Day 7 – Sunday 16th June 2019 – Zhengzhou China

Today we do the Shaolin Kung Fu thing up in the mountains about an hour and a half out of Zhengzhou. Big mountains like we haven’t seen so far.

I’m thinking of David Carradine and his character in the American TV show. “Grasshopper, what you thinking? You need to look inside yourself and find what is good”. Or words to that effect, anyway we’re a bunch of old farts mostly and most should remember the show.

Shaolin is the martial arts bit of Buddhism, at least that’s what I think I’m hearing, the early start blunts my concentration a little.

First stop is the Erqi Memorial, an old building in the middle of modern buildings, some in need of a tart up, then the drive into the mountains.

Our guide, Sean, has a little trouble with the Australian humour but this is only his second trip with Trip A Deal, so I feel he’s doing ok.

We arrive to a crowd of people, not many Caucasian faces around today, and move up the hill to the forrest of memorials for dead monks, some of them quite old. We then move through the temples, we light some inscence for Tim and leave some of his ashes at the temple. When him and Mark were younger they were karate exponents, maybe not as devoted as the kids who go to Kung Fu School – a real school but majoring in Kung Fu – lots of little “Grasshoppers”.

We then go to a Kung Fu/ Shaolin masters performance which was terrific, lots of skilful fit young blokes ( no girls?) with knives, nun chucks, breaking steel on their heads and throwing a needle through glass. We do a session, just our group with the Master, inscrutable man that he is with his two junior monks helping, we look like a bunch of paralytic praying mantis’s , bit sad, but quite funny really.

A bit of shopping before we head home, the Navigator skewers an umbrella sella, (poetic eh), and drives the Chinese umbrella market into free fall.

Back in Zhengzhou we rest a bit before heading to a Russian restaurant for dinner, there’s us 6 and 8 others, they squeeze us in but at 2 tables. We give ourselves Russian names, like Vlad, Irene etc and order food and drinks. A very pleasant evening. Australians eating in a Russian Restaurant in China.

Tomorrow an early start for the train to Xi’an, another 600 kilometres away but only 2 1/2 hours on a bullet train.

Cheers until the next one

Pauloski

A 6.30 rise, the Navigator had a migraine last night and didn’t get much sleep, which means I didn’t get much either, but no worries I’ll catch up.

Breakfast in the Holiday Inn is bedlam at 6.30, it’s chock a block, hardly any seats, and the food is pretty average. But it’s fuel for the day so I shovel a bit in.

Today’s program is a big one, we start with the Maglev train ride, 30 km is 7 minutes at a top speed of 430 km/ hour, 2nd the Bund – an area on the river on the old side of the city that looks over to the new centre of Shanghai, 3rd is Shanghai Museum, 4th is a 1/2 day tour of the city and 5th is an evening boat ride on the river to see the city at night. I weary just thinking about this!

The drive to the train is through the heart of Shanghai, we see all the landmark buildings, the massive bridges, the sea of sky scrapers with a few bits of the old Shanghai in between the new.

The Maglev train is an experimental train, there are 2 of them, it has no rails and it levitates and rides on a magnetic field, and I’m assuming it’s very expensive because there aren’t any others like it. It’s super fast, and gets to top speed of 430 km/ hour in a bit over 3 minutes, it takes 7 minutes to get to its destination 30 km away. When it’s slowing down 300 km/hour feels like it’s a canter and 160km/hour feels like you could walk beside it. When the train going the other way passes it’s like a gun going off, 2 trains at 430k makes for an 860kph effect when the meet. It was phenomenal.

The heart is still pounding when we head to the Bund and walk along the river on the old side looking over to the new side of Shanghai. The buildings are spectacular feats of engineering and design, the “Bottle Opener” is particularly interesting. Coffee and a snack before we head to the Shanghai Museum. All travellers are behaving so far, can’t really have a shot at anyone yet.

