. It seemed like just another tiny little grimy town, however while cook group was shopping for lunch Maeve and I wandered down one side of the main street and back on the other. It was one of the priceless moments. The people were fabulous, and each of them had a different “traditional” dress, all so colourful. We stood looking at them in admiration, and they stood looking at us in admiration. They took pictures of us, and we took pictures of them! There were tons of “hellos’, handshakes, smiles, and words spoken that the other didn’t understand. We found a fabulous shop with jackets, police coats, and hats and so 3 of the group (including Maeve) went back and bought a coat, and one person bought a hat. There wasn’t much in the way of food, but the town was rich in culture. The police checked on us a couple of times probably due to the gathering crowd around the Truck.

The shores of the aquamarine lake were uninterrupted grasslands and we had to be careful not to hit a yak, or a sheep as we droe along. Sooon we arrived at Puhahe another community but it lacked the colour and charm of Heimahe. We made a Truck lunch stop just outside the town. It wasn’t the most pleasant stop as there was a nasty smell that I couldn’t place. Anyway, it didn’t stop me and some of the other girls from washing our hair in the river. Felt sooo good after a few nights camping and no showers.

Around 3 p.m we set off for the Bird Sanctuary on Qinghai Lake. It cost 115 yuen each and was really rather disappointing. We were whizzed through the flat wetlands in a little green open air bus to a viewing centre where you could look out at brown striped face geese. I ask you, I couldn’t believe I was paying to see geese when all spring we curse and swear at them in our own garden!! They were very similar to our Canada Geese in size and look, just a different colour. The babies were the same little yellow chicks that bring us so much angst…..and geese poo…. at home. Then we were whisked along a road in another green mini bus to a little harbour area where we climbed up x number of steep steps to see a rock covered with black cormarants. Anyway, we took the requisite number of pictures, but with all the beautiful birds we see in our own garden, and have seen on our other travels, this was a little tame and poor value. Added to that, the paths were breaking up, the signs were deteriorating to the point you could hardly read them, and the toilets were absolutely disgusting! Hardly world class!! We went back to pick up those who remained at the lunch stop and set off on the 70km journey to a spot where we could camp. It was a “merry” Truck as we drove along the road as vast quantities of beer were being consumed by most. Relief probably at getting back to normal altitudes!

We camped in another field just off the road. It was threatening rain when we were pitching the tents but it came to nothing until later on when we were either in bed or going to bed. Fortunately the wind was so strong it blew everything dry as soon as the rain stopped. Ray and I didn’t do too much except sit on the Truck and try to pick out some photos for the blog using Caroline’s lap top that she so kindly lent us. After dinner, it was quickly to bed as we were all so cold.

Sunday June 7, 2009 - Golmud to Tongren - The Tibetan Plateau II

2009-06-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

Sleep came easy and deep until 7:30 am on Sunday morning when once again it was up and on our way continuing through the desert. At one point, we came across a herd of camels (two humps) beside the road, mangy looking, and unexpected. Not sure if they are wild or not, suspect not! The drive was uneventful. The scenery changed from pure desert to a sort of grassy desert within mountains ranges where sheep, goats, cattle, and horse grazed. We stopped for a shopping spree in Dulan to buy food for dinner (Ray is on tonight’s cook team) and other sundry items for the Truck. A very friendly little town where tourists were obviously rarely seen. The curiosity of the people continues to amaze us. After that we had a short drive, for part on a bumpy, dirt road, but otherwise in a fairly straight, smooth tarmac road. We stopped for lunch in a cow patch and made sure we left some scraps! We have noticed the number of bridges that are washed away which always means a detour off the main road through the ditches on either side.

We came to Caka Yan Hu, a salt lake, turned off the road and drove across the sandy plain which was sprinkled with bunches of pretty blue lilac looking flowers and tufts of grass resembling sea-grass or sea-oats, and sheep, cattle, and horses. Immediately, a lone horseman appeared on a little brown scruffy mare with a foal following along. He just hung around us …watching…. curious, but when I came to put up the tent he came to help me which was fabulous since Ray was on cook-group. I did get a bit concerned and wondered if there was any expectation that since he had helped me put up on “sleeping quarter” I might also want to “share” them with him!! Another horseman appeared this time on a much prettier grey. They hung around just watching and chatting with our Chinese guide for a while then disappeared across the grass-land in to the sunset. We had a good night’s sleep, not too cold, and were awakened in the morning by the sound of “mooing” in our ears. Obviously one of the cows had come fairly close to the tent!

June 6, 2009 - Golmud to Tongren - The Tibetan Plateau II

2009-06-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

On Saturday morning the alarm woke us at 10 am. It seemed as if we had just got to sleep, but we dragged ourselves out of bed, showered, and set off for breakfast. The only thing we found was the hotel restaurant which although lovely, was expensive, and only sold Chinese food. It was difficult to come up with something suitable but we ended up with black tea and some little cake-like buns with honey. They served a lovely “steaming cloth” (a jaycloth!) for your face and hands but charged 1 yuen for it!! After breakfast, we checked out of our room and took the Truck into the centre of town.

Golmud (meaning “river”) is a city of about 200,000 built at 2,802 meters. It’s the third largest in the Tibetan Plateau after Xining and Lhasa. Around the city there are 20 salt lakes, and it therefore abounds with natural resources resulting in lots of industry including salt lake chemicals, potassium, magnesium, salt, natural gas, and minerals including gold, copper, jade, precious stones, lead and zinc. Other important industries are petro-chemicals, oil refineries and gas fields. The 2001 GDP totaled 2.215 billion yuen, a rise of 31.9% over 2000. Golmud is planned to become “China’s Salt Lake City.”

We only had a couple of hours to explore the city and what we saw was fun, despite Lonely Planet saying that you only go there if you are “an engineer or an escaped convict.” We wandered around the centre square which had massive floral displays all in pots, some sort of weird “ghost mountain” structure which some of the kids said was for babies (could be a translation disconnect!!) so, we assumed some sort of kiddies rides; a pond on which people took out paddle boats. We saw a roller blade ring, and one level down covered by large umbrellas were hundreds of poole tables with snooker tables in little rooms around the poole tables. It was amazing, we have never seen so many poole tables all in once place. Walking around was like being in a large city in the states with huge advertisement bill-boards. The roads were wide, in some cases tree-lined avenues. The people were so friendly it was amazing. They couldn’t speak English but could say “hello” and we spoke to old and young, male and female, waved to the little kids and generally felt very welcomed. I said to Ray: “We went to the square to site-see, but everyone was gazing at us!!” At least the “gaping” is neutral! I don’t think they see many western tourists here! Everything was in Mandarin and none of the signs in English. After our quick city-tour, we went into Dicos (the equivalent of McDonalds) and had a chicken burger (actually chicken breast which you could eat and no bones) and chips and coke. Mmmm, delicious!!! Then we grabbed a cab with Leon and Natalie whom we had met in Dicos back to the hotel and the Truck.

