Helping to Decorate Our Son's Place and Receiving a Friend from Canada in Guangzhou, China

Shopping at IKEA, China J. went to Guiyang to hang out with the new friends he met there. We went to Ikea ourselves taking a taxi there but the taxi driver dropped us off at the old Ikea site. We walked around the mall a little, had dinner, then took the subway to the new Ikea location. We bought a few things to help furnish J.'s place. One of the reasons we wanted to be in China was to help him a little. Having moved into his own place not long ago, he needed a few things. Therefore we went to IKEA and bought a few dishes, racks etc for his place to make it more functional. We were happy to get these things for him. But after shopping at IKEA, we had a problem letting the taxi driver know where we were supposed to be dropped off. It took a little while but we did manage to get home! 08152023 Tbe fridge from Walmart arrived today and we were very excited! We actually wanted to buy a dryer for our son's apartment. But we couldn't find it in any Chinese stores in Guangzhou including Walmart. I guess that was becasue Chinese people usually dry their clothes by hanging them from their balconies or hanging them by the windows. Without consumer demand, therefore, stores are not selling them. But we did get a fridge for J. as a housewarming gift for his new home. As a mom, I wanted to help my son and made his life easier. Therefore, we tried to clean up and declutter the apartment as much as possible before J. came back from Guiyang. HelpING him to get rid of lots of stuffs WAS something that needed to be done. The final cleaning was the balcony and those big plastic storaage boxes which took up a lot of space. It took me a whole day but I was happy about the result. S. worked hard putting together the IKEA drying rack which fit perfectly over the washer. It would create more space for hanging clothes to dry. 08162023 Since I didn't sleep well last night, I got up around 6am and did two loads of laundry for J. While we were in China, I tried to help him organized as much as possible. After my bible devotion, we went for a massage by two blind massagers in the neighbourhood. I really enjoyed that as the massager did a great job on my muscle pain! We also went for some medicinal Chinese herbal teas in the neighborhood shop. I made some lunch and shared a brief passage about the story of David and his friend in the B book with J. In the late afternoon, we took the subway train to meet up with Darrell who recently moved from Canada to China. It was good seeing him, J. and Darell hit it off well nd they kept talking and exchanging their life experiences in China. We walked around in a new area of the city and enjoyed a dinner together. After dinner, J, invited Darrell to his apartment for dessert and play a board game. J. showed Darrell how to use the Chinese app to order food and for getting deliveries in a cab. I am constantly amazed by the efficiency of the private delivery system here in China. Our snacks arrived within less than 30 minutes. We played the Catan game, enjoyed some desserts, great conversations with good friends and had a really nice time togerher. The young people need good company. It was good to see that they could have a great time just being at home playing some board games, interacting with real people in person without gluing to their cell phone or spending time in a bar drinking. What a refreshing change! Darrell is easy going, gets along well with J. I pray that these two young men will become good friends and can regularly share their unique experiences in China togerher. RT, Guangzhou, China 08192023

Kunming''s Beautiful Park , China's Military School, Ancient Village

After staying in Chuxiong, the Fire City in China, for three days, we started our joureny home towards southern China. One of the cities we wanted to spend a little more time there was Kunming. A beautiful city with lots of history and parks and natural beauty. There were many places to go and lots of things to see therefore we only focused on three things that were close by and interested us the most.

One of the places we enjoyed visiting a lot on this trip were the parks in China. Parks are favourite places for CHinese people who gather there for various activities such as exercising, dancing and meeting friends. I have found that parks in China are usually quite huge and spacious, often with winding paths, lined with huge mature trees, some are over a few hundred years old.

We visited the Jade Park in Kunming. On the afternoon of our visit, there was an elderly gentleman, looking fit and strong, standing at the entrance to the park and conducting a phathom orchestra. He set up the sound system playing some nice classical music which we could hear about half a mile away. He was directing the invisible orchestra with such enthusiasm and strength that he drew quite a crowd gathering around him. We stood there enjoyed this free concert for sometime. From what we could oberve, Chinese people are quite free to do what they want to do in their daioy lives as long as they are not doing something illegal. Life is China is not as opperessive as what we think.

