The Great Wall of China

There's nothing more exciting than achieving a dream. 

So I was pretty psyched when I went to the Great Wall while I was in Beijing. It was a dream come true. I have been scheming on how to get to the Great Wall since I was a little kid and now, before I turn 21, I got to go.

And it is as amazing as everyone says. Absolutely breathtaking. 

Melissa and I took a tour through our hostel to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. It's a bit farther than Badaling (the popular section), but it's totally worth it. There's fewer tourists, meaning that at some points, we had the wall to ourselves. Also, there are both restored and original parts of the wall, so you get to see both sides.

To get up to the wall, we took a little ski lift up the mountainside.

After you have had your fill of exploring the wall, you can then take a toboggan back down!! Straight up the coolest thing ever.

So all my childhood travel dreams are now completed. Snap! 

Luckily, I happen to have a new list. ;)

What I Ate...Beijing Style

Egg tarts with mango on top= happiness

Buns!!!

Tofu with chili!!!

Spicy food at a restaurant with a lady who LOVES foreigners, especially Melissa.

So McDonalds has a new product out called black/white burger. The black burger is a squid ink bun, 2 patties, bacon, mash potatoes, lettuce, and truffle sauce. A deluxe burger at McDonald's? Let's just say my mind was perplexed. 

The Babies of Beijing

As any of my HK friends can tell you, I am obsessed with Asian babies.

I think they are one of the cutest things in the world.

And even though there are lots of adorable Asian children in Hong Kong, whenever I go to Mainland, I am beside myself with all the cute babies there.

So I used my stealthiness to snap some pictures of some of these adorable small children.

The little prince is unhappy. :(

Jammin' out to an accordion.

Those cheeks!!

Check out those tights!

And that hat!!

Are you feeling Asian baby hungry now?

Good.

Why Everyone Needs to Go to Beijing

Yes, the pollution is disgusting. Yes, people are going to rip you off. Yes, children will go to the bathroom anywhere and everywhere.

But despite that, Beijing is a place that everyone needs to visit.

Why?

1. The Sights

The sights of Beijing make the trip totally worth it. The morning of my first day in Beijing, all I wanted to do was rush back to safe, little Hong Kong. I had already been ripped off twice. The hotel/hostel room we had reeked of smoke. The pollution was absolutely terrible.

But once I stepped into the Forbidden City, I was overtaken by the magic that only Beijing can provide. It was a dream come true.

In Beijing, you have access to all of those famous Chinese sights like the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, the Bird's Nest, and access to multiple parts of the Great Wall. Places that will leave you in awe with their grandiosity.

2. The Food

Courtesy of Melissa Woodbury

Beijing is the capital of China and therefore, you have access to the many Chinese cuisines. And real chinese food is SOOOO good. I wanted to smack all the tourists who whined about how different real Chinese was from (American/French/Spanish/insert country here) Chinese food. Duh it's different! And better! You just have to know what to get.

Even if you just eat street food (what we did), Beijing has delicious choices that will make your tummy happy. May I recommend buns and dumplings. You can't go wrong with those. But if you want to try more adventurous things, I suggest trying Sichuan food or getting dim sum (yin cha in Mandarin).

3. A look into the Communist regime

In America, we are taught to have a certain opinion about China, especially its government. But I believe it's important to see and experience it for yourself and develop your own opinion.

I had a great time in Beijing and I know I'll be coming back.

Who Needs Vegas? A Turbo Wedding in China

You know that saying, "Be careful what you wish for?"

This is one of those stories.

On my second day in Yangshuo, my group went to visit the Longji Terraced fields. One of the stops on our tour was to visit a Yao village famous for the women's long hair. As we were reading the brochure about the village, it mentioned that the women do most of the work in the village while the men just drink and eat.

And to Ellery, this was a great life. He joked about how he was going to marry one of these villagers and live the easy life. And Kay and I rolled our eyes. Men...

We got to the village and got to look into what a Yao house looks like. We also got surrounded by little old Yao ladies selling purses and bracelets.

We went to a cultural show (that we bargained to 60 rmb from 80 rmb). And we were in the front row!! The show was um...interesting. The MC said something about chopsticks and staying the night in the village, which made us all a little nervous. The show involved the village women singing and showing the daily chores of Yao life like spinning yarn, fishing, and gathering food. Meanwhile, the audience was fed a strange soup and some tea.

Everything was alright, it was a little boring, but I was getting some use out of my camera. But then the MC pointed to Ellery and called him to the stage. In bewilderment, Ellery got up on the stage while the rest of us were cracking up. Ellery's in trouble, we all thought. But we were wrong. After a few more guys joined the stage, they were paired with a village maiden. We were going to witness a wedding!!!

The boys were rushed off stage and the girls' wedding dance began. My group was dying in the front row. Ellery would be chosen to marry a Yao girl!! Irony!! Tears of laughter were streaming from my eyes.

At last the grooms were brought out.

First, they had to find their bride. Then, they had to prove their manliness by kneading some dough with sticks.

Then the couples danced, while the onlookers would pinch the grooms butts. Yes, there was SOOO much butt-pinching going on. After the dance, the bride pinched the groom's butt herself while the groom stepped on her foot.

To show his love for his wife, the groom then performed a song. Ellery's choice? "Happy Birthday" in Mandarin. Precious. 

The ceremony was finalized with the drinking of tea.

Then the groom had to carry his new bride back to his "house", aka backstage.

When we saw Ellery again, he was a sort of married man. For the rest of the trip, he would reminisce about his "first wife".

But no post about the Yao people would be complete without some pictures of their long hair!!

What I Ate China Style

Gosh! The food in China was SOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! I couldn't get enough. Honestly, I loved almost every meal. And the street food? Totally worth risking my health.

We went to a pretty famous Korean Restaurant in Shenzhen. There I tried kimchi pancake, deep-fried chicken, and awesome noodles (seriously, so good).

My 65 cent breakfast/lunch

Bamboo rice

Pre-wrapped silverware and dish ware, yet it was still dirty.

Going to the kitchen feeling like a VIP

This fish was literally alive five minutes before this picture was taken. Talk about fresh.

Egg Tarts!!!!

KFC is not the same in China. This is a burger with veggies cooked inside the patty.

The most unsatisfying meal of the trip.

Proof that healthy does not mean tasty

Purple sweet potato

Street food...yummmmmm

The food safety notification--just to make me feel safe

Dim sum