Sylvie's Muses from China

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Sylvie's Muses from China

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Wecome to my muse page. Here are some pictures that seem to depict what I think of when I hear the word "China".

Latest update: Sunday Oct 27th - noon

NOTE - In order to provide more pictures, I have decided to only provide the one size, which is what you see on this page. This way I can manage to include more pictures than originally planned. I hope this size allows you to see everything adequatly. Regards, Sylvie
Pre-trip note... October 14, 2002

Greetings all. Well, here it is, 10 pm, the day before my departure for China. In less than one week, I've
Learned I had the opportunity to work in China
Got my Chinese Visa
Got my 4 shots (sore...)
Got my tickets...
and now I sit, still unpacked (laundry is on the go) but my head is still reeling from all this week's activities. In less than 48 hours, I will be in one of the most populated areas, amongst few english speaking people, surrounded by sounds, smells, tastes and views I have yet to imagine! I am both excited and apprehensive, but looking forward to all this. I hope you will enjoy my hopefully-daily updated muses, and if you care, feel free to send me some litterary cheers via my guestbook. I suspect I will be somewhat homesick! Cheers... Sylvie-san?

Pre-trip note... October 15-16th, 2002
I'm in the air - between here and there. Arriving in Beijing 2:30 pm their time, 2:30 AM on the 16th, our time.
October 16th, 2002 - 8 pm
Houston - we have touchdown. We landed ahead of time, but this is somewhat irrelevant - the flight was VERY VERY long. The fun part of it was that we flew over the north pole - - in fact, my first picture today, is of the mountains of Siberia! My first observation is that people here, likely due to the sheer number of individuals, push and shove a lot. I got shoved left and right at customs. Customs was a breeze - he didn't even ask me anything. The taxi ride, however, was QUITE the experience. Imagine about 500 little cars, the size of fiats, all going very fast, and not signaling... that is what all the streets are like! then, there are the bike lanes - many people here, in business suits, with their laptop cases in their bike basket, bike to work and back. The streets are crowded, but manageable.
I got to the hotel, unpacked, and headed to the office. It's 2 blocks away, but of course, navigating across the traffic is the challenge - they DON'T stop for pedestrians! I met with my team members, Sophie is native from here, but comes from the Chicago office, and Mark comes originally from Boston, but his wife is part of the U.N. so they travel a lot. He's been here for the past year or so.
Tomorrow, we head out to Guangzhou to prepare for the meeting with a client, the meeting is on Friday, and we fly back to Beijing Friday afternoon. The team wanted me to spend the weekend here, and do some sightseeing - so I plan on checking out my options tonight at the hotel.
OBERSERVATIONS - Here, traffic lanes are just "guidelines" - imagine 6 lanes of cars crunched into 4 lanes of traffic - drivers weave back and forth everywhere, lane markers just seem to be there for show!
Daily pics:
Please keep in mind this is the first download - I just want to go and sleep right now...

the view from the plane - as we cruised over the North Pole and Siberia
the view from my cab ride - not much of a view, but interesting to see that they cover all the seats with cotton fabric. more to come!
October 17th, 2002 - 5:45 am
Wow - did I sleep well! Like a log... morning came too quickly, even though I went to bed at 9:15 last night. I looked outside my window this am, to take a pic of the view, and guess what - they do not leave lights on! in any building! it's as dark as can be, some street lights are on, but no building lights! Guess it makes sense to manage electricity better.
OBERSERVATIONS: I have a nice room, but two single beds! And, getting a non-smoking room is not an easy task, but I managed to get one. The linen on the bed is so nice, it's just a bottom sheet, but a huge fluffy conforter - looks like some kind of synthetic inside, very light, but very warm. Today, we are heading south, to meet with the client. Flight is about 3 hours - I am told I need cash on my all the time, of course, the hotel ATM is not working - will get some at the airport.
I have included a map for you to peruse today - I am currently in Beijing (north east) heading to Guandzhou, south east, a few hours from Hong Kong. I'll be checking in from there IF they have internet connection, otherwise, it won't be until Friday pm my time. Cheers!

