Maor Semel Family - China Trip - maorfamilychina

Top Three Places We Could Live in:

1. YangShuo, GuangXi – you can't beat the scenery and tranquility and also close enough to large cities and even the coast for city life when needed.

2. ZhongLu in Western SiChuan – so peaceful, so beautiful, such lovely people. Simply enchanting.

3. ChengDu, SiChuan – despite the horrible weather, the close proximity to so many beautiful places coupled with a very livable city and some of the best tea houses in China, make this potentially the top candidate among the large cities for us.

• Daniella would say she is willing to live in the Renaissance Harbor View Hotel in Hong Kong... :-)

Top Five Best Hikes:

1. QingChen Hau Shan, SiChuan: the hike along this earthquake-destroyed mountain trail has been so unique, it felt like it has been taken out of an Indiana Jones movie.

2. HuangShan, Anhui: more has been said about this incredible mountain than we can topple or even add to. We can only say that despite the unfortunately Chinese way of overly develop nature routes, the paths here were long and hard and the views as spectacular a scenery can get! So we agree with Mao's saying that he who has not climbed Huang Shan, has not seen China.

3. Hemu to Kanas, XinJiang: our longest hike turned out to be a most strenuous one with 50 kilometers in 2.5 days and a tough climb on and decline from a beautiful alpine-like ridge on China's northwest corner border with Russia and Mongolia.

4. Tiger Leaping Gorge, YunNan: one of China's best hikes is still maintained natural and provides some of the best views we've seen anywhere in China!

5. Cloud Path on CangShan above DaLi, YunNan: one of our first hikes exposed us to this lovely easy hike along a path that started very developed and well protected with hand rails, but then turned to a dirt path with no rail but still along a 400-500 meter cliff...

Top Three Best Beaches:

1. Ngwe Saung, Myanmar – same beautiful coast, water, sand and weather as Thailand beaches, sans the crown of tourists and WITH the lovely Myanmarians at a much cheaper price. Highly recommended!!!

2. Phu Quoc, Vietnam – only a two hour flight from HCMC, this little island is a heavenly place with wonderful beaches, lovely people and excellent food.

3. Kho Pha Ngan, Thailand – what can we say more about this small island? It is wonderful although at times felt over crowded with tourists!

Top Five Most Enjoyable Small Towns:

1. Zhong Lu, SiChuan: one of the happiest and calmest places we've been to, this villages sits on a plateau on top of a hill overlooking rivers and mountains below. The buildings are marvelous, the people among the nicest and the women among the prettiest.

2. YangShuo, GuangXi: heaven on earth with its oh-so-soothing scenery of the karsts climbing out of the rice fields, with the Li river flowing by. Ah, YangShuo, YangShuo...

3. TaGong, SiChuan: arguably the most spiritual place we've been to in China and home to some of the loveliest grasslands we've seen.

4. LangMuSi, GanSu: this tiny, 2-street village has more monks living in it than other people,is surrounded with beautiful mountains and rivers that are fantastic hiking places and is inhabited with a healthy mixture of Tibetans and Hui people that make you feel at home from the moment you arrive there.

5. HongCun, Anhui: one of a set of tiny HuiZhuo villages that are so quaint it is no wonder its streets are full with painters and photographers.

Top Five Old Towns in Large Cities:

1. Kashgar, XinJiang: it is disappearing fast, but still so unique and full of charm.

2. SuZhou, JiangSu: the water canals and narrow alleys are so welcoming and the old gardens are second to none. It is not for no reason that the place is full with wedding photo shops...

3. Dali, YunNan: tiny, quaint, full of charm, great tiny local restaurants and many water alleys to play cap contests....

4. LiJiang, YunNan: full of character and charm, especially on the south side away from the crowds.

5. The Forbidden City, BeiJing: what can we say, you have to see it once in your lifetime to gain a sense for old China.

Top Three Most Livable Large Cities:

1. ChengDu, SiChuan: cosmopolitan, full of places to see, full of young people in its top-notch universities, top-notch food and so close to some of the best places to travel to in China.

2. HangZhou, ZheJiang: close to ShangHai, but the area around the West Lake is quaint and peaceful and so close to some of China's best mountain (HuangShan), some of China's most lovely small towns (around WuYuan and the HuiZhuo villages) and some of China's best tea villages in LongJing.

3. XiaMen, FuJian: This is ChengDu meeting Hong Kong.... cosmopolitan, lively, full of young people, mainly students in its large universities, close to some interesting places, and with wonderful weather and good beaches.

Top Three Markets:

1. Live Stock Market, Kashgar, XinJiang: so vivid and colorful and happening, it is a must see for anybody visiting western China.

2. Sunday Market, Khotan, XinJiang: seeing a quarter of the city turns into a market is hard to imagine. AND, we were the only foreigners.

3. PanJiaYuan, BeiJing: best market we've been at for antiques.

Top Three Things We Wished We Have Done and Were Not Able To:

1. Learn Chinese: maybe because we constantly moved from place to place and the dialects are different in different regions and provinces and maybe because we we did not push hard enough, but we even though we made great progress in the first 3-4 months of our trip, we stagnated afterwards and were not able to develop our talking skills to the level we wished we have.

2. Practice TaiQi/KongFu: there are a number of famous mountains with monasteries on them where monks practice ancient Chinese martial art techniques, like KongFu and TaiQi. Wudan Shan, Tai Shan are some of them. When we initially planned our trip, we thought about staying 3-4-5 weeks in one of those places to enable Yonatan to learn and practice KongFu, while Vered and Boaz can do TaiQi or meditation. We're not sure why, but we failed to make it to those place and spend the time on this objective.

3. Internalize Eastern Culture Calmness: this was a stretch goal from the beginning, but one we really hoped we can get to. Become calmer would have been a huge benefit for all of us considering the hectic day-to-day life we all live in the western world. Well, we did not change that much... We did feel a noticeable change in our calmness while on the Tibetan Plateau, and in the Buddhist areas of Myanmar, but that calmness evaporated once we left those areas and moved on...especially when we stuck in traffic back home.

Top Three Places We Planned, But Missed On Our Trip:

1. XiShuaNaBanNa in southern YunNan – we planned to visit this region in December after our trip in Vietnam, only we were not able to obtain visa to China from Hanoi and had to go to Hong Kong, which made this region far and expensive to get to.

2. Villages around Kaili in GuiZhou – another one of the very old China regions with unique minorities and special charm of remote villages. Schedule conflicts with other people who wanted to travel with us prevented us from getting there.

3. Country Side in Eastern GanSu – this region provides some of China's most classic scenery, but we ran out of time due to the need to shorten our trip by 5 weeks due to El-Al arbitrary restrictions on our tickets.

Top Three Places We Left For The Next Trip:

1. Tibet – So unique and so different from the rest of China and home to the world's highest peak at the Everest, it definitely deserves a visit. But, it is also big, remote, requires a special permit and cost a special fee. It is also very high in altitude and could harm Naama who cant fully communicate yet. To fully enjoy it, and especially the climb to base camp, we thought we need a few more years for our kids to grow.

2. Inner Mongolia – home to some of the world's widest planes, this region requires a long time and way too long bus rides to fully enjoy than we were willing to afford in this trip...

3. Southern and Western YunNan – the tropical area of XiShuaNaBanNa in the south bordering Vietnam and Myanmar and the NuJiang valley to the west, bordering Tibet did not fit into our plan due to mismatch of seasons and visa requirements.

Top Ten Most Memorable Quotes:

1. I don't understand why they call this place the “western lake”, there is nothing western about it, it's all Chinese!”: Yonatan questioning the name of the lake in HangZhou.

2. “Really?!?!? they check dragons here?”: Daniella getting concerned at the Passport (Darkon in Hebrew) Check in Hong Kong

3. “Bu Yao Pong Wo” – “I do not want to be touched”, in Chinese, which unfortunately became the Chinese phrase our kids said the most...

4. “You want me to hug a stranger?!?!?”: Ruthy horrified at the idea she needs to hold on to the motorbike driver that is taking her downhill and back to our hotel in Inle Lake, Myanmar.

5. “Mas Shooit”: Orit taking food samples from the kids at meals.

6. “Are we Crazy?”: Boaz and Vered say to one another (at the same time!) after we say goodbye to our families and cross the check-in counters in Tel Aviv airport as we realize we are actually going on this trip...

7. “Now if Daniella will get lost, I will have no problem finding her. I will just look for the prettiest girl in Dali” Yonatan as he looks at Daniella wearing her new red silk Chinese dress.

8. “Ting Bu Dong”: “I do not Understand” in Chinese.

9. “Why do we deserve this”: Vered repeating on the beach in Ngwe Saung, Myanmar

10. “Nawon?”: from Naamanit to Hebrew: “Nachon” and to English: “Right?”

Top Five Funniest Events:

1. In a restaurant in ZhongShan where none of the staff members spoke any English, Yonatan tells the waiters in Chinese that while he and the rest of us do not speak Chinese, his grandma can speak good Chinese, causing all of them to gang on her to explain the menu and get her order for our table...

2. In Kunming, we were invited to a birthday party for a 3-year old, which ended with a cake flying-fight using wonderful cream cakes on everybody's faces

3. On a tiny almost deserted hotel on the earthquake-destroyed QingChen HauShan, Tomer puts the PointIt book to the ultimate test and tries to ask about some secret documents...

4. In a restaurant in Urumqi, during a game of open-your-mouth-and-close-your-eyes-and-guess-what-I-put-in-your-mouth game, Boaz puts an extra hot red pepper in Yonatan's mouth who runs outside of the restaurant to spit it in a speed we have never before seen him achieve...

5. In HuaHua, after the tuktuk with all of our bags (and those of Vered's parents) disappeared, Vered and her mom are trying to find their way to the train station using kinder-garden voices and hand signals of trains to passing pedestrians that look at the strange foreigners with a facial expression of partial disbelief and partial surprise...

Top Three Most Spontaneous Decisions We Made In This Trip:

1. Going on the trip... it took us less than a day from the moment we raise the idea to decide we go. It then took three months to plan it, but still only about a day to decide on it. We surprised ourselves...

2. Which island to go to in Thailand for 10 days: we made the decision at the Bangkok airport based on availability of tickets.... First time we got to an airport without tickets, not to mention a definite destination...

3. Split and hitch hike from Sayram Lake to Urumqi: less than one minute to decide... a car stopped, the driver was not willing to take all 5 of us, so Vered, Daniella and Naama went on and Boaz and Yonatan stayed to catch another car...

Top Five Most Useful Web Sites We Used to Plan Our Trip:

1. Wikitravel: we sued to check this site before almost every town we came into to get info on places to go to and even hotels to stay at.

2. realtravel.com – China Travel Guide: it has a wonderful set of a dozen or so “best...” lists about China: best hikes, best countryside retreats, best small towns, etc.

3. ChinaBackpacker.info: has wonderful routes and suggestions for a bit off-the-beaten-path places to go to.

4. Elong: best site for airfare throughout China and the far east

5. Tripadvisor.com – by far best site for hotels anywhere in the world, and definitely in China.

Top Ten Scariest Moments in the Trip:

1. When the train started moving in PingYao, before we were able to get off and we thought Yonatan already went down.

2. Certain portions of the hike along the northern part of the Cloud Path on CangShan above Dali.

3. Realizing we can not check into a hotel in BeiJing due to our visa expiring.

4. Certain portions along the Tiger Leaping Gorge hike

5. Realizing we do not have our money pocket (with all of our cash: RMB and USD) on the 10-hour bus ride from Urumqi to Kanas Lake

6. Daniella's upper lip gets swollen during a night bus ride from XiaMen to Hong Kong

7. The tuk-tuk driver with all of our bags disappears at the bus station in HuaHua.

8. Vered misplaces her ipod on the night bus ride from XiaMen to Hong Kong and can not fall asleep anymore fearing we will get robbed.

9. Naama getting her foot into the bike wheel in YangShuo causing a nasty scratch and we fear she even broke her ankle.

10. Naama falling in a playground next to the drum tower in BeiJing and badly cutting her lower lip.

Top Five Books We Read Along the Trip About China:

1. The Good Earth, Pearl S. Buck: the first book in modern history that brought to the West a sense of life in China. It is written so plainly simple and unassuming and so beautifully describing real life of peasants in China, it deserves every credit it got, and it got a lot. In the words of Rob Gifford, it was a book that was clearly written by someone who really loved the Chinese people.

2. China Road, Rob Gifford: introduced to us by a Chinese friend (Thanks, Tao!) as “probably the best book about China I have read”, we found it fascinating and most educating. We had it as an audio book and listened to it on our ipod twice: once at the start of our trip and another towards its end to recap and remember some of the insights of the very thoughtful writer. We found ourself in agreement with most of his claims and conclusions and enlightened by many of his observations that made our travel throughout this country much more interesting and rewarding.

3. Ten Thousand Miles without a Cloud, Sun Shuyun: We are split on this book. Boaz loved it and regard it as one of the best books he has ever read, while Vered got tired of it somewhere mid-through. On the positive, it is a fantastic tail that combines recent China history (20^th century one) with ancient one (6^th century), while detailing a lot of aout Buddhism and telling it along both a personal life story, and an epic travel journey. If you like travel books and history books and/or are intrigued with China and/or Buddhism: you'd enjoy this one. If you plan to travel along the Silk Road in China, this is a wonderful background story to spice up your trip.

4. Wild Swans, Jung Chang: This award-winning book is probably the most powerful book we have read about China. Its detail descriptions of life in China along three generations from the last years of the last dynasty in the crumbling Chinese Empire through the revolution and creation of the first republic, the Japanese occupation and then the communist revolution and highs and lows of Mao's regime are riveting. I did not like the Hebrew translation, though and wish I have read it in English...

5. Silk Tree, I hated this book when I first read it somewhere along this trip. It felt too much like hidden propaganda to me. Over time, though, and as I learned more about China during the cultural revolution, I learned to appreciate a bit more of this delicate book and while not liking it, I felt it provided me yet another interesting insight about China.

GENERAL TRAVEL:

Total Number of Days We Traveled: 365

Total Number of Countries We Visited: 4 (China, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar)

Total Number of Additional Countries Whose Borders With China We Saw: 6 (Taiwan, Mongolia, Russia, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan)

Total Number of Visas We Issues: 8 (China: 6, Myanmar: 1, Vietnam:1)

Total Number of Provinces We Visited in China: 21 (YunNan, SiChuan, ChongQing, HuBei, HuNan, GuangXi, GuangDong, HongKong, HeiLongJiang, BeiJing, JiangXi, FuJian, ShangHai, JiangSu, ZheJiang, AnHui, HeBei, ShanXi, ShaanXi, GanSu, XinJiang)

Total Number of Kilometers We Traveled: 69,286 (Air: 27,669 – 40%, Land: 41,617 – 60%) which is about 1¾ times circling the earth...

Total Number of Kilometers We Traveled by Country: the flights from Israel to China and back accounted for about 15K kilometers, which is about 22% of the total travel amount. About 42k (61%) were travels inside China and about 11K (17%) split between Myanmar and Vietnam about 5000 kilometers each and Thailand, about 1500.

Cost for the Trip: $100/per. We budgeted this amount for all of us (all inclusive) and had an easy time living by it very comfortably.

FOOD:

Most Common Breakfast Food: Hard Boiled Eggs. Second Place: Fried Eggs. Third Place: Sunny Side Up. Yes, we ate lots of eggs in China....

Most Common Fruit: Bananas. Second Place: “Kmo Lichi”

Best Dumplings: NanXiang Steamed Bun Restaurant, ShangHai, NAME Hong Kong

Best Steamed and Stir-Fried Vegetables: The restaurant in XiaMen next to the 252 hotel.

Best Kebabs: Norbixi Kabab Abdul Himit Hagi, near Great Mosque in Kashgar

Best Fruits: Melons, Mulberries and Apricots in Turpan, Urumqi, Kashgar

Best Breads: Baguettes in Cargo restaurant, Hoi-An, Vietnam. Second Best: Baguettes at Sapa Boutique Hotel, Sapa, Vietnam, Third Best: nans in near Great Mosque in old town Kashgar

Best Drinks: Yak Yogurt in LiJiang, green tea in LongJing, nei-cha in Hemu.

Most Number of Times We Went Back to a Restaurant: 4 (Tashkant in Urumqi, Spice Spirit in BeiJing, NAME in XiaMen, Street Restaurant near Sam's Hotel in Dali)

TRANSPORTATION:

Longest Bus Ride: 28 hours (Khotan – Urumqi). Second longest: 14 hours (LiTang - KanDing)

Longest Train Ride: 29 hours (Urumqi – Xi-An), Second longest: 25 hours (Xi-An – GuangZhou).

Fastest Train Ride: 202 km/h on the D bullet train ShangHai to SuZhou and BeiJing to ShanHaiGuan.

Most Beautiful Bus Ride: Kashgar to Tashkurgan. Second Place: ZhongDian (ShangRiLa) to DaoCheng. Third Place: LiJiang to Lugu Hu.

Most Horrible Bus Ride: XiaMen to Hong Kong. Second Worst: BaiShuiTai to ShangRiLa

Total Number of Different Transportation Systems/Vehicles We Used: 15 (Air: 1, Sea: 2, Rail: 3, Wheels: 6 , Animals: 1, Other: 2 )

Total Number of Flights We Took: 17 (this statistic surprised one as we did not realize we used that many. Most of them, however, were to and among destinations outside China: Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam).

LODGING:

Total Number of Hotels We Stayed At: 99

Most Nights We Stayed at the Same Hotel: 24 (Renaissance Harbor View, Hong Kong), Second Most: 16 (Sim's Cozy, ChengDu)

Number of Hotels We Stayed Only 1 Night At: 36

Most Number of Times We Checked Into a Single Hotel: 5 (Sim's Cozy in Chengdu). Second Most: 4 (at both Renaissance Harbor Inn in Hong Kong and Silver Birch Youth Hostel in Urumqi)

Most Number of Hotels We Stayed at in the Same City: 4 (XiaMen), Second Place: 3 (YangShou, SuZhuo)

Hotel We Enjoyed The Most: OutSide Inn (YangShuo, GuangXi). Second Place: Renaissance Harbor View (Hong Kong), Third: Sim's Cozy (ChengDu, SiChuan)

Worst Hotel We Stayed At: next to bus stop in BaiShuiTai. Second Worst: next to bus station in BuerJin.

Most Unique Hotel: TuLou in FuJian, Cave in ShanXi, Tibetan house in JiuzaiGuo

Most Bizarre Stay: “massage” room at hotel in XiaMen

Total Number of Nights We Did Not Sleep in a Hotel: 37 (Train: 16, Apartment: 7, Bus: 4, Boat: 4, Friends: 1 Cave:1, Yurt: 3, Tent: 1, Kazakh House: 1, Plane: 1)

Total Number of Nights Paid with Hotel Points: 49 (HongKong: 24 , ShangHai: 10, BeiJing: 15)

Total Number of Nights All Five of Us Slept in a Single Bed: 3 (Cave in LiJiaShan, Youth Hostel in PingYao, Kazakh house in Hemu)

PEOPLE:

Number of People Who Came from Abroad to Travel with Us: 8 (Edna, Amir, Ruthy, Itzik, Micha, Daniela, Amalia, Orit)

Number of Days We Travelled With Others: 75 (Edna&Amir: 24, Orit: 20, Ruthy: 15, Micha&Daniela&Amalia: 15, Itzik: 2)

Cities with Most Israelis We Met: 63 (ChengDu), Second Most: 15 (Kashgar)

FUN FACTS:

Strangest Place Naama Peed: trash can in Hong Kong subway. Second place: cable car on Huang Shan

The Place Naama Got Potty Trained: Ngwe Saung Beach, Myanmar

The Place Daniella Started Swimming on Her Own: Ngwe Saung Beach, Myanmar

The Place Yonatan Learned a Full Lotus Sitting: Phu Quoc, Vietnam.

Number of SIM Cards We Used: 14 (yes, too many...)

Number of Bank Accounts We Opened: 2

Number of Mobile Phones We Purchased and Lost/Stollen: 2

Number of Cameras We Purchased and Lost/Stollen: 2

Most Painful Loss: Yonatan's bag gets stollen in BeiJing Airport with his ipod, Nintendo and more...

Money Best Spent During the Trip: 6.2 Yuan for a small bag of tea leaves at Carrefour in ChongQing before our YangZe cruise that served us for over a month.

Best Investment Ahead of the Trip: iPods for Yonatan and Daniella. Second best: movies on our laptop

Most Useless Investment Ahead of the Trip: preparing a blog site (structuring it, inputting all our friends' info, etc.) on blogger.com, which is not accessible in China....

Number of Packages We Sent Back to Israel: 5 (4 boxes of about 10 KG each along the way and a shipment of furniture we purchased in the BeiJing antique market)

Most Bizarre Thing We Purchased: a pair of old doors from ShaanXi...

Most Unique Experience: Swimming in the river in LeShan towards the Giant Buddha

Number of Pairs of Shoes We Travel with: 15 (3 pairs each: walking shoes, sandals and flip-flops/Crocks)

Most Negative Surprise: Finding out we need to cut our trip short by 5 weeks due to airfare restrictions on our return flight , Second Worst: finding out we can not issue a visa to China in Hanoi, Vietnam

Most Positive Surprise: Ian and Lyliane taking us into their house on a zero time notice without really knowing us before.

Total Number of Times Yonatan and Daniella Were Sick Along the year: 0 (wow!!)

Total Number of Times Vered, Boaz and Naama Were Sick Along the year: 4 (Naama: 1, Vered: 1, Boaz: 2)

Total Kilograms Boaz Lost in 12 Month Trip: 8

Number of Weeks it Took Boaz to Gain Back Half of the Above: 3 (1 in Hong Kong and 2 in Israel...)

OUR BLOG:

Number of Journal Entry Postings on Our Blog Site: 154 (that's an average of almost one every two days...)

Number of Photo Albums on Our Blog Site: 59

Number of Hard Copy Photo Albums We Plan for the Year: 7

Number of Photos We Have Taken: 17,358 (that's an average of 47.5 a day!)

 

• תוך כדי המצאת סיפור בועז מלמד את דניאלה ויונתן את משמעות הביטוי "מהיר חימה". כמה דקות אחר כך אני שואל את יונתן אם הוא זוכר איך כינינו את הדרקונים והוא עונה: “בטח, מהירי חמאת בוטנים..." י

• During a steep decline from the Red Rock mountain in LangMuSi, Daniella cried to Yonatan to stop and wait for her. His reply: “how can I stop when it is so much fun to run down!!”.

• “Ben Gurion went to a Buddhist Zen monastery for three days to do meditation” Vered reads to Yonatan out of her current book. “ah, I get it” says Yonatan “Ben Gurion became a Buddha...”

• “Ansto Monster Alooya” a song Daniella composed, wrote and sang somewhere in ShanXi or ShaanXi and performed so often we all started to sing along... for whatever reason, Naama decided to change the song to: “Hatifim Alooya”, hatifim meaning snacks in Hebrew. The fact that the other words do not have a meaning does not seem to bother her at all. Even more amusing was Daniella's question to Vered, about three weeks after starting to sing the song:, “what is Alooya?”... somehow she figured out, maybe with Yonatan's help, what Monster is and wantd to know what is the other word in her invented song...

• “ אבא, אתה מבולבל לגמרי, תסתכל, עכשיו יום!” or in English: “daddy, you are completely confused, look outside, it is daytime!”. Naama responding logically to Boaz' (also logical) request of hers to go to sleep at 11:00pm in SayRam Lake... Go explain time zones to a 3-year old and when you are done add the political decision making among Chinese government to not have time zones in China...

• “It sure looks different than eastern China”. Boaz commenting on the way streets and people look in Turpan. “It looks like Turkey”, Vered responds, “I mean, I have never been to Turkey, but it feels like Turkey...”.

• “You see, no wonder the Uighurs should have their own country, even their germs are different” Vered finding deep meaning to the fact that all of us got diarrhea as soon as we got to Urumqi and tried some of the local street food.

• “Yonchook”: Daniella's recent cute nick name for Yonatan, after whom she started to be wrapped around recently in deep brother-sister love, that makes their parents so happy...

• We only have a month to go and we seem to be in a summarizing mood. One day Naama came up with the following insight: “when we're back in Israel, Naama will go to gan Ruth, Yonatan and Daniella will go to school. And what will you and daddy do, mommy?”

• “Daddy”, Naama in a moment of revelation, “you know that children say 'wow' a lot. Because they are children...”

• Yonatan and Daniella raced along one of the streets in Kashgar and Daniella lost. She came back crying and said to Boaz (knowing he gets really annoyed when any of them cries for no good reason): “I am not crying, daddy, it's my body doing it. I really don't want to cry...”

• “We slept at the Kozakim house” Vered confuses Kazakhs with Kozaks...

• Another one of Naama's gems: 'Nawon” meaning “true”.

• “Ata Lo Nechmad”, Naama keeping a close score of who's been nice to her recently and who has not. The tiles: “ata/at nechmad” and “ata/at lo nechmad” often change on an hourly basis based on the most recent event regarding her....

• “what are we playing?” Yonatan's most common question for the most inappropriate times, especially times of stress, like when are checking in to a hotel, stand in line about to board a train, going through customs at the border, look for directions in a street when we are lost, etc.... he simply can not occupy himself on his own.

• “hatikva”: this one is bizarre.... I was sitting at a room set up at the Renaissance hotel for watching the world cup in front of the big screen watching some commercials before the game when I noticed that one of those commercials (who knows for what!?!) had the tune of “The Tikva”, Israel's national anthem played as the background tune... how bizarre is that?!

• More of Naama's vocabulary gems: “tomaman” – all the time or Kol Hazman. “Lo daat ma korim oto” - I don't know what's his/her name, a prerequisite to Naama's speaking to or playing with someone... “achat, staim, efes, amba”: Naama counting in Hebrew: one, two, zero, four...

• “Zhe Shi Good” - Naama mixing Chinese and English to say: “it is good”

• “Wo Yao Heshbon” - Naama now mixes Chinese and Hebrew to ask for the bill (“I want the bill”) at a restaurant on the day after we came back to Israel...

With its extra-comfortable beds, high-end sheets, soothing baths, fabulous outdoor pool and oh-so-spoiling lounge, the fantastic Renaissance Harbor View hotel in Hong Kong has been our home away from home along our trip in China and we checked into it not less than five times! After a month of wonderful, but quite exhausting travels throughout the massive province of XinJiang, it was the perfect place to spend the last week of our year-long trip before returning to Israel.

Since this was the fifth time we came to this hotel, in which, by the way, we spent a whopping 24 nights this year, the kids knew the hotel to a level where they felt completely at home in it. In fact, Yonatan and Daniella were able to navigate freely and on their own between the room, pool and lounge. They spent hours in the pool, while we read books and caught up on our blog writing.

In fact, the hotel was so soothing and comfortable (and the weather was so hot and humid outside!) that we barely left the hotel throughout out stay there. In the seven days we were there, we went out on “excursions” only three times and even in those, the kids forced us to get back to the hotel for dinner at the lounge... at a couple of those times, we literally had to run in the subway tunnels to make it in time before the high-end and spoiling happy-hour at the lounge ended...

At the lounge we were all treated as royalty! Part of that was due to the fact that most of the staff were there during our previous visits and remembered us and our adventure. But, more of it was simply due to the fact that they had a strong service mentality and were there to help the guests enjoy their stay. From the second day we were there, they remembered and brought us the drinks we liked for breakfasts (apple juice for the kids, Latte for Vered and Green Tea for Boaz) and even played with Naama who was constantly running back and forth along the long hall.

Since we arrived in Hong Kong on July 5^th, we were there just in time to watch the last four matches in The World Cup: the two semi-finals, the final and the third place match. Due to the time zones difference, the games were played late at night, starting at 2:30am. The hotel set up a special room with a projector, a big screen and a small staff to provide beer and snacks for the avid soccer watchers. Despite their 4-5am end-time Boaz insisted on watching all four games. He used the opportunity that he had to stay late for 2-3 hours after everybody else went to sleep and before the games started to write for the blog and was able to complete almost his entire backlog of postings.

But, we also left the hotel a few times... One day we went to Lanta Island (that's the island where the airport, Big Buddha and Disney parks are). We took the ferry from Pier 6 near our hotel and first went to a beach not far from the ferry landing site. We spent the morning on the calm and lightly populated beach building sand castles and swimming in the warm waters. Then, we took a bus to the other side of the island to the quaint fishermen village of Tai-O. We found a small restaurant and sat down for some drinks in front of the most peaceful view of the old village houses, which reminded us a lot of the villages in Phu Quoc in Vietnam.

One other day we went to the Lady's Market to buy gifts and renew our wardrobe a bit. Vered announced she will not wear any of the items we wore throughout our year and will work to prevent that from others as well. As we were not able to buy all that we wanted in that first visit, Vered went back there a couple more times and Yonatan and Daniella made turns going with her:

Another worthy occasion to leave the hotel was to have lunch at our favorite dim-sum place, at the Resource Building, 15 min walking distance from our hotel... We used the opportunity to meet up with Jasmine, Vered's classmate from CMU, and had a lovely time. After the giant meal, we all headed out to Stanley village where the girls went shopping, while Boaz and the kids spent some time at the small beach there.

But, the highlight of this visit was the boating trip. We were invited by Derric, another classmate of Vered's from CMU, to join him and a group of his friends for a day on a boat near one of the island off the shore of Hong Kong island. The occasion or excuse for the party was the birthday of Derric's girlfriend.

Apparently, boating is THE thing to do for Hong Kong's coolest youngsters. You rent a boat, invite friends, bring loads of food and drinks and go for a day (10am - 6pm or so) of swimming, eating, drinking, sunbathing, chatting and having fun on a boat about 1-2 hour away from Hong Kong. Joining a fun group of such a cool thing was fantastic for us and we all had so much fun!

Of course, our kids were the only kids onboard. Moreover, despite the fact that we were only marginally older than most people on the boat, we might have been the only married couple on the boat....The group was a fun one, maybe because the people came from very many different background. About half of them, for example, were ex-pats living in Hong Kong and about a third work together in the same place now. The mix proved well and it was a vivid and most happy day.

We stayed long periods of time in the water, mostly with the help of all kind of floating devices, swam a bit, ate a lot, drank a lot, chatted with many people. We even found out that we met one of the guys in a hotel on Emei Shan 9 months earlier! How's that for a coincidence... But, even the excitement and beauty of the boating trip, did not get us too far of our routines and so Naama had her mid-day beauty sleep and Yonatan completed a chapter in his Math booklet for school...

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Did we say the Renaissance Harbor View hotel is fantastic?...

• If and when you go to Hong Kong in the summer, make sure you have a friend there and ask them to organize a boating trip. It is a lot of fun.

• Tai-O village in Lanta Island is a lovely village to spend a few hours at and the beach near the ferry landing site is quiet and calm.

When we met Itamar back in the lovely Sim's Cozy Guesthouse in ChengDu, he proudly showed us his new possession: a complete Chinese-English dictionary with both Chinese characters and pin-yin pronunciation. He was so proud of his new purchase that we decided to give him a useful task to test it out: find Chinese names to Yonatan and Daniella.

Names in Chinese are a big deal and are a challenge for foreigners. Since Chinese is not a letter based language, but rather a character based one, and since new characters can not be created, foreigners wishing a name in Chinese need to identify Chinese characters that sound similar to the way their name sounds in their language AND make sure those characters have a positive meaning.

Daniella was found to be a relatively easy name as the sounds are similar to sounds that exist in Chinese. This was not the case, by the way, for Vered and Boaz that had to struggle a bit more to find appropriate names for themselves. The process we went by is for Itamar to identify potential characters for each of the syllables of Daniella, followed by Daniella choosing among them which ones she wanted for her name.

The name we ended up with was: Dao (The way, as in the religion Daoism), Ni (a Buddhist nun), E (a young beautiful girl) and La (a candle). Initially, we thought of choosing the la character for spicy, but a candle seems much more fitting...

On the downside, four characters hardly resemble a Chinese name. Most Chinese names have a single character for the first name (Li, Hu, Hong, Ping, Tao, etc.) and a single one for the surname. A few names would have three characters (Mao Tse Tung would be a famous example), but a four character name sounds to most Chinese like two names...

On the positive side, however, the name fits her so much, we could not get ourselves to change it...

You see, Daniella is indeed a young beautiful woman who grew so much along our time in China and has been developing her own way along this trip. Her interest in Buddhism spurred from the frequent interactions with this intriguing religion during our time in China and has deepened along the trip. She got very much into the spiritual spirit of the temples we visited, mainly on the Tibetan Plateau in northern YunNan, Western SiChuan and Southern GanSu. One of the expressions of that feeling of hers are the ample photos of her we have bowing at temples and meditating while mimicking the Buddha sitting position, which made her look like a young Buddhist nun.... Furthermore, the Way, the Dao, fits perfectly what we aimed for in our year on China and the La symbol in the end of the name matches the notion in nun character very well as well.

In a bad mood she is antsy and annoying like any other 5-6 year old kid, but in a good mood she is second to none in her kindness. In times of stress for Naama, she is often the one to come to her aid, or should I say ours, the parents, offering Naama a way out and a clever solution to calm her down. She has developed a wonderful relation with Yonatan, which we felt has gone way beyond the younger-sister-adoring-older-brother one... in fact, they became such good friends towards the end of the trip that Yonatan even sent a message to his friends in Israel asking them to let Daniella join their “gang”!

It is not for no reason that her father refers to her with all meaning and intension as “his angel”.

We started our path out of China from the farthest point possible, a week ago in the little village of Hemu near Kanas Lake on the north-west border of China with Mongolia and Russia. it took us 24 hours to get to Urumqi, the capital of XinJiang, another 36 hours we rested in Urumqi, another 29 hours on the train to Xi-An, the formet capital of China (before BeiJing), where we rested for 36 hours until this morning when we took a 3 hour plane flight to GuangZhou followed by a 2 hour train ride from there to Hong Kong. All in all, about 4000 kilometers in just about a week got us out of China on the day our visa is expiring... We now have one single week left on our journey which we plan to spend here in Hong Kong before completing our year in China. If all went according to plan, we will be landing in Israel on July 12 - the exact day we left it a year ago - a few minutes before midnight, to make sure we squeeze every minute possible from this fantastic adventure.

It is amazing how fast time flies... :-)

Our first encounter in Xi-An was when we arrived there on a night train from PingYao and stayed a couple of days before taking another train to Hong Kong to renew our visas. We found the city and especially the ShuYuan Youth Hostel near the South Gate a perfect place to relax and wind down from our lengthy travels. We returned to Xi-An with our new visa and spent 9 days there with Vered parents to enjoy its many attractions like the Terra-cotta Army, Big Wild Goose Pagoda, the history museum, the great Mosque, the Muslim Quarter and more.

When we planed our way back from XinJiang to Hong Kong, we decided it would be nice to spend a couple of days somewhere on the way rather than go directly to Hong Kong. You see, XinJiang is so different from anywhere else in China, that it feels less like China. And we wanted a bit more of China before we leave. We wanted some Chinese green tea, some rice-based dishes, some tofu, some noodles. We wanted to say Ni-Hao one more time and Bu Yao Pong Wo...

So, we considered our options and narrowed them down to ChengDu in SiChuan, KunMing in YunNan and Xi-An in ShaanXi. All three cities where on the way from Urumqi to Hong Kong, and all had good food and nice atmosphere we enjoyed. The rational for KunMing was its close proximity to Hong Kong and the fact that it was the first place we have been to in PRC when we arrived. ChengDu had even more going for it with Sim's Cozy's hostel we all wanted to stay at one more time and meet the oh-so-friendly staff there, the wonderful tea we had in the lovely tea houses there, and of course meet the wonderful Hong, our rainbow in ChengDu. But, in the end, Xi-An won the race when on top of the very lovely youth hostel and good market for souvenirs in the Muslim Quarter, Vered found significant differences in prices of train to it from Urumqi and a flight from it to Hong Kong.

And so we arrived in Xi-An on the train from Urumqi around midnight, just in time to check in, have a soothing shower in the very-clean rooms and specious showers in the hostel, put the kids to bed and catch the last world cup quarter-final with Spain beating Paraguay. We enjoyed a wonderful

breakfast in the morning and then set out to stroll around the familiar town until we reached the muslim bazar, bought all the things we “had” to buy before we go back to Israel (including a new bag for all these new things...), and got to our last dinner in China, which we had at the First Noodle Under the Sun.

To make sure we do not miss out on anything, we ordered just about every dish that we enjoyed in the past and did not stop even when the waitress told us she thinks we have too much food... and let me tell you, the screams of joy from all of us – Naama leading the pack! - for every dish that arrived and was indeed so good, were worth it. And in the end as normally happens with us, there was actually very little food left on the table....

And so we came back to the hotel, packed our bags, chat with a friend whom we met in Kashgar and got very sick and had just about 3 hours of sleep before we woke up around 4:45am to get organized and make it to the airport for our 2-3 hour flight to GuangZhou and from there to Hong Kong.

All in all, praises again to Vered for the good call on the need to break the path to Hong Kong and for selecting Xi-An and for finding the great deals she did to save us money while at it. It was a wonderful couple of days to complete our tour-de-China and we all felt like we deserve the yellow shirts and if not, at least had a wonderful 24 hours of “real” China before we leave.

Our trip along XinJiang seems to be characterized with lakes and deserts. On the desert front, we visited Turpan in the east side of the province and Khotan on its south-west corner and crossed the mighty Taklamakan Desert in the heart of the province. On the lake side we visited SayRam Lake near Yining in the west of the province, Karakul Lake between Kashgar and Tashkurgan in the south-west and now Kanas lake in the north, near the border with Russia and Mongolia.

Getting to Kanas is as hard as most places in XinJiang and requires a long bus ride. The 10-hour bus ride from Urumqi to BuerJin was a long, but most beautiful one. It is a strange type of desert: in the mostly rolling low hills we passed there seems to be enough water to sustain life, but then there is barely any life visible for miles on end. Maybe it is the soil that does not enable much to grow. It is a very colorful soil, which makes for wonderful scenery of colorful hills. But, those hills are bare and we have seen no trees for almost the entire drive.

BuerJin: 10 hours later we arrived in the town of BuerJin and decided it is too late to try and make it to Hemu, another 3-4 hours on a taxi of some kind and decided to stay the night. We checked into a tiny hotel that is located just next to the bus station, which did not look too good to begin with and turned out to be quite horrible later on, but Boaz tried to calm things down with “it is only for one night”, while Vered tried: “let's imagine it is the Renaissance in Hong Kong”... Yonatan took that last statement to heart and started talking about how lovely the hotel is and how much he enjoyed staying her and maybe we should stay longer and besides, we should not go out to eat, but rather stay to eat in the hotel... He was so animated, we almost believed him...

But, then we left the hotel and took a taxi to he open market on the edge of town next to the river. The place has the potential to be a nice one if not for the ambush by the millions of barchashim, those tiny flies that fly in schools of a few dozens or hundreds and cover you when you get near them. They do not bite or anything, but standing and walking on your hands or face or head is as annoying as can be. The locals seem to be fully prepared for the onslaught by the little bugs. Each stand in the market has some burning leaves for smoke and many sell head-cover nets, which we saw many people walk with.

We tried to walk towards the river, but the clouds of flies drove us away. We walked into one of the street restaurants in the lane adjunct to the market (which were all covered with nets and had smoking branches at their entrances to fight the flies) and had a dinner that would have been completely forgettable if not for the singers with roll-away amplifiers who were singing extremely loudly Russian songs to the requests of the diners. When one of them started singing “Katyushka” a song that has been translated to Hebrew when Russian immigrants came to Israel in the beginning of the 20^th century, I joined along to the complete amazement of Yonatan and Daniella....

Catch a Ride to Hemu: The next morning we went to the bus station to find a taxi to take us to Hemu. After some haggling, we agreed on a price with one of the drivers and got into his Chinese made SUV. As soon as he saw us sitting in the car he got off and went back to the station. It took us a few seconds to figure out what is happening: he went to look for more passengers... a half an hour later we had two more passengers and drove around town to pick up some supplies one of them wanted to get to Hemu.

Once we hit the road, though, the driver seemed to be in a hurry and drove as fast as the car could handle. BuerJin marks the end of the desert and so the drive north towards the Russian and Mongolian borders was mostly upward into the low mountains. It was another wonderful drive in valleys that split the mountains with peaceful and most picturesque scenes of yurts, sheep, and cattle grazing in the grasslands amidst so much water....

It could have been a wonderful ride if not for the surprise fee at entrance of the Hemu park. From the guidebook we knew there is a fee at the entrance. What we did not know is that we would be charged bus fee (which costs almost twice the park entrance fee!). We came via a taxi for which we paid to get us to Hemu. We had no interest or need to use the park bus. We have seen park buses in some parks before, but this was the first time we were forced to pay a fee for them regardless of whether we use them. It was a very annoying moment...

Half an hour of yet another beautiful road and we reached the quaint village of Hemu. About a hundred or so small one-story wooden houses fill a clearing in the woods near a gushing river presented us with a most calming and beautiful scenery. The driver first brought us to a small guesthouse of a friend of his, but then agreed to take us to the youth hostel we had reservations at. It was quite a minimalist youth hostel and probably the smallest we have seen throughout our China trip: three workers, 4-5 rooms, a small tent as a dining room and an outdoor common area under a shading umbrella. It did have a specious grass-filled yard with a couple of hummocks and a gushing river running to its side whose waters produced such a loud sound we heard it clearly in our room when we went to bed at night.

The tiny staff consisted of an owner we barely saw and a couple of folks who worked and slept at the place. A nice young guy who tended to the many errands of the place and a woman who was mainly the cook – and a great one – but as can be expected in such a small place, did whatever else needed to be done. They were all trying hard to make our time lovely, maybe because we were the only guests there at the time....

The nature engulfed us and despite the little drizzle that welcomed us when we arrived and went on and off again a few more times throughout our stay, it was a very peaceful place, perfect for our last destination to visit in China. Over the next couple of days and when we came back after our big hike, we enjoyed a most peaceful and lovely time at the tiny place. The lack of amenities, like barely running water at the toilet, and no running water at shower, which worried us a bit in the beginning, proved insignificant to impact the level of enjoyment we had in the place. Every time we wanted to have a shower, the staff brought us a half dozen kettles of boiling-water and a set of large plastic pots and with some initiative stretching to its limits the phrase “where there is a will there is a way” we devised a system and process that enabled us to wash ourselves and the kids.

After we settled in and the drizzle stopped, we decided to climb to the hill on the other side of the river to have a short hike and enjoy the view. We crossed the village and the bridge over the river at its end and climbed the little hill behind village. Yonatan and Daniella ran ahead and counted the 368 steps to peak, while Vered and I enjoyed a more leisurely, slow, climb encouraging Naama to do it on her own.

The view of the village from the top was beautiful. The small wooden-house village below with the background of the high mountains and the occasional horse or cow grazing on the grass in-between was so peaceful. We found a spot at the edge of the hill, sat on the grass and enjoyed the view. A few minutes later a Chinese couple sat not far from us and we started chatting. He turned out to be a restaurant owner from the village below and she a PhD in Anthropology doing a research project on the impact of tourism on the tribes in the village (and two other ones nearby).

They were both very nice and Jing Jing, woman, spoke great English and we enjoyed a lovely conversation with them. As we found common in China, a few minutes later we were surrounded by a half dozen additional people from the village looking to engage with “the foreigners”.

Organizing a Hike: One of the key missions and interests fro us while at Hemu was to do a hike from there to the Kanas Lake. Back in Urumqi we met an Israeli guy who did that hike and showed us the path on a map along with wonderful photos from the way which he described as one of the best ones he did in China. Back in the village before we started the climb to the hill we tried to talk to some of the local horse riders about such a trip. We wanted a guide walking with us with a horse to carry our bag and rent a tent to sleep in on the way, considering there are no village on the way, which was supposed to take us three days. The lack of their ability to speak English and ours to converse well in Chinese prevented us from getting anywhere effectively. Now, we tried to lobby Jing Jing's help to organize the trip. She was willing and very helpful and soon we agreed on a trip and rate with one of he riders.

There was a catch, though. According to the guide, if we wanted to hike to Kanas, we'll need to pay the access fee to the Kanas park right at the exit from Hemu. The info on the LP travel guide was that this fee, which is not small, is waved for those hiking from Hemu, after paying the entrance fee here. This info was echoed by other travelers we met along the way. This requirement would make the trip prohibitively expensive, not to mention giving us a strong feeling of being cheated, which never helps... After a short debate, we concluded we can not go to Kanas and agreed on a route to another lake that is in the Hemu park and set up a time to meet the next morning.

We went to a dinner at the restaurant of the guy we met on the hill and had a fantastic set of small but delicious fish from the river and a couple of vegetable dishes. We then walked back to the hostel to pack our bags: one bag to take with us on the trip and one to leave in the hostel until our return. Considering this would be a fairly lengthy hike, we did not want to carry too much with us.

50 Kilometers in 2 ½ Days: Early the next morning, Boaz went to a few of the small stores in the village (there are no large ones...) and purchased supplies for the trip: noodles boxes, breads, fruits, vegetables, snacks and water. The guide arrived with a friend of his, another guide, and told us he decided to change the route to another one due to the heavy rains recently that would make the route we decided on too dangerous for the kids... He also notified us that the other guide will go with us and not him. These were too many surprises and we started feeling uncomfortable with the whole thing. We even contemplated cancelling the whole trip and head back to Urumqi, but decided to give it a try after all.

We loaded the horse with our gear and start the hike south along the river. The path soon climbed to a platform a hundred meters or so above the river and continued at that level. It was a beautiful view of a flower-full valley at the foot of the mountains to our side, but quickly became monotonous. After four hours or so of a walk, and based on a quick analysis of the map, we started to fear that the remainder of the two-day hike might very well be exactly the same as what we have already did. Further, the guide, who spoke no English and little Chinese, confirmed our fear that in contrast with our agreement with the original guide, his plan is to go back the same way we came, making it even less interesting.

At this point, Boaz was on the verge of bursting and we almost did a u-turn to go back. But, the kids really want to camp out and so we decided to continue, but only after the guide agreed to change the route so the next day we'll a) go back via a different route and b) climb one of the mountains on the way to gain a different angle on the view. Effectively, we forced the guide to change course and return via the mountains, which required us to add a couple of hours of walking to the first day.

And so, after about 10 hours of walking and approximately 20 kilometers, we set up a camp on a clearing in the grass by the mighty Kanas river. The place had a wonderful view of the river on one side and the mountain on the other and the grassland was full on thousands of grasshoppers. A few minutes before we stopped Vered and Daniella spotted a green snake crossing the dirt path a few meters ahead of them and next to the camp itself, Boaz and Daniella spotted two grey ones.

The guide told us he is taking the horses and will sleep in one of his friends's Kazakh houses on the way and will return the next morning. We let him go only after he promised to come back and get us a pot to heat water in on a fire, so we can cook dinner.

It was about 10pm by the time we set up the camp and we figured we have about an hour of sunlight left, so we had to move quickly. Vered took charge of organizing the tent: figuring out how to get all the bags and us in it comfortably. Boaz, Daniella and Yonatan went to fill all of our empty bottles with water from the river (to which we added water purification pills) and gather woods for a fire. We set up a fire, cooked a light dinner (in which skewers of everything we had: breads, tomatoes, sausages, etc. were the hits) and then laid on our backs and watched the stars. We were able to identify many of the star systems and even spot a couple of asteroids, aka “shooting stars” and a passing satellite.

By the way, if you did not try getting 5 people to sleep in a 3-people tent using three sleeping bags, together with all their bags, you may want to skip this part of the adventure... Let's just say that it has a few unwelcome side affects. That said, we were yet again amazed at our kids' ability to sleep well in any condition!

We lit the fire again in the morning and cooked a light breakfast with all the remaining food we had from the evening, thanking our good fortune/decision to only do a 2-day-3-night trip as our food would not suffice for another day and night.

The guide arrived around 10am (that's BeiJing time, which is about 8am XinJiang time) and we set out on our way. The guide was clearly not overly keen on the longer and harder hike and tried to confirm/change it a couple of times, but gave up as we were firm on our need to see a different scenery to make this hike a good one. In fact, we were all quite excited at the chance to climb a bit and see the wonderful scenery we were expecting when we started the trip and Yonatan was extra eager to complete a very long hike!

Let's Climb: What we envisioned as “a climb” turned into quite a monstrous climb... The path we followed was the one used by local nomads to move their herds from one grazing area to another across the mountain. We walked among two such groups that were moving their entire camps packed on 5 camels and their herds of a few hundred cows and sheep. At some points the path narrowed so much it only enabled a single camel to walk through without any ability for us to pass them by. And since the climb was extremely steep, the camels had to stop every 10 meters or so (I kid you not!), which made for a very (very!) slow climb.

It was much harder than we anticipated and we had to change our plans a bit to accommodate the hardship. We convinced the guide to let both Daniella and Naama get on the horse, which meant that the guide had to walk most of the climb. One of the sections we were even able to convince Yonatan to get on the horse to gain some rest, while Boaz took Naama back on his back. We consumed the entire water supply we had with us and had to refill the bottles from the creeks on the way.

Half way through the climb, Vered started to question our ability to make the climb and the hike and suggested we may want to cut our losses and get back to Hemu on the path we came from. A group of 4 Chinese tourists who were doing that contributed to her argument. But, somehow she agreed to continue. By the time we reached the top of the hill we are all very close to our limits and almost decide to cut it off.

But, even with that immense struggle, it was clear from the first 100 meters of the climb that the decision to climb the mountain was the right one as the views are so worth it!! We have seen it in other hikes before. Sometimes you do not need more than 100 and even 50 meters of elevation to gain a completely different perspective on the horizon and a fantastic line of sight. Here, we gained about 1000 meters and the views of the Kanas river and the mountains around it were incredible.

Furthermore, the views of the mountain slopes as we climbed and the grasslands in the small valleys among the peaks once we completed the first climb were otherworldly! The vegetation looked Alpine with tall pine trees in small bursts of forests and magnificent vast flower beds in between them dotted with cows and occasional wild horses grazing in them. Small wooden Kazakh farm houses could be seen here and there and their kids were passing us by during certain portions of the climb as if they are speed cars passing by old horse carriages...

And there were so many flowers....

Interestingly, even though the guide lead us along the path up the mountain nicely, as we walked along the ridge, it felt like he is not really sure what they way is... He actually stopped to ask a couple of locals who directed him towards the right path down the other side of the mountain.

Every Ascend Has to be Followed by a Descend: If the climb was hard, the descend was almost harder. The valley we went down by had a path that was at times nonexistent forcing us to force our way amidst bushes that at times were higher than us! The valley had a little stream going at its center and the cloud of flies and mesquites that engulfed us id not help the descend. Thankfully, Naama fell asleep just as we started the descend.

Due to the steepness of the descend, sitting on the horse in front of the guide became painfully uncomfortable for Daniella and she begged us to get down and walk with us. But, we noticed how tired she was and how hard the walk is for us, that we had to force her to stay on the horse. By that time we could see the next milestone of our trip, a Kazakh house at the bottom of the hill, maybe 2-3 kilometers from where we were. We figured, the best thing for Daniella would be to get down as fast and possible and we told the guide to push forward with the horses, leaving Vered, Boaz and Yonatan to make their way on their own at their own pace. It took him about an hour to get down to the house and for us about three...

By the time we reached the house, it was close to 7pm and we were totally, officially and completely exhausted. We found Daniella asleep on a blanket the guide put on the ground next to the horses. The combination of the actual hardship with the physical discomfort and the extreme anxiety took their toll on her. Yonatan literally could barely speak straight, not to mention think straight... The guide was busy cleaning a lamb that was slaughtered a few minutes before we arrived and we found out he has some family ties with the family.

Staying the Night at the Kazakh House: To recover from the hard walk the very nice Kazakh family got us lots of nei-cha (black tea with thick cow milk) and nan bread with salty hand made butter. This is the way Kazakhs greet their guests and the kind of snacks they themselves indulge on. They lay pieces of the nan bread on the table, dozens of them, which are eaten with one of two or three types of butter, differing in their aging and saltiness. Tea is served in wide bowls as a mixture of milk and black tea. We were so tired and exhausted, we ate and drank so much of those limited snacks and enjoyed them a great deal.

The Kazakh house was about 4 hours walking distance away from Hemu. Around 8pm we had a lengthy debate which is the way we should take. The original plan was to get back to Hemu that evening. After all, we paid for the guide and horses for two days and one night. On the other hand, we were very tired and another four hours of walking were potentially beyond our capabilities. Not to mention the fact that quite likely we will have to walk in the dark at least some of the time.

In the end we decide to stay the night at the Kazakh house that apparently had a room for rent. They even offered us to cook dinner for us, but we were too tired and too full from the ample nan with butter we ate all evening that we respectfully declined... Besides, we were sure the kids will fall (literally!) asleep before the food will arrive...

Yonatan was insisting we continue to walk back to Hemu that night and the only thing that convinced him we should stay was the idea to have another fire. Together with a couple of young Chinese tourists that were on their way from Kanas to Hemu and decided to stay the night with us (albeit in their tent) at the Kazakh house we collected some woods and set up another fire. The kids enjoyed yet one more excitement for the trip, and we had an interesting conversation with the Chinese youngsters.

Some more nei-cha and nan with butter served for breakfast in the morning before we left for Hemu. Four hours or so of slow walk on even grounds later we reached Hemu. We headed straight to our youth hostel and ordered a large lunch of vegetables and eggs, which the cook prepared so wonderfully, as she did all other meals we had there.

We spent the rest of the day relaxing at the hostel yard, playing games with the kids, watching movies on our computer and drinking lots of water (and beer)...

The next day we started our way home. From this northwest corner of China, we started our LONG journey to Hong Kong via Urumqi and Xi-An from where we would take our flight back to Israel. Interestingly, the El Al flight we will take two weeks later would take almost that exact route going north from Hong Kong towards Xi-An where it will turn left and fly towards Urumqi and then continue northwest towards Kanas, then over Kyrgyzstan and onward to Turkey and then south over the Mediterranean to Israel. But, as the famous Chinese saying goes: even a journey of a thousand miles starts in a single step, we started our route with a 6-hour bus to BuerJin from where we took a 12-hour night bus (our last!) to Urumqi.

