Unbelieveable Beijing 9-29 to 10-1

We anticipated much in Beijing and we believed that Tiananmen Square would be impressive, but both Beijing and the Square exceeded our expectations. This moving statue of the Chinese people is but a small part of the Square but the most memorable. Then it was on to the Forbidden City, where again I expected beauty but I got more than I could have dream for. The beauty and the wonder just kept on. We could have given dozens of pictures, probably more heavenly than this one, but in the background is the palace and there were crowds of people, but behind us were hundreds of buildings supporting 10,000 people who were there for the emperor.

Qujing 9-21 to 9-28

I'm giving up trying to arrange the pics after I write what I want to say. I'm putting the pics in first and then typing to fit the placement of the pics. This is more of life in Qujing. The nice lady Tai Chi sword dancer is typical of so much that we see, especially in the morning or the evening. Ladies and to a lesser degree men will doing various types of Tai Chi and other forms of exercise. It is also done in the courtyards of the ubiquitous apartment complexes. This lady had just talked w/Marion admiring the baby cap that she was knitting. She was practicing before the rest of her troupe came to workout. The 2nd photo is one of contrasts with widespread use of bikes versus the influx of motor vehicles. The streets of less affluent cities are not congested, though they have many taxis, buses, scooters, and bicycles. If you work for a company, you might deliver goods in a small truck, but if you are an independent seller/vendor deliveries will usually be by bicycle, many use this three-wheeled variety which allows much more to be transported, sometimes with an unimaginable load. The 3rd photo is in one of the parks that we call Dragon Park b/c of this magnificent statue. The park, like every park in the city is meticulously maintained - it is always clean and always in full bloom! China seems always to be a country of contrasts; so much is clean & beautiful and so much is dirty and in need of repair. More on that later. The last picture is one of our residence. This is one of eight 7-story buildings comprising our complex. It is very typical of apartments all over Qujing, though just a little bit nicer. All the apartments under construction appear to better than or equal to ours. The standard of living is improving rapidly, at least for city folks. Perhaps China's biggest problem is the huge number of poor farmers and how to raise their standard of living. Pics of farm life coming soon.

Qujing 9-13 to 9-20

As you can tell by the last post blogspot & I aren't arranging the pics very artistically. Nevertheless, Sep. 13 saw us back in town ready to teach. We see these stairs, plus two more flights inside as we start our day teaching. What you see is the nice part. Inside is rather dirty and could be depressing if one gives in to that kind of mentality. Eating is always spicy, but we are getting better at ordering non spicy dishes. Here's a special Bar-B-Q vendor that serves delicious mutton, but around the city are hundreds of these w/pork, chicken, chicken feet, goat, tofu, mushrooms, almost anything you'd want. Also, you'll often see umbrellas but not always for rain. The sun is intense here so you'll see locals use them on sunny days too. Look carefully at the small trinkets in this clothing shop window. Yes, you're right. If you said that's "Cocky" on the left you're right! 12,000 miles from South Carolina, a small clothier has a GAMECOCK and you can also see a Kentucky wildcat and orange and black Tennessee suspenders!! Surprises are never far away if you keep your eyes open.

Ancient Lijiang & Shangri-La 9-8 to 9-12

On 9-6 we were told that beginning on the 8th we had a week off b/c the Ed. Center hadn't organized our teaching at the college, so we were off the evening of the 8th to one of the top tourist destinations. The old city of Lijiang, about 450 Km from Qujing, is a world heritage site b/c of its many old city structures. Its beauty at night was perfect for revelers, but we were "old fogies" and off to bed at 10 pm. It is also home to one of China's minorities from Tibet, the Naxi who performed a colorful "symphony" for us. We then hiked a mountain & I got to ride a "Tennessee" yak on a glacial run-off lake. Notice my form; I did get more precarious, but not wet!Then a local shaman let us take a picture for good karma. A mountain mudslide almost derailed our plans in reaching Shangri-La. Our driver was very well prepared for problems w/spotters who reported on developments. While visiting a Buddhist temple I had to turn this 25 meter prayer wheel! - not an easy task but w/help. As you can see this last pic wild, primitive & beautiful. It is called Tiger Leaping Gorge & if you look closely Marion is pointing to the tiger on the other side of the gorge with the yellow river rampaging on!

