It’s about 10:25 pm and Donkey and I are about to go to bed. This night concludes our travels and adventures in Beijing, China. We have spent the last four days seeing as many sites as we can cram into a day and eating as many McDonald’s ice cream cones as our stomach can handle. Here are the highlights:
1) The Summer Palace in Beijing has the feel of an amusement park minus the rides and Mickey Mouse running around signing autographs.
2) You know Lonely Planet should be buried or burned when it takes 2.5 hours to find the restaurant (which is never actually found) and only 30 minutes to eat at an alternative restaurant.
3) Beijing is NOT READY for the onslaught of tourists that will be needing transportation during the Olympics. They cannot even handle the demands of their own people during a national holiday.
4) I am convinced there are more shopping malls in Beijing than there are people.
5) I think the “shop vendor girls” in the Beijing Silk Market should be doing the negotiations between countries in rifts or companies making huge economic deals because they are the most persuasive, relentless people on the face of the planet. Their talents far exceed that of anyone trained in litigation from Harvard Law or and MBA from UT.
6) Donkey and I went for a walk in the back streets of Beijing and caught snippets of the true lives of the locals. Why are old men sitting on crates playing Chinese chess in the back streets such a wonderful sight?
7) Shanghai is better.
8) The Great Wall far exceeded my wildest dreams. It truly is incredible as was the 5 minute long toboggan ride down the mountain from the top. Schlitterbaum has some competition.
9) Dragon Eyes and Phoenix Wings was the name of the tea Donkey and I had at a traditional Chinese tea house. The cups are so small but the pot never ends. It was wonderful. We paired it with dainty almond cookies. Look out Queen Elizabeth your high tea has some competition!
10)Yesterday I saw three elderly Chinese women sitting on the side of the road laughing and chatting. I made eye contact with one of them. In the moment we connected, I was humbled by the life this women led. I don’t know her name. I don’t know her story. But I know she has a great story tucked under her delicate wrinkles and grey hair. A story rich in persecution, hard persuasion, endurance, and change. She lived through a unique time in Chinese history. I hope her story is recorded… somewhere.
11) The painting of Mao at Tiananmen Square is really huge…not kidding it is just plain big. The irony of him continually overlooking that square is just creepy.
So tomorrow Donkey and I am heading home. I think Shanghai will feel like a home even more now, since we are coming back to it after being in a place even more unfamiliar. I’m out. Much love!
