Our last vacation finds us in the beautiful mountain regions of ZhangJiaJie in the Hunan Province. These mountains are more commonly known as the Avatar mountains because they are the mountains which are featured in the movie Avatar. I wish I could post a picture here because they are so incredible! We were there for 2 and a half days. We took a train to the Hunan province and it took 15 hours!!! Luckily it was a sleeper train so we were able to lay down. That's how I like to travel!
We stayed at the Wulingyuan Hostel that was run by a guy named Victor. The hostel wasn't the greatest, but Victor was amazing! He volunteered himself to be our guide and took us all around the parks! It was so nice of him! We would have been lost without him!
Our first day in ZhangJiaJie we visited the Tianmen Mountain, also known as Heavens Gate. We took a cable car up to the top of this mountain that is about 3,000 feet high. Up at the top it was incredibly foggy so unfortunately we weren't able to see the amazing view as we walked on a walkway around the side of the mountain. There was a part of the walkway that was made of glass so you could see the nothingness below you, but again, it was foggy. Looking out at the fog was eerie because it felt as if there was nothing out there. Just pure white fog. There are 999 steps leading up Heavens Gate but luckily we walked down them instead of up them. Thanks to Victor and his expertise we did it the smart way!
That night when we got back from the mountain we found some really good street food! Like I said, street food is the best! Then we headed back to our hostel. In the middle of the night I woke up with a pretty bad earache. Gosh I hate my bad ears. Because of some surgery I've had on my left ear, it doesn't regulate pressure like normal, so it doesn't usually pop. I think because of the elevation there was too much pressure and it caused an earache. So that was a rough night.
The next day I didn't want to miss out on the Avatar mountains, so I took some ibuprofen and I was fine for most of the day. While we were on the mountain we saw some monkeys hanging out. I was holding a cutie orange and one of the monkeys walked over to me and just kind of looked at me. I could tell he wanted my orange and I was kind of nervous what the monkey would do if I didn't give it to him so I put my hand out and he grabbed it from me. It was so cool!! We weren't supposed to feed them so I was nervous to give it to him but I'd rather feed him than have him attack me!
That night when we got back to our hostel my ear was pretty bad again so I drugged up on some ibuprofen and a sleeping pill. I woke up the next morning feeling ok, slightly nauseous, but I didn't think I should push my luck. So everyone else went out to the park again and I went back up the room and slept til noon. Everyone came back around 2 and we headed out to catch our train back home.
Even with the ear infection it was still a great vacation! Very beautiful and cold! Definitely a must see spot in China.
See you soon!
Enjoy the Ride!
Friday, November 20, 2015
Halloween!!
The week of Halloween was so full of stuff to do!
Here's what our week looked like:
Tuesday: set up the Haunted House for the Primary kids. That took a good couple of hours.
Wednesday: Primary kids Halloween party. We worked the Haunted house and scared so many kids to tears! We were all dressed as Zombies. We also were part of the performance they had and we did two different dances. At the end of our thriller dance we jumped off the stage and ran into the crowd. The kids all scooted back so fast screaming and laughing, but mostly screaming. haha it was so funny! The Chinese teachers didn't think it was that funny.
Thursday: We had to decorate the front doors/stage of the Kindergarten for our kids performance. Our kindergarten kids practiced all month to perform some Halloween songs for their parents.
Friday: The Kindergarten kids did their performance and then we had a carnival outside where they played games and got candy. It was a lot of fun!
Saturday: We got roped into setting up yet another Haunted House at the mall for anyone and everyone to go through. Luckily we weren't participants in that one. But we did have to perform on a stage in the middle of the mall. We did our Time Warp dance and it was so fun! I love that dance/song. The rest of the night Ian, Kaitlyn and I stood in front of a backdrop and either had people take pictures of us or with us all dressed up in our costumes. Kaitlyn and I were both just zombies again and Ian was a lion. haha. It was really fun. I felt like a model at a photo shoot all night. A zombie photo shoot.
