China Revisited

With Scott and Bing in town from China this past weekend, I've been reminded of our trip to Asia this past March during which we shared in their wedding. I went back and revisited my blog coverage on this trip, and feel as though it grossly undervalued our travels. At the time I was challenged with condensing a 2 week trip into sensible posts, and while I did write about some of the top highlights I feel like a lot of the details were shoved to the back burner.

Which means...I want to write some more about China. About the little things that I didn't mention. About how we had to use squat toilets:


About how we wanted hats to look like all the other tour groups in Xian, so Ruth our guide mysteriously came up with matching navy ball caps for all to wear and joke around about:


About how the driving in Xian will make you have a heart attack. Lanes? What lanes? Get in a taxi at your own risk. Look at their power lines. This is a good symbol for the lack of organization throughout the area:


About how people looked at me like I was an alien while taking an exaggerated touristy pose in front of a Chinese Wal-Mart with Heidra:


About the really good rice cakes we ate on Mormon street after indulging in kidney and tendon kabobs with prune juice:



About kung fu in the Forbidden City:


About the freshly cooked peking duck that they carved right by our table in Beijing:


About the fake building covered in plastic to make it look as though people are truly riding up and down the elevator and working inside - a facade to cover up the construction behind it all:


About the guards surrounding the Forbidden City with Mao's picture in the background, still a reminder of his rule as recent as the 60's - frighteningly not that long ago:


About the vibrant flowers throughout the city:


About the lights at night with people crowding the streets, along with amazing architecture:



About the wedding we saw after lunch one day, proudly displaying Hello Kitty dolls tied to the front of a Mercedes with gaudy pink ribbon:


About the dragon show and kung fu show that we saw in Hong Kong and near Big Buddha, respectively:



I could go on. The point is that we experienced more amazing things than I can humanly express. I'm grateful to Scott and Bing's visit for reminding me of such a once in a lifetime adventure...