August 5, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 7 Comments
We salute all our faithful blog followers, you know who you are.
The Team debrief included and welcomed co-opted members Base Commander Daisy and Rear Admiral Tia. On arrival back in Ikego we mustered in the living room of the assigned barracks for the Macdonald clan. So many souvenirs, some battered cases, some new cases, 4000+ photos and some weathered lines on all of our faces. The debrief had several headings and collate the main “factoids” and “learnings” from this journey of a life time.
Accomplishments:
Flights: 6 Buses: 2 Trains: 3 Rickshaws: 1
Pedi cab: 1 Car: 3 Guides: 6 Guide journey: 40 Cases: 5 Beds: 13 Immodium: 2 Toilet Rolls: 28
Lessons Learned and Conversations never to be had again:
1. Adaptor or transformer?
2. Tips for Guides: 150 x day x person x 3 divided by 6.5 divided by 1.5
divided by 3 equals British Pounds. Tips for driver equals half of
above.
3. Chess Sets made in original terracotta warriors materials.
4. Sanitizer, wet ones and cleanliness standards of host country.
5. Alcohol intake before moving into a high altitude; must be reduced
dramatically or there will be tears.
6. Support local economy at all costs, shop, shop, shop till you drop,
drop, drop.
7. Luggage allowance never applies to the 3 musketeers.
8. You can never have enough plastic, colorful, useless objects.
9. Sun cream should be purchased one bottle at a time, helps reduce
luggage weight.
10. Never carry handy pack “within regulation” sized sanitizer through
immigration, especially when there might be a temperamental
official on duty, you are gonna lose the sanitizer!
These are just some of the things we have learned from our trip together. When you share one room with three people for 16 days there are many more. The 3 Musketeers would like to say thank you to all our loyal blog followers. And we hope you enjoyed reading about our escapades in China and Tibet as much as we enjoyed our adventure? So long, peace and love to you all.
The 3 Musketeers,
Mare, Marina & Paul
August 3, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 1 Comment
We sat and watched the lights go out over Shanghai tonight and it felt like a fine close to what has been a stage show of many parts.
Beijing warmed us up to our trip with our arrival at the majestic airport which had welcomed so many Olympians some years ago, it looked like a space station especially arriving at night and we were over whelmed and the only people walking through which gave you a sense of occasion and arrival, the thing which struck us was the lack of other people in such a huge facility.
Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Peking Duck Banquet and Kung Fu Show took up our time whilst in the capital, not to mention, looking for a lighter suitcase to enable us to purchase many souvenirs. (The suitcase hunt was unsuccessful!)
Badling Great wall, Sacred Road and former Olympic Stadium’s birds nest and cube were all and more than we had anticipated. Every day a new adventure with surprises around every corner. Each toilet a new challenge and a learning curve. The 3 wheel rickshaw around the Hutong on our last morning took all the energy the little man had to pedal, he got an extra special tip from Martina on completion for obvious services above and beyond the call of duty! Thank you Vivian.
Xian gave us the Terracotta warriors and my were they a sight to behold! Fantastic and impressive and the life size models which Marie and Paul have ordered for both their sons should arrive just before Paul n Marie arrive back in the States. Bell Tower, Wild Goose Pagoda and dumplings were all memories which we will have for a lifetime. The Tang Dynasty costumes and the music was splendid. We have purchased several outfits for which we now await the appropriate function. Massages great! Thank you Grace for your guidance..
Potala Palace out of your bedroom window, now does it get any better than that? NO! Jokhang Temple and Barkhore Street for a bit, well a huge bit of bartering and purchasing started to build the pressure on the luggage weight limit discussion which has happened at every meal since the market in Xian where “THE PURCHASE” was made. Monasteries, nunneries, yaks and Tibetan butter tea have left imprints on our minds, tummies and tongues – all experiences not lightly taken and definitely not ever to be forgotten. Thank you Rinchin – you are a credit to your work!
The pandas brought humility to our very being, only 1500 left in the world and very hard to breed and encourage. The Big Buddha certainly was the biggest in the world and we all felt like Indiana Jones when we first saw it from the boat. Massages great. Thanks Mike for being our guide.
