Longmen Grottoes

Here is some information on the Longmen Grottoes before I begin my review of this area. The Longmen Grottoes are located near Luoyang and are a large collection of ancient Buddhist cave art. The grottos were carved during the Northern Wei Dynasty, when the rulers relocated their capital at Luoyang near the end of the 5th century. At that time Buddhism was spreading east into China and was venerated by the imperial court. The Buddhists adopted the practice of carving rock temples, dedicated to the Buddha. This construction began 493 during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen and continued for a span of over 400 years. There are 2345 caves and niches, 2800 inscriptions, 43 pagodas and over 100,000 Buddhist images along the 1-km-long cliff of Mt. Longmen on the west and Mt. Xiangshan on the east of the Yihe River south of Luoyang. The most impressive area are the stone statues in Fengxian Cave, carved under the edict of Empress Wuzetian (reigned 690-705). These are composed of a 17.14-meter-high statue of Vairocana Buddha, and a series of pairs of Bodhisattvas, heavenly kings, protectors and worshippers. The huge statue of Vairocana Buddha is today praised as being the quintessence of Buddhist sculpture in China.

The sheer magnitude of these caves was remarkable. Unfortunately, the majority of the sculptures have been damaged to some degree and/or defaced. As we walked along and looked into the huge number of small caves all along the grotto, you could see many of the statutes had the heads removed or the heads were damaged to the point that you could not make out anything more than it was a head at one time. Also missing in the majority of the sculptures were the hands/fingers which meant you could not make out the hand gestures (which illustrated what the Buddha was trying to convey). In my readings on this area I found out that this damage was done during the Opium Wars and the Eight-Nation Alliance (Boxer rebellion) but I have to admit to a little skepticism to exactly what caused the damage to these carvings. I don’t know if I fully accept that all of this damage was done during these times (around 1900) because the damage seems a lot like what would happen during the CR. Perhaps the information is correct but perhaps not; there really isn’t any way to know for sure.

As we continued to look into the caves (some big and some small, as you might notice in the photos) and see the same type of damage in each you felt a sense of frustration about what had been done. At the time of completion of these caves, it must have been an awesome sight to behold all of these carvings. Unfortunately, we will never know what it was but you can imagine what must have been when this area was complete. There were stairs everywhere to allow you to go up into the next level of carvings/caves. There were very few signs in English to explain where we were or what section of the grottoes we were in. There is a lot in the information about the caves and I had a different idea of what the caves were but it turns out the caves were all of the “nooks and crannies” in the sides of the cliffs where the drawings and sculptures were located. It was just cave after cave after cave, and then on to the next level which had yet more caves. Some of the sculptures were very small but they still contained a lot of detail. You could never get too close to the images because they were blocked off with fencing to keep people out. The 17.1 meter Buddha statue area was by far the most impressive but again, the damage done took something away from the work. After this area of the grottoes, it was time to turn around and head back to the buses. Now this was odd to us (Steve and I). The Chinese took very little time to look around and try to imagine what this area must’ve looked like, they moved to get photos and kept on moving. It was more about getting the photo that trying to absorb what they were looking at. There were still grottos on the other side of the river but we didn’t have the time to go over and look. This is just so different than how we vacation. We try to see as much as we can but we also take our time to view and enjoy what we are seeing. In the case of this outing, we had a schedule to keep and we were going to keep that schedule.

For us, when we take a trip/vacation, we plan on downtime and keep only a rough schedule of what we want to do. But, that’s when we travel on our own. When you travel in a large group, it’s a different story. You have a schedule set and you follow it since no one person is more important than the group. We asked many of our colleagues what they thought of this area. The typical answer, it was old and that was it. They enjoyed the Shaolin Temple much, much more. Perhaps they are accustomed to things that are extremely old due to the long history of China so stuff like this doesn’t interest them much. It’s the same in Suzhou, I’ve asked them if they’ve been to Tiger Hill and most will say “No. There isn’t much to do there.” The historical/cultural significance is lost on them but again, perhaps they are immune. Maybe they hear so many stories from their parents that it loses some meaning. (Yeah, yeah, yeah. Back in the days of the Ming dynasty, blah, blah, blah).

So, it’s back on the bus to head into town to eat and get to the hotel for the night. We descended on the restaurant just like we did for lunch (like the Alfred Hitchcock birds on a small child). The food was good, nothing really special but it was hot and edible (two positive things). Basically the same menu as lunch, bread, rice, a couple of vegetable dishes, a toufu dish and some meat dishes to fill your tummy. What I found interesting was that on the way to the food, we saw a bust on the side of the road that looked familiar. It was Ben Franklin (or Ben Franklim as it was spelled on the image), why…I don’t know but it was interesting to find in Luoyang, China.

