Weather in Beijing feels like home

The weather so far is much like we left or what we had for much of February in Anchorage.

The lows have been in the 20's with high generally in the low 40's. Sometimes there is a wind

blowing and sometimes not. It has been sunny every day (all two of them) so far. The pollution here is expected but certainly restricts visibility and you can see that is actually doing it's work on some of the sites around. The best thing the Chinese could do is to clean up the air to make things more attractive to tourists. I have not been cold so far and I think our students are staying warm as well.

Everyone is certainly tired at the end of each full day of activity. But they all look forward to the next.

More later.

Day Two of Our Tour

We started the day with an "early" get up of 7AM. Everyone was actually up well be for 7 because of the jet lag. But that's the way it goes. John has been having wake-up call sent to the rooms and so far it has been effective. Everyone is enjoying themselves. Today was very full. I may be able to get some pictures put on the blog later as tonight I will have some time to get some edited and be able to send them to my daughter to post, with a little luck. The agenda today was The Emperor's Summer Palace, Beijing Zoo, Forbidden City,and Tienanmen Square.

The Summer Palace was quite amazing. I think the grounds are 85 hectares (you will have to look it up, huge). There is a man-made lake that takes up about 75% of the area. There are many building, living quarters, servant's quarters, store houses, and other building that are amazing. The architecture is what you would expect in China but much more amazing when you see it close up. The ceilings and the eves and supports are all intricately painted with scenes from all over China and scenes of myths and legends of China. It is truly amazing. The is a corridor that is over 1/2 mile long. It is outside but intricately decorate beyond what you could imagine. An island was built in the lake with a bridge the has a support of 17 arches, I right now don't remember the significance of 17 but I'm sure there is one. The island, the bridge, and other pieces make the image of a turtle which is a symbol of longevity in China.

From the Summer Palace we went to the Beijing Zoo to see the pandas. They have four young ones and several mature pandas in the zoo. The youngsters are housed together but separate from the adults. The adults were being fed while we were they so they were awake but not moving around very much. I think all had a good time the short while we were at the zoo.

From the zoo we headed for the Forbidden City. The way this has been constructed is amazing. There are actually many rings to the city. The inner most ring is the Forbidden City itself and it is further divided into more and more restrictive areas at least during the times of the emperor. There is also the inner city, Imperial City, outer city, and other portions with specific designations that you could enter or live in based on your rank in society and your position serving the emperor. The grounds for the Forbidden City are huge. There are many residences and office building as well as store houses. There were originally four gates into the city and it surrounded by a ten meter tall wall and a mote. Pretty formidable defenses for the time period. Over time the Forbidden City has been destroyed and rebuilt a number of times. Mostly the destruction has been from within through fire. The size of the area boggles the mind and what it must have been like when it was used is really beyond my imagination. This is one of those sites in the world that written descriptions, even pictures cannot begin to describe. You really have to experience it first hand.

We entered the city by the north gate and exited through the south gate right into Tienanmen Square. We all remember the student standing in front of a tank in the square some years ago. The square itself is really huge. It is bordered on one side by the Forbidden City, on another by the legislative hall, on the third by the National Museum and on the forth by Mao's memorial tomb. There is a monument in the center to all of the people responsible for modern China and also the national flag. The flag monument is guarded by soldiers that don't what you to take their pictures. I complied with their wishes.

I have been truly amazed with the attractions we have seen. They are really over whelming. I'm glad I told everyone I would to this blog because it will help each of us to better remember the trip and may encourage others to take the adventure as well.

More later, thanks for reading.

Check your cough at customs, please...

March 9

While we were on the plan to Tokyo we flew into tomorrow. One minute it was the 8th, next it was the 9th. If you all would have been in Homer we could have waved at you as we flew over. Basically we flew back to where we started before going on to Japan. After a 10 hour ride we arrived at Nirita International Airport in Tokyo. We had a couple of hours to walk around the airport so I think everyone bought some souvenirs and having a good time just being up and moving after the long plane ride. Got back on the plane for Beijing and got fed for a third time. Some didn't eat preferring to sleep. All went well from Tokyo to Bejing.

On landing in Beijing had to go through "health screening". I do want you all to know they do look at the forms they hand out on the plane. One person marked that they had a cough and got questioned and had to fill out a new form that stated there was no cough. Oh well, we got through that.

We then proceeded to imigration and had no problems there. Then off to the train to go pick up the luggage. Our luggage was waiting for us on the carousel when we arrived and then I exchanged some money and we strolled through Chinese Customs, literally. No one asked to look at our bags, asked any questions, or even really looked at us. Our guide was waiting for us as we emerged from customs and the bowels of the airport.

Li Jun (John) is a great guy and we all introduced ourselves and proceeded to the bus and the ride to the hotel. Not much to do as we got to the hotel at nearly midnight. All checked in and went to the rooms with a reminder that a 7 AM wake-up call was coming. So we went off to dreamland.

Safe in China

Hello everyone,

Don & Bonnie are safe in China. They can't access blogger from Beijing, so they've asked me to blog on their behalf. Hopefully, they will send me an entry about their first day of travels, including the zoo and Tiananmen Square.

Look for more soon!

Megan Bladow - Don & Bonnie's daughter

Off we go

Here we are at the airport waiting for our flight. All are ready. We got all checked in, through security without mishap. Whew. So the kids and the adults are already going off in crazy directions. Almost lost one boarding pass but found it again. Whew! The first adventure of the day. Watch out Seattle, Tokyo, Beijing here we come. I guess though we need to get out of Anchorage first.

The Weather Forecast

If you can believe it the weather forecast for next week looks really great. Sunny and in the 40s in Beijing. If we were going to be there at the end of the week it would be in the 50s.

For Xi'an near the end of the week it's supposed to be sunny and warm. With temps in the 50s and low 60s we should be roasting when we get there. The weather may be better than we could have ever hoped for. All we can do is cross our fingers and hope that the forecast is correct. It sure would be nice to carry our coats instead of wearing them.

The weather for Yangshuo may be a little wetter but it will be warmer. The temps on this page are in Celcius so the Fahrenheit temps are 68-74 for highs.

Shanghai may be a little bit cooler and even wetter. But a lot can change before we get there. We will have a wonderful time anyway.

Maybe the weather will hold as we move south while we are on the rest of the trip. We can only hope.

Packing Day

Well tomorrow morning we are off. It seems there is always more to do. Right now the dining table is receiving a stack of things that must go in the carry on. If it can't go in the carry on it will be packed away. What suitcase to take? What should I take for moving around on tour while I'm there? How much money will we need? And there are so many more questions that I don't even know that will need to be answered before tomorrow morning.

I have checked with the airlines and they will check our bags all the way through to Beijing for us. That's a relief. We won't have to hassle will bags in Seattle. Right now Bonnie is out running last minute errands. Picking up a few things that we still need to take with us and probably some things we don't. At least these are big cities we are going to and we will be able to buy anything that is necessary if we forget it.

Have already talked with one fellow traveler today and will call the rest to make sure all is well and that the schedule is solidified. 4:30 AM to the airport, that is very early. But we do whatever it takes. The excitement is starting to build and while I sometimes dread the preparations I am excited about the trip. All will be well. We will have a fantastic time. We will all come home safely. What more could any of us ask?

More tomorrow with a pic of the travelers tomorrow morning.