Around 2:30 p.m we said goodbye to everyone on the second truck “Suzette” including Dan and Zoe and left Golmud on a beautifully hot sunny day for the desert and a bush camp. The scenery is now totally changed. There is a mountain ridge on the horizon on one side of the road but the rest of the scenery is absolutely flat – yellow-brown sand topped with gravel. There are small waist-high bushes in some parts but in others there is nothing. After about two to three hours driving, we pulled off the highway, which is now smooth and paved, and drove about 3 – 5 kms in the desert only getting semi-stuck twice when we all got off the Truck and walked a bit. It was a beautiful camp-site, in the middle of the desert with a ridge of mountains about 3 kms behind us. It was also warm till it got dark around 10 pm, but even then it was no where near as cold as what we had just come through. We cut down one of the scrub bushes and lit a fire around which all of us, minus 1 person, sat and talked, told jokes, etc. until we went off to our tents and bed.

Friday June 5, 2009 - Lhasa to Golmud - The Tibetan Plateau

2009-06-05T05:59:00.000-07:00

After breakfast we voted unanimously to keep driving through to Golmud. The road continued to be awful. Just a mud road in the process of being built into a paved road. The plains are as flat as the eye can see at times, and at others, mountain ranges surround it. We are running along side the railway from Lhasa to Golmud which took 5 years to complete and was opened in 2006. Apparently some cars are pressurized so people suffering from altitude problems can travel comfortably. One chap off the other Truck went to the Dr. in Lhasa because he was feeling so tired. He was told his blood pressure was really low and he should take the train to avoid the high passes. Golmud is located at 2802 m. There are no communities in this northern part of Tibet, but there are lots of yak, small ponies, and deer or antelope scattered over the plains. Again we were stopped at a road block and the road was closed for roadwork's. I think we arrived around 12:30 p.m. so immediately decided to cook lunch, which we did....and then waited. We played some games on the Truck, and then the younger crowd went outside to play hide and seek...and still we waited. It started to get cold, so we wrapped up, and still...we waited. Around 7 p.m the Trucks around us started their engines and to move forward, and we all rushed for a last minute pee, but it was a false alarm...and still we waited. At 8:0 pm sharp, things started to move. There were hundreds of trucks around us, and it was dead slow, moving forward. Trucks vied for position, made 3 lanes where there should have been two thus blocking the road, honked at other trucks trying to usurp their position, but somehow, once again, it all seemed to work and were were on our way. It was a "dozey" day, and I lived it in a haze, snoozing, eating, peeing, and generally paying little attention to the inconvenience around us. We hadn't gone very far, maybe another 20 km, when we had to stop again. Another road closure. This time because they were "paving" the road. We waited some time, then our guide got the OK for us to use a diversion along side the road, so we backed up, got some other tucks to back up, and turned off the road down the bank to the dirt, bumpy track below the road and running parallel to it. By the time we got through all of this it was around 10 pm. At this point we still had 300 km to go to Golmud and we anticipated arriving there around 2 pm It was freezing cold and so we got our sleeping bags out and tucked up on the truck and attempted to snooze. No wonder the Chinese close the roads during the day, they don't want you to se what you are driving on!! We were on and off the main highway to Golmud, mostly off - and it was do incredibly bumpy that you could hardly call it a road. At one point we were driving through a river valley in the Quaidam desert actually along the river bed. So you can imagine, our shock when we looked out the window and saw water surging past us. We had taken a detour, along with hundreds of other trucks, which took us through the river. Then we stated to realize where we were. Then horror set in as we saw the number of trucks burried up to their axles in mud and water. It was a surreal experience, sort of like travelling on the moon (the moon was bright!) and we hoped we wouldn't get stuck because we might be there for days. Fortunately, Ian is a great driver and he barrelled the truck though the river, around the stuck trucks, and intimidating anything coming towards us to move out of the way. We did it. We got through in about 10 mins and were back on the old bumpy roads again. Shortly after, around 12:30 p.m. we stopped for dinner - veggie/egg fried rice. Despite the late hour, the cold and the awful conditions, the food tasted really good at the Huaxing Hotel! Then it was back on the Truck to finis the last 100 km on a decent highway, and snooze some more. At around 5:030 to 5:45 we pulled up to our hotel, unloaded our bags and crawled to the elevator (thank goodness they had one) and our bedroom on the 4th floor. We were in bed and asleep in minutes. The bed was so comfy, nice white sheets and snugly downy, and a bathroom that worked with hot running water. Bliss.

Thursday June 4, 2009 - Lhasa to Golmud - The Tibetan Plateau

2009-06-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

On Thursday (June 4) morning we were up at 6 am to leave our camp site around 7 am. There had obviously been frost over night and it was still very cold in the morning. We just got on to the road from our camp site when Ian and Tamar told us we had a flat tyre. So, we drove to a sunny spot on the road and they changed the tyre in about 27 minutes. Our drive continued through the Tibetan plateau over high passes, again over 5,200 meters, and across the top of the plateau. We arrived at one point on the road only to find out that the road was closed, til 7 pm, so we had a nice Truck journey through the fields at the side of the road. At one point due to the angle the Truck would be lying at on the side of the hill, we all got out and walked. We passed a little three wheeler bike-cart with a high unstable load of grain bags. The passenger was on the upper side of the hill holding on to the load over for dear life so that it didn't tip . They looked really funny, but they actually made it safely! We stopped for lunch in Naghu and as I was on cook group we went off to do the shopping. Once again I was quite surprised at the lack of variety, but we did end up getting some good pork and great vegetables - carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red peppers and a courgette type of vegetable from which they remove the seeds before cooking - I think they all it pumpkin. The other staple seems to be potatoes, so although I haven't been eating much meat - yak is quite tasty but tough - there are usually plenty of veg, rice, noodles, and potatoes to choose from. After lunch we got on our way again, not passing many communities on the high, cold plateau. We came to another road block which was going to be about an hour's wait, so we decided to cook dinner. It was cold, snowing on and off, and we cooked dinner watched by a growing crowd of Tibetans. It can't have been very appealing to them because one guy went away and came back with a packet of biscuits for us Finally, we set off once again on easily the worst road we have encountered so far. We made the decision to drive through the night and stop at 6 am and pitch our tents aiming to leave about mid-day. Next stop was the police check which was good for 1/2 hr. This was going into a new prefecture in Tibet. Just as we were starting to climb over another high pass at Tanggla (5220m) on the muddy, bumpy road, we had a problem with the gear box and Ian and Tamar cheerfully hopped out in the below freezing weather to fix it. Then we were off again. We crossed out of Tibet into Qinghai Province as we crossed the high pass of Tanggula Shanku at 5220. The road was absolutely awful and I think we covered about 200 km in 10 hours or so. We continued bumping and rocking through the night, but at 6 am decided it was too cold, too foggy, and too much effort to pitch the tents so just kept going till breakfast at 9:09 am. The drive was truly beautiful passing snow capped mountains and snow all around us....but it was some of the coldest pee stops we have had!!

