France

Paris

The train to Paris is wonderful! It leaves on time, it is quiet, everyone has a comfortable seat, and it sails along at a zillion miles an hour! Wow!

Since we are going to Paris to pick up the car, we decide to spend a few days here before heading south. We will visit France now, rather than in July, even though the weather may be unsettled. We get very lucky --we get five days of beautiful sunny weather, and even the Parisians comment how unusually warm and wonderful it is!

We hole up in a hotel near the north train station. We plan to move to a more central location, but once we find the bakery, the laundry, the produce market, the metro train stops, etc., we just kind of stay put. Besides the manager is very friendly, and helps us learn French.

We had concluded in Asia that we were just getting too old to learn new languages. Try as we might, we just couldn't really get much beyond a few words of vocabulary. We bought books, listened to tapes, and had people help us with pronunciation. But it seemed that a few hours later whatever we had worked so hard to memorize was long gone. At this point, about the only phrases that we can still say in every language (Japanese, Thai and Chinese Mandarin) are hello and thank you.

But wait! European languages are very different! We quickly learn the rules for pronunciation. We can read the alphabet! We can sound things out! We often can recognize the common roots with English and guess meanings. With the ability to speak and see the words, and quickly learn meanings, we find that we can pick up enough to get around very quickly. Hey, maybe we aren't getting so old after all?

We spend many days in Paris. The parks, the walks, the museums, the cafes, ....

Despite their reputation, we find the French to be quite hospitable. Rarely is anyone curt (okay, the postal worker was). Instead we find a relaxed, comfortable city where people seem to be genuinely enjoying life. Again we draw the comparisons to Asia, where the Chinese seem to be intensely working, shouting, pushing and shoving, at least on the city streets (they are quite generous and kind when you talk with them). Here, people seem content, like the old man on the park bench who mastered the technique of getting chickadees and sparrows to alight on one of his hands, while he feeds them a single grain pinched between the thumb and forefinger of his other hand. He gently moves his arms in the air as if in choreography, at times having three or four birds perched on his hand to receive their seed.

Louvre

Rod has been to the Louvre before, but Fran hasn't. He remembers it as overwhelming. You have to just visit a small portion, or the whole thing begins to be a blur. Of course, ignorance of art history doesn't help any...

Since we spent some time in other museums viewing Renaissance paintings, we decide to first look at the other exhibits. Well, not quite. Fran gets through the door and makes a beeline for the Mona Lisa. While it is a remarkable painting, neither of us can really tell why it is so much more remarkable that the other thousand paintings at the museum. It has its own place at the end of a hallway, and is housed within protective glass. A huge crowd jostles for position in front of it, and a myriad of cameras flash against the glass (yeah, the photographers among you know what those pictures will look like). Among all of the beautiful art, the crowd seems more like it is watching a circus act.

I won't go through the inventory of everything at the museum. You can do that yourself at the Louvre’s online site. http://www.louvre.fr/louvrea.htm

We particularly enjoyed Napoleon’s apartments, and a magnificent series of enormous paintings by Ruben for the Medici family (French and Italian royalty), but really there is just too much to single out anything in particular. Fran wanted to see some Impressionist painters, but those rooms were closed when we visited.

We bought unlimited transit passes for Paris, which allow us to hop on and off any bus, metro train, or suburban train. We end up taking full advantage of this, as we sometimes hop one way and then decide to backtrack again.

Champ des Ellyses

Possibly the most famous street in the world, we find perfect weather, even a bit hot for a stroll. Nice slow walk, enjoying the fountains, the plazas, the parks. Relaxing, calming, romantic, pretty...

Music

Rod keeps looking for music concerts. Ideally, we will find an outdoor concert of world music (e.g. African drums, song and dance). But we haven't found any yet. France has a sizable African immigrant population, so there is good world music, but nothing going on right now. We do stumble across one of the best drummers Rod has ever heard in a park during a walk. We had already walked for hours, and agreed to start heading back. But we could hear the faint drum in the distance and Fran knew without a word that we would veer in that direction. Over a rise, around a bend, and across a field we found the drums. One African was surrounded by several Europeans and another African in a drum circle. The Europeans tried to just lay out a basic beat, and the leader provided all of the interest. Everyone, including all of the other drummers, was really just there to hear the leader. No one attempted to take the lead, because there simply was no point. No one could even come close to picking up what he was doing. We sit in the grass mesmerized. Eventually, the drumming stops and everyone just drifts away...

Notre Dame

Wow. We didn't really fully appreciate Gothic architecture until we saw the Notre Dame in Paris. It invented entirely new construction techniques, in particular the flying buttress to support the heavy dome roof. Fran was fascinated by the gargoyles out on the roof. There are a few weird wicked little creatures looking down on the people below. But the real beauty of Notre Dame is inside. We came back on Sunday to attend a Gregorian mass. We arrived early to hear another beautiful musical prayer service. A single female voice rang through the cathedral, sounding very much like the popular recordings of Enya but without any electronics. For thirty minutes we were treated to the song of prayer, before the mass started.

The mass itself was full of more ritual than we have seen in Catholic masses in the US. It was quite moving. Every action is done with considerable ceremony. There is incense to chase away evil spirits, and it is used liberally as the priest enters with the cross, and especially during the blessing of the Eucharist. The chanting, the song, and the Italian incantations all combine to a melodious drone. Mostly, the building just takes every sound, every sight, and every motion and amplifies it. Fran in particular is moved by the service.

Eiffel Tower

The tower was constructed as a temporary exhibit for the 1889 World's Fair. Many considered it to be very ugly, and it was only allowed because it was temporary. But somehow, it is still there, and the tourist lines are an hour long!

Rod found the tower fascinating because of the engineering and construction. There aren't any complicated, large pieces of metal in the whole tower. Instead, it is just a bolted together collection of simple pieces of angle iron, steel plate, and such. Eiffel was truly an engineering genius, as he devised an enormous structure that barely touches the ground at the four corners, and yet every element is simple in design. It is the combination of all the simple elements just so that makes it strong.

Ascetically, the appeal of the Eiffel tower, other than the spire itself, is that it seems to float above the ground. The first level of the tower is not at ground level, but instead nearly 200 feet up, and the tower seems to rise from it. The lower 200 feet is mostly just open plaza, with the four legs of the tower so far apart that they seem insignificant and it the tower doesn't really seem to start on the ground.

We stand in line for an hour to get tickets, then another line to get on the elevator to the first level, and then another line to get to the top. We get to watch the cityscape change from day to night, as the sun drops and the lights some on. By the time we have waited through the lines to get to the top, it is dark and the city is glowing with lights. We have already been in Paris a few days, so we can pick out many of the sights. But it is a big city and most of it is uncharted territory. To help tourists, signage names all of the major buildings and attractions. Then comes the long line waiting to go back down. But the view was worth it.

Ste Chapelle

Near the Notre Dame, we tour another Gothic masterpiece. We hook up with a great tour guide, enhancing the experience immensely. The chapel, which was the royal chapel, served the purpose of establishing the authority of Louis IX. The main chapel is impressive enough, but upstairs is the royal chapel, in which Louis invited only important guests. The 13th century stained glass forms a curtain around the walls and above the altar. The detail, the colors, and the construction are all breathtaking. Louis IX wanted to establish his own power, so the windows include stories for each of the books of the Old Testament, with the book of Kings moved to the end and followed by one additional window for Louis himself. Also, the altar contains sacred treasures owned by the King (including stunning jewels and supposedly the Crown of Thorns worn by Christ). The whole display is designed to convey the power of Louis --to reach the sacred treasures, one must ascend a small circular staircase up from the altar. Louis IX clearly wanted to communicate that he was to be respected and feared like a God, and he was successful in that.

Conciergerie, and musings on war...

The Conciergerie was once a royal palace, but later became the offices of the government administrators. As these administrators gained power, criminals were brought to the adjacent Palace of Justice, and incarcerated in the dungeons of the Conciergerie. Just after the French Revolution, it was used to torture the "enemies of the revolution". As we travel the world, so much history begins to come alive. We read about the French revolution, and knew that the republic was on and off again a few times over a century before becoming a stable democracy. Indeed, very few democracies were created out of whole cloth like the US, without periodic interruption by coups, revolutions, or invasions. The chaotic process such as we see in South America today is the norm, requiring decades or even centuries to establish a lasting democracy.

One thing that we have been struck with is the violent history of Europe. It is one thing to study it in school, and see the borders of countries changing over time. It is quite another to see the bloody paintings of one conquest after another, glorifying war, and the monuments to battles and war heroes. As we tour palaces and castles, we read about the bounty and the slaves they took from the vanquished areas. Huge fortunes are amassed from exploiting the defeated enemies, and then the fortunes are spent to fund the next war. Later, we will even come across a monument in Rome celebrating the sacking of Jerusalem and the casting of the Jews to the corners of the world (including creation of the Rome Ghetto, currently the place on earth with the longest unbroken residence of Jews since they were brought to Rome as slaves). We find this all quite troubling.

