Harbin, China

Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang province in northeast China. It is within 600 kilometers of Russia and lies on the banks of the Songhua River. The word 'harbin' means place for drying fish nets and the flat banks of the river suggest this was an appropriate name. We learned there have been several major floods of the river and one of the grad student's grandmother helped with sandbagging during one in the 1950s (photo is of flood memorial).

Heilongjiang means Black Dragon River from the Amur (Heilong) River, the northern border between China and Russia. The story is that a white dragon ruled this area and was cruel and wicked. The black dragon arrived and they fought for the land and the black one, good in nature, won.

The Songhua River, which means White River, is about 1500 km long and is a tributary of the Heilong. Its source is in the mountains that border North Korea and has several dams along its length used to generate electricity. The river freezes in the winter which might be the reason for its name.

Harbin is a big city of about 6 million people and has been a twin city for Edmonton, Alberta since 1985. It is famous for its ice sculpture festival in the winter. It was also an important trade city during the 1920s. European goods from Russia flowed through the city and into the rest of China. It began as a village founded by an engineer who worked on the China Eastern Railway, a part of the Trans-Siberian Railway. As it grew, it became an industrial centre and at one point, had the largest population of Russian Jews outside of Russia. They were a big influence on the architecture of the city.

Harbin is nicknamed Ice City because of its cold winters (average January temperature of -18ºC) but its summers are hot and humid (average July temperature of 24ºC).

The city has light industry although you'd never know that by the air quality. Although not as bad as Beijing, it did make breathing a chore. The soil surrounding the city is rich and they grow mostly grain crops, including rice.

Harbin Brewery is the oldest in China, founded in 1900, and is a source of pride. There are also seven universities in the city, the oldest being Harbin Institute of Technology. Glen's conference was held in the Harbin Medical University and we stayed at the Best Western Fortune Hotel Harbin.

No Passport, No Purchase

We rose at our normal time to leave on our adventure--a trip of a lifetime to Harbin, China. Our first leg was to fly to Vancouver. We left the house at 8am for a 10am flight. We could not check in on-line as an agent needed to see our Chinese visas. The airport was practically empty at this time so we waltzed through security. The agents were relaxed and friendly.

Since we had plenty of time, I suggested we buy a gift for the girl who was to be our guide in Harbin. Glen thought something from Vancouver would be nicer. We had over an hour to wait for our flight to Beijing so I agreed figuring we'd have enough time to shop. Not a wise decision as it turned out.

It was a lovely spring day in Calgary so we knew we’d have no weather issues to hamper our trip. Little did we know that we’d have mechanical ones and sit on the tarmac for 30 minutes. Flying is never easy, is it?

The captain assured us all that we’d make our connections but ours was on the other side of the Vancouver airport so we had to hustle to get to the international terminal. As we scurried along, we passed a duty free shop selling Canadian style jewellery. Since we had a few minutes, I chose a brooch for our Chinese guide then stood in line behind about 20 Koreans. Meanwhile, Glen went off in search of lunch. I told him I’d meet him at the gate. The shop was at Gate 52 and we were to leave from 73.

I waited and waited and the line didn’t seem to be getting any shorter. I finally figured out those standing had their spouses combing the store buying baskets of extra large chocolate bars (about 10 inches long by 3 inches wide). As I stood there, Air Canada made the final announcement for the departure of their plane to Seoul. The shoppers dumped their baskets and ran to their gate. I stood behind ones still paying when I realized they required both a boarding pass and a passport. I had neither as they were in Glen’s pocket.

I pulled out my driver’s license and they said no so I put back the brooch and began to run to our gate. I hadn’t realized how far it was and how little time I had. I found Glen and he had not bought lunch as there were no shops with food. Just as I stopped panting, they began boarding our flight.

Had I known how long it would take, I’d have returned to one of the three duty free shops I had passed along the way but hindsight is always twenty-twenty. In the end, we bought a maple leaf pin from the duty free cart on board the plane.

Suffice to say any flight across the International Dateline is long. Had it been evening when we left, I think we’d have slept more but we departed Vancouver at noon. They served lunch at 2:30pm and by this time, I was starving. I gulped down a chicken concoction along with two beers. Not much later, I fell asleep for an hour and a half. I had been ill the previous two days so I think this helped.

Supper was served at 8:30pm and I had a chinese beef dish. The food was pretty good. Glen and I read rather than watched movies so we could doze at any time. I slept for another two hours then they served us ‘noodles’. This made me laugh as it was like I was back at the Edmonton School of Ballet watching the dancers eating their noodle soup lunches--some made with hot water, some crunching on the dry noodles.

