This weekend we have a 3-day weekend due to Monday being a public holiday in Perth for the Queen’s birthday. Since I have an extra day, I decided to fly to Bali for the weekend. After I was finished with my client for the day, I went back to my apartment to grab my bag and then took the bus to the airport for my 7:20pm flight.
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I’m very glad I had the room to myself last night, because I was sick all night and into the morning. I’m also glad I brought toilet paper with me, because Indians don’t seem too keep it stocked in their bathrooms. All night I was in and out of the bathroom having diarrhea. At one point I was having diarrhea and I threw up in the sink. I tried to clean it up as best as I could, but I feel bad for cleaners that come in after me. Since I was up all night, I got little sleep and I still didn’t feel good in the morning. I didn’t want to risk a repeat, so I ended up staying at the hotel instead of going out to see the different sights in Delhi. Checkout is at 11am, so I went downstairs at 10:30am to pay for an extra night in the room, even though my flight is tonight. Otherwise, I relaxed in the room and napped on and off. I want to be completely well before my long flight to Australia tonight. My flight from Delhi to Kuala Lampur left at 11pm, but I had to get to the airport 3 hours early. I had already paid for a pickup, so a woman from the cab company came to pick me up. This cab company is supported by G Adventures, and it gives a job to a woman who needs the money to support their family, when usually women find it hard to find good employment in India. She came to pick me up on time and the hotel guys helped me load the cab. It was a lot different driving with her in a small car than in our big bus. Our bus could force other cars out of the way, whereas she could not. It also doesn’t help that Indians don’t appear to have traffic laws and driving between the lines is optional. I was very surprised we didn’t get in a car accident on the way to the airport. Her passenger mirror ended up hitting another car while we were going, and the guy from the other car yelled something at her, but she just kept going. Needless to say, I was glad when we arrived at the airport. At the airport it was very crowded. Usually there aren’t many people around airports at night, but not here. I had to wait in line to check my bags and for Security, but luckily it wasn’t too bad. The gates are set up weird here. Each one is closed off like a room. So I went to the gate, sat down, and started working on my blog. Then, about 45 minutes before the flight they make everyone leave, stand in a line outside the room, and let people in as they check tickets. Why couldn’t they have done that originally when I first walked in? After reclaiming my seat again, I didn’t have long to wait until it was time to get in line again and board the flight. I’m glad I had a window seat, because once I got on I pulled out my pillow and went to sleep. I was the only person that signed up for the bike tour of Jaipur. Because of this, I had to get up and leave the hotel at 5 am. Kush arranged for a rickshaw to pick me up and take me to the bike place, and then when I finished to pick me back up to take me to the hotel. I later found out that he always uses this driver because a prior tourist accidentally left an expensive iPhone in his rickshaw’s back seat and instead of taking it he returned it to the tourist. Kush got his phone number then, and every time he needs a rickshaw driver in Jaipur he calls him.
After the concert hall, the guide took me to get chai tea. The only problem was that by that point I wasn’t feeling well. I drank more water, hoping it would help but it didn’t. When the guide turned away to purchase the tea, I ended up throwing up water on myself. I didn’t want to tell him I threw up, so I said I spilled water on myself. But when I drank the tea, I ended up throwing up again on the side of the street and there was no hiding that. The guide was super nice about it, and we took a break on the street while I recovered. If there were other people on the tour I would have bowed out and returned to the hotel, but since it was only me I felt I had to continue.
When we got back to our starting point, my rickshaw driver was waiting for me. I got my bag out of the office, and tipped my guide very well. I felt bad that I was the only person that wanted to do the tour and he was very nice about me being sick the whole time. The rickshaw driver took me back to the hotel and I went upstairs for a quick shower because I was very sweaty. Everyone was already waiting downstairs eating breakfast when I got back. I also wanted a quick breakfast, and Kush assured me I had enough time to eat so I order something quick and joined the group. When I joined the group, I left my backpack on the table. When I came back, the table was covered in ants. I quickly figured out that the bike place had ants and they got into my snacks in my backpack. I had to throw away the food, but the entire way back to Delhi I could see ants on the floor by my backpack.
Eventually we made it back to Delhi. When we entered the city, we all put money in an envelope for the pilot and co-pilot for a tip. They had really done a great job in driving and having cold water on hand for us for the entire trip. Guys from the hotel were waiting to take out bags for us, so we just had to walk back. At the hotel, I was also able to get my big suitcase that I had left behind.
After dinner we all went back to the hotel. Karen has a late flight tomorrow, but she didn’t feel comfortable at our hotel so she booked another one in a nicer area of Delhi, even though she had already paid the price for this one. So after dinner she caught a cab to her new hotel and I got the room to myself. Several people had decided to switch hotels, and I can’t say I blame them.
Today we have a more relaxed day since we saw the Amber Fort yesterday instead of today. This morning we had the choice between Jantar Mantar and Hawa Mahal. Jantar Mantar is an observatory where people tracked the movement of the stars and planets. Hawa Mahal is also known as the Palace of the Winds, due to the cool breeze that comes through the structure and keeps it cool.
Kush told us that this is a typical procession for when a person gets married. And there are 3 grooms because an Indian wedding is very expensive with paying for the procession and all the other wedding things, so many families wait until someone else in the family is getting married or a friend and they have a group wedding and split the cost. Kush told us that the Palace of the Winds doesn’t show much, it is just a view of the street and a museum, so all of us as a group decided we would rather go to Jantar Mantar. We ended up getting a local tour guide when we went inside and he was really knowledgable about the different instruments.
All of the instruments were very cool, but we were all ready to leave. There was no shade, which is good for an observatory that is tracking the movement of the sun. It was not good for us because he sun was draining us and we were all pouring in sweat. Coming into the observatory, there was a market so Kush gave us some time to shop before we got back on the bus. We walked up one street and down the other as a group, that way we had the power of numbers when the shop guys tried to lure us into their shop. If someone was interested in an item, we all stopped and looked. I did end up buying some elephants that I liked from a street vendor but that was it.
After we were finished at the print shop, Rob wanted to see a shop that sold the blue and white porcelain items we were seeing everywhere, so Kush found us a shop for that too. No one ended up buying any because they were pricey and we were all worried that they would break on the way home, but they were cool to see. We then went back to the hotel to relax for a while for our evening excursion.
