Beijing to Changpin - World Championships

We were pretty wiped when we arrived back in Beijing and we spent most of the day just hanging out at the hotel, swimming and relaxing.  The kids managed to get some school work done and in the afternoon we walked around the neighborhood.  I decided to try a snack at a street cart and I bought some fried bread that I had seen being made in a few different places.  Eric warned me about it, saying he had a bad feeling.  I should have listened to him as the next couple of days were pretty rough stomach wise.  I was glad we were back from our detour as western toilets had not been the norm on our trip to the Warriors.

We spent a night in Beijing and then got a taxi to a hotel in Changpin within walking distance to the triathlon. The race is why we came to China in the first place.  Although we had only been away from home for a week it was excellent to see familiar faces!  It was also really special to be at world championships and to see the race.  Simon, Kyle and Brent have all been part of our lives for many years and although Rob gets to see them race quite regularly, I don’t so it was especially nice for me.  Performances were mixed with Kyle having a flat that was not fixable and Brent having a very strong swim and bike but faltering a bit on the run.  Simon continues to amaze and although his 13th place finish may not have been as memorable as the Olympic Silver he brought home on the same course a few years ago, there are not many competitors (maybe none) in the sport who have so consistently performed well for so many years.   Way to go Simon!  Even though it was rainy and chilly I loved watching the race and just being there. 

The day after the mens’ race, Rob, Kim, Steve, Gabor and I started the morning with a walk/run/hike up the side of a beautiful mountain, 1600 stairs (I think).  It was gorgeous and I wish I had some pictures.  It took us longer to get there than we thought as on route we passed the age group race and watched about five cyclists crash on the same corner.  We stayed to try to help slow riders down and make sure everyone was OK but eventually we realized that we could stay there for the whole race and there would still be crashes. 

The results for the women’s race were a little disappointing so the mood afterwards was a bit solemn.

Overall, the kids enjoyed being at the race venue and seeing friends from home made them feel really good.  It was also an excellent opportunity for them to be exposed to folks from around the globe and to hear many different languages, see many different flags and to simply be a part of such an international event.  We hope it gave them a bit more of a perspective on the sport that has been so much a part of our lives. 

Terra Cotta Warriors and Back to Beijing

The next day we headed off to the train station and made our way to Xi’an and the Terra Cotta Warriors, another UNESCO world heritage site and the 8^th Wonder of the World.  On our way to the Warriors we stopped off at Banpo village ruins, the remains of a 6000 year old village.  This site was interesting to us as it was very similar to first nations ruins that we are familiar with in BC.   The structure of the dwellings, the tools they used and the crafts they made could all be easily mistaken for first nations artifacts.

When we reached the Warriors we saw more western faces in the first five minutes than we had during our entire time in China.  Everywhere we had been before was packed with Chinese tourists but at the Warriors it was different, it was packed with westerners.  I would have had no idea there were so many westerners in all of China if we hadn’t gone here.   The Warriors are located in a huge museum surrounded by a platform that you look at them from.  There are over 8000 distinct life sized Warriors as well as hundreds of chariots and countless weapons that all date from the 3^rd century BC.   The first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang had these built to protect him in his afterlife.  He must have done some pretty lousy things for him to think he needed that much protection.  This was obviously another impressive site but I have to admit, not being able to get very close to them took a little away from the experience. 

Having already spent a pretty full day we were dropped off a little way from the train station where we would catch an overnight train back to Beijing.  This was the craziest part of the trip so far.  The area around the station was wall to wall, or pavement to pavement people, with no other foreigners in sight.  When we finally got across the street close to the station, we had no idea where to go and had real difficulty asking anyone as no one spoke any English.  It was hot, smelly and dirty.  People were camped out everywhere.  We eventually got into the station and found what we hoped was the right line up and stood, packed in with others, waiting with all of our luggage for well over an hour.  It was a relief to get onto the train, we just hoped we were on the right one.  We had our own little cabin that was actually pretty comfortable, except for the occasional wafts of smoke that blew in.  The fact that we had not had time to stop and buy food meant that we were pretty hungry by the time we got back to Beijing, 13 hours after we got on board.   In spite of the lack of food and the bit of smoke, we all managed to get a little sleep and overall it was a cool experience.

Beijing to Xi’an and in Between

After speaking with a guide at the hotel I decided to go with the boys on a semi guided tour heading south to Xi’an to eventually see the Terra Cotta Warriors.  Fearon had learned a lot about the history of the Warriors in school last year and we didn’t think we should miss this world wonder.  Leaving the hotel at 5:30, the guide drove us to the Beijing train station.  This, being our first train station experience in China, proved interesting.  In the previous week we had travelled in the subway, on taxis, busses, boats and planes but none of those compared to the train station.  Even though it was so early, it was already chaotic, smelly and packed, outside and in.  We had to go through a number of security checks which each involved sending our bags through a conveyer belt and hoping that we could get through to the other end before someone else had a chance to grab them.  I guess that one of the ways the Chinese have learned to deal with the massive crowds and population throughout most of the country is to shove and push their way ahead. 

