Non Sleeper

- Have you ever taken an overnight bus? They call it a "sleeper" and it does have seats that recline, but I sure do not do a lot of sleeping on that bus! Last night we came from Hue to Ninh Binh and it was a 12 hour overnight bus. We arrived at about 6 am in the pitch dark and fog on the side of the road. Luckily there was a guy who had a hotel and took us straight to a room and we went straight to bed. Phew! It was a long night.

- Why is it that they ride bikes a lot all over Asia and all over Africa and all over Europe, but we don't really ride bikes that much in the US? Today we rode about 12 - 15 km through the rice paddies. Everyone was busy planting rice and they all waved and smiled (and gave us necessary directions) as we passed them by. It was a really nice ride. Why don't we do this more often?

- The traffic here is crazy. That is going to be a future post all to itself.

- Now that we are in the North, the sun is gone (boooo). No more sunny, hot days. It has been cloudy, foggy and about 50 degrees. Well, I guess it IS winter, isn't it?

- Tomorrow we head out by motorbike to a few old ruins and towns. I am looking forward to it, except for the fact that the last time I rode a motorbike, I burned myself on the exhaust pipe. Really badly. Luckily we were getting gas and the gas-lady smeared some weird orange honey-looking stuff on it. It is still healing, but it is going to leave a scar.

- This is TOTALLY random. Have you ever heard of the Moron Test? It is an app on iPhone etc and it is totally addicting. You should try it. I think it costs 99 cents and it is the only app I have ever paid for. It makes you feel totally stupid. But you like it and you want more. I can't explain it.

Randoms and Questions: A Vietnam List

(1) Getting to Vietnam was an interesting experience. The guy told us that the bus would take about 9 hours. It turned out to be about 14 hours and two bus changes. The last change put us in a minivan with about 15 other people. In the middle of the ride, the van stopped and loaded a motorbike into the back of the van. I was feeling very faint the rest of the ride and I kept thinking, "what if I get gas poisoning?" I mean, can you die from inhaling too many gasoline fumes? I don't know but I was soooo sleepy and I kept thinking, "Can't. Fall. Asleep". Arriving in Saigon was the happiest moment of my day.

(2) I am trying to make my site mobile but am having trouble. I heard that www.mobify.me was good. I tried it and I pasted the code into my html but it still isn't working. Any hints? Anyone?

(3) I finished the book I was reading: Around Africa on my Bicycle. All 705 pages of it. A review will be forthcoming. You can find my list of completed books for this year as well as a list of previously reviewed books on my bookshelf page. Also our BBC (Blogger Book Club) picked this month's read (well really it is March). We decided on Sense and Sensibility. You can find out more about that on the bookshelf page as well.

(4) Looking for new blogs? Check out For The Love of Blogs. They have sections where you can browse different genres of blogs, they feature a new blog about once a week (sometimes more) and they have wonderful blog hops where you can enter and/or check out other bloggers using the link up.

(5) In Vietnam the portions are pretty small compared to what we get at home. This is fine for me, but Mr. Lovely needs a "real meal". Today we went to lunch and when he got his "steak and fries" (I told him not to try to order "European food") he almost cried, it was so small. So after finishing eating, we went for a second lunch! It was actually pretty fun. It was "cafe day". We had lunch, second lunch and then...why not...stopped for coffee at a third cafe. 

(6) Why is it that when I am on the 12 hour bus ride I have about a million ideas for things to write about but when it comes down to it I never remember, or it doesn't come out how I wanted? WHY!?

(7) That's it. Have a great week everyone! Happy Presidents Day!

Endless Possibilities

In Southeast Asia they carry EVERYTHING on tiny motorcycles. Here are a few examples. 

They carry Tuk-Tuks full of people

They carry rice etc

 

They carry people (sometimes up to 4!!)