I did not sleep well last night. During the middle of the night it started pouring! The wind was blowing so hard that I could feel the tent moving and I was convinced that it was going to come down on top of us. I had to mentally map out how I was going to escape when the tent collapsed. While I was preparing myself, I fell asleep off and on until morning. Somehow the tent survived the night. They really know how to pitch a tent! But when we woke up it was still raining outside. Karen had also signed up for the bike ride through the countryside, so we went out on the porch to watch the rain. While we were out there, I could see the guys in the next tent and Rob and Susan further down also standing outside beneath the tent’s overhang. None of us knew if we were still going out or not. I could also see the owner wathcing us watch the rain. Eventually it stopped, so we got our stuff and hurried out.
After we were done walking around, we returned to the camp to pack up our bags because we are leaving today for Jaipur. The rain was pounding down when we left, and I’m glad I switched my tennis shoes for sandles because there were huge puddles of water everywhere! Monsoon season is definitely coming. Most of the trip it was pouring, but luckily the rain had stopped by the time we got to Jaipur.
Kush also opened us to us at dinner and showed us pictures of his daughter. He does a lot of tours to support her, which is sad because he is rarely at home during tourist season. After dinner we took pictures on top of the rooftop and then returned to the hotel for some rest.
Today is another travel day as we are going to Dula Village. So we packed up our things and left Hotel Orange for the road. Hotel Orange was a lot better than the last hotel, though there still wasn’t hot water. But that might have been because all of us were trying to use the hot water at the same time.
The next building we went into was the Treasury. They had tax collectors in those days, but the collectors mostly collected food and other valuables. Those valuables were brought to this room. On the walls were cubby holes for jewels collected. In order to retrieve the jewels, you had to stick your hand into the wall. Now it is a place for bats, so it is not recommended to put your hand inside.
When we got back on the bus we had some entertainment as we drove on. Two boys were catching a ride to their village. The boys’ father is a magician, but not a successful one. He taught the boys several tricks, so they wait outside the well and go on tour buses to perform magic. Kush told us usually G Adventures doesn’t support these people, as the children should be in school, but they make exceptions for the rural areas as the people don’t have many options. I also don’t think that is safe for the kids, getting onto random buses. Though they should be okay as long as they target tour buses…
After my nap I went up to the main area, where there was a buffet set up. The food was very good and we all ate dinner together. Tomorrow we have the option of taking a bike ride through the town, and a couple of us decided to sign up for it. Since that is tomorrow morning, I went to bed early so I would be well rested.
The inner chamber that surrounds the tomb is in the shape of an octogon made of marble. Each side of the inner chamber is made out of a single piece of marble. The marble is inlaid with semi-precious stones. There were 2 men inside the tomb to make sure tourist don’t got where they aren’t supposed to. One of the guys had a flashlight and he held it up to the stone and it started to glow because it is a semi-precious stone. The level of craftmanship was extradorinary. I would be so worried of making a mistake that I wouldn’t be able to handle it.
After the shop owner had finished showing s how they make the rugs, it was time to show us the finished products and give us the opportunity to buy. They sat us on a couch facing a huge room with rugs everywhere and gave us the choice between tea and coffee. I got some tea and settled in to enjoy the show. They brought out all different kinds of rugs for us to see, with many different kinds of designs. He also showed us the different kinds of quality in the rugs, which affect the price.
They brought out more rugs, but the older lady from Michigan was the only one that ended up buying the more expensive rugs. One of the other girls bought a small rugh. When they brought out the small rugs, there was one of the Taj Mahal. I had planned on getting a painting of the Taj, but this is even better. So I ended up buyting that as well, but that was only $70, which isn’t too bad considering I was willing to spend up to $100. By this time we got word that the bus was downstairs waiting for us, so we went back down. The bus took us back to the hotel so we could pick up the rest of the group for our next site, Agra Fort. Agra Fort was the main residence of the Mughal emperors. Only about 20% of the fort is open to the public, as the rest is still used by the Indian military.
Once it stopped raining we hurried back to the bus before it could start again and went back to the hotel. We had the option of going to a local jeweler to see how they make jewelry and possibly buy some if we wanted to. By this point I was very tired and I just wanted to take a nap, so I passed. I think I have spent enough many today anyways.
At about 2 am my bag arrived at the hotel. The bad part was that I had to sign for it so they called our room and woke us up. I didn’t want to change, so I ran downstairs in my bathing suit coverup, which was doubling as my PJs for the night to sign the form and bring my bag back up the elevator. But at least I finally had my stuff back! We had to pack up our stuff and bring our luggage down to the bus with us at 8 am. Karen also brought 2 bags and decided to leave 1 at the hotel since we are coming back on the last day. I thought that was a good idea, so I put all of things I wouldn’t need for a week in my big suitcase and just packed up my little one for the week ahead.
We also walked past the train station. Our guide told us that the station is very nice and new, but 1 block away is area with a lot of shacks where an estimated 200,000 prostitutes live and work. It is hard for boys to live on the street, but it is a thousand times worse for women. India is very male dominated, and it is hard for women to find work. Many women who come to the city are forced into prostitution and are hooked on drugs. I can’t even imagine a life like that. It really makes you grateful for being born in a developed country like the U.S. The same could happen there, but there are lots of programs and laws to protect women, especially underage children. The final place he took us was the Salaam Baalak Trust headquarters. He took us up to the roof where we could see the city. He was going to take us inside a gate, but the security guard that had the keys wasn’t answering his phone. We waited a while, and then our guide decided to tell us the rest outside. He spoke about the work that Salaam Baalak did, which was to take 350 children off the street. They put the children into orphanages and send them to school to learn English and become educated. Our guide was one of the kids. He grew up in a rural village. One time his cousin was visiting from Delhi and telling the family how great it was. The cousin worked as a shop assistant, and convinced our guide’s parents to let him come to Delhi. He worked with his cousin a little, but was too young to be employed. One day, he got lost in the city and did not know how to find his cousin. He was living on the streets with Salaam Baalak found him and took him to an orphanage. He was there for a while, but then decided to run away to try to find his family. He didn’t find them, and luckily was found by a nice lady that had 2 sons. She took him in, and he lived with her for a couple of months. After a couple of months, he and one of her sons started doing drugs. She thought he was a bad influence and kicked him out. He was understandably very upset, and while he was begging to stay he mentioned he had run away from Salaam Baalak. She was nice enough to take him back to the orphanage, and this time he stayed there. He got an education and is currently going to school to become a pilot. He does the City Walks with G Adventures to educate tourists about the poor children in India and about Salaam Baalak. He then left us while we walked to the bus. I wish I knew he wasn’t coming back with us, because I wasn’t ready with a tip. And I wasn’t the only one, a lot of the people in our group didn’t tip because they didn’t realize he wouldn’t be coming back.
