tbaroundtheworld

And I'd answer, I carry a camera with me all the time because in this place you never know what interesting and unique thing might present itself, at any hour of the day. Take for example this denizen of the northern forests of Asia – the Bok Choy Tree, caulis vireo arboreus . Most westerners think that the slimy green stuff that comes in their Chop Suey is some sort of cabbage as in the leafy ground growing plant that our Irish brethren prepare with their Corned Beef. Or maybe some of us think of it as the lettuce-like plant that provides a bed for the complementary watermelon that follows the meal at the local Chinese bistro. But if you were thinking either of these things you’re dead wrong because Bok Choy is actually the flower of a very rare tree native to a narrow latitudinal band roughly between the valley of the Yellow River and southern Siberia. It’s a night bloomer, and the buds only appear on nights in months ending in “R” and when the moon is within 10% of its full form...

This morning I saw the moon rise in the west. I’m back on the road again and I have to say each time I head back to China it gets a little bit tougher. The last two weeks were spent watching the ponies, something I’ve now done for 17 autumns, covering the household responsibilities while My Lovely Wife is off in Texas catering to the needs of the horse showing masses. I remember the early years – it was tough work and I hated being alone. Now though the work is a breeze and the time spent on my own turned into something I came to enjoy. I won’t say I look forward to either, but neither condition is as devastating as it used to be. This departure was tough; we had all of 16 hours to catch up between her getting off one plane and me getting on another. It seems like the payoff for a trip a quarter of the way around the world should be more than that, but these days I will gladly take what I can get. So once again I found myself at the Sunport working my way through security, boarding and...

Sometimes I wonder if it’s just me. Or does everyone have these little adventures, things easily avoided if only you had enough information to prevent them from happening. Of all the people I know I am the most detailed planner when it comes to traveling, yet time and time again, stuff just happens. Rarely serious, unless you consider racing to catch a plane to be that; normally just little things that make me glad I get to the airport early. I did an accounting the other day and realized I had more than 30,000 Yuan to my name. Not exactly a princely sum when you consider the 6.83 exchange rate, but enough to get me thinking that it might be time to start spending it, lest I end up like other expats I know with 100,000 in the bank on the day their assignment ends. Some of it is necessary like the 7000 I keep in my safe in case I need a CT scan. The bulk of it is the result of reimbursement for business travel because when you come to China, you cease to be an American employee. The mon...

It’s amazing how fast your experience can change from the sublime to the crass when traveling in this country. While being assaulted by the souvenir hawkers on the way out of the Terracotta Warriors Museum, we passed a beautiful sculpture of horses running up a rock defile, in the middle of a broad fountain, totally out of phase with what was going on around us. The theme of horses would be repeated many more times over the remainder of the day, establishing the importance of that noble animal in the history of the country and this region in particular. As we re-entered the city, a massive modern equestrian stature of a mounted warrior held down the center of a traffic circle and I was sorry I did not have a chance to stop and get a photograph. On the way into town we passed a rural brick factory that looked precisely the same as the adobe yard down the ditch from me back home. I asked Lily about that and she told me that brick making was a common industry, although here they are fired...

I thought I would make a second posting, sharing some additional photos of the warriors. While the scale of the place is what takes your breath away, it's the unique individuality of each soldier that is truly incredible. That and the fact that what you see is the result of more than 30 years of restoration, taking a pile of rubble and turning it into a phalanx of men. I've included some "before" pictures to show what the archeologists have to work with, the torsos of the men and the tiles that originally paved the gallery. I think the "as found" condition of the soldiers really makes the scope of the place sink in.

I don’t really have much to say about my trip to see the Terracotta Warriors. We’ve all seen them countless times since they were first discovered in 1974 and so the images are pretty much part of the media consciousness we all share. But when you see them, you don’t know whether you’re over or underwhelmed. I had high expectations and they were surpassed, but by such a large margin that it almost feels like a big miss. In short, they are such an overwhelming sight that you simply do not know how to react. Before coming here I had decided that I would hire a guide that was recommended by a friend of mine who had used his services back in the spring. As it turned out, he was busy but he arranged for me to use a contract employee who turned out to be the best $75 I’ve spent on any trip, anywhere. Lily was a font on knowledge and information and very friendly to boot – I can’t express just how great it was to go to a place like this with someone so capable. I’m sure my experience was impr...