We stayed at the F-Comfort Inn (not a place you would stay in the US, think about it). It wasn’t a 5 star place, perhaps 2 stars but it had a bed and shower so it was a step above the train lodgings. It was about 8:30pm when we crashed, we had been up since 5:30am after a night with little sleep with a lot of walking and bus rides so we were happy to be able to get a good night’s rest. The hotel had a “free” breakfast buffet so we planned on getting up plenty early so we could claw and scratch our way into this small breakfast nook to get something to eat before our long bus ride to the next stop on our tour of this portion of Henan province.

On a side note, on the dresser were two bottles of water, a bottle of OJ and a bottle of green tea. Steve and I took these and drank them since we couldn’t drink the water from the sink (obviously). We found out the following morning that these weren’t free. They made a big deal that someone took the water and stuff. Of course they were saying this in Chinese and talking to our group about the situation. When I asked what the problem was it was like someone had stolen these items from the room. When I told them that Steve and I took these things, the kids thought it was funny. They said “these weren’t free”, to which I replied, “how would we know that since nothing was in English?” I told them that in the US, things like this are free in US hotels otherwise, they wouldn’t be there out in the open. If things aren’t free, it’s posted and typically they have a mini bar to hold them making it obvious that something wasn’t free. So we had to pay all of 14 RMB to rectify the situation. It was somewhat comical to us; they were making this big fuss over 14 RMB! Whatever! Since it was the Foreigners that created the problem, the furor died down quickly once we gave the money to the tour guide to resolve the problem. Day #1 completed, Day #2 coming soon.

Shaolin Temple

After the train, we boarded a bus to our first stop on the tour for the day, Shaolin temple. For those that may not know, this is the birthplace of Chinese Kung Fu. It is the place where a younger (more alive) David Carradine learned how to walk on rice paper without leaving any footprints (unfortunately, he didn’t learn how not to choke himself to death while….well, you know the rest of the story Grasshopper). And for those that don’t know either of these things, it is the setting for Kung Fu Panda. It was about a 2 hour bus ride after the nice long train ride so sitting wasn’t exactly what I wanted to be doing but there was little choice.

Luckily for us, the tour guide took it upon herself to help us forget about the aching joints and instead had us focus on the earache/headache she was causing by talking. The bus was equipped with a sound system and speakers at every second row, so she began to give her bullhorn dissertation on Henan province, Shaolin Temple, what she ate for dinner when she was three, why she hated her mom….whatever! I called Tammy so she could get an idea of the noise; it was a constant bullhorn for almost 90 minutes (it was like listen to the drive through guy…you want fries with that?). It got to the point where you were hoping for the bus to plunge off the side of the road and burst into flames just to escape the misery. Earplugs, no use. It wasn’t like everyone was on pins and needles to listen, she just kept talking. I’ll take the water boarding; I’ll listen to the full State of the Union address, even the rebuttal, with no bathroom breaks and no beer, please just stop! After an eternity (and after I confessed to being the gunman on the grassy knoll) she relinquished the microphone to our bus leader John. John talked for a moment and then put the Expats on display. He asked Steve to go up and say a few words, which Steve did. Then it was my turn. They wanted me to sing a song, my choice Western or Chinese (Chinese….now how would that work?). I declined and talked to them about the train experience for me. I had forgotten my faithful teleprompter (I think Mr. Obama had it) and I was a bit surprised by this impromptu speech but I tried to roll with it (Four scores and seven years ago…). It wasn’t much but I left them wanting more (or perhaps they knew if I gave up the microphone, the tour guide took it back).

The landscape was much different on the journey, a lot of deep ravines and gullies and many mountains. The area reminded me a lot of Xi’an. Many farms and small villages could be seen along the way to the temple. I saw some animals but no cows, a lot of sheep and goats grazing in the fields. When we got near the temple, we got into a smaller town where there were kids all in uniforms outside practicing their martial arts in groups. It was a little bizarre but interesting to see. These weren’t monks or anything, just typical school age kids in matching uniforms going through the various drills. It looked like a regular school but obviously was not as much for “book learnin’”.

When we arrived at the temple there were older kids dressed in uniforms performing martial arts moves in sequence with the others around them. It was very interesting to watch as they went through the various moves. There must have been over 500 people out in this area in different groups practicing. Some had no weapons; others had staffs, spears, swords, etc. Something that I was kind of expecting but I wasn’t sure we would be able to see. Then we arrived, or so I thought, we climbed the steps and turned the corner and BAM!! There’s a long line of people waiting to get into this place. (Crap!) I wasn’t sure what it was but it had to be good right? It turns out that this was the line to go into the performance by the Shaolin monks.