October 18th, 2002 - 9:00 PM
OK folks - this will be a long one... with pics in between. The experience of managing my flight at the airport was insane! I thank God Mark was there to help me out - he speaks enough to really get around. There are lines, and lines and lines of people, there is an airport tax to be paid (50 Renmin - pronounced R&B - about $5 US dollars), more lines, and more lines... and people butt in all the lines. I must learn to be more aggresive!
Then when arrived at the gate, they had to bus us to the airplane. Not a big issue, but they sure can pack a lot of people on those buses.
The array of available food is good - but the process to buy is tedious at best. choose your fruit, they weight and mark up a three part form, you take the form to the cash (which is not where you get the fruit), you pay, they give you a two part form marked paid, then you return to the fruit place, turn in your 2 part form, and get your fruit and receipt back. A process begging to be changed!

We arrived in Guangzhou 3 hours later, and met Sophie. We ate at a great Japanese restaurant, my first restaurant meal. We also had dinner with the partner, and another team member, John, who played translator during our morning meeting.
We had dinner at this great Thai place, which looked similar to the US chain "Rain Forest Cafe", including the singing and dancing waiters and chefs. Food was great!

Dinner at the Thai restaurant.We did get seneraded by the singing chefs and waiting staff.
The next series of pictures are of my exploring in the streets of Guangzhou in the early morn.

1. Early shoppers
2. What's for dinner?
3. Dried meat shop
4. Early breadmaking - these little round things are a form of dough boiled in salted water. Consistency is chewy, taste is non-descriptive.
5. A young Mom proud to show me her son

1. Pick your fresh swimming beetles
2. Pick your fresh larva
3. Care for a fresh pigeon or other bird for lunch?
4. Need a little sewing done?

1. A typical apartment block
2. A market area
3. A variety of dried herbs and food

1. The view from the back seat of typical taxis
2. This is not fog - but early morning smog
3. McDonald is everywhere... apparently, they have seaweed fries! mm.... I'm going to have to try that!
1. This is my favorite picture so far - A bike loaded up with coal! Coal is often used to heat and cook.
2. Some meanings are lost in translation -this is actually where passengers go to get meals when the flights are delayed, or cancelled. Board states "Irregular flight food distributor point"
3. Another apt building
OBSERVATIONS:
In Guangzhou, dense traffic areas have traffic lights that indicate how many seconds are left on the red, and green lights - great idea!
Although there are a few clothes dryers, most apartments do not have any - therefore, clothes always hang on the balconies, windows, etc.
People spit everywhere - and on the street is tolerable, in fact, it's seen everywhere. However, the flight tonight was packed, and the person sitting across the aisle from me was spitting - on the floor of the plane, during most of the flight. That was a tough thing to see, and hear!
You seldom see babies on the street - this may be due to the fact that the "one child" rule still applies in most places.
I didn't think that people starring at me would be uncomfortable - most times it's not, but it's not uncommon for folks to come out of their shops to see me, or even point! I just smile and wave, that usually makes them look away. Most are very friendly though!
Tomorrow, the Great Wall of China, and some tombs. Stay tuned for more pics!
Saturday, October 19th, 2002 - 7:30 AM
I have to say that the hotel staff here really make it a point to be bilingual, and it's GREATLY appreciated. There are still some things that make me smile - like my wake up call - - I pick it up and hear
"Wake up, NOW!"
that's it... no formality of hello, good morning, just the command! Always makes me smile.
Today is the Wall - I am so excited to actually be here, and going to see it! It's a full day excursion (with an english tour guide, thank you!) so I'll be back in about 10 hours... Cheers!
Saturday, October 19th, 2002 - tourist day
Wow, wow, and wow... this is all I can say! I am overwhelmed... However, will share my experiences with you.
I decided to take the hotel tour to both the Tombs and The Great Wall. First stop was the Ming Tombs- burial site of 13 emperors of Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644). Changling, the tomb of Emperor Yong Le is the biggest and the first built in this area.

1. Four star toilet! and, it really is!
2. The temple - this is totally built without a nail, screw or anything else but sandlewood
3. this is a column made of sandlewood - protected from the hands of visitors
4. Arrowproof outfit
5. the mountain view from the outside of the temple
6. I really appreciate the translation
We then moved on to an authentic Jade factory. Jade is very important in the Chinese world, as it is believed to be more valuable than diamond. We learned to distinguish fake jade from real, and toured a studio and of course, the store! I bought a Jade chess set for myself.

1. A Jade artist - I was amazed that the workers do not have any masks, or work goggles.
2. A very exclusive piece!

1. Brunch with tour friends - Kelly (beside me) and Mike, both made the day even better!
2. Nothing like a little ride on a camel after a good meal!

