Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Barkhor Street

We awoke today greeted by beautiful clear skies and sunshine.  It was a welcome change from the rain and grey of Xian.  David, John and I checked in last night to the Brhama Putra hotel, a four star hotel in Lhasa, Tibet.  The 36 hour train ride had been pleasant and gave us time to gel for our month long excursion through China but we were all ready to be off of the train.  We left the platform and walked into a throng of people pushing and shoving their way to the exit.  It was tough to be too upset though, as the scenery was breathtaking.  Lhasa sits surrounded by mountains, and it was just at sunset.  The vibrant orange, purple and blue colors were cascading over the tops of the lush green mountain ranges.  We all took a moment to look around and take it all in.  We walked another 50 feet or so and searched amongst the crowd for our Tibetan tour guide who would be holding a sign with David’s name.  He was a shorter man but held the sign just high enough for us to see and we made our way towards him.  He led us to the van and introduced himself as Tsedan, or John in Tibetan.  He presented us with a traditional Tibetan welcome, the Kada, a white, silk like scarf.  Soon, we were on our way to our hotel.  

We checked in and were advised to lay low our first night in order to acclimate to the altitude and our surroundings. The altitude had not seemed to faze us other than a slight headache on the train and a bit of short breath.  We were instructed that Lhasa sits at around 12,000 feet above sea level and means “place of the gods”.  Despite the warnings, we were hungry and also were meeting up with the two women who would be joining us for this leg of our trip, Fran and Mirjam.  Fran is from Italy and Mirjam from Slovenia, which added to our international flavor.  The five of us decided to try and find some type of dinner around the hotel.  We stumbled across a hotel that appeared to be open across the street.  One of the workers ran and grabbed an English-speaking gentleman who assisted us in communicating with the local staff.  He informed us his name was Namhan and spoke with surprisingly clear English.  John was the first to pick up Namhan’s Indian accent, and asked if he had spent time there.  Namhan informed us he was a Tibetan native, but had spent time in India as well as time learning the English language.  He told us that he had been a tour guide for approximately 10 years in Tibet but due to a lack of tourist’s this year he was operating a teashop, which neighbored the hotel.  He was an extremely pleasant gentleman, who remained seated with us throughout our meal and assisted us in ordering our dinner entrees.  As for the meal, it was excellent.  We chose several items from the menu to share amongst each other and I would bet it was one of the first times any of us had tried Yak meat.  It is actually quite tasty, and native to Tibet.  In addition to the Yak meat we ordered Yak meat Momo, a steamed dumpling filled with Yak, which came with a very spicy sauce, cucumbers, curry potatoes, pork spare ribs, and a few other items.

All of these items along with white rice left us stuffed to the brim.  We all agreed that everything had been delicious and were content with our evening, so we retired to our hotel to get a nice nights rest before our first day of touring in Tibet.  

As I said earlier, we awoke to a glorious day, peered out of our hotel window and were greeted by the lush green mountains and intensely bright sunshine.  David, John and I took our respective turns in the shower and then met up with Mirjam and Fran for breakfast.  Following breakfast we met our tour guide who took us to Barkhor Street, an old Tibetan part of town with street vendors on every square foot.  Barkhor is actually a circular street that runs the length of the first temple that we would see for the day.  Our senses were on overload, the sites were extremely colorful, the smell of Yak butter and oil, the crisp, cool air, and the slight breeze blowing.  Our guide led us through the streets with purpose and we arrived at our first destination, Jokhang Monastary.

In front of us were two large concrete furnaces’, which were used to burn Barley, incense and Yak butter as an offering to the gods.  There was a man standing in front of it spinning a prayer wheel in his left hand and offering up barley in order to have his prayers answered.

While standing there we were instructed that the local people would walk the circle several times a morning, and spin prayer wheels and leave offerings.  They would also pause in front of the temple and prostrate on the ground, ceremoniously.  Again, it was sensory overload for all of us, there was so much activity, taking place at one time.  To our right stood a large pole with brightly colored prayer flags and a woman was covered by the flags and praying.

We stopped to take in the entire scene, glanced and one another and knew that we were in another world.  Far removed from the bright lights and tall buildings of Beijing and Xian, this was a place that not many would get a chance to see; a place that is causing strife and conflict globally.  We also knew this to be a place, like much of China, that is constantly changing, and likely will never be the same as it is today.  I have to admit, none of us thought we would make it here and are absolutely honored to have this opportunity. 

