China Day 2: The Summer Palace

Bruised and battered I stumbled back to the bus - relieved that I could tick "Great Wall" of my to-do list! Luckily there is nothing better  to cheer one up like a bit of jasmine tea and some shopping, so after our “local flavor” lunch of fried calamari, sweet and sour chicken, oily veggies, friend rice, beef, fried pork dumplings and spicy tomato soup, (I am now, more than ever, convinced that Asian figures have absolutely nothing to do with “healthy food” and it all just boils –or rather fry -down to genetics!!!!!) I bought myself a pretty owl paper cutting! For the next couple of days it would be Chinese art that Id splurge on!!! Wined and dined, we got back into our bus but now, nicely fed and tired after our two hour hike up Great Wall hill, we fell asleep, one by one! “The Jerry” must’ve thought us all babies but gently woke us when we got to the “Summer Palace” – my personal favorite spot in Beijing!!!

The Summer Palace is a 2.1 square km garden of which three quarters is covered by water due to the magnificent manmade lake in the center. Used by the emperor as a summer retreat, and later prison for an empress (lucky girl), this beautiful piece of heaven dates back to the Jin Dynasty. Surrounded by a path along the water’s edge, willow trees, pavilions, halls, palaces, temples, bridges and beautiful gardens, the lake is used today for the production of China’s prettiest freshwater pearls. This is completely understandable if you keep in mind how happy these oysters must be to life in such a beautiful place. The Summer Palace literally took my breath away and entering the gates is like entering another world. Its truly the stuff that fairytales are made of – dragon boats sailing on the mirror smooth lake, willow trees dancing in the wind, lotus plants swaying in the water and then, of course, the millions of lanterns, porcelain flower pots with their pretty blooms and beautiful antique oriental architecture. Without exaggerating, the Summer Palace was really one of the prettiest places I’ve ever been and the one regret I have about China, is that I didn’t have enough time to go back to it again. It was truly magical!!!! We took a stroll alongside the river, euphorically admiring the beauty, eating ice cream and “ooh and aaah’ed”. Then we got into one of the dragon boats and “oohed and aahed” some more. Before I wanted it to be so, it was time to go and I was so sad to say goodbye. Gill and I decided that the Summer Palace was the one place that we should go back to on our free day. Unfortunately things didn’t work out like that (we had some shopping, a rickshaw ride and tea ceremony to do) but I would really go back to China just for the Summer Palace. My description and photographs really don’t do justice to this heavenly garden!...(to be continued)

WOW wedding

When I get married.............

...someday....

  .....I want my wedding to be just as pretty as this one!!

         (credit: http://www.oncewed.com/)

China - Day 2: The Great Wall of China

At last it was time for me to plant my feet on one of the world’s wonders and once again I became one of those photo crazy tourists “clicking” away!!!

Originally build to protect the Chinese Empire against Northern intrusion, parts of the wall dates back as far as 500BC. An archaeological study recently concluded that this monstrosity, with all its branches, stretches for exactly 8851.8 km. Today it’s impossible to know how many a millions died building this wall but it’s quite spectacular, let me tell you! Unfortunately, I wasn’t the only one that thought so, because the part of the wall we visited, which was a very touristy spot, was literally so crammed with people that there was a 10 minute traffic jam on the wall (I kid you not!!!!). Not that I minded though because there were so many "foreign" faces to chat too, and the little bit of rest was welcomed seeing that wall was extremely steep and the thousands of stairs were all a different size, shape and height. You really had to concentrate while climbing this miraculous wall and poor Gill got Vertigo, so I tried to hold her hand as much as I could but my legs were literally shaking when I reached the last step. The way back was even worse – really scary- and the people pushing and shoving didn’t really help either. So it really came as no surprise that I fell myself a pulp just after I reached the bottom (than goodness, rolling down the stairs could’ve cost my own and a few other lives- snowball effect would’ve been no laughing matter). My legs were literally jelly and just gave way underneath me. I fell so hard with a shoe flying and a bum in the air!!! My poor knee was bleeding, my elbow chaffed and my hip was blue for days to come!! I recovered quickly though, jumped up, dusted myself and posed for another photo. I mean, it’s not everybody that can say that they bought a piece of the great Wall with their own blood and tears!!!! If you ever stop by the Great Wall, please note that the tile, three squares away from the big monument at the entrance, belong to me!!! ;-)

Except for my great fall, the Wall was spectacular though and I was awe struck that this was all built 2500 years ago without the luxury of modern technology – AMAZING!!! (To be continued)

Neighbours, everybody needs good neighbours.....

Im an avid believer that when you stumble upon something great, its good to share and this is why I just had to tell you about this awesome blog -http://www.locationcentral.blogspot.com/ - which is actually a networking site with the objective to locate other bloggers in your are. It's really easy to use and all you have to do is search for your country/state and then leave a comment stating your blog's and home town's name. This way other people from the same country/state can check out your blog and a few new followers are always appreciated, don't you agree? Jen, the amazing lady who's the genius behind this awesome blog, will create a space for your country should it not be on the (already quite complete) list. She specially created a spot for me, so if you are from South-Africa or Korea, please join me and comment so that I too, can check out your blog. Would love to get to know my neighbours :-)

China: Day 2: Jade factory

The adorable “the Jerry” gave us a wake-up call each morning but on day 2, Gill and I chose to ignore his call and snoozed for another 30 minutes until the alarm clock that Gilly packed (I told you this girl is organized), promptly announced the beginning of our “Great Wall” day! We quickly got dressed and then went down to have the famous Lido Holiday Inn breakfast, and boy, what a treat!!!! All the western breakfast foods that one could possibly want (definitely not need) and once again we felt like jumping on the tables, just like our beds the previous night, and shout “Hurray”. You see, in Korea (and probably China too) there is no distinction between breakfast/lunch/dinner - it all consists of rice, kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage) and vegetables. This I find really annoying because breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and I love going out for a nice brunch. Unfortunately, for the past 8 months a real English breakfast has been but a distant memory BUT now it all changed, and we fuelled up on yummy breakfast foods – enough to last for the day!!!! “The Jerry” had to literally come fetch us from the breakfast table, where we, like queens, leisurely sipped our breakfast coffee, so that the bus could take us to our first stop: The Jade carving factory.

