Terracotta Warriors and a Wild Goose Pagoda

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I had set the alarm the night before for a 7:00 wake up. I was pretty sure it wasn't necessary given I haven't slept past 4:30 yet but I did it just in case. As expected I was up early but at least slept until 6:30. We are meeting our guide at 9:00 and I would like to grab some breakfast before heading out.

The food here doesn't even compare to the hotel in Beijing and I'm a little disappointed. I find some fried rice, bacon, and vegetables and it will do just fine. It takes a half hour to eat, we grab our backpacks from the room and are ready for the day.

Our first stop of the day was at the Wild Goose Pagoda, one of the most important Buddhist sites in China, and still an active monastery. Standing seven stories tall, it is quite impressive. For only a few yuan we are permitted to climb to the top. From the top you can see out windows in each direction. The grounds from up here look to be beautifully kept, green and lush. Within the walls of the monastery there a few golden Buddhas on display as well as wall art made of carved jade and wood. The detail in the carvings is precise and I wonder how long it would have taken to create this.

Photo by Aaron Salus - Buddha at the Wild Goose Pagoda

With so much more to see we head back to the car for the trip out of town to see the Terracotta Warriors. Before long we pull up to the museum and our guide arranges our tickets. We pass through the gates and jump in a trolley that takes us to Pit 1. It's huge! I guess I didn't fully understand the scale of the discovery. The trenches the warriors were found in cover a large amount of land.

Inside there are people everywhere and it's hard to get a good viewing spot by the railing. We eventually find an opening and quickly move in. Our guide explains the history of the farmer who made the discovery and the theory of why they were built by the Emperor. It's all very fascinating. There are fully restored warriors and unearthed pits still full of broken shards waiting to be whole again. It's a monumental undertaking to put it all back together. Some pits are still fully covered, waiting until more advanced technology comes along. They say that the warriors were all painted but the colour disappears as soon as the air touches them.

We walk the short distance to Pit 3. It's the smallest pit and also the only one that is fully excavated. Here there are generals and other high ranking officials, as well as four horses and a place where a chariot would have been. The chariots were made of wood and have long since disappeared.

There is still one more pit to see but it's after noon and time for lunch. Our meal today will be on the grounds in the museum restaurant. It's buffet style with a few hot dishes served to your table. I wonder why they stuck us right to the front but soon realize we have the best seats in the house. We are located directly in front of the soup station where a chef is making stretched noodles. He takes a roll of dough and swings it up and down, twisting it and folding it over and over until the pieces are long and thin. Into the soup bowls they go to be covered with a mouthwatering broth. He was fascinating to watch. He did this over and over, whenever more noodles were needed for the customers. Each batch only taking a couple of minutes to make.

After eating all we could of our delicious lunch we make our way to Pit 2. A lot of Pit 2 is not yet excavated in the hopes that future archaeological techniques will help preserve the findings. What they do have in this building is fully restored Terracotta Warriors in glass cases so you can have a close up view of the statues. Each one has details showing hair, finger nails, wrinkles, etc. and every warrior is different, they have not found two that are identical.

Photo by Aaron Salus - Terracotta Warriors

Having spent a few hours taking in the enormity that is the Terracotta Warriors, we leave the museum and return to Xi'an. We now have some time to explore the very well preserved city wall. Our guide and driver take us to the East entrance and we climb the stairs to the top. It's a warm afternoon, the sun is out, and we have a great view of the city. A group of men and women are doing Tai Chi and trying to teach a few moves to a group of young tourist kids. It looks a little hopeless, most of them aren't aren't paying much attention. Throngs of cyclists zip past us and Aaron instantly decides me must cycle the wall. The lineup to get a bike is long but we wait patiently. Our tour guide gives up her tourism identification as collateral for the bikes but seems a little concerned she may lose it somehow. We assure her we will return on time.

