Geert Willem Fischer

Stacy gave birth to a healthy baby boy - 7 pounds 4 oz (20.5 inches) at 6:28 this morning -

Geert Willem Fischer.

 

Baby, Mom, and family are all doing well!

China Postscript

Helen – Tom has worked really hard preparing the final pages of the blog while I have been working in the yard and around the house.  Of course, I couldn’t let him send it off without adding my “two cents worth” but I guarantee it will be short.

 

The sites in China were amazing especially the Ming Tombs.  The crown jewels were just unbelievable with the gold mesh crowns and the larger ones with all the gem stones and pearls.  I have often seen these in posters but to see them up close was a real treat.  The Great Wall was “Great” but I enjoyed the hike on the sacred mountain more, maybe because I didn’t “get lost!”  The food was exotic; chop stick skills were challenging but proved to be a great way to go on a diet, until the very end when I could actually pick up small pieces of food – and I thought it was hard to eat with my hands in Sri Lanka!!!  Shopping was plentiful and the “Chinese flea market” was truly the greatest!!!  We didn’t even touch the surface of it and had spent several hours there haggling prices and having a good time…several times the other vendors would give me the “thumbs up” smile, and nod their heads after I had agreed on a price.  I have always wanted to see the terracotta soldiers and they were beautiful; looking at all their faces was fascinating because each one was different and there were more than 7000 unearthed.

 

So, can you believe that I have highlighted China in one paragraph???  The rest of my thoughts must be captured in a one-to-one conversation.  I hope that you have all enjoyed our rambling.  On the web you can skip parts but when I begin telling a story in person you won’t be able get away until I am finished!  The blog is hereby put to rest – until our next trip!!!

Postscript

Tom –

The past five months have provided incredible professional and personal experiences.  We were in Sri Lanka for four months working, touring and immersing ourselves in the culture.   In addition, we have been able to fulfill some lifetime goals, travel to Egypt (e.g. pyramids), India (e.g. Taj Mahal), China (e.g. Great Wall), and fly around the world!

Homeward Bound!

Tom – Joe drove us to the Beijing airport dropping us off at Terminal 3.  Unfortunately, our flight left from Terminal 2.  Fortunately, we had time to take the shuttle bus and left on a Continental Boeing 777 at 5pm.  The plane took the polar route flying over Mongolia, Siberia, Arctic Ocean (near the North Pole – I thought I saw Santa Claus!), NE Canada (Hudson Bay, etc.) and into Newark arriving at 5pm the same day!  We crossed the international dateline, so, despite the 12 hour flight, we arrived the same time we left!  

 

The flight to Dayton arrived at 10pm.  Ann & Ron were there to meet us with the 4Runner so we could haul our 5 suitcases, two backpacks, computer bag and oversized box containing two pictures bought at a flea market in Beijing – home.  Yes HOME – it is good to be back in the US of A!

 

Helen – I can hardly believe that today has finally arrived and we are homeward bound!!!!  China has been great, gained several pounds from the food (will write about the menus when I get home), have seen wonderful sights, and really enjoyed being with family (Tom’s brother, Joe. and wife, Linda).  Even though we have had a fantastic time abroad, we are ready to come home to family and friends and Springfield!!!

Ming Tombs and Earthquake

Tom – Today was a cool/cloudy day and it was spent at the Ming Dynasty Tombs an hour NW of Beijing.  It was a huge area (as usual) tucked in below the mountains.  Thirteen emperors are buried here, each with his own burial mound, wall, gates, towers, pavilions, etc.  Three of the tomb areas are open for visitors.  We started at the tomb of Ding Ling.  It was excavated in the 1050s and you are allowed to descend into the underground vault.  There is also an impressive museum with various burial artifacts.  Helen took my picture in front of one of the Sacred Silk Burners (small yellow-tiled building) in the courtyard.

 

It took ten minutes to drive to the next burial complex, that of Emperor Chang Ling.  You enter an impressive yellow-tiled gate and then walk through a series of large halls (each a separate building).  There is a large statue of the emperor seated upon a three-tiered marble terrace in the Hall of Eminent Favors.  The roof is supported by at least 20 huge (3 ft diameter) solid cedar wood columns.

