Back to work today for Judy.  It’s an “Annie” rehearsal day.  They begin at 9:00 and end at 1:00.  It’s a really productive rehearsal.  They finally had a chance to run the entire musical.  There is lots left to do, but there always is.

I worked on class planning, and then went over to the Marriott to swim.  After the Annie rehearsal, Judy met me at the Marriott for lunch.  I’ve got a 50% discount card for meals in Marriott restaurants throughout Asia.  It’s nice to get to use it.  The food is usually really good.

I knew we weren’t through with our purchases at the Flower Market after yesterday’s visit.  We needed a vase, and what better place to find one than right back at the Flower Market.  We were able to see much more of the place today.  The section for live plants and flowers is really big.  There’s also a huge section full of vendors selling fish tanks and fish, rabbits, and several other rodents that I wasn’t sure what they were.  There was even a big tarantula type spider, busy eating a cricket.

We found the vase we needed, and also a few more of the stem type items to add to what we purchased yesterday.  We’re in business now.  Back home, we get everything put together and find a place for it.  I know it’s very dry here, but the water is evaporating out of the fountain really fast.  The added moisture to the apartment may be an added benefit I hadn’t expected.

We’ve decided to go to the Dragonfly Resort today, and get a massage.  It snowed a little more last night, so we spent time debating how badly we wanted to go out.  We decided to brave the cold and the slush.  I went to Dragonfly back in November and walked away hurting.  I didn’t hurt quite as much today.  Judy actually came out feeling really good.  I’m always surprised how the masseuse can find the muscles that are the most sensitive, and then keep working on it, while I try to act like it’s no problem.

After the massage, we ate at Fatburger, a burger chain based out of Las Vegas.  It was a nice slice of the US.  While we ate, Judy was talking about finding a few decorating items for the apartment.  I knew there was a flower market, near the Marriott, so I took her.  I had never been inside.  It was huge, and much more than a flower market.  There were vendors and shops, silk flowers, live plants and flowers, furniture, and so many kinds of home decorating knick knacks.  Like the other markets in Beijing, there is a marked price, but that’s only a starting point.  We found a nice little fountain to sit on a table in the apartment.  Judy found some colorful plants that will liven up the living room.

We woke up this morning to a very “fogged in” looking day.  I was thinking the smog level must be really high.  Checked the air quality app, and the reading wasn’t that high.  Got up and looked at the street and realized it was snowing.  It wasn’t smog.  This is the first moisture Beijing has seen since August.  It’s a really pretty scene.

Judy hadn’t really noticed yet, but when I told her, she began to worry about catching a taxi on a day like this.  She pushes to be out the door early.  There’s no sense finding out it’s problem, and she’s headed for the street by 6:50.  No problem getting a taxi, and traffic isn’t bad yet either.

I fiddle around the apartment with odds and ends, spending much of my time organizing our iPhoto.  I eventually make it over to the Marriott to swim.  I call Judy after her Annie rehearsal.  She’s beat and ready to come home.  I head back, arriving long before she does.  I have time to cook some pasta and even start eating before she walks in.  She’s not in a “cheery” mood.  It was dark when she left school, and she was by herself.  Walking out of the school was icy and treacherous, and guess what……no taxis!  Several times, someone jumped in front of her when one did stop.  She was whopping mad!!!!  She finally wrangled one, but was ready for a weekend when she got home.  Unfortunately, this weekend she has an Annie rehearsal, so the weekend is only one day.

Many of Judy’s activities at school these days revolves around “Annie”.  The performances are the last week of February.  As one might expect, everyone’s level of concern has been raised, as the performances get closer.  Judy feels like the rehearsals are going well.  As everyone gets better, though, more subtle problems become obvious.  It’s just like getting a piece of music ready for band contest.  As the music cleans up, what once were small issues, become huge.

Here comes the New Years Fireworks Update.  There are not as many big, colorful fireworks around the neighborhood as there were on Tuesday.  However, we had several really big ones tonight, right outside our windows.  These were the closest we’ve had.  I’m going to try and have our iPad set-up and ready to go tonight if we start getting some really close ones.

I’ve got a link below to a “Dropbox” folder containing three different videos of fireworks from Tuesday, Feb. 4.  They should work, especially if you’re using an Apple product (I hope).  Enjoy!

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xyiqpsuctf56y2s/ha1YvuWLR0

Judy is back at the grind of school today.  She’s out of the house, and gets to school really smoothly.  We had heard that Beijing emptied out for the New Year’s Holiday.  I couldn’t believe it would be so obvious, but they were right.  There’s no traffic, anywhere!  Even the 3^rd Ring Road. is always stop and go, but there are very few cars traveling today.  Most of the intersections that have been jammed in the past are almost ghost-like.  It’s really weird.

Everyone must be at home firing off fireworks.  At anytime of the day and early evening, explosions can be heard.  As I walk to the Marriott, there are remnants of fireworks everywhere.  I’m not sure who’s in charge of clean-up, but it’s going to be a big job.

