Working Adventures: August 2020

April 22, 2005

This morning we explored south Florida driving past Miami to Homestead. There we turn west into Everglades National Park. Just past the entrance we stop at the main Visitor Center and peruse their exhibits. We learn that the Everglades is a hundred-mile wide shallow river that drains water from central Florida southwest towards the ocean. With intensive Florida real estate development, much of this water flow has been diverted leaving little left for the Everglades.

The main road thru the Everglades dead-ends at the ghost town of Flamingo on the southwest coast. The Flamingo Visitor Center ranger suggested a canoe trip as a good way to see this part of the park. So we make arrangements to rent a canoe and have it dropped off at Hells Bay Trailhead. It is about ten miles back up the road. In the few minutes it takes us to put the canoe in the water, load it, and apply bug spray, we are bitten by a horde of mosquitoes. And this is the dry season! I would hate to be here in the rainy season. Fortunately after a few paddles in, the mosquitoes pretty much disappear. Fish must eat the mosquito larvae in deeper water.

The first section of this canoe trail is a narrow water path through a dense jungle-like mangrove forest. It is so narrow and winding we mostly just push our canoe forward instead of paddling. The Mangrove tree is unique being one of the few plants that can grow in either fresh or salt-contaminated (brackish) water. I thought this area was pretty cool. Aimee was scared that an alligator would swamp the canoe at any moment. I tried to reassure her that alligators only like fresh water, not the brackish water found close to the coast. What I didn’t tell her was that crocodiles infest the coastal brackish swamps.

Eventually the canoe trail opened up into a series of larger pools. We had to keep an eye out for the periodic PVC pipes that mark the trail so we don’t take a wrong turn and get lost in this watery maze. I started out thinking I should have brought a compass along in case we lose the trail. But since the trail is far from a straight line, I don’t think it would have helped. At this point it starts to drizzle. It is warm and we are sweating, so we don’t mind the rain. Unfortunately the farther we go the harder it seems to rain making it difficult to enjoy the scenery and solitude.

After paddling quite a ways the trail widens into more bay-like surroundings even though we are still far from the coast. The rain has finally stopped. Here we decide that, lacking a detailed map, we should probably turn around. Despite the rain, a canoe was a pretty cool way to see this very strange part of our country. For the more adventurous and better prepared, there is a multi-day 99-mile Wilderness Waterway canoe trail that winds its way through the southwestern Florida Mangrove forest. The Park Service has built platforms along the route for overnight camping.

Back at the trailhead, we abandon the canoe, and drive out the main park road. Along the way we stop at several hiking pullouts. Most of the park interior is a sea of grass with islands of trees. I would guess that in the rainy summer season, the grassy parts fill with water to some level. Near the park entrance we stop at the Royal Palm area, which contains a lake, crisscrossed with a boardwalk. Here we see lots of alligators. Some are a little too close for Aimee’s comfort. We are told that during the dry season, the alligators concentrate in isolated lakes like the one here. In the rainy season, they disperse out into the flooded grassland.

April 23, 2005

This morning we check out of our Fort Lauderdale hotel and drive south to Miami Beach checking into the Avalon-Majestic Hotel. It is located in the Art Deco district called South Beach. The older hotels in this area have been renovated and have now become very chic and trendy. This area is definitely bustling. After settling in, we retrieve our car from the valet and drive to the suburb of Coconut Grove to visit Aimee’s cousin, Billy. After spending the afternoon with his wife, two young girls and two very large dogs, Billy takes us back into Miami Beach for dinner. We talk a little about his work as an accountant. He probably has the most dangerous job of anybody I know especially for a CPA. He is first generation Irish but speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese. As a result he has a thriving business traveling all over South America, including Columbia. He is nuts.

After dinner we hit the South Beach party circuit. We head to the nightclub at the Delano Hotel. The party is on mattresses that surround the hotel pool. The drinks are EXPENSIVE but well spent. Billy and I are impressed with the clientele. The place is wall-to-wall girls. We should have left Aimee at home.

