A Feast for My Senses - Visiting the Ancient City of Xian, China for the First Time

What an exciting day it was for us today! We saw the mangificent city wall of Xian and visited the ancient city of Xian during the day so that we could have a better look and nice tour of this famous city at our pace!

As we approached the city wall, we were speechless by the size, the manificent structure and the stunning beauty of the city wall and its surrounding. Built over 1000 years ago, Xian was the ancient capital of China where several of its emperors had called it home. I heard so much of the city of Xian, it was a dream came true for me to be visiting it in person!

There were so much to see inside the old city! We had a feast for our eyes as there were numerous ancient and old style buildings such as pagodas, temples all around us. As an educator from Canada, I got excited when I saw a Chinese teacher college and other school structures. The streets were packed with visitors, both local and from out of town. Traditional shops, stores and restaurants offering both local and different kinds of foods lined both sides of the streets. Lots of people, at some point of the streets, we were walking shoulder to shoulder.

But there was no screaming, pushing or any disoderly or disrespectful behaviour. I could not imagine what would happen if the streets were this crowded in a western country. I heard of people getting beaten up just by looking or brushing by someone or a passerby accidentally. Here everyone was calme and took it easy if he/ she were pushed unintentionally. They smiled or just said sorry. That was the end of it, no fighting or screaming at each other over some issues.

S. was very excited when he saw a Tim Horton coffee shop inside the ancient city! Tim Horton is a famous and favourite brand of coffee shops in Canada. We were all tickled pink to see our favourite coffee shop in Xian, China! It felt so good to see something familar and smell something just like home! RT, Inside the Ancient City of Xian China

Spending Our First Day in Xian, China

This was Chinese New Year and we were in China! We arrived late to the ancient city of Xian last night and we heard firecrackers going off all night from our hotel room! Waking up early, we kept very quiet as Y. was still sleeping. We went out for a stroll by ourselves in the neighborhood of our hotel. Since we were staying outside of the old city, we didn’t see much going on as this was the Chinese New Year day. Most of the shops in the neighborhood were closed, except for a few convenience stores in the area.

There are many small mom and pop shops and street vendors in China. These small business owners and employees usually work very hard throughout the year hardly taking any time off at all. The only real holiday for them is the annual vacation they take during Chinese New Year when practically everyone who is working away from their home town would take time off to go back home and be re reunited with their loved ones. Therefore, we were glad to see many of these small shop owners taking their well deserved annual holidays. The street were very quiet without too many people or much going on at all. We passed by one small shop run by a Uyghur gentleman selling special breads and meat pastries. We bought some to try, very delicious! Lucky for us, we ran into a noodle restaurant that was open during the New Year. We found a place for food and ordered some noodles for our breakfast!

Y. woke up and we went into the old town. We were awed by the massive size of the old city walls totally encircling the city. It was magnaficient! With its wide city streets, thick and high city walls, beautiful Xian was a capital city in ancient China. It exuded its prominent importance and significance in history. We definitely could feel the glorious past of Xian! Though it was quiet outside the ancient city when we went out during the day, it was quite busy once when we went inside the city.

There were a lot of tourists and quite a few of them, especially young women dressed in Hanfu-ancient traditional Chinese clothes touring around and taking pictures at the scenic spots of the city. Celebrating the first day of the year of Snake, we enjoyed a nice dinner in a restaurant with our loved ones! May God bless us and fill our lives with peace, joy and love! RT, Xian, China 01292025

