#divatravelblog Having an amazing adventure in China. This is a little synopsis of my trip so far A more detailed blog will be posted when I get home. We have been to Beijing were we went to Tinneman Square and then did the Beijing 5 k ( as Pam called it) and walked all the way them to the Forbidden City Palace. It was a hike! And hot!! But I loved the experience. the movie the last emperor was the only movie ever filmed here. Once we got to the Forbidden City Palace and artist sketched my picture on a plate. I loved it and a great keepsake to remember my adventure. Since there is no immigration here, people love staring at us, talking to us ,and taking pictures. All the tourists here are Asian! I could have already made I few hundred dollars is I charged $5 per picture. Lol. I also ventured to the The Wangfujing Snack Street, located in hutongs just west of the main street, is densely packed with restaurants and street food stalls. The food stalls serves a wide variety of common and exotic street food. More common fare such as Chuanr (meat kebabs, commonly made of lamb) and desserts, such as Tang hu lu or candied fruits on a stick, are among the most popular. But not for me. They has all kind of bugs and weird fish to eat crazy weird like snakes, lizards, star fish, crickets, silk worms but I ate a scorpion on a stick. Another YOLO moment. And it was yummy. Yes its on video so you will all see it:) The next day in Beijing we went to The Great Well. Another YOLO ( remember yolo means you only live once ) moment. How some of those steps are so unbelievably steep and no where to hold on to. The wall is over 4000 miles long but there are areas not connected and destroyed. Got some great pics here and Pam and I were lucky enough to get blessings at the temple there. We made a donation, got a bracelet and a red ribbon which we wrote our names on and hung it on a branch. What a great memory knowing that our names will be hanging on the tree with the sea of red ribbons forever at the Great Wall of China. Now, no trip to China would be complete unless you stop at a Jade place. Here are a few tips when buying jade. The greener the jade the better it is. Wear it on your left side as it close to your heart and good for your health. Real jade is dense and cloudy while fake jade is clear and light. So when you are in the market you know what you are getting. Our next city was Xian to see the terra cotta warriors. AMAZING! Out of 100% we were under 1% of the tourists there. The strange thing is nobody speaks English even in hotels. Their English is very bad. (Not like in Hong Kong). If you are planning a trip I highly advised an escorted trip. Do not come alone. You will have major challenges. Oh and as for the bathrooms very eastern style which means stand and squat. Only the handicap restrooms are western which is what we are used too. I found this very odd even at luxurious places ladies in fancy dresses hike it up and choose an eastern commode over western. #notforme I got to do tai chi in a park and dance with fans. Women (mostly older) gather in the am and pm for exercises like thousand socializing with dance. Right up my alley!!! They also have a Marriage corner here where the parents try to match make their kids. Loved this !!!!!! Next we were off to Chengdu the city of the Panda I really loved Chengdu My favorite city so far. The panda experience was a once in a lifetime. This is a must do when here and worth every penny. You make a donation of $350 get to experience feeding and hugging the Panda. I loved holding,hugging ,and kissing the panda. Her name was Sa and she was one year old. We got some amazing pics that I cant wait to share with you. After my adrenaline rush of Panda happiness I saw a black swan swimming in the lake. I was so excited to see this that in getting closer, I was not looking where I was going and I slipped and fell. It was raining a bit so the marble was wet. Im ok , just a bit bruised but the motto is pay attention to where you are walking ! The next day was a hike of a lifetime but I did it. You know my motto is YOLO( you only live once) so Im always ready to try something new. We got to see the leshan giant Buddha. The Leshan Giant Buddha (in Chinese: 乐山大佛; is a 71 meters( 233 ft) 24 stories high, tall stone statue, built during the Tang Dynasty. It is carved out of a cliff face that lies at the confluence of the Minjiang, Dadu and Qingyi rivers in the southern part of Sichuan province in China, near the city of Leshan. The stone sculpture faces Mount Emei, with the rivers flowing below his feet. It is the largest stone Buddha in the world and it is by far the tallest pre-modern statue in the world. The Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. Construction was started in 713, led by a Chinese monk named Haitong. He hoped that the Buddha would calm the turbulent waters that plagued the shipping vessels traveling down the river. When funding for the project was threatened, he is said to have gouged out his own eyes to show his piety and sincerity. After his death, however, the construction was stuck due to insufficient funding. About 70 years later, a jiedushi decided to sponsor the project and the construction was completed by Haitongs disciples in 803. You can see the people