Joe and Lou's Travel Blog

Hello hello all from Guangzhou. The weather here is more hot and sticky than up North, reminiscent of Singapore.

Rae said 'Welcome home' to us all (o: In fact it is her birthday today. Pam gave her a lovely tea draining tray which is ideal as I've got Rae onto Green tea whilst on this trip. She just needs to buy some tea cups to go with it. This will add to the already impressive array of purchases she has acquired already! I took Rae to the Ballet a month ago for an early pressy. We will all go out for a lovely dinner tonight.

Housekeeping
Joseph, I still can't access my Freenet so if there are any bills to pay etc then do a draft blog as I can read them fine. Maybe also post in any nice emails. Dad, Ju and T, Sorry I can't reply to your emails. This is for the above reason.

Summer Palace
Lonely Planet say "this dominion of palace temples, gardens, pavilions, lake and corridors was once a playground for the imperial court. Royalty came here to elude the insufferable summer heat that roasted the Forbidden City". We took two taxis to the site from the hotel but ended up at opposite entrances! Our driver took the scenic route which was kind of good as we got to go through the back streets where the Hutongs (narrow passageways) are. These date back to the Qing dynasty and house about a quarter of Beijing's residents. We ended up meeting at the Tower of Fragrance in the middle of the site. Each Palace building, pagoda or temple starts to look similar but that shouldn't take anything away from the amazing detail and master-craftsmanship that is displayed. Its like walking through a Chinese Garden in one of the major cities of the world, but much much bigger! There are a lot of internal tourists around at the moment. I guess because the young ones are on school holiday. The tour groups are issued with tshirts, caps and bags so that they are easily identifiable.

After the Summer Palace we went back to the hotel. Rae and I tried to find an internet cafe in vain. They are not as prevalent as in Malaysia, in fact I haven't seen one yet! Pam, Bri and Aunty Pauline went out to dinner again with Danny. Danny went to school in Dunedin and some of his family live there. He organised our internal flights. (I could have mentioned that already). He took Pam et al to a wonderful Sichuan restaurant. Sichuan cuisine is very spicy.

Xi'an
We flew to Xi'an the next day. After a lot of bad stories about internal flights we went through surprisingly smoothly. You get the feeling that things have advanced rapidly over here and I guess will do so more as the 2008 Olympic games approach. Xi'an is a great historic city. It "once vied with Rome and Constantinople for the title of greatest city in the world". It was the centre of the Chinese world for many dynasties before Beijing. Hence there are great historic places to visit. The main one being the Terracotta Warriors. More about that in a mo.

When we arrived we needed a snack and in the end gave in to the lure of Pizza Hutt. Sorry folks. This is not a place I'd normally go to but you know, it was great to go somewhere familiar. Some of us are getting tired of Chinese food, although the variety has been very good, so eating Beef lasagne was fab. I also enjoyed a fish burger and fries at the hotel the day before.

The hotel we stayed in was the Bell Tower Hotel and, as the name suggests, it was just outside the famous Bell Tower. The original tower was built in the 14th century and then rebuilt in the 17th century. You can tell I've got my Lonely Planet close by can't you!

That evening we went to the what seemed like the town square. The atmosphere was great. A band was playing on a stage in the centre and lots of people were just hanging out. We ending up having dinner at the hotel though as the restaurants closed early that evening. The underpasses for pedestrians are really flash and necessary as you take your life into your own hands if you try to cross the street above ground. Lucky I have a lot of practise from Sri Lanka!

Banpo Neolithic Village
The following day Pam had booked a tour for us. This was so great and informative. Our guide was called Violet and her English was very good and she majored in English at Uni (a four year course). She was very bright and enthusiastic and handled our questions with confidence. Our first stop was the Banpo village. The Banpo people were the earliest civilised Chinese people and they lived in 4,000 BC. They were very advanced as we saw evidence of their tools, pottery and crafts, and way of life. It was a matriarchal society as it was easier for children to identify their Mums than their Dads as monogamy wasn't the in thing in those times. Its amazing what the archeologists can decipher from the items uncover and their positioning. It would be interesting to compare people from other continents at the time to see who was more advanced.

Terracotta Warrior replica factory
This was the next stop. The factory had one of only two certificates to make the official replicas of the warriors. It also manufactures ornate Chinese furniture, rugs, silk pictures, jade jewellery etc. We piled in with empty hands and piled out with bags of shopping and empty wallets! I managed to do some reasonable bargaining though.

