Harbin

From 30 plus in Thailand, we spent 2 days back in Beijing and then went to Harbin for their Winter Festival...a usual -30 degrees but this year was warm and they were having trouble because it was too warm --about -10. Some of the Ice sculptures were melting...I didn't get pictures of their ice city because my camera was full...Merle will send some pictures that she has and I will include them in another blog....they were spectacular......the snow sculpture of Niagara Falls was big....... as you see...the picture of me leaning was of a young lady with me in between some rather large breasts.... and Merle is in front of a snow sculpture of the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City....

The kids on the ice were using bicycle wheels with a skate blade to steer. This was a real interesting thing to see....even some people were pushing the biskates...new....then we went to a restaurant and it was a tropical restaurant....inn the frigid north.....and the other one is of the entrance to the place....again a massive structure to showcase their ice sculptures...

The BonHomme carnival was at an intersection as you can see it was huge. The truck and bus was at the Siberian Tiger area....a fenced arena...the caged truck was throwing out live turkeys for the tigers to eat...and it didn't take them long either.....then they brought in a live calf to feed them...supposedly to teach them to still keep some of their hunting skills....but they usually don't hunt in packs....and the calf was taken away once it was dead perhaps so that they would not fight over who got the carcass......l little gruesome and there were some kids in the busses ...don't know how they deal with that.....

The clock in Harbin here was a good place where one of my students Aivi met us and we spent abot 20 minutes with her.....interesting to see a student in her locale here...she was wanting to practise her English....not a lot of chances for her.....my Husky hat got a lot of looks even without the English guy underneath it....had a chance to talk to a couple of little children in English too...

Sure wish I had the city of ice pictures for this but not to be ...will post this and may add some later...

Later

Harbin

From 30 plus in Thailand, we spent 2 days back in Beijing and then went to Harbin for their Winter Festival...a usual -30 degrees but this year was warm and they were having trouble because it was too warm --about -10. Some of the Ice sculptures were melting...I didn't get pictures of their ice city because my camera was full...Merle will send some pictures that she has and I will include them in another blog....they were spectacular......the snow sculpture of Niagara Falls was big....... as you see...the picture of me leaning was of a young lady with me in between some rather large breasts.... and Merle is in front of a snow sculpture of the Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City....

The kids on the ice were using bicycle wheels with a skate blade to steer. This was a real interesting thing to see....even some people were pushing the biskates...new....then we went to a restaurant and it was a tropical restaurant....inn the frigid north.....and the other one is of the entrance to the place....again a massive structure to showcase their ice sculptures...

The BonHomme carnival was at an intersection as you can see it was huge. The truck and bus was at the Siberian Tiger area....a fenced arena...the caged truck was throwing out live turkeys for the tigers to eat...and it didn't take them long either.....then they brought in a live calf to feed them...supposedly to teach them to still keep some of their hunting skills....but they usually don't hunt in packs....and the calf was taken away once it was dead perhaps so that they would not fight over who got the carcass......l little gruesome and there were some kids in the busses ...don't know how they deal with that.....

The clock in Harbin here was a good place where one of my students Aivi met us and we spent abot 20 minutes with her.....interesting to see a student in her locale here...she was wanting to practise her English....not a lot of chances for her.....my Husky hat got a lot of looks even without the English guy underneath it....had a chance to talk to a couple of little children in English too...

Sure wish I had the city of ice pictures for this but not to be ...will post this and may add some later...

Later

Thailand

After that eventful 747 trip from Beijing that I told you about, we took a ferry from Phuket after flying from Bangkok and this was the first views of Phi Phi Island....it was one of the hardest hits areas of the tsunami...... and they are rebuilding...the boats are called longtail taxis and they are something else....as you can see there are a lot of them....they transport you to other parts of the island...if you want or need to go.

