Shanghai, Xi'an and Hong Kong!

Shanghai

After only two brief days on the ship, we landed in Shanghai, China.  China brings out ambivalence in us – not the common usage of ambivalence suggesting disinterest – but the dictionary definition of holding two conflicting opinions about something.  We struggle with the restrictions on freedom and creativity imposed by the communist government, but at the same time we recognize that its authority has allowed China to make enormous economic progress in a short time. 

Shanghai, with its 24 million people, amazes us. It is a shining example of how quickly China has reformed itself and lifted 600 million people out of poverty in just a few decades. Much of Shanghai is a clean, modern city with amazing architecture.  We joined two SAS field programs during our brief time in Shanghai.  First, was “A Day in the Life of a Shanghai Citizen” where we visited a local community, danced with some senior citizens, visited a market and had lunch at a local’s home.  In the evening we went to an acrobat show, featuring incredible acts that are reminiscent of a Cirque de Soleil performance. While the flexibility of the performers astounded us, and the guy who could balance a large and heavy floor vase on his head and flip it from side to side was amazing, the sheer danger of 5 motorcycles careening around inside an enclosed 25 foot metal ball was breathtaking. 

Xi’an

We stare outside the airplane window as the vast city of Xi’an stretches from the snow capped peaks to the plateaus.  As we circle for landing, we are flying over hundreds of skyscrapers and countless big round chimneys belching grey smoke into the clouds. Surely this much city holds many more than the 12 million people we are told are living here.

A thick blanket of grey covers the city and it’s not possible to clearly see buildings only a few hundred yards away.  Xi’an is one of the top 5 most polluted cities in the world and our eyes and lungs confirm this.  Most factories have closed down for the New Years holiday and we are told the pollution is much better than normal.  It is hard to imagine it being much worse.  From the sky, it looks like a scene from a dystopian novelist’s imagination.

Xi’an is at least 3,000 years old and was the original capital of the first emperor to consolidate modern China under one ruler. It remained the capital for more than 1,000 years and through 73 emperors and numerous dynasties. We came to Xi’an mainly to see the famous terra-cotta warriors that were rediscovered in 1974 by farmers digging a well.  When Qin Shi-Huangdi was emperor from 247-210 BCE, he had 700,000 people build him an army that would protect him in the after world.   For 37 years, workers excavated pits below the ground and lined them with life-sized soldiers, horses and chariots, complete with actual weapons and made out of local terra cotta pottery.  They have uncovered 2,000 soldiers in 3 chambers, but our guide told us that 2,000,000 are buried in the 600 chambers that have been identified throughout the countryside.  The suggestion of 2 million comes from historical records that indicate the Emperor intended to recreate his entire standing army.  We don’t know if indeed they will ever find that many soldiers, but just seeing the 2,000 soldiers that have been fully excavated was truly impressive. 

In our time in Xi’an, the temperatures never rose above about 35 Farenheit, so we were bundled up most of our time there.  We shivered in our down jackets and hats during our lunch in a freezing restaurant, and after asking about heat, we learned that the Communist Party made a decision in the 50’s that no central heating was allowed below the Huai River. Unfortunately, Xi’an was south of the river.  Although the shops, exhibits and restaurant did not have heat, thankfully our taxi and hotel did!  

With only had two nights and one full day in Xi’an, we could have used more time to explore the walled city center and all the other history in the city.  As it was we got a flavor of the city and the warriors.  As restoration techniques advance, they will continue to excavate more and more soliders until the full extent of Qin Shi Huangdi’s work is exposed – including his tomb, which is said to be intact and contain fabulous riches. 

Hong Kong

After our brief Xi’an visit, we flew on to Hong Kong, a stark contrast to Mainland China.  Hong Kong was built by Great Britain over the last 150 years and was passed back to China in 1997.  China agreed to a hands-off policy for 50 years, allowing Hong Kong to mostly keep its own economic system, laws, border and currency until 2046.  China seems to be honoring this agreement in many ways, but the recent kidnappings of several Hong Kong journalists for exposing party members in China raises the question of how long China will be able to tolerate the freedoms in Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong we connected with friends, Jay’s brother, Loron, and his girlfriend, Fanny.   We spent our two days at Fanny’s place in Shek-O, a small seaside village about 25 minutes from the bustle of downtown Hong Kong, but still on the island.  We fell in love with Shek-O’s narrow streets, small neighborhood cafes and beaches.  Fanny and Loron were amazing hosts, giving up their bedroom to us, allowing us to adopt their 2 dogs for our stay and showing us around Shek-O and the downtown Hong Kong area. 

