The Valley of the Kings in China

Let me just say that the Ming Tomb Complex is amazing. After walking through the Great Red Gate, complete with a huge statute of a turtle carrying the weight of the world on his back, we arrived on the Sacred Way, a long paved path flanked by 36 enormous elaborately carved beings, both mythical and real, whose sole job is to protect the 13 Ming Emperors buried at the site. Percy convinced Roy to take this picture of a royal court official. There is something about his imposing stare that really strikes me. It's like he is channeling Confucius, "the wise man in his attitude towards the world has neither predilections nor prejudices. He is on the side of what is right."

After leaving the Spirit Way we investigated Emperor Zhu Di's mausoleum. The vast structure is supported by mammoth solid beams, which constitute the last remnants of a tree species that was harvested to extinction hundreds of years ago. The wood was rumored to resist rot and repel insects. Perhaps it is no rumor as these beams have stood for more than 700 years.

Once we left the Emperor we climbed to the top of his observation tower to behold the Chinese Valley of the Kings! There are 10 completely unexcavated tombs across this hillside. No digging will be permitted until the technology exists to preserve anything archaeologists might find below. While I respect that point of view, staring at the mountain was a bit of a tease. Sort of like being invited to smell a pizza when you know full well you can't eat it because you are "in training."

Under the Tutelage of Lily the First

Promptly at 10:00am our tour guide, Lily, arrived to take Roy, Percy, and I to the Ming Tombs and the Great Wall of China. We were lucky, she said, that the air quality that day was so good. China is in the middle of an industrial revolution and with the constant building and demolishing of structures, a heavy reliance on coal, and an explosive increase in car ownership, the air is usually toxic. It has been estimated that more than 400,000 premature deaths in China can be blamed on air pollution each year. The picture below is an image of Eastern China taken from a NASA satellite on June 8, 2006. The clouds are white. The pollution is grey. Makes you want to buy a Prius doesn't it?

Time for a Change

Stay tuned for the next installment of the China adventure on Wednesday!

Ovid said, "Let your hook always be cast; in the pool where you least expect it, there will be a fish." Today I found a fish. Now I just have to land it! As such, I will be working on my resume for the next two days. Wish me luck!

And speaking of the cow....

Here is a picture Mike took of his breakfast at the same restaurant mentioned in the previous post. You can see the cow on the menu. Cute right?

Also, for those who are interested, steamed soy milk slurped through a straw is just about the best breakfast drink ever.

Oh, and the crispy fried things in the center of the table are called donuts. I think I could fall in love with any culture that embraces a diet of fried dough. Who's with me?

China Day 2 - Is that cow really saying he tastes delicious?

A Snickers bar might just be the perfect food, but it isn't enough to sustain me for long. By the time Roy, Percy, and I awoke on our first morning in China we were starving! Tao, our fearless leader, arrived to take us out into the streets of Beijing for a real Chinese breakfast. But first we had to survive the walk. Pedestrians do not have the right of way. Ever. Even crossing at a crosswalk is precarious. I wish I had had the words of Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer and my current hero, reminding me to be "calm assertive" when stepping out into traffic. Fortunately we had Tao, the Tourist Whisperer, who guided us safely to our destination, a cafe that would have just as easily fit into Brooklyn as Beijing. The restaurant was adjacent to a KFC and across the street from the subway. The patrons were all grabbing a quick bite, reading the paper, and readying themselves for the business day. I remember thinking, "this is great! But, um, where are the coffee mugs?"

As Tao ordered for us I glanced at billboard menu which featured a smiling animated cow holding out a bowl of beef and noodles. For some reason I was fixated on this cute cow throughout most of the breakfast. I wondered, is he really saying that he tastes delicious? And if so, that is kind of disturbing. This was the first day I resolved myself to learn Chinese. I am determined to return to that cafe and discover the secret of the cow.

China Day 1 - Our First Night

The Ningxia Hotel in Beijing was not what I expected. After traveling for 15 hours and having eaten only a strange Korean spaghetti experiment (rice noodles covered in tomato paste, garlic powder, and green beans) I wanted nothing more than to sleep, and to eat a familiar favorite...a Snickers bar. But as soon as we arrived at the Ningxia my exhausted spirits got a second wind! Spring and Tao said to expect a two or three star hotel, the functional equivalent of a Holiday Inn Express, but the Ningxia was beautiful! There was a spiral staircase and marble floors, fresh flowers, and friendly doormen. I was impressed.

While Tao settled his belongings with his family who lived nearby, Roy sauntered up to the counter and began to check in. Though Roy spoke no Chinese (he was still trying to master hello, excuse me, "knee how") and the kind desk clerk spoke little English, we started to realize that there might be a problem with Roy's reservation. The room reserved for Roy had been given away to someone else. There was only one room available in the entire hotel, and that was the room reserved for Percy and I. Ever the wise and congenial spirit, Percy laughed and patted Roy on the arm and said, "Roy, I guess you're bunking with the women. I hope you're alright with that. By the way, you get the cot." And thus began the roommate relationship between two mountaineering women and a really good sport.

Sending a shout out to the AG for my killer abs....

Today our U.S. Attorney in Western Washington, widely reputed to be the best ever seen in this district, resigned his post. Given the timing it is largely speculated, both in Congress and in our home district, that he was asked to leave. A little know provision of the Patriot Act allows the Attorney General to appoint an interim U.S. Attorney indefinitely and without Congressional oversight once an appointed U.S. Attorney has resigned. This is a strict departure from the way interim U.S. Attorney's have been appointed for the past 150 years. So far 11 U.S. Attorneys have been asked to resign or have left their posts in the months since the new Patriot Act provision came into effect. We still do not know who will replace our U.S. Attorney, but given appointments made in other districts, we can reasonably expect a questionably qualified crony. In Arkansas, a U.S. Attorney was recently replaced by someone with virtually no federal legal or managerial experience. His only claim to fame seems to be that he was an opposition researcher for Karl Rove and served as a JAG attorney for a year. Excuse me, but I thought I worked for the Department of Justice? Where is the justice in removing dynamic, motivating, highly competent, well respected, experienced leaders with those whose only qualification seems to be "well connected." I guess I should expect this kind of justice from an Attorney General who considers the tenants of the Geneva Convention "quaint."

The whole situation puts me in mind of Dorothy Parker:

"There's little in taking or giving,
There's little in water or wine;
This living, this living, this living
Was never a project of mine.
Oh, hard is the struggle, and sparse is
The gain of the one at the top,
For art is a form of catharsis,
And love is a permanent flop,
And work is the province of cattle,
And rest's for a clam in a shell,
So I'm thinking of throwing the battle --
Would you kindly direct me to hell?"

At any rate, I want to thank the Attorney General for causing the immense frustration that led me to do about 200 sit ups tonight. My abs are healthy but my stomache is a little sick.

China Day 1 - The Drive

When our plane landed late at night at the Beijing airport I had no idea what to expect. Because I, naively, wanted to experience China unencumbered by things like language skills, an understanding of socio-economics, political dynamics, or cultural awareness, I was totally unprepared for my first forey into the streets of Beijing... by cab. When our driver honked his horn and buzzed around a slightly slower car in front of him using the median as a lane I was concerned. Two minutes later when he ventured between lanes of traffic and nearly slammed into the box shaped car next to him, I thought, "so this is the way I'm going to die." As it turns out, he was simply trying to avoid using his breaks. Why? Because each time he breaked it cost him half a yuan in gas consumption. With rising gas prices and competition from other cab drivers immigrating from rural China, he could barely make a living as a driver and every cent counted.