Here are some of my favorite photos from my adventure to the Great Wall. Enjoy!
To see in full screen you may need to go to click the link and go to Youtube.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Day 4: THE GREAT WALL
This was by far my favorite day. It felt like one of those moments where you're indisbelief about what's going on, stretched out into an entire day. Let's begin.
We got up at 6am and caught a taxi to the subway station at 6:30. Met the group, Rita, Shirley, Min and Young at 7:30am.
SIDENOTE: I just so happens that every person in our group completed the International College Program at Disney World, except for Shirley. We all worked in different locations, but it was really cool to have that one common thread connecting us.
Young was the leader for the day, so we followed him to the tour bus station and he handled all the dealings about which bus and how much.Thanks to a student discount we each ended up paying 75CNY. This included roundtrip transportation and entrance to the Great Wall.
SIDENOTE: Yes, you have to pay to climb the wall. Seems odd, but they got to make money for repairs somehow.
The bus ride was uneventful. It took about an hour and a half to get out to the Beijing countryside (who knew it existed?!) and just a little while longer to get to the bottom of the Great Wall. We visited the Mutianyu section which is a slightly less touristy section of the wall. The day was absolutely beautiful: sun shining and blue skies. The tour guide let us know we had three hours to explore, and then we were off!
The walk up to the wall took about 20 minutes and was pretty darn tiring. I kept asking, "Does this count? Am I a hero yet?" My friends of course said, "No."
SIDENOTE: According to my friends, Chinese tradition says that when you visit the Great Wall for the first time, you become a hero.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs going up to the actual wall my first thought was "Wow! This really is just a wall!" Then of course, once I went up the stairs that thought changed into, "Wow! People built this by hand?! Centuries ago!?" The whole experience of walking along the wall and knowing that so many people, tourists and soldiers alike, had walked there before me was just awesome. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking and being able to see the Great Wall snaking off into the distance made me feel like I had stepped into a postcard.
We climbed for the greater part of the three hours and it was exhausting. My legs even hurt a day later. Some of the stairs were so steep that they almost reachd my knees, and I had to use my hands when climbing up and down. I can't even imagine having to walk them daily. We went into all of the watch towers we passed and you really could see forever at the top of them.
Sara and Rita chose to take a break and watched all of our stuff for us while the rest of us went and climbed to the END! (Well, the end of the Mutianyu section). It felt so cool to be standing at the end, seeing the sign the said, "No admittance. Non-tourist Section." I so wanted to go exploring beyond that sign. We could see another part of the wall that was all over grown, and it looked amazing. I'd definitely like to go back and go to an even less touristy part.
Our three hours seemed to fly by, but at the end of them we were back on the bus for a 2 1/2 hour ride home. The delay was due to Beijing traffic. I slept most of the way.
SIDENOTE: There was only one embarrasing moment. Min asked, very loudly, "Why do White people where shorts in this weather?" right when three English guys were walking by. Of course they heard, and the first disgustdly said "White people?!" I tried to just calmly explain that they were probably from somewhere up north and thought the weather felt nice. The third guy walking by let us know that they were in fact English and that this was nice weather. Ahhhhh fun times.
The day was one big dream come true and now I can say,
We got up at 6am and caught a taxi to the subway station at 6:30. Met the group, Rita, Shirley, Min and Young at 7:30am.
SIDENOTE: I just so happens that every person in our group completed the International College Program at Disney World, except for Shirley. We all worked in different locations, but it was really cool to have that one common thread connecting us.
Young was the leader for the day, so we followed him to the tour bus station and he handled all the dealings about which bus and how much.Thanks to a student discount we each ended up paying 75CNY. This included roundtrip transportation and entrance to the Great Wall.
SIDENOTE: Yes, you have to pay to climb the wall. Seems odd, but they got to make money for repairs somehow.
The bus ride was uneventful. It took about an hour and a half to get out to the Beijing countryside (who knew it existed?!) and just a little while longer to get to the bottom of the Great Wall. We visited the Mutianyu section which is a slightly less touristy section of the wall. The day was absolutely beautiful: sun shining and blue skies. The tour guide let us know we had three hours to explore, and then we were off!