We stopped at the Gurdwara Sis Ganj, which is a Sikh gurdwara (religious gathering place). We were first taken to a room in a building beside the temple where a guy came and told us about Sikhism. Sikhism doesn’t worship idols or people. Instead, they have a book that tells their truth and was written by one of their gurus. Their religion is very open, and anyone can come worship with them. They also believe everyone is entitled to their own beliefs, and that no one religion contains all of the truths. Throughout history, the Sikhs faced religious procesution, and this gurdwara was founded on the site where one of their gurus was tortured and executed. In order to go into the gurdwara, we had to take off our shoes and cover our hair with a turban.
During the 4 hour drive to Agra, Kush would point out things and answer questions. One of the questions was why Indians don’t eat meat and worship cows. The story to that question is rooted in ancient history. Thousands of years ago the different tribes of India were at war. Many people died and many of the women had no breast milk due to limited food. The babies were dying until one wise man decided to feed them cow’s milk. This allowed the children to eat and the tribe to grow. When the children grew up, they refused to eat cows, as it was the cows that allowed them to survive. Now, the word “cow” in India is synonymous with “mother.” This eventually extended to eating no meat, which is how the Indians became vegetarian. Even now, there is a huge fine if you kill a cow, in addition to paying the people who depend on the cow for milk. It was mid-afternoon by the time we got to Agra. As we had time, Kush decided we should see the Baby Taj today instead of tomorrow, since the Taj Mahal would overshadow it. The official name of the place is the Tomb of I'timād-ud-Daulah, and it was built by Nur Jahan for her father, Murza Ghiyas Beg. Nur Jahan was the wife of Shah Jahangir. Shah Jahangir was the father of Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Mahal. The tomb is also called the “jewel box”, because it looks like a box. Murza Ghiyas Beg was an exile from Persia, so the tomb is based on Persian design. The tomb is a combination of white marble and pietra dura inlay. Pietra dura inlay is where they carve the marble just right to perfectly fit a piece of jewel into it. The inlays were beautiful!
After the disaster of yesterday/this morning’s flight, I slept in. When I did wake up, I laid in bed for a while and used the hotel’s wifi to decide what my plans would be for the day. I wanted to go to the UNESCO World Heritage sites that Delhi had, so first I tried to find public transportation to get there. The nearest train station was over a mile away, and I didn’t want to wander that far from the hotel. I finally found a hop on hop off bus that went to the 2 sites plus several others and decided to do that. Not long after that was settled, the front desk called to let me know that my roommate was on her way. My roomate’s name was Karen, and she was very nice. She is from Ireland, but is currently working in China teaching English. She was only a year older than me. Right now the schools in China are out for 3 weeks so she decided to go home to Ireland to visit her family. On the way, she made the stop in India for this tour since she has always wanted to see the Taj Mahal. She didn’t have any plans, so I told her my plan of doing the hop on-hop off bus tour to the Red Fort and Humayun’s Tomb and invited her. She thought it sounded like a good idea, so we got prepared to leave. I told her my money was in my lost luggage so we would need to stop at an ATM so I could withdraw some more. She needed coffee, so we decided to walk to McDonald’s, which was only a couple of blocks away for breakfast. On the way out, we asked the front desk for directions to the nearest ATM and how to get to the hop on-hop off office. The guy told us where to find the ATM, and then he kept trying to convince us to let him arrange a private car. We kept saying we didn’t want that, that we wanted to do the hop on-hop off bus, but he would listen to us. He probably has a cousin or other family member he was going to call for us who would split the profit. Finally we just gave up and left to go to the ATM and breakfast. We went to the ATM that the guy directed us to, but it was run down. It looked like a small place, but it didn’t look very nice. We decided to find another one on the way to McDonalds. We found another one, but when I went to withdraw money the ATM denied my card. I know I have money in there and I let SSFCU know I was traveling before I came, so I don’t know why it was denied. As we were walking, we kept getting constant attention from the locals. The rickshaw drivers were following us and every couple of steps they were asking if we needed a ride or directions. We kept assuring them that we knew where we were going, but they didn’t let up. We finally made it to McDonalds, and Karen offered to buy me breakfast since I didn’t have any money. However, when we got there they took card, so I was able to pay for myself. We went upstairs to discuss our plans while we ate. Neither one of us was expecting that kind of attention. From traveling alone, I’ve had attention before, but never to that degree. Both of us were shocked. We didn’t know if it was because we were women, or because we were white and they knew we were tourist. We looked at the map we had gotten from the hotel and compared it to where we were based on the map on my phone. The place where we could get on the hop on-hop off bus was in Connaught Place, which was also the main place for tourists. With the attention we were getting on the street, it was too far to walk so we knew we would have to take one of the rickshaws. Karen pulled out some money to put in a different pocket so she could haggle with the driver and then we went down to brave the outside again. We quickly attracted attention again, but this time we were prepared. I’m so glad Karen was there, because she was quickly able to haggle with one of the drivers to take us to Connaught Place. When he wouldn’t accept her offer, she started walking away and he quickly came around. We got in the rickshaw, and the entire way there I thought we were going to die. In India, there are no rules for driving that I could see. They ignore the lights and signs, and the driver kept zipping us in and out of places. I had a death grip on the seat the entire time. The rickshaws don’t have doors, so I knew if we got in a crash I would have absolutely no protection at all. Luckily, we made it to our destination in one piece, and the driver offered to wait for us and take us back to the hotel for the same price. However, when we looked around it was a lot smaller than I expected. The map made Connaught Place look big, whereas we were on a single streets with several shops. Karen and I went inside one of the shops, and I pulled up the map on my phone. We were at some place halfway to Connaught Place, but not where we were supposed to be. We went back out to the driver to go to Connaught Place, because we thought there was some misunderstanding. There wasn’t. The driver kept trying to get us to shop here instead of in Connaught Place, and we kept trying to tell him we wanted to go to Connaught Place. He and another driver tried to convince us that drivers weren’t allowed in Connaught Place because of barricades. I’m so glad Karen was there, because she kept arguing with him. I thought at first she was being a little intense, if they can’t go there, they can’t go. But then she explained to me that she didn’t believe them, and that this was a trick she has seen before in other Asia countries she has traveled to. The drivers try to force you to shop at certain stores because they get a commission for bringing you. Finally, Karen gave us and demanded that we be taken back to our hotel. The guy kept trying to convince us to shop, but we held firm and told him he was taking us back now or we were getting another rickshaw. He took us back. We decided to take a break in our room before trying again, with a different driver this time. While we were taking our break, Karen fell asleep. I didn’t want to try going alone, so I read for a while before I got sleepy too. I took a nap and when I woke up Karen was gone. I couldn’t leave the room because she had the only key, so I just relaxed. I was only awake for about 45 minutes when she returned. She woke up while I was asleep and decided to try to go to Connaught Place. She was right; the rickshaw driver was lying because there were no barricades. She was able to be dropped off and found a working ATM. By this time, it was almost time for our meeting with our guide so we went down to the hotel lobby to meet our group. This time we were a group of 11. There was one older couple, but otherwise everyone was in university other than me. The older couple was also from the U.S., but they were from Michigan. The rest of the group was from Europe. Our guide led us down the street to an office with a conference room to go over the itinerary. First he introduced himself. His name is Kush is he has been with G-Adventures for 10 years. He went over what to expect while we are traveling and some tips to be safe. At the end he led us to a place for dinner. The place is run by former G Adventure staff and they employ formerly homeless youth. They were able to open the restaurant with a loan from G Adventures, but they have to contribute to the community.