In China, Jade is known as the imperial gem and dates back as far as 6000BC when it was mined for the first time. It is colorless when pure but also comes in orange, lavender and pink. It is, however, the various shades of green, in China known as Feicui, that Jade is better known for – the brighter colors being most sought after. Even today, this pretty green rock plays a significant role in Chinese culture where Jade bracelets, instead of diamond rings, are used as wedding bands. Jade, just like diamonds, can last forever and reaches a minimum hardness of 6.5 on the Moh’s Scale (Diamonds is a 10). Here I must add that some Jade also come in diamond ring prices reaching up to $3000 an ounce. Of course, way above my little budget, but I did get to try on one of these wedding bands and it was quite interesting how they determine the size: first you have to make your left hand (chosen because its closer to the heart) into a fist. Then they measure the first three knuckles on your hand (index, middle and ring finger). This measurement will be the diameter of your jade bracelet, which they will then, with a plastic packet, maneuver over your hand. In my case, because I apparently have soft hands according to Chinese standards, the sales lady actually just measured the first two knuckles (index and middle finger) and I’m not joking when I say it looked like an infant’s bracelet. At first I was not quite sure if I should try on this minute piece of jewellery, but the sales lady promised that any bracelet that got stuck could be kept, so I was game! I really didn’t have anything to loose, except for a hand should I ever want to get rid of the bracelet. (Un) fortunately the plastic bag trick really worked and I was surprises at how comfy this bracelet fit around my wrist. Definitely a trick I’ll remember!!!! We browsed around for a bit, admiring all the pretty things we couldn’t afford and then it was time to go again – next stop: The Great Wall of China!!!!! (to be continued)

China - Day one: Acrobatic show

After our lovely Peking Duck meal it was back to the bus for our last stop, the Acrobatic show. And what a show it was?! The Acrobats were wonderful and the show was filled with lots of crazy tricks - juggling knives, spinning plates, stacking chairs - and at times it was so scary, that I couldn't look! Real birds performed in the show and I open mouthy stared at the spectacular things that was happening on the stage. But by the end of the show, I was so tired and overwhelmed by all that I have seen on our first  day that I really didn’t mind going to our hotel.

Up until now it was kind of unclear where we would stay, I only knew that it was a Holiday Inn and known for their amazing banquette breakfasts. But as I opened the door to our room, a new source of energy appeared my dear friends, because we entered the nicest, biggest hotel room with a lounge area, two double beds, flat screen TV, huge mirror and make-up area, closet and the very best – a bathroom…with a bath!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both Gill and I was so excited that we jumped on our beds, laughing and shouting and probably waking the whole hotel. A BATH!!!!!!!!! Now, if this excitement about a “mundane” thing such as a bath got you wondering about my mental condition, it might be wise to explain to you, my dearest readers, that it has been exactly 8 months since I've had the privilege and joy of a bathtub. AND there are but a few things that I love more that a nice long soak in the tub (I got this from my mother). Unfortunately bathtubs are rarity in Korea and for the past 8 months I had to make do with a detachable shower head that is quite stingy with the amount of water it allows. Having access to a bath, was an absolute unexpected bonus and also the reason that I had to make due with just another five hours sleep – well, that is if you don’t count in the hour that I slept in the bath. Warm and fresh after my lovely soak, it was but a matter of seconds before I fell asleep in my marshmallow bed. Tomorrow I would climb out one of the 7 wonders of the world, and I needed all my strength for that…… (to be continued)

China - Day one: Peking Duck

Because we had nothing but a meager airplane lunch (we prioritized an extra 10 minutes sleep over breakfast), we were starved by now and thankfully, after all the sigh-seeing and modeling, Peking Duck was on the menu!

The world “Peking” use to be the original name of Beijing before it was changed in 1949 and because this lovely dish is the local “flavor” of BJ, it was only adequate that the duck was named after the city. Peking Duck has been prepared since the imperial era and today it is considered as one of China’s national foods. This yummy meal is prized for the thin, crispy duck skin, with authentic version of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the diners by the cook. Ducks bred specially for this dish are slaughtered after 65 days (poor ducks) and seasoned before being roasted in an oven. The cooked meat is eaten with tortilla styled pancakes, spring onions and sweet bean sauce.

Our Peking Duck, which was served with lots of other veggies and meats  and the customary pot of jasmine tea that beautify every mealtime table, was delicious and we all gobbled our duck pancakes down with glee. But if I had to be completely honest, Peking Duck, famous as it may be, was not my favorite meal in China. (Un)fortunately, the lovely Mongolian meal we had, with its Rosemary beef and pop concert (I will tell you all about this later), earned the “Favorite Chinese Food” award…. (to be continued)