Palace of the Heavens

Hanging out at the Wall

The Great Wall of China - something else

Corn Dog at Beijing Zoo

"Excuse me, are you Clint Eastwood?" Why "Yes" I am

Forbidden City

Tienneman Square

Strolling in the park

China's History and religion

Buddist temple and Muslim Mosque in the same city

Map of China

Here is a good Map
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/maps/asia/china/

Our next stop was Xining, between Tibet and Biejing

John and his girls

Train coming out of Tibet

Palace of past Dali LLamas

This plact had the tombs of several Llamas, they were huge, made of gold. Walls were covered with murals.

Yes Pam, I did walk all the way up, no Yak vator here

The Blue Budda for protection

Outside the Palace

Just checking things out

John at the nunnery

Don't drink the water

We asked what happened after death,,,, so very important religious persons may get a tomb with precious gems. But a commoner will get cut up and either fed to the vultures or put in the river, depending how you die. Babies get thrown off mountian. It's all very spiritual and saves a lot on funeral expense

Heating and cooking

We wanted to know what the patties on the wall were. It's Yak dung flattened and drying for the cooking and heating.

Oldest temple in Tibet

This was way up on top of the hill, we could see the first farming field in Tibet. We prayed for for all of you and burnt incense

I traveled up by Yak

With every prayer there is a small donation

Solar heater for the tea water

Drinking buddy

Actually this guy liked Tibetan snuff better than his Lhasa beer, check out his nose

We went to thhe sacred lake and hung our prayer ribbon

Farming bt Yak in common in Tibet

The hotel here was great

John shopping for his Italy trip

Eating Yak ka-bobs on the street

Having tea in a small shop

You Ming is everywhere

Flight to Tibet

Corn on the cob..

After using the lav., how about a piece of corn on the cob.... ups, there was no sink to wash your hands. Thank God for handi-wipes.

Planning your lavatory stop

In the hotel, no problem, 5 star hotels, shaving kits ets... however, when the guide stops to get gas and you have to go, just squat and have at it, oh by the way, don't forget your own paper.

Budda Country

We're on our way to Tibet

China has it all

One hump or two?

Conference center wall

Trip so far

Starting in Hong Kong, Beijing, Lanzou, Yellow Sheep River....... next will be Tibet

Food at the conference

Food here has been great... I can;t always tell what I'm eating but I understand wh had Yak, chicken feet and several other local dishes

Nephew spoke at the conference

John has 10 years of experience in business, recently at e-Bay where he made a name for himself. Currently he is writing a book and living in Boston

Local Hotties

Finding one with good teeth was a challange, but they were hot to go

Finding a good drinking buddy

Yellow Sheep River Conference Center

It doesn't look like much from the outside but this is a five star hotel, has everything

Getting to China

We actually flew over the polar ice fields to get to China. Direct NY (JFK) to Hong Knog, 16 hours. We had several meals and I got my Martini. We made a couple of friends along the way. They are interested in our travels as we are interested in their story.