The next day we left for home. And that concludes my trip! I hope you enjoyed this blog!}
Thursday, July 5, 2007
June 1st, Taipei, Taiwan
{Today was our last day in Taiwan. We visited the National palace Museum, which houses some of China’s finest treasures. When the communists took over, there were many items that we’re taken by the republican army to China for protection. There were many beautiful things at the museum, nothing that I have photographs of, but some of the carvings were so tiny and remarkable. I found a couple of pictures on the website that I've put up here. You should check out their website if you want to see more.
The next day we left for home. And that concludes my trip! I hope you enjoyed this blog!}
The next day we left for home. And that concludes my trip! I hope you enjoyed this blog!}
May 31st, Taipei, Taiwan
{Today we visited the Li Tien-lu hand puppet museum. I got my first look at the Pacific Ocean on the way. (yes, strange as it is, I saw the pacific from the Asian side before the American side). The hand puppet museum was interesting, and Jenny's dad was helpful translating. We met a student there who was practicing in the theater. He allowed us to watch him practice and then he let me try the puppet. Li Tien-lu is a famous hand puppeteer from Taiwan. Chinese hand puppetry was all but extinct when the Communists took over, but along with most of the China's national treasure and the reublican army, Chinese hand puppetry found refuge in Taiwan. Chinese hand puppeteers (or Taiwanese as the case may be) are among the finest and technically precise in the world. They accent motions with stomps of the foot. Set pieces are often more symbolic than actual, with different colors of fabric representing the emotions of the characters.
Guan Yu, one of the generals in the Shu Kingdom is whorshipped in a lot of China, and also in Taiwan. There are temples built to whorship him for his loyalty to Liu Bei. His face is characterized by being red and having a long beard. Characters in the Beijing Opera and in Chinese hand puppetry are often identified through color symbolism. Red faces are the absolute best good guys. White faces are the villians.
We also saw a Taiwanese funeral on our way to the museum. The cars in the procession were covered in yellow flowers (yellow is a mourning color).}
Guan Yu, one of the generals in the Shu Kingdom is whorshipped in a lot of China, and also in Taiwan. There are temples built to whorship him for his loyalty to Liu Bei. His face is characterized by being red and having a long beard. Characters in the Beijing Opera and in Chinese hand puppetry are often identified through color symbolism. Red faces are the absolute best good guys. White faces are the villians.
We also saw a Taiwanese funeral on our way to the museum. The cars in the procession were covered in yellow flowers (yellow is a mourning color).}
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
May 30th, Guiyang, Guizhou, China
Pee-shjoo -- an animal with no bowels who holds money (figuratively speaking). A good pee-shjoo needs to appear ferocious {to keep people who would steal your money away} and have a big belly {to hold a lot of money}. If your rub its eyes, then ears, shoulders/chest, then butt, you're supposed to pocket the money. {The picture in the previous entry of the large green sculpture is a large pee-shjoo}.
{Today was our last day in China. The night before...} Mr. Lu gave me a very nice toast which translated went something like "to our American friend from across the sea, it has been our pleasure. When a friend comes from so far away we are very fortunate to have met her.
Last night I went around to each table and said "Daja how, shie shie" which means "to everyone, thank you". {It was very nerve wracking, but everyone had been so kind to me on the trip and I really wanted to express my thanks. I went to each table, said the phrase, and then the man who sat behind me on the bus (who was also following me from table to table) would yell gambe (drink it all!). By the end, I was still sober, and he was slurring his speech. Thank goodness for Portuguese constitutions!
We went to Qianling Park, and visited the Hongfu Temple, a buddhist temple built in the 1600's. The temple was surrounded by monkeys, which I got to feed. Feeding the monkeys was amazing because they are more human-like in person than they appear on TV. I gave one a strawberry fruit leather which he really enjoyed. I only had the one, and when i tried to give him something else, he knocked picked it up, smelled it, through it, and knocked the rest out of my hand. Another monkey saw that one of the women in the tour group had a banana in her purse. She had taken out a peach and was feeding one monkey. The other monkey opened her purse, took out the banana and ran up the tree.
We then headed back to Shenzen by plane, Hong Kong by bus then ferry, and Taipei by plane.
Here are pictures of me with the Chinese Tour guide, the dragon/phoenix man (I don't know his name), and Mr. Lu.
{Today was our last day in China. The night before...} Mr. Lu gave me a very nice toast which translated went something like "to our American friend from across the sea, it has been our pleasure. When a friend comes from so far away we are very fortunate to have met her.
