Don’t go there it’s dangerous, the smog is way too bad, I hear that the food is all radioactive…
These are some of the things I have been hearing from people for days and weeks leading up to this trip. And I never believed it for a moment.
The plane ride was amazing, minus the low quality airplane food and the fact that a lot of people threw up during the rough landing. Many people also told me they would never fly to China because the flight is too long. For me, flying from Vancouver, it was just over 10 hours and I didn’t mind at all. The woman sat next to me taught me how to say a few basic phrases in Mandarin and didn’t mind the fact that every time she got comfy I needed to use the restroom or stretch.
Beijing airport is beautiful and wasn’t too crowded at all. The first real culture shock to me was when my driver was taking me to the hotel and I was watching peoples interactions on the streets… There are NO rules it seems, people will just walk across whenever, they swerve around everything and everyone… It was so entertaining but I was so confused as to how this little old man has lived so long when he was literally stood in the middle of traffic on a busy street and cars were just maneuvering around him.
The air quality here felt similar to a warm day in LA. Apparently it wasn’t too bad yesterday though, so we will see what it is like for the remainder of the trip. I took full advantage of this opportunity and went for a quick jog around the park of my hotel. It’s breathtaking here! During my run I heard some music and decided to follow the noise. I stumbled upon a woman’s Thai Chi group, so I decided to watch… Then I felt myself attempting to match their moves, and within no time at all, I hopped in the group and finished off the rest of their class with them. Something I have noticed is people here seem either in zen or the exact opposite of work work work mode; much like any other city.
If I was like many people who believed what they hear on the news, I probably wouldn’t have taken any opportunity to come here. I also wouldn’t have experienced something new with such a connected groups of woman on the side of a river, or had on of the best meals I have had in a long long time.
This trip I plant go out and experience as much as I possibly can and soak in the culture.