Well, today is my last day in China. My flight isn’t until 1pm, but Qin said we would need to leave for the airport 3 hours early because you can never predict traffic or the lines at the airport in Beijing. She was nice enough to arrange for a taxi for Marie and me at 10am, so we got to sleep in for a little bit. Everyone else had later flights, so we were the first to go. Still, they all came down to say goodbye to us in the lobby and to tip Qin. It was very sad to see the group and know I would not see them again.
The taxi ride went smoothly and we got to the airport earlier than expected. The airport is huge, but all of the kiosks are in the same area instead of spread out between the different terminals. But that was the place that I said goodbye to Marie, since she was flying on a different airline. The lines were long, but they moved steadily so it didn’t take too long to check my bag. I was a little worried that it would get flagged again and Qin wouldn’t be there to translate, but I made it through Security so I assume my bag did too. And then I waited until my flight. I had my book, and I got there early enough that I was able to sit by a charger to keep my devices charged. I was worried I wouldn’t make my second flight, so I looked up a map of the Hong Kong airport while I waited. I only had a 1.5 hour layover, I knew the Hong Kong airport was big so I didn’t know how long it would take me to get to my next flight. If I missed my flight due to my fault in not getting there in time, I would have to pay for the next flight, which I didn’t want to do. At first everything went fine. We boarded the plane on time so I thought everything would be okay and I would have the full 1.5 hours to catch my next plane. And then we sat on the tarmac for 1.5 hours. After the first 30 minutes I knew I wouldn’t make my connecting flight, so I was glad that we were delayed longer because that meant the airline was at fault and would have to rebook me on another flight. It also relieved my stress, because I knew I couldn’t do anything so I settled in to watch a movie. I was right that I missed my flight. We touched down when my flight to India was supposed to be taking off. I’m so glad for the OneWorld Alliance group. Since my connecting flight was a member of the group, they had a person waiting for me with a sign when I got off the plane. 2 other guys had the same issue, and she led us straight to the counter to get another flight. That counter couldn’t help, so she led me to 2 other counters until I got booked on the next flight out in another 2 hours. I saw the long lines of people trying to get another flight, but since she worked for the airline we were able to go around everyone. I definitely could not have done it without her, especially since she was able to speak to them in another language. Once everything got sorted, I went to my new gate to wait for the flight. When I got there I called GAdventures since I had paid for airport pick up to let them know I missed my connecting flight. And then I waited until boarding time. I was able to board and get into my seat with no issues. They did end up having to move me to another seat, since the person’s who seat I was assigned showed up. But the important thing is that I made the flight. I watched a movie for a little bit, but ended up falling into an uncomfortable nap. I wish I got a window seat, but beggars can’t be choosers. When I finally made it to Delhi just before midnight I was happy. I just wanted to get my bags and then go to the hotel. I waited at the baggage claim, and waited and waited. Finally all of the bags came out and were claimed, and my bag was nowhere to be seen. I was worried until I saw one of the other guys that had missed his connecting flight earlier also didn’t have a bag. They told us our bags would make it on the flight, but they obviously didn’t. So then we had to stand in line with the other people that were missing their bags while the 2 guys from the airline filled out their forms, which took forever. Finally, after they had filled out the form and given me my paperwork, I could leave Baggage Claim. I was worried that my driver wouldn’t be there, but right as I stepped out I found him with my name on a sign. I was so relieved, because that would have made a bad day worse. He walked me to the car, and I found out on the way that he had been waiting since my first flight landed. The company never called to let him know I missed my flight. He led me to a car with a woman driver. One of the things GAdventures tries to do is support the poor in the local communities. Women don’t have the chance to have a lot of jobs in India, so GAdventures partners with a cab company that only hires women drivers. Also waiting in the car were 2 people from Kansas that were on a different GAdventures tour. The lady took the other 2 to their hotel first, and then took me to mine. Looking at the outside of the hotel, I was not impressed. The area didn’t look that nice, there was trash everywhere in the streets. But I was so tired at this point that I didn’t care, I just wanted to go to my room and go to sleep. I got signed in, went up to my room, and crashed for what remained of the night.
As we passed through, we saw a door that was decorated with posters. These posters mean that someone in the household is getting married. Obviously the parents are happy since they got several of the posters. Qin also pointed out the blocks by the houses. The blocks mean different things. In the old days, that is how you could tell if you were passing by a general’s house or the house of a diplomat based on the shape of the block.
As we were walking across the square, Vicki was dragging behind. We stopped to wait for her to catch up and she told Qin that she had decided to go back to the hotel. Her leg was paining her and she was walking with a limp. It was also very hot, so that wasn’t helping her either. She decided to get a taxi and go back, which was very sad because the main thing she wanted to see in China was the Forbidden City and she was turning back literally feet away from it. The other problem was she couldn’t catch a taxi from the square, as cars are not allowed to stop. That is why we had to walk there. Qin gave her directions to get to an area outside the square to catch a cab. John wanted to go back with her, but Vicki talked him out of it. At least that way one of them gets to see the Forbidden City and take pictures.
After we finished taking pictures, we went into an underground tunnel that led us to the outside of the Forbidden City. We passed through the outer walls with a huge group of people. Qin led us over to a place we could sit down in the shade while she went to get our entrance tickets. Cogi and Marie used the opportunity to go to the bathroom. Marie made it back fine, but Cogi disappeared. After a while, Qin made it back with the tickets and went looking for Cogi. Luckily she was able to find her. Marie asked Cogi were she went, and Cogi said she walked back and forth across the area several times looking for us but could find us. She snapped at Marie, and said “I’m not like you,” which caused Marie to be silent and let it go.