Finally to Shanghai where we would complete our 16 day tour which started in Tokyo some weeks back. It is a magical place of new and old, breathtaking antiquities alongside brand spanking new buildings you would find in any major city of the world. Yu garden, Jade Buddha Temple, Renmin Square, the Bund and Najing Road for shopping. 2010 World Expo, Zhujiajiao, water town, China’s Venice. The Astor Hotel upgrade to a 6 room executive suite certainly helped put Shanghai on the map. The location and history took you to another time when Einstein and Charlie Chaplin walked the halls and no I am not making fun of Marie and Paul, Charlie and Albert have photos on the walls to prove they frequented this place as we have done. Thank you Avrial for your energy and bounce and knowledgeable guidance.
Paul advised me by the time I get home I will have covered 17897 miles, they will have done more, I am feeling I have achieved some miles by foot and will hold out to the end but I’m sure you can tell this trip is not for the weak, uncommitted or faint hearted we are super heroes and as you know this is official, as anyone who has climbed the wall is!
Our last thanks and appreciation go to our tour director extraordinnaire Fisher Wang who has set us the finest experience in a life time. he has been one of our loyal and dedicated blog fans and for this we are truly thankfull! Cheers Fisher.
Superhero Martina
As you can tell from Martina’s blog, there is a hint of sadness. First there was the anticipation of the trip, then the excitement along the way. Now, as we have been reflecting on the past 2 weeks, our joy and excitement has turned to sadness as we must leave this strange, beautiful and very magical place called China and Tibet. It has been a trip of a life time and has far exceeded anything that we could have hoped for. If you ever have the opportunity to visit here, do not give it a second thought! Pack your bags and jump on the plane, you will not regret it, I guarantee it.
Let me digress a little and you give a few highlites of our trip to the water town villages and Marina’s so called souvenir boycott.
At the very beginning of our journey, Martina gave me a long dissertation on why she does not and will not purchase any souvenirs on this trip. Well folks I have photographic proof that this just aint so. As you will see, she is a true barterer of the highest order. She is helping the Chinese economy while depleting the pound.
We journeyed to 1 of the 5 or 6 “watertowns” in this area. There are no streets in town and people travel by boat, the same way they have done for over a 1000 years. We had lunch in a water side café with live music provided by some local musicians. After that, the girls headed to the local shops for some last minute shopping. I have no idea how we are going to meet the 20 kilo weight limit at the airport tomorrow? The next blog will be from Japan hopefully, that is if we have enough yuan to pay for our over weight luggage? Now for a few photos.
In Shanghai.
Paul
1 of the many waterways in water town.
This bridge built in the 1200s.
Martina digs deep for yet another purchase.
Marie perpares to enter the ally of bargins.
Dave, here is the proof, Martina handing over money.
I do believe this is the 3rd fan purchase for each of the girls?
August 2, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 0 Comments
This is the morning after the night before that was “the expo” and tonight will be our last night in Shanghai. We visit China’s equivalent to Venice today, their water town, a bit of shopping and then acrobatic show this evening. The troops have all succumbed to a bad cold over their last 5 days in China, Marie was first and had 2 flights with her ears plugged for days after, I was second and was well looked after by my two commrades and now poor Paul is sniffing his little head off and will have to handle the pressure of an airplane cabin pressure, ah well…life goes on!
Marie and Paul obviously dote on their little doggie Lisu and as I have missed my girls and boy, they too rate her right up there with their kids, imagine their disappointment when they didn’t get an email yet….no not from their kids, the dog……
Eccentricity is a theme in this group and I love the fact that the Chinese public have been thinking Paul has 2 wives over our time here. Nothing we do (?) would give this impression, but we are often the only non-Asian people in hotels, theatres, streets and stand out dramatically. As Paul passed the massage centre last night the girl came out offering some love oil, obviously thinking he may need it having seen him around the hotel with his Empress and Concubine ha ha ha. Children smile and wave and say hello, eager to try out their English. Friendly people have a good look and smile back when you offer a friendly “Knee How” (Hello in Chinese, cant spell in Chinese yet) they are delighted. All is good in our daily adventures in China. Going onto our balcony to greet our public, ah this is the life, I was always meant for this aristocracy type life style……..
