Ubiquitous

During the entire trip, I kept a play by play journal listing the events of each day. I also… when my cellphone had batteries left… recorded random audio musings. Now I decided to just let the pictures do the narration. Please note that my camera really sucked (wait til next entry, where it turned the gorgeous Chateau Lake Louise into a one-dimensioned murky grey, so apologies for that.)

Random other people leaving at Vancouver International Airport. Wow, look at the red carpet they have for the business class people!

One last look at the gorgeous blue sky baby! (And of course, plane necessity: flip-flops)

A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. A journey of THREE thousand miles requires lots of food and entertainment.

And… we’re here in Beijing! Yes, the sky is comparatively murkier, but impressive eight lane Chang An Avenue (that turn into giant parking lots at rush hours) sort of make up for it. No antique cars either.

A look around my grandma’s house brings back memories. It’s like the place froze in time for eight years and absolutely nothing changed. The tilt of the mirror on the dresser which catches the first lights of the day. The old-fashioned shower system in place in the dimly lit bathroom. The photo album where time runs vertically. The painting (above) that I drew when I was four still hangs prominently in the hall leading to the living room.

The next few days are spent shopping in all the hottest places in Beijing (aka cheap meccas unknown to foreigners) A stop at McDonald’s throws me into utter confusion. Horizontally striped uniforms which ressemble prison clothes for the employees? Wasabi sauce with my chicken nuggets? Ice cream cones for $6? Oh… that’s Yuan!

Now that’s more like it! Authentic Peking Duck, a little taste of greasy heaven!

A 15 hour train ride to Hunan (Changsha specifically, in the south of China) and a 3 hour agony dash through rural roads led us to the very essence of Chinese countryside. Rice paddies. Ancient houses. Home, for “Grandpa in the sky”.  Now you can rest in peace grandpa.

Breathless views for the next eternity.

Southerners have elaborate burial customs.

Modern city life beside the river (Yong Zhou, Hunan)

I only have two cousins, this is both of them. JKJK! The one named Harry shall remain photo-less.

Thank goodness uncle booked us into a four star hotel. Luxury was definitely missed. This place rocked, esp. the roof-top breakfast buffet.

After Hunan, it was a 15 hour train ride back to Beijing, then IMMEDIATELY another 18 hour ride to Liaoning, a province bordering North Korea. Above is the billion-dollar paper factory one of my distant relatives own. First time in a dirt and grime factory.

The Chinese certainly know how to eat properly. Luncheon with the CEO of previously mentioned company in an outrageously fancy/expensive restaurant.

A condo built on prime real estate in Liaoning. This living room overlooks North Korea (just acorss the river)

So it goes as: Vancouver to Beijing, Beijing to Hunan, back, Beijing to Liaoning, back, back to Vancouver.

Now we only had less than a week left in Beijing. Above is a quick trip to the Olympic Village before the crowds set in.

Mirror mirror on the wall, what will become of me in ten years? That’s the question I asked myself while looking into this mirror in my Beijing home at the age of seven or eight (okay, I muttered it in Chinese at the time of course).  And of course… I knew I wouldn’t be let off the hook if I didn’t include a single picture of myself on this trip.

A month passed by in a flash, and it’s back at Beijing International Airport and its fancy inhouse trains. Love the Relax sign!

Coming up next: Banff & Jasper & Alberta four day tour (just got back yesterday!)

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