The Traveling Duo

Follow the Yellow Flag

Yesterday, Dan and I got to experience a truly unique Chinese cultural experience - the Chinese Tour group.  Hustled onto a big, white bus, we braved the snowy and at times impassable roads on our way to visit several ancient cultural relics.  Following our sage (ie- tour guide carrying the yellow flag and portable microphone), we walked the steps where royalty bathed and the later fled when the Red Army defeated them.  It was a surreal experience.   Later we would see a replica of the tomb of the first Qin emperor, who effectively created China as we know it today.  His tomb consisted of an underground city, encrusted with precious stones and featuring rivers of mercury. 

Before moving forward to walk over the mound (it is not open to the public) and see the famous 6,000Terracotta Soldiers who guard the mound some 1 km away, it was time for a good old-fashion infomercial.  First, we went to a jade shop, then we went to a knife shop, and no not the historical kind, we’re talking kitchen knives.  Did you know China makes kitchen knives that can cut a book?  Fascinating, I know.  And last of all, we ate at a restaurant where we had mass-produced “traditional” arts paraded in front of us that were all for sale.  At first, Daniel and I thought were being schemed but no - this is how all tours operate over the entire country (we didn’t figure this out till the very end, though, right before we were going to demand a discount). 

You gotta love being chauffeured around in a language you don’t understand and a culture you still haven’t quite gotten yet.  In the end, we had a blast and laughed a lot.  At least this time, the experience didn’t end with eating cow intestines. 

The death of a vegetarian

I thought you all might like to know how my 15 year oath to not eat meat is slowly dying.  Here’s what I’ve eaten so far (this is within the first 3 days of arriving in China):

• Pork - A little won’t hurt me, especially if Daniel was instructed to not tell me it’s in the bun.
• Shrimp - Our host kindly told me it was ok to save animals in the US, but China’s like to be eaten.
• Crab - I gnawed at the furry claws but drew the line when told to eat the guts, even if it is apparently the best part.
• Yak Meat - When traveling in Tibet, it’s bound to happen….
• Squirrel - While visiting mountain tribes in Northern Laos.  This delicacy, which is hunted down by homemade muskets, is apparently best when dried so that the meat clings to the bone.   I had the claw but fortunately was able to dodge eating the intestines.

I’m sure this list will grow and will eventually include the “mysterious meat”, just thought I would start it off. 

Beijing - in a nut shell

Daniel and I have been in Beijing for the four days now, and it has been pretty amazing experience.  It’s a crazy time to be in the city.  Everything is about the Olympics, the entire city has been bulldozed and in the process of being rebuilt over the last 10 years, and right now is crunch time.  

What this means is that in the race to modernize, some people get left behind.  There were poignant moments where, while riding brand new city buses sporting flat screen TVs, we passed through slums with homes that were only marginally nicer than the piles of rubble around them.  Fully a quarter of the population lives in these squalid conditions, though you’d never know without leaving the city center.    

Rather than staying at a hostel in the heart of everything, we’ve spent quite a bit of time in a residential area on the northern edge of the city.  We have been living with a family, who have to be one of the nicest and most generous families on earth.  Because of this, we have gotten to see a side of Beijing that most foreign tourists don’t see.  Life moves slower out here, but not by much.  Even at the end of the No 5 subway line (one of 4 brand new subway lines) , there’s a throng of people jammed into the bus during rush hour.  Of course, over 200,000 people live in this neighborhood. 

Despite the crowds, family remains the central theme in life.    Children move away to go to college, but once they start a family of their own, the parents will move in.  Our host’s son lives in the apartment above them with his wife and his in-laws.   Children seem to be everything here, as their daughter - Ya-Ya - receives constant attention and care. 

I’ve also learned that an important Chinese custom is to take very good care of all guests.  In the four days that we have been here, we’ve woken up to a feast for breakfast with another feast in the evening.  We’ve also been chauffered to all of the tourist sites where our host will wait two hours for us to explore.  All the while, we are not allowed to pay for a thing or lift a finger.  A new baby is about to be born, and we are seen as good luck because we have come at the same time. 

All in all, its been an eye-opening experience and I couldn’t imagine a better way to start our round-the-world adventure.

And here they GO….

Thanks to Dan’s nerdy, err techy, brain and Sarah’s persistence, we are proud to announce the launch of The Traveling Duo! Here you’ll be able to track our travels, see some photos, and read about our crazy adventures. Although our itinerary is still very loose, this is a basic overview of what’s to come:

January 8 - Washington DC, USA to Beijing, China
January - Xian, Xining (China), Lhasa (Tibet)
March - Yunnan province (Southern China)
April & May - Laos, Vietnam, Thailand & Cambodia
May 8 - Bangkok, Thailand to Cairo, Egypt
May - Egypt with Sarah’s folks
June & July - Jordan, Israel, and Syria
August 8 - Cairo, Egypt to Johannesburg, South Africa
August through October - South Africa, Mozambique and Botswana
October 28 - Cape Town, South Africa and finally HOME!

We’ll do our best to keep this blog updated with wacky stories to keep you coming back. Feel free to publish your comments, send us emails, or just stalk us to your own degree! Most of all, wish us luck!

More to come…
Dan and Sarah