China Tour 2011: East Coast (Continued 2)

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Day 5: Beijing --> Shanghai 1/24/2011

We hit snooze too many times. We were supposed to meet Ryan at about 10 to go look at the Forbidden City from a mountain and check out Tien'anmen Square. I think we got up around 9:15 or so. We didn't shower.. (I regretted that later.) I washed my face and brushed my teeth in Brad's one and only kitchen sink. We got dressed and ready, and we headed out.

We decided to go to Starbucks for breakfast because we hadn't heard from Ryan yet. So we went and sat at a little table and ate. Then we moved to the comfy chairs.. bad idea. ha. We really sat there for a long time. The only reason I got up was because I had to go to the bathroom..

We walked to the park where we were supposed to see the Forbidden City. You were supposed to climb up a mountain and have a really good view of it. We walked for a really long time in the cold and told several cart drivers that we didn't want a ride. Some of them were like, "It's so far!" Well, it kind of was, but we didn't want to get taken advantage of.

We got there, and we paid the 2 yuan to get in the park. The mountain was kind of a hill. Of course, it was nothing but stairs. I had flashbacks of Wudang Mountain. Listen, I remember telling Priscilla that I never wanted to climb another mountain again.. but like I said, it was just a hill. The view was REALLY cool. We took a whole lot of pictures and headed back down. Ryan had JUST responded as we were going back down. He said he had gotten back really late and overslept. He said he had someone's gloves too. YES! I didn't lose mine!

We walked back to Tien'anmen Square. We decided to skip actually going through the Forbidden City. On the way to Tien'anmen we got really hungry and bought chips. We didn't buy anything to drink because we didn't want to carry the drinks around. (In retrospect, we probably could have bought 1 and drank it all pretty quickly. ha) We also ran into Ryan. He had already looked around Tien'anmen, so he was headed to where we had just left. We said bye, and I got my gloves.

We walked around and took some pictures.. it was nothing crazy exciting. We debated getting our hair washed since we skipped the showers.. and we started looking for places. We ended up at KFC (I said I didn't want to go there during our vacation since we had some in Shiyan... yeah, that didn't work out. ha). I got a Mexican wrap and coffee. Keli got some chicken wings and coffee.

We decided to use the bathroom before we left.. Keli had gone in before me, and she told me that the first stall was open. (I don't know why I trust her sometimes...) I opened the door because it was unlocked, and there was a lady and a kid in there. Nice. Keli laughed at me. She said she started to open it, but she had noticed that someone was in there before she actually opened it.

We went ahead and headed back towards Brad's apartment. He met us at the subway stop, but he wasn't there when we got there. While we were waiting on him to get there, I said, "Where he be?" And it made me think of "heebie jeebies".. and. I. CRACKED. UP. I mean, like I couldn't stop laughing. Keli laughed at me a lot.

Brad got there, and we went to a Muslim restaurant. We got fried green beans, potatoes, and this meat dish with bread on top. It was REAL good. We ate kinda fast, and then we headed back to Brad's to get our stuff.

We walked to get a taxi with Brad because he had a gig that night at some bar or something. He plays a Chinese instrument.. how cute is that? haha. He told the taxi driver where to take us, and then we snapped a quick picture, hugged, and hopped in the taxi.

The drive was interesting. Keli's stomach started hurting... bad. We realized at some point that we had gone too far to be going to the right train station.. but we didn't say anything til we were actually at the wrong station. Nice. I showed the driver my ticket, and he was like, "Your friend told me the South station!!!" Keli was like, "yeah.. I know.. Our friend doesn't know." haha. So Brad sent Keli a message and said if we needed anything to let him know. She told him what happened, and he apologized. We BOOKED it to the right station. Meanwhile, Keli's stomach is still hurting.

We made it to the station.. and we paid 86 yuan. Cuh-Razy! We made it onto the train as well. We were worried we wouldn't make it, but we did. There were SOO many people there lined up to go into the station and just as many trying to get on their different trains.

We got on the train, and we were both on top bunks of hard sleepers. That's never fun anyway... the space between the bed and ceiling is basically non-existent. I mean, I'm a short person, and I can't even sit up. haha. AND we weren't even next to each other. It was lame. So we sat at a little table in the aisle and hung out. Keli made it to the bathroom... and it wasn't cute. I'm not going to go into details since it's not my story. We talked for a while, and then we got in bed. I was real embarrassed to take my shoes off because they. smelled. awful.. but I wasn't about to sleep on the bed with my shoes on. I also had weird blisters on my toes.. so I band-aided those jokers up.

Day 6: Beijing -->Shanghai 1/25

I want to start by saying that the quote on the page of my journal most of this was written on says, "Bless not only the road but the bumps on the road. They are all part of the higher journey." -Julia Cameron You don't have to tell me about bumps..

I woke up and jumped when Keli said my name. We got down off the bunks and hung out til the train stopped in Shanghai. Nothing too exciting happened on the train.

We got on the subway and realized we were on the wrong one. We discovered that line 3 and 4 were on the same track, and we had just gotten on the wrong one. So we jumped off and jumped back on. We got to the right stop and called Buster, the guy who was supposed to meet us. He said to meet at Exit 2.

We walked to his and Amy's place.

Let me just take this time to say that I can't believe how amazing it is to have Family all over the world who'll take care of you when you're in a tough spot. I mean, I'm retarded and forgot my passport, but I'm still able to get by with the help of Fam. Presh.

We set our stuff down and sat and talked for a while. They told us we would stay with Jessica, one of their friends. We met their little girl, Emma. She is 4, and she's a Chinese girl. She. is. precious. She talked to us and showed us all kinds of things. Their son, Caleb, came home. I can't remember how old he is. He was funny.

Amy took us to eat some lunch at a cafe kind of across the street, and she totally treated us. Keli and I went across the street and bought drinks for all of us.. and some bueno bars. Yuuuum. We ate and then headed back to B & A's.

We got there, and Keli realized she forgot her purse at the cafe. Ha! So she had to go back and grab it. There were people coming in and out trying to fix the issues with their apartment. Emma snuggled up next to me and played a game. It was pretty sweet. B & A tried to make her take a nap again, but she wouldn't. She came out of her room in a little while and was like, "Can I wake up now?" haha. It was cute.

Amy, Caleb, Emma, Keli and I went over to Jessica's around 4:30 or so. Keli and I got showers and then the 5 of us went to dinner. We went to a Mexican restaurant. It. was. Delicious. Keli and I both got burritos, and Amy shared her nachos with us. I mean, it was REAL good. Reaaaaally good. Jessica called and asked us to bring a burrito home for her.

Keli and I went home.. by the way, did I mention how CRAZY NICE the apartment was? It was like an American apartment. She had a washer AND a dryer, a dishwasher, central heat and air. I mean, it. was. nice. Her husband works as like an engineer or something, and they have two little boys who were real cute. We stayed in one of the boy's rooms. Jessica talked to us for a little while.

We decided to go for a walk around the area, and we found the best store ever. It was like I was in America. Keli bought a Dr. Pepper, and I got a cream soda.

We came back and hung out in the living room for a while. I worked on my journal, and Keli read one of the 4 books she bought in Beijing.. and then we headed to bed.

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Photos

Shanghai Accomodations
This is the outside of the apartment building we stayed in.

Shanghai Accomodations
Flowers that are actually kept up.

Shanghai Accomodations
Around the little complex

Shanghai Accomodations
Around the little complex.