Homeward bound

And now we board the plane bound for DC. Finally caught up to the blog as they call our flight!

See you all at home!

Mount Fuji

If there was one place that this three month trip should have ended, it's Mount Fuji. We stayed in the little village of Kawaguchiko in the shadows of the tallest mountain in Japan. Only made it there for one night, but it was worth every minute. We took a bus up to the 5th stage, which is just below where the snow begins. Climbing the rest of the way is not permitted until late June, but we got the picture.

The great Fuji-san

Saved for a rainy day

Our next stop in Japan was the sleepy town of Takayama. We picked Takayama because it was a smaller town and we wanted to get off the tourist track for a couple days, stay in a classic Japanese ryokan, and maybe make some room for some onsen. The town was a great stop and would have actually been a great leaping off point for some mountain hikes (it's the gateway to the Japan Alps), but the rain kept us indoors, focusing on eating, sleeping, and the occasional onsen.

Takayama has a couple streets lined with shops like this one specializing in homemade sake and wood crafts.

Some mountains in the distance.

The ryokan included dinner and breakfast. Both were feasts. This is the beginning...

and this is the end.

A night in Nara

Next stop on the trail was in Nara, which is just 45 minutes south of Kyoto on the train line. It’s another cultural hotspot with many temples and shrines exhibiting Japanese heritage. We hit the highlights here, visiting the world’s largest wooden building (distant cousin of the Phoenix at Knoebels, world’s largest wooden rollercoaster circa 1990) and climbing Wakakusayama Hill to get the birdseye view of the city. Nara is also home to hundreds of tame deer that just roam the roads and grow fat eating crackers that vendors sell to tourists to feed them. We just hope these deer never make any plans to visit their American relatives in late September – that would be a true culture shock.

Right up there with the Phoenix for best wooden structures in my book. Not sure who my friend on the right is, but nice of her to smile at the camera.

Pretty common for Japanese schoolchildren to approach us and interview us in English for a school assignment. The peace sign is up in every single picture without fail.

We liked this guy - he claimed half our cracker packet.

Next time we’re going to need an onsen on the Shinkansen

From Tokyo we boarded the Shinkansen to Kyoto. The Shinkansen is a series of high speed bullet trains that run throughout Japan connecting all of the major cities. Then there are many other “rapid” or local trains that connect smaller cities and towns. Travel in Japan versus most of the rest of Asia is like being upgraded from Economy to First Class, and being given a map to boot. We invested in a 7-day rail pass, which means you can go anywhere you want in the country by train without buying a ticket – Japan is our oyster.

Kyoto was once the capital of Japan and is now considered the cultural capital. Proof of this title lies in the tourist map, which lists no less than 13 temples, 3 shrines, and a castle – all a “must-see.” We saw many of them by foot and bike over a couple days, but missed the castle due to a temporary [?] loss of direction.

Another timeless Japanese tradition is the onsen. Onsen are natural hot springs that serve as public baths. The term baths is used loosely here because you actually shower before going into the bath; it’s really more of a spa but bigger and absolutely no clothing is permitted. We took a few minutes to discard any inhibitions and then onsened with some members of the local 65+ crowd. For anyone who is curious, the bath was not coed (though they do exist).

The Shinkansen. Looks like a ride at Space Mountain.

A few Geisha making their way around the Gion neighborhood.

Kamo River running down the heart of Kyoto. I thought the DC canal path was a good running trail but this one kicks it up a notch.

How clean is Japan? This guy is sweeping leaves off of the moss.

The requisite temple pic. This one of the Golden Temple.

Going Once, Going Twice, Sold!

The second full day in Tokyo started at the crack of dawn. Or maybe before. But that’s what it takes to see the institution which is the Tsukiji Fish Market. At around five-thirty AM, you can watch them auctioning off the gargantuan, man-sized tuna just as they have for at least a hundred years. And they don’t mess around. They sell an entire warehouse of these 150-lb. bad-boys in about 20 minutes. And that’s just one of many warehouses filled with both fresh and frozen giant tuna. After the auction, we walked around the rest of the market to survey the strange and interesting delicacies for sale, before settling down to the freshest sashimi breakfast we’ve ever had. Wheaties doesn’t have anything on raw fish for breakfast.