April 24, 2005

We spend the day checking out the South Beach scene, lying on the beach across the street and strolling Ocean Drive. The place is a true melting pot of ethnicities, cultures, and economic levels. We see it all both on the beach and walking by the hotel. Our hotel has a porch where you can sit back and people watch. In the evening we eat dinner at Billy’s house with his family.

April 25, 2005

In the morning we head into Miami and tour the Vizcaya Museum. Like the Flagler Museum, this is a restored mansion from the days of the robber barons. It was the winter home of James Deering of International Harvester. Situated on Biscayne Bay, it was built in 1916 in the Mediterranean style and is very extravagant. The grounds are nice too with a large dock and sculpture garden. For lunch we eat in quaint downtown Coconut Grove.

Many of the South beach hotels on Ocean Drive convert their lobbies and sidewalks into fine restaurants at night. We eat at a very nice one (Caffe Milano) a block up from our hotel. It is so nice to be able to eat dinner outdoors in April!

May 14, 2005

May 14, 2005

I saw an article in the local paper about the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. This research center has a museum open to the public so we decided to visit this weekend. Most of the exhibits are about early civilizations that first started in the Middle East, especially Assyria and Persia. While the museum is not large, it is quite interesting and it has some monumental artifacts collected from their archeological digs.

Since we are in the Hyde Park neighborhood, we walk around the corner and sign up for a tour of Robie House, one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s masterpieces. We have more interest and appreciation in his work after touring his studio in Oak Park a couple years ago. This very large 1910 house is very classic Prairie Style. In 2019, this and seven other examples of Wright design were named a World Heritage Site. Design is cool, colorful windows, but uncomfortable furniture

While walking the campus we also found the plaque commemorating Enrico Fermi’s nuclear experiment (Chicago Pile-1) conducted in a squash court under the now-demolished Stagg Field. In December 1942, Fermi built a 20-foot high stack of uranium and graphite starting a nuclear chain reaction. It was the first major technical achievement of the secret Manhattan Project. It is incredible that this potentially dangerous experiment was done in such a populated area. The experiments were then moved west to forest preserve property which became Argonne National Laboratory.

April-May 2005

At our local community College of DuPage, I signed up for an experiential learning class called “Fossil Hunting Field Trip”. I was intrigued by the idea that fossil specimens could be found near Chicago. Our instructor drove us in a van southwest to the site of a large barren hill just off I-55. I have passed it dozens of times on the drive to St. Louis and often wondered what it was. It is one of several coalmine tailing piles in the area, all famous for Mazon Creek fossils of the Carboniferous Period. This formation is one of the few spots in the world that soft-bodied organisms have been preserved. The most famous Mazon discovery is the Tully Monster, now the state fossil of Illinois.

We spent the day combing thru this gigantic rock pile looking for oval shaped ironstone concretions. I collected a bucketful. In the second class we were taught how to open them. By alternately freezing and thawing the rocks in water they can be coaxed into splitting apart. Over the next month, I unlocked a few 300 million-year old specimens. I think most are amorphous Jellyfish, but I could use the help of an expert to identify them. Too bad there is not a third class!

May 19-20, 2005

A fellow Nalco employee invited me on his annual fishing trip to Canada. Canada is a dream destination for avid anglers. Kirby and I left after work, met up with four other guys at a rest stop, and drove all night to the shore of Lac Seul. Lac Seul is a large 150-mile long lake in northwestern Ontario, four hours north of International Falls, Minnesota. In the tiny hamlet of Hudson, we loaded up a rental houseboat with supplies (mainly beer) and had it driven for us many hours north. We dragged three fishing boats behind.

May 21-22, 2005

This is “opening week” for Walleye fishing. We spent the morning jigging for Walleye. They were biting non-stop at the beginning. My arm was hurting reeling them in. I started to have visions of this being work instead of relaxation. Fortunately it soon slowed down to an enjoyable but consistent rate. The Walleye were plentiful but nowhere near as large as my record 29-incher from Lake Erie. On Sunday, one of our fellow anglers took a beautiful photo of us while evening fishing.

