SIX HOUR RIDE TO NAGUAR

On our way home from our respective home hosted dinners, we spotted several weddings. Ranvir tells us he rode a white horse to his wedding. It is a tradition, a white horse, black horse or an elephant.

Revelers were waiting on the groom and his entourage. Ranvir told us anybody would be welcome to join if they just showed up.

Ranvir asks the bus driver to drive slowly so we can see, but that is a pretty tough thing to do in heavy traffic.

We catch a glimpse of this beautifully dressed groom on his way to his wedding. No flash,  a window, a moving bus, it is blurry, my apologies. But look how colorful his clothing is.

As we pass the window to our hotel, there is a wedding celebration on a lower floor. I decide sleep is more important and to bed.

In the morning, before leaving for Nagaur, we make several stops. An ATM and a drug store where I buy cough drops for Theo and batteries for my clock. Everyone it seems needs something. It is a muddy, crowded spot with a laundry next door. I was fascinated by the steam iron the laundryman was using. But, the man in the pink sweater was very curious about us.

His friend indicated he wanted his picture taken. It is one of those ever sweet moments you don't forget as he smiled proudly at his own permanent image from my camera.

As we load into the bus, this young bull stole an eggplant off a vegetable stand. The owner physically pushed him out of the way and scolded. They have to be harsh to protect their livelihood.

From the bus window I see a wild pig that also has the run of the town we are passing through.


The road is bumpy in places, but it is a major highway as well. These men are digging this huge ditch by hand tools and carrying dirt and rocks away with pans on their heads. Reminds me of China.

We pass through a town that produces marble. People in the area suffer high rates of silicosis. They have masks, but don't use them.

Another town that specializes in shoe making. Leather, in a country that does not eat beef.

I saw a large herd of obviously "owned" and cared for cattle. There must be a sect that doesn't worry about the sacredness of the cow.

This herd of cattle crossed the busy highway and when a huge truck coming at us approached, they hustled a bit faster.
We crossed a bridge and the tariffs to cross are fairly steep.

Women with heavy loads walk with their back to traffic.

It appears to me they use their own clothing to wrap around the burden.

Ranvir guesses that these horses are headed for the Fair to be sold.

We roll into this small town and Ranvir is talking about the people here who escape taxes by building their own funky motors. They are pasted together with spare parts from here and there. No license fees to pay. The government doesn't know they exist. They break down often but they are happy with them. He said maybe we could ride in one? I thought he was kidding.

Remember, this is a long drive. And a funky motor is quite a diversion. Theo grabbed the seat next to the driver.

The rest of us loaded into the back, and here we are, after the ride was over.
The ride attracted a lot of curious onlookers.

They seem ever fascinated by blonde hair. Kathy and Theo get a lot of attention.

Ranvir decided to get some fruit for us to snack on in the bus.

Sandy bought a bunch of veggies for the skinny looking cows nearby.

If you feed one cow...

They all come.

Back on the road again. The terrain changes. This area is moist now. But, summer monsoon, it is flooded.

I see drying dung piles all along the way and I finally get it. It is fuel and it must be dried and stored before the rains com.

And finally, Naguar, the tent city for the camel festival. More tomorrow.

LAID BACK IN GALVESTON, TEXAS.

We drove up the coast headed for Galveston. We stopped at a BUC EES, I think that is how you spell it. I saw a  huge billboard advertising genuine Czech Kolaches. Well, as y’all know by now, I’m a foodie. If I haven’t tasted it I gotta try it. They had sausage and jalapena, sausage, sausage and cheese and ham and cheese. Well, guess what a kolache is just a Czech name for a sandwich. These were not even good sandwiches. White, pasty bread, the sausage itself was good, but the cheese was Velveeta or its cousin. People must love them, but I’ve never been a sandwich person and these were  mundane. (They are eaten heated.)


We drove past miles of beautiful beach. Jim commented how nice it is that Texas has many beach exits for people to enter the beach. They didn’t allow private builders to gobble it all up and prevent the public from enjoying the beach like in Florida and many places in California. But it is January and people were swimming out there? I guess I have to try it, because the weather is warm enough.


We waited downtown for about three hours to get permission to park in a very crowded American Legion. We waited happily catching up on our reading, but the trees wanted to scrape the top, the place was busy and narrow. In the end, we moved 15 miles to the mainland  and found this friendly VFW, post 8248.


We had a couple of drinks and had fun visiting with Kathleen and Denise.  Denise told me about a new food to try. The Spanish call it barcoda. I won’t tell you what it is until we find and taste it. Hey, gotta keep up my reputation for trying new foods. Denise is the Commander of an American Legion Post and a member of this VFW. Fun gals. Kathleen is hoping to hit the road some day.