The walk up to the wall took about 20 minutes and was pretty darn tiring. I kept asking, "Does this count? Am I a hero yet?" My friends of course said, "No."
SIDENOTE: According to my friends, Chinese tradition says that when you visit the Great Wall for the first time, you become a hero.
When we reached the bottom of the stairs going up to the actual wall my first thought was "Wow! This really is just a wall!" Then of course, once I went up the stairs that thought changed into, "Wow! People built this by hand?! Centuries ago!?" The whole experience of walking along the wall and knowing that so many people, tourists and soldiers alike, had walked there before me was just awesome. The landscape was absolutely breathtaking and being able to see the Great Wall snaking off into the distance made me feel like I had stepped into a postcard.
We climbed for the greater part of the three hours and it was exhausting. My legs even hurt a day later. Some of the stairs were so steep that they almost reachd my knees, and I had to use my hands when climbing up and down. I can't even imagine having to walk them daily. We went into all of the watch towers we passed and you really could see forever at the top of them.
Sara and Rita chose to take a break and watched all of our stuff for us while the rest of us went and climbed to the END! (Well, the end of the Mutianyu section). It felt so cool to be standing at the end, seeing the sign the said, "No admittance. Non-tourist Section." I so wanted to go exploring beyond that sign. We could see another part of the wall that was all over grown, and it looked amazing. I'd definitely like to go back and go to an even less touristy part.
Our three hours seemed to fly by, but at the end of them we were back on the bus for a 2 1/2 hour ride home. The delay was due to Beijing traffic. I slept most of the way.
SIDENOTE: There was only one embarrasing moment. Min asked, very loudly, "Why do White people where shorts in this weather?" right when three English guys were walking by. Of course they heard, and the first disgustdly said "White people?!" I tried to just calmly explain that they were probably from somewhere up north and thought the weather felt nice. The third guy walking by let us know that they were in fact English and that this was nice weather. Ahhhhh fun times.
The day was one big dream come true and now I can say,
"I AM A HERO."
Monday, May 2, 2011
Day 2 Photos
I've been trying to put my videos straight onto blogspot, but using a link seems to work better right now.
Hope you enjoy! Day 2: To the Palace Museum We Go!
Hope you enjoy! Day 2: To the Palace Museum We Go!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Day 3: Hutong and Silk Market
Lay ho!
We started today by.......SLEEPING IN! Ahhhhhhh so nice!
After dragging ourselves out of bed we went to a Hutong, forget the name (sorry!). Now basically a hutong simply refers to a lane or alley in the older district of Beijing with many being near the Forbidden City. The day was bright and sunny and I loved just strolling along looking into all the small shops. We went into many many stores and I even bought myself an adorable dress and some presents for folks back home. We stopped and ate lunch at a restaurant called Zomo's. Don't know where the name comes from, but the food was really good. We had ge da soup, fish head with noodles and lettuce with fish. The fish head was fairly spicy, but I did try gill and even ate the fish eye! Sara just put it on my plate and said, "Here! For you!" What did I think of it? Well, it wasn't bad. The texture was grainy and it didn't have much of a taste. Do I need to eat another? Nah. Now the ge da soup on the other hand, was AMAZING. Ge da is this powder thing they take and make into a little dumpling type thing. ard to explain but oh so good. I could eat this soup for days on end.
The hutong was so nice because it is made up of all these one story, gray stoned buildings. I loved the vibe the whole place had.
After lunch we shopped some more, and then headed over to the silk market. We made the mistake of getting off one subway stop to early, so had a bit of a walk, but we stopped at McDonalds for a snack. I know it sounds like we eat constantly but really it had been a good two hours between lunch and now. It was odd because none of the menu was in English. Sara admitted she had never even notices this fact.
We spent an hour and a half at the silk market. My biggest purchase was three silk scrolls. One had a drawing of the great wall on it. I knew that I'd want something with the Great Wall on it. One had golden fish on it. I got this one because Sara loves fish and we talked about fish a lot. The last one I bought was a very pretty one with Mu dan flowers on it. Not sure why I like these so much, but something about them just seem cool. They are traditional, and yes while mine aren't hand done I like them. I was very proud of myself. The seller wanted CNY600 and I paid CNY195.