Qin also told us about China’s last emperor. He ascended the throne when he was 2 years old after his uncle, the emperor, died. He was actually not related to the emperor by blood, but was the blood nephew of the empress. She chose him to be emperor so she could keep power, as he was still a child. That didn’t last long, and he was forced to abdicate in 1912 when he was 6 years old. After he abdicated, he took the name Henry Pu Yi. The government allowed him to continue living in the Forbidden City until 1924 when he was forced into exile. He then went to Japan, which set him up as a puppet ruler when they invaded China from 1932-1945. He was turned over to the Chinese in 1950 and remained in prison until he was granted amnesty by Chairman Mao in 1959. After that he became a mechanic in Peking, China. It makes you wander what he thought, going from emperor to mechanic. After filling us in on the history, Qin pointed across the courtyard directly across from where we were standing and said that was the meet up place in 20 minutes. She wanted to give us time to explore the buildings in the main courtyard before we moved further into the complex. I went up to the main building, but there were so many people that I couldn’t get that close to see inside. It also didn’t help that it was so hot. I finally gave up and went to the meeting spot. After 20 minutes had passed, we were missing Cogi, Peter, and John. Qin had to go out to find them. She found Peter and John easily, they were close to the meeting spot, but up some stairs. However, she looked and looked and could not find Cogi.
Qin came back to the meeting place with no success in finding Cogi. Qin had given us all cards to the hotel before we left, so she said Cogi would have to make her own way back while we carried on.
The palace was starting to close when I made it out. Then it was back on the train. By this time it was getting close to rush hour. When I first got on the train there was only a few people so I sat on one of the chairs, but it quickly filled up to the point that everyone was jammed in together. Luckily I picked a seat close to the door, and I started pushing my way towards it on the stop before my stop. Even then I had to shove the last couple of people out of my way to make it out the door as people were shoving their way in. After I got off the train, I still had to walk a couple of blocks to the hotel. By that time my feet were killing me and I was ready to lie down. I made it to the hotel with no issues. But when I got to the room Cogi wasn’t there. It made me very worried because it didn’t look like she had returned from the Forbidden City. Her bed was made and none of her things had been disturbed. I did notice a Coke can that I didn’t remember seeing before we left, but that was it. I had about 30 minutes before we were supposed to meet downstairs for dinner, and I spent the time worrying about her. I couldn’t remember Qin’s room number, so I couldn’t go tell her that Cogi hadn’t returned. I ended up going downstairs early in the hopes that Qin would be there. She wasn’t, but John and Vicki were. I told them that Cogi wasn’t in the room, and we all wondered what happened to her. Luckily not too long afterward she came through the lobby doors with a shopping bag, so she was fine. After we were all together we walked a couple of blocks to the restaurant for dinner. When we got to the restaurant, Cogi told us of her adventures. When we were at the Forbidden City, she went to the building in the main square to see what was inside and then she got carried by the crowd somewhere. They kept pushing and shoving and she just went with the flow, but then couldn’t find her way back to the meeting point. She said she went to the meeting point, but we waited for a while, so I don’t think she understood where the meeting point was. She eventually gave up there and wandered around looking for us. She found the exit, and stood outside there for a while. Once she exited, she couldn’t come back inside. She said she waited for us on the bridge for at least 30 minutes, before giving up. It sounds like she missed us on the bridge by 30 minutes, it was that close. Then she wandered around until she found someone that could speak English and tell her how to get back to the hotel. She had just gotten back to her room when Qin was knocking on the door to make sure she was okay. Afterward, she went to the market to do some more shopping.
We had fun at dinner, but it was also sad because we knew this was our last time together. At the end, we all wrote down our email addresses so we could stay in contact, but I knew this was the end of the group. People always say they will stay in contact, but they never do. Qin also gave us an embroidered purse that they make in her region of China as a goodbye gift. I’m really glad that I went on this trip, but it has been an amazing experience and an amazing group.
Today is another travel day. We got up, had breakfast, and then it was back on the bus for a 4 hour drive to the airport. Luckily there were no issues with the bus. I was a little worried that we wouldn’t make it after yesterday, but we had no issues.
We got to the airport 3 hours early, and we needed every minute of it. Usually they recommend getting to the airport 2 hours early, but Qin said we would need 3 hours. First we had to stand in a long line to get our boarding passes and check our bags. I was following closely behind Cogi when 2 guys shoved their way in. Cogi was upset because they had a cart and kept shoving at her heels. But we had the last laugh because they had to wait for all of our group to get checked in. It was a very good thing that Qin was there because after I sent my bag through it got flagged. I would have never known and would have gone to Security if I was on my own, but luckily the rest of the group was getting checked in behind me so the lady at the counter let Qin know. Qin ran me around to the baggage, and we found out I got flagged because of my scissors. It is a good thing I tossed the knife back in Shanghai! After that my bag went through and I joined the rest of the group. Peter’s bag also got flagged. By this point we were running out of time so Qin sent the rest of us to Security while she waited with Peter in the baggage room. Let us just say that Security was very thorough. They scan your documents, you go through a metal detector, and you have to have a pat down. Security is tighter here than in the U.S.! And this is a small airport… After we all made it through Security we had about 15 minutes until it was time to board. I wanted to grab some food, but when I went to the fast food restaurants the lines were too long. I just decided to settle for the snacks I had in my bag. About 5 minutes before we were going to board Peter showed up. He ended up having to recheck his bag twice at Security, once for a power pack and the other time for his electric razor. When he finally made it to Security, they told him he had to go back because his bag wasn’t cleared. Luckily Qin was with him and was able to convince Security that it hadn’t been updated in the system, but the bag was clear. The flight was standard to every other plane I hade been on. It was different though that you had multiple checkpoints to get on the plane. The tickets were perforated. When we scanned our ticket at the counter, the guy took a stub, at one point on the walk to the plane an attendant took a stub, and before we got on the plane another person took a stub. That is Communism at work! When we got on the plane, our group was in the back. Once the doors closed, I moved to the last row so I could have the entire row to myself. My phone was running out of battery, so I tried to charge it on the flight. Apparently you aren’t supposed to do that, and I got in trouble with the flight attendant. My phone and iPad ended up dying, so I switched to reading my paper book. It was a smooth flight. When we landed I plugged my phone into my battery pack to charge. All of our bags were in baggage claim, so we were able to collect them without issue. I did like that they have someone in baggage claim to check that you are collecting your luggage and not walking off with someone else’s. Our driver met us by baggage claim to lead us to the van. To get to where he parked the van was 1 elevator. We had to stand in a long line to get on the elevator, shoving our way to hold our place in line. And then when the doors opened we had to rush in. It is a good thing I’m not very claustrophobic because we were canned in there like sardines. We somehow all made it and were able to go down the 2 levels to the parking garage. The van was smaller than the other ones we have had, but it wasn’t too bad. I had always heard that Beijing was so polluted that you needed to wear a face mask all of the time. Every time I have seen images of Beijing there was always a huge cloud of pollution hanging around the city. It was nothing like that. The sky was blue, and I only saw a couple of people wearing face masks. Most people were just going about their day like usual. It apparently was only a couple of miles from the airport to the hotel, but it ended up taking us about 1.5 hours to get there because traffic was so bad. I’m glad I didn’t have to drive and I could just spend my time looking at the buildings. Qin did tell us a little about the layout of Beijing. Most of the cities in the U.S. are laid out in a grid pattern, but apparently in China they are laid out in circles. It makes sense, because the design is based on the ancient city that was originally there. The city would have been in a circle and surrounded by the city walls. As the city expanded beyond the original walls, they added more, still in the circle pattern. By the time we got to the hotel, it was late afternoon and we were all tired from traveling all day. We got our stuff to our rooms and then had a little while to relax before dinner. This time I’m sharing a room with Cogi. We all went to bed early because we have to start early tomorrow. Sunday, June 30, 2019: Day 8: Xiahe, China Having my own room was a glorious experience and I enjoyed every minut of it. I didn’t enjoy the bed because it was hard as wood, but otherwise the room was very nice. When I went down for breakfast in the morning, I saw some of the group. I sat with them and had the breakfast, which was quite good. Then I ran back upstairs to get my things for the day.
