Another episode of Travel Diaries, the world told through your adventures! This time, Lucia, born in 1955, our client and friend, tells us about her experience. She’s a special person, always bringing a little piece of the world back with her every time she returns from her travels. Lucia travels primarily to pursue her passion, Tai Chi, an ancient Chinese martial art born as a combat technique, also known as “meditation in movement,” based on slow, fluid movements combined with deep breathing.
This time, her passion has taken her to Thailand, China, and Hong Kong, and we asked her to tell us all about it in great detail!
Lucia’s travels thanks to Tai Chi
I come from figure skating, gymnastics, and thirty years of equestrian competitions. My Physical Education colleague recommended Tai Chi to me when he learned that my horse had passed away. At the time I had no intention of buying another one or continuing to compete.
I approached Tai Chi in a fairly general way, trying to attend classes. Then I met my Chinese teacher, who represents the fourth most important family in China, the Dong family, and who lives in New York. His seminars were increasingly interesting, so much so that I began following him around the world and online as well.
Italy was the first place I attended seminars organized by my teacher. Seminars that enriched me even more, culminating in my 18-days experience in Thailand. It was there that I met expert people who recommended readings, lectures, and gave me advice on nutrition. The first step toward a completely new lifestyle: Tai Chi combined with a diet aimed at reducing inflammation.
The seminar in Thailand was followed by one in Rosendale, an hour from New York, and one in Greece, for which I had to ask the teacher’s permission to participate. Actually they didn’t accept everyone, only students of a certain level who were able to follow the various forms the teacher would practice during the seminar.
The Tai Chi “Chinese challenge”
Little by little, over the years, having followed his interesting seminars, I became intrigued by this “Chinese challenge”. In Thailand we trained for five hours a day in 36°C (97°F) and then left for two weeks in China, where we trained in the morning from 6:30 to 7:30. Then we had the time to visit amazing cities and places. Then we arrived in Hong Kong.
Competing in a world like that, judged by the Chinese, was truly a great satisfaction! I didn’t expect the result I achieved, and it was important for me, because it convinced me to continue on this path. Tai Chi helped me with psoriatic arthritis and regaining 90% of my movement.
From Bangkok to Changsha
The trip to China was organized by the Chinese teacher through a Chinese agency. We traveled extensively, never staying more than two nights in the same hotel.
From Bangkok, Thailand, we flew to Changsha, a beautiful city with many skyscrapers where at night colored lights were projected onto the river. Hotel breakfasts always included rice, sometimes we found coffee, but usually only hot water. All hotels had free laundry facilities.
We explored Zhangjiajie, where the movie Avatar was filmed. The visit to the Gate of Heaven was very beautiful, even though we couldn’t climb the 1,000 conventional steps to reach it. The most fun was navigating the 99 curves to get there, aboard minivans that sped by like rockets! The other attraction in the area is the glass bridge that spans the canyon. You must wear special shoes to cross it, as it’s very slippery; it feels like walking on ice!
The next stop was Guilin with its terraced rice paddies. We then saw pandas and moved around every day or two, attending reenactments and legends, and theatrical performances, gliding down rivers at night in boats lit by red lanterns.
Two odd things!
The people of China are incredibly kind and gentle. One evening at dinner, a very strange episode occurred! To “honor” me, they placed a roast chicken in front of me, complete with head and neck, resting on a steel pole. This chicken seemed to be looking at me, and I got scared and ran away!
Another “odd” thing at dinner was the fact that there were fresh vegetables, and I tried them. I then noticed everyone looking at me strangely, telling me that in China vegetables are only eaten cooked!
Hong Kong
The trip ended in Hong Kong. The view from the hotel room on the 57th floor was so spectacular that my friend and I decided to sleep with the curtains open!
A Chinese friend told me an anecdote about Nina, the name of the hotel chain where we stayed. She was a lady of modest origins who had married a very wealthy Chinese man who mysteriously disappeared. Mrs. Nina thus found herself rich, and upon her death, her son inherited everything. To honor his mother, he opened a chain of hotels and even a chain of shopping malls in Hong Kong that bear her name!
Lucia’s wish list and Tai Chi goals
It would be interesting to explore other areas of China in the future: the Terracotta Army, Shanghai, the Great Wall. For example, I was fascinated by the silk weaving, this fabric they invented in 2600 BC. Unlike the Indian technique, in China they beat the thread before working it, a process that makes it softer. They managed to hide the secret of silk making for 1,000 years and wouldn’t allow anyone to take it out of China. Anyone who did so was punished with capital punishment. I’d love to visit the region where silkworms are born!
I also discovered a unique acupuncture technique because there was a lady in our group who practiced it not with needles but with her hands! She was very helpful with my knee, which had become a bit stressed, and she recommended a book I should buy. I also learned from a Chinese friend who lives in Shanghai that I shouldn’t give up practicing the Long Form, a 45-minute form of Tai Chi, which is very long and tiring and helps regenerate the entire body.
After the trip
No trip in my life had given me so much reflection, magic, and curiosity. When I returned, I also read the history of Marco Polo, the history of China, and even Genghis Khan and the Mongolian female figures. I was fascinated by the story of the warrior princess Khutulun, cousin of Kublai Khan, who refused to marry a man weaker than herself and asked anyone who wanted her hand to defeat her in battle. If she lost, she would marry him; if she won, he would give her all his horses. Eventually, Khutulun managed to acquire 10,000 horses.
I’d like to point out that all of my trips were organized by Fonte Gaia Tour, and whenever I had any problems, Leonardo and Silvia were always there, even at difficult times, impossible for a normal travel agency. They were always there, at any time, and I must say, with the best prices! When I travel with them, I always feel their constant presence and availability.
What can I say? What an exceptional travel diary! Thank you, Lucia, for sharing your experience with us. It’s always a pleasure to hear from you! Has anyone ever had a similar experience?