Life in Qujing 9-2 to 9-6

Week two has focused on the routines of everyday life. We needed someone to cut our hair. What we found three blocks from our flat was a meticulous, young entrepreneur who gives us a haircut, shampoo, head massage, and a shave (if I want one) for $1.30! She was also so proud of being able to do our hair that she took our picture, framed it and hung it prominently in her business. America seems to represent wealth and the modern world and having Westerners as customers appears to be seen as a prestigious event. No shopping pictures, but eating is an important routine. Here we were invited by new friends who had just killed a deer and wanted us to share this with them. It was very spicey so we didn't eat as much as we would have; however, they were liberally making toasts with strong liquor (while Tim used a local beer he has grown to like)so Tim joined in with toasting our new guests. As you can see we all eat Lazy Susan style and w/chopsticks which we are getting proficient with. Other than the spiciness of the local food, we are enjoying the tastes. We have a few bakeries and vegetable and meat markets that are good, cheap, and of quality, though different from what we use in the West.

Welcome to Qujing 8-26 to 9-2

The first week in Qujing was hectically calm! We didn’t do very much, but here you see I'm trying to catch the fish that got away before the little boys gets it. This is Marion at the entrance to the beautiful park we go to every week for English Corner to talk with any locals, from 4 to 40, who want to practice their English. Unfortunately for most of this week we were kept in the dark about most work-related requirements of our job, so we wondered why we were waiting, read a lot, and got to sight-see a couple of parks.

Kunming, China - A New Beginning 8-24 to 8-26

The final leg of the trip took us to Kunming with a stopover in the beautiful city of Kuala Lumpur and its ultra modern airport. Coming over the mountains into China, we saw the valley and Kunming. We didn’t know what to expect, but we anxiously hoped someone would be there to guide us since we couldn’t speak any Chinese. There was a person waiting for one passenger, but none for us! Maybe this was a dignitary? Then no one was at baggage pick-up; no one was there after leaving Customs! Was this time to begin worrying? Now we left the terminal. Outside the terminal were hundreds of people including three people waiting for us with a sign that said TOUZEL! Maybe not heaven, but this was how I spelled R-E-L-I-E-F! The pics are of a BIG roundabout, with an Asian theme; our luxurious trip to Kunming - we had the whole plane to ourselves and 9 other passengers; and our translators treating us to Cross-bridge Noodles, a local favorite. They treated us royally; took us to a nice hotel, but there were a lot of negotiations going on? Why? I wondered. Though there was no Western toilet, we managed. We ate well. The next day we took another physical exam. Thinking this was a waste since we had already done this, we did get a surprise, at more than 5,000 feet our blood pressure and heart rate were slightly elevated, but nothing to worry about. We are acclimated now, b/c we can run up the stairs of our apartment now. Kunming is more cosmopolitan and sophisticated, but we were now ready for Qujing.

Melbourne 8-20 to 8-24

Australia was a place of remembrances – to a time when all is as perfect as can be, a time to dream. The Land of Oz has always been a dream state to me – it’s like childhood, b/c we remember what we want to. We did in fact see beautiful new places, but mainly we wanted to return to see old friends Rhonda Harris and her wonderful girls and Margie and Peter Broadbent.
Peter took us to the Dandenongs, near Olinda and the Puffing Billy Railroad. We saw hundreds of birds, particularly gullahs, crows, some parrots, magpies, white cockatiels, crimson rosellas, and, of course, kookaburras. We saw another example of old rainforest, filled with massive trees. It was just a grand, ole time with him showing us the beauty of the Melbourne area. We ate an Aussie dish of some meat in a potato pie (can’t remember its name). He found some quaint shops in which we tried to spend a lot of money, but got an old replica of a sextant instead. Then he took us to an overlook part of Melbourne and the Yarra Valley. It was gorgeous. See photos. Then Margie took us to her school and we got to interact with a group of 4th graders about America and Australia. They asked those 10 year old kind of questions and did great with some cute errors in geography.
Then we were off to see Peter’s new church and get with the Rhonda’s family. They took us to the city to see all the changes since we were last there. Melbourne is even more beautiful than before, with a new footy field and a facelift. They also took us to a chocolate store to die for. I’ve never had better or more different types of chocolate. Then we met new husbands and Jemimah’s new son. It was a mlovely time with true friends. Wish we could have spent more time with them, but now we have new things to dream about.