Army of Terracotta Warriors - a highlight
Next stop was a visit to see the dudes themselves. This is the 8th wonder of the world and the Chinese government and UNESCO have put a lot of money into restoring them. They were discovered by a group of farmers led by Mr Young in 1974. Some 6,000 life- size terracotta warriors and their horses were laid in the ground in battle formation to accompany the Emperor Qin Shihuang (the first emperor to unite China) in the afterlife. Originally the Emperor wanted the army to be buried alive, I guess along with his belongings and concubines, but a shrewd General suggested that he have terracotta versions made, as killing the army would not leave any soldiers for the future. The craftspeople and soldiers who worked on the project were not as lucky as the army as they were killed so that it was kept secret. Its truely an amazing site. There are three pits you can visit. But there is probably much more still to be uncovered. Pit 1 has the most restored warriors. The building that surrounds it is the biggest like it in Asia. It looks like a huge aircraft hanger. The restorers are leaving many still underground, to preserve their colour, as they haven't found an effective and economical way to restore them yet. In the future the complex will link up to the Emporer's mauseleom. It will be impressive. I recommend going in around 5 years time. There were a few types of warriors, kneeling and standing archers, infantry, officers and generals. You could tell the difference by their stance, head gear and shoes. The detail is great and there are no two alike, in fact the manager of the complex says that if you can find two alike you can take them home! Suffice to say I didn't even try to find two alike! Also buried were magnificent bronze chariots. We also had a lovely lunch, included in the tour, there. I bought a book and got it signed by the famous Mr Young who is paid to sign the museum books. He was very cute (o:

We went to some other lovely gardens after the warriors. They were built on hot springs and were where the Emporer and his lover Lady Young (Youngs seem to be very famous over here!) enjoyed spending time together.

Tandem biking along the City wall
I had my first experience of riding a bicycle whilst on the City wall of Xi'an. Brian was in front and I rode on the back of a tandem bike. It was good to get the feeling of going at speed on the bike. I reckon that I could try by myself soon. I did kind of try but need to get the hang of counter balancing the steering as I was leaning to one side to much. It was great fun though, and Bri went quite fast! We got great views of the city at dusk. There was a narrow river on one side of the wall. This was landscaped well and close by there was an outdoor pool/snooker hall. On the other side were some run down apartments and some markets. There were red lanterns lighting the way. Lovely.

That night we had a yummy seafood steam boat which cost a mere 201 yuan. A bargain. It was good to eat light as we've had so much food on this trip!

Guangzhou
So now we are in Guangzhou. We flew in this arvo and the hotel is nice, with a pool and all. Our villages are 1 - 2 hours out of this city. Aunty Pauline feels more at home as the people here speak Cantonese and can understand her. Better fly as this may cost a lot. Sorry if grammer/spelling is bad.


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My last post was a bit rushed so I thought I'd expand a little on my impressions. We are styling it here in the 4 star hotel, plus everything has been organised efficiently by my cousin Pam. This has made things less stressful and means we can see the major sites in Beijing in the short period of time we have. This is tiring though for those of us who need our sleep. But its not every day that you're in China right!

Rachel has been able to mix with the locals and experience the city, away from the sites, more. She visited a town out of Beijing and enjoyed the local hospitality. She also took some whirlwind Chinese language lessons. My Chinese extends to 'Hello' which is 'Ni hao' and 'Thank you' which is 'Xie xie'. Even then I'm not sure if I'm pronouncing them correctly! Its all in the tones. We had a guide yesterday called Long and he will join us today as well. He is studying Computer Science at a University here.

The weather was nice and hot on Sunday, raining yesterday, and looks nice again today. The weather yesterday was cooler which was ideal for our walk up the Great Wall. The Wall looked wonderful when you looked ahead or behind you. This is because is twists and turns according to the flow of the hills/mountains. Because of this is wasn't very efficient i.e. there was a lot of wall covering a small distance as it was curly like a snake. In fact it wasn't very effective at keeping out the enemy. One of a few big initiatives in China over the years that didn't turn out for the best. Others were the Cutural Revolution, when academics and all things cultural were persecuted or detroyed. The other was a Government drive to mobilise the workforce to produce for the nation effectively. One of the thing they had to produce, to a required quota, was iron...which in the end was useless. Folks resorted to melting down door knobs to reach the quotas. You can tell that I haven't got my Lonely Planet as these details are sketchy! The economy has definately picked up now though.

There are not many visual signs of communism. Maybe its what you don't see that is an indication, e.g. you don't see graffiti, you don't see a lot of rubbish, you don't see buskers or many beggers, you do see some foreign branding on advertising boards but it isn't as prolific as in some places. Things seem more subtle. I'm sure there are still many restrictions on the citizens however they look happy and seem to be enjoying the benefits of both Western and Eastern cultures. Maybe its too soon for me to be making sweeping comments like that. Well, its time to head off to the Summer Palace. Should be lovely.