Last night I went around to each table and said "Daja how, shie shie" which means "to everyone, thank you". {It was very nerve wracking, but everyone had been so kind to me on the trip and I really wanted to express my thanks. I went to each table, said the phrase, and then the man who sat behind me on the bus (who was also following me from table to table) would yell gambe (drink it all!). By the end, I was still sober, and he was slurring his speech. Thank goodness for Portuguese constitutions!
We went to Qianling Park, and visited the Hongfu Temple, a buddhist temple built in the 1600's. The temple was surrounded by monkeys, which I got to feed. Feeding the monkeys was amazing because they are more human-like in person than they appear on TV. I gave one a strawberry fruit leather which he really enjoyed. I only had the one, and when i tried to give him something else, he knocked picked it up, smelled it, through it, and knocked the rest out of my hand. Another monkey saw that one of the women in the tour group had a banana in her purse. She had taken out a peach and was feeding one monkey. The other monkey opened her purse, took out the banana and ran up the tree.
We then headed back to Shenzen by plane, Hong Kong by bus then ferry, and Taipei by plane.
Here are pictures of me with the Chinese Tour guide, the dragon/phoenix man (I don't know his name), and Mr. Lu.
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
May 29th, Last full day in Guizhou
{No journal entry but here's what happened.
First thing in the morning, we climbed a mountain where a famous general is buried. I'm not sure what his name is, but he was at the "mountain stage sky"--literal translation. It might be "stage sky mountain", I'm not sure. I was translating from the sign.
At the very top of the mountain was a monastary and beautiful scenery. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. (The tomb of the general is up the stairs shown below).
After that, we went to an ancient village that is still inhabited by modern Chinese. The village dates back to the 1600's (one of the pictures shows ancient stairways--sideways). We watched a show which dates back hundreds of years dealing with a Three Kingdoms battle between Guan Yu (worshipped by the Chinese), Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Lu Bu.
Afterwards we took a boat ride on Red Maple lake. Then we headed back to Guiyang.}
First thing in the morning, we climbed a mountain where a famous general is buried. I'm not sure what his name is, but he was at the "mountain stage sky"--literal translation. It might be "stage sky mountain", I'm not sure. I was translating from the sign.
At the very top of the mountain was a monastary and beautiful scenery. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. (The tomb of the general is up the stairs shown below).
After that, we went to an ancient village that is still inhabited by modern Chinese. The village dates back to the 1600's (one of the pictures shows ancient stairways--sideways). We watched a show which dates back hundreds of years dealing with a Three Kingdoms battle between Guan Yu (worshipped by the Chinese), Liu Bei, Zhang Fei and Lu Bu.
Afterwards we took a boat ride on Red Maple lake. Then we headed back to Guiyang.}
May 28th, Guizhou
Longgong Cave and Tian Xing Landscape.
"Longgoong" means dragon palace. Long is dragon. Fon is Phoenix.
1 is ee
2 is er
3 is san
4 is stse
5 is oo
6 is lei-o
7 is chi
8 is ba
9 is jo
10 is sheur
100 is ee bai
I saw some interesting insects today, starting with a large moth that looked exactly like a dead oak leaf and ending with a white stringy bug that bites.
I had a lot of conversations with other members of my tour group. Mr. Lu was the person with whom I talked the most (as he spoke the most English). I which I good reciprocate with a little more Chinese.
{The Tian Xing landscape was a favorite place of the Empress and she claimed that this place was more beautiful than the river and waterfalls favored by the Emperor. Once again, it is the conflict between Emperor and Emperess which is a common motif in Chinese art. The dragon symbolizes the Emperor (and also man) and the Phoenix symbolizes the Emperess (woman). Often they are seen sparring over a ball, which symbolizes power (I think the ball might be the sun).
As a side note, one of the men I talked with taught me "long" and "fon" and in return I taught him dragon and phoenix. For the rest of the trip he would check his pronounciation of the words with me. He was the sweetest man.
The Longgong Cave is a cave that can only be entered by boat, so we took a boat ride into the cave. The cave was not quite as spectacular as Zhijin, but it was a pleasant ride. Then we went to a Buddhist monastary, established in a cave because at the entrance there appeared to be a Buddha in the rocks. I couldn't find him.
"Longgoong" means dragon palace. Long is dragon. Fon is Phoenix.
