Trains, Planes, and Food poisoning-A trip to China, Part 1

Dear Readers,

We left on Singapore Airlines for Shanghi, China on a Tuesday afternoon. The flight was good with lots of movies and good food. We planned on spending five days in Beijing and then five days in Shanghai where Steve works. We spent the first night in the Marriot outside Shanghai where Steve usually stays. Next door is the Bubba's Texas BBQ place. Yes, it's for real. A place where westerners hang out, drink beer, and eat BBQ. They play country music and wear cowboy hats. I was very amused.

The next morning bright and early we caught a taxi to the high speed train station that just recently opened. I have been following its progress in the newspapers-trains stop during rain storms, passengers trapped on dead train, train crashes, train officals arrested, mechanical failure on the train so I was worried. We had soft chair tickets and sat in the last cabin next to the engineer. We were given warm cokes and a chinese lunch. The bathroom was nice. And sure enough we arrived in five hours at an average speed of 300 kilometers. Then when we got off the train and tried to get a taxi, we soon came to realize that our taxi driver who spoke no english whatsoever didn't have a clue as to where our Marriot hotel in Beijing was. He drove in the general direction, taking us to the wrong place, asking people on the street for directions, and finally giving up at the place next door. We kept pointing out the hotel (one of the largest in the city) as we drove by it but to no avail. We hopped out and dragged our suitcases down the sidewalk until we got to where we were going. The Hotel is surrounded by the remains of the wall of the city (1400's) Ming. We walked around it after we got checked in.

The Marriot Beijing was a great hotel with several restaurants and helpful people who all spoke English. We immediately booked tours for the next two days. They would be private tours with a guide and driver only. We don't like the bus thing. So we enjoyed the buffett breakfast in the morning and headed out of town to the Great Wall. The ride was an hour and a half and I saw cars turn into motorcycles turn into horse and carts. Every spare inch of land in Chinese is planted in something. Vines growing vegetables are everywhere. I saw very little livestock. Some goats. A group of ducks, a donkey. Donkey meat by the way was for sale a sign said. Why these signs are in English, I am not quite sure. There are several portions of the wall available to tourist. Steve wanted to see the part less traveled, the part not fully restored so we walked straight up to a cable car and then straight up to the wall. The sky was hazy, gray, and the weather was hot-hotter than Singapore. I was drenched in no time. At no time, I should add, did I see blue sky in Beijing. Not ever. It was gray every day. Pollution? I wondered. Anyway, I could not keep up with Steve on the stairs and uneven pavement on the wall. Finally, I sat down and he ran ahead. While sitting there, another woman came over and sat down to rest. Turns out she was with a group of army people from California. One asked where I was from and he said I have a brother who went to Virginia Tech. He sent me a T shirt with a Hokie on it. Do you know what a Hokie is? I told him no one really does. Anyway, it was a small world. They went on and another woman sat down. Is this where the fifty and over people sit? Yes, it is, I said. She was from Chicago and was hiking the entire way. I had to admire that. Steve came back and I limped back to the car. On the way back, I saw a couple getting dressed for a wedding on the wall by the porta potties. Yes, dressing in the open. The potties were nasty!

We were taken to a "factory" when we thought we were heading to lunch. This is typical of the tours-trying to force you to buy something. I believe the guide gets a kick back. We bought two Christmas ornaments (I do collect them in Singapore) so it wasn't a complete waste of time. Then at the "factory" we were seated in a cleaner, air conditioned place for lunch. A little boy rode his trike in and out staring at the westerners. He evidently lives there, hence the laundry outside the door. Food was interesting and tasty. I was always worried, though, about the quality. Next we went over alot of mountains and landed at the Ming tombs.

Here the first emperors of the Ming Dynasty are buried under a mountain. No one has dug him up. Our guide told us all kinds of things-the religion was feng shui, Some of the grave items were on display. I should mention that the place was falling apart and needed painting. I should also mention that all heritage places belong to the people and so the people treat the place like home. They have picnics all over, sleep on the benches and walls, stare at westerners, and if a little one has to pee, well, anything is fair game. They smoke like chimneys and there is no where they don't smoke. They pay absolutely no attention to signs-they are too many for the police to bother with. And they will walk, lean, push on you and never say a word. They are happy to walk right over you. Having said that I was not surprised to see a big empty building. Every building we saw was empty because they told me that anything over 100 years old is up for sale. They have sold all their antiques, heirlooms, grave goods, or all the loot they could get a hold of to anyone willing to pay. So all they have are empty buildings-mostly restorations that the guide passed off as authentic. I had read ahead though so I knew that the tomb had been rebuilt in 1950 and the Forbidden Palace was rebuilt for tourists too. We drove back to town and were late, due to traffic. We had reservations at one of the best duck restaurants in town. We couldn't even shower-we literally ran from one taxi to another, ran into the restaurant in front of alot of irate people to get our back table. Then we discovered no one spoke English and we couldn't read the menu. The poor waitress kept coming around and we just looked at her. She got mad, disappeared, and came back with a man who could speak English. At last we ordered our food and got our duck. It was delicious.

