Bangkok, Shanghai (Again) and back to Raleigh

So through 3 cities in Asia, I was very impressed with the Chinese and Korean people.  They were some of the nicest people I have ever had the privilege of being around and their cities were perfectly safe at any time of day.  Fast forward through a 5 hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand.  Much like the Chinese and Koreans, everyone in Bangkok was nice..... in their own special way.  Who is everyone in Bangkok you ask?  Everyone in Bangkok would consist of the children, the street vendors, normal men and women, people just trying to get by, businessmen, homeless people, cab drivers, tailors, and prostitutes.  All of these groups of people seem like normal classifications of people in the United States except for the prostitutes, right?  Well, in Bangkok, prostitution is legal (Well it is illegal actually pay a prostitute for sex, hence the convenience of a "Pimp") and deserves its own classification. 

Anyone reading this is probably wondering "Why the hell are you mentioning prostitutes in the first paragraph of your blog post from Bangkok and ummmm.... You better explain yourself here Jimmy."  Well, the first thing I saw when we got into our neighborhood was prostitutes, plenty of them.  They could see in the bus our group was on and waved to us.  We all got a nice chuckle out of it and someone shouted "everyone wave to the nice ladies on the street."  First time- really funny.  That night, a few of us went out to wander on the street and stop by a bar or two, where many prostitutes were out.  Second time- still kinda funny.  The next day, our group walked out on the streets to eat and get suits made.  The prostitutes were still out, even at noon outside the bars.  Third time- A little funny.  (One of the bars nearby had happy hour from 10 am- 6 pm, no lie) Every other time on the streets regardless of the time of day, yep they were there.  Fourth time on- not funny anymore- creepy, scary, annoying, weird, did I say creepy?  It was a joke to our group, but then we came to the realization that this is okay in Bangkok.  I like to compare it to someone who normally isn't funny telling a joke that makes everyone laugh.  They try to keep their funny streak going.... by telling that same joke 25 times in a row.  This is what a part of Bangkok is like, you know, if that friend telling the joke was a prostitute, and instead of telling jokes, they were soliciting you for sex.  I understand that this is a part of their culture and many girls support themselves this way, but it got old really fast.  Okay, so at this point, Bangkok sounds awful.  Not the case at all, Bangkok was an awesome place and the people were great, I just like telling stories in chronological order.

So I mentioned the tailor earlier because there are plenty of them in Thailand, and they have very good deals on suits.  They are about a third of the cost in Thailand.  (Supposedly it was about half the cost a year ago before the economy tanked)  My professor and I went to a recommended tailor nearby and got fitted for two suits apiece.  They take every measurement needed to make pants, shirts and a jacket and then make all 3 pieces in a 36 hour period.  I was able to choose from about 150 different fabrics for both the suit and the shirt.  Is it basically a fabric to begin with and then they tailor it exactly to your measurements.  The tailors took the first measurements during the initial visit, and then we came back for the fitting of the suit jacket.  The next day, I came back and tried on the pants and shirt, which both needed minor alterations, but they were easy fixes. (They asked me why I wanted to wear my pants so low.... My professor responded for me "because he's young")  All in all, the suits were pretty sweet, and for the material they were made of, a great deal.

Thailand was once ruled by the British, and because of this, they drive on the left side of the road.  And like the Chinese, stoplights and stop signs are really just recommendations on the road, not really laws.  They drive pretty crazy, and there are bikes all over the place.  Bangkok also has Tut Tuts- 3 wheeled vehicles that serve as taxis.  They can navigate through traffic a little easier and it sure is interesting to ride on one.  From what I could tell, not counting prostitutes, the Thai are great people.  They are easy-going and seem to be a happy group of people.  In my opinion, they are better looking than the Chinese but below the South Koreans (But then again, almost every somewhat attractive female I saw was a prostitute, so it's hard to say.)  As far as clothing and style goes, they were above the Chinese, but heck who isn't, but still below the South Koreans, who were fairly well-dressed.  I wasn't able to get out and explore the city as much as I would have liked because Bangkok didn't seem quite as safe as South Korea or China.  As far as food is concerned, Thai food is usually considered one of the more spicy foods in the world, but I'm not much of a spicy guy so I strayed away from it.  The curry dishes were delicious, while some of the foods were somewhat similar to regular Chinese dishes.