1 is ee
2 is er
3 is san
4 is stse
5 is oo
6 is lei-o
7 is chi
8 is ba
9 is jo
10 is sheur
100 is ee bai
I saw some interesting insects today, starting with a large moth that looked exactly like a dead oak leaf and ending with a white stringy bug that bites.
I had a lot of conversations with other members of my tour group. Mr. Lu was the person with whom I talked the most (as he spoke the most English). I which I good reciprocate with a little more Chinese.
{The Tian Xing landscape was a favorite place of the Empress and she claimed that this place was more beautiful than the river and waterfalls favored by the Emperor. Once again, it is the conflict between Emperor and Emperess which is a common motif in Chinese art. The dragon symbolizes the Emperor (and also man) and the Phoenix symbolizes the Emperess (woman). Often they are seen sparring over a ball, which symbolizes power (I think the ball might be the sun).
As a side note, one of the men I talked with taught me "long" and "fon" and in return I taught him dragon and phoenix. For the rest of the trip he would check his pronounciation of the words with me. He was the sweetest man.
The Longgong Cave is a cave that can only be entered by boat, so we took a boat ride into the cave. The cave was not quite as spectacular as Zhijin, but it was a pleasant ride. Then we went to a Buddhist monastary, established in a cave because at the entrance there appeared to be a Buddha in the rocks. I couldn't find him.
May 27th, Xinyi 8:11am
Everyone is feeling sick. Jenny's mom has a fever, Jenny's stomach is still reeling... we skipped breakfast this morning as no one felt ill until we ate at that restaurant. I'm really hoping I don't get sick. Otherwise, they might not let me back into Taiwan and in consequence home. {They're pretty serious about quarantine coming into and from China, probably because of bird flu. I didn't know until this trip that they have heat sensors at airports to monitor the body temperatures of travelers entering both Taiwan and the U. S.}
We've been eating a lot of fish here. Some of it has been pretty good. Some, not so much. {As a general rule, if they boil the fish and have very little covering it, the fish is fresh. The more fried and the more vegetable they cover it with, the older the fish is. There was one fish in particular that even covered and fried one could tell that the fish was very old. Yuck.}
I have accumlated 2 bottle of rice wine. It's apparently kind of a joke that I can drink it so... I'm sure Grampa will enjoy a bottle.
I've been stared at a lot in Xingyi. Kids look at me with wonder, and the men just stare. {I don't think too many Americans/ Europeans come this deep into Guizhou.}
Today we're going to the waterfall. I think it will be at least three hours until we get there. In the meantime, I will eat my powerbar and doze. We're off!
My own observations are that around Xingyi they grow a lot of corn, whereas near Anshun and Guiyang there's much more rice being grown. I've also seen banana plants in the forest of 10,000 peaks. They also grow a lot of watermelon and pumpkin in Guizhou too. It is very smoggy/ foggy in the mornings. It seems that it has been very dry here this season.
They roast corn over a fire and sell it on the side of the road.
Mou Tai is the top of the line rice wine, which takes 5 years to make.
{This is when it started getting difficult to write in my journal. Our first stop of the day was at the Beipanjiang Bridge, the highest bridge in China. The bus dropped us off on one side and we walked across it in the rain and fog. The pictures don't really show how high the bridge is. The bridge spans over Huanjiang Gorge and the bridge shares its name with a railroad bridge built in 2002 and touted as the bridge that would help the region (which on earns 10% of the national average's income) become more successful).
After that, we had lunch over looking Huangguoshu Falls, which according to the tour guide is the third largest waterfall in the world. I have not been able to find any information that verifies this. It is, however the largest waterfall in Asia, and it's name literally translates into "yellow fruit tree falls" . The fruit wasn't ripe when we were there so I'm not sure what it tastes like. The waterfall is beautiful! I tried to upload a picture from where we're eating lunch. If you look carefully towards to the left and half way up, those tiny itty bitty dots are people.
The waterfall is beautiful, and the Chinese say it is the only waterfall you can see from five different angles. In fact you walk around the front of it, then behind it, and can actually touch the waterflow. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Oh they also had a bonsai garden. One of the trees in the garden actually shakes when it is rubbed. Something about "nerves" in the bark. Again, haven't been able to track info about it down.
