Category Archives: China

Donghuamen Night Market - Spiders and scorpions and snakes oh my!

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That night after I’d gotten back from the Lama Temple I was pretty tired but really wanted to check out the night market I’d heard a lot about. Luckily my friends Carolann and Macrae over at One Modern Couple knocked on my door and we were able to go together! It was a 20 minute walk or so and brought us through what one could possibly refer to as ‘downtown’ Continue reading Donghuamen Night Market - Spiders and scorpions and snakes oh my!→

The Lama Temple - Why so much incense?

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As I mentioned before the subway system in Beijing is extremely easy to navigate. The layout makes sense (I’m looking at you Boston) and all the stops have their English-written names below the Chinese characters. In order to get to my hostel by subway I almost always had to transfer to line 5 at the Lama Temple stop. After being in the city for a few days and using the Continue reading The Lama Temple - Why so much incense?→

Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City - Lessons in shoving old ladies

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I admit I was a bit unprepared for my adventure to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I woke up that morning, decided I wanted to visit those two places, hopped on the subway, and when I emerged from the station realized I had done pretty much no research about either place. I didn’t know where they were in relation to the subway, how to get there, how much entrance Continue reading Tiananmen Square and The Forbidden City - Lessons in shoving old ladies→

The Great Wall of China - Adventures in ordering dumplings

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On my first full day in China, courtesy of my jet lag I woke up around 4:30 in the morning but, not wanting to be a rude neighbor, I stayed in bed until about 6 before heading downstairs to the common area. Lucky that I did because when I got there I met a very nice Canadian couple Carolann and Macrae who quit their jobs to travel the world as well! We Continue reading The Great Wall of China - Adventures in ordering dumplings→

Chinese visas - More complicated than necessary

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Here’s the thing about visas. Some countries require you to get them ahead of time. Some you can get upon entry into the country. Some are 30 days, some 90, and other 10 years. There are even those that have different lengths depending on whether you arrived by air or land. And then there are some countries that don’t require a visa at all. Regardless they’re a pain in the butt. Continue reading Chinese visas - More complicated than necessary→