Several people complained they were unable to post comments without "joining". I think I've fixed this problem and everyone should be able to post whether they are a member or not. You may notice a few other changes; a new world map at the top and a hit counter at the bottom of the page. There are a few added buttons below each post that allows for quick feed back or you can email the post to a friend. Let me know if you like the changes or if they are just a distraction.
We have another trip in the works and hope to be travel blogging again.
A journal of our travels and experiences.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Where to go?
Paula and I have been brainstorming and searching for a destination for a trip in February. We have two Continental tickets that we have to use before early April. They are good for anywhere Continental flies. We've decided, maybe, on a more relaxing destination but have waffled on where to go. We originally planned Hawaii; neither of us has been there, but then started thinking about Paris. Or maybe, London and then take a train to Paris. Another idea is Singapore. We have friends in Singapore we could visit and then we could also see parts of Malasia. As you can see, we can complicate just about anything. Paula came up with Patagonia and that is high on my list to visit. It will be summer in South America and might be a great time to go. Please comment and give us your ideas and thoughts. We'd like to get this booked soon.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Going Home
We spent an easy evening in the Sofitel and have now cleared airport security and enjoying lunch and a drink in the British Air lounge before boarding our flight home. I'm proud of us - we actually handled our own luggage (kind of, I called a bellhop for an assist but since I placed the call I deserve all credit for ensuring the luggage arrived at BA). Paula, with pen in hand, filled out our customs card. Tough duty but I guess we can survive on our own.
Some interesting facts; I had a drink yesterday evening with one of the onboard staff responsible for our luggage. We traveled with a staff of 16 people on the plane but there were multiple people in each city arranging transportation, handling luggage, immigration, guides, etc... Paula and guessed 150 people or so. No way, Susan told me that there were about 1,000 people involved in the 12 countries we touched coordinating our visits. Wow, no wonder it was hassle free for us.
This has been an incredible adventure for us and, in some ways, changed us forever. It will take some time to digest what we've seen and learned but this was much more than a sight seeing excursion. We were allowed to meet, touch, and feel the cultures we visited. In some cases we ate and lived among some people that, a month ago, seemed so foreign. Our world is a much more interesting place than I knew. We've glimpsed a small part of our beautiful planet and been exposed to lives and people so different than us that it gives me pause. Some cultures that I thought primitive and poor I now see as rich in culture and history. The "poor" naked children in Papua New Guinea have strong family and community bonds; they are loved and cherished more than the latch key children in our community. One size does not fit all nor is one culture or society better than another. I'm not nearly as smart as I was a month ago.
I hope you have enjoyed following us on this journey.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Some interesting facts; I had a drink yesterday evening with one of the onboard staff responsible for our luggage. We traveled with a staff of 16 people on the plane but there were multiple people in each city arranging transportation, handling luggage, immigration, guides, etc... Paula and guessed 150 people or so. No way, Susan told me that there were about 1,000 people involved in the 12 countries we touched coordinating our visits. Wow, no wonder it was hassle free for us.
This has been an incredible adventure for us and, in some ways, changed us forever. It will take some time to digest what we've seen and learned but this was much more than a sight seeing excursion. We were allowed to meet, touch, and feel the cultures we visited. In some cases we ate and lived among some people that, a month ago, seemed so foreign. Our world is a much more interesting place than I knew. We've glimpsed a small part of our beautiful planet and been exposed to lives and people so different than us that it gives me pause. Some cultures that I thought primitive and poor I now see as rich in culture and history. The "poor" naked children in Papua New Guinea have strong family and community bonds; they are loved and cherished more than the latch key children in our community. One size does not fit all nor is one culture or society better than another. I'm not nearly as smart as I was a month ago.
I hope you have enjoyed following us on this journey.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Heathrow Airport, London
Istanbul
The morning we left Wadi Musa was bright and dry. We drove two hours east back to Aqaba and, once again were zipped through security and immigration. This trip has spoiled us, never touching or worrying about luggage, or filling out entry and exit cards, getting cleared through security and quickly escorted to our plane. In Papua New Guinea and China we were given police escorts to speed us through traffic. An interesting aside; in China, the motorists were fairly indifferent to the police's flashing lights whereas the Papua New Guineans would pull off the road or over curbs to clear the way.
