Where am I in Asia ?

Merry Christmas! Happy Birthday (to me!) Happy New Year!

You are probably saying, "Why hasn't she updated her BLOG lately?!" I have a valid excuse...I'm on vacation this month. Exploring China, Thailand and Hong Kong! Sorry! Will write and post a zillion and one pics (pry on its OWN website!!) when I return January 16th, 2006. Happy Holidays!

December 23' 2005
BEIJING = Arrive Beijing and transfer to hotel. Rest of the day at leisure. Chinese Acrobatics Show in the evening.

December 24' 2005
BEIJING = Full day tour to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Beijing Zoo and Summer Palace. Beijing Duck Dinner.


December 25' 2005
BEIJING / XIAN = Full day tour to The Great Wall and Ming Tombs. Overnight train to Xian.


December 26' 2005
XIAN = Arrive in Xian and transfer to hotel for breakfast. Full Day tour toThe Terra-Cotta Warriors & Banpo Museum.


December 27' 2005
XIAN - SHANGHAI = Half day tour to Ancient City Wall, Big Wild Goose Pagoda. Afternoon flight to Shanghai.


December 28' 2005
SHANGHAI Full day tour to The Bund, Nanjing Road, Yu Garden, Jade Buddha Temple shanghai Museum, Tv Tower.


December 29' 2005
SHANGHAI - HONG KONG Departure for Hong Kong. Arrive in Hong Kong and transfer to hotel for check-in. Half-day tour of downtown.


December 30' 2005
HONG KONG Half day Hong Kong Island tour including Victoria Peak, Repulse Bay and Aberdeen.

December 31' 2005
HONG KONG = Take tour of "New Territories": Kam Tin Walled Village, Luen Wo Market, Man Mo temple, Lam Tsuen Wishing tree.


January 1' 2006
HONG KONG - BANGKOK = Departure transfer to airport for flight to Bangkok. Arrive in Bangkok and transfer to hotel for check-in. Visit the National Museum in Bangkok.

January 2' 2006
BANGKOK Visit the most unusual Buddhist temples in Bangkok: Wat Trimitr – Wat Po and the Grand Palace (which is one of the most beautiful samples of an ancient Siamese court.)


January 3' 2006
BANGKOK - AYUTTHAYA - LOPBURI - PHITSANULOK = Drive to Bang Pa In for a scenic boat trip to Ayutthaya. Visit Wat Yai Chaya Mongkol and the ancient ruins of Wat Chai Wattanaram. Continue to Lopburi, where we will take you around the city in pedaled rickshaws. After lunch continue to Phitsanulok. Overnight at hotel.


January 4' 2006
PHITSANULOK - SUKHOTHAI - LAMPANG = Visit Wat Maha That and its highly revered Buddha statue, Phra Buddha Jinaraj. Drive to Sukhothai, where you will visit the ancient ruins at Sukhothai Historical Park and Wat Si Chum. Continue to Sri Satchanalai for lunch. Upon arrival in Lampang we will take you on a tour of the old city on horse carriages. You will also visit Baan Sao Nak, a 100-year old teak-wood mansion, and Wat Chedi Sao, which derives its name from 20 stupas erected on the temple grounds.

January 5' 2006
LAMPANG - PHAYAO - CHIANG RAI = After a brief visit to the morning market, drive to Phayao with the biggest natural lake in Thailand. Proceed to Chiang Rai. After lunch at a local restaurant, visit the hill tribe community project at Ban Lorcha. Drive via Mae Sai, the northernmost Thai town to the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos converge. After a boat trip on the Mekong River drive to Chiang Rai. Overnight at hotel.


January 6' 2006
CHIANG RAI - CHIANG MAI = Visit the local handicraft centers around Chiang Mai. Lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon visit Wat Doi Suthep, tucked away in the mountains at an elevation of 1,056 meters. The temple is reached by climbing 290 steps, flanked by a NAGA balustrade on both sides. Enjoy a typical Kantoke dinner with a presentation of traditional dances from Northern Thailand in evening. Overnight at hotel.


January 7' 2006
CHIANG MAI - BANGKOK Visit an elephant camp in Chiang Dao and watch the skilled elephants at work. Elephant ride & bamboo rafting in afternoon. Continue to visit an orchid farm. Transfer to Chiang Mai Railway and depart by train for Bangkok.


January 8' 2006
BANGKOK Arrive at Bangkok and transfer to airport for morning flight to Koh Samui.

Jaunary 8-12' 2006
KOH SAMUI....No major plans as of yet. Just relaxing in an oceanside bungalow on Chaweng Beach. Tons of sun, yummy drinks (without H20 of course) and pure relaxation from what will be an incredible whirlwind tour!


