Beijing, The Forbidden City and Hiking the Great Wall

We are touring China and Tibet with National Geographic Tours and arrived in Beijing the day before the tour starts, so on our own for one day. We made arrangements to be picked up at the airport and taken to our hotel and so glad we did as Beijing has a population of 20 million! It seemed like the transport to the hotel took about 50 minutes with numerous turns, twists, uturns etc. Every road in Beijing has bicycle and electric scooter and tuck tuck lanes and the license plates have letters that designate what days of the week you can drive your car in the city.

The hotel was located in an older section of the city and the only non-Chinese folks were tour groups. When buying items at the convenience store or supermarket, the clerks rang in the items and then showed the amount needed on the calculator or till screen. Worked just fine.

All the hotels we stayed at in China were non-smoking, but all the Chinese smoked anyway, just stood out in the hall or the exit stair entrance and smoked up a storm.

We went out exploring with our trusty city map and after a 45 minute walk ended up at Tiananmen Square, at least across the street from it.

One of the gates into Tiananmen Square

We met our guide Leah and she has been leading tours for about 15 years and says that she will show us the real China, not the "tourist China". Hence the hotel in an older section of the city. The area we stayed has numerous streets with older homes that have no water and/or bathroom facilities, so the city or government has built really nice communal facilities where the people can get water, shower, do laundry etc.


First night dinner was delicious - Peking Duck and ten or twelve or more delicious, tasty side dishes. The duck was sliced and you wrap it in these little crepe like shells with a sauce, shredded spring onions and cucumber. So yummy.

Tiananmen square is the largest square in the world and is considered by some to be the symbolic center of the Chinese psyche. Although there are old city gates at two ends of the square, once inside it is a huge concrete space with Soviet style buildings down both sides. Built by the Communists under Mao, the original use was mostly to parade and review up to a million people. Although supposedly the peoples square it is strictly controlled by the government. Entrance to the square has tight security with everything being x-rayed. My impression of the square was: a) a huge monument to Mao and other founders of the Communist Party and b) a huge tourist draw, both of Chinese Nationals and Foreigners.

Inside Tiananmen Square

Beijing is also home to the largest Imperial Palace in the world,  known as "The Forbidden City", named this as it was off limits to anyone but the Imperial families and their government ministers, etc., for around five hundred years, 1368 - 1911. The place is huge as it covers around 170 acres with 90 courtyards and palaces, 980 buildings and 8,704 rooms. I think concubine number 1011 had her own room!

One of the Imperial Courtyards

Stairs to one of the Imperial Halls.

The marble that was used throughout the Palace was transported a couple of hundred kilometers, by waiting for the winter season and spreading water on the roadways to form ice and then the marble could be moved by workers pulling sleds.

Used to store water for fire suppression.

Close to the Forbidden City, is the Temple of Heaven Park, a lovely green space within the city and frequented by locals doing Tai-Chi, playing card games, practicing opera, etc.

Temple of Heaven

Today the Great Wall  of China - WOW - it was rainy and cold but so worth coming here. Most of our group, there are 15 of us, 7 from Canada, 4 from the UK, 2 from Malta, 1 from the USA and 1 from Australia, took the Gondola from the entrance gate to the wall, but Loreen and I and the couple from Malta walked up 1200 steps from the entrance to get onto the wall. Again it was well worth it, as I tried to imagine what people went through building these steps and then packing materials up them to build the wall itself.

Stairs to the Great Wall

The wall is approximately 2000 years old and although only portions of it are open to the public you can see it for miles winding its way over the tops of mountains and mountain ridges.

Section of the Great Wall

Many independent Chinese Kingdoms would build walls around both the  kingdom and individual cities to protect from invaders and other kingdoms.  When China was unified the Emperor had the various walls linked and established watch towers where soldiers could warn of invading troops.

Interior of a watch tower. Great place to spend your month on duty.

The wall took hundreds of thousands of workers some ten years to build. It is rumoured that around 180 thousand cubic meters of dirt, as well as the bones of the deceased workers, was used as fill material for the inside of the wall.

