Back to Beijing

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So here I am, one more day to go. I really can't believe it. I mean, I knew that it would go quickly, and I knew that I would be annoyed by how quickly it went, but I guess I didn't really BELIEVE it, you know? Maybe I figured that I could somehow slow the time by sheer will alone. And if it were possible I think I could have done it. Believe me, my willpower is damn strong! But, alas, it cannot be! So, I am begrudgingly admitting to myself that this is the end of my amazing Southeast Asia journey. Not the last of my amazing journeys, that is for sure. I already have a billion ideas for the next trip. That has been a theme of this trip, thinking about all the ideas for the next journey! I am thinking that it is probably better for my trip to end when I actively am not ready to go home rather than for it to end when I am road-weary and aching to go home. I don't think I ever want to be at that point. Because I will always be happy to go home, even if I outwardly deny it. But I never want to be happy to stop my traveling.
Hmm, I don't know if my photos are gonna show up, so I might have to add them when I am back in the USA. So, I keep going back and forth between liking and not liking China. It really isn't China's fault, I just LOVED Southeast Asia so much that I am taking it out on China. Hehe. I just don't know that Beijing was the greatest last stop for me. It is kind of chaotic. I have spent a lot of time sleeping, just to kind of recover from the day before. There are just so many people! And they are so interested in me! I mean, not ME, but in who I am. Because I get a lot of looks, and then, every once and a while, I will get someone wanting to talk to me. You know, "Hello! Where are you from? Talk to me!" A girl actually said that to me. I did actually get into a conversation with a lovely Chinese couple, also traveling, and we went to a tea house, where I had the crappiest lukewarm Sprite that turned out to be the most expensive Sprite I have ever had - TEN DOLLARS! Why? Because we had to pay for the room, of course! I have a feeling that the room is used to make business deals or something, but the three of us were quite ignorant - or maybe this couple is used to paying exorbitant amounts of money for soda. It was a nice conversation but I don't know if it was worth thirty dollars (we split between the three of us). I also had a very negative experience with a punk (yes, I will call him a punk because that is all I have left for me to do) who charged me a ridiculous price for dumplings at the night market. I was as of yet not accustomed to the currency and also kind of dazzled by the craziness of the night market, so I actually paid it, and then he tried to get me to pay more! I told him that it was too much, and he should give me the money back and I would give him the food back (which I hadn't touched yet) and I guess he realized he had reached his gullible tourist limit and gave up. But GRR! I was so mad! I will not reveal how much it was because I am embarassed - don't worry, it was less than ten dollars, but still! However, yesterday morning, I found this wonderful little restaurant near my hostel where they make this delicious wonton soup for only 2 yuan, which is thirty cents! So I have hopefully gained some of my dignity and saved some money by eating wonton soup not only for breakfast but also for dinner! 😊
I have seen some interesting things in Beijing. Take, for instance, the little girl jumping like a leapfrog right outside the subway. Pretty normal, right? Except that her pants were down and she was peeing as she was leaping. Well, I guess she would pee a little and then leap and pee a little more. And she was maybe 6 years old, so not extremely little. Her dad didn't seem to think that this was a problem, and she thought it was hilarious. I was a bit scandalized, but nobody else around seemed to be all that concerned. I know that this blog is all over the place, which is kind of how my experience in China has been 😊 The first day I arrived at my hostel around noon, and just slept for hours. Because I had been traveling since around 5 PM the day before. So, no matter how you travel, whether it be by bus or by airplane, traveling for twenty hours SUCKS, and there is no way around it! I think that even if I had traveled on first class, it still would have been crap, because I had to take three different flights. One from Krabi to Bangkok, one from Bangkok to Seoul, South Korea, and one from Seoul to Beijing. The thirteenth was Thai New Years, which they celebrate in the quite adorable way of getting water guns and spraying everybody with them. It might have been really fun for me had it not been on a traveling day. I didn't really want to get all my clothes wet before I had to be on a cold airplane, so I mostly stayed inside all day. Quite unfortunate, but there goes my ignorance and the ignorance of the Continental guy who helped me book my flight all those months ago. So, when I arrived in my hostel, as I said before, I just slept. Interesting thing about my hostel - almost completely filled with Chinese tourists. Which is definitely a different experience for me. I am so used to being surrounded by Westerners! The girls in my dorm are very nice - I am sure that they are a little bit worried about the girl who sleeps so much! But, basically, the first day was spent traveling and then sleeping.
The next day I woke up late - I was still in protest from being separated from my beloved Thailand. But then I got myself up and took the subway to the Forbidden City. It was pretty cool to see, but there were so many tourists there that it was hard to see much. Basically, the emperors were really spoiled. I think that I would rather go back in time and be an emperor than be a king, because the emperors really had it made! Although apparently the last emperor ended up being an anonymous gardener the last seven years of his life. Pretty crazy, huh? Anyways, I also checked out Tianamen Square, which was surrounded by propaganda - is that really a surprise? I had heard that Chinese youth don't even learn about the massacre - but then when I asked a Chinese girl in my hostel in Hanoi, she answered me, "Oh yes, the one in 1989?" So who even knows.
The next day was quite wonderful because I went to the Great Wall! And the Great Wall is truly breathtaking! Plus, it is cherry blossom season, so we got the added bonus of seeing all the cherry blossoms in bloom. What luck! I went to the Mutianyu section of the wall, which a girl I met in Bangkok who is from Beijing recommended to me, as she said that there were a lot less tourists. I paired up with a guy on my tour from Slovakia, and we both served as the other's photographer. It was quite a workout - my legs were shaking! But it was very much worth it! We first went to the right section of the wall, where we reached the end of the tourist's section, thus, in a way, "reaching the end of the Great Wall." But of course not, just reaching the end of the safe section. I imagine that the other sections are in various states of rubble. Then we turned around and tried to make it to the end of the other section, but it was just too far, and too steep to make it in time. But we got close to the end, and took lots of fun pictures. As always with ancient beautiful structures, I have no idea how they could have constructed all this, the kind of manpower it must have taken. We took a tobaggan on the way down - I wonder if the original creators of the Great Wall would turn over in their graves if they knew that there are cable cars and tobaggans at the Great Wall!
Today I am taking it easy, possibly going to the Temple of Heaven or the Lama Temple. Getting ready to go home. I am pretty excited about being home, being back with all the people (and the animals) I love very most in the world. And my sister Leigh is coming into town for my mom's birthday next weekend, which will be absolutely awesome. So, it will be a nice transition. I just hope that my transition back into the working world will go smoothly as well. At least I can go into it with an optimistic attitude, right? I think that counts for a lot. 😊
A friend of mine told me that each picture that he has seen of me on this trip has been the happiest he has ever seen me. Granted, he has only known me for a year or so, but he is right. I have been the happiest I have been in years on this trip. This trip was definitely the "refresh button" that I needed. I can only hope that I will get to do this again in the future. If it is up to me, I plan to travel as often as possible for the rest of my life! For those of you who are reading this who haven't traveled much, whether it is due to fear of traveling on your own or just not really thinking you have time - DO IT! You have no idea what you are missing and you never will unless you step outside your own world for a while.
It has been fun writing this blog. I hope that people have gotten ideas from my writing about their "next trip." Most of all, it has been good for me to share my experiences. I wish everyone the best in their own journeys!

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Comments

[Les]

The Trip
It's been great being your vicarious companion. Thanks for sharing. Squeeze as much out of China as you dare. Travel safely. Valhalla and your friends and family will be waiting to hear and see more.