Little bits of it – it’s a really big place.
How we know we’ve been to China…
In no particular order, we have:
- Walked on the Great Wall of China
- Bargained for silk in the hutong alleys of Beijing
- Played Mah Jong (and then watched a group of elderly Tibetan “pros” playing in the street in Songpan – they played SO fast!)
- Stayed a night in a monastery
- Eaten VERY watery rice porridge for breakfast (with chopsticks no less!)
- Been scammed (but managed to get unscammed)
- Been amazed by the Terracota Warriors in Xian
- Ohhhed and ahhhed over pandas eating, playing, climbing, falling…
- Slept on the third tier bunk bed on the train
- Made sense of many a non-sensical sign (check out the last 10 photos for a small selection)
- Been wowed by the Beijing Acrobatic Group (the way they flipped and spun and balanced was truly amazing)
- Mastered the art of queuing Chinese style (after finding yourself continuously fifth in line, you learn to sharpen your elbows)
- Eaten copious amounts of rice, noodles, tofu, dumplings, green tea, peanut brittle, stuff we still don`t know what it was…
- Milled with the masses in Tiananmen Square, Beijing
- Been jumped by a “wild” monkey on Emei Shan (Logan was very calm, Keryn wanted to scream and run but managed to stand still and whimper while the monkey helped itself to our yoghurt drink out of her back pack!!!)
- Taken many a blossom photo
- Been delighted by the hospitality and helpfulness of the Chinese
- Witnessed the mass reconstruction in Beijing as they prepare to be on the world stage on 08.08.08
- Ventured out of the cities to some of the beautiful parts of China where the birds still sing, the rivers flow clean and clear, the air is fresh, and the forests are lush and quiet
Tonight we are going to a Sichiuan-style opera – we are expecting acrobatics, flames, shadow puppets, face paint, masks…apparently it is wonderful!
Tomorrow we head to Nepal and will start our 23-ish days trekking a few days later.
We have thoroughly enjoyed our adventures in China…and, as always, are looking forward to the next step.
Thanks for taking the time to see what we are up to and thank you so much for all the lovely messages you leave – we really love reading them.
Some of the most fun in China is trying to decipher the helpful English signs.
