Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1
Vietnam
Chapter 2
New Home
in Kofu
Chapter 3
Hong Kong
China,
&
Korea
Chapter 4
Yamanashi
Chapter 5
Society
Chapter 6
Hospital
Chapter 7
Nikko
Chapter 8
Holiday
Greetings
Chapter 9
Culture
Chapter 10
Holiday
Trip:
Kansai
&
Kyushu
Chapter 11
Mores
Chapter 12
Hankos
& Brush-
writing
Chapter13
Friends
Chapter 14
Festivities
Chapter 15
Okinawa
&
Nagasaki
Chapter 16
Hong Kong
&
Australia
Chapter 17
Special
People
&
Events
Chapter 18
Coming
to
Japan
Chapter 19
Letter to
Editor
Chapter 20
Teaching
English
Chapter 21 Hamamatsu
Chapter 22
Women's
Relation-
ships
Chapter 23
Reflections
on
Education
Chapter 24
Nephews'
Visit
Chapter 25
Thailand,
Korea
&
Home
Chapter 26
Taking
Stock
Chapter 3
Hong Kong, China and Korea
September 16, 1995
Dear Friends,
We have been back in Japan for 3 weeks now, and have decided we will be able to live here for a year. Tom was able to get a hair cut and order a pizza from "Chicago Pizza" in Japanese without too much trouble today. Marie is trying to learn some kanji (Chinese characters). It is quite a challenge. She is up to first grade level and doesn't expect to become literate. Thursday evening when we were eating dinner at a Mexican restaurant, a Japanese patron said, "You are lucky. Everyone in Japan speaks a little English." Well, he is wrong, but many do try.
We are settling in and having a great time. The year is going to fly by. Everything about the culture is fascinating to Marie, and Tom is back in his second home. We are exploring the area, getting to know new people, and resuming relationships with old friends. We are planning a reunion for the exchange students who studied at Perkiomen Valley for a year with the program Tom founded. There are about 22 students, and we have kept in touch with some over the years. Several have moved out of the country (One is in New Jersey, one in Sweden, and another in England that we know of). We're not certain how many are still in the area. It should be fun to plan the get together and to see everyone again.
Back to our trip -- From Vietnam we went to Hong Kong for a couple of days before going to China. Even though we spent almost a week in Hong Kong altogether, we didn't see much of it. It was raining every day that we were there, and a typhoon came through during our final stay, just prior to coming to Japan. Since the hotel was shuttered up and we were locked in for the day, we spend most of the time in our room at the Sheraton Hong Kong, playing Scrabble, reading, resting and watching the harbor from our window. We felt safe and secure in the room but were mesmerized by the ferocious winds and the large ships being buffeted in the harbor.
While in Hong Kong, we also had discussions with various people regarding their feelings about Hong Kong's change in status as it becomes part of China in 1997. People's attitudes ranged from "It won't really affect people that much," to getting dual citizenship in case people want to leave the country. The purser on our Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific flight indicated that she was very pleased about the impending change as it would mean the airline would be hiring more of her "own people" (the Chinese from the mainland.). A seatmate on the flight said that she expected very little change in her day to day life. An acquaintance who is in Hong Kong on business said that about 15% of the businessmen have gotten dual citizenship already -- many with Australia and Canada.
Meanwhile we wondered about practical things. For instance, in Hong Kong people drive on the left side of the road and in China they drive on the right. What would people do when they drive into Hong Kong from the mainland, or vice versa? How would the robust, democratically-inclined capitalistic people of Hong Kong fit into a more restrictive political/economic system?. What would be the fate of the widespread use of English? In almost every shop we visited, the staff spoke English, Mandarin (the official language of China), and Japanese, but English is the primary business language.
Overall, our impression of Hong Kong is that it is very crowded, aggressive, commercial, and not a very relaxing place to visit. It is a good stopping off place when traveling from place to place in Asia and we highly recommend the Sheraton, with its excellent service and wonderful view of the harbor. If you are going to stay there be certain to ask for a room with a harbor view. We also found it convenient and safe to leave all of our unnecessary luggage at the hotel while we traveled to other places. Although we would not put Hong Kong on our list of places to which we want to return, we do think that it is a worthwhile experience to go there at least once. A three or four day tour can give you a good overview of the city and just walking the streets is an incomparable experience. Of course we have no idea how different it may feel as it returns to the rule of mainland China.