Tut Tut Anyone

So on the second full day in Bangkok, our group took a full day tour of the city and the main attractions.  First up was a tour of the Emperor’s Palace.  Much like the Forbidden City in China, it was a former home to the leader of the country and was immaculate.  The palace took near 100 years to fully complete and the detail there was unreal.  Each wall had tiny colorful stones on it and the rooftops were made very steep (which is much harder to build) and with great precision.  It is hard to put these kind of buildings in perspective because of the amount of time spent constructing it and the detail involved.

The Entrance to the Palace

If you want in, you have to get by this guy

Next up on the tour was a boat ride of the river that runs through the city.  Along the river are plenty of houses, (some are shacks, and others are nice 3 and 4 story houses) and there were all kinds of people along the shores going about their daily lives.  Riding down the river right through the city was unlike anything I had ever done, to go from traffic packed roads to the water within 5 minutes.  I stood on the back of the boat with 2 friends and we waved to all the people on the banks of the river, who genuinely seemed happy to see us there having a good time.  The river happened to be pretty dirty with a lot of things floating around, but nevertheless, an awesome place to be.  There were plenty of other boats around in certain areas but in some areas we were by ourselves.  We stopped on a small island where the “Purple Sunrise Temple” was located, along with some shops and a couple small places to eat.  I climbed to the top and got a great view of the river along with the skyscrapers in the background.  We had 30 minutes to wander on the island, but I spent 25 of them standing on top of the temple, taking in the moment.  Like the view from the observation deck of Shanghai and the Great Wall, I can’t put into words what it felt like being up there and looking out over a place I had only heard of and seen pictures.  Top all that off with lunch at a restaurant looking out over the river, and that is a hard afternoon to beat.

Houses along the River

So the tour of the city was the last day in Bangkok, and the group flight left to go back to Shanghai for one day before the long haul to the United States.  The bus left for the airport at 4:30 am, so I had to choose whether to sleep for a few hours and wake up really tired or sling it around and stay up all night.  Hey, you live once, let’s sling it around.  A few of us went out to eat with our professor at a nice Thai restaurant to start the night.  My professor and I split a bottle of wine to get things going and then I had fish cakes for an appetizer and lamb curry for my meal. (Oh and I did wear the new pants from the tailor to dinner.)  

What's left from Dinner

After a great meal, I had decided to meet up with 2 friends who didn’t go to dinner but went to a happening spot on the other side of town.  The spot was happening, but I sure didn’t find them.  I couldn’t let my night end so early, so I decided to go in the first place I saw.  I made up my mind to walk around until someone talked to me, because there were no westerners there and I wasn’t sure who spoke English.  (I was from Canada that night)  10 minutes into, a couple guys from Hong Kong accepted me as one of their own and insisted that I pose for about 20 pictures with them and their friends, right down my alley.  This place had 3 or 4 different sections to it, and they had a table right near where a dj was playing music.  I had a few drinks with the group until it was time to get back and pack before the bus left.  I packed in plenty of time and the first 5 minutes of the bus ride, I had so much energy.  From minute 6 until I landed in Shanghai, I was dead.

So the last full day and the morning before the flight was spent doing many of the same things I did during the original trip to Shanghai.  I had a good lunch once I got to Shanghai, went to the same market where the pictures with Chinese people began, and then had dinner near the market place.  The last dinner was spent at a local Chinese food court like place where my friend Casey and I got 6 dishes between the two of us.  The last night in Asia, I had to get into something mischievous, so I made it onto the roof of the hotel with 2 friends.  A great view of the city and some serious reminiscing of the trip was a great way to spend the last night.  The night morning, I woke up, had breakfast, and then decided to take a cab out to an observation deck, much like one the group went to on the first trip to Shanghai.  I couldn’t convince anyone to come with me, plus it was raining, but I spent about 45 minutes on the world’s tallest observation deck to cap off the trip.  The rain prevented a great view, but a good way to go out.

