Concluding Beijing

My calves hurt.

Climbing up those hundreds of stairs yesterday did nothing more than make my heart pound. Climbing down, with 25 pounds strapped to my back, made my calves shudder so that I could hardly stand to eat my ice cream cone at the bottom. Today, my climbing muscles feel fine. But every time I've walked down a step, I've felt a tightness in my calves.

Our last day in Beijing, and I've realized that I've broken one of my travel-with-children rules. We are not staying near the sights. We are not staying near any of the sights. I misjudged the size and layout of Beijing, and our commutes have been nearly an hour from the hotel to each site. The drive to the Great Wall was over 2 hours. So when we climbed into the car this morning to drive 1 hour to the Temple of Heaven, the girl made their displeasure known. And the Temple of Heaven is less the large park that I expected and more an historical site. Our guide stopped often with tidbits of information - interesting to an adult, I'm sure. The girls spent plenty of time circling trees, studying leaves and griping at us for not paying them enough attention.

They and I returned to the hotel for lunch, while my parents rode a rickshaw through the old hutong housing of Beijing. The girls napped well, and we walked to a local restaurant for dinner. We walked back to the playground while my parents went to an acrobat show. Walking and playgrounds was a happy ending to their time in Beijing.

We fly early in the morning, hoping to land at Shanghai Pudong Airport within a few minutes of Dave's flight from Chicago O'Hare.

We’re on the Great Wall of China!

At the parking lot, our guide asked if we would prefer to ride the cable cars or to walk to the top of the wall. Our crew answered immediately – we’ll walk.

He looked at the girls – the youngest at 17 months and the oldest at 2½ years old.

He looked at the adults – the youngest at 30 years and the oldest at 65 years old.

There are over 1,000 stairs to the top. A 600 meter climb. Maybe you should think about it.

We congregated.

Are you up for it?
Cause I’m up for it if you’re up for it.
Well, if you’re up for it, I’m up for it.

We made a plan.

I’d carry the backpack, and eventually one kid.
Dad would carry the cameras.
Mom would eventually carry the other kid.

We went back to our guide – We’re sure. We’ll walk.

L-- made most of the journey in the backpack, but S-- climbed quite a few of those stairs with her own two feet.

We finally made it up the last few steps and onto the wall itself. I slid down against the wall, letting L-- out of the backpack. She stood up, looked up and down the wall, and loudly proclaimed:

We're on the Great Wall of China!

Fleeced in Beijing

Those amenities which simplify our lives also tend to cost a premium. Although I am quite happy with the hotel, and would recommend it to anyone in a similar situation, I am feeling fleeced by our driver and having trouble overlooking the fact that the money is a sunk cost. His daily rate is over double the daily rate of our English speaking driver in Shanghai, and he asks us to pay his entry fee into the sights and cover the cost of his lunch. For ease and convenience, he can not be beat. But his prices are astronomical, and he nickel and dimes us on top.

Still, we are thoroughly enjoying our time in Beijing. We toured grounds of the Temple of Heaven this morning. The park is popular with retirees in the area, and the large exercise area was covered with some very fit men and women. Our guide cajoled my parents into trying everything out, and they often were guided by the locals. It was quite a sight, with the girls often trying everything out in a toddler version as well. The beautiful weather only added to the fun of playing exercise in a lovely park. The temple was lovely, and our jaunt afterward to Tiananmen Square was interesting as well. Our guide sung Mao’s praises and detailed his hatred of the Japanese – quite interesting on both counts. Mao’s tomb is a mausoleum in the middle of the square, and apparently people regular queue for hours to catch a glimpse of his entombed body.

The girls and I grabbed McDonalds and a nap back at the hotel while my parents ate hot pot for lunch and then toured the Forbidden City. We all grabbed Peking Duck for dinner. I have to assume its not the best roast duck on offer in Beijing – we gather he’s getting kickbacks from everyplace he’s taking us, hence the quick service and the ridiculous prices. So far, both of the meals he has guided us to have been by far the highest priced Chinese meals I have eaten – and the cost of living is much lower in Beijing.

We have just discovered that we can not power my laptop in our hotel room, so this must be kept brief. Hopefully we can post more tomorrow.