We will remember Hemu for this wonderful 50 kilometer hike we managed to do in 2.5 days with one night in a tent in the middle of nowhere and another on a traditional Chinese bed in a Kazakh house. To think that Yonatan, a 7 ½ year old kid did that entire journey – including a massive ascend and a painful descend completely on his own is amazing. We were so proud of him and he of himself.

TRAVEL TIPS:

Should You Go: excellent question... the Hemu park is most beautiful and the village is lovely. It is very far away, though, and hence costs a lot of money and time to get to. You'll have to weigh those against one another. The Kanas lake is more known and should have ample hiking opportunities as well, so you may want to consider going there instead of Hemu. The need to pay for each park makes the cost for both parks excessive for more or less the same scenery, though I think the path from one park to the other is the best part of the parks...

When to go: We were there in June and the place was in full bloom, which was as gorgeous a scenery as a flowering scenery can get! That said, the locals told us it is better to come in July when it is a bit warmer. We had a few hours of drizzling rain here and then, but besides those we have no problem with the weather which we thought was perfect: not too cold and not too warm and perfect for hiking!

Where to Stay: the youth hostel we stayed at was nice, clean and quiet and had a wonderful 3-people staff, including a fantastic chef. That said, it had no indoor common area and at the time we were there no constant running water and no hot water at the faucets. Bottom line: it is a good place, but you should assess other as well...

Restaurants: we had a nice meal at the restaurant next to the bridge, but all the rest of our meals we had at the hostel, which served simple basic food, but wonderfully prepared by the woman working there.

What to Do: sitting by the river reading a book is a lovely and peaceful activity on its own. But, the key reason to come to the park is to hike in the wonderful mountains around. The best hike is probably the one we wanted to do but decided to opt out of in the end from Hemu to Kanas. It is about 40-45 kilometers and can be done in either two or three days. There are no official places to sleep along the way, but a guy who did it told us there is at least one Kazakh house on the way that has a room for rent, like the one we stayed at. Alternatively, you can take a tent with you and sleep outside. It is fun and easy to do. If you wanted to do this route, you'll leave the Hemu village, cross the bridge, continue towards the view point hill and from there head west-northwest along the valley towards the Kanas lake. The hike we did left Hemu, crossed the bridge and then headed west along the northern bank of the river towards the place it merges with the Kanas river, then turn north to follow the Kanas River for 4-5 kilometers before turning right, east to climb the hill in a fairly visible path. Once on top of the hill, keep going east until you see the Kazakh houses near the river bank below on your right and go down towards them. It is about 50-55 kilometers and can be done in either two very long days or three “normal” ones. If you do this hike, do not miss out on the climb on the mountain as it is a totally waste of time to do the hike towards the village at the entrance of the Kanas lake (if you continued straight at the river merge point) as the scenery is too repetitive making the hike less interesting and the unchanging elevation less rewarding. It is also worth going up the little hill behind Hemu (after you cross the bridge) for the lovely view on the village.

What to Bring: everything in the village is extremely expensive, between 2x and 4x the costs elsewhere, so bring as much food and supplies with you as possible. Do not forget ample sunscreen and mosquito repellent.

One of the first questions any foreign traveler is asked when traveling in China is where are you from?. In fact, our kids figured out quite quickly that they don't really need to understand what the Chinese are asking them to be able to respond. When someone approached them with a question they simply responded with their name. If another question followed, they shot back their age, in Chinese of course. And if a third question came about, they responded with: Israel, or “I-sa-le-a” as it is pronounced in Chinese.

Before coming to China, we were told by a number of people that since the majority of the population in XinJiang is Muslim people and the place is close to extreme Muslim countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan, it was the only place in China they did not feel comfortable telling people they were Israelis and Jewish and one of the only places in China they did not feel comfortable, and perhaps even a bit alienated by people.

To put things in perspective, XinJiang is very lightly populated. This region that accounts for about 1/5^th of the entire country of China, is inhabited by only about 20 million people (out of China's 1.3 Billion!). Of those, about half are Uighurs Muslims. Another 30-40% are Han Chinese and the rest, a number of small minorities like Hui Muslims, Kazakhs and others. Further, the Uighurs are the majority only in the south and southwest sides of this province. In Urumqi, for example, there are more Han Chinese than Uighurs...

That said, through our first 11 months in eastern and central China, we've witnessed very positive and wonderful reactions from people when they heard we're from Israel. Most people would show a thumb up. Some even followed with a “wow” expression. Among those who spoke a bit English, a surprising number would be very interested in talking more about the fact that we're Jewish, praise us for it and some (a half a dozen or more!) even went as far as compare China and Israel and Chinese with Jewish people as a sign of praise!

Responses in XinJiang have been very different. The immediate and most visible difference between reactions to the knowledge of us being Israelis and Jewish in XinJiang versus the rest of China, is: less smiles. The most common reaction is a plain “ah” and then ignorance to us. As if we're not interesting to them anymore... I guess we are less unique here in the very non-Han part of China, that resembles more of Central Asia, than China.

The second difference, is the far less interest in us than in most areas in China we've been to. That, in and on itself is not a bad thing as the kids in particular have not really enjoyed the over-interest of most Chinese, that often, too often, is accompanied by interest in touching...

We have had some interesting, even bizarre, encounters. For example, a carpet salesperson in Kashgar with whom we had negotiations over three days for carpets we wanted to buy. After we concluded our deal and even paid, he asked us where are we from.: When we responded from Israel (and corrected for the who-knows-how-many-times, “not Italy, but rather Israel”) he said: “you are not from Israel!” We said we are and he responded: “no, that can not be true...” :-)

In the very Muslim-heavy Kashgar, we actually had a few very lovely encounters with locals. Yonatan, Daniella and Boaz played Soccer with some teens at the square outside the great mosque and Boaz and Naama played with some families we ran across as we explored the old town.

Another interesting encounter was in the tiny border town of Tashkurgan: We were walking along the market towards dark when one of the local guys, a guy that looks in his 40's asked me where are we from. I told him we're from Israel (“Isale-a” in Chinese, “Israelia” in Uighur). His response was not what I expected as he pushed both his hands together forward like he is handcuffed and said: “Ulmert”... As I laughed he continued with another gesture of his two feasts hitting one another as he said: “Hezbullah”... I decided to add a short laugh and continue going without lengethening the conversation... neither my Chinese (not to mention Uighur!) nor his English seems to be sufficient for a political discussion...

And then there was a Hui Muslim guy in Hotan who was interested in us as we were the first Israelis he has ever met. His response was quite positive and cheerful as he was happy to add us to his collection of “people from different nations” he has met in his life... :-)

And lastly, on a break from exploring the incredibly interesting Sunday Bazaar in Khotan at a small restaurant somewhere in the market. The restaurant was a hole-in-the-wall and was full with locals having a bit in the middle of their serious Sunday market activities. Yonatan took out his Bible booklet and works on another chapter. Within seconds, every person in the restaurant was watching him. One in every three or so came around to us to investigate further these strange locals with their strange language and even more bizarre writing.

They are all Muslims, of course, and the border with Afghanistan is very close, so we thought before we tell them where we are from. But, we figure this is China and people are very friendly, so we can be good ambassadors of our country. So, we told the woman that came from the table next to us where she sat with her large family of 10 people or so and looks very interested in Yonatan's work that we are Jewish (which interestingly they pronounce “Judea” and not “YouTai” like Chinese) and what Yonatan is reading is our Koran. This spurred murmuring all over the restaurant and more people come to see the miracle...

Khotan is one of the more remote cities in China. We got there via a 10-hour bus ride from Kashgar. But, rather than get back to Kashgar and from there take a 24 hour train to Urumqi, we decided to take a night bus from Khotan to Urumqi. We were told there is a bus from Khotan to a city called NiYa, 5-7 hours east of Khotan along the southern silk road that continues east from Khotan along the southern edge of the Taklamakan desert and then we can take a bus along the newly completed Cross Desert Highway, a road that goes from NiYa to Korla, a city north of the desert and a “short” 5-7 hours south of Urumqi.

When we got to the bus station we found out that there is not a separate bus to NiYa. There is a sleeping bus from Khotan to Urumqi, which is 26 hours or so, or a bus from Khotan to Korla, which is a 22 hour ride. In Korla e can find many buses to Urumqi. We decided on the second option in order to break the ride with a short stop in Korla and change from a sleeping bus to a regular sitting one. Our two experiences to-date with sleeping buses were less than pleasant and we wished to minimize our time in such buses....

Night Buses: If you have not taken a ride in a sleeping bus before, you are lucky... it is not an experience worth taking if you don't have to. The beds are narrow, short and not completely flat: the place for the upper body is slightly elevated to enable space for the feet of the person behind you. This construct makes for a very uncomfortable sleep, not the least because it is completely impossible to sleep on the side or on your front: only on your back! Furthermore, unlike a train that goes on a single set of rails and therefore relatively stable going, a bus can move sideways to pass other cars when the driver feels like and those sideway movements are quite disturbing one's sleep. And this is before we even started talking about the smell from people's bare feet or the smoke of the driver or the inability to go to the toilets when you feel like... In short, if you can avoid a night bus: avoid it! We could not...

NiYa: The bus left Khotan mid day and arrived in NiYa about 6 hours later. It was a long dusty drive along a road that was partially destroyed by the massive forces of the desert. We had four beds on the bus, two lower and two upper on the right hand side, just next to the driver. Sitting, or lying down, next to the driver has the advantage of being close to the front of the bus, which means a slightly smoother ride (the back jumps and bumps more), but the disadvantage of being close to the drivers (there are three of them for such a long ride and they alternate driving and napping), which means suffering from their smoking (all day long) and talking (which is annoying when you try to sleep at night...).

The bus had an hour long stop at NiYa for dinner and continued on. NiYa, like the other desert towns on the way is a miniature town with only a handful of streets and very few people. We made the mistake of ordering some food in one of the tiny restaurants in the bus station, two dishes of noodles with vegetables and some meet. They were not very tasty, but filling. The extent of the mistake revealed itself 4-5 hours later hen Boaz' stomach starting aching badly and he spent the night bagging the driver to stop every hour or two to relieve himself of some of the residuals of that food...

After just short of an hour from the time we arrived in NiYa the drivers hurried everybody back into the bus so we can leave. Hey, we're on schedule – great! But, then the bus started driving in a speed of a turtle circling the town. It took us a few minutes to figure out what's happening: they were looking for more passengers to fill the 2-3-4 beds there were still empty on the bus. They drove like that for almost half an hour finding one person. Then, in a complete nonchalant way, they simply returned to the bus station where they found another 2 people...

Once the bus was full they were in a hurry again and people had to beg to them to stop for a bathroom break every couple of hours or so. They must be getting some big bonus or commission on those extra people they add to the bus or even put that money directly into their pockets. Otherwise, it is hard to explain that relentless pursuit of additional passengers.

Cross Desert Highway: In any event, by the time we really left NiYa, it was dark and we started to cross the desert. The name of the road sounds quite fancy and I wish we could have some views of the desert to get a perspective of it, but all we saw was a very dark night and a few hundred feet ahead of us in the bus' lights. For whatever it is worth, it did not feel any different from any other road we took in southern XinJiang...

Yonatan and Daniella were incredible as they usually are in such long drives. First, they played together with their toys and cards on one of the beds and then they simply went to sleep, which lasted peacefully all through the night. These kids have this amazing ability to sleep so well in any condition: good for them!

So, shortly after NiYa, we organized ourselves for sleeping. Daniella and Yonatan each took an upper bed and Vered took one of the lower ones, while Naama decided she wants to sleep with Boaz on the other lower bed. The first few hours went all well, but then as Boaz's stomach started to feel the pains of dinner, so did Naama started moving uneasily. the second half of the night, Naama and Vered tried to sleep together, while Boaz tried to maintain his composure and convince the driver to stop every once in a while for a much needed restroom break.

Most of the drive went through a completely dark and empty desert. But, then all of a sudden some lights appeared and the bus stopped at a bus/truck stop. The place had a gas station and a half dozen or so houses: a convenient store, a restaurant/bar, a rest-room and a couple of brightly lit “massage places” that were humming with people despite or maybe due to the very late hour (sometime between 2-4am). There seem to be something close to a dozen girls, all dressed for a party, of course, men coming and going in and out of their small rooms. It was a sad sight, I must say. In the middle of the desert with nothing for miles on miles to each direction, these people make a living out of the only thing they can do here. It was really sad and I was glad the kids were asleep and did not ask questions about the situation that would be hard to explain to 5 and 7 year old kids.

Yada yada yada, 20 hours or so after we left Khotan we reached Korla, another no-thrill city, this time on the northern side of the Taklamakan dessert. We purchased tickets on the bus to Urumqi that leaves 2 hours later and went to see if we can find something refreshing to eat. There was little we could find, so we settled for ice-cream, nan, some juices and some fruits. The time went by fast and boarded the bus to Urumqi, this time a quite luxurious one for the remainder 5 hours of the way to Urumqi.

Conclusions:

• 28 hours on a bus are hard but doable, or maybe I should say: “doable, but very hard...”

• Food in bus station restaurants should be avoided at all cost...

• Kids sleep well in any condition...

• When you take a long bus ride, make sure you have plenty of water, breads, fruits and toilet paper as possible.

We were drawn to Khotan for its famous Sunday Bazaar and some of the mystic of its ancient Buddhist past. The road from Kashgar to Khotan goes south and southeast along the edge of the mighty Taklamakan desert. It is a very tough road, which makes you appreciate the Chinese for their ability to maintain it. So we made sure we had enough supplies for the road (water, nan bread, snacks, fruits, some juices...) and boarded the bus.

Shortly after leaving Kashgar, the road seems to lead to nowhere. It meanders slowly amidst sand dunes surrounded by desert that seems to have no end. The entire view on all sides of the bus is sand. No trees, no bushes and occasionally no road... The sun is brutally hot and everything around seems to be burnt or dry. From time to time, the road gets buried under the sand . In other sections, it is over taken by water that is flooding it. We ask around and through a couple of Taiwanese tourists find out that apparently, there was heavy rain here a few days ago and the desert is flooded in many areas. And indeed, we cross at least a half dozen areas where rivers flood the road and in some cases take it with them... It is strange to see so much water in a place that is clearly a desert. But, in between those areas, it IS a tough desert.

And then, workers. Chinese road construction workers repair the badly damages road. I can't even imagine what it is like to work here in the harsh desert sun! But, here they are, working. At every place they are working, though, they divert traffic to a side road they created. Those side roads are less than perfect and with the flood waters, gets vert tough in some sections. There are two drivers on the bus who alternate driving. The one that is not driving, gets off the bus every once in a while to direct the driver in those tough places.

And so, an incredibly long ride due to the horrible road conditions (flood related) and many many stops of the bus got us from Kashgar to Khotan. It was supposed to be a 8-10 hour ride, but we arrived in Hotan at 10pm after a bit over 12 hours. It is dark and we are very tired. And as if the surprise of the long drive was not enough, both hotels we had some info on do not have any available rooms. Oops. We did not think about that...

Vered started to be very nervous. We stopped at a third hotel we saw on the way and it also did not have rooms. The fourth hotel told us they had a cancellation two hours earlier and therefore have a room for us... we take it. It turns out to be a very good hotel with very spacious room occupied with three wide beds and a nice shower. The location is also perfect: only 5 min walk to the bazaar next morning. But, wait, we need to finish the night...

We check in, put our stuff in the room and set out to have dinner. It is midnight... we cross the road to where we see some food stands and people. Dinner is a hodgepodge of things from the different vendors at the street corner next to the hotel. Yonatan had a goose's egg which was hard boiled in ash (!_ and very tasty. Daniella and Naama had corn on the cob which was grilled (not to perfection, but oh well...), Boaz ate 5 skewers of meat that we think is belly button and Vered had a bit from everybody... we all indulged on juicy watermelons for desert. Bed time was close to 2am, BeiJing time (about midnight local XinJiang time).

We woke up late, had a small breakfast in the hotel and set out to the bazaar. After all, this is why we had to bear all these hurdles and hardship... The Sunday Bazaar was indeed as interesting as a Sunday market can get and we say that with excitement! Unlike anywhere else we saw markets, this one seems to encompass the entire city and rather than taking place in a market-designated area, it occupies entire streets of the town that for a day turn into pedestrian zones and get filled with vendors selling anything from food items to cloths to any kind of agriculture device to farm animals to pets to bicycles to parts of animals to stones...

We spend the hole day wondering the streets enjoying the vivid atmosphere and the lively market. Interestingly, we see absolutely no other foreigners the entire day and only a few Chinese tourists like us. This is not a bazaar for show, this is the real thing! Unfortunately, we don't really need anything (especially after the carpets we bought in Kashgar) and so we barely buy anything. But we have some lovely photos and great memories.

One of the most interesting sections of the bazaar, for us at least, was the stone section. Khotan is home to Khotan Jade, a precious stone that is either mined from the mountains around Khotan or collected from its surrounding rivers. In the section of the bazaar where it is sold, hundreds of vendors sell anything from a giant stone that must be at least a cubic meter in size to tiny ones the size of pees. The stones come in many different colors and to be honest, are beautiful. Some vendors specialize in certain colors: brownish, yellowish, dark-greenish, black, white, purple, grey, redish. Some are clear, others are murky. Some have a single clean color, while others have veins all over them.

Most of the stones, we were warned, are fake. Not that we can tell the difference. But, the scene is interesting nonetheless. Hundreds of people, maybe thousands sit around buckets of stones and examine them in great detail. They touch them, feel them in their palms, put them against the light, even taste them... The level of seriousness they take in this work is remarkable and quite captivating. After a while, you get drawn into the action and we almost bought some stones ourselves.... not that we'd know what to do with them...

There are the vendors who sit with a table or a box of stones and there are those who walk around. Many of the first group bring their stones in metal cages and Yonatan and I laughed that they look like they are afraid their stones might try to escape.... The second group comes at you from every corner pushing a hand with sometimes a dozen or so, sometimes 3-4 stones trying to convince you they are the only ones with real Khotan jade stones... out of sheer amusement I tried to push Vered into haggling with some of them to see what she can get. But, haggling over something you are ignorant in is not a wise idea as there is no way for you to gain any serious ground and even if you do, you would not know it... so, Vered smartly avoids my pushing and makes her way towards the cloths area, where she feels on more of a solid ground...

After a long walk we sit down at a small table in a restaurant in the middle of the action, order some kebabs and soups and relax a bit watching the continued action outside the window. The restaurant is a hole-in-the-wall and is full with locals having a bit in the middle of their serious Sunday market activities. Yonatan takes out his Bible booklet and works on another chapter. Every person in the restaurant is watching him. One in every three or so comes around to us to investigate further these strange locals with their strange language and even more bizarre writing.

They are all Muslims, of course, and the border with Afghanistan is very close, so we think before we tell them where we are from. But, we figure this is China and people are very friendly, so we can be good ambassadors of our country. So, we tell a woman that comes from the table next to us where she sat with her large family of 10 people or so and looks very interested in Yonatan's work that we are Jewish (which interestingly they pronounce “Judea” and not “YouTai” like Chinese) and what Yonatan is reading is our Koran. There is murmuring all over in the restaurant and more people come to see the miracle...

Interestingly, besides a thumb's up from the old couple that sits with us in the table there are no other gestures indicating people's opinions, neither good not bad. This is sheer (or should I say mere?) interest. After an hour or so, we finish our samsas, Yonatan finishes the story of Joseph getting sold by his brothers and Naama completed the redecoration of the table with her Tinker-Bell stickers and we can continue our stroll around the market.

We go through the bird section: pigeons, roosters, hens, canaries. Vered tries to convince me that a cage with 3 large roosters really contains young eagles... I get the sign and suggest we go back to the hotel to rest... :-)

We leave the hotel around sunset to look for a place to have dinner. We meet a local guy who works for a Turkish carpet company and speaks some English, he directs us to a fabulous local restaurant where we feast on wonderful pollo (rice pilaff with lots of gentle spices, some meet and some raisons) and kebabs. We conclude the day letting the kids release some energy at a small Gymburee-like kids play place before heading back to the hotel for a good night sleep before our mammoth journey back to Urumqi: 28 hours on a bus!

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Should you go?: not a trivial question.... Khotan is VERY remote and the only reason to go to Khotan is the Sunday Bazaar. So, if you really like Bazaars, you may want to go, but if they don't do it to you, you may want to to evaluate if it is worth a 20 or 38 hours on a bus in a complete desert...

• Hotel: the hotel we stayed at, TaxNa, was excellent in both amenities and location and reasonable on price. 0903-618-0388.

• Restaurant: Wonderful Uighur place off BeiJing DongLu road. It is in a street of restaurants that seem to be full of Han Chinese people as well as Uighurs.

• Sunday Market/Bazzar: lovely! It is the reason to come to Khotan! The market here is definitely much more authentic and real than the one in Kashgar, not that the Kashgar one is a bad one. Although the live-stock market in Kashgar seems bigger. The stones (Jade) section was surprisingly the most interesting for us.

• Getting there: we took a 10-hour bus from Kashgar and continued on a 28 hour bus to Urumqi through Korla. Those are long rides, but doable... the second one, we took a night bus (sleeping bus) from Khotan to Korla and then changed to a regular sitting bus for the remaining 6-7 hours from Korla to Urumqi. A sitting bus is much more convenient and cheaper...

 

Kashgar marks the last Chinese city on the Silk Road going west before the “stan” countries and so one can not complete a Silk Road tour without visiting it. It also has a lovely old town and a Sunday market that is considered one of Asia's best, if not The best. Being so far on the western edge of China, and so close to so many Muslim countries, Kashgar is also one of the last large cities in XinJiang where the Uighurs are still the majority of the population.

That strong Muslim influence made for, according to a number of people we talked with ahead of our actual visit to the city, a somewhat less pleasant atmosphere for Israelis and Jewish people. But, whether due to luck, or have our kids with us or whatever other reason, we have noticed none of those bad vibes. Instead, we had a lovely time in this very vivid and unique place.

The Old Town Youth Hostel: One of the things that makes a huge impact on how much we enjoy a certain place is the hotel we stay at. A good hotel makes for an easy atmosphere that in turn makes for a pleasant environment to enjoy everything else. A bad hotel, whether due to lack of cleanliness or unfriendly staff or uncomfortable beds, directly impacts how well we can enjoy the city. The Old Town Youth Hostel in Kashgar was a perfect place for us.

First, it sits in a lovely traditional building in the center of the old town. The rooms on the two floors surround a large central yard and the very large open balconies make for great places for people to hang out together or on their own. Second, the place has a standard of cleanliness we rarely experienced in China and allowed us to have a room without bathroom and shower as we felt comfortable enough using the shard ones. And third, it had a very nice and helpful staff.

And so, we found ourselves enjoying long mornings and afternoons in the hostel waiting for the heat to calm down a bit before we can go out to enjoy the town. Since the sun only set down after 10pm and there was light for almost an hour afterwards, we had plenty of time to spend outside in the evenings and could enjoy the early hot hours inside the hotel. We bought plenty of fruits and vegetables every day and enjoyed them on the pillows besides the low traditional tables in the balconies as we read books, did our activity books, painted and chat with other travelers in the hostel.

The Old Town: the old town of Kashgar is undergoing major overhaul these days and is a center of a tensed controversy. The old town is indeed very old and therefore consists of many very old buildings built over many years without any real oversight or guidance. Most buildings are built of earth, lean on large wooden beams and over the years been extended with additional rooms, balconies, etc. This gives a lot of wonderful charm to the place with its very narrow streets and cobbled buildings, but must also be of quite low structural, environmental and safety standards. It looks a lot like some of the very old parts of Jerusalem, only worse due to the use of mud instead of stone... Also, since the old town has for decades been the living place of the local Uighurs, new settlers coming into Kashgar are not interested in living in those old houses and so the place is an “Uighur stronghold”.

And so, the government has launched a campaign to tear down the old buildings and build new ones instead. The official rational is to improve the standard of living and reduce the safety risk in the old buildings. Some of the locals and human rights activists claim the government is trying to knock down the Uighur strongholds, break down the environment where anti-government activities may be planned an take place and bring more new, mostly Han people into the traditionally very Uighur neighborhood.

We tried to talk about this with some locals and even among them we found different opinions, although this can be as much a sign of not wanting to break from the official mantra. In fact, some of those people literally looked to the sides when we asked them such question as if searching to see if someone is listening before answering... Of those who agreed to talk with us, some suggested that the people who were evacuated from their homes who were tore down must be happy about it as they will get new apartments in the new buildings that are being built and a new apartment is much more convenient than the very old ones they had before. Other hinted that there might be “other reasons” to these actions and left it at that.

The truth, of course, like beauty, is in the eyes of the beholder and different people take different sides in it. This is true, by the way, even within our small family... What is certain is twofold: a) The campaign to rebuild the old town is not going to stop and so Kashgar is changing radically as we speak and b) the sight of the old town being tore down is sad. It is sad to see old houses being tore down. It is very sad to see huge open fields in places where there used to be dozen of houses. It is said to see people taking pieces of their old lives out of the rubble: old doors, window frames, bricks... and it is actually sad to see the large fancy boards showing the beautiful new buildings about to be built here, so shiny and new and neat and so at odds with the old feel of the old town that used to be only a few weeks before.

there is one section of the old town that is being kept almost in tact. The streets have been widened a bit and cleaned a lot, maybe some houses were cleared of the way, a path has been devised to lead people through and signs have been put to direct people to specific points of interest: a pottery factory, a tools workshop, a snacks shop, etc. Entrance fees are charged at the gate and tour groups of mostly Chinese tourists march through with matching hats following a guide with a flag. Somehow we found ourselves in there as we got in from another side, but we quickly went out as it felt a bit too much like a little Uighur theme park...

Sunday Market: But, outside the old town, things feel no different then any other time in this city's long history. The best evidence to this is the striving Sunday Bazaar, which is considered the largest and one of the most exciting bazaars in Asia. We went strolling in the vivid market quickly after settling in the youth hostel. The livestock section has been the most interesting with hundreds if not thousands of animals being purchased and sold there: goats, sheep, cows, horses and more.

It was a hot and steamy day, but the place was full of people checking the animals, negotiating the prices, haggling and exchanging money for goods. Most vendors were cattle growers with dozens or hundreds of animals of a particular kind (eg: brown goats). On the buyer side, however, most were people who came to buy a single or a handful of animals for their use. All around the edges of the market were taxi drivers helping successful buyers transport their newly purchased goat or couple of sheep from the market to wherever...

And of course, like any good market, every corner had its food and cold drink vendors helping the market goers alleviate some of those basic needs of food and drink. Stands of melons and water melons stood next to tables showing large buckets, the size of small bath-tabs where pieces of ice floated in different liquids. The most common drinks were a kind of watery yogurt and a fruity mixture of apricots, apples and dates. Both were quite interesting and definitely refreshing and providing much needed cooling. On the food side, the kebabs and nan breads took the center stage and consumed in large numbers.

We spent a good 3-4 hours at the market, although it was probably Naama that had the most fun padding, hugging and trying to feed just about every animal she went across, and there were a lot of them there...we tried to keep her closer to the smaller ones, the goats and sheep to avoid her putting herself in danger near the larger ones... she was so into it! She had no fear or problem walking in the mist of dozens of animals and was so much fun to watch!

And while the livestock market is a once-a-week event that occurs on Sundays only, the rest of the bazaar is open to the buyers every day of the week and we visited it a few times to buy some items or just hang out and enjoy its vibes.

And so we spent our time in Kashgar in small portions, visiting the bazaar, meandering the small lanes of the old town, hanging out near the beautiful Great Mosque, visiting our favorite carpet store to continue the multi-day negotiations over some carpets we looked at, strolling the small streets near the youth hostel buying different types of nans and LOTS of fresh fruits (mainly melons , peaches and apricots, which they have 3-4 different varieties of) and enjoying them over leisurely lazy time at the hostel.

Food: Another aspect we will most pleasantly remember from our time in Kashgar is the food. In particular, there were two restaurants we went back and back again to. The first is Norbixi Kebab just across from the Great Mosque where we had absolutely the best kebabs ever! The place is one of those that has no menu, but everybody knows what to order: they have two types of kebabs: one of pieces and one of ground meat and a vegetable mix that can be put over either noodles or rice. On our first time there we ordered only 3 kebabs of each kind and one order of noodles with vegetables. Before the night was over, though, we have consumed not less than 20 of those fabulous kebabs and another order of the good noodles as the kids were almost fighting for each kebab...

And then a couple of nice Israelis we met in the hostel suggested us to join them for pollo at a restaurant they ate the night before called Intizar only 10 minute walk from the youth hostel. Pollo is a traditional Uighur dish where rice is mixed with lots of spices and some dried fruits and served with juicy pieces of lamb or chicken and a bowl of yogurt. At NAME, that pollo was a real treat and we could not stop eating it.... and so from the moment we came there for the first time, we had to have a debate every evening: where should we go to eat tonight: at the fantastic kebab place or the phenomenal pollo place? Vered is a rice lover, while the kids, Naama and Yonatan in particular, are meat eaters. So, the debate was on daily... a good problem to have...

One of those evenings as we were hanging around the large square in front of the Great Mosque, a group of kids, maybe in their early teens, approached us to chit-chat. They had a soccer ball and one introduced himself as Kaka, one of Brazil's star players these days. Boaz picked up the ball (double meaning...) and responded that if the young guy is Kaka, he will be Messi and we should play a game. A few minutes later, there was a small soccer match, between Boaz, Yonatan and Daniella and the 3-4 Chinese boys, which Yonatan titled China versus Israel and Boaz added that it is the match of the non-qualifiers... It was a fun interaction for a good 20-30 minutes until enough crowd has been assembled for a police guard to come out of somewhere and break the illegal gathering... If there was anything surprising about this incident, it was the speed by which the Chinese kids, all Uighurs, disappeared without even saying good-byes.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Hotel: the Old Town Youth Hostel is absolutely fantastic: great location, beautiful building, very attentive staff and a standard of cleaning we rarely saw in China.

• Restaurants: Intizar (order their fabulous pollo!) and Norbixi Kebab near great mosque for their incredible kebabs

• Old Town: there is a touristic part (across the beautiful Pittsburgh-style bridge) which should be avoided and a non-touristic part near the hostel and an even better one across the road from the mosque

• Carpet Store: we visited a few and found the most beautiful ones and seemingly most enjoyable people to deal with at: Ahmad Carpet Shop which is located just at the intersection next to the youth hostel at Noor Bish Road. 138-9915-4872

• Sunday Market: the livestock market is fantastic and absolutely worth going to. It only occurs on Sunday and is very lively from early morning to late afternoon.

• Knives: one of the most common souvenirs purchased in and around Kashgar are knives. They are indeed beautifully decorated and uniquely designed. We purchased one that we liked. But, the security checks all around XinJiang make it extremely hard to maintain possession of those knives and take it with you when you move from one city to another. We had one knife taken from us at the security checks in the bus station in Korla AFTER we made it from Kashgar to Hotan and from Hotan to Korla. Another one was confiscated at the train station in Urumqi. So, if you plan to buy a knife, the only way to transport it safely with you is to keep it on your body when you go through security, but show a phone or coins when you “bip” through the metal detector.... This is a dangerous path since if you are caught, you are caught trying to smuggle something that is clearly illegal to move. And messing around with the law in China is a dangerous route. So, what is the answer? We don't know...

 

Many have recommended us to go along the Pamir mountains from Kashgar to Tashkurgan. We decided to take that recommendation and were not disappointed. The road is one of the most beautiful ones we have driven along.

The drive started in less than a spectacular way. The bus was scheduled to leave at 9:30am, so we were at the station around 8:30am to make sure we buy tickets and have good seats. The driver arrived around 9:30 and the bus left around 9:45 and drove for about 4 minutes (after 3 ticket checkings by different conductors) to the other bus station in the city. There, we waited 30 minutes for the bus to fill up with additional passengers and another 30 minutes, not sure for what... Then, we drove for about 30 minutes to a nearby town where the driver announced a lunch stop for 20 minutes. 45 minutes later, he was still sitting with his girlfriend at a table in a restaurant near the bus eating... We started to understand why the different internet sites we looked at described the ride as 5-7 hours in length...

But, once we started going, the ride became a beautiful one. After about 30-40 minutes of driving in wasteland, the bus reached the entrance to a valley. It started climbing along the magnificent valley with its amazingly beautiful mountains in colors that are almost unreal. Both Yonatan and Daniella, that normally are not as excited with the view from the windows of a driving bus and prefer to listen to their ipods in almost isolation from the surroundings, were glued to the windows and occasionally calling on us to make sure we look out and see this burning-red mountain or melon-yellow hill or incredibly dark green ridge...

The climb took about 2-3 hours and at the top we reached the pass. The snow-capped mountains from the two sides of the valley now became closer and we could see frozen rivers flowing down from them. Then, the view opened up to a beautiful wide plateau with a little lake at one point, a magnificent set of sand dunes (with snow at their peaks!) at another and wet grasslands where yak and sheep and goats were grazing peacefully.

Another hour later we reached Karakul lake, which did not look as spectacular as we envisioned it to be, though quite nice with the snowy mountains around and another hour got us to Tashkurgan. Throughout the ride our camera was working over-time, though we prepared ourselves for disappointments since taking scenic photos through the windows of a bumpily riding bus is doomed to be mediocre at best... In those moments we found ourselves envying the two Israelis we met in the youth hostel in Kashgar a couple of days earlier who were taking the bus to Tashkurgan the day before with bikes they rented in Kashgar and a plan to drive back (mostly downhill) to Kashgar over a 2-3 days trip. They will not only have a great exercise, but could also stop whenever they wanted to take photos....

The town of Tashkurgan is a tiny border type town with a lot of tiny hotels, no-name restaurants and an incredible number of supermarkets. We checked into the lovely hotel the folks in the youth hostel recommended us, left Yonatan and Daniella to do their activity books, watch movies and plays Sanldals and Swards on the internet and went out to see the town. It took us 25 minutes to walk from one end of the town to the next and another hour to buy some fruits and snacks in the market for the evening and the next morning drive.

We did have one of the funniest encounters with locals while in Tashkurgan, though. We were walking along the market towards dark when one of the local guys, a guy that looks in his 40's asked me where are we from. I told him we're from Israel (“Isale-a” in Chinese, “Israelia” in Uighur). His response was not what I expected as he pushed both his hands together forward like he is handcuffed and said: “Ulmert”... As I laughed he continued with another gesture of his two feasts hitting one another as he said: “Hezbullah”... I decided to add a short laugh and continue going without lengethening the conversation... neither my Chinese (not to mention Uighur!) nor his English seems to be sufficient for a political discussion...

We had a poor dinner somewhere in town (you got to have bad meals every once in a while to appreciate the good ones...) and went back to the hotel to watch Portugal unable to beat Ivory Coast on the Mondeal. The hotel, on the other hand, was quite nice and the beds comfy and so we had a good night sleep.

The next morning, Boaz woke up a bit earlier than the rest of the crew (aka family) and went (in the rain) to the bus station to find out when is the bus back to Kashgar. Our original plan was to go back only up to Karakul lake and stay a night there, but the views we saw of the lake on the way here were not that spectacular and the rain that started at night and continued throughout the morning convinced us there is no point stopping at the place that is not likely to enable us any good view.

And so two hours later we boarded the bus back to Kashgar. The ride was as beautiful and the views, as soon as the skies cleared a bit, as beautiful as the ones on the way in and we concluded two long days of driving along one of China's most beautiful roads!

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Should you go?: if you have the time – yes. The views are magnificent!

• How to go: the bus is simple and nice. Try to make sure you sit on the same side of the bus on both rides to enjoy the views on both sides... We met a few people who rented mountain bikes in Kashgar, then took them with them on the bus to Tashkurgan and rode back to Kashgar (downhill on most of the way) in three days. That would be a fantastic way to REALLY enjoy this road!

• Hotel: the one we stayed at NAME was excellent. It is located at the entrance to the town. If you leave the bus station, take left, walk 100-200 meters to the intersection and it is diagonal to where you stand.

• Restaurants: we did not have good experiences with restaurants, so none we can recommend.

• Market: on the east side of town (right as you leave the bus station) is a small, but lovely market where you can stock up on fresh produce and other supplies.

 

8 hours on the bus going west from Urumqi towards the small city of YiNing on the border with Kyrgyzstan, and you are in a different world! The first couple of hours, all that you see are grapevines, then the scenery turns completely desert for the next 3-4-5 hours, no crops, no vegetation, no people, although snow-capped mountains can be seen on the horizon towards the south. Then, without any warning, the vast SayRam lake appears. Its deep blue color is mesmerizing and with the vast green grasslands on the south side and the snow-capped mountains on its remote side it is as pleasant and peaceful sight as you can ever have.

SayRam lake, close to the border with Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan is predominantly populated with Kazakhs. We stayed there at a Kazakh Yurt, which is a dome-shaped tent, capable of sleeping a dozen people, and was therefore perfect for us 5... It has a wooden floor that was laid over a cleared area from grass, carpets cover the floor and a large low square table stands in the middle of the Yurt or eating, drinking, writing, etc. On one side there is a coal-fed stove, which surprisingly suffices to warm the entire place in a close to 0 Celsius temperature outside.

The bus dropped us on the side of the road where most tourists stop to take photos of the lake, often on the back of a horse of one of the locals. The locals have developed a striving business of those photos. There are probably a half dozen locals there, each with their horse, each with their digital camera and each with their car-battery powered tiny photo printer for instant gratification for those eager Chinese tourists...

There were two tiny camps across the road from where we stopped and we headed there to check them out. Each camp had three tents: one for the family that lived there, one as a kitchen and one for tourists. The tourist ones were the largest yurt tents, of course. Each camp also had a few chicken running around, 2-3-4 lambs, few cows and horses for transportation and a dog. We chose one and started the difficult task of negotiating the price for a night's stay, breakfast and dinner. The task is difficult since the locals not only did not speak English, but also spoke fairly poor Chinese, not that ours is any good....

And so, once again we found the PointIt book to be a life saver and used to to select items for the meals, which in return, dictated the price for the stay. We settled with one of the camp owners on a dinner with chicken (the fish was frozen and did not look appetizing and we figured a lamb is too big for us 5...). To make sure we all understand each other, the woman went to the kitchen, picked up a handful of corn seeds, went out and threw them to the chickens that flocked to her to eat. She then grabbed one of them, that looked quite fat and asked Vered if this one is good for us...

The time was around 6-7pm and we were after 8 hours of sitting on the bus, so as soon as we settled on the place, we put our bags in the Yurt and decided to climb the little hill behind the camp. It took us 30-40 minutes to climb it and reach the patch of snow that remained there, maybe from the winter and maybe from the last snow storm. We threw snow on one another and then continued to the top of the hill for some fantastic views of the grasslands around and the lovely lake in front of us.

The kids found a dead lady bug and decided to build a tomb for it. We figured it is a good time to for some adult time and left them playing on the hill top while we, Vered and Boaz, continued walking along the ridge's saddle to the next peak about 400-500 meters away. Surrounded by all this beauty and watching our three wonderful kids playing so nicely together we felt very much at ease. A calm and relaxed feeling engulfed us and we found ourselves talking about what will happen when we go back to Israel in just about a month time. Living in a house, finding jobs, taking kids to school, family dinners, birthday parties... all those things that have been so far removed from us for almost an entire year now. We'll need a vacation in order to adjust... :-)

A half an hour or so later we joined the kids and sat together to snack on some fruits and enjoy the marvelous view before going down to the camp. It was after 9pm and still full light and warm. We got into the Yurt and played some cards until our dinner arrived close to 10pm. It was a large serving bowl with stew made of potatoes, carrots and our chicken, cut to pieces and served including feet in a Chinese Kazskh style. Alongside it came a bowl of rice, some round bread called nan and another plate of stir-fried vegetables. It was a good meal and a great end to the day.

After dinner we spread the thick blankets on the floor as mattresses and covered ourselves with other blankets. The woman brought some coal into the stove that quickly made the yurt warm and the generator, which they turn on after dark provided light and even ability to charge our electric devices: phone, computer, ipods. We all slept well that night, better than in the youth hostel.

The next morning we decided to move a bit from the center of activity that our yurt was at. As it turns out, the road our camp was sat next to was indeed the main road to YiNing and to the border with Kyrgyzstan and as such was busy with trucks all night long. Furthermore, it has been under construction, probably as part of laying down a railroad between Urumqi and YiNing and that construction made for lots of dust and lots of noise of every passing vehicle. So, for us it felt like a tranquil hotel in the middle of a construction site. So, we packed our stuff, and walked 300 meters up the road and turned right to start circle the lake along its west side. Another 300 meters or so forward we spotted another small Kazakh yurt camp and settled there.

The place was on a small hill above the lake and provided superb views of the lake with fantastic grasslands all around, all full of spring blossom of alpine flowers that made for a scenery of kilts of different patches of color – yellow, white, purple, pink, light blue, dark blue, orange – so beautiful we just wanted to sit and watch them. And all of that without the noise and dust of the previous camp. Beautiful.

While we all enjoyed being at such a natural place, Daniella and even more Naama were completely in heaven! They jumped up and down with joy, ran along the flower-beds, picked flowers and cheered so loudly we could not avoid but laughing with them. Naama looked like she has found a new home, or at least her favorite place on the universe.... so, we put our stuff in the yurt, which looked almost the same as the one we stayed at before, only a bit prettier, and set out to explore the little piece of land.

We walked all the way to the lake at the end of the little hill and found to our surprise that huge chunks of ice lay there where the land of the hill meets the water of the lake. It seems like the snow that covered the entire hill not long ago drifted down the hill slowly over time as it started to melt and then collapsed into the lake taking with it pieces of land that were now covering portions of it. The chunks of snow-made-ice and detached gravel created a drop of 1-3 meters at the edge of the hill.

In the afternoon, Yonatan and Boaz went to see if they can walk around the hill and along the side of the lake and get to the place where the ice hits the water. They were able to advance a good 200 meters, going over boulders and crossing fallen rock until they reached a spot maybe 2 meters from ice. Yonatan, who was leading them at this point suggested that maybe Boaz goes first to see if they can continue to advance and cross the last 2 meters to the ice. Boaz made one more step latching on to a good size rock for balance and found himself a second later inside the ice-cold lake with the huge rock clutched in his hand, but very detached from the rock that made the cliff side. They decided not to continue and rather went back to the camp with a story to tell and some wet cloths for Boaz to dry....

Dinner that evening was fairly similar to the one from the previous day with a chicken dish full with yams and potatoes and carrots, a long-neck pea dish, some rice and bread. Similar, but much better cooked and so delightful. Daniella and Naama in particular ate so much of the chicken we thought they will start making chicken sounds at night.... Breakfast the following day was simple but delightful set of eggs (both fried and scrambled), nan bread, rice porridge and tea with milk. The milk, by the way, was milked from the Kazakh's cow a few minutes earlier and was so different in taste (how not?!? ) from regular store-purchased milk.

We spent the rest of the day lazily enjoying the magnificent views. Yonatan did some of his homework on his school booklet, Daniella and Naama were playing with the cows and lambs and Vered and Boaz chit-chat about the meaning of life in a place like this and what it means to us. At one point Boaz sent Yonatan and Daniella on a contest to see who can find the most different kinds of flower. They were able to find 19 different kinds!!

Dinner was a wonderful surprise. The two small families that lived in the camp slaughtered a lamb and therefore we “agreed” to swap our chicken-based menu from the past two days with lamb. Although Daniella was angry at the disappearance of her beloved chicken meat from the meal to the point that she almost went to sleep without eating, but the rest of us were quite eager to try the lamb. The result nothing short of superb!

The main dish came as stew with lots of soup and the meat was so tender and tasty we all agreed it has been one of the best meals we had in China! By the time we finished eating we were all VERY full, but we left none of the meat behind! And we were proud at that...

When the time came the next morning to leave we were all quite sad. We took photos with the owner of the place and his family, gave them a “hamsa” souvenir from Israel and a thank you and started walking back towards the place where the bus dropped us three days earlier. On the way a car stopped next to us and Boaz instinctively asked the single guy in it if he goes to Urumqi. When he said yes, Boaz asked if we can all join him. Since we were 5, he only agreed to 4 people and we decided that Vered will go with Naama and Daniella, while Boaz and Yonatan will try to catch the bus, or another ride back to Urumqi. Sending Vered with the two girls for a 8-hour drive was not the easiest of decisions, but the right one to do, especially as the car looked very well taken care of (with Ferarri seat covers and all) and the guy looked young and nice enough.

20 minutes later, Boaz and Yonatan were able to catch another ride with a group of four guys heading also to Urumqi. As we all met again in the youth hostel in Urumqi 8 hours or so later, we each had stories to tell.....

The girls had a luxurious ride in a car with not only CD player, but also a DVD with a small TV screens to watch the dances that accompany the songs. They were also invited to a wonderful lunch by the driver, who brought them all the way to the hostel and refused to take any money. The boys on the other hand had to share a seat since they were already four people in the car before they got in. so, Yonatan sat on Boaz all the way. At one point the driver went off the main road and tried to find a way in the dirt roads to the side of it. It was not clear to us whether they are trying to find a restaurant or avoid the tolls, but 20 minutes after starting this journey, they agreed to turn back...

 

TRAVEL TIPS:

• SayRam lake is quite far from Urumqi, about 8 hours on the bus, but the bus is good and the road, apart from the last 30 minutes or so new and smooth as well.

• The place is especially beautiful in July August with the alpine flowers are blossoming.

• The yurts where the bus drops you are OK, but not as captivating as the one a bit farther up the road (300-400 meters towards Yining)and to the right at the first intersection for another 300-400 meters and on the right hand side. It is next to a huge rock with some Chinese characters on it as a milestone. We highly recommend going the extra 700-800 meters to get there!

• The bus from Urumqi to YiNing is the one to take in order to get to the lake, which is 2-3 hours before YiNing.

• We had a very easy time catching rides (hitch hiking) back to Urumqi, so you can try as well.

Two hours on a bus from Turpan and the desert that seemed to be all encompassing as if disappeared! The weather is cooler, the mountains taller and the grass, not only on the neighbor's side is greener.

Facilitate your short stay in Urumqi: Urumqi is the capital of the massive XinJiang province, the largest of the Chinese provinces which accounts to about 1/6 of the entire area of the country, although only for a negligible portion of the population. It is a big city that feels like a big city with no real attraction for a tourist. We came here since we needed to extend our visa and wanted to use the city as a base to explore the wonderful nature sites of XinJiang.

In fact, just like Wuhan's tag line was : the city in the middle of China, Urumqi's claim to fame is the fact that it is the world's furthest city from an Ocean. The other “notable” fact about Urumqi is that geographically it is closer to Jerusalem than to BeiJing. Some of the people of Urumqi, by the way, understand that lack of attractions and the sign at the PSB (Public Safety Bureau) office, where visas are extended notes a few rules “to facilitate your short time at Urumqi”...

We found an OK youth hostel near a large park and settled in. The park just outside the hostel door was so soothing and a great place for us to relax at. In the evenings, that stretch very late due to the late sunset (around 10:30pm!!) are wonderfully pleasant, weather wise and see hundreds of people fill the park, flying kites, playing games, dancing, or just sit around enjoying the calm weather. On the side of the park a food night market get set-up full with mouth-watering meat dishes, mainly in the form of kebabs.

XinJiang – The Largest Province in China: XinJiang is one of the most diverse regions in China. Its center is the Taklamakan desert, which has a number of oases on its north and south creating the legendary Silk Roads. On the east side is the mighty Gobi desert. To the far south is the start of the Tibetan Plateau, while to the west are the Pamir mountains and the world's second highest peak: K2. To the north and northwest are also very tall mountains that form the border with Russia, Mongolia and the former Soviet Union countries of Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

The population in XinJiang includes mainly Uighurs and Han (due to a strong program by the Chinese authorities to increase the population in this remote region), but also Kazakh and a few other small minorities. The Uighurs used to be the vast majority of the population in the region and still account for about 50-60% of the total population today, but they are only the vast majority in the southwest side of the region. The center of the region is now home to as many if not more Han than Uighurs and the north is predominantly Kazakh.

What is clear about XinJiang, the New Frontier, in Chinese, is that it feels distinctively different from Han China to the east. First are the people who look so different from others in China,. It's not that we id not see other minorities in China that look very different from the majority Han people. But, the people here look very central Asia like, not anything like other Chinese people. Their language is different too and while in other parts of China it feels like a different dialect of Chinese, the Uighur language sounds Turkish or at times Arabic, not anything close to Chinese.

Next is the food, of course. First, it is bread-based, not rice based. And those breads, referred to here as “nan” are fantastic! Most of them are made round and thin, and are also different from other breads in that – as our kids quickly discovered – their center is hard and outside is soft....

Third, the scenery is very different from most of the rest of China. This is a bit hard to say since China is so big and so diverse, there are so many differences within China. And yet, the Taklamakan desert in nothing like anything we've seen in China and most of the north reminded us of the Alpes in Europe than any other mountain we've visited in China.

Uighur-Han Tension: But, for all those serious reasons, the one that got it across the goal line for Vered was the fact that after months of stable and appropriate digestion process among us all, we all got diarrhea on the first day we entered XinJiang... for Vered that was the final straw: “you see why they need/deserve their own country?!? even their germs are different!!...”

And indeed, there is a portion of the population that calls for independence to the province that was once call Turkistan. In the early years of the People's Republic of China there was even a rebellion of the Uighurs in XinJiang who for a short period of time established an independent country there, but that was quickly crushed by the Red Guard troops. In 2008 there were again riots which claimed according to unofficial sources hundreds of lives.

But, by the time we arrived in XinJiang, we barely noticed any sign of those 2-year old riots. But, there were signs of the ongoing tension that clearly still exists under the surface. For example, on the first time we tried to enter a large park next to the youth hostel we stayed at, we were clocked by a large company of soldiers with full riot-clearing gear. Apparently, there was some gathering of an Uighur group and the police took no chances and blocked the entire park with police forces on all sides. If the gathering turned violent, it could be subdue in no time and away from any crowd or cameras...

Also, all around XinJiang we saw many check points where policemen checked papers of passengers on buses and cars along certain routes. There were more visible policemen in the streets than any other place we've been to and people seemed less willing to chat, especially if we asked anything beyond how are you?.... When we were able to talk with people, they told us uncomfortable stories about their inability to get passports and leave the country (on business or travel, not necessarily for good), challenges in getting jobs just apparent pressure by the government.

But, when we wondered around some of the narrower streets of the Uighur neighborhood, for example north of the old Bazaar area (which has been turned into a boring Chinese shopping mall), we saw people living their lives happily and joyfully. They made great breads, and wonderful kebabs and delightful Pollo (a lovely rice dish that feels like the central-Asia version of a paella). Kids were running around playfully and people were walking and doing their business.

Kites: And then we found ourselves owning a kite.... at the park next to our hostel dozens of people were flying kites and our kids wanted to fly some too. Flying kites is a major activity in China and is taken very seriously. The skies were full of colorful kites in many wonderful shapes and sizes and they were flown by people for whom flying kites looked like a very serious hobby. First, most of them came to the park with multiple kites and flew hem alternatively. Second, they had giant wheels for the kite strings, which for some of the more serious ones were 300-400 meter long!

So, we spotted a guy who was selling kites and asked if we can rent one for an hour. Clearly our Chinese was not good enough for the job and at the end of the negotiations we ended up owning a kite... it was simple and lovely and we were able to fly it for about an hour or so. A few days later Boaz and Daniella went back to the park to fly it again and saw a magnificent dragon-shaped kite with a tail that must have been at least 20 or 30 meter long! Daniella got so excited we went to the guy who flew it to see it from a close distance. We asked him where we can buy such a kite and... yada, yada, yada, and 40 RMB (USD$7 / 20 NIS) later we were the proud owners of that kite...

The Markets: One day we walked towards the Uighur area of town (Urumqi today has more Han Chinese than Uighurs living in it!) and found ourselves in a small one street open market. It felt much more like a market in the old section of Jerusalem than any market we've been to in China so far. We spent a lovely half-day wondering the market, stopping at stands to buy slices of watermelons or other fruits or a nan-bread for a snack. Then, somehow Vered continued ahead with Yonatan, while Boaz stayed behind with Daniella and Naama.

A few minutes and a few hundred yards later we spotted Vered sitting next to a small food stand with the widest grin ever. A closer look at the food stand revealed the reason: it had a mountain of chickpeas, the ingredient from which humus is made. The chickpeas are served over soft cold noodles, but we opted to wave the noodles and simply have a bowl of chickpeas and then another one...

Since Urumqi is well located in the center of XinJiang and effectively all transportation routes: air, rail and road, go through it, we used it as a hub to explore XinJiang and came back to it to rest in-between our travels. Since the distances in this massive province are very long and road condition tend to be rough, we really needed those 1-2 day rest times. The fact that we were able to find two fantastic restaurants also helped and we found ourselves going back to them whenever we came back to Urumqi.

Lovely Food: One such restaurant was a local XinJiang food place called Tashkent, which had phenomenal dishes like filled cabbage, which became Yonatan's favorite. A particularly wonderful pollo, the slightly sweet rice dish with many spices, chickpeas and raisins served with large chunks of meat on top. It was Vered's favorite. A delightful French-fries with meat dish that was Boaz's must-order dish and a dish called Arabska Salad which was essentially a pile of layers of vegetables: onions, cucumbers, tomatoes that was all loved for its simplicity and freshness. Just next to Tashkent is a restaurant called Medeena. An Pakistani restaurant named after the holly city of Medeena in Saudi Arabia. We went there once and although we loved the conversation with the owner and their fabulous Indian-style milk-based Chai, we decided the food in Tashkent was better. And so for the next two or three times we came to Tashkent, we always ended up at Medeena or three (Vered, Boaz and Yonatan) cups of hot and spicy-sweet Chai.

The other restaurant we enjoyed a lot was a branch of the Macao Doulao chain. This is a hot-pot place with fantastic fresh ingredients. The first time we came there was a day when we came back from one of our trips and Vered did not feel like going out and stayed in the hostel, so Boaz took the kids to dinner. We looked at a few places around the lake near our hostel and decided on this one. We chose a broth and ordered a half dozen plates of thin-sliced beef meet, tofu and vegetables to be put into the large bowl of the broth. It was so good, we promised ourselves we'll come back for more and clearly must bring Vered here too. And so we did.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Should you go?: Only if you have to... there is nothing to see or really enjoy in this city and so if you can skip it: do it. Most likely, however, you'll have to spend some time here as a base to explore the rest of the province since it is the hub for almost every bus, train or plane.

