Hey guys! I am back from an amazing 4 day vacation in Beijing China. You see we have this May break and we were trying to figure out what we were going to do for it and at dinner at Extra when Laura's family was here we were talking about how we wanted to go but it was a matter of when since we all had different vacations. We were planning on going to Jeju island this coming weekend but getting planes out were just not happening and so Angelica and I decided why not try China. So after some internet searching we came across a great deal by Kangsan Travel. 4 days 3 nights in a 4 star hotel, meals, travel, round trip airfare, and English speaking tour guide all included in a little over 700,000 won (around $700) plus the $130 for a Visa for American Citizens.
We called up Kisha asked her if she wanted to go and she was down. The money needed to be in by friday we found out about it on Monday we sent everything off on Wed. Pretty fast ride but totally worth it!
We took a train to Busan at 7:45 am on Friday to catch a plane at 11:00 am to China.
There was some bad weather and the flight was delayed 2 hours! We were fed which was nice, I thought they only feed you if the flight is over two hours but I guess not. It was only 1.5 hours from Busan to Beijing.
Upon arrival we were taken right to the Acrobatic show where I must admit I was totally amazed at the stunts. I bought the DVD of the performance so that I can watch it with everyone when I get back home. There were amazing costumes and stunts and there was a part when the fist act kinda messed up and everyone fell, but they got back up and did it again perfectly. Ask em what they did and all I could tell you is jumping on shoulders and flipping..lol.
We were told by Charlie, our tour guide, that we could take pictures but no flash, this was an untruth seeing as when we took pics the ushers were right there to tell us to put our cameras away. But we snuck some in so check them out and the videos I took are posted on my YouTube page, FirstThreeInc.
That night we ate Peking Duck. This duck is special because it is force fed to become fat and given a special bark so that it can have a smokey flavor. There is also a special thin bread they give you to wrap in up in with other sides and it was soooo good. It was defenitly the meal highlight of the trip. But honestly the food in China was amazing. Angelica kept saying that she picked the wrong country. And for those of you at home wondering, yes, the Chinese food in China is very similar to the Chinese food in the states. The names have been changed to protect the illiterate in Chinese, but other than that...
Our second day was jam packed. Since we were two hours late getting to Beijing we ended up going to:
- The Jade Shop
- The Great Wall of China
- Lunch
- The Summer Palace
- The Pearl Shop
- Dinner
- Martial Arts Show (optional) - I didn't go
The highlight was the Great Wall. I mean as soon as we got a glimpse of it the whole group got excited. Now for those of you who do not know the Great Wall spans across several cities in China so no we did not walk the whole thing, that would take months and we only had a few hours. But we did walk up two posts, which took about an hour and a half to go up and come back down. There were so many people there and if I was not sweating bullets and on the brink of passing out from the heat and the stairs I would have taken pictures of these females who decided to climb the wall in heels and shoe boots, and the guys in dress shoes and suits. It was hilarious. I was wearing Croc flats. I can't get with the original Crocs, but they have these baby doll flats that I love love love!The third and last day went like this:
- Temple of Heaven
- Forbidden City
- Lunch
- Tea Ceremony
- Dinner
So now that you have gotten the nitty grittty about my trip let me share with you the highlights.
- To determine if it is real hold it up to the light and if you see little clouds in the piece it's what they call the Flower and that means its real. If you see Air bubbles it's fake
- Jade is cold to the touch. You can hold it in your hands for a long time and touch your face with it and it should still be cold, even out in the sun. Fake jade gets warm to the touch
- A jade bracelet should go across three knuckles for a proper fit.
- If you clink it with another piece of jade it makes a light clinking sound like thin glass. But if it is fake or a lower quality the clink is a lower pitch and kinda sounds like thin plastic hitting each other
- Putting a plastic bag over your hand works really well when trying to put on a bracelet
Pearls: Telling the real from the fake
- Real pearls come in certain colors: Freshwater- Pink, Lavender, White / Salt Water- White, Black, Amber (very rare)
- Real pearls when rubbed together create a white powder and when scraped come off blemish free
- Real pearls can stand to be in fire and high heat without being damaged
- Real pearls vary in shape and the higher the quality the higher the shine
Album 7 (coming soon) - I am stealing pics from others on the trip and putting together another album.
Ohhhhhhhh I almost forgot the highlight of my trip outside of tourism: MY STARBUCKS MUG!
For those of you who know me you know that I have a mug collection that I started in London where when I go to another country I got to the local Starbucks and purchase a mug from the City Series Collection. Well in Beijing there was a Starbucks next door to our hotel. So I didn't go to the martial arts show so I could hit up Starbucks early and purchase my mug. Well when I got there, there were none. I asked the girl behind the counter and she got another associate who spoke English. He said he was sorry but with the increase in tourism to the city they were all sold out in the city. He wasn't playing I went to two other stores in the city and they were out too. Well I told him how I have a collection and that I was leaving the day after tomorrow and that I was sad, but if they didnt have any mabye I would just by a T-shirt and call it a day/compromise. Well he said he would call his manager (who he called his "Master") and contact me. So I gave him my name and hotel.
Let me tell you I had pretty much chalked it up, but when we got home to the hotel there was a note under my door with "Message" across. The note read "Someone called for you your Starbucks mug is ready" Man I grabbed Angelica and ran over there. As soon as I walked in there was a different guy behind the counter but I said "Hi, I'm Mei-Li" and he said "Ahhh yes the cup!" and went to go get it. Let me tell you I bout cried! The mug is big and beautiful. I am going to make sure I contact Starbucks to sing their praises. I know what you are asking "did you get their names" I did not. But I do remember what date and time I was their on both days so I hope that is enough. If not hopefully the whole store will get recognized. That was really special to me. I have already packed the mug so there are no pictures, but trust me when I say it was more than worth it.
