HOME IN HOT OKLAHOMA

WE'RE HOME! Arrived in OKC Tue evening a little after midnight. Slept great the first night but Wed night was a bummer. Couldn't go to sleep...... JET Lagggggggggggg! We are glad to be home and see Zach and Grandma West but we sure do miss Gabriel.... and Ben.... and Deysi.

If you are interested, check this blog periodically for more tidbits of info, stories, images, etc from our trip.

ARRIVED IN TOKYO....

We have made it to Tokyo. Killing some time eating and walking. Our 13 hour flight to Chicago leaves in about 1 hour from now. It is cloudy and overcast here. Looking forward to getting home. We actually leave Tokyo at 6:25pm and arrive in Chicago before we leave.... at 4:00pm. We have a 5 hour layover and our flight from Chicago arrives in OKC at 11:30pm tonight. Boy will we be tired after 24 hours in the air on 3 flights. We already terribly miss Gabriel... and Ben and Deysi. Oklahoma City here we come.... and come.... and come....

GETTING READY TO LEAVE HK

We have had a nice rather relaxing day in Hong Kong. We were all going to take the ferry across to Hong Kong from our hotel to eat at a Mexican resturant. The air today was extremely hazy and full of humidity..... about the most humid I have ever felt. Everyone backed out of the ferry ride (6 minutes) except me. I continued on by myself while B,D,S, and G ate at the hotel. I was not disappointed. The Taco Loco cafe was really pretty good. I had shredded beef enchiladas with chips, sour cream and guacamole and a diet coke. I walked around HK for awhile in the market area. I saw and smelled more raw fish than I ever care to see again. By the time I got back to our hotel in Kowloon, my shirt was soaked with humidity.

Tonight we are going to have real Hong Kong food.... a resturant Ben knows about. We will also be packing for our early departure tomorrow morning. Above is a cute picture of Gabriel taking a bath. Now I just think he is so cute! We are sure going to miss him when we leave. Laban

CHRISTIAN TV IN CHINA??

This is Susie and I have another funny memory of China. Laban, myself, Ben and Deysi were all staying in a hotel in the middle of China. Ben and Deysi had a room down the hall. I turned on the TV, from force of habit, for there are never any English speaking stations. As I channel surfed, I came across a guy standing at what looked like a pulpit, speaking from a book that looked to be a Bible. He was gesturing with his hands and ever so often a verse (in Chinese) would flash on the screen. They would even show the audience periodically. I was so excited I called Laban and showed him and he agreed it was a preacher. So we went and got Ben, and he came down to see it. He watched a little bit and laughed and said the guy was teaching on Karl Marx. So I guess there is no Christian TV in China.

Interestingly enough there are Christian programs in Macau and Hong Kong. It is Sunday here and we watched Robert Schuller this morning. Other than losing my purse we had a very good day. I am looking forward to coming home, but am dreading saying good-bye to Ben, Deysi and especially my baby, Gabriel. We have become quite attached.

FIRST MISHAP!

We made it to Hong Kong. We have a wonderful room in the Salisbury YMCA Hotel overlooking Hong Kong harbor. Earlier today in Macau, Susie accidently left her purse in a taxi. We were only trying to keep up with 8 bags, a stroller, and my camera bag. It was very upsetting for Susie. The police helped us to contact the taxi driver but he said someone had already been in the backseat and the purse was not there. Basically we lost 2 ATM cards and our backup camera which had quite a number of pics on it. I spent two hours tonight trying to call the right numbers in the US to cancel the cards. Anyway, we are all okay and snug in our 14th floor room overlooking Hong Kong. Tomorrow we will sightsee hear before departing Tue in the AM.

THE "CHINESE FOREVER EXPRESS"

Hello, Hello.... we have so much to say in such a short time. We are setting on the 58th floor of the Macau Tower... the 10th tallest free standing structure in the world. We just ate in the 180 Degree Lounge on this floor. This has to be the prettiest view I have ever seen from a computer. We can actually see very well back over into mainland China.


Our 37 hour train trip ending up lasting 58 hours.... "The Chinese Forever Express". We were supposed to go to Wuhan but never made it because we were rerouted due to the flooding and scheduling of other trains. We ended up taking the long way around to Guangzhou ... over 2000 miles. Luckily the train was air conditioned and we had a small cabin with 4 good beds. The scenery was excellent, but the food got monotonous and our snacks ran out, we had not planned for so long a train trip. The baby did good, even though he is cutting 4 new teeth.

We are heading this afternoon back to Hong Kong via boat. We will be in HK 2 nights and then leave on Tuesday for the good ole USA. Hope to blog again before we leave.

