Having enjoyed the Silk
Road immensely last year, our little
party (with a couple of alterations) set off again to visit
some more remote places in China,
as well as Vietnam and Cambodia.
Stan Prickett and I went a few
days earlier with Catherine Ricketts and Kevin Parker to visit
the Chinese equivalent of Antique Centres in both Tianjin and Beijing, and
also the Marble Village. We also visited a very extensive
street market early one morning in a hutong, which is an old
section of town with narrow alleyways. It was colourful to
say the least, particularly the pelts of endangered animals
brought down from the North. The ‘antiques’ varied from inexpensive
to outrageously expensive, and the authenticity was doubtful
in many cases!
The Marble Village where artisans carve from huge blocks of marble placed on the ground,
was a definite highlight. Bare feet, hand tools, frayed electrical
leads, no sun protection – Workplace Health and Safety in Australia would have a fit! Young girls
of maybe 14 years of age carve along with older women and men.
And they are so very talented. Fancy a copy of the Trevi Fountain? – No
Problem! We saw it almost finished.
Being in such a remote area, accommodation
was what can only be termed ‘basic’. However the food was mostly
of a good standard. Naturally the toilets were not!
It
was quite an experience being robbed when our limousine was
broken into, and the first such problem we have ever had in China. The Police didn’t care about our Chinese host’s missing handbag,
identification etc. My backpack got their undivided attention,
and many snide comments from my fellow travellers as to the
uses for an 18D brassiere. A watermelon carrier was one tongue
in cheek suggestion
Sadly, the perpetrator of this
robbery will apparently be executed if caught, as the Chinese
do not like such events to befall their Western visitors
We had the distinction of being
driven to Beijing by the driver for the Governor of the Province. The Police, because
of the dreadful fog, closed the road. Another ‘no problem’.
We simply drove onto the closed road and continued our journey.
I do not think the poor man knew what else to do with us.
China
A couple of days later we flew
to the South to meet up with the rest of our party who were
flying into China.
This was the official start of the tour. Mind you, we did all
wonder the significance of it, when we spotted a khaki coloured
Hummer in the driveway of our hotel!
Then it was off to visit the Yunnan Provincial Museum for a display of bronze drums and other artefacts. A rock crystal
decanter stopper labelled as a 12th century crystal
ornament created much interest, and the non-antique dealers
could not understand our mirth. It was probably 1870. However,
the drums and funerary jars were really very interesting, and
it was wonderful to see them
The next day we flew to Dali,
which only has a population of 170,000. It is in a valley with
rice fields and vegetable patches, with mountains surrounding.
A very pretty place, which we all loved. A highlight here was
the ‘Shaping Farmer Markets’, held only on Monday mornings.
As well as fruit and vegetables and animals, there were some
antiques for sale as well as lots of new stuff.
We journeyed onwards to Old Town
Dali followed by Old Town Lijiang, which is listed as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site. The listing eventuated as the UN was so
impressed by the survival of the traditional Naxi architecture
during the 1996 earthquake which measured over 7 on the Richter
scale, and killed more than 300 people. From there, we went
by coach to Longquan Naxi Village and walked through yet another old
town. We were invited by an 83-year-old man to enter his house
to look at his birds. We thought the dead racoon and the dead
pheasants hanging near his ‘kitchen’ were a nice touch!
That afternoon we took the chairlift
up 3000 metres to Jade Dragon Snow Mountain to walk through the spruce forest. The Japanese tourists were using
oxygen during their climb. Later that afternoon we went to Black Dragon Pond Park where the people believe the fish are
reincarnations of their ancestors so they are not eaten and
thus grow to incredible sizes (for Chinese fish!)
Next day we set off to visit Zhongdian,
supposedly used together with the Diqing region as inspiration
by James Hilton for the fabled area of Shangri-La, in his classic ‘Lost
Horizon’. Wonder how much opium this author had consumed to
acquire such rose coloured glasses.
Getting there was to be yet another
adventure when our coach broke down on a remote mountain road
where there was no mobile telephone reception. When a vehicle
breaks down in these areas, the driver simply places branches
and stones on the road in either direction to warn other motorists.
No red triangles here to warn of danger.
Eventually we managed to hitch
a ride on a local bus going in the correct direction. Some
of us had to sit on sacks of noodles and other mystery objects,
as there were not enough seats. At least there were no live
chickens or pigs on board! Not sure if the locals have yet
recovered from our rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’.
This area, with an altitude of
3200 metres, is very close to the border with Tibet and has a largely Tibetan population.
One night we had a traditional dinner at the home of a Tibetan
family in their village. The food was quite different and really
interesting and tasty. At nightfall, the cows and pigs were
brought in from the fields, to be stabled under the family
living and eating area. The children were delightful and totally
fascinated to see photographs of themselves on our digital
cameras.
The next afternoon our plane departed
for Kunming after
a 2-hour delay for what was termed by the Chinese authorities
as ‘adjustment’. We never did quite work out exactly just what
was being adjusted. Then it was onwards by coach heading towards
the border with Vietnam. Along the way we visited the second
largest Confucius Temple in China, built in 1285, and enjoyed a wonderful musical performance by the
old scholars. We also visited the beautiful Zhu family gardens
and house, which were established between 1880-1910 then taken
over by the Government.
