China Memoirs'

Had a long, great day. Saw Tiananmen

Sq, sent picture of us at the Forbidden

City. We took a rickshaw ride thru the

Hutong, which is the old Beijing. Gov-

ernment owns most of these old, small,

dilapidated buildings and rents them out to families who

pass them down to their kids. Very very small. So unlike

our homes. The lady who gave us tea in her home was very

proud of it. In the Forbidden City, there were toilets that

were rated 4 Star - a joke - no seats, no toilet paper! We

also went to a tea ceremony and tasted many teas (thought

of Meg). Then went to a Kongfu Show (very similar to

Cirque du Solei ) and ended the day at a very fancy restau-

rant (in our shorts!!) for Peking Duck. Cyril didn't do his

math right and ended up with a $200 dish - oops!! Today

we head to the Great Wall. I don't I will gain any weight at

this rate!

>Love to all -

China Memoirs'

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China Memoirs'

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Had a long, great day. Saw Tiananmen Sq, sent

picture of us at the Forbidden City.

We took a rickshaw ride thru the

Hutong, which is the old Beijing.

TheGovernment owns most of these

old, small, dilapidated buildings and

rents them out to families who pass

them down to their kids. Very very small. So unlike our

homes. The lady who gave us tea in her home was very

proud of it. In the Forbidden City, there were toilets that

were rated 4 Star - a joke - no seats, no toilet paper! We

also went to a tea ceremony and tasted many teas (thought

of Meg). Then went to a Kongfu Show (very similar to

Cirque du Solei ) and ended the day at a very fancy restau-

rant (in our shorts!!) for Peking Duck. Cyril didn't do his

math right and ended up with a $200 dish - oops!! Today

we head to the Great Wall. I don't I will gain any weight at

this rate!

Love to all -

Sent from my ASUS Eee Pad

China Memoirs'

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Hi All! We are having so much trouble

with the internet!!! ugh! I have sent a cou-

ple of whatsapp messages to Katie to pass

along, but am sure she doesn't know exactly

who all to send them to. Doug, Dick - I will

send some pics your way via whatsapp soon.

We had a really great time in Beijing - did

the Great Wall - amazing!! - Now in Xi-an

and saw the Terracotta warriors today. They are really un-

believable. Took lots of pictures. Tomorrow we will do the

old city wall, "climb" Mt. Haushan (see U-tube for video).

We keep practicing our chop sticks lol B/c of the demon-

strations here over the conflict with Japan, we were told not

to wander outside tonight. Interesting...We are really getting

a lot of Chinese history and customs. We leave here in 2

days to go see the pandas. The time is going by so fast...

Hugs to everyone.

XOXO

Sent from my ASUS Eee Pad

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Page one of one

Paul, I hope all is well on your end.

Sorry I've not written but it has either

been too late or no Wi. Jean & I are

having a great adventure. We feel like

VIP's with our translator & guide. The

last 2 nights we've been in a hotel that caters to tourist &

it's not been as much fun. We like not having English spo-

ken. It's been fun to be the only white couple in a restaurant

& to have to point to pictures on the menu to order food.

Tonight we walked a couple of blocks from the hotel &

had a great meal of sweet/sour egg plant & a plate of fried

rice... both delicious ! + a large bottle of beer, tea & no tip !

all for &7 US ! It's been fun to have no idea what you've or-

dered until it comes. People stop & stare at us, surrepti-

tiously take our pictures & on 3 occasions have come to us

& asked to take a picture of them..... with us ! like they have

never seen a white guy & gal before. Today we went hiking

in the Sacred Mountains. It was somewhat like Yosemite....

except the trail was jammed packed with people & it was

raining & foggy.

The l was literally carved out of the

mountain with steps & a metal hand rail

& a little Buddhist temple at the top.....

just to let us know that we're not in Cali-

fornia. Jean 'loves' the traffic.... especially the chaos of

motor bikes, pedestrians, cars ..... all going in different di-

rections !

Tomorrow we're off to explore the Muslim quarter of Xiam.

It's only a couple of blocks from the hotel. Our guide said

not to go there tonight because of the world wide uproar

over the US video on Mohammad.

Sorry we've not sent any pictures. We've tried but todate have

been unsuccessful linking them to the email. A couple of

times I just wanted to pick up the phone & call you cause I

knew you would know the answer.

