10/7/10
Travel Tips
Here are some things I thought of after my trip. Maybe they'll help you too.
- Take any liquid lip color in checked baggage. Bring lipstick and lip balm solid on the plane.
- Consider taking a modest size roller carryon which can transition to checked luggage if needed. Pack soft side tote/backpack as a backup carryon.
- Limit the size of the larger bag to about 27” to stay under the weight limit.
- Bring baby powder.
- Bring cold medication(s).
- If going on a Columbia/NYU upscale tour, bring nicer travel clothes and have something nicer than jeans for evenings. Bring decent shoes if I can wear them.
- Consider laundry - focus more on clothes that can be washed and dried, and clothes that will dry quickly if handwashed. Bring laundry powder packets.
- Bring a lightweight daybag with enough room for camera, sunglasses, bottle of water, sweater, maybe with smaller bag for valuables. Have a small bag for evenings.
10/5/10
Souvenirs - Items to help my LR feel more Chinese
Impressions
I hope it's safe to post this now. I learned that China pretty much orchestrates these trips. Many are like mine. Hotel quality varies. Some add Tibet. The path is similar for many trips. They require the tour company to take us to some government factories where they show how pearls, jade, carpets, and silk are made. And then provide us an opportunity to shop at what might be high prices. I bought a beautiful pearl necklace and earrings for myself, not realizing I should bargain there too. So I'm sure I way over paid. They bargain almost everywhere in China. We ate in restaurants with our own room often, which means we didn't see a lot of real Chinese people eating out. We also ate in restaurants where there were no customers but us, Western or Chinese. They want us to see what they want us to see. Not how I have ever experienced China before, and not how I want to do it. It was nice to have everything organized for us, all the internal flights, most meals, hotel checkins, luggage, etc. Except that I want to see the country as the Chinese see it. And I wish I could speak Mandarin so I could chat with the people. Maybe I will have to live there sometime. Beijing and Xi'an are too polluted. But Shanghai is pretty nice, somewhat humid which is negative, but the air is much more clear. Chongqing actually looked kind of nice.
Our Group's Final Dinner
A final western meal in the hotel with the group. Don't ask me why the final dinner would be western. The tour company doesn't seem to get the notion of going to China to experience China, not a westernized version of it. We had a lot of meals in the hotels, or in tourist restaurants where we were sometimes the only ones there, or in restaurants with our own room. Partly it's an issue of China orchestrated much of these trips so we see the picture they'd like us to see.
My tourmates: Wes, Joanne and her mom Ruth
More tourmates: Marc and Kristy (the newlyweds), Dick and Pat
Our Tour Director, Peter, and tourmate Eve
Tourmates Chris and Dick, Instructor Ding
Tourmates Sharon, Pia Lindstrom and Jack
The Group Photo. Newlyweds in front.
Three Gorges Photos
Here are some photos of the Three Gorges along the Yangtze river.
View from the front of the ship, Victoria Cruise Lines, Victoria Anna.
One of the new cities, where the displaced people have been moved. They kept communities together.
A mountain.
Mountains after mountains.
Here you can see the water line, showing the changing level of the water in the gorge.
There's a covered walkway here along the side of the mountain.
The rebuilt walkway, being built for tourists along the river.
The little peak here to the right of the 2 large ones, the one that looks like a little person standing next to the peaks, is called "Goddess Peak".
The color of the water. Greener in the lesser gorges. Yellow in the Yangtze.
Pandas
These photos are blurry because it was dark and my camera couldn't deal with it. But the pandas were so cool so here they are:
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