Xi'an

Aw, Xi'an, what a beautiful city. Xi'an is home of the Terracotta Warriors, and houses 7 million people, which is quite small in comparison to Beijing and Shanghai. This city dates back 2000 years or more so you can imagine how much history there is here. It is so clean, and lush and the food is fabulous. We arrived here yesterday morning, the 29th again by overnight train. This time the train experience was fabulous. Our hotel is beautiful and we are in a very nice area. Yesterday morning we went on a quick tour of the city, walked down to the Muslim quarters, had lunch and headed to the Mosque.
The food here is great. I can't explain how excited I am to be off my cup of noodles soup diet. There is a large Muslim population in Xi'an, also home to original Mandarin. The muslim quarters are very interesting, you can tell that much of it has been preserved. Yesterday was also about 35 degrees, and very humid. After our day in the Muslim quarters our group went for a bike ride along the city walls. The bikes were from 1950, rusty and at times I was sure going over the huge bumps on the wall would be the end of it. But we made it, and it was awesome. To cap off the night we decided to go for McDonalds. Carmen and I were quite happy about that!

This morning we were up early as it was a day for the Terracotta Warriors. Oh my, words could not describe how amazing this experience was. We watched a video about the history of the warriors. They were built in 200 BC to protect the body of the Emperor of China after his death. 700,000 people took part in the digging and the making of the warriors. It's just so amazing to me that one person was worth all that work, wonder if that would be me one day : ) There were said to have been 6,000 warriors and horses buried in Pit 1, and there are 4 pits. Pit 1 has had the most warriors discovered, which were originally discovered in 1976. They did open Pit 1 till 1981. This place is amazing, this is what I'm travelling for. I've attached pictures of the warriors I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

After this we went to Mount Hua. It was absolutely breathtaking, well what we could see of it. It was rainy and very foggy but so lush and vast. I actually took a cable car up and the ride up was terrifying. For those who don't know, I am super scared of heights. I gripped Megan's arm the whole time. Once we were there we explored all that we could considering the weather wasn't great and we couldn't see much. It was still a ton of fun. Tonight we hung out in the Muslim quarter. We had a quick dinner considering we had to be on the go early the next morning. Tomorrow we are heading to Chengdu by plane, thank God! We are there for a few days before we board our boat for 3 nights to Yangtze river then to the Three Gorges dam...really looking forward to that.

I'll write as soon as I can...miss you all!!!

Shanghai

Paul, a guy from Florida in our tour eating squid from a street vendor.

All our group at a local pub in Shanghai.



We took the overnight train to Shanghai a few days ago. Leaving Beijing was not that hard.
Carmen and I had been there for a few nights and we were just ready for something different. The overnight train was an experience. We almost got trampled over trying to fit through the gate to get to the train. There isn't much order in China as there are so many people and it just becomes a shoving match. I was carrying all my luggage and it was so hot so it wasn't the best experience. Once we got on though, and settled on the train, our group had a good time. Arriving in Shanghai was pretty cool. It had a bit of a New York feel to it. We did a quick tour of the city,of 17 million. Had some lunch and took the subway to see the Jade Buddha. We have definitely seen our fair share of temples since we have been in China. The picture up top was taken at Jade Buddha Temple. That night we went to a Chinese play that felt very similar to Cirque. I loved it, and am fascinated by what people can do. I finally found a bar that served something other then Chinese beer, so that was a bonus. The lounge was on a roof top and had the best Moijitos ever. That night I went back to the room a little tipsy. About an hour later I felt the building move and because I had been drinking I wasn't sure if it was me or an earthquake. Then I heard a guy on a horn outside our hotel, yelling something and driving up and down the streets. I was sure something wasn't right, but made myself go back to bed. I woke up in the middle of the night and was sick, not from the drinking either! In the morning one of the girls in our group, Megan from California, confirmed that it was in fact a very minor earthquake I felt. Not to worry anyone, it wasn't bad at all. Strange, but not scary. Shanghai, although interesting, was also dirty, crowded and smoggy. I have never experienced smog like this before, and although I was warned before I came here nothing could really prepare me for that. I am glad to have gone, but when it was time to leave, especially after experiencing the minor earthquake and getting sick, no Moijito could've kept me there no matter how good it was!