Not knowing when we’d eat again, Glen and I dug in. The Chinese flight attendant told us we had to practice using chopsticks but it wasn’t a problem. I soon learned it is much easier to eat these packaged Mr. Noodle soups with chopsticks than a spoon.

We landed close to midnight Calgary time but of course, it was 2:30pm the next day (Thursday, May 12th) in Beijing. The sun was shining so I think that helped get our bodies used to the fact it was daytime.

Our flight to Harbin, on Air China, was not until 6 so we had plenty of time to find our gate. Beijing Capital International Airport is the 2nd busiest in the world and for about 8 months in 2008, it was the largest. Terminal 3 is strikingly modern having been built for the Olympics and is a great place to people-watch. For some reason, the PA system was not functioning so when it came time to board, the attendant just yelled for everyone to line up. It was a crush. Not the first we’d experience in this country of so many people (1.3 billion).

I was so very tired by this point that I fell asleep the instant we took off (and maybe a bit before as I don’t remember taking off). Glen woke me so I could have ‘lunch’ which was a strange piece of meat, maybe beef, on a bun with a salad and fruit cup. I ate and went back to sleep. The flight was 2 hours long. The irony was we actually flew over Harbin on our way to Beijing but of course, we were at 30,000 feet (9000 meters).

Shu-Lin Liu, Director of the Genomics Research Center at Harbin Medical University and our host, met us at the airport with two of his grad students. Chun-Xiao, pronounced Tien-sh-ow (we think) and a young man whose name escapes me.

Our first impression of the city at night was incredible traffic with pedestrians, bikes, and cars weaving over the road. Horns honked all the time and we seemed to miss crashes by inches. The air quality was bad and what I thought was fog was actually pollution. It reeked of coal smoke (Alberta sells most of its coal to China) something neither of us had smelled in a long time.

We didn’t have the normal check-in routine as Chun-Xiao had our room key and Glen didn’t have to give a credit card imprint. We were escorted to our room having never touched our bags since landing. It was a bit overwhelming but we were too tired to think about it.

We tumbled into bed at 9:30pm which was really 6:30am Calgary time. Except for the odd nap, we had been on the go for 24 hours.

Royal Wedding

Since I didn't wake at 3am to watch, on a black and white TV, the wedding of Charles and Diana, I felt no obligation to wake at this unholy hour to see William and Kate tie the knot. Still, I did want to see footage of the event and caught an abridged version on an American network before we headed to the driving range yesterday morning.

After hitting a couple of balls, I was shocked when Glen asked me to help him with his swing. Who does that? And, who am I to be such an expert? However, I gave him some tips I'd gleaned from my golf book, Wii Fit Golf, and watching both the PGA and the LPGA. I've worked five years on my swing and have been told by several that it is a nice one. Not that it always works on the golf course, but it looks good on the driving range.

After our practise session, we stopped by Home Depot and that's when I realized Royal Wedding fever had hit Victoria. Most of Home Depot's women sales reps were sporting the trendy fascinator hats and several of the men, bow ties. Later, Glen saw a piece on TV about the pajama party at the Empress Hotel where participants watched the event while in pjs, robes, and fancy hats. They were also served a celebratory English breakfast.

After lunch we headed to Gonzalese Beach and saw our first Union Jack (see photo). We enjoyed a lovely sojourn sitting on a log watching people and their dogs cavort on the wet sand. Two liners plied the Straits of Juan de Fuca but no whale-watching boats buzzed pass as they do in the summer. The snowy Olympic Mountains peeked through the clouds beyond the strait's whitecaps.

On our way home, an old (perhaps 1950s vintage) Austin passed us bearing a Union Jack much like the hockey flags that decorate cars in this town now that the Canucks have made it to the second round of the Stanley Cup. Two woman with huge, festive hats were inside and they gave us a big smile. The Royal Wedding is something to celebrate and where better to do so than a town that is more British than Britain!

Putts, Parks, and Plugs

Okay, I took some artistic licence with the title but you'll understand why I couldn't resist the alliteration.

Today, we spent another soggy morning on Mt. Doug. It was worse after yesterday's downpour so the greens were sticky and the water hazards were the cups. Bonus was after each putt, you had a clean ball. The fairways were mucky on the hills and swampy in the dales. My score wasn't as good as it's been but I still managed to hit a 175 yard drive uphill and sink a 25 foot putt. Glen had some wonderful chip shots and his irons behaved themselves. We were one of three groups on the course so had the place to ourselves except for a large slug on the 3rd tee box and a hummingbird on the 6th fairway.