We now have an hour and a half to travel the 13.7 km circumference of the wall. The bikes we are given look fairly new but once on our way we find them a little shoddy. My brake is sticking and making a low squeely sound that I find very irritating but it is soon forgotten over concern for my ass. I'm only about 5 minutes into the ride and my butt is already sore. The road is rough and full of missing stones. It's hard to take in the city having to be watching vigilantly for the next bone crushing hole. The shock resonates through my hands and shoulders as well and I feel like I'm going to shake apart. Aaron seems to be enjoying himself though, he's happily pedalling along without any complaint. Maybe it's the Kenny G. loop playing over the speakers making him so relaxed.

We stop about three quarters of the way around to buy a beverage, we have lots of time to complete the ride and I need a respite from this kidney crushing experience. One grape soda and an orange tang-like drink later we mount our horses once more for the final leg. I guess I dawdled too long and now we need to hurry so our guide won't lose her tourism badge.

We make it with 5 minutes to spare and our guide looks thoroughly relieved. Once off the bike for good I quickly forget all the potholes and would recommend the experience to anyone who wanted to try it. It's a great way to see the old city.

A few minutes in the car to the hotel and we have a few minutes to get cleaned up before dinner. Tonight we are seeing a dinner theatre. Local entertainment and, Aaron's favourite, local dumplings!

We end up at the same restaurant as yesterday but this time we have dinner in the theatre. Our table is right up front by the stage, excellent seats to see the show. Much to Aaron's dismay though, we will not be getting the dumpling dinner that was promised. Instead it's a western style dinner to cater to the tourists. The food turned out to be very disappointing but the show was quite good, although a tad too long. We were both squirming in our seats wanting to head back to the hotel before it was finished. We sat through it until the end but quickly exited to start the walk back to the hotel. It's already 9:45 and way past my bed time.

The walk home was quite interesting. Every block there seemed to be a gathering of folks between 40 and 60 (I'm totally guessing) and they were all dancing! One group looked like they were waltzing, on the next block line dancing, on the next, some other form of group dancing. It was strange. Men and women, mostly facing away from the street, all dancing and it was mostly to western music.

Back at the hotel, I pat myself on the back for staying up past 8:30 but I'm exhausted and turn in. I'm in bed at 10:30. 

Xi'an, China

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An early flight means another early start to the day. I wake up at 4:00 so I can get ready and packed before we have to head down for breakfast at 5:00. Our guide will be here to pick us up at 5:45, just enough time to eat and check out.

Right on time, we are loaded into the car and begin the forty minute drive to the airport. The driver stops at our entrance and removes our bags from the trunk. Once on the sidewalk we decide this is a good time to tip our guide. Having painfully agonized about the amount based on what our tour company had provided as guidelines and how much we enjoyed our guide, we were very confident of our offering. We hand him the tip and wait for signs of gratitude. 

"Is there something for the driver as well?"

Uh oh, according to our guidelines we were supposed to give our guide the equivalent of $10 each per day and that would cover both him and the driver. In the same sentence he explains that a typical tip would be $6 for him and $3 for the driver from each of us ($18 total - ok), or about 200 yuan each day. But wait a minute, 200 yuan equals about $33! Either he's trying to hustle us or he has just blown the stereotype that all Chinese are good at math to smithereens. By the end of the conversation, we leave him with a couple more dollars but refuse to pay what he wants. I'm comfortable with our decision and just hope I didn't botch the math.

All checked in and through security we wait. The plane is about half an hour late but we board quickly. I had a window seat for this flight but there is so much smog and cloud cover that I can't see anything. I decide to try and catch up on my journaling so I don't forget anything from the past couple of days, I'm cursed with a very short memory. I'm lost in thought only to be interrupted by the flight attendant handing me a breakfast tray. It's only a two hour flight but they are serving breakfast! Being a texture person when it comes to food I'm not a big fan of congee so I took a look in the box to see what else there was. Cucumber salad with a big brown blob in it. I looked over at Aaron and hope he knows what the heck this is. It's a tea egg, and I don't think I can stomach it. "It's good", he says, "try a little". I break off the tiniest piece and give it a chew. It's not bad! 