Travelling by Fast Train During Chinese New Year From Guangzhou to Xian, China

Chinese New Year is the most important festival of all in China! Millions of Chinese start travelling back home around two weeks before New Year's Day. It has been termed the biggest human migration on earth and it happens annually. Therefore it is difficult to get tickets whether it is train, plane or bus if one does not act fast and in a timely manner. Unlike our trip last time in China where we failed to secure the return fast train tickets for our travel, we bought all our return train tickets this time!!! Traveling by fast train is the most popular mode of transportation for milions of Chinese in China. Therefore, in order to be fair for everyone and to discourage any company from obtaining huge number of tickets for any big events, people in China are only allowed to purchase their train tickets 14 days prior to their travle date. Y. was very diligent as he faithfully followed our itinernaries, sat in front of the computer and did all the purchases of tickets for us. Knowing that we would not have to endure the long ordeal on the bus like we did last year made us very happy about travelling in China in early 2025! Chinese New Year Eve! People across China have been busy preparing for today. Many have travelled far and wide and have arrived back to their home towns for their annual reunion with their loved ones. Some are still travelling. For us, it was a travel day for us on Chinese New Year Eve. We got up early and I wanted to finish up all the food in the fridge and do the clean up as well. We were rushing a bit. Y. was upset as we were rushing around so much before leaving the apartment. Next time I must remember to finish up all the leftover food in the fridge the day before departing for our trip, so that on the day of our travel, there would be no food to get rid of and no dirty dishes to clean up – AN IMPORTANT LESSON TO REMEMBER.

Thank goodness for Y's urging, we were able to get to the train station in time to catch our 2:20pm train. China never ceases to amaze us! Everytime we visit a city, we always find some mega new projects just completed. We were in GZ last year around the same time. This year, we found ourselves boarding the fast train to our next destination in the Guangzhou South Station, a brand new train station in Guangzhou! This new train station is modern, huge and beautiful! We are constantly stunned by the speed with which China could complete their construction projects in its cities!

The train ride was fast, clean and comfortable! Travelling during the Chinese New Year on the fast train posed no problem nor was it chaotic at all. Everyone had a seat, was quiet and considerate. We could work on our computer on the train or walk to the little snack bar for drinks and refreshments. The train was fast but quiet. At times, it was travelling at the speed of almost 200 km. Our destination was Xian, a distance of about 2000 km from where we were, a similar distance from Miami to New York. If we were to drive this distance, it would take us between 20 to 25 hours, might be even 30 hours depending on the traffic condition. But on China's fast train, it only took a little more than 9 hours, amazing speed indeed!

We loved travelling by fast train in China as we didn't have to deal with any driving fatigue or traffic jams. Instead we could relax and have the time to enjoy the scenery outside. Time flew by quickly and it felt like no time at all before arriving in Xian, around 10p.m.

The first impression we got was how organized and considerate this city was in helping the visitors upon arrival with their ground transportation. There was a separate designated area for passengers waiting for taxi and pre arranged rides. Most airports have designated area too, but few airports or train terminals installed benches for passengers waiting for their rides. Xian does, two thubs up for them! We checked into a hotel outside of the old city ; we really looking forward to our next few days here in Xian! RT Guangzhou to Xian China 012025

Visiting Friends in Nasha, a Fast Growing City in Southern China

It was a few days before the Chinese New Year and the streets in China are bustling with activities. People were rushing around buying flowers for their homes, new clothe for kids, groceries for the New Year dinners and other preparations. Amid the hustle and bustle, We had a few relaxing days in Guangzhou after our trip to Cambodia as we needed the time to regain our energy. Also, we had no new year dinners to prepare. What a relaxing time! We just strolled around the city enjoying the sights and sounds of the city, the busy new year markets, the bright and colourful flowers and floral arrangements displayed outside the stores on many streets. After our strolls, we took it easy and enjoyed our breaks in one of the city's numerous nice coffee shops.

While travlling in various countries, we have many opportunites of making new friends. While in China, I got reconnected with a long lost friend and visited her and her family in Nasha. I have never heard of this city until recently. Taking a subway train at the brand new Guangzhou South Station in Guangzhou - another new subway station just opened since we visited this city last year, it took us about 45 minutes before arriving at Nasha, a city about 800,000 inhabitants.

My friend's family came to pick us up at the subway station taking us straight to their home located in a fairly newly developed community. Their apartment is around three years old; it is spacious, airy and bright. We like the gererous size of each room inside the aprtment as well as the pleasant environment of the condo community.

