Tag Archives: China

Stopover in Shanghai

Asia August 30, 2013 Leave a comment

So everyone has a bad day every now and then. I had a really bad one in Shanghai. Mike had flown back to Hong Kong for his flight home, and I flew onward to Shanghai (where my outbound flight home was leaving from). I had just over a day to explore on my own, so I woke up early to check my email and head out. I was really excited to get out and see Shanghai, but I received a pretty upsetting email from back home that stuck with me all day.

I headed out and decided to try and put it out of my mind, but by the time I had reached People’s Square and was walking up to the Shanghai Museum – I was already in tears again. I walked around for a bit, but couldn’t shake the news. Still crying behind my sunglasses as I explored the Old Town and Yuyuan Garden Bazaar, I was determined to enjoy Shanghai.

Shanghai Museum in People's Square

Shanghai Museum in People’s Square

I figured that East Nanjing road and the Bund might do it, so I hopped back on the metro, but when I got off I couldn’t get my bearings and wasn’t able to figure out which direction to head. I was a red-faced weepy mess, and was too embarrassed to ask anyone for directions.

Defeated, I decided that I needed something to cheer me up. This may sound ridiculous, but I always feel really awesome when I change shampoos and it makes my hair extra shiny. So on my way back to the hostel, I found a drugstore bought some new shampoo to put a smile on my face.

After a little downtime, some fresh laundry and shiny, “new shampoo day” hair – I was ready to go. I headed out with my head high and my eyes dry. I’m so glad that I decided to go back out and explore a little more because Shanghai had some gorgeous sights in store for me.

The view of the Harbour from the Bund.

The view of the Harbour from the Bund.

This time I figured out the correct exit from the metro (it was actually super easy), and ended up cruising down East Nanjing road. In hindsight, it was for the best that I came back at night, because the street was lit up and sparkled. All of the buildings had bright signs and lights illuminating their façades. The whole street was full of people and street performers and had an amazing energy. I walked all the way to the end with a stupid grin plastered across my face and finally ended up at the Bund having totally forgotten all about that morning-ruining email.

The famous Peace Hotel was all lit up as were the rest of the buildings on the Bund. I walked along the waterfront and snapped photos of the gorgeous skyline. It couldn’t have been a more perfect way to end the trip.

Thanks Shanghai, you really know how to cheer a girl up.

Beijing

Asia August 29, 2013 Leave a comment

Beijing was a blast. Again, we didn’t have that much time, but we tried to jam in as much as we could. The night we arrived, we hopped on the subway and headed up to Tiananmen Square. Unfortunately the Forbidden city had already closed for the day, but we explored around and took pictures of the square instead.

The Forbidden City

The Forbidden City

In addition to our visit to the Great Wall of China, we also headed up to see the Olympic Green. The Olympic buildings and towers were all really impressive. It felt a little eerie though, as not many people were around. It was kind of forgotten except for a handful of tourists and some vendors trying to sell pictures and children’s toys.

Olympic Green. Photo: Mike Fallone

Olympic Green. Photo: Mike Fallone

While we were walking through the Olympic Green, a man stopped us and asked us if we could take his picture. He set mike up with his camera, and posed away. Then he asked if he could take a picture of us, and started directing us as if it were a photo shoot. He posed Mike and I like it was prom. Once he was happy with the pictures he took of the two of us, he gave the camera back to Mike and decided that he needed a series of him and I. After about 10 different poses, he took the camera, scrolled through the shots and waved us on. I really regret that we didn’t think to take any pictures on our own cameras, as the whole thing was hilarious.

We're still smiling, cause this is right before we got a mouthful of sand.

We’re still smiling, cause this is right before we got a mouthful of sand.

Our final night in Beijing we headed over to Donghuamen Night Market for some more exploring. It was packed with people and all kinds of food and souvenirs. Along with delicious looking fruit skewers, the food stalls were lined with fried scorpions, snakes, and beetles. The first stall we stopped at convinced us to try snake and snake skin (which is apparently good for your skin). Feeling confident at that point, we decided to try scorpions and starfish so that we could say that we did (I don’t think I would do it again). We finished off our snacking with some fruit rather than moving on to the juicy looking tarantulas. For the record, scorpions are just crunchy and starfish taste like sand.

The Great Wall of China

Asia August 28, 2013 Leave a comment

Having just arrived in Beijing the night before via a 24 hour train ride, obviously the most logical thing to do the next morning was to get on another train. Of course it was, but this time the train was to the Great Wall of China. Mike and I decided that since we were train experts, we would be able to make our way to the Great Wall sans pricey packaged tour (and we actually succeeded for the most part).