Perhaps this is why there is quite a gulf between European and American thinking on war right now. There is a very fundamental difference on the approach to fighting terrorism, for example. America believes that war is one tool that must be used against the terrorists. The difference of opinion in Europe is striking. Most believe that Europe has moved beyond war due to its horrific past, that the futility of war has been repeatedly demonstrated, and that violence only creates more violence. They see commonality between the Israeli strategy in Palestine, and the American strategy dealing with terrorists. I think many Americans would agree that Israeli war making in Palestine is counterproductive, creating new zealots with every attack. Many Europeans feel the same about war in general, including the current American war on terrorism. (Bush's alarmist statements are worrisome here, because he sounds very scared without knowing what to do. In trying to whip up global support for the war on terrorism, his rhetoric is backfiring here, as people get scared of what Bush will do next. Europe learned how to deal with terrorists a couple of decades ago and believes it generally has it under control, and sees the current American angst as stemming from inexperience.)

This also explains the reluctance of Europe to resolve the conflicts in Bosnia, for example, and the great mismatch in spending on national defense between American and other members of NATO. Behind the loose coalitions, for example in the Gulf War, lies a very fundamental difference. America believes that war is regrettably one tool of foreign policy to be used when all else fails, while Europe believes that war is not a solution but instead creates more problems. This difference is striking in editorial opinions in major newspapers and in statements from government officials (not just some vocal liberal minority). America needs to realize that increasingly as it goes to war it will go it alone, as our allies lean on other methods such as the World Court and the International Criminal Court, all of which the US has blocked.

Versailles, Chartres

Versailles

The Chateau of Versailles is one of the more famous places in France. Just outside of Paris, it was greatly expanded by King Louis XIV. The whole place is designed to demonstrate the power of the King. The building is still in good repair; however, the furnishings were ransacked in the French Revolution and sold at auction, so most of the rooms are empty today.

Louis XIV went to great lengths to show his power. Our tour guide did a great job of explaining the processes. The King controlled all power. For example, it was not possible even for a shopkeeper in a distant city to expand without a permit signed by the King. This created a system of patronage. Each little district had a nobleman who knew how to get favors from the King and for a fee would take on such matters. He would then connect to other middlemen through an elaborate hierarchy eventually reaching a courtier of the King. Everyone got paid along the way. The system was much like lobbyists today. The King didn't have to pay for any of them, and had literally thousands of courtiers seeing to the country’s business. The King controlled the influence of each courtier through elaborate rituals. For example, every day the courtiers in favor were allowed (and expected) to attend the rising of the King, and his retiring. They would wait for hours for the privilege of standing to see him pass. The King let it be known who was in favor by arranging who was allowed in, and in what order. Rooms were constructed so that outsiders could see who was getting the favor of the King and who wasn't, and those who fell from favor were quickly without their source of income.

Much of the Chateau is designed to accommodate this process, including a progression of waiting rooms, each more selective than the previous. Also, the King's life was very much a public life. He had very little private time. While dressing, eating, attending chapel, and so forth, he was on public display. Courtiers were expected to always be in attendance. About ten thousand courtiers lived in the Chateau (some in rooms the size of closets), each jockeying to gain the King's favor.

The Hall of Mirrors is built along the entire back of the Chateau, so that visitors get the impression of a very large hall. To see the King, they walk the length of the Chateau on one side, through a series of impressive rooms, and then turn and face the very long Hall of Mirrors, which is full of paintings of great victories of the King, to further emphasize his power. A visiting King from Italy once remarked that the Hall must be a mile long (it isn't, but it certainly had the desired effect!).

A very formal garden and lake extends out from the back terraces of the Chateau. The King could watch on the lake while his private Navy sailed up and down (it is a big lake!).

Chartres

After visiting Versailles, we began to drive out towards the Loire Valley. We happened past Chartres, and saw a big Gothic building on a hill, so we stopped. We had to park at the base of the hill and try to wind our way up the narrow streets to find it. Eventually we did, and it was well worth it. We were at the Chartres Notre Dame.

We had visited the Paris Notre Dame earlier this week, and were not quite prepared for Chartres. After seeing one magnificent Gothic cathedral, we just didn't expect to find another one of the same magnitude. The Chartres Notre Dame is.

We arrived late in the day, so the cathedral was nearly empty. We were able to explore its quiet and magnificence in solitude. Fran began to really think deeply about what brings people to create such monuments to their Gods. After the shrines of Japan, the Wats of Thailand, and the temples of China, the cathedrals of France are part of a larger picture of man's need to reach out to his God. While the holy books of most religions include cautions against building false idols to worship, there is a human need to connect to God in this way.

After visiting the Notre Dame, as we descend the hill we poke through narrow cobblestone alleys on our way down. The buildings are all stone, and the streets just 5-8 feet wide. But this is not an old town recreated for tourists, but instead is still an active part of the city. We peek in the windows of one charming looking place. Inside are candlelit tables with fresh linens and flowers, with couples having a nice meal and sipping wine. The walls are stone, and the ceiling is low, seemingly carved from stone and buttressed with stone arches and heavy wooden beams. A large open fireplace heats the rooms. It looks like a mythical medieval movie set, but in fact is a current restaurant. We walk on down the hill and drive on, later regretting that we hadn't gone in for dinner...

Loire Valley

The initial Kings, even before settling on Paris as the capital, began establishing homes in the Loire Valley area. First just a couple, then a few more. Eventually, wealthy nobility also built homes there.

Well, "homes" probably isn’t the right word. These are palatial chateaus. You can really only see a couple each day unless you run straight through them, and there are 40-50. We just picked three to visit: two built by Kings, and one private. All of the royal chateaus were pilfered during the French Revolution, so we included the private one since it is one of few that is still furnished.

Chateau De Chambord

The biggest is Chateau De Chambord, built by King Francis I. It includes some typical French structures of that time, such as the surrounding wall and four watch towers. However, Francis I was also fascinated with Italian architecture, so the Chateau includes some Italian features, such as a grand circular stairway. The stairway was designed by Leonardo da Vinci and is a double helix - pretty far thinking for his time. Two people can climb the entwined stairs, circling each other but never meeting. It also includes major architectural features of cathedrals of the time, since they were the grandest buildings of all, including a layout of a great cross.

The feel of the Chateau Chambord is of massive stone, even cave like. Without any furnishings, it is quite hollow. The weather when we visited was quite windy and rainy, which further made it seem like a cold, dark sterile place. I'm sure that on hot days the cool temperature of the stone walls would be more appreciated!

When King Louis XIV took over, he wanted it to be even more pretentious, so he remodeled. Rather than occupy the secluded, private suite of Francis I, he built large, central public rooms for his apartment. Neither King actually spent much time at the Chateau --it was used as a vacation house during hunting season.

Chateau De Chenonceau

The second visit was to Chenonceau. This Chateau is built out over a river. In fact, it was built on top of the foundation of an old mill. It looks somewhat like a multi-story covered bridge, spanning the river through a tower and then five arches.

Fran especially liked Chenonceau because we were able to tour more parts of it, including the cellar, pantry and the KITCHEN. Housed in the lower floor of the tower, the pantry was a huge affair with storage for grains, meats, and vegetables. Supplies are loaded off boats directly through the windows. The servants' rooms and kitchen combine, with large fireplaces and stoves. The kitchen was remodeled in the last century (the twentieth), so now has large natural gas stoves and ovens.

The Chateau also has some historical importance. King Henry II married Catherine de Medici, of a powerful but not royal Italian family. Soon, her superior intellect and excellence in all things (art, hunting, politics, ...) became a threat to the King, so he took on a mistress, Diane de Poiters, with whom he spent his time. The Chateau served as Diane's home, and she created a formal garden on the right side of the river bank. When King Henry II died, Catherine skillfully took over the monarchy, and while her five year old son was nominally King, Catherine in reality ruled France. She promptly remodeled the Chateau, and built a second garden on the left side of the river bank. Today they gardens of Henry II's two women still face each other, on opposing sides of the entry courtyard.

The Chenonceau was also impressive because of the immense tapestries, preserved in many of the rooms. An interesting historical note is that the Chateau spans the river, which served as the dividing line between Nazi-controlled France and the Free Zone during the Second World War --many people entered the Chateau from the occupied side and exited on the Free Side. The recent kitchen remodel was for the International Red Cross, which set up a field hospital here during the war.

