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Jo’s China Diary

March 23

Up early for breakfast. What an amazing choice of foods all beautifully displayed. I’ve enjoyed way too much of it and will have to get back to a bowl of cereal or some yogurt. What a come down!

We left at 8:00 a.m. with our favorite guide for the airport. Of course we asked questions all the way so I have some more info on Hanoi and Vietnam.

The average income is $800 a year and the average rent for a two bedroom apartment is $100 per month. It obviously takes more than one employed person per apartment to survive. Our guide Hwang, doesn’t own a car because he has no space. I also wonder if he has the money. I asked about the prices of bicycles. You can buy a used one from China for about $30 or most new bicycles cost between $100-700 and most people can afford bicycles.

We were passing lots of beautiful green rice paddies. He told us women do the easy work like weeding, planting, and we saw them dipping water from one section to another. He told us most farmers in the last five years have been able to afford to buy scooters and maybe in five years more they will have cars. I saw mostly bicycles as we drove by. He told us a weak buffalo is better than a strong cow for plowing the field.

We drove over a very long bridge over the Red River. He told us this was a cooperative venture with the Chinese who first helped them and then it was completed with Russian help. It was built in 1985. Four more bridges are planned to help control the water.

We spoke a lot about education. He feels the Japanese are the most competitive followed by the Koreans. Not many Vietnamese get to study in a foreign country. You have to be either extremely smart or extremely rich. Vietnam needs a lot of improvement to catch up even though education is highly valued in their society.

We saw masses of wires strung together and someone mentioned they had never seen so many wires in any other country. He said it would eventually be underground but it will take time. After we got home and watched Phil’s video we noticed that wires are everywhere in Beijing as well but I think not as many as here.

I have a lot of images of this trip that would perhaps be a way to end this diary. I’ll start with Vietnam since it is the most recent memory.

VIETNAM

• Graceful women all dressed in high collared long dresses with side splits up to the waist with a different color of pants worn underneath. This outfit was worn by all the staff in our hotel and by workers in every restaurant we ate in.



• Motor scooters dashing everywhere with riders now wearing helmets. You see one, two, three, and Phil even saw a family of four riding on one scooter. Scooters carrying all kinds of good from lumber to food to crates of drinks or eggs to clothing to pots and pans to mounds of all different types of hats. Just everything imaginable is carried on scooters. Drivers all driving confidently whizzing among busses, car, and people on bicycles. We didn’t see accidents but the accident rate is high we were told especially in the countryside where people drive faster.
• Someone told us Vietnam has learned something from all it’s occupiers. From the French they learned when stressed to write a poem. From the Chinese they learned to write a speech. From the US they learned to do something about the problems.

HONG KONG

• Our guide calling the WC the Happy Lounge and some of us thought she was talking about a bar when we really needed a toilet! Her modesty seemed to avoid using the word toilet. She explained you felt happy after you had gone!
• I didn’t see enough to know much about Hong Kong as I fell asleep during the drive. I did see tremendous amounts of new buildings since I had been there in 1986 but I also saw a great deal of deterioration in buildings that needed repair.
• Huge new wonderful airport where we were squired around on many levels to find our flight home after we had landed from Vietnam. Unfortunately bad tastes also as my wallet was lifted from the pocket of my fleece vest going through security. Phil checked by twice with them to no avail and they came once to find us and take our flight information. They felt it must have been taken by a person behind us in line not by their workers. However people were friendly and helpful. This was true of the entire trip where ever we went.

JAPAN — NAGASAKI

• The sobering day in the Peace Park and in the Atomic Bomb Museum where no pictures were allowed. Was our act justifiable even though it was done to save lives ending the war? Our guide asked why two bombs? We really didn’t have a discussion with her. Several in our group questioned the morality of using fire bombs in Tokyo that were so destructive as well. Is all morality suspended in every war I wonder? How can we be so quick to judge others when we have perpetuated many immoral acts?

TAIWAN

• A city of many crumbling buildings- just the view of where our bus took us and probably not the complete view. A city with a lovely new Museum which is world class. A wonderful lunch in a hotel with one of the fanciest lobbies we’ve ever seen. I stayed in this hotel in 1986 alone wishing Phil were with me. We weren’t here long enough to learn much but one of our lecturers told us there was a brain drain here because the students who are trained elsewhere don’t return home. Entertainment by Aboriginal dancers that reminded me of our Native Americans. They came from the Taroko Gorge where I had so enjoyed traveling in 1986.