The Great Wall both close and in the distance.

Although the wall was built to protect China from invaders both the Mongols ( for 90 years) and the Manchurians (for 250 years) managed  to get through the wall and conquer China.

Hokkaido Countryside

We left Sapporo and after a 1.5 hour bus ride we arrived in Kimbetsu to meet our friend Natsumi. We have not seen Natsumi for 25 years and have never met any of her family. It was interesting as the bus stopped to let these two Canadians off in this small farm community all the older ladies on the bus came to our side to see what the heck would we be stopping in a non-tourist area for.  Natsumi and her daughter, Aoi met us at the bus stop, and when Natsumi hugged us both some of the bus passengers clapped. It was so nice to see Natsumi and meet her family after so many years.

Natsumi and family

The family lives in the country on a small acreage, where they grow vegetables and have about 20 chickens for eggs and sell them when they have extra. The area is mountainous and heavily forested.  There are dairy farms and acres of vegetables grown in this area. When we were there pumpkins, potatoes, cabbage, sugar beets, etc were being harvested. The home is heated by wood fire as well as the hot water system for bathing. It took me back to growing up on the farm and I had fun chopping wood, (hated it when I was 14 but enjoy it now!)

Country Home

Natsumi's husband Takashi picks mushrooms in the mountains around their home - he picks mornings and evenings after work. We went out one morning to help him, but we're not the best of mushroom pickers. I think most of the mushrooms we picked were non-edible!

Mushroom Hunting

We spent a day sightseeing and hiking in the mountains. There are many nice trails with boardwalks around the wet areas and signs explaining the trees and plants. As the signs are in Japanese, we had to ask Natsumi or Takashi what the plants were.

Natsumi, Loreen and Takashi

Fall in Hokkaido is beautiful as the leaves turn the autumn colours.

Fall colors

Natsumi told her family that when she lived with us we owned horses and that I roped. The boys were very interested in that and brought me about sixty feet of nylon rope so I could teach them how to rope. It was quite a performance, I did manage to rope the youngest two and got one the boys to be able to rope a stick in the ground. A lot of fun. The whole family was excited to know that there were professional rodeo cowboys in the USA of Japanese heritage.

Learning to rope!

Hokkaido is such an agricultural island and they are so proud of what they produce and are able to export to the rest of Japan. There are lots of shops that just sell local food products.  In all the different areas or maybe prefectures they will have maps like this on the road side and they show the agriculture products that they specialize in. This area specializes in melons, potatoes, corn and rice.

Area produce map.

They have wonderful markets that sell direct from the farmer but instead of the farmer being there with a table they have a section in the shop with their picture, where they are from and what they specialize in is posted.

Farm market with the farmers name under the produce.

We have enjoyed Japan and are now off to Beijing. We overnighted at the airport hotel in Chitose. There is a shopping area, complete with 25 restaurants, in the terminal that is as large as many malls in Canada and sells most everything. We heard that Hello Kitty was no longer that popular, but seems she is still doing well here.

Sapporo Japan

We flew All Nippon Airways from Vancouver-Tokyo-Sapporo. Somehow we ended up being upgraded to premium economy. We're not sure how that happened but it seems like the way to cope with long haul overnight flights!

Unlike the rest of Japan, Hokkaido and Sapporo does not have a lot of castles and temples. It seems that Hokkaido was not part of the feudal wars that took place on the other islands, hence a lot less feudal and religious history.  Hokkaido is new in comparison to the rest of Japan and still retains a bit of the frontier spirit. It is a large island that is a major producer of agriculture products. There are a lot of dairy cattle on Hokkaido so they produce wonderful cheese, milk, butter, and ice cream. They have many specialties - the waters are cold so there is salmon, shell fish and crab.

Sapporo has a population of around 2 million people and has its own food culture.

Sapporo Clock Tower

Sapporo Cowboy!