• Hotel: we stayed at the Silver Birch Youth Hostel, which is nice. The location is good next to a lovely park with plenty of places to eat nearby and only a short walking distance to the PSB. The individual people there try, but the place is a bit run down and the management is not of best quality.

• Restaurants: There are actually a few great ones we were able to find. Among those are: Tashkent 0991-853-7798 (great local food at high quality and a nice atmosphere), Macao Doulao (wonderful hot pot)

• Security: the security checks in both the bus stations and rail station are much more strict than in other places in China. They do not have a problem with people carrying water with them like in airport checks, but they are quite strict on knives, for example. We were caught off guard to this rule and had to give in a couple of souvenir knives we purchased in Kashgar, which was a real shame. The problem is that unlike airports, putting the knives in the bags does not help, since the bags go with you. Consequently, there is effectively no way to purchase and bring with you knives from places around XinJiang, which is bothersome considering the fact that those decorated knives are sold as souvenirs to foreign and domestic travelers.

One of the interesting things in a trip like this is meeting people. And indeed, we met a lot of interesting and fun people along the way. Among travelers the most common questions, after “where are you from?” is “where have you been?” and “where are you heading?” Our 5-people-family year-long trip is quite unique, but we were quite intrigued chatting with some of those people finding out that some of them have an even more adventurous experience than ours. Some of the most interesting stories we've heard from people along the Silk Road. Here are some of them:

• A French guy who plans to buy a mule in the Kashgar live stock market (talk about a market experience!) and make it on his own into Tibet to visit mountain Kailash . And we thought we're adventurous....

• A Scottish couple on their way along the Silk Road from Xi-An to Scotland after completing a few years of work in Hong Kong

• A young (and so lively and nice!) couple from Malaysia traveling for a year and a half throughout Southeast Asia and planning to continue along the Silk Road towards Turkey and maybe even visit Israel.

• A Swiss couple who just completed a few years of work in ShangHai and decided that rather going back home by plane, they would “simply” ride home on a pair of bikes... we met them in Kashgar as they were about half way there...

The first thing that strikes you when you reach Turpan is the extent to which Arabic writings exist on every sign, alongside Chinese of course. When a third language is used and some of the signs have three languages on them, the third language is Russian. The language spoken by the Uighurs is probably closer to Turkish than to Arabic, but the letters used in writing are Arabic ones.

The second thing that heats you square in the face is the very (read: VERY!) punishing desert heat. Turpan is considered the hottest place in China and the summer temperatures reach the high 40's, that's Celsius, of course... Having been in 30 degrees below zero in HaerBin 5 months ago, we were looking forward to try the other extreme of heat. And even though I do not believe the temperature reached the high 40's while we were there, we definitely felt the burning sun and at least one thermometer we've seen shown a temperature of 40 degrees....

The third, maybe to counter the heat, is the abundance of fresh fruits. We have been enjoying apples and bananas and a few other fruits like mangoes and occasional papayas and lychee and “dragon eye” along our trip in China, but here, all of a sudden every street corner had vendors with plums and peaches and apricots and melons and watermelons and mulberries that made us drool and then buy and eat them all day long!

If you mention the name of Turpan anywhere around China, most Chinese will associate it with being the hottest place in China and where grapes come from. Turpan is widely known as the center of grapes and raisins in China. In fact, someone told me that 80% of the raisins in China come from the Turpan region. Walking and driving around the town, you can see grapevine trellis everywhere. Unfortunately, it was not the grape season yet and we could only see the vines with yet-to-be-ripe grapes. But, raisins you can see sold everywhere. And the varieties of them are amazing. At some stands you can find upward of ten different kinds varying in color and size and of course prices. By the time we left Turpan, we had 4 different bags of raisins of different kinds for snacks...

DunHuang is not DunHuang and Turpan is not Turpan:

The previous day, we purchased tickets for the night train from DunHuang to Turpan as well as tickets for the bus to the DunHuang train station. The train station that is called DunHuang, is actually in a nearby town 2 hours away, hence the need for a bus. The bus turned out to be a van, so we had to squeeze our bags in the back and at our legs. The train ride was uneventful and at 6:30 we were dropped at the Turpan train station, which is... yes, you guessed it, not really in Turpan, but rather in a nearby town about an hour and some away.... so we had to take yet another bus to get us to town.

On the bus we met an Uighur guy who spoke well English and suggested to help us find the hotel we were looking for. He was kind and helpful, took us to one hotel we had in our book and since we did not find good, then another nearby that also was not suitable for us and then a third where we found a nice two-room “suite” with bathroom inside and not to be underestimated, an air-condition, and settled in. at that point the guy confirmed our suspicion that he is a tour-guide interested in taking us on tours to see the attractions around Turpan.

We decided to take him on his offer and built a two-half day tours to some of the key places around the city we were interested in seeing. But first, we wanted breakfast.... So, we headed to a place that was recommended in the guide-book where we met the Scottish couple that were with us on the train from DunHuang and had a small breakfast. Then we walked back towards our hotel experiencing the rising heat and countering it with popsickle every 20-30 minute or so.... by the time we got back to the hotel we were ready for a mid-day nap, which is what everybody seems to do in such a hot place.

JianHe Ancient Town:

We woke up around 4pm, got organized and came down to the lobby where we met our tour guide and his driver who took us first to the remains of the ancient town of JiaHe. A thousand years or so ago the city was the capital of a Chinese province in the area and was a striving city. It's unique location – a strip of land surrounded by deep rivers on two provided it with a great natural defense system with effectively 20-30 meter high “walls”..at its height it must have had well over a couple of thousands of inhabitants and 3-4 Buddhist temples. What remains today are destroyed constructs of buildings.

In many ways, it reminded us of Masada in southeastern Israel. Both existed around the same time, both were fairly large cities located on cliffs in remote desert locations. But, while Masada has plenty of very interesting remains to showcase its past glory and make a visit interesting to tourists: mosaic paintings, deep wells, large remains of buildings, baths and defense systems, JiaHe is fairly plain and empty of any interesting objects. One of the interesting things about JiaHe, however, was that most constructs – including most of the streets and many of the buildings – were dug, rather than built there. Walking through the streets we felt a dire need of an audio guide to help the visitor understand and appreciate the site.

After about two hours of walking the shade-less empty streets of the city remains and exhausting our entire supply of 2 litter of water we left the place, but not before playing hide and seek in the northern temple. At the entrance/exit gate we sat down for a cold and juicy watermelon before getting back in the car towards our next site.

The Karez:

The Karez, for those who do not know (...), is what keeps Turpan alive! The Karez is a set of underground tunnels dug by Turpan's ancestors over a thousand of years ago to deliver water from the nearby mountains. It is an amazing, almost unbelievable project, another one of those examples for Ancient Chinese massive engineering projects. The total length of the tunnels exceeds 5,000 kilometers, all dug by hand, of course, using no heavy or mechanical equipment and all are underground!

We were very interested in seeing one/some of the Karez, but unfortunately, the Karez site that is shown to visitors is so small, it is a tiny structure that clearly does not properly reflects the massive construction of this amazing undertaking. In fact, we met a guy we previously met in XiaHe who just came out of the site and was angry at how minimalist it is. He convinced us we should not go in, but rather look for another site at another town.

Emin Minaret:

The Emin Minaret is an Afgan style mosque that exhibits a high cone structure as its key attraction. The heavily decorated cone structure has 18 different geometrical structures on its rising exterior, Yonatan counted them all and the interior of the mosque praying hall was also very impressive. The minaret is located about 3 kilometers outside the center of Turpan amidst rows of wines. Unfortunately, by the time we got to the entrance to the Minaret, it was closed to visitors. Due to the very late sunlight, it was 8pm, but felt like 5pm... So, we enjoyed the views from the outside, and headed back to the hotel.

We came back to the Minaret the day after using a public bus. This time we came early enough not only to enjoy the inside of the place (though we wished we had a guide to help us understand some of the very unique characteristics of the place and the one-plaque explanation about the place near the entrance did not answer all of our questions), but also to spend a good hour picking mulberries from the row of trees that lead from the main road to the place. We spotted the trees, not the least by the amount of fruit on the ground underneath them on our way and since we all enjoy both picking and eating the tasty fruits, we decided to pay the trees the respect they deserve and spend an hour or so picking from their fruits.

The Ancient Village of TuYuk:

The next morning we continued our planned tour with our guide. This time we headed a bit farther from town towards the village of TuYuk and the Flaming Mountains. We picked up two other travelers, Ari, a young Canadian guy whom we met in XiaHe a week and a half earlier and by the time we visited LangMuSi and DunHuang, he has already managed to complete the southern Silk Road all the way to Hotan and Kashgar and is on his way back eastwards after already visiting Urumqi. With him was a French sports teacher on vacation who has completed three months of TaiQi in TaiShan and is on his way to Kashgar, along the Silk Road with a mission to buy a mule in the live stock market there, to help him get into Tibet to visit Mount Kailash. They were nice fallows, had the same perspective on what they wanted to see as us and we enjoyed spending the half a day with them.

The village of TuYuk is a quaint little village in an oasis about 50-60 kilometers from Turpan. It gets most of its waters from a Karez that feeds enough waters to sustain a little stream that runs from one side of the village to the other. After paying the entrance fee at the small parking lot at the top of the village we started walking down into it. Within 2 minute of walk we passed by a small tea house that consisted of a small counter, a few tables and chairs and a wide bench used for siestas. All of the above was under a huge mulberry tree and looked so inviting...

But, we only just arrived and were eager to see the village first, so we continued walking. It was around 10am (BeiJing time, which is about 2 hours ahead of the real local time), but already very hot. On one of the tiny streets an old man invited us to see his dwelling. It was a one room place that branched out of a courtyard where the kitchen and dining area was as well as the parking place of a tiny three-wheel wagon car. The dome-shaped room had a single wide bed attached to one of the walls, a little table and a chair to the other and a small cabinet to the third. A single light bulb and an old fan were hung from the ceiling. He was particularly proud of his ceiling fan and pointed it out to us so we can all admire it as well. He then showed us the raisins he probably dries himself, there was a large bowl of them on the table and an even larger pack on the bed. He pulled a little bag, filled it up and gave it to us. As we thanked him, he ask for some money for it. We gladly gave it to him and continued on to the little streets and the mosque in the center of the village.

As we climbed up towards the hills behind the village for a good view of it, we went by dozens of fruit-heavy mulberry trees. The fruits were so sweet and so plenty, that we stopped at just about every tree, making the walk very very slow, but also very pleasant. Picking mulberries is one of the oldest memories I have (some dating back to the time my family lived in Jerusalem, which is before I was 5 years old!) and along the years some of my favorites. For kids, climbing the huge trees and picking the sweet fruit is a an adventure that can last many hours...

So, the 15 minute walk took us almost an hour, and at some point we actually split up with Vered, Yonatan and Ari continuing forward, while Boaz, Daniella, Naama and Frank walking a bit slower behind. When Naama spotted a young boy going into a house on one of the corner, we stopped and peaked inside. It was a wide courtyard with a beautiful large sofa on one of its side, one of those sofas that have enough space for a small coffee (tea...) table in its center. When the owner of the house spotted us he invited us in and showed us the house while Naama and Daniella played with the boy. He then sold us some raisins (I guess everybody has them in this area) and we continued on.

We followed the path that looked most promising to take us up the hill and soon found ourselves watching Vered, Yonatan and Ari on the ridge on the other side of a small wadi. We managed to maneuver the stroller around the side of the hill and then down the ridge we were on and left it at the bottom of “theirs” before climbing it for a beautiful 360 degree panorama of the village and the desert beyond it. A few additional minutes in the desert heat convinced us we should get down and back towards the village.

Once at the village Vered found a small shaded hut where some other Chinese tourists sat for rest and we joined them. The woman who ran the place was making noodles and we ordered a bowl. She was making the noodles from scratch, which afterwards we learned is a famous tradition in this area. First, she rolled the dough into finger-thick4-5-6 feet long noodles and placed them in a snail looking shape inside a bowl with oil separating each of the 5-6 layers. Then, she left them there while she prepared the vegetable sauce, that looked so good, we immediately doubled our order. Once the sauce was ready and put aside, the woman stared to thin the noodles she made earlier with a series of stretching and hitting them on her table, then placing them in her XXL size wok. By the time we saw the dish ready we added one more order to our set and finished hem all to the last drop! These must have been some if not THE best noodles we ate ever!

The Flaming Mountains:

On the way back to Turpan we stopped at the Flaming Mountains, a reddish-colored mountain ridge that at high noon, when the heat is at its height, looks like it is on flames. The flaming mountains got their fame from the story of the Monkey King, the famous Chinese cartoon about the 6^th century Xuang Zhan who traveled along the Silk Road from China to India to bring Suttras back to China for “proper” translation. In the TV series he is accompanied by a magical monkey who helps him overcome the huge difficulties of the journey. One of those difficulties where the Flaming Mountains that almost burned the poor monk and his small group if not for the Monkey King who took out a magical fan to put the flames down.

The story was enough of an incentive for us to get to the site, but it would have taken a much more significant incentive to get us out of the car to do even the shortest hike at that punishing 40 degrees (Celsius) heat and so we just did a short stop to take photos from the road side.

We got back to the hotel for an afternoon nap before going out to hang out in the pedestrian street and then eat in a small Muslim restaurant that served fantastic rice pilaff. The next morning we planned to take a bus to Urumqi, XinJiang's capital for our next stop along the Silk Road, and decided to take an afternoon bus for the 2-3 hour ride and use the morning to visit the museum in town.

The newly renovated museum proved absolutely worth our time. It is pretty small, with only four sections that are small wings/rooms open to the public, but has more high tech features to showcase its items and tell its story than any museum we have yet to visit anywhere in the world! The biggest wing (the entire left hand side when you enter the museum) has the story of Turpan during the hay days of the Silk Road, mainly during the Han and Tang dynasties. It has some amazingly well maintained items including remains of cloths and even a buried person from those periods 1500 years ago! It also has a couple of hologram showings of precious items, which are very very cool.

On the other side of the corridor are two rooms, one displaying ancient scripts, letters, documents and paintings found in some of the sites around Turpan, including JiaHe and GaoChang. there are photos of some of those ancient items on the walls with some explanations, but the key attraction is a large electronic table in the center of the room with small pieces of a few dozens of items. Once pointed on an item with a laser pointer, the items gets enlarged to its fullest size and can be much better studies, appreciated and enjoyed. We tried about a dozen of the more interesting items and loved the technology.

The last room is one describing the prehistorical period of the region. It has some skeleton replicas of ancient creators found in the region, a couple of very cool hologram movies of dinosaurs on land and at sea and electronic puzzles of dinosaurs' skeletons for kids to put together. We spent a good three hours in the museum and loved every minute of it.

Over all, I think we were a bit disappointed with Turpan. Maybe it was the very high expectations we had from this legendary oasis, but the grapes were not ripe yet, the attractions that were supposed to bring to life those legends of the Silk Road were not as captivating as we envisioned them to be and the lack of a night market to hang out in was strangely missing and left our cool evenings a bit dull. Also, there are no youth hostels in Turpan and therefore we stayed in a Chinese hotel, which is far less suitable for information exchange with other travelers as well as locals. Without the ability to interact with locals, we miss on so much of the culture we were so eager to get to know and unable to gain insight into some of the questions we were so eager to get an understanding of.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Time: If you can manage to come here in the heat of summer – July to September – you can much better enjoy the grapes and the view of the grapevines full of fruit.

• Guide: We used Mamat Travel Services, which was very trust-worthy and reasonable on price. 138-9931-4105, 138-9931-2220, happytour100@yahoo.com

• Attractions: we were disappointed with both JiaHe and the Karez, but enjoyed TuYuk and the Emin Minaret. The first two and last one can easily be done on your own using either the public buses or a bike. TuYuk village and the Flaming Mountains (that are on the way to TuYuk) require a taxi. We decided not to visit the other ancient town GaoChang but it may be interesting if you like archeology.

• Museum: the museum in Turpan may very well be the thing we'll remember the most from our visit to this town. It is absolutely worth a visit, and not only because it is free.

• Hotel: We stayed at DongFang hotel next to the bus station. It is a fair place whose key advantages are location (next to bazaar and bus station) and two-room suits at decent prices.

• Restaurants: breakfast at John's was bad despite the LP guide book recommendation, but breakfast at the bus station was surprisingly good and you can not beat the 5 RMB per person price tag. Street food – especially samsas (burekas-like pastries filled with meat), fruits and breads – both are widely available, were delightful.

Since trains from JiaYuGuan to DunHuang were only available at very inconvenient hours, we opted for a bus ride for the 5-hour journey. We were a bit worried about this ride, but it turned out to be quite a lovely one. The bus was good and the road new and smooth. The desert appeared to become more desiccated and arid and wider more yellow-grey and sunburned with every mile we drove. As if to bring home that point about the desert, a sand storm greeted us on the edge of town. The driver got on the phone with someone and talked in a concerned voice for a while, but continued his drive until we reached the city.

We took a taxi and headed to our hotel: the Silk Road DunHuang Hotel – one of the most luxurious and highly recommended hotels in China, which Vered found us a great deal at. Only after check-in we discovered how we were able to get such a good rate in such a luxurious hotel: they have a separate wing for lower end guests... the separate wing is actually a separate building all together, 300 meters from the main one. It provides a very simply room with no frills, but with good comfy beds, good linens and new towels, all good things for us.

We put our stuff in the room and headed to the rooftop restaurant in the main building. We settled on a table outside and sitting in front of the amazingly beautiful views we marvelled at the tall vast dunes and our luck for being here. We spent the entire rest of the afternoon and evening there eating, snacking, drinking, reading and enjoying the riveting views. Sunset was around 9pm due to the one time zone in China – BeiJing time, which made for a late going-to-bed.

A late bedtime lead to a late wake up the following morning and we got to breakfast around 9am. Breakfast in the luxurious hotel was a wide range of dishes in a buffet style and we stretched it to a long breakfast in front of the great views. We decided to spend most of the very hot day in-doors catching up on things. Towards the evening we walked towards the dunes, a 30 min walk away, for some play and fun. The dunes are an official site and therefore are corralled with a fens and an entrance fee is required to them. Since we planned to go to the dunes the following day, we just wanted a place to play a bit. So, we found a place at the back yard of the Charlie Johng's hostel where the fens is high enough on the dune to enable us a good stretch of 20-30 meters in height, which was a perfect height to try to slide down and since it is harder than it sound, eventually race down running – which it a fun on its own. After about two hours of climbing up and running down, we were all exhausted!

Mogao Caves: An Amazing Experience:

Our plans were to wake up the next morning to see the sunrise from the dunes. I woke up at 4:30am, but since clouds filled the sky a short conference with Vered lead us to delay that plan for the next day. So, we got back to bed and got out of them 4 hours later.... We decided to use the day we now got to visit the Mogao caves. The site is an absolute incredible one. It is a sand-stone hill which over a period of almost 1000 years Buddhist devotees, starting with monks, moving to kings and eventually extending to rich families, dug caves in and filling them with incredible arts in forms of carved statues and wall paintings. We visited a site like this next to DaTong, but this one is far more impressive.

The oldest caves date back to the 2^nd and 3^rd centuries and the most beautiful ones were designed during the hay days of Buddhism in the Chinese Tang dynasty between the 6^th and 9^th centuries. There are over 400 caves in the site, some as large as small buildings, others as small as little cabinets, but all are well preserved due to the low humidity of the desert and the way they were positioned on the side of the hill.

Visiting the site requires a guided tour, which takes you to 10 caves. All tours include visiting the two caves with the two largest statues in the site, the one that is considered the best preserved and has an incredibly beautiful reclining Buddha image inside a coffin-looking chamber with dozens of statues of the Buddha students standing on him grieving his death and cave number 17, which is where the famous archive was discovered in the 19^th century with over 50,000 items including manuscripts, texts, letters, forms and more. The other 6 caves are choices of the guide among 30 or so caves that are available at any given time to be visited. The rest are closed for conservation and research.

We ended the tour in the museum of the items found in the archive in cave 17. It is a very interesting story of its own of a monk who discovered the archive by mistake. He was cleaning sand that filled the cave and discovered a hole in the wall behind a statue and a wall painting. The hole was extended to a door to a small chamber with a statue of a famous monk who was the head of one of the most important monasteries in DunHuang in ancient times. Behind the monk were a chamber with 50,000 items that were extremely well preserved.

The monk declared himself the guardian of the site, but sent a few of the items as gifts to people of influence with whom he wanted to strengthen his relations. Once news came out of the discovery expedition of powerful archeologists of the time, first from Europe (Britain, Germany, France) and later from Japan, Russia and even the US came one by one to DunHuang and were able to convince the monk to sell them portions of the items for very little money. Consequently, most of the items are nowadays displayed in museums all over the world and only a small portion of them in BeiJing.

The museum in the cave site makes a strong point to stress the theft of the items from the site by the foreign expeditions and showcases in particular those items that are held in foreign museums. It also shows the breadth of the items: from paintings to sacred texts to government forms to business correspondences. And even more interesting the breadth of languages included in the texts: from Chinese to Indian to Tibetan to Parsi and many others. There is even a piece of letter written in Hebrew hung in the museum, which we could read! How cool.

We spent a good 3 hours in the site with our guide, a young woman from a nearby province, who was patient enough with our eagerness to learn more and more about the site and the caves. We could have stayed longer if we only could... what a fantastic experience it was! The caves so beautiful and the extent to which 1000 and 1500 year old statues and paintings got preserved is amazing. And of course the museum and the riveting story of the archive in cave 17.

After the visit we asked the taxi driver that took us to the site to drop us in the center of town and we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening hanging out in small stalls in the market area snacking on skewers, drinking cold beer and watching the people filling the place as the temperatures decline towards the evening.

1750 Meter High Sand Dunes:

4:45am the next morning was our wake up time to make it to see the sunrise on the highest dune at 1750 meters. We prepped the kids the night before that we need to be quick to make it and no surprise, Yonatan was ready before we did.... We got dressed quickly, snacked on some pre-breakfast foods we prepared from the evening before and set out towards the dunes. At 5:45am, after 25 minute walk from our hotel we were at the dune gates. We purchased our tickets, got in, paid extra for a couple of camels (one for Vered and Naama and one for Daniella and Yonatan) and started to head towards the dunes.

Boaz walked along the camels and then decided to climb the nearby hill for some photos of the small convoy below. If you have never climbed a sand dune, we can only tell you it is a VERY hard work. The views were spectacular and more than worth the hard climb, but the climb is nothing but trivial and we all needed many stops to rest on our respective climbs, Boaz from the foot of the dune and Vered and the kids from the point where the camels dropped them off, about ¾ of the way up. We all meet at the top for our snack-made second pre-breakfast meal in front of the amazing views of the dunes coming to life as the first light turns to sunrise.

From the height of the dunes you can appreciate the oasis of DunHuang. Besides the peculiar absence of palm trees, that in my mind are the essence of oases, DunHuang is a perfect oasis: surrounded by sand dunes from one side and vast empty, grey-yellow sun burnt desert plains from the others it is a sea of green with ample water to sustain itself and in the past the many convoys of passengers crossing the punishing Taklamakan desert. It is one of the furthest oases from other oases along the Silk Road which made it especially important and consequently powerful and rich in the old days of Silk Road glory. Standing on the high dunes is the perfect place to get a good feel for the desert and the town. It also provides for some exceptionally interesting photos of dune shape , which are particularly captivating in early morning and late afternoon when the low sun adds shade effects to the dunes already unique designs. Looking at our large photo book from DunHuang, we noticed that some of our photos do not look real, they are so bizarre...

After about an hour on the dune we came down. Vered and Yonatan decided to walk back, while Boaz, Naama and Daniella took the camels to the crescent shape lake behind one of the dunes. The natural pond has the shape of a partial moon nested among the dunes and is as picturesque as can be. When we saw that Vered and Yonatan do not show up, we figured they headed back to the hotel and headed that way as well. Since we all took our sandals off and left them by the camels when we started to climb the dune (all but Vered that insisted on coming with her hiking shoes), Yonatan had to walk the 30 min or so back to the hotel barefoot...

We caught up with them at the root-top restaurant for breakfast around 9am, had an especially long breakfast and headed for a long nap afterwards to catch up on some much needed sleep... we spent the afternoon getting organized for our trip to Turpan the following day – buying bus tickets to the train station in the nearby town two hours away since the train to Turpan does not go through DunHuang, buying the train tickets on that train, buying some snacks and water, grab a great noodle soup for lunch and of course went back to the hotel to start packing our bags....

TRAVEL TIPS:

• DunHuang has two key sites and a few secondary ones to visit. The key ones are the very culturally and historically important and impressive Mogao Caves and the fun and so beautiful sand dunes. They are both worth a visit.

• Other sites are the old town, which is nice, the night market which is particularly vivid with lots of outside restaurants.

• Mogao Caves: the LP guidebook states that since the tour takes you to only 10 caves, recommendations on which cave to visit is worthless. This is not true as the tour guide as flexibility in choosing which 6 caves s/he takes you to beyond the 4 everyone goes into. So, if you'd like to see something in particular: say that to the guide!

• Dunes: to enjoy playing on the dunes, one does not need to go to the official site and pay entrance fee. You can go to Charlie Johng's hostel and climb on the dune behind it. Going into the dune site is worth it to see the sunrise and visit the crescent moon lake.

• Hotel: the Silk Road DunHuang hotel is indeed luxurious and the views from its roof-top restaurant are fabulous. It is worth coming there for a drink one afternoon to enjoy them against the sun-setting skies. The food, however, in the restaurant is of very low quality (besides the breakfast, which is pretty good) and ordering dishes there during the day or evening is likely to cause you disappointment.

 

We arrived in JiaYuGuan on the night train from LangZhou at 6:42am. It was a good calm ride especially since apart from a single stop 30 minutes before JiaYuGuan, there were no stops or the train throughout the night, which implies a quiet ride, which is good for a good night sleep.

According to our plan, the first task was to buy train tickets for the following day for the train from JiaYuGuan to our next stop: the oasis of DunHuang. The guidebook stated there is a 4-hour afternoon train leaving around 4pm, which sounded perfect for us. But, the lady at the ticket counter insisted that the only trains are at 4am, 5am and 7:22am. When we asked for 4 seats on the 7:22am one (which is not ideal, considering we'll have to wake up around 6am, but better than the 4 and 5am ones), she told us she has good news and bad news: the good news is that the tickets are very cheap. The bad news is that she only has standing tickets for that train... Standing for 4 hours was unacceptable and we decided to look into the bus schedule at the bus station near our hotel.

We leave the train station towards the taxi stand. It is raining. Hey, what's wrong with this picture? It is the desert and this is summer: it supposed to be deadly desert summer heat now, not rain! The weather does not listen to us and it continues to rain throughout the day. It's not heavy rain. More like drizzling. But, enough to be annoying and definitely enough to prevent us from going hiking or sightseeing for the sight we came to this place for: the JiaYu fort – the last big fort on the wall, the one that symbolized the end of imperial China and is called The Mouth of China as it was the entry point of all merchandize coming from the west through the Silk Road along the Hexi Corridor into China. Just as a reference the throat is Hexi Corridor what was our way from Langzhou.

We check into the hotel Vered found for us, leave our stuff in the room and head down towards the market nearby. We stroll leisurely between the stands, first the clothing, then the fruits and vegetables, then the breads and pastries and then the meats. It start to feel islamic influence. More bread and fruit, lots of dry fruits. We buy some pastries and snacks and stop at a hole-in-the-wall restaurant (4 small tables) that serves different types of soups with dumplings. We order two bowls of soup, one with dumplings and one with noodles and an order of fried noodles from the restaurant next-by and spend a few hours there.

The kids were playing with play-dough that Vered so thoughtfully bought in the market a few minutes earlier and the two of us had a quiet time for a lovely chat. When the lure of the play-dough ran itself out and it was still raining we started to head back towards the hotel. The street we walked along by was full of haircut shops and after a few we could not resist and enter one. Yonatan and Boaz sat down for a haircut, while Vered and Daniella watched and provided advise to the stylists. As the outcome of our haircut was good, Daniella asked for a wash and dry of her hair and even Vered agreed to take the plunge and risk her head for RMB 10... 45 minutes later the four of us (Naama was conveniently asleep) came out of the place with new good looks and smiles on our faces.

An early dinner and a stop at an internet cafe to check email (for the adults) making sure the kids are registered for their next school year and summer camps / kaitanta for the summer and play some games (kids) and we headed back to the hotel. In between we were able to buy bus tickets from JiaYuGuan to DunHuang, our next destination. There was a bus leaving at 2:30pm, which felt like a good time and we gambled that the weather will be good enough for us to see our sights.

The next morning we packed our stuff and went down to the street next to the hotel to have breakfast. We found a small restaurant that had three different types of porridge (rice, barley and some other kind) and a few types of very simple dumplings and some breads and boiled eggs and the combination sufficed for us. Vered's remark : After thousands of years of advanced civilization the Chinese should have come up with a better breakfast by now....

After breakfast we caught a taxi in the street and headed to the JiaYu Pass. The fort is an amazingly beautiful one, maybe THE most beautiful ones we have seen in our lives and that may even include Kaukab el Hawa, the Jordan Star fort near Beit She-an in Israel, which Boaz had fascination with since childhood. At the entrance there is a large stone tablet stating this is the first pass under the sun. a similar tablet exists in ShanHaiGuan on the easternmost point of the wall, which we visited as an overnight trip from BeiJing only a few weeks back. It is not clear which of the signs is the original...

The fort has three layers of walls, including a relatively low (4-5 meter high) earth one at the exterior and then two layers of fortified walls inside. Those interior ones had tall and impressive watch towers and trap courtyards to trap invaders in. We walked inside the yard and then circled the place on the interior wall admiring the beauty and thoughtfulness of the place as well as the beauty of the background snow-capped mountains which provided for a beautiful backdrop for our photos...

While China often rules areas beyond this point, it symbolized the edge of the empire for most Chinese in most times throughout history. Through those gates merchants would come with their goods into China, traders would leave towards the Silk Road oases in the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts and people who need to be severely punished would be sent to oblivion... standing on the fortress walls watching the mountains on two sides and desert in front, you could almost imagine the scenes from 300, 500, 1000, 1500 years ago with long camels convoys coming or leaving through the massive gates.

From the fort you could see the wall going both north and southeast towards the mountains. After about two hours in the fort we got back to our taxi and continued north a few kilometers to a place were the wall climbs the mountain and a section of it can be seen and climbed on. We climbed the 512 steps of the somewhat dull reconstructed Great Wall section, saw he view, came down and left. It was not worth it, but since the fort was, we were not that disappointed.

We got back to the hotel, checked out and walked the three hundred feet to the bus station for our bus to DunHuang. Lucky for us, it was sunny and beautiful all day long, but just as we were heading to the bus station it started to rain again. Perfect timing! The 5 hour ride was uneventful and even pleasant with a good bus, smooth new roads, excellent seats we were able to get and fantastic desert scenery passing us by the more we got closer to the oasis of DunHuang.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• The Sights:

  • The fort in JiaYuGuan is beautiful and interesting and worth a visit. You should budget 2-4 hours for it.

  • The great wall section is not. If you want to go, budget 1-2 hours for the short hike.

  • The challenge is that the Chinese figured it out and are only selling now a combined ticket to the two attractions, plus a third we did not go through. It is still worth it, though.

• Hotel: We stayed in the Jin Ye hotel just across from the bus station. It is OK, nothing fancy, but priced right.

• Restaurants: there is one restaurant on the other side of the road from the hotel that has an English sign outside, an English menu and descent food.

• Time: if you are arriving early in the morning – like us on the train from LangZhou that arrived around 6:30am – it is absolutely feasible, maybe even preferred, to cover the two or three things of interest and leave towards your next destination on the same day.

• Transportation: we continued to DunHuang on a bus, even though our original plan was to take the train. The bus ride was wonderful: smooth and easy, so it should be an option worth considering for travellers.

 

We arrived back in LangMuSi just after noon and headed back to our hotel. Our original plan was to get back to XiaHe that afternoon and check one of the grasslands near it the following day. But, then we thought, we like and enjoy LangMuSi SO MUCH and there are so many grasslands here, what's the point in going elsewhere to look for them? So, we decided to stay an extra day and night in town.

Luckily for us, we met Mahon and his friends walking along just outside the hotel. We told them we decided to stay the day in LangMuSi and they suggested we joined them for a hike to the Namo gorge. Since this was the other hike we wanted to do and we enjoyed hiking with Mahon on the one to Red Rock Mountain, we agreed happily.

The hike started at the edge of town and we had to cross a little stream that flowed by. It was a bit wide and so we made long jumps over it, Yonatan and Daniella had to give us hands and be helped in their jumps and Naama, well, we threw her over.... yes, we did. Mahon stood on the other side of the stream and I got as close as I could and then from a distance of about 3-4 feet (1.2 meters or so) I threw her to him. Everybody cheered when he caught her and all were happy. If only we had good photos of that!

We then visited the place where a images of two Buddha images is painted on the stone at the entrance of the gorge. The locals claim that the images were there on the stone and the locals only added colors to it. We threw stones to a tiny cave making wishes and continued up the gorge along the small river. Another cave had a special rock that heel any pain or sickness so Vered rubs her back against it while Boaz try to cure his head...there was also a tiny cave that you crowl from one end to the other and as the locals believe only good hearted people can come out. After Daniella posed and contemplated whether she should do it or not she decided she is good enough to return and so she did. We saw the place where three small fountains start the little steam, filled our water bottles and continued to a cave where we could climb about 10 meters almost to the hill's top before continuing to the end of the short gorge.

Then, what we envisioned as a short little hike turned into nothing short of a fabulous and strenuous hike along the gorge and then up the mountain to gain an incredible view of the butterfly shaped (so declared Daniella and you can judge for yourselves from the photos!) LangMuSi. We had to make a half dozen stops along the ultra steep mountain side, but the views from the top were well worth it! We took some photos of the town and of ourselves next to the prayer-flag site before descending back down on the other side towards the town. Since the hill was so steep, we ran most of it. If you ever ran down a steep grassy hill, you'll appreciate the sense of freedom and adventure it provides!

By the time we got down to town, we were exhausted and very – VERY! - happy. We headed straight to dinner at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Muslim restaurant where they were so accommodating in preparing vegetable-heavy meals for us and their own specialties of fantastic tofu and vegetable soup, wonderful noodle soups and the kids' favorite fried noodles. It was a great ending to a wonderful day!

After a good long bath (with hot water!!) - our first in three days since there was no bath in the TieBu camp, the exhausted kids headed directly to beds, while Boaz joined Mahon and his friends for drinks in a lovely roof-top terrace next to Mahon's house. A lot of (very good, I must say!) YunNan's Dali produced rice wine and a table full of treats supported a long conversation until the late hours of the night. I had to use different tactics to counter the Chinese sophisticated strong-arm methods to get me drunk. I would drink only half the shot-glass at the call for Gam-Bei (bottom's up) and make excuses whenever they caught me in the act. The very strong allergy seizure does not help my condition, but adds to the conversation...

We took it easy the next morning, though I woke up – again – at 6:30am to try and catch a Sky Burial ceremony, but was unsuccessful... after a light breakfast, we strolled leisurely around town, purchased some souvenirs and chatted with our Tibetan friend, while Naama played with her new sole-mate, TanZi. We could not resist another visit to our favorite Muslim restaurant before taking the bus back to XiaHe.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• GO?: LangMuSi is a gem! A peace of heaven worth going to on its own right from SiChuan or GanSu or even Xi-An! Go there and you will not regret it.

• Duration: 2-3 days minimum, 5-6 days preferred, longer is possible as there are ample opportunities to hike around and visit tiny villages around and if you want to relax, there are few places better than this one.

• Cost: we do not get into cost info much on this blog, but LangMuSi has been one of the cheapest places we had the luxury of visiting. This is true for accommodation as well as food and drink and most importantly: gifts and souvenirs.

• Tibetan Souvenirs: there are plenty of tiny souvenir shops of different kind in town. The one we liked the most is: Jun Zhai Lai Fu Zhuang Bian. The owner is an ultra nice Tibetan guy who speaks perfect English and is honest and helpful.

• Food: Sheila's Restaurant is the default place for dinners for their English menu and some Western dishes (such as a good ShakShooka). It feels so similar to two other restaurants we have been to in Songpan (a few hours on a bus south in Northern SiChuan) are run by women and called on their owners' name. Xue Mei Chuan Cai Guan is a Muslim Hui restaurant that had fantastic local simple food and we came back to multiple times. It is located a few stores down from Sheila's on the same side of the road a bit towards the monastery.

• Drinks: There are a number of tea houses in town, which are simple and lovely. Mahon took us to one called Shin Di that is absolutely delightful on the top floor of a hotel just after the bridge on the left hand side when you walk towards the silver monastery and Namo Gorge. You'll see it a row of glass windows on the top of a hotel to your left. Walk behind the building to enter it and climb to the top floor. The place is a hangout for locals, including many monks who drink tea and play games.

• Hotels: unfortunately, neither of the guesthouse in town have bathrooms and showers in the rooms, so we opted for a hotel. There are 3 hotels that are all decent, seem very similar in facilities and costs, so you can choose among them by just walking in and check them out.

• Hikes: Both the climb to Red Rock mountain and Namo Gorge are delightful half day hikes. They each have some strenuous climbs, but nothing too hard. There are no marked paths for either hikes, so you would be better off finding someone to guide you or show you the path. Mahon was instrumental to us and I have a hunch he'll be helpful to others as well. There are many options for other longer hikes and horse treks which we did not take, but are worth exploring.

• Mahon: the young Chinese guy is opening a youth hostel in town (reopens one that just got closed) and plans to add travel services such as guiding hikes and horse treks, etc. He speaks good English, is knowledgeable and very helpful.

• Around LangMuSi: there are a number of small villages around LangMuSi. We went to TieBu and had fun. See separate posting on that. I am sure there are others and if you have the time, those must be VERY enjoyable.

TieBu is the small Tibetan village where ZhaXi's family lives and where he set up his camp for visitors. Mahon, the young Chinese Hui guy we met next to ZhaXi's place recommended us to go there for the experience of sleeping in a camp in nature, walking some lovely hikes and visiting a Tibetan village. We agreed.

Somehow, we did not really planned this trip, this “excursion”, too much and let Mahon drive it for us... He suggested we go, so we agreed. He suggested we take the local bus to save on the cost of renting a car, and we agreed. And then in the camp, when he suggested we stay two instead of one night, we agreed again...

But, let's start from the beginning, in LangMuSi... We woke up early, packed our bags – one bag to take with us with minimal spare cloths and the others to keep in the hotel – and checked out. We went to eat breakfast and hooked up with Mahon and his friend, SiSi (pronounced more like susu), a girl with a small bag and a camera to take the bus together to TieBu. The bus arrived a bit after the scheduled time at 9:30am and we found there are no seats left for us. Oh well. I stood with Mahon and SiSi in the back while Vered and the kids sat on the platform behind the driver's seat.

The drive was a bit rough as almost the entire road is being redone. But, the views were spectacular and I had to force myself not to take my camera out and try to take doomed photos in the jumping moving bus. Within a few minutes of leaving LangMuSi, we turned from the main road to a side road in a valley. A few minutes later we drove by a beautiful monastery and a few minutes later another one and then another one. Mahon told us some of these small remote monasteries actually date back further than the ones in LangMuSi, which are clearly larger.

We arrived in TieBu closed to noon and ZhaXi waited for us at the entrance to the village with a car to take us up the road to his camp. The small camp sits on a small clearing mid point up the mountain above TieBu and has an absolutely incredible views of both the mountain behind and the valley below. It is a small camp with tent looking cabins, one as a kitchen, one as a dining room and 4-5 for guests, each having 5 or 6 beds. The place is surrounded by a low fence that seems to be more of a sign or a divider than a fence against anything and so it is immersed beautifully into the magnificent nature around.

We liked it so much, we spent the next two hours or so simply sitting in the sun enjoying the incredibly peaceful view drinking beer and playing in the grass. We ate a light lunch and then decided to hike to the mountain that climbs behind the camp from which the views were supposed to be even more impressive.. Zaxi announced that it will rain soon and we dismissed him immediately as it seems so nice outside. We continued to walk through a couple of small Tibetan villages and into a wonderful forest, where we even spotted some deer running around.

By the time we got to the side of the mountain the sun disappeared behind some clouds that appeared out of nowhere and it started to get a bit chilli

It must be and could have been a wonderful hike if not for the rain that started pouring on us all of a sudden. The hike turned quite complex as the increasingly heavy rain caught us completely off guard with no rain coasts or even long sleeve shirts... with the changed conditions we decided to abandon the plan to climb all the way up the mountain and start to decline back towards the camp. To do that we needed to go over the ridge and down the other side.

We started to walk faster and once inside the wood, started running from tree to tree to use them as shields from the rain. Since Naama was sitting comfortably in my back carrier, Daniella became “the weakest link” in our party, that also included Mahon's friend, that we found out was working for ZhaXi is building a website for him and ZhaXi's younger 18-year old brother. So, ZhaXi took off his rain coat ((of course he was ready), wrapped Daniella in it and took her like a package on his hands when we ran from tree to tree, putting her down on every “tree stop” to pick up his breath....Daniella keep talking about the “fire” we will have when we will come back to the camp making sure we will eat our marshmallow as we promised earlier. She asked how to say it in English and kept repeating the word in songs in different melodies making everyone laugh.

At one point ZhaXi suggested we stay under one big tree and light a FIRE to warm up and dry our cloths waiting for the rain to stop. We all went to look for some dry wood, which we easily found under some of the huge trees around. The fire was a huge success with the kids who loved the idea of it as well as the heat and sense of adventure. If only we had a tea pot... or marshmallows...

We stayed by the fire under the tree for almost an hour, but as the rain did not show any sign of stopping, we decided to get back to the tree-to-tree running technique we used before. An hour or so later we got back to the camp, soaked but happy. We all got into the kitchen tent-cabin to warm up and the staff made wonderful sweet ginger tea for us. In the cabin, we showed the locals how little we are used to the large stoves they use. First, Yonatan who wanted to go from one side of the tiny room to the other (no-one knows why...) put his hand on the chimney of the stove and got some burns on his palm. Then, Boaz held his shirt to dry against the stove and at some point got just a bit too close for the synthetic fiber and melted a few large holes on the shirt...

An hour later, however, we were all dried, warm and still happy. We taught SiSi and Mahon how to play Whist and played with them for a few hours before Mahon declared it is time for a fire. We collected some woods from the nearby trees and set a fire up. The kids loved it and we all had fun around it. And then, Vered won the award for the most spectacular surprise when she took out the marshmallows (left overs from the grandparents' package...) which as expected became a huge hit to be roasted on the open fire! Three hours later, sometime around midnight, I think, we were heading to beds.

We were a bit worried initially about sleeping since the tents had no doors (only a hung blanket in front of the door to minimize light and sight into the tent. We also were not sure about the existence or not of wild animals around. But, the mattresses were thick and so were the blankets and the animals, if there were any, stayed far away from the camp and we had a wonderful sleep.

The next morning, after a simple, but tasty breakfast (with a wonderful omelette with thick round of onions in the middle) , we went for a hike along the 18-pool gorge. As we were walking along the oh-so-beautiful gorge we wondered whether this is the best hike we've done in China and agreed that if not the best, it is definitely in the top 5. ZhaXi maintains a narrow path climbing the side of the mountain along the river and makes sure it is as natural and inoffensive to nature as possible. So, at times it gets quite adventurous as we need to cross the little creek on a fallen tree or a set of 2-3 thin trees held together by a rope... or climb hills hanging to branches for support. It was so much fun to walk like this without the normal Chinese handrail and wooden stairs....

We walked up the gorge for about three hours, taking short breaks in spectacular view spots eating snacks and taking photos before declining back down to visit another spot where small pools got created naturally among the trees, making it look like a fairy-tale scene from a good movie. The Tibetan believe these pools are sacred as they are the living place of a dragon that once saved some villages in the valley. The mystical look of the place was indeed perfectly fitting a sacred place.

It was a relatively short day and we got back to the camp in mid afternoon for a relaxed time bathing on the grass in front of the addictive views. After a couple of hours we went to look for deer in the woods next to the camp. I let Yonatan and Daniella lead the way and showed them some deer foot prints to help us lead the way. At some point we lost Vered who was talking (too loudly for a deer hunt...) on the phone and had to come back to look for her...

On the way back to the camp we collected woods for the evening's fire. ZhaXi said he was expecting a group of Chinese and was planning to roast a goat on a fire and have some Tibetan dancing. Unfortunately, the car that was to bring the Chinese broke down on the way (one of its wheels fell of in the middle of driving!) and they only arrived at the camp around midnight. By that time, we were after holding our own fire on which we roasted sausages (we ran out of marshmallows the night before...) and already in beds....

We woke up late the following day and had a relaxed morning before taking the local bus back to LangMuSi to complete a delightful three days in nature.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• TieBu is a wonderful place if you want nature time.

• It is close enough to LangMuSi and easy to get to on the public bus.

• There are plenty of hikes to do around. We did the one to 18-pool gorge which is fantastic. And the climb to the mountain behind the camp is also excellent (in good weather...)

• The camp is a nice place to stay, but not a must have. There should be home stays in some of the Tibetan villages around if you like to get a more “Tibetan experience”

 

Sky Burial is an ancient Tibetan-Buddhist funeral method. In its essence stands the belief that the body is merely a vehicle of spending life on this planet and therefore has no special meaning or purpose after death: the spirit leaves the body and the body has to be disposed of. So, rather than bury the body underground like in western societies, Tibetans give the body to vultures to eat. By the way, there is also a practical rational to this method: wood for coffins is expensive and often scarce and the ground on the Tibetan Plateau is often frozen and very hard to dig a grave in.

We discussed whether we're interested in watching such a ceremony a few times along our trip. Vered was against it, while I was quite keen on seeing this ceremony that seem to be so unique and different, but at the same time fit the Buddhist culture so well. Going through it and understanding it felt to me like the ultimate Tibetan experience, considering the low likelihood I will ever go to spend a significant amount of time living in a Buddhist monastery. We asked about it in LiTang in SiChuan province, but they did not seem to hold it while we were there. When we heard they do it in LangMuSi, I asked Mahon if he knows if they have one the following day. He said he'll ask one of his monk friends in the morning and let me know.

He called at 7am or so and told me his monk friend told him there is no smoke in front of the monastery, so there is no sky burial today. The smoke is the signal for the sky burial since the body is first brought to the monastery and some ceremony is done there for the dead including prayers for his sole's safe passage to the next world. Since in Buddhism burning items is a way to send them to the next world, some items are burned as part of the ceremony and the smoke is a signal for the upcoming burial.

I turned to the other side in bed, hugged Vered and went back to sleep. 15 minutes later Mahon called again. His monk friend saw a pick up truck driving in the direction of the sky burial site with something that looked like a wrapped corpse in the back. If I want to see the ceremony, we should go quickly. 5 minutes later I was outside the room and on my way to meet Mahon at the little bridge at the entrance of the monastery. Yonatan wanted to join me, but I refused. Not until I see it first and make a decision if he can see it without getting nightmares.

We walked quickly up the hill, around the monastery and towards the hill behind. It was a chilli morning and the climb was not trivial in the high altitude place, so we were both breathing heavily. A local woman on a horse intersected us coming from the other side of our path and told us (in Chinese that Mahon translated to me afterwards) that we “should not go there” as “there are people there cutting dead corpses”. We took it as a sign there is a ceremony after all and we should continue quickly.

On the way, I asked and he explained some of the sky burial process. For example, he noted that the process in LangMuSi is different than in most other sky burial places in that there is no “master of the ceremony” person who does the body preparation for the vultures. In LangMuSi, the family members themselves do it.

He seemed to know quite a bit about it, although he insisted he never saw a ceremony and has no interest or intention in seeing one. He knows what he knows from reading and talking to people. And indeed, once we got to the point where we could see the hill with the mirage of praying flags covering a decent portion of it in front of us, he stopped and told me he goes no further. He suggested to stay and wait for me, but I thanked him and said I will be fine and since I have no idea how long will I stay, he should not wait for me. He started to walk back and I moved towards the site.

The sight in front of me was quite amazing. There was the pick up truck parked on one side of the hill and four men were standing in the middle of a group of over a hundred large vultures, mostly eagles. They were walking in the center of what looked like a collection of different size stones that were scattered around in a somewhat circular area of maybe 7-10 meters in diameter. Their shoes were covered with plastic bags and they were walking within the huge birds as if they were walking inside a henhouse, their legs literally touching the vultures as they move.

I found a spot 3-4 meters from the stone area and stood quietly watching. Unfortunately for me, by the time I got there, the process was more than half way though and there was no flesh anymore on the bones of the desist. So, I do not really know how it started and what it felt like in those starting moments when the body still looked like a human being. By the time I was there, the four men were busy force-taking pieces of the skeleton from the vultures to help break the bones. You see, in nature, the large mammals, mostly the large cats – lions, tigers, etc. - and the large dogs: wolves, hyaenas, etc. break the bones. Here, there are no mammals involved and so the people need to break the bones for the vultures to be able to eat the flesh from the inside.

They used some kind of a blanket, maybe one that used to belong to the desist, put it over a large stone with a curve in its middle part, then placed the bones inside, covered them with the side of the blanket and then using axes break the bones to smaller pieces, which they mixed with barley flower (I am not sure as for the reason for that part, though) and threw the mixture to the vultures. At times they had to really fight with the vultures to take back some of the bones for breaking them, but in general, both the people and the birds looked quite at ease with one another. Special excitement arose among the vultures when the people were able, after a lot of work, to break open the skull and throw the two pieces to them. They were literally fighting for the flesh inside jumping on one another, flapping their wings and crying loudly.

Before coming here I was VERY intrigued by this oh-so-unique ceremony and wandered what would be my feeling about it and what would be the mood of the people. In Western societies a funeral is a very sad event and the few times I had the very unpleasant experience of seeing corpses (mostly of people I knew, either family members or friends who died), I felt deep sadness about it. Here, not only there is a body, but it is being cut up and broken into pieces and given to animals to eat! The mood and emotion of the ceremony were the biggest mystery and key interest to me.

Interestingly, this ceremony was nothing like a Western funeral. The people working on breaking the bones of their relative (I did not feel it is appropriate to engage them in questions of any kind, so I do not know their actual relations to the desist) did not look sad at all. If anything, they were quite loose, almost cheerful. They talked among themselves, called to one another, sometimes even playing jokes on the vultures and laughing about it. It all felt very much like a matter of fact type procedure: a body needs to be disposed of.

The vultures on their part were incredible. In Israel or the US we sometimes drive for many hours to a place we hope we'll be lucky to get a glimpse of these amazing creatures through a long lens binocular... and here are many dozens of them almost within touching distance from me! Most of them were standing around, some were trying to tear pieces off the bones thrown to them by the working people. Occasionally one of them would fly off or fly over and I could feel, not to mention hear, its wings flapping loudly and strongly less than two meters above my head. Being so close to the vultures was an experience of its own, a significant added value over the sky burial itself.

After an hour or so I decided to walk around a bit. I walked slowly as to not disturb the vultures or the working people. On the edge of the hill there was a pile of garbage that seemed to include items that used to belong to people who died and were buried here: cloths, pots, shoes and occasionally bones. I climbed the hill to its top. The view of the site below was impressive and I took a number of photos of the vultures there. It was the only time throughout this morning that I took photos as the Tibetans believe photography is harmful to people's soles and even though in town many people were very comfortable with us taking their photos, I wanted to respect that belief here.

After all the bones have been crushed and the flesh eaten, the people burned the blanket they used to cover the bones when they broke them and left all the tools they used: axes, knives, etc. around the stones and left. The vultures started climbing slowly to the top of the hill above the ceremony site. They were mostly jumping a few jumps at a time until they got to the top, about 50-60 meters in height and maybe 100-150 in length. They then stood there for a few minutes to rest and then one by one jumped forward, flapped their wings a couple of times and flew away.

A few minutes later, I was the only one there. I sat on the top of the hill looking at the valley awakening to a new morning. Sheep and yak were moving slowly on a distant hill side, smoke came out of chimneys in small houses and a group of children were walking together on the road below, probably going to school. It was peaceful and quiet and calm and provided me with the opportunity to reflect on the ceremony I just witnessed.

I decided to take the road behind the monastery back down instead of the one I climbed on. It was a bit longer route, with magnificent views of the town below and within an hour or so I was back down by the hotel joining Vered and the kids for breakfast.

Three more days I woke up early and walked to the site hoping to catch the ceremony from the start, but was not successful. Once I returned back to the hotel only to get a call from Mahon around 9:30 or so that a ceremony is held as we speak... I guess some of them start later than others, depending on where the desist is being brought from. For me, I guess, it was not meant to happen again.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• The decision whether to go and see a sky burial is a very individual one for people's attitude to death is different and very individual. For whatever it is worth, I think it is a most interesting ceremony that is worthwhile seeing if you understand what is going to happen and the rational behind it.

• There are a number of towns on the Tibetan plateau where you can see sky burial. Check in the guide books and with locals to see where and when they are conducted.

 

We love LangMuSi!

Seriously, I really mean that! We almost thought that after 10 months in China, after the Great Wall in BeiJing, LuGo Hu and ShiLin's Stone Forrest and Tiger Leaping Gorge in YunNan, the Ice Festival in HaerBin, JiuZaiGou and HuangLong and QingChen HauShan in SiChuan and Huang Shan and the HuiZhuo villages in AnHui and SuZhou and HangZhou in ZheJiang and JiangXi and the TuLous in FuJian and the cave dwellings in ShanXi and the enchanting villages of ZhongLu and SuoPo near Danba we've seen it all and can not be further surprised or be shown things that will move us as much. And there comes LangMuSi and show us we can still be moved in China. And we love it!

We arrived in town after a lovely bus ride that Vered managed to find us. The Oversees Tibetan Hotel in XiaHe sent a bus to pick up guests from SongPan in northern SiChuan. That bus went empty from XiaHe and they were interested in getting as many people on it as possible. So, they looked around and found us and a few other people interested in going to LangMuSi, which is almost half the way. The advantage for us was a slightly more luxurious bus than the local bus and more importantly, a bit more control over what happens, for example: we could ask for no smoking...