Back to Istanbul - we flew into the Ataturk, the smaller airport in the middle of town, and had a beautiful view of the city. We flew directly over the city, out over the Black Sea and then turned 180 degrees and back to the airport. Again, an easy transfer - we didn't enter the terminal but were able to get checked through outside.
We drove along the Bosphorus on a pretty, tree lined street with flowers planted in the median and a narrow greenbelt or park separating the roadway from the sea. We boarded a large boat for a dinner cruise and to celebrate Paula's 55th birthday. We had a beautiful cruise on the Bosphorus along both the European and Asian shorelines. We had a beautiful view of the many palaces and mosques lit up along the shoreline.
The Golden Horn suspension bridge (9th longest in the world) was lit up and would change from white, to blue, green, and red. It was a great night and a wonderful way to celebrate Paula's birthday. We had a huge feast of a meal followed by birthday cake.
When we checked into our hotel, the Four Seasons Sutanahmet, we had another surprise, more birthday cake.
The hotel was a great old building located in the center of Constantinople (the old area of town located within the old city walls) adjacent to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. We had a large, spacious room with a view of the Hagia Sophia and an archeology dig.
A beautiful hotel with outstanding service.
Istanbul is a city of 16 million that spreads out in all directions and never stops moving. The streets, cafes and bars are teeming with people from 7:30 in the morning to the wee hours the next morning. There are mosques and palaces everywhere with intriguing, narrow cobblestone streets leading off to interesting shops and cafes. From everywhere is a view of the Bosphorus or Golden horn. The Bosphorus is crowded with ships, modern ferries and boats of all description.
I enjoyed the eerie call to prayer ringing out from all the many competing minarets. Istanbul deserves another visit when we can devote more time to enjoying her unique beauty and charm.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Back to Istanbul - we flew into the Ataturk, the smaller airport in the middle of town, and had a beautiful view of the city. We flew directly over the city, out over the Black Sea and then turned 180 degrees and back to the airport. Again, an easy transfer - we didn't enter the terminal but were able to get checked through outside.
We drove along the Bosphorus on a pretty, tree lined street with flowers planted in the median and a narrow greenbelt or park separating the roadway from the sea. We boarded a large boat for a dinner cruise and to celebrate Paula's 55th birthday. We had a beautiful cruise on the Bosphorus along both the European and Asian shorelines. We had a beautiful view of the many palaces and mosques lit up along the shoreline.
The Golden Horn suspension bridge (9th longest in the world) was lit up and would change from white, to blue, green, and red. It was a great night and a wonderful way to celebrate Paula's birthday. We had a huge feast of a meal followed by birthday cake.
When we checked into our hotel, the Four Seasons Sutanahmet, we had another surprise, more birthday cake.
The hotel was a great old building located in the center of Constantinople (the old area of town located within the old city walls) adjacent to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. We had a large, spacious room with a view of the Hagia Sophia and an archeology dig.
A beautiful hotel with outstanding service.
Istanbul is a city of 16 million that spreads out in all directions and never stops moving. The streets, cafes and bars are teeming with people from 7:30 in the morning to the wee hours the next morning. There are mosques and palaces everywhere with intriguing, narrow cobblestone streets leading off to interesting shops and cafes. From everywhere is a view of the Bosphorus or Golden horn. The Bosphorus is crowded with ships, modern ferries and boats of all description.
I enjoyed the eerie call to prayer ringing out from all the many competing minarets. Istanbul deserves another visit when we can devote more time to enjoying her unique beauty and charm.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:London, England
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Petra
The flight out of Africa was interesting. We traveled north over Kenya and Ethiopia, across Sudan, following the Nile over Khartoum and then into Egypt up to Luxor and then, a right turn across the Red Sea. A left turn over the Sinai to transect the full length of the Sinai from south to north. We followed the great rift from Africa to Asia. Aqaba, where we landed in Jordan, is on the border with Israel and is a sister city with Elat, Israel. We were minutes from Israel, 30 minutes to Saudi Arabia, and 20 minutes to Egypt. It was a two hour drive to Wadi Musa (Arab for Moses) through arid, rugged desert. Wadi Musa is believed, by Muslims, to be the location where Moses struck a rock and water came forth. There was a lot of excitement in town. King Abdullah had sacked the parliament two years ago. He decreed elections for parliament be held while we were in Jordan. There were many political gatherings, most with Bedouin black tents forming the perimeter for the rallies. Posters pasted to cars, horns honking, and chanting youth in the backs of trucks.
