Photo from the Great Wall

Here is a shot from the Great wall that got lost in the shuffle from our first full day in China. The Great Wall is over 4,000 miles long which is hard to imagine - especially when you considered that this was built by hand before the advent of machines. The Wall is set atop mountain ranges that in some cases are a few thousand feet high. Think about lugging a 500-pound stone up here.

The Great Wall is about a one hour drive from Beijing to the north. Our guide David took us to a place that is common with tourists - and thankfully the was a gondola ride to the top. We hiked about 2-miles on the Wall before heading back down. If you look back in the photo, we started at the top of that mountain (looks like rim of volcano). Luckily, much of it was downhill.

At every station, there was a local Chinese farmer or peasant selling snacks and drinks. When they saw TJ they would say "Cold water? Cold water?". When they saw me they said "Cold beer? Cold beer?" and they would rub their bellies in a motion that indicated that I must enjoy beer given my physique. As much as I wanted to have a cold one up here - I would not give them the satisfaction of sizing me up. Screw them. When I get back, I must go on a diet. #end

Photo from the Great Wall

The Vast Expo

We finally made our way to the Expo. The place is like EPCOT with 70 country pavilions and probably 50 or so other pavilions by corporate sponsors. It is so large that the have their own bus system to take you around.

There are a couple of hundred thousand people here and 12 look like TJ and I.

The lines to get into to pavilions ranged from 2 hours to 5 hours on the long side. To add to the lines, it is very hot - close to 100 degrees.

Germany's line was at least 4 hours long. Luckily the Chinese don't have an affinity for Munich beers and sausages. I was able to walk right up to the bar and order a beer imported from the Hofbrauhaus in Munich.

Rather than waiting in the lines, we did a short pub crawl through the European pavilions and even stopped in Ireland for fish and chips and bangers and mash - although that is more UK than Irish.

We will come back tonight when the tour buses leave. #end

Get that off my shirt!

The breakfast lounge in our hotel in Shanghai has a jellyfish aquarium that is very cool.

We are headed over to the Expo now. The concierge said the lines for each of the main country pavilions can be as long as 4-5 each. Hopefully it is not that bad. #end

Forbidden City

Here is a picture from Day 1 in Beijing that did not get through.

TJ and I are standing at the north end of Tiananmen Square at the South Gate of the Forbidden City.

Chairman Mao's picture hangs above the entrance and just south of here tens of thousands line up everyday to visit his mausoleum in Tiananmen Square. #end

Headed to Shanghai

Day 3 in Beijing was rainy and we tried to sleep in to no avail. We really lucked out the past two days on the weather as it was mostly clear and not too hot. We could not have toured the Forbidden City or the Great Wall in the bad weather. Save TJ falling a bit ill last night right before our Peking Duck dinner banquet things have gone very well.

When we planned this trip we had 3 days in Beijing and then were going to take and overnight sleeper train to Shanghai Saturday night arriving in Shanghai Sunday morning. Anyway, I couldn't figure out how to book a Chinese train from the US - it is not that straightforward - and I forgot/procrastinated asking for help from the concierge at our hotel in Beijing.

This morning just before breakfast, TJ and I stopped at the concierge desk and asked them to book us train tickets to Shanghai. The woman behind the counter was surprised (i.e., she thought I was crazy) when I told her that I wanted tickets for tonight. She said all of the trains sell out at least 10 days before the departure date. She made a cursory call, only to confirm that there were no trains

Then we tried to book a flight to Shanghai, but that is easier said than done in China. I made several attempts online, but without a Chinese bank account, the system would not let me complete the transaction. Eventually, I went back to the concierge desk and asked them to book a flight for me. It took 5 minutes and to my surprise, they said that the tickets would be delivered in about 2 hours which would give us 3 hours to get to airport and check-in. It surprised me that the tickets were paper based.

Anyway, we got to the airport 2 hours before flight time and the Beijing airport terminal is probably the biggest most expansive indoor room that I have ever seen. No problems getting through and we cleared security with our shoes on in about 30 minutes.