Once we got on the train it was actually pretty comfortable.  The trip itself was not picturesque.   I was expecting, when we got out of Beijing, to see lovely villages, rice paddies and hillsides.  Instead, what we saw for at least four hours was factories, cement buildings and non descript places that simply looked grey, all covered in thick smog.  When we transferred trains, the second one was a high speed train that was obviously a lot newer and spotless. The transfer station had huge marble hallways and was much easier to navigate than the station on Beijing.  After about 7 hours of travel we reached the city where we would spend the night, Luoyang City.

At the hotel there was virtually no English understood or spoken.  I was thankful that the guide made this part of the trip with us as this city was certainly not used to tourists.  We went out for dinner at a smoky, dingy restaurant.  The owner informed our guide that we were the first foreigners to be in the restaurant since they opened, 14years ago! The staff stared at us and giggled the whole time we were there.  The kids had been practicing using chopsticks when we were in Beijing so they managed them OK as there was no alternative.  I was looking forward to at least having some amazing food but that was not to be either.  We were all pretty happy when dinner was over.

We got back to the hotel and crashed pretty quickly.  A few hours later, Eric was waking me up claiming to have bites on his legs!  You can likely imagine what my first thoughts were….bed bugs! I didn’t have any bites, I didn’t see any evidence of anything in the beds and the bites looked a lot like mosquito bites so we assumed that is what they were.  We also heard the irritating mosquito buzz coming from somewhere close.  In the bathroom there were loads of tiny little bugs hanging around the ceiling. I had no idea what they might be and knew that there was no one I could ask.  I decided to just get out the bug spray and lather some on.  I dug into the bag and after searching for it, had my first little breakdown of the trip.  I had forgotten the repellent back in our main bag which we had left in Beijing.  I really had no idea, geographically, where we were and all I could imagine was that we would be eaten alive by bugs carrying malaria, dengue fever, or some other tropical disease….and it would all be my fault for forgetting the repellent.  I didn’t sleep at all and as soon as I could in the morning, I managed to get online and gather enough information to reassure myself that we were not in the danger zone as far as bugs were concerned. 

After breakfast we got into a van that would take us to our destinations of the day, the Shiaolin Temple and the Longmen Grottoes.  The temple, the original home Kung Fu, is in the mountains in a very beautiful area.  Unfortunately it was pouring rain and foggy and the limited visibility did not allow us to fully appreciate the views.  The fog, did however, add to the mystique of it all and it was definitely a mystical area and place.  It was pretty cool to be walking around what is considered to be the birthplace of martial arts and what is still the largest kung fu training school in the world.  There were monks and incense burning in every corner and the fact that the place is a huge tourist attraction, did not totally eliminate the spirituality embedded within.  We saw a show put on by some of the students and it was amazing but we could not help but feel a little sad for the children whose lives are spent there. We found a little area with doors opening into where they were living and the quarters make the older cabins at Camp Thunderbird seem like luxury.

We left the temple and made our way over mountain passes to the Longmen Grottoes, a UNESCO World Heritage site.  This site was for me, one of the highlights of China. The pictures really don’t do it justice.  There were over 2300 grottoes (caves in the mountainside) which housed over 100,000 Buddhist statues.  Work began on these in 493 and continued for four centuries! The beauty of the carvings was absolutely amazing and to think that they were done centuries ago, and are still preserved is really mind boggling.  This was truly one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen.  It made the grief of the night before fade away pretty quickly.  

Beijing - Day 2

On day two, after a dip in the hotel pool, with a bit of trepidation, we decided on the Beijing Zoo and aquarium, in hindsight not the best decision.  We knew the rest of the week in China would be filled with what could be perceived as relatively non kid friendly activities and so we thought that the zoo and aquarium might help to balance things out.  We didn’t end up staying very long as we found it relatively unimpressive and although it was a treat to see the Pandas, it didn’t look to us as though they were having such a great life.  Zoos can be a fantastic way to see creatures one would never possibly see in the wild but they can also be a bit depressing and sad to say, we thought this one was the latter. We left the zoo and took a river boat to “The Summer Palace”, another remnant of the dynasties.   The grounds, the settings and the remains of the palace were stunning and I was sorry we hadn’t gotten there earlier to spend more time.  Rob had to get back to the hotel and leave for the race site where he would be spending the week taking care of Canadian triathletes at the world championships.

China - a bit of a hard landing but well worth the bumps!

Our trip started with an excellent flight from Vancouver to Beijing.  As soon as it became apparent that the plane would have lots of empty seats we each nabbed an entire row so we had lots of space to spread out, nap, read and watch movies.  A good start!  After about 13 hours in the air we arrived in Beijing and had an easy trip to the hotel.  The taxi driver wanted to overcharge us but the concierge straightened him out and we ended up paying a fair price.  The kids quickly learned that when travelling, it pays to do a little research  before hand regarding what things should cost and to speak up if things don’t seem right.  The hotel in Beijing was a very pleasant surprise.  It had all the luxuries of five star accommodations and many of the staff spoke at least a little English, something we would quickly learn was not to be taken for granted in China.  Five star accommodations will also not be taken for granted or become the norm in the next year.

