Beijing, China - Part 1/3

While my mom and aunt were visiting us here in Korea in November, we took a four-day weekend trip to Beijing, China.  This was a tour that we booked through the travel agent on our military base.  There were 30+ people on the tour with us, together for the entire trip except for a free afternoon.  We had a great tour guide who was very informative and made sure that everyone had a good time.  This was such an amazing trip filled with interesting food, beautiful sights, and intense shopping.  The best part was experiencing it all with loved ones.  Being able to cross things off of our bucket list is pretty cool too :)

We stayed at the Hotel New Otani Chang Fu Gong.  It was a very nice hotel with clean and comfortable rooms.  There was a bar, gift shop, money exchange service, and a few different restaurants.  We had a great breakfast buffet at one of the restaurants everyday that was included with our stay.

The Beijing National Stadium, aka Bird's Nest, built for the 2008 Olympics. 

So much traffic everywhere!  These cars were all trying to go the wrong way down the one-way street we were driving on.  Our bus was bigger and it won :)

There were a TON of people riding bicycles.  Some were pedal bikes and some were motorized.  There were also a lot of mopeds and three-wheeled bikes.  There was a wide bike lane on almost every street we drove down.

Taxis... everywhere... in all colors!  The taxis were cheap unless you are going a long distance in rush hour.  Make sure the taxi driver turns on the meter when you get in.  Some taxi drivers will try to negotiate a price for the trip which often ends up being overpriced.  Official taxis have a license plate number starting with a "B".  Outside the touristy markets, random men will approach you and offer you a ride in their vehicle for a price.  If it doesn't have a "B" plate, then they are not real taxi drivers.  We got offered a ride in an unmarked van... no thanks, better safe than sorry!

On our first evening in Beijing, we were taken to an Acrobatic Show at the Jin Sha Theater.  The performers were very skilled and put on an entertaining show.

Here is a montage of video clips from the acrobatic performance:

After the show we made a stop at Wangfujing Night Food Street, also known as Donghuamen Night Snack Street.  This is a night market with over 100 vendors selling all sorts of food and snacks.

Some of the food looked normal and quite tasty!

However, there were some other things that may make your stomach turn...

There were quite a few "insects on a stick" available such as scorpions, silkworm pupae, and large crickets.  Johnnie and I are always up for trying new things so we each at a scorpion!  Crunchy, not a bad flavor, but so gross to think about!  I'm glad we did it but I won't be doing it again!

One other treat that we sampled was the "fruit on a stick".  The fresh fruit was coated in a hard sugar glaze and it was delicious!

Related Posts:

Beijing, China - Part 2 of 3

Beijing, China - Part 3 of 3

*******

‎"One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things."

~Henry Miller

Scenic Sunday

* Every Sunday our blog features a random scenic photograph from our travels *

Grassy Pond Recreational Area, Lake Park, Georgia

*******

"All endings are also beginnings.  We just don't know it at the time."

~Mitch Albom

To see other blogs that feature a Scenic Sunday, visit www.scenicsunday.blogspot.com

Running Cold

I am a runner.  I love to run but I hate cold weather.  The winters in Korea are brutally cold so I have barely gone running outside for the past three months.  Instead, I've been working out in the fitness center in our apartment complex.  I haven't done much running because I hate running long distances on a treadmill.  I recently really started to miss the benefits of running so I had to decide, which do I hate more:  running on a treadmill or cold weather.

There have a been a few days in the past couple weeks when the weather was actually above freezing (only by one or two degrees) when I decided to venture out for a long run.  As you can see from the photo below, the only skin showing on my body was part of my forehead once I was bundled up.  The awesome face mask is a Korean treasure I picked up from a street vendor :)  I seriously felt like a little kid putting on layers upon layers of clothing to go play outside in the snow.  It all works well keeping me warm and comfortable on my long runs.

There is a little "respect game" that older Koreans seem to like to play on sidewalks.  If two people are moving toward each other on a sidewalk, the person of lower social standing (generally the younger person) should show respect to the other person by moving out of their way.  The "game" is that older Koreans will test this on purpose.

I've come across this more than a few times on my recent runs.  I'll be running down the sidewalk and an older Korean will deliberately move into my path, expecting me to show them respect by moving out of their way.  Well guess what old Korean, if you are going to deliberately move into my path, I WILL RUN YOU OVER!  Don't get me wrong, I try to be respectful to everyone I come into contact with but I refuse to play this ridiculous game.

It happens often... I can recall three instances in the past two weeks.  My favorite instance of this was on my last run.  There was an old man who saw me coming and moved onto my side of the sidewalk.  I kindly moved over.  But then he moved over AGAIN to get into my path.  Really?!  I waved and yelled "Get out of my way!" but he didn't move, so I plowed into him and then mentally gave myself a high-five.

Funny thing is, I know I'm going to miss crazy stuff like this when we move out of Korea :)

*******

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you were?"

