XI'AN, CHINA

XI’AN

I always wondered how to pronounce Xi’an, China. Once I learned, it is easy. It sounds like she han. Now probably most people in the world know Xi’an is where the terra cotta army was discovered.

During my rather extensive trip to China we arrived in Xi’an by train, and let me tell you about that train ride.

Our train was delayed so instead of wasting the time in the Beijing train station our guide took us to Beijing's  underground city---more about that another time.

       We boarded the train at 8 PM. The compartments hold two bunk beds and you could be bunked with anyone. Fortunately we had bought the entire cabin so we could sleep on the lower bunks and be comfortable with only two people per small cabin. This new train had been in service for two weeks, was an express from Beijing to Xian and had a capacity for 592 passengers. A small TV was at the foot of each bunk.

My cabin was only one cabin away from the western toilet, which was fortunate for me as I was up several times during the night. How lucky could one get! Four or five sinks lined the wall just outside the commode.The eastern toilet was at the other end of the car.

The bunks were hard. I tossed and turned all night and was mighty glad to see daylight. The train was quiet, but none of us slept well. A thermos of hot water was in our cabin when we boarded. The next morning I was stunned to find the water still hot! It wasn’t boiling but was pleasantly hot enough to wash up and even make a fairly hot cup of coffee. If only I could have found such a thermos anywhere to buy! I enjoyed a couple cups of coffee as I watched the scenery flash by and the farmers  out tending their crops.

It took eleven and a half-hours to make the 1200 kilometer (720 miles) trip.

The train pulled into the 5000 year old walled city of Xi’an, capitol of Shaanzi Province, at 8 o’clock in the morning. We immediately found ourselves in throngs of people. Somehow in the mob of humanity in a light rain our guide found our local city guide, who directed us to our bus.

Xi’an was gateway to the Silk Road that 2000 years ago connected China with Persia, Rome and the world beyond. The city is an important economic and cultural crossroads between east and west. Once called Chang’an it was the political center of China, as well as the center of Buddhists scholars, monks, and artists.

Our local guide told us, “In ancient times before clocks, a bell located on the east side of the village, rang in the new day. Xian’s 600-year-old bell tower, built during the Ming era, was re-built in 1769 during the Qing Dynasty. A drum, located on the west side of the village beat the end of the day. The Drum Tower, smaller than the Bell Tower, marks the beginning of the Muslim part of the city. One of the largest mosques in China is located in Xi’an. With a 60,000 Moslem population the 18^th century mosque is an active one today."

The walled part of Xi’an is the geographic center of the city. The old city wall (1374-1378) dating back to the Ming Dynasty is built over the old wall foundation. The 12-meter high wall is also 12 meters wide and contains four huge gates and 164 watchtowers. The 14 kilometers of the nearly complete wall are in the shape of a rectangle. It surrounded the inner city for the emperor

Air raid shelters were hollowed out of the walls when the Japanese bombed the city, and during the Cultural Revolution caves were dug into the wall to store grain. The outer city wall is nine times longer but is mostly gone. The west part of the city is home to an electronics industry and the east side houses textile, aircraft, chemical, and military factories.

The traffic was horrendous. City cabs were a lime green---different. Tourism has grown into a major industry for the city since the discovery of the Terra Cotta Army. Our adventure in Xi’an had begun! 

FOOD AND DRINK

Strudel and Coffee

When biking Austria we stopped each day mid-morning for coffee and in mid-afternoon for pastry. One day our guide told us, “I’ve called ahead to a fellow I know in Eizendorf. He makes the best apple strudel and he said to come  and have some. You can have it with or without schlag (real whipped cream). I highly recommend it.”

           He got no argument form any of us and we were on our way. The strudel  was warm, right out of the oven, as if they made it special for us. Without a doubt it was the best I have ever eaten, before or since.

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Crepes are common in France and we ate many of them. A breakfast burrito or taco was about the same only in a flatter and larger crepe. We had the equivalent of a dinner casserole in a crepe and of course we had all sorts of desert crepes. Somehow, a crepe tastes best in France and especially in an outdoor café!.

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I’d been touring Europe for nearly two weeks and had switched to drinking tea as I’d found the coffee too strong for my taste. When I entered the chalet gift shop on top of Strassehorn, Switzerland,  behind the counter I spotted coffee on a hot plate . 
“Is that hot water there beside the coffee?” I asked the young man.

            “Yes.”