They carry blocks of ice

This is the mail carrier

What will they carry next?!! I've seen them carry dogs, bicycles, televisions, rebar, gallons of water, empty water jugs, chickens. There are ice cream motorcycles, pad thai motorcycle carts and even fried insect motorcycle carts. Anything you never thought would be associated with a motorcycle....IS!! Oh and half the time the driver is on the phone at the same time. 


Have you seen any weird motorcycle passengers?

Sights and Sounds

Vietnam in one word: Clean. You can’t always say this for many countries. You may have a nice beach but there is a lot of trash on it. You may get a hostel where the blankets haven’t been washed in a long time. You may have rats or cockroaches in your room (or even better, in the kitchen). In Vietnam, the laundry smells good, the streets are clean, things are on time and things are pretty organized in general.

Here are a few more things we have seen, heard, smelled, experienced and tasted while in Vietnam.

-4 people on a motorbike, sometimes with a TV, a bag of rice or a block of ice.
-A bus, 2 cars, 3 motorcycles and a bicycle sharing a lane meant for 2
-A pig knuckle soaking in a bowl of water on the ground right outside the toilet (okay maybe that is not so clean!)
-Honking, always honking
-Water buffaloes in the rice paddies
-The Mekong river, wide and brown
-People doing their laundry, washing their dishes and washing themselves in the Mekong (okay, maybe also not so clean)
- Pho bo (beef noodle soup)
- Dragon fruit (pink leafy looking outside, white inside with black seeds; tastes like a watery kiwi)
- Durians (supposedly smell REALLY bad. I have never noticed that)
- Café Sua Da (Iced coffee)
- Bootlegged copied books for sale
- Beaches
- Kite surfing
- Coconut shakes (my favorite)
- Scuba diving
- Ladies covered in clothing from head to toe. They don’t want to get tan.
- I was told I was an “old maid” because I wasn’t married with children at my advanced age.

Have you ever experienced any of these things? What are your favorite sights and sounds from around YOU? What's the weirdest thing your ever encountered?

What I Love About Vietnam

Bags like these!

Fruit markets

Pho Bo for breakfast!

Beaches

Dragon Fruit (tastes like a kiwi)

Vietnamese Coffee!

Riding around on a tiny bike

Spicy food!

There are a lot of other things but I didn't get photos of them all! A non photo list to follow!

Ten on Tuesday (7)

I just realized I have two number "4"s. So this is actually number 7. Oops. 

1. Any vacations you are looking forward to this summer?
My dad wants to climb Mt. Whitney. I did it when I was a kid, but am looking forward to doing it again as a (not so whiny/more appreciative) adult.

2. What is your favorite article of summer clothing (shoes are included)?
Flip Flops

3. What is your favorite summer drink (alcoholic or non)?
I do love a nice cold glass of white wine. But that is not really a strictly summer drink. I guess I love a good glass of sun tea with either lots of lemon or mixed with lemonade.

4. Do you tan or burn?
I burn and then I get "tan". Tan for me is like the whitest color my boyfriend EVER is.

5. Any goals you are working toward this summer?
I am hoping to get a job. That's as far as I've gotten so far.

6. What is your favorite summertime food?
I love BBQs! Picnics and even hot dogs. Summertime makes everything taste good!

7. What song most says “summer” to you?
Nothing really comes to mind, but sadly I just got Katy Perry's California Girls in my head for some reason!

8. Any home improvement goals planned for this summer?
Ug, let's hope not too many!

9. What is one thing you hate to see at the beach?
Oh...man. Well trash is probably the worst, but I've seen some super fat, topless, overly tan, wrinkled ladies in my day. I don't hate them but it causes a bit of a giggle.

10. Did you ever go to a summer camp?
No. I always wanted to. I wanted to be like Haley Mills in Parent Trap. What fun! 

Compliments of Chelsea at Roots and Rings. 

Sign Thai

A quick note: I added a new page - Travel Tips. It is a work in progress and I have a lot to add/edit, but if you need a general overview, feel free to take a look!!!  Also let me know if you have any questions or comments!

