Several weeks ago was the Tomb-Sweeping holiday, resulting in a long weekend. Thursday night, Fahim and I decided to go to Beijing the next morning. In a frantic rush, we booked train tickets, hostel rooms, and planned out a last-minute trip to one of the largest, most-visited cities in the world.
 |
| A month of plans, travels, school field trips, and other general chaos. |
 |
| It all starts with a ticket from Shanghai to Beijing! |
 |
| Let's start the adventure off with a nice lil' shrine to Chairman Mao |
 |
| Would you rather eat off a Chairman Mao plate or a Xi JinPing plate? |
 |
| Personally, I prefer this dish. |
 |
| Mutianyu! Wouldn't be trip to Beijing without the Great Wall |
 |
| Trompin' along |
 |
| A woman told me the wall wasn't built to keep the Mongols out, but rather to keep other warring Chinese tribes out |
 |
| We visited in the middle of cherry blossom season, which was lovely |
 |
| It winds and it winds |
 |
| Stoppin' for a rest from the endless stairs |
 |
| It's definitely frowned upon to stand on the edge |
 |
| Fahim, my travel buddy and teaching partner! |
 |
| It would just be un-Chinese to not have a flag |
 |
| There's a dead Chairman Mao in there, but unfortunately the line was insane and I didn't want to wait |
 |
| Tiananmen Square! Centre of Chinese politics and site of one of the largest cold-blood massacres of peaceful protestors carried out by their own government |
 |
| The Forbidden City is guarded by a poster of Chairman Mao |
 |
| The Forbidden City!! It's an enormous walled city within Beijing where the emperor and his household lived. Unsurprisingly, it was forbidden for the public to enter until China became a communist republic and abolished the dynasties. |
 |
| Fancy doors |
 |
| More cherry blossoms |
 |
| And lilacs |
 |
| The emperor's staff had great taste in greenery. So lovely! |
 |
| Roof beams |
 |
| Some construction works placing the golden shingles on the roof. |
 |
| The bridges up to the emperor's sleeping quarters were shaped like clouds, symbolizing the godliness of the emperor. It was like ascending into the clouds to where the emperor lived. |
 |
| The number of animals on the roof indicated the rank of the official living there. This person had a higher rank. |
 |
| The Empress' sleeping quarters. She has the second highest number of animals on her roof. I couldn't get a good picture of the emperor's animals because they were so high up. |
 |
| And then I got scammed 150RMB ($30) for a cup of tea. Sucks to suck. |
The following week, it was time to renew my visa. This month's destination: THAILAND! It was Songkran, the Thai New Year, which is commonly known as the country-wide water fight.
 |
| We had a large breakfast with my first host family. So lovely to see them all again! |
 |
| Songkran ceremony in which young people pour water into the hands of their elders, who in turn give the child a blessing. |
 |
| My host grandmother being very kind and sweet after not seeing each other for five years |
 |
And I got to see this weirdo again!! <3 td="">
|
 |
| Lovely host sister Ice, Kyle, the weirdo from the last photo, and I out for tacos |
 |
| Heading out for Songkran festivities |
 |
| Dancing with random folks in a water-soaked street |
 |
| Made the obligatory Chiang Mai trek up to Wat Prathat Doi Suthep |
 |
| Marije ringing the bells in some shades |
 |
| Kyle, Marije, P. Ning, and myself in front of Doi Suthep's chedi |
 |
| The aftermath of our delicious Moo Ga Ta (Thai barbecue) |
 |
| Marije and I bought banana leaf offerings with flowers, candles, and incense to release into the Lamphun river in honour of Grandpa Sears |
 |
| Soooo glad to see my wonderful, beautiful friends again! This is Bas |
 |
| Saying good-bye to Kyle and Marije |
 |
| I missed all the sparkly dragons |
 |
| With P. Ning in front of the silver sanctuary |
 |
| Just so happy about seeing the sparkly dragons again. |
 |
| I missed this wonderful woman so damn much and I miss her again now I'm gone |
 |
| Ice!!! Greatest host sister the world has ever known |
After returning to Shanghai with a fully-renewed visa, there was another adventure in store. Our little school took a two-day field trip to Moganshan (our Mogan Mountain)
 |
| We used these hoes to dig up bamboo shoots for supper. |
 |
| Bamboo shoots could be found sprouting just to the side of their mother tree |
 |
| Wandering through the bamboo forest |
 |
| Tall bamboo trees reaching into the sky |
 |
| It was just so LOVELY |
 |
| And so green |
 |
| Which looked gorgeous in the setting sun |
 |
| We hunted for snails in the river |
 |
| View from our hotel room |
 |
| Climbing Moganshan |
 |
| Bamboo in front of the mountains |
 |
| Small villages are such a relief from a city like Shanghai |
 |
| Still cherry blossom season and beautiful as hell |
 |
| The name of the mountain (shan) comes from a swordmaker (Mo) and his wife (Gan), hence the name Moganshan. |
 |
| Preparing tea leaves |
 |
| Long ago, places like this would be a place to rest your horse before carrying on the difficult trek through the mountain |
 |
| Posing in funky-looking old, stone doorways |
Two days later, Jeremiah showed up!!
 |
| We showed him frogs |
 |
| And lollipop-designers |
 |
| I tried to carve a green coconut and spent 45 minutes creating this mayhem and nearly dislocating my arm |
 |
| Chinese Art Museum in Shanghai. The massive building is shaped like an ancient Chinese alcohol cup |
 |
| A stunning moving masterpiece - the entire wall is covered in this scene from ancient China. Everything moves (the water, people, animals, carts, etc.) as you watch light change from morning to night. |