The performance had both good and bad points. First thing was that everyone was crowded in and there was little room to maneuver to your seats if you were in the middle of the group. It was like stadium seating (for midgets) with very little room to squeeze by the people to the open middle seats. Then when we were seated a guy gets on the mic and some monks come out and he starts jabbering. It turns out that for a mere 10RMB you could get your photo taken with the monks in a pose looking like you were going to attack something or someone. So, we sat there and watched the people go up, grab their weapon of choice and be told how to stand by the monks and then “poof!” Picture taken….NEXT!!!. People kept going up and they kept talking about it and showing photos even when no one was in line. The show was basically on hold while they sold the photos and if you didn’t get your photo before the show, you could get it after the show was over. By the way, don’t forget your souvenir DVD, only 10 RMB. Strange stuff to watch that took about 15-20 minutes (it would be like going to see Macbeth but first, get your photos taken with the cast while everyone watches and waits). When the photo shoot finally ended, individual monks came out and showed their skills. After showing off the different techniques (monkey, tiger, snake, panda, tour guide….just kidding), out came a different group to show their mastery of mind over matter. One guy broke a metal plate over his head, two guys bent spears pressed into their throats and finally one guy threw a pin at a pane of glass to cause a small bb-type hole in the glass that burst a balloon on the other side. That was kind of impressive. Then a large group came out and did their thing with their moves. Finally they brought in 4 audience members to try and copy the moves of the monks. Our bus leader, John was picked to go onstage to do the moves. He did very well and was able to copy almost all of the moves of the monk. At the end the audience chose the winner. With the audience largely comprised of our bus and company people, John was the clear winner and won a DVD of the monk’s performance. He was very proud and continued to talk about it through the rest of the day. It is something I am sure that he will never forget. The surprising thing is that it was longer waiting for the photos to be taken than the performance…very odd. These monks had obvious skills but were being hawked like cheap jewelry on the street (watch, bag), I would be interested to see how they felt about that. Then we exited and this part of the “temple” was over, we went back onto the path to the old temple.

The old temple was more interesting but along the way you were hounded by people selling trinkets, people selling food and beggars. You believe that…beggars! Inside of the temple area?!?!. I thought these monks were in tune with the world and were to display kindness to everyone, I would’ve thought that no one would need to beg at the temple but there they were (odd how the beggars made it into the temple in the first place since we all had to pay to get in, how could beggars afford the cover charge?). The old temple was restored (obviously) and it looked like many of the temples I have seen in the past but we had to move quickly to keep up with the tour so there was no time to stop and smell the roses. The interesting points here were the trees with alleged finger holes in them from the monks practicing their martial arts skills and many wall inscriptions and other items that would’ve normally caused me to pause and take more notice but the group was moving on. The theme was I came, I saw and I kept going.

Then it was on to the 100 pagoda forest. This is an area where they had small pagodas that were built for the head monks when they died. So obviously there were old and new ones but many of these smaller pagodas built. Each was a little different and you got a sense that perhaps they reflected a little bit on the person for whom they were built. One that was newer drew my attention because it contained images of a car, an airplane and a laptop computer so this monk was obviously more recently deceased. The temple has changed to allow electricity but I wasn’t really sure about the internet access but they probably have that as well. Who knows what else has changed within the temple that we haven’t seen. This was an interesting area but again, move on people; we’ve got to get to lunch. You never really had the time to fully grasp anything, it was get a flavor and move on. There were still areas that we didn’t get to explore but perhaps that is part of the point. This is how they travel; they want to see as much as they can as opposed to enjoying what they can see. It could’ve been worse and you have to remember that this was after an overnight train ride so perhaps I wasn’t in the best of moods (I know, it does sound strange doesn’t it?).

After the 100 pagoda forest, it was turn around and head for the buses. You couldn’t take 30 steps without running into another vendor selling beads or other trinkets. It really took away the mystique for me and showed that the temple had become a money maker for people and the history of the place be damned. The junk being sold was probably the biggest surprise. I went in with the idea that I would purchase a set of nunchucks (after all it was a kung fu place right) but after looking at the quality of the ones they had, I decided against it. There was absolutely nothing special about them, nothing said “Shaoling Temple” to me with the exception of the one monk figurine that I bought for 10 RMB. It summed up the place for me; it was cheap and pretty sad so I got it. I was really expecting to find many things here that peaked my interest but there wasn’t much. I can say I went to the Shaolin Temple and leave it at that. I wish I had more time because the 100 pagoda forest was interesting and there was so much else that we missed that perhaps my perception would’ve changed.

