Visiting the parents in China :
I spent the last weeks of my travels in Beijing catching up with my dad and Wei. At this point, I'm sick of sightseeing (getting out of the house was a real chore, especially with the freezing cold weather) and would rather sit in a cafe reading a book than put effort into exploring. I did manage to get off my butt for a few trips, so you won't be too disappointed.
The gate just before you enter the Forbidden City in Beijing.
Sleeping on the job.
The music hall.
Tiananmen Square
These suckers were skewered alive.
A normal polluted day in Beijing - with a visibility of about 2 blocks.
You can just almost make out the sun trying to peek through.
A "clear" day on one of the ring roads. Traffic traffic traffic.
McDonalds delivers for $1.
Art Museum...
New CCTV tower on a particularly smoggy day.
And the burned out hotel next to the CCTV tower. Set on fire during a fireworks show weeks before it was to open to the public. How does a glass and steel hotel burn without abandon? Good thing nobody was inside.
Rush hour on one of the ring roads.
Into the Forbidden City.
Sell sell sell.
My step momma teaching yoga (while pregnant might I add).
Just outside the Confucian Temple.
Inside.
A Beijing sunrise seen from Dad and Wei's apartment.
I joined a group of hikers for a 2 hour trek up to and on an unrestored portion of the Great Wall.
It was colder than you can even imagine.
Crumbling tower.
Looking down at the town where we began the hike.
Our local guide.
Yes, the wall is THIS steep in some sections.
We were hiking on one of the many sections of the wall that is unrestored. Keep to the middle or you could tumble with the loose rocks.
Pieces of red cloth mark the trail.
After the hike we warmed up with a delicious meal at the local restaurant. It took about 20 minutes before my fingers were warm enough to grip the chopsticks.
The " 'burbs " have even spread to China.
The CCTV tower again, this time on a clear day.
Remnant of an installation at one of the many art museums.
Biggest.smoke ring.ever.
After 2 weeks in beijing, I headed to Shanghai for a long weekend of exploring on my own. Wandering around in the old alleys, I stumbled upon this store that makes and sells traditionally dyed blue nankeen cloth.
Bamboo scaffolding.
Just in case it tries to escape.
There was a lot of construction around the clock to prepare for the 2010 world expo.
The hostel rules.
"Follow no strangers to the fun places."
There were many beautifully landscaped parks. This one is near the Contemporary Art Museum.
Checkin out some interactive installations with my hostelmate Eunha. (ahnyong haseyo Eunha!)
Eunha's friend Stephen (english name to make it easier for us white folk who have a hard time pronouncing Chinese names correctly) took us out to a wonderful dinner in Shanghai...
We treated him to a drink later. At this bar. Where the hallway to the restroom could truly infuriate one who has to pee really really badly.
Well that about sums it up. Shawn and I are now back in San Francisco, settling back into a life of pizza, mexican food (finally!!!), toilet paper and fixed prices. We hope you enjoyed spying on our travels :)