After lunch, I walked to Stadacona Park. We passed the park yesterday on our way back from a downtown lunch at Don Mees (love their dim sum) and shopping expedition to the Cowichan Trading Company (buying a gift for a friend). I had seen some beautiful rhododendrons but didn't have my good camera and had no wish to juggle my umbrella while I fiddling with my 'point and shoot'. Today, the cloudy skies of this morning became bright sunshine after lunch so I grabbed my camera and headed off. I spent a half hour happily snapping photos of flowers.

I left Glen to have play with his 'plugs'. Actually, they were light switches but that wouldn't have worked in my title and eventually he will also change the plugs. When we arrived in Victoria, I decided it would be nice to replace the old fashioned switches with ones like we have in Calgary. It would give the place a modern look and Glen a project to do while we were here. We stopped at Home Depot on the way home from golf and picked up most of what he needed. We'll have to make another trip tomorrow as nothing is ever easy when it comes to home renovations. He did the job quickly and it has made all the difference.

Sunny Day

According to the weather on Sunday, this whole week was to be rainy and cold. We weren't worried as there is always something to do in Victoria.

Sunday night we had a lovely dinner with Tony and Diane at Smugglers Cove, a pub near Cadboro Bay. The dining area is upstairs although there was one big table on the main floor. It was 'game night' so many Vancouver Canucks fans had their eyes glued to the TVs.

We arrived first so chose one of the two reserved tables and began with a pint of Driftwood Farmhand Ale. I had wanted Crooked Coast Amber Ale but they were out of that variety. I didn't like Farmhand at all so Glen drank mine (he said it was very hoppy) while I ordered a Philips Blue Buck, another local brew.

Tony and Diane recommended the pot pies so they ordered two steak and mushroom ones while Glen had steak and kidney. I could smell the kidneys so that was a good sign and Glen declared it as good as my stew. I had portobello mushroom ravioli which was delicious. The portions are huge so bring your appetite if you choose to dine there.

Monday, we hoped to play golf but woke to pouring rain. Glen had a few papers to review so I made a spaghetti sauce and did a laundry. After lunch I suggested we go to the driving range. Little did we know that half of Victoria would be there. Victorians take their Easter weekend seriously and Easter Monday is part of that holiday. We had learned this the previous day when our local mall was closed so I guess we should have anticipated the driving range would be busy. We lucked out, though, and found two stalls together. Part of the problem of having two sets of golf clubs (one here and one in Calgary) is that you must adapt to each set and that takes a bit of time. Practise on the driving range really does help.

After our session hitting balls, we headed around Mt. Doug to have coffee with Diane and Tony. He loaned us a cable to hook up my laptop to the stereo so we could listen to our music since I'd forgotten our iPod. This will also meant that any device (including Glen's phone) can play through our speakers.

Today dawned sunny so we were off to play another round at Mt. Doug. This time we didn't have to wait to tee off and could again play as a couple. Our driving range practise payed off as we both hit beautiful shots off the tee box. I actually bogied the first hole which set the stage for me. On the second hole, I hit the ball onto the green -- a first. The third hole has a long straight fairway and I hammered the ball 150 yards (the blue smudge on the above picture is the 150 yd marker). Since no one was behind us, I could snap of photo to prove I'd done so. Little did I know on the 4th hole, I'd hit at least 165 yards but then I struggled with my fairway shots to pooch that hole.

Glen did well and his putting and reading the green was spot on. I ended up beating him but only by 4 points so we were pretty even. I think that's what I'm taking away from our play this week. It is a game we can enjoy together in the fresh air.

I didn't want to waste such a lovely afternoon inside so we walked down Fort Street to a watch repair shop I had spotted on Saturday. I had brought Glen's old Mickey Mouse watch to use here since the lady who changed the battery in my Birks watch destroyed it. She tried to fix it to no avail so at the last moment, I had to find another watch to wear. The guy at J & J Jewellry & Gifts replaced the battery and I bought a new strap so it doesn't look so tattered. Must say it is nice to have the time on my wrist again. The only problem was the guy didn't take credit cards so we had to pool together what little money we had to pay the bill.

Gardens

Victoria is a city of gardens and in April, spring flowers abound. Our condo now boasts one of the best gardens in the neighbourhood with tulips, daffodils, pansies, and rhododendrons. A pink magnolia stands in one corner and is beautiful to behold.

Yesterday, after spending the morning in the kitchen making Italian Easter bread, we walked to our other favourite gardens at Government House in search of early rhododendrons. I had been there once in May and had enjoyed the profusion of colour but this time, there were very few rhodos in bloom.