Wednesday June 3, 2009 - Lhasa to Golmud - The Tibetan Plateau

2009-06-03T05:57:00.000-07:00

We left the luxury of our hotel in Lhasa around 9 am on Wednesday to travel to Namtso the highest salt water lake in the world at 4718 meters and 1870 square kilometers in surface area. The drive there was quite beautiful following a river through the flat plains bordered by the Nyainqentanglha Mountain Range. The road to the lake took us up and over Largen La at 5186 meters. At the top we stopped for sweet tea and saw what looked like a Mercedes sign, but was actually some Ministry of Transportation sign. The insignia was the same except the circle was broken. We ate lunch in a small typically Tibetan community called Damxung. We then climbed another pass and after the summit, we turned the corner and there before us lay a mass of blue water glittering in the sunshine. This was Namtso Lake. There was a small Tibetan settlement and we camped close by there. The Tibetans are more nomadic here and you see them camped at the side of the road in their tents, with their pick-up trucks outside and animals around them. When we arrived at the lake about 5:30 - 6 pm, we were struggling a little with the altitude but none the less took off walking from where we pitched the tent down to the Lake. It looked as if it was about 20-30 mins away, but it took us about an hour to get there by the time we climbed over 2 fences, crossed the road, and forded a narrow waterway before finally reaching the cold, windy, shores of the lake. On the way, we saw tons of ponies, many with blankets on, and a fascinating array of small wild flowers. The water was quite rough, freezing cold, and not particularly salty. It was so cold that after dinner we went straight to bed in our tents, more to keep warm than sleep. Ray and I joined our sleeping bags and were quite warm till about 3 am when it started to get really cold and so did we. The bevy of neighbourhood dogs started barking around midnight and put on quite a show which kept most of us awake for a while during the night. This was actually one of the worst nights we have had. My heart was thumping, I couldn't breethe and just generally had a hard time. Ray was the same. It took most of the next morning before we became accustomed again to the altitude. It seems that even if you go down for a few days, your body doesn't remember how to cope with the lack of oxygen.

Tuesday June 2, 2009 - Final day in Lhasa

2009-06-02T05:56:00.000-07:00

Today was a free day in Lhasa and Ray and I spent it wandering around town and catching up on the blog and emails and generally being more relaxed. Lhasa was a very comfortable town to be in, but it was also lifeless and suppressed. You know when you become comfortable in a place its time to move on!! The old Tibetan quarter is small and the main part of the city is new and Chinese. We wandered around the Kora for the Sokhung Temple with the pilgrims, and through the local and tourist markets at the back of the temple. We walked through the new part of town and went into a large department store to browse. We also mailed a DVD containing some of our pictures to Alanna as back-up. this was an interesting experience. The customs people had to look through the pictures on the DVD before we could post it. We are told it will take 5 to 10 days to arrive. It was a lovely warm day and we enjoyed ourselves.

Monday June 1, 2009 - Lhasa - Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery and the Monks' Debate

2009-06-01T14:13:00.000-07:00

We were up early and on our little mini bus by 8:30 am. There were a few no-shows after last night and we understand that Ian and Tamar kicked the last person out around 6 am. Ray and I left around midnight and things were already going strong. Its good to have some fun though, and there is not much night life in these T. towns. We drove through the quiet early morning streets of Lhasa past the Dalai Lama's summer palace, Norbulingka, and out along the Lhasa River and the Kyi-Chu Valley up into the snowy mountains, where once again we found ourselves ascending up a switch back narrow road into the heavens. The mountains are very red in this area, partly due to the red rock, the red soil, and the rust brown mossy ground cover. It had snowed overnight and as we ascended we climbed up to the snow level. The mountains were dotted with yaks of all colours: red, brown, black, and brown and white. The trip was about 40 kms and we climbed to 4500 meters. There are two koras leading up to the Ganden Monastery which was our destination, and we could see the pilgrims making their way slowly up the mountain side. It was all spectacular. The monastery was originally built in 1417 by Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa, or Yellow Head, sect of Buddhism. The monastery was destroyed during the cultural revolution and suffered heavy bombing. At that time it held about 10,000 monks. Today it houses about 400 monks. However, it is now slowly being reconstructed. We saw several chapels including one or two "protected" chapels in which women are not allowed. In these the monks consistently chant and play the cymbals and drums. It was noisy, participative and exciting to be a part of. In one chapel I put my head down to a monk and he blessed me by bashing my head with a yellow hat. Once again the buildings were joined together by narrow pathways leading up and down and across the monastery grounds. The statues of the Gods are always so colourful and intricately constructed. Here we also saw a completed mandella covered with a colourful tent to protect it. We are in the middle of a month long festival, and once it is over the monks will sweep up the sand and give it to the farmers to spread on their land to bring them healthy harvests. The 40 km drive back was equally enchanting. We saw a couple of pilgrims making their way to the Jokhang Temple. Our guide said it could take them 3 years to reach the Temple. They walk a few steps, lift their arms to a 45 degree angle from their heads and put their hands which are holding what looks like wooden gloves, together, then throw their bodies prostrate on the ground, murmur some mantras, pick themselves up, and start again. They camp along the way or stay with the villagers, who are eager to see they are provided with sufficient food for the journey. We didn't have time for lunch when we got back to Lhasa before we took off again in the same bus to the Sera Monastery, about 10 minutes across Lhasa. This monastery was founded in 1419 by one of the disciples of Tsongkhapa and is one of Lhasa's two great Gelugpa monasteries, the other being Drepung. Again, during the cultural revolution the number of monks reduced from about 5000 to 600. The charming uniqueness of this monastery was to watch the monks debating in the open air gardens beside the assembly hall. The monks break into small groups of all sizes. The master dramatically fires a question at one of the monks on philosophy from lessons that the monk learned in the morning and at the same time leans towards the monk and claps his hands loudly and sharply. In fact when you look at their hands they are bright red from all the clapping. If the monk answers incorrectly, the master reverses his one hand and claps it the other way denoting an incorrect answer. The masters can get quite irritated with their pupils when they give the wrong answer. In some cases the other monks in the group try to help out the one being questioned and then they themselves earn their master's ire as he tries to stop the assistance. However, as passionate as it all is, it also seems in good humour and there was much laughter among the monks as well as the loud clapping, and constant chattering. Watching all of this you get pulled right into their energy. The monks are passionate, animated, and very committed. Their facial and body expressions are so expressive. We watched for half an hour and then our guide had to drag us away. It was a fascinating experience. Elsewhere in one of the temples in the monastery I was blessed again by the God with a horse head as one of the monks directed me to kneel down, look at the horse head, and then stick my head into a nook and touch the ground with my forehead. Then he completed the blessing by wrapping a white prayer scarf around me. With the smell of incense and petal water, and the warmth from the candles burning the yak butter, and all the beautiful religious art work around you, the experience is one that will be hard to forget. Once back at the hotel, we relaxed for a few minutes, then went out to dinner. We went to an interesting restaurant called Anglomedo, and listenened to a selection of the best Beattles music while we ate pineapple chicken, and stewed beef and chinese vegetables over a "Lhasa" beer. This has replaced the "Everest" of Nepal. Then we checked our emails, went for a night cap with some of the group and bed. On our way back to the hotel, we were very aware of the military/police presence as we watched a line of about 8 - 10 police/soldiers in long trench coats lining the short street that leads from the Jokhang Square to our hotel. The "Bailey's" was interesting too. I am never sure that the liquor is legit. I had one in India and it tasted very strange. The one last night was OK, but I am not sure that it was the same Bailey's we get in Canada. Nothing is what it seems to be here!!