I'm quickly running out of adjectives to describe our many adventures on this trip. Again, we had under-estimated what we would see. It is a 2-1/2 mile winding walk through the narrow split or ciq before we got our first glimpse of Petra, the famous Treasury.
It was actually a temple but is called the treasury because it was believed King Solomon's treasure was hidden in the large urn topping the facade.
We foolishly thought that this was Petra, or at least, the bulk of what we'd experience. We were surprised; Petra covers several hundred square kilometers and I think we trekked through it all. The ciq began to widen at the Treasury and led into the necropolis.
You can differentiate the tombs from the houses, the tombs all have staircases at the top for the spirit or soul of the Nabataean to ascend to heaven.
The necropolis and acropolis were roughly divided by this theater that would hold 2,000 people.
The estimated population of Petra in the second century BC was around 25,000 people. There are houses carved all along the cliffs and up every side wadi winding up into the dry, rugged mountains.
There were two large tombs across from the theater. The largest is referred to as the Cathedral because it was used by the Byzantines as a church. The acoustics were great. As we entered, a group of Italians were singing hymns. The cut stone arches were added by the Romans after they conquered the Nabataeans.
There were also free standing buildings in the city center but all but one collapsed due earthquakes. There were huge column stones lying everywhere.
From the city, we hiked into the mountains to see the Monastery. It was a beautiful climb up about 3,000 feet. Most of the climb was up stairs cut into the sandstone more than 2,000 years ago.
.
We had beautiful views of Petra, Wadi Musa, and Wadi Rum but the Monastery capped off the climb beautifully.
We continued the short climb to the top of the mountain but had to stop and snap this picture.
I think Jennifer beat us here!!!!
It was a long walk back to the hotel but worth every mile.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I'm quickly running out of adjectives to describe our many adventures on this trip. Again, we had under-estimated what we would see. It is a 2-1/2 mile winding walk through the narrow split or ciq before we got our first glimpse of Petra, the famous Treasury.
It was actually a temple but is called the treasury because it was believed King Solomon's treasure was hidden in the large urn topping the facade.
We foolishly thought that this was Petra, or at least, the bulk of what we'd experience. We were surprised; Petra covers several hundred square kilometers and I think we trekked through it all. The ciq began to widen at the Treasury and led into the necropolis.
You can differentiate the tombs from the houses, the tombs all have staircases at the top for the spirit or soul of the Nabataean to ascend to heaven.
The necropolis and acropolis were roughly divided by this theater that would hold 2,000 people.
The estimated population of Petra in the second century BC was around 25,000 people. There are houses carved all along the cliffs and up every side wadi winding up into the dry, rugged mountains.
There were two large tombs across from the theater. The largest is referred to as the Cathedral because it was used by the Byzantines as a church. The acoustics were great. As we entered, a group of Italians were singing hymns. The cut stone arches were added by the Romans after they conquered the Nabataeans.
There were also free standing buildings in the city center but all but one collapsed due earthquakes. There were huge column stones lying everywhere.
From the city, we hiked into the mountains to see the Monastery. It was a beautiful climb up about 3,000 feet. Most of the climb was up stairs cut into the sandstone more than 2,000 years ago.
.
We had beautiful views of Petra, Wadi Musa, and Wadi Rum but the Monastery capped off the climb beautifully.
We continued the short climb to the top of the mountain but had to stop and snap this picture.
I think Jennifer beat us here!!!!
It was a long walk back to the hotel but worth every mile.
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Location:Widgeon Rd,,United Kingdom
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Serengeti, Tanzania
We may have found our favorite location on the trip. We were looking forward to seeing East Africa but had no concept of the vastness nor the quantity and variety of wildlife. This is a hard posting to write because there is so much I would like to share and describe but don't have the space (and you probably don't have the patience to read through my blather). The country is beautiful with wide green valleys dotted with acacia trees and the rocky, granite kopjes jutting up from the ground.