 

Earthquake:  I was reading a description of one of the golden crowns when the words started moving on me – I thought I might be getting dizzy and couldn’t figure out why.  When driving home Joe got a call from his office saying a 7.9 earthquake had hit in Sichuan Province outside of Chengdu and they had sent everyone home because their 24 story building in downtown Beijing was swaying.  The time of the quake was 2:30pm – when I had trouble reading the sign!  The current estimate (May 22^nd) is that 75,000 people were killed.

 

Our taxi driver, who was with us all day, then drove us to the entrance to the entire tomb complex.  It is called the Spirit Way and is about 4 miles long.  He dropped us off at the entry triumphal arch and later picked us up about a mile north.  We walked through the Great Palace Gate (Red Gate) and proceeded up the Sacred Way (God Street) along the route the burial processions would take.  The largest stelae (inscribed tablet) in China is located here inside of a pavilion.  Like many in China, it is supported by a mythical tortoise-dragon-like animal.  The “Sacred Way” is also guarded by a series of large stone animals and officials.  We had fun taking our pictures with some of them.  There were a couple of animals (mythical) you may not be familiar with – I am sitting in front of a Xiezhi and Helen appears to be rubbing noses with a Qilin.  After passing through the Longfengmeng Gate (Gate of Dragon and Phoenix) we were picked up and headed back to Beijing.  The picture of the map at the end will give you some idea of the size of the Ming Tomb area.  

Mothers Day

Mothers Day!  Tom – After attending non-denominational services with Joe and Linda, we walked to a restaurant called Beijing Duck for lunch.  We ordered the national treat – Peking roast duck!  We then went to the Lufthansa Hotel for coffee and dessert.  On the way home we stopped by Joe’s office to pick up his mail and I took some pictures out of his 23^rd story windows.

 

Helen – I began repacking our things for the trip home this afternoon…yes, it is only a few days away and I have been dreaming of it nightly…waking up in my own bed, sitting  in my kitchen, and finally being able to cook up a storm…

Panjiayuan Flea Market, White Cloud Temple, Olympic Venues

Helen –

Today was my day!!!! Tom and Joe took me to the largest flea market in China!!!  We couldn’t even begin to see it all but I did enough damage in the three hours of shopping.  The vendors thought I was very good at bargaining and kept giving me the cut throat sign as we had a price war and then gave me the thumb’s up at the end.  It was a lot of fun!  One of my prized purchases was a painting of a girl carrying a baby followed by a goat for $45.  

 

Our next stop was the White Cloud Temple….Taoist…which was sort of the first national religion, lots of statues and incense and bowing….it went on forever even though it looked relatively small from the entrance.  There was a wishing bell near the entrance….it was enclosed in a large Chinese like coin that was hanging down in a pit.  You bought 50 throwing coins for $1.50 and then threw them at the little bell.  If you hit the bell, then your wish should be granted.  Tom and Joe shared the 50 coins.  Joe hit the bell once and Tom hit it three times. 

On the way home we stopped to see some of the Olympic structures.  The “Birds Nest,” the large stadium (110,000) for the opening and closing ceremonies as well as for track and field and the “Water Cube” (shaped like bubbles) for the swimming events.  They are unbelievable!  They are not open to the public yet but we drove pretty close to get a good look.  The facilities are impressive, however, we think people going to the Olympics are going to be surprised and upset with the air pollution, traffic and costs, let alone the difficulty in communicating.  There are relatively few people who can speak English and foreigners are not going to be able to read or pronounce Chinese figures.      

 

 

 

Forbidden City

Tom – We took the 7:15 shuttle from River Garden Villa to the US Embassy and then hopped a subway to the Forbidden City.  It was crowded today and on the platform there were several official subway pushers to cram as many people on the trains as possible.  We felt like sardines! 

 

Just inside the Meridian (south) Gate of the Forbidden City (also known as the Imperial Palace) we hired a young man named Wong to serve as our guide.  I have included a picture of him and Helen standing in front of the Gate of Supreme Harmony.  The Forbidden City was the ritual center of the last two dynasties, the Ming (1368-1644) and the Qing (1644-1911).  The size of the complex is mind boggling (1,000,000 square meters)!  We spent two hours and just covered the structures along the north-south axis of the city.  Our guide insisted that he take our picture in front of a symbol for the “Happy Family.”  I also took a picture of a Chinese couple in a favorite spot of the Imperial Garden in front of the North Gate.

 

After our tour we walked through the Hutongs on the east side of the Forbidden City and ate a lunch of beef and noodles and a delicious circular fry bed stuffed with greens for $2 at a local restaurant.  Before getting on the subway some students corralled us into seeing their art school exhibit, which was interesting until they hit us up to purchase something!  We continued to the Silk Market and bought three Peak light weight stretch jackets for the boys (Peter, Chad and Brad).

