Hey everyone the taniwha has flown from Beijing to KL. We had an early rise at 4.45am and the made the airport in time. We were all busy the night before getting our luggage down to the required 20kg. Of course with all the shopping we were all concerned. We had clothes and other items going around the hotel to ensure we were all within the right weight. The big spenders were concerned. The hand luggage was also a concern for some.
At the airport no concerns all the luggage went through no worries. A few students had to open their bags because of the swords they had brought. As we went through immigration and security many of us were frisked and checked because we set off the alarms.
On the plane and wait wait wait. We were in the busy part of the day. We waited for 1.5hours before we took off. The only good thing about it is that we have less wait in KL. A good flight where most fell asleep and caught up.
Arrived and we all noticed the muggy heat!! whew. Some went into the rainforest and cooked.....
Burger King was very busy with the red shirt brigade eating there. We have a couple of hours to go now and we are all waiting in anticipation of going home. Will be great!
Just found out France beat the Welch...
See you all at home
Saturday, 15 October 2011
Thursday, 13 October 2011
Day 9 Thu Oct 13
Another busy day ahead. In the bus at 8.30am and on thnto the Pandas at the Beijing Zoo.
This is another highlight for the NZ tourists. We weaved our way north to the zoo and spent an hour at the panda enclosure. They were cuddle cute animals but everyone forgets they are wild animals. The chinese have poured lots of money into breeding programmes. Some facts about the pandas are:
Back on the bus and off to look at the Summer place.
The emperor and the family would spend time at the summer palace during the summer season. They would get there via dragon boats and would enjoy the palace with the protection of the water around them. The palce had a 960 long corrodor which had paintings of the Beijing area painted in the rafters. A beuatiful serene walk. The emperors certainly lived the highlife compared to the masses.
Off to lunch. Spectacular location. Inside the banking area of North Beijing. Very luxurious.
Then we went to a tea house where we learned about chinese tea.
Tea was used for various healthy reasons. We tasted Jasmine tea - great for starting the day. Then we tried a fruit tea-good for keeping happy. There was an Oblong tea which had a licorice aftertaste and this was good for the bowels???? When you make the tea the first cup of water is firstly thrown awahy and then ready to drink. The little tea cups allow the tea to remain hot because tea is best hot and brewed at 95C. Do not let it stew. Remove the tea. Using actual tea is much better. Once again our money passed hands and we brought tea sets and tea. Was nice!
Many on the tour wanted to continue to purchase, buy so a bus load went back to the markets while 18 of us went to the Olympic stadium.
The birds nest was a marvellous piece of engineering. As we walked into the stadium on Level 1 the feeling of expanse and that we were in a magnificent was overwhelming. From anywhere in the stadium you were intimate with the track events that would have been going on. Some of the group walked around the whole stadium but were disappointed when they couldn't walk or run on the track so they went around the seating area. The ice cube was across the way and so were two other event areas. It was a great venue. The street that gives access to the village was the meridian line that started from the forbidden city. This line paved starts there and goes for 14km to the Olympic village. Everything in China has a meaning and a significance and these superstitions and stries have been built up over the centuries of this civilisation.
Off to dinner. We were treated to Peking duck. The ducks are feed intensively for two months. They are killed and then cooked slowly. They are filled with a water mixture inside and hence went cooked they are poached from the inside out and roasted from the outside in. The duck was absolutely tender and lovely to eat. This meal was by far the best. We had other delicacies as well like abalone and fungus etc. Was very nice.
We all piled back onto the bus ready for a quiet night in anticipation of going onto the Great Wall of China tomorrow.
This is another highlight for the NZ tourists. We weaved our way north to the zoo and spent an hour at the panda enclosure. They were cuddle cute animals but everyone forgets they are wild animals. The chinese have poured lots of money into breeding programmes. Some facts about the pandas are:
- Eat arrow bamboo which is brought into the zoo regularly. This is an expensive exercise hence the need to fundraise to keep pandas.
- Pandas are rented to various countries for their life. If they have any young then the young belongs to China.
