DAY 6 WEDNESDAY OCT 24th - Shanghai Tower

We took the subway #2 line to the center of the financial district.

 

DAY 5 TUESDAY OCT 23rd - Bullet Train to Shanghai

BULLET TRAIN -

 

ROYAL INTERNATIONAL HOTEL - We got to this hotel after riding on the subway and the taking a sort taxi ride. This was the original hotel Expedia had suggested. But though it had a beautiful lobby entrance and bathroom (per Angel & Joe). The surroundings were not up to par. We were about an hour and a half outside of the city by train. Which shut down service after 10:30pm. A cab ride back would cost us probably $20 buck US. We quickly mobilized to assist Jose in changing the reservation via Expedia. Pulling maps and getting on the internet, we finally were able to secure a hotel by the Bund in the heart of the city.

THE BUND RIVERSIDE HOTEL Wow now this is what we were used too. The Hotel had character and was so centrally located. We quickly checked in (Jose and Frankie) (Joe and Angel). There was a mixup in the reservation and the hotel had to upgrade us to the Executive suites on the 17th floor. The view when we got to the room made all the stress worth it. It was breath taking. We had 180 degree view of the entire city skyline. The view rivaled that of Chicago and New York.

After settling in, the fellas who were on the 10th floor, came up and we went to dinner at our very own exclusive dinning room on our floor. The room was adorned with beautiful wood furniture that you would find in any gentlemen's club associated with executive status. The food was delicious and hit the spot. After, we decided to take a walk to the river and check out the sights.

We exited the hotel and took a left down the street for about a minute walk. Holly cow !!! when we got to the river it was more breath taking then from our room. It was like nothing I have ever seen. All the lights adorning and outlining all the buildings and the boats. It was as if we were in Vega but near the water.

SHANGHAI AT NIGHT

 

 

DAY 4 MONDAY OCT 22nd - Great Wall

GREAT WALL OF CHINA - Wow where do I begin. We got up early and as usual had a big breakfast. I had bought a Panda hat on Saturday so yesterday we all had a great idea to buy hats for our trip to the great wall and form our own tour group. We were met in the Lobby by Jennifer and Liu Pei and got into the van all wearing our Panda hats. We began our 45min drive to the wall site.

We arrived at the Wall entrance in our new Panda gear and

headed up to the cable lift. We rode the cable car up to the

midpoint at tower 14.

As we got to the top of the hillside. We stood taking pictures,

what spectacular views. As I was taking a picture of Joe, a

female voice asked if she could take a picture we me in my

panda hat. When I looked up there were 4 girls wearing baby

panda hats. We got all excited, so I yelled out to my fellow

panda boys and we all took this picture. To think somebody else had the same idea was so cool.

The wall consists of 23 towers running west to east in the

Northern part of the country side (see above map). History

note the wall was constructed in the North to keep out the

neighboring Mongolians from invading China. Now each

tower, back in the day, held a garrison of 2 or more

warriors who would protect that portion of the wall. They

would live in the tower for a certain amount of days, then

rotated. Using fire at night and smoke during the day.

They would signal other towers of impending threats.


 

We proceeded to head up to the wall and begin our journey west up to the highest point. On the way taking many photos.

As we contemplated walking the journey up to the top of tower 23, Mr. Mighty "Joe" Young was totally gun hoe to do it. I guess doing the treadmill everyday prior to the trip had him feeling mighty youthful and strong. That or he discovered another side effect for the blue pill.

After the most intemse climb to the top, we all worked ourselves back down via the cable cars to the vendor market. We did some shopping with the local vendors haggling our prices down as we saw fit.

On our way there we stopped by the Cloisine Factory. Here we watched and shown how they were fabricated by hand. Each design shaped and made by thin copper filaments onto the cloisine. After the design is completed, a colored resin is added and fired in an oven to melt in. This step is repeated several times to ensure the colored resin is evenly filled in. The final step is to polish the piece.

PANDA HOUSE - Being inspired by the Panda, we left to go to visit our bretheran at the zoo. We spoted for some delicious popcorn. There were 7 Pandas at the zoo in total. They are magistic creatures, who live a sollitary life untill mating. We became an overnight success as we were being stopped frequently to pose for a picture. We went to see this hugh snub nosed monkey encased in a glass habittat. We were asked by a couple from Australia if we could pose for a panda picture.

