Chrissy Travels: Episode 2 - Beijing

Hellooooo Humans!

I hope you are all ready for another suuuuuuper long post, because episode two of my trip is here! This post will be on my trip to Beijing. We didn't follow a tour group here because my stepmom has relatives here, so we had one of her cousins bring us around. During this time, we braved the trek of the Great Wall of China, visited the Forbidden Palace, Heavenly Temple, and the Summer Palace. We also managed to eat local cuisine. For a more in-depth view of my vacation, feel free to hop over to my BFF's blog where she made one post per place we were at. http://jygsawpuzzle.blogspot.com/

So first stop, we took the train to Beijing. I really wanted to experience taking a train to visit other cities just like the locals would, so I pestered my BFFs about this for a while before our trip.

This train station was the biggest I have ever seen. We don't have anything like this in Canada. It looked like an airport to me. o_o

The first meal we had in Beijing was homemade JaJangMyeon (Black bean sauce noodles). This was super duper delicious. The only other time I had this was Korean instant noodles. FYI, Beijing Strawberries are ridiculously sweet. Even the most ripe strawberries we can buy in Toronto can't rival them.

January 6, 2014 - We woke up at 6am to have breakfast and get ready for our trek on the Great Wall. The section we went to was not the normal ones tourists go to, we went to Jin Shan Ling. The normal one people go to would be BaDaLing. The reason why this one is worth mentioning is because of the fact that there was literally not another soul up there climbing with us. That made it more of a private and beautiful experience, not to mention the great photos with no random human behind you! We then went to a small restaurant near-ish to the area and got fresh sashimi. A kitty gave us a surprise visit while we were eating and scared the crap out of me. It jumped up on the seat beside me and pretty much wanted to eat from my plate. Cute, but scary at the same time. 

Taking a short break to enjoy the view and catch our breaths.

Not a human in view! I am Queen of the Wall! :D
We managed to go on the first snow in Bejing. This gave us a different, but still beautiful view. The trek was a bit harder since the steps were slippery. 

This plate of sashimi was heavenly. 

January 7, 2014 - We visited the Forbidden Palace and the Heavenly Temple and experienced the temple of echos. Then we had some traditional Peking Duck to compare it to ones we can have in Toronto. I gotta say, it is soooooo much crispier compared to Toronto ducks. ;)

Another candid Jumping photo of course ;)

Looks like we are the only ones there! But really, there was a line up behind our heads. 

Part of Heavenly Temple area. :)
I wasn't feeling too well that day so I had to wear a mask. :(

Look at how glossy that is. I am salivating as I type this...

January 8, 2014 - The Summer Palace. This was where the concubines would to go "play" and spend time. There is a restaurant that looks like a boat and is on the river. Super beautiful place. 

A type of candy art. Melted sugar, then you blow into it to make shapes. We provided the air, and the skilled man provided the shaping of the sugar. From left to right: Snake, Horse, Rabbit, Dragon. 

The beautiful boat restaurant at the Summer Palace. I want to dine there too. 

January 9, 2014 - We had homemade wontons and prepared to head to Hong Kong. Our visit to Beijing was too short. When I have a next time to head back, I will definitely spend much more time there to see and eat more things. :3

Huge group shot of my stepmom's cousin's family. I had an awesome time!

As I mentioned above, if you want more details on everything, visit my BFF's blog. This is just a quick overview because she already posted more in-depth ones. My in-depth blogs will come in due time ;) I hope this has sparked an interest for everyone to just slow down and enjoy the beauties in our surroundings. Look at the way the trees sway, the way your food smells, the smiles on your family's faces. I'm not going to lie and say I never have a bad day and hate myself and everyone/everything around me, but I'm trying my best to calm down and see the good in everything. It's really hard to do, but baby steps mean everything. 

Until next time my lovelies!

-Chrissymon