Zai jian {Goodbye}

Change was inevitable, we both knew that. Klynt and I prayed for it (change), but when the answer came, we looked at each other and said “you can’t be serious.” We were looking to possibly swap states, NOT countries. What about the language, the culture, the food? (And let me just say, rice wasn’t a staple in the Baker diet.) Never mind that we would be on the other side of the world and that all of this required our signature on a two year contract. I thought a year was do-able but two? It all felt so overwhelming, and seemed so permanent.

Fast forward two years and three months later and the view from where I sit is quite a different one. Looking back now, with the oh-so-lovely luxury of hindsight, two years was just a blip on the radar screen and every twist and turn my life has taken, seems undoubtedly for the best. While I still prefer secluded back roads to well-traveled city streets, campfire light to neon, Lake Michigan to Jin-Ji Lake, the Boardwalk to the Bund, a flea market to Shanghai’s crowded square, cotton to silk, burgers to fried rice, Klynt’s driving to a taxi’s, and actual toilets to a hole in the floor, my time here will always be remembered with a smile. I have to say, it’s good to actually know, rather than just believe, the world is round.

Bali-rama

In Bali we; spent time with family, relaxed, watched the sun rise over a rice paddy and the ocean, browsed a few markets, scaled a couple volcanoes, had a picnic, visited a temple or two, sampled an Aussie meat pie (my mother always said “if you don’t have something nice to say then don’t say it” so I will remain silent on the subject of meat pies), came across a few monkeys and a bat the size of a small dog, moved quickly in the opposite direction of a python, stayed in a Villa, laid by a pool and got burnt to a crisp (I was later told we were only seven degrees from the equator. Nice.), witnessed many ceremonies, got caught in the rain, blew a fuse, viewed a few pirated movies (dang pirates), picked up a few sea shells, raided the silver shops, sipped strawberry juice, learned the “proper” way to extract a gecko from the house and all in all, had a really great time!

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Bali or Bust

The husband and I are headed to Bali today. I just wanted to say goodbye. I’ll be back in a week. Hopefully with a tan! Here’s a picture for you to look at while I’m gone. :)

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Xian 4 – City Wall of Xi’an

I read that there are only two cities, with intact surrounding walls in China, and Xi’an is one of them. Xi’an’s has been wonderfully restored and you can either choose to pedal or foot it around the wall. Walking the wall in its entirety would take approximately three hours. With only an hour to spare before heading to the airport, we rented ourselves a bicycle and enjoyed what was left of our time in this historic city.

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Xi’an 3 – Army of Terracotta Warriors

If you've traveled in China at all you know that, as a rule, you can’t go on a tour without being whisked off to some sort of ‘market’ a.k.a tourist trap. However once in a while you are pleasantly surprised. Before heading to the main attraction, we were taken to a studio where they make miniature to full-sized versions of the warriors (among other things) that you can purchase. Most of my favorite photos of the day were snapped there. Of course the Army itself was definitely worth the trek.

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And here we have the real deal. Hopefully you can get a fairly good idea of just how large the site is. Displayed are 8,000 life-like warriors. They were discovered by a local farmer back in 1974. He currently spends most of his days at the museum, signing books….and smoking his pipe.

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Xi’an 2 – ‘The Mystery City’

I’ve searched high and low for my ticket stubs, scanned the web, asked all parties involved, and nobody seems to remember the name of this place. Oh well, the show must go on. This city reminded me of the Forbidden City in Beijing; only much smaller. We came across only a handful of other visitors. In such a populated country it was a little eerie to have almost the entire place to ourselves. It felt a bit like stumbling across a secret garden; without the flowers.


Klynt said I can just make stuff up “because it’s China and nobody back home will know.” So here we have the Emperor’s dining room. :)

A pair of pagodas.

A lonely red ribbon adds a dash of color.

I like this little old man. He paused for a photo and I snapped his picture.

The traditional red Chinese lantern is one of my favorite subjects to photograph. I could bore you with many pictures like this one.

While I am obsessed with lanterns, Klynt tends to migrate towards architecture, as you will see in the next several photos.

We walked around part of the old wall that enclosed the city. Large pagodas were stationed on all four corners.

Looking over the outside of the wall upon a green field and distant street.

From up here you can get a better overview of the size of our ‘undiscovered’ city.

You get quite another view on the opposite side of the wall. These long-standing buildings and broken rooftops have definitely seen better days.

We have a ‘thing’ for old doors.

Such a colorful contrast in comparison to what sits just across the way, on the other side of the fence.

The ancient city wall looks much bigger from down here.

Many dusty streets like these surrounded the outside edges of the city.

Like I said, we've got a 'thing' for old doors.