A wee update with 46 days of Korea to go....

Coming back from Beijing was a reality check. I am really close to being done in Korea. Not that pretend close I have been coaching myself with for the last few months, but truly 46 days away! I was staying in a hostel and when meeting people I was constantly explaining to people that was I at the end of my contract in Korea and planned to travel when I was done......I am 46 days away from no job and no 3:59 rush to clock in for fear of the 4:01 tardy email. I am more excited than I can say. I am booked on a flight from Korea on Nov. 28th and after a day in Kuala Lumpur will land in Chengdu, China to as one of the blogs I read today said, "hug the shit of this panda" look here. I will then head into Vietnam and start Southeast Asia in the Northern town of Sapa, where there is a collection of ethnic minority tribes. After that I have to be in Kuala Lumpur on Mar. 1st to fly back to Korea and pick up my stuff.

I have an idea of where I want to go and what I want to see. It's all in the air and thats exciting to me right now after the monotony hat has been Korea these past few months for me. I have started telling a few of my kids that I am out of here on at the end of the term, something one of them had guessed at the sight of the calendar in my classroom having an X marking each passed day. One thing I have learned in teaching is that kids can see through the bullshit, so you might as well level with them when you can. We then spent a good twenty minutes talking about not my vacation, as one student put it my "journey"...

Beijing - The Great Wall of China

On my last full day in Beijing I signed up to take a tour of the Great Wall of China. I have a few friends that loved, loved, LOVED the tour they took with the Hostel I was staying at. The "Secret Wall" tour is a day long trek up and around the great wall to a section that isn't fully renovated, if fixed up at all. I thought it would be a bit of a challenge, but damn it was more a hike then I thought it was going to be and I am so glad I changed out of the jeans I thought about wearing.

We arrived with this small Chinese man who knew no English at all to the base of a mountain and began following him up the mountain to the wall. There were all sorts of people on the tour and it was interesting to get to talk to people as we stumbled and tripped our way up the the path (maybe that was just me). After about an hour of hiking we reached the top and the view was beautiful!

We then walked around along the wall and down to a village for lunch. At first I thought we were the only ones to use this path, but then I saw a discretely set up souvenir shop.....I guess we were one of the many in on the secret. Here are some of the bajillion pictures I took!


A little self photography on the wall


I think this picture was taken about halfway through the "up hike" during our rest.






Inside one of the watch towers.








Cool walkway at the place we had lunch. I don't know if it was really a restaurant. It seemed to be more of a family compound with a room for serving.....Idk but the food was delish and the atmosphere was pretty cool.

Beijing - Wan Fu Jing Night Market

At night we ventured to the night markets at the recommendation of one of my students who went to international school in Beijing. He told me that they had the strangest food there and it was something I must see. Sad thing is that because of the Swine Flu situation we aren't really supposed to leave the country and our way around that is to just not tell anyone we did it. So, I have to covertly tell Jon that I saw the seahorses and pig blood soup.

There were all sorts of crazy delights for sale at the market. The only thing I was willing to eat was the grape stick covered in a sugar coating. I am not much of an adventure eater, but that didn't stop me from taking pictures.....


Most of my night shots suck so I think this one passes with a little photoshoping...


My fruit man


Silk Worms


Octopus


Scorpian


Snake


Seahorses that were still moving.....


Frog legs

Beijing -Tiananmen Square and Forbidden City

Last weekend I took a much needed vacation from life and ran away to Beijing to get some of my traveling must sees crossed off the list. It was a surprisingly hectic week in Korea before I took off which in hindsight could have been avoided, but I guess that is what makes it more fun, right? I had one extra day off from work because of the lunar holiday and needed it! I couldn't imagine doing the two day visit to this crazy city we considered last summer. It would have been impossible.

I was lucky enough to meet up with some fellow English teachers from Korea at the airport. We traveled into the city together and hung out for the weekend. Our first night we found our accommodations and got some dinner. I thought it was challenging in Korea to get food that is somewhat identifiable and sanitary, China, you are much, bigger challenge.

We woke up early the next day to fight the 60th Anniversary of Communism crowds that were expected around Tiananmen Square that weekend. Maybe I should have checked the holiday situation in China too, just a thought.. We were herded with about a zillion other tourists to the square. In the middle of the infamous square some of the floats from the parade were parked. I read somewhere that they locked up all the city's pigeons...you know I kept looking around for one after hearing this and didn't catch a glimpse of one all day.I wonder what happened to them?!?

From there we pushed our way through the square and into the Forbidden city. Wow, that thing is massive. I wandered around for awhile and took lots of pictures. I wish I would have caught more of the history, but it was just surreal to walk around know ing that this place had been kept secret for so long. A massive collection of exordinant buildings in the middle of a major city, then capital of a large country... wouldn't fly in most countries.


The bajillion Chinese people I got cozy with on the way to the sights


Soldiers were out in force this weekend all over the city


Soldier biking it.


The man himself, Mao, and his admirers


One of the popular parade floats in the Hall of the People


A building near the center, I prettied it up a tad.


Me in the city


I love the colors and patterns on palaces....I took about a zillion of these pics


Cool room


Roooarr.


The Forbidden City entrance