Beijing

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Hello everyone,
I'm new to TravelBlog.com, so I figured I'd add some past trips I've been on to get me started. I'm sure I'm missing quite a bit of info as this trip was almost a year ago, but I'll do my best.

This trip had my father and I going to China for 16 days. Our first stop was Beijing. We caught a flight from LAX to SFO and spent the night in San Francisco. We then got up early the next day to catch the 12 hour flight to China. Due to my excitement, I just couldn't get to sleep. So what better way to kill the time than to fill up on quite a few Heineken's 😊
Upon arrival, I quickly noticed the foreign language, writing, etc. This was the first time I had ever been anywhere that I could not easily communicate with people. Since I speak English, Spanish, and a bit of French, I've never encountered the language barrier until this trip. I remember walking out of the plane not knowing what to expect. Luckily, after a little while, we found where to go to catch the taxis. (thank you Gard Karlsen for the great blogs!). My first impression was that China was ABSOLUTELY NOTHING like I expected it. As we went to catch the taxis, I noticed their system was quite controlled and efficient. I also remember thinking that Beijing freeways are among some of the CLEANEST roads I have EVER seen. It almost looked fake. We promptly arrived at our Howard Johnson hotel, dropped off our bags, and went for a walk. Also, due to the lack of sleep and time change we fell asleep at about 3 or 4pm the first 2 days.
In our time in Beijing we checked out the Great Wall (Badaling section) which was great. Such an awe inspiring moment visiting something that I had read about in history books most of my academic career. We also checked out Forbidden city, Temple of Heaven, Tian'amen Square, the Hutongs, etc. I'll also add some pics of the 5 fun filled days we had in Beijing.

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Photos

Pops
Here's my dad in our first day in Beijing.

Cold day in Beijing
Our first day, Beijing was freezing! Look at the guy in the background's attire. Btw, we saw quite a few people on bikes during our trip.

Forbidden City
That's me in front of Forbidden City.

Dad and I
My dad and I on top of Forbidden City from where Mao did his speeches. Tian'amen Square across the street in the background.

Tian'anmen Square
View of Tian'amen square from Forbidden City.

Forbidden City guards
Guards in Forbidden City.

Moi
Me inside Forbidden City.

Forbidden City
Cool design.

Forbidden City
Dragon design along the steps where the Emperor used to walk.

Forbidden City
My attempts at being a photographer hehe. Thought this was a really cool looking structure in Forbidden City

Forbidden City
Back alleys of Forbidden City.

Forbidden City
One of my favorite parts. So peaceful.

Forbidden City
Look at how large that building is! Incredible that it was built several centuries ago.

Forbidden City
Another interior shot of Forbidden City.

Tian'amen Square
Myself in front of a statue.