Thoughts on China

Well, I’ve been in Beijing a few days longer than I had planned, but I have really enjoyed the time I spent here. In my blog, I’ve concentrated on the positive parts of my experience, since many people seem to not get past people spitting and the pollution (which, except for one day, didn’t seem to bad to me for a city of Beijing’s size).

The best parts of Beijing are the parks and the friendly people. There are so many people that there are plenty of people hired to pick up litter, making the parks not only very well landscaped, but also litter free. The people are always willing to help and always offer you some of whatever they’re eating.

The worst parts of Beijing are the many areas under construction (I wonder how much asbestos they use/have used in the buildings that are being torn apart creating clouds of dust?) and perhaps the bank, where you have to wait at least about 30 minutes to conduct a simple transaction (Tip: debit cards work here, so don’t get traveler’s cheques for Beijing), and finally the crowds of people wearing the same baseball caps following a shepard with a flag and a bullhorn that are ubiquitous at the famous tourist spots.

Well, my next stop is Taishan, a famous mountain in China. It is located south of Beijing in Shandong province. After the Great Wall, my legs are already complaining to me about my plan to scale more that 6600 steps. Well, we’ll see.

I’m not sure what hotel I’ll be staying at or for how long, since it may be tricky getting a sleeper out of Taishan. My next plans depend on how easy it is getting a train out of Taishan in a timely manner. The longer I have to stay, the more likely I’ll be skipping the Shaolin Temple and Longmen Grottoes.

So, if I haven’t updated this in a few days, it is because I’m somewhere on Mt. Taishan and I’ll try to make a full report when I get finished!