As we turned around and were about too take the shot the a big monkey came clear across the habitat and lunged at the glass in anger startling us all. I guess he got pissed off that the panda crew was stealing his attention, So we tried to near at him to get him to do it again but he walked over to another glass enclosure. By this we had a whole crowd of people surrounding us. Jose went up to the glass again to catch the monkey's attention. I came up behind Jose and started to snear again at the monkey. When sure enough he lunged again at Jose. From there we made our way back out to the exit being stopped several more times for pictures. We were a local sensation, wheres YouTube when you need them.

FIRST FLOOR BAR - That evening being out last one in Beijing. We decided to clean up and head out to check out another bar area called Shiolin. We got off the cab and walked about. The bars were very low keyed for a Monday night. But we were feeling the need for a local beer. We went into one spot where there was a band singing in Chinese. We had a beer and sat for the entertainment. It got boring quiickly as vibe was not there. We exited again and walked about some more. I tell you the Chinese are not without capitalist influence. There were many high end stores all about, from Tiffany's to Dulce to Bertulli's. We got to this another bar cause we heard the music pumping. But after being asked to pay to sit at a table we exited stage left. Finally we ended up across the street at a place called "1st Floor". Here the vibe was better, music was nice more like R&B. We rolled up to the bar and our first of many beers. Meeting people from all over. At various times we had to go outside for some air cause the Chinese love to smoke and there is no restrictions. So while Joe and I were out side. A guy rolled up to Joe and asked him if he wanted some weed. Joe's face was priceless. I was cracking up. Then Angel came out for some air and left Mr. social bunny inside talking to a nce couple from Holland. Note we are standing at the entrance to the outside portion of the bar. Angel had me cracking up as he started Welcoming everyone passing by inviting them into the bar. At one point I told him to start asking for some ID like we did once in NY. We made the night with peoples reactions. Angel then went back inside for a beer refill. Joe and I stood outside as I could see that the smoke was irritating Joe. One group of about 8 Chinese youths came up to me and asked how was te vibe inside. Was it better than that of the place around the corner call '2nd Floor'. I told him yes it was good and that we had some tables in the back area. Not quite convinced they walked around the corner to the 2nd Floor bar About 15min later they came back. He asked I can get them a table I told them no cause the last table I had reserved for them was taken. They walked away and Joe looked at me in total amazement then began to laugh.

As the night went on I knew Joe was trying to hang and he was but the smoke was really getting to him. So I told Angel and Jose that Joe and I were going to head back. Joe and I walked back up to the Main Street to hale a cab. We must have been there for about a half hour. The cab drivers were trying to hustle us. We paid 30yuen for all 4 of us to get there from the hotel. Now they wanted 100yuen to go back. Some didnt even recognize the name of the hotel. Joe and I literally had to walk to the nearest hotel to ask the concierge if they could write down our hotel name in Chinese. We went back out and still had no luck. I said to Joe lets go back and pull our troops out. I felt like Obmana LOL. I didn't want them to have the same experience especially when we had an early rise with checking out and traveling to Shanghai. We to back to the bar and the fellas were shocked as we told them the situation. So we decided to call it a night and tr to collectively get our butts back to the hotel. While walking to the Main Street we came across a few cab drivers who again were trying to hustle us. Now the new hustle was that they couldn't take us 4 in one cab and had to split and take 2 @ 100yuen each. But again God is good when a Good Samaritan, who was walking buy with some friends. Saw we were having a communication gap with the drivers and she reversed the hustle. She was a german student studing here. She was able to convince te driver to take us 4 for 100yuen. We were grateful and piled into the cab. The driver took off down the narrow streets toward the Main Street. When a truck decide to come down the same street we were on. Sidebar: the chinese drivers here are "C-R-A-Z-Y" aggressive drivers (they make Jose and Andy together look like novices, Brigiette shhe would have had to seek theraphy for life) but yet always seem so quite and docile. So now we are trying to squeeze are way passed this truck. When we heard the truck driver say something to our cabby. Our cabby responded with a loud "Fuk You", Yu Moter Fuker. We were all taken back and the inner hood came out. So we all yelled our own version back at the driver. Afterwhich got through and were histerically laughing in the car. So much so that it gave Jose the urge to pee. By this time we were getting close to our hotel. Jose's urge got stronger and he started to sweat asking the driver to pull over. We were nearing the forbiden city area and Jose was pleading to stop cause he had to go. All you heard was "I gotta pee I gotta pee" We were convincing him that we couldnt stop in front of the Chinese most sacred city surrounded by police for him to pee. He didnt give a shit. Finally we found a spot and he ran into the bushes to relieve himself. We cracked up when got back in.

