Feet First

Well, Tomorrow I’m flying from Guangzhou to Beijing to start a grand adventure. As grand adventures go, mine will be pretty modest, but I will get to see some sites and do what I love best. What do I love best? Why, wandering, of course. I’m going to Beijing and Shanghai, and although I’m not a huge fan of big cities, I do like wandering around with a map in my hands and absolutely no plan, just to see what I can see. I executed that plan to good effect in Rome and I’m eager for rounds two and three.

I’ve booked a hotel room in Beijing at a place that looks like it could have good atmosphere. I got the budget room, but the pictures of the “standard” rooms make it look like a hotel that trades on giving guests a traditional Chinese feel. I figure I can mooch off of the ambiance at half the price. The hotel is walking distance from the Forbidden City (Beijing Jingyuan Courtyard Hotel, 35 Xitanzi Hutong, because I know dad wants to google it), as well as all the other places of interest in the city centre. I’ll probably check out some museums, look for some souvenirs, and find a good park to do some reading. Since I’ve only got four days, I’m not going to stress out trying to hit all the hot spots. I would prefer to just let things happen the way they want to. If I leave feeling content, then I’ll consider it a win.

What I’m really looking forward to is the food. Consistent with the “Nick Plan”, I don’t know much about Beijing cuisine apart from the existence of Peking duck, so I’m just going to go into whatever restaurants look enticing. I’m glad that I’ve had almost six months to get used to Chinese food. I can now approach any dish, no matter how strange, without fear. Recently, after a long struggle and many false starts, I conquered the chicken foot, and not in a nibbling, halfhearted manner either. I ripped that sucker to pieces. I’m still not a fan, but I now know all of its darkest secrets.

I’m going by train from Beijing to Shanghai to see the Expo and gorge myself once more. When I booked a bed at the Blue Mountain Youth Hostel, I was still really confused about where in the city the Expo is actually located. I figured I would just book a place that looked good and then take public transportation to get where I needed to go. As luck would have it, my hostel is less than a mile from the entrance to the Expo. Please, hold your applause.

I decided to save some money, so I booked a regular seat instead of a sleeper car for the ride to Shanghai. Sitting on a train for fourteen hours would seem daunting, if it weren’t for the fact that my flight to China was fifteen hours, and also I took the nine hour Hell Train to Hunan, so I’m sort of warmed up. I haven’t booked the return train to Guangzhou, but if it’s much longer than fourteen hours, I may just spring for the sleeper. A man (and his butt) can only take so much.

Anyway I’m excited. I love taking pictures, I love walking around, and I love eating, so this should be right up my alley.