Another installment of signs. Sorry about the photo heavy posts, but I finally uploaded some pictures! 

Here are a few signs from Thailand and Cambodia that made me giggle.

No....baby sex?

If you are 15, go to this bar!

Supposed to say "Baht".

I want a piece of this!

Actually, this restaurant was pretty fast.

Apparently towels are used differently in Cambodia.

Happy Hour: Open until Close. I like it!

No...coughing, shouting, singing?

And my FAVORITE. No standing on the toilet (people actually do this!!), no wearing boots, and no showers for little girls!!!

Book Review: The Lost Symbol

Picture from here.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Set in Washington DC, this book is of a tale of murder, revenge and of course, symbolism. However, other than the new setting and a different cult to learn about, this book is the same as the rest of the Dan Brown novels. The main character, Robert Landon, gets roped into helping the CIA stop a madman in the way of deciphering codes and teaching us the way of the Masons.

I do like how I learn something about the city that the book is set in, just as I did with his other novels. I also appreciate learning about the Masons and the symbolism that is behind the Order. The plot was thrilling enough, but as I said before, if you have read any of his other books, you know what is going to happen before Landon does. However, the historical and scientific aspects are interesting.

I give this book a 3 out of 5, because it taught me something new and kept me mostly entertained. However, it was the same cookie cutter book as all the rest he has written.

Two Pees in a Pod: Part I

Taken by me in Bolivia 2008

Disclaimer: if you are adverse to potty talk or the word "ass", you may want to skip this one.

Water, Water, Everywhere: Have you ever had to pee really bad but there was no place to go? How long can you hold it? I have found out on my travels that I can hold it for a very long time. Not a very comfortable thing to do, but it is possible. There have been several multi hour bus trips where the driver doesn’t stop very often and you are not sure when he is going to stop. Then he does stop and you run around like a chicken with it’s head cut off looking for the toilet. You find a person, any person and say “toilet??” Sometimes they understand you, sometimes they don’t. You mime peeing (legs crossed, pointing at groin). Still no response. You squat down on the ground. Maybe then they begin to understand.

The other day I was on a 2 hour boat ride with no facilities. Right after breakfast and two cups of coffee. It was like, “water water everywhere but not a….” place to pee! I contemplated (many times) asking the skipper to stop so I could jump in the ocean to pee. I was that desperate. Of course the fact that there IS water everywhere does not make it any easier to hold it either. I made it to the dock, but then did the aforementioned chicken dance.

Urinating in Public: I am from the mountains and sometimes you have to pee on a bush, but sometimes in other countries, you don’t even get a bush to pee on. I was in Vietnam a few years ago on a loooong (25 hours) bus ride and the bus never stopped. I had to go to the bathroom so bad. Finally the bus driver pulled over on the side of the highway and all the locals on the bus ran out and began to pee on the side of the road. I knew it was my only chance, so I too, bared my ass to the locals and did what I had to do.

This is not the only time this has happened. In Mozambique, a similar thing happened. The bus pulls over and I hear the driver say (and excuse me; my Portuguese is really Spanish), “senhoras, aca; senhores, alla” and everyone got off the bus. The ladies went to the back and the men went to the front. Just like that. Bare assed on the side of the road again.

In Bolivia, I was in a high plain area, I think it was about 16,000 feet. For some reason high altitude makes me have to go a lot! I tried to hold it but alas, it was not to be. “Senor” I said, “necessito ir al bano!” (thank goodness for 9th grade Spanish!) He pulled over and I showed my ass to all the Bolivians.

The best and most recent public wee was in China where “public restroom” takes another meaning. There are no partitions, only a row of 3 or 4 holes in the ground. You squat down next to your fellow woman and do what you have to do, right there in front of everyone. I was really nervous about peeing on my shoes in front of everyone; I was not as nervous (anymore!) about showing them my bum.