TRAIN DELAYED DUE TO FLOOD

A quick update. We arrived in Lanzhou ready to board the train only to find out that the incoming train had been delayed due to tracks being washed out somewhere SE because of flooding. So we are overnighting at a nice 4STAR hotel in Lanzhou and are supposed to leave in the morning at 8:55 am. The hotel gave each of us a 2 room suite, the only rooms they had left... $44 US dollars per room. This delay means we will only spend one night in Wuhan before going on to Hong Kong. All of us are doing fine, just looking forward to a good nights sleep.

..............CHINA THE BEAUTIFUL!

Above is a picture of some of the local farmland. Yellow rapeseed for cooking oil, wheat, and corn are abundant. A drive through the country is never lacking in beauty. One amazing thing is that practically all of the farming is accomplished by hand. It is rare to see a tractor in the fields.

We are preparing to leave today via train from Lanzhou which is a two hour drive from Linxia. We will be on the train overnight and all day tomorrow. We will spend a couple of nights in Wuhan, home of Hudson Taylor. Then we will board another train for a location near Macao. One night in Macao and then a ferryride to Hong Kong where we will spend two days before departing back to the states. B, D, and G will be traveling with us to HK. There will most likely be a blogblackout until we reach HK. Keep us all in your prayers. Laban

Gabriel the Popular

As you can tell from the picture, Gabriel is the center of attention wherever we go. The people in China love babies and children. We not only have kids looking at him as seen in the picture, but we have young couples and old people as well. They all want to hold him, and even try to get him out of his car seat or stroller even when fastened in. We do let people hold him at times, but have to say no most of the time or we would never get anywhere. They always tease and ask can't they please have him? We always say no and look stricken and they laugh and laugh, it is a fun game.

Deysi and I had a great time in Xining. We stayed in a very nice apt of M's who are on furlough. They had a well stocked kitchen and told us to eat or cook anything we wanted. I fixed pancakes for breakfast one morning and boy was it delicious with my New Zealand butter. There are 2 import stores in Xining and that is where foreigners buy cheese and butter. All the butter is imported from New Zealand and cheese from Holland. We were alone for 5 days and ate 4 meals at KFC, very popular here, and 2 meals at Dicos, a McDonalds knockoff, and only one Chinese meal. I love Chinese food but you can definitely get too much. We cooked and ate with friends for the rest of our meals. I couldn't blog because of the smoke in the internet cafes. You cannot imagine how bad it is, I was lucky to check my email and was usually out in 15 minutes. I could have stayed in this apartment for weeks. They had bookcases full of books, and DVD's and VCR's at our disposal. We really appreciate their generosity. I have read 6 books since I started this trip.

MINUS 5 STAR HOTEL

Another short note on our trip to the Tibetan Plateau. Our last night was in the town of Madoi, which sits at about 14000ft near the Yellow River. I think we only saw one hotel in town. Our room cost us US $6.25. Here is a picture of the amenities. The TV didn't work. There was no running water. The water they brought us in the thermos was boiled and hot for drinking. Cold water for washing was in a large container in the hallway. You took your washbasin to the hall and brought back all the water you needed. The stove we didn't need although it went down to about 51 degrees overnight. The beds were comfortable with lots of fluffy blankets. The squattypotty was in a corner shed across a large dirt parking lot. We had a good nights rest before leaving at about 6 am the next morning.

By the way, Susie was suppose to be blogging a lot, but she has been rather busy helping with the baby, cooking, and playing volleyball.

"B" TICKETED BY POLICE

Another quick update.... we are back in Linxia, safe and sound. It it rather warm here especially with no AC. Must backtrack for a minute.... the other day when we arrived in Xining, B and Susie were looking for the apartment where we were going to stay. B was driving like Chinese normally do... but sure enough he was stopped by a Xining policeman (refer picture) for driving the wrong way on a side street. Ticket in hand, B had to go to one of the local banks and pay the fine... about $12 US Dollars.

While in Xining we went shopping and per my music interests went to a downtown music store where there were pianos and various Chinese instruments. I was able to purchase a 2-string fiddle (Erhu) and a Tibetan string instrument that resembles a Mandolin, also a weird looking flute that is popular in southern China. While in the store I sat down at a grand piano and began to play/compose some music that I thought sounded similar to some of the local folk music. It wasn't long that several people started to surround us and listen. I think I could have played for hours... The setting was GREAT!