Later that afternoon, Michael, Anne Marie, Russ and I headed to Ryogoku to see the day of Sumo matches. Talk about soaking in some Japanese culture. Sumo is about 10% sport and 90% ritual, but that adds up to 100% entertainment. Luckily, Michael and Anne Marie could fill us in on some of the significance of the wrestlers’ actions (e.g. throwing salt is to purify the ring). It was really interesting and we were fortunate to be in town while the May tourney is happening since they only have a few throughout the year. We’re just wondering when this is going to catch on at home?!

One of many rows of freshly caught tuna. The rear fins are cut to expose the flesh and let the buyers check out the quality of the meat.

A circle of finely tuned athletes preparing to sumo.

Don the Hapi and cheer for Yomuri

We arrived in Tokyo after a quick 5-hour flight from Hong Kong, took the shuttle from the airport downtown and hopped in a cab to reach Michael and Anne Marie’s place. No worries that the cabbie—who I might note was wearing a suit, white gloves, and had a cleaner car than I do—did not speak English because he could just plug the address into his GPS and we could watch the path en route—genius!

We were thankful to have the hospitality of Michael and Anne Marie who knew about several fun cultural events going on in Tokyo while we happened to be in town. The first morning we all, including their adorable six and three-year old daughters, donned Hapi coats and paraded through the streets of Tokyo following the shrine in the Kanda festival. It was really interesting to see this annual event—and even if we didn’t understand the chants, it was fun to clap along! That afternoon, Russ and I headed to the Tokyo Dome to see the Yomuri (Tokyo) Giants take on the Chunichi Dragons. The organized cheering that went on during the game was like nothing we’d ever seen—at one point the fans kept up one cheer for about a half-hour with no rest!

That night we had an interesting culinary experience—ordering a restaurant meal through a vending machine! Step 1: Insert Yen into vending machine. Step 2: Make dinner selections. Step 3: Hand tickets to maitre d’ and sit down to wait for food. It doesn’t get much more efficient than that. And, more importantly, the food was delish! The Japanese really take vending to a whole new level. About every 20 meters or so on the street you see a vending machine, similar to what you have in your office lunch room, except you can get all sorts of cold and hot drinks, ice cream, even ramen, and now dinner!

Shinto followers carrying the shrine in their Hapi coats. A great cultural experience and the participants were happy to see us outsiders joining in their celebration.

Michael and us during one of the breaks of the parade.

Post-game after the Giants pulled off an 8-7 nailbiter with Sakamoto hitting a 3-run shot in the bottom of the 8th. Definitely an exciting game for the home crowd.

Soaking up the Hong Kong skyline

From Shanghai we caught a short flight to Hong Kong to close out our last few days in China. We got lucky the night we arrived in Hong Kong because we happened to arrive the one day each week when the local downtown racetrack runs its evening races. It was kind of like having a vastly scaled down Kentucky Derby in the middle of the city, with a high-rise skyline serving as the backdrop to the track.

We spent much of the next couple days ascending the surrounding mountains via trams and a cable car to catch a glimpse of the skyscraping skyline along the waterfront. It is unlike any we’d seen before due to the volume of high rise buildings packed into such a tiny space. The daily evening light shows really highlighted the skyline too.

Again we were fortunate to meet with a local friend who shared with us some unique sights and tasty local food. Thanks Simon! Our last night culminated with a seemingly unlimited supply of Cantonese food and a trip to skybar Felix, where the view from the bathroom made you think you should be paying an entrance fee every time you have to go. Thankfully that was not the case, but the bathroom attendant had to be wondering about the camera clicks.

Down at the racetrack. Unlike Foxfields people actually watch the races.

Skyline at night during the "Symphony of Lights"

And from the opposite side during the day.

Visting with Simon during the day.

View from the loo.

A few days in Shanghai and Suzhou

From Beijing we caught a shuttle flight to Shanghai to continue the China city tour. We continued our recent theme of friendly stays by this time staying with a friend from Danville and his family. The last time I saw Travis was probably the ’96 DHS graduation, and this being some time later, he now has a wife, two kids, and three cats. All were extremely friendly hosts and made visiting the bustling city much easier. We kicked off our one full touring day in Shanghai by heading to a local park to watch some local daily exercise routines. Forget the stairmaster, nautilus and dumbbells, the locals exercise by organizing into groups and practicing Tai Chi on the sidewalks of the park. We then visited the Bund river area and attempted to find some bargains at a market only to be scolded with a woman yielding a calculator like a club. The long sightseeing day closed with an entertaining Shanghai acrobatics show with Travis and Nicole.