 

Because of all of the construction and closed streets, it took us an hour to walk back to the US Embassy to catch the last shuttle to Joe’s house.  When we finally got there two men from the political office were leaving and, as luck would have it, were driving back to River Garden Villa and volunteered to give us a ride.  Joe and Linda were waiting for us having just returned from the Philippines.             

Olympic Warm-Up

 

Tom – As usual, we ate our breakfast at the hotel buffet and then again tried to go to the bazaar.  Again, it was raining but in the square across from the Bell Tower there was a pre-Olympic rally taking place.  It was begun by the introduction of the “Five Friendlies” – Beibei, Jingjing, Huanhuan, Yingying and Nini – the Olympic Mascots.  It was exactly three months before the opening of the games in Beijing.  The “Friendlies” were followed by an honor guard, dancers, martial arts performers, recognition of local athletes and of course political speeches. 

Summer, our guide, picked us up at 9:30 for a tour of the Shaanxi (Province) History Museum.  As mentioned earlier, Xian was the capital of many early Chinese Dynasties and these were covered in some detail.  Afterward we were taken for lunch to a nice buffet restaurant; however, our schedule stated that we would be eating lunch in a private room of a farmer’s house.  We were then driven an hour outside the city to the home and studio of a family of Chinese folk artists.  Another sales pitch followed and we were upset that our last half day was wasted in this way.  This trip was expensive!  After expressing our displeasure to our guide, we were driven to the airport early (3 hours) to wait for our flight back to Beijing.      

 

 

Climb a Sacred Mountain

Tom – This was my most enjoyable day in China.  We were picked up at 7am for the two hour drive to Huashan, one of China’s/Taoism’s five sacred mountains.  Its five ridges are supposed to look like a lotus blossom in full bloom.  It is said to have 210 natural and human cultural sights.  We only had five hours to spend on the mountain so decided to take a cable car to the saddle below North Peak (about 4800 ft elevation).  The sky was clear and the sun bright as we began.  Later in the morning there were high clouds and then around noon the clouds began to slowly descend creating a magical scene. 

 

As soon as we got out of the cable car we started to ascend steps cut in the granite moving toward Gold Lock Pass (see photos of gold locks and ribbons) also called Jinsuo Pass.  We passed by Dulong Temple, Sun and Moon Cliff and Wuyun Peak to reach this point.  There are temples, restaurants, small/basic hotels and even a monastery on the mountain; everything has to be carried up to these sites and trash removed.  Several Chinese asked to have their pictures taken with us on the mountain.  I guess they don’t see too many westerners here.

 

Our next goal was South Peak.  When we reached the summit ridge we came upon a temple and monastery that I have not been able to identify on my Chinese map but you will see pictures in this posting.  I incurred the wrath of a monk for taking a picture inside the Taoist Temple.  It was a surrealist scene as we soaked in the scenery with the monks chanting in the background.  The next stop was South Peak (about 7100 feet), the highpoint of the mountain. 

 

After leaving South Peak we had to hike down several hundred feet before going back up the ridge to West Peak (6700).  The clouds were now starting to roll over the ridge.  See the picture of Helen pulling herself up the chain to the top.  The next picture is of Helen on top and then the next picture includes a monk, dressed in black, with black hat, black backpack, black slippers but also using a metal hiking stick!

 

We had to hustle to get back down in our allotted five hours but did have enough time for Helen to stop for a piece of watermelon.  At first I though it was expensive but then considered the task of carrying it up the mountain!  After getting off the cable car we took the minibus down the mountain and got off at the first stop.  Wrong, we were supposed to get off at the second stop (there was NO stop when we went up the mountain).  Anyway, we made contact with the guide who had waited with the driver and then took another bus to the second stop in Huashan were we had a reservation for lunch.  It was now 3:30 and we were the only diners in the restaurant.  We ordered Chinese (ha ha).

 

We arrived back in Xian at 6pm.  After getting cleaned up, Helen talked me into going to the multi-story mall across the street from the hotel (it was raining so we couldn’t go back to the bazaar).  The prices were unbelievable – jeans $150, polo shirt $100, etc., etc.  These were “real” brand names, no bargaining here!  I couldn’t believe it when Helen suggested we leave after about 20 minutes!