For most of our China trip we traveled with a mother and son from England. This was an adjustment for us because we had had our own private tour throughout Vietnam. Elspeth was not crazy about Americans, and was angry because President Clinton had met with Gerry Adams, the leader of the Irish Republican Army. Her son, John, is working for the Bank of England in Singapore and says that it is a wonderful place to raise children. There was much talk about how England used to be in control of most of the world, and how territoriality and expansionism are natural and will always occur. That was frustrating to us, since we are both so sorrowful about war and the pain of inhumanity to people that we see all over the place.
Tom had been to Beijing before, but it was the first trip for Marie. Our predominate memories of China are of crowds, pushing and shoving, and of people who seem dower and repressed. Everywhere we went in Beijing it was crowded. People were generally rude. (We talked to other Americans later who had a different experience, so it might have been that we just hit the attractions at the wrong time.)
Traffic was not as diverse as in Vietnam. Here there were more cars, but there were a fair number of bicycles. Rickshaws (known in Vietnam as cyclos and a common form of transportation there) are outlawed by the Communist government in China because of the rickshaw's association with the period of foreign domination. Having to pull foreigners around was a symbol of subservience that the new leaders wanted to scourge from Chinese society. When Tom visited China in 1987, he noticed that there was a power struggle between drivers of automobiles and bicyclists. At that time the cyclists were still winning the battle at intersections. During this trip, bicycles still outnumbered cars, but it is clear that cars control the roads. People drive fast and aggressively and one guide mentioned that it is a big problem, resulting in many accidents.
Other interesting experiences were seeing small boys with openings in their trousers (no underwear) so that if they needed to defecate, they could easily perform that function right on the sidewalk. A parent would then scoop it up and deposit it in the trash. Generally the toilet facilities were the worst that we encountered anywhere in our travels. One common denominator in all of Asia is that it is perfectly acceptable for men to urinate publicly, and we encountered that wherever we went. The one exception to that might have been South Korea, which was the most "western" of the Asian countries we toured.
We were not surprised that there were two different prices for tourists, one for the Chinese and another for foreigners. That is not uncommon in some countries. We encountered it in Vietnam and in Thailand, later on, but it was not as blatant. However, we were surprised that the lines for tourist attractions were separate. One line was for foreigners. The other line was for the Chinese and "compatriots," from Singapore, Taiwan, and, of course, Hong Kong.
It was exciting to see and climb the Great Wall. However, if we go back, we would like to go to a portion that is not so tourist-laden. There is no doubt about the Wall being China's #1 tourist attraction. The area was overflowing with buses and people. Souvenir shops and food stalls abound. Wall's drugstore was represented by several umbrellas. The attractions included a stuffed camel, on which you could pose for a picture. The wall, likewise, was crowded and it was difficult to appreciate the experience. Although China seemed generally colorless, we did have some very nice interactions with people. In spite of the heat and the press of people we climbed on the wall for about an hour. A large group of young Chinese man insisted on having their picture taken with Tom, because they were impressed with his walking up to the top of a section of the Great Wall - a very steep incline. It was a tough climb but well worth the effort.
Commercialism at the Wall. Note the Wall in the Background
Our guide for the Beijing portion of our trip, Helen, was not particularly open or personable. She had everything timed down to the minute, and her presentation was precise, rehearsed and politically correct. Helen would say, "You have 22 minutes to see this area. Be back here in 22 minutes." When it was time to go, she would just start walking at a brisk pace, umbrella raised, and not look back. She was very efficient and well informed in a "party line" way, but she did not seem to enjoy her job very much.
Time to go!
We knew better than to ask Helen about the Tiananmen Square massacre, because we were aware of China's official stance. It never happened! It is a story manufactured by the Western press for propaganda purposes. There was no time for us to see Mao's body, as the line to get into the mausoleum was an hour long. We were fascinated to see a giant lighted display in Tiananmen Square with a countdown in seconds and in days until Hong Kong would become part of China.
Countdown
The Ming Tombs were a disappointment ( they are empty) -- but we knew that before we went. However, there are some beautiful views of the valley where many of China's emperors are entombed. It is still a "must see" for tourists. In addition, there are many views of the Great Wall on the way to the tombs. That ride gave us a better idea of the expanse of the wall. We exclaimed with delight each time we saw another portion of the this amazing structure.
The totality of imperial authority is evident in the Forbidden City and the Temple of Heaven. The former is a square mile enclave constructed in the center of the ancient capital. It was home to the thousands of people who maintained the emperor and the members of the imperial court. It is difficult to appreciate the wealth that was contained in the Forbidden City. The buildings were emptied of their treasures by the Nationalist leaders and taken to Taiwan when a communist victory seemed certain. All that remains are magnificent, empty buildings. A good movie to see about the Forbidden City is "The Last Emperor." We viewed it just before going on the trip and it helped us to understand the history and significance of the site and to get a feel for living there.
