We made it back... a 5 hr flight from Guangzhou to Tokyo, a 4 hr layover and then a 13 hr flight from Tokyo to Newark and finally a 30 min taxi ride, got us back in time for the kickoff for the Super Bowl. It's good to be home.
I've decided this is the end of this travel blog. China doesn't allow or support blogging (doing it seems to be blocked from all angles), and writing in this forum means that my Chinese friends who I'm visiting don't get to see what I'm writing. With Smugmug now available in both countries, maybe I'll find a way to use that forum better.
If you're interested in the full size photos, please check out www.georgereiner.smugmug.com and look for this set in the travel folder.
Thanks for reading.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Saturday - Finally, a Lion Dance
Saturday was our last full day in China. Ever since coming here for the first time in 2012, I've wanted to see a dragon dance. From my reading on the web, they seem to be incredibly colorful spectacles. Vicky's father and mother suggested the nearby town of Foshan. This is the hometown of Huang Fei Hong, who was evidently a famous Kung Fu master. Since his hometown was Foshan, the local temple has given some space to be used as his museum, and some Kung Fu students hold a lion dance (consisting of two people) each year.
One thing that was a little disconcerting was arriving at the temple and seeing a large array of police barriers to handle the crowds that come during the new year celebration. They lead to a large ticket booth... yes you line up and buy tickets to go worship. Kind of an interesting perspective...
Once inside the Temple grounds, everything was incredibly colorful for the celebration.
Finally, we got to one of the deep inner courtyards where the lion dance was held. We arrived on a day that their Sifu was not present, so evidently our lion dance was pretty tame (mostly consisting of the lion dancing on some poles and then begging for lucky money (in the red envelopes). Still, it was the intensely colorful affair I was seeking.
After the lion dance, we had tea with Vicky's parents, then went to Mango and Fei's neighborhood for a final dinner with them and Vicky's parents. They live right by the river and I was able to get a sunset shot.
(Finally, The bad photo of the yacht club in Guangzhou is mostly to remind me to find out if we have reciprocity with them before I return.)
One thing that was a little disconcerting was arriving at the temple and seeing a large array of police barriers to handle the crowds that come during the new year celebration. They lead to a large ticket booth... yes you line up and buy tickets to go worship. Kind of an interesting perspective...
Once inside the Temple grounds, everything was incredibly colorful for the celebration.
Finally, we got to one of the deep inner courtyards where the lion dance was held. We arrived on a day that their Sifu was not present, so evidently our lion dance was pretty tame (mostly consisting of the lion dancing on some poles and then begging for lucky money (in the red envelopes). Still, it was the intensely colorful affair I was seeking.
After the lion dance, we had tea with Vicky's parents, then went to Mango and Fei's neighborhood for a final dinner with them and Vicky's parents. They live right by the river and I was able to get a sunset shot.
(Finally, The bad photo of the yacht club in Guangzhou is mostly to remind me to find out if we have reciprocity with them before I return.)
Saturday, February 1, 2014
New Year's Night - Leachee Wan Night Walk and Visiting Wan Feng
After dinner on New Year's day, we toured Leachee Wan (I had visited this place a year ago during the day). Leachee Wan is a beautiful river walk area and tonight it was completely lit up for the New Year. Boats with flowers on top were traveling up and down the river and the riverbank was decorated with various light displays. Along the way, a variety of food vendors had set up shop and you could get just about anything you wanted to eat.
After the riverwalk, we went back to Wen Feng's apartment. Hong, his wife, wanted some photos taken and I had a wonderful chat with his friend's daughter, Phoebe.
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