Our stay in Beijing was full of incredible sight seeing. I spent most of my time there taking pictures in utter amazement by the history and beauty that surrounded me.

Over the next week or so, I hope to put up selected pictures from the places we visited. The first one in line is the Temple of Heaven.

According to the descriptions provided, the temple, which was built in 1420, was a place where the Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasty worshiped heaven and prayed for good harvest. It consisted of several buildings and structures and was set on large grounds.

I also found out that before worshiping began, it was custom to burn a cleanly shaved calf, presumably alive, with pine twigs and reeds to welcome the heaven that is god.

My thoughts?

Oh, at least it wasn't live little virgins girls as the Mayans and the Greeks preferred.

Yup, the good old days indeed!

In addition to the fact that the temple itself was architecturally spectacular, it was also set in a beautiful park. So, not only did we enjoy visiting the historical structures, but we were also able to rest our tired selves afterwards and collect our thoughts about what we had just seen.

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Continue Reading "At The Temple of Heaven"

We had a fantastic Saturday at the BingYu Goh Valley state park. My husband and I, with Buchela and my parents took off at6:30 in the morning and arrived at the park around 8:30.

So, we had an early start.

But we are in China. And in China, solitude is a rarity. State parks are no different. Even early in the morning, there were already hordes of people that came by the bus loads prepared to assault the place.

To make things worse, there were shops all over the place. Game operators played different and loud music in competition with each other. And you know those golf cart looking cars inside airports? There were there ferrying the old and the lazy back and forth on the main trail. We had to be careful not be run over.

That said, we still had a great time.

Buchela's father was creative at finding ways to get away from the crowd. We even got lost --- very lost --- by choosing the less traveled trails. Try to imagine what it would be like to explain that you are lost and to ask for directions when you don't speak the same language as the people with whom you are trying to communicate!

Buchela enjoyed the day as much as anyone. He even walked part of the way! My parents did well but my mother was pretty putout by the seven hour hike after 2/3rds of the way. Of course we took plenty of breaks. But still, she kept on asking when we will finish and if we knew where we were going....

We assured her we did and when it became evident that we didn't (when we got lost), she panicked thinking that there might be another six hours to go.

My parents will definitely have a few new stories to tell after this trip!

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Continue Reading "Weekend Hike"

I have always wanted to give my parents a nice vacation as a present. I didn't want it to be the kind where they come to my house and sit around. I envisioned it to be full of activities and discovery. I wanted them to completely disconnect from their daily life back in Ethiopia and experience something new.

This past weekend, we went to Dandong for an over night trip. We left early Saturday morning and returned late Sunday evening. The eastern most starting point of the Great Wall is located outside of Dandong.

As I climbed the Great Wall with my parents, I realized my wish of giving them a vacation to some exotic place has come true in a way I never thought it would.

After all, here we were, in China, on the Great Wall --- over a thousand five hundred years back in history.

Only my father made it to the end of the climb. My mother returned after a bit. I don't blame her. It was a hard hike.

At the end, we walked around the wall, with a great view of North Korea. It was fascinating to look into that hermit country. My dad took a picture standing on one side of the border fence and then the other very quickly. The side he is supposed to be at, of course, is on the side where Buchela and his father stand! (see pictures below).

The Buchela did very well on his father's back.

We finished up the day with a perfect meal at a ramshackle rural restaurant. We ate huge eggs whose bird source we still don't know. The egg shells were faint grey with a very light hint of blue. In addition, we had a delicious fish dish and some other stuff (donno what it was). We basically ordered what another table was having by pointing at their food.

We were lucky they had good taste!

(To see all the pictures, click on More)

Continue Reading "A Day at the Wall"

During our brief Yalu River cruise in Dandong I was able to take some pictures of North Koreans. There were so many times I wanted to yell, to wave, to try to communicate but I knew that was not a good idea. Equipped with binoculars and a camera, I tried to see if there was anything I could learn from their faces.

These people see the glitz and the wealth across the river, a short distance away, on a daily basis but have to stay put on their side because if they try to swim across, they will be shot on the spot.

They are simply not allowed to leave their country.

Can you imagine?

Continue Reading "Spot a North Korean"

The amazing thing about being in Dandong, looking across into North Korea is the difference between the two river banks.

The Dandong side is bustling with energy and life. There are lots of restaurants, vendors, shops, cruise boats, and all sorts of businesses on the China side.

You look across the river however, there is no development. In this case, the grass is literally greener on the other side.

Just to provide you a reference point, the first two pictures are of Dandong.

The rest are pictures of North Korea I took as we cruised down the Yalu river.


Dandong in the day time.


Dandong at sunset.

Pictures Below: North Korea.

Continue Reading "North Korea, Scenes from the Otherside"