Beijing Olympics!
Trip Start
Jul 24, 2008
1
5
13
Trip End
Dec 2008
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Beijing,
China
Thursday, August 21, 2008
At the end of her entry, we start the Beijing entry!
Julie, thanks for sharing the FUN! You are welcome to join us again anytime - just be sure to pack a little lighter!!!!
"If anyone is thinking how crazy Cheryl and Lisa are for selling it all and traveling for more than a year and a half, you couldn't be more right but only because it just seems unreachable by most
Airport welcome
. Having only been with them on a trip for 3 weeks in Egypt / Jordan, it really helps re-prioritize your life. Suddenly, houses, cars, and stuff, fall off the list or really far down. I find myself thinking, mmh, wonder if they have camels in USA to get to work, or can I walk, or can I bike ride to work, or just what alternatives do I have instead of feeding into this fuel crisis. Thinking about all the places to see in the USA actually fall way down the list. You can see the USA anytime. Going to places where the world began, where people live to be excited about 4 walls to live in and no roof really puts life into perspective. Could I live without a roof, mmmh, no but I could live in a 2 bedroom condo and forgo so much of the baggage to allow for more experiences that are infinite out there! The way you think about routine annual vacations change. Yes, going to all inclusive resorts in Mexico is relaxing but that shouldn't define "where you have been" when talking about trips. Places you have been should be really emerging yourself into a culture and taking away "a way of life" for where you visited. With this said, I am going to Fiji in a week for "vacation" at an all inclusive resort, however, I will go off the beaten path for sure and check out the locals and learn the daily lives on these islands. I actually met a couple climbing Mt Sinai from Fiji while in Egypt. The husband had climbed the mountain 25 yrs ago and brought his wife. They were older and somewhat over weight but boy did they pursue.....5 hrs to the top! Good for them! Going to Las Vegas, Luxor, or Epcot around the world imitations is so out of touch from actually being there. The money you actually spend on some of these trips, can be the same amount to see the real thing if you do it the "Cheryl and Lisa" way! To stand on the mountain that Moses received the 10 commandments and climb that same mountain was intense
Welcome to China!
! Later, I climbed another 3 hr hike straight up to his brother's shrine, Arron, on top of the highest point in Jordan was another once in a lifetime event. To see 100,000's tons of one piece granite rock standing 50 ft tall moved from one point to another by humans with incredible carvings was very impressive and unbelievably real. The Red Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Nile River, all of which you have heard of in your lifetime was another awesome experience as we slept on the beach, slept on a sail boat, diving, running, and swimming is yet another experience I will not forget. I did morning runs along the Red Sea at 5::30am, wow, just running and thinking about where I was was really peaceful and exciting. Running on the Sahara desert, ouch very hot, and incredible to think people traveled across this and just recently there was an UltraRunning Race across this desert. Hot is not the word for this surface. I don't think it would take more than an hour to see your shoes start to melt underneath if crossing. Muslim definition and perception for me has changed significantly. No different than in our everyday lives we don't really judge people we don't know at work, neighbors, friends, etc. and always try to give the benefit of the doubt. With Muslims, what the media has done to portray the Osama as the label of Muslims etc., it so wrong. I often wondered why the media never did more to educate USA on that culture so it is kept in perspective
BIG beers!
. I won't go into the learnings here but just encourage others to take the time to learn or visit as much as possible about Christianity, Muslims, and all the similarities - they are so close, it's unbelievable. It's actually very disappointing to me for republican and democratic administrations not to take a high road of education to the nation and create an awareness that is appropriate.Finally, as with most vacations or experiences, you do meet great people. Difference here was to spend 3 weeks with the same 10 girls the entire time to exhaustion with some of the hikes was really cool. Learning just from them the English ways, Australian ways, the New Zealand ways, and the "two sister" L.A. girls way was really enjoyable. I would encourage everyone to at least make a plan now to try something similar and see how it re-prioritizes the way you live in America as I haven't talked to one person that I met on this trip who has traveled before that didn't change their way of thinking about "stuff".
Thanks Cheryl and Lisa for inviting me to share this experience with you all! I look forward to Peru and others next year!
Julie Wong
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Beijing, China
From Lisa:
China
Priscilla's ready for the Olympics!
! What a thrill! The Olympics were amazing - from the moment we arrived in the airport and were met by the Fuwas (the cute Olympic mascots) giving hugs to everyone!So many incredibly nice people, very proud of their city and of the fact that they were hosting the games. One World - One Dream was this year's slogan and it was everywhere, but after a few hours, you really began to buy into it! :-)
Getting tickets to the Gold Medal Game of softball with the USA vs. Japan was so much fun! Seeing the flag raised high gave me goosebumps...you really feel a camaraderie with other countries and other people very different from what we're used to back home. The culture and beauty of Beijing is something to appreciate and I'm really glad we made the detour to see the city and the Olympic Games!
From Cheryl:
I have to say, coming to Beijing was planned, but being here during the Olympics certainly was not! What a great experience though! The splendor of Beijing along with the festive feeling of the Olympics make this a great visit. I have been VERY impressed with how the people in Beijing, both the Olympic volunteers and the general public, have responded to us as visitors
Beijing Pizza Hut - yum!
. I can't tell you the number of times we were offered assistance when we looked apparently lost, which we usually were.. Finding your way around the bus and subway system is not that easy the first time around but after some friendly advice and a few attempts at getting lost we perfected it!We were able to get some tickets to the gold medal softball game between USA and Japan!! They were of course sold out, but you can get tickets to almost any event on the street. It was a thrilling night full of goosebumps as many of the fans from China were cheering on the United States shouting "U * S * A"!
Tian ' Anmen square and the Forbidden City were very impressive areas in Beijing. Overall the city is in Olympic mode, but on our way to the next leg we will be spending more time in this city and will be able to see the sites in their more "normal" setting!
FOOD - well.. I thought of my friend Barney G as I paged through the menus here in China. I am not sure if it was a good thing or not, but many menus provided pictures of the food as well as the English translation.. Some highlights - that I am SURE Barney would have loved, yet I could not - include: Chicken Feet - orange colored feet served cold. I actually looked them up on the internet to see how to eat them because I wanted to try. Well, after reading more about the dish I decided to stick with other options! Sauteed duck tongue - about 30 to a serving that looked like a small bowl of shell-less muscles.. Sea cucumber - looks like a very large slug. AND Lisa's favorite - Colo-rectal dish.. Need I go into a detailed description here?? I ended up with veggie noodles and Kung Pao Chicken.. Sorry Barney!
Next stop - Perhentian Islands in Malaysia...a remote set of islands so small you can walk them completely in half a day!
Miss you all! Keeping taking care and be good!
Comments
HELLO from LITHIA, FL
Hi Cheryl & Lisa,
Hope all is well. As usual, I loved reading about your Beijing experience and seeing the photos. I hope you both left Beijing before the Olympics ended, as they just experienced a 6.1 earthquake! As for us, we were very lucky to have been spared from the past 2 hurricanes. Can't say the same for New Orleans, though. Hurricane 'Hanna' may be coming up the east coast of FL and 'Ike' is on his way. Enjoy Malaysia and SAFE TRAVEL wherever you go. See you when you return to the states...glad you got to see our USA Softball girls.
Take care,
Nancy