Southeast Asia

Built in the 1400's, the Temple of Heaven was a religious place for the emperor to pray for good harvests. It was the place where the Olympic torch was received before being taken to the Olympic Park for the start of the games. It was built, as all the palaces we've seen, without nails. They used a peg system.

Outside the Temple is a park where retired people gather to exercise, play hackey-sack, match-make for their children by laying down papers on the ground with vital information about their child and the type of mate they are seeking. It is considered embarrassing to have a daughter or son over 25 or 30 who is not married- at least by the older generation...a sentiment not necessarily shared by their grown off-spring!

Men in China retire between age 55-60 and women retire between 50-55. So they have plenty of time to exercise at the park. They also dance, sing and play cards.

Later in the afternoon we were taken to a four story pearl market. This is the place to buy pearls. In the evening, we went to a very famous Kung Fu show.Read more