There I was going through some photos from the
China trip. I found this forgotten photo from our
"Solo" train trip from Shanghai to Wuxi. We had a
great time! I still look pretty much the same - only the
jacket has been retired. The Boys, however, have grown quite
a bit!
Here are some
more China trip photos - these are from Kyoto, Japan.
They have the world's highest Ferris Wheel at the docks. The
Boys talk me into taking them on it. It is over 320 metres
high! That's almost 1000 feet up! On the right is a
bridge from ground level.
On the left is
the bridge at the apex of the ride! We're at the top of
the
supporting tower! On the right, it sure is good to see happy
Boys happy and getting along. All photos above were posted January 16, 2001 -
From the Spring 1999 China trip collection.
The Great Wall of
China: The Great Wall is a partially
restored 
monument to
Emperor Qin. This is a second photo of us on the wall
itself. This is an incredible place where, eons ago, the
'unifier' of China kept his competition away. Posted on March 10, 2000
Here are the Lads and I in Hong Kong, aboard a
bus. Not really interesting,
unless you want to see what the boys and I look
like after a 15 hour flight. Posted
February 21, 2000.
Here is a shot obviously taken by the boys.
March 28 1999 in Xian. Overjoyed at being here, ecstatic
about the adventure, delighted to be with the adventure lads
and
overwhelmed with the scenery and culture, this picture also
captures the sadness about events from the night before (see
diary). Posted Feb 21, Y2K.
Here are the hungry boys - at the Hong
Kong airport. Being familiar with Asian foods, they have no
trouble picking out some tasty treats. As they dig in with
chopsticks, they get a lot of attention from the locals!
They don't see Americans so adept at using them very often.
The Boys and I pose at the alarm bell at the wall
of the city of Xian (Shi - an), home
of the Terra Cotta Warriors. The wall kept
attackers at bay and the large bell was used to warn defenders of
an attack. And to think my alarm clients say how terrible
the state of the world has become nowadays! Posted Feb 21, 2000
Speaking of walls and defending against attack,
there is no bigger civilized monument against the uncivilized -
than the Great Wall of China. Emperor Qin did
more to defend
against "home invasion" robberies than anyone by the
construction of this great wall - mostly his! And it
worked! HIS home wasn't invaded during his lifetime.
During our visit, we were sent "up wall" by soldiers to
keep us away from some visiting officials. The soldiers
weren't armed but one of them carried a bag with a bunch of pistol
handles sticking out of it. They caused us to climb the wall
higher than intended, and to have more adventure than we
imagined. We saw both the restored wall and the remnants of
the original ruins. As for the soldiers, we didn't
bother them and they didn't bother us. The sellers were
everywhere, but were polite and never rescinded a deal-!
like in Djibouti. Posted Feb 21, 2000
A thoughtful boy takes in the sights of the
countryside aboard a train adventure between
Shanghai and Wuxi. (Wuxi "Woo-Chee)
is a city once renowned for it's tin mines, but they played
out. Wuxi means, In Chinese, No Tin. The
adventure boys and I took an overland adventure deep into the
heart of China to see this "City of canals".
Finds: The sewers empty into the canals (with predictable
results), and the architecture of the local first class hotel (The
Pan Pacific) is EXACTLY LIKE the architecture of the Pan Pacific
Hotel on Post Street, San Francisco, USA. Who stole what
from whom - or they actually one in the same?