We arrive in Xi'an to cool temperatures and a little rain. We easily find our guide this time and are shown to the car. The airport is outside the city and the drive takes about 40 minutes. Along the way our guide is telling us all that she can remember about the area's long history. Because of the rain she suggests we move our planned activity for the afternoon to the next day when the weather will be better. We agree and actually welcome some time to ourselves.

Dropped off at the hotel we get checked in and assess our room. Definitely not as nice as the hotel in Beijing but still very comfortable. It's been updated and has a king sized bed, there is nothing to complain about.

We have an entire afternoon to wander around the old city so we grab our rain jackets and head out. Xi'an's old city is located behind a very well preserved city wall and our hotel is about a block from the south gate. First on the agenda when we are inside is to find the bell tower and grab some lunch. According to the guide book there is a recommended restaurant just to the NW of the tower. Finding the restaurant isn't as easy as we had hoped and we spend some time getting lost. To the north of the bell tower we find a really busy street with lots of chaos, we decide to explore once we have had lunch.

We found the restaurant and ordered some dumplings. I'm not sure what we are going to get, I think Aaron had to do a lot of pointing at pictures. What came to the table was quite good even if it wasn't quite what was expected.

Photo by Aaron Salus - Food stall in the Muslim Quarter

Back in the streets we head north of the restaurant to find some adventure. Our guide had mentioned that the south and east directions from the tower were the more prosperous parts of town so we deemed them avoidable. Right away we notice the birds in the trees. There were many cages of them, singing away. It appears to be a normal occurrence, to bring your pet out for some air and socializing. A few blocks north we come across a westerly street that grabs our immediate attention. It is packed with people and vendors selling everything imaginable so we don't hesitate. Liver on a stick, squid on a stick, spiralled sausages on a stick, organ meats on a table where portions are chopped off and sold, noodles boiling away in big pots, walnuts being roasted, and dumplings everywhere. Some of it even looks edible but most of it just seems so odd. Handfuls of people all tucked away in tiny noodle houses with steaming bowls of broth. All of the grills and pots seem to be fired by coal and you can smell it in the air. 

There are people everywhere, though I don't feel as claustrophobic as I thought. My senses are on hyper alert as the streets are also filled with soundless electric scooters and bicycles that will run you down. Their horns are the only warning and often not until they are on your heels. Luckily the streets are too narrow and too busy to allow cars.

We walk many blocks west until suddenly the noise gives way to birds chirping and we are almost all alone. Feeling slightly more conspicuous we only wander a little farther until we find a street back to the crowds. Going back along the same street we already travelled I'm amazed at how different it looks just by going the opposite direction. 

Our wandering kept us out for three hours and I'm getting tired. I want to take a quick rest before having to search out our dinner. Because our hotel is close the walk is not long but crossing the busy road to get there is somewhat treacherous. Traffic laws are not abided by and pedestrians do not have the right of way. The order seems to be based on size. If you are a truck or a bus you go wherever and whenever you want. Then cars, scooters, bicycles, and lastly pedestrians. If you don't pay attention you will get run over. Our best defence has been to get close to some locals and do what they do. So far so good.

A few moments in the room and my feet thank me. It's nice to put them up for a minute. Suddenly we hear what sounds like rapid gunfire or fireworks from below our window. A quick peek reveals nothing so we assume its from the construction area very close by.

Dinner has been chosen though I'm not thrilled about walking there. Aaron assures me it's only a couple of blocks. Heading south away from the old town we walk along streets lined with shopping malls and modern buildings. It's a little farther than I had expected but the Tang Dynasty Xi'an restaurant appears. Luckily there is room for us and we are shown to a table.

The menu has English so ordering is quite easy. We select a dish of beef and wild mushrooms, BBQ pork with vegetables, and pork filled dumplings. It was all excellent. I decided to splurge and tried a glass of Chinese white wine. While not a great wine it was still refreshing.