Sunday May 31, 2009 - Lhasa - Potala Palace and Jokhang Temple

2009-05-31T14:12:00.000-07:00

Everything in T. is built on a hillside, which means....stairs, uphill climbs, and breathlessness! This was the case with our visit to the world famous Potala Palace. When you hear of the Dalai Lama, you think Lhasa...the Potala Palace. It looms high on a rock overlooking the city. It was started in the 7th C by the 33rd King of T. It was the home of the Dalai Lamas until the current Dalai Lama fled to India. The Palace has 13 stories, contains over a 1000 rooms, 10,000 shrines, and about 200,000 statues. It consists of two parts, the Red Palace and the White Palace. The White Palace is where the living quarters of the Dalai Lama are. The Red Palace is devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer. It consists of many different halls, chapels, libraries with winding passages connecting a complex array of small galleries. We were stunned when we were told we were only allowed in the building for an hour. The reason given is that so many people come to Lhasa to go ghrough the Palace, the only way to preserve it is to restrict entrance. So, you have to go with a T. guide, you have to "book" your visiting time, and you cannot spend more than an hour inside. The Palace is truly beautiful. Every inch of it is carved ornately and painted. Beautiful drawings cover the walls, and T. carpets adorn the floors. It is built out of solid stone with steep wooden staircases inside. There are masses of small statues lining the walls in many of the rooms. As well, the large statues of the Gods and Goddesses are always engaging structures. We literally followed a set route through the buildings together with masses of tourists, mainly Chinese and some Westerners. The Palace was so spectacular, that all the commotion didn't reduce the impact but more time would have been decidedly preferable. After the Palace we did a big sweep on foot through the new town. We passed through a huge square which was built to commorate the Chinese victory over T. in 1958. Because of this it is the subject of much controversy and is consequently heavily guarded due to the potential for destruction and protest. We walked through a park with a man-made waterway and waterfountatins, but no water! Then we walked into The Barkhor. This is in the old city and is an area of narrow streets and a public square located around Jokhang Temple. Military presence in the Square was huge, but nonetheless, the pilgrims were immersed in their kora, turning the prayer wheels, and lying prostrate on the ground on their way to the Temple. The Jokhang Temple was the first Buddhist temple to be built in T. For Ts, it is the most sacred and important temple in Tibet - because of its age and because of the God it symbolizes -. It too was very crowded but mainly with Ts paying their respect. The unique part about our visit was the ability to circle the Buddha in one of the chapels together with the people who had donated money to have the Buddha painted with gold paint. It was a very frenetic experience, as Ts seem quite frenetic about their prayer. So the energy level was high, and the monks tried hard to keep the crowd moving in the very tight space around the huge statue. It was all a very special visit. Late afternoon we wandered through the old town, looked in a bookshop, picked up laundry, had dinner, then spent some time at a group party organized by Ian and Tamar who appear to have lucked out and been given the "honeymoon" suite on the top floor complete with lounge, bedroom, sauna, chicouzy, private balcony and sun room.

Saturday May 30, 2009 - Gyantse to Lhasa, 254 kms

2009-05-30T14:11:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful drive along the Friendship Highway today. We left after breakfast around 8:30 am and were overawed at our views. We arrived in Lhasa around 3:50 pm. The drive took us up and down four high passes on a spectacular 2 lane road complete with a thousand switchback bends: Simila Pass - 4352 meters; Kampa La Pass - 4794 meters; Gambala Pass - 4970 meters; and a fourth whose name I don't know. We passed the Mala Hydro Power Station and its dam; the Karola Glacier at 5560 meters and drove alongside the Yamdrok Tso (lake) for ages. Its the third largest lake in T. and the colour, deep turquoise and blue, is stunning. We did some shopping in Nangantse, a small T. town for lunch. I was surprised at the lack of nourishing food and the vast quantities of sweets (candies), cakes, and other non-nutritious foods in the supermarket. We went to a bakery and got some flat, sweet, bread buns and to a fruit/veg shop for tomatoes, cucumber, chilis, and water melon. Then we picked a beautiful view along the side of the lake and ate it. The only downer was the cold. It was freezing. But the view of the lake and the high snow caps in the distance made up for all our shivering. Our hotel, The Lhasa Yak Hotel, in Lhasa is fabulous, very T. but with all the western accessories: phone in the loo, hairdryer, flat screen TV, bar, and beautifully furnished. After arriving, Ray and I sought out a laundry, left our dirty clothes (50 peices for 108 yuen, $16.00) and then walked the huge block around the hotel. There are shops galore and all types of fashion clothes, shoes, sports clothes, etc. all at great prices. This is by far the most civilization we have seen for a long time. The sad part is the overwhelming Chinese presence over the T. culture. At every corner a square is cordoned off and two or four policemen stand back to back on guard. We have also seen several small platoons of army marching in formation down the roads. All are dressed in riot gear with knee pads, guns, helmuts, some with face masks. All have been extrememly friendly to us and seem excited at showing us their English language skills. We had dinner in the restaurant beside the hotel - the Dunya, once again in a group. This group really sticks together and is very cohesive. There is quite a mix of ages and I think that is what makes it work. We came to bed around 9:30 pm. Can't say we felt great today. Mainly my cold, Ray's cough, and stomach discomfort!

Friday May 29, 2009 - Gyantse

2009-05-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

We left Shigatse and our fabulous hotel around 8 am this morning and we munched on bananas, oranges, and some sweet pastries for breakfast as we drove along in the Truck. Daphne was good as gold! We drove through a beautiful fertile valley for about 2 hours to Gijantse. This is the 4th largest town in T. It is 3977 meters high and 254 kms south west of Lhasa in the fertile plain of the Nyang Chu Valley and on the Friendship Highway which connects Kathmandu to Lhasa. We hear that the town was nearly destroyed in 1954 and was largely emptied of people by the Chinese in 1959, but we are not sure why. Also during the cultural revolution the Fort, the Monastery and Kumbum were ransacked or destroyed. The BBC documentary "A Year in T." focused on the lives of ordinary T. living in this city.On arrival we went straight to the Palcho Monastery and the Kumbum. The monastery was built around the 1400s but was not as big or as elaborate as the one we saw yesterday. Nonetheless, it was fabulous. We saw the Thanka art on the floor in the Assembly Hall. This is Buddhist monks making mandellas with coloured sand, but it looks like they are painting. The mandella isn't permanent, and after some religious rituals it is destroyed. The art in the monasteries is incredible. Many of the statues of the Gods are elaborately constructed, the walls are covered wtih detailed paintings,and beautiful banners hang from the high ceilings all of which completes the monasteries and temples to appear like galleries of religious art.Coming out of the monastery, we entered the Kumbum, the largest chorten or stupa in T. It is six storeis high, with a total of 77 chapels in which are over 10,000 murals and many statues of Gods and Goddesses. It was fascinating climbingh a level, 3 times around clockwise, then on tho the next level. The bonus was the views from the top which looked out over the city to the fort and the mountains encircling the town.When we finished at the Monastery we checked into the hotel then went for lunch with some of the group from the Truck.After lunch, we went to the Gyantse Dzong Fort. It was originally constructed in 1390 to guard the southern approach to the valley. It is built on a piece of rock jutting out of the valley floor. The story goes that 500 soldiers of the Gyantse dzong held the fort for several days before they were overcome by the British forces in 1904 during the "Younghusband" expedition. It is largely in ruin, but the steep and sometimes dangerous climb to the top was well worth the effort to see an even higher view over the city.By that time it was 4 pm and Ray and I rushed back to the hotel for an emergency loo visit. Lunch perhaps, we guessed.For the rest of the day we wandered around the small town and then used the Internet to try to catch up with the blog.The evening was cold without the sun and I put on lots more clothes before going out for dinner. Then back to the room for bed at 9:30 pm. Guess, its the altitude, plus, I have a bad cold and I'm just wiped by bed-time!