- Panda mothers have one baby per year. If they have two they cannot look after two so usually one dies. The Zoo tries to get the formula correct for panda babies but yet have not found the right mix.
- Like cooler temperate climares between -10C and 35C. Anything above this they get stressed.
- Pandas are the top bear in the hierachy of bears. Brown bears will always step aside for the panda.
- Pandas only very active when they are being feed.
- Only predator is man.
- Only 1500 pandas left in the world. We saw 6 of these at the Bejing Zoo
Back on the bus and off to look at the Summer place.
The emperor and the family would spend time at the summer palace during the summer season. They would get there via dragon boats and would enjoy the palace with the protection of the water around them. The palce had a 960 long corrodor which had paintings of the Beijing area painted in the rafters. A beuatiful serene walk. The emperors certainly lived the highlife compared to the masses.
Off to lunch. Spectacular location. Inside the banking area of North Beijing. Very luxurious.
Then we went to a tea house where we learned about chinese tea.
Tea was used for various healthy reasons. We tasted Jasmine tea - great for starting the day. Then we tried a fruit tea-good for keeping happy. There was an Oblong tea which had a licorice aftertaste and this was good for the bowels???? When you make the tea the first cup of water is firstly thrown awahy and then ready to drink. The little tea cups allow the tea to remain hot because tea is best hot and brewed at 95C. Do not let it stew. Remove the tea. Using actual tea is much better. Once again our money passed hands and we brought tea sets and tea. Was nice!
Many on the tour wanted to continue to purchase, buy so a bus load went back to the markets while 18 of us went to the Olympic stadium.
The birds nest was a marvellous piece of engineering. As we walked into the stadium on Level 1 the feeling of expanse and that we were in a magnificent was overwhelming. From anywhere in the stadium you were intimate with the track events that would have been going on. Some of the group walked around the whole stadium but were disappointed when they couldn't walk or run on the track so they went around the seating area. The ice cube was across the way and so were two other event areas. It was a great venue. The street that gives access to the village was the meridian line that started from the forbidden city. This line paved starts there and goes for 14km to the Olympic village. Everything in China has a meaning and a significance and these superstitions and stries have been built up over the centuries of this civilisation.
Off to dinner. We were treated to Peking duck. The ducks are feed intensively for two months. They are killed and then cooked slowly. They are filled with a water mixture inside and hence went cooked they are poached from the inside out and roasted from the outside in. The duck was absolutely tender and lovely to eat. This meal was by far the best. We had other delicacies as well like abalone and fungus etc. Was very nice.
We all piled back onto the bus ready for a quiet night in anticipation of going onto the Great Wall of China tomorrow.
Day 8 Wed Oct 12
Tiananmen Square was first on the attractions today. We bussed in through the smog and arrived. A huge place – thousands and thousands of people in the square. Our guides told us the story about the student protests June 4th 1989 when many students were killed in riots. Many of the students were protesting and wouldn’t move from the square because it was the peoples place. They stood fast when the troops moved in. It was sad that the army came in and killed many of them but also the moment in time was seen when the sole student stood in front of the tank stopping the tank from moving forward. The guides told us that they could tell us in the square but only on the bus because the guards etc in the square will not allow this to happen.
One of the group came across a similar thing when we ran into a group of Aussies and a NZ black fern flag came and was being waved at the Aussies yelling ‘Go the Blacks’. The guard quickly came over and tried to take the flag. Any kind of protest or unusual behaviour is shut down very quick. They are very sensitive.
The square was expansive and Chairman Mao’s tomb was pointed out. The Assembly and a communist museum bounded the square. All the Chinese were waiting about an hour to go into his tomb for a 2 minute look. Chairman Mao sits inside a crystal tomb. Our guide is unsure if it is really him or whether it is a wax replica?? Who knows!
On the end of the square is the Forbidden City. This is a city from the emperial dynasties and was the place where the emperor lived. It was called the forbidden city because the average person could not or was not allowed to enter the city. If they did without permission they were killed. Only high standing officials were allowed into the city.