We've been eating a lot of fish here. Some of it has been pretty good. Some, not so much. {As a general rule, if they boil the fish and have very little covering it, the fish is fresh. The more fried and the more vegetable they cover it with, the older the fish is. There was one fish in particular that even covered and fried one could tell that the fish was very old. Yuck.}
I have accumlated 2 bottle of rice wine. It's apparently kind of a joke that I can drink it so... I'm sure Grampa will enjoy a bottle.
I've been stared at a lot in Xingyi. Kids look at me with wonder, and the men just stare. {I don't think too many Americans/ Europeans come this deep into Guizhou.}
Today we're going to the waterfall. I think it will be at least three hours until we get there. In the meantime, I will eat my powerbar and doze. We're off!
My own observations are that around Xingyi they grow a lot of corn, whereas near Anshun and Guiyang there's much more rice being grown. I've also seen banana plants in the forest of 10,000 peaks. They also grow a lot of watermelon and pumpkin in Guizhou too. It is very smoggy/ foggy in the mornings. It seems that it has been very dry here this season.
They roast corn over a fire and sell it on the side of the road.
Mou Tai is the top of the line rice wine, which takes 5 years to make.
{This is when it started getting difficult to write in my journal. Our first stop of the day was at the Beipanjiang Bridge, the highest bridge in China. The bus dropped us off on one side and we walked across it in the rain and fog. The pictures don't really show how high the bridge is. The bridge spans over Huanjiang Gorge and the bridge shares its name with a railroad bridge built in 2002 and touted as the bridge that would help the region (which on earns 10% of the national average's income) become more successful).
After that, we had lunch over looking Huangguoshu Falls, which according to the tour guide is the third largest waterfall in the world. I have not been able to find any information that verifies this. It is, however the largest waterfall in Asia, and it's name literally translates into "yellow fruit tree falls" . The fruit wasn't ripe when we were there so I'm not sure what it tastes like. The waterfall is beautiful! I tried to upload a picture from where we're eating lunch. If you look carefully towards to the left and half way up, those tiny itty bitty dots are people.
The waterfall is beautiful, and the Chinese say it is the only waterfall you can see from five different angles. In fact you walk around the front of it, then behind it, and can actually touch the waterflow. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Oh they also had a bonsai garden. One of the trees in the garden actually shakes when it is rubbed. Something about "nerves" in the bark. Again, haven't been able to track info about it down.
Monday, July 2, 2007
May 26th
The area near Xingyi, is much more affluent than that surrounding Anshun. The land is more flat, and the nearby city makes it easier for farmers to sell their goods.
So far, we have visited a market and Wangfenglin-the forest of 10,000 peaks. {It's called that because you could see the peaks of many karst mountains}.
I also had a variety of fruit this morning- including yellow plums, and a pear type of fruit. I was warned that you are not to drink water a half hour after eating the small yellow plums. I didn't drink water, but I popped an immodium just in case.
We also drove through a Bouyi village. The tour sang a raunchy song about the Bouyi people who don't believe in marriage.
I'm trying to write everything down before I forget but the bumpy mountain roads are making it difficult. I'll try again later. next is a boat ride.
8:30 pm
The LongYu Hotel.
The boat ride consisted of lunch while sailing around Wangfenglin lake. It is an artificial lake surrounded by beautiful karst landscape. It is one of the 5 biggest freshwater lakes in China.
In the "forest of 10,000 peaks" surrounding the lake (Wangfenglin) I could see caves where it looked like dragons could reside.
After the lake tour, we traveled to a museum about "minority" wedding rituals. It was interesting although I couldn't read the information. {Jenny's mom tried to give me a synopsis while listening to the tour guide, thank goodness!}. The building it was in used to be a govenor's mansion. Jenny's mom said that it was built in 1969, but the building looked much older than that. Some of the wedding rituals included arranging sticks, leaves and pine needles in different ways on rice to show the boy whether he is accepted/rejected/thought of as only a friend etc. {Ah if things could only be put so clearly!}
Then we came back to the hotel for a full body massage {gasp!}. When they say "full body" they mean it--eyes, nose, ears, butt, inner thigh, ALL the pressure points... I won't go into to much detail but not much was left unscarred. My butt in particular has never gotten so much attention.
I'm tired. Tomorrow it sounds like we will be doing the waterfall.
So far, we have visited a market and Wangfenglin-the forest of 10,000 peaks. {It's called that because you could see the peaks of many karst mountains}.
I also had a variety of fruit this morning- including yellow plums, and a pear type of fruit. I was warned that you are not to drink water a half hour after eating the small yellow plums. I didn't drink water, but I popped an immodium just in case.