Vietnam
Most people fly into Vietnam,
but we had to be different. At the end of our final day in China, after a coach journey of over 7 hours, we walked over the border
in the North of Vietnam at Lao Cai, much to the displeasure
of the local Customs officials and border guards who scrutinized
our paperwork VERY thoroughly. A little Vietnamese lady pulled
a large handcart with our suitcases over the bridge. Needless
to say, we all gave her a substantial tip in addition to her
quoted fee.
Then it was onwards to the Victoria
Resort at Sapa, which is an old hill town. In the morning,
we thought we had died and gone to heaven when we spotted the
French breakfast! We all wondered how long we could afford
to live permanently in this fabulous resort.
Because we had been guests of
the Victoria Resort, we were able to catch the ‘Victoria Express’ overnight
train to Hanoi from Lao Cai. My black-feathered negligee caused quite some comment!
The Premier of the Province was travelling on the same train
as us, and occupied the entire carriage adjoining ours. It
was interesting to observe the 7 black limousines with blacked
out windows pull onto the platform to deliver his wife and
himself to the train, not to mention the armed soldiers and
sundry other personnel. Sure enough, when we pulled into the
station at Hanoi at 4.00 a.m., there were another 7 black limousines
with blacked out windows waiting on the platform to collect
he and his wife.
There were very picturesque places
in Vietnam,
two of the best being Halong Bay, where thousands of limestone islands
dot the emerald green water of the South
China Sea, and Hoi An. A fabulous Japanese covered bridge built in the 16th Century,
and largely intact, is one of the most spectacular sights in
Hoi An. Another fascinating place nearby is My Son, the Imperial City of the Champa
Empire from the 4th to 12th Century.
The US President was asked by the French in
1972 not to destroy the complex during the Vietnam War as it
was in reasonably good original condition. However, it was
bombed and largely destroyed as it was suspected the Viet Cong
were using it as a stronghold. Fortunately, some restoration
work has now been undertaken, including that paid for by various
international benefactors, including some from the United
States of America.
On a more sombre note, the Cu
Chi Underground tunnels constructed by the Viet Cong during
the war were a real eye opener, as was the War Museum in Saigon with such things as deformed foetuses
in bottles, these being a tragic result of the chemical warfare
An interesting visit was to the
Cai Rang floating market on the Mekong River near Can Tho.
The particular fruit and/or vegetable attached to the mast
denote what that boat is selling. Or in the case of the refreshment
boat, the beer can!
Cambodia
We left Vietnam on an old prop jet plane to fly
to Siem Reap in Cambodia.
It flew so low I was able to take photographs of the Mekong
Delta out the window. On arrival at the airport, the Visa process
was surprisingly smooth with the Cambodian staff being extremely
helpful. No doubt all those American Dollars are very handy
in assisting with the rebuilding of their country post Pol
Pot. They certainly appreciate that tourism is probably their
fastest growing ‘industry’.
We visited various ‘piles of
old ruins’ near Siem Reap. Banteay Srei (or Citadel of Women)
is a 9th Century pink sandstone building, finely
sculpted with extraordinary carvings and bas reliefs, about
30 km distant. Ta Prohm is another outstanding pile of old
ruins abandoned hundreds of years ago and deliberately left
to the ravages of the jungle. Old trees were growing out of
buildings built in the 11th Century at Prasat Kravan,
which must have been an exceptionally beautiful place in its
day.
However, the great highlight of
our trip was Angkor Wat. You should have seen me climbing on
hands and knees up the final long steep staircase (no handrail
and no protection) to get the best view of the sunset over
Angkor Wat from Phnom Bakheng. Then clambering down again!
Our penultimate day in Cambodia involved
a boat trip on Tonle Sap Lake, the largest inland lake in Asia, to see the floating villages. Both
Cambodian and Vietnamese families live in boats, houseboats,
or houses on stilts that are all easily moved to a better position
as the need arises. There was even a Roman Catholic Church
on a pontoon.
We had a late afternoon visit
to Angkor Thom, the last Capital of the Khmers, with its Elephant
Terrace and Bayon Temple. King Jayavarman VII constructed
it at the end of the 12th century. Our final dinner
was a traditional Khmer buffet dinner with dance, the dancers
being clothed in elaborate costume.
This brought to a close another
great adventure with many fine memories of places, faces, and
great friends. It only remained to fly home from Siem Reap,
transiting at Changi Airport in Singapore.
Now, Catherine, what was that
about flying to Hainan Island and taking
the boat to Vietnam?
Heather Mildwater.
After our last wonderful experience
I can’t wait to do it again, but due to prior commitments
I will not be able to this year! I am terribly sorry but
it will
be worth the wait when you see what I have install for
you all…
How about September 2006 we revisit
the Yangtze River where it has changed so dramatically
since last time we were there and go for a boat cruise down
the river, then move on to Hianan Island where we can kick up our heels and
relax at a beautiful resort for a few days.
From there we will then aboard
another cruise ship and cross the bay into Vietnam and revisit our favourite places and find some new ones to explore!
We will then go into Cambodia and
travel inland where we will search for our own little hidden
treasures.
If you are interested please don’t
hesitate to contact me.
Catherine Ricketts
Parker International Pty. Ltd.
07 3268 2869
Email: info@parkerinternational.com.au