Chateau De Cheverny

The third Chateau we visited was Cheverny. A private Chateau, it has served uninterrupted as a residence for a Hurault family since the 13th century. Fully furnished, it gives much more life to the Chateaus than the other barren ones. In fact, since it is still owned by the family, it includes portraits of family members from five hundred years ago, next to wedding photos taken just a few years ago of the latest generation. The Cheverny is fundamentally a hunting lodge, with enormous kennels (there seem to be thousands of dogs), vast expansive grounds (the hunting Chateaus included their own grounds, which today are vast preserved wild land, still rich with game).

The interior is not as opulent as the royal palaces. Sure, the floors are marble, the walls covered with fine leather, and the furniture is all antique treasures. But the purpose of the house is not to establish self-importance, and instead the feel is very comfortable. You could imagine yourself living here...

Even in the privately owned Cheverny Chateau, there is a King's bedroom, built and decorated for the King just in case he comes to visit. Supposedly he did stop in once! Unlike the rest of the house, it is designed quite ostentatiously, with gold leaf, murals depicted great battle scenes, draperies, etc. The murals are a bit weird for a bedroom --several are grotesque battle scenes with decapitated bodies. But then the King does like to continually show off his power...

La Cite Carcassonne

After visiting the chateaus, we began heading south towards the Pyrenees. We happened upon the town of Carcassonne, saw an old fortified castle wall on the top of the hill, and decide to check it out. Good call!

Carcasonne is a very old city, with a crumbling wall around the old city. Today, the area is being restored as a tourist destination, and inside the walls are many wonderful little cafes inside (along with many tacky tourist shops). We enjoyed snooping around the old walls, down the narrow cobblestone roads, and peering into areas that we weren't allowed in. We had a nice French dinner in a little cafe, a wonderful way to cap off the day.

Pyrenees

We headed south to the Pyrenees without a good idea of exactly where to go. Unfortunately, we seemed to find every Tourist Information office to be closed. They seem to just have a couple of hours in the morning and a couple in the afternoon, and sometimes do not show up even during nominal open hours. Also, some offices are helpful, but many don't have any information except about the attractions in the immediate vicinity.

Driving along back roads through France, we pass through village after village. Each is small and dense, with houses abutting each other and crowding the narrow road. The sides of the houses facing the street are boarded up, and essentially no people are visible in the villages. They look desolate, abandoned. We wonder if people just close off the side facing the street? This is quite different from the larger cities in France, which explode with activity and have sidewalk cafes everywhere.

So we just headed towards Ossau valley and the French national park, and hoped to figure it out along the way.

The hills are green! The rains have made the grasses bright green, and with the pines, hemlocks, firs, spruce, oak and maple, it is quite green. We weren't sure exactly where we would want to hike, so when the road first starts to climb the mountains we found a campground for the night. The first half a dozen campgrounds turned out to be trailer parks, with no tents, but we eventually found a convenient if not very pretty place.

We wanted to do some hiking, maybe up a peak or to some lakes. We needed some tips on where to go, and hopefully a good topographic map. Unfortunately we arrived in the area after the tourist office had closed, and the next morning it still hadn't opened at 10 AM when we gave up. The weather for the past couple of days has followed the pattern of clear in the morning, raining in the afternoon, so we wanted to get going. We finally found a map at a sports store and headed out, getting on the trail much later than we hoped.

We walked up from Lac d'Ayous to three upper lakes. The sky had high clouds, which just covered the tops of the mountains, but we didn't get rained on until the end of the day. The lower hike was much like hiking in Oregon, with similar creeks, mountains, and foliage. At the higher points, it was an alpine meadow, with a view to the snowfields on the mountains. Due to the late start and afternoon rain, we had to rush down the mountain a little faster than we wanted to, but it was still a great day. Hiking in the forest is a surefire way to make both of us happy.

We drove on into Spain for the night. The border consisted of ...an abandoned check station. As we will find crossing other European borders, there simply are no border controls in the new European Union. The presumption is that if you were allowed into one EU country than you can travel anywhere. With no borders, common currency, and greatly reduced trade barriers and tariffs, this is a very different Europe than a few years ago. Crossing from one country to another is no more complicated than crossing from one US state to another. Later, we will even miss a border here and there and discover that we are in a new country just when we reach a landmark on the other side! Taken as a whole, Europe has roughly the same size, population, and economy as the US so their hope is that with decreasing trade and financial barriers that they will increase their competitiveness in the global economies.

The Spanish side of the Pyrenees has quite different buildings. They are constructed of rocks. The four sides are just rock wall (sometimes dry, sometimes with mortar), with wooden beam ceilings supporting flat rocks for roofing. Many of the older structures are still standing, a testament to the quality of the rock walls, even though the wooden beams rotted long ago and the roofs caved in. The buildings are generally crowded into tiny, dense villages, as in France, but there are also some solitary buildings or ruins.

We hadn't decided how long to spend in the Pyrenees, but it has been raining every day for a week and looks like it will keep coming. We decide to do a little more car touring, and then head for the French Riviera. It is difficult to not hike longer in the mountains, but the Alps are coming and we do look forward to warm, dry weather on the beach.

French Riviera

It had been rainy and cold since we left Paris four days ago, so we were ready to warm back up.

The French Riviera is many things. You can look at the natural beauty of the seascapes, the water, the beaches and the shores. You can relax and enjoy the sun and warmth. You can enjoy the festive atmosphere of the people on holidays.

We first went to St Tropez. A charming, bustling tourist beach town, it offers nice walks, shops, cafes, and beaches. The boats in the harbor and the designer brands in the shops reveal a certain level of wealth, but the city is comfortable, not pompous or exclusive.

We drive up and down the coastline, but seem to get lost easily. Within the cities, we circle around trying to get off the one-way streets, or trying to find the major roads. Once on the coast highways, we find ourselves unwittingly headed inland and discover a great area. The inland hills are mostly forested. A few areas have large, exclusive homes. The location couldn't be better. The views of the green hills are great, the beach is 20-30 minutes away, and the French Alps for summer hiking or winter skiing are under an hour north. Not too bad...

Nice is a wonderful place. We walk around, have dinner at a sidewalk cafe in the old town, and enjoy the beach. With the warmer weather and the slower pace, we resume our yoga in the morning.

We spend a day in Monaco. It is a little kingdom on the beach, consisting of a few adjacent cities and is known principally for the casino. We skip the casino, but hike up the hill to the top for a view of the exotic gardens, and then down past the castle, down to the harbor, and along the water back in the city.

Amsterdam

Our flight plans were originally to fly from Beijing to Athens, spending June in southern Europe and July in Northern. The flight went through Amsterdam, without getting off. But here we are. What happened!

Well, it came from some detailed pencil sharpening on the cost of travel in Europe. Trains are the way to go for most travelers, and we planned to get two passes. But the cost is not cheap, and for many trips you also have to pay reservation fees or other extra fees. We also kept wondering how well the train lines would line up with our desire for more outdoor camping and hiking. And we learned from traveling in Asia that making bookings takes time--often you need to go to the train station a day early to make a reservation, and that getting impacts your overall time. Since Europe is expensive, we want to maximize use of our time here and not spend it chasing down logistics.

The spark was when we were talking with two Germans on the boat trip down the Three Gorges. They suggested that the best way for two people to see Europe, especially if camping, is by car. We hadn't really priced it out, assuming it was much higher than the train. Later, when looking up long-term car rental we found a Renault program that fit perfectly. They lease brand new cars for any period of time over 17 days, and this becomes cost competitive for the two months we are here. The program is quite complete: it includes roadside assistance in any European country, full warranty and repair with no cost, and insurance with no deductible. You just drive off with a brand new car, and then return it weeks or months later with no potential extra costs or worries, except fuel and tolls. It is still expensive (so was the train) but we hope it will reduce the cost of accommodations since we will camp in the tent more.

But what does that have to do with Amsterdam? Well, the cars are available on short notice and with no delivery charge in France, or on longer notice and with a hefty delivery charge in Greece. We decided to hope off the plane in Amsterdam, catch a quick train to Paris, pick up the car, and then head south.

Except we hadn't really counted on liking Amsterdam. It has a reputation for drugs and sex, so we hadn't really even considered including the city on our itinerary, and hadn't looked to see what else it might offer. Boy, were we surprised. We spent two delightful days in Amsterdam!

Getting off the train, we immediately found ourselves downtown on a nice boulevard facing a canal, with shops and restaurants and European charm. Hey, the signs were even in an alphabet that we could recognize!

First we wasted a little time with American Express (supposedly they offer travel services to members, but so far they have failed us at every attempt. This time we were still trying to complete the fax for the car, but we eventually found the hostel to be more helpful. Our advice: if you have an American Express card, burn it. The card and the company are useless when traveling.)

Once we got our business affairs done and had checked into the hostel, we went out to explore. This town is really cute! Each street goes only a few blocks before veering off in another direction, with many side streets and alleys down which you can also only see a block or two. The buildings are generally just two stories, facing right up to the narrow street, interspersed with little plazas with tables and chairs for a cafe. In many regions of the city, every few blocks the street hops over a small canal on an old bridge, or follows the canal a few blocks before wending away.

