An AMAOzing Visit with Lindsay and Lisa

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 square, the gate of heavenly peace, the forbidden city, the lama temple, sanlitun, the drum and bell towers, and more. Especially fun was our attempts to make the Mao face at the gate of heavenly peace. And following the tour groups. I need some colored hats!!

Badaling! Due to the time constraint, we decided to go to the ‘touristy’ section of the Great wall. I had never been but I read you could get there by commuter rail. So we decided we could try a half day trip. We boarded the train at 8 am for the pricey cost of 6 rmb (1 dollar). An hour and a half later we were at the wall! It was more spectacular than I could ever imagine, even with the bus loads of tourists. There were two ways to hike-north or south. It appeared that everyone was going North, so we went south and had the wall to ourselves! It was so steep and completely unguarded (so China). We hiked for a while and saw some amazing views! It really is Great, no matter what part you see!

Night markets! Finally made it to the Wudaoying night market that people speak about. Would you like some scorpion on a stick? No, how about a star fish? Some snake? Perhaps you’d like to try some meat that I can’t identify. All in all, it was quite the experience. Fun for a visit, but none of that is going in my belly!!