My friend and her family welcome us warmly into their home. They prepared some nice pastries, teas and treats for us. It was such a warm feeling visiting my friend and her family. The toddler was so cute! We could not take our attention away from her. Having visited for an hour and catching up with our news with each other, we went for a walk with the family around the neighbourhood. After a short stroll, we reached the waterfront where we saw some nice new buildings and numerous sailboats and samll yachts docked. We also learned more about this relatively new city.

Since Nasha's population is still small - in China's standard, the city is not crowded at all. Lots of businesses are starting to come up in their neighbourhood. My friend's family thoroughly love living in this community because of its close proximity to the ferry terminal and the fast access to Hong Kong. They could eaily take one of the four daily scheduled ferry boat rides from the Nasha waterfront straight to Hong Kong in an hour and half time! K. told me that they often take the ferry to HonG Kong, do some shopping, enjoy a nice meal and then could be back to Nasha on the same day! How cool is that!

Nasha, has in fact, become a part of Guangzhou in recent years, therefore is served by the same metro subway system making it easy for people to travel between these places.

We also learned that in order to solve the housing shortages, the traffic congestion headaches in big cities in China and to alleviate provety in the villages, for the past decade the Chinese government has been doing a lot. It has been investing heavily in infrastructures such as road construction, building fast trains and expanding city subways providing efficient and affordable transportation systems for city people to communte for work as well as enabling farmers and villages to transport and sell their produces and goods outside of their area villages. Wow, what a nice sidetrip it was to the city of Nasha! We got to visit a new city and it was nice seeing my friend again! RT Nasha, Guangdong, China

A Delightful Dinner by a Riverside Restaurant in Guangzhou, China

We love travelling as there are always so much to do and see on our trips. One of the pleasures of travelling to a new place is meeting new people, learning about their new cultures and off course enjoying new food at new places and sharing delicious meals together with great company. One of the things we enjoyed doing was having dinner meals in China with friends during our recent visit there. Y. planned a dinner for us so that we could meet some of his friends. They booked a place for us while we were in Guangzhou. Being under the weather a couple of days before, S. was not feeling well therefore he didn't plan join us for dinner. But Y. was very enthusiastic about this special dinner, so S. finally decided he would come with us.

We were so glad that he did as the dinner was at a beautiful restaurant by the river in a historical district of Guangzhou. Walking towards the restuarant, our spirtis were lifted as the gentle southern China breezes stroke our faces. ( We just escaped the freezing winter of Canada!) The shimmering lights coming from the Chinese restaurant, as well as the reflections of those ancient buildings and the numerous dining boats nearby in the river created a beautiful night scene and was the perfect backdrop for a great evening dinner! It was delightful to meet Y's friend as we dined on delicious local food and celebrated our time in China.

Nothing could make us happier than being with our loved ones and good friends. We had so much fun conversing, exchanging stories and enjoying good food together in a breathtaking venue by the river. We also noticed some diners dressed in their favourite Chinese period costumes for the dinner. It has become a popular thing to do for Chinese, especailly young people dressed in the traditional clothes and going around town snapping pictures with one another.

After our delightful dinner, we followed Y. and his friend to another interesting place. Strolling on winding streets and passing by bridges and a river, we saw some people doing night fishing by the edge of the river. L. took us to a restored old neighborhood with old houses and exquisite shops. We were curious to see crowds of people taking pictures in the dark. Without knowing anything we found ourselves standing in front of Bruce Lee's ancestral home! What a pleasant surprised! There are so many interesting things to see in Guangzhou, we never know what we would see next! RT, Guangzhou, China

Travelling to Guangzhou, China by Bus from the Hong Kong Airport

Recently we visited a couple of countries in Asia. One of which was China and we spent sometime there around Chinese New Year.

our trip coincided with the peak travelling days for millions of Chinese heading back home, therefore ,we were unable to get tickets to Guangzhou, our first destination in China. However, We found that there were a number of alternate routes of going to Guangzhou, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China. They were: 1. By plane - The most obvious route is to fly directly to Guangzhou. However, depending on the timing of one's flight, it could be costly. We were unable to secure the tickets during the Chinese peak holiday periods.