The beaches here have white sand and they are hot. We didn't drink much but we had to have a couple of cocktails to at least say the we had "Sex on the Beach".... the middle photo is interesting....this lady was out everday sunning herself...the beaches aren't necessarily topless but it didnt' seem to be a problem....I was discrete as you can see...

The left hand one is of a scene from the movie "Beaches"..never heard of it... the middle is the sunset cruise and it is an interesting sunset....lasting about 10 seconds and the right one is of the bungalow that we stayed in...it was at the edge of a clearing and I got to play Sepak Takra or at least practice with the locals there....I think I could make the National team.....about 53rd string....

The shot on the right was on the other side of an island off Phi Phi and I thought the Riders needed some PR.....the middle one is a boat transfer......the boats pull up alongside and if you are going to a different island, you get off the big boat and transfer onto the smaller one....sort of a shuttle service so to speak......and the left one was at Phuket....you could rent the motorbike for 300 baht ($9 per day).....we couldn't stay so we rented it for an hour (100 baht and basically took off for parts unknown...even on one of the major highways...the night before the owner of a bar told us if we got into problems just to put 200 baht into your passport as you handed it to a police officer and things would be ok...

Another good view of an island around Phi Phi....the water was 27 degrees when we went scuba diving and they thought that was cold....it was marvellous...and it was salty so you were bouyant....if you get a chance.....come to one of these areas.....Cambodia....Vietnam.....Thailand

the flight is probably costly but things are fairly cheap once you get here.....weather was great....the summer is there low season so it is even less expensive..the middle picture is of a condo unit that is being built....as people buy the units, more work goes on...the last one on the right was of our swimming pool on the top of the Zenith hotel in Bangkok on our last night there....we had a little trip down a bar strip and saw the local bars where the ladies are waiting for the men to appear.....it was interesting...Merle was the only one to buy anything there....a frog.....thus ends the trip to Thailand...a lot of things not seen but many things to remember forever....well worth the trip...and I am going to sign off here for this part because I have been lucky with my photos and don't want to screw it up.....but I did anyway so this is the order that it is going to stay

Well here we are again...but I had Don reinstall something in my computer...Thanks buddy...and now I have some pictures of the trip to Thailand and... Harbin....and Xi'an....not many because my camera was full. Merle has some and she is going to send them to me and if there are any new ones, I will include them in a future blog...

We started back to "work" today with a speech (in Chinese) that talked about the professional development ( through a translator) that put many of the Chinese staff to sleep....we stayed awake...the next few days will be a little slack except that we will be given our new classes a day before we actually start teaching them....not much for warning...I have a Science project that has about 4 outher countries involved....and will involve computer usage (oh goodie) but I am game.....

Now I will try to get some pictures on here and some commentary

After all that work, left right and middle don't mean a damn thing on my blog scene so just go with the flow.....no I am not a ambidextrous person who doesn't know left from right from middle....very funny.....

Chinese New Year and Xi'an

Hello

and happy new year

Two important things....

this is quite something being here in Beijing at New Years

It sounds like a war zone if I knew what one sounded like...from 6:00 until midnight apparently the fireworks are just a blazing....we went out for a walk and saw about 15 different families or groups setting off fireworks.....and not just one or two bangs...a whole series of them...high in the sky....low to the ground...fizzlers......shooting stars.....exploding stars...firetruck patrolling the perimeter of the village....dogs barking.....cars alarm systems going off because of the noise....and they keep lighting them up right beside the vehicles....small little kids holding unusual types....colourful....

Second thing....I have had nothing but problems with Rogers and my cell phone and I think fate has finally interevened...I washed it and I think it is KAPUT.....so long and good riddance.

Good news and bad news...good news the phone still works...bad news....I still will be dealing with Rogers until the November anniversary date...

Merle and I went into town on Sunday to take our trip to Beijing...thought we might do a little shopping as well....left a little early and then found the Silk Market was not open...so we had dinner at a place called Steak and Eggs...it is run by a fellow from Nova Scotia, I think....and you get good Canadian meals.....at a little more than Chinese prices....we splurged and even had dessert...

