Photos for the Family - Macao: LeShan Sleeping Buddha: Beijing: Shanghai: HangZhou.Mt. Emei - The first day we climbed to 940 metres. The Second Day we took the bus up as far as the Cable car. just 200 metres or so below the summit. At over 3000 metres the clouds just kept coming and going. Rather like the tourists! Bloody tourists! Noisy nuisances! Don't know why they let them spoil the tranquility!
These are from the trip I took July 11th 2007 to July 30th. My first and last day of travel were the same - a total shambles. I won't bore you with the details here. Hope you like what you see.
Photos from Macao - - Macau - Aomen - 11th to 20th July 2007
Senado Square on Macau Island
Ruins of St. Paul's Church beside Monte Fort
Can you see the doorways? They have lockable gates in them, and security guards. No problem though - you can just walk around the side.
Chengdu 20th July to 30th July 2007
Le Shan and Emei Mountain
I wrote home saying that if I die in China I want to be cremated here
Then again - I have been looking at burial plots
Who made you King? - Many people ask.
Well - I just paid 5 rmb and made myself King!
This Buddha - my near cousin - can be accessed by land or by sea
Get real! Of course I took the boat!
At the Entrance to Emei Mountain
The first day we climbed to 940 metres The Second Day we took the bus up as far as the Cable car just 200 metres or so below the summit.
Bottom right hand corner - notice my reflection?
Not supposed to take photos inside the temple - but I was facing outwards
I just liked this shot!
These next 3 give you an idea of how steep it was to climb
Offering up incense and prayers to the ancestors Don't tell anyone but I lit a few for our deceased rellies as well!
I forgot to take my Saffron thingy - could only wear my green sarong.
These next two are of the same place - the cable car to the summit
At over 3000 metres the clouds just kept coming and going. Rather like the tourists! Bloody tourists! Noisy nuisances! Don't know why they let them spoil the tranquility!
Had to do a pit stop - couldn't resist this photo! Making things easier for others was not what was on my mind!
Dad! If you are listening from the great beyond (or over the noise of the flames) Yes I finally admit to having my head in the clouds!
It is so easy to look down on people here!
If they cast a statue of me like this I'll be sitting on Bulldust not effelants!
This is just the spiritual goods shop - read tourist trap There were two other buildings - one gold - one copper. You'll have to wait for those!
I don't know why people can't take good photos of me?
Duplicated I know - but it is really a great shot!
That is a stone slab that guy is carrying.
I was with Mark Halperin at the time, and we both expressed our disbelief.
This was taken by a little Chinese boy who wanted to take my picture.
We met him and his parents the day before while touring temples. Then the next day they were travelling with Mark and Xiaomei Halperin and their daughter. Ming Xing and I had gone ahead of our tour group by taking a cable car up to the top of the mountain (not the cable car to the summit). The rest of our group took the sedan chairs (carried by two guys). Anyway, Mark's tour guide had lost (?) most of his tour group, and invited us to travel with them - so we did. Our group finally overtook us. Mark is an expert in Chinese Buddhism and gave me lots of insights into it, as well as help in understanding some particular Chinese idioms.
Couldn't you just live here?.
One slip on the slopes and you could easily die here too!
I just liked taking this picture. Australian artist Elizabeth (Beth) LANE used to paint a lot of this type of stuff.
This is a map of the mountain - located in our hotel (The map - not the mountain was located in our hotel)
The Mountain park entry ticket (some several hundred metres up) is 120 yuan and is good for two consecutive days.
The bus up Mt. Emei was another 125 rmb Cable car to summit is 40 rmb up and 30 rmb down
I paid 140 rmb per night for the hotel room - listed rate was 280 rmb Only to discover that a Chinese family that we got to know on the mountain Only paid 70 rmb.
Two photographs of two lovely New Hampshire Ladies Mingxing and I met up the mountain. (Sssh! I think they might have been nuns!)
These ladies hope that the Keene Sentinel Online Newspaper in America might publish the photo of them.
R.P.BenDedek (pseudonym) is from Brisbane Australia and is the author of 'The King's Calendar: The Secret of Qumran' at http://www.kingscalendar.com His academic articles set forth Apologetics for and results of his discovery of an "artificial chronological scheme" running through the Bible, Josephus, the Damascus Documents of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and Seder Olam Rabbah.
He also writes photographic 'Stories from China' and social editorial commentaries, both at KingsCalendar, and as a contributing newspaper columnist at Magic City Morning Star News in Maine USA.
The bus up to Mt. Emei was 125 rmb because we were in a tour group with a guide! It included a breakfast and a lunch, and some other fee as well. Actually they do have a bus for those who would like to travel on their own. The price is 70RMB, and in the morning there is a bus at the station beside our hotel, the ticket is valid for that day only. It leaves from three different bus stations.
Thanks for the information MingXing. When I write the article about the trip I will be checking all the receipts etc and asking you for whatever information I missed.
We left the hotel about 11:45 am right? Then caught the 300 bus to the airport, and were 90 too early to check in.
The plane was delayed and our boarding time was changed from 4:10pm to 4:50pm - and just as we began to board the storm came and we had to sit in the airplane for 2 hours.
Needless to say I missed the last bus from the airport to SuZhou, but I straightaway got the Number 5 bus to the Railway station.
I ran in and asked if there were any tickets left for the night and the lady said yes and sold me a soft seat one for 15 rmb. but I had to wait for 45 minutes.
Then I spent the whole time talking in Chinese with people from Zhengjiang and almost missed getting off at SuZhou.
Because I hate the taxi drivers and how they want to argue and cheat me because I am a foreigner, I chose to WALK HOME. Many people in the street were shocked to see the foreigner walking down the streets with his luggage so late. I got home about 1:30am or so.
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My cousin who is travelling in the USA and Canada at the moment emailed me to say that she has had an experience that I haven't had on my holiday. She and her husband were stopped at a Garage to get Petrol when a group of negro boys began to fight with each other. One picked up a pushbike and threw it into the group, then another pulled out a gun and fired some shots. Cousin ran into the managers office and hid until the police arrived.
I once tried to asked an army officer a question in Beijing. He was wearing a gun. I stepped in front of him and said 'EXcuse me" - he looked up - screamed and ran out onto the road infront of the traffic. I am NEVER AFRAID in China.