Over to Paul…..
Breaking in my enameled cups before heading out to the Expo.
The Russian pavilion at dusk. The cue was to long, so we by passed it.
The Maylasian pavilion at nite. Also a very long cue.
Ahhhh! Diner at the Austian pavilion.
5 of 7 sisters we saw at the Expo. I don't know what that is called, but they sure were cute.
A piece of the Rainbow Bridge over the Expo. It changes color every few seconds.
August 1, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 0 Comments
Just when you thought it couldn’t get any better and that you were on the home run and it was all going to taper away to a winner, it just gets better and better!
The Astor Hotel had to upgrade us to an executive suite with 5 rooms (me in a fold away bed but hey the study, living room, 2 toilets, dressing room, a separate bedroom for Marie and Paul) and a view to die for helps ease the inconvenience of not getting the basic room we asked for.
We look onto the Wells Bridge which is on the Bund and around the corner from the Pearl tower, all the buildings around us light up at night and can hold you spell bound for hours. Out of this world and so impressive it has been “la piece de la resistance” Magic, wondrous, splendiferous, etc etc. Paul will have magic photos and will upload them at 6 30am when he gets up tomorrow Monday, it is now 11 30 pm Sunday and I am going to bed, my camera has no battery left since it was worked so hard this evening, the Macdonald’s spent more of their kids inheritance tonight, they (Marie and Paul) are so worth it, this time they bought something for themselves and they both cut a dash with their new purchases.
Oh the power has been cut on the bridge out of our window, must be bed time, they don’t put the lights on all the time so we have been lucky that there has been money for the meter. (Scottish joke!)
Speak soon, Ms. Hickey-Laing
As Martina promised, here are hotel photos and nite time photos of this most glourious city.
I must say that Martina has accoumplished a feat that she is quite proud of. Comming from the squat toilet she announced to me, Marie, our tour guide and the poor girl performing our “tea ceramony”. that she had finaly mastered the squat toilet. And only after only 15 days in Asia. ‘No splash’ and was able to stand without the aid of any innocent bystander within ear shot! Good job Martina. As promised, here are some of our 2000 photos. That’s, 2000 a piece by the way. Take care, when you get an invite to our houses after we get home.
Paul
The hallway to our marvalous suite.
Our hotel the Astor, built in 1846!
The girls and our guide at the now famous, thanks to Martina, tea ceramony.
The Pearl Tower.
More of Shanghai at nite.
The Wells Bridge, out side our window.
The Wells Bridge in green.
Did I mention that the bridge changes color?
The drawing room with fireplace
Our sitting room and office.
1 of 2 10ft high paladem widows over looking the Wells Bridge and the Bund.
August 1, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 0 Comments
Well before we tell you about the adorable Pandas in the breeding centre in Chengdu, Marie and I together and Paul separately took advantage of the 24hr massage room in the basement of the Sunshine Hotel in Chengdu. WONDERFUL! Two young boys who were fresh faced and light as tuppence put Marie and I through our foot n neck routine. I have the bruises to prove it today, ooooh sore! Now as for Paul, he will never reveal, in true Indiana Jones style, who, what, where or how much but he hasn’t stopped smiling since and Marie and I can do no wrong it seems! What a great team we make when everyone is getting what they want…luggage racks, an extra bed, remove a bed, 2 x double beds, room with a view, transformers, a cup, towels, air conditioning cooler please, a no smoking sign for the room (?) These are all things we have requested over our 2 weeks in China – go figure! Or maybe we didn’t ask for them but our Chinese and their English miscommunicated and the rest is history.
Now to the Pandas – only live approx 20 years there are approximately 1500 left in the world (or should I say China mostly, in Atlanta the 2 in the zoo there are on hire and the Chinese government gets $1m each year for each panda and if they breed have to give the baby back to China. There was a 2 week old baby panda in an incubator when we went into the nursery ahwww so cute, it made me all maternal, watch out Dave its given me a few ideas for when I come home!
