Beijing
Bandaling District
China
Monday
January 7, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Here’s what I thought: “Book a tour. Ride a bus. Buy a ticket. Climb up on to the Wall. Then, take a leisurely stroll along the Wall.” I was correct, except for that last part. Listen . . . .
Jasmine went back to work but she enlisted her former colleague and good friend Elsa to be my guide for the day.
Beijing
China
January 8, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
“The rich are different from you and me.” They have homes and compounds in Palm Beach or Palm Springs, or Beverly Hills or Pocantico Hills, on Cape Cod or Cape May, or in Oyster Bay or South Hampton on Long Island.
Royalty are very different. HRH the King of Thailand owns a palace on the seashore and one in the mountains as well one in the capital. South of Thailand, the Sultans of Malaysia collect Rolls Royce motorcars. And the Maharajas of India? Do they collect everything?
Drawn by the curiosity of a bourgeoisie, I eschew the public bus of the hoi polloi and engage a driver and automobile for an excursion to the imperial retreat of “my betters” in Beijing: The Summer Palace of the Emperors of China.
And today I am alone. I am the sovereign of my day.
Harbin
China
January, 11 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
"Oh, my goodness!"
The airplane from Beijing descends through the clouds towards the Harbin airport. I stare at the landscape below and I think, "Oh, my goodness!" Actually, "Oh, my goodness" is not the exact phrase that comes to mind. "Holy cow" is a little closer but still not 100% accurate.
Deserted roads and snow-covered farms spread out everywhere like an Amish quilt that landed in a vat of bleach. Smoke from a tall smokestack rises in a disturbing pattern; it blows horizontally.
"Be happy where you are, Jan. What did you expect? Tropical waves washing up against white sand? Coconut palms, maybe, swaying in a light breeze? You are in Harbin for the Ice Lantern Festival. Harbin. 45 degrees North Latitude. North of Vladivostok and halfway to the North Pole. Ice, Jan, ice. Think ice."
Xi`an
Shaanxi Province
China
January 16, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
Whenever I tell my Chinese friends I am going to Xi`an, they always respond with, "Jan, you are going to an ancient city."
It is difficult to imagine that modern Xi`an, with a population of more than three million, is an ancient city. Yet, ancient it is.
Taipei
Taiwan
October 28, 2007
Taipei. The capital of Taiwan. 2.7 million well-educated, well-dressed, energetic, hospitable people. Everyone carries a colorful umbrella.
It's crowded, busy and glitzy. Modern buildings. Modern fashions. Some boys wear spiked hair and the girls "accessorize." Spotlessly clean. Lots of bright yellow taxis with drivers who accept any destination without question.
Taipei,
Taiwan
Republic of China
October 24, 2007
Dear Family and Friends,
I am shocked, shocked to find that "Für Elise" is the "national anthem" of Taiwan!
As I check in to the Han She Hotel in Taipei, "Für Elise" flows forth from the lobby sound system. It's not a very good version; it's too heavy for my taste, and not lovely and lyrical as Beethoven intended.
As I stroll around Taipei, and in the streets of other cities and towns, "Für Elise" pours forth. But from where? At first I thought it was a loud mobile phone announcement or maybe an inducement from a shop or a restaurant. But it's playing on every street, morning, noon and night. Finally I found the source.