The result was indeed a cool bus ride with occasional chats with some of the 5-people group that caught the bus like us: a couple from Australia, an American tech guy on vacation and a couple of Chinese from Hong Kong. And the fact that the drive provided us with fantastic views over endless grasslands and beautiful low rolling hills was an added benefit.

The 2-street town of LangMuSi won our hearts from the moment the bus entered it and even before it stopped. It's hard to explain, but we just all had a wonderful feeling about it. The place looked like a remote town in an old movie about the wild west. A single main street with 2-story buildings from each side. Sun-dark skin people with cowboy hats and other cattle-working cloths on slowly walking the streets or siting on the sideways chatting and looking at the bizarre foreigners that get off the bus. Occasional cow or yak or sheep walks by. Grassy mountains on each side provide the back drop for the scenery and a gold-color rooftops of monasteries grace the side of the hills behind the houses. Calm and beautiful.

The town, so we learn has a mix of Tibetan Buddhists and Hui Muslims people. They seem to live together or coexist well, though we hear from time to time there are tensions between them. We find the most of the stores we like being run by Tibetans and most of the restaurants we enjoy eating at – by Hui people. For us, it is a good mix as well as a “division of duties”...

The people we meet are also fantastically interesting, both the Hui and Tibetans. Mahon is Hui and so are Leisha's and the owners of the other restaurant we liked eating at, Xue Mei Chuan Cai Guan.

We walk around to look for a hotel and discover that none of the hostels have rooms with showers and toilets in them, so we check into one of the three hotels in town. We also check with the nice woman at the Red Rock Mountain Horse Trek company about possible day trips and multi-day hikes around. She speaks perfect English and seems very knowledgeable and organized, but her prices are way beyond our budget, so we decide to opt out of that option and tour the village and potentially do the hikes on our own.

We eat a delightful lunch at Sheila's restaurant, the default place for travelers to eat at and go to visit one of the two main monasteries in town. The climb to the monastery provides us with a lovely view over the town and enables us to get an orientation to the town. On the way back we look for ZhaXi, a local Tibetan whose name was mentioned in wikitravel as one who takes people to his home village near LangMuSi. We find the place, but ZhaXi is out at his camp site near his home town. Near his closed hostel we meet a young Chinese guy named Mohan.

Mohan is a Hui Muslim from the nearby province of NingXia who decided, after some traveling, to settle in LangMuSi. I can't blame him. The place is heaven on earth! He tells us that he is about to open a hostel in the place that used to be ZhaXi's hostel and then expand the business to also provide guide services, tours, horse treks, etc. He is very nice, speaks great English, passionate and energetic. I have no doubt he'll do well here!

We chat with him and tell him of our plans to do the hike the next morning to Red Rock Mountain. He suggests to join us and we take him on it. What is better than having a local guide you on such a trip? Over dinner in his favorite restaurant, Xue Mei Chuan Cai Guan, that becomes ours as well, I also mention to him that I am interested in watching a sky burial and ask if he knows if there is one the following day. He suggests to call one of his monk friends in the morning and see.

The next day, after the Sky Burial and breakfast, we meet up with Mahon and go towards the Red Rock Mountain together. Mahon turns out to be the perfect guide for us. He knows the way, provides us with occasional detail on items in the way and has no hidden agenda or interest in a specific time to finish the hike. He becomes the kids' friend in no time and the hike is a joyful one. It is a good climb on the steep mountain and we need a number of breaks before we reach the plateau at the top.

It is definitely a stressful hike, but lots of fun as we joke along the way and find a good common language with Mahon who seem to enjoy the company and opportunity to practice his (good) English. At the top of the mountain we find a ceremonial site with thousands of small white square prayer sheets with a flying horse painted on them. Since it gets windy from time to time, Yonatan manages to stand in the middle of a spiral set of the paper sheets for a lovely most spiritual experience.

From there we continue along the ridge occasionally learning Chinese words from Mahon or teaching him some in English. The view is inspiring: long stretches of grasslands along the rolling hills dotted with sheep and goats and yaks. We find another prayer site with 5-6 meter high wooden logs that look like arrows stuck in the ground. Mahon explains that this is a Buddhist way of saying to their gods they have no more interest in fighting and are “sticking their weapons in the ground.

As the climb was steep, some of the walk along the ridge is a fun downhill slop. We do those by running down the hill which was a great fun for Daniella and Yonatan.

When we get to the place Mahon says is where they usually go down, but he thinks will be too problematic for us (too steep and challenging, we decide to take on the challenge. We go down on a steep narrow wadi that is indeed quite stressful especially for Vered (and MaHon), but became the most fun experience of the day to Yonatan and Daniella (Naama was asleep) for the adrenaline-rush of the steep decline and occasional falls. The continuation walk through a herd of yak and mountain goats is a perfect end for the great hike.

As we get back to town the kids were keen on the advertised Apple Pie at Sheila's restaurant. Since they walked so nicely, we easily agreed. We stop on the way to buy additional cakes (cinnamon buns that turn out to be absolutely superb in any standard!) at a place on the way called Amro Cafe. This turns out to be a good decision since Sheila's is out of apple pies... We take our cakes and follow Mahon to a fantastic tea house, called Shin Di, in the old style of China that we loved. As we sit on the fourth floor, glass-window airy place we spent almost three hours watching the locals (including many monks) playing cards and games and chit-chatting with the background view of the monastery behind. We even order pizza in for the kids (and us) as a light dinner...

Along the time in the tea house, as the kids watch a movie (Yonatan and Daniella) and play with the locals (Naama) we learn of Mahon's plans for his business and provide him with as many ideas and advice as we can from our 10-month travel experience in China. It is interesting how many good ideas one come by in such a trip and we were very happy to be of assistance to him, especially as he took so much time to walk with us.

On the way back to the Hotel Naama spotted a few kids playing on the street along the stores of the main street. In recent weeks, she has been extremely eager to play with any kid she sees around and the opportunity to play with other kids is one she could not pass on. Particularly she enjoy playing with one little sweet girl named Tanzi. They both have the same extra active nature and got along very well from day one. They tried jumping a rope but since neither of them could really jump above it, they found other creative activities with the rope like pulling each other while holding on to the rope.

It was really funny to watch and soon there were more than a dozen Tibetan and Hui Muslims watching them and laughing along. A half an hour passed and Vered still couldn't convince Naama to continue their way back to the Hotel. So, she started talking to Tanzi's father, a nice Tibetan guy who owns 2 stores in town and could speak brilliant English. It was a very enjoyable and well worth conversation on the Tibetan's life so she let Naama play with the kids for more than an hour before going back to the Hotel.

Among others, Vered was curious about the NBA shirts and posters that they are selling. Apparently the Tibetan are very much into basketball and if you think about it, it makes sense as they are taller than the Chinese and more muscular and athletics than most. Anyway, basketball is a big thing on the Tibetan plateau. Even in the tiniest of villages you can see a basketball court with improvised baskets made out of an old tire on a hand made pole. He told me that they even have a basketball contest among the villages in the area and the winning team get 1000 Yuan (a big thing in Tibetan standards).

We also talked about the shops in the village that sell Tibetan souvenirs but are mainly run by Han Chinese because rent increased dramatically in recent years and most Tibetans can't afford it. According to him, the Tibetan and Hui people get along quite well in most times though there are times when tension turns up.

Vered promised him (and Naama!) that we will come back to talk and play after our camp adventure and indeed we came back for some more discussions about Tibetan issues, the fact that they can't get a passport to travel to neighboring countries, the Dalai Lama and more. He and his wife made each of our kids a necklace as a souvenir from them and Boaz picked a praying wheel from their store to put in his office while Naama and Tanzi tried to demolish the store.

The next day we followed Mahon's advice and go with him to ZhaXi's camp in TieBu for a 3-day, 2-night stay in a camp in the natural sites outside LangMuSi.

TRAVEL TIPS: See the next section on LangMuSi for a combined travel tips on this lovely place.

XiaHe was another one of those places we long to see on our trip. Many travel guides, Rob's book and sites describe the little town as one of the most beautiful and welcoming in China and we received the same remarks from people we talked with. It is the home of the famous Labrang Monastery, which is one of the most important ones to Tibetan Buddhist outside Lhassa.

We arrived in XiaHe after an uneventful (yes!) 8-hour train ride from Xi-An to LanZhou followed by a 5-hour bus ride from LanZhou. LanZhou welcomed us with a drizzling rain, which was a bit annoying, especially since we were coming from the hot Xi-An and did not have our coats handy. But, we knew what we need to do and so we were able to move quickly to the ticket office to buy tickets for our train from LanZhou to JiaYuGuan, our next destination AFTER we come back from the XiaHe-LangMuSi trip. Following the relief of the success in purchasing those tickets, we took a taxi to the south bus station from where the buses to XiaHe go.

Thankfully, Vered looked at the wikitravel guide ahead of our travel and found a bold-highlighted remark that foreigners wanting to buy bus tickets to XiaHe in LanZhou will be asked to submit 2 copies of their passport and Chinese visa and so we came prepared and were able to catch the early morning direct bus.

Vered made sure each of the kids and her take a pill against motion sickness and that coupled with the short sleep on the train got us all to catch a nap on the bus ride, which despite the lovely scenery was mostly going through drizzling rain.

If LanZhou welcomed us with a drizzling rain, XiaHe welcomed us with a warm sunshine and clear blue skies. It was quite amazing, actually. The entire 5 hour drive from LanZhou we went through dark grey cloudy skies and then just as we came to maybe 15 minutes away from XiaHe, the skies cleared and the sun came out. Beautiful.

XiaHe is a small town, 70K people in all, sleepingly stretching in a narrow valley along a small river. It's Labrang monastery is perhaps the most important religious center for Tibetans outside Tibet and I believe is also the largest. It's the living place for over 3000 monks, of whom 1000 study in one of the monastery 6 colleges, including the Philosophy college which is arguably the most prestigious in the Tibetan world. The monastery, colleges and temples are also a magnet for pilgrims who come from close and far to spend time, learn and pray in it.

After looking at the two hostels in town (no showers or toilets in the room), and a couple of hotels (there is none that is really good), we decided to go for the “default option” of the Oversees Tibetan Hotel. Daniella had some symptoms of height sickness as it is around 300 above sea level so Vered and Daniella decided to stay in and take a nap, while Boaz, Yonatan and Naama went to do the Kora, the religious circling of the monastery, turning the praying wheels and enjoying the warm weather. Naama also had some troubles with the height and threw up a few times that first day before adjusting to the altitude.

There must have been hundreds if not thousands of Tibetans doing the Kora of the Labrang monastery. They come from different villages around XiaHe with their beautiful Tibetan outfit, men with long dark hair and a knife stuck in their heavy belts while the women have long braided hair and beautiful belts and jewelry. The Kora is a most popular praying activity we've seen in many monasteries throughout China. Pilgrims, monks and ordinary locals circle the monastery while reciting prayers. Most of them do it while turning the praying wheels and so did we. By talking to a monk in one of the tea houses in town we learned that each get assigned a certain prayer by their master and that ensures an appropriate coverage of prayers by their importance.

But, not all people who do the Kora do it by walking. Some, do it by laying down on their faces! The idea is to do the Kora, circle the entire monastery with one's body length and the method is to stretch on the ground, first going from standing on two feet to standing on one's knees, then stretching the hands all the way forward until the forehand hits the ground, then standing up again, walking to the point the hands reached and go down again from there. It is a slow and quite tough activity. Even if you ignore the dirt and dust, just think of the physical hardship of going down and up like this for 3 kilometers!

To avoid getting hurt, most people wear both knee and palm/hand padding for protection and many stop for much needed breaks along the way. Interestingly, we saw a fair amount of people doing the Kora in such a way and only a small portion of them were young. Even more interesting, for us, was the fact that those people were fully aware of their surroundings, often interacting with people around them. We saw a woman having a break while chatting and laughing on her mobile phone. We saw a number of people that smiled and greeted us as we passed them by. I must say it feels a bit awkward talking to someone while they are flat on the ground like this...

Upon completing the Kora in about three hours, we returned to the hotel to rejoin with Vered and Daniella and together we went to the Nomad Restaurant. The place's prime location (on the third floor of the building just across the dirt road from the monastery fence) and local clientele (Tibetan women in their traditional cloths, monks on breaks from studying and/or praying, young local guys chating over tea and more) quickly made it our favorite hang out place in town. We came there often to have a nice Tibetan Butter Tea, eight treasure tea and snack on some local foods while watching the constant flow of Kora walkers below and chat with locals who come there for the same reasons.

In fact, on that first day in town, we stayed at the Nomad Restaurant until dinner time enjoying the views and atmosphere from the people around and returned directly back to the hotel to sleep after dinner.

The next morning, we planned to walk the Kora together and climb on some of the hills around the monastery for views of the town. Boaz decided to wake up early for another early morning kora walk. After completing a half circle, he found himself on the far end of the town and rather than continue along the Monastery walls, diverted towards the small village that stretched onward. He climbed along the small houses, which he found to be monk residents and enjoyed the early morning chanting and praying tunes from behind the plain wooden doors. As the houses climbed on the side of the hill, he soon found himself half way up the hill behind the monastery.

Since he was already half way up, he decided to climb the hill and watch the monastery from above. The path that started as a clear dirt path soon turned into a goat trail, which if you ever tried to follow a goat trail you know is not a single trail, but a maze of ones. Goats, I guess, do not follow a single path, but each choose their own and so the mountain side where goats walk has many narrow paths, some disappearing all of a sudden or appearing out of nowhere. But, a decision has been made to climb the hill and decisions need to be followed and so Boaz moved further and further into goat territory thanking his good-grip shoes...

But, as brave or stupid he thought he is, after an hour or so of very slow progress towards nowhere that looked better, Boaz decided to stop challenging his luck and returned back a couple of hills before finding one that was slightly less steep and allowed him to walk down towards the monastery. He happened to come down directly to the back of one of the temples where three locals were sitting next to a small stone oven making breakfast for themselves and some pilgrims.

Although or maybe because he came literally out of nowhere to them their initial reaction to his appearance was smiling and that followed immediately by an offer of a steamed bun and a bowl of Tibetan butter tea. Since Boaz left the room early and had not have anything to drink or eat this morning, not to mention the intriguing opportunity to interact with the three, he accepted the offer and sat with them on the stones next to the stove on the hillside.

A great conversation did not occur there. Boaz knows no Tibetan and the locals had no knowledge of neither English nor Chinese. But, they showed him the ingredients from which they made the breakfast (the simplest ever... not even salt) and he showed them his camera. Interestingly, they were very intrigued by the camera and wanted to see all the photos he had there. Initially, Boaz showed them the photos, but quickly they just took the camera and the three of them sat together flipping through the photos and commenting on the ones they thought were good. It was a fun 20-30 min time.

We went for a late breakfast that day after Boaz' return and everybody's slow waking up. It was a wonderful weather and we stretched the breakfast in the Nomad Restaurant reading, writing and chatting. By the time we wanted to go out, (after packing and moving from the Oversees hotel to the Red Rock Youth Hostel that seemed to have a much nicer vibe and Wi-Fi) the weather turned a bit colder and the sun disappeared behind the clouds. But, we wanted to do the Kora and off we went.

Yonatan and Daniella were on a mission: counting the praying wheels around the monastery! The day before Yonatan tried to count them, but since he went fast and Boaz stayed with Naama who wanted to check so many things on the way, he got confused and was not certain of his count. This time, with joined forces they were running together spinning the wheels and counting them.

We completed a half circle and got to the farthest end of the monastery from our hotel (and from any viable shelter) when it started to rain.... a few minutes later the rain turned to hail... most other Kora walkers around us increased the pace of their walk just like we did. Others made marks for themselves where they got and started running for shelter. But, we were not deterred. We had a mission to accomplish (counting the wheels) and we were committed to complete it. And we did.

We found shelter under one of the little shrines and continued our walk when the hail stopped and the rain slowed. By the time we completed the circle we were mostly wet, but Yonatan and Daniella counted 1361 praying wheels and we felt like we accomplished something!

We went for a late lunch in a small restaurant in town where we made sure to sit next to the stove to dry up. Ironically, the weather seemed to clear for the entire duration we sat in the restaurant and turned to cold and drizzling again as soon as we went out.... so, we had no choice and went directly from the Snow Mountain restaurant where we had lunch to the Nomad restaurant for drinks...

TRAVEL TIPS:

• GO?: Yes. It is one of the most spiritual places we've been to in China and the monastery in particular is both impressive and interesting.

• Hotel: we spent the five nights in XiaHe in three hotels as we could not find one we liked... The Red Rock Youth Hostel is quaint and cozy and had a nice atmosphere like most youth hostels do, but has no showers or toilets in the room, which is hard for us to manage with three kids. It also did not serve breakfast. The Oversees Tibetan hotel, which is the default place for foreigners to stay at felt too much like a low end hotel for us with the detachment feeling of a hotel room, but high price of a hotel. They do, however, have English speaking people on staff and are friendly and accommodating and helpful in organizing trips and ideas for activities in the area. The Labrang Baoma Hotel is geared towards Chinese tourists, but it has large rooms with two or three beds and toilet/showers in the room, like the other hotels in the area, but also has a nice interior courtyard and curtains over the entrance doors to the room which makes a nice feel to the place. It is the one we enjoyed the most in the end of the day.

• Restaurants: we tried most of the recommended restaurants from the LP guidebook and while we found the Snow Mountain Cafe mediocre, the Nomad Restaurant was our favorite for its commanding views of monastery Kora and the lovely local clientele there.

• Activities: we did not do much of the activities in the city, but among the ones we did do, we really enjoyed doing the Kora, the leisurely walk is great for mingling with the locals in their religious walk, doing the outer Kora hike along the mountain behind the monastery is a very nice walk providing fantastic views of the monastery. It is especially enticing in the early morning when more people walk it singing their religious chants, but note that if you do it early morning, the sun will be in your face making photo taking harder. The monastery tour is interesting and worth the money especially if like us you are eager to learn and ask a lot of questions beyond the standard explanations.

• Buses: as said on wikitravel, be sure to bring two (2) copies of your passport and Chinese visa when you come to buy bus tickets to XiaHe as you might not be allowed to buy the tickets without them and there may not be available places to make copies near by. This is especialy true for LangZhou. The bus rides from LangZhou and to LangMuSi are both beautiful if you can stay awake to enjoy the views...

• Souvenirs: we were told that XiaHe is a great place to buy souvenirs since they are cheaper and more authentic than most other places. E found some nice things in nice stores along the main road, though enjoyed and were even more successful in LangMuSi for this activity.

 

Edna and Amir, Vered's parents, had an opportunity to stay a few days with us ahead of a business trip to China and we thought that Xi-An would be a good place. We planned our time to match theirs and booked at apartment for us for the 9 days we planned to be together in the city. Vered found The Warriors' Apartment on tripadvisor and it seemed like a good fit for us: a good location in the center of town next to the Muslim quarter and the Bell Tower, specious two bedrooms with a pull-up sofa in the living room, lots of Terra-Cotta statues to get the city's vibe, a washing machine and a small kitchen to give us flexibility in our daily errants and an owner who is also a tour guide for some of the sites we wished to see.

Clarence, the owner, seemed like a very good guy from the first time we talked to him. He helped us buy train tickets from Xi-An to GuangZhou when we first arrived in town, picked us up from the train station, and helped us pick up our bags from the youth hostel we stayed at before and showed us a slew of small benefits to make life good for us: free internet, lots of food and drinks for us to enjoy in the apartment including 4 different kinds of breads, plenty of water and beer bottles, abundant of fruits, one of the the porches had a sandbox, the living room had a TV and DVD with a few DVDs for the kids to watch (including a few episodes of The Monkey King!) and we even got a free mobile phone to be used in Xi-An!

The apartment is full of life size Terra-Cotta soldiers in the walls and one of the closets had a set of customs for us to dress up with like warriors and even weapons to play with! We all liked it and the kids loved it!

We had a long list of things we wanted to do in Xi-An. In fact, when we thought about it, we figured we probably will not have enough time for them all... and yet, we found ourselves spending far less time than we envisioned going to sites and more time sitting in Starbucks or in the apartment chit-chatting, reading, and relaxing...

Some of the reason is due to the jet-lag of Edna and Amir. Some due to Vered's back pains that resurfaced (she had some when we were in Thailand and Ho Chi Mihn City in Vietnam, but got cured by a wonderful therapeutic massage in HCMC). And some was due to the heat wave that engulfed us and made going out quite undesirable during mid days. Anad the day the heat wave disappeared, we woke up in the morning and it was pouring rain to the extent that we did not leave the apartment until late in the afternoon. It kept raining and being chilli for the next three days...

So, we enjoyed a slow pace week. We woke up late, ate long breakfasts in the apartment, played a bit, then went to Starbucks for a coffee break where we would often stay for 2-3 hours playing cards, read, etc. Then, we would do one activity, which normally would be visiting one site like the Bell and Drum Towers or walking the streets of the Muslim Quarter, or visiting the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Often we would skip lunch and head to an early dinner around 6pm or so, after which we would head back to the apartment and play and read some more.

So, what will we remember from Xi-An? Well, here's our top 12 list:

12) Vered's Birthday. A very low key birthday this time around, but we had deserts at a desert place near the hostel we stayed at, then a nice Indian lunch the following day (Darbar near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda).

11) Bell and Drum Towers. Most ancient cities had these two towers in them and most kept them as symbols of their past. The ones in Xi-An each have a performance in them which is run a few times a day, but is not as impressive as the heart-pounding drum beating show in BeiJing's Drum Tower. The Bell tower does have an self audio guide with some interesting information, especially regarding the few dozen wood carved pictures on the exterior walls.

10) The Great Mosque and Muslim Quarter. The Muslim quarter is an interesting and important part of the fabric of Xi-An as it is where the Hui minority people mostly live. The place has a romantic Arab feel and mystique to it, but was not as interesting as we had expected. We only spent a short time visiting the mosque, which is quite interesting so it is a very Chinese temple looking architecture with Arabic writings and strong emphasis on the blue color.

9) The City Wall. We received conflicting views on the wall. Some said it is a lovely one to walk on, while other said it is boring. We took our chance one day and went on it. We started at the north gate and headed eastwards. On the first stretch there were giant statues that were left there from some party, maybe the New Year's one and those were cool. But, besides those, the views are not interesting: Xi-An has nothing to show for a skyline and the territory inside the city walls is not filled with old buildings like in other cities we visited (PingYao, DaLi, LiJiang, etc.) and so there is no charm in walking the wall. We will remember, however, that we could not find a place to get off the wall for quite some time and ended up doing a long march, way beyond our original plans...

8) ShuYuan Youth Hostel. We had a great time on the two nights we stayed in this well run hostel before our journey to Hong Kong to get a new visa. The cookie preparation party and dumpling preparation party were fun, the 2-3 other young kids were a delightful change for the kids and the specious courtyard a wonderful place for us to hang out in on the evenings.

7) Warriors Apartment. The apartment we stayed at was very very cool and convenient. It had close to two dozen life-size Terra-Cotta soldier statues in it and a few other smaller ones. It also had customs for us to dress in, DVD with a wonderful episode of The Monkey King, books on the Terra-Cotta Army, a sand box and more. The owners were very lovely and caring and we had great time with them and in the apartment. After we visited the Terra-Cotta army site with Clarence as the guide, he purchased a few small figures of soldiers and a horse and hid them in the sandbox for the kids to search and take home as present the ones they find. A nice touch!

6) Cave Dwellings. A stop on our way to visit the Terra-Cotta army was interesting in this small village where people for over 600 years have been living in caves.

5) Hospital Visits. Vered for her dislocated disk and Yonatan to take out his loose upper front tooth. For more details you'll have to talk to Vered and Yonatan.

4) Starbucks. Even in our years in the Bay Area, I do not think we went so often to the Starbucks...

3) Time with Amir and Edna. After so many months without the grandparents, it is fun spending time with them, especially as we did it in such a leisurely way.

2) A close second is the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. The site of XuanZang's suttras was incredible to experience especially due to the background info we got rom the book about the 6^th century Chinese monk and his epic journey to India along the Silk Road. And of course the great park next to the pagoda which is full with amazing bronze life size statues of real life activities from the past.

1) The usual suspect won the race on this one: Emperor QinShiHuang's underground city and Terra-Cotta Army is definitely the most memorable site for us in the city.

“Visiting China without visiting the Terracotta Army is like not visiting China” was said by French President Jaques Chiraque when he visited the site of the impressive army of Terracotta soldiers near Xi-An. The place was also voted as The Eighth Wonder of the World and is central on just about every tour to China (along side BeiJing's Forbidden City, the Great Wall and the karsts in Guilin-YangShou). So, who are we fight the current? Besides, by now, we know a thing or two about China and were quite curious to see the intriguing site.

I dare to say that despite all that we have ready about the site ahead of going there, we found ourselves surprised by the scale of the site. Everybody heard about the Terracotta soldiers, of course. And they are as impressive as you can imagine from the photos and books and movies. 6000 infantry soldiers were found in Pit 1, 1100 of them have been restored and are presented to the crowd. Close to a thousand archers and cavalry soldiers together with 64 chariots were found in Pit 2 and another few dozen soldiers found in Pit 3, among them 4 generals.

There is so much to say about this site, but then so much has been said and written about it that we do not wish to or see much value in repeating it here. What we found amazing is the level of detail in the statues: the hair on the soldiers' heads, the knots on their cloths, the bend of their pants/robes due to their heel pushing against their butts when they kneel, the intricate colors used to paint them and more, and more and more. The scale is of course amazing too: 7500+ (slightly larger than life-size) figures identified to-date.

But, as much as these views were amazing, learning of how they were made was even more intriguing. We were lucky to stay at an apartment rented to us by a guy who provides tours to visitors. He started as a taxi driver giving tours to visitors about 20 years ago, self-taught himself English and slowly expanded his services and clientele. As he gained experience with the tour, and faced with some troubling questions from some of the more inquisitive guests, he started to doubt the accuracy and validity of the “official” story about the Terra Cotta Soldiers, how they were made and how ere they lost in time until being discovered in 1974.

He started to learn more about Daoism, archeology, history of China and in particularly the Qin dynasty and armed with this knowledge, developed his own theory why is it burnt and how come a place of such scale got lost in time? That's the main questions raised when seeing this site. His theory is similar to the official one in many aspects, but different enough to be interesting and seemingly makes more sense.

The official theory states that the place was burnt by rebels who rebelled against the Qin dynasty soon after the emperor QinShiHuang dies. They came to robe the place of precious items as well as weapons and burned it partially to hide their actions and partially as revenge in the tyrant emperor. This explanation does not seem to be consistent with the fact that over 40,000 weapons were found in the site as well as many precious items. It also seems to be in odds with the fact that not all soldiers in the pits were broken, the fact that the place is underground, which would have made it very hard to burn (wood would have been wet) and does not help answer the question how was it lost in time.

Clarence's theory is that the place was burnt by Qin's people on his command. He bases this theory on Daoism belief (that still exists today!) that burning items is a means of sending those items to relatives who died. People throughout China burn paper money and many other items during holidays and burial ceremonies for that same objective. Emperor Qin ordered, according to Clarence's theory, his Terracotta army burned so it is sent to him for his afterlife. To support his theory, Clarence believes that the ground level was much lower at those days, making the soldiers stand just slightly under ground level and their roof over ground, which made it easy to burn. Since the place was burnt, it did not lure thieves and over time as heavy rain poured over the nearby Li mountains, soil from those mountains (that were cleared of the trees that used to cover them in order to build the sites below) started to cover the burnt site. At some point, the weight of the soil forced the ceiling to collapse, breaking the soldiers underneath.

The weight of the soil and collapse of the ceiling is the reason, therefore, for the soldiers's breakage and not human activity. This is why, soldiers on the sides on the pit did not break as much as those in the middle. Furthermore, kneeling soldiers (archers) were mostly in tact when found, while standing soldiers were mostly broken. This further supports Clarence theory.

Clarence even published a book about his theory and we found copies of it in the apartment. It is an interesting perspective that makes a lot of sense, though we are not scholars of the place to the level that we can really substantiate it beyond the previous statement... nevertheless, it made for a very interesting tour.

And if that is not all, we learned more fascinating things about the place. For example, the Terracotta army was found in three pits. However, since then, 400 additional pits were found. Yes, 400 (four hundred) is not a typo! Those pits were found on an over all area of 56 skm making it the largest burial site in the world (size matters in China!). Those other 400 pits were also full of Terra-Cotta figures, but not soldiers. They were musicians, artists, acrobats, stablemen, and more. The emerging theory here is that Qin did not just build an army for his afterlife. He built a full scale city!

Unfortunately, the other pits are not open to the public yet. The emperor's tomb, which stands under a visible hill in the center of the 56 skm site, has not excavated yet of archeologists fear of losing items inside due to lack of sophisticated enough methods, technology and techniques to prevent the items from quick decay. But, I am sure they will be at some point. And when that happens, the tour of the place is likely to be much different and even more interesting.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Yes, it is definitely a worthwhile site to visit.

• You should probably budget about 3-4 hours (net) for the visit, and more if you want to get into more details in the museum.

• The site that is open to the public currently enables access to the 3 warrior pits, plus a room with a short movie in English that presents the official theory about the place and a museum with items and some explanation about the other yet-to-be-open to the public pits. They are all worth visiting.

• Clarence is a good guide, knowledgeable, speaks English well and like I stated above, has an interesting perspective on the place. +86-135-1919-7819.

• Clarence's suggested tour starts at a Daoist temple in Xi-An, then goes to a visit a cave dwelling village, a stop for lunch and then the Terracotta site. We left at 9:30am and came back around 6pm. It was a good tour and appropriate time for all the sites.

• It is worthwhile reading about the site ahead of visiting it. There are also some movies about Qin and the site that are interesting.

When we told our friends we are going on this trip, we received all kind of recommendations from many people how to maximize our experiences. Most people specified places they advised us to visit, a few forwarded us photos and sites with good info. Others advised us on of good hotels or restaurants to go to and even people to meet and get assisted by in case of need. A couple of good friends referred us to books about China that would further help us gain a perspective on the country. One of those books was Rob Gifford's China Road – A jurney into the future of a rising power, which I received as an Audio-book from my dear friend Tao Wang who described it as one of the best books he has read/listened to about China and I must concur.

Another book was Sun ShuYun's Ten Thousand Miles Without A Cloud which was recommended to me by Cathy Write, another CMU classmate, who described it as one of the books that left the most lasting impressions on her, and here as well, I fully agree. Sun ShuYun is a Chinese woman who was born in China and experienced the full extent of the revolution as a child before getting sent to study in Oxford in England. Her book is her travel journey following the footsteps of a Chinese monk named XuanZang who in the 7^th century went from China along the Silk Road to India in order to bring original Buddhist sutras in order to translate them to Chinese with his followers in China.

XuanZang's importance is huge and went goes well beyond Buddhism and farther than his time. He kept and produced a diary of his journey, called The Record, that was so detailed and so unique to the time that in the 19^th century, the British explorers who traveled central Asia looking for archeological sites to explore (and bring to England) used XuanZang's record to locate sites and cities that were lost in history many centuries before. The level of detail explanations in The Record enabled them to locate lost places to the preciseness of tens of meters in some cases! This level of detail also raised the theory that alongside his religious objective, XuanZang also served the Chinese emperor by producing him the most detailed guide to all the important kingdoms to his west, in case the emperor wished to launch wars on any of them.

The book mashes together wonderfully XuanZang's fascinating 18-year journey, Sun's travels to the sites along the fascinating-on-its-own Silk Road, Buddhism historical facts and her personal life story. Despite being the book with the most extensive vocabulary I have yet to encounter (read: has the most words I did not recognize...), I could not stop reading it and must say it is one of the most memorable books I have ever read.

With such a background, no wonder we were very eager to see the actual site where it all started and ended!

The name of the pagoda comes from a Buddhist saying: “Bury a wild goose and build a pagoda”. I could not get to the bottom of this one, but I am sure someone did and the site was build in the 7^th century with the specific objective to house the sutras XuanZang brought with him. At the time, it must have been one of the largest monasteries in China not only because Xi-An, then called ChangAn, was the capital of the Chinese empire, but also due to XuanZang's achievements. Over the years as Buddhism declined in power in China, so did the monastery. Still, it remained a most important site for devotees and a place with some important artifacts, some from XuanZang's time. It survived the cultural revolution as one of the last monks in it pretended to be crazy and prevented the young red guards from entering and destroying it.

The pagoda itself has unfortunately very little to show for its past glory. We climbed to the top (5^th) floor and although the views of the wide avenues going directly at the pagodas from 3 sides are quite impressive, there were no signs or explanation boards about the site or some of the very few artifacts in it. Thankfully, and despite the late hour, we decided to wonder the paths of the monastery a little bit before leaving and encounter a few wonderful places. Unlike the sign-free and English-free pagoda, the monastery has a lot of signs and a few of them in English describing the places: the XuanZang school, the temple, etc.

On some of a walls in the courtyards of the monastery buildings we found old photos of the pagoda, many of which from the very early 20^th century as well as a few drawings from earlier times. Those were very interesting to see and added a lovely different perspective to our visit. To fully gain appreciation to the place we sat in one of the courtyards and just relaxed for a few minutes enjoying the views and letting the kids play around. Along the visit, we told Edna, Amir, Yonatan and Daniella about the book we red and explained to them of the significance of the place. It seems like we were the last people to leave the site that day...

It was a most interesting visit indeed. We wished there were more English signs, or even an audio-tour like in so many other places we visit but, oh well.

Upon exiting the monastery site, we strolled a bit in the statue-full gardens to the west of the site and then let the kids play in the small amusement park to its north. Then we watched the lovely water and music show and had a lovely dinner at a restaurant called: “The First Noodle Under the Sun”. A catchy name...

TRAVEL TIPS:

• The pagoda site is an interesting one to visit, with the monastery being more interesting and with more English explanations that the pagoda itself.

• If you can have a guide for the place, it should be useful.

• Since there is limited amount of explanation about the site and even less in English, coming here ahead of reading about XuanZang and the site in detail must leave the visitor unimpressed. Reading about it is therefore quite important.

• Sun ShuYun's Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud is a great book about XuanZang. Here's one review of the book: http://www.dharmalife.com/issue23/tenthousand.html

• The park next to the pagoda site is a lovely one to stroll around and enjoy the statues.

• The water and music show on the water fountains to the north of the pagoda site takes place at 8pm and is lovely.

• We found two restaurants that are nice places for dinner if you look for places nearby the pagoda: First Noodle Under the Sun is a Chinese one and Darbar is an Indian one. We ate and enjoyed them both.

One of the undisputed agreements we had before coming to China and throughout our trip here is that we must avoid going to hospitals here as much as possible. So far (knock on wood...), by and large, we were quiet successful in that task. Enough to say that surprisingly, none of us had fever for the entire time we were here to state we have been pretty good keeping illnesses away from us. I guess we eat well and are outside a lot, which are two good ways to avoid sickness. We also try our best to maintain high hygiene level using hand sterilizers a lot and in general do not save food from day to day. That said, we live and we travel and things happen...

We dogged our first need for a visit to a hospital in China right on the first month of our trip when Naama caught pneumonia. We called our dear friend Aya who is also a great pediatrician in Israel and after few discussions she advised us how to treat Naama with the antibiotics we brought with us. This recipe was successful as Naama looked and felt better the next day.

The second time we needed a hospital was when Naama got her foot stuck inside the bicycle wheel of the bike we rode in YangShuo. This time we needed to verify she did not break anything and treat her horrible deep scratch and therefore we went to a hospital in ZhongShan, GuangDong. This was a quick, smooth and successful visit: a doctor check-up, x-ray, creams and bandages and we're out.

The third time we were debating the need for a hospital is when Vered started feeling a very severe lower back pain in Thailand. But since we were on a small island, we opted to wait until we reach a bigger city. That bigger city was Ho Chi Mihn City in southern Vietnam. Here we were able to avoid a hospital as Vered got a very good treatment by a Chinese alternative medicine physician who used a therapeutic massage to evaporate her pain.

In BeiJing, when Naama had a nasty fall and got a pretty severe cut under her lip, we contemplated going to the hospital, but finally decided against it.

In Xi-An, however, we found two more reasons to go to the hospital. The first is when we noticed that one of Yonatan's front teeth is coming in front of the one it is suppose to push out instead of pushing it out. We asked the guy we rent the apartment from for a recommended clinic to go and check it and probably pull the loose tooth out and he offered to join us to the Number 2 Hospital near the north gate and help translate what is needed.

We got to the small hospital around 11:30 and registered: Yonatan wrote his Chinese name on the registration form and we paid the 5 RMB registration fee. A quick explanation of the issue to the nurse at the reception and she directed us to a room on the 3^rd floor. We climb up and find a large room with two rows of 6 or 7 dentist chairs each and one women having a bowl of noodles for lunch. Clarence, our “landlord” explains the situation and she replies that if we were adults she would have us wait until after lunch time, but for a child she'll take a quick look.

She wipes her hands and point us to one of the chairs. It's not new, but looks sophisticated and clean enough. Yonatan sits down and the women (Doctor? Nurse?) takes a seat next to it and looks at his teeth. Through Clarence I explain the situation (he fell a couple of years back and hurt his upper two front teeth. One of them since has already fallen and a new one grew underneath it, but this one, while loose has not yet fallen and now we have discovered that the new tooth is starting to come up in front of it. She checks the tooth quickly and sees how loose it is. She asks me (through Clarence) if I want to give Yonatan a pain killer injection before she takes the loose tooth out or just pull it out. I thought an injection would be a good idea as I do not know how loose or tight is the tooth. I force Clarence to tell her I insist on a new unused needle, but they seem to be using only new needles.

When the women goes to prepare the injection I show Yonatan the window in front of him and tell him this is the window through which the brick is thrown out (the one that is connected by a thin wire to his ill tooth...). He laughs. Clarence pinched in that in China sometimes they use another method: they hold the brick and throw the child out... Yonatan finds it hard to hold back his laughter. Good.

The women comes back, cleans the area, makes the injection, pulls the loose tooth out, clean the place again and ten minutes later we step out of there after paying, of course, for the treatment the full 20 RMB...

In parallel, Vered' back pains repeat. After a couple of back pains that make her movement hard and sitting even harder, she goes to do a special massage, but this time it does not help. If anything, it makes her feel even worse. The next day we go to the hospital in the suburbs that treats foreigners.

Around 11:00am the cab driver leaves us in front of the building and we see not a single sign in English. Vered suggests we go back, but we walk in to try and find someone who speaks English. The receptionist does not talk with us, but rather walks us to the second floor to the VIP reception. Here we are assigned a beautiful young women (Doctor? Nurse? Assistant?) to walk us through whatever we need. She wears a red US Military football shirt (number 82 under her white hospital gown) and I can't help but think whether they keep the beautiful ones for foreigners...

We explain the issue and she leads us to the third floor. When we see the “Orthopedic” sign above the door we are relived. She understands us. There is a line of people in front of the doctor's office, but she walks straight in and motions us to follow her. We do.

Inside two doctors sit on the two sides of a small 1x1 meter square table that stands next to the window and see patients. They consult each other every once in a while, listen to patients and write prescriptions. We explain them the issue, but since their English seems very limited we call Clarence on the mobile phone so he can further explain it. After a short Q&A via the phone translator the senior doctor suggest he believes Vered had dislocated a disc, and suggests she does an MRI to confirm it.

The beautiful woman takes us to pay the MRI fee and then to the MRI office to get an appointment. They have no ability to do it today and suggest tomorrow. We suggest we do a CT instead. The women seems to think it is OK, but confirms with the doctor. He agrees. We go back to the counter to get a refund for the MRI and then pay for the CT. We then walk to the CT office. They can take us immediately.

By 11:45 we are after CT and going out. The woman tells us to come back at 2pm to see the doctor. We make it out just as the hospital shuts down for lunch. It is bizarre: everybody goes on break. They even turn off the escalators... we go to find a place for a light lunch and some quiet time (it is very handy to have the grandparents in town when you need to go to the hospital to take care of the kids!)

At 2pm sharp we climb to the second floor to meet the woman again. She walks us to the other wing of the hospital, one that looks FAR less impressive: the paint is peeling from the dirty walls of the hallways, the old floor is dirty, the rooms are full with people lying in old beds and the whole place feels depressing. I joke to Vered that they decided to hospitalize her for a couple of days and visitors in general and men in particular are not allowed here. She does not think it is funny...

The last room on the left has a long table and looks like a conference room of some kind. We meet the same doctor who saw us in the morning and he takes us to the room next to it where a small treatment bed lays. He motions to Vered to lay on it, face down and upon looking at the CT declared in a bit broken English that his hypothesis has been confirmed and Vered indeed has a dislocated disc and he will fix it for her immediately. Vered is more concerned with whether she can actually leave after the treatment and he says “yes” with a smile.

After Vered asked to replace the sheet of the bed (for good reasons), and less than 10 minutes and some painful pushes later we leave the room with Vered's disc back in his place and with elastic belt , she walks much better. The woman, who has indeed been with us all throughout our time in the hospital takes us to the pharmacy for some medicines. Like before, she handles everything and just ask us for the money and provides us with the receipts. Another 10 minutes and we're in the taxi back to Starbucks to meet the kids and grandparents.

We conclude that it was another positive visit to a Chinese hospital and wish to not have any more...

• Daniella's uncontrollable screams of joy when she saw grandma Ruthi in the airport in Yangon.

• Walking in the fantastic pagoda site at In-Dein, a grasshopper jumped on Daniella and then jumped away scared. She got really scared and started crying, so I told her grasshoppers do not eat people, but rather grass or maybe dirt. Her reply was: “what if it wanted to eat some dirt out of my ear?”... after a few minutes she (hen I thought she forgot about it completely) she continued with a worried voice: “we need to find it. It may be hurt or something. Because it hit me and since I drank milk this morning I have very strong bones...”

• “Why do we deserve all of this?...” Vered murmuring sarcastically while looking at the incredible and oh-so-peaceful water in Ngwe Saung beach in Myanmar

• “I have good news and bad news”, Yonatan at the tail end of one long breakfast in Ngwe Saung beach. “the good news is that Naama lift her dress and peed. The bad news is that she peed on Daniella's activity book”... Potty training has its costs... :-)

• “TA-IM” (means tasty in Hebrew and pronounced here with very loud, deep voice). We were walking on the beach in Ngwe Saung among literally hundreds of crabs in different sizes and colors, most of which, feast-size red ones. As we crossed one that was extra large, I told the kids this one is so big, we (or at least the locals) can actually eat it and it must be quite tasty. So, Yonatan decided we should shout “TA-IM” at the crabs we see to scare them away: they must fled when they hear us talking about them being tasty as they will fear of us wanting to eat them... and so we walked on the beach and Yonatan, Daniella and Naama were screaming TA-IM at the crabs.

• Some Naama's language AKA baby-talk: “ma-niv” (short of magniv, meaning cool or neat in Hebrew), “lo-tze-loom” (short of: lo yotze kloom, which means nothing is coming out and refers to one of the options when sitting on the toilet seat...), “Naama, lo Naama” (Naama explaining to people how to properly pronounce her name. In Myanmar girls were all over her laughing their heart out repeating her name and provoking her to say it again and again...)

• While at Haad Son resort in Koh Pha Ngan, Boaz took Daniella, Yonatan and Maayan, a 7-year old son of a couple of very nice Israelis we met on the beach, to climb some rocks on the edge of the resort and reach the far-most point from the resort towards the sea. When we got to the last rock, I challenged the kids to jump from the rock into the deep dark blue waters. They did without even blinking. Then we saw Maayan's father on the beach and waved at him to see the kids jump. I then told them to wait until I rush back to get my camera and take photos of them. Maayan asked that while I go to get the camera, I shall also alert his father to watch him jump. I told him I do not plan to go all the way to the beach, which was too far around the little bay from where we were. He looked at me as if I do not understand anything and with an almost accusatory voice said: “just tell him on the internet”...

• Shooit – Naama's recent addition to her nick names for people who travel with us. After she named Itzik Krymolovski Pitsip, and Connie became Pooni, she now renamed Orit (Lotan): Shooit... Sheooit in Hebrew, by the way, is the name for pees, so Orit now has a catchy vegetable name which is so cute, we all started to call her that...

• Naama describes to grandma Edna how we travel: “we walk, we walk, we walk, then we reach a restaurant. Then we walk, we walk, we walk, then we reach a hotel. And that's it”.

• “Mas shooit”: “ve im kvar be-shooit askinan...”, Orit's term for tasting from the meals of any of us, mostly from the kids. We liked the term so much, we startd using it among ourselves as well even after she left and did not even bother to change it to another name. Mas shooit seemed perfect for taking a lick of an ice cream cone, a bite from a cookie, etc.

• “Daddy told me a swollen tip is a goof feeling, but it's not!” Daniella wakes up in the middle of the night bus from XiaMen from ShenZhen with a swollen upper lip and out of a dream makes the above statement...

• “I don't understand why the call it the Western Lake, there is nothing Western here, it's all Chinese...” Yonatan commenting about The Western Lake in HangZhou.

• “You know why I miss Israel so mush, Daddy?” Yonatan in a moment of deep thoughts at ShanHaiGuan in HuBei province. “You know how when we get to many youth hostels, they have DVDs and we choose from them a movie to see? Well, the problem is that all the DVDs are in English and many of the movies I do not know, so I can not enjoy them. I want to go to Israel so I can go with Grandma Ruthy to see more movies and then when we'll go to our next long trip like this, I can choose of many more DVDs in youth hostels...”

• Naama's talk gets very specific with her Hebrew: “ani rotsa lalechet im ata”, “lashevet al hi”, ani lo yodaat ma shem shel hoo...”, “gam ani otza la'azor le atem”...

• Vered to Daniella who is in the shower in our apartment in Xi-An: “Daniella, what I gave you is shampoo or conditioner?”. Daniella: “conditioner”. Vered: “oh, pity, I wanted you to wash your head with shampoo first”. Daniella: “don't worry, mommy, you can not change the past, I learned that in The Lion King, but you can give me some shampoo and I can wash my hair, if you want”....

• “Daniella, look a human skull!!”, Yonatan showing Daniella a skull in the Terra-Cotta museum. “Hey, Yonatan, look closely at the skull, hat do you see here on the side?”. Boaz to Yonatan pointing to an arrowhead stuck in the skull's side, about where the ear is. Yonatan's response: “It's a hearing device”...

The oh-so-lovely Renaissance Harbor View hotel became our sanctuary for holidays while in China... When we planned to go from Xi-An to Hong Kong for a few days to get a new visa to China, we very quickly decided to book a room here again and not even try another hotel. It is that nice and comfortable and spoiling. From the large extra comfy bed in the spacious room in front of Hong Kong's fantastic harbor view, to the amazing sheets to the bathroom to the pool to the lounge – all of it. And for us with all the less than perfectly convenient travel experiences, coming back here is like a small vacation we take.

On the way, we made bets on which floor we will get and which room type and what food will be served in the lounge on the day we arrive (they change every day!). In fact, as we stepped into the room (again room number 21, only in a different floor this time...) Vered asked the kids if it feels a bit like home to them... 5 minutes in the room and we were all in our swimming suites heading to the pool. Two hours later, we were after a lovely shower in the lounge enjoying the happy hour o'dorve. Three hours later Naama and I went to sleep in our comfy beds while Vered took Yonatan and Daniella to see the light show on the other side of the harbour and later to a short stroll to see the old police station which was pretty cool with different old devices to get information in and out to the ships in the harbour.

The plan for the following day was the same: lounge, pool, lounge... after we apply for our visa to China, which is the reason why we came here in the first place. The visa process was quick and simple and we concluded it in less than an hour “door to door” (that is from the door of our room on the way out to the same door when we came back...). The rest of the day followed our plan to the tee: we swam in the pool and spent a lot of time in the lounge doing activity books, reading, writing, and snacking. We did go out, though, for a fantastic lunch with Jasmine, a classmate of Vered from CMU at our favorite dim-sum place at the Resource Building.

The following day, well, was kind of the same story, with a small twist: Vered went shopping! She took Yonatan with her and went to buy some favorite foods for our 26+2 hour train ride back to Xi-An the following day and a few additional must have items like new shirts for her, ipod for Yonatan (he lost his when he forgot his bag in the BeiJing airport in Feb and since we anticipate a few very long rides along the Silk Road, we thought it is a worthy investment), and a new small digital camera (we lost our first one in JiuZaiGou and the second one in XiaMen...).

But, besides that, it went as we planned with a lot of pool time and some play ground time (there is a nice play ground at the hotel) and long meals and a lot of Cartoon Network for the kids and lovely bed sheets and long baths... you know, a vacation...

On Wednesday morning, we're all business: wake up early to pick up our visas and go straight to the train station to catch our 2-hour speed train to GuangZhou and there our 26 hour train to Xi-An. We said good-byes to all the staff members, many of which have recognized us from the two previous times we were here and even commented on how the kinds, Naama in particular, have grown up... we promised them to come back in July for our final few days here before we complete our year in China and head back to Israel.

The two hour train ride to GuangZhou East train station are going quite uneventful if you exclude the fact that Naama wanted to go to the rest-room while the train was still on the Hong Kong side of the border. Hong Kong, of course, is a sterile place. Toilets on trains in China, of course, are open chutes to the tracks. This contradiction is a catch 22... The resolution is simple: toilets are closed throughout the time the train is on the Hong Kong side. Now, that probably works for most adults, but try to tell it to a two-year old and you'd find this a very tough sell... They made an exception and opened it up for us for a couple of minutes...

In GuangZhou East train station we went through a border crossing (they take it seriously between Hong Kong and China) and got the new visas in our passports stamped. The count of 30 days starts today... we also met a dog who sniffed some fruits in our bags. They have confiscated two apples we had at the bottom of the stroller. They missed the other two apples and two bananas we had in the food bag ready for the oatmeal we planned to prepare for breakfast. I guess they do not take that agriculture product check that serious after all...

From GuangZhou East we took a subway to GuangZhou train station. GuangZhou train station is the most hectic one we have seen in China to-date. It is messy as much as it is dirty. Thankfully, we had enough time to find our way and get on our train. Also most helpful was the fact that we only had two bags and a few small plastic bags with us as we left the two large bags in Xi-An and another roller one in Hong Kong ready for its shipment with us to Israel. The lightness of traveling with so few bags is enviable...

The train to Xi-An left on schedule at half past two pm and we spent the next 26 hours on it. Thankfully, the two other people in our 6-pack were quiet and harmless and did not disturb us. In fact, one of them, a 20-some year old girl from Kyrgyzstan turned out to be a lovely neighbor the next morning as she and a friend of hers from the next-by bed became Daniella's and Naama's best friends and played with them (play-dough, cards, lego...) for over 6 hours giving us some quiet time for ourselves, while they seem to have enjoyed it.

All in all, this ride proved once again that our kids behave so much better and consequently our time is so much better on long rides compared with shorter ones. This 26 hour train ride was quite easy going if you ignore the occasional meltdown of Naama that in recent weeks has become a bit unbearable at times.

 

We arrived in Xi-An on a night train from PingYao and based on our experiences with the last train ride, were ready to get off WAYYYY before the train arrived in its station... The train station in Xi-An is a very messy and hectic place and we were glad to have arranged for someone from the hostel we reserved a room at to come pick us up. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the available room at the hostel looked too small for us and Vered was able to find a room at the hostel on the other side of the old town. We took a taxi over and fell at home at the place from first sight. It just had this homy feel to it and the staff was so welcoming and friendly. A nice touch are also the free coupons for beer and coffee we got and put to good use!

We got a room with three beds and settled in. The hostel is a converted old Chinese house with three courtyard separating the lobby from the room areas and the restaurant. The kids found the courtyards wonderful to play with, especially as there were other guests with kids there as well. Naama in particular was delighted to find a 2 year old Dutch girl and shared all her toys with her for the next two to three hours...They played happily until one of the staff members announced a cookie making party!

Vered was reading in the room and I was writing for our blog and helping Yonatan with his Bible assignment and neither of us even felt the need to join the kids... I only walked over a half an hour or so later to take some photos of them and the half dozen or so other guests making cookies, though neither of them looked as flour-white as Naama... To our surprise, the cookies were actually very good, not too sweat and as thin as they should be. Of course, it helped that we all ate them immediately as they came out of the oven. Have you ever tasted cookies out of the oven that were bad?!?

Being April 29^th, though, we did want to celebrate Vered's birthday, and the kids got very excited at the occasion and both Yonatan and Daniella were especially keen on dressing up with their nicest cloths. So, we went out and sat in a coffee place to drink something and eat deserts. We then bought some cakes in a pastry shop for dinner deserts. Thing is, by the time we decided we want to go out to dinner, it was 9pm and we were all tired and decided to delay the party to the next day...

The next day Vered announced she wants an Indian restaurant for lunch and she even found the one she liked.. We followed the staff's direction to get to Delhi Darbar near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and had a lovely (and oh-so-Indian food heavy...) meal with all our favorites including Chichen Tikka Masala and Navratan Korma and Malai Kofta, all with good nan and rice and concluded with wonderful Indian chai!

After the large lunch we walked around the lovely park of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda and enjoyed the scores of statues in it. At the weekend amusement park that was set up on its edge the kids each picked one activity: Yonatan and Daniella took a sling-shot type device and once connected to a harness jumped up and down holding bungy-like cables.

We came back to the hostel just in time for the Friday event: a Dumpling Preparation Party! These guys have lovely ideas to get their guests to interact with one another and have a festivity feel to the place. We learned how to make the dough (water and flour only, very thin round shape pieces) and the stuffing (one vegie and one vegie with pork) and how to stuff the dumplings in a few different ways (moon, butterfly, lotus). 10 minutes later we all ate delicious boiled dumplings for dinner!

Our two days here were exactly what we needed for a relaxed two days without seeing any of Xian sights, before our 26+2 hour (26 from Xi-An to GuangZhou and 2 more from GuangZhou to Hong Kong) train ride the following day!

TRAVEL TIPS:

• ShuYuan Youth Hostel near the South Gate is indeed a delightful place with great attention to guests pleasure. A lovely place to stay!

• Darbar is a nice Indian restaurant near the Big Wild Goose Pagoda.

• The park to the west of the Big Wild Goose Pagoda features a wonderful collection of large statues. A nice place to spend an afternoon.

