Rhinos? What Rhinos?

We celebrated Nepali New Year (Happy 2064!) at the Rhino Residency Resort just outside of Royal Chitwan National Park. Our bungalow was a comfortable colonial affair, and we enjoyed being close enough to walk to the Rapti River so Terry could participate in the morning elephant bath time. Then we moved to a pretty resort inside the park boundaries for another two nights, and went on several different elephant and jeep safaris, a canoe ride, and a bird watching walk with four other friendly people (veteran travelers all) who were the only other guests sharing the resort with us – Claude and Jeannine from Sherbooke, Quebec and the Gundersons from Denmark. Many other tourists we spoke to after our visit to the park were lucky enough to have seen rhinos on their safaris, but all we managed to flush out were a few different types of deer and a bunch of peacocks. Our safari elephants were new mothers, so it was lovely to have their babies trailing along behind us through a very quiet (rhino-less) forest. Not that we’re bitter.

Adrenalin Rush on a Himalayan River

We spent a couple of nights at Borderland Resort, a beautiful, isolated retreat located just south of the Tibetan border, where we lodged riverside in a big safari tent. One of the best things we did on the entire trip was a day of steep whitewater rafting on the Bhote Kosi River, including some Class 4 rapids like “Frog in a Blender.” (We're the ones in the blue helmets.)

Shots of Siem Reap

Siem Reap, Cambodia is less than a one hour flight from Bangkok. We spent part of our October break participating in the growing tourist boom in that small city, and exploring the many temples of Angkor. Here are some images from in and around Siem Reap:

We're a Long Way from Stony Plain, Alberta, My Friend!

We visited Siem Reap with our good friends from home, Dave and Joan Lesburg. There's going to be a lot of fond reminiscing when we're old and grey(er)!

The Fascinating Faces of Bayon

There are over 200 enigmatically smiling faces at The Bayon temple.

Angkor Wat Rising Up Through the Jungle

The temples of Angkor Wat were built over a 600 year period, from AD 802 to 1432. Cambodians consider them to be the heart and soul of their country.

Assorted Entertaining Chinese Stuff

Here are some pictures of things that simply amused the heck out of us in China, namely: our lunchtime choices of bamboo rats, snakes, and other exotic delectables, the creative "English" signage, retired Chinese men whiling away happy hours in parks, writing poems on sidewalks using water as their medium. We could go on and on and on.

Dragon's Backbone Rice Terraces

Our final destination was the tiny Zhuang village of Ping'an. The rolling hills in this lush area have been sculpted with rice terraces over the past 600 years or so. We had to park and walk up to our guest house in this amazingly scenic locale, zigzagging all the while to avoid the local tribal people who were porting up (lazier) tourists on litters.

Yangshuo

It was great to finally get out of big cities and head for beautiful Yangshuo, a former backpacker haunt set amongst towering limestone peaks. One of our funkier experiences was heading out one night in a small boat on the very dark river to watch a 75-year-old chain-smoking fisherman work his diving cormorants for our amusement. (And a tip of 5 yuan.) The birds had cords tied around their necks so they could partially swallow the many small fish they caught, and then they were hauled up on board the fisherman's bamboo raft and quickly "milked" to regurgitate their catch into a basket.

Xi'an

Xi'an was our favorite place in China. Until we travelled there, we had no idea that it was once one of the greatest cities of the ancient world, vying with Rome and Constantinople. Our first glimpse of the 2000-year-old army of terracotta warriors had the same effect on us as the pyramids did -- we were awestruck. We had a terrific guide in Xi'an who helped us find cheap local restaurants in which to sample some of Xi'an's specialties, and who took us on other interesting visits to the ancient city wall, the Great Mosque, the Wild Goose Pagoda, and to a Tang Dynasty dinner and musical show. We think we could learn a little Mandarin and move to Xi'an someday.

The Great Wall

It was such a thrill for us to be able to walk on a small section of the Great Wall. An added bonus was the brief snowfall, although it made climbing up and down an icy challenge.

Just Us and Chairman Mao

Beijing is the capital of the People's Republic of China. Our first stop in this city the size of Belgium was Tiananmen Square, followed by The Forbidden City (so called because it was off limits to anyone but emperors and their entourages for 500 years). We also plunged into the fascinating hutong (narrow alleyways) by pedicab, stopping off in this unique and fast-disappearing part of the city's old interior to visit a typical hutong home, and a kindergarten for the deaf.

Shanghai

This shot of Shanghai's busy harbour is taken from the Bund, which means "embankment of a muddy waterfront." Shanghai has around 14 million people and possesses a skyline that is evolving at an unbelievably torrid pace. Not surprisingly, the pollution and traffic congestion are abysmal.

China: If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Beijing!

Hi, and welcome to our travel blog.

We had such a great time on our recent two week whistle-stop tour of China that we felt compelled to share some of our photos and experiences. We hope you enjoy them.