Grandparents in tow makes for smooth travels

As of today, my parents have been in China for 1 week. It took them about 5 days and nights to fully adjust to China time, but they both sleep through the night without fail now. They’ve touristed on toddler schedules – out around 9:00 in the morning, back by naptime, dinner usually eaten at home. And my impression is that this schedule has made China less overwhelming. Taken in small doses, and at a toddler’s speed, an adult can handle most anything. They’ve been troopers – happy to explore on their own and never seeming overwhelmed by China. They set a high standard for our coming guests to follow.

Having explored Shanghai for a week, we planned to explore Beijing this week. With the plane tickets reserved, Dave learned of a last-minute business trip. While my parents spend their time in China, Dave spends a week in Boston. A trip that our family looked forward to as a unit now became myself showing around 2 adults and 2 toddlers, being the only person with any Chinese language or cultural understanding. All of the sudden, Beijing seemed too overwhelming.

We made some quick changes.

I booked a car and driver for the entire weekend. Steve met us at the airport in a comfortable mini-van. He speaks wonderful English and has lived in Beijing his entire life. He has an itinerary set up for us which takes naptime into account. Simple.

I changed our hotel reservations to the Marriott Executive Apartments. For the same price as 2 rooms at a regular hotel, we have a 2-bedroom suite with full kitchen and quite a large living room. The hotel provides free breakfast and has already helped us to order a pizza. Simple.

The adjustment we have faced time and again is transitioning from budget travel to travel with toddlers. That adjustment is compounded by travel with toddlers and grandparents, into a rather expensive jaunt up the creek. Still, sitting at the dining room table, looking out of our 31st floor window, I feel quite comfortable that I made the right decision.

Grandparents in tow makes for smooth travels.

Not only does it nudge us toward the purchasing conveniences, which make for lush travel. But it also provides an extra set of hands. With 3 adults and 2 kids, check-in and security at the airport were a breeze. With 3 adults and 2 kids, boarding the plane did not make anyone cry. With 3 adults and 2 kids, no one ended up with their on-flight meal on their lap. Next week we travel again, and with all 4 adults. We won’t know what to do with ourselves!

Biking Shanghai

Grandparents are a wonderful presence in children's lives, and the girls' are loving the extra attention. Overall, their moods are higher and they are enjoying everything a bit more. We've been joining my parents on some of their touristing, which exhausted both girls enough that we took a day off today. My parents explored China on their own - and returned in one piece - and the girls and I went about our normal routine for the day.

An added blessing of having grandparents as guests in our home is that Dave and I enjoyed a date last night with no strings attached. We did not have to be back to put the girls to bed. We did not have to wait until they'd eaten before we could leave. We did not have to return by any sort of curfew.

On a mildly steamy May evening, Dave and I took our newly acquired bikes out for a ride. We rode the busy streeets, fighting for square of pavement amongst taxis, busses, motorbikes and other riders like us. The first few blocks felt quite hectic, and the first time a taxi slammed his brakes inches from my wheels made my squeal in terror. But as we moved further into the community, the traffic lessened. We rode casually past people enjoying the cool breeze. Most apartments do not have air conditioning, and the steamy weather had pushed many people out into the open air to enjoy the breeze. Old people gathered at the exercise tables, slowly swinging their arms and watching the scene. Families walked up and down the streets, pushing children in strollers, or bouncing a ball.

We rode through Pudong - our side of the river. We rode toward Century Park - the large urban park a few miles away from our home. It turns out the park closes by 7:00 on a Sunday night, so we circled the park instead. The broad streets with trees overhanging the park-side made for a pleasant ride all the same.

The ride to the park took us through a large plaza, possibly conceived as a gathering place of some sort. On this evening, it was filled with people spinning their wheels. Young children learning to ride their bikes, older kids jumping their skateboards, adults swirling on their rollerblades, and every other combination as well. There was no set path - just people watching where they were going enough not to run into anyone else. The scene felt chaotically enjoyable, and certainly not dangerous.

Shanghai traffic much resembles that plaza of spinning wheels. People obey traffic laws only when the occasion suits them. We watch an intersection from our balcony, and people blow through the red light more often than not. People pass on the left or on the right, and whether or not sufficient room exists. People play chicken, daring you to let them by.

