This adventure begins in Beijing, a city of 18 million people including three of my favorites – Lydia, Simon, and their new son Solomon. When traveling I try to leave my expectations at home with my cell phone. However, the fact that I found myself surprised by a few things seems as if a few unintended expectations made their way in my suitcase.
The first surprise was all the money in Beijing. One night we were walking to dinner and there was a Maserati parked on the sidewalk (yep, on the sidewalk…that’s China) then a luxurious Mercedes and another and another. I am embarrassed to say this surprised me because when I stop for a moment and think about it, it makes sense completely. Did I really think Beijing would be a row of manufacturing sites pumping out products for the U.S.? The U.S. is in debt to China. That money must be going somewhere and I can now tell you it is on the sidewalks of Beijing.
Another surprise was how green Beijing is. After traveling to other third world cities made of completely concrete I assumed Beijing would be just the same. Not so. Because there is so much money (to my surprise) and so many people (not a surprise) it makes it easy to decorate the streets with beautiful flowers and maintain gorgeous parks where so many people congregate. As Lydia pointed out, whether the flowers are really the vibrant colors they appear to be or dyed by chemicals is the question and another topic completely.
As a side note, everyone should be so lucky to have friends in Beijing to show them around and teach them about the Chinese culture. Lydia and Simon added so much to my adventure and I can't thank them enough!
As a side note, everyone should be so lucky to have friends in Beijing to show them around and teach them about the Chinese culture. Lydia and Simon added so much to my adventure and I can't thank them enough!
The other big surprise was how bad the pollution really is. I definitely expected pollution based on the idea that China would alter the weather for the Olympics to make it less smoggy for the athletes. However, when you have no need to wear sunscreen on a "sunny" day because of all the particles in the air or when you feel like you need to walk with a scissors to cut through the pollution that is pollution at its peak. Have a look for yourself. These pictures were taken at the same time of day from Lydia and Simon's deck.
My First Day in China
My Second Day in China
My Third Day in China
My Fourth Day in China
A small town on the way to the Great Wall
