China or Bust
Beijing, Shanghai, Yangtze River and Xian
April, 2013
Midnight Check-in at LAX
Maggie and Elsa
10 Minutes to Go, after an All Night 12 hour Flight
Our Arrival at 5:00 AM
The First of many High-Rise Apartment Buildings
Catching the Train to Airport Baggage Claim
The Weary Travelers gather their luggage in Beijing
Heading toward the city
Dreaming of Breakfast
Dazed Travelers Emerge from Breakfast, Survive First Meal
Now, on to Touring for the rest of the Day
It's not a Car, It's a Motorcycle with a Body
Checking Out her New Ride
Close the Door, and I'm Outa Here
Entrance to Beijing Olympic Park
Our Honorable Leader in Beijing
The "Bird's Nest" Stadium
Rub the Shiny Paw for Good Luck
Palace of Verano
Cherry Blossom Time
Entrance to Long Corridor
Chinese liked to have photo with Blondina
The first of many pictures
Dragon Boat
Boarding Dragon Boat
Will you ever figure it out?
Maggie's Room Mate
Even Chinese People are taller than Elsita
You Can't Go to China and Not See:
The Jade Factory
Left: Jade Eagle. Right: Elsita
This Jade Boat is For Sale
If you Have to Ask the Price, You Can't Afford It
You can shine Light through this Jade Bowl
Acres of Jade
Honorable Guide tells us who is buried in the Ming Tombs
Accidental Tourists visit the main Ming Tomb
Buddha is Offering Cash to the Masses
Just Scoop some Up
Spring is in the Air
Lest Lightning Strike thy Smartphone
One of the Thirteen Ming Tombs
The Main Sacred Way
Of Course you need a Ticket
The Construction Loan is 1000 Years Delinquent
This is the first of many Steps
Princess Elsa Visits The Great Wall of China
Now We can Go Home
From the Start at Station 7
You can see Stations 8 , 9 and 10
On the way to Station 8
Station 8, ahead, with 9, following, and 10 at the top of the Hill
You Have Been Warned
The High Point of My Trip, Station 9
It's all Downhill from Here
The Wall is more than 2000 miles long
There are more than 10,000 watchtowers and beacon towers along the Great Wall
On the Road back to Beijing
Tiananmen Square
with a million of our close friends
Mao overlooks The Tiananmen, or Gate of Heavenly Peace
The Forbidden City is also known as the Forbidden Palace
The inner courtyards are endless
There are 980 buildings in the Palace
It's a 3 Km walk inside the Palace
The higher your status, the more Gargoyles you have on your Temple
Leaving the Forbidden City at the Shenwumen Gate
Here you can get Homely Style Food
Buddha Welcomes you to Lunch
Typical Lunch Service
You can always Buy Something after Lunch
The Medicinal Slices in these drawers will cure anything
It's either the Liver or the Pancreas or the Spleen
They're all in there, duking it out
Who would like a free diagnosis ?
Really, Doc, Is it that Bad?
No, $300.00 of our Medicinal Slices will fix her up, good as new.
Preparing Peking Duck in Peking
Cheating at Cards, outside the Temple of Heaven
Twenty Yuan gets you into the Temple of Heaven
A little Slice of Heaven
Last shot of Beijing, the Tiananmen at Night
Arriving Shanghai, construction is endless
Well, almost endless
The Grump and Elsita board the Golf Cart to TongLi
Entering Tongli, a 1000 year old Village
The Grand Metro Park Hotel, Suzhou
Pretty Comfy
Nice digs
So modern, we couldn't figure out the phone
Western Guests get a Western Toilet
Public Places have one of these.
Tea Ceremony in the Hotel Lobby
Even Sunny days aren't Sunny in China
Karen, our new guide in Shanghai
Going for a boat ride
Boat Ride, Suzhou
Boat Ride, Suzhou
Boat Ride, Suzhou
Boat Ride, Suzhou
You Can't Go to China and Not See:
The Silk Factory
Silk Worms, Slaving Away in the Silk Factory
Out with the Bad Cocoons
On with the Good Cocoons
Cocoons floating in water, ready to be unwound
The silk strands are woven into a fabric
The fabric is stretched to make silk comforters
The Lingering Gardens
Arranging Rocks is a Big Deal
We Omnivorously Obliged
Taking Wife for a Shopping Trip
Prayer Candles ouside Buddhist Temple
Into Every Life, a little Rain Must Fall
View from our Hotel Room
Rain or Shine, the Shopping Must Go On
The Great Mall of China
Huge Garden inside the Mall
Dragons bring Good Luck to All Who Enter Here
Entrance to the Art Museum
Inner Courtyard, Art Museum
Patrons of the Arts
Flying Dragon
You Can't Go to China and Not See:
The Carpet Factory
An Intricate Design, taking Months to Complete
Those Damn Tourists...