The atmosphere is casual. Shopkeepers post very lazy hours, opening a few hours in the morning and a few in the afternoon. People who are working are not working very hard. As we will see in Europe repeatedly over the next few weeks, by American standards you really do not have to work very hard in Europe. And by some Asian standards, even Americans are laggards, so the culture shock coming from Asia is pretty severe. The difference in the wealth of Asia and Europe is just numbing. We saw people working seven days a week, 14 hours a day in Asia and feeling very good because they were achieving a level of prosperity that allowed them or their children to gain an education, and they had housing and food. In Europe, the norm is less than 40-hour work weeks, with 6-7 weeks of holidays during the summer. And some countries (like France) are considering reducing the work week further!

I don't understand the global economic structure that allows this, but I know that, for example, both Europe and America spend billions of dollars a year to support local farmers, since more efficient foreign competitors threaten the local agriculture. We block import of many goods from the developing world, allowing primarily raw materials (oil, metals, lumber...). The exceptions are notable, such as textiles and electronics, and the result has been a nearly complete extinction of manufacturing of those industries in the West. From the prices we have seen in Asia of many other goods, it is clear that the West has managed to restrict imports and protect Western industry. It is interesting that despite the popular American theme of "free trade", African countries are now arguing that the West should stop providing sustenance aid and instead should just reduce trade barriers to let Africans raise their own standard of living.

Enough musing about that... suffice it to say that we are in shock at the wealth of the west. We are sure glad that we were born where we were! While we are fortunate enough to travel around the world for 20 months, we also realize that the majority of people on the planet will never get any further from their home than they can walk or bicycle in one day.

Anyway this is about Amsterdam. Really it is!

Amsterdam is a great city for getting around. The bus and trolley is easy. We spend one night in a hostel and one in a municipal campground just a five-minute bus ride from city center. We quickly get oriented, and discover that Amsterdam has great city walks. We do need umbrellas (remember, we were planning to go to southern Europe in June...) but it is pleasant.

Amsterdam also has a ton of museums. Fran has always liked Van Gogh, and there is an entire museum dedicated just to him! There is also a Rembrandt museum. Rod has no culture, but what the heck; a day in a museum can't hurt too badly. When we arrive at the Van Gogh museum, it turns out that there is a special exhibition going on, focusing in the nearly two years of collaboration (and antagonism) of Van Gogh and Gauguin. For this exhibit, the museum has collected a sizable portion of all of the works of both artists during this period from both public and private owners worldwide. It is fascinating to see for example three paintings made in succession, each the same composition but each one further developed. Normally these might hang separately in America, Amsterdam and Tokyo but here they are together, and as we read about the life events of the artists during these successive paintings, we can see the subtle differences as they each encourage each other, and dabble in different techniques. They had fundamentally very different styles, but enough respect for each other that they both tried to incorporate the other’s concepts into their own. Even Rod enjoys the exhibit!

Later, we find the Rembrandt museum is closed while they set up the next special exhibition. We continue pleasant walks in this cute and comfortable town.

The narrow, winding streets remind us of Asia. Perhaps Asia does not seem as exotic to Europeans? As west coast Americans, we are used to cities pretty much laid out in a grid, with roads accommodating cars, and people living in suburbs. Both Asian and Europe have a more compact city with people living and working within walking distance, with roadways that change names every few blocks, cobblestone streets, narrow alleys, and roadside cafes. These cities evolved over many centuries, instead of being planned from the outset, and in particular evolved well before the introduction of the automobile. We are struck by the lack of history that we have as west coast Americans. We don't have cities with centuries of tradition, stories and myths. We just have new housing developments.

Well, this was about Amsterdam. Did I say we liked it? Oh, the fact that we ate bread and cheese for every meal, had a good beer, and devoured chocolate had nothing to do with it either. Fran even got to eat peanut butter and yogurt. Okay, they might not be your staples, but to Fran these are foods from heaven. And the fresh bread dipped in olive oil...

And that's Amsterdam!

Europe

Do you think we can see all of Europe in 60 days? Neither do we. To speed things along, we will travel a bit differently. Instead of trains and buses, we will rent a car. That saves the time of making train reservations, and isn't too much more expensive than the train Pass. It also lets us camp more, so we are hoping that all-in-all it is about the same cost as the train, with more flexibility.

We started in Amsterdam on May 28, and planned to leave London on July 31. However, for a bunch of reasons we stayed in London longer than planned. Gulf Air no longer flew the flight that we had confirmed tickets for, and had re-scheduled us. This worked out well, since the visa for India was not yet completed and needed a few more days anyway. We also had not planned out the next journeys (Africa and India), so wanted some time to get the travel books, pour over the websites, and make reservations. So we decided to stay in London another ten days. Then, we found out that Arlo and Kim's family were going to be in Sweden a week later, so we extended again, and joined them in Sweden.

So 60 days became 92! It is nice not having many cares in the world, and just rescheduling to fit our moods...

Read the blog entries to learn more. Roughly, we divided our time into two-week blocks in each of France (and Spain), Italy (and Switzerland), and Germany (and Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, and Czech Republic) and then a month in the UK (and Ireland), and a week in Sweden.

Politics and Economics

What to make of all of this? Is the Communist Party repressive and China backward?

I'll share some insights that Chinese offered to me along the way. You make up your own mind.

One PhD Research Chemist spent some time with me on a train ride. I learned a lot from him. He had just finished school and begun working when the Cultural Revolution came. No opportunities for work continued. Educated people were killed or re-educated. Everyone fought among themselves. Bands of youth were basically state-sanctioned gangs, the Red Guard. He just stayed at home and tried to remain invisible.

After marriage, he lived in a small apartment with his family, his brother's family, and his parents. He was able to get an apartment for just his own family of four, but it was just 12 meters square (about 10 by 10 feet) with one room and a toilet. He lived there until the opening of China in the 80's. Since then he has prospered very well. His children are both studying in the US. He and his wife live in a 1300 square foot apartment now. He is buying it on a 30 year mortgage, just like the US. He is now in his sixties, and has a wealth of knowledge and perspective, which he shared with me.

First, the opening of China is total and complete. There are no boundaries. (Remember, I'm just transcribing his words.)  Western consultants are used for everything. Western knowledge is used everywhere. There are no government or cultural limitations. The government itself is one of the larger users of Western expertise. The government knows that the best way for the party to remain in power is for the country to prosper, and it will do whatever is necessary.

Next, China is a country of central control politically, and needs to stay that way. The history of China is one of invasion by foreign forces. Centuries of domination by Mongols, by Japanese, and by Western powers have left the Chinese with a firm belief in a strong central government to protect the country. Ironically, when the US complains about human rights issues, all it does is fan the flames that foreigners are threatening China and people rally to the support of the government. The US needs to reduce complaints about China in order to allow the party to reduce its control. The US has no corresponding history of being invaded and occupied by a foreign power. Think about the rallying to support the government and President after Pearl Harbor or September 11. Now imagine that centuries of history are of such invasion and occupation.

China is not ready for democracy. Neither was the US at first. Remember the long debates on who should be given the power to vote, and we started with just male, white, land owners. Today China is filled with people with little education, with no history of democracy. When China had two parties they competed with violence. (After Sun Yat Sen led the revolution that overthrew the Europeans, the Chinese had the KMG and the Communists. In fact, the US funded KMG concentration camps in which Communists were held and tortured, a fact this gentleman gracefully omitted.) There is no history of parties competing except through violence.

Combining the need for strong central government to protect against invasion, the low education level, and the lack of history of nonviolent competition between parties, it is not appropriate to think about more than one party for China, at least at this time. And, my friend added, it isn't needed either. The current party is a good one. It makes mostly correct decisions, and the mistakes are okay. (For example, he believes that the Three Gorges Dam is a mistake, and said that 85% of all scientists in China also believe so).

He also talked about how hard the Chinese are willing to work, to sacrifice to make life better for their children, and the importance of education. Clearly as a PhD he is in a unique group that values education, but again, I think about the children in the Tiger Leaping Gorge that live away from their family all week, cooking their own meals and washing their own clothes, just to get an education. And certainly it is true that in much of Southeast Asia, the merchants are ethnic Chinese. The culture is one that recognizes that hard work and education are how you get ahead.

What worries him? Two things. One is the growing difference between the haves and have-nots. Many in the eastern cities are doing well, but the western areas remain in poverty. The other worry is the growing debt. Tens of billions of dollars are being poured into development projects. Not all of them will be successful, but the debts will need to be paid. I think back to the history of Latin America and Africa, where the development aid of the 70's just produced a yoke that halted further development and increased poverty in later years as the interest on the debt came due. In fact, I just heard last week about a city in Eastern Europe that took out loans to grow after the fall of communism, and now cannot repay the loans so municipal assets that have been around for hundreds of years, are being auctioned off.