I didn't write the above info--this is just some of the stuff given to us from our travel agency.
What exactly ARE all of those places listed above? In all honesty, having never taken an Asian history course---I don't know much about them either! It's a lot of historical, religious and cultural hotspots that most of us have never learned about, but that's why we forked out some extra cash for an English speaking guide in each city! I am hoping to learn tons from this trip of a lifetime!

For all of you history buffs, trivia sharks and those who are bored to tears this holiday season...I've included a brief synopsis of some of our trip's highlights. I won't be offended if you find this part realllllllly boring and don't read it. But for your masochists out there...here you go:

China

Ancient City Wall
The City Wall of Xian is an extension of the old Tang Dynasty structure, as a result of the wall-building campaign ordered by Zhu Yuanzhang, the first emperor of Ming Dynasty (from 1370 AD-1375 AD). After the enlargement, the city wall stands 12 metres, 12-14 metres across the top, 15-18 metres thick at bottom and 13.7 kilometres in length with deep moats surrounding it. It is the most complete city wall to have survived through Chinese history. On the wall, fortifications such as watch-towers, ramparts were built into a complex and well-organised system of defense. There are total 98 ramparts on the wall.

Banpo Museum
In 1953 when workers were laying the foundations for a factory at Banpo, east of Xian city, they found the remains of an ancient settlement now known as the Banpo Village Remains. Dating back to approximately 5,000 to 4,000 BC, it is an authentic matriarchal clan community of the Yangshao Culture discovered on the Central Shaanxi Plains in the Yellow River Valley, and the most complete example of an agricultural Neolithic settlement in the world. Standing on the eastern bank of the Chanhe River, the site covers an area of about 50,000 square metres.

Big Wild Goose Pagoda
The Big Wild Goose Pagoda situated in the Da Ci'en Temple complex, is one of the most famous Buddhist pagodas in China. Originally built in 589 AD, in the Sui Dynasty, the temple was named Wu Lou Si Temple until 648 AD when Emperor Li Zhi, then still a crown prince, sponsored the repairs on the temple. The temple then assumed the present name, Temple of Da Ci'en (Thanksgiving). The temple, with 13 separate courtyards, contains 1,879 magnificent-looking rooms altogether. The Tang Regime gave orders to build a chamber for the translation of Buddhist scriptures in an effort to have the then well-known Master Xuanzang (Monk Tripitaka) agree to be the head of the temple. The Wild Goose Pagoda was finished in 652 A.D. Its five stories are 60 metres in height. However, war in the years to come, reduced the pagoda almost to ruins, which resulted in the construction of the 7-storied, 64-meter-high structure standing today.

Forbidden City
Lying in the centre of Beijing is a group of ancient buildings, so called Forbidden, because they were off limits for 500 years. It is the largest and best-preserved cluster of ancient buildings, and has been home to two dynasties of emperors – the Ming and the Qing. The emperors rarely left this area. Today is known as the Palace Museum. It is 960 metres long and 750 metres wide, and is considered the world’s largest palace complex covering a floor space of 720,000 square metres with 9,999 buildings. This rectangular city is encircled in a 52-metre-long, six-metre-deep moat, and a 10-metre-high, 3,400-metre-long city wall. The city is divided into two parts, the northern half, or the Outer Court where emperors executed their supreme power over the nation, and the southern half, or the Inner Court where they lived with their royal family. In 1924, when the last emperor of China was driven out of the Inner Court, 14 emperors of the Ming dynasty and 10 emperors of the Qing dynasty had reigned here. As the imperial palace for over 500 years, it houses numerous rare treasures and curiosities. It was listed by the UN as a World Cultural Heritage site in 1987.

Jade Buddha Temple
The Jade Buddha Temple, the most famous Buddhist temple in Shanghai. In 1882, a monk named Huigen left two of five jade Buddha statues he brought from Burma in Shanghai, and built a temple to house them. In 1918, the old temple was burned down and a new one was built on the present site and named the Jade Buddha Temple. The Jade Buddha Tower houses the first of the two Buddhas, which is 1.9m tall and 1.34m wide, and is inlaid with diamonds and agate, it shows the Buddha at the moment of enlightenment. In a hall on the western part of the temple grounds lies the 96-cm-long recumbent jade Buddha. Both of the statues were carved out of a single piece of jade.

Ming Tombs
These tombs, built from 1409 AD-1644 AD, are where 13 Ming emperors, their empresses and concubines were buried. The 13 tombs are spread over a 40-kilometre area. A seven-kilometer-long pathway flanked by 18 pairs of giant stone statues leads to Changling – the tomb of Emperor Yongle, the most powerful emperor in the Ming dynasty.

