Arrival
Trip Start
Feb 10, 2009
1
30
Trip End
Apr 10, 2009
Beijing,
China
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
After waiting a bit, it was discovered that five bags were missing, and we were informed that they had missed the connection in San Fran. I was one of the lucky few, and was only able to collect one of my bags.
When I packed, I thought about splitting all my things between both bags as I often recommend, but when it came down to it, is seemed more logical to keep all the things I would need right away in one bag, and leave the other one intact until the second part of the trip... Karma. Guess which one is delayed?! Of course not the one I borrowed from Natty (phew!) but the one with all the stuff I planned on using upon arrival. Toiletries, clothes, fresh undies! I have pjs, and... well the hotel is super nice and has toothbrushes.
Luckily I also have a great roommate, Heidi, who has offered to lend me some clean socks, and my travel insurance will cover $100 worth of purchased necessities-yeah night market! The airline told us that we should hope to get our bags by tomorrow night.
Once over the shock of being a bag short, we met Katherine's friend and our tour guide Glenn for a quick tour of the Olympic venues (I will try to upload some pics later) and then on to our hotel to settle in a little.
So, we have arrived, in good shape, only a few items short that ought to be reunited with us soon.
After writing that, and failing to have it post, we went off to the night market to get some food and scope out the scene. We had a lot of fun checking out all the 'meat-on-a-stick' options. Some were more adventerous that others, I settled from some wonton-like soup and the vendor tried to double the price, but I succeeded in paying what I wanted for three little meatballs- about $2. I also had some pot-stickers that had a variety of fillings.
Luke was dared to eat the giant scorpian on a stick and managed to get it down with only a little squeaming... It did draw quite the crowd though.
Once we had our fill, a group of us decided to meander down the alleys of trinkets. It was quickly discovered that Heidi will not be the queen bargainer as she squealed "Paintings! I love paintings!" and you could see all the dollar signs going off in their eyes. We escaped unscathed and came home around 10pm to finally get all tucked in.
The bed is hard- yes!- and the room comfortable, but both Heidi and I were up at weird times in the night, and wide awake at 730am when we dont have to be up for another hour- hence the update!
Today we are going to visit Tiannamen Square and the Forbidden City. I am super excited since when I was last here (10 years ago!) the Sqaure was closed for renevation, and my camera (or rather my parents camera) broke in the middle of the tour of the old palaces. I will be better equiped this time!