Other thoughts? One student once remarked that he and his colleagues didn't think much of the communists. But again he didn't really look to a change in one party rule.

We need to be careful in the West to not impose our values. A kingdom works for Thailand. One party is now working for China. Democracy works for the US.

And be careful in judging. Many view the US as barbaric since we still have capital punishment. We also spend more on national defense than the next ten states combined --who is our threat? We are the world's largest polluter, and backed out of the Kyoto protocol. We won't sign the landmine treaty. Regardless of your views on these issues, realize that to the rest of the world they seem very odd for a country that professes freedom and human rights, and implores the developing world to not ruin the rain forests.

Is China for you?

China is many different lands, from destitute rural areas to cosmopolitan cities, from culturally rich minorities to an oppressive Han dominance, from strict one-party rule to rampant capitalism, from the broken bodies of old people to the enthusiasm of the old.

Travel in China is easier today than previously, and will be easier still in the future. However, it is not easy. It is certainly not as easy as Thailand (especially the south) or Japan. If you are considering coming, here's some thoughts to keep in mind.

The rural and natural areas of Yunnan and Sichuan are absolutely gorgeous, and the people are wonderful. If you want beautiful nature hikes, you will not do any better. Most people who travel to China will enjoy it.

However, nothing runs on time, nothing works completely, and little English is spoken. You will have many times that you simply do not really know for sure what is going on, and will simply have to accept that. Everything takes much longer than it seems it will or should. You will ride buses that take twice as long to get to the destination as promised, and eat meals that are not what you thought you ordered. It can be quite disconcerting, especially if you are a person who likes to be in control or to have things well organized and predictable. Travel in China is neither.

Likewise, you will see poverty at the absolute worst level, and "Mao's women", old farm ladies who are completely hunched over and broken from years of toil in the fields. You will go without a clean toilet for weeks, and many facilities are just outhouses with a hole over a pit. You will put up with pushing and shoving, spitting and coughing.

But that is all eclipsed by a fascinating story that is being played out right now. Much like the heydays of the gay 90s, the roaring 20s, or the 60s, the boom-time optimism of China in today is very heady. Everything is possible, and everyone is out to better their lot. People have prospered far beyond their wildest dreams. People are working very hard, with tremendous value put on education, including learning English. Parents are sending kids to universities abroad. The positive excitement is intoxicating. China has grown quietly for twenty years, and now wants desperately to prove that it is a grown-up member of the world community. The symbolic importance of new membership in WTO, and the 2008 Olympics has buoyed the Chinese spirit, and they really feel that they are on the verge of being recognized by the world.

What does that mean for you? It depends on your temperament, budget and schedule.

First, China is very big and transportation is slow. You will choose either to fly between regions, to spend several months in China, or to just visit a couple of regions. There is no economical way to see the vast area of China quickly.

Next, logistics are difficult. If you have the time and temperament, you can travel independently. We'd venture to guess that most of our friends would not do well. It can be very frustrating. If you travel independently, you can travel economically ($40/day per couple in the East and $15/day per couple in the rural areas). You will interact most closely with the locals. You will also work the hardest to figure out where to go, how to get there, where to stay, and where to eat. At the budget prices I mention, you will also share bathrooms, deal without heat or power on occasion, and ignore the mold and pealing paint. Roughly double the cost to stay in nicer places, but still on your own.

The alternative is to travel as part of a tour, which is much more expensive and shorter in duration. But the tour guide will have local knowledge already so that you see the best sights, get there at the right time, have a guide, and have transportation and meals. For that you will pay dearly --maybe ten times what we are traveling on. Or, put another way, our two month trip would have had to be shortened to under a week, which means we would have seen very little.

So, for travel in China you need either a temperament and the time for independent travel, or the budget for a tour. Perhaps you can start with a few lessons in patience, and accepting life as it is, and independent travel will be an experience that will help you grow as an individual. It has helped us.

The Great Wall

With the new open China and capitalism, the Great Wall has become tourist attraction numero uno! 

Several parts have been rebuilt and overflow with tourists. Some of the areas that are restored have really turned into a circus. One area was deemed too difficult of a hike up hill for tourists. In fact, the wall they visit is just a little segment recently built lower down the hill as a tourist attraction, and tourists never even see the real wall. These areas are chaotic tourist centers, with touts selling postcards, drinks, and trinkets.

We instead found out about an area of the wall that is not (yet) restored, but is still in good enough shape that you can walk it. Luckily, we saw that the hotel we were staying in had a bus that runs to this section, which is much easier that taking the city bus to the mini bus station and arranging your own travel. As is often the case, we were told that the bus no longer runs, but once we paired up with three other travelers at the hotel and had a group of five, then the bus does run after all.

This section was steep and rugged. Check out the photos. The wall follows the ridge line through a mountainous region. It just goes right up the side, over the top, and then up the next hill. Imagine standing on the top, with the warm breeze, looking out at the vast distances.

The wall is heavily worn with time, revealing its construction. The outer wall was set with a stone or brick facing, and inside was a layer of massive blocks. The size is amazing when you consider that these stones had to be drug up the mountains and placed in the walls by man and animal. Within the wall is a fill of rubble. Many areas have been repaired over the centuries, with brick sections, or different types of rock. The whole wall is maybe twenty feet wide at the base and ten feet wide at the top.

Periodically, the wall has a tower. These were stations for guards, and a few included staircases up and over the wall. As somebody said, the best fortified wall is only as good as the worst sentry, and indeed some of the invasions came from bribing just one sentry.

Today, these towers serve a different function. The locals have very little income, and see the tourists as a gravy train. Some locals have made improvements, such as stairs or ladders over difficult sections, and allow you to use them for a fee. Some just seem to barricade the wall and extort a fee. One offered free use of his ladder to climb up to the second story of a tower, but charged you to come back down! That set off quite a shouting match with one unsuspecting traveler, but we learned long ago to watch out for such traps. That is just part of the new wild-west China....

Beijing

By the time we reached Beijing we were already feeling like we were leaving China. It was so easy to travel in Shanghai, Suzhou, and Beijing. Also, we were beginning to fantasize about European food: cheese, bread, wine, beer, and chocolate. We've lost enough weight to feel good and healthy, and are ready for unhealthy food again!

We also are getting tired of being viewed as walking ATMs. It gets tiring to have a constant stream of people saying "Hallo, Postcard", "Hallo, CD, watch", or "Hallo, where you going?"

We wish we had more time in China. We regret not spending more time in LiJiang, and we regret that the weather kept us off the holy mountain of Huang Shan. But we are ready to move on.

So Beijing was kind of a holding pattern, knowing that we were about to leave and just seeing a few last sites. We would just be seeing a few more tourist sites, and then be off.

It remained difficult for some things. For example, we tried to get a fax sent to us (for travel arrangements in Europe) for several days, but couldn't get both pages successfully. Also, it still took time to figure out what bus to take, and where to find the internet cafe. But in general, travel in Beijing is much easier than Yunnan and Sichuan.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we are now famous! We have been on TV and in newspapers! We had a news photographer in Shanghai take our picture relaxing at the city park. We had a TV camera crew film us sampling food at the street market in Beijing. Twice, we have had Chinese vacationers ask us to join them in a photo. I guess the white beard is a bit unusual. So far, I have been called Santa Claus, Einstein, Osama bin Laden, various artists, and a few I have forgotten. So, if you want to go to China and be noticed --grow a gray beard. That probably would be even more noticeable if you are a woman.

Beijing

Beijing is a cosmopolitan city. The World Trade Center is full of the most exclusive western brand boutiques. The pedestrian mall could be dropped right into a US city, expect for the signs. Many roads and tree-lined boulevards are quite beautiful, with grassy medians, sitting benches, and flowers. In the morning, older people are out doing Tai Chi exercises along the streets. At least one section of the city is buzzing with young nightlife past midnight. In the stores, you can buy anything, even exquisite French wine for $250 a bottle.

Even some of the "Chinese" areas were really part of an international city. For example, the food market is a famous area to eat local food. It consists of a street market of stalls with all kinds of local food (some very tasty, and others like grasshoppers, frogs, larvae grubs that we passed on). However, at this "local" market, there were only people of white skin as customers. Adjacent was a plain market with rice, noodle and vegetable dishes packed with Chinese and no Westerners.

We did splurge one night and go to a restaurant reputed to have the best Peking Duck. It really was quite amazing. The skin is puffed thick and crispy. Maybe Fran can add a good description here, but I can say that it was good!