Then it was on the bus to head to the next stop, the Longmen Grottos. Along the way, we would stop for lunch. This was the really interesting part of the day. The bus stops and everyone starts moving like the bus is on fire and we have to escape. I had no idea we were stopping for lunch until we got off and everyone is rushing into the restaurant. Imagine 300+ people descending on a restaurant at the same time. They had tables set for 10 people each and we sat down with little room to move. A lazy susan in the middle allowed for the food to be passed around. Within minutes the food starts to arrive at the table. A big bowl of rice, bread, veggies, pork&veggies, etc. It was like placing food down in front of a group of starving wild dogs. As soon as it hit the table, chopsticks were flying to get the food; food was being consumed at a rate that I could not believe. Granted it was about 2:00 in the afternoon but “Holy Locust Attack Batman!” They hogged down, it was every man and woman for themselves; if you wanted to eat you had better jump in or it would be gone. I don’t know what the hurry was (chow it down before the taste catches up with you!) but the food was pretty good and believe me, my expectations were pretty low for the food on this trip. In less than 15 minutes lunch was over and we were back on the bus (seriously, less than 15 minutes).

On to the Longmen Grottos, coming soon.

PS - November was a busy month for the China Dudley's. Warren went to Japan at the same time that I went to Henan Province. When we got back, that Thursday we all headed to Beijing so there is a lot to write about and we'll try to get it all posted as quickly as we can. Check out the photos as well, we will have new albums uploaded with photos to go along with the posts. Happy belated Thanksgiving!

Overnight Train

Since we have been to China, Tammy and I have discussed taking an overnight train to Beijing or somewhere else. It seemed there was a certain sense of the train being a great way to travel and see the country. There was almost a mystique to the stories we heard describing the trains and we drank the Kool-Aid and thought it sounded very special. I am here to tell you that the bloom is off of the rose on this one. As Paul Harvey would say; “and now….the rest of the story.”

The company held an outing over the past weekend to Henan province to visit a few of the local sights (I won’t tell you where so you’ll have to check in again to find out). In order to get to Henan, specifically Zhengzhou, we would take the overnight train leaving Suzhou at 6:00pm and arriving in Zhengzhou at about 8:30am. So we took the sleeper train to Zhengzhou. It would be the first time I had traveled like that and I could get the Chinese experience of traveling like the locals that we see on the weekends walking around in their group hats. So with a certain sense of excitement and trepidation, I accepted the offer to make the journey with the other 300+ associates of the company. I didn’t know exactly where I would be sleeping, with whom I would be traveling or anything but I hoped for the best (and prepared for the worst). The train station is nothing new so I won’t go through that saga, it was the normal train station experience (at least normal for here). So when it comes time, I climb aboard the sleeper train (in this case we were on what is referred to as a “hard sleeper”). It was a little stunning, I have to be honest. Each car held 66 people and had a aisleway/corridor that ran down the one side of the car. On the other side were bunks, 6 in a section (so for you math wizards there were 11 sections per train). No doors, no curtains or anything to separate you from the masses, just your bunk and a place to toss your stuff. It wasn’t exactly made for Westerners, especially the top bunks. My ticket was for the top bunk and when I climbed to the top, I bopped my head immediately when I attempted to sit up. There was no room to sit, you could only lay down. You were about 7-8 feet off the floor on the top bunk, no guardrails or anything to keep you from going over during the night (I can hear the stampede of ambulance chasers now running to file lawsuits). There was a pillow and comforter stacked on each bunk and that’s about it. The aisleway had small “table tops” that were by the windows along with folding seats so you could sit at the table and talk, eat or play cards. Pretty rustic stuff compared to what I was expecting. Just so you know, one of the kids swapped bunks with me so I could be on the bottom bunk which was the largest bunk and doubled as a “sofa” for people to sit and talk. I know that you are asking yourselves about the “accommodations” (“Stop boring us with that stuff, tell us about the toilets?”). Well, at one end of the car were two sinks for all of your bathing & hygiene needs. At either end of the car was a toilet but as you might imagine, it wasn’t a Western potty, it was the squatty potty. There was a nice handrail low on the wall by the potty so you could brace yourself with the movement of the train and a “gas pedal” to flush. (The way it was put together was comical. I thought all they needed was a steering wheel instead of the handrail and it could’ve been driving practice.) The ventilation was a small window, and there was a tiny sink and of course the wastebasket for all of your used tp. It wasn’t exactly the gold standard for toilets but when you travel like the locals….