Since this is a short blog, I thought I’d tell you about a Port Aransas wedding. Weddings can be very personal. I once saw a wedding invitation posted on a light pole in downtown Murphys. I’m paraphrasing a bit, but it read, Sandy Bristow has finally gotten Ricky Sanders out of the bars and off the streets of Murphys. Come join us for the event at Murphys Park, etc. etc. with a picture of Sanders  with a lasso around his  neck and his new bride in a cowboy hat and boots. (Not correct names.)

I read about the Port Aransas wedding in the Coastal Bend’s Community Magazine. Because it was Halloween, it was a two day wedding. The setting was a Port Aransas Beach Lodge described as  laid-back and casual, nestled in the sand dunes with a commanding, panoramic view of the Gulf with awesome sunrises.  The day before the wedding,  gaiety started as the sun began to set. Guests donned their Halloween costumes and went off in rented beach carts for a fab dinner at LaPlaya. Afterwards, in full costume, they set off for the Salty Dog where they drank and danced . The next day, they hired a boat and went on a two-hour cruise. Entertaining land locked guests with the beauty of sky, sea and sun with dolphins playfully posing and following the boat enraptured them.  Back at the lodge, the guests enjoyed a scavenger hunt, a white elephant party and a final ceremony at sunset on the wharf. The dinner was a crab boil with champagne.
Sound like fun?  Wow!

WUHAN CITY, HUBEI PROVINCE

We arrive in a very crowded Wuhan City, population 10 million with another 6 million surrounding the city. It has temperature extremes with hot tropical summers and snow in the winters. It is considered one of the furnace cities of China. Vicki has a friend here who owns a Citron. He works for the factory, he has company housing and can park his car on the roof of the plant. Here we see American brands everywhere, McDonalds, Michelin, Milky Way, KFC. People love KFC, Vicki tells us. Merchants here do knockoff designs, very smart Gucci bags, Rolex watches and other designer goods. If caught, they pay heavy fines. We pull into our Shangri La Hotel and police stop our bus. It seems Jacque Chirac, the President of France is in town and we had to by-pass the hotel and have the porters come to the bus. Secret Service all over the place escorted us up the sidewalk to a freight elevator, then to another elevator into the hotel.  We could not take pictures and were asked to leave our cameras in our rooms. We had a great dinner and got to taste dishes typical of the area, a huge sea bass, some special potatoes in broth, a sticky rice with pork and eggplant, a marvelous juicy dumpling with tasty meat and vegetables inside.  Cuisine from this area  is considered one of the major cuisines of the world. We could see why. Everything was delicious.

The next day, on our way to the Wuhan Provincial Museum, we see a bride and groom in a bright red Volkswagen. People marry on even days. They pick a lucky day and a lucky time.

The revelers followed in a decorated open truck. Weddings have become westernized. The man proposes and puts a ring on during the wedding ceremony. The bride will wear a western type wedding dress and a cocktail dress for the reception. Old Chinese women wear rings but they have nothing to do with their marital status. Chinese joke:  The groom used to jump over a broom. Now they say, we love each other but we haven’t swept together yet. Ha, Ha!
Vicki tells us that in the 1970′s a person wanted his own watch, his own bike and a sewing machine.  A man had to earn 50 yuan a month before he could get married in Mau’s planned society. People needed a coupon for oil, pork, or cloth and most fairly basic commodities.
People in the 1980′s wanted TV’s, refrigerators and washing machines.
People in the 1990′s wanted a private telephone, a CB or Ham radio and they got mortgages starting in 1998.
Now people want cell phones, cars, houses and computers. The government controls TV and the internet. But, after the technician installs it, you hire another guy to unblock it. There are  10 provincial channels, 40 others from the government. Foreign TV is not allowed but you can pirate it easily, Vicky tells us. They will crack down and block the internet in the future, she predicts.  It is just too much freedom and will give people corrupt ideas.

We arrive at the Provincial Museum. As always, everything is ornately decorated, though this 350,000 year old city, was bombed, and flooded  and destroyed over many years of conflict including Japanese and revolutionary warfare of Sun Yat Sen. In 1911, the uprising led to the fall of the Quing Dynasty and the emergence of the modern Republic of China, right here in Wuhan City.

The area is noted for its intellectuals;  poets, writers, and artists. They specialize in bronze and gold,  interesting garden design, bridges and buildings, very contemporary. Our city guide, Harry, teaches us the word for cold beer, bing peejo. We would like to have a good beer here. It hasn’t happened yet. Mostly a weak rice beer that is wet. Ditto the wine.

The centerpiece of this museum is an ancient tomb unearthed in 1978.

The huge timbers covering it since 430 B.C. are incredibly intact. Inside was the remains of the Marquis Teng and 13 of his concubines. There were thousands of artifacts, much of  them musical, zithers, flutes, drums, whistles. Bells that could produce two separate tones. Ancient musical scripts that are still used today.

The bronze work was extraordinary, very ornate and beautiful. Everything here is under glass and almost impossible to photograph with my meager skills and first digital point and shoot.

This is how the aristocracy served wine. From a vessel with dual handled dippers.