Left by subway...a bit of a learning experience.....and arrived fairly close to the train station where we caught a cab to the train station....it is good to carry my That's Beijing book so we can point to where we want to go and the book has it in Chinese...arrived early and caught up on some nap time.....we left on an overnight train to Xi'an....on a four bed soft sleeper so to speak...it was very difficult to sleep on the train.....the other tow people in our compartment were from Austrailia and we had a couple of hours of talk before we tried to go to sleep...next day I noticed a guy's hat from Chicago...yep he was a White Sox fan...he even knew where Saskatchewan was

Funny....Xi'an is a place of about 5 million people and I don't ever recall hearing of it as a big city in the world and there are many like that here......but 5 million in Canada would be our biggest city and yet the people know about our Torontos and Montreals and Vancouvers...heck even Calgarys.....our tour guide in Xi'an (Liu) said that there is a city in China of about 35 million....all of Canada in one city....puts things somewhat in perspective....

Arrived there and the guide remembered me from our previous trip...I promised I would not get lost this time..he really is good...I think he is starting up his own company....had some good suggestions and contacts from him if I decide to go to Mount Everest and also the Yangtze River tour....he said he will give me his web site and will contact me about the best times etc so we will see what transpires in the next few months.....he also took me to a merchant who sold me some of those big Chinese lanterns that hang from the stores...I bought 4 of them...he did the dealing for me...he was funny.

We toured the wall and walked on top of it.....it is about 10 metres wide....got a little history of it...you could actually bike around it....if you had the time...then we went to eat...at a very good restaurant....then off to see the Terra Cottee warriors and Horses...and it still is impressive (even a second time)...I was able to get a second set of figures for 5 RMB ...the last time, I paid 30 for the same thing....am I a bargainer or what.....but I really did not want a second set but said if he has going to sell, it would be at my price....I sure fooled him....then the rest of our tour all got theirs for 5....they learned quickly....last time it started at 50 and worked down to 10...this must be the winter season.......

Came back to eat at a dumpling restaurant and had about 15 different types.....I was able to fill up on dumplings...there were some that were more tasty than others.....a good meal though...then we took a taxi to the Water Fountain to Music display in the town square...it lasted about 40 minutes....water shoots in the air in all sorts of combinations over an area about 1 square block.....all choreagraphed to music...the two people we went with to the area were from Finland and Sweden....had a good chat with them about hockey.

The next day we went to theWild Goose Pagoda where there were actual monks living and "working"...they have a story for everything here...a dead goose falls out of the sky and all of a sudden there is a legend that develops.....and it happens a lot.....then on to the Museum and even though it was half closed for renovations we could hardly see all of it in a quick walk around...lots of interesting pieces of history...they, at one time had the Peking man on display but when the Japanese invaded, the artifact went missing.....still shooting off fireworks here.....it's how many days after NEW YEARS....after dinner we toured a Mosque and then took in the Muslim section of the city...bought some dried Kiwi and some pistachios at the open market....got the big lanterns onto the airplane and got home about 9:30 on Tuesday (could see some fireworks still going off from the airplane)....Eric was there to meet us....he is a reliable driver

Today was an R and R day...Merle was able to contact her son and talk with his family and give him the details of her return on Saturday...she is going to need an Airbus to take back all the stuff....just kidding......did some wash...slept in....will go out for a Korean hotpot tonight with Jennifer and her parents and Jill and Kris who are back as well....Don and Eve Skyped us and will arrive back Saturday or Sunday....Bob returns on Thursday I think...can't get my pictures to go onto the computer and want to get the other one I brought to be our stereo but can't seem to get it up to speed...remember I said I was not computer literate....going into town one more time to do some shopping...and then that should be it....