~Satchel Paige

Folk Village Revisited

In May of last year, Johnnie, his sister, and I spent a day at the Korean Folk Village.  I blogged about it here and here.  The Korean Folk Village is near Suwon and is a living history museum that highlights Korea's past and traditional folk culture.  There are over 250 traditional houses and buildings, arenas for performances, souvenir shops and restaurants, and gardens all in a beautiful outdoor environment.  It's a great place to experience traditional Korea so I took my mom and aunt there for a visit.

Near the entrance are some stone structures covered with rope that has pieces of paper tied it.  The sign in the photo below says:

REALIZATION OF WISHES

At this place, you can write your wishes and hopes for you, your families and people whom you love on traditional Korean papers, hang them on straw ropes and make wishes.

Also, the collection box here will be donated to UNICEF and used for saving children of the world.

Contribute money and make your wishes here.

Many of the buildings were getting their roofs re-thatched.  We were careful not to get our clothes dirty :)

There is a buddhist temple in the Village that you can visit.  Just make sure you take off your shoes before going inside!

One of the performances to watch at the Folk Village is a traditional Korean wedding ceremony.  The bride's beautifully embroidered outfit is my favorite part.  It is a very involved ceremony with a lot of standing, bowing, and kneeling.

Another performance is the Equestrian Feats which is really a show of balance and strength.  The horses galloped around the small circular arena while the performers on their backs hung off the sides of the saddle, did handstands, and shot arrows.

Acrobatics on a Tight-Rope is a fun performance to watch.  The old performer had incredible balance, flexibility and a crotch of steel.   He was quick and graceful, holding only a large fan for balance.

The final performance to see is the Farmer's Dance.  This dance is one of the oldest dance forms in Korea and was traditionally performed during planting and harvesting, stemming from early records of farmers working to the beat of percussion instruments.  It is characterized by fast-paced music and gravity-defying acrobatic movements. Dancers have long white streamers attached to their hats which they twirl in beat with the music.

I took some video of the dancing and the horse performances.  You can watch it below or on YouTube.

Related Posts:

Visitors

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Changing of the Guard

Shopping in Seoul

Beijing, China

*******

“Culture is the widening of the mind and of the spirit.”

~Jawaharlal Nehru

Scenic Sunday

* Every Sunday our blog features a random scenic photograph from our travels *

Summer Palace, Beijing, China

*******

“If today were the last day of my life,

would I want to do what I’m about to do today?"

~Steve Jobs

To see other blogs featuring a Scenic Sunday, visit www.scenicsunday.blogspot.com

Shopping in Seoul

While my mom and aunt were visiting, we did a lot of shopping.  In fact, they got almost all of their Christmas shopping done while here!  We spent a couple days in Seoul and hit a few of the major shopping areas: Insadong, Dongdaemun, and Namdaemun.

Insadong is a shopping district near central Seoul and consists of a 1/2 mile long main street with countless alleys branching off of it.  This is a great place to find things such as traditional touristy souvenirs, unique artwork, and beautiful pottery.  It is closed to traffic on weekends, providing space for street vendors, parades, and entertainers.  Touring Gyeongbokgung Palace and then shopping in Insadong makes for a great Seoul day trip since they are near to each other.

One street over from Insadong is a street nicknamed "monk alley" due to the large number of stores selling buddhist monk clothing, shoes, accessories, and religious items.  There is also a large temple called the Jogyesa Temple.  It is a beautiful temple with 3 large seated gold buddhas inside.  It's worth a look if you're in the area.

Dongdaemun is... excess.  For example, if you are looking for a pair of shoes, there are 10,000 pairs to choose from.  If you want a scarf, you could spend all day looking through all that are available.  This market is mostly indoors in large, multistory buildings like the one picture below.  This huge marketplace is pretty well organized according to item.  You just need to find the building and floor that has what you're looking for.

Namdaemun is one of my favorite shopping districts because it is a large, primarily outdoor, traditional marketplace.  It's a great place to bargain for deals, try some street vendor snacks, take in the atmosphere, and for general people-watching.

Related Posts:

Visitors

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Changing of the Guard

Folk Village Revisited

Beijing, China

*******

"Shopping is a woman thing. It's a contact sport like football.

Women enjoy the scrimmage, the noisy crowds, the danger

of being trampled to death, and the ecstasy of the purchase."

~Erma Bombeck

Changing of the Guards

At the entrance to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Seoul, a Changing of the Guards ceremony takes place every hour on the hour from 10am to 3pm daily, except Tuesdays.  It is free for anyone to come and watch.  The entire ceremony takes approximately 10 minutes to complete and is a fun sight to see.

The Changing of the Guards originated in the 15th century.  The guards were in charge of opening and closing the gate, inspecting all visitors, and keeping watch.  The ceremony now is a reenactment complete with traditional weapons, musical instruments, and colorful robes.  The facial hair you see on the "soldiers" below isn't real, it's just part of their costume!

Related Posts:

Visitors

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Shopping in Seoul

Folk Village Revisited

Beijing, China

*******

"A traveler without observation is a bird without wings."

~Moslih Eddin Saadi