May 23-24, 2005

On the third day of fishing, we returned to the houseboat for lunch to find our garbage scattered all over the beach and the porch screen ripped. The smell of last-night’s BBQ leftovers must have been irresistible. We wondered what animal had done it. While we were eating lunch, a black bear causally walked up the gangplank! He wanted seconds! We chased him away and cleaned up the garbage. A hungry bear is hard to discourage though. We could still see him in the woods above and he came back again as soon as we left for our afternoon fishing.

May 25-26, 2005

Midweek we drove the houseboat south so we could fish for Smallmouth Bass. We cast crank baits along the shoreline. This type of fishing is more active and more enjoyable for me than jigging. ‘Smallies’ put up a big fight for their size. But being territorial means we have to keep moving the boat to find new opportunities. Canadian custom agents can be picky about bringing fish home so we are practicing ‘catch and release’ on this trip.

May 27-28, 2005

This is our last morning of fishing. I made good use of the time catching a monster 40-inch Northern Pike beating the 36-inch one I reeled in earlier in the week. During the trip our boat won all the honors amongst our compatriots; I had the two biggest Pike, while Kirby caught the biggest Walleye and biggest Smallie.

At noon, we started the slow cruise back to port. Very late in the evening, we unloaded and began the very long overnight drive back to Chicago. We were very lucky with the weather. It was mild with a few sunny afternoons. At this time of year, it has the potential to be really nasty this far north.

October 2-3, 2005

Today we left for the Orient, first flying to San Francisco and from there catching a non-stop flight to Beijing, the capital and second largest city in the People’s Republic of China. Our guide from China Focus Travel met us at baggage claim. She was a cute Chinese girl speaking very good English. After introducing us to our mini-van driver, we all drove to our hotel (Beijing Henan Plaza Hotel), and checked in for the evening hoping to recover quickly from our jetlag.

With us in the tour group are six others: four Vietnamese-American twenty-somethings, (Van (or V), her brother Jimmy, and his girlfriend Stephanie, and cousin Quinn Nguyen), and an older unmarried couple from LA, Southern and Rosemary. Since our group is small we will pick up a new guide in each city. We are very happy with our small group. We thought for sure we were going to be the youngest in a large group of senior citizens.

October 4, 2005

After awakening, Aimee and I went downstairs to the breakfast buffet. It was a large spread and we found some things to fill us up amongst the strange foods.

After breakfast, our guide and driver met us in the lobby and we drove towards Tiananmen Square. She explained to us that October 1 is National Day and the Golden Week following is a holiday comparable to our Fourth of July and that everything will be very crowded. Because traffic came to a standstill we got out a few blocks early and walked. Along the way we were gently assaulted by vendors wanting to sell tourist items. We pass by two big “Old Chinese” looking structures that I learn are the Zhengyangmen gates from the old city walls. The original massive walls were torn down in the 1960’s to build the subway. The next thing we see is a huge line of people along our left side as we walk. It is the line to get in Chairman Mao’s Tomb to take a very brief glance at his body. The farther we walk the more we see how humongous the line is. It is four people wide and wraps around the perimeter of the square a couple times; it must be several miles long.

Tiananmen Square is the largest public space in the world and Mao’s Tomb is the centerpiece. The square is named after the large Chinese gate to the north. Tiananmen means “gate of heavenly peace”. On the wall hangs a huge picture of Mao Tse-Tung. After a break to take photos, we walk across the street and thru this southern gate of the Forbidden City.

Beijing, which means Northern Capital in Mandarin, has been the capital of China for most of the last 1000 years. The Forbidden City, built in the 1400’s, was the imperial palace of the Chinese emperors during the Ming and Qing (pronounced Ching) Dynasties. It was strictly off-limits to everyone but the emperor and his entourage.

The Forbidden City is definitely city-size. It is monstrous, surrounded by a 30-foot wall and wide moat, and contains supposedly 999 buildings. We pass over a series of traditional Chinese style buildings with orange tiled roofs and through large courtyards working our way towards the center of the complex. The main buildings exteriors are decorated with large bronze pots that were filled with water in case of fire. The center rooms have a few royal artifacts and jade carvings. Afterwards we exit out the backside where our van is waiting.