Everything about the Temple of Heaven emphasizes harmony. The structure is circular and considered to be one of the most "perfect" buildings in the world. Once a year the emperor spent time here performing purification rituals and prayers to guarantee that the gods would provide China with an abundant rice crop. A poor crop could be grounds for overthrowing an unpopular ruler, so emperors probably took the ceremonies very seriously.
In spite of the jostling crowds, the summer palace was impressive and worth seeing. It was built on the outskirts of Beijing as a retreat for the empress from the stifling heat and dust of the city's summer. A manmade lake for refreshing breezes or boat rides, verandas on the cool hillside and hundreds of feet of covered walkways were provided for the empress' comfort. Resting at anchor in the huge lake is the famous marble boat picnic pavilion. After the lengthy persistence of her advisors, the reactionary ruler gave in to their demands to spend money to modernize China's military in the face of Western incursions. She used the money to build a marble steamship for her personal pleasure.
One highlight of our Beijing trip was the Peking duck dinner and traditional Chinese dance performance in the Gloria Plaza Hotel, where we were staying. However, our favorite meal and most enjoyable evening in China was when we had dinner in the Vietnamese restaurant in our hotel and we were entertained by Vietnamese musicians and dancers. Since we were still processing our experiences from Vietnam, the music had quite an emotion impact on us After the musicians became aware of how much we were enjoying their music (most of the other diners were ignoring their performance), they honored us with renditions of the theme from "Love Story, "Swanee River," and "Edelweiss".
While in Beijing, preparations were underway for the UN Women's conference and there was much controversy, including the fact that Wu, a renowned scientist and a pro-democracy activist, was still being detained in China. While in Beijing, some of Marie's meals were half price in celebration of the upcoming Women's Conference. Since coming to Japan, it has been interesting to read about the various developments at the conference. We were surprised that we didn't feel uncomfortable about being Americans in China, given the strain in relations between the US and China.
From Beijing, we took a flight to Xi'an, which was a new experience for both of us. While in Xi'an we went to the site of the pottery army and the beginning of the Silk Road. Along the way, we saw the house where Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by his own officers in the 30s, many burial mounds, an emperor's summer retreat at Huaging Hot Spring, and various other sights .... but the best part of Xi'an was our guide, Sonny!! Sonny, was wonderful .... a bright lady of 41, who was quite open about her political views. She was bubbly, intelligent, educated, and had a great sense of humor. When she learned that Tom teaches world cultures, she was enthusiastic about giving a more in depth view of China and its history. Sonny said that during the Cultural Revolution, she was sent with classmates from school to go live in the countryside to be reeducated. Her father was sent to another area of the country, and her mother and sibling remained at home. Sonny said that she managed to get through the experience without too much trouble, but her father died very early, as he never recovered from the effects of his experiences. (Since coming to Japan we have read a book called Wild Swans, written by Jung Chang. It is a book that chronicles three generations of Chinese women, with much insight into China's modern history. It was difficult not to think of Sonny as we were reading it. We would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in getting an inside view of that time in China.)
It was also during this portion of our trip that we had our only woman driver. She was delightful - 44 years old, with a teenage son. She didn't speak English, so Sonny interpreted for her. Sonny told us that they were both good Chinese women, because they each have only one child, although Sonny was a better Chinese citizen because she did it the right way and waited until she was 31 to have her child. (She said it tongue in cheek.) Throughout China we were reminded of the "one child" policy, (which Vietnam is now trying very hard to encourage-- though not yet with the extreme measures employed by China).
Tom was especially excited to see the beginning point of the Silk Road in Xi'an. The Silk Road was one of the world's great trade routes from the 2nd century B.C. until the 16th century. Its paths stretched across Asia to the Middle East where trade routes linked up with those going into Europe. It was the road traveled by European traders to China, including Marco Polo, until the faster and safer sea lanes of the 16th century were developed. The trade between China and the West was largely one way, as the Chinese looked with disdain upon most products the western "barbarians" had to offer. The memorial at the beginning of this route portrays camels that were used to carry the trade goods.
The Beginning of the Silk Road
The pottery army is indescribable. It consists of over 10,000 life size terracotta figures of warriors (no two alike), along with their horses, that were formed more than 2,000 years ago to watch over the emperor's tomb. One theory is that Qin Shihuang was afraid that after he died his tomb would be robbed. The terracotta army was an elaborate plan to insure against that eventuality.The figures were a humane improvement over the earlier practice of killing servants and soldiers to care for and protect the emperor in his next life.The figures were discovered in the early 1970's, by farmers digging a well. The entire site (several acres in size) is under roof, and no one was allowed to take pictures. Although some people were brazen enough to do so anyway, we were afraid that we would be thrown in jail and have the sky fall down if we took a picture. (The super ego is such a burden sometimes.)
