China! (Yeah, I'm behind...again.)

In October, Jeff and I had an awesome opportunity to travel to China. Jeff had to go for a required class as part of his MBA. I had to go because I can't stand the thought of Jeff leaving and me not going! Now, before you read my travel journal, I have a disclaimer: I HATE. hate. hate, hate tours. I am so much happier if you hand me a map and a subway ticket and let me explore on my own. That being said, I did not enjoy this trip like I would have on my own. Do I regret going? No. I think ANY international experience is valuable. I learned a lot about culture and food and lifestyle. But I would not have gone knowing exactly who this group was and what exactly we would be doing (which is stopping at every tourist trap-give-a-kick-back-to-the-guides-stop.) Also, being 7 months pregnant and walking miles and miles and miles didn't help when it came to having patience with this group! :) Most were nice, but there were a few that I didn't care much for (and Jeff's professor was one - I've got a killer story, but it just might have to wait!)

First stop was Hong Kong. I really enjoyed Hong Kong! But it might be an unfair judgment because we have over 12 hours of free time in this spunky, energetic city. Plus, the weather was wonderful (and I'm a sucker for warm weather!)

Our view of the harbor and city from our hotel room:
While walking the streets, we entered this little spice shop. The man sold dried sea horses. I wasn't interested, thank you. I know how rare they really are!
Our first meal in China was a lovely barbecued chicken. Complete with head. Look closely, it's there... I can handle most anything, but when a guy at our table tried to eat the head and something gooshy squirted out, I seriously thought I was going to throw up. I had to leave the table and head to the rest room. I didn't eat anything else that night. Gross!
Felt better the next morning and took a "tour" of Victoria's Peak. Speaking of tours, they never give you enough time at the places you want to see (here) but too long at places you don't care much about (Hong Kong Museum of History..)
Before we left for China, I did a Trip Advisor search for the top things to do in Hong Kong. The #1 recommended visit was to Wonderfish Spa, a natural spa with fish that eat your dead cells (although they market it a tad bit better than I!) I noticed it was located at the same Victoria Peak that we were at. Now, we only had a half hour (dang!) so we skipped the views and headed to the spa. I convinced Jeff and one of his pals to join me. Absolutely AMAZING experience! Tickled like crazy but it left my hands and feet so soft. Apparently, Jeff has more dead cells than I do because they mauled him!


Ding Dong! Time's Up!! And we head to our next destination: Aberdean Fishing Village in Hong Kong. Did you know that local merchants will not accept fish that are dead? They are not considered fresh unless fully active!

A cool houseboat/fishing boat
See the dried fish? Yeah, they aren't "fresh" and won't receive a high market value.
One of the local fisherwomen.
And onto another destination - a local park that I can't remember the name! :/

Finally, we were given some free time and we walked around downtown. SO MUCH FUN!!! I loved the outdoor shopping market. Each of the streets are divided by shopping districts. They have the "Ladies Market" that sales shoes, clothes, scarves and nightwear. Then they have the "Fish Market" which isn't what you thought: store upon store upon store of live gold fish! Kind of comical, if you ask me.

While on the way back, we found a cute little dessert place and went inside. They take the insides of the fruit, slush them up and serve them in the fruit. Jeff ordered pineapple and I ordered ice cream. Our friends ordered coconut and watermelon. While we were ordering, several locals were laughing at us and taking photos. We couldn’t read the menu and we were asking all sorts of questions. Spencer finally leaned over to the group and said, “We aren’t from around here.” I thought that was pretty funny as it was extremely obvious!

The next day we did a business visit and the Hong Kong Museum of History. (2 hours for that?? I was done in about one!)

We then headed to the airport for our trip to Beijing. When I got on the plane, I noticed that Jeff’s professor had the isle seat. I asked him if I could trade places with him due to my pregnancy and my need to walk around. He said, “Oh, I don’t give my seat up to just anyone.” I really thought he was kidding. He wasn’t! He then informed me that I could get up and move whenever I needed to. Then he promptly fell asleep for the three hours. I got uncomfortable, but not enough to make him move. Jeff called him a “typical liberal.” I still don’t know what that has to do with not being a gentleman, but they are apparently connected. He got on my bad list right then and there!

In Beijing, we visited the American Embassy then to the Forbidden City. That was amazing! The Forbidden City is where the Emperors lived - it was forbidden to commoners.



As you all know, Emperors had concubines. Lots of them. They usually hung out in a courtyard, waiting to be picked for a glorious roll in this lovely bed:
Sounds a little confining, if you ask me. We were listening to our tour guide explain that the Chinese believed (or maybe they still do!) that intimacy prolongs a man's life - that's why they need so many concubines. One guy in our group said, "I'll go home and pitch that one to the wife!" HA HA! Made me laugh!

Another thing that made me laugh was this lovely restroom:
Yep, Jeff got to use a FOUR STAR RATED toilet! (He claims the sign was misleading!)

Now for my FAVORITE part of the trip: the Great Wall of China. A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!
I am still in awe that I was able to walk it. I kept looking for a t-shirt that said, "I walked the Great Wall of China pregnant." But I didn't find any. Apparently, there isn't a market for that!


This was a sign at the end of the wall. Kind of applies to us all, I think! :)
Did you know the Great Wall ends? Well it does. And I was surprised! Ok, it doesn't actually end, but it jogs out to this lookout that we happened upon. I was shocked! Who knew that I would walk to the END? (And I totally beat that deadbeat of a professor too!)
And my favorite story: There was a Chinese action film being filmed at the great wall. Lots of HI-YAYS! and stuff. I was busy watching the "action" and I turned around to comment to Jeff. He was no where to be found! I finally located him taking this picture with my Chinese competition:

For the record, he had at least four people ask to take his picture with them throughout the trip. One lady even ran her fingers through his hair. Did anyone ask me? No. Not one person asked me for a photo!

At this point, we were following an elderly Chinese man. He had a small flatulence problem and proceeded to expel gas at every step. I thought it was Jeff for awhile but he was laughing too hard, so I knew it wasn't him! We stopped to get a few photos and give ourselves a little space (and fresh air!)
Onto the Temple of Heaven.
We are standing on the center of the universe. We are too cool!
I LOVE this photo! Makes me laugh every time I see it!
Now, the rest of the trip is pretty much undocumented. That would be because I was getting sick of everyone. That, and we spent EVERY WAKING MOMENT in the tour bus in traffic. (I kid you not!!!)

We were given 2 hours of free time in Shanghai. We went with a group to get some fried pot stickers. THE BEST food we ate the entire trip! YUMMY!
I LOVE this sign. Apparently, you can't play your trumpet here.
And what kind of store is this? (Answer: a children store!)
This is on the high speed train back to the Shanghai airport on our way back home (that took over 30 hours - and I happen to be sitting next to a guy that took an Ambian. "Fabulous" ride home.) That 421 km/h isn't a joke. It was an amazing 7 minutes to the airport!

I am really blessed we got to experience China. I might go back someday, but it will be with people I like and I'll be buying a subway pass!