 

Living in caves has many advantages: they are much easier and cheaper to build and maintain compared to houses, provide better isolation from both winter cold and summer heat, and stand nature disasters much better in most cases. On the other hand, while most of them have been added to the power grip, electricity is not very reliable and there is no running water or modern sewage system for them. That said, according to our guidebook there are over three million people (!!) living in cave houses in the province of ShanXi. That's an astonishing number. It's about half the entire population of Israel! We had to check it out!

Our first encounter with the cave dwelling was during our day tour from DaTong to the Hanging Monastery. On the way, we spotted some absolutely lovely old houses and I asked the tour guide if we can stop at the village on our way back to take some photos. The village we stopped at turned out to be a cave dwelling village and as I ran up the hill to take some photos of it I ran across another cave where an old man called me in to show me his humble cave home. Since the tour guide pushed hard to keep going, I could not stay much time and none of the other passengers on the bus were allowed by the tour guide to go again to check the place up. But, the short visit definitely wet our appetite to see more.

Thankfully, the new addition of the LP guidebook had a section about cave dwellings and a recommendation for a site to visit not far from PingYao, which we planned to visit anyway. So, as soon as we got to PingYao, we looked for the opportunity to go. With some luck we Vered met a Dutch couple who also wanted to go to the cave village and they found a Slovenian couple who also wanted to go and so we all got on a small minibus and headed there.

Interestingly, the people in all the hostels around, both the one we stayed at and the others the other couples were at were not sure where exactly the place is... As it turned out, the directions in the LP were quite accurate and even better than some of the info provided to us by some of the locals, though the locals might have had some ulterior motive in selling us their own transportation or keeping prices up. In any event, the recommended village was a good four hour ride away in the car we rented, including a couple of stops by the hotel owner who accompanied us to get to know this place so many tourists recently are interested in) to clarify the directions from his GPS...

The car rides with other foreigners, something we do not do so often, seemed a bit surreal to us. The weather was bad, it was so cloudy, it was actually dark and at some point is started snowing and then hailing. The wind was beating hard and it was very very cold. On top of that, the road was strange. Soon after leaving PingYao the road turned into a dirt path in a bad shape and the drive felt like an off road one more than a road one. At some point closer to QiKou, the town from which we walked to the cave village, we passed a very long line of trucks waiting to be checked. They occupied the entire right lane of our road and when we noticed there are so many of them we started counting them. We reached 221 and considering we started after a good many have passed, there must have been over 300 of them in this line. Considering the length of each truck and the distance between them, this must have been a good 4-6 kilometer truck lane!

And throughout all of that, we were riding in this heated car with 4 other Europeans, completely isolated from the surroundings...

We left PingYao around 8:30 and by 12:30 arrived in QiKou. We including our driver and the hotel owner – were not even sure this was QiKou as there was no sign for it and the place we stopped at did not look like anything special or worth visiting. But, the hotel owner went to check and came back happy: this is QiKou. Now you crazy foreigners go see what you came here to see.... we told him we were really interested in seeing the cave dwelling village of LiJiaShan and that spurred another 15 minute conversation between him and a few locals that gathered around.

The conclusion of that discussion was that the village is on the other side of the mountain ridge that could be seen on the other side of the river. We asked if he can take us there with the car (the LP guidebook described that as a very duable thing), but after some additional consultation with the locals, they decided the car will not be up for the difficult task, and besides, there are cave dwellings in QiKou if we are really that interesting in seeing caves.

At that point we figured we have to just start walking. The wind was blowing very hard and it was very cold. But, we put our bags on – Yonatan and Daniella each had their bags, Vered had one large bag with all of our cloths for the night and another smaller one with some snacks and I have Naama in the back carrier and my camera – and we started climbing. The Slovenian couple decided to stay behind and explore QiKou and so did the Dutch girl. We were left with the Dutch guy only.

Shortly into the climb we spotted a small minibus that came along with a guy on a break from work who came to eat lunch at his house at the bottom of the hill and we (mainly Vered who ignored his gestures that he is going to eat) managed to convince him to take us to the village on the top of the hill. This was a good thing since the hike would have easily taken us over an hour and with the horrible weather condition, we might have given up and started to decline back.

But we made it to the village and boy, was that worth it!

LiJiaShan is indeed like the LP book describe it: “an absolute dream for travelers who want to get a first hand experience on ShanXi cave dwellings”. Sitting on both sides of a small valley amidst endless hills of terraces with its houses all built as caves into the hillside, it is as picturesque as a village can be. It is clear that the village used to be a wealthy one. Many of the buildings were decorated with intricate and most beautiful stone carvings. In one spot we could count 7 stories of cave dwellings one over the other!

The weather continued to be bizarre. It was still freezing temperature, but the wind stopped and the sun came out from behind the clouds. It continued to snow in and out and with the sun out, it was a strange experience: the sun was warming us and it was quite nice, but the snow kept coming down in large flakes.

We were lucky that it just happened that there was a group of 60 painting students from a university in HeBei in the village. They were completing three weeks of a semi vacation semi painting class in the village, which was a fabulous place for painting. They quickly gathered the two that spoke the best English and rushed to help us find a place to sleep – apparently, there is one and maybe two places that rent rooms for visitors in the village – and just chat with us as we were walking around the enchanting village.

Stepping into the B&B in the village, we quickly dropped “plan B”, which was: if the village is not as nice or it is too cold or the place to sleep is not up to par, we get back to PingYao with the Europeans”. It was so pretty and so authentic, we could not resist. We put our staff in the cave they showed us into (there were two others occupied with students from the group we met) and set out to explore the village.

We figured the village had about 150 or so “houses”, most of which have 3-5 caves each with a front yard corralled with a fence. Most have a nice gate at the entrance of that fence. Most of the caves, unfortunately, are deserted now as their inhabitants left elsewhere looking for work. The place used to be relying on agriculture and the multitude of terraces covering all the hills around it are a living proof that at some point in the village 500 year history, it was quite prosperous. But, times have changed and most of the people left. In fact, most of the people we saw in the village were very old women. We only saw a handful of people under 60. To tell the truth, that took away some of the beauty of the place as we would have liked to see more of a lively village activity, but we can't complain too much.

After a short walk around the village we came back to the hotel for Naama to take a nap and Yonatan and I went for another round in the village. Yonatan reminded me again how much he loves to go out only the two of us every once in a while and I was also happy to have some more quality time with him. We circled the entire village and even made it to the tiny stream at the bottom of the hill behind the village from where the villagers bring water to their caves. The village does not have running water or sewer system and even though we have seen a few electricity poles here and there, and a few electric devices (like a lamp in our cave and a washing machine near the kitchen outside in the yard), we could not see any evidence to working electricity in the village...

The woman who runs the B&B we stayed at and her son made dinner for us which was simple and good: slices of cold preserved meet, which is a ShanXi special, grain soup, steamed long string beans, steamed buns and rice. After dinner the woman brought us a candle, explained that the lights do not work and so does the oven in the room. We headed back to our caves to play some cards and shortly after the sun set down and her light disappeared everybody went to sleep.

The bed was a traditional old Chinese style bed: made of stone it was 4 meters long, 2 meters wide and about a meter tall. The stone is covered with a few layers of strings and cloth to make it comfortable and the blankets are extra thick and heavy. One bed is designed for the entire family and we all slept together. Surprisingly, we all slept very well. The bed was indeed comfy and the blankets very warming.

We woke up early as the people advised us to leave very early in order to catch the bus back to PingYao. We ate a quick Chinese breakfast: noodle soup and hard boil eggs and left. We actually rented a car to take us from the village to the town below, QiKou and farther to the next big town of LiShi from where we could more easily catch a bus to PingYao. The people were not sure when the bus comes and so advised us to go very early, a bit too early as it turned out as we arrived in LiShi around 9:30 and the bus only left at noon.

Throughout the ride Yonatan kept repeating to us that the “hotel” we just stayed at was one of the best we stayed at in China! Not only that the bed was very comfortable and the blankets very heavy and warming, and that sleeping in a cave is so unique and cool, but also the view form the hotel door was probably the most beautiful one on the village.

You got to love it when your kids get that kind of a perspective!

TRAVEL TIPS:

• If you plan to be in ShanXi, DEFINILTEY plan to go to LiJiaShan: it is so interesting and so cool!

• The directions in the LP guidebook are actually quite good, especially on the transportation from PingYao.

• If you come from PingYao you have to go through LiShi and then QiKou from where you can walk to the village.

• If you go by car, it is 4 hours from PingYao to QiKou on a road that is pretty good most of the way. The bus from LiShi to PingYao took us 3 hours.

• I can not vouch for the route from PingYao to QiKou since we took a car for that route, but on the way back there are three buses from LiShi to PingYao at: 7:30am, noon and 2:30pm.

• From QiKou to LiShi there should be 2-3 buses in the morning times. We saw a few buses next to the bridge in the middle of the town when we left at 8:00. By car it took us about 1.5 hours.

• It is feasible to do this as a day tour from PingYao if you rented a car and driver: leave at 7:00, arrive in QiKou at 11:00, spend 2 hours in QiKou and 2 hours in LiJiaShan and get back to PingYao around 7:00pm.

• But, you may want to stretch this over two days, where you'll take the 7:30am bus from PingYao to Lishi and then head to QiKou either by a taxi (we paid RMB 130 for that section for the 5 of us and met a Chinese girl who paid 80) or bus (RMB 17). then, spend the afternoon in QiKou, and night in LiJiaShan and take the bus/taxi back to LiShi and either the noon or 2:30pm bus back to PingYao.

• The B&B we stayed at was simple lovely and the village is so small you should have no problem finding it. From the top point it is on the right hand side as you start the decline into the village.

• There are no grocery stores in the village, so bring with you whatever you want: snacks, water, beer, BaiJou...

 

We received extra warm recommendations about PingYao from just about every person who ever visited the city, which the LP guidebook calls the best preserved walled city in China. We arrived there on the night train from DaTong in northern ShanXi and planned to spend 4-6 days in and around the city before heading southwest towards Xi-An in the neighboring province of ShaanXi.

In short, we had a most lovely time in PingYao. Yes, our time there started with a most stressful late-to-get-off-the-train debacle, and yes, we spent a fair amount of time while there continuingly dealing with visa issues and train schedules and other nagging travel technicalities and coordination and yes we had the leave a day earlier than our original plan due to train ticket availability (or lack of) issues. But, the city is so lovely and we met some very nice people on a couple of tours we took and in our hostel, that we just had a great time.

We spent our first day and a few portions of days throughout our stay there just walking the streets of the lovely town and I believe I have more gate and door photos from here than doors/gates in any other village or city in China so far. The two main streets that divide the old town north-south and east-west are very touristy, full of people and where the stores are all made for tourists. But, all you need is to take any turn right or let from them and immediately you feel like you “got lost” in the little streets of old China and the charm enwraps you.

The wall of the city has been restored, but unlike many other places seem to maintain its charm. It has 70+ watch towers on it and while almost all of them are closed and sealed to visitors, there is a small space in each with some small clay statues depicting scenes from the town: some normal life scenes like people in the market, people eating, people in the circus, etc. while others portray war scenes with photos of the wall as background. The kids loved the small exhibitions and ran almost the entire 6.5 kilometer length of the wall to see them all one by one.

One day we got a group together to go to the Underground Castle and the Wang Family Residence, two sites the LP guidebook recommended and felt interesting. We found a few people (other travelers) on the streets and in our hotel and got them intrigued in coming as well, what made the trip more economical.

The group turned out to be a very cool one. There were a couple of Chinese friends on vacation from university we met in our hotel, an American women on an around-the-world trip on a break between jobs, a young American guy on vacation from college and a Spanion on a trip in the east.

Our first stop was at the Wang Family Residence, the site I (and the others!) was less interested in, but turned out to be the more interesting one. The Wang family started as a family of farmers in southern ShanXi province that became reach through trade and over time moved into government official jobs. Their power became so great, at some point one of the emperors denounced them as traitors mostly due to the fact that they had too many horses he feared might support a military rebellion against him.

The Wang Residence is a massive complex of dozens of buildings and probably many hundreds of rooms, surrounded by a wall and spread over two adjunct hills with a bridge connecting them. It reminded us a lot of the Forbidden City in BeiJing, which is not too much bigger than it... we toured some of the old houses to gain insights into the family history and work and circled the complex on the wall to gain appreciation of the size of the place. It was definitely a well worth site to go to and we enjoyed it.

After lunch at a small restaurant near the Wang Family Residence, we drove to the underground castle at <NAME OF TOWN>. The place is a small old village where a set of tunnels that were developed for military use have been found. The tunnels reminded us a bit of stories and movies about the Vietcong tunnels in Vietnam during the war in the late 1960's as they spread in three levels ranging from 2 meters under the ground to 13 and were planed to help soldiers move quickly among different sides of the town in case of an attack. The tour of the place also included a tour of an interesting temple in the town (it has many characteristics of both Buddhism and Taoism in it) and the village itself.

To be honest, although the kids enjoyed running in the tunnels with their flashlights, the place was a bit underwelming, especially in contrast with the expectations developed by the name: an underground castle. It is not an underground castle, it is a set of underground defence tunnels. Oh well, the group we were with was fun, the Wang Family Residence was a nice surprise and we had a good time. In fact, we enjoyed the group so much, we all went to dinner togeher that evening after we came back.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Hotels: we spent the first couple of nights at the Harmony guesthouse which is highly recommended at the LP, but actually found it to be a bit annoying and with less than great service, not to mention hot water. We then moved to the ZhengJia Youth Hostel on YanMen street, that had an unbeatable price available for rooms on Hostelworlds.com and a much nicer atmosphere to it. We would much recommend it over Harmony.

• Restaurants: effectively, just about all the restaurants in the city, at least the old city where we spent all of our time, are located in hotels. In fact, the signs for “Drinking, Staying, Eating” seem to appear everywhere in town. We had fantastic meals at two places, which we came back to repeatedly over a couple of others that were less impressive. Those were: DeJuYuan and ChangYiFong.

• Sites Around the City: The tour to the Wang Family Residence was a pleasant surprise for us as we did not expect it to be too interesting, but found it an only slightly smaller version of the Forbidden City and very impressive. On the other hand, the visit to the Underground Castle, which we were looking forward to was far less impressive than our expectations. That said, they both come in a single trip and are probably worth your time if you're in PingYao. They each take about 2-4 hours including drive time for a total 6 hours for both including lunch. If you have to choose, we would say go to the Wang Family Residence over the Castle. And if you are short in time, go to LiJiaShan over both of these and if even more short in time, just walk the narrow city streets or climb the wall.

• Sites in the city: the old bank is quite interesting and the wall walk is fun, though the south parts, just about between the east and west gates, are much more interesting than the northern half of the walk.

• Over All Ranking of Things to Do: from top to bottom: Walk the streets (half a day to a day), walk the wall (3-5 hours), LiJiaShan (1-2 day trip, see next posting), Old Bank (1-2 hours), Wang Family Residence (half a day), Underground Castle (Half a day).

We were on the night train from DaTong to PingYao. The train left DaTong around 11pm and was scheduled to reach PingYao around 7am. By now, we have done about a dozen such rides and are used to the sequence of events: we board quickly and get to our cabin. Vered is in charge of getting the kids organized to sleep on three of our four beds while Boaz is responsible for getting all of our luggage on the racks and under the beds.

We had a large and most delightful hot-pot dinner at DaTong before we left and were all ready for the night train. We even brushed our teeth at the hotel before we got on the train. It has been a long day (tour of the Hanging Monastery and the Buddhist Caves) and the kids fell asleep quickly with us following suit quickly behind them.

Trains in China are excellent and well managed. To make sure passengers get of at the station they are supposed to (and among other free their seat/bed to the next passenger coming on board), the Chinese have developed a coupon system. When you get on the train, you hand over your ticket to the conductor and receive a coupon from their large CD-holder looking booklet. The conductor knows when you are supposed to get off the train based on the tickets and comes to exchange the coupon back to your tickets normally around 30 minutes before the train reaches the stop your stop.

Morning. The conductor comes to exchange our coupons for the tickets. We hand the tickets and ask how much time we have before the train reaches the PingYao station. The conductor replies: 10 min.

10 min?!?!? are you sure? Yes.

OK, then, we have 10 minutes to wake up and dress up three tired young kids and get all of our bags (12 of them!) to the door where we get off. We wake up the kids quickly. Murphy's law works over time: the kids refuse to wake up and when they do, they are slow to get dressed and wine about waking up so early...

The train stops.

We have two of our bags near the door and the kids are dressed up, but moving slowly. We put Yonatan's bag on his back and send him to get off the train. We'll follow him. He goes. Daniella is next. We put her bag on her back and tell her to move towards the door. Vered sits Naama in the stroller, puts her back pack on and heads towards the door. The other passengers have already gotten off so the path is clear for us. I put my large back pack on, take the two heavy roller bags, make sure my camera bag is on me and heads towards the door.

The train starts moving.

I get to the door. Vered stands next to the door and the conductor is walking alongside the train on the platform below. Daniella is next to Vered and Naama is in the stroller. Yonatan must have gotten down already since he was the first to go. Vered already handed one or two of our bags to the conductor who helped her get them off the train. The conductor is waving and shouting to some other people to stop the train.

The train starts to pick up speed.

If we do not get off the train quickly, not only we miss our station and we have no idea when is the next station, but also we leave Yonatan alone in a foreign city not speaking the language, with no communication devices, no money, no contact info and knowledge where to go. This will not happen. I push Vered aside and moves towards the door. I run scenarios in my mind of how I am supposed to fall to minimize the impact. Images from my paratrooper days are going in front of my eyes: hands on two sides of the head, band the knees, make a half turn towards the direction of the movement, once touching the ground fall alongside the body and then turn the legs to make a half circle of your entire body so the final impact of the fall is spread all over the side of your body. It's been over 20 years since my paratrooper course and the images are very vivid. I also recall that the last jump was not too successful and I broke my back squeezing vertebra D11 to a thin triangle...

The conductor gets on the train. I signal and tell him in English that I am getting off. He signals and tell me in Chinese I can not.

Vered try a mixture of English Chinese and hand gesture and screams at him: “Shou-Hai (child) wo-de (mine) is down already”. Daniella starts crying in hysteria.

The train leaves the station. There are now only other tracks next to us. I push the conductor and try to get off. He is much bigger than me, pushes me back, closes the door, says: “ok, ok” and rushes into the train. I think he is going to stop the train.

Yonatan appears. He comes back from the other side of the train (he went right out of our cabin while all of us went left) angry and almost in tears that they did not let him off the train. We are relieved! He did not get off the train.

Loud noise. The train stops. Every passenger on the train gets on and moves to the window to see what happens. Trains do not stop outside stations in China. People will have a lot to tell their friends about this train ride!

The conductor comes back and opens the door for us. We get off on the tracks. Everybody is watching from the windows. The conductor helps us get our bags and stroller off the train. Two other conductors rush from the station to help us get our bags up on the platform. We walk on the side of the tracks towards the station. The train continues.

We reach the station and find our bags that we took off the train before it started moving. We thank (Xie Xie) everybody and move towards the exit.

The exit is locked and the conductor asks for our tickets. We hand them over. He starts writing something in his notebook. Four other conductors join him. They have a long discussion. Every once in a while they ask us something in Chinese. Another passenger that got off the train and stayed to see what is happening tries to translate, but his English is too limited. Are they writing a citation to us?! It was not our fault!

Ten minutes later they let us go. I guess they just needed to record what happened.

Our driver is outside and we head to the hotel. What a start for the day! We are ready for a good nap in the hotel...

Ten minutes and we're in the hotel. We check in and tell them our story. In retrospect it is funny and amusing. A good story to tell.

Another ten minutes and a policeman arrives. He wants to know what happened. We tell him. He makes a call to someone and gets back to us with more questions. We respond. He writes something. This process repeats itself a dozen times. Some of the questions repeat themselves. Most of the conversation is in Chinese between the policeman and the hotel staff.

He wants me to write a statement explaining what happened. I ask in what language he wants it... English is OK. I write. He wants me to sign it. I sign. Not good enough. In China a signature is done as a finger print. The hotel does not have an ink pad. I use a red marker and put a somewhat illegible finger print mark on the paper. He wants a second copy. I suggest a photo copy machine. Not good enough. He wants an original write up. I write again and sign again. He wants a translation. The hotel manager makes a translation. He wants her to sign it. She refuses: it's not her statement, she only translated it. He asks me to sign it. I refuse. I can not read Chinese and have no idea what is written there. I already signed the English version. He reluctantly agrees.

In between we learn that he is from the train police. There is a different police for the train station. His job is to figure out whose fault is it the train had to stop after it already left the station. Vered wants to suggest it is the train's fault as the conductor only woke us up less than ten minutes to the station. I suggest we should not get in the middle of this. We only tell the facts of what happened and leave the interpretation and implications on fault for the Chinese to figure out. We do not know their rules and procedures.

It is around 11am. The policeman leaves. He suggests that someone from the train station police might come to ask us questions as well. Sure, no problem. Thankfully no-one showed up and we could conclude our train adventures for the day...

Three days later when we took the train from PingYao to Xi-An, we set the alarm clock to an hour before the train was scheduled to arrive in Xi-An and reminded the kids they have to be quick to get organized and ready to leave the train when we wake them up, or else... :-)

TRAVEL TIPS: Be ready to get off the train when it arrives at your station....

The old city of DaTong in the northern edge of the province of ShanXi was a thriving city fifteen hundred years ago when it was the capital of the Chinese kingdom here in the hay days of Buddhism and before the well establishment of China as one empire. It was also very important a thousand years later when the Great Wall was built and the north of China was its strong frontier. But, in recent years DaTong, like ShanXi in general, is relatively poor place. Six hours on a train west of BeiJing, the city does not look anything like the thriving monopolise of the capital. The economy is heavily relying on coal mining, whose transportation via trucks contributes significantly to the horrible air pollution in the province.

The old city used to have an impressive wall surrounding it, but most of the stones were taken over the years by people for their immediate needs leaving much of the wall as earth-wall only. In order to attract tourists, the government has decided to make an overhaul to the city and is undergoing a major rebuild of the city wall, which includes, in a very Chinese way, demolishing the old for the new and cleaning up old residential places for parking places and newly built buildings to mimic the ancient ones.

We heard the old city is heavily under constructions and followed the recommendation to skip visiting the city itself. Rather, we came to DaTong in order to visit two sites nearby: the 400 year-old Hanging Monastery an hour or so south of the city and the Buddhist caves 30 min or so to its north.

We took the late morning train from BeiJing and arrived late afternoon in DaTong. Our plan was to find someone who organize trips to the two sites for the following day and make an on-the-spot decision whether to stay one or two nights there. We called the CITS office in town, which was recommended by travelers on some internet sites and in the LP guide book and learned they conduct a day tour to both places we were interested. We reserved spots for us and armed with the knowledge went to book train tickets for the following day to PingYao, our next stop a bit further south in ShanXi.

The tour was actually a very good one. The bus was large and spacious and the group was a nice one: one Brit woman, a Dutch couple, two American girls and another Dutch woman (whom everybody referred to as “The Dutch Girl”). The guide was a young Chinese woman whose English was good enough for us to understand and did a fair effort to make the trip a success for us.

We headed first to the monastery, which I found to be far less impressive than I envisioned. While it is “glued” to the side of a cliff, it is not as high up the cliff as the photos make you believe. Apparently, it was much higher, as much as 100 meters higher, when it was build 400 years ago as the river floor was lower then. But, over the years it got filled with earth and stones and the temple now looks lower. We climbed to the temple and did a quick tour of its dozen or so rooms with their interesting Buddhist statues, most of which were heavily damaged during the cultural revolution in the 1960's.

The way to the monastery, however, was very interesting as we drove by a set of very old, very poor, often heavily crumbling and partially deserted villages which would make any photographer or even photographer at heart drool... at some point, I asked the guide if we can stop near one of them that looked very very interesting to take photos and she replied that if we had time on the way back after visiting the monastery, we will.

As it turned out, she had us stop at another village, not far but different from the one I asked to stop at. The village we stopped next to was a cave dwelling one. The bus stopped at the side of the road and we all stepped out to take some photos. Within minutes we were engulfed by village women trying to sell us souvenirs and small toys and jewelry. While the village was on the left hand side of the road across a fairly deep dry river, I tried to climb the hill on our right to get a better angle for a photo. As I climbed the hill I found a few deserted cave houses there and as I continued up I saw a cave that was still occupied by some old man.

The old man signaled me to come and see his place and I did. He had a fairly large cave, which he shared with his little dog. The cave had a main hall that was probably 3 meters high, 5-6 meters deep and maybe 4-5 meters wide and there were doors to caves to each of its sides. He showed me to the one on the left, where I found his living room fully occupied with chairs and a sofa and a TV (I saw the satellite dish outside before I came in). The room was well painted in white, full of posters and pictures (and even newspapers articles about him and his cave dwelling) and looked very homy and comfy. It too had a couple of doors to additional rooms further into the mountain side.

Unfortunately, by this point our guide became very wary of the time and so after I did not respond to her shouting from below, she climbed to the cave dwelling and insisted that I get back down to the bus so we can continue the tour on schedule. I thanked the cheerful old man, got back to the bus and told the others of what I have seen suggesting that if they want, they need to tell the driver and guide we should spend another 10 minutes here to see this fascinating place. The guide looked as if she is about to either cut a vein or chop my head off. To her defense, she wanted us to have enough time at the Buddhist cave site which is very large and so we continued going. But, I still hold that the group could have benefitted tremendously from this experience and actually suggested the guide they added this site into the itinerary of the guided tour or the next trips they do.

40 minutes later we arrived at the Buddhist caves. There are 46 caves in the sites, all build during a 40-50 year period in the 6^th or 7^th century, during the height of the Buddhism days in China. The caves are spit into three groups, where the first 5, the largest ones, are one section, the next 11 are the next section and the rest, which are much smaller account for a third that were made by privet men and not by emperors. The guide took us for a guided tour of the first 16 caves and let us wonder around the rest on our own.

The site is truly amazing!

If I am not mistaken, there are three such sites in China. This one, one in DaZu in SiChuan and the most famous one in Mogao next to DunHuang in Gansu province, which we plan to visit too. While this is probably the smallest of the three in number of caves, it is certainly very impressive and cultivating. Most of the caves have a large Buddha image in their center and many other images around it. Many of the large ones have images in a story line depicting scenes from the Buddha's live or telling his story. Each cave seem to have something unique about it that draws the observer's attention: the largest statue, the largest number of Buddha images, the larger sitting/standing/leaning statue, etc. It was definitely worth while having a guide for this portion of the tour as she was able to point us to interesting elements in each cave beyond the general descriptions in the guidebook.

We spent a good two hours at the site and left just around the time they closed. We arrived back in DaTong close to 7pm, way later than the normal time the tour ends (excellent!...), but with enough time to spare until our 11pm train to PingYao was scheduled to leave.

To close up a good day, we ate an absolute fantastic dinner at the hotel we stayed at. Apparently, there are two restaurants in the hotel,. On our first night we ate at the one that was more visible as we walked in and the food was mediocre at best. This time as I walked into the hotel I felt that my nose if being pulled like characters in cartoons by the smell from the restaurant on the other (right side when you enter the main door) side and had to see what is in there. I found a hot pot restaurant with phenomenal aroma and a descent photo-full menu. We came there with the Brit woman that was in our tour and had a wonderful time. Interestingly, this restaurant's style was to serve individual hot-pot pots and table-sharing items to put in. we ordered a lot of meat and vegetables and lovely just about everything we got!

It was a fantastic way to finish a very long, full and good day before our night train to PingYao.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Should You Go: a good question... the Hanging Monastery is not as impressive as we expected, but the Buddhist caves were. The city seems to be prettified to death and therefore is likely to not be interesting. But, if you have 2-3 days spare in your itinerary, you can go through DaTong and spend one night and one day here for an interesting day.

• Hotel: we stayed at the HongQi Grand just across from the train station, which was perfect for our needs: good beds, minimal walk to and from the train station and 2 minute walk from the CITS office.

• Restaurant: the hot pot restaurant at the HongQi grand is superb nd well worth a dinner, especially if you're in a group.

• Tour: CITS did a good job with the tour: good bus, good guide, good schedule, though we left 45 minutes late on the departure time. Our advice: insist on an earlier departure and a stop at the cave dwellings near the Hanging Monastery.

• Hanging Monastery: we were not as impressed, but maybe others will be more... it is far from the city and required a rented car. Budget 1.5 hours drive each way and about an hour in the monastery itself. A guide is not really needed.

• Buddhist Caves: a fantastic site which is probably the number one reason to come to DaTong. It is very easy and quick to get to from DaTong. You need at least 3 hours to spend in the site and it is worth it to have a guide here.

• Transportation: both trains we took (morning from BeiJing and night to PingYao) were quite convenient and matched perfectly our wish to see the major sites in and around the town while spending minimal time there. We did not have problem buying tickets at the train station in DaTong.

 

We did the walk on the Great Wall with a trio from the Czech Republic. One of them took some movie clips and posted them on youtube. Since youtube is not accessible in China, we could not see them until we got out of China to Hong Kong. But, now that we have seen them, we wanted to share them with you.

Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHHpJl2h_Qc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abgBqt_-Y8U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO2vgUiIgLE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_PXOZeZaxY

We spent almost two weeks in BeiJing and enjoyed our time there. We stayed at a Courtyard Marriott, which was not as comfortable (smaller room) and luxurious (no executive lounge, smaller and colder pool) as the Renaissance we stayed at Hong Kong and ShangHai, but provided us with a comfy and spotless large room in a great location with some of the characteristics of a luxury hotel (like a pool and happy hour at the lounge). The weather, however, was not as pleasant as we would have hoped as spring is late this year compared to the normal schedule. It rained a few days and was quite gloomy a few others. In between the rainy times, we set out to explore the city's fabulous sites and attractions.

When we started to plan where to go and what to do, we felt a bit lost: there is so much to see and so many sights to go to, in such a giant city, it was hard to distil the information to an ordered list of the best places to go to. But, with time we slowly got the hang of the city and enjoyed most of the places we ended up visiting. Now, since a lot has been written and said about BeiJing, we decided that rather than detailing our entire set of activities in the city, we chose to list our top list in order of our liking of the places.

So, here it is, the unofficial Maor-Semel family list of best places to visit while in BeiJing:

The Great Wall: Definitely the most impressive site in the city! The wall can obviously be visited in many places, but most interesting ones are close to BeiJing. We debated (mostly Boaz by himself) in length which section to go to, and in the end decided to go to Huang Hua Chen. This section is one of the least restored section and that authenticity coupled with the lack of tourist (which to a great extent is an outcome of the first) were the main reasons for us to choose and enjoy it. We took a guide and together with three Czech guys (that were very surprised to see our family joining their adventures tour to the wall) spent lovely 4 hours on the wall.

We will remember the walk on the wall for the ladder we all (including Naama on her own!) climbed on to reach the window in the first guard tower to get onto the wall, the place we laid flat on our stomachs for a family picture, the haggling with the locals for the appropriate fee to pay them so they can let us through their properties at the end of the walk, and the very steep and tough decline on the unmaintained section of the wall.

Temple of Heaven: The temple is actually a large and most beautiful park where locals come to do TaiQi on the weekend, which is the best time to visit. The giant no-bolt 36 meter high Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest is magnificent structure in and on itself and the park has a number of additional sites worth exploring, like the round altar and the Imperial Vault of Heaven.

We will remember this beautiful site for the time we spent there with Orit-Sheuit, counting the stones on the giant alter (9 circles with stones in multiples of 9, the number of heaven), the people doing TaiQi and the soft-ball rackets we purchased to do TaiQi at home when we're back in Israel and the serene views of the Imperial Vault of Heaven in the snow.

Forbidden City: There are many ancient cities in China and around the world, but only one that was forbidden for all ordinary people to enter for centuries (the hype of the place definitely helps the enjoyment). The grandeur and scale of the place were truly amazing and the self audio guide Vered took helped us understand some of the meaning behind the symbols and appreciate some of the sites through better understanding them. We particularly liked the the grand entrance, the rooms the emperor and his new wife stayed at the few days after they got married, the views of the roofs and the clock exhibition and show.

Summer Palace: The palace at the top of the hill as you enter the site is fantastic. It is a magnificent complex of pagodas and temples built on a hill overlooking a lovely lake over which a pathway has been built that mimics the West Lake pathway in HangZhou. Somewhere close to the top of the hill we found a quiet spot on some grass under the shady trees and made a picnic. Yonatan and Daniella had a science class and learned to write on leaves with a magnifying glass and we all snacked and enjoyed the views of the lake below. The park is also the house of the famous marble boat built by the empress CiZi and upon looking at it we all tried to make up stories for why was it built. Since it can not be moved, sailing it is not a good reason, so we decided that maybe the fact that it is an unsinkable boat may be the best one... We got down from the hill and walk along the path that divides the lake towards the southern exit in order to find the nearest subway station to get back to the hotel after a lovely day.

On the long lovely way under avenues of trees Yonatan and Daniella did countless amounts of races. They got into the habit of racing each other, which is quite funny for us to watch. The sequence is almost always the same: Daniella starts faster while Yonatan whose movements are less than perfectly gentle, but as the race continues, Daniella starts laughing and loses steam until Yonatan catches her up. The longer the race the higher the chance for Yonatan to win. When he does, Daniella starts crying that he cheats. When she does he claims she cheated.... In any event, we found the best way to deal with the unavoidable fight is to push for another race to determine the real winner. We sometime get to 8 or even 10 races before we declare a tie...

We existed the park and headed in the general direction of the metro station (according to the map), which should have been 15 min walk away dead south. Then we made the cardinal mistake of asking a young couple for directions. An hour later we completed a 3-4 kilometer walk around a huge factory area and back to the street we started from to find the station we were heading towards...

JiaYuYuan Antique Market: This is hands down the best antique market in BeiJing and after visiting a few other disappointing markets in the city, we enjoyed this much so much we actually came back three times and left with three cubic meters of staff we purchased and shipped back home... It is best in the weekend when hundreds of small vendors join the core stores in selling everything from memorabilia and collectables to heavy furniture, but also lively any other day in the weak with dozens of good quality stores.

The first day we wanted to go there, a Sunday, Yonatan and Daniella put up a fight and declared they have no interest in neither antiques nor a market and they want to stay in the hotel. We did a quick thinking and decided to agree. We made sure they had enough food (apples, bananas, cherry tomatoes, crackers, etc.) and water in the room, took out their activity books and directed Yonatan to do at least one chapter in his bible book and 2 in his math, left them our phone number and some general safety instructions and left. When we returned 5 or 6 hours or so later they were in the same position we left them at and proudly told us they saw 4 movies on the laptop...

So, on the second time we wanted to go we were at more ease with the split and allowed ourselves a bit more time before we came back. On the third time, though, we decided to take them with us as we thought they'll enjoy it as well, which they actually did and even purchased some small items with their own pocket money.

Jing Shan: overlooking the Forbidden City, this little park on top of a small hill to the north of the Forbidden City provides probably the best views of that giant complex from some elevation. Naama climbed the entire hill on her own with Boaz and Daniella, while Yonatan went to look for another path and Vered took the stroller on a third. Thankfully, the top of the hill is quite small and we easily found each other there (among the crowd of visitors). We each in turn took the camera and took loads of photos. Afterwards, we descended to the northern side where we found a small play area where the kids released some residual energy before we headed to Bei Hai Park a few hundred meters farther north.

TianAnMen Square: Size matters when it comes to TianAnMen square and the giant square is another must in BeiJing. Standing at the center of the square or next to one of the two main gates makes you appreciate the size of the place. TianAnMen square is one great way to experience and appreciate China as it is as Chinese as the Great Wall and the Forbidden City. To the north of the square is the Forbidden City and to its south are some small shopping streets to hang out at. We walked around the square a couple of time, saw the marks made by the tanks during the 1986 demonstration and found the tile that indicates the starting point of all roads in China. We also found the Starbucks just to the south of the square that made for a comfy stop point for recharging Vered with a latte and the kids with hot cocoa.

Drum and Bell Towers: Those two towers at the center of old BeiJing used to be of high importance at the old times as they signals the times of the day and alerted people in cases of attacks and other events. We arrived just in time to listen to some explanation by a tour guide of another group and then watch a lovely drum beating performance on top of the Drum Tower. We then enjoyed the small exhibition of a few ancient time measuring machines that preceded the modern clocks and some old drums. The climb to both towers is quite steep which made for a lovely exercise and a mini adventure for the kids. Both towers also enable nice views of old BeiJing below (which we used for contests of “who can first spot this and that”) and has a very good set of explanation plucks in both English and Chinese.

As much as we enjoyed the towers, I think the most memorable events we will remember from that visit were the ones outside the towers. First, Yonatan and I went to get our visas, which was two metro stops before the drum and bell towers. Until we arrived, Daniella played Chinese Chess with the rickshaw drivers waiting for tourists while Vered had a lovely cup of coffee in one of the trendy coffee places nearby. The second, was the dull-as-ditch-water rickshaw tour ride we took in the HuTongs north of the towers which were prettified for tourists and consequently lacking of any charm. Why did we agree to take the tour and pay the money for it neither of us can understand...

The third event was Naama's horrible fall while playing on some of the play machines on the small square in-between the towers. She managed to make a really deep cut just under her lip which was bleeding hard enough for us to even consider going to a hospital. Thankfully we were able to stop the bleeding fairly quickly and she fell asleep as soon as the adrenaline from the event evaporated and her cries stopped.

Flying Acrobatics Show: There are probably a half dozen different spectacular performances in BeiJing of acrobats, dancers and martial art experts. We chose the Flying Acrobats and enjoyed it very very much. In fact, we enjoyed it so much we even contemplated going to see another show, but ran out of time... Jumping over bars and into hula hoops, spinning plates, power lifts and other extravagant acts were fast replacing one another. During most of the acts Naama made some commentary remarks, like: “Naama can not do that”, or “this is very hard”, just to make sure we all understand and appreciate the acts... The highlights of the show were the two men walking inside and then outside of giant (3 meters in diameter) wheels hung in the air and fast spinning and the group of made two dozen girls who all got on a single bike.

Area 798: This area used to be a heavy industrial area full of factories, many of which for weapon production. As industry moved away, a vacuum got created and that got filled with artists that liked the low rental costs and specious areas. Over time, in a process similar to that occurring in many other cities around the world, the artists opened their studios for visitors, collectors also set up their spaces there, stores opened up, and the increased traffic of people lead to the establishment of services like restaurants, cafes and bars. Today, Area 798 is a lively artist zone that is most pleasant to wonder around exploring contemporary art and enjoy an artistic vibe.

We hooked up with Ian and Lylianne who kindly hosted us a few days earlier when we had our visa issues and enjoyed a lovely afternoon with them there. Both Naama and Daniella hooked up to Ian as if he was their best friend or most loved uncle since birth and did not even let him walk alone. Lyliane suggested this fits him as he would have loved any more girls, but needs to settle for his two only... :-) We walked in the little streets and made funny photos on and around some of the unique statues and followed the visit with a fantastic dinner together at a Korean restaurant though by the time we got there the kids were completely off for some reason and misbehaved like they have never done before...

BeiJing Duck: we really wanted to eat the famous BeiJing dish and experience if at all possible the preparation ceremony. The restaurant recommended in the LP guidebook turned out to be an overly fancy place for us with white table cloths and tall wine glasses on every table, a long waiting list and very high prices. So, we gave in on the preparation ceremony and crossed the road to another place called Spice Spirit, which turned out to be a small chain of happy lively crowd of young people and delicious food, including fantastic BeiJing Duck we could not eat enough of...

Fragrant Hills: An hour-long bus ride from the city center are the lovely Fragrant Hills, which are a park for short hikes and relaxation. They should be best in the autumn as the leaves change their colors, but are also lovely in other times along the year. We enjoyed a lazy walk up the hill after we bought just about one-of-each food items from vendors in the street heading to the entrance for a much anticipated picnic there.

When we finally found a picnic spot at the bottom of the park after we climbed to a lovely pagoda mid way on the hill, Boaz fell asleep on the grass (a very pleasant activity he enjoys a great deal) while Yonatan devised a stakeout for some birds he wanted to take photos of. He put some pieces of crackers on an elevated manhole and hid behind a chair a few meters away waiting for the birds to come eat. The un-taken picture of him hiding was probably better than the ones he was able to make of the birds... :-)

Bei Hai Park: BeiHai park lies to the northwest of the Forbidden City and is a large park surrounding a cute lake. It provides a lovely walking path along the lake in areas that have been prettified, but are still enjoyable for leisurely walk and some drinks and snacks, especially at the northeastern edge of the park.

Lama Temple: This Buddhist temple is considered one of the best in BeiJing and maybe China as a whole, but we have not found it as magnificent as we have expected, although this may be a result of our “temple-fatigue”. That said, the temple does have a very impressive giant 18 meter high statue of Maitreya Buddha and behind it a most beautiful blue statue of GuanYin, the Boddhisatva of Mercy. It is located a few minute walk from the PSB office, so best visited in combination with visa extension, if you need one.

LiuLiChang Street and Hutons there: We expected to see an antique market/street in LiuLiChang, but found a street focused on calligraphy equipment. It was a nice and interesting short visit as our limited knowledge of calligraphy limits our ability to enjoy and appreciate the vast variety of brushes and papers and ink and stone plates for the ink, etc.

We have stumbled upon a lovely HuTong area, however, at the end of the street. To get there, we took the metro, then went on NanXinHua Lu and turned right onto LiuLiChang. At the end of the store area in the street we turned left and after 300-400 meters another left (back towards NanXinHua) and found ourselves in a bustling HuTong area that has been the most authentic HuTong area we have seen in BeiJing and consequently the one we enjoyed the most.

HuTongs: We had high expectations of seeing the HuTongs (literally meaning “narrow streets” in Chinese) and have explored a half dozen of them in different areas of the old city of BeiJing. The HuTongs used to be the heart of the city, but since the Chinese authorities have identified them as a potential draw for visitors, they have prettified them towards the Olympic Games and that, in our mind, have destroyed some of their charm. We have seen lovely HuTongs next to LiuLiChang street, some nice ones next to the Lama Temple and some overly prettified ones next to the Drum and Bell towers and around the BeiHai lake park.

Olympic Games Stadium: The site of the Olympic Games in August 2008 is now open for the public for sightseeing. The Bird Nest has been converted to a ski resort during the winter times and a play area during the summer times. The Water Cube can be viewed from the outside and the Olympic Park where the athletes lived and hang out between their events can be visited and enjoyed as a park. It is an interesting site to see, but not more than a nice-to-see place.

Silk Street: One of the best shopping mall for everything-fake-and-not-real, we visited it twice. Once as the whole family, when we ran away quickly from the aggressive vendors and another time just Vered and Daniella when they came back with a nice set of bags and cloths.

Former Legation Quarter: We had high expectations from this area, which we envision to be some version of the beautiful French Quarter in ShangHai. But, we found it to be a bit dull and left after a short stroll through it as soon as we got to the lovely TianAnMen square.

Santilum: This is a luxury brand type area with a fancy mall and embassy buildings. We did not find it interesting at all...

DaZhaLan Street: This small street was described in the guidebooks as a traditional old street, but we found it to be a tourist-trap dull souvenir street that bored us and should be avoided at all cost...

TRAVEL TIPS:

• The Great Wall: GUIDE: We used Wejun, mwj149@126.com, +86-150-110-63564 as a guide and enjoyed it a great deal. His price is comparable with others' but he focuses his trips on areas of the wall that are less restored and less touristic, which was a major draw for us. There are cards given by many people with the contact info for Steen 133-6687-7766, steenforbiddencity@yahoo.com.cn, which maybe a generic card for trips organized to the wall.

• The Great Wall: SECTION: We have done a fair amount of research on the different sections of the wall and here are our findings...

  • Most Spectacular: I believe that the most beautiful and unique section of the wall is the one at JianKou.

  • Easiest: The easiest sections are the most touristic ones at BaDaLing and MuTianYu.

  • Least Restored: There are many such sections, but the ones most interesting are probably the ones at JinShanLing, HuangHuaChen and JianKou.

  • Short Hikes: Any of the sections above provide the opportunity for a short 2-4 hour hike if you stick to one section. We did the HuangHuaChen section which required a 2 hour drive from BeiJing, 3-4 hours on the wall including lengthy stops and two hours drive back. I believe the other sections would be about the same.

  • Long Hikes: If you wish to do long hikes you have to combine at least two wall sections. The benefit of this approach is that you can experience two or more sections. The drawback is that sometimes you'll have to pay double entrance fee (at both sections). Most hostels recommend and arrange the hike from SiMaTai to JinShanLing (or in the reverse direction), which is about 3-5 hour hike. For an overnight hike, the two best options are either from HuangHuaChen to JianKou or from JianKou to MuTianKou.

  • Shows and Performances: It is better to buy tickets through a travel agent as they can get a 30% discount on the ticket price at the theatres themselves. We did that through the guide we used for the trip to the Great Wall.

  • Antiques: we particularly liked the PanJiaYuan market.

    • STORES: We found most of what we liked at the DiTianGuDe store. They have a small store at the market and a giant warehouse 20 min ride away (they drove us there and back). They have both antique and reproduced (new furniture made off old wood from old wood taken from furniture that can not be restored). Sheila speaks good English and can be reached at: 1368-324-6721. There was another store at the market just across from DiTianGuDe that had lovely cabinets and is worth exploring if you're interested in such items. A third store we liked was that of Ding Chun (#26): 1390-1222-187. His specialty is ancient doors.

    • SHIPPING: We looked at two shipping companies that are recommended by the vendors at the market and ended up going with Bellepack, which looked more experienced, organized and trustworthy. Kefeng, the manager, was very helpful in helping us get the details of the shipment work out. +86-1390-108-3166. bellepack@vip.sina.com, zzmlwd@public.bta.net.cn, www.bellepack.com

    • Eat and Drink: a lot has been said about restaurants in BeiJing, which truly offers a fantastic collection of food options in every level and price and quality level. Some places we enjoyed a lot are:

      • Spice Spirit: a small chain of lively crowd of young people and delicious food, including fantastic BeiJing Duck, a great dish called Tasty Beef which is cold slices of beef and cucumber in sauce, lettuce with sesame sauce, cauliflower with bacon in spicy sauce and some other lovely dishes.

      • Cafe 86: a chain of pastries and hot drinks from where we brought treats for some of our evenings in the hotel

Every wall that is not circular needs to start somewhere. The great wall starts at ShanHaiGuan, 400 kilometers east of BeiJing, where it literally climbs out of the sea. Since there is a fast train there from BeiJing, we figured it would be an interesting over-night trip for us out of BeiJing. Also, since we had great fun climbing the wall near BeiJing and are expected to see its Western edge in JiaGuYuan in GanSu province, we thought it would be cool to see the Eastern edge as well.

So, we packed up a small bag for one night and headed or the train. The 9:00am train indeed reached the advertised +200 km/h and arrived on schedule in ShanHaiGuan around 11am. The hotel recommended in LP was closed and found ourselves in another hotel just outside the First Pass Under Heaven tower. It was plain, simple and over priced, but after some haggling we decided to not waste our time and go explore the sites for which we came in the beautiful sunny day.

The historic importance of ShanHaiGuan rises from a number of events. First is the essence of being the start/end of the wall on the eastern side of China. Second is the fact that it became the gate to china during the late Ming dynasty through where the emperor brought the Manchu's inside China to help him suppress an uprising. His plan worked so well that the Manchu took over the country and established their own rule over it... Today this city with its restored wall and restored old town look like a ghost town that went through a mass development phase that didn't do well to its charm.

ShanHaiGuan has three sites in it. The First Pass Under Heavan is the first large tower of the wall in the center of the town. We spent a short one hour at the uninteresting site and decided to skip the wall walk and head directly to the Old Dragon Head, the place where the wall meets the sea. It was once in the shape of a dragon head and that is the reason for its name. Now a days its the wall itself that meandering on the beach until it reach China Sea. We squeezed into a noisy tuktuk and followed the directions in LP to avoid the wall walk and decided to view the wall from the the beach where the views of the wall climbing out of the water are more impressive. We walked on the beach, set a picnic on some stones in the water and watched the dozens of people who were picking up shells from the shallow waters. It was a strange site since we could not really figure out what exactly are they searching for. After all, the shells were not that interesting or unique and yet people were in the water up to their knees with bags full of stones and shells...

After about an hour at the beach (the kids were far more interested in playing in the sand and collecting shells than in the wall...) we got back to “our” tuktuk and headed to the third site in ShanHaiGuan: the first climb of the wall from the plateau near the sea onto the mountains behind the city. The wall starts at the sea, then goes towards the city, which is in and on itself surrounded by a wall and then continues from the other side of the squared city wall towards the mountains. The section at the beach has been restored and so has been the section of the city. Then, there is an un-restored section for about a mile until the wall gets to the bottom of the mountain. The section where the wall initially climbs the mountain is again restored.

The sight of that wall coming from “nowhere” (that is what happens to a wall that is not restored...) and then climbs a very steep mountain is quite impressive! Thankfully, the cable cart that takes visitors up the mountain was not operational and we all had to climb up on the restored wall. When we reached the first guard tower, after a set of very steep stairs, a 7-meter vertical ladder appeared to be the only way up. Vered announced she does not like ladders, took Naama hostage and turned back. By the time we talked about the plan, Yonatan was already up the ladder shouting something and Daniella started her climb. I followed them.

When I got up I found out that another ladder, fairly similar to the previous one, is the only way down from the other side. Yonatan and Daniella were excited at the next challenge and demanded to get down on their own. The path after the ladder continues on the wall until the next watch tower and revealed beautiful views of the wall stretching all the way to the sea. When we finally got to the place where the path ends both Yonatan and Daniella insisted we get back the way we came just so they can climb the two ladders again... how will we get them excited when we get back to Israel I am not sure... :-)

We hooked up with Vered and Naama and slowly walked down the wall to the exit. We took a small three wheel car back to our hotel to relax again. For dinner we had to celebrate Israel independence day so we follow LP to a lovely grill restaurant where we had a feast of meats and vegetables grilled on small skewers. In Israel we usually do BBQ with friends in independence day so the grill restaurant was perfect.

The next morning we took the fast train back to BeiJing and concluded it was a nice trip.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• ShanHaiGuan is a nice-to-see place, not a must.

• That said, it is very easily accessible from BeiJing on the 2-hour fast train.

• There are a couple of hotels in the old town and a few in the new city. Don't expect much, but use them for the one night sleep before heading back to BeiJing.

• It is absolutely feasible to do the visit here over a single day:

  • Take the 9am train from BeiJing, arriving in the city at 11:00am.

  • Go directly (tuktuk or taxi, 10 min drive) to the Old Dragon Head (where the wall meets the sea), skip the pay-for site and view the wall from the beach to its north. You can probably spend an hour or two here.

  • Take a tuktuk or taxi to the other side of town for the first climb of the wall (another 10 min drive). Climbing and descending the wall here is about a 2-3 hour exercise.

  • Catch an afternoon/evening train back to BeiJing. The only downside of this option is that there are only fast trains in the morning, so your train back is a regular 5-6-7 hour one.

• The Grill restaurant recommended in LP is excellent.

Our current visa is a 30-day stay L visa. Such visas can be extended twice for another 30 days each time through a relatively simple process of visa extension. The forms are pretty straight forward and short, but there are two problems: the first, it costs like a new visa application and since we need 5 visas every time we apply, the fees accumulate quite quickly. The second, most PSB offices require 5 working days to process the request, which is a hassle as during that time, you can not leave the city. But, it is what it is and since we entered China on March 4^th, we had until April 4^th to extend it.

So, I took all the documents and went to the PSB office at HangZhou where I was told that on top of the regular documents, I also need to show a bank statement indicating I have enough money to support all of us for 30 days in China. I told them that while this is not a tough thing to do, clearly I would not be able to do that on the spot as I need to contact the bank in Israel and have them produce the statement and fax it to me. So, I will have to come the following day. But, I added, if I delay submitting the application for the visa by another day, I wanted to make sure they can get it back to me by the 4^th or 5^th of April since we head to BeiJing on either one of those dates.

The policeman told me that not only that he needs five working days to process the application and will not be able to do it in less time, but also that in 2 days there is another Chinese holiday, also called Spring Holiday, that lasts three days and during which the offices are closed, which means the soonest we can get our passports back is around April 9^th or 10^th...

He continued to advise me to go to BeiJing and apply there. That suggestion was not feasible, I replied. Since our visa expired during the holiday, we would need to get to BeiJing before the holiday, which means the day after tomorrow, which means we need to leave HangZhou tonight... His reply was surprising: “Actually not true”, he said, “according to our regulations, since your visa expires during the holiday, you should not be penalized for it and you could apply in BeiJing on the day after the holiday, which is the 6^th of April. But, you have to do it on that day or else you'll be subject to the fines of being in China with an invalid visa.” I verified this info with him to make sure we do not have a misunderstanding and took the station's phone number in case of questions by the PSB in BeiJing, but the guys assured me the rules are the same all over China and what is true in HangZhou is true in BeiJing as well.

I got back to the hostel and told Vered the bad news (I could not submit the application) and good news (we have 2 more days before we need to submit the application in BeiJing). We crossed our fingers and booked train tickets to get us to BeiJing on April 5^th so we can be at the PSB offices on the 6^th as instructed by the HangZhou PSB. We also booked a hotel (Marriott Courtyard) for the first five nights in the city.

The train ride was uneventful and we arrived in BeiJing mid afternoon. We took a taxi to the hotel and went to check in. After the usual check in process (find our reservation, confirm the room is good enough for us with the kids, make copies of passports, etc.), the receptionist approached me to ask where is the most recent visa we have since the one in our passports had expired. I told her that I am aware it has expired two days ago, but like the policeman said in HangZhou, there is not a problem since it expired during the holiday and we'll go the following morning to renew/extend the visa.

Pause.

The woman did not understand the situation.

I explained again.

She went to talk to the duty manager.

The duty manager arrived after 15 minutes and I explained the situation to him.

He told me that he needs to call the immigration office to confirm this since without a valid visa, they can not, by law, check us into the hotel.

Oops. We did not think about that...