When in doubt, use the…Urinal?: Yup, I once had to use a urinal. Even better was that this was a “bathroom” with only three walls so when you are standing at the urinal, your back shows. Luckily I had a sarong and a friend to hold it up against the opening, acting like a 4th wall. How does this work, you may wonder. Well if you pull your pants all the way down and kind of straddle the urinal, its not really that bad at all. I was worried about peeing on my leg, but I narrowly escaped that fate.

Where is the weirdest place you have had to use the bathroom? What has been your most difficult pee story?

Books! (A list)

books!
Originally uploaded by kyria!

Note: if you have this in your reader twice, it's because for some reason blogger decided to post this before I was done. So, this one is the real one; the other one was just a draft! 

I wanted to keep a list of the books I have read this year. I may update this every few months. So, as of today, here are the books I have read so far. Like I have said before, when I am on the road, I pretty much read whatever I can get my hands on in English...so excuse me if they are a little strange! I put stars behind the ones I have not or probably will not review (based on 5 star system: 1 - bad, 2 - okay, 3 - good, 4 - very good, 5 - excellent)

January:
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell (review here)
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown (review on its way)
Big Cherry Holler - Adriana Trigiani **
The Mummy - Anne Rice ***
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer *** (finally read it and surprisingly like it!)
Love Rosie - Cecilia Ahern *** (beach read - romance, fluff etc)
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts (review to come)

February:
Stories We Could Tell - Tony Parsons **
The Essence of the Thing - Madeline St John **

As you can see, I have slowed down in February. The last two were pretty unexciting and then I tried to read a fantasy book and there were so many names and places and I had no idea what they were talking about. So finally, against my will, I quit in the middle and gave it to a used book store. Seriously. Gave it. They wouldn't even buy it back! It was that bad. And I almost never quit a book, no matter how bad it is.

What I am reading now:
Around Africa on My Bicycle - Riaan Manser
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (a FREE ebook from Amazon!)

Additional Note: AubrieAnne over at Who's Your Editor is doing a Bookmark Break Challenge 2011 where you list all the books you read this year. You can find the complete list over on my Pages. I will be updating it as much as I can. If I read more books than she does, I win a prize! Wish me luck!

Chinglish

In China, they sometimes put English on signs. The funny thing is they don't always get the spacing or wording right. Here are a few funny signs we saw while we were there.

Forbidden

I am not sure what this dish is!

Needs no words. Really.

One word only. Saves money on spaces.

Do you turn it off when you start?

Whatever it is, it is fast.

Ruined!

A few notes: firstly, I started this blog about 5 years ago from Cambodia to try to find out what was going on at home and share what I was doing abroad. HERE is my first post. I had no idea what I was doing. I thought you wrote the blog in the comments. I was clueless really. I guess what I thought was that I would ask a question and people would answer in the comments. Or we would have a dialogue in the comments. I am not really sure what I was thinking. Anyway, I just wanted to say that it seems I have come "full circle". I am back where I started from and this blog has become more (obviously) that I thought it would.

I have written about Angkor Wat before. But this is a place that not only can you visit again and again, and see new things when you do, but you can write about it several times with no problem. Every time I go to a place I learn something new that I didn't know before. For example Angkor Wat means "city temple" and was built in the early 12th century as the king's state temple and capital city.

It is huge. You could try to walk around the entire complex, but you would probably need many days to do so. We rented a tuk-tuk, which if you haven't heard of this, is an interesting way to get around. It is a guy driving a motorcycle with a people "trailer" (that fits 4) hitched to the back. No joke. I have a photo but have not downloaded them from my camera, so below is one I borrowed.

I got this photo HERE.

We rented a tuk-tuk for about 20 dollars for the day for four people and he took us around from temple to temple. The temples are all beautiful, although some of them are in worse disrepair than others. Actually, they are in the process of renovating many of them right now. We got to the main complex before sunrise, as the best views are during sunrise. There is a nice pool that reflects the temple in the water. I am sure you have seen photos of it. In fact, if you go to Wikipedia, you will see the very photo I am speaking of.