Now although there were many people in the company on the train, there were just as many regulars on the train that were forced to intermingle with the confusion and chaos created by a bunch of young Chinese “kids” that were going on a field trip (with no chaperones). That’s the only way I could describe it, it was a group of unsupervised 20-30 year olds that were going on an all expense paid vacation (or you can take what’s behind Door #2, tell them what it is Johnny Olson…..a new car!). Chaotic and entertaining all rolled into one. How they interacted with each other is hard to describe but everyone seems to get along like they’ve known each other since grade school. I guess it would be best described like the Expats here. We all share one common experience, living in a foreign country and since we can share that, we hang out together and form bonds. For many of the workers it is the same thing. They left home to come to Suzhou to work, they find others in the same situation and they form an almost instant bond. We were hired on the same day so you are now my new best friend. Given that they are all generally under the age of 25, perhaps it’s better viewed like a fraternity party without the alcohol but with the same amount of energy. There is no consideration of others, it’s party time!

Since it was after 6:00, they started bringing out their food for the trip. I’ll take a quick segway here into how they pack. I packed for 3 days with change of clothes, toiletries, etc. I mean think about how you would pack and what kind of suitcase you might need. After all, we’re headed Northwest of Suzhou so the weather will be different and we had to prepare for rain, etc. I got everything into a mid-size backpack and had a smaller pack for the camera. I also took 2 boxes of granola bars for sustenance since I had no idea what would be on the menu anywhere. I made every effort to not go overboard with clothes and stuff but it was difficult. I wanted to be warm so it took a little more thought to try and get everything to work out. When I looked at what I was carrying compared to the locals, it appeared that I was headed into the wilderness for a month long trek on the Silk Road. How did they pack? They packed FOOD and perhaps a change in undies or a heavy jacket but that was it. Many just had a plastic bag with food and no change in clothes. Seriously, they wore the same thing each day but for them, it was normal. The girls tended to pack more stuff and had small backpacks but most didn’t have any change in clothes so every day they wore the same outfit. It was about the food and how much you could bring along. They had fruit, cakes, dried fruit, dried meats & fish, chips, nuts, just about everything you could think of that you would not take (chicken feet, packaged eggs, packaged tofu, etc.). Some had noodle bowls that they would add hot water and eat while others basically snacked for their meal. Me, I had ½ of a Subway sandwich for dinner. Beyond the food, the interesting part was that they shared everything they had with others. They opened their bag of food and offer stuff to others. Sometimes, they would open the bags of others and grab something out and begin to munch on it. This was so different than I expected. In the US if you open my bag and grab my food, we’re going to have a problem. Not even a second thought was given and everyone happily shared with others. They continued all night to offer me food and it was like I could never refuse it. I would decline, it would be offered again and again until I took some. One of the ladies brought sushi that she made herself. I was scared to death of this. It was 7:00, no refrigeration since she left home (if it was in the fridge at all) and I had no idea if it had shrimp or what kind of meat in it. Talk about your walking wounded if that came back on me. Throwing up with a Western potty provides some degree of trepidation on a train (who sat on this last?) but when you think about throwing up in a squatty…..yikes! (I know, paints a pretty picture doesn’t it) Turns out, I did try it and the meat was a hot dog cube in the middle with a cucumber for the veggie. It was very delicious and I was surprised (and thankful that I didn’t pay the price for this test). So, there wasn’t really what we would call a meal, it was grazing for supper. Then when they were hungry again, they pulled out more snacks to eat and snacked some more. The calorie intake wasn’t very high and there was a lot of junk eaten but it seemed normal to them and I just sat and observed. Every once in awhile a train attendant would walk down the aisleway with a cart of drinks and snacks. There was also the “soup cart” that a lady came through with. It was like the carts for airplanes but the sides were solid and there was a huge container with a ladle sticking out for the soup. This looked like a wagon that would be used at a prison where they would walk by and slosh some broth or gruel into your cup (please sir, may I have a scrap of bread to go with my broth?). Nasty looking stuff and I didn’t see anyone eat it. Every once in awhile an attendant would come through with a trash bag and a broom to keep the place clean.

The cars were all connected and in between each section was the smoking area. It didn’t really matter much because the smell of cigarettes wafted just about everywhere. So you had a lot of noise with the talking and laughing of the locals, the “smooth” (that’s sarcasm just so you know) movement of the train and the smell of cigarettes to create an ambiance that was completely new to me. I think I had walked into the bar like Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars movie (but it’s now Star Wars IV right), it was the same feeling. We had many stops along the way for people to get on and off the train so it was ride for awhile, stop, ride, stop…you get the drift. I just people watched and talked with those that spoke some English. I was surrounded by the kids so it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. They played the Chinese version of poker but I could not figure out how it was played. They didn’t play for money and it was more about the interaction than anything else for the girls. They would look at each others hands, steal cards, etc. It was an interesting dynamic as they just wanted to talk and have fun, the game was secondary to everything else. Steve and I taught a couple of them how to play Texas Hold’em since we couldn’t understand their game. They seemed to grasp it but it took all they could do to keep from taking the cards from the center and using them in their hand.

