|
Listen to This Story
|
A morning flight from Tokyo to Beijing
when we landed, security was tough.. especially on me!
Remember when I said that my passport picture got washed out from the juice drink in Japan! I was able during my stay in Tokyo to speak to the embassy and had all forms of official identifications with me, that had my name and face on it! AND my Chinese visa too.
I was detained for four hours, after an extremely long investigation, recording my voice, taking pictures (without my headscarf, multiple times), recording me, asking me to tell the story over and over and over again to a million person, I felt humiliated. I was told to sit outside the office (where passengers can stare as they want at me, same as the walk of shame, but sitting.. for hours) I was not going to be let in; they had to use the “Red Phone” for me (to speak with the white house/or federal bureau of investigation!) and, to be honest, all I just wanted to do that time is to go home after all I went through. (Also, they took my luggage, took forever to get them back, after literally running around the airport from one office to another)
Long story short. When I finally got out, I was surprised that my tour guide and travel mates waited for me. I was so upset, tried as much as I can not cry (I am good at that in hard situations), but this time, I cried when one of the other travelers hugged me. (It was hard. tough on me, even as a Palestinian who had gone through hell before as well..)
I wore my sunglasses on the bus and spoke to no one; I was secretly crying and shivering the whole ride to the restaurant. Since my tour guide and others had to wait for me to get out, they lost the time to get some rest in the hotel before exploring Beijing.
We had a Rickshaw ride through the narrow streets and alleys of Beijing—the best way to see the city to a local family’s house for a traditional dinner together.
We had Peking Duck, Beijing famous ducks dish. Right after that ride, I was able to forget that sadness or left it on pause to enjoy the rest of my day.
I laughed, had a great time and pretended as nothing had ever happened.
We enjoyed some beautiful music, oh I wish I can upload the video here.
I spoke to the locals, I showed interest in the area, so I was offered a little tour of nearby of the restaurant by one of the girls in that family before dinner gets served.
I was given a little extra tour by her, also in search of a restroom because weirdly enough they use public toilets in that area (the whole town uses two main public toilets.)
The food was delicious.. for real! I swear the best food ever.
We later got a bigger tour of the city with the whole group.. to our way to the river, where shops colorful bars, vendors were. It was basically like the romantic Paris or Florence.
We passed by a flower shop, where the tour guide told us that they bring flowers to a random person who passes by their shop. All the girls were happy and wished that they’ll get one, or someone buys one for them.
Later we went to a bar for some drinks (a rooftop bar right next to the river) then it got dark.. Click here
A clown came out of nowhere.. and started giving every girl a flower.
I got one too, but I also got more than one; I got five more! From the travel agency, from my tour director and from some of the guys that were on the trip too. (they were the sweets people ever, I was so happy)
Next morning,
We went off a sightseeing tour around Beijing (on a bigger scale)
We had a local guide who introduced us to China’s capital. We saw Tiananmen Square, the biggest public square in the world and the infamous spot where a student rebellion was put down in 1989.
We also visited the incredible Forbidden City, surrounded by a moat and a protective wall. Inside the walls, check out the golden-roofed Imperial Palace, first built during the Ming Dynasty.
Next: The Great Wall of China,
We headed to Badaling; we walked on the iconic Great Wall. The Chinese started building the Wall in the 5th century B.C., as a defense against the Mongols. Today the Wall extends across mountains and valleys for more than 3,000 miles.
I died. Not really, but that wall is so freaking steep and when you reach a hill; the steps get smaller, and you feel like you’re going to fall back.
That is me telling the person who’s taking a picture of me. Take a picture already before I die and fall back. I can not breathe!!
Gift shops are expensive.. but beautiful!
I lost my favorite umbrella here (got it from Tokyo) 🙁
I wanted to buy everything from here. It looked like my antique dream house.
The next day we went to Temple of Heaven Park; a huge outdoor park is full of historical relics and locals doing their morning Tai Chi exercises.
Summer Palace
Visited this imperial retreat centered around Kunming Lake. The Palace grounds bring in huge numbers of visitors each year, drawn by the Qing-style pavilions, bridges, walkways, and gardens.