I told the guy he should definitely call the immigration office and get their OK – a law is a law – but, I am certain they will provide such clearing since:

a) they (well, their counterparts in HangZhou) advised us what to do and we are following their advice,

b) in order to extend the visa, we need the check-in slip from the hotel. So, there is a catch 22 here: without a valid visa we can not get the check in slip, but without the check-in slip, we can not get the visa,

c) we (“the kids!!”) need to sleep somewhere tonight!

20 minutes later he returned with a “sorry, but the immigration office is closed (of course, we knew that, it is a holiday) and the person on duty said he can not provide us the clearing, so we can not check you in”. According to him, the information we got from the police station in HangZhou is false. In order to renew a visa, we need a valid visa and if we do not, we'll have to pay a fine (up to 500 RMB per day per person). And the hotel can not check us in.

I replied that this is simply not acceptable. We need to sleep somewhere. He suggested we try another hotel... This was stupid (I told him that...), since the law is the same for all hotels. He actually had one of the receptionists call a couple of other Marriott hotels to ask, but their response was, as expected, the same.

I forced him to call the police station again, explain the “catch 22” situation we're in and try to get an “ok” for this one night.

The answer from the police is still no.

I asked the duty manager to ask the policeman what he suggests we do.

The answer came in as bureaucratic a fashion as can be: the policeman does not have a suggested solution, but he insists that we can not check in to the hotel.

Vered suggests we go back to Israel.

One of the hotel staff members suggests we call our embassy.

I call the embassy. The embassy is closed. Not only it is 6pm or so now, but also this is the last day of Passover, a Jewish holiday.

There is an emergency number of a mobile phone. I call the emergency number.

Leah the console answers the phone. I explained the story to her and ask for her advise. To my surprise, she was as unhelpful as one can be. The thing she founds most interesting in the story and the first one she thought of commenting on is the fact that there is a direct HangZhou-BeiJing train. Beyond that she snapped at me that it is my fault for not resolving this issue on my own earlier. She suggested to give me the phone number of a hotel she refers people to for me to try, but I figured the rules are the same for all hotels, so that is not really that helpful.

We get back to the duty manager, explain that the people at the embassy can not help and appeal to him for help. He repeats that he can not help and suggest we call a friend to sleep at. We suggest he let us stay in the room without checking us in. we'll go in the morning to sort things out at the police station and if asked say that we stayed at a friend's house. He refuses: it is illegal. We understand, but do not have a solution.

When we planned to come to BeiJing, we were offered by a few people to stay with them, but being five people, we did not want to be a burden on people, especially as we planned to stay for almost two weeks. Now, we needed to find a place to stay this night. We called a couple of friends who were not at home (it is a holiday...). We then called Ian.

Ian was introduced to me via email by a former colleague from FreeMarkets, who knew him through another person. Not really the closest friend to be calling at a time of need. But, we exchanged emails a few times before and twice he offered to host us when we're in BeiJing, and we were in a real time of need, so I made the call. Ian response was as swift and welcoming as a response can be: just come over and we'll figure things later. 10 minutes later we were on a taxi to his house and 30 minutes later chatting in his living room with him, his wife and their daughter. By the time we got there they have turned their play room into a room for the kids with two air-beds already full and bedded and the room next to them prepared for us with two beds connected and a set of towels ready for us. When they described their plans for dinner, we were almost embarrassed... They were so nice!

Interestingly, (or maybe not...) we connected very well with them from the first moment we came in and were quickly engaged in a long conversation as if we knew each other for a long time. Ian is an accomplished photographer turned successful entrepreneur who sold his company and made enough money to live a good life and focus on the right things in life. So, four years ago they decided to move to China so their two girls can complete high school here and study Chinese. What an amazing venture! And we thought we were adventurous...

They've been living in BeiJing for about four years and have two more years for their younger daughter to graduate before they decide on their next home. They all speak fluent Chinese and are heavily involved in the community: some business, some teaching, some education, some sports, some charity. They seem very busy with the right focus of mind and soul. How amazing. We felt so lucky to have met them and of course, so grateful to them for their truly genuine and lovely hospitality.

The next morning (after a lavish breakfast of 5 different cereals) we headed to the police station. We were ready for a fight on the truthfulness of the information we got in HangZhou. The battle, we found out, is to be fought on a different battlefield...

The policemen in BeiJing PSB did not have any problem with our visa expiring and though we chose not to ask up front (“do not wake sleeping bears”, my grandfather used to say), they seem to agree and follow the same policy as described to us in HangZhou. But, (there has to be something unique and different and interesting that will cause a “but”, right?) a) they insisted we need a check-in slip from the hotel, which we obviously did not have and b) wanted a Chinese bank document showing we have enough money to support us while in China...

OK, one at a time. The money is first. We have encountered the need to show we have enough money to support us while in China. It is a fairly common request we have seen before as they want to see $100 USD per person per day, so $3,000 USD per person for a 30-day visa. But, it is normally satisfied by a bank statement from one's bank in their home country showing this amount is available to us, which we had with us. In BeiJing, so we learn, they want to see the money in a Chinese bank. Also, they want to see $15,000 USD for the five of us.

Vered suggests we go back to Israel and avoid this oh-so-frustrating process.

We had no interest in moving – or plan to spend – this amount of money in our entire rest of our travel and therefore we explain that it makes no sense to demand this amount for the kids and after some negotiations they agree we will show $6,000 USD for the five of us.

We asked if we can start the process now and bring the bank document as soon as the money arrived via swift from our bank in Israel to the account we will open today in Bank of China. They said no. they will accept the request for visa renewal without the bank doc. We told them we will do our best to get the doc by the following day.

Next was the check-in slip from the hotel. We explained the predicament and after a quick conference they had with their managers, they asked us to wait a bit and 30 minutes later told us they have called our hotel and approved them to check us in. One down one to go...

We head back to the hotel and after checking in (yeah!!) divide the tasks: Boaz is going to the nearest Bank of China branch to open an account, while Vered is contacting her father to organize a swift swift of money from our account in Israel to the one Boaz is opening here.

At the bank I open an account and explain what I need. They suggest that it takes 3-5 business days for the money to go through the swift, but that the constraint is on the sending bank, not them. I assure them to money will be here the following day. They share a sad smile with me and a those-stupid-foreigners-really-do-not-understand-anything look. I leave the bank and rush back to the hotel to email the info to Vered's father. A couple of hours later he faxes us the receipt showing the money has been sent. He is so dependable!

The next morning we eat breakfast in the hotel and get organized for the next trip to the police station. Vered barely slept as she was able to develop a doomed scenario were we are asked to pay the penalty not only on the two days our visa has expired until yesterday, but also on the extra day from yesterday until today to get the bank documents organized.... a quick calculation gets us to 500 RMB/person * 5 people * 3 days = 7500 RMB... a little over $1000 USD.

I head over to the bank to see that the money arrived and ask for the document the police wanted. The money did not arrive.

I try to argue and ask for more info, but there is no use.

I get back to the hotel.

Vered claims we need to get a bank document for the money we have in the newly opened account (whatever I was able to take out of the AMT on the last two days and deposit in). The amount is not even covering one person's required amount, so I suggest this is not going to help us.

Vered insists it will.

I go back to the bank and ask fro the document.

Another sad smile from the teller.

They explain the process to me and start it.

2 minutes into getting the document ready, the screen blinks and $6,000 USD miraculously appear on a new line. Talk about Just-In-Time!

10 minutes later I am back in the hotel with the document. Somehow, between my initial refusal to get a document for the little money in the account and Vered's insistence on getting it in the second time, we managed to get just enough time for the money to arrive.

Now, all we need is for the police to accept our application. We head to the police station and despite a few wrinkles step out of the place after about an hour with 5 slips indicating our visas will be ready within 5 days and we will only need to pay the regular visa fees.

Success!

We shift our sights to the next visa. Since we have 3 more months to go and can only renew the current visa once more, we will have to get a new visa outside China. We wanted a place that is easy, quick and cheap to get to and one we do not need yet another visa for. We spend a lot of time contemplating our options:

Option 1) Mongolia: Mongolia neighbors China to the north and is only 400 km away from BeiJing, has a direct train to and does not require visa from Israelis.

Option 2) Korea: also about 400 km from BeiJing with direct flights and no need for visa for us to enter.

Option 3) Hong Kong: the default option is farther away from BeiJing, but has relatively easy train rides and flights to either Hong Kong or nearby ShenZhen and GuangZhou and does not require visa for us to enter.

After long consultation with many people and evaluating costs, schedules and locations we choose the Hong Kong option and decide to head there from Xi-An after we complete our time in BeiJing and the exploration of ShanXi province and before Vered's parents arrive to enjoy Xi-An with us.

And we keep our fingers crossed for a smooth process...

TRAVBEL TIPS: EVERYTHING YOU WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT VISA TO CHINA

• Visa to China is best get in your home country.

• The normal tourist visa or two entry visas for a 30 day stay each is easy to get both in China and in most other countries.

• A tourist visa can be extended twice in China at the PSB (Police Safety Bureau) in almost every city for a zero entry 30-day stay. That process normally takes 5 working days and costs just like a regular visa, around 180 RMB.

• At home countries is is possible to apply for a dual entry 90 day stay each visa. We received one upon presenting a detailed itinerary of our planned trip in China. You can extend the second entry while in China in the process similar to the above.

• If you need to leave China for the second entry or get a new one, most countries that border China enable that easily, but they would rarely enable you another visa than the one or two entry 30 day stay one.

• The process in Hong Kong is very simple and fast (3 working days).

• If after exhausting your current visa you desire a longer stay than the 30 days, the best option is to fedex your passport to your home country and have a travel agent apply for a dual entry 90 day stay again.

• If you stay in China beyond the approved days, you will be required to pay a hefty penalty per day of overstay. Further, hotels are not allowed to check you in if your visa expired. We had that in BeiJing... You really should avoid that...

• If your visa expires during a Chinese holiday, you can apply for the extension on the day after the holiday. The logic: you should not be penalized for the holiday. We had that in BeiJing.

 

We took a train from ShangHai to HangZhou and found ourselves in the south train station, which is not the main train station. That slight difference translated to a much longer cab drive to the hotel and some anxiety among most of us due to the unpleasant introduction to this city. We had high expectations from HangZhou, that Marco Polo described as one of the most beautiful cities in China and whose gardens are known in their beauty. In contrast, the drive from the south train station showed us a city that is as dull as it can get with lots of smog and ugly buildings. And then we arrived to the area of our hotel just south of the West Lake and the view changed completely.

Strolling Around the Beautiful West Lake

The West Lake is the key attraction area in HangZhou and is worth every complement it gets. The small lake can be circled in 5-6 hours of straight walk, though when we tried it the next day, we found ourselves after 8-9 hours at about two thirds of the way... it was just too much fun and we took our time. The lake is surrounded by what seems like endless gardens that beautifully combine Chinese and western characteristics. There must be at least a dozen gardens around the lake all full of little ponds and streams with bridges on them and carefully designed paths intertwining the different sections of the gardens. Vegetation is also carefully planned and planted and since we arrived here in the spring (finally), cherry and plum and peach trees were in full blossom giving the gardens patches of white and pink that merged well with the huge sections of tulips that were planted in different areas to further enhance the color party.

But, unlike anywhere else in China we've seen so far, there were western elements in the gardens as well. For example, there were a lot of bronze sculptures around the garden, some of animals – giant turtles and snails and sheep along the common dragons and lions, but also many human figures, most of which seemed to have Western face and dress code features. But, if those sculptures were somewhat strange to us, the music coming from hidden speakers around some of the gardens caught us completely by surprise. It took us time to understand the low volume (which is nice) music we hear as we walked came from speakers in the garden and not a passing other visitor on their phone and a bit more time to recognize the tunes: they were Paul Simon's and Earth Wind and Fire's!!!

Now, that's strange!

But, it did not subtract much for the pleasure of strolling leisurely around the gardens. They were so pleasant and beautiful. On our first day after arriving in HangZhou, we went for a walk around the lake. Our hotel, the West Lake Youth Hostel that was recommended to us by our friends at Sim's Cozy Guest House in ChengDu was perfectly located at the southern tip of the lake enabling us easy access to the lake and its parks. We decided to go west and circle the lake clockwise. The West side of the lake is defined by a bridge called Su Causway that goes almost all the way from south to north of the lake. It is maybe 30 meters wide with grass stretches below beautiful willow trees on the waterfront, pedestrian walkways next to them and a 5-meter wide road in the center that is closed to cars, but is frequent with bikes, pedestrians and occasionally one of those open electric cars that take tourists around the lake.

Every once in a while along the bridge there are places of interest to visit. Those are mostly specific gardens that are lovely to visit and then come back to the path that continues along the lake. We walked slowly along the path, sat down in a few places to enjoy the views on the lake and the lovely calming vegetation. Then we found a patch of grass that looked so fresh and bright green we laid down and fell asleep... we were woken up a few minutes later by a guard that probably was telling us in his perfect Chinese it is not allowed to sleep in the park, or maybe it was to walk on the grass, I am not sure. 3-4 hours after we left the hotel, we made it to the northern end of the lake and found a tiny hole-in-the-wall noodle restaurant and ordered some noodle soup and won-ton soups which together with some steamed dumplings and fried noodles were an excellent lunch.

We continued to circle the lake and crossed another small bridge to a small island on the northern side of the lake where we found another delightful park called ZhongShan Park with sculptures and large areas of grass, perfect for another long stop. The kids found a small hill with a very interesting sculpture of a few sheep going downhill on the large stones and were playing around them while Vered and I had a delightful chat for a good hour.

Then, a group of 7-8 young Chinese found us. They were a happy bunch of youngsters in their late teens or early twenties, with funky haircuts and cloths that came to the island for a picnic. They latched on to Daniella who modelled for them for a good half an hour, followed by Vered and Naama... Yonatan ran away every time they approached him for a photo... Not far away from the little island on the West lake shore with splendid views of the lake and the tower-like BaoChu pagoda we spotted a Starbucks that can probably complete for the most beautifully located branch of the coffee chain. It was too late for a coffee, but we marked the place for some other day.

By the time the sun set down we made it to about two thirds of the way and looked for a restaurant for dinner. Dinner was uneventful, but as we got back to the path along the lake we saw a lovely music and water show that was played on the lake itself just across from the Hyatt hotel. Apparently, there are a number of shows throughout the evening,each takes about 10 minutes with 10 minute break in between shows. We watched a couple and took a taxi back to the hotel. It was a very long, but delightful day.

The Lovely LongJing Tea Village

The following day we took a local bus to the tea villages LongJing south of the lake. 15 min bus ride away are a set of lovely tea villages on the hills above the West Lake where one can see the lovely dark green tea terraces and taste and buy the LongJing tea that is considered one of China's best. The lovely thing about those villages is that the tea is grown, picked and prepared (roasted, dried, packed, etc.) by local families, not big businesses. We stopped at one village and sat down in a family tea stand along the road and tasted their tea.

Each family, so we learned, produces only two types of tea: the high quality is made from the small leaves and slightly lower quality with the larger leaves. We actually preferred the lower quality one and purchased a box of it. Throughout the village, all families grow the exact same type of tea plant, so all the tea in the village has the same characteristics: same plant, same soil, same weather conditions. The differences are subtle and result from different care to the plants and slight variations in the exact location of the fields with respect to the sun and drainages of participation. We tasted their tea and purchased a small box.

We then continued down the road towards the next village, a few hundred meters from there and met a couple of Chinese tourists walking with a an old woman next to the famous LongJing well that gave the village its name (Jing means a Well and Long is a Dragon). They were university students who came here on their vacation and spoke good English. They met the old lady on the bus up to the village and she suggested they come to her house to sample some tea, but before hand she'll show them the well. We thought this is a good opportunity to learn some more about the village and the tea and joined them for their short tour of the well and then to the woman's house. On the way, we stopped at one of the tea terraces where she showed and explained to us how the tea is grown and picked. Then she took us with the Chinese students to her house to taste their tea.

Along the tasting, I used the opportunity of having the two Chinese students as translators to learn a bit more about the tea in the village. For example, I was intrigued by the way the business of tea is managed. We learned that all the tea in the village is produced by individual families, no big businesses. That was a cool thing to learn. Basically, the entire village makes a living out of the tea business, but they each grow, prepare and sell their own produce. The particular family we were visiting told us they sell their own tea to individuals only, no stores or restaurants or distributors. They sell it to people like us and some of those people contact them on a regular basis and they mail them additional quantities. I guess they were a very small business and were able to do it on their own like this.

I asked the Chinese students to get a sense from them on the size of the business and we learned that on an annual basis, they sell about 165 KG for about 65000 Yuan. We bought 50g for 40 Yuan, which means we paid about twice the average price the family sold their tea, but it still felt like a fair deal to us and we were happy with it.

From the tea tasting we headed to a restaurant we spotted on the side of the road at the edge of the village, which turned out to be fantastic. And since we were able to catch the last bus back down the mountain/hill, we were very happy with the day's outcome even though we did not have enough time to enjoy the village and marked it for another visit in some later day.

The thing with our visit to HangZhou is that we arrived here in the spring and spring has both advantages and disadvantages to it. On the positive side, the blossom of the gardens is amazing and most beautiful. On the down side, my allergies picked up and annoyed me a great deal. Also, spring means unstable weather and so we encountered one beautiful weather day followed by a rainy day and vise versa. That in turn caused us to stay indoor for more time that we planned and while the kids enjoyed the lovely hotel common area and DVD selection, we felt antsy to go out and enjoy the city.

After a few days in HangZhou we took a bus to the neighboring province of AnHui and explored HuangShan and the HuiZhou villages around it. Then, we came back to HangZhou for another few days.

When we came back we continued to explore HangZhou. But, first, we needed to extend our visa. Through the PSB (Public Safety Bureau) we learned that around the coming weekend is another Chinese 3-day holiday. Since we were burned before trying to get train tickets during Chinese holidays we rushed to the ticket office to book train tickets for us. Our fears were in place as we could not get tickets on the date we wanted and had to take a train the day before our planned trip and on a higher class (soft sleep versus our preferred hard sleep). But, at least we got the tickets and our minds and hearts were free again to enjoy HangZhou.

The first thing we did after getting the train tickets was heading to the Starbucks branch on the West Lake northeastern shore for a long break over large latte for Vered and Boaz and Hot Chocolate for Yonatan, Daniella and Naama. The speed and extent of the impact of a cup of coffee on Vered during this trip never seizes to amaze me....

One day we went to the most lovely TaiZiWan Park at the southwestern corner of the lake and spent a good half day strolling the park's lovely grounds where the trees were in full blossom and hundreds of tulips were recently planted in batches of color along the park's vast grass areas as well as tiny streams. The scenery is so beautiful it is not surprising that we crossed dozens (I do not exaggerate!) of about-to-married couples in full wedding dresses taking their wedding photos there.

One other day we went back to the tea villages area. We hooked up with a Carol, who stayed at the same Youth Hostel as us and we had a chat with the previous day. This time we went first to the small, but lovely Tea Museum. We walked a bit in the museum's gardens and climbed on the hill behind it to watch the women pick up the tea leaves on the terraces. Then we entered the museum and learned a bit about tea: types, regions, production processes, etc. and then went to a restaurant near by for a pleasant long lunch in front of the fields of tea terraces.

Watching the fields and the people walking and driving by gave us the feeling that this place is the Chinese equivalent of Napa and Sonoma valleys in northern California. Instead of rows of vines on the hillsides there are terraces of tea bushes, People taste tea and not wine, and the currency is RMB and not USD, but everything else is exactly the same. The calm scenery of rolling low hills full of rows of bushes, dotted with small farm houses. The small valleys in between the hills with their narrow meandering roads. The small restaurants and local tasting establishments waiting for tourists. And the hoards of people coming from the near by large city (San Francisco and ShangHai respectively) or flying/dring over for a weekend retreat, pouring into the valleys in their luxury cars (I have not seen so many Porches and Ferraries and Lambourginies since we left SF...), filling the tasting rooms and spending money easily and happily.

It was such a pleasant day, we spent almost two hours at the restaurant, chatting with Carol (a school teacher turned accountant turned professor at University of Wisconsin at Madison who came to HangZhou to visit her son who is doing his advance degree in Chinese medicine here) and enjoying the view. Having being sitting for so long, we decided to walk rather than take the bus back to the hotel. That decision turned to be a great one as the path from the museum to the West Lake follows a little stream and is just lovely. It took us almost three hours to walk back leisurely and we enjoyed every minute of it. It was a lovely day that merged beautifully tea, food, sights and exercise..

Hiking to BaoChu Pagoda

On our last day at HangZhou we went for a hike towards the BaoChu Pagoda. There are a number of paths that start at different spots on the northern tip of the West Lake. We took one of them and started climbing the hill. All throughout the hike we heard people singing somewhere up the hill and somewhere below us. At one point, a couple of Chinese in their 40's or 50's caught up with us. The guy was singing some Chinese song in an opera type voice and extremely loud, which was admirable considering the few hundred steps we all climbed. The woman was singing along, but with almost no voice heard.

After about 45 min of slow calm ascend, we reached a tea house where a group of Chinese musicians were playing. “our” opera singer joined them happily and they played and sang together. We sat at the open patio and listened to them for a while. This was a very different experience than any musical one we've had in China to-date and was quite lovely.

We then continued the climb via a few stopping points all the way to the very interesting BaoChu Pagoda. The tower looking pagoda has a very unique design and can be seen from almost anywhere around the West Lake. Just next to it are a few giant stone boulders that people climb on as a miniature rock-climbing exercise. Yonatan and Daniella climbed the rocks (to the horror looks of most Chinese around) before we could even discuss it with them...

The path down was quick and we found a small restaurant to have a quick dinner before rushing to the hotel to get our staff and head to the train station to catch our night train to BeiJing.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Sites: there are a number of sites worth going to if you're in HangZhou. Among them are (in our declining rate of importance or enjoyment):

• Circle West Lake: simply walking through the gardens around the lake is a delightful day-long activity for those who enjoy gardens and slow pace. There is nothing particular to see, but rather a very large amount of beautiful spots, sculptures, exterior designs and vegetation to enjoy.

  • LongJing Tea Village: a lovely little village only minutes away from HangZhou's West Lake is delightful to walk through, sip, taste and buy some of China's most prestigious and high quality tea and even hike on the hills above it. There is a path we did not have a chance to take due to the on-and-off rain during most of our days in HangZhou to Lion's Hill from where you can watch the village from above and would be a fantastic little hike if you have time. Also, thewre is a lovely restaurant near the bus station at the entrnce to the walking path at the exit from the village. I am not sure what is its name, but it can be found on: 0571-8796-4286. LongJing001@zj.com .

  • Tea Museum: not far from LongJing, closer to the West Lake is the small, but lovely tea museum. In and on itself it can be a 1-2 hour visit, but if you combine it with a hike on the hill behind the museum, a lunch in one of the small restaurant near it and a walk back towards the Weest Lake, this can be a lovely day.

  • BaoChu Pagoda: a lovely pagoda on a hill on the north side of West Lake that can provide for a lovely 2-3 hour short hike

• Food and Drink:

  • There are a lot of nice restaurants on the street parallel to the north of the “old street” of Hefang Lu

  • the Starbucks on the northeastern corner of West Lake has one of the best view spots on the lake, especially or sunset.

Hotel: we stayed at the West Lake Youth Hostel, which is a nice place perfectly located to explore the lake and the sites around it and with a lovely and lively set of people, many of which are returned visitors. It's common areas are good and the over feel of the place is positive and fits HangZhou well

• Should You Go: This is a tough question. On one hand, HangZhou is quite a delightful city and we met many people in our hostel who have been coming there multiple times for either a weekend or long durations (some even for 3-4-5 weeks!) after falling in love with the city and as a getaway from the hassle and bustle of nearby commercial center and pressure cooking of ShangHai. On the other hand, besides the LongJing tea villages and tea museum, HangZhou does not have any particular site that can be of attraction to tourists. So, our advise would probably be: if you have time or want to spend time peacefully in the ShangHai area, it is a great place to do so. If you're on a short duration trip, you may want to skip it and focus your time on SuZhou, HuangShan, the HuiZhou villages and even WuYuan region.

We booked the bus from the hotel to the mountain and woke up at 6am to get as early as possible on the mountain. Huang Shan is an expensive and hard and we wanted to make sure we maximize our time on the mountain. Fortunately, perfect weather welcomed us (it was raining the day before we arrived and the day we left...) with cloudless skies and a warming sun. the air was cold, but with the sunlight, we were happy to spend the entire walk on the mountain with two shirts or a shirt and a fleece on.

We arrived at the foot of the mountain around 8am and took the cable car up on the eastern side. The views from the cable car are magnificent and within 10 minutes of the ride we decided it was probably worth the steep entrance fee. We then spent the entire day walking along the beautiful the peaks of the eastern side. It was a long and strenuous hike, but a lovely one nonetheless. We made many stops and enjoyed the many treats we purchased the previous day against the breath taking views.

In a common Chinese fashion, peaks on the mountains all have meaningful, even inspirational names. The first peak we got to was the named Beginning to Believe Peak and indeed provoked an almost spiritual feeling in our hearts as we watched the pines clinch to the stalactite looking rocks on the slopes of the mountain. From there we continued places with names like Black Tiger Pine and Refreshing Terrace before reaching our first long rest break next to the Monkey Gazing over the Sea of Clouds peak .

It is a tradition for Chinese people to throw stones from the peak and it is said that those who throw their wish written stones into the clouds below, will have their wishes fulfilled. We brought with us a number of flat river stones we collected in HongCun the previous day and I was happy to get rid of as they were quite heavy in my pocket. We sat on the top of the peak (Vered almost had a heart attack from watching the kids playing on the stones at the edge of the mountain peak), wrote our wishes on the stones and threw them towards the stones that quite well resembled a Monkey Gazing over the Sea of Clouds.

After a delightful rest eating some dried fruits and chocolate, we made the steep climb towards the Cloud Dispelling peak, though were not able to get to the Purple Cloud Peak that is closed to visitors. Apparently, the Chinese built a cable car to it and since then prevent hikers to get there on their own in order to force them to use the cable...

We finished our first day hike around 4pm and checked in to our hotel. We had very low expectations from the hotel as the people at the guest house told us it is the cheapest room we can find and book on the mountain. This “cheapest room available” was twice as expensive as our average room rate, three times as high as the spacious family room in the hotel in TunXi the five times as expensive as the one in HongCun, but then it is a tourist place where all the food, laundry, furnitures of the hotel are carried by men to the top of the mountain, and choices are few, so it is what it is.

The hotel tuned out to be a four star hotel with quite comforting room, lobby and facilities. We relaxed a bit, drank some tea and hot chocolate and headed out to see the sunset. We decided to head towards the West side of the Bright Top Peak which turned out to be a wise decision as it was far less crowded than the one next to the hotel. As we waited for the sun to set and the sky to lit with the beautiful colors, we played 1,2,3 Dag Makuach and chatted with the other Chinese on the peak. Unfortunately, the sunset was quite dull that evening and as it got dark we got back to the hotel to have dinner and head to bed early.

We woke up at 5am to go see the sunrise. We were contemplating leaving Naama to sleep in the hotel, but since she had a relatively tough night waking up a few times and not sleeping too well, we decided to take her with us. Daniella, on the other hand, decided to stay in bed. We climbed to the peak at the summit and witnessed a lovely sunrise despite the hundreds of other people who crowded the peak to enjoy it to.

After the sun rose completely, we got back to the hotel, had a light breakfast and started our long and hard walk down the thousands of Western steps. Interestingly, the path down is not down-only. It is actually full of climbs to peaks on the way, which make for a much more interesting, but quite harder day. We climbed to the nice Flying Over Rock and went to see the Greeting Guest Pine.

There were two peaks on the way that we thought would be interesting and we thought we'll decided on the go which one of them we'll climb.

Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately considering the sore muscles we had, both peaks: the Lotus Peak and the Celestial Peak were closed. I am not sure whether they were closed for the winter or closed for construction, but in any event, we watched the ultra steep stairs leading to those peaks from below and continued our way down.

The mountain is indeed a most beautiful one. Yonatan gave it five stars, which is our rating for “worth a visit even if not on your path”. Naama kept shouting woooow on every other peak where we saw the view, Yonatan kept asking if certain trees are real trees or paintings on the rocky slopes, and all of us enjoyed the truly otherworldly scenery! Along the way, we kept looking for stones with unique shapes and found a lot of them: a monkey, a lion, a fish, a turtle, two hand palms in a praying position, a woman, a rat, even a cellphone... and we have photos to prove it!

As we got closer tot the bottom of the mountain, Both Vered and I had extremely sore muscles and we actually stopped a few times during the last couple of hours to stretch our legs to avoid our muscles to fail. We continued the walk while Vered started to teach the kids the Passover songs. Yonatan learned the Echad Mi Yodea with all the numbers till 13, while Daniella learned the Avadim Hainu and Naama sang the four Kooshiot (questions) . While singing exhausted us and them a bit more and definitely took precious air away from our muscles, tt helped motivate the kids to continue walking and enabled them to enjoy the Passover dinner later on that evening. Both Yonatan and Daniella expressed their tiredness, but surprised us and I think themselves with their ability to complete the very very strenuous hike without losing it. To express our pride at them, we bought them at a one of the stands along the way two medals for their truly remarkable walk. They definitely earned it!

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Should You Go: ABSOLUTELY! Definitely go the HuangShan – it is incredible!

• How Long Should You Spend: If at all possible, do not try to squeeze your visit to one day. Rather stay the night there. This will enable you to enjoy the sunset and sunrise.

• Sleep: There are places to camp on the mountain as well as dorm room, so not only hotels, are available.

• Eat: Food on the mountain is two to four times as expensive as elsewhere, so bring as much as you can with you: snacks, water, drinks, etc.

• Cable Car: taking the cable car is a good option for most people. The cost is not too high, but it saves you a lot of time and strength to enjoy the long path on and around the summit.

• Route: if you take the cable car up from YunGu, you can hike the eastern side on the first day, end at the summit for sunset and then hike down the western steps on the second day. This way, you'll enjoy both sides of the mountain. The above translates into between 10-15 kilometers hike each day, mostly on steps and almost none of it is flat: it's either up or down the whole time...

• Route: We did not make it to the Western Sea loop, towards XiHai Grand Canyon, but were able to see the path from above and it looks even more beautiful than the one we took, so if you can, you should probably try to do it. It is closed during the winter and opens on April 1^st.

We took the local bus from TunXi to the village of HongCun. The drive was fantastic as the scenery is very pleasant and the bright blossom of the Cannula fills most of the fields around houses and in valleys among hills. We fell in love with HongCun the moment we arrived there. The village is a quaint little one south west of HuangShan and is part of a lovely group of HuiZhou villages in the region that has kept their style and charm for many many years.

HongCun is known to be shaped like a bull and for having a lovely half moon shaped pool in its middle. There are even stamps of the town's main sights in a series about old villages. The pond is indeed most charming and so is the one at the south of the town where reflections of the town's old houses on the calm water with the forested hills as the background is as picturesque as it gets. And indeed, the place hums with photographers and people drawing and painting.

From where the bus left us, we entered the town and headed towards the Half Moon Pond, then continued in the same direction amid tiny streets towards the edge of town to avoid the crowds a bit. I went ahead with Naama, while Vered stopped with Yonatan and Daniella to buy some crunchy flat bread in a stand on the way, In every corner and side street we saw photographers and stopped next to a group of students to watch their lovely paintings.

Naama looked carefully at a really lovely painting by a girl and said it was very good. Then she went to see the painting on another guy in the group and said that it is nice, but not as good as the girl's. According to the laughter by everybody, her body language and gestures conveyed her feeling in a manner that was easily understood by the group despite their strange lack of Hebrew skills... And then a funny thing happened, the guy, a young (maybe in his early 20's) gave Naama his brush and pointed to his painting as if to ask her to help him improve it. She, of course, took on the challenge and started drawing thick lines across his dark greenish forest area. But then, her brush got close to the light bluish sky section of the picture, he got scared and took the brush away from her.

But only for a few seconds. He turned the picture to the other side and motioned to Naama to keep on painting on the wood base, which she of course did. At some point Vered arrived with Yonatan and Daniella and Daniella took the brush from Naama to complete the painting. I took a photo of the final picture, which with a little bit of cropping was actually not that bad!

After the short art class, we crossed the road and started climbing the little hill on the side of the village. We walked for about an hour back and forth on the hill enjoying the views from above (you only need to ascend 20-50 meters and you gain a whole different view point on the scenery) before descending towards the lake south of town and back into the old town from the beautiful pond on the south side.

We had a light lunch and enjoyed an evening by the beautiful pond taking many many pictures, feeding the ducks and then watching them go to sleep at their owner's house. We met a group of young Chinese students and chatted with them a bit before going back to our hotel. The owners of the hotel were very kind and lovely and we had a good time chatting with them a bit around the water pool patio in the center of their house. They even made sweet gluttonous rice balls for us for desert.

The next morning I woke up early and walked around the village and even climbed a hill on the northern side of it to gain yet another view point on it. After breakfast, we strolled around lazily in the village and looked at the many beautiful antique stores. We even almost bought a few pieces of antiques wood carvings, but decided against it in the last moment fearing the hassle of shipping them back.

As we were looking at the arts and antiques, Yonatan and Daniella got hooked to a woman who were carving pictures on small bamboo pieces. We bought a few tiny items from her and then she let Yonatan and Daniella try to carve their own pictures, which they did quite nicely. Another successful art class!

Initially we planned to visit at least two if not three of the villages, but we enjoyed HongCun so much, we decided to stretch our time there and forego the other ones. So around lunch time we headed out of the village and caught a bus back to TunXi. Arriving there early was good as we had to get organized towards our early morning rise to go to Huang Shan.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• HongCun is delightful and absolutely worth a visit if you're in the neighborhood, for example, if you plan a trip to HuangShan, it is worth adding a day and come here.

• Getting here from TunXi is an easy two hour bus ride

• The place has ample tiny places to sleep and eat at, so no need to reserve in advance. Just stroll around the town and look for the one that feels good to you.

• The village is a very small one, so it only takes maybe 3-4 hours to see all the sites. Though, like most places, you can enjoy it more if you gave it more time, like spend the night there.

Also called HuangShan Xi, the town is a perfect place for a base to explore the mountain and near by HuiZhou villages. We arrived there on a 3-hour calm bus ride from HangZhou and checked in the fantastic Old Street Youth Hostel (formerly Koala Youth Hostel). We got a perfect family room – a large room with two sleeping areas to the two sides of a bathroom with one large bed for us on one side and two single ones for the kids on the other. The place also features a great common area with games and couches, a large bar and even a wonderful porch overlooking the lovely street below.

Before leaving the hotel, we checked on hotels on top of the mountain (our plan was to take the cable car up the mountain, then hike around the summit, see the sunset, stay to sleep, wake up to see the sunrise and then hike down on the mountain's other side. At the hotel they told us that the cheapest room (with two beds at the cheapest hotel they know) would be just under 900 yuan. We knew the mountain is expensive, but this felt overly pricey and we decided to check at other places before committing to this fee.

We left the hotel and strolled along the nice old street which despite being a tourist street with basically souvenir shops has very very pretty buildings. Vered and Yonatan found a tiny hole-in-the-wall noodle place where we ordered two different kinds of dumplings in soup based on photos on the wall. Then Yonatan mastered his Chinese to ask the woman at the counter if they had noodle soups and ordered one as well for us. All the dishes were great and we continued to order some deserts from them as well. We spent the afternoon stocking up on foods for the hike on the Yellow Mountain. It was Thursday afternoon and the weather was quite nice.

We stopped by another youth hostel to ask for their hotel recommendations and were told that contrary to our belief that Saturday and Sunday are the busiest days on the mountain, Friday and Saturday are. Consequently, hotel rates are significantly higher during those weekend days – in fact, they are around 75% higher. We also learned that the weather is expected to be slightly better on Sunday and Monday than it is on Friday and Saturday. Armed with this info we made a quick decision to swap our day plans and go to visit the Huizhou villages on Fri-Sat and to climb the mountain on Sun-Mon. Through the youth hostel we booked a room on a hotel on the summit in what felt like expensive, but reasonable all things considered.

For dinner we went to a restaurant just across the street from our hotel, which turned out to be a great place. Apparently it is a famous place that is very busy for dinner. Its kitchen has samples of all the dishes on display and the guests receive an order form and are asked to fill in what they want. We ended up with maybe a dozen dishes, twice the amount of dishes we normally order, but they were very tasty and quite cheap and so we decided to come back there, which we did twice more for basically every dinner we ate in TunXi...

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Tunxi is a city with no particular interest, but is a great launching base for the HuangShan mountain and the HuiZhou villages around it. It has easy access paths to and from and a large set of hotels and restaurants to provide for tourists with this objective.

• The old street next to the river is a nice one to walk along if you can ignore or avoid the many tourists that flock to it (for example by waking up early in the morning you can get some fantastic shots of its beautiful buildings).

• The Old Street Youth Hostel (Formerly Koala Youth Hostel) is fantastic. They have extra specious common areas with games and a bar and even a wall they show movies on on weekends. The staff is attentive and helpful and the location in the entrance to the old street is perfect. Their rooms are specious and well maintained. We had an excellent family room with two sub-rooms in side, one with a large bed for us and another with two beds for the kids. A perfect place for singles or families!

• There is also another youth hostel within 5 min walk from the Old Street one called Ancient Town Youth Hostel that also looked very good.

So you wake up one day and discover that you've been traveling for 8 months already. Wow, time flies...

Also, due to some annoying circumstances, related to travel restrictions by airlines and confusion/challenges with travel agents, you need to cut your tip short by 5 weeks. The combination of the two leaves you (us...) with only 4 months to go on the trip. This is one of those aha moment that makes you stop and think, since with 8 months passed and 4 more to go, the end is closer than the beginning. and so you sit and think of what you were able to accomplish and what still you want to get done and all of a sudden you realize you are running out of time... a "year off" for traveling sounds like a lot of time, but then it goes so fast that before you know it it passes you by... there is so much more we want to do and we really need to start cutting things out of our plan...

And I am not even talking about fiscal things like places we do not have time to visit: we are constantly evaluating and eliminating sites and places off our itinerary. in a place as large as China, it is only expected that there is an infinite amount of things to see and places to visit and we have to decide which ones we see and which ones we skip. But, on the mental side of things as well.

For example, we have not been able to make any significant progress with our Chinese language skills. initially we made some good progress, but then we seem to have hit a brick wall and have made only marginal insignificant progress since. also, by now I thought we'd be further along in our knowledge of Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism which we are not. and most importantly, we seem to have been moving backwards recently in terms of our ability to relax and calm down and internalize those calming skills into our mind-set and normal behaviors. again, initially, we were making wonderful progress with those, especially towards and from our kids. but, recently we seem to be going backwards more than forwards with it. we get antsy about tiny things and angry and frustrated with things more often than we should. and by we, I refer to, of course, not only Vered and I, but also Yonatan, Daniella and Naama.

And then you continue thinking about your trip and find out that you no longer operate on a year-long trip modus operanda. Since we only have 3-4 months to go, we must start thinking and working the logistics of our trip like a 3-4 month trip... this means that extra attention is now needed for decisions on the itinerary: where to go and when, what to skip, how long to stay, etc. While it was fun to “roam about” with minimal need for careful planning since we had the time, we now need to start being very precise. And I do not like that mode... it takes away from the freedom feeling of the trip.

Now, I am fully aware that some people will read this and think those are rich-men-problems, and probably are right about it, but for us they are important. after all, I am not sure we'll be able to do another year like this, at least not any time soon...

In case you were wondering what goes through our minds every once in a while on such a trip.

and 8 months already passed... and we only have 4 more to go...

Spring has definitely arrived. I do not need the calendar or weather forecast to know that. It's my allergies that spurned to life out of nowhere yesterday getting my nose wet, then dripping, then red from wiping, my eyes dripping starting from about two minutes after I wake up and my storage of tissue paper depleting faster than ever. Long live antihistamine!

On the beaches of Myanmar and Thailand we potty trained Naama. Somehow in HangZhou she learned how to get her pants and underwear off. This is dangerous territory and time as we occasionally find her walking around with her pants and underwear down after she has completed doing what she wanted to do on her own and is oblivious to the next steps of taking the pants up...

I love Vered. A constant thought...

The kids are incredible and unbelievable. The kids drive me nuts. Those are thoughts that go back and forth depending on the activities of the past few minutes...

Naama seems to be living in either one of two operating modes: she either drinks or pees... I don't think I have ever met someone who can drink so much as she...

Our first 6 months of the trip were perfect in terms of matching the weather in the seasons to the regions we wanted to travel in. Central and northern YunNan is perfect for the summer time and SiChuan is best for the fall as are HuNan, HuBei, GunagDong and GuangXi. Myanmar and southern and central Vientam were perfect for the winter time.

Our original plan for the next phase of our trip was spot on and took us from northern Vietnam over the border to southern YunNan. The tropical Xishuanbanna is best visited in the summer time and so are the villages a bit north and northeast from it and towards GuiZhou. But, since we could not get a visa to China from Vietnam we flew to Hong Kong in mid January. And that's when we made the mistake. Rather than go to YunNan like our original plan, we headed to JiangXi and FuJian in February and then ShangHai, JiangSu and ZheJiang in March.

We noticed the too cold weather during our time with Orit in JiangXi and FuJian and should have adjusted our plan right then and there and spend, at least the first 2-3 weeks of March in YunNan. But, we stuck to our revised plan and headed to ShangHai in the beginning of March.

We came too early. They say that on a normal year, the spring arrives in JiangSu-ZheJiang in early March and so mid March is perfect time to come, but this year it comes late and so it is still very very cold, which means it is far less comfortable to walk around, AND more importantly, the trees and bushes have yet to grow their springs flowers and most still stand naked. I can only only imagine how this place looks when all the trees are blossoming.

Since the key attraction to SuZhou are its gardens, this is a pity and I can only blame myself for messing up this portion of our trip. In retrospect, we should have spent March in southern YunNan, enjoying the warm weather and come up here in early April. But, it is what it is and hopefully, some of those who read this posting will learn from our experience and come here in April.

סדר פסח הוא ארוע חשוב אך מורכב למדי לביצוע, על אחת כמה וכמה כאשר רוצים לעשותו בחול, שלא לדבר על סין ובודאי עבור אלו (כמונו) שבוחרים להעבירו בצורה משפחתית ולא עם המוני מטיילים בסניף חבד כלשהוא. אנחנו מצאנו את עצמנו למרגלות ההר הצהוב בחבל אנחווי אחרי שני ימי טיול ארוכים (קמנו בשב בבוקר ביום הראשון ובחמש בבוקר ביום השני!), קשים (המון הליכה בעליות וירידות תלולות מאד ) ומאד מאד יפים (מראות מרהיבים של צוקי ענק אדירים ותלולים מעל ואדיות עמוקים ועצי אורן או ארז או אשוח דבוקים לזיזי סלע ועומדים איתנים אל מול איתני הטבע לצור מחזות מרהיבים שהיוו ומהווים השראה לסופרים, משוררים, ציירים וצלמים). נ

אז איך עורכים סדר פסח בזה? דבר ראשון צריך לבחור מקום. אחרי התלבטויות רבות בין אתרים שונים, אנחנו בחרנו את המרפסת היפה של בית המלון שלנו והעדפנו לספר את סיפור ההגדה כמקובל לפני האוכל אותו נאכל במסעדה קרובה. דבר שני ומאד חשוב הוא מאכלי הפסח. כאן היינו צריכים לאלתר במקום מצות היו לנו: אצות, במקום ממרור: ווסאבי על קרקרים (הגרסה שלנו למילוי מצוות כורך...), בעבור יין היה לנו יין אורז שבחרנו בעצת דניאלה ויונתן בכפר חונג-צון יומיים לפני כן אחרי טעימות ארוכות של ששה סוגי ייונות אורז שבסופן הודיעה דניאלה, חצי שיכורה, שהיין הזה: מעולה וחייבים לקנות אותו!), באק-צ'או היה פרי האדמה ועוף היה במרק. השלב הבא היה לספר את סיפור ההגדה ולערוך את הסדר. נ

אז התיישבנו לנו על המרפסת עם שתי כוסות יין וסיפרנו איך בני ישראל ירדו מצריימה ואיך רבו ופרו שם ואיך רעמסס פרעה מצריים הפכם לעבדים ואיך גזר עליהם גזרות קשות ואיך עלתה זעקתם השמיימה אל האלוהים איך שמע את זעקתם. ועוד סיפרנו על גזרת השמד: כל הבן הילוד היעורה תשליכון וכל הבת תחיון ואיך הגזרה הזו הביאה את משה התינוק אל בית פרעה ואיך גדל שם כבן פרעה עד שהרג את הנוגס וברח למדבר שם נגלה אליו אלוהים אל מול הסנה הבוער ואיננו עוכל וציווהו לחזור למצרים וללכת אל פרעה ולצוותו שלח את עמי.

בשלב הזה דניאלה ספקה כפיה אל פיהה והודיעה שזה מאד מפחיד. להרגיעה שתינו כוס ראשונה. עיקר סיפור ההגדה שלנו היה סיפור מכות מצריים. יונתן זכר משנה שעברה את דם, צפרדע ובכורות ודניאלה זכרה ששי היתה חולה כשהם ערכו את סדר הפסח בגן ערבה ולא אכלה את המאכלים הטובים ולא שתתה ממיץ הענבים המתוק שחולק בכוסות זהב (אבל לא זהב אמיתי, רק בכאילו...). אנחנו התאמצנו להשלים את הפרטים החסרים. אחרי המכות טבלנו אצבעות ביין כל כל מכה וסיימנו כוס שניה. נ

וכאן, אחרי שעה פלוס של סיפורים, כמו כל משפחה יהודית (אך לא חרדית) טובה, התחילו מתעצמים הקולות התובעים לקצר בסיפור ולהגיע לאוכל... אז עשינו הפסקה ועברנו לצד השני של הרחוב למסעדת הבית שלנו לשלושת הימים בעיר. השתדלנו להזמין מנות שאינן חמץ ועד שהן הגיעו המשכנו בסיפור: מכת בכורות, המלאך שפסח על בתי בני ישראל, יציאת מצרים, עמוד האש ועמוד הענן, חציית ים סוף, מעמד הר סיני, 40 יום ו-40 לילה, לוחות הברית, עגל הזהב, עוד 40 יום, לוחות הברית, 40 שנה במדבר... נ

האוכל הגיע תוך כדי אך יונתן ודניאלה לא הניחו לנו לאכול ודרשו שנמשיך בסיפור עד סופו ואף מעבר לכך... שתינו עוד שתי כוסות תה ושרנו את שירי הפסח ששיננו כל אותו בוקר בירידה מההר. דניאלה התנדבה לשיר את הפתיחה והפזמון של ארבעת הקושיות ויונתן שהתאמן ביסודיות לשיר את אחד מי יודע הצליח לזכור ולשיר את כל המחרוזת ללא הפסקה או טעות. אגב, אם לא ניסיתם לשיר את השיר תוך כדי ירידה או עליה בכמה אלפי מדרגות, תמצאו הר גבוה ותנסו. זו בהחלט חוייה מעניינת. נ

כשהיינו שרים את השיר הזה בסדר פסח אצל סבא שלי, הקטע היה לנסות לשיר את כל הסדרה משלושה עשר מידייה ועד אחד אלוהינו בנשיפה אחת בלי לשאוף אוויר באמצע. הזכרון של סבי ואבי ודודי ואני שרים בקצב מהיר, מנסים לסיים את כל המחרוזת וסבתא שלי מתמקדת בסבא שלי וצועקת פתאם: “ראיתי אותו, הוא נשם!!” וצוחקת צחוק גדול שאחריו מתחיל ויכוח בלתי נמנע של: “מה פתאם, לא נשמתי", “כן נשמת, ראיתי אותך",”לא ראית", “תפסתי אותך, תודה" ועוד ועוד צחוק הוא מזכרונות הילדות השמחים ביותר שלי ומזכרונות סבי וסבתי היפים ביותר. בהליכה הקשה בעליות ובירידות התלולות של ההר הצהוב, עם נעמה על מנשא הגב כשאני מתנשם מהמאמץ אפילו בלי השירה נזכרתי שוב ושוב בנסיונות הנושנים ההם לשיר את המחרוזות ללא הפסקת נשימה... נ

זימרנו "עבדים היינו" ואפילו ניסינו להזכר במילות השורות "דיינו" לפני שהקפדנו כולנו לאמר "פסח, מצה ומרור" על מנת שנצא ידי חובתינו, נעמה הטעימה "בו יאו פונג ווו" (אני לא רוצה שיגעו בי) כלפי סיני חצי שיכור משולחן סמוך שהיה מעט יותר מדי ידידותי וסיכמנו כולנו ב"חסל סדר פסח כהלכתו כמו שזכינו לערוך אותו בסין, כן נזכה לערוכו בשנה הבאה בישראל או במקום אחר, מי יודע”... בהעדר סבא וסבתא עבור מתנות ויתרנו על טקס הצפנת חיפוש ומציאת האפיקומן אבל שתינו עוד כוסית והתגאינו על שהצלחנו לערוך סדר כמעט מלא ועל כך שיונתן וגם דניאלה זכרו לא מעט מסיפור ההגדה ונהינו מהשירים ומאד השתוקקו לשמוע עוד ועוד מהסיפור עצמו, אם כי בדרך חזרה למלון דניאלה שאלה אותי אם פרעה כבר מת... נ

 

We left ShangHai heading to SuZhuo in freezing temperature after a week of rainy weather and came back to a lovely spring weather. What a lovely change!

We used the weather as well as we could to visit those outdoor city places worth exploring during warm weather. One day we explored the wonderful Yu Gardens next to our hotel. Coming from the city of gardens in SuZhuo, I had low expectations of this garden in ShangHai, but we were all very pleasantly surprised. The gardens are well designed and maintained and are lovely to walk around at. They maintain the same elements of the SuZhuo gardens: small paths leading from one section to the next, hidden stairs to climb on stone structures, water ponds, trees placed in front of white walls for the sun to “paint” a design of the shade on the wall, carefully laid out vegetation, and more. What was different in this garden is the fact that from different parts of the garden you could see some of Shanghai sky scrapers, the contrast of the new and old, modern and traditional is fantastic.

A couple of other days we went to the French Concession region. This lovely section of town is most delightful to stroll around at, stop for a coffee or tea and a pastry here and there and enjoy the lovely architecture. We strolled the lovely streets, sat in one of the little parks for some activity books and relaxed in the sun. One day Vered took Daniella and Yonatan to Shanghai museum. The museum is in the middle of people's square so on the way the kids were a bit hungry and went to the nearby shopping mall where they picked sushi and other small items from the food court which they then ate outside as a picnic at the park.

While eating they noticed people flying up and down behind the trees. How strange, they thought. So, they went to check it out and found an amusement park where they spent the entire afternoon. By the time they reached the museum it was already closed. Since Naama fell asleep on the way to the museum a couple of hours before, Boaz returned with her to the hotel to spend an afternoon with her there. The next morning we all came back to People Square and enjoyed the small, but fun amusement park there. We told the kids they can each choose two devices to go on. Both Yonatan and Daniella chose the bumping cars and the flying chairs. I joined them for the flying chairs where Daniella as we were spinning high in the air shouted towards me that she feels like Tinker Bell since she is almost flying....

Then we went to the bumping cars where I rode with Naama and Yonatan and Daniella rode together. I was a bit worried the many bumps might scare Naama and she was indeed quite petrified during the time we were driving. But as soon as we got off the cars she started screaming how “Ma-Neev” (her short version for Magniv, meaning “cool” in Hebrew) it was and wanted to do it again.

On another day we met an old college of mine from the FreeMarkets days who lives in ShangHai now with her husband (who works here) and two kids. She suggested we meet in the Red Town sculpture park, which turned to be a most wonderful place. The place has both an exterior large park with outdoor sculptures and an indoor gallery all modern Chinese artists. The kids played outside for a while: hide and seek and tag and then I thought Claire's children how to play 1-2-3-salty fish and they enjoyed it for almost an hour!

It was fun catching up with Claire after so long and exchange thoughts and perspectives with her about China and ShangHai. We met again in a Pearl City and a Pedestrian streets near her house in XXXXX. This time for lunch and some more salty fish games for the kids who bond so quickly it was fun to watch.

Besides, it was a good testimony to the power of the network of FreeMarkets, which combined with the network from Carnegie Mellon provides for a good foundation of a network to get assisted by in times of need. This combined network has been very valuable for me in developing this trip as I found people who could advise us on route, itineraries, accommodations and even get together in many places.

And of course, we spent a lot of time in the comfort of our hotel lounge reading books, writing, doing homework and playing computer games. We had some time and packed another 10 kg box which we mailed back to Israel. It is the third such box we send back as we buy a few things, but moreover, learn how to get by with less and wish to carry less things with us.

In the end of the day we enjoyed ShangHai. The extra time in the hotel enabled me to finish 3 large books in one week (Vered finished 2), something I have never been able to do and I love it. We saw some interesting places and were able to witness the one of the biggest cities in the world getting dressed for its graduation year prom! That said, I got the feeling that we spent too much time in the city. We woke up too late, did too little, ate too much inadequate food and gained weight.

Part of that was due to the bad weather, but another part was due to the extra comfort of the Renaissance. The luxury spacious room, the divine (yes, divine!) bath, the free quality food and computers in the lounge, were all very tempting to stay in for longer periods of time. But that lure to stay in seems like spoiling us, like a bad pill in disguise.

To me it felt a bit like TV, that devise most of us have a love-hate relationship with. It is so tempting to watch and indeed at home if I had a short 10-15-30 min gap in time, my most likely place to go spend it would be in front of the TV. And yet on every duration of times: days, weeks, months and even years, I can draw a pretty strong negative correlation (the higher one factor is the lower the other is) between the amount of time I spent watching TV and my over all feeling and well being.

But it also took us away from interacting with locals (they don't tend to stay in such luxury hotels...) and even from going outside. We will need to reassess where we plan to be and how we plan to spend our time in BeiJing to avoid the same behavior and feeling.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• ShangHai is one of the world's most interesting cities and probably the fastest growing one among the large cities. The pace of change going on the city, especially now inching towards the Expo 2010 is truly amazing. It I worth a visit to experience this gigantic beast operating. That said, you probably don't need more than 2-3 days to get the vibes of the city, though if you had more time, you can easily find how to fill it.