After the hour and a half we both were sooooooo ready to get out of there. The silk market is very cool, and I reccomend it to anybody who wants to buy cheap anything, but there are so many people it's overwhelming.
We took a subway and then a taxi back and had Chinese snacks for dinner. They were really just like a fast meal. The portions were definitely not snack size.
It was off to Ariny's after that for some TV watching and showers. This night we watched a game show called Single Man. The show had 24 single girls and one single guy. The guy comes out and gets to show three videos introducing himself to the girls. If any of the girls aren't interested than she can switch her light off. The process goes on until after the third video. If some of the girls still have their lights on the guy gets to choose his three favorite. They talk some more and then he chooses his favorite. They when a trip to Hawaii and then skip off into the sunset. It was entertaining.
Back home and to bed! Next up: The Great Wall!!!!!!
Signing off! Promise pictures will come soon.
We started today by.......SLEEPING IN! Ahhhhhhh so nice!
After dragging ourselves out of bed we went to a Hutong, forget the name (sorry!). Now basically a hutong simply refers to a lane or alley in the older district of Beijing with many being near the Forbidden City. The day was bright and sunny and I loved just strolling along looking into all the small shops. We went into many many stores and I even bought myself an adorable dress and some presents for folks back home. We stopped and ate lunch at a restaurant called Zomo's. Don't know where the name comes from, but the food was really good. We had ge da soup, fish head with noodles and lettuce with fish. The fish head was fairly spicy, but I did try gill and even ate the fish eye! Sara just put it on my plate and said, "Here! For you!" What did I think of it? Well, it wasn't bad. The texture was grainy and it didn't have much of a taste. Do I need to eat another? Nah. Now the ge da soup on the other hand, was AMAZING. Ge da is this powder thing they take and make into a little dumpling type thing. ard to explain but oh so good. I could eat this soup for days on end.
The hutong was so nice because it is made up of all these one story, gray stoned buildings. I loved the vibe the whole place had.
After lunch we shopped some more, and then headed over to the silk market. We made the mistake of getting off one subway stop to early, so had a bit of a walk, but we stopped at McDonalds for a snack. I know it sounds like we eat constantly but really it had been a good two hours between lunch and now. It was odd because none of the menu was in English. Sara admitted she had never even notices this fact.
We spent an hour and a half at the silk market. My biggest purchase was three silk scrolls. One had a drawing of the great wall on it. I knew that I'd want something with the Great Wall on it. One had golden fish on it. I got this one because Sara loves fish and we talked about fish a lot. The last one I bought was a very pretty one with Mu dan flowers on it. Not sure why I like these so much, but something about them just seem cool. They are traditional, and yes while mine aren't hand done I like them. I was very proud of myself. The seller wanted CNY600 and I paid CNY195.
After the hour and a half we both were sooooooo ready to get out of there. The silk market is very cool, and I reccomend it to anybody who wants to buy cheap anything, but there are so many people it's overwhelming.
We took a subway and then a taxi back and had Chinese snacks for dinner. They were really just like a fast meal. The portions were definitely not snack size.
It was off to Ariny's after that for some TV watching and showers. This night we watched a game show called Single Man. The show had 24 single girls and one single guy. The guy comes out and gets to show three videos introducing himself to the girls. If any of the girls aren't interested than she can switch her light off. The process goes on until after the third video. If some of the girls still have their lights on the guy gets to choose his three favorite. They talk some more and then he chooses his favorite. They when a trip to Hawaii and then skip off into the sunset. It was entertaining.
Back home and to bed! Next up: The Great Wall!!!!!!
Signing off! Promise pictures will come soon.
Day 2: Tiananmen Square and Palace Museum
Hello!
Woke up, ate some breakfast and out the door!
We went to Tiananmen Square today. Took a bus then a subway, and I realized I like traveling by bus better when in a new city because you get to see more of the city. The subway is nice just for speed though. Without Sara I wouldn't have been able to take the bus since the route is entirely in Manadarin. Yay for Sara!