Everyone has told us that the EXPO (World's Fair) is very very crowded. If it is too much, we may modify the itinerary and head to Hong Kong.

Great Wall Restaurant

On Day 2, we met out guide and driver at 10AM in the hotel lobby. We were really tired yesterday, but it think that we are not set on the 12 hour time difference. In some ways, 12 hour time change is easier than 3 or 6 because it is so radical.

Anyway, our agenda is to tour the Great Wall, or at least a small portion. The Great Wall is over 3500 miles long and would stretch from New York to San Francisco.

The drive was about 90 minutes from Beijing to the area we plan to tour. Before we head over to the Wall, we stopped at a local restaurant and ordered off the picture menu. In a pinch I can order cold beer and white rice I'm Chinese.

Here is TJ eating something of unknown origins. #end

Great Wall Restaurant

Arrived in China

We arrived late last night (1AM Local) at the St. Regis Hotel in Beijing. Door to door it was almost 23 hours getting here.

Anyway they checked us into a butler staffed suite on the top floor and we were able to get unpacked and get a 3-4 hours of sleep.

We are supposed to meet our guide and driver at 9AM in the lobby and we are going to head over to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.

While it is August 18 back home, it is August 19 here in China and here is TJ enjoying birthday breakfast in the hotel lobby. It is an expansive buffet covering most of the American basics plus a lot of Chinese dishes like noodles, dumplings, and duck. #end

Leaving for China

Vicki and Heather just dropped TJ and I off at the airport. So far things are on schedule although we had to stop at the pharmacy and get some Cipro antibiotics in case we get sick in China.

Because the tap water is not drinkable, even in a 5-star hotel, I also bought a couple of small bottles of Listerine. One of my colleagues (Bill Shoemaker) said he would shower with a mouthful to ensure that none of the water got in his mouth. Hopefully, it is not that bad.

Our first leg of the trip is Newark to Chicago. In Chicago, we take a wide body 777 for about a 15 hour flight to Beijing.

In 20+ hours we should getting to Beijing. They are 12 hours ahead, so it will be midnight tomorrow when we land. #end

Virginia Beach

Here is Gunny and Poppo with TJ and Sarah at the King Neptune statue on the beach in Virginia Beach.

TJ and Sarah were originally supposed to go on a sibling trip, but I was able to tag along, because Vicki and Heather are out in Colorado having fun.

Later today, TJ, Poppo and I are playing golf at Cavalier Country Club.

It is a nice day today, hardly any clouds and the temp is about 80 degrees. Hopefully, I can shoot lower than 80 today on the course. Poppo shot 70 last time out at Cavalier - almost 8 strokes under his age. #end

The movie is actually called Despicable Me and it is in 3D.  Today, it was rainy and we decided to go to see this movie out of deference to Heather who would not pick up on the nuances of Leonardo DiCaprio’s movie Inception.

 

Anyway, TJ, Sarah, Heather, and I went to the matinee and I expected 3 Adults and 1 Child to be between $20-$25.  The matinee tickets were $47 for the four of us.  It is a good thing that we stuffed our pants with candy and drinks from home or this adventure would have been close to a C-Note.

 

The movie was for sure entertaining to children – I think.  I cannot say for sure because I took off my glasses 30 minutes in and started reading a book on my iPhone Kindle application.  Every once in a while, Heather would reach out towards the screen to try and touch one of the 3D images protruding from the screen – but otherwise, she seemed mesmerized by the movie.

 

Near the end of the movie, one of the character’s decried, “Oh Poop!” and Heather went into a series of uncontrolled fits of laughter.  She kept saying, “He said ‘Oh Poop!’”.  Even as we walk through the parking lot back to the car she could not contain herself.  To recognize one of Heather’s most favorite scenes in the history of American cinematography, we got her a cake to celebrate.

Corn Shuckers

Corn is now in peak season here in NJ and going for 4 ears/$1. I was able to recruit these shuckers at no additional cost to my current baseline. Hopefully, they don't unionize.