Day 2 - Temple of Heaven and the Forbidden City

At 8am we were to meet our guide at a hotel lobby for our next tour.   Unfortunately there was a mix up and he arrived 20 mins late.  Tommy was 27 and very enthusiastic and he was our private guide for this tour.  He took us on the subway which was very clean and easy to use.  All bags are scanned before entering the station.  All tickets regardless of destination cost 2 yuan (60c) and are small plastic cards.  When you leave the station they are collected and recycled.  The subway is very crowded in peak hour but easy to use.

Around the Temple of Heaven is a large public space (size of Jamison Park) with hundreds of older locals inside.  Everywhere you look there are groups of 20 - 30 people participating in activities such as Tai Chai, dancing, singing, martial arts all being led by a assigned instructor.  Later on we saw rock and roll dancing and sword martial arts.  Most amazingly of all was when we came to a large playground with gym equipment but no children.  Instead there were hundreds of older people laughing and exercising together.  It was like a scene from Cocoon!!  These older people were very agile and strong but more importantly were enjoying the company of their peers.  During our stay we saw lots of these parks which have been set up for the older residents to use to keep their body and minds active.  Retirement ages are set quite low and as most people live in apartment this is we're they go everyday. I forgot to mention that it was below freezing but weather does not bother them.  I challenged Jene to match the fitness of some of the older women but she was too intimidated.

We the wet into the inner park in which the Temple of Heaven is located along with the Wall of Echos and Circular Mound.  All would take too long to describe so when we discuss Touristy stuff we will allow the pictures talk for themselves.

When we finished this part of the tour it was so cold I bought a daggy beanie just to keep my ears warm. We the then caught a taxi to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City.  The traffic was bedlam as the Chinese Congress was holding their annual get together bringing over 3000 reps from all over China to determine this years policies.  This meant the Army and Police were everywhere and people were being stopped for random security checks.  It also meant we were not able to enter the Square or Chairman Mao's mausoleum.

When we entered through the front gate with Chairman Mao's picture over it you then have to proceed through a couple of large courtyards and gates before coming to the huge walls of the Forbidden City. To stand before it was amazing as I have read so much about it and seen pictures but never thought I would be there myself.  Once again I will allow the pictures to describe its size and majesty.  (Nerd Alert - the color blue signified heaven and only the Emporer could use the color yellow) 

When you come out the other side of the city you are faced with this large hill that has five pagodas on it.  The hill was man made for the Emporor and the pagoda on the top houses a large statue of Buddha for worshipping.  The hill is a steep climb of 300 meters which had Jene rolling her eyes but saw her bravely climb the stairs to the top.  It was worth it as the view of the Forbidden City was spectacular as I gained a better perspective of it 1sq km size.  It was also worth it as we were able to get a picture of Jene in her real guise as the "Dragon Lady".

After coming back down the hill Tommy walked us back through the local suburbs or Hu Tongs.  These are the older style areas of single story structures set back in alleys with small local shops.  Here we went to a small restaurant and had a more day to day meal of fried veggies, chicken with peanuts fried rice.  Finished walking back to hotel enjoying the sights of Beijing.  Temp rose to 3 when in the sunshine but still cold.

Once we got back to the hotel we both collapsed and didn't move till the next morning!!  have to build our energy up for tomorrow when we hit the Great Wall.

The journey begins

Fast Plane to China.

Our official holiday began at just before 5:00pm when our good friend Deirdre drove us to the Airport to catch our flight.  We queued for our ticket and surprisingly there were a lot of Chinese people catching the same flight.

The whole tone of our trip was set by Jene when we reached the ticket counter.  The Air China attendant was printing our tickets when Jen's voice became softer and I wasn't sure what she had said. It turns out she was asking how much it would cost to bring back another suitcase from England!!!  Not long after entering the departure lounge I found out why as she had bought three gifts and we weren't even on the plane.

While writing to board I realised that I had forgotten to record the pin number for Euro cash card. Two happy finishes to this story as Brendan found the pin details in the safe along with Jen's card.  All the Euros belong to me!!

We were pleasantly surprised with the great service provided by Air China throughout our 11 hour flight.  We had good tasty food, great service and a wide range of inflight entertainment which saw us through to our 5:50am arrival at Beijing Airport.  Visa checks were quick and then we took a five  minute journey on a shuttle train to collect our baggage and straight through customs.

Our guide Sherry was waiting for us with her driver and we arrived at our hotel around 7:00am.  We went to our room and Jene inflicted her revenge for me not bringing her Euro Cashcard by leaving the keys to my suitcase lock at home. After she finally finished laughing she went downstairs to see if the Conceirge could help.  She came back with a pair of pliers for me to try and break the lock.  After five minutes of futile effort I chose to break the zipper tag instead and got it open.  Let the holiday begin.