Exiting the subway station and seeing Tiananmen Square was awesome! After seeing so many pictures of this giant structure it was crazy to see it in real life. Sara also informed me that the road we were looking at is the biggest road in Beijing. Once again reminded me of Miami a bit. lol
We made our way across the street and through the first gate. The amount of people standing in line for tickets into the Palace Museum(Forbidden City) was a little bit intimidating, but the lines moved pretty fast. They offer a student ticket price, so we only had to pay CNY20. woot woot!
Once inside the museum the amount of people just seemed to increase. It was fine when just standing around looking at the outside of the buildings, but when we tried toget a closer look at the inside of the different halls it wasn't a lot of fun. People push and shove and they don't see it as being rude. Something I don't think I'll ever get use to.
I picked up an audio guide for CNY40 + CNY100 deposit before entering the museum and when it wasn't cutting in and out, the information about each hall was pretty interesting. I definitely would recommend doing that unless you read up about the museum a lot before coming. There is a map on the auido guide which has lights on it showing each place to visit and when you visit one , that light will go out. We found this very helpful. So much looks the same it's easy to get lost.
My favorite parts were the side areas which were a lot less crowded and the gardens located at the back of the museum. That gardens had some beautiful flowers called Mu dan. This is the national flower of China. Sara loves flowers so we took a lot of photos. Also in the gardens was the awesome stone mountain. The story behind it is that during one festival each year the emperor and his concubines would scale the mountain to the platform on the top. I don't remember what this symbolized, but it definitely looked like it might be slightly difficult.
At this point it the sky was black and we were getting worried about rain. We ducked into a small cafe, I got a caramel latte and Sara got some spicy tofu on a stick (which was actually quite yummy), and by the time we had sat down at a table it was pouring outside. It poured for about 30 mins and then continued to rain for another 30min. We just sat and talked and had a great time.
After we went exploring more of the side paths. It was around 4:15 and many of the exhibits were beginning to close. Sara made the suggestion of heading to a tea house before going to dinner with her cousins.
One bus ride later we were in an awesome shopping center! We had tea at a little teahouse called Chamate. It's one of Sara's favorite and is a chain around Beijing. They had a really cool ordering system where you just pressed either order, waiter, bill or water on this device at your table and a little bell rang alerting the staff to your need. Loved it! We got some small snacks, black fungus and a pancake. The fungus was.........yeah
Stayed and chatted till round 6:30pm and then made our way to dinner. (I know a lot of food) We had barbecue, which was awesome. This is when I got to meet her cousin Ariny and her cousin's fiance Le. We sat outside at this very low table with very tiny stools. Now this is not like our barbecue back home. Instead it is different pieces of meat on wooden skewers done on a grill in different spices and sauces.
What we got:
Squid - way too spicy for me. made my lips burn
Chicken Heart - my favorite! They were really really good
Chicken Liver- I think it was liver, don't quite remember. lol They were pretty good but a little chewy
Chicken Wing - A classic in the States and in China
There were some others but I can't remember them all. Really the only thing I didn't like was the squid. We also had cucumbers in soy sauce and lettuce in sesame sauce and washed it all down with beer. Sara told me that apparently it is considered rude to not get the guest (me) tipsy. They definitely weren't rude and I'm really glad that Le gave back the unopened third bottle (they were large bottles).
We went back to Ariny and Le's place to take showers, since we had no hot water at Sara's place. Now I thought that most Chinese couple don't live together before getting married, and I asked Sara about this. She said that what I thought was correct, but due to how expensive the cost of living is in Beijing couples are moving in together sooner now. Though she still said that her cousin and fiance are the "odd ones out."
Home around midnight and crashed in bed by 1:30am.
Signing off! Back to schoolwork I go!
Woke up, ate some breakfast and out the door!
We went to Tiananmen Square today. Took a bus then a subway, and I realized I like traveling by bus better when in a new city because you get to see more of the city. The subway is nice just for speed though. Without Sara I wouldn't have been able to take the bus since the route is entirely in Manadarin. Yay for Sara!
Exiting the subway station and seeing Tiananmen Square was awesome! After seeing so many pictures of this giant structure it was crazy to see it in real life. Sara also informed me that the road we were looking at is the biggest road in Beijing. Once again reminded me of Miami a bit. lol
We made our way across the street and through the first gate. The amount of people standing in line for tickets into the Palace Museum(Forbidden City) was a little bit intimidating, but the lines moved pretty fast. They offer a student ticket price, so we only had to pay CNY20. woot woot!