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Ni hao,

First impressions
Well, I got to Beijing with no major mishaps. Unfortunately I didn't get a wink of sleep on the plane but had a good chat to a German guy sitting next to me who worked for Volkswagon in their Chinese base in Changchun (north of Beijing).

My first view of China were the misty, layered mountains, as seen from the plane. Suddenly all those traditional Chinese pictures, often seen in restaurants, make sense. When I got to the Beijing airport, at 8.30 am local time, there was a bear wrestling match on the TV. This involved two bears, each with different coloured all in one stretch leotards (like the ones judo atheletes wear) sparring off in a boxing ring with a human ref in the middle with them. Crazy!

Pam et al's flight was slightly delayed so I changed some money and bought a Coke. I hate to say it but Coke can sometimes be a life saver. It enabled me to stay awake all day on Sunday. Adrenalin also helped as I was excited to arrive.

I had no worries intercepting Pam et al at the airport arrivals gate. The hotel she booked us into is very nice (4 star) and central. We gave ourselves an hour to freshen up (I had a quick power nap) and then headed out to the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City
The Forbidden City is beautiful and huge. If you enter from the North you first strike some lovely gardens and rock formations. As you get further on you come across a series of courtyards surrounded by palace buildings and connected by walled pathways. Of course the layout is symmetrical. I particularly liked the integration of brightly coloured ceramics into the exterior decoration of the buildings and the intricately carved wood (inside) and stone (outside). Jade and bronze wre also used for decoration. Dragons, lions, phoenixes, elephants and even the odd turtle were featured both in ceramic and sculpture. The attention to detail, especially around the roof area, was amazing.

As with most impressive palace complexes around the world we started to take it all for granted as each courtyard with surrounding buildings began to look the same. The scale increases however when you get to the great halls and palaces. These have beautiful names like the 'Hall of Supreme Harmony', the 'Palace of Heavenly Purity' and the 'Palace of of Earthly Tranquility'. There have been many fires destroying parts of the city however the buildings that stand today are mostly post 18th century.

Tianamen Square
At the South end of the Forbidden City is a huge picture of Chairman Mao. Also at this end is Tianamen Square. I'm quoting from the Lonely Planet now "This is Mao's creation and the heart of Beijing. During the Cultural Revolution, the Chairman, wearing a Red Guard armband, reviewed parades of up to a million people here." Crazy!

In between the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square we saw some government/army recruits being put through their paces performing a set martial arts routine. There were also lots of people dressing up as the aristocracy of old did and having their photographs taken in royal style settings. They looked like they were having lots of fun.

Baby adoption
There are many parents of newly adopted Chinese babies in our hotel. All of the parents, mostly from Europe as far as I could tell,  looked well off. It is an expensive and involved process to adopt a Chinese child but apparently not as difficult as it is to adopt in Western countries therefore adopting in China is popular.

The Great Wall
Well, in case you had any doubt I can confirm that it is Great! We had such fun climbing up the wall. It is quite a trek and steep in some areas. The whole wall covers 10,000 km! Or is it miles? I better check my facts. A very long way though! We captured some great Kodak moments so I'll get the photos onto our photo gallery asap.

Peking Duck
Peking is the original name for Beijing. We were taken to a restaurant famous for its Peking Duck. Apparently Bill Clinton had dined there. The duck was delish, although the quality of the duck in London is pretty good too. We also had eel but no dog....thank goodness.

More impressions
Beijing has progressed a lot in the last few years. 10 years ago you would have still seen people wearing Mao uniforms. Now, for the women, it is all Sex in the City style fashions, strappy heels and all. The streets are clean and tidy, and the walls graffiti free (a rare thing indeed).

 


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Fahrenheit 9/11
We took advantage of the discount we receive from our local cinema on Mondays to see Michael Moore's latest film. We go every now again to the cinema on a Monday and there are generally only a few others there as well. This night was jam-packed which is an indication of the huge interest in the film.
 
In our case it was preaching to the converted. Moore hypes up the issues with an emotive style, that can seem OTT to some, but when faced with the facts not many could deny that events and decisions made regarding Bush's election and the War on Terror/Iraq don't add up. Hopefully, come the next election, Bush will be out of the White House. Who knows if Kerry will be much better. I gather he sees the importance of co-operating with and listening to the rest of the world a little more than Bush and his posse. 
 
Toccororo
Cuban Ballet Star Carlos Acosta has been dancing with the Royal Ballet for a few years now. Last year he branched out to produce his own show starring himself and dancers from a major Cuban dance company. The story is based on his life growing up in his hometown and studying ballet and getting used to living in Havana.
 