We flew a small, single engine plane from Kilimanjaro airport to the Serengeti Migration Camp. The one hour flight took us over the Great Rift Valley. Fantastic! We landed on a short dirt strip with zebra, wildebeest, and antelope on the end of the runway. We transferred to open top land cruisers for the 30 minute ride to the camp seeing herds of animals including elephants.
The tented camp is located on the Gambetti river. Many of you may have seen this river in documentaries of the migration where the crocodiles attack zebra, antelope and wildebeests as they cross the river. While tented, the camp was comfortable. We each had an individual large tent which made for some interesting walks to the main part of the camp.
Our front door.
Back porch
Bedroom
Lounge
Dining room.
During the first night we were up for hours listening to all the night sounds. Hyrax scrambled on the top of our tent while giraffes and elephants pulled at the trees. At one point, a lion made a kill in the camp. We heard a loud squeal followed by the huffing of the lion.
We spent the morning and afternoons on game drives through beautiful rugged country. We were continuously amazed about the large numbers of animals. In one day we saw 7 lions and uncounted numbers of herbivores. Our first close encounter with a lion was a large male sauntering through thick grass.
After seeing the lion we crested a hill and found hyenas feeding on a wildebeest: the lions kill. The hyenas stole the king's breakfast.
This big guy got tired of us and bared his teeth. It was mating season and the females would wake the male, they'd mate for a few minutes, roar and go back to napping. This process was repeated every 15 minutes or so until the female decided she was impregnated. This can last for weeks.
.
.
I think one of my favorites, though, is the Masai giraffe.
Note the zebra at the base of the kopje. Wildebeest are the most numerous followed by zebra.
We saw many more herbivores, primates and carnivores but there isn't space sufficient to share all these photos.
One experience I want to share occurred the night before leaving. After dark you couldn't go anywhere in camp without a guide due to the animals. After supper, Paula and I were being escorted back to our tent. We reached the bottom of the hill and the guide put out his arm to stop us; a hippo feeding on grass about 15' in front of us in the dark. We skirted the hippo and continued down the trail with flashlights out and eyes peeled. We made it about 100' when the guide pulled up short and started back peddling - cape buffalo straddling the path. The guide moved us off to another tent and then made noises which got the buffalo to move a bit off the trail. We took a wide circuit through the brush and, just about the time we located the trail, two more cape buffalo. The guide, Charles, was obviously uneasy and shaken at this point. A cape buffalo and hippo behind us and two cape buffalo ahead. We abandon all hope of using the trail and started up a rocky hillside through the thorny acacia trees. Somehow, Charles located our tent in the dark, saw us to our door, bid us good night and quietly slipped away.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We flew a small, single engine plane from Kilimanjaro airport to the Serengeti Migration Camp. The one hour flight took us over the Great Rift Valley. Fantastic! We landed on a short dirt strip with zebra, wildebeest, and antelope on the end of the runway. We transferred to open top land cruisers for the 30 minute ride to the camp seeing herds of animals including elephants.
The tented camp is located on the Gambetti river. Many of you may have seen this river in documentaries of the migration where the crocodiles attack zebra, antelope and wildebeests as they cross the river. While tented, the camp was comfortable. We each had an individual large tent which made for some interesting walks to the main part of the camp.
Our front door.
Back porch
Bedroom
Lounge
Dining room.
During the first night we were up for hours listening to all the night sounds. Hyrax scrambled on the top of our tent while giraffes and elephants pulled at the trees. At one point, a lion made a kill in the camp. We heard a loud squeal followed by the huffing of the lion.
We spent the morning and afternoons on game drives through beautiful rugged country. We were continuously amazed about the large numbers of animals. In one day we saw 7 lions and uncounted numbers of herbivores. Our first close encounter with a lion was a large male sauntering through thick grass.
After seeing the lion we crested a hill and found hyenas feeding on a wildebeest: the lions kill. The hyenas stole the king's breakfast.
This big guy got tired of us and bared his teeth. It was mating season and the females would wake the male, they'd mate for a few minutes, roar and go back to napping. This process was repeated every 15 minutes or so until the female decided she was impregnated. This can last for weeks.
.
.
I think one of my favorites, though, is the Masai giraffe.
Note the zebra at the base of the kopje. Wildebeest are the most numerous followed by zebra.
We saw many more herbivores, primates and carnivores but there isn't space sufficient to share all these photos.