We also visited the site of a Neolithic Banpo village, whose inhabitants are thought to be the ancestors of Native Americans. The village appears to have been occupied from 4500 BC until around 3750 BC. This display was also under roof, and was quite interesting. This site, along with the others, is evidence of the Communist government's efforts to make the Chinese people more aware of their history and culture. Previously, archaeological and other historical research was discouraged, because the goal was to create a new China and escape their oppressive past.
Guangzhou is the most "Western" city in China and was quite different from the other cities we visited. It is to China what Ho Chi Minh City is to Vietnam. It also is the closest major city in China to Hong Kong, geographically. We only spent a day there before taking the train back to Hong Kong -- just arriving before the full impact of the typhoon hit the area. (Several days later we read in the paper of fatalities that occurred along the stretch we had ridden on the train from Guangzhou.) In Guangzhou we saw the memorial hall built in honor of Sun Yat-sen, considered to be the father of the Chinese Republic. Tom wondered whether the US had not made a mistake by not giving him more support, since his Nationalist Party later turned to the Soviet Union for assistance.
We also visited Yuexiu Park, the largest park in the city. There are many parks throughout the city, beautiful wooded gardens in the middle of a very modern bustling city, and residents - especially older people -- go to the parks daily to do Tai Chi, and other exercises, or to walk their caged birds. It was in Guangzhou that we saw a huge McDonalds with its own parking garage. We explored the city on foot and think we would like to go back to see more.
McDonald's -- check the parking garage on the left
When we arrived in Japan it was the hottest weather they had had in 100 years and very humid. Our apartment is lovely, but lacks air conditioning. Nevertheless, we were chagrined to discover we would be going to Seoul, Korea for a week. We knew we needed to go for a day or two to get our visas to stay in Japan for a year. However, Tom's school (Eiwa) had planned a week for us in a luxury hotel in Seoul and told us to take a nice vacation. At that point we just wanted to crash. But you don't look a gift horse in the mouth in this culture, and with flagging spirits, we packed a bunch of casual clothes in a suitcase and left for Korea. We had no idea what kind of place we would be staying.
What a surprise. Seoul is a lovely city, and we were informed by our Korean friend that we were staying in the best hotel in the city. Had we known what the Shilla Hotel was, we would have packed better clothes. The doormen and other help were formally dressed, and there were six very elegant restaurants in the hotel, including French, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, as well as a coffee shop and bakery. From our room we had a good view of the Seoul Tower and the downtown area of Seoul. We received a formal invitation to a cocktail party for the last night we would be there, but we declined, since we didn't have appropriate clothes. We were "traveled-out" at this point, and a bit intimidated by the grandiosity of the place, so we didn't enjoy it as fully as we might under different conditions.
In Seoul we walked and walked, exploring the city and sweating in the sweltering heat. The electronics district is something to behold and outshines the Ikahabara district in Tokyo. Things are much cheaper, too. But we were overwhelmed with the immensity of the place and too intimidated to do the requisite bargaining. Besides, we didn't feel like dragging more baggage back to Japan -- even though we had intended to buy a printer for our laptop computer and a VCR.
While we Korea, Tom contacted a teacher he knew through a video exchange program which was initiated by a Montgomery County intermediate unit consultant. Tom had helped to make a video to be shown in Mr. Lee's class in Seoul. Mr. Lee and his wife were delightful and spent several days showing us Seoul, taking us to their home, and feeding us. They introduced us to ancient traditional Korean food in the folk village and took us to a wonderful Korean restaurant owned by Mr. Lee's best friend -- excellent!! We definitely want to go back there. They wanted us to learn all that we could about Korea and they are both eager to learn all that they can about the US. After just a couple of days with them, we felt like we have known them for a long time. They plan to visit us in Japan and we hope to go see them again in Korea. Tom is also hoping that Mr. Lee will be successful in getting support to develop an exchange program with PV.
Seoul was destroyed during the war, with the exception of a few ancient palaces, so most of it is new. It has an interesting contrast of the old and the modern, with many signs of prosperity. As we approached the city, traveling from the airport, there were several times when we thought we were near center city. However, as we approached the many tall buildings we discovered that we were looking at some of the massive building programs going on in a vastly expanding city. The Lees had just moved to a new apartment in the suburbs and were proud to show us their home. We were impressed by the size of it, compared to Japanese homes, and the modern appliances that they had, including a refrigerator as big as the one we have at home. (About four times the size of the one we have here in Japan.)