We called it a night

 

DAY 3 SUNDAY OCT 21st - Sightseeing

After yet another hearty buffet breakfast, we met Jennifer our replacement tour guide, by the lobby. I failed to mention that Alex;s grandmother became ill and she was forced to have to go to the hospital. Being the professionals that they are, she quickly mobilized Jennifer to replace her. She was very sweet, funny and we got along fine as we welcomed her into the crazy group.

SUMMER PALACE -This is a beautiful area where the Emperor and Empress would come and stay during the months of May thru October each year. He would handle affairs of the country from here.The lake was man. The excavated soil was removed to form the hill. One of the Emperor's mother-in-law had such a devotion to the Buddha that he had this temple built at the top of the hill. On our walk toward the temple, we came across this corridor, which is the longest contiguous in China (728 meters, 253 sections, over 1400 uniquely drawn pictures). Our hike up the steps took us to the top, which held a magnificent view of the lake. Sidebar: if you noticed many of the tour groups to distinguish themselves from our groups always had a flag holder and uniform vests or hats for each member in their group.

This boat was fashioned completely out of marble. It's stationary position serves as reminder for stability in the nation.

Upon exiting the Summer Palace we were confronted by some local street vendors. Joe in his quest to be the next spokesman for the international hair club found this hat comforting.

OLYMPIC VENUE - 2008 summer games. The weather quickly deteriorated as the rain became more prominent. We walked into the square, It was huge to say the least. To be actually be standing at the sight where the 2008 summer games were played was overwhelming. Walking by each pavilion, one would get a sense of how many people attended and were involved in this venue. You could almost imagine the roars and cheers of the participant. We couldn't stay long due to the rain. So we decided to go have lunch at a local resturant a food court underground from the venue area. The Soup was 'banging' (noddles, beef, potato, and a kick of some kinda of spice)

PEARL MARKET - Since the day was already shot. We decided to go indoors and do some shopping at this market. We got some great deals as the Chinese vendors love to bargain. (ok here comes one of my moments) While shopping, I quickly got the urge to go to the bathroom. Must have been something in the soup. Now the Chinese restrooms are not like ours,. They don't have toilet bowls. what they have are stalls with holes in the ground. To do your thing you have to squat over the hole. For those who know me my fat ass don't squat. Knowing this I am becoming increasingly panic stricken since we had just arrived. I tried to psych myself out hoping I can delay the inevitable and wait to get back to the hotel room. "NOT" the rumbling in my stomach became more intense. It was do or die here. So I went for it and headed to the restroom. Upon entering I scanned every stall hoping for a miracle. Sure enough I was touched by an Angel. The last remaining stall was like a utility supply room with a slop sink and wait for it "a toilet bowl". I felt like the squirrel in the animated movie Ice Age who saw the nut. I was like yeah baby !!! But my excitement was halted prematurely as in glancing around there was no TP (toilet paper). "UGGH". I went back thru each stall no TP. I check under the sink no TP. I was back to defcon 3. The pressure was mounting, I couldn't wait so I got onto the bowl and did my duty. All the while trying to figure out what to do next. When I hear "hey buddy are you ok" it was Jose who knowing first hand from our japan trip last year how the restrooms were. He had come to check up on me. I told him my situation and like a best man at a wedding went into trooper mode. He went out scouring the market restaurants for some paper. Jose came back and told me he had no luck but would continue. I felt like Elaine from the Sinefeld sitcom episode, where she couldn't get a anyone to "spare a square". As i sat there anticipating Jose's triumphed return, all that came to mind is "wow I'm not going to hear the end of this one" with the fellas. Meanwhile, Jose went all over alerting Angel & Joe, he even asked our tour guide if she could check the women's restroom. nothing. He finally ended up buying a roll and bringing it down to me. I was so relieved that my ordeal was over. Now I had to gear up for being the brunt o the joke for the remainder of the night.