Everyday we eat lunch together as a group at a very Americanized restaurant. In general, the food for us is little different than Chinese food at home.

While driving our guide starts to teach us a little Chinese. We all learn to count to ten. I also learn how to say beer (pee-joe). She teaches us to recognize the two characters 中国 that represent China. They are easy to pick out and mean “central kingdom”, for the Chinese thought they were the center of the universe.

After lunch we head northwest of Beijing to the New Summer Palace on Kunming Lake, another World Heritage site. The Old summer palace was apparently an amazing complex of gardens and artwork but was destroyed by European troops in retaliation during the Opium Wars. This new one was built afterwards in 1895. From the Seventeen-Arch Bridge, we take a dragon boat ride across the lake towards the pagoda complex on Longevity Hill. We don’t go inside but instead tour the grounds. We stroll the half-mile Long Corridor. This is a highly decorated covered walkway that straddles the shoreline. We end at the “marble" boat pavilion.

October 5, 2005

The next morning we are supposed to see some of the tombs of the Ming emperors but all we see is an area called the Sacred Way. It is a long walkway that connects the thirteen tombs. It is lined with 18 pairs of stone soldiers and animals that are supposed to symbolize royal power.

In the afternoon we drive to the closest section of the Great Wall at JuYongGuan Pass, another World Heritage Site. Here the Wall protected a strategic river valley connecting Beijing and the barbarians to the North. This is where the Mongol invader Genghis Khan breached the Great Wall on his conquest of China. There is a large fortress-like structure crossing the river with walls extending up both sides of the valley. We walk along the wall to the west. The Great Wall, at least here, should be better referred to as the Great Stairs. Since the wall goes up a very steep mountainside, there are almost no flat sections. This is going to be a workout. Every few hundred yards up hill we run into a guard tower. The harsh terrain and high walls seem impenetrable to invaders, but we need to remember that these strengthened fortifications are from the later 15^th century Ming Dynasty. The Great Wall was less formidable in 1211 when Genghis Khan attacked. Even then he had to use subterfuge to lure the defenders away from the wall fortifications.

The crowd thins out the farther up we climb. We are the only non-Chinese at this point. No other white person I guess is nuts enough to climb this far up. The Chinese are doing the ascent in suits and long pants. They haven’t learned about leisurewear and shorts. We have a couple good laughs with them when we say “E-R-Sun” (1-2-3 in Mandarin) before each photo.

Eventually after a strenuous hike we get to a spot where the wall branches and there is another section going back down. I guess this pass was so important and close to Beijing that they felt they needed a double wall. Hoping it connects close to our starting point, we hike carefully back down the stairs. The stairs are so steep it is almost more difficult going down. Fortunately this area has been reconstructed and the stones are in good shape and not loose. It is amazing to think this wall extends for four thousand miles across China. That is like having a wall in the US all the way across the country. After we make it back down to the fort, I convince Aimee to climb up and down the eastern side too. We could use the exercise. The view from the top is not as good as it could be as there is a haze in the air. Because China hasn’t emphasized pollution control yet, smog covers the entire country. Back again at the valley fort, we relax while visiting the many vendors crowded around the parking lot.

Since we are in Beijing our group has Peking Duck for dinner tonight. It is good but mostly about eating fatty, crispy skin.

October 6, 2005

This morning we made our way to the World Heritage Temple of Heaven. The Temple of Heaven, built at the same time as the Forbidden City, was the emperor’s personal place of worship and like the Forbidden City was off-limits to the citizenry. Today this very large complex is now a public park. We first walked thru a tree-lined area crowded with Chinese enjoying their holiday. There are lots of people exercising, singing, and playing cards and other games. What intrigued us the most were those practicing Tai Chi. Tai Chi seems to be a cross between ballet and meditation. In particular some were playing very slow motion Tai Chi paddleball. The skill is keeping the ball from dropping when you move the paddle slowly. Very cool!

