The thing about taking a 12 hour flight that drops you in a city 15 hours ahead of the one you left is that it can take you a few days to get it all together again.
And so it was that we landed in Beijing, running on fumes after changing time zones from South America to Los Angeles to Beijing over the course of a week.
But despite the jet lag and the confusion (What day is it anyway?) we were excited.
There is so much history in this country it is mind-boggling. And as an outsider who doesn’t speak the language there is only one way to penetrate it – with a guide.
Laura, from China Travel 2.0 was the perfect conduit.
After suviving an impromptu rainstorm we finally connected with her outside the Forbidden City and what ensued was pure magic.
(There are some things that are just too difficult to translate without a guide. )
Laura, Ish and Cam at one of the many entrances
The learning..and counting...never stops
I’ve eaten Szechuan food at home (it’s actually Sichuan – as in the province I’ve since learned) but not like this.
There were few foreigners making their way along the river; mainly locals – here on bikes built for three, holding kites and kidlets, coasting on pedalboats on the water or simply sitting with friends over a game of cards (with a bit of a wager of course).
In the course of 24 hours Beijing, which had felt foreign and difficult became accessible, friendly and poetic. Thanks Laura.
And I just added China to my bucket list. With Laura of course. Sounds amazing.
Wow. Just WOW! Amazing-once-in-a-lifetime experience!
So worth the visit!
It really is. We’re thinking we might have to make it a twice-in-a-lifetime experience though. So much to see!
Heather – just discovered your website and your year-long travels via a link from the Toronto Star. That is just awesome – what a way for 2 kids to experience culture, life, and the world. My wife and I love to travel with our 5-year-old, but only week-long vacations so far. We’ve been thinking of an extended travel period perhaps when he’s 10 or so 3-5 months. Our biggest question is economics. How do you arrange it financially – everything from taking care of bills while you’re away to actually paying for the cost of the trip? It must be expenseive!
Heather – just discovered your website and your year-long travels via a link from the Toronto Star. That is just awesome – what a way for 2 kids to experience culture, life, and the world. My wife and I love to travel with our 5-year-old, but only week-long vacations so far. We’ve been thinking of an extended travel period perhaps when he’s 10 or so 3-5 months. Our biggest question is economics. How do you arrange it financially – everything from taking care of bills while you’re away to actually paying for the cost of the trip? It must be expenseive!
Magical!
So cool to see it in the rain.
Hi! It can be. We knew we were choosing between waiting to save all the money and waiting to have all the time. I don’t know if many people ever have both at the same time. We chose to seize the moment when we had the time. I’m waiting until we are further along in the journey to share what we’ve learned cost-wise. Hopefully that will help others.
The forbiden kindom looks cool. The counting the dragon toes would be fun!
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