So being foodies, we made sure we sampled all the specialities of Sapporo. Sapporo style ramen made with miso is so popular that there will be an alley, street or an alcove in a department store where there are 6 to 8 ramen restaurants that all specialise in the ramen from different parts of Hokkaido.

Miso Ramen with Pork, Yum.

One of our favorite Japanese dishes, and very hard to find in Canada, is Okonomiyaki, a flour and cabbage type pancake. So we found a Okonomiyaki shop and ordered the Hiroshima style with soba noodles and egg. Although we had our own grill, the waitress took pity on us and cooked it. Delicious along with Suntory beer.   

I like they size of there beer!!

There is a rare speciality called Jingisukan (Ghengis Khan) that is lamb and cabbage that you barbecue on a grill which we enjoyed at a restaurant at the Sapporo beer museum. The Sapporo lager is legendary and the museum is in a beautiful old facility with an interesting history.

The Sapporo beer

The restaurant at the Beer Museum complex

The original Japanese person that started brewing beer in Sapporo studied in Germany to learn how to make a German style lager, he had been so impressed.

Grilling up a little lamb and veggies!

Sapporo, like other Asian cities, seems to center a lot of department stores and restaurants around the major train station. At Sapporo main station there are three major department stores, 8 floors plus the basement, plus all the underground walkways are full of shops.  We love the department stores with the basement food floor and the number of restaurants is mind blowing. Everything there is expensive but so perfect and the packaging is a bit excessive. When we went on our tram trip we did notice a few regular type grocery stores as I don't know how people could afford to shop at the food floors although they are packed. What an interesting society - the customs, traditions and everyone follows the rules. What drives me a bit crazy is NO ONE jay walks or starts to cross a street until the light changes. The lights are very long and before they turn green and there are NO CARS coming no one will make a step until it is green! 

Tomorrow we are off to the country side to visit an old friend, Natsumi, who lived with us for a year in Dawson Creek while she studied at the College.

The Mother River and Varanasi

Originally Written October 2015

The Ganges River, or the Ganga in Hindu, is a 2500km river that flows from the Himalayas, through India and Bangladesh and empties into the Bay of Bengal. It is the third largest river in the world by discharge, the Saint Lawrence is 14th and the Mississippi 15th for comparison.

The Ganges is the most sacred river to the Hindu Religion and is often referred to as The Mother River. It is a lifeline to millions of Indians that live along it and depend on it for daily life needs. The river provides irrigation water for agricultural through the use of dams and canals.

Daybreak on the Ganges at Varanasi

It is home to some 140 fish species, 90 amphibian species and the Ganges River Dolphin, all of which are under threat due to the extensive pollution of the Ganges, the fifth most polluted river in the world.

The river is sacred to Hindus throughout its length, they bath in it to pay homage to their ancestors, the offer flowers, and light candles to it and all the cremated ashes of family members are brought to the Ganges or a tributary river and placed in the water for rebirth.  Only in the Ganges can salvation be found, hence the need for ones ashes to be put into the Ganges or to be transported to the Ganges through other tributaries. The cost of putting a loved one into the Ganges is not a consideration at the time. 

Although there are a number of Hindu holy sites in India, the city of Varanasi is by far the most referred and the spiritual capital of India. One of the oldest cities in the world, habitation began here between 3000 and 5000 years ago, Varanasi was an important industrial centre, dealing in muslin, silk, perfumes, ivory and sculpture.

It is believed that Buddha founded Buddhism here around 528BC, and since then Varanasi has grown in religious stature to become the spiritual site of today. 

Varanasi, as the spiritual capital, is closely associated with the Ganges River and has become a major city for pilgrimage. Hindus believe that death in Varanasi will bring absolute salvation and as such many Hindus come to the city to live out their final years.  

Pilgrims on the Ganges

It is the most sacred site on the Ganges to make pilgrimage to and be able to bathe in the river and give blessings to the Mother River. Early morning on the Ganges in Varanasi is a confusion of pilgrims making their was through the tangled side streets to the rivers edge to perform religious ceremonies in the  waters. 