The last flight home

The rest isn’t very exciting, a 45 minute ride to the airport, a 2 hour wait in the Shanghai airport, a 13 hour flight to Toronto, a 2 hour layover (Where I ate a huge burger) and then an hour flight to Raleigh.  A little sleep and 3 or 4 movies later, I’m sitting back at my house in Raleigh.  The trip lasted 2 weeks, but it seemed more like a month.  Hell, try not sleeping a night or two and when you do, only 5 hours at a time and see how long your days seem to last.  Oh and some words of advice that I sure didn't listen to.... leave your computer at home when traveling to Asia.  I plugged my computer in the wall at my hotel in Shanghai.... that computer now lives in shack in Guam, not by choice.  It completely wrecked my hard drive, maybe they didn't like my blog or something. But hey, as long as the pictures are recovered, it won't be a tragedy.  But for now, all the pictures on here are my pictures Shanghai and the rest from friends on the trip.  If I can recover anything from the computer, I will post a video or two from Bangkok.  As always, Dad thanks for making all of this possible, happy belated Father's Day to you.  You probably laughed and shook your head more than a few times looking down at me wandering around Asia.

This trip was unlike any I had ever been on before.  Asia is so different from the United States but I couldn’t have asked for a better trip.  Dr. Parker was awesome and so was every person on the trip.  I would highly recommend visiting China no matter what the circumstances, you will be blown away by the amount of people in one area and the Great Wall is a must.  Go to South Korea to experience another culture, the DMZ and a great group of people.... and visit Thailand if you want a different experience, but don't go on a family vacation.   

The Highlights

·         The Great Wall

·         Shanghai Observation Deck

·         The DMZ

·         Bangkok River Tour and Temple

 

The Numbers

·         Countries Visited- 3

·         Flights- 8 (2 that were 13+ hours)

·         Miles Traveled- 20,000

·         Bridges Burned- 1

·         Gambling Winnings- $500


 

I can’t say enough about the people in China, South Korea, and Thailand.  They are some of the nicest people in the world and I think we could all learn a thing or two from them.  Is it Buddhism, the government, the culture, or something else, I’m not sure, but whatever it is, it seems to work there.  When you travel overseas, especially places where you interact with people who don’t speak your language, it can be difficult to get around and you can definitely be taken out of your comfort zone.  A few people in the group were shell-shocked in Thailand, and some may have felt the same way in China and South Korea.  In instances where communication is difficult and you rely on other people for so many things, you have to hope that things will work themselves out.  For example, in a Thai market, I tried to give a guy 3 times the amount a souvenir cost because I didn't quite understand what he was saying.  He looked at me and pointed to the right amount I needed to give him.  When I would leave the hotel to go out at night, I would take a card from the reception desk that had the name of the hotel written in the native language.  This was my lifeline.  I had no way of communicating with a cab driver to tell him where to go other than handing him that card.  In these instances and many others, I trusted a complete stranger and it worked out for me every time with no mix-ups whatsoever.  I will remember the Great Wall and some of the views of the cities in Asia the rest of my life and man, what a start to my travels.  But if someone were to ask what stood out the most for me on this trip, without question, it was the people.

Seoul, South Korea

What's going on everybody?  I started this post from the airport in Seoul, South Korea and am finishing it on my flight to Thailand.  I have had a great time in Seoul (pronounced Soul) and am really glad I got to visit more than one country in Asia, because South Korea is much different than China.  Seoul wasn't as big as Shanghai or Beijing, but still has over 9 million people (Similar to NYC)  One of the big things to note is the amount of American influence in Seoul.  This stems from our involvement in the Korean War in the 1950s and we still have a huge military base there to keep an eye on North Korea.  Seoul is approximately 45 minutes from the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and Korea Korea and we have upwards of 30,000 soldiers in the near vicinity.

There was some sort of miscommunication with the travel agent planning our trip.  There were a few mishaps, if you will, during the trip.  None were big enough to matter or derail the trip in the least bit, but it did cause our professor a headache or two.  He is an easy-going guy but he definitely went to bat for us when we got shafted on the first hotel.  Our original hotel wasn't the nicest place in the world and was right near the military base, the most Americanized part of Seoul.  I didn't fly halfway across the world to see Americans and eat American food.  Luckily we got everything taken care of on the first night and we never ended up staying the district.  Our actual hotel was fairly nice.  A dinner got mixed up one night and our tour guide had some communication problems but nevertheless, I had a great time. 

