Xining

Qinghai Province

China

September 10, 2016

Xining is a city with a history of more than 2000 years.  It was a vital link to Tibet to the south and to the city of Lanzhou to the east. 

Xining lies in the Hexi Corridor and served as a transportation and trading hub for the ancient Northern Silk Road route.  The city now serves as a hub for the Modern Silk Road providing connections to multiple-lane highways and bullet trains in all directions.

Qinghai Province

China

September 11, 2016

Kumbum Monastery (Ta’er Si) lies just south of the city of Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province.

The Monastery was built in 1577 at the birthplace of Tsongkhapa, the founder of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) sect of Tibetan Buddhism.

Further south, on the road to Qinghai Lake, lies a lovely scenic spot  and a Tibetan version of a Petting Zoo.  The official name is Sun and Moon Mountain or Sun and Moon Pass.

Qinghai Lake

Qinghai Province

China

September 12, 2016

Qinghai Lake is the largest lake in the People's Republic of China.

Located in Qinghai Province on an endorheic* basin, Qinghai Lake is classified as a saline and alkaline lake.

Qinghai Lake has a surface area of 4,317 square kilometers (1,667 sq. mi.); an average depth of 21 meters (69 ft.), and a maximum depth of 25.5 m (84 ft.).

The current Chinese name "Qinghai," the older Mongolian name "Kokonor", and the Tibetan name translate to "Green Sea,” "Blue Lake" and "Teal Sea" respectively.

 Paris

France

February 8, 2017

My friend Gary in Bangkok described his strategy when he visits a museum: “When I go to an exhibit,” he told me, “I choose one special painting and then stare at that work of art for at least thirty minutes.”

The Icons of Modern Art, the Shchukin Collection at the Fondation Louis Vuitton has on display more than one hundred and twenty paintings.  I have planned three visits.  But with hundreds of visitors streaming through the galleries at any one time, how shall I follow Gary’s advice?

Well, I did my best.

On Board 

MS Nordstjernen

The Greenland Sea

Svalbard

August 9, 2015

Hello,

Even the experienced guides had never seen such a sight!

A dead walrus?  Sure.  They had seen one before.  They had seen a polar bear feasting on the carcass.  They had seen a polar bear and her cub feasting at the scene.

But never before had they seen such a sight!