            “Good. I’d like a half cup of coffee and then I’d like you to fill the cup with hot water,” I instructed.

            “No, no. This coffee, we make to put  liqueur in. It is good.”

            “Just the coffee please.”

            “OK, if you insist.”

            I sat in the sun on the terrace 6000 feet up  a mountain enjoying the only really good cup of coffee I had on the entire trip. It was worth the three dollars to just enjoy my brew while listening to the cow bell serenade from the alpine valley below.

YORK TRIVIA

MORE INTERESTING THINGS ABOUT YORK

York, England city’s medieval wall was built on top of the old Roman wall using it as a foundation, a fairly common practice, in those days throughout Europe. Every-thing remained inside the walled city—garbage, bodies, everything. Eventually the ground and the city level became elevated.

Although the wall was level we could see areas where its height was shorter on the inside due to the inside ground level.

            Years ago the ancient wall was naturally in need of repair, and the city wanted to simply tear it down. Some wise and concerned conservationists said NO, and the end result was that the wall was saved and repaired. In some areas a couple rows of stones were removed and a concrete cap added, but the wall remains. We walked part of it—just because.

The Shambles, now a tourist section of the city, was once a market area. Shambles referred to a meat shelf, later it came to mean a meat store or butchery. As time went on the non-edible parts of the meat trade were thrown into the street (alley) to rot and thus shambles now means a mess.

            A red devil sits on the corner of a building on the corner of Stonegate (street).  He’s a pretty cute little devil, all red and grinning.  It seems years ago a printer set his type and when absent or  his back  was turned youngsters would rearrange some of the letters. (Boys will be boys) The printer would scold the boys and call them little devils.

Now Stonegate, the ancient through-way alley, is a pedestrian mall where visitors can shop and enjoy a rich medley of medieval and Georgian architecture.

The Castle Museum occupies three huge multi-story buildings. One can view and walk in recreations of British life over the past 300 years; many of the displays extensive.  Victorian Kirkgate is the oldest recreated street in any museum in the world and offered  great  19^th century window-shopping.  The Half Moon Court offered insights into Edwardian life. Prison life 200 years ago? It was there. I’ve walked many a cobbled street, but never one in a museum.

            We found the chocolate exhibit fascinating. We even lifted up all the answer panels meant for kids. The UK spends a staggering 360,000 pounds (dollar equivalent) an hour on chocolate! It has the largest chocolate consumption in the world.  I’ve heard other such claims but the above is a huge expenditure

INTERESTING ENGLISH CITY

YORK, ENGLAND

The first thing we learned in York, England  was that the ancient gates to the city are called bars because they bar anyone from entering the walled city.

A local docent told us, “Bootham Bar is the defensible  bastion for the north road. Micklegate Bar on the south was traditionally the monarch entrance, and the place where traitor’s heads were displayed. Monk Bar, the last bar built, is the tallest and has kept its portcullis (iron grating) in working order. It has a couple of levels and each one is defendable. A tax door is at  street level as  everything entering the city was taxed. Walmgate Bar is the only town gate in England to have preserved its barbican, a funnel-like approach forcing attackers to bunch together.

            “York’s streets are called gates from the Viking word. So gates are bars and streets are gates, some people find this confusing.”

We walked a good part of the three mile ancient wall surrounding the inner city. The population inside the walled city is 2000, the city’s population reaches 60,000 and greater York approaches 150,000. Romans were in the area from 71-400s when the city was a Roman military center. Anglo Saxons followed, Vikings appeared 866-1066 and then came the Normans.

The rivers Foss and Ouse flow through the city. William the Conqueror took the River Foss for his private fishing pond. Quirky as it may seem, use of the river still belongs to the Queen, and the city of York pays three pounds fifty annually to the crown for the use of the river. This amount has never been increased, but the Queen keeps the money which today equals approximately $6.

St. Leonard’s was a hospital built and run by monks and nuns in 937. At the time it was the largest in Europe. It not only accommodated the sick, but  it was also a haven for the aged and poor---ancient social security. William the Conqueror took care of all that, and eventually alms houses were built for the needy.

St. William’s College, 1465, was built for poor chancellor priests of the York Minster. These priests came to the church as children for food and shelter. However, when they became adults they decided they did not want to be celibate. They were locked in the residence each night where the windows were very small. Legend says that the street of the residence was nicknamed Little Alice Lane. Apparently Little Alice was wee enough to make it through the window in the darkness of night!