Carlos mixes traditional ballet sequences with the more loose and lively Cuban jazzy dancing, shown at its best when the whole troupe are jiggling and jiving to the live music (bongos etc) together. At the end the troupe moved into the auditorium and boogied with all of us. Rae and I were shaking our bootys! 
 
British Museum
We went to the British Museum again on Saturday. It is the kind of place you need to go to a few times. I was particularly interested in the section on China due to my upcoming trip. The miniature scenes carved into jade, lacquered wood or ivory were exquisite and the collection of the porcelain and ceramic ware, for domestic and ceremonial purposes, impressive. I guess I'll be seeing a lot more of these things in the museums in China.
 
I'm looking forward to my trip to China and Hong Kong. I've been reading my Lonely Planet on the tube and have managed to acquire a bluffers knowledge of the culture and history. It was good to hear from Rae that the locals don't get too annoyed with Chinese-looking people not able to speak Chinese. In fact, she said they are quite amused by it. I guess they come across it more often these days.

My next post will be from Beijing!

Lou's Birthday

We both took the day off work to make the most of Lou's special day. The forcast was for strong winds and heavy rain, great. First was a cooked breakfast of the birthday girls choice prepared by yours truly. Next we had to have our shots for Hep A and B costing a cool £57 each!

I had booked a ride on the London Eye for the afternoon so we headed down to the south bank for lunch and on to the eye. For those of you who have not heard of the London Eye previously known as the millennium wheel it is basically a very large Ferris wheel that takes you 140 metres above London affording a fantastic view.

Due to the whether predictions we did not have to brave the long, snaking queues usually lining up outside the ride and pretty much hopped right on. Were joined by a group of screaming school children who would chorus “we're all going to die” whenever the wind gusted. Luckily the rain held off for the “flight” and we got our look.

Lou had given Rae, Steve herself and I vouchers to have an aqua massage. We thought this a good opportunity to redeem them. The machines look like a tanning bed that you lay face down in but instead of getting bombarded with harmful UV rays you get pelted by jets of high pressure water. You remain fully clothed and are protected by a plastic sheet. It was quite invigorating but I would not swap it for the good old hand made version.

We dinned at a Local gastropub and ended the evening with a very fine bottle of champagne (from the champagne region of France, not to be confused with sparkling wine which they make in NZ)

Massive Attack at the Brixton Academy

Lou bought tickets for this show as a surprise but she isn't very good at keeping secrets. I have to give her some credit, she didn't come right out and tell me, but when I guessed what it was she affirmed my suspicions.

I have not really been listening to MA for a while, to be honest I didn't even bring any of their CDs over with me.

According Steve The BA is one of the best music venues in London and I have to agree. The acoustics are great and even though we were sitting down up stairs (there were signs around the walls warning people not to stand up) we had a great view of the stage. The interior has a standing area and a mezzanine. Around the stage is a permanent set in the form of a 16th century villa. My only complaint was the smoky atmosphere. Half of the crowd we smoking at any given time which created an eye stinging haze.

This was professional concert I have ever been to. On equal level with the great music the lighting was the star of the show. If you think of the LCD displays they have in banks showing their latest interest rates or whatever. They had about 40 of those arranged as horizontal blinds able to show any colours. They were used like one large screen. Some of the less psychedelic images were the heart monitor, the matrix and a spectrum analyser which showed the intensity of the music.

The most moving song was “safe from harm” which was dedicated to the innocent people who have died in Iraq. During the song, names and ages of dead children were printed on the screen. All of the bands we have been to see (with the exception of The Datsuns) have mentioned their disapprovals of the war in Iraq. It is great to see these people using their status to have a positive effect on their audience.

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Suze's Wine Bar
I went out with Mel and Chelle for a pre birthday dinner at the above. It is a Kiwi wine bar. I had a delicious steak and shared a yummy Pavlova for dessert! I was spoiled with lovely pressies as well.

Lovebox
Got a call from Laurence on Saturday morning saying he had a mate with two spare tickets to Lovebox on a Summers Day. This is an annual gig at Clapham Common. There are tents with different DJ's playing house, drum n bass etc and the main act is Groove Armada playing a live set. Awesome. The day threatened rain but turned out balmy. Joseph and I really enjoy Groove Armada's music as it is very upbeat and happy. You may recognise the song that goes "I see you baby....shaking that ass". I was shaking my booty!

Sunday Sports Day
I booked the couch at Rae and Steve's place for the TV coverage of the Wimbledon Men's final and the Euro 2004 football final. We had chocolate covered strawberries, Ben & Jerry's ice cream and Chinese takeaways to sustain us over the period. It's hard work being an arm chair sports fan! Federer and Sharapova look set to dominate for the next few years. And what a great surprise the Greeks were.

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