We entered the temple ahead of the drones of people who were there to pray and give up offerings to the Buddha’s.  We were instructed that many of the Tibetans would stand and pray and prostrate from early morning until 3 pm or so.  The offerings varied from Yak butter and oil, to grain from Tibetan farmers, to money.  The smell was a mixture of incense, yak oil and burning candles.  The sounds of Buddhist chants and prayers filled our ears and the sights of beautiful Buddhist paintings, Buddha’s for different prayers, and colorful, cheerful people surrounded us.  We learned that a traditional Tibetan greeting is “Tashidelek”, or hello, and the visitors were often delighted to hear us greet them in their native tongue.  We circled the monastery with Tsedan and made our way to the rooftop of the monastery.  From there we were able to see the surrounding streets, the mountains overlooking the city and the monastery we would visit later that day, Potala Palace.  The sun was beating down upon us and although all welcomed it, it was intense. 

Following the Jokhang Monastery we were given an hour to wander the streets of Barkhor, to bargain with the local vendors for any items of interest.  We saw everything from prayer wheels to jewelry to shoes to blenders.  You name it; they had it available for sale.  Traditional to Chinese style we were able to bargain several of the vendors down to a reasonable price and all walked away with a bounty of gifts. I purchased two bracelets, one of which contained the Tibetan characters of a chant; David purchased a bracelet as well.   Content with out purchases Fran informed us of her impending hunger and we met up with Tsedan, who led us to our lunch place, The Lhasa Kitchen.  The restaurant sat on the second level of a building on Barkhor Street and overlooked the square in front of the Jokhang Monastery.  It was very picturesque with the mountains looming large over the city.  Fran and Mirjam took the initiative in ordering lunch and we again shared several items.  We ordered a Nepalese set, Shabalob Bread- fried bread filled with Yak meat, steamed yak momo’s. fried vegetable momo’s, and mutton masala, along with white rice.  If you cannot tell we are all adventurous eaters, which has been essential on this trip.  Tsedan and our driver whose name I have not figured out sat and ate with us and we talked of our afternoon plans. We were scheduled to visit the Potala Palace, an ancient monastery that has housed several of the Dalai Lama.  We were informed that we were very lucky to be able to visit this palace, and that in order to get in we had to show our passport.  Tsedan had arranged for our visit and would accompany us the entire time.  We finished lunch, with John and I finishing every last bit of the large bounty we had ordered. 

The drive to Potala took approximately ten minutes and upon our arrival we exited the van and walked to the main entrance.  We presented our passports and were ushered inside.  Once inside we walked across the ancient stone floor and through a doorway and there essentially on top of us was the Potala Palace.  The palace housed a white and red section, which were clearly displayed by their respective colors. We were informed that the white section played host to the political meetings and gatherings while the red section was the religious side. It was an absolutely stunning scene, and I believe we were all a bit awestruck by the combination of beauty and age of the palace.  I looked up and knew we had quite the workout ahead of us.  Tsedan told us it was 263 steps to the top of the palace, a daunting task for anyone at this altitude. 

The steps were steep and narrow with ramps in between them.  They were made completely of stone and wound back and forth until we reached the first entrance.  Out of breath, and muscles aching we were foolish to think that our ascent might actually be finished.

We paused momentarily to examine the beautiful paintings and continued on our way up the steps. We paused at a courtyard momentarily and then ascended the steps into the temple.  

At the time of this posting I was exhausted from the day.  It was so beautiful....and it is tough to put it into words.  I will continue this post as I am able to process it all.  

Two Days on the Train

We awoke at 6 am so that we could shower and eat breakfast and get our things together, in order to leave for the station by 7:00 am.  Our train was scheduled to leave at 8:48 am, so we gave ourselves plenty of time to spare.  We finished breakfast, and grabbed a cab back to the train station.  This would be the third time we had been at the Xian Railway Station.   We arrived via cab around 7:30 and entered the crowded station.  We found our way upstairs only after asking a local for directions.  The sign above the room read Tibet waiting area and there was a line that seemed to be moving very slowly.  We looked around and deciphered that we had to show our Tibet Travel passes, and our Passports.  The man who was taking them was handwriting each into a log; he asked us to sign and date.  Upon entering the waiting room we noticed a mural on the back wall, which displayed several recognizable characters.  Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Astro Boy (John told us about this one), Donald Duck, and several other characters.  We also seemed to be the only Westerners in the entire room, so we found a spot in the back corner and waited.  Our train was scheduled to depart from Xian at 8:48 am, and the time was 8:30, we were a bit worried because the Chinese always seem to run on time and we did not feel like being left in the Xian train station.  We attempted to walk through the gate but were stopped just on the other side.  When we returned to our seats we noticed a pair of westerners carrying backpacks and approaching our seats.  They sat down in front of us and unloaded their things.  We also noticed two adorable little Chinese boys who were displaying teamwork at it’s finest as they pushed a wooden table from one spot to the next to the next. 