We met our guide for the day, Lily, in the lobby. She was the same lady that served us breakfast and she works for the hotel. I guess the hotel allows her to lead tour groups on the side. She was very nice. First we walked around the outside of Labrong Monastery. Right as we started walking I tried to take a picture and realized that I had left my memory card in my laptop at the hotel. Luckily I still had by phone, so I was able to take pictures.
She also shared with us a story about how girls are not valued here. She told us about a girl in a local school who was being bullied by one of the boys. The girl had enough one day and beat up the boy. Two teachers saw the girl and broke up the fight and started scolding the girl for hitting the boy. The girl wasn’t in trouble for fighting, but was in trouble because she hit a boy. It ended up in the paper and there was a big uproar on whether the girl was in the right or the wrong.
We walked through the different buildings, looking at the statues. There were also several pictures of the 16 year old lama. There were pictures of him when he was 4 and just discovered and then a more recent picture with him in his robes. After the tour we asked Qin what would happen if the 16 year old decided he didn’t want to be a monk. She said that wouldn’t happen. In the monastery, the monks are taken care of. It has happened very rarely in the past that one of the monks decided they didn’t want to be a monk anymore. Many ended up becoming beggars because they had been raised in the monastery since they were around 5 years old so they didn’t know how to survive or do anything to support themselves. It is really sad that the region is so impoverished that the people have little choice in what they can do. There is no changing their minds later.
Afterwards we headed back to the hotel. On the way we talked about the monastery and the monks. Marie was very against it. She believes religion is a scam, and that the monks are taking the money from poor people and giving nothing back. I can see her point, especially in this region. The people are very poor, and the monks walk around with no cares in the world. All of their needs are taken care of and they eat in the more expensive restaurants. But you have to view religion as a business. In return for the people giving money, the monks safeguard the knowledge of the people. They also give spiritual guidance in teaching the young people to be good and treat others right. We had a little bit of time until we went to lunch. While we waited we looked around the shops outside of the hotel. There were a lot of them, all of them selling similar items. I also had the opportunity to grab my memory card for my camera.
While we were sitting there Lily told us about the local dishes. On the table there was some appetizers set out. Among the food was yak butter, which is usually only set out when there are guests coming. I tried it, but I wasn’t a huge fan of it. The daughter-in-law showed us how to make tsampa by mixing yak butter, grains, and sugar. It was actually pretty good. Pretty much you just combine the 3 ingredients and mix them together by hand. They then brought out a ton of momos. Momos are the Tibetan version of the dumpling, and women are judged on how their momos look. They were very good, but there were too many to eat. It is usually considered an insult to not finish all the food, but Lily told us that they cooked extra because they didn’t know how much they needed.
When we got back on the bus, the driver tried to start it and it wouldn’t start. He kept trying and trying with no result. Then he got out a toolbox and did some things. We sat there for about 30 minutes. I was starting to get worried, because I have a feeling they don’t have many tour buses that far out and I’m sure they don’t have uber. I don’t know what they would have done to get us back to the town and then take us the 3 hour bus ride we have tomorrow to get to the airport. Luckily though, the driver was able to fix whatever the issue was and we were able to get back to the hotel. Once we got to the hotel, Vickie, Cogi, Marie, and I went shopping. There were a lot of shops around the hotel, so we went from shop to shop looking for things to buy and haggling. I hate haggling, but it wasn’t that bad when you are in a group. At almost every stop, one of us bought something so I didn’t feel pressured when I was looking around. Yesterday at one of the bathroom stops there was this really pretty jacket/poncho that I wanted to buy. They wanted 300 yuan for it. I was going to pay it, but luckily Marie spoke to Qin and Qin said there were a lot of them in the town we were going to, and they would be cheaper. I’m glad I waited, because I found the same jacket/poncho and I was able to haggle the price down to 100 yuan. We probably spent a good 2 hours walking from shop to shop, looking at the different items and haggling. I ended up finding another jacket/poncho that I also really liked, so now I have 2 of them in different colors. All of us spent a good deal of money, but at least it is supporting a town that needs the money. We were on our own for dinner, but I was still full from lunch so I mainly stayed in my room for the evening and got packed for tomorrow.
Today we are going to the Tibetan region of China. At the beginning of the week when Qin was talking about going there, I thought for a little while that we were going to Tibet. But it isn’t Tibet, the region was settled by Tibet immigrants so it is called the Tibetan region since the people have a different culture than the Chinese and look different.
Afterward we went back and rejoined the group. One of the places sold ice cream, so I got some ice cream to go. Once we were all gathered, Qin led us up the escalator to the street where we were picked up by our bus.
Dinner was a lot of fun. This time we were split into 2 tables. I was at a table with Cogi, Marie, and Qin. Qin is thinking of purchasing an AppleWatch so I was showing her the different features. Qin also showed us the Chinese social media app. After dinner we returned to the hotel and I went back to enjoying my own room for the night.