Tiananmen Square is, as expected, a massive plaza for people to meet. However, I didn't realize that it has been effectively divided into smaller portions by placing a huge mausoleum for Mao in the center. Tiananmen to Americans represents government oppression. To the Chinese that incident seems to be distant history at this point.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City is, of course, where the Emperor lived and ruled. Inside the sterile walls are large expanses of lifeless plaza. There is very little greenery, just stone (and tourists). The city is laid out in layers, so the outer layer is more public, and next layer is for ceremonies and state activities, and then the inner area is the living quarters. They were probably more elaborately decorated, but again looked like a lot of hot rock to us. The exception is the inner garden in the residence, which is beautiful. Most of the Forbidden City is smaller rooms that were used for either storage of grain, or small "palaces" for kings of different regions, or the living quarters of the concubines. Also, there were several rooms that now served as tea houses, amply decorated and serving tea in a tiny cup (that are for sale). There were fascinating museums in the Forbidden City, showing artifacts of Chinese dynasties from thousands of years ago, and tracing the development of art and metal working through the ages. It helps bring ancient China to life.

Ironically, we have been looking for a place to print some digital photos for us for a month. We promised a few friends along the way that we would send pictures of themselves to them. No internet cafe or photo shop could help us. Where did we find such a facility? Within the inner residence of the Forbidden City there was a Kodak setup to take a person's picture, merge it digitally with the Emperor's clothes and background, and viola --you're the Emperor. Since it included a digital camera and a printer, we were able to convince them to let us print our pictures. Who would have guessed that the best printing technology would be in the Forbidden City?

The Summer Palace

The Summer Palace was much more to our liking. I talked about northern gardens versus southern gardens when describing Suzhou. Northern gardens are on a grand scale, including lakes and mountains. And the Summer Palace is a grand example. 

The majority of the area is a massive man made lake (dug with shovels and wheelbarrows), with an island made from the excavation. The buildings are on a jagged rocky hill, and consist of numerous small pavilions connected by paths or covered walkways. Extensive stone and wood beam construction conveys both strength and an informal natural style. 

The large plazas of the Forbidden City are absent, and instead it is difficult to see beyond the next little turn as you progress from one pavilion to the next. Famous points include the Marble Ship, and the Nine Arches Bridge to the island. Several of the pavilions were being restored --they were heavily damaged by Anglo-European warriors a hundred years ago and then not rebuilt. 

We had a great day strolling and watching the lake. Do you detect a common thread in what we like? I think if it has water, greenery and rocks or mountains then it scores well in our book....

Suzhou

We were familiar with Suzhou as the sister-city of Portland, which completed a wonderful downtown Chinese garden in 2001. We visited the Portland garden at the beginning of our journey on a sunny day in December, and it touches you in a deep, tranquil way. If you haven't gone yet, then log off now and get down there!

We didn't realize that Suzhou is THE garden city of China. We initially planned to visit Suzhou because of the sister-city relationship and the Portland garden. As we read the travel books, Suzhou also is a favorite tourist highlight. And then when Rob met us in Hong Kong to give us travel tips, he also suggested that Suzhou is a must. So off we go!

The first gardens were built in Suzhou 1500 years ago! Built by nobility, they were private gardens for their residences. Gradually, Suzhou became quite an exclusive area, with many wealthy people building their own gardens during the Song dynasty and reaching a pinnacle during the Qin dynasty, just before the European invasions (Opium wars...). At the peak, there were hundreds of gardens in the city.

In northern China, gardens are large parks, filing ravines or small valleys, incorporating views of distant hills and mountains. The southern gardens of Suzhou are much smaller, private gardens. Many are just the size of a large city lot, and the biggest are only about one city bock. They were designed as private gardens, composed of structures, rock, plants, literature, and water. The residential buildings are just one component, no more or less important than the others, and are integral to the garden. Rather than one large house, the structures are individual rooms scattered throughout the garden.

The garden is much more than just a beautiful place. The purpose is deeply rooted in Chinese beliefs. The garden is a place to improve oneself by escaping from the noisy world, and engaging in reflection and contemplation of nature and poetry.

The gardens are well described on line. For example, check out http://www.chinavista.com/suzhou/tour/garden.html. The "big four" gardens are described very well, including some pictures.

The Humble Administrators Garden is the largest, and was the most similar to the Portland garden. In fact, some components looked like clones. It is composed of several ponds, many buildings, and walks. As one of the main four gardens, tour buses of people constantly stream in the gate, so the quiet of the garden is compromised, but in corners it still has a nice calming effect on you. This garden also houses the museum for the Suzhou gardens, and a bonsai collection with 6,000 specimens!

The Masters of the Net garden is often cited as the best garden, with the most exquisite detail. It is a tiny garden, and completely packed with tourists. With many pavilions in a small space, it also had more focus on the buildings and less on the rocks, plants and water. We didn't like it as much. However, this garden is quite spectacular at night. In the evening, the garden is home to cultural performances of story, song and dance. The audience moves from pavilion to pavilion for short performances. The costumes and ambiance are outstanding, and the colors and soft light are reflected in the ponds. The performances are each quite short --there must have been a dozen different ones to give a flavor of so many different styles.

Our favorite garden the first day was the Blue Wave Pavilion. It captured natural beauty the best, with an abundance of water, rock and greenery. It is also not one of the "big four" gardens, so was very quiet. We were able to sit and enjoy the garden the way it was intended, and put us into a great frame of mind. We stayed until closing time.

We came back to Suzhou a second day, and visited the Lingering Garden. It is a rather large garden, by southern China standards, with a wonderful balance of buildings and gardens. So many pavilions overlooked private little garden areas, or the large pond. Each pavilion was private, giving the sense of being off in a natural area. Walking from one to another involved a complex web of walkways, gates, and passages. It was designed to make it difficult to remember exactly where you were and how to get out, so that you really would just focus on the one garden you are in. We spent many hours wandering around, sitting and relaxing, staring off into the distance. The first day in Suzhou we saw several gardens, but on the second day we came much closer to experiencing the gardens as they were intended. We talked about an ideal house that would be built with concepts from the Suzhou gardens --each room stands alone in a garden, and they are connected together by walkways and beauty.

The trip back from Suzhou the first day showed the yin/yang spirit of the Chinese. They are a warm, friendly people --but are also very selfish when competing for transportation. We saw the warmth when we arrived to return the bicycles and found the rental shop closed (it was after 9PM). It was a problem for us, since we were actually staying in Shanghai and needed to catch the train. The lady in the next shop down the street couldn't bear to just leave us, and she interceded on our behalf. We could hardly communicate a word between us, but we were able to explain our situation and she explained that she would go find the shopkeeper. At first we protested, since he was somewhere else but eventually she snagged a friend who was passing on the street and sent him off on her motorcycle to fetch the shopkeeper. Ultimately, she stayed until 10 PM to help us out, getting home quite late herself. This kind of generosity is quite common in China.

On the other hand, China is a dense place, and competition for seats on transportation is fierce. At the rail station, rather than queue up for seats, the crowd pushes and shoves to reach the front. It is right and proper to force your elbow and shoulder ahead of the person next to or even in front of you, and then push hard to gain the advantage. Likewise, people jump over the barricades, run up the side, and then jump back into the crowd further ahead. Then, people will claim two seats so that they can lie down, oblivious to the fact that others must stand for the long train ride. But this really presents no problem, since those left standing will just push the others over off the extra seat and claim it!

Shanghai

Shanghai was really created by the European occupiers as a trading city between east and west. Massive initial investments created a major city, and a bit of a play land for the wealthy. Fortunes were made and lost in a wild and festive atmosphere. The city grew to meet the desires of the Europeans, wholesome or otherwise. The Chinese were repressed, and outlaw groups used to keep the order. Shanghai became a symbol of the problems of imperialism, and was the birthplace of the communist party, at least partly in reaction to the excesses of the European occupiers.

Shanghai has been asleep since the communist revolution, and is far away from the political intrigue of Beijing. However, it is very much the center of attention of much of the government now. Many of the leaders of China today come from Shanghai, including the Premier, the leader of the Politburo, and the mayor of Hong Kong. With the new open economy, Chinese leaders would like nothing better than to make Shanghai the shining example of successful Communistic Capitalism. The old Shanghai of the imperialists was in mothballs for fifty years, and is now being remade by the communists at breakneck speed. The government wants Shanghai to become the financial center of Asia, eclipsing Hong Kong (and presumably Tokyo!), on a par with New York and London. Huge investments have been made in infrastructure, including bridges, expressways, airports, and a metro rail system. Private investment from Taiwan and Hong Kong (and to a lesser degree Japan, Europe and North America) has built huge skyscrapers --an entire new urban area.

The result on the street? Clearly everything is about money. While the rich are building buildings and striking the billion dollar deals to control the future, the common people are opening restaurants, or just hawking goods in stalls or street corners. The pace is fast. There is a definite buyer-beware attitude, as the new merchants slowly learn the importance of customer relationships. There is a bit of the old wild west feel to Shanghai returning. Hopefully this time, instead of the money fueling corruption and exploitation, there will develop a true middle class.