Cultural Differences

Before I leave for Shanghai tonight I wanted to share some of the biggest cultural shocks I've experienced so far. Although I am staying in a hotel in Beijing that feels very similar to home, I've already noticed some major differences from North American culture, of course this is to be assumed.

Splitting pants - these pants are made for the babies/children who are not potty trained. The pants have a piece at the back that is cut, so the children can go to the bathroom anywhere, and they do. What I've been told is that the Chinese don't believe in diapers, therefore these pants make it easier for the children to use the washroom. I would take a picture, but that's not going to happen.

Squat toilets - I was warned about these but it still doesn't prepare you. From what I've been told, Chinese don't like sitting on seats or flushing toilet paper as it's a very dirty way to live. So instead, there are holes in the ground that you use as toilets. It's very different and not something I would want to get used to. It's amazing how you can train your bladder to wait till you get back to your hotel.

Driving and pedestrians - I would never, ever ever drive in this place! People honk their horn constantly. There is a constant beep sound that lingers in the thick, polluted air. I can't tell you how many times I have thought we would get into an accident, either with another vehicle or hitting someone. Pedestrians stand in the middle of the road in rush hour traffic on major roadways playing human frogger, sometimes missing cars by inches. They don't get mad or even make a face when the car just about runs them over. I will photograph this, cause I just can't get over it. But even though it all seems so much more dangerous then how we drive, I would be curious to know how many accidents actually happen here.

These are some of the biggest cultural differences for me. I'm sure there will be much more and I'll share them all: )

Great Wall

The Great Wall.

Words can't begin to describe how it felt to take a walk on this wonder of the world. First of all, I must tell you. The hike up was the biggest ass kicking I have ever had in my life. I don't know if it was the incline, the humidity, dehydration. But there was a moment that I thought I would actually pass out, and I probably would have if I didn't take a break when I did. Once I pulled myself together, I downed some Gatorade, ate my banana and felt almost instantly better. This is by far the most insane piece of history I have ever explored. The wall is so large that the one person who actually explored all of it took him 3 years to do so. We hiked for about 3 hours and I climbed until I thought I couldn't climb anymore. It was just breathtaking, and of course you aren't going to give up. The Great Wall was built about 600 years ago to protect China from the Mongolians. After 3 hours of hiking we decided to take the luge down the rest of the way. This luge is made of tin and you ride a piece of plastic sort of go kart down, this felt a lot like Cool Runnings (Canadian reference). The guys that supervise this ride were yelling for people to slow down but they were yelling at me to go faster. I'm a baby. I just didn't feel as safe as others, especially when the signs said things like "don't go over edge"... : ) It was a cool, one in a lifetime experience. My tour group, by the way, is so fabulous. A mix of really great people, 4 Americans, 2 English and 1 Australian. So far the blend is perfect. After 3 weeks that might change, but for now it's great!

Today we toured Tiamen square and the Forbidden City. It was all very interesting and there is so much history in one small space. It was really hot again today and I wasn't feeling to great so I came back early to rest. I'll attach more pics of today later on this week. Tonight is a free night and we are going to the Pearl Market in Beijing. I'll fill you in on that later. Tomorrow evening we are taking an overnight train to Shanghai. Can't wait to share more!

Arrived

After 24 hours of planes and airports Carmen and I arrived in Beijing Saturday at 1:30 pm. Getting off the plane felt great. We had to take a train to get our luggage, something new for us and after that walked out to a thousand Chinese people, mostly holding signs, none of which said Carmen and Jenn. Panic set in a little bit, but a few moments later our driver found us. He didn't speak any English, but we had a Mandarin book from our friend Sarah so we made small talk. Luckily, I am a wizard at charades  The humidity here is wild and it was only a matter of seconds being outside that we started to sweat.

We haven't done much of anything so far. After arriving at our hotel, we crashed for 14 hours in hopes of getting on a new schedule. Today is a free day for us. We will be meeting with our tour group tonight and off to the Great Wall of China tomorrow morning. That is the kickstart of our 21 day tour of China.

Attached is a pic of Carmen and I at lunch drinking our first of many beer in China. 

Bye for now!

Today is the day before Carmen and I leave. I'm almost surprisingly calm compared to the weeks before. I had been in a typical Jenn panic mode, but these last few days the excitement and anticipation has hit. I haven't finished packing though, so I guess that may be something to worry about. But I won't, I'm sure until I'm on the plane. In a few days I will be so far away, I can't really even begin to imagine that.

My next post will be so much more!