At home in the evening, the fireworks frequency is much lower.  At one point, though, a star shell starts going off right outside our window.  We could see and hear debris hitting the glass.  I posted some pictures below showing the fireworks stand just outside our apartment complex.  One of the pictures shows the different firecracker packages.  There were different sizes of “wheels”.  The largest sold for 300rmb (about $54).  You see people everywhere rolling those out, and setting them off.  There is also a picture of a discarded canister.  These are how they sell the star shells.  It’s all self-contained with one fuse.  They set those things on the ground, light them, and walk away.

Check out the fire extinguishers on the sidewalk!

Stacks and wheels of firecrackers!

A discarded star shell canister. Check out how many tubes there are. I haven’t seen anything like this in Texas or New Mexico.

I’ve taken some video of a “fireworks evening” in our apartment.  As soon as I decide on the best way to post it where others can access it, I’ll let you know.

I’m writing this on Tuesday night.  We finished unpacking, and ran a few errands.  Judy got a haircut, and I went for a swim.  We met up after we finished and taxied over to Sanlitun for a very late lunch (we at a very late breakfast).  We had Mexican food at Cantina Agave.  It wasn’t Santa Fe or Clovis, but it was close enough for us both to agree that it was Mexican food.

After we returned to the apartment, we sat down to do school work.  A few fireworks began to go off in the neighborhood.  As dark approached, the frequency of the fireworks increased. The standard approach to set them off is to walk out into the street, set it down, and light ‘em up.  There are sidewalks, but those don’t seem as popular as the street.  Traffic just keeps rolling by and star shells and mortars are being set off in the traffic lane.  We’re not talking little fireworks.  These are big blasts, and they just keep coming.

When it got dark, the real fireworks began.  We had heard it was crazy, and they weren’t kidding.  Everywhere we look (and from the 25^th floor we can see a long way) there are huge shells blasting off.  One of the favorite activities is to lay down a long string of firecrackers (20 or more feet), and light it.  It blows up for 2 or 3 minutes.  It’s been going on steadily for over three hours, and we’re not sure when it will end.  We’ve seen a few police cars cruising the street, but they’re just watching the fun. 

I’m really interested as to how long this activity continues.  Today is the 5^th day of the Lunar New Year, as declared by the Chinese government, and it’s supposed to be some kind of special day.  I think there are two more “special” days over the next week.  This calls for a little research………tomorrow.  Right now, I’m going to try to get to sleep.  BISS starts classes up again tomorrow.  Everyone’s going to be a little bleary-eyed if this continues too much longer.

We’re up really early, around 4:00 am.  The taxi picks us up at 5:15.  The hotel provided us a breakfast box since we were leaving before the regular breakfast is served.  We arrive at the airport, get checked in, and eat our breakfast.  The airport security was really quick and not nearly as thorough as we’ve become accustomed to.  I’m not sure if I’m glad, or I should be concerned about how lax it was.  I guess I’ll let the airport people run their own airport.

The rest of the flight to Bangkok is quick and painless.  We make the transition to our Beijing flight with a really long walk.  This is a big airport.  We’re on a 747 to Beijing.  Man, it’s a big plane.  The flight is about 4 ½ hours, and it as easy a flight as we’ve had since we began our Asia adventure in July.  Thai Airlines gets a recommendation from us.  Everything at the Beijing airport is smooth.  We’re home 45 minutes after we get off the plane.

We begin the tedious process of unpacking and washing 9 days worth of clothes.  We’ve heard about the fireworks during the Chinese New Year, and we’re experiencing it tonight, while we unpack. Lots of fireworks everywhere we look.  It’s pretty steady.  The last ones I remember, just before I went to sleep at 9:00 pm., were just below our apartment.  They were star shells that went off just below our floor.  This is a little different than my past fireworks experiences.  This is one of the reasons I’m loving living here right now.  

Judy has beach plans today.  My plans are for a round of golf at the Blue Canyon Golf Club.  I get picked up at 8:30 and driven to the course.  The driver takes me in and gets me checked into the locker room.  After I change shoes I head over the pro shop to set-up with clubs, a cart, and a caddie.  They load me into a van and take me over to the Lakes Course.  The tee box is crowded, so they move me up to the 5^th hole where I join Frederick and Maxim, both from France.

The Lakes Course is an appropriate title.  There is lots of water.  I wasn’t sure the dozen balls I brought were going to be enough.  I made it, only losing 3.  I planned on taking pictures, but my phone/camera battery is dead.  The course is really scenic, and my round is very up & down.  I have a birdie, but also several triple bogeys.  One sand trap cost me 4 strokes.  I just couldn’t hit the ball hard enough to get it out.  I’m getting used to playing with a caddy.  There will be an adjustment when I get back to the states and have to start taking care of my own clubs, and fixing divots in the fairway.  Life will be rough, but I’ll manage.

