Post-Post

I just discovered the "caption" button to add to pictures.  So of course, I had
to add one on a photo that doesn't really need it.

Greetings from within the Silk/Iron Curtain! I'm currently writing this on Sept. 11, but since the Chinese government blocks youtube, facebook, and common blog websites (like the one I use), I'm writing this now with the intention of posting it later. All of this being said, let's get to it shall we?

I've been in Beijing for almost a week now. Where to begin? I've pretty much seen and done the major highlights - Forbidden City, Tiananmen Sqaure, Summer Palace, Lama Temple, Temple of Heaven, Night Markets, and of course, the Great Wall. The Great Wall was by far my favorite and most spectacular. It was everything that I hoped it would be and more. I actually got to hike around on it for about 3 hours. Quite pleasant. The most interesting part, in my opinion, was looking along the horizon and seeing it snake along the ridge for as far as you could see. Also of interest, in the distance (where you weren't allowed to walk) you could see the wall in its more "natural" state of being (hadn't been repaired or reconstructed). Trees and plants were practically growing through and on top of the entire thing.



One of many special items to eat
 at the night market.  yummy!

As for other things in Beijing....let's talk about squatter toilets (somehow I always manage to relate something in posts to bathroom/bodily functions). I don't know if you've ever used one, but a tip to potential future users (especially males), make sure to move your wallet to your front pocket before attempting to use it. Believe me or not, this sort of accident didn't actually happen to me, it happened to a friend of mine I met at the hostel. Haha, whether you choose to believe me or not is up to you, because I know how "friend of mine" sounds. In all honesty, as much as I'm up for trying and wanting to do new things, I haven't had the courage to use the squatter toilet yet. I intended to, but lately I've had some travel sickness issues (no more details needed). Using a squatter toilet would be weird enough, but doing it while not on the most normal of circumstances, well forget it. Maybe my last day here I can make something happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

By the way, did I mention I'm famous? At least that's how I've felt in going to many of the tourist places here. At Tiananmen Square for example, I had several people (families, kids, couples) come up to me and ask to get a picture with me. At first I was a little weirded out, but eventually I kind of went with it and took some pictures myself. All these people asking to get pictures with me were more than likely other Chinese people from outside of the big city. A white foreigner, let alone with red hair, is not something they see all that often. According to a friend I've made who has been living in Beijing for the last 7 years, my face is probably on a dozen different mantels now. Haha. The weirder thing was when I walked around with a shirt tucked under my hat to protect the back of my neck from the sun, people were literally pointing, taking pictures, and laughing with their friends. This too, attracted several people in getting a picture with me. I just smiled and went along, but I never thought something so simple could seem so weird.

Another new favorite topic of mine, mistranslations. These can come in several different forms, but my two personal favorites that I've seen in Beijing are technically correct...they just don't sound right. My newest favorite T-shirt (a very common one) reads, "I *heart* (the symbol) BJ." Of course, BJ is short for Beijing, but for nearly any English speaker, you can't help but laugh at how well such an abbreviation works out. 2nd correct, yet odd translation, is found on several menus - "Beef with Rape" Now, rapeseed, also referred to as "rape", is indeed a real thing (I checked up just to make sure), but seeing as I had barely heard of it, let alone never seen it on a menu (which I admit, may simply be a part of my own ignorance), one can't help but think of this as a mistake. After piecing it all together (that it was referring to rapeseed and that it was a legit thing), I remember thinking, "wow, rape isn't what it used to be." Never thought I'd hear myself think that. But now that I think about it a little more, which word usage do you think came first? Rape (in reference to the seed), or rape (as the crime)? Anyone who can figure out the history of these words and if they were at all related in some fashion or another at one point gets major bonus points and maybe even a little Red book, or if it's your sort of thing, an "I *heart* BJ" shirt. Seriously though, I will send a gift to the first person who is able to solve this life-mystery for me. I did a little research on my own, so I have my own theory, but I want to see if anyone comes up with the same answer.

At the Temple of Heaven -
trying out to be
Hu Jintao's new dancer.

Aside from the fun of languages, I did get to ride one of the fastest trains in the world a couple days ago. I took a day trip to Tianjin, a city on the coast, east of Beijing. The ride takes about 30 mins and tops out at a speed of around 330 km/h. Pretty impressive. Not a whole lot to see or do in Tianjin, I mainly went to see the country side a bit while riding the incredibly fast train.

What else was I going to say? Oh I know. Back to the subject of the Great Wall. While walking around it, one can't help but think about how ludicrous a 1,000 km length wall really is. I suppose in theory it would deter a person or two from crossing, but if someone REALLY wanted to get over it, it probably wouldn't be all that difficult. 1,000 km. You would have to have sooooo many people standing watch to cover that distance, and then they'd have to be diligently watching at all times. Do you think that really happened? Of course not. As insane as the wall is, I had to wonder, who's more insane though, the people that spent years and years and years and years building it, repairing it, etc., or us, for trying to build something similar along the Mexican border? Hahaha. I'm not trying to get political on you here, so I apologize if this last statement offended you. I understand the reasoning behind our "wall", I'm just saying, when thinking about the Great Wall of China, you can't help but think about our own "wall" in our country. No matter which side of the "wall" you stand on (see what I did there?!), you have to admit, there is an interesting parallel between our modern day wall and the Great Wall of China.

Ok, enough tip-toeing around potential political issues. Let's wrap this up with a quick update on the "list" of things I was supposed to do while travelling around the world. So far, these are the items I've completed....

Got A Byron Bay T-shirt (for Byron)

Went to the top of Victoria Peak

Tried Dim Sum in Hong Kong

Tried Kangaroo, but not Kangaroo tail - does that count?

Tried some crazy, local food

Some items I've failed to complete...
 
Throw a boomerang at someone
 
Find out what "fire and ice" was in HK
 
Visit Steve Irwin's grave


When in Rome/Beijing



 

Does anyone have anything else to add? Sleep on it and let me know. By the time I post this, I will be in Japan. I arrive(d) Sept. 14th in Tokyo, and will be in Japan until Oct. 21st. Long time. Who's ready for sushi?