It was a really busy Halloween week. I think that's the most I've ever done for Halloween. But it was fun. I like being busy so it was nice to have something to do and look forward to.
I would add some pictures but my internet connection is too weak for that. Stupid.
Until next time,
Enjoy the Ride!
Here's what our week looked like:
Tuesday: set up the Haunted House for the Primary kids. That took a good couple of hours.
Wednesday: Primary kids Halloween party. We worked the Haunted house and scared so many kids to tears! We were all dressed as Zombies. We also were part of the performance they had and we did two different dances. At the end of our thriller dance we jumped off the stage and ran into the crowd. The kids all scooted back so fast screaming and laughing, but mostly screaming. haha it was so funny! The Chinese teachers didn't think it was that funny.
Thursday: We had to decorate the front doors/stage of the Kindergarten for our kids performance. Our kindergarten kids practiced all month to perform some Halloween songs for their parents.
Friday: The Kindergarten kids did their performance and then we had a carnival outside where they played games and got candy. It was a lot of fun!
Saturday: We got roped into setting up yet another Haunted House at the mall for anyone and everyone to go through. Luckily we weren't participants in that one. But we did have to perform on a stage in the middle of the mall. We did our Time Warp dance and it was so fun! I love that dance/song. The rest of the night Ian, Kaitlyn and I stood in front of a backdrop and either had people take pictures of us or with us all dressed up in our costumes. Kaitlyn and I were both just zombies again and Ian was a lion. haha. It was really fun. I felt like a model at a photo shoot all night. A zombie photo shoot.
It was a really busy Halloween week. I think that's the most I've ever done for Halloween. But it was fun. I like being busy so it was nice to have something to do and look forward to.
I would add some pictures but my internet connection is too weak for that. Stupid.
Until next time,
Enjoy the Ride!
Shanghai Adventure
October 4 - October 7, 2015
SHANGHAI!
SHANGHAI!
Day 5 - Oct. 4th
After our fabulous night at the airport, we woke up and headed to our hostel. Rock & Wood International Youth Hostel. We were able to drop off our bags and found some breakfast around the corner from our hostel. I've found that some of the best food is street food for two reasons; not only does it taste good, but it's usually pretty cheap! Our first stop of the day was the Yuyuan Gardens. Within the grand architecture of a crowded street market you will find a very beautiful and intricate garden, as the Chinese call it. However, in this garden I only found one flower. Again, garden doesn't really mean beds of flowers here. It's more like a large area to walk around that has buildings and places to sit and enjoy company. I can't think of what the equivalent would be in America. Probably because we don't have anything like it. In any case, it was really pretty.
After a quick nap back at the hostel we set out to find some dinner. We found a place called the Noodle House so we figured it was a safe bet. One of the items on the menu was called specialty fried rice. I ended up ordering that and some of the others got some noodles. They brought out noodles and more noodles, but no rice. When we asked them where the specialty fried rice was they pointed to one of the plates of noodles. Hmmm. Interesting. But it was the best specialty fried rice I ever had! It was so good!
We then went to one of the tallest buildings in the world called the World Financial Center. We took an elevator up the 94th floor and were able to see out the windows overlooking the entire city of Shanghai. It was really cool. Especially at night with everything being all lit up. We explored the city a little bit more and then called it a day.
Day 6 - Oct. 5th
What's a trip without some good souvenirs?! Yes, we went shopping again! This time the market we went to was under the Science and Technology Museum, apparently. It was a pretty big market with some really good deals. Either it was way easier to bargain there or we were just getting a lot better at it! We got some really good stuff and we were all feeling pretty good about ourselves. That night we decided to go to the Bund. It's a part of town in Shanghai that is really popular mostly for the view across the river. It's similar to seeing the New York City skyline. The view was really cool but getting there was a nightmare! Since it was still the holiday we were among thousands of people in this city. There were so many people that they had the military out on the streets to help control the crossings. When we weren't supposed to walk there was a line of military men standing in front of us blocking us from walking. Then when we could cross they moved out of the way. It was really cool to witness. But also really crazy that it was so crowded they had to be there. After being around all these people all day and walking so many miles we were pretty tuckered out so we headed on back to our hostel for the night.