At 9:45pm, the attendant came through and indicated the lights would be turned off at 10:00 so everyone started to get ready for bed. I was a lot nervous about the pillow and comforter since I didn’t see that they had any kind of sanitary environment for washing these items (if they washed them). So I decided to snuggle down with just my jacket as a blankey. When the lights went off, it didn’t stop the noise, they kept chatting away like it was nothing but I had prepared for this eventuality by bringing along earplugs to wear. There were several issues besides the noise from talking, one was the aisleway lights. They were pointed more across the aisle than down at the floor so they were light little laser beams that hit you in the face unless you moved your foot or something to block the glare. Then there were the window curtains that didn’t block out all of the light so when you went by another station or train or any kind of light, it lit up the entire compartment. Of course there was the herky-jerky motion of the train and then the stops up until about midnight where people were getting on and off the train and of course they had to walk through your car to get to where they were going, chatting all the way (by chatting I mean loudly projecting their voice to be heard on the other side of the universe, “Is this the car”, “Nope, 12 more to go”, “Okay, what else can we talk about on the way there?”, “How about I tell you a story about the little engine that couldn’t shut the hell up”, “I love that story, I’m sure everyone else wants to hear it too.”, “You are right, I’ll talk louder”…and of course they had the obligatory bump of their luggage against each and every bunk as they walked by. Ma and Pa Wang go to Zhengzhou.) I placed my jacket over my head to block the light, put in my earplugs and tried to sleep. I kept having this weird dream that I was taking a loud, crowded, smoky train across China and every time I woke up, it was true! Aiya! I think I was finally able to nod off at about 11:30-12:00 and slept in intervals of maybe 60-90 minutes. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed in the world but at least it was a sleeper car (maybe I stated this before but I have a colleague that took a 21 hour train ride to his hometown and had to purchase a standing room only ticket, now that would be very uncomfortable!). At around 5:30am, the kids began to stir and chat it up again and get their morning breakfast. Fruit, nuts, candy, junk food, whatever. Me, I took my Sigg bottle (that’s an endorsement people, they owe me $5) and headed to the hot water dispenser with my coffee pack to get the morning jolt at about 6:30. I walked by people splashing themselves in the sinks like birds in a birdbath, no nakedness so at least I didn’t have to see that. I had my granola bars and ate my breakfast and tried to come alive. They kept asking me if I needed to “shower” (which I guess was splash myself with cold water) and I indicated I already had. No change in clothes, just wake up and come as you are…not exactly a refreshing morning but at least we were closer to our destination.

Stay tuned for the destination.....

The Penthouse

Our new apartment has 4-bedrooms, a study, a large open area and a laundry room that is 250 sq meters in size (it’s bigger than our house). It’s huge! It’s on the top floor of the apartment complex and it has two levels (so we’re the Drummonds, up in the penthouse with two floors. What? You don’t know who the Drummonds are? What you talking ‘bout Willis? If you still don’t get the reference, either I’m too old or you’re too young and I’m opting for the latter.) It takes some getting used to, having two levels but over time, I am sure we will become accustomed to the changes. It is an older apartment complex (for here, older could mean between 5 and 10 years) but we’re not sure when the complex was established and you can’t really tell from the apartment. The Chateau Regency, where we originally lived was less than 10 years old but based on the appearance and how things were breaking down; you would’ve thought it was much, much older. We gave up some of the “newness” of the Horizon complex and some of the benefits from that but we were able to find a place that was cheaper by a large amount and where we could still be less than cramped. After all, we had less than 10 days to get out so we’re very lucky to have found this place.

Thus far the landlady seems very nice. She was here when we moved in and came back to watch them install a new AC unit in Jacob’s bedroom. That was interesting to watch. The AC units have an interior and exterior component. The interior is a rectangular unit that hangs on the wall. The exterior unit is a small box (maybe 70 cm x 50cm x 30 cm) that goes outside (like an AC unit at home for central air). We’re on the 9th floor so placing the exterior unit outside is a little different. They have to go out the window, remove the old unit and put the new unit in place. The guy uses a rope for a harness and ties himself off to the framework for the AC units on the outside of the building. It’s a little dicey to watch, it’s not like he is using a safety harness like we would see back home, it’s a self-made rope harness. It looks like something that Bear Grylls would use to cross a ravine in Man vs. Wild. I also wouldn’t trust my life to the framework, I mean he has about 4’ of rope between him and the harness, he could build up just enough momentum if he slipped for the framework to get pulled off the building where the rope is attached and down he goes (it’s not the fall that kills you…). They know what they are doing (I guess) but it’s not for me, that’s for sure. It didn’t take them long to replace it and get the new unit running (no accidents). After it was changed out, they talked to Warren about the controls (totally ignoring me, what am I chopped liver…I guess they’ve heard about my Chinese language skills). He seemed to understand and got the basics but they are a dozen buttons on the remote. How many do you really need? On/off, temp up/down, heat/cool/fan….anything else? Anyhow, it is what it is and we’re ready to use it when the weather will require a change.