We also drove through a Bouyi village. The tour sang a raunchy song about the Bouyi people who don't believe in marriage.
I'm trying to write everything down before I forget but the bumpy mountain roads are making it difficult. I'll try again later. next is a boat ride.
8:30 pm
The LongYu Hotel.
The boat ride consisted of lunch while sailing around Wangfenglin lake. It is an artificial lake surrounded by beautiful karst landscape. It is one of the 5 biggest freshwater lakes in China.
In the "forest of 10,000 peaks" surrounding the lake (Wangfenglin) I could see caves where it looked like dragons could reside.
After the lake tour, we traveled to a museum about "minority" wedding rituals. It was interesting although I couldn't read the information. {Jenny's mom tried to give me a synopsis while listening to the tour guide, thank goodness!}. The building it was in used to be a govenor's mansion. Jenny's mom said that it was built in 1969, but the building looked much older than that. Some of the wedding rituals included arranging sticks, leaves and pine needles in different ways on rice to show the boy whether he is accepted/rejected/thought of as only a friend etc. {Ah if things could only be put so clearly!}
Then we came back to the hotel for a full body massage {gasp!}. When they say "full body" they mean it--eyes, nose, ears, butt, inner thigh, ALL the pressure points... I won't go into to much detail but not much was left unscarred. My butt in particular has never gotten so much attention.
I'm tired. Tomorrow it sounds like we will be doing the waterfall.
May 25th, Xingyi, Guizhou 9:40pm
Interesting evening--
Some of the tour group tried to get me drunk on rice wine, ending with tour guide giving me an entire bottle. Then I had a head, arm and (gasp!) foot massage-a one hour one. {Anyone who really know me knows that unless I know someone well I can be very physically guarded--ironic because I am a cuddler-- and I really REALLY hate anyone touching my feet. I just feel really uncomfortable.} If I could have had that head massage whenever I get a migraine!
gam-bay means drink it all up-- if someone says that you down whatever is infront of you, kind of the equivalent of chug I heard that a lot tonight.
Some of the tour group tried to get me drunk on rice wine, ending with tour guide giving me an entire bottle. Then I had a head, arm and (gasp!) foot massage-a one hour one. {Anyone who really know me knows that unless I know someone well I can be very physically guarded--ironic because I am a cuddler-- and I really REALLY hate anyone touching my feet. I just feel really uncomfortable.} If I could have had that head massage whenever I get a migraine!
gam-bay means drink it all up-- if someone says that you down whatever is infront of you, kind of the equivalent of chug I heard that a lot tonight.
May 25th, Somewhere in China
There has been a change in itinerary. We're not seeing the large waterfall today. I hope when we get where we are going I'll know where we are.
We're going to the 'most beautiful scar on the earth'.
Malinghe Gorge, 4:37 pm.
"The Most Beautiful Scar on the Face of the Earth" certainly is. I could have stayed here forever--if heaven were like this...
It was quite a hike and I'm fried! I took a picture of the same type of moth that was dinner for the chickadees yesterday.
Speaking of food, lunch (as far as any of us could identify) was:
chicken (with the head on)
fish
rice
noodles (just like ramen)
various veggies that no one could identify
watermelon
What I find funny is even the people on the tour can't identify the food they are eating-so it's not just because I'm an ignorant American.
hen piao liang means it's so beautiful
hen how che means that tastes good
shao shing means be careful
how che means tastes good
sagwa is silly
shigwaw is watermelon
tse fan is time to eat (eat rice literally)
The story about eating dog: Dog meat is supposed to be very nutritious, so it is often served to guests. Before the dog is killed, the owner tells the dog that he has done nothing wrong and that he is a good friend, but if they do not kill him then there will be no food to feed their guests.
Apparently, they hide military manufacturing plants in the mountains here. Enemy planes cannot see them when they are in the mountains.
We're going to the 'most beautiful scar on the earth'.
Malinghe Gorge, 4:37 pm.
"The Most Beautiful Scar on the Face of the Earth" certainly is. I could have stayed here forever--if heaven were like this...
It was quite a hike and I'm fried! I took a picture of the same type of moth that was dinner for the chickadees yesterday.