One experience I want to share occurred the night before leaving. After dark you couldn't go anywhere in camp without a guide due to the animals. After supper, Paula and I were being escorted back to our tent. We reached the bottom of the hill and the guide put out his arm to stop us; a hippo feeding on grass about 15' in front of us in the dark. We skirted the hippo and continued down the trail with flashlights out and eyes peeled. We made it about 100' when the guide pulled up short and started back peddling - cape buffalo straddling the path. The guide moved us off to another tent and then made noises which got the buffalo to move a bit off the trail. We took a wide circuit through the brush and, just about the time we located the trail, two more cape buffalo. The guide, Charles, was obviously uneasy and shaken at this point. A cape buffalo and hippo behind us and two cape buffalo ahead. We abandon all hope of using the trail and started up a rocky hillside through the thorny acacia trees. Somehow, Charles located our tent in the dark, saw us to our door, bid us good night and quietly slipped away.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Serengeti Migration Camp
Taj Mahal
Stunned is probably the most apt description. We've all seen the Taj Mahal. It is as familiar to us in pictures as the Golden Gate Bridge or the Statue of Liberty. I thought I knew what to expect but the Taj is much more than can be displayed within the two dimensional space of a photograph. The building leaps at you as you enter the courtyard through the brown limestone gates.
.
The detail in the building is delicate and beautiful. This craft is still practiced in Agra.
The detail at the top of the frame is semi-precious stone (garnet, onyx, and the like) inset into the marble.
The inset script framing the door is a chapter of the Koran.
Paula has enough hanging from her neck to supply an electronics store.
Our hotel, the Oberoi Amarvillas Hotel, is considered one of the finest in the world. Incredible. It is only 800 yards from the Taj and all the rooms have a view of the Taj. The patio off our suite was about 15' by 20' over looking the pool with a view of the Taj Mahal
Here's the patio....
and the views.
Everyone on the trip griped about the difficulty of attaining an Indian Visa to enter the country but none of us thought it would be difficult to leave. We flew in and out of Agra through a military airbase. When leaving, our pilot got clearance to board the plane and depart. Once we were all onboard, the story changed. The Indian military decided we didn't have sufficient visibility to takeoff. Our pilot required 500 meters but the military decided 3,000 meters and then, in the spirit of international cooperation, reduced it to 1,500 meters but they decided when that would occur. The problem is that it wasn't fog or bad weather reducing the visibility but the air pollution. The air had the same haze the as the previous smoggy days. Our pilot negotiated with the military and agreed on the appropriate amount of whiskey and money to be handed over and we were allowed out of their polluted airspace with only a two hour delay.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
.
The detail in the building is delicate and beautiful. This craft is still practiced in Agra.
The detail at the top of the frame is semi-precious stone (garnet, onyx, and the like) inset into the marble.
The inset script framing the door is a chapter of the Koran.
Paula has enough hanging from her neck to supply an electronics store.
Our hotel, the Oberoi Amarvillas Hotel, is considered one of the finest in the world. Incredible. It is only 800 yards from the Taj and all the rooms have a view of the Taj. The patio off our suite was about 15' by 20' over looking the pool with a view of the Taj Mahal
Here's the patio....
and the views.
Everyone on the trip griped about the difficulty of attaining an Indian Visa to enter the country but none of us thought it would be difficult to leave. We flew in and out of Agra through a military airbase. When leaving, our pilot got clearance to board the plane and depart. Once we were all onboard, the story changed. The Indian military decided we didn't have sufficient visibility to takeoff. Our pilot required 500 meters but the military decided 3,000 meters and then, in the spirit of international cooperation, reduced it to 1,500 meters but they decided when that would occur. The problem is that it wasn't fog or bad weather reducing the visibility but the air pollution. The air had the same haze the as the previous smoggy days. Our pilot negotiated with the military and agreed on the appropriate amount of whiskey and money to be handed over and we were allowed out of their polluted airspace with only a two hour delay.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Terra Cotta Warriors
Another posting with more pictures than words.
Pit #3. The original site.
The horses were originally pulling a wooden chariot. The chariot burned when the site was sacked. The weapons carried by the warriors were real and stolen at the same time.
The remains of a chariot wheel.