Weather is beginning to get warmer...so looks like spring and then the hot summer is on its way...haven't heard back from the fellow in charge of the Great Wall marathon...it's a tour operator's thing and I know they want to make money on it...as part of a tour...so am not sure if they want peasants entering the run....got an email from my referee friends in Moncton...they say that they still want me back to do some more games...nice to know...

The Beijing Tea Party

Well where did I leave off..oh yeah, no pictures..well still none...

Merle spent the morning ordering a custom made dress....Eric came with us and thank the gods for that as there was some serious negotiating and talking about what was and wasn't wanted and finally the price....

Then off to Beijing to mail some stuff back to Canada....I wanted her to see how it was done and to see how complex and yet how easy it can be.....we sent some golf clubs to her son and along with the bag and with a lot of stuff plugged into the pockets...all they did was custom make a box around the bag....duct tape it...and bind it and then we had to have it weighed (that is how they charge for the shipping) and fill out forms and then pay for it.....2 sets of clubs for about RMB 600 less than 100 dollars....not bad....may go into business...yeah right....
Today we went to Beijing for part of a 3 day tour.....we saw the hutongs which mean narrow streets and they were...we had to ride in the two seat pedicabs....cars can actually get around but are restricted..buses well I think that would be stretching it.....we met at the Starbuck at the Chine Trade World...we were supposed to be at the China Hotel but couldn't quite get our directions...so "they" were a little late....actually the hutongs got their name from the Mongolians who didn't see any water and that was because the water came from wells....our tour guide was quite informative. We had a tour for about 50 minutes....told us about the sills and the status of a person all from the front door....also about some history....the Mongolians....I think that meant Ghengis Khan, are not too well liked.....

Then went to see the Panda Bears...saw 5 of em and they reminded me of old men sitting in the sun reading the newspaper....

Then went to a silk making place...and it still is hand made silk and it take upwards of 1 and 1/2 years to make a 6 by 10 rug with the very dense fibres....they employ about 3000 people to work and are the number 1 factory in Beijing...the fella took us through all the processes and then showed us the finished products....we also saw some silk embroidery...most expensive was 8000 US dollars....and was a real work of art....in fact some of the rugs are considered that and are passed on from generations as such.....

Had dinner at an actual family house and had the normal fare of their food...it was Chinese food......hahahaha....some pork some eggs with rice....some garlic...some thin sliced beef and some dumplings with a doughnut shaped bread with carrot and beef inside...quite tasty....we had a walk around the quadrangle....the place where families stayed..with a brief explanation of who stayed where and why and also some talk about heating etc.....

And now the tea thing.....we stopped at a tea house....we were shown 5 types of teas and had a pleasant converstaion with the lady there as we were sipping our tea..it must have had a hypnotic effect because both Merle and I got sucked in to buying the "good" tea ...the stuff that will haelp with your arthritis and the one for lowering blood pressure....what a sales pictch ...plus 3 cups with pictures that are affected by the heat of the water plus a bonus tea ( I think they felt bad that they had us suckied in sooooo good) plus a peababy...which you will have to see to believe.....all for the low low price of 910 RMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!....I bought a set of golf clubs (Pings and a bag) for 830 RMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh well, we had many laughs over that one as I compared tea with just about everything in China.....live and learn.....we sure kept the economy of the PR China going today......

Lastly, we went to see the Acrobats....and they were worth the 180RMB that we paid to see them....the costumes alone were worth the price of admission...all sorts of gymnastics that you see on TV except that this is real and you can see the tension etched on their faces and can appreciate ther strength and deterity of the athletes....I was really impressed...as a former pe instructor to see some of the moves....I know how hard it was to get some people to do a decent log roll or forward roll and to see them perform at all levels and in quick and rapid succession was truly amazing.....

Had an average bus ride home..packed as usual..but they have actually cut the bus prices to encourage more people to use them.....seems to be working as the bus was full....not the second bus that we transferred to but that was only to Tuanli....have been told that they will be not allowing traffic into Beijing for the Olympics and that the factories may be shutting down to deal with the pollution....and I guess they just do it..