We rode through the plaza last night with our heads held high, watching everyone moving around us. Alert, but with no fear that we would crash - everyone else was on their alert as well. Everyone drives the same way - alert, uninhibited, but with no intention of crashing. Crossing a busy street sometimes feels stressful, but it no longer feels particularly dangerous.

The Reunion

My parents arrived in Shanghai yesterday.

The girls both looked at their grandparents in awe when we saw them at the airport. This partly caused by the time span since they last saw Nana and Poppa, but also because they'd just been woken from a too-short nap on the drive out. S-- spent the rest of the day with a close eye on her grandparents. She had no fond memory to associate with them, as L-- does. It was more as if she expected Clifford or Big Bird to show up next - these are just characters we watch on the computer once a week.

L--, on the other hand, has easy and fond memories of her grandparents and was thrilled to see them. She spent the evening showing off her toes, introducing her stuffed animals, and displaying the sights out her window.

Both girls slept long and hard last night.

Today, S-- has very little memory of her grandparents, but is warming up to having new people in the house all day. She is a social girl, and happiest when surrounded by people. L--, on the other hand, is much more introverted. We generally see other people for 2-3 hours in a day. Dealing with people all day long may be a challenge for her. But certainly one she finds worth it - she loves following them around, asking them to read stories, and splashing in the fountains with her grandparents.

I think it will be a fun - although certainly exhausting - 3 weeks for all of us.

Moment of Silence

We live on a very busy corner. Our apartment faces the interesction of two major streets. Picture 4 roads intersecting just outside our windows.

The first road is entirely under construction. From our balcony, we can see into the hole taking up most of this 5-lane road. It is so deep, we can not see to the bottom. They are building a tunnel under the river, and their access point is in the middle of this first road. From our balcony, we watch workers coming and going, carrying things and dropping them. We listen to jackhammers and heavy trucks. These workers never get a day off, and are only allowed a few hours rest - somewhere between 2:00am and 5:00am. The noise, and the dust, are relentless.

The second road leads straight to the ferry station on the river. Two ferries leave alternately from this station, carrying walkers, bikers and motorbikers. A steady stream moves in and out of the station. Between our intersection and the ferry station, the street has become a bus station. At least 10 busses wait in the street at any given time - more as the night deepens. People run to catch their busses, climb on and off, and peddle street food. Busses putter and spurt, making continuous noise throughout the day.

The third and fourth roads carry all of the traffic leaving these 3 destinations - the construction site, the ferry station and the bus station. Traffic zooms past at full speed, often entirely ignoring the stoplight. Trucks carry construction materials to the buildings that share our intersection - across the street, a complex of 7 buildings is being constructed.

We live on a noisy, busy corner. And our home is no worse than any other in Shanghai. Construction happens everywhere, and at breakneck pace. We have heard that the majority of cranes in the world are in use in the city of Shanghai. I have no doubt.

So, when the Chinese government declared a Moment of Silence at 2:28pm - 1 week to the minute after last week's earthquake - I was skeptical. It seemed like an empty gesture. Moments of silence in America are generally only observed by people in goverment buildings - banks and schools, primarily. Not many people in China spend time in banks or schools. The vast majority of people in Shanghai seem always to be on the streets, masses or people moving from one place to another. And in such a noisy city. I scoffed at the idea. Furthermore, they made the declaration yesterday afternoon. How could they communicate this effectively?

At 2:28 this afternoon, horns began to blow outside our window. L-- and I stood on the balcony. We watched and we listened. And I was amazed. Within 15 seconds, more horns were blowing than I could find vehicles for. The construction sites were whistling, as was every boat on the river. But in such a noisy location, the smooth constancy of this sound was more like music.

And slowly, everything stopped.

All of the workers put down what they carried, and moved toward the edge of their work site. Taxis pulled to a stop in the middle of the street. Bikes and motorbikes curbed on the corner. Not a boat moved across the river.

The sight was overwhelming. It was as if the city of Shanghai, possibly the entire country of China, had become a temple. The sounds of the city played a requiem in smooth unison. In an aetheistic country, I'm not sure that everyone said a prayer. But everyone took a solemn moment to remember.