From Shanghai we went on an overnight trip to the town of Suzhou about an hour away by train. This old town has been called the “Venice of China.” The nickname is pretty generous for Suzhou, but we had a great time touring around the smaller streets and canals by bike for the day. This may have also been the point where we reached our breaking point of climbing tall religious monuments. “If I have to climb one more tower…”

The view from a river cruise of the Bund.

One of many workout groups. Seemed as normal as drinking a cup of coffee in the morning.

Big Buddha and his tower. No elevators in this one.

Beijing – Downtown Sights and Nightlife

We headed into Beijing city and imposed on Paul’s cousin, Daniel, to stay at his place while we visited the downtown sights for a couple days. Beijing is a bit more challenging to navigate because although the taxicabs are plentiful, the drivers do not speak English, and also do not know where Daniel’s address is. Russ devised a genius scheme to overcome this hurdle—we snagged a brochure from the diner on the corner nearby and each time we needed to get back home, we gave it to the taxi driver, who would look confused about why we wanted to get to this particular Jackpot restaurant, but then would head off in the general direction and inevitably call the restaurant to get the exact location. We’re pretty sure that over those three days the Jackpot received a record number of calls.

While in Beijing, we got a chance to tour around the sites of the recent 2008 Olympics, the Forbidden City and surrounding tulip gardens, the Houhai neighborhood with its intricate winding hutongs and lakes, and the drum and bell towers. Also, we got to try several really top notch restaurants, thanks to Daniel’s proficiency in the local food & beverage scene. Among our favorites were the Beijing duck restaurant, Dali restaurant (with a return to Yunnanese cuisine), and Hot Pot street for its cool lantern-lined, bustling street atmosphere. We also got to go out with Daniel and his friends to see what Beijing nightlife had to offer---it was a blast even though we couldn’t quite keep up!

Outside the Water Cube aka Michael Phelps' house.

Peking Duck dinner with Daniel.

The Forbidden City on Chinese Labor Day. Probably the most crowded day of the year, and that's saying something!

2012 Olympic trainee went swimming with his dog in the local park.

Spicy dinner on Hot Pot Street aka Ghost Street

The great Great Wall

We took the overnight train from Dali to Kunming and then a flight from there to Beijing. While overnight bus = horrible torture, overnight train = luxurious joy. (That and perhaps our standards of “luxury” have diminished slightly seeing as when we boarded a recent economy flight, we were amazed by the vast legroom!) This is by far the best long-distance travel we have done yet. And to top it off there was a driver waiting for us at the airport to take us to the Hope Foster Home in the village of Shun Yi, about thirty minutes outside of Beijing. Friends from Danville work closely with the home and suggested we stay here for a few days when visiting Beijing. The Foster Home is an impressive facility that houses approx fifty infants and toddlers, many overcoming correctable medical issues while awaiting for their future home. We are grateful to the Hasenbalgs for the suggestion and the staff at the home for being such generous hosts during our stay.

The third day in Shun Yi we went with a couple of the nursing staff to tour the Great Wall. We toured the Wall by arriving in Jinshanling and walking about 10k along the Wall to Simatai. This is the least popular (and least crowded) of three common sites to tour the Wall from Beijing. The second most popular, called Mutianyu, offers a luge ride down the wall (!!!) at the end so we made quite a sacrifice going out to Jinshanling to avoid the crowds. It was worth it. To say that the Wall is impressive is the understatement of the year. It winds up and down and around the mountainous landscape for miles on end. The Wall was difficult to even walk (many many stairs), let alone build about 2500 years ago with primitive tools. The whole experience is mindblowing and every bit worth the hype. Though I’m pretty sure you can’t actually see it from space…

We just came down this section. But whenever there's a valley there's always a climb around the corner.

View from a guard tower looking out to old Mongolia.

This close to where we left the Wall, but it keeps going and going...

Let the bird do all the work

After Lijiang we headed to Dali via a short bus hop of only four hours. If all goes as planned, this will be our last sizeable bus ride of the whole trip. This is hugely satisfying. Dali is another cool historic old town like Lijiang. We hadn’t planned on going here at all until we met some guys at the gorge that told us of an overnight train (vs. overnight bus from Lijian) that we could take to Kunming, which is where we would fly to Beijing. So we jumped. With only one day to spend in Dali what do you do? Our guesthouse owner offered two suggestions: hike a mountain above town that offers scenic views of the city and lake below or go cormorant fishing. We’d been spoiled rotten of scenic views at the gorge the last couple days and never heard of cormorant fishing so the decision was easy.