The next day....a trip to the Summer Palace, the Forbidden City, the Chinese Medicine tour?, Temple of Heaven, and the Beijing opera.

You know after a couple, you get "templed out". The Forbidden Cityy was constructed by the peasants= slaves....and they never got to experience the opulence of it.....some inspiring artwork and architecture here....and as I remarked several times, all for one guy and his cronies.....as another fellow from Indonesia put it, " it's nice to be king".....he had his own bedroom the size of most people's houses and had many people waiting on him, hand and foot....places for people to visit him...place for him pray...to visit officials....to listen to music...to write....to do just about anything he wanted....you can see why there may have been wars to get rid of one..and then another just gets into place...

The Place of Heaven was a place for him to pray...for good harvest, for rain and for good crops...and make sacrifices....6 or 8 oxen , I forget....but gigantic structures....all for ONE guy....must have been tough.....and they had alll sorts of symbolisms and traditions and meanings from all the different scholars and prophets and buddhas and monks and on and on and on....as zI said you can't keep up....This was also a peaceful place where he came to be relaxed and sit and contemplate.....not the rest of the world as it is now...however, you are not allowed to walk on the grass..so you have to stay on the sidewalks....I guess with this many people the grass would not last long...even in winter we had a lot of tourists with us....it is said, that if it rains in Tiananmen square on May Day that the sidewalk will not get wet because there are so many people there.

The Summer Palace is a little ways away from Beijing. It is a man-made lake and mountain, made for....you guessed it.....the Emperor ....and in a way that repminded him of his summer place he couldn't visit because he lived too far away...so he built his own....again...oodles of room and space and only for his royal majesty....was made for him because it would get hot in Beijing so he needed a place to cool off....I hate to say it but it was unbelievable...the size,, detail, decor. colour, buildings, rituals, etc....

Ended the night aat the Beijing opera.....we saw two small plays and some of the gymnastics needed to perform at this level...the choreagraphy needed to get the play done was impressive...
the costumes were very colourful and bright.....much like what you expect....a tight bus ride to Tongzhou and then a quick taxi ride home after some bargaining and we arrived at about 10:30

Up at seven to ride the taxi with Eric to the China World Hotel lobby for the next day....a trip to a real jade producing facility where we saw all the different types and colours of it...and they tried real hard to sell some to us....not working.....then we went to the Ming tombs...which was quite a setting and very impressive I might add, with information about the emperors and how they were buried and what they were dressed in and the costumes they wore and what they took with them and some info about their deaths and again.....massive structures for the monarchy.....while the peasants starved.....

Next to a place where they made copper vases with all the intricate work on the outside so that it seemed like it was those enamel ones...the intricate work (all hand done) was tedious and repetitive..I watched a guy for about 5 minutes working with tweezers doing the gluing and arranging....I could hardly imagine doing that all day but it seemed like that was what they did.....then we went upstairs for lunch...a typical Chinese one but they gave us a fork and spoon...I asked for chopsticks...that way I could eat more.....we went downstairs to view what they ahd to sell and I came across a life size statue of a horse with a price tag of RMB 2,678,000 and that is the most expensive thing I think I have ever seen on display that you could actually touch. They had all sorts of vases water carrying devices and trinkets that you could buy.....I did not....One interesting thing at many of these places....they have way more staff than I thin needs to be...but IF this is a state run business I guess it doesnt't matter...for instance at the Vase place, I bet there were at least 50 people waiting on you to try to sell you stuff.....and that was not uncommon....same as the jade place and the silk place we visited in the pm.....

Our group for this day consisted of two young lads from Glasgow Scotland, a couple from India, a professor from Arizona, a lady from Utah and another young guy who had just finished university in Miami and needed a vacation. We had a good chat over lunch.....