A view on the ride in from the airport

A quick time line of my note-worthy activities in Seoul

-Flew in from Beijing (About an hour and a half flight, all of which was spent asleep)

-Buffet dinner on night one (Not intended to be a buffet, but because of the mix-up, it was the best option)  Duck, beef, pollack (fish), octopus, tuna, salmon (Yes I know it is not pronounced sal-mon Kaysee, even if I have said it multiple times)  kim-chi (a traditional Korean dish that is okay, but very strange) among other things.  No Donkey's penis this time, that was a one time occurrence.... well, unless I see someone else doing it and get talked into it.  If someone told me to jump off a bridge would I do it, well no.  But if I saw someone eat Donkey's penis and they looked like they enjoyed it, then yeah I would probably eat it..... again. 

-A traditional Korean dance.  This originally wasn't even on our itinerary but with the mix up, we had already paid for a $75 buffet and this was included.  I have been to some nice buffets before, but I don't recall ever paying $75 for one so our group decided to get our money's worth out of the night.  (Although I would probably pay $100 for the Ten-Ten Chinese buffet in Raleigh if it ever resurfaced anywhere)  The performance lasted about an hour long and had about 7 or 8 different sets which mixed and matched people playing wind instruments, bongo like drums and some dancing and singing.  The people in the performance were like robots, there were many complex dances and synchronized movements between 3-15 people at any one time and they looked pretty damn good doing it.  I could only imagine the amount of training it took to do this show.  Some of the routines were very slow and others were pretty wild, with 15 drums going at one time, and guys doing flips everywhere.  Some guy was spinning a plate on the end of a stick, throwing it 25 feet in the air and then catching it on the stick, pretty impressive.  (But I'm sure Jordan Vance and Travis could do it with enough practice)  It ended up being really cool and at the end, out of about 50 people in the crowd, my friend Casey and I got taken onto stage to dance with them and beat a drum during one performance.  Cameras weren't allowed in the performance, but I think someone in our group snuck one in and got a picture of me, I will post it if I can get a hold of it. 

-The DMZ, which was the highlight of my trip to South Korea.  I go into much more detail below

-Eating a traditional Korean meal while sitting "Indian Style" on the ground.  My professor won't let his kids call it Indian Style because it is politically incorrect, his version is "Criss-Cross Applesauce".  Our group of 11 sat at a long, rectangular table with three things to cook goose on.  It was heated by coals and we put the goose into lettuce wraps with rice, garlic, a Korean sauce and eggs.  Seems strange, but it was great.  Also had kim-chi again, egg patties mixed with a few things, and octopus.  There were things hanging down from the ceiling to suck up the smoke and heat coming for the coals.   This was my favorite Korean meal.   

-Korean War memorial.  The group I went with got there a little late in the afternoon to visit the actual museum, but outside there were many planes, ships, and tanks that were used during the war.  There were explanations about what each was used for and you could even climb up on some of them.  There were plaques in memory of all the Americans who died in the war, divided up by their home state.  Like the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C. going up and looking at the amount of lives that were lost is overwhelming.  Many of these people were my age or even younger.  It makes me appreciate my life and the opportunities I have.  60 years ago, I could have easily been in their position.

                                          The War Memorial and a View of the Seoul in the background

-A trip to a South Korean casino.  Believe it or not, South Koreans aren't allowed in, so it was only foreigners.  It was adjoined to a Hilton hotel and was fairly nice... not too big, but it still got the job done.  I met two Asian Americans in the military who were stationed in Seoul.  I picked their brains a little bit about the city and South Korean culture.  After losing a few bucks playing Blackjack at a $10 minimum table, I moved beside one of them them a few tables away.  After quite a few good stories, a couple laughs with a Chinese lady playing with us, and multiple obscenities directed at the deck of cards...... I walk away up $500.  Not a bad night.

