China - the Mainland

Then we got into the real China. I went on a crew tour where we flew inland to Xian where they are famous for the Terra Cotta Warriors. There is a mausoleum where Emperor QinShihuang, the first emperor of China lies along with wealth from 30+ years of his reign. In 1974, a farmer was digging a well and came upon a clay face of a warrior. They discovered there was an army of 8000 soldiers plus horses that were built to guard the emperor’s tomb. All the soldiers have different facial features and body types. The site is now series of museums. There are still archeologists piecing things together. They have determined there is so much wealth in the tomb but on trying to retrieve it, such things as fine silk disintegrate a few minutes after they are touched by air. So they are saving it until there is a technology which will protect whatever is inside.



I bought a book telling the whole story and met the farmer who first discovered this national treasure and had him sign my book! We don’t have to feel so bad about our Indian treaties – this man was paid 100 lbs of wheat by the Chinese government for all these treasures.



We had a traditional “dumpling dinner” that evening where the dumplings are in the form of what is inside – duck, pork (pig), chicken, etc. And everywhere we went, we ate with chopsticks. We attended the Ding Dynasty Chinese show that evening for some local music and dancing. One of our crew had a Canadian friend living in Xian and teaching English that we connected with. It was great to hear his stories. One of his teaching methods was to give an incentive to his students where the top 8 in the class were invited to his home for a traditional turkey dinner where they learned to eat with a knife and fork. We also visited the city wall – in the old city there were street markets of fresh fish and produce from the nearby farms. The custom is to exercise each day so on the new side there were ping pong tables as far as you could see with people playing, some doing tai chi, others kick-boxing and there were women with special chairs who gave free haircuts in the park each day. It’s quite an interesting culture and I hope to return some day.








I’ll have to continue my China story of the Great Wall at a later time as I am running late and as when we arrive in Japan, they block all internet so I’ll get this much posted for now.

Hong Kong

Our next stop was Hong Kong. These cities are so heavily populated, there are high rises everywhere. I visited the island where they have parks and shrines and have also built a Disneyland park. I didn’t visit there as we know that can’t be done in a day! The night market was interesting with bargains to be had everywhere. The vendors just come out here from 7pm-midnight then fold everything up and go home. Since it was my first experience, I primarily just looked at things. Next time I will be wiser in shopping for the bargains.







Hong Kong is now part of China although they have their own currency and different laws. Great Britain gave up their rights to it in the 1990’s. Their technology is quite progressive here. To protect people from fires in all the tall buildings, about every 20 floors, the floor is empty so that people have somewhere to gather if they can’t get out of the building. On this photo you can see the floor that is empty has the red line on it.






From the harbor at night, we could view downtown where there was a beautiful light show that goes on every night.

Halong Bay, Viet Nam

However the second place we visited , Halong Bay, was not as advanced. I visited some beautiful caves then sailed around the harbor, viewing the fishing villages. People live on the water in communities where a teacher comes to them to school the children. On Thursday nights they have karaoke and it can be heard across the water throughout the village. It’s quite a different lifestyle but people here seem happy.

Viet Nam

Viet Nam is a place I never dreamed I would be visiting. The first city we visited was Phy My which is the port city near Saigon. Although Saigon has been renamed to Ho Chi Minh City, most people still refer to it as Saigon. I was not expecting such a modern city but there were many beautiful places there and they are progressing nicely into the 21st century. We had a visit in the palace where the Viet Nam war was conducted.