We aslo visited China's first Military College which is located just across the street from Jake Lake. I learned a lot about Chinese history and some of their heroes who fought valiantly for their country during the wars.

We visited our third minority tribe ancinet town on this trip in Kunming. At the beginning of our China trip, I used to think the ancient towns were some rare towns discovered and preserved for Chinese people and visitors to visit. Having visited three of them, I realize it is the CHinese government policy to promote racial harmony and unity among the 56 different tribes of people within China as well as using this Minority Tribe Village concept to promote understanding and respect OF the minorities' cultures/ customs and thereby also promoting tourism and creating jobs for these communities and lifting these sometimes backward tribes out of poverty. What a smart idea and great way of creating jobs and helping with the tribes' economy! Keep up the great work! RT Kunmin, Province of Yunnan China

Experiencing A Fire Festival Firsthand in Chuxiong, China

We were supposed to be in Chuxiong which we picked as a random city to visit in China. Having learned about the annual Fire Festival being held here for the weekend, we decided to extend our stay here to a 3 day visit. Today was our third and last day of our visit to Chuxiong, China. We stayed at two different hotels. The first night we stayed outside the ancient town and the next two nights we were right inside the Yi Tribe ancient town.

One of the most enjoyable experiences we had in Chuxiong was watching the light and firework show at the waterfront park here in the Yunnan province! There were a number of free activities planned throughout the city to celebrate this annual festival. We went to the park where the show was supposed to take place. But after a walk around the park for thirty minutes, we arrived at the gate and were informed by the personnel at the entrance gate that the tickets were sold out for this evening‘s performance but tickets were avialable for the next few evenings. J. told the staff that this was our last night in the city and that we would not be able to watch the other evening shows. The staffer was very kind and accommodating. She called her supervisor and got permission to sell us the three tickets!

We got in and were seated at the VIP seats with excellent service from the staff. With the ticket we purcahsed, we were served with fresh frutis and nice desserts laid out beautifully in a buffet style. This was served to all guests with tickets which was 165 yuens each with no discount for seniors. What an evening! What a spectacular show with real performaers singing and dancing on a stage built in the middle of the lake. The program was followed by a laser show and firework display accompanied by beautiful music! Absolutely first class entertainment ! I always enjoy shows with an educational component. This show was informative regarding the history and achievement of the Yi people. A wonderful show indeed! For people who didn’t get tickets or could not afford them, they could still watch the show by the water’s edge. I think socialism works in China. Whether you are rich or poor, you can still take part in the celebrations with the more well to do having a better seats while the less affluent population would not be deprived of the festivities.

After the light show, we walked out of the park by the lake and came to a main street. Most of the street was blocked off with many huge fire bowls set up on stands. Kids and young people were walking around with lit torches which they could buy at a nearby stand set up for that purpose. It was something I NEVER SEEN BEFORE. People swinging fire torches around them, unreal! Then come pouring rain and we had to run for cover. We huddled under a bus shelter with many people. Rain kept getting heavier and we were soaked, with lighting and thunder, we were afraid that we could be hit by lightening, It went on for almost 30 minutes and I kept praying for God's protection. I have never experienced such heavy rainfall for such a long time. It didn't seem it would ever end. We were soaked to the bones. The only good things was that the temperature was not cold. Otheriwse we would have been frozen to death. Finally it died dwon a little and we walked in the light rain into a billiard hall for cover. While We were waiting for a cab for almost an hour, J. and Dad played a game of billiard for about 45 minutes while waiting. I couldn't remember the last time father and son played a game together for this long. An excellent bonding activity for the two of them! It was an exciting adventure! RT, Chuxiong, China 08102023

Meeting Some Very Honest People in CHUXIONG, China

We learned that we were in Chuxiong just in time for the annual Fire Festival, therefore we decided to extend our stay from a day to three days so that we could participate or join in the fun festivities. We moved into the next hotel which was right inside the old town, how convenient was that! After breakfast, we went to the train station and have our tickets refunded and purchased new ones to Kunming. J. wanted to pick a random village to visit in order to experience the real rural life of the farmers in China. So we did.

