China Photos Now on Picasa

While drinking green tea we bought in China I have gone through our photos and uploaded a large selection to Picasa. Take a look at:

https://picasaweb.google.com/102526380860843893580/2012China?authuser=0&feat=directlink

By the way, after sitting through what was effectively an infomercial at the green tea factory I now firmly believe that green tea can cure all ailments! It's the tea polyphenol you know. I'm drinking mine, and you can reuse the leaves five times. :)

And another note on China. Our best weather and clearest skies were in Beijing and we were very lucky to have that. And, as hot as it was there, the humidity was much lower than what we endured the rest of our trip.

Thank you China Highlights for putting together a great tour and to each of our guides and drivers for getting us here and there while helping us undertand what we were experiening and seeing.

China Tour 2012 - Xi'an and on to Guilin

My Chinese Zodiac Sign

We got a bit of a respite this morning. Though we had to have our bags to the lobby by 8:00am we had no plans until 9:30. We all had a leisurely breakfast and then strolled the area until we met our guide. We needed a bit of a rest.

I realized this morning that all the food here has basically the same flavors. Breakfast, lunch, dinner are all similar. I'm feeling a need for something different, perhaps more western?

This morning we visited the Wild Goose Pagoda which was pretty and relaxing. This is a Buddhist site, the simple, elegant brick Pagoda stands in the grounds of the attractive Da Ci'en Temple. Most of the crew chose to climb the pagoda while Sharon and I wandered the grounds. I found a place where people hang prayers. They were fascinating in that they were in different languages and from around the world. In addition to the prayer, they included names and addresses. I saw requests from Brazil, France, Spain, Russia, United States, Korea, and of course, China. Wonderful.

Next stop the Shaanxi History Museum. This museum covered China from pre-history though all of the Dynasties. I was particularly taken by the pottery from the earliest periods. Most of the styles and designs of the pottery were similar to what I know of similar pieces from early man in what is now Europe and the middle east. Separately developed but similar solutions to common problems. The development of bronze seems to follow a similar path.

We had a tasty lunch in a very local restaurant and then off to the airport. As I write this I am on a Hainan Airlines 737 on route to Guilin.

Later... It took us four hours to get to Guilin even though we left Xi'an on time. Our flight was a one stop - pretty much two one hour flights on the same airplane. However, the first leg took close to two hours and then we had to get off the airplane, reboard, and then sit and wait. We were all so ready to get off!

In Guilin we found our guide quickly, Jenny and were off on a 40 minute rife to the Sheraton - nice hotel! Once there we went out looking for dinner and by about 11:30pm we were having some dinner. Western style. Sharon and I had salads, There were some grilled ham and cheese sandwiches and Audra had pizza. An interesting meal but a very late night.