After another five minutes we decided we should try again to enter the gate and assess the situation.  We were again flatly refused, so we returned to our seats a bit confused and worried.  I finally mustered up the courage to introduce myself to the fellow westerners.  I found out that their names were Dan and Susie; they were traveling from London and were on a yearlong trip around the world.  They also did not speak Chinese but reassured me that the train was scheduled to depart upon arrival from Beijing.   After another five minutes or so, everyone in the room stood up, lined up and began entering the gate.  We boarded the train, we were in car number 6, and Dan and Susie were in car 5.  We quickly learned that it is always a great idea to board a train from its originating point and not along the route.  We opened our train cabin door and it was a wreck; sheets, pillows, and bedding strewn about and disheveled.  We found one of the train employees and did our best to point and display that we needed new sheets.  It must have worked because a few minutes later he returned with all new sheets. We would have to deal with the pillows, and bedding. 

We were relieved to find that we would be the only three travelers in our cabin and as the train pulled out of the station our 36-hour jaunt to Lhasa began.  For the first several hours the landscape was tiered hills, and a lot of greenery.  It was nice to see the sun and the mountains.  Time actually was passing fairly quickly.  David and John slept most of the first day, while I talked with Susie and Dan about their travels, and listened to music.  John, David and I attempted to play cards but instead decided to eat lunch.  We ordered the chicken and vegetables, and rice, and two Budweiser’s.   Soup came with the lunch and was fairly bland.  John and I tried to sauce it up a bit and attempted to decipher which container held the Soy Sauce and which held the Vinegar.   I asked the waitress and she replied “You Try “ and pointed to my spoon.  So I tried the first one, pouring a bit into my spoon and it was definitely vinegar. I passed this to John and then put some of the soy sauce into my soup.  Soon after our chicken and rice came out to us and we were all munching away.  After lunch we decided we were too tired to play cards and instead fell into our “MSG Coma’s”.  John by this point had dubbed our train the Ether train because he seemed to be sleeping the entire time. 

Over the course of our 36 hours we passed the time with a combination of sleeping, writing our blogs’ for later posting, reading (I am reading The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, David is reading A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, and John finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) talking, sharing stories about each other, watching movies, playing Snood and Tetris, talking to Susie and Dan, and also using the restrooms on the train.  The later proved to be a bit more challenging at times because the toilets would not always flush.  I was able to finally see “Sex in the City” the movie thanks to a pirated version purchased in Beijing by David.  My review from the train……”I loved it, I actually cried at the end”  I also watched Varsity Blues on the train.  In addition I was able to upload and edit all of my pictures for later use.    36 hours on a train does not necessarily go by quickly, but it does give you a chance to decompress and be alone with your thoughts.  It is an illusion of sorts that you are on an adventure, traveling as they have for years and years, while avoiding the luxuries of planes.  It also allows you unique experiences such as landscape and scenery of China.  Afterall, this is the highest train in the world. 

Around Midnight all three of us had fallen asleep for the night.  It was sometime around 2 or 3 that I awoke to a bright light.  I looked out the window and focused my eyes and was greeted by one of the most spectacular nighttime skies I had ever seen.  You could see Orion clearly along with millions of other stars.  I poked David but he was already awake taking in the same scene.  I just watched the stars for some time as the train chugged along through the night.  Sometime over the next hour I fell back asleep and remained sleeping until I was awoken by the intense sunshine coming through our train cabin window.  We were in the mountains, clear blue skies and bright sunshine all around us. We began to notice little mountain villages along the way as well as the occasional inhabitant of the town who would wave to the train as it passed by.  We also noticed heards of sheep, cattle, and horses as well as yak lying in the river streams.  The scenery was beautiful, lush green hills with snowcapped mountains peering over the top.  WE all agreed that the train had definitely been the way to go. 