Thursday May 28, 2009 - Shigatse and Chanting with the Buddhist Monks

2009-05-28T14:09:00.000-07:00

Shigatse (elevation 3840 m), population 98,700, is the second largest city in T. It sits in a plain in Western T. at the confluence of the Yarlong Tsangpo and Nyangchu Rivers. About 97% of the population is T. but it has a comfortable feeling of being Chinese and T. all at the same time. Its an ancient holy city that is the traditional seat of the Panchen Lama (who ranks second after the Dali Lama in the Buddhist faith). We liked it. It has none of the chaos of Indian cities and Kathmandu. It seemed so ordered, and peaceful and the people were absolutely charming. You can't have much verbal communication because of the language, but there were many times when women would stare, make eye contact, and a special meaning would pass between us. In addition, a lot of the older men were delighted to be able to say "hello", and a group of younger men were also totally fascinated they followed us for quite a distance, stopped to look at whatever we looked at and smiling profusely whenever we looked at them. We also had fun looking at a couple of 200 and 150 motorbikes and took each other's picture sitting on them, egged on by the amused sales person!!In the morning we went to the Tashilhunpo Monastery. It was founded in 1447 by the first Dalai Lama and was fortunate to survive the cultural revolution. As with most buildings in T. it is built up a hillside. Its quite a beautiful compound containing the monks' residences and the 9 temples or stupas joined together by quaint narrow stone lanes where you catch quick glimpses of the saffron and orange robes of the monks as they scurry from building to building. We went into all the temples and moved all the prayer bells, well, that's impossible, but moved a lot of them, and just marvelled at the incredible art in the buddha statues and the paintings on the walls, ceilings, and pillars. The colours are brilliant and the atmosphere is alive with the chants of the monks and the swish of their robes as they move about. There were three extra special memories: First the 26 meter high Buddha, huge just huge, and his eyes smiled down at you no matter where you were. Second was watching the locals come in and spoon their yak butter around the base of the candles giving their blessings to the Buddha and earning their merit for their current life. Third was the experience of being in the midst of the assembly hall with 200/300 Buddhist monks chanting around me. I never thought we would get to experience anything like that. Surprisingly, some of the monks spoke to us, and said hello. Then all of a sudden there was a loud shout, and the chanting ended, the monks flung off their outer robes, and hurried out of the hall. It was an exhiliarating moment that I didn't want to end.After visiting inside the monastery grounds, we did the kora, or pilgrimage walk around the perimeter along with many others on a pilgrimage. There were many prayer wheels, pretty little chappels, prayer flags, mani stones, yak horns, and the sweetest little blue flower which beat all odds by growing on the barren rocky ground surrounding the perimeter wall.The rest of the afternoon we spent just walking around town. Bought some sunglasses, went into a "mall" and looked at the electronics. They had some neat computerized gadgets, and solar panels, probably for heating water. We thought that a little different as we don't think they've hit the malls in Toronto yet!Late afternoon, we went to the Internet but frustratingly I am totally blocked out of my blog.In the evening we went to Tashi's for dinner. I had a cheese and tomato pizza, with a difference, and Ray had a yak pizza! We sat with a group from the other Truck and Ian and Tamar. Then back to the hotel and bed around 10:45 pm.

Wednesday May 27, 2009 - Farewell to the Elusive Everest

2009-05-27T14:07:00.000-07:00

We left our hotel after breakfast around 9:00 am, a dreary group, but hopeful that we had one last chance to capture a glimpse of the magnificent snowcap of Everest. We hadn't been going awfully long before the Truck over heated and quit and Ian and Taｍａr had to do another repair job. We started up the Giacuola Pass (5,230 m) and just before the summit had an opportunity to see Everest. Unfortunately, it is obvious that the bad weather has continued and the peak was hidden behind a mass of black clouds despite the beautiful blue skies everywhere else. We moved along The Friendship Highway which passes along the side of a river on the floor of a valley surrounded by weather-beaten hills with the odd glimpse of the white capis of mountains in the background. We passed yaks grazing on the sparsely vegetated ground, herｄs of sheep and goats together with their keeper, ａｎｄ　small communities with the typically Tibetan houses, all the time struggling with the Truck over heating. We stopped for lunch in one of the typical villages, Lhatse, population 2000 and elevation 3950 m. Couldn't really face anything Tibetan so had a plate of french fries. This holiday has been atrocious on the nutrition side!! After lunch, I went shopping for the Truck and boughｔ (11) a plastic basin (7 yuan); (2) a 10-pack of toilet paper - 25 yuan; (3) two perma markers - 6 yuan. Then back on the Truck and off again. Up over another pass, Cuola, 4500 m and on again. Once again the Truck broke down, this time everyone thought the engine had blown, but Ian got it going and we set off again. The Truck has caused a ton of problems and people are really sick of it all. Its been a tough few days let alone with all the stｒuggles of the Truck. Ian and Tamar have done a superb job at keeping their cool and fixing everything that breaks, but many are saying that Dragoman should not put a Truck on a trip like this if it is not in the appropriate condition.
We had 80 kms left to do at 5:13 pm, and made it through to Shigatse for 6:15 pm. We had to go straight to the police station to have the Trucks accepted to China and Ian and Tamar had to pass a driving test. We arrived at the Holy Land Hotel about 8 pm. Its fabulous! Nice and clean. TV, a/c, shower cubicle, brand new toilet, hot water, telephone and a fabulous computer panel to play with that controls everything in the room such as lights, TV, maid call button, etc. There is also a haｉｒ　dryer. We quickly went out to eat and funnily enough when we got there, many others from the group turned up theretoo. Just can't get away from each other!! Food was great. Back to hotel and sleep about 11 p.m.

Tuesday May 26, 2009 - Disappointment

2009-05-26T14:06:00.000-07:00

We woke up this morning to heavily falling snow. What a disappointment. No site of Everest or any other mountain. The road to the next base camp is closed, no buses are running because of the storm, and to walk up the 7 km over the snowy-stoney road would be horrendous at 5150 meters above sea level, so, as determined as we were to make the hike, for once, we will take the sensible road. We are stuck at the "New Base Camp" waiting to hear reports on the road back which includes going back over the high pass. We are not sure that the Trucks can make it safely because of the storm. Dan is putting chains on Suzette, but Ian is hesitant to do so on Daphne because of the tyre size. The other group has 3 or 4 people who are not feeling well. During the night one lady had oxygen, one man was being monitored for oxygen, one person was vomiting, and several others were feeling rough. They have a real reason to try to get to lower heights as soon as possible. The real fear is that if the storm sets in, we might be stuck here for the next week, so despite the fact we are all wanting to wait to see if it clears so we can see Everest, our guides are advising us to get out. [We did hear later that a Norwegian climber was stuck on the mountain due to the weather during the time we were at Base Camp.] Our Truck group seems to be holding up quite well with the altitude, and really apart from feeling very out of breath very quickly when you try to walk anywhere fast, Ray and I are generally feeling fine.Dan ended up leaving ahead of us and Ian finished off his never-ending repairs on Daphne. Poor Daphne seems like a tired old lady, gear and clutch problems mainly. Shortly after, in the snow and cold, we set off, a weary disappointed group, happy to be going back to lower heights but desperately sad not to have seen "The Goddess of the Universe", one of the main highlights of the trip.We made it to the bottom of the high pass, and Daphne quit. Ian is so patient. He didn't say a word. He and Tamar quietly got out and set about repariing the problem. I can't imagine what they will say to each other tonight out of the sound of all of us travellers. About an hour later we started our climb in the thick fog, on the snowy and slushy roads. There must have been about a foot of snow, and still snowing. Good Daphne made it up one side of the pass, down the other side, through the valley, and out on to the main road with no further mishaps. Once back on the Friendship Highway, it wasn't long before we had a check-point and a couple of very smart polite young men came on the Truck to check all our passports. After about 1/2 hour we were allowed through and after a short drive arrived at our hotel for the night - Qomo Lang Ma in Baipa. No snow, still cold, but seeming luxury with hot water. We ate dinner and crashed around 10 pm. We certainly can't say this has been a "party" group. But then the past few days have been quite hard on the body and we all, young and old, feel in need of sleep.