The Museum is interesting, we aren’t there all that long but the best part for me was the jade exhibition, some pieces from 2000 bc. The Chinese furniture from the Ming Dynasty period – about year 1300 for a few hundred years was good as well. The obligatory fridge magnet was purchased for 15yuan ($3)

Then it’s on the the French Quarter where few of the old buildings remain, we go to an area some are still standing and have been renovated and are full of funky expensive food operations and name brand outlets. Ironically it’s also the area where the original Chinese Communist Party headquarters was located. On a walk I find a film shoot going on, lots of people in red army uniforms singing a song and waving red flags – a director with the megaphone yelling “cut” or whatever the Chinese word for it is. 2 Paul’s from the trip don’t move from a bar and consume copious amounts of German beer, it is a warm day after all.

We then end up in and old market area, very traditional Chinese architecture, the Navigator is dribbling in anticipation of the shopping, but in the end doesn’t buy much at all. I buy a green tea and some Chinese bean cake and watch the seething crowd below. So many Australians in China, and they all look alike, I don’t know how the Chinese stand it!

A short trip to the British area, food, beer and conversation are the order of the day, we’re all getting a bit weary and it’s around 5pm

The night river cruise is more than I thought it was going to be when I saw the heaving mass getting on to the boat. The crowd spread out fairly well over the 3 decks, and I reckon I’m correct in saying that the Shanghai night time sky is spectacular – every night, not just special occasions like Sydney’s Vivid.

We get off the boat letting the rushing locals go ahead, they all clearly had somewhere to go that was more important than what we had on.

The Electrician and I head out for dumplings for dinner, as well as picking up our glasses. The dumplings are good, the service is a bit average, I think we arrived right on closing time.

Tomorrow we’re off early to catch the bullet train to Zhengzhou in central western China, 1500km in 5 hours.

Arrividerci from Shanghai.

Paul

Sent from my iPad

The North Lake – Hangzhou, China

Tea in the Plumb Valley – Hangzhou China

Tea negotiations in the Plumb Valley – green v black

Sent from my iPad

Day 3 – Thursday 13th June – Hangzhou to Shanghai

FYI Hangzhou means sailing boat. Hangzhou has about 13 million people, just a village really.
Breakfast at 6.30, a quick walk along the river through a beautiful park, manicured lawns, mondo grass of different lengths, like we heard yesterday man made but made to look natural. We hear some music playing and investigation finds a man playing a saxophone by himself, no busking, not hit up for money, just playing for pleasure.
We slowly amble back to the hotel and we’re off into the traffic heading for North Lake.
The things that surprise me about China so far;

• there are so many trees and it’s much greener than I thought
• The roads are so good and the signs mostly have an English version on them
• There are not as many people on the streets as I thought there would be
• The people are so friendly, and many want to have their photo taken with you, apparently a lot of Chinese have seen very few round eyes and it’s a badge of honour for them to show their friends that they have an “ English/Australian friend”
• Chinese history is long and complex with provinces, dynasties, invaders, war, wealth, poverty…..

Some facts I heard from John – our guide;

• The Quiantang River runs to Hangzhou Bay – about 50 kms away
• It’s a tidal river that about 2 days after a full moon, every month, the river will get 10-12 meter tides.
• It was settled about 500bc, and 800 years ago had a population of 1 million people
• This was renowned as a trading city
• Hangzhou hosted the 2016 G 20 meeting
• In 2022 they will be hosting the 2022 Asian Games

The North Lake area is a paradise, fantastic gardens or forest that looks well organised, the lake is beautiful and looks clean. We hear that nobody can use a boat with and engine ( only electric boats), no toilets onto the river, no swimming in the river. We take a boat out on to the lake, it’s calm, flat, a slight drizzle of rain, thee is a contradiction, we can see a modern big city skyline with ancient temples around the hills.
A Very pleasant and relaxing hour on the lake.