We next visit the old temple buildings on the site. The centerpieces are two circular temples with blue-tiled roofs on square bases connected by a very long walkway. The circle represents heaven and the square the earth. Our young guide speaks English well enough to tell us what they are but not much about their purpose or history. We also see the large Circular Mound Altar where the emperor made sacrifice for a bountiful harvest. All the stones are placed in multiples of nine, the Chinese heavenly number.

On the way out we watch a woman writing Chinese poetry on the sidewalk using a large paintbrush and water. I think we are more interested in watching the people instead of the attractions.

After lunch we are shuttled to the airport for our flight to Xian. Before coming to China, I was a little nervous about the safety of taking Chinese flights. Not now. Everything they have is brand-new, all the planes, the airports, and also our hotels. At Xian, we are met by a new city guide and taken to our hotel room.

October 7, 2005

In the morning while eating breakfast we run into a lot of senior citizens on a group tour of China. They have been living in various parts of China for the last year teaching English to the locals. Before returning to the US, they are playing tourist.

Our first stop in Xian is to see the World Heritage “terracotta army”, one of the main things I wanted to see in China. Some consider it to be the 8th wonder of the ancient world. In 221 BC Emperor Qin Shihuang conquered and united all of China for the first time. Xian was his capital and he built himself a tomb here. His actual burial plot is under a large hill that has yet to be excavated. It is rumored to be very extravagant and even have a lake of molten mercury in it. As part of his tomb complex, he had built a life-size clay replica of his entire 8000-man army placed in an underground labyrinth. Farmers digging a well rediscovered the soldiers in 1974. The army still sits where they were found, partly exposed, protected by three buildings.

The first pit and most extensively excavated has a couple thousand soldiers, horses, and chariots in battle formation. Shortly after Qin’s death, the peasants revolted, entered this army complex and broke every soldier. The ones in this room have been painstakingly glued back together. Each soldier is different and in the likeness of the original soldiers. They originally all had bronze weaponry but the rebels confiscated them when they ransacked the complex.

We move on to the next smaller pit containing fewer than 100 soldiers and horses that is supposed to be the headquarters staff of Qin’s army. From there we go to a third pit, which looks as large the first. This one remains mostly unexcavated. They have done test excavations here to see what is buried. It also has a small museum containing the few statues that were found unbroken, and also the emperor’s bronze chariot. On our way out of the facility we meet the farmer who discovered the complex. He is signing guidebooks. We decide to buy one.

After lunch we visit the Hua Qing Pools in the hills east of Xian. This area of thermal springs was the site of many palaces while Xian was the first capital of China for more than a thousand years. The entrance complex is a scenic blend of traditional Chinese structures interlaced with Koi ponds. Decorating the main pond is a marble statue of Yang Guifei. According to legend she was one of the most beautiful women in China. A Tang Dynasty Emperor discovered her here and became infatuated with her. His subsequent neglect of the empire resulted in rebellions and the end of the golden age of the Tang Dynasty.

This evening we go to a dinner theatre and watch a music and dance show while enjoying dumplings. I love Chinese dumplings. In particular these dumplings all come in various cute shapes.

October 8, 2005

This morning we toured Xian’s city walls. The walls are massive and resemble high castle walls. The city walls are laid out in a large rectangle encircling the original city. They are so extensive we can’t see to the other side. They are about 50 ft wide, large enough for a highway on top. Aimee and I rent a tandem bike and cycle on top the wall around the entire 8.5-mile circuit. It is a good workout, especially since the bike breaks down along the way and the peddling becomes very difficult. Partway along we pass a local artist selling her Chinese paintings. I must be in a weak moment as I buy three very large watercolors. Although they roll up, I wonder how I am going to lug these large packages all over China without losing or destroying them.

This afternoon we went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. In the courtyard we pass a statue of Xuanzang, the monk who made a 17-year journey to India in 629AD, bringing back the teachings of Buddha to China. He spent the rest of his life translating the many Sutra (writings) he brought back. The Pagoda was built to house these sacred texts. It is a tall, tiered structure that has survived multiple earthquakes.

Afterwards, we also visit the Small Wild Goose Pagoda. It was built in the early 8th century. This temple has a huge ceremonial bell that for a few Chinese Yuan you can ring five times for good luck. I screw up and ring it six times, which is supposed to be bad luck. Ruh-Roh!

