Beijing Inside the Wall
Other sights visited in Beijing were Tienamen Square, the Grand Palace, the Summer Palace and a Sichuan Restaurant with entertainment.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
Past Culture Meets Present Culture
Since I've been in Hong Kong I've met several people who have gone to Beijing especially to see the Great Wall. I've seen the pictures of the magnificent ancient structure and heard nothing except how awe inspiring it is. All wall visitors will tell you which is their favorite section, how to take a picnic lunch with you so you don't have to eat questionable food from the stall vendors and what time of day to get their for the best photos. Not one person mentioned that the wall can be reached by ski lifts or cable cars and to decsend you can ride a bobsled. When I returned to Hong Kong and brazenly admitted that yes we went on the ski lift and braved the bobsled ride down, they sheepishly admitted they had as well. Did this Disney ride atmosphere ruin our enjoyment of the Wall? Hell no! Once you are up on the wall itself and realize that it extends over a thousand miles farther than you can see and you can see it for miles, it is an awe inspiring sight.
The ski lift up to the wall (1200 feet where we were) was an ancient artifact in itself. I tried to take pictures of the bobsled run as we ascended but people flew by so fast on the track I didn't get a good photo. To ride the bobsled you sit on a padded seat with wheels that glide on the metal track and you have a brake lever between your legs to somewhat control your speed. I couldn't get a picture while I was riding because of the death grip I had on the brake.
Laine Does Okinawa
Laine convinced us that it would be educational for her to take the summer off work and spend it in Asia with us. Her first side trip was to visit her Japanese college friend Nao in Okinawa. I suppose drinking sake in a bar with US sailors is cultural, right?
Nao is studying marine biology so Laine also got to take in the underwater culture.
D & D in Family Bar
We hardly ever see Denis' sister Donna in the states, we have to get together when she travels on business to Hong Kong. Here they are toasting their sucess in the Intercontinental Hotel bar...known as the Durgin family bar to our HK friends. The view of Victoria Harbour is magnificent here (so is our tab).
No More Dragons in Sai Kung
Part of the Buddha birthday festivities included a dragon parade to scare all the dragons out of Sai Kung for the coming year. Lettuce or flowers are thrown on the ground in offering to the dragon and the drums beat loudly to scare off the the dragons. What's really scary is that they don't block car traffic during the parade, cars still try to weave their way around the parade.
Opera in Operation
Once the opera house was open for business the vendors set up including roasted corn-on-the-cob. I think this is the chinese version of a county fair as a few weeks later the same opera house was constructed in the next town down the road. I noticed they had lots of rules for those attending the opera
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