Beginning my trip in China
Hello, it has been a while, but I'm back. And although I've got a lot to catch up on, I'm going to start with today's reason for an update. Maybe later I'll work on updating events since my last time here.
So, Last October/November (2015) I recived a mail/brochure from the Chi Institute detailing a trip in August 2016 to Mongolia, seeing northern China and Traditional Chiniese Veterinary International Conference. Respectively each of these was a different 'section' and could be bought together or separately (although obviously can't do the first and last part without the middle). The trip to Mongolia included staying in a round Mongolian tent (otherwise known as a yurt), riding Mongolian horses, going to a bonfire party and celebration, and seeing an acupuncture hospital. That right there got me hooked. Going to Mongolia, staying in a Yurt, riding Mongolian horses AND going to an acupuncture hospital?!?! and that was just the beginnning!!!? hell yeah. I considered the cost seriously, and after much thinking and discussing and figuring, I decided in Dember(2015) that yes I could afford to go, but I wouldn't be able to go to Pennsic. Not an equivocal trade but both are proceless in their own way, so I went ahead. I bought tickets and I started to plan out my trip's packing, and buying comfortable, easy to wash, durable clothes that breathe, sweat wisking or keep me warm as needed. I found that merino wool would fit the bill, so I went about finding undies and shirts; then i went on to find hiking pants that dried fast, but were durable, and breathable. And then there were various items and sundry that seemed necessary for such a trip; ie hand washing stuff , inclement weather items, backpack to fit everything in, luggage tags, bags to organize, shoes, etc.I started packing in April, or March (2016) I think, once the majority of items had started to arrive. At the appropriate time I ordered my visa to China.
I continued to gather other items and even ended up buying a few things at the airport (expensive but it seemed worthwhile). The only thing I didn't do is get checked out by a Doctor, due to unavoidable circumstances finances were tight and I couldn't afford it; so even though I thought I should, I was unable to.
Aiden, my wonderful boyfriend, agreed to watch our many creatures (and the house) and make sure they were ok while I was gone. He also drove me in Tuesday, August 17th, 2016 at 4am to the Orlando Airport (MCO) so I could catch my flight(s).My first flight was to Chicago's O'Hare Int'l Airport (ORL). By the way, I took advantage of the opportunity and did some PokemonGo and Ingress while I was still in the US, I'd heard airports were good places for such. Finally caught a Drowzee!
Then they called us to confirm our paperwork (aka visa) before they would even start the boarding procedure. Then they called up the groups and finally we got to board. Both of my flights requested that poeple, if they could, just check in their carry on because the flight was very full.
I was in economy on a 13.5 hour flight, I'd been waiting in layover for 3 hours, I'd taken a 3 hour flight to get to th elayover and arrive dat the airpor 3 hours early, and woke up 2 hours before I was to be at the airport. This was going to be a long flight.
Turns out that I should have updraded to "economy plus" where there were a few more degrees of reclination in the seats. The seat I was in went from Ramrod Straight to "At Ease Straight", which made it difficult to sleep. This was a two floor Boeing, and in economy the seat were arranged in 3-4-3. I was in the middle on the Aisle, thankfully. Next to me was a nice Chinese lady returning to China fromt visiting the US, relatives I think. She was very helpful when I needed to fill out my entry form. And then I showed her how to Kumihimo along the way . She was a very nice companion to have on my trip.
Which reminds me, let me back up slightly, I met a nice lady on my trip to Chicago who was going to the Adirondacks, we exchanged RPI/RIT credentials and she's going on a trip to Italy. Then, on the flight to Chicago I was riding with an Asian man going to Vietnam, i think,and the other lady in my row was going to Chicago. It was very nice. At Chicago I only ate small/light foods.
Which brings me back to my flight to Beijing. The flight had listed 'lunch' as included in their food. Turns out all non alcoholic beverages were included, an initial salty snack, then a 'dinner' (sweet and sour chicken with rice and veggies or ravioli), which they offered as "chicken or pasta", I should have gone with the chicken, it looked better, and the pasta sauce had black pepper but only enough to burn uncomfortable without stopping me from eating. The second 'meal' was a palm sized sandwhich (turkey and cheddar). the third meal was Ramen teriyaki with soybeans, mushrooms, etc or scrambled eggs with sausage. The eggs and sausage likely had black pepper so I avoided those, but the noodle dish (not ramen) was really mushy and not that appetizing; I ate as much as I could muster and then left the remainder.
