Asia Part I: Beijing
Confession: I'm obsessed with traveling to Asia! I've been going to different parts of Asia ever since I was little, and after experiencing Korean, Thai, Filipino, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Balinese, Singaporean, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Mainland Chinese, and Japanese cultures, I realize just how unique and amazing each one is.
This past trip to Beijing was no different. It was my second time there, but my first time experiencing it with my boyfriend. We had the best time. Many lessons learned (for example, don't wear a dress in the freezing cold to Forbidden City unless you want to get a lot of stares), many hilarious moments (for example, our Great Wall driver used a translation app on his phone to communicate with us, and some of the translations came out awkward yet hilarious) and many more instances in which we felt like such foreigners (for example, being swarmed by Chinese tourists and posing in all of their photos - well, in those cases, we just felt like celebrities).
In addition to all the funny moments, we had the best time exploring the streets of Beijing, climbing the Great Wall of China, and wandering through the Forbidden City and Tiannenmen Square. We were so inspired by the history of China that we even watched a few historical documentaries together while we were there :-) China will always hold a special place in my heart, and now it's even more special because I got to experience it with the love of my life!
EXPLORING BEIJING
We wandered through some huge malls and explored some back alley ways with authentic local cuisine, including beatles and different types of meats (yikes!). Beijing is not very vegetarian-friendly, so I mostly ate asparagus and salads from the hotel. We also ventured through different housing areas and almost got hit a few times trying to cross the big intersections. There are cars, buses, bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians crossing intersections all at the same time - so it's very chaotic. Beijing is massive, especially in terms of the buildings and the streets. I have never seen such humongous buildings nor such wide streets as I have in Beijing!
THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA AT MU TIAN YU
Rather than go to Badaling (the part of the wall that I went to last time), our trusted concierge friend, Eric, told us to go to Mu Tian Yu, which he promised would have less tourists and better views. Thanks to jet lag, we got up REALLY early so it took less than 1.5 hours to get there! Our driver was so kind and used his translation app to tell us how to purchase the tickets, take the shuttle and cable car up to the entrance, and then climb the rest of the mountainous wall. It was so intense and the views were astounding. The last part was incredibly steep and I kid you not, our legs were sore for about 5 days afterwards from the climb. By the time we got to the top, we were sweaty but so exhilarated by the view. It is an experience that just can't be described in words. The Great Wall is undoubtedly one of my favorite places on Earth.
FORBIDDEN CITY & TIANNENMEN SQUARE
Speaking of massive buildings, Forbidden City and Tiannanmen Square are perfect examples. Again, words cannot describe how HUGE these buildings are. There are 9,999 rooms in the Forbidden City alone, so that should be a good indication! We walked to Tiannenmen Square first, where many historical events happened. We were hoping to see Mao's Mausoleum, but we were too early (again, the jet lag!). From there, we walked through the Forbidden City where the number of Asian tourists was almost as shocking as the beauty of the palace. We were the only non-Asian tourists, so we were stopped on multiple occasions to take photos. We were laughing SO HARD, and I'm so glad I managed to snap a few of Derek being a celeb for a few minutes. People must have thought he was Cristiano Ronaldo :-) People were also pretty pushy when it came to viewing the different palace rooms, and at one point a little girl punched Derek's butt just trying to get through. It was intense in a different way... and also VERY cold - again, note to self to NEVER wear a dress in March in China!
