Today we’re actually in Cambodia, but now that we’re gone from China, I’ll try to catch up. Rather than give day by day summaries, I’m going to just brainstorm a list of experiences, highlights, and impressions.
—I didn’t write in blog while there for several reasons: wi fi was spotty; I felt insecure about using their unsecured WiFi and there was little free time.
—We were in 2 cities: Xi’an and Beijing. RS had difficulty getting the govnt. to OK our landing in China, and since the last RS group was completely turned away, they were determined to find a way for us to get here. The solution was to arrive and depart in Xi’an in the middle of the night. That meant for some lost nights’ sleep. But we all rolled with it. Glad our group is adaptable, as things change pretty often (not due to anything RS is doing wrong at all).
—The cities and infrastructure were beautiful, state of the art, clean. Guess we Americans have done a good job of boosting their economy over the years. ..
—The air in Xi’an was horrible—-not as bad as India & Jordan but still quite bad.
—Beijing air had been very bad, but our first day there was very windy & we loved it cuz it cleared out the air. Our 2nd day in Beijing— at Great Wall—-was gorgeous!! We could see for miles! It was spectacular!
—Our guide (in each country we have a local guide who’s a part of RS) was a lovely man who’s spent a lot of time in US & Canada—-so he knew how to interact w/ Americans. There were things he could discuss & others he would not talk about. I said I was surprised to see CNN & MSNBC in our hotel rooms. He said only the hotels that cater to westerners get them & the rest of the population could not watch those. He also said when we first got there that’s we’d not be able to get on FB or YouTube. I didn’t really care, but that was a reminder of the censorship. Oddly, a couple times I ended up on FB anyway, when an email came directing me there.
—There seemed to be a police presence most everywhere. In public places like Tiananmen Square you’d expect it. However there, there were armed soldiers—-at the ready.
—I never felt fully comfortable in China. Always felt like Big Brother was near. (he was)
—The young people here seemed happy. They were seemingly well off. ( Although we were shown an area where many locals live & it was pretty scary—-the conditions. )
—Most of the public ladies rooms had the squat toilets. We learned how to do it but didn’t enjoy the unsanitary conditions. Had to bring your own TP & towel to dry hands. Glad my trainer makes me do squats!! Merle & I used them but most ladies in our group queued up for the one western stall.
— Due to the fact that there are more young males than females in China, the ladies have some power in attracting the kind of men they want—they say the 4 Cs are the requirement—-Cash, Condo, Car, Cute. Getting a car in Beijing requires getting permission and it can take years to get the OK.
—It was interesting to see the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City. But of course the highlight was the wall. It was a grueling hike uphill & up treacherous steps to get on it. But wow!! I also really enjoyed seeing the terra-cotta warriors. So impressive!
—We flew a China airlines between the 2 cities, which was also an experience to compare with US airlines.
—I’ll think of more to add later, but I wanted to get this much done. Glad I came. Doubt I’d like to return.
—I didn’t write in blog while there for several reasons: wi fi was spotty; I felt insecure about using their unsecured WiFi and there was little free time.
—We were in 2 cities: Xi’an and Beijing. RS had difficulty getting the govnt. to OK our landing in China, and since the last RS group was completely turned away, they were determined to find a way for us to get here. The solution was to arrive and depart in Xi’an in the middle of the night. That meant for some lost nights’ sleep. But we all rolled with it. Glad our group is adaptable, as things change pretty often (not due to anything RS is doing wrong at all).
—The cities and infrastructure were beautiful, state of the art, clean. Guess we Americans have done a good job of boosting their economy over the years. ..
—The air in Xi’an was horrible—-not as bad as India & Jordan but still quite bad.
—Beijing air had been very bad, but our first day there was very windy & we loved it cuz it cleared out the air. Our 2nd day in Beijing— at Great Wall—-was gorgeous!! We could see for miles! It was spectacular!
—Our guide (in each country we have a local guide who’s a part of RS) was a lovely man who’s spent a lot of time in US & Canada—-so he knew how to interact w/ Americans. There were things he could discuss & others he would not talk about. I said I was surprised to see CNN & MSNBC in our hotel rooms. He said only the hotels that cater to westerners get them & the rest of the population could not watch those. He also said when we first got there that’s we’d not be able to get on FB or YouTube. I didn’t really care, but that was a reminder of the censorship. Oddly, a couple times I ended up on FB anyway, when an email came directing me there.
—There seemed to be a police presence most everywhere. In public places like Tiananmen Square you’d expect it. However there, there were armed soldiers—-at the ready.
—I never felt fully comfortable in China. Always felt like Big Brother was near. (he was)
—The young people here seemed happy. They were seemingly well off. ( Although we were shown an area where many locals live & it was pretty scary—-the conditions. )
—Most of the public ladies rooms had the squat toilets. We learned how to do it but didn’t enjoy the unsanitary conditions. Had to bring your own TP & towel to dry hands. Glad my trainer makes me do squats!! Merle & I used them but most ladies in our group queued up for the one western stall.
— Due to the fact that there are more young males than females in China, the ladies have some power in attracting the kind of men they want—they say the 4 Cs are the requirement—-Cash, Condo, Car, Cute. Getting a car in Beijing requires getting permission and it can take years to get the OK.
—It was interesting to see the Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City. But of course the highlight was the wall. It was a grueling hike uphill & up treacherous steps to get on it. But wow!! I also really enjoyed seeing the terra-cotta warriors. So impressive!
—We flew a China airlines between the 2 cities, which was also an experience to compare with US airlines.
—I’ll think of more to add later, but I wanted to get this much done. Glad I came. Doubt I’d like to return.
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