-Staying up all night the last night in Seoul with my friend Jeff.  We hadn't really planned staying up all night, it just kind of came to that.  We started with an awesome Korean dinner with a few other people and next came a South Park episode at the hotel.  Then we went to a local park where at least a hundred people were playing music, kicking the soccer ball around, having a few beers and just hanging out.  Then we went to a Korean nightclub for a little bit, back to the hotel, back to the park where we met two guys from Denver..... Matt and Nick and their friend, Amarise.  It seemed like a good idea at the time to make a stop back at the club.  (Like the Chinese, Koreans have some pretty bad dance moves too, but they are awesome people to hang out with.  Guys dance in packs here and they loved Jeff and I.  And it was all American music, too.)  Before we knew it, it was 6:30 and light outside.  We caught breakfast at the hotel at 7:30 before heading to sleep.  There were people already awake eating and we caught a few looks walking into the dining room.  There is no telling what we looked like but by that point, I had been awake almost 24 hours and was only worried about the bad-ass omelet I was about to eat.  Luckily, I did catch a few hours of sleep before heading to the airport.  I should have checked out of my hotel room one night earlier and saved $100. 

From left to right... Lee (Korean guy), Timo (German, and Jeff

Me, Matt, Nick and Jeff.... Who loves cigarettes

Koreans Dancing

So a run-down of the DMZ and North Korea.  The Demilitarized Zone is a 4 km (About 2.5 miles... Why don't we use the metric system again?) zone that runs along the 38th parallel of the Korean peninsula.  This was set up in the treaty that ended the Korean War that split North and South Korea.  It is owned by neither country or the United Nations but there are a few natives who still live on the land.  This is a very tense area, with many patrol stations set up along it and many rules about where you can go and where you can take pictures.  There are tourist areas in the DMZ, but in order to get into it, our group had to switch to a special bus and show our passports before being allowed in.  There are roads that lead you into the DMZ, it isn't like a beaten path or anything.

                                                                                 In the video, I claim this is the DMZ, but this where the tunnel goes down and they show educational videos.... don't get the impression that this is where soldiers or the posts are.  This is the G rated version.

Our group was able to go into a tunnel built by the North Koreans that leads over to South Korea.  It was intended for a sneak attack into South Korea, but was never used.  It was discovered in the 1970s and a roller coaster like car was built that takes you down into it.  (Unlike the Great Wall toboggan, this one went really slow).  The section that is made for tourists to visit is about 200 yards long.  The ceiling ranged between 4 and 7 feet tall and the path was about 6 or 7 feet wide.  At some points of the tunnel you had to duck to avoid hitting your hit, which made it very awkward to walk through.  You are required to wear a hard hat to protect your head, and it came in handy for all of us.  At the end of the tunnel, I was less than 200 yards away from North Korea!  Maybe next time back, I will try to make it into the country.  After this, we went to a big observatory platform about 2 miles away that overlooks the DMZ and you can actually see North Korea.  They had the telescope thing (I'm drawing a blank on the official name) for 50 cents that allowed for a better look, but I could really only spot the North Korean flag as well as a few buildings and houses here and there.  Other than saying that I saw North Korea, it wasn't very exciting, but I can say I've seen it.  It wasn't a very populated area and didn't look any different than South Korea from the same viewpoint.  In both the tunnel and the observatory tower, pictures were prohibited in the exact places where you would want to take pictures.  A guy on the trip took a picture that wasn't allowed, and they made him delete a picture of a map that was inside a building.... if this gives you any indication of how strict they are. Here are the best pictures I could get of the area.

Right over the Wall is North Korea..... But no pictures past the yellow line

A post from South Korea looking over the DMZ and into North Korea

I know what went on in the Korean War, and had a vague idea of the ramifications and history of the DMZ, but being in the area was an experience.  There a few areas that are off-limits because of hidden land mines and there are a few fences with barbed wire, but there isn't this huge wall that divides North and South Korea, just a respected invisible line.  It is hard to describe the feeling and tension around the DMZ.  It is almost like being somewhere where sure, you were allowed in the area and nothing is going to go wrong if you don't break any rules.... but you just have a strange, uneasy feeling being there, like you're walking on thin ice.  In my last post, I talked about asking my Chinese tour guide about North Korea and that not being okay.  The South Koreans will talk about it like any normal conversation.  Something I never realized before going to South Korea, is that the vast majority of South Koreans like the North Korean people, and people from China and South Korea are allowed into North Korea under certain circumstances.  Our tour guide also talked about how many people had family members that had been separated after the war.  Some ended up in North Korea and others in South Korea.  She said she felt awful for the people, seeing that she had been to North Korea.  Many of the people there are malnourished and very unhealthy, while Kim Jong il is living the dream and drinking every day. It is politics and a few bad people that caused the separation, the people don't hate one another.  My tour guide told me that unifying North and South Korea would be the greatest day in Korea's history.   

