Stuck in traffic in downtown Beijing

First, as always, the link to the pictures:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=182yonli.2rhih8ca&Uy=-9btkd&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Alright, remember how I said that traffic in Beijing is a nightmare? If this ain't proof, I don't know what is. The first few pictures were taken as I stuck my head up through the sunroof on Tim's car. The picture taken next to the big bus on the right hand side, I took standing between the bus and Tim's car. I mean, we weren't going anywhere, so why not stand in the middle of the road?

So then we continued to sit in traffic, and since I had the camera anyway, I just started snapping pictures of anything that caught my eye. The sticker with the red, yellow, and green bubbles with 2008 on it is apparently a sign that the driver of that vehicle is a safe driver, something to do with getting ready for the 2008 Olympics. I don't know why they bother. Then again, I couldn't, in good conscience, put one of these stickers on my car either, so I guess I shouldn't gripe. Yes, that is a big movie poster for the Harry Potter movie in Chinese. I guess they show the movie in its normal English, with Chinese subtitles. At least, that's how we watched it on the flight over.

The picture of Starbucks was taken at this mall called The Place. Yes, Starbucks has truly taken over the world. (Speaking of American things in China, I want to comment on the various fast-food joints over there. Most prevalent are the KFC's and the McDonalds. They taste the same as they do in the States. The Pizza Hut, on the other hand, is a completely different story. The Pizza Huts in the States don't hold a candle to the Pizza Hut's in China. For one thing, the Chinese PH's aren't nearly as greasy as the ones back home. The crust is light and fluffy and not drenched in cooking oil. The toppings are also less fatty. I wish the PH's here in the States were this good!)

The Place was pretty cool. I mean, it's a mall. Kind of an indoor/outdoor mall. The difference between the two pictures of me looking up and taking a picture of me are the person standing next to me in the second picture. That would be a guard telling me to stop taking pictures inside the mall. That was kind of unnerving.

The giant TV screen is exactly that: a humongous giant-screen TV that faces the street. This could never happen in Texas. Drivers in Texas get distracted easily enough as it is; something like this would cause daily accidents on the street. Come to think of it, I'm surprised the lawyers in America haven't thought of this yet.

Attached to that and running a good length of the exterior of the mall is a giant animated ceiling. I took a movie of it, which I'll try to e-mail to y'all, but the still pictures will hopefully give you an idea of what it was like. If you've been to Vegas, you know what this is like. It was a first for me & Cyndy, so it was mind-boggling to say the least.

Either my camera died or we left after that last picture. Thankfully the drive home wasn't nearly as long as the drive there.

Where the heck have I been?

Yes, we're home safe and sound. I apologize that nothing has been added to the blog in a number of days. There is a simple reason for this: after I posted the picture of me with the beard extension and ponytail, I was unable to view the blog for the rest of the week.

Don't tell me that wasn't a coincidence. Have I mentioned how happy I am that I live in America?

Pictures from Ana's camera

Here's the link, as always:
/www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=182yonli.4tyw7ymy&Uy=-i6nfb8&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

These pictures were taken with Ana's camera because the batteries in my camera died. This is the rest of our visit to the Great Wall. I wanted to take a gondola ride to the other side of the wall. Cyndy went with me, but she's not very keen on heights, so she rode with her eyes closed for most of the ride!

The first picture is of the sign you see before getting on the gondola. I figure they must've known Americans with lawyers would be coming, which is the reason for that last line. ("Y'all didn't tell me I couldn't jump from the gondola!")

The rest of the pictures are from inside the gondola, going there and coming back (and a couple of pictures from that side of the wall.)

The last pictures are of the four of us at the restaurant we ate at. Yes, I am smoking a cigar!

More later. I'm finally starting to get caught up!

Al

The Emporer's New Face

Many thanks to my friend Jim Riley for adding a touch of the Emporer to my goatee. The pony-tail is a VERY nice touch! Thanks Jim!

The question on everyone's mind

What is the deal with the yellow emporer's costume and the money? Well, I'll tell ya.....

The truth is that while here, I was elected as the new Emperor of China. (I didn’t even know I was running!) I’ve been given a new name: Chairman Al. I am recognized as the God of Money, based upon my position with my current employer. My new name here is Emperor Quay Guy.

*”Quay” rhymes with “guy” and is Chinese for “money.” It’s used interchangeably with the terms “yuan,” RMB,” and “moolah.”

Seriously, there was an opportunity to look silly and smile for the camera. When have I not passed this up? You'll notice Cyndy didn't take any pictures like this. That is because she has the two things that I lack: dignity and self-respect!

