Off to the Trans-Siberian Railroad. In today’s paper there seems to be a problem in the public toilets. People are stealing whole rolls of toilet paper! To prevent this problem, the government has put in each toilet a face recognition camera to ensure that you do not use too much paper. One women was arrested after the camera showed she had been in the toilet twice in too short a period of time. See article below.

 

Cragged Rock where the Silk Road came through the village of Cuandixia

The village entrance

 

 

Driving through Beijing, it is evident that China has changed greatly in twenty years. There is new construction everywhere, with high-rise apartments on the outskirts of the city housing thousands of people. On the plus side, there are many more trees that have been planted, so the city is not as stark as it was. Along the highway there are rows of trees and climbing roses, however no birds to be seen in residence.

 

Our hotel, the Red Garden Inn, is in the Hutong area and is delightful. You drive along a very narrow street to a small gate that opens to what one would imagine a home before the revolution might have looked like. Courtyard, beautiful handcrafted beans, painted in traditional Chinese designs, fountains made from clay pots bubbling in corners, and art everywhere. Even the room numbers have artistic touches with paintbrushes or a teapot under the number.

 

Our destination was the village of Cuandixia, two hours outside Beijing. It was reported to be a charming preserved village created 500 years ago where the Han family lived during the Ming Dynasty. Pictures and descriptions brought to mind a thriving village set into the mountainside with beautiful trees and flowering bushes. Driving there we passed gigantic electrical towers intertwining and snaking down a valley that resembled a dry riverbed. Touring on either sides of the road were cragged mountains that posed a threat of tumbling rocks blocking our pathway. Once again, Shap and I found ourselves riding on winding roads with 1,000 of feet drop-offs and no guard rails. We seem to have the uncanny ability of finding in every country their steepest, most challenging roadway.

 

Cuandixia appears to be in a National Park due to the fact that we had to pay to get into the area. There is no indication of this other than a checkpoint. Of course, if we read Chinese it might all be clear. Arriving there, you could look upward on the mountain to see rows of stone homes and cement tiled roof tiles. It might have been more authentic if the roof tiles had been clay, but restoration has taken place and now cement seems to have replaced the old clay and stone building methods. However, the village was laid out exactly as it had been with the wealthy living high on the hill and the poorer people at the bottom. At one time there was a river flowing by but it is a dry riverbed now.

 

We climbed up on uneven stairs, through courtyards of homes shuttered closed. The doors with rice paper coverings were torn, and the entire village had the look of abandonment. The popularity of the village has waned. A shrine sat above the village with a winding pathway leading to it. Spectacular views of the mountainside and the rooflines of the village were worth the trip alone. We ended the climb walking through a fragrant pathway of flowering bushes.

 

Out guide suggested a “short” walk along the old silk road (now a two lane highway) to an area where the rock walls squeeze the road into a zig -zag of rock walls with long cervices snaking through the rock threatening to disengage at any moment to block the roadway. The short walk in the hot sun turned into over a mile of uphill and an apology from our guide that forgot the distance. All was worth it once you happened upon these rocks. An abandoned primary school was carved into the rock with a wooden doorway, carved openings for windows which was the only indication of an entrance. Dark, damp and cave-like, it would not be an encouraging place to study.

 

Tomorrow the first leg of our Trans-Siberian adventure.

 

It is 6 pm in Seoul and the airport is busy. Happy Birhday to Shap, my wonderful husband and travel companion. It has  the feel of any other airport in the world, even a Dunkin Donuts is here. I would recommend Korean  Air to anyone; clean, polite and business class was a god send. Found an amazing discount and it was worth the extra money. Not that much more. Sleeping prone actually does help your outlook. 

Now that I am far away from home my anxiety of being torn between Vermont and the world has lessened. Watching people here in the airport you realize how homogenous we have become. I can pick out clothes and bags from all over but many of the products are American. We are all in this together and no matter what Trump says, I do not see how we can untangle and move backward to a world without international trade. 

Off at 3:30 AM for Jet Blue to JFK with our wonderful friend Alan Thorndike arriving at our  door step to drive us to the airport. 

The sun is rising off to our right and promising a beautiful day. We look over the landscape as we take off and I muse about my conflicting viewpoint of wanting to stay in the comfort and safety of this beautiful home and my desire to travel and experience the world. 

Spring in Vermont, one of my favorite times of the year and tomorrow we leave for 6 weeks. I will miss the tulips, the lilacs, and the transformation of our magnolia tree, now white with its flowers and soon to turn into waxy green leaves. I remember the first spring here, trying to uncover the mystery of that tree. I did not know that magnolia trees could bloom in Vermont, but having grown up in Pennsylvania I knew this had to be one. Some year I will photograph its transformation.

The world situation is dark right now. Everyone is positioning itself and showing their muscles. Trump is totally unequipped to do his job, as he can no longer bull his way through, spewing his grandiose spittle everywhere, while people cower under him, like insects running to take shelter. The Republicans think that they will be able to manipulate the situation, while those with any long term history in the Senate should know that they need to be vigilante. Will they follow like sheep or will some wake up and  become the black sheep of the party. Meanwhile the Democrats are ineffectual. Will we, the people, continue to take to the streets or will our protests fall like dead leaves being crushed under the footsteps of the “new regime.” We cannot let this happen.

So we leave with anxiety and yet with anticipation of the unknown. It is an adventure, an adventure that Shap and I have talked about for years… completing our round the world travels. I am following in my grandfather’s footsteps, he traveled round the world in the 50’s, a very different world for sure. Iran was then Persia and I have pictures of them on elephants and camels. They came home with a doll from every country for me and I would imagine them walking with these people dressed like the clothes on my dolls. Perhaps this was the beginning of my desire to travel and see the world. I am lucky to have a companion that has as much curiosity as I do.

Train travel has always fascinated us. There is something about sitting looking out the window at buildings, and countryside glimpses of poverty, wealth, skyscrapers, and derelict buildings, of ducks floating in puddles beside the tracks unperturbed by the clamoring noise of the train, it brings a sense of peace and meditation. Although the luxury of the Orient Express is alluring, it is not our kind of travel. We need to be with the people, get off at different places and explore and then back on to unknown parts. For sure, a berth with a comfortable mattress and our own bathroom would help these creaking bones, but it is not who we are. We must travel where we can connect with others and share stories or hand signals and laugh at our inability to communicate. We must take ourselves out of our comfort zone and challenge ourselves to be gracious, humble and accepting of our situation. We, in a small way, need to communicate to others that we are all together in this world and we want to respect and love each other for our differences. And so tomorrow begins the “great train ride”, the epic finish to our round the world travels. Does this mean that we will now retire to our chairs and stay in the comfort of our home? No, I am already planning a family trip somewhere exciting and onward to South America which we have not explored.