We went to this village randomly picked out by us. We walked around the small village with just a few houses, bought a snack at the only convenience store and then visited the roadside market with fresh produces being laid out on the ground sold by the local farmers themselves. We saw some nice pears and asked them how much, replied the farmer:" 3 kgs for 10 yuens!" Unbelievable price! Since we were travelling, we didn’t want to carry a heavy bag of fresh fruits so we dropped off 10 yuens and took about 2 kg of pears.

But the farmer insisted that we took the full 3 kg weight before letting us go. How honest was this person? We were willing to pay full price for less but he would not allow that. He must sell us the full weight of what we paid for! We tried to have an early dinner by 5 or 6 pm so that we would not go to bed with a full stomach. We picked a restaurant close by a small river flowing through the old town and had our dinner there. We learned that there were a few programs planned for the Fire Festival in Chuxiong. But in order to control the crowds, some of the activities charged an admission. Tonight the celebration at the Old Town charged 150 yuens, but for me and Stan, it was free as we are seniors. There were singing, dancing, fire swallowing performances as well as the MC inviting participants to join in the fire walk around the stage they set up in the Yi Village. I learned that the Yi people worship the fire God so I didn’t want to go forward and danced with them. We stayed on the side and watched the performaces for a bit and soaked up the atmosphere. RT, CHUXIONG, CHINA 08092023

Chuxiong - Learning about the Yi Tribe people in Yunnan, China

ERHAI -Lakeside RESORT TOWN in Dali, Yunnan, China After leaving Wamao Inn in the old town of Dali, we moved to another hotel situated within a stonethrow away of Lake Erhai and spent a couple of days enjoying this beautful area. We got up and had breakfast at the hotel this morning and met three young women travlling together , one was a doctor, another was a teacher, nice talking to young people in China. We explored the lakeside in the morning after breakfast and spend a bit more time enjoying the lakefront. Absolutely beautiful and the weather was mild. I now understand why so many tourists came to Dali and Yunnan -it’s the Hawaii of China, nice weather all year around, not too hot in the summer nor not cold in the winter. Chinese people come to this cool city to escape the heat in the summer. We won't mind coming back here at all in the future. We took the faast train and went to another city – Chuxiong, a city we never heard of and randomly picked it out from the map just to see if other unknown cities in China are as developed and nicely serviced. It only took an hour and we were there. There were so many people travelling that the only tickets available were first class and we were sitting at different seats. J did an excellent job booking our hotel and it was right near the old town.

WE dropped off our lugguage and had an early dinner and walked to the Yi Tribe Old Town. Upbeat music and happy people including the Yi tribe people in their colourful costumes along with happy tourists were dancing together in the big square just past the entrance gate. I rarely saw such enthusiastic participation by the audiences.

Everyone there was ready and willing to join into the dance even though we didn’t know how to do it. A Few of us stood by trying to figure out the dance steps before joining in the dance. It was such a happy, vibrant atmosphere. It was delightful to see the minority people integrating well in the society, their customs, clothes and cultures being appreciated by the majority of the Chinese society. We walked around the old town taking in the beautiful old buildings all lit up like a Christmas tree. It was getting late but gave us a taste of what to expect. RT, Chuxiong 08082023

Enjoying the Beautiful Scenery by the Lakeside in Dali, ChIna

The new hotel where we were staying is close to the lake and has a spacious balcony on the second floor. We stood out and admired the waterfront. Then J started to show S. and me how to do some exercises. He especially wantd to point out his dad's problem area and wanted to help him to correct them. What a good son!

There was a restaurant close to the hotel and we went for a brunch there. We had a good meal, reasonable priced at a beautiful venue. Always desiring to support local business, we all bought a shirt and had some nice pictures taken with our new white blue Bai tops. After that, we ventured out to explore the lakeside area. BEAUTIFUL! I had never seen such beautiful scenery and stated to cry while making the video since having lived in the west for the past five decades, everything we heard from the mainstream media about China was negative. I thought China was like a hell and its people were monsters. How ignorant and wrong have we been misunderstanding such kind and hardworking people!

