Amanda's Trip to Beijing

What an exciting and fulfilling 5 day adventure to Beijing.

I decided awhile back that I desperately needed a vacation away from Shekou (the city where I live). So after mulling over it I decided to go with a family of 6 and a now dear friend and colleague of mine. We first found a great flight and then an amazing hostel to stay at. If you ever go to Beijing stay at the Peking Downtown Backpackers Accommodation and ask for Apple (yes that is her English name). It was cheap and very helpful.

The trip begins Sunday April 26 at 7:15 AM as I say good bye to Dylan my dear husband who had to stay back and work. I met Barbara, my colleague I teach with, at the local Starbucks. Grabbed some nut bars and a juice and met Michelle and her husband and 13 year old triplet boys and a 8 year old daughter.

We took two cabs because they could only carry at maximum 4 people. It was so nice to see that two actually pulled up at the same time. We arrived at Shenzhen International Airport at 8:00 and checked in. Fairly nice airport. The flight was three hours from Shenzhen to Beijing. No in flight movies but towards the end of the flight the stewardess leads in flight exercises which are counted in Chinese and explained in Chinese as well. It was hilarious to watch them "yi . . . . er . . . san . . . si . .." (English translation 1 2 3 4).

After disembarking from the plane we gather our bags and head towards a man holding a sign with my name on it. It was a great feeling of importance. We then all climbed into the van and drove to our hostel. The hostel is located down a small road that can only be used by cars going one way and motorized bicycles.The roads are referred to as hutongs. Go to this site to read more about what hutongs are and the history behind it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutong.

Our rooms were quite familiar on some level of when I was living in a dorm room in college. The family of six had a 3 bunk beds in their room along with a private bathroom. Barbara and I shared a room with two twin size beds and a private bathroom as well. Our room also had an odd skylight which allowed the sunlight to appear at 5 AM! It was unruly but at least we never overslept! HA!!! Upon checking in we learned that we had to supply our own towels. This was a problem since we did not have these. So Barbara and I decided to make our way on our first scavenger hunt amongst many in search of the Jian Mart (closest thing I can compare this too is a Wal Mart). We found snacks for our trip to the Great Wall for the following day and cheap hand towels to dry off with. We were roughing it by far.

When returned we all, including the family of six, went to see a Chinese Acrobatic Show. It was truly amazing to watch the small limbered children and adults do things with their bodies that made me almost need a muscle relaxer after watching them. It was a sight to see nonetheless. After that we all climbed back into the van and said good bye to the "Heaven and Earth" theater. Once we returned, Barbara and I decided to eat at a small Tibetan food restaurant located on the same hutong as our hostel. It was cute and quaint and we enjoyed each others company with small talk and such. We both decided we had to head back early because we were leaving the hostel at 6:40AM to see the Great Wall.

6:40AM came so early for the both of us after traveling all the day the day before we both agreed we could have used another hour or so to sleep. The bus took us and the family of six along with others to the Great Wall. The ride was almost 3 hours long. Once we got outside the city, it was amazing to see the mountains and flat lands where people lived in houses much like the setting of a countryside in the states. Something we had not seen in a long time. It was beautiful. As we approached our destination we got out of the van and was disappointed to see that there was so many students on a field trip as well. They all had on red track outfits jackets and matching pants. It was a bit warm for the warm up suits but with that many kids they had to wear something that stood out. I am guessing there was over 300 students there in groves. After making our way to the bathroom, just about everyone opts to climb the first part of the wall. Barbara and I decide to enjoy the sights so we paid $6 to ride on the cable cars. It was so nice to enjoy the sights and get the first call from Dylan. Once we got to the top we were malled by the Chinese women selling crap and bottles of water. Luckily Barbara and I came prepared with peanut butter and fruit and big water bottles.

The section of the wall that we walked/hiked on was 8KM and took about 4.5 hours to complete. It reminded me so much of my hike I previously did which was 11 miles and more hills to go down and climb. The wall is continuing to crumble in places and is very difficult at times to go down safely. I got a great sun burn on my shoulders and neck. But it quickly faded to a tan the next morning. When we finally reached the end of wall, we had the option of zip-lining down over a river. Naturally I did the zip line and it was amazing. Barbara and I went together as they were putting us on two at a time. Once we all got to the bottom we went on a short boat ride to the shore where everyone else met us. Amazing sights and to think we were walking on a huge part of Chinese history where dynasties came and defended what they knew to be theirs and wanted so much more. Here is a web link about the Great Wall http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wall_of_China. We then headed back and it was around 6 or 7 PM when we finally made it back to the hostel. When you looked at every one's faces we all agreed that it was time to hit the showers. That was one night we all slept hard.