NXT stop we head into the hills, and beautiful green sub tropical jungle, through tunnels into the Plum Valley where the famous Dragons Well green tea is grown and made. The rows of tea, terraced into the mountain side is spectacular. Mei is our educator/ salesperson, she is very knowledgeable about tea, and we succumb to her magic spell and after drinking 2 cups of green Dragons Well tea we are convinced green tea can cure anything, and in the right hands could bring about world peace. On that basis I buy a little tin of Dragons Well green tea. The Navigator goes deeper and her and The Mechanic share some tea “ supplements” , even after both struggled to get through the tea they were given. The score – 30 Love to Dragons Well Green Tea for selling this to The Navigator.
It’s a few hours drive back to Shanghai, a metropolis of sky scrappers ( or as John says – skyscrapes), the rain gets heavier and doesn’t stop .
Shanghai is busy busy busy, roads wind there way like spaghetti through the sky scrappers. The Holiday Inn Zhabei is not bad, good room and we check in for a rest before heading to an acrobatics show downtown at 6.30 pm. I’m exhausted thinking about the schedule.

The show is spectacular and we get back to the hotel at about 9.30pm, just in time to go shopping and we both buy prescription glasses for about 20% of the cost in Australia, $347 gets me reading glasses and Genelle multi focal glasses with transition lenses, they’ll be ready by tomorrow lunchtime!
I’m knackered, time for bed.
Arrividerci from Shanghai
Paul

Sent from my iPad

Day 2 – Suzhou, China to Hangzhou, China.

A little perspective, China is a bit larger in area than Australia, but we have about 25 million people and China has 1.39 billion people. Suzhou, which most people have never heard of, is 13 million people, and Shanghai has about 26 million people. Suzhou was settled about 500 ad, so it’s a very ancient area. It was the capital of the Wu kingdom. A lot of information spews out of our guides mouth, statistics, history, political, economic, you name it an he has been to Australia many times so he seems to have a need on Aussies.

The Electrician and I decide to go for a walk before the bus leaves, a wide pedestrian crossing, green light so I wade out into the traffic, using the lessons learned in India and dodge the silent electric bikes and cars and make to the other side.The Electrician hesitates, misses the groove in the traffic and has to wait for a light change, but he gets it sorted and we wander down the street but nothing is open really. We meet a young bloke, maybe 14, who wants to talk, I reckon practicing his English, he’s off to school with a kilometre still to walk.

The bus loaded and at 8am sharp we’re off to the Lingering Gardens, the former home of a wealthy Suzhou family that had pavilions for every different season, with magnificent gardens, water areas, and a fantastic bonsai area, some plants we are told are over 250 years old. It’s very peaceful area, at least it would be if it wasn’t for all the tourists! We corner the fridge magnet market and run a little late for the bus but no rebukes from our fellow travellers – yet.

Next is Suzhou Silk Expo Museum, really a front a silk sales factory outlet, we’re given a run down on silk production by Tim (clearly not his Chinese name). We learn about how this area is the best climate for mulberry trees and as such 13 % of China’s silk is produced in this area. Now Tim is as smooth as silk, no pun intended, he can sell, he works the crowd over expounding the benefits of silk dooners, silk underpants, silk pillows, and I’m almost converted, but not the Navigator, she holds firm saying what we have at home on the bed is perfectly ok. We find out Tim has been to Australia and loves Penfolds wine, especially 389 and 407. A lovely mans scarf is sold to The Mechanic, he’s up and running in the shopping stakes, has even beaten his mother out of the barriers, but the race has a fair way to go yet. Lots of the group bought gear and I think it’s very high quality stuff that looks nice but apparently we didn’t need any of it, I’m in disbelief that The Navigator abstained.