It was raining a bit so we went in a restaurant for lunch and to waited out the rain. After lunch, we went near the water. J wanted to sit by the lake and we chose a rock and stayed there for a little while enjoying the water, the scenery and the quietness. It was peaceful and tranquil! No loud music blasting from iphones nor motor vechicle noises from nearby autos. It was nature at its best, peaceful, quiet with a blue blue sky and mountains close by. J went in for a dip, and swam for a few minutes, then he asked his dad to join him to wet his feet a little. I went wetting my feet. It was a nice relaxing time and it reminded me of our old cabin by the lake in Canada. I kind of missed that lovely lakefront place in Ontario.

I wished we could have stayed around the this lovely lake side area longer but we needed to go to the train station to fix S’s train ticket as there was a mistake on the passport number when purchasing the first ticket. After a little while, we were no longer able to purchase online tickets as it must be done in person to correct that mistake. We called a cab to go into Dali’s downtown train terminal. It was painfully slow as the traffic going in and out of Dali’s ancient city was always heavy creating a big traffic jam both night and day. The 14 km trip took over an hour. By the time we went to town, it was getting dark and we didn’t see much of the city. We went to a nice restaurant in Dali downtown and enjoyed an early dinner. We have discovered on this trip that there are a lot of nicely decorated restaurants serving delicious food everywhere we go. It's not a problem finding a place to have a good meal at affordable prices in China. After our nice dinner, we went to the train station and bought our tickets for tomorrow to Chuxiong. The train staff was very polite and patient, taking the time to help us. We appreciate their help a lot. We had to move to another hotel for the night becasue we got mixed up with the date in booking. We were exhausted at the end of each busy day; we slept well. RT Dali, Yunnan, China 08072023

Wamao Inn, Dali - the best quaint little Inn to stay in Dali and Staying at a Lakefront Hotel in Yunana, China

We stayed in the best hotel ever on our trip in China! We would have loved to stay at Wamao for our entire time in Dali. Wamao, a quaint little privately run hotel in Dali, also the best run place by the most hardworking and welcoming innkeeper couple. Giving us a very warm welcome from the onset to helping us find aonther hotel, to helping to celebrate my husband's birthday with a delicious birthday cake with birthday hats and plates and cutlery and finally seeing us off with a beoautiful gift, the owner/ innkepper couple was always trying to providing us with services that would make our stay a very pleasant one. We absolutley love Wamao Inn in Dali, China! Of all the hotels and inns we have stayed, we have never had such personal and excellent services from any hotel owners or managers. We recommend Waomao highly to any visitors coming to Dali, China. Wamao is popular; becasue we didn't book our entire stay ahead of time, sadly, we had to leave after three days there.

Before checking out of Wamao, I even squeezed in sometime to share some words of wisdom with J. from Samuel, PLT! We were a little sad to leave this lovely inn. Leaving our luggage at the front desk, we headed out to local worshipping place for the 2pm service. These days young people are not thinking of spiritual things therefore, I was praying hard for J to join us for the service. We went to a local church which is about 120 year old. We actually went there yesterday to make sure that we could find it today. J. did go and sat through the whole service though he was a little distracted at times. Slowly and surely, I hope that J. will be drawn back to the almighty. After the service, we ate at a restaurant nearby.

We went back to Wamao hotel to retrieve our luggage and said good bye to Evan and his wife who gave us a couple of gifts, the coat rack and a can of Yunnan coffee. They were the best hosts we ever have had! From receiving us till we seeing us off, the owners of Waomao were there looking after us, thank you so much for your wonderful services! We took a cab to our next hotel by the lakeside. The traffic was painfully slow, crawling most of the way. It took more than an hour to get there. Then J. found out he didn’t book a room for tonite but he tried to correct this. The manager was good enough to connect us to another hotel nearby, owned by the same owner. We waited for a long time to have this sorted through and we were chauffeured to another hotel. J. went back to the old town to meet his new acquaintances.

It was dark and the alley leading to the other hotel was narrow and we were seated in a golf cart in order to be transported there. One of the ladies helping us had a flash light in her hand. Totally exhausted by 12a.m when we settled in this hotel with a queen size bed and a tatami but with a see though bathroom. What stupid design was that? It was raining and it was dark. I prayed for J’s safe return as he was there with other young people he just met. God listened to our prayers as J. returned safely about 1 or 2 am, not sure, praise God! RT, 08062023