Al

Day 2

Running just a little behind, so I'll add commentary later. Right now, here is the link to all the pictures we took at Tiannemen Square and the Forbidden City: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=182yonli.8zcy05yi&Uy=-pi4wvo&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

There are a buncha pictures. Enjoy!

Nightcrawling thru downtown Beijing

Just like last time, here's the link to the pictures that go with this post:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=182yonli.5a2zk5qi&Uy=6efi3y&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

There really isn't much to explain about these pictures. It was 10:30 pm Saturday night, Cyndy was sound asleep, and I was in the mood to walk around looking at all the lights and taking pictures.

The first three pictures are taken inside the hotel's lobby. They're already in the holiday mood with that gingerbread house there! The next picture is of the hotel across the street from us; the picture after that is the outside of the hotel where we're staying.

I have no idea what the tall artsy lookin' thing is on the corner in the one picture, but again, a lot of the pictures I took were taken just because it was there. This is one of those pictures. Same goes for all of the building/shops/restaurants that are all lit up. Nothing spectacular about any of these, but then again I haven't seen anything like this back home.

The picture of the big church and the picture of the wall in front of the church are of the big Catholic church here in Beijing. I know nothing about it, but it sure is pretty from the outside. I hope we can go inside and see what it looks like in there.

Two things are constant about this city, which is evidenced by the pictures: this city never shuts down, and the Olympics are coming in 2008! Okay, the city eventually shuts down, but not until 11:00 pm. More on that in a bit. But these folks are absolutely psyched about the Olympics! It's like the entire city is going under an entire renovation, which goes 24 hours a day. I tried to get a picture of a welder on the fifth floor of a building, but the picture came out too blurry. But you can't go more than two blocks without seeing some kind of reminder that the Olympics are coming! The Olympics are coming!!

The two pictures of the clocktower are from the same tower, just different sides. While taking the first picture, the camera pushed the left lens out of my glasses. Talk about panic! Miraculously enough, the lens had fallen into the front pocket of my sweater, so I didn't have to look far. Still, the prospect of being able to only look through one side of my glasses for the rest of the week was frightening at best! You'll notice that the clock is lit up: at 11:00, the light goes off, and apparently, so does the city! I was on my way back to the hotel anyway, but still: when you're in a foreign land, your wallet is back at the hotel, the shops simultaneously shut down, and all the colorful lights disappear, well..... it's just a bit daunting to say the least!

Now, if you're not a music lover, you can stop here because the rest of this post relates to an album I listened to while walking around. If you are a music lover, then please indulge me one of my passions:

In the summer of 1988, right after I graduated high school, I purchased Joe Jackson's Big World CD and listened to it nonstop that summer. For the longest time, I associated the music with a trip I took that summer to my Gramma's house. At the same time, there were many songs that gave me the feeling of being a world traveller: songs like "It's a Big World," "Shanghai Sky," "Fifty Dollar Love Affair," "Jet Set," propelled my imagination to different lands and made me wonder what some of these other lands were like.

Fast forward to the present, and the memories of those songs made me bring Big World along with me on the mp3 player. I hadn't planned on making this music some kind of soundtrack for a walk on the streets of Beijing; the moment just sort of struck me. So, armed with adrenaline, Big World on the mp3 player, and my camera, I hit the sidewalks at 10:45 on a Saturday night.

Have you ever watched a movie and heard a passage of music and thought how effective the music was for that particular scene? Well, Big World proved to be the catalyst for my nighttime adventure that I'd always imagined it would be. I wish I could I could attach a sound file of the title track with the pictures to give you something of an idea of what it was like for me. The music made the walk that much more exhilirating. Now, whenever I hear those songs, it makes me smile that the dream became a reality. The pictures, for me anyway, will help me recall that thrilling walk.

Thanks for letting me indulge.

Day 1

First, here is a link to all the pictures referenced in the long post that follows (this was much easier than trying to upload each picture individually) Best way to look at this post and the pictures simultaneously is to right-click on the link and either "Open in New Tab" or "Open in New Window":

http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=182yonli.2lrazesy&Uy=-x2omww&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

It's Saturday night here, so it's Saturday morning to y'all. My apologies that this took so long to get up; this is the first time the blog has finally come up onscreen since I've been trying to access it since Friday night!