Although most people think of Hong Kong as a huge city, much of the land is undeveloped, hilly and forested.  A highlight was our hike on Dragon’s Back that wove us through the parklands above Shek-O.  Although we aren’t big city people, we definitely could see living in a place like Shek-O for several months as an overseas living experience!  Thanks to Loron and Fanny for showing us their city (and village)!

JAPAN – A TALE OF TWO TRIPS

Christy

Skiing in Niseko, Japan has been on my sister Kerri’s bucket list for years.  When I told her I was going to be in Japan in January, she immediately agreed to fly over and join me for an adventure. 

Niseko is on Japan’s northern island, Hokkaido, just south of Siberia.  Visitors flock to Niseko, the island’s largest ski area, because of the 48 feet of snow that blesses the area each year.  Kerri and I usually heli-ski together in British Columbia -- so we love powder!  Niseko did not disappoint.    

It snowed almost constantly during our visit bringing almost a foot of new snow to the upper levels of the mountain every day.   We avoided the marked runs and instead headed for the trees and numerous boundary gates the lead us to endless light powder.  Often, our last run of the day was as good as our first run.   

Hirafu, is Niseko’s hip small town that makes you forget you are in Japan.  It has been growing rapidly as more and more foreigners, especially Aussies, learn of the Niseko’s heavenly snow.  The bars and restaurants are small and welcoming and we indulged at Niseko Pizza, The Barn and a fondue restaurant – no, not very Japanese.  After eating “ship” food for 18 days straight, freshly made food was a refreshing change.  The last night we enjoyed Bar Gyu X, a quaint, neighborhood bar, where you entered through a small refrigerator door. 

After skiing powder all day, the onsen, traditional Japanese bath, was a welcome treat between happy hour and dinner.  (See my writing, “Quiet.”)  We stayed at the Hilton, which had a wonderful onsen and the best ski in/ski out location on the mountain.  It was not very Japanese and we had to take a bus to Hifaru, but it was comfortable.  Moku no sho or The Vale Niseko are other recommended options. 

While Christy was playing in the snow on the north island, the boys explored Jay’s old haunts on the main island. 

The Boys

After seeing Christy off to the airport bus, the boys (Jay, Luke, Ryan and Milton) headed into Tokyo to check out the sites there.  After a stop at a ramen shop and a quick visit in Akihabara, the electronics district, we continued on our way to the January Sumo Tournament! Despite living for six years in Japan and watching numerous events on TV, Jay had never actually been to a sumo tournament in person.  We arrived on the final day of the tournament so it was a perfect opportunity to share sumo with the family.  And it was an historic ending to the Tournament as we were present to see the first victory in ten years for a Japanese wrestler, after ten years of domination by Mongolian-born wrestlers.

The Japanese crowd went crazy when Kotoshogiku beat his opponent and clinched victory in the third last match of the tournament.  The tournament wrapped up with the best sumo wrestler in history losing his match and placing second.

From there it was off to dinner at a tonkatsu restaurant before returning to the ship in Yokohama. It was a relief for Jay to feel his Japanese skills come back day by day and be able to get around Japan easily.  As we start to head to other countries, travel will get a little more difficult as we don’t know the languages!

Our whirlwind tour of Japan continued the next day with the shinkansen (bullet train) past Mt. Fuji to Kyoto and a few days of touring just a few of Kyoto’s thousands of temples and shrines.  In our short stay in Kyoto, we managed to fit in a few more meals (yakitori, curry rice and more ramen) and visits to Kiyomizu, Kinkakuji and others.  A particular highlight was the visit to Shoren-In, a favorite of Jay’s from his first visit to Japan in 1988.  It was as serene and impactful this time as it had been so many years ago.