Speaking of food, lunch (as far as any of us could identify) was:
chicken (with the head on)
fish
rice
noodles (just like ramen)
various veggies that no one could identify
watermelon
What I find funny is even the people on the tour can't identify the food they are eating-so it's not just because I'm an ignorant American.
hen piao liang means it's so beautiful
hen how che means that tastes good
shao shing means be careful
how che means tastes good
sagwa is silly
shigwaw is watermelon
tse fan is time to eat (eat rice literally)
The story about eating dog: Dog meat is supposed to be very nutritious, so it is often served to guests. Before the dog is killed, the owner tells the dog that he has done nothing wrong and that he is a good friend, but if they do not kill him then there will be no food to feed their guests.
Apparently, they hide military manufacturing plants in the mountains here. Enemy planes cannot see them when they are in the mountains.
May 25th, Anshun, Guizhou, China
Tso go-wei gui bean!
('mornin valued guests!)
What a dirty hotel! It was disgusting--beautiful furnishings completely not taken care of.
We're about to cross a 50km bridge--the largest in Asia (or China--some things get confused in translation).
Just saw someone skinning a dog, while another dog was looking on {Guizhou is the province in China that is famous for eating dog}.
I guess we're not crossing the bridge. Just looking at the construction.
Tschi-guo means please let me pass (excuse me)
I ate a fruit that was fuzzy like a peach, with meat colored like a plum and a flavor somewhere between a nectarine and a plum. It had a nectarine like pit. Mmmm. The nice guy who tried to fix my camera and sings karaoke shared it with me. {My camera broke the day we left Taiwan, but Jenny's mom had an extra camera that I borrowed. This man turned out to be the Taiwanese tour guide's brother--there were two tour guides. The Taiwanese love karaoke, so the bus was equipped the televisions and karaoke. This man would sing all the song while he was sitting behind me.}
('mornin valued guests!)
What a dirty hotel! It was disgusting--beautiful furnishings completely not taken care of.
We're about to cross a 50km bridge--the largest in Asia (or China--some things get confused in translation).
Just saw someone skinning a dog, while another dog was looking on {Guizhou is the province in China that is famous for eating dog}.
I guess we're not crossing the bridge. Just looking at the construction.
Tschi-guo means please let me pass (excuse me)
I ate a fruit that was fuzzy like a peach, with meat colored like a plum and a flavor somewhere between a nectarine and a plum. It had a nectarine like pit. Mmmm. The nice guy who tried to fix my camera and sings karaoke shared it with me. {My camera broke the day we left Taiwan, but Jenny's mom had an extra camera that I borrowed. This man turned out to be the Taiwanese tour guide's brother--there were two tour guides. The Taiwanese love karaoke, so the bus was equipped the televisions and karaoke. This man would sing all the song while he was sitting behind me.}
Zhijin Cave, Guizhou Province 5:40pm
Zhijin Cave Stats:
30,000 square meters in area
50-60 meters high average
185 meters high at its highest point
175 meters wide at it's widest point
1380 meters above sea level
The caves were AMAZING! I don't know how I will ever describe the experience to anyone else. There were stalagmites that look like flower petals, or smooth hills, chocolate sauce on a scoop of ice cream, coral, soldier's helmets, and upsidedown boots. There were stalagtites that hung like wet towels or grapes. Some of the formations looked like dragons, buddahs, old men and women, birds, helmets--and the cave was HUGE! The school {I work in} could fit in some of the caverns. I was in awe. Tomorrow we will see the waterfalls.
It's still raining. I've decided that the rain complements this countryside much more than sun. In the rain the green leaves seem illuminated.
I just observed a chickadee eating a very large moth, maybe 5 to six inches for tip to tip. I thought that the moth was an abandoned child's toy until the chickadee began to pick at it. The moth then began to fight back. The moth was larger than the chickadee.
Go-wei-gui beens means colleagues or valued guests.
30,000 square meters in area
50-60 meters high average
185 meters high at its highest point
175 meters wide at it's widest point
1380 meters above sea level
The caves were AMAZING! I don't know how I will ever describe the experience to anyone else. There were stalagmites that look like flower petals, or smooth hills, chocolate sauce on a scoop of ice cream, coral, soldier's helmets, and upsidedown boots. There were stalagtites that hung like wet towels or grapes. Some of the formations looked like dragons, buddahs, old men and women, birds, helmets--and the cave was HUGE! The school {I work in} could fit in some of the caverns. I was in awe. Tomorrow we will see the waterfalls.
It's still raining. I've decided that the rain complements this countryside much more than sun. In the rain the green leaves seem illuminated.
