OK, now that I’ve got your interest. First an update on the entry ‘Pressure cooker’. My Junior 3, grade 9 friends tell me that they too, are under great pressure. They have to pass a cumulative test this spring to see if they will be able to continue at this school. If they are unlucky and don’t test well, they will have to apply at other, perhaps lower quality schools. This in turn reduces their chances at a top university. FYI.
Now on with the story. As I’ve mentioned before, we took a short trip to Beijing. The lines at the airport in Xi’an are dreadfully long. Patience is needed! Of course, do I have to mention to not step over the yellow line? After our wait, we are up to the bag scanner. From what I can see no one has been pulled out of line, they are scanned and on their merry way. Great, this should be quick!
Our collective turn arrives. Surprise!, we both have our bags searched. It happens that I had a small pair of moustache scissors in my shaving kit. These dangerous items were taken. OK, I understand security precautions, wouldn’t want me to go crazy and trim people’s facial hair at 30,000 feet. My bad. My traveling companion has no dangerous contraband, after his bags are also checked.
On to Beijing for tourist ‘stuff’. Now we head back. Same lines, a little smaller since Beijing Airport has added another terminal. We hit the security station and wait for our back packs to get scanned. Surprise, surprise! Guess who has the honor of having their bags selected for a search again! I really appreciate airport security but this was really ridiculous. Bags emptied again, the security person looking for anything to legitimize the search. Oh, bad boy! I had a small tube of toothpaste in my shaving kit (travel size). Must have been the wrong brand. I’ve got to say at this point, I was really mad. If others had received this level of service, I wouldn’t have griped, but….
So I said you’ve got to be kidding and went on a toothpaste rant. The person lost any interest in using English, pushed my bag aside, waving me into the airport, sans toothpaste. They rushed through my companion’s bag, pulling out his large bottle of cologne (man-stink as he calls it), shove it back in his bag and waive him on also.
Well, let me tell you, I really showed them! I bought another tube of toothpaste, same size, and same brand inside the terminal.
Go figure…
jeff
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Sunday, April 13, 2008
A Trip to Beijing
Sorry it’s been a while since my last post. Time is fleeting!
We took a whirlwind trip to Beijing over the last weekend. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get close to the Olympic venues (still under construction) and it was hazy so distance pictures aren’t very clear. But we did see the Bird’s Nest and the Bubble Pool building. I’ve posted the new pictures.
The Temple of Heaven was our first stop. Very interesting in that the grounds are now a public park. Many retiree’s were playing instruments, practicing Tai Chi, and basically socializing in great numbers. The temple area was very beautiful with vivid colors and immense architecture. A high point for me was finding a small lizard in the trunk of a hemlock-like tree on the grounds (I know, it takes so little to amuse me!). Tiananmen Square was smaller than I expected. I remember thinking how large it seemed seeing it during the student lead riots many years ago. I can still see the image of the young man stopping the tank by standing there alone; I am still amazed at his bravery.
The lines at Mao’s mausoleum were very long and our guide was less than interested in us walking through to say ‘Howdy!’. So we crossed the square into the Forbidden City. One of the clearest images I have is of the guards at the front yelling at the crowd, waving their arms for us all to hurry and move in. Of course, there wasn’t that much room left to cram more people into this artifact. It was very interesting to here some of the uses for the different sections. Much of the buildings were under renovation before the Olympic rush. Unfortunately, our timing was bad and the crowds were enormous. In the City, you enter from the front, walk through and exit at the rear of the complex. The small gardens at the back of the complex were very enjoyable.
A quick trip was to the Summer Palace. Really a short trip but with the worst traffic snarl I have had the pleasure to ever see. When we got into the palace grounds it was a bit of a let down. There were so many people there (a holiday) that at times you stood still waiting for people to start moving again. There a couple of nice pictures posted.
After we left the area (after dodging beggars and entrepreneur salesmen), we had a brief rest and went to the Red Theater to see Chun Yi and the Legend of Kung Fu. This was an enjoyable evening. The show, designed for western tourists, was full of martial arts choreography and percussive music. Since we hadn’t walked enough for the day, we walked the 40 minutes back to the hotel. A cool clear evening.