They have unearthed 6,000 warriors and every one has a unique face.
On average, the warriors are broken into 300 fragments.
Pit #1
Pit #2. Many warriors are missing heads. They do not attempt to restore a figure unless they can confirm the look. If the head is missing or cannot be identified, the warrior is left headless.
.
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Pit #3. The original site.
The horses were originally pulling a wooden chariot. The chariot burned when the site was sacked. The weapons carried by the warriors were real and stolen at the same time.
The remains of a chariot wheel.
They have unearthed 6,000 warriors and every one has a unique face.
On average, the warriors are broken into 300 fragments.
Pit #1
Pit #2. Many warriors are missing heads. They do not attempt to restore a figure unless they can confirm the look. If the head is missing or cannot be identified, the warrior is left headless.
.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Over Mogadishu, Somalia
Monday, November 8, 2010
Delay
I'm behind on the blogs. I have another from China and one ready to post about India. The Internet has been too slow in the last two stops to send all these photos. I'll try to finish the posts for the Serengeti and Petra on our way to Istanbul and, hopefully, post all four from there.
Sorry for the slow reporting but there is some good stuff (and adventures) yet to come.
Paula's birthday tomorrow. We plan to celebrate with a dinner cruise on the Bosporus.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Sorry for the slow reporting but there is some good stuff (and adventures) yet to come.
Paula's birthday tomorrow. We plan to celebrate with a dinner cruise on the Bosporus.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Petra, Jordan
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Tiananmen and The Forbidden City
The morning we departed Beijing for Xi'an, we visited Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Even with a police escort, the one block drive took 20 minutes. Everyone in China wants a car. No one can own land, everyone lives in condos or apartments, so the Chinese dream is to own a car. There are 2,000 additional cars on the streets of Beijing everyday.
Tiananmen Square was packed with people queued up to see Mao's body. Mao's glass coffin is raised everyday so people can walk past and pay their respect. After circling the square, we fought, honked and made our way to the Forbidden City. This will be one of the postings where I use more pictures and fewer words.
One of the gates in the walled Forbidden City
A bronze lion guarding the entrance. There are always two, a male and female. This is the female, she has her left paw on a cub. The male has his right paw on a ball that represents the world.
A dragon turtle incense burner. There were many incense burners. Large, ornate barrel size burners in between the staircases to create a cloud like effect and animal shaped; cranes, hares, turtles, on terraces.
One of my favorite details are the mythical animal carvings on the eaves of the roofs. You can tell the status of the individual by the number of animals. It is always an odd number; 1, 3, 5...up to 13. This is 13 and represents the emperors residence. The Forbidden City is divided between the political buildings, scholars and generals, and the emperor's residence. The residence contains 9,999 rooms. Many of the emperors had as many as 3,000 concubines and 5,000 eunuchs living in the residence. The emperor was the only un-castrated male in the residence.
Here's another with 7 characters. The lead image in both of these is a man riding a Phoenix.
These are the rooms reserved for concubines. You can see this one rated three protectors on her eaves.
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Tiananmen Square was packed with people queued up to see Mao's body. Mao's glass coffin is raised everyday so people can walk past and pay their respect. After circling the square, we fought, honked and made our way to the Forbidden City. This will be one of the postings where I use more pictures and fewer words.
One of the gates in the walled Forbidden City
A bronze lion guarding the entrance. There are always two, a male and female. This is the female, she has her left paw on a cub. The male has his right paw on a ball that represents the world.
A dragon turtle incense burner. There were many incense burners. Large, ornate barrel size burners in between the staircases to create a cloud like effect and animal shaped; cranes, hares, turtles, on terraces.
One of my favorite details are the mythical animal carvings on the eaves of the roofs. You can tell the status of the individual by the number of animals. It is always an odd number; 1, 3, 5...up to 13. This is 13 and represents the emperors residence. The Forbidden City is divided between the political buildings, scholars and generals, and the emperor's residence. The residence contains 9,999 rooms. Many of the emperors had as many as 3,000 concubines and 5,000 eunuchs living in the residence. The emperor was the only un-castrated male in the residence.
Here's another with 7 characters. The lead image in both of these is a man riding a Phoenix.
These are the rooms reserved for concubines. You can see this one rated three protectors on her eaves.
Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:En-route Tanzania
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