CHINA - Days 5 - 7

Day 5 - Shanxi Province

We drove for 4 hours to get to our first stop: the grottos. First, we stopped at a hole in the wall restaurant but before eating, Mike, Victoria and I all had to use the bathroom. The waitress took us outside and we started walking down the dusty roads. and walking. and walking. We started wondering where she was taking us. Finally we stop at this makeshift bathroom that was actually just a few boards propped up. Needless to say - when you stepped to the other side of the board - it was not a pleasant experience. After we were done, we all quietly walked away, looking down at the ground as we walked. Then Victoria says "How do you come away from that and pretend everything is ok." Here is a candid picture of Mike and Victoria at lunch. They don't look too hungry.

But enough potty talk - on to the grottos.
These were super cool. They're called the Yungang Grottos and were carved by the Northern Wei tribes in the 5th century! So, they were man-made caves with hundreds of thousands Buddhas carved in them. Gigantic ones, medium big ones and tiny tiny ones. So these things are 1500 years old. Did I say it was super cool? Well, it was.

remember, if you fancy to - you may click on the picture to enlarge.

Next was the Hanging Monastery
This was built about the same time - so a 1500 year old structure. But the freaky thing was it is suspended on the side of a mountain with a few wooden stilts. It was scary to climb around up there. We even had an emergency diaper change up in this 1500 year old suspended Monastery - that's just so Luke can impress future dates. "Yeah, got my diaper changed on an ancient hanging monastery in China. It was pretty cool. No big."
p.s. it was cold.



Day 6 - The Ancient City of Pingyao (also in Shanxi Province)

Before driving to Pingyao, we woke up in a city call Jin Chou that wasn't used to tourists.
It was "real" China.

In fact, when we left our hotel, we had a crowd saying goodbye. The fact that we were foreigners AND had a baby with us scored us the status of "the talk of the town" - probably for weeks.



But our fame had only just begun. Actually, I should say Luke's fame. This is what we experienced in Pinyao.


this doesn't even show HOW MANY people there were. This was just the inner circle. Luke was really a hit with the Chinese.

Pingyao is a 5th century city that is basically frozen in time. We couldn't drive into the city, so when we WALKED in, it is just striking. The streets are cobblestone and are adored with red lanterns hanging against the muted grey stone buildings. We stayed in a hostel was a preserved residental house from the Ming Dynasty! How cool is that. We slept on a Kang - a built in bed with a stone hearth base where a fire can be made to keep you warm at night.

looking out of our room. check out those great thighs!


our 2 monkeys


we liked these signs...

night photo - Pingyao



Day 7 - Pingyao wall and Qaio Family Courtyard

We climbed up on the wall that overlooked the city.

For all you scholars who visited BYU's international cinema frequently - you might recognize the photo below. The Qaio Family Courtyard was where "Raise the Red Lantern" was filmed. (I haven't seen it yet, but of course all the Hales had - so I'd better rent it soon if I want fit in.)


It was actually here, while we were waiting for a few to visit the restroom - that a Chinese man came up and tried to put a CIGARETTE in Luke's mouth!!! (he was trying to be funny) I was so used to people stopping to coo at him, that I wasn't even paying attention (and he was on my back). Luckily, Mike & Mike both yelled at him and pushed him away at the same time. After that, I didn't think Luke's popularity was so cute anymore.

Here is a bonus photo of Mike being silly:

oh - we are so fond of the silliness. Yes, indeed.