The next full day was the visit to the Great Wall. It truly is a wonder to see. The section was at the JuYongGuan pass. The pass is very steep and high, not an easy climb. I’ve posted many photos that give a perspective of the height and the effort put into building this Wall. On another note, it was splendid to be away from a city, to see trees and breathe fresh air. It took me 2 hours to climb up to the peak and back. A side trip back took us to the Ming Tomb.
We followed the trip with a show called Beijing Chaoyang Theater Acrobatics World. Very enjoyable circus like show again meant for western tourists.
During our open time, we walked through the New World Mall. Typical brand names and close to brand name clothes mostly. The prices were crazy high, above the reach of most of the Chinese I have met and most Americans.
Funny thing, though. This mall has an indoor ice skating rink. So we decided to take a picture of it. I snapped a shot and as Josh was getting to do the same, Security Man swoops in yelling that there will be no photo taking. Heaven forbid that the western world know about such things! Imagine if we had Malls with ice skating rinks!
Should have taken that as an omen. Tomorrow: The Great Toothpaste Incident
Until then,
jeff!
We took a whirlwind trip to Beijing over the last weekend. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get close to the Olympic venues (still under construction) and it was hazy so distance pictures aren’t very clear. But we did see the Bird’s Nest and the Bubble Pool building. I’ve posted the new pictures.
The Temple of Heaven was our first stop. Very interesting in that the grounds are now a public park. Many retiree’s were playing instruments, practicing Tai Chi, and basically socializing in great numbers. The temple area was very beautiful with vivid colors and immense architecture. A high point for me was finding a small lizard in the trunk of a hemlock-like tree on the grounds (I know, it takes so little to amuse me!). Tiananmen Square was smaller than I expected. I remember thinking how large it seemed seeing it during the student lead riots many years ago. I can still see the image of the young man stopping the tank by standing there alone; I am still amazed at his bravery.
The lines at Mao’s mausoleum were very long and our guide was less than interested in us walking through to say ‘Howdy!’. So we crossed the square into the Forbidden City. One of the clearest images I have is of the guards at the front yelling at the crowd, waving their arms for us all to hurry and move in. Of course, there wasn’t that much room left to cram more people into this artifact. It was very interesting to here some of the uses for the different sections. Much of the buildings were under renovation before the Olympic rush. Unfortunately, our timing was bad and the crowds were enormous. In the City, you enter from the front, walk through and exit at the rear of the complex. The small gardens at the back of the complex were very enjoyable.
A quick trip was to the Summer Palace. Really a short trip but with the worst traffic snarl I have had the pleasure to ever see. When we got into the palace grounds it was a bit of a let down. There were so many people there (a holiday) that at times you stood still waiting for people to start moving again. There a couple of nice pictures posted.
After we left the area (after dodging beggars and entrepreneur salesmen), we had a brief rest and went to the Red Theater to see Chun Yi and the Legend of Kung Fu. This was an enjoyable evening. The show, designed for western tourists, was full of martial arts choreography and percussive music. Since we hadn’t walked enough for the day, we walked the 40 minutes back to the hotel. A cool clear evening.
The next full day was the visit to the Great Wall. It truly is a wonder to see. The section was at the JuYongGuan pass. The pass is very steep and high, not an easy climb. I’ve posted many photos that give a perspective of the height and the effort put into building this Wall. On another note, it was splendid to be away from a city, to see trees and breathe fresh air. It took me 2 hours to climb up to the peak and back. A side trip back took us to the Ming Tomb.
We followed the trip with a show called Beijing Chaoyang Theater Acrobatics World. Very enjoyable circus like show again meant for western tourists.
During our open time, we walked through the New World Mall. Typical brand names and close to brand name clothes mostly. The prices were crazy high, above the reach of most of the Chinese I have met and most Americans.
Funny thing, though. This mall has an indoor ice skating rink. So we decided to take a picture of it. I snapped a shot and as Josh was getting to do the same, Security Man swoops in yelling that there will be no photo taking. Heaven forbid that the western world know about such things! Imagine if we had Malls with ice skating rinks!
Should have taken that as an omen. Tomorrow: The Great Toothpaste Incident
Until then,
jeff!
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