Later in the afternoon Aimee and I catch a cab with our guide and head to the Shaanxi History Museum, which is housed in a former Confucian temple. The museum has some of the treasures found with Qin’s terra cotta army. It also has many artifacts from Chinese history. The Xian area played an important part of early Chinese history. Besides being the first capital of a united China, and the largest city in the world at one time, it was also the eastern terminus of the Silk Road that connected West and East. Via this 4000-mile route, the Roman Empire was able to trade for silk and other products of China. It is amazing to see how sophisticated the artifacts are. Ancient China was more advanced than the contemporary western civilizations.

After the museum closes we go to the airport for a late flight to Guilin. There we meet our next guide, who escorts us to our hotel.

October 9, 2005

This morning we drove to the local Li River and boarded a boat for a cruise down this scenic river. Our boat is one in a line of a dozen tours going downriver at the same time. The cruise is several hours long and goes thru stunning terrain. On both sides of this small river are a multitude of very steep green conical mountains jutting out of the flat landscape. This World Heritage view is the scenery of classical Chinese paintings and the backside of the 20 Yuan note. Every bend of the river is more picturesque than the one before. The geologist in me wonders how erosion could have made this strange Karst limestone topography. I take lots of photos but my camera doesn’t do the beauty justice so I buy a guidebook from a street vendor afterwards. The persistent pollution haze across China kills the beauty.

The Li River is fairly shallow and we see quite a few water buffalo with their heads under the water grazing on river grass. Several long, skinny bamboo rafts chase our cruise boat and try to sell us trinkets. During the voyage we eat lunch in a private dining room on the deck. Along with us on the boat are a bunch of older American tourists on a day trip from their Ocean cruise liner.

The boat disembarks at the small town of Yangshuo where we do a little shopping. On the drive back to Guilin we stop and see a rice paddy close-up. Back in the city of Guilin we walk up one of the many steep hills that jut out of the cityscape. We climb the 450-foot Peak of Solitary Beauty. It has stairs carved into the almost sheer sides. On top we get a good vista of the city.

After dinner we sign up for a short cruise to watch cormorant fishing. Cormorants are black goose-like birds that dive into the river to catch fish. Locals use the birds to gather fish. They tie the necks of the bird so it can’t swallow the fish. After catching a fish, the fishermen haul the bird back on the boat and retrieve the fish from the cormorant’s mouth. It is fascinating. We watch a live demonstration. I get suspicious though as the successful birds always swim to the front of the boat. I tell Aimee I think a guy is sitting up front releasing fish into the water.

After our cruise, we go to a local theatre to watch a song and dance show celebrating the many ethnic groups within China. Although Han Chinese make up more than 90% of the population, there are 55 minority ethnic groups.

October 10, 2005

In the morning we start at Elephant Hill Park in Guilin and climb another one of the rocks jutting from the city. Back at the bottom we see that this monolith looks like an elephant drinking out of the river.

Later in the morning we head to the airport for our flight to Guangzhou (or more familiarly Canton). At the Guangzhou airport there is a huge crowd chanting when some young girl walks by. Our guide tells us it is the Chinese equivalent of the American Idol winner. I guess every country has their pop stars.

From the airport we are taken to the port where we board a hydrofoil ferry that takes us down the coast to Hong Kong. Except for a city tour tomorrow most of our time in Hong Kong is going to be free. Hong Kong is an old British colony that consists of several islands, most famous of which is Hong Kong Island, and a peninsula of land containing Kowloon and the New Territories. In 1998, at the end of their 100-year lease, the British transferred Hong Kong back to Chinese rule. The Peoples Republic of China allows Hong Kong limited autonomy, under the principle of “one country, two systems”.

We check into Panda Hotel just north of Kowloon in the New Territories. Our male guide changes some of our US dollars into Hong Kong dollars for us. That night we dine on monstrous dumplings at a dive restaurant around the corner from the hotel. Delicious!

