Tomorrow is when all of my organization’s teachers will go north of Chiang Mai for our conference time. We’ll be staying in four resort areas as there will be around 800+ people in the entire conference. I’ve enjoyed my fill of Thai Iced Teas (I average two a day), Lay’s Cheese & Onion chips (they’re only 20 Baht!), good times at Buddy Internet, and lying around watching TV. It’s been awesome.

These next couple of weeks will be quite a bit of expectation of David & Jeweliann as they are due in a couple of weeks with their little one. They’ve been hanging out in Thailand for about four weeks now and will have the baby in Chiang Mai with the hopes of being in Siping THE DAY before classes start. Crazy, huh? As far as the Wu’s are concerned, they still have until May to get ready. Wu posted some “inutero” pics on his blog, so I stole them so you can see Baby Wu below. Their Doc says she’s a girl.

On a different note, Oklahoma was hit hard by an ice storm a couple of weeks ago. My step-mom sent me a few pictures of the neighborhood in its post-disaster state. The tree in the front yard almost fell into my brother's bedroom! See the album "Ice Storm" for the pics.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4279.

Abortion Pill Outlawed in Henan Amid Boy Boom (January 3, 2007, AP)

Over-the-counter abortion drugs have been banned in Henan, China’s most populous province, as part of an effort to control a disproportionately high number of newborn boys, a state newspaper reported on Wednesday. China prohibits abortions performed after a scan for the baby’s sex except for medical reasons, such as severe birth defects or when the mother’s life is at risk. But the government said the practice remained widespread, especially in rural areas. The China Daily said Henan banned retail sales of abortion drugs from the beginning of this month “as part of the province’s efforts to keep gender balance among newborns”. According to China’s last census in 2000, there were more than 118 boys born in Henan for every 100 girls, much higher than the average for industrialised countries of between 104 and 107 boys for every 100 girls. The newspaper said those who violated the ban would be fined from 3,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, and any woman who had her baby aborted illegally would be fined 2,000 Yuan.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4272.

Our last place to stop was the awesome city of Kunming. We arrived via a 16-hour train ride through the mountains southwest of Chengdu and it was quite a trek. The gorges were beautiful as there were complete self-sustaining villages in these mountains, and each were growing crops horizontally and vertically up the mountains. It was quite a site to behold and I wondered what it would be like living in these villages. I assume life would be so simple.

We took a soft sleeper car (each compartment sleeps four) and shared one with a Canadian. He was on a four-month vacation from his job (he did international construction) and was traveling all over Asia. By the time he met us, he had been in Thailand, Cambodia, Singapore, Laos and now China.

Anyway, Kunming is in the south of China and is a mecca for Chinese minorities. They are everywhere in this city. Also everywhere were the beggars. I had one girl literally grab me. I had to physically remove her hands from my person – not a good first impression. So, the Wu’s and I stayed at the luxurious 4-star hotel called the Golden Dragon. We were in Kunming for two reasons: fly to Thailand and see the Stone Forest.

The Stone Forest (or 石林 Shílín in Chinese) is a natural land formation whereby rocks have “jutted” out of the ground. It was quite incredible. Not only were rocks standing like sentinels everywhere, but their shapes were intricate and “architectural” in their look. I saw rocks shaped like turtles and elephants, huge rocks balancing on small rocks, and rocks overhanging my head. The creepiest part was walking through the forest with seemingly massive boulders just sitting on a ledge right over your head. I had the feeling many times as, if that rock moved, I’d be dead because I’d have no where to run.

In the morning it started off cool, but about mid-day I was toasting. I did get some really cool pictures though. At one point, the Wu’s and I started trekking on the outskirts of the park where there were no tourists. In the outlying area, it was quite and peaceful. All we bumped into were other foreigners: a group of Frenchmen and a British couple.

At one point, we reached an extremely narrow path. I decided to have the Wu’s film it, so now you can see it on my YouTube or below.

 At another point, there was a path so small I knew I couldn’t fit. Wu went up the path then back down (yeah, he’s “compact”) just as the French group came by. We were going to have to backtrack since I knew I couldn’t fit, but the Frenchies probably assumed that I just went through it. Yeah, right! So I’m sure they were thinking, Well, that big guy did it, so why can’t we? Anyway, see some of the Stone Forest in the album called “Rocky Roads”.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4272.

After Xi’an, we then traveled to Chengdu, Sichuan for two things: Pandas and the Buddha.

Chengdu has the largest collection of Giant Pandas in the world. We saw videos on pandas birthing babies, mating (yes, I was mentally assaulted!), and playing. We saw live pandas eat, then eat, and, when finished, eat some more. We saw these waaaaay cute baby pandas (in diapers no less) but couldn’t take pictures of them. The research facility in Chengdu is known world-wide for trying to keep the giant pandas non-extinct. I also posted some videos on my YouTube where (guess what?) the pandas are eating. Surprise!

