Our first experience in China was being frisked and finger-printed at the Beijing airport — the kids were a little freaked out. Then David pointed out to us that the GPS on our phones was inaccurate because China scrambles it — then the kids and I were both freaked out. And we had just come from very-friendly Japan, so it was disconcerting that no one in China would smile at us or give us the time of day. In fact, taxis in Beijing flat-out refused to take us anywhere. Is that what it feels like to be a racial minority in America, I wonder?
Based on our limited experience from the airport to the hotel, Max was having none of Beijing. He spent the next day at the hotel (allegedly doing his summer reading for school) while David, Zoe, and I saw the Forbidden City and the Lama Temple. Beijing is a pretty city, with a lot more trees than Tokyo or Kyoto, which was refreshing to me. And the Lama Temple was so beautiful and impressive — huge golden Buddahs and other statues in ornate temples, with trees everywhere. It was my favorite thing we saw in Beijing.
The next day we all went to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall, about an hour outside Beijing, which is seriously one of — if not THE — coolest thing I’ve ever seen! To have something so massive built in the middle of the freakin mountains is amazing — and gorgeous! It reminded me and Max of the scene from the second Lord of the Rings movie — The Two Towers — where they light the bon fires from mountain to mountain to send a call for help across the land. (Yes, Max and I are Tolkein dorks — and proud of it!). In the last picture, below, you can see the towers along the mountain-tops.
Another great part of Beijing was our tour guide to the Great Wall — “Sally.” She was very friendly and informative and spoke about herself in the third person. She also asked and answered her own questions, which was hilarious and adorable. “So, you may say, ‘Sally, how long is the Great Wall?’ And Sally say, ‘The Great Wall is over 13,000 miles long.'” And she ended every sentence with a nod and a grunt. We loved Sally! … “So, you may say, ‘Sally, why are you the only person in Beijing who is nice to us?'”
We took the 24-hour sleeper train from Beijing to Hong Kong and, again, it was a very cool experience. (I love the option of being able to sleep on a bed while traveling!) The scenery was not quite as bucolic as I’d hoped — lots of beehive-type housing, which was impressive in its own weird, sort-of-dystopian way. And more of them being constructed everywhere! How else are you going to house billions, I guess? At least most people HAVE housing here.
Then we got to Hong Kong, which was FANTASTIC! The coolest city sky-line I’ve ever seen (so far:). And we instantly noticed that the people in HK are very friendly. Our Airbnb is perfect — kitchen, two bedrooms, GREAT view (see below)!
We’ve gone to Victoria Peak, walked around the city, had some good food. (David and the kids are more into the food than I am — big surprise:). LOVE HK!
Today we leave for Thailand. Looking forward to hiking in Chiang Mai and relaxing on Phuket Island!
Thailand looks fantastic! Loved the pictures (and the fact that everyone is smiling). David, your point about meeting people from other countries/cultures and recognizing how alike we all are is so important–and it’s one of those lessons that can only be learned by actually meeting people. Max and Zoe are benefitting from this trip in ways they won’t realize for a long time….
Great post Jackie! Too bad you didn’t realize that cabs in Beijing only pick up fares at cab stations. Your consierge should have told you. It left you you with a bad impression of the city
Great post by Jackie! Like Stephen, I’m especially enjoying the different perspectives. (Haven’t seen anything from Max yet, though…)
Very cool, I am loving reading the different observations from each of you.