We move on to a canal cruise, Suzhou is known as the Venice of the East, it’s much older than Venice but more crumbling and in need of a little scrub up, but lots of the tourists in the area are Chinese and not many Europeans. The Electrician and I miss an opportunity to eat wantons and dumplings for lunch, our fault because we hesitated, so we find another place and have a pretty authentic Chinese meal of shark, chicken, noodles with green stuff and chillies – with a green tea for cooling down the chilli hit.

Then the bus ride through a rural area, heading the Hangzhou, intensive market gardens, hothouses, paddy fields, ponds that looked Iike aquaculture setups, with high rise apartments in groups in amongst the agricultural. The roads are fantastic and the traffic moves pretty well.

Hangzhou is the home of Chiang Ki Shek, the bloke who was leader of the Chinese Republic from 1911 to 1949 when Mao’s revolution rested power in China away from him.

Our Hotel is the Pujing Gardens Hotel, beautiful foyer, but we’re on the 8th floor, the wallpaper is falling off I places, the rooms seem ok but the wifi doesn’t work. So maybe this blog won’t post until tomorrow when we’re in Shanghai.

Dinner for me was 9 courses with most of the group at a local restaurant, beautiful food for 55 yuan ($12) and a 500 ml beer with a green label and Chinese writing of some description was 15 yuan ($3)

The 28 people in our group seem a pretty good bunch, no real pains stood out so far.

Cheers from Hangzhou, tomorrow we’re off to Shanghai.

Paul

Our Tour Group

From the Lingering Garden in Suzhou

Suzhou canals – the Venice of the East

Clipping you toe nails for all to see, a bucket?

Day 0-1 to Day 0+1 Dubbo-Sydney-Shanghai
Day 0-1 is a quiet day, tidying up the odd jobs, repacking the repack and seeing how much we can cull from what is too much “stuff” to travel with. Mark ends up with about 9kg, Genelle and I with 12.7 kgs each, all good but we’ve still got too much stuff.
Day 0 The trip to Sydney via a Blackheath Brunch , bypass The M4 at Norther Road to avoid the RMS blowing a bridge up, back on the M4, then the M7, then the M5 and into Mascot about 3. Short rest for the Navigator who watches The Jazz Singer with Neil Diamond, atrocious acting but good songs. A train ride to the Quay for Vivid, ferry to Barrangaroo (Club Jamie), a quick train ride home to the Holiday Inn at Mascot. Day 1
The Navigator is up early, 5 f….ing am, it’s dark, f….g dark but the lights go on and she says “ can’t sleep”, well now neither can I, but in a manner that doesn’t bring on “the look”. She’s ready and I nearly am so we meet the fellow travellers in the lobby, they’ve been ready for ages so I figure I’ll say nothing. I guess I’m with a bunch of early starters, so I’ll have to conform by getting up a bit earlier or they might just have to get used to me. Guess I’ll lose that one.
The shuttle bus arrives and the Navigator (politely) but loudly suggests to a couple of impatient fellow customers that they should wait for the driver – a hand waiving slightly balding officious chap with a slightly Italian accent gets them sorted. He gets the rest sorted as well and we’re off into black pre sunup morning into bumper to bumper traffic, but the Driver weaves his way through the mess and gets us to the International Terminal close to on time.
First time we’ve seen the self check in at International today, god I hate those f….g things. Off course there is a stuff up, the Nvigator and The Nurse goto sort it out, and around the back back of a wall that separates the machines from sanity are some humans that quickly sort out the problem, unlike the plastic and metal inanimate machines that gave us the problem in the first place.
We saunter through the “gates of no return”, thankfully no cavity searches are lined up for us by the machine we upset, but my new knees set the bells ringing and I get a little lecture from a head shaking Indian chap, while he frisks me, suggesting that “ next time sir, please go straight to the x ray machine, it vill be quicker for you”.
Coffee is great, especially after the early start, a little food before we board QF129 to Shanghai at 9.30am
The plane is pretty full, no particular passengers catch my eye to write about – what a boring lot! But I reckon a Heineken and a Gin and Tonic might help me see some humour but I must be too tired. The 11 hours is taken up with movies, nodding quasi sleep, and reading.
So what am I reading you might ask – too bad if you didn’t. I’m reading Katherine Swynford by Alison Weir. This is the story of my about 20 something times grandmother who ended up married to John of Gaunt ( The Black Prince) son of Edward the III. The relationship between John and Katherine was scandalous as she was his mistress, and had 3 children with him ( bastards) but later this was lifted when they marry after Johns wife died. Katherine was mother of the Beauforts and the ancestors of the Yorkist Kings, the Tudors, The Stuart’s and every British sovereign since. A formidable woman, but she should meet the Navigator, a matching of wills would be interesting. We land in Shanghai early at about 6.05pm (8.05pm EST).
We get finger printed, Mark has a bung finger from a work accident so gets a special card, but not so special when I see a bloke with the same card and he’s missing a whole finger.
We find the tour group and we’re off for a 2 hour bus ride to Suzhou, west of Shanghai. John or Wu ( pronounced Hoo) is our guide, seems a fun bloke.
In Suzhou we unpack at the Snowy Seas Hotel and crash. Tomorrow we’re off at 8, World Heritage gardens, lots of stuff. Breakfast at 6.30 , geez that’s early! Cheers from Suzhou, China.