For many of the other items in the house, I took photos of the controls and had to get with the kids from work to provide the translations. They gave me the Pinyin spelling (which is the pronounciation of the character) and I took it home and looked it up to find the real words. Unfortunately, some of the literal translation doesn’t work so well and needs some additional translating. Strong Wash, Strong Dry, Quick Wash, Quick Dry are okay but others like Quick Spin, I don’t know if this is a rinse cycle or a drying cycle (since this is a washer/dryer combination). What’s the difference between the Strong Wash and the Strong Quick Wash, I don’t know. I guess we’ll have to try it and find out.

The complex we live in now has many more Chinese than Horizon and it shows in several different ways. First, in the building opposite us there is a guy that plays a Chinese wind instrument that makes it sound like we are in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He plays it very often and it echoes around the buildings. I have to admit it’s not super annoying and a little soothing but it’s not something we are used to hearing all of the time. He is pretty good too but I am surprised at how often he plays it. Out in front there is a blue pajama party every morning where the ladies (dressed in their light blue jam-jams) perform Tai Chi, sometimes with swords. Nothing gets you moving faster than an old lady with a sword in her hand (I’ll show you whipper-snappers). In the evening, a group made of mostly of women will meet out in front of the marketplace in the complex to dance. It’s an odd line dance type thing but it is interesting to see. At first I thought it was a special night or something; but they seem to do it quite regularly. Of course the third thing is that there are a lot more Chinese living in the complex. Since the apartments are cheaper, they are in the price range of more of the locals. It isn’t a problem and actually is a little more fun to watch the people here.

We gave up the garbage disposal (bummer) and there are not as many outlets in the apartment but otherwise, we’re doing okay in the new place. We also gave up the code entry door to one where we have to carry a key (that’s so 80’s) but it could be worse. We can still get to our favorite restaurants and walk to the same places as we did before. Some are closer, others are a little farther away but it’s all good. We have a small view of the lake so at least we’re not just stuck staring at another building. So, there you have it in a very short summary (you don’t have to thank me), our new penthouse. So you knock on the door (the doorbell plays Oh Suzanna, now that’s annoying) to the penthouse don’t expect to see Mrs. Garrett (back to the Different Strokes reference again)…it’s just us.

Get out there

Okay folks! It’s that time of year where you need to step it up and perform your civic duty as a US Citizen. Vote! Get out there and be heard. Hopefully, you are informed about the candidates you will choose (if not, you should probably stay home since you can do more harm than good) and the ballot initiatives that you will be voting on. We take this for granted but it is something that we should embrace. If you don’t like the direction you see the school board, county judge, governor, etc. is headed, go and let them know. You don’t get this option everywhere around the world (like somewhere we all know). In the US, we have the opportunity to make a difference and unfortunately many people throw that away (in some cases some do it even when they vote...oops!). I won’t get on my soapbox (unless you beg) and tell you who to vote for. Everyone has their own reasons for voting for a person so just be informed (meaning educated, look for the cake and not the frosting if you understand my meaning) and vote. Everyone is saying this may be the most important election ever but we should all vote like each election is the most important one (the most important game is the next one).

It’s too bad that we can’t vote out a football coach. Wade, thanks for the memories pal but you’ve got to go. My Cowboys are in shambles. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The best part is that I don’t have to watch them go out and not compete each week. Winning is always a good thing but when they don’t compete and begin to mail it in….that’s when I can’t stand watching. I’ve been through the 1-15 season before but at least then it was obvious that they were rebuilding. This year, a talented team that was picked to be one of the best….something has to be done. Wade, bring me your torch….the tribe has spoken.

In the house

Technically it is an apartment but you know what we mean. After all of the headaches and consternation over the past 10 days, we have moved into a new apartment at Landmark Skylight. By new, I mean new to us because it is definitely not a new place. However, all-in-all, things could be much worse and we are thankful to have a roof over our heads.

