Just got home from the Vancouver Airport, more photos coming soon. Here’s the past four weeks in brief!
- REMINISCENCE: The feeling of reaching one’s childhood home is indescribable; it will always be home in a sense no matter how far I travel or long I’m away
- EXHAUST: Rush hour on a 6 lane Beijing avenue lasts til 9 PM (holy bejeezes!)
- METRO: a electronic card is Beijing’s all access metro card; most buses cost 40 cents ($0.05), now there’s incentive to ride public transport; way better than Vancouver’s system; two flatscreen TVs on every bus
- LUXURY: Stayed at two four star hotels and both of them had bathrooms with a CLEAR GLASS WALL looking into the room… oh the initial embarrassing incidents…
- OBSESSIONS: Was given the honor to come up with an English name for my little cousin. Any guesses? Hehe, won’t keep you hanging, he’s now my little cousin Harry! I plan to name my other little cousin Ron XD
- TRAVELING: Places visited: Beijing for a week @ grandpa’s house, Changsha in Hunan province for a few days, and Donggong in Liaoning for two weeks @ other grandma’s house
- READJUST: Still recovering from the most bloody annoying cold ever, no fevers thank god
- LABOUR: The maid who takes care of my grandma and cleans and cooks is 60 years old, wow, cultural differences i guess
- HAGGLING: Spent about 1000 yuan ($150) and bought bags and bags of new clothes
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! Gotta start uploading photos…
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I'm Crystal, a Canadian who thinks she can take on the world simply by getting up each morning. They call me the caffeinated IBer wandering on the Internet. 
Looking forward to seeing the photos!
Wow, you only spent 1000 yuan for bags and bags of clothes?! My mom just came back from China and she brought with her a suitcase of clothes that my sister had bought. I think she spent way more than 1000 yuan, since I heard a lot of stuff in China are becoming more expensive. You must have some true bargaining powers to get so many clothes for so little!
Also, I heard China is really fashionable now. In my sister’s words: “They’re even more fashionable than the US!” I’m guessing this is because she’s buying clothes in Guangzhou in China, a city, whereas we live in the suburbs in the US.
YAY! Crystal is back!!! I can imagine the exhaustion and jet lag you’re probably feeling *remembers trips to the Philippines*.
And I love how there are two flat screen TVs in each bus. Impressive! Can’t wait for the photos!
Cheap clothes! I am jealous.
Only 1000 yuan?
The last time my mom and I went back, we spent about three times as much money. Unfortunately, I can’t go shopping anywhere without her because I suck at haggling (it’s the language barrier, I’m not very comfortable speaking Mandarin)
Anyway, I can’t wait to see those pictures!
Yay, you’re back! I thought you were going to be gone much longer. Perhaps I have you confused with one of my offline friends, though… yes, that must be the case. She (already left?) for China recently and will be there until August. Anyway, I can’t wait for pictures and more details about your trip! I’m sure there’s a lot to say!
@ the last comment, HAGGLING: That’s definitely what you do when you visit a foreign country, particularly one where you can find stuff cheap! Last summer in the Philippines, I bought a good deal of clothes, shoes, and such! We went to four different malls, lol… including the SM Mall of Asia in Manila - it was gigantic. The shopping malls there were huge in comparison to the ones here.
Aww, I wasn’t given the honor of naming my little cousin. I think he picked his own English name…and I can’t remember it right now. I’m a terrible cousin.
How was Changsha (my family lives there)?
How was Vancouver Airport? Last time I was there, it was a mess.
Looking forward to the photos…