The first three pictures were taken Friday night, when our hosts/friends Tim and Ana (soon to be wed, God only knows when!) took us out for dinner. I don't know the name of the place (a recurring theme, as you will soon see), but as you can see from the pictures, the interior is very bright! The way the tables were set up was that there is a barbecue pit in the middle of the table, and you cook your own food. I've never seen this, and if anyone knows if there is a place like this back home, PLEASE let me know! Tim ordered for us, and we had beef, squid, lamb, mushrooms (not the little bitty kind we're so used to; these things were like bacon strips! In the spirit of trying something new, I actually tried them. I'm not a mushroom fan at all, but this was GOOD!!!) They gave us this dipping sauce for us to dip our food in, and though I have no idea what the sauce was made of, it enhanced the flavor of everything we ate. The beer in the second picture called Yangjing is very good and pretty strong! And they're BIG! And they only cost a dollar!!!! Two of those combined with the jet lag made me just a tad tipsy. Just a tad, though! The last picture was taken outside the restaurant, and it's typical of the buildings around here. This place is ridiculously lit up! In fact, after I'm done typing this up, I'm gonna go walk around the hotel area and get some pictures from outside.

(As a side note, we saw a little boy (probably no older than two) wearing these pants that clearly had a hole in the... er, "front" and a bigger one behind (so to speak). Apparently, this is how potty-training is done around here. Now, it was cute to see, but that's only because we didn't see the inevitable effect of wearing such ventilated trousers!)

Today, we visited the Great Wall of China, and this was the day I went completely shutter-silly. As you can see, I took pictures of purt-near everything. I mean, what other reason is there to take pictures at/from/of a gas station? Because it's there and it's in China! Why else?

The first picture is of one of the city gates. I have no idea how old it is, probably hundreds of years old. Here is a link to the story of those gates: http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/beijing/30840.htm

The next couple of pictures are from the aforementioned gas station.

The next bunch of pictures were taken as we were driving to the Great Wall of China.

(A word about the driving around here: be thankful you/we only drive in Texas. NONE of us would last an hour out here. Here, people tailgate, cut in front of you, cut you off... and these are just the people on BICYLCLES! The auto drivers are certifiably insane, and I'm saying this as a compliment! Ana made the comment that navigating your way through traffic around here is like being a fish, and she's not joking. Other cars will just pull in front of you and continue the flow of traffic. No one slows down, it's almost like being on an automobile treadmill. This would never happen in Texas. I think that's why Chinese folk drive so slowly in Texas: they see how paranoid we are when we get behind the wheel, and they are afraid of us. And rightfully so!)

The pictures of the cable cars begins the series of pictures taken at the Great Wall of China. Words cannot adequatly describe the wonder and majesty of this place. The pictures don't do it much justice either, but what I lack in quality I hope I made up for in quantity.

Yes, they really do offer camel rides here. I didn't see anyone ride one, though. The picture of the tiny tunnel is a one-lane street leading into the entry-area of the Wall itself. Remember what I said about driving earlier? Still applies even here!

I tried to take as many pictures as I could as we were scaling the wall. Let me tell you, this is NOT for the faint of heart! In fact, poor Ana started feeling dizzy and nauseous halfway up the wall, so Cyndy and I made the rest of the climb by ourselves. One thing about being an American (or non-Asian, at least) is that we seem to have a big red target somewhere on our person that tells all the vendors along the Wall, "These people need to buy junk! Sell them junk!" So, it was pretty weird being accosted every ten seconds with "Hello sir, hello lady, you buy this?" You'll see a couple of pictures of engravers. That was pretty fascinating to watch.

The one picture with Cyndy standing next to the photogenitically beautiful young people, that's Tim and Ana, and a cuter couple may not exist on this planet. In addition to being wonderful gracious hosts, they are a blast to be with.

This is how good a guide Tim is: you'll notice some pictures of another section of the Wall off in the distance, by the sign that says Beijing 2008. That side of the wall is apparently the Tour Group side, as is evidenced by the large swarms of people in those pictures. The side of the wall we were on wasn't nearly as crowded. Tim specifically took us on this wall to avoid the crowds. Very nice!

Oh, neat thing I learned about the Wall today that I never knew: Tim asked me & Cyndy if we knew which side of the Wall was inside and which was outside. The walkway of the Wall has two walls (oy, this could get confusing) and one wall is taller than the other wall. The side past the taller wall is considered "outside," keeping the bad guys out. The other side is the "inside," the protected side.

Once we got to the top, it was such a thrilling feeling, one I hope the pictures capture with some form of clarity. It was at this point, unfortunately, that my camera's batteries finally cried "uncle" and that was the end of that. Ana loaned me her camera for our ride on the gondola, so once I get those I'll upload those.

We had dinner tonight at another restaurant whose name I haven't a clue. We had Kung Pao Everything. Afterwards, we went for a foot massage. That was a first for me, but it was extremely relaxing. I fell asleep during my massage!

And now we're back at the hotel, Cyndy's asleep and I'm getting caught up on the local news. I'm glad Cedar Hill won last night. I hope this means their playoff hopes are still alive.

More tomorrow, as we're visiting Tian'anmen Square, the Forbidden City, Mao's tomb, and an authentic Chinese McDonalds! I feel like a little kid in Disneyland!

Al