The walk home was nice. Once again, with stuffed bellies, a stroll after dinner is welcomed. There are a few faint raindrops falling but nothing too concerning, until about half way home it starts to pour. Thank goodness for the rain jackets! We pick up the pace but are still soaked from the hips down when we arrive back at the hotel.

Up to the room and out of our wet clothes, we are getting ready for bed when the gunshot/fireworks noise comes again. In the dark it's easy to see now that the rain is causing the transformer on the power pole to spark. Aaron grabs the camera and takes a few shots, it's causing quite the commotion on the street below. The sparking subsides a little and I've seen enough. I turn to go to my luggage and find my PJs when, BANG! There is a bright flash and the whole transformer blows. Luckily we still have power in the hotel.

With nothing more to see and exhaustion taking over, I'm fast asleep by 8:30.

Photo by Aaron Salus - Dumplings for sale

The Great Wall of China

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Another early start, up at 4:30 again. I'm not adjusting to the time change very quickly. We don't meet our guide until 9:00 today so I have a fair bit of time to kill before we go down to breakfast. Luckily Aaron is awake as well so I don't have to try and be extra quiet.

Breakfast was an exact repeat of the day before and just as delicious. We finish up and meet our guide. We are told a good part of our day will be spent on the road so we better get moving.

I'm sure most tourists look forward to the shopping part of their trip but for me it's a pain in the ass. I'm not much of a shopper. Our guide informs us that we will be making a quick stop at the jade factory. I'm not sure what I was expecting but once we were inside it's filled with amazing sculptures. I take my time looking at everything. I'm convinced I'm taking something home with me. The dragons, the fish, the lions, and Aaron's favourite, the cabbages! At the end of the day I walk out empty handed. If I had to choose something it would have been the pair of lions that stood two and a half feet tall and would have been stunning in my garden. Maybe next time.

Our first real stop of the day is the Sacred Way. An ancient road to the Ming Tombs, it is a beautiful tree lined path flanked by the many mythical animals to protect the Emperor's actual burial site many miles away. Each animal is on both the left and the right, first in a sitting position and then standing. Being in both positions offers balance. After the animal protectors, then came the warriors, and then the ministers. The road was about 2 kilometres long in this well preserved park. It was a nice spot to just wander and we were almost the only ones there.

Back in the car, we take a more scenic route to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. At first I'm excited to see the countryside, away from the hustle of the city. My excitement very quickly turns to concern for life and limb. Our driver is an idiot! I'm pretty sure he broke every traffic law on the planet. Having been driven in the city for a couple days I was expecting the normal driving between lanes and turning without a signal type of stuff but this was ridiculous. Off the top of my head:
- speeding excessively, we never got passed once, this guy had to be first everywhere
- passing on blind corners, often to find other vehicles were (shockingly!) coming
- passing on the right in the bike lane, whether bikes were there or not. Apparently if you honk your horn they move out of the way
- straddling the centre line, I'm convinced they all pretty much drive in the centre
- driving in the shoulder
- never once stopped for pedestrians, again with the honking
- blowing through street lights
- forcing his way into traffic

I'm sure there is more, maybe I have blocked it from my mind, it was terrifying! I was white knuckling my backpack in the back seat for over an hour. The driving here is anarchy anyway but this guy takes the cake. I wanted out of that car immediately! With a different driver I would have probably enjoyed the ride. It was a windy mountainous road through small villages that beckoned to be admired.

Finally he pulls over to let us out for lunch and I consider kissing the ground as I step out of the car. We walk toward what looks like a greenhouse and I'm momentarily confused. The place is full of large trees and plants of all colours and sizes. There is even a large waterfall in the back. Our guide speaks with the lady standing at the front and we are shown to our table. Again, we are separated from the locals and segregated in the "tour" area, and we are the only ones there.

The food has been pre-ordered and comes out quickly. Kung Pao chicken, eggplant something (it was very good), sprouts and glass noodles in a wrap, and fruit. Everything was delicious.