Each time we walk the serene gardens of Government House, we enjoy a different aspect of these lush gardens. They are maintained by a core of volunteers so each season offers a different type flora. We especially like to sit on the benches of the Terraces which Iona Campagnolo created while lieutenant-governor. Here, we have a spectacular view of the Straits of Juan de Fuca and the Olympic Mountains of Washington state.

The daffodils and narcissa grow in profusion among the Terrace's granite outcrops and tulips also dot the landscape. Daffodils always remind us of Glen's mother, Bessie, as she was very fond of them. Her favourite poem was William Wordsworth's Daffodils:

I wander'd lonely as a cloud

That floats on high o'er vales and hills

When all at once I saw a crowd,

A host, of golden daffodils;

As I usually do when in the gardens, I photographed as many flowers as I could. I love using flower pictures as wallpaper for my computer and to capture the beauty of nature with the click of my shutter, excites me. Some flowers are so delicate one can almost feel their velvety softness in a photograph.

As we walked north along the Terrace with Government House to our right and the 'Wilderness' to our left, we came upon the fragrant herb garden. Well, in the summer it is fragrant but yesterday, it was still in its winter mode. The bushes of rosemary, sage, and thyme tamed within the confines of the classic English garden motif. I almost felt them defying the gardener's attempts to prune them as the spring sun encouraged their growth.

Beyond the herbs, the rose garden's bushes were skeletons of future glory. The fountain frothed at its centre but few visitors spent their time there since only a few scraggly black tulips brightened the area.

The duck pond, usually teaming with Mallards, was almost empty but a male's iridescent green head brightened the lonely place. On the meadow beyond the water's edge, we discovered mated pairs snoozing on the grass. They had no fear of us disturbing them.

We left the gardens to walk past Craigdarroch Castle and finally to Fort Street. Our destination being the Cuban Cigar Store where Glen wanted to buy a couple of cigars. His favourites are Cohibas and I must say they are a lovely, smooth-smoking cigar.

Saturday night is our traditional time for Easter dinner so Glen barbecued a standing rib roast and baked potatoes. I steamed some asparagus and we broached a bottle of Malbec to enjoy with the meal. We finished the wine after supper while Glen smoked his cigar. It was a perfect ending to the day.

Good Friday

In my experience, most Good Fridays are somber days with grey clouds, snow or rain which seems fitting for the day when Jesus was crucified. However, here in Victoria, yesterday dawned bright and sunny.

We'd made plans to golf at Mt. Doug but I called my mother first to wish her happy birthday. She is 88 and was off to lunch with her boy friend, Cecil, to celebrate. I told her I'd be dodging Canada goose poop on the course while she indulged in a seafood repast. She found that funny.

Mt. Doug in the summer is a lovely course set at the base of the mountain (a hill to any Albertan but mountainous here). Deer cavot on its fairways and eagles soar overhead. In the winter (it opens in February), geese are more numerous than golfers. I'd expected it to be the same in the spring but the geese were gone; no droppings to worry about but the course was almost bog-like. This made for some interesting golf.

Normally, we must pair up when we play Mt. Doug but yesterday we played as a twosome. This was good as our first two holes were pretty rough. The third hole offered me a chance to really smack my driver and I hit it 150 yards. I know this because it was in line with the 150 yd marker. The ball would have rolled further if it hadn't become stuck in the thick, wet grass. I don't think a mower had been down this fairway in weeks.

Glen hit a 'lucky' tree on the 4th fairway which saved his ball from entering the 5th and I hit a lucky tree on the 6th hole saving mine from the nearby stream. With golf, you take the luck where you find it. I also had a putt that lipped the cup, paused, then curled in. You can't plan that no matter how good you are at this game.

We finished the nine holes not scoring well but it being our first time on a course since Christmas perhaps this was inevitable. I beat Glen by 7 strokes which has never happened before but he was struggling with the old clubs we use out here. We'd bought them for Geoff when he was 14 so they are definitely old technology. Mine are not much younger. We hope to bring our Calgary clubs out here in the summer. That will give us 6 sets of clubs in our storage locker. Golf, anyone?

One funny aspect of our Good Friday game came from the fact that scattered across the course were tiny daisy-like flowers. They hugged the earth so missed the cutting blades of the mowers. The problem was they were white and I often lost my ball amongst them. Still, they were pretty even if they did look like snow.

After lunch, we headed to our favourite butcher, Slaters, and bought a roast for our Easter dinner and lamb chops for supper. We enjoyed some Philips beer in the warm sun on our balcony after a lively chat with our neighbour, Cynthia.