| (NOTE: We learned of Lonnie's trip to China and asked her to tell us about it and following is her reply and for those of you that have speakers on your computer - the name of the Chinese music is "Spring comes with sunshine" compliments-Webmaster)
November 17, 2000
Dear Steve:
Jim and I just returned from our 10 day tour of China, and as you requested,
following are some highlights of our trip.......We went on a China discovery tour and our friends Virginia and Charlie Monday from Oracle, Arizona went with us. There were 15 in our tour group, a nice size for a tour group. Our plane fares, great hotel accommodations, all of our meals, tourist attractions, guides, and tour bus were all inclusive.We climbed the "Great Wall", an awesome experience, toured the Forbidden City, all 9,999 rooms, went to Tianamen Square, The Summer Palace and The Temple of Heaven, a cruise on West Lake in Shanghai, lots of parks and Buddhist temples, the Leaning Pagoda (China's version of the Tower of Pisa), toured the towns, Suzhou, Zhouzhuang, Hangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai.My Favorite part was a gondola cruise down the city canal in Hangzhou, there we saw the real China. These poor people live in deplorable conditions, but are very friendly, and a tour of their market place was an unforgettable experience.There are 100 million cases of liver cancer in China from drinking the water. Even in the beautiful hotels we stayed in the water was not potable, even had to use bottled water to brush our teeth, and never order ice.Beijing has 13 million people and as many bicycles, only one car per family, and they still have lots of traffic. They drive like a bat out of Carlsbad and honk the horn. They don't stop for pedestrians or bikes either.We toured a silk factory, fresh water pearl farm, tea plantation, jade factory, embroidery factory, and cloissanet factory. They were all interesting and new experiences for us. Shanghai has 16 million people, their cars are mostly VW Foxes and Jettas. Shanghai has 16 harbors and is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Beautiful skyscrapers and layered freeways like ours, as does Beijing.We only had one incident while we were there. While in Tianamen Square a woman was throwing propaganda leaflets on the ground, our friend Charlie, not knowing what it was, picked one up.....He had a guard on each arm before he knew what had happened. They put a choke hold on the woman and took her away, took the leaflet away from Charlie, and said "No..No.." I turned to Virginia and said, "I don't think we are in Kansas anymore Dorothy".The rest of the trip was great and we had a wonderful time. A once in a lifetime trip for us.I must warn the ladies though if you go there, in the restrooms men have latrines, but most women's facilities still have "squat holes", a latrine that is set in the floor that you must straddle, no water, and no paper, not a lot of fun in a pair of tight levis. Must take your own paper.....smell is not wonderful either, really the epitome of terribleness.I don't know what I expected but it destroyed all of my misconceptions..... the cities are very clean, no graffiti. Lovely skyscrapers, lots of McDonalds, Starbucks, Colonel Sanders and Subway sandwiches. Great shopping, thousands of apartments, there are practically no single family residences.What I don't understand is, if they can build these beautiful cities and freeways, why are 100 million people dying of liver cancer from drinking the water, and why do they still have the infamous squat holes????The picture is of Jim and I in a peddie cab in Hangzhou, peddie cabs have replaced the rickshaw. The other is at the Great Wall, a grueling climb. The wall is 4,000 miles long and 2500 years old.Hope this does not bore anyone........Lonnie (Helt) Powers
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