Monday May 25, 2009 - Everest - Goddess of the Universe

2009-05-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

Everyone is in a joyous mood this morning as we are going to see "Everest". We are mostly suffering a little in one way or another with the altitude. Bad headaches, the feeling of being "drunk", as Jack one of the guys on the trip said, and shortness of breath being the main inhibitors to our elation. We set off from the hotel around 8:30 am. The road to the first check point, about 40 nminutes, was paved, straight, quiet and easy to drive. Daphne has behaved well! The next 102 km were spent on a dirt switch back road slowly climbing through the Himalayas to Everest Base Camp. The scenery is totally desolate. The foot hills so far as we can see are bare, stony, and vertical-sided. The skies should be blue, but they are not! They are grey, and, in the distance you can see the mist hovering. We stopped on Youla pass (5100 meters) at the entrance to the Qo'molangma. It was snowing, a light drizzly rain-snow. There wasn't much to see as it was so misty and I felt a bitter chill of disappointment. We passed two Chinese guys on bicycles, I am assuming mountain bikes since as Sarah says: "We are on a bloody big mountain!" What a feat! The climbs are massive but there are some some declines too, all on this switch back road, literally a series of alternating "U"s joined together. After one bend we saw below us a small Tibetan community "Wolong Hamlet", with about 30 houses. It was set alongside a dry stony river bed. Nonetheless, the fields and terraces were "bright" leaf green, ad made a welcome contrast against the muddy yellow/brown of the hillsides. When we eventually passed through the community we could see the women in the fields working along with their little pony carts. The women wear a really warm long black skirt, with a pretty coloured blouse and an apron. Most have ski jackets or some other warm jacket on top of that. Some of them have wonderful silver buckles to hold everything to gether and little trinkets hang from these buckles. On their feet, they wore the regular Tibetan shoes. We stopped for lunch at Tashi Dzom. We went Chinese and had vegetable fried rice ... again! It was delicious and tons of hot green tea which really warmed us up as we were already freezing cold. The local public toilet was an interesting experience. Use your imagination....and I'll leave it at that. We settled down to the drive on the bumpy road and it started to snow, and the fog and clouds closed in around us. Next stop was the famous Rongbuk Monastery at 5100 meters or 17000 feet.This lies at the foot of the Rongbuk Glacier which we could't see. It is the highest monastery in the world. The original monastery which housed 300 monks and nuns was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. This was a new one we were visiting, and there are now only 32 monks and nuns. The decoration is always rich in colour, interesting in design, and tells many stoires about the Buddhist faith. The monastery is only 5 minutes drive from the New Base Camp where we checked out the "hotels" - tents with fireplaces which hold about 5 people. We are trying to decide whether to stay here or at the monastery in a hostel, but in my mind there is no decision. It has to be here! The atmosphere is alive, despite the snow, cold, and fog. The hotels are built in a big square with vendors taking up a row on the inside of the "hotels". I counted 21 down one side, so lets say about 10 across the top which would make a total of 62 tents holding 5 people each. We chose to stay in the Xut Yu Zhu Feng Zang Can, Tel: 13889022089! The tent is arranged with long Tibetan couches on 3 sides with a fire in the middle burning yak dung. The fourth wall is lined with items for sale such as coffe, pepsi, beer, red bull, cigarettes, and other sundries.There is a door but most of the day its been open an covered wtih a rug. There is a tent adjoining this one to the back of it which houses a family of 3 and this is where the cooking takes place. The loos are outside in a cabin towards the river at the back of all the tents. After arriving we took short walks around and tried to keep warm and lift our spirits. Its probably in the 5 - 0 C range and fully snowing a blizzard. We had Tibetan noodles for dinner and a pot of sweet tea. It's very milky black tea made with yak milk ad sugar - its delicious and we've drunk gallons of it. The beds were made up head to head on the couches with about 4 thick covers and a woolen blanket and a pillow. We also got our silk sleep bags, and sleeping bags. I put mine on top of their covers and uder the blanket and was toasty warm all night in my Mummy bag. The night wasn't exactly peaceful; we had a group of irrate visitors who stormed in turning on the lights and held a heated discussion before leaving - we were speculating they were demanding money for something!; some one's cell phone kept going off; and the baby woke up crying a few times. I woke up one time to feel my heart thumping really hard but steady, so I tried some of the yoga tecniques for breathing and lowering your blood rate. Ray sat up most of the night as it was just more comfortable on his breathing, and in the morning we all woke up with splitting headaches. However, after drinking some water and eating the headaches started to subside and we generally felt better.