It was pretty hot, and soon we had seen enough ruins for the day. We headed back to Siem Reap for some 50 cent draft beers and some Khmer food (similar to Thai in many ways). The town of Siem Reap is quite bustling, with a range of hotels (they even have a Sheraton!) as well as many lower budget guesthouses (like where we stayed!) They have a range of food; we even had pizza one day. They have a lot of people begging, especially ones with no limbs. The Cambodians only recently ended civil warring, and there are still many unexploded mines in the countryside. Unfortunately, you are not supposed to walk off the beaten trail or you may have an accident.

So, second time around = still good. 

Cambodian Time

I am impatient. One of my biggest pet peeves is people who are late. People who have decided their time is more important than yours. People who say they are going to meet up with you and then don't come, don't call and obviously...don't care.

However, I have had to learn (a little bit) to be patient in Cambodia. The first day we arrived, we crossed over from Thailand with no problems, entered Cambodia fairly painlessly and then went to our bus which would take us to Siem Reap (home of Angkor Wat). Unfortunately, when you take a bus between countries, oftentimes you can't stay on one bus; you have to transfer once you cross the border and you end up using two different bus companies. We were told that the ride from the border to Siem Reap would take about 3 hours and that we would arrive around 5 pm. This seems simple enough -- we need to leave by 2 pm to make it on schedule.

We arrived at the border at 12:30 pm. There were about 5 of us and we were the first ones to the bus. The guy said, "lucky you, you are the first ones on the bus, you can pick whatever seat you want." We thought that was great. Then he said, "we are waiting for another group of people who are crossing the border now. We will leave when they get here. It should be about a half an hour". A half an hour went by. A few more people got on the bus. Then another half an hour went by, and a few MORE people got on....etc. This lasted until about 4:30 pm. We finally left then. We didn't end up arriving in Siem Reap until about 8:30 pm (we also stopped for dinner along the way as well).

The thing is, I don't mind arriving at 8:30. What I mind is that I got up at 6 to take a bus at 7 in order to sit and wait for...4 hours...at the border. If I would have known, maybe I would have taken the later morning bus, or maybe went and had some lunch instead of sitting on the bus thinking that we would be leaving "any minute".

This was not the end. From Siem Reap we took a bus to a town called Sihanoukville. A guy was supposed to come and pick us up from our hostel at 6:30 to catch a 7:30 bus. He ended up not coming until almost 8. We were freaking out...we didn't know if we should try to go to the bus station, whether or not we had missed the bus..or what. When we arrived at the bus station around 8:30, the bus didn't even leave for another half and hour! It's the same thing. I could have slept, or eaten (we didn't) or called my mom!

Anyway, I won't go on and on, but this has happened several more times over the last week and it is hard for me to get "used to" it. I mean, if the bus isn't leaving until 9, why can't I just come at 8:45? Why do you tell me it leaves at 7 when you KNOW it is not going to leave at 7? Do you think it EVER leaves on time? Or is "on time" actually 9? I don't know what they are thinking.

Have you ever been someplace where they are on "island time" or the equivalent? Do you cope well with that? How do you feel about tardiness?

View From The Lizard Bungalow

Wee Beasties

I have a lot to catch up on. I have been on an island with no power, and definitely no internet! We did some diving, which is probably going to be another post on it's own, and spent some time on the beach hanging out, meeting people, and trying to stay mostly in the shade.

We arrived in Cambodia and spent some time at Angkor Wat (this will be a future post). Then we came to the south, where we took a rickety fishing boat for two hours to get to the island of Koh Rong.

We stayed in a wood and palm thatch bungalow, which wasn't exactly what you would call airtight. However, it had a beautiful view of the ocean and a nice porch from which to sit and stare at said ocean.