IINTERESTING RIDES

                                                 A Camel Ride

In the Australian outback the camel handler gave us some advice on what it would feel like when the camel got up and down. We decided to ride together in the double saddle.

A camel gets up on his hind legs first, which tends to propel one a bit forward, then up goes his front legs. There wasn’t too much of a jolt as the camel got up, but going down Jan let out a whoop! When lying down   the camel puts his front legs down first! Then the hind legs go down with a plop. We both were propelled forward, but we managed to stay in the saddle.

The ride is different than riding a horse. You don’t bounce like on a horse. I wouldn’t want to ride a camel very far, but it was fun and an interesting experience.

Australia is the largest producer of camels in the world, and exports them all over the globe.

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A Slow Slippery Ride

Due to recent rains in Belize it was questionable whether we would be able to make it to the ancient Mayan ruins Caracol. The rainy season started early that year and the archaeologists left the area two weeks early. The final decision would not be made until  morning. Since this was the main purpose of my staying over in Belize,  I whispered a silent prayer.

            At breakfast we learned the trip was a thumbs up! The road, and I use the term very loosely, through the jungle was like clay and very slippery. We did our share of slipping and sliding but stayed on the ‘road’ as there was nowhere else to go. No gutters to fall into!

            Our young driver told us, “Unlike the US, most of our young people do not drive.” This young man was good and he kept us from getting stuck, although at times we had pause to wonder.

            As we inched along, I tried to visualize what it must have been like to cut a path through the jungle during wartime. The jungle does not stay at bay long and grows back quickly--like overnight!.

            We heard several toucans while riding but never did see one. These beautiful birds were too high up in the tree canopy.     After almost three hours, in which we had traveled 18-20 miles, we sighted a ruin and then we were suddenly in a large clearing—the entrance to Caracol! 

THE GREEN MACAW

     Beautiful Birds

           

The owner of our hotel in Sarapiqui, Costa Rica belonged to a volunteer organization trying to save the green macaw.

She told us, “Because of deforestation and rapid colonization, the habitat of the Great Green Macaw has been reduced from 12,460 hectares to 529 hectares. Five years ago there were only 25 mating pairs, now they have increased to 100 pairs.

           “The Great Green Macaw is still endangered. On the black market one sells for $3000.  That is a great deal of money to someone making $300 a month.”                

The bird mates for life. They live exclusively in the almond tree in the tall canopy of the forest. The almond tree grows 30-50 meters tall. As the leaves fall from the tree, it creates a natural cavity for the bird. The nut is very hard, but the macaw has a very strong beak and can crack the nut.

She continued, “Almond wood is very hard and a desirable building material. People cut the trees on their property to sell the wood. Our organization has started paying property owners an annual sum      to take care of and nurture their almond trees and not  cut them down. It seems to be working.”

            A macaw reproduces at five years of age and has one to three chicks a year. They can live to be 60 years old. Owls and the African bee are the predators of the macaw chicks.

She concluded, “It is recommended that 1000 trees per hectare is ideal. Seven years ago this ten acres was pasture land. We have planted every plant on the grounds. We also planted many almond trees, and it is our hope that someday macaws will be all over this area.”

We saw many green macaws during our visit.  Our Chachagua hotel had a resident green macaw. Her mate had died and she was a cantankerous little bird. Well, she wasn’t very little. She would perch on the dining room rail during meal times. She was cranky enough to make visitors aware to keep their distance. She was lovely to look at though and you couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

AN UNUSUAL NIGHT

                                                           The Ark

          

           The first thing we did when we arrived at the Aberdare Country Club overlooking Mt Kenya was to check all our luggage except the overnight bag going to the Ark.

            After a leisurely lunch at the club we were on our way to the Ark. Upon arrival our guide instructed, “The only way to reach the Ark is over this long elevated trestle. It goes directly to reception.  You can take your time walking over the forest floor as you will see a lot of birds on the way.”  A bonus along the way was a huge cape buffalo grazing at the edge of the trestle.

The Ark in the forest is a unique structure  with a large elevated deck overlooking a salt lick and watering hole. A deck provided a great place for viewing animals as they came to drink from the pond and to lick the salt.

The ground level houses the lounge and dining rooms. The windows are very thick glass with a stone barrier base outside so you needn’t worry about a big water buffalo barging through the glass while you’re eating dinner!