Tuesday was a jammed packed day. We went to the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square, and the Bird's Nest where the Olympic stadium is in Beijing. I do not personally like the feeling I felt when I was at Tianamen Square due to the history and its claim to fame. It was very eery to me and I felt unsettled there. As we continued through the square to the Forbidden City the feeling dissipated. Here is some history about Tianamen Square http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiananmen_Square_protests_of_1989. The Forbidden City was beautiful and full of facts that I cannot spout out. There are always two lions at the entry. The lion on the left is the male lion and has his paw on a ball and the lion on the right is the female and she has her paw on a lion cub. This was noted throughout the entire temple setup. It was amazing to see that they had drainage systems too that terraced down and spilled out of gargoyles mouths. The emperor had so many rooms of his personal things and keepsakes. Lots of clocks as they were a valued gift to him. Here is a link to the Forbidden City http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_City. Very informative trip and very long too. I am noticing though that if you have seen one temple you have seen them all with little variation to the setup and its surroundings. We rode on the metro which is a subway that runs all over Beijing. We decided to take it to the Bird's Nest and see the sights around it. What a long train ride that was. UGHHHH!!! And crowded too! I know exactly what it is like to be a sardine nonetheless and it was not pretty with stinky men and women who choose not to wear deodorant or failing deodorant. The phrase "Are you SURE" has not reached China yet. My nose is ultra sensitive and it was all I could do but not pass out. Crazy times but fun!!! The Bird's Nest was amazing to marvel at from the outside and the construction that took place. It is earthquake proof and boy does it show. Steel bent and molded into so many directions . . . . just pure amazement. We also saw the aquatic center that looked like bubbles were all over it. Neat to view. Then we faced a mob of people trying to sell stupid Olympic paraphernalia like cheap kites with the Olympic creatures on it (I have no idea what they are but its their logo in China) and paper weights that light up. I got into it with a vendor who could not take no for an answer. I first was polite and said no in Chinese. He then continues and I continue to say no again in Chinese. After this went on 3 more times I got extremely annoyed and raised my voice loud and repeated again. Then the vendor laughs at me behind my back and I turn around, show him my fist and say "ha ha ha". He then freaks out and says "Ooh". After that the guy left me alone and walked away.

Wednesday we decided to go to the Summer Palace. Here is some info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summer_Palace. Very beautiful place. We all agreed that we had seen so much of the temples that we opted to take a pedal boat around the lake. This place was enormous. Bigger than the Forbidden City. It was so wonderful to pedal around looking at the various things. As I got in the family of 6 decided it was race time. I am not used to this competitive side. . . . well maybe I am and that is why I decided to go forth and race a grown man and a 13 year old boy with me and an 8 year old girl. I was ready to cry. And my thighs were barking well more like screaming. We pedalled for about an hour and a half. Saw the marble boat which I have named the plaster of Paris boat for no particular reason. We then got off and Barbara decided to go back to the entrance and wait on us to finish up the tour. That was about 3PM I think. So we continued to look around and we came to a Chinese calligraphy professor. I was so amazed at the work he did I had a silk/rice paper scroll made for Dylan and I with our last name in the middle and wishes of good luck and fortune. As we continued to stop and look there was this uncanny event that occurred with the daughter of the family of six. Her name is McCall and she is 8 years old with blond curly hair and blue eyes and cute as a button. All the Chinese people would stop us and take a picture with her and sometimes me as well due to my "blond" hair as well. It was like the paparazzi was all over the place. Once we had enough of the Summer Palace we all decided it was time to head out at 6:00. We could not find our way out so we had to retrace our steps in how we got in. As we exited the palace we could not find Barbara. It was awful. We looked everywhere and finally we decided that she must have gone back without us. We also needed two taxis to get us back to our hostel again. So we find the two after being "attacked" by the crazy taxi drivers who are unruly and charge way too much. All the way home Michelle the mother of the 6 and McCall her daughter are constantly worrying about Barbara. In hopes she made it to the hostel before us we were sadly disappointed. So Michelle and I decide to have a drink after what we went through. As we sit down we saw Barbara walk by. Michelle quickly gets up and runs up to her with me in tow behind. Turns out Barbara needed to eat and doesn't do well in crowds so she hopped in a taxi and went to the metro station and came back home that way. I was so relieved when I saw here and learned that she was not angry with us for leaving her. Michelle, Barbara, and myself all decided after that whole ordeal that we needed a drink and food.

The next day we packed and went in search of the Harley Davidson store for Barbara to get a gift for her brother. Her and I both posed on the the bike and took pictures. Too funny. On the way back we got a little lost and I was worried I was going to wet my pants in search of finding our hostel. We needed to rendezvous back at the hostel at 2PM to get the van to take us back to the airport and it was 1:45PM. Finally after much freaking out from both Barbara and I we heard a familiar voice . . . It was Michelle and her husband. Boy were we glad to see them. We then walked back and headed out to the airport and said good bye to Beijing.

I am planning on going back again with Dylan next time. Soak up some nightlife and see more things than before.

I wish you and your family sunshine and blue skies to share with each other.
Until next time . . . .

Amanda Blankenship and Dylan in tow!!