There was/were free movies/tv shows on wifi throught he UA app but no internet (unless you paid $16.99) plus there was/were movies/tv shows playing on the screens , and music in the armrest channels. I tried to rest so that I would be set for the Beijing time zone, but sleeping was difficult without being able to recline; I had read that first class actually had seats that laid 180' if desired, lucky SOBs.
So, we arrived, and unlike any other flight I've ever had there was no wait on going out, so I was left a little bewildered and behind. When I'd put my bags up, I had to put my bigger backpack two rows back and on the opposite side of the aisle and my luggage cart above me but my daypack wouldn't fit up there, so it had gone at my feet where I therefore had no foot space. Once I was out and following the herd down the long hallways, two or three sets of bathrooms, on the second floor of the terminal with these beautiful high ceilings (and a fountain I didn't get a picutre of), I finally got to immigration ... there was a very long line at immigration.
In the line I spoke with another Asian man, he was there to talk to group/business/dept about horse supplements to help prevent ulcers, so we talked horse physiology and medicine. He's from Cleveland but didn't know the word 'veterinarian', but he knew 'vet'. We talked a little about traditional chinese medicine, but he didn't seem to think it was good for disease only wellness, I countered it could assist Western medicine but we both agreed Western medicines had many advances that could be used to help horses which is a very profitable/full of money industry.
I made it through Immigration, had no luggage to pick up, exchanged some US cash for Yuan. And then customs you could declare or not, and if not then you just walked through a few sensors; however I did see a couple working male beagles working the crowd (walking through with it and not signaling). Then I came out and I found the people with the sign !
The two girls Emily and Alice, they introduced themselves as , eventually, were very nice and spoke english pretty well but it was still difficult for us to communicate. They had to pause often to translate what I said and then to translate what they wanted to say, and when they asked me for questions, I finally asked them their names lol. They walked me outside and took me to where the hotel's bus would pick me up, then they went back in to pick up 3 more ppl arriving later the same day, I was the first of the group. The group is made up of 51 ppl.
So I got to the hotel, and the loby has a beautiul statue/art piece.
Went upto the counter, where I found out I had no reservation, after some talking, again with a similar difficulty to the girls who had received me with english, after giving some info for the contact if need help list, and the manager stopping by, and i got to pay for a night (although I thought I already had).
So far, I've been reminding myself how difficult it is with a different language, and i'm being patient, managing to keep to simple words and phrases to communicate myself, repeating as needed. I am focusing on not getting upset or frustrated, these people really are trying to help, and besides I'm the one who didn't learn THEIR language lol .
So I got to my room and they'd told me I had to share, and knowing there were more arrivals last night, I waited up, but to no avail.
{ I will enter the video of my room when i can, it is taking too long here, not sure why}
I washed my clothes from yesterday since I had likely worn them for 24 hours. I also, washed my passport 0.0 >.> .... it survived, and the hairdryer was great for drying the pages... My pants are still drying, but those were the pants I figured would have the most trouble with drying, I think the other pants will be better, we'll find out.
I got up and got ready for breakfast
On my way to the first floor where I'd asked before going to sleep where breakfast was, at "The Place", one of the restaurants. Yeah, it's names the place. anywho, there was a beautiful little piece by the button to summon the elevators, there were alos some weird cherubs facing the elevator, which I'll get pictures of later, maybe.
So I went down to the lobby (you need your key card to press elevator buttons, very secure) and over to The Place. There was so much variety of food. I can't even, so I chose various light familiar things (except for one fruit I don't know what it is) and OMG it was delicious.
Then I came upstairs and found this view at the end of the hall where my room is located :
Also, from this morning, a view from my room :
(this one I took when I woke up this morning, it's dawn or just after)
SO then I finally finished my struggle with livejournal and was able to log in and put this all into place. Nice cleaning lady came through and cleaned my room while I was at it. Breakfast will be over soon, debating going down for seconds and then Isaw a park outside, I want to check out, and there are all other other group memebres arriving today!! So excited.
I'll post more later... also fyi I will have and be using a camera for most pictures but the smartphone took these and I'll try to use the phone a little to keep you guys updated. Probably the majority of my pictures will go on FB when i go back. Yeah, btw Google and FB are not accessible from China, kind of a bummer, but that's ok I'm having a grand old time adventuring!!