The 72 hectare city housed 1000’s of people that were there to serve the emperor. All the emperors were male except one who was female. The emperor had 3000 concubines and 6000 eunuch in the palace. To look after them he had 9999.5 rooms. The 0.5 room was for the emperor and heaven. He had a hierarchy of wives – the first set were the qualified wives. The next and the next served the emperor. At any time he can sleep with any of the concubines. None of the concubines could marry. The eunuch were servants and looked after the concubines. The first level wives were the ones that had children. The emperor had many children. In those days disease was rife and out of say 40 children only 20 would survive due to the illnesses they would get. The emperor would pick his successor. It does not mean the eldest will be emperor. He selects and has the name written on a scroll which he has on him all the time. Another copy is kept in a wooden box at the top of the rafters at the entrance of the house the emperor lives in. Once he dies the officials open the box and then match it with the emperors scroll. Many new emperors were young and could not take office until they turned the right age so a counsel would be put in place to run the state of affairs until the young emperor was of age.
The emperor’s palace had three or four residence which he stayed in. Each of these residents he would move in and out of through the year. This kept him safe from enemies that wanted to kill him. The emperors were ruthless and had to be to protect their dynasty and themselves.
Within the residence were many spaces for pray and meditation. Also around the palaces there were big iron pots. These pots were used to prevent fire. If there was a fire then the fire could be put out with the water from the cauldrons. The city was a fortress with many gates and the detail in the buildings.
The many people from Tiananmen Square all poured into the forbidden city. It was busy, busy, busy! Once again we can say that this trip was certainly as educational tour of Chinese history. Beautiful buildings and compared to NZ history we are still very young compared to the Chinese.
We got back on the bus and went to the Huong Tong tour. We did a number of activities.
1. We went and visited a typical Chinese house, residence. We went inside and sat with the owner and our guide explained the make up of a typical house and how it is positioned and construction with Feng Shui – square courtyard, windows for sun direction it faces etc
2. After this we left and all grabbed a rickshaw around the streets of Beijing. 15 bicycle rickshaws racing around the streets was a load of fun.
3. Lastly we visited a drum tower. The tower, with its steep steps, rung every ½ hour. In the spring and summer the drummers beat the drum quickly and in the fall and winter they did so slower. The drum tower had the same function as a bell tower. It allowed the town to know what the time was and instead of a bell they used a set of 24 drums. The officials that needed to attend to the emperor would always take their timing from the drum tower. If they were late they would be killed.
Back on the bus and off to the markets. A different set of markets this time where the prime sales were jewellery, electronics etc. The group had a ball-bartering etc. The shop keepers on one floor were particularly aggressive holding our arms and trying hard to make a sale. The students were particularly vulnerable. Many of the adults and other students had to tell the traders off and physical remove hands off people.Not very pleasant but the tour group loved the shopping and got great bargains again and have become great barterers.
Then off to dinner – typical meal again. One thing should be noted is that with every dinner we have had something different. Next was a treat and that was a Kung Fu show. Once again an awesome show which was packed with action. The story line was good and the actions performed were great. Can you do a back flip using your head instead of your hands to rotate on?
Then off to dinner – typical meal again. One thing should be noted is that with every dinner we have had something different. Next was a treat and that was a Kung Fu show. Once again an awesome show which was packed with action. The story line was good and the actions performed were great. Can you do a back flip using your head instead of your hands to rotate on?
The end of another day whew it is going quick!!!!!!
Day 7 Tue Oct 11
We arrive into Beijing and the station was huge and busy but not as busy as the previous night. Everyone was tired but pleased to get off. We gathered together and headed with luggage to the buses. Got half way up the elevator when it reversed and some of the group came all the way back down, while others walked the stairs and others waited for the next elevator to work. Finally reached the buses and quickly loaded up and headed to McDonalds for breakfast. Two new guides Amy and Oscar.
McDonalds breakfast was great and then back to the Ibis hotel for a little R&R. Was great to shower and freshen up before our afternoon excursion to a number of places.
Beijing was originally called Peking. Beijing meaning North capital. Peking’s name came from the interpretation of the accent by southern Chinese. We were given a lesson around the luckly number 9. We visited the Temple of Heaven.