Summer Palace
Summer Palace is the largest and best-preserved royal garden in China and is over 800 years old. Early in the Jin dynasty, an imperial palace named Golden Hill Palace was built on the present site of the Summer Palace. In 1750,with 4.48 million taels of silver, Emperor Qian Long of the Qing dynasty built the Garden of Clear Ripples here and renamed the hill Longevity Hill to celebrate his mother's birthday this present Summer Palace covers a vast area of 294 hectares, in which three quarters are water.

Temple of Heaven
The Temple was completed in 1420 and was originally a platform for the Son of Heaven (the emperor) to perform sacrifices and solemn rites. Among the gods worshiped were the God of Earth, the God of Water, the God of Agriculture, the God of the Military, the God of Religion and the God of Civilians. Offering sacrifices was a serious task, as was atoning the sins of the people. The entire empire relied on the emperor for good fortune and abundant harvests so he had quite a responsibility. The Temple buildings and the parklands reflect ancient Chinese religious beliefs that imagined heaven as round and earth as square. Thus, the buildings in the temple are constructed on a central axis. The temples themselves are round and the bases square.

The Bund
The most popular symbol of old and new Shanghai. The word “bund” comes from an Anglo-Indian term meaning a muddy embankment on the waterfront, and it is the Huangpu River which is the waterfront here. Four kilometers long, the Bund has long been one of the most important areas in Shanghai. In the 1930s, the row of buildings that front the water was host to the city’s financial and commercial centres, and the world’s greatest banks and trading empires established a base here.

The Great Wall
The Great Wall totaling more than 12,000 kilometers, is definitely the most famous image of China throughout the world. It is the only man-made object visible from the moon, and as one of the Eight Wonders of the world, the Great Wall of China lives up to its reputation. It stretches from Shanhaiguan on the east coast to Jiayuguan in the Gobi Desert. The original wall was begun during the Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC), when Chian was unified under Emperor Qin Shihuang. Separate walls, constructed by independent kingdoms to keep out marauders were linked up. Hundreds of thousands workers, many of them political prisoners, worked for 10 years to build this monument. But the wall never really served its function as a line of defence. During the Ming Dynasty, an effort was made to rehash the whole project this time facing it with bricks and stone slabs. This took over 100 years and took huge toll of human lives and resources.

The Terra-Cotta Warriors
Ranking up there with the Great Wall and the Forbidden City, the 2,000 year-old Army of Terracotta Warriors is one of China’s most popular historical sights and among the top archaeological excavations of the 20th century. This incredible collection of 6,000 men and their horses was discovered completely by accident by a group of peasants in 1974 who were digging a well. The warriors are over 2,000 years old and were originally constructed to protect the tomb of the Emperor Qin Shi Huang. These life-size warriors stand on guard as if preparing for battle.

Tiananmen Square
Tian'anmen Square is located in the very heart of Bejing. It is the largest urban square in the world and has a historical significance to rival its size. Enlarged in the 1960s, Tian'anmen Square covers and area of 40 hectacres and measures 880 meters from north to south, 500 meters from east to west and can accommodate up to one million people. Ancient Beijing planning did not permit public squares as they were seen as dangerous places where crowds could gather. Tian'anmen Square is therefore, one of Beijing's most modern sites and is largely Mao's planning.
The May 4th demonstrations in 1919 against the Treaty of Versailles took place here. So did the anti-Japanese protests in 1935. Mao inspected his troops here during the Cultural revolution, and in 1976, one million people gathered in the square to pay tribute to the Chairman. Today, visitors remember the square mostly for the images of the 1989 student demonstrations. It is not just the physical centre of China, but also the centre of power and politics. For Chinese visitors, the site is of utmost importance. Today, it is filled with tourists visiting Mao's tomb, or paying their respects at the monument to the heroes of the Revolution.

Yu Garden
This is one of Shanghai’s top tourist destinations. The gardens were founded by the Pan family who were rich officials during the Ming Dynasty. After 18 years of nurturing, the gardens were bombed during the Opium War in 1842, and again during the French reprisals for attacks on their concession by Taiping rebels. Today they have been restored to their former glory.

HONG KONG

Victoria Peak Known as Hong Kong's most conspicuous landmark, The Peak is also the residential yearning of most of the population. Located on Hong Kong Island, only two cars are available to carry 72 passengers and one driver. These cars are pulled by 1,500m steel cables wound on drums. The Peak is comprised of the most expensive real estate properties in all of Hong Kong.