So, Last October/November (2015) I recived a mail/brochure from the Chi Institute detailing a trip in August 2016 to Mongolia, seeing northern China and Traditional Chiniese Veterinary International Conference. Respectively each of these was a different 'section' and could be bought together or separately (although obviously can't do the first and last part without the middle). The trip to Mongolia included staying in a round Mongolian tent (otherwise known as a yurt), riding Mongolian horses, going to a bonfire party and celebration, and seeing an acupuncture hospital. That right there got me hooked. Going to Mongolia, staying in a Yurt, riding Mongolian horses AND going to an acupuncture hospital?!?! and that was just the beginnning!!!? hell yeah. I considered the cost seriously, and after much thinking and discussing and figuring, I decided in Dember(2015) that yes I could afford to go, but I wouldn't be able to go to Pennsic. Not an equivocal trade but both are proceless in their own way, so I went ahead. I bought tickets and I started to plan out my trip's packing, and buying comfortable, easy to wash, durable clothes that breathe, sweat wisking or keep me warm as needed. I found that merino wool would fit the bill, so I went about finding undies and shirts; then i went on to find hiking pants that dried fast, but were durable, and breathable. And then there were various items and sundry that seemed necessary for such a trip; ie hand washing stuff , inclement weather items, backpack to fit everything in, luggage tags, bags to organize, shoes, etc.I started packing in April, or March (2016) I think, once the majority of items had started to arrive. At the appropriate time I ordered my visa to China.
I continued to gather other items and even ended up buying a few things at the airport (expensive but it seemed worthwhile). The only thing I didn't do is get checked out by a Doctor, due to unavoidable circumstances finances were tight and I couldn't afford it; so even though I thought I should, I was unable to.
Aiden, my wonderful boyfriend, agreed to watch our many creatures (and the house) and make sure they were ok while I was gone. He also drove me in Tuesday, August 17th, 2016 at 4am to the Orlando Airport (MCO) so I could catch my flight(s).My first flight was to Chicago's O'Hare Int'l Airport (ORL). By the way, I took advantage of the opportunity and did some PokemonGo and Ingress while I was still in the US, I'd heard airports were good places for such. Finally caught a Drowzee!
Then they called us to confirm our paperwork (aka visa) before they would even start the boarding procedure. Then they called up the groups and finally we got to board. Both of my flights requested that poeple, if they could, just check in their carry on because the flight was very full.
I was in economy on a 13.5 hour flight, I'd been waiting in layover for 3 hours, I'd taken a 3 hour flight to get to th elayover and arrive dat the airpor 3 hours early, and woke up 2 hours before I was to be at the airport. This was going to be a long flight.
Turns out that I should have updraded to "economy plus" where there were a few more degrees of reclination in the seats. The seat I was in went from Ramrod Straight to "At Ease Straight", which made it difficult to sleep. This was a two floor Boeing, and in economy the seat were arranged in 3-4-3. I was in the middle on the Aisle, thankfully. Next to me was a nice Chinese lady returning to China fromt visiting the US, relatives I think. She was very helpful when I needed to fill out my entry form. And then I showed her how to Kumihimo along the way . She was a very nice companion to have on my trip.
Which reminds me, let me back up slightly, I met a nice lady on my trip to Chicago who was going to the Adirondacks, we exchanged RPI/RIT credentials and she's going on a trip to Italy. Then, on the flight to Chicago I was riding with an Asian man going to Vietnam, i think,and the other lady in my row was going to Chicago. It was very nice. At Chicago I only ate small/light foods.
Which brings me back to my flight to Beijing. The flight had listed 'lunch' as included in their food. Turns out all non alcoholic beverages were included, an initial salty snack, then a 'dinner' (sweet and sour chicken with rice and veggies or ravioli), which they offered as "chicken or pasta", I should have gone with the chicken, it looked better, and the pasta sauce had black pepper but only enough to burn uncomfortable without stopping me from eating. The second 'meal' was a palm sized sandwhich (turkey and cheddar). the third meal was Ramen teriyaki with soybeans, mushrooms, etc or scrambled eggs with sausage. The eggs and sausage likely had black pepper so I avoided those, but the noodle dish (not ramen) was really mushy and not that appetizing; I ate as much as I could muster and then left the remainder.