Fiji 8-15 to 8-19

Flying to Australia it just makes sense to stop in Fiji - right? Well, maybe not but in Touzel logic if you can stop somewhere in the world for 5 days for less than $500, and it happens to be a tropical paradise, you do it. So we did. Four days of nothing but relaxation, reading, sunning, eating and enjoying each other’s company. Is this heaven? Well, maybe not; but it's close! We spent all but one day at the Beautiful Vacations' bungalow called Aquarius. That one day we chartered a boat (? ) with 25 others to Mala Mala island, off the harbor of Nadi. Now this is one of 1,300 odd islands that make-up Fiji. It was less than a 1,000 yards in diameter and was surrounded by a beautiful coral reef, although endangered, probably by this gorgeous, deep blue starfish that seemed to be eating everything alive it could reach. Marion and I circumnavigated the island, played and sunned in the sand, ate a great meal fixed by the Fijian Co. that took us, and snorkeled throughout the reef. The rest of the time we lazed out at Aquarius or the swank Hotel next to it or went into to Nadi for the native market. It was delicious, but more excitedly, as we walked down the street near the market, we were approached by a nice, little Fijian guy who volunteered to take us round back to see the "real Fiji." Following him off the street, up the stairs, and into a loft and work area, I wondered. Dangerous you might say. I would reply, "I laugh in the face of danger!" We were advised to stay there while this man asked his people to join us. Three other young men entered with him and asked us if we wanted an original Fijian Kava ceremony? Marion and I looked at each other and said O. K. After all, what did we have to lose? Kava is a rather potent Fijian drink, but the leader of this tribe (?) made us feel like we were experiencing a native rite. He started by drinking first which relieved my thoughts. Now those of you reading this might be yelling at us to get out of there, that we were going to be mugged, and to be truthful, Marion and I simultaneously thought that this could be a drug from which we'd never see the light of day again, but when the leader started drinking I had a feeling that all was right in this place. He then gave me a drink, followed by Marion, all the while telling us how this has been done in the villages of Fiji for centuries, and telling us about local legends about husbands, wives, and sharks. It was quaint, the drink got us a little woozy, we got up tried to pay him for 20 minutes of interesting stories. When he refused and this is Fijian hospitality but if we wanted we could look in his work area and chose a picture or carving. We found just what we were looking for, at a good price, and we left.
This I thought would be the end of the excitement for this trip, but I was wrong. When we got to the airport, luckily three hours before our flight was to leave for Australia, the Airlines told us that we weren't allowed to go to Australia b/c we didn't have visas. Ahhh!!!! Fortunately, he said that we could get visas for the land of Oz in about 20 minutes on -line. We did and easily left on time.

Starting in California 8/6/08

We're starting the trip of our lifetime by visiting children in California. Jeremy, Nat, our daughter-in-law who is expecting in early October when we're in Yunnan, China, James, and Nat's parents all helped get us in the mood for China. Though we wanted to spend most of the time with our son & daughter, we were off to see Venice Beach and enjoy the sights of wonderful, sunny, SoCal. The beach also sported a weird game that I'll call paddle tennis - very fast on a shortened court! We also played non-stop real tennis with our son, Jeremy, and Nat and her parents. We feel so good now and are preparing ourselves for lots of exercise in China. James, our middle son, came down from San Francisco and played some too, then all of us were off to see a couple of LIVE Jeopardy shows. It was fun, a student reunion show. Once again I think I could have won, “I bet no one has ever thought that!” Finally, since California did not fall off the continental shelf, a Jumbo jet took us to Fiji at midnight on the 13th.