Thursday, November 15, 2007

PA.....CHINA !

The land of my forefathers and ancestors. The birthplace of my late father and his everlonging dream of revisiting it since he left her shores in the early 1900's. The land with the most people on earth and the longest unbroken history. The land of probably the most surprises.
This land is......CHINA !
We made this trip in June 1996 but.............
D2 and I had planned to make our 1st historic visit here back in 1993
. However, despite having made the payment for the trip for the air tickets, board, accomodation and land arrangements, for the 1st time in our travel experience....we were literally left in the lurch...stranded ! Going to the airport but never getting onto the plane! It was a most crazy happening that must be told in a major post separately. A story charged with drama after drama that unfolded beyond our control and which eventually sent us down to Kangaroo land instead of to the land of our ancestors. Initial excitement, apprehension, confusion, anger, downright disappointment, frustration,...all the realms of human emotions we had experienced that time." Unbelievable!" was and still is the word to describe what we both went through, those 3 days in December 1993.

Far left:
Emperor Wise Owl, of the obscure Yip Dynasty, with his faithful consort Mama Boo-Boo-te enjoying the splendour of their Imperial Gardens at the Summer Palace in Chengde, 250 km NE of Beijing.


Left:
Emperor Wise Owl travelling incognito to the Beijing Summer Palace. Here at the main entrance his credentials were checked by the" Main Door Keeper " in the authentic uniform of the Qing period. The Imperial Garden within is the largest in the world. It was begun by Emperor Qianlong in 1750, taking 15 years to complete. In 1860, foreign troops destroyed and pillaged the place. In 1888, Empress Dowager Cixi restored it.

No comments: