What You Might Have Missed

I am really sorry to have taken so long to get these posted. By now there may not be anyone interested in reading the blog. I have finally readjusted to life back in Lubbock. I hit the ground running back at school, returning in time for the TAKS test. My kids acted like they were anxious for me to be back, but that was short lived. One day I visited them before I was actually back in the classroom. They all tried to convince me that the teacher who took my place while I was gone was "really mean". Mind you she is one of the most nurturing, kind, pleasant people you could ever hope to be your teacher. I guess they had forgotten what "really mean" was in my absence. It didn't take long for them to loose their excitement about my return.

Anyway, on to a story I completely forgot to post. We were in Thailand, when Melissa (the boys' mom) asked me if I wanted to go to a cobra milking at the Red Cross. Absolutely! I thought.

So we go and there is a small area of stadium type seating. We wait patiently for the "milking" to begin. The first snake was a king cobra, who was brought out bare-handed by a trainer. I was really surprised considering what I had learned about king cobras in Nepal. The trainer let him down and began antagonizing the snake for a good show. Everyone was standing up half out of wanting to see, half out of reaction that a frickin' king cobra being set down below us. I kept thinking about what Sanjay told me in Nepal about king cobras being able to propel themselves with their tale towards the head of their victim. I invisioned that king cobra going straight for my forehead. When it was time to bring out the next snakes, the king cobra's trainer walked up next to him and swiftly grabbed him around the throat and walked off. Another trainer walked onto the scene showing us his four fingers on one of his hands. He had apparently lost his index finger after a king cobra bit him.

Two more trainers brought out two siamese cobras. According to the speaker the siamese cobra venom is more potent than the king cobra's, and it takes less time to inject their victims, if you will. The trainers did the same antagonistic dance with these two snakes, then walked right up to them and snatched them up by the neck. I kept wondering how one gets past the fear of being bit. I know I never could.

There were more vipers brought out for show, but the one that impressed me the most was called something like a copperback racer. It wasn't a copperhead. Anyway, it was a smaller snake. When its trainer put it on the ground, it coiled itself up and propelled itself at the trainer's head. I stood in complete amazement as the trainer caught it in mid air with just enough room for the snake to barely miss the guy's forehead. I have never seen anything so crazy in my life. It was like some syncronized circus act.

After they showed us all the vipers, they demonstrated the milking of a siamese cobra. Right after, they showed us how they force feed them so they will produce the venom more quickly. While we were watching this demonstration, my mind went back to the museum I went through in India with the display of vipers. It showed how a person might be able to tell whether or not a snake was indeed a viper. The first way was by looking at its belly at the arrangement of scales. There are people who do this, and other crazy things, such as catching one in midair. Glad there are people willing to do this for anti-venom, but you have to question their sanity just a little bit!

King Cobra


Siamese Cobras


Milking Siamese Cobra


Force feeding after milking


One other really cool thing we did was going to a Chinese Acrobatic Act in Shanghai. There were contortionists, acrobats, gymnists. It was really neat. I think their joints must be made of rubber. All the guys had their hair spiked with wild colors, and were wearing fur half vests. It reminded me of the movie Hook. I wanted to yell "RUFIO, RUFIO!" The boys granddad really hit the nail on the head during intermission when he announced "I think they's 'bout half flyin' squirrel!"

Well, I am not sure what to do with my blog now. Nothing interesting going on here in Lubbock. Tim Rush suggested me doing something about things I love about Lubbock. I could try that, but for some reason, I think it would be about my favorite restaurants, considering that there are more restaurants per capita here than anywhere in the U.S. or probably even the world.

Thanks for hanging in on this wild adventure. If you have any blog ideas, let me know and I'll see what I can do.

Pictures As Promised - China

Shanghai Grand Hyatt, tallest hotel in the world.


Images from the Temple of the Jade Buddah, Shanghai








Yuan Garden, Shanghai






Water Taxi in the water town outside of Shanghai. This is where MI-3 was filmed.


Bridge over the canal in the water town


Along the a canal in the water town.


Great Wall


Me in my dog coat


View of the mountains from the wall


Inside one of the towers


Great Wall


Climbing along part of the wall that has not been reconstructed.