I'll try to write more tomorrow. The Wi -Fi on this end has

been limited to the hotel lobby ... which has been a pain.

They have the old phone modem outlet's but I don't think

it's possible to link to my tablet. Any thoughts ?

I'd wish to a good night... but I think we're about 12 hrs

behind you.

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Forward of today's note via whats app:

Hi hon- last day in Beijing. Did the Great

Wall- amazing! Getting better at ordering

food lol Picture of food stalls at night that

sell some very" special" food like donkey,

centipedes, spiders, anything imaginable.

Walked down a walking mall near hotel, very expensive

stores like Rolex, Gucci, Hermes. Please share this email

with siblings and aunts, uncles. Internet doesn't seem to

work for email...?...hugs. Plz call Robbie to check on him.

Thx

Sent from my iPhone

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On Sep 20, 2012, at 8:56 AM,

cyril.barch@gmail.com wrote:

> Hi All! We are having so much

trouble with the internet!!! ugh! I

have sent a couple of whatsapp

messages to Katie to pass along, but am sure she doesn't know

exactly who all to send them to. Doug, Dick - I will send

some pics your way via whatsapp soon. We had a really

great time in Beijing - did the Great Wall - amazing!! -

Now in Xi-an and saw the Terracotta warriors today. They

are really unbelievable. Took lots of pictures. Tomorrow we

will do the old city wall, "climb" Mt. Haushan (see U-tube

for video). We keep practicing our chop sticks lol B/c of

the demonstrations here over the conflict with Japan, we

were told not to wander outside tonight. Interesting...We are

really getting a lot of Chinese history and customs. We leave

here in 2 days to go see the pandas. The time is going by so

fast... Hugs to everyone.

China Memoirs'

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Version: one

Just a quick note. These are some

shots I just took in the lobby of our

'hotel' It's beautiful.... an open court

yard in the center... the sound of

water & birds.... Asian music.....very

peaceful. The hotel is surrounded by

a typical Asian market with narrow streets & numerous

vendors selling all sorts of brassware, food , jewelry etc. We

are the only Westerner's around. It's great not hearing any

English spoken. In fact I'm finding myself getting resentful

when I see a 'white' face...... because I feel like they're in

fringing on my space.

This morning we went & saw the Panda's. Very interesting....

I thought it would be boring.... but we got there just at feed-

ing time. They eat nothing but bamboo & huge am't of that.

Then the adults go to sleep till the next meal... but the

young ones become playful. I hate to use the word 'cute'...

but ... they're cute

Jean has booked our schedule so tight that this is the first

time since we left Virginia I've had Wi-Fi during the day &

could compose & send something all at one time.

Time to go to the Chendu opera..... Love to all...

China Memoirs'

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Version: two

Just a quick note. These are some

shots I just took in the lobby of our

'hotel' It's beautiful.... an open court

yard in the center... the sound of

water & birds.... Asian music.....very

peaceful. The hotel is surrounded by

a typical Asian market with narrow

streets & numerous vendors selling all sorts of brassware,

food , jewelry etc. We are the only Westerner's around. It's

great not hearing any English spoken. In fact I'm finding

myself getting resentful when I see a 'white' face...... because I

feel like they're in fringing on my space.

This morning we went & saw the Panda's. Very interesting....

I thought it would be boring.... but we got there just at feed-

ing time. They eat nothing but bamboo & huge am't of that.

Then the adults go to sleep till the next meal... but the

young ones become playful. I hate to use the word 'cute'...

but ... they're cute

Jean has booked our schedule so tight that this is the first

time since we left Virginia I've had Wi-Fi during the day &

could compose & send something all at one time.

Time to go to the Chendu opera..... Love to all...

China Memoirs'

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Page one of two

I already 'sent' an email earlier today with

multiple attached photos... but... it didn't go

through. So I'll try again ... this time w/o the

photos. Today we started off with breakfast at

the hotel... always a buffet... which means all

you can eat. I'm enjoying the Chinese noodles.. very taste

with a little egg. Bokchoy I've found edible but kind of

strange for breakfast but I'm trying. You can see the British

influence ... cold baked beans every morning. Last night we

did a Hotpot dinner... a large 2 ft 'bowl' with a central

smaller 'bowl' .... both filled with oil & different seasonings.

Then we ordered different meats, vegetables & noodles ... &

cooked them with our chopsticks. Yummy ! Mom says my

eyes are already beginning to look slanted.