We also went to the Leshan Buddha outside of Chengdu. It’s a huge Buddha carved out of the side of the mountain. Originally, this Buddha was outfitted in jade and gold, but his “clothing” has since been removed. He’s absolutely impressive. His foot is big enough to have a family picnic on. He’s also got major “ear wax” as he’s growing vegetation! The whole mountain area was amazing, too.

See the albums “Happy Pandas” and “Leshan Buddha”.

Number of views as of this blog entry:4265.

I finally have time to tell you about my 10-day trip from Siping to Thailand. So to begin with, the Wu’s and I started from Beijing and flew to Xi’an. We stayed there two nights. One of the main attractions here is the Terra Cotta Warriors.

When we arrived, they tell you there are three pits. The most famous one is Pit #1 where most foreigners have taken the most pictures. It is a huge pit. The first 1/3 is unearthed. And of the unearthed portion about 1/3 contains warriors standing erect. The rest are still broken and thrown about waiting to be “pieced” together by archaeologist. It’ll take decades to get all of the work done there.

The museum also features the man who found the warriors. Our tour guide said that one time a visiting dignitary came to see the warriors and wanted to meet the peasant who discovered them. The dignitary wanted the man’s signature. Unfortunately, the peasant man was illiterate and had no idea how to write his name. So the local government hired the best calligrapher in China to teach the man only the characters of his name…to the point of amazing mastery. Now you can pay to have the peasant sign your book about the warriors. (It’s sad that the man wasn’t even taught his own written language. Oh well…)

During the tour we also saw a “matriarchal” village site. Apparently, around 4,000 years ago, a village, by the name of Banpo, was made up of women who were the ruling class. One of their customs was to build houses ¼ of the way into the ground (like digging a small pit) then building the home. They also preserved the deceased in earthen jars.

We also saw the “Big Goose Pagoda” in central Xi’an. A legend goes that the monks were without meat and were hungry for some. So they prayed to the Buddha for meat. After they prayed, a goose flew straight out of the sky dead. From this legend the name was given. (This story is strange for several reasons, but the most notable is the fact that Buddhists are not “technically” supposed to pray to Buddha since he “technically” no longer exists since he’s “nirvana-ed”. This also is another story!)

But by far the coolest thing was the "Nestorial Stele". This large stone tablet contains the history of the Nestorians, a sect of Christianity whose leader was condemned for heresy by the Council of Ephesus, and about the religion of "light" they brought from the west. It is the earliest sample of Christianity in China. You can see pictures of these sites in the album “Xi’an Sites”.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4263.

So this week I’m taking a class on Chinese history, and I’m sitting in the middle of class checking email, surfing the Internet, and looking up Wikipedia articles as we go topic by topic. I just love multi-tasking. I’ve been delaying the uploading of pics and any stories of my 10-day trip before coming to Thailand because I now have work for this class in papers to write and books and articles to read.

I’m actually sitting in the back of the class (with around 60+ students) between Sarah & Seth. It’s great fun in this class since we now have the Internet wirelessly available in our classroom. I don’t know who hooked it up but props to them.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4239.

Unfortunately, the site that I use to upload my music has been down two days, so I have not even had a chance to update my music. My pictures are not even uploaded because I haven’t downloaded them from my camera. Add to this the fact that I haven’t even started my 15-page paper for my Buddhism class (which must be emailed to the professor exactly 24 hours and 23 minutes from RIGHT NOW!). What have I actually been doing for the past couple of days? Yikes!

On a thankful note, I received an A on my final exam. (Rock on!)

On a surprising note, my professor has interviewed the Dali Lama. (Say what?!)

On a relaxing note, I’ve had sushi, club sandwiches, and salad bars over the past few days. (Thailand’s awesome!)

And on a proximic note, my good buddy Kathryn is sitting next to me listening to music on her iBook G4 at Buddy Internet. (Way ta go, Macs!)

Until next time…

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4227.

I have been in Thailand since Sunday. It’s quite a change of weather from northeast China. Right now, I’m in the middle of classes at the YMCA studying Buddhism. I am presently at an Internet bar that is affectionately known as “Buddy Internet”. I just love Buddy! So anyway, I thought I’d give a quick update to where I am. I’ll try to update my blog with pics from my China travels, new music (because the Christmas songs are even annoying to me!), and some things I did since my connection to the digital world was “shaken” by the Taiwanese earthquake last month. FYI: I’m in Room 304 at the Y.

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4214.

It’s like I’m in the 1980’s or something! It’s been so hard to get my email from my US server. I can only “see” it online; I can’t download it into Outlook. It’s freakin’ insane! I can’t reply to any email either. Total suckage! So anyway, I’m writing this entry from a café in Kunming. Here’s basically the highlights since my last entry:

1.  I finished grading all my class homework.

2.  I started my trek to Thailand via Beijing to Xi’an to Chengdu to Kunming. (I’ll give more details later and show pictures.)

3.  I’ve been traveling this last week with Rach and Jonny.

4.  I’ve bought a new camera.

5.  I’ve eaten Western food for everyone meal this past week (save three).

Number of views as of this blog entry: 4191.