Final thoughts on China...off to Vietnam!

My last two days in the city were great.  I met up with Joe again to go see the Summer Palace - the vacation home of the emperors and another great Chinese meal.  Later that night, I met up with a friend of a friend, Maggie, and she brought me to a dinner and drinks with a bunch of her Chinese school friends - the place definitely reminded me of NYC - there was no menu, you pay a flat fee plus drinks and they just bring you whatever they were serving that night.  Delicious!!  The coolest part, however, was that both the restaurant and bar were tucked away in the quiet little Hutongs, so unsuspecting but awesome!

The Summer Palace from across the lake

Clearly the lake is a hazard - no romping!

MN in Beijing!

After a bit more wandering around some of the Hutongs the next morning, it was time to say goodbye to China for now and hello to lovely Vietnam.  Luckily, 3 years  of consultant travel are also still paying off because the airline I flew is part of the Sky Team Alliance with Delta, so I got access to the lounge which was an amazing recharger - they served a full-on hot meal and endless amounts of free snacks, drinks and wine :) (Yes OW people, think delta lounge x3)!  I think my fellow loungers were a bit confused as to why this backpacker chic was a) allowed entrance and b) hoarding the food to bring with me on the plane since I clearly didn't look malnourished...

My final thoughts on Beijing - Overall, it was a great experience. I definitely appreciate the bustle and energy of the city as an honorary New Yorker.  It's also incredibly easy to get around on public transit, even as a foreigner with no Chinese skills!  One of my favorite parts was exploring the Hutongs, the traditional Chinese neighborhoods were 20% of the Beijing population lives.  These still have traditional architecture and are a great way to get a feel for the culture. The pollution, however, is terrible and very real - there is a constant foggy haze that covers the city - as Joe said, it looks a bit post apocalyptic.  Before I got to Beijing, some people asked me if I had a mask to wear around.  I was a little surprised at this, but after 2.5 days of solid walking, I definitely felt it in my lungs.  By the time I left, I would start feeling very tired and a bit ill after walking around for just an hour.  This was really surprising, but as the Brits and I were thinking it through in the huge hostel, we decided that it was basically like walking around with constant mild carbon monoxide posioning.  The city and the general standard of living is much different than anything I've seen before...men and women spit everywhere, toilets are just holes in the ground and my personal favorite, babies and toddles wear assless chap style pants with open holes in the crotch so they can just go to the bathroom, whenever and wherever they want!!

Assless chap pants - yes I of course I captured this

One word on being a blond in china, especially one that towers over 95% of the population...people stare and take pictures all the time.  I was totally fine with people who asked to take pictures with me or those who tried to be stealth and hide it (clearly not successfully), but it was a bit weird when some people would just run up to you and grab your arm while their friend snapped away.  That's all I've got on China, stay tuned for scenes from Vietnam.

Favorite packed items so far: Purell!! Hiking boots and my ever so fashion forward hiking pants :)