Day One

We found a great place to hole up in Shanghai. By Chinese standards, Shanghai is now a rather expensive place with hotel rates in the $50-100 range, and even cheap horrid places charging $30. We found a nice Guest House attached to the Shanghai Music Conservancy. For just $12.50 a night, we are near a Metro line in a clean private room. Fran is enjoying the sound of music students practicing during the evenings, and we hope to attend a couple of recitals while we stay. This is convenient enough that we decided to make it our base of operations, with day excursions to Suzhou, Hanzhou, and other nearby areas. That also means we don't have to carry the packs from place to place! We were very lucky to find a room, since the place has been full non-stop. Our train arrived early in the morning, so we were just lucky to beat the crowds and get a room! We have seen many others arrive just after us and leave very disappointed!

We spent the first day in Shanghai walking. ....and walking. Maybe we overreacted to the two days confined to the boat (the Three Gorges tour), but we do enjoy walking. We planned to start in Shanghai with a tour bus to get a good overview of the city, and there is a great one-day pass that lets you get off and see all of the sites at your own pace. But somehow we just kept walking, and about ten hours later had pretty much seen the lay of the land, so I guess we don't need the tour bus after all!

The older famous landmarks of Shanghai include the Bund, the row of European banks, hotels, and other ostentatious buildings that line the west bank of the river. Now, the east bank is rapidly being built with a rather gaudy mix of neon and bizarre architecture. The pulse of the city is best felt at night walking from the Bund to the Peoples Park through the busy shopping district, along roads closed off to motor vehicles, and blazing with neon.

We get around Shanghai easily. The underground metro is simple to use, and cheap ($0.25). English is much more available than it was in the rural Sichuan and Yunnan provinces, and we also find more western treats like bakeries and peanut butter. The trend will continue, and travel will be easier in Beijing too. We are beginning to look forward to Europe with breads, cheeses, chocolate, salads, wine, and beer....and also to much less pushing, spitting and coughing. But we love China and really regret that we do not have more time. Eighteen months is such a tiny window through which to see the whole world! (Actually, we began venturing in December 2001 in the US and will return August 12, 2003, so that is really 21 months. But somehow we started saying 18 months and it stuck.)

Shanghai Acrobats

Several acrobatic troupes make their home in Shanghai, and we were able to attend a performance. It wasn't just the usual juggling and wire walking, but included several novel acts. For example, there was one contortionist who was able to balance candelabra on each hand, each foot, and her forehead while at the same time writhing around rolling from her back to front, flipping over forwards and backwards, and in general tying herself up in knots. In another act, performers stack rings up four high and jump through them, with people passing through different rings simultaneously. A very unique and impressive act was, well, I don't know what to call it. A woman balanced umbrellas on her feet. She was able to twirl them around, toss them between feet, and balance and roll them along the edge of the umbrella on her feet. She would even toss them in the air, where they would drift (they do catch air and drift away) and adroitly snatch them back with her toes. Weird sounding, but quite skillful and artful. Read more about the Shanghai Acrobats at, or see a video at http://www.shanghaiacrobats.com.

Shanghai Botanical Gardens

The Shanghai Botanical Gardens began serious developing in 1978, with major improvements over the next few years. There are many different gardens, including the rose garden, the peonies, the maples, the bamboos, etc. There are several ponds and plenty of space to stroll or sit. Another development boom started a few years ago, with significant new conservatories. Here in the humid land is a great succulent collection! There is also a wonderful rain jungle under glass. I had expected it to be mostly a collection of specimens but was thrilled to find instead a wonderful garden with paths, bridges, tunnels, and waterfalls housed within the glass walls.

The Shanghai Botanical garden is best known for its bonsai collection, including over 9,000 specimens! There are large areas of the garden with row upon row of young bonsai, being cultivated for future sale. We captured several in pictures.

The Market

The market area spreads over several blocks, crammed full of individual booths resembling a Saturday Market, except that it is open every day. Everything can be had for a price, especially knock-off clothing. It is comical to see the misspellings: T-shirts with "American Legened", signs for "Sick Clothes" (meaning Silk), and so forth. There are also many Timberland and Columbia brand clothes. Most brands are clearly fakes (e.g. the Nike products), but others are attempts by the authentic company to establish their brand in the fast growing market, even at very low prices. The market is loud and frenetic, with surging crowds and calling shopkeepers. Every few feet someone shouts "Hallo, CD, watch". It seems that not everyone has gotten the official message that counterfeiting is now taboo and CDs are readily available for about $0.25 each. We found a great camera case for $1.25 and some new zip-off pants for $10 (our prior ones were getting a bit baggy since we have both dropped a few pounds).

Weather

We planned the trip running from Thailand to Beijing just ahead of the hot weather. Most days in Thailand were in the 90's F, and the last couple of weeks were quite hot. Since we planned to visit two of China's "three furnaces" (Wuhan and Chonquin), we were concerned about the heat. But the concern never materialized. The first week or two was warm, but as we headed to Yunnan and Sichuan, we gained considerable altitude and beat the heat. Now, coming back down to sea level, we seem to have picked some unseasonably cool weather. It rained eight days in a row here in Shanghai before we arrived, and remains overcast. It is great outdoor weather, with temperatures around 80 F. Unfortunately, in this weather, the mountain Huang Shan is hidden in clouds, so we didn't make it there. This is reputed to be the most beautiful mountain in China, but it also is usually hidden. We just didn't get lucky. (Hey, we did get to see Fuji in Japan!) Assuming that Beijing isn't too hot, we should be in for pleasant weather for many months as we visit Europe (Jun-Jul), Africa (Aug-Oct) and then India (Nov-Feb).

World Conditions

We still are unsure if we will visit three favorite places: Egypt, Nepal, and Indonesia. I think that Nepal is getting quite unlikely as the Maoists step up their terrorist attacks. We will still be able to trek in the Indian Himalayas (far away from Kashmir). Nepal was also our gateway to Tibet, but we were able to experience much more Tibetan culture in northern Yunnan province than we expected, so it is okay if we don't go to Tibet. Besides, Tibet is very expensive (government tourism fees).

Egypt and Indonesia are both probably okay to visit, but it depends on American foreign policy and Muslim reaction. If the US continues the current pursuit in Afghanistan, we are probably fine. But if the US invades Iraq that will create many new young terrorists in other countries and all bets are off. Even more important, however, is Palestine. What little bit of credibility the US might have had in the Arab world has been thoroughly trounced by Israel's actions in Palestine and the US indifference. Israel's actions may affect our travel plans more than US action at this point.

It is sometimes a bit of a burden to travel as an American. The US footprint is so large, and everyone in the world has opinions on the US. Actually I have found little animosity in Asia, and a great reception in Japan, Thailand, and now China. We haven't traveled to any countries hostile to the US, and have found the people to be keenly interested. A very common reaction is "America, great country!" Ironically, it is mostly Europeans who complain about everything wrong with the US. As we travel I have learned a lot about the devastating affects on the undeveloped world of 150 years of European colonialism, Japanese and American imperialism, and the cold war. People have remained in horrible conditions largely due to corrupt or brutal governments supported by foreign powers. We do have a collective responsibility to correct these errors. However, unfortunately those who complain the loudest about the US also seem to be the ones with the least actually knowledge and little to add to the discourse...

Fortunately this is a small planet, so as we travel it is easy for us to stay in touch with world events and change our plans accordingly.

Jiuzhaigou - Day Two

Even in paradise, one must attend to the mundane details of life...so the day begins with doing laundry. That means scrubbing everything you own in the sink with cold water and hanging it to dry on a line on the roof.

While hanging the clothes, I see a monk duck into a nearby building. When we are finished with the chores, we decide to see if the building is a temple. As we approach it, the sound of bells and chanting confirm our thoughts. Kneeling at a small table inside are 5 monks; ancient scrolls and music instruments before them. We enter when invited and sit quietly as the chanting, gongs, cymbals and incense fill the air. A nun pays homage to the Buddha by bowing, then trims and relights the candles on the altar. We try to pay homage by meditating. The experience leaves us feeling peacefully jubilant as we head for the trails.

We ride the shuttle bus to the end of the road at Arrow Bamboo Lake (follow the link below for a map and description of the park). We spend the rest of the day walking the boardwalk trails back to Shuzheng Village. The trail skirts the lakes on the side away from the road. At one place it wanders through the dikes between the many pools of Arrow Lake. At another, it follows the rushing rivers between lakes.

We are totally impressed by Pearl Shoals...check out the picture in the album. The water runs over a very shallow shelf before it cascades over the large (and wide) falls. You can view it in a pagoda in the midst of the shoals and from the trail below. Since the rocks are calcium deposits, the formations are very interesting...knobby and in unusual shapes with many crevasses. The water sound is amplified as it echoes in the hollows between and behind the rocks.