Speaking of Dave that reminds me we saw the world’s biggest Buddha today and boy was it impressive, we sailed over by boat and had an excellent view of the 7th century carving. The stairs carved out of rock for the people to come and see was also impressive, I am hoping Paul will have uploaded a few photos by the time I get up in the morning to demonstrate all I have spoken about! Going to bed it is now 2am and I am in Shanghai – so look out I will be up and at them first thing tomorrow morning. Elsie Duck x
The largest sitting Budha in the world! Carved from the sandstone cliff in the year 700.
On the way to see the Great Budha
Are these guys to cute?
July 31, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 0 Comments
Just another pretty day in Tibet, on the way to the airport. Thanks to the detour.
Indiana Jones eat your heart out….well, did we have a journey to the airport today! The rains and lightening storm had washed out our road so we took the “Yak by-pass” without the aid of 4 wheel drive, through waters up to the wheel hub cap and rockin and rollin all over the place; the surprise journey allowing us to see bits of farm life in Tibet that few have seen before.
There are many skilled drivers here in Tibet and we have to say we had the one of the best drivers so far. Well we lived to tell the story didn’t we ha ha ha, thats how we rate a good driver these days!
We saw a child with a home made push toy, old broom handle with 2 tin cans at the end acting as wheels. We saw the women washing their clothes in the local stream which was the same colour as the water after we washed our feet after Great Wall experience (refer to photo of Marie getting her foot massage in Xian – check the colour of her water – English spelling – English speaking author currently in charge of blog)
Our plane out of Tibet is delayed so the official shoppers of the group are helping develop the economy of this country, just when we thought there was no more capacity in our luggage allowance the Macdonalds pull a rabbit out of the hat and lighten their pocket books (wallets for the European contingent) at the same time.
Paul is currently trying on some Indiana Jones jackets whilst Marie maintains you can never have enough useless, plastic, brightly cloured objects from Nations afar. I must get my stuff together they have called for boarding. The official send off is touching, Paul advises me there are a couple of fighter jets sitting on the tarmac and the numbers of officials about in their impeccable uniforms comforts us all that we are truly being looked after or that they are ensuring we leave quietly ha ha ha.
More later Marti Lizzie, Lhasa Tibet
He doesn't care it didn't come from Toys-R-Us.
Who know the Red Army could look so good?
July 29, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 0 Comments
The concubine was to busy doing her nails that she forgot to mention a few things the other nite. When we woke up after the lighting storm the other nite, the mountain tops were capped in snow!. Folks it is the end of July, what a site. Our lunch yesterday consisted of “sizzling yak”. It was very tasty and again enjoyed by all. I was rather amazed that the nunnery was not struck by lighting after the visit from the Empress and the Concubine. All is well in Tibet, on to Chengdu. Oh yes, Richard Gere and I have one other thing in common, gray hairJ
In Tibet,
Paul
July 29, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 1 Comment
Walk the wall and yer feet get kinda dirty!
The girls have been beside themselves and Paul was slightly impressed that we have been shown around Lhasa by the very same guide as Richard Gere had when he was here! Full debrief later.
Well folks today was a day of monks n nuns and I tell you I was for turning….same hair cut, same clothes, same routines, no pressures re diets, worldly goods, or having to maintain the usual Goddess standard for the Emperor. Too much to tell but for those interested there will be power point slide shows of the full Asia trip being held in a home near you very soon in Charlotte, NC and Turriff, Scotland. Bookings are being taken in advance as we understand the demand will be high, so book now and avoid disappointment!
Other photos to be shown at home shows in the States and in Scotland dont forget to book your seat to book
Some poor folks in Japan may have to suffer the 2000 plus photos first so if you are reading this Daisy and are getting scared, run for it!
Pamper pamper pamper
Drepung monastery, Sera Monastery are 2 of the 1000 monasteries in Lhasa. We visited the Ani Sangkhung nunnery tea house in the afternoon where we shared the delights of Tibetan Yak butter tea and sweet tea. It was an unmissable experience and frankly the most dangerous looking tea I have ever tried, Paul doesn’t know but he actually drank 2 cups as Marie kept pouring hers into his when he was speaking with the locals around us. (Sorry Paul) You continue to be a great sport!