Today was a trip to see the Pandas. They have a research

'zoo' where they're kept in a natural habitat. I't the nicest

'zoo' I 've ever seen. We got there just as they were being fed.

Panda's eat nothing but bamboo... lbs. & lbs of the stuff.

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After that, they sleep till the next meal. Ap-

parently there are 2 types of Pandas .... the

giant & the red. The red are much smaller ...

like big raccoons... & are much more active. I

don't use the word 'cute' much... but these

little critters were CUTE !

Tonight was a Chinese 'variety' show....some of it I could

make no sense of at all .... but it included a world class

magic show, an interesting puppet show that at least I could

follow the story line, a clever pantomime show where the

performer used his hands on a black lighted screen to make

'animal pictures' & tell a story . It also included a perform-

ance by a classical 2 string Chinese 'violin'. I've never

heard such a wide range of sound from such a simple,

stringed instrument.

Tomorrow... back to the airport. I'll try to send another note

tomorrow.

Love to all....

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Yesterday was a day of travel. We flew

from Chendu to Guillin & then drove

to Yangshou . Last night we finally got

to bed after midnight.... thus no email .

As we drove down, Mom wanted to go

to the 'Pearl Factory'. So we stopped at the 'Pearl Museum'

where we got a lecture on pearls that may have lasted all of

5 minutes & then..... we were shown the 'tasting' room'

which made up most of the museum..... where Mom just had

to do some shopping. Of course none of this was planned.

Today was amazing... went on a 'raft' trip' down the Li

river...just Jean, myself, our guide & the 'boat captain'. A

little out board motor mounted on 4-5 pieces of large plas-

tic tubing , a couple of benches & a canvas roof. For the next

4 hrs. we motored through the heart of the Krast rock for-

mation with these huge tower like mountains coming out of

nowhere. The river was remarkable clean/clear & was lar-

ger (x3) & faster flowing than the Shenendoah R. Today

was foggy & at times drizzly... so I don't know how the pic-

tures will turn out ....but the scenery was just like the classi-

cal Chinese paintings... fog shrouded mountains rising up

out of mist.

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We also got to visit an ancient

riverside village. Talk about

China being a land of contrasts !

Beijing was as sophisticated as

New York City.... no wonder the

rural folks want to move to the cities. Except for the village

having electricity, it could have been back in the 1400's ...

which IS when it was built.

Tonight we're in our hotel room with the windows open

onto a narrow ,Venice like street , with music floating in,

mixed with the muted sounds of Mandarin. This location

would make a great 'base camp' to explore the surrounding

country.... it abounds in picturesque villages, rice fields,

water buffalo.... all easily reachable on foot or bike. Any

takers ?

Mom's choice of China Odyssey has been superb ! Not only

has it been less expensive but we've been able to adjust our

schedule on a whim & have had the complete attention of

our guide. Our schedule for tomorrow calls for a trip to the

Mud Caves & a 'mud bath'. No thanks ! Can you picture

Mom taking a MUD BATH ! She wouldn't even go for a

massage!

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Our guides have all been 20 some-

thing student types, with fair to good

English skills/ knowledge of China. It's

been interesting getting their perspec-

tive on their country & it's history. I

can tell you that there is no love lost

between them & the Japanese. To them, the dispute with

Japan over a couple of small uninhabited islands is a big

deal. They see a war with Japan as fairly likely. It will be

interesting to see how things play out.

I've been amazed at the signage here. Many businesses & al-

most all the roads are 'subtitled' in English...which cer-

tainly makes travel easier.

I hope everyone is well. I'll try to write more tomorrow.

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Real quickly....I'm sitting in the

lobby waiting for Jean & our

guided to show up. Our accommo-

dations have been superb. We

would never stay at places like

this at home... much too nice. A 4 star in China is clearly a

4 star anywhere.

Breakfast buffet today must have had a least 50 possible

choices. Jean tried a couple of 'new' items including some

sort of seaweed ... which was tied in a small little bow. Cute

but ... no thanks! She has always been the more adventure-

some when it comes to eating.

Yesterday ,visited a farmers home ... built 400 yrs ago. A

pump in the court yard for water, chickens in an enclosure

off the 'kitchen'.... no heat but they did have electricity.

We'll show pictures on our return. Of course a large chair-

man Mao picture in the 'living room'.

More later... the guide is here.... off to rice fields today.