I just observed a chickadee eating a very large moth, maybe 5 to six inches for tip to tip. I thought that the moth was an abandoned child's toy until the chickadee began to pick at it. The moth then began to fight back. The moth was larger than the chickadee.
Go-wei-gui beens means colleagues or valued guests.
Guiyang, Guizhou Province, CHINA 8:10am
Guiyang literally translates into expensive capital {it is the capital of the Guizhou Province}
Guizhou translates into expensive province
Yesterday, we left Taipei at 7:30am, flew out at 10:20am to Hong Kong, took a ferry from Hong Kong to Shenzen and flew to Guiyang. Our hotel was the Hawn Mandarin Inn.
Today we're off to the caves {Zhinjin Cave}.
China literally translates to center of the world. America in Chinese literally translates to beautiful world.
The Chinese say of Guizhou that:
There are not three days with sun
There are not 3 miles that are flat
The people have do not have three things (to rub together)
It turns out the Guizhou is the poorest province in China with parts that have been cut off from the rest of China due to the mountains until the last one or two years. There are only about 118 days of sun a year, and over 200 days of clouds or rain. It doesn't snow here and there are no earthquakes or monsoons. From May to August they grow rice, and in October they harvest oil and mustard for cooking. 80% of herbal medicines are grown or can be grown here. {I'd like to apologize here for any misinformation as well as describe the circumstances under which I came to China as I don't believe I say that in the journal. In going to China, I was part of a Taiwanese tour group that Jenny's grandparents often travel with. That means the entire tour was in Chinese, and aside for Jenny, her brother and her mother I was the only one who would speak English. I knew NO Chinese when I left for China aside from hello, thank you, and she's not home right now (for when I had to answer the phone with Jenny not in the dorm when her grandparents called her). That was about as much English as the other members of the tour group knew save for one older gentleman. I didn't know he could speak English until four days into the trip. Anyway, there were maybe 30 people altogether on the tour.}
On the way to the caves we saw water oxen and farmers.
Guizhou was originally known to its people as "black gold". However, when an official went to present the province to the Emperor, the Emperor mispoke and named it "expensive province". What the Emperor says always goes (and if you argued with him, it could have meant death) so no one corrected him. Hence the poorest province in China recieved its misnomer.
Guizhou translates into expensive province
Yesterday, we left Taipei at 7:30am, flew out at 10:20am to Hong Kong, took a ferry from Hong Kong to Shenzen and flew to Guiyang. Our hotel was the Hawn Mandarin Inn.
Today we're off to the caves {Zhinjin Cave}.
China literally translates to center of the world. America in Chinese literally translates to beautiful world.
The Chinese say of Guizhou that:
There are not three days with sun
There are not 3 miles that are flat
The people have do not have three things (to rub together)
It turns out the Guizhou is the poorest province in China with parts that have been cut off from the rest of China due to the mountains until the last one or two years. There are only about 118 days of sun a year, and over 200 days of clouds or rain. It doesn't snow here and there are no earthquakes or monsoons. From May to August they grow rice, and in October they harvest oil and mustard for cooking. 80% of herbal medicines are grown or can be grown here. {I'd like to apologize here for any misinformation as well as describe the circumstances under which I came to China as I don't believe I say that in the journal. In going to China, I was part of a Taiwanese tour group that Jenny's grandparents often travel with. That means the entire tour was in Chinese, and aside for Jenny, her brother and her mother I was the only one who would speak English. I knew NO Chinese when I left for China aside from hello, thank you, and she's not home right now (for when I had to answer the phone with Jenny not in the dorm when her grandparents called her). That was about as much English as the other members of the tour group knew save for one older gentleman. I didn't know he could speak English until four days into the trip. Anyway, there were maybe 30 people altogether on the tour.}
On the way to the caves we saw water oxen and farmers.
Guizhou was originally known to its people as "black gold". However, when an official went to present the province to the Emperor, the Emperor mispoke and named it "expensive province". What the Emperor says always goes (and if you argued with him, it could have meant death) so no one corrected him. Hence the poorest province in China recieved its misnomer.
Guiyang, Guizhou Province, CHINA
It's late, so I won't go into details now. Here's what I ate:
cow intestine in soup (we think), cucumber or winter squash soup, pumpkin pancakes (kind of like hash browns but with pumpkin), peking duck, fried tofu, noodles, rice, unidentified green veggie.