Once inside the museum the amount of people just seemed to increase. It was fine when just standing around looking at the outside of the buildings, but when we tried toget a closer look at the inside of the different halls it wasn't a lot of fun. People push and shove and they don't see it as being rude. Something I don't think I'll ever get use to.
I picked up an audio guide for CNY40 + CNY100 deposit before entering the museum and when it wasn't cutting in and out, the information about each hall was pretty interesting. I definitely would recommend doing that unless you read up about the museum a lot before coming. There is a map on the auido guide which has lights on it showing each place to visit and when you visit one , that light will go out. We found this very helpful. So much looks the same it's easy to get lost.
My favorite parts were the side areas which were a lot less crowded and the gardens located at the back of the museum. That gardens had some beautiful flowers called Mu dan. This is the national flower of China. Sara loves flowers so we took a lot of photos. Also in the gardens was the awesome stone mountain. The story behind it is that during one festival each year the emperor and his concubines would scale the mountain to the platform on the top. I don't remember what this symbolized, but it definitely looked like it might be slightly difficult.
At this point it the sky was black and we were getting worried about rain. We ducked into a small cafe, I got a caramel latte and Sara got some spicy tofu on a stick (which was actually quite yummy), and by the time we had sat down at a table it was pouring outside. It poured for about 30 mins and then continued to rain for another 30min. We just sat and talked and had a great time.
After we went exploring more of the side paths. It was around 4:15 and many of the exhibits were beginning to close. Sara made the suggestion of heading to a tea house before going to dinner with her cousins.
One bus ride later we were in an awesome shopping center! We had tea at a little teahouse called Chamate. It's one of Sara's favorite and is a chain around Beijing. They had a really cool ordering system where you just pressed either order, waiter, bill or water on this device at your table and a little bell rang alerting the staff to your need. Loved it! We got some small snacks, black fungus and a pancake. The fungus was.........yeah
Stayed and chatted till round 6:30pm and then made our way to dinner. (I know a lot of food) We had barbecue, which was awesome. This is when I got to meet her cousin Ariny and her cousin's fiance Le. We sat outside at this very low table with very tiny stools. Now this is not like our barbecue back home. Instead it is different pieces of meat on wooden skewers done on a grill in different spices and sauces.
What we got:
Squid - way too spicy for me. made my lips burn
Chicken Heart - my favorite! They were really really good
Chicken Liver- I think it was liver, don't quite remember. lol They were pretty good but a little chewy
Chicken Wing - A classic in the States and in China
There were some others but I can't remember them all. Really the only thing I didn't like was the squid. We also had cucumbers in soy sauce and lettuce in sesame sauce and washed it all down with beer. Sara told me that apparently it is considered rude to not get the guest (me) tipsy. They definitely weren't rude and I'm really glad that Le gave back the unopened third bottle (they were large bottles).
We went back to Ariny and Le's place to take showers, since we had no hot water at Sara's place. Now I thought that most Chinese couple don't live together before getting married, and I asked Sara about this. She said that what I thought was correct, but due to how expensive the cost of living is in Beijing couples are moving in together sooner now. Though she still said that her cousin and fiance are the "odd ones out."
Home around midnight and crashed in bed by 1:30am.
Signing off! Back to schoolwork I go!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Beijing Day 1: Getting There
My alarm went off at 6:30am and I proceeded to hit the snooze button three times. After dragging myself out of bed I showered, got all my stuff together, ran and got some breakfast, sent a few last minute emails and made my way to the ferry terminal by 8:15am.
I brought my large purse with me and my new duffle so that I didn't have to worry about checking any luggage. I also brought a small purse for sightseeing, gifts for Sara and her family and clothers. The basics.
Caught the bus at 8:25am. I was suppose to arrive at the ferry terminal by 8:30am for my 9:30am ferry, and I got there at 8:32am. Now just knowing Macao I figured the whole hour early thing really wasn't necessary, but I tend to air on the side of caution so I got there early. Well, I was right about not needing to be there. I could have arrived at 9am and been fine, but I took the time to do some puzzles in my book. I'll always love puzzles.