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Another day.... more new experiences.

Today was a trip to China's 'classic'

rice growing area. It's high up in the

mountains & took the Chinese over

200 years to construct. First ... a 2 hr

van ride... second a tortuous 30 min-

ute twisting bus trip up a mountain... third... a 45 minute

steep hike up a mountain. Now... the unusual part. .......Once

we arrived at the hiking area we were accosted by multiple

'vendors', who spied Mom's brace, leaped to their feet &

convinced her that she needed to be CARRIED to the top!

Sure enough, she opted to ride like a Princess ( or British

Royalty ) on a custom, padded 'bed' all the way to the top !

Two guys carried her on their shoulders with no shoulder

padding. All of the padding was under Jean's touche! I even

had to buy the porters tea so they could finish the climb.

160 Yuan or about $25 not counting the tea & a tip.....It was

worth it, if just for the pictures! Oh, yes, I did ask.... there IS

a maximum wt., & it costs more to go uphill than down-

hill & the charge rises proportional to ones body mass in-

dex.

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Most of the roads in the big cit-

ies have been as good or better

than any in the U.S. I've been

surprised at their interstates/

beltways. No pot holes etc. Yes-

terday & today we had to trav-

erse 'construction' sites, each

about 20 miles long. Sections were like traveling on a

poorly maintained Forest Service road.... & based on the near

complete absence of work crews... it looked like it might be

years before they're fixed. The only construction I saw was a

machine shaped like an asphalt laying machine, but in-

stead of laying anything it had 8-10 one foot by one foot

'pile drivers' that were tearing up the road. I rated them an

A+ in road destruction & F minus in road repair.

I've been impressed with the Chinese driving. No speeding,

very relaxed, no regard for passing lanes, road signs etc....

but lot's of common sense.. you pass when no one is coming

& the way is clear.....you stop when something/one is in the

way. Even in heavy city traffic, no weaving in & out... &

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a sign of care & concern. My only grip is

they try to get into 4 th gear as soon as

possible. At 15 mph they're chugging

along & the poor engine wants to stall

out... & just crying to be down shifted.... Oh, well.

UPDATE: It's now Friday night & after another 'hard day

'we're sitting in the hotel bar. Mom has gone upstairs to the

room. I'm determined to finish this E-mail....... So I'll finish

now... & tell you tomorrow about the silk factory,

Love to All, CB,

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Today has been real low key. A boat trip

on a canal in the Venice of China, a

walk through the 'Humble Administra-

tor's Garden'....I can tell you there was

nothing humble about this man... & a quick tour of an an

adjoining museum showcasing the art of Shanghai from

3000 BC to about 1600 A.D.

We're now sitting in the hotel lobby where we've got Wi-Fi

doing some messaging. We'll leave soon to do some exploring

on foot & russle up some dinner. I've been trying to catch up

with Maddy & her eating experiences.... so far I've imbibed

ginkgo nuts, snails, river shrimp (where you have to bite

their little heads off), lotus root & a bunch off other things I

decided not to ask any questions about. The local markets

have an abundance of items like snakes, frogs, spiders, cen-

tipedes, skates, jelly fish etc which would put me leagues

ahead of Maddy... but in my old age I don't care about being

first in anything any more. Maddy, your reputation is safe.

More random observations on China.....

At home I'd usually see 2-3 animals dead on the road be-

tween home & the hospital. None here. Does that mean there

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is little local wildlife? Probably so.....

I don't think things here are as bad as

West Virginia where the state legisla-

ture has made it legal to eat road kill.

The people here seem happy.

Either they're not much interested in politics or they're

feigning disinterest.

There is huge discrepancy between the life style in the ru-

ral villages vs the big cities. Probably like the U.S. 30-40

yrs ago. The villages are POOR. In the big cities everyone

seems to drive a new car... Audis, Mercedes etc.

China is primarily a capitalist country. Socialism died after

Mao & the Cultural Revolution. Yes, the airlines,trains etc

remain government owned but entrepreneurship is alive &

well with more little shopkeepers than you can imagine.

Wait till Walmart moves in & puts all the little guys out of

work.

The Chinese hate the Japanese because of the atrocities

committed against the Chinese people prior to & during

WWll. They're pushing their leadership to take on the Japa-

nese over the disputed off shore islands. They're in favor of

war.

Time to go... Mom's getting cranky.... Love Dad