Sunday May 24 - The Rooftop of the World

2009-05-24T06:19:00.000-07:00

The plan was to be wakened up by Tamar at 4:45 am for a 6 am start in the Truck. We set our alarm and Ray was up, mattress and sleeping bag rolled up. I remained cuddly in my sleeping bag. I said: "Tamar hasn't called us yet! I wonder what that means?" Within seconds, Tamar was making her rounds of the tents in the darkness to tell us "Sleep in; don't get up yet; Dan won't be able to make it back in time, and our Daphne wouldn't be ready in time to make it through the checkpoint before 7 am." I snuggled up again in the tent; Ray went to make a cup of tea. The next thing I heard was Tamar going back around the tents saying: "Get up quickly everyone. The Truck will be here at 6 am and we have to make it through the check point which is 5 - 10 minutes away by 7 am." So, now I had to scurry to get ready. We tidied up the campsite and loaded the Truck leaving at 6:35 am. Everyone clapped and cheered when we got through the check point. We retraced our steps of Friday night and found ourselves driving on the rooftop of the world, a vast plateau about 4000 to 5000 feet above sea level. The landscape resembles a yellow desert of gently rounded velvet-looking mountains behind and rising above which were a range of high, jagged-peaked snow-capped mountains highlighted against the blue sky. We saw the sun rise on Shishibama at 8012 meters. We passed through Pangla Pass at 5050 meters adorned with prayer flags and mani stones. We stopped for an early lunch by the side of a river amidst the splendour of the mountains around us. Shortly after we got back on the road, we came to a police check who told us "Road Closed". No matter how hard we negotiated he wouldn't let us through. They then capitulated to making us wait till 3 p.m. about 1 hr 45 minutes later. So we stopped and waited by the side of the road watching the locals go by with their horse drawn carts or on the backs of their little ponies. At 3 pm sharp, we were back at the check-point but the guy tried to say "no" again. Our guide was very persuasive this time and in the end he let us through. We drove for a while taking detours off the highway from time to time. Then we had problems with Daphne. She wouldn't allow Ian to change from high to low range. At one point the guys got off to empty all the bags off to try to find a spare part. We had to stop several times after that and then came across another road block around 5 p.m. who wouldn't allow us through till about 8. So we drove off on a little side road across the river plain. But this came to an end when we came to a river and the bridge only had one solid tread and the way through the river seemed too soft. We made a cup of tea on the propane gas camp cooker while sending the two Tibetan guides back to the nearest village to see if there was another route. They never did come back and we had to pick them up in the small town when we retraced our steps to the main road. The water took ages to boil as the high winds tried hard to blow the flame out. Every so often a mini sand-storm would sweep through and cover everything it passed with a layer of sand-grit. At one point a herder came by with a huge herd of horses and yaks and they moved through the water beside us and swept all around us passing in seconds. 8 pm came eventually and we set off again and had a fairly consistent drive on the rocky road surfaces with only regular wee stops due to all the water we are all consuming. The air here is extrememly dry and throughout the drive we noticed how little wild-life there is. We have heard a few birds but not much else. Even when I semi-climbed the mountain there was nothing that caught my eye. We arrived at the Snow Leopard Guesthouse in Old Tingri around 9:30 p.m. and were so excited to be able to have a hot shower. But only till 10 p.m, then the hot water was turned off. After that we had somethig to eat which was actually very good, and crawled into bed around 11:15 into a deep, deep sleep. The effects of the altitude have reduced quite a bit since we started taking the altitude pills, but we still feel the breathlessness and the headache. The good thing is, if you can sleep, you generally sleep well. Old Tingri is at about 4000'. It is the last town where people trekking on Everest can stock up. It is typically Tibetan. Basically one street lined with shops and houses built in the typical Tibetan style with the colourful band of religious colours protecting the building. There was also a military camp and next morning we heard the sounds of the soldiers going through their daily workouts. The hotel was the "best" in town. It was actually terrific. The room was heated when we arrived, but freezing whe we woke up! It had a private bathroom with running water (hot between 10 pm and 12 pm). The unique parts were the lighting, which was so dim you could hardly see, and I just about fell off the toilet seat because the seat wasn't attached!! Did I mention that the heating in most of these deserted Tibetan villages is solar and you see rows of solar panels built facing the sun in the centre of the villages.

Saturday May 23, 2009 - Altitude Acclimatizing

2009-05-23T06:12:00.000-07:00

We got up late trying to catch up on sleep from our late night/early morning adventure. Had a tea and a plate of cornflakes and milk and 1/2 a banana which seemed so civilized. We all enjoyed the peacefulness and the warm sun and of course our splendid view. Ray and I went for a long walk and came back in time for brunch: fried egg, fried potatoes, tomatoes and chipati. We feel so spoiled. We had a nap mid-afternoon, and around 5 or so Ray was doddering around and I climbed about 1 1/2 hours up the mountain side behind the camp site. It was very rocky and sandy and footing was quite difficult but the views made up for the breathless effort (remember I was at 3700 -3800 meters above sea level). I came across a deserted stone cabin with prayer flags and surrounded by manin stones. Found the source of the town's water supply. Saw a myriad of pretty little ground cover flowers. At the point that a big black wooly yak looked up from grazing and stared me in the eyes before taking a step towards me, I decided it was time to go down! This was much easier as I slipped and slid through the loose stones, squelched over the marshy grass, and climbed down over the boulders. I enjoyed the peace and tranquility of the mountain, the quiet moments of reflection. It was also an opportunity to accpt the reality that I was actually in Tibet. How lucky I am. On my way up the mountain I had noticed Daphne leaving the camp site; then shortly after that Suzette left. When I arrived back, I discovered that Daphne had broken down and Suzette had gone to the rescue. We proceeded with the evening rituals of camp life when about 7:30 pm our leaders called us together. Daphne was in the garage with gear box problems. At this time on a Saturday night it was unlikely we would find a mechanic. So things looked very grim. We had several options: (1) Dan would leave asap with Suzette and drive to Old Tingri, last stop before Everest, with his group, then come back for us, but this was controlled by his ability to drive there and back then there again between 9 pm and 7 am because of the road closures; (2) Daphne would be fixed and we could leave at 9 pm the following night and drive through the night; or (3) we could find local transport to take us some or all of the way; and a myriad of options of each of the options. After much discussion, plan 1 was chosen. So, we would eat dinner and the other group would pack up as quickly as possible and be on their way as soon as possible. Everyone pitched in, tents came down, dishes were washed, cook tent tidied, and Suzette loaded. Then we waved good bye. Four of our group volunteered to go with them so when they left, the 13 of us remaining huddled together and listened again to all our options all of which had to cope with altitude, getting to Everest, Truck, accommodation, and alternative transport. Then we toasted marshmallows around the fire and went to bed. The night was not peaceful and I slept little. Twice locals arrived at the camp site to speak to Tamar. One time she was told that we had to be ready in 15 mins for a ride! The centre pole of the cook tent collapsed on top of Tamar who was sleeping in it - freezing - because her sleeping bag ended upon the other truck; and Tamar heard some animals sniffing around the tent during the night obviously intent on the food inside. This is the fun part of overlanding - dealing with the unexpected!