While up on the observation deck everyone is asked to be extremely quiet. All the rooms are on the second and third level. Each room was equipped with a buzzer.  All night the buzzers went off when animals wandered into the area. Two rings meant large animals, rhino or elephant, were feeding. Three rings meant big cats had arrived.

        It really was too cold to sleep on deck that night although my son and another hardy photographer made it until 4AM when a little fog rolled in. The rest of us slept in our clothes and when the buzzers went off grabbed a jacket or wrapped up in a blanket and quietly and quickly made it to the observation deck. I saw rhino and two beautiful female lions. It was an interesting experience.

   We speculated that heat sensors at the perimeter alerted the watch that an animal was approaching. Then after a visual search and identification he would ring the buzzers. It was an exciting and unusual night.

The next morning as we were driving out from the Ark a beautiful spotted leopard crossed right in front of our van; my guess is he was going home to rest after a nights hunt. He was beautiful! What a bonus!

INTERESTING TRIVIA

BITS AND PIECES

Our hotel room in Stockholm, Sweden overlooked the Kings Hops Park where hops were grown in the 18^th century for the royal brewery. We walked to the town center ending up at King Garden Square. Five hundred years ago it was the king’s kitchen garden where he raised vegetables. Now surrounded by the Sweden House, NK dept store and the harbor front, it is a great place for people watching.

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The staircases are ubiquitous to Quebec City, Canada  and a reminder of the city’s past,. At one time as many as 25 such staircases connected the two parts of the hilly city. Upper Town was the home of dignitaries, religious and political leaders, where Lower Town contains the oldest neighborhood in North America. Once crowded with traders, workers and the disenfranchised, now it is a delightful restored smart shopping and historical area.

Breakneck staircase is the first staircase built in 1893. The 170 steps are built on the site of the original 17^th century stairway that linked the town. Today shops and cafés can be found at various levels. We walked sections of the staircase at various times as we wandered around the city as a means to get where we were going but did not climb it all at once just for the sake of doing so.

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In Italy a bar is an open-air sandwich shop. Food is consumed while standing at a small high table. Sitting for a meal is pretty much for tourists and in 1992 cost $2-$5 for the privilege of sitting.  We did find a chain restaurant, which had very good food at a reasonable price, and where we could sit for free. I learned Italians were not big on condiments on their sandwiches. On my next trip I’ll think about carrying some packets of my favorite condiments with me!

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The Carnivore Restaurant, located in the Nairobi outskirts is a popular and famous tourist restaurant. A large cooking pit is in the center of the restaurant where all kinds of wild game are cooked. Waiters come to the table to serve you and tell you what the meat is and you can try any or all of it. The food was good, although I’m not much for exotic dining. It was certainly a different dining experience. The view of the tropical landscaping was lovely from the dining room. Our interesting lunch was something one should do once and we both were game (no pun intended) to at least try everything.

LAND AND SEA IGUANAS DIFFERENT

              IGUANAS AND MORE IGUANAS

land iguana

There are land iguanas and marine iguanas and I did not know the difference until I visited the Galapagos Islands. It was so exciting to see our first iguanas up close. As our cameras clicked away out guide  told us, “Calm down, calm down, you’ll see lots of Iguanas.”

Land iguanas are red, green, and black/brown with a jagged tooth-like spine. They are good size and blend into the terrain unless they are walking on the sandy beach. We needed to watch where we stepped. On South Plaza Island they were everywhere and amazingly we could get within three or four feet of them. Often they would be still and pose as if saying, “Okay---snap away.”

Another day we landed on Espanola Island where the main inhabitants are marine iguanas. The marine variety is black and blends right in with the lava rock. They are a lot smaller and closer to the ground than the land iguana. Again we had to be careful walking on the slippery rocks. The marine iguana is a vegetarian. They live on the algae found in the shallow waters.

marine iguana

Marine iguanas are flat to the ground and sort of spidery and no where as cute as land iguanas.

I’ve seen many different varieties of land iguanas that tend to be much smaller than the land iguanas in the Galapagos.  They ran in the sand along the beaches in Costa Rica.  Even smaller ones ran around our lodge site in Belize.

Sally Lightfoot crabs playing with marine iguanas

QUAINT COLONIAL TOWN

     EL FUERTE, MEXICO

El Fuerte, Mexico is the southern terminus of the Copper Canyon Railroad. We arrived in the lovely colonial city after our week in the Sea of Cortez and after a short flight from La Paz to Los Mochias.

