Back in China

This year, in the tradition of trying to have the dopest college Spring Breaks ever, I decided to return to China. After my Dad visited me last semester in Shanghai, I realized that flying standby to Shanghai is fairly easy to do (this is usually not the case with international standby). So here I am, the poorest I've ever been in my life, with the oppurtunity to fly to China for free, and to stay with my buddies in Shanghai for free. I felt that taking advantage of this oppurtunity was not only something I wanted to do, but something I must do.

For some reason, I thought that it was a good idea to wait a while to get my visa, but I ended up waiting too long, and the grand total of my entry to the People's Republic came to a grand total of $250, with rush delivery and all that jazz. Luckily, the visa is good for a whole year, so I will likely try to return again before next March (I'd better get my money's worth out of the damn thing).

Anyhow, the flight over was pretty easy. It was about half full, and after an attempt to fly business class (which was quickly struck down by the other, "that guy"ticket agent, because I was wearing jeans), I was bumped back down to coach. The nice ticket agent got even nicer, and put me in a seat that gave me a whole inner row to myself (CHA CHING!) So anyways, the flight over was awesome. I watched three good movies and slept (a good start to any Spring break). The flights back are looking full, so that sucks. When I return to Shanghai I am going to buy the most ridiculous, old-Chinese-man pair of slacks I can find in case I am "forced" to ride Business or First-Class home.

Anyhow, when I got to Shanghai, I decided to take the Mag-Lev and to meet Dave. The Mag-Lev was super fast, and I got some pretty sweet video. Anyhow, I met Dave and was deliriously tired for the first couple of days (all of my friends were sick, so we all just chilled out and took it easy). I enjoyed being back in Shanghai, and got all of my favorite foods. On Sunday the weather was super nice, and Joe, Kyle and I went to a forest park, which featured a roller coaster and paintball. We rode the roller coaster which was super expensive and super short, but totally worth it. WO AI SHANGHAI.

I had booked my train to Beijing for Sunday night, and arrived in Beijing Monday morning. This was my first solo travel experience, so I was a little bit nervous that I might miss my train and not have my shit together. Anyhow, it all went well and when I arrived in Beijing I had a little bit of trouble finding my hostel, but ended up finding it. This is also my first solo youth hostel experience, and it has been pretty awesome. My hostel is in a hutong, which is the traditional Beijing style neighborhood setup. The rooms are cozy, and it's super cheap to stay here (5 USD per night), all in all, pretty awesome.

Anyhow, Beijing is pretty cool. It's definitely different than Shanghai, but not necessarily in a bad way. The first thing I noticed about Beijingers is that they tend to dress a little less gaudy than the Shanghainese. The city itself is very polluted, dusty, and dry, but is laid out like a grid and is far easier to get around than Shanghai. It also feels much more Chinese, and less urban. Dave's Chinese roommate said that "Shanghai is like America, Beijing is like China" (which, oddly, is why his roommate prefers Shanghai).

On Monday I checked in and showered, and then wandered about this one part of the city near a lake. I also saw the Lama temple, which is the largest Tibetan buddhist temple outside of Tibet. It was really beautiful. I also saw the Confucian temple which was also really super cool. The next day I decided I would rent a bike from the hostel. There was an awkward situation when the manager of the hostel went out and argued with a man outside for a bit, and then handed me the keys to the man's bike. I decided that I did not want to take the bike from a random Chinese man who might need it, and decided to forego bicycling until the next day. Instead, I headed to Tiananmen square (which, honestly, is not as big as I thought it would be). It was definitely very cool and very sombering to be there. I then went into the Forbidden City, which was awesome. It was very sunny and bright outside, and it was a hazy day, but it was still really cool to see. I could have explored there all day, but I was a bit tired and wanted to get out of the sun. I decided to head over to the Military Museum. This was probably the coolest thing I've seen. The Museum, which was built as sort of a present to Chairman Mao on the 10th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic, is a monument to the power of the Chinese state. It was awesome. I learned a great deal about Chinese military history, which featured everything from ancient armor to modern day stuff. *Begin sarcasm* Luckily, the information was completely unbiased. *End sarcasm* It was very interesting to see how much the Chinese hate the Japanese (and not unjustifiably). World War II is known as "The War of Japanese Aggression." Also, a teapot on display was described as "a tool of torture used by the Japanese." It was very interesting.

Today, however, was my favorite day. I ended up renting a bike. This time, for some reason, the manager lent me his bike, and made me promise to have it back by 5 pm. This worked out well, as the bike was comfortable and reliable, but not too shiny and fancy (which might as well be a "Steal me, a laowai is renting me" sign). A bicycle is the best way to explore Beijing, by far. Even on the major thoroughfares there are huge bike lanes. The best part, however, was pulling off of the main arteries and exploring the hutongs. It was a perfect temperature, and it was really awesome to bike around and get lost. I made my way to the Temple of Heaven, which was awesome. There was a small group of people playing traditional Chinese music, and it was really cool.

And that brings us to now. I have decided to catch the all-nighter to Shanghai tommorrow, which will put me back in Shanghai on Friday morning. As far as plans, I am going to see the Olympic area tonight (which, supposedly, is best seen at night). Tommorrow, I am going to go to the Museum of Natural History (which is supposed to be nuts, and features a lot of animals in formaldehyde, among other disgusting things) and then I'm off. Hopefully, my friends will be feeling better when I get back and I'll be completely over my jetlag. Which means, we can paint the town neon-red, Shanghai style, and more jetlag when I return to the good ol U.S of A!