KOREA

• Seoul was a fast bus ride through new and old buildings certainly not an opulent city but new modern architecture mixed in with the older styles. A gorgeous Grand Hyatt Hotel with lunch in a grand ballroom with a huge window looking out on a waterfall. Lunch didn’t include the native specialty of kim chi but was beautifully served.
• The ride up to the DMZ through both modern high rise communities and farmlands was very varied. This was a special courtesy extended to us because of Bill Perry being a part of our group. Viewing into North Korea was a stark contrast from South Korea.
• Remembering the three North Korean Officers who were hiding their camera as they took pictures of us as I was photographing Phil with them in the background. The mutual curiosity of each other.
• Looking out from several watchtowers to catch glimpses of North Korean outposts. Standing around the negotiation table with one side in South Korea and the other side in North Korea. Standing of course in North Korea and taking each others picture standing next to a very fierce looking guard.

SHANGHAI, CHINA

• Initial disappointment after reading “China Inc.” that compared Shanghai to Manhattan. Out my side of the ship I saw only construction, not glamour. Imagine my surprise in the swimming pool on the last day to see out the other side of the ship which had more tall buildings than Manhattan. What a silly girl I was! We had taken a taxi ride on our own to view the city from the TV tower and the building on all sides was strictly phenomenal. So different from walking the Bund either in 1979 with Phil or Steve in 1986.
• Loved our tour that included visiting a kindergarten. My impression has always been that Chinese children of all ages perform very confidently. This was true of these kindergarten children. Always love being in a classroom around children. Loved the boys that tried to push my wheelchair.
• Loved visiting a home in a high rise apartment complex. How much progress has been made in the standard of living since visiting a home in Shanghai in 1979 that was much smaller and cramped with few amenities. This current apartment had space and all the gadgets we have at home. These people can now afford to travel around China and sometimes to foreign countries.
• Shanghai Museum was wonderful and we enjoyed it more than the Taiwan Museum perhaps because we had longer and did it on our own.

BEIJING, CHINA

• I still cannot wrap my mind around the change in this city, While many on the trip raved more about the change in Shanghai, to me Beijing was more mind boggling. The vastness of this city is unbelievable. Driving around with Jia-Bin Duh allowed us to see much more of the city than most in our group.
• Our wonderful dinner with Jia-Bin and his wife Anita was such a rare opportunity. Our connection was through Peter and Linda who housed their son this year. We’ve only had one opportunity to meet a native and spend time together. Our first contact was Margaret Sun in Urumchi and Phil stays in close touch by e-mail. Both times it has been so rewarding to exchange views . Our meal together was our first meal in Beijing and they did everything they could to make it memorable. It was a remarkable evening.
• Touring the hutongs riding in pedi-cabs I will never forget. I hope some of the old culture of China is preserved.
• Sitting with Sidney Rittenberg on the bus to dinner at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse was a real thrill after reading his book. Later having dinner with him and his wife Yulin was a memorable part of the trip for me.
• I enjoyed the swimming pool at the hotel and got my first glimpse of President Bush and Barbara Bush. Later shaking his hand and talking with him briefly was memorable. I enjoyed his lectures very much and I was touched by him both physically (handshake) and emotionally (through his lectures.) I hadn’t expected to be so moved.
• The enormous change in the traffic patterns from my four visits here was memorable from going to bicycles with only state cars to modern, chaotic traffic patterns that don’t favor pedestrians was quite amazing.

SHIPBOARD

• I loved the luxury and comfort of a handicapped suite, the warmth of the outdoor pool and hot spa and everything on this wonderful ship.
• As always on a World Leaders Symposium the lectures were outstanding. My learning curve is high and maybe with all our notes and diaries I can actually go back and reread the information. Traveling three times with Dr. Perry and his wife Lee has certainly enriched my life. I love the concept of traveling with those who helped make the history we are studying about and experts in the field.
• Kudos to High Country Passage who works out the incredible details for this trip and keeps adjusting to the needs of our group. I enjoyed traveling with Gordon to Vietnam.
• Lastly how blessed I am to be able to travel with Phil to all these wonderful destinations. Without him pushing me most of the time I would be unable to continue to travel. I loved every minute of it all and could have kept on going!
• Lastly, thanks and kudos to my son Peter who has patiently put all of this together with such panache! I love you and many thanks.