October 11, 2005

This morning our guide returns for a mini-bus tour of Hong Kong Island. We start by crossing over to Hong Kong Island by tunnel and driving up to Victoria peak, which overlooks all of Hong Kong. Hong Kong is very densely populated. Everybody lives in tall condos/apartments that cover the landscape. Afterwards we tour the less populated south side of Hong Kong Island. Our last stop is the famous Stanley Market. This area is a shoppers delight with great bargains. We decide to stay longer and let the tour bus leave without us. We make most of our China trip purchases here.

We catch a public bus to downtown Hong Kong on the north side of the island. After exploring the downtown area, we take a tram ride back up to Victoria Peak. The crest has a small shopping mall on top. We make a reservation at one of the restaurants and then shop for an hour. That evening we have a very romantic dinner atop Victoria peak on a balcony overlooking the city nightlights. Near the end of our dinner several of the downtown high-rises manipulate their lights on and off in a form of skyscraper fireworks. Afterwards we take the ferry back to Kowloon and our hotel. The lights of Hong Kong are spectacular.

October 12, 2005

This morning we get up early and take the subway system over to Lantau, the biggest island of Hong Kong. Along the way we pass the stop for the new Asian Disney World. The train headed there has Mickey Mouse shaped windows. Compared to Hong Kong Island, Lantau is virtually deserted. At the end of the subway line we take a long bus ride to the Po Lin Monastery. This monastery has the largest bronze statue of Buddha in the world. It is gigantic, 100 ft tall, sitting on a 3-tiered lotus-flower base atop a small hill and encircled by eight smaller Buddhist statues. After climbing up for a close look, we walk around the monastery, learn about Buddhism, and have a vegetarian lunch in the monastery cafeteria. Buddhism originated in India but was brought almost 2000 years ago into China. Buddhism seems to be both a religion and a philosophy that promotes a moral, non-selfish lifestyle.

After lunch we head back to the center of Hong Kong and give ourselves a walking tour of Kowloon. We start at the famous Peninsula Hotel on the southern tip, then proceed north to the Flower Market and the Bird Market. The Bird Market is very large, selling all types of colorful birds. Unfortunately the birds kick up a lot of dust, and both of us can’t stop coughing for the next few days. Bird flu is just starting to make the news and afterwards we think touring the bird market might not have been a smart choice.

October 13, 2005

This morning we rejoin our tour group and take the ferry back to Guangzhou. Our Canton guide gives us a quick city tour. We stop at the Chen Clan Ancestral Temple. This richly decorated structure now serves as an academy for the arts. From there we visit Yuexiu Park and see their famous Five-Ram Sculpture, the emblem of Canton. Our guide laments the destruction of much of China’s historical artifacts during Mao’s Cultural Revolution in the 70’s. She then escorts us to the airport and we fly to Hangzhou where we spend the night at a Best Western Hotel. Aimee thought sure this meant the end of our luxury accommodations. It turned out to be the newest and most luxurious.

October 14, 2005

Hangzhou was known as heaven on earth in Chinese culture and is supposed to be one the prettiest of cities in China. This morning we walk thru a pretty garden with flowers and goldfish ponds and board a boat for a short cruise across West Lake. We are enchanted when our guide points out three miniature stone pagodas floating on the water. This scene graces the back of the One Yuan note.

Our next stop is the Ling Yin Temple, first built around 300AD. It is a huge complex. We walk past a hillside with many Buddha reliefs carved into its rocky hillside. We tour several temple buildings and see lots of Buddha statues, including a laughing Buddha and a very large wooden one covered in gold leaf. Another building, the Hall of 500 Arhats, has 500 gold monk statues.

After lunch we tour a local tea plantation and factory called Dragon Well. Tea was one of the ancient Chinese luxuries that Europeans traveled the globe to obtain from the Orient. Tea comes from the leaves of a small bush. This bush is cultivated like grapevines on the hills surrounding this plantation. Our tour guide shows us how they snip off the young parts of the leaf. We then watch a worker dry these leaves by hand on what looks like a warm wok. From there we head into the tasting room to prepare and sample their premier product. This is green tea. No one in our party is too impressed with the taste of this very expensive version. I guess our palates aren’t sophisticated enough to appreciate it. I know green tea is supposed to be better for you but I generally prefer black fermented tea like the British.