The ferry to Hong Kong International Airport was basically empty and the ride was smooth so all in all a lovely start to my trip. Now since I took the ferry straight to HKIA I checked in right when I exited the ferry at special check-in counters for the ferry guests. I loved it! There was nobody and check-in was a breeze. Went through security, which was so easy, no need to take off my jacket or shoes! Also I forgot to put all of my liquids into a plastic bag but no one said anything to me. (This would continue the whole trip)
Went and found my departure gate, which had a view of the sea, and then went to find lunch. Ended up at Panopolis and had a TURKEY SANDWICH and banana! I miss sandwiches so much so I couldn't pass up the opporutnity to have one.
MUSINGS
I love airports because while each one has their own set up and personality, in any airport you can really be or go anywhere. They all have arrival and departure gates, air control towers and runways. If it wasn't for the landscape, interior and the faces of everyone milling about you might not even know where you are. Then there are so many places to go! Your ticket says one destination, but the gate next to you may say one that's halfway around the world from yours. The sense of adventure is undeniable.
There is a sense of home too. You can always fly sort of close to where you're from. I found two flights, one going to Boston and one to Denver. I immediately felt this connection with all the passengers on those flights. Their faces seemed familiar and their voices as I passed by were oddly soothing. A little bit of home, and it reminded me that if I need to or want to I can always get/go home.
I love airports.
Boarding was just general, which was awesome and I wish Delta did the same. The plane was nice and room and throughout the flight they played some odd chinese movies with english subtitles that didn't really help.
Lunch was: Chicken and Rice, roll, gross pasta salad and pineapple cake. I didn't eat a whole lot since I'd had the sandwich. There was a fair bit of turbulence but nothing too bad. Taking off from HK was awesome. The view was just beautiful! I spent most of the time reading my Kindle (thank you mom). Definitely one of my most favorite and useful items.
Landed in Beijing at 4:30 and it took about half an hour to go through the whole process of getting off the plane, going through customs and getting to the arrival hall so it was perfect timing to meet Sara at 5pm.
It was so nice to see her! Had one of those "hey its you!" moments. Got reintroduced to her friend Young who had worked at Disney at the same time as us and who I'd met briefly once and went to find her car. Took a bit to find the car, but once we had it was off into Beijing rush hour traffic! I apologized for flying in during rush hour. I'm such a nice friend. Spent most of the time taking pictures and "ooooing" and "ahhhing" at just how large Beijing is.
One moment flying in I looked out my window and was like "oh the city isn't that big" Then I looked up and out into the distance and thought "holy crap. nevermind" The city is SO MASSIVE! I couldn't get over that fact the entire trip.
We did pass an Ikea on the way in which was just odd. There everywhere! Driving to Sara's place I was reminded a little bit of Miami by the wide rodes, tons of traffic and huge buildings. I also found out that every person who has a car is not allowed to drive one day a week. This is to help with all the traffic. Luckily Sara's day is Wednesday so she could pick me up from the airport and take me when I left.
For dinner Sara and Young took me to have Beijing Duck. We went to a restaurant called Quanjude which is famous for their roast duck, and you actually get a litte commemoration card which tells you your ducks number. And it was delicious! They brought it out and showed it to us, then went and chopped it up out of view and brought it back to us. We had duck skin, duck meat and duck head. Yes, I did try the head. It didn't taste like much and was kind of just smooth in texture. We also had jellyfish, which was not my favorite. The texture was odd and chewy and cold.
After dinner we headed back to Sara's aunt's place, which is where we stayed the whole trip. The location of the apartment is better than Sara's house and her aunt doesn't live there full time so we had the place to ourselves! Unpacked, sat around and surfed the web and then hit the hay around 1am. Exhausted but a great first day!
Pictures will come soon. I've edited them, but there are so many I'm going to put them into mini slideshows!
Signing off! Time to go do some homework..
I brought my large purse with me and my new duffle so that I didn't have to worry about checking any luggage. I also brought a small purse for sightseeing, gifts for Sara and her family and clothers. The basics.