Now I've Lost the Count
This Silk Carpet can be yours for US $10,000
The Facts Finally Come Out
All those years you thought it was a Mongolian BBQ
It was really a Monogolian BBQ
Shanghai at Night
Mercedes Dealer, Shanghai
The Bund at Night
Shanghai at Night
Shanghai at Night
Shanghai at Night
OK, Boys and Girls
This is what we call a traffic jam...
And now we can read the reason why traffic is slow
Here's the real reason traffic is slow...
Too many people live here
Approaching the Shanghai Bund
The word "bund" means "embankment"
The towers are across the river
The Accidental Tourists in Shanghai
Our Newport Beach Neighbors
Fred and Claudene
We don't know any of these people
On a clear day, you can see
across the river
Some parts of Shanghai are very Modern
Some are Not
You Can't Go to China and Not See:
The Pearl Factory
Stealing Pearl from an Oyster
On the Road, Again, to the Airport
Are we in America or China?
Departing Shanghai Airport for the Yangtze River Cruise
Our Ship for the Yangtze River Cruise
Assemble in the Dining Room for Room Keys at Midnight
An Early Morning Departure on the Yangtze River
Another Sunny Day in China
A typical River Cruise Ship
Fresh Fish
Elsa admiring the Locks at the Three Gorges Dam
Escalator to the Dam and Locks Viewing Area
Which One Should I Adopt?
Observation Area, Three Gorges Dam
Aerial View of the 5 Locks in each Direction
Upper Locks at the Three Gorges Dam
Five Locks stretch over 6.4 Km
Lower Locks at the Three Gorges Dam
The Water Level Difference is 133 Meters
A Model of the Dam, left, and the Locks, right
Our ship is on the outside.
One walks through the inside ship to get to shore
Welcome to the Captain's Party
Where a Good Time was had by All
Evening Entertainment on Ship
Couple from Laguna Beach
Waiting for Our Turn to go Upstream through the Locks
Entering the First Lock
After We're In, the Door on the Left Closes behind Us
And the water level is raised about 25 meters
Inside the Lock
The Accidental Tourists at Work
Another Ship, Waiting Behind US
The Lock is Full and the Doors are Closing
The Boats ahead are both close to the wall
And so are we
Up Early in the Morning
The Happy Crew
Docking the next morning
Our Neighbors, Diane and Maggie
Never a shortage of Construction
A side trip on a smaller boat
The boat had two engines like this
With a neatly organized set of spares
End of the line for motoring
Now we need even smaller boats
Up a Lazy River
Can I Steer for a While?
Boat Races
Bridge to Somewhere
Hanging Coffins, wedged into cracks in the rocks
Back on the Yangtze River
Another Sunny Day
Inspiration for the 10 Yuan Note
The 10 Yuan Note
Now 400 miles upstream, the river is getting more shallow
Ready to do battle at another shopping mall
Would you like a pig's nose for dinner?
Where we are walking up to next...
Now far above the river
Temples in the Sky
If you rub the bowl properly, the water will be thrown out
The temple at the top
Elsa sat this one out
Back at the ship
Time for a shine, 5 Yuan or 75 Cents
Another sunny day...
Maybe 200 pounds?
Porters taking luggage off the ship in the rain
Where's the Beef ?
Under the Pickle !
On the Flight to Xian...
Welcome to Xian... and more construction
On the City Wall, Xian
Temple, Xian
"Dear Buddha, I Need more Shoes"
"Dear Elsa, Your Wish Has Been Granted"
Morning Traffic, Xian
You Can't Go to China and Not See:
The Terra Cotta Warriors Factory
The Terra Cotta Factory
The Terra Cotta Factory
A Warrior for a Minute
Entrance to Terra Cotta Warrior Museum
The Main Museum Building covering Pit 1
Acres of Warriors
Acres of Warriors
These wariiors have been reconstructed
An American Warrior visits the Chinese Warriors
Partially reassembled warriors
Last Evening Dinner Show
Last Evening Dinner Show
Last Evening Dinner Show
Heading for the Airport ... and home
Changing Planes in Beijing
Almost Home
17 Minutes to Go
Over Malibu
The 405 Freeway never looked so good
Los Angeles International Airport, at last