Luckily, we returned back to the hotel and because of the crapy weather and long day. Called it an early night.

 

DAY 2 SATURDAY OCT 20th - Sightseeing

Rise and shine folks it is now 8:00am Saturday morning (7pm for you in Chi-town and 8pm for you in NY Friday evening) we are having buffet breakfast in the hotel. Nice spread of mixed oriental and western choices. We each eat a hungry mans portions as we had no clue on what the day awaited us. After breakfast we head out to the lobby to meet up with Alex and Lui Pei.

First stop, here we are at the Huohai Lake near Hutongs. Here we walked along a small lake which around its perimeter had many local bars. It's said that the youth come here to enjoy the nightlife. While walking through the path around the lake you could see small boats that would ferry tourist around the lake.

 

We came upon this vendor selling scorpions on a stick.

Jose had been anxious since leaving Chicago to sample one of these Chinese delicacies. Amongst other delicacies which included seahorse and cows intestines. Here we see the trio downing their first taste of scorpion. Crunchy huh, but does it taste like chicken? I think not. Actually it tasted a bit salty and all said they seemed to like it and would taste it again. (Just in case you are wondering OH HELL NO I didn't try that shit).

 

Here we are entering the DrumTower. We climbed up these steep 65+ vertical steps all the way to the top. At the top we found a room filled with large drums. These drums would be struck each day to open and close the various gates that lead into the inner city. 1st in the morning to alert the locals from outside the inner city that they should report to work. 2nd in the evening to alert them that they should leave to return back home after work. If anyone was caught not getting to the gate in time to return home, they would be trapped inside and have to find refuge somewhere till morning.

Our next stop was a visit to a local Hutong family for lunch. We went to climb aboard some rickshaws, which are a very common mode of bicycle transportation here in China. As we approached, we knew that we would need to pair off for the ride. So Angel and I walked up to the first driver to see what he would say when he found out he would have to try an peddle us to the Hutong. His eyes widened as to say "oh shit how am i gonna pull these two large guys". We fell into tears with his expression it was priceless. All his fello rickshaw drivers all busted out into laughter. Jose then went with Angel as Joe went with me. On the way we passed through the local streets and narrow alleyways taking in the sights of how these local minoirty class people lived in this neighborhood. Most of the living space was 1 or 2 levels high.. Most of the local shop owners were cleaning thier establishments. The shops all varied in size but none were more than 12x20 square feet. Bikes were left on the road side by the dozens.

 

 

When we arrived at the residence, we were met by Cindy who was another tour guide friend of Alexandra. She had two other guests whom she was touring around'. They would be joining us for lunch inside. Of course being the social diplomatic attaches to the US. Jose quickly invited them over to take a picture with our group. We all walked through this small narrow doorway and through these narrow passageways lined with bikes and personal items. We got to a small courtyard then through a beaded door way to a dinning room area. The table was set up to receive visitors for lunch. This particular family of three mother, father and son, signs up to be a host family whereby they cook lunch for many visitors a day. The tour guide company randomly preselects these families to prepare these meals and gives them compensation. We all sat down and introduced ourselves. The two ladies who sat with us were joining us from Australia, Nerida and her daugther Rebecca. Both just arriving from Hong Kong they shared with us some of their experiences here in Bejing. Cindy got down to the heart of the lunch and gave us all beer. The local beer shown in the picture is very light and tasty. Best beer we have had in a long time. Shortly the food came outand we were treated to a local meal of rice, noodles, vegetables, beef, chicken and steamed dumplngs. Oh and not to mention "bugels". We ate like being mindful that we had pigged out earlier at the hotel's buffet breakfast. We ate, laughed and enjoyed each others company trading off stories of why we chose China for our travels. After a great meal, we raced back to meet up with our driver Lui Pei to take us too our next destination.