That was the end of our first day in Beijing.

How a Salve Became an Amusement Park

Dear Readers,

With the clock ticking away before we leave for China and home for the last time, every weekend is a marathon of doing things we meant to do but never got around to. I suggested the Tiger Balm Gardens on Sunday since it was raining. My only concern was it wasn't clear to me how to get a taxi back as it was in the middle of nowhere. Our taxi driver assured us no problem! Of course it was a problem. But first we arrived in the heat of the day at the Haw Par Villa (Tiger Balm Gardens) built by a millionaire in honor of his brother. These Aw Brothers developed Tiger Balm (our equivalent of Ben Gay. Same smell too) It made them super rich-they built mansions, owned gardens, and were super stars here in the 1930's. One brother decided to built a park dedicated to the Chinese religion (Taoist) which is a combination of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Chinese lore. He built this series of statues protraying Chinese stories, religious themes, and morals he believed everyone should have. The park for example has scenes of people gambling, drinking, losing their homes and wives to bad behavior. Then in the midst of all of this are statues of Australia animals and the Statue of Liberty. I of course asked the question why and the answer was that the majority of Singaporeans would not get to see these things so he felt he could help them out. He also built a building protraying the ten levels of hell (Steve claims marriage is one) but it was closed. Indeed, the place was in a sad decline as the brothers are long dead. People were having picnics there among the heat and mosquitoes (standing water there. A big no no here). They had a small Chinese museum without air conditioning which we went in. I had no idea that the Chinese man Bing invented the Bing Cherry by combining cherry types. It wasn't Bing Crosby after all. I did know the Chinese invented the Chinese fortune cookie. Da. We decided we were through as my clothes were completely soaked through and sliding off my body at this point. So we make our way down the hill to a so called taxi spot. Three taxis minus drivers are parked there. Were they hiding in the park or were they at the Korean BBQ place across the street. We waited. Then some ladies who were friendly and western flagged down a taxi and got us a ride home.

Next after dinner one night we walked down to the Ion where we took pictures of our favorite street performers. We have been seeing these people for two years now and contributed many coins in their honor. There's the wheelchair lady who plays the mandolin. She's really good. There's statue man-never really figured out what he was about. There's the leopard kids. Their demanding mom (tiger mom) sits behind them and rakes in the money. The Highlights are a husband and wife band who play every weekend to a growing crowd. True, they may be relatives but we often walk by humming along to good American movie sang with a great Chinese accent. You can't beat the entertainment on the streets here. Even the prostitutes are inspiring. The other night when were down at the grocery (across from Orchard Towers, a prostitute icon) a van drove up and we watched about ten prostitutes roll out for the night-all dressed in heels and white dresses. They looked like angels!

By the way, Sarah and Beth, I included a picture of the weddings cars up at the hotel. This is how a car should be decorated, not with cans, bottles, or flat basketballs. This has class!

Our last adventure last week was the river cruise. Here boats take you down the Singapore river to the Marina Bay (now a reservoir) for half an hour. The natives laugh at all the tourist that pay to do this but we found it quite soothing to watch the sun set over the big city and to see all lights come on from the building. There was even a laser light show from the Casino roof when it got dark. We passed two boats picking up trash that somehow gets in there. People drink this water! Never mind. A couple of weeks ago they found a body! They are making arrests even as I write. No crime goes unsolved here.

I went down to the new Chinese Visa place down by Raffles. I had tried for three hours to fill out the online form. I couldn't even get it to print out. Still, I dragged all I had down to the office and they told me to fill out the form again by hand right there. I should have just done that to start with. Seems they have some bugs in the system. But for only $225 they let Americans come to see the sights. Singaporeans are free.

I would like to thank everyone who made comments on my last blog. You have inspired me and improved my mood. I'm still packing though with a frown on my face!Boo Hoo!