 The rest of the trip has been essentially the same and as I am writing this I have about an hour until we reach our destination of Lhasa.  We will be meeting up with two women, Fran and Mirjam, who worked with David during the games in Beijing, and doing our tour of Lhasa over the next five days.  We are all extremely excited to be in Lhasa, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with all of you.  David and I realized that this was Labor Day weekend in the states, so I would like to extend to everyone a safe and joyful holiday weekend.  Normally for me it would feature bar-b-que and something outdoors to mark the changing of the seasons.  I wish you all the best, from Lhasa, Tibet, China.

A Day in Xian

We arrived in Xian and were greeted by a persistent rain.  The air was much cooler than it had been in Beijing, and noticeably cleaner.  Our tour guide Kellie greeted us outside the station with a sign that read, “David Daldwin”.  She introduced herself to us, and we told her that we needed to first purchase tickets to Lhasa, for tomorrow morning.  She led us to the station, which was an absolute madhouse and we took our places in line.  It was not until then that Kellie reminded us that we would need our Tibet Tourist Permit in order to purchase the tickets.  David had been working with the Tibetan Tour Company and had them shipped to our hotel in Xian.  We called the hotel and much to our dismay the permits had yet to arrive.  We decided it best to begin our tour of Xian with Kellie, and to have her check back with the hotel.  We loaded our things into the van that had been assigned to us for the day, a nice, fairly new VW van and headed off to our first stop.  During the course of our transportation we learned that Kellie had been a tour guide for two years.  She first took us to a “Terra Cotta Warrior” factory.  They showed us the procedure for making a terra cotta warrior.  In reality it was yet another ploy from the tourist agencies, trying to get the westerners to purchase items.  I am assuming she most likely made a commission off of any sale, or for even bringing us there.  Nevertheless, it was still interesting to see the Chinese craftsmen hard at work.  We left without buying anything and continued on to our next destination, the famous “Terra Cotta Warriors”.

The drive through the rain took about an hour, and we made small talk along the way.  Once we arrived we were handed three umbrellas from the driver, thank goodness he had them because at this point it was essentially a torrential downpour.  Kellie led us onward and purchased the tickets we needed.   We were instructed of the order of events for the day; first we would eat lunch, then we would see pit number three, then two then one.  We had actually requested this order because we were all so hungry and we were instructed that going from the smallest pit to the largest would be the most impressive way to see the warriors.  

Our lunch was the typical Chinese lunch buffet, complete with noodles, soup, rice, chicken with vegetables, dumplings, cucumbers, and a few other select items.  We found the food to be tasty, but at that point I think we would have eaten just about anything in front of us.  We managed to stuff ourselves and decided we were ready to begin exploring the Terra Cotta Warriors.   Kellie led us to Pit # 3, the smallest of the pits. 

The building was wide open and we stood above the excavated pits peering down upon the ancient warriors. The lights were dimmed giving the terra cotta a distinct golden hue. Some of them were in tact after repair and others were in pieces lying in the dirt and rubble.  They were still so life-like, seemingly alert and ready to defend the tomb.  Some of them looked like fallen soldiers, leaning to one side or another.

We learned that the emperor’s of China were buried with their soldiers when they died.  Sometimes, the soldiers would be buried alive if the emperor died prior to the soldiers’ death.  This was an act of protection for the emperor’s tomb.  In the case of the Terra Cotta Warriors, the Emperor used a combination of living soldiers and terra cotta constructed warriors.  We continued on to Pit # 2, which was a bit larger and contained a few different figures, along with Terra Cotta horses.

Pit # 1 however was the most impressive of them all.  The warriors had been excavated in pieces and put back together, fully intact, and placed in their original positions.  It looked like a little army gathering to march forward and serve and protect.   Parts of Pit #2 and Pit # 1 were still being excavated and preserved, and there were additional pits that were not open to the public.  We left the warriors feeling satisfied with our trip.  I think the consensus was that we were very happy to have visited. 

  When we arrived we decided we all needed jackets in order to stay warm and protect us from the rain.  We searched through our luggage, found the jackets and put them on.  Even with the jackets it was still a bit miserable outside.  Kellie led us upstairs to a museum where we learned all about Feng Shui.  We were taught that upon receiving a Feng Shui dragon you must rub the ears, then the beard, then the wings, then the feet, and finally the butt for good luck.  We also learned that businesses would prosper if they were located within a Feng Shui building, protected from the wind and guarded by water.   Of course after learning all about Feng Shui they “released” us to look around and wander amongst the Feng Shui items for sale.   We milled about but purchased nothing, and then made our way back outside into the pouring rain.  By this time the wind had also picked up, so our stay on top of the City Wall was very short lived.