All these pictures show artists in the cloison factory. Most of the young people make about $500 US per month. Cloison is a method where by copper filaments are twisted and added or soldered to vases, or art pieces, then the spaces between the filaments are filled with colored compound, and then sealed with a glaze. Again, consider that these young folks are working in close quarters, with little ventilation.

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
The construction of the Great Wall began in the 5th century B.C. during the Spring-Autumn and War States Period. Total length is over 6000 km. Badalinig is one of the most important passes of the Wall.
Personal view - I expected the Wall to be a lot flatter - it literally follows the ground, up and down mountains, and at times, the only way you can manage the passage is by hanging on the side rails. I admit that the sight itself is nothing less than spectacular!

The stairs are often three high, and irregular, the even parts are actually very steep, but without stairs. Most people rested between valleys and peeks, young and old alike, taking the challenge of the walk.

One of the fun aside of travel, is meeting new folks! Especially local folks. I am often asked to take a picture with locals here, and sometimes I return the request. This wonderful great-grandmother (her family was there, and they showed me everyone in order, without one spoken word!). She has such a great smile. This other gentleman was happy to take a picture, even if I didn't buy anything from him.
The tiger is made of wood - a really nice carving! And, as you can see, I may be in a totally different world, but I can still be myself, silliness and all! Cheers

Wednesday, October 23rd - 7:30 AM
I know, I know - you're probably wondering what I've been doing these past few days. I only have 3 pictures this morning, basically because this is work week again - therefore, not really much to take between my hotel and the office (2 blocks).
I am really enjoying my stay - and will do more touring Friday - Sunday, although my flight leaves Sunday afternoon. I am amazed at how comfortable I feel here -even though the language issue is a big big challenge.
My pics today are of my office walk -

OBSERVATIONS: Over the past week, I've had the chance to really take in the surroundings here, and I am amazed at the similarities, and the vast differences.
For instance, in my hotel room, calling back home would cost a small fortune, and it seems to happen often that the lines are not clear, however, in my room, I have a t1 line - just as fast as cable internet! so I connect with folks through email and instant messaging.
The hotel elevators have rugs that are changed daily - they state "Good day" and then the name of the day. Guess it helps when one is not sure just what day it is!
I notice the pecking order in the street is: Cars first, bikes second, pedestrians last. It's very challenging to cross streets during rush hours.
Most of the bikes I've seen so far as older than I - heavy duty rickity old bikes, some seem not to even have breaks. But they are used in abundance!
I've learned that trying to say a few words gets me very far - even though I'm likely really mispronouncing. People seem to appreciate the effort, although I've had people chuckle and laugh when I tried to say things... now, I only keep to the 4 things I know - thanks you, yes, no, how are you.
Plans for the weekend? Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, and just enjoying walking through the streets. for those wondering, we are 12 hours ahead of Ottawa - and the weather here has been mostly low single digits - feels a lot like home!

Thursday, October 24th - 8:00 AM
I am excited! Today, is the FIRST day in one week that we have crystal blue skies! Usually, the smog is so thick it gives the city a yellowish sallow look, but today, bright and blue! I've been waiting to take the pictures from my office building, and today is the day!
My pics today are from my office 16th floor -

Beijing is in a huge expansion mode, and has been for a while now. Buildings are sprouting up all around, but because Beijing was designed so planned, they need to knock down old to build new. Many of the buildings that gave Beijing its look are now falling for economic growth.
As you can see in the first picture today, traffic is an issue. Bikes and cabs are the prefered way of travel. Walking is difficult due to the danger of cars and bikes, it's really not a walking friendly city at all, and least, not downtown.
Cabs are very inexpensive - a 20 minute ride last night cost me $3.00 US.
This is my last day of work for this trip, tomorrow I am scheduled for a 3 hour rickshaw ride of old Beijing, and Saturday an all day tour of 3 locations. I am heading home sunday, but will upload pics daily until then,so come back and visit!

Friday, October 25th - 6:00 PM
What a great day! I'm in just for a break, a swim and a rest... yesterday at the office, I met someone from the Chicago office, and when I mentioned I was going on a rickshaw ride, he asked to come along. We spent the half the day on the rickshaw tour, then about 4 more hours shopping! Gotta love that!
The Rickshaw ride was great, but let me tell you, it was cold! The ride was to visit a few sites, and go through the "hutong" (local phrase for small street) which shows how the average people live in Beijing. Our first stop was at the Bell Tower - a place where they still ring the bell at 5 AM to signal the opening of the city doors, and the drums at 7 pm to signal the closing.
After going up 75 steep steps (Mary and Manon, I'm getting my mileage in!) we arrived at the big bell.