Friday June 28, 2019: Day 6: Xi’an, China We got up a little early and had breakfast in the hotel. Then we went downstairs to meet our local guide, Ling. Our local guide went with us to see the terracotta warriors. On the way to the site, she told us a little bit about herself. Her parents were landowners, so when the Communists took over China they suffered. It took a while, but when the Cultural Revolution occurred in China, they were able to start improving themselves again. She experienced this as she grew up. Her parents knew the way for her to succeed was through education, so they pushed her to study instead of doing household chores. It ended up working, since she has a good paying job now. It didn’t help though when she met her husband’s family, as she had to do household choice in order to prove herself to her mother-in-law. But she was able to succeed, and proved herself to her mother-in-law by the end of the visit. She also warned us that as we go into the site there would be a lot of souvenir shops selling terracotta warrior figurines. She said it was our choice, but recommended that we not buy there. She said the ones sold in the museum are better quality and are actually made from the clay at the site. The ones in the market stall will probably break on the way back home. She told us a little bit about the site. The figures were discovered in 1974 by 4 farmers who were digging a well. They were digging and happened to hit one of the warriors. They excavated and pulled out a clay head. They thought they had disturbed a religious site and were afraid it would cause them to have bad luck, so they replaced the head and buried the well again. Later, they spoke about what happened in town and the mayor of the town heard about it. He decided to contact the government of the find, and they sent archeologist. And that is how the warriors who had been buried for over 2,000 years were discovered. The farmers hit the jackpot. The government bought up the land around the site, and sent the 4 uneducated farmers to school to learn to read and write. Their job going forward was to sign books in the museum. 3 of the 4 farmers have died, but 1 still occasionally makes an appearance at the museum.
Once we were all gathered, Ling told us more about the site. She had one of the books from the museum, so she could show us photos. She told us there were originally timbers on top of the pit as a roof, and then a light layer of dirt cover the tomb. However, in the past there was a fire and it destroyed the timbers, causing the roof to collapse on the warriors and burry them. There is also evidence that the site had been disturbed in the past. Many of the warriors are missing their weapons, reportedly by a looting army. Every warrior is unique and varies in height, uniform and hairstyle in accordance with rank.
After everyone had finished shopping, we walked down the path and into the city. We went to a nice little restaurant for lunch. Qin really needs to stop ordering so much food, because we can never finish it no matter how hard we try. After eating, we got back on the bus and returned to the hotel. At the hotel, we said goodbye to Ling. The rest of the afternoon we have free. The rest of the group wanted to rest for a while before going back to the Muslim Quarter for the market. I didn’t really care about the market, so I looked online and saw there was a UNESCO World Heritage Site not that far away. I asked Qin and Ling for directions, and Ling recommended I should go to another site that was a museum and better. But I wanted to see the UNESCO site, so I went there. Using the hotel wifi, I put in the address on my phone and took pictures of the route. And then I grabbed a few things and I was ready to go to Daming Palace. First I had to walk to the train station, which wasn’t that far away and followed the path that Qin had taken us on yesterday to go to the market. Once I got to the train station, I got on the #2 train, went a couple of spots, then took the #1 train, went a couple more spots, and then took the #4 train. It really wasn’t that bad or that crowded, surprisingly. I took me a little while to find the entrance, but all the tour buses kind of gave it away. A quick walk and I was in the park.
Today we are going to Shaolin Temple, which is the birthplace of kung fu. We had a bit of a drive from the hotel, but the views were beautiful from the bus as the temple is up in the mountains. Surprisingly, there was a bit of traffic to get there. I don’t know how the bus driver managed, but we made it up in one piece. On the way, Qin told us a little about the temple, like the fact that it is a school. Parents will send their sons there for a couple of years to learn kung fu and discipline from the monks.
We finally got to the building where we were going to watch the kung fu show. We had to stand in line for at least 15 minutes. Chinese people do not know how to orderly stand in line. They just keep pushing in front of you until it is just a huge mass of people standing close together, which only made it hotter. Vicki couldn’t stand it, and decided to skip the show and go sit in the shade away from the mass of people. And then when it was time to go inside, there was no escape from the pile. There were iron bars and I got swept in with the mass of people pushing and shoving to get in the entrance.
As part of their final act, they brought 3 volunteers from the audience. Each volunteer was paired with a student. The student did a move and the volunteer was supposed to do the same move. It was hilarious! Kung fu is a lot harder than it looks because the volunteers were having a lot of issues. Luckily, they knew they looked ridiculous and they were laughing with the rest of us. Since I was on the opposite side of the area from the door, I was one of the last people out. On my way out I saw Vicki, which was a surprise since she got out of line. She said Qin talked her into coming in for the show. When she came in, some random Chinese girls waved her over and gave her a seat. After the main crowd had left, we followed them out. On the way out was a huge gift shop with different vendors. We knew Qin was waiting for us, so we didn’t stop to look around.
When it was time to meet up, I went to the exit. But when I got there I didn’t see anyone. I stood just outside the entrance for about 5 minutes trying to find the rest of the group. I got very worried since I had no way to contact Qin or getting back to the hotel. Luckily I eventually saw the group sitting on a bench so I went over to join them.
We had 20 minutes to explore, but there really wasn’t much to see so after a couple of minutes for photos we started heading back to the meeting spot. With the exception of Marie, who went exploring somewhere. Qin said to meet up at the bus, but the further down the path we went, the more unsure we were of the meeting spot. So we decided to wait at a seating area outside the main temple where we had a clear view of the path to watch for Qin. We waited what felt like a long time until we saw Marie heading down. She said that Qin had already headed down but we didn’t see her. We thought she may have taken another path down, so we started walking towards the bus again. When we were almost to the bottom of the path we stumbled upon Qin who was walking down the same path.
On the way back to the bus after lunch we looked at their food display. They had the vegetarian food items carved and shaped into different animals or flowers. It was really cool! I don’t know how they carved these designs, but they have a lot of talent and patience.
Today we spent most of the day traveling to Luoyang. To get there, we had to take a bullet train for 6 hours. Last night, Qin told us that we couldn’t bring any knives or scissors on the train, so I had to throw away my pocket knife this morning. They didn’t even notice the scissors. I should have tried to get my pocket knife through. After we got there, I had lunch with Vicki and John at Burger King. I didn’t know how we would order since we don’t speak the language, but they had a laminated menu with pictures. So we just had to point at the picture to order. Same with the drinks. They had pictures of the drink logos, so I just had to point to the Sprite one to order.
I woke up at 3am this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep, which isn’t too bad considering it was 2pm in the States. Since I was awake, I finished reading a book on my Kindle, and then reorganized my suitcase a little to get ready for the day’s adventure. Then at 7am I went down for breakfast. At breakfast, I saw Vicki and John and asked if I could join them. John’s sister lives in Perth, so they gave me several suggestions of places I could go while I was there. They suggested taking a tour bus up the North coast and the south coast. After breakfast, I went back up to my room to get my stuff for the day’s adventures. Our first adventure was a walking tour of Shanghai. Qin tried to show us some of the old apartments, but it was blocked off so we had to walk a little further to another block. On the way, she showed us flyers that were advertising for places to live. To rent an apartment, it was 6,000 yuan, which is about $1,000 per month, so it is comparable to living in the U.S. However, if they wanted to buy the apartment, it would be about $1.2 million, which is outrageous! And that is for a small apartment.