Friday May 22 - Challenges of Overlanding and Altitude

2009-05-22T06:18:00.000-07:00

We didn't leave Nylam till mid-day. Ray was feeling really sick and headachy with the altitude, and I was feeling a lot of tightness in the chest, and headachy as well. So we were a sorry bunch as we climbed on the Truck for the short drive to the Caves. Along the way we met a couple of police checks, and the seond one wouldn't let us through saying the roads were closed from 7 am to 9 pm. So, we turned back and found a unique camping spot on the lower slopes of a range of 800 meter mountains. In the afternoon Ray stayed in the tent and slept while I went for a walk with the group. The walk seemed to help the headachy feeling, and when I came back, I felt much better. We have a Tibetan guide with us and he spoke to one of the villagers in Gangka who allowed us to see over his homestead. The houses here are quite beautiful. They are made out of stone or brick, held together with dried mud plaster and coloured off white. At the top at the join with the roof there is a broad band painted in religious colour's denoting white for compassion, red for wisdom, and black for energy and power. There is a window in some rooms. The house is built around the courtyard where the hens and goats and dogs live. The rooves are flat and stacked with firewood or yak dung cakes. The houses inside are full of stuff. We saw some beautifully hand painted cabinets, some beautiful carved wood cupboards and a beautiful copper water urn. In the middle of one room there was a television and one of the other main rooms had beds in it and a shrine with prayer wheels. It looked like a husband and wife with 5 kids and a grandfather lived there. They were all very agreeable to photos and got a big charge out of reviewing them. We weren't sure how "set up" it was, but none the less, it was the home of a Tibetan family living in a small desolate village in the Tibetan plateau. Next we went down to Milaraba Buddhist Practice Monastery. The story from our Tibetan guide is that there was an old monstery there and a new monastery was being built. Two years ago, building was stopped, and everything, including the Caves, is now padlocked. No worries, it was simple, but interesting as this is a very religious area. There are lots of prayer flags and mani (or maybe mali?) stones and yak horns printed with sutras which represent active merit and serve to seek higher levels of rebirth. Then we walked back to the campsite through the small community living along the water's edge. Dan and Joey were in charge of dinner - delicious barbecued pork and chicken, with boiled potatoes, sliced tomatoes, and coal-slaw. So welcoming to us after the Asian flavours. During supper, Tamar told us of some changes of plan. The next section of the road also had road closures and we wouldn't be able to follow our original plan of driving further up to the pass during the day for acclimatisation, so we would do it that night - if we all agreed, as the road would then be open. So we finsihed dinner, cleaned up and climbed into the Truck armed with our sleeping bags and warm clothes. We drove for 2 1/2 hours to the Pangda Pass t 5050 meters. The road was largely unpaved, and we drove through the rocky mountains so it was an incredibly tough drive. Added to that was the fact that where the road was closed and a detour provided, it wasn't marked. On one occasion we ended up coming to an abrupt halt as there was about an 8 foot by 1 foot deep gash across the road. I don't think the Truck would have made it!! When we got to the pass it was freezing, but we stayed for over an hour, walking around and getting back into the truck to warm up all the time fighting the tightness in the chest, the shortness of breath, the headache, and for some nausea. What are we doing to ourselves!! We had no concept of the magnificence of the scenery. After 1 1/4 hrs we climbed back into the Truck, and drove back down the way we had come and crawled into our tents. It had been raining while we were away, and our tent had leaked, so our sleeping bags were wet and damp. None the less, altitude does wonders, and we were soon asleep.

Wednesday May 20 and Thursday May 21 - Nepal to China

2009-05-20T06:16:00.000-07:00

We left The Last Resort around 8:30 am for our short drive to the C. border. We continued our drive along the canyon walls. In parts, where there had been mud slides, or wash-outs, the asphalt road became almost unpassable rock and boulders. The road was too narrow for 2 vehicles to pass, which resulted in one vehicle having to back up if we didn't meet at a wider spot. The journey was beautiful though as we went up and down and around and through majestice steep mountains heavily carpeted with green trees. After about 2 hours we arrived in Kodari for the start of the border crossing process. Once again the border town was a narrow street running through the centre of town. The passengers moved swiftly through the exit process and once back in the Truck we amused ourselves watching the commotion in the street. The trucks of course were blocking everything: officious looking policemen kept signalling us to move, but Ian was in the customs building dealing with the paper-work to get the Truck out of Nepal. So we just sat there, adding to the blockage! After about 1 1/2 hours we were on the Friendship Bridge between Nepal and C. The process of entry took quite a bit longer - actually till about 5 pm. First, the passengers got out at the C. customs to fill out a health declaration and have our temperatures taken. Apparently, someone had crossed at that point the day before with suspected swine flu. We wondered what would happen if anyone had a temperature. We later learned that an Italian group was held up for 5 days because one person had a temperature. Then we carried our luggage over to the customs building to be sprayed - we suspect with a mixture of dettol? - then we walked through the immigration/customs hall. All the officials were very professional and polite and wished us a good visit to C. But, the Truck was not cleared by then, so we literally lay around in the sun, marvelling at the scenery, sleeping on our napsacks. I was really not too well - stomach ache and feeling nauseous - so just lay and slept as best I could lying on the ground propped up against my backpack. Then, when we thought that the Trucks wouldn't be getting through that day, they appeared around 5:30 pm but we couldn't leave the area because the drivers had to report back to customs the next morning. So, we drove to Zhang Mu (2300 meters above sea level), about an hour away, once again marvelling at the beautiful scenery, and rattling about in the Truck on the bumpy-mountain roads. We are staying in the Hotel Gang Gyan - not what could be described as 5-star, but frankly I climbed from the Truck into bed and slept right through until 9:30 am the following morning. Ray had dinner, exchanged some money and came to bed about 10 -10.30. I didn't hear a thing! Next morning Ray dragged me out of bed to visit the Dr. He had had some trouble with his ears when we climbed the mountain at The Last Resort and wanted to check this out so decided I may as well see the Dr. too. So after a "hot" shower (yes it was hot!) we walked a few paces up the main street to the clinic accompanied by our guide. Ray was told "No problem, happens to the locals all the time!" I was given about 4 different pills, told to take 3 of each of them twice a day, and given strict instructions not to eat meat, or fried food and to drink boiled water, not mineral water. I've taken the pills today and so far, so good - no more vomiting and the pain in the stomack is easing off. I was also told I was in excellent shape - good body muscle and excellent blood pressure, etc.!! White waiting for the Trucks to be cleared through customs, we have literally spent the day dodging around the small town. Walked up and back on the main street, went to the ATM, found an Internet, but couldn't hook up to my blog; watched the traffic jams and are now sitting in the hotel, listening to the heavy beat of the rain on the aluminium roof tops. Shortly, around 8, we will drive for 4/5 hours to Nylam where all going well, we will stay the remainder of the night in a hostel. The trucks passing through town are priceless. The road is about 15 - 20 feet wide and there are always little green cars of white SUVs parked on one side or the other. If no cars are parked, then the two-lane road becomes a 3-lane road. The trucks just keep driving and they literally squeeze through spaces with less than inches between them and the other vehicle, wall, etc. No one loses their temper, although everyone is honking, and volunteer helpers gesticulate instructions wildly - but somehow, it all just works. Everyone slides forward, slides back, and pulls in a bit further, and slowly, the jam disappears to be followed almost immediately by exactly the same circumstances. Our trip from Zhang Mu to Nylam was definitely a lifetime "one of" experience. We left the hotel in taxis in the pouring rain, and pushed our way out of the town. The road was closed a short distance out of town because they are re-building it. It was first opened in in 2001, and just about each year or every second year since then, it has been washed out in the monsoon. The government made the decision to "close" the road during the day from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. to do the required road-works! Our trucks had left a little earlier to drive to the point where the road opened, and supposedly where the paving started. About 1/2 hour from the point where the trucks were, there was a check point and the taxis were not allowed through. The story was that they had "broken the rules for the Trucks", but wouldn't do it again for the 33 Dragoman passengers. So, loaded up with small backpacks, cameras, snacks, etc. we set off hiking in the pouring rain up the stoney/bouldery/narrow road with huge gouges out of the edge on some parts and waterfalls on the other parts, around piles of dirt and stone waiting to be used for the road. At one section we came to the road-workers tents and they were all shouting and waving "hello" or "nee-how" at us. Finally, we reached the Trucks, spent a penny and set off on the most wild road I think we have driven on. It ws dark, and foggy, but the rain cleared up. The road was tarmacked, except in areas where it had been wsashed out and in those areas it was just like the conditions we had walked through. In other parts huge almighty boulders had rolled down the steep mountain sides to come to an abrupt halt on the road, or in some cases through the guard rail, across the road, and on down the mountain sides. We passed an other couple of police checks, some buses and trucks on the road, and finally arrived at the hostel/hotel at Nylam, 3700 meters up in the desolate, barren, Tibetan Plateau. Gone are the warm days, and out came the thermal underwear, jackets, hat, and gloves.