Day 7 - Oct. 6th
This was the day I got to ride an Elephant!!!! We woke up bright and early and made our way to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. It was really cool to see so many different animals! Pandas, Giraffes, Camels, Lions, Tigers, Flamingos, Monkeys, Apes and Elephants! Just to name a few. They had an area where you could hold a baby tiger and it was kind of sad to see just how drugged up the tiger was. :( At first it looked like it was sleeping but as they continued to pass it from one person to the next you could tell that it wasn't asleep, it was drugged. That made me sad. I liked seeing the animals because it's cool to see these animals that you don't get to see everyday. But it does make me sad that they are kept in confined spaces.
We ate dinner at the Noodle House again. Yummy! And then we headed to the airport to again, sleep there and wait for our flight. Unfortunately it wasn't that simple. We got the airport late and turns our we were in the wrong terminal. So we had to get to terminal 2 which is doable if you go by subway. The subway didn't close for another 10 minutes so we all ran to the security entrance but they wouldn't let us go through. We couldn't wait until the morning because our flight was early so we had to take a taxi to terminal 2. We get there and the terminal doors are closed!!! We had resigned ourselves to sleeping outside in the somewhat cold weather, until a kind Chinese man told us that the arrivals gate was open and we could sleep on the floor in there. So that's where we went. And let me tell you, I hate sleeping on the floor!
But after a restless nights sleep and a bout of procedures in the morning, eventually we made it home in one piece.
It was such a fun trip. I have loved being here in China, experiencing the culture and seeing the sights. It's been a huge blessing.
Well that's all for now! Until next time!
Enjoy the Ride
Beijing Adventure
September 29 - October 7, 2015
There's so much to write about my most recent trip! I'll probably have to break it up into separate posts. So let's just start with Beijing.
BEIJING IS AMAZING!!!! I loved every minute of being there! I wish we could have gone when it wasn't a national holiday here because there were so many people! But it was still fantastic. The holiday that just occurred was the mid-autumn festival. Basically the equivalent of the U.S. fall break. We stayed in a hostel called the Dragon King Hostel and it was such a great place to stay. It was really close to the subway station. They had a great cafe with delicious Western food that we ate at almost every night. The staff was incredibly helpful and they spoke pretty good English as well. :) I recommend it to anyone looking to stay in Beijing.
Aside from that the subway is the absolute best way to get anywhere. Unless you want to see more of the city, then you can walk but it takes longer, obviously. Our first day in Beijing we decided to go to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Unfortunately the Subway wasn't letting people off at the Tiananmen stop so we decided to get off on the stop before it and then walk to Tiananmen Square and I am so glad we did! We ended up happening upon this awesome street called Wangfujing street. It was a street filled with tons of shopping and down one of the side streets was a ton of really great food and market shopping where you could bargain for trinkets and souvenirs. I'm really glad we found it!
Eventually we made it to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Honestly the whole city kind of looks the same. But it was still really neat. There were "gardens" throughout the city that were for different purposes and they had pretty seating areas. I say "gardens" because when you think of a garden you think of flowers and bushes and things like that. No, these gardens are more like trees with a few lily ponds, but mostly sidewalks and pagodas to sit at. It's really pretty and intricate!