After the gardens, Qin showed us a little booth that was selling dumplings. I wanted the dumplings, but the rest of the group wanted Starbucks so Qin took us to Starbucks. Marie then went off to go back to the Bund for the ferry, and Bev and Peter went off somewhere as well. After Starbucks, John also wanted dumplings so we all went back to the dumpling place. They were really good! They were made to order, so they were very hot when we got them. We had to be careful, because the broth was inside the dumpling. So you had to take a small bite, let the broth cool a little bit, drink the broth, and then eat the dumpling. It was also challenging because we were eating with chopsticks. Let’s just say that most of the broth ended up in my container instead of my stomach. After lunch, Qin took Vicki, John, and Cogi to the metro to go back to the hotel. She also directed me on how to get back to the Bund for the Huangpu River Cruise. By the time I got back to the river, and bought my ticket (60 yuan, less than $10), it was 2:10pm. The cruises were every hour, so I had to wait until 3 for the next one. While I waited, I sat up on bench overlooking the river and read my book a little. I also saw Marie, Bev, and Peter as they were going to the ferry. They left way before me, but I somehow beat them to the Bund. I guess they got lost or found something on the way.
After the cruise, I went back to the hotel. I tried to follow the directions that Qin gave earlier but I was uncertain about them. Luckily I signed up for the international plan which includes data before I left, so I connected my phone to Data Roaming to make sure I was going the right way and then logged out of the Data Roaming. It worked, because I was able to make it to my hotel. I relaxed at the hotel for about an hour, and then we all went to dinner together. It was a bit of a walk to get there, but the dinner was really good! Qin ordered several dishes for the table. I really like the set up. You order the dishes family style, and on the table is a huge glass lazy susan. They put the food on the glass, and then you can spin the dishes around to everyone instead of passing them. I wanted to do the optional acrobat show, and I was the only one so Qin and I had to eat fast in order to make it on time. To get to the show, we had to take the subway, which was an experience. It only costs 3 yuan for the trip there, which is about 50 cents U.S. It is like the subways that I have used before, but it was very crowded. It reminded me of the subways in Italy. Also, there was a lot of pushing and shoving. People don’t wait for everyone to get off before boarding. Instead, as people are trying to get off, people are also shoving to get in at the same time.
There was one really funny part of the show. One of the acts was a knife thrower. He and his assistant were hilarious. The assistant acted like he was going to stand there while the other guy threw the knife, but then he would keep moving. Finally the assistant went into the audience to get a volunteer. No one wanted to volunteer, but one guy eventually did. Then they kept acting like they were going the throw the knife. Finally, they covered the volunteer’s head with a jacket. Then the knife thrower would count, toss the knife to the assistant, and the assistant would stab it into the board at the volunteer’s back. It was a really funny show. After the show, Qin walked me back to the metro to go back to the hotel. On the way, she asked me about the gun laws in the U.S., so I explained to her the different laws the states have. Guns aren’t allowed in China, so she was having a hard time understanding why we would want guns. We talked about it all the way back to the hotel. When we got to the hotel, I paid her 280 yuan for the show, and then went up to my room for bed.
When I got to China, I had to go through Immigration and get fingerprinted. It wasn’t too bad and everything went smoothly. Since I tried to sign up for the airport pickup too late, I had to arrange my own transportation to the hotel. I was following the path to the taxi station, when a lady speaking English asked if I needed a taxi. I said yes, and she and another guy took me to a car. It wasn’t a taxi, but it was a private car rental with a driver that took me to my hotel. It was a lot nicer than a taxi, but I totally got ripped off. A taxi would have cost about 200 CNY, which is about $35. I ended up paying 550 CNY for the private car. And then when we got to the hotel, the driver said I had to pay an additional fee for the airport pick up plus tip him. So I gave him an extra $35. I totally got ripped off.
I got checked into the hotel with no problem. It was 4pm by this time, so I decided to relax a little before we had the group meeting at 6pm. I took a shower and waited for my roommate to show up, but she never did. I also tried to use Facebook and Google during this time and neither work. They really do have the sites blocked here. At 6pm I went down for the group meeting. There are 6 other people on my tour: Bev & Peter: a married retired couple from Sydney Cogi: an accountant from South Africa Vicki & John: a married retired couple from Melbourne Marie: a solo traveler from Ireland. We got to know each other a little bit before Qin (pronounced Chin) walked us through the meeting. She went over the itinerary to let us know the specifics of what we would be doing and how long everything was. She also let us know about the culture in China, like that they don’t use credit cards, they don’t have toilet paper in the public restrooms, and to be respectful of the culture. She also told us that they don’t use Facebook or Google, but that they have a search engine called Baidu that we could use. After the meeting, we had the option of going out to dinner as a group. As I had already spent all my cash, I passed since I won’t have any CNY until tomorrow when we stop at an ATM. I was really tired anyways from the time change, so I read for a little bit and then went to sleep. I had to get up early this morning to catch my flight. My flight leaves at 8:10am, so I had to get up at 4am to leave by 5am. I was so excited that I didn’t get much sleep during the night because my mind wouldn’t shut down. So when my alarm went off at 4, I got up and took a shower, and then packed a few last minute items and I was ready to go.
I didn’t want to eat plane food, so we stopped at Whataburger on the way to the airport so I could have a Honeybutter Chicken Biscuit before I left. Then Mom and Joe dropped me off at the airport. I only got there 2 hours before my flight was supposed to leave and the line to check in and check my bag was really long. I was worried that I wasn’t going to make it. But I did, and I got to my gate with almost an hour to spare. Since the airport had free wifi, I used the time to email Julie her taxes and clean out my work inbox. I also bought some trail mix for the plane. Then I had a short flight over to DFW. I didn’t want to pay extra for a window or aisle seat on a 1 hour flight so I was assigned a middle seat. I guess no one wanted to pay the extra or the person didn’t show up because the aisle seat was empty so I got to move over. At DFW airport, I got a honey-chicken sandwich from Stampede 66. I wasn’t really hungry, but I wanted food in my stomach so I wouldn’t be hungry on the plane. I had no issues getting on the plane to China. I got lucky again and there wasn’t anyone sitting in the middle so me and the guy on the aisle got a little extra room. It also gave me a place to store my supplies for my cross-stitch. |
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June 2022
AuthorThese are details from my adventures around the world. |