This Sucks.Com

Dear Readers

I have not made it a secret about how I feel leaving Singapore for the Huffer "estate" in rural Augusta County. It has been an absolute blast living here where there were people, stores, trips, and many adventures every day. Most of them good. I go back and forth on my feelings. At the moment a "child" is running upstairs-jumping, squealing, in general making a ruckus from early in the morning to late at night. The parents are up to the wee hours slamming doors to the closets. That I won't miss. But the question I struggle with is what to do with the rest of my life.

Most of my friends work. I did too but that ship has sailed. I am in too much pain to consider it. I understand that there are no jobs for most people. Everything now is service jobs. I am looking at volunteering. There is always a need for free help but gasoline prices may effect that. I have to drive far to reach civilization where I live. Nothing remains the same and I feel the US economy is worse than when I left two years ago.

Ihave told my husband that my new password will be "This Sucks" for all my accounts. For those with longer characters, "This Sucks Even More." He said that my attitude needs improving. We can't stay. It isn't fair to the people who have been taking care of our house, our bills, our problems in the States. We have older parents dependent on us. We must take up our obligations. I know all this. Sometimes you wonder what it would be like to be free to follow your heart without all the baggage that acompanies our lives. But you have to make choices and they have consequences.

So we are making arrangements to leave. I am doing things for the last time. We went to the Asian Civilizations museum to see the terracotta soldiers. Too few but I did enjoy the exhibition. Then we found a place that served American pizza in the local mall. We dropped in my favorite art place and the woman wanted to sell me a couple of paintings for only $21,000. They think all Westerners are rich so I try to play the part. Sure, that would look great in my living room!

We are scheduled to fly to China on August 2nd (Happy Birthday Beth!) Last Steve was in the hospital to celebrate that date. Cambodia wasn't that wonderful. I have been reading a story in the paper about how the bottled water in China is tainted-not just the food. So now I wonder if we should bring our own! Is nothing sacred? Just like last year, our medical insurance runs out August 1st and so far we've not heard a word from the company. We will be flying to Shanghair for a night, leave on the high speed train to Beijing to the Marriott. We will be seeing the Forbidden Palace, Summer Palace, and Great Wall. Then take the train back to Shanghai where Steve will be working for a week. I will be touring the People's Museum again and probably the art museums. That's the plan, anyway. After that, it's all downhill. Just a week and a half before I fly back for good. That sucks. But we will do it. I am already packing . . .

The Singapore 4th of July

Dear Readers,

There are so manyAmericans here that every year the American Association holds a huge celebration in a field at the end of the island for the Americans. That includes Americans married to Singaporeans, Chinese, Indians, Germans, Muslims, and all their relatives. All you have to have is a picture ID, no weapons or bombs, and be prepared to be xrayed. It's a massive event complete with American hambrugers and hot dogs, cotton candy, Mexican food, vegeterian entrees, and beer, beer, beer. There are blow up playgrounds for the kids, art and games for the kids, music on the stage, and vendors from American car companies, Harley Davis, and the American school.

Steve and I took a taxi. It was bright and sunny when we left our hotel but the sky darkened every couple of miles we went. We drove straight north to the beach between Sinagpore and Malaysia. There we arrived at the Terror Club (Where did they come up with that name?) which had a huge field. They were isolated from residences too which helped with the firework permit. There are no fireworks allowed in Singapore unless the government does it. A person can't purchase them or explode them. So I delighted to hear there would be fireworks allowed by the government.

It looked like rain when we got there. A friend of mine had reserved a table under the food tent for us and so we sat there so awhile eating and waiting for the sky to clear. It did without actually raining (as it did last year I understand). You could smell the rain in the air but it rained somewhere else.

We ventured out to walk around and listen to the band playing Doobie brothers and some country music. I don't know where they got these guys. We wandered around for awhile and then got a seat on the bleachers over looking the soccer field where everyone else was sitting on cardboard. It was dark by seven and at eight they lit the fireworks. Great show. The Sinagpore anthem was sung first, then the Star Spangled Banner. The colors were retired and then came the time to go home. How you ask? We don't have a car and taxis were nonexistent out there. The club had arranged for a shuttle to the MRT. We got into a long line and waited. And waited. The police who were hearing the angry crowd become a mob called for the bus to get there. Where they were we don't know but the police flagged them down. We got on the second bus and got to the MRT in one piece. I was still carrying my mickey mouse ears. The police got on the MRT with us and looked fierce. I think they were looking for someone. Someone with mickey mouse ears, Steve said.

Overall, it was great being with my co-country men. I do have to say that the Australians can drink Americans under the table. That's just a fact. I even had on my 4th of July Tee Shirt which I bought from Walmart last time I was home. The next time I wear it, I will be home. Bye.