So after repeated requests from my mom and brother, I find myself writing an entry in this blog from an internet cafe in Saigon.  Let me just warn you: 1.  The appeal of being a blogger has always been lost on me.  2.  I don’t do well sitting at a computer for long stretches of time.  and 3.  I’m already feeling antsy.   4.  I don’t edit.   Oh and 5.  My writing is much more “stream-of-consciousness” than Zak’s.

I got into Beijing on a rainy and overcast afternoon.  Or what I thought was overcast until I realized that it was, indeed, just the smog.  My trepidation of going through Chinese customs proved to by unwarranted as it took all of 30 seconds for them to check my visa.  After finding the one Chinese guy in a crowd of hundreds of yelling Chinese guys, not an easy task mind you, that had my name written on a piece of paper, I was cruising through the city on my way to the hostel to meet Zak.  I use the word cruising very lightly as the Chinese don’t seem to go over 35 mph anywhere.

I got settled in and then Zak took me out around the city wandering around through parks and various hutongs, alleys, where the average Beijing resident makes their home.  For dinner it was on to a large street food market specializing in the not so normal fare: seahorses, scorpions, and starfish were just a few of the options.  I settled on baozi, an absolutely delicious dumpling like food while Zak went for the grilled silk worms.  I tried one and he ate two.  We both decided we could live without them.

The next day found us bright and early at Tiananmen Square but it was closed for some unknown reason.  I found this odd but as my time in China progressed, things happening for no apparent reason became the norm.  We spent the day going through various temples and the Forbidden City. 

In the morning, we took a bus ride out to Jinshanling and went on a 4 hour hike through mainly unrestored parts of the Great Wall to the city of Simatai.  It was a little hazy and at first, I was a little bummed out by it but quickly came to love the cover of clouds that shielded us from feeling the full blast of the Chinese sun.  There weren’t too many other tourists and at times we couldn’t see people ahead of or behind us.  A nice respite from constantly being surrounded by people in the city. 

Zak’s understanding of Mandarin came in handy when fending off potential “tour guides” and souvenir hawkers.  At one point he thought about helping out a fellow tourist get rid of her unwanted travel companion but decided to let her fend for herself in the end.  Very Chinese of him.

Our last day in Beijing we went back to Tiananmen Square and were finally able to go inside.   Zak was very adamant about seeing Chairman Mao’s preserved body so he was very happy about this.  A little too happy to see a corpse I might add.  He has a life ambition of seeing the bodies of the “Big 3” as he calls them.  Mao, Lenin, and Ho Chi Minh.  Now it’s just down to Lenin and after that he can die a happy man.   Later that night it was off to Xi’an via sleeper train.

A few things I noted about China in my first few days:

1. The Chinese really ARE terrible drivers.  Some stereotypes exist for a reason.

2. Like everywhere, some people aren’t so great.  Many people I’ve met though have been very nice and only too eager to chat and try out their English when they find out I’m a native speaker.

3. They must not get many western tourists as I was asked to pose for several photos and was stared at almost everywhere we went.  This only increased as our travels took us to less populated areas but I learned to not notice it so much.  Oh and Zak tends to scare Chinese women.  Exhibit A:

4. Milk tea is the greatest drink ever invented and ice cream is available at almost every street corner.

5.  I want to rescue and take home every dirty little dog I see.  Especially this guy who took a liking to my lamb skewer.

This guest blog post was written by my sister Tori