The goal of cormorant fishing is like any type of fishing: catch lots of big fish. The difference is that the actual finding and catching of fish is outsourced, to the cormorant birds. A flock of about a dozen birds accompanied us around the lake and our two guides would grunt instructions and remove the fish once the cormorant caught them in its gullet. The fish are too big for the cormorant’s throat, so the only way to get the fish out is by the assistance of the guide. By the end of the day these cormorants had one heckuva haul. Forget the fishless excursions filled with knotted lines and bloody worms, where do you buy yourself one of these cormorants at home?

Allison successfully speaking Chinese to get us directions on bike ride to fishing village. One of several times the iPhone Chinese language lesson application came up big in China.

Me with our guide and one of our distinguished fisherbirds.

Purging the gullet. The reward for the cormorant is that most fish he catches are small enough for him to swallow. In the case when it isn't, the guides happily help him clear his throat.

Way to go Curtis the Cormorant! This guy just deserves a name.

Leaping Tiger

20 hours to Kunming, 11 hours to Lijiang, 3 hours to Qiaotou…what, you may wonder, is worth all that?? Our answer: the Tiger Leaping Gorge. After spending one quick night in Lijiang, which has a cool old town area that we would spend some more time exploring on the other end of our hike, we wasted no time in waking early and heading out to Qiaotou, one of two towns that are used as the jumping off point for the Tiger Leaping Gorge. We arrived just after 10am and were greeted by an energetic Aussie guesthouse proprietress at the start of the trail. She offered us hikers some advice for the trail, such as where the confusing parts of the path were and to avoid the crazy old woman at the top of the ridge who throws rocks at people. Okkkkkkkk, this may be more challenging than we thought! Luckily, we snuck past her without incident and enjoyed the amazing views of the gorge and the surrounding mountains.

Rounding one of the 23 bends

A stop for lunch at the Naxi house. Corn anyone?

We stayed overnight at a guesthouse halfway through the gorge (aptly named the Halfway Guesthouse) which had a deck overlooking the gorge and mountains and an absolutely ridiculous view, where we enjoyed some great food and well-deserved drinks with a group of fellow hikers.

The Halfway deck

The second day of the hike turned out to be more challenging than the first as we hiked down the gorge to the bottom and back up to reach the end of the trail. This part of the hike was not only difficult because of the steep incline/declines, but it also required us to climb a 60-foot tall ladder rigged up with bamboo and chicken wire to get over a rocky section of the trail. If we had a serious fear of heights, this would not be a good time to find out!

Near the bottom of the middle gorge

Dangerous ladder, safe path...decisions, decisions...

Probably if the sign had been at the bottom instead of the top,

we wouldn't have picked the "dangerous ladder"!

After we finished the hike, we flagged down a bus to take us back to Lijiang where we spent the night in the old town. We got to try some more of the delicious Yunnanese specialties, including skewers of yak meat and yak butter tea (which tastes a bit like fragrant, salty cheese and is surprisingly tasty).

The Best Coffee in Asia

Kunming has been called the Seattle of China, and while this is mostly attributed to its laid-back atmosphere despite being a city of about four million people, it also has to do with the fact that the Yunnanese coffee here is really darn good and there are a ton of coffee and tea houses in which to enjoy it. We arrived in Kunming late on Monday night and even though we had booked a hotel last minute, we had no idea how difficult it would be to find. By some miracle, and a team of helpful passers-by, we managed to find the place which was located on the 19th floor of a high-rise building overlooking the city. Pretty sweet. We decided we would spend a day hanging out in the city and figuring out our onward travel whilst sipping some of that aforementioned delicious brew.

View from our room of the Kunming skyline

Sampling the local delights: Yunnan Coffee and Over-the-Bridge Noodles

We walked around the main shopping district and the bird and flower market, and then wandered up north towards the Yunnan University campus and strolled through the Green Lake and surrounding park.

Practicing their croquet game in the park

Once we were ready to head back into town so we could purchase bus tickets for the next day, we had a little adventure trying to get a taxi to take us there. We’re still not sure what their objection was, but it did sound as though all three taxis we flagged down had the same excuse for why they couldn't take us to the bus station. That left us with a nice long walk and a short jog from our hotel down to the station instead. Oh well, I suppose we can use the exercise after all the sumptuous meals we’ve been eating! At the bus station, I used one of the two Chinese travel phrases I practiced to get us some bus tickets to Lijiang the next morning. Score!