Photo by Jillian Salus - Sacred Way

We now have to get back in the death machine to travel the last 10 minutes to the Great Wall. I'm uneasy about getting back in the car but I do it anyway, a wonder of the world awaits.

Out of the car again, our guide arranges our tickets for the cable car to the start of the trek. Originally we were going to hike up but decided against it once we saw how steep the climb was and figured we would rather spend our energy on the wall. It was the right choice. The temperature was in the 30's again and spending an hour just getting TO the wall wasn't appealing.

Tickets in hand we jump on a cable car up to the "top". It's just the top of the ride, the section of the wall we decide to hike is much higher. Once at the entrance to the wall we opt to go to the left. We are told there will be fewer people this way as it is a steeper climb. While we did encounter some people, there were no crowds. Before coming to China I had prepared myself to be with a million people at all times. So far this hasn't been the case.

Although a little hazy the views are still spectacular. We head off along the wall with excitement. It only takes us a few minutes to get away from the main area and it feels surreal. I can't believe I'm on the Great Wall of China! We walk quickly through the heat to get as far as we can before we have to turn back. The steepest part is ahead of us and we want to conquer it before turning around. It's tough, it's hot, and I'm dripping with sweat. I climb stairs that are as steep as a ladder telling myself that I can take a break at the top. 

As I top the steep staircase I take in the incredible view. It only takes a moment, though, to see the young girl in the corner sitting with her head on her backpack. In another very brief moment I realize why. She's has over-exerted herself and her lunch was no longer with her. Quickly moving away from the scene of the unfortunate incident I can go back to enjoying the vista.

Originally this was our turn around point but we still had some time so decided to forge ahead. We set our new goal farther and higher. Once there it really is time to turn back to meet up with our guide. I wish we could have gone further, it is a truly spectacular experience just to be there.

The way back doesn't take very long, it's mostly downhill. The steep sections require cautious steps but go more quickly than the climb and before long we are back at the cable car to descend to the parking lot. Leaving the cable car we are aggressively accosted by merchants trying to hock their wares for a dollar. Everything was a dollar, and I'm sure of the finest quality.

Photo by Aaron Salus - Great Wall of China

Part of me is hoping that our driver has been miraculously replaced, I'm not looking forward to the ride home. I disappointingly slide into the car and hope, no pray, for the best. Once on the road I try not to look since it makes me more nervous. I'm glad to report that we didn't have an accident of any sort though I'm not sure how. 

Back in Beijing our guide wants to take us to dinner early. We request that we have a few minutes to go back to the hotel and get cleaned up. A day in the muggy heat has made me sticky and gritty. Surprisingly, he seems a little put out by this. I guess an early dinner means an early night for him. Anyway, we insist and are dropped off at the hotel for a quick shower.

Dinner is world famous Peking Duck. The restaurant is only a couple of blocks from our hotel so we walk over. Our guide makes sure all the arrangements are correct and leaves us for the night. The dishes start coming out very quickly. The duck is carved table-side and we are shown how to wrap it with cucumber and leek. It's wonderful. The other dishes are beef in black bean sauce, spicy chicken and bean sprout, and the best braised cabbage I've ever had. Dessert was 'toast roll-ups' as Aaron calls them and fruit.

The walk home was welcome as we were over stuffed again. There has been so much food everywhere we go. Popping into a convenience store on the way, I pick up some bobby pins so I can wear one of my lovely scarves the next day and Aaron grabs a drink. I'm looking forward to kicking off my shoes and relaxing.

Back at the hotel, its about 7:45. I'm out of my clothes and into my PJs in no time. Once the weight of the day is released I realize just how tired I really am. I only make it to 8:00. 

Beijing, China

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I wake up about 4:30 in the morning and curse a little for not being able to sleep more. My internal clock is still on Calgary time and fighting it just isn't working. I decide to get up. It's going to be an exciting day.

I head over to the window to get a glimpse of the city that zipped past us on our way from the airport last night. It's so hazy you can barely see across the street. 