Went to the Great Wall at Badaling and here is what the leader told his people...and a good markenting strategy heh,...."you are not a hero until you have walked on the Great Wall"...well we were all heroes that day...the young Scot and I made it up to the highest point in about 20 minutes and then took our time getting back...all sorts of sellers on the way up and back....took a couple more pictures of the wall....There were lots of people there and I guess in the summer, you can hardly move for people...nice time to see the wall, I guess.

Went to a Silk producing factory again but saw a different aspect of the business....silk bedding and another huge shopping area...with many employees....your mind gets a little tired after a full day of info...almost bought a silk jacket but then thought better of it and walked away.

Took in a couple of bars that night 1001 Arabian Nights where we saw the Belly dancing and Browns, the bar voted best in Beijing in 2006...had a couple of drinks and got home again at about 10:30 that night.....

Slept in the next day and went and picked up Merle's custome made dress and I got a clock radio and came back early just to rest for the weekend..BUT it is Chinese new year's eve and there have been fireworks going off all day and for that matter all night it seems for the last couple of days...they call it "playing fireworks"....and so here I sit in the afternoon trying to catch up on my blog and trying to get some stuff done that has been left undone for days now....I will sign off and post this and work on those pictures....

Take Care.....

Happy New Year

post Thailand

Well, I have returned from Thailand...it was not too easy to do so as the temperature there was a balmy 30 degrees or more....hard to tell after 7 days of the heat...and I know that some of you are on the other end of the temperature scale....

Some time in your life, go to Thailand or southeast Asia....Cambodia.....Vietnam.....Korea...to get the sun and find out about life in another part of world...we had a very good time...right from the start...and I mean it...

We had to be bumped from Srilankan Airlines to Thai Airlines because they had overbooked and we were the last to be there to sign in soooooooooo...we were given business class seats on Thai air...which meant that they gave us a 60 rmb meal allowance to have something to eat prior to boarding.....then we were taken to the Royal Silk lounge where we could eat for free and drink if we wanted...and we did but just a little...another fellow and his girl friend took advantage of the opportunity.....then we boarded the plane...before all the others and were seated in spacious seats and then asked what we wanted to eat before the plane took off and then we were given champagne just after take off and wine (I had the champagne....). They just kept shovelling the food and drink on us all the flight there and we never once objected....I am kind of p'od at the...why can't the rest of the peasants have this kind of service...after all, the business men probably most of this deducted as a business expense and who ends up paying for it all anyways.....the taxpayer, you and me....but if I were to fly a long trip, I might just pay the extra to have the extra...maybe Chaplin Fabricating Limited would be able to spring for it....hey Jack???

So much for the poor start....stayed at a reasonable hotel in Bangkok with twin beds ( a platonic relationship as I said)...Merle noticed the 4 ladies in the lobby though...next morning we arrived in Phuket and took a ferry to Phi Phi Island and we got our accomodation squared away and then went exploring the village and bought some things....met Steve and Denise from Concord College there and had a drink with them...they were staying in the same area as us with bedbugs....we were much luckier, only outdoor geckoes....and crickets and a noisy fan....which was fixed the third day.....just relaxed the frist couple of days with a couple of Thai masssages and Merle tried scuba equipment and was ok for the first day in the pool but was apprehensive about going out to sea so I went on the scuba diving trip and she had a retail therapy (shopping) ...the scuba was good....even I was a little chicken on the first trip down but got over it and enjoyed the challenge and the thrill of seeing the undersea world....as I said at the first, you have to get over here to experience it...hell the water was 25-27 degrees and the divers thought it was cold.....they don't know "shrinkage" cold....

The next day we just relaxed on the beach close to the hotel...I actually tried to get a tan and Merle was able to tan her legs for the first time...I was trying to get her to go topless (hahahahahaha) like several other of the people there but that was not going to happen...needless to say, the weather was hot because people were taking their clothes off.....I'll try to include a picture to verify my observations....if I can figure out how to get my pictures off my camera again....don't hold your breath....