Repulse Bay is the dream beach: clean water, fresh sand, calm tide and gentle waves. There constructed on the sandy beach, is a Sea View Tower of Chinese, inside which there are images of Tin Hau (the Queen of Heaven and Protectress of Seafarers) and Goddess of Mercy, Avalokitesvara more than ten meters high. Beside it, there is a Bridge of Longevity across which the image of Yuexia Laoren (the god of matchmaker) is there with a conjugal felicity stone beside him. It is said that after worshipping the god of matchmaker and striking the conjugal felicity stone, the conjugal felicity surely emerges.

Aberdeen was formerly a fishing village. Even though quite a few commercial towers and factories have been built in this district in recent years, Hong Kong Tsai still maintains the characteristics of a traditional fishing village. There are also boat-dwellers in the Aberdeen Bay, shuttling with sampan along the Bay, from which one can have a glimpse of the life of the boat-dwellers. The famous Jumbo Floating Restaurant and the Tai Bak (Tai Bei) Seafood Boat are located at the Aberdeen Habour. Enjoy a free-of-charge travel by ferry boat to the restaurants.


KAM TIN WALLED VILLAGE: This is one of the very few left traditional walled village found in Hong Kong. It was built in the 1600s in the shape of a square completely surrounded by brick walls erected to protect villagers against invaders. The wrought iron gate at the entrance was once taken to England as a trophy for the victory of the British army in a battle with the inhabitants. However, it was returned in 1924 as a token of goodwill. Inside the village is a small temple dedicated to fifteen deities.

Man Mo Temple is situated on Hollywood Road, the temple is one of the oldest and the largest of its kind in the territory. It is dedicated to Kwan Kung, the god of war, and Man Cheong, the god of literature.

Luen Wo Market is near Fanling in the northern New Territories. This typical Chinese market features a wide array of fresh produce and daily necessities, which are sold from stalls laid out in a square.

WISHING TREE These two famous banyan trees are a favourite with local villagers who come to burn joss sticks and incense papers hoping their wishes will come true. During Chinese New Year, many Hong Kong people make a pilgrimage to this spot to make their New Year wishes. If your object gets hooked on the tree---you will have good luck!

The Tin Hau Temple was built around the time of Emperor Qian Long of the Qing Dynasty and is the largest temple of its kind in Tai Po. The temple's main hall is dedicated to Tin Hau, the Goddess of Heaven, while on either side of the main hall stand, respectively, a Hall dedicated to both the God of Literature and the God of War (the Man Mo Hall) and the Temple for Justice, built in honour of 12 noble-hearted men who protected the Lam Tsuen villages in the past.






Thailand

Mae Sai
Northernmost point in Thailand, Mae Sai is a good spot to observe border life, as Mae Sai is one of the few official land crossings open between Myanmar and Thailand. Mae Sai is separated from Burma only by a bridge. With a small fee, you may usually cross the bridge to the Burmese town of Tachilek. Burmese lacquerware, gems, jade and other goods from Laos and Mynmar are sold in shops along the main street. Wat Phra That Doi Wao, on a hill top outside Mae Sai, is the town’s best temple.

Sukhothai Historical Park
Ruins of the royal palaces, Buddhist temples, the city gates, walls, moats, dams, ditches, ponds, canals and the water dyke control system, which was the magical and spiritual centre of the kingdom, are now preserved and have been restored by the Fine Arts Department with the cooperation of UNESCO, not only with a view of fostering Thailand’s national identity, but of guarding a fine example of mankind’s cultural heritage.

The Grand Palace
The highlight in Bangkok is this city landmark on Na Phra Lan Road. The palace consists of several buildings with highly decorated architectural details. Only state receptions and ceremonies are being performed in this Palace today.

Wat Chai Wattanaram
Influenced by the Khmer architecture, the most striking feature of this temple is the central stupa which is surrounded by eight smaller ones, decorated with stucco reliefs. The ruined Ayutthaya-style stupas have been restored here. Built by King Prasat Thong in 1630, this temple is outside the city island on the bank of the Chao Phraya river.

Wat Si Chum
It consists of the foundations and some of the columns of a wihan in front of a tall cube-shaped mondop of 32m square and 15m high and the walls are 3m thick, now roofless. It houses a monumental stucco-over-brick Buddha image “touching the earth” in the attitude of Subduing Mara called “Phra Achana” measureing 11.5m from knee to knee. There is a passageway in the left inner wall leading to the above crossbeam. On the ceiling of the passageway are more than fifty engraved slate slabs illustrating Jataka scenes.

Wat Trimitr
The temple of the Golden Buddha, is the world’s largest gold Buddha, the gleaming 4-meter high 13th century Sukhothai image is made of 18 carat gold and weigh 5 tonnes. Local Chinese residents come here to worship the Golden Buddha and to make merit by rubbing gold leaf on the temple’s images.

That 's all for now folks! Happy Holidays again! Safe travels! Peace sign. anne.