It is good to be home in Linxia. We have about 3 days left before heading via train towards Hong Kong. Hope to blog again before we board the train. Laban

FAMILY REUNITED

The WEST family is now complete again. Ben and I are back in Xining, reunited with Cindy, Susie, and Gabriel. Our trip was great... here are the stats: 720 miles, about 240 miles all above 13000ft, 70 miles of gravel/dirt ugly road. 70 miles into Tibet.

I twisted my knee somehow, am using an ace bandage and cold packs. It is slowing my walk somewhat. By the way if some letters don`t appear right on this blog it is because I am using a European/German laptop... the kezboard is different.

We are leaving this am to go back to B`s home in Linxia. Before we leave we will trz to find a music store so I can buy a couple of local musical instruments to send home. On our journez todaz Will be driving along the Yellow river for several miles. Here in Xining it is rather warm and humid. The AC in Bs car reallz feels good. Will trz to post pictures in a later blog when we get back to Linxia. Susie has not been able to blog due to heavz smoke in the internet cafes, hopefullz she will be able to do so later. So long for now.... Laban

BACK IN YUSHU

After a 70 mile trek into Tibet, Ben and I are now back in Yushu... Alt:12200ft. On the way back we picked up a couple of Tibetan Monks wanting to go to Yushu. We played P&W Tibetan music on the CD and Ben gave them a copy of the Gospel of Luke with Acts.

Here in Yushu, we just had a delicious meal of sweet & sour meat... not sure what kind. Also, a plate of corn with pinenuts, and eggfried rice. This afternoon we are heading back north toward Xining. We will probably spend the night in Madua... a 14000ft town just north of the 16000ft pass. I am still having headache problems probably due to sinus and/or altitude. We are both missing our better half and of course Gabriel.

FROM THE TOP OF THE WORLD....

We are now in Leiwuqi, Tibet, Alt: 12500ft. Spent the night here last night. I am sure we are the only foreigners here. The hotel was the best in town, but there was NO running water in the whole town. The bathroom was a squattypotty with a big bucket of water to flush. We bathed in a hand basin with clean hot water that the hotel provided. The room was clean and comfortable. The mountains that surround Leiwuqi look very similar to a town in the CO mountains with pine forest. Everything is extremely green and lush looking .

We were stopped on the street by the local police this am and had to register, and were also advised to leave quickly since we did not have an official permit to be here. So we are heading back toward Yushu today. The people here are friendly and extremely curious. My head was killing me this am but is some better now. The altitude is sure to be a factor. I haven't been below 12000 ft for several days. We have gone over numerous 14000+ft passes. You can't go anywhere without going over passes. Looking forward to getting back to 7000ft. So long from Tibet! Laban

The GOOD, The BAD, and The UGLY

Ben and I left Xining Tue AM for Yushu on the Tibetan Plateau. The trip here was 500 miles, included many mountain passes, at least 5 passes at about 14500ft and one pass at 16000ft. We drove for about 6 hours all above 14000 ft two of which were above 15000ft. For about 200 miles we drove on gravel/dirt roads. I have decided that roads in China can be classified as "The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly. Yesterday's roads were heavy on the Ugly side. Much of the landscape reminded me of driving in NE New Mexico, except at 15000ft. The altitude took it's toll. For about 4 hours I was feeling pretty bad. I got a severe headache, plus we didn't stop to eat a meal till about 4pm in the village of Madua. We did snack on sweets in the car. After we ate we went over the 16000ft pass and I really did feel goofy... my head, plus a little nausea. Once we got back down to 12000ft at Yushu I felt some better. Had a pretty good nights sleep. The Yushu Hotel was the "best" in town but left a lot to be desired.

Today (Wed) I felt much better. We head South to Naang and then into the Tibet province. From there, depending on road conditions, we will make a decision regarding how to return to Xining and back to Cindy, Susie, and Gabriel. More later.....

Laban

Lamb Fajitas & Chinese Mashed Potatoes

A word from Grandpa Laban about the food here in Linxia.....

I really like most of the local food. It can be rather spicy and sometimes pretty hot. The first picture is lamb, bell peppers, tomatoes, and other spices. We thought it was like having lamb fajitas.... all we needed was the tortillas and guacamole. The second picture is what they call Chinese mashed potatoes. Believe it or not there are mashed potatoes under all that other stuff.

Of course you can get Muslim soup anywhere, anytime..... noodles of all shapes and sizes, some a half meter long. You have to put your head over the bowl and slurp it up with the chopsticks. Most of the time it is easier and cheaper to eat out. There are many restaurants. The four of us can eat a 5 course meal for about $6.00 US total. Often it takes a little time to adjust to the food as Susie and I both are having a little problem with the big "D" or should we say M A O's Revenge. By the way, in Linxia there are no McD's, BK's, PHut's, or Tex-Mex although we did find some fried chicken yesterday that was pretty good. More @ a later time....

HONK AND SPEED UP!

On my 3rd day in China, Ben asked if I would like to drive his car. I was surprised. He has only been driving his car about one month, although he has driven a motorcycle for a couple of years. As Ben has told me, driving in America is relaxing, and I agree. That is why we have people killed from falling asleep while driving. Believe me that is not a problem in China. In China cars are not on the road alone. They are outnumbered by handpulled carts, motor carts, bicycles, busses, taxis, animals and pedestrians, including children as young as 2 years old playing by the side of the road or crossing the road. The roads are also in terrible shape, with holes that would cause great damage and maybe even kill you if you hit them going fast. At least in this province I have seen no warning signs of danger ahead. The main thing a driver does here is honk to warn people that a car is coming. From my observations people don't act like they even hear, but at least they don't move any further out in the road and when you honk they know you are coming.

So I agreed to try the Chinese driving. We were on a mountainous dirt road, with many switchbacks and very little traffic, I think Laban was a little offended that Ben asked me first. But as Ben says I am from California. I did fine and managed to change gears and go around major bumps and holes. I felt like a real Chinese driver because I also learned how to honk, in fact I got really good at my warning honks, so Ben let me continue driving when we got to a paved busier road through little country villages. It was a blast. But finally Ben took back the wheel. He said I was going to get us killed. People in China know that when someone honks they are coming fast. When I honked I slowed down to make sure I missed everyone. He said that would confuse other drivers, pedestrians, and animals. You have to honk and speed up. I haven't driven since, but I will try again when we leave this busy city behind.

AN $8.50 CUP OF COFFEE

Susie here again. The reason I am writing this blog is to remember funny, humorous or odd things that have happened. It is kind of my own diary. If you enjoy it, that is fine, but I am really writing for me.

The night we left Hong Kong to go into mainland China was memorable. You can not believe the difference a few hundred yards make. You get off of a train and walk through two large buildings, which contain immigration and customs. Suddenly you lose the air conditioned buildings that you had in Hong Kong and the rooms are dirty and dingy. I forgot to use the restrooms on the Hong Kong side and that was a mistake. The ones on the other side were squatty potties, which I can deal with, but no toliet paper or towels to dry your hands. Luckily I was prepared, I have been to China before.

The night was long as previously stated due to our all ready late flight out of this particular city being delayed. Laban found a bench and slept some, but Ben and I got out a DVD player I had brought and I introduced him to the program MONK. I had bought the 2nd season in OKC, just for such a time as this. We finally boarded after midnight with about 300 other people. The Chinese do not know what a line is, so boarding is very hectic. Babies were crying and everyone was rather grouchy including the flight crew. Laban again chose to sleep on this flight, but Ben was now hooked on MONK and we watched one more episode in flight. We landed and they must move the bags by hand, it took like forever. It was pouring rain outside but a taxi took us to a little hotel on the airport grounds. We got a room and were in bed by around 4am. I had just drifted off to sleep when a rooster outside our window announced that it was officially morning. He announced it many times. I literally laid there laughing and woke Laban up. The irony of what else could go wrong. Our body time clock was all messed up but that rooster knew when it was morning.

If any of you know Ben well, he is the eternal optomist. He assured us that we didn't need to be to the airport too early that not that many people would be flying out that early. Our flight left at 8:10am, and we got to the airport by around 7:15. I have NEVER seen so many people. The line to check our bags and show tickets had about 20 people ahead of us and believe me they don't move fast. Then when that was done there was still security, and there were around 10 lines with 20 or 30 people in each line. It didn't look good.

All Laban could say was I need a cup of coffee. I know this shocks some of you, but he really needs his coffee more than I need my tea. I hate lines, so I said I will find you some. So I set out. The first stands I went to said no. You might be wondering how I could converse, well I can't. I just acted like I was drinking and said KOFEE? and they shook their heads and pointed to a restaurant on the other end. I finally walked that far and looked at a menu and sure enough it said "coffee au lait", I pointed and said that is what I want. After a very long time she brought a paper cup with hot coffee and what looked like whipped cream and sprinkles on top. It was a small cup. It cost 58 K. I was so sleepy I didn't realize till after I paid that that equals about 8 dollars and 50 cents. In the USA that would be expensive, but in China it is ridicules. You can get a soft drink for 2-3 K even in airports. I rushed back to Laban and handed it to him and he looked at it and said "ugh, its curdled, what did you pay for this?" I said, "you don't want to know, and unless he reads this he still doesn't know.

We did make it on our flight, but not without running and an emergency ride to the plane, which was parked way away from the gate. Ben said, "see everything turned out ok."

TEA AT THE PENINSULA

Hey, this is Susie. We are having a grand time. This is my first chance to blog and I am going back in time to tell of some interesting experiences.
We stayed one night in a beautiful hotel in Hong Kong overlooking the harbor. It is next door to the world famous Peninsula Hotel(5 star quality). My good friend Irvina told me to be sure and have afternoon tea there in the beautiful lobby. It is a Hong Kong tradition that happens at 4 pm daily. So in the back of my mind I decided I would try to be there. But when you are sightseeing with Ben and Laban you never know. We started early and went to Victoria Peak overlooking the city, to the observation floor of a large skyscraper, rode the escalators across Hong Kong, and ate wonderful Chinese food. We also had to get visas to get into China that evening. But we finished up all that at around a little after four and headed back to our hotel to get our bags and head to the train station at 6 to go to the border to enter mainland China. We had given up our room and I was extremely tired, so the lobby of the Penisula looked like a good place to rest. Ben thought I was absolutely crazy to want to have tea there. Laban agreed to try it and was going to join me, but Ben begged him to go to a place to buy a new supply of Tibeten tracts. So I was alone. It was very peaceful, although I had to wait in line to get a seat. An instrumental ensemble played wonderful music. I did not mind being by myself. I ordered tea and scones. The only problem was that I didn't know scones were filled with raisins. I have never seen so many raisins. For those who know me I hate raisins with a passion. I started to pick them out. The tea was delicious. I did not want the waiters to see what I was doing. I basically paid 12 dollars for tea and two bisquits. But the butter and jelly were delicious. Laban and Ben came back and Laban ate all my raisins. So the waiters hopefully didn't see. I thoroughly enjoyed the Peninsula experience. I knew that this luxury would end in a few hours when I crossed into mainland China. I had no idea that I would not see a bed or a place to really rest until 4 am the next morning and then we had a plane to catch at 8 am. I will write more in another blog.

Gabriel the TeaDrinker

Grandma Susie offering the big "TEA" to Gabriel.

Boy, was he trying to drink... and out of a KrispyKreme cup!!

MORE ABOUT OUR ARRIVAL

Hello all....... Here it is Monday, Jul 3, 2006. Susie and Cindy are out shopping.... what a surprise! Ben is taking one of the Peruvian team members back to the doctor today. Be thinking of him... he may have to have an appendectomy.

Thankfully it is not too hot here since we have no AC. The daytime temp reaches about 80 degrees in the apartment. At night it cools down to about 65-70.

China is beautiful.... farming on terraces everywhere. Green valleys, mountains, and rivers are abundant. The day we arrived in Linxia (by the way, we are in Linxia city, Linxia Prefecture, Gansu Province of China) we first drove to a Folk Music Event near Linhua Mtn about 35 miles from Linxia. The event features the Hua'er Folk Music of this region. There were thousands of people walking (many were singing as they walked) up the mountains and hills to a mountaintop area where they all gathered to sing this music. It was a very cultural experience. Most significant to us was the fact that Ben, Susie, and I were the only Americans among all these people. Everyone stared at us as we walked along with them. In America, when someone is looking at you and you look at them they usually lookaway. Not so here..... they keep looking and looking and laughing and talking. You know you are the center of attention. Ben overheard one person saying, "Hey look, there is an American". Ben tapped the guy on the shoulder and said "Yeah, and there is one behind you too!" Obviously the guy didn't know that Ben understood him. We saw another group of people in the crowd where one guy was singing the Hua'er music (sounds similar to a Middle Ages chant). We got as close as we could so I could video him. After a few moments, Ben said we need to move on because we had become the focus of everyone... not the guy singing the chant.

With every gone, I am alone in the apartment with Gabriel. He is sound asleep. By the way, the picture is of the region close to the Folk Music event.

WE HAVE ARRIVED IN LINXIA!

It was a long trip.... especially after our flight from Hong Kong was delayed and we didn't get to leave until after midnight. We arrived in Chengdu at 3am, got to the airport hotel and got about 2 hours sleep before going back to the airport for our 8am flight to Lanzhou where Ben's car was parked. We did make it to Linxia yesterday.... we are trying to recover from J-E-T-L-A-G but are doing okay. Our grandson Gabriel is nothing but wonderful.... a little bragging on our part. Grandpa loves to make him smile and laugh. The picture is on Sunday afternoon heading to a resturant in Linxia. More to come.......