Bought myself some pearls from the dragon lady’s lake (highly recommended.. expensive! but China offered 50% off sale for students tourists :D) and I also got myself the best silk bed sets the highest quality in the world.. from Beijing <3
813 Comments
I really like it whenever people come together and share thoughts.
Great site, continue the good work!
Excellent post. I was checking coinstantly this blog andd I’m impressed!
Extremely useful information specifically the last
part 🙂 I carde for such information a lot. I was sedking this certain information for
a long time. Thank you and good luck.
Hi, Neat post. Thre is an issue with your web site in internet explorer, could test this?
IE still is tthe market leader and a huge component to people will miss your magnificent
wrfiting because of this problem.
Have you ever considered about adding a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is valuable and all. However just imagine if you added some great
pictures or video clips to give your posts more, “pop”!
Your content is excellent but with pics and video clips, this blog
could definitely be one of the best in its niche. Good blog!
This is my first time go to see at here and i am actually pleassant to read everthing at one place.
I want to to thank you for this great read!! I definitely loved every
little bit of it. I’ve got you book-marked to check out new stuff you post…
I do not even know how I ended up here, but I thought this post was good.
I do not know who you are but definitely you’re going to a famous blogger if you
are not already 😉 Cheers!
Hi i am kavin, its my first occasion to commenting anyplace, when i read this piece of writing
i thought i could also make comment due to this
sensible article.
I am now not positive the place you’re getting your information, but great topic.
I needs to spend a while studying more or figuring out more.
Thank you for magnificent info I was in search of this info for my mission.
Neat blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from somewhere?
A theme like yours with a few simple tweeks would really make my blog jump
out. Please let me know where you got your design.
Kudos
Good way of explaining, and good post to take information concerning my presentation focus,
which i am going to present in academy.
Hello to every one, the contents existing at this site are actually awesome for people experience, well,
keep up the good work fellows.
It’s a shame you don’t have a donate button! I’d most certainly donate to this superb blog!
I suppose for now i’ll settle for book-marking and adding your RSS feed to my Google account.
I look forward to fresh updates and will share this blog with my
Facebook group. Chat soon!
This blog was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I have found something which helped me.
Thank you!
Superb blog! Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
I’m hoping to start my own website soon but I’m a little lost on everything.
Would you advise starting with a free platform like WordPress or go for a paid option?
There are so many options out there that I’m
completely confused .. Any suggestions? Appreciate it!
casinos online
casinos online
casino games slots
online gambling casino
kasino
Every weekend i used to pay a quick visit this web site, for the reason that i wish for enjoyment,
since this this web page conations in fact good funny
stuff too.
whoah this weblog is fantastic i really like reading
your posts. Stay up the good work! You know,
a lot of persons are hunting round for this information, you could aid them greatly.
I really like your blog.. very nice colors & theme. Did you create this website yourself or did you
hire someone to do it for you? Plz answer back as I’m looking to
construct my own blog and would like to find out where u got this from.
thanks a lot
Have you ever considered about including a little bit more than just your articles?
I mean, what you say is important and everything.
However think about if you added some great pictures or
videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content
is excellent but with pics and clips, this site could definitely be
one of the most beneficial in its niche. Great blog!
Thanks on your marvelous posting! I certainly enjoyed reading it, you happen to be a great author.
I will be sure to bookmark your blog and may come back in the foreseeable
future. I want to encourage you continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!
You can play as many games as possible without restrictions which naturally increases your winning probability.
This hot, new addition continues to be becoming more popular which enable it to be found in several online casinos.
Betting: Your chips will probably be stacked by denomination (A1, A5, A25, A100, A500) in the bottom
of the action screen.
Like all fields, photography, professiolnal photography at this, isn’t as easy ass yyou can think.
Flowers appear in a variety of colors, aand iif you
add stems and vines, you can find a fantastic custom tasttoo design.
The mention of Bro-step and American expansion of the genre is undeniable withhin the
former context.
There is a rich diversity to these songs that you simply will almost certainly appreciate and also to build your life easier, and make it
easier for you to get the background music for My –
Space that you would like, there is also a chance to pick from different genres.