1. The Rickshaws, all ready to go
2. Sylvie and Tom, an Accenture coworker from Chicago. The Rickshaws are now powered by bikers - much easier than running!
3. The Bell, that is rung each morning at 5 AM (Denise, how about this one for your collection?)
Our next stop was a beautiful garden. The decorations on the buildings are really quite intricate.

1. See, I was really there!
2. One of the buildings
3. Intricate work on the buildings
4. Notice the BATS as part of the woodwork on the railing - Bats, in China, means something good... There are 9,999 bat designs all over the different buildings! Guess that puts a different spin on the past inhabitants of our cottage!
We were treated to a tea ceremony, and let me tell you, hot tea was just what we needed to warm up. It is quite the detailed ceremony, and we tried Darjen and Jasmine Tea. We also found out there is a type of tea that is VERY rare and expensive - white tea! one small tin cost 600 RMB - over $100 Canadian! I passed on that one!
I also had my first experience with the "squatting toilets" - ok, so add that one to my list of "have done, don't want to do again..."!

1. One of the rooms in the Tea Room
2. No exactly the Ottawa Rideau Canal - but just as pretty
3. An older couple - I thought they looked nice!
We then made our way to the hutong. This is where most people live. Nothing fancy, nothing big, but it's all they usually need. One lady opened up her house to us, we all sat in the living area, and asked her questions about her house, her life, and her family.

1. Selling wherever is best
2, 3 and 4 - Various entrances to dwellings - If you notice on top of door 3, there are two visible posts - those are markers to indicate the level of abundance (or lack of) in the house - there are only 2, or 4 markers - 4 is the highest and best. (Maybe that's where the 4 star hotel rating started?)
5. This is inside the house we visited - this is one side of the master bedroom - there was another bed on the other side. This is where the parents sleep.
Tom and I then headed to the markets - but, not before enjoying a Starbucks Coffee! (ok, not exactly Chinese, but it tasted good (not Timmy's either!)) - The markets were pretty crowded, but I managed to pick up a few last items.

1. Ah - a Starbucks coffee place - Tom waits for his coffee
2. Crowded Silk Market
3. She was happy to learn the words "Belly Pouch" - Steve, this is where I got it!
4. They sure know how to sell
5. Ok - I did not buy ANY of those! they may be fresh, but just not my kind!!
Tonight, we will try to find either an Opera, or a Tea House with entertainment. THEN, we venture to the night market, where the specialty is bugs-on-a-stick! Will she try one? Won't she? Check in later, I'll have the pictures to show!

Friday, October 25th - 10:00 PM
Soory folks - no bug show tonight... I'll explain why in a bit. I called for possible Opera tickets, but everything started at 7. Therefore, we opted to go and experience Peking duck... at, none other than the most famous Pekin Duck restaurant in Beijing. I don't know how many of you have had duck, but it's quite something here.

1 & 2 - The carving of the duck!
3. This is how many ducks have been served, since the restaurant opened in 1874! That's a lotta ducks!
We then decided to walk around the area. Not much here but small shops, street cooking, but no bugs!

1. Hungry anyone? street food...
Tom checks out the tea
We walked to Tiananmen square - and let me tell you, it's HUGE! I know I will be there tomorrow, but it was quite the sight at night.

1. Monument
2. Tiananmen Square
Now, I know you are all looking forward to checking out the bug snacks, but we got to the close by market, and it closed at 10. Bushed, it was time to head back since my tour leaves at 7:55 tomorrow morning. We will try to get there tomorrow night! The bugs will have to wait!

Saturday October 26th
Full tour day again. First on the list, Tiananmen Square, almost half a million square kilometers. Very large, can accomodate more than 1 million people.

1. Soldier at attention at Tiananmen Square. It is forbidden to take any pictures of the military - therefore, I opted to take it from either the side, or the back... We saw people getting escorted with the military with their cameras in hand - not something I really wanted.
2. Every single brick being cleaned for the upcoming congress
3. Another soldier at attention (notice the posture Lisa, same as you)
4. Sylvie and Chairman Mao Zedong
The Forbidden City only opened up to the public in 1949. Until then, only the emperors, family, guests and of course, concubines could be there. Everything was segregated - concubines could not be seen outside their house and yard, and the same with the emperor's family. Only the emperor had free reign of the grounds.