We arrived in the evening which lessened the impact of jetlag as we were able to just unwind, go to bed and get a decent night sleep.  The next morning, after Rob and I had a solid workout in the fitness area and we all enjoyed an excellent buffet breakfast, we set out to explore the city.  With only a relatively short time to be spent in China we didn’t want to waste any of it.  We took a taxi to Tiananman Square, the largest public square in the world and the site of many significant events in Chinese history, perhaps the most famous being the protests that occurred there in 1989 and the resulting massacres.  We walked around with the hordes of other tourists and although it was pretty cool to be there and to consider the relevance of it all, the square itself was nothing to really look at.  The boys were perhaps most impressed with the many cameras set up to ensure that big red could see every move made in every corner of the square. 

We made our way across the square and through the string of hustlers wanting to be our special guide or to sell us memorabilia and into the Forbidden City, the massive palace complex built between 1406 and 1420, home to Chinese emperors for nearly 500 years! It was impressive and although we were starting to get hot in the strong sun, we enjoyed strolling around and taking in the ambiance.  We certainly were not alone as again, the place was packed with what were mostly Chinese tourists.

Exiting the Forbidden City we wandered into and through an area of hutongs, a network of tiny alleyways, remains of an ancient Chinese village but still teaming with life.  This part of the day was my favorite as I felt that it gave us at least a glimpse of what life in China might be like in this tiny piece of it. The alleys were filled with doorways leading to more alleyways, shops, homes, rows of old bicycles, strings full of laundry, vines dripping with strange looking fruits and vegetables and chicken pens hanging overhead.  We eventually found our way out and into a riverfront area with lots of shops and restaurants.  We rented two seated bicycles (having to first convince the boys that we could in deed manage them without a crash) and rode around amidst the chaos of the carts, cars, motorbikes and other bicycles.  Our first day was a long one and we were certainly ready to hit the pillow at the end of it.

In Motion

We are a family who likes movement.  Movement, through sport, is really what brought us together as a family in the first place.  Our lives have been moving forward very nicely for a number of years.  We have been truly blessed to have wonderful kids and a supportive extended family.  We live in what we think is the best community in Canada and we have what we are convinced is the greatest network of friends and colleagues possible.   It would be easy to just stay still and relish the goodness of it all.

As most of you who are reading this likely know, however, this past year has been difficult for us.  My brother fought for his life and lost as did others in our circle of friends.  We did not just weep for family and friends but also for our “first born”.  Our cherished family dog Tinker, who brought smiles to our faces every day she was with us, left to chase bigger sticks in doggie heaven.  As fifty closes quickly in, it seems as though the transient nature of our lives is becoming ever more apparent.  Time marches on, our kids are getting older and so are we.  All of the clichés are true and we just never know what lies ahead.

So…. we decided to try a different variation of something we are pretty good at – moving.   For the next year we will be on the move exploring Asia.  In the past we have given a fair bit of lip service to the benefits of international travel with our children.  We have admired many family friends who have taken the plunge and have only had good things to say about how their extended adventures have added richness to their family lives.  Maybe this is our mid life crisis, our attempt to recapture the carefree days of our younger travelling selves.   Whatever it is, we are moving forward with it and, in the long run, it will likely cost us less than buying that fancy car or that garage full of fancy sports equipment, common entrapments of mid life crisis.  It will also, we hope, be better for our children and for our family memories.

Once we decided to get on the move, we pulled things together is what seemed like record time.  Within a couple of months we prepared our house to leave for a year, found an amazing family to rent it to, made arrangements to leave Rob’s business in good hands and completed as much as possible, my contract obligations.  With the help of a solid distance learning model, we hope we have figured out how the kids will keep up with their school curriculum while we are on the road.   What we haven’t really figured out is how the next year will evolve.  We were so busy planning to get away that we haven’t really planned what we will do now that we are away.  Neither have we, until now, three weeks into our trip, started putting fingers to keyboard and recording things.

Thus far into our trip already we have, as is to be expected, had good days and bad.  We have been completely awed by some of the wonders of the world.  We have at times reveled in and at times wanted to run away from the chaos of Bangkok and China.  We have run in the sand, swam in the ocean and played together as a family.  We have laughed and cried and wanted to go home.  Every day I think of my brother and he is with us as we travel in a way that he wouldn’t be if he was alive.  When times get bad I will continue to think of him and the amazing strength and courage he had as he dealt with his inevitable death.  Never complaining and never losing his humor he became, in his illness, an inspiration.  Thank you Gordy for giving us the strength to move forward with this adventure – You are with us every step of the way.