Magnolia tree blooming at the Summer Palace


Summer Palace


Marble boat at the Summer Palace


Chairman Mao's Masoleum at Tian'anmen Square


Entrance to the Forbidden City


Inside the Forbidden City


A Visit to a local kite maker in the Hu Tongs of Beijing


Temple of Heaven


I intend to do a post about some of the things I may have forgotten to post. Check back for what you missed!

Pictures As Promised - Japan

Wedding Procession at the Meiji Shrine


Meiji Shrine



Wedding Party



Guard House at the Imperial Palace



Cherry Blossoms



Tea Time



Traditional tea service



Flower Shop in Tokyo



Infamous Toilet in the Park Hyatt Tokyo



Red Snapper at the Fish Market in Japan



Mt. Fuji at Sunset



Fish Heads at the fish market



Dried Anchovies at a local market



Pine Tree at a Garden in Tokyo. The entire photo is the tree.

Jetlag!

I can't quite seem to get over the jetlag. I have been so tired the last few days. I practically slept all day yesterday. My days and nights are completely backwards. Lisa gave me an Ambien to help me sleep at night. I took half of it last night and don't remember anything from eating dinner to about 5 am this morning. I don't remember putting on my pj's or getting in bed. I was thinking that if half an Ambien did that then I would have probably woken up with my face in my pizza if I had taken the entire thing!

I am working on the pictures. Hopefully I'll have them up by this weekend. Keep checking back.

Day 81-83 Japan to Lubbock

I'M HOME!!!!! We came home a few days earlier than we expected. It is 4 am here in Lubbock and I am wide awake. My body still thinks it is 6 pm. I didn't really tell anyone that I was coming home early so I could surprise everyone. My mom knew, but I didn't tell Daniel or Lisa. I surprised Daniel by skyping him from my apartment, which he recognized immediately. Lisa, however, I didn't quite get to surprise her as I had planned. She actually came in my apartment to drop off my mail. I had intended on just showing up at her house. I am glad to have a few extra days to settle in before I go back to school. I have several things to do, and I wasn't sure how I was going to get it all done before I started back at Parkway. I think it may take me a while just to get over jetlag!

Our last day in Tokyo was a full day of sight seeing and shopping. We went to the Imperial Palace and the Meiji Shrine. The Imperial Palace is only open to the public a couple of days per year, and we were not there for it. It is surrounded by a large wall and moat. The grounds are beautifully layed out with bonsai-ed pine trees.

The Meiji Shrine, is a shrine built to one of the former Imperiors, and sits in a large park area. While we were there, we got to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession.

We were so fortunate to be in Japan the time of year we were because the cherry blossoms were beautiful! They only bloom 8-10 days per year.

Hang in there, I promise pictures are coming. It just takes a while to upload pictures and I have so many to share from Shanghai, Beijing, and Tokyo. Hopefully I can get them posted this week.

When we arrived in Dallas from Tokyo, we all had huge smiles on our faces, and I don't know how many times we said "It's good to be back in Texas!" It is truly good to be home. Now if only my suitcases could magically unpack themselves! That seems like a daunting task!

Day 80 - Cold, Windy Day

It has been cold today here in Tokyo. It was so nice yesterday and I was even in my shirt sleeves. I've just sat down and am sipping some Darjeeling tea to warm me up.

We visited the Fish Market at the harbor, Hamarikyu Gardens, and another temple. Forgive me for not remembering the name of the temple, but you see, I'm all templed out!

The Fish Market was so cool. I enjoyed seeing all the different kinds of fish. It was kind of sad too because some of the fish were still alive and waving their fins on the cold slabs.

The Hamarikyu Gardens were nice as well. I wouldn't miss an opportunity to see a garden, particularly a Japanese garden. We are really fortunate to have timed our trip to Japan when the cherry blossoms are blooming. At the Gardens our guide took me to the tea house for traditional tea.

The temple we went to was something to do with the Goddess of Mercy, and something about fishermen finding her statue in a net and building a temple to her. You can buy your fortune there, and if it is bad you tie it on a rack type thing to do away with it. Now exactly how one does do away with their fortune if it is what is supposed to happen anyway? And if it is a fortune, is it possible for it to be bad?