At another place we are totally shocked...the rivers and lakes are dry! We are told that it is a seasonal phenomenon. But it is hard to believe that whole rivers with such a high volume of water dry up. As we proceed down the trail, the water does reappear in the lower lakes.

Throughout our travels we have found ourselves comparing the places we visit to Oregon. It seems a natural human attribute to find solace and beauty in landscapes like the ones you are most familiar with. Many places we have visited just don't seem as beautiful as Oregon. We have a special love of the water, mountains and forests of Oregon. But in Jiuzhaigou we have found the forests, running water and mountains that is the template which Oregon tries to imitate. We have heard that Guilin was the most beautiful place in China, but reaching Jiuzhaigou we hear the quote that Guilin the more beautiful than anyplace in the world, and Jiuzhaigou is more beautiful that Guilin. And it is true. If you ever make it to China, Jiuzhaigou is an absolute must.

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Here's a link to a China Travel Guide website for more pictures and information.

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/attraction/sichuan/jiuzhaigou/page1.htm

About the pictures on our website - they are taken from the photo book that we purchased as a souvenir. Our camera was broken and we didn't think we'd be able to describe the park adequately without some photos. Many of them were taken in autumn so they are inconsistent with the time that we visited.

Jiuzhaigou - Day One

From the forests of Oregon to the tropical jungles of Hawaii to the natural rock formations of Utah to mountain tops in Asia, we thought we had seen some incredibly beautiful landscapes. But we were totally unprepared for what we saw in Jiuzhaigou (jew-jai-go). The guide books call it a fairyland: that is an understatement.

Here's a quick introduction to Jiuzhaigou. It is in northern Sichuan, a high mountain area populated by Tibetan minorities. This nature and panda reserve lies in connecting valleys. Alpine mountains tower above azure lakes lying at elevations of 2,000-4,000 meters (for you Oregonians, the peak of Mt. Hood is approximately 3,000 m.). The valley floor is a mosaic of rivers, waterfalls and lakes. It is heavily forested with pines and broadleaf deciduous trees. There are many Tibetan villages in the park: prayer wheels turn and colorful prayer flags flutter in the wind.

Our Story - Day One

We arrive at the park early in the morning. The main scenic area and first village is 5 kilometers from the entrance, so we hop on a shuttle bus bound for the village. Our plan is to find lodging and drop our (heavy) bags before we explore the park.

The springtime air is cool and crisp as we huddle together for warmth on the hard seats of the bus. A recent rain has left drops of moisture on the trees; leaves and pine needles shimmer like diamonds. The morning sun shines golden through the peeling bark of copper birch trees, the translucent red/gold squares seem to vibrate in the clear mountain air. On the hillsides, the new green leaves of the broadleaf trees contrast with the dark green of the conifers. Next to the road is a creek, rushing/ foaming over rocks in its path. Rod and I exchange looks of awe for the landscape - and we haven't even seen the first waterfall yet!

The approach to Shuzheng Lake is accompanied by ohs and ahs. We turn to look at the lake; our jaws drop open. The turquoise color seems artificial - how can water that color really exist? It is so clear that it is difficult to judge the depth - logs meters below the surface seem inches away. The mountains and trees are reflected crisply on the calm surface.

We soon discover, though, that Shuzheng Lake is not one lake, but a group of 40 lakes stretching for 13 kilometers. Each lake flows into the one below it, separated by calcium deposit dykes. The water flowing over the dykes form interesting waterfalls the entire width of the lake. It washes the roots of the mature trees and plants growing on the dykes. We can hardly wait until the bus stops so that we can walk the area.

The bus does not stop as expected at the village (nothing ever happens as expected in China), but pushes on to Long Lake at the end of the road. We pass many other colorful lakes and waterfalls on the trip, each different than the last. At Long Lake, we make a forced departure form the bus for the obligatory souvenir stop. We are swarmed by vendors in colorful Tibetan traditional clothes, but all we really want to do is shed our packs and get set up in a guesthouse. A woman approaches us and dresses us in traditional clothes. We decide it might be nice to have a picture of us looking Tibetan sitting on a Yak. We change our minds, though, when the price gets jacked up to pay for the clothes, yak and photo. We give the clothes back and rush for the closest bus, feeling once again the familiar anger at being nothing more than a walking dollar sign.

We manage to find a bus to take us back to the village at Shuzheng Lake. It is a dusty village, the humble buildings separated by narrow cobblestone streets. Women in the main square reverently approach a long line of prayer wheels, turning them as they recite their prayers. Colorful flags adorn the entrance.

We meet some Americans who recommend a nearby guesthouse. As we walk thorough the gate to the guesthouse, we feel that we are in the right place. The gate and roof beams are colorfully painted in the Tibetan style. When we reach the room, we are pleased with the interior. It is brightly painted with murals and there is a small shrine with a Buddha statue against one wall. We pay our $7.50 for the room, and then find out the downside...there is no hot water, the toilet does not flush, there is no heat and in the evening, the power goes out. Nothing is ever as expected in China.

We dump our bags hurriedly, anxious to view the lake. We follow the path along the lake which turns into a boardwalk. Don't believe what Lonely Planet says about Jiuzhaigou - there are more hiking trails than you can cover during your visit. The trails are all on boardwalks (which are NOT being ripped out) and are very well maintained. The boardwalks actually act to limit the impact of foot traffic on the fragile land. We walk for hours, stopping often to soak up the beauty of the waterfalls or to identify trees and birds or to admire the rhododendrons and azaleas in bloom. We stop only when hunger overcomes us and dusk darkens the trail.

The Dam

We reach the dam just before sunset. It is smaller than I expect, smaller than Bonneville or the Grand Coulee dams. It is directly above the city of Yichang. In the twilight of a cloudy day, the gray dam is quite ugly. Many Chinese rush to the top deck of the ferry to get their picture taken in front of the dam. The water flows freely around the right end of the dam, and we cruise silently by.

I think a little about the dam. We have seen so much new construction in China. Expressways that opened just two years ago have lanes closed for repairs, as the roadway washed out. I don't think I have been in a building or on a bus yet where everything works. (I lost track of the number of leaky facets or toilet flush mechanisms that I have fixed). In the 1970's two major dams in Chain broke, killing thousands of people. I shiver to think that the world's largest reservoir is being built upstream of the world's largest population center, with Chinese engineering.

The Gorges

We boarded the boat in Chonquin, and rode it for two nights and two days. The first stretch is nothing spectacular, but is a nice peaceful boat ride. Unfortunately the rain kept us under cover a bit more than we wanted, but it was still enjoyable. We spent most of the time up on top. Wrapped in raincoats, it was still enjoyable to get out in the air, to see the river, to see the views. In fact, we inadvertently panicked our guide when he did a nose-count and couldn't find us!

The pretty part is the second day. To start the day, there is a side trip up a smaller river to the Lesser Three Gorges. This is the most beautiful part of the trip (check out our photo page!). The river is quite narrow and swift, and smaller boats are used for this trip. The river runs fast, curves, turns under, bounces off of rock faces, scoops up shoals, and joins in big standing waves (class 2.5). To get up the stream, the captain needs to read the water just right, avoiding the rocks and the most powerful currents. At one point, the crew must help to pole the boat through a narrow and powerful current. At another, all of the passengers must exit and walk around a bend to lighten the boat.

The Lesser Gorges are full of mist, with hints of successive hills behind each other. The gorge walls are green with ferns and moss. We see monkeys in trees along one cliff. Swallows inhabit another cliff. Waterfalls tumble down the sides. The boat pushes on.

We stop for lunch at a frenzied shore bank full of food vendors. The smells and shouts fill the air. Buckets of live fish serve as the menus. The pay toilets are filthy, and drain into the river. The boat will stop for just 30 minutes. We settle down for a quick lunch. Back on the boat, we are still missing three people, and wait to leave. 35 minutes, 40, 45. At fifty minutes, the guide spots the missing people talking and eating slowly at a lunch table, and tells them to come. We expect them to quickly join the boat. Instead, in full view of everyone waiting, they continue to slowly eat their meal, talking and joking. The boat waits. The guide visits them again, and we can hear the shouting. They continue eating. Finally, after 70 minutes, they join the boat and we move on. We think to ourselves of the number of times we have seen Chinese go out of their way to help someone, but then also of the number of times they have total disregard for others.

Back on the ferry, we head through the bigger Three Gorges. We can see numerous villages and cities along the river. Most are quite high up the shore, having been chased up the river bank by centuries of flooding. Very few structures are even close to the water level. We read that millions of people will need to be relocated before the reservoir fills, but it appears to us that many are already high enough. Periodically along the shore are signs proclaiming 150 meters, presumably the flood level at that site. In some areas, there are recent ruins below the sign level, where previous lives have been left behind, and new shiny buildings are higher up the hill.