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I forgot to share what we did the morning of Day 2. T and B and I went for a bike ride through some villages. It was really interesting and eye opening to see how these villagers live. You start to appreciate what you have and the conveniences we all have in the States. We stumbled upon a Wet Market on our ride. This is basically an open-air market that sells everything from produce to meat. I think one of the best things to do when you travel anywhere is to visit a local market. You truly get a sense of where you are, how people live, and you feel like a local!
After the ride we stopped by some food street vendors. T took us to a vendor he always goes to, to get these crepe-like omelet. All I can say is that it was pure heaven. This gentleman makes a crepe and then he breaks an egg and spreads it all over the crepe, adds some scallions, and spreads a spicy plum sauce on top. It's all wrapped up and is the most amazing thing I've ever had (ok, you'll hear me say that a lot in future posts on China). It was so simple but so delicious. Oh, and did I tell you how much it was? It was $0.35!!! Yes, $0.35!!!
So at the end of Day 2 (after the Fabric Market) we flew to Xi'an (pronounced "She-On"). Xian is a city 2 1/2 hours away from Shanghai with a population of about 8 million. Xi'an is best know for the Terracotta Soldiers that were discovered about 30 years ago. They were discovered by a pair of brothers digging for a well. The rest is history. I was very excited to see them in person because with any work of art you really can't appreciate it fully until you see it in person. When we went to the first building it was AMAZING. It was bigger than a football field with these soldiers all standing in formation.
They estimate that there are about 6,000 but have only unearthed 1,500. They stopped unearthing them because they found some with paint and once exposed to air, the paint fell off. Until they figure out how to keep the paint on after unearthing them, they are not excavating any more. The other amazing thing we found out is that these were originally covered with a timber roof but over time the timbers rotted and fell on top of these soldiers. So the soldiers have had to be reconstructed piece by piece. Simply amazing!
The other pieces they have excavated are two teams of horses and two carriages. The craftsmanship of these bronzes are unreal. And once you realize when these were created you start to understand how truly amazing these craftsmen were. They were created around 210 BC!!! It was so crazy that we got to see these soldiers. It had always been on my list of "to see" and I can't believe I actually saw them!
I've finally gotten around to downloading my pictures from our trip to China! It only took about a month but I guess better late than never. So here it goes.
Day 1 - Arrive in Shanghai
After a day delay in San Francisco (we literally missed the plane by 5 minutes. It was like a bad TV commercial when you see the doors close and you're yelling to them to hold the plane. Well, it didn't work but we had a great afternoon/night in San Francisco) we arrived in Shanghai at 4:00 pm (Shanghai is 14 hours ahead of us (in the Mountain Time Zone), so you lose a day when flying over). My brother, mom, dad, and Mr. Jung (my brother's driver) met us at the airport. J was so excited to see my brother that he ran right to him rather than my parents! They thought it was cute so their feelings weren't hurt too bad. You read the previous sentence correctly, my brother has a driver! The reason being is that most, if not all, Ex-Pat's companies do not want their employees driving for liability issues.
If you've ever been to Shanghai or any other city in China, you wouldn't want to drive either if you could. The best analogy would be schools of fish. Have you ever watched a nature show and watch multiple schools of fish weaving in and out of each other but they never seem to bump into each other? Well, that is what driving is like in Shanghai. Drivers do not stay within the lines and if there is the littlest open space they will take it. It was quite stressful the first few times in the car but after a while you realize that there aren't any car crashes so you just learn to sit back and "try" to relax.
That night we hung out at my brother and sister-in-law's house while all the cousins got re-aquainted. The next morning we went to the fabric market. This is the neatest place! It's a 3-story market where there are vendors after vendors that sew clothes just for you, just your size. T (my brother) took B to a vendor that makes custom suits and then another place for fitted dress shirts. I went to a vendor that made a couple of dresses (Ann Taylor-ish) and a vendor that made a wrap coat. Now, here is the best part. Not only are the clothes custom made for you (they take all your measurements and sew to those) they are extremely in-expensive. B's suit cost $75, his shirts cost $13 each, my dresses were $45 each, and my custom cashmere mid-calf wrap coat was only $100! All the vendors took our measurements and we would come back a few days later to try them on and have alterations if needed.
After the fabric market we went back to the house to get ready to leave for the airport. Yes, were getting on another plane in less than 24 hours! We were on our way to Xian which is about 2 1/2 hours away to see the Terra Cotta Soldiers. More about that tomorrow!
Well, the high school reunion was a blast. I had a great time re-connecting with everyone. I have to say we did good! Thank you for a great time.
Now off to our next adventure. I've been running around like crazy today. Trying to tie up loose ends at work, finding out that W has strep throat and running to get some medication, and finally packing for our trip to...China! We leave tomorrow for Shanghai and then just when we get there we leave the next day for Xian and Beijing. I can't wait to see my brother, sister-in-law and my nieces and nephews. We even get to meet our newest niece/cousin, Analee. My brother and sister-in-law adopted her recently (just like they did Jacelyn). W and J are so excited to see their cousins. I'm excited for well, EVERYTHING! I could go on and on but I better finish packing. See you all soon. I can't wait to share my adventures and pictures when I get back!
NOTE: Image via Flickr
Image via flickrWell, I'm starting the countdown. In just a few hours we are leaving for our annual trip to the Tetons and Yellowstone. So sorry for the lack of posts this week but I've been trying to get all my work finished before our trip. Have a great week everyone and I hope to have some great stories and pictures when we return!
Image via flickr
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