The dippers were made of bronze and gold.

Much talented ancient Chinese craftsmen made these  intricate carved legs and decorations in bronze.  This vessel has an inner bowl so that ice or hot water could surround the food to keep it warm or cool on the serving table. And we thought that was a fairly modern idea.

The ancients had developed a special lacquer ware then as well.

Of all the finds, the unique utensils, grand pots and intricate bronze work, is a gold and bronze triple bell. No two tones are the same.
On this sophisticated triple bell, musicians can play Ode to Joy, by Beethoven and Adelweiss.   Harry, our city guide, sings Adelweiss for us in a very silvery voice to demonstrate the versatility of this amazing bell.

I found it interesting that this ancient bell looks like those of later centuries. The pattern carried  through many generations. Later in the evening, we attend a concert on a replica set of bells as those found in the tomb.

During the concert, the musicians played typical Chinese music, but also demonstrated classical music from Irving Berlin and other composers. What a trip to see another what is considered “8th Wonder of the World” this magnificent bell.
There is also a legend that got started about the tomb, Harry tells us. It was opened in the dead of winter with snow on the ground, and somehow the story got started that a couple of butterflies hatched and flew from the tomb when it warmed up.
From Vicki we got a list of movies  about China considered very good. Balzar, The Little Chinese Seamstress, Raise the Red Lantern, Mostly Martha, Zellany. Also the book River Town. I thought Keys To The Kingdom was a fascinating look at China through the eyes of a priest.  Also made into a movie.
Tomorrow, another UNESCO city.

CHINA'S STONE FOREST

Stretching for miles, the number one attraction in this area near Kunming is the unique topography called the Stone Forest. It was once  part of a huge ocean. The crust lifted and formed the Himalayas and left the fantastic shapes of the stone forest.

We travel through a three-mile long tunnel to get to the stone forest which replaced a twisty, tortuous road. (The Chinese do things in a big way. Probably unsafe at that length as well.) I would have preferred the twisty route because I enjoy those kind of roads. Our  driver first circles a huge section of the forest and our city guide  points out various configurations  that resemble hats, or a baby, or an elephant.

Almost every configuration has a cap or hat that gives them their unique form.


Our group enjoys walking around the huge stones. Like a maze, a person could get lost among them. Rock climbing would be wonderful but is not allowed. I can imagine the people of long ago enjoying just such a simple pleasure.

In this particular area of the forest, a visitors center has been built on a small lake. Since there is no parking, we take a shuttle ride to this beautiful spot. It is high season for Chinese tourists who love to come here.  They have weddings, and picnics, celebrate birthdays and enjoy the “park”.

And, in turn, we enjoy watching the colorfully dressed locals arrange themselves along this pretty lake to have their pictures taken.

The beautiful girls in their colorful clothing are irresistible.

They all carry a basket of yellow flowers. Certainly it has some significance, but we know not what.

Among the tourists I see this woman’s style of clothing and the woman with a typical Chinese sun hat and a man with a more modern cap.
The Yi people of this area were featured in a movie about a woman who was persecuted because she was against arranged marriage. The Yi people show their single status by the way they arrange their feathers. A girl shows interest in a man by touching her horn.  We didn’t see anyone wearing a feather or a horn.

This fellow was resting with what may have been a musical instrument or horn. Or, maybe a pipe?

Chinese women carry huge burdens and think nothing of it. This back pack was loaded as you can see, and there is a feather in her pack.

We chuckled at the Chinglesh of this warning sign.
Vicki informs us that Mau came from Yunnan Province, his grandfather was born here. Yunnan means south of the cloud. The land here is fertile and there are many farms in the area.  A great flood killed 1500 people. The land was allowed to revert to forest after that.

Loading back on the shuttle, I spot another interesting headdress on this gentleman.
Back on the bus, Vicki gives us a history of the minority people from this area.  The Suni Muslims are a branch of the Yi people.  The black Yis enslaved the white Yis because they admired the rare black tigers of Asia over the white tigers.  Great hunters and wrestlers, strong and muscular,  they walk in fire and have fire torch festivals unique to the area. Mau banished slavery among the Yis.
Other minorities are the Hui People. They are known for their roast duck. The nucleous of this minority came with Kubla Khan. They were called barbarians for their way of life.
The Wah minority favor rat meat. They are from Tibet and in older times lent their wives to friends, or two sisters were allowed to share one husband. Those practices are now forbidden. Many Wah are still nomadic and they live on the road and move about with their burden animals and small tents. Girls live in white tents. Any man can go in the tent and fornicate with her because she has to have a baby to prove that she is fertile before she can marry. She usually chooses the first one to impregnate her. But, the tent is guarded by a dog and the man must fight off a huge guard dog to take his chances with this girl. He cannot use modern weapons, he can fight the dog with stones and his fists.  A Tibetan man shares his sister if her husband dies. She can fornicate with her son in Mongolian Culture. From a modern view, they were all barbarians.