China

The differences between Europe and the US seem much smaller after the time I spent in China.  I left the kids and Hugh in Belgium with my mom and headed to Bejing for a meeting.  Besides missing them all terribly (the 7 hour time difference was hard), it was an amazing experience.  Unlike most meetings, we had some time to sight see.  I visited the Tian'an Men Square, Forbidden City, The Great Wall of China, and shopped at the Pearl Market.  The meeting itself also involved a tour of a local hospital which was one of the most interesting parts of the trip.   Some key highlights:

• Beautiful sight seeing, so much interesting history.  It is also amazing to compare that history to modern day China.
• Crowded and a chaotic.  There are so many people and cars.  They even limit which days people can drive their cars and it is still a constant traffic jam.
• Oddest food item that I ate was fried jelly fish - chewy and bland.  I did see crocodile guts and donkey on the menu too but we passed on those. 
• Haggling is a way of life.  They hand you a calculator with a price and then keep handing it back and forth until you settle on a price that is still probably higher than you should pay.  Although prices in general are pretty cheap.  
• They have knock offs of everything.  We even passed a construction site where they started to build their own Disney.  Construction was halted five years ago and now they have a half built Cinderella style castle sitting there.

China's attempt at building Disney, it is half built and just abandoned

The Forbidden City was home to 24 Emperors who ruled for 500 years.  Built in 1420, but the general public was only allowed to see it in 1949. 

My sight seeing partner Rudi at the entrance to the city.  You can see Mao's picture in the background.  Mao founded the People's Republic of China in 1949.  His embalmed body is on display in a museum and the Chinese flock to it.

Gathering Hall in the city, there had to be 100 halls, each for a different purpose

The buildings were so rich with detail; they did not hold back when it came to expense

In Bejing, traffic lanes seem to exist for guidance only

Cards at a standstill

 The Great Wall of China construction began in 210 BC for the purpose of keeping enemies out.  It snakes through the countryside over deserts, hills and plains for several thousand miles.  The tour guide called it the longest cemetery in the world, referring to all those who died while making it.  It is really spectacular to see.

We took a cable car up and then walked up to the highest point; you can also walk for 2 hrs and skip the cable car

I actually felt like I could fall backwards while walking up it, it was that steep

We drove by the 2008 Olympic Buildings; Birds Nest and Water Cube in this drive-by shot

The long flight was worth it for this -