Next day we took what they called a sunset cruise where we left at about 3:00 and came back at about 7:00 after the sun went down....saw some beaches, the one where "the Beach" was filmed, did some snorkelling for about 1/2 an hour and then kayaked over to the rendezvous area....we had lunch and then watched the sun go down...it was different, but not as colourful as the Sask sunset.....hope to show it with pictures....Merle bought a dvd of the time and I hope to copy it and be able to show it to some of you....

Another day on another beach....then another day on the other side of the island that was hit hard by the tsunami....wonderful beaches.....white sand...warm water......umbrellas to sit under .....views of well you know what I mean..hell even was tempted to buy some Speedos...not......spent most of the evenings at some bars trying various concoctions..quite a different lifestyle there...also different speed of life. Got a chance to play some Sepak Takra with some local men outside our room....that was quite enjoyable.....went to see their school....not much of a facility and not many books or much equipment....starting to rebuild....

The last day we just lazed around. The next day we ferried to Phuket where we stayed close to the airport so that we could get there easily....had a great evening with a Sedish couple who were opening a bar at Nia Yang beach....they gave free first and third drinks....quite a nice place....lots of French and German and Swedish people there....Markos ( the owner said he didn't like Canadians becausw we always beat them playing hockey.....so we had so0me good discussions.....next day rented a motorscooter for an hour....for about $3.....and went around the place..lots of rebuilding and building and poverty and small shops...and lots of scooters....they also drive on the wrong side of the road....didn't see much of a sign of political upheaval... although had a good talk with a taxi driver the next night....

Spent our last night in Bangkok, but we got there too late to see any of the touristy things...the trip in cost about 550 bhat(without the toll)....the Buddha and the palace, the floating market...but we did walk down the street and Merle had her eyes opened to the bars and the women there...we roamed for several hours and just took in the sights and had a drink and something to eat...had a swim at the top of our hotel overlooking the city...which is a little polluted....like Beijing....the taxi ride to the airport was 700 bhat (with the toll)....unfortunaletly our ride back was not in business class and not on a 747 jumbo jet whhic athe first one had been...quite a week though....we were tired and Eric (our taxi driver from TuanLi) forgot where he had parked his car. We plan to go into Beijing tomorrow...me to check out a rash that started about 1 week before I left, and Merle to bargain and shop....Hope to get the photos in and keep you up to date...

Still no progress on the photos...but you won't know that until you reach here. I will send this blog and then try to update it with some photos....

We did some heavy duty bargaining at the silk Market and also on the street...bought a couple more watches...but Merle had her taste of the silk market....she was truly amazed at the way that you get accosted by the vendors and finally got used to it. Got home late that evening after an eyeopening trip on the bus....we had a young lady talking English to us and she helped us a few times, and unexpectedly she was on the bus as it went back home...we got back in the dark. Went again the next day becasue I had forgot my passport and thought I needed it at the doctor's but didn't...didn't even need an appointment...was looked after in about 10 minutes and then saw a specialist in the afternoon about 2 hours later.....quite quick hey......turns out I have folliculitis..or something like that...an irritation of the hair follicles ....she didn't know what causes it...but gave me some pills and some calamine lotion to put on my back.....so that's that. The whole process took about 4 hours ( including a lunch break) and that is with the unadvanced medical system that they have here. I cost about $200 but I think I get that all reimbursed....we shall see. Don And Eve had a dentist appointment set up in two days and had some work done at about 1/4 the price....interesting. They are going to have their teeth cleaned just before leaving for home for good....take advantage of it while you can.

Have not made a decision about staying but am leaning towards another year here...