After Tiananmen we walked back to Wangfujing street and hung out there for a little while longer then finished our day at Silk Street (or Silk Market). It sounds like a place where you'd find a lot of silk right? Wrong! It's an indoor market full of all sorts of chinese trinkets. They have knock off Prada, Nike, Converse, Adidas, North Face. All sorts of stuff. Yes, I bought quite a bit! In the silk market it is expected that you will bargain for what you want. They'll start out at ridiculously high prices but when you say it's too much and start to walk away they ask you, "Ok, how much you want to pay?" Then you go back and forth and if they still won't give you the price you want you just walk away and more than likely they will come after you and give it to you for the price you are asking for. It's pretty intense sometimes! I actually didn't like the feeling of it at first because it just all felt so contentious and hostile. But once you get used to how to bargain it's better. Some of the people in my group were really good at it.
There's so much to write about my most recent trip! I'll probably have to break it up into separate posts. So let's just start with Beijing.
BEIJING IS AMAZING!!!! I loved every minute of being there! I wish we could have gone when it wasn't a national holiday here because there were so many people! But it was still fantastic. The holiday that just occurred was the mid-autumn festival. Basically the equivalent of the U.S. fall break. We stayed in a hostel called the Dragon King Hostel and it was such a great place to stay. It was really close to the subway station. They had a great cafe with delicious Western food that we ate at almost every night. The staff was incredibly helpful and they spoke pretty good English as well. :) I recommend it to anyone looking to stay in Beijing.
Day 1 -Sept. 30
Day one in Beijing. We step out of the airport and head on to the subway to get to our hostel. I'm no foreigner to subways so I know that you need to keep an eye on your belongings. Well I had my back to the wall and I was talking to my group. There was a guy next to me but I didn't think anything of it because my bag was up against the wall. We were about to get off and I looked behind me to make sure I had everything and I see this guys hand slowly creep back under his jacket. I looked at my bag and the zipper had been opened about 2 inches! My heart started pounding even though I know he didn't get anything but the fact that he was trying to, and would have had I not looked, that was terrifying. I would have been stuck with no money on the first day of the vacation! Scary! Welcome to Beijing!!!Aside from that the subway is the absolute best way to get anywhere. Unless you want to see more of the city, then you can walk but it takes longer, obviously. Our first day in Beijing we decided to go to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Unfortunately the Subway wasn't letting people off at the Tiananmen stop so we decided to get off on the stop before it and then walk to Tiananmen Square and I am so glad we did! We ended up happening upon this awesome street called Wangfujing street. It was a street filled with tons of shopping and down one of the side streets was a ton of really great food and market shopping where you could bargain for trinkets and souvenirs. I'm really glad we found it!
Eventually we made it to Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City. Honestly the whole city kind of looks the same. But it was still really neat. There were "gardens" throughout the city that were for different purposes and they had pretty seating areas. I say "gardens" because when you think of a garden you think of flowers and bushes and things like that. No, these gardens are more like trees with a few lily ponds, but mostly sidewalks and pagodas to sit at. It's really pretty and intricate!
After Tiananmen we walked back to Wangfujing street and hung out there for a little while longer then finished our day at Silk Street (or Silk Market). It sounds like a place where you'd find a lot of silk right? Wrong! It's an indoor market full of all sorts of chinese trinkets. They have knock off Prada, Nike, Converse, Adidas, North Face. All sorts of stuff. Yes, I bought quite a bit! In the silk market it is expected that you will bargain for what you want. They'll start out at ridiculously high prices but when you say it's too much and start to walk away they ask you, "Ok, how much you want to pay?" Then you go back and forth and if they still won't give you the price you want you just walk away and more than likely they will come after you and give it to you for the price you are asking for. It's pretty intense sometimes! I actually didn't like the feeling of it at first because it just all felt so contentious and hostile. But once you get used to how to bargain it's better. Some of the people in my group were really good at it.