2. By train - From our recent experience, we dicovered that China has an excellent train transportation system taking travellers to many different parts of China. One can take the fast train into China from Hong Kong which is much faster or one can take the slow train which is slower but much much cheaper! We landed in Hong Kong, the gateway and hub in Asia, wowever, there is no train leaving directly from the HK airport for China. If taking the fast train, one will need to take a bus/ subway from the HK airport and then transfer at the proper bus stop to the train for China.

3. By bus - Since we were travelling during the busiest time of the year, all the train tickets were sold out. We decided to travel by bus into China. It was easy! The bus companies set up their ticket counters right inside the arrival section of the HONG Kong airport. With our luggage in tow, we walked for a few minutes to the counter, enquired about the bus schedule, chose a time best for us, purchase the tickets and boarded the bus taking us to Guangzhou, China. The bus took us across the border and we needed to get off the bus with our luggage and passed the immigration onto the Chinese side. The procedure was painless and fast. After passiging through the Chinese immigration, the bus was waiting for us on the Chinese side ready to take us to Guangzhou.

We boarded the bus at around 5:30 p.m. There were a number of bus drop off points inside the city of Guangzhou. By the time we were dropped off at our desired location, it was around 9:00p.m. The bus took about 3.5 hours including going through the immigration whereas the fast train would have taken us about 2.5 hours including transfers. Taking the bus was the best for us as we didn't want to get on/ off the bus and train. China, here we came! RT, HK Going to GUANGZHOU, China

Observations of Cambodia On Our Recent Mission Trip - January, 2025

I have been to Cambodia a few times. This time my spouse also came with me and he has a few interesting observations on our most recent vist to this tropical country.

Since my husband is a coffee drinker, he needs his fix every morning no matter which country we are visiting. While in Cambodia, he noticed that there were quite a number of nice coffee shops throughout Phnom Penh, the capital city. However, a cup of coffee in Phnom Penh was more expensive than what we would pay in Toronto, Canada. A cup of coffee from a steeet vendor costs US$2.00 or more. Since the average Cambodian worker makes about US$180 - $550.0 a month from entry to mid level jobs, coffee is defintely a luxury item not for the poor.

We also noticed that though coffee is considered a luxury drink for most Cambodians, we found many young people doing their computer/ design work in these nice coffee shops. Something which I didn't see a decade ago. This is possibly due to the growth of the middle and professional class in Cambodia. A good thing to see indeed!

When we were in Phnom Penh, we also experienced high poulltion. The city was shrouded in a smog for most of our days there. Cambodia's public transportation system is not well developed yet, therefore most Cambodians depend on their motor bikes when going places. The pollution could possibly be due to the high number of gasoline powered motorbikes on city streets. S. had some difficult days as he was coughing the entire time we were there.

On the postive side, there appeared to be a few more bible training classes for young Cambodian Christians in the rural area.

We visited a couple of bible training classes and training facility for new pastors in the rural area. We were encouraged by this good news and development.

What really impressed us most were the creativity and efforts of the bible school staff.

Running the bible school on a limited small budget but creatively using old tires and bamboo poles, the school staff was able to recycle these materials into swing seats, benaches, flower pots, ladders, plant stands, fences etc to beautify their school buildings and turned it into a tranquil and inviting environment. I couodn't help but had to try out the swing seat myself! Two thumbs up!

Since the 1980's there have been numerous NGO agencies operating in Cambodia. Our roles have also evolved from conducting summer camp activities for young people to providing training, educating and developing leadership of Cambodian educators in schools and community organizations. The Christian organization with which we are associated in Cambodia realizes that in order to implement effective plans to alleviate poverty and preventing girls/ women from becoming victims of the crime of human trafficking in Cambodia, education is an important component of the plan.

Therefore, the roles which many NGO's play to help Cambodian young people to further their education and hence improving their future lives are essential and crucial for this country's future.

We are blessed to have a small part and are able to provide some assistance to the young people in Cambodia in the area of education and teacher training. Cambodians are very firendly and respectful to everyone; we enjoyed our stay there. We hope to be back in the near future and work with them again!

RT Phnom Penh, Cambodia