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Published: August 9th 2012
Classy bunch
My future hubby?The deprived little Korean children are only given ONE meager week of summer vacation, which means myself, a teacher, only gets one week as well. When trying to decide where to spend our precious week, the choices were narrowed down to Japan, Thailand and China due to proximity. In the end, the choice was obvious: Beijing, China! It was half the price for a flight, only one hour away from Seoul, and once there, room and board were ridiculously inexpensive as well.
We knew it was going to be a good trip when we boarded the plane and realized they had bumped us up to first class! We were treated like royalty the entire time: extra drinks, slippers, blankets, pillows, and more leg room than necessary. I almost wished the flight was longer!
Once we arrived, our first impression was how "vigorous" the Chinese were. It seems that living in a country with 20%!o(MISSING)f the world's population, you learn to become very agressive in crowds! We were being throttled around on the overcrowded bus to the airport by tiny but
limber asians.
On our first night we decided to just wander the "hutongs" (narrow, traditional Chinese streets)
Dinner
Who knew you could eat starfish? Crunchy on the outside, with crumbly innards... near our hotel. This turned out to be an epic beginning to the trip. Firstly, we noticed the air that night was palpable. I felt like I was in a dream-like state as we strolled around drinking our fifty cent Tsing-Tao beers. Secondly, we noticed a stark difference between Koreans and Chinese. Koreans are very self-conscious of their looks and fashion; the Chinese on the other hand, were dressed
so casually, to the point of ridiculous. (See first photo for proof).
As well, although the streets and people seemed more rundown and poor, everyone truly seemed happier and more content. We saw a man speeding down a hutong in a truck-like vehicle with about six old men piled into the back, drinking beer and laughing heartily. This was their idea of a joy ride on a Friday night.
After a few hours of walking we stumbled upon the Wangfujing Night Market, the most famous market in Beijing. This is where things "got real." We saw the most bizarre, scary, disgusting, amusing and funny foods-on-a-stick. Here is a list of foods we ate that night, in no particular order:
dog
starfish
snake
worm
This
The Great Wall
Made it to the top... may sound like a lie, but after being in China for about three hours, we had ingested all the aforementioned creatures. I think the worm was the hardest to go down because it had a certain crunch to it that I can still feel in my mouth.
Why did I put myself through this you may ask?
When in China! After our adventurous evening, the week continued to impress and shock us. We went to the Great Wall on our first full day. This was my highlight of the week, and it deserves more than this entire blog to fully describe its beauty. We walked for almost eight hours, even passing a sign that said "No tourists past this point." We came to parts where it was just a crumbling pile of rocks. The history of this World Wonder was palpable and we kept marveling at how seemingly impossible it would have been to build this massive, 2000 mile long wall during the Ming dynasty.
We had wandered so far along the wall at one point that we reached a section where the crowds had thinned substantially. There were perhaps half a dozen other people in view from
Chinese Chess
This picture makes me happy. Even the man in the wheelchair made it out for the game! either direction. We saw a lonely vendor sitting at the top of the next turret. When we approached her we took a seat, bought some water and began talking. She revealed in her broken English that she would wake up every morning at five am, and climb the entire wall to that point, which took her over two hours, just to sell water and food to adventurous climbers. We were so impressed by this determined and truly Chinese woman. It was a beautiful moment.
The following days flew by in a whirwind. We went to Tian'anman Square and the Forbidden City. We visited a Panda Zoo which was a once-in-a-lifetime experience (1,600 remaining on earth). We tried the much-hyped "Peking Duck" which tasted as amazing as expected.
Another highlight was a day we spent wandering around Hou Hai Lake, which is a famous area in Beijing. The lake was surrounded with weeping willows which created a beautiful backdrop to our day. The area was bustling with people fishing, swimming, working out, playing ping pong, drinking Chinese tea and enjoying the beautiful weather. It showed that no matter where you are, people all enjoy the same simple pleasures.
Comrade Mao
The ever-present Mao watching over his people, even long after his death. To add to this perfect week, the Olympics were in full swing. Coming from Canada, I was unaware of what it feels like to be in a country that wins
everything. Wherever we went, proof of Chinese pride in the Olympic games was obvious. The country was in first place the entire week we were there!
All good things must come to an end, and before we knew it, the week was over. I was
so sad to be leaving, though the one comfort I had was knowing that I wouldn't have to crouch anymore when I had to go to the bathroom! 😊
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Dad
non-member comment
Palpable
Hi Yen Great story,would love to go there and enjoy some worm Your pallpable dad