The first night we heard a rustling sound in the middle of the night and were not sure what it was, since there is no power. We got out our headlights and searched around but didn't find anything. The next day in the middle of the day I found that the bag of peanuts in my backpack was chewed into and eaten. Also my bar of soap had what looked like teethmarks in it. I assumed it was a rat.

The next night we decided to trap the animal, whatever it was. We put the peanuts in the trash and the trash in a large bucket, thinking that the animal would get trapped in and not be able to climb out of the bucket. THe next morning, the peanuts had been eaten, but there was no animal in the bucket.

So I went about my business and was about to use the bathroom when I heard a scrabbling behind the door. I swung it open and there was a HUGE lizard behind the door eating a centipede. It was pretty cool actually. The lizard must have been about a foot long and the centipede was probably almost a foot as well. They were battling it out and when I opened the door the centipede got away! Oops!

Now we are back on the mainland, trying to stay away from large lizards. More about this later.

Motorcycle Survival Tips

I have always wanted to be a biker. However, I am a tad scared of the bike (motorcycle). What if I fall and scrape half my face off? What if I run into a wall or a truck or fall off a cliff? My parents have a lot of friends who ride Harleys and they have had some bad accidents, some resulting in death. I have that in the back of my mind every time I consider getting on a bike. When I lived in San Francisco, I heard a crash and a scream and I ran outside to see what had happened. A girl on a bike had been sideswiped and flew about 30 feet in the air before landing in a very weird position.

So, as you can see, I have some fears. However, when I was a kid my dad taught me to ride a Honda 70 and I loved it. But one time it fell over on me and I think my Mom wouldn't let me ride anymore after that.

So, since I was 15, I haven't ridden a motorcycle.

Today, I decided to buck up and try again. Luckily in Thailand, it only costs about 5 dollars to rent a bike for the day, so if I hated it, no harm, no foul and barely any money. Everyone here rides them. If a Thai lady and her three kids (and dog) can ride a scooter, so can I! And that's what these are. They are not "motorcycles"; they are "scooters". I think mine was 100cc. Tiny and not too fast. Perfect.

It's easy enough: gas on the right, back brake on the left, front brake on the right. Easy, right? Mostly it was, except one time when I was trying to park the bike and it almost fell over and so I grabbed the right handle and WHOOPS, gave it gas and it jumped a curb and almost went into a restaurant window. Other than that, it's no problem.

Also there were steep downhills and uphills with curves and that was a little hard to maneuver. Especially since at the same time two cars AND the Thai lady with her kids and dog are trying pass you while traffic is coming the other way. Other than that, it was simple.

So, it really wasn't that bad. But I don't think I am quite ready to get a Harley yet. 

In a Sunburned Body

I am white. Okay, I don't mean this in a "check your ethnicity in the box" kind of way. I mean it in a "you can almost see through my skin in the winter time" kind of way. A few days ago, we arrived on Thailand's Koh Chang island, which is about 7 hours from Bangkok by bus.

After being in Beijing, where the average temperature was about 10 degrees, it was a nice change to be on the beach in 85 degree weather, with the sun shining down upon my upturned face.

I KNOW that I am white; I KNOW I sunburn easily, especially on the first couple of days. So I did everything right. First, I strip down naked. Yes, this is the best way to put on sunscreen. Then you don't miss any parts where there are straps or watches or whatever. Then I apply a thick layer of sunscreen over my entire body, rubbing it in all the way, just like the directions state. I never buy sunscreen that is not waterproof. However, I reapply after going in the water, toweling etc. I KNOW the rules. However, somewhere, somehow there was a glitch. I don't know how, but I am so very red now! You can call me Rudolph.

I think I may have figured it out. While usually I would swear by Target's home brand, Up and Up, this time they fell flat. I always buy their Aveeno copy lotion, tissues, face-wipes and more. However, this sunscreen, which was supposed to be like Banana Boat's Sport line, does not work as well. I did everything right. It let me down.

