Lost in Beijing
The flight from Phoenix to Beijing was endless, including two stops (Los Angeles and Xiamen), and took ~29 hours. As a bonus, add in the usual awful experience with the TSA. Literally, I’ve been stopped every time I’ve flown. Perhaps they are confused with the blonde hair and Anglo name?
I dropped my bags at the hotel in Beijing, feeling disoriented and exhausted. The official tour didn’t start until the next day, so I was on my own. I had purchased flashcards to help with translation and obtained the hotel’s address in both English and Mandarin. Yes, surprisingly, I don’t speak any Chinese dialects. With a quick game of charades, a taxi driver dropped me at the zoo. Seeing Pandas had been on my travel wishlist.
New York City is extremely crowded, but any larger city in China takes it up a notch — or two. Get used to being hassled and hurried.
Suddenly famished, I needed to find food quickly. Even though I had a guidebook of Beijing, I was completely lost. Then a student rescued me. (Always look for a college student when traveling. They usually know a bit of English.) She directed me to a very authentic Chinese restaurant.
Snake Wine is a traditional alcoholic beverage consisting of a venomous snake that has been dropped into rice wine. I’m certain if they are killed first or just drowned. This drink has been in existence since the Western Zhou Dynasty (~1040 BCE), and is considered medicine to relieve pain and boost vitality. In theory, the “essence” of the snake is transferred to whoever drinks the wine. I was feeling fine, so I didn’t partake.
Note: When traveling in Eastern countries, I use BCE or Before Common Era instead of the more Western BC or Before Christ.
Once seated, I was given a menu with images of dishes on it. Thank you, Travel Goddesses! I believe I had a sort of rice and chicken dish. But who really knew? I was still looking at the snakes…
A quick note on Chinese restaurants in the US. During California’s Gold Rush in the 1850s, Chinese immigrants migrated to the West Coast, primarily from the Canton region of southern China. That’s the reason many of the Chinese restaurants you dine at in the States are Cantonese. During my trip, I did not venture into the Canton region.
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My route took me from Beijing to Xí an, Chengdu, a cruise on the Yangtze River, and Shanghai.
So the tour began with a guide named “Jimmy” — because Americans butcher his actual name.
Where am I now? You can find me on Blue Sky.