Well folks, 1 week to go before we leave for China. We’re still waiting for the passports and visa to come back from Sydney – not much panic, well maybe a little bit from certain travellers. This email is another small “communications” exercise, apparently we can’t use Gmail or Facebook in China unless I set up a VPN, whatever a bloody VPN is, so I’m trying via a Yahoo email address I’ve just set up, I’ll email a short story to WordPress, WordPress will publish and post in Facebook – this is the plan anyway.
I’m under instructions not to write or publish anything inflammatory about the PRC ( People’s Republic Of China) so I won’t, but that doesn’t mean that the travelling companions are exempt from commentary.
We’ve got some Chinese money sorted, some of my little currency conversion charts for everyone are ready to go, a Chinese basic word and phrase cheat sheet as well, bought some new bamboo grundies at Aldi today – if they don’t fit I can feed them to the pandas in Beijing. Cheers
Paul

This is a test of my tech capabilities really, however I’ll give you a quick idea of our itinerary so at least there is something interesting to read, that’s if this email going Email to– WordPress to- Facebook post actually works.

The Itinerary;

Day 1 Fly from Sydney to Shanghai then out to Suzhou

Day 2 Suzhou to Hangzhou

Day 3 Hangzhou to Shanghai

Day 4 Shanghai

Day 5 Shanghai to Zhengshou (Bullet Train)

Day 6 Zhengshou

Day 7 Zhenshhou to Xian (Terracotta Warriors) (Bullet Train)

Day 8 Xian to Beijing (Bullet Train)

Day 9 Beijing ( Tianamen Square, Forbidden City etc tc)

Day 10 Great Wall of China

Day11 Beijing Zoo and late pm plane from Beijing to Sydney

Cheers

Paul

A heads up for everyone, we’ll be travelling to China soon, and I’m not sure how I’ll work the Blog. Apparently Facebook and WordPress don’t work in China so I’m going to experiment with emailing my blog post to WordPress, which should then automatically post it to Facebook – if you are following WordPress or FB you’ll be able to see the blog, but we won’t be able to – because we’ll be in China.

I’ve been advised by G – she who must be obeyed – that I can’t make any disparaging remarks about China, the soldiers, Tiananmen Square, Communism etc etc, otherwise I could possibly find out what  the inside of a gaol looks like in the Peoples Republic of China. I wouldn’t do this sort of thing anyway, but I definitely won’t mainly to keep G happy, her punishment is far worse than anything a Chinese gaol could dish up!

I’ll update details close to the time we leave
再见      (Zàijiàn)

This means "Goodbye" in Chinese (I think)?