• Among our top choices for sights would be the usual suspects: The Bund, French Concession, Yu Garden and the new area in PuDong.

• Other interesting places we've visited and found worthy or a visit should you have the time are: Red Town sculpture Park, Insect Museum in PuDong, Museum of Urban Planning and People Square.

• NanXiang Steamed Bun Restaurant next to the Yu Gardens is absolutely worth a visit for lunch or just a take away of heir signature dumplings. They are as good as their reputation!

We left our comfy hotel in ShangHai and headed to the incredible SuZhou for a week. We boarded the direct fast train and within 35 minutes of very comfy smooth ride in an ultra clean and new train at a speed that exceeded 200 kilometers/hour at some points arrived at SuZhou train station.

If ShangHai welcomed us with chill and rain, SuZhou welcomed us with great chill and a snow blizzard! But, in ShangHai we had all of our stuff, including all the warm cloths from HaerBin where as to SuZhou we only came with one bag and for some strange reasons (a dissonance?...) we did not bring our winter hats and gloves...

Changing Hotels to Combat the Chill

Vered used the long line for the taxi to buy herself a new SIM card for her phone, while the kids enjoyed the falling snowflakes. A short taxi ride got us to the entrance to the no-car street our hotel was at and we walked there. The MingTown Youth Hostel was a most charming hotel, built in a converted old house with a lovely open-air central yard and beautifully decorated rooms on the two upper floors. The thing is that the rooms were tiny and therefore only had a single (king size) bed in them. We had to take two rooms and Vered decided that she will sleep with Yonatan and Daniella, while I'll spend the night with Naama.

Now, recently, Naama developed this habit to wake up in the middle of the night and come to our bed to sleep with us. Quite often recently we find her somewhere in our bed when we wake up in mornings.... so, it was not “new” to me to have her in the bed. But going to sleep with her, without the others in the room, turned up to be this magical experience of father-daughter. The room had an air-condition, but was still a bit cold, so we took a very hot shower and then cuddled in bed together. We told stories and laughed so hard we almost cried... It was so much fun. Then she wanted her bottle and went into the routine 15 kisses on different places around the head before falling asleep hugging me. She was so cute.

Vered, so I discovered in the morning, had a complete different experience. They too told stories and cuddled together, but their air-condition, apparently, did not do its job and the room – according to Vered – was freezing cold to the level she could not sleep. Daniella and Yonatan, by the way, woke up and claimed the room was definitely warm enough...

It did not matter to Vered who made the executive decision: we are changing hotels due to the chilly rooms! So we did. We walked towards another Youth Hostel not too far away along the same lovely PingAn road and canal and then down another alley and canal and checked a few other small hotels on the way. One of them looked incredibly beautiful, but was too expensive, another nice one did not have availability and two others did not meet our expectations.

The Java Youth Hostel was another lovely old-mansion-turned-hotel that had a family room: two rooms in a single unit with their own bathroom. And we decided to stay there. The problem arose when we discovered that for some unidentified reason the shower in our room did not have hot water and we had to go to the shared bathroom to shower. Despite the nice place and helpful staff, we decided to change hotels again in the morning.

After a long day of enjoying the streets, we took a taxi to the MingHanTang Youth Hostel. The very long drive got us worried that we are getting out of the lovely old town, but then we found ourselves in just the other side of the old town in a lovely area on the northwest corner of the old town. The hotel was yet another old house turned hotel, but what won us over was the solid air-condition in the room. We stayed there for the remainder 5 nights we had in SuZhou. It is situated just next to a lovely old street which is particularly beautiful at night and has a lovely group of restaurants and shopping stores.

The World's Most Beautiful Gardens

Marco Polo described SuZhou as one of the most beautiful cities in China and particularly praised its gardens. In the old times, when ShangHai was still a tiny fishermen village of no importance, SuZhou was one of the leading and most prosperous cities in China. The descriptions of SuZhou we read about in the museum and at some of the gardens and on the internet, made me think it may be one of those “prosperous southern cities” referred to in The Good Earth book. But, I have not checked that to be sure.

In any event, visiting the gardens was a must for us, even though we figured by now that we were a few weeks too early here and will experience the full beauty of the gardens in their blossom. The first garden we visited was the Humble Administrator Garden. It was located at the end of the road our first two hotels were at, PingAn, and so we braved the chill and headed there on our second day in SuZhou.

Starting with the conclusion in the end: the garden deserves all the credit and good words written about it! It is an incredible garden to which words and even photos will not do justice! It suffices to say that despite the temperature that was just around zero that day, we spent a good 3-4 hours in the garden to express how wonderful it was.

Chinese gardens are very thoughtful. The layout is the most important feature, as it should be, making sure ying and yang complement each other, fang shua is preserved and the components of the garden (water, soil, rocks, trees, bushes, etc.) mix smoothly and add to one another. Most gardens in SuZhou used to belong at some point in their past to someone and were part of that person's estate. They were used for meditation, relaxation, art work, religious purposes and occasional business meetings. Each area in the gardens has a named that indicates either its purpose or feeling it should evoke in the mind or heart of the person who explores it.

Like almost all gardens, the Humble Administrator Garden has a lovely lake in its center, a couple of tiny hills for an elevated view, a number of seating areas, some covered and others in the open spaces and a meandering path that goes in between the different areas. Varied vegetation, carefully selected and thoughtfully planted covers different areas of the garden and matches the intended feeling the scenery should invoke.

The garden is extremely thoughtful in its structure. For example, view points are carefully carved in places where the view is most interesting or unique, especially if reflections are enabled in the water of the lakes and pools. Stairs are placed behind boulders or on the back of other structures as to not be seen and detract from the view.

In one corner of the garden there is a tea house situated in the middle of a walled mini-garden where one can relax over a cup of green tea, listen to Chinese music and enjoy the tranquility of the calm scenery around. We spent an hour there chatting with a lovely young Taiwanese couple (who is living in Australia) and were on vacation in China for the first time.

When we left the garden I told Vered this must have been the most beautiful garden I have ever been to. That grand conviction stayed strong for at least 24 hours and was challenged as quickly as the next day when we visited the Master of the Nets Garden.

The Master of the Nets Garden is a much smaller garden than the Humble Administrator garden, and a great deal of its charm and uniqueness if in the way the it is designed using windows and walls and mirrors to enable so many different views into the garden to make it feel much bigger than it really is.

During our visit we met a local Chinese guys who told me he lives in SuZhou and comes to this garden often to relax and enjoy. He told me a few interesting things about the meaning of certain design patterns and ideas showed me a few interesting perspectives on the garden.

One of the interesting things about Gardens in the region is the use of stones that have been shaped to strange structures by wind and water. They are cleverly positioned in certain places around the garden and often often in the middle of water ponds, in between patches of low vegetation or on boulders that have been built in specific places in the gardens to enable an elevated look. In most cases the stairs to climb on these boulders are designed in such a way that they are hidden to the viewer, which is quite thoughtful. It was absolutely remarkable!

One evening we went to Pin Von for dinner. This dumpling place has hundreds of years of history and some very unique dishes. In particular we liked the Green Tea Buddha Cookies, which were both tasty and had a most unique name...

Another restaurant we enjoyed a great deal and came back to a few times for mainly lunch and breakfast is The Top Pastries of JiangNan which had one of the best soups we've had in China and some of the most unique based and braised dumplings.

We enjoyed SuZhou a great deal. Walking the stone streets was charming and lovely. We explored a few different streets in the old town and tried to walk along water canals to internalize the city's vibes. One day we tried to reach the Women Bridge which is supposed to be beautiful. The idea was great: walk along the peaceful river canal to see a lovely bridge, but then we found ourselves after a few minutes walking along a sideway-less street due to some construction along the river canal. So much for tranquility...

On our last day in SuZhou we went to visit the SuZhou Museum. The lovely small museum is located next to the Humble Administrator garden and is a great example of a museum that fits its city. It is very beautifully designed, borrowing design elements from the famous SuZhou gardens and shows a number of interesting exhibits from SuZhou's glorious past.

Interestingly, we found that SuZhou was quite cheap and we engaged in some shopping. But, we will remember SuZhou for its lovely gardens and charming water canals.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Hotels: all three Youth hostels we stayed at where quite nice, with the MingTown one exhibiting the most lovely rooms and the MingHanTang the most spacious.

• Restaurants: Pin Von (Ping Jiang Lu) is fantastic and most unique and Top Pastries in JiangNan (6583-9620) is definitely worth a visit for brunch or lunch.

• Gardens: Both Master of the Nets and Humble Administrator gardens are absolutely worth a visit. The SuZhou Museum is also a well worth it place to visit for the exhibition as well as its architecture and design.

• Transportation: the fast train from ShangHai is a perfect way to get to SuZhou quickly and comfortably. It only takes 35 min.

• Time: it is feasible to “cover” most impressive sites in SuZhou in a day or two, but like most peaceful places, if you really want to internalize the tranquility of the place, you will benefit from 3-5 days here.

The train ride from Hong Kong to ShangHai was as good as we could have wished for. We did not have soft sleep beds, only hard sleep ones and we only had four of these and even-though they were all in the same “6-pack”, we had none of the lower beds, which meant we had the two middle ones and two tops ones. That last point presented us with a few challenges. For example, keeping Naama from falling at night from a middle height bed, or getting her on and off the beds during the day time, or where to put our food and where to eat since the little table was taken full by the couple who had the two lower beds. But, besides those little challenges, it was a smooth and comfortable ride. Nothing special to talk about regarding the view, no special event with us or the kids, just a lot of reading and playing games in a clean train riding fast and smoothly for about 20 hours.

I was in ShangHai only once before in 2001 and that was a 24-hour visit. I was invited to speak at a conference here, but had important sales meetings immediately before and after the conference and so I flew in-and-out of the city so quickly, I did not even have a room booked in a hotel. I did have time for a dinner and a night out after the conference and recall the city as a most vivid booming place in the midst of fast and furious development. The city was already very impressive and left such a strong impact on me, I remember coming back to the US with a feeling that nothing will stop China from taking over form the European Union, Japan and even the US the economical dominance of the world. After 9 years, I was eager to see the city again!

ShangHai did not welcome us too nicely when we arrived. It was rainy and very cold. We packed our cloths and took a taxi from the train station to the hotel. Vered reserved the Renaissance for us and we were all looking forward to the luxurious comfort of the high-end hotel. Since the buildings in ShangHai are among the most beautiful in the world we spent the entire ride from the train station to the hotel competing for who can point to the most unique and beautiful buildings: here's one with sharp tops that look like needles, here's one with a flying sourser on its top, here's one that has...

The Renaissance did welcome us wonderfully. When Vered told the duty manager that at the Renaissance Harbor View in Hong Kong the duty manager upgraded us to a junior suit, which was wonderful for us, he immediately replied that: “if that is the treatment you got at HK, I'll upgrade you to a full suite here!” We did not refuse...

And so we got a most beautiful and spacious 15^th floor room with one giant bed, a large sofa and another bed they rolled in for us, a most spoiling bathroom and windows from floor to ceiling that enabled us a beautiful view of the old city and the beautiful buildings in Pudong new area across the river. The view is indeed spectacular, especially at night when the tall buildings are lit with a show of lights, some have movies, other signs, other special effects likes sparkling lights, while at the same time the roofs of the edges of the roofs of some of the tall ones among the old city are lit to show their design. I found myself a few nights standing at the windows looking out at the city below and in front of me, just gazing out quietly, enjoying the view.

The hotel is located on the edge of the old city, five minute walk from the famous YuYuan gardens and that's the area we went to after getting settled in our room. We stopped for dumplings at the famous NanXiang Steamed Bun Restaurant place and stood in the long line to get a couple of boxes of their signature ShangHai Style pork filled dumplings, which are my favorite in most dim-sum places. They were worth the 20 min wait in the line!

But, it was cold and rainy and so we did not spend much time outside on our six days in ShangHai. We tried a few times, but every such attempt was cut short due to the chill and/or rain. One afternoon we went to the wonderful Urban Planning museum where we saw some photos of how ShangHai developed over the years, an impressive giant room-size model of the city and a lovely exhibition about the upcoming Expo. In another we went along the Bund to witness the magnificent buildings along the river. We even took the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel which the kids liked a lot and with its cable cart on rails cabins moving gently through a tunnel of funky lights it is indeed the weirdest way to cross the river... Unfortunately, the river side of the Bund is closed to visitors for renovations towards the Expo and is only scheduled to be open in April, a month ahead of the Expo opening. Another proof that we should have gone to YunNan in March and come to this area only in April...

The upcoming Expo (May 1^st to October 31^st) is a major undertaking for the city and its impact is seen throughout the city. Existing roads are changing and new ones are being built, existing buildings are overhauled and new ones are constructed, sightseeing sights are upgraded, and entire sections of the city are being converted from old and crumbling to brand new shining and impressive ones. Souvenirs of the expo are already being sold in every street corner, signs are hung everywhere (including in many other cities throughout China!) and commercials are hailing the Expo and its impact on the city.

Major international events, in both sports and commerce, such as the Olympic games, Soccer World Cup, and major exhibitions have always been events cities (and countries) competed to host. They are sources of pride, but also contribute to the cities' economies not only during the events but also in the works leading to it and if planned smartly, from the lasting impact of the construction that enabled them: buildings, roads, communication infrastructure, public transportation means and more.

Yet, I dare to think that the level of grandiose undertaking seen in ShangHai ahead of the Expo 2010 is unparalleled in recent history. It is the kind of massive urban change that for better or worse (both probably...) can only happen in China. Nowhere else can a country or city make so much change so quickly. It is totally amazing.

One day we went to the Insect museum, which was excellent and we spent a good two hours there. Then we met Helen, whom we met in Lugo Hu in YunNan almost six months ago, but kept in touch hoping we can meet again one of these days. She lives and works in ShangHai and so this was a great opportunity. We contemplated a few options, but due to the chill and rain decided to hook up for a light lunch someplace and chat.

We met in a mall near the Insect Museum and spent a good 3 hours together. It was a lot of fun and quite interesting to chat with Helene and get her perspective on things. For example, she told me some of the basics of the Huko (literally means: Registration) system, which is the base for all services from the country to the individual in China. It is the system that governs retirement payments, enables the execution of the one-child policy, controls people movement and more. It is a fascinating system that has, like many things in China, wonderful features alongside big-brother-watching-you scary ones and I feel like I need to learn more about it.

But, all in all we spent most of our time in the hotel. The Club Lounge on the 21^st floor provided fantastic views over the old city and the Bund, especially at night time and even more special on Saturday night when the weekly fireworks on the river light the sky in three different locations one after the other for a good 15 minutes at a time. It also provided us with great comfortable and quiet seating area with drinks and snacks throughout the day and o'dorves and deserts in the early evening that sufficed for us and replaced dinner in most nights.

In such a long travel, especially when the weather is bad, this kind of hotel is exactly the perfect place one needs to relax in comfort, enjoy good food and wonderful beds and baths and catch up on reading (we each finished at least one book in the time here) over a glass (and another one..) of wine, writing (on the blog, with some more wine...), school work (Yonatan caught up with its class in both Math and Gramar), play computer games, enjoy short swimming in the pool and long ones in the jacuzzi, sleep late and eat a lot...

In summary, a vacation...

TRAVEL TIPS: We'll add those to the next section about ShangHai combined with those from our second stay there.

We arrived in Hong Kong feeling like we were brutally hurt both physically and mentally. We have had bad rides before and one should expect bad rides every once in a while in a trip like this, but this was a particularly bad ride and we were particularly in bad shape and mood. We were all down, feeling bad, antsy and consequently nasty to one another. Feeling this way, we were actually glad we could not get tickets on the train that evening to ShangHai and rather stay a day in Hong Kong. At the state we were at, we might have been dangerous to ourselves or to others... :-)

And so, after the horrible ride from XiaMen, we were all very happy to arrive in the comforting and familiar Renaissance Harbor View Hotel where we already stayed twice before. You see, it is not only the luxury of the hotel, but also the fact that we spent so much time there before and therefore it is so familiar to us. This familiarity is very important for achieving peace of mind, especially for the kids.

And it worked like a charm. We checked in, got the same room as last time (good, Yonatan may be able to find his way to it...), selected the welcome gift: a bottle of wine (good for Boaz) and a small plate of CA Sushi roll set (great for the kids!). Vered went to have a long shower (a time and battle tested best medicine for her bad mood!) while Boaz took Yonatan, Daniella and Naama to the pool (best medicine to their anxiety). Two hours later we regrouped at the lounge on the 40^th floor for some snacks and dinner and in front of the amazingly beautiful scenery of the Hong Kong harbor we all looked and felt much (MUCH!!) better.

The kids were cheerful from the experience in the pool and delighted by the high quality familiar food. Vered was smiling again and changed her wondering thoughts about going back to Israel with ones about staying longer here... We ate well, drank (wine) well, checked what we needed on the web, checked, confirmed and printed what we needed for the next hotel, and went back the room late and happy. Vered took Daniella and Yonatan for a night out in the ladies market in hope to find a new iPod and a good backpack for Yonatan. They came back with a game card and some art material for the kids. Oh well, at least they had some fun together enjoying HK.

Timing wise, we had a perfect schedule. We arrived in the hotel around 4pm and our train the following day left at 2pm, which gave us just about a full day and a relaxed morning before the long train ride. We woke up late, (as usual – especially here...), ate a long and wonderful breakfast at the lounge, and even had time for a short swim at the pool before packing and leaving to the train station. On the way, we augmented our food bag with a few much-needed items for such a ride: breads, corn-flex, oatmeal, milk, honey, some candy and we were ready.

We got to the train station 45 minutes before the schedule departure time, which was just enough time for Vered to buy some nuggets as a small snack-like lunch for the kids and for all of us to board the fancy Z100 from Hong Kong to ShangHai.

The plan was to get from XiaMen to Hong Kong on a night bus (since the road is coastal, the train goes inland before coming back out and so is supposedly much longer and less comfortable than a bus ride), arrive on the morning, exit China to Hong Kong before our 30 day-stay is exceeded, pick up the bag that we left at the hotel, buy whatever we need, get on a train to ShangHai and stamp our visa for a second entry on the way.

The first challenge to this plan was when we could not get tickets on the Hong Kong to ShangHai train in XiaMen since we could not find a travel agency that will do it for us in XiaMen and CTS, China Travel Servies that normally does such purchases for travelers, does not have an office in XiaMen. But, since we were out of the danger zone of the Spring Festival by now, but still a full couple of months before the big Expo in ShangHai in May, we thought we should not have too much of a problem getting tickets when we arrive in Hong Kong.

Second, the night bus from XiaMen to ShenZhen was nothing close to what we had on the night bus from YangShuo to GuanDong. Night buses are far less comfortable a means of transportation than trains, especially if you are really interested in sleeping. First, the beds are narrower, second, there is far less room to move and third, buses tend to rock more than trains when traveling. I remember the bus ride from YangShuo to GuanDong as a not-so-comfortable one. But, this ride was flat out horrible!

To begin with, there were no sheets on the tiny beds. Only blankets and pillows and the idea of sleeping on the plastic cover of the bed that someone else (or many “someone elses” is you're already in a combative mood...) slept on was very unappreciated by all of us and totally not acceptable for Vered's. Then, I am not sure if the root cause was the bus itself who might have had too soft springs or the driver's aggressive driving stye, or the road conditions – probably a combination of all of the above – but the bus shook so hard for so many portions of the ride that I thought I am about to be thrown off my bed at multiple points along the 8-hour way! And even if not thrown out, I was definitely woken up and could not sleep anymore. Now, if I had THAT kind of trouble sleeping, imagine Vered, who is a light sleeper in a good bed.

Add to that, half way through the night Daniella woke up with a very swollen upper lip. It was quite scary, to be honest, especially as she described it: “mommy, it is swollen both outside of the mouth and inside and very uncomfortable”. The poor girl... We had no idea what might have caused it or what to do to fight it. But in any event, we could not do anything in the middle of the night ride and decided to wait until we reach Hong Kong to consult a physician. Still, the fear was enough to eliminate whatever was left of Vered's ability to sleep.

Then, she misplaced her iPod that she thought she returned to her bag sometimes earlier and can not find now. She had visions and a clear conclusion that someone stole it from her, which got her both annoyed and angry and further away from sleep. We found it somewhere inside her blanket just before the bus arrived at its final destination.

Put all of these things together and by 5am we were all very tired, very annoyed and Vered on the verge of collapsing. She started to talk about cutting the trip short and going back to Israel now. I suggested we get to Hong Kong, buy our tickets to ShangHai and there, in the comfort of the Renaissance hotel where we booked a room for us, using points of course, we can rethink, regroup and plan ahead.

Well, buying tickets to ShangHai proved not so easy... our luck, I guess, has not yet fully changed for the better. So we have learned when we approached the CTS office in ShenZhen upon getting to the train station on our way to Hong Kong. Problem number 1: there is no train from Hong Kong to ShangHai every day, but rather every other day. Today, there is no train. Problem number 2: for the train the day after, there are no soft sleep tickets available anymore and the only hard sleep ones are for upper beds, not for lower ones and not even middle ones. The same is true for the trains three and five days from today. No-one knows exactly why this pre-expo rush is occurring.

We decide to go to Hong Kong and try there. We crossed immigration, lost each other (Vered and Yonatan took the elevator with Naama in the stroller, while Daniella and Boaz went by the escalator), found each other, took the train, and arrive in Hong Kong central train station a half hour or so later. During this time, we contemplated staying at the lovely Renaissance Harbor View hotel for five nights until we find appropriate beds on a train to ShangHai and Vered even suggested maybe to just quit this whole travel mayhem and go back to Israel... We arrive in Hong Kong and Vered announces that she will wait with the kids at the McCafe, while I go to figure out what's available for us.

In the CTS office in the Hung Hom railway station in Hong Kong things looked a bit better. Although no soft sleep beds were available, but 4 hard sleep in the same block: two upper ones and two middle ones were and we could buy them with a discounted fare for the kids' ones. We had a light breakfast at McDonald's and took a taxi to the renaissance Harbor hotel where Vered was able to secure us a room using points for one night, hoping for a relaxed day to recover...

Moving to the Neighborhood by the Beach.

The Youth Hostel in XiaMen where we stayed before going to see the TuLous did not have a room for us, but the DVD was still working and our kids enjoyed the 5^th or 6^th time of watching Wally... That 90 min duration was perfect for us to search for a hotel for the night. After many phone calls that ended up with the same no vacancy”, one of the women there suggested a small hostel near the beach, which she claimed we'll love for the atmosphere of the place that is a home converted to a hostel in a charming old neighborhood. What we loved is the fact that The Dreamers Inn had room for us. Bunk beds, that is. We got 3 fairly wide beds in an 8-bed dormitory. The place was small, but indeed quite cool, with fun atmosphere and helpful staff. We put our staff on our beds and the manager took us to a walk in the neighborhood towards a recommended restaurant.

The neighborhood was charming and fit the hotel's cozy atmosphere. It was an old neighborhood, full of many old brick houses with red-tile roofs and small interior yards, small old temples with colorful sculptures and intricate decorations and narrow streets that seemed like an unplanned maze. Orit was insightful to say it reminded her of Kerem Ha-Teimanim.... I thought hard, but could find no equivalent in the US to demonstrate this place.

The restaurant turned out to be a huge success as well. They spoke no English and their Chinese dialect seemed closer to the Cantonese spoken in Taiwan and Hong Kong than Mandarin, but with the help of our beloved “PointIt “ booklet and some pointing, we were able to order just about every vegetable they had on their shelves and in the kitchen together with a few additions of meat or chicken. It was a fabulous dinner and the kids latched to the amazingly fresh and bright colored snow pees, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage. It was so good, we immediately decided to return there again the next day...

Restrooms and bathrooms are not the highlight of Chinese hotels and those in dormitories are even worse. We decided to skip shower and get the kids directly to beds. The temperature was still way lower than our expectations for this time of year here and the room was freezing. Boaz got Yonatan and Daniella into one bed and Naama into the other and went down to chat with the other guests and write a bit for the blog, while Vered and Orit went out to look for a cool bar or a coffee place to hang out at. It was raining and they came back after a long and wet stroll on the beach and couple of tea cups on a place.

Despite the dump weather, we did a much needed laundry to our now very large bag of dirty cloths, hung them on the roof with a pray no rain for the rest of the day and headed to eat breakfast in the same restaurant we ate dinner (how original...). We ordered too much food (how original...) and finished it all (how unique for us..). Then we headed to the island of Gulang Yu to spend our last day with Orit in the pleasant calmness of the no-car island. We climbed to the highest point on the Sun Light Rock and then strolled the calm island looking at hotels whenever we ran across any for a chance they have vacancy.

The Lovely 252 Hotel

After an OK dinner we said a sad goodbye to Orit who took a night bus to Hong Kong and from there back to Israel, while we headed to beds. On the way to the hotel שא, Vered spotted a sign for a hotel in a 3-story house on the way. The 252 Hotel had vacancy for the day after AND offered us a room with one large bed and a small one AND had heat in the room AND a giant bath-tab. We moved in there the next morning!. And what a lovely place it turned out to be!

The place was a family house that grew taller and then added another building next to it. So, there were two 3-story houses with maybe a dozen rooms in them total. The rooms were quite spacious and each had either a large bath tabs or a spacious shower. Equally eye catching were the interior design of the place with tasteful paintings and drawings on the walls in bright colors that made the place feel very vivid and cheerful. We asked for their recommendation for breakfast and they asked us what we want to eat, then they offer to do it for us. They were willing to make us eggs and coffee for breakfast, which we augmented with cereals and oatmeal with fruits which we made on our own.

The owner was a nice guy in his early 60's who spent most of the time on the couch in the first floor in front of a large TV eating snacks and drinking tea. He had many visitors throughout the days, which made for a happy bunch. He spoke minimal English, but had a girlfriend that seemed a bit younger than us, who came to visit him almost every day and did, so through her we had lovely chats about living in XiaMen, relationships with Taiwan, the government of China and more. As always when we get the opportunity to stay a long time in a place and build some rapport and trust with the people, these were fascinating conversations that added much to our understanding of China and Chinese.

I was particularly intrigued with their perspectives of the China-Taiwan conflict and tension. XiaMen is the closest Chinese city to Taiwan – less than 500 kilometers of sea – which means it has the most to gain and most to lose from the tension building or calming, not to mention any meaningful hostile activity. After all, if any war opens up, they would be the first to get hit at the same time, they are closest in culture to Taiwan and most actually speak a dialect of that is the same one spoken in Taiwan.

It was a very interesting conversation. We learned, for example, that in the past, every adult male in XiaMen had to have a gun/rifle in their house and was trained on how to use it. This rule is no longer in existence, which indicates to people the government feels there is significantly lower risk of actual full fledged war between the countries. This echos the feeling of the people. Equally interesting was their perspective on “the solution” to the China-Taiwan conflict. In essence, their perspective was very simplistic: what works well for Hong Kong should work well for Taiwan. Meaning, a) Taiwan should be part of China and under China's control, there is no other way for it. But, b) Taiwan can be an autonomous region governing their own island according to some special rules and laws that are different from those in the mainland, just like Hong Kong's to protect their unique characteristics and interests. Simple, no? Well, in the eyes of the Chinese it is.

The next morning we woke up to a bright warm sun and cloudless blue sky and hypothesized that Orit's bright red hair, ultra energetic character and extra vivid personality has a meaningful impact on the weather, at least on the regional weather... If this were to be true, rain is headed towards Israel, who has been experiencing temperatures in the 90's (Fahrenheit) / high 20's (Celsius) for almost the entire month of February and where draught has been declared even before the official winter has passed.

In any event, the clear sky and warm weather marked a noticeable change in our mood and behaviors. Unfortunately, for almost the entire time we were traveling with Orit, the weather was very chilli, in some cases bitterly chilli and we were all antsy way beyond our normal ways. The kids were crying and angry a lot and we were sharp and quick at getting angry at them. I felt a bit for Orit who had to endure all of this so uncharacteristic behavior of all of us on her vacation... but, now that the sun came out, all of this anger and tension seemed to have evaporated with the clouds.

Also helping was the fact that we decided to stay put for a few days and not move around much. This always helps the kids (and us!) calm down. Vered and I talked a lot about why was there so much tension hen we traveled with Orit. After all, she was so much fun and so helpful and so great with the kids and they enjoyed her company as much as we did, and we all like her so much and we visited interesting places and did a lot of fun together. But, they were misbehaving like never before in the trip, crying and getting angry and shouting and consequently so did we...

Vered made the observation that with with my mom when we traveled for 15 days, we stayed at 5 hotels in 4 cities and when we traveled with Daniela, Micha and Amalia, we stayed at 4 hotels in 4 cities in 20 days. With Orit, partially since we wanted to cover as much as we can with her, giving her as broad and interesting view into China as we could and partially due to the extreme challenges with traveling during the Spring Festival, we stayed at 9 hotels in 6 cities in 20 days. That frequent change of hotels does make a difference and coupled with the weather, did not help our moods.

So, here in XiaMen, we woke up late every day, stayed at the hotel for most of the time, played cards and games on the computer, did activity books, started writing for our blog again, washed our winter clothes which we wore for three weeks straight, had leisure walks in the neighborhood, ate three more times at our vegetable-fancy neighborhood restaurant, drank lots of tea again. Relaxed. One day we even went to the beach to let the kids play in the sand. On another, we went to the central pedestrian street to hang out and do some light shopping, mainly of food for our breakfasts and in-between-meal snacks. It was wonderful.

Crossing the Water to GulangYu

We stayed there for 3 nights before booking a room on the GulangYu island for even extra tranquility. GulangYu is a small island five minute ferry ride away from XiaMen. We visited it twice before, one on our first visit to XiaMen with Orit and another time on our next visit to the city after our trip to the TuLous.

One of the key attractions other than the beautiful colonial buildings was the fact that there are no cars on the island. In reality there are some electric cars: a dozen or so to carry visitors on a tourist route around the island and to key attraction points and the firefighters fleet (can you imagine a fire and the fire fighters arrive on a small electric vehicle?...). But, for all practical purposes for us, there are no cars on the island, which make for a very quiet and calm atmosphere, not to mention a safe environment for kids to play with.

The YoYo Inn:

Vered stroke gold again with a gem boutique hotel named YoYo Inn. Since we stayed at a Giggling Tree while in YangShuo, we thought the YoYo Inn was a must stay as well for us... :-) It is a small colonial house converted to a hotel located on a small side street a bit up a hill in the island, maybe 15 min walk from the ferry terminal. Those 15 minutes are enough to filter the majority of traffic, which leaves the place calm and quiet throughout the day, though within minutes walk from any place of importance: shops, stores, restaurants, etc. That calmness, coupled with the no-cars rule, provided a wonderful environment for the kids to play at. We had numerous occasions of people running to us when Naama went out of the hotel's little front yard to the street to play. We did not mind or worried at all: no cars to be careful of, so no real danger and after all it is an island, which means she can not really run away, does she?

Besides a perfect location, the YoYo Inn had a boutique hotel atmosphere with very nicely decorated rooms, lots of art (mostly photos) on the walls and some decorative furniture in certain corners, extra spacious porches with great seating areas, a wonderful front yard with lots of flowers and blossoming plants, computers with free internet access and three extra benefits for us: warming bulbs in the bathroom, which made Vered extra happy, free access to a laundry machine and hanging wires on the roof and free access to the kitchen to augment their 1-dish breakfast (rice porridge) with our own dishes.

Food is a Major Focus Area When You Stay Put in a Single Place, OR: There is Time to Play and Time to Eat...

The last one turned out to be a winner as both we and the kids enjoyed long breakfasts with warm oatmeal with bananas, apples and raisins, cereals and milk we bought at a trust mart on one of our trips to XiaMen, brown hard boiled eggs from a woman selling those a few dozen meters up the street from our hotel, papaya and cherry tomatoes (which were amazingly sweet, were our vegetable du jour every day, and the kids ate kilos of daily!) from the market on the other side of the hotel and occasionally bread and jam (or peanut butter and jam for the Americans among us...), which we bought at a bakery on one of the island's squares.

After the hectic travel time before, during and immediately after the Spring Festival, we were happy to stay put in one place, wake up late (we shamelessly upgraded our standards from the already luxurious 8:30-ish am to >9:15!!), eat long breakfasts, drag those until close to noon, then walk a bit around the island or just stay in the hotel to read, play wither Bubbles or “Patsatsta TD2” (a game Yonatan and Daniella discovered on www.walla.co.il/games and we all got addicted to, or just play in the yard. Since we ate breakfasts so late, we often skipped lunch and went directly to an early dinner around 6pm or so.

On the couple of times we felt like a light lunch, we went to a patio in a house 3 min walk from our hotel where 3 vendors were selling their lunch foods: a local version of a vegetarian crêpe, noodle soups with tasty little dumplings and a special mushroom dumpling that won Vered and Naama by a storm: both insisting on eating at least two daily: Vered the whole ones and Naama only the filling inside...

If that patio place became our home restaurant for the time we were on the island whenever we wanted a mid-day snack, the restaurant we had dinner at on our first evening on the island with Shooit, became our default for dinner and we came there 2 times each time eating a couple of dishes we enjoyed the previous time, plus a couple of new ones.

We did try another two restaurants for some variety. One of them we tried one day and found a number of dishes we liked, only to find out that by 8pm, the time we got there, they no longer had the ones we wanted... so, we returned to the Master Cho Chef's Kitchen one other night for our early dinner, mainly since the kids wanted their chicken curry (which they enjoyed a great deal), and were especially impressed and enjoyed the succulent cucumber salad (extra lightly pickled ones) and wonderful mixed fruit iceberg (a wonderful dish where all kind of sweetened preserved fruits like black beans, brown beans, green beans, tapioca, mango cubes and more poured over a scone shape of light ice and eaten with spoons fruits and ice together).

But, despite the fact that the food was both tasty and comfy, it was all (besides the red tomatoes...) “brown” food, which means oily and heavy and with minimal vegetables. After a few days, we were craving vegetables. The solution was simple: we planed a day in XiaMen where we crossed the water with the ferry after breakfast, hang out in the center of town during the day, took a bike ride along the coast line (all of us on a four-wheel bike which were actually two bikes connected and having two benches that seated us five perfectly) and then headed to our favorite Ma La Xiang Guo Dian restaurant next to the 252 Hotel we stayed at before. We ordered every vegetable they had and enjoyed not only a fantastic meal, but also watching the kids feast on every vegetable that arrived: snow peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, cabbage, taro...

A few of other food notes:

a) Peanut soup – Apparently it is a favorite local dish, which we did not encounter before, and feels like a cool peasant food. It is slightly sweet and the peanuts are slightly soft. It is a dish worth trying. We even ate at a very cool place in XiaMen called “something Peanut Soup” where the soup is the specialty next to a slew of other dumpling items...

b) Milk Tea – There are lots of shops selling those, often alongside other drinks, mostly with different fruits and/or tapioca added. They are lovely drinks, which if taken with tapioca, can be half a meal...

c) Mushroom Dumplings – T hose must be a local thing in GulangYu as we saw them anywhere around the island, but nowhere else in FuJian and not even elsewhere in XiaMen.

d) Buddha Jumping Over The Wall – This is probably the FuJian most famous food. It is a soup made with a mixture of different meat and seafood ingredient. The story goes that a monk, sworn to vegetarianism jumped over the wall of his monastery to try it after smelling the dish made by a local on the other side, giving the dish its name... By the time we recalled we wanted to try it, it was our last evening in FuJian and the only place that had it was a fancy hotel where the price of a single portion was higher than our hotel daily rate...

When we came to the island, we had a week to “burn”. We did not have any major plan, but wanted to visit the walled city of ChongWu near QuanZhou, which we figured is a day trip and were contemplating, maybe, if the weather is good, to do another trip, maybe an over night one to YongDing to see some more of the amazing TuLous. But, time flies when you're having fun and before we knew it, we only had two more days before we had to leave China to Hong Kong to renew our visa (stamp it on our next entry in China).

ChongWu – The Visit to the Ancient Walled Town was Less Interesting that the Much Eventful Travel to and from It.

So, we gave up on the thought of going to see the TuLous, and went to ChongWu on the same day our bus was to Hong Kong despite the irony of doing a long day's ride to and from ChongWu on the same day we have a long over-night bus ride to Hong Kong. Visiting the walled town fascinated us on paper, but turned out to be a nice-to-have visit at best. The town was indeed old and indeed surrounded by a wall, but not really interesting or beautiful. There is a nice sculpture park attached to it, which must have hundreds of life size stone warrior figures in a section called “The Outlaws of the Marsh” which we estimate ponder may be a “Chinglish” translation and a few dozen of giant sculptures of other figures, mostly people and animals. We started there, spent close to an hour in it and saw maybe one fourth of it. The park oversees the sea so it has beautiful views and some of the statues use that scenery as their background or even as part of the story they portray.

The city itself has nothing interesting in it. We walked through some of the narrow streets and watched some of the old buildings, but those were not that interesting. At some point, Naama fell asleep in her stroller and Vered suggested that she will explore a nice looking small temple near one of the wall's gates, while Yonatan, Daniella and I try to clime and walk on the wall itself. So, we did. We climbed the wall via a flight of stone stairs next to the gate and started walking on it towards the sea. Then we decided that if we walked fast, we can maybe circle the entire city on the fence and that could be cool. So we did. It took us just about an hour of walk at a decent pace, Yonatan loved the exercise, Daniella enjoyed taking random photos with my camera and the fact that she was so close to Yonatan on the first half of the walk (playing soldiers – he is the officer and she is the best soldier... where did they get the idea for such a game I have no clue) and me on the second when she got a bit tired.

But, again, even though we circled the entire walled city, we found little interest in it and have probably less than a dozen photos from it. We reunited with Vered and Naama, had lunch at a cool local place and headed back to the bus station.

A Failed Attempt to Go: The ride to the city was probably the real story of the day. We actually came to the bus station in XiaMen with the objective of going to ChongWu and even got bus tickets to there. But, by the time we got to the bus station, after our normal late wake up and long breakfast it was almost noon, tickets we were able to get only on the 1:30pm bus, which takes 2-2.5 hours to get to ChongWu, which, considering the fact that the last bus is around 5:30pm, left us with no time to enjoy the town. So, we changed the tickets to 10:00am the following day, setting ourselves a target to catch the bus on time and went back to the hotel, stopping on the way to buy tickets for the bus to Hong Kong for the next evening.

The Road to ChongWu: That evening we packed all of our staff to be ready for check out early the next morning. The next morning, we used the alarm clock for the first time in maybe 10 days to wake up, ate a light breakfast, loaded our bags and took the ferry to the XiaMen side. We left the bags at the ticket office where we bought the bus tickets and headed to the bus station for the bus to ChongWu. I was able to catch a nap on the way and was woken up by Vered who was excited at the very long set of stone sculptures on the road.

Initially, I did not understand what's so exciting, but then I started noticing the statues. They were on both side of the road, about every fifty or one hundred meters or so in a parade that must have lasted for a good 20 or so kilometers, which meant there were hundred of them. Most of the statues were 1.5 to 2.5 meter high, but a few much larger. The images were of an endless variety of subjects: animals, faces, people, Buddhas, body parts, cartoons, warriors, and more. They were quite interesting and lovely to watch and the kids took spots on both sides of the bus and shouted the identity of the images as they came about. As time passed, we noticed a series of stone factories, which were probably the source of those sculptures along the road. There must have been a dozen of them, each showcasing dozens or hundreds of sculptures in their front yards, including a few giant ones – some as tall as 5-6 meters!! – of Buddhas and pagodas.

The Ride Back: We arrived in ChongWu a few minutes after noon and first thing asked to buy tickets for the bus back at 5:30pm. No tickets are available! The lady at the ticket office, who spoke no English suggested we buy tickets for the next day... Since we had tickets for the night bus that day to ShenZhen, that was not an option and we showed her our tickets. The usual occurrence repeated: an assembly of everybody in the office at the time engaged in a discussion what to do, out of which we understood nothing... Then they ignored us for a few minutes, maybe expecting or hoping we'll give up and leave, but we pushed our cause again.

At some point along this ordeal, I laughed with Yonatan and Daniella at our situation and we made bets on a) whether there will be a bus on 5:30 to XiaMen, b) whether we'll have tickets on it, and c) since we saw none from where we were, is there really a wall to this city... So they called someone who speaks English. A few minutes later, a young woman arrived who spoke fairly good English, we explained our situation to her and she to us, yada, yada, yada, 20 minutes later they somehow found two tickets for us... The bus itself was full and so we conducted the two and something hour ride all five of us on two seats...

This was not a pleasant ride, to say the least and not surprisingly, the kids got more and more annoyed as the time passed and their tiredness amplified the discomfort of the ride. In retrospect, it was not a good decision to try and squeeze such a long day of bus rides (25 min from the island to the bus station and two plus hours to ChongWu and the same going back) before a long night bus.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• XiaMen is a cool coastal city with lots of good vibe and a great atmosphere. It feels a bit like Hong Kong with its buildings lightened at night, its near-shore islands connected to the mainland by 5 min ferry, its cool white-sand beaches and its lively night markets. It also has a cosmopolitan atmosphere to it that resembles a bit that of Chengdu.

• GulangYu is a charming island with tranquil atmosphere (as long as you get away from the crowds), worth staying at for relaxation and Ma La Xiang Guo Dian is an excellent restaurant in a quaint neighborhood. It is worth going to if you're anywhere in XiaMen, point to the vegetables they have and trust them to make a great meal for you.

• The youth hostel next to the university was quaint and nice, featuring very wide comfy beds, good food and excellent service, though little help in guidance towards sightseeing trips (for example: we expected much more info and guidance towards a trip to the TuLous, which are such a major tourist destination here)

• 252 Hotel is lovely for a family type hostel stay in XiaMen.

• YoYo Inn is a wonderful place to stay on the GulangYu island

• ChongWu is a nice-to-visit town only, which most tourists can and probably should skip.

Vered's back was hurting badly the next day and it was continuously chilli and rainy and so we decided to skip our plan to go to the other famous TuLou sites in the subregion of YongDing and head back to XiaMem. At least there, so we thought, we will have a comfy bed and a warm room.

Step 1: Find and get on a bus from TaXia to NanJing: After some confusion and misinformation regarding the place the bus will stop at, we found the station, but not after we missed one bus and had to wait for almost two hours at the station. Thankfully, there was a guy there selling sweet potatoes and we bought 3 – one for each our kids, then another 6 – one for each of us and then another 6 and another 3... yes, they were that good! They were also warm and it was cold.

The bus was a small one, one of those who got off the factory floor with 20 seats in it, but converted to Chinese needs, which means there is a center isle with benches in it for extra people to ride. We squeezed in, all 6 of us on three seats and managed to get to NanJing in one piece.

Step 2: Get on a bus from NanJing to XiaMen: we arrived in NanJing around 4pm and went directly to the ticket office to buy tickets on the bus to XiaMen. The two women who were with us in the bus from TaXia and stood in front of us in the line purchased the last two tickets for the last bus out... Someone told us to go outside and get a taxi, but the rate the taxi drivers wanted was outrageous and we went back inside to try and convince the ticket office staff to let us on the bus. We spotted a woman who looked like one of those driver helpers on the buses and was helping others to get on buses at the last moment. She looked liked a match-maker, a grey market ticket “macher”, but actually worked for the ticket office.

Vered and Orit convinced her to get us on the bus, we paid a full fare and when the bus arrived, Vered and Orit got the luxury seats in the first row, where they sat for the entire 2 and some hour trip playing with Daniella and Naama, while Boaz and Yonatan where shown the space between the seats and where given two small round plastic chairs to sit on. Then, the bus would not go into reverse... The driver called another driver and the two of them tried to force the shift-gear into gear.

They were putting so much pressure on we were afraid they might break the handle. But, the handle neither broke nor got into gear and the drivers moved into plan be. They called a third guy and together with the ticket-helper pushed the bus backwards while it was in neutral... It was quite comical... We thought this is the end of our worries when the bus stopped, maybe 3 minutes later, in a gas station to fill up and its engine died... fortunately, this got resolved quickly and we continued smoothly all the way to XiaMen. It was a most unpleasant ride to say the least. We were very tired and my back was hurting and the seat was incredibly uncomfortable. Oh, well.

Step 3: Find a hotel in XiaMen: when we left XiaMen we were told by the folks in the nice Youth Hostel we stayed at that they do not have places for us when we return. They were fully booked. We asked them to put us on the wait list in case someone cancels and checked in with them a couple of times from TaXia, but they did not have any cancellations. So, we were headed to XiaMen without a hotel reservation... We tried every possible way to find a hotel and basically asked every English speaking person we met along the bus rides to check with their hotels if they have places, but were unlucky with those. We also called all the hotels to which we had phone numbers (basically all the youth hostels), but it seemed like these few days after the new years were THE heat of the travel season in China and all hotels were fully booked.

It was after 8pm by the time we got to XiaMen and we decided to look for a hotel as close as possible to the bus station. We spotted a couple of small chain hotels at the nearby intersection, but they were full. We decided to split. Boaz will go with Yonatan and Naama to find a place to eat, while Orit, Vered and Daniella will look for a hotel. We did a circle around the block and got back to the intersection where we started and entered the KFC there. Sometimes, you got to cut your losses and settle for easy western, rather than tasty and healthy local food.

Don't have a Hotel Room? Why Not Sleep in a Spa?

Elizabeth queen of England is known to have said in response to claims that the people in England were starving and do not have bread: “if they don't have bread, they should eat cakes!”. This statement did not come into our minds until after we all got into the room Vered and Orit got for us...

Vered and Orit got into the hotel next door, which was a fancy business hotel, named HongDu Park Hotel. The hotel, whose tag-line is: “the most friendly business hotel in XiaMen, was full, but the duty manager lead them to the spa and showed them a room there. I guess it was one of those rooms people order by the hour or for massages with a partner as it had two large beds in front of a very large flat screen TV, another sofa bed that could retract back to a bed, a specious shower that could fit at least two people and a sauna next to it. It was located on the spa floor next to the main spa facilities. The manager seemed to have done some monkey-business deal on the side to get us this room as even-though it asked for our passports to make photo copies of them, he also asked for the room fee in advance and in cash and told us to call him directly if we need anything since “the people in the reception do not speak English”. It was close to 10pm by now, we were all very tired and did not have many other option, so we took the room.

We showered in couples (as the room seemed to be built for...), enjoyed the sauna and the TV and went to sleep happy ever after. We woke up after 9am and lazily got out of bed to go look for a breakfast place. After breakfast we decided to check out of our hide-out in the luxury hotel and head to the youth hostel where we left a couple of our bags and where there is free internet access that would be most useful for us to find another hotel. Secretly in our hearts, we were also hoping somehow they'll find a place for us.

TRAVEL TIPS:

- Don't travel during the Chinese Spring Festival... did we say that frequently enough :-)

The Hakka buildings (called TuLou or Earth Buildings in English, which I guess is the meaning of the Chinese name) is western Fujian were one of the expected peak highlights of our time in Fujian. Those buildings were build by the Hakka people as they fled here from somewhere up north to avoid persecution and were designed to house entire clans (extended families) sometimes as large as 1000 people!

The TuLous are built as very large, tall, normally enclosed buildings where the walls of the buildings are like fortress walls protecting the insiders from bandits and wild animals alike. To achieve their protection objective most of the TuLous are either round or square, though some are oval, and some have other unique shapes, like a semi-circle, etc. The small ones have 20-30 rooms in 1-2 floors and the large: many hundreds in 4 and even 5 floors. The round shape ones made the FBI interpretation of satellite images of them in the 70's think they are long-range missile launchers the Chinese built with Russian advice...

Some of the TuLous are very old – 300-400 year old – while others were built as recent as the early 20^th century. Astonishingly, not only that there are thousands of them still in existence but also they still serve the same original purpose for which they were built: provide a safe and comfortable place of living to their inhabitants.

They are outright amazing!

The main area of TuLous, according to the Lonely Planet, is the town or sub-province of YongDing. We packed a small bag of cloths and some food, enough to carry us for two or three nights and figured we'll make the decision how long to stay once we're there and according to our experience and fun. According to the info in the guidebook and in our hostel, we headed to the long distance bus station in XiaMen mid day to catch one of the frequent buses to YongDing with a plan to find accommodation in one of the TuLous (got to sleep in one of those amazing structures to really get the feeling of it, right?) and then explore some of the more interesting ones in the neighborhood.

Oops. There are no available seats on the bus to YongDing, but that does not matter. Apparently, the Chinese use the 1-2 weeks before their New Years to travel to their families and hang out with them and then the 3-4 days AFTER the holidays to travel to interesting sites. And guess what: they also heard of the TuLous and since FuJian is a southern province where the weather is warmer than most of China, it is also where more Chinese tourists like to go to travel in this period of time.

Gulp.

No problem – change in plans, we buy tickets to a bus to NanJing (that is NanJing in FuJian province, not the famous NanJing in JiangSu, a bit northeast from here), where I vaguely recalled from the guide book and wikitravel there are also some concentrates of TuLous. As we try to regroup on the bus and figure out what we want to do with our new destination on which we have extremely limited information, we were approached by two couples of Chinese tourists on the bus who sensed we are kind of lost for assistance. One couple was from Hong Kong and the other from BeiJing and they spoke rudimentary English, but enough to communicate with us.

They were going, separately, to visit the TuLous in the NanJing and YongDing areas as well, but were, as expected much better planned than us with hotel reservations, maps and booklets of information about which TuLous are best to visit. We tried to learn as much as we can from them along the drive. When the bus stopped a couple of hours later in a small central bus station and Vered, Orit and the kids went to buy something to eat, I found out that we're actually in NanJing, but also that the bus is continuing further northwest towards the areas of the TuLous, so we decided to stay on the bus...

The very nice BeiJing couple offered us to call their hotel, which was in one of the TuLous, and ask if they have two rooms available for us and when they received a positive response, we decided to continue with them to that village and start from there. NanJing seemed like a fairly large city and the road from XiaMen to it was a good and smooth one, like roads normally are between large cities. But, from NanJing the road started climbing the mountains, meandering the sharp curves in a narrowing road.

An hour or so later, it dropped us on a curve in a small village and continued who knows where. We stuck with our BeiJing friends who were searching for information about a bus that can take us to their destination, a village called TaXia. I suggested that since we're 8 people, maybe we can find a minibus for us all, but apparently, one does not exist there. A bus, they found from the locals, was expected an hour or so later and just when I was about to take the big bag off my back and order us all some tea, a small bus stopped at the intersection. They approached it and asked if it goes in our direction and initially it seems like the answer was no, but then somehow that answer got changed and we were told to quickly board the bus, find a seat or stand next to someone and hold tight: it's a rough ride.

Our BeiJing friends were very excited claiming we were VERY lucky to have found and caught that bus, otherwise, who knows how much time we would have needed to stay there. We did not complain. We were happy to be lucky. Hey: we were lucky to have found them on the bus from XiaMen to NanJing and gain from their kindness to help us out in the first place!

To be honest, the ride was not that bad, we had much worse. But, the road was indeed very curvy and very steep and the bus negotiated it with some clear stress and pain. And then, without any alert or warning, behind a no-name curve, just to the side of the road: a TuLou! Round, large, tall walled building, with small windows in its thick mud-brick walls and black tile roofs covering the top edges of the walls. It was magnificent! So cool! A few minutes later behind yet another curve, another TuLou, this time a cluster of three or four on the hillside on the other side of the tiny valley. From that point on there were TuLous visible every few minutes on one side or the other of the bus. Sometimes it was a single one, sometimes a cluster. Sometimes a round one, in other times a square. Sometimes along it stood like a fortress on a hill, in other times in the middle of a village that must have grown or sprawled around it as times became less tough to live outside the walls.

A few minutes later we passed a cluster of tour buses near a place that supposedly is a good view spot, though due to the fog was only good to see, well, fog... and started to fully comprehend the magnitude of what “many Chinese people traveling” might mean... and, we should have guessed, if there are a lot of buses and cars vying for a good position to get a good view, then finding there is not a good view and fighting to get to the next spot, there bounds to be a traffic jam coming... yada yada yada, an hour and a half later we arrived in TaXia, which now we know is about 10 min drive from the view spot.

TaXia Village: The Tranquil Center of TuLous in NanJing

TaXia is a lovely village, which apparently is well known to Chinese tourists coming to the area, though I have seen not a single mentioning of it in any of the English written guides. It has an impressive set of TuLous, about 20 of them, including 3 large round ones in the center of town and another 3 at the edge of the town, 3 large rectangular ones in the center of town and a dozen or so small rectangular ones spread around the village. There is a charming little stream going through the village with a few brick or concrete small bridges to cross it from one side to the other. It is also the home of a very interesting and pretty ancestral temple.

Equally as important, it has a significant amount of sleeping places, mostly in the TuLous, but also in homes near them. Compared with the claims in the guide books that “very basic sleeping arrangements can be found in some TuLous”, we were pleasantly surprised. True, the restrooms are outside the TuLous, which does present a challenge when you have kids... and true, the rooms are very basic: they are a somewhat cleaner and renovated versions of the original rooms people used to sleep in, so they have beds, closets and cabinets, and that's it.

So, we got our two rooms and went out to explore the village. It is a very small village and it took us 15 min of very laid-back walk to reach the other side of town. We climbed towards the temple and entered a guesthouse near it to eat dinner. It was a lovely place located literally above the largest round TuLou in the village, so their view was fantastic. There was another BeiJing couple there who actually spoke very good English and have been to the village for a few days now and they gave us some advice on where to go.

The Chinese tourist authorities smartly created a circular route that covered most of the interesting TuLous in the area and devised a set of tourist buses to take visitors along the designed path. TaXia was one of the stops on this path, which made it even more accessible to people. Nonetheless, as we confirmed our suspicion from earlier in the day, most Chinese tourists do not stay in the area, but rather come here on tour buses for a day-tour from XiaMen. That meant that the area regains its calm when the sun sets down and the tour buses leave.

By the time we finished dinner and drunk a few cups of tea and BaoJiu, their rice wine (which Yonatan claimed is quite good...), we had plans for the next couple of days. It was about 9pm and we walked back slowly towards our TuLou. All over the village and especially along the stream people where lighting fireworks or many different shapes, styles and colors. It was a fantastic exhibition of fireworks by individuals, kids and adults alike that continued throughout the night almost until dawn it seemed.

