From Brooklyn to Beijing

Lindsay and Lisa came all the way from NYC on their trip to Thailand to see me for a 72 hour layover. Boy did we do a lot. All experiences in China come with that little extra je ne sais quoi, or shall I say, that extra bu ji dao, that China brings to us. To recap: Baozi for breakfast! This was my first real China breakfast and it was so fun to order off the street. We got two kinds of baozi, veggie and pork, as well as some fried dough stick. Real healthy china! But wow, what fun! All that for 3 dollars. So fun! Bikes! I had Lindsay and Lisa get bikes because it’s really the best way to get around Beijing. The city is so flat and bike friendly, but it’s a wee bit dangerous for first timers- needing to dart around e-bikes, giant buses, rickshaws, motorcycles, walkers, strollers, oh- and cars haahah. But they took it all in stride, even when we had to bike in the dark, and the rain, on the highway! By biking we were able to see Jingshan park, Tiananmen ...

Well I've been here for 6 short weeks but I feel I've already learned some valuable China lessons and bits of advice.... I thought I'd share. 1. Even if a menu is in English, do not assume that the servers know any English at all. At all. And that while you think you ordered some hot noodle soup, you actually ordered cold spicy cucumber.  2. Figuring out how to put money on the electricity card is one step. Go to the bank, find the machine, great. There is, however, a second step of actually putting the filled card into your electricity meter. Don't forget that step until it's too late and you are in darkness, confused, fumbling, and terrified.  3. Sweet potato chips from the street vendor are definitely a complete well rounded meal. Or at least should be. 4. If you set up taobao wrong, you are screwed. (ah someone help me fix it!! seriously folks. i need help) 5. When you come home during lunch and your entire kitchen is in disarray because of a...

Step 1: Find some bikes So my friend Erin and I decided to take a holiday over the national holiday. I was off from teaching and she was in Beijing for one more week before going back to the USA. So we are both into biking and adventures and decided to try to get to Chengde over three days. It’s about 200 km from Beijing center but we thought, no sweat. Erin has loads of friends and we were able to get some road bikes. One super nice one, and one average one. They didn’t quite fit but they would be good enough, right? We packed our backpacks, I printed some maps, we bought some snickers, and we were off! Sunday afternoon, we start our ride- and immediately my bike breaks; my handle bars stop turning. Oh no! bike trip over! There’s a Giant store nearby and the guy goes to repair it. Oh, he doesn’t have the part but can put some sticky stuff in its place. But will it work for the next few days? Probably, is the answer. Ok, off we go.  We found some helmets, we f...