The following day turned into a marathon train day – covering 8 or 9 trains – on our way back to Kobe through Iga-Ueno.  As part of the memory tour of Japan, Jay took the boys (including Grandpa) back to the hometown of his favorite student, near where he taught English in Mie. Mrs. Ito had become his “Japanese Mom” and he even stayed with her and her family for a few months during his time living in Japan.  They had stayed in touch for several years but it had been a long time since Jay had been in contact with her or her family.

After tracking down the new location of their family restaurant, we were able to catch up with many members of her family.  Unfortunately, Mrs. Ito has passed away almost exactly a month earlier.  But it was a happy reunion with her children, grandchildren (who were in middle and elementary school way back then), and great grandchildren. Jay was able to see many of the family and even go back into the house where he stayed so many years ago to see the “shrine” set up for Mrs. Ito.  We were able to meet Hikari, her great grand-daughter who is going to study English at university this year and may come to visit us sometime.  In the end, while it was sad not to see Mrs. Ito, it was great to reconnect with her family and to be able to spend time with them.  We also managed to get some of the city’s famous katayaki (very hard cookies) for Christy while we were there.

We spend our final day in Kobe, tooling around the city on an eating and shopping tour.  In just four hours, we managed to find some good bargains and fit in ramen and the famed Kobe beef.  Overall, our Japan stop was a great opportunity to reconnect with a country we had all been to before, and to explore some new activities like sumo and skiing.  A good time was had by all!

RIP Itsu Ito

Semester At Sea Spring 2016 is Underway! Life at Sea!

On January 5, 2016, we traveled to Ensenada, MX and boarded our home base for the next 105 days, the World Odyssey.   This is Christy’s 4^th time on Semester at Sea (SAS) and our family’s 3^rd voyage together.  Christy first sailed as a student in 1990 and subsequently we have gone as a family, including Jay’s dad, Milton, on the Fall 2009 and 2012 voyages.  We love this program and can’t think of a better way to spend quality time as a family while learning about the world. 

 This voyage will take us almost all the way around the world as we head west from Mexico to Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco and finally England.  We plan to skip the ship leg between India and South Africa to see the Maldives, Dubai, Zimbabwe and Botswana.  And when we arrive in Europe, we plan to take an extra month exploring a few of the Eastern European countries that we have never visited.

Tomorrow, we arrive in Japan after 18 days at sea, including a brief stop in Hawaii.  Before we start sharing our experiences in the ports, we wanted to share what life is like at sea and why Christy says the ship is her favorite port.

We spend half of our 105 days aboard the ship; hence we get to know her and the daily rhythms better than any of the ports we visit.   The ship is a small microcosm of a University campus, with 549 students, roughly 100 faculty & staff, 150 crew, 26 kids under the age of 18, and 20 Life Long Learners (LLL).  Our family falls within this last classification of LLL -- meaning older adult passengers without a paid role on the ship.  This is the best of all worlds since we can be "students" part of the time, attending wonderful classes and all the ship activities (and we don’t need to take the tests, usually).  But we can also be more like "faculty" at times too, invited to present to students in classes and shipboard meetings, and mentoring them on a daily basis.  Lastly, when we don’t want to be students or faculty, we can relax, exercise, read, meditate, play games and just enjoy life at sea.

Many of our friends ask us how we stay sane on the ship and believe we must be going crazy after 18 days at sea.  We are far from bored and the days are packed with activities.  Our days usually start right before sunrise with meditation, yoga or a gym workout as the sun rises over the ocean.  We have seen more sunrises on this trip than we can remember.  It helps that we get to set our clocks back as we head west, thereby gaining extra hours every few days at sea.  After meditating, stretching, exercising and/or watching the sunrise, we have breakfast and then head off to class.   We have each chosen our favorite courses and even Luke and Ryan are sitting in on some of the college courses.  Today, Luke and Jay did a great job presenting to their West and the World class.  Yesterday, Jay spoke in two courses about his experiences in Japan and to the whole shipboard community in the evening.

One of the greatest benefits of traveling this way is meeting highly motivated and inspirational college students.  It is very rewarding to be part of their transformation as they experience incredible adventures and begin to see their world and futures in new ways.  We will be updating the blog pretty regularly for the next several weeks as we will begin to move rapidly through the first three countries on our list - Japan, China and Vietnam.  Please join us as we share our experience!