1. Lions are a sign of strength and protection
2. Side view of buildings
3. Large urns to burn coal
4. Water pots in case of fire

1. The doors are very ornate
2. Large marble plaque - weights over 220 tons. Was pulled over 18 km - over ice!
3. Large doors. There are 9 round metal balls across, and 9 high, for a total of 81.
We then moved on to the Temple of Heaven. Unlike most buildings, this one has blue roofs to symbolize water. The top roof is held by 4 columns, representing the 4 seasons, the middle one by 12 columns represented by 12 two-hour period in a a day, and the last by 12 columns representing the twelve seasons. As well, not one nail or screw was used in any of the buildings - it's all done with intricate interlocking wood.

1. Sylvie in front of the main Building
2. The blue roofs
3. The large incense burners
Our last stop was my favorite of the day -the Summer Palace. An incredible place, more than 8 times the size of the Forbidden City, but the lake occupies 3/4 of the land.

All summer palace views. Looks much like Dow's Lake in Ottawa, except much bigger!

Those who know me well, will know why I wanted to get a picture in China, in front of a WILLOW TREE.

Saturday evening snack
You know, there comes a time, when we feel that, if in Rome, well, we should do like the Romans. Therefore, as we walked through the night market, eager to sample the local cuisine (not), I decided that I could not come half a world to just enjoy Peking Duck, and great Chinese food. I had to be brave, and, well, along with the pig's ears in Spain, had to sample something... different!
Hum - what would it be... baby birds on a stick, larva on a stick, perhaps big grasshoppers on a stick... nah - let's really go exotic, and try...

1. The chef's selection
2. Mmmm - scorpions...
3. My selection out of the entire stick (hey, one was more than enough, thank you!!)
4. And the moment of truth - it did NOT taste like chicken.
Ok - the actual tasting photo was taken quite quickly, thanks Tom for accepting the challenge of photographer AND springing for the scorpion! Check Christine in the back as she looked on.
The tail is taken off before the cooking, by the way! but the rest sure was there... So, although it wasn't exactly on my list of "to dos" I did it...
I'll post my pics of the day, early tomorrow AM - it's late, and time for bed! From the streets of "night market" Beijing, I big you goodnight!

Sunday October 27th
My last morning in China - I am sad to leave, but anxious to see everyone back home! Christine, Tom and I opted to visit the Lama Temple, a place where the emperors would pray. Today, everyday people gather to do their personal prayers.

1. People pray by lighting incense sticks, then doing their prayers and placing their incense in huge holders located everywhere in the temple. There a very distinct smell all around.
2. Tom and I, doing our own personal prayers
3. Tom standing near the prayer drums - words are inscribed and as the drum turns, you can read the various prayers.
4. One of the many buildings. Since this is a prayer site, most buildings did not allow any picture taken inside. Pity, the largest Buddha statue in the world is located in the main temple. It stands more than 26 meters high - it's enormous! carved from ONE sandlewood tree.
We also saw monks chanting their prayers, but again, not a place to take pictures.

I met Christine on the tour Saturday morning, so the three of us enjoyed the Chinese acrobat show, walking through the markets (scorpion tasting wasn't shared though - pity!). We also had dinner at the "Big Easy", a Louisiana restaurant, and enjoyed ourselves at the Latino Salsa club later on. Oneo f the great advantages of travel, is meeting new friends! So, cheers to you both Christine and Tom for making my weekend even more enjoyable!
NOTE - In the next few days, I will redesign the site by location visited, thereby ensuring each page doesn't take hours to load. Stand by, more pictures to come from various locations - and thanks for sharing my trip with me! I hope I get to return, and if you are considering China as a possible location, call me up!

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October 14

October 15-16th

October 16th - 8 pm

October 17th - 5:45 AM

October 18th - 9:00 PM

Saturday October 19th - 7:30 AM

Saturday October 19th tour day
Wednesday October 23rd 7:30 AM
Thursday October 24th 8:00 AM
Friday October 25th 6:00 PM
Friday October 25th 10:00 PM
Saturday October 26th
Saturday evening snack
Sunday October 27th noon