That was dinner. For lunch (in Shenzen near Hong Kong) we had:
rice, watermelon, green veggies, eggplant (sooo good!), fish, tofu with meat in the middle
And on the bus we had lychees! YAY! {I first tasted lychee when Jenny brought back small bits of lychee jello from China when we were in college, in photographs they look like strawberries, but in reality their skin is rougher and more textured. You peel the thick skin back and inside is a white, translucent fruit. It is soo good. I recently discovered that Stop and Shop periodically has them in the exotic fruit section, albeit they are smaller and not quite as tasty}.
cow intestine in soup (we think), cucumber or winter squash soup, pumpkin pancakes (kind of like hash browns but with pumpkin), peking duck, fried tofu, noodles, rice, unidentified green veggie.
That was dinner. For lunch (in Shenzen near Hong Kong) we had:
rice, watermelon, green veggies, eggplant (sooo good!), fish, tofu with meat in the middle
And on the bus we had lychees! YAY! {I first tasted lychee when Jenny brought back small bits of lychee jello from China when we were in college, in photographs they look like strawberries, but in reality their skin is rougher and more textured. You peel the thick skin back and inside is a white, translucent fruit. It is soo good. I recently discovered that Stop and Shop periodically has them in the exotic fruit section, albeit they are smaller and not quite as tasty}.
9:23 pm/ 10:50 pm
wax apple is nien-moo
Well, today I did something I never thought I would do--I ate congealed pigs blood. It was a dense square block 1"x1.5"x3/4" packed with small grains of rice. Jenny's mom said that if I could eat that then I could eat anything in China. I ate it with no prompting or prodding. The scariest part? I really kind of liked it.
This was one of many things I cooked for myself at a restaurant we went to. It was a little like the Teppanaki grill in Disney World in that you turned on a submerged burner and a pot of broth was placed inside. Then you put in vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, mushrooms, taro root, pumpkin) and some other flavorings (frozen then fried tofu, fish ball, fried fish ball, imitation crab meat, congealed pigs blood, fish paste, tofu, bean sprouts and I may be missing something), then noodles (maifun), and thin slices of beef. It was SO good! I couldn't finish it though because there was so much food!
Today I got my haircut and a little lesson in world-wide fashion--according to the hairdresser, Asian girls want curly hair and European girls was straight. Go figure. {Getting a haircut in Taiwan is quite an experience. For $30 you get a drink, hair wash, scalp massage, shoulder massage, hair cut, and blown dried. Each station has a television as well as magaizines and a mirror. I can't even tell an American hairdresser what I want, so I kind of gave him free range. He cut the straight hair away so the curly hair showed. It was quite an experience.}
We also had "Chinese hamburger" for lunch. It was made with this semi sweet, very white, doughy bread and inside you put salted meat, green veggies that are dillish and gingerish, shredded cabbage, eggs (shredded and thin), peanut powder (which I opted out of), and bean sprouts. I am so full!
I also ate about three wax apples too.
Well, today I did something I never thought I would do--I ate congealed pigs blood. It was a dense square block 1"x1.5"x3/4" packed with small grains of rice. Jenny's mom said that if I could eat that then I could eat anything in China. I ate it with no prompting or prodding. The scariest part? I really kind of liked it.
This was one of many things I cooked for myself at a restaurant we went to. It was a little like the Teppanaki grill in Disney World in that you turned on a submerged burner and a pot of broth was placed inside. Then you put in vegetables (cabbage, lettuce, mushrooms, taro root, pumpkin) and some other flavorings (frozen then fried tofu, fish ball, fried fish ball, imitation crab meat, congealed pigs blood, fish paste, tofu, bean sprouts and I may be missing something), then noodles (maifun), and thin slices of beef. It was SO good! I couldn't finish it though because there was so much food!
Today I got my haircut and a little lesson in world-wide fashion--according to the hairdresser, Asian girls want curly hair and European girls was straight. Go figure. {Getting a haircut in Taiwan is quite an experience. For $30 you get a drink, hair wash, scalp massage, shoulder massage, hair cut, and blown dried. Each station has a television as well as magaizines and a mirror. I can't even tell an American hairdresser what I want, so I kind of gave him free range. He cut the straight hair away so the curly hair showed. It was quite an experience.}
We also had "Chinese hamburger" for lunch. It was made with this semi sweet, very white, doughy bread and inside you put salted meat, green veggies that are dillish and gingerish, shredded cabbage, eggs (shredded and thin), peanut powder (which I opted out of), and bean sprouts. I am so full!
I also ate about three wax apples too.
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