This stop at a government-owned factory-store has been one we have made in every city. It seems to be a mandatory part of tours in China. The negative side of me says that the government is trying to balance the low price of the tours with revenue from these high-priced stores. The positive side of me says that the government is trying to promote their traditional crafts. Most have been interesting and educational, but not all. We have been to a jade store, a fresh-water pearl store, a cloisonné store, and a furniture and rug store.

After the tea factory tour, we get on a bus for the two-hour drive to Shanghai where we spend the night at a hotel in an older section near the river. That night Aimee and I have a drink at the penthouse bar. This bar slowly rotates so we get a good view of Shanghai’s night-lights in every direction. One of the reasons I wanted to come to China now is to see it before it changes. China is in the midst of hyper-modernization. China is supposed to have two-thirds of all the construction cranes in the world. People joke that the construction crane is China’s national bird. It is too late to see old Shanghai. It is long gone. It has been replaced by an ultra-modern city. The lights of the new Pudong area across the river are a testament. It looks like Las Vegas now and it was a rice paddy just ten years ago.

October 15, 2005

In the morning Aimee and I get up early and walk to a small local park a few blocks down the street. It is packed with elderly Chinese doing their morning Tai Chi exercise. Afterwards we join our group for a city tour. We start at People’s Square in the center of the city. This park is surrounded by lots of tall futuristic skyscrapers. It looks to me like they had an architecture contest and instead of choosing one winner, they decided to build every entry. There we also tour the Shanghai Museum. This museum contains a very interesting collection of Chinese cultural artifacts.

From here we go to our requisite factory tour. This time it is silk and really cool. Silk comes from the cocoon of the silk worm. Silk worms only feed on mulberry leaves. They build their cocoon from a single strand of silk. This factory has a sweatshop of women slowly unraveling buckets of cocoons. To do this, the women soften each cocoon in hot water, pick at it to find the loose end and then tie it on the end of the previous unwound cocoon. Nine strands are twisted together to form a thread. The women work with a machine that slowly rolls up the thread for them. Their job is to keep tying on new cocoon strands to a whole line of threads. The associated store has some beautiful silk garments for sale.

After lunch we continue our city tour and head to the Bund. The Bund is the historical area where western colonial nations had their commercial operations. The area still looks like it did 100 years ago, though it sits in sharp contrast to the ultra-modern Pudong across the river.

From there we drive to the nearby Yuyuan Garden. It is a beautiful refurbished area with traditional Chinese architecture. Next door is a tourist mart where we do some shopping. The big items for sale are knockoff Louis Vuitton Purses. The youngsters on our tour buy several.

This evening we watch an amazing acrobat show. They do an outstanding performance. Aimee is really scared for this guy sitting on top of a very tall stack of chairs. The finale is six death-defying motorcycles racing around the inside of a not-big-enough metal globe.

Since tonight is Aimee’s birthday in China, we have a surprise cake for her in the lobby of our hotel.

October 16, 2005

This morning we head to the airport for our very long flight back to Chicago via San Francisco. Our trip to China was great. Aimee was pleasantly surprised about the whole trip. We loved the size of our tour group, the food was excellent and I liked that we attended a cultural entertainment show in almost every city.

Her only disappointment was the Chinese style of public toilet. The Chinese like to squat and have yet to adopt western-style toilets outside of the hotels. For the Chinese a nice toilet is one where the porcelain sits on the floor and is only a few inches high.

She is also intrigued by the Chinese care of babies. They don’t seem to use diapers. The pants on babies are open along the back exposing their rears. When necessary all the Chinese need to do is dangle the kids over a grassy area.

Surprisingly, I also learned to recognize quite a few of the simpler Chinese characters. The one for mountain (山) is easy to spot. I learned the one for water (水) because it was written on the bottles in our rooms. One guide helped us understand the character system better when she explained that when mountain and water are put together, 山水, the meaning is “landscape”. Makes perfect sense!

Working Adventures

Friday, August 28, 2020