After lounging for a while I get ready and we head down to the hotel Cafe for the buffet breakfast. They have Chinese, Western, and Japanese food to choose from. I head over to the Chinese food and load up on veggies, fried rice, and bacon. It was delicious. Add in a cup of black tea and I'm a really happy girl. My gnawing hunger from the night before didn't stand a chance.

A quick trip back up to the room to grab our stuff for the day and we meet up with our guide to head out. First on the agenda is Tiananmen Square. It only takes a few minutes to get to there from the hotel. As we pull up our guide says something I really didn't want to hear.

"Oh no, it's closed." HUH?

Yup, closed. Guards every 50 feet to make sure no one jumps the temporary fencing and tries to get in. Apparently there must have been a delegate in town (or something) and the square was closed to the public. Our guide decides the best we can do is drive around the square and take a few pictures. 

Once around the other side the driver lets us out and we make our way through the underground tunnel to get to the other side of the street. We are able to take a few pictures from here but the haze takes away from the detail just a little. Seeing all we can see we walk on to the entrance to the Forbidden City. It's hard to miss with an enormous picture of Chairman Mao overhead. 

Photo by Aaron Salus - sculpture in the Forbidden City

We spent a few hours touring the grounds and it was beautiful. Our guide tells us little tidbits of Chinese history, culture, and customs. The whole place is built respecting Fung Shui principles to ward off evil spirits and keep everything in balance. The architecture is really amazing with the tile roofs and painted rafters. The mythical animals that perch on the corners of the eaves tell the people of the building's status. Intricately carved jade can be found in many of the rooms we viewed, as well as porcelain vases in blues and whites.

The garden area was covered in peonies, the national flower. Our guide was very impressed that we have a peony in our own garden. They only bloom for about two weeks here and we were lucky enough to see them in their white, pink, and purple glory.

Leaving the walls of the city we walk to where our driver is waiting to take us to lunch. We are promised local food at a local restaurant. We are seated in a large room reserved for group tours, though we are the only ones there. We are served a cabbage dish, a potato dish (my favourite), pork with a bean curd wrap, a chicken dish, tomato and egg drop soup, and fruit, all served with rice, of course. I found everything to be very good with the exception of the soup, it was mostly tasteless. Apart from feeling like we didn't quite get the local experience we wanted, it was all very enjoyable.

The Summer Palace is our next stop so we climb back into the car and are sped away. Literally, our driver is a speeder. I don't think he goes anywhere slowly (or safely, but I'll get to that). We wander through the gardens with the bank of the man made lake on one side and the Empress' covered walkway on the other. Walking and chatting we end up at our embarkation point to take a boat in the form of a dragon back to the beginning. Taking the boat back gets us a great view of the temple up on the hill, which is barely noticeable from the banks. It's perched up high above the shore upon the dirt removed to make the lake, and it's stunning.

We have some time to ourselves in the gardens and take a bridge over to the island and take 20 minutes to wander through. 

Photo by Aaron Salus - Summer Palace

On the drive from the Summer Palace we make a quick stop at a silk factory. The process of silk production is quite amazing and we contemplate buying a new duvet for our bed but decide against it. I do end up purchasing a couple of very beautiful scarves.

Hot and tired (it was 30 degrees) we decide we have had enough for one day and agree to an early dinner. In our itinerary this is noted to be our welcome dinner. We walk into a very sparsely tabled serving room where we are the only guests, again. It's very elegant, and everything is white leather. I feel severely under dressed. We are asked to choose from 3 set menus. Aaron wants to try the fish. It doesn't say what kind of fish we will be getting but we go for it anyway. Served with rice hot pot and cabbage, the fish with black bean paste is quite good, though I think I liked lunch more.

Sufficiently stuffed and extremely tired we are taken back to our hotel for the evening. I only make it to 8:00 and I'm fast asleep. Tomorrow, we conquer the Great Wall.

