What a difference a 12 hour train ride makes! We arrived in Beijing a little before 8:00 a.m. this morning. When we came out of the train station, you could almost feel the weight of the world come off our shoulders. Shanghai was dense, dark, smoggy, crowded and uncomfortable. While a learning experience, I think the group was ready to leave Shanghai and move on. Yesterday we travelled about 2 hours out of Shanghai into the agricultural areas. It was an interesting trip...especially since there doesn't seem to be any traffic laws at all. At one point, our bus driver stops in the middle of the highway and runs back to ask the roadway painters directions. We finally arrived at our destination...let's just say it was China's answer to Epcot for agriculture. We took trams around to look at the displays...which were interesting and informative. But it was eerie as we were the only ones there. Apparently they are packed in the summer time as families bring their children to the park to learn about agriculture and with 20 million-plus people in Shanghai, that's a lot of park patrons. We then waited in the parking lot for our lunch, good ol' American McDonalds...well maybe. It's pretty bad that we are only on day four and I think people are a little tired of Chinese food.
While on the subject, the food has been very good. In China, certain restaurants are deemed "acceptable" for tourists...they have been inspected, etc. for food safety. So our food has been much like what you would find in any American Chinese restaurant...only a lot more of it. Our meals are usually around a table of 10 with a lazy susan in the middle and they typically bring out 8+ dishes. We haven't had anything too crazy at this point and tonight we are having Peking Duck which Beijing is famous for.
After lunch yesterday we went to an orchid nursery...one of the largest tissue culture nurseries in China. They showed us the stages of production, with the last greenhouse being a gorgeous variety of all different colored orchids. We left there and travelled back to Shanghai for dinner. We arrived at the restaurant early, so everyone dispersed onto the streets as we were in a residential area of Shanghai. It was around 5pm or so and people were coming home from work and stopping for provisions, etc. Walking down the street we saw beautiful fruits and vegetables in street stands...we also saw men cleaning fish while sitting out in the street (again, there are no laws to speak of as far as traffic is concerned...we are surprised we haven't seen anyone run over yet.) We also saw some of the largest bullfrogs you've ever seen. If they end up as frog legs, you would have a pretty decent meal with just one.
From dinner we arrived at the train station. I think people were a little apprehensive about the train ride to Beijing. We had one entire car to ourselves, in this car there were 9 compartments with 4 people per compartment. There were four beds in each, an upper and lower bunk. Unfortunately, the dining car had been discontinued...this wasn't welcome news to the group. Everyone got settled into their cars and the train lulled everyone to sleep relatively early. It was a strange feeling, but from what I hear everyone got a few good hours of sleep. Most of the group is still waking up around 3:00 a.m. as this time change adjustment has been difficult. The sun rises early here too, which may have a lot to do with it.
Around 5:00 a.m. there were a good number of folks in the aisle of the car, sharing snacks they had brought and watching the countryside pass by. The scenery here is so different...from the multitudes of highrise apartment complexes, to the rudimentary greenhouse structures made out of bamboo, to the simple shacks with satellite dishes on top...this country is fascinating.
Which brings us back to this morning and Beijing. As one of the group stated, "Shanghai was before, Beijing is after". Maybe because it's the first time we've seen the sun since we left Florida, but Beijing almost seems shiny. It is much cleaner, seemingly more orderly and doesn't have the ongoing construction presence that Shanghai did. We are staying at a very nice hotel somewhat close to downtown. This afternoon we are heading to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. Then to the Pearl Market, I hope people got their orders in!
Miscellaneous notes from the trip...Armando was reunited with his luggage last night. It arrived on the back of a scooter to the restaurant. We were pleased to be reunited with Eric this morning as he was waiting for us when we arrived at the hotel. He had an uneventful flight over and thankfully was not quarantined. We still cannot access the blog, so I'm sending this information back to the states via email and then having it posted. We are hoping to get a picture up in the next day or two...please be patient!!
I hope all is well in Florida!
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