We decided it would be best to head for the Wild Goose Pagoda, a Buddhist temple in Xian.  The drive took about 20 minutes and after a long night on the train and a day of touring in the rain we all lounged and relaxed. 

We arrived at the Wild Goose Pagoda after sitting in a bit of traffic.  It was approximately 4:30 in the afternoon, and still raining.   We walked to the entrance and continued on through the temple.  Compared to a few of the temples I saw in Beijing, I was fairly unimpressed. This temple was much more modern than the others.  But the detail and architecture was still very impressive, as were some of the jade carvings on the walls of the temples.  We left the temple feeling satisfied and ready to put on dry socks, take a shower and attempt to do the unimaginable; buy tickets to Lhasa on the train. 

Our tour dropped us off at Xian City Hotel, not the nicest accommodations in the world, but it served its purpose of a shower and a dry clean bed.  We had a bedroom with two double beds, and a roll away bed and we paid 115 RMB each, approximately 15 dollars each for our room.  We also had a package waiting for us at the hotel, which contained our Tibet Travel Permits.

Equipped with the permits in hand, we hopped into a cab and headed to the train station.  The train station of course was crowded as usual.  We found our place in line once again and were asked to show our passports and desired destination.  The officer recorded all of this information by hand and we were directed towards the first line available.  Everyone had told us that train tickets to Lhasa would ne nearly impossible to acquire in Xian.  Because in China they only allow you to purchase tickets four days in advance it complicates things.  It must have been our lucky day because within 15 minutes we left the station tickets in hand, headed for dinner.  What a day it had been, and tomorrow signaled yet another adventure, a 36 hour train to Lhasa. 

 

 

THe Beginning of an Adventure

Darkness fell over Beijing and three travelers embarked upon an adventure through Asia.  It was a cool night for the Beijing summer and the city was recovering post Olympic games.   It had been a show for the ages and as the travelers gathered their things they knew the time had come to move on to other adventures, leaving behind the city that had been their home for over a month.  They met at China Peoples Palace Hotel, what had become the headquarters for the JetSet bowling league, and grabbed a cab towards the Beijing West Railway Station, not knowing what the coming days would bring.  Even though they had worked together for a month they had very little knowledge of one another.  Two of them, John and David had worked together previously in Torrino, Italy. David and Ethan knew each other briefly from living in Chicago and having some mutual friends.  But this would be the most time they had ever spent together one on one. 

Small talk ensued as they rode towards the station.  Talk of their upcoming trip, their past 40 days in Beijing, and company gossip helped to calm any nerves they faced.  John was an experienced traveler having spent almost ¾ of the year on the road for work.  David was moderately experienced, and the third, Ethan, had little to no international experience.  None of them spoke Chinese at any recognizable level.  They had found the language barrier to be more difficult than expected but due to Chinese hosts, and a moderately westernized Beijing it had not been difficult to this point. 

The cab pulled into the station and it seemed that half of Beijing was attempting to take a train that night.  They unloaded their things from the cab, hoisted their luggage onto to their backs and took their places in line.  It was like hearding cattle through a gate, one at a time.  The line took about fifteen minutes to get inside and once inside it seemed to be sheer madness, with no rhyme or reason.  There were people everywhere, hustling to their appropriate gates, with what seemed to be no regard for those around them.  Pushing, shoving their way through the masses.  It smelled of hay and a lack of personal hygiene.  They found their way to a information desk, presented their tickets and hoped that the person would point them in the correct direction.  Train Z19 to Xian. ”Go to the wait room,” she said, and directed them across the large, open room.  They entered under a sign that read “Wait Room” and were greeted by a room filled with Chinese families and a few Westerners.  They found two seats in the back corner of the room and attempted to figure out the process to board.  After setting their things down, two of them headed for the restroom, which also appeared to be the smoking lounge.  David lined up at the urinal and Ethan found a stall.  The stall had no toilet, just a hole in the ground, with running water.  Ethan was relieved that he only had to pee because squatting above the hole seemed so awkward and unfamiliar to him.  Ethan exited and washed his hands at the sink as David was drying his.  They both exited and walked towards the counter of one of the small shops in the wait room.  David looked around for some chocolate while Ethan simply milled.  After a few minutes Ethan decided he wanted some ice cream.  He stood above the refrigerator examining the packages of the different ice cream bars.  Doing his best to decipher the true contents of the package he decided upon a chocolate coated bar, with a purple ice cream inside.  He paid the 5 RMB for the bar and walked back to his friends.  They were ready to board the train, so they slugged their things onto their backs and walked towards the gate.  John led the way, followed by David and then Ethan.  Ethan had opened the ice cream bar and was busy attempting to eat quickly, while walking through the gate.  They speculated upon the purple ice cream’s true flavor.  “Blueberry, perhaps?”  Whatever it was, it did not matter; it simply became another non-descript yet edible item of food. 

