Month: February 2017

February 27, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 53 of 111. Lingyin Temple Near the West Lake is the oldest intact Buddhist temple in China. There were four major temples, but three of them were destroyed in the Cultural Revolution. The massive size of the buildings and statues in these temples was impressive, but we were also lucky enough to be present…

February 27, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 53 of 111. Hangzhou, China When we arrived in Hangzhou on the bullet train, we boarded a bus and drove to the West Lake. This lake is very popular with tourists and since it was Sunday, there were people everywhere. We boarded a moderate-sized boat for our 45-minute cruise with a tour guide telling…

February 27, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 53 of 111. Shanghai, China We woke up today in Shanghai, China. It was fun to look out the window and see an interesting skyline. I thought that the colorful characters on the shore say Welcome to Shanghai or something, but our guide says they mean Starbound ⭐️, oh well! We had a bus…

February 24, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 50 of 111. Beijing, China Tian’anmen Square was exciting to see because of its grandeur and infamous history. It is a large square with the classic image of Chairman Mao on the one side. The monument of heroes stands up in the center of the square. There were Italian as well as China flags…

February 24, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 50 of 111. Beijing, China We toured The Forbidden City in Beijing. We entered the South Gate and exited the North Gate and walked about a kilometer in between. The scale of the complex was impressive, but thinking back to the grandeur it must have had when being used really made us think. The…

February 23, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 49 of 111. Xingang Port and Beijing, China The plan was to eat breakfast very early (5:00 a.m.), pack, and be ready for our overnight excursion to Beijing at 6:00 a.m. The weather was very cold but the roads were unsafe due to the fog and ice. So, we ended up waiting for nicer…

February 21, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 48 of 111. Yellow Sea nearing Xingang, China We will dock at the port city of Xingang this evening. I think that this is the port closest to Beijing. It was very cold in Korea and the weather forecast is for equally cold or colder weather for the next few days. The temperature is…

February 19, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 46 of 111. Seoul, South Korea We visited a traditional marketplace in Seoul (Insa-dong Street) where I was interested in the shops that sold brushes. Some of them were tiny and some were huge. We also bought warm hats for our next stop, China.

February 19, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 46 of 111. Seoul, South Korea The Gyeongbokgung Palace was beautiful to visit. Our guide helped us understand the organization of the buildings. I really enjoyed the colors and patterns and details everywhere. The feng shui of the palace has mountains in the background from which comes strength. The water in the moat helps…

February 18, 2017 Paul Groves

Day 45 of 111. Incheon, South Korea One of the dangers is that there are thousands and thousands of land mines planted along the DMZ, a 4 km swath of land stretching the border of North and South Korea. The tiny trianglular signs warn of this danger. However, there were some foods to watch out…