A Wet Early Morning Photo Shoot

We came back to our TuLou and faced with the extreme chill of the wooden room whose windows would not close (not sure why, but I validated this is by design as all the rooms in our floor had the same window design, which did not close either...) decided to skip a bath for tonight and headed straight to beds. Thankfully, Vered ignored our cynical remarks and asked for electric blankets, which surprisingly they had and so we were able to get into somewhat warm beds in the quite chilli room.

I decided to wake up early the following day to go on a photo tour of the village and its surrounding mountains. I set the alarm clock on my mobile phone (the most useful feature of the phone, after showing the time, of course) to 6am and used the flashlight in it (the second best feature!) to get dressed in the morning and leave at first light. I woke up very early every once in a while in this trip, and whenever I do it is a bit of a hassle, but never regretted it. I like early mornings and enjoy walking around with the early morning people.

I fetched a cup of tea from a vendor in the street, crossed the stream to the other side and climbed on some tiny dirt path to the terraces above the village for good views of it. The weather was not the greatest and it drizzled on and off throughout the time I walked, which got me both wet and very mud-dirty walking in the fields. It also prevented any really good photos, but was fun nonetheless. I climbed on one side of the village, enjoyed the views, spotted what looked like a perfect path to climb the hill on the other side of the stream and see the town from the other side, got down to the village, started climbing the other side, lost my way, found another path, enjoyed the view and came down again.

When I returned to the TuLou, two and some hours after leaving it, I found the gang all woken up, but still in beds afraid to leave the warm blankets and braze the chill of the room. It took almost another hour to get everybody out of beds, dressed and ready to go to breakfast. Breakfast was served in the central area of the TuLou, which is open air. The central area of all the TuLous is open to the sky, which is important for getting light into the building, but also collect rain water, keep animals, cook and keep the place airy. The central area normally has one or more wells which provide the running water for cooking, washing, cleaning, laundry, and every other water need. In most TuLous, so we found out, the first floor is almost always used entirely for kitchens, while the next floors are for sleeping.

We ordered whatever they had for breakfast, basically pointing to the other tables and asking for the same. We got porridge (a hearty warm rice version of oatmeal which is perfect for cold days) with peanuts and sugar, tea, some vegetables and our favorite: Shi Hong Se Cao Dzi Dan (tomato omelet).

Going to See the TuLous and Experiencing Unexpected Hiking and Hitch-Hiking Adventures

It was raining and cold and we delayed leaving the breakfast table and going out as much as we could. But, then we decided we have to make the best of what we have and headed out. The rain as if heard us stopped just about the minutes we left the TuLou and we decided to head towards the oldest TuLou, YuChang 3-4 km away and then continue to one of the prettiest and most famous one: TianLouKeng. I put Naama in the back carrier and walked with Yonatan along the road leading out of the village and towards the TuLou, while Orit, Vered and Daniella decided to cross the river on one of the bridges and walk on the dirt path on its other side.

We walked for about 45 minutes when one of the tour buses that is carrying visitors along the circular route stopped next to us and the driver offered us a ride. How nice! Yonatan and I climbed on it and since the girls were not in sight at that moment we hoped they'll figure out we'll meet them at the TuLou. The bus saved us a little climb and 2-3 km of walk on a side of a road and we were grateful for that. When we got to the TuLou, we decided we'll wait for the girls before going in and found a restaurant to sit in and drink some tea until they arrive. When they did not arrive for another 20 or 30 minutes, we decided to climb the little hill on the back of the TuLou to watch it from above. It was a lot of fun to climb the tiny “goat path” dirt trail with Yonatan and Naama, both insisting they can do it on their own and both can not stop talking the entire way (which is normally a clear sign of kids having fun!).

We climbed until we were 10 or so meters of height above the TuLou and stopped to view it. Then, of course, they each needed to pee and we decided to use the opportunity and try to take photos of the pee as if going into the TuLou.... we had a lot of fun and actually got a couple of good photos, which we decided we will not put on our site in case someone might get offended by them. We spotted Vered, Orit and Daniella, who has a lot of fun as well crossing bridges back and forth along the river. And we all headed to a quick lunch in one of the restaurants nearby.

After lunch we walked to the edge of the little village were the TuLou is and found a few more TuLous that were off the tourist trail and therefore left for their inhabitants to live as they liked. We circled them and peaked inside to witness the way these interesting people live.

Based on our success in hitch-hiking in the morning, we caught a ride form another bus to the next TuLou, which was indeed a spectacular cluster of three round, one oval and one square TuLous on a side of a mountain surrounded by lovely terraces. Most of the terraces, we noticed, do not seem to be growing rice, though. They had some kind of bushes in them, not the thin long single stem rice crops. A short investigation by Orit revealed that those are tea plants! You learn a new thing every day.

Though the bus came from the village and climbed to the lower view point on the TuLous and from there to the higher view point, Orit convinced us that it will be easier to climb than descend the road to the TuLous. I found myself sweating hard with Naama sleeping in the carrier on my back as we climbed the hundreds of stairs to the TuLous and then up to the top view point. The inside of the TuLous was not too interesting. In anything, they seemed more touristic than the ones in TaXia or on the way and therefore full of tiny stands of souvenirs instead of people living their lives. We skipped a long tour of the inside and settled for the views of the surroundings.

We decided to walk back via the fields as opposed to the normal path of going back as we came on the road. The path started with a set of stone stairs and disappeared around a corner. The stones were very slippery form the drizzling rain and each of us had at least one fall, which Daniella taking the first place in number of falls (she sometimes fall in a regular sideway on a dry day...) and Vered the top spot for nasty fall as she tried to prove she can eat peanuts and walk on slippery-wet stones at the same time, failed and had an especially painful fall on her lower back.

At a couple of points the road ended, or maybe we lost it. At one of those we had to cross the little stream that marked the bottom of the valley and in another we had to cross through the terraces themselves putting tier thin edges to the test of our weight... what we envisioned as a downhill relaxed hike turned into an adventurous one. 2 hours later we finally made it out of the valley not far from the first TuLou we visited. There we caught a ride with a tour bus from Hong Kong. Problem is, they wanted to stop at the TuLou for 30 min or so and then got stuck in a traffic jam when another bus came from the other side and none of the buses was willing to drive back. In a common Chinese way, 10 min later, there was a full fledged traffic jam and the two bus drivers got off their buses and looked like they, and everybody else, are waiting for someone to help dissolve it.

By that time it was dark and we were eager to get back to the TuLou have a proper dinner and get to bed. We got of the bus and started walking towards our village. Half way along the way, a little short of an hour later cars started passing us, which meant that “someone” was able to dissolve the traffic jam. A couple of them were kind enough to stop and give us a ride to our TuLou.

Dinner at the TuLou was another interesting experience as the entire “clan” of kitchen workers seemed to have worked to prepare our meal, which was quite similar to others, we thought. It was simple, but tasty. This time, as we were all VERY dirty from mud and sweat, we decided we can not avoid the shower and in turns, Vered, Orit and then Boaz with the kids, we got undressed and into our crocks/slippers, counted to three and ran down the three flights of stairs and outside the TuLou to the shower room. Since the shower rooms, like most those we encounter in China, is also the rest room, extra care is required when taking a shower and careful planning needs to be made for the cloths and towels to avoid unwanted dirt... Doing that with three kids is a fun challenge of its own...

The good thing about sleeping in a very cold room is that the duration of time from the moment we got back to the room after the shower to the points kids were dressed to sleep and in their beds was as minimal as humanly possible. A short pre-sleep story and they were asleep cherishing their electric blankets and covered with their blankets to the degree we could see not a single limb of theirs sticking out.

Vered's back was hurting badly the next day and it was continuously chilli and rainy and so we decided to skip our plan to go to the other famous TuLou site of YongDing and head back to XiaMem. At least there, so we thought, we will have a comfy bed and a warm room.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• The Hakka TuLou buildings are amazing and well worth a trip to see!

• While it is feasible to get a glimpse of the 3-4 most famous TuLous in a day trip from XiaMen, an overnight trip, and preferably a 2 or 3 nights stay in the area is highly recommended.

• Sleeping in a TuLou is a worthwhile experience, not for the sake of the sleep, but in order to witness the way the locals live their lives in them.

• Most accommodations do not appear on English guidebooks, but are on the internet for Chinese people to find. If you want to reserve a place in advance, you may need either a Chinese friend or a travel agent to help you.

• There are two main sub regions of TuLou buildings: YongDing and NanJing. They are only about an hour drive from one another, though, so not a problem to get from one to the other.

• TaXia

  • Taxia is a lovely little village that is perfectly located to visit the main TuLou and has a number of accommodations.

  • The village also houses over a dozen worthwhile TuLous to explore without the need for an entrance fee.

  • The ancestral temple in TaXia is interesting and requires little lime to enjoy.

  • Except for one in the entrance of the village, there are no stand-alone restaurants in the village, only ones in hotels.

• There is a local tour bus you can get a ticket on and go on and off at a circular route around all the “notable” TuLou in NanJing.

• TianLouKeng is an incredible cluster of TuLous that is VERY worth while seeing. Hiking from there to YuChang, the oldest TuLou in the NanJing area is a fun 1-2 hour hike in good pace.

• Hong Keng is another village with many available accommodations and the TuLou exhibition village in YongDing town is another.

• Don't travel here during the Chinese New Years (referred to as Spring Festival) or the autumn holiday in the first week of October as the place is packed.

The train from JinDeZhen arrived about two hours late to the plan, which was strange and the first time we saw a train being late in our travels. Those two hours were actually quite meaningful as they put us in the dark. We normally try hard not to arrive in the dark to a new city as not only is it harder to get around and get a sense for the city, but also shortens the length of time we have to get organized before the kids become antsy and want to go to dinner and then to bed.

But, it is what it is. We exit he train station and approached a few taxis. It took us three attempts to figure out taxi drivers do not understand us and where we want to go. Vered suggested we take the bus and so we did. On the way, Boaz had to make an emergency getaway for urgent digestion problems and caught the next bus to rejoin the group... In the meanwhile, a couple of nice girls showed Vered and the kids the way to the Youth Hostel. While Orit waited at the bus stop for Boaz to arrive.

It was the evening before the New Years and we were greeted with what Yonatan likes to call “good news and bad news”. On the bad side, they explained to us that XiaMen has a law forbidding large scale fireworks and therefore there is not going to be a big fireworks show on New Years Eve. That was quite disappointing as the expected fireworks show was one of the reasons we wanted to get quickly to XiaMen in the first place.... on the positive side, there was a large table in the center of the common area in the hostel with a large pot in the middle and lots of food items around: a free hot pot for the hostel's guests for the New Year's Celebration. How nice!

It was, of course, quite spicy, but the variety of food items was impressive: 4-5-6 types of meats, 3-4 types of tofu, 3-4 types of noodles, 3-4 types of mushrooms, cabbage, broccoli, fish, clams, cauliflower, carrots, potatoes, all kind of green leaves, and more and more... all served, of course, with lots of rice. A great New Years' feast!

The room was full with the hotel staff, plus a number of guests, many of which came in and left occasionally. The were all watching the central ceremony broadcasted on a large screen TV. The staff members told us that since the holiday is a family one, they wanted to portray the same feeling to their guests in the hostel and that's the reason for the hot pot and family room setting. According to them, watching the central show on TV was the way the holiday evening is spent by many/most Chinese.

The show was some kind of a mixture of the annual festive Eurovision contest, the glamorous Oscars and New Years comedy shows on TV on independence day in Israel... obviously, we could not understand what was said, but the event was an ultra happy one full of many exhibitions of cultural dances, songs, parades and shows. It lasted up to midnight when balloons were flown, confetti was thrown and whistles were blown. The year of the Tiger has arrived!

The hostel was a very lovely with a nice yard and ample sitting areas. It was our first experience sleeping in bunk beds, which turned out to be quite all right, especially since the beds were extra wide. Even the experience of going to the shared baths was not too bad due to the nice way the hostel kept and maintained the place.

On the other hand, it was raining and chill again and we decided to stay in all day... The highlight of the day turned up to be Walley. The robot figure from the movie by the same name became our hero when the kids discovered the movie in the hotel DVD collection and over the next 3 days watched it about a dozen time... we played cards, did some activity books, read a bit and collected information towards our planned trip to the Hakka areas a few hours ride west.

The next couple of days it did not rain and while chilli a bit, the weather seemed good for exploring the city. We took the ferry to the GuLang Yu island and spent a day there and walked a bit in the streets of XiaMen the other day. It was nice. XiaMen is a comfy with a nice vide that seems to be influenced by the large student population and the nearby beaches that must be lovely during the spring to autumn months.

But, I think what we'll remember most out of the time in XiaMen is not any of the sites, but rather the fact that Orit was finally able to teach Daniella (and by that also Naama!!) how to “le-da-leg”. Kids love to le-da-leg. I am not completely sure why, but am confident it is a global phenomena... For some reason, up until now, Daniella knew only how to le-da-leg on her right leg, which made for a very funny sight of her running 2-3-4 steps, then me-da-le-get on her right leg, then running again... and now, with Orit's help, she knows how to le-da-leg appropriately on both legs! Yaiy.... :-)

TRAVEL TIPS: see other posting on XiaMen

The top priority region we wished to visit in JiangXi was the sub region referred to as WuYuan. WuYuan is an ordinary city that lays calmly next to a mid size river that flows by it. It's fame comes from the fact that to lands its name to an area that has about a hundred ancient villages tucked away in the remote hills of northeastern JiangXi, close to the border of this province and that of Anhui.

We purchased bus tickets for the 4-hour bus ride from NanChang and were pleasantly surprised with probably the cleanest and neatest bus we have ever been to in China. We already experienced the ultra aggressive driving style of drivers in the NanChang area and hence the ride took less time than planned, which is always appreciated.

The Lots of Potential Youth Hostel

Vered booked us rooms at a local Youth Hostel where we headed after some bargaining with a taxi driver at the bus station. The Youth Hostel reminded us a bit of the one we stayed at in ChongQing. Both were very spacious old buildings with a perfect location on the edge of a local daily open market with imposing views on the nearby river. But, unlike the hostel in ChongQing, this one had much more potential as a building – it was amazingly well designed, all wooden built with spacious rooms, wide balconies and giant area for a restaurant. Furthermore, the rooms were decorated with very attractive paintings and charming colored wood pieces from old closets and beds.

On the other hand, the staff, while friendly and ready to assist us in questions and issues (they even walked us to a train ticket office and to a restaurant they recommended us for dinner) spoke no English and what's more, the place seemed as if it probably saw no maintenance whatsoever since it was built...maybe it does not have enough tourist traffic to warrant any maintenance, I do not know, but it did feel like a waste, or a shame.

When we arrived it was warm and sunny to the level that we all took our sweatshirts and even long sleeve shirt off and walked around in our short sleeve ones. We did laundry, hung it on long wires along the balcony and went to buy train tickets from a nearby city called JingdeZhang to XiaMen, our next stop. Using the very useful translation software on google, we engaged the nice and helpful duty manager to help us determine which villages we should go to the next two days and get a car for those two days.

Then, we headed to dinner in a local restaurant the guy recommended which turned out to be a fantastic one. It was one of those restaurants that show their products on the sidewalk at its entrance and we point to the things we wanted. Then, when the food arrived we concluded it was one of those wonderful dinners of simple, but tasty food with plenty of vegetables and a comfy, relaxed, extra casual setting (with everybody in the restaurant and everybody walking by outside watching us, the foreigners....).

It's Raining Again...

Sometime around 2am or 3am it started to rain and our entire set of laundry got soaked. The morning rose with more rain and very cold temperatures, probably low single digits. I guess the very warm temperatures of the previous day were the outlier, not the cold ones from the day before.... We pulled our laundry inside in the morning and spread it on every hang place we could find in our rooms and on the balcony, though the cold and misty weather seemed to be working hard against any chance of them drying up any time soon.

While Vered and Orit get the kids organized, I went to the open market around the corner and bought a few dumplings, buns, hard boiled eggs, local breads and some local crêpes for breakfast. We ate the light, but comfy breakfast in the hotel lobby and stepped into the small minibus of the driver we booked for the day around 9am. We devised a plan based on the info in the lonely planet, the duty mangers' thoughts, wikitravel and an interesting blog site I ran into where a few people described their experiences and provided recommendations. Apparently, there are about a hundred ancient villages in this area, but only about a dozen have a unique character to them that make them interesting for visitors. We decided to focus on a half of those for our two days in the area. The plan for the day was to visit three villages on what is referred to as “the western route” of the villages, leaving another three on the eastern side for the next day.

The Beautiful Big LiKeng in the Rain and Cold

The first village we went to is called LiKeng and is not to be confused with the first one we planned to visit the following day, whose name is LiKeng... To help people not get confused, the first one is referred to as Big LiKeng, while the second is Little LiKeng... The first is one of the furthest villages from WuYuan and on the western route, which makes it one of the least visited of the beautiful ancient villages and consequently, higher on our list.

It did not disappoint us!

The drive to the village took close to an hour and was very beautiful one! The small car navigated the thin roads, went up and down hills, along lush valleys dotted with small villages with white houses and black-tile roofs, occasionally crossing tiny stone bridges over small streams. In many places the road had barely enough space for one car in each direction. As we got close to LiKeng, the road started to climb a little higher and became even thinner, turning to a gravel path in some place. On one of the stretches around one of the hills, rain water dropped in tiny streams from the side of the hill on and over the road. We actually drove straight through a few tiny waterfalls created by those streams, which was very very cool. If only the rain stopped, we could have stop to take some photos, but it did not.

It was still raining and cold when we parked at the village entrance and we dressed ourselves with every bit of cloth we had. We paid a fee at the entrance of the village and walked it. The entrance to the village sits next to a large stone bridge across a most lovely creek that runs through the edge of the village. I crossed it over with Naama on my back carrier, while the rest of the gang went on the other side. It was a most picturesque setting ever, sans the rain of course. On that other side, I met up a Chinese photographer with a camera just like mine (the only other non-local we met in the entire village!!) and we took photos of one another taking photos of the village with each-other's cameras...

At the same time on the other side of the stream, a local smiling women approached us near the entrance offering us her umbrella and suggested, using hand signals, to show us the way in the village. Traveling in China for some time now, we got used to people approaching us offering to “show us the way” and then asking us for a lot of money for it, so we kindly refused. But, she was very kind and seemed genuinely happy and very smiley, so we were not too forceful in asking her to leave us alone and she continued to walk by us.

We were able to walk for maybe 20 minutes before the rain increased and Vered found a tea-house, which might have been the local bar and we went in the warm up. They served us tea and gave us small bowls of firewood to warm our hands and feet over. It was a tiny place, quite dark, and not too warm, but comfy and protected from the rain outside, so we stayed.

At some point, the rain slowed a bit and I went out to see if I can climb on the hill on the side of the village to take some photos. I walked to the edge of the village, passing many beautiful, but very simple old houses, many with small pools attached to their sides with fish in them. Those wee mostly orange colored carp, which is very common in these areas. I then crossed the little creek on a not-so-stable wooden structure that dreams sometimes of being called a bridge and climbed along a tiny gravel path. At some point I found another path that seemed to be branching aside from the main one and go further up on the side of the hill towards a place I thought would enable me a good photo position. It turned into a semi-scary walk in the very slippery soaked ground on a very steep climb, but I made it and indeed found a beautiful view of the village.

I could see the very high mountain that corralled the village on the other side and the o-so-green fields that stretched up along the valley from the village and between the mountain on the other side and the hill ridge I was on. And of course, I saw the beautiful quaint village in between, with its low (mostly two-floor high) white houses cramped into one another with their black-tile roofs and tiny pathways meandering between the buildings. It was a very pretty sight, but with the rain and mist all over, not enabling the type of photos this place deserves.

So, I came down and got back to the teahouse/bar, just when everybody were ready to leave. The woman that “escorted us” appeared us again and showed us the plaques of the self-guided tour that were hung on some of the buildings directing visitors through the village. She pointed to one very old large house that we walked in to see. It was vacant, almost deserted, but one could clearly see it was once the place of a very wealthy family. It had a very large interior yard open to collect rain water from above and large rooms on the back. One of the walls had a large peeling picture of Mao.

As we exited the building Yonatan was able to get himself completely wet and the nice women suggested we go into her place which was just around the corner to dry up. We did not have much choice and followed her. She got us through a tiny door to her living room, which together with the dining area was the size of a small room and sat us around a large bowl, maybe one foot in diameter, full of burning firewood to dry. We got Yonatan out of his wet pants and put them and his socks and shoes to dry against the fire. The rest of the gang followed suite and sat around as well.

Orit suggested maybe I can take her to see the little hill I climbed on earlier – I told them how beautiful the view is from there and Daniella jumped to join us as well. Immediately as we stepped out, the nice woman followed us, trying to convince us we should only follow the self-guided tour marks. We explained that we want to climb the hill and showed her where we're heading. She followed us, trying to convince us to get back on every available turn. When we crossed the want-to-be-bridge we feared she might faint...

We decided to skip the tiny dirt path I took on the side of the main path and rather took another one that was much sorter and easier and provided just as good views. On the way back, we decided to go around the village to see its end from the other side and that turned out to be a great choice as the nice lady showed us a few fabulous ancient houses on the way that we probably would not have spotted on our own. They were really old houses with fantastic decorations to their wooden structures. It was clear she not only knows her way in the village, but also has experience showing people around, especially those with fancy cameras and interest in taking interesting pictures as she was quite thoughtful in suggesting (no words, of course...) locations for photos, positions for the subjects and angles for the photographer...

It was a wonderful 30-40 min round trip at the end of which, we were not sure exactly where we are. But then, through some side alleys and corridors that connect buildings to one another, the nice lady got us back to her house. Poof: she opened yet another door and we were there. This was almost like a scene from the matrix movie where doors lead to strange places...

Once back in the small house, she asked us if we want to eat. We figured this is why she was after us all that day, but since it was lunch time, we figured we might as well eat here than drag lunch and maybe have a battle with the kids later on. We used our limited vocabulary and the pointing strategy to assemble some dishes and then she suggested we have fish as well.

A Fish (Unfortunate) Story

Normally, we do not like to eat fish in such places as we fear it freshness. But she took me utside and showed me her little pool with 4-5 fish in it. Stripped out of the freshness argument, we agreed to add fish to the meal. I was about to get inside when the woman stopped me and suggested I stay to take photos of her catching and cleaning the fish. This was clearly what other visitors wanted before me. I stayed.

What transpired next in front of me was interesting, but a bit uncomfortable. If you, the reader, are uncomfortable with descriptions of hurting animals you may want to skip the next three paragraphs.

The woman held the fish by sticking a couple of fingers into his mouth and started cleaning it from its scales with a small metal brush. She then washed it a bit and then cut its belly to clean the inside intestines, followed by the breathing gills on the two sides of his head. Another quick wash and the fish was ready for some cuts on the sides of his body for the sauce to get in when grilling on the skillet.

We walked in. The woman put the sauce she prepared before – a very tasty looking mixture of herbs and spices and soy sauce and butter and garlic – into the skillet and heat it over the stove. She then stuck her spatula in the open cut she made previously in his belly and put it on the hot skillet pouring the sauce on it. After a few seconds, she turned it to the other side to grill from that side too.

The thing is, it was only a few seconds after the fish was hard pressed on the skillet that it stopped moving. Now, I am not a vegetarian by any means, and I accept killing animals for the sake of eating them. Furthermore, normally I am not too bothered with the specifics of the animal killing in the food business. But, this up and close monitoring of this poor fish's last minutes was a said sight. You see, I do not keep kosher necessarily, but I am well aware of the kosher rules (well, most of them, there are so many...) and was brought up understanding their logic. Most of that logic is health, but some of it is humanitarian.

One of the basic rules in the Jewish kosher rules, is that an animal must be killed in one stroke so its death is swift. Here, there was no specific action to kill the fish at all. The entire focus was on preparing it for the meal and at some point along this process it died. Now, I have witnessed fish in markets in China and elsewhere in the East before. Many of them are killed the same way, or close to it. They are left to die more than are killed, which is a shame

In any event, I was moved and felt a bit uncomfortable with the situation, but since this is the way things are done here, I was not about to teach anybody anything. Our lunch was excellent and we ate a lot of everything, including the fish which was quite good. Not to spoil their appetite, I told Vered ad Orit the details of the fish's sad death story only after the meal...

The woman cleared a table in her small dining area and sat the courses on it. Since the house was still very cold, we decided to eat around the burning coal barrel. We made the trips from it to the table to pile our bowls and back to our sitting area quickly and enjoyed a surprisingly tasty meal. After the meal we dressed up again and went outside to continue our visit in the village. It was indeed most beautiful and we indeed could not find the places the old lady showed us before. But, we found other ones that were nice.

Rainbow Bridge: A Nice Short Stop on the Way

From Big LiKeng we drove again through the same beautiful ride on the mountain side and along the valleys towards our next stop. It was a tiny town next to which there is a famous and most beautiful ancient bridge called Rainbow Bridge. We skipped the town, but enjoyed the bridge a great deal. We crossed it (you cross a bridge when you get to it, right?) and climbed up to a small view point on its back side and even continued a bit to a small temple next to it before crossing the bridge back and laving the town.

SiXi: An Interesting Stroll Around the Calm Village:

By the time we got to the third village, SiXi, Yonatan and Daniella decided they rather stay in the car than go to “yet another village” with us and we figured that since it is cold and starting to get late, it is actually a good solution. I put Naama on my back carrier and Orit, Vered and the two of us went to the village. The village is actually two adjunct villages, the other one is named YanCun, but we decided to only focus on one to have enough time to enjoy it. Again, there was a self-guided tour, which we followed.

The village had a few notable buildings, which we reviewed and a few view points which we visited and a few narrow old streets that we explored, but besides the view point from the top of the village looking down at it and onward to the valley behind it, there were not as impressive as those in LiKeng. Besides, Naama fell asleep and we enjoyed the ability to have a conversation among us, the adults, without kids around. What a wonderful concept!

Since we insisted with the driver early in the day to start the day in the far away LiKeng, our drive back to WuYuan now at the end of the day was quite short, which was good as by now the kids were hungry and tired. We asked the driver to stop for us at the restaurant we ate the previous night and had another great dinner though this time as “take away” Vered and Orit did to the hotel.

Small LiKeng: What A Beautiful Tranquil Village!

The plan for Day 2 also had three villages in it, but this time, since Small LiKeng was considered the most beautiful village in the county, we decided to start there even-though it is the one closest to the city. This way, we knew we spent enough time in the most beautiful one and if we had to cut something short due to the time pressure (we needed to catch a 4pm last bus to the city where our train that evening went to XiaMen), it would not be that one.

It did not rain that morning, but was as chilli as the previous day, which made for a slow start of the walk at Small LiKeng. Nonetheless, the village turned out to be as impressively beautiful as described in the books and blog sites. The village has a number of water canals going through it and many many tiny stone bridges on them connecting the two sides. Together with the old stone houses, the village looks very tranquil indeed.

We walked freely around the village for two hours or so, picking at some houses here and there to see the way the locals live. Some of them were very interesting. We also entered a few of the notable buildings, which were also intriguing. One of the most unique characteristics of those notable buildings were ornaments on the sides of the interiors of the houses which were elaborate wood carvings.

Towards the end of the circle we did in the village while Naama on my back carrier, I picked into a house that looked very interesting from the outside and was greeted by an old man, he must have been in his 70's or even 80's who invited me for tea. I agreed and sent Yonatan back to the entrance of the house on the road to signal Orit, Vered and Daniella to join us. We spent about a half hour in the lovely house chatting with the guy, as much as our joint vocabulary enabled us, and looking at the very large collection of his photos on the walls. Apparently, there were people here before us who took his photos and sent him some copies. Some of those were quite professional, or at least of very high quality.

From LiKeng we continued to another very small village (whose name escaped me...) for a short visit. On the way Naama fell asleep and soon thereafter peed in her pants. We had spare pants and underwear for her, but not socks, which also got wet. Since it was too chilli to go out without at last socks if not shoes, we put a pair of gloves on her feet and won more smiling faces than strange looks from passing people until Vered was able to buy another pair of socks.

The village had really lovely narrow streets and like most villages in this area sat comfortably along a small river. There were a few sites noted with signs on some walls, but by this time we were just interested in strolling in the streets. Orit bought some souvenirs, we bought a couple of wooden toys for the kids, we walked to the adjunct village which was about a kilometer away on the other side of a large, very long and beautifully blossoming field and sat there to rest next to a small pagoda on a tiny hill at the village's entrance.

At some point, we lost track of time and all of a sudden found ourselves less than two hours from the departure time of our bus and more than an hour away from WuYuan, where our bags were not yet fully packed and with no bus tickets yet... We dashed back to the car and hurried back to WuYuan where we packed the remainder of our stuff in record time and continued to the bus station to catch the bus within minutes of its departure.

We were relieved to have caught the bus, but our joy was short coming as the driver drove like just the other drivers in JiangXi and drove like crazy to the next city JingDeZhen. We were at the edges of our seats, often due to sharp passing maneuvering, the entire two-hour ride.

JingDeZhen – Dinner and a Train Ride

We arrived at JingDeZhen around 5pm, which meant we had over six hours until our train's scheduled departure time. We left our bags at a locker place in the station and went to have dinner. We walked along one of the city's main streets, which turned out to be a most lively street with quite a number of happening streets crossing it. We did not expect much of this city which the only reason we got to is the fact that it was the closest one to WuYuan with a train station...

But, we did not complain. It was a pleasant surprise. Vered chose us a restaurant and we had a lovely dinner in a most vivid and lively place. After dinner, Boaz went to look for the local WalMart, which we saw on the way here to buy food for the train ride, while the rest of the gang headed to a coffee place next by for drinks and deserts. We stretched the time as much as we could and headed back to the train station at around 23:00 for a 23:56 expected departure.

How Much Time Does it Take to Board 100 People on a Train in China?

The answer to this question is four minutes. Actually, I think that even if the number of passengers was double of triple the above, the answer would have been the same... How do we know? Well, at the waiting hall in the station we discovered there are a number of lines of people waiting for their trains. The signs above the metal doors at the end of each line indicated the train number and its scheduled arrival and departure time. The difference between arrival and departure, so we have noticed is exactly 4 minutes for every train.

The line for the 23:15 arrival (23:19 departure) had over a hundred people in it. Many with kids, most with multiple bags including suitcases, wrapped packages and odd-size boxes. It is the day before the New Years, at the heart of the Spring Festival and the last people to travel to meet their families bring a lot of luggage with them, as well as gifts. We were looking carefully at how they behaved to glean from it on how our on-boarding process is likely to be like.

The process in Chinese trains, so we discovered, is one where the doors only open when the train arrives. I am not completely sure what is the rational behind limiting the time passengers can get on the dock, maybe they are afraid of last minute change in time table of incoming trains, maybe security, I am not sure. What I am certain about is that limiting the time to enter the station and get on the train has strong impact on the pressure when the door do open, exactly four minutes before the train lives, with or without you...

The scene when the door id open is one we wished we captured on video. Within seconds of the door opening, people were rushing in from all sides, jumping over the barriers, pushing and almost hitting one another and running like crazy towards the train. It felt like a fight to survive... who would have thought people can be so energetic at half past 11 at night... Four minutes later, on the dot, the doors closed, the whistle blew and the train left the dock, leaving us pale...

JinDeZhen is not the original station for any train and only has trains going through it. Especially for night trains, that's a sign for trouble as not only the whole get-in and get-out in mid station means the entire night is likely to be noisy for all the cabin's passengers, but also – and more importantly – your beds may have been used/slept on before you. Of, did I say already we had four beds at four different cabins?... :-)

We spent the next 30 minutes planning our train boarding like a military campaign: who takes who, who takes which bag, who goes first, second, third and fourth, who comes back to the dock to help with the rest of the bags. As the clock ticked closer to midnight we grew anxious. By 23:50 we had all of the bags on our backs. 23:56 passes without a sound. The train is late. Naama is asleep in the stroller. Daniella is falling asleep on the train station hard chairs and draws attention with her falling head... The train arrives a few minutes after 00:30. Thankfully the line is much shorter than the one we saw before and though we have to run to make it, we do not encounter any hardship doing that.

We get on the train, find the two beds that are closest to one another and put the kids to sleep. Then, Orit and I place the luggage on some empty racks while Vered tries to convince people to switch beds with us so we can be together with the kids. With the help of the conductor who agrees to switch one of our beds with a yet-to-be-occupied one, we get three beds together: Yonatan and Daniella in one, Boaz and Naama in another, Vered in the third. Orit stays with her “original” ticket a few cabins down the train, not too far from us. We sleep lightly until the morning...

When the morning comes we find that the devil is not that bad. The kids are happy and we take turns in making up some lost sleep during the night. Naama runs back and forth along the train happily, plays with the few other kids and collects candy from happy passengers. Orit split her time between reading, watching the crowds and visiting us for breakfast (oatmeal with honey and fruits – yummy!) and snacks. Yonatan and Daniella watch movies on the computer and play games. A few hours later we reach XiaMen.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• Should You Go: YES. WuYuan is a most lovely area and well worth visiting. The villages are indeed ancient, well preserved and most lovely. The mountains and rivers scenery around them is also fantastic.

• Getting There and Around: The area is quite close to HuangShan and so it may be best (easier transportation wise) reached from there, rather than from NanChang or XiaMen. Once there, it is most convenient to hire a driver for a day or two to take you around to the villages you wish to see. Otherwise it is difficult to move around the mountainous area.

• What to See:

  • There are about a hundred ancient villages in the region, but many are not very interesting, or not unique enough to warrant your time.

  • On the west side, Big LiKeng is lovely, least touristic and the ride to it is fabulous. SiXi and YanCun are also very nice. The Rainbow Bridge was a nice short stop on the way.

  • On the east side, Small LiKeng is indeed most pleasant and definitely worth the visit.

  • WuYuan itself is not interesting and can be skipped if you don't need it for getting your travel arrangements like we did.

• When to Come:

  • We saw less tourists than we envisioned, especially considering this was in the middle of the Spring Festival, but then travel in and out proved tough, especially with trains.

  • It was colder then we expected in mid February and we envision it to be much more attractive to wonder around when it is warmer climate.

• How Long to Stay: We figured two to three days should be enough to cover the area and feel good about it.

• Where to Sleep: we saw places you can sleep in at most villages we visited, especially at Little LiKeng, which can be an easy place to go in and out of. WuYuan also has plenty of places. The Youth Hostel we stayed at was OK, a lot of potential in the most lovely building, but rundown maintenance. It was clean enough and had good aircon for heating and hot waters when we needed them.

There are many reasons why one may want to travel in China during their “Spring Holiday” season that falls this year between Feb 1^st and 28^th. It centers around the Chinese New Years, which due to the fact that the Chinese calendar is lunar based changes in dates when compares with the Western one, but generally occurs sometimes in late January, February or early March. Among those are:

1. A desire to see a lot of Chinese people. If this were a wish of yours, there I no better time than during this period! I read in a newspaper in HK that the train office expects 2.55 Billion travel tickets being sold and used on trains between Feb 1-28^th.

2. Test your nerves. If you thought you got solid nerves, but really wanted to put them for a test and check their limits, one of the best ways I can think of is trying to buy train tickets during this period. You can start by trying on-line and then contact some agencies, but the ultimate challenge is to go yourself to the train station. I tried that in BeiJing on February 5^th. I woke up at 6:30am, took the metro to BeiJing West and arrived around 8:00am or so. The ticket office opens at 9am. By the time I got there, I could see through the windows that the entire hall of the ticket office was full and the lines in front of the 30 or so windows stretched all the way to the back of the giant building. The entrance to the building was closed and guarded by police, so I am not sure how the people inside got there, unless they came on some inbound train and did not leave. Outside there was a line that stretched all around the building for at least 200-300 meters, so I estimate there were at least 5000 people in the queue before me. If you thought the line to get a Harry Potter new book on the day it comes out is long, thing again...

3. Experience the excitement of New Year celebration in China. After all, this is the country where fireworks were invented, the economy is booming and pride is through the roof. Chinese have many reasons to be happy and are doing a lot to show it. Fireworks shows started to be seen a week before the New Year date itself and in some places go through the 1-2am at night and both children and adults fire fireworks all through the day and night for days on by around the holiday itself. The explosion sounds were the most loud ones we have heard for about two weeks...

But, if those reasons do not turn you on or excite you as much, you may want to skip traveling during this period...

If you still want/need to travel during those times, a few tips would be most helpful to you:

a) Small cities are less crowded that large ones, so you may want to try heading those directions, though the train routes tend to be long and get to large cities at some point...

b) Order tickets as much time in advance as possible. This is obviously easier said than done, since bus tickets can only be purchased one or two days in advance and train tickets, depends on the type of train either 5 or 10 days ahead of travel date.

c) Check multiple venues before you buy. This is obviously true all the time, but especially during those crazy times. We found a website, for example, that was willing to sell the train tickets we wanted, but charged 4x their regular price, at which price it became economical sense to fly... in another instance, we got fair airfare prices on elong, our go-to site for airline tickets and sometimes hotels, but then Vered found even better prices when contacting the airline directly..

d) Practice meditation before you go to buy tickets or contact a travel agency for it..,

e) The 4-5-6 days after the actual holiday are even busier than the two weeks before the holiday. The rational here is that people go to visit and spend time with their families before and during the holiday, but in recent years seem to go traveling a bit for the few days after the holiday. So, attraction sites are extremely crowded during those days and should be avoided.

f) Southern cities are especially busy. Because it is so cold in most of the country, the big cities in the provinces of YunNan, GuanXi, GuanDong, HongKong, and Fujian draw extra number of visitors interested in slightly warmer temperatures.

 

and may the force be with you... and good luck!

 

Xin Nian Kuai Le!

NanChang, the capital city of JiangXi province, is well known among Chinese people as the birthplace of the Communist Party's rise to power in the early 20^th century. It is where Mao united the troops and started the heroic Long March that eventually won him the reigns of the Chinese Republic. For us, just like most foreign visitors, it was a place from which to go see some ancient villages nearby.

There were two such sites we visited. The first, a short 2 hours away to the west is a triangle of three villages who date back over 1200 years. The second is the area known as WuYuan, which is 4-5 hours east northeast of NanChang and includes a few thousands of very old villages. But, first thing first.

We arrived in NanChang airport on a late evening flight from BeiJing. We picked up our bags and stepped outside to get a taxi. Taxi stands are different in different airports, some are more organized than others. In NanChang there is a whole lane of the road dedicated to taxis who are driving slowly along it until they reach the gates where people exit the terminals. There, stood are a few guards who stop the taxis and direct passengers to them. When they fill, they leave and new cars come in.

When we asked for a taxi the guards told us we have to take two taxis. Now, to be honest, in most places around the world, that would be the right thing to do as well as the law. After all, we are 6 people with 3 large bags, three small ones, a baby stroller and a baby hiking back carrier. But, this is China and we have always used a single car, so we had no intentions to deviate from that practice. We argued a bit with the guards and then decided to avoid them and go directly to the taxis. The first few had those huge gas gallons in their trunk, but the third's trunk seemed available enough for us. That is to say, seemed to US. The driver was not so convinced, but with a few pushes, al the bags got into the trunk, the hiking carrier under the kids' legs and the stroller with me (and Daniella) in the front seat and with a triumphant look on our faces, we left the airport.

Vered stroked again with a great find of a perfectly located hotel – directly across the bus station and 10 min walk from the center square of town – which also provided great service and comfy rooms. There was always one English speaking person on the staff in the 7 Days Inn, and were nice enough and interested in understanding us and so we quickly were able to check in to the room we reserved on elong and go directly to sleep: Yonatan and Daniella shared a bed in Orit's room and Naama got her own bed next to Vered's and mine.

Since we arrived so late, we decided to stay two nights in the hotel and spend the first day just relaxing in the city. Following a recommendation for a “casual dining perfect for breakfast” place Vered found on wikitravel, we asked the hotel for directions to the restaurant and took a taxi there. 20 minutes later we found ourselves in the other end of town in front of a fancy restaurant with white cloths and 4 glasses of wine on each table. So far for casual dining... Despite the late hour and our (and more importantly our kid's) stomachs telling us they want food and quickly, we did not lose our nerves and asked the very nice waiter in the restaurant for a recommendation for a place that specializes in dumplings. He thought of a place in the center of town and even stopped a taxi and told the driver where to take us.

20 minutes later we arrived at the central square of NanChang and found a breakfast/brunch place full of people that had many photos of dumplings on the walls and above the heads of the people who took orders. We stepped in, found a table and I went to order. The woman at the counter spoke no English whatsoever and I turned to picture pointing techniques. For pictures, I used the ones above her head and simply asked in perfect Chinese (more or less...): “I want 2 of this and 1 of this and 1 of that”. That description, which I thought was so simple it had to be bullet proof, turned into a major discussion between her and effectively every person of the 5-6-7 in the line behind me. If I understood correctly what they said in their mix of perfect Chinese and minimalist broken English, the photos either did not display exactly what the restaurant had or were not available all together.

By this point, the line behind me became the longest among all long lines to order and consequently the loudest... I decided to cut my losses and move to plan C. I pointed to the column where they listed the different dumplings they had and asked for 1 of the 3^rd one, 1 of the 4^th one and 1 of the 5^th one and 1 of the 6^th one. And guess what: it worked! I took three cups of hot drinks that were offered on the counter (I was not sure what they were, but they were warm and a lot of people ordered them, so I figured I have little to lose), paid and went back to the table.

At the table, voice of reason was turning to despair as the kids became hungrier and were about to lose it. We bought 3 dishes of things we thought we can eat (we skipped the likes of chicken feet and pig intestines...) from a woman that walked by with a tray of foods and that calmed the kids a bit. 15 minutes later we asked one of the waitresses that was getting the food from the kitchen to people's tables and spoke a bit of English where's our food and she was surprised to find out we did not get it and promised to go check. 10 minutes later, we asked her again and got the same response: a surprised look that we did not get the food and a promise to go check. When we received nothing for another 5 minutes, we stopped her again, but got the same response. Actually, it was a new answer: the kitchen got your order and is making it...

This time, faced with now angry kids who understandably started to misbehave and were not only miserable, but also making us miserable, we (I...) decided it does not cut it and I asked her to walk with me towards the kitchen to find out where is our food. We stopped at a table next to us that just got their order and saw that their order number was about 20 or 25 numbers after ours. I told the waitress I want our food now since the kids are too hungry to wait and that we have heard: “it's coming” for more than half an hour now.

At this point, I had a suggestion for her: why don't you take the order of another table that is waiting maybe 5 minutes, give it to us and ask the kitchen to remake the order to them. This suggestion was received with a blunt: “can't be done” to which my quick answer was: “can be done, watch me”. And I turned to the next waiter that crossed my way with a plate of dumplings on his tray (along with some other items), picked up the dumplings plate and walked to our table to the shouting and complaining calls of the waiter...

To the credit of the English-speaking waitress, she pushed the waiter from whom I stole the order and a couple of other waiters away and after a minute came to our table, apologized for the inconvenience and told us we can keep the order we took. Obviously, by that point, half of it was gone, so it's not like she had a choice, but still it was a courteous way to resolve the issue. As we ate the OK dumplings, we were debating whether we will get the order we made. Funny enough, it took another 15 minutes, by which time we finished all the dumplings in the “stolen plate”, and our order arrived... we ate them as well and left. Oh well, an experience...

Outside the restaurant was the main square which was in heavy decoration mode towards the Spring Festival and New Year a week away. Since it was Sunday, the place was full of people enjoying themselves and the sunny day. We joined a couple of down of them who flew kites, bought one of those kites who has 15 small (20x20 cm) kites hooked together with a 50 cm, which make for a 15 meter long kite. Daniella had a worthwhile exercise running around the square with her kite and even made it to get it up a few times. After an hour or so of trying, we decided we really need more practice and that a single larger kite is likely easier to raise than a series of small ones connected together. While Yonatan Orit and Vered played card games in the sun and Naama playing with the locals as she always does so nicely.

It was fun hanging around the square and then walking around a couple of the streets next to it. We stopped at a restaurant next to one of the little lakes/ponds in the center of the town and had a lovely dinner. When we took a taxi then back to the hotel we were shocked to find it within walking distance from where we were... All in all, the holiday atmosphere and warm weather were great contributing to our enjoyment, but in general we felt like the city was actually a nice one to hang out at.

The following day we woke up early and caught a bus to the ancient villages to the west of NanChang. Based on the descriptions in the Lonely Planet, Wikitravel and an interesting blog site I found where someone vividly described their visit to the villages, we decided that even though we could probably spend a couple of days in the villages and sleep in one of them on the night in between the two days, we are probably better off trying to squeeze them into one day and come back for a comfy sleep in NanChang.

We checked the timetables of the first and last bus from and to NanChang to Anui, the town closest to the villages and from where we were supposed to take a rickshaw to the villages, purchased tickets for the first bus from NanChang the previous night and back to NanChang at the bus station in Anui. Somehow, we found a bus that took us directly to LuoTianCun as opposed to the town next to it, so we saved ourselves the hassle of another bus.

But, we did have an interesting incident on the way. At some point, maybe half way through our journey, the bus came to a complete stop when the entire road became a traffic jam. The driver told us, and the other passengers, to get off the bus and walk to the other side of the traffic jam, where supposedly, anther bus will wait and take us to our destination. So, we walked by a hundred or so cars all blowing their horns and unable to move and got almost to the end of the traffic jam on its other side. Their, the bus driver helper directed us and 4 other people who were heading to LuoTianCun to board a minivan. We scrambled in just in time to find the mini completely blocked by additional cars that came by from multiple directions...

By now, we became familiar with what happens in traffic jams in China. The bottom line is that Chinese people have no patience to wait for the jam to open and they push their cars forward into it as if to try and pass over the cars that are already stuck in traffic. To do that they often cross to the other side of the road, which quickly blocks the entire road for cars to move in any direction and lengthens the time it takes to resolve the situation. This self-defeating (not to say stupid...) behavior has become one of the things that annoys us the most in China.

Of all the wonderful things about China, ingenious innovations and kindness of the Chinese people, their extreme lack of patience while driving is incredibly irritating. This lack of patience is also exhibited in other behaviors. For example, when standing in line at a grocery store, train and bus ticket offices, the line to get on a bus or train, when checking in at a hotel and more.

Why are Chinese people so impatient? I guess that when you are one of a billion and a half people, the “fight to survive” is a critical success factor. Furthermore, Chinese semi-recent history, the one of the 18^th, 19^th and 20^th centuries until the past 20-30 years has been one of constant struggle. And that, in turn, has pushed Chinese to further towards aggressively protecting their turf and get ahead in lines.

So, within seconds of sitting in the small minibus, it became apparent that if we waited for the police to free the traffic jam, we'll be here for a long time, so I asked the woman that sat in front of me to move aside and open the door so I can go out and started to move cars aside to clear the way for ours. Clearing a traffic jam is not that hard of a task if people are reasonable and willing to wait for other cars to move away before they move but, as I described before, that willingness to wait is not a prominent Chinese character trait and so I had to be quite firm with some of them who for sure were in shock of the Westener who direct the traffic. Orit imagine me as a roaring dinosaur that steam come out of his mouth and ears.... in any event, in less than 15 minutes we were driving smoothly again and within another 20 we were in the center of LuoTianCun.

LuoTianCun is a quaint village which dates back to 800ac or so. It's cobbled streets are narrow and its old mud buildings are charming. The village has a well marked path fro a self-tour, which we followed. It points to a few notable buildings and provides a few lines of explanations about them. It is a good tour with just enough info to be meaningful to visitors without overwhelming them with lengthy propaganda or too much detail. In particular, we liked the Da Shi Fu Di building, which is described as the “Master's Mention”, the biggest house in the village that used to be populated by a wealthy trader, his family and servants.

The place felt like it was one of the buildings described in The Good Earth book. It was an incredible place with perhaps a couple dozen different rooms and a half dozen halls with plucks describing the way they were used (to discuss monetary issues, to drink tea with the family, to meet guests, etc.). It was all wood-made and quite well maintained. There were many family photos on the walls and intricate details on the carvings of the furniture and walls. The doors were wonderfully designed and much of the furniture seemed authentic.

What made the tour even more interesting was the fact that there were people living in the house! We actually saw a few people as we picked into some of the rooms that were not open to the public to visit. Those rooms had really old, but incredibly beautiful furniture (like huge apron beds all made of red colored wood and stuff that indicated clearly people were sleeping in them and putting their cloths in the fabulous old red wood cabinets next to the beds. They were living in the kind of furniture we would love to have in our houses and often see in movies. In fact, these villages, so we were told, are often used as sets for movies when scenes of “old China” are needed.

From the back of the mention we climbed along a tiny path to see the ancient tree that Huang, the founder of the village, planted 1200 years ago after he dreamt of a golden lion sitting there and found a golden rock when he dug there the next morning. It is one of the prettiest trees I have ever seen, so large and wide and full. It sits on the tallest spot in the village, on top of a small hill overlooking the village and the fields next to it and its surrounding is kept vacant of buildings and other structures. We have a short break there, played a bit and ate a snack before continuing on the visitor path. The self-guided tour signs, by the way, all say: “visit, then go”. How funny...

not far from the ancient tree, we saw the oldest well in the village that the locals swear is over 1000 years old and cured some illnesses give long life to the people who drink from it etc. We continued to see a few more old and notable buildings before searching for a place to eat.

Both the guide book and the info on wikitravel and the blog site I found all noted that there are kiosks, restaurants and places for home-stay on this village, but none on the other two villages. So, we decided to have lunch here before we continue to the other two villages. We approached an old lady who were cooking something in her open kitchen not far from and in the direction of where there was a sign indicating a restaurant. She invited us in and showed us what she has to offer. We asked for rice and a couple of vegetable dishes and she started making them in her very old stone stove, which we found common in all kitchens we have seen in this area. While we waited, she brought us a large pile of peanuts and some tea.

The kitchen was small, but well designed. In the center was the stone stove. It had the shape of stairs to enable easy space to put sauces and cooking instruments, and had two places for dishes (woks) with space underneath for the fire. The wood for the fire was added on the back of the stove, which was close to the entrance door, while cooking was done in the front, so the cook stood with their face to the door. Feng Shwei in practice! There were pieces of meat hung to dry above and to the sides of the stove, buckets of vegetables nearby and buckets of water in close proximity.

The table was a red colored wooden table, the kind we'd love to see in our house, and it stood at the side of the very dark room next to the kitchen under a Buddha photo and next to a bamboo cylinder where chopsticks were stored. The “living room” (with a TV of course – every Chinese house no matter how minimalist or poor has a TV, a must-have means of propaganda for the party to control citizens, but also provide easy entertainment for them) was on the other side of a thin wall and had besides the TV a small sofa, a tiny table and a cabinet, for tea cups, probably. The “bedroom” was adjunct to it and had a small, but beautiful apron type bed, the same style we saw in the notable buildings on our tour!

The lady cleared the dining table from her and her husband's bawls, but left the dishes they were eating and added the ones we asked for. We It was very basic food, but quite tasty and we enjoyed it a lot. When we asked to pay, she refused to quote us a price showing us (no English) we ate no meat... This was quite amazing considering there were 6 of us eating there for and spending a good hour or so in her house! We left her what we thought was a decent amount of money for such a meal and left very happy for a wonderful home experience.

We continued along the path back to the entrance of the village and from there crossed a little stream and made it to the second village. SuinAn is described in the guides as the least interesting of the three villages and so we just passed through it to the third one entering only one notable building that was nice, but did not provide any added interest on top of the 4-5 we saw in LuoTianCun.

The third village, JingTai, had indeed much more character to it and was lovely to walk through. By now it was early afternoon, Naama was asleep in her stroller and I negotiated hard to get the stroller moving along the cobbled streets. We walked along the self-guided tour towards the old stage where plays were shown as early as 500 years ago and picked into a few more buildings. We continued to be amazed at some of the furniture everybody seemed to have and at a couple of places we even contemplated offering the locals to buy furniture from them... If we were leaving from here back to Israel, or even plan to stay in NanChang for some time, maybe we would have done it, but our plans called for a bus early the following day to WuYuan and so we gave up on the dream of having real authentic old and so beautiful Chinese furniture in our house. For now, at least.

We left the village and got back to the main road where we needed to find a way to get to the town from where we had the bus back to NanChang. At some point a bus drove by with a sign on it that we recognized as NanChang and it stopped when we waved to it. We showed the driver helper we have tickets to NanChang, albeit from the other town and she signaled us to climb in. How lovely! We skipped the need to look for transportation to that other town and are on the direct bus to NanChang. How wonderful! Well, yes, but then the woman asked us to pay the ticket for the bus. A new ticket, that is, since the ones we held were not for her bus. We tried to argue and were even a bit annoyed at the fact that she motioned us in the bus, but to no avail. We got off the bus and were now further away from where we needed to go...

Oh well, we started walking along the road signaling crossing cars to stop in an attempt to hitch-hike. None did. We reached a bus stop at the entrance of LuoTianCun and a group of 4 people there were trying to help us find a car. When none stopped and their minibus arrived to take them to Anui, the town we needed to get to, they offered us to come with them. We squeezed all in and 15-20 minutes later we were at the town and even early enough to catch an earlier bus. Again, like at lunch, the people refused to get any money from us to pay our share of the ride. We tried hard, but gave up when they seemed quite firm. We were very grateful.

Two hours later we were in NanChang. A quick stop at the KFC (for the kids:)) next to the bus station and strait to beds. It was a long and tiring day, but a wonderful one. Orit and Vered had a girls-night-out dining in better places after wondering in the streets for more than an hour. The streets were full of shops that were crowded until late at night. The next day we were to get on another early morning bus to take us to WuYuan.

TRAVEL TIPS:

• NanChang is a lovely town, though lack any special interest site for non-Chinese tourists. Still, we had good inexpensive meals and a lovely stay there.

• The central square is lovely, especially for people watching and kite flying.

• People are driving like crazy ignoring traffic signs. We have seen bad driving in China, but none matched the drivers in NanChang. Beware!

• The three ancient villages to the west of NanChang are lovely and worth a visit, though I would probably not fly all the way out here just for them.

• Among the three, the first, LuoTianCun is the most interesting, so if you lack the time or energy, just focus on this one.

• All three villages can easily be done in one day as a day tour from NanChang.

• 7-Days-Inn was perfect hotel for a short stay with decent rooms, clean showers, friendly and helpful staff and a perfect location.