They found the appropriate gate after being pointed in the right direction and walked down the stairs towards the train.  They were in the last car of the train, and in sleeper beds in separate rooms.  They had purchased three top bunk tickets, and each room was equipped with two top bunks and two bottom bunks.  David was the lucky one who was relegated to staying with the neighbors.  He would spend the night with an Asian couple and their adorable little girl, who appeared to be around 5 or 6 years old.  Ethan and John would spend their next 13 hours with two men from Xian, who had been in Beijing on business.

They two men were very friendly and spoke a bit of English, probably a little more than the Chinese that Ethan and John were able to speak, but not much.  From the limited amount of conversation the four had they were able to talk about where they were from, what they did for work, and how long they had been in Beijing and Xian.  They also recommended trying some sort of sheep meat for a meal in Xian. 

John and Ethan found the beds to be comfortable enough to make due, and luckily had tired themselves enough from the flurry of activity the day before that they were able to sleep, somewhat through the night. 

The train rocked back and forth, and there was at some point of the night an incessant high pitched, banging noise that seemed to come from directly above their sleeper.  

Sometime around 7 am Ethan and John were awoken by the sound of the conductor, who asked them to “please awake so as to have an enjoyable day in Xian.”  The train was not even set to arrive until 8:24 am, so it seemed a bit odd to them that they needed to be awake an hour and a half prior to the train arrival.  They both drifted off to sleep once again, only to be reawaken by someone banging on their door.  They opened it a bit curiously and at the door stood one of the train workers’ who entered the cabin, reached down to the floor and pulled the plastic bag from the trashcan.  Once again feeling a bit surprised at the inconsiderate nature of this “wake up call” the boys looked at one another and simply shrugged.  By this point the train had turned the radios in the rooms on and a U.S. song came over the radio.  Usher’s “Let it Burn” played first and then Norah Jones, “Sunrise”, followed by more Chinese music. 

The train arrived precisely on time in Xian, and David, Ethan and John grabbed their things and left the train.  Upon exiting the station they were greeted by a tour guide who was waiting for David Daldwin.  A persistent rain that would last for the entire day in Xian also greeted them.  

Xian

Day one of our adventure began in the pouring rain in a new city. WE arrived in the city of Xian and toured all day long.  I am going to update my post when I get to Tibet in two days.  I just wanted to ensure everyone that we are safe, healthy, well fed, and resting for our trip to Tibet.  36 hours on a train, we leave at 7 am tomorrow for the train station.  Stay Tuned. 

See You on the Flip Side

I sit here in my Hotel room for the last hour reflecting upon the experiences I have had for the past 40 days.  I have never had anything compare to this experience in my life.  I learned, I lived, I loved, I laughed, I cried, I sweated, and rarely slept.  We truly worked and played hard.  ANd we all came together in unity to make Beijing 2008 the experience that it was. i now embark on a journey through China leaving so any behind.  There is so much to say and remember about this trip.  I made some new friends for life hopefully.  I truly hope that everyone will stay in touch.  Trevor, Matt, Dean, David, David B. JOhn, Julia, Audrey, Leslie, Max, Rick, Lynn, Margaret, all my CHinese hosts and hostesses.....ok this sounds a bit like an Oscar speeech now.  It is running on too long, and I hear the music telling me to move on. I board a train tonight for Xian, then on to Tibet.  I will miss Beijing and all of it's wackiness.  But I will never forget the times we had!!! Heres to Vancouver and onto London!!!!! 

We Say Our Goodbyes

After a month of working and living in Beijing it is time to say goodbye.  I have met so many great people and hopefully made some connections that will be long lasting.  Tonight was just phase one of a three part process.  We had our host and hostesses from our program, along with all of the managers for appetizers and drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe Beijing.  This group of local students have been so amazing.  We really did have the best group of kids to work with.  They were so eager to help and to teach us about their city and culture.  In addition they were eager to learn from us as well.  Here are some pictures from the evening as we said our goodbyes and parted ways for the time being.  We have a big company party tomorrow night and then one final outing to the Great Wall before we all depart for our various destinations. We are all sad to go as this was a wonderful experience for all of us.   

Farewell Speeches