I have to give the Japanese credit for bathroom ingenuity. We have the coolest toilet in our hotel room. It has a heated seat, and a sidearm with buttons for your choice of washing, either jet stream or delicate rain shower. It also has a dryer. I think I need one at home! They should have highlighted that in Lost in Translation.

I promise I will post pictures, but now I am having problems uploading them for some reason.

Day 79 - Tokyo

We arrived in Tokyo last night. It is an awesome city. I did a little shopping today. I plan to post my pictures of China in the next day or two. We are staying in the Park Hyatt Tokyo, where Lost in Translation was filmed. It is probably in my top two favorite hotels we have stayed in. It is really beautiful.

I would like to request special prayers for my cousin, Kory, and his family. His wife, Jayme was pregnant with twins, Kanyon and Jayde. They were due in July, I believe. They were born earlier in the week, making them 25 weeks old. Jayde died last night. They are doing all they can for Kanyon, but he has a long way to go. You can read the latest by clicking on the Phillips Family link on the right.

Day 72-78 Beijing

Hey everyone! Sorry I have been so neglectful. It seems that the internet works well and is speedy here in Beijing, but I cannot pull up blogspot's website for some reason. Lisa, is manning the blog for me until I get it where I can manage it myself. So far we have seen the Great Wall, The Summer Palace, Tian'anmen Square, The Forbidden City, The Temple of Heaven, and toured the Hu Tongs.

Beijing seem more historical than Shanghai, which appears to be more modern. It has been cool in the mornings and nice in the afternoons, which make for good touring weather. We got to see two parts of the Great Wall, one that had been reconstructed, and one off the beaten path that was crumbling. When I say off the beaten path, I mean we were the only ones there. It was amazing to walk along something that dates back to before Christ. The Great Wall is called the world's largest tomb, because many forced laborers died building it, and were consequently buried in the wall.

I have tons of pictures to post, but unfortunately, we will have to continue to wait for them. Thanks for bearing with me regarding the internet/website issues. Our next stop is Tokyo, which hopefully I will have time to update you as best as I can.

Day 69-71 Shanghai

I am going to have to delay pictures and some posts for a while, because the internet is slower than molasses. We got to Shanghai on Sunday and are staying at the Grand Park Hyatt, the tallest hotel in the world. I guess everyone and everything has it's claim to fame.

Yesterday we saw the Jade Buddah Temple and the Yu Yuan Gardens. The garden was spectacular.

It rained most of the day, and was very cold. I broke down and bought a $40 down coat with what I thought was fur-like trim on the hood, only to realize it was real. I was talking to Elliot, a business associate of the family, and I mentioned that I wondered what it was. He replied that I probably didn't want to know. I jokingly said something about dog, to which he replied, "Most likely." I was horrified. I have felt guilty about it ever since. I have a picture of my dog on the background of my computer. She is laying down looking over her back with these sweet, sad eyes. As I was checking my email last night, her sad eyes burned right through me. I feel rotten! I have noticed nearly all the women on the street wearing these coats with fur trim. Then I think about how many women across China must have them. A very sad thought. I may have to get rid of the hood.

I'll post pictures of the Shanghai trip as soon as I can get to faster internet.

Day 65-68 Exploring Hong Kong

Ok, so I created an entire post including pictures just earlier, when the website decided to go down. So my recreation of the blog will be shorter and sweeter!

Wednesday - Boat trip to Lamma Island

Thursday - Afternoon tour of Hong Kong Island

Friday - Botanical Gardens and Marks and Sparks (Marks and Spencers for winter clothing for Beijing).

Saturday - Chillin' and wishin' for some good Irish pub grub!!!!!

By the way, if you are not a regular visitor to the blog of Jeff and Amy Gearhart (link to the side of the page) you should read their latest post. It made me laugh and my heart smile! If you know them, you are blessed indeed!

Our boat that took us to Lamma Island

Buildings are built in this way to allow for the wind.

Fish Tanks at a restaurant on Lamma Island.

Azaleas a bloom!

Women on Lamma Island. They were motioning to me not to take their picture, so I had to take it behind their back.

Traditional Chinese boat in Victoria Harbor

View of Hong Kong from Victoria Peak.

Dragon thingie at a temple something or other.

Crazy giant statue.

I think this is some sort of African peacock at the botanical gardens.

Orchid Greenhouse

Coleus

Jaguar enclosure at the botanical gardens.