Back home after the round, it’s lunchtime and naptime.  Judy is back in the room working on more school stuff.  We walk out to the beach café for our last Phuket meal.  Sandwiches around the pool, and we’re officially spoiled.  We finish the day with a smoothie the Renaissance calls “The Wendy’s”.  It really close, and we’ve learned to love it.  Now it’s time to pack and get ready for Beijing.  It’s been a great nine days.  The adjustment to city life is going to be tough.

The sun sets on our final day in Phuket

A few political observations I made today.  No one around here is talking about any political issues.  There are few signs, and the hotel workers, when asked, don’t seem to have an opinion.  We noticed at the beach café that there was a big sign announcing “no alcohol sold today, until after midnight”.  Apparently no alcohol is sold on election day.

Back to another day of food and beach.  All the relaxing time gives me a chance to check up on activities in Bangkok.  Our original plans for this trip included a departure late Friday for Bangkok and two days sightseeing in the Thai capital.  All the political turmoil scared me off, so before Christmas I cancelled Bangkok and extended Phuket.  Right now it looks like it was a good decision.  Lots of street protests and the occasional shots fired and bomb blasts make for an undesirable destination.  Hopefully it won’t affect the airport when we go through on Monday.

Happy Birthday Judy!!  She is now  ???? years old.  We’re celebrating with a boat trip into the Phang Nga Bay National Park area.  The tour title is “James Bond Island” and canoe trip.  We are picked up early at the hotel, and transported to Royal Phuket Marina for the tour.

We’re split into groups, based on language for our guide.  Our guide also speaks Russian, so we get to hear all the descriptions and instructions in Russian.   There are about 30 in our group.  I saw a group of Chinese headed off, and also a group of Spanish speakers.

We load onto a big speedboat with three Yamaha 225 outboard motors and head out into the Andaman Sea.  It takes about 40 minutes to arrive at our first destination.  The ride is pretty bouncy for the first half.  I’m worried that Judy’s proclivity for seasickness will come into play, but she has no problems.

The islands seem to grow straight up out of the water.  We pull up to a small little inlet and begin unloading in pairs into inflatable canoes, each with a guide.  We’ve been told we’ll canoe into a cave, and ultimately into the Mangrove Lagoon.  Because the water level is up, we have to lie down as we move through the cave.  We get to a point where several canoes are stopped, and people have climbed out into the water, while others just backed out of the cave.  It makes for a really interesting time as the boats pass each other in the narrow confines.  Our guide asks us if we want to swim?  Huh?  I thought we were going to canoe to this lagoon.  Apparently the water is too high to continue in the canoe.  We climb out, a little confused about what is happening, but others have done it, so why not us?  We swim the remaining 50 yards or so to the end of the cave and come out into the sun.  It’s a gorgeous scene, so quiet and undisturbed.  The water is absolutely glass.  There are only 8 or 9 other people with us, and everyone is awestruck at the beauty.  The walls are sheer, and must be 200 or more feet high.  The only entrance is the cave we swam in thru.  Amazing! 

Headed toward the cave.

About to swim back to our canoe thru the cave.

We swim out, find our canoe, climb back in, and head out to another cave/lagoon.  This one requires climbing a ladder and walking through a dark cave, dealing with very uneven surfaces, lit only by our guide’s headlamp.  The view at the end is really peaceful and gorgeous, but our access is limited to only a small opening to peer through.  We make our way back through the cave, working very hard not to sprain an ankle, or worse.  Outside, we get back in the canoe and paddle back to the speedboat.

Next stop is another big island with canoeing around some small caves, and then a little open water.  The views are breath-taking.  It’s kinda like Monument Valley, Utah, with water.  After another short jaunt we arrive at James Bond Island.  It’s the island where some scenes for “Man With the Golden Gun” were filmed.  There is a small beach area and several viewing points of the memorable island (see below).  After this island, we move to an island with a floating gypsy village, where we are served a really nice buffet lunch.

It’s hard for us to believe we’re in Thailand! These are sights I never expected to see in person!

This is the familiar island as seen in “Man With The Golden Gun.”

On our way back to the marina, we notice the tide is out, and the boat is staying very close to the channel markings.  The channel is really narrow.  As we near the marina, we pass another of the tour speedboats that has run aground.  I wonder if that group had to pay extra for the extra special experience they had (or will have).  It was going to be interesting getting those 30 or so people off that boat at low tide with all the mud.  I’m really glad it wasn’t us.

Back at the marina we are led to our van for the half-hour trip back to the Renaissance.  We’re home about 5:30.  It has been a fun but long day, and we’re both beat.  15 minutes after we walk in, there is a knock on the door, and the hotel delivers a birthday cake for Judy.  I guess they had noted it from her passport.  It was a perfect topper to the day. 

Happy Birthday!!!

Special preparations are going on below in the restaurant for the big Chinese New Year celebration.  There are lots of colorful decorations.  At 7:30, fireworks kick off the evening.  There was supposed to be a big drum performance at some point, but we were both asleep when, and if it occurred.