After showers and amazing buffet breakfast we took our lives in our hands lol and took a taxi to the silk markets. I have never seen so many cars, buses bikes and people in my life there's 20 000 000 people and 5 000 000 cars in Beijing alone. Firstly they drive on the other side of the road to us so we have to be careful that we look the other way - sounds so simple but it's not!!  We know there are road rules but we have no idea what they are. There are pedestrian crossings everywhere but that doesn't mean that the cars stop for you and even when the green walk sign is on the traffic still crosses, it's manic.

Then if that wasn't bad enough - enter the silk markets. It's a very flattering place to be as they call you beautiful and Scott is very handsome ( now I know that but to have others say it - well what can I say). They grab hold of you and you just don't make eye contact which is really hard when you want to look at their items but you just can't as they grab you as soon as you do.  It works out that I am much, much tougher than Scott, I know when it comes to shopping really really hard to believe. I would be just walking through saying no, no, no and turn around to talk to Scott and they have grabbed him!! 

Now I know it's hard to believe but after a very short period of time I couldn't handle the hassle of bargaining with them. Just give me the price and give me the lowest that you want and complete the deal but this going backwards and forwards and then going to walk away and being grabbed was tiring and i couldn't do too much of that, but they did have some good stuff.  Will see if we can harden up and head back there if we have time, otherwise sorry boys postcards will have to do!!

Then the journey back to the hotel was just as interesting, trying to dodge the hagglers and beggars outside, trying to find somewhere for lunch and trying to get a taxi all very interesting. Finally after getting in and out of cabs or them just refusing to take us we managed to get back to the hotel safe and sound.  Exhausted by this time had a nice nap and then off to our next adventure.

Juggling our Duck

At 4:30 we were meet by our Viator guide, Thomas who was looking after us tonight.  First off to the theatre to see an Acrobatic Show.  The place was full and we were sitting in amongst the local tourists and managing to communicate in very basic terms.  The acrobatic Company was a youth group and while not polished were very good.  They had jugglers, tumblers, swinging on silk drapes, strong men and such.  The locals were hard to impress with only scattered applause until some of the tumblers knocked over the hoops they were jumping through then the whole audience broke into loud laughter.

The highlight of the show was a motorcycle act where the go inside a small metal ball and ride around.  The tension kept building as first one, then two followed by a third rider entered the ball.  This was great but when a fourth rider went in the crowd went wild.  It was pretty impressive.  We came out after the show to -4 degrees so Jene bought some fluffy ear muffs to go with her beanie, scarf and jacket.  All rugged up she was a crowd favourite.

We then went to a local restaurant for dinner.  Some very nice crispy pork, beef and vegetables with fried rice.  After this the chef rings out Peking duck and slices it very finely at the table.  The waitress then showed us the traditional way to eat it by dipping it in the plum sauce, placing it on to the pancake (rice paper) adding cucumber and onion and wrapping it all up.  It was nice but duck is an acquired taste.  Back to the hotel for deserved sleep.  Not bad for our first day.

Still Counting - but getting very close now

So as i write this we have 2 days and 1 hour before we are heading to our first stop Beijing.  Last week was very hetic so i will attempt to update.

As Scott have previously written he turned 50 and said that it wasnt too bad for him - maybe thats because he had not 1, not 2 but 3 parties to celebrate and yes you guessed it i organised each of them!!  So the first one was at the Hubertas Club, which is a German club.  He shared this night with Laurence, as Loz also turned 50.  The meals were huge and very yummy and everone (apart from the clumsy table - yes you know who you are!!) had a great time.  Scott chose this place not for the huge meals but for the apple strudel that they serve for desert.  Kim and I got the birthday boys a gelato cake which was amazing.

Not only this but both of the birthday boys won meat trays - which our boys were very greatful as now they have something to eat while we are away!!

We then had his actual birthday dinner down at the river.  Again enjoying the night with family and friends, just glad it was last week and not this week with all this rain.  i made a chocolate birthday cake which Scott proceeded to squash the lid to the writting and icing - but it looked good before we took the lid off!!

And finally we then celbrated with the young adults down at institute where we had on the menu - fairy bread and chocolate crackles!!  so really glad that it is over.

I finished work on Friday night so its now full on with getting things ready for the holiday.  On top of this Matt received the long awaited news that he has been accepted into Brigham Young University in Hawaii.  He will be doing Youth Councelling, which he will be amazing at.  We are very proud of he and know that when he puts his mind to it he can achieve all he sets out to do.  The downside to this is on a selfish nature that i dont want him to go as it is for 3 years and 1/2 way around the world.  a very different perspective than him going on his mission.  Anyway he is very blessed to be accepted.