The Temple of Heaven is a site of pray and celebration. A sight where 9 was significant. The site is 274 hectares. It was built as the biggest heaven worship site in the world. It was built in the 18th century. It was a place where the people and emperor would pray for bumper harvest and rain and other things. Sacrifice was a big thing – in the old days they would sacrifice animals -today they burn paper animals. It has a history of 580 years. Ancient beliefs like circular sky square earth supernatural heaven, low earth and blue heaven and yellow earth are all exquisitely and ingeniously reflected here.
The sie had a number of significant areas. Each area was square representing the earth and inside were circular mounds which represented heaven. The main building was the Great Hall for Sacrificial Rituals and fasting place. One site we went to had the Echo wall. You could stand against the wall and talk and it echoed so someone else on the other side could here you.
An interesting site. We only saw a small part of this before we had to move on and continue with our jam packed itinerary.
Onto lunch then onto the Yashow clothing markets –more shopping. A great place to buy. Barter, barter, barter. The group really enjoyed spending here. They all compared their bargains and the manner in which they bargained. Also the young ones learnt more and got great buys. Clothing and cases etc was the main emphasis at this place. Right next door was the label shops. No bargaining here. Visited the Apple shop. It was full. Many people lined up buying i-pads and i-phones. Costs for these items are the same as in NZ. Apparently taxes are extreme here with imported things hence the reason why the costs are the same. A great afternoon of shopping.
Back on the bus and onto a Kasachstan restaurant. The dancing show was very eastern and looked very Turkish upper India style. It was different but enjoyable. As we went into the elevators we experienced the Asian push in front it was not well received by us. Janet always told us to stick together like sticky rice. Well we have done a good job but a local pushed and shoved Janet and she verbally got stuck into him for pushing and he retaliated. One of our parents intervened and tidied the incident up. Meal was once again good. On the bus and back to hotel. Once again very tired and sleep was needed.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Day 6 Mon Oct 10 Afternoon
After we left the school we went back for lunch at the hotel so the students who played sport could shower. After lunch and a refreshing stop we were taken to the South Gate of the wall that surrounds the inner city of Xian. The wall with a moat kept the marauding invaders out during the ancient times. The wall was 14km long and each side had a gate for entry. We started at the South Gate. As we walked up to the top of the Gate it was still very smoggy. We could not see the end of the wall in either direction. We had free time and spent two hours looking around. Some of us decided to walk the wall. In the time we might just make it. Unfortunately we didn’t and had to turn around. Many of the others hired bicycles and rode the wall. They had a great experience making it around in no time. Some of the bikes broke down and a few had greasy hands fixing them. A lot of fun was had by all and just what we needed to unwind after all the travelling. We were also getting prepared for the train trip to Beijing.
We had a great time climbing over the wall of Xian and were treated to a show at the South gate before we left. We headed for dinner then went to the train station.
At this time the weather had packed in and it was drizzling-enough to get wet. Unfortunately we had a 150m walk from where the train dropped us off to the train station. We never anticipated the busy time at the train station and the wet weather. We trawled our way to the station. This spread the 66 over a bit of a distance and this was amongst the locals and others trying to get to the train station. It was bedlam! We all made it then had to go through security. All the bags were wet and went through the machines. We congregated around the entry to the train lounge and we managed to get through into an already packed lounge. Sardines in a can – smelt the same. We didn’t have to wait long before we were allowed to go to the platform and board the train. We were split into two groups. One went to carriage 1. This was filled with our group. The rest went to carriage 5 & 6. We boarded our sleepers. Each soft sleeper contained 4 beds. It was cramp but comfortable. Everyone settled in and enjoyed the ride to Beijing. The carriages between 1 and 5 were triple sleepers where six beds were in each cabin. The locals used these. The toilet facilities were OK but by the end of the trip were not very clean.
The various cabins socialised through the trip and many slept most of the way. It was a different mode of transport and an enjoyable experience. Some were pretty tired when we reached Beijing but the soldiered on.
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