Beijing ( 北京）Adventures

Hello!

I have reached my destination - Beijing - safe and sound and spent
my first day running up and down the Great Wall, eating amazing
gong bao ji ding (kung pao chicken), and taking pictures in
Tienanmen Square. Below are some pictures of our quick journey.

(Left to Right: Jodi, Laura, Jonathan, Joelle, Shannon, and Me)

(Enthusiasm at the Great Wall!)
(For Judson Crew: Judson's 1st trip the Great Wall!)

Getting to such a day was not without its hardships though. My trip to
China started at 6:30 am on Tuesday morning in La Quinta, California.
We loaded all of our luggage on to our bus and headed towards Los
Angeles International Airport. However, on the way one of tires BLEW
OUT and we were forced to make a short stop a hour and half into our
journey. On the plus side, we did park near a Starbucks which allowed
me to get some coffee while we waited for a new bus to come and
pick us up so that we could make it to the airport in time for our
flight.

Once on the airplane we were just beginning the first leg of our 20
hour adventure. I must be honest. I do not sleep on planes and was
only able to sleep due to an amazing massage from my friend
Amanda, albeit it was only 20 minutes. :) Our first flight ended
after about 13-15 hours (I can't remember) and placed us in
Shanghai where we waited to board another plane to Beijing. I
should make mention of some nasty airplane food that made me
somewhat queezy and nauseous - beware of imitation crab! Our
flight from Shanghai to Beijing lasted only around 2.5 hours or so,
putting us into Beijing about 11 pm / 8 am Wednesday morning on
the West Coast. A total of 19 hours of flying time including sitting
in airports.

Ultimately, it took us another 2.5 hours to collect all our luggage,
make it through security, and get to our hotel. By that time it was
nearly 2 am in the morning in Beijing and all of us were dead beat
and tired. I actually have bruising from carrying my luggage through
the airports and on and off buses.

I would write more at this point, however, I can barely think due to 5
hours of sleep this morning and the fact that it is 5 am in the
morning according to my body.

I hope all of you are well!