After going to China and standing out like a sore thumb, (You know, if your sore thumb was asked to pose in pictures on a regular basis) I didn't know how the Koreans would act around us.  They go about their business like we don't exist.  Don't get me wrong, they were very nice people, but I would look at people walking by and they didn't even acknowledge my presence.  Their culture is very laid back, especially in comparison to the Chinese.  They are also a much more attractive group of people and they dress very nice in Seoul.  Clothes that don't make sense and horrible style isn't seen in South Korea.  There are well dressed and there were plenty of guys in suits walking around.  My friend Casey (Who is about 6'6) was disappointed that people wouldn't talk to him, but figured out that if you dress nice like them, they respond much better.... and he claims they did.  Although I tried the same thing and didn't get the same response, but I am only 5'10. (But I have dunked a basketball once in my life)  Korean people have a median income of about 20,000 and are a more sophisticated group of people.  Basically everyone has and iPod or something similar.  We were told that many people spoke English before arriving, but it was a struggle at times to communicate.

Understanding the City

• It felt even more safe in South Korea than in China.  It was okay to be out on the streets anywhere in Seoul at any hour of the day, and believe me, I tested the theory.  There is basically no crime in Seoul, and I only saw about 4 or 5 police in 3 and a half days there. 

• Seoul was a cool city to visit, but it was lacking on the tourist side.  The DMZ was cool, if you can call it a tourist attraction, but other than that, just experiencing everyday life was what I enjoyed the most.  We had a lot of free time to explore the city, which is sometimes the coolest thing to do in a new place.   

• Shanghai and Beijing were very spread out cities and had massive building after massive building, but with space between them.  Seoul had a couple areas where there were huge buildings, but there were many places were there 4 and 5 story buildings around and everything was connected to each other, especially on some of the side streets.   

• Because of all these side streets would curve and then connect with another side street, it was hard to find your way around the city, and I'm awful with directions anyway.  Luckily, my friend Jeff knew what he was doing.  In the words of my professor, Dr. Parker, "If you don't know where you are going or what you are doing, follow someone who looks like they know what they're doing."

• Seoul had the nicest subway system I have ever been to.  It is very clean, and the ride is very smooth.  

Most Asian countries eat with everything with chopsticks, although they use a spoon every once in awhile for liquids.  I am becoming pretty proficient with them, and won't use a fork for any meal.  Korean chopsticks are usually metal, smaller and easy to use..... In comparison with Chinese chopsticks that are usually wooden, longer, and sometimes a pain.  Some things are hard to eat, like slimy foods or long and skinny foods but most meals are pretty easy to eat once you get used to chopsticks.  Other than having two pieces of my roommate's pizza from Papa Johns that I didn't buy, I haven't had any American food.  Korean food is on average more spicier than Chinese food, but I enjoyed most everything I had.  I prefer Chinese food over Korean food, but that isn't a knock on Korean food, I prefer Chinese food over about anything.

My apologies if the post is a little long, but I had a 5 hour flight to Bangkok, and I really didn't have anything else to do.  Describing everything in a little more detail can't hurt.  I officially ordered my tickets for the US Open starting next Thursday, although my first round will be on Friday.  I'm off to Thailand now, and I hear it is a whole different animal there.  Stay tuned for my experiences in Thailand and my take on the Thai culture.  Thanks JHW3, for making all of my traveling possible.

A Week in China

I officially left the United States for the first time in my travels following college.  The plan was to write a post for each city that I go to, but you know what..... China blocks blogs and Facebook.  Imagine what Americans would do without it.   I am finishing this post in Seoul, South Korea, but I'm going to wait to get a fair assessment of the South Koreans, their culture and everything in between before I talk about them.