Orris 2014 Update!

After traveling to 28 countries in 2012/2013, in 2014, we focused on reengaging in our life in Boulder.   We spent time in Colorado and neighboring states and tackled some things that had been on our bucket list for a long time.  First, a few highlights from the photos on our New Year's Card:

Skiing Photo - Luke and Ryan took ski school at Eldora last year and now we are chasing them down the mountains.  The photo was taken in Snowmass last Spring Break.

Moab Photo - We mountain biked and camped for a week with our kids and the Cochella Family on the White Rim Trail.  Moab is a biker, hiker and outdoor enthusiast heaven.

Climbing the Flatirons Photo - After looking at these beautiful rocks that highlight Boulder for years, we finally hired a guide and climbed a challenging face.  It put us all outside our comfort zone.

Stapp Lakes Ranch Photo - We spent time enjoying our beautiful ranch and wildlife sanctuary every chance we could sneak away from Boulder.  Every year we are blessed with many moose calves.

Other highlights of the year:

Golf - Jay played A LOT of golf, which paid off with him winning the Boulder Country Club Championship on his birthday.

Biking - Christy biked a LOT, raced on her bike team and tackled the Leadville MTB 100 and competed in Road nationals in Salt Lake City.

Boys - Luke & Ryan attended Boulder Country Day and Jay and Christy were SOOOO happy not to be homeschooling them this year.  The boys thrived in school and have found a love for tennis.  It is hard to get them off their electronics, but we occasionally get them outside to enjoy nature! 

Volunteering - When Jay was not on the golf course or carting the kids around, he was at their school working on their board, helping fundraise and implementing the Aspen Seminar program in their middle school.

Volunteering II - Christy got re-engaged at CU on the board, mentoring, speaking, and also bringing the Aspen Seminar to the Leeds Scholar’s program. (Yes – we are passionate about the Aspen Institute and its leadership programs.) 

Work – Last but not least, we have been investing in many different opportunities.  The two most exciting ones are brackitz, a building toy company Christy’s friend invented and Sun Cups, an allergen-free premium chocolate company based in Boulder

Ecuador and the Galapagos – From Spanish Immersion to Island Paradise

After spending 6 months back in the USA, we decided it was time to pry ourselves away from our comfortable routine in Boulder and see more of the world.  We had intentionally skipped Ecuador on our extended travels earlier this year because it is relatively close to the US.  We took advantage of the kids’ Thanksgiving vacation and added more time, giving us 16 days to explore Ecuador and have two vastly different experiences: the first on the mainland studying Spanish and visiting the historic cities of Quito and Cuenca and the second, exploring the natural beauty and animal life in the Galapagos Islands.

We were surprised to learn that Quito, Ecuador’s capital, is at 9,200 feet, which makes this city on the equator surprisingly cool.  We spent a day walking through the cobblestone streets of the old town through big squares and charming narrow streets.  We had an adventurous climb up wobbly metal stairs to a high bell tower at one of the countless churches.  During our two nights in Quito, we tried to get some sleep in our hotel that was in the rocking part of town called Mariscol Sucre, a hot spot that doesn’t quiet down until after 2pm.   Since we are no longer party animals, we will stay in the old town the next time we visit.

We then flew to Cuenca, a historic old city that was a welcome respite from busy Quito.  We settled into a charming boutique hotel and began to immerse ourselves in the task of learning Spanish.  We took 20 hours of one-on-one classes over 4 days.  The boys had fun instructors who quickly learned they needed to get the boys outside the classroom playing in the park and browsing at markets.

We celebrated Thanksgiving in Cuenca and treated ourselves to a gourmet dinner at a hotel that served a turkey meal.  The kids loved the dinner and Ryan asked if we could come back for Thanksgiving dinner next year. 

When we were not in Spanish school, or recovering from brain overload, we explored the surrounding area.   The highlight was a hike at 13,000 feet in the national park of Cajas through beautiful rolling terrain.  When we left Cuenca, we drove through the national park and descended from over 14,000 feet to sea level in just a few hours.  The altitude and climate changes present in the small country of Ecuador are simply amazing.