So, I will be staying (mostly) out of the sun for the next couple of days, perfecting my reading instead of my tan! But a word to the wise, don't buy the Up and Up Banana Boat copy sunscreen unless you want to look like a lobster, like I do! 

Ten on Tuesday (5) (on Wednesday...or Thursday)

1. Do you decorate for Valentine’s Day? 
Valentines what? 

2. Does your desktop have a picture or a computer graphic? Is it organized? 
It has a photo I took of a place I love near my family's house. It is organized -- I have absolutely NO icons on my desktop.

3. Do you use a paper planner, electronic planner, or no planner at all?
Paper AND electronic. But I love my paper planner the best. 

4. Do you change purses or bags often, or stick with a good thing? 
 One purse. Only. Why switch? Then I will forget something!!

5. What’s your favorite YouTube video? 
I dont watch YouTube.

6. Do you use Turbo Tax or a real person to pay your taxes? 
Turbotax. It's so easy!

7. How many states have you stepped foot (or tire) into? Which ones? 
We have rules. If you drove through, it doesn't count. You have to eat or sleep in the place for it to count as a state that you actually WENT to. I've been to CA, NV, WA, OR, AZ, NM, CO, UT, IA, IL, WY, KS, NE, MA, ME, FL, LA, MS, AL, CT, VT, NH, MD, PA, NY, TX, VA, TN....I think that's 27, maybe I missed or added one...

8. How many countries have you been in? Which ones?
I am not going to list this. You can read my blog. On the side there are tags...check them out.

9. How many pillows are in your house? (Sleeping or decorative) 
I sleep with two.  The end.

10. How cold is too cold for flip-flops? 
I pretty much wear them all the time. Well not when it's snowing. But otherwise, bring it on!

*Hosted by Chelsea

Flat Stanley Climbs the Wall

Have any of you ever heard of Flat Stanley? Me neither. Until a little while ago. Mr. Lovely's very lovely niece is doing a project in school where you have to draw a person (aka Stanley), color him in and then send him to your relatives and friends. Then they take him somewhere, Disneyland or the Golden Gate Bridge, and take a photo of him living it up in said place.

We took Stanley to the Great Wall. He complained about the cold and the 4 mile hike the entire time, but he was still smiling in all the photos! Of course we had to go with him. I mean, I didn't really want to go, but since Stanley was insisting, I finally gave in. We went to a town called Jinshanling and hiked 6 km (roughly 4 miles) to the town of Simatai along the wall. It was about 15 degrees and windy, although it was sunny so it wasn't too bad. This is a great way to see a lot of the wall, instead of just getting dropped at one town and going to the wall, taking photos and leaving. You really get a nice feel for the wall. It was great, no pun intended!!!


So, did you know the wall is actually 8800 km (about 5000 miles) long? That's pretty long. So we only covered a fraction of a percentage of it! Several walls have been built since the 5th century BC that are referred to collectively as the Great Wall, which has been rebuilt and maintained from the 5th century BC through the 16th century. One of the most famous is the wall built between 220–206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that wall remains; the majority of the existing wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.

Okay so that concludes my history portion. The dynasties of China are confusing enough!

PS Just for fun I googled "flat stanley" and there is a website!! haha. You can read more about it HERE. I am SOOOO out of the loop!

Notes On China

I am going to have to do a few China recaps, since I couldn't get onto blogger, I didnt really post too much. However, today I am short of time, so I will leave you with a few random facts about China.

- % of population under the poverty line (US$1/day) in 1979: 64%

-% of population under the poverty line in 2007: 10%

-Average annual income in Shanghai 2007: US$3090

- Average annual income in urban areas 2007: $1819

- Average annual income in rural areas 2007: $545

And my favorite:

Number of fingers lost in factory accidents in the Pearl River Delta in 2004: 40,000