 El Fuerte is a small, old, quaint town which we easily explored on foot.  The city was established as a fort in the late 1500’s to protect the colonists from native North American attacks. We arrived on  some kind of a holiday so we were lucky enough to see a parade and some native dancing in the street. It doesn’t take long to see most of the town as it is pretty small. Many of the stores were closed for the holiday which precluded any shopping which disappointed us not a bit. There was a lovely gazebo in the small town park.

            We took some pictures after the parade and then  decided to walk up to the old fort. It wasn’t very far. At the top after a fairly easy hike I gasped, “What a gorgeous view! I’m so glad we didn’t miss this. That’s a pretty good size river running down there.”

            Lake Miguel del Hidalgo is a man-made lake 15 ½  X 6 miles. The dam  built in 1956 was  expanded in 1963. The lake holds 350 million cubic meters of water and houses a hydroelectric plant which generates 270 million kilowatts of electricity a year.

            Before dinner we returned to the El Fuerte Lodge to enjoy margaritas in the lovely courtyard before dinner.

            The train was due at 7:30 AM the next morning so that meant an early start to have breakfast, check out of the hotel and get to the station.

BORA BORA, TAHITI

                          Photo Op Around Every Curve

Bora Bora is every bit as beautiful as the PR pictures profess! It is an incredibly gorgeous island with a photo op around every turn of the 22-mile long and mostly paved circumference road. I was taking pictures just as the sun was peeking over the low part of the island as we approached on a beautiful sunny day.

            Our guide told us, “Bora Bora means first born and in this part of the world is pronounced Pora Pora as there is no ‘B’ sound in Polynesian. Capt. Cook sighted Bora Bora in 1769 on his first voyage. Bora Bora refused to accept French sovereignty when Tahiti became a protectorate in 1842 and remained independent until France annexed her in 1888. Her last queen died on Tahiti in 1932.”

            He continued, “The main island is 6 X 3 miles and is surrounded by coral islets. Two smaller islands are separated on the west by the channel. The east side of the island is barren. The fertile west side's main crops are vanilla and copra.. Tourism is also a major industry. The population is 4500.”

The interior of the island has slopes, hills, cliffs, and U shaped mountains with deep gorges  covered with native vegetation. Captain Cook named the islands the Society Islands because of their close proximity to each other. It is home to 400 species of native flowering plants including more than a dozen orchid varieties.

            Here we were introduced to our first ride in the colorful les truck.   Our les truck was decorated with life hibiscus and the poles of the open air vehicle were wrapped with palm fronds accented with the lovely red torch ginger.

            The population inhabits the perimeter of the island. Each house has a  little house that looks like a mailbox at roadside, but it is  for their French bread which is baked by Tahitians and delivered daily by Chinese.

We made many stops and ate tiny thumb-size bananas, which were very sweet and sampled fresh taro and poke, an island tapioca and papaya pudding.

The island has one physician, one pharmacy, and one hospital—clinic really as it is only able to handle minor problems. Tahiti has no dangerous animals, no snakes nor scorpions. The beaches were gorgeous. The first hotel was built here in 1961.

For the friendly people life moves slow. What a great place to relax!

FIT FOR A QUEEN

                                                        The Queen’s Staircase

         In Nassau, Bahamas,   the 65 steps in the valley were carved by hand out of a natural limestone wall by slaves between 1793-1794. The staircase is 102-feet tall and was named in honor of Queen Victoria. Slavery in the Bahamas was outlawed 31 years before the US abolished slavery.

            Originally the staircase was built to provide British troops a protected route to Fort Fincastle, and the slaves used were local people from the island. At the top of the stairs, on the island’s highest point sits Fort Fincastle established by Lord Dunmore  in 1793. It is situated on on Bennett’s Hill as a lookout for pirates and invaders. The fort, shaped like a paddle wheel, was never used because Nassau was never attacked. Three cannon are still in place, although are not original.

            Later the fort was used  as a lighthouse and then later  as a signal tower.

When I had my granddaughter on a trip to the island I hiked her to the staircase and then to the top. As we approached the bottom of the staircase a local fellow met us, introduced himself and said, "Welcome to my home." He then continued to give us a brief history of the island and the fort. When he was finished we tackled the 65 stone steps to the top. It was an easy climb and a popular attraction. There also is a 128-foot high round concrete water tower in the area. The view from the fort is spectacular.