China Wrap-Up

Thursday was a hectic day of packing and saying farewell to an old friend, new friends, and an awesome adventure.

This tour by far exceeded my expectations! It was fun due to the people, exhilarating and physically challenging due to the adventures, but more than anything I'm leaving with a better understanding of China. Of course I knew the population was huge, but until seen with one's own eyes, it is difficult to fathom a culture with seemingly infinite people sharing the country's resources. In my opinion, such a reality drives how China has been shaped thus far and how it will progress in the future. China is a country of hard working people and beautiful natural beauty. Despite news stories of China's vast financial assets, I only see quantum leaps in its social development. Only time will tell how such social development will come into fruition for the average Chinese citizen. I've only scratched the surface and what I've seen reflects the tour's own location-specific biases, but I'm excited to come back and see even more. Thanks to Joanne, Carl & Tenille, and Jason & Cindia for making it a blast. Much thanks to my old friend Doug for sharing an amazing adventure!

If you're interested in your own China adventure, check out Doug and Joanne at Tour-ing.com!

Super nice new terminal at the Beijing Airport. Place is massive.

Ice! and US-level carbonation at the airport Burger King!

So that's a wrap! I spent 2 nights in Tokyo before flying back to the U.S. For catch-up sakes, I'll post once more and it'll be a mega post about Tokyo and the plane ride to LAX.