So I left the United States on May 31st at approximately 7 am from the Raleigh/Durham airport, meaning I had to get there by 4:30 in the morning.  (Appreciate the ride Alan)  A two hour wait in the airport, 2 hour flight to Toronto, a 4 hour layover in the Toronto Airport, and a 14 hour flight to Shanghai was all it took.  The professor from NC State, Dr. Parker, is a walking encyclopedia and one of the most interesting people I have ever met.  Some people talk like they know everything but he almost does.  (He did try out for Jeopardy in case you were wondering, but claims he knows nothing about the opera and got about 10 questions on it)  Out of the 300 questions I have asked him, he has responded with "I don't know" approximately twice.  He is one of those people who could start a conversation with anyone (Along with my mom, the game show host) and talk to you for hours on end on any subject you want to talk about.  The group I'm traveling with is awesome and we have become like family.  When you spend as much time in close quarters with a group, you get to know those people pretty well.  Onto to China now


Shanghai has about 19 million people and Beijing has about 14 million people (To put that into perspective, New York City has around 9 million people)  Our group stayed in Shanghai for 3 nights and Beijing for 4 nights.  Shanghai was much more Americanized and the financial center of China, while Beijing is more of the cultural capital and is more full on Chinese.  (Like Mr. Lee Ho... For anyone who has seen Grandma's Boy)  I enjoyed Beijing more, but I had a blast in both places.  Some highlights of the trip so far.......


1.  The Great Wall of China section near Beijing- Pictures don't do the Wall justice.  It spans close to 4,000 miles and the line of the wall is visible from outer space almost like the track of a river would be.  This was one of the things I was most excited for in China and it did not disappoint.  Driving up to it, I got that nervous/anxious/excited feeling that doesn't come around very often.  To get up to the 2 mile section in the mountains requires a chair lift (very similar to a ski lift).  Some parts were very, very steep while others were gentle slopes while some parts had stairs and others a path along it.  We went past the "no admittance sign onto the highest part in of section we could reach.  After walking back to the starting point, we took a toboggan slide back down on the metal race track to the bottom.  A pretty mind blowing thing on the Great Wall but it was super fun and our group flew down the track.  Too bad I couldn't really get a good picture of me on the track, but what???? A slide to get down from the Great Wall?.  It was an truly amazing experience I will never forget.

Our Group Sponsoring NC State

So I couldn't turn down an opportunity to drink a beer on the Great Wall...... Plus it was only 50 cents

 2.  A view of Shanghai from an observatory tower from the 88th floor of a hotel-  The same type of thing as going to the Empire State Building or the Sears Tower, but on steroids.  Shanghai has 30-50 story buildings that go on and on and on.  Too bad my camera died that day, but here is a picture of some huge buildings.  I just sat there staring out onto the city, trying to take it all in.  The big buildings go as far as you can see, but because of the smog in the Chinese cities you can't see for miles and miles. 

3.  The Market Places- If you think someone has tried really hard to get you to buy something, come to China, these people have no mercy.  The thing is, the median income in China is $3,200 a year. (No typo, thirty two hundred a year, so they are desperate for any business)  They will yell at you going down the street, grab your arm walking by, and even come down on their price 80-90% to get you to buy something.  I only tried to get everything for 1/3 of the original price because hassling these people for even more of a discount wasn't even worth my time, and they need the money way more than I do.  These people will sell you anything you can imagine, from t-shirts, to magnets, to mini Great Wall statues and many other souvenirs.  I can't figure out why no one thinks to sell different items than the person beside them either, but there are so many people selling things that it is hard to be different.


4. The Olympic Village- We only got to walk around the area for about 45 minutes, but it was an awesome area and the "Bird's Nest" (The huge stadium where the opening ceremony and many other events were held) was crazy.  Supposedly the people who used to live on the land were paid a good sum of money by Chinese standards to get up and move so they could build the Olympic facilities.  Here is a poorly narrated video of it.  

And then there was this "creature".  I thought it was pretty cool, and posed for a picture with my friend Jeff, a guy on trip.  Then this "creature" followed us around demanding money.  We tried to get rid of it, and then another guy came up and claimed that we owed it money, making a scene.  I finally gave the thing 10 chinese yuan (about a dollar fifty) and it went away.  Scary


5. Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City-  The square is where the famous riots were held in 1989 and I knew nothing other than that before coming.  It is a huge open area right in front of the Chinese equivalent of our Congress and a huge pedestrian area.  A cool place to visit, although it was packed. (About 30,000 visitors a day)  The Forbidden City is where the former emperors had their Summer and Winter Palaces to stay in.  These places were massive and never seemed to end.  It is called the Forbidden City because the common people weren't allowed to go into it.  I'm not sure the exact date but it hasn't been lived in for hundreds of years.  