TIANANMEN SQUARE

After 40 or so minutes we arrived at the historic Tie amen Square. One of the world's largest public gathering spaces of 105 acres. We exited the van and were about to cross what seemed to be a large highway. The avenue was 10 lanes wide, 5 going and 5 coming. As we approached the crosswalk, we were commenting how the Chineese have no regard for traffic laws. When suddenly we looked over to the right and saw three people 1 man and 2 women standing what seemed to be in the middle of the intersection just talking. Jose made a comment as to "wow look at those people how crazy they are just standing there in the intersection". When suddenly you couldnt hasve filmed this any better, an accordian bus came barreling at them and screached to a halt less than a foot away from them. We all thought they were gonners and were about to reduce the population 1.3 billion by three. The most amazing thing about the whole experience was that niether of the family members even flinched or made an attempted to get out of the way. In fact the woman turned and looked at the bus drivers as if he was in the wrong. "UNBELIEVABLE" we were to this day traumatized by that event. The massive and exquisite floral designs are all part of the celebration that was October 10th, their national holiday. (like our 4th of July).

The guards are spread out throughout the grounds and rotate their positions every 4 hours in a cremonial march. Jose comes up on this guard and was about to escort him on his march to his next post.

The flag to is lowered and raised twice a day in yet another ceremonial tradition. The symbols of the flag represent the following. The main star represents the Communist Party of China , while the 4 others represent the different classes, Farmer, Worker, petty bourgeoisie, national capitalist class.. The red represents the blood of the Chinese heroes who gave their lives to protect the country.

Here we are just across the avenue from the entrance to the Imperial City. We stop for a quick photo shoot.


The Imperial City was where all of the high ranking military and dignitaries lived. Today the perimeter guards shown above live and train within.

 

 

FORBIDDEN CITY The number "9" represented a very powerful number to the Emperor. Same pronunciation as"forever" meaning stability. Seen in the picture of the front gate. There are 9 rows with 9 brass studs across each row. It is said that the higher one reaches the more wealth and good fortune will be bestow upon them. The city was a labrynth of corridors and high walls all meant to ensure the Emperors safety.

Within the inner sanctum of the Emperor no man would be allwe to enteror he had many concubines. The only males allowed within and around the Emperor were his eunic servants. A eunic would have his private parts removed to ensure loyalty chastity of his concubines. A concubine were females choosen to appear before the Emperor for his selection to become his mistress. They would be bathe, wrapped in white chards to conceal nothing but their face. Then each would be placed by a windowed room, whereby the Emperor walked in front. He would make a selection of his choice by leaving a flower on the ledge of the winow. It is told that in one rare occassion a concubine once tried to strangle an Emperor but failed. She was later punished by having her skin sliced off her body piece by piece until she died.

IMPERIAL GARDEN As we stepped into the garden you could see various types of trees dating back 100, 300 and even 500 years.This garden was primarily used by the Emperor, the Empress and their heirs as a relaxation area. The concubines would preform various acts of entertainment for the Emperor and his family.

SILK FACTORY We took a trip to one of China's well known export a factory where they produce various silk products. The tour guide gave us some insight on the life cycle of the silk worm. Here you see the cocoon spun by the worm. Each cocoon once unraveled can measure up to 1 mile long.

BEIJING CHANYANG ACROBATIC SHOW. This was our last stop for the evening. It was spectacular show. The most memerable e the ladies who juggled and balanced umbrelas with their feet only. Another were guys on neon lit motorcycles who entered a steel caged ball and drove around in circles within. Dodging each other with every pass. Now I have seen this act before on "Americas Got Talent"one with 3 bikes. But with every applause another cycle would come onto the stage and enter the dome. Angel and I kept saying to each other "No way not another bike". After the 5th bike made its entrance, Angel and I turned to each other "can they go for 6", when 3 more bikes came out. Topping the total at 8 bikes. "Oh hell no" we bolstered at the same time. Sure enough each went in and they performed concentric circles of 5 and 3 spinning around.

