Touring Beijing

The now, next generation after our previous guide, who told us NOW GET OUT are the younger group. She caught my eye as she was texting while holding the team flag. She also has the freedom to dress and express herself to the way she feels.

Most of the visitors to the Forbidden City are of Asian origin. The massiveness of the palace was impressive.

There are so many layers of dynasties and after awhile they all blend into one another.

By today's standards, the throne is dingy and dark and it makes me wonder if they did that to conceal the fact of ageing. A deity, dressed in the best of silks to remain forever young.

The artwork was incredible but meant for eyes of only a few.

The massiveness of the space was as if they were expecting a large number of people.

The exteriors of most of the building had been spruced up for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The garden and bridges are quaint but after awhile it all get to be similar and I spotted this child and sympathised with him.

Bejing Bicycles

There are Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing

There are Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing a song by Katie Melua. That was my first impression twenty years ago when visiting Beijing for the first time. Being Dutch, I was impressed with this mass transportation, which seems to have unwritten rules, yet somehow arrive at their destination. Mostly without incident or the use of helmets.

There were two things I could not forget. One being the numerous bicycles and the though if bringing my bike along to cycle in the city was out of the question.  The other was flying plastic grocery bags.

The bicycles have mostly disappeared and replaced by scooters and imported European cars. Indeed a sign of prosperity.

More common now are the peddle bikes that can easily transport you through the back alleyways and mainly used as a tourist attraction.

While visiting Cuba ten years ago, they were proud of the fact that they had imported bicycles from China, to alleviate the lack of transportation in Havana. It was a unique “re-cycle” project and the creativity that developed from adding extra seats, crates and saddle bags and by turning it into a family vehicle.

Gone are the nine million flying plastic grocery bags that accompanied us along the way to the Great Wall and caught on fences, poles, posts or anything that got in their way.  They are now banned and have disappeared from the grocery stores. 

Also disappearing are the traditional family homes and there are but a few hundred of them left. Along with the increasing property value and these old family compounds with their thin walls are becoming an item of the past. The newer generations, as in developing countries, chose to leave the family compound to live on their own in a highrise apartment buildings. These are no shortage of expensive apartment buildings offering underground parking for their newly acquired vehicle. However, there is a shortage of  affordable housing in the centre of the city as most have to commute  to work from one of the far ring roads.   With this prosperity comes the dreaded traffic jams and pollution. I will not be entirely surprised if there will be a ban on cars in the future and it will be back to Nine Million Bicycles.

I was in awe with the transformation of the old Chinese, as well as chunky Soviet, Architecture to a more visually pleasing modern European style buildings.

Remnants of the old bargaining style stores remain, but most replaced by new stores and modern malls. It is not uncommon to find European and North American stores from H&M to Prada. IKEA has made its way into China and will have an impact on the old traditional style furniture.  Perhaps that is not a bad idea either as the younger generations are embracing home decor rather than the austere, utilitarian furniture of their parents.

The Great Wall of China

 After Peter had passed away, there was still an unfinished list of places to visit. I decided to take the girls to Beijing and see The Great Wall of China. China was seeing a rapid change and buildings were being demolished to make way for the future. I wanted to visit Beijing as soon as possible and booked ourselves on a small tour originating in Vancouver.  Most of the group members were from Vancouver or nearby and consisted of twenty persons which four were teenagers and two of them being mine.

We stayed at the American Hotel in the heart of Beijing and close to Tiananmen Square.
Installed at the square was a giant countdown clock for the takeover of Hong Kong, but the square was also a place for people watching; in turn, they watch us and were fascinated by the two redheads.



Close by was an advertisement for an alcoholic beverage, but it had gone through the early stages of computer translation, and it made absolutely no sense.
The large sign read: LONG LIFE AND LONG HAPPY TONIC SPIRITS AND ORAL LIQUIDS. I didn't buy any.


We did make our way over to The Wall, and it exceeded my expectations in length and size, I was in awe. Walking the wall and taking numerous photos before making our way back to Beijing.

Our tour leader came straight out of central casting and showed up with a flag and an armband. His English was good, and his mother was an influential member of The Party, and we were firmly guided through the city. At the end of the day he would say “Ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our destination, this is the end of the tour- NOW GET OUT!. “ Each day we would wait for this moment to arrive and to put a departing smile on our face.


The teenagers were getting bored of the same food every day which they called  “mystery meat” and were begging to take them to Hard Rock Cafe for a hamburger and fries. A deviation of the schedule was not permitted, but what was on the program was a visit to the Jade Factory, the Pearl House, the Silk Shop.


The adults made it clear that we have chartered this bus. Therefore, we can go where we please and that we do not want to visit the Jade factory. He promptly took us to the Jade factory where none of us left the bus.  A phone call followed, and we went to the Hard Rock Cafe instead. A perfect place for a souvenir T-shirt.  Sadly it is now closed.