Varanasi has 87 Ghats, embankments made of steps of stone slabs where the pilgrims perform ceremonies and use to access the river.

Directions to a Ghat

Some Ghats are used exclusively for cremation, as all Hindus are to be cremated within 24 hours after death. Many of the villages and towns that surround Varanasi will transport the dead bodies to the Ghats for cremation, as the second closest way to salvation, is to be cremated in Varanasi and have the ashes enter the Ganges there. 

Cremation on the Ganges

There are tonnes of wood brought into the cremation Ghats daily for the cremations on the river, after cremation the Ghat simply cleans the cremation area off by flushing everything into the Ganges in preparation for the next cremation. 

Cremation Fires at Night.

Jaipur, Heritage sites and Elephants

Originally Written November 2, 2015

Jaipur, the Pink City, so called by the pink buildings and walls seen throughout. The city was originally painted pink by the Maharaja to welcome a visit by Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales in 1876. Pink denoted hospitality to visitors. It is now a law in Jaipur for citizens to maintain a pink colour within portions of the city.

Although Jaipur is now the capital of the State and home of the spent Maharaja, the original capital was the Amer Palace. Established in 967 it was the seat of power of the Maharajas until 1727, when the capital was moved to Jaipur. Declared a World Heritage Site in 2013 the Amer palace receives +/_ 5000 visitors per day or about 1.5 million visitors per year. 

This was the first heritage site we visited that was built in predominately Hindu style.  The palace structure is mostly red sandstone, some marble and a lot of limestone that has been finished to look like marble. 

The Amer palace and old city is within the walls of the Jaigarth Fortress, an large structure that established walls and lookouts towers on the hills surrounding the Palace and City.

There is an elephant village located close by and the elephants have became an tourist attraction by providing rides from the bottom of the city up the hill to the palace entrance. Elephants will only respond to one mahout and are painted with henna according to the the mahouts particular leanings and worship. 

The City Palace in Jaipur is now home to the present Maharaja and his family. Started in 1767, the City Palace encloses 6 city blocks and is a complex of minor palaces, pavilions, temples and gardens. 

Central is the Chandral Mahal, mahal meaning palace, home of the Royal Family. A seven story structure, of which the bottom floor has been turned into a museum and opened to the public. The balance is the residence of the royal family of Rajastan.

The last attraction visited in Jaipur was the astronomical observatory site of Jantar Mantar. Built in 1738, the site houses a collection of 19 old style astronomical instruments, mostly constructed of stone and natural materials, that include sun dials, accurate to 2 seconds, eclipse predictors, the ability to track major star movement and other instruments that were used by past generations to navigate and track the stars.

Tigers 2, tourists 0- monsoon 1, tourists drenched.

Originally Written November 1, 2015

We took a three hour morning game drive and a four hour afternoon game drive, in Ramthambore Tiger Reserve looking for Bengals Tigers. India has a pretty aggressive program going on to try and maintain or increase the tiger populations and as such have set aside a number of animal preserves. Ramthambore is one of the largest at 392km2. The population has increased here from around 24 in the mid 2000s to 62 there now. We seen lots of tracks along the roads and some other groups actually seen a couple of tigers but our group was skunked. We did however see lots of tiger food.

Sambar,

chital or spotted deer

and Nilgai or Blue bulls.

It is illegal in India to kill any wild animal so these species thrive and raid the farm fields quite often.

It started to rain shortly after we got to the park on the afternoon drive  and the. Turned into a cold, some small hail crystals, tropics downpour. We were in an open topped safari truck and by the time we got back to hotel we had cold water running in every conceivable portion off our bodies. I told the guides that it was a nice show they put on, the downpour, but I hoped there was no extra charge.

As we sat in place waiting to hear from other groups of any tiger citing the naturalist was praising the Indian Kingfisher, a very pretty blue bird, so one of the group asked if was the national bird?

No the peacock is the national bird was the reply, however Kingfisher is the national beer.

And these guys are every where!