Upon returning back to the hotel we had very little energy left but had not venture out to explore the surroundings. We took a quick walk up the avenue to where we saw llights and activity,. Many locals were still out shopping and eating. We came across an intersection where on each corner people were line dancing. We thought they were battling each other. After a good 45 mnute walk, we returned back to te Hotel to crash and get ready for the next day.

 

DAY 1 THURSDAY OCT 18th - Travel Day

And so it begins. I find my self breaking night in anticipation of meeting up with Joe and heading out to the airport for our first flight out to Chicago. It's somewhat of a tradition to break night in order to prepare myself for the second leg of our 15 hour flight to China. You might be wondering why, well my logic though disturbed is to keep awake long enough to the point of exhaustion, thus allowing me to sleep most of the long flight.

We get to the airport @4:30am and boarded AA Flight 303 @6:30am to Chi-town. Flight was smooth as silk, we both took a moment to catnap before arriving. (Read sidebar) Judy picked us up and took us home to chill, while we wait ed for Jose to come out of work @ noon. From there we headed out to have lunch together with the family, Judy, Julianne and Virginia before going out to the airport.

 

The crew minus one gets their drink on at Pepes Mexican spot. Jose and I have our doubts on Joe, will we have to carry him after he drinks this bucket. We went back to the house and caught him struggling to keep awake with no night night nap. He looked like a bobble head. Jose creeped up on him to take his picture but couldn't get the evidence.

We are now getting ready to head out to the airport to check in with Angel and board the Plane to the Orient.

We regroup with Angel and headed to the gate where we awaited are standby fate. We boarded FL AA187 to Beijing however The fate of Percious the winged horse was not with us as we got bumped down to the main cabin. The over all feeling by the group was that the flight (though long at 12.5 hours) turned out to not be so bad. The seats were a bit tight for myself and Angel but we made the best of it. On the 777 or Triple 7 as they are know in the industry the width of the plane gives the illusion of more space, since it has two aisles. Angel sat with Joe and I of course sat with my buddy Jose. We got feed twice during our flight, Beef with vegetables and dessert after take off. Then we had pizza with salad and dessert just shy of 2 hours before arrival.

Now we finally head down for our descent. I went to shut off my personal TV screen in front of me. A few seconds later it had turn on again. So I reached forward and turned it off again This went on several times only to find out that Jose was turning it off and on at the console on the armrest. Bum got me good.

Arrival at airport after passing through customs. It is now 9:30pm Friday night. Here is a brain twister; Joe and I went from leaving Thursday morning 6:30am NY time (2 hour flight) arriving at Chicago 7:30am effectively loosing 1hour due to time change. Waiting 11.5 hrs to Then board plane heading out the China at 7:pm Chicago time. To then go 12.5 more hours on the plane heading forward in time effectively advancing through Friday and arriving at 9:30pm at night. So while you guys reading this blog were just starting your Friday morning, we were getting ready to end our Friday day.

We meet up with our tour guides Lui Pei and Alex who we hired to pick us up at the airport and then take us to various sights for the next 3 days in Beijing. Here we are in the van traveling yet another hour to the hotel

We get to the hotel The Grand Mercure and check in at the front desk. Jose and Angel get room 836, while Joe and I get room 708. We quickly settled in to call it a night and get some well earned sleep in a "Bed". Time now 12 midnight : GOOD FREAKING NIGHT .........





 

Welcome The Journey Begins Here

Our Journey begins with a dream of two best friends Jose (from Chicago) and Frankie (from NY) who's solo trip to Japan a year ago sparked a perpetuating desire to circum navigate the globe and travel to each of the 7 Wonders of the World.

This years travel takes us once again abroad to the Orient and the Country of China.

A country populated with over 1.3 billion people in comparison to the only 311 million in the USA.

We are joined on this trip by Jose's brother Angel and Frankie's cousin Joe.

A big shout out to Angel for arranging our travels.

Follow along with us on this blog site as we backpack through the country sides of Bejing and Shanghai. Two of China's largest cities.

But first you have to sign up to be a follower of our site. Go to the right pane and click on the "Join this Site". Follow all the prompts and complete the setup.