Adventure starts now
A year ago, I went on my first big Asia vacation and traveled parts of China and visited Tokyo. A year later, I'm off to Asia again but this time with my immediate family to see more of China and the Philippines. For those unaware and reading my blog for the first time, I'm writing this blog to remember the little things. Too often vacation memories blend together. By writing, I'm better able to commit the details to memory and relive my adventures just by reading my posts. Fair warning: food will be a common theme.
The 2-week adventure consists of:
Beijing, China - 2 days
Lhasa, Tibet, China - 3 days
Hong Kong, China - 3 days
Manila & Boracay, Philippines - 5 days
Knowing how hot Asia can get this time of year, I packed all the t-shirts and shorts (1 pair of cargo pants for Tibet) that I needed into a carry-on. Two weeks of clothing made for little room for footwear, so one pair of shoes had to do. I decided to make it a pair of limited edition Kobes since he's (along with Nike) huge in China. These once-worn pair would make another appearance in my vacation before being retired for good.
I put in a full day's work on Friday before catching a 4 hour flight from MSP to LAX and hopping on, a few hours later, on a 1 AM flight to Asia. I met my dad who arrived in LAX from Houston and we took the Asia flight together. The flight from LAX to Beijing was 14 hours non-stop courtesy of Air China. The 747 was a little dated: having neither an entertainment console nor power outlets. My MacBook Air notebook lasted a noble sum of 3 hours. Otherwise, the flight was comfortable and the service was good. It seemed a good number of westerners and Chinese-Americans were on the flight.
First meal of the flight: Beef Lo-Mein. Verdict: Good
(yes, that's Country Crock vegetable spread)
Second meal of the flight: Beef and broccoli. Verdict: Good
We arrived at Beijing International a little past 5a local time. It was great. The whole day was in front of us and crowds were minimal. Customs and immigration took all of 15 minutes. Being adventurous, I insisted on taking the subway to the city rather than taking a taxi. It'd be a test how well me and my dad could navigate this foreign metropolis. The trip went without a hitch! The subway station is excellent in my opinion. It's clean, has well laid out subway lines that criss-cross the city, good signage that includes english, and overall super convenient. When I was here last year as part of a treking tour, we had our own driver, so the Beijing subway was super new to me.
Beijing subway system
Beijing subway system map.
The subway has excellent lines to traverse the city and see its sights. Only thing it didn't do was bring you to the Great Wall. $2 Yuan (about 35 cents USD) gave you a single journey with unlimited transfers and the price was the same regardless of the distance traveled. Even better was their system for managing key card waste. Tickets weren't tickets but rather reusable magnetic key cards. Riders swiped their cards to enter the station and upon leaving had to insert their key cards into the barricades to exit. So in contrast to New York, no subway ticket waste!
About 200 yards from the Dengshikou subway station is our hotel: Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing. My sister Kristine picked it out. She did a good job. It's centrally situated and has all the necessary luxuries. My mom was to arrive into Beijing at 230p so that gave me and my dad a good half day to check out a sight or two.
Breakfast for the day was from a local street vendor.
Pork on a skillet set up. (Optical illusion. He has two full length arms)
The only item available was a breakfast sandwich filled with fried pork, fried egg, lettuce, vegetables, and a sweet hoisin-like paste sandwiched in a pastry like bread.
Verdict: Really really good. Like so good I wanted another. We got the last of his batch so me and my dad split it.
We decided to visit Tiananmen Square to start the day. Between our hotel and the square, I opted to take the streets near the Hutong neighborhoods so that my dad could see how the local Beijingers traditionally lived prior to the recent economic boom.
It was between 8 and 9a in the morning on a Sunday so the streets were just waking up. Breakfast options were all around us.
Fried bread. It was impossible to pass on a fresh batch. Probably not the healthiest thing but tasty. We split a piece.
I was too full to try these but they looked like Asian egg McMuffins of sorts. Maybe next time.
Tea eggs.
A few blocks later, we arrived at Tiananmen Square and the Gate of Heavenly Peace where Mao Zedong's photo hangs. The two are just next to each other with the Mao photo being north of the square and the Forbidden City immediately north of those two. This place was packed. South of Tiananmen square is Mao's mausoleum where he lays in preservation. I wanted to see that but the line was impossibly long. It was free, but no way I was sitting in line for hours for that. In the heat no less.
Me in Tiananmen square
Dad in front of the Gate of Heavenly Peace
While the Forbidden City was nearby we decided that we'd come back and see the Imperial Palace with my mom. We headed to the north part of the city to visit the Summer Palace. Before getting there, we stopped in the Haidian District known for its concentration of universities and eateries catering to college kids. Not exactly the sleepy college town I was expecting. We had some average noodles at an outdoor noodle stand.
With only a few hours until mom arrived, we took a 15 minute taxi ride to the Summer Palace. Built around a man made lake, the sprawling campus is quite a sight. It's a little bit of an oasis away from the city. The place was swarming with other visitors but me and my dad spent the next two hours walking the grounds and the steps up the hill-top temple.
View of the man-made Kunming Lake
Known as the Long Corridor, it's a wooden boardwalk that forms the north side of the lake.
The Marble Boat. Off limits to visitors, it's a 'boat' permanently attached to the ground.
Walking up the steps of the Temple of Buddhist Virtue.
Me within the temple grounds
Up close photo of the creature ornaments found at the corners of the temples' roofs.
After seeing much of the Summer Palace, our aching feet (from all the walking) decided to call it a day and we made arrangements to meet my mom at the airport. On the way to the subway station, I took a photo of a nearby Starbucks.
Dinner was near Houhai lake in the Xicheng district. The area has boomed with restaurants, bars and shops. All the walking was getting to my parents so we didn't quite reach the lake itself, but did come across a great Yunnan Chinese restaurant. Quite different from the Chinese restaurants I'm used to, this cuisine takes its influence from neighboring Burma. The food was spicy. Excellent for me since I've come to like spicy food, but a little too much heat for mom and dad. We had chicken, cucumber salad, and a steamed fish. Whole meal was complemented by some excellent tea. Forgot to take pics of the food! Probably because I was starving. Grrr!
After dinner, I went solo to do a little more exploring near Houhai lake. Well I got a little lost and took a very indirect route allowing me to see more of the real lives of Beijingers.
Walking past hutong neighborhoods after dinner.
Sign to the hutong common toilet. Hutong residents generally don't have their own bathroom. Rather they go to the communal one in their hutong neighborhood.
It was probably between 9 and 10p but I was utterly exhausted to the bone after a 14-hour flight and miles of walking. My feet hurt and I just wanted to go to sleep. Thankfully I did finally reach the bustling shops at Houhai Lake. It was raining but the energy of the crowds, restaurants, and bars gave me a boost of energy.
I stumbled upon a merchant street that was a little more artsy than usual. It was exactly what I was looking for. I spent the next 30 minutes darting in and out of the stores and left with a few good souvenirs.
On the way home, I was so tired I almost dozed off while standing in the subway car and nearly landed on another person as they sat on the subway bench. I can only imagine what this person thought at the sight of me almost falling onto them. Upon reaching the hotel, I was glad to call it a night.