The threesome thing is working away well, we eat, sleep, tour, walk and get massages together too, in fact I’m at a loss to say something we don’t actually do together…….(Poor Paul)
Tibetans at the prayer pole
Tomorrow we go to Chengdu to see the Panda breeding centre and then on Sat we go to Shanghai after we have seen a great big Buddha!
Away to load up some photos may not be in order but please be patient with me I am still suffering a little altitude sickness and have been sucking away on the oxygen tank for a couple of hrs now…fantastic stuff better than beer, which you may all have realized has been ditched by the 3 musketeers for the meantime we are just not built for these highs! Porthos (Martix)
What is there not to like about a nun's life? How coul;d Marie have mistaken the girls for boys?
Here are the nuns we spoke of. They are filing out of prayers, away to do their chores.
July 28, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 4 Comments
I'm going to need first aid when these 2 get done with me.
The empress and the concubine had to do the Potala Palace on their own with Rinchin (guide) and Kongjong (driver) whilst Paul tried to recover quickly. Photo…
One musketeer down but the group will continue with the mission in hand
We saw some folk who had the loveliest of clothes on from many areas of China, all recognisable by the guide, but to us just a sea of the most wonderful colours which made Tibet a most engaging experience indeed. It is now raining and thundering and lightening and Paul assures me we are safe as houses. The view from our room is fantastic, paul will share his photo later with you.
Thats all for now folks, Marti
The Palace at nite from our hotel room window!
Our flight was delayed in Xian for over 3 hours and this contributed to the 3 musketeers not getting sufficient time to acclimatise in the alltitude of Tibet, we are 7000m approx up in the air and we needed all the help we could get. All 3 of us experienced the effects of alltitude sickness to lesser and greater degrees, sore heads, dizzy, feeling sick, forgetting things (oops no that happens any day with this group, alltitude has nothing to do with that affliction). However there was one musketeer who had his eye on the oxygen tank in the corner of our room from the minute we arrived. Not mentioning any names at this point but if I said Paul requested that Marie and myself put on our masks and tend to him in the style of the Chinese emperor of the Tang Dynasty……..the photo tells the story ha ha ha
July 26, 2010 - Posted by phmmem43 - 6 Comments
Our poor guide Grace (and our poor guide Vivienne from Beijing must be exhausted with us as it seems we have been nagging on about shopping in markets since we hit China) In reality between the 3 of us we have 2lbs capacity for souvenirs so shouldn’t even be considering purchasing postcards!………..so when Paul and Marie purchased several souvenirs this evening in the market for their very lucky family back home not one of us questioned a special gift which required 2 women to lift it down from the shelf, oh they “oood and aaahhhd” at the beauty of the gift (can’t say what the gift is in case the person getting it is reading this blog) and then after some ferocious and pretty firm haggling got the price down to something very acceptable. Only problem now is to get all the stuff through Tibet, China and then back to Tokyo without any additional luggage charges….now this shoulod be fun, where will they put it??Answers on a postcard.
Too tired to upload photos tonight, will do it in Tibet
Marie & Paul renew their vows in China. We are not sure if this legal in the US.
The backdrop at the Xian Hotel.
This group continues to drink the beer, visit challenging toilets, eat dumplings like you’ve never eaten before “wow” and apply hand sanitizer on a regular basis. Really tired so signing off now, Paul is snoring in the bed behind me Marie is singing in the shower and I have to pack my case. Xian is highly recommended folks and ofcourse Grace and the Happy Chappie Driver make it all possible. Terracotta warriors before you die I say! Martina x
7th or 8th wonder of the world they say
What a fantastic day! We thought nothing could get up there with the wall experience but we all agree those warriors are so impressive the experience is right up there with the great wall, which by the way they say, if you climb it you are a hero and if you go a wee bit further than the general crowd you are a superhero….so we are now classified as superheroes.