From the bustling, commercial city of Guayaquil, Ecuador’s largest city, we departed on the second part of our vacation.  It felt like Christmas morning as we boarded the plane to go to the island paradise of the Galapagos.  We spent the first 6 days on a small catamaran called the Ocean Spray, run by Haugan Cruises.  The boat carried only 16 passengers, allowing us to explore the islands in a very private and intimate way and to get to know our shipmates.  Each day we went on multiple excursions to different islands, each revealing how starkly distinctive nearby locations and animals were from one another.  The Galapagos Islands are young volcanic islands, and many of the newest ones are a moonscape of black lava rock with mangroves growing where their roots could reach water.   Although the interiors of the islands seemed largely lifeless, the coasts were teaming with fish, penguins, manta rays, sharks, birds – and our favorites – iguanas, turtles and sea lions. 

The sea lion babies stole the show as they rolled around the ground like little puppy dogs.  They are often left alone for days as their mothers are out fishing.  It was hard to resist the urge to pick them up in our arms – which of course we couldn’t do since it would cause their moms to abandon them. 

Our Galapagos highlight was snorkeling with sea turtles.  On one occasion there were so many of turtles that we could not move without touching the ones that surrounded us.  We also swam with sea lions, penguins, cormorants, rays and marine iguanas that can stay under water for an hour eating the sea algae and moss.

We loved our catamaran experience and enjoyed meeting our fellow passengers on the trip.  Our guide, Harry, was fantastic and kept us entertained and educated.  On a few of the days the seas were rough and we started feeling a little queasy, but a quick nap or heading to bed for the night solved that problem.

We spent our final 2 days on the main island of Santa Cruz in a tented safari camp.  The camp was very beautiful and we enjoyed ourselves, but we would recommend that friends spend as much of their time as possible in the Galapagos on a boat.  It is a much more convenient way to see a diversity of islands and animals each day. 

Orris Takeaway's From Travel - PDF Presentation of our key lessons learned

Please click the following link to upload a presentation containing our key lessons learned from our nine months of travel.  We have started making this presentation in the community.  We are happy to share it with groups or individuals and take you through it in person.

OUR KEY TAKEAWAYS

Turkey - Meeting point of East and West

We could not wait to arrive in Turkey for two reasons: first, we had always wanted to experience this country where Europe & Asia intersect; and second, it was our last destination until we headed back home.

Our first stop in Turkey was the touristy Mediterranean beach town of Antalya in the south.  Imagine a beautiful strip of land positioned between the sea and the snow-capped mountains, a calm clean ocean, soft sandy beaches, endless swimming pools, numerous restaurants, and throngs of large German and Russian tourists.  It was a beautiful place, but we felt like we were in Disneyland with all the people, pulsating late night music and an overabundance of “all you can eat” food.  We realized once again that it is hard to “vacation” when we are in traveling mode.  We also confirmed that we are an all-inclusive resort’s dream family – none of us eat our weight in food and being hungover with two kids on the beach isn’t our idea of fun -- so we don’t drink much.  That will change in the next five years when the boys will be able to demolish a buffet in a single sitting!

After some R&R on the beach, we headed north for the real reason we visited Turkey - four days in the history-rich city of Istanbul.  Jay found an apartment in Sultanahmet, the old (really old) town with its narrow winding streets, uncountable restaurants, 1500+ year old sites and numerous tourists.  Swirling crowds were everywhere - it has been a long time since we have been in a place with so many tourists.

Istanbul is surrounded by water – sitting on the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe from Asia and connects the Black Sea with the Mediterranean via the Marmara Sea.  We spent our days walking to all the “must-see” sights packed into Sultanahmet – the Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and an ancient underground cistern built by the Byzantines.  We went shopping among the 3,000 shops in the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest and oldest “shopping malls” in the world.  And we jumped on ferries and trams to see the sights across the strait and spend the afternoon in Asia!  The food, the sites and the sounds (the four mosques in our neighborhood all fired up at 5 AM) were everything you would imagine in such a fabulous international city.

Istanbul was the perfect place to ease back into the Western world.  Next stop, a country that seems very foreign to us – the USA!