This blog is out of sequence. It is that way because it was difficult to write. We arrived in Beijing on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday we went to Harbin. This blog is about Tuesday and that night. On the following day we went to the Ice Festival and that has already been blogged.

Gwen’s luggage was lost when we arrived at Beijing. The room that we were given in our hotel in Harbin was pretty bad. The mattresses were boards – not like boards – were boards. We had severe jet lag with the sudden 13 hour time change. We were tired and no one at our hotel understood even one word of English. Frankly it seemed hopeless.

However all was not lost. One of the guests phoned a gentleman who spoke English and he came and helped us. Once again the old adage proved true. What you need is there when you need it. After some discussion and translation we had a better room and were happy in that regard. We also had instructions on how to get to the Ice Festival. We were OK but...

We didn’t know how we were going to get along. We were fools to try this on our own, especially at our age. If we had a towel we would have thrown it in, but we didn’t. So all we could do was lay there on our board, clinging to each other. That night was the night of despair.

Then suddenly what we needed was there. It turned out that what we needed was us. The ancient psyche asserted itself and the coma of North America fell away. The cloud of fear was lifted and we became what we are once again. We are travellers, not tourists. The old skills were suddenly there, risen from the depths of our mind.

When you came right down do it there was nothing in the lost luggage that we couldn’t get by without. There are many ways to get around the language barrier and we knew lots of them.

The next day was different. We now knew exactly what we were doing and how to do it. We were a full team. The knowledge that we had used to explore the villages and roam the outposts of this world was back. We now walk with confidence and assurance. We can communicate with the hotel staff and other and do so easily.

The ice festival was a study in joy. It is one of the most unbelievable sights of this world and we wandered around with thousands and thousands of people without a trace of difficulty. We even we into the food shack and ordered coffee for Gwen and tea for me without the slightest problem. Finding our way back to the hotel – no problem!

We are back. We are what we are. We are travellers once again and the real journey is about to begin.

The Harbin Ice Festival

They say a picture is worth one thousand words. These are beyond description anyway. It was definately worth flying half way around the world for this.

Pickwick et al

Getting There is Half the Fun

When our giant Boeing 777 lifted off in Chicago there were just 30 passengers on board. It seemed to be a sign of the economic distress that has gripped the USA and the world. But in another sense it was symbolic of a day that was out of the ordinary.
It started when our phone rang while our clock showed 4:00 AM. It was then that we discovered the clock was out by one hour and it was actually 5:00AM. Bob, our driver from Airlink was in the driveway waiting. It has been a long time since we moved that fast but at 5:24 we were loaded and on the road. Bob got us to the airport right on time and he drove sensibly all the way.
After we checked in the situation was wait and then wait some more. The plane froze overnight and they couldn’t get it started. When they did the cabin was too cold for passengers so they ran the engines until it warmed up. Even then there wasn’t a warm seat for a bum. They had to be self heated.
When we got to Chicago it was a rush to the gate for the flight to Beijing but it worked out OK. They were close together and we made it in time.
Every passenger had an entire row to stretch out and sleep . There was no line-up for the washrooms and there was lots of food. Just the same United Airline lost a lot of money on that flight.
We went over the North Pole and all the while we were above the Arctic Circle there was a red sunset/sunrise glow on the horizon. Since it is winter there is no sun on the ground but at 35000 ft. there is another view and it is spectacular. The sun was at its maximum visible point, the Arctic Circle and we could see it from the air.
Thirteen hours after takeoff we arrived at Beijing but Gwen’s luggage didn’t. At this moment we are still hoping it will show up.
The usual scamsters were at the airport. They offered to get us to some hotel for a mere 20 times the going rate. At any rate we got rid of t hem and then had some fun finding a cabbie who actually knew where we wanted to go. But we did and we are now camped the Beijing Capital Airport Hotel and it is comfortable.
Tomorrow we got to Harbin and hopefully with all of our luggage. If you wish to send us an e-mail use emerson_480@msn.com

Getting Ready to Go

There are only 10 days left before we fly to China and there is still a lot to do. We need to update our first aid kit and confirm our luggage for weight. We must also be sure to have adequate clothing for the trip. The temperature at Harbin is about minus 40oC at this time of year. By the time we get to the south around Hong Kong it will be much, much warmer. As a result everything has to be worked out so that we can layer but use the various layers for the full range of temperatures we will encounter.

We will be carrying cameras and an itty bitty computer. There are a few other items – a Zune (something like an ipod), a mini digital recorder and a GPS. As you can see in the picture, everything is small and easy to carry. It is a lot different from when we went around the world 16 years ago. Now we hope to keep in touch much better. For one thing there will be this blog. We can post pictures, videos and notes every few days. Anyone can read them or not, whatever they choose.

We will have telephone through Skype anywhere we have a good internet connection. We will be able to read the Reformer regularly and listen to Gerry and Kate in the evening (for us). Our location means that our time will be 13 hours ahead of Eastern Standard but since this blog will be available all over the world there is not a good time reference.

Consider this posting the preinstallment. It will allow you to log on to the blog and bookmark it if you wish. From there you can follow along. We will start at Harbin and the Ice Festival. This event is amazing. You can go to youtube http://www.youtube.com/ and search for Harbin China Ice Festival . If you put your cursor on that coloured address there should be a little box that shows up and tells you how to do get to youtube. From there you can explore a world of video.

Have fun.

Pickwick et al
Aka Gwen & Don