Friday, October 7, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Day 13 - Bangkok - Part 1
Part 1 of many. This day was so amazing and we saw so much I'll have to break it into parts!
In Bangkok since we were unsure of the city we decided to go on a guided tour. It was so hot in Bangkok and we were so grateful for brief respites in the air conditioned but we saw so much in one day and it was all amzin!
The first of many temples of the day was Wat Traimit also known as the Three Friend's Temple and the Temple of the Golden Buddha.
The Thai people are in love with their King who is 83 and has been king for 65 years.
The interior of the temple was full of bling, gold everywhere!
Our second stop was Wat Arun - Temple of Dawn.
The temple is very colorful because it covered in pieces of ceramics. Chinese trading ships carried broken ceramics as ballast which was ultimately used to adorn this temple.
The height of the central tower is 266 ft and there are 52 super steep stairs to the top representing the weeks in the year.
In Bangkok since we were unsure of the city we decided to go on a guided tour. It was so hot in Bangkok and we were so grateful for brief respites in the air conditioned but we saw so much in one day and it was all amzin!
The first of many temples of the day was Wat Traimit also known as the Three Friend's Temple and the Temple of the Golden Buddha.
The interior of the temple was full of bling, gold everywhere!
The temple is very colorful because it covered in pieces of ceramics. Chinese trading ships carried broken ceramics as ballast which was ultimately used to adorn this temple.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Day 12 - Beijing
Since our tour ended the evening before and our flight wasn't until the late afternoon, we decided to explore Beijing a little more.
Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven which was built during the Ming dynasty. At the temple, the emperor would make sacrifices and pray to his ancestors for a good harvest.
There were no other big highlights of the city that our tour skipped so we decided to go spend some more time at the zoo. It seemed like they had babies abound.
You can get much closer to animals in China than you can in the US. People were petting and even feeding the zebras from food they brought from home.
Also at the hippo pond people were making them open their mouths by pretending to feed them leaves from the bushes.
There was even this horse type animal that I thought was going to climb the rock wall to get to his horsey friend neighbor.
On the way to the airport we encountered the worst smog we had all trip!
With that our 12 days in China came to an end and adventures in Thailand were next.
Our first stop was the Temple of Heaven which was built during the Ming dynasty. At the temple, the emperor would make sacrifices and pray to his ancestors for a good harvest.
There were no other big highlights of the city that our tour skipped so we decided to go spend some more time at the zoo. It seemed like they had babies abound.
You can get much closer to animals in China than you can in the US. People were petting and even feeding the zebras from food they brought from home.
Also at the hippo pond people were making them open their mouths by pretending to feed them leaves from the bushes.
There was even this horse type animal that I thought was going to climb the rock wall to get to his horsey friend neighbor.
On the way to the airport we encountered the worst smog we had all trip!
With that our 12 days in China came to an end and adventures in Thailand were next.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Day 11 - Beijing
Goodness gracious great wall of China day! The day I've been waiting for the entire trip!
However before we got started this morning we went to visit a jade factory. I really wanted to get a pair of earrings but at the factory they were charging $200! Thank goodness we waited and got a better deal at the jade market in Hong Kong! What I didn't know was that jade is the 2nd hardest stone behind diamonds. Also apparently the highest quality of jade will change color over time with wear due to the oils in your skin. This ship is made out of one piece of jade. It is about 6 feet tall and cost over $100,000.
Finally it was time to go to the great wall. It was so breathtaking and awe inspiring to see this wall run up and down the coutryside.
Here is a group of us at the start of our hike.
Darren was a champ and hiked as far up the mountain as you could see from the parking lot. I had the camera but hopefully I get some pictures from the people he was with eventually. You can see him in the window here.
On the way down with Bill.
It's so hard to imagine them building something so labor intensive without any moder tools or any machinary. Apparently when it was built, one out of every five citizens of China helped to build the wall.
Afterwards we went to the Ming tombs which house a total of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors. Chang Lings tomb is the most impressive on the grounds and the one we saw. It was the grandest and every emporor after him had to have a smaller and smaller tomb.
We also walked down spirit way. It was the route the coffin was brought to the tombs. It was guarded by 36 soldiers, animals and mytical beasts.
Our last stop that day was to do a drive by close to the Bird's nest and the watercube. The structures were incredibly impressive in real life.
That night was sad since it was our farewell dinner but we did have a toast to Harry and Cas who were celebrating their 50th anniversary. Harry surposed Cass with a cake from the bakery.
However before we got started this morning we went to visit a jade factory. I really wanted to get a pair of earrings but at the factory they were charging $200! Thank goodness we waited and got a better deal at the jade market in Hong Kong! What I didn't know was that jade is the 2nd hardest stone behind diamonds. Also apparently the highest quality of jade will change color over time with wear due to the oils in your skin. This ship is made out of one piece of jade. It is about 6 feet tall and cost over $100,000.
Finally it was time to go to the great wall. It was so breathtaking and awe inspiring to see this wall run up and down the coutryside.
Here is a group of us at the start of our hike.
It's so hard to imagine them building something so labor intensive without any moder tools or any machinary. Apparently when it was built, one out of every five citizens of China helped to build the wall.
Afterwards we went to the Ming tombs which house a total of 13 of the 16 Ming emperors. Chang Lings tomb is the most impressive on the grounds and the one we saw. It was the grandest and every emporor after him had to have a smaller and smaller tomb.
We also walked down spirit way. It was the route the coffin was brought to the tombs. It was guarded by 36 soldiers, animals and mytical beasts.
Our last stop that day was to do a drive by close to the Bird's nest and the watercube. The structures were incredibly impressive in real life.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
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