The next couple of days are going to full on and very exciting.  We are very lucky that we have been able to go and cant wait to see and meet all the family.  We read all the updates on Deb and Lav's blog and on face book and cant wait to get there to join all the fun.

We had our last family dinner tonight where all the boys kept shouting 'shot not' when we mentioned all the jobs they would have to do while we were gone!!  Scott is stressing but you know what they are all big enough to look after themselves and as long as they feed the animals all will be good.  they have circled the calendar 2 days before we come home to start cleaning!

Happy dawdling

Jene

We are now down to 2 days and 31 minutes - but who's counting!!

Declaration to the World - Turning 50 is not that painful!!!

I woke up this morning not sure how I would feel but can report that there do not appear to be any major changes.  Even after watching the rubbish sprouted by Julia and Kevin during the Leadership battle I refrained from slipping into "Grumpy Old Man" mode and just laughed it off.  I did not have to put glasses on to read, put a hearing aid in to improve my hearing, use a cane or wheelchair and while many of you may recommend the Grecian 2000 found that there was still enough hair to cover most of my head.  In fact the only side effect appears to be an increase in lame jokes about old age from those who are rapidly reaching the same milestone.

Jene was up early cracking many of the same one-liners but the joke is on her because  I wont be the one sleeping with a 50 year old tonight!!!

P.S Only 120 months to retirement

Scott

The countdown continues

So last week the washing machine hose decided to fly off the tap and drench everything in site including the electronic panel of the machine. Who needs to buy or repair a machine just before they go to Europe, that is my shopping money!! Thankfully it can be fixed at a cheaper cost than buying a new one. Scott introduced Brendan to the laundrette so he knows what to do for his mission lol. At least the clothes are clean and dry.

Today Scott picked up our passports, visas, itinerary and travel tickets. This means that we are nearly there. Can't believe it has come around so quickly. Scott is already on leave and I have 9 working days to go. And since I am such a caring sharing person I tell anyone who asks (not rubbing it I at all!!). Also the gladiator school is all booked for Scott and Jared. Yes there will be plenty of photos for you all to enjoy!!

On top of all this I have to keep reminding myself that it is also scottie to hotties birthday and to organise dinner for him - just a minor detail. Plus we have The opportunity to be part of a wonderful families special day, being part of one our beautiful YSA girls special days as she continues to prepare to go on her mission and be a part of Jaydens missionary farewell and then he is off to Poland for the next 2 years. Not busy at all but wouldnt have it any other way.

Just need to start shopping for the family treats and have to make sure that we have enough room in our cases for shopping in Beijing.

Anyway will keep you all up to date with our preparations.

Happy dawdling

Jene

Worldwide 50th Birthday Celebration Begins

As the Queen is travelling around Britain celebrating her 60th Anniversary in her role as  Monarch I too have commenced the worldwide celebration of my 50th year.  This week I flew down to Melbourne to spend time with Mum and Dad, my sister Michelle and the extended family.  Having been born in Melbourne it was appropriate to start the tour with those responsible for giving me life and providing the foundation for who I am today.

Spending time with my parents, who are now in their mid 70's, also helped me appreciate the importance of my 'road to retirement' plans.  While there Dad, I and my nephew Sharif replaced the gutters and downpipes on the front of the house.  We were supposed to be there as labourers under Dad's supervision but he spent more time up the ladder than we did.  This week he also took on short term employment as a school bus driver.  My Mum badly injured her foot when young and was told that she would be in a wheelchair by 20 is still getting around without aids and has just started a Uni course in Creative Writing and teaching genealogy.  It will be hard work to be as active in my retirement as they currently are so more work is needed on my plan.

Look forward to sharing time with all the Duffus Dawdle followers over the next couple of months as you celebrate knowing me during my special year.

Scott

Road to Retirement - Through the Gate

In addition to our travels I will be sharing with you my journey towards retirement that will occur in 121 months (or just over ten years).   I have determined that before I reach retirement there are things that I need to be involved in so that I am not hanging around the house annoying Jene or listening to talk back radio becoming grumpier than I already am.

Today I went to a Volunteers Information session at Taronga Zoo to find out how to get involved.  They are looking for people to commit one day a fortnight for a minimum of twelve months to act as guides and other customer service or you can apply to work with one of the animal units.  I was planning to start straight away but training will be held while we are away.  The next applications will be listed in August so I will apply then. 

I thought that I might be able to apply for a nine day fortnight at work so my day at the zoo  wouldn't clash with weekends but Jen said no.  I told her that if you are going to take retirement seriously then cutting work hours is an important part of the plan.  She still wasn't interested.  (I will keep working on it).

You might ask what Jen's plans for retirement are - she will tell you she has no intentions to retire while I am at home everyday.  Suits me as we need someone bringing the money in.