Day 2 - Oct. 1
We woke up early and headed out on a bus to the Great Wall!!!! Seriously one of the best days of my life! The wall is so cool! I cannot believe that people built the wall that huge and that long!! It amazes me! The day we went the weather was absolutely perfect. There was no pollution, the sky was clear, it wasn't too hot. It was overall just a fantastic day. We visited the part of the wall called Mutianyu. It was a good part of the wall to visit because it's a little less touristy, but also when we went it wasn't quite the holiday yet either. So that helped. At this part of the wall they had a toboggan you could ride down, like the Alpine slide. It was pretty fun, however I wasn't able to go as fast as I'd like because an Asian woman in front of me was going so slow! That was a bummer. But the lunch that we got after the wall made up for it! I know I complain a lot about Chinese food, but that's because the food I mostly eat is the terrible cafeteria food at our school all day every day. But this food was actually really really good! If that was the food I was eating everyday I would be totally fine with life. Sigh....
After the wall we went to the Silk Market again. So much shopping! haha
Day 3 - Oct. 2
This was the day that the holiday actually started for all of China, so when we went to the Summer Palace this day it was SOOO crowded!!! It was pretty terrible how crowded it was. Not only was it crowded but walking through the palace grounds you were only allowed to go one way so everyone was filtered in and out together. It was like walking through a herd of cattle. Very crowded. But the Palace itself was really pretty. So huge. All the architecture in China is so amazing. Though after a while, all the buildings start to blend together. You see one you've seen them all. Ok not quite but close. There was a place when you first walk into the palace grounds, it's called Suzhou street. It's a mini water city. There are shops all around the water and a little bit of a ledge that you can walk around on it. In the middle of all the shops is water and there are little boats that they would use to get around in.
The Palace grounds themselves are HUGE! We spent a couple hours there and we still didn't even see a majority of it. There is a medium sized lake in the back of the complex and around the lake were more places you could go see. We didn't get to that side of the lake though. We were pretty tired of the crowds by the time we finally left.
That night we went to an acrobatic show. Chinese acrobats are so crazy! There was a giant metal cage in the shape of a hamster ball and a guy on a motorcycle went inside the cage and rode around in it. Then another joined him, and another, and another, and another. I think by the end of it there were either 5 or 6 motorcycles in this cage all driving around, amazingly not running into each other! It was insane!
Day 4 - Oct. 3
This was our last day in Beijing before we headed to Shanghai. We went to the Temple of Heaven which isn't necessarily just one big temple, but rather a big park with a lot of neat buildings all around. It kind of felt like we were in central park a little bit. In the park there are so many people that just hang out there. There were individuals playing music, people dancing, people doing some sort of exercise, entire orchestras playing music, people singing in groups. It was such a relaxing atmosphere. Even though there were still quite a few people there it was way more spread out and enjoyable. It was so fun to see these Chinese people in their element doing their own thing. When we came across a group of people singing and dancing they started pulling people from the crowd to dance with them, so my friends and I went into the middle and danced with them. It was so much fun! I really enjoyed the Temple of Heaven.
After that we went to the Pearl Market. Again, sounds like a place full of pearls huh! Well it kinda is. It's an indoor market again with multiple floors. The first floor was full of t-shirts, scarves, makeup, beats, electronics, etc. One floor was all bags, another floor all shoes, another floor all jewelry. It was a great market! I actually liked the Pearl Market a lot better than the Silk Market. I was sad that we didn't spend as much time there as we did at the Silk Market. I liked the layout of the Pearl Market better and I feel like it was easier to bargain there.
After the market we had to head to the airport to catch our flight to Shanghai. We got into Shanghai that night and spent the night on the airport benches and floor. That was an adventure I'd rather not repeat. We did it that way because we thought we were going to get in later and then it would have been hard to get to our hostel because the metro closes after a certain time. Turns out we could have made it on time to the metro and a hostel...but oh well. Hindsight 20/20.
Well that sums up my trip to Beijing! I absolutely loved Beijing! It was such a fun adventure and I am so grateful I was able to go! I will post separately about Shanghai! Though I do have to say it wasn't quite as fantastic as Beijing....Maybe that's just because it was towards the end of our trip and I was tired. But it was still amazing! :)
Till next time!
xoxo Enjoy The Ride!
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