very tiny as compared to this enormous statue. Quite a site and I really loved it. Pics to come! Here is my travel blog from yesterday. I hope you enjoy it! Mt Emei ( pronounced um may). September 4 #divatravelblog. Here is a little history lesson first.....Rising 3,099 meters (10,167 ft.) above sea level about 170 kilometers (105 miles) from Chengdu, Mount Emei is the highest of Chinas four holy Buddhist mountains. The name Emei literally means delicate eyebrow. This name is derived from two of the mountains peaks, Wanfo (Ten Thousand Buddha) Summit and Golden Summit, which face each other and resemble the delicate eyebrows of a Chinese beauty. Situated in the southwest area of Sichuan Basin, Emei Mountain flourishes in its temperate climate. Abundant rainfall gives rise to luxuriant green all year round and provides a perfect environment for hundreds of species of rare animals and plants. From the foot of the mountain to its summit, the Peak of Ten Thousand Buddha, there is a trail totaling 37 miles in length. It is endowed with unique changeable weather and marvelous natural beauty. This is the location of the first Buddhist temple built in China in the 1st century and has seventy-six Buddhist monasteries of the Ming and Qing period, most of them located near the mountain top. We only saw 2 and one big beautiful golden Buddha. A great morning to go to Mt Emei. So this is how to went. We took our bus on a 15 minute drive to the shuttle bus, then got on with many other Asian tourists on a 2 hour curvy wild ride up the mountain. We encountered many road repairs with no warnings but our experienced driver knew how to maneuver I think all the shuttle buses race each other on who can make it up the mountain and back in shortest amount of time :). Then this was crazy : one bus on each side of the road and us going in between only to touch the outside mirrors. Unbelievable ! But it was done! ( see pic in album). Ok now we arrived only to embark on a 40 minute up hill walk on stairs ( about 700) Yes I did it but damn it was hard. Now the fun begins with a #divatakingcharge moment when we arrived at the cable cars gondola. Thanks to dear Margo and Dr Rudy who kept me calm in the 6 person gondola which moves ver so fast ,my anxiety was under control but my eyes were closed out of the time. I did open it and thought I was in heaven as we soared thru the clouds. The height is 3077 m. Upon getting off tears consumed my face as an anxiety release and a YOLO shout because I did it! Now more stairs up and finally a sighting of the big gold Buddha head. If you have altitude conditions this trek is not for you. Thank God I have been losing weight and working out that I was able to endure this adventure. There were men willing to carry you up the stairs for a nominal fee but I choose to walk. We also passed several vendors selling tea and medicinal mushrooms. Very interesting. When we got to the top I let my hair down from an up do. Well hello people..... instant celebrity statues. There was a line forming of people who wanted to take pics with me. I was having a great time and said sure why not. Its not cause I look famous but because Im Caucasian with red hair. They dont see to many people like me. As you know I love the paparazzi so YOLO. There were many people buying and burning incense to pay homage to Buddha so you will see some s one in my pics. The weather was beautiful. Sunny , yet cool about 62 degrees on top and it was about 85 degrees below when we arrived at the stairs. Our local tour guide Cherry told us that it is rarely sunny on the top of the mountain. One out of ten times the sun is out and the rest of the time it rainy,foggy,and cloudy. We were so lucky. I say its because at the last minute as I was getting on the 2 hour shuttle bus I bought a purple rain poncho, just in case. Well this must have brought us luck. Great skies and great pics. Thank you Buddha ! After a walk around the temple we had lunch where more paparazzi took our photo. Now back to the gondola ride but this time I actually looked and my anxiety was under check. Now the 700 stair walk down was worth it as we saw monkeys. Not just any monkeys but Chinese monkeys who love to get fed. ( see video and pics ). Met a lovely girl walking down the stairs visiting Mt Emei Buddha with her mom from Hong Kong named Tiffany. Her English was great and we chatted about out visit. Hong Kong is much more progressive then China. They all spark English and have no dome over Facebook.ha! (Now I know you are saying but Eva, Hong Kong is in China. You are right but it is its own little area. Do yourself a favor and google it to get he complete 411 on HK) To commemorate my visit I bought a golden hanging Buddha that will always remind me of this special place. Enjoy xo e Now we are on our way on a 3 day cruise down the Yangtze River and then we fly to Shanghai to finish off our adventure. Its been hard without Facebook for Business but I will post all when Im home. In the meantime my friend is posting my blog and a few pics. I dont know whats been going on with all of you but wish you well and we will catch up when I get home. Xoxoxo. EvaDiva
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 18:56:34 +0000
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