Caught the bus at 8:25am. I was suppose to arrive at the ferry terminal by 8:30am for my 9:30am ferry, and I got there at 8:32am. Now just knowing Macao I figured the whole hour early thing really wasn't necessary, but I tend to air on the side of caution so I got there early. Well, I was right about not needing to be there. I could have arrived at 9am and been fine, but I took the time to do some puzzles in my book. I'll always love puzzles.
The ferry to Hong Kong International Airport was basically empty and the ride was smooth so all in all a lovely start to my trip. Now since I took the ferry straight to HKIA I checked in right when I exited the ferry at special check-in counters for the ferry guests. I loved it! There was nobody and check-in was a breeze. Went through security, which was so easy, no need to take off my jacket or shoes! Also I forgot to put all of my liquids into a plastic bag but no one said anything to me. (This would continue the whole trip)
Went and found my departure gate, which had a view of the sea, and then went to find lunch. Ended up at Panopolis and had a TURKEY SANDWICH and banana! I miss sandwiches so much so I couldn't pass up the opporutnity to have one.
MUSINGS
I love airports because while each one has their own set up and personality, in any airport you can really be or go anywhere. They all have arrival and departure gates, air control towers and runways. If it wasn't for the landscape, interior and the faces of everyone milling about you might not even know where you are. Then there are so many places to go! Your ticket says one destination, but the gate next to you may say one that's halfway around the world from yours. The sense of adventure is undeniable.
There is a sense of home too. You can always fly sort of close to where you're from. I found two flights, one going to Boston and one to Denver. I immediately felt this connection with all the passengers on those flights. Their faces seemed familiar and their voices as I passed by were oddly soothing. A little bit of home, and it reminded me that if I need to or want to I can always get/go home.
I love airports.
Boarding was just general, which was awesome and I wish Delta did the same. The plane was nice and room and throughout the flight they played some odd chinese movies with english subtitles that didn't really help.
Lunch was: Chicken and Rice, roll, gross pasta salad and pineapple cake. I didn't eat a whole lot since I'd had the sandwich. There was a fair bit of turbulence but nothing too bad. Taking off from HK was awesome. The view was just beautiful! I spent most of the time reading my Kindle (thank you mom). Definitely one of my most favorite and useful items.
Landed in Beijing at 4:30 and it took about half an hour to go through the whole process of getting off the plane, going through customs and getting to the arrival hall so it was perfect timing to meet Sara at 5pm.
It was so nice to see her! Had one of those "hey its you!" moments. Got reintroduced to her friend Young who had worked at Disney at the same time as us and who I'd met briefly once and went to find her car. Took a bit to find the car, but once we had it was off into Beijing rush hour traffic! I apologized for flying in during rush hour. I'm such a nice friend. Spent most of the time taking pictures and "ooooing" and "ahhhing" at just how large Beijing is.
One moment flying in I looked out my window and was like "oh the city isn't that big" Then I looked up and out into the distance and thought "holy crap. nevermind" The city is SO MASSIVE! I couldn't get over that fact the entire trip.
We did pass an Ikea on the way in which was just odd. There everywhere! Driving to Sara's place I was reminded a little bit of Miami by the wide rodes, tons of traffic and huge buildings. I also found out that every person who has a car is not allowed to drive one day a week. This is to help with all the traffic. Luckily Sara's day is Wednesday so she could pick me up from the airport and take me when I left.
For dinner Sara and Young took me to have Beijing Duck. We went to a restaurant called Quanjude which is famous for their roast duck, and you actually get a litte commemoration card which tells you your ducks number. And it was delicious! They brought it out and showed it to us, then went and chopped it up out of view and brought it back to us. We had duck skin, duck meat and duck head. Yes, I did try the head. It didn't taste like much and was kind of just smooth in texture. We also had jellyfish, which was not my favorite. The texture was odd and chewy and cold.
After dinner we headed back to Sara's aunt's place, which is where we stayed the whole trip. The location of the apartment is better than Sara's house and her aunt doesn't live there full time so we had the place to ourselves! Unpacked, sat around and surfed the web and then hit the hay around 1am. Exhausted but a great first day!
Pictures will come soon. I've edited them, but there are so many I'm going to put them into mini slideshows!
Signing off! Time to go do some homework..
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