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Back from Vacation! Yay!
9 years ago
Yup! I took a whole 19 days off - probably a record for me :3
My Hubby and I went to China to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We started our travels in Beijing, then took a high speed train to Xian. After Xian we flew to Guilin, Chengdu and ended our trip in Shanghai. There is so much to cover that I don't know if a journal would really cover it.... if people are interested I can write up a larger trip report with pictures and stuff.
Some highlights of the trip were the Great wall, Terracotta warriors, Terraced rice fields, Tea farm, Face changing and circus performance, and PANDAS!
Crossing the street is terrifying and I may have shaved a few years off my life from the air pollution (in and outdoors). China is trying to stop smoking indoors, but lots blatantly ignore signs and smoke anyway - even our "non-smoking" hotel rooms smelt like they had years of cigarette smoke absorbed in the walls and carpet, but the country is full of rich history. Censorship is still common: you cannot access Google or twitter (not even FA, since the recapcha function on login is google based!), and occasionally the international channels on the TV shut off if the Chinese government decided it didn't want it's people to see the content. You don't realize how much you use google until you don't have it at your disposal!
I've grown to appreciate squat toilets and their trains and subways are easy to ride even if you don't speak a lick of Mandarin. BTW I can only say like 5 things so I was completely at the mercy of communication via charades, pointing and smiling XD
My hubby was quite the celebrity.... at 6'6" with facial hair he was gawked at wherever we went. He was asked on 20 separate occasions for a photo (and who knows how many people just took one anyway without permission).
But as much fun as I had, I'm glad to be home :3 It's nice to sleep in my own bed and eat normal foods.... and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my studio.... just a little bit ^_^
So, I guess it's back to work!
My Hubby and I went to China to celebrate our 10 year wedding anniversary. We started our travels in Beijing, then took a high speed train to Xian. After Xian we flew to Guilin, Chengdu and ended our trip in Shanghai. There is so much to cover that I don't know if a journal would really cover it.... if people are interested I can write up a larger trip report with pictures and stuff.
Some highlights of the trip were the Great wall, Terracotta warriors, Terraced rice fields, Tea farm, Face changing and circus performance, and PANDAS!
Crossing the street is terrifying and I may have shaved a few years off my life from the air pollution (in and outdoors). China is trying to stop smoking indoors, but lots blatantly ignore signs and smoke anyway - even our "non-smoking" hotel rooms smelt like they had years of cigarette smoke absorbed in the walls and carpet, but the country is full of rich history. Censorship is still common: you cannot access Google or twitter (not even FA, since the recapcha function on login is google based!), and occasionally the international channels on the TV shut off if the Chinese government decided it didn't want it's people to see the content. You don't realize how much you use google until you don't have it at your disposal!
I've grown to appreciate squat toilets and their trains and subways are easy to ride even if you don't speak a lick of Mandarin. BTW I can only say like 5 things so I was completely at the mercy of communication via charades, pointing and smiling XD
My hubby was quite the celebrity.... at 6'6" with facial hair he was gawked at wherever we went. He was asked on 20 separate occasions for a photo (and who knows how many people just took one anyway without permission).
But as much fun as I had, I'm glad to be home :3 It's nice to sleep in my own bed and eat normal foods.... and I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss my studio.... just a little bit ^_^
So, I guess it's back to work!
Nowadays it seems the censorship would mostly affect less educated Chinese people such as those in rural areas. They do tolerate tourists for the most part.... the only time we were ever warned not to talk politics at all was when we were visiting Tienanmen Square.
Not sure how bus tours are, we just hopped on trains and explored. When you arrive in a new city, go straight to the information booths marked with an "i" in the train station; they can give you maps and bus/transit information and let you know where are good places to visit.
Venice is an absolute MUST. There are no cars there, but get a boat bus pass - the boat taxis are outrageously expensive. Also the streets are complex and it's easy to end up on a street that just ends into a canal. There are two ways to deal with this: follow the map EXACTLY (every little alleyway IS actually a street, and on the map), or as we did it... point yourself in the general direction of the place you want to get to and eventually you'll get there (though you may have to back track a few times if your street ends)
Pompeii is interesting, but don't expect to see ash people everywhere... there's ONE spot where you can see them and they are behind glass. The rest of the ruined city you can just wander around and poke into the houses and buildings.
Florence has the BEST gelato OMG :P
Skip Milan, it's very modern and not much to see... just the Duomo... but you'll see plenty of those everywhere else XD