There we were holding, anticipating their forthcoming experience and joyously reliving the final one — Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy, in the guises of actors William Moseley
(now a dashing 20-year-old), Anna Popplewell (a newly minted Oxford freshman),
Skandar Keynes (with vocal octaves further when he was 15), and Georgie Henley (approaching teenhood, an excellent six inches
taller than we last saw her). Technology is driving dynamic advertising into new areas this also
brings by using it some potential challenges, well not all companies can afford to spend thousands in electronic advertising,
well the two options highlighted offers the same results with low investment of energy and funds,
so now any business from mechanics to dentists can have these within their guest waiting rooms.
Wonderful work! That is the type of info that are meant to be shared across the net.
Disgrace on Google for no longer positioning this post upper!
Come on over and talk over with my site . Thank you =)
It’s very trouble-free to find out any topic on net as compared to textbooks,
as I found this article at this site.
Generally I don’t read post on blogs, but I wish to say that
this write-up very pressured me to try and do so! Your writing taste has been surprised
me. Thank you, quite great article.
Hi to every one, since I am genuinely keen of reading this web site’s post to be updated
daily. It contains pleasant data.
Nice post. I was checking constantly this blog and I’m impressed!
Very helpful information particularly the last part 🙂 I care for such information a lot.
I was looking for this certain information for a long time.
Thank you and good luck.
I’d like to find out more? I’d want to find out some additional information.
We’re a group of volunteers and starting a new scheme in our
community. Your web site provided us with valuable information to work on. You’ve done
an impressive job and our whole community will be grateful to you.
Hello, this weekend is good designed for me, for the reason that
this point in time i am reading this impressive informative article
here at my residence.
It’s awesome designed for me to have a web site, which is helpful designed
for my experience. thanks admin
Simply want to say your article is as astounding.
The clarity to your publish is simply great and i can assume you’re a professional
on this subject. Fine along with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to stay up to date with drawing close post.
Thanks one million and please carry on the enjoyable work.
Good day! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out
and tell you I really enjoy reading your blog posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums
that go over the same subjects? Thanks for your time!
fantastic points altogether, you just gained a new reader.
What may you recommend about your put up that you just made a
few days ago? Any positive?
It is in reality a great and helpful piece of information.
I’m glad that you shared this helpful info with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
Hmm is anyone else encountering problems with the images on this blog loading?
I’m trying to determine if its a problem on my end or if it’s the blog.
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
I cannot thank you enough for the article.Thanks Again. Will read on…
I’ve been surfing online greater than 3 hours lately, yet I
never discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours.
It is beautiful value enough for me. In my view, if all
web owners and bloggers made good content as you probably did, the web will
be much more helpful than ever before.
Having read this I believed it was extremely informative. I appreciate you spending some time
and effort to put this content together. I once again find myself personally spending a
significant amount of time both reading and commenting. But so what,
it was still worthwhile!
If you might be heading for another city and locate that there is a good show
in this city, you cannot search around to the box office, stay at home a line
and get the tickets. Cherry blossom tattoos represent
something more important in numerous cultures. The Open Video Project:
This is site having a huge collection of digital video for sharing.
I loved as much as you’ll receive carried oout right here.
Thhe sketch is tasteful, your authored subject matter stylish.
nonetheless, you command get blught an nervousness over that you wish be delivering the following.unwell unquestionably
come more formerly again since exqctly the same nearly very often inside caze you shield
this hike.
This design is steller! You certainly know how to keep a reader amused.
Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well,
almost…HaHa!) Fantastic job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that,
how you presented it. Too cool!
I’m now not certain the place you’re getting your info, but
great topic. I must spend a while studying more or working
out more. Thank you for fantastic information I was searching
for this information for my mission.
I love it when individuals get together and share opinions.
Great site, keep it up!
I’m not sure exactly why but this blog iis loading incredibly slow for me.
Is anyone ese having this issue or is it a issue on my end?
I’ll check ack later and seee if the problem still
exists.
Someone necessarily help to make seriously posts I might state.
This is the very first time I frequented your website page and thus far?
I amazed with the research you made to create this actual put up incredible.
Magnificent process!
Excellent site you have here but I was curious about if you knew of any user discussion forums that
cover the same topics discussed in this article?
I’d really like to be a part of online community where I can get suggestions
from other experienced people that share the same interest.
If you have any suggestions, please let me know. Thanks!
Great post. I’m going through a few of these issues as well..