There was/were free movies/tv shows on wifi throught he UA app but no internet (unless you paid $16.99) plus there was/were movies/tv shows playing on the screens , and music in the armrest channels. I tried to rest so that I would be set for the Beijing time zone, but sleeping was difficult without being able to recline; I had read that first class actually had seats that laid 180' if desired, lucky SOBs.
So, we arrived, and unlike any other flight I've ever had there was no wait on going out, so I was left a little bewildered and behind. When I'd put my bags up, I had to put my bigger backpack two rows back and on the opposite side of the aisle and my luggage cart above me but my daypack wouldn't fit up there, so it had gone at my feet where I therefore had no foot space. Once I was out and following the herd down the long hallways, two or three sets of bathrooms, on the second floor of the terminal with these beautiful high ceilings (and a fountain I didn't get a picutre of), I finally got to immigration ... there was a very long line at immigration.
In the line I spoke with another Asian man, he was there to talk to group/business/dept about horse supplements to help prevent ulcers, so we talked horse physiology and medicine. He's from Cleveland but didn't know the word 'veterinarian', but he knew 'vet'. We talked a little about traditional chinese medicine, but he didn't seem to think it was good for disease only wellness, I countered it could assist Western medicine but we both agreed Western medicines had many advances that could be used to help horses which is a very profitable/full of money industry.
I made it through Immigration, had no luggage to pick up, exchanged some US cash for Yuan. And then customs you could declare or not, and if not then you just walked through a few sensors; however I did see a couple working male beagles working the crowd (walking through with it and not signaling). Then I came out and I found the people with the sign !
The two girls Emily and Alice, they introduced themselves as , eventually, were very nice and spoke english pretty well but it was still difficult for us to communicate. They had to pause often to translate what I said and then to translate what they wanted to say, and when they asked me for questions, I finally asked them their names lol. They walked me outside and took me to where the hotel's bus would pick me up, then they went back in to pick up 3 more ppl arriving later the same day, I was the first of the group. The group is made up of 51 ppl.
So I got to the hotel, and the loby has a beautiul statue/art piece.
Went upto the counter, where I found out I had no reservation, after some talking, again with a similar difficulty to the girls who had received me with english, after giving some info for the contact if need help list, and the manager stopping by, and i got to pay for a night (although I thought I already had).
So far, I've been reminding myself how difficult it is with a different language, and i'm being patient, managing to keep to simple words and phrases to communicate myself, repeating as needed. I am focusing on not getting upset or frustrated, these people really are trying to help, and besides I'm the one who didn't learn THEIR language lol .
So I got to my room and they'd told me I had to share, and knowing there were more arrivals last night, I waited up, but to no avail.
{ I will enter the video of my room when i can, it is taking too long here, not sure why}
I washed my clothes from yesterday since I had likely worn them for 24 hours. I also, washed my passport 0.0 >.> .... it survived, and the hairdryer was great for drying the pages... My pants are still drying, but those were the pants I figured would have the most trouble with drying, I think the other pants will be better, we'll find out.
I got up and got ready for breakfast
On my way to the first floor where I'd asked before going to sleep where breakfast was, at "The Place", one of the restaurants. Yeah, it's names the place. anywho, there was a beautiful little piece by the button to summon the elevators, there were alos some weird cherubs facing the elevator, which I'll get pictures of later, maybe.
So I went down to the lobby (you need your key card to press elevator buttons, very secure) and over to The Place. There was so much variety of food. I can't even, so I chose various light familiar things (except for one fruit I don't know what it is) and OMG it was delicious.
Then I came upstairs and found this view at the end of the hall where my room is located :
Also, from this morning, a view from my room :
(this one I took when I woke up this morning, it's dawn or just after)
SO then I finally finished my struggle with livejournal and was able to log in and put this all into place. Nice cleaning lady came through and cleaned my room while I was at it. Breakfast will be over soon, debating going down for seconds and then Isaw a park outside, I want to check out, and there are all other other group memebres arriving today!! So excited.
I'll post more later... also fyi I will have and be using a camera for most pictures but the smartphone took these and I'll try to use the phone a little to keep you guys updated. Probably the majority of my pictures will go on FB when i go back. Yeah, btw Google and FB are not accessible from China, kind of a bummer, but that's ok I'm having a grand old time adventuring!!