Tienanmen Square

Me in the Forbidden City

 The Chinese are really nice people.  There is basically no crime in China and it is safe for anyone to walk around at night.  It is a Communist country, but I feel that the lack of crime is more related to the culture of the Chinese people, not because of their government.  On the other hand, the Chinese are pretty goofy people.  The don't really have a style and basically anything goes when it comes to clothes.  In the words of Grayson, a friend on the trip, "Imagine wearing a normal t-shirt and then a colorful swimsuit on the street.... this is perfectly normal in China."  They love to wear T-shirts with some type of English words on it, but most of time, their shirts make no sense, or are just downright hilarious.  

????? Do you have any idea what your shirt says???

Nude Photography??? Huh???

The food here is awesome.  Real Chinese food is actually pretty similar to American Chinese food.  Ours is a little greasier and we eat only a small portion of their menu, but I was really surprised that we even came close, we can butcher anything.  Not to mention the normal things (Kung Pao Chicken, sweet and sour chicken, Peking duck to name a few) a lot of other dishes have been great.  I have tried some pretty interesting food items in Shanghai and Being, like bamboo, cabbage soup, centipede, octopus, scorpion, goose liver, pig neck, and uhhh well you know I kinda well umm yea there isn't an easy way to say this.....Donkey Penis. (Insert your own joke here) Believe it or not, it was actually decent, it tasted like a strange chicken dish served on a stick out on the streets.  Oh and at almost every sit down restaurant they have lazy Susan's, where you put the food on a spinning thing in the middle and just try a little of everything.

This was before it was jammed pack with food, and it spun around automatically

A Few More Observations

• There are over a billion people in China, and jobs here have about two or three as many people working.  For example, at the airport, there were like 20 security lines with 5 employees at each one.  In the U.S. there are about 3 with maybe 15 or 20 total employees.  There are people in almost every bathroom to clean, people constantly cleaning the streets, at least 3 bartenders for every 1 in a normal American bar, and usually about 3 servers for our group of 11 every time we go out to eat.
• The streets are very clean because of the amount of workers and as I mentioned before, very safe.
• The only down time was when I asked our tour guide how China felt about North Korea.  I know it isn't the best idea to discuss politics in foreign countries, but if someone asked me how I felt about our neighbors, Canada, I wouldn't feel offended.  But I didn't consider the millions of Chinese soldiers that died in the Korean War.  I really meant no harm, I was just curious.  Our bus got really quiet very quickly.  I apologized and our tour guide joked about it with me later, but hey, you live and you learn. 
• Chinese etiquette makes sense, well kinda.  At the dinner table, you eat when you get your food, you can grab anything on the table within reach, and you can slurp your food and make plenty of noise when eating with no consequences.  On a side note, it is common courtesy when eating with a family or at a nice restaurant to leave food on the table.  This lets the host know that they provided enough food.  But, even if you leave food on the table, that food is going in the trash, leftovers aren't an option in China.  
• If you thought you or any white person you know was a bad dancer, check out the "discos" in China.  These people put us to shame.  There is literally no dance move that is off limits with these people.  Their clubs are fun though, and our group had a pretty good time at one.  (Kaysee, Sarah, Bub, and Aimee.... Our dances would skyrocket in popularity in China) 
• Chinese people are loud.  When they get together at dinner, they scream at each other, but that is just their culture, they don't mean anything by it.  I keep thinking that a fight is about to break out because they seem mad and talk so loud sometimes, but they are a very nice group of people.
• Americans stand out so much here, people stare us down, but not really in a bad way.  In tourist areas, they love to take pictures of us.  Our group was meeting in front of a Starbucks and I couldn't figure out why they were taking pictures of the building behind us.  Come to find out, they were taking pictures of our group.... Another guy in the group and I have embraced it and just tell people to come up and pose with us anytime people try to sneak a picture of us.  Oh, and for whatever reason, they love the peace sign.

I can't help myself, I feel like a celebrity

Overall, China has been a great place, and other than the bad smog within the city (It really is bad, I felt congested the whole time) and the insane market place people, which really aren't that bad, I have had an amazing time.  I am finishing this post after winning $500 from a casino in South Korea but we will get to that next time.  If my dad was around, he would have won $1,000 sitting right beside me.  Stay tuned for the run down on South Korea!