In the city, itself, we were entranced by the underground shopping malls and all the open air markets. It was crowded and pushy -- but had a different feel from the crowds in Hong Kong and Beijing. Every time we looked confused, men would offer to help. They were quite paternal. Invariably, when one man came to give us directions, another would step forward to tell us he knew a better way. And they all thought we were nuts for wanting to walk places when we could take the subway. They are quite proud of their new subway, and rightfully so. It is clean, modern, efficient, and easy to use.
We also had not realized the size of the US military in Seoul -- an imposing presence. It seemed incongruent in the midst of all the prosperity. It also seemed incongruent to see US military personnel in their camouflage uniforms leaving the Shilla Hotel early in the morning. Do the budget watchers in Washington know about this?
Farmers Dance at Folk Village
Between our walking tour and the Lee's guided tour, we think we got a pretty good overview of Seoul. Primary tourist attractions are the Folk Village and Seoul Tower, as well as the palaces. The folk village contained sample dwellings and activities from the different regions of Korea. Entertainment there included dancing (Farmer dancing), a traditional Korean wedding, and craft making. Mr. Lee likened it to Williamsburg in the US. (Our guide, Tin, had said the same thing about Hoi An in Vietnam.) From the top of the Seoul Tower we had an excellent panoramic view of the city. We decided to save the palaces for a later visit. We have seen many palaces, shrines, temples, pagodas, and tombs during the trip.
It rained very hard during our last couple of days in Korea, but the brunt of the storm came after we left. The devastating floods occurred within a day or so after we got back to Japan. We are hoping that our friends the Lees are okay. The Japanese papers are printing stories of North Korea's requesting financial aid from Japan, and they are asking for rice from South Korea. Historical events because they have not requested aid before from either country.
It seems just about impossible to visit different countries in Asia without seeing many ironies and without reflecting on the horror of war. We often commented on the juxtaposition of our trip with all of the anniversaries and political events going on. We traveled to Vietnam three days after the announcement of normalization of diplomatic relations with the US and about the time of the 20th anniversary of the end of the war -- much of the news in Vietnam was related to the war's aftermath and of Vietnam's joining ASEAN. We arrived in Japan two days before the 50th anniversary of the end of WW II, and the news here has contained much discussion of Japan's war crimes. Last week when we attended the annual festival at Eiwa, a survivor from Hiroshima spoke and displayed pictures of the scene drawn by survivors. In Korea, the papers included many articles about Japan's war crimes and oppression in Korea, and whether reparations should be in order. The same was true in China. There is much written about whether Japan should pay the former sex slaves direct reparations, rather than to a general fund. Also, we traveled to Korea about the time that the memorial for the US Korean vets was being dedicated in Washington, DC. . Traveling to these countries certainly does put a lot into perspective, and also makes one question ..... Tom was much more aware of all of the political, cultural, and historical nuances before the trip, and Marie was viewing much of it from the perspective of her work with vets (WW II, Korea, and Vietnam) for the last few years. It is so much to process and put into perspective. One thing we know is that we both hate war, and we wish people could get to know each other as human beings -- rather than hurt each other.
As we were reflecting on our experiences with one of the Eiwa exchange students, we mentioned that we were very surprised to be so warmly welcomed in northern Vietnam. She mentioned that she had the same feelings and the same experience when she visited Korea. She was surprised to be told that Koreans like the Japanese. She reflected that she only interacted with people who were too young to remember the war and thought that might be a factor. Nevertheless, it was a nice experience.
In addition to the serious human dramas that will play in our minds from our trip, we will savor many images that are light and playful. Watching the children playing in the park in the middle of Ho Chi Minh City, after it was dark and, therefore, cool enough to come out and play. The children catching, playing with, and then releasing cicadas in Korea. Children catching dragon flies with nets in the grassy areas in China. Watching a game in Vietnam that looked something like badminton, except that the players moved the birdie with their feet (we were fascinated and couldn't believe their coordination and skill). People of all ages playing gate ball (croquet) in Japan. Some of our sharper images are people's faces as they interacted with us or as we watched them from a distance. The children are especially memorable, and we were struck by their innocence and the hope for the future that they hold.
In our next letter we will write about our further adventures in Japan. If you are planning to visit us, please get in touch, so that we can start making plans. The rates seem to be down now. We have seen ads in the paper for round trip airfare for as low as $800 from Tokyo to California - a little higher to New York. So there must be good rates from that direction, too. Also, the value of the US$ is up now and that makes travel to Japan more affordable. We are eager to show our friends Japan.
Stay well!
Tom and Marie