Getting to Beijing, China

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Wow, that was a long flight. I had my doubts about half way through our flight from Vancouver to Shanghai that I was actually able to sit in an airplane for 12 hours. I kept looking at my watch wondering why time was standing still. Having never been any good at sleeping sitting upright I knew this was going to be a long night. At one point, about 8 hours in, I felt tired enough to give it a try. The rest of the passengers were obviously on a different schedule though, and were all just waking up. The noise in the cabin was like nails on a chalkboard and I was agitated.

I gave sleep a half-assed try and gave up about an hour later. Oh well, maybe on the next leg of our journey?

China Eastern Air turned out to be a pretty nice airline and I would certainly fly with them again. The staff are all very friendly and speak very good English (admittedly, I should have learned a few more words in Chinese before boarding). One cautionary note; don't request gluten free meals unless you are really sensitive. While they were technically gluten free, so is cardboard, and may have tasted only slightly better.

My first meal was boiled chicken, boiled potatoes, and boiled carrots. Yup, that's it. Oh ya, with a rice cake and margarine on the side. That may have been the best part. Aaron, on the other hand, had fried fish and rice noodles in a nice sauce with green beans and carrots. He said it was pretty good. I was envious but optimistic that the next meal would be better.

My next meal turned out to be.....a meat filled bread thingy. I obviously passed on that. Aaron said it was really good! (Are we seeing a trend already?)

By this point in the trip I'm way past tired and I'm starving. This is not a good combination. There is a brief moment when I wanted to either cry or, well, cry. I refrained, but it was tough.

Hope surfaced when, about 10 hours into the trip, they started serving breakfast; our last meal. I figured there was no way I was going to get screwed on this one. I mean, how hard is scrambled eggs and bacon? This is where I think I actually heard my heart break just a little bit and saw my last pinch of hope fly out the window. I open my warm airline foil packet to find a mass of white goop (I think it was some sort of egg substitute, because real eggs would be ridiculous) covered with steamed spinach (long past it's edible window), boiled potatoes, and a boiled tomato. I couldn't eat it. The regular Western breakfast? Scrambled eggs and sausages with hash browns. I must have looked like a 5 year old who just dropped his ice cream cone. I just stared. I was dumbfounded. I resolved to change my meal request for our flight home.

Once in the Shanghai airport I was impressed at the efficiency of the customs and immigrations folks. There were a LOT of people in that lineup and we made it through pretty quickly. I did find it odd that we had to go through a radiation detector (thankfully Aaron thinks it was off). Once on the inside we grabbed our bags and endeavoured to find our connection to Beijing. If only we could read Chinese! While there are English translations for most things, they forgot to translate somewhere that domestic flights were actually in another terminal. We only lost about 20 minutes figuring that out and jump on a shuttle to terminal 2.

Once checked in we head to the gate. My stomach is yelling at me to eat something! I tell myself, "I'll get something on the next flight". I'm not sure if it was the lack of sleep or the intense hunger but I know now that I was delusional. It's been many years since most airlines serve actual food. This was no exception. There was nothing edible. Except sandwiches, there seems to always be sandwiches.

We board the plane and just our luck we sit on the tarmac for about 40 minutes. I only figured this out when we arrived in Beijing 40 minutes late because as soon as I was in my seat I passed out. That was the first hour of sleep I had been able to get since waking up 18 hours prior, and it felt great. If only I could find about 8 more of those I would be set!

We land in Beijing and are anticipating being greeted by a smiling guide holding our names up high on a sign. We quickly realize he's actually not there. I want to cry (for the tenth time) and momentarily deem our trip cursed and ruined; because nobody overreacts when they are starved and exhausted, do they? After waiting somewhat patiently Aaron decides to give him a call. Yup, he's there but had been waiting at the international gate arrivals. As he comes to find us I'm so happy to see 'Robert' that I could hug him. Side note, he confirms that giving himself a western name is for our sake though I'm pretty sure he's just tired of hearing his name brutally mispronounced by us foreigners.

Off to the hotel we go. We arrive, check in without much hassle, and proceed to our room. I have never seen a better looking king sized bed in my life!