This has been my third move since arriving in Suzhou. First it was at the Chateau Regency. There I lived in three different units, one by myself and then two after the family arrived. It wasn’t a bad place but much of the luster was lost when the people working there started to depart. Much of the experience there depended on how much you were willing to adapt to the constantly changing environment and uncertainty of what would happen tomorrow. We stayed for several months before asking for the option to leave (the revolving door of prostitutes in the area sealed the deal). Then we moved into Horizon. Our landlady seemed very nice until the day we signed the contract. From that moment, it was a struggle to get anything fixed in the apartment. The final straw came with the air conditioner unit that would leak gallons of water (sorry, liters) a day from the ceiling. It was causing issues (although the drip bucket on the floor really went well with our “ourdoor living” motif) and she didn’t want to get it fixed. When all was said and done (and I’ve edited myself here to stop with the long-winded explanation of the issue…hey, no need to thank me) it was a relatively easy fix but it took several months and several dozen AC guys to “look at the problem” before it was fixed. [This seems to be a Chinese thing, whenever there is a problem they always go to the extreme as the solution. There is no logical process to the problem solving, it’s jump to a conclusion and ride it out.] And now, here we are in Landmark Skylight. We hope this will be the last move we have to make in China but many other Expats move every year so you can never say never.

We packed the stuff ourselves. We had them drop off 15 boxes early in the week and each night we would try to fill a couple of boxes. Clothes are easy; it’s all the breakables that create the challenge. We’re not professionals and didn’t have all the paper and stuff used to place between places, bowls, glasses, etc. So we had to improvise. We placed underwear between the plates and bowls to provide the cushion and prevent the breakage. Then it was just a matter of getting the glasses wrapped up. Okay, I’m joking, we didn’t use underwear to keep the plate separated. After all everyone knows that you use underwear to wrap up the utensils, you use socks for the glasses (still joking!). Anyhow, we filled all of our suitcases plus the 15 boxes and still had some left over that we used bags and other things we had around to load. The biggest concern we had was our framed artwork.

The “3 guys and a truck” moving company showed up a little later than planned. The cops were called while they were trying to enter the complex so we’re not sure what happened there but we were worried that the husband had once again decided to stir the pot. Thankfully the “situation” was resolved and when they reached the apartment we showed them all of the stuff (and it was a lot more than I would have imagined) and they began to move the boxes. None of the guys were young but they grabbed the boxes and began to load the elevator. They would take the stuff off of the elevator and then place them on a large sled (like the ones at Home Depot that you push around) and roll the boxes out of the complex to their truck (about 100 meters, maybe more on the winding walking paths). It was a mid-size flatbed truck with “raised sides” so it wasn’t the standard US moving van. They had tarps in case of rain (of course who knows how many holes were in those tarps) so they were ready although the weather was pretty darned nice for a move. They moved very fast and got the first load out within about 20 minutes. They made me package the pictures after they provided me with a box and some thin Styrofoam strips to cover the glass. It wasn’t what I would call “heavy duty protection”, I would’ve had more protection if I wrapped the pictures in a paper towel (or perhaps my underwear). At least they made an effort. I actually used the stuff and placed pillows around the pictures since the box was way too big for the pictures. Tammy and our real estate agent went over to the new apartment to meet with the landlady while Jacob and I stayed put to watch them pack (and by watch I mean Jacob was sprawled out on the couch playing his Nintendo DS). Warren was at band practice (he was the lucky one) at school so he escaped all the stuff. The guy came back into the apartment and said something to me but I didn’t know what he said. I asked Jacob to pay attention while he said it again (of course by pay attention Jacob actually moved slightly but didn’t take his eyes off the screen). He was telling us that the truck had taken the first load over and he would take everything down to the first floor and wait for them. I didn’t figure this out, Jacob told me what he said (which makes it even more annoying that I’ve been taking these Chinese classes for over a year now and still can’t get it. I’ve know much more useful things like how to ask to have my hair dyed at the beauty salon…sheesh! This is why I don’t speak much Chinese, I’m afraid they’ll ask me something and I’ll tell them that I like their new hairdo.). At about that time, in comes the satellite guy to take our box to the new place. I would tell you how he had it hooked up but you wouldn’t believe me anyhow (there goes Scott embellishing another China experience again). It only took about 90 minutes to get all of the stuff out. I was surprised, they moved very fast and didn’t break anything despite our fears (you see, the underwear worked, and you thought I was crazy!). The most surprising thing is the cost. It was 150 RMB per truckload of stuff. 150 RMB! For those keeping score at home, that’s about $22. It seems like a lot of work for a very little bit of money but it’s what they do. The more they move, the more they make. Come back later and I’ll tell you more about the new place.