This train was hilarious. A total 180 experience from our quiet and civilized sleeper car from Hong Kong, the train to Badaling didn’t have assigned seating, so to our surprise as soon they opened the doors to the platform everyone started running to get the best seats. This was nothing like I’ve ever seen before. It was full out sprinting to the train as if it was already in motion and leaving the station.

Since we left from the first station (and would be picking up more passengers at subsequent stations), there were plenty of seats for everyone, but this didn’t stop us from running as fast as we could to grab our preferred seats as well (although I’m not sure we knew what exactly we were looking for in train seats).

The Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China

Once we were all settled and the train started off, it chugged along for the first half hour through the suburbs and then started out into the mountains. As the mountains got larger, we started to catch glimpses of the wall and towers. Our first challenge that morning had been finding the right ticket window and get on the right train. We really hadn’t thought too far ahead of that, and realized that we had no idea which stop to get off at. We quickly formulated a plan to just get off where the most people were getting off, and hope for the best.

Our strategy worked out for us, and we got off at the same stop as almost everyone else on the train. It turns out that we were visiting the Great Wall on a national holiday with a ton of other locals, so we just followed the stream of people out of the station and up the road to the ticket counter.

A heads up to anyone who goes to visit the Great Wall. It’s a hike, some parts are reaaaaaaally steep. Dress accordingly. Not thinking, I wore inappropriate shoes for walking, and whined and complained all the way up. Mike was amazing at encouraging me to go farther, and kept telling me that if I stopped I would be disappointed in myself. I really appreciate that he kept pushing me, since the further we went, the more amazing the views got. The view from our end point was spectacular.

These people took pictures with Mike. I'm not sure they were fans of me.

These people took pictures with Mike. I’m not sure they were fans of me.

The wall was packed with local tourists (many of whom were also not wearing appropriate hiking footwear – some ladies were in heels!!). They kept stopping us and asking me to pose for pictures. I really hope that it’s because they were confusing me with some famous celebrity. Mike was starting to get annoyed, because no one wanted his photo. But when we got to the end, he was finally asked to pose in someone’s picture (and they didn’t want anything to do with me).

We got engraved medals to celebrate our climb and then proceeded to take the world’s sketchiest gondola down to sprint for a train that wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

Hong Kong and the overnight train to Beijing with my best friend’s husband

Asia August 27, 2013 Leave a comment

Hong Kong was a pretty last minute trip, and was only about a week in total. This meant that it was my favourite kind of travel – no plans and free to explore whatever we felt like.

Mike and I decided that we would spend a few days in Hong Kong and then head up into China to do some exploring. So with only a couple precious days in HK, we jumped in headfirst. I have an expat friend, Elspeth, there who we met up with, and acted as our nightlife tour guide. Without thinking, I introduced Mike to Elspeth as “my best friend’s husband” since I thought it made the most sense for the situation. Mike is still upset about that introduction (he’s since started referring to me as his wife’s friend). Elspeth brought us to some of her favourite places for dinner, drinks and views.

My best friend's husband and I on a whirlwind tour of HK nightlife.

My best friend’s husband and I on a whirlwind tour of HK nightlife.

The next few days in HK were spent checking out Mong Kok and all the markets, the fantastic architecture in Union Square and stunning views from Victoria Peak.

Mike and I happily (and haphazardly) found out that if you’re going to Victoria Peak, it’ best to go early in the morning. We showed up for the tram at about 9am, and only waited for about 5 minutes for our tickets and then another 5 for the tram to arrive. By the time we got back down to the bottom, the lines looked as if to be at least half an hour wait each, as they wrapped around the building and doubled back.

The view from Victoria Peak

The view from Victoria Peak

Since time was limited, we decided that an overnight train would be our best bet to get to China (in order to save on time and see the most). We had originally talked about heading up to Shanghai, but it turned out there weren’t any trains leaving when we wanted to, so Beijing was decided for us.

The train was a fun adventure, but was pretty uneventful. We left Hong Kong in the afternoon and spent the ride reading and trying to kill time (turns out neither of us know any 2 people card games). Really all there was to do was have dinner in the dining car and head to bed early.

Our pretty sweet compartment on the train to Beijing

Our pretty sweet compartment on the train to Beijing

We woke up somewhere in Hunan province, which was neat. It was cool to see the change of scenery from the night before. Hong Kong was pretty tropical feeling with it’s big palm trees and ferns. The landscape had changed so much by morning. It was also really interesting to see the different stations we rolled through. By the time we pulled into Beijing, we were both really impressed that we hadn’t killed each other after spending so much time in such a confined space.