We went to Harbin..a northerly city of about 6 million people....you see the relativity of things....that would be a huge city in Canada but you scarcely notice it in China....we left by plane in the morning after sleeping in about 1/2 an hour. Got there in time though and made it ok....we had booked it through the Chinese Culture Club so they looked after all the arrangements...we were on a bus tour...the first day we saw snow sculpturing....and this was in a large scale......they had a Canadian theme as you will see once I get my camera figured out.....there were scenes of Quebec City and others....including a very large Niagara Falls scene and a scene from the West.....quite a show and lots of interesting features....including a dog sled ride, toboganning, chairs on ice...normally these sculptures last until the end of February however the weather has been unusually warm & some of them were melting enough to be falling/taken down....a couple of girls got lost in the park....one was Canadian....and I didn't give her a bad time..... hahahaha....had dinner and then we went to the Siberian Tiger park....it was started about 1995 with 30 tigers and now there are over 400...they will not be released into the wilds as they are not able to survive on their own...they do roam freely but one tiger usually has an area the size of Hong Kong as his territory...so they don't figure there is enough space to give these guys their space...besides, they would have to fight with the wild buggers for supremcacy and I don't think they would win...survival of the fittest and all....it was a bit of a gruesome tour as we were driven in smaller buses into their pens and then live chickens/turkeys were thrown out of a feeding truck...they snapped them up quite easily..they followed the truck around just like the cattle do with the hay feeding....then......a small truck came out with a calf in a chute on the back.....it was raised up and the live calf slid out onto the ground.....and here is the biggest difference, that I see in the wild and the caged....normally, as I understand it a tiger hunts and kills by himself...well, not so here....the calf didn't have much of a chance as there were about 8 cats on him before it could even get a running start.....I think death was swift but we were blocked out by a couple of other buses...they don't let them eat it but they take it out and chop it up and feed them the parts...maybe to prevent fights, as there were some that had their hair on their backs up while they were doing the fight on the calf.....I think a full sized Holstein bull would have taken a few of the tigers with him before he would have been killed.....but they are beautiful animals, these tigers.

We went to the Ice City towards the evening and this is what make Harbin famous....in the winter.....it was spectacular and stunning and colourful and intricate.....the Ice carvings were monstrous and were of all sorts of buildings this year.....the Eiffel tower, the Acropolis, Noah's Ark, The Summer Palace, Big Ben, etc and they were all lit up with flourescent lights of all colours ......the size is immense....and of course all sorts of vendors were around....we went on a sleigh ride with a Mongolian driver with the hat and coat and the language that we could not understand...... but we sure talked up a storm as he drove us around looking at the whole scene....as I said before, it has been unbelievably warm here this year and the sculptures were really showing signs of melting....even though the evening is quite cool....we had the same two of our group get lost again....well...they almost got a standing ovation when they returned with the tour guide....hahahaha....

Had a drink at a Russian restaurant with 7 other people and had a good conversation with the group....you meet all sorts on the trip...

Next day we went to a building that used to house Unit 731 of the Japanese army...it was the one that did all sorts of experiments with biological, chemical and thermal experimentation with the Chinese population.....it was outrageous what was done...and the coverup... and the big shots who got away with it..they would be the Saddam Husseins of the modern world and they should have been tried but of course they weren't...the US was even in on the amnesty and lack of prosecution....quite a sobering time for the trip....

The afternoon we went to see some crazy people who swim in the river in the winter...actually they are not crazy but it sure helps.....the temp was about -15 with the wind and they were diving into the river and swimming lengths of the "pool"...most of them were older but apparently there is some pride in doing this and only a certain number can belong to the club so they don't easily give up their membership....the oldest male is 81 and the oldest female is 77. We went back to the bus early because it was a little too chilly just standing around...I got to visit for about 1/2 hour with one of my students who lives in Harbin..it was great to see her and we had a good chat....would have liked to stay there and visit and perhaps meet her parents or others on a more informal basis but time would not allow that.....our plane return was delayed for about 1 hour so we got back a little late but our taxi driver Eric was waiting for us.... and so ended out trip to Harbin....

I am going to post this and then start another one....stay tuned...