From Beijing to Singapore

My cousin Eleonora who lives just outside of Amsterdam had booked herself on a cruise from Beijing to Singapore. Not terribly fond of travelling alone, she joined a Dutch group. It turned out that there were 11 couples in the group plus Eleonora. She then booked a balcony suite for herself to make for a more pleasant journey. 

A few weeks before departure she mentioned that she was going on this trip. I had just returned from South Africa and showed all symptoms of Malaria. Going through a series of tests for the next few weeks, cleared me of this. Feeling much better, and at the last minute, I decide to join her.

We had a fabulous three weeks and I returned to places I had been in my younger years and it brought back fond memories. It also took me to places I had not seen but had a desire to visit.

Beside the travels, we had time for daily Cappuccino-fuelled chats catching up with the present and the past. That took us to happy hour and then we chatted some more.

Pouilly-en-Auxois tunnel

Two years ago we spent the summer on the French Canals on our barge Zonder Zorg.  On Friday morning, the 12th September we slipped our moorage and entered the Pouilly-en-Auxois tunnel.  Our tenth tunnel since taking possession of Zonder Zorg. 

At the previous lock, we were advised to have a flood light on the front deck and life jackets worn while travelling through the tunnel. A two-way radio loaned to us and there are surveillance cameras in the tunnel. It reminded me of preparing for a Disneyland type ride - The tunnel of horror!  As it turned out the tunnel was well lit, the floodlight was not needed and we had been in a longer tunnel previously, without all the fuss. 

At 1130 we stopped for the lock keepers' lunch at Vandenesse-en-Auxios and had to wait till 1300 as there would be another private boat joining us in the locks. Some of the neighbours came to say Bon Appetite.

After entering the lock first, we patiently waited for the other boat to arrive. 

Of the next eleven locks the houseboat, equipped with twin engines and a bow thruster, made it into the locks only twice on its own. The other times it tried for sideways, hitting the gates, bending the safety rail, making the éclusiers jump out its way and narrowly missing being speared with boat hooks. Fenders were being moved from one side to another as the boat was manoeuvred manually in place. 

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted and the éclusier advised us that the other boat would be leaving at 1300 the following day.

With this information, it gave us an early morning start as we entered the peacefulness of the canal. The locks were in our favour and welcoming.

At the approach of lock 33, we spotted "L'Escapade". With a brief chat with Evey on shore, the barges passed in opposite directions. 

Moored below the lock was Charles Briggs's "Xenia", a wide beam narrow boat. It was lunch hour when we arrived at lock 35 and Charles came over for a chat.


The eclusier's cat hopped onboard to do a thorough mouse inspection and found none. We continued our journey, found a quiet mooring spot and celebrated Michael's then seventieth birthday. 

Cheers.

The Designer Outlets

Cross-border shopping used to be the trend twenty odd years ago and that has certainly changed with the currency exchange rate. Large shopping areas with Designer Outlets lined the Canadian-Us border specially constructed for that purpose. While shopping the malls you filled up on cheaper gas and groceries.

With the decline of shoppers, big box outlets came across the Canadian border to set up shop here. Mikasa, Linens and Things among a few, stayed a short while before disappearing into shopping history.

Just before touchdown at YVR airport with landing gear in place, is a new Designers Outlet. 

It has been there for a few years and has gradually grown in stages and designed to look like a village with elements from several European countries.

From the Skytrain station, it was a short walk on a well-directed path and I followed the footsteps to the village. It was late morning and I found it vacant. With its proximity to YVR, it is readily available for passengers waiting for their flights.

There are plenty of stores to choose from and several empty spaces waiting for a new tenant.

The atmosphere was pleasing with designer benches and matching garbage containers somewhat empty.

I found a dog patiently waiting for its master and most likely with the hopes of a new designer collar. It too must have followed the paw prints to the village.

I easily found my way back to the Skytrain Station with a new pair of shoes and a pair of Rockfort boots for the coming fall.

expo 86

It had been a dry summer that year, with the last rain the day before opening and the rain managed to stay away until after closing. We received complete cooperation from the local rain gods and we fooled the 22,111.578 guest and tourist into thinking Vancouver's weather is always like this. The Expo theme was "Transportation and Communication" and it featured pavilions from 54 nations and numerous local corporations. It was considered a tremendous success, and it transformed Vancouver from a sleepy backwater to the second most expensive real Estate in the world.

Expo '86  opened on May 2nd by Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales and the strain on their marriage visible. Diana fainted due not eating for a few days and His Highness thought that she should have fainted more gracefully, out of public's eye, behind a door. Both Vancouver and Charles have come a long way since then.


After the event, most of the lands were purchased by Hong Kong Billionaire Li Ka-Shing under his Concord Pacific banner. Even though the redevelopment took longer than expected, it remains one of the most successful urban developments